Presidential Prayers - Give Thanks...

West Bend SENDIK'S: The Party and The Secret

(Fresh string beans 99 cent/lb. See below.)

I had my first opportunity to get over to the new Sendik's Food Market in West Bend today. If you haven't been there yet, you're in for a treat. The store is arranged in traditional Sendik's style with a vast array of perfect produce that pleases the eye from the moment you begin the walk through the store. Dried fruits, nuts, chocolates, all neatly stacked with an outrageous plethora of selections. The staff is extremely courteous and friendly, whether it's someone who is stocking products or serving behind the meat/bakery counters, checking out, bagging...

Here is what I noticed most profoundy...it was like going to a party. The countenance of the employees was catching in a most festive manner. Couples, families and friends were chatting and laughing in nearly every aisle. It was what one could document as a "warm and fuzzy" experience. :-)

Now, for the secret....

From time to time I am known to drop in on the Sendik's in Germantown to get a glob of their homemade pizza dough. Actually, it's not Sendik's per se, it's made by Sciortino's Bakery in Milwaukee, and the stuff is phenomenally mouth-pleasing. I normally make all my own yeast breads, doughs, rolls, etc. I seldom stray from anything short of scratch bakery. This is the one exception, and rightfully so. I cannot make a better pizza crust. Simple as that. I believe this dough is made with a high-gluten flour. The flavor, texture and eye appeal all add up, and the price is right, too, at $1.97 for one crust that makes an 18"-20" diameter pizza. I'm adding a picture of what was left of our lunch today. This crust is so easy to work with. Just lightly grease your pizza pan with shortening (Crisco; not oil, and not cooking spray). Gently stretch the dough, then lay flat on pan and work it to the edges with your fingers. It's extremely pliable and I have never torn a single crust. Spread on your favorite sauce, toppings and cheese... Bake at 400 until golden.

You'll find the secret pizza crust near the Bakery in the cooler where the cakes are stored, bottom left shelf.... shhhh!!!!

TRIED SOMETHING NEW:

Sendik's had out a sample of their own recipe of "Vidalia Onion Summer Tomato Salad Dressing." No MSG, low in sugar, 0 fat, 40 calories per 2 Tbsp, superior flavor. Yep. I bought it.

Sendik's has already gotten off to a great start in West Bend (click and scroll down to "Rain Gardens Lauded"). It's easy to ascertain why.

A COUPLE OF OTHER DEALS WORTH MENTIONING:

GIGANTIC blackberries are 99 cents/lb. Wow ---no limit!

Fresh string beans - 99 cents/lb. Freezing some today. (See mess o' beans above.)

OWS - Aristocrat vs.Ghetto?

Ousted Library Board President, Barb Deters, Stumbles Through Weak Presentation

Two weekends ago, Barbara Deters, former library board president, gave a power point presentation regarding the 2009 library issue at the UW-Milwaukee School of Informational Studies (liberal librarian school). Amidst outright lies that were told, Deters mentions her fear of the new members of the library board and city council.

Listen to the entire video to hear how she ridicules our City Council, slams the citizens/families of West Bend, snarks about Christians, and lies about a number of issues. Revealing his true colors, former library board director, Michael Tyree, weighed in during Q&A at the end.

As Deters mangles her way through this presentation, she disturbingly appears to be speaking as a direct representative of the West Bend Community Memorial Library, or at least she would like others to think so.

Interestingly, Deters states she was "forced" to retire from her position within our school district. I have confirmed that this, indeed, is a lie. Nobody forced her to retire.

Some of the more amusing quotes:

WVCY (Deters displayed fear of the moral media.)

20:45 "There is a Christian television station in the community that she was on..." (Context: Deters was referencing the media that "helped" to cover the town hall meeting that Jim and I held in the school gym, and how we had the advantage of radio, newspaper and television coverage on our side.)

BELLING/SYKES

40:32 "Mark Belling weighed in on this. I have never met Mark Belling in my life, but he categorized me as an 'old lefty bag.'" (I'll let Mark defend himself on that one...)

27:50 "Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes weighed in on this all the time." (Actually, they only weighed in on this a couple of times. "All the time" is a bit over the top.)

BOOTS AND SABERS/OWEN ROBINSON

27:32 "..but there was another blog that was very influential in this whole thing, and it's called Boots and Sabers. And if you ever want to read an interesting blog, then go to Boots and Sabers. It's written by a man named Owen Robinson. He lives in the West Bend area. There are times that he is called upon to substitute for Mark Belling on his radio show. So, you kind of know where he's coming from." (Wow, really? I don't think I've ever heard Owen on Belling's show, but I could be wrong....)

