Practically Speaking

Save 10% on gas with the "Melchert Plan"

2008-08-21T05:15:00Z

Last May I told you about Randy Melchert, candidate for the Wisconsin State Assembly--24th District. Although that is not my district, his "Melchert Plan" to lower area gasoline prices by 10% is appealing. I don't have to live in the Menomonee Falls/Germantown area to be in favor of that!

From his website:

...[His] three-part plan would eliminate the Minimum Markup Law, lower the state Gas Tax to the national average, and end the forced use of Reformulated Gas.While gas prices have risen nationwide, gas in Wisconsin has risen more than other states because Wisconsin has one of the ten highest gasoline tax rates in the nation! The Tax Foundation shows how gas taxes in Wisconsin are 3 cents higher than Indiana, 5 cents higher than Ohio, almost 11 cents higher than Minnesota and Iowa, almost 15 cents higher than South Carolina and Kentucky, and 19 cents higher than New Jersey

Now I could understand if the gas tax was used for highway maintenance and road repair, but when Governor Doyle can steal $240 million from the transportation fund to cover the rest of his budget, we're paying too much in gas taxes.

On his website, Melchert includes a series of interesting charts, graphs, and lots of statistics that illustrate how Wisconsin drivers pay more for gasoline than most other states. There is also a savings calculator where you can punch in your numbers to see how the minimum mark up, reformulation, and higher gas taxes affect you. On average, I probably would save $300 a year, but if I would calculate the savings for our entire household, we would be saving somewhere around $900 a year.

Since we just returned from a trip out west, I can confirm we found gas prices elsewhere much cheaper. The added bonus was that we could get non-ethanol gasoline in other states, giving us more miles per gallon.

For example: in a 2 day period on Aug. 16th and 17th, regular gasoline in Sioux Falls, SD was $3.49/gal, Willmar, MN was $3.62/gal, but in Wisconsin, reformulated gas (the only kind available) in Black River Falls was $3.79/gal.

Check out the information on Melchert's website, and if you would like to save 10% on your gasoline bills, contact your representatives and senators and ask them to implement the Melchert Plan!

If I lived in the 24th District, I would be voting for Randy Melchert come Sept. 9th. But I live in the 14th District, so my vote happily goes to Leah Vukmir.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

Gas prices fall and so does interest in small cars

2008-08-15T05:47:00Z

According to Wednesday's USA TODAY Money section, the slight fall in gas prices has already influenced the type of car people are looking at.

It seems that now that the heat is off, rising gas prices wise, so is the interest in small cars.

The article, Hot ;small-car sales simmer down - Falling gas prices pull reins on stampeding buyers, stated that, "Car shoppers who panicked in June and July about gas prices are losing intrest in small cars and hybrids as fuel prices have declined."

This drop in interest was based on Edmunds.com users searching for certain types of cars--compacts and hybrids. A chart showed that although gas prices rose from $3.33/gal in April, to a peak of about $4.10 in July, and have fallen to $3.81 now, the percentage of compact and hybrid searches is now just about where they were in April.

"In June, 31.4% of recent new car buyers surveyed said the purchase was motivated by a desire for better gas mileage, Acxiom says. That is up from 21.1% in February, but still less than a third of buyers. there is 'not this huge flood to one segmennt in the auto industry," says Tim Longnecer of Axiom's automotive practice. 'There's still going to be this hughe desire for utility.'"

The article concluded with a quote from Jeremy Anwyl of Edmunds "At the end of the day, people need space."

We too toyed with the idea of trading in my PT Cruiser, which does not get great gas mileage, but concluded the cost to upgrade to a better gas mileage model was not worth it. We figured we could purchase a lot of gas, at a higher price, for the difference in sticker cost for that more efficient model.

The other influencing factor for us, just as Amwyl stated, was size. We needed a vehicle at least PT's size to use for a vacation car, so we did nothing. (Plus I still have 2 more years of warranty left.)

How about you?

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

Email tags and a bumper sticker

2008-08-12T04:18:11Z

You see a lot of bumper stickers on cars. Some are quite funny; some cruel. This one isn't a bumper sticker yet, but I suspect I will see it: I thought it was a clever play on a campaign slogan. (It was an email post script tag.)

NObama 08, Keep the Change!

This next slogan actually was a bumper sticker, and it was bipartisan!

DON'T STEAL, THE GOVERNMENT HATES COMPETITION

My son spotted this email tag on a VW car bullitin board site.

My carbon output feeds the trees the liberals love to hug!

Any one see a funny McCain bumper sticker?

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

Tomatoes and garlic salad Italian style

2008-08-09T04:27:00Z

Growing up, one of our favorite summer meals was sweet corn, Italian bread, maybe some tuna fish, and tomatoes and garlic salad. It was a very simple supper, but it sure tasted good!

I still make this marinated salad just like my Italian grandfather did--with homegrown tomatoes (or from the farmer's market), garlic, and extra virgin olive oil. It is very simple to prepare. If you like tomatoes and garlic, give it a try.

Put all ingredients into a salad bowl.

Use at least one tomato per person. Wash it, core it, and cut into wedges--about 1/2 inch by 1 1/2 inches.

Peel and slice 1 clove of garlic per 3 tomatoes--more or less to taste.

