AT&T; tests power line broadband

This will be nice when it’s ready for prime-time. 

AT&T and Pacific Gas and Electricity will start trialing broadband service using power lines this year. Initially, the broadband over power line (BPL) trial will include 100 residents from the Menlo Park area of California. Lampposts will be fitted with Wi-Fi repeaters and then 13 megabit per second Internet access will be sent to them over the power lines at high frequencies. This should equate to homes getting 3Mbps access.

The reason this is possible is due to power lines only using low frequencies to transmit power, so high frequencies are free for ‘Net traffic. The only problem with this, however, is that high frequencies seem to interfere with existing radio services that use the same band. This will become more of a problem when the speed is increased, as that will require more power and therefore cause more interference.

I see the potential for a lot of fried computers and people when they try to plug in their network cards into the power outlet, but the technology is fantastic.  If we can get broadband through the power grid, then every house in America is already wired to every room for high-speed internet.  How cool is that?

Hawking Flips on Black Hole Theory

Even the smartest folks are entitled to change their minds every now and then.

In 1976, Hawking said that a black hole starts radiating energy, losing mass as soon as it forms — so-called Hawking radiation. Once the black hole evaporates, he said, it’s gone. But the theory doesn’t account for the laws of quantum physics, which state that so-called information can never be completely destroyed. As an explanation, Hawking said the intense gravitational fields of black holes bend the laws to their wills.

Now, Hawking is saying that black holes don’t eat everything, according to New Scientist. They emit radiation for a long time before eventually opening up and allowing some information out.

Gary Gibbons, a colleague of Hawkings’ at Cambridge College, attended the lecture at which Hawkings revealed his new theory. He told New Scientist that unlike the decades-old black hole model, in the new model there is no clearly-defined event horizon that hides the information contained in black holes.

The physics community is eager to see the math behind Hawkings’ new theory.

“It’s possible that what he presented in the seminar is a solution,” Gibbons said. “But I think you have to say the jury is still out."

Does this mean that we have to stop using the term “event horizon” as a metaphor for a point of no return?

Post-PC Treat

Now that I have time to get back in the kitchen, here’s my project for tomorrow.

Anybody else want some?

Shotgun Selection

OK, fellow gun nuts.  I don’t know diddley about shotguns, so I need some input.

If you had to choose between a semi-auto or a pump, which would you go with, and why?  Assuming identical magazine capacity and relatively similar price.

It's All Over But The Cryin'

Assuming I passed the exam, I’m now officially done with PC.  The exam was a 6 1/2 hour monster, and it sucked.

Back to blogging!!!

World War I bomb kills Italian man

I sure hope that John is more careful than this guy.

A 70-year-old Italian died on Saturday when a World War I bomb, part of his collection of military memorabilia, exploded while he was showing it to a friend in his garden.

The Applet Arcade

Remember Asteroids?  How about Missle Commando?  Here’s a way to kill a Saturday.

Wisconsin teacher salaries lag behind national average

WEAC, Wisconsin’s teachers’ union, has its panties in a bunch again.

The state-by-state report ranks Wisconsin teachers’ average salaries 27th in the nation. The average Wisconsin teacher made $41,617 during the 2002-03 school year, well below the national average of $45,771.

Mike McNett, WEAC director of collective bargaining and research, said low teacher pay, which isn’t keeping pace with inflation, makes it hard for school districts to attract and retain quality teachers. “The average teacher in Wisconsin has a master’s degree and 15 years experience, so to say they’re making $41,617 is no great inducement to stay in the profession,” he said.

There are a few things wrong with WEAC’s thinking on this.

First, the measure of whether or not teachers are being paid enough money should not be how their pay compares on a national scale.  Rather, it should be measured by the ability of the school districts to attract and retain good teachers.  There are many factors that go into setting a wage including the cost of living of the area, the safety of the work environment, the workload required of the employee, the cost of benefits, and on and on and on.  Trying to set wages by some national average is asinine.

