tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-40878882011-09-05T05:57:03.630-07:00Lord Ben's Meandering DiatribesCommentary from Wisconsin bendolfin -at- yahoo.comLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.comBlogger2821100tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1156783957396056292006-08-28T09:42:00.000-07:002006-08-28T09:52:37.476-07:00Pro-Green BloggingI've decided to post an example of what I'm talking about when I say that bloggers themselves could do far more to support Green than merely saying I should man the phone bank and calling that enough. Since Bootsandsabers is my first read in the morning and because it has a good example of a post, I'll pick on Owen.In his post he starts out by linking and posting an excerpt Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com43tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1156518491534977812006-08-25T07:59:00.000-07:002006-08-25T08:27:33.743-07:00The Lord Ben ChallengeIn response to the post from Chris at BBA and the comments at Bootsandsabers and an email discussion with Kevin here is what I propose, the Lord Ben Challenge.1. Make a post on your blog.2. Entitle it "Why Green is Awesome".3. Write a post on why Green is awesome, don't mention Doyle even ONCE! The focus is on Green, not Green compared to someone else.4. Don't make it sound Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1116432871978868512005-05-18T09:11:00.000-07:002005-05-18T09:14:31.983-07:00"Survey"I got a "survey" from the Republican Party yesterday. It was an "easy one question survey that will only take a minute of your time". I said sure and the lady played a recording by some guy saying how bad Dean was and how Dean was going to attack the Republicans. Then the survey was "Do you think the Republican party should respond back?". I said yes of course and then was told Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115927230708847422005-05-12T12:44:00.000-07:002005-05-12T13:31:23.253-07:00Old Men and Old MistakesI always feel sorry for the people when I hear stories like this. Some kid is rounded up into the SS and forced to stand guard over some terrible things. After the war he deports to America and has kids who are 100% American. He pays taxes, maybe votes, for 50 years. Then they find out that when he was 20 he stood guard at a camp so they deport the old man to another Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115916312361156732005-05-12T09:43:00.000-07:002005-05-12T09:45:12.366-07:00PollsWhen people start doing polls again may I suggest one simple addition to the questions? I'd ask them if they have photo ID. Most of the current data is taken from figuring out the number of people over the age of 18 and subtracting the number of people who have drivers licenses. The number left is how many don't have it. It's awfully simple and probably the wrong way do things I'd guess.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115903435622845562005-05-12T06:01:00.000-07:002005-05-12T06:10:35.643-07:00I caught myselfOne thing I don't want to do is become a groveling toady. I caught myself the other day. I had a few insights to the convention but didn't want to say anything about the Walker campaign being semi-disorganized because I knew that they'd read it and might not want me to volunteer again if I posted complaints where everyone could read them. I bucked up though and posted what I Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115850054716606752005-05-11T15:19:00.000-07:002005-05-11T15:20:56.790-07:00Property TaxesI have a side job fixing PC's for people around town. Since Oostburg is only about a mile or two from Lake Michigan I fix a lot of PC's for people who live on the lake. The houses sell from $500,000 for a 1 bedroom beach shack on up to the millions typically. All the new buyers are mostly doctors, lawyers, and famous movie stars (just kidding). However there are also a lot of peopleLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com30tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115742018749853362005-05-10T09:19:00.000-07:002005-05-10T09:23:15.203-07:00Walker RespondsOn Scott Walkers Blog I made a comment about the convention (basically a rewritten form of an earlier post) and Green being more organized. I got a response and it puts to rest some of my fears.Good points, Ben. No matter how successful we are as a team, there is always room to grow. Although we were not surprised with the organization of others. They're good folks, too. Our Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115741138348479792005-05-10T08:43:00.000-07:002005-05-10T09:21:26.443-07:00Good Blog Entry by WalkerScott Walkers blog doesn't have permalinks so I'll post his message here.Taxpayers' Bill of RightsSaw some concern raised in the Blogosphere about Republicans' legislative commitment to TABOR. I want all of you to know that I support TABOR and a real property tax levy freeze. During my speech at the Republican state convention, I made it clear that I support the Lasee/Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1115645623871689332005-05-09T06:29:00.000-07:002005-05-09T06:48:21.643-07:00Convention ReportI have a few observations from the convention, they're in no particular order