Up in Smoke

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La Crosse's Free Press VOLUME 11, NO. 24 | JULY 14, 2011

Shilling wins.

Primary set.

Now what?

Page 2

Page 5 PLUS: BIG WU IN FINE FORM • PAGE 6 | $IP WILSON STRIKES AGAIN • PAGE 6 | HOORAY, BEER! • PAGE 9

2// July 14, 2011

Politics of Knocking

By Emily Faeth emily.faeth@secondsupper.com

What a year it's been for Wisconsin, and we're barely halfway through it. We find ourselves in the first of many battles to come — the primary elections between the Republican's “protest” candidates and Democratic challengers to the potentially recalled Republicans throughout the state.

For us, mainly, this means a primary election between Jennifer Shilling and psuedo-Democrat James Smith.

Although as of this writing I don't know the results of the primary election, the outcome seems fairly clear (knock on wood).

And though I'm pretty confident of the results of the general election on Aug. 9, I know this is a battle that's far from over.

The past several weeks I've seen those battle lines drawn, having pounded the pavement as a canvasser throughout the district, knocking on doors everywhere from French Island, La Crosse and Holmen, all the way to Soldier's Grove, Prairie du Chien, and La Farge, encouraging people to get out and vote, stay informed, know their candidates.

The battle lines came in the form of sometimes-comical yard sign wars: rural acreages demarked by massive Shilling signs directly facing gigantic Dan Kapanke signs, each competing for more notice from passersby. On French Island, Kapanke's home turf, sides were clearly drawn, and neighbors pitted against each other in a skirmish to determine who could show more support via yellow-and-blue or blue-and-white yard adornments. Funny, yes, but also a little sad.

Sadder yet are the anecdotes I've heard from those I've had the opportunity to meet through canvassing. One man, a public school teacher who was recently laid off, spoke of the pain and disillusionment of walking through his small rural town, knowing many of his neighbors thought him greedy, a drain on the economy. “I care for their kids every day,” he said. “I hated knowing what they thought of me. I became a teacher because I care about kids, not because I wanted to make a lot of money.”

Others mentioned a loss of longtime friends (seriously) due to rising political tensions and disagreements. Still others worried about losing their livelihoods, their homes due to budget cuts to programs that aid the needy and the elderly. Divisiveness — it's what at times makes politics engaging, but it's also what destroys communities.

Canvassing, seeing areas of our district I'd never seen before, meeting the people who inhabit this part of Wisconsin — it

Second Supper

COMMUNITY wasn't all sad stories and anger. While anger was clearly present in the hearts of many I met, more so was a sense of comradeship, a sense of engagement, from both sides of the political equation. And that's what's so remarkable about these elections — people are actually paying attention.

This cannot generally be said for most local and state elections, which usually see little voter turnout or interest. But in this case, almost everyone I spoke to had chosen a side. Their reasons were varied, of course, but all for the most part were engaged; all for the most part care what happens to their state on a governmental level.

On a drive home one evening through the serpentine bluffs near Westby, a co-canvasser made a comment that piqued my attention. “People are, in general, despicable,” he said. Being a die-hard optimist, I immediately pounced. He clarified, saying he felt that people in general act in their own self-interest. I countered by claiming that generalizations regarding people are impossible to make, and that it's better to focus on the positive aspects of humanity. He said people's acts of self-interest may ultimately lead to our destruction as a race. I said that attitude negated the act of reaching out to society, trying to improve our lot. He said his attitude did the opposite, that it justified serving society.

This went on for some time as we wound through the coulees and bluffs, neither of us wanting to remove ourselves from our perspective, arguing for the sake of arguing. The point of both arguments was essentially the same, different sides of the same coin. But in that brief exchange, neither of us took the time to accept the truth in what the other was saying.

That is, in essence, what we as Wisconsinites are doing to ourselves. No one, not the staunch Republican on Liberty Street, nor the Socialist on French Island, not the Democrat on Fifth Avenue, nor the Libertarian on Copeland Avenue — no one desires a bleak outcome for our state. I won't speak for those in power — I'm just as disillusioned as the next lad or lady. But I do know that the average person, your neighbors and mine, really do want what's best for Wisconsin.

