A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


LA-area residents


Trevor Thomas


Sendik's


Wisconsin Dells police



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Gunmen in Mumbai


Lori Drew


New York shoppers


Wisconsin Dells police


Florida bandit



QUOTES OF THE WEEK


"I'd like to be a president [known] as somebody who liberated 50 million people and helped achieve peace.  I would like to be a person remembered as a person who, first and foremost, did not sell his soul in order to accommodate the political process.  I came to Washington with a set of values, and I'm leaving with the same set of values. And I darn sure wasn't going to sacrifice those values; that I was a president that had to make tough choices and was willing to make them. I surrounded myself with good people. I carefully considered the advice of smart, capable people and made tough decisions."
President Bush in a conversation with his sister, Dorothy Bush Koch, recorded for the oral-history organization StoryCorps for the American Folklife Center at the Library of Congress. An excerpt of the interview was aired on National Public Radio Thursday, and the White House released additional excerpts. 


"The only way you start dealing with this size deficit is there are going to be real consequences for schools and universities and for local governments."
Governor Doyle in an interview with the Green Bay Press Gazette editorial board on the state budget deficit. Doyle says the deficit is $5.4 billion. Some say he's inflating the numbers for political purposes.


"I haven't seen a single issue in the last 20 years that has had such a chilling impact on decisions to expand in Milwaukee or decisions to move to Milwaukee."
Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce President Tim Sheehy said businesses are already reconsidering decisions to expand in or move to Milwaukee in light of a paid sick day requirement scheduled to take effect in February. Sheehy said he received two calls from business owners who said they decided to abandon efforts to seek space in Milwaukee due to the sick pay requirement.


“There’s one example that I successfully used to sell our members on toll roads at the border. Since the indexing repeal, the residents of Wisconsin are left to try and make up some of the transportation trust shortfalls, while the Illinois resident sees no further increase as they drive their (sport-utility vehicle) to their cabin in Minocqua with a couple of (all-terrain vehicles) in tow. Residents are going to have to get used to the idea,”
Terrence McGowan, business manager for Operating Engineers Local 139, said it’s time for Wisconsin to get serious about tolls.


“The benefit of carrying concealed weapons on campus is the same as it is anywhere else where people carry concealed: self-defense."
David Burnett, board member at large for Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. Student groups supporting the right to carry concealed weapons on campus are preparing to push for legislation in their favor when state governments reconvene in January.



OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


1) Wisconsin Dells police...see VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


2) Gift certificates for abortions



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


Is Wisconsin once again becoming a welfare magnet?



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


The economy is so bad that fewer shoppers will be out and retailers will suffer. That's what we were told over and over again before the stampedes at the stores Friday.



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


Those really are some crappy ornaments.


Voodoo doll OK, if it has proper warning.



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


State Representative Mark Gundrum


Tony Romo


Air hostess


Eagle Scout Simon Sharp



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Former Milwaukee Archbishop Rembert Weakland. He sure has a lot of nerve.


Dublin rapper



QUOTES OF THE WEEK


“I hope we get a good deal of help. A lot of what's happened with the national economy falls on the states.”
Governor Doyle on the possibility of a federal package to provide relief to states facing budget deficits. Doyle announced the state budget deficit is at $5.4 billion, the largest ever in Wisconsin history.


“The least President Bush could do before he leaves is to get on board plans to send relief to the states.”
Senate Majority Leader Russ Decker (D-Weston).


“The mother of all gimmicks is that the feds are going to bail us out.”
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), on the prospect of the federal government coming to the rescue.


“While Governor Doyle listed some new agency guidelines as steps to modestly reduce spending, his first legislative requests will unfortunately be tax increases. As Democrats control all aspects of state government, he will likely get his wish.”
Assembly Minority Leader-elect Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon). Fitzgerald opposes tax increases as a means of covering the deficit, saying Wisconsin families “have been dealing with tight budgets for quite some time.”


“(A 10 percent cut would) reduce this office to a dog-and-pony show and undermine Wisconsin's strong railroad tradition.”
State Railroad Commissioner Roger Breske responding to Governor Doyle’s direction to trim an additional 10 percent from state agencies. Breske later retracted his statement, saying his staff would do whatever it could to “come up with a solution.”


