Burlington Derailed � The Continuing Story

Job Numbers Explained

Sun, 5 Feb 2012 11:56:59 -0500

Burlington IA City Manager Applicants Line Up

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:55:00 -0500

Speaking of City Manager Candidates

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:46:00 -0500

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

Have Nash - Will Travel (with learner's permit)

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:43:00 -0500

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

Holder Berates Rep. During Hearing

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:31:00 -0500

�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.�

Obama's Enemies List

Fri, 3 Feb 2012 05:23:00 -0500

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

Governor Visits Siemens But Local Newspapers Ignore It

Thu, 2 Feb 2012 05:29:00 -0500

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

Is Satan Steve Scheffler Selling Republican National Delegate Slots?

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 13:25:35 -0500

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

The Shame of Burlington

Wed, 1 Feb 2012 13:15:00 -0500

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

Your Choice

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:54:07 -0500

Crime In Burlington

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:34:00 -0500

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

Allen West to Obama, Reid, Pelosi: �Get the Hell Out of the United States of America�

Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:29:00 -0500

"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 Signs Global Internet Treaty Worse Than SOPA - Without Congress

Sat, 28 Jan 2012 01:45:15 -0500

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."

A Dime An Hour Mind Is No Bargain

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:40:00 -0500

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

Another Gov�t-Funded Energy Co. Goes Under

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:33:00 -0500

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.�

Are G Men Trailing Derailed?

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:31:00 -0500

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

Google�s New Privacy Policy�Breaches Your Privacy

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0500

�Real News From The Blaze� Breaks It Down For You

Arizona Governor Jan Brewer & Obama Face Off Over Book, Immigration Issues

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:36:00 -0500

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."

Warren: I'd Like to Teach The World to Sing

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:04:00 -0500

Nancy Botox "I Know Something You Don't Know"

Thu, 26 Jan 2012 04:57:00 -0500

"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.

When Crosses Afire Lit the Cornfields

Wed, 25 Jan 2012 05:33:00 -0500

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

Four Sheets of Paper - Four Sheets to the Wind

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:43:00 -0500

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

TIF Trauma Trousil

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:39:00 -0500

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

Obama's Edsel

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:26:00 -0500

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

Why Apple Doesn�t Make the iPhone in America

Tue, 24 Jan 2012 05:13:00 -0500

Cheaper Labor? No!

America Lost Its Grove? Yes!

Scale of Production, Supply Chain Solutions & Lots of Workers - Yes!

"During that infamous Silicon Valley dinner with Barack Obama, the POTUS asked Steve Jobs, "what would it take to make iPhones in the United States? ...Why can�t that work come home? Mr. Obama asked.

Mr. Jobs�s reply was unambiguous. �Those jobs aren�t coming back."

...Apple had redesigned the iPhone�s screen at the last minute, forcing an assembly line overhaul. New screens began arriving at the plant near midnight.

A foreman immediately roused 8,000 workers inside the company�s dormitories, according to the executive. Each employee was given a biscuit and a cup of tea, guided to a workstation and within half an hour started a 12-hour shift fitting glass screens into beveled frames. Within 96 hours, the plant was producing over 10,000 iPhones a day."

Since 2007 they have built over 200 million iPhones.

..."Another critical advantage for Apple was that China provided engineers at a scale the United States could not match. Apple�s executives had estimated that about 8,700 industrial engineers were needed to oversee and guide the 200,000 assembly-line workers eventually involved in manufacturing iPhones. The company�s analysts had forecast it would take as long as nine months to find that many qualified engineers in the United States.�

In China, it took 15 days."

This is a must read. There is more to the story than the perspective of a community organizer that doesn't understand business or global economics.

Ethanol Asininity Abounds

Sat, 21 Jan 2012 08:09:28 -0500

Spike,

"A commercial-scale plant to make biofuels from Benton and Linn County trash is poised to become reality with a $25 million USDA loan guarantee announced today.

Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack announced that the agency has approved the $25 million conditional loan commitment to Maryland-based Fiberight LLC and Fiberight Blairstown Operating LLC for their plant in Blairstown."

Ethanol is soused with subsidies. Cellulose ethanol has an even more checkered record. None the less, cut the checks.

Where no private venture capital would sanely tread, draw on a government account. Tell taxpayers it will create jobs. If will not support itself, so what. If it goes belly up, so what. It is not real money. It is tax money.

Have a shot of something new; wood alcohol. Guaranteed to keep taxpayers blind.

Snuffy

TIF Debt Strangles Communities

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:56:00 -0500

"New development has Iowa cities' debt piling up"

West Burlington Buried in TIF Debt - Likely in Top 10

Register Chart Fails to Compare Ratio of Debt to Tax Revenues

"Iowa cities are going deeper and deeper into long-term debt to jump-start development, state statistics show.

City officials spent about $350 million in tax dollars in 2010 paying off or acquiring new long-term debt under the state�s tax increment financing law, according to the most recent data available from the state�s nonpartisan Legislative Services Agency.

Iowa cities owed a total of almost $2.1 billion for more than 1,500 ongoing tax increment financing projects, led by top borrowers Des Moines, Coralville and Altoona.

The new numbers underscore a growing controversy surrounding part of an urban renewal law on the books since the 1960s that legislators of both parties say is being abused."

What is missing is the comparison of TIF financing dollars to tax revenue. West Burlington would probably place in the Top 10 of Disproportionate TIF Dysfunction.

Spike

Look to the East for Your Rights to Be Least

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:45:00 -0500

Spike,

"Dodd clearly can�t distinguish the difference between censorship and web sites that engage in Internet piracy. And it�s interesting that Dodd would use the Chinese government as an example in his effort to get SOPA and PIPA passed."

"Dodd's retirement comes after months of speculation about his political future, and amid faltering polling numbers and a growing sense among the Democratic establishment that he could not win a sixth term."

Former Democrat U. S. Senator from Connecticut, Christopher Dodd, did not seek re-election under an ethical cloud. This does not mean Dodd went home in disgrace. Dodd got a great paying job as a lobbyist. A member of the top 1% elite, Dodd advocate's the Communist Chinese approach to control copyright infringement on the internet.

If all it takes is a complaint, Burlington's City Hall and union halls will be on the horn to Washington every morn. Shut down Burlington Derailed.

If Dodd has his and his paymasters way, the First Amendment will be blown away.

GN

Beck Explains Why You Should Be Worried About SOPA and PIPA

Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:09:00 -0500

Forget Government Took Down Megaupload.com With Existing Laws

"On Wednesday evening, with Wikipedia still under its blackout to protest the House of Representatives� Stop Online Piracy Act (SOPA) and the Senate�s Protect Intellectual Property Act (PIPA), Glenn Beck shared with GBTV viewers what the proposed legislation is really all about.

As Beck points out, who wouldn�t want to stop piracy or protect property that belongs to someone else? According to Beck, we should of course want to uphold values that prevent online stealing and protects the copyright of others. �But that�s not the problem,� he says. �The solution is the problem.�

If There Ever Was a Reason

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 10:48:47 -0500

If there was ever a reason Iowa could give the nation why it should not be first in the political process, the blundered mess of the caucus count is enough to be banned from any future political process.

This is a monumental embarrassment for Iowans and a striking indicator of blatant incompetence.

Spike

Santa Claus is Not Coming to Our Town

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 05:41:00 -0500

Spike,

"The president will discuss proposals from Tuesday�s address in Cedar Rapids, Iowa, and Phoenix on Wednesday, and in Las Vegas and Denver on Thursday. On Friday, Obama will make remarks in Detroit."

It looks like Kenyan in Chief is coming to Iowa. Scheduled to soon speak in Detroit, his coming to Burlington would be redundant.

Spike, will you be traveling north on US 218 to provide live coverage?

Donner

Norton User? You Might Want to Rethink That - Symantec backtracks, admits own network hacked

Thu, 19 Jan 2012 04:46:00 -0500

Warns pcAnywhere users they face increased risk

Confirms theft of source code of prominent consumer program

"Symantec today backed away from earlier statements regarding the theft of source code of some of its flagship security products, now admitting that its own network was compromised.

In a statement provided to the Reuters news service, the security software giant acknowledged that hackers had broken into its network when they stole source code of some of the company's software.

Previously, Symantec had denied that its own network had been breached, and instead pointed fingers at an unnamed "third party entity" as the attack's victim. Evidence posted by a hacker nicknamed "Yama Tough" -- a self-proclaimed member of a gang calling itself "Lords of Dharmaraja" -- indicated that the information was obtained from a server operated by the Indian government."

A trusted alternative - Vipre.

Make it so #1.

Big Obama Is Watching

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:47:00 -0500

Spike,

"It's unclear exactly why, but the Department of Homeland has been operating a "Social Networking/Media Capability" program to monitor the top blogs, forums and social networks online for at least the past 18 months."

Big Brother is monitoring the web for any who fail to love him. Burlington Derailed was not on Big Brother's list. Big Brother has little brothers.

Are local little brothers watching? They must be. If City Hall, or the Iowa Senate Government Oversight Committee office see anything of interest they will pass it along.

BB

We've had Big Brother on site for a long time from every dark group the U.S. has in its arsenal. Mostly because of these two IAAP Supergun images.

Great use of resources.

Spike

Russian Snowboarding Crow

Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 -0500

"Research has shown crows can use tools to obtain food, but footage captured by a Russian family has shown a fun-loving bird using a jar lid for something altogether different.

The jackdaw is seen taking advantage of the chilly winter weather to snowboard repeatedly down the roof of a home using a round jar lid.

The enterprising bird successfully slides down the roof before picking up the lid and returning to the top to try again.

The second time around the jackdaw slides over a bare patch of roof and quickly realises the snow provides much less friction than roof tiles."

Ad Vertiser�s Jermaine Pigee Nominated for Pulitzer

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:45:00 -0500

Pigee Shovels Major Load of SCC Beverly Simone�s Crap

I have no doubts that the Pulitzer nominating committee will be soon seeing an application for Jermaine Pigee�s wrap-up of SCC�s Beverly Simone�s boundless pile of superfluous horse crap at Monday night�s meeting.

Nowhere in recent newspaper history has there been a Pulitzer-worthy account of an employee charged with leading an institution of higher learning being allowed to trash talk the Board of Directors with smoke and mirrors. Maybe one is lurking. It seems the opportunity is there.

�The first of Simone's goals focus on improving student success. Among other things, Simone wants to implement a pilot first year experience for fall 2012, which will be targeted for new entering students. This is ongoing.

"A five-person team of faculty and administrative/professional services staff participated in a workshop in November of 2011 to learn more about designing a first year experience for SCC students," Simone said.�

What the hell does this mean? Does Simone even understand what the goal is or how to achieve it? Not likely since its taken a year to have a workshop to study it. And why in the hell do students need a �first year experience� and why is this a goal for Simone? This is a local community college within an easy commute for 95% of its students. This isn�t Harvard, Yale or West Point.

�In addition, Simone wants to have continuous improvement at SCC. One of the ways she wants to do this is by working with an external consultant to create and provide an in-service for department and divisional chairs and association representatives, so can learn the tools and strategies to implement continuous process improvement within their areas.

This portion of the goal is completed. The training occurred prior to the beginning of the fall 2011 semester.�

Finally, Simone admits she doesn�t know what �continuous improvement� is or how to measure it in a manner the students or the Board can understand. Simone must hire and work with an external consultant to create something new. Apparently, Simone must not have the skills or abilities to foster new ideas by herself. If not, why is she here? It seems like stale bread. Everyone knows it has mold but doesn�t take it out of the refrigerator.

Meanwhile, for Beverly Simone, she gets the sack of crap award for trying to get us dumb old know-nothings to ignore the fact she doesn�t have a clue how to do her job other than blow smoke up the Boards� ass.

Our hat flies off to Jermaine Pigee. Any writer charged with covering an assignment like this fluff piece deserves a Pulitzer, or at least a couple rounds at the Sombrero, for the hours it took to listen to the recording, trying to decipher Simone's whimsical diatribe of self worth, wondering what the hell is Simone saying and then transcribe that into a few words to fill the page between advertising.

Now, if he'd just go ask for the detailed financials.

Spike

Municipal Meth

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:43:00 -0500

The "Days of Wine and Roses" on Broadway at Mt. Pleasant

Spike,

Your comments on Hans Trousil's Ad Vertiser howling were indeed revealing.

You and others have warned about the dangers of TIF abuse. Tax Increment Fund has become municipal meth. Look to the West.

West Burlington has become the equivalent of a toothless geek on an anti meth poster. Hans Trousil's cravings have the sewers caving in. Residential and non TIF businesses are being taxed to desperation to support Hans habit.

Cold turkey is not kind. It is necessary.

West Burlington residents should stop enabling Hans dependency. Mayor for life Hans needs booted from office. Maybe Trousil could found a local 12 step program for tax and and spend TIF addicts.

We have no shortage of government officials in need of recovery.

Kirsten Arnesen

Post Iowa Santorum Slippage

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:40:00 -0500

Romney: What Is That On My Shoe?

Spike,

"Even so, the order of finish - Ron Paul second, followed by Jon Huntsman, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum - scrambled the field and prolonged the increasingly desperate competition to emerge as the true conservative rival to Romney."

Satan Steve Scheffler and Balloon Bob Vander Plaats effort to stop Romney in Iowa failed. Unlike 2008, the best Iowa's faith fraud merchants could arrange in the caucuses was a tie. Balloon Bob's boy, Rick Santorum, placed way back in the New Hampshire pack. The race goes on, but a questions remain.

What, if any, relevance will Iowa have in the process next time? Will Ralph Reed reduce his in exposure in Iowa?

BB

More Taxes On Tap

Thu, 12 Jan 2012 05:33:00 -0500

Spike:

I read in the Hack Eye the other day that the state will be considering a rise in the auto registration fees this year to offset the failures of the past two democratic governorships.

Auto taxes in Iowa are already one of the highest and unfair taxes in the entire country and all the clowns in Des Moines can think of are ways to increase taxes for highway upkeep along with the highest paid state employees in America based on the pay ratio of state versus private sector wages and benefits.

I would recommend a cut in all state employees pay and benefit packages which are totally in excess and need to be adjusted down to mirror the private sector pay and benefits. Of course the state always counters they need these highly educated college graduates, a statement that has yet to be proven. If we had smart people in Des Moines we wouldn�t constantly be raising taxes and fees, fees of which are nothing more than a tax. Iowa has over 2000 taxing bodies robbing us blind in order for state employees to live the Privileged Lifestyle at taxpayer expense.

Having all these supposedly college educated employees just hasn�t panned out for the State of Iowa, the state has become a haven for many of societies unwarranted college graduates with degrees that mean little to nothing.

Another problem is the new people coming to Iowa are mostly of the lower income uneducated types while those they replace are the most educated ones that leave for states with more opportunities than Iowa can possible offer.

I can remember when Iowa led the nation in education and now we�re nowhere near the top which illustrates how the state has failed with its insane liberal form of government and feel good education system that fails to educate. Just look at the school lunch program that has mushroomed to unrealistic numbers of children that indicate the welfare state has come to Iowa to stay.

Iowa is too small a state to care for the thousands of non-Iowans flowing into the state for reasons other than working with no job prospects in sight; so it�s extremely hard to figure out why they come here in the first place unless it�s just easier to get a free ride in Iowa than surrounding states.

In Iowa as in many other states it�s the state government that has failed with all their phony laws, fees and taxes used to prop up their employees Privileged Lifestyles of inflated wages and excessive benefits robbed from the private sector that struggles to survive. One thing Roosevelt fought was the establishment government unions that died once he died and now just looking around one can understand what he feared with government unions has finally happened. Unions in government are wrong and basically immoral, if you don�t believe this just look at our worthless congress and a president that backdoors just about every person he hires circumventing the congress for approval and denying the people the constitutional form of government.

Iowans have basically lost their freedoms because of government unions and liberalism combined with the failed education system and the transformation of Iowa into a welfare based state.

CP

Trousil Implodes on The Storm of Decreased Tax Revenues

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 11:04:28 -0500

TIF Abuse Starts to Hit Home for Democrat Mayor

West Burlington�s Emperor Mayor Hans Trousil came out of the den in a letter to the editor expounding upon the imminent crisis about to befall all of humanity at the hands of the GOP. In reality, this implosion is more about West Burlington�s misuse of its tax increment finance or TIF, district.

Trousil apparently believes a proposed commercial tax rollback will not foster economic development. Trousil further states the elimination of machinery and equipment taxes never created any new manufacturers or manufacturing jobs.

One look at the Battelle Studies for Iowa industry proves otherwise.

Iowa Advanced Manufacturing Cluster

2011 Iowa Bioscience Strategy

Iowa IT Industry Cluster

Ag Bioscience in the North Central United States

Do you think Google and Microsoft would have brought their server farms to Iowa if we still had an equipment tax? Do you believe CNH would still have a factory in Burlington had the machinery and equipment tax not been eliminated? How about the expansion and new jobs CNH recently announced? Hell no!!

To believe the elimination of machinery and equipment taxes doesn�t foster manufacturing jobs and economic development seems more like an exercise in myopic, provincial buyers� remorse over a TIF district gone mad. A TIF district served substantially more by a retail commercial tax base rather than a manufacturing tax base.

If Trousil wants to see equity in the commercial tax roll back proposal he might be better served lobbying his tax and spend buddy Tom Courtney to see that the commercial rollback on his bevy of TIF financed retail businesses is substantially less than the rollback for manufacturing.

And then go attract some manufacturers to West Burlington to utilize the TIF district to bring those jobs so that the TIF retail recipients can pay their taxes.

His city depends on that.

Spike

BTW, Trousil is always quick to pull the trigger on Wal-Mart. Tuesday afternoon the mayor was seen shuffling to his truck with a load of Wal-Mart groceries both paid for by his CNH retirement fund made more solvent by the elimination of machinery and equipment taxes.

Not Swept Under the Rug Again

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:58:00 -0500

"Blackhawk Booster Club president Jeff Rucker said he supported the punishment the college handed down to the student-athletes. The players booted from the squad also had their scholarships revoked."

The basketball team long predates the SEIRPC bus. What was so serious the right thing was done and supported?

DH

Tip of Auditorium Iceberg

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 05:45:00 -0500

Spike:

How could it be possible that all the personnel down at the auditorium earn on average a salary of $54,000 plus benefits. Ms. Anderson pointed this out during budget talks the other day and I was shocked to hear what these people are making compared to the private sector.

Could it be all their managers, engineers, have architect degrees or just what the hell warrants a wage that high? It�s common knowledge all city employees are grossly overpaid and receive benefits at taxpayer expense regardless of their performance, responsibility or capability with the big wage decider being years feeding at the trough.

I think outsourcing would be a good option to reduce the cost of city government. Government unions are a cancer eating away at the taxpayer who has been left far behind trough feeders in both wages and benefits.

What the hell do they do all day when there�s nothing going on at that auditorium? It�s hard to imagine we need four or five full time employees down there on a daily basis when the building�s use is so sparse.

Just another method for democrats to keep the union money flowing in while the raises continue to flow out as payment for their votes.

Sick of It

Democratic Platform

Wed, 11 Jan 2012 04:17:00 -0500

Belligerent Tax and Spend Tom Courtney

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:38:00 -0500

Spike,

"Sen. Tom Courtney, D-Burlington, is frustrated hearing lawmakers say they need to "think outside of the box" to come up with funding.

"Folks always say, 'Trim costs. Cut the waste.' OK, let's do that. And then what? Then what will we do? And everyone has a different idea of what waste is," Courtney said."

Eminent domain abuse led to a lot of waste. It was one of the reasons there was such an outcry to reign it in. As the bill came to pass restricting abuse of property owners rights, there was an amendment in the Iowa Senate.

Burlington got its empty lot Manor Mall. Thank you, Senator Courtney.

When it comes to what to do, there is always a simply answer. Raise taxes. Senator Courtney has been good at creative revenue enhancements.

This session of the Iowa Legislature needs to be Senator Courtney's last. Local voters need to think out of the box. The time has come for Tom to go.

NM

When you have no answers and no solutions, get belligerent, throw your arms in the air like an French hooker and start blaming everyone else.

Tom should count his 100 days as some of his finest days of incompetence. Change is in the air and Courtney should start prepping for his final debates.

Debates he will have to attend. I can't wait to see the weasel squirm like a little boy that has to pee, twisting in his chair, wishing his turn at singing the high notes didn't mean wet underpants.

Spike

Homeland Security Given Green Light to Monitor American Journalists

Tue, 10 Jan 2012 05:15:00 -0500

Think This Is Getting Out of Control?

"Under the National Operations Center (NOC)�s Media Monitoring Initiative that emerged from the Department of Homeland Security in November, Washington has written permission to collect and retain personal information from journalists, news anchors, reporters or anyone who uses �traditional and/or social media in real time to keep their audience situationally aware and informed.

According to DHS, the definition of personal identifiable information can consist of any intellect �that permits the identity of an individual to be directly or indirectly inferred, including any information which is linked or linkable to that individual.

...the website �Fast Company� reports that the NOC Monitoring Initiative has been in play since at least early-2010 and that the data is being shared with both private sector businesses and international third parties."

Obamas Covered Up Whimsical �Alice in Wonderland� White House Tea Party Bash

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 05:36:00 -0500

"A forthcoming book about the president and first lady reveals that they threw a lavish �Alice in Wonderland�-themed Halloween bash featuring actor Johnny Depp and director Tim Burton, the New York Post reported.

�The Obamas� � written by New York Times reporter Jodi Kantor and set to be published Tuesday � details the whimsical affair, which coincided with the release of Burton�s Disney film that starred Depp as the colorful Mad Hatter.

It took place in 2009, the Obamas� first Halloween in the White House, and came at a time when the unemployment rate was at a high of 10.1 percent. Depp, in full costume, greeted guests from atop a table.

�White House officials were so nervous about how a splashy, Hollywood-esque party would look to jobless Americans � or their representatives in Congress, who would soon vote on health care � that the event was not discussed publicly and Burton�s and Depp�s contributions went unacknowledged,� the book says."

Ready to Support Obama's Military Cuts?

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 05:20:00 -0500

Avoid Burlington

Mon, 9 Jan 2012 05:15:00 -0500

Spike,

"Microsoft has been granted a patent for its �avoid ghetto� feature for GPS devices."

The article does not state if Microsoft will show sites of flash mob robberies. If Microsoft updates as they have with XP, how long until Burlington falls off the map?

Amerigo Vespucci

So, How Do You Feel Now?

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 10:23:16 -0500

City Hall Tribute to Lost Keys Bill Ell

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 10:19:00 -0500

If you welled up some big, fat crocodile tears for Lost Keys Bill Ell's departure from city hall, let these two profound statements be written next to his portrait in hallway on a solid gold plaque for future generations to ponder when asked about how rotten was this town when Ell would be King?

1. Ell's biggest disappointment was losing the railroad lawsuit.....Federal Judge Charles R. Wolle sided with BNSF, saying the city's claim was "without merit."

"I think that was essentially a miscarriage of justice..." Ell said.

2. "Doug (Worden) and I have been volunteers in 10 or 15 different organizations together organizations together for so long..."

Then draw a myopic, provincial Big Eye around the entire portrait, the lost school key and gold plaque.

We finally heard the door slam shut on incompetence, twice. Once for Ell and once for numb nuts Worden.

Spike

Feel Good by Fools Development Failure -

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 10:15:00 -0500

We Know, It Isn't Manor Mall

But It Is A Volt In Another Color

Spike,

"The failed Range Fuels wood-to-ethanol factory in southeastern Georgia that sucked up $65 million in federal and state tax dollars was sold Tuesday for pennies on the dollar to another bio-fuel maker with equally grand plans to transform the alternative energy world."

Solar panel plant subsidies, Chevy Volts burning brightly in the night, a Manor Mall and ethanol plants. There is nothing like elected officials playing investment banker.

It is all too good to be true. All that manners is it sounds good and makes voters feel good, if only through the next election. Too bad the bill finally comes due.

There is no mention of a forged signature by a county elected official to get the Georgia plant's subsidies. Apparently the locals in Georgia do not have that to lament.

Mazie May Macabre

Muckler's Rule of Record - Make Muckler Burlington's Next City Manager

Fri, 6 Jan 2012 10:05:00 -0500

Spike,

"Muckler said it was never the city�s (West Branch) intent to discourage people from recording meetings, but to encourage a positive working environment where people feel welcome and the council can be productive and effective."

The City Administrator of West Branch should be offered the position of Burlington City Manager. Mr. Muckler has it what it takes.

Any fool can flip the finger at the public they are supposed to serve. Unlike the unlamented, gladly departed Bruce Slagle, Mr. Muckler puts a verbal smiley face on it all when called out on cover ups.

"The recording proposal was drawn from the Missouri House of Representatives, where he�s previously served, adding he thought his experience with this rule worked well in the past."

Yes, Mr. Muckler's heart is in the right place. Whatever he can do to conceal would be greatly appreciated by our City Council. With his proven propensity to try glossing over any concealment, Mr. Muckler would be worth twice what Worden was earning.

Burlington Derailed has been a duller venue since our DUI Mayor resigned and Slagle skipped. Mr. Muckler would make a far more entertaining foil for local observers and commentators than Worden ever was.

Incompetence blurs confidence in conspiracy. We need a competent conspirator at City Hall. Burlington needs its confidence restored.

Spike, maybe you better post a job application for City Manager of Burlington and email Mr. Muckler. Mr. Muckler, Burlington needs you.

Hebert H.

What You Don't See Won't Hurt Them

Thu, 5 Jan 2012 12:15:34 -0500

Spike,

"The live television coverage of a D.C. Council news conference was cut on Tuesday as Council Chairman Kwame Brown was being asked a question about the council's ethical lapses and poor approval ratings last year."

This sounds like something out of West Burlington. The cable company ate my homework.

Burlington just closes the meeting and when called on it, the audio disappears. The Ad Vertiser cries crocodile tears.

E. Lectro Magnay

Glazing or Hazing? Will Taxpayers Ever Know?

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 05:29:00 -0500

Spike:

I see where there has been a glazing company doing something to the windows at the new North Hill Elementary School for the past several weeks. I hope the taxpayer is not picking up the bill for whatever it is they're patching over there on that brand new building. Surely the contractor who built that school bears the responsibility for the rework if that's what it is about.

If anyone knows what is going on I�m sure the public would like to know what exactly they're doing and who�s picking up the tab.

KL

You Have the Responsibility to Remain Ignorant

Tue, 3 Jan 2012 05:13:00 -0500

Spike,

"West Branch�s city administrator said Monday the City Council may need to clarify a proposal it is scheduled to vote on Tuesday that could limit the recording of council meetings � a rule that may violate state law."

West Branch should do like the City of Burlington. Hold a secret meeting of dubious legality and do as you damn well desire in the dark. Look at what that cost in legal fees to fight closing the Burlington & Missouri River railroad shops.

GH

It Is Simple - Who Paid Jesus?

Mon, 2 Jan 2012 05:07:00 -0500

There has been a lot of exposure this year regarding the seamy underbelly of Evangelical influence peddling on selecting the GOP candidate to hustle Obama from our house and back to the crime ridden streets of Chicago.

A few questions continually goes unanswered. Why does the public need to pay Satan Steve Scheffler or Balloon Bob VanDer Plaats to prepare their divine guide book and pledges to nowhere for the perfect GOP presidential candidate? How did these money-grubbing rats achieve such empirical insight into what makes a candidate worthy?

One should try to never answer a question with a question.

But, who paid Jesus? Yes, it is that simple. It's time to start thinking for ourselves.

Spike

Force Fed

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:21:00 -0500

Bye-Bye, Have a Nice Day

Sun, 1 Jan 2012 10:15:00 -0500

"and if you yell again, you will be arrested"

The Golden Calf is Killing Iowa's Golden Goose

Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:40:00 -0500

Spike,

Iowa's faith PAC frauds and their collection plates have spread well their theology. Everybody wants a piece of the action.

Assuming Bachmann is believable, who the hell does State Senator Kent Sorenson think he is? Sorenson must think he is Iowa's Republican National Committeeman/"Faith" & Freedom business partner of Ralph Reed, Steve Scheffler.

To Senator Sorenson's dubious due, he is not a Republican Party of Iowa official overseeing the caucus process. That same can not be said of others who follow Satan's creed of unholy personal gain.

�Tonight, when you give, we�re not a PAC and we�re not a candidate,� he said. �Therefore, there is no limit to what you give here tonight. Isn�t that exciting?� (Ralph Reed)

IRS 501(c)4 groups are not required to file "donation" disclosures. "Isn't that exciting?" These groups would probably be real excited if they were subjected to full public financial disclosure. Perhaps it would spark a Rosemary Woods, three ring circus of shredded documents and disappearing computers.

Michele Bachman has been burned by some in whom she placed her faith. Support her, or not, Ms. Bachmann deserves no pity. Ms. Bachmann demands respect for her candor.

Michele Bachmann has blown the lid off Iowa's conflict of interest caucus influence peddlers.

Do not go to hell. Do not pay millions of dollars to be stabbed in the back. Go directly to New Hampshire. Future presidents who wish to be will study Congresswoman Bachmann's 2012 Iowa campaign History.

Iowa's first in the nation status has been our golden goose. Worshipers of the golden calf have stripped its golden fleece down to the pin feathers. If it not corrected before the next presidential contest, the golden calf will wring the neck of Iowa's golden goose.

Bon appetit.

Aunt Martha

I'll Love You and Endorse You in the Morning for a Million

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:43:00 -0500

Can You Buy Indulgences? Balloon Bob Says So!

Spike,

"Though Santorum did not specify the dollar amount he and Vander Plaats discussed, multiple sources said he was soliciting as much as $1 million from Santorum and other candidates.

In an interview with the Des Moines Register this week, Vander Plaats said that it was his �ethical responsibility� to essentially put some money where his mouth is.

�You can�t say, �We endorsed you. Now see you later,�� Vander Plaats told the Iowa newspaper. �That�s not going to do a lot in the long run.�

Selling faith based political endorsements sounds akin to selling indulgences.

Bob Vander Plaats brought competition to faith based Iowa political endorsements. There used to be a virtual monopoly on Iowa's faith based market. A single, or just a second Satan to satisfy should have kept prices high.

If competition drives the price down, what was the going rate in 2008, or 2000?

BUB

Bachmann Iowa Chair Defects to Ron Paul...Hours After Appearing With Her at Campaign Stop

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Kent Sorenson Whores Out for Cash to Jiminy Cricket Ron Paul

"Hours after appearing with Bachmann at an event, state Sen. Kent Sorenson gave his endorsement to the Texas congressman at a Des Moines rally. Sorenson said he resigned from Bachmann�s campaign to back Paul, whom he called the most conservative of the top-tier candidates.

In a harsh statement, Bachmann said Sorenson made the jump after �he was offered a large sum of money to go to work for the Paul campaign.�

�Kent said to me yesterday that `everyone sells out in Iowa, why shouldn�t I,�� she said in a written statement"

GH

Nothing like the smell of $20 to bring the whores and rats out of the dark corners of hell's bowels.

Spike

Ad Vertising Stimulating Business Sales

Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike,

"Regional newspapers have struggled recently because of weak local retail and national advertising, partly reflecting the economy's broader travails."

Is a county seat daily trying to sell its fish wrap in neighboring counties a regional paper? Does Burlington have what qualifies as a regional newspaper?

Spike, get your check book out. Liabilities inherited to purchase price be damned.

J F

Go South Young Man

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:55:41 -0500

Spike,

"The last commercial space between Lawrence Drive and U.S. 61 on the south edge of Burlington has been filled."

Commercial development is not dead in Burlington. It is not where fools playing Donald Trump with our tax dollars decreed it should be.

The City and State Senator Courtney's great Manor Mall grows dandelions and interest payments. Has the time come to homestead their vacant lot?

Free lots to any who will build and maintain a home. After ten years of no tax delinquencies, give the homeowner clear title to the land. First choice should go to those Senator Courtney's eminent domain amendment displaced for the mall.

Take your lumps and face reality, or keep hoping it will change for the better by doing the same? Given how often Senator Courtney and other fools get re-elected, it maybe time to pack up go way south of the City limits.

Horace G.

In perusing this modicum of fresh news, I failed to see the mention of the city council, the mayor, the Chamber or Dennis Hinkle.

Could it be that private business can succeed without their help? Or that the Ad Vertiser is without a prejudiced opinion?

Interesting paradigm.

Spike

Report Card

Wed, 28 Dec 2011 14:15:00 -0500

Spike:

Here are the �District In Need of Assistance� and �Schools In
Need of Assistance� for the Burlington School System 2011 - 2012 school year.

