Retiring Guy's Digest: 2015-08-30

Saturday, September 5, 2015

Not likely to gain this landscaping business more customers

Photo by Retiring Guy

My weekend in photos

Vicious guard dogs.

Beer.

Shut box.

Fog.

Porta-potties.

Flip-flop with embedded bottle opener.

The inauthentic, inarticulate Scott Walker

Strike ~~unintimidated~~ from your vocabulary.

As quoted in Insiders: Scott Walker the biggest loser of the summer . (Politico, 9/4/2015)

Scott Walker completes his Florida flop

And Marco Rubio, it appears, is scheduled to be our next performer.

Source: Real Clear Politics

The rest of the behinders in the Sept 2 Florida Times-Union poll:

3% - Ted Cruz, John Kasich
2% - Mike Huckabee, Chris Christie
1% - Bobby Jindal (sez 'welcome to the club, Scott Walker')
0% - Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Lindsey Graham

Poll: Hillary Clinton, Donald Trump lead in Florida. (Savannah Morning News, 9/4/2015)

“Trump’s strongest support by far comes from the youngest of voters (age 18-29). But he also seems to be strong with those aged 45-64, a potent segment of Florida GOP primary voters,” said veteran pollster and Republican operative Matt Towery. “Carson has a big lead among the 30-44 age group. That’s a segment that tends to be most active with schools and community issues related to their children.

Scott Walker fades to insignificance in Georgia

From 13% in May to 2% now.

Source: Real Clear Politics

The other behinders in the Sept. 1-2 FOX 5/Morris News poll:

3% - John Kasich
2% - Marco Rubio, Chris Christie
0% - Rand Paul, Rick Perry, Bobby Jindal, Lindsey Graham

Trump, Clinton still lead in Georgia, but leads are shrinking, poll shows. (Florida Times-Union, 9/3/2015)

Friday, September 4, 2015

Will Scott Walker's Presidential campaign survive until then?

October 31, 2015

Republican Party of Iowa

7 GOP candidates confirmed for Halloween event in Iowa. (Des Moines Register, 9/3/2015)

Photo credit: Wikipedia

More campaign news from Iowa:
I gotta tell ya, Jamie, Rick Perry is nowhere near the battlefield. (9/2/2015)
Rick Santorum's quixotic quest for an Iowa caucus victory. (9/2/2015)
Dear Jeff, You might want to talk with Luther Olsen about Scott Walker. (8/22/2015)
The Iowa bloom is definitely off the Walker rose. (8/13/2015)
Dear Kathie Obradovich, the Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal study halls are over. (8/11/2015)
Jeb Bush joins the "Behinders" in latest Iowa poll. (8/11/2015)
Once again, Trump bests Walker in Iowa. (8/10/2015)
Donald Trump leapfrogs over Scott Walker to take huge lead in Iowa. (8/3/2015)
Donald Trump threatens Scott Walker's lead in Iowa. (7/27/2015)
Scott Walker treads water in Iowa Republican presidential caucus polls. (7/11/2015)
Donald Trump places 2nd, behind Scott Walker, in latest Iowa Republican caucus poll. (7/1/2015)
Scott Walker maintains lead in Iowa Republican presidential caucus polling. (6/15/2015)
Likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers are still groovin' on Scott Walker -- but not nearly as much as they were in February. (6/4/2015)
Scott Walker finishes 1st in latest Iowa poll, but his best numbers are more than 3 months behind him. (5/31/2015)
Rick Santorum: You ain't goin' nowhere in this presidential race. (5/28/2015)
Kristina, 27, like the idea of Donald Trump running for President. (5/23/2015)
Will the results of the August 2015 Iowa straw poll embarrass Republicans again? (5/21/2015)
The Iowa straw poll, a slow death by many small cuts. (5/21/2015)
Dreamboat Dixie channels Heart. (5/17/2015)
Hey, Tanya, if you like Carly Fiorina, you'll love Scott Walker. (5/17/2015)
Walt Rogers hitches his star to a political flameout. (5/17/2015)
This Saturday, Republican presidential "wannabes" descend on Des Moines for "the fourth major, multi-candidate cattle call of the caucus campaign". (5/14/2015)
Jeb hurts Iowans' feelings. (5/13/2015)
Pandering to social conservatives, Scott Walker and his buddies continue to box themselves into a corner. (4/26/2015)
Let the intramural sniping begin. (4/26/2015)
Reporter shares his sharp, blunt, candid assessment. (4/26/2015)
'Veteran Republican Strategist' sez goodbye to Scott Walker the day after 'hello'. (3/18/2015)
Clothes make the man: The Iowa Caucus edition. (3/18/2015)
Liz Mair stars in Scott Walker's 'Les Miz'. (3/17/2015)
Motor runnin', Scott Walker gives a shout-out to these Iowa communities. (3/9/2015)
Scott Walker serves up a helping of red meat to audience at Iowa Agriculture Summit. (3/8/2015)
The insignificance of the Iowa caucus. (3/7/2015)
Scott Walker is already booked, naturally, for the last weekend in April. (3/3/2015)
Quinnipiac poll: Scott Walker is the Tea Party favorite among likely caucus-goers in Iowa. (2/26/2015)
Mike Huckabee retakes Iowa lead, Walker falls to 3rd in NBC News/Marist poll. (2/17/2015)

