BANK WOMEN OUT ON THE TOWN AND SLIGHTLY OUT OF CONTROL

It's just after midnight, sunday morning and I am beat up pretty badly from a road trip up to Siren, Wisconsin, and back but thought I would make an entry here before I find a hot bath.

The gig was for a whole passel of Bremer banks in central and northern Wisconsin and the audience was made up heavily of my favorite kind of people: women. I had some very nice conversations with several of them before they sat down to dinner and they were in fine form as they had been doing "jello shots" on the bus on the way to the Northern Event Center (which by the way, is connected to Madden's Steak House and supposedly has some mighty fine steaks on the menu).

I visited with a former student of mine from my teaching days and with another gal from Menomonie who remembered me from back in the day.

Overall, I was not happy with my performance, but there are many time when I am not. The powers that be seemed happy with it and that is what's important.

While sitting in the bar during dinner, I ovrheard some conversations that yielded a couple of possible song lyrics that I quicly scribbled down:

"she was lookin' better than not too bad" (I really like that one!)

and a young woman said this:

"With all the botox I can still make faces"

Whether these will go anywhere or not is another question.

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The navy blue football helmet that I put up on my blog arrived and turned out to be too disappointing to use in my Chicago Bears project, so currently I am pursuing another lead on eBay which will end March 5.

Off to bed!

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MY LITTLE SCREECH OWL GAINS FAME?

Last week I published a different photograph of this little grey faced screech owl. It seems there have been some developments since then.

I had my camera with me when I went to play for a Farmers Insurance Awards Banquet in Merill last week and while I was waiting to go on, I struck up a conversation with a couple sitting at the bar. I told them about the photos of the owl and they were interested in seeing them so I retrieved my camera from the car. They were both quite impressed with the photos and said I should submit one to Wausau television station WAOW because every morning during the news they have a"photo of the day" and the couple thought sure that I would get the picture on the show.

When I got back home, I took a copy of the photo down to the Eau Claire Leader Telegram to see if they would be interested in publishing it.

I didn't hear anythinbg more until today when I got the following e mail from my friend Suzi Kittson in Wausau:

Larry,

Terry came in to wake me early this morning like around 6:15am to let me know that Channel 9 WAOW, had your owl photo on as the photo of the day! Very cool. He said, "I thought that looked familiar." I had shared that particular blog with him. So your newspaper box and owl are now famous!

Suzi

Then I got a telephone call today from Joe Knight at the Eau Claire Leader Telegram informing me that they will be publishing the photo in this coming friday's issue.

So I begin my new life as an owl's publicity agent!

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STATUTORY RAPE?

AH, THE WONDERS OF THE INTERNET! I RECEIVED THIS PHOTO FROM MY GOOD FRIEND JOHN BUCHHOLZ TODAY, CAPTIONED "STATUTORY RAPE??? NO -- JUST A MOOSEDEMEANOR.

Talk about being in the right place at the right time! This photographer was!

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Today"s Joke:

After their baby was born, the panicked father went to see the Obstetrician. 'Doctor,' the man said, 'I don't mind telling you, but I'm a little upset because my daughter has red hair. She can't possibly be mine!!'

'Nonsense,' the doctor said. 'Even though you and your wife both have black hair, one of your ancestors may have contributed red hair to the gene pool.'

'It isn't possible,' the man insisted. 'This can't be, our families on both sides had jet-black hair for generations.'

'Well,' said the doctor, 'let me ask you this. How often do you have sex??? '

The man seemed a bit ashamed. 'I've been working very hard for the past year. We only made love once or twice every few months.'

'Well, there you have it!' The doctor said confidently.




'It's rust!'

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LES SAN CULOTTE'S NEW POSTER -- WOW!

Today I received this well-conceived poster of Les San Culotte, the Brooklyn, NY based band for which my son Jonathan (very bottom of picture) plays lead guitar.

