blog 69

14 October 2024

MANIFESTO OF A MADMAN PART 15

SOUR NOTE

FACE OF EVIL

THE MOUTHPIECE HAS FALLEN OUT OF THE HORN AND ALL HELL BREAKS LOOSE!

577. Hello everyone and welcome to the Blog. On the last one we talked about this Manchild Mayor, Ryan Sorenson of Sheboygan, Wisc. I have one more article I’d like to share with you.

JANUARY 16, 2024

New Salary Schedule Approved for Sheboygan Mayor, Alders

The Mayor and Sheboygan Alderpersons are getting their much-discussed pay raises. Last night the Sheboygan Common Council approved bumping the Mayor’s salary by 26% to $75,000 in 2025, with 3-1/2 percent annual increases through 2028. Alderpersons will get a 4% increase this April to an annual rate of $6,327 with another 4% increase in 2027.

The passage wasn’t without question. Council President Dean Dekker took time to clear up what he called misinformation about the subject, saying that the Mayor’s office is full-time, not part-time, and that he works well over 40 hours a week serving as Sheboygan’s CEO, and the City Administrator serving as Chief Operating Officer of Sheboygan. Dekker said that the raises were done by recommendation of an audit that showed Sheboygan’s salaries were falling behind those of similar communities, and the proposed figures bring Sheboygan back into a comparable level with them.

Alderman Joe Heidemann said he couldn’t vote in favor of the measure given the small size of the Committee that recommended it and that a full council wasn’t present Monday night.Upon voting, Alderman Trey Mitchell cast the second dissenting vote, but the measure passed anyway.

As of 2025, the mayor of Sheboygan, Wisconsin will earn an annual salary of $75,000, which is a $15,000 increase from the current salary of around $58,000. The pay increase was approved after a study found that the city was underpaying the mayor and alderpersons are paid about $6,000 annually.

COMMENTS

We used to call them Aldermen, then we added Alderwoman, then the woke left thought they all should be called Alderpersons. But what if somebody doesn't identify with being a person? Maybe Alderthings? I think these lefties are living in an Alderuniverse. Anyway, Superior is about half the size of Sheboygan and Mayor Paine is paid between $80,000.00-$90,000.00 and Council are paid $7,500.00. Superior taxpayers, you are getting ripped off. Sheboygan is twice the size and have 10 Council members just like Superior. I’ve been saying for years we should only have 5 Council members in Superior. Not just because of the money but if we only had 5, we could better assess the candidates credentials and get to know them better and by cutting council in half it would help us make better decisions at election time.

578.

ONE MORE THING FROM SHEBOYGAN

AUGUST 30, 2024

Sheboygan Alders Discuss Establishing Uniform Regulations for City Bars

A recent dispute between the owner of a bar and the City of Sheboygan has the City considering new rules. The issue arose following a several-years-long tussle that began with the City’s withholding of the liquor license of Dave’s Who’s Inn for 30 days two years ago.

Owner Dave Repinski was only allowed to reopen and maintain his Class-B liquor license so long as he operated a scanner and metal detector on his clients, something no other establishment was required to do.

Repinski took legal action and was able to get those conditions removed earlier this month, but not until background details of the hotly-contested issue with city administration had emerged.

WHBL News inquired about Wednesday’s meeting of the Licensing, Hearings and Public Safety Committee with City Council Vice President Zach Rust, who confirmed that the discussion was added to the agenda of Wednesday’s meeting at the request of Alderman Joe Heidemann, who wanted the Committee and City staff to get ideas on how to prevent another “Dave’s Who’s Inn” situation from arising in the future. Rust said that as of right now, the committee plans to reach out to the Tavern League of Wisconsin in order to get their input in developing any uniform code for the bars.

COMMENTS

You have a Mayor and 10 Alderweirdos and they need to reach out to the Tavern League for input. A sad indictment of that city’s administration. But the Tavern League would probably to a better job. Maybe Superior City Council should take note of this.

