From the press release:

Dave Seager, president of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association expressed support for Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch saying, “Today, we Milwaukee firefighters are proud to announce our endorsement of Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch for the June 5th recall elections. The Lieutenant Governor has consistently stood for the betterment of Wisconsin and has shown great support for us and our fellow first responders across the state. We look forward to seeing a continuation of good things in Wisconsin under the Lt. Governor’s watch.”

Responding to the endorsement, Lieutenant Governor Kleefisch reinforced her commitment to Milwaukee’s firefighters:

“I cannot begin to express my appreciation for the endorsement of the Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association,” stated Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch. “These brave and selfless individuals continually make Wisconsin a safer place for all our citizens. I am honored and humbled by their support, and I look forward to continuing my work to support their efforts and the efforts of all firefighters across Wisconsin.”

Imagine that. Even firefighters prefer Kleefisch over one of their own.

Trivia time: What do Mahlon Mitchell and Rebecca Kleefisch have in common? They both praised Governor Scott Walker for Act 10.

Take for instance the recent news that the state budget is headed towards a surplus again. As I wrote this week for the MacIver Institute, Democrats complained that a budget surplus couldn’t possibly be true, but it is.

The new revenue projections had some Democrats crying foul. Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca called the timing of the announcement “highly suspect,” while Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett’s campaign aide Phil Walzak questioned the accuracy of the projection.

Senator Mark Miller said the projections were “politically timed” and “unusual.” “Not since the 1980s has this information been released before November,” Miller said in a press release.

However, Dale Knapp with the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance told Wisconsin Public Radio that the change from deficit to surplus at this time of year is not unprecedented. Just last year the revenue estimates in May were up to $6 million higher than projected earlier in 2011.

“These again are not big re-estimates, but it puts us back into surplus, and that’s just a function of the fact that we’re carrying very slim deficits, and so we’re moving from one side of the ledger to the other,” he said.

The timing of the announcement also makes sense given the source of the revised projections. According to the letter from Huebsch, general fund revenue collection through April was higher than projected while the amount of refunds were actually lower than projected. Also, the federal Bureau of Economic Analysis issued revised numbers indicating income growth in 2011 was higher than previously thought, as well as stronger growth in employment in the third quarter of 2011. Finally, debt refinancing and structural changes account for $78 million more in savings over the biennium than previously projected.

You’ll be happy to know that not only do Democrats believe in signing recall petitions multiple times, they also believe in signing begging petitions to the DNC multiple times, even if they’re from out of state.

4799. jacqueline w. hughes May 15, 2012 east greenwich, RI
4783. jacqueline w. hughes May 15, 2012 east greenwich, RI

4772. Leonard Desir May 15, 2012 Natick, MA
4757. Leonard Desir May 15, 2012 Natick, MA
5143. Leonard Desir May 15, 2012 Natick, MA

4753. Joseph Clark May 15, 2012 El Monte, CA
5139. Joseph Clark May 15, 2012 El Monte, CA

5121. Paul S Denton May 15, 2012 Barton, VT
5132. Paul S Denton May 15, 2012 Barton, VT

5136. Isaiah Draeger May 15, 2012 Eau Claire, WI
5125. Isaiah Draeger May 15, 2012 Eau Claire, WI

5568. John P. Thibideau May 15, 2012 Revere, MA
5551. John P. Thibideau May 15, 2012 Revere, MA

And these are just a few I found. At times whole sections of the petition seem copied.

67880. David McKown May 15, 2012 Dunedin, FL
67879. Richard Mondy May 15, 2012 Louisville, KY
67878. Frank Wolf May 15, 2012 Los Angeles, CA
As important as this recall is, there is a bigger picture that out-shadows the Scott Walker recall: WE CAN’T LET THESE PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH TAKING AWAY OUR RIGHTS, right from under our very noses!!!
67877. Kathleen Howard May 15, 2012 Akron, OH
67876. Jeff May 15, 2012 Omaha, NE
67875. Jesse Biesanz May 15, 2012 Talent, OR
Recall!