The only difference is perspective. We need a return to civility, an end to the petty hatred, the denouncing of neighbors because their banner is a different color than yours. Whatever happens in Madison, we are still here, still neighbors, and we are more than the sum of our political affiliations. No matter the result of this election, or the next, or the next, this is a battle that is far from over, and we'd better get used to it.

So instead of wasting your energy hating that guy down the street for voting for the wrong person, try to appreciate that he's just trying to do what he believes is best for all of us, and appreciate that we're all engaged in our own futures, now more than ever.

That's why, when I left the door of a Kapanke (or Smith) supporter while canvassing, I still smiled and said, “Thank you for voting.”

Letter From The Editor Dear Reader:

I don’t know about you, but for these past couple weeks my phone has been blowing up. Usually I don’t recognize the numbers, or even the area codes, but the message of these eager callers comes through soon enough. I like talking to the 608s, who are invariably Jennifer Schilling volunteers from down the street, but I’d listen to local Republicans if they ever called me, too.

I have worse luck from 414, which is never Ron Roenicke asking for pitching advice. Instead these calls usually come from groups I’ve never heard of, big political operations with phone banks and outside money trying to convince me that Milwaukeens actually care about western Wisconsin. It’s been so ludicrous lately that calls have come in from mystery area codes — 317, 703, “Restricted Number.” Just yesterday I took a call from a robot Right-to-Lifer. How did these people even get my cell phone number?

Yes, readers, it seems our little corner of western Wisconsin — the fightin’ 32nd! — is in the national crosshairs, and I fear we won’t be out of them until the middle of August at least. Just moments ago I learned that Schilling won her primary race against nouveauDemocrat James Smith in a real nail-biter.

The outcome wasn’t exactly surprising, but I liked to see the turnout. I was voter number 561 in my precinct, and I hardly ever saw that in a regular election, let alone an unprecedented political facade that cost La Crosse County $120,000. So let’s try to keep

NAME AND AGE: Raina Rebellion Thelen, 28

our political spirits high as we continue to be bludgeoned by more mail bombings, robocallers, attack ads and cable television talking heads. Don’t you just love it when political season extends into summer vacation?

Of course, your favorite small-market inky rag will stay on the recall story, and this week we cover the election our own way. Emily Faeth shares some illuminating tales from the front lines after a long stint canvassing voters around the district, while Brett Emerson breaks down the fracas in Wisconsin in the way that only Brett can. But our cover story this week explores a different side of local politics, one that plays out long after the final ballots have been tallied.

This story is about a budget battle, one between first-term mayor Matt Harter and 5-year fire chief Gregg Cleveland. These sorts of skirmishes usually go on behind closed doors with drawn-out budget proceedings and an often apathetic public, but this particular fight has smoldered in the light of day. On page 5 writer-in-residence Eric Forseth breaks down the numbers and attacks conventional wisdom. His conclusions might not be what you'd expect from Second Supper, but it continues our proud tradition of provoking conversation. If you have your own opinion on this debate, please send your thoughts to editor@secondsupper.com, and we’ll happily run your letters in an upcoming issue. That’s how we do democracy ‘round here.

— Adam Bissen

Social Networking

WHERE WERE YOU BORN? LSE CURRENT JOB: LHI for money. Music, writing and art for life.

DREAM JOB: Owning my own design firm and simultaneously recording albums, writing books, making art and touring the world!

WHAT IS YOUR GUILTIEST PLEASURE? '80s Hair Metal TELL US A JOKE: How do you know when the stage is level?

The bassist is drooling from both sides of his mouth.

WHAT'S THE LAST THING YOU BOUGHT? Bookcases and bridesmaids gifts WHAT'S IN YOUR POCKET RIGHT NOW?: Guitar pick, lipstick and a couple bucks

LAST THING YOU GOOGLED: Graduate programs in Interior Architecture, home recording techniques and upcoming concerts.

