UPDATE: KATU general manager delivers orders from headquarters to TV station employees

Photo credits:  SVG (Smith), LinkedIn (Truman)

Reported in Sinclair’s Boss Responds to Criticism: ‘You Can’t Be Serious!’  (The New York Times, 4/4/2018)


Original 4/3/2018 post, "When it comes to message delivery, Donald Trump and Scott Livingston are two peas in a pod:  'You just tell them and they believe you'", starts here.

Reported in Sinclair Made Dozens of Local News Anchors Recite the Same Script. (The New York Times, 4/2/2018)




Related reading:
A short history of the right-wing politics of Sinclair Broadcasting.  (Salon, 7/21/2017)

For years Sinclair has been promoting a conservative agenda — now they are firmly team Trump.

Related post:
Blowhard-in-charge UPDATE. Get ready for some major BS in tonight's State of the Union address (The Sinclair Broadcasting $1000 bonus edition).  (1/30/2018)
Juxtaposition: The good news is that fewer people are wathcing local TV news.  (1/6/2018)
Tax Cuts and Jobs Act bonus round at Sinclair Broadcasting, where big payoffs for execs and layoffs for workers are the norm.  (12/25/2017)

UPDATE: Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resource fiddle while farm runoff pollutes the state's waterways

Reported in Failure and a call for patience amid rising farm pollution of state waters.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 4/7/2018)

State legislative leaders [Assembly Speaker Robin Vos?  Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald?] contacted by the Wisconsin State Journal didn’t respond to requests for comment. Gov. Scott Walker’s spokeswoman said the Department of Natural Resources could address the issue for him. 

Original 1/16/2016 post, "In so many words:  Wisconsin DOA mouthpiece Jim Dick sez, 'We're above the law'", starts here.

As quoted in Scott Walker administration won't explain what happened to text messages related to WEDC loan.  (Madison.com, 1/16/2016)

The Public Records Law itself provides penalties if a public official destroys a record after it has been requested, but it remains unclear if or when the DOA text messages were destroyed. Administration spokesman Jim Dick this week declined to provide answers about what happened to the texts the newspaper requested.

Related posts:
Meet the members of the Wisconsin Public Records Board.  (11/11/2015)
Dear Beth, Journalists have a sacred oath to respond to this betrayal of the public trust by Scott Walker.  (12/11/2015)
Danger, Will Robinson! Scott Walker talks about openness, access, and transparency.  (12/8/2015)
Open records and Scott Walker's concerns with constituents' privacy.  (7/5/2015)
Scott Walker does David Bowie.  (7/4/2015)
Open records and Scott Walker's irresolute response.  (7/4/2015) 
When it comes to transparency, ALEC wants to have it both ways.  (7/4/2015)
You have to wonder what dictionary Joint Finance co-chair John Nygren is working from.  (7/3/2015) 
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos's definition of transparency: All the self-serving Republican news releases I see fit to print
Good question, Albert Darling. So why the lack of transparency in Wisconsin? (7/3/2015)

According to Merriam-Webster, the first known use of 'skort' occurred in 1951

As seen at Costco

Photo by Retiring Guy

Source: Merriam-Webster

Great new feature for logophiles!

Selected other words and phrase with a first known use in 1951

• black tie (adj.)
• cargo pants
• colorfast
• ped
• shoe-leather (adj.)
• tennies

Michael Screnock's Wisconsin Supreme Court election drubbing not a resume-builder for Luke Hilgemann

Photo and resume source:  LinkedIn (above and below, withi red arrow added)

Daniel Bice: Key adviser to Supreme Court candidate Michael Screnock soaked up Arizona sun just before election.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/6/2018)

Screnock lost by 12 percentage points to Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet on Tuesday. The general consultant oversees political strategy, including advertising, for a campaign. 

Hilgemann confirmed on Thursday that he spent the week before the election on vacation with his family visiting his parents and sister in a Phoenix suburb. On his Facebook page, he posted pictures of himself golfing and smoking a cigar.

Yikes!