and it's mostly just a lose collection of mental notes. I showed up around 4:00 on Friday and left about 9:00 or so. I didn't get as much exposure to the inside stuff as Owen and Kevin did, but I probably spent more time observing and analyzing the two gubernatorial campaigns.Walker: I was thoroughly Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1113226395837741462005-04-11T06:32:00.000-07:002005-04-11T06:38:59.766-07:00Blogging I've kind of gotten sick of political blogging lately. I still read them but writing posts gets boring. When I get the urge I like to vent or make comments about articles I read. But I don't like to feel obligated to come up with daily content for people to read. Sorry.I've been posting a little bit of stuff to my brothers poker blog, No Limit Sheboygan, I enjoy it since I really only Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1110482553526867512005-03-10T11:21:00.000-08:002005-03-10T11:22:33.530-08:00Important Phone CallI recieved a phone call a few days ago. I've been meaning to blog about it. It was a "campaign type" call from the RNC or some other national Republican organization. It was regarding Bush's social security reform agenda. The call wasn't to persuade me Bush's plan was better and that Democrats suck. The call was for me to put pressure on the Republican law makers to not Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1110383851143292352005-03-09T07:52:00.000-08:002005-03-09T07:59:06.513-08:00Apology and NewsSorry for the lack of blogging, tis truly been a busy week. However I have good news. I have bought a new pistol. A beautiful Springfield XD in .40sw. I eagerly await picking it up from the store tomorrow when that horrible 48 hour waiting period is over. My part time job has finally paid dividends, helped along by taking 1st place in a Poker tournament. Now of course my wife has Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1110294918857805042005-03-08T07:12:00.000-08:002005-03-08T07:15:18.860-08:00PattonI'm training someone at work for the last week or so. That's one reason I've not been blogging. He's an older man and his Dad was in WWII and we've been talking about WWII stories, etc as we're both fans of the history channel. A family friend of his served under Patton and absolutely hated the man. Until the day he died he called him "Old our blood and his guts Patton". He never Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1110217331167833602005-03-07T09:41:00.000-08:002005-03-07T09:42:11.300-08:00BloggingWork has been hugely busy lately, and at night I havn't had much time either. Sorry for the light blogging.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109855882460502842005-03-03T05:17:00.000-08:002005-03-03T05:18:02.460-08:00ScheduleI probably won't be posting anything today, if I do it'll be quick. I have a pretty hectic schedule.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109781614881473172005-03-02T08:27:00.000-08:002005-03-02T09:00:30.556-08:00Political FightsWhile reading an article about a cannon from the Revolutionary War that finally got to where George Washington asked for it to be sent I came across this little bit of info:The cannon is on loan from Fort Ticonderoga. It was recovered from the MohawkRiver in 1853 and used by a political party in New York until it was unseated and tossed back in the river by the winning rival partyLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109687978734256412005-03-01T06:30:00.000-08:002005-03-01T06:42:15.993-08:00Grave DiggingApparently digging up people's remains is only a 60 day jail sentence. Not bad.District Attorney Joe DeCecco said his hands were tied.“I can assure the court there simply were no felony charges here,” he said. The statute of limitations for a felony charge of digging up human remains is six years and that expired in this case in 1998, he said.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109686677226001802005-03-01T06:12:00.000-08:002005-03-01T06:21:57.186-08:00Roundup Wizbang has a good roundup of the global war on terror.I've often thought of the war in Iraq as more of a campaign in a broader war than a war in and of itself. The War on Terror is being fought on many fronts, and not all of them are "hot wars" like those waged in Iraq and Afghanistan. While those places get all the attention, many other battles have been quietly fought -- and won -- Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109613742745525942005-02-28T08:50:00.000-08:002005-02-28T10:14:42.773-08:00Anti-American IdiocyPhyllis, a staple of the anti-war, ant-American left in the Sheboygan Press Editorial Page has a new letter out talking about why she wants a "Peace Memorial" instead of Veterans Memorials.I began to think about how many American civilians had been killed by invading armies as compared to how many civilians in other countries have been killed by our military. The Japanese Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109602189051991792005-02-28T06:44:00.000-08:002005-02-28T06:49:49.053-08:00Flat TaxThis article is absolutely fascinating if you're an economic policy nerd like me. If not it's dry and boring.After struggling for a decade, Russia's economy grew 5% a year after inflation in 2002 and 2003 and 7.3% last