ROLLING QUORUM

31:11 "At that point, I was back being president of the board..and one of the things that had frustrated board members to no end was that we had never spoken about all of these things that were out there because the board president didn't put it on the agenda. If it's not on the agenda, you can't talk about it at a board meeting. You can't talk about it privately with other board members, because that would then be called a "rolling quorum" and the city attorney will come down on you like a ton of bricks and you could be in trouble because you're not supposed to sidestep the public transparency of an organization like the library board by having side meetings or telephone conversations or email exchanges that don't get publicized as being part of a public agenda." (See below, 35:15)

35:15 "About a week prior to the meeting, I had contacted every board member, probably violating rolling quorum rule, but...I said to them, after the motion, that's when the library board members are going to speak...I'm not going to limit you on time, and I don't care what you talk about, but that's going to be your time to say what you feel about this issue."

41:06 (Open mouth, insert foot.) Deters finds it amusing that Net Nanny restricts access to my personal blog because it contains "pornographic material." The material in question are direct quotes from various books we were challenging for the very same thing - pornographic material. Though Deters denies the passages in the books as pornographic, she notes that my blog is, indeed, blocked from Net Nanny for what is deemed pornography. :-)

PFOX (Parents and Friends of Gays and Ex-Gays)

22:16 Deters mocks our request for balanced literature on the gay lifestyle. States "not one of the books" on the PFOX website has "ever been reviewed by a reputable source" and that they are "poorly written," and that this is the reason they hadn't been purchased for our library. (PFOX offered to donate a book(s) in order to assist in lending a balanced viewpoint regarding homosexuality to young adults. This offer was rejected by Deters and her clan in 2009, confirming what we had stated from the very beginning - one viewpoint only.)

Deters conveniently leaves out that the organization, PFOX, is Parents and Friends of Ex-gays and Gays. She lends heavy bias to her belief that homosexuals cannot change their behavior while attacking PFOX's mission to lend assistance to those choosing to leave the homosexual lifestyle.

SCHLAFLY/EAGLE FORUM

44:15 "She had a lot of help from outside West Bend. Phyllis Schlafly gave her money and moral support." (LIE. I had just begun the Washington County Chapter after the library issue had come to an end. Phyllis Schlafly has never given me money. Ever.)

And there's so much more. But you don't have to take my word for it....

Recall Petitioning at....Holy Angels Cemetery????

The Dems won't confirm or deny. Draw your own conclusions. (They have since removed the post...)

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…

"Occupy" Spreads Hate and Violence Across Nation

From the MacIver Institute:

Ever so slowly, the "Occupy" hippies are taking their hate to the streets across the nation, employing violent behavior as their weapon of choice. This disturbing group does not represent the people of our great country, and will fizzle out once they realize that the average American will not "tolerate" their unruly, filthy, and immature methods of tantrumming.

W-C3 Group Tells ALL RE: County Budget

From W-C3:

Washington County Board held a rare evening meeting to approved County's $118 million budget. When Supervisor Mark McCune tried to introduce his $1,000,000 budget cut amendment, County Board Chairman Herbert Tennies found McCune out of order refusing to let him speak.

 The Chairman then refused to allow an amendment citing HIS authority to make up rules. A motion was made to allow the Board to vote on the Chairman's decision. Supervisor William Meyers, Richfield said, "The U.S. Constitution Article 1, Section VIII established the rule of law over the rule of any man. You don't get to just make up the rules, Mr. Chairman." To which the Chairman responded, "Yes, I do!"  19 of the 30 Supervisors agreed and voted in favor of the Chairman, making Washington County the first Hugo Chavez-style republic in Wisconsin. With this vote, the narrative of a functioning democracy is no longer allowed. Under Tennies, Washington County now will only allow dissent so long as those dissenters agree with the Chairman.  Supervisor Mike Bassill, West Bend said, "This action sets a dangerous precedent for the future." One Supervisor, who asked to remain unnamed, stated, "Meyers is the real problem here. You need to go along to get along. He won't do that!"  Video of the meeting is available by contacting Mike Ryan, West Bend Community Television Coordinator, (262)335-5157, wbcctv@ci.west-bend.wi.us. Additional information is available by contacting W-C3 at http://www.w-c3.org/contact.php or by calling 262.628.2940.