Where to Place Addiction in This Table?

Has Anthony Weiner engaged in some, several, many, or a lot of sexual encounters online?  He's definitely had more than a few.

Weiner Admits to More Lewd Exchanges but Denies an Addiction. (The New York Times, 7/26/2013)

Excerpt:     Mr. Weiner, appearing shaken and at times rambling as he faced reporters, revised his previous estimate of the total number of women with whom he had engaged in sexual encounters online to 10, up from 6.

Cobbled together from a number of sources, including this one, 

with a dose of my own subjectivity

And he still wants to elected!

Now Playing This Weekend: Western Conservative Summit, Denver, Colorado

Colorado Western Conservative Summit attracts Scott Walker, Ted Cruz. (Denver Post, 7/25/2013)  Now that's a scary twosome.

Scott Walker will speak with Mia Love at Friday's keynote dinner.  (Much to his chagrin, I imagine, he's not given a speaking role, just a brief head shot, in this slickly produced promotional video.)



Among the talking heads (in order of appearance):

• Margaret Thatcher
• Star Parker (syndicated columnist, author, and conservative political activist)
• Rick Santorum
• Wayne LaPierre (CEO of National Rife Association)
• Ronald Reagan
• Wayne LaPierre  ("We don't want the USA to look more like the planet, we want the planet to look more like the USA.")
• Rick Perry
• Glenn Beck
• Rick Perry
• Glenn Beck (tag-team time)

Also on the program:  Dick Morris, "2012 Lessons and 2014 Opportunities"

Based on this video, I would love to know what lessons Morris thinks he learned from 2012.

Aleister Crowley on Scott Walker: “It is the mark of the mind untrained to take its own processes as valid for all men, and its own judgments for absolute truth*.”

OK, so he didn't have Walker on his mind when he wrote this, but it still works for me.

Washington Examiner

Excerpt:    Walker is doing everything potential presidential contenders do to test the waters more than two years out from Election Day. He has spent time in the crucial early battlegrounds -- New Hampshire and especially neighboring Iowa -- and visited a dozen other states: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Florida, Illinois, Kentucky, Nevada, New York, Texas and Tennessee. Sometimes he travels to raise money; other times he's cashing in political IOUs; on other occasions he goes because states want to hear how he took on Wisconsin's public employee unions.

Related articles:  

Walker raises $3.5 million in first half of 2013.  (Wispolitics, 7/23/2013)

Scott Walker’s Luxe Life on the Road.  (Milwaukee Shepherd Express, 7/25/2013).   Excerpts from his 1,695-page campaign finance report.

*Found at GoodReads:  "Quotes About Hubris".  Pick your own favorite!

Oshkosh, Your Library Love is Like a See-Saw (Circulation Edition)

Source:  Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Digital media accelerating 10-year decline in local library usage.  (Oshkosh Northwestern, 7/25/2013)

Excerpt 1: A 10-year decline in the number of people using the Oshkosh Public Library has accelerated following the emergence of tablet computers three years ago, yet survey data indicates most people still highly value library services. Local library use is falling by nearly every measure, from the number of registered card holders to annual circulation, Internet users and visitor counts, according to an Oshkosh Northwestern Media analysis of preliminary 2012 data and 10-year trend figures compiled by the state Department of Public Instruction.

Source:  Wisconsin Public Library Service Data

Excerpt 2:  Oshkosh library circulation has fallen an average of 3 percent per year since the iPad first hit store shelves in early 2010. Before that, circulation had been inching downward at an average rate of less than one percent per year between 2003 and 2009.

RG comment:  As the column graph and table indicate, Oshkosh's year-by-year circulation hasn't so much been inching downward as it's been see-sawing.

Up in 2003.

Down in 2004.

Up in 2005.

Down in 2006.

Up in 2007.

Down in 2008.

Up in 2009.

Down -- considerably, abruptly, anomalously down -- in 2010, which reporter Adam Rodewald seems to attribute to the introduction of the iPad.  It's possible, but I'd feel better if I saw the smoking gun.

But then how do we explain.....

Up in 2011.

Down in 2012.

The overall decline in circulation is 8.7%, an average rate of less than 1% per year, which represents a 10-year decrease of 99,788.  In 2010, circulation dropped 110,582 from the previous year.