Wondering, Wisconsin, if this is part of the 'Meet the New Boss' rollout

Will Scott Walker feel the need to lick his wounds in private?

Photo credit: State of Wisconsin

As quoted in Lt. Governor Kleefisch to lead trade mission to Japan and Taiwan. (Madison.com, 9/3/2015)

Related reading:
Governor Kleefisch? (Wisconsin Gazette, 5/7/2015)

While getting seriously undone in the process

As Scott Walker goes presidential, Rebecca Kleefisch is emerging from the shadows of an administration that didn’t want her.

Thursday, September 3, 2015

In his latest campaign ad, Scott Walker shows off his divide-and-conquer bona fides

Pro-Scott Walker PAC highlights Act 10 protests in new ad. (Capital Times, 9/3/2015)

$7,000,000 in Iowa
$9,000,000 in Nevada, New Hampshire, and (mostly) South Carolina

The professionally slick, fairy-tale voice-over

Madison, Wisconsin, 2011.

Big government union activists lead thousands of liberal activists in protest against Scott Walker's bold reforms.

They storm the capitol, threaten safety, even try to recall him.*

But Scott Walker never backs down.

To eliminate a huge $3.6 billion deficit, he takes decisive action. The results: a billion dollar surplus, $2 billion in tax relief, the unemployment rate cut nearly in half.

And Walker forces unions to pay their fair share of benefits -- just like everyone else does**.

Time after time, Scott Walker fights and wins.

"Our big, bold reforms here in Wisconsin took the power out of the hands of the big government special interests and put them firmly into the hands of the hard-working taxpayers. Now more than ever, America needs a President who will fight and win for America!"

*All in a day's work, of course.

**Employer-provided retirementbenefits were available to 31 percent of private industry workers in the lowest wage category.

Scott Walker: Party like it's 2011!

And CNN calls itself a news organization!

6 polls in 26 days. A paucity?

Not at all. Carly Fiorina moves from a 1% polling average before the August 6th debate, placing her outside of the top 10, to 5.4% today, good enough for 7th place.

And now she's just 0.2 percentage points behind the fading, though fresh-faced Scott Walker.

Source: Real Clear Politics

CNN Alters Debate Criteria, Which Could Help Carly Fiorina. (The New York Times, 9/1/2015)

The previous criteria would have given more weight to polls taken before the first debate on August 6.

In a statement, CNN said it was changing the original criteria because of a paucity of new national polls being taken between the Republicans’ first presidential debate and the planned September debate. [emphasis added]

In effect, the old formula would have heavily weighted polls taken in July and early August, before Donald J. Trump had begun to dominate the field and when establishment candidates like Jeb Bush and Gov. Scott Walker of Wisconsin were in significantly better shape.

Fiorina's team had every right to be pissed.

Scott Walker slides to 3% in latest national poll; has 8th place all to himself

Scott Walker is off the chart -- as in the bottom just fell out.

