Saturday, December 14, 2019

Melania the marionnette



All of her comments are carefully, and sometimes purposefully, scripted by her staff.


@FLOTUS (arrows added)


Greta Thunberg is 16 years old.

And our president has the emotional development of a 6 year old.


Related reading:

I Wonder Who Wrote That Melania Trump Tweet.  (HuffPost, 5/31/2018) 

Friday, December 13, 2019

Judge Paul Malloy: GOP pay to play the voter suppression way



Judge: 234,000 Wisconsin voter registrations should be tossed.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 12/13/2019)
In cahoots?  The judge sided with three voters represented by a conservative law firm who argued the state Elections Commission should have immediately deactivated any of the roughly 234,000 voters who didn't respond to an October mailing within 30 days. The voters were flagged as having potentially moved.

GET ME REWRITE: Treig Pronschinski lives in an alternative universe




Not exactly a dominating performance.  Data collected in the Current Employment Statistics survey found Wisconsin manufacturers employed 6,800 fewer people in September compared with a year earlier, which continues a trend toward the largest year-over-year decline since the last recession.

Or put another way.

The states are important for Trump, whose pledges to reignite the sector are a cornerstone of his economic message. In the past year, though, manufacturing has weakened amid a trade war with China and slower global demand, making some companies hesitant to invest. The president was in Pennsylvania last month speaking to employees of Royal Dutch Shell Plc, where he said assembly lines are “roaring.”

Buying this house will require a trip to the paint store (part 2)


1964 ranch located at 1728 Mayflower Drive, Middleton WI



11/29/2019 post starts here

1936 Cape Cod located at 926 O'Sheridan Street, Madison WI

Photo creditRedfin

Nice floor, tho.


UW-Madison Hamel Music Center


Photos by Retiring Guy

Playing in harmony: UW-Madison’s new music hall improves sights, sounds and stage.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 9/19/2019)


The $55.8 million facility faced years of delays, including design changes, fundraising challenges amid the Great Recession and a legal fight over the property with its former owners. The music center will open its doors to campus and the larger arts community next month. 


Located at the corner of University Avenue and North Lake Street next to the Chazen Museum of Art, Hamel is part of a plan to establish an arts corridor on the east end of campus.

Greetings from Trump's America: Buchanan County, Virginia, where coal was once king



Reported in Can a coal town reinvent itself?  (The New York Times, 12/6/2019)
And that, today, is a problem. At the peak of coal’s fortunes in the 1970s, more than 35,000 people lived in Buchanan. Over 5,000 worked in the mines. Mr. Rife remembers downtown sidewalks in Grundy, the county seat, packed with thousands of people on weekend shopping expeditions. Karen Brown, the principal of Grundy High School, recalls Porsches and Mercedes-Benzes parked in the high school lot when she went to school there.

Source:  Wikipedia (Buchanan County, Grundy)


Grundy is the county seat of Buchanan County.


% of population 25 and older with bachelor's degree:
  • 10.8% - Buchanan County
  • 37.6% - Virginia
  • 30.9% - U.S.
% of population 65 and older:
  • 22.2% - Buchanan County
  • 15.4% - Virginia
  • 16.0% - U.S.
% of population living in poverty:
  • 27.6% - Buchanan County
  • 10.7% - Virginia
  • 11.8% - U.S.

Greetings from Trump's America

Source:  Wikipedia 
3rd-party candidates received 8.6% of vote in 1992, 9.6% of vote in 1996, 2.5% in 2016
(George Wallace received 11.4% of the vote in 1968)

Buchanan County Public Library, Grundy (shared space)

Other Trump's America posts:
Alabama
Autauga County.  (6/29/2017)
Bibb County.  (11/10/2017)
Covington County. (11/11/2017)
Dale County.  (12/12/2017)
Geneva County.  (11/11/2017)
Marion County.  (11/11/2017)

Arizona
8th congressional district.  (4/25/2018)

Arkansas
Faulkner County.  (3/20/2018)
Mississippi County.  (3/19/2018)
Woodruff County.  (3/26/2018)

California
Mesa County.  (7/20/2017)
Shasta County.  (7/4/2017

Colorado
Morgan County.  (4/25/2017)

Florida
Citrus County.  (11/9/2019)
DeSoto County,.  (9/9/2017)
Pinellas County.   (3/14/2019)

Idaho
Kootenai County.  (9/25/2017)