Pour on about 1 teaspoon extra virgin olive oil per tomato.

Let sit at room temperature for a few hours and stir a few times. DO NOT REFRIGERATE!!!

When ready to serve, you can pick out the garlic slices if you like, or leave in.

Serve with Italian bread. The juice from the tomatoes mixed with the oil and garlic is delicious. Grandpa would break off pieces of the bread to soak up the juices with. That is how we eat it too.

I like the Italian bread from Angelina's Deli on North Ave. just east of Pilgrim. They also have the best Italian sausage in town, in my opinion. The sausages would make a nice addition to this meal, instead of the tuna.

We get our sweet corn from Simons on Greenfield Ave. and Vista View--between Mooreland and Sunnyslope. It is excellent.

So give this simple summer supper a try soon.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

*Happiness is a trailer and a hitch, or fun times at the recycling center

2008-08-06T20:54:08Z

One of the first things we purchased when we moved here was a utility trailer. What do we need that for? I asked my husband. He said we would need to to haul brush to the dump. (Back then we still called it the dump.) He did use it for that purpose...a lot.

In 1995 I became the one to go to the recycling center. We were remodeling and in 1995 the center still allowed residents to bring in their used building materials.

Every week I would make at least 3 trips with trailer fully loaded. I was a bit of a novelty, because there were not too many women who would drive a car with a trailer. (I got to know the guys pretty well--a few were nice.)

I've made a few trips since then, but I always needed my husband's car since he had the hitch.

But this summer, I got a trailer hitch put onto my car. That might not seem like a big deal to you, but it made me happy. Now I can go to the Recycling Center whenever they are open.

On a recent trip, my son and I watched other residents struggle shoveling mulch and dirt into their trunks and mini vans. I happily forked the mulch into my little old red trailer.

The Recycling Center has changed a great deal since my earlier visits. The new facilities for Public Works are pretty impressive. (Our tax dollars at work.)

I must say I miss the piles of stuff and scrap lumber though. It was always fun to check those out. (Once a nice worker even let me retrieve a plaid metal lunch box from the scrap metal heap!)

Kids loved the idea of bringing home wood for a fort or tree house. It was truly a Recycling Center back then!

If you like to garden or if you have a lot of mature trees on your lot, may I recommend the humble trailer and hitch. They have more than paid for themselves at our homestead.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin, Vicki Mckenna

Happiness is a homegrown tomato

2008-08-04T05:28:19Z

It sure took long enough. I planted earlier than other years, and my tomato plants looked great. Yet those green tomatoes just would not ripen!

I suspect cool night temperatures are to blame--tomatoes need it warm at night to ripen properly.

But today, TODAY, I found 2 ripe Lemon Boy tomatoes out in my garden they became my first tomato mayo sandwich of the season. The Mortgage Lifter looks like it will be next.

Now I can say I broke even on that plant. If I would have bought 2 yellow tomatoes at the store today, they would have probabaly equalled the plant purchase price. All the rest I harvest from this point forward will be free!

How is your garden growing?

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

New book: The Obama Nation

2008-08-01T13:28:38Z

The Obama Nation, a book by Jerome R. Corsi Ph.D., comes out today.

The author was on Sean Hannity last night plugging it. Corsi mentioned Obama being marketed as the next Neo from the Matrix movies--you know "The One." I thought that was an interesting idea since his campaign "borrowed" slogans from other celebrities.

Interestingly, Corsi said he has been researching this book in 2006. He figured the Democratic party would fall for Obama as their candidate without really knowing much about him. Boy, was Corsi right about that!

The Obama Nation includes topics such as Barack's connection with Rezko in Chicago, Obama's anti Israel stance, and his very anti pro life stance. It is over 380 pages long--I'm sure there is lots more.

While I am on the topic of getting to know more about Obama, this is the link to Barack Obama's Stealth Socialism editorial My Two Cents mentioned yesterday in the comments from Properly inflate your tires. Be sure to read the list of socialist programs he is pushing for.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

No need to drill, says Obama, just properly inflate your tires!

2008-07-31T20:15:00Z

Wow! We don't need to drill in the US for more oil. All we have to do is properly inflate our tires*. At least that is what Obama said yesterday, Obama energy policy: 'Inflate your tires' Candidate claims oil savings would equal new production plans:

"There are things you can do individually, though, to save energy," Obama said. "Making sure your tires are properly inflated – simple thing. But we could save all the oil that they're talking about getting off drilling – if everybody was just inflating their tires? And getting regular tune-ups? You'd actually save just as much!"

Vicki McKenna played the clip of him saying that 2 times on her radio show today. Unbelievable. Take a look at the Google search of Obama inflate tires too. Lots of entertainment there. UPDATE: Cindy Kilkenny has the Youtube posted of his comments--you can see it for yourself.

Obama's idea reminds me quite a bit of all the gas saving measures suggested and hawked during the Carter years of gasoline shortages. Each thing you did or purchased was to increase gas mileage 5 to 15%. People joked that if you did them all, you would have to stop the car every 200 miles just to empty the tank!

I will make sure my tires are properly inflated before I go on my next road trip later this year. Bet I only have to stop for gas once or twice! ;-)

Maybe one campaign strategy for Republicans would be to just arrange Obama speaking opportunities--no teleprompter allowed though.

