Rough Searchable Database for RECALL Signatures Now Available

Curtsy: Boots and Sabers

This database brings up all the petition signatures by zip code.


HAVE AT IT.


Verify the Recall will have a searchable database up and running soon according to today's press release.

The "Scoop" on Washington County Elections

From Owen Robinson "Boots and Sabers":

"The filing deadline for local elections was yesterday. Here’re my quick takes on my local governments:

City of West Bend

All of the odd numbered districts are up this year. Districts 1, 3, and 5 have incumbents running unopposed. District 1 is conservative Tony Turner. District 3 is conservative Ed Duquaine. District 5 is moderate/liberal Alan Carter.

District 7’s incumbent was a liberal and she chose not to run for reelection. Running for the seat is a single candidate, Adam Williquette. Adam is a conservative.

So… the West Bend Common Council was a majority liberal/moderate board a few years ago with a liberalish mayor. Now 6 of the 8 seats and the mayor’s seat will be held by staunch conservatives. Not bad… not bad…

West Bend School Board

This slate is pretty disappointing. There are two seats up for election. One is currently held by a conservative, Tim Stepanski. The other is held by a liberal, Kris Beaver. Stepanski has chosen not to run for reelection. Beaver is.

Besides Beaver, three other candidates have filed to run. Carl Knepel is a younger guy who professes conservatism, but doesn’t have any track record. Therese Sizer is a staff attorney at West Bend Mutual and former teacher. I don’t know much about her except that she doesn’t travel in local conservative circles. The final candidate is Vinney Pheng. He ran last year and lost in the primary. He’s a solid conservative.

So what does it mean?"

READ THE REST OF THE SYNOPSIS HERE

Conservatives Response to the RECALL Drive

Cursty: Boots and Sabers

Words worth heeding. Conservatives, do your part.

As I’m sure you are aware, the attempt by liberals to recall Governor Walker begins tomorrow. It is an utterly misguided effort. Read my column tomorrow for some more thoughts on that. But as a conservative guy in Wisconsin who supports Scott Walker and the direction he is leading this state, here’s what I plan to do and suggest y’all might consider doing it too.

1) Record and report.

A recall drive is a public activity and participants are generally working in a public setting. I will take pictures, record conversations, take videos, and publicize it all. I hope that the folks are on their best behavior, because a lot of us will be watching. In fact, the Republican Party has set up a website to collect all of these reports. You can find it at Recall Integrity Center.

2) Power of the purse.

Just like the recall employees/volunteers, everyone who signs a recall petition is signing a public document. I’ll be looking at those names and making them public - especially for people in my neck of the woods. If you sign the petition and happen to own or run a local business, you can expect me to publicize that fact and decline to spend any more of my hard earned dollars with your establishment. After all, if you get your way I will need those dollars to pay my taxes.

3) Explain yourself.

As a close follower of the issues, I am well-equipped to debate the recall effort, the motivations, and the consequences. If you come to my door or approach me in public, you can expect a lengthy debate. I don’t really care if I convince you the error of your ways, but the longer you are talking to me, the less time you are spending collecting signatures. If you get frustrated and storm off in a huff, I’ll enjoy posting the video/audio. Heck, even if you don’t, it will be fun to highlight your lame arguments.

4) Show ID.

Every recall petition must be signed by the person circulating it. As such, anyone signing it has a responsibility to verify the identity of the circulator to make sure it’s on the up and up. If you ask me to sign it, I will ask for ID, record your information, and use that information as I see fit. If you are from out of state, you can expect to see your name in lights. If you refuse to show me an ID, I’ll be forced to take a picture and ask my readers if they know who you are. I will also ask if you are being compensated and, if so, by whom.

5) Send the cash.

During this period, there are no campaign finance limits on donating to Governor Walker. If you support Scott Walker. If you oppose returning to the days of Doyle and Democrat rule. If you support representative government where politicians serve the terms for which they were elected. Send a check. Do it now. Before you forget. If you have a lot of money, send a big check. If you don’t, then send a little one. It all adds up and there’s no better way to show that you support Scott Walker’s Wisconsin than by sending a check and casting your vote.

——-

I will not physically threaten or curse anyone collecting signatures. Nor will I do so to anyone who signs the petitions. I will be polite, friendly, and engaged. But I will make every personal effort to ensure that the entire process is legal, lengthy, and unpleasant for all concerned.

Just one man’s response…

Charter School Gets Community Support

Excellent column by Owen today:

Charter school worth exploring in West Bend


    There is a proposal before the West Bend School Board to create a charter school in the district. It’s a proposal worthy of serious consideration.