I got a chance to catch the bnad live in Minneapolis this past summer and they are an impressive band that features almost entirely their own compositions both musically and lyrically. All lyrics are in French. (I smiled to see that the keyboard player had removed the "K" from the KORG logo on the front of his keyboard to an "F" -- I am not so certain that French fans would enjoy the ethnic joke as much a Americans.)

I do remember the band doing one cover tune during their set. you haven't really heard "Boots Are Made For Walking" until you have heard it belted out by a sexy Brooklyn woman in a mini skirt doing her finest French accent!

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ADDING 1960'S CHICAGO BEARS HELMET TO COLLECTION

Those of you that follow my blog know that over the past sevral years I have been collecting football helmets and renovating them as displays of National Football League teams for my office.

I really hadn't done much with that hobby lately, but I do check out what is up for sale on eBay from time to time and i found this good example of what could be made into a Chicago Bears helmet, Walter Payton era. I got it at a really good price and went to a local printer to see if he could duplicate the Bears logo.
Of course, after contacting him and having him do the original llayout, I then stumbled on the logos you see on this blog at a very low price.

Today I went and paid the local guy a fee for the layout work he did and then ordered the decals from the website as they are produced on 30 mil vinyl which is much heavier than what I could get locally.

I will post pictures of my Bears helmet when I get it together later this week. Now I will casually begin looking for a helmet in silver to start a Detroit Lions, Barry Sanders helmet.

By the time I am finished I will have helmets for all the former Central Division teams save one -- the Minnesota Vikings. I don't think I can bring myself to do that project!

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Did you see the grilling that congress gave the bankers yesterday? What I found really encouraging is that many times the senators actually referred to e mails they had received from their constituents ! To me, this is a very good sign that we THE PEOPLE are finally really responding to the dipshits in office and telling them we are fed up with the status quo.

Now, more than ever it is very important to e mail your congress representatives as often as you deem necessary about issues that bother you. Lately I have sent missives about pursuing the Bush administration as war criminals, clarifying Obama's first bill when people like Limbaugh knowingly misrepresented it on the air, and asking that there be no troop increase in Afghanistan.

You have to keep in mind that most of the dolts in office JUST DON'T GET IT! Why else would all Republicans save three vote along party lines? They, like their loud mouth piece Rush (Jabba the Hut Limbaugh) want President Obama to fail.

I don't know about you, but I think WE THE PEOPLE want some action!

Did you know the Dr. Evil (aka Dick Cheney) petitioned W to pardon his buddy Libby for a full and complete pardon right up to Inauguration Day? It wasn't enough that Bush had commuted his prison sentence. No -- He's still a felon and cannot practice law nor vote. And that's the most punishment he is under! The SOB should have faced a firing squad for treason.

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Railroads made Chicago, and now a Chicago-rich White House wants to return the favor.

Railroads made Chicago, and now a Chicago-rich White House wants to return the favor: remaking rail with a huge new federal investment in high-speed passenger trains.

The $787.2 billion economic recovery bill — to be signed by President Barack Obama on Tuesday — dedicates $8 billion to high-speed rail, most of which was added in the final closed-door bargaining at the instigation of White House chief of staff Rahm Emanuel.

It’s a sum that far surpasses anything before attempted in the United States — and more is coming. Administration officials told Politico that when Obama outlines his 2010 budget next week, it will ask for $1 billion more for high-speed rail in each of the next five years.

Yet for all the high stakes, the pieces didn’t fall into place until the end of deliberations on the recovery bill. And the way in which they did is revealing of the often late-breaking decisions — and politics — that shaped the final package.

As a candidate for president, Obama spoke of high-speed rail as part of his vision of “rebuilding America.” Campaigning in Indiana, he talked of revitalizing the Midwest by connecting cities with faster rail service to relieve congestion and improve energy conservation.

“The time is right now for us to start thinking about high-speed rail as an alternative to air transportation connecting all these cities,” he said. “And think about what a great project that would be in terms of rebuilding America.”