Oshkosh, your library love is like a see-saw.



Library circulation is up 2% since 2010.

Which doesn't include the "circulation" of e-resources.

U.S. Census Bureau: Computer and Internet Use in the United States (Population Characteristics)

Link to report

According to this graph, the percentage of households with a computer dropped in 2011.

The digital divide between Hispanics and Blacks on the one side and Non-Hispanic Whites and Asians on the other increased in 2011.

RG adds a couple of graphs of his own.

Rep. Chris Taylor, Sen. Dave Hansen Introduce Citizens United Advisory Referendum

News release

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Headline News: Just Ryan Braun?

New Orleans Times Picayune

Baseball Players Accused Of Using Performance-Enhancing Drugs

Yes, folks, we certainly have come a long way, haven't we?

Anti-Semites Come Out From Under Their Rocks In Wake Of Ryan Braun Suspension.  (Sports Grid, 7/24/2013)

The 10 Most Anti-Semitic Reactions To The Ryan Braun Suspension On Twitter.  (Huffington Post, 7/22/2013)

Now That's What I Call Bipartisanship (It Might As Well Rain Until Mid-August)

This bill allows school districts to schedule the start of classes prior to September 1.

The old argument,  keeping Wisconsin students working through Labor Day, seems to have lost traction.

Which begs the question.

When was the last time the major players in the Wisconsin tourism industry depended heavily on an employee pool of Wisconsin students?

Wisconsin Dells resort operators say immigration bill would hit them hard.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 6/2/2013)

Excerpt: The Summer Work Travel Program, which brings in students under the J-1 visa, is a cultural exchange program administered by the U.S. Department of State. It already provides lots of protections for the 2,000 or so college students who come to Wisconsin each year to work three or four months in the tourist industry Read more:

We gotta change the lyrics, Carole.

Creating a Future: Indianapolis Public Library Begins Strategic Planning Process

How the library is changing.

"Today's libraries are not just about books, but about readers....."

Ready to Read

Indiana Authors Awards,

a program of the Indianapolis Public Library Foundation

"Today's libraries are not just about information, but about accessing it and sharing it...."

The Learning Curve

As I Recall Storytelling Guild

"Today's libraries are not just about quiet contemplation, but about active groups sharing...."

Community forums

Itty Bitty Bookmobile

"Today's libraries are not just about bricks and mortar, but about online service and the digital journey...."

eBook Tinker Station

"Today's libraries are not just about who walks through our doors, but about developing whole community ownership....."

"Today's libraries are about exploration, transition, planning, optimism, and opportunities...."

April Jaure (and Many Others) Buy into ABC Meme

Comment on Bellin buying clinic, ending abortions (Fox11, 7/23/2013)

The link is to this Christian News Wire story

Which is all over the Internet so assurement it much be true.

lots lots more

National Cancer Institute Fact Sheet:  Abortion, Miscarriage, and Breast Cancer Risk

Background
The relationship between induced and spontaneous abortion and breast cancer risk has been the subject of extensive research beginning in the late 1950s. . 

The newer studies consistently showed no association between induced and spontaneous abortions and breast cancer risk.

Important Information About Breast Cancer Risk Factors
At present, the factors known to increase a woman’s chance of developing breast cancer include 

• age (a woman’s chances of getting breast cancer increase as she gets older), 
• a family history of breast cancer, 
• an early age at first menstrual period, 
• a late age at menopause
• a late age at the time of birth of her first full-term baby,

American Cancer Society:  Is Abortion linked to breast cancer?  

In a word, no.

Outline of what is covered on this webpage

• Why is it hard to talk about abortion and breast cancer?
• How do hormones affect the breasts?
• Does abortion affect hormones during pregnancy?
• Research on abortion and breast cancer
• Research study problems
• Research study design
• Results from major prospective studies
• What do the experts say?
• Conclusion
• References

Following the Money from Jeff Mason to Scott Walker

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Follow the Money

 

Bellin buying clinic, ending abortions. (Fox11, 7/23/2013)

Excerpt:   Jeff Mason is the former Chief Executive Officer of BayCare Clinics in Northeast WIsconsin. Now a medical consultant he says Bellin's acquiring of Ob-Gyn Associates is a good business move.