Second, the strategy that WEAC is advocating, that Wisconsin teachers should be making at least the national average, is a strategy that will artificially drive up teachers’ wages, which is undoubtedly the goal.  The national average is precisely that - the national average.  If all of the states that are paying below the national average demand that their wages match the national average, what happens to the national average?  It increases -especially since the states that pay above the national average are unlikely to demand that their wages be decreased to the national average.  When the average rises, there will still be about half of the states that are still below the average.  Then they will demand that their wages increase to the national average.  The cycle of setting wages to the national average only causes wages to increase more.  Even more perverse, is that this kind of strategy increases wages without any regard to the reality of the circumstances like the quality of the teachers, the ability of the taxpayers to pay, the cost of living, etc.  As I said, WEAC surely knows this and just hopes that we are too stupid to notice.

Third, the experience and degree argument are another false argument.  Again, wages are set by a number of factors.  Experience is one of these, but not everything.  There are other professions out there where people may have 30 or 40 years experience, but make less than teachers with 15 years of experience.  Janitors, for instance, rarely make over $40,000, regardless of how experienced they are.  So to claim that 15 years of experience should equal X amount of a wage is a false claim.  The degree aspect falls into the same category.  Advanced degrees are a factor in setting wages, sometimes, but only if it affects the quality of work that the teacher performs and the employer values that change in quality.  The teachers’ unions have negotiated contracts in which teachers get paid more for getting advanced degrees, even if that degree’s effect on the teacher’s work is dubious.  Then they turn around and complain that a teacher with a Master’s degree does not earn as much as some other professionals with Master’s degrees.  Again, WEAC is comparing apples to oranges.  Some professions pay more than others.  There are other factors involved in wage setting.

The single valid argument that WEAC made regarding wages is their contention that the wages that teachers make in Wisconsin are making the attracting and retaining of teachers difficult.  If this is true, then we should look at it.  Unfortunately, however, WEAC seems to prefer to tie teachers’ wages in Wisconsin to arbitrary and unrelated metrics like the national average for teachers’ wages, the average wage for folks with advanced degrees, and anything else that really has nothing to do with finding the appropriate wage for teachers in Wisconsin. 

I suspect that we’ll be hearing from Folkbum on this one....

AP Fantasies

This AP story about Rumsfeld made me laugh. Check out this paragraph:

Once seemingly in danger of being fired over the prisoner abuse, Rumsfeld appears to have survived. Yet some wonder whether the White House might still conclude he is a political liability and prefer he leave this summer.

The only people who thought that Rumsfeld was “in danger of being fired” were the liberals and the media (am I being redundant?).  Any follower of Bush knew that Rumsfeld’s job was never in danger.  Then the AP tries to keep the myth alive with the famous “some wonder....” Keep in mind that when a news story says “some people” or “some question” or things of the like that the “some” are actually the reporters themselves.  For some reason, reporters think that they aren’t allowed to wonder about things themselves and must push the action off onto the fictional “some people.”

Kerry Willing To Launch Pre-Emptive Strike

Hmmmmmmmmmm..........

John Kerry says he would be willing to launch a pre-emptive strike against terrorists if he had adequate intelligence of a threat.

In his comments Saturday, the Democratic presidential candidate offered some support for one of the most controversial aspects of President George W. Bush’s national security policy.

Kerry told reporters in Washington he would be prepared to “get them before they get us” if there was sufficient intelligence.

So Kerry supports the Bush Doctrine, eh?  Of course his out is that he said “sufficient intelligence.” What constitutes “sufficient intelligence” to Kerry?  I suspect that the definition of “sufficient intelligence” will depend on the political climate in America and the opinion of the UN.

Lakeshore Laments

Kevin, who recently commented on this blog, has his own Wisconsin-based blog called Lakeshore Laments.

He is striving to balance the liberal editorial board of the Sheboygan newspaper with his own conservative view.  Since he is working to spread conservativism in Wisconsin, I’ve added him to the blogroll!  Please go check him out.

Milwaukee Alderman Pushing 'Pay Before You Pump' Initiative

I meant to blog about this story earlier in the week, but now is as good a time as any.

A Milwaukee alderman is pushing an initiative that would require all gas station owners to make customers pay before they pump gasoline, basically to free up the time of police officers who take the complaints for gas drive-offs for more important investigations.

