A few days left to provide survey opinions about Franklin

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From Mayor Olson’s Facebook page:

YOUR OPINION WILL HELP!

The city together with the Tourism Commission is embarking on a new effort to establish an identity for the City. We’ve known for a long, long time that when you mention the City of Franklin those who you’re talking to have no image of the city. Part of this effort is to discover the impressions and ideas that do exist about our city so that we can shape our new message and image.

Our marketing contractor has developed an on-line survey to gather impressions of the city. I ask that you take the few minutes to complete the survey. It took me about 10 minutes to do. Everyone is welcome to have their families complete the survey as well. This is NOT a scientific study.

Those people not employed by the city are eligible to enter a drawing for gift certificates to Mimosa, tickets to a Wave game or passes for tubing at the Rock Snowpark. The deadline to submit your survey opinions is January 25, 2019 at 5:00 p.m.

Online survey:  http://survey.bddonline.com/data/CityofFranklin.htm

I was brutally honest. You should be, too.

Today’s highly interesting read (01/21/19): Shocking Stories Will Make You Want To Build The Wall Yourself

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Scott Morefield is a freelance reporter for The Daily Caller.

Matt C. Pinsker, author, national security expert, criminal defense attorney, US Army Reserve officer, and homeland security professor at Virginia Commonwealth University – is in a unique position to provide valuable insight on how desperately the United States needs a physical barrier on its southern border, and was happy to answer a few questions for our readers.

As far as you are allowed, can you detail some specific cases that the public would be particularly struck by?

Read the entire Q and A here.

My Most Popular Blogs (01/21/19)

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Here are my most popular blogs from last week, Sunday – Saturday:

1) The case of Jake Patterson screams for the death penalty

2) The Best Cartoons of the Week (01/19/19)

3) The Best Memes of the Week (01/13/19)

4) Oak Creek does it, AGAIN!

5) Today’s highly interesting read (01/15/19): It’s lacking in Franklin, and all over the state

6) Week-ends (01/19/19)

7) Goodnight everyone, and have a super blood wolf weekend!

8) And the Father of the Year award goes to…

9) The Dark Store loophole: “Misplaced frustration over property taxes”

10) UPDATE: Again, we need to be cautious about marijuana

And this didn’t make the TOP TEN but is worth a look.

 

 

Culinary no-no #597

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Culinary no-no began on Father’s Day 2007, a beautiful summer day, when I wrote about grilling brats. And eating brats. And topping those brats. I was inspired by my wife, Jennifer who, in my admittedly unscientific opinion, ruins brats by squirting ketchup on them. Other dining taboos quickly came to mind. The original idea was to take this concept only a few months, till the end of summer and then pull the plug. Then the unexpected happened. People started reading Culinary no-no. Lots of folks. So we keep doing the no-no.

It’s that time of year again!

And yes…

Image result for photo, picture, image, girls selling scout cookies

Who doesn’t like Girl Scout cookies?

Image may contain: text

True. They’re delicious.

However, some folks balk at the price, $4/box around here, $5 in other parts of the country.

One of Kyla’s customers politely took notice and mentioned how he could get all sorts of Oreos or reasonable facsimiles at the grocery store. He still purchased some boxes.

Another potential buyer nicely said no thanks because, you know,  just too fattening.

And I get that people might be tapped out after the holidays.

Social media, of course, has lashed out.

Easy. Go to Walmart. They have Great Value Brand thin mints and chocolate covered peanut butter patties. They are $1.48 per package and you get double the cookies. They taste exactly the same.

I can go to Walmart go in the cookie section and find them

When are they going to stop allowing this scam

Scam? WTH.

Still, the annual ritual sparks a good question: Why, indeed, would you want to plunk down as much as $5 on a box of cookies that certainly appears to shrink in size every year? Let’s ask the organization.

When you buy delicious Girl Scout Cookies, you’re helping power new, unique, and amazing experiences for girls that broaden their worlds, teach them essential life skills, and prepare them to practice a lifetime of leadership.

One hundred percent of the net proceeds from Girl Scout Cookie sales is retained by the originating council and troop to fund activities for girls year-round as well as influential girl-led community projects.

Cookie program revenue is a critical source of funding for Girl Scout councils to deliver essential programs to troops and is often what makes it possible to reach girls in underserved areas and maintain camps and properties.

Additionally, Girl Scout troops can pool their proceeds to pay for necessary supplies, activities, and group travel.

MyLifeAndKids.com wrote, “The Girl Scout Cookie Program is much more than selling cookies. Girls learn 5 valuable skills — goal setting, decision making, money management, people skills, and business ethics — aspects essential to leadership, success, and life.”

WiseBread.com emphaszies, “Girl Scouts are also shown to have a higher success rate in life. In fact, 80% of today’s female business owners were Girl Scouts.”