Illinois
Effingham County.  (2/15/2018)
Franklin County.  (2/27/2017)
Jersey County.  (5/12/2019)
Jo Daviess County.  (5/13/2018)
Knox County.  (5/13/2018)
McHenry County.  (2/5/2017)
Perry County.  (5/8/2017)
Scott County.  (11/7/2019)
Stephenson County.  (5/13/2018)
Whiteside County.  (5/13/2018)
16th Congressional District.  (3/26/2017)

Indiana
Dearborn County.  (3/16/2019)
Franklin County.  (3/16/2019)
Granger.  (3/26/2017)
Hendricks County.  (10/1/2017)
Howard County.  (3/19/2019)
Huntington County.  (4/27/2017)
Jefferson County.  (3/10/2018)
Madison County.  (3/16/2019)
Posey County.  (10/21/2017)
Scott County,.  (10/21/2017)
Union County.  (3/16/2019)
Vigo County.  (3/15/2019)
Wayne County.  (3/16/2019)

Iowa
Adair County.  (9/16/2018)
Adams County.  (9/16/2018)
Allamakee County.  (7/31/2018)
Appanoose County.  (8/4/2018)
Audubon County.  (4/26/2019)
Benton County.  (8/2/2018)
Boone County.  (1/15/2017)
Bremer County.  (8/2/2018)
Buchanan County.  (8/2/2018)
Butler County. (8/6/2018)
Calhoun County.  (9/6/2018)
Cass County.  (4/3/2018)
Cedar County.  (7/31/2018)
Cerro Gordo County.  (8/6/2018)
Cherokee County.  (4/29/2019)
Chickasaw County.  (8/2/2018)
Clarke County.  (8/8/2018)
Clayton County.  (7/31/2018)
Clinton County.   (10/15/2017)
Davis County.  (8/3/2018)
Decatur County.  ( 7/5/2018)
Delaware County.  (7/31/2018)
Des Moines County.  (8/1/2018)
Emmet County.  (8/19/2018)
Fayette County.  (8/2/2018)
Floyd County.  (9/25/2018 update)
Franklin County, (8/14/2017)
Fremont County.  (3/24/2019)
Greene County.  (9/6/2018)
Guthrie County.  (9/16/2018)
Hamilton County.  (4/2/2018)
Hancock County. (8/7/2018)
Hardin County.  (4/2/2018)
Henry County.  (7/9/2018)
Howard County.  (8/2/2018)
Ida County.  (4/28/2019)
Iowa County.  (8/2/2018)
Jasper County.  (8/5/2018)
Jefferson County.  (8/1/2018)
Keokuk County.  (8/2/2018)
Kossuth County.  (8/18/2018)
Lee County.  (8/1/2018)
Louisa County.  (8/1/2018)
Lucas County.  (8/5/2018)
Lyon County.  (4/2/2018)
Madison County.  (8/8/2018)
Marion County.  (5/23/2017)
Mitchell County.  (8/7/2018)
Monona County.  (4/27/2019)
Monticello County.  (1/13/2017)
Muscatine County.  (8/1/2018)
Palo Alto County.  (9/6/2018)
Pocahontas County.  (9/6/2018)
Poweshiek and Webster counties.  (2/7/2017)
Ringgold County.  (8/8/2018)
Sac County.  (4/28/2019)
Sioux County.  (8/26/2018 update)
Tama County.  (7/6/2018)
Taylor County.  (9/16/2018)
Union County.  (9/10/2017)
Van Buren County.  (4/25/2019)
Wapello County.  (8/3/2018)
Washington County.  (4/2/2018)
Wayne County.  (8/5/2018)
Webster County.  (8/9/2018)
Winnebago County. (12/17/2017)
Winneshiek County.  (8/2/2018)
Worth County. (8/7/2018)
Wright County.  (6/3/2019 update)

Kansas
Clark County.  (3/21/2017)
Comanche County. (12/22/2018)
Doniphan County.  (3/27/2019)
Mitchell County.  (1/29/2017)
Sumner County.  (10/1/2017)

Kentucky
Bell County.  (6/4/2018)
Elliott County.  (7/18/2019)
Hancock County,.  (10/21/2017)
Jackson County.  (12/9/2017)
Knox and Whitley counties.  (2/17/2017)
Lee County.  (12/9/2017)
Letcher County.  (6/29/2017)
Martin County.  (3/22/2018)
Perry County.  (10/10/2017)
Pike County.  (11/1/2019)
Rowan County.  (6/4/2018)

Louisiana
Calcasieu Parish,.  (5/22/2017)
St. Martin Parish.  (4/26/2017)

Maine
Piscataquis County.  (7/3/2017)