Stuff like this ticks me off.  Let me count the ways…

1) In most of the country (excluding the underworld of New Jersey where an attendant must pump your gas) the decision to pay before or after pumping gas is the sole responsibility of the gas station owner.  I have found that most stations in high-crime neighborhoods tend to ask for payment before pumping, but stations in low-crime neighborhoods are satisfied with payment after pumping.  This is as it should be.  The station owner is the one who suffers the most damage when a crook drives off without paying.  Furthermore, the station owner OWNS THE STATION!  The right to private property dictates that the decision belongs to the owner.

2) It just drives me nuts when government creates laws that inconvenience the law abiding folks, who are the vast majority of the citizenry, because of the illegal actions of a few crooks.  Should we require people to leave a deposit when entering a store because of shoplifting?  Should we mandate that folks always walk because crooks tend to run from crimes?  Of course not.  That would be ridiculous.  So is this.

3) It also drives me nuts when government seeks to inconvenience people in the name of saving money.  Government exists to serve the public.  If the public wants to pay for gas after pumping, which most people prefer, then government should accommodate the wishes of the public.  After all, it’s the public who ends up paying the bill in the end. 

OK, so there are 3 ways

Grothman v. Panzer

The race of the year in Wisconsin is between Glenn Grothman and Mary Panzer.  Both of them are Republicans.  Grothman is challenging Mary Panzer, the sitting Senate Majority Leader, in the primary.  Grothman is conservative, Panzer is “moderate.”

The race will be very interesting.  As I’ve said before, it is a race to determine whether the Republicans will be the party of conservatism, or merely a lite version of the Democrats.  Mary Panzer is backed by the government-supported crowd.  As the current majority leader, the lobbyists and groups that rely on tax dollars will be pouring money into her campaign, because they know that Grothman would try to kick them off the gravy train.  The thing is that those lobbyists, the public employee union, the teachers’ union, etc. aren’t the ones who will decide this election.  The people of the 20th Senate district will.

Here is a map of the 10th Senate District (.pdf).  It is basically the better part of Washington, Ozaukee, Sheboygan, and Fond du Lac counties.  Take a look at the voting record for these counties from the Governor’s race in 2002.  Keep in mind that the Republicans had a fairly weak candidate for governor, and the Democrats had the chance to take back the governorship for the first time in 14 years.  Democratic turnout was likely a bit inflated and Republican turnout was a tad depressed.  Now let’s look at the numbers.  (I’ll lump Republican and Libertarian votes into “conservative” and Democratic and Green votes into “liberal")

In Washington County, conservatives were 71.1% of the vote.  In Ozaukee County, conservatives were 67.1% of the vote.  In Sheboygan County, conservatives were 56.1% of the vote.  In Fond du Lac County, conservatives were 64.8% of the vote. 

What does this tell us?  It tells us that this is a very conservative district. 

Considering that Grothman is running to the right of Panzer, what are her options?  Is she going to claim that Grothman is too far to the right?  That’ll never work in this district. 

Is she going to play up her record?  In fact, her announcement seems to be heading down this road.  The problem is that her actual legislative accomplishments are relatively slim.  She managed to get a few good bills passed that died on Doyle’s veto pen (Concealed Carry, Property Tax Freeze, etc.).  She did manage to pass a budget that didn’t raise taxes (for the most part), but as a conservative, I would have preferred to see actual cuts in spending and taxes - not just holding the line.  When she had the chance to push through the Taxpayers’ Bill of Rights, which is something that the governor can’t veto, she collapsed under the pressure from groups who live off of tax dollars.  She failed to stand up for conservatism when it really counted. 

She is also saying that she will lead the way to gaining a veto-proof majority in the Senate.  So what?  What good is a veto-proof majority if it is made up of RINOs who don’t enact the conservative agenda?  I would rather have a smaller majority made up of true conservatives than a super-majority made up of RINOs.

So what else can Panzer run on?  Name recognition and money are all she really has left.  Since this is a primary election where generally only the most loyal and active of party members actually vote, the name recognition factor is not in her favor as much as it may appear on the surface.  She will probably outspend Grothman 5 to 1, but that may actually hurt her.  Her money is coming from Madison while Grothman’s is coming from the district.  Besides, Panzer has angered the activist base, like me, so much that no amount of advertising on her part will sway our vote.  As long as Grothman can get enough money to deliver his message, he’ll be fine regardless of how much money Panzer spends.  Furthermore, the local radio guys are all over this race and will help Grothman get out his message without him spending a dime. 