IF A GENIE GRANTED YOU ONE WISH, WHAT WOULD YOU ASK FOR? A teleportation device

IF YOU COULD LIVE ANYWHERE IN THE WORLD, WHERE WOULD IT BE? Summers on the coast of Maine. Winters on a tropical island.

WHAT PERSON, DEAD OR ALIVE, WOULD YOU LIKE TO HAVE DINNER WITH? Trent Reznor

WHAT IS SOMETHING YOU WANT TO DO BEFORE YOU DIE: Sail around the world in my own yacht!

FIRST CONCERT YOU WENT TO: Alice Cooper, and a week later Bush. I was 12.

WHAT IS YOUR PET PEEVE? Improper use of punctuation and grammar.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE PART OF SECOND SUPPER? Drink specials and music listings!

WHAT IS YOUR BEVERAGE OF CHOICE? Coffee, or red wine, er umm whiskey, or yeah, coffee.

HOW DO YOU KNOW EMILY? I met her in theatre, got to know her during "Sweeney Todd," and now she's one of my bridesmaids!.

CELEBRITY CRUSH: Nikki Sixx WHAT BOOK ARE YOU CURRENTLY READING? "Jonathan Strange and Mr. Norrell" for the second time...

I'm open to suggestions!

— Compiled by Shuggypop Jackson, shuggypop.jackson@secondsupper.com

Second Supper

July 14, 2011 // 3

FIRST THINGS FIRST Be fair

The Top Awkward places 1. Casey Anthony’s family reunion 2. James Smith’s election party 3. MySpace 4. West Salem 5. Karaoke night 6. Sears 7. Roger Clemens’ trophy room Solos 1. Hope 2. Han 3. The Dying Swan 4. Transoceanic flight 5. "Giant Steps" 6. Summiting Everest 7. Bass

Things To Do Art and about

Inject some local culture into your regular jaunts around town and check out the Storefront Arts Initiative's Second Art Walk this Thursday, July 14 and Friday, July 15. The Art Walk, which features displays in storefront windows throughout downtown as well as at downtown galleries, kicks off at 5 p.m. at the Pump House Regional Art Center, where you can cool off with refreshments as well as grab a map of the installations.

1

Support your local fur traders

On Saturday, July 16, and Sunday, July 17, from 9 a.m. until 4 p.m., head over to Pettibone Park and travel back in time at the Barron Island Rendezvous. See what life was like for fur traders, the first European settlers in the La Crosse area, as local historians and hobbyists demonstrate the lifestyle and accoutrements of the era. Events include a spear contest, an open-fire cooking contest, a primitive fishing contest, a hawk and knife contest, and a primitive bow and arrow contest. Admission is $2 for adults, $1 for teens and free for children under 12. Just watch out for those assless chaps favored by some of the reenactionists — although it may have only been my friend's father who liked to wear those. Yikes.

2

Didn’t get enough of a festival fix at La Crosse’s Riverfest earlier this month? Then why not take a drive up to West Salem this weekend for the La Crosse Interstate Fair? The event, which began yesterday, runs through Sunday, July 17, and features all of your carnival favorites, such as music, games, rides, and much, much more!

Admission and parking are free, and while you’re at it, could you please pick me up some funnel cake?

3 4

Give a cluck

Have you been following the recent discussions regarding urban chicken raising? Do you want to learn more? If so, head to the Houston Nature Center at 215 W. Plum Street in Houston, Minn., tonight, July 14 to learn all about the topic from Kristin Zoeller of the Farm at Rush Arbor. She’ll explain the insides and outs of raising your own backyard brood. There’s no admission fee, and the talk goes from 6:30-8 p.m.

Just be

Increase the peace in your life this week on Wednesday, July 19, as Dr. Anton Somlai presents material from his latest book, Peace Vigil: Living Without Hesitation. Dr. Somlai, a professor of behavioral medicine, is also a co-founder of the Original Root Zen Center in Racine.

The two-hour workshop will take place at the Bramble Bookstore at 213 Main St. in Viroqua and costs $10 to attend, or is free with the purchase of Dr. Somlai’s publication. To register, email Mathew at sangharoot@gmail.com or call (262) 822-2258, and may peace be will you.