year. The flat tax has been a key reason that revenue from the country's personal income tax has grown by 150% since 2001. "This constant expansion of the government tax Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109599609166876792005-02-28T05:52:00.000-08:002005-02-28T06:13:50.236-08:00Bill Gates on EducationBill Gates is in the news for demanding changes in education at a Governors conference. I give him credit for actually sketching out a rough plan instead of just wanting more money."Training the workforce of tomorrow with today's high schools is like trying to teach kids about today's computers on a 50-year-old mainframe," said Gates, whose $27-billion Bill and Melinda Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109279925687601102005-02-24T13:15:00.000-08:002005-02-24T13:18:45.686-08:00Idiots!The people who make Gator, a horrible piece of spyware, were appointed to the Department of Homeland Security's Privacy Advisory Board. This is like letting a fox into the hen house. Go to Wizbang to read more.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109270746652459312005-02-24T10:43:00.000-08:002005-02-24T10:45:46.653-08:00UghI see that there are a couple websites out. Draftruss.org and RussFeingold.blogspot.com. Is the national attention growing? The blog is written by a guy in St Louis. I think Russ would be a scary candidate, he's honest and that appeals to people.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109259821835966552005-02-24T07:36:00.000-08:002005-02-24T07:46:27.400-08:00Roundabouts Kevin, at Lakeshore Laments, had a post about his dislike of roundabouts. I saw this article in todays Sheboygan Press with this little nugget:Injury crashes averaged 2.5 per month at Eighth Street and Indiana Avenue prior to the installation of the rotary in September 1995, said Sgt. Tim Tarkowski of the Sheboygan Police Department. At least 16,000 vehicles use the rotary daily, and Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109252652008254302005-02-24T05:41:00.000-08:002005-02-24T05:56:10.860-08:00ThompsonWell, at least Thompson finally managed to say what he'll be doing in his own words. Hopefully he'll keep his mouth shut now.Former Wisconsin Gov. Tommy Thompson says he's going to join a large law firm and a consultants' group, get involved in one or more businesses and accept teaching assignments.He told reporters Wednesday before the Dane County Rotary Club's 100th anniversary dinner Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109177790384811962005-02-23T07:49:00.000-08:002005-02-23T09:43:24.496-08:00Lets Break This Down.Okay, from the previously mentioned press release:According to the Center for Economic and Policy Research (CEPR), which contributed technical assistance to this report, a 20-year-old Wisconsin worker who enters the labor force in 2005 would experience drastic benefit cuts. Assume that the worker will always earn the average wage in the economy (approximately $34,800 in 2005)Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com15tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109173697909080742005-02-23T07:37:00.000-08:002005-02-23T07:48:17.910-08:00School BuildingsOwen has a short post about the closing of schools. It reminded me of my old Middle School. They closed it down a few years ago, and tore it down a few years after that. At the time I didn't understand why, the building seemed fine and why build a new school when the old one seemed to work okay. But now all the kids are in two buildings instead of three, and the location of the Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109171387717555952005-02-23T06:58:00.000-08:002005-02-23T07:09:47.720-08:00PrivatizationWe're all doomed apparently.GREEN BAY, WI. – A typical 20-year-old Wisconsin worker will lose $152,000 during retirement if the president’s Social Security privatization plan is enacted, according to a report released by the Wisconsin Citizen Action Fund. The report, prepared by the Institute for America’s Future, charges that privatization will cause a 15 percent benefit cut for a Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109110106851814472005-02-22T14:07:00.000-08:002005-02-22T14:11:57.283-08:00Push PollingHere is a good example of push polling by MTV and the AARP.Consequently, the survey itself proceeded to supply the necessary “nuance”by posing nine follow-up questions for the 198 lost young souls who daredembrace the concept of personal retirement accounts. “Would you still favor”reform if it meant:— creating a new government agency?— massive new federal debt?—requiring “additional Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109091910330468492005-02-22T09:02:00.000-08:002005-02-22T09:05:10.333-08:00Diversions Yesterday at work I talked to someone named Jim Doyle. His password wasn't working, he seemed like an alright guy. I thought that was amusing, he's no relation to the Governor.It reminded me of a time I talked to a George Patton, I guess he's the II or III. His family was a big fan of the general. I got his problem fixed and didn't have much time to delve.Today someone called me at theLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109019565094237402005-02-21T12:55:00.000-08:002005-02-21T13:02:02.163-08:00Bush accepts Frances terms of surrender!I think some sort of caption contest is in order.