“The last thing you want to do is go to the taxpayers that have been displaced and lost their job in Niagara and lost their job in Kimberly, and ask these taxpayers who are now without a job to then fund the Chrysler corporation which is owned by the same company that displaced them.”
Wisconsin Congressman Steve Kagen (D-Appleton), calling for Chrysler to be left out of any bailout proposal.


“Other opportunities to be fiscally responsible were missed. Tough times require tight budgets, and we will continue to work to make it affordable to live, work, play and retire in Milwaukee County.”
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, one of the few sane political voices in our area, on his budget vetoes.


“Kathleen Falk's poor judgment cost a couple of lives.”
Former Madison School Board member Nancy Mistele announcing she will run against Dane County Executive Falk. Mistele referred to errors at the Dane County 911 call center that preceded a pair of homicides in Madison.


“The word has no business in my vocabulary and I should not have used it -- not even in private.”
Rick Gale, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, in a letter resigning his PFFW post and memberships on all public boards and apologizing for using a racial slur to refer to President-elect Barack Obama.


“I suspect I'll be driving the kids to school and I’ll be letting my wife sleep in for the first day.”
State Representative Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin). After returning from a nine-month tour in Iraq as part of the Reserves, Gundrum said he looks forward to time with the family.



OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


I've got two this week.

Another contestant for Mother of the Year.

And it's sure tough to take these guys seriously.



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


The Milwaukee USO could close. This is big stuff.



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


Hillary for Secretary of State. I thought Obama hated her?



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


As usual, there are several.

BRAS THAT MAKE YOU SICK! No you don't have to wait for the 10:00 news. Read.

Here's the newest, latest grounds for divorce.

I know I can sleep at night, now that this has been made public.

Strip clubs and the Olympics?

You think you've got problems? He's a felon, an arsonist, homeless, and now he owes $101 million.

He drove Lee Harvey Oswald to work 45 years ago today.



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Michelle Felicetta


For the second time in just a few short weeks, Ken Mink makes my list.


Sean Swarner


OK, what is the plural of hole-in-one? Ask Curt Hocker.



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Milwaukee's Police Chief


Marc Keyser


Winona vandals


Philip Busse


Jet2


Chris Matthews



QUOTES OF THE WEEK


"If there is anyone out there who still doubts that America is a place where all things are possible, who still wonders if the dreams of our founders is still alive, who still questions the power of our democracy, tonight is your answer. There will be setbacks and false starts there will be many who won't agree with every policy I make as president...but I promise you I will always be honest with you."
Barack Obama delivering his victory speech Tuesday night in Chicago.


"My friends, we have come to the end of a long journey. We are all Americans and please believe me when I say no association has ever met more to me than that. Although we fell short the failure is mine, not yours.”
John McCain in his gracious concession speech Tuesday night in Phoenix.


“Barack Obama built his victory out of a concrete base of near unanimous support from black voters, layered with overwhelming support from Hispanics, young people and enough white voters to remake the partisan landscape in the United States."
ABC’s Brian Hartman


"Which Barack Obama will dominate as he begins to govern? Too much of the ambitious liberal, and he rekindles partisan squabbles he was supposed to transcend. Too much the cautious mediator who reaches across the aisle to compromise with Republicans, and he risks losing the energy and idealism that attracted millions to his candidacy."
Doyle McManus in the Los Angeles Times

"Barack Obama played above the rim. He made the difficult look easy. The larger problem for the Illinois senator, however, might be that he didn't adequately prepare the country for the extent of the problems that he will inherit as president."
Julianna Goldman and Michael Tackett in the Bloomberg News


"All that Obama rhetoric from the campaign trail about reaching across the aisle and moving past Washington's sterile partisan warfare -- indeed, Sen. Obama's very portrayal of himself as a new and different kind of national leader -- will be put to the test immediately,"
The Wall Street Journal’s Gerald Seib


"What remains unclear, however, is whether Tuesday's results represent a vote for liberalism or against the failures of the Bush administration, including the early war years in Iraq, the calamity of Hurricane Katrina and the current economic slump,"
The Wall Street Journal’s Jonathan Weisman and Laura Beckler


"While the Alaska governor avoided speculating on a future White House bid in recent interviews, she made it clear that she intends to remain an important player within the party. And the national following she has developed among the conservative faithful over the past couple of months provides her with the sort of political and fundraising base that could support a run."
Juliet Eilperin in the Washington Post


"I love you both more than you can imagine, and you have both earned the new puppy that's coming with us to the White House."
Barack Obama to daughters Sasha and Malia


"2012, 2012, 2012."
Chants from the crowd as Sarah Palin posed for photos after John McCain's concession speech.



OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


Yes, the money you gave your church may have supported our new abortion President.



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


Barack  Obama has selected Rahm Emanuel as his Chief of Staff, but there's more........and more.



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


Obama's victory was historic, no question. But the media was falling all over itself, in tears of joy (CBS's Harry Smith). They didn't report Obama's victory, they celebrated it, and will not challenge or scrutinize his administration the way they did George W. Bush, not even close.



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


You won't find this at Victoria's Secret.



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


J.B. Van Hollen


Karrie Davis and her son


Jorge Orozco-Sanchez


Albert Pujols


Honor Flight


Elizabeth Roess



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Quentin Patrick


Australian teenagers


Steven Davey


Archie Anglin


Waukesha principal


Diane Wilkerson


John Toplikar


The Foxtail Lounge



QUOTES OF THE WEEK


“(Citizens) have a right to vote in fair elections, untainted by election fraud. The Department of Justice is committed to ensuring that every citizen’s right to vote in a fair election is protected.”
Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen announcing that the Department of Justice will send 50 assistant AGs and other agents to polling places on Election Day to “ensure compliance with state laws governing elections.”


“I've been very reluctant to say this up 'til now, but this step has been another part of a very obvious Republican strategy that is directed at trying to raise questions about the vote. I have no idea what authority he claims he is operating under, and I hope the people of the state understand they should go to the polls and they should vote.”
GovernorJim Doyle, a former attorney general, criticizing the Republican AG for his decision to send prosecutors to the polls.


“I've never said that (I won't accept an offer). I mean I've never had a president of the United States call and ask me. But I will say this -- I do believe any such possibility is very remote. It's not what I want. I really look forward to being governor of this state with a president that is really working with us.”
Doyle on whether he'd join an Obama administration if Obama wins Tuesday.


“It’s not the strategy that I would like. I would have done a lot of things differently. That’s not worth talking about. They weren’t done. You never look back in politics. You look forward.”
Former presidential candidate and GOP Governor Tommy Thompson criticizing the McCain campaign again over its Wisconsin strategy. Thompson insisted McCain could still beat Obama despite trailing in current polls.


“I take full responsibility for my actions. I apologize to my victims, my wife and my family. I regret the hurt I've caused them.”
Former Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee, before U.S. District Judge Charles Clevert Jr., sentenced him to six-and-a-half years in prison for his federal conviction on charges of bribery, extortion and attempting to avoid reporting requirements on a $15,000 transaction. He was also ordered to pay $107,433 in restitution.



OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


Judge's ruling on the homeless.



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


Wisconsin Democrats, led by Jim "let them cheat" Doyle are up in arms that Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen plans to send as many as 50 state agents to monitor polling places on Election Day. Not a peep out of this bunch 4 years ago when Peg Lautenschlager dispatched Election Day observers to the polls.



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


Right through to the final week, the media's orgasms over Obama, and the public knows it.



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


Try to steal this McCain sign and you'll get ZAPPED!!!!!!!


Will trade sex for Obama tickets



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Lauren Molitor


Wisconsin Congressmen Ryan, Sensenbrenner, and Petri


Efrain Arango


Ratchet's rescuers


WTMJ's James T. Harris....

"You can't say anything is off limits."
Governor Jim Doyle warning that state agencies face deep cuts in the next state budget. Doyle is predicting a $3 billion state budget deficit.


"The timing is suspicious. It is orchestrated in a way that it could open the door for some type of positioning to soften up people for an income or sales tax increase."
State Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), questioning Doyle's motives behind the announcement. He also suggested that Doyle was simply looking for another "bad headline" to drive state voters to Barack Obama next month.


"I don't see why they would need to use our schools as satellite campaign offices."
State GOP Executive Director Mark Jefferson alleging that the Racine Unified School District is aligned with the Obama campaign after reports that an 8th grade textbook features an excerpt from Obama's book, "Dreams From My Father." 


"The selection in question is part of a larger unit centered around the question, 'If the people within a community accept each others' difference, how do individuals and their community benefit and prosper?' The selections, 'Dreams of My Father' and 'Out of Many, One', fit into the curriculum by requiring students to engage in the central question around these and other selections."
Statement from the Racine district defending the excerpt, as well as the textbook and its use within the school district.



OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


A tie this week.

This Election Day is shaping up to be the most fraudulent in our nation's history.

And you want them deported (I know I do), then you'll have to pay for it........and how.



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


Was that well-publciized story about what someone shouted at a GOP rally made up?



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


Madonna's getting a divorce. So are half the couples in America.



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


0.34 per gallon......honest!


This gal really hated biology class.


Remember that lawsuit against God?



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Leonel Cesar


Mike Rivera


Fairgoers in Florida



VILLAINS OF THE WEEK


Harrell Johnson


Starbucks


Husband of the Year


Texas cheerleaders and their school principal


Radio talk show hosts in the Twin Cities


The Reverend Peter Mullen


Adam Mucklin


The Milwaukee County Board



QUOTES OF THE WEEK


"The United States government is acting; we will continue to act to resolve this crisis and restore stability to our markets. We are a prosperous nation with immense resources and a wide range of tools at our disposal. We're using these tools aggressively."
President Bush Friday, trying to reassure Americans that the economy will rebound.


"My concern is that people think because we passed this (bailout) bill we're going to avoid a recession and everything's going to be fine. That will not happen."
Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan


“Going forward now might cement the feeling among certain voters that we are insensitive to their economic situations."
West Bend school board member John Duwell. The board unanimously agreed Wednesday to postpone the district's $68.85 million building referendum from the Nov. 4 ballot until early next year in the wake of the economic uncertainty created by the nation's ongoing financial crisis.


"This is a tough campaign. I'm the underdog. I've always been the underdog from the beginning."
John McCain


"I'm really mad! And what's going to surprise you, it's not the economy. It's the socialists taking over our country."
An attendee at the McCain-Palin rally in Waukesha


"I am begging you, sir. I am begging you. Take it to him."
WTMJ talk show host James T. Harris, imploring McCain.


"[Ayers] wasn't a guy in the neighborhood. [Obama] launched his political career in his living room, in Mr. Ayers' living room. And I don't care about two washed-up old terrorists that are unrepentant about trying to destroy America. But I do care, and Americans should care, about his relationship with him and whether he's being truthful and candid about it. I have every right to insist that he be candid and truthful with the American people. And he needs to be asked about it, and he needs to be forthcoming,"
McCain, on Barack OBama's ties to 60's anti-war activist William Ayers. Ayers was a co-founder of the Weather Underground, a Vietnam-era group that executed domestic bombings and plotted attacks on the U.S. Capitol and the Pentagon.


"Why don't we just clear it up right now. I'll repeat again what I've said many times. This is a guy who engaged in some despicable acts 40 years ago when I was eight years old. By the time I met him, 10 or 15 years ago, he was a college professor of education at the University of Illinois . . . And the notion that somehow he has been involved in my campaign, that he is an adviser of mine, that . . . I've 'palled around with a terrorist', all these statements are made simply to try to score cheap political points."
Barack Obama


"Does he have the experience and the knowledge and judgment and has he made the right decisions and has he told -- been candid with the American people? I think that's important.They certainly know me."
John McCain


"The notion that people don't know who I am is a little hard to swallow. I've been running for president for the last two years. I've campaigned in 49 states. Millions of people have heard me speak at length on every topic under the sun. I've been involved now in 25 debates, going on my 26th. And I've written two books which any -- everybody who reads them will say are about as honest a set of reflections by, at least, a politician as are out there."
Barack Obama


"The day that Sen Obama decided to cast a vote to not fund my son when he was serving sent a cold chill through my body. I would suggest that Sen Obama change shoes with me for just one day and see what it means… to have a loved one serving in the armed forces and more importantly, serving in harm's way."
Cindy McCain


"I know that Barack has the utmost respect for Sen McCain. He said so on so many occasions. You know, I think this has been a long, tough fight. And politics sometimes leads to things said between the candidates."
Michelle Obama


"With the economy in crisis and Election Day in sight, Obama can't say enough about the Clinton epoch -- the job growth, the budget surpluses, the broad prosperity -- and often lauds the former president's economic stewardship as a model. Obama's characterization of Clinton's presidency is markedly different than the one he offered during the Democratic primaries, when he was running against Clinton's wife, Senator Hillary Clinton."
Scott Helman, writing in the Boston Globe.