579. Now back to where we left off and later we will have a stories about the City of New York, Bihar, India and of course my fave, Caitlin Clark. Now back to the letter from hell.

“MANIFESTO OF A MADMAN.”

THE LONG LETTER

580. The Mayor goes on to say the following:

“She does not have the financial capacity to improve the tavern. She will rely on the income from the bar over time to make any improvements and therefore must continue operating the establishment in the same manner as before”.

COMMENTS

First off, there was no reason for her to “improve the tavern”. The Palace was a clean and well kept tavern. We had an outside cleaning service come in 365 days a year. Our restrooms and equipment was always well maintained. We always received very high marks from the heath and fire departments on our yearly inspections. Again this is the Mayor, the manipulator of words saying this to suggest that there was something wrong with the Palace. Having said that, Jordan did send you a comprehensive plan. And there were cosmetic changes to the bar in that plan. But you or the city never made that a condition for her to get a license. In fact I don’t think the city has ever made that a condition to any bar in the history of Superior. Over the years we invested lots of money and made improvements to the Palace as have many other businesses for that matter. That’s the way business works but really Mayor Paine how would you know? The only thing you ever did was piss away a lot of taxpayers money on a lot of stupid things. And I will be highlighting many of these in upcoming Blogs.

If you really wanted these “improvements” done it could have been easily arranged. The color of the drapes, the wall finishes, the lighting, the type of bar stools or anything else are not part of any problem. The problem that our bar and all bars have from time to time is bad people doing bad things. I have never once heard Mayor Paine address this. He has turned a blind eye away from criminals and instead blames every bar and other businesses for every incident that are committed by criminals or bad people. If he insists on this type of logic then shouldn't the Mayor himself not be held liable for all crimes that occur in Superior? I would say yes he should. And you wonder why the population is dropping in Superior?

Jordan was willing to make those changes and financing would not have been an issue. So once again we are dealing with an irresponsible Mayor issuing an irresponsible statement. If she had a million dollars to invest in the Palace he still wouldn't have agreed to give her a license because he and Melissa Hyatt had concocted a plan to shut us down at all costs and he damn well knows it.

LET’S SWITCH GEARS

581.

WHAT THE HELL IS GOING ON IN NEW YORK?

NYC Mayor Eric Adams indicted on federal charges in campaign finance case

New York City Mayor Eric Adams has been indicted on criminal charges in federal court in Manhattan, sources familiar with the matter told CNBC.

582.

AND THEN THERE WAS THIS:

Former NY prosecutor accused of accepting bribes dies in apparent suicide as FBI came to arrest him

Published September 24, 2024

A former leader in the Orange County, New York prosecutor's office, who was facing allegations of accepting bribery payments, died in a shooting at his home Tuesday morning as the FBI arrived to arrest him, sources familiar with the matter tell NBC New York.

The ex-chief counsel to the Orange County DA's office and executive assistant district attorney, was accused of using his authority in the prosecutors' office to initiate a criminal investigation at the request of a millionaire former restaurant owner, according to the unsealed federal indictment.

Rosenwasser had been accused of accepting at least $63,000 in bribe payments, according to the indictment. He is accused of receiving the bribery payments largely in the form of check or money order starting in 2022, according to the indictment.

Rosenwasser was indicted on charges of bribery, conspiracy to commit bribery, extortion under color of official right, making false statements, conspiracy to commit honest services fraud, and honest services wire fraud, the indictment states.

The FBI went to Rosenwasser's home in the rural Orange County town of Campbell Hall early Tuesday morning to take him into custody when he pointed a gun at agents and at least one shot was fired by the FBI, two sources familiar with the case tell NBC New York. Rosenwasser then barricaded himself and apparently took his own life, the sources said.

In a statement, the FBI said that its Inspection Division was "reviewing an agent-involved shooting," as is bureau policy.

"As this is an ongoing matter, we have no further details to provide," the statement concluded.

Rosenwasser received multiple awards during his time in the district attorney's office and quietly resigned from the office in June.

