Another barb against Taxpayer: The problem with Taxpayer, like most conservatives and Republicans, is that they are full of lies. Whatever it takes to make their point. The sad thing is that too many of them actually believe their lies. Conservatives and Republicans love to lie. They believe that if they repeat their lies enough times that people will actually believe them. Lie #1: No one is forced to belong to a labor union. A worker can opt out of paying union membership. This is the law. If they aren't dues paying, then they are not members. They still reap the same benefits as those that are members. Walker loves repeating this lie. He even said it before a Congressional committee. He should be indicted for lying to Congress. Lie #2: Corporate or virtual slavery exists in America and it is becoming more common. This is where corporations and some other employers treat their employees like slaves. They pay them low wages, less than a living wage, little or no benefits, treat female employees like second-class citizens, and make workers work off the clock. A corporation that is notorious for doing this is Walmart. They do not have to do away with the Emancipation Proclamation and the 13th and 14th Amendments because they are already getting around them. Lie #3: When conservatives and Republicans don't agree with a liberal or progressive, they think they have to accuse them of race bating. They do this when they have no defensible argument. If anyone is racist, it is conservatives and Republicans for going there. As for my comment concerning some conservatives or Republicans wanting to do away with child labor laws; a Republican state legislator in Missouri has actually proposed legislation doing away with child labor laws. - Dave Searles
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A barb to the teenagers who have decided to hang out at the Swiss Alps playground, and a barb to their parents for either not knowing what their kids are doing or allowing it. That park is a wonderful place for young children. I was recently there with my small children and unfortunately there were at least 10 teen-aged individuals taking up the swings, using foul language, and climbing on the equipment. Families with small children should be able to use the park without having to worrying about what their children are going to get exposed to. I don't know what the answer is, but I would hope the MPD would be willing to ask these teenagers to find a new place to hang out when they see them hanging out there. Unless they are there with a smaller sibling, they should not be in that playground area. - Concerned parent
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A huge blossom to the nice young man who helped me with my vehicle Tuesday morning, April 12, in Walmart's parking lot. You were so kind and helpful. Through your act of helping me, you proved that not all of the "younger generations" is selfish and unwilling to help others. Also, a blossom to your parents for raising such a nice, helpful, polite man. Thank you once again. - Grateful
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A big blossom to all the dispatchers at Monroe PD and the Green County Sheriff's Department. It was recently National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Most people when they call 9-1-1 or need help take the person on the other end of the phone for granted. They just call and help arrives without any knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes. The officers on the streets have a very difficult and dangerous job to do and they do it very well, but the men and women on the other end of the telephone and radio also play a very vital role in ensuring our safety and well being. Besides just being an unknown voice on the telephone or pushing a button to say "10-4," the dispatchers have many other duties and roles that they go about in their normal but hectic and stressful shift that the general public takes for granted. For doing a job that no one else seems to want to do, we owe them a big thanks! - Appreciative in Monroe
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A barb to Tammy Baldwin. We can all appreciate the sacrifices our parents and grandparents have made for us over the years, but we can't keep the status quo when it comes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. When it comes to Medicare, the government pays something like 60 percent of the true costs to hospitals, clinics, etc., whereupon the hospitals pass along the difference to the rest of us. Yes, costs are going up and somebody has to pay for them. Saying that we can continue along the existing path is why we are in the financial trouble at this moment. There are more people on the receiving end of benefits now then in the past and the bills have to be paid somehow. Social Security is paying out more than it takes in and this will continue from here on out. One branch of the government has Social Security IOUs from a different branch and they are worthless; there isn't any savings account with Social Security money. Reform must take place now while there is hope. - A taxpayer
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A blossom to the Gardner money article. I could not agree more. If Gov. Walker had not gotten the $45,000 from Gardner, Barrett would have won the election. That $45,000 election ad, whichever one it was, certainly turned the tide. The tens of millions spent by both sides could not offset the $45,000 Walker used and then returned right away when found to be illegal. I am sure that the 52 percent to 47 percent margin of victory would have been changed were it not for that donation. The $150 million Walker is requesting from the Feds is for improve the existing Amtrak line and to add trains between Milwaukee & Chicago, highly utilized by commuters with full RR cars. That line has nothing to do with Gardner's WSOR. The $810 million was taken away by Obama before Walker was even governor and some of the money should have been used to fix the railroad lines between Madison and Milwaukee as part of the infrastructure repair going on across the country, even without high speed rail. - RR Enthusiast
