For a goodbye, I’ll leave you with “The Way I Am.” The video is awful, but the song is still lovely.

ARLINGTON, VA — Today, Barack Obama travels to North Dakota for an event focused on our veterans. Yet, in 2007, only 13 days after saying he would vote to support our military men and women in Iraq, Barack Obama opposed billions in critical funding that our troops needed in a political move to satisfy his base. This included over a billion in funding for our veterans. In the end, Barack Obama’s talk about supporting our military and our veterans were just empty words:

IN 13 DAYS, BARACK OBAMA WENT FROM SUPPORTING FUNDING FOR OUR TROOPS IN IRAQ TO VOTING AGAINST IT

On May 13, 2007, Barack Obama Supported Funding To Give Our Men And Women The Equipment They Need In Iraq:

Barack Obama Told ABC’s George Stephanopoulos That He Supported Funding To Give Troops The Equipment They Need. Stephanopoulos: “[Y]ou said then you have to say ‘no’ to George Bush because we can’t get steamrolled. Yet you go in the Senate, your critics say, and vote for the funding every single time.” Obama: “Because at that point you’ve got hundreds of thousands of young men and women who have to carry out the mission on behalf of the American people. It’s not their fault that our civilian leadership made bad decisions and what I wanted to make sure of was that they had night vision goggles that they needed, the Humvees that they needed and I also felt and I’ve continued to feel this way that if we could create some semblance of stability and success in Iraq, that would be a good thing.” (ABC’s “This Week,” 5/13/07)

Thirteen Days Later On May 24, 2007, Barack Obama Voted Against Providing $94.4 Billion In Critical Funding For Our Troops On The Group:

Barack Obama Was One Of Only 14 U.S. Senators To Vote Against Providing $94.4 Billion In Critical Funding For The Troops In Iraq And Afghanistan. (H.R. 2206, CQ Vote #181: Passed 80-14: R 42-3; D 37-10; I 1-1, 5/24/07, Obama Voted Nay)

· “Courting The Anti-War Constituency, Democratic Presidential Rivals Hillary Rodham Clinton And Barack Obama Both Voted Against Legislation That Pays For The Iraq War But Lacks A Timeline For Troop Withdrawal.” (Liz Sidoti, “Clinton, Obama Vote ‘No’ On Iraq Bill,” The Associated Press, 5/25/07)

By The Numbers: What Barack Obama’s No Vote Could Have Meant For America’s Veterans:

· $595 million for medical facilities
· $228.982 million in additional funds to treat veterans of the global war on terror
· $20 million for vet centers and re-adjustment counseling
· $30 million to establish at least one new Level I comprehensive polytrauma center
· $9.4 million for operations costs associated with the establishment of new polytrauma residential transitional rehabilitation programs
· $10 million for additional transition caseworkers to work with separating veterans and their families
· $10 million for rehabilitation programs for vision impaired veterans
· $100 million for enhancements to mental health services
· $20 mi llion for substance abuse treatment programs
· $8 million for poly trauma clinic support teams
· $25 million for prosthetics
· $250 million for the administration of the VA health care system
· $32.5 million for medical and prosthetic research
· $83.2 million for general operating expenses
· $326 million in construction funding for VA-identified needs
(House And Senate Committees On Appropriations, “Summary Of The Fiscal 2007 Supplemental Funding Legislation,” Press Release, 5/24/07)

So what started all of this? I was able to determine it’s WTMJ, not WISN, on the story. Michael George was the one at the library doing interviews and also calling aldermen.

Hey! Tushaus’ e-mail just arrived. Remember folks, you read it here first.

DIRECTIVE # 08-06

Reference: None Date: 06-16-08

SUBJECT: Methods for Reducing Fuel Consumption

Purpose: To establish guidelines for reducing fuel consumption by members of the City of Brookfield Police Department

1. Officers are required to park their squads in high visibility, high traffic or high crime areas to observe.

2. Officers are encouraged to turn off vehicle to prevent excessive idling.

3. Officers are required to park their squads and talk with business owners and/or residents during their shift (enhanced community policing, avoid contacting business owners during peak activity).

4. The department will monitor and evaluate individual officers’ use of fuel, including setting separate goals for patrol officers, investigators and administrative support personnel.

5. Officers are required to double-up where feasible (jail transports).

6. Roll-call training will include a segment by the supervisor instructing the officers about the need to reduce fuel cost. Training reviews various methods (from driving habits to planning trips) that each officer can reduce fuel consumption.

