Bragging on Sen. Mary Lazich

Blowing the dust off this place to share a story with any of you that might actually still read my ramblings about a recent experience with the DMV, and the action taken by my state senator, Mary Lazich, to make things right.

Yesterday (Monday), I went to get my most recently purchased car titled in my name and to have the plates transferred so they would track back to the car. Not trusting the DMV any farther than I can throw them (after having to deal with the aftermath of their ineptitude many times in the past), I decided it would be best to take care of all this in person, in spite of the $5 counter service fee. When my number was called, I went up to the window to conduct my business and get the car titled and registered. Now, here's where things get interesting. I live in the city of Franklin, but because of the way the USPS handles things, the mail goes through Milwaukee, and so when my address is standardized by their computers, it comes up as Milwaukee. As a result, when I went to the DMV's website to put in my change of address after moving, I tried putting in Franklin just to see what would happen, and the site kicked it back out, and would only accept my address when I put in Milwaukee as the city. No big deal, except that the city of Milwaukee charges a $20 wheel tax, which I have no intention of paying, as I don't owe it. All of that to say, on my title application, I put in my city as Milwaukee, but filled in the line on the form specifying that the car is kept in the city of Franklin (and therefore not subject to the wheel tax). The clerk at the counter called this into question, which would have been fine had he not been so rude about it, even after I tried to explain to him that if he put my application into his computer and put in Franklin for the city, it would be kicked back out. He didn't care about that, insisted that it had to be one or the other, and put the city in as Milwaukee without entering in the information about the car being kept in the city of Franklin, and accused me of trying to avoid paying the wheel tax. He was right about that, but he thought I was trying to do something illegal. Needless to say, seeing as he ultimately works for me, I wasn't pleased about the treatment I received. When I got home, I emailed the DMV as well as Mary Lazich's office to tell them about my experience. Fast forward to today (Tuesday). I got a call from the state Department of Transportation. Sen. Lazich (or someone from her office) got in touch with the DOT, told them what happened, and the DOT called to let me know that they had entered into their system that my car is in fact kept in Franklin, and therefore not subject to the wheel tax, which they tell me will not be added to my renewal next year.

Long story short, I'm still not pleased with the way I was treated by the DMV (although the DOT tells me that my complaint was forwarded to the supervisor at the office I went to), but I'm very pleased that Sen. Lazich's office took action on my behalf to make things right. She has definitely won my vote for re-election.

I Will Not Buy Another Frommer's Travel Guide

Because Arthur Frommer thinks that people who legally carry guns are "thugs".

Hat tip Fox News

Political Triage

Verum Serum has a great post up on the current political salvos from the Obama administration; Justice Sotomayer, the energy bill, and health care reform. Boiled down, it looks like this:
-Sotomayer: let it go. We're not going to win this one, and it's not going to change the balance on the Supreme Court.
-Cap and Trade: make them wait. If Obama and the Democrats have to wait, we can focus on the most pressing matter (below), and the whole thing will (ideally) get the media attention it deserves, making people realize that it's a disaster.
-Health Care Bill: oppose the "public option." This thing is a huge disaster, not to mention a back door to government-run healthcare. This is the big one, and we need to make sure it doesn't happen.

This is just the bullet points; go read the whole thing. It's worth it.

Federal Judge Rules Wisconsin's Minimum Markup Law Unconstitutional

The story from Fox 6 Now, handed down in a suit filed by Flying J of Utah, which operates travel plazas in Oak Creek and Black River Falls. I don't doubt that this will be appealed, but here's hoping this law finally gets taken off the books.

Feb 3, 1959: The Day The Music Died

I make no claims to the accuracy of the information in this video, but it is interesting to read about some of what Don McLean might have been saying. The song American Pie is thought to be a coded history of American rock music, and the way it changed after Buddy Holly died. It's one of my all time favorites.

If you're interested, you can read the annotated commentary on the song, culled from various newsgroup discussions. Again, I can't guarantee that this is accurate, but it's one of the best interpretations/rundowns of the song that I've seen.

Hat tip to Thoughtful Conservative for the link to the Fox News article.

