Spike,

"Central City City manager Alan Lanning had taxpayers pay for his round of golf, saying it was ‘absolutely’ a business function."

A statement released by the city government late Friday said Knabel was "the catalyst behind a significant cultural shift within the organization, bringing customer service to the forefront of city government."

We don't want any customer service here. Never had it. Don't need it now.

HM

This makes it a real hard choice to narrow the field. One candidate wants to golf and another wants to work at improving customer service.

BTW - Great job from the consultants. They can really pick 'em. Makes you wonder what their credentials are.

Spike

Spike,



"Curfew. It had to be curfew. I would guess AD Vertiser Publisher Steve Delaney has a rule that all writers have to be back in the office by curfew with or without the story."

Did you stop to think about child labor regulations? There are special rules concerning Journalism interns under 16 years of age. Jimmy Olson may have been facing a big freshman English test the next day.

Lois

‘Maybe This Is the Way You Do Things in Idaho or Wherever You’re From’

How Else Are You Supposed to Treat a Liar?

"Attorney General Eric Holder castigated an Idaho congressman while testifying before the House Oversight Committee Thursday, accusing him of committing one of the “worst things I think I’ve ever seen in Congress.”

...There’s a whole bunch of things that I could say about what you just did, maybe this is the way you do things in Idaho or wherever you’re from,” Holder said. “But understand something — I‘m proud of the work that I’ve done as attorney general of the United States, and looked at fairly, I think that I’ve done a pretty good job.”

David and Charles Koch have been the targets of a campaign of vituperation and assault, choreographed from the very top

"How would you feel if aides to the president of the United States singled you out by name for attack, and if you were featured prominently in the president's re-election campaign as an enemy of the people?

What would you do if the White House engaged in derogatory speculative innuendo about the integrity of your tax returns? Suppose also that the president's surrogates and allies in the media regularly attacked you, sullied your reputation and questioned your integrity. On top of all of that, what if a leading member of the president's party in Congress demanded your appearance before a congressional committee this week so that you could be interrogated about the Keystone XL oil pipeline project in which you have repeatedly—and accurately—stated that you have no involvement?"

How would I feel, I feel like spending my money making sure Obama is sent home to Chicago.

Spike

Spike,

I read in the Gate City that Governor Branstad visited Siemens last Friday after his visit to Pinnacle Foods. What is interesting is that no local newspaper covered his visit. No story, no photos.

I see the Burlington paper had a write up on the Pinnacle visit but there wasn't any mention of Siemens. Did the Burlington paper even send someone to report on these events or did Rex Troute just add his name to someone else's story?

WR

Curfew. It had to be curfew. I would guess AD Vertiser Publisher Steve Delaney has a rule that all writers have to be back in the office by curfew with or without the story. No overtime. At least the Gate City mentioned the Governor's visit. Or maybe Troute had laundry to do or write a story of life on the farm for his business column.

And from the looks of last week's Tuesday and Wednesday ad content, it's only a matter of time before curfew will no longer be an issue.

Spike

Spike,

"Enter Steve Sheffler, head of Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and Republican National Committeeman. During the course of this year’s Iowa caucus process, he walked into my mother’s office. He gave the same pitch and asked for 20k. My mom was a little hesitant. He then said that “she would make a great delegate to the national convention.”

The Borgia Popes sold indulgences. Look what Iowa's Republican National Committeeman/President of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition is reputed to be selling.

Will Satan's business partner, Ralph Reed, get a piece of the action from selling delegate positions?

M L

Spike,

"Monday's session was closed to evaluate the competency of applicants without "needless and irreparable injury to that individual's reputation" and at their request, as per Iowa Code Chapter 21."

Applying for the job of Burlington City Manager means one is desperate, incompetent, incontinent, or all of the aforementioned.

Knuckles

Only in Burlington do the candidates for city manager slide into town under the cloak of misinterpreted law to avoid the stench of association.

That's how 5th Choice Doug Worden slid into the seat.

Spike

Local Effort to Keep Pace With Sister City - East St. Louis

Spike:

Violent Crime

U.S. Median rate 4.5
Burlington rate 7.45
Iowa rate 2.86

Property Crime

U.S. Median rate 32.1
Burlington rate 42.51
Iowa rate 24.41

A person has a 1 in 20 chance of being a victim of a violent or property crime in Burlington.

The Burlington rate for crime is 97% higher than the cities and towns of all sizes in Iowa.

Source of this information.

We should also recall that Burlington is Iowa's third worst city for crime behind Davenport #2 and Keokuk #1.

Doesn't say much about life in Burlington, I wonder if this has anything to do with the failure of the city to attract new industry or other jobs from coming to Burlington.

