Month: January 2019

My Most Popular Blogs (01/28/19)

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

1) The Best Cartoons of the Week (01/26/19)

2) WTMJ’s Steve Scaffidi thinks my wife and I, and many of you are idiots

3) 2ND UPDATE: Ballpark Commons getting much-needed memory care housing

4) The Barking Lot – America’s Finest Dog Blog (01/26/19)

5) Seriously, how much more do they want from taxpayers?

6) I’m thinking of Frank Richardson today

7) The Best Memes of the Week (01/20/19)

8) Goodnight everyone, and have a very pleasant weekend!

9) Friday Night Oldie: He’s this and she’s that

10) UPDATE: Ballpark Commons getting much-needed memory care housing

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

Culinary no-no #598

/ This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

THERE ARE THOUSANDS AND THOUSANDS OF FOOD BLOGS, BUT ONLY ONE CULINARY NO-NO!

Next Sunday…

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There are countless snack and food ideas for the big game. Some are great. Others? Not so much.

We’ll cover some that fall in the no-no category and pass along some alternatives, too.

Let’s begin with this scrumptious appetizer.

7 Layer Dip! When you're feeding a large crowd, nothing beats the presentation (and the utility!) of a 7 layer dip. The layers work their magic to create an appetizer that will keep your guests eating their way to their favorite flavors. | HomemadeHooplah.com

Seven Layer Fiesta Dip

You’ve got your refried beans, sour cream, taco seasoning, shredded Cheddar cheese, chopped tomatoes, sliced green onions, sliced black olives, and of course, tortilla chips.

The dip: a definite yes-yes.

One website suggested that instead of tortilla chips you could substitute Ritz crackers, pretzels, saltine, or wheat thins.

No, no, no, no, especially that last one.

Here’s a thought I discovered online. There’s no doubt the seven-layer dip is tasty as well as a very nice presentation. But scoop out a few helpings and the dip doesn’t look as inviting. The spoon used to scoop loses its efficiency. Not if you serve these.

Mini seven-layer dips

Go mini. The recipe is here.

A seven-layer dip is the 5th most popular Super Bowl party item according to the Daily Meal.

At # 4 on their list…

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The above has no place at a Super Bowl party.

USA TODAY writes:

Sorry, but regular pizza as we know it isn’t going to make the cut. 

Agreed. Back to USA TODAY:

However, some restaurants have started getting with the times and have gluten-free and vegan pizza options.

You could also alter any pizza you order to make it vegan — just skip the cheese.

THAT is unspeakable. Sacrilegious. Communistic.

What about burgers? You see them often pictured at Super Bowl parties. Not a bad idea at all. Quite adventurous, though.

I repeat. Go mini.

Again, from the USA TODAY:

Unless the sliders at your friend’s soiree are made with low-carb, gluten-free, no-grain buns and have veggies instead of meat, they’re not friendly for any diet.

I say,  so what! They even recommend getting rid of the bun altogether.

I don’t want a meatless, bun-free burger, period!

Give me the Mini Mac Burgers or French Dip Sliders with details and recipes found on the Detroit Free Press.

And why isn’t what I’m about to share a Super Bowl party staple, at least here in Wisconsin? Never, ever mentioned or suggested.

A perfect Super Bowl addition to the snack table. A true delight and a vegan nightmare!

One more.

In February of 2016 Tulane University released a study with the following title:

Success Is Something to Sneeze At: Influenza Mortality in Cities that Participate in the Super Bowl

From the study:

Using county-level Vital Statistics of the United States data from 1974 to 2009, we employ a differences-in-differences framework comparing influenza mortality rates in Bowl-participating counties to nonparticipants. We estimate having a local team in the Super Bowl caused an 18 percent increase in influenza deaths for the population over age 65. Results are most pronounced in years when the dominant influenza strain is more virulent, or when the Super Bowl occurs closer to the peak of influenza season. We find no impacts on influenza mortality in hosting cities. Our findings suggest mitigating transmission at gatherings related to large spectator events could have substantial returns for public health.

Influenza is an infectious disease that spreads by airborne droplets with an approximate travel radius of 6 feet, making close human contact an important infection vector (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention 2012).