5 live local live local &

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EVERY Thursday Night

EVERY Thursday Night

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SPECIAL APPEARANCE July 14 NEON youngECKLUND Rock ‘n’ Roll group from La July 22 (FRIDAY) A strong, JASON Crosse, Wisconsin, they are in uenced

Direct from Nashville—Abytalented onthe theBeatles, tracks of a varietysinger/songwriter of artists including Woody Guthrie and the young Dylan, he wows crowds with inDylan,Bob Oasis, the Stones, andhis the Who, just telligence, integrity and rugged individualism.

Townes Van Zandt said of to name a few.

Ecklund, "...the real thing...he can yodel, write and plays the guitar good too." Join us for an evening of raw blues, twangy country and radical folk.

Show starts at 9 pm outside (weather or up in our saloon.

A classic rockpermitting) band made of three

July 21

Acts from around the area entertain you here every Thursday either in the saloon or outside (weather permitting). Shows kick off at 7pm.

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Summer 2011 Schedule

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Summer 2011 Schedule

Summer 2

4// July 14, 2011

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Second Supper

July 14, 2011 // 5

COMMUNITY

Fire fight in the budget books

The La Crosse chief wants more firefighters and a new station. Is it worth it?

By Eric Forseth Special to Second Supper

On a Monday night on the southside of La Crosse, a softball was lifted softly to right field for a single. As the ball was tossed back into the infield, the woman playing second base was caught unaware; her glove not ready, her face becoming the unintended target. The woman's teammates cried out to the umpire to call an ambulance. At their behest, an ambulance was called. It arrived promptly with medical professionals ready to administer any and all type of care to her as she sat there, blood flowing steadily from her nose. Then, for some reason, a fire truck came. Fully equipped with four firefighters and all the essentials of fighting fires, scaling tall buildings and hosing down half a city block — completely unnecessary at Powell Park where a bloody nose was being tended to by paramedics.

All of this happened shortly after mayor Matt Harter had been publicly castigated for stating that there are redundancies that take place with La Crosse Fire Department.

He essentially pointed out that, based on the numbers, our fire department is overstaffed, and the cost burden is tremendous when compared to their necessity to the population of La Crosse.

But the city council, afraid to err on the side of common sense and terrified to make a decision that would initiate change, backed Fire Chief Gregg Cleveland and decided that the city actually needs more firefighters. Emboldened, Cleveland is now asking for an unprecedented fifth fire station to be built in La Crosse. Why, because of all the bloody noses and paramedic calls that the department responds to? Come on, now. Let's look at the numbers.

La Crosse has not grown significantly in either population or area in decades, and given our geographic boundaries and demographic trends, it’s not likely to happen anytime soon. So why does our fire department need to get any bigger?

When Harter made the call to freeze firefighter overtime in May, it would have reduced staff by one and a half people per station. For a well run department/company/ business of any kind, that kind of minor subtraction will not be felt.

The La Crosse Tribune has certainly told one side of this story, and anyone will get riled up when told about supposed cuts to “public safety.” But isn’t it the mayor’s job to find the most effective way to run the city?

Don’t get me wrong: La Crosse's firefighters do a good job. Let's not complain about the service. But La Crosse is already one of Wisconsin's most heavily taxed cities, so it's ludicrous to think we can't at least trim the fire department's $10 million budget.

Here is what La Crosse taxpayers are actually paying for: In 2010, the La Crosse Fire Department responded to 155 fire-related calls. Seventy-five of these calls were for structural fires (the kind that one may see in

the newspaper). Of no fault of its own, the department actually responds to nearly 3.5 times as many false alarms as it does actual fires.

Oh yeah, guess how many calls the La Crosse Police Department respond to with essentially the same budget and staff: If you guessed almost 58,000 calls, you would be correct.

To think that the city of La Crosse can't cut back on the roughly 100 people it takes to respond to 155 fire-related instances is ridiculous. What about the other ways in which they serve the community? Well, last year, there were a total of 4,818 incidents reported in the Fire Department's operation report.