"I think the service of abortion is an inflammatory one that causes a lot of emotion and negative branding and I don't believe any healthcare provider is well served by being in that business," said Mason

Cruz-Mania Infects the Republican Base

And I'm going with Merriam-Webster sense 2a: excessive or unreasonable enthusiasm.



Are Republicans already dissatisfied with their 2016 field?  (Washington Examiner, 7/21/2013)

Excerpt: By all accounts, Ted Cruz, a man who has been in the Senate for all of seven months and was virtually unknown on the national scene just a year ago, dazzled Republicans during a weekend visit to Iowa. That was due first, of course, to Cruz’s considerable appeal as a politician. But the intensity of Cruz-mania could also reflect an emerging Republican unhappiness with the party’s 2016 presidential field.

Shades of Akin and Mourdock on the national level.

Is Ted Cruz eligible under the Constitution to become president?

"Chock full o'Nuts is that heavenly coffee......"

Page Morton Black, Who Sang Heavenly Jingle, Dies at 97.   (The New York Times, 7/22/2013)

Excerpt:    Page Morton Black, the cabaret singer whose sprightly rendition of that song in radio and television ads was indelibly engraved on New Yorkers’ brains at midcentury [not enough to earn her own entry in Wikipedia, though she is mentioned in the Chock Full o' Nuts entry], died on Sunday at her home in the Premium Point enclave of New Rochelle, N.Y.

Premium Point indeed!  (I don't claim that this is Ms. Black's home, but I'm sure it was in the same premium range.)



Chock full o' Nuts website.  

• "New York's coffee since 1932."
• "100% coffee.  No nuts."

Ms.  Black also served as Chairman of the Board of the Parkinson's Disease Foundation.

Good Advice: Keep Your Car Doors Locked

Middleton Police Department

And your valuables out of sight.

Dumb Criminals: Bank Robber Edition

From the Middleton Police Department report for June 2013

Highlight added

Police: Evidence including tattoos link 30-year-old to bank robbery. (Channel 3000, 6/29/2013)

Excerpt:   Police declined to specify the type of evidence that had allegedly linked Kallas to the robbery through the state crime lab. (I guess they saved it for the monthly report.)

However, Capt. Charles Foulke said investigators were able to use surveillance photos and pictures from Facebook to link tattoos Kallas has with tattoos on the bank robber.

Side by Side: Wisconsin's Ashland and Iron Counties

Dividing line: A tale of two WI counties in the shadow of mining. (Wisconsin Reporter, 7/22/2013)

Excerpt:   Hurley, Wisc., in the heart of the state’s mining region (and the county seat of Iron County), like the idea of mining jobs in their region. Their neighbors in Ashland County aren’t that excited about the prospects.

The populations of both counties peaked in 1920.

Economic impact of tourism (Source:  Wisconsin Department of Tourism)

Source:  U.S. Census Bureau:  

Related post: 
In the news: Bulletproof Securities. (7/11/2013)

Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Pledge: Following the Money

State pledges $300,000 to support BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/22/2013)

Excerpt: BrightStar also plans to provide WEDC with information about the investments it makes, said Tom Shannon, who has committed to run the foundation for three years for free. But the foundation hopes to expand beyond the required information and develop indexes to show how well it is performing, he added. One such index might be some sort of "job power index," Shannon said.

BrightStar Wisconsin Foundation to invest donations in startups. (The Business Journal, 7/10/2013)

Excerpt: Tom Shannon, a veteran early-stage investor who was CEO of Waukesha-based Prodesse Inc. until its 2009 acquisition by global biotechnology company Gen-Probe Inc. for $72 million, will lead the foundation as a volunteer.

Another angel among BrightStar co-founders.