The last thing we need to look at is the various interest groups that make up the conservative base.  The Right to Life folks have already endorsed Glenn Grothman. The fiscal conservatives, especially the supporters of TABOR, are backing Grothman.  The 2nd Amendment folks are staying silent at the moment and will probably not be a factor (both candidates are good 2nd Amendment supporters).  The WMC, which leans right, will probably support Panzer, but their support is generally financial, not grass roots.  Overall, the groups that are passionate about conservatism, the groups whose members will vote no matter what, are lining up behind Grothman.

All of this is telling me that Mary Panzer is dead meat.  Some are predicting that Grothman will win by as much as 70% of the vote.  I don’t think it will be that high, but I wouldn’t be surprised if he defeats her with a sound 10+% margin. 

In the 20th Senate district, conservatism will win every day of the week - and twice on election Tuesday.

Comparing Republican Senate Candidates' Fundraising

This is interesting.

Republican U.S. Senate candidates Russ Darrow and Tim Michels poured a combined $630,000 of their own money into the Wisconsin GOP primary during the second quarter, but couldn’t stop Sen. Russ Feingold from widening his financial advantage.

Darrow, a millionaire car dealer, contributed $380,000 to his campaign and finished the reporting period June 30 with $908,000. Michels, a millionaire construction company executive, loaned his campaign $250,000 and finished with $862,000.

Feingold, D-Wis., finished the period with about $3.85 million in the bank. The figures came from the campaigns Thursday, the date by which the reports were required to be postmarked.

Another Republican candidate, state Sen. Bob Welch, had announced Wednesday that he had finished the quarter with $451,000 in the bank.

The figures also show that Michels has lagged behind the other major candidates in money raised by outside contributors. He reported raising $188,000, compared to $272,000 by Welch, $377,000 by Darrow and $1.3 million by Feingold.

A fourth candidate in the GOP primary, attorney Robert Gerald Lorge, did not respond to telephone messages left with the campaign.

Since the beginning of the election, Michels has loaned his campaign about $870,000, while Darrow has contributed $1.4 million.

If Darrow and Michels weren’t dumping so much personal money into their campaign (not that there’s anything wrong with that), then the three Republican candidates would be fairly close in fundraising.  I think that this indicates that support for the three candidates is fairly even.

The Almost Final Practice Court Update

Well, today was the last day of PC.  It’s been a long and painful experience, but I can’t imagine practicing law without having gone through it.  After finals calm down, I’ll post a thorough after action report (now that I can actually post about it without seeing my posts featured on the overhead during class!)

Last step - pass the 7-hour exam this Saturday.  *bitch* *whine* *moan*

Bad Kid Questions

Here are two questions that every parent dreads hearing from their children:

“Do you suck or blow?”

and

“Is it better to spit or swallow?”

Go see how the Java Diva dealt with it.

Bush Visit to Wisconsin

It’s not often that I get to blog about meeting the President on Wictory Wednesday!  Come to think about it, it’s not often that I get to blog about meeting the President at all.  Please click on one of the following links and help him get reelected.  Then come back and read this post.

President Bush came to town today.  The visit to my town was not announced on his itinerary, but we were notified the day before by the Republican Party. 

My family and I headed down to the appointed spot this morning.  It was in the parking lot of a bank.  The bank president and his staff were out in force and even hung up a big “Welcome” sign.  After being there for about 15 minutes, the Secret Service came over and said that the visit had been moved down the street about 150 yards.  The bank president looked as if he was going to cry.

We got to the new spot and hung out for a while.  Eventually, the Secret Service got the area cordoned off to their satisfaction and started their security procedures.  My family was wanded and searched before proceeding to the meet-n-greet line.  And then we waited.  And then we waited a little more.  And then, finally, he came.