I think this report indicates one reason parents are sending their children to other districts. West Burlington high school had a 1-year delay and Danville wasn�t given. It appears the district itself is failing and needs outside assistance with both math and reading.

The high school appears to be in real trouble with both math and reading which indicates that the schools are failing at the elementary level as far as math and reading go. The scores indicate why parents are sending their children elsewhere for their education.

It would also seem to indicate that the new buildings have done little to make the kids smarter, again pointing out that bricks and mortar aren�t the answer to a better education. The new schools indicate throwing good money after bad hasn�t solved the problem. We are spending, when counting all monies about $15,000 per student only to get a third world education at best for many students. Why would anyone want to put their child in another district with a record such as Burlington�s, need a person even ask such a question?

Information taken from the State Report Card - No Child Left Behind Report by the Iowa Department of Education

DT

The F. E. C. Maybe Investigating an Iowa Faith Based PAC Again

Tue, 27 Dec 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Spike,

"A new Iowa non-profit organization is circulating an online petition calling on the Federal Election Commission to investigate Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats for potentially illegal campaign coordination.

Santorum on Wednesday said Vander Plaats earlier this fall told him that he needed money to promote his eventual endorsement of a presidential candidate."

Bob who would be king of king makers Vander Plaats is drawing attention. Bob loves attention, but not this kind. It looks like a George Soros connected group is after Bob.

Accusations of wrong doing by those claiming to be most holy are not surprising. Satan Steve Scheffler beat an F. E. C. investigation concerning candidate money laundering in 2008. The F. E. C. cited lack of evidence. Shortly before that investigation was made public, a computer disappeared. Did anybody ever find that stolen computer.Or the computers from the Des Moines GOP headquarters?

Bob Vander Plaats maybe in trouble. Senator Rick Santorum is readily available to answer questions.

When will people stop giving money to and worshiping these devils? They only make useful idiots for devils like George Soros?

Rio Harder Dryve

Nothing Like Reminder of Home For The Holidays

Mon, 26 Dec 2011 05:26:00 -0500

Spike,

I was home in Burlington for Christmas and I just can't help but notice all the changes that have taken place.

Another incompetent city manager is leaving.

Another legend in his own mind mayor is leaving office.

Burger King is newly paved and no plaque commemorating a prior mayor's sleep off has been erected. A golden opportunity to raffle off chunks of blacktop as a fund raiser was ignored.

Downtown is still crumbling.

The economic development group is in the midst of year-long planning for a retirement party.

I didn't wake up this morning to Pugsley Edwards' family tirade directed to you and Derailed. I think I miss that the most.

Spawned Here But Moved Upstream

Touchdown Bengals!

Sun, 25 Dec 2011 23:54:40 -0500

Obama: �Deep Down�There�s a Laziness in Me�

Sat, 24 Dec 2011 11:53:18 -0500

No Revelation to The American People

"President Obama admits [...] his worst trait is that he�s a little bit lazy and blames his Aloha State upbringing for his penchant for taking it easy.

�There is a deep down, underneath all the work I do, I think there�s a laziness in me,� Obama said in his interview with Barbara Walters that airs Friday night on ABC.

�It�s probably from, you know, growing up in Hawaii, and it�s sunny outside and sitting on the beach.�

Newt 'Donald' Draper

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 11:02:27 -0500

Spike,

�Mr. Gingrich is the Don Draper of 2012: When it comes to his character record, he�s a very fine, empty suit with a broken zipper,� the Rev. Albert Calaway of Indianola wrote, referring to the lecherous character on the show �Mad Men.�

What an endorsement. A study of the fictional character Don Draper is in order.

Don Draper knows how lead, manage and move an organization forward. No crisis personal, nor professional, has destroyed the man, nor his firm.

How much did Newt's campaign put in their collective collection plates to reap such praise?

ML

Why is a preacher watching Mad Men? Research?

Spike

�Christmas Miracle on Ice� - Woman Wins Truck

Fri, 23 Dec 2011 10:28:00 -0500

"The saying goes something like, even a blind squirrel finds a nut once in a while. Well, Brenda Hewlett may not be blind (or a squirrel), but she is a 59-year-old woman who has never held a hockey stick. And she just won a new truck by shooting a hockey puck through a tiny hole from 114 feet away. Oh, and her old truck was failing, so she really needed it."

Bachmann Left at the Altar

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:25:00 -0500

Spike,

Poor Little Miss Bachmann. She won a regional beauty contest up in the great white north. Miss Bachmann headed for studio gate of big time political Hollyweird; Iowa.

"You've got what it takes, baby. You're top billing material. Sit next to me on the couch and we'll talk about making you the star of the show." Oh, those smooth talking satans of the plains in Des Moines.

How those faith and politics mixing Jimmy Swaggarts sang their songs of seduction. Little Miss Bachmann hung on their every issue. She repeated it all to the ears of those who would be casting caucus casting ballots. Little Miss Bachmann thought she was on her way to upstairs at the White House.

Little did Little Miss Bachmann know the ways of such faith and politics peddlers. They were unfaithful, switch hitting cads. They were in bed with three other.....MEN.

Only one would get the lead that could lead to their name in lights in Washington. It was not to be poor Little Miss Bachmann.

Her virtue and faith betrayed by frauds of faith, Little Miss Bachmann held her head up. No quitter she. Little Miss Bachmann would go auditioning for that big part without their endorsement. Bravo, bravo, Miss Bachmann.

What of those who used Little Miss Bachmann. As long as the unknowings money and pledges to vote as endorsed remain, so will they. What a stain they cast on the Hawkeye state.

The exploitation of Little Miss Bachmann should serve as warning to all coming to Iowa with stars in their eyes.

V. Rappe

A Discordant Hymn is Playing

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:18:00 -0500

Spike,

"Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann appeared on Fox News� �Fox & Friends� this morning, where she confirmed that Evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, president of The Family Leader, called her over the weekend to discuss the future of her candidacy."

The choir mistress has been told by the Family Faustian Minister of Exchequer she should not be singing the big solo. It appears the choir mistress has told the Minister to go to hell.

The appears to be great discord in nether regions. Is the fat lady singing for Satan and all who would rule in hell?

Mrs. Miller

War of the Unholy

Thu, 22 Dec 2011 05:14:00 -0500

Spike,

"That deepens fears among some Christian conservatives that their vote will be fractured among three or more candidates, said Steve Scheffler, president of the Iowa Faith & Freedom Coalition.

�It�s maddening,� he said."

"Meanwhile, The Des Moines Register confirmed Tuesday that Vander Plaats had asked for help in raising money to promote the endorsement.

Santorum spokesman Hogan Gidley said his campaign made no deal to drum up cash to pay to help promote the endorsement."

Satan Steve Scheffler is mad.

Too many presidents are seeking his hellish blessing. So many candidates are dividing the underworld he and others have made of Iowa's Republican caucuses. Their fighting has exposed them. They can not "fly under the radar" as dictated according to the gospel of St. Ralph Reed.

Republicans in Iowa and others should be mad as well.

Besides being St. Ralph Reed's business partner, Steve Scheffler is Iowa's Republican National Committeeman. Party leaders run the caucus process, not County Auditors. A party leader's job is to provide a level playing field for candidates.

Promoting a candidate for the benefit of Satan and St. Ralph's Faith & Freedom profit center is a conflict of interest. Iowa's Republican National Committeeman lobbying for his employer legitimately questions the validity of the Iowa Caucuses.

Satan and others dipping into the pot is having an effect. Candidates have been slighting Iowa this cycle. Candidates are spending less money.

Satan and St. Ralph have competition in the dash for the candidates caucus cash. The Great Vander Plaats is trying to hoover up the money. Bob Vander Plaats and Satan are in the same business with one important ethical difference.

Bob Vander Plaats holds no important leadership position in the party controlling the caucus process.

Santorum is being asked to pay for Bob praising him on television. No dice. Bob's begging is raising eye brows on ethics. Will Bob's family front profit center lose it's tax exempt status?

A war over candidates and their cash appears to be underway. The longer it continues and the weaker it makes the combatants, the better it is for Iowa.

Ferdinand II

He Who Retires First is Missed Least

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:47:00 -0500

Spike,

"Thirty-four years ago, Doug Worden was at the right place at the right time."

The voyage is ending. Thirty-four years in the same small ship has its benefits. If you're done sobbing in the hanky, I need to blow my nose.

C Q

When a Remora finds its victim, it seldom breaks suction. In 34 years, there has been no break in the suction.

If Worden needs someone to slam the door on his dumb ass, let's set a meeting. In fact, we can get a double dip with Lost Keys. One slam, two dumb asses out the door.

Spike

Balloon Boob Bob Begs Michelle to Quit for His Soul

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:40:00 -0500

"Republican presidential candidate Michele Bachmann appeared on Fox News� �Fox & Friends� this morning, where she confirmed that Evangelical leader Bob Vander Plaats, president of The Family Leader, called her over the weekend to discuss the future of her candidacy.

Based on Bachmann�s words, it appears that the reported discussion about her potentially dropping out of the race was accurate. In addition to allegedly asking the congresswoman to drop her presidential bid, Vander Plaats also purportedly asked her to get behind either Rick Perry or Rick Santorum."

Balloon Boob Bob is so wanting someone to sign his dumb ass pledge and become a 3rd place candidate, even for a short while. If they sign and win, his pockets fill with money from the unknowing sheep that still believe Bob can run a business, this time a PAC.

All you need to examine is Balloon Bob's RROBF - Real Rate of Business Failures.

Bob is the one to be praying for a miracle. You should be praying you haven't sent the check yet.

And I have a question for Bob and Satan Steve Scheffler. If a person has the guts to find the inner strength to find God, why does one need you two jackasses to tell us what candidate to pick?

Spike

Tax Exemption Sacred Endorsement Issued

Wed, 21 Dec 2011 05:37:00 -0500

Spike,

"Family Leader CEO Bob Vander Plaats and fellow activist Chuck Hurley personally endorsed Santorum, but said the seven-member board itself will remain neutral."

If I do not vote as told, will I burn with the homosexuals?

B J

No, but you won't get any balloons from the Sioux City idiot or his junior Satan blow hard.

Spike

The Line Up

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:33:00 -0500

Biden: �The Taliban, Per Se, Is Not Our Enemy�

Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:15:00 -0500

No, Biden, You Are The Enemy to This Country & The Free World

�Look, the Taliban per se is not our enemy. That�s critical. There is not a single statement that the president has ever made in any of our policy assertions that the Taliban is our enemy because it threatens U.S. interests. If, in fact, the Taliban is able to collapse the existing government, which is cooperating with us in keeping the bad guys from being able to do damage to us, then that becomes a problem for us.�

Lunar Eclipse 2012

Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:29:00 -0500

NASA Image

"This incredible sequence of photographs was captured from Beijing China, where � unlike here in the continental US � the eclipse could be viewed all the way from start to finish.

The composition of the photo is such that you can actually see the Moon pass through the southern half of Earth's umbra � the darkest region of the shadow that is projected into space when it blocks the Sun's rays.

Notice the specks of light that become visible towards the center of the image. During periods that the moon was dark, distant stars didn't have to compete with its light, allowing them to shine through to the camera's sensors. For those of you who stayed up to catch Tuesday night's Geminid meteor shower, this effect illustrates why light from the nearly full moon probably had an impact on your viewing experience."

Obama's Lying Ayes

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Nationwide Search for Burlington Taxpayer Killer

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:43:00 -0500

Spike:

Advertising for a city manager at $117,000 plus benefits is a slap in the face and just further shows the desperation of city management to find a savior for their incompetence and ignorance. This city has never had a good city manager and I doubt we�ll ever get good city managers because the city is nothing more than easy pickings for ex-officials looking for an easy score.

Advertising for workers in places like Chicago is another sign of lunacy that has wrought nothing but pain on the citizens of Burlington and eastern Iowa. Crime has risen to record rates making Burlington, of all places the third highest crime rated city in Iowa along with Keokuk first and Davenport second.

Burlington has become overrun with the uneducated, welfare recipients types, drug dealers, thieves, burglars, robbers all under the guise of Burlington needs the workers when there are no jobs here at all worthy of such an influx of people.

Burlington is an exporter of good hard working people that leave a vacuum that�s being filled by the destitute from other states. Of course word spreads on how easy life is living off the Iowans that remain that more and more of these people continue to arrive having initially been invited by the Chamber, SEIRP, past governors and other organizations intent on ruining what remains of Iowa and bringing it down to third world status. Of course the left wing looks at these people as new voters who will always vote for those that give them the benefit of easy life without WORK. The welfare crowd in the states lives better than the middle class in Europe who earn a living by working.

The school board wants to run another survey to find out why students leave the school system. When all they have to do is open their eyes and stop acting stupid and they�d see why citizens don�t want their children in Burlington schools. Our once excellent school system is no more and is slowly becoming ruined by the same people that have made Burlington the third highest rated crime city in Iowa along with the politically correct crowd who have caused much of the problems. The few hard working Iowans that still remain in Burlington actually fear for their children�s safety when going to local government run schools. All these new schools are nothing more than mausoleums to failure scattered all over the outskirts of town that couldn�t be further away from those that would attend them. The high school and the two new middle schools couldn�t be further away from their student population centers than they are now a fact that results in more bus and car traffic on the narrow left turn-less streets that are predominate here in Burlington.

Most parents don�t want their children influenced by the drug culture and Burlington is just overrun with those that can�t make it through the day without legal or non-legal drugs and of course the schools are not immune from this culture and where else to find new drug users than in the schools. Schools that feature social workers and police roaming the halls does mean that something is wrong with the system and/or the people attending and most would not want their children attending such a places.

Burlington�s failure at the polls by limiting voter choices to one party is probably the single biggest issue that has caused such failure in this city. There are no checks and balances in Burlington resulting in failure of the one party socialist government that makes failure a way of life in Burlington.

The criminal justice system makes no sense when a person get caught robbing a home out in Edgewater grosses five years in prison while a father that has his two sons and himself stealing in excess of $10,000 gets no prison time at all. There are probably as many illegal drug users in Burlington as legal drug users. Just read the paper and you can see for yourself just how many drug dealers get caught, how many cars are stopped only to find drugs and drug paraphernalia onboard. Most of those getting caught have no driver�s license or insurance.

We also have the problem of the two sets of laws here in Burlington where friends of the police walk away from their offenses while others have the book thrown at them when committing the same offenses. Many crimes and other offenses are never made know to the public such as the gang robbery of the Gas Land store on Summer St. on or about last July 1st. There have been fights in Perkins Park, police letting drivers who commit auto accidents go only to commit another accident a few minutes later by running through a building on purpose. There have been many such incidents unrecorded by police over the last few years.

The local Hack-Eye newspaper fails to print stories that don�t fit their agenda and of course there is no investigative reporting at all which explains why many stories never become known like the Gas Land gang robbery or the fights in Perkins Park. The Hack-Eye is very similar to Pravda in its reporting expertise and just about as believable.

Now there�s talk of an indoor sports complex to lose money as the Wreck Plex has every year since it opened its doors. A total loss of at least one million and still counting, of course the losses paid for by the taxpayer. That Wreck Plex needs to be sold to a private concern where wages are not tied into the government unions that have been robbing us blind for many years now. The city should sell that Wreck Plex to a private entity and get it off the taxpayer�s back. The city can�t even run the swimming pool let alone the golf course nor the Wreck Plex and break even. No government can run a business as well as the private sector because government pays top notch wages and over benefits incompetent people, something the private sector wouldn�t do. Remember government is spending someone else�s money because government has no value added processes which explains why government should be as small as possible to keep cost down.

Whatever happens about the city manager I doubt very much we�ll get someone that really cares for Burlington and we�ll end up with the same messes that the others have bestowed upon the city. Sure, there have been lots of feelers because the money is far above what it�s worth for a mere city of 25,600 and only further increases our taxes while not benefitting anyone but the city manager. Every city manager currently out of work will be looking to make the big kill and Burlington is always ripe for a wayward city manager to swoop in and take us for all were worth, it�s basically happened with each new city manager hired in recent years.

Life in Burlington is never going to change until we have a government of more than one party that optimizes the best of checks and balances possible. Currently there are no checks and balances a main cause for constant failure in the decision making processes.

Burlington just doesn�t have good competent leaders as she once did and we all pay the price for the inferior models of which we have plenty.

Dissatisfied

Welcome to Iowa - Mormons Need Not Apply?

Thu, 15 Dec 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Or If You Have No $$ For Our Pockets

Spike,

"I am not a Know-Nothing. That is certain. How could I be? How can any one who abhors the oppression of negroes, be in favor of degrading classes of white people? Our progress in degeneracy appears to me to be pretty rapid. As a nation, we begin by declaring that "all men are created equal." We now practically read it "all men are created equal, except negroes." When the Know-Nothings get control, it will read "all men are created equal, except negroes, and foreigners, and catholics." When it comes to this I should prefer emigrating to some country where they make no pretence of loving liberty-to Russia, for instance, where despotism can be taken pure, and without the base alloy of hypocracy." - Abraham Lincoln

It looks like the truth is getting out on Iowa's Republican precinct caucuses. Woe be unto any who expose the Know Nothing cults unhealthy influence on the process. The prophet who reveals may end up applying to be Burlington's next City Manager.

The Latter Day Know Nothings influencing Iowa's Republican caucuses appear concerned less with selecting who is fit to lead our nation. They appear more concerned with who is theologically pure enough to run their Sunday School program. Praise be to the profits.

Saint Ralph Reed of Georgia, Satan Scheffler, Governor Vander Plaats and more have their PACs passing the collection plate. Their take is taking a tumble this time. Presidential candidates are wary of the hellish Tower of Babel Iowa has become. Candidates are concentrating on and spending more in primary states. Who can blame them.

If the Iowa Republican Party is to again be the party of Lincoln, it will take people dedicated to following through after caucus night. Be a delegate to the County, District and State Conventions. Research and vote for party leaders worthy of Lincoln's legacy, not the legacy of Jack Abramoff and Ralph Reed.

GH

Uncle Ell Wants You!

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Burlington IA City Manager Excessive Salary Brings Ticks Out

Spike,

"Mayor Bill Ell said the number of applications is a good start. Davidson said he suspects more applications came in over the weekend."

Have you turned in your application yet? Why all the applicants? Your web site has not been blocked. Any candidate with half a Google finger should know what they are asking for.

Is the depression really so bad it is making qualified City Managers that desperate?

Sperry A. Diamond

The 20 Years in Iowa Report

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:26:00 -0500

Spike,

"The coming of the railroads changed all that, and today, Keokuk, is a depressed, crime-infested slum town. Almost every other Mississippi river town is the same; they're some of the skuzziest cities I've ever been to, and that's saying something."

A University of Iowa professor's observations on Iowa hit home. It sounds like he has toured Burlington and the rest of Southeast Iowa.

See 'um

The One Percenters

Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:17:00 -0500

Legacy Media Desperation

Tue, 13 Dec 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike,

"Davenport publisher Lee Enterprises filed for Chapter 11 prepackaged bankruptcy today in a move to refinance nearly $1 billion in debt.

Lee, the parent company of the Quad-City Times and 47 other daily newspapers, filed the bankruptcy petition in U.S Bankruptcy Court in the District of Delaware, where the company is incorporated."

When do we read the Ad Vertiser has achieved the 7th level?

GH

Washington's Gorilla

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:48:00 -0500

Obama's Scumbag Buddy George Soros Out Stealing

Mon, 12 Dec 2011 03:15:00 -0500

Market Speculator Buys Up $2 Billion of MF Global�s Debt

"Billionaire market speculator and philanthropist George Soros bought about $2 billion worth of European bonds from now-bankrupt MF Global � the same debt that pushed the firm to collapse, according to The Wall Street Journal.

When MF Global filed for bankruptcy, the firm sold part of the bonds but still had about $4.8 billion worth of them on its books, CNBC reports.

They were turned over to KPMG, MF Global�s bankruptcy administrator in London; they were then offered to big investors by MF Global�s London clearing house, LCH Clearnet, the Journal said, quoting a KPMG spokeswoman.

When KPMG offered the bankrupts firm�s European debt to a variety of big investors, most of them passed. However, they were able to find one investor willing to buy the bonds at rock-bottom prices: George Soros."

What's More Important to America?

Thu, 8 Dec 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Debate? Who? Me?

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 05:43:00 -0500

Vote of the Dead as Living

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 05:33:00 -0500

Spike,

"In neighbouring Lithuania, U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton again criticised the Russian election and urged that widespread reports of voting fraud be investigated."

Should Russian observers be sent to Chicago to check for vote fraud? Should Russian observers be sent here to cross reference tombstones against Senator Courtney's newly registered and voting by mail?

Lee Bende Tote

Good Economic Development Vibrations

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Spike,

"Owners of Iowa City's new "sex-positive" shop may soon be without a space, following a termination of lease notice from their landlord.

The Toolbox, 1281⁄2 E. Washington St., opened its doors last week, despite receiving a lease termination notice. Co-owners Julia Schaefer and Madison Montgomery have started two petitions in order to keep their shop open, and they have seen support from customers and neighboring businesses."

This Iowa City business should consider moving to Burlington. The City of Burlington should provide a tax increment funding (TIF) break for their moving here.

Burlington is not Iowa City. The upscale approach may need tweaking to meet the local market. A line of artistic literature and videos should perhaps be added to the inventory.

There is already a similar business in West Burlington. Moving this business to Burlington would create competition in the local market. Competition is good for consumers. Burlington could also get back at West Burlington for losing the Kohl's war.

A double wide on the empty lot Manor Mall would work for a building. Cut a driveway in off Roosevelt and put up a parking lot. Put up a sign with "truckers welcome."

Local taxpayers been have shafted and jerked around enough by Burlington's economic development by idiots. Make a few people happy with what the shop provides. Make a lot more people happy. Start getting something in return from acres of nothing.

D. L. Doe

Curious Bear

Wed, 7 Dec 2011 05:00:00 -0500

Do Not Panic All is Hell

Mon, 5 Dec 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Spike,

"A huge municipal debt magnified Keokuk�s problems. By 1858 the town owed $900,000, mostly on railroad bonds, while the value of its taxable property dropped by $5.5 million. Lots that brought $1,000 before the crash now could not be sold for $10. Hard-hit property owners were unable to pay their taxes, and thousands of properties slipped into tax delinquency."

Back in 1857 the bubble burst. Southeast Iowa today is more like a slow leaking tire. Still, it goes flat.

High dollar economic activity, manufacturing, continues to decline. Burlington is shrinking. The City of Burlington issues bonds to within sling shot range of its debt limit.

Keokuk did recovery from the panic of 1857. Railroads built did pay back as the steamboat traffic declined.

Examine what Burlington has done with city money in the name of economic development. It is the equivalent of investing in stagecoach stock. The Wrecked Plex, the empty lot Manor Mall, Huck's Hole and TIF trinkets abound. As a result, short changed infrastructure crumbles.

Our sister city of Detroit still holds out hope playing the rackets. Rather than simply skim the casinos, Detroit is investigating cutting the middle man out altogether. Detroit wants to recycle welfare checks directly with a city lottery.

As economic development, Groin Greater Burlington and the Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission imported what Detroit and East St. Louis have the most of to offer; welfare recipients. Burlington's massive crime wave has been the result. Will the City of Burlington start a lottery to get a piece of the welfare action?

In 1858, lots in Keokuk dropped to $10. In Detroit today, the City can not even give lots away. When will Burlington pay people to take lots if in return they pay even $10 per year taxes on them?

William L. Herndon

Flash Mob Hits Again

Sun, 4 Dec 2011 13:27:48 -0500

Truth in Advertising

Fri, 2 Dec 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Spike,

"WASHINGTON, D.C. (CBS Washington) � A gun company advertisement that warns of impending gun control compares President Obama to Adolf Hitler and Joseph Stalin."

"Advertisements contain the only truths to be relied on in a newspaper. " ~Thomas Jefferson, letter to Nathaniel Macon

You will discover more truth concerning our community in the Penny Saver than the Ad Vertiser.

Paul Pica

George Soros Reality

Fri, 2 Dec 2011 04:45:18 -0500

Satan on the Endorsement Sidelines - Satan Goin' Broke

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Satan's Nuts Frozen In Hell

Spike,

"Iowa Christian conservatives� struggle to agree upon one presidential candidate encountered a hitch today when two key groups decided they won�t wade into the fray to narrow the list."

It appeareth there be no consensus on which Republican presidential candidate is right with God and therefore worthy of the kingdom of Iowa. There is a "Christian" consensus on one candidate who should be toast.

"Romney chose not to join six other GOP candidates for two presidential forums with a socially-conservative Iowa audiences. The faith coalition hosted one Oct. 22 and the Family Leader hosted the other Nov. 19.

That sent the message that Romney �doesn�t want to engage with social conservatives,� Scheffler said in a telephone interview."

Iowa's godfather of conflict of interest between publicly neutral party leadership and personal paycheck PAC hath spoken. "Engage," or enrich?

Romney rejected being a draw for Satan's PAC fundraiser on Oct. 22. Romney did not leave Des Moines reeking of sulfur after appearing on the hustings with St. Ralph Reed of specie. It was a hell of a choice, but Romney is betting on a better afterlife after the Iowa caucuses.

How many Republican presidents to be have been in Southeast Iowa this cycle? Will there be life for the Iowa caucuses after 2012?

Even those whom Iowa's Republican National Committeeman hath not toasted are sticking close to metro areas with television stations and real passenger air service. Winning Iowa's Republican caucuses on the ground like a race for Governor is all but over. Iowa has become a stump to send your message to primary states back east.

If Iowa picks another loser like Huckabee in '08, the closest you may get to seeing a presidential candidate is your television. If the Republican presidents comest not into Iowa, neither so shall the Democrats.

Besides deciding a presidential preference on Jan. 3, Iowa Republican caucus attendees may well decide the fate of Iowa's future role in the process.

Job VanUz

When costs exceed revenues and there are no more pockets to pick, throw the pennies in the air and slide out the side door.

It's an old Snake Oil Salesman trick.

Spike

Keep 'Em Corralled in Burlington

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 05:42:00 -0500

Burlington's Criminals Expanding Territory

Spike:

A Burlington woman faces numerous charges after she allegedly cashed three fraudulent checks at an Iowa City Hy-Vee.

According to a complaint by Iowa City police, Larry'sha Lawrence, 20, presented three fraudulent checks at Hy-Vee, 1720 Waterfront Drive, and allegedly had them cashed.

GH

Moose Season Opens - Moosehead Boys Clean Up!

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 05:34:00 -0500

From The Desk Of Donald Trump: Inconsiderate Obama

Thu, 1 Dec 2011 05:06:00 -0500

Newt: I'll Debate Obama - He Can Use His Teleprompters

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:33:00 -0500

Gas Land Gang Robbery

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:20:00 -0500

Police Chief Still Mum On Details

Publisher Steve Delaney Ignores Real Controversy

Hack Eye Writers' Friday Nights & Saturday Afternoon Sombrero Trips Defeat Moral Obligation

Spike:

Back in early July the Gas Land Store on Summer Street was robbed by a gang of ten to fifteen young minorities who raced through the store stealing whatever they could get their hands on including beer. They were in and out within minutes and long before the police even showed up which allowed all to escape unscathed.

Anyway, a few days later the police finally went to the store and retrieved the video of the robbery and since then nothing has ever been made public and the local paper has never printed a word about this crime.

The way things work in Burlington is dependent on which set of laws the police go by when a crime occurs, we have the normal laws everyone is supposed to go by and then here in Burlington we have the police laws that grant immunity to relatives, friends, mayors and others with ties to politicians and other government workers or those that hold authority in one organization or another.

Burlington has many problems relating to extremely poor government and when something happens they just sweep it under the rug and hope the lazy paper won�t print anything about it since the paper itself is run by the local losers who hold office and the democratic party.

Burlington already has rotten crime statistics making it the third highest crime rated town in Iowa out of 947 towns and cities. Yet, our police fail to inform the citizens of crimes going on all over town in order to protect the criminals roaming our streets and keeping the citizens from knowing just how dangerous it is in Burlington.

Of course the Hack Eye doesn�t help the situation when they have no investigating reporters at all; so if the police don�t tell the paper about what�s going on nothing is ever known about the crime and the perpetrators get a free ride from the police. This makes the paper nothing more than a social news outlet leaving Burlington with no real news source. Believe me the Hack Eye is not Burlington�s watchdog in any form and we flounder around totally unknowing about what actually goes on in this poor excuse of a town.

The police are just as guilty as the perpetrators of crimes when it comes to not releasing information or letting others go free after committing crimes. A full list of recent discretions by the police should be written up and sent to the Attorney General�s Office for investigation by the state.

KAL

Tower Defense and Aerospace Factory Workers Party at Lunch

Wed, 30 Nov 2011 05:04:00 -0500

Tower Defense makes parts for armored vehicles

Tower Defense and Aerospace Factory Workers Party at Lunch: MyFoxDETROIT.com

Feeling Good About Being TIFed to Death

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike,

"This year, early spring, Madison and I were talking about how strange it is that Iowa City being fairly liberal and a college town doesn't have a good feminist, sex-positive shop," Schaefer said. "That kind of snowballed into us deciding to start one."

If an adult shop in Burlington asks for a Tax Increment Funding (TIF) hand out, they should be given it. Everybody else gets one.

West Burlington residents are already well on their way to the TIF poor house. Schools and City services suffer as TIF is handed out to any business that comes along.

The City of Burlington also suffers from TIF perversion. Fairway Center sits largely vacant. The whole area around Mt. Pleasant and Roosevelt is up for a TIF hand out. Is a triple TIF of some sort available with the purchase of the empty lot Manor Mall?

Giving a TIF hand out to an adult shop would be a symbolic gesture on the part of local government. Residential and existing business taxpayers have been bent over on all sorts of failed economic development by government schemes.

With a TIF to an adult shop, it honestly would be economic development about nothing but feeling good. Unlike local government's usual economic development scams, an adult shop TIF would at least provide a source of obtaining lubrication.

Dora DuFran

Made in America: A Blueprint for Creating Jobs

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:15:00 -0500

To view the list of American products, Click Here.

video platform video management video solutions video player

Rep. Mike Kelly's Righteous Rant

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:10:00 -0500

Help The Needy

Tue, 29 Nov 2011 05:00:00 -0500

Do You Think Publisher Steve Delaney Cares or Has Any Moral Character?

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Does Any of This Sound Like A Broken Record?

Spike,

I see Delaney's squad of misinformed rumor mongers got caught peeing in the wrong pond. The pond of manufactured news and controversy.

"The Nov. 12 article, in which a former correctional officer at the Iowa State Penitentiary makes accusations about the Department of Corrections, was a poor exercise in journalism and lacks the integrity and ethical standards.

...claims could not be obtained because the request was made on Veterans Day

...Rather than wait to afford the department an opportunity to respond

...The Hawk Eye allowed a one-sided and highly inaccurate opinion piece to be published under the guise of "objective reporting."

"Frankly, a trained and professional journalist should have the necessary skills and experience to question and verify an increase so implausible and outlandish that it defies basic common sense. "

This letter to the editor was sent to the Ad Vertiser looking for a correction and retraction. Good luck. All Steve Delaney foments is salacious controversy by spewing slander, misperceptions, lies, half-truths and superfluous crap that only his boot-licking minions can appreciate.

As for Mr. Baldwin, he would be better served by making sure that the Hawkeye fiction writers are barred from any "courtesy" formerly extended. They are not journalists. The off casts permeating the news desk had their brains sucked out 12 minutes after they went to work on South Main. They have no journalistic integrity.

Publisher Steve Delaney and his Kansas owners are the biggest problem in this town. The only thing to stop it is a boycott of the fish wraps advertisers. When a local store asks why you left, tell them - Steve Delaney.

Fed Up With Looking Stupid to Everyone Who Fled at the Thanksgiving Table

from the Lockwood Greene Report -

Page 14
"According to local interviewees, the relationship among various stakeholders in the community and the news media could be improved. Many interviewees stated that community issues are often portrayed in a negative manner in the local newspaper and that this hurts the community�s attitude about itself."

Page 31
"...and the local newspaper seems to focus on negative issues.
According to one interviewee: ��the newspaper plays up negativity.�
Another interviewee said, �Many of the problems in business and economic
development are a result of the unrelenting assault on business and government by
the newspaper.�

Page 58
"Coverage by the local newspaper has drawn attention to various lawsuits faced by
doctors in the area. Some interviewees went so far as to say that the significant
coverage on this topic has caused them to question their use of the facility stating that they only trust it to be a broken bones hospital."

Page 69-76
Outlines the basics of Dubuque's success with a good newspaper.
"The personal relationship between the Director of GDDC and the publisher is described as one of "mutual respect and trust". The newspaper is viewed by the business community as independent but fair. In many instances, the newspaper has been a strong advocate for economic development programs. Confidentiality has never been violated."