Related posts:
Incompetence rewarded.  (5/9/2013)
And while we're at it, let's take a look at WEDC 's core values. (5/9/2013)
WEDC Public Information Officer Resigns After 1 Month on the Job.  (5/9/2013)
Plenty of time for messaging but none for fixing what ails WEDC.  (5/9/2013)
Previous WEDC audits?  What previous audits?  (5/8/2013)
Are you seeing a trend yet?  (5/8/2013)
Echoes.  (5/7/2013)
Get me rewrite.  (5/4/2013)
Legislative Audit Bureau Report on Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation: The "Cliff Notes" Version.  (5/3/2013
"Tales of woe never end at WEDC."  (4/25/2013)
Enterprise Florida and Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation share a lack of transparency.  (2/28/2013)
Work to do, words yet to live by.  (12/27/2012)

Word of the Day: Jokulhlaup

Alaska Looks for Answers in Glacier’s Summer Flood Surges. (The New York Times, 7/22/2013)

Excerpt: The idea that glaciers change at a glacial speed is increasingly false. They are melting and retreating rapidly all over the world. But the unpredictable flood surges at the Mendenhall Glacier, about 14 miles from downtown Juneau, Alaska’s capital, are turning a jog into a sprint as global temperatures and climate variability increase.

And in related news.

"The Alaskan Glaciers:  Forvever"  (or so videogeorgei thinks.)

In my experience, standing-room only at a board or council or association membership meeting means that a lot of people are pissed -- really, really pissed!

OK.   Maybe not this pissed.

 

Letter to the Editor:   Citizens must take part in democracy.   (News-Gazette, 7/22/2013)

Excerpt:   Vigorous public input and grass-roots community involvement brought rapid change at the Urbana Free Library. Regardless of how you feel about the changes, they are a prime example of how an involved community can affect real change. The past two board meetings were standing room only. Bravo to so many citizens for taking an active role in this community.

Well articulated and all true.   In most cases, unfortunately, it tends to be a recipe for a reactive instead of a proactive response.

We'll look in occasionally to see if people remain engaged.

Related posts: 
Urbana resident offers succinct performance evaluation of departing library director.   (7/19/2013)
News-Gazette editorial board on the Urbana Free Library "brouhaha": "Food fight over library personalities"?  (7/15/2013)
More from the Urbana Free Library.  (7/13/2013)
A song to mom to accompany a letter about mom.  (7/10/2013)
Urbana Free Library Board to Library Director Deb Lissak: Go your own way   (7/10/2013)
Urbana Free Library board member speaks out on weeding controversy.  (7/8/2013) 
The Urbana Free Library and a "dissonant rate of discard versus retention"  (7/3/2013)
Urbana Free Library holds special board meeting on June 19th.  (6/24/2013)
University of Illinois GSLIS faculty member advocates for televised library board meetings. / (6/24/2013)
Wondering about the "weeding" "misstep" at the Urbana Free Library.  (6/18/2013)

LIke everything else, it seems, the Parade Sunday supplement is shrinking in size

Now measuring 8 1/2" by 9 1/4".

According to Wikipedia, Parade is an American nationwide Sunday newspaper magazine, distributed in more than 640 newspapers in the United States. It was founded in 1941 and is owned by Advance Publications. The most widely read magazine in the U.S., Parade has a circulation of 32.5 million and a readership of nearly 60 million.

Which makes it, in my estimation, the least influential magazine of all time.

I see Walter Scott's Personality Parade is still on page 2, which, in my youth, was on a list of required Sunday morning reading.

• comics
• sports
• Parade

Parade is online.

History of Parade.

Will Republican Leadership in Wisconsin Fail to Support Redistricting Reform?

I hate to be cynical, but...

.

Our View: A plan to force politicians to listen to all the voters. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/20/2013)

Excerpt:    Politicians should not be allowed to pick their own voters in Wisconsin any longer. Assembly Bill 185 and Senate Bill 163 would see that they don't. They deserve passage. A fair number of legislators already have signed on. We urge the Republican leadership to find a way to support this important reform.

Will it surprise you to learn that 47 Democrats and 1 Republican have signed on as co-sponsors?

And why should Republicans want to turn off this spigot?

Here's how Assembly District 37 fits into the state map.

57 miles east/west, which allowed Republicans to shift the northeastern corner of Dane County into a solidly red district.