What else do firefighters do? In a document presented to the City Council in January, the department listed that in 2009, there were a total of 5,412 inspections. And that's how the department can justify all the spending: They prevent fires from happening.

So, if we're going by the numbers, that's a total of 10,230 incidents and inspections performed by the LCFD on a yearly basis.

For all the firefighters that Chief Cleveland claims to need, that's a total of three and a half duties performed each day by each firefighter.

That seems reasonable, yet from Dec. 28, 2010, to Jan. 28, 2011, the chief still managed to find a way to rack up 5,619.75 overtime hours. That comes in at 305.4 percent of the department’s overtime budget.

It's kind of impressive, actually. Impressive that nobody has bothered to look at these numbers before — or if they have, they never bothered to call the La Crosse fire chief out, not for decades.

Last year, I coached a baseball team.

One of the young men on it was a high school senior from La Crosse. I asked him what he wanted to do post-graduation, and he said that he wanted to become a firefighter. I asked him why he chose to pursue that career path and he told me it's because they watch SportsCenter. Apparently that's what he did for five hours when he went to visit the department this past fall. (I was delighted to hear that he has recently chosen to go to school to be a teacher.)

Just because 100 people (a very small percentage of the city's population) show up to a meeting and the city council is too scared to make an unpopular decision doesn't mean that there isn't an issue here.

There clearly is. The city's streets are falling apart; the sewage system needs to be revamped; Bliss Road hasn't been operational since Clinton was in the White House; and nobody can figure out where the city will get the money to pay for these necessities.

Meanwhile, the fire department soaks up a third of the city tax base answering in full force to bloody noses. One-hundred and fifty-five fire-related calls, a few calls each day between catching highlights on SportsCenter — and still, the chief wants more.

If Cleveland could make the argument

Is the La Crosse Fire Department wasting taxpayer money?

Send your thoughts to editor@secondsupper.com

that the city needs a fifth fire station, that it needs more personnel, then fine. That’s a dialogue we can all have. But inflating the numbers and duplicating services that could easily be performed by the police department or medical professionals alone is not the way to plead a case. Neither is calling up a favorite newspaper reporter and fanning the flames that an overtime freeze is somehow a threat to public safety.

How long will the city of La Crosse let this budget inequality smolder? Do the math. Be reasonable. Men lie, women lie, numbers don't.

A Tale of Two Departments Public Safety Records

Residency: Calls for Service:

Overtime Actual Budget

Police

Police Expenses

31.8% non-resident 2010 2009 4,818 4,743 YTD 2010 $159 026 $601,540 $199,000 $197,000

2011 Employees

2009 Budget

2010 Budget

2011 Budget

$7,942,432

$10,832,303

$10,569,138

Fire

49.5% non-resident 2010 2009 57,525 59,579 YTD 2010 $80, 848 $397,155 $249,644. $293,480

Police Dept.:

Fire Dept.:

129 (95 sworn officers) 97

Police Dept. Revenue Fire Dept. Expenses

2009 $32,733

2009 Budget

2010 Budget

2011 Budget

$7,589505

$10,079,114

$9,666,186

Source: City of La Crosse

2010 $27,337

Fire Dept. Revenue 2009 $36,413

2010 $15,714

2011* $22,500

2011* $48,900

*Budget

6// July 14, 2011

Second Supper

MUSIC

A Family Reunion in Harmony Park

Big Wu and Yonder Mountain String Band rock their old haunt

By Adam Bissen adam.bissen@secondsupper.com

Charlie Parr

warms up the crowd.

It’s almost inconceivable to even write these words, but the Big Wu and their fans now seem practically mature. That was the startling conclusion I took home from the sublimely pleasant Family Reunion over the Fourth of July weekend in Minnesota’s Harmony Park. Long the site of hijinks of a distinctly Big Wu nature, the band’s annual Family Reunion (mostly at Harmony Park, but with a brief sojourn outside of Black River Falls) are still the stuff of Midwest legend.