The schools are also a mirror image of the crime rate because many student can't read or do simple math. The high school has a very poor showing and has been on probation for 7 and 5 years in math and reading.

What a town and what a ranking putting it on a par with East St. Louis our sister city.

HD

"West made the comments during a speech at a Palm Beach County GOP event in West Palm Beach.

“This is a battlefield that we must stand upon. And we need to let President Obama, Harry Reid, Nancy Pelosi and my dear friend, chairman of the Democrat National Committee, we need to let them know that Florida ain’t on the table,” West said.

The audience was booing by the time West got to Pelosi’s name.

“Take your message of equality of achievement, take your message of economic dependency, take your message of enslaving the entrepreneurial will and spirit of the American people somewhere else,” he continued. “You can take it to Europe, you can take it to the bottom of the sea, you can take it to the North Pole, but get the hell out of the United States of America.”

Obama Circumvents Congress With 'Executive Agreement'

White House bypasses Senate to ink agreement that could allow Chinese companies to demand ISPs remove web content in US with no legal oversight

"Months before the debate about Internet censorship raged as SOPA and PIPA dominated the concerns of web users, President Obama signed an international treaty that would allow companies in China or any other country in the world to demand ISPs remove web content in the US with no legal oversight whatsoever.

The Anti-Counterfeiting Trade Agreement was signed by Obama on October 1 2011, yet is currently the subject of a White House petition demanding Senators be forced to ratify the treaty. The White House has circumvented the necessity to have the treaty confirmed by lawmakers by presenting it an as “executive agreement,” although legal scholars have highlighted the dubious nature of this characterization."

Mindlessly Trolling for Votes

Spike,

"I'm not naïve (sic) enough to think this governor will ever sign it," Courtney said. "But if I can get it out now, and people can get a look at it, this governor won't be around forever. Maybe I can get it passed and get it signed."

People should be paid are they are worth, not what Senator thinks it will take to buy his re-election.

Senator Courtney is no bargain. Voters must make certain Senator Courtney is no longer around after next November.

Cabot Emptor

Courtney will be grasping for anything larger than a toothpick and far more crooked.

Spike

Obama Admin Announces More Loans

“The company, Ener1, received a $118 million grant from DOE [Department of Energy] in 2010 as part of the president’s stimulus package,” writes the Heritage Foundation’s Lachlan Markay. “The money, which went to Ener1 subsidiary EnerDel, aimed to promote renewable energy storage battery technology for electrical grid use.”

Today, Ener1 announced it was filing for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.

Despite the generous federal support Ener1 received (Vice President Biden even visited Ener1, January 26, 2011, the day after the President pledged in his State of the Union address to put “one million advanced technology vehicles on the road by 2015” with the help of taxpayer funding), and like several other now-bankrupt energy companies, Ener1 was “racked by problems.”

Spike,

"The US Federal Bureau of Investigation is looking for a tool to mine social media for intelligence tips."

Holding public office and driving while intoxicated is not a federal offense. Neither is holding public office while grossly ignorant and/or incompetent.

Will the FBI spooks monitor Derailed?

Clyde Tolson

They're trailing everyone.........

Spike

‘Real News From The Blaze’ Breaks It Down For You

Where's Valerie Jarrett or That Mad Black Woman?



Arizona Governor Jan Brewer traded words with President Obama after she greeted him at a Phoenix airport Wednesday.

Brewer and Obama "spoke intensely for a few minutes" after he landed at Phoenix-Mesa Gateway Airport, according to a White House pool report. At one point, the GOP governor shook her finger at the president.

"He was a little disturbed about my book," Brewer told a reporter after the incident, referring to her political memoir, "Scorpions for Breakfast." In the book, Brewer depicted Obama as "patronizing" during an earlier meeting.

"I said to him that I have all the respect in the world for the office of the president," Brewer said. "The book is what the book is. I asked him if he read the book. He said he read the excerpt. So."

Brewer said Obama told her "that he didn't feel I had treated him cordially."

"Because of your history with Speaker Gingrich, what goes through your mind when you think of the possibility, which is more real today than it was a week or a month ago, that he would be the Republican nominee and that you could come back here next January or next February with a President Gingrich?”

To which the Minority Leader responded, “Let me just say this. That will never happen.”

When asked why, Pelosi elaborated, “He’s not going to be President of the United States. That’s not going to happen. Let me just make my prediction and stand by it, it isn’t going to happen.”

“Why are you so sure?” King pressed.

“There is something I know. "

Me, too. You're a pathetic has been and no new haircut will cover the treasonous nature of your very criminal fabric.

Spike,

"On Feb. 18, 1924 the caucus was called for the Republican Party to elect delegates for the county convention. This was before many people on the inside were aware of how extensive the Klan movement had grown. They were in for a great surprise. No sooner had the caucus been called to order by the county chairman and the temporary organization named, than someone arose to substitute the proposals with one of his own, with a different chairman.