And finally, this excerpt from a column published this past week:

It was in the 1960s but I can still remember with pride my sash filled with the colorful badges I had earned while in the Girl Scouts. Although I had to work hard to earn them, I also remember gaining a sense of belonging and accomplishment. It was a place to go to find out more about my interests and skills as well as learning how to work as a team, which greatly enriched my life. It was a place to augment my learning and leadership journey.

Girl Scouts is offering the real difference to parents who need their daughters to emerge from childhood and adolescence as leaders, ready to develop their minds, think for themselves, and exceed in our modern world.

Being a Girl Scout has made a significant difference in my life as a leader, and it can for your girl too.

Who said that?

Read the entire piece from the BizTimes.

CULINARY NO-NO BONUSES

Trump’s getting trolled for Clemson fast food dinner, but…

NCAA Champion Hits Back at Media for Criticizing Trump’s Big Mac Buffet

Big Dairy Is About to Flood America’s School Lunches With Milk

The pegan diet

 

Photos of the Week (01/20/19)

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A pictorial week-in-review posted every Sunday.

1) Barron County Sheriff Chris Fitzgerald holds up a photo of the suspect in custody in the kidnapping of Jayme Closs, 13, during a news conference at the Sheriff’s Department.  Jayme was found near the Town of Gordon in northern Wisconsin. She had been missing since Oct. 15, the same day her parents, James, 56, and Denise, 46, were found shot to death in their home outside Barron. Photo: Adam Wesley/USA TODAY NETWORK-Wisconsin

2) Kristin and Peter Kasinkas and Jeanne Nutter (R) arrive to speak to the press on January 11, 2019 in Gordon, Wisconsin. Nutter, walking her dog near the cabin she owns with her husband Forrest, encountered missing teenager Jayme Closs out of nearby woods. Photo: Getty Images

3) The sign outside the Barron City Hall  welcomes Jayme Closs, the 13-year-old northwestern Wisconsin girl who went missing in October after her parents were killed. Closs was found Thursday in a rural town about an hour from her home. Photo: Star Tribune

4) This “Tree of Hope” for teenager Jayme Closs is outside her school, Riverview Middle School, in Barron. Photo: Associated Press

5) Anti-abortion marchers rally at the Supreme Court during the 46th annual March for Life in Washington, January 18, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Roberts

6) TSA worker Ebony Grays wipes away tears after receiving food at the Lakeview Pantry in Chicago, Illinois, January 14. Photo: REUTERS/Joshua Lott

7) A U.S. Air Force bus parks on the Capitol Plaza after being called back following President Donald Trump’s decision to scrap Democratic leader Nancy Pelosi’s foreign travel.  Photo: J. Scott Applewhite/AP

8) Federal workers left unpaid or furloughed collect a free bag of groceries from Kraft Foods on the 27th day of the partial government shutdown in Washington, D.C., on January 17, 2019.  Photo: Joshua Roberts / Reuters

9) Former President George W. Bush tweeted an image of himself carrying pizza boxes to his furloughed Secret Service detail, and attached a message calling on ‘both sides’ to end the government shutdown. Photo via the Daily Mail

10) Striking teachers and their supporters rally in downtown Los Angeles, California, on the second day of the teachers’ strike, on January 15, 2019. Teachers of the Los Angeles Unified School District, the second largest public-school district in the United States, are striking for smaller class size, better school funding, and higher teacher pay. Photo: Robyn Beck / AFP / Getty

11) Family members follow the coffin of police officer Natalie Corona prior to a funeral service for her at the University of California. Police say Kevin Douglas Limbaugh cycled up to the policewoman while she attended the scene of a traffic incident and shot and killed her. Photograph: Rich Pedroncelli/AP

12) A migrant from Honduras, part of a caravan of thousands from Central America trying to reach the United States, helps a child to jump the fence to cross it illegally from Mexico into the U.S., in Tijuana, Mexico. Photo: REUTERS/Mohammed Salem

13) Hoshyar Ali, who lost both legs in a landmine explosion, walks in a minefield trying to deactivate the devices on the outskirts of the Kurdish town of Halabja, Iraq. Photo: REUTERS/Ako Rasheed

14) Kenyan security forces help people to escape after a deadly bomb blast and terrorist attack at the Dusit D2 Hotel in Nairobi. Photo: AFP

15) Police officers take security measures with a new vehicle, designed to observe social events, as students stage a protest against the government’s climate policies in Brussels, Belgium, on January 17, 2019. Photo: Dursun Aydemir / Anadolu Agency / Getty

16) President Donald Trump speaks to reporters in front of a spread of fast food on silver platters, to be provided to the 2018 College Football national champion Clemson Tigers in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, D.C., on January 14, 2019. The catering choice was said to have been due to the continuing government shutdown, which has affected White House employees as well. Photo: The White House

