Somali Rescue

Outstanding work. There will be no controversy about the military going in to a Somali pirate stronghold to liberate hostages. There's even an upside to the fact that the soldiers apparently killed their way out. The next Somali guy who gets hired for guard duty will be wondering when the Americans are coming. Maybe he'll take up farming instead. For his sake, I hope so.

Congratulations and thanks to everyone from President Obama to everyone down to the folks who really matter, the soldiers who executed this mission.

Happiness Behaviors

Pretty tough to argue with this list of behaviors that happy people share. Especially that last one. OTOH, forgiveness is difficult for me in two cases.

Chicken or egg? Are folks happy because they practice these behaviors or do they practice these behaviors because they are happy? I think it's both but leans heavily to the behavior begetting happiness.

Class Act

You may have caught the article in the GB or Milwaukee papers about the add Mark Tauscher took out in the Journal Sentinel. What a classy thing to do.

“To me, I don’t see a state divided, politically… . In Madison it’s overwhelmingly that way, but around the state I don’t see that.”

You know why that is Governor? I think it's because your staff rents public spaces making them non-public and sends out invitations to only your supporters. To those of us who didn't write you a check, volunteer on your campaign, work to recall a Democrat and don't belong to the Republican party-- you know, the majority of Wisconsinites-- you are totally inaccessible.

Bubble anyone?

Sick Kids? - Green Bay Environmental Polution

I didn't look at the whole list but I don't see a single school within Green Bay or even the Green Bay Area School District that isn't in the top 20% of polluted schools. Many are in the top 1%. How depressing is that? The entire city is a high pollution, cancer causing area it seems.

Of course, the devil is in the details and the report methodology is a computer simulation based on pollution estimates. There are more details in the FAQ. It is possible that the reason we're on the top of the list is that our companies are honest in their reporting and everyone else underestimates. On the other hand, we do have a coal plant and some pretty serious industrial facilities right near down town so it seems very plausible.

We need to actually gather and test air quality samples to get the facts. I wonder what a test like that costs? I wonder if there are EPA, WI-DNR, or other grants the city, county or citizens could go after to get that done. I wonder a bunch of things...

But here's one thing I know. I know it's election season and that means it is a good time for everyone-- that's YOU-- to call your local candidates to press the issue and get commitments to act. Call your candidates and get them to commit to getting air quality tests done. If you don't know who your candidates are, call the Green Bay City Clerk at 920-448-3000, the Brown County Clerk at 920-448-4000, or your local municipal clerk.

Guy Hit

I saw this article in the Press Gannett today. Then another article on the same story came through my reader and it had an addition.

Yes, it is now common knowledge that Guy Zima fathered a kid who is now a teenager while being married to someone other than the kid's mother. Yes, Guy throws his cronies and stooges under the bus for no apparent reason other then to politically beat them up. Yes, if you ask around, you'll find people who say they have witnessed Guy treating his wife horribly in public. It's even easier to find people who have first hand experience with Guy's racism. Yes, Guy picks his nose and digs ear wax when sitting in council meetings. Yes, Guy seems to treat people good or bad based on what he needs from them. Yes, Guy stole bratwurst and Joe Heller won't let him forget it. This stuff is all fair game.

But this anonymous web page just seems way, way over the top. A few comments:

• Unless she's behind it this is very unfair to Eliane Zima. True or not, there are some very personal things in that rant. I think she is the true victim of this hit piece.
• Someone has gone very negative and on the attack. But who? Maybe someone wanting revenge. My guess was Wery might want revenge for the Weary of Wery stuff.
• Guy will once again get his constituents to believe that this is a conspiracy and he's the victim.