"I never voted before. Without this service, I would have had no way to get here."
William Woods of Cleveland, who has a felony conviction.Volunteers supporting Barack Obama picked up hundreds of people at homeless shelters, soup kitchens and drug-rehab centers and drove them to a polling place this week on the last day that Ohioans could register and vote on the same day, almost no questions asked. The huge effort by a pro-Obama group, Vote Today Ohio, takes advantage of a quirk in the state's elections laws that allows people to register and cast ballots at the same time without having to prove residency.


"The McCain folks are more helpful and generally friendly. The schedules are printed on actual books you can hold in your hand, read, and then plan accordingly. The press aides are more knowledgeable and useful to us in the news media. The events are designed with a better eye, and for the simple needs of the press corps. When he is available, John McCain is friendly and loquacious. Obama holds news conferences, but seldom banters with the reporters who've been following him for thousands of miles around the country. Go figure.The McCain campaign plane is better than Obama's, which is cramped, uncomfortable and smells terrible most of the time. Somehow the McCain folks manage to keep their charter clean, even where the press is seated."
CBS' Dean Reynolds


"Hi Charlie,

As you might have heard, I am covering the McCain/Palin appearance today. At the media breakfast at the Pfister Hotel about an hour ago, you would simply not believe the vicious, nasty conversation I just overheard between several “elite” media types from the McClatchey news service, AP, and a couple of other sources I didn’t quite catch.

Over the course of just a few minutes, I heard that 'Sean Hannity gives Dick Cheney the best head of his life,' and that he and Lou Dobbs are 'mean-spirited sycophants,' and that McCain himself is 'angry' and 'crusty.' One even recalled a recent campaign event at which Sarah Palin autographed a supporter’s Bible, prompting this 'objective”'journalist to remark 'these people terrify me.'

And this was just in the span of a 10 minute conversation! I simply cannot believe that these are the people entrusted to cover the McCain/Palin campaign fairly and accurately. I have never before wanted to do a show like yours quite as badly as I do right now--so that I can expose these people for who they really are: unabashed, unashamed partisans whose callous, bitter attitude towards conservatives very clearly permeates their work."
An e-mail sent to WTMJ's Charlie Sykes from a local journalist covering a visit this week to Wisconsin by John McCain.


"She should just drop all pretense and put on her white hood and light up a cross. She is a despicable human being."
A reference to Sarah Palin from the blog, Democratic Underground. The blog asserted that because Palin was wearing white at a campaign event, she is racist. Here are other nice, warm, compassionate quotes from the same blog.


“If Wisconsin would simply allow police to pull drivers over for failing to wear their seat belts, the savings are estimated at 73 lives and $220 million every year, according to the University of Wisconsin Population Health Institute. So what's the hold up?”
Wisconsin State Journal editorial, arguing in support of a primary seat belt enfordcement law.


"Look, it's well documented that wearing seatbelts is smart and saves lives. Much as we dislike being bossed around by Washington, the state law mandating belts makes sense. We're not against seatbelts. We are, however, against encouraging police officers to pull people over just because they might think a driver forgot to fasten the belt. There's just too much room for harassment.Most states have seatbelt-stop laws. Wisconsin certainly wouldn't be breaking any new ground by giving in to the federal demand. But somewhere, some day, we believe it's worth drawing a line that says, 'No thanks. We're satisfied the way things are, so keep the money - and keep your nose out of our business.'"
From a Beloit Daily New editorial.The federal government is offering Wisconsin millions of dollars if it adopts a primary seat belt law.


OUTRAGE OF THE WEEK


Has to be Starbucks. See Villains above.



MOST UNDER-REPORTED STORY OF THE WEEK


John McCain is still in it.



MOST OVER-HYPED STORY OF THE WEEK


John McCain is out of it.



STRANGEST, MOST UNUSUAL STORY OF THE WEEK


More than one this week...


Its'a miracle.


Are you a witch?


Blogger Dad29 reads This Just In...and I read Dad29. He's got his own suggestion for this category.


Remember that woman stuck on a toilet? Here's an update you won't believe.



REMEMBER: Your suggestions/nominations for any of these categories every week are welcome, especially for HEROES OF THE WEEK. If you know of anyone in the community deserving of recognition, please e-mail me.

A look back at the people and events that made news the past week.
Week-ends is a regular weekly feature of This Just In...


HEROES OF THE WEEK


Milwaukee Brewer Ryan Braun. His clutch HR last Sunday against the Cubs sent the Brewers into the playoffs for the first time in 26 years.