“I have made the case to the speaker and also to the White House that we should take small pieces, small bites,” Kagen said. “In the practice of medicine, I can’t give a child a big pill. What do we do? We cut it up into pieces. Let’s find things we can agree on.”

Kevin Binversie isn’t buying it.

Let’s just go with the facts here shall we?

1) Has Nancy Pelosi listened to Kagen one iota in the past during the health care bill debate?  Um, No.

2) Does it appear that Kagen is trying to cloud the picture as to what is the reconciliation process need to be accomplished (i.e., House passes the Senate bill, President signs it, then a “corrected bill” passes both the House and Senate by simple majority votes)?  Likely.

3) Will Kagen be a “No” vote on what is the first step of reconciliation, which he has said publicly he backs?  That also be a No.

If the reporter, Robert Hornacek of WLUK Fox 11 bought what Kagen spewed, he seriously needs to get his head examined.  When it’s time for the vote, Kagen will be a solid “Yes.”

However, Jay Bullock expressed some concern from the center square,

Pretty much last on my list of possible Wisconsin defectors was Dr. Steve Kagen. Why? When the man courted my endorsement in 2006, he sat across a Starbucks table from me and asserted, flatly, that comprehensive health care reform was his top priority. It was his signature campaign issue. And he was an easy yes vote in the House last year.

So what do I find today? Ugh:

Jay? I wouldn’t suggest using “ugh” when discussing Kagen. It might remind people of, ah, his multi-cultural timekeeping.

Really, though, Jay is right in a way. Whatever voters are going to vote against Kagen because of his vote for health care are not going to switch their votes if he suddenly flip-flops now. Kagen probably knows this, too, and his claim of advising Speaker Pelosi probably has all the substance of his supposed rudeness to former First Lady Laura Bush, or his supposed confrontation of Karl Rove in the bathroom.

But just as there’s massage parlors and spas, there are tattoo parlors and upscale tattoo parlors.

After meeting a friend for burgers for breakfast at Fuzzy’s the other weekend, she suggested I head over to the Waukesha Tattoo Company to check out the free doughnuts.  Okay, the doughnuts and the plans they have for renovation of the location.

I know what you’re thinking.  This is the part where someone kidnaps me, knocks me out cold, and puts a giant Green Bay Packer G on my butt.  Because, of course, that’s where a Green Bay Packer G belongs.  Sorry, I remain unmarked from head to toe.

But I was impressed with the store as it exists now.  Even more impressive are the plans Y.N. George Wang has the renovations.  Wang showed me some of the plans, including the moveable racks he will be using to display art for the art crawls.  This tattoo parlor will not be a complement to the local rooming house, but to the galleries and coffee shops and the art crawls and the live music downtown. Rather than an eyesore and an indicator of blight, the Waukesha Tattoo Company promises to be a welcome addition.

And the doughnuts were pretty good, too.

* By the way, if we’re counting yard signs in the race for mayor, I’m looking forward to Mayor Vitale.  Oh wait, he’s running for re-election as alderman.  Who’s running for mayor again?

Dinner was excellent, and so was the service.  Our waiter, Justin, was great at explaining the menu and in making sure our experience was enjoyable.  The atmosphere was definitely more upscale than Art & Soul, Art Smith’s restaurant in Washington D.C.

They started us with deviled eggs and Art Smith’s Goat Cheese Drop Biscuit.  The biscuit is brought to the table still in the pan and put on the plate by the server.

Then Doreen had the Risotto while I had the lump crab cake as a starter.  The crab cake was excellent with just the right flavor and texture.  My wife swears by the Risotto with the bacon and egg flavoring.  For the main course, I had the jambalaya, really the best jambalaya that I have ever had (and I had some pretty good jambalaya in New Orleans).  Doreen had the scallops that she said were done perfectly.

We ended the meal with dessert.  The Lovely Doreen had the Peanut Butter Crunch and Bitter Chocolate Cake.  It was like a Snickers bar, completely deconstructed and made better.  I had the Hummingbird Cake, which is much bigger than the name implies.  We took most of my cake home for a late night snack.

The experience was worth the drive to Chicago.

The good news is if you fall asleep while reading the document, you don’t have to lift your head when you wake up to finish it.

“It appears that she suffered loss of some fingers,” specifically, all of her thumb and forefinger and parts of her middle and ring fingers, said Capt. Scott Luchterhand.

The woman, identified as Tracy Weiler of Manitowoc, was taken to a hospital in Green Bay, about 40 miles north of Manitowoc, and later transferred to Theda Clark Medical Center in Neenah, he said.

