I have been out of town someplace warm for the last week. And like McBride with Jasmine Owens and Eugene Kane, I won’t apologize for that. In fact when I saw the weather report for the next few days, I tried to get back on the plane but the departing flight was cancelled. And then, there were some practical considerations like eating, paying bills (especially my DSL) oh well.
I was hoping that when I returned, I would have found acceptance speeches from Wallah and McBride in my mailbox but alas the folder had not a reply from either of them.
So, I will slowly read what was in my mailbox and see what I missed while I was away. I did receive a few with new rumors about the future of Mrs. McBride. I’ll post a few comments now but dig in deeper to see if I can separate the wheat from the chaff as it were.
Every time a public office looks like it’s going to open up, it seems like Paul Bucher’s name is floated around by someone. People I talk to, or those that email me, think that the floating is usually started or at least motivated by Mr. or Mrs. Bucher, er Ms. McBride.
Someone that talks to Ms, McBride at least occasionally, thought there was going to be another trial balloon or even announcement around the first of the year. She wasn’t sure of the office but said there was speculation on Congressman Sensenbrenner retiring.
I was also told that the McBrides would have entered the Supreme Court race before the deadline if the public financing reform had gone forward. I find that somewhat unbelievable even for Bucher after announcing he would not run.
I laughed out loud at the prospect of Bucher applying for the job of Department of Justice Division of Criminal Investigation vacated by James Warren. How would you like to be the clerk to lay that resume on JB”s desk?
Although if you listened to Bucher himself, you’d think it was a perfect fit. This is from a column written by Laurel Walker regarding the transition from prosecutor to defense attorney. “Especially for Bucher, I'm guessing. He didn't return my phone call Monday, but he once made a public point of saying he'd spend the rest of his career "prosecuting bad guys."”
Another quote that I thought was interesting from the article was, “Gatzke & Ruppelt is handling several other civil cases that Bucher, as district attorney, decided against prosecuting.”
Tuesday, January 29, 2008
Sunday, January 20, 2008
Staff expansions at Voila
I have decided to invite a famous and infamous blogger to contribute to Voila. I chose these two experienced bloggers based on their help to Voila, a fledgling blog devoted to promoting the continued success of Mr. Mcbride in the private sector.
The First invitation was extended to Capper, the King of left wing hate, of Wallah for graciously making a comment about and posting a link to Voila on his phenomenally successful site. As a result of those generous actions by Capper, I have already received some interesting tips related to the mission of Voila. One such tip led me to information resulting in the selection of the second guest contributor for Voila.
The second invitation was extended to a lady that with one column in the Waukesha Freeman that was posted online at GMTODAY.com has done more to ensure the success of the mission at Voila than I could have possibly accomplished in the next ten years of posting.
Her column appeared in the Saturday, January 19, 2007 edition of GMTODAY.com
I am posting a link to it for those of you that have not yet had the pleasure of reading it. Apparently a few of you have read and analyzed the column very thoroughly already. So without further ado, I invite Mrs. Jessica McBride of McBride Media Tatters to contribute to Voila since she now has extra time because she is not posting to her own blog with any regularity these days. And since she isn’t reading the liberals name calling blogs any longer, her quantitative analysis project for the university where she is on the journalism faculty should be less time consuming as well.
http://www.gmtoday.com/milwaukeetoday/editorials/mcbride.asp
Would you all welcome the King of left wing hate and the Queen of talk radio to Voila. Maybe you could swing by their blogs and encourage them to provide their insightful views on a regular basis.
http://whallah.blogspot.com/
http://mcbridesmediamatters.blogspot.com/
Let the games begin.
The First invitation was extended to Capper, the King of left wing hate, of Wallah for graciously making a comment about and posting a link to Voila on his phenomenally successful site. As a result of those generous actions by Capper, I have already received some interesting tips related to the mission of Voila. One such tip led me to information resulting in the selection of the second guest contributor for Voila.
The second invitation was extended to a lady that with one column in the Waukesha Freeman that was posted online at GMTODAY.com has done more to ensure the success of the mission at Voila than I could have possibly accomplished in the next ten years of posting.