The first warning that he was getting close was the Coast Guard helicopter than came in close and circled the area.  I assume that they were looking for rooftop snipers.  Then came the lead cars about 5 minutes before the President.  Then came the motorcycles that blocked off every street - even though they were already cordoned off with police officers everywhere.  The President’s bus came around the corner and the crowd erupted into cheers.  The first bus came up and some security folks came out, then the President came in the 2nd bus.  He stopped about 30 feet before us and got out.  The crowd started chanting “four more years!”

President Bush worked his way up the line shaking babies and kissing hands - OK, that was my wife’s joke - until he got to us.  He shook my wife’s hand.  Then he bent down and spoke to my kids before shaking my hand.  He had a firm handshake and looked everyone in the eye.  He also responded personally to people, rather than just mumbling “thank you” and he moved through.  I suppose that I shouldn’t be surprised that he’s experienced at this stuff.  The Secret Service folks moved with him with their hands out in front of them to be ready to pounce.  I made sure to thank them for keeping my President safe. 

After going through the line, the President went into a candy store and had the following conversation:

THE PRESIDENT: This is spectacular, thanks.

Q What are you getting there?

THE PRESIDENT: I’m just getting, you know, about 400- calories a pop.

Q I thought you gave up on the sweets, sir.

THE PRESIDENT: Well, I’m confronted with excellent sweets. I’ll be biking this weekend, in other words. Are you a biker these days?

Q I’m ready to go.

THE PRESIDENT: You are? Record that. (Laughter.)

MS. BRADLEY: You will enjoy these thoroughly. They’re wonderful. Just for the President.

THE PRESIDENT: I’m looking forward to it. How much do I owe you?

MR. BARTLETT: They are free.

THE PRESIDENT: No, they’re not free.

MR. BARTLETT: Okay, $5.28 with tax.

THE PRESIDENT: How’s your business doing?

MS. BRADLEY: Wonderful.

MR. BARTLETT: Seventy-two cents is your change.

MS. BRADLEY: So good to meet you.

MR. BARTLETT: Nice to meet you.

THE PRESIDENT: Appreciate you, candy man, great to see you all. Thanks for saying, hi. Good to meet you.

All right, listen, buy something here. (Laughter.) Here’s how the economy works. You’re overpaid. My tax relief has left more money in your pockets to spend here.

Q Can you spot me $5? (Laughter.)

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Hey, Tommy—you remember Tommy.

MS. BRADLEY: Yes, hi, Tommy.

SECRETARY THOMPSON: It’s always good to see you.

THE PRESIDENT: Thank you all. Is anybody going to buy anything here? I’m trying to drum up a little business. (Laughter.)

Q As long as you don’t leave us behind.

THE PRESIDENT: Leave no reporter behind. (Laughter.)

HHS Secretary, and former Wisconsin governor, Tommy Thompson was following close on the President’s heels.  My wife exclaimed, “We miss you here.” He said, “I’m coming back.”

After the candy store, the President was back on the bus and on his way.  I was very excited to meet the President, even if only briefly.  I should have been thinking and taken along a big “I Blog For Bush!” sign or something.  Oh well. 

Here are some pictures of the event:

Meeting President Bush

My wife and I met the President today.  It was pretty cool.  I’ll have details and pictures up later tonight.

Some Family History

I’ve been digging through a little family history and have traced it back through the famous MacDonald Clan to about 1100.  Bryan McDonald, the last guy
listed in this history, is my great-great-great-great-great-great-great-great grandfather. 

I have family that fought at Bannockburn.  Cool, eh?

UPDATE: Here we are back to about 110 A.D.

UPDATE 2: Here we go back to 1699 B.C. - the same time that Solomon was building the temple of Jerusalem.

Philippines Withdrawing Troops Early

This is despicable.

The Philippines (search) said Wednesday it is withdrawing its small peacekeeping contingent from Iraq early to meet the demand of kidnappers threatening to kill a captive Filipino truck driver.

What the Filipinos have done is put the lives of Americans and our Allies at even greater risk.  Much like the reaction of Spain after al-Qaeda attacked it has encouraged al-Qaeda to attempt to influence other elections with terrorist acts, the reaction of the Filipinos has encouraged al-Qaeda to behead more hostages in an attempt to bully nations to withdraw their troops. 