7. Officers are discouraged from making return trips to headquarters (reports are completed in the field using mobile data terminals and digital recorders).

8. Officers and fleet maintenance should ensure proper air pressure in the tires of all vehicles.

9. Fleet maintenance will replace air filters in vehicles as soon as they are needed.

10. Officers will adhere to recommended maximum number of miles allowed per shift for patrol officers; exceptions to be granted by the watch commander (DW-50, EW-55, LW-60) (limit “patrolling” by detectives).

These are great ideas - like number 5: doubling up to transport instead of one car following another - to conserve your tax dollars. Chief Tushuas’ leadership is evident on this, and I thank him for it.

What still remains to be found? Who called the TV station. Which one of these guidelines do you think triggered the call?

I’ll let you know when I know!

…Like so many others who will be visiting the city in years to come, I was in town to check out the museum, which turned out to be one of the most engaging I’ve experienced. What I wasn’t expecting was to be just as blown away by the city. I’m still fantasizing about moving there….

You know me, immediately my thought was, “that shouldn’t be hard, they’re all facing each other and chatting at Wirth Park anyway!”

Seriously, I’ve called around and can’t find anyone that knows about this. I suspect we’ll find it was part of the negotiations for a new contract with the union. Chances are the alders didn’t have a clue.

—

I got good stuff from a few phone calls tonight. I’ll try to flesh it all out next week.

—

It’s confusing, but aldermen are reporting calls from WTMJ. I’ll be watching both in hopes to find out more. No one seems to know about the issue.

I’m not kidding when I tell you that reading this agenda made me literally nauseated. They scheduled the public hearing for this conditional use at the Plan Commission, not the Common Council. The mayor and his henchmen will vote a few minutes later.

In my heart I wish I could undo it all. Speaker’s such a creep. But there’s no stopping him when it comes to securing his elected future. In his mind moving these fire stations will appease the western voters that have given him grief for years on this one. In particular he wants to please Weston Hills, a neighborhood that attached to Brookfield and then the Elmbrook school district a few years ago. They want it all now that they are in Brookfield.

And Mayor Jeff Speaker is prepared to deliver.

By the way, also on this agenda is the approval for expanding the high schools.

From ESPN:

With his family “tugging” on him to play, Brett Favre has an “itch” to come out of retirement and report to training camp with the Green Bay Packers later this month, according to sources close to the team and player.

I know I have been a major proponent of respecting other’s content in our blog world. But today there’s a case where Journal Communications hasn’t been very quick to respond to my concern over a copyright issue, so I thought, what the heck. Two can play that game.

This article has gone into hiding under the company’s archive system. They think it’s so important that you should have to pay to read it now! But, because I think this is important stuff for our community to know, and because it’s no longer available on the internet, and mostly because that company thinks it’s fine and dandy to reprint what they want of mine at their convenience, I’m going for it.

Of course, I’ll be happy to erase it should they come through and erase my content. If they don’t? The details of Mr. Speaker’s trouble will be on the Web forever. Not a bad trade-off if you ask me.

——

Brookfield mayor’s Milwaukee apartments rack up code violations

Broken windows, fire hazards among 50 filed
LISA SINK Staff Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
Published: June 13, 2008
Brookfield — As a retired police officer, Brookfield Mayor Jeff Speaker says he believes in the “broken windows” theory of community policing, that being vigilant on nuisance issues will help stem bigger problems. But a Milwaukee apartment building he has owned for a year has numerous broken windows, prompting some of the 50 property code violations that city inspectors filed against him this week.

Speaker said tenants have broken windows and refused to pay for the damage. Some tenants said some windows have been broken since before Speaker bought the foreclosed 20-unit building for $423,500 in May 2007.

Other code violations filed include an uncapped gas line, which a Milwaukee city official called a potential explosion hazard; fire extinguisher issues; two toilets not fully attached to the floor; a defective downspout; and water-damaged plaster.

The mayor said he has invested possibly $30,000 in repairs to the building that he says prior owners failed to maintain, and he plans to do much more. He planned to meet today with the Milwaukee Department of City Development to explore possible loan assistance.

“I’m looking to probably invest about $100,000 with the city’s help,” Speaker said.

He said he would install new roofing, new windows and better electrical equipment.

Tenants said Speaker and his on-site property manager have let problems languish for months and only began stepping up efforts after WISN-TV (Channel 12) did a report last week on the problems at his property at 4505 N. 36th St.

Speaker had five code violations in his year as landlord, the most recent issued in March for litter problems. But city inspectors added 50 violations after a visit this week.

