Retiring Guy's Digest: 2018-10-07

Saturday, October 13, 2018

In a perfect world, Brad Schimel's well-deserved run of bad press should tank his re-election chances

Shepherd Express, 9/25/2018

There's certainly plenty of evidence

Botching a Lincoln Hills investigation
Suppressing votes
Bungling John Doe investigations
Spending big on swag
Earning the nickname 'Backlog Brad'
Issuing gag orders
Fighting against environmental and consumer protections
Politicizing his office

Madison.com, 10/10/2018

A dozen employees, both current and former, shared similar concerns with the Cap Times. In addition, 45 former assistant attorneys general signed an open letter in August opposing Schimel’s re-election on the same grounds. About 14 of those who signed the letter, including Greene, outlined their grievances against the state Department of Justice and their support for Josh Kaul, Schimel’s Democratic opponent, at a press conference at the Capitol Wednesday.

Considering that few people know who he is, I'm thinking we should take it as a good sign that Josh Kaul is down just 5 percentage points in the latest Marquette poll. (His 38% compared to 43% for Schimel.)

Blame it on consolidation of media. Outside of Madison and Milwaukee, it's USATodayLand.

Other AG Schimel posts:
2018
Are Wisconsin voters ready to reward Attroney General Brad Schimel for his incompetence? (9/23/2018)
Get me rewrite: Campaign committee to re-elect Brad Schimel issues rape kit testing press release 2 months before election. (9/11/2018)
Meet Wisconsin's own flibbertigibbet, (5/12/2018)
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel, a man withoiut a shred of integrity, sez 'hooray' for voter ID and intimidation. (4/13/20187)
UPDATE. Mexico border wall support and opposition by generation. (Marquette Law School poll). (3/20/2018)
ID and intimidation. Brad Schimel gets top billing in the Attorneys General Hall of Shame. (2/28/2018)
Fight fire with fire: Be careful what you wish for, Brad Schimel. (2/21/2018)

2017
Still marching in the parade of GOP incompetents, Attorney General Brad Schimel. (12/8/2017)
Wisconsin AG Brad Schimel places himself above the law. (2/16/2017)
When WI Attorney General Brad Schimel sez "kick ass every day", what does he mean exactly? (1/7/2017)

2016
UPDATE. So sez Scott Walker/Brad Schimel mouthpiece. (11/3/2016)
UPDATE. Once again, it's 'mission accomplished' for proponents of voter ID. (10/13/2016)
Wisconsin Attorney General Brad Schimel serves up a partisan mush of GOP talking points. (9/21/2016)
Despite recent appeals panel ruling, Brad Schimel continues to waste taxpayer money. (8/24/2016)
Get me rewrite: Schimel 'misspeaks' again. (8/16/2016)
Get me rewrite: Wisconsin is open for polluters. (7/12/2016)
The best and the brightest: DOJ mouthpiece sez, "Fuck it, we're not doin' our jobs!". (6/21/2016)
How corrupt is the Walker administration? Read up on 2011 Wisconsin Act 21 for the answer. (5/11/2016)

2013
Who's Running for Wisconsin Attorney General in 2014: Waukesha County DA Brad Schimel. (10/10/2013)

Now and then: 1815 Charles Street, Rockford, Illinois (the back yard edition)

The area of the back yard by the side porch of 1815 was a popular place for taking pictures in the Nelson family. This particular photo preserves a most notable event. My dad, flanked by his parents, was the first in his family to graduate from college -- Augustana, June 1939. He went on to attend Augustant Seminary, from which he graduated in 1943.

Photo by a Retiring Guy family member,

Aunt Signe, I'd guess.

And then there's this summer of 1956 family portrait of the George Swanson family. Aunt Signe is his wife. They are shown with their children Carolyn and Roland.

Photo by Retiring Guy's Dad

1815 Charles Street hasn't been in the Nelson family for many years, so I always feel a bit like a trespasser whenever I make the pilgrimage there. My grandparents lived on the first floor until their deaths in the early 1960s. Svea, my dad's oldest sister, and her husband Harry lived on the second floor, which had a separate entrance at the back of the side porch. The window just above the downspout provides natural light to the stairs.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Meet Harry and Svea Anderson and Roger Nyquist, Svea's son from her first marriage. From 1954. (Svea would have moved into the 2nd floor apartment after she married her first husband in 1927.)

