Thursday, June 25, 2015

Mars: We are Spending Billions to Send People a Location 5 Light years Away?

We should be using that money to really develop a low cost method of converting ocean water to safe farmland water. Maybe build  pipelines from the Mississippi to the drought stricken west. We could use some of the able 47,000,000 people on food stamps and other welfare have meaningful jobs. Or start trucking water to help out the struggling transport industry

Bring back the CCC which was killed by politicians and big unions.

Five light years away or 22 light minutes away. When a world is being destroyed where we live? When will people and politicians get real???????

No, I Don't Post Anonymous Attacks on Me on This Blog Site

Sorry, if you don't have the guts to print your name on your comments and state facts, your opinions are worthless. After all the outright big and small lies about the museum, why would I support it?? The museum is sinking. Most of the small Endowment money is phony money. I wonder how much longer the BIG SCREEN will be operative? The planners who overlooked humidity will not have their reputations tarnished because they are are all denying responsibility causing the County (taxpayers), who owns the building to invest $50,000 for fans while trying to determine who is responsible for the estimated $2 million to correct the problem.

Records show that 15,000 people voted AGAINST building the museum. I doubt whether many of them changed their minds and are attending enmasse. By the way, what happened to the 15% discount PROMISED to all Peoria residents? Don't see it mentioned anywhere.

And worse yet, it is an ugly building and losing bundles of money when it was promised to grow attendance which instead continues to shrink .Let the unions and the elite support the deficit. They lied and fought for it without research unlike the leaders of those who were in opposition. Don't stick the common taxpayer who have already had roughly 70% of the cost foisted on them when people like Brad McMillan promised the board, the private sector would be the ones paying 2/3s of the cost.

Another lie among many including an IMAX theater which was instead developed in the private sector..A company that has made me a sizable bundle of money.

The Journal Star always made me give them my address and phone number before they would print my EDITED letters to the editors (LTE). Many times they asked me to send them my facts.I always did and they would print my letters. (Roughly 35 of them)

So you anonys, post FACTS instead of one line attacks on me.

Hmmm.

Sunday, June 21, 2015

Andrew Rand - Peoria County Board Chairman Facing Troubling Times

Chairman Rand reported in the May issue of IB, in an interview labeled, "A Conversation Overdue" that "it was not long ago that Peoria County faced some very difficult issues because of undisciplined policies and spending. But in 2001. the Peoria County Board said 'enough' and adopted smart, conservative policies that maintain our fund balances, support our bond ratings and guide our spending habits. for more than a decade, the County has authorized balanced budgets and funded important priorities, despite the 2008 recession and the lagging recovery, which has been the slowest in 50 years."

What Democrat Chairman Rand said is true (Rand was elected by the Democrat controlled board after some rumored back room negotiations with Democrat Board Member, Mike Phelan), I believe that spending started again slowly going downhill in 2008 through today when the County Board overwhelmingly supported the failing Museum (the County Board borrowed the money to own this Peoria Riverfront Museum building, borrowed the money to fund a new $50 million plus county owned nursing home, Heddington Oaks, took over the Hanna City State owned Correctional Center, now in a severe state of dilapidation, paid over a million dollars to demolish a 47 year old Bel-Wood, was basically forced by a cash strapped City of Peoria to take over the Humane Society operations, despite that the major animal control problems are in the City, not the County, rising pension costs, salaries, etc.

It was interesting that the Journal Star, managing Editor of the Editorial Page, Barbara Manz Drake, took issue with me why I would run for a County Board seat in 2000, against an incumbent who Mrs. Drake said was doing such an outstanding job. The Editorial Board took great pains to stop my election by a seething Editorial supporting the incumbent, that they ran this Editorial 2 times to make sure they didn't leave out any readers. Despite their efforts, I won by 27% points and helped guide the County back to fiscal sanity.

However, despite the fact that Chairman Rand supported all of the above expenditures (you don't get elected by going against the majority as Rand Paul knows) I believe he is a shrewd businessman and will make every effort to bring back fiscal stability to the County. But if the nation goes into a financial spin downward as many predict, his job will become very difficult. That is why in his May article he calls on all the public bodies in Peoria County to "come together to discuss and define the magnitude of the problem."