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A barb to loser Joanne Kloppenburg. Asking for a hand recount of the Supreme Court election is a colossal waste of taxpayer money (estimated over $1 million) and time. The largest change in votes in a statewide election is 489 and Justice Prosser is leading by well over 7,000 votes. All the counties have been canvassed and the number of voters and votes have been confirmed. The nonpartisan Government Accounting Board already has done an official investigation of the Waukesha county votes and found the results are correct, but Kloppenburg doesn't think that the investigation was "adversarial" enough and now wants a special prosecutor. Kloppenburg declared victory with a 200-vote lead before the official canvassing even took place, but now a 7000 vote difference isn't enough. Liberals and unions will continue wasting millions of dollars in a worthless recount, crowd control and cleanup costs at the Capitol and elsewhere and the taxpayers will continue to have to foot the bill. This wasted money should have gone to retain teachers. This is way past old. - A taxpayer
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A barb to people who run the Argyle Park. A double-header played there and the concession stand was open, but the restrooms in the same building were locked. Doesn't make sense to me. - A Pec Fan
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A huge thorny barb to our government and President Obama for the out of control gas prices. This is insane; we have our soldiers over in Saudi Arabia to protect their people free of charge and we are allowing them amongst other oil suppliers to jack up to price on us. Hello ... what's wrong with this picture? Why isn't our government doing something like stand up and tell them enough is enough. Pull our soldiers out of there or start charging them for services - do something in the interest of the American people. I'm already thinking of how will it be possible for me to heat my home next winter since I have fuel oil which is the same price per gallon as gas is. It's bad enough that we have so many problems on our home soil but instead of taking care of our homestead first, we are sending our military and money overseas to other countries to handle their problems. Cut the cord, fix America first, help the people who pay your wages, vote for you and built this country. Stop putting us further in debt! - Wake Up
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This is a barb to the Monroe officials for testing the tornado sirens without notifying the public beforehand. I was in the midst of tornado training on Monday, April 18 at one of the local businesses when the siren went off at 11:20 a.m. Since it was not the first Wednesday of the month, nor was it noon when the sirens are usually being tested, the natural assumption was that we needed to head to our designated safe location. After checking outdoors and determining the weather conditions didn't appear to be threatening, I called the police department to find out why the sirens were being sounded. (This wasn't the first-time occurrence this season.) I think the city officials need to understand the big picture as to what happens in businesses and homes when the sirens sound. We go into evacuation mode. This means that businesses shut down machines and shuttle their employees to safe locations. This action is due to a strong responsibility borne by companies for the safety of their employees. We do not try to second-guess as to why the sirens are being sounded. Many businesses are running short-handed and are very busy. They do not need unnecessary interruptions. We appreciate that you are testing the sirens for our safety, but we need to be alerted to test so we do not become complacent to the sound of the siren, ignoring it when the real crisis is at hand. Please notify the public prior to testing. This can be done through WEKZ and The Monroe Times. - Carol Rufenacht
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Monroe Parks and Recreation would like to give out many blossoms to those who made the Easter Egg Hunt a fun event for all: Monroe Middle School Builders' Club and Park and Recreation After School Children for decorating 700 bags with their original designs; McDonald's; Dairy Queen; Burger King; Wisconsin Community Bank for coupons for the bags; Regez Cheese and Paper Supply for donating for bags; the Swiss Colony for donating the Easter Baskets and bunnies for each child; the Monroe Kiwanis for donating money for purchase toys, candy and plastic eggs; and Walmart for donating candy; Monroe High School students for filing the bags; and Monroe Kiwanis members and volunteers for taking time out of their busy holiday weekend to help with the event. - Monroe Parks and Recreation
•••
A barb to the teenagers who have decided to hang out at the Swiss Alps playground, and a barb to their parents for either not knowing what their kids are doing or allowing it. That park is a wonderful place for young children. I was recently there with my small children and unfortunately there were at least 10 teen-aged individuals taking up the swings, using foul language, and climbing on the equipment. Families with small children should be able to use the park without having to worrying about what their children are going to get exposed to. I don't know what the answer is, but I would hope the MPD would be willing to ask these teenagers to find a new place to hang out when they see them hanging out there. Unless they are there with a smaller sibling, they should not be in that playground area. - Concerned parent
•••
A huge blossom to the nice young man who helped me with my vehicle Tuesday morning, April 12, in Walmart's parking lot. You were so kind and helpful. Through your act of helping me, you proved that not all of the "younger generations" is selfish and unwilling to help others. Also, a blossom to your parents for raising such a nice, helpful, polite man. Thank you once again. - Grateful
•••
A big blossom to all the dispatchers at Monroe PD and the Green County Sheriff's Department. It was recently National Public Safety Telecommunicators Week. Most people when they call 9-1-1 or need help take the person on the other end of the phone for granted. They just call and help arrives without any knowledge of what goes on behind the scenes. The officers on the streets have a very difficult and dangerous job to do and they do it very well, but the men and women on the other end of the telephone and radio also play a very vital role in ensuring our safety and well being. Besides just being an unknown voice on the telephone or pushing a button to say "10-4," the dispatchers have many other duties and roles that they go about in their normal but hectic and stressful shift that the general public takes for granted. For doing a job that no one else seems to want to do, we owe them a big thanks! - Appreciative in Monroe
•••