How much more needs to be said?

Spike

Wonder Why It Is Never Moves Forward?

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

The paragraph below is probably a good reason nothing ever happens for the good in Burlington and vicinity. These people have been running the show for so long now that they�ve become like congress in that they are only interested in sustaining their pay, benefits, incoming taxes and whatever else they can line their pockets with rather than fixing the problems.

"Committee members are appointed by the city council and include representatives of Downtown Partners Inc., West Burlington, Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, the Greater Burlington Partnership, the Greater Burlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Burlington School District, land developers and the city planning commission."

Several $100,000 studies pointed out the problems years ago; so why does this continue to be something new all the time when it�s just the same problem going through the revolving door syndrome like the people elected off and on for years with nothing ever changing for the better.

Citizens can already thank these organizations for the most recent crime wave statistics which have placed Burlington as number three (3) in the Iowa crime rankings. One point below Davenport (#2) at four times the population of Burlington and Keokuk (#1) at a population of only 10,000. Just think Burlington is #3 out of 947 cities and towns in Iowa for crime.

In my opinion these organizations are draining the taxpayers dry while not getting anything done to better the job situation, unemployment, crime, education failures and welfare or drug statistics here in Burlington or Des Moines County which are both high taxing and low income entities with government only earning at or beyond livable wages both unobtainable by the private sector in this depressing area of Iowa.

Burlington needs jobs and someone on the council without ties to Case or the local school system that hasn�t worked for the past 20 years or so. Why does a small town like Mt. Pleasant continue to get industry and jobs while Burlington constantly fails. Why doesn�t Burlington find out what Mt. Pleasant is doing that�s been so successful all these past years? A couple of good reasons might be the excessively high taxes and the union thinking of those currently imbedded in the local politics, neither of which promote business expansion.

CAS

Burlington Streets Still Deplorable

Wed, 23 Nov 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Spike:

Your viewers should be aware of dangerous street conditions in the Burlington area; so today�s warning is for the 200 and 300 block of South 3rd Street. Conditions are right for front alignment damage and tire destruction.

Another bad area is on the intersection of Dehn and Sunnyside where a sloppy job of repair was done a year or two ago and now it�s capable of throwing alignment out or tire damage because of the potholes in the area of the stop sign on Dehn.

A warning should also be issued for the approach to the 6th Street Bridge coming from the south because the street and bridge are at different heights above sea level and now there�s a rather large jolt up when entering the bridge. The north side of the bridge isn�t right either but the jolt is far less than the south side.

Also, by the Aldo Leopold School there�s a large chunk of pavement missing heading east from the light on Roosevelt just about to the school zone.

Remember, we all pay taxes for street maintenance and this is the quality of our streets we receive back from the city staff. With winter approaching we can probably expect a bumper year for auto repairs by local repair shops based on the conditions of the streets prior to winter weather. This must be what all the new workers were needed for here in Burlington that was stated in the Hack Eye a year or so ago. Burlington must be the alignment and tire repair capital of the United States, not counting Massachusetts.

Trucker

The Des Moines Stockyards Bedeviled

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Spike,

"Business Insider reports that Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry, met with �Evangelical powerbrokers� at a secret meeting in Iowa last week, a state where 60 percent of Republican primary voters identify as born-again Christians. BI reports that the event was organized by powerful Christian activist David Lane, who the Washington Post reports has been working with Bob Vander Plaats to find a challenge to Romney. Vander Plaats will host the forum Saturday night. BI reports on Paul�s success in meetings with Evangelical political leaders:"

Iowa's political sheep market is in turmoil. Iowa's Republican National Committeeman apparently is no longer the sole go to Satan when purchasing bleating caucus supporters.

"As he regained some ground against Huckabee in Iowa polls just days before the caucuses, Mitt Romney got the endorsement of the Rev. Morris Hurd, chairman of the Iowa Christian Alliance."

In 2008, Hurd retracted his support of Romney just prior to the caucuses. In 2008, Iowa was delivered unto the Rev. Huckabee. Satan will take your gold and fail to fulfill a prophecy of your victory.

Candidates have not been crawling all over Burlington like they were four years ago. Candidates are tired of being shafted. Promises of golden fleece in Iowa and simply being fleeced have shifted candidates focus to other states.

The Republican sheep market remains, but the market is splintered. Bob Vander Plaats has entered the market big time. This heretical upstart has the wigs of three Iowa Supreme Court justices hanging over his mantle. What has the orthodox Satan to show lately?

Things have changed in Washington. The old "Christian" Coalition is long gone. Satan's business partner, Saint Ralph of Georgia, and his Faith and Freedom PAC is not the national power their old "Christian" Coalition was.

While these devils fight over the money and influence in Iowa, what of the sheep?

The sheep are facing a confusion of sinister shepherds. This may prove the path to a higher plain. They have been given a brain by their creator. They should use it and think for themselves.

People of faith renouncing being sold as sheep would make Iowa less of a hell on earth for Republican presidential candidates. Presidential candidates would once again roam Iowa's prairies as thick as the buffalo before them.

If herding sheep to slaughter remains the key to winning Iowa, the Republican presidential candidates will no longer come. If the Republicans no longer come, neither will the Democrats.

Bo Peep

Who Would You Hire?

Tue, 22 Nov 2011 04:06:00 -0500

The Police Chief That Ignored The Gasland Mob Robbery?

Or

The Police Chief That Isn't Afraid to Go Catch Criminals?

Near Tragedy Averted - Not a Drop Lost

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 05:32:00 -0500

Spike,

"Truck rolls, diesel spills, beer dented but unharmed

Dicks, 36, crashed the semi-trailer filled with 45,000 pounds of Bud Light cans at about 8 a.m. this morning at Interstate 380 at the Iowa Highway 30 ramp."

If this had happened at the last eastbound exit on US 34, the speed of salvage would rival that of light itself.

The beer that bounced off the ground is the current brand of choice powering Burlington's city government. City Hall would empty out quicker than a golf at Flint Hills Friday. City pickups and dump trucks would be running red lights to reach the scene.

Years ago, a derailed box of car of Blatz, or Drewery's, would have brought the same response. Burlington's Blue Ribbon governance goes on.

Conrad Max

Lost Keys Bill Ell's College Transcript Emerges - Spotty Attendance, Marginal Achievement

Fri, 18 Nov 2011 04:02:42 -0500

Spike,

Poor Ell.

He started out well. The problem of non major requirements was dragging him down. Add to that being in class with the children of those fresh out of high school he was in class with at the start. It must have been disheartening.

Ell's almost quarter century in college appears to have set a precedent. Keeping taking classes until you are close enough to retirement your employer will let the need for a degree be dropped.

TJ

Chill Spike - The Fire Chief Is In His Own Mess

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:50:00 -0500

Two Losers Thrust Into Spotlight - Worden & Ell

Spike,

It's time for you to chill out. This vendetta for the fire chief is crazy. He's a good guy. His men like him.

Leave him the hell alone. Let him do his job. He don't need a degree.

BD

That you Edwards? You had a role in this mess. Couldn't you wait a week to heckle us on Thanksgiving Day? Or call from Burger King?

This slop the fire chief is mired down in is his own making. He chose to bank his future on a loser like Bill Ell. Whether he lobbied for his job at the Sombrero is immaterial. He got the job over a perfectly qualified candidate that has a college degree. The fire chief just needs to get his degree and tell Steve Delaney's sh*t stirrer to shove it. Problem solved. If he thinks he is above honoring his commitment to obtain his degree, then he should be shown the door. He sets no example of leadership if his word is no good. The fact that the only other fire department officer to have a college degree left the department to become the fire chief in another city is a strong indicator. If leadership is based on encouraging personal improvement among his men, then the absence of college degrees in the department is the result of the apathetic behavior fostered by the chief and Bill Ell.

Lost Keys Bill Ell set a horrible example of choosing favoritism over qualifications. What is ironic is that Ell wrote the job description to include the degree requirement and then flagrantly ignored it right after he wrote it. What kind of leader does that? A despot!

It also explains Bill Ell's Lap Dog behavior at the feet of the crooked city manager Bruce Slagle. Whatever crooked deal Slagle pulled on the taxpayers, Loser Bill Ell was there to play Joe Biden. The more ridiculous it got, the more stupid Ell's remark's became. Remember after the city lost the railroad lawsuit and got spanked by the judge, Ell still maintained the city had a good case? It doesn't get any more stupid than that. Payback's a bitch!

How can Ell look at himself in the mirror, you ask? That may not be as big an issue as it should be since he endorsed the lawsuit to get the insurance company to pay for the lost school keys at the fire department. Leaders don't shirk responsibility. Bill Ell has scraped responsibility from his shoe with the taxpayers' dollar bills both as fire chief and especially as a city councilman.

Too bad Lost Keys Bill Ell can't buy leadership off the internet. He could use a major dose.

All the fire chief has to do to get beyond Bill Ell's mess is get his degree. Show the leadership to your men and the community. And with that degree you transcend the trench Bill Ell enticed you into. Let him roll in the stench of lie, cheat and steal.

Spike

Hell's Fire Fading - Cold Spell Ahead?

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Surprise - Satan's Platform Rotten With Vermin

Spike,

"Economic issues such as jobs, taxes and government spending are driving voter sentiment, rather than such social issues as abortion and gay marriage, the poll finds. Only about a quarter of likely caucus-goers say social or constitutional issues are more important to them, compared with 71 percent who say fiscal concerns."

This does not bode well for Iowa's Republican National Committeeman and his partner Ralph Reed. Satan selling his sheep as political salvation to wannabe Republican Presidents may not be paying off like it used to.

Wannabe Republican Presidents have not been emphasizing Iowa like they used to. Some have even been openly shunning Satan.

Could the devils peddling conflict of interest political influence be forced to find honest work?

Bob Beelsie

Smarmy Balloon Bob Vander Plaats - Romney 'Not Smart Enough to be President'

Wed, 16 Nov 2011 05:32:00 -0500

"Bob Vander Plaats, leader of an anti-gay marriage movement in Iowa, lashed out at Mitt Romney today for skipping a presidential forum that hundreds of evangelical conservatives will attend on Saturday.

�Mitt Romney has dissed this base in Iowa and this diss will not stay in Iowa,� Vander Plaats told Fox News today. �This has national tentacles. � This might prove that he is not smart enough to be president.�

Back to the balloon shed Bob. Nobody cares you were dissed. You need dissin'.

You're a loon that no one needs to shed a dime on and an embarrassment to Iowa. Go home. You lost!

Spike

William Ell University

Tue, 15 Nov 2011 13:13:55 -0500

Spike,

"We custom design and create fake diploma and fake degree, so whatever your requirements maybe we can create high quality documents to meet your specifications whether it may be a college degree, high school diploma or even a college transcript."

Burlington don't need no books. Burlington's got Mayor Ell. Buy the paper from some offshore web site. Than u b an edjukated Citee mploiee.

Burlington - Magna Cum Laughable.

Horace Mann

Has a nice ring to it - William Ell University.

Better than Dumbass U

Better yet, make it a double! Doug needs one, too!

Spike

Our Beg, Borrow, Cheat & Steal Mayor Says, " Cheat" to the Fire Chief

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 06:00:00 -0500

Bill Ell's Hiring Spree Debacle Bitin' Him On His Fat Butt

"I've gone so far to say, 'Go get the damn thing. Buy it off the Internet.' You can damn near do that, you know," Ell said. "

What more do I need to say about this to illustrate our mayor's moral fiber- lie to the insurance company, make them pay for the school keys? Nobody will ever know.

Bill Ell's whole life has been one of misconstruing the Boy Scout Law to fit his meandering path of self-righteousness.

Spike

Bid Good-Bye to Living Ties to a Better Time

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:55:00 -0500

Spike,

"Bobby Wilson, a reporter, editor and columnist at The Hawk Eye for more than half a century, died Friday morning in his home."

A veteran of the Hawk-Eye is gone. The Ad Vertiser remains.

Living links to when Burlington had a real newspaper are passing with the passage of time. For those who wish to know what a real newspaper in Burlington was, there are microfilm files at the library. The living links to that era are leaving us.

Emily Monroe Norton

The Ongoing Capitalization of the Capitol

Mon, 14 Nov 2011 05:41:00 -0500

Spike,

"Ecstatic. Super pleased. Wonderful.

That's how officials with Bring Back the Magic - the campaign to restore and renovate the Capitol Theater in downtown Burlington - reacted to meeting their fundraising goal."

If the Capitol Theater can make a go, wonderful. If the Capitol Theater can not support itself, then what?

Should the Capitol not prove self sustaining, the City of Burlington, nor the taxes of any other government, should be expected to bail it out.

Fox Paramount

Thank a Vet

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 10:13:25 -0500

Courtney Spends 6 Weeks in Cedar Rapids - Won't Attend Local Meetings

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:46:00 -0500

"Six weeks, knocking on doors in the Cedar Rapids-Marion area, I was never asked that once. No one ever mentioned a woman's right to choose, and no one ever mentioned the right of anyone to marry whoever they want," Courtney said. "I think the issue is not at the forefront of people's minds."

Our loser senator Tom Courtney admits he spent 6 weeks in Cedar Rapids door knocking for the Democrat senate candidate. Courtney attended the photo op for the prison guards in Fort Madison a couple of weeks ago.

It doesn't seem strange that Courtney has time to attend these functions, even one for 6 weeks.

Courtney never attends meetings with the locals and if there is an expected confrontation, Courtney is driving his corvette in the opposite direction.

I can't wait until the debate. What's his excuse going to be then?

Spike

Scott Is The Loser - What Don't You Get?

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:42:00 -0500

Spike,

I see Tim Scott is playing the loser card with his buddies at the paper. The Hackeye devoted more space to this loser's loss than they devoted to the winners. How pathetic for this to all end so dramatically after all the Delaney spin. Scott's bullying sells papers. That's all they want.

But what was really pathetic is Scott's explanations for failure.

"I think when it (public office) gets in your blood, it doesn't go away until you are totally defeated. Not just losing, totally defeated," Scott said. "I hope that I know when the public really doesn't want me anymore, and I know there are some out there that don't. But when the majority of the public doesn't want me anymore, I'll just fade away and go about my business."

...Scott also offered to let the new council members pick his brain, if they have any questions about the city. "

Pick your brain? What's it going to take, Tim? What don't you get?

Blurred Vision

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Spike,

"Committee members are appointed by the city council and include representatives of Downtown Partners Inc., West Burlington, Southeast Iowa Regional Planning Commission, the Greater Burlington Partnership, the Greater Burlington Convention & Visitors Bureau, the Burlington School District, land developers and the city planning commission."

Everybody has dreams. Being able to live well and not work for what you get runs through everybody's mind. It is the ultimate dream.

The closest to achieving the ultimate dream is to join the public sector, or some so called not for profit receiving public sector grants. Your revenue stream is not related to meeting the market. All you need is taxes.

The risking of your own resources and what they may return is the basis of determining a realistic vision. Is this really about planning a realistic vision, or a wino's dream come true of a $100 bill and an open liquor store?

The make up of this dream cycle should give pause for nightmares of wasted taxation.

Irish Rose Wild

What Would You Do?

Fri, 11 Nov 2011 04:53:00 -0500

The producers borrowed a small 150 seat cinema playing a popular film, and filled 148 of its seats with rough-looking, tattooed bikers, leaving only two free seats in the middle of the theater. They then allowed theater management to sell tickets for the last pair of tickets to several young couples.

What would you do?

Fire Chief's Degree Just Another Meaningless Mandate

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 05:55:00 -0500

Spike:

Requiring a degree to be a fire chief is nothing more than blackmail. We have a city manager and several council members that have degrees and a rock shows more brains than them in most decision making situations. They should be the last ones throwing stones but unless someone tells them they won�t know what that means.

I don�t think any of them are any smarter than the current fire chief who probably has had more on the job training than any of the current council members or sitting manager. One only has to look at the rotten job the city has done controlling expenses and taking care of the infrastructure along with the decline in services for more cost and of course the Manor failure, spec. building failure and many others that are too numerous to put in this letter.

Burlington has the same problem with the school board a group of deadheads building schools all over the town�s main thruways, all on the outskirts of town, making it necessary to bus most of the students. It�s also my understanding that North Hill has crammed in up to 100 students above its design capacity. I wonder if this means it meets the fire codes for school capacities? Maybe the chief should take a look at the North Hill capacity issue. It�s my understand it was designed for 350 students but currently houses 450 but of course it�s only the students that are at risk not the school board that created the overcrowded situation.

The problem with Burlington is nobody is watching the local elected government dimwits trying to run the town and the schools. The Hawk Eye doesn�t print anything unless it gets the ok from the local socialist party, that can�t seem to do anything right. The longer this town is in the hands of the democratic socialist party it will continue its slide into third world status similar to Detroit.

KP

I guess this is where I go another direction. Although Lost Keys Bill Ell bent the rules to hire the guy in the first place, even with a clear understanding that the chief would obtain his college degree, failure to do so is grounds for dismissal.

Hanging with Ell, Slagle and Edwards at the Sombrero or the casino does not count towards OJT or a college degree in management. Maybe some of that college stuff would have improved the odds of preventing personal financial crises.

Give the chief a year to make a demonstrable improvement on his total credit hours. Document the understanding. If no success, the axe.

Gotta be fair. Wasn't when he got hired. Loser Bill Ell saw to that then and perpetuated the lie for 11 years. Come to think of it, Tim Scott let this fester like an oozing wound all the years he was in office.

Time's up.

Spike

Target Stores Ignore Christmas In Deference to Missoni Sweat Shop Labor

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 05:51:00 -0500

Christmas Trees Have No Missoni Stripes

Spike:

In yesterdays Hawk Eye there was a 51 page catalog titled Holiday Toy Sale inserted by Target that only mentioned Christmas once inside the front cover on a green tag in the upper left corner.

If this isn�t a Christmas catalog just what the hell is it? Every page reeks of Christmas but the content of the catalog never mentions this referring only to a holiday toy sale. Why can�t they mention what holiday their talking about when there�s only one gift giving holiday and everyone knows what it is.

Target is using propaganda to push their corporate beliefs that Christmas isn�t politically correct and shouldn�t be mentioned although they will openly support immoral lifestyles and other non-Christian agenda�s.

There was also a flyer that contained Christmas trees but not once did they mention they were �Christmas Trees� another form of propaganda by their advisement department to slowly remove God from Christmas and make it a pagan rite or something other than what it�s been for hundreds of years.

This is just another ploy of how corporate America and the press try to control the thought processes of the general public and change our thinking.

Disgusted

These pathetic Target marketeers can expect a stern reprimand from our own Ad Vertiser Publisher Steve Delaney.

Spike

Torch The Messenger

Tue, 8 Nov 2011 05:40:00 -0500

Spike,

"More than a dozen people barged into the offices of a newspaper in central Mexico on Sunday, dousing it with gasoline and setting it aflame.

....The newspaper, which began publishing a month ago, has sharply criticized some local authorities, but the motive for the attack is unclear and the state Attorney General's Office announced it was investigating the incident."

Control of information is vital for those in control to remain in control. Any who threaten the established brokers of power and their servants who distribute the official line as news are a threat. Threats must be dealt with harshly.

If Derailed had a known office, would there be cause for security concerns?

Godfrey Gilman

The Bus Stopped Here

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 05:19:00 -0500

Spike,

"In southeast Iowa, employers found 37 percent of applicants lack written communication skills, another 37 percent lacked mathematics skills, and 30 percent lack reading comprehension skills."

Our overall skills levels decline as our crime rate increases. Population growth by Section 8 Housing promotion is not the route to economic development.

T. A. P.

Dreaming of a Witless Christmas

Mon, 7 Nov 2011 05:05:00 -0500

Spike,

The Halloween candy is piled by the check out counters with care, "50% off." Above it hang Christmas decorations. Only too many shopping days left until Christmas. The Ad Vertiser's empty stocking of news will soon be bulging with Christmas ad inserts

The year's end marks a period of passage and reflection. What has been and what is to come is pondered. It traditionally has been time to contact those important in our past with a card bearing message.

The tradition of the written missive is increasingly missing. Even your old friends did not send you a note of good cheer last year.

Right after turkey day, you used to hear from camp followers of local political turkeys you helped stuff and drive from office. Their holiday greetings were some of the best material you received that year. Seasons greetings from the former Mayor's camp remain as timeless holiday classics.

Spike, do they still visit you to read and keep up with what is going on? If so, would they please send a Christmas card again. We really miss them. They provided such levity to the happiest time of the year.

Gomez and Morticia

Worden: No! - No Discussion! No Change! No, I Don't Know Why!

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Shut Up!

"City Manager Doug Worden cut off the conversation, saying the issue was not listed on the council's agenda so it could not be discussed due to state open meeting laws.

Councilmen requested the issue be placed on a future agenda so Beck's concerns can be discussed in greater detail.

Worden voiced reluctance to do so, saying the issue has not been resolved at the staff level."

You're right Doug, you don't why and never did.

Spike

Foreee.. He's a Jolly Good Golf Chief

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Spike,

"Ell, who leaves the council at the end of the year, announced Monday he plans to step aside and allow Mayor Pro Tem Jim Davidson to lead efforts to find a new chief operating officer for the city."

It looks like Mayor Ell is totally ready to hang it up. Ell has recused himself from the search for a new golf partner.

Once a City Manager candidate with a suitable handicap is found, Ell should come out of retirement. Ell's experience would be useful showing the new hire around the links at Flint Hills. This maybe a service Ell could render Burlington on a continuing basis.

Give Mayor Emeritus Ell free greens fees for life at Flint Hills. Let Ell go golfing with the new City Manager and whatever visiting dignitaries desire a business hours game. With Ell leading the outings, let there no longer be any excuse for the rest of City Hall to tag along.

Bestow the title of Burlington Golf Chief upon our lame duck Mayor. Bill Ell's greatest contribution to the City of Burlington maybe yet to come.

Jack'd Nickleless

Tom Courtney Prime Example of Burlington Blight

Fri, 4 Nov 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

The entire state of Iowa should have known Courtney was lying about the Manor because his lips were moving. When a democrat moves his lips everyone knows they're lying and Courtney is no different than those democrats in Washington. Case is a good breeding ground for political misfits and those in Southeastern Iowa should be well aware of that by now with all the dimwits elected to city council in recent years, plus our loser state senator. We need people not tied into working for the government or Case running for office. I think it�s been well proven that here in Burlington people elected from Case or government unions just never work out. Unions have always been a sound defeat for good government and a few of those who work in the private sector are well aware of how things are in Burlington.

Southeastern Iowa is a draw for those who believe in socialism where the many live off the employment of a few who continue to flee the area in droves because there are no jobs and extremely high taxes collected to cover for the high pay and benefits awarded to government employees. There�s no accountability or responsibility required of those employed by the city, country or state, actually it�s only required you show up for work to rape the taxpayers for the �privileged life lifestyle� they live.

It�s not only Snake Alley that�s crooked here in Burlington because the police department does its fair share of shady law enforcement where a few �chosen ones� are immune from prosecution or have reduced charges regardless of what laws they break but of course you won�t read any of this in the local socialist party newspaper because they just don�t print socialist failures. We also have the many city miscues, secret meetings and cover-ups that are more than prevalent in Burlington.

When people return for their school reunions after several years they always comment about the horrible street conditions, falling down dilapidated homes, poor and unmaintained conditions of the infrastructure, abandoned buildings, massive change in demographics, overall health of the downtown area along with the massive drug culture and excessively high crime rate.

Until Burlington elects people from both parties nothing will ever change and the many failures will continue because there are no checks and balances in the Burlington socialist system because those elected all think alike which constantly creates the failures.

Gloomy

Marketing An Expensive Mirage

Thu, 3 Nov 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Who said The Mayor Needs To Duck & Cover?

Spike,

"The Burlington City Council Monday opted to follow through with plans to find a professional to market the former Flint Hills Manor site because "it is the right thing to do," not because it will offer the council political cover, Mayor Bill Ell said."

Burlington's empty lot Manor Mall was the wrong thing to do from the start. It was what one should expect when politicians play real estate developer.

Political cover, who needs it. Senator Courtney's role in getting this project eminent domain exemption in the Iowa Legislature was key. When all was done, Courtney appeared on the old Flint Hills ball field. Tom told all those in the bleachers to be displaced how sorry he was for their eviction. Senator Courtney was re-elected. The single party label is the only cover needed.

Hold a fire sale and be done with it. Advertise it in more than just the legals of the Ad Vertiser. Move onto to the next stupid economic development project with tax dollars.

People should not expect politicians to create economic growth. All they know how to do is tax it and all too often waste the proceeds.

Milo Millage

Greece On Verge of Collapse - It Took A While But Who's Next?

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Greece believes a referendum vote by the people on the bailout to save their socialist way of life is the right thing to do.

On February 25, 2010 we posted this.

Who Cares About Greece?

On December 3, 2010 we posted this.

Greece and California Spell Nothing But Trouble

Does anyone feel safe today knowing that Senator Tom Courtney chose to write his opinion on a socialist blog?

That's how close we are to letting idiots running this country into the ground.

Spike

Drunk Ex-Mayor In Russia?

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 05:40:00 -0500

Spike:

"At 10:30 a.m., the vehicle was loaded with 20 tons of beer at a brewing factory in Yekaternburg.

...A curious incident took place in Moscow. The Moscow police were chasing the driver of a Jeep Grand Cherokee vehicle. The man was staying in a state of alcoholic intoxication and was wearing the uniform of a road police officer."

AL

Suppose Edwards turned left instead of right coming out of Gulfport?

Spike

The Sword Unto the Soothsayer

Wed, 2 Nov 2011 05:22:00 -0500

Spike,

"Seldom do we need to go beyond our archives to find the truth. It took Publisher Steve Delaney and his minions 4 years for this to sink in. And it was all done while Jimmy Olson was adjusting his earring."

"Lebanese TV host Ali Hussain Sibat, who was sentenced to death over making predictions of the future on his show, had been scheduled to be beheaded on Friday.

His attorney May El Khansa said the execution did not take place on that day - but that did not mean Sibat has been given a reprieve."

You have predicted the future. Many of your public predictions concerning the follies of local single party princes have unfortunately come true.

If local royalty could decapitate Derailed as is done across the globe, would they?

Thomas Moore

Absolutely!

Spike

Police Problems Border Misconduct By Chief

Tue, 1 Nov 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

If people think police indiscretions don�t go on here in Iowa�s third most criminalized city should take their heads out of the sand this police indiscretion took place in New York.

Burlington is notorious for other types of police misbehavior with many untold indiscretions when it comes to their oaths of office. The population cannot depend on the local paper to investigate any of the serious crimes whose perpetrators were just plain let go by the police because they knew the person, they were a relative of a police officer, worked for one of the local government entities, could have been mayor or was a mayor but the extent of police leniency traverses robberies, drunk driving, leaving the scene of accidents, failure to report accidents and again, who knows the real depth of police total misconduct.

Just recently a driver was let go after running into a parked car on Dodge Street that caused over $6000 in damage after he had damaged a fence on Mason Road and a short time after the Dodge St. incident drove the same vehicle into the Keystone Products building at the corner of West Burlington Ave. and Mt. Pleasant Streets causing approximately $30,000 in damage. Prior to the Keystone incident he was only given a driving the wrong way ticket on Dodge even after a $6000 accident. The driver and the officer on the scene were overly friendly and familiar with each other while chatting at the scene. The driver was not asked to produce proof of insurance but the owner of the damaged auto was required to prove he had insurance, now isn�t that a joke. Finally, on the day after the parked auto had been damaged the police broke down and gave him a ticket for that accident.

In early July a group of minorities, ten to fifteen individuals, raced through the Gas Land Store on Summer St. stealing everything they could get their hands on plus beer. Although a video of the incident was provided to police nothing was ever made public by the police or the local paper. Just an example of withholding crimes from the public by the police and local news paper. The entire group got away before police reached the scene.

Again, in July or August someone knocked down one of the entrance pillars to Bittersweet Place on Sunnyside Avenue and again, nothing was ever made public about who did it or what the cost was to rebuild the pillar. Rumor has it a police car ran into it very late at night or early in the morning but since it wasn�t made public only the police know who did it; so why wouldn�t they report it?

These are just a few of the indiscretions that people here in Burlington have been made aware of but it�s the many we don�t know about that are scary and are capable of letting dangerous people out on the streets to repeat their crimes against unknowing citizens. Repeats have already happened several times by people let off the hook by the police. I wonder how many of Burlington�s business owners were ever made aware of the gang robbery at the Gas Land Store on Summer; so they could prepare and form a plan against the same type of incident should it happen to them.

HL

We Told You So - Bill Ell - The Great Manipulator Part 2

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Seldom do we need to go beyond our archives to find the truth. It took Publisher Steve Delaney and his minions 4 years for this to sink in. And it was all done while Jimmy Olson was adjusting his earring.

The travesty of the Fire Chief's problem was fostered and cultivated by Lost Keys Bill Ell. Ell circumvented the system to get his personal choice to replace him as fire chief. Ell got his way. Many in the fire fighter community know of Ell's betrayal to his men in the selection process.

We told everyone about this 4 years ago. No one had the courage to step forward. Even after several fire fighter lawsuits and various other department problems.

This isn't about canning the Chief or anyone else. Lost Keys Bill Ell made this mess. The Chief didn't. But the Chief needs to get his degree as he promised or resign. He has that responsibility.

Jimmy Olson should get that part of the story instead of playing pocket pool for 4 years.

from BurlingtonDerailed.com October 30, 2007 -

Bill Ell - The Great Manipulator

When it was time for Bill Ell to step down as chief of the Burlington Fire Department he formulated the job description and qualifications the new fire chief would have to possess in order to be hired.

Bill Ell wrote the job qualifications so the new fire chief had to have a four-year college degree; something he didn�t possess himself. That would be a good thing if done for the right reasons.

However, the requirement was added to allow Ell the latitude to hire his handpicked- successor. But more importantly, that requirement eliminated promotion from within the ranks of the Burlington Fire Department, something Ell didn�t want to do.

After the potential Burlington Fire Department applicants had been eliminated by virtue of the supposed college degree requirement, Ell removed the college degree requirement in order to hire the current Fire Chief.

Is that the kind of great manipulator you want for your next councilman?

Bill Ell made the rules to suit his own agenda while ignoring his obligation to promote from within the department. Ironically promoting from people with the same qualifications.

Bill Ell is no leader. But he is a Great Manipulator.

Thoughts of Liberalism

Fri, 28 Oct 2011 05:13:00 -0500

Spike:

Here�s some useful information about liberals gleaned from several sources:

If a conservative doesn't like guns, he doesn't buy one. If a liberal doesn't like guns, he wants all guns outlawed.

If a conservative is a vegetarian, he doesn't eat meat. If a liberal is a vegetarian, he wants all meat products banned for everyone.

If a conservative is down-and-out, he thinks about how to better his situation. A liberal wonders who is going to take care of him.

If a conservative doesn't like a talk show host, he switches channels. Liberals demand that those they don't like be shut down.

If a conservative is a non-believer, he doesn't go to church. A liberal non-believer wants any mention of God and religion silenced. (Unless it's a foreign religion, of course!)

If a conservative decides he needs health care, he goes about shopping for it, or may choose a job that provides it. A liberal demands that the rest of us pay for his.

The Leftist hunger for change to the society that they hate leads to a hunger for control over other people. And they will do and say anything to get that control: "Power at any price". Leftist politicians are mostly self-aggrandizing crooks who gain power by deceiving the uninformed with snake-oil promises -- power which they invariably use to destroy. Destruction is all that they are good at. Destruction is what haters do.

IQ and ideology: Most academics are Left-leaning. Why? Because very bright people who have balls go into business, while very bright people with no balls go into academe. I did both with considerable success, which makes me a considerable rarity. Although I am a born academic, I have always been good with money too. My share portfolio even survived the GFC in good shape. The academics hate it that bright people with balls make more money than them.

Professor

City Administrator - What's The Deal?

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike:

Marshalltown has almost the exact population as does Burlington and here is the job requirements for the city administrator:

The City Administrator is the chief administrative officer and as such, oversees all of the city operations and the ten city departments. The City has 173 full time employees in Administration, City Clerk, Fire, Police, Finance, Housing & Community Development, Legal, Library, Parks & Recreation, Human Resources, Public Works and Water Pollution Control Plant.

Why does Burlington make a mountain our of a mole hole when hiring a city manager which is no different than a city administrator? Why does Burlington pay far above the worth for a city manager? The current person gets far too much money for a small town of 25,600 souls; so why does he get, with benefits and fringes close to $130,000 or whatever it actually is? Why and the hell do Burlington citizens put up with this city stealing them blind on wages, benefits and the so called services provided.