Her column appeared in the Saturday, January 19, 2007 edition of GMTODAY.com
I am posting a link to it for those of you that have not yet had the pleasure of reading it. Apparently a few of you have read and analyzed the column very thoroughly already. So without further ado, I invite Mrs. Jessica McBride of McBride Media Tatters to contribute to Voila since she now has extra time because she is not posting to her own blog with any regularity these days. And since she isn’t reading the liberals name calling blogs any longer, her quantitative analysis project for the university where she is on the journalism faculty should be less time consuming as well.
http://www.gmtoday.com/milwaukeetoday/editorials/mcbride.asp
Would you all welcome the King of left wing hate and the Queen of talk radio to Voila. Maybe you could swing by their blogs and encourage them to provide their insightful views on a regular basis.
http://whallah.blogspot.com/
http://mcbridesmediamatters.blogspot.com/
Let the games begin.
Friday, January 18, 2008
It’s the Economy stupid!
Even though a reader gave me a tip on how the Bush-isms books, videos mugs and other artifacts she saw in Washington DC last week, reminded her of Super Paul’s greatest quotations, they will have to wait another day. If I don’t vent my feelings on the day’s economic news I’ll jump out of my basement window.
That screeching sound and breaking glass is not a pile up on the freeway, it’s all the former supporters of Bush’s economic policy making a u-turn in the middle of the road trying to distance themselves from the pending disaster.
What I haven’t heard is commentary from anyone on either side of the pew regarding the credit crunch and the record earnings of the Wall Street Bankers that was being hailed as a sign of the successful Bush policies. Roll back the calendar a year. All the Wall Street Bankers and especially Goldman Sachs were reporting record earnings and as I recall record bonuses, pay raises and other perks for the deserving CEO’s and other top management wizards.
So now as they are scrambling for government bailouts, yes dropping interest and weakening the dollar (which allows the Chinese and other foreign bankers to buy a larger chunk of Citibank or whoever for less money is a bailout. Be not deceived the interest rate drop and programs to keep poor people in their homes a little longer is not for the sake of the poor homeowners.
There are those too that are not poor but bought on speculation that would default save for some interest and cash flow relief. The difference between them and the poor that will lose their homes a little later is that the speculators now knowing how bad the market is may be able to use the reprieve to bail out of their bad decisions.
This is really just another Enron and corporate accounting scandal in a little different packaging. What the regulators ought to look at are the accounting and consulting firms that flit from client to client telling them how to raise their “earnings” and hence their pay and benefit packages and sell their still management friendly boards of directors on how their performance somehow entitles them to earn as much as athletes and other providers of critically vital services to the American public.
We haven’t heard nor felt the magnitude of the problem yet. But for all of you that were just about back in your retirement account to where you were pre Enron, well you can start over again. You are only seven 6 years closer to retirement than you were last time. But then you always have social security to fall back on don’t you?
And hang onto your socks for the inflation shock yet to come. Who truly believes that Bush put the push on ethanol for energy conservation or independence from foreign oil purposes? What first year econ student could not have forecast the effect on food prices that would result from farmers shifting as much production into corn as possible to sell the ethanol plants. This resulted in shortages of other feed and food crops as well sending up the prices for milk, eggs, beef, pork, chicken and all commodities that use any of those items as components.
Believe me there was big money made as a result of these policy decisions. Couple that with the inflationary effect of the war spending and the weakened dollar and Wallah! You have a rapidly deteriorating economy.
Didn’t someone just recently post on Wallah about the 52 months of growth? About how wonderful the economy was doing. Why were people not giving Bush the credit he is due? Well, step up to the plate Mr. President and acknowledge your accomplishments. The really really scary part is that we are likely still being fed the sugar coated version of the state of the economy. Unless Bush is trying to throw the next election we won’t know the true state of affairs until after he retires to Crawford in 2009.
He probably would have skedaddled over the line into Mexico but he has already burned that bridge. Corn being a mainstay of the Mexican diet, Mexican citizens were among the first to question if Senor Bush and the rest of America had gone loco sticking their food into their cars and trucks instead of drilling for oil in their own country.
Finally the trial balloon floated today for an $800 tax rebate will help who? It certainly isn’t a long-term fix for the average American. It might cover one year’s worth of gas, heat and food inflation but it is not a cure for their economic woes. Maybe some enterprising law firm will offer a flat rate $800 bankruptcy package to solve their longer-term financial problems, you think?
For those that want a regime change, remember it’s the economy stupid. Or maybe, Like Father like son.
That screeching sound and breaking glass is not a pile up on the freeway, it’s all the former supporters of Bush’s economic policy making a u-turn in the middle of the road trying to distance themselves from the pending disaster.