The city gave him two weeks to fix the public safety problems, such as the gas line and fire extinguishers. He has three months to correct the remaining issues.

Speaker said he would work quickly to fix the problems but worried that three months might not be enough time.

“I would love to turn around tomorrow and make it look like a million bucks,” he said.

He said he inherited some problematic tenants who have not paid rent, and he has tried to work with them. He said he has evicted tenants from about a half-dozen of his 20 units, taking two to court. But he said he also has some very good tenants.

The apartment building has a checkered past, with an above-average number of inspection visits in recent years, including under Speaker’s ownership, said Todd Weiler, spokesman for the city’s Department of Neighborhood Services, which handles inspections.

“I credit him for trying to turn it around,” Weiler said. “We recognize it’s difficult to bring it out of a crappy condition into a compliant condition.

“But you should know that when you buy it and have hammer and nail ready,” Weiler said. “It’s time. The proof will be in the pudding. We’ll see what happens to his promises.”

Debris cleanup According to city records, Speaker did not respond to orders in January to remove debris and a junk vehicle, Weiler said, prompting the city to send contractors to do the work and then bill Speaker $442, including a $100 fee for repeated litter issues.

“When a (city) contractor has to go out, it’s a sign of very poor management,” Weiler said. “Whoever he has doing it is not on top of things.”

Speaker said he never received a city letter. When his on-site property manager told him, Speaker checked and found no debris. He said the vehicle had no connection to his tenants and he was going to appeal the bill.

Speaker said the local alderman, Willie Wade, supports his revitalization plans and agrees more time is needed to undo damage.

Wade did not respond to requests for an interview.

Asked why he bought the Milwaukee apartment building instead of one in Brookfield, Speaker said he couldn’t afford one in Brookfield.

“It’s an investment, and they can be fairly lucrative if you have a good tenant mix,” Speaker said of Milwaukee rental properties.

He said he would like to get tenants who are on rent assistance “because you’re guaranteed your money.” But he said he couldn’t do that until he made more repairs.

“I’m trying to make a difference down there,” he said.

Speaker said that when he goes to the building, some children greet him with hugs, and this week, he stopped to help one boy learn how to ride a bike. He wants to hold annual barbecues there.

One woman whom Speaker stopped short of evicting, Meleena Johnson, said Speaker was a nice guy who was trying to improve the building.

But she and tenants in two other units showed numerous problems Wednesday, including holes in walls and rotten wood under sinks. Speaker agreed that mice were an issue and said he has hired an exterminator to visit, possibly today.

Pearl Johnson, who said she has lived there for about two years with her aunt and three children, said she has had water damage in her ceilings, with rain falling through light fixtures. She showed how her toilet moved up and down off the ground, and the shower head didn’t work.

Her living room window was broken about three months ago when her daughter threw a rock at it, but Speaker has refused to fix it unless Johnson pays for it.

She said the single-pane windows are cheap and she shouldn’t have to pay, especially with other repairs not done. She admits she is behind in rent.

——

Translation:

TONY VILLAMIL: This is Tony Villamil speaking, ex-director of Tourism, Commerce and Economic Affairs of Florida.

When it comes to a strong economy for our state, commercial trade with Latin America is crucial. Three quarters of Florida’s exports are with Latin America, and the Colombian Free Trade Agreement would create even more opportunity.

In this election, there are some that talk about revising the Free Trade Agreement with Mexico and Canada and oppose the Agreement with Colombia. This would hurt our economic future.

Last year Florida’s exports to Latin America reached almost $45 billion dollars. Colombia is Florida’s third most important export market and this trade agreement would create almost 5,000 new jobs

John McCain supports the Colombian Agreement, knows about our alliances with our hemisphere and understands our economy grows thanks to trade.

Remember who stands for prosperity in Florida, our country and our hemisphere. His name is John McCain.

JOHN MCCAIN: I’m John McCain and I approve this message.

ANNCR: Paid for by John McCain 2008.

Originally, Dad and I were going to fly into Munich, head to Salzburg, and then spend a week in the Tyrol district. But…I found frequent flyer tickets to Frankfurt. I was planning to use a car anyway. Should I fly into Frankfurt, do part of the Romantic Road, then Salzburg and less of Tyrol?

Help, please. I’m in unfamiliar territory on this trip.

Santiago Calatrava has also designed the September 11th memorial in New York City. Do you think it will change the way we feel in Milwaukee for our art museum?

This morning the company cited lower ad revenue and an increase in the cost of fuel and newsprint.