Michigan
Bay County.  (7/4/2019)
Eaton County.  (6/26/2019)
Lake County.  (9/16/2018)
Lapeer County.  (7/5/2019)
Macomb County.  (11/29/2017)
Monroe County.  (3/9/2019)
St. Joseph County.  (6/5/2017)
Saginaw County.  (7/4/2019)
Tuscola County.  (7/5/2019)

Minnesota
Chisago County.  (6/20/2018)
Clay County.  (11/14/2019)
Itasca County.  (5/12/2018)
Lac qui Parle County.  (7/2/2017)
Mower County.  (5/12/2018)
Nobles County.  (1/26/2018)
Stearns County.  (6/21/2019)
Steele County.  (6/9/2019)

Mississippi
Pontotoc County.  (7/19/2017)

Missouri
Atchison County.  (3/25/2019)
Butler County.  (7/22/2018)
Holt County.  (3/25/2019)
New Madrid County.  (4/23/2019)
Pike County/Bowling Green.  (5/23/2019)

Montana
Valley County/Opheim.  (5/27/2019)

Nebraska
Boyd County.  (4/14/2019)
Burt County.  (3/27/2019)
Keya Paha.  (4/14/2019)
Knox County.  (3/28/2019)
Nemaha County.  (3/27/2019)
Richardson County.  (3/27/2019)
Sioux County.  (12/22/2018)

New Jersey
Sussex County.   (12/1/2019)
7th Congressional District.  (4/14/2017)

New York
Broome County.  (2/14/2019)
Cayuga County.  (2/13/2019)
Cortland County.  (2/14/2019)
Essex County.  (11/29/2017 update)
Franklin County. (2/9/2019)
Fulton County.  (2/10/2019)
Herkimer County.  (2/10/2019)
Orange County.  (2/15/2019)
Oswego County.  (2/11/2019)
Otsego County.  (2/12/2019)
Putnam County.  (2/27/2018)
Renssalaer County.  (2/13/2019)
St. Lawrrence County.  (2/8/2019)
Seneca County.  (2/14/2019)
Sullivan County.  (2/15/2019)
Warren County.  (2/11/2019)
Washington County.  (2/11/2019)
19th Congressional District.  (3/26/2017)

North Carolina
Hyde County.  (11/10/2019)
Robeson County.  (12/1/2017)
Union County.  (3/9/2017)

North Dakota
Burleigh County.  (12/6/2019)
Sargent County.  (10/22/2017)

Ohio
Adams County.  (12/9/2017)
Ashtabula County.  (2/18/2019)
Belmont County.  (7/17/2018)
Columbiana County,  (12/11/2017)
Coshocton County. (3/6/2019)
Defiance County.  (3/21/2017)
Erie County.  (3/5/2019)
Gallia County.  (2/23/2019)
Guernsey County.  (2/27/2019)
Highland County.   (3/19/2017)
Huron County.  (6/19/2017)
Jackson County.  (6/6/2017)
Jefferson County.  (2/20/2019)
Lawrence County.  (2/25/2018)
Marion County.  (7/14/2018)
Meigs County.  (2/22/2019)
Mercer County.  (12/8/2019)
Morgan County.  (10/10/2017)
Muskingum County.  (2/26/2019)
Ottawa County. (3/5/2019)
Portage County.  (3/7/2019)
Sandusky County.  (3/5/2019)
Shelby County.  (3/2/2018)
Trumbull County.  (4/3/2017)
Van Wert County.  (4/12/2017)
Wayne County.  (5/6/2018)
Williams County.  (3/21/2017)
Wood County.  (3/6/2019)
Wyandot County.  (5/4/2018)

Oklahoma
Bryan County.  (5/5/2017)
Nowata County.  (5/5/2018)
Osage County/Fairfax.  (5/12/2019)

Oregon
Douglas County.  (5/17/2017)

Pennsylvania
Beaver County.  (2/8/2019)
Blair County/Altoona.  (4/28/2019)
Cambria County/Johnstown.  (6/3/2017)
Dauphin County. (4/22/2017)
Elk County.  (3/24/2019)
Erie County.  (10/11/2018 update)
Fayette County.  (7/25/2018)
Greene County.  (5/3/2017)
Lawrence County.  (2/5/2019)
UPDATE. Luzerne County.  (1/14/2017)
Mercer County.  (2/9/2019)
Northampton County.  (7/20/2017)
Old Forge (Lackawanna County).  3/18/2019)
Warren County.  (6/30/2019)
Wayne County.  (3/1/2018)
Williamsport.  (1/24/2017)

South Carolina
Spartanburg County.  (6/5/2017)

South Dakota
Charles Mix County.  (11/11/2019)
Lawrence County,.  (4/27/2017)