Best wishes, Andrew. I believe, however, that the job is like being "a dollar short and a day late" The willingness of other public officials to do much in the way of combining and giving up control because of pressure from their constituents, many of whom are small special interest groups who feel they should not give up anything but other should instead.

Kind of sounds like the situation in Greece on a much smaller scale.

And, unfortunately, all public bodies in Peoria County are in a financial bind. I believe the taxpayer is going to be loser as I predicted many years ago on this site.

Thursday, June 18, 2015

Widmer on Facebook

See my factual opinion on Facebook today.

Wednesday, June 10, 2015

Thursday, June 04, 2015

FireFly - I Dare Those of You Who Constantly Demean Me to Read My Blogs on This Financial Disaster

In the upper left-hand corner of this blog, and all my blogs, you will find a "Search Bar". Just enter the subject you are seeking, in this case Fire-Fly, and you can read everything I wrote about this major boondoggle.

Then think twice before you vote for Darin LaHood, a chip off the block and close follower of other big taxpayer spenders like Republican Dave Leitch.

Still, I would not vote to send another Democrat to Congress. One of the reasons this country will eventually look somewhat similar to Greece is not enough quality people to run for a political posts; many for fear the liberal press will find something BAD in their background.

Like being entrapped in a police sweep designed to raise funds for a distant city's coffers which made big local new thanks to Jim Stowell and earlier by Matt Buedel, a third rate reporter for a near bankrupt local rag. But never convicted of even a misdemeanor and no mention of his longtime service to his community.Some of my readers scan the papers daily for my divorce. If there ever was to be a divorce in my relationship, which there will never be, it would be filed by me.

Sorry I have disappointed so many.

Wednesday, June 03, 2015

Widmer's Stock Picks and Miscellany

Cat despite the number of recent stock sales by board members almost all in the $87.50 range.. Interesting. Cat got a buy recommendation today with a target of $110. I'll look into buying again tomorrow. Taser, which I have owned for years, despite more competition. They are the leaders in the safest submission to law and order. BAC, despite the efforts to break up big banks. Vale for the long term investor. Obama and the radical environmentalist almost killed companies like Vale but didn't quiet succeed. Copper use should improve eventually.And MTW, a hold right now but one to watch. IMAX possibly when they report earning. The market in Asia, especially China, is immense. I have bought and sold IMAX many times. Right now I don't own IMAX but I have a buy in at $37.99. Many investors like me didn't like the 40-60 split with Disney. I sold GPRO too soon and missed big-time. Too risky for me but one analyst sure was right.

I've handled my own investments since last getting burned by a broker in 2002. I'll readily admit I got burned in the 2008 collapse when I disregarded advise to get out of the market. No excuse.

My pension is $125 or so a month so I study and invest in the market. Also risky but I don't have any money worries because I haven't had any debts for decades.  Many have speculated on stories about me in the media but NO ONE has lived in my shoes.While hate is not a good thing there are 4 people I will hate untill my dying day. One is or was an elementary teacher in Florida, one a vice something at a local brokerage, both sons of my former friend, Joe Stowell. Another is Reporter Matt Buedel who took a story I told Peoria police to help catch thieves and turned the story against me for inviting guests into my home. To embellish the attack against me, the victim, he wrote that my ranch style home had an upstairs, where bedrooms usually are (hint, hint) a really nasty statement to indicate I had inappropriate dealings with a 27 year old, her 22 year old sister and her 49 year old aunt, none of whose ages and relationships were ever reported by the JS. Buedel also wrote I "stepped" down from the County Board which the records will show I served out in full my 10 years as an official elected by the voters in my district.. It was my decision not to run for another term announced 2 years before my last term ended. The other member of the JS will remain unnamed.

Yes, I'll get around to Andrew Rand, evidently not a friend of Rescue 33 out of Chilli, according to legal papers and the JS, but why would he be?? But then, when elected, you are to represent ALL THE PEOPLE

I apologize for not doing much blogging lately. Or forwarding emails or even answering some.Too much sadness all around which I find less able to handle as I age. I end another decade if I can make it to the last day in June. And yes, I was arrested with a misdemeanor charge in 2013 and a judge took the charge against me in July, 2014. He said he would advise me of his decision. It will be a year of his considering next month.

I could write a book as several have suggested but my 2600 blogs will cover part of  who I am now and will be after my death.