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109013565863019402005-02-21T11:15:00.000-08:002005-02-21T13:01:14.616-08:00Comments from WEACFrom WEAC.“Governor Doyle is offering a solid, balanced plan to use taxpayer resources wisely,” Johnson said. “The budget offers realistic solutions, not gimmicks.”Yikes, pass the pipe this way.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109003343186318862005-02-21T08:28:00.000-08:002005-02-21T08:29:03.186-08:00Piracy and BudgetsIf we allow Doyle to increase school spending by committing fund piracy what will we do for the next budget? Raid funds again? Increase taxes? It's a hike in their budget that they'll expect matched in future years. Going back to this year would mean a gigantic "cut" in education funding. It'll be "taking 850 million from the children" all over the news and the Republicans beingLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1109000129699403802005-02-21T07:33:00.000-08:002005-02-21T07:35:29.703-08:00Response to MikeMike responded to my most recent post where I was expressing frustration with having to fight the Republican party first to get any real change through. He responded mostly in agreement but I'd like to note that I'm not nearly as pessimistic as he is.In our desire to be a member of a group, coupled with our propensity to fall prey to groupthink, we the governed are as much to Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108676626925232942005-02-17T13:11:00.000-08:002005-02-17T13:43:46.926-08:00SicknessI'm still sick. I might be better tomorrow. Fever of 103 and a blazing headache makes it hard to read the news and think of witty things to say.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108509242132583652005-02-15T15:09:00.000-08:002005-02-15T15:14:17.983-08:00Out SickI'm sick today. The doc thinks it might be Bronchitis. Personally I think I'm dying.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108406980136327122005-02-14T10:39:00.000-08:002005-02-14T10:49:40.136-08:00Internal DivisionsI was doing some more thinking about the Lincoln Day dinner as well as the comments made at the event. The Senators and Assemblymen who were commenting that Zein and Lasee weren't the right people to be leading the charge because they were too gung-ho annoys me. I like to see people fired up to make change. It occurs to me that most of my time in the next two years might be Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108321737985329902005-02-13T11:03:00.000-08:002005-02-13T11:08:57.986-08:00Blogging HabitsI received some comments from a few friends about when I blog because they were looking for updates Friday and Saturday and I didn't have any. Typically I blog over lunch at work, or at least during slow times. (I answer the phone so if it's not busy I pretty much have to wait for some computers to break). I work Monday through Thursday and have 3-day weekends. I have small kids Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108321056797874842005-02-13T10:55:00.000-08:002005-02-13T10:58:32.523-08:00Lincoln Day DinnerYesterday I went to the Sheboygan County Lincoln Day Dinner at City Streets. In attendance were our local reps (minus Glenn Grothman who doesn’t come up to Sheboygan much) as well as Gregg Underheim, Mark Gundrum, and Frank Lasee. Most of the speeches were pretty plain, not much variance. I thought the best of the night personally was Frank Lasee’s. It was full of piss and Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1108059476435100732005-02-10T09:57:00.000-08:002005-02-10T10:27:52.886-08:00
Yesterday Marc Marotta, Doyle's Minister of Information, made this statement:
Last night, Governor Doyle outlined an historic property tax freeze, which not only strictly limits property tax increases but also protects education and vital local services. The Governor’s freeze includes strict limits on what communities can tax, and new state investments in schools and local services to take theLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107960080803078112005-02-09T06:37:00.000-08:002005-02-09T06:41:20.803-08:00Doyle's "Freeze"
Reading about Doyle's "Freeze" and how he's going to take money from various funs in order to fund new programs reminds me of something. It's when the checking account runs low a few days before payday due to unexpected bills and my wife and I decide to "freeze" unnecessary spending. Only her idea of freezing spending is to put her new sweater on the credit card. Technically sheLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107957071150783932005-02-09T05:49:00.000-08:002005-02-09T06:06:27.053-08:00Voter ID
Well it looks as if the opponents of voter ID have moved into the "it won't solve everything" defense instead of "it will disenfranchise people". Instead they want to rely on the statewide voter registration list. Tell me, how will a registration list help if I can just walk into the polling station and claim to be someone else without needing to show an ID?
Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107898750419764622005-02-08T13:38:00.000-08:002005-02-08T13:39:10.420-08:00First WI Blogger Invitational
Kevin posted this so I'll just do a quick C&P.
