Friday, October 26, 2018

A look at the Willy Street Coop expansion in Middleton


Expanded check-out area
Photos by Retiring Guy

Willy West expansion

Cheese, wine, beer!

Hot bar is the center of attention

West expansion grand re-opening celebration

Meet Cesar Sayoc, registered Republican and Trump rally attendee




Reported in Arrest made in connection to suspicious packages sent to prominent Democrats, Trump critics.  (Madison.com, 10/26/2018
 
Related reading:  
Cesar Sayoc: 5 Fast Facts You Need to Know.  (Heavy, 10/26/2018)

Happy Halloween blow-ups











Abraham, Martin & John, the last big hit by Dion, debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 26, 1968



In other chart news, "Who's Making Love" made an earlier appearance on the CKLW Top 30, debuting at #22 on October 1, 1968.  It spent 5 weeks in the top 10, one of them at #1Clear-channel CKLW, 50,000 watts beaming across Lake Erie to little Warren PA 16365, was one of Retiring Guy's favorite radio stations at this time.


Related links:
How Robert Kennedy Inspired ‘Abraham, Martin and John.  (The New York Times, 6/5/2018)

Related posts:
Aretha Franklin's two-sided hit single among the newcomers on Billboard Hot 100 for the week 
ending August 17, 1968.

Iron Butterfly makes its first appearance on Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 24, 1968.

Big Brother and the Holding Company makes its first two appearances on Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending August 31, 1968.

Fire! The Crazy World of Arthur Brown debuts with its only single to chart on the Billboard Hot 100. ( For the week ending September 7, 1968)

The Beatles "Hey Jude" debuts in the top ten on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 14, 1968

Jimi Hendrix Experience: "All Along the Watchtower" debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 21, 1968

Run for your lives, here come the Archies: Bang-shang-a-lang debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending September 28, 1968

"White Room" by Cream debuts as a national breakout on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 5, 1968

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

"Love Child" by Diana Ross and the Supremes lead the pack of debut singles on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending October 19, 1968

Vote November 6th: Time for that 'loony' Brad Schimel to be fired


Also known at AG BS


Reported in Attorney General Brad Schimel claims defending Exxon protects Wisconsin. (Wisconsin State Journal, 10/26/2018)

Photo and italicized text credit:  Wiley Rein LLP

Other AG BS posts:
2018
In a perfect world, Brad Schimel's well-deserved run of bad press should tank his re-election chances.  (10/13/2018
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)

The Leahs: Trying to lie their way into the U.S. Senate



Updated: Fact checking Tammy Baldwin and Leah Vukmir, the U.S. Senate candidates.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/26/2018 updated)


More on the Leahs:
The Leahs on toast (the Brett Kavanaugh edition).  (10/11/2018)
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

Meet the most toxic person in America



Trump, Partisan and Pugilist, Abandons Calls for Unity After Bomb Scares. (The New York Times, 10/25/2018)

Thursday, October 25, 2018

Wednesday, October 24, 2018

High-visibility shelf space available soon at Woodman's



Photo by Retiring Guy, 
taken 2 months ago with the idea
that it would eventually be useful


Dear Donald, How now Dow Jones?



The Trump Bump in Stocks Is Weakening.  (The New York Times, 10/23/2018.  (Different headline
for digital edition.)
Concerns about higher interest rates, Mr. Trump’s trade policies and slower economic growth outside the United States have weighed heavily on stocks this month. The Standard & Poor’s 500-stock index is down 5 percent in October and sits 5.6 percent below its record high in September.


Opened on December 7, 1967, and ran for 220 performances.  (Note who does the intro of the number.)



Harold Crecraft (1931-2018) Warren High School class of 1949



1949 Dragon yearbook

1967 Warren City Directory
  • Crecraft Aurelia Z Mrs waitress B&B Smoke Shop r200 Main av
  • Crecraft Wm H (Aurelia Z) equip opr h200 Main av 
  • Saporito Anthony (Ruth M) travels sets machs Struthers Wells h11 N Parker
1983 Warren City Directory
  • Crecraft W H h200 Main Av
  • McDunn Elaine C Mrs mach opr New Process h200 Main Av
  • McDunn James B & Elaine C; emp National Forge h200 Main Av
  • Saporito Anthony (Ruth M) retd  h11 N Parker

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


Welcome back.  Aurelia followed a bumpy, descending road during the 1st half of the 20th century before falling out of sight in 1951.  She's covered some territory since her 2012 return.