In sum, we present evidence influenza mortality increases in cities with NFL teams during successful postseason play.  If a major contributor to increased influenza spread is local gatherings for watching games, a simple policy solution is to increase awareness of influenza transmission vectors during times of sports-related gatherings. Reminding people to wash their hands and avoid sharing drinks or food at parties during the height of influenza season, especially if they have high amounts of contact with vulnerable populations, could have large social returns.

The lead author of the study was Charles Stoecker.

Okay. No the flu is nothing to joke about. People die from it, and yet despite the years and years of data this all sounds a bit crazy.

And that study came out in 2016. Would love to see a follow-up as to the accuracy that the Super Bowl kills.

Here’s the deal. Check out any recent articles about recommended Super Bowl party servings and you get a lecture, an instruction to stay away from specific items because they’re not healthy.

I say BS!

Don’t tell me how enjoy a PARTY!

Yes, it’s a party, a celebration, at the dreary end of January and beginning of February.  If you absolutely must count calories you probably should just stay home and not be a downer at a house full of fans looking to have fun!

CULINARY NO-NO BONUSES

‘Fake Meat’ Battle Spreads to More States

Will Food Network Shows Be Shuttered For Unsanitary Practices?

Are local school districts as smart as a restaurant owner?

/ This Just In... From Franklin, WI / 1 Comment

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Shortly after 12 noon today the Packing House posted on their Facebook page:

Out of concern for the safety of our staff and customers, The Packing House Restaurant will be closed Monday, January 28—thank you for your understanding and be safe in the coming snowstorm & please look out for your elderly family members, friends and neighbors tomorrow and during the very cold weather ahead!

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Meanwhile as of this posting, This Just In from our schools…

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Silencio.  Including here in Franklin where the school intelligentsia waited until 5:50 one morning this past week to officially notify folks school was off. They were not pleased. From Facebook:

Ugh so ridiculous with more snow coming. Sad that student safety is not a priority in Franklin

Why are the schools not closed Today! It is -6 degrees without the wind chill! Wake up smell the coffee!

Why? There is a winter storm WARNING kids are safer at home today. You canceled events last night when the snow first started, but now when they warn about slick roads and freezing ice you want them in class.
Roads are going to continue to get worse. This is truly unreal!

I don’t want to send my son out in this.

Franklin Public Schools: You need to announce your decisions by five in the morning. Also, when the roads are very icy with more snow coming the decision to close schools should’ve been a no brainer. Don’t just follow MPS use your common sense…

When I went there we had snow days all the time….now they refuse to think of the safety of kids and teachers and bus drivers!! why?? I seriously hope no serious accidents occur…..my sister is a teacher and a few years ago they had bad snow storm and the district let kids stay home but not teachers….one of the teachers died in a car accident driving to school

Our kids bus fishtailed 3 times just going 2 miles to school.

Franklin Public School District what the heck, what’s your reasoning for staying open when everyone else is closed?

Roads must be magically better there?

The email said they won’t be marked tardy, maybe I will drop them off at 3:15 if the roads are better by then 🙄 it is not as simple as saying keep your kids home – – that’s asking them to fall behind other students who to go to school. For the sake of safety they should’ve canceled school – – and they should’ve announced a decision by 5 o’clock in the morning.

Haha what a joke, you guys obviously don’t care about the safety of students 😂

Buses were two hours late. I’m sure they will be open tomorrow also in the bitter cold.

Why are schools open today when MPS is closed. Get your heads on straight. This is putting kids at risk.

CANCEL SCHOOL TODAY GOSH DARNIT

UPDATE: This afternoon Franklin announced it was closing Monday. No repeat of the earlier fiasco of waiting until 5:50 a.m. the day of. Wise decision by Franklin and many other districts.

 

 

Photos of the Week (01/27/19)

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Image:

A pictorial week-in-review posted every Sunday.