The 2011 incarnation wasn’t billed an official BWFR, but the Big Wu did play two sets and headline Saturday night, so it was like the good ol’ days — only nicer!

First of all, props to all the campers for keeping the shady oak grove clean and appropriately idyllic. Festies often turn into dumps quick, but even the mud from a freak downpour couldn’t muck up the beauty of the park. The mood was always friendly, and extra props go out to the walkie-talkie-toting security guards for shutting down all those blasted late-night drum circles.

The music was a nice blend of Minne-

A fan lets it all hang out at Harmony Park.

The Big Wu's Sunday afternoon set featured sit-ins galore and Grateful Dead covers.

Photos By Mitch Luehring

LA CROSSE’S NEWEST & TRUEST PUB & EATERY WITHOUT THE FRANCHISE! Monday: All U Can Eat Wings includes choice of potato, slaw and a $8.99 frosted Pint. 4-9:30

Tuesday: Wisconsin cheese steak sandwich with a frosted Pint. $8.99

Wednesday: Ladies Night, $1 Off All Drinks 4-Cl. Pint-Aritas $3.00 (lime or strawberry)

Thursday:

Karaoke on Thursdays

All U Can Eat Wings includes choice of potato, slaw and a frosted Pint. 4-9:30 $8.99

e o

Bucket and s Food Specials For All Nascar Races!

400 Lang Drive, La Crosse T HE F

!

20222585jg

(Across From Menards) 784-2242

’S

print, closing out with an extended, bluesy instrumental number. In keeping with the not-allowed-to-print theme, “Freaky Tales” has all of the filthy lyrical raunchiness you could ask for, creating a surprisingly laid

By Jason Crider back song that manages to leave absolutely jason.crider@secondsupper.com nothing to the imagination.

The biggest departure from the rest

Winona-based hip-hop artist $ip Wil- of the mixtape is “Dear Mama,” a short and son is out with a fresh new mixtape entitled sweet ballad featuring a heartfelt apology for Monterey Jack (The Pimptape), which fea- a life rife with disappointment and shorttures six new tracks, a single off of his recent comings, which $ip keeps tastefully simple album I’ve Got The Magic, a preview track and minimal. from his upcoming record, and a brief inter- Last but not least, “The Ghetto” starts view with Z93 where Ballzer shows Coulee as an in-your-face rant filled with quite astute Cuts some lovin’! Because this is a mixtape parallels between slavery and problems with and not a full release, this review reads more modern society that cleverly shifts mid-song like a track-by-track; it would into a soul and funk driven chobe unfair to try and look for an rus strongly reminiscent of the $IP WILSON overall theme or feel in somesongs found in early blaxploitathing that by definition isn’t retion films, making it a surprisingally supposed to have either. ly deep and insightful look into

On first listen, the song modern black culture that really that stood out most was “Lawcaught me off guard. I found this rence Taylor,” because, well, it to be easily the strongest and MONTEREY JACK really took me by surprise. At (THE PIMPTAPE) most thought provoking listen the core, this is a very simple on the entire mixtape. and straightforward hip-hop

Overall I’d have to say that track, but with $ip repeating Monterey Jack (The Pimptape) is “bitch, where that I.D.?” every a pretty enjoyable, random smatfew lines, referring to the NFL (The Pimptape) tering of songs for fans of hipHall of Famer’s recent sexual hop, or for people unfamiliar misconduct scandal, this track manages to with $ip that just want to get their feet wet. remain memorable, making me laugh along with its simultaneously lighthearted and $ip Wilson will be performing alongside the Glenscathing commentary. dale Boyz from Milwaukee this Saturday, July

Next up, “Luther” is a blues-infused, 16, at Dibs Café in Winona. Monterey Jack (The upbeat track coated with a pretty fun chorus Pimptape) can be picked up at Deaf Ear Records that I’m probably not allowed to put into in La Crosse or Royal Tobacco in Winona.

GLENDALE BOY ENTERTAINMENT PRESENTS….