But the administration never emphasized high-speed rail when the House Appropriations Committee was writing its bill in January, so no money was included. The first real request came only days before the Senate Appropriations panel marked up, and the committee had to scramble to find room for $2 billion — in part by cutting other Obama priorities.


“I put it in there for the president,” Emanuel said in an interview. “The president wanted to have a signature issue in the bill, his commitment for the future.”

Emanuel himself was excited by the idea, but the decision to wager so much on high-speed rail reflected the fact that other candidates for a signature Obama issue were fading.

Moderate Senate Republicans, whose votes were needed, were resisting the president’s school construction initiative. Modernizing the nation’s electric grid, another White House favorite, seemed to have lost some of its cachet.

High-speed rail sailed through with surprisingly little attention paid to the president’s role.

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The above article appeared in Politico. Can you tell that they are not very Pro-Obama? I think investing in high speed rail transportation is an idea which is long overdue! It will put thousands to work, ease our dependence on oil-based travel, and bring the United States into the 21st Centruy. Europe and Japan are far ahead of us in rail transportation. I, for one, would really be excited about taking the train across this beautiful country of ours, for all of the above reasons.

GREY FACED SCREECH OWL MAKES MY NEWSPAPER TUBE HIS SHELTER!

Earlier today Kim asked me to be sure to pick up the newspaper on my way back from the grocery store. Imagine my utter shock to pull up to the orange Eau Claire Leader telegram chute to find this feathery little character blocking the entrance! My first thought after I regained my wits was "Holy shit! I never have my camera when I really need it!" Then i remembered that it was sitting right next to me in the car so I started taking pictures of the little guy. to my total amazement, he didn't make a move to escape, but continued to stay inside the tube and out of the wind.

Later in the day, just before I left for my saturday night gig near Merrill, I took two DVD's back and as i went by the news chute I figured the nester would be gone -- but he was still there! I was able to take some more photos.

When I left for the road trip he was STILL there and i began to wrooy that thee might be something physically wrong with him so I called Kim on the cell phone and had her contact Patty Stangel who works for White Pines Rehabilitation Center.

Later on, as I was nearing Club 64 to set up my gear, I got a call from Kim saying that she had gone down the driveway to meet with Patty and that Patty approached the owl carefully to find that he wasn't hurt in any way -- but made angry little sounds at being bothered by these human beings and then flew off.

I sent the picture to my brother Bob who is as "birder" and he said it is highly unusual to even get a look at one of these little guys as they are quite reclusive, preferring the secrecy of pine groves. He also told me that this is more than likely a male who has returned from migration early. They don't usually make their Wisconsin appearance until mid-March.


What a cool happening! I think I will send this pictue in to the Eau Claire Telegram! I think it is worth publishing.

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HENRIETTA HUGHES NO LONGER HOMELESS!

I was watching President Obama's town hall meeting in Fort Meyers, Florida, when Ms. Henrietta Hughes made a tearful plea to the president to help her. At the time, she was living out of her automobile in a state park.

At the time it moved me to tears. Now it appears it alos moved someone else to tears who could actually do something about it - in an article from the Huffington Post:


From 2/11

If you were paying attention to Obama's stimulus push yesterday it was hard to miss Henrietta Hughes, a woman on the verge of tears who asked the President to help her with an "urgent need": homelessness. After the Florida town hall where Hughes talked to Obama, a local Fort Myers paper says she was offered a home by State Representative Nick Thompson's wife.

Read more from the paper below and here. And watch the exchange between Hughes and Obama below the excerpt.

Henrietta Hughes was offered a home by Chene Thompson, wife of State Representative Nick Thompson, who heard the homeless woman's pleas for help to President Obama before a local and national crowd.

The house is in LaBelle, the first home Chene Thompson bought after law school. She told Hughes, "Just give me the opportunity to help you."