An effort was made to have regular procedure followed by which the permanent organization and the naming of delegates to the state convention were done by committees chosen by the precincts. The dissenters proclaimed that this was to be a people’s convention. A new chairman was elected. The effectiveness of this quiet work was seen when the vote was 151 for the Klan sponsored chairman and 57 against. The caucus had been stacked with Klan supporters. The new chairman later pulled a paper from his pocket and proceeded to read off the committee lists."

"One early supporter of McDonald and the Klan, was the Rev. J. Roy Wright, who had been pastor of the Centerville Church of Christ since 1920. He was a dynamic minister, attracting record crowds. He stated, “The Klan is not made up of cowards, but of brave men who have tolerance in their hearts for others. The Klan is not an organization of hate. It is an organization of love and has no quarrel with any man because of his race, color, religion or politics."

Way down south in the State of Iowa, not Dixie.

Set up your own group defending "Americanism." Gather your flock of the fooled. Collect dues and encourage donations.

Wave about symbols of nationalism and the dominant faith. Those different from your crew who do not attend the church of your choice need not apply. Issue smiley face proclamations from a friendly pulpit to detract from your true intentions.

Say you are defending America's traditional values. Say you are serving the Lord. Scare to action that small faction of the unthinking frightened. Scare them so they will do and vote as you say. Tell them your way is the only way for the salvation of the nation and more importantly themselves.

Take over an existing political organization. Do it to increase your own personal power and wealth.

"Anti-Klan forces, 100 people strong, finally held a meeting on March 13, 1925 and formed the Lincoln League in an attempt to restore normalcy to Centerville. The American newspaper wasn’t told about the meeting. The League’s platform affirmed principles of liberty, equality and justice embodied in the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution of the U.S and Iowa. They declared for friendship and good will among all citizens regardless of race, color, religion or politics. They favored strict enforcement of the law and efficient business administration."

Informed, independent thinking people organized and turned the tide against those whose belief in America's founding principles was only symbolic. It was nothing new. History repeats itself.

People in Iowa who know what is going on and think for themselves need to organize and take an interest once again. It is the only way to keep those malicious and ambitious from achieving power to serve their unholy ends.

RR

Spike,

A lot people are probably aware of the national uproar over the 4 missing precincts from the Lee county GOP that couldn't be verified for the Iowa caucus count. If you go to the numbers provided by the Iowa GOP it shows that the missing precincts would have meant 25 more votes for Rick Santorum had they been turned in.

Compare this with the comments from the Lee county chair in an article by Radio Iowa about the whole mess.

"A Form “E” from each of Iowa’s 1774 precincts was to be sent to Iowa Republican Party headquarters in Des Moines by the close of business this Wednesday and used to “certify” the results of the Caucuses. Lucas, a backer of Mitt Romney, is no fan of having Rick Santorum declared the winner of the Caucuses.

“Romney fairly and squarely won the state of Iowa by eight votes,” Lucas said. “But when they recounted all their papers and stuff like this and stuff like that, they’re saying now he lost by 34.”

Lucas suggested party officials at the state level should be more concerned about electing Republicans in Iowa and less concerned about the “hype” of choosing a president."

Sounds to me like the chair was a big time Romney fan who didn't want certain votes to count. There needs to be a serious investigation into this and if it washes out, get rid of this joker before he runs the party into the ground.

NM

Spike,

"Trousil said he prefers the version of property tax reform the Senate passed in 2011 than the version the House passed. Sands said that's because the Senate version does not affect cities and counties, but also does not stop shifting the burden to other taxpayers."

Hand outs Hans is unhappy. Giving Tax increment Funding to any venture that comes along is causing West Burlington to suffer.

West Burlington's Schools are being under funded. West Burlington's infrastructure such as sewers is being under funded. All crumbles as taxes go up residential property and older, established businesses.

Hans Trousil is not the only Mayor to abuse TIFs. Many other Iowa cities have done the same. The Iowa Legislature is looking into stopping TIF abuse.

Hans wants to blame the Legislature for his folly. When will West Burlington voters see through Mayor Trousil and vote him out?

Ed Norton

Spike,

"Some Chevrolet dealers are turning down Volts that General Motors wants to ship to them, a potential stumbling block as GM looks to accelerate sales of the plug-in hybrid."

Q: How do you start a fire without a match?
A: Rub two Volts together.

Q: How do you turn a Chevy Vega into a Chevy Volt?
A: Put an electrical cord on it.

The Chevrolet Vega is often cited as General Motors earliest obvious sign of serious decline. Now that Chevrolet is a division of Government Motors, behold the Volt.

GNU