Scott Walker joins the kids' table, i.e., the Behinders in the 8/31-9/2 Monmouth University poll:

3% - Scott Walker
2% - John Kasich, Chris Christie, Rand Paul
1% - Rick Perry
0% - Rick Santorum, Bobby Jindal, George Pataki

Other stuff

The poll finds "Scott Walker fading into the background"
In hypothetical, one-on-one match-ups between the Republican candidates, Ben Carson is the only one who beats Donald Trump.

After Donald Trump wreaks havoc on Scott Walker's campaign, Walker decides this would be fun to do elsewhere

As quoted in Scott Walker opens Texas swing promising to 'wreak havoc on Washington’. (My Statesman, 9/2/2015)

In between, the Wisconsin governor was holding a series of private meetings in Texas. His staff didn’t specify with whom, but presumably they included past and potential future donors.

Thomas Masterson (1923-2015) Warren High School Class of 1941

Warren Times Observer

1941 Dragon yearbook

Thomas's high-school activities

Latin Club (1, 2); Science Club (4); Carnival (3).

'Thomas' enjoyed a run of 36 years, from 1931 until 1966, in the top 10.

Other members of the class of 1941:
Autumn Ettinger Doherty. (2/20/2015)
Elizabeth 'Betty' Schearer Wilson. (1/23/2015)
Imogene Morris McDaniel Schall. (1/20/2015)
Rowena Farnsworth Littrell. (10/22/2014)
Doris Look See. (8/5/2014)
Elizabeth 'Betty Jean' Peterson Johnson. (12/27/2013)
Frieda Dahler Mansfield. (12/18/2013)
Margaret Bathhurst Gilson. (12/16/2013)

Scott Walker in Texas: Still 'not intimidated'

The blinding blueness of Wisconsin

Wisconsin State Assembly

Wisconsin State Senate

Headline news: Yet another example of Scott Walker's inconsistent messaging

That was then. (August 8, 2015)

HuffPost Politics

"One, I think in general if anyone focuses on racial discord we’re going to get more," Walker said in a video posted by Democratic opposition research firm American Bridge. "If we focus on unity we’re going to get more of that. The families of the massacre in Charleston showed us the way."

This is now. (September 2, 2015)

Hot Air, 9/2/2015
An op-ed piece that has a thread of racial discord running through it

After years of division under President Obama, America needs a leader who will seek to unite all Americans. Instead of focusing on what divides us, we need to concentrate on what brings us together. No law enforcement officer should fear to do their job the way he or she was trained to do it, and no law-abiding citizen should fear for their safety from those sworn to protect us.

Related post:
Scott Walker opens the door for a look at his own record on racial unity. (9/3/2015)

Scott Walker opens the door for a look at his own record on racial unity

Madison.com, 9/3/2015

As quoted in the Madison.com article

As far as I can tell, the use of 'fried like bacon' took place 2 days ago at a Black Lives Matter demonstration at the Minnesota State Fair. Walker is using this incident for 'maneuvering' purposes only. He need to regain the support of self-identified 'very conservative' Republican primary voters.

To be sure, Scott Walker doesn't address his own record on the issues of race in a 9/2/2015 Hot Air op-ed piece.

Photo credit: LinkedIn

As quoted in Scott Walker's False Promise of Racial Unity. (The Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 8/17/2015)

A study released earlier this year found that Wisconsin has the country's highest black-white gap in terms of income, employment, health, incarceration, and education--problems that have grown worse during Walker's 25 year tenure as an elected official, and some of which can be directly tied to policies he promoted.

Wednesday, September 2, 2015

I gotta tell ya, Jamie, Rick Perry is nowhere near the battlefield

Photo credit: LinikedIn

As quoted in Defection of Perry Aide to Trump Camp Has Iowans Fearing for Image. (The New York Times, 8/30/2015)

See for yourself.

A setback for Jeff Scott's "next-generation" library services

Source: Jeff Scott letter to Timberland Regional Library Staff & Commmunity

Jeff Scott resigns as Berkeley library director. (Berkeleyside, 8/31/2015)

Scott’s abrupt departure comes in the wake of a controversy over the weeding of books at Berkeley’s central library, which has put the library director on the defensive over the past few weeks. Criticism centered on his management style and his perceived honesty.