Today I located Representative Thompson's web site and wrote:

To the Honorable Nicholas R. Thompson:

Dear Mr.. and Mrs. Thompson:

Even though I am not from your district (I live in west central Wisconsin)I want to take a moment to express my deepest gratitude and joy that you would, out of the kindness of your hearts, come to the aid of Henreitta Thompson in her time of dire need. I was watching the town hall meeting at the time of its airing and was so deeply moved by Ms. Hughes story that I told my wife that i wished I knew where to send her some money to help her weather the storm.

Then, like angels, you and Chene came to her rescue. You are both good people! God bless you in all your efforts and Florida is lucky to have you representing the state!

Wishing you both all the best!

Larry Heagle

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If you have time, please write to Representative Thompson and encourage such truly Christian behavior. His site is:

http://www.myfloridahouse.gov/SECTIONS/Representatives/emailrepresentative.aspx?MemberId=4373&SessionId=54

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A MESSAGE FROM VERMONT'S SENATOR LEAHY

We have just emerged from a time when White House officials often acted as if they were above the law. That was wrong and must be fully exposed so it never happens again.

That is why I proposed the idea of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate abuses during the Bush-Cheney Administration. These abuses may include the use of torture, warrantless wiretapping, extraordinary rendition, and executive override of laws.

During the past several years, this country has been divided as deeply as it has been at any time in our history since the Civil War. It has made our government less productive and our society less civil. In this week when we begin commemorating the Lincoln bicentennial, there is need, again, "to bind up the nation's wounds." President Lincoln urged that course in his second inaugural address some seven score and four years ago.

Rather than vengeance, we need a fair-minded pursuit of what actually happened. The best way to move forward is getting to the truth, finding out what happened, so we can make sure it does not happen again.

Please sign my online petition at BushTruthCommission.com -- and urge Congress to consider establishing a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's abuses.

The Obama Administration has already made huge strides to restore the Constitution and renew our commitment to international law after eight corrosive years. But we must read the full page on this dark chapter in American history before we can turn it for good, which is why I feel so strongly about investigating what really happened.

I hope you agree.

Please sign my online petition at BushTruthCommission.com -- and urge Congress to consider forming a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's abuses.

On Monday, I delivered a speech at Georgetown University where I outlined my ideas about why we need a truth and reconciliation commission and how it could work.

A truth and reconciliation commission would be tasked with seeking answers. It would provide Congress and the American people with a shared understanding of the failures of the recent past, so we do not repeat them in the future.

Please sign my online petition at BushTruthCommission.com -- and urge Congress to consider establishing a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the Bush-Cheney Administration's abuses.

Thank you for taking action to prevent history from repeating itself by supporting the creation of a truth and reconciliation commission to investigate the misdeeds of the past eight years.

Sincerely,

Patrick Leahy
U.S. Senator

P.S. If you think establishing a truth and reconciliation commission is important, I hope you'll take just a second to sign my online petition -- and then forward this email to everyone you know. It's critically important that we build grassroots support to make sure we get the truth.

Visit LeahyForVermont.com

"THE SPACE" SELLS OUT -- GREAT CROWD, FUN FOR ALL!

Here is a photo of yours truly taken by Bill Buell of "The Space" in New Richmond where I worked this past friday night. My thanks to both Bill and Melissa for their kind hospitality and for affording me the chance to do my thing for the good folk of New Richmond and the surrounding area.

We had a really good time together and I ended up going over my time. The fact that I worked to a sold out house didn't hurt my chances of returning some time in the future.

My manager got a call from the Heyde Center in Chippewa in regards to the show that my brother Fr. John Heagle and I are doing there this coming May ("He Ain't Heavy, He's My Brother"). The Heyde is pretty pumped becasue there has already been some ticket sales and calls of interest -- something that doesn't happen this early in the game! So if you are thinking of getting a ticket or two for the saturday, May 16th show, you might want to make the call now!