…and then their clones:

67866. David McKown May 15, 2012 Dunedin, FL
67865. Richard Mondy May 15, 2012 Louisville, KY
67864. Frank Wolf May 15, 2012 Los Angeles, CA
As important as this recall is, there is a bigger picture that out-shadows the Scott Walker recall: WE CAN’T LET THESE PEOPLE GET AWAY WITH TAKING AWAY OUR RIGHTS, right from under our very noses!!!
67863. Kathleen Howard May 15, 2012 Akron, OH
67862. Jeff May 15, 2012 Omaha, NE
67861. Jesse Biesanz May 15, 2012 Talent, OR
Recall!

It’s not a bug, it’s a feature! More people signing! I’ve contacted the online petition service and if they reply I will let you know. One other odd feature, sometimes the numbers assigned to the signers switch. You’ll still see them more than once, but they’ll shift to different numbers. Maybe actual assigned numbers are racist or something.

Well, you know what the Democrats say. Sign early, sign often.

However, when it crosses over to setting the yard signs on fire, then we’re dealing with a more serious issue. It’s more than the destruction of a silly little sign. It’s an attempt to intimidate the homeowner and the neighbors. It’s frightening, and it’s meaning is as clear as burning a cross on a lawn (another intimidation technique pioneered by Democrats).

This type of thuggery reminds me of an incident during the recall of Senator George Petak. Large wooden signs supporting Petak were being damaged all over Racine. But the incident that took the prize was the homeowner who discovered that someone in a large truck drove up onto the person’s yard and ran over the sign, destroying it and the lawn in the process.

By the way, does anyone know where Democratic spokesman Graeme Zielinski was when the Walker signs were set on fire? We know Zielinski likes to play with fire. Or is it just American flags he likes to burn?

(By the way, I asked Zielinski and the Democratic Party for a comment on the flag burning and received no reply.)

Looking at the agenda and my flight schedule, they could have booked the conference for Omaha. There won’t be a lot of time for betting on the ponies and somehow the seminar on “election odds for bookies” got cancelled.

For those of you who remember, I attempted to go to this conference two years ago. Then a storm hit. Lake Mighigan decided to replenish itself all at once and flood Milwaukee, cancelling all flights at Mitchell kinda International, including mine. I barely made it back to Waukesha with the kids intact.

I don’t care if the Farmer’s Almanac is predicting the heavy stuff won’t fall until the following week. You should prepare for the worst. I’ve booked a morning flight so you may want to let the office know in advance that you’ll be late that day because of a natural disaster.

Top Wisconsin Democrats are furious with the national party — and the Democratic National Committee in particular — for refusing their request for a major investment in the battle to recall Scott Walker, I’m told.

The failure to put up the money Wisconsin Dems need to execute their recall plan comes at a time when the national Republican Party is sinking big money into defending Walker, raising fears that the DNC’s reluctance could help tip the race his way.

“We are frustrated by the lack of support from the Democratic National Committee and the Democratic Governors Association,” a top Wisconsin Democratic Party official tells me. “Scott Walker has the full support and backing of the Republican Party and all its tentacles. We are not getting similar support.”

“Considering that Scott Walker has already spent $30 million and we’re even in the polls, this is a winnable race,” the Wisconsin Dem continues. “We can get outspent two to one or five to one. We can’t get spent 20 to one.”

Maybe Obama’s people are seeing a trend and they don’t like it. Or maybe the DNC just isn’t interested in sharing any of Obama’s money. (It’s the Chicago way.)

But wait a second. Why do they need all of that money?

According to the Wisconsin Dem, the party has asked the DNC for $500,000 to help with its massive field operation. While the DNC has made generally supportive noises, the money has not been forthcoming, the official says — with less than a month until the June 5th recall election.

But I thought this was entirely an effort of the grass roots? You mean to tell me *gasp* that some of this has been orchestrated by paid professionals?