    Charter schools are not new to Wisconsin. There are over 220 charter schools in the state. Charter schools are simply schools that are chartered – i.e. contracted – by a chartering authority to provide education with taxpayer dollars but are absolved of having to comply to many of the regulations that burden traditional public schools.

    Charter schools also, because they are not shackled by as many stringent state regulations, offer school districts the opportunity to be innovative. Charter schools in Wisconsin specialize in technology, arts, the environment, math, science, at-risk, direct instruction, virtual and any number of other specializations while still offering the core curriculum required for all public school kids. 


.....


Second, the financials of a charter school may prove to be a net benefit to the district. The way school funding works, the money follows the student. For each student that enters the district, the district receives about $9,100 of funding. The proposed charter school is estimating a cost of about $8,000 to educate each student. In other words, for each net new student added to the district, the district would receive a net “profit” of about $1,100 to be added to the general budget


.....


Crossroads Academy seems to offer everything for which the district is striving. Educational flexibility. Relief from state mandates. Freedom from the confines of a unionized work force. Financial security. There are a few more details to gather, but all signs are that the School Board would provide an excellent service to the citizens of the district by exploring this opportunity. 

Washington County Supervisors go to court; Meyers files complaint against Tennies

Back in March of 2009, it seems Washington County Board Chairman Herb Tennies refused to allow two other county supervisors into an open meeting.  Those supervisors have now filed a complaint with the DA's office and is going to court.  Meyers has stated that he would have been satisfied with an apology from Tennies, but Tennies seems to be fresh out.

Meyers has now created a website that allows constituents in Washington County to view documents leading up to the case.  Good idea.

Be informed.

Check out Bill Meyers' website.  Is someone trying to hide something?

What is it with the leadership in West Bend that seems to be consistently shutting out taxpayers?  Witness the West Bend School Board's president, Joe Carlson, in September of 2009 HERE.

Click HERE to view State of Wisconsin vs Herb Tennies.

West Bend School District figures REVEALED

Tonight at 7PM the Regular Board of Education Meeting hosted by Silverbrook Middle School, 120 N. Silverbrook Drive.  Meeting will be held in the gymnasium.


PUBLIC INPUT WILL BE ALLOWED.

The teachers union has requested all of the teachers to attend this and the remaining school board meetings.  They were embarrassed with being outnumbered at the tax levy vote a couple of weeks ago. 

(It appears there is a scheduled walk-out at the high school today for the students.  They are protesting combining the two high schools to one.  It seems that if a student does not want one school, they will walk out.  However, if a student walks out they will have some type of discipline placed onto their permanent record and they will not be allowed to go to the Homecoming dance this Saturday night.)  

The TEACHERS UNION is holding the teacher's close.  

KEEP IN MIND:  The teachers stand NOTHING TO LOSE with the tax levy we are being targeted for.  While West Bend School District taxpayers are being asked to foot the bill for a tax levy (the school board is going to propose 9% tonight), TEACHERS WILL RECEIVE ANNUAL PAY INCREASES. 

The recent letter from the School District states the government funding has decreased over the years.  NOT TRUE.  LIES ARE BEING TOLD.  FACTS TO BACK IT UP.  Read it here:

http://www.bootsandsabers.com/index.php/weblog/permalink/west_bend_school_board_meets_tonight/

Curtsy Boots & Sabers (nice work):

Check out full commentary HERE.

12% tax hike coming to West Bend - Show up Monday night and VOTE NO

Here is what is not being said.  YOU CAN VOTE on this issue.  Monday night, school board meeting, BADGER MIDDLE SCHOOL GYM AT 6:30 (note - the meeting was moved).

Waning state aid and the increased cost of doing business have been cited as reasons why the West Bend School District will present a 12.1 percent increase to its 2009-2010 tax levy during its annual meeting Monday.
The district’s overall proposed budget is up 3.7 percent, from $64.2 million in 2008-09 to $66.6 million. That increase will bring the equalized mill rate up 8.7 percent to $7.36, adding 59 cents per $1,000 of equalized valuation to last year’s property tax bills.

.....
 
“After a 4.8 percent levy increase last year and a $27.4 million referendum passed earlier this year, the people of the district should aggressively scrutinize any spending and tax increases, especially with unemployment over 13 percent in West Bend,” said West Bend resident Owen Robinson, a blogger who publishes at www.bootsandsabers.com and writes a column for the Daily News.