The next time an Australian, or a Englishman, or a Pol, or an American gets his head cut off by a murderous terrorist, send a “thank you” note to the Filipino embassy.

State Elections Board Has Extended the Filing Deadline for the 58th District

In light of Glenn Grothman running for Senate instead of his Assembly, the State Elections Board has extended the filing deadline for his old district.

There will be a 72-hour extension for candidates in the 12th and 58th Assembly Districts.  All persons other than the incumbents have until Friday, July 16, 2004, at 5:00 p.m. to file all documents necessary to be on the ballot.

If you want to run, you’d better get your act together quick.

Media Bias

Media bias comes in many forms.  The most prevalent form is in the editorial choices of what media outlets choose to cover, emphasize, or ignore. 

For example, President Bush - the sitting President of the United States of America - is spending the night in Milwaukee and then taking his bus up through Wisconsin on a tour.  Go check out the news page for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. At the time of this post there is absolutely no mention of President Bush’s visit.  No itinerary.  No reporter trying to get a comment.  Nothing.  Nada.  Don’t you think it’s newsworthy that the President is in Wisconsin, even if it is campaigning?  I would hope that the paper would report on either campaign if they are working Wisconsin. 

I guess the President coming to Wisconsin is small potatoes for Milwaukee’s paper.  It would much rather tell us about the state failing to buy a released sex offender a house.

Concealed Carry Association Is Against Grothman

The Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association sent out this letter this morning regarding the Grothman challenging Panzer for the Wisconsin Senate:

Today Representative Glenn Grothman is going to make a decision as to whether to run against Senator Mary Panzer in the Republican primary.

Representative Grothman has been a good friend to gun owners, and a supporter of concealed carry. However, a challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer could deal a serious blow to the concealed carry effort.

Senator Panzer was the first Senate majority leader to actively fight to get concealed carry passed. She took on then-majority leader Chuck Chvala in 2002. She worked hard to help three pro-concealed carry candidates---Senators Kathy Stepp, Joe Leibham, and Ron Brown---get elected in 2002, which eliminated three anti-concealed carry Democrats.

This year Senator Panzer has been working hard to replace four Democrats with solid, pro-concealed carry Republicans.

Senator Panzer built a coalition in the Senate for concealed carry, using her friendships with a number of senators to get their votes on the bill, votes we might not otherwise have gotten.

These friendships aren’t forged over a period of months, but over years. If Representative Grothman were to unseat Senator Panzer, we could be starting from step one all over again.

And we just can’t afford to give up the gains we’ve made in the last four years.

Please call Representative Grothman--today--and politely ask him not to run against Senator Panzer. His district phone number is 262-338-8061.

Thank you,
The Wisconsin Concealed Carry Association

Readers of this blog know that there is no more passionate advocate for concealed carry than me.  In this case, I have to disagree with the WCCA. 

While it is true that Mary Panzer was very helpful in pushing through concealed carry, the issue will not fall apart without her.  We must remember that, despite media statements to the contrary, concealed carry is an incredibly popular issue.  It passed with over two-thirds of the State Senate and a single vote short of two-thirds of the Assembly.  This includes a number of Democrats.  Also, polls show that when people were informed of how the concealed carry bill was structured (background checks, training, etc.) that they overwhelmingly supported it.  The vast majority of both houses of the State legislature support concealed carry. 

Furthermore, we must remember that Glenn Grothman is challenging Mary Panzer from the right.  He is much more conservative than she is.  If she loses her seat, then the net effect is that the State Senate will be more conservative.  Since she is the majority leader, the Republican Senators will have to choose a new leader.  Since they, as a whole, will be more conservative, it is more likely that we will end up with a majority leader that is more conservative than Mary Panzer. 

The last point that I would like to make is that this election is HUGE.  It is virtually unprecedented for a sitting party leader to be challenged in a primary election.  This is an election for the heart and soul of the Republican Party in Wisconsin.  On the one hand, we have the Mary Panzer side of the party.  It is moderate-to-liberal.  It pushes for more spending, more government, and fails to advocate for conservative issues.  On the other hand, we have the Glenn Grothman side of the party.  It is fiscally and socially conservative and forcefully advocates for conservative issues.  If Grothman manages to unseat the sitting leader of the Senate, it will be an incredible message to all of the other RINOs in the Republican caucus that they had better shape up and be real Republicans lest their constituents vote them out too.  This pressure should help keep the Republican Caucus, and Democrats in swing districts, loyal and firm in their support for concealed carry.