*Just imagine how our economy would improve it we properly inflated our tires AND drilled here?

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

GOPUSA's Send an email message to Congress about domestic drilling

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Typically, gas prices are lower in August than May

2008-07-30T14:50:00Z

We rekindled our love affair with road trip vacations in 2001 when our son was finally old enough to endure 3 days of driving at a time, and we were able to afford more dependable transportation. Instead of our usual 2 hour drive to some favorite State Park for 2 weeks of camping, we graduated to visiting various National Parks out west. It has been great.

Because of our road trip habit, I've payed attention to gas prices. Beginning in 2001, when prices spiked in late spring, I would wring my hands with everyone else and worry how high they would go by August (the time of our departure.) But it seemed every year, gas prices went down about 40 - 50 cents/gal by the time we hit the road. (Good reason to plan your driving vacation late in the summer.) Photo shows $3.79/gal on July 25, 2008 at Speedway on Greenfield and Sunny Slope Road, that is about .50 cents lower than earlier highs this summer.

Experience taught me to not fret too much about what would prices be by the end of summer? I would assure myself the price would come down later in the summer, and they did. Unfortunately, the lower price of August was usually .25 to .50 cents/gal higher than the year before!

I checked my travel journal for some past August price examples*. You can see the prices increases nearly every year: 2003 - $1.59/gal, 2004 - $1.83 to $1.93/gal, 2005 - $2.53 to $3.47/gal (California' price), 2006 - $2.99 to $3.19/gal, 2007 - $2.85 - $3.09. Notice the prices in 2007 were cheaper than 2006, but that was the exception to the norm.

The AAA agent told me Monday, the price this summer is $1.19 higher (nationwide) than last year's gas prices. That is a higher jump from years past. Some other market forces are at work.

USA Today attributed the oil prices drop to fewer miles driven in, Cost at pump dips as demand, oil prices fall,

Drivers in the USA logged 9.6 billion fewer miles in May than in May 2007, the government reported Monday. It was the third-largest monthly drop in 66 years.

But to me, that alone cannot account for the downturn in oil prices. If you look at the graph to the left, you see that oil prices started declining more steadily around the time the President announced he was removing the moratorium on offshore drilling. I believe if the Congress would approve domestic drilling, we would see more declines.

If you look at the chart from this 2nd article, US drivers Log 9.6 B fewer miles in May, you see that Americans have been driving significantly less all year. May did not even mark the largest downturn, March did. If the price of oil was so dependent on driving alone, March's decline should have triggered a crude oil price reduction, shouldn't it have?

The data released Monday show that Americans drove 29.8 billion fewer miles in the first five months of this year compared with the same period last year, a 2.4% drop. The dip continues a seven-month trend beginning in November. Americans have driven 40.5 billion fewer miles from November through May compared with the same period a year earlier.

I believe we must start drilling in America if we want to see oil prices really decline. (Domestic drilling would also keep billions of US $ at home, but that is another subject!) We are on a hair trigger as it stands now, where any natural or man-made disaster could push prices up.

Unrest in non-OPEC countries, such as Nigeria, could push prices higher. Militants in that country sabotaged two oil pipelines Monday, driving crude prices for September delivery up $1.47 a barrel. A major hurricane in the Gulf of Mexico also could send oil prices higher.

"We could always have a spike to $150 a barrel," Smith says.

For right now, we can relax just a tiny bit and enjoy the typical price decrease of .40 to .50 cents/gallon in August. Too bad it is still .70 cents a gallon more ($1.19 nationwide) than last year!

*In 1979 gas prices were under 50 cents a gallon in the early summer! (Good thing.This was our 5 1/2 week, 8,000 mile Way Out West camping trip.)

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Testing the waters: VK, McCain, and Elmbrook Swim Club

2008-07-28T16:29:00Z

Unsure about how an idea will go over? Test the waters!

I saw it happen at the June 9th Plan Commission meeting with AJS' Percheron Square (VK). Their first plan came in with higher density and so AJS requested a PDD. It passed easily. (Sad part was, the more realistic plan--without the underground office parking--was not that much larger than the density already designated for.) Then, shortly after that approval, Community Watch (June 16) reported,

Property owner V.K. Development Corp. has requested a delay in the city's approval process for the proposed development, known as Percheron Square. The Common Council was to consider the site plan at its Tuesday meeting. But Ajay Kuttemperoor, V.K. Development president, asked the council to delay that action because of an inquiry from a prospective buyer of a portion of the site. That could result in changes to the proposal, Kuttemperoor said today.

To me that says, AJS was just testing the waters at the first plan commission meeting.

John McCain's campaign has also been testing the waters. They have been dropping running mate names like Pawlenty, waiting for a reaction. Testing the waters is an easy way to judge public acceptance.

Now the Elmbrook Swim Club is again testing the waters with their additional competition pool proposal.

The swim club in 2004 offered to raise $1 million to add lanes to one high school pool. Last fall the club called for expanding one pool to 10 lanes and pledged to help fund it.

The club must have thought those proposals were accepted fairly well, because now they have upped the ante. (My emphasis)

But this week club officials presented a new plan to district officials: to have two pools at Brookfield Central.