Photo by Retiring Guy's Dad

Until the 1970s, when my Uncle Ford still owned the property, the back yard of 1815 contained a large red barn, which contained, among many other items, the wheeled item shown below. Surprisingly, I haven't been able to find a photo of the barn in the family archives.

But I do have this 1910 photo of my Grandpa Nelson standing beside his horse-drawn milk wagon.

Photo provenance unknown

Now and then: 1815 Charles Street, Rockford, Illinois (the front yard edition)

Rockford is my dad's home town, and 1815 Charles Street is where he spent the first 20 years of his life. He was the youngest of 7 children of Herman and Anna Nelson. The building with the orange tile overhang used to be a Gulf gas station.

Photo by Retiring Guy

And thanks to this odd framing of a portrait of the Minnerd Stark family, I can offer you proof. The photo was taken during the summer of 1954 on the sidewalk leading to the entrance of 1815. Within the next decade, most of the trees you see here were lost to Dutch Elm Disease. (Lila, second from the left, is one of my Dad's 5 sisters.)

Photo by Retiring Guy's Dad

Pay to pay the perfluorinated chemicals, groundwater contamination way edition

Walker campaign donors in the news

Source: Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Study provides clearest indication yet of the extent of industrial pollution from Johnson Controls subsidiary into Green Bay. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/12/2018)

A new report from a Johnson Controls subsidiary that manufactures firefighting chemicals in northeastern Wisconsin provides the clearest evidence to date that contaminants from company operations are flowing into Green Bay at multiple points.

The results prompted Tyco Fire Products last month to propose a plan to install treatment systems in two ditches to keep more chemicals from entering the bay. [emphasis added]

Source: Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

Would it surprise you to learn that Foxconn is cutting corners in the area of environmental regulation?

I didn't think so.

Reported in DNR fines Foxconn for failing to manage stormwater in wake of Labor Day rains. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/12/2018)

Related posts:
What did you expect from a company that received a torrent of enviromental regulation rollbacks? (9/7/2018)
Like the oil patch boom in western North Dakota, Foxconn is going to have an impact on law enforcement in southeastern Wisconsin. (7/10/2018)
The toxic possibilities of Foxconn's wastewater discharge. (3/8/2018)
Matt, it doesn't appear that 'rigorous' and 'review' are in Scott Walker's and Foxconn's vocabulary. (7/29/2017)
Scott Walker and Foxconn steamroll environmental regulation going forward. (7/29/2017)

Friday, October 12, 2018

John White (1932-2018) Warren High School class of 1950

Source: Warren Times Observer

1950 Dragon yearbook

1967 Warren City Directory

Gnagey James E (Ruth H: Gnagey Real Estate Agency) h145 Conewango av
Gnagey Katherine student r145 Conewango av
[county section] White Homer 216 S Main Clarendon
White John C (Joanne H) lab Sylvania h502 Lookout st
[county section] White Violet 216 S Main Clarendon

1982 Warren City Directory

Gnagey Jas E & Ruth H retd h8 Brook St
White John C & Joanne H; pres Candlelite Lounge h502 Lookout St

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

Source: Social Security Administration

After peaking at #74 in 1901, it was downhill for Homer. Not even "The Simpsons" could stir up a revival.

Other members of the WHS class of 1950:
2018
Geraldine Downey Gustafson. (10/7/2018)

2017
Helen Quiggle Kroemer. (7/9/2017)
Dale Witherell. (5/31/2017)
Betty Reynolds Mahan. (4/4/2017)
Helen Kane Scalise. (2/23/2017)

2016
Virgil Bohren. (11/24/2016)
Mark Bevevino. (8/26/2016)
Diedra Peterson Andersen. (6/8/2016)

Marilyn Lyke Bonace. (6/6/2016)
John Tingwell.  (6/5/2016)

2015
Donald Quiggle. (12/19/2015)
Genevieve Larson McKown.  (12/16/2015)
Franklin Reiff.  (7/14/2015)

Mary Ann Font Schafer. (6/29/2015)

"Ride My See-Saw" by the Moody Blues debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 12, 1968

Where it spent a mere 5 weeks on the chart, peaking at #61.

In addition, Buffalo Springfield made the last of 5 appearances on the Hot 100. Only their first, "For What It's Worth", made a big impression.

Other notable artists of the time who experienced misfires: Jose Feliciano, Elvis, Paul Revere & the Raiders, the Monkees, Mason Williams (who had to settle for being a one-hit wonder), Tommy James & the Shondells (although they have a big 1969 in store), and Joe Tex.