Some of the department heads are only here because they most likely couldn�t get work with the private sector, yet they earn far above their value a fact proven by the conditions of the streets, Cascade Bridge and a host of other dilapidated infrastructure items.

Crime is out of control ranking Burlington third highest in crime out of Iowa�s approximately 947 towns and cities. Burlington is only one point different in crime statistics than Davenport a city with four times the population with only a one point difference in crime, how about that? Burlington also has a crime rate higher than the national average in most statistics. Yet the police chief is more interested in protecting his retirement than solving the Gasland mob robbery.

Burlington is becoming a mirror image of its sister city East St. Louis, Illinois home of that loser senator Durkin who caused the new monthly fees for debit cards.

To top it off, Burlington is rapidly closing in on the demographics of East St. Louis in its rush to acquire new workers for the zero available industrial jobs here that might pay a livable wage.

Until Burlington politics changes there is little hope anything will change in the near future and it will probably only get worse. With the high crime and leftist newspaper nothing is right for a turnaround in the near or foreseeable future.

KOA

CEO and Financial Expert Peter Schiff Take on �The 99%� at Occupy Wall Street

Thu, 27 Oct 2011 04:59:00 -0500

"Peter Schiff, CEO and Chief Global Strategist of Euro Pacific Capital Inc., found out when he paid a visit to the occupiers at Zuccotti Park.

The long-time financial industry executive and radio host asked the protesters what they felt was a fair percentage for him to be taxed. None seemed to provide a clear answer, but were intent on telling Schiff that the Bush tax cuts need to be abolished. Schiff then attempted to explain to the demonstrators that, if the Bush tax cuts were allowed to expire, he would end up paying more than 50 percent to the government in taxes. Is �that fair?� he asked. The protesters simply stayed on course, reiterating that Schiff and all those in the �1%� need to �pay their fair share.�

Experience Counts - Ell's Opinion Doesn't

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Spike,

Some sanity seems ready to pop out any day by the members of the city council. Everyone except Bill Ell. Ell says we don't need a consultant to find a new city manager.

The basis of the Ell premise and the conundrum therein:

1. Ell has no real experience hiring people that doesn't utilize cronyism and nepotism. Ell is not a professional manager. He has no work experience other than the public trough. He has the lowest attendance record for a council member in years.

2. Ell's most recent hiring product is 4th choice Doug Worden. We know how that turned out.

3. Ell's best friend was the crooked city manager Bruce Slagle. Those birds all look alike. Look at their feathers.

4. Ell objects to hiring a commercial realtor to sell Manor Mall before it eats all of the Rec Plex profits. We also know after 4 years how that leadership direction has turned out.

5. Ell still believes the city has a good case in the railroad lawsuit. So does Scott Power.

6. Ell believes whatever pile of crap he is fed at the Sombrero or city attorney Scott Power's office, they are synonymous.

7. Bob Fleming understands the limitations of the council. Fleming has a successful track record as a business executive hiring and firing people. He gets it.

8. Hire a pro. Stop the bleeding.

Ell, go home. Your opinion doesn't matter. You're at late stage lame duck. Hang out at Tim Scott's shop. You both are going to have time to disagree and get mad.

Not Drinking the Water any Longer

Currying Competence

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:24:00 -0500

Spike,

"The Union Cabinet approved the recommendations of the Majithia Wage Board providing for an increase in the salaries and allowances of journalists and non-journalists."

Could Burlington's Jimmy Olsons soon earn more by moving to India? Does that the portion of the "99%" who commit inaccurate, incomplete and often incomprehensible news stories to pulp in Burlington deserve a pay raise? Should they not earn what entry level positions at a U. A. W. factory pay?

The Indian Newspaper Society is worried paying journalists more will close many small and medium newspapers. If paying Jimmy more would make the Ad Vertiser go away, it would be an investment in Burlington's future.

Sam Skrit

Will Our Brew Crew Sue?

Wed, 26 Oct 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Spike,

"There's nothing quite like a politician scorned.

When voters in Ohio's 1st Congressional District threw Democrat Steve Driehaus out of office after only one term, he did not bow out gracefully. No, he decided to get even. So he did what anyone does in today's culture: he sued somebody."

You have contributed to putting more than one local dubious politician out of work. When do they sue you?

Joe Blatz

Library Fees - Why Do We Pay Twice?

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Spike:

We in Des Moines County pay twice the average cost for our library when compared to the rest of Iowa; so why don�t we get some sort of Sunday hours like many other libraries in Eastern Iowa?

The tax we pay per citizen should warrant us 24/7 library hours but instead we get less hours than those paying half the tax we pay while getting Sunday hours to boot. We�ve been paying about double the tax for library service long before the new library came on line; so something else is wrong with the system if we in Des Moines County are taxed double what the rest of Iowa is taxed for library service.

Can anyone tell us why we pay double what the rest of the state pays for library taxes?

TTD

Because we are special. We were too lazy to get in the car and go stop this crap when the library board members were selling assets from the Des Moines County Historical Society and plowing the money into the library donation pot.

From what we understand, assets are still sitting in a private residence, unaccounted for by the Society. And they have been there for years.

Can anyone say eBay?

Spike

What a Mess

Tue, 25 Oct 2011 05:40:00 -0500

Spike:

The other day as I drove by the old Oak Street School I noticed people carrying out all types of educational equipment along with televisions, desks, globes, file cabinets and many other objects that were basically given away cheap to the public. My complaint is this equipment cost the taxpayer hundreds of thousands of dollars and here the school district is basically giving it away for nothing.

What if anything did the district take to the new school or did they just buy everything new rather than using equipment they already had at Oak Street? For instance, why would they be selling globes? If I recall from years ago, globes are a very expensive teaching aid but I guess an older globe isn�t good enough for basic geography anymore.

Just the fact of building all new schools leaves one wondering who the nut cases were that approved such a grand slam of massive ignorance.

Since the major shopping here in this area is in West Burlington why the hell did they build all the new schools on the major East/West roads requiring traffic to slow down to 20 mph from 7:00 am through 4:00 pm nine months of the year. A few years ago I think a student may have been injured by a car; so the entire city overreacts with its lame speed law in school zones. Instead of educating the students about pedestrian safety they restrict commerce for nine months of the year. Even the high school has a 20 mph speed limit when one seldom even sees a student outside during the day and the school is far off the main road, namely Division Street.

Yet the people using Summer Street run along in the upper 40�s most of the time making it very dangerous for people pulling out from side streets because they judge approaching autos doing 30, the speed limit and not between 40 and 50 mph as is currently the best guess of average speed.

Most normal towns have a speed sign in school zones that say; speed limit �xx� when children are present and not all damn day long like this town. Of course out on Sunnyside some students walk in the street because there are no sidewalks for them to walk on. Speaking of that many of our new workers, the chamber said we needed them here, walk in the streets regardless of there being sidewalks or not. Does anyone ever wonder where all the hidden factories are here in Burlington that required all these new workers?

That new mausoleum being built out on Mason Road should have been built where the old middle school burnt down. They could have torn down that white elephant next door and had plenty of room for that new school but that means common sense and no elected official in this town has any common sense, a fact proven over and over again. There are plenty of empty buildings for the school administration people to operate out of.

Like the letter to the editor yesterday stated �how can the city expect to pay off the cities $73 million debt when the jobs only pay $8 to $9 per hour� topped off with some of the highest taxes in the State of Iowa collected by a city management that rates lower than whale dung on a scale of one to ten.

Iowa�s third highest crime riddled town is just getting itself in deeper and deeper with little to no chance of ever putting the town back together again. Without a two party system of government we haven�t a chance of ever having decent government with a common check and balance system which means not everyone in government thinks the same all the time, which causes dumb decisions to be made and we sure as hell have proof of that here in Burlington.

We have the same problem with the local newspaper that censors the news and doesn�t publish what they don�t want the population to know about. Such as the minority mob robbery at the Gas Land on Summer Street around July 1st that was never published in the paper nor made public by the police even though they had a video of the 10 to 15 people that ran through the store stealing food and beer. The Hawk Eye only prints what its left wing agenda wants people to know about and that just the way it is here in Burlington.

If it weren�t for the few blogs around the population would have no way of knowing what is going on in this crime ridden town where it�s outright dangerous to walk the streets after dark. Every crime possible is out of control here in Burlington where crime is above the national average and this is just a small town of 25,000 people. Theft, robberies, fights, drugs, and vandalism are completely out of control in Burlington and it just keeps getting worse.

Local government in Burlington is no better than that in Washington where they only think about filling their pockets and the care and coddling of government unions who here in Burlington live the good life commonly called the �The Privileged Class of Iowa� because of their inflated wages and excessive benefits similar to that in Washington.

Whatever happens next in Burlington will more or likely be bad news for the taxpayers as is usually the case. After so many years of failure you�d think the population would make some changes in local government but we seem to only move them around recycling them in and out of city hall with no net change for the better.

LOL

Deliver Us From the Ad Vertiser

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Spike,

"Things could be changing. Legacy local media continue trying to produce diverse sites, and more and more startups are experimenting with multiple niches. The more we rely on online sources for the rest of our information, the more likely it seems we will migrate there for local news too."

Web based local news sites are popping up. Some of these sites are becoming a total news source for local communities. What about Burlington?

The local Ad Vertiser is online. The content is the lame same as is smeared on paper. Worse yet is what is not found in defense of the local single political and other powers that be.

Burlington's pathetic pulp on the door step problem is not minor. Various economic development onsultants called in to reverse Burlington's rot have reported a common cause; the Ad Vertiser.

You have shown the way. Several of our inept and inebriated local former office holders owe their downfall to you.

If you lack the desire to mount a full service local news site, do you think anybody else could make it work in Burlington?

J. C. Clarke

Hanging The Last Batch Of Democrat Thieves

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:51:00 -0500

Spike,

It had to happen. Even Ad Vertiser history rehash hackBob Hansen has stooped to the dark side in his Democratic Party Ghost Story.

Hansen ends his recent trip on Rex Troute's Brownies with a shot at the Republicans.

"As horrific as the story was, the community drew some comfort in the knowledge the specter was not just another Republican looking for caucus supporters."

Funny, I thought maybe the strange old man was a hangman going home, worn out after hanging the last batch of crooked Democrats that used city hall and the court house to steal from the taxpayers and line their pockets.

Hansen lost all respect for this. Well, at least whatever respect a history rewriter has. It must hurt when you troll the microfilmed newspaper files from the era when Burlington newspapers were newspapers and not a gossip sheet to make a buck, reading real stories and not Bergin's 44th rehash of Murray and Ell are not running in the city council election.

I'll bet ol' Bob was steppin' light in his slippers when grabbed another big Troute Brownie as he left for the library in his Opal Kadet to 'research' his next story after this stellar spurt of Halloween left wing politics.

Only in Burlington could a newspaper be the root cause of so much evil. And that is no Halloween story.

Just the Facts

Burlington is Vacant for Occupancy

Mon, 24 Oct 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike,

"It�s the new Google game: how many occupies are there for your favorite obscure city?

Occupy Duluth: about 40,000 results
Occupy Worcester: 36,800
Occupy Trenton: 63,000
Occupy Boise: 84,900
Occupy Omaha: 54,900
Occupy Amarillo: 44,000
Occupy Corvallis: 28,700
Occupy Poughkeepsie: about 2,030 results
Occupy Ottumwa: none!

What have they got against Ottumwa? It�s a good town!"

What about occupy Burlington, IA?

Nobody wants to occupy Burlington, except Hinkle and Tapps bus buddies. Section 8 welfare as economic development is pathetic.

When it comes to the productive needed to grow, those capable of doing so occupy elsewhere.

C. Ensus

Scott Retread - That's How We Got Here to Begin With

Fri, 21 Oct 2011 13:03:37 -0500

Spike,

I think TIm Scott needs to find something else to do. He has two businesses heavily subsidized by the taxpayers and now, believes he has enough time to devote to being a city councilman. Last month he was too lazy to return the nomination papers.

We don't need his 'guidance' nor his direction to select a new city manager.

That's how we got here to begin with.

Thelma

Hinkle Successor Touts Crime Wave Sponsor

Thu, 20 Oct 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Only Name Missing in Tribute Is Brian Tapp

Spike,

"Hutcheson also mentioned what had been accomplished in the past decade, which included improving the local quality of life."

Groin Greater Burlington has indeed accomplished much. The worst of Chicago and East St. Louis has been bused to Iowa's fastest shrinking city. We have new residents skilled in drug dealing, robbery and petty theft.

Tapp, gone. Worden, going. Hinkle, going. Do think this offers hope Burlington will get going again, or will we suffer worse under those they mentored?

WD40

Obama Speechless - Thieves Steal President�s Teleprompter

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:30:00 -0500

"That�s right, a truck carrying the president�s teleprompter (jokingly referred to as TOTUS, or the teleprompter of the United States), podiums, and audio equipment was stolen in Virginia, WWBT-TV reports.

The Department of Defense confirmed the heist, but it�s unclear if the thieves targeted the vehicle for what it contained or simply got �lucky.�

WWBT has more:

We�re told the truck was parked at the Virginia Center Commons Courtyard Marriott in advance on Wednesday�s presidential visit to Chesterfield.

Sources said inside that vehicle was about $200,000 worth of sound equipment, several podiums and presidential seals, behind which only the President himself can stand.

They told NBC12 around 12:30 Monday afternoon that truck was recovered in the parking lot of the Holiday Inn Express near the airport and hotel staff confirm police activity. One guest we spoke with said he saw various law enforcement agencies examining a white box truck parked there."

Too bad the thieves didn't drive the damn thing into a pond.

Spike

Susan Sarandon Calls the Pope a Nazi

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 05:23:00 -0500

"Susan Sarandon slammed Pope Benedict XVI at The Hamptons Film Festival over the weekend. Sarandon was interviewed by Bob Balaban at the Bay Street Theatre in Sag Harbor on Saturday. She said she sent the pope a copy of the anti death penalty book, Dead Man Walking, authored by Sister Helen Prejean. Sarandon starred in the 1995 big-screen adaptation. Balaban tried to dance around the comment, but Sarandon just made it again, Newsday reports. The audience also laughed. . ."

Jesse Jackson Jr calls for Dictator Obama

Wed, 19 Oct 2011 04:44:00 -0500

"Rep Jesse Jackson Jr who called for President Obama to just ignore Congress and basically become a dictator. The masks are now off � progressives are no longer afraid of revealing themselves. Even President Obama explained in plain view that his czars and advisers (not cabinet members) would be in charge of implementing his policies without Congressional approval."

Audio System Purchase Verified

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:48:00 -0500

Former App's House of Music salesman verifies Worden's audio purchase for City.

The Currency of Circulation

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:42:00 -0500

Spike,

"The Guardian found evidence that the Journal had been channelling money through European companies in order to secretly buy thousands of copies of its own paper at a knock-down rate, misleading readers and advertisers about the Journal's true circulation."

Circulation sets newspaper advertising rates. Newspaper circulation has been declining. This story claims the Wall Street Journal was buying copies of itself afar to raise circulation figures.

Burlington's Ad Vertiser is not the Burlington Hawk-Eye. What little there is of it often deals with the local trivial miles away. Try to boast circulation by convincing people in Keosauqua to buy the Ad Vertiser.

Has anybody come across bundles of unwanted Ad Vertisers in the remote ravines of Van Buren County?

Searcy Q. Layton

Alternatively, Publisher Steve Delaney grabs a handful of Rex Troute's Business Brownies, grabs his pencil and starts calculating the readers per copy number for the audit.

The only way Delaney could get that RPC (readers per copy) number he prints is to follow Hoschek and Courtney to Aspen Grove and copy down the names on each headstone the two vote creators stop at.

If these local advertisers ever catch on to this, the Ad Vertiser will be done in 6 months.

Spike

Obama to Fox News� Ed Henry: �I Didn�t Know You Were the Spokesperson for Mitt Romney�

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Class Warfare: The White House and the progressives launch class warfare

Fri, 14 Oct 2011 05:00:00 -0500

Epic One Party Failures of Demonstrable Proportions

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:52:00 -0500

Spike:

How in the hell could Mr. Clueless Worden, our city financial manager not know where $50,000 for the video equipment from Mediacom went? What kind of Mayberry clown is this guy who cannot account for any of the missing money squandered in this one party loser town. Surely it would be in his ledger what happened to the money or is he so incompetent that he doesn�t even have a ledger? Sounds like we�ve had a dead head at the financial helm over the past few decades guiding Burlington taxpayers straight into disaster.

Burlington needs something other than loser democrats running things because this city cannot afford such massive brain dead management as has been the norm for the past 30 years. One party politics is the worst of all situations when it comes to checks and balances proven over and over again right here in Burlington. Burlington leads the state with the most inept city management, third highest crime rate of all the cities in Iowa topped off with a left wing newspaper that rivals Goebbels in filling its pages with propaganda along with censoring the news in order to keep the populace ignorant of what�s going on.

One party politics has just ruined what Burlington once was and replaced it with a run down, trashy low life city with a notorious reputation for high crime, drugs and joblessness that leaves nothing in sight for future generations.

If Burlington has any chance of recovery it won�t be possible as long as the democrats are in control since they�re leadership brought us to this dilemma of failure.

RR

Make State Tax Dollars Work for Burlington

Thu, 13 Oct 2011 05:38:00 -0500

"The Vision Iowa Board agreed Wednesday morning to enter into negotiations with the city of Cedar Rapids on the city�s request for a Community Attraction and Tourism or CAT grant to provide state funding help to the NewBo City Market and public library projects."

Before the plug gets pulled on Vision Iowa, what about us? We already got a library.

Do you think Senator Courtney could get state money for a year round farmers market on our empty lot Manor Mall? The Iowa Senate grandfathering the Manor Mall from eminent domain legislation restrictions was crucial to creating Burlington's shovel ready site for a farmers market.

Senator Courtney has delivered before for Burlington at Agency and Roosevelt. Can Tom do it again?

Oliver Wendell Douglas

When that NewBo market has been reduced to flea market stalls, incense burners, dogs-playing poker blankets and ugly table top lamps, we can all pile in the Dodge and drive over to the convention center for the Junior League Christmas Show at $18/head plus $12 parking plus $15 stroller rental to gorge on $6 hot dogs and $5 beer.

This is a business model Burlington has specialty market expertise�taxpayer investment in money losing business ventures. And the citizens are voting for as we speak for the next five loser deals.

So, I guess Courtney will be all over it.

Spike

Doug Worden: Who Cares About $50,000? I Blew Through Millions!

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:58:00 -0500

Sound Bite Only Available in Print

Spike,

Davidson is embarrassed over the council chambers sound system? It hasn't worked right in years! It was broken for a prior candidates' forum. The sound for regular meetings is crap. And this bonehead only now puffs up like a mini-mayor.

Buried under no audio is Worden's remarks regarding where $50,000 got pissed away in Slagle and Worden's care. Not $2500 for a trip to Vegas for lard ass Worden to play big shot. Nope. $50,000 paid by Mediacom for equipment repair and replacement.

"The city received the first grant in January 2006 and the second in April, City Manager Doug Worden said.

"The $25,000 we got five years ago, I tried to figure out today (how we spent that)," Worden said. "I know we did update the character generator at that time.

...Where the rest of the money went, I have not been able to figure that out.""

Davidson, I have news. Your mock indignation over this continuation of theft, lies and deceit from city hall is pathetic. You signed your name on the line for that $50,000 oversight. Where this money went belongs in the category covering $400,000 for the railroad lawsuit, the $8+ million and climbing Manor Mall, the ballpark lights, the house at the bottom of Division, $1.8 million to Huck's Harbor, another million to the Bee's and your continued lack of oversight for the REC Plex. Never mind your continued infatuation with Doug Worden's bullshit. Or ignoring the Gasland mob robbery.

But you'll lean back in your big comfy chair and dismiss this all as someone else's problem just like you did when the swimming pool and municipal band needed a token amount of money to survive.

I say you better lean forward until the chair clicks, close that laptop lid on your Solitaire game, put those glasses back on and attempt to recall anything you supposedly learned about business before you started that career teaching business.

Anything less and you are no better than the rest of the no experience, no accountability, incompetent jackasses that have occupied city hall.

Indignation?

Think about taxpayer contempt for your next run at office.

MM

That about covers it.

Spike

Senator Courtney's Slot Machines for Kids

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:54:00 -0500

What Oversight? We Don't Need No Stinkin' Oversight!

Glover: SENATOR COURTNEY, IS THERE BLAME HERE?

Courtney: I DON'T THINK THERE'S BLAME. I THINK DR. STANEK IS A VICTIM OF HIS OWN SUCCESS. THIS IS A DIRECTOR OF A DEPARTMENT THAT TOOK AN IDEA AND RAN WITH IT. HE'S MADE THE STATE OVER $30 MILLION. WE'RE GOING TO MAKE $45 OR $50 MILLION IN THE COMING YEAR. MOST DEPARTMENT HEADS THAT DID THAT, WE WOULD BE APPLAUDING.

Yepsen: WELL, SENATOR, IS THE OVERSIGHT COMMITTEE ITSELF TO BLAME? YOU ARE CHARGED BY YOUR COLLEAGUES WITH OVERSEEING VARIOUS THINGS THAT THE GOVERNMENT DOES, THE NUTS AND BOLTS. IF YOU SAW THESE MACHINES, WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL YOUR COLLEAGUES ABOUT THEM?

Troute's IMU Peace College Pan Fried

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:50:00 -0500

Spike,

"1986-2003 The Iowa Peace Institute was established as a nonprofit organization in 1986 by a group of Iowa education, business, and government leaders, as Iowans were coping with the conflicts generated by a severe crisis in the farm economy and the world was entrenched in a Cold War. First temporarily housed in Des Moines, IPI found its permanent home in Grinnell in 1987, through the energetic efforts of local community leaders. It operated there until its closure in 2003."

"In 2003 IPI began looking for a way to continue its mission in a more stable financial environment."

As far as Mr. Troute's Peace College in Burlington, lots of luck.

Pan Fried

Concealing Burlington's Birds of Prey

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike,

Your youtube comparison to a Romulan cloaking device is apt. In fact, the Romulans are here.

Our local evil empire has a cloaking device. They use it whenever they want to hide their activities. Case in point, the City of Burlington's ill fated decision to sue the railroad. The single party ambassador to the planet Des Moines, State Senator Courtney, was there when the doors were closed to the public. "Without merit," but not without wasting our money.

Abuse of Iowa's open meetings law has run rampant locally. What of our shinning star fleet of the fourth estate? They claim to defend to our right to know in return for patronizing their advertisers.

The Ad Vertiser is as a sling shot against an Abrams tank. A few paint balls of printers ink splat against the armor. Those inside laugh while out of view. They will still get the Ad Vertiser's obligatory, single party endorsement at the next election.

Spike, you have done more to expose our emperors who wear no clothes than Captain Kane of the Ad Vertiser.

The best defense against the local Romulans is to run them out of office on election day.

J. T. Kirk
Riverside, IA

War Dead Triples Under Obama's 'Leadership'

Wed, 12 Oct 2011 05:42:00 -0500

U.S. War Dead in Afghanistan Have Tripled in Less Than 3 Years

Publisher Steve Delaney Hides Truth From Readers

Spike:

I wonder why this information on war dead hasn�t appeared in The Hawk Eye. When Bush was president The Hawk Eye kept a running daily accounting of each death but since Obama arrived they seem to forget the killing has increased and still goes on. Mike hasn�t even mentioned it; so we can assume with Mike it has to do with politics and nothing to do with the reported deaths but rather who Mike thinks is doing good for whatever reason while protecting that person from criticism.

The Hawk Eye censors the news on a daily basis to keep their readers ignorant of the Obama regimes left wing agenda and its constant failures and radical policies.

KLM

Socialism for Tots - Courtney Heads to Nut Job Website to Express Progressive Spews

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:55:00 -0500

Spike:

A red neckerchief right out of the crib. Younger Young Pioneers for Senator Courtney.

GH

Who wrote this post?. Nit wit Tom didn't. He can't speak more than three 5-word sentences. His attention span is about 4 seconds to determine what's in it for him.

He didn't write this. Even with the drunk ex-mayor and Heland they would still need Hoschek to write that many words. I wonder who spell checked it since all of the above think spell check is the amount of time between the taxpayers writing them a big fat check.

Spike

Arrivederci Worden

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Spike:

Sending Worden to Italy would be similar to hiring Wile E. Coyote to tend the Tyson Chicken farms. What business experience does Worden have that qualifies him for a so called �business� trip to Italy? I wonder if he�ll still get a gold watch despite the vacation trip to Italy? I hope the taxpayer isn�t the sucker being robbed to pay for this vacation trip.

How many jobs has the Chamber brought into Burlington over the past five years? The chamber record of jobs isn�t any better than the Obama jobs programs where one job cost in the millions.

If Burlington was such a hot spot why is that spec. building still sitting out in the industrial park empty? How many years has that place been a burden to the taxpayer? Most Chambers run the taxpayers about 25% of their funding but here in Burlington the last I heard it runs about 70% a figure far exceeding their worth to the community.

Whomever is funding this sabbatical is just throwing the money into a black hole, money that could be better spent on the Cascade Bridge or the swimming pool.

Disgusted

Hinkle guards his Italian vacation details like Fort Knox on a need-to-know basis. No more spouting off about not hiring a translator or a business guide. He can screw off for days at a time at cooking school without anyone knowing. 'Course it helps to take a BOD member with you. Complicity breeds silence. Or hire someone to take your place and criticize them. '

Or just hire people to be hiring them. Get the jobs created numbers up.

Spike

Dan Rather Drinks Rex Troute Occupy Wall Street Kool Aid

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 05:38:00 -0500

I Haven't Seen This At Any Tea Party Rally

But I Have Seen Liars

"On Sunday, Rather raised some eyebrows when he appeared on �The Chris Matthews Show.� The former anchorman made a number of curious comments about the Occupy Wall Street protests. The first, of course, is that the protests are a �mirror image� of the Tea Party rallies that have taken the nation by storm over the past two years."

Exposed - Occupy Wall Street Journal is Funded By George Soros' Tides, Code Pink and Michael Moore

Tue, 11 Oct 2011 04:05:00 -0500

Right from their Commie Mouths

Ad Vertiser's Rex Troute Ingesting Hallucinogens of Unknown Origin

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:02:00 -0500

Example How Pathetically Tragic the Business News in Southeast Iowa has Become

Spike,

Rex Troute's wife better sew his pants pockets shut. Troute's utterly insane idea of building a "peace" college in Burlington is the most hysterically absurd, stupid idea to ever be uttered from the lips of anyone, whether lucid or brain dead, over the age of 5. In fact, Troute's article/commentary/hallucination is a tragic example how ill-equipped he is for his job since he obviously has no concept of business, finance or what something on this scale costs. But he is a good Democrat. He wants someone else to pay for it. He has no stake in the game since he is the "idea guy." But people from all over the globe will be knocking down his door with fat checks to see this through because he thought of it.

With no track record of success, a grandiose misconception of finance and owning Big Boy underpants with Walter Mitty Goes to College signs printed thereon, Troute should seriously consider running for Burlington Mayor.

For the sake of his dignity Troute and to preclude his family's further embarrassment, Troute should get back to the Play-Doh table and make some imprints of the comics and stretch them out into weird shapes.

Walter Mitty Troute would even be better off making mud pies and dreaming of kick the can along Manor Mall than launching into a two-week bonanza into the inner working of IMU-I Messed Up University.

Anything but what we witnessed the last two Sunday editions.

How pathetically tragic the business news in Southeast Iowa has become for this to become newsworthy or be granted column inches. Or, that the business editor is such a nimrod.

I can't wait to hear the next installment.

Mesmerized By The Idea

The Romulans Aren't The Only Ones With a Superior Cloaking Device

Mon, 10 Oct 2011 01:00:00 -0500

See These Nanotubes and Nanorockets Create an �Invisibility Cloak�

Romulus and Ream Us

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 05:29:00 -0500

Spike,

Doug Worden is retiring. Doug Worden has one duty to complete before he retires. Just like Slagle and Gidget, Dougie Goes to Rome.

Of course, the trip will be one of economic development. Doug is bound to attract a souvenir vendor willing to sell him the Coliseum. If they agree in return to take title to our vacant lot manor mall ruins and pay the taxes, a win for Burlington.

With Hinkle as his tour guide, Worden can retire happy. An all expenses paid trip to Italy is the apex accomplishment of managing the City of Burlington.

Seizure Augustus

Ream Us Worden in a Toga? That should just about shut the Italian border to Iowans.

Spike

How �Occupy Wall Street� Was Organized From Day One by SEIU/ACORN Front

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 04:58:00 -0500

The Working Family Party, and How They All Tie to the Obama Administration, DNC, Democratic Socialists of America, Tides and George Soros

Jesse Jackson: Steve Jobs Would�ve Supported �Occupy Wall Street�

Fri, 7 Oct 2011 04:45:00 -0500

Bottom Feeder Jesse Tries To Connect The Dots

Little Jesse Erases Dots

Crime Wave Continues Unabated

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

Between the Hawk Eye and the police department it�s hard to figure out which entity is trying to keep the citizens in the dark concerning crime here in Burlington, Iowa�s third highest crime ridden city.

We have all the friends of the police who have a pass on their numerous law breaking indiscretions simply because they're friends of someone on the force, they're related to someone on the force, a friend of someone on the force, one of Burlington�s single party politicians and there�s a trend that if you�re a minority you�ll also get off free and clear.

We have the Gas Land Robbery by 10 to 14 minority people that was caught on film and given to the police at which time it was shelved and can probably only be viewed by filing a FOIA papers since it never even made the Hawk Eye and the police just swept it under the rug. On the same token two Caucasian guys beat up someone and they put their pictures in the Hawk Eye without delay, the picture was obtained from a camera at the HyVee on Angular Street.

There was also a minority and white fight in Perkins Park by a group of young people the other day but it like many other problems here in Burlington failed to make the newspaper. But thanks to the grapevine it was spread around town quickly. Since the public was not made aware of this fight in Perkins Park it can be assumed the perpetrators were given absolution by the authorities, minus the court system that seems to get circumvented frequently.

The citizens of Burlington are spoon fed when it comes to the crime going on around them. Anyone who thinks the streets are safe at night must have their heads stuck in the sand or get their news from the Hawk Eye where you�ll get some of the crime sometimes and none of the crimes at other times. Iowa�s most leftist newspaper does not have anyone looking out for the welfare of Burlington�s citizens since they only print what the one party system has laid out for them to print. There�s no investigative reporting of any type; so the grapevine must fill in the many gaps in the local newspaper.

Weren�t some of our WWII enemies guilty of this type of criminal behavior by the authorities? Is there anyone in Burlington that thinks others have gotten preferential treatment by the authorities while they themselves had the book thrown at them for the same offense?

If you are one that knows of a crime but it never appears in the local police logs or the Hawk Eye please make it known through the several blogs here in the Burlington area. Normal news channels won�t get the information unless the authorities or the paper make crime known by printing it. Most cover-ups haven�t a chance of appearing in the Des Moines Register because it�s suppressed by local authorities and has no normal paper trail.

JG

Rex Troute Face First In the Brownies Again - IMU - I Messed UP!

Wed, 5 Oct 2011 01:15:00 -0500

Spike:

Rex Troute's column Sunday was about the most ridiculous column he has ever written. Troute has had more columns labeled commentary this year than any of real substance. He should be moved right under Lil' Abner in the funnies.

To sit and expound on such nonsensical drivel is akin to smacking one's head with a hammer and exclaiming, "That didn't hurt." Hinkle's aquarium remodeling project has gotten to Rex and his desire to screw the taxpayers to the wall for his hallucinations.

Either that or he has gotten into Sweet's special chocolate brownies again.

It's the dumbest, dumb ass idea I have ever heard. And I have heard some pretty stupid ideas.

Like Manor Mall and we don't need a professional to sell it. We have the ever successful Doug Worden.

Rex better get his wife to sew up the hole in his pants pocket. Maybe he can hit the wall with a better idea if he isn't distracted.

How Can They Sleep At Night

Big O's Puppetmaster

Fri, 30 Sep 2011 13:17:31 -0500

The Path to Hometown Glory

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:25:00 -0500

Spike,

Local leadership has become as inbred as a toothless hillbilly. The recessive traits resulting have manifested themselves in Burlington's recessive opportunities and population trend.

One hope for Burlington is those who made good in the wider world. Like salmon, some have returned to where they were hatched to die.

Before they die, most should have 10-20 years left of relative health and mental acuity.They have a broader range of experiences to share in shaping a better future.