What I haven’t heard is commentary from anyone on either side of the pew regarding the credit crunch and the record earnings of the Wall Street Bankers that was being hailed as a sign of the successful Bush policies. Roll back the calendar a year. All the Wall Street Bankers and especially Goldman Sachs were reporting record earnings and as I recall record bonuses, pay raises and other perks for the deserving CEO’s and other top management wizards.
So now as they are scrambling for government bailouts, yes dropping interest and weakening the dollar (which allows the Chinese and other foreign bankers to buy a larger chunk of Citibank or whoever for less money is a bailout. Be not deceived the interest rate drop and programs to keep poor people in their homes a little longer is not for the sake of the poor homeowners.
There are those too that are not poor but bought on speculation that would default save for some interest and cash flow relief. The difference between them and the poor that will lose their homes a little later is that the speculators now knowing how bad the market is may be able to use the reprieve to bail out of their bad decisions.
This is really just another Enron and corporate accounting scandal in a little different packaging. What the regulators ought to look at are the accounting and consulting firms that flit from client to client telling them how to raise their “earnings” and hence their pay and benefit packages and sell their still management friendly boards of directors on how their performance somehow entitles them to earn as much as athletes and other providers of critically vital services to the American public.
We haven’t heard nor felt the magnitude of the problem yet. But for all of you that were just about back in your retirement account to where you were pre Enron, well you can start over again. You are only seven 6 years closer to retirement than you were last time. But then you always have social security to fall back on don’t you?
And hang onto your socks for the inflation shock yet to come. Who truly believes that Bush put the push on ethanol for energy conservation or independence from foreign oil purposes? What first year econ student could not have forecast the effect on food prices that would result from farmers shifting as much production into corn as possible to sell the ethanol plants. This resulted in shortages of other feed and food crops as well sending up the prices for milk, eggs, beef, pork, chicken and all commodities that use any of those items as components.
Believe me there was big money made as a result of these policy decisions. Couple that with the inflationary effect of the war spending and the weakened dollar and Wallah! You have a rapidly deteriorating economy.
Didn’t someone just recently post on Wallah about the 52 months of growth? About how wonderful the economy was doing. Why were people not giving Bush the credit he is due? Well, step up to the plate Mr. President and acknowledge your accomplishments. The really really scary part is that we are likely still being fed the sugar coated version of the state of the economy. Unless Bush is trying to throw the next election we won’t know the true state of affairs until after he retires to Crawford in 2009.
He probably would have skedaddled over the line into Mexico but he has already burned that bridge. Corn being a mainstay of the Mexican diet, Mexican citizens were among the first to question if Senor Bush and the rest of America had gone loco sticking their food into their cars and trucks instead of drilling for oil in their own country.
Finally the trial balloon floated today for an $800 tax rebate will help who? It certainly isn’t a long-term fix for the average American. It might cover one year’s worth of gas, heat and food inflation but it is not a cure for their economic woes. Maybe some enterprising law firm will offer a flat rate $800 bankruptcy package to solve their longer-term financial problems, you think?
For those that want a regime change, remember it’s the economy stupid. Or maybe, Like Father like son.
Thursday, January 17, 2008
Not one Day as a Judge ever, and why we should keep it that way!
Most of us that aren’t living full time in fantasyland realize that judges usually evolve from the supply of lawyers. Good prosecutors prosecute people accused of committing crimes and good defense attorneys defend people accused of committing crimes. There are countless other areas of legal specialty but because of Mr. McBride’s employment history, we’ll look at these two areas as background for becoming a judge.
It’s unlikely many would argue that either a competent prosecutor or a competent defense attorney should be prohibited from becoming a judge simply because of their past work history.
The issues that should be examined in deciding who would make a good judge should include knowledge of the law, ability to be impartial in deciding cases, a judicial temperament, honesty, integrity. Since judicial positions are supposed to be non-partisan, the ability to follow the law and make impartial decisions is imperative.
How many times have you heard it said that a judge “went native” after they were elected, usually conservatives talking about judges they believe are acting too liberal. Maybe the judges realize that they are no longer in a partisan position and want to be impartial and apply the law rather than advocate their personal beliefs as they had in their previous lives.
You can observe some of this in the current Attorney General. Some of the wingnuts in the Republican party don’t believe JB Van Hollen is being Conservative enough or Republican enough. A couple of local media or media wannabe personalities come to mind on this.