17) Snowmen are seen on Capitol Hill during a snowstorm in Washington, D.C., Jan. 13, 2019. Photo: AP

18) A massive ice disc that formed naturally on the surface of Presumpscot River is seen in Westbrook, Maine, on January 14, 2019, in this still image taken from a social-media video. Photo: Tina Radel via Reuters

19) A shark said to be Deep Blue, one of the largest recorded individual great white sharks, swims near divers off Hawaii on January 17, 2019. Photo: Juan Oliphant / oneoceandiving.com / Reuters

20) A hedgehog is blessed by a priest at the l’Escola Pia church during the feast of Saint Anthony, Spain’s patron saint of animals, in Barcelona. Photo: AFP

21) Visitors take pictures of the famous staircase in Lello Bookstore on the eve of its 113th anniversary on January 12, 2019, in Porto, Portugal. The bookstore, a favorite of the author J.K. Rowling, is considered one of the world’s most impressive bookshops. Its architecture is believed to have inspired Rowling’s depictions of Harry Potter’s Hogwarts. Photo:  Horacio Villalobos / Corbis via Getty

22) A military cadet holds cotton candy while on his mobile phone during the Big New Year Ball at the Bolshoi Opera and Ballet Theatre in Minsk, Belarus, Jan. 13, 2019. Photo: AFP

23) Leon Feingold, left, and Patrizia Calvio wait for a train, minus their pants, at the West 4th Street Station during the 18th annual No Pants Subway Ride on January 13, 2019, in New York. The No Pants Subway Ride is an annual event staged by Improv Everywhere each January in New York City and other locations globally. Photo: Kathy Willens / AP

24) Models walk the runway during the Off-White Menswear Fall Winter 2019/2020 show as part of Paris Fashion Week on January 16, 2019. Photo: Stephane Cardinale / Corbis via Getty

25) Wisconsin Badgers forward Ethan Happ dunks over Michigan Wolverines center Jon Teske (15) in the 2nd half. The Wisconsin Badgers upset the #2-ranked Michigan Wolverines 64-54 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Saturday Jan. 19, 2019. Photo: STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL

26) Wisconsin Badgers forward Nate Reuvers celebrates after a late game dunk. The Wisconsin Badgers upset the #2-ranked Michigan Wolverines 64-54 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Saturday Jan. 19, 2019. Photo: STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL

27) Wisconsin Badgers guard Brad Davison celebrates Wisconsin’s win with the crowd after the game. The Wisconsin Badgers upset the #2-ranked Michigan Wolverines 64-54 at the Kohl Center in Madison, Saturday Jan. 19, 2019. Photo: STEVE APPS, STATE JOURNAL

Week-ends (01/19/19)

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A look back at the people and events that made news the past week. Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…

HEROES OF THE WEEK

Jayme Closs

Peter and Kristin Kasinskas

Amy Jandrisevits

Sue Morse

VILLAINS OF THE WEEK

Matthew Neumann

Robin Marty

Vandals

Adul Saosongyang

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“The office of Special Counsel Robert Mueller has called the bombshell BuzzFeed report claiming President Trump told his former lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to Congress false.”
The Daily Mail

“A very sad day for journalism, but a great day for our Country! Fake News is truly the ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE!”
President Trump tweeting

Abortion is “the greatest injustice in our nation, Until it is overturned we will still march. And even if it is overturned we can still march to celebrate life.”
Anna Demeuse, 23, from Green Bay, Wisconsin, who attended Friday’s annual March for Life in Washington

“We are systematically going to dismantle these restrictions on women’s health care.”
Rep. Diana DeGette, D-Colo., co-leader of the Congressional Pro-Choice Caucus

“Sadly, given the security concerns and unless government re-opens this week, I suggest that we work together to determine another suitable date after government has re-opened for this address or for you to consider delivering your State of the Union address in writing to the Congress on January 29th.”
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi in a letter to President Trump

“Publicly, Democrats plan to argue that the parties need to focus on addressing the shutdown, now the longest in U.S. history. They’re also concerned about security staff working through a major national event without being paid.

“But privately, Democrats also don’t want to give Trump a major platform to blame them for the shutdown when Trump’s demand for billions in wall funding has been the main driver, according to a Democratic lawmaker close to leadership.”
POLITICO

“Obviously, if you would like to make your journey by flying commercial, that would certainly be your prerogative.”
President Trump in a letter to House Speaker Nancy Pelosi. A congressional delegation, or CODEL as it’s known, was supposed to be led by Pelosi (D-Calif.) this week. The White House publicly released a letter informing Pelosi that her planned travel to Afghanistan had been “postponed,” shortly after Trump ordered the Pentagon to cancel her Air Force flight to the country. A bus carrying several House Democrats who were to accompany Pelosi was preparing to leave for the airport at the time.