Other class of 1949 members: 
2018
Neil de Stefano.  (1/20/2018)

2017
Margaret Hartweg Albaugh Dallenbach.  (12/21/2017)
Dorothea Giltinan Suppa.  (6/15/2017)
Ruth Bengston Thelin.  (4/27/2017)
Donna Wenzel Ponsoll.  (1/4/2017)

2016
Margaret Eustace Sutter.  (11/17/2016)
Paul Mahan.  (7/17/2016)
Paul Briggs. (7/11/2016)
Mary Ann Harrison Hughes.  (3/29/2016)
Winona Ross Prosen.  (3/5/2016)

2015
Bertie McConnell Glotz.  (9/26/2015)
Corrine Culbertson Ryan Shanshala.  (7/13/2015)
Nicholas Mangus II. (6/15/2015)
Teresa Nuhfer Sanden.  (4/13/2015)
Catherine Salapek Freeborough.  (4/10/2015)
Richard Sharp.  (3/22/2015)

2014
Richard Hamilton.  (12/17/2014)

It bears repeating: Remember when Scott Walker consulted Jeff Sessions on immigration




The Earls had a modest hit with this doo-wop ditty.  "Remember Then" debuted at #94 on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending December 15, 1962.  It spent 9 weeks on the chart, peaking at #24.


Original 4/27/2015 post, "Dear Scott Walker, Admitting you consulted with Sen. Jeff Sessions on immigration is not a confidence builder, starts here.



The junior Senator from Alabama has a 94.24 lifetime rating from the American Conservative Union.

Best Friends Forever

Walker's  novel stance on immigration seen as risky.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 4/27/2015)

On the advice of the Koch Brothers?
Walker said he had talked with Alabama Republican Rep. Jeff Sessions, chairman of the Senate Judiciary’s immigration subcommittee, who had previously been a rare voice in calling for fewer legal immigrants.

The Senate's anti-immigration warrior.  (Politico, 3/15/2015)
Sessions has long been a critic not just of legalizing undocumented immigrants but also of allowing more immigrants into the United States at all — a view to which many in the GOP take exception. 

Scott Walker.  Know him by the company he keeps.

Let's talk in mindnumbing generalities, shall we?


CreditsMenya GGAST, iPhone screenshot (highlight added)

In related headline news

Tuesday, October 23, 2018

Rose Raffaele Scala (1935-2018) Warren High School class of 1953



1953 Dragon yearbook


1967 Warren City Directory
  • Raffaele Frank (Rose E) mach opr Sylvania h17 Plum
  • Raffaele Rose clk Warren Gen Hosp r17 Plum
1983 Warren City Director 
  • Raffaele Frank & Rose E; mach opr G T E Sylvania h6 Branch St

The unending popularity of Rose is graphed here.  Let's take a look at hubby Ernest.


Source:  Social Security Administration

Ernest enjoyed a very good run during the 1st half of the 20th century, spending 57 years (1900-1956) in the top 100.  He peaked early, though, at #28 in 1901 and 1906.  The 21st century has not been kind.

Other members of the class of 1953:
2018
Marilyn John Smith.  (4/30/2018)
Elizabeth Simko.  (3/3/2018)

2017
Hazel Kell Martin.  (9/22/2017
Carole Moore Zimmerman.  (9/11/2017)
Carolyn Webster Coates.  (7/7/2017)
Leroy Sorenson.  (5/25/2017)
Carole Weigel Wunner.  (5/10/2017)
Arthur Wagner.  (1/5/2017)

2016
Robert Harrington.  (12/6/2016)
Beverly Taft Littlefield.  (11/26/2016)
Karolyn Lane Stone.  (11/24/2016)
Roberta Leave Troutman.  (6/8/2016)
Grace Tigani.  (5/20/2016)

2015
Nan Perry Fischer.  (6/18/2015)

More on Iowa book burner Paul Dorr (yes, fooks, a professional nutcase)



Reported in Paul Dorr promises 'hard work and research' to those looking to defeat school bonds.  (Sioux City Journal, 2/6/2006)

Related reading:
NW Iowa religious activist burns LGBTQ library books in protest of OC Pride.  (Sioux City Journal, 12/211/2018)

Here's the real story UPDATE: Scott Walker and Wisconsin GOP legislators plagiarize "model legislation" from ALEC (the start of it all, 2011 edition)



Related reading:
ALEC bills in Wisconsin.  (The Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 7/14/2011)
Connecting the dots: Center for Media and Democracy tracks ALEC’s vast legislative influence.  (Capital Times, 7/21/2011


10/22/2018 update starts here.