A barb to Tammy Baldwin. We can all appreciate the sacrifices our parents and grandparents have made for us over the years, but we can't keep the status quo when it comes to Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security. When it comes to Medicare, the government pays something like 60 percent of the true costs to hospitals, clinics, etc., whereupon the hospitals pass along the difference to the rest of us. Yes, costs are going up and somebody has to pay for them. Saying that we can continue along the existing path is why we are in the financial trouble at this moment. There are more people on the receiving end of benefits now then in the past and the bills have to be paid somehow. Social Security is paying out more than it takes in and this will continue from here on out. One branch of the government has Social Security IOUs from a different branch and they are worthless; there isn't any savings account with Social Security money. Reform must take place now while there is hope. - A taxpayer
•••
A blossom to the Gardner money article. I could not agree more. If Gov. Walker had not gotten the $45,000 from Gardner, Barrett would have won the election. That $45,000 election ad, whichever one it was, certainly turned the tide. The tens of millions spent by both sides could not offset the $45,000 Walker used and then returned right away when found to be illegal. I am sure that the 52 percent to 47 percent margin of victory would have been changed were it not for that donation. The $150 million Walker is requesting from the Feds is for improve the existing Amtrak line and to add trains between Milwaukee & Chicago, highly utilized by commuters with full RR cars. That line has nothing to do with Gardner's WSOR. The $810 million was taken away by Obama before Walker was even governor and some of the money should have been used to fix the railroad lines between Madison and Milwaukee as part of the infrastructure repair going on across the country, even without high speed rail. - RR Enthusiast
•••
A barb to loser Joanne Kloppenburg. Asking for a hand recount of the Supreme Court election is a colossal waste of taxpayer money (estimated over $1 million) and time. The largest change in votes in a statewide election is 489 and Justice Prosser is leading by well over 7,000 votes. All the counties have been canvassed and the number of voters and votes have been confirmed. The nonpartisan Government Accounting Board already has done an official investigation of the Waukesha county votes and found the results are correct, but Kloppenburg doesn't think that the investigation was "adversarial" enough and now wants a special prosecutor. Kloppenburg declared victory with a 200-vote lead before the official canvassing even took place, but now a 7000 vote difference isn't enough. Liberals and unions will continue wasting millions of dollars in a worthless recount, crowd control and cleanup costs at the Capitol and elsewhere and the taxpayers will continue to have to foot the bill. This wasted money should have gone to retain teachers. This is way past old. - A taxpayer
•••
A barb to people who run the Argyle Park. A double-header played there and the concession stand was open, but the restrooms in the same building were locked. Doesn't make sense to me. - A Pec Fan
•••
A huge thorny barb to our government and President Obama for the out of control gas prices. This is insane; we have our soldiers over in Saudi Arabia to protect their people free of charge and we are allowing them amongst other oil suppliers to jack up to price on us. Hello ... what's wrong with this picture? Why isn't our government doing something like stand up and tell them enough is enough. Pull our soldiers out of there or start charging them for services - do something in the interest of the American people. I'm already thinking of how will it be possible for me to heat my home next winter since I have fuel oil which is the same price per gallon as gas is. It's bad enough that we have so many problems on our home soil but instead of taking care of our homestead first, we are sending our military and money overseas to other countries to handle their problems. Cut the cord, fix America first, help the people who pay your wages, vote for you and built this country. Stop putting us further in debt! - Wake Up
•••
This is a barb to the Monroe officials for testing the tornado sirens without notifying the public beforehand. I was in the midst of tornado training on Monday, April 18 at one of the local businesses when the siren went off at 11:20 a.m. Since it was not the first Wednesday of the month, nor was it noon when the sirens are usually being tested, the natural assumption was that we needed to head to our designated safe location. After checking outdoors and determining the weather conditions didn't appear to be threatening, I called the police department to find out why the sirens were being sounded. (This wasn't the first-time occurrence this season.) I think the city officials need to understand the big picture as to what happens in businesses and homes when the sirens sound. We go into evacuation mode. This means that businesses shut down machines and shuttle their employees to safe locations. This action is due to a strong responsibility borne by companies for the safety of their employees. We do not try to second-guess as to why the sirens are being sounded. Many businesses are running short-handed and are very busy. They do not need unnecessary interruptions. We appreciate that you are testing the sirens for our safety, but we need to be alerted to test so we do not become complacent to the sound of the siren, ignoring it when the real crisis is at hand. Please notify the public prior to testing. This can be done through WEKZ and The Monroe Times. - Carol Rufenacht
•••
Monroe Parks and Recreation would like to give out many blossoms to those who made the Easter Egg Hunt a fun event for all: Monroe Middle School Builders' Club and Park and Recreation After School Children for decorating 700 bags with their original designs; McDonald's; Dairy Queen; Burger King; Wisconsin Community Bank for coupons for the bags; Regez Cheese and Paper Supply for donating for bags; the Swiss Colony for donating the Easter Baskets and bunnies for each child; the Monroe Kiwanis for donating money for purchase toys, candy and plastic eggs; and Walmart for donating candy; Monroe High School students for filing the bags; and Monroe Kiwanis members and volunteers for taking time out of their busy holiday weekend to help with the event. - Monroe Parks and Recreation