Despite what the WCCA says, a Grothman win would be a net gain for their cause.  If the Senate shifts to the right, then passage of concealed carry next year should be a fait accompli.

It's Official - Grothman Will Challenge Panzer

I’m elated.

State Rep. Glenn Grothman on Tuesday mounted a conservative challenge to Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer, a fellow West Bend Republican who has been criticized for delaying the Taxpayers Bill of Rights.

Grothman, speaking to reporters at a crowded State Elections Board office, called it an “agonizing decision’’ but something that had to be done.

“I have been frustrated in the last two years that we have not achieved our goals of being fiscally conservative. The party needs a little wake-up call to get back to its roots,” Grothman said. “Senator Panzer, who I like, has always had an ear for the spending interests. ... Mary prides herself with getting along with these groups. I think the spending interests are listened to a lot more and the taxpayers a lot less.”

Grothman filed nomination papers for the state Senate to run against Senate Majority Leader Mary Panzer two minutes before the deadline.

Grothman late in the afternoon could be seen in an Elections Board conference room, mulling his decision to leave a safe seat and run as a conservative alternative to Panzer. Grothman had been urged by establishment Republicans to forgo the race; some fear he’ll hurt Senate Republicans’ efforts to expand their majority.

Grothman, however, said: “It is a daunting challenge. But on the other hand, we need to get the Republican Party back on the right track.”

Grothman said Speaker John Gard didn’t encourage him to run, but Gard and Panzer were at odds over the pace of the proposed constitutional spending limitation amendment known as TABOR. Gard wanted it passed this session; Panzer said she didn’t have the votes and said it would pass in January.

Meeting President Bush

My wife and I got invited to meet President Bush at one of his campaign stops during his bus tour through Wisconsin tomorrow.  He may or may not actually stop and get out to meet with us, but it will be cool to see him in person just the same.  I’ll try to get some pictures.

Michelle Malkin Beat Me To It

I was going to write a post about how the Filipinos have shamed themselves by capitulating to the terrorists, but one of my favorite columnists on her brand-spankin’ new blog, beat me to it.

On The Marriage Amendment

I’ve written on this topic before, but given the current news, I’m going to touch on it again… the Marriage Amendment.

I am a reluctant supporter of the federal amendment to ban gay marriage.  I am reluctant because it distresses me that it has come to this.  Let’s back up and see how we got here.

We live in a Constitutional Republic.  In our system of government, the government acts according to the public will, as directed by the majority through its duly elected representatives, within the boundaries of fundamental individual rights.  In this system of government, the citizenry may legislate any and all affairs, so long as an individual’s civil rights are not trampled.  For instance, the citizenry of most states has decided that restaurants that have a salad bar must have a sneeze guard, because we’d much rather stare through someone’s boogers than eat them.  This regulation does not violate anyone’s fundamental rights (okay, you could make a private property argument, but no right is absolute.  Let’s try to focus here), and the citizenry wishes to have some safeguards against eating boogers that are not their own.  Thus, it is perfectly appropriate for the citizenry to direct its government to regulate and enforce the use of sneeze guards. 

Furthermore, our system of government is tiered into 3 primary levels – the Federal level, the State level, and the local level.  In general, each level of government, either through tradition or through constitutional mandates, is entrusted with specific portions of the public will.  The local level of government typically manages matters like garbage collection, schools, building codes, and the like.  The State level of government has perhaps the largest responsibility as it deals with everything from land management to law enforcement to post-graduate education.  The Federal level of our government is supposed to be the most restricted level – responsible for only large matters like civil rights, national defense, and interstate commerce.  Obviously, there is a lot of sloshing over of responsibilities between these levels of government, but that’s the basic premise. 

Into such a framework comes the issue of gay marriage.  I oppose gay marriage, but that is not relevant to this discussion.  There are 3 relevant points.  The first is that marriage has always been the dominion of the State level of government.  The second is that marriage, gay or straight, has never been considered a right.  The third point is that the vast majority of the citizenry opposes gay marriage. 