Reported in Scott Walker, GOP Slip ALEC Education Agenda Into Wisconsin Budget   (The Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 5/23/2013)


Original 10/20/2018 starts here.


Reported in Scott Walker Has a History of Signing Plagiarized ALEC Bills . (The Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 10/19/2018)

ALEC Exposed.

ALEC goes to Wisconsin:
2018
UPDATE. Leah Vukmir all smiles receving her Iron Lady award from ALEC.  (8/23/2018)
 
2016
Dear Charles and David Koch, Mission accomplished! Love, Scott Fitzgerald.  (3/16/2016)
The 17 white GOP legislators who "inspired" today's Day Without Latinos rally in Madison (and where they live).  (2/18/2016)
Sheila Harsdorf (R-River Falls) on the issues and working together. (2/11/2016)
 GOP State Sen. Frank Lasee's ALEC bill promotes private water companies' workforce issues.  (1/27/2016)
While Scott Walker blathers about his jobs focus, Wisconsin Republicans continue to push an ALEC agenda.  (1/25/2016)

2015
The big, the bold Scott Walker promises more ALEC model policy plagiarism for Wisconsin.  (11/7/2015)
Time for another Republican hypocrisy alert! (10/23/2015)
Get me rewrite: Wisconsin lawmakers eye ALEC model legislation to end state's prevailing wage laws.  (4/5/2015)
Why do Republicans call it 'worker freedom'? Because the Koch Brothers say so.  (3/7/2015)
Scott Walker: Putting the power of government into the hands of the Koch Brothers.  (2/23/2015)
Since 2008 Scott Walker pledges his allegiance to the Koch Brothers.  (2/21/2015)
Why drug tests for recipients of public aid in Wisconsin?  Because the Koch Brothers say so.  (2/10/2015)
Rep. Lee Nerison (R-Westby) Does ALEC's "Ag-Gag" Bidding.  (2/9/2015)
Van Wanggaard toes the ALEC line.  (2/7/2015)
Meet Scott Walker's "ideas" men.  (1/29/2015)
The Koch Brothers bring you "The Big and the Bold".  (1/24/2015)

2014
Chris Kapenga, ALEC waterboy, is at it again. (12/11/2014)
UPDATED:  They pledge allegiance to the Koch Brothers.  (11/19/2014)
Of course, Kapenga hasn't drafted a bill; it's already been done for him.  (12/4/2014)
Here's an example of what happens when people don't pay attention.  (10/8/2014)
Speaking of plagiarism: The Kapenga Chronicles   (9/27/2014)
ALEC tools Leah Vukmir and Alberta Darling go off the deep end.  (9/22/2014)
Speaking of plagiarism.  (9/20/2014)
ALEC tools Leah Vukmir and Alberta Darling go off the deep end.  (9/22/2014)
Just what the Wisconsin legislature needs:  Another ALEC disciple.  (8/7/2014)
Let's connect the dots from Leah Vukmir to the American Legislative Exchange Council.  (7/21/2014)
Meet Chris Kapenga, R-Waterboy, representing the grate state of ALEC.  (2/18/2014)
Sen. Paul Farrow throws a hissy fit (which is transcribed in this news release).  (2/7/2014)

2013
Robin Vos believes in selective transparency of the kind advanced by the American Legislative Exchange Council.  (12/24/2013)
ALEC transparency?  Up to a point.  (12/13/2013)
Background on the National Conference of State Legislatures for Leah.  (12/12/2013)
From ALEC to Andre to us: Rep. Jacque (R-DePere) whittles model bill down to the basics.  (9/1/2013)
NRA/ALEC "Docs and Glocks" law finally makes its way to Wisconsin.  (6/18/2013)
Robin Vos, "an ALEC Wisconsin Foot Soldier" (SourceWatch).  (6/13/2013)
ALEC'd to Death: Wisconsin Republicans Continues to Depend on the Koch Brothers' Playbook. (6/7/2013)
ALEC's State Budget Reform Toolkit: "Asset Sale and Lease Opportunities".  (6/6/2013)
Selling State Properties? It's in the ALEC Playbook.  (5/22/2013)
More cookie-cutter legislation from ALEC.  (4/7/2013)