The existing pool would be reduced in size and made shallower for use by physical education classes, community swim lessons and other uses requiring warmer, shallower water.

A new 25 yard-by-25 meter competition pool would be built immediately south of the existing pool. That deeper, colder pool would be used by physical education classes, the community, the swim club, and would host regional and state tournaments. It would be configured to run eight and 10-lane events.

The expansion does not stop there.

The existing pools seat 300 spectators. The new pool would have 1,500 bleacher seats — slightly less than available at the Waukesha South Natatorium, a 25-yard-by-30 meter pool.

Just how many area schools have a facility like this? Three, if you include Madison.

[Swim coach] Rose said there are few competition pools in the area: Waukesha South, Schroeder Aquatic Center in Brown Deer and University of Wisconsin Madison’s natatorium.

The coach added that, "Holding meets could generate $25,000 in annual revenue for Elmbrook."

How much is this thing going to cost to build? $6 to $8 million! Of that, Elmbrook taxpayers would pay around half.

Wow! We get a whopping $25,000 a year in fees and only have to spend $4,000,000* or so? (Yes, that was said tongue in cheek.)

What about the hidden costs?

The annual costs to operate and maintain two pools are unknown.

Pools and their accompanying shower rooms are expensive to operate. They require lots of water, sewer, gas to heat the water, pool chemicals, electricity to run the filters and pumps, heating costs to heat the pool rooms, and don't forget the custodial costs for cleaning 2 pools and the expanded observation deck.

I took a look at the March 24 budget and although there is not a separate line item for pools, I did note the water usage differences between the high schools and other schools.

I may be all wet here (pun intended), but the high schools have about 36% of all Elmbrook students, but they use 53% of the district's water use: $15,682 for grade school and middle school water charges vs. $17,370 for the high schools. I'm thinking some of that disparity is due to the pool and shower use. (Some of that increase would be because of gym class showering, boiler use, and sports field watering too.)

The sewer bills were higher in the high schools too. $31,547 for lower grades, $31,571 for high school water going down the drain.

Now the swim club is proposing another pool. They are thinking of coming up with part of the purchase price. But who is going to pay for the increased utility costs to heat the room, buy the water, heat the water, filter the water, pay the sewer bill, pay the custodian, pay the chemical bill, pay for the lighting of the room, pay for the maintenance of the pool, and pay the custodians to clean the extra pool?

We, the taxpayers would...after that whopping estimated $25,000 a year revenue was deducted.

I think there is a reason there are really only 2 other area competition pools like this. They are EXPENSIVE! Expensive to build and to operate. Interesting that the coach needed to reach out to Madison to find a 3rd one, and that one was at the university level.

Here is an idea. The Elmbrook Swim Club pays for the entire 2nd competition pool, including operation costs. We leave our original pool alone, so then Elmbrook does not need it for phy. ed. purposes. (The school district could be a good sport and donate the land for the completion pool.) ~~Elmbrook schools can then pay the swim club the fees for use of the competition pool. I think we would be cheaper off?~~ UPDATE: What was I thinking? Elmbrook should be able to use the competition pool for free because we donated the land. We could let the swim club collect the $25,000/year in revenue from other clubs to help compensate them for their expenditure.

True, the Elmbrook Swim Club is just contemplating this idea at this time, but notice that the size, scope, and cost of their project has increased dramatically in just the past 4 years. Another common phrase comes to mind regarding this completion pool project: The Elmbrook Swim Club thinks we should spend money like water!

If you think Elmbrook taxpayers already spend enough on education and sports, contact the school board about this completion pool idea.

*There was no mention of the actual dollar amount the swim club was going to chip in, plus, our cost of the actual pool could be higher if it goes the route of the BC2 Astroturf project.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Boy Scout Troop 55 gives park shelters a face lift

2008-07-26T02:01:00Z

Saturday, July 26th, Boy Scout Troop 55 will be giving several Brookfield park shelters an interior face lift.

I happened to catch a sneak peek at my area's Kinsey Park the other night. The scout in the photo told me his troop would be painting 3 shelter interiors on Saturday.

Look for CNI story about this--the painting family (mom was there too) said the paper would be sending a reporter.

Boy Scouts are required to do service projects. Kinsey Park already has benefited from an Eagle Scout project a few years ago. The perennial plantings by the sign were one scout's service project.

The scouts also do periodic park clean ups and have spread wood chips on the trails from time to time.

I'm sure the Boy Scouts are inundated with lots of ideas for projects. Maybe they could add building Heron nesting boxes or bat and purple martin houses (natural mosquito control) for our wetlands to their list?

Thanks scouts and scout parents for all you do!

Don't forget, the Hot Air Tour Press Conference has been moved from Miller Park to AFP headquarters on Saturday

Kinsey Park pier project is completed

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Brewer's boot "Hot Air Tour" from ballpark Saturday, July 26, but it's still a go!

2008-07-25T15:58:09Z

Americans for Prosperity, a nationwide grassroots group, was to have held a rally/press conference as part of their Brewer game Taxpayer Tailgate outing tomorrow. The rally was to raise awareness "about the serious threat global warming alarmism poses to our prosperity, including legislation being considered by Congress that would more than double gasoline prices."