MAGA UPDATE: Florida letter writer yearns for a time in America when women knew their place

 Source:  U.S. Department of Labor blog

Source:  Statista

The Carpenters' 9th top 10 single, "Yesterday Once More" debuted at #79 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending June 2, 1973.  It spent 14 weeks on the chart, 6 of them in the top 10, peaking at #2.



Original 4/4/2018 post, "Florida letter writer yearns for a whiter America", starts here.

Trust President Trump's plan for America | Letters.  (Sun-Sentinel, 44/2018)

Joseph, what was it that you particularly liked about America in the 1950s and 1960s?  In regard to Sunday’s Tom Friedman interview/opinion piece: Yes, I am with my President Trump. You may think we are radical, but we are just normal Americans who like our country the way it was when we grew up back in the '50s and '60s.  [emphasis added]

No doubt Joseph would insist that Donald Trump doesn't have a racist bone in his body.

UPDATE: Bill Wilson provides a much-needed perspective on 'silly stuff' of deploying National Guard to Mexican border

Headline:  USA Today

Original 3/28/2015 post, "Donald Trump's big beautiful wall along the Mexican border?  Border agents have other, much better ideas", starts here.



What Border Agents Say They Want (It’s Not a Wall).  (The New York Times, 3/22/2018)

President Trump has called for a wall along the border with Mexico to stop undocumented immigrants and drugs from entering the United States. But Border Patrol agents on the front lines say they need more technology and additional personnel to curb the illegal traffic, according to a report released on Thursday by Democrats on the Senate Homeland Security Committee. 

The report was based on internal Customs and Border Protection documents from the 2017 fiscal year. It concluded that less than one half of 1 percent of the agents’ suggestions to secure the Southwest border mentioned the need for a wall.

Border Security:Analysis of Vulnerabilities Identified byFrontline Agents.  (United States Senate.  Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs.)

Related posts:
UPDATE. Mexico border wall support and opposition by generation (Marquette Law School poll).  (3/20/2018)
Trump touts dubious research in border wall tweet. (3/14/2018)
Glenn Grothman demands that a border wall be built.  (8/31/2017)
He makes it sound so easy!  (8/23/2017)
John McCain has a message that's likely to initiate a Trump twitter rant. (8/4/2017)
Mexican border wall? Fuggedaboutit! Looks like there's another, cheaper plan in the works.  (7/12/2017)

Take that long-range forecast of snow with a grain of salt

Today's forecast from Thursday, March 29

A view through the picture window at 3:30 this afternoon

No rain.  No snow.  Windier.

A view from the back yard at 8:00 this evening.

1 to 3 inchdes of snow?  Fuggedaboutit!

The current forecast

Related reading:
Why Meteorologists Overpredict Snowfall Amounts - Major Storm Potential Next Week?  (Star 
Tribune, 11/29/2016)

If it happens at all.  That's why it pays to take all the snowfall predictions on TV, radio, internet and your favorite app, and divide by 2. That will be closer to the mark. 

One other timeless truth: if I predict 3-6 inches, chances are you'll only hear 6 inches.

Around town UPDATE: Demolition in a day results in expanded parking lot for Middleton Sport Bowl

West-Side Radiator Service, not much of a structure to begin with, was a total loss as a result of last month's explosion.

Photos by Retiring Guy

Middleton Sport Bowl


Original 3/20/2018 post, " Explosion on Elmwood Avenue", starts here.

Photo by Retiring Guy

As I was about to take this photo, I noticed a car signaling to make a right-hand from Elmwood Avenue into the parking lot of the Sport Bowl.  The driver braked to a stop as I moved aside.

"I can't believe this happened!" a woman, who appeared to be about my age, exclaimed as the driver's side window slid open.  "Perry is my garage man.  Do you know how he's doing?"

Having already read the above incident report, I informed her that he was in the hospital with non-life threatening injuries.

I pondered the 'garage man' reference as I continued walking home from the Willy Street Coop.  The nondescript building houses West Side Radiator Service and has been in business since before my wife and I moved to Middleton 32 years ago.  I've never understood how it stays in business as it seems to attract few customers.  As far as I'm concerned, Perry, as I now know him, is like the Maytag repairman:  The loneliest man in town.