2012
What the Koch Brothers left under Scott Walker's 2010 Christmas tree.  (6/19/2012)

Monday, October 22, 2018

Two months after the storm in Middleton: Woodside Heights Park benchmark


Monday, October 22

Wednesday, October 17

After the storm in Middleton (and Madison) posts:
August 2018
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 2).  (8/21/2018)
Powerwashing between the Beltline and Parmenter Street.  (8/22/2018)
Along Pheasant Branch Creek east of Parmenter Street.  (8/23/2018)
Costco and environs.  (8/23/2018 update)
Entrance to Esser Place parking lot, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Longmeadow Drive and Stricker's Pond, then and now.  (8/24/2018)
Greenway Station is open for business.  (8/24/2018 update)
Views of Pheasant Branch Creek from Parmenter Street bridge.  (8/25/2018 update)
Intersection of U.S. highway 14 and Deming Way.  (8/27/2018 update)
Century Avenue and entrances to Pheasant Branch Conservancy trails.  (8/27/2018)
UW Health administration office building.  (8/27/2018)
Longmeadow Gulch.  (8/28/2018)

September 1-15, 2018
Stricker's Park.  (9/4/2018 update)
Flooding in East Washington/East Mifflin area of Madison.  (9/7/2018)
The dual dead ends of Middleton Street.  (9/10/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond footpath.  (9/11/2018 update)
Confluence Pond expands to become Confluence Lake (and back again).  (9/12/2018 update)
Stricker's Pond.  (9/12/2018 update)
Pheasant Branch Creek algae bloom.  (9/15/2018)
Tiedeman Pond access at Pond View Road.  (9/15/2018 update)

September 16-30, 2018
Pheasant Branch Trail at Park Street (part 1).  (9/17/2018 update)
Pheasant Branch Conservancy trail and bridge.  (9/17/2018)
Pheasant Branch Conservancy just north of Century and Branch.  (9/17/2018)
Voss Parkway.  (9/18/2018 update)
Tiedeman Pond pumping.  (9/19/2018 update)
Boardwalk access ramp to Tiedeman Pond.  (9/19/2018 update)
Woodside Heights Park.  (9/21/2018 update)
Moving into the 6th week after the storm in Middleton (The Tiedeman Pond doubleheader edition).  (9/24/2018)
Moving into the 6th week after the storm in Middleton (The Stricker's Pond doubleheader edition).  (9/24/2018)
Moving into the 6th week after the storm in Middleton and Madison: Stricker's Pond discharge helps to lower water level.  (9/28/2018)

October 1-15, 2018
Seven weeks after the storm in Middleton (The Park Street/Tiedeman Pond edition).  (10/10/2018)
Seven weeks after the storm (The Woodside Heights Park/Tiedeman Pond edition).  (10/10/2018)
Seven weeks after the storm in Middleton and Madison (The Stricker's Pond edition).  (10/10/2018)

October 16-31, 2018
Two months after the storm in Middleton (Park Street/Tiedeman Pond edition) (10/18/2018)
Two months after the storm in Middleton (Woodside Heights Park/Tiedeman Pond edition).  (10/18/2018)
Two months after the storm in Middleton (Stricker's Pond edition).  (10/18/2018)
Two months after the storm in Middleton (Pond View Road/Tiedeman Pond edition).  (10/18/2018)
Two months after the storm in Middleton (Stricker's Park edition).  (10/18/2018)
Two months after the storm in Middleton: Woodside Heights Park access to Tiedeman Pond trail.  (10/22/2018)

Heritage Foundation commandeers the United States. The narrow, frightened minds who brought us Kavanaugh and Gorsuch now offer a phobic definition of 'sex'.



Reported in 
The New York Times, 10/21/2018

Related reading:
Sex, Gender, and the Origin of the Culture Wars: An Intellectual History.  (Heritage Foundation, 6/30/2017)
How Trump got to yes on Gorsuch.  (Politico, (1/27/2017)
This Legal Scholar Put Brett Kavanaugh on President Trump’s Radar in 2016.  (National Law Journal, 7/31/2018)

Sunday, October 21, 2018

The Peter Principle, as demonstrated by Jeff Sessions



Source:  Wikipedia


Justice Dept. Rank-and-File Tell of Discontent Over Sessions’s Approach.  (The New York Times, 10/19/2018)
Multiple offender?  Now, discontent and infighting have taken hold at the Justice Department, in part because Mr. Sessions was so determined to carry out that transformation that he ignored dissent, at times putting the Trump administration on track to lose in court and prompting high-level departures, according to interviews over several months with two dozen current and former career department lawyers who worked under Mr. Sessions. Most asked not to be named for fear of retribution.