But the Brewer's ballpark decided they did not want anything political going on in their parking lot and so they said NO to the hot air balloon rides and Hot Air Tour, the name of the rally. They will not put any of that in writing, but the hot air balloon permit was canceled just the same.

Of course the stadium still wants you to come to the tailgate at 3pm and game at 6pm though. (Translation, you can still come spend your money here.)

Americans for Prosperity isn't about to let this snag squelch their rally though. They are moving the rally to their headquarters parking lot at 1126 S. 70th Street (located behind the K-mart shopping center in the old Allis Chalmers buildings on Washington and 70th.) It shouldn't be too hard to find, the 7 story high hot air balloon should mark the spot!

The actual Press Conference/Political event and free balloon rides (Hot Air Tour) are scheduled from 2:30 - 3pm, but you can gather and schmooze starting at 1:30pm.

Congressman Jim Sensenbrenner will be there, so will radio's Vicki McKenna, County Executive Scott Walker, State Representative Jim Ott (Meteorologist), AFP-WI State Director Mark Block, AFP Director of Communications Annie Patnaude, and Phil Williamson of Fight Back Wisconsin. Williamson will be circulating his domestic oil drilling and oil refinery petition, or you may sign online.

After the rally, they will head over to the Taxpayer Tailgate at the stadium.

You do not need to register to come to the rally, which is free. You do need to register for ballpark events: Tailgate only is $10.00 at Miller Park's South East Parking lot (Mets Parking Lot). Full Event Tickets are ONLY $21.00.

Email any questions to Brenda Baas at brenda.baas@afphq.org or call 414-475-2975.

As for coming to the ballpark and spending money there, well, if I had already purchased my Brewer ticket, I would probably be inclined to NOT buy a thing!

From Mark Block: Read about our Hot Air Tour event and our response to Governor Doyle's Task Force on Global Warming here - click here - and join us on Saturday at 1:30 at 1126 S. 70th Street in West Allis.

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

The Common Council's "Dog Days of Summer" - Correction

2008-07-24T16:43:00Z

Traditionally, the days between July and September are called the Dog Days of Summer, not because of the heat and humidity causing you to pant like a dog, but because of the appearance of Sirius, the bright star in the constellation Canis Major.

But this summer, Brookfield's Common Council's Legislative & Licensing Committee* is having their own Dog Days. The Aldermen members are discussing whether or not Brookfield should adopt a dog and cat limit.

According to the JSOnline article yesterday, most people at the meeting did not favor limiting pets, but enforcing current laws,

The city should not limit the number of dogs residents can own, and instead should better enforce existing ordinances to resolve problems with dogs and their owners, animal hobbyists and rescuers say.
...A majority of the approximately 35 residents at the meeting opposed pet limits, saying they were not needed and would cause a domino effect of unintended negative consequences.

They said it was an overreaction to a single case in which neighbors complained about a dog rescue operation being run by Brookfield resident Jean Rhoten. A judge ruled that the rescue was an illegal business in a residential district.

As I stated earlier in How many dogs are too many?, it seems we already have laws on the books to protect neighbors against irresponsible pet owners. Simply making another rule will do little to eliminate the problem if Brookfield does not enforce those ordinances either.

While I do sympathize with residents who have to endure rude pet owners, I guess I don't see how simply limiting the number of pets to 4 would help. Example: We have an area resident who owns 2 large dogs who we suspect of not consistently picking up their dog dirt when on a walk. The new rule wouldn't help that situation.

Karen Sparapani, Elmbrook Humane Society's Community Outreach Director and fellow blogger stated, "Most complaints are about dogs barking, being out of control or neglected, and that can happen whether there is one dog or 10."

The article suggested (as I did) "Some [communities] issue animal kennel, hobby or fancier permits that allow more dogs, charge higher fees and sometimes require annual inspections."

The Aldermen are obviously more aware of the number of complaints received on the too many pets issue. The L&L Committee will "likely hold another special meeting to take potential action on the issue" in August about this, according to the article in today's Brookfieldnow paper. If a policy change is approved, it then heads to the Common Council.

Legislative & Licensing Committee members (aldermen) are: Steve Ponto, Gary Mahkorn, Rick Owen, Ron Balzer, and Bill Carnell

If you have an opinion on limiting or not limiting pets, do give the committee and your aldermen a call or email.

*Correction--Because the Journal article did not state what meeting this was discussed at, I mistakingly said it was the Common Council in the earlier posting. Thank you Alan Hamari for reporting more specifics in today's Brookfieldnow article.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

"Inconvenient Fact(s)" Re:100% zero-carbon electricity in 10 years

2008-07-23T16:33:27Z

Most of us heard about Al Gore's JFK-like 10 year challenge last week for "America to run 'on 100% zero-carbon electricity in 10 years." Bret Stephens wrote about it and Al Gore in his Wall Street Journal piece, Al Gore's Doomsday Clock. He wrote, "though that's just the first step on his road to 'ending our reliance on carbon-based fuels.' Serious people understand this is absurd. Maybe other people will start drawing the same conclusion about the man proposing it."

Do read the complete article. Bret Stephens presents many interesting statistics on where we have been and where we are going on our carbon-free electrical journey.