Robinson lends answers to Obama Speech

Numerous comments have come through this blog alone stating that Obama's speech to the children is such a wonderful idea, that he should be the one the children look up to and follow, and that Obama should be the one to motivate the youth concerning government issues. I have seen comments that state Obama represents the nation as a whole (he does not) and alleged confusion about the fuss over the presidential address to the army of youth standing by in the public schools, waiting to be lavished with the attention of our president extraordinaire, complete with lesson plans that have students writing letters to themselves explaining how they will serve their master....I mean president. The column written by Owen Robinson (Boots and Sabers) in today's West Bend News clears this issue up for those who just don't seem to get it. Parents who are questioning, refusing and chastising this move on Hitl...er, Obama's part are wise, indeed.

The entire column can be read here, but these are a few of the insightful paragraphs lent by Robinson:

The reasons behind the reaction reveal the level of unease about President Obama and his actions. Given Obama’s track record so far in office, perhaps that unease isn’t unjustified.

Since taking office, President Obama has signed massive increases in spending including the failed stimulus package. The federal deficit this year will be quadruple what it was in the worst budget years under President Bush. Obama has taken over car companies and banks. He has appointed Czars to oversee everything from the environment to employee compensation.

Obama is advocating a plan to insert government even more into our health care system. He is also pushing for a cap and tax energy plan that will result in the largest de facto tax increase in the history of the world and will really hit hard in states like Wisconsin. Obama is advancing legislation to encourage people to save more money and wants college football to have a playoff system.

There is seemingly no part of Americans’ lives that Obama hasn’t inserted himself into and Americans are growing weary of the omnipresent Obama. So when Obama announced that he was going to broadcast live into the classrooms of America, it was the proverbial straw that broke the camel’s back for many folks.

......

Also, while this speech has apparently been planned for some time if study materials have already been produced for it, the White House refused to release the text until the day before. This has many wondering why an allegedly innocuous speech needs to be kept under such tight wraps.

The combination of Obama’s actions to date and the creepy Orwellian overtones of his plans to speak to the kids prompted many parents to worry that Obama may politicize what should be a simple address to kids wishing them well and encouraging them to work hard.

Americans are growing weary of President Obama’s insistence that he be involved in seemingly every facet of our lives. His rapidly declining approval rating shows this weariness. In this case, the public mood was stoked to near outrage over what should have been a non-issue.


As an aside, Call Me Mom of Irate,Tireless Minority posted such a richly worded comment previously, I'd like to repeat it here as it confirms Robinson's statements:

"Well, isn't that swell of the president to have posted the text of his speech, what - maybe a whole week before it's supposed to be shown? An assignment for you - go to your local school board meeting and ask about the process by which curriculum is approved for your local schools. Ask if a few weeks notice is sufficient for any other curriculum elelment to be included. You say yourself there is nothing more than a message to children to do well in school. If that's so, then he could have commandeered the airwaves and had a televised presidential back to school address. (The president does have the authority to do that.)No one would have objected to that. And it would have been truly the parent's choice whether or not their child saw it. The only reason for him to present it like this, (when he has plenty of duties that he should be attending to rather than making study guides and curriculum to impose upon schools at the last minute)is so that he can do an end run around parents who might not otherwise allow their children to watch such a speech. It's disrespectful and anyone who has lived under oppression or lived during the cold war is probably finding it beyond creepy that he has chosen to do so."

Honest Scrap Award

THANK YOU to Irate, Tireless Minority for bestowing the Honest Scrap Award on me on July 21,2009.

THE RULES

In accepting this award, I need to do the following:
1) Say thanks and give a link to the presenter of the award.
2) Share "ten honest things" about myself.
3) Present this award to 7 others whose blogs I find brilliant in content and/or design, or those who have encouraged me.
4) Tell those 7 people that they've been awarded HONEST SCRAP and inform them of these guidelines in receiving it.

TEN HONEST THINGS
1. My faith in Jesus Christ is my priority in this life.
2. My husband is the love of my life.
3. My kids are crazy and fun and I love them beyond words!
4. My grandchildren are the best therapy this world has to offer...
5. My heart breaks when I read about child abuse, abortion, or the harm or death of a child for any reason whatsoever.
6. I love old people.
7. I do not like carnival rides.
8. I am, unashamedly, a Star Trek fan.
9. I love the sound of rain on a tent roof.
10. Bargain shopping is a hobby.

7 OTHER BLOGS (not in any particular order of preference)
1. Boots and Sabers
2. Shark and Shepherd
3. SafeLibraries
4. GOP3.com - The Triumvirate
5. Annoyed Librarian
6. The Black Sphere
7. From Where I Sit