“It is with a heavy heart that I tender my resignation as the Director of Library Services of the Berkeley Public Library. I have enjoyed my work here at the library and I am proud of what we have been able to accomplish,” Scott said in a prepared statement.

Don't expect these weeding brouhahas to fade away anytime soon.

Here's what I suspect, although I have no scientific evidence to back it up.

Libraries where weeding is an integral part of collection development, a key task done on an ongoing basis rather than in periodic fits and starts, are able to avoid controversy. Weeding becomes a seamless process as a result.

Related post:
Sounds to me as though Jeff Scott's initial tally of 2,274 weeded books falls well outside the bounds of "an honest mistake". (8/14/2015)

Rick Santorum's quixotic quest for an Iowa caucus victory

A flatlining campaign

Source: Real Clear Politics

Santorum is first to all 99 counties. (Des Moines Register, 9/1/2015)

Not only certain, but assured, doubtless.

Rick Santorum is the first presidential candidate this election cycle to campaign in all 99 Iowa counties, but it’s certainly no guarantee he will win the 2016 Iowa Republican Party caucuses.

More campaign news from Iowa:
Dear Jeff, You might want to talk with Luther Olsen about Scott Walker. (8/22/2015)
The Iowa bloom is definitely off the Walker rose. (8/13/2015)
Dear Kathie Obradovich, the Rick Perry and Bobby Jindal study halls are over. (8/11/2015)
Jeb Bush joins the "Behinders" in latest Iowa poll. (8/11/2015)
Once again, Trump bests Walker in Iowa. (8/10/2015)
Donald Trump leapfrogs over Scott Walker to take huge lead in Iowa. (8/3/2015)
Donald Trump threatens Scott Walker's lead in Iowa. (7/27/2015)
Scott Walker treads water in Iowa Republican presidential caucus polls. (7/11/2015)
Donald Trump places 2nd, behind Scott Walker, in latest Iowa Republican caucus poll. (7/1/2015)
Scott Walker maintains lead in Iowa Republican presidential caucus polling. (6/15/2015)
Likely Iowa Republican caucus-goers are still groovin' on Scott Walker -- but not nearly as much as they were in February. (6/4/2015)
Scott Walker finishes 1st in latest Iowa poll, but his best numbers are more than 3 months behind him. (5/31/2015)
Rick Santorum: You ain't goin' nowhere in this presidential race. (5/28/2015)
Kristina, 27, like the idea of Donald Trump running for President. (5/23/2015)
Will the results of the August 2015 Iowa straw poll embarrass Republicans again? (5/21/2015)
The Iowa straw poll, a slow death by many small cuts. (5/21/2015)
Dreamboat Dixie channels Heart. (5/17/2015)
Hey, Tanya, if you like Carly Fiorina, you'll love Scott Walker. (5/17/2015)
Walt Rogers hitches his star to a political flameout. (5/17/2015)
This Saturday, Republican presidential "wannabes" descend on Des Moines for "the fourth major, multi-candidate cattle call of the caucus campaign". (5/14/2015)
Jeb hurts Iowans' feelings. (5/13/2015)
Pandering to social conservatives, Scott Walker and his buddies continue to box themselves into a corner. (4/26/2015)
Let the intramural sniping begin. (4/26/2015)
Reporter shares his sharp, blunt, candid assessment. (4/26/2015)
'Veteran Republican Strategist' sez goodbye to Scott Walker the day after 'hello'. (3/18/2015)
Clothes make the man: The Iowa Caucus edition. (3/18/2015)
Liz Mair stars in Scott Walker's 'Les Miz'. (3/17/2015)
Motor runnin', Scott Walker gives a shout-out to these Iowa communities. (3/9/2015)
Scott Walker serves up a helping of red meat to audience at Iowa Agriculture Summit. (3/8/2015)
The insignificance of the Iowa caucus. (3/7/2015)
Scott Walker is already booked, naturally, for the last weekend in April. (3/3/2015)
Quinnipiac poll: Scott Walker is the Tea Party favorite among likely caucus-goers in Iowa. (2/26/2015)
Mike Huckabee retakes Iowa lead, Walker falls to 3rd in NBC News/Marist poll. (2/17/2015)