They have the time. Are they willing to serve as leaders?

Somebody needs to defeat State Senator Courtney. Local offices could also use an infusion of integrity, intelligence and broader range of experiences.

Hopefully, some of those home from the sea will remove the beer cans, carp and condoms now fouling the stream that nurtured them.

Salmon P. Chase

Ad Vertiser Ignores Gas Land Flash Mob Robbery - Leads With Blood at Hy-Vee

Thu, 29 Sep 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Police Department Continues to Ignore Crime

Will It Take Blood at The Next Flash Mob Robbery?

Spike:

I see where the Hawk Eye published the security camera photo of the two suspects they suspected of beating a 19 year old teenager close to the Angular Hy-Vee store on September 8th at 12:30 AM.

Back around July 1st a gang of 10 to 14 minority youths robbed the Gas Land store in the 1000 block of Summer Street of dry goods along with beer that was recorded on the stores security camera but the story never appeared in the Hawk Eye and none of the suspects pictures were published in the paper either. Does anyone here sense a double standard by the police and the Hawk Eye? Granted the crimes were different but both were crimes with only one being reported and the other swept under the rug by the police and probably the Hawk Eye, Iowa�s leader in double standard reporting. The police are known to play favorites when it comes to a person�s name and who they know or if they work for the city or county.

Just today 9/28/11 John Mangalonzo had an article on page one of the Hawk Eye titled �Courting awareness�. In the first paragraph Mangalonzo attempts to mislead the reader with his point of view which has nothing to do with the story at all, just his left wing opinion before the story In the second paragraph he says, �With the use of nearly a million dollars in out-of-state funding, an unprecedented event took place with the ouster of three Iowa Supreme Court justices�. Actually the out-of-state money totaled about $650,000 and not $1,000,000 as mentioned by Mangalonzo. There�s also the Iowa constitution that allows the voters to get rid of bad judges if they vote them out, perfectly legal. Does Mangalonzo know how much out-of-state left wing money Harkin gets to keep his position as one of the top three liberal losers in the congress?

Mislead

Worden Shows True Colors - Inexcusable Absence = Quitter

Wed, 28 Sep 2011 05:33:00 -0500

Don't Let That Door Hit You In The Ass Doug!

Spike,

Dare not deviate from the decades norm Doug Worden is retiring as Burlington's City Manager. A life time of Burlington as his horizon and a gold watch, welcome to retirement.

Retirement should give Doug the opportunity to experience a wider world. He really should do so before the ravages of age and Aspen Grove restrict him to the small pond he has known too well.

Even though not on time a lot of the time, Doug did make the trains run. Unlike Jessie James Slagle, Doug did not derail the locomotive and proceed to rob the passengers.

The City Council must now find a new City Manager. It will be an important decision that must not be taken lightly.

One Slagle in a generation is one too many.

A. Pinkerton

The taxpayers got just what Lost Keys Ell dictated - a 3rd Place status quo loser. When Worden got called on a stupid ass move that demanded accountability, he quits. Like a loser.

We don't need no stinkin' losers. We've had years of losers - Edwards, Ell, Slagle, King, Worden, Power, Knoke, Mercer and a couple of others that flip flop better than Asian Carp.

In fact, the carp smell better.

Good Bye Doug. Don't let that door hit you in the ass.

Spike

State Senator Courtney Should Follow Senator Fraise's Example

Tue, 27 Sep 2011 05:11:00 -0500

Spike,

State Senator Fraise announced he is not seeking re-election. Ineffective and known for being so, Senator Fraise did the right thing. May he enjoy his retirement.

State Senator Courtney announced he is seeking another term. Senator Courtney has become known as a vindictive pest. Senator Courtney is the last person you would anybody wishing to open up a new business to meet.

If there is anybody out there with intelligence and integrity in Senator Courtney's district wishing to serve? Be they a Democrat in a primary, or a Republican in the general election, would they please step forward.

Jeff Heland need not apply.

Southeast Iowa's two current State Senators have helped make us the butt of jokes around the rest of the state. Half the problem is gone. The rest needs to go.

Roscoe Sawyer

Guess Who's Coming to Dinner - For Tamales & Cheeseburgers

Mon, 26 Sep 2011 10:36:41 -0500

'You Do Not Want To Be Between Michelle And A Tamale'

Or a Cheezeboiger

Spike:

"Speaking to members of the National Restaurant Association on Monday, Vilsack said Americans need to �adjust� their tastes so they�ll like the healthful foods the government wants them to eat."

Julia Child, rest in peace. The Henry County Chef is dictating what's for dinner.

There is all the usual liberal babble about the nanny state's loving concern for we the ignorant children. We are not eating our vegetables. Eat your vegetables, or else.

Or else what?

What will be what nourishes the nanny state. It will be what the nanny state can never get enough of; new taxes under glass.

Gluttons for more, some cities are already taxing sugary soft drinks. Look for more of this as the federal government eats us out of house and home to pay failed social programs.

What you earned and put on your plate is not yours. It is theirs.

Bon Appetit.

Dunkem Hines

""You do not want to be between Michelle and a tamale," joked the president. "It�s true. It�s true. But she�s moving, though, so she can afford to have as many tamales as she wants," said Obama in a nod to his wife�s "Let�s Move" healthy campaign."

or

"First Lady Michelle Obama may have temporarily forgotten the lessons of her own anti-obesity campaign when she indulged in a sinfully caloric lunch Monday at a popular new hamburger restaurant.

A Washington Post reporter said the first lady ordered a cheeseburger, french fries, chocolate shake and Diet Coke at Shake Shack � a trendy hamburger spot that recently opened an outpost in Washington�s Dupont Circle.

Based on nutritional information on the restaurant�s website, the meal added up to a scale-tipping 1,556 calories.

Obama has made the fight against childhood-obesity a central focus of her White House tenure and launched the �Let�s Move� campaign to promote exercise and ensure children have access to healthy food.

The Post noted, however, that she has also admitted to having an �obsession with french fries.�

�The greatest danger to liberty today comes from the men who are most needed and most powerful in modern government, namely, the efficient expert administrators exclusively concerned with what they regard as the public good.�

Heland Back In News

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 12:43:00 -0500

Hope so!

Worden Still Incompetent - Murray Genuflects

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Did Murray Have a Mary Baker Senior Moment?

Spike

Just when you begin to believe that Junior Murray was a better city council choice than Mary Baker, Junior genuflects on his adoration for Doug Worden.

"Councilman (Matt) Murray has indicated to me that maybe part of my problem is that I'm too honest, and my honesty comes across as lacking of tact," he said."

If Junior thinks ass kissing is going to work in his quest for a better job and a promotion in the school system, it might work. It even works in the real world of business. But if he bases that career on ass kissing to keep that job, he's out of his mind and the effects of the toxic Worden Kool-Aid will soon wear off when he winds up as a McDonald's burger boy.

Murray has aspirations for a better job and is thinking how best to respond to that quest to succeed. That makes a lot of sense. Get the hell out of that city hall cesspool.

While Murray is contemplating the tools needed to advance in his profession as a teacher, he should keep in mind Doug Worden sat on his arrogant, lazy ass for years in City Hall as a mute toad kicked around by every criminal that occupied the city manager's seat. Play-Doh has a stronger back bone.

Worden did nothing to obtain city manager state certification until he was humiliated into it and became 3rd choice to replace the Master Criminal City Manager Bruce Slagle. He worked for city councils, city managers but never had the personal ambition to do any more than he ever needed to in order to skate by.

So tell me Junior, is this what you respect in forming your own career goals? Aspirations of a 3rd place has been?

I hope not. Our school students can't read and write now.

PU

Johnson: My Neighbor�s Dogs �Created More Shovel-Ready Jobs Than This Current Administration�

Fri, 23 Sep 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Florida Gov. Rick Scott signs law requiring welfare recipients to take drug test

Thu, 22 Sep 2011 05:45:00 -0500

How Soon Can We Sign 'Em Up?

"Republican Gov. Rick Scott signed a bill on Tuesday that requires benefit recipients to undergo drug testing.

Applicants for the federal Temporary Assistance for Needy Families program who test positive for illicit substances won't be eligible for the funds for a year, or until they undergo treatment.

Those who fail a second time would be banned from receiving the funds for three years."

Relief Sooner Than We Had Hoped May Arrive

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:14:25 -0500

Fat Little Puppet Gronstal's String Unwinding

Spike,

�Sit down, sit down, shut up! Shut up!� Gronstal yelled over a boisterous standing ovation from 200-some Democratic activists.

Former defacto Governor of Iowa Mike Gronstal faces losing his last power base, the Iowa Senate. A special election could make the Senate an even split. Gronstal will not be able to block legislation as he has been since losing his defacto Governor's office.

This special election for an Iowa Senate seat has large implications. It could mean considerably weakening not just Gronstal, but a whole host of other Socialists. State Senator Tom Courtney would be forced to share committee leadership positions.

A defeat in this special election would help condition Senators Courtney and Fraise for a big change in 2012. Both need put out to pasture before they put us all out of business.

GH

Ad Vertiser Never Loses Mission Direction

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:08:00 -0500

Spike:

Last week the Hawk Eye ran an editorial written by a Mary Sanchez for the Kansas City Star, a far left wing rag - a mirror image of the Hawk Eye itself.

Sanchez was harping at one point about all the executions in Texas since Pearlman had been governor. There were in excess of about 240 of these executions and of course Sanchez was all over the governor for carrying out the Texas law by executing murderers, serial killers, murder rapists and so on.

How strange she never mentioned once that Missouri murders over 6000 babies every year through abortion and these innocent humans haven�t even been born yet. It�s sad Ms. Sanchez has so much passion for murderers that face justice and yet cares nothing about innocent babies being sucked to their deaths without ever having a chance at earthly life at all.

Sanchez is nothing more than a hateful person spewing forth so much trash and misinformation she reminds me of Germany in the 30�s up to the mid 40�s. Why would the killing of over 6000 babies not be wrong in her mind? What makes a person not care that all these babies are being killed yearly right in her own state of Missouri while she worries about 240 or so killers and murder�s being executed in Texas over a ten year period.

The Hawk Eye condones this type of editorial writing and gets a sense of pleasure from printing it because the Hawk Eye itself is left wing news at its worst, printed right here in

Iowa�s third most criminalized city, Burlington, Iowa.

You would think our own paper would print something about the problems in this one horse county such as a poverty rate of 21.9%, 16.6% of population on food stamps and 42.5% on free or reduced lunch at the schools. Percentages are from 2008 and have surely gone up since then. Rumors have it the reduced or free lunches are running in the area of 70% now but I couldn�t find the numbers.

Why would the Hawk Eye run Ms. Sanchez editorials when we already have Mike Sweet here locally spewing the same trash on a far too often basis. He couldn�t even let 9/11 slip by without his hateful writing. Poor taste if there ever was any but not uncommon for the Hawk Eye�s left wing editorial page.

MP

They did their spiel on poverty. Publisher Steve Delaney follows the Obama mantra to sow discourse and unrest. Soften the ground for another round of his dumb ass ideas.

A lot of people on welfare don't want a job. They have one. Hosin' the taxpayers.

Spike

We Are Heroes, Who Need to Create a Crisis:

Tue, 20 Sep 2011 11:01:24 -0500

SEIU�s Stephen Lerner at Progressive Summit Tells Unions, Community Organizers and Students They Need to Escalate Protests, Break Laws, Occupy Abandoned Houses and Spread the Crisis All Over U.S.

Courtneys Out At Economic Development

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 12:24:42 -0500

Branstad appoints new economic development authority board members

Lack of Oversight Likely Cause

The Courtney boys were sent packing yesterday.

"Gov. Terry Branstad appointed 11 business leaders and citizens to the newly formed economic development authority board, a group that will help lead the state�s job-creation efforts.

The new board replaces the former Iowa Economic Development Board, which had its last meeting Thursday. The new board includes three members of the former board � John Lisle of Clarinda, Daniel White of Dubuque, and David Bernstein of Sioux City."

Nope, not a Courtney to be seen. No one from Southeast Iowa either. Not a surprise. We haven't had a leader worthy of sitting on an economic development board for a long, long time.

Spike

Webcam 101 for Seniors....

Fri, 16 Sep 2011 05:01:00 -0500

The Tijuana Taxi to Missouri

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Spike,

Bruce Slagle
City Manager
Title: City Manager
Phone: 573-581-2100

Between Burlington and the Lake of the Ozarks there is another little town called Mexico. There is a city management, or perhaps mismanagement, connection between Burlington and Mexico, Mo.

"When asked whether he thought Worden's decision to skip the meeting was inappropriate, Ell said: "Boy, I don't want to answer that one right now."

Perhaps the old Friday afternoon at Flint Hills crew got together again for a three some. There are some excellent resort golf courses in the Ozarks. Pick up an old pal half way there and head for the links.

Council watch dogs in Mexico may wish to review any travel reimbursements to their City Manager.

Arnold Palmedhoff

No one said Worden was in town last Tuesday. He could have canceled his meeting riding around with Slagle and Ell in their golf carts (they all have to drive...).

Spike

America's Toughest Sheriff to Visit Iowa

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:25:00 -0500

Spike,

"A controversial Maricopa County, Ariz. sheriff will be in Iowa this weekend to appear at a fundraising event for Jones County sheriff candidate Rick LaMere and to spread a message of civic involvement."

If Sheriff Joe caught a City Council member drunk in their car, would he let them call home, or book them and tent them?

J. Edgar Hamms

Will someone please email Sheriff Joe Arpaio and ask him if he could investigate the Gasland mob robbery and a few other things....

Spike

Amsterdam on the Mississippi - Fill The Vacant Store Fronts

Thu, 15 Sep 2011 05:16:00 -0500

Spike,

"So how does the Red Light District work?"

"From about noon until long after midnight, the girls stand behind red-lit glass doors, dressed in fancy underwear, looking to attract the attention of passers-by."

"Downtown Partners Inc. seeks to ensure mannequins are the only ones shoppers see lounging in their skivvies in storefront widows along Jefferson Street....."

"If we have a vibrant downtown, it will take care of itself. I don't think we should have to regulate or legislate what is going to take place there," Davidson said. "If downtown is operating the way it should, nobody is going to want to live in a storefront. There is too much foot traffic."

What have various socialist, downtown Burlington revitalization plans accomplished over the last 40 plus years? Gazebos a go-go got nowhere. Where are the crowds with quiet railroad crossings?

If you meet a market they will come.

Nell Gwyn

Obama Money

Wed, 14 Sep 2011 04:28:00 -0500

Ell Struggles On Black & White

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 12:27:46 -0500

"So which is it? Is it more about developers, or is it about Doug?"

Spike,

I see our mayor talked to Doug Worden at length to figure out how to cover up Worden's MIA Lake of The Ozarks Retreat last week.

Then Ell, in his usual blinding speed to lay blame somewhere else pushes Slum Lord Dennis Wilson under the bus head first. Ell says it's all Wilson's fault. Or maybe it's Worden's fault. Ell doesn't know which.

"Dennis, either because he was trying to cut corners or because he didn't really understand how to be a contractor, that is where this whole issue came from. Now there are people jumping on the bandwagon so to speak and it has become more about Doug than about anything else. So which is it? Is it more about developers, or is it about Doug?" Ell said."

That's why Burlington has lost its way. There is no leadership. To Ell, it is all black and white. Ell never considered for one minute that he has TWO problems here that need resolution.

Slum Lord Dennis Wilson needs to build to code. End of story. Wilson has a history of cutting corners without any accountability.

Worden is a lazy, rude, egotistical, incompetent, lard ass!

This Publisher Steve Delaney revenue generator will die for now and in about 2-3 weeks the council will vote to give Worden his raise buried in page 2 at the bottom. Wilson will be made the scapegoat of exposing Worden for what he is.

And the taxpayers will reach in their pockets again for some free money.

Fed Up

A Distracting Character

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 05:14:00 -0500

Spike,

"The cartoon character SpongeBob SquarePants is in hot water from a study suggesting that watching just nine minutes of that program can cause short-term attention and learning problems in 4-year-olds."

Whatever happened to Spuds McKenzie? Spuds caused a lot attention and learning problems on Burlington's City Council in years past.

GH

Spuds is alive and living in the Mayor's van.

Spike

Obama's Prison Blues

Tue, 13 Sep 2011 04:50:00 -0500

Bittersweet Buttress Demolished - City Employee or City's Finest Citizen?

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:56:00 -0500

Gasland Mob Robbery Still A Secret

Ditto: Dodge Street Drunk Driver

Ditto: Drunk Ex-Mayor

Where's Mr. Freedom-Open-Government Watch Dog Tiberius Steve Delaney?

Spike:

I hear through the grape vine that the West Bittersweet Pillar was knocked down by one of Burlington�s finest and hushed up like many of the other incidents that occur around Burlington, Iowa�s third most criminalized city. It was the West pillar on Bittersweet which runs North and South along the West side of the Country Club and it happened about the time of the last rainfall in July. Nothing appeared in the police log nor the local socialist paper.

What can be deduced from this is that it was possibly a policeman, someone with city management, a city employee, county employee or someone with ties to the police through employment, relations and/or friends.

This is one of three incidents, two of which weren�t ever reported and one in which part of the facts were reported with the exception of the police letting the perpetrator drive off after running into a parked car on Dodge Street causing $6000 in damage to a Toyota Sirius parked on the street, the perpetrator had no insurance. Prior to that accident he had already knocked down a fence on Mason Road and then after being let go from the second offense he drove his vehicle through the wall out at Keystone Products where he finally was taken to the hospital, all of this damage occurred in less than two hours. On Dodge Street he was ticketed for driving the wrong way on a one way street and let go by the policeman after which he then caused the damage to Keystone Products. On the 13th of August the police issued him a ticket for the Dodge Street accident but not before he committed another offense against Keystone. The guy had a court date and was fined $900 although, he didn�t appear. I won�t mention his name but he did have the last name of a retired police office here in town although he may not be a relative but it�s obvious he knew someone to be let go from a major accident while not having any insurance.

The first incident was the gang mob robbery at the Gas Land store on Summer street where ten to twelve minorities ran through the store stealing food and beer. They overwhelmed the store clerk. By the time the police arrived all had managed to get away but the store had the entire incident recorded on their security system. Several days later the police came to the store and picked up the disk but nothing was ever printed in the local socialist paper nor the police log; so it�s been well over a month and nothing has been said about the incident by anyone belonging to the police department or the city management. Another case of crime pays in Burlington depending on who you are or who you know.

This type of behavior has been going on in Burlington for many years with incidents popping up frequently with a mass of covering up going on by people who are supposed to be fair and just. Anyone of authority who lets a person off for breaking the law is more guilty than the person who committed the offense, meaning they are exceeding their authority and breaking the oath they took when hired. Lets don�t forget the mayor of a few years ago who fell asleep drunk at the wheel over at the BK drive up window one night. The police called his wife to come over and pick him up granting him a pardon for a drunk driving charge, wouldn�t we all like that kind of treatment from local authorities?

There are other incidents but it really doesn�t matter just one incident of letting people off for breaking the law are never negotiable at the scene by the police because they are not the judge or jury, that belongs to the judicial authority only.

LJ

Mike's Spew Shortsightedly Forgets His War - Vietnam

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Spike:

I see Mike is back in full swing again bashing the Bush administration over all the deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan over the past ten years not to mention he�s been out of office for over two years.

Well, how could Mike forget about Vietnam and the close to 60,000 American deaths that Johnson and the Democrats caused in that undeclared war that lingered on for about ten years. During the ten years the troops had one arm tied behind their backs by Armchair Commander Johnson who was planning the daily actions from the Oval Office. Also, I wonder how many innocent Vietnamese citizens were killed by this Democratic induced undeclared war. I might also mention that the Gulf of Tonkin Incident was Johnson�s legal justification for deploying U.S. conventional forces and the commencement of open warfare against North Vietnam. Bush was probably just using the same type of justification as was Johnson before him. Facts concerning the Bay of Tonkin Incident.

Mike and the Hawk Eye just can�t stomach the constant failures of the Obama regime and have been living in the past administration where they have been stuck for the past two and three quarter years. The Hawk Eye is a left wing paper that censors the news according to the editors political beliefs and that�s just the truth and local citizens will never read anything about Obama�s and the democrats constant failures as president in the Hawk Eye.

I think most Hawk Eye readers are smart enough to know Mike is a fanatical left wing journalist who should probably be at the NYT or MSNBC where un-American activity is at its peak while being in the midst of socialist country out on the East Coast.

KLM

Burlington Hotel - Cabrini Green West?

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 05:36:00 -0500

Brian Tapp and Dennis Hinkle's Debacle Still Paying Dividends

Spike:

A while back I thought I read where the Burlington Hotel was having hard times getting renters and that it may have been on the verge of shutting down again or going belly up. Over the past few weeks there hasn�t been a word in the local paper about it; so I took a ride downtown and I found the reason nothing�s been said lately.

Our Burlington Hotel is now the Cabrini Green West and has become the home of many of the new citizens cajoled in to moving from Chicago to Iowa by the local corps of tax exempt organizations such as SEIRPC, The Chamber and Grow Greater Burlington along with a host of other tax exempt organizations looking for a way to keep their tax money flowing in on a regular basis and reinforcing the voter block for the democrats since there are no jobs to be had in this area, what other reason would they have for coming here if not to benefit those that earn their keep off providing benefits to the poor and unfortunate. We live in a county with something like 392 tax exempt organizations with many of them providing tax supported monies to the poor and unfortunate. I guess it�s a form of job security for these tax exempt organizations because as the real wage earners leave town the poor and unfortunate take their place securing jobs for those that distribute our taxes to them.

There are more likely more people living off the taxpayer in Des Moines County and local governments than there are people working in order to pay them enough that they live better than the middle class wage earners in Europe. Could that be why Burlington and Des Moines County have such massive taxes?

What did the taxpayers of Des Moines County and Burlington do to deserve such rotten management and incompetent tax exempt organizations that they are intent on ruining our city by enticing people over here when there are no jobs for them here unless it�s for the reasons stated above or to get more government money. It�s sad to think that about 75% of the children in government schools are on subsidized lunches in one way or another, the schools even have free lunches in the summer time.

SOL

Rudy Decries �Irrational Application of Political Correctness� in Handling Terror Threats

Mon, 12 Sep 2011 04:26:00 -0500

City Code Flaunted by Inspectors

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 04:18:00 -0500

Spike:

To point out how ridiculous Burlington�s canned city codes really are I would like to point out that the trees in front of the medical complex in the 800 block of North 6th Street are within two feet of the sidewalk requiring people to go around them or stoop down to pass under them.

According to code 151.09 trees shall have a minimum of 8 feet of clearance above sidewalks. In front of this medical center there is far less than the 8 foot clearance as specified in the code.

City codes in Burlington are basically used as a threat against anyone who complains about something that may upset the status quo of the city management. There are trees all over town that fail the 8 foot requirement specified by city code 151.09.

Another unenforced city code is number 150 requiring numbers on buildings and homes. Never enforced by the fire department and basically ignored by the city. Just drive around town and you can see homes and business entities with no street number visible anywhere. The fire department, the last I knew is responsible for street numbering of business and homes in Burlington.

Burlington management is basically out of control with wages and benefits for city employees far exceeding their responsibility and accountability. After all, if they were really top notch employees the private sector would have hired them away from the city long ago.

JA

Unfair City Law Enforcement

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 04:12:00 -0500

Spike:

That guy that ran through a fence on Mason Road, went the wrong way on Dodge street and knocked a parked Toyota Sirius into the owners yard and was let go by the police only to run his vehicle through the wall at Keystone Products less than an hour later got off with a $900 fine and didn�t even appear at his own court case.

The policeman over at the Dodge Street site just let the guy off saying, �I know his parents and their good people who will take care of the damage.� At this point the driver was let go to run his vehicle through the wall at Keystone Products. The damage was in the area of $6000 to the Sirius and he wasn�t even issued a ticket for that offense until the next day as people began to hear about this injustice by the Burlington Police department. No telling what the damage cost was to Keystone Products where a wall had to be rebuilt. By the way the Dodge Street cop didn�t ask to see the drivers insurance but he sure as hell asked to see proof of insurance from the man who owned the damaged Sirius, that was parked at the curb.

The Burlington police department is good at doling out favors to certain people who know them, work for the local government, have money, have a friend on the police force or city government. These people can do no wrong and are let go by the police on a regular basis only to be repeat offenders later on which poses a constant threat to law abiding citizens who would never get the breaks these clowns get simply because they don�t know someone in city government or the police department.

Burlington has two sets of laws on the books one for the average citizens and another set for the friends of the police or government. Just remember when in Burlington justice is dependent on who you know or who you are and has nothing to do with fairness within the law. Don�t ever believe the Mission Statements on the web sites because there just a fictional statement purchased on the open market and meaningless here in Burlington.

Another unreported case is the Gang Robbery of the Gas Land Station on Summer Street that happened about July 1. Nothing was ever said by the police or the local censored paper concerning this robbery which was filmed at the store and picked up by the police a few days after the incident but of course if someone well known was in on it or knew someone we now have a reason nothing was ever said about it to the public. This crime was committed by a group of 10 to 14 minorities who ran through the store stealing food and alcohol products. In other parts of the country this type of crime is well documented and published in legitimate newspapers and TV stations broadcast the videos of the thieves but in Burlington it�s withheld from the public.

Just remember if the State of Iowa were to have an enema they�d stick it in Burlington, a city whose time has passed.

Anarchic

Creating a Community Like Congresswoman Waters Along the Father of Waters

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 04:01:00 -0500

Spike,

�There are roughly 3 million African Americans out of work today, a number nearly equal to the entire population of Iowa. I would suggest that if the entire population of Iowa, a key state on the electoral map and a place that served as a stop on the president�s jobs bus tour were unemployed, they would be mentioned in the president�s speech and be the beneficiary of targeted public policy,� Waters said in a statement to POLITICO on Thursday."

Mad Maxine's suggestion of all Iowans unemployed maybe far fetched. It is not because Southeast Iowa is not doing its part. Ruled by politicians of Maxine's ilk, Iowa's Southeast is its most depressed region.

Productive young people flee for opportunity elsewhere. To Grow Greater Burlington, low skilled, poorly educated replacements are recruited from the most depressed neighborhoods of nearby metropolitan areas.This is cheered by our State Senator Courtney who tells us not to be upset with these replacements.

Retired union workers do not live forever. Their replacements are Senator Courtney and his friends future power base.

Local entrepreneurial opportunity has resulted. There is a large stock of old, cheap housing ripe for purchase. Rent it out for direct payment from welfare agencies. So what if your renters ruin it. You were not planning to put anything back into the property.

Wring every penny out of your investment. Time is on your side. The City will not condemn it.

Every day and in every way, our local leaders are making our neighborhoods look more those Maxine calls home.

Louis Saint Easton

Rick Santelli And Thomas Friedman Tangle Over Social Security �Ponzi Scheme�

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 03:45:00 -0500

Count How Many Times Obama Asks Congress to �Pass This Jobs Bill�?

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 03:38:00 -0500

Krauthammer on Obama Address: A �Campaign Speech� of a �Watered-Down, Retreaded Stimulus Package�

Fri, 9 Sep 2011 03:28:00 -0500

Grow Some Balls You Pompous Ass: Then See Item #2 Below

Thu, 8 Sep 2011 05:46:00 -0500

"What is it you want us to do?" Ell asked Shockley. "

Grow some balls you pompous ass. You've sat in that chair for so many years without doing anything but wiping Worden's nose along with your pampered lot of incompetent city jackasses, you more than lost track of the school keys. You've lost your mind.

And while you're pulling your head out of Worden's butt you might ask your police chief what the hell he is doing about the Gasland mob robbery.

So there's your checklist Mayor:

1. Grow some balls

2. Stop kissing Worden's ass

3. Stop kissing the city employees' asses

4. Pull your head out of Worden's butt

5. Demand some immediate action to protect the citizens from the Gasland criminals you have let scamper away. They don't work for the city.

Spike

This Story Should Have Been on The Cover Above The Fold

Thu, 8 Sep 2011 05:43:00 -0500

'Comments anger union officials'

Spike:

Chief union advocates Ad Vertiser editor Steve Delaney and Rex Troute sure exercised their editorial control over the outrageous story buried on page 3 of Wednesday's rag.

Hiding the controversy over the outrageous city and county employee health insurance coverage won't make it go away.

I have no insurance. I would love to have an insurance plan that I only contributed 20% to.

And I sure as hell won't forget that when it comes time to vote.

Jed

Hoffa Is a Bum Just like The Ol' Man

Thu, 8 Sep 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

Hoffa is just a bum earning a living off the backs of the few workers who enjoy some hemp and alcohol during their lunch breaks over at the Chrysler factory in Detroit. Now if one wants to see the results of a union made town take a look.

Now this is what happened to Detroit over the last 50+ years compared to a nonunion town blown to pieces by the Atomic Bomb some 50+ years ago. This is what happens to a town when it�s forced to pay extreme union wages and benefits. Hoffa is trying to reinvent the Dinosaur with his hate speech about the Tea Party and anyone else in order to maintain his easy living off the backs of others. Of course Obama goes along with Hoffa because they buy his support and special interest mandates and he�s not going to cut his own source of revenue off, is he?

Obama himself shells out $20 million to have three houses insulated out in Washington State and doesn�t bat an eye because he doesn�t know a thing about economics or working for a living because he�s obviously risen through the government run hand out system his entire life.

Worried

John McCain said recent numbers indicate jobs created by stimulus funding cost $282,000 per job.

Spike

A Lack of Oversight

Wed, 7 Sep 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Spike,

"Tom Wheeler was found guilty Tuesday of one of nine counts charged against him in connection with the Iowa�s once-lucrative tax credit program for filmmakers.

Wheeler, 42, was found guilty on one count of felonious misconduct related to Polynation Pictures. He faces up to five years in prison."

Tax credits and lack of oversight when investing taxpayers money makes for an unhappy ending. Do you think state legislators with stars in their eyes learned anything from this?

Erik VonTaxhiem

I wonder how the infamously and utterly incompetent senator Courtney felt when the jury uttered guilty knowing his lack of any reasonable oversight perpetuated the taxpayer robbery?

Spike

Obamanation Economy Builder - Change Your Wallet Can Feel

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Billboard in Cedar Rapids from Blackhawk County facebook

Spec Building Still Empty

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike:

I wonder how long that spec. building in the Industrial Park has been taking up space and how much money that it is costing the taxpayers? With all the new small business building going on out there we continue to reinforcing Burlington�s stash of empty buildings without increasing any form of employment in the area. I wonder how many of their old abandoned buildings are still taking up space in Burlington. The school district does the same thing by moving out of schools for new ones before getting rid of the old ones; so why not everyone else.

Then we have the tax exempt havens moving out of town taking possession of luxury buildings which again result in loss of taxes with no increase in employment.

We have Obama paying out 20 million dollars to create 14 jobs (mostly administrative) and insulating a whopping three homes out in Washington State. Obama doesn�t have enough brains to see what he�s doing to our country and his dimwitted staff are no better and these are supposed to be people of high intelligence and if this is the outcome of our education system we are lost for sure.

Our own president and his administration are a good example of what failure of government does and is. All of his green waste is nothing but waste of American taxpayer dollars based on greed and lies about nature, driven by government scientist along with private entities who make false statements in order to keep the money flowing; so they can keep their grants, high salaries and benefits. Even NASA has been caught fudging the temperature numbers in order to keep the money flowing.

Broke

Teamsters President Hoffa: �Let�s Take These Sons Of Bitches Out�

Tue, 6 Sep 2011 04:49:00 -0500

Calls for War on Tea Party at Obama Labor Day Event

Real Cover Up Behind Manor Mall - They All Are Incompetent Losers

Thu, 1 Sep 2011 05:48:00 -0500

Spike,

Don't let your readers forget the Manor Mall fiasco was the failed attempt to cover up gross incompetence of the city attorney Scott Power in the railroad lawsuit and to cover up Mexico MO city manager Bruce Slagle's criminal activities while city manager.

Two or more make a criminal conspiracy. Add the drunk ex-mayor Mike Edwards, regional planning Brian Tapp and the chamber's Dennis Hinkle along with Senator Tom Courtney to the mix and pretty soon you have a genuine RICO investigation.

The only wisdom the old and weary Ell can cough up is he hates to lose the sales commission on the property. What that bone head assumes is that a real estate agent can sell this albatross and the city wouldn't screw it up like Slagle did with Kohl's.

Delaney got his headline story and the misfits in city hall are too stupid to fix stupid.