Two fairly reliable indications of how a person will act in the future are what they said and how they acted in the past. Let’s look first at some of the things Bucher said in the past and see if that gives us any insight into how he would act in the future. Then in another session, we’ll examine some of the man’s actions as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney to see what insight that provides.
And it would be nice if the actions mirror the talk, yes?
Paul Bucher circa 2001:
"I can't imagine why they would think it (the Chmura case) would be a negative," Bucher said, insisting that the only feedback he's received has been very positive. "It depends on what spin you want to put on it."
"The party can do what the party wants," Bucher snapped. "I'm going to do what Paul Bucher wants to do."
He didn't return my phone call Monday, but he once made a public point of saying he'd spend the rest of his career "prosecuting bad guys."
I am not only the most experienced attorney you will find on the criminal overtones of running campaigns, but I was also an elected official for 10 terms, never having an opponent!" (Bucher's emphasis) Does this mean he’s NEVER won an election?
He also said. "if you are running for office for your own personal gain, you do not belong in office."
"A lot of people thought I was going to use it as a springboard to something else," he said. "But I kept telling people, 'This is what I want to do.' "
"When we first started to talk to him," Gatzke said, "I asked, 'Are you going to have any difficulty in handling criminal defense matters? He said, 'No.'
There are so many insightful statements made by Bucher that it may take one more posting to give an accurate portrayal of what he said and then a follow up of what he has actually done and in conclusion a reconciliation of talk and walk.
It’s unlikely many would argue that either a competent prosecutor or a competent defense attorney should be prohibited from becoming a judge simply because of their past work history.
The issues that should be examined in deciding who would make a good judge should include knowledge of the law, ability to be impartial in deciding cases, a judicial temperament, honesty, integrity. Since judicial positions are supposed to be non-partisan, the ability to follow the law and make impartial decisions is imperative.
How many times have you heard it said that a judge “went native” after they were elected, usually conservatives talking about judges they believe are acting too liberal. Maybe the judges realize that they are no longer in a partisan position and want to be impartial and apply the law rather than advocate their personal beliefs as they had in their previous lives.
You can observe some of this in the current Attorney General. Some of the wingnuts in the Republican party don’t believe JB Van Hollen is being Conservative enough or Republican enough. A couple of local media or media wannabe personalities come to mind on this.
Two fairly reliable indications of how a person will act in the future are what they said and how they acted in the past. Let’s look first at some of the things Bucher said in the past and see if that gives us any insight into how he would act in the future. Then in another session, we’ll examine some of the man’s actions as a prosecutor and as a defense attorney to see what insight that provides.
And it would be nice if the actions mirror the talk, yes?
Paul Bucher circa 2001:
"I can't imagine why they would think it (the Chmura case) would be a negative," Bucher said, insisting that the only feedback he's received has been very positive. "It depends on what spin you want to put on it."
"The party can do what the party wants," Bucher snapped. "I'm going to do what Paul Bucher wants to do."
He didn't return my phone call Monday, but he once made a public point of saying he'd spend the rest of his career "prosecuting bad guys."
I am not only the most experienced attorney you will find on the criminal overtones of running campaigns, but I was also an elected official for 10 terms, never having an opponent!" (Bucher's emphasis) Does this mean he’s NEVER won an election?
He also said. "if you are running for office for your own personal gain, you do not belong in office."
"A lot of people thought I was going to use it as a springboard to something else," he said. "But I kept telling people, 'This is what I want to do.' "
"When we first started to talk to him," Gatzke said, "I asked, 'Are you going to have any difficulty in handling criminal defense matters? He said, 'No.'
There are so many insightful statements made by Bucher that it may take one more posting to give an accurate portrayal of what he said and then a follow up of what he has actually done and in conclusion a reconciliation of talk and walk.
Sunday, January 13, 2008
Keep the wooden stake and garlic handy
Cindy said, “He won’t be back.” Although we hope she is right another intelligent lady, Dr. Margaret Paul, Ph. D has a theory that should keep us on the lookout.
Dr. Paul is a best selling author and has been counseling individuals since 1973. Dr. Paul’s writings include an interesting article entitled, “Power and Politics - Addiction to Sex and Power?”