8 Plasma TV’s • Food & Drink Specials

UB

sota upstarts and Family Reunion favorites. I do wish the afternoon acts would had been more memorable, but day time in Harmony Park is made for lounging and saving one’s energy for the evening blowouts (or maybe that’s just the mature fan base in me talking).

At any rate, Harmony Park was a throwdown from dusk on down. Pert Near Sandstone, as usual, was a festival highlight and had the crowd kicking up a cloud before headliners Yonder Mountain String Band.

It was a treat to see Yonder under that big ol’ barn that constitutes Harmony’s main stage. The Colorado quartet first made inroads into the Midwest a decade ago when they played an early Family Reunion, and the bluegrass titans seemed appreciative to return. Lead singer Jeff Austin also seemed, well, like he had succumbed to his surroundings, and the band's two-hour set was appreciably spacey.

But by far my favorite musical highlight of the festival — and it’s been a while since anyone has said this — was the Big Wu. Newly anointed second guitarist Mark Joseph has seemed to invigorate the band, and he anchored several tricky jams while the group explored with confidence. Standout tunes were the iconic but patient “Red Sky” and “Southern Energy,” and even after listening to the recordings (check archive.org), they stand up against any Big Wu songs of the past 6 years. The band looked completely with it, and the crowd responded accordingly. If this is growing up in the leafy house of Wu, then those dang kids can stay on my lawn.

FACEBOOK/$IPWILSON MYSPACE/SIPWILSON

$ip Wilson 'Monterey Jack '

Second Supper

The Majak Mixtape

By Jonathan Majak jonathan.majak@secondsupper.com

Oh politicians, who needs to race toward

the edge of a cliff when you have the American financial system to play chicken with instead? After years of spending money with the freewheeling nature of a freshmen in college with his first credit card, Republicans and Democrats are now facing off over whether or not to raise the debt ceiling or default on their bills. What that exactly means we’re not quite sure of, but we’re like 95 percent sure that it will not include the repossessing of any monuments (though that would make the greatest episode of “Operation Repo”). So while Democrats and Republicans battle to see who blinks first, we here at the Mixtape have done what we do best (well, besides stockpiling gold bars and creating a bomb shelter if things really go to shit), and that is put a mixtape together because a potentially catastrophic shakeup of our financial system is a lot easier with an electro-beat.

Our first song is “Glitter Gold Year” from Fiery Furnaces member Eleanor Friedberger’s new solo album “Last Summer.” There was this golden age of spending in Washington, D.C., where politicians were spending money faster than us at skinny jeans sale at Hot Topic without really getting as much scrutiny about

their decisions and really weren’t getting a lot of funny looks when members of both parties continually voted to raise the debt ceiling because apparently nobody in Washington had to learn how to make a budget in their Home Economics class.

This leads us to our next song, from British duo Oh My! and their single “Kicking and Screaming,” because that’s pretty much what all sides are doing when it comes to making a deal about whether or not to raise the debt ceiling. House Speaker John Boehner, when not maintaining one of the greatest tans this side of a “Baywatch” cast member, has said that he wouldn’t sign onto a deal if there were an increase of taxes. Meanwhile President Obama, who you can’t tell me isn’t secretly smoking a pack and a half of cigarettes behind Michelle’s back during this, is still trying to push for a $4 trillion-plus package.

Our last song is “Break the Chain” from Oh Land’s fantastic self-titled debut album.

The only way this situation won’t end in a nightmarish blur is if the politicians, in our opinion, stop using politics as the world’s most expensive board game with the American citizens as expendable game pieces and instead embrace the seriousness of it all. Or they could just go on CNBC’s Suze Orman show every time they have a bill and ask if they can afford it. Either option, we’re cool with.

Buy: Washed Out “Within and Without” YouTube: Kalup Linzy featuring James Franco (Yes, THAT Franco) “Rising” Read: Music That Isn’t Bad www.musicthatisntbad.com

Get your daily dose of all the wig-snatching antics of The Majak Mixtape at The Majak Kingdom blog, www.majakkingdom.blogspot.com

Medium: Album Stimulus: Dredg — Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy Anno: 2011

Medium: Album Stimulus: Duran Duran — All You Need Is Now Anno: 2011 Following up on the band’s drastic flirtation with Timbaland electro-pop on Red Carpet Massacre, Duran Duran seems to have realized that, well, it’s Duran Duran. The band’s newest album isn’t a note-for-note rehash of the songs of its heyday, but All You Need Is Now is nothing if not familiar.