This is an open invite from your "Host Blogger" and Lord Ben, the two closest bloggers to this year's State Republican Convention. This year's convention will be held at the Blue Harbor Resort and Convention Center in Sheboygan on May 6 & 7. Because of this, any blogger, regardless of ideology, that will be covering Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107875984120868242005-02-08T07:19:00.000-08:002005-02-08T07:22:14.806-08:00Moral Dilemma
Well now I'm in a moral dilemma. I read in the Sheboygan Press that the county is considering building a 7 mile trail from Oostburg to Cedar Grove at a cost of $600,000. Since I live in Oostburg and enjoy talking long walks with my wife this would be a really nice feature in the area. But the real question is do I want other people in the county to pay money for a trail they might Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107801213816308262005-02-07T10:30:00.000-08:002005-02-07T10:33:33.816-08:00Government Health Insurance
This letter to the editor of the press has a defense of socialized health care that amounts to "well technically it's not socialism!" They don't say anything else really other then tossing out sob stories like the current system is failing us and that 45 million people don't have insurance, but it's worth a read just to see what the advocates of the system are sayingLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107800114472504622005-02-07T10:11:00.000-08:002005-02-07T10:16:50.293-08:00Legislation Proposal
I have an idea for a piece of legislation. It's simple in concept: A tax break for people who work full time and have a side business. Basically if you have a full time job (or maybe your spouse does?) but also do work on the side and get paid then $X (say $2000) of your second business isn't taxed. It would allow someone like me to have a full time job, but also run a side Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107790302498999082005-02-07T07:29:00.000-08:002005-02-07T07:31:42.496-08:00Budget Cutting
How will Doyle cut the budget? By locking up less criminals! After all, putting people in jail is expensive, and sometimes unfair. So lets just treat their drug and alcohol problem and release them!
Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107785457770369812005-02-07T06:08:00.000-08:002005-02-07T06:10:57.770-08:00Musicals
After Owen blogged about musicals I feel I must point out that the greatest musical ever made is "Paint Your Wagon" starring Clint Eastwood and Lee Marvin. It's a manly musical about boozing, whoring, and a California gold rush boom town. You MUST see this movie.
Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107472987568582142005-02-03T15:09:00.000-08:002005-02-03T15:28:27.206-08:00Voter ID
One thing that bothers me when talking about voter ID bills is when people say something to the effect of "If that’s the case – if there are people out there who are just too lazy, or too ignorant, or too incompetent to go get a photo I.D. – well, do we really want these people voting in the first place?" Well, I'd answer that I still want them to vote.
It's not that I don't support, Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107441638750119672005-02-03T06:39:00.000-08:002005-02-03T15:29:10.320-08:00State of the Union
I'm going to go in order of what I feel is important, not how he gave his speech. I have to give it to Bush, he has big brass balls, or at least he'd better. He called out Syria and Iran by name.
And to the Iranian people, I say tonight: As you stand for your own liberty, America stands with you.By stating that he stands with the Iranian people in their quest for democracy hasLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107365581212504542005-02-02T09:30:00.000-08:002005-02-02T10:21:11.836-08:00This letter to the editor of the Sheboygan Press is just one of many in recent days. I had a few comments for Tom Keyes that I posted below along with his article.
My fellow citizens, help is needed now to explain the Social Security program to the people in Washington, D.C. and to our neighbors.I couldn't agree more! The more people are educated about the problems inherent in the system, the Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107352018284006462005-02-02T05:41:00.000-08:002005-02-02T05:46:58.283-08:00I received an email today from Waldenbooks. It advertised "buy 4 get the 5th free" in romance, kids books, and African American fiction. WTF is African American fiction? Is there a difference? Are the characters African American? Or do the books deal with African American issues? What ARE African American issues? Do they have a Caucasian fiction section? What type of broad stereotypes do they useLord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1107296194232365642005-02-01T14:14:00.000-08:002005-02-01T14:16:34.233-08:00Charlie Sykes had asked for some help in promoting the Blogosphere. Here is my response.
Instead of worrying about how we can promote the WI Blogosphere we should instead be worrying about how the WI Blogosphere can change some of the things we are talking about. Instead of wondering how the system can be more involved with us, how do we become more involved with the system?
I think Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1094157717166630572004-09-02T12:34:00.000-07:002004-09-02T13:41:57.166-07:00There an article on Yahoo! that I just finished reading that's hitting on the upcoming election and the ongoing Republican National Convention titled, "Dems Question GOP Approach at Convention" I don't agree with the quotes and thinking that the Democrats are making at all.
