In an exhaustive 2074 piece in today’s Journal Sentinel we learn that the West Allis-West Milwaukee school district overspent. And how.
By the summer of 2016, it appeared that West Allis-West Milwaukee had accomplished what at least one state auditor said he had never seen before: In the course of a decade, the suburban Milwaukee district, one of the state’s largest, had blown through $17.5 million in reserves and posted a $2.1 million deficit.
You know that old saying about how you made your bed? Not so in this school district.
In April, it will ask taxpayers in its modest communities to authorize an additional $12.5 million — or about $290 per student each year — beyond what they already pay in taxes for operating costs over the next five years.
The death knell has already sounded. We’ve heard it so many times in the past.
Without a voter-inflicted tax increase the school district will wither up and die.
“This stuff is disastrous. It’s going to get cops hurt; it’s going to get cops killed.” Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke appeared on an episode after violent leftist “Black Resistance” protests in North Philadelphia led to the injury of three police officers and the arrest of four people
“We shouldn’t whine, and if we sound like we are an interest group only concerned with ourselves, it doesn’t work with the public. At the same time, we need to continue the in-depth inquiries, the investigations.” Washington Post Associate Editor Bob Woodward
“The anti-Semitic threats targeting our Jewish community and community centers are horrible and are painful and a very sad reminder of the work that still must be done to root out hate and prejudice and evil.” President Trump
“Be concerned with the big things, not little things. Be concerned with prosperity and paychecks and jobs, not the size of your inaugural crowds or the skill of Meryl Streep as an actress.” Former Bush White House adviser Karl Rove, at the Williamson Country Republican Party Reagan Dinner, on President Donald Trump
“Have some courage.” Former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, urging congressional Republicans to hold town halls, after Texas Republican Rep. Louie Gohmert cited her shooting in his explanation for not holding one
“How many times have we all heard people say, ‘If that person is a Catholic, it is better to be an atheist.'” Pope Francis, in a pointed criticism of some members of his own Church, suggesting it is better to be an atheist than one of “many” Catholics who he said lead hypocritical double lives
“I like pineapples, just not on pizza.” President of Iceland Guðni Th. Jóhannesson, telling a high school class that he would ban pineapple as a topping on pizzas if he were allowed to pass laws on his.
“I realized we were growing apart for a while, but the final straw was when she dyed her hair from blond to a very dark brown.” Human Ken doll Quentin Dehar on his fading romance with Human Barbie Doll Anastasia Reskoss, who together spent more than $300,000 to look like the plastic dolls
The Barking Lot is a regular weekly feature of This Just In…Written by my lovely wife, Jennifer and me. It opens with the weekend dog walking forecast followed by the main blog from dog lover, Jennifer. Then it’s DOGS IN THE NEWS and our close. Enjoy!
THE WEEKEND DOG-WALKING FORECAST: We grade the weather outlook for taking your pet outdoors.
TODAY: What a difference a week makes.Snow showers early. Peaks of sun later. High of 29. “F”
SUNDAY: Mostly cloudy early, then afternoon sunshine. Very windy. High of 45. “C”
Here’s my lovely wife, Jennifer with this week’s main blog.
WE INTERRUPT THIS BLOG FOR A SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT.
Jennifer was told she doesn’t have strep throat. But it’s close. She can barely speak. Kevin’s reaction? He is refraining from possible deliriously happy comment.
Kevin, that means you need to fill in.
WE NOW RETURN YOU TO YOUR REGULARLY SCHEDULED DOG BLOG.
Well here I go.
I fully understand how popular dogs are. I joke, barely, when I suspect my wife wants a dog more than she wants a husband.
But a former 24/7 journalist needs a bit more evidence about our love affair with dogs than his wife’s constant yearning for a pet, preferably canine.
So I turn to data from 2012 supplied by the American Veterinary Foundation:
Dogs
Cats
Birds
Horses
Percent of households owning
36.5%
30.4%
3.1%
1.5%
Number of households owning
43,346,000
36,117,000
3,671,000
1,780,000
Average number owned per household
1.6
2.1
2.3
2.7
Total number in United States
69,926,000
74,059,000
8,300,000
4,856,000
Veterinary visits per household per year (mean)
2.6
1.6
0.3
1.9
Veterinary expenditure per household per year (mean)
They are loyal, can be relatively easily trained to be obedient, fairly easy to take care of, are great companions, and show their pleasure with little effort.
They are fun to play with; they are protective; they can perform jobs.
They might save your life. (I have at least 3 first hand experiences and one second hand experience in my family)
They can be very entertaining. They are cuddly and petting them is very soothing to both the person and the dog. Most of them are so cute that you can’t help smiling when you look at them.