On the other hand, the fact that an explosion and fire occurred here is not the least bit surprising.  The dimly lit and cluttered interior always looked to be a magnet for mishap. 

Other Around Town posts:
Googling 'Henry Hubbard'.  (3/18/2018) 
A not-so-faded Flo strikes a new pose.  (3/12/2018)

3 orange cones on sidewalk.  (2/26/2018)
This corner house is now a rental.  (1/16/2018)
This 1955, 1296-square-foot ranch on Cooper Avenue was listed at $219,500.  (1/13/2018)
It's always the season of the witch at this Anderson Street address in Middleton.  (1/11/2018)
A sure sign that this request went unheeded, if not unseen.  (12/24/2017)
Turnstile Christmas Eve services at St. Luke's.  (12/13/2017)
You've heard of a bear hibernating, but how about a bakery?  (12/13/2017)

Springtime in Wisconsin? Well, there's always Alaska!

Madison, Wisconsin

iPhone screenshots from Weather Channel app

Anchorage, Alaska

Related reading

Baked Alaska: 49th state is having an insanely warm December.  (Washington Post, 12/19/2017) Warmer in Alaska than Florida? Why our weather is upside down.  (Daily Herald, 1/3/2018)

Benjamin Morrow: The rest of the story

Source:  Ryan Funeral Service

Man who died in Beaver Dam apartment explosion had white supremacist literature, guns, bomb lab.  Fond du Lac Reporter, 4/5/2018)

Morrow, who had a background in chemistry, had jars and bottles of chemicals used to make bombs, as well as what appeared to be finished explosives in the apartment. There also were instructions on how to make bombs as well as timers and gunpowder, the warrant said. 

Agents also recovered at least three long guns, two handguns, more than 2,000 rounds of ammunition, a ballistic helmet and vest, and masks from his apartment, the warrant says.   

Among the items recovered in a search of Morrow's apartment was literature concerning white supremacist groups.

Not a good day to be named Benjamin Sparks. Or to be Scott Walker, for that matter.

Source:  LinkedIn

Ex-Romney staffer faces domestic abuse charge; reportedly had fiancée sign sex slave contract. (USA Today, 4/5/2018)

A Las Vegas political adviser who has worked on national campaigns for Republican candidates, including Mitt Romney's 2012 presidential campaign, physically abused his ex-fiancée and had her sign a contract to be a "slave in training," according to a report published Wednesday in the Las Vegas Review-Journal.

Will the real Benjamin Sparks please stand up.

Source:  Heavy, 4/5/2018

Marco Rubio demonstrates he knows nothing about how to reduce school shootings and make schools safer

We know how to reduce school shootings and make schools safer: Marco Rubio.  (USA Today, 4/5/2018)

You won't find the phrases 'too many guns' and  'gun control' here.

Source:  Cleveland.com

National Association of Social Workers California News, 11/17/2017

Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Door County, Wisconsin?

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

Like we've seen 3 times before, Door County twice voted for Barack Obama over his GOP opponents, by an 16-point margin in 2008 and 7 points in 2012.  In 2016, Trump flipped the this Geezerville county (22.5% 65 and older vs. 13% in U.S.), winning 49.4% of the vote vs. Clinton's 46.1%

Then we have Tuesday's record-breaking rebound!  Older Baby Boomers and the Silent Generation come to their senses.

Sources:  CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

2012-2016 % change in vote by party

•  +5.7%  Republicans
•  -14.2%  Democra

The same caveat I shared in the initial post on this thread also applies here.