1) Former campaign adviser for U.S. President Donald Trump, Roger Stone walks out of the federal courthouse following a hearing in Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Stone was later charged on several counts, including obstruction of an official proceeding, making false statements, and witness tampering. Photo: AP

2) A protestor detained outside Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell’s office is led away by a Capitol police officer during a demonstration against the partial government shutdown on day 33 in the Russell Senate office building on Capitol Hill in Washington, January 23, 2019. Photo: REUTERS/Leah Millis

3) Union workers and airport employees arrive for a rally for federal government employees working without pay and workers trying to unionize at Logan Airport in Boston, Massachusetts, Jan. 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters

4) Long lines are seen at a Transportation Security Administration (TSA) security checkpoint at Hartsfield-Jackson Atlanta International Airport amid the shutdown, in Atlanta, Georgia.  Photo: REUTERS/Elijah Nouvelage

5) A U.S. Park Police officer wears her badge as proof of being a federal employee as she and fellow workers, left unpaid or furloughed by the extended partial government shutdown stand, in line for fresh food and coffee at the World Central Kitchen, a volunteer emergency kitchen run by Chef Jose Andres, in Washington. Photo:  REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst

6) Rally participants pose at the 2019 March For Life in Washington D.C. Photos: Facebook.

7) John Moore and his daughter, Laura Moore, walked across the entire United States, California to Washington D.C., on a coast to coast pilgrimage for life. Their journey ended at the 2019 March for Life. In this photo, John is gifting one of the crosses he carried to Carl Anderson, Supreme Knight of the Knight of Columbus. Photo: Facebook

8) The Women’s March was held in Washington on January 19, 2019. While spirits remained high and marchers displayed determination to fight for women’s issues, this year’s march paled in numbers to the hundreds of thousands who roared onto the political scene in 2017 in the nation’s capital. Photo: Facebook

9) Paul Whelan, a former U.S. Marine, who was arrested in Moscow at the end of last year, right, looks through a cage’s glass as his lawyers talk to each other in a court room in Moscow, Russia. The lawyer for Paul Whelan who is being held in Moscow on suspicion of spying, said that classified Russian materials were found with him when he was arrested. Photo: AP

10) A protester scuffles with an Israeli border guard during a demonstration against the newly-opened Route 4370 in the occupied West Bank. The highway into Jerusalem divides Israeli and Palestinian drivers into separate lanes with a wall, leading Palestinians to label it an “apartheid road.” Photo: AFP

11) Police officers operate a security robot to patrol inside a railway station as the annual Spring Festival travel rush starts ahead of the Chinese Lunar New Year, in Shenzhen, Guangdong province, China, Jan. 21, 2019. Photo: Reuters

12) In London, a display of 800 school bags on the steps of St Paul’s Cathedral, laid by WaterAid as a reminder of the number of young children who die every day because of dirty water and poor sanitation before they reach school age. On the bags in the front row are the names of some of those children including nine-month-old Arena from Madagascar, and five-year-old Jennifer from Zambia. Photograph: Oliver Dixon/Rex/Shutterstock

13) A pilgrim confesses at the Youth Park in Panama City on the eve of the arrival of Pope Francis for the World Youth Days, on January 22, 2019. (Photo by Luis Acosta/AFP Photo)

14) The moon is seen on the top of the Cinquantenaire arch during a total lunar eclipse, known as the “Super Blood Wolf Moon”, in Brussels, Belgium. Photo: Reuters

15) The U.S. side of Niagara Falls in Niagara Falls, New York, is frozen due to subzero temperatures, viewed from the Canadian side, Ontario, Jan. 22, 2019. Photo: Reuters

16) A dog searches for a victim during a final exam for an avalanche-dog-handler degree in Les Houches, France, on January 24, 2019. The degree is awarded after a three-week training program.  Photo: Romain Lafabregue / AFP / Getty

17) Huseyin Yurtseven, a dentist living in Istanbul, is seen covering a stray dog with a blanket in Istanbul, Turkey, on January 21, 2019. Yurtseven, accompanied by friends, travels around the surrounding neighborhoods and covers sleeping stray animals with blankets to keep them warm during freezing nights on the streets of Istanbul. Photo: Unal Gundogdu / Anadolu Agency / Getty

18) Los Angeles Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman appears to interfere with New Orleans Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis during the NFC championship game in New Orleans Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. No penalty was called and the Rams went on to win in overtime to head to the Super Bowl. Photo: Sporting News.