Obama's "We Can't Keep Our Homes at 72 Degrees All The Time" Statement Expires

I'll call the official expiration date as this past Wednesday, as that is when this article appeared in the New York Times, where Obama's chief of staff, David Axelrod, states that Obama is from Hawai'i, and likes it warm, going so far as to say "you could grow orchids in there."

Obama is the same man who, while on the campaign trail, told us we can't keep our houses at 72 degrees all the time and expect the rest of the world to be OK with it, and even said "that's not leadership."

Anyone have the current expired promise count?

Hat tip Not Evil Just Wrong, via Facebook

I've Always Wanted to Be a Spy!

Your International Spy Name is Viper Sparks

Your Code Name: Timberwolf You Reside in: Rome Why You're a Good Spy: You're good with gadgets

What's Your International Spy Name?

Hat tip Rustmeister

Obamamania Has Officially Gone Overboard

As evidenced by the Chia Obama. That is, of course, to say nothing of the Barack Obama Action Figure.

H/T marko

Obama Freezes Some White House Salaries

Saying "families are tightening their belts, and so should Washington," President Barack Obama is freezing the salaries of about 100 White House aides who make more than $100,000 per year, according to Yahoo! News. For as much as I disagree with Obama, this is something I can agree with. Lets hope the cuts and spending freezes keep coming.

H/T: Terrace Crawford (via Twitter)

House Joint Resolution 5

When I got on Facebook tonight upon getting home from work, I had a cause invitation from a friend to join a cause he had created, opposing House Joint Resolution 5. Being intrigued, I followed the link, and not wanting to be taken in by something that was not in fact real, I did some digging. Rest assured, this is very real, and very scary. Here's the breakdown, with a little constitutional history lesson thrown in for good measure:

The 22nd Amendment (link will take you to the Wikipedia article) states that a president may not serve more than two terms, consecutive or not, unless the president took over for someone else, and has served more than two years of that person's term as president, in which case the person that took over can only be elected to the presidency once, and cannot be re-elected. I highly recommend reading the Wikipedia article.

A search of the Library of Congress' aptly named Thomas site brings up House Joint Resolution 5, sponsored by Democratic Rep. Jose Serrano of New York, currently under consideration by the House Judiciary Committee. The purpose of this resolution is to repeal the 22nd amendment, thereby making it possible for a president to serve as many terms as he or she can be elected to, much the way FDR was, who, by the way, was elected to his fourth term in 1944 and died in office in 1945.

Long story short, if this thing goes all the way, Obama (or anyone else, really), could keep being perpetually re-elected. I don't care who's in office; the 22nd Amendment serves a purpose and needs to stay. As Jefferson said (with apologies for my updated take), if that happens, POTUS could be for life, and would become an inheritance, not an elected position, which flies in the face of why we started this nation all those years ago. We elect a president, not a king.

As of right now, I've sent an email off to my representative (Paul Ryan), and I'm hoping to hear back from him soon. I've also joined the cause on Facebook; if you'd like to do the same, click the link below. I plan to fight this every step of the way and make sure this doesn't happen.

I guess now we know where Obama's "eight to ten years" statement comes into play, eh? (Assuming that one hasn't reached its expiration date)

UPDATE: Join the Cause "Americans Against H. J. Res. 5" on Facebook

Rewriting History

At least, that's what Independent senator Bernie Sanders is trying to do, asking the Smithsonian National Portrait Gallery to change the text accompanying a picture of George W. Bush. Ironically (second time we've run into that today), he wants it changed to avoid what he calls "rewriting history," but that's exactly what he's trying to do. He objects to the inference that the September 11th attacks led to the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, of which Sanders is a vocal opponent. The problem is, it's the truth. These wars have been and are being fought as part of the ongoing War on Terror, which was sparked by 9/11.

Weird News Today

Not sure if this will become a regular feature here at According to Coop, but I ran across a couple of stories on Fox News that I simply had to share.

First, a charity for sexual abuse victims in Alaska had a raffle recently, and the winner (no joke) was a convicted sex offender. I believe that is the definition of "irony."

Second, a couple in Normal, IL, had a wedding that was anything but when they said "I do" at Taco Bell.

You just can't make this stuff up.