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Ken Starr -- Yes, THAT Ken Starr. The prosecutor who led the campaign to impeach President Bill Clinton has filed a legal brief -- on behalf of the "Yes on 8" campaign -- that would forcibly divorce the 18,000 same-sex couples married in California last year before the passage of Prop 8.

News broke Tuesday that the state Supreme Court will hear oral arguments on March 5, and will then make a decision within 90 days on the validity of Prop 8 and these 18,000 marriages.

Ken, America's self appointed moral compass who spent god know how much of the tax payers money impeaching Bill Clinton is at it again, this time trying to forcibly divorce the 18,000 same-sex married couples in California.

When someone takes so much of an interest in other people's private sex lives it convinces me that somewhere in that person's own history there is a repressed sexuality that has secretly been practiced. Who knows what might be and probably should be dug up on Mr. Starr if pursued.

Listen, Kenneth. Tend to your own morality. Who the hell made you God! You are truly pathetic! You are as pathetic as Ann Coulter, the bitch from hell who is in the news today:


The New York Daily News reports that Ann Coulter is under investigation by the Connecticut Elections Enforcement Commission for allegedly voting in that state while registered to vote in New York City.

Officials are responding to a formal complaint filed by Coulterwatch.com blogger Dan Borchers. "For over 10 years, Ann Coulter has gotten away with illegal, immoral and unethical behavior, ranging from plagiarism to defamation, perjury to voter fraud," claims the conservative Borchers. Coulter declined to comment, but in the past has branded Borchers a stalker. He says the FBI has determined he poses no threat.
Coulter was investigated and cleared of wrongdoing in 2006 for allegedly violating Florida's voter registration laws by voting in the wrong precinct.

But Brad Friedman of BradBlog.com reports that Coulter was never actually cleared; the Florida Election Commission dropped the case after deciding that the two-year statute of limitations had run out.

An official previously told the Daily News that they would investigate "if we received a complaint under oath."

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"The Proposal"

When a company falls on difficult times, one of the things that seems to happen is they reduce their staff and workers. The remaining workers need to find ways to continue to do a good job or risk that their job would be eliminated as well. Wall street, and the media normally congratulate the CEO for making this type of "tough decision", and his board of directors gives him a big bonus.

Our government should not be immune from similar risks.

Therefore: Reduce the House of Representatives from the current 435 members to 218 members and Senate members from 100 to 50 (one per State). Also reduce remaining staff by 25%.

Accomplish this over the next 8 years. (two steps / two elections) and of course this would require some redistricting.

Some Yearly Monetary Gains Include:

$44,108,400 for elimination of base pay for congress. (267 members X $165,200 pay / member / yr.)

$97,175,000 for elimination of the above people's staff. (estimate $1.3 Million in staff per each member of the House, and $3 Million in staff per each member of the Senate every year)

$240,294 for the reduction in remaining staff by 25%.

$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork barrel ear-marks each year. (those members whose jobs are gone. Current estimates for total government pork earmarks are at $15 Billion / yr)

The remaining representatives would need to work smarter and would need to improve efficiencies. It might even be in their best interests to work together for the good of our country?

We may also expect that smaller committees might lead to a more efficient resolution of issues as well. It might even be easier to keep track of what your representative is doing.

Congress has more tools available to do their jobs than it had back in 1911 when the current number of representatives was established. (telephone, computers, cell phones to name a few)

Note:
Congress did not hesitate to head home when it was a holiday, when the nation needed a real fix to the economic problems. Also, we have 3 senators that have not been doing their jobs for the past 18+ months (on the campaign trail) and still they all have been accepting full pay. These facts alone support a reduction in senators & congress.

Summary of < U>opportunity:

$ 44,108,400 reduction of congress members.

$282,100, 000 for elimination of the reduced house member staff.

$150,000,000 for elimination of reduced senate member staff.