Tennessee
Campbell County.  (12/10/2017)
Lake County.  (12/22/2018)
Marion County.  (4/1/2017)
Maury County.  (10/31/2017)
Roane County.  (5/1/2018)
Union County.  (5/30/2017)

Texas
Gaines County.  (4/26/2017)
Shackelford County.  (2/26/2018)

Virginia
Wise County.  (11/9/2019)

Washington
Grays Harbor County.  (8/20/2017)

West Virginia
Berkeley County.  (3/25/2018)
Boone County.  (3/23/2018)
Brooke County.  (3/17/2019)
Cabell County.  (8/4/2017)
Doddridge County.  (3/19/2019)
Fayette County.  (1/24/2017)
Greenbrief County.  (12/14/2018)
Hancock County. (3/17/2019)
Harrison County.  (3/19/2019)
Jackson County.  (6/18/2017)
Lincoln County.  (3/21/2019)
Logan County.  (3/21/2019)
Marion County.  (3/18/2019)
Marshall County.  (2/7/2018)
Mason County.  (12/16/2017)
McDowell County.  (7/10/2017)
Mercer County.  (3/20/2019)
Mingo County.  (3/25/2018)
Summers County.  (3/25/2018)
Wayne County.  (3/24/2018)
Wetzel County.  (3/19/2019)
Wood County.  (1/15/2019)
Wyoming County.  (3/20/2019)

Wisconsin
6th congressional district.  (1/27/2018)
Adams County.  (2/6/2017)
Buffalo County.  (3/19/2017)
Burnett County.  (2/24/2018)
Clark County,.  (8/13/2018)
Crawford County.  (5/14/2018)
Florence County.  (11/13/2019)
Fond du Lac County.  (3/7/2018)
Forest County.  (6/16/2019)
Grant County.  (5/16/2018)
Green Lake County.  (1/26/2018)
Jackson County.  (3/8/2018)
Johnson Creek.  (1/21/2017)
Juneau County.  (2/23/2017)
Lafayette County.  (5/16/2018)
Langlade County,.  (6/9/2019)
Manitowoc County.  (8/10/2017)
Monroe County.  (3/8/2018)
Oconto County.  (7/24/2018)
Oneida County.  (4/24/2017)
Pepin County.  (12/21/2017)
Price County.  (12/23/2018 update)
Richland County.  (11/10/2017)
Rusk County.  (6/30/2019)
Sauk County.  (5/14/2018)
Sawyer County.  (3/20/2017)
Taylor County.  (12/23/2018 update)
Trempealeau County.  (5/28/2019)
Vernon County.  (5/14/2018)
Waushara County.  (2/6/2017)
Winnebago County.  (11/27/2017)
Wood County.  (3/8/2018)

Cheryl is correct; her client received glowing reviews from his students



Reported in Accuser says ex-UW-La Crosse professor preyed on many women, and got away with it for years.  (La Crosse Tribune, 12/13/2019)



GET ME REWRITE: Milwaukee Brewers guarantee $9 million to pitcher with 5 career major league baseball victories


The most recent one in 2013.

Source:  Baseball Almanac

Brewers sign right-hander Josh Lindblom to three-year deal out of Korean baseball league.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 12/11/2019)
The Brewers reached a three-year deal Wednesday guaranteeing $9.125 million to Lindblom, 32, who pitched most of the previous five seasons in the KBO with great success. Jon Heyman of the MLB Network was first to report the deal, and ESPN's Jeff Passan reported with incentive bonuses the agreement could reach $18 million.

Related reading:
How One Man Changed Korean Baseball.  (FanGraphs, 6/14/2019)
Heo Koo-Yeon is one of the biggest names in Korean baseball history. At this moment, you could say that he is the most influential figure in the Korea Baseball Organization (KBO).

Raymond Morrison Jr. (1937-2019) Warren High School class of 1955



1955 Dragon yearbook


1967 Warren City Directory
1983 Warren City Directory

The popularity of Raymond is graphed here.  Let's look at granddaughter Victoria.  


You can say that Victoria has always been in the running.  Since 1949, she has spent just 14 years out of the top 100 and has spent most of her time in the top 30 since 1990.  Her peak years were in 1998 and 1999 at #16.