Peter Principle defined.

Other Keebler Elf posts:
2018
Dear Jeff Sessions, Speaking of Romans..... (6/16/2018)

2017
Beyond reproach: GOP hypocrisy in action: "No one is above the law".  (10/21/2017)
Dear Jeff Sessions, Wedding cakes, photography, floral arrangements are strictly business.  (10/15/2017)
Misbehaving politicians: Alabama's embarrassment of riches.  (6/14/2017)
Jeff Sessions dismisses the views of a majority of Americans on legalization of marijuana.  (4/20/2017)
As Alabama Attorney General, Jeff Sessions made no effort to remove racist langauge from state's constitution.  (3/11/2017)
Meet the 3 men who pull the strings of the U.S. government's investigation of Trump's ties to Russia.  (3/8/2017)
Jeff Sessions UPDATE. Man who snookered Wisconsin voters while sitting by fireplace needs lessons in anatomy, rectitude.  (3/6/2017)
GOP hypocrisy in action:  'No one is above the law.'  (3/4/2017)
When it comes to Russia, the mind of Jeff Sessions is a sieve.  (3/2/2017)
Why? Because our reckless, self-absorbed President-elect sez so.   (1/12/2017)

2016
Jeff Sessions, 1st U.S. Senator to endorse Trump, is picked for Attorney General.  (11/18/2016)
Even a conservative senator from Alabama* has to push back against Trump today.  (8/9/2016)
Giving Jeff Sessions a pass, clueless Chuck Todd demonstrates his selective listening skills.  (6/12/2016)
Sounds like Jeff Sessions is a big fan of Gene Pitney (as well as Donald Trump).  (2/28/2016)

2015
Dear Scott Walker, Admitting you consulted with Sen. Jeff Sessions on immigration is not a confidence builder.  (4/27/2015)

Ohio Rust Belt city copes with declining population, shrinking manufacturing, and growing homelessness


Source:  Wikipedia

Why a Private Landowner Is Fighting to Keep the Homeless on His Property.  (The New York Times, 10/16/2018)
But during an unsuccessful campaign for mayor, Mr. Lewis befriended several homeless people in Akron, an industrial city that boasts of being the “rubber capital of the world” but has lost factories and residents over the last 50 years as part of a broad decline in manufacturing. Last year, when a few of Mr. Lewis’s homeless friends asked to pitch tents behind a commercial building he owns, he approved.

 Source:  city-data.com (Akron), U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts (Ohio, U.S.) 


According to the City of Akron 2017 annual report, Goodyear is the city's 4th largest employer with 3,000 employees.


Amy Tan tells us about the library she loves



Shared in Reading Room.   12 Authors Write About the Libraries They Love.  (The New York Times, 10/15/2018)

Related reading:
Where to start with Amy Tan.  (New York Public Library. 2/17/2017)
Amy Tan, the Reluctant Memoirst.  (The New York Times, 10/16/2017)
Amy Tan: ‘Writing it was exhilarating, but I wish it hadn’t been published’.  (The Guardian, 1/27/2018)
In 1993, ‘Joy Luck Club’ Changed Hollywood. Until It Didn’t.  (The New York Times, 9/9/2018)


10/14/2018 post, "Susan Orlean tells us about her favorite library", starts here.


Susan Orlean:  By the Book.  (The New York Times, 10/11/2018)

Orlean's latest book, The Library Book, is reviewed in this week's New York Times Book Review.  (As of the publishing of this post, 34 holds in LINKcat.)

Another example that the public library was not always free and open to all



Reviewed in The Library Fire That Ignited an Author’s Imagination, by Michael Lewis.  (The New York Times, 10/15/2018)

The Library Book is currently #48 on Amazon's list of best sellers.

216 holds in the South Central Library System's LINKcat, up from 34 a week ago.

Related links:
About the Los Angeles Central Library,
Susan Orlean.

Mark your calendar!  Susan Orlean will be at the Wisconsin Book Festival on Monday, November 12, 7 pm, at the Madison Central Library.

Related posts:
Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Shirley Abrahamson: “And how do you live — how do I live — without a library card?”  (10/20/2018)
Susan Orlean tells us about her favorite library.  (10/14/2018)
50 years of integration at the Greenville Public Library.  (7/15/2010)
A time when public libraries weren't open and free to all.  (4/25/2018)