Related posts:
The Redistricting Weasels Sing a Chorus of "Because I said so!!"  (5/16/2013)
Common Cause in Wisconsin asks, "Do your state legislators support non-partisan redistricting reform?"  (5/14/2013)
A trio of non-responses in this redistricting story.  (4/22/2013) 

Actually, Robin, Your Riposte is Patently Absurd.  (12/30/2012) 

Expect a Frigid Reception from Wisconsin Republicans to This Redistricting Bill.  (12/7/2012)
Close, but no cigar, in this Republican redistricting effort to steal an Assembly seat.  (11/20/2012)
Redistricting in Wisconsin:  The plumber controls the spigot.  (11/15/2012)
Eric Litke can't see the forest for the trees.  (11/12/2012)
Robin Vos and religious imagery.  (10/15/2012)
The faces of gerrymandering.  (10/9/2012)
What it's all about in Wisconsin.  (8/1/2012)
Who's running for state office in Wisconsin:  31st Assembly District.  (7/4/2012)
Not anymore!  (2/7/2012)
Redistricting in Wisconsin:  the Basics.  (12/6/2011)
Define "judicial activism".  (12/3/2011)
More headaches but this time Sen. Lazich has the cure.  (10/27/2011)
Legislative redistricting in Wisconsin, part 2.  (10/24/2011)
Legislative redistricting in Wisconsin,  part 1.  (10/18/2011)
Legislative Reference Bureau legislative brief:  Local redistricting readjustment.  (9/6/2011)
Let's call this bill exactly what it is:  an unfunded mandate.  (7/21/2011)
Wisconsin redistricting plan popeils DeForest, Windsor.  (7/21/2011)
Fred Clark gets redrawn out of  his district?  Just a coincidence, of course.  (7/21/2011)
Oshkosh Northwestern editorial board tells it like it is.  (7/29/2011)
Wisconsin legislative redistricting:  Abandoned principles, interactive maps, bill text, and more. (7/13/2011)
Congressional redistricting in Wisconsin.  (6/19/2011)

Wisconsin Assembly Bill 257: Exemption from civil liability for electric service providers.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign Follow the Money

At Issue: Bill seeks to limit lawsuits against electric companies. (Wisconsin State Journal, 7/21/2013)

Excerpt:  

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Wisconsin Farmers Union

More Roundabout Pandering, Lack of Leadership, This Time from Rep. Gary Bies

News release

"This legislation will give them an opportunity to express their thoughts to their local government."

Sadly, this is an elected official speaking.

Gary, here's how it works.

Sturgeon Bay residents can contact their local elected officials, i.e., the Mayor and members of  the Sturgeon Bay City Council.

• Thad Birmingham, Mayor (746-9688)
• Dan Wiegand, District 1 (559-1702)
• Ron Vandertie, District 2 (493-0017)
• Ed Ireland, District 3 (743-4761)
• Rick Wiesner, District 4 (559-2836)
• Joe Stutting, District 5 (495-8300)
• Stewart R. Fett, District 6 (743-5011)
• Bob Schlicht, District 6 (746-0777)

They can email the city.  They can even email Dan directly.  (But not the mayor and the rest of the council.  Come on, Sturgeon Bay, it's the 21st century.)

They can attend a council meeting and express their opinions during the "Public comment on non-agenda items" portion of the meeting.

No additional legislation is required.

Oh, and by the way, where does most of the funding for these road projects come from?

I suspect these open house meetings are like Groundhog Day for Tony Kemnitz and other DOT staff.

Public grills DOT over roundabout plans.  Intersection of change has been hot spot for crashes. (Stevens Point Journal, 7/10/2013)

Excerpt:     DOT traffic safety engineer Tony Kemnitz said 49,000 intersection crashes happen in Wisconsin every year with 39 percent of all crashes reported happen in an intersection, 26 percent of all fatalities from crashes occur in an intersection and 52 percent of injuries from crashes occur in an intersection.

Related post:
In the News: Rep. David Craig and his Pavlovian reflex to roundabouts.  (7/17/2013) 

Once Upon a Time Books on Homosexuality were Locked Up at the Library

If staff even bothered to purchase them in the first place.



Gay pride celebrations to include decades of history in Rochester.  (Rochester Democrat and Chronicle, 7/18/2013)

Excerpt:    In high school, Sandy Maddicks, now 73, went to the library to look up homosexuality. She handed the librarian the numbers of the books she was looking for. 

“She told me, ‘I’m sorry, those books are locked up,’ ” she said. “Where do you go? It really wasn’t spoken about.” 

A lot has changed over Maddicks’ lifetime. And as the Rochester lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community prepares to celebrate gay pride this weekend, a special emphasis is being placed on examining that change.

Monroe County Library System