In Mr. Gore's prophecy, a transition to carbon-free electricity generation in a decade is "achievable, affordable and transformative." He believes that the goal can be achieved almost entirely through the use of "renewables" alone, meaning solar, geothermal, wind power and biofuels.

Um, Mr. Gore, last time I looked, biofuel was not zero-carbon. Plants themselves contain carbon in the form of simple sugars (that is what makes them a fuel), emit CO2 at night, and require carbon fueled tractors for cultivating the crop and later transporting crops to biofuel making factories and finally to gas stations.

Here, however, is an inconvenient fact (my emphasis throughout.) In 1995, the U.S. got about 2.2% of its net electricity generation from "renewable" sources, according to the Energy Information Administration. By 2000, the last full year of the Clinton administration, that percentage had dropped to 2.1%. By contrast, the combined share of coal, petroleum and natural gas rose to 70% from 68% during the same time frame.

Now the share of renewables is up slightly, to about 2.3% as of 2006 (the latest year for which the EIA provides figures). The EIA thinks the use of renewables (minus hydropower) could rise to 201 billion kilowatt hours per year in 2018 from the current 65 billion. But the EIA also projects total net generation in 2018 to be 4.4 trillion kilowatt hours per year. That would put the total share of renewables at just over four percent of our electricity needs.

Interestingly, Mr. Gore does not suggest carbon-free nuclear or hydro power,* which are not affected by cloudy or windless days:

Mr. Gore's case would also be helped if our experience of renewable sources were a positive one. It isn't. In his useful book "Gusher of Lies," Robert Bryce notes that "in July 2006, wind turbines in California produced power at only about 10% of their capacity; in Texas, one of the most promising states for wind energy, the windmills produced electricity at about 17% of their rated capacity." Like wind power, solar power also suffers from the problem of intermittency, which means that it has to be backed up by conventional sources in order to avoid disruptions. This is especially true of hot summers when the wind doesn't blow and cold winters when the sun doesn't shine.

And then there are biofuels, whose recent vogue, the World Bank believes, may have been responsible for up to 75% of the recent rise in world food prices. Save the planet; starve the poor.

Stephens concludes with this question, "A more interesting question is why Mr. Gore remains believable. Perhaps people think that facts ought not to count against a man whose task is to raise our sights..." and then he gives "The True Believer" author Eric Hoffer the last word, "It is startling to realize how much unbelief is necessary to make belief possible."

Don't get me wrong, I am all in favor of more environmentally favorable fuels and methods, as long as they make sense and cents! Fair Oaks Farm manure fueled electricity generators would be a good example of this. SC Johnson Co. (Johnson Wax) is also dabbling in methane from garbage fuel. But even these recycling methods are still carbon based.

Maybe some day, as technology improves, wind and solar might be able to more constantly supply the majority of our electricity. But for right now, we aren't there yet--not by a long shot.

Jay Weber spoke about this today in his 9 O'clock hour.

*You would think hydro power would be favored by the environmentalists. Not true. While visiting the Grand Canyon 2 years ago, we heard of a movement afoot in the area to allow spring gushes. Seems the regular spring flooding of rushing water scoured the riverbed as opposed to the constant easy flow of a controlled river.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Electricty generated from manure!

2008-07-21T04:24:00Z

Back in the 1970s, we were in an energy crisis. Because oil supply was limited and prices high, many alternative fuels and energy generating operations were talked about and tried. Capturing methane gas from rotting garbage was a popular idea at the time--I think it was even featured in Mother Earth News. (My husband and I were subscribers.) I don't remember if many people actually tried it though. Today, oil prices are up again and people are looking for alternatives.

I recently saw an interesting electricity generating operation on Discovery Channel's Dirty Jobs show. Host Mike Rowe paid a visit to Fair Oaks Farm in Indiana where Mike helped with all sorts of dirty, grimy, icky, jobs in that "Dairy Cow Midwife*" episode. Mike literally rolled up his sleeves and even got in up past his elbow to help a cow deliver her calf. (Haven't seen that since watching All Creatures Great and Small!)

The segment ended with Mike shoveling manure for the farmer's methane gas generating operation. The Post Tribune reported, "Rowe worked with the farm's anaerobic digester, which produces methane from cow manure, and produces electricity for several of Fair Oaks' farms."

Wow! What a great idea! Four big tanks held the cow manure and produced enough methane gas to power the generators for electricity production. I have no idea what the pay back or life cycle is of the equipment, but the concept is intriguing.

The anaerobic (with oxygen) digesters break down the manure. In the process, nutrients are extracted from the manure, leaving a effluent that is a very nutritious soil fertilizer. Methane gas is produced as a by-product. The methane is then captured and used to generate electricity!

I found this Midwest Rural Energy Council website that explains this type of operation:

Anaerobic digesters convert the energy stored in organic materials present in manure into biogas. Biogas can be fed directly into a gas-fired combustion turbine. The type of turbine most often used for small-scale electricity production is the microturbine. Combustion of biogas converts the energy stored in the bonds of the molecules of the methane contained in the biogas into mechanical energy as it spins a turbine. The mechanical energy produced by biogas combustion in an engine or microturbine spins a turbine that produces a stream of electrons, or, electricity. In addition, waste heat from these engines can provide heating or hot water for use on farm.