Grown Out of Rose Colored Glasses

Manor Mall Mayhem - "I Need More Time"

Wed, 31 Aug 2011 05:32:00 -0500

Ell and Worden's Incompentancy Costs Taxpayers $2,550,000 - So Far

Spike,

"The city is paying 6.5 percent interest on the debt, which will amount to $2.75 million if the bonds are paid off on schedule in June 2021. The city this June made an annual loan payment of $853,420."

Burlington's City Council is finally willing to pay a commission to clean up their mess. Misery is what often happens when policy is turned over to a City Manager. Bend over and bite the onion.

Bruce Slagle should never have gotten out of town without a crown of tar and feathers Least we forget, thank you, State Senator Courtney. That eminent domain bill exclusion rider in the Iowa Senate made it all possible.

Penny Less

Lost Keys Mayor Bill Ell can't bite the bullet for his role in the Manor Mall heist. No one in city hall knows what the hell to do with that land grab. But Worden pleads for more time. more time, I need more time.

Coupled with his lost fire house key, Ell has cost taxpayers (3) Manor Mall payments and $50,000 in lost keys or $2,550,000 so far with his blatant incompetency. And he defends the Big Slug Doug Worden?

And the council just sits in the big chairs and play Solitaire. Or whatever they play with.

For 4 years.

Spike

See No Evil

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 12:21:34 -0500

Spike,

Did the flash mob Gas Land robbery video end up in the same place as the Drunk Mayor in the BK parking lot video?

Blind Tom

Nancy's Stops Her Drugs: Nancy�s Crazy Class War Conspiracies

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:45:00 -0500

"The Rich Won�t Pay Taxes Because They Want to Be Immortal, GOP Hates Kids & Keeps Wages Low to Force People to Pay Bank Fees"

If you want to know how crazy Nancy is, just turn off the sound on this video and watch her arms flail around. She looks like old B&W film of Mussolini. Even Nikita Kruschev beating his shoe on the U.N. lectern wasn't as stupid bad as this. Similar though.

Spike

�This Is WAR� � Congressional Black Caucus Travels US Cities Using Violent Rhetoric

Tue, 30 Aug 2011 11:15:00 -0500

"Declares �War� on Racist Tea Party, Says Tea Party Wants to Lynch Blacks, Calls for Bank Runs, Civil Unrest in Their Neighborhoods and Homes"

Just Maybe - The Cops Have All They Need to Do Their Job

Mon, 29 Aug 2011 05:58:00 -0500

Spike:

There was a CD made of the Gas Land Mob robbery and the police picked it up three or four days after the robbery and nothing has happened since; so I guess we can assume the robbers were let off the hook unlike what happens in other cities across America.

The entire episode was filmed at the time but seems to have vanished somewhere after it arrived at the police station, maybe they don�t have a player down there. It�s approaching two months since the robbery and the Hawk Eye and the Police have kept a tight lid on the entire event. It could be some of the perpetrators were related to someone else who knew someone else that worked for the local government or were related to Burlington�s self appointed upper crust.

Basically, it�s just another example of Burlington�s justice system that uses multiple applications of the same laws dependent on who you are or who you know. We have in Burlington what are known as flexible laws based on whatever is politically correct as determined at the scene.

Don�t forget Burlington is a Dumbocrat town from top to bottom.

Mrliberty

Flubber Backfiring

Fri, 26 Aug 2011 05:59:00 -0500

Spike,

"WASHINGTON�The National Republican Congressional Committee is hitting Rep. Dave Loebsack (D-Iowa) hard on Eastern Iowa cable stations with its first Iowa ad of the 2012 election cycle in an effort to link the Democratic incumbent to President Obama, whose popularity in Iowa has steadily decreased."

The Nutty Professor is vulnerable. Nancy Pelosi's voting partner is under attack. The Republicans are raising money and waging war against the Department Chair of Tax Whacky U.

The Nutty Professor's tax and spend flubber gun is not working to re-elect like it used to. The Nutty Professor is destroying more than banks giving away a set of hi-ball glass with every new account. The Nutty Professor's Flubber Gun is breaking the bank and our nation's credit rating.

The Nutty Professor could well crash and burn. Will anybody replace the professor in a primary? There is still time to organize and file.

Call for Jeff Heland.

Doug "Doggie" Shagged

If So

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 10:09:21 -0500

Spike,

I only have one question.

Is there any video of the Gasland mob robbery?

If so, and it was a minority group involved doing the robbing, the Feds would be interested in seeing the tape.

Racial intimidation and the broad interpretation of the 14th Amendment might finally bring justice to this corrupt community whether the police chief and city council like it or not.

Just Maybe

You Have the Right to Remain Ignorant

Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:57:32 -0500

Spike,

"A congressman from Ohio had cops grab the cameras of constituents during a town hall meeting. Steve Chabot, a Republican, had cell phones and cameras confiscated in order to �prevent an embarrassing Youtube video from making the rounds,� according to Carlos Miller, who runs a blog documenting efforts by the state to stifle the First Amendment rights of photographers."

Congressman Chabot pulled a 1st Amendment stupid. Congressman Chabot should take a lesson from our Congressman. When was the last time Congressman Loonsack held a town meeting here?

No meeting. No problem.

Send the Ad Vertiser your press releases. Verbatim, they will be reprinted as objective "news."

B B

Hawkeye Keeps Watch

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 04:00:00 -0500

Photo credit: (Lisa Pembleton)

"Petty Officer Jon T. Tumilson was laid to rest Friday in Rockford, Iowa, where an estimated 1,500 mourners came to pay respects for the fallen Navy SEAL, including his dog Hawkeye. In fact, Hawkeye�s loyalty to his owner at the funeral was visible, creating a heart-wrenching image as he laid down by the casket of his owner during the entire service.

...In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the Frogman238 Memorial Fund, First Security Bank and Trust, 201 West Main Ave., Rockford, Iowa 50468, (641)756-3361, to honor Tumilson�s memory."

Flash Robberies Still Unreported

Wed, 24 Aug 2011 03:56:17 -0500

Spike:

I wonder why KCPS when talking about Flash Robberies around the country failed to talk about the one that occurred at the Gas Land on Summer Street over a month ago that was never reported in the paper or listed in the police e-reports on their web site. KCPS when talking about flash robberies failed to even mention the one in Burlington on its morning show yesterday, maybe they don�t read Derailed the local source for all news uncensored.

Everywhere in the country that flash robberies have occurred it�s made the news but for some reason when it happens in Burlington it�s ignored by the police and in the local paper, known for its left tilted agenda. I really think the Hawk Eye gets its reporters directly from the Democratic has-beens pool.

The Hawk Eye never reported that a local policeman let a driver go after causing a $6000 dollar accident over on Dodge Street without even ticketing him on the scene for not having insurance and hitting a parked car. He got a ticket for going the wrong way on a one way street and was let go and less than an hour later drove through the wall of the Keystone Products Company on Mt. Pleasant Street.

That Policeman was very lucky the guy didn�t kill someone after he let him off on the accident although he was given another ticket the next day which was probably for hitting the parked car. The problem here is he was given special privileges by being let go for causing a $6000 dollar accident and not having insurance.

This person had a ticket in January another in May and three more within an hour on the Friday in question with one of the three coming on the 13th for what happened on the 12th. Either way, he was given a ticket on the 13th when he was in the hospital or jail. It doesn�t really matter because all the accidents happened on the 12th in mid-afternoon all within about an hour in three totally separated areas of town, miles apart.

The first one happened on Mason Road but was never mentioned, the second hitting the parked car and causing $6000 in damage was not mentioned but the third was mentioned in the paper on Saturday the 13th. This guy was not given a ticket for the accident on Dodge until after the third offense and most likely on the day after the third deliberate accident.

Does one really think that the police are following their mission statement when incidents as the above are allowed to happen on a far to regular basis and censored from the public by both the paper and the police.

Burlington Police Department
MISSION STATEMENT

The mission of the Burlington Police Department is to guarantee a peaceful community through the enforcement of state and local laws, impartially and without prejudice, and to uphold the Constitution of the United States. We are committed to the protection of human life, individual rights and personal property through continuous care and professional service.

I know the mission statement is a canned document but still they say they abide by it but the above incident proves it�s not fully the truth although some officers may be fair while others provide immunity depending on name, employment or whatever it takes to be let off serious charges. Remember the ex mayor of a few years ago and the policeman�s son let off on numerous charges off and on for over a couple of years.

I would venture to guess the mission statement only applies to some of the people and not to others depending on your social standing in the community or who you know or work for along with your political leaning.

LOL

New details in death of agent Brian Terry

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:16:00 -0500

Obama Failure Lead to Agent's Death

Spike:

When will the Obama regime get tough on these drug cartels and run them and their drugs out of Arizona? The Obama regime even supplied the guns, one of which killed agent Brian Terry in a shoot out with Mexican scumbag drug cartel operatives about eighteen miles inside American borders.

Why in the hell are we in Afghanistan and Iraq when we now have a shooting war going on along our own border with Mexico? The Obama regime is soft on drug dealers along our Southwestern border and illegal aliens across the entire country. No country in the world would tolerate foreigners pouring into their country unchecked as occurs along our borders. Our prisons are full of Mexican criminals and illegal�s and we do nothing but talk about it and then when Arizona attempts to stop it the Obama regime steps in by not letting the state enforce federal laws already on the books that would make it much harder for them to remain in the country.

I hope when 2012 arrives and the nation votes again for president, that Obama is sent packing back to Hawaii or wherever he belongs. Our country is a mess and Obama would appear to have been elected to be a surrogate president for Mexico rather than protect our United States. His regime has constantly interfered with every attempt to stop the flow of illegal aliens and drugs flowing across our borders and has failed to enforce federal laws already on the books regarding illegal�s.

President Reagan had it right long ago when he said, �Government isn�t the answer it�s the problem�. It�s the 545 people running the country from Washington that have ruined our country through their greed, ignorance, selfishness and inability to conduct business for the people through constant worry about not getting reelected time after time to continue their life of leisure at taxpayer expense. Don�t forget democrats want illegal aliens who supply many of their votes in payment for letting them live off the taxpayer. Of course we have the government unions that are absolutely worthless and as self-serving as the 545 running Washington. Again, the 545 count on getting the votes from all these government unions as payment for their budget busting salaries and excessive benefits provided by the democrats.

President Roosevelt fought hand and foot to forbid government unions but once he died the Democrats saw a chance to build a voter base by allowing the government lackeys to form unions which have since made government nothing more than a home for deadbeat bureaucratic losers who only want to line their own pockets while enslaving the population further and further.

City, county and federal unions are nothing more than a drain on the public�s resources with the sole purpose of electing democrats in order to maintain their life of privilege until our country if finally ruined. Roosevelt saw the dangers of government unions but the democrats wanted a method of buying votes on a regular basis and passed laws allowing government unions; so whenever you hear anything about government unions just remember these unions were created for immoral reasons by the democrats and I think the record of this relationship between government unions and democrats has been proven over and over again.

There�s nothing wrong with private sector unions but government unions were formed for immoral self-serving purposes between the 545 in Washington and those in the government unions.

KL

Obama�s New Executive Order = Obama�s �Dream Act�

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 05:02:00 -0500

Obama Ignores Congress For Illegal Alien Voters to Save His Ass

"President Obama signed another controversial Executive Order before jetting off to nine days of vacation on Martha�s Vineyard. This latest order stopped the automatic deportation of illegal aliens and appears to some in Congress as the President bypassing Congress and effectively creating laws through imposing regulations. With this latest order, President Obama has now created more regulations in 2 1/2 years than any other President has done in the same time frame."

Maxine Waters: �Tea Party Can Go Straight to Hell�

Mon, 22 Aug 2011 04:55:00 -0500

One of The 10 Most Corrupt Shrugs Off Socialism Beliefs

"Democratic Rep. Maxine Waters had strong words for the Tea Party Saturday, saying they could go �straight to hell� for impeding job growth.

Speaking at a forum in her California district, Waters vowed to push Congress to create more jobs, the Los Angeles Times reported.

�I�m not afraid of anybody,� Waters told the crowd. �This is a tough game. You can�t be intimidated. You can�t be frightened. As far as I�m concerned, the Tea Party can go straight to hell.�

Obama's Magical Misery Tour

Sat, 20 Aug 2011 06:14:00 -0500

Obama Reaches Point In the Road

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:52:00 -0500

Look for the Union Label

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike,

"John King was shot in the arm last week when he surprised a man trying to slash the tires on the truck at his Lambertville home. The word "scab" was also scrawled on the side."

John King should get himself elected to the Michigan Legislature as a Democrat. As long as he talks their talk and walks their walk in the state capitol, he can hire all the "scab" labor he wants just like our own Senator Coutney did.

Not only will the unions look the other way, they will distribute his yard signs at election time. One contractor at a time.

B. Viela

Georgia Sticks It to China

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:41:00 -0500

"Georgia Chopsticks. Jae Lee, a former scrap-metal exporter, saw an opportunity and began turning out chopsticks for the Chinese market late last year.

...Sumter County, of which Americus is the seat, has an unemployment rate of more than 12%. Georgia Chopsticks now employs 81 people turning out 2m chopsticks a day. By year�s end Mr Lee and Mr Hughes hope to increase their workforce to 150, and dream of building a �manufacturing incubator� to help foreign firms take advantage of Georgia�s workforce and raw materials."

It can happen. You have to stop studying it.

Spike

Boldly Headlining What is Happening

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:29:00 -0500

Spike,

"Obama embarks on three-day Midwestern campaign event"

President Obama kicked off his three-day Midwestern tour Monday.

While the White House bills it as an opportunity for the president to talk about job growth and economic policy, some say the tour is nothing more than a campaign event."

At least you get a truthful headline from the foreign press. When you link to Russia to avoid the official party spin, it speaks volumes about the credibility of America's liberal media.

Dr. Igor

Dirty Dick's Home Town? East St Louis!

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 05:25:00 -0500

Spike:

Wouldn�t you know that Dick Durbin is a product of Burlington�s sister city East Saint Louis, Illinois a fitting tribute to the one party loser who blames all Democratic failures on the Tea Party.

That�s a strange stand by a loser congressman who would rather take our country down before admitting his incompetence and ignorance of the American experience. Durbin is a classic example of what�s wrong with democrats who have ruined Illinois with their sick form of governmental corruption and ineptness and then try to carry it over to the federal government while lining their pockets all along the messy path to American destruction.

Democratic destruction of the American way started long before the Tea Party was born and thank God their here to confront the democratic ruination of our country by the likes of Durbin and the other losers just like him.

JJ

�Sellout!� Pelosi Heckled at California Town Hall Over Debt Ceiling Vote

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:53:00 -0500

Obama Was Offended

Fri, 19 Aug 2011 04:27:00 -0500

Gasland Mob Robbery & Police On the Side of Justice?

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:40:47 -0500

Spike:

Burlington�s own Gas Land on Summer had a mob robbery such as this just a few weeks ago and the entire filmed episode was totally ignored by the Hawk Eye and police reports for reasons unknown.

At the Gas Land store only about thirteen to fifteen minority teenagers were involved but the case was never made public by the police or the Hawk Eye a known censor of the news here locally. Many Midwest towns have published the films and have had parents turn in their offspring involved in the robberies but not here in Burlington where news is suppressed depending on who it involves.

Crimes go unreported to the public in Burlington on a regular basis like the guy who knocked down a fence out on Mason Road and then the same person went the wrong way on Dodge Street and smashed into a parked Toyota Prius doing extensive damage and the officer only ticketed the guy for going the wrong way although he didn�t have insurance and the vehicle had no plates the officer let him go with no ticket for hitting the parked car. Then just a short time later the same person let go by the police drove through the keystone building on Mt. Pleasant St. The officer who let the driver off with a one way ticket did no drug testing nor DUI testing on the driver he just let him off to cause more misery for someone else a short time later. Why would the officer just give him a simple one way violation when he did serious damage to a parked car? The officer did check the insurance belonging to the parked car but not on the one who caused the accident.

The paper had a short bit about some of the accidents but nothing about the officer letting the person causing the accidents off to cause another more serious collision a short time later at Keystone.

There are just too many instances of the police and the paper letting things go unreported because someone knew someone on the force or their a city employee or whatever it is that warrants immunity from justice here in Burlington.

The name of the officer who let the guy off the more serious charge of causing an accident which allowed him to cause another one a short time later is known but won�t be made public in this post.

Dismayed

The Devil is in the Corn Fields

Wed, 17 Aug 2011 11:36:04 -0500

Spike,

"In 2005, the evangelical magazine World came under fire after it published an article about [Ralph] Reed that concluded, �the portrait that emerges is one of a shrewd businessman who has spent years leveraging his evangelical and conservative contacts to promote the economic interests of his clients, rather than the principles of the political movement he once led.�

"About Reed�s association with Abramoff, Scheffler told RD, �if you look at the whole explanation it was a nonissue, it was the press that made something out of nothing that was there.� He added that Iowa activists were �excited� that Reed was the master of ceremonies for the Iowa Christian Alliance�s fundraiser this week, at which Rick Santorum was the keynote speaker."

The theme that resounded from the recent Iowa Straw Poll was libertarian, not theocratical. A group of wise men in the east enshrined as much. Establishment of a state religion is not conducive to, "Life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness."

Ralph Reed and his disciples are to trying to rebuild the ruins of their temple to the root of all evil. Iowa's early presidential selection status is a foundation stone in the attempted resurrection of what the gospel according to Reed wrecked.

What Reed and his cult once cultivated is not and never has been the major concern of the majority. To achieve their ends, infiltrate and take over a movement more in tune with desired political change. Their leadership is a short cut on the highway to hell.

Being lulled from the garden our forefathers created to the desert of eternal Socialism awaits the unwary. The gate swings one way. Satan is offering an apple.

Beware of false prophets.

Adam

What If The Democrats Held a Straw Poll?

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:58:00 -0500

GOP: No Arrests, No Incidents, No Citations

What if the Democrats held a Straw Poll? What would happen?

Drunk ex-Mayor Mike Edwards - would risk DUI arrest out of town

Former Supervisor Jeff Heland - he'd be chasing hot checks to the bank to cover expenses Monday morning

Former Supervisor Tim Hoschek - taxpayers would be paying the bill for steak and lobster even though Straw Poll wasn't in Hawaii

Mayor Lost Keys Bill Ell- thrown out of a liquor store for breaking wind in Pella but didn't leave town 'cause he couldn't find the keys to the van

Inept Senator Tom Courtney - lost tickets proceeds when he left the ticket booth for 4 hours searching for his illegal immigrant ticket takers

Twice Voted Least Effective Fraise - couldn't get his shoes tied so he arrived a day late

Cahoon - no one knew he went.

Perseid Meteor Photographed from Space Station

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:54:00 -0500

NASA Image

NASA astronaut Ron Garan has captured this shot of a meteor while orbiting above the meteor in the ISS.

When Your Term Looks Doomed, Tour the Heartland

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:32:00 -0500

Spike,

�On the Seventh floor, there�s a little walkway out the door. A boat full of people they�re all singing along with the calliope. We decided to moon President Carter and the boat. Who the hell could ever get away with that anymore?"

Stagflation, foreign policy blunders galore, sagging poll numbers, what is an incumbent President to do?

In 1979, Jimmy Carter went down the Mississippi River. The tour was to show the Commander in Chief was in touch with America's land dear to its heart. Prospects for being re-elect in 1980 were dimming for the incumbent President.

President Carter even stopped in a town the rest of the world forgot. Speaking in Crapo Park did not sway the national election results in November of 1980.

"President Barack Obama is likely to hear from Iowans like Gooder during a three-day swing through the Midwest. Obama will focus on improving America's rural economy, an area that struggled long before the national recession hammered it more."

Those halcyon days of malaise are here again.

Consumer confidence has reached lows not seen since 1980. Stagflation looms. Our foreign friends are ignored and our enemies praised. The Kenyan in Chief's 2012 re-election prospects are looking bleak.

Like his historical role model, President Obama is coming to Iowa and Illinois. With the Delta Queen docked, hop on the bus. Make we who are not part of the coastal elite think he has not forgotten about us.

Will the President's bus be mooned remains to be seen. It is looking more likely that history will repeat itself. Voters may well moon Mr. Obama in 2012.

Manfred C. Moon

A Hot Economy With A Cooling of Ardor

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:22:00 -0500

"Condom Sales Sag"

Spike,

NEW DELHI: Industrial production rose at a surprisingly high rate of 8.8% in June as capital goods made a strong recovery to push up manufacturing growth to double-digits.

But lower heat seems to have taken a toll on production of beer, inverters and, strangely, condoms too.

While Americans face recession, India reports good economy news.

GH

�You Guys Aren�t Going to Cover This are You?� U. S. Senator Dick Durbin (D) IL

Tue, 16 Aug 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Dirty Dick Hides Behind Skirt

Spike,

"This brings us to the eternal question: Who is media and who is not? Who gets to decide? Sen. Dick Durbin? His friends in the Chicago media? Are public officials accountable to the public? Do we have the right to question authority? Or must we just accept what they bestow upon us? Do we have the right to question the media? Or do we have to let the so-called �real� journalists impose their own idea of news? Of truth?

The role of the liberal media is to perpetuate the debt creating welfare state. Woe be to those who call to task any darling of the liberal media.

Locally, the ever in power single party system does not face an in person challenge like Dick Durbin did. The Ad Vertiser will always be there; only the Ad Vertiser. Not to lie, but to omit as deemed fit, or by default by incompetence.

Not all is as rosy as it once was. Thanks to you and other local alternative media, the whole story is often told. Local voters have told more than one office holder so exposed to take a hike.

Competence is what counts. Competition makes it known.

Neither party has cornered the market when it comes to competence. That is something those who depend only on the Ad Vertiser for local information remain unaware of.

HPJ

Obama: Celebrating Ramadan at White House �Quintessentially American Tradition�

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:52:00 -0500

"Islam has always been part of our American family."

Suffering the Eternal Suffrage

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:43:00 -0500

Spike,

"The state of Illinois has reached a new level of broke. Come Monday, it won't have enough cash to bury its indigent dead."

Perpetual voting by Illinois dead has helped hold Illinois in the perpetual grip of the party of welfare. The result has become no money to increase their numbers.

What to do with the dead?

If they send them to Des Moines County for their final voting residence, will Senator Courtney and friends see they receive their absentee ballots?

Reaper Grimm

From Our Sister City Down the River

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:35:00 -0500

Spike,

"EAST ST. LOUIS, Mo. (KMOX) - The public housing complexes on the east side of the river might just be the deadliest places in the country, but efforts are underway to secure the area."

East St. Louis is decades ahead in the pursuit of the welfare state. Can Burlington catch up?

DL

We don't have to go far.

Spike

A Labour of Larceny

Fri, 12 Aug 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike,

"Needless to say, Britain leads Europe in the proportion of single mothers and, as a consequence, also leads or co-leads the European Union in violent crime, alcohol and drug abuse, obesity and sexually transmitted diseases.

But liberal elites here and in Britain will blame anything but the welfare state they adore. They drone on about the strict British class system or the lack of jobs or the nation's history of racism."

Politicians providing a welfare state and the recipients returning them to power is not sustainable. It works for a while, but ultimately produces decay and chaos.

Burlington has been ruled by the party of welfare dependency for decades. Senator Courtney and others like him keep getting re-elected promising to get even with anybody who has more and give it to the poor.

Coming soon to a convenience store near you, Burlington does Britain.

Neville C.

Can You Feel Me Now?

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 06:00:00 -0500

Gasland Flash Mob Ignored By Local Police, City Council & Ad Vertiser

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:58:00 -0500

Spike:

Even though flash mob attacks have occurred right here in Burlington, Iowa the local authorities and the Democratic Press haven�t mentioned a word about it; so the public is little aware of the problems lurking throughout the city posed by Burlington�s newest workers imported by Brian Tapp at SEIRPC, Dennis Hinkle and The Chamber and other local tax supported entities on the pretense that Burlington needed the workers even though there were no livable jobs anywhere within Des Moines County.

A month or so ago a flash mob attack occurred at the Gas Land Store in the 1000 block of Summer Street where ten to fifteen minorities went on a rampage in the store stealing alcohol and food items throughout the store and then ran out the doors disappearing into the night. Although the action was caught on camera it took the police about three to four days to bother picking up the video record of the attack. The clerk completely overwhelmed phoned the police but it took them too long to reach the scene and none of the criminals were apprehended.

Remember we live in the third worst city for crime in the State of Iowa with only two points separating Burlington from the top spot and only one point away from Davenport a city four times the size of Burlington. Best and Worst Crime Areas in the State Of Iowa

The local problem is discussed by many people living in Burlington but the police and Democratic press for some reason are suppressing the entire problem for some unknown reason which probably has something to do with being �Political Correct� a democratic ploy to play the votes and to make sure those doing the voting continue to receive taxpayer money to live here regardless of the burden it puts on the few who work for a living in Burlington.

KLM

Obama Increased National Debt More in 4 Days Than Truman and Eisenhower Did in 10 Years

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:42:00 -0500

"Last week the Obama administration reportedly increased the national debt (in inflation-adjusted dollars) more in a mere four days than the administrations of Presidents Harry Truman and Dwight D. Eisenhower increased it from 1950-1960 � an entire decade."

Philly Street Mob is From School That Got $1M From Oprah

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:32:00 -0500

"A new video of Philadelphia street attacks has surfaced�and this time the teen perps are students from a charter school that received a $1 million donation from Oprah Winfrey, according to Fox 29, which obtained the footage."

Rick Santelli Rips Guest For Calling Tea Partiers 'Freaked Out White Men Who Are Unemployed'

Thu, 11 Aug 2011 05:15:00 -0500

As for "Santelli�s muni reference, Whitney has recently come under fire for having predicted eight months ago there would be widespread defaults by municipal bond issuers around the country this year.

As Bloomberg reported in July, during the first six months of 2011, muni defaults are down 60 percent compared to the same period last year.

Obviously aware of this, Santelli chose to pull that scab off in order to get back at the banking analyst."

In Greek: "Af-TOS mee-lye, ke o GUY-thou-ros KLA-nee"

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 06:00:00 -0500

"When he speaks, the donkey breaks wind."

Nothing brings out donkey noise like a blame game!

A Hop, Scott, and Skip the Building Codes

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:55:00 -0500

Spike,

Tim Scott is running for City Council again.

Shortly before Scott's announced political come back, local developers leaned heavily on the Council to lessen building codes, including fire safety codes.

Local developers wishing to convert downtown, century plus old office and retail buildings to residential use were among those demanding more lax fire codes. The fire codes where people sleep are more stringent for good reasons.

Where does Tim Scott stand on the issue of City building and safety codes?

Harris Blanck

New York Times Labels Obama Inept

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:51:00 -0500

Spike:

Your readers on the left should read the New York Times Sunday Review Opinion Page article �What Happened to Obama� page four is the summation for those who wish to read just the writer attributes to Obama�s failures.

It has taken the NYT editorial page three years to realize what many Americans knew prior to Obama�s election back in 2008. The man had no experience at anything and was one of the worst senators possible for failing to make his mind up 130 times in two years by not giving a �nay� or �yea� vote.

It just boggles the mind how so many so called �smart people� were duped by this man into believing he was something of greatness when he is more representative of a Flim-Flam man than anything else.

FM

Will the Battle of Britain Bring America Into the War

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Spike,

"Rolling coverage of the riots that have engulfed London and other cities, as violence spreads to Birmingham, West Bromwich, Manchester, Wolverhampton and Salford."

Liberal elitists in this country for decades have gone gaga anglophile over Britain's welfare state. No guns, national health care, etc etc. have been pointed to as a Fabian model of fairness.

Our elitist liberals have been taking us down the same path as Britain. Rioting is spreading across England. The quint essential, western democratic welfare state is ablaze.

How bad will it get here once our national debt has welfare checks bouncing like jack rabbits in heat?

B R

Foot-Dragging on Free Trade

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Strengthening exports would be an economic boon. So why the delay?

Barry's Lawless Deal to Feed The Unions!

"A primary point of contention stems from the Obama administration�s efforts to attach a Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) measure to the South Korean FTA, which if ratified will be the largest trade deal since NAFTA in 1994. Thus the Democrats � having already shown their contempt for the Budget Act of 1974 by failing to submit a budget in more than two years � apparently decided that they would rather not adhere to the Bipartisan Trade Act of 2002, which stipulates that bills designed to implement trade agreements may contain only provisions that are �necessary and appropriate� to implement the agreement. TAA, in contrast, is essentially a domestic-spending program that would provide $1 billion in �assistance� � in the form of training and income support � to workers who lose their jobs because of foreign competition. It has absolutely no impact on implementation of the agreement."

Gas Bag Barney Frank Lets 'Er Rip - Passes Gas Live on MSNBC

Wed, 10 Aug 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Check His Hip Moves - Looks Like Tom Jones

Manor Failure Indicative of City's Future

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 06:10:00 -0500

Spike:

I was on Roosevelt yesterday and as I passed the Manor I couldn�t help but notice the grass looks like hell and hasn�t been cut for awhile. Is the city failure now going to degrade the appearance of Burlington as does much of the infrastructure?

In Sunday�s rag Mr. Worden claims Burlington�s hotel/motel taxes brought in an increase of 12 percent over last year and if that�s the case, why does the Rec Plex need taxpayer money every year since opening its doors to make up for the losses?

Burlington taxpayers have kicked in over $1,000,000 since the Rec Plex has been in business at approximately $100,000 bail out every year proving over and over again Burlington management cannot run a business and should sell it off which wouldn�t affect the hotel/motel receipts and save the taxpayers some $100,000 in additional taxes per year.

Personally, I would suggest the bridge and prison have drawn in more money to the area than has the tourist trade. There may have been an increase in tourist but that�s probably because many people can�t afford to venture to the larger resorts and Disney-like parks at cities far from Southeastern Iowa.

How Burlington can align itself with the likes of Nauvoo is beyond reason because Nauvoo is basically a religious and historical attraction unlike Burlington that features gambling, sports, loud music and a water park, none of which are relevant to historical Nauvoo in drawing tourists.

Burlington would be better off by attracting livable jobs to the area rather than depending on the tourist trade which doesn�t pay the bills as would people living and working in the city or nearby areas. When you have people leaving the area because of jobs and no one replacing them is a sure sign something is drastically wrong. Burlington needs people working and paying taxes but we end up with nothing but the welfare and criminal element which has ranked Burlington as Iowa�s third most crime ridden city, ranking only one point behind Davenport with a population four times that of Burlington.

No one has all the answers but without jobs providing livable wages Burlington will never return to the best of times.

KLM

Burlington Crime Wave Continues

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 06:00:00 -0500

Spike:

Once again Burlington crime has earned its ranking as Iowa�s third rated city for crime with only two points back of #1(Keokuk) and one point back from #2 (Davenport).

Friday night another random spree of vandalism occurred in the Perkins School area with another vehicle having two of its windows broken out by some of Burlington�s scum bag losers. For the second time in two weeks vehicles, at random and within a half block of the Perkins School have had their windows broken out.

Some of the low life scum sponging off the citizens of Burlington are probably responsible for these random acts of destruction which are too numerous to be discounted as simple vandalism. Just a month ago ten to fifteen minority teenagers gang robbed the Gas Land Store on Summer Street and the story was never reported to the public ever in the paper or police reports published in the paper. This same technique for robbing stores has happened in other cities such as Milwaukee and it made the TV news instantly with videos of the crime taking place and guess what, even parents turned in their children that they saw in the video but here in Burlington the news is completely ignored with the exception of Derailed our only true source of Burlington�s crime reporting. The Hawk Eye censors the news in order to keep the population ignorant of the out of control crime running amuck in the city of one political party.

The parasites doing this vandalism are truly low life losers which have gained a foothold in the streets of Burlington for whatever reason and there in every neighborhood lurking like snakes waiting to strike those unwary of the high crime in Burlington with a crime rate much higher than Iowa as a whole and the nation as a whole. Yet, our local paper fails to warn the public of the possibility of getting robbed, mugged, slugged or made a victim of random violence.

Burlington needs to request the state come in and help clean up the streets or do something because the city is making no headway in reducing crime and again proof Burlington�s sister city is without a doubt East St. Louis, Illinois.

KL

Des Moines County's High Taxes

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Spike:

Here�s one reason taxes are exceptionally high in a depressed Des Moines County Iowa:

1. Number of tax exempt organizations in the county is 397

2. Total income amount from tax exempt/nonprofits $411,173,219

3. Total asset amount of tax exempt/nonprofit $719,459,094

4. Number of zip codes in the county 8

Readers can look at the organizations at the following web site.

GF

Congress Fails & Jobs Suffer

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike:

Well, congress is off for the month but still being paid for doing a horribly inadequate job for which most of them should be fired while another 400,000 Americans are out of work for the month of July though no fault of their own.