100 Years of Frank Sinatra: "Guys and Dolls"

The film version of "Guys and Dolls", in which the 3rd-billed Sinatra co-stars with Marlon Brando and Jean Simmons, premiered in New York City on November 3, 1955. The Broadway musical, starring Robert Alda (Alan's dad) and Sam Levene, opened at the 46th Street Theater on November 24, 1950, and ran for 3 years, with a total of 1200 performances.

The play won the 1951 Tony as Best Musical, as well as...

Best Actor (Musical), Robert Alda
Best Actress, Supporting or Features (Musical), Isabel Bigley
Choreographer, Michael Kidd
Director, George S. Kaufman

The movie received 4 Academy Award nominations but no Oscars.

Best cinematography, color
Best art direction, set direction. color
Best costume design, color
Best music, scoring of a motion picture.

Here's a little doll.

Other Frank Sinatra 100 posts:
"Our Love". (2/14/2015)
"I'll Never Smile Again". (2/15/2015)
"Fools Rush In". (2/16/2015)
"Dolores". (2/17/2015)
"Oh Look At Me Now". (2/18/2015)
"This Love of Mine". (2/20/2015)
"There Are Such Things." (2/24/2015)
"Night and Day". (2/26/2015)
"The Night We Called It a Day". (2/27/2015)
Paramount Theater, December 30, 1942. (3/2/2015)
Reveille with Beverly. (3/4/2015)
"You'll Never Know". (3/7/2015)
Higher and Higher. (3/8/2015)
"People Will Say We're in Love". (3/10/2015)
The Shining Future. (3/17/2015)
"I Couldn't Sleep a Wink Last Night". (3/19/2015)
Step Lively. (3/20/2015) .
"Saturday Night (is the Loneliest Night of the Week)". (3/21/2015)
"You'll Never Walk Alone". (3/23/2015)
"Oh What It Seemed to Be". (3/24/2015)
Anchors Aweigh. (3/26/2015)
"Day by Day". 3/27/2015)
Till the Clouds Roll By. (3/29/2015)
"Always". (3/30/2015)
It Happened in Brooklyn. (3/31/2015)
"I've Got a Crush on You". (4/3/2015)
"Have Yourself a Merry Little Christmas". (4/5/2015)
"It Only Happens When I Dance With You". (4/7/2015)
The Miracle of the Bells. (4/9/2015)
The birth of Tina. (4/11/2015)
The Kissing Bandit. (4/16/2015)
"Some Enchanted Evening." (4/19/2015)
Take Me Out to the Ball Game. (4/22/2015)
"The Huckle Buck." (4/24/2015)
On the Town. (4/28/2015)
A blowup in Houston. (4/30/2015)
1st television appearance. (5/3/2015)
"The Frank Sinatra Show". (5/5/2015)
"I'm a Fool to Want You". (5/7/2015)
"Mama Will Bark". (5/10/2015)
Double Dynamite. (5/13/2015)
Frank and Ava get married. (5/15/2015)
Meet Danny Wilson. (5/19/2015)
"I Could Write a Book". (5/24/2015)
His Final Recording for Columbia Records, "Why Try to Change Me Now?" (5/28/2015)
A new musical era with Capital Records. (6/2/2015)
Filming begins on From Here to Eternity. (6/15/2015)
"I've Got the World on a String". (6/20/2015)
"Young at Heart". (6/21/2015)
Songs for Young Lovers. (6/22/2015)
Best supporting actor Oscar. (6/28/2015)
Swing Easy. (7/4/2015)
Suddenly. (7/10/2015)
"Three Coins in the Fountain". (7/16/2015)
Young at Heart (the movie). (7/26/2015)
"Learnin' the Blues". (8/5/2015)
Songs for Swingin' Lovers. (8/12/2015)
Not as a Stranger. (8/17/2015)
"Same Old Saturday Night". (8/24/2015)
"Love and Marriage". (8/28/2015)

Scott Walker gives a big shout-out to a very stagnant James Sensenbrenner

Photo credit; U.S. House of Representatives

As quoted in 10 Questions with Scott Walker. (CNBC, 9/1/2015)

Public servant? Career politician. Either way, Scott Walker isn't fooling anyone right about now.