This list also includes one of the worst songs ever.

Billboard Hot 100

Here’s an apology that's easily dismissed out of hand

Photo credit: LinkedIn

Reported in Suburban drama began with a neighbor cutting a woman's trees. Then things got ugly. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/11/2018)

According to Merriam Webster, the first known use of cop-out as a noun occurred circa 1942.

Other coinages from the same year:

C ration
car pool
feline distemper
jump boot
motor pool
oak wilt
radio range

Josh Hawley and the cretinous, homophobic company he keeps

Hawley and Barton appears at a 2016 campaign event together.

Josh Hawley Plans, Aborts Fundraiser With Preacher Who Compared Gays to Nazis. (Riverfront Times, 10/10/2018)

Related posts:
Uhhh....Steph....Claire won't be facing Josh in a primary election. (5/1/2018)
Josh Hawley shares his happy Jeff Buckley rock star pose. (5/1/2018)
Another central-casting GOP candidate finds that good looks do not insure a smooth path to election. (4./14/2018)

The Waffle House index in determining a natural disaster's severity

Source: Snopes

Related reading:
Hurricane Michael is so bad that Waffle House has closed 30 restaurants. (USA Today, 10/10/2018)
How FEMA uses Waffle Houses in disasters. (USA Today, 9/7/2017)

Wisconsin county statistics: Highest and lowest per capita income (2016)

Source: The Green Book: A book of county facts (Wisconsin Counties Association)

Related links:
Wisconsin income inequality. (County Health Rankings & Roadmaps)
Wisconsin poverty rate by county. (Index Mundi)

Other Wisconsin counties posts:

Largest and smallest population per district. (10/5/2018)
Biggest population growth and loss, by percentage. (10/5/2018)
Largest and smallest percentages of population 65 or older. (10/5/2018)
Largest and smallest percentages of adults 25 or older with associate's degree. (10/6/2018)
Highest and lowest per capita county budget expenditures. (10/7/20180
Highest and lowest per capita county budget highway expenditures. (10/7/2018)
Highest and lowest per capita county budget health and human services expenditures. (10/7/2018)
Highest and lowest per capita total state aids. (10/8/2018)
Highest and lowest county levy per capita. (10/9/2018)
Highest and lowest county property tax rates per $1,000. (10/10/2018)

Thursday, October 11, 2018

The Leahs are toast (The Brett Kavanaugh edition)

Reported in Kavanaugh Uproar in Senate Fuels G.O.P. Races for Governor and House. (The New York Times, 10/9/2018)

Source: Real Clear Politics

Related posts:
Money can't buy the Leahs love. (9/30/2018)
The Leahs are toast (the home base edition). (9/18/2018)Wisconsin independent voters UPDATE: And the hits just keep on coming for Scott Walker and Leah Vukmir. (9/4/2018)
UPDATE. Leah Vukmir all smiles receving her Iron Lady award from ALEC. (8/23/2018)

Man featured in 2017 Capital Times article on "Crisis Cops" arrested for sexual assault

Sources:
Crisis cops: Madison police work with mental health professionals on sensitive cases. (Capital Times, 3/15/2017)
Man charged with sexual assault after Downtown construction workers rush to woman's aid. (Madison.com, 10/10/2018)

Related link:
Off the Square Club. Lutheran Social Services.

Related reading:
The edge of homelessaness. (Isthmus, 2/8/2008)
The mayor vs. the homeless. (Isthmus, 8/13/2015)
Surge in Homelessness Tests Wisconsin Capital's Welcoming Spirit. (The New York Times, 8/15/2018)
Madison homeless shelter struggles to stay open a year after funding cut. (Wisconsin State Journal, 8/21/2018)

UPDATE. West Virginia's 3rd congressional district is up for grabs

Source: Ballotpedia

FiveThirtyEight Election Update email, October 11, 2018

West Virginia’s 3rd District doesn’t seem like a district that should be competitive. It should be an easy Republican hold. After all, President Trump won the 3rd District, anchored by Huntington, by 49 percentage points, and the district’s FiveThirtyEight partisan lean1 is R+37, meaning it is 37 points more Republican than the country as a whole. In fact, the West Virginia 3rd is one of the 50 most GOP-leaning seats in the country, according to our calculations. Yet the election prognosticators have tagged the race as “Lean Republican” or even a “Toss-up,” and nonpartisan polls have found mixed results since the May primary.

Original 8/28/2018 post starts here.