"Are Americans going to react to a message of fear or respond to a message of hope?" said Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, who Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1092832841309382752004-08-18T05:39:00.000-07:002004-08-18T05:40:41.310-07:00For my Sheboygan friends, I discovered a blog written buy a guy who's also in the area.
Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1092832262062512842004-08-18T05:30:00.000-07:002004-08-18T05:31:02.063-07:00This is probably the best case for big government I've ever heard.
Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1092781234769072652004-08-17T14:58:00.000-07:002004-08-17T15:20:34.770-07:00In this article they are accusing Welch of going negative, and saying that he backed off his campaign pledge to not attack the other republicans. However I don't see it as all that bad. Making sure the voters know that your opponent has supported democrats in the past isn't quite negative on the same scale as making fun of Darrow for being a used car salesman or calling Michels a worthless drunk Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1092349654232867332004-08-12T15:06:00.000-07:002004-08-12T15:27:34.233-07:00I was talking to a volunteer from the Michels Campaign. He gave a pretty good analysis of the situation in our senate race. He broke down the 3 main leaders.
Michels:
He claimed Michels had the most grass roots support. I can attest to that. I see more of his yard signs and bumper stickers than anyone else. I get more emails and mailings from Michels campaign which I signed up for a long time Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1079030517129541922004-03-11T10:41:00.000-08:002004-03-11T10:46:40.466-08:00Well, you can't delete this...
On your website you post opinions. Right or wrong you're entitled to them. Other people might read those opinions and come away with little bits of information. Like that Bush is going to eliminate overtime for instance. Now I'm of the opinion that if someone is going to make statements in public and potentially sway the opinions of their listeners I'll attempt to Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1069793777734221602003-11-25T12:56:00.000-08:002003-11-25T12:57:02.653-08:00I'm upset about the new Prescription Drugs plan. I don't like entitlements.
I'd much rather have extra money now to save at my own descretion instead of just paying higher taxes and letting the government take care of it. What's next? Government Car Insurance for the elderly? After all, it's unfair if old people can't afford car insurance. Bah, time to vote Libertarian again!Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1061231358504702622003-08-18T11:29:00.000-07:002003-08-18T11:30:45.926-07:00We should let felons vote, then more Democrats would get elected. Or at least that's what some people think! And if "But no one disagrees that prison experience will be a part of the lives of more and more Americans." then here is a suggestion for concerned Americans - STOP DOING DRUGS THAT WILL STICK YOU IN PRISON AND HAVE YOUR KIDS TAKEN AWAY FROM YOU. It's a fairly simple process really. Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1060699698351863482003-08-12T07:48:00.000-07:002003-08-12T07:48:18.303-07:00So I was sitting here at work just listening to the radio and it pretty much said exactly what I said. The morning dj's on this radio show are talking about how big of a flop J-Lo's movie was and how everybody has got there fill and. They. Just. Don't. Care. Anymore. One dj said, "Well, maybe if J-Lo would've shown her whole butt..." Then they went on and talked about the Kevin Smith movie, Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1060185943240089072003-08-06T09:05:00.000-07:002003-08-06T13:42:22.933-07:00Well maybe if J-Lo would've gotten naked this wouldn't have happened. Gigli. Wow, what a flop. Seriously, did anybody see the commercial and say, "Damn, now that is a movie I've got to see!" Movie theaters and the production company don't even want the movie. I predict a formal apology. My fiance wanted to take me to see it, she's a J-Lo fan. I had to sit through The Wedding Planner with Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1059425211113924172003-07-28T13:46:00.000-07:002003-07-28T13:52:21.870-07:00Bob Guiney AKA "Funny Bob" has his bio posted on the ABC site. He seems nice enough, but a bit of a frat guy. Oh well, it should be fun. Does anyone know when the new season starts?Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1058371460258178952003-07-16T09:04:00.000-07:002003-07-16T09:04:34.126-07:00Here is a good story about the USS Ronald Regean. It's really nice.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1057859846665298172003-07-10T10:57:00.000-07:002003-07-10T10:57:26.456-07:00I'm kind of saddened that our nation and the government hasn't taken a more direct approach to the Iranian problem. The people there are on the verge of staging a revolution and I really wish we'd do more to support them. Hopefully we're doing more covertly. It'd be really nice if we didn't have to have a full-blown war in order to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons. Make no mistake Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1056635960176862702003-06-26T06:59:00.000-07:002003-06-26T06:59:20.143-07:00I'm not one to close down the borders to immigrants. Open up the gate, tell them to form a line with no budging please. At the border hand them a nice little card with the pledge of allegiance written in both languages. Have them read it off then hand them a social security number so they can get a job, pay taxes, and experience all the freedom America offers. This would be the ideal way to Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1056635422093493582003-06-26T06:50:00.000-07:002003-06-26T07:00:58.330-07:00I'd like to expand a bit on what Lance Steel said here in the comments section of Emperor Misha's site.