The entire lot of 545 people put in office to run our country have failed the American people miserably and should be replaced by American�s who care about more than stuffing their pockets and living a life of privilege. Just goes to show that a country headed by a socialist will never survive as well as one run by a capitalist.

JK

Did Soros Make a $1 Billion Bet on U.S. Debt Downgrade?

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Obama Advisor and Scum Bag Euro Trash Financier Soros At Center of Screwing America

�Someone dropped a bomb on the bond market Thursday � a $1 billion Armageddon trade betting the United States will lose its AAA credit rating. In one moment, an invisible trader placed a single trade that moved the most liquid debt market in the world. The massive trade wasn�t placed in bonds themselves; it was placed in the futures market. The trade was for block trades of 5,370 10-year Treasury futures executed at 124-03 and 3,100 Treasury bond futures executed at 125-01.�

Allen West Slams Geithner: �When You Open That Refrigerator Door the Lights Don�t Come On�

Tue, 9 Aug 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Courtesy of Fox News

Mike Spins Up Washer But No Load

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 05:48:00 -0500

Spike:

Mike�s ramblings on Sunday�s editorial page again reflect his warped mind when he claimed 82 percent of Americans polled think congress is run by (idiots) with Republicans earning the deepest contempt. With the Democratic shellacking in 2010 I would venture Mike is making up his facts about which party is despised.

Well, Mike must get his information from the NYT but the latest Rasmussen Report of July 24-25 states towards the end: �Forty-five percent (45%) of voters trust Republicans more when it comes to handling economic issues , while 35% put more trust in Democrats. Voters now trust Republicans more than Democrats on nine of 10 issues regularly tracked by Rasmussen Reports. Two years ago Democrats were trusted more than Republicans on most issues.� Mike�s failure to report who or where he got his information means his information is basically unconfirmed as reliable. Believe me Mike gets most of his political information from his own mind or directly out of the Democratic game book.

The Rasmussen Poll also states the following information about dimwits Pelosi and Reid: �While she's much less often in the news these days, former House Speaker Nancy Pelosi remains Congress' most disliked leader. But Pelosi earns higher favorables than Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid whose popularity has fallen to its lowest level in over two years.� Both of these losers earn high marks for putting our country in an economic dead zone along with Obama and the Democratic party.

Mike would help himself be more believable were he not so far left of center and would state where he gets his facts (I use that term lightly). Mike is a good example of how some people can be brained washed into believing things that just aren�t factual which is the main process of educating the populace in a socialist style of government. Mike would have done much better with his style of writing had he worked for the Daily Worker or maybe Pravda of old.

MT

Wordsmiths Going the Way of Blacksmiths

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Jimmy Olson Unaffected - Taint of Ad Vertiser Experience on R�sum� Kills Future Elsewhere

Spike,

"University of Iowa officials plan to suspend admissions leading to termination of the current professional master�s program in the School of Journalism and Mass Communication, officials told state regents Thursday."

A dearth of Jimmy Olsons studying to become Clark Kents is having an effect. The University of Iowa is dropping its graduate program in Journalism.

Iowa's undergraduate Journalism program remains. If the trend grows of students entering better paying fields like fast food management, are undergraduate Journalism programs in peril?

This could have local implications. The Ad Vertiser's circumvention of the 13th Amendment using underpaid, undergraduate interns could be in peril. As the Ad Vertiser's circulation and revenue continue to decline, drop a notch.

Local high school students could comprise the Ad Vertiser's editorial staff. This may not be a bad thing.

News stories could not get more inaccurate and incoherent than they currently are. In fact, the quality of news reporting may improve.

Many high school Jimmys would have spent all of their short lives in our community. Most would know the difference between Minneapolis and Mediapolis and that neither is just across the river in Henderson County, Illinois.

At age 16, most upperclassmen would have a drivers license. Special training to get out and cover a story would be necessary. The Nash Metropolitan came with a standard, three on the tree, transmission.

As small town daily newspapers enter a clutch situation, providing graduate level drivers education may lengthen their days on the road to oblivion.

Lester Smith

Burlington on the Hudson

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 05:20:00 -0500

Spike,

"The population loss is "the ultimate barometer of New York's attractiveness as a place to work, live and do business," the report's co-author, E.J. McMahon, said. "It's the ultimate indication that we've been doing things wrong."

As our State Senator Tom Courtney advocates, the State of New York has been taxing, harassing and in general been getting even with business. The difference between leaders and demagogues is all in the peoples foot prints.

GH

Obama and S&P Vie for Credibility in Effort to Show Each Other Wrong

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 05:10:00 -0500

"Credit Downgrade Shows Distrust of the U.S. Political System and of the Ratings Agencies That Judge How Well It Works"

"...The "debacle over the debt ceiling" was one of the factors that led to the downgrade, John Chambers, chairman of S&P's sovereign ratings team said in a conference call with reporters Saturday."

We all know how well our elected representatives responded last week regardless of having 6+ months to reach a conclusion without the political drama.

Spike

It's Somebody Else's Fault

Mon, 8 Aug 2011 04:47:00 -0500

"George Will became one of the first high-profile conservatives to publicly call into question the validity of Standard & Poor�s in the wake of the U.S. triple-A downgrade."

Obama Flashback: My Presidency Will Be �A One-Term Proposition� if Economy Doesn�t Turn Around in �3 Years�

Sat, 6 Aug 2011 01:19:10 -0500

�Look, I�m at the start of my administration. One nice thing about the situation I find myself in is that I will be held accountable. You know, I�ve got four years,� Obama told The Today Show�s Matt Lauer on February 1, 2009.

�A year from now I think people are going to see that we�re starting to make some progress,� said Obama. �But there�s still going to be some pain out there. If I don�t have this done in three years, then there�s going to be a one-term proposition.�

Black �Mobs� Attack White Patrons Outside Wis. State Fair

Sat, 6 Aug 2011 01:10:00 -0500

'hundreds of young black people beating white people'

Locally - No Movement By Police or City Hall On Gasland Mob Robbery

Farewell State Senator Fraise?

Wed, 3 Aug 2011 05:02:00 -0500

Spike,

"Republican Larry Kruse will run for the newly-created Iowa Senate District 42, a release from Iowa Senate Republicans said. Senate Minority Leader Paul McKinley�s (R-Chariton), who spoke to Lee County Republicans last week, also posted the release to his Facebook page."

It appears a State Senator once selected by his peers as least effective could be unelected. Gene Fraise will be facing an opponent who has demonstrated literacy and competence as a Lee County Supervisor.

If Fraise is defeated, it would break up Southeast Iowa's Iowa Senate team of the dim, Senator Fraise, and the deluded, Senator Courtney. It would give the world one less reason to point and laugh at Southeast Iowa.

Why was this news not in the Ad Vertiser?

Laurel Stanley

Who's going to tie each others' shoes?

Spike

Wanna Dance?

Tue, 2 Aug 2011 05:53:00 -0500

Obama Crisis Averted

Mon, 1 Aug 2011 05:50:00 -0500

Burlington Ranks #3

Mon, 1 Aug 2011 05:49:00 -0500

Spike:

Here is a summary of crime for Iowa cities based on Data from the FBI Uniform Crime Rate database for 2008: Best and Worst Crime Areas in the State Of Iowa

Burlington is rated the third worst in the State of Iowa (2008) regardless of what the city itself and the Hawk Eye reveal. How could small towns such as Keokuk and Burlington have such high distinguished rankings in crime far outstripping cities much larger and diverse?

There are many reasons for Burlington being at the bottom of the rung as a safe place to live in Iowa:

1. Burlington has basically only one party (Democrat) which means there are no check and balances on government management at all

2. Burlington has a poor school system brought about by government unions and poor management decisions by the school board

3. Burlington fails to enforce its city codes unless there�s something in it for the city itself, such as money

4. Burlington management if extremely overpaid for their decision making capability, accountability and overall know how at managing a city

5. Burlington taxpayer funded organizations are basically failures for destroying what was once a good city by their greed and dreams of grandeur

6. Burlington school board, through their dreams of grandeur have left buildings they have abandoned all over town as signs of their negligence and irresponsibility

7. Burlington management has done all possible to waste tax money based on ignorance and stupid projects such as the Manor and the RecPlex (no break even ever)

8. Burlington has a court system that constantly lets criminals walk the streets based on ignorance and political correctness both democrat traits

9. Burlington has a very high welfare and entitlement population that attracts the lower level of society to the city

10. Burlington has no livable wage jobs to attract a more socially acceptable level of population

11. Burlington has a large drug culture that penetrates every level of society all the way from the bottom to the top and includes all professions regardless of what it is

12. Burlington has no news source other than a couple of blogs that honestly bring uncensored news and articles to the population

13. Burlington has one newspaper but it fails to be honest and print the truth about the local government and the city�s social ills (democrat)

14. Burlington attracts drug dealers and other criminals because it�s a part of Burlington�s social demographics

15. Burlington taxes are far too high and make Burlington a non-choice for setting up business ventures that are not social in nature

16. Burlington codes prevent anyone from converting the empty buildings downtown into livable housing based on housing codes rather than industrial codes

17. Burlington being union orientated prevents many industrial organizations from considering Burlington for setting up shop here

18. Burlington city council in many cases are rude to citizens and unaccountable for their poor decisions

19. Burlington hires retired city employees for part time jobs rather than giving the younger citizen the chance to get a city job

20. Burlington city employees are grossly overpaid and benefitted as are all government employees nation wide

21. Burlington city officials and the newspaper fail to report crimes they feel would upset some of the newer citizens based on political correctness (democrat thinking)

22. Burlington fails to report misdeeds by the so called �Upper Crust� in order to hide the truth from the citizens who don�t get the same treatment from law enforcement

Burlington is truly a sister city to East Saint Louis, Illinois and let there be no doubt about that and until the city turns to a two party government and has an honest and unbiased newspaper it will always be a loser city.

Vexed

Spike Misses One

Sun, 31 Jul 2011 14:48:38 -0500

Yesterday we posted a story that smelled. We held this story for a week. It just didn't ring true. I failed to extend the posting of this story until it was confirmed. Friday night I was busy at work and didn't extend the publication time until I could check it.

One of our readers did.

That's why we have to be so careful of some of this stuff. And for all you dipsh**s we chase all the time, don't unfurl that finger just yet. It might curl back on ya.

Sorry for raising the blood pressure.

Spike

Burlington Crime and Wholesale Vandalism

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:39:00 -0500

Where In The Hell Is The Outrage in This Town for The Gasland Mob Robbery?

Mike Sweet Wants to Write About Something - Here You GO!

Spike:

Burlington is a cesspool of crime and vandalism brought about by the failure of the Manor project, importation of workers for Tyson located in another county, 50 miles from Burlington. Organizations such as SEIRPC, the Chamber, the City itself, and several other wayward organizations are responsible for this onslaught from the East. Bringing problems from the East to shore up Burlington�s workforce was the official word although there were nothing but non-livable wage jobs in Burlington, if any at all.

In our neighborhood last night some scum bag loser busted the windshield in a young teenage girls car for no reason other than being ignorant, uneducated and undisciplined. I imagine this person has never worked a day in his or her life and makes a living off the taxpayers of Iowa. Johnson�s Great Society played a large part in causing this dilemma because it ruined the black family that in 1968 had the same number of father�s in the home as whites and since 1968 has dropped to about 25 to 30 percent from the 1968 value of 70 percent.

Currently there is no neighborhood safe from this wild behavior. Recently a gang of minority kids rushed the Gas Land Store on Summer and stole alcohol and other food stuffs and then ran out the door and got away. Of course the police were late getting there and they didn�t pick up the recording of the event until three or four days after the robbery. Of course none of this was reported in the local left wing paper �The Hawk Eye� nor did it make the police report in the paper. The local press and police reports are very protective of the minority situation here in Burlington as though they can�t be blamed for the crimes they commit because of their political correctness and those dependent on their votes and we all know who that is.

A gang robbery occurred in Milwaukee a few days after it happened at Gas Land and it was all over the press and, TV with the video and within a day even some of the parents turned in their own children whom they saw robbing the store in the videos. So It must be Burlington that has a social problem and tries to cover it up like a child scared at night pulling the blanket over their head as protection. The Hawk Eye sticks its head in the ground to avoid reality and the truth depending on what the political leaning of the criminal is.

Burlington had a surplus of run down unlivable slum homes that they saw as a means of lining the slum lords pockets which is probably the reason the Tyson people came to Burlington because of promises that made it look like the promise land on the banks of the Mississippi. Remember Muscatine turned down all the Tyson dreams of grandeur while Burlington jumped in with eyes open. Remember the police chief stated crime was not on the rise although Burlington has a crime rating higher than the national average.

There�s so much hidden from the public in this town it�s sickening and the city management, police and the most of all the paper are doing all of us a disservice by ignoring the reasons for what�s happening to our once nice town. Here�s a comment by someone who visited Burlington awhile back:

09-20-2010, 11:25 AM

Burlington, Davenport, Waterloo a different image

I recently made somewhat of an Iowa expedition and made stops at a few Iowa cities (Burlington, Davenport, Iowa City, CR, Des Moines, and W'loo) and what I noticed is that Burlington, Davenport, and Waterloo seemed far more grittier and very different than my perception of Iowa. What was noticibly different was the large presence of African Americans by Iowa standards of course. But while in these places I was definitely taken by surprise. Because while in both Burlington and Davenport there were shootings and I have heard that W'loo has a reputation that would parallel with what I experienced while in both Burlington and Davenport. I am sorry if I am rambling but I was shocked to say the least.
I don't know if you all would agree but it just seems culturally these areas are different than the rest of the state. They seems like they have more of an IL feel than IA. I don't mean to offend but am curious what some of you Iowans think.

To see how Burlington rates with the rest of the country go to this site.

Can anyone be surprised by what people think of Burlington?

Appalled

On Whose Side is the Calf of Gold?

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:33:00 -0500

Spike,

�I can tell you that we have received unprecedented support, but we�re not going to release any amounts or the names of our donors at this point in time,� Julie Summa, director of marketing for The Family Leader, told The Iowa Independent Wednesday afternoon."

In the holy war over Iowa's faith based political collection plate, who is winning?

Bob Vander Plaats has the powdered wigs of three Iowa Supreme Court justices upon his altar. The orthodox Satan has a position on the Republican National Committee and a business partnership with the great, unholy spirit in Washington, Ralph Reed.

Where should the faithful invest to insure treasures for themselves in not just Iowa, but the world beyond? To which temple of money changers should they send their check?

�Tonight, when you give, we�re not a PAC and we�re not a candidate,� he said. �Therefore, there is no limit to what you give here tonight. Isn�t that exciting?� The spirit unholy knows all. His old influencing peddling friends did time, but Ralph Reed did not.

One thing neither contender for Iowa's faith based cash will ever do is release the names of their donors. That is their whole reason for being. It must be paying off well for those "saving" Iowa, but perhaps not for much longer.

Republican presidential candidates are tired of Iowa's "Christian" cash hounds. It goes beyond their money grubbing from candidates. Sign their stupid pledge(s) may get you Iowa caucus support. Doing so gives your opponents a club that could kill your campaign at any point from New Hampshire to November.

Many presidential hopefuls are limiting their Iowa exposure, or avoiding our state altogether. Roughly half the candidates are not participating in the Republican Party of Iowa's of Iowa's 2011 presidential straw poll.

When Iowa's first in nation spotlight goes dark because of these collection plate cults, it is unlikely to ever shine again. Enjoy the show. This election cycle maybe its final performance.

Jeroboam would understand.

Amos

Fox Host Varney on Soros: �I Do Not Like Billionaire Socialists Who Hate America and Try to Make Money Out of Our Ruin�

Fri, 29 Jul 2011 05:27:00 -0500

Can Our Local Goon Squad Democrats Explain Their Endorsement of This?

�Tell that to the Thais who were left in misery after he [Soros] made hundreds of millions in dollars in profits on them . That set off the �Asian Contagion� currency crisis of 1997. Soros bet against Thailand, they lost their shirts and they live in misery to this day and he made hundreds of millions. Where is the public interest?

...It was not in their [Thais'] interest,� Varney reminded."

Tom Terrific Toon Time

Thu, 28 Jul 2011 05:17:00 -0500

Spike,

"Federal battles over the debt ceiling and the nation�s budget have reached a fevered pitch. After being asked by President Obama to do so, Iowans have been flooding the phone lines of U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin, who has created a video message in response."

Our U. S. Senator Tom Harkin has done a terrific job of spending money we never had. There is no stopping the calendar. The creditors demands come due. What is a big time liberal spender like Tom Terrific Harkin to do?

Soak the rich. Pull out the credit card and charge!

Mr. Greenless Jeans

Circumventing Our Bill of Rights by Treaty

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:43:00 -0500

What Is Harkin's Position On This?

Spike,

"Twelve Democratic senators have joined 45 Republicans in a fast growing movement to halt progress on an Obama-backed United Nations effort that could bring international gun control into the United States and slap America's gun owners with severe restrictions."

There is a PDF file linked within the article. It contains the signatures of those Senators wishing to prevent blowing away our 2nd Amendment rights by treaty. I did not see Senator Tom Harkin's name. Does anybody know where Senator Harkin stands on this?

Molly Pitcher

John Kerry's 'Swift Boat' Ally Jailed, Stripped of Silver Star

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:36:00 -0500

Kerry's Accomplice In Federal Prison for Child Pornography

Spike:

"Had the subsequently determined facts and evidence surrounding both the incident for which the award was made and the processing of the award itself been known to the Secretary of the Navy in 1992, those facts would have prevented the award of the Silver Star," [SECNAV Mabus spokeswoman Pamela] Kunze said.

Wade Sanders is now in jail on child pornography charges. But he's best known as the man who introduced John Kerry at the 2004 Democratic National Convention, and, ironically, vouched for the authenticity of Kerry's service.

What will Kerry's buddy Tom Harkin have to say about this? What will Jeffy Heland have to say about one of his Pol Pot Generals?

JH

Sanders could have been stripped of his Silver Star for the child porno. That is if was rightfully awarded the medal to begin with.

Spike

Krauthammer: Obama "Has Gone From Emperor To Bystander in 3 Days"

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Pelosi Picks BHO's Booger Then Rips Into GOP Over Debt Negotiations

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 05:05:00 -0500

"I Got One, I Got One!"

Media �Ohhh�: Jay Carney Draws Press Corps� Ire During Testy Exchange With Fox Reporter

Wed, 27 Jul 2011 04:46:00 -0500

"Press Secretary entered into a testy exchange with new Fox White House reporter Ed Henry on Tuesday afternoon, after Henry pressed Carney on why the president hasn�t submitted his own debt plan, and why he went on primetime TV on Monday to blast some of the proposals out there without submitting one of his own.

Carney clearly wasn�t happy with being challenged, accusing Henry of spewing Republican talking points (a serious charge from a sitting press secretary to a journalist of a major network). But Henry wouldn�t back down, and when he didn�t, Carney got personal, accusing several journalists in the room of skipping out �early� on Friday, and blaming them not being informed.

As soon as the words darted out of Carney�s mouth, a loud chorus of �OOOOOOs� and �OHHHHHs� could be heard throughout the briefing room, and Henry can be seen cracking a smile. But even after that, the back-and-forth continued."

�Right Out of Atlas Shrugged�: Hear an Exasperated Alabama Businessman Tell the Feds � �I�m Just Quitting�

Tue, 26 Jul 2011 07:08:00 -0500

"Leaning against a wall during a recent Birmingham, Alabama, public hearing, Bryant listened to an overflow crowd pepper federal officials with concerns about businesses polluting the drinking water and causing cases of cancer.

...�Nearly every day without fail�men stream to these [mining] operations looking for work in Walker County. They can�t pay their mortgage. They can�t pay their car note. They can�t feed their families. They don�t have health insurance. And as I stand here today, I just�you know�what�s the use? I got a permit to open up an underground coal mine that would employ probably 125 people. They�d be paid wages from $50,000 to $150,000 a year. We would consume probably $50 million to $60 million in consumables a year, putting more men to work. And my only idea today is to go home. What�s the use? I see these guys�I see them with tears in their eyes�looking for work. And if there�s so much opposition to these guys making a living, I feel like there�s no need in me putting out the effort to provide work for them. So�basically what I�ve decided is not to open the mine. I�m just quitting. Thank you.�"

Tiger Cage Tom Harkin

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 06:55:00 -0500

Vietnamese Love Story

Spike:

"When the mission returned, Harkin declared that these photographs were �too important� to be turned over to Congress and to the committee that employed him, paid for his travel and provided him official U.S. Government access to the prison. Harkin instead sold these photos, some to anti-American foreign outlets, and others to Life Magazine for $10,000. (Harkin used this money from selling what ethically was taxpayer-funded government property to pay off his own debts for his 1972 law degree from Catholic University.)"

Tom Harkin, only the title before his name has name has changed.

Whatever the benefit of Harkin's expose, there is no mention how their hero personally profited off others' misery nor the story of misappropriation (theft for personal gain) of government property negates whatever moral trough Harkin thought he was drinking from.

FT

Krauthammer: Who is Obama to �Summon� Leaders to White House?

Mon, 25 Jul 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Reflections of Harkin the Socialist

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike:

Tom Harkin lied about his role in Vietnam when he first ran for office and has been lying to the people of Iowa ever since. He has always ranked in the top three for liberalism in the congress along with Obama and it would be hard to find anyone as far left as the two of them.

Seeing him again down in South America hob knobbing with Ortega is just a reminder of how far left and out of touch he�s been with Iowans back home. Seeing him with John Kerry is also a slap in the face for all Vietnam era veterans.

The people of Iowa are fools for constantly electing Harkin to the congress because he doesn�t represent Iowa but rather the big money donors from the west and east coasts who have nothing in common with Iowa values. Harkin is just another paid congressman representing the fringe of society that have ruined states such as California who constantly elects similar people such as Pelosi and others that protect deviate sex, baby killing, illegal aliens and the entire under belly of society.

Harkin is a classic example of why we need term limits for congress as well as for president. Harkin and Pelosi are what�s wrong with America.

LK

Atlantis Lands for The Final Time

Fri, 22 Jul 2011 05:06:00 -0500

ISS028-E-018214 (21 July 2011) --- This unprecedented view of the space shuttle Atlantis, appearing like a bean sprout against clouds and city lights, on its way home, was photographed by the Expedition 28 crew of the International Space Station. Airglow over Earth can be seen in the background.

Nasa Image by NASA/Bill Ingalls

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 05:24:00 -0500

Tax and Spend Tommy Harkin Fears a Cult

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:51:00 -0500

Spike,

"The debate and fight is not between Democrats and Republicans. It's between some Republicans and their sort of cult fringe as I refer to them out there," Harkin said."

The messiah of mortgage the future of future generations, has discovered a heresy. The cult of living within your means is mean and irresponsible. It is against the messiah's manipulations to purchase the re-elections everlasting for himself and his fellow travelers.

Iowa's senseless U S Senator should be the subject of an exorcism. When Senator Harkin's name shows up on a ballot again, he should be banished.

I. O. U.

Tommy and the Commie

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:41:00 -0500

Spike,

"In April 1985, Sen. Tom Harkin, ventured to Nicaragua with Socialist John Kerry to meet with President Daniel Ortega, a Marxist revolutionary who idolized Fidel Castro and received aid from the Soviet Union."

Tom Harkin is calling Tea Party people a cult. Does Harkin still worship communists?

JHC

MSNBC Anchor Mockingly Asks GOP Congressman If He Has �Degree In Economics�� Turns Out He Does!

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:37:00 -0500

"Rep. Brooks official bio says that the Congressman graduated from Duke University in three years with a double major in political science and economics, with highest honors in economics. After Duke, Rep. Brooks graduated from the University of Alabama Law School in 1978."

Meanwhile, Contessa has a DA-MSM.

Atlantis and ISS Separate for the Final Time

Thu, 21 Jul 2011 04:02:00 -0500

NASA Image

This picture of space shuttle Atlantis was photographed from the International Space Station as the orbiting complex and the shuttle performed their relative separation in the early hours of July 19, 2011.

The Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, which transported tons of supplies to the complex, can be seen in the cargo bay. It is filled with different materials from the station for return to Earth.

Aurora Australis From Space

NASA Image

This image is of Atlantis and its Orbital Boom Sensor System robot arm extension backdropped against Earth's horizon and a greenish phenomenon associated with Aurora Australis. One of the station's solar array panels appears at upper left. Because of the exposure time needed for this type of photography, some of the stars in the background are blurred.

�Sad, Pathetic, Fear Mongering�

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:32:00 -0500

Rep. Allen West Running Out of Adjectives for Obama

I've got a few more that I can't run in the space alloted...

Resort Mogul Steve Wynn Tees Off On Obama�s Anti-Business Fear Mongering

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:20:00 -0500

Older Sister Extracts Brother�s Tooth

Wed, 20 Jul 2011 04:18:00 -0500

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:46:00 -0500

Troute Wrapping in America

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:44:00 -0500

Spike,

"The theme of that quote is imagination. So for those submitting ideas to Imagine, let your minds run wild. The objective is to improve the quality of life in the city and the county, while hopefully making us more prosperous. So, tonight go to bed and dream."

When it comes imagination, the fantasies of Kilgore Trout are much more believable than the Ad Vertiser ramblings of Rex Troute. The universe is expanding and beckons with endless possibilities. Burlington is doing the exact opposite.

Mr. Rosewater

"Every Community Gets the Kind of Law Enforcement It Insists On"

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:34:00 -0500

Spike:

Since we're hot on Robert Kennedy quotes let's run this one by the city council and police chief.

"Every society gets the kind of criminal it deserves. What is equally true is that every community gets the kind of law enforcement it insists on."

It's time we insist our police chief do something about the mob robbery at Gasland whether or not our inept, incompetent city council demands it.

Fed Up

Rep. Allen West Says Obama �Needs To Admit That His Economic Policies Have Failed This Country�

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:20:00 -0500

You Don�t Get It: Congresswoman Agrees With Obama, Americans Too Stupid

Tue, 19 Jul 2011 05:05:00 -0500

Congresswoman Schkowsky (Dem. IL - surprise!) Agrees With Obama, Americans Too Stupid to Understand Complicated Debt Ceiling Debate & Social Security Threat While She Can�t Seem to Explain It

Rex Troute�s New Math or Face First In the Brownies Again?

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 06:15:00 -0500

Imagining The Answer to Troute�s Platitudes of Puzzlement

A new airport - $350,000,000

Chop up IAAP - $3,800,000 over 10 years

Move the rail yard - $250,000,000

-$350,000,000
-$250,000,000
+ $3,800,000

-$596,200,000 spending deficit

- $6,000,000+ last dream of stupidity - Manor Mall

Well, you get it. Pretty soon you are spending money like a Democrat. I think Troute should stop pilfering the office brownies and start asking the question, where is this new growth coming from?

What a waste of ink and brownies.

Spike

Delaney And His Irresponsible Use of Power

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:59:00 -0500

Spike:

Since Rex Troute seems to like Robert Kennedy quotations, here's one for him and his boss, Steve Delaney.

"The problem of power is how to achieve its responsible use rather than its irresponsible and indulgent use � of how to get men of power to live for the public rather than off the public."

Goldenrod

Nightmare of the Oversight Dead - Part II...III...IV......

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:23:00 -0500

Spike,

"The taxpayer tab for court settlements tied to filmmakers left in the lurch after the collapse of Iowa's film program has reached about $900,000 � and it will grow."

Command and control economic development is giving another command performance. The Courts keep issuing curtain calls and demands for settlement cash. Who was asleep on the set?

You might ask local best boy State Senator Tom Courtney. Our State Senator was on the Senate oversight committee when all the takes were made.

Sing it again, Tom & Jerry.

Busby Berkley

Obama: 80% of Americans Want Higher Taxes

Mon, 18 Jul 2011 05:21:00 -0500

Don't Get Caught in The Minority

"President Barack Obama reveals the purely political calculations behind his strategy in the debt ceiling negotiations. Not only does he reveal that he has intimate knowledge of polling on the issue, but he also describes the GOP leadership as being boxed-in due to previous statements they've made.

Notice how nowhere in this response is there any discussion about what is best for the economy, the housing market, the dollar, the unemployment situation or the long-term health of entitlement programs. The entire calculation is political."

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 15:10:45 -0500

Krauthammer To GOP: Call Obama Out For Being "Sanctimonious"

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:55:00 -0500

Charles hits the nail on the head.

Hawk Eye Editorial 'Dimwit' BS

Sun, 17 Jul 2011 14:54:08 -0500

Spike:

On 7/16/11 the Hawk Eye ran an editorial titled, �Dimwits and bulbs.� The Hawk Eye stuck to the Obama agenda to the letter and of course omitted the dangers related to the bulbs such as the health risks associated with the bulb and didn�t mention the amount of Mercury contained in the bulbs.

The bulbs contain 5mg of Mercury a very toxic element that should be avoided at all costs; so when a CFL bulb breaks clear the area to avoid possible Mercury poisoning that can induce serious health problems.

CFL bulbs can trigger headaches in people and have been proven to do so. CFL�s create dirty electricity by superimposing riders on top of the original pure sine wave of electricity causing blood sugar to increase in those with diabetes that returns to normal when they leave the vicinity of the CFL�s. CFL�s can increase the effects of those with MS and cause asthma in people that had never experienced it before.

There�s plenty more to be said about CFL�s conveniently left out of the nameless editorial in the Hawk Eye.

I think Americans should be more interested in why Obama doesn�t produce a budget than a hazardous light bulb that hasn�t proven its worth yet. My thinking says Obama and the democrats don�t want a budget because then they�d be held accountable for the trillions they�ve wasted since 2008 and what they want to continue wasting.

We have an administration that has failed constantly in ending this miserable recession and inflation where loafs of bread now cost close to $4 per loaf, gas far above what it was under Bush, coffee beans that cost $8.50 under Bush are now between $14 and $15 per bag.

Obama was nothing as a senator and has done nothing as president but further destroy our economy and our American principles because he has no experience as a productive member of our society nor does he understand what Americans actually are as a nation. Obama is a person raised as a socialist and surrounds himself with like thinking people none of which understand individuality or the American way.

Believe me the Hawk Eye backs Obama to the hilt regardless of the fact he�s been a failure as president from day one and he�s proven it day after day with his failed policies. I can�t believe Mike isn�t all over the Obama administration knowing how their gun running policy has created so many deaths in Mexico. That just goes to show how the Hawk Eye only prints articles favorable to their agenda while ignoring constantly the many failures of the Obama administration.

Where�s the Burlington Gazette when we need it?

LG

What's It Like To Ride The Shuttle?

Sat, 16 Jul 2011 05:22:00 -0500

STS-120 NASA Image

Reprinted from June 30, 2006 -

Imagine going out in the yard and climbing on top of the big propane tank that has an oxygen tank to keep the propane fire burning white hot along with two of the biggest bottle rockets ever made duct taped to the sides of the propane tank. When you strap in you will find 3 more propane tanks at the back of your lawn chair. Everything beneath you weighs 4,523,850 pounds.

After a few hours of sitting there wanting to pee, somebody yells �ignition� and you wait for the propane tanks and bottle rockets to all light up and get really hot before your neighbor pulls the rope to let you go charging out across the pasture accelerating like a drunk mayor headed home from Gulfport.

While all of this is making noise, smoke and scaring the milk cows your ride is:

A. Burning liquid oxygen that travels through a 17� feed line at 2,787 pounds per second at a max flow of 17,592 gallons per minute.

B. Burning liquid hydrogen through a 17� feed line at 465 pounds per second with max flow of 47,365 gallons per minute.

C. Producing thrust equivalent to 7-1/2 Boeing 747 airplanes.

Meanwhile each one of your 1,300,000 pound bottle rockets will only last from here to Monmouth and will burn 1,100,000 pounds of solid propellant in slightly less than 75 seconds and will drop off out of fuel about 70 miles from Chicago. 75 seconds after you lit this contraption, you will be in Galesburg and accelerating.

About 9 minutes after launch your large propane tank will be jettisoned and it will land in the Indian Ocean, 8500 miles from the pasture.

When you�ve burned up the Conoco card you will be traveling about 17,000 miles per hour or 25,295 feet per second (about 8 times faster than a rifle bullet) or about 4.8 miles per second or Sunnyside to Spirit Hollow in one second; upside down and backwards.

And you won�t even remember you still have to pee because you will grinning from ear to ear and relieved that the most complicated machine ever built by the lowest bidders is in one piece.

And for you aviation types that hate to figure weight and balance, in the first 60 seconds your gross weight is reduced about 2,400,000 pounds. And like all air vehicles, imagine controlling the CG for that. No wonder it goes up.