While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 4)

Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (The New York Times, 8/27/2015)

Yet some prolific writers have made a deep impression on the public consciousness. Consider Agatha Christie, arguably the most popular writer of the 20th century, whose entire oeuvre remains in print. She wrote 91 books, 82 under her own name and nine under a nom de plume — Mary Westmacott — or her married name, Agatha Christie Mallowan. [emphasis added]

Plenty from which to choose in LINKcat.

Page 1 of 3

Page 1 of 4

Related reading:
And Then There Were None voted top Agatha Christie novel. (BBC News, 9/1/2015)

The 1939 thriller received 21% of the votes, with Murder on the Orient Express and The Murder of Roger Ackroyd coming second and third respectively.

Fans were asked to choose a favourite to mark the 125th anniversary of Christie's birth on 15 September.

And Then There Were None depicts 10 strangers stranded on an island, all accused of getting away with murder.

Tuesday, September 1, 2015

While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 3)

Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (The New York Times, 8/27/2015)

The same can be said of the prolific, mid-20th-century writer John D. MacDonald. His Travis McGee novels now seem embarrassingly dated, and many of his over 40 stand-alone novels are an indigestible mix of Ernest Hemingway and John O’Hara, but when MacDonald forgot about his literary heroes and wrote strictly for himself, he did striking work. The best of his novels, “The End of the Night” and “The Last One Left,” rise to the level of that shape-shifting beast we call American literature.

King might have a point here. Out of the bibliographic records I viewed, only 2 of 50 copies were checked out.

MacDonald was a hugely popular author during the beginning of my public library career.

Carl Hiaasen begs to differ. He remains a big fan. (....fabulous books to read.)

On the other hand....

JDM Homepage

Related posts:
While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 1). (9/1/2015)
While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 2) (9/1/2015)

While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 2)

Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (The New York Times, 8/27/2015)

The same is true of the British novelist Ursula Bloom (over 500 published works, under many pseudonyms)....

"The same" being an author who has "largely been forgotten".

LINKcat (That's all, folks!)

Dear Ursula,

Truly, no one reads your books anymore. In fact, I confess that I'd forgotten all about you.

Love,
Retiring Guy

Related reading:
Ursula Bloom is Dead at 91; British Author of 560 Books. (The New York Times, 10/31/1984)

Related post:
While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 1). (9/1/2015)

While reading a Stephen King essay in the New York Times (part 1)

Goodreads

Can a Novelist Be Too Productive? (The New York Times, 8/27/2015)

Certainly no one is going to induct the mystery novelist John Creasey, author of 564 novels under 21 different pseudonyms, into the Literary Hall of Heroes; both he and his creations (the Toff, Inspector Roger West, Sexton Blake, etc.) have largely been forgotten.

Most of the LINKcat bibliographic records have a single volume attached to them.

I checked the first dozen records in LINKcat and none of Creasey's books are checked out. I recall his taking up a lot of shelf space in the Oshkosh Public Library's mystery fiction section when I first started working there.

Then and Now: City-County Building, Madison, Wisconsin

Then. (1957)

Postcard from Retiring Guy's collection

Now.

Wisconsin Historical Society: Construction of City-County Building (Photograph, 10/24/1955)

A closer view of the 1956 'Creamsicle Buick' in the postcard photo.

Other Madison Then and Now posts:

Veterans Administration Hospital. (8/27/2015)
The Red Gym: When will the unobstructed view return? ()7/22/2015)
UW-Madison College of Agriculture. (7/22/2015)
Wisconsin State Historical Society. (7/21/2015)
UW-Madison Memorial Union. (7/21/2015)
240 West Gilman. (9/6/2013)
North Carroll Street between West Johnson and West Gorham. (9/5/2013)
East Mifflin & North Pinckney. (8/30/2013)