“It's truly heartbreaking that it ended this way. My heartfelt condolences go out to his family," the Orange County DA David Hoovler said in a statement. The DA's office said it would not comment further.

Rosenwasser was scheduled to be in federal court Tuesday afternoon in White Plains.

583.

AND THEN THIS!!!

Eric Adams’ girlfriend joined on $45K worth of luxe trips, accused of having ‘no-show’ DOE job

Published Sep. 28, 2024

Mayor Adams’ longtime girlfriend Tracey Collins, a highly paid “senior advisor” in the city Department of Education, joined Hizzoner on $45,000 worth of ritzy trips — and allegedly hasn’t shown up for work in nearly a year, according to complaints filed this week.

Collins, 61, a former DOE teacher, principal and administrator who was promoted after Adams took office, is referred to as “Adams’ domestic partner” in the 57-page federal indictment unsealed against the mayor this week.

The Fort Lee, NJ, resident went on Adams’ trips to India, Hungary, Turkey, Jordan, Oman and Ghana starting in 2016, among other luxury jaunts, according to prosecutors who accuse the mayor of accepting travel perks worth up to $123,000.

Several months after Adams took office and named David Banks schools chancellor, Banks promoted Collins to senior adviser to the deputy chancellor of school leadership, then Desmond Blackburn, who later quit. Collins received a 23% raise to $221,597 a year.

On Friday, a former DOE employee filed complaints about Collins and her “no-show job” with DOE ethics officer Samantha Biletsky, the Conflicts of Interest Board, the Special Commissioner of Investigation for city schools, and the city Department of Investigation, all questioning if she reported the luxury perks as required.

The employee also alleged Collins has rarely appeared in the office since November 2023, and her work calendar has remained empty.

Co-workers haven’t seen Collins in person since Thanksgiving, the ex-employee reported.

“It is my understanding that DOE employees are only permitted to work from home two days a week,” the ex-employee, who previously worked in the same building as Collins, wrote in an email to Biletsky.

Investigators should look into Collins allegedly “accepting gifts in excess of 100K from a foreign government and not declaring said gifts on her Conflicts of Interest disclosure,” the complaint states.

Collins’ time and attendance records also must be examined to “verify that she put in for vacation while she took all of those illegal trips,” according to the complaint.

In January 2018, Adams and Collins traveled to Budapest through Istanbul, according to the federal indictment against the mayor.

Several months earlier, Collins bought two economy-class tickets from Turkish Airlines for approximately $560 each, but received a free upgrade to business class worth more than $14,000 – the highest the airline offers – following a request by an Adams’ staffer, the document states.

The free and cut-rate travel was omitted from Adams’ 2018 Conflict of Interest Board disclosure form, the indictment states.

584.

COMMENTS

So you may remember on Blog 36 when I was praising NYC Mayor Eric Adams for his stance on those despicable and ineffective walk throughs that the Superior Police Department conduct on businesses. He calls himself the hip hop Mayor. Well he is in a little trouble, well maybe a lot lately, but I still support his views on those despicable walk throughs which, put in the wrong hands, like Mayor Paine, can be used and abused against a targeted business of his choice like he did to us. I’ll have more on this subject in a future Blog.

WHY IS NEW YORK CITY IMPORTANT?

New York City is the most visited city in the United States for international tourists, with over 9 million visitors in 2023. Like a lot of cities like Superior, Sheboygan, Minneapolis, St Paul and many others they have suffered through lousy Mayors and weak City Councils. But NYC is very important to our country. Take a look at the chart below. In the early 80’s I had to travel there on business several times and it was the sleaziest city I had ever seen. Full of strip clubs, vagrants, drugs, hookers, porn shops, bars, night clubs, electronic stores and more. I was in my mid 20’s and I loved it. It was a crazy place. Then years later stores like Niketown, Disney and Toys are Us started opening and ruined the downtown in my opinion. But I am glad I was there back then. On one trip I saw the Pretenders at the Roxi and the only beer they sold was Molson Golden which I thought was weird being that I was living in Ottawa at the time. And on another trip I went to the infamous CBGB’S. I can’t remember what bands I saw that night but I did have a good time, I think. Anyway here is the chart and let’s hope NYC get’s it sh*t together because it’s an important part of this country.