19) New Orleans Saints head coach Sean Payton reacts to not getting a pass interference call against Rams cornerback Nickell Robey-Coleman on Saints wide receiver Tommylee Lewis during the NFC championship game in New Orleans Sunday, Jan. 20, 2019. Photo: David Grunfeld, NOLA.com

20) The New Orleans Picayune responded the next day.

21) Heidi Klum looks bored as her children, Henry Samuel and Lou Samuel, can’t take their eyes off their phones at the Lakers game. Photo: Getty Images

22) A model wears a creation for Jean-Paul Gaultier’s Spring/Summer 2019 Haute Couture fashion collection presented in Paris, France. Photo: AP

23) A scene at the after-party for the premiere of I Am The Night on January 22, 2019, in New York City. Photo: Dimitrios Kambouris / Getty

AND FINALLY…

Amazing photograph captures the rare moment a meteor strikes the moon during a total lunar eclipse

Week-ends (01/26/19)

/ This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

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

These moms

Anthony Maggert

VILLAINS OF THE WEEK

The school that the Covington Catholic students attend and the local Catholic diocese that it serves

New York and other states

The Daily Telegraph

QUOTES OF THE WEEK

“Fixing our economy remains a priority. That’s why just last week I directed the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation to create an innovation and entrepreneurship committee focusing on supporting our small businesses, seeding capital funds, and technology development. But there is more to an economy than counting job creation. And the state of our state is more than our unemployment rate.”
Gov. Tony Evers in his State of the State address

“Connecting the dots means recognizing that what’s best for our kids is best for our state. The investment we make in our kids today will yield dividends for generations. That’s why our budget reaffirms our state’s commitment to our kids by returning to two-thirds funding for schools across Wisconsin.”
Gov. Tony Evers in his State of the State address. He wants to increase funding for K-12 schools by $1.4 billion over the next two years.

“He has a lot of good ideas that we’d like to do.“The issue is how are we going to pay for it?”
Republican Sen. Alberta Darling, co-chair of the Legislature’s budget committee

“Thanks to the last eight years of Republican leadership, Governor Evers is inheriting a state that is strong. Our unemployment rate has been below 3 percent for 11 months straight, our budget has a surplus, our pension system is fully funded, and last budget we were able to invest more actual dollars in schools than ever before. Wisconsin is thriving.

“Moving forward, Senate Republicans will work to make sure that these results are protected for the next generation, and that our prosperity can continue for years to come.”
Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald

“I promise you: Republicans will fight for and protect your freedom, from unnecessary red flag gun laws to the expansion of government-run and controlled health care. We will keep spending in check, continue our successful school choice programs and most importantly, protect the unborn.

“However, we know that when voters chose divided government, they didn’t choose inaction. In November, the voters said they want us to find ways to work together. That’s why only days after the inauguration, Assembly Republicans sent Governor Evers a letter outlining areas where we thought we could find agreement. It’s my hope that we focus on issues that don’t divide our state, instead we focus on issues that are easy to find common ground. The 11 ideas that we proposed in the letter aren’t meant to be an exhaustive list but a starting point. Things like enhancing internet access, preventing homelessness, improving foster care, and cutting middle class taxes should all be slam dunks. Wisconsinites want us to work together and these are shared priorities that we can begin working on.”
Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) delivered the official Republican Response to the State of the State Address

“I am very proud to announce we have reached a deal to end the shutdown and reopen the federal government. In a short while I will sign a bill to open the government for three weeks. I want to thank all of the incredible workers and their amazing families who have showed extraordinary devotion in the wake of the hardship.”
President Trump on Friday

“We are now past the midway point of Trump’s first term, maybe his only term. If Trump couldn’t come up with a legislative fix when he controlled both houses of Congress, he’s sure not going to now that he’s lost the House.

“We are headed for another failed Republican presidency.

