Tommy Thompson, Bud Selig & The Brewers, Still Sticking it to the Taxpayers

Don Walker on the $8M repairs needed for Miller Park’s 3.5 year old roof. We should not forget Tommy Thompson’s infamous quote: (made in reference to an excise tax to help finance the Brewers’ new stadium) Let Milwaukee and nearby counties pay for it, not his northern constituents. “Stick it to ’em.” And he did. Shepherd Express | Wispolitics
This article by Steve Fainaru (created not in Wisconsin, but in Washington, DC) tells the story.

Agricultural Finance

Years (decades!) ago, I worked briefly for a bank. I recall that ag lending was, at the time, at best a poor stepchild to commercial lending. This Economist article provides a fascinating look at Rabobank’s (Dutch Bank) acquisition of Farm Credit Services – a US Government sponsored lending entity. Perhaps some Wisconsin Financiers should think about this…

AGAINST THE GRAIN
Aug 26th 2004
Why is a Dutch bank moving into agricultural finance in America?
WHAT on earth is Rabobank up to? This Dutch co-operative bank has been
busily expanding its franchise in farm-finance, an area American banks
have done everything to avoid since a meltdown in the 1980s. If that
was not odd enough, Rabobank’s most recent move is truly unique. At the
end of July, it reached an agreement to buy Farm Credit Services of
America, an institution that is a component of America’s odd network of
government-sponsored entities (GSEs). That agreement has unleashed an
unholy row.

(more…)

The Mad Assemblage Clock Maker


Cory Doctorow:

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation’s Zed show has done a segment on my pal Roger Wood, the mad assemblage clockmaker.
Roger Wood creates with time in mind. Yet even though the clock can be a consistent element of his work, it’s often secondary to its creation. Whether it’s a curious timepiece or a unique assemblage, Wood thrives on working with an immeasurable array of findings from the tarnished and forgotten to the odd or intriquing. He is a devoted collector of usual and unusual objects with one thing in common, a history