Her boyfriend, Lawrence Bosworth, 51, also of Manitowoc, tried to pry the bear’s mouth off her hand and also was bitten, according to Luchterhand. In his case, the bite did not result in the loss of fingers. He was taken to Aurora Medical Center in Two Rivers, 2 miles from the zoo.

Alcohol was a factor with both adults, according to a news release from Mayor Justin Nickels. (thks: Kevin Binversie)

So how drunk would you have to be to stick your hand in a bear cage, and if you’re that inebriated should you be out in public trying to watch a three-year-old granddaughter? Perhaps the granddaughter was lucky the bears decided to take a taste of the rum-soaked lady fingers before this idiot couple decided to drive the girl home.

Do you think the bears said to themselves afterwards, “The first finger was too chewy, the second finger was too tender, but the third finger was just right.”

Update! On the other hand (heh), these idiots at the Huffington Post should be fed whole to the bears:
“Let all the animals go. It’s good to see the animals taking humans down one by one for there inhumane behavior towards defenseless animals.” -Wakeworld88

…And as for your comment “it’s good to see the animals taking humans down one by one for there inhumane behavior towards defenseless animals”, well, to that I would add even the ones that can defend themselves against unarmed humans.

The carnivores, small and large, have as much right to hunt us as we do them and when they take down one of our kind they should be applauded for having done so without the silly accoutrements of lethal weapons. They did it bare paws and teeth.

Now, if human hunters went up against a bear, deer, elk, moose, tiger, lion or whatever barehanded, ok, then you’ve got me on your side. Otherwise, the wild animals are at a distinct disadvantage. -RasputinsLiver

Wisconsin received a $1,960,526 grant from the federal government to improve the quality of school meals and the administration of the National School Lunch Program (NSLP).

“Providing nutritious meals through the National School Lunch Program is one way to help students concentrate on their studies so they can graduate with the knowledge and skills needed to be successful in the workforce or further education,” said State Superintendent Tony Evers. “This grant will help the Department of Public Instruction work with schools in the program to meet the sometimes complex reporting requirements for participation.”

So the federal government is giving a grant to a state to help local school districts comply with the complex requirements of a federal program, rather than just making the federal program requirements simpler. This is considered a victory by State Superintendent for Department of Public Instruction Tony Evers, who starts the press release, “Providing nutritious meals through the National School Lunch Program is one way to help students concentrate on their studies…” Even if we concede the point, how does a federal program that is so complex that it actually requires more federal money to explain it help a student in the classroom?

Maybe the following video will help explain:

Salmon With Wisconsin Parmesan Horseradish Crust And Dijon Cream

No. of Servings: 6
Ingredients:
Salmon:
1 1/2 cups Italian-seasoned dry breadcrumbs
1 cup (about 4 ounces) Wisconsin grated Parmesan cheese
1/2 cup prepared horseradish
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons dry Cajun seasoning mixture
6 salmon fillets (6-8 ounces each)
Dijon Cream:
1 1/2 cups heavy cream
1 1/2 tablespoons Dijon mustard
Salt and ground white pepper
Cooking Directions:
Preheat oven to 400°F.
In bowl, combine breadcrumbs, cheese, horseradish, olive oil, and seasoning; mix well. Pat 1/2 cup of seasoned crumb mixture on top of each salmon fillet to completely cover the top. Bake the crusted fillets for 15 to 18 minutes or until cooked through.
While the salmon is cooking, prepare the Dijon cream.
In heavy-gauge saucepan, boil cream over low heat until it is reduced to approximately 3/4 cup. Stir in Dijon mustard and season with salt and white pepper. Serve each fillet with 2 tablespoons of the Dijon cream drizzled over the top.

The US Department of Education had the opportunity today to send a clear signal–that the Race to the Top is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity, that very good wouldn’t be good enough, that only the biggest and boldest plans would merit consideration.

Instead, the administration accepted 15 states and Washington, DC–nearly 1/3 of all applicants–as finalists.

The list includes Kentucky, a state with no charter law and New York, which brashly rejected reform legislation–including a critical cap lift provision–in advance of the deadline. It includes Colorado, which backed off of important reforms related to teachers, and Ohio, whose proposal was weak in a number of areas.

Congress is killing the school choice program Washington D.C., so of course it made the list.

I suppose we should not be surprised that Illinois made the list.

Illinois Gov. Pat Quinn released a statement in response to the announcement.

“A fulfilling and top-notch education for all Illinois students is our No. 1 priority, and we are in a great position to take full advantage of this federal funding,” Quinn said in a prepared statement.

Maybe we should have wrapped our application in a $20 bill.