I hate to jump in this discussion so late but after reading everybody's comments for the past two days I can't help but think... "My kids are going to have a leg up on everything because of their skin color." I'm as white as they come, I am marrying a Hispanic woman and our kids are going to Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-1056632707670311722003-06-26T06:05:00.000-07:002003-06-26T06:05:07.633-07:00This news is good. It doesn't exactly show that we found WMD, but it leads us in the right direction.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-960182272003-06-25T08:19:00.000-07:002003-06-25T08:29:12.000-07:00For those of you who don’t like the Dixie Chicks, This link is hilarious. My sister had tickets to the show, I don’t really know if the concert was held yet or not, but Lord Ben and I wanted to protest out front. The people in the above article had a blast. “I want the fat loud one!” After receiving some crap from Ben, her husband Mark and me, she still said she was going to go. “I paid $50 Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-959534412003-06-23T11:12:00.000-07:002003-06-23T11:12:10.376-07:00Lt Smash has a good article out. Read it.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-957961322003-06-18T09:42:00.000-07:002003-06-18T09:42:00.613-07:00Pray for the students in Iran.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-957897452003-06-18T06:38:00.000-07:002003-06-18T06:38:29.203-07:00It looks like I'll be voting Libertarian again. Republicans better come out of the f'ing woodwork to smack this guy around. There is not excuse for Senators to act like this.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-955546282003-06-11T09:36:00.000-07:002003-06-11T09:37:50.000-07:00Are what we viewing on TV and videogames affecting us in real life decisions? In Los Angeles after watching "2 Fast and 2 Furious," a young man, age 23 was driving near the speed of 100 mph when his car broadsided an old man killing him instantly. I remember back when the college football movie "The Program" came out and a bunch of stupid kids decided to reenact the scene where some of the Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-955029142003-06-10T05:42:00.000-07:002003-06-10T11:08:48.000-07:00This is a good one about an Australian dialect Bible and why that's not a good idea. I'd have to say I agree.
It's on Robert Williams new site, I linked to it on the left to check back.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-954727272003-06-09T10:40:00.000-07:002003-06-09T10:40:32.530-07:00DenBeste talks a bit about our commitments around the world. It's troubling to see ourselves stretched so thin. So what happens if NK, Iran, and Syria all decide to act up at once? Can we stop them? Can we stop them cold or can we stop them like more traditional wars while we give ground in exchange for time and a few years later we can push them back out. How fast can production of JDAM's,Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-953021702003-06-04T14:51:00.000-07:002003-06-04T14:51:17.136-07:00This is a good article, check out the rest of the site while you're there.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-951935772003-06-02T08:06:00.000-07:002003-06-02T08:06:40.156-07:00I went to Ponderosa on Friday. While waiting in line I overheard some communists talking while at a wedding reception (yes, at Ponderosa). One lady was complaining to the others how "unfair" it was that some people have better insurance then others. She was saying that just because she had a good job at Harley-Davidson that doesn't mean that someone else who works for McDonalds shouldn't have Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-951913052003-06-02T07:07:00.000-07:002003-06-02T07:07:11.690-07:00PBR me ASAP!Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-951880122003-06-02T05:20:00.000-07:002003-06-02T05:20:15.573-07:00I found an older scrappleface "news" bit. It's pretty good. As a reminder, scrappleface is a satire site.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-950907342003-05-30T11:23:00.000-07:002003-05-30T11:23:43.086-07:00Here's a juicy story. Just when you think it is safe to go out, this has to happen. What they don't tell you in the story is that after he got hauled away she sat there and finished watching the game and that she was a couple months pregnant. I think this story gives a whole new meaning to "Three strikes and you're out!"Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-950850362003-05-30T08:57:00.000-07:002003-05-30T08:57:10.883-07:00Could a voucher system for DC schools be in the future?Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-950814922003-05-30T07:29:00.000-07:002003-05-30T07:29:12.483-07:00Victor Davis Hanson talks a bit about the cold war, and the current status of the world today over at NRO.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-950798502003-05-30T06:47:00.000-07:002003-05-30T06:54:11.000-07:00If you don't read Ann Coulter, you should. She has a good article up that points out global warming hypocrisy.