CITY	ANNUAL OVERSEAS VISITATION
NEW YORK	7-9 Million
MIAMI	4.09 Million
ORLANDO	2.92 Million
L.A.	2.75 Million
SAN FRANCISCO	1.74 Million
LAS VEGAS	1.66 Million
WASHINGTON	1.17 Million
CHICAGO	1.06 Million
BOSTON	738,000
SUPERIOR (BEFORE M.PAINE)	9, 876
SUPERIOR (SINCE M. PAINE)	12(mostly Paine family)

COMMENTS

OK, I made up the last two. Couldn't help myself.

585.

WEIRD STORY OF THE DAY

INDIA

37 children drown during Hindu festival

At least 46 people drowned in the eastern Indian state of Bihar as millions of Hindu devotees were celebrating a three-day festival for the well-being of children, officials said on Thursday. Thirty-seven of those who died were children and seven were women, the government of Bihar State said. As part of the annual festival Jivitputrika Vrat, women fast for 24 hours and offer special prayers for the long life and good health of their children. When they are fasting, mothers travel to rivers and ponds to bathe, sometimes accompanied by their children.

COMMENTS

They may want to find a new way to celebrate the three-day festival for the well-being of children. Just saying.

586.

When was the first state income tax?

History. The first state income tax, as the term is understood today in the United States, was passed by the State of Wisconsin in 1911 and came into effect in 1912.

Congratulations Wisconsin and thanks for nothing.

587.

AND NOW...A CAITLIN MOMENT

Caitlin Clark's absence from WNBA Playoffs speaks volumes after record viewership Caitlin Clark and the Indiana Fever's absence from the remainder of the WNBA playoffs has had a huge impact on viewing figures, but the league still has cause to be delighted.

Game 1 of the playoff semifinal between the New York Liberty and Las Vegas Aces on Friday attracted an average viewership of 929,000, with a peak of 1.2 million. The figures represented a 60 per cent increase on 2023, highlighting the league's growing popularity even without its biggest star in action.

No. 1 overall pick Clark has had a transformative effect on the league, summed up by the huge audiences that tuned in for the Fever's Round 1 playoff clashes with the Connecticut Sun. Fans watched in their masses as the former Iowa sensation chased championship glory in her rookie season.

Game 1 of the series set a new WNBA record with a viewership of 1.84 million, and that benchmark was smashed just a few days later for Game 2 when an enormous audience of 2.54 million viewers tuned in. Ultimately, the Fever lost both games, bringing the curtain down on Clark's rookie season.

But the 22-year-old's stardom continues to have a positive impact, even when she is sitting at home for the offseason, with mainstream interest in the league growing. But there can be no denying Clark is the one who can move the needle like no other, with Sunday's Game 1 between the Sun and the Minnesota Lynx drawing a viewership of just 650,000.

Kelsey Mitchell, Clark's Fever teammate, says the point guard has changed the lives of WNBA players. She said last month when asked about the increased interest in the WNBA: "I think the reality of it is that I don't think people would know without [Clark].

"She's done an unbelievable job of bringing her own fans and people that support her, but, for me, I kind of laugh at it and I embrace it at the same time because I always flew under the radar. I've always kind of been that person that is very conservative, very introvert, so now I get to see the flip side of it."

Clark was the No. 1 overall pick in April's draft after four outstanding years with the Hawkeyes. She and the Fever made a slow start, going 1-8 before finding their feet and finishing third in the Eastern Conference with a 20-20 record.

Clark finished the regular season ranked seventh in points per game with 19.2, and she led the league with 8.4 assists and 3.1 made field goals from beyond the arc per game. Her performances led to her being named the WNBA Rookie of the Year.