Other class of '55 members:
2019
Rose Quiggle Barney.  (7/23/2019)

2018
Donald Mahaffey.  (1/5/2018)

2017
James Rose.  (12/17/2017)
Carol Burgeson.  (6/9/2017)
Theoidore Huber.  (5/3/2017)
Mary Sperry.  (4/11/2017)
James Graziano.  (3/28/2017)

2016
Lavonne Devore Saber.  (12/8/2016) 
Martin Gage.  (12/5/2016)
Sally Jean Nelson Kittner.  (11/15/2016)
Lester Nero.  (9/8/2016)

2015
Cleo Stack Yaegle (10/24/2015
Carl Stranburg.  (1/30/2015)

On Donald Trump (Matteo Renzi edition)



Photo credit:  Wikipedia

83 not-very-flattering things foreign officials have said about Trump.  (Washington Post, 12/7/2019)

Related reading:
The world is staring at Trump, mouth agape.  (Washington Post, 10/16/2019)
Such incoherent rage, combined with confusion distinguishing between friend and foe, is uniquely disconcerting coming from the most powerful man in the world. Trump once worried that “the world is laughing at us.” Now the world is staring at us, mouth agape.

12/10/2019 entry

Photo credit:  Parliament of Australia



Trump drives Australian trust in US to all-time low.  (The Guardian, 6/20/2018)
The Lowy Institute poll shows that since 2011 faith in the US to act responsibly has fallen from 83% to 55%, while only 30% of Australians have confidence in Trump’s foreign policy.

12/9/2019 entry

Photo credit:  Wikipedia

Related reading:
Trump says he could be 'most popular person in Europe’ and 'run for any office'.  (The Independent, 1/2/2019)
In a 2016 Pew Research Centre poll, 84 percent of people in Germany, Britain, France, Canada and Sweden believed the American president would “do the right thing in world affairs,” Mr Romney wrote. “One year later, that number had fallen to 16 percent.

12/8/2019 entry




Related article:
Pope Francis on Trump’s border wall: ‘Fear that makes us crazy’.  (Washington Post, 1/23/2019)
Pope Francis has made no secret in the past of his disdain for President Trump’s immigration policy. Francis speaks frequently of welcoming migrants; he has said he prefers bridges rather than walls.

34 GOP members of the House of Representatives voted for the Farm Workforce bill, none of them from Wisconsin



House of Representatives Passes Farm Workforce Bill.  (Dairy Herd Management, 12/12/2019)
The bill would provide a path to legalization for current farm workers and expand the H-2A foreign guest worker program. The next step would be for the Senate to create a companion bill. Edge* urged the Senate to continue with this process to address the needs of dairy farmers in the Midwest.

Related reading:
Brody Stapel Elected Edge* Cooperative President.  (Farm Journal's Milk, 3/21/2018)
Brody Stapel, a dairy farmer from Cedar Grove, Wis., was recently elected president of Edge Dairy Farmer Cooperative, replacing John Pagel, who was killed in a plane crash February 22. Stapel was elected to the Edge Board of Directors in 2016, and had been serving as its vice president since January. Todd Dornink, Baldwin, Wis., was elected vice president, having served on the board since 2011.
Wisconsin's dairy industry would collapse without the work of Latino immigrants — many of them undocumented.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 11/22/2019)

Voting against the bill


What good are they if they can't lift a finger to help their constituents.

Thursday, December 12, 2019

Trump loses his November head of steam in December Marquette poll hypothetical match-ups


Against Biden:  From +3 in November to -1 in December

Here's a quirk.  Trump shrinks Biden's advantage by 8 percentage points among 18 to 29 year olds.
=



Against Warren:  From +5 in November to +1 in December

Here's a quirk.  Warren goes from a 16 percentage point advantage over Trump with 18 to 29 year olds in November to a 7 percentage point deficit in December, a shift of 23 percentage points.  Young Republicans are answering their phones!

Dear Charles,

In what alternative universe do you poll?

Best,
Retiring Guy

Against Sanders:  From +3 in November to +2 in December

Here's a quirk.  Sanders goes from a 23 percentage point advantage over Trump with 18 to 29 year olds in November to a 3 percentage point deficit in December, a shift of 26 percentage points.  


Dear Charles,

In what alternative universe do you poll?

Best,
Retiring Guy

Against Buttigieg:  From +8 in November to +1 in December

Here's a quirk.  Buttigieg goes from a 10 percentage point advantage over Trump with 18 to 29 year olds in November to a 1 percentage point deficit in December, a shift of 11 percentage points.  


Dear Charles,

In what alternative universe do you poll?

Best,

Retiring Guy



Related post:
Marquette poll question: In general, would you describe your political views as... 1 Very conservative 2 Conservative 3 Moderate 4 Liberal 5 Very liberal.  (12/12/2019)
Eyeroll, please: If the latest Marquette polls can be believed, the Fox Valley is cooling down on Trump while Milwaukee is warming up.  (12/12/2019)