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-950793922003-05-30T06:35:00.000-07:002003-05-30T06:35:25.460-07:00Rumsfeld talks about the WMD the Iraqi's had.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-948278722003-05-24T07:41:00.000-07:002003-05-24T07:41:56.923-07:00God Bless our soldiers.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-947937322003-05-23T10:10:00.000-07:002003-05-23T10:10:13.006-07:00Today during my break I was putzing around on the net and found out how they really decided to crown the winner of American Idol. The link is to another blog, Fritzliess.com. It's quite hilarious.Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-947918532003-05-23T09:20:00.000-07:002003-05-23T09:20:25.643-07:00A good article on gun control over at National Review.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-947907622003-05-23T08:55:00.000-07:002003-05-23T08:55:10.060-07:00I'm sure you've heard of the Yale bombing. Well, they're offering two versions of counseling... hehe.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-946903342003-05-21T08:46:00.000-07:002003-05-21T12:04:02.000-07:00It looks like Missile Defense is on track.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-946870662003-05-21T07:36:00.000-07:002003-05-21T11:59:50.000-07:00Tonight is the night we've all been waiting for, who's it going to be? Clay? Ruben? Pre-sales on Amazon show that Clay leads Ruben and that's also my pick. Out of 75,000 auditions, 230 million votes last night, the next American Idol is... Clay Aiken!!! If the vote was based solely on last night, it should be Clay. They both were good though; but to tell you the truth, I think Kimberly Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-945864192003-05-19T09:15:00.000-07:002003-05-19T09:20:00.000-07:00Den Beste talks about religion. He makes good points. His general argument is that his Mechanistic atheism is a belief similar to religion. What I experience and attribute to God he will attribute to some sort of physical law of the universe that isn't yet identified. It takes a leap of faith for him to believe that there actually is a rule governing those "odd situations" and it's a leap of Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-944700582003-05-16T14:06:00.000-07:002003-05-19T13:17:19.000-07:00Do you ever use inside jokes by yourself or movie quotes? Like if I learn something new I'll say "And knowing is half the battle" and then I'll laugh. My grandpa doesn't get the joke, he doesn't watch GI Joe. He probably thinks I'm insane. He just thinks I say a rather common phrase and then chuckle to myself... definitely the mark of an insane person.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-944647292003-05-16T12:06:00.000-07:002003-05-16T12:06:48.293-07:00Iraqi's say Anarchy could lead to anti-US violence! I like how in articles ordinary Iraqi's with opinions are treated as if their word was divine. It's a nation of 23 million people folks, did you really expect an autocratic power to be smoothly replaced in less then a month? Does Joe-Bob the Iraqi really have an insight into what will happen? Is his opinions about the US any more important Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-943979122003-05-15T09:39:00.000-07:002003-05-15T09:41:50.000-07:00I, DJ Lance Steel, will be djing in Steven's Point Wisconsin, at a party named "Jump the Fence" I thought since I have access to a website I should do some advertising for myself. Oh, the event is going down on June 14th. If you're in the area and like house music and have nothing better to do, it should be a good time.Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-943931812003-05-15T08:08:00.000-07:002003-05-15T08:08:46.866-07:00Is Salem part of the Baghdad elite? Yes, says David Warren.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-943924902003-05-15T07:55:00.000-07:002003-05-15T07:56:57.000-07:00He's gonna do what!?!? Here is a news brief about a mayoral candidate in Spain who, if he wins, will subsidize hotel rooms at half price for young couples up to 25. Whatever it takes to win I suppose. Lance Steelhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08360732145360672723noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-943305382003-05-14T07:48:00.000-07:002003-05-20T15:33:46.000-07:00So, Bob Guiney is going to be the new bachelor on the next Bachelor. Funny Bob should be pretty good. I predicted it several months ago! Booyah!Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4087888.post-942920162003-05-13T15:34:00.000-07:002003-05-13T15:34:57.000-07:00DaGoddess covers women in combat pretty well. My opinion on it? If they can hack it they should be able to do it. But don't give them different standards of physical fitness.Lord Benhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/12415334767405755928noreply@blogger.com0