I mean, it’s hard to tell when you’re looking at Graeme Zielinski and Mike Tate.

(Kevin Binversie has more thoughts on the lack of DNC money in the race.)

Was Obama really less evolved before?

I can just imagine how smug, how superior, the white liberal Carlson felt after drawing this cartoon. Almost as smug as every white liberal felt when they saw the cartoon. But at least minorities now know what white liberals really think of them.

State Representative Andy Jorgensen's Facebook entry 5-14-12

In the middle of the work day, no less.

I wonder what all of his feminist supporters will think of him? Does he swap links with State Representative Gordon Hintz? What a classy bunch over there on the Democratic side.

Congressman Paul Ryan might be a betting man’s bargain as Intrade only has him at 3.1% likely to be the Republican candidate for Vice President.

It’s her day, but … Mom should have plenty of reservations about this ‘treat’

By JAMES WIGDERSON
Thursday, May 10 2007

Consider this my public service announcement to the male of the species. This Sunday is Mother’s Day. No, really, it snuck up on you again.

You probably should’ve gotten a clue when your e-mail in box started getting the florist spam offering huge discounts on floral bouquets that take entire greenhouses to fill. But you didn’t, so consider this your three-day warning.

Fortunately for me, my wife has low expectations for Mother’s Day.

My wife does not believe that breakfast in bed is a reward for Mom. The idea of trying to balance a breakfast tray while the children are bouncing on the bed is horrifying enough. Add the likely quality of the breakfast (scrambled eggs that crunch, cold toast, raw breakfast sausage, nearly fermented orange juice found in the back of the refrigerator) and the food competition with two large dogs, and my wife starts thumbing through Dante’s Inferno to find out in which circle of hell she’s landed.

Then she’ll adjourn to the kitchen to discover Dad and the children had attempted to make chocolate chip pancakes first, but that ended in failure (though it does explain the sugar-wired children with brown faces). The sink is newly filled with more dishes than the mess tent for Patton’s army. The stove has a mixture of instant batter and the eggs from breakfast, mixed with milk and syrup to form a concrete-like substance that might require dynamite.

So the past few years, I’ve made the decision that “the family will take Mom to brunch.” My wife is a good sport and goes along with it, knowing I mean well.

Will I make the reservation ahead of time? No, of course not. So when I tell my wife at 7 a.m. it’s time to get up, I have a ready explanation. “I need your help to get the kids ready for the earlier Mass so we can take you to brunch. We’ll get to the restaurant just in time for it to open so we won’t have to wait for a table.”

My wife knows waking the kids early will only result in them screaming while getting dressed, screaming in the car, screaming through church and then screaming during brunch. They will fall asleep on the way home just long enough to recharge the batteries to prevent a well-deserved nap by Mom later that afternoon.

Of course, Mass runs late and we’re late to the restaurant where we are subjected to a one-hour wait (we’re told a half hour). When we are finally seated, the buffet tables are pointed out for us. And then, quick as a shot, I am up there before my wife can say, “Will you watch the children while I go fix their plates?”

Eventually I come back carrying a plate with enough food to feed the aforementioned Patton’s army, but nothing that would feed Mom or the children.

So my wife makes her way to the buffet that has been well picked over. She manages to find enough fruit and cold cereal to feed the children and returns to the table just in time to see me going back to the buffet for dessert. My wife feeds her children while waiting for me to return.

Upon my triumphant return, THIS time I remember the children and feed them all sorts of sugary sweets while the healthy food Mom picked out gets rudely shoved aside.

My wife is finally allowed to go pick out her breakfast at the buffet that is being cleared away by the wait staff. After fighting with the waitress for the last of the cold scrambled eggs and some undercooked sausage, she returns to her table to discover the children, tired but buzzed on sugar and alternating between yelling and crying, are causing such a ruckus that it is clearly time to go home. And since my wife keeps track of the bills, she gets the “pleasure” of totaling the bill and signing the credit card receipt.

It’s a sign of a strong marriage that she does not take revenge on Father’s Day.