As energy prices continue to climb, alternative ideas that were discarded before might be tried again. New technologies will be tried too. No need for mandates and regulatory laws. People will naturally gravitate towards these innovations--especially if they are cheaper to operate than gas/oil fueled standard methods.

Kilowatts from cow pies? Good thinking!

*Dirty Jobs repeats its episodes throughout the year--hope you can catch this one.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

McDonald's, I'm not lovin this either

2008-07-18T17:41:42Z

If you remember, The American Family Association objected to McDonald's joining the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, making a $20,000 donation to that group, and placing a McDonald's executive on the their board back in April. McDonald's did not take the AFA's objections very seriously.

This month, the AFA is dialing up their objections a notch; they recently announced a McDonald's boycott because of McDonald's refusal "to stay neutral in the cultural war over homosexuality." From The Washington Post:

The [AFA] association asked McDonald's to remove itself from the chamber but the burger-maker declined, leading to the boycott. "We're saying that there are people who support AFA who don't appreciate their dollars from the hamburgers they bought being put into an organization that's going to fight against the values they believe in," Tim Wildmon, the association's president, said yesterday.

"Hatred has no place in our culture," McDonald's USA spokesman Bill Whitman said. "That includes McDonald's, and we stand by and support our people to live and work in a society free of discrimination and harassment."

"Hatred?" Who said anything about hatred? All AFA asked was that McDonald's stop supporting the Gay/Lesbian Chamber, a group the AFA sees as promoting anti-family values, such as same sex marriage.

To be perfectly clear about what this boycott is NOT and IS about, the AFA has stated their position in plain English on their boycott page:

What the boycott of McDonald's IS NOT about
This boycott is not about hiring homosexuals.
It is not about homosexuals eating at McDonald's.
It is not about how homosexual employees are treated.
What the boycott of McDonald's IS about
It is about McDonald's, as a corporation, refusing to remain neutral in the culture wars. McDonald's has chosen not to remain neutral but to give the full weight of their corporation to promoting the homosexual agenda, including homosexual marriage.

I do understand that companies are looking to increase their customer base. The article explained,

Corporations increasingly are courting the gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender markets for their buying power and trendsetting value. This translates into corporate sponsorships of events, such as gay pride festivals, and advertising targeted at nonheterosexual consumers.

But let me see...McDonald's is looking to increase their customer base. Doesn't that mean they should avoid irritating the customers they already have? McDonald's mainstay customers are families or homosexuals? Can McDonald's ignore the wishes from a group that represents the main component of their customer base? I guess they think so.

If you want to join the boycott*, you can sign the online petition at boycottmcdonalds.com.

*This boycott is not really a hardship for my family--we don't eat fast food on a weekly or even monthly basis. When we did partake, we found McDonald's quality to be going down and gravitated toward other offerings.

Yippee! Pier project begins at Kinsey Park pond

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Going "halvesies" should mean we each pay half--up front

2008-07-17T02:42:00Z

I remember being surprised the first time I heard BC(2) was behind in their payments for the artificial turf project at Central High School. Behind? I would have thought they were required to pay their half up front? After all, what do you do if they can't or won't pay up?

Best case scenario, even if they only needed to pay their half in installments, that would still mean the school district (us) needed to finance their share until all payments were made.

Well, BC(2) is still behind and Elmbrook (ultimately us) is holding the bag.

I know the district looked at the artificial turf as a way to cut down on grounds keeping costs. Sports related lawn care accounts for about 80% of the grounds keeping crew's time during turf season (lawn mowing season), according to Rich Basil, our 2007 East High School Mechanical Tour guide. (It's one of the reasons I think we place too much emphasis on sports--it's too expensive! East High School for example has 2 full time groundskeepers--with wage and benefits--and 2 seasonal laborers at hourly wages, we were told.)

Sometimes the cost of a nicety goes beyond the initial purchase price. There is often upkeep associated with that item. In the case of the artificial turf, what happens when the rug wears out and needs replacing? Now who is going to foot the bill for the replacement? What if we did not like the artificial turf? To switch back to grass will be expensive too.

At the very least, I think we need a rule: If a group or club wants a nicety, they must pay their share, in full, up front! I think the district knows that now.

(H/T Fairly Conservative)

Yippee! Pier project begins at Kinsey Park pond

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Michelle suggests buying earrings, I'm paying property taxes

2008-07-16T20:45:03Z

Last week Michelle Obama did it again. She said something that revealed who she is and how out of touch she is with the average American's economic circumstances.

The Washington Times reported that each campaign needed to rein in their surrogates:

The same day a John McCain surrogate dismissed economic woes from a nation of "whiners," Barack Obama's wife quipped that the $600 tax stimulus check could be used for a pair of earrings.

I would not classify Michelle Obama in the same "surrogate" category as McCain's economic adviser Phil Gramm, however. McCain can dump Gramm, but Michelle Obama is part of the package. She will be First Lady if Obama is elected. Whenever she says something controversial, an image of her serving tea to an important dignitary while making "small talk" pops into my mind.

