Free Republic

People keep asking for photos of known crowds for comparison sake and help in estimating the size of the crowd for Glen Beck's rally today. Here goes - using Michigan Stadium, Ann Arbor Michigan for a nice even crowd size. What does it look like to you?

WEST MICHIGAN — The city of Ludington is seeking a $14 million federal transportation grant to “repower” the coal-fired S.S. Badger to preserve the historic cross-lake ferry service to Manitowoc. If the city is successful in securing the federal “stimulus” money for the private Lake Michigan Carferry, the Badger would receive new diesel engines that would allow the ferry operator to end the practice of dumping coal ash in Lake Michigan. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has given the Lake Michigan Carferry until the end of the 2012 sailing season to halt the coal ash discharges into the lake. If...

Who Needs BP When You've Got Tom Barrett? Submitted by Michael Brickman on Thu, 08/05/2010 - 11:39am In 2004, when Tom Barrett was running for mayor, he promised to stop dumping sewage into Lake Michigan: "Barrett said he would like to curtail the practice of 'blending' partly treated sewage flows with fully treated flows" Now, more than six years later, Tom Barrett is still dumping sewage into Lake Michigan BILLIONS of gallons at a time. As Widgerson and others have noted, Barrett's dump during the recent Milwaukee flood was, by volume, many times worse than the BP oil spill. In...

Dick is right. "Every American should see this." It is real and it is striking. In some places it stands 18 feet tall and looks like the gates of Mordor. In other places, it is barely 10 feet tall and looks like it was put together with a stapler. It runs from the Colorado River directly into the Pacific. It is big, intense and intimidating. And it is unfinished. Gaping holes are everywhere. Physically it’s confusing. Politically it’s puzzling. Ideologically it’s complicated. But for Dick and Ron, who both live within a few miles of the border, defending it is...

Megan Sampson was named outstanding first-year teacher by the Wisconsin Council of Teachers of English last week. Second-year social studies teacher Kevin Condon, also at Bradley Tech High School, has four licenses and can command the attention of 40 students in an open-concept classroom. Both are among 482 educators - more than 12% of the full-time teachers in the district - who have received layoff notices from Milwaukee Public Schools. On Monday - the last day of the year for schools in MPS and the first day teachers reunited after hearing the news of the layoffs - some teachers expressed...

MSNBC coverage of the NYC Bomb is bizarro..

A huge trash container fire ignited just as demonstrators were preparing to leave on an annual immigration march Saturday. The fire started about 12:05 p.m. in a trash bin right next to 1027 S. 5th St. - the headquarters of Voces de la Frontera, the organizers of the march. Speakers were addressing a crowd of about 2,000 when black smoke began streaming from the blaze. Police moved crowd members across the street and away from the flames. Firefighters arrived, and had extinguishing the fire by 12:15. Some 20 minutes later, the march was under way, with thousands filling W. National...

Just before Thanksgiving, activists storm Al Gore at a Chicago Borders as he autographed copies of his newest book.

Supervisor Toni Clark is subject of secret criminal investigation Milwaukee County Supervisor Toni Clark is the subject of a secret criminal investigation into possible campaign finance abuses, the Journal Sentinel has learned. Clark declined Tuesday to answer questions about the matter. Last month, she filed three amended campaign reports with the county Board of Election Commissioners. In those reports, Clark admitted she took in and spent money from her campaign fund in the past three years after she earlier swore that her campaign was inactive during those times, according to public records filed with the board. .... Trip not probed...

A three-story downtown warehouse, initially planned as a condo conversion project, is being sold to a local nonprofit agency for its new headquarters. An investors group organized by Dave Jorgensen, a partner in VJS Construction Services, is selling the 45,000-square-foot building at 728 N. James Lovell St. to Community Advocates Inc. for $1.8 million, said Joe Volk, the agency's executive director. Community Advocates, which helps the poor deal with tenant-landlord disputes, problems with obtaining health care, and other basic needs, plans to renovate the building for its headquarters, Volk said Tuesday. The project will consolidate the group's main office, now...

State creates or retains 8,284 jobs with stimulus funds By Patrick Marley of the Journal Sentinel Posted: Oct. 13, 2009 2:00 p.m. Madison — Wisconsin state government has used federal economic stimulus money to create or retain 8,284 jobs in Wisconsin, mostly by saving public-sector jobs. A brief report released Tuesday by Gov. Jim Doyle provided details on money spent by state government, but did not cover funds awarded directly to local governments and the University of Wisconsin System. Those numbers will be made public later. More than 6,100 jobs for police officers, teachers and other government workers were retained...

Live: Obama vs. Kobayashi in a hot dog eating contest.

So bad the newspaper cartoonists are at a loss for words. Head on over to Michigan's Grand Rapids Press and submit a few ideas.

From: Date: Sat, Oct 3, 2009 at 12:22 AM Subject: Sunday Oct 4th, 0% Tax Increase Rally, Serb Hall 2-4PM! To: You : You are one of many people in Southeastern Wisconsin who attended the Milwaukee Tea Party and had expressed an interest in holding down taxes and holding politicians accountable for their actions. As you may know there is another battle raging in Milwaukee County that has implications for all counties in the area. We are asking for your help by inviting you to join us for a Rally and a show of force that demands that government live...

Nov. 29, 2006 – In the ongoing battle to eradicate lead poisoning, state and local governments have begun targeting the companies that sold toxic paint before it was banned for residential use in 1978. This week, grassroots activists are taking that fight to the streets. Toolbox Email to a Friend Print-friendly Version Add to My Morning Paper Even though lead-laced pigment was taken off the market almost three decades ago, about one in four homes in the US still contains deteriorating lead paint or dust, according to the US Department of Housing and Urban Development. "The federal government has provided...

Jon Stewart is all over the ACORN hidden tape story while the majority of the MSM is in full-on embargo mode. Video at the link: http://www.thedailyshow.com/watch/tue-september-15-2009/the-audacity-of-hos

Download or search the entire list of White House Staff for 2009 as reported 7/1/2009 to Congress.

A Jaguar convertible sits in the driveway of Latasha Jackson's million-dollar mansion in Menomonee Falls. Built on a hill with a sprawling back deck overlooking a pond, the 7,600-square-foot home features an indoor swimming pool and indoor basketball court. Jackson is not an Olympic swimmer, a professional basketball player or a celebrity of any sort. She is a day care provider in the city of Milwaukee. She built her fortune with taxpayer funding from the Wisconsin Shares program. Despite recent records that indicate Jackson was running what police and regulators refer to as a "child-care ring" - adding mothers with...

Video being promoted online at aging.senate.gov and through emails from Wisconsin Senator Herb Kohl's office to constituents. His take on healthcare "reform."