It’s an interesting introduction to a theory, other than potential riches through corruption, as to why some individuals can not shake the public servant addiction. Look around and you will see some former politicians that have successfully broken the habit. Others, however, keep coming back for one more run.
Dr. Paul expounds that these individuals are addicted to power, approval, sex, and control.
Since I am linking to her article and giving full credit where credit is due, I hope Dr. Paul won’t mind my inclusion of a few of her truly insightful comments here:
Dr. Paul is a best selling author and has been counseling individuals since 1973. Dr. Paul’s writings include an interesting article entitled, “Power and Politics - Addiction to Sex and Power?”
It’s an interesting introduction to a theory, other than potential riches through corruption, as to why some individuals can not shake the public servant addiction. Look around and you will see some former politicians that have successfully broken the habit. Others, however, keep coming back for one more run.
Dr. Paul expounds that these individuals are addicted to power, approval, sex, and control.
Since I am linking to her article and giving full credit where credit is due, I hope Dr. Paul won’t mind my inclusion of a few of her truly insightful comments here:
Few truly healthy individuals want to put themselves through what a
politician has to go through to run for office - the verbal abuse both given and received, the huge amounts of money spent, the integrity sacrificed through the concessions, lies and manipulations offered in order to win.
Our system of electing our officials is so corrupt that there is
little possibility of attracting a person with a strong, personally responsible, integrious loving Adult.
Few people of integrity are willing to put themselves through what they have to go through to win. This is not to say that none of our elected representatives are honest and caring. There certainly are many, but they are, unfortunately, a minority.
You can see the complete text of Dr. Paul’s article here:
http://www.enotalone.com/article/2784.html
Further Googling on the topic reinforces Dr. Paul’s thoughts on the matter.
Remember, this is an addiction. So keep the wooden stake and garlic handy in case the need arises!
Posted be Seer at 4:45 PM
Thursday, January 10, 2008
How do you define Activist?
And he called Butler an activist ?
This is what Bucher said about Justice Lois Butler when he was mulling a run for the Supreme Court.
Keep these thoughts in mind as you read the next few upcoming posts.
“There’s only one item that’s worth focusing on in this race, and that is judicial philosophy,” Bucher said. “He’s an activist and he’s proud of it.”
This is what Bucher said about Justice Lois Butler when he was mulling a run for the Supreme Court.
Keep these thoughts in mind as you read the next few upcoming posts.
“There’s only one item that’s worth focusing on in this race, and that is judicial philosophy,” Bucher said. “He’s an activist and he’s proud of it.”
Wednesday, January 9, 2008
Back at last, back at last, thank God Almighty she's back at last!
Now that Jessica has apparently risen from the dead after three days, all the nasty, mean uncompassionate liberals can return to trying to make her go away again. What a vicious circle. Let’s revisit the Van Hollen vs. Bucher bout from a different perspective. Why did some staunch conservatives that supported Bucher in his record breaking string of election victories abandon ship and vote for Van Hollen for AG? Apparently there were a lot of you, so hopefully we can garner a comment or two. And thank you Jessica for reminding all the conservatives why they don’t like John McCain in case they forgot.
Tuesday, January 8, 2008
Does history tend to repeat itself?
What quality or qualities of character are most important to you in a candidate for public office ?
Honesty, integrity, leadership skills, wisdom, fairness, benevolence, decisiveness, dependability, discretion, honor, humility, loyalty, obedience, responsibility, self-control, virtue ?
Do you have another quality you feel is paramount or do you ascribe to the more machiavellian theory that all you really need is the appearance of any of those qualities when the public is watching ?
Looking at the list, why do think it was that voters selected Van Hollen over Bucher when in August, 2006 Bucher was so confident he told the media I'm going to win anyways.
Honesty, integrity, leadership skills, wisdom, fairness, benevolence, decisiveness, dependability, discretion, honor, humility, loyalty, obedience, responsibility, self-control, virtue ?
Do you have another quality you feel is paramount or do you ascribe to the more machiavellian theory that all you really need is the appearance of any of those qualities when the public is watching ?
Looking at the list, why do think it was that voters selected Van Hollen over Bucher when in August, 2006 Bucher was so confident he told the media I'm going to win anyways.
Sunday, January 6, 2008
Time to fly
Given the apparent success of Wallah! We thought it was time to dedicate a separate blog to the other half. So this blog inspired by Wallah! {Give credit where credit is due} will follow the wanderings of Mr. McBride rather than his bride.
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