Open seat. Current rep Evan Jenkins is running for seat on West Virginia Supreme Court.

Democrat Nick Rahall held the seat from 1997 to 2012

Source: Ballotpedia

Election Update: Here Are 25 Districts Where Our Model And Other Experts Disagree. (FiveThirtyEight, 8/23/2018)

Second on the list is West Virginia’s 3rd District, where, yet again, the experts give the Democrat, Richard Ojeda, a much better chance than our model does. The 3rd is extremely conservative on the presidential level (Trump won it 73-23), and its (departing) Republican representative won re-election by 44 points in 2016, leading our model to view its “fundamentals” as overwhelmingly Republican. But the handicappers have a good argument too: This coal-country district is ancestrally Democratic and still willing to back a certain brand of West Virginia Democrat.

Trump received 72.5% of the vote in 2016 compared to 65.0% for Romney in 2012 and 55.7% for McCain in 2008.

Clinton received 23.3% of the vote in 2016 compared to 32.8% for Obama in 2012 and 42.3% for Obama in 2008.

Source: govtrack

Other U.S. House 2018 election outlooks:
Martha McSally, Arizona 2nd. (10/8/2017)

Jeff Denham, California 10th. (10/9/2017)
David Valadao, California 21st. (10/10/2017)
Steve Knight, California 25th. (10/11/2017)
Ed Royce, California 29th. (10/12/2017)
Open seat. California 39th. (9/6/2018)
Mimi Walters, California 45th. (2/12/2018)

Scott Tipton, Colorado 3rd. (9/1/2018)

Dennis Ross, Florida 15th. (4/12/2018)
Brian Mast, Florida 18th. (10/13/2017)
Carlos Curbelo, Florida 26th. (10/14/2017)
Florida 27th. (8/31/2018)

Peter Roskam, Illinois 6th. (9/1/2018)
Mike Bost, Illinois 12th. (10/15/2017)

Rod Blum, Iowa 1st. (2/12/2018)
David Young, Iowa 3rd. (9/2/2018)

Kevin Yoder, Kansas 3rd. (10/16/2017)

Andy Barr, Kentucky 6th. (2/12/2018)

Mike Bishop, Michigan 8th. (2/12/2018)

Jason Lewis, Minnesota 2nd. (7/18/2018)
Erik Paulsen, Minnesota 3rd. (10/17/2017)

Don Bacon, Nebraska 2nd. (10/18/2017)

Open seat. New Jersey 2nd. (10/10/2018)
Tom MacArthur, New Jersey 3rd. (10/19/2017)
Leonard Lance, New Jersey 7th. (2/14/2018)

Lee Zeldin, New York 1st. (2/12/2018)
John Faso, New York 19th. (2/12/2018)
Claudia Tenney, New York 22nd. (10/21/2017)
John Katko, New York 24th. (2/12/2018)

Steve Chabot, Ohio 1st. (2/12/2018)

Ryan Costello, Pennsylvania 6th. (10/23/2017)
Pennsylvania 7th. (8/29/2018)

Will Hurd, Texas 23rd. (4/15/2018)
Pete Sessions, Texas 32nd. (4/15/2018)

Scott Taylor, Virginia 2nd. (8/28/2018)
Disgraced Tom Garrett. Virginia 5th. (9/2/2018)
David Brat, Virginia 7th. (9/2/2018)

West Virginia 3rd. (10/11/2018 update)

Nancy Douglass decides that partisan politics trumps professionalism

Wisconsin Broadcasters Association chair-elect Nancy Douglass resigns amid criticism over attack ad targeting Randy Bryce as a 'deadbeat'. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/10/2018)

Read Nancy's increasingly desperate string of excuses, and you'll realize she's absolutely clueless here, which is why she should have never been elected to a WBA position in the first place.

Greetings from Trump's America UPDATE. Erie County, Pennsylvania, where the 'lock her up' chant is still a thing

Just like all those white folks did 2 years ago.

12 major American cities that are shrinking. (CBS News, 6/22/2017)

Erie, Pennsylvania, is too small to be counted among the country's biggest metropolitan areas, but it too has suffered from some similar ailments. Decades of decline in American manufacturing have left this city as a shell of the thriving city it was during the 1950s, prompting one resident to tell CBS News, "Erie is definitely a sinking ship, and you'd be crazy not to get off a ship that's sinking."

City of Erie's population drops again. (Go.Erie, 6/8/2018)

The state of Erie industry 2018. (Erie Reader, 3/28/2018)