“This is obviously an action directed at the speaker. And we think, as far as we can tell, this has never happened in the annals of congressional history.”
Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Intelligence Committee

Dear Mr. President,

It is my sincere pleasure as the Speaker of the North Carolina House of Representatives to invite you to deliver your second State of the Union Address in our chamber of this state’s General Assembly.
The Speaker of the House for North Carolina, Tom Moore inviting President Trump to Raleigh

“Two questions lead straight to an answer on the State of the Union standoff:

“First, does a House Speaker have the right to ban a president from the House gallery? It would seem so.

“Second, what has been the setting for some of President Trump’s most rousing and riveting connective moments? That would be at large rallies.

“Boom. Problem solved.”
Radio talk show host Mark Davis

“It’s very frustrating for me because my whole instinct is: Let’s find a way to get this solved. But so far anyway, his idea of negotiating is to say, ‘Here’s what I want, I’ll give you nothing.’ I could sit down with Mike Pence for an afternoon and we might come to some agreement. And then [Trump would] blow it up.”
 Sen. Angus King (I-Maine)

“We are in this horrible purgatory between heaven and hell. That there is no way out unless either he or we relent entirely.”
Rep. Gerry Connolly (D-Va.)

“I began to read this resolution, Madam Speaker, and I started with the first whereas, and I’m going to read it as it’s here.

“Whereas on January 10, 2019, representative Steve king was quoted as asking, quote, white nationalists, white supremacist, western civilization — there is a dash in there, a pause — how did that language become offensive, close quote. I understand how you interpreted my words when you read them this way. There is no tape for this interview that I did. It was 56 minutes long. There are some notes on the other end, but there is no tape. There’s no way to go back and listen but I can tell you this: That ideology never shows up in my head. I don’t know how it could possibly come out of my mouth.”
Rep. Steve King (R-IA). On Tuesday, H.Res.41, a resolution “rejecting white nationalism and white supremacy” serving as a condemnation of remarks by King came before the House. King himself stood to deliver floor remarks, and said he would be voting yes.

“I think he should find another line of work.”
The No. 3 House Republican suggested that Rep. Steve King leave Congress over his remarks about white supremacy

“Explaining tax rates before Reagan to 5th graders: ‘Imagine if you did chores for your grandma and she gave you $10. When you got home, your parents took $7 from you.’ The students said: ‘That’s not fair!’ Even 5th graders get it.”
Scott Walker on Twitter. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has suggested taxing the top earners in the U.S.—people making $10 million—at rates as high as 70 percent to fund a Green New Deal to fight climate change.

“Explaining marginal taxes to a far-right former Governor: Imagine if you did chores for abuela & she gave you $10,” she posted in response. “When you got home, you got to keep it, because it’s only $10. Then we taxed the billionaire in town because he’s making tons of money underpaying the townspeople.”
Ocasio-Cortz’s response

“It’s encouraging because this is my sixth day in Congress and they’re out of all their artillery. The nude is supposed to be like the bazooka. You know, like, ‘We’re going to take her down.’ Dude, you’re all out of bullets, you’re all out of bombs, you’re all out of all this stuff. What have you got left?”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez responding to her critics.  The Daily Caller promoted what it described as a possible “nude selfie” of her last week before walking back its headline. She’s come under fire by folks on both sides of the aisle.

“Her appeal is obvious. She’s telegenic, refreshingly candid, and hilariously reckless with facts.”
Geoffrey Ingersoll, editor in chief of the Daily Caller on Ocasio-Cortez

“The entire commercial portrayed males as the problem, but the truth is both sides are just as guilty. If Gillette truly cared about sending out a message that condemns harassment and bullying, there would have been at least one scene of a group of girls bullying a single person. The social justice warrior term ‘toxic masculinity’ would not have been uttered in the first five seconds of the advertisement.”
Columnist John Dempsey on a controversial Gillette ad that lectured men about about bullying, sexism, misogyny and sexual assault

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

Gillette ad

Doctor burnout

Americans more likely to die from opioid overdose today than car accident

MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

Where’s the crisis?

Foxconn Releases 2018 Wisconsin Project Highlights Including Creation of Over 1,000 Jobs

MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK

Once again, the gov’t shutdown

MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

Ads in the night sky?

The shutdown, lack of local news, superintendent salaries, and MLK

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Here are this week’s highly interesting reads:

Today’s highly interesting read (01/17/19): It’s Up to Us to Realize Dr. King’s Dream

Today’s highly interesting read (01/16/19): School superintendent salaries in the Milwaukee suburbs

Today’s highly interesting read (01/15/19): It’s lacking in Franklin, and all over the state

Today’s highly interesting read (01/14/19): It’s A Shutdown, Not Armageddon