Source:  Wikipedia

Related posts:
Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Winnebago County, Wisconsin?  (4/5/2018)
Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer' remorse in Grant County, Wisconsin? (4/5/2018)
Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Jackson County, Wisconsin?  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE: Manitowoc County turns slightly blue in Wisconsin Supreme Court election.  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE. A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide.  (4/5/2018)
Yes, Wisconsin, there's a patch of red in blue Dane County. (4/4/2018)
Majority of Wisconsin's most populous counties join blue wave, least populous take a pass, for the most part.  (4/4/2018)
A blue wave hits Wisconsin.  (4/4/2018)
UPDATE. Scott Walker checks spring election results, shits his pants.  (4/4/2018)
The wishful thinking of tireless Scott Walker boosterChristian Schneider.  (4/4/2018)

Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Winnebago County, Wisconsin?

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As in a number of other Wisconsin counties, Winnebago County twice voted for Barack Obama over his GOP opponents, by an 11-point margin in 2008 and 4 points in 2012.  Trump flipped the county in 2016, winning 50.6% of the vote compared to Clinton's 43.1%

Then there's Tuesday's blue-wave rebound.

Sources:  CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The same caveat I shared in the initial post on this thread also applies here.

2012-2016 % change in vote by party

•   +3.1%  Republicans
•   -18.5%  Democrats





Source:  Wikipedia

Related posts:
Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Jackson County, Wisconsin? (4/5/2018)
UPDATE: Manitowoc County turns slightly blue in Wisconsin Supreme Court election.  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE. A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide.  (4/5/2018)
Yes, Wisconsin, there's a patch of red in blue Dane County. (4/4/2018)
Majority of Wisconsin's most populous counties join blue wave, least populous take a pass, for the most part.  (4/4/2018)
A blue wave hits Wisconsin.  (4/4/2018)
UPDATE. Scott Walker checks spring election results, shits his pants.  (4/4/2018)
The wishful thinking of tireless Scott Walker boosterChristian Schneider.  (4/4/2018)

Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Grant County, Wisconsin?

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As in Jackson County, Grant County twice voted for Barack Obama over his GOP opponents by double-digit margins.  And then in a county where 95.2 of the population is white, compared to 61.3% nationally, a significant number of voters responded to Trump's MAGA dog whistle.

Looks as though a blue wave has reached the southwestern corner of Wisconsin.

Sources:  CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The same caveat I shared in the initial post on this thread also applies here.

2012-2016 % change in vote by party

•  +20.4%  Republicans
•   -26.1%  Democrats

Source:  Wikipedia

Related posts:
Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Jackson County, Wisconsin?  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE: Manitowoc County turns slightly blue in Wisconsin Supreme Court election.  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE. A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide.  (4/5/2018)
Yes, Wisconsin, there's a patch of red in blue Dane County. (4/4/2018)
Majority of Wisconsin's most populous counties join blue wave, least populous take a pass, for the most part.  (4/4/2018)
A blue wave hits Wisconsin.  (4/4/2018)
UPDATE. Scott Walker checks spring election results, shits his pants.  (4/4/2018)
The wishful thinking of tireless Scott Walker boosterChristian Schneider.  (4/4/2018)

Blue wave UPDATE. 2016 presidential election buyer's remorse in Jackson County, Wisconsin?

Source:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

As you can see from the bar graph below, Jackson County twice voted for Barack Obama over his GOP opponents by double-digit margins.  Then they seriously reversed course in 2016, with Trump getting 53% of the vote to Clinton's 41%.

Based on Tuesday's Supreme Court election results, it sure looks as though a blue wave has washed over Jackson County.

Sources:  CNN, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

The same caveat I shared in a previous post also applies here.


1/14/2016 UPDATE, "The 2016 presidential election in Jackson County Wisconsin", starts here.

2016 update:  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel (100% reporting)

2012-2016 % change in vote by party

•  +25.8%  Republicans
•   -27.9%  Democrats

Related posts:
UPDATE: Manitowoc County turns slightly blue in Wisconsin Supreme Court election.  (4/5/2018)
UPDATE. A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide.  (4/5/2018)
Yes, Wisconsin, there's a patch of red in blue Dane County. (4/4/2018)
Majority of Wisconsin's most populous counties join blue wave, least populous take a pass, for the most part.  (4/4/2018)
A blue wave hits Wisconsin.  (4/4/2018)
UPDATE. Scott Walker checks spring election results, shits his pants.  (4/4/2018)
The wishful thinking of tireless Scott Walker boosterChristian Schneider.  (4/4/2018)

UPDATE. A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide

Population source:  Wisconsin Blue Book 2017-2018

Original 4/4/2018 post, "A blue wave hits Wisconsin, statewide", starts here.