Check out these numbers from Abodo:
More:
And we could go on and on.
But have we gone too far?
John Boyle writes in the Citizen Times in Asheville, N.C.:
“In general, the whole, ‘My dog is my baby’ philosophy has taken over the United States, and that’s not going to change,” Brophey said, noting how many of us consider them “fuzzy babies.” And yes, we actually get a nice little buzz of oxytocin, sometimes called the “cuddle hormone,” from our interactions with the fur babies.
So this is where we are in America — our dogs have become family members and we want to take them everywhere. Now, the question is, Brophey says, is “Are we going to do this the right way, or are we going do this the wrong way?”
You can read the entire piece and also find out who Brophey is, here.
Time now for DOGS IN THE NEWS, canines that made headlines the past week.
Every Friday night we smooth our way into the weekend with music, the universal language. These selections demonstrate that despite what is being passed off as art today, there is plenty of really good music available. Come along and enjoy.
The Oscars snuck up on us this year. The Academy Awards will be handed out on Sunday.
Every year we feature some music that came from the cinema and it’s always fun, but not easy narrowing down the countless good choices. We’ve selected some interesting cover versions that hopefully you’ll enjoy. Let’s roll ’em!
Two years after the success of “Purple Rain,” Prince directed and starred in “Under the Cherry Moon.” “Kiss” was the top single off the Purple One’s soundtrack album for the film, “Parade: Music from the Motion Picture Under the Cherry Moon,” and earned him his fourth Grammy, this one for Best R&B Performance by a Duo or Group with Vocal.
Good stuff, but I like this version more.
Jones who is now 76 performed Wednesday night at the Dubai Jazz Festival in Media City, Dubai. His final encore? “Kiss.”
Film critic Roger Ebert said “Shaft” gave us the first really convincing black private eye, and that John Shaft, played by Ricard Roundtree in the first “Shaft” in 1971 belongs in the honorable tradition of Philip Marlowe, Sam Spade, Lew Archer, and company.
Barry White’s massive orchestra once did an entire album of movie themes. This is really cool.
Time to tap your foot and snap your fingers. The guru of composing and performing movie themes was the legendary Henry Mancini. Where does one even start?
His music was heard in nearly 250 films and was nominated for 70 Grammy Awards, winning 20. He also recorded 85 record albums, whose combined sales topped 30 million copies.
This very familiar piece won a Grammy for Mancini in 1964 for Best Instrumental Composition (Other Than Jazz).
Dave Koz does a flawless remake.
Next…
I seriously doubt Billy’s June 17 playlist will include the next song.
It’s not only in my view the greatest Disney song, it’s one of the greatest songs, period.
Sonny Geraci died on February 5 nearly four years after suffering a brain aneurysm. He was 69.
Don’t know who Sonny Geraci was?
If you’re as old as I am, you’ve probably heard him, and he could really sing.
In 1965 a group out of Cleveland called the “Outsiders” signed with Capitol Records.
One year later in 1966 with unbelievable heavy competition with the lead vocal by Geraci they made it to #5.
After several recordings that weren’t nearly as successful a legal battle over the name of the band led Geraci to change it to “Climax.” In 1970 they recorded a song that went nowhere because it wasn’t released. It got enough radio play in Santa Barbara, California, that the record finally was made available to the adoring public in 1972 and it soared to #3.
I wonder what the dissenters realistically hope to achieve. When a coffee shop or mini-market closes, patrons aren’t inconvenienced. They go to the one across the street. A worker who loses a day’s pay doesn’t make a convert out of an American who wants immigration laws enforced. If that worker’s employer isn’t on board, then the employee risks being fired.
Next week is Ash Wednesday, observed by Roman Catholic and some Protestant churches. It’s the first day of Lent, falling on the Wednesday seven weeks before Easter.
According to Twitter here are the top ten most-mentioned Lenten sacrifices in 2016:
Rank
Word
Count
1
chocolate
2,235
2
social networking
2,115
3
alcohol
1,902
4
twitter
1,873
5
school
1,564
6
swearing
1,413
7
soda
1,109
8
sweets
1,002
9
coffee
880
10
fast food
870
If retweets are included:
Rank
Category
Number of Tweets
1
food
15,459
2
technology
5,021
3
habits
4,299
4
smoking/drugs/alcohol
3,513
5
school/work
3,235
6
relationship
1,974
7
irony
1,812
8
health/hygiene
908
9
sex
902
10
religion
738
Seriously, Ash Wednesday is, well, serious. At least it’s supposed to be.
Observers have ashes imposed on their foreheads as a reminder of their mortality, as referenced in Genesis, “you are dust, and unto dust you shall return.”
This Just In... From Franklin, WI 