$59,675,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining house members.

$37,500,000 for 25% reduction of staff for remaining senate members.

$7,500,000,000 reduction in pork added to bills by the reduction of congress members.

$8,073,383,400 per year, estimated total savings. (that's 8-BILLION just to start!)

Big business does these types of cuts all the time.

If Congresspersons were required to serve 20, 25 or 30 years (like everyone else) in order to collect retirement benefits there is no telling how much we would save. Now they get full retirement after serving only ONE term.

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A mouse looked through the crack

in the wall to see the farmer

and his wife open a package.



What food might this contain?'

the mouse wondered - - -

he was devastated to discover
it was a mousetrap.



Retreating to the farmyard,

the mouse proclaimed the warning :



There is a mousetrap in the house!
There is a mousetrap in the house!'





The chicken clucked and scratched,

raised her head and said,

'Mr.Mouse, I can tell this is a grave

concern to you, but it is of no consequence

to me. I cannot be bothered by it.'





The mouse turned to the pig and told him,



'There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!'





The pig sympathized, but said,

'I am so very sorry, Mr.Mouse,

but there is nothing I can do about it

but pray. Be assured you are in my prayers.'







The mouse turned to the cow and said,



'There is a mousetrap in the house!

There is a mousetrap in the house!'



The cow said, 'Wow, Mr. Mouse.

I'm sorry for you,

but it's no skin off my nose.'





So, the mouse returned to the house,

head down and dejected,

to face the farmer's mousetrap . . . alone.



That very night a sound was heard

throughout the house -- like the sound

of a mousetrap catching its prey.





The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught.

In the darkness, she did not see it was a venomous snake whose tail
the trap had caught.





The snake bit the farmer's wife.





The farmer rushed her to the hospital,

and she returned home with a fever.



Everyone knows you treat a fever

with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer

took his hatchet to the farmyard

for the soup's main ingredient.



But his wife's sickness continued,

so friends and neighbors came to sit

with her around the clock.



To feed them,

the farmer butchered the pig.





The farmer's wife did not get well;

she died.









So many people came for her funeral,

the farmer had the cow slaughtered to

provide enough meat for all of them.



The mouse looked upon it all from his

crack in the wall with great sadness.





So, the next time you hear someone is

facing a problem and think it doesn't

concern you, remember ----



when one of us is threatened,

we are all at risk.

We are all involved in this

journey called life.

We must keep an eye out for

one another and make an extra effort

to encourage one another.



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Ben & Jerry created a new flavor: the "Yes Pecan!" ice cream flavor for President Barack Obama

For George W. they they asked for suggestions from the public. Here
are some of their favorite responses:

· Grape Depression

· The Housing Crunch

· Abu Grape

· Cluster Fudge

· Nut'n Accomplished

· Iraqi Road

· Chock 'n Awe
· WireTapioca

· Impeach Cobbler

· Guantanmallow

· imPeachmint

· Heck of a Job, Brownie!

· Neocon Politan

· RockyRoad to Fascism

· The Reese's-cession

· Cookie D'oh!

· Nougalar Proliferation

· Death by Chocolate... and Torture

· Freedom Vanilla Ice Cream

· Chocolate Chip On My Shoulder

· Credit Crunch

· Mission Pecanplished

· Country Pumpkin

· Chunky Monkey in Chief

· WMDelicious

· Chocolate Chimp

· Bloody Sundae

· Caramel Preemptive Stripe

· I broke the law and am responsible for the deaths of thousands — with nuts

Good Riddance You Lousy Motherfucker... Swirl

COMPUTER REPAIR SHORT LIVED

After sending out a message to all my e mail clients that I was once again back on line with my e mail, I went to download my mail yesterday (saturday) and found that it was once again kaput -- could get absolutely no response.

So monday, bright and early, it will be back on the repair trail. My apologies to anybody that is on my e mail list that has tried to reach me.

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