Spike

Iowa's Baggy Pants Comedians Have Iowa's Influence Sagging - Iowa Village Idiot Running Loose

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 05:05:00 -0500

"Enduring Loser Ballon Bob Vander Plaats Pickin' His Butt Instead of His Brain"

Spike,

"A scheduled Kansas City, Kan. tea party event of which Iowa�s Bob Vander Plaats served as vice chairman has been canceled. Organizers have cited financial difficulties as the reason for the cancellation."

Iowa's social issue political action committees (PACs) have made Iowa a national laughing stock. The Tea Party movement should be wary of whom it partners with.

Republican presidential candidates pandering to these groups are getting caught in jeers. Sell your soul to a social issue Satan and pay the price. No wonder so many 2012 Republican presidential candidates are avoiding being identified with Iowa's social issue PAC devils.

It looks like the money is drying up for social issue PACs. Fewer submissive candidates are available to display on an Iowa PACs trophy wall at fund raisers. National PAC money may still be coming in. How much longer those blessings will flow as Iowa loses its luster remains to be seen.

Iowa's national influence and relevance is on the wane. Iowa's social issue PACs deserve the lion's share of the blame.

Uncle Milty

Chrysler Workers Again Caught Smoking & Drinking On the Job � �Steps Away� from Union Hall

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:44:00 -0500

"Last September, Fox2 in Detroit uncovered Chrysler workers smoking pot and drinking beer during their breaks. At the time, the plant and Chrysler were outraged and fired the workers. That tough response should have sent a message. But apparently it didn�t. Fox2 has now uncovered more Chrysler workers doing the same exact thing.

�This time our video shows workers a mile from the plant, but just steps away from a United Auto Workers hall,� the outlet reports. �It�s the same kind of problem at a different location with a new method of having a good time; inhaling lunch before finishing a plant shift.�

Chrysler Auto Workers in Trenton Caught Smoking and Drinking During Lunch Breaks: MyFoxDETROIT.com

�Nobody Can Out Debate Him�: Pelosi�s Creepy Obama Worship on Debt Crisis

Fri, 15 Jul 2011 04:32:00 -0500

Make Me Gag! And I Don't Need A Damn Teleprompter!

No Internet - Library Is Ghost Town

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Spike:

Using the library frequently I can�t help but notice when the Internet is down that the library is mostly empty with the exception of possibly meeting rooms or children events. I�ve been there often enough to realize that the library is only very well used when the Internet is functional.

When the parking lot is full one has a good clue that the meeting rooms are really busy and the Internet is up and running as is the noise level. Take away free meeting rooms and the Internet and we have a library that is basically underutilized and quiet.

Since we are taxed twice the going rate as other similar cities I often wonder if we�ve really getting a bang for our buck although our city pays its employees the going rate based on other cities I wonder why we are forced to pay twice the rate for library service, a service that isn�t even provided on Sunday�s during the Autumn and Winter months as is done by other libraries in Eastern Iowa, that charge only half the library taxes as Burlington.

Sometimes I wonder how Burlington government has the nerve to steal from its citizens for its employees, taxes, fees, services and schools where the cost per student is $15,200 a sum more than the cost of college per year at the University of Iowa.

In Burlington people are apparently use to being robbed by the local government for inferior services; so I guess the best thing to do is move if a person wants a better more beneficial life.

Robbed to Death

Garden Level Patio

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Spike:

Here�s Burlington�s answer to the Hanging Gardens of Babylon although it doesn�t look exactly like the original it�s still a classic for 2011. Burlington will do anything to attract tourists from around the world.

What a town! It's sure not that way in Davenport. The Mayor chewed everyone out on the Wednesday 10 pm news. He wants his town cleaned up. What's wrong with our mayor?

So Proud

Congressman: Obama �Despicable, Sick and Twisted� on Debt Ceiling Threats to Seniors

Thu, 14 Jul 2011 05:00:00 -0500

Obama Is A Street Thug, What Do You Expect?

Cali-Courtney Here I Go to Where There's a Tax That's Low

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:52:00 -0500

Spike,

"Buffeted by high taxes, strict regulations and uncertain state budgets, a growing number of California companies are seeking friendlier business environments outside of the Golden State."

California has been totally Courtneyized. Evil, greedy, big business has been gotten even with. It is a workers paradise. There is no work.

People, businesses, money, all vote with their feet. Re-elect Senator Courtney in two years and hope your boots are made for walkin'.

A. Jolson

Please Come to Iowa and Raise Money for Me

Wed, 13 Jul 2011 05:47:00 -0500

Spike,

"While Iowa politics seldom takes a day off, it certainly intensifies every four years as the presidential field takes shape. Iowa�s first-in-the-nation position also brings the clich�d contempt and derision of our voters, as well as the institutions of the Straw Poll and Caucus." Iowa's Republican National Committeeman and business partner of Ralph Reed.

"These events are fundraisers for the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition and not a presidential fundraiser. IFFC does not endorse candidates. The money raised will stay in Iowa for upcoming Caucus Training Schools and other projects. Our goal is that our constituents be able to meet the various candidates, and ask questions in a smaller setting.

General admission: $20 per person, or $30 per couple. Sponsorship: $50 and above

For more information visit"

How many presidential candidates have you seen in Burlington lately? Iowa's Republican National Committeeman has been begging presidential candidates to come to Iowa. Is it for the good of the the party and state? Is it to put candidates on the circuit to raise money for Iowa's Republican National Committeeman's political influence partnership with Ralph Reed? That partnership provides Satan's paycheck.

Candidates have been staying away from Iowa. Satan's first cattle call to milk presidential candidates drew under half of those invited. It was an omen. $30.00 a couple to see bottom rung contenders is not a very profitable consolation prize.

"Money is the root of all evil." The F. E. C. did not find dirty underwear to pin a charge on Iowa's Republican National Committeeman's PAC after the 2008 election. That there was even an investigation scares the hell out of candidates.

Did the Burlington Police Department ever find that computer reported stolen?

"The IFFC does not endorse candidates." The President of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition does make toast. Maybe raising enough money will keep him from slicing a candidate and sticking them in the slot.

If you wonder why you are not seeing presidential candidates in Burlington like you used to, it may have something to do with contempt for the devil who whines and profits off conflict of interest. Worthy candidates are tired of wasting their time and money on Satan, his imitators and the entire State of Iowa.

Mrs. Stauffoleese

Delaney Sets An Example - "Texting and driving a no no" - Wrong!

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:54:00 -0500

More Like, I'll Do Whatever I Want & Endanger You All! You Stupid Morons!

On July 2 Ad Vertiser Propaganda Czar Steve Delaney spilled forth, in his occasional weekly missive, the pitfalls of texting and driving. In 630 words Delaney tells of texting while driving his kids along Iowa's busiest highway, I-80; "On Sunday, it was a parade of semis in both directions."

Mind you, the law changed a year ago and technically Delaney was in flagrant violation of that law. Delaney espouses that he will refrain from doing this in future not because the law is going to be enforced and tickets will be written but rather, because "financial penalties went into effect on Friday" and he will be fined.

Delaney's epistle also pursues the local police for not setting the proper example by driving around town yakkin' on their cell phone. Delaney says, "it certainly doesn't offer a good example for the rest of us, especially the kids."

What kind of message does willfully violating the law to send text messages along a dangerous highway while your kids are imprisoned, watching you violate that law for several hours, endangering your children to a miscue of fat thumbs tell your kids about your level of brain activity and mental acuity?

"I had no time to sit on the side of the road and let all my friends in on our great news, for heaven's sake"

Statistics show financial penalties will not deter you any more than it does a drunk driver or a doper. People inclined to believe they are above the law continue to offend, fine or not.

Spike

Michelle Obama's 1,556-Calorie Lunch

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:32:00 -0500

So Much For Setting An Example

"A Washington Post reporter said the first lady ordered a cheeseburger, french fries, chocolate shake and Diet Coke at Shake Shack"

I Told You Sovereign Debt Was A Huge Problem 2 Years Ago

Tue, 12 Jul 2011 05:20:00 -0500

Obama & The Democrats Oblivious to Meltdown

"European markets fell sharply and the euro came under renewed selling pressure as concerns grew that the region's sovereign-debt crisis is spreading to Italy and spiralling out of control.

The Stoxx Europe 600 Index was off 2.6%. London's FTSE 100 shed 1.9%, Frankfurt's DAX dropped 3.1% and Paris's CAC-40 Index fell 2.2%. Italy's benchmark index slipped 3.7%, led by falls in major bank shares, while the Spanish bourse tumbled 4%.

Italian and Spanish bonds continued to slide, with the extra yield demanded by investors to buy them instead of safe-haven German bunds rising to euro-era highs. The euro fell below $1.39 to trade recently at $1.3853, down from $1.4030 late Monday in New York.

Fears over Italy's solvency and political stability have been compounded by market frustration that Europe's leaders haven't yet come up with a solution to Greece's deepening debt problems."

Foamy Fame - Nagle and His Fool's Nectar

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 05:30:00 -0500

Democrats Show Off Their Best Suit

Spike:

Former Eastern Iowa U.S. Rep. Dave Nagle will be inducted into the Iowa Democratic Party�s Hall of Fame Aug. 5 at Drake University in Des Moines. You can buy tickets to the event.

The party of the free lunch has a hall of fame fund raiser coming up. These folks cannot afford to be the party of the open bar for this one. Former Congressman and Iowa Democrat Party Chairman Dave Nagle is being honored.

There is no mention if the bar will be cash. When do any of Burlington's single party hearty legends enter their party's Hall of Fame?

Dave Nagle's record is impressive, but Burlington has some contenders worthy of consideration. When do any of Burlington's single party hearty legends get inebriated into their party's state wide Hall of Fame?

Ezra Brooks

P.S. And he looks good in orange.

Disconnect on Jobs Numbers

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:55:00 -0500

"So, only 18,000 jobs added in June and a quarter million people left the job market altogether. But no one seems to note that in that same month we gave green cards or Employment Authorization Documents to at least 100,000 foreigners."

STS-135 Last Trip

Mon, 11 Jul 2011 04:13:00 -0500

NASA Photo Bill Ingalls

201107080015hq (8 July 2011) --- Space shuttle Atlantis is seen as it launches from Launch Pad 39A July 8, 2011, at NASA's Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Fla. The launch of Atlantis, STS-135, is the final flight of the Space Shuttle Program, a 12-day mission to the International Space Station.

NASA Photo Bill Ingalls

ISS028-E-015561(10 July 2011) --- A nadir view of the space shuttle Atlantis and its payload was provided by one of a series of images showing various parts of the shuttle in Earth orbit. Seen at the rear of the cargo bay is the Raffaello multi-purpose logistics module, packed with supplies and spare parts for the International Space Station. The series was photographed by one of three crewmembers -- half the station crew -- who were equipped with still cameras on the orbiting outpost as the shuttle "posed" for photos and visual surveys and performed a back-flip for the rendezvous pitch maneuver (RPM).

Send Gasland Mob Robbery to FOX News

Sun, 10 Jul 2011 06:54:00 -0500

Spike,

I have an idea. Why not get a copy of the Gasland Mob Robbery video and send it to FOX News. Maybe they can embarrass a response for the crime.

Not Shy

Mob Robbery in Milwaukee

Sat, 9 Jul 2011 06:51:00 -0500

Where The Hell Is Burlington's Mayor Calling For Justice or Demanding The Police Department Do Their Job?

Did Ell Lose His Keys to Crime Alert Reward Lock Box?

Spike:

Here�s a video of a mob robbery in Milwaukee that is very similar to the one that happened at the Gas Land in Burlington several weeks ago but didn�t make the Hawk Eye or other news outlets here in Burlington.

Funny how it made headlines in Milwaukee but not a word here in the paper or even on the radio news. There is a video of the Gas Land robbery but of course in Burlington no one has seen it but the police. Why wouldn�t they need the help of the public to identify the robbers as was done in Milwaukee where some of the robbers were identified in less than 24 hours, some of which were turned in by their parents, something that would probably never happen in this town.

KLM

If I Wouldn't Get Caught

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:45:00 -0500

Spike:

With the Ad Vertiser's press run hitting 14,000 on a good Sunday or Black Friday edition, Delaney's only worry would be getting caught pilfering emails and voice mails.

I'll bet he'd even pay for yours.

GH

No Money - Easy Terms - Make the Taxpayers Pay

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:41:00 -0500

BB&T / Two Rivers Still Owes $12 Million in TARP Funding

Spike,

"Iowa bank holding companies West Bancorporation and MidWestOne Group have both paid off their financial crisis debt, but seven more banks are yet to return the money to the federal government and continue to pay interest....

Here�s a list of the Iowa banks who haven�t paid anything back, and how much money they accepted, according to Treasury:.....

Two Rivers Financial Group, Burlington
Borrowed $12,000,000"

You pay nothing down. You pay only interest for as long as you like. Quick credit approval is yours for the asking. Those pitch pieces are right out of an irritating radio screamer ad for a shady used car lot.

Such ads are usually pitched at the welfare class. Does the same apply to corporate welfare?

What is with Two Rivers TARP repay delay? Have they got the money? This revelation showed up in the Des Moines Register.

It took a while for the Ad Vertiser to report on a Two Rivers Vice President's fingers in the cookie jar a few years ago. Will the Ad Vertiser pick up on this?

S. P. Chase

I enjoyed reviewing the letter to the stockholders. Especially the part, "we need to educate our market clientele...hopefully better educate them."

We got an education alright. A PhD on community and local business reinvestment.

Spike

Quelling the Cry of the Loon

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:38:00 -0500

Spike,

"An attorney for Deere & Co. said Wednesday he�s filed paperwork to form a campaign committee to run in Iowa�s 2nd Congressional District next year."

It looks like another candidate has entered the field against the Nutty Professor. It would be nice to return to normalcy with a sane representative in Congress.

L. Ithium

Soprano: "Thou Shall Covet"

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Spike:

"The Hill put together a list with some of the endorsements the presidential candidates covet most, listed below in no particular order...."

Bob Vander Plaats was the only Iowan to make this top ten endorsement list.

Iowa's Republican National Committeeman and business partner of the sainted Ralph Reed is not on the list. Iowa's brimstone foundation must be melting.

Is Satan Steve Scheffler most holy now wholly irrelevant? If so, Saint Ralph may need to find a new capo to run Iowa for him.

Tony

Let He Who Is Without Toast Cast the First Stone?

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:21:00 -0500

Spike,

Other committee members are against the idea of endorsing entirely, including Republican State Central Committeeman Steve Scheffler. Scheffler is also the president of the Iowa Faith and Freedom Coalition (formerly known as the Iowa Christian Alliance) and on the Republican National Committee.

�You never say never (to endorsing a candidate), but I haven�t and I won�t (endorse anyone),� Scheffler said. �If there�s an endorsed candidate so contrary to the core values of our party�s platform, it does not motivate the base and is not a good idea.�

Is it OK to denounce rather than endorse?

"He's (Gov. Haley Barbour R-MS) toast in Iowa, as far as I'm concerned," said Steve Scheffler, a social conservative activist and the state's RNC committeeman. "I traditionally stay out of presidential contested races, but this kind of information will be distributed far and wide."

The former head of the Republican Governor's Association must be a threat to somebody's core values. Is Governor Barbour a threat to the core values of his party, or the Iowa branch of Ralph Reed's Faith and Freedom PAC?

Governor Barbour did not seek his party's nomination for 2012. Many of those seeking that nomination have down played, or have so far avoided Iowa altogether. With so many Iowa Republican Party officers conflicted between party, PAC and/or individual candidates, who can blame them.

A more level battle field beckons in New Hampshire.

Melba

Obama's Car Czar Ron Bloom: �I Did it All for the Unions�

Fri, 8 Jul 2011 05:09:00 -0500

Former Obama White House Car Czar Ron Bloom denies making the statement. However, after confirmation from two reporters Rep. Darryl Issa sent this letter to Bloom.

"Despite your five denials, two independent sources documented you saying these words. Davide Shepardson wrote in the Detroit News on November 24, 2009, that you said you �did this all for the unions.� Furthermore, Steven Rattner � your former boss at the Auto Task Force � wrote in Overhaul: An Insider�s Account of the Obama Administration�s Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry, that at a �celebratory dinner� at Rosa Mexicano on July 21, 2009, that you said �I did this all for the unions!�

It appears that either a respected reporter and your former boss in the Obama Administration have both given inaccurate accounts of your comments to the public, or your testimony was not completely truthful. Therefore, if you would like to amend or clarify your testimony for the record, we encourage you to do so as soon as possible.

Sincerely,

(Rep) Darryl Issa"

Delaney to IT Dept - You Know How to Do This?

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:21:11 -0500

"News Corp. on Thursday said it will close its News of the World newspaper in response to widening allegations that the U.K. newspaper hacked phones and made improper payments to police.

...Though allegations about phone-hacking and other conduct at the paper surfaced years ago, the controversy escalated in recent days over reports that the publication had hacked into the voicemail of a kidnapped 13-year-old girl who, it turned out, had been murdered."

Cash Heals All "Hate" - But We're Still Crooks

Thu, 7 Jul 2011 11:10:00 -0500

Spike,

"In a Tuesday morning email message entitled �Who Hates Whom?� organizers at religious conservative The Family Leader highlighted anonymous reader comments on The Iowa Independent as evidence of hate and persecution before utilizing them as a fundraising pitch."

Will Bob Vander Platts get more for his group's collection plate than Iowa's Republican National Committeeman gets for his Ralph Reed Faith and Freedom front? What the devil will the Great Satan do to protect his dominion over all the loot?

Spike, would you be honored if Iowa Faith and Freedom President Steve Scheffler used you as his fund raising tool?

Christian Rothschild

We'd be as pleased as a polka dotted pig at the Iowa State Fair. As long as Satan didn't want to kiss me on the lips.

Spike

Pay the Fare for Fish Wrap

Wed, 6 Jul 2011 09:53:39 -0500

Spike,

"An elderly Upper East Side woman claims a sanitation agent chased her, threatened her with arrest and slapped her with a ticket for putting day-old newspapers in a city trash can."

In Burlington, people pay to have Iowa's oldest news on paper pitched onto their door step.

Herodotus

Letter to Obama - From We The People

Tue, 5 Jul 2011 05:50:00 -0500

In Case You Missed The 4th of July

Obama's Muslim Leadership

Tue, 5 Jul 2011 05:32:00 -0500

No Obama Change Here

Mon, 4 Jul 2011 05:01:00 -0500

The Federalist Papers

Mon, 4 Jul 2011 04:47:00 -0500

An easy to use Index to The Federalist Papers

The Wikipedia version with a summary of each essay and references.

The Reason We Brought You The First 2 Posts Today

Mon, 4 Jul 2011 04:11:00 -0500

"Forget The Elected House & Senate Dream Act Kids Aren't Going To Take Their Bulls**t"

Obama Gives New Grant to ACORN - Paid With "Obama Money"

Sat, 2 Jul 2011 11:20:08 -0500

"Obama's Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) gave a $79,819 grant to the largest branch of the ACORN tree, ACORN Housing Corp. (AHC). AHC filed papers last year legally changing its name to Affordable Housing Centers of America (AHCOA). It's the same old organization with a brand new ACORN-free name.

Worse yet, the grant funds a political agitation and indoctrination program. Here's HUD's euphemistic description of the program:

Education and Outreach Initiative grants (EOI) - HUD awarded $6.8 million to organizations that educate the public and housing providers about their rights and obligations under federal, state, and local fair housing laws. Groups will also conduct fair lending workshops, community meetings, and individual counseling activities focused on homeowners at risk for discrimination.

According to HUD, the grant money came out of fiscal 2010 appropriations."

Unions Don't Work At Delta - But Employees Make More Money

Sat, 2 Jul 2011 11:15:00 -0500

Real Issue - Unions On Scavenger Hunt to Stop Declining Dues

"On average, nonunion Delta flight attendants take home 12% more than their unionized Northwest counterparts (based on a typical 75-hour-a-month schedule); they enjoy more generous profit-sharing and retirement matches from the company; and they don't have to dole out $43 a month in union dues. (Delta ranked No. 1 among airlines in this year's Fortune Most Admired Companies list).

...The Delta flight attendant vote offers a telling microcosm of why labor is so desperate to change the rules to make it easier to organize. Only 11.9% of all workers (and only 6.9% of private sector employees) belonged to unions in 2010, compared to 20% in 1983. In the Delta vote, the flight attendants union not only lost 13,000 potential new members, but also 7,000 Northwest flight attendants already paying dues. That's a big financial hit."

Beck On Fox One Last Time - Due Back July 12 on Internet Show

Fri, 1 Jul 2011 10:30:00 -0500

Obama: It's Kids Versus Corporate Jets on Debt-Ceiling Talks

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 05:19:00 -0500

Bullsh** Mr. President - It's Your Profound Lack of Leadership

I�ve never heard anything so absurd or remarkably stupid in my life. But please keep making these statements. It makes your Washington exit so assured.

You can bet when your trough is empty and you get to reflect on your memorable quotes this will be one you wish you read the teleprompter instead of speaking extemporaneously.

Spike

Beck - A Must Watch - 45 Minutes Well Spent

Thu, 30 Jun 2011 04:23:00 -0500

We Were Told

The MSM Dismissed It - Their Importance & Decline Continues

Art Imitates Iowa Politics - Prayer Booth Missing Credit Card Slot for Satan & Reed

Wed, 29 Jun 2011 07:39:20 -0500

Spike,

Artist's Statement on Prayer Booth

"This piece plays on the format of the traditional public phone booth, but adds a spiritual element. It functions as a normal booth with a private enclosure, but adds a flip down kneeler for prayer."

Pray and pay. Welcome to the 2012 Iowa caucuses.

Iowa's ever more Political Action Cults (PAC)s...er, 501(c)4 organizations not organized for profit but operated exclusively for the promotion of social welfare, need to buy a few of these. Add a night deposit slot just like at the bank. The heavens are the limit.

�Tonight, when you give, we�re not a PAC and we�re not a candidate,� he said. �Therefore, there is no limit to what you give here tonight. Isn�t that exciting?� Ralph Reed should know better than any other mere mortal.

Order a portable version to set up at your candidate cattle calls, political candidates as speakers fund raising banquets, etc. What a wonderful innovation for maxed out campaign donors to still be heard.

Herd the cash to your group. If anybody complains, pray the Federal Elections Commission finds nothing wrong, nor your hard drive.

Pray and pay may make an Iowa winner think they are climbing up the golden stairs. Earth's ultimate power and glory is within their grasp.

On a cold as hell New Hampshire night, more than one candidate has discovered the price of selling their soul to Satan.

Ernestine Graham Bell

Stop Ad Vertising the Destruction of Capitalism

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:50:00 -0500

Spike,

"Is there morality in the climate of capitalism?"

The better question is can capitalism survive as it is constantly under attack. Do you wish to live under one world of Euroweenie Socialism? How can the little guy strike back.

A good way to cure the problem is for capitalists to stop advertising in the Ad Vertiser. Deny evil capital to the anti capitalist Ad Vertiser. Tell local merchants you may need to take your business elsewhere if the continue to support the Ad Vertiser. What of the big box stores?

Do not waste your breath on the local help. Write the President of the company. Send the C. E. O. Comrade Troute's tribute to Trotsky. Tell them what their advertising is supporting and suggest they advertise elsewhere.

One letter may not mean much. Many letters make a difference. Hit the Ad Vertiser where it counts, in their wallet. It is a lesson in capitalism even Mr. Troute will understand.

Adam Schmidt

The Alternative to Capitalist Morality

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:48:00 -0500

Spike,

"The video is some of the most revealing footage ever smuggled out of the impoverished North Korean state.

Shot over several months by an undercover North Korean journalist, the harrowing footage shows images of filthy, homeless and orphaned children begging for food and soldiers demanding bribes."

Socialism does it better.

GH

Bittersweet Buttress Demolished - Mayor, Ex-Mayor, Slagle to Blame?

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:43:00 -0500

Spike:
�
I wonder if any of your viewers know anything about who knocked down one of the two brick pillars marking the entrance to Bittersweet Place the street which runs down the West side of the Country Club.
�
The scuttlebutt going around is that a car hydroplaned and ran into it knocking it down.� Now if a car were going the speed limit I doubt it would have been going fast enough to hydroplane; so it really looks like a cover up or something to that effect by the local authorities and I don�t think anything was mentioned in the Hawk Eye, as usual.� I wonder if one of our more rich or famous citizens may have had a little too much alcohol or something to that effect, just wonder of course. ��
�
It happened about two weeks ago and is somewhat of a hush up by authorities and appears as a cover up that happens only to often in Burlington.�
�
Wondering �

I wonder if Slagle clipped it with the U-haul slithering out of town in the dark?

Spike

Illinois Designer License Plates

Tue, 28 Jun 2011 05:11:00 -0500

Spike,

"A federal jury today convicted former Gov. Rod Blagojevich on 17 of 20 counts, finding he brazenly abused the powers of his office in a series of attempted shakedowns captured on undercover government recordings."

That great example of political ethics and morality just to our east never ceases to amaze. The old Illinois joke of, "Our governors make our license plates," is in fact an opportunity in waiting.

As a federal convict, Blago will probably be going to a federal facility. None the less, with mutual Cook County friends in the federal executive branch, arrangements could be made to send Blago where there is a sheet metal shop.

For an extra fee, Illinois residents could have their vanity plates signed by the former governor who formed them. A basket case of debt and welfare, Illinois could use some extra money.

Enough money would never be so raised to four lane US 34 from Gulfport to Monmouth. Besides, that route does run through Cook County. None the less, it is the thought that counts.

Paul Powell

Troute Eats Sweet�s Brownies, Hallucinations Set In, Takes Trip & Never Leaves Desk

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:31:00 -0500

Rex Troute, the Ad Vertiser�s business writer, suggests in his Sunday column that capitalism is having a heyday in the world of �sex toys, surveillance equipment and assault rifles.�

Trying as hard as possible to garner any sense from this rambling theory based on Troute�s favorite Google searches and Mike Sweet�s brownies, one can dismiss this drivel after turning to the article on Boeing on page 5D and get a sense of the threat to real American capitalism, the European Union and its socialist ideas for a new world order with Airbus and our own government interfering with Boeing�s decision to build a plant in South Carolina. These are two major contradictions to Trout�s theory of prosperity.

If Troute can come up from inhaling his brownies long enough to do a 3-minute read of the article on page 5D he might begin to understand American capitalism and what happened last week at the Paris Air Show after Boeing felt the sales heat from Airbus.

As we all know Airbus is the largest nationalized manufacturer in the world. Every member country of the Airbus crime family has heavily subsidized Airbus with member governments� money. It is no different than the Chinese or the local ethanol plant. It is a false positive. There is no real competition when the deck is loaded.

Coupled with this obstacle, the Obama administration has directed the National Labor Relations Board to sue Boeing for expanding its existing manufacturing capability in South Carolina. The crybaby IAM union is crying foul. Obama heard the cry for votes due to his lost popularity. Another illegal action by a communist president to topple capitalism as we know it (BTW - where is Sweet on the War Powers Act?).

I guess if you�re a provincial business writer in a dead horse town, prosperity might be measured in �sex toys, surveillance equipment and assault rifles.�

But it seems to me that it is awfully hard to gauge the health of capitalism by what�s new in �sex toys, KY jelly and Viagra.� We know he doesn�t own any surveillance equipment or assault rifles. It must be the sex toys he uses for an indicator.

Spike

Trout Canonizes Courtney � More Brownies, More Hallucinations

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:15:00 -0500

Tacit Approval of Lax Oversight

It seems Rex Trout must have eaten all the medicinal brownies. According to Sunday�s article in the Ad Vertiser Jerry Courtney, our nitwit state senator Tom Courtney�s brother has been asleep at the helm on the Iowa Department of Economic Development board during the following events and Trout missed the story.

1. The Iowa Values Fund blowout at Community Field the city taxpayers had to bail out.

2. Rampant, unchecked program fraud at the IDED Film Office (his Twiddle -Dee brother was staring out the window at the same time) while the oversight responsibility was being ignored.

3. Advocates the ethanol business; a short margin, heavily subsidized, tariff protected, mandated product originally to be used a fuel additive vs. a fuel source. Good business opportunity/recommendation for a financial planner.

4. Modestly describes the IDED Board as �"I think we are probably an exceptional board." Same Courtney family modesty.

5. Acknowledges he has personally benefited financially from his membership on the IDED Board with a �few new clients.� Maybe that�s how he missed the Film Office oversight.

I guess all this makes a great case for the rebuilding of the Iowa Department of Economic Development.

Doesn�t seem to be much else.

Spike

Burlington School Board Rewards Failure in Large Numbers

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 05:07:00 -0500

Spike:

I�d love to have a job where failure is rewarded by wage increases such as is done in the Burlington School District. The superintendent failed in her goals but still received a 2.8% wage increase. Only in government is failure rewarded and accountability ignored. Government run programs are the biggest failures attainable by man and the BSD proves this point beyond a doubt.

We also have the taxpayer paying more for kindergarten students than is charged by the University of Iowa for a year of college. Each student in the BSD is costing the taxpayer $15,200 for a failed education based on the ITBS test scores. Burlington only has slightly over 4000 students in government run schools but it has a budget of $63 million and basis rewards on failure by obtaining only one out of 12 goals set by itself. In other words the failure rate by the BSD was approximately 92% of the twelve goals it set for the district; so it�s costing the Burlington taxpayer about 70% more than it would if their child were sent to private school where government is held at bay and failure is not an awardable goal.

LH

Newt The Destroyer

Mon, 27 Jun 2011 01:19:12 -0500

Maybe the South Main crowd could do a mind meld and prepare an official response.

Spike

"Burlington Schools Put the 'BS' in ITBS Scores*"

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:52:19 -0500

"We set clear goals and expectations for Jane and she hit those goals"

Get the Deal Done and Then Come Clean

The Burlington School system got their report card for the Iowa Test of Basic Skills or ITBS. All scores declined except 11th grade students which showed a very slight increase.

Fresh from a pay raise earlier this week, the overpaid school superintendent Jane Evans said the test results were due to a new testing date even though Evans hit her goals.

Maybe if these pay raises were directly tied to a teacher performance evaluation based on ITBS the test results might be even better.

But I'm sure the retired teachers on the school board wouldn't think of anything like that. They wouldn't want the achievement levels too high. It might single out one teacher doing a better job from that of a slacker. Not to suggest that all teachers aren't equal......

Spike

*from a wise sage.

Treasury Sec. Geithner: We Need to Raise Taxes on Small Businesses Because It�s �Fair�

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 12:45:00 -0500

"Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner admitted on Wednesday that the administration�s budget plan will, in fact, raise taxes on small businesses. However, it�s a move he said is necessary and justified because revenues must increase in a way that�s �fair to people as a whole.�"

I hope they just keep making these dumb ass comments until its too late to recount the votes.

Spike

Does Cars 2 Have a Liberal Bias on Energy?

Fri, 24 Jun 2011 11:30:00 -0500

'Mater, Tell Me It Ain't So!

from the Director's mouth -

"We revamped the whole story, the whole bad-guy arc. To me, there always needs to be a logic to our movies. No matter what subject matter it is, they have to be logical for the world we�re creating. I kept thinking about, �OK. A spy movie in the world where cars are alive. What would be a really good kind of �ber bad guy? Who is an �ber bad guy?� I kept going to big oil. This is before what happened in the Gulf of Mexico.

Why isn�t alternative fuel more� Why isn�t everybody jumping on that bandwagon? It makes so much sense: Electricity, solar, whatever. There�s ethanol. There�s all this stuff you could be doing. And so I thought, well, that could be really cool in that you could have big oil versus alternative fuel. That�s when we kind of crafted the bad guy�s story."

Conan must think so -

Let East Buy West (Burlington)

Thu, 23 Jun 2011 05:46:15 -0500

Spike,

"A Chinese national company is interested in developing a 10,000- to 30,000-acre technology zone for industry, retail centers and homes south of the Boise Airport."

Trousilgrad is all TIFed out.

Tax Increment Funding scams for hot dog stands have citizens standing in sewage whenever it rains. West Burlington's schools are screwed too. Infrastructure is ignored as taxation soars on residents and older businesses.

Hans the Horrible is going broke. What to do?

Sell West Burlington to Communist China. It would be a natural fit. A single party political system, a trampling of individual rights and the public's right to know, a ban on all guns, a single ruler for decades these are all qualities that would appeal to the boys in Beijing.

A cup full of rice and a few bamboo shoots for supper maybe the Bank of Beijing's pound of flesh for the money. Before it gets to that, the citizens of West Burlington would be wise to clean house at the next election.

Hang Hans Zun