“What you need to do today — not after the State of the Union address, not after the next GOP retreat, not after another meeting with the Democrats — is to start rolling construction trucks to the southern border. BREAK GROUND TODAY.”
Columnist Ann Coulter

“Good news for George Herbert Walker Bush: As of today, he is no longer the biggest wimp ever to serve as President of the United States.”
Ann Coulter on Twitter

“I’m disgusted. There’s no other way to put it. I don’t like to be lied to. Just say I’m not going to build the wall. I’m a coward. I don’t have what it takes.”
Mike Cernovich, a conservative blogger

 “I don’t really quite understand why.”
Commerce Secretary Wilbur Ross on federal workers visiting food banks. Instead, he suggested they apply for bank loans.

“I think they were targeted for what they stood for… which is Christianity, the right for life, and they were singled out and I believe partially because of the color of their skin they were targeted.”
Jill Hamlin, a Covington High School mother, spoke out about the viral video clip depicting an encounter between a group of pro-life teen boys, and a Native American activist. When the initial video of the incident was released last Saturday–on a Twitter account which has since been suspended–it appeared to show the teen boys mocking a Native American man, Nathan Phillips. Though the boys were widely condemned across social media, extended footage of the encounter released later revealed that they were the ones being harassed.

“The larger message that a lot of people are going to take from this story is that the news media are a bunch of leftist liars who are dying to get the president, and they’re willing to lie to do it.I don’t think that’s true, but … I just think this is a bad day for us. … It reinforces every bad stereotype about the news media.”
CNN chief legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin after it was learned that a BuzzFeed story about President Trump having allegedly ordered his former personal lawyer Michael Cohen to lie to members of special prosecutor Robert Mueller’s staff was false

“Although I oppose the death penalty, it’s morally perverse to oppose capital punishment for adults who’ve been tried and convicted of heinous crimes, while literally cheering the killing of inarguably innocent lives.”
Guy Benson, Townhall.com’s Political Editor

“The world is gonna end in 12 years if we don’t address climate change.”
Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-NY)

“Let’s bury the hatchet and enjoy the next 12 years because they are going to be our last, right? Even worse news, @AOC and her new socialist colleagues seem hell-bent on making sure that our last 12 years will be spent as Venezuelan socialists, not Americans.”
Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC) responding on Twitter to Ocasio-Cortez

“The National Football League is back on top of the ratings heap after both conference championship games were so competitive they spilled into overtime.

“Sunday’s New England Patriots-Kansas City Chiefs game drew 53.9 million viewers to CBS — a shocking 27 percent increase from last year and the most-watched NFL game outside of the Super Bowl in five years. Earlier that day on Fox, the Los Angeles Rams’ controversial referee-marred defeat of the New Orleans Saints had 44.1 million viewers — a 4.3 percent gain and Fox’s most-watched program since Super Bowl 51 in 2017.

“The panic in NFL offices has ended. The bleeding stopped. Everyone knows why, and it’s not the powerful high-scoring offenses and the snazzy touchdown celebrations.

“The NFL put an end to the national anthem kneeling protests. The focus could then return to sports, not silent gestures meant to drive home the argument that we should be deeply ashamed about how America is horribly racist and police officers are a pack of murderers.”
Lecturer, syndicated columnist, television commentator, debater, marketer, businessman, author, publisher and activist, Brent Bozell III, the founder and president of the Media Research Center

“‘That call was so bad the NFL is lucky there wasn’t a riot in the Dome.”
Co-host Bobby Hebert on the New Orleans  Saints’ radio post-game show on flagship station WWL-AM, after the Saints lost to the Los Angeles Rams in overtime in the NFC Championship game in the Louisiana Superdome. Saints fans were angry over a blown non-call that should have been ruled pass interference against the Rams.

OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK

Media coverage of Covington Catholic students

Voter fraud in Texas

MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK

It’s school choice week

MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK

Those evil, racist Covington Catholic students

MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK

In Lieu of Gifts, Please Make a Down Payment on Our New Home
 

 

Medicare for All; religious decline; border chaos; and cookies

/ This Just In... From Franklin, WI / Leave a comment

Here are this week’s highly interesting reads:

Today’s highly interesting read (01/25/19): Medicare for All Is Popular Until You Explain How It Works

Today’s highly interesting read (01/24/19): A less religious America will be a less generous America

Today’s highly interesting read (01/23/19): Relax, people — they’re just cookies

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