Up until recently, these three points led to a state of affairs in which the citizenry enforced its wishes that gays not be allowed to marry through its duly-elected representatives in State government.  Since marriage was not considered a right, the citizenry was perfectly within its purview to legislate the parameters of marriage. 

In this state of affairs, the citizenry would have probably changed the parameters of marriage to include gay couples, when public opinion reached the point of accepting them.  Unfortunately, as so often seems to happen with the Left, they could not wait.

What we have seen in these last few years is the Left making the argument that gay marriage is a civil right.  This is a massive leap in classification is stunning in that heterosexual marriage had not ever even been considered a right.  Normally, this wouldn’t really matter much.  People have a habit of claiming rights that do not exist.  In this case, however, they have managed to find a few sympathetic courts that are willing to throw legal precedent to the wind and declare that gay marriage is, in fact, a right.  Although it is not considered a federal right yet, the Left is working its way through the court system in an effort to produce enough legal precedent to declare gay marriage a right.

This changes the whole debate.  Once something is an acknowledged right, two things happen.  First, the issue gets kicked up to the federal level, because civil rights are the domain of the federal government.  The second thing it does is effectively remove the citizenry from having a say in the matter, which is, after all, the intent of the Left. 

So we have it that the Left has elevated the issue of gay marriage to the federal level.  Given this fact, conservatives like myself have little choice but to wage battle at the federal level.  The Left has resorted to using the court system to mandate provisions in the law that it could not convince the citizenry to accept.  The only redoubt against a rogue court system is the Constitution. 

The Left has made the argument that the Constitution protects the right of gays to marry.  Conservatives argue that the Constitution does no such thing.  Given this, conservatives are seeking to amend to Constitution to make it perfectly clear - and liberal-activist judge proof - that gay marriage is most certainly NOT a right. 

Here, I think that the social conservatives have overstepped their bounds by advocating an amendment that defines marriage as between a man and a woman.  I would prefer an amendment that simply declares that any marriage is not a right and is subject to regulation by the States, but beggars can’t be choosers.

So here we are.  I, a Constitutional conservative, am in a position in which I feel that I must alter the very document that I cherish in order to prevent the rot that is seeping into it. 

It saddens and sickens me.

Delaware hostage-taker shot and killed

This is how you deal with hostage-takers.

SMYRNA, Del. - A sharpshooter on Monday shot and killed a prisoner who took a female employee hostage inside a Delaware prison, officials said.

Officials with the state Corrections Department said the female employee, whose identity was not released, was unharmed. She and the sharpshooter, a member of the department’s emergency response team, were being debriefed, they said.

The fatal shooting of Scott A. Miller, 45, at 4:55 p.m. ended a standoff that lasted more than six hours after Miller took the woman hostage while armed with a homemade knife. She was held in the maximum-security section of the Delaware Correctional Center, the state’s main prison, which holds about 2,400 inmates.

Miller was sentenced to 699 years in 1997 for a series of rapes in which nine women were assaulted.

Get a clean shot and take it.

Gary Sherman Announces His Run

It’s official, Representative Gary Sherman is running for reelection in the 74th District.

You may remember Gary Sherman.  He’s been mentioned in this space before.  Gary Sherman co-authored the concealed carry bill in the Wisconsin State Assembly earlier this year.  He voted for its passage but then voted to uphold the governor’s veto of the bill.  The veto override vote failed by 1 vote - his.  If it weren’t for Gary Sherman selling out his constituents, his conscience, and the people of Wisconsin for his party and the governor, Wisconsinites would have their right to carry a concealed weapon right now. 

Barb Linton has announced that she will challenge him, but I still haven’t found any contact information for her.  As soon as I do, I’ll pass it along so that you can send her a campaign contribution, if you so choose.  If any readers of this blog have that information, please leave it in the comments or email it to me.

Glenn Grothman Getting Signatures

Here’s an update to this story:

A nice lady came by my house today collecting signatures for Glenn Grothman’s nomination papers for the State Senate.  My beautiful and talented wife signed them, but I was at the store getting weed killer.  That’ll teach me to ever leave the house.