Mrs. Obama does not come across as a happy camper. I think the first time I heard her interviewed was last February when the Obamas were in town before our primary. She talked about how women struggled just to get through each day, and she included herself in that group. I was surprised by her remarks because they sounded like those of an unhappy wife.

Michelle mentioned the usual complaints: husbands go off to work and leave all the responsibility of home and children to the wife. She spoke about how she is the one who must take the kids to the doctor or stay home if they are ill, etc. At the time I thought she was not painting her husband in a very good light. To hear her talk, you would think they were impoverished and had no options to hire a baby sitter, helper, or housekeeper.

As the campaign continued, I found out the Obamas lived quite comfortably. Comfortable enough to think nothing of $600.

"You're getting $600 - what can you do with that? Not to be ungrateful or anything, but maybe it pays down a bill, but it doesn't pay down every bill every month," she [Michelle] said. "The short-term quick fix kinda stuff sounds good, and it may even feel good that first month when you get that check, and then you go out and you buy a pair of earrings."

A reader's response to the Washington Times article summed it up well,

Someone who suggests spending the $600 rebate on earrings is not living the same way the rest of America lives.

We put our stimulus check in the bank, saving it to pay for our property taxes due in December. It required belt tightening now, but I am grateful we were able to do that. (Still wish we did not go down the stimulus road though.)

As time has gone on and Michelle's list of controversial remarks has grown, more of her personality has been revealed. She just may be McCain's best campaigner.

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.3 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

Cost of "Hot Air Tour," Tailgate, and Brewer Game July 26th

2008-07-15T05:24:00Z

UPDATE: The Hot Air Tour rally location has been moved to AFP headquarters at 1126 S. 70th St, West Allis, 1:30pm.

Americans for Prosperity offers you 3 options to learn more "about the serious threat global warming alarmism poses to our prosperity, including legislation being considered by Congress that would more than double gasoline prices."

All take place at Miller Park on July 26, 2008, 2pm start, 6pm game time.

The Tailgate party, Brewer ticket and Hot Air Tour Event is $21 per person. Tailgate and Hot Air Tour (no game) is $10. Hot Air Tour alone is FREE!

Registration may be done online. Email any questions to Brenda Baas at brenda.baas@afphq.org or call 414-475-2975.

Fight Back Wisconsin's Phil Williamson will be circulating his domestic oil drilling and oil refinery petition at the Hot Air Tour too, or you may sign online.

"Waterford native Phil Williamson is fed up with high gas prices; and is circulating petitions to get the attention of Congress."

His petition reads:

We the people of Wisconsin would like to inform our elected officials in Washington that we are at our wits end with the financial burden that the high prices of oil and gasoline are causing. We insist that they vote for the exploration and drilling of oil in the United States and our boundaries (land and sea), and we insist that they allow new refineries to be built.

"If you don't sign up, please don't complain to me about how high gas prices are."
Phil Williamson

"Americans for Prosperity (AFP) is a nationwide organization of citizen leaders committed to advancing every individual's right to economic freedom and opportunity. AFP believes reducing the size and scope of government is the best safeguard to ensuring individual productivity and prosperity for all Americans. AFP educates and engages citizens in support of restraining state and federal government growth, and returning government to its constitutional limits. For more information, visit www.americansforprosperity.org "

Americans for Prosperity is also the creator of the Defending the American Dream Summit 2008 scheduled for Washington, DC this October.

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.3 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna

President to lift executive ban on offshore drilling at 12:30

2008-07-14T15:22:00Z

I just heard this announcement on the news: Bush to Lift Executive Ban on Offshore Oil Drilling. (This would be the moratorium his father enacted.) He will be talking about this decision from the Rose Garden at 12:30pm today.

This move will not make offshore drilling possible in itself, but it will put the pressure on the Congress to act,

White House press secretary Dana Perino says Bush is acting now in hopes of spurring Congress to act. So far, lawmakers have shown no interest in doing so.

Last week, Nancy Pelosi was still digging in her heels on domestic drilling ban, but Harry Reid and Richard Durbin showed a glimmer of interest.

But that glimmer seems to be dying in the light of Bush's probable ban lifting today,

After hearing of Mr. Bush’s proposal on Tuesday night, Mr. Reid affirmed his opposition, saying, “The Energy Information Administration says that even if we open the coasts to oil drilling that won’t have a significant impact on prices.”

This lifting of the executive ban is a step in the right direction, but it's only a step. We aren't there yet by a long shot.

UPDATE: Not only did the President lift the offshore ban, but also lifted the ban in ANWR and "on oil shale leasing in the Green River Basin of Colorado, Utah, and Wyoming." (From Breitbart.com)

Tuesday, July 15: I heard Sen. Jon Kyl state on a news snippet this morning, that if we would start drilling in the oil shale deposits, we could start producing oil from there in 3 to 7 years. So much for the not for 10 years gloomy outlook. (Didn't we put a man on the moon in less than 10 years?)

Click here to sign the DRILL HERE. DRILL NOW. PAY LESS domestic drilling petition and see the latest links to related oil news (updated every day).

Drill Here is now over the 1.3 million mark. The goal is 3 million signatures by the Democratic and Republican Conventions.

Links:

Brookfield7, Fairly Conservative, Betterbrookfield, Mark Levin , Vicki Mckenna