It's all over town!
Walker warns GOP 'at risk of a #BlueWave' after Democratic win in Wisconsin court race.  (CNN, 4/4/2018)
The Latest: Walker warns of “blue wave” after Dallet win.  (Washington Post, 4/3/2018)
Walker warns of Dem wave in Wisconsin after liberal wins state judicial race.  (The Hill, 4/3/2018)
The Latest: Walker warns of "blue wave" after Dallet win.  (ABC News, 4/3/3018)

Related posts:
Yes, Wisconsin, there's a patch of red in blue Dane County. (4/4/2018)
Majority of Wisconsin's most populous counties join blue wave, least populous take a pass, for the most part.  (4/4/2018)
A blue wave hits Wisconsin.  (4/4/2018)
UPDATE. Scott Walker checks spring election results, shits his pants.  (4/4/2018)
The wishful thinking of tireless Scott Walker boosterChristian Schneider.  (4/4/2018)

John Imperial (1924-2018) Warren High School class of 1943

Source:  Warren Times Observer

1943 Dragon yearbook

John's high-school activities:

Well, we know he played football.  Curiously, his name is not included in the "Senior Activities" section of the yearbook.

1967 Warren City Directory

• Imperial Dorothy A dental asst Richd E Snyder r503 Public way
• Imperial Eug J (Barbara A) lab National Forge h389 Pleasant dr  
• Imperial John J (Joyce F)  Count's Restaurant h124 Frank
• Imperiall Leonard G (Rose) retd h503 Public way
• Imperial Leonard J (Marcia) sales Duquesne Brewery h53 Buena Vista blvd

1983 Warren City Directory

• Imperial Barbara A Mrs ofc sec Creal & Hude r389 Pleasant Dr
• Imperial Debbie emp Sylvania h103 Center St
• Imperial Dorothy A h503 Public way
• Imperial Eug J & Barbara A) lab mach NF  h389 Pleasant dr
• Imperial John J  & Joyce F; guard NF h14 N Parker St
• Imperiall Leonard h224 N Carver St
• Imperial Leonard J & Marsha M; rigger Struthers Wells h416 Rankin Av
• Imperial Nancy ofc clk CETA r14 N Parker St

The popularity of John as a baby name is graphed here.   Let's take a look at Dale.

Source:  Social Security Administration

Dale put together a very respectable mid-century run, spending 49 years (1921-1969) in the top 100, peaking at #46 in 1952 and 1958.  My brother Dale was born in 1957.

As for the 2001 bump?

Other members of the class of '43 (11 women, 6 men):
2018
Francis Pesko.  (2/8/2018)

2017
William Nuhfer.  (10/26/2017)
Martha Rasmussen Lewis.  (6/17/2017)
Gloria York Salapek.  (6/10/2017)
Louis Rizzardi.  (2/11/2017)
2016
Virginia Anderson Thompson.  (10/17/2016)
Pauline Smith VanVolkinburg.  (8/27/2016)
Joyce Anderson Clark.  (8/24/2016)
Robert Johnson.  (3/31/2016)
2015
Goldie Gelotte Hecei. (12/21/2015)
John Swick.  (11/29/2015)
William Weidert.  (10/16/2015)
Maxine Retterer Young.  (8/15/2015)

Donald Conaway, Jr.  (8/13/2015)
Anne Smith Rossey.  (5/8/2015)
Doris Stevenson Barirde.  (3/31/2015)
2014
Mildred Kahle Glotz.  (9/13/2014)

Robert Dietsch.  (9/8/2014)

Anna Mae Olson Howe.  (9/2/2014)

Lois Bogart Niederer.  (5/3/2014)
2013

Verna Mack Swanson.  (12/22/2013)