The album is a bit top-heavy, with most of the exciting songs (“Blame the Machines,” “Being Followed,” “Safe,” and “Girl Panic!”) being found in the opening half. Each of these songs is pure steroid dance pop. In comparison, the second half tends to feel languid. It’s not that the album runs out of steam, but most of the songs just don’t match the openers’ swagger. The two exceptions are the classic Duran of “Other People’s Lives” — which wonderfully references a “glory hole confessional” — and the stately quiet of the album’s closer, “Before the Rain.”

Some bands just don’t need to experiment to constantly deliver good songs. Duran Duran is one of these bands.

July 14, 2011 // 7

ARTS

Any Dredg listener who equates the power of a song with decibel level is going to be sorely disappointed with Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy, an album that is far less rock than it is a brooding shade of R&B and world music tinged pop. The upside of this is that any Dredg listener who equates the power of a song with sincerity and a willingness to take big risks is going to come away from this album greatly rewarded.

The only real point of dissonance offered here is in the occasionally bursts of distorted guitars in “Upon Returning,” and even here the fuzz isn’t equal to the cleanness of the rest of the instrumentation. The same rule applies to the static beats in “Down without a Fight,” which sounds lo-fi yet is washed clean by very soft-spoken vocals. A few other tracks are up-tempo, but nothing else could be described as hard or angry.

The album’s best work comes in its beginning and end. “Another Tribe” is a track mixing R&B beats with wistful rock vocals resulting in a pop song with something to say. At the other pole waits the gloomy French jazz of “Before It Began,” a fable of a song driven by pure and pointed basslines and filled out with spaced out guitars.

Resulting from all this rejection of formula and expectation is a bold album without a shred of complacency. Chuckles and Mr. Squeezy may not be an album one can listen to in the same stretch as the rest of the Dredg catalogue, but it is excellent listening on its own.

— Brett Emerson

Bizarro Masterpiece Theatre Medium: Film Stimulus: RoboCop 2 (1990) Director: Irvin Kershner Cast: Peter Weller, Nancy Allen, Tom Noonan Written by: Frank Miller, Walon Green

I’m not going to argue that the sequel to RoboCop is better than the original, but I will say that RoboCop 2 is a great sequel that pushes the story of this ghost in the machine into bold, inevitable territory. The first film was funnier, sure, and it did have Red Forman killing fools and maligning bitches, but the second act is frighteningly prophetic.

RoboCop’s creators in the industrial conglomerate OCP were portrayed in the first movie as sort of a Shakespearian collection of backbiters and scumbags, yet they weren’t really the story’s villains. Sure there was a villainous VP who closed the film on the receiving end of some iron justice, but for the most part RoboCop spent his days taking out the ground level trash and left the white collars to scheme. In the second film, there’s no ambiguity to it; OCP is the evil empire. Its goal: to force the city of Detroit to default on its debts and then convert the city into its own

corporate fiefdom.

Sounds rather modern, no?

Sure, RoboCop spends a good chunk of the film fighting the street trash, in this case represented by a drug cult comprised of an ecstatic Tom Noonan, a member of the Memphis Mafia, and a monstrous little shit that shoots RoboCop in the face. Yet it quickly becomes clear that OCP is pulling the strings, and all the later disasters that RoboCop must undo are entirely the responsibility of the corporation.

There’s a great segment in the middle of the film where OCP’s meddling has a funnier result. After getting dismembered by the drug cult, RoboCop is “fixed” by the conniving head of R&D, who focus groups him into irrelevancy. Thanks to the input of nervous soccer moms, RoboCop’s four Prime Directives grow into hundreds, and the bureaucracy forces him to behave so benignly that he’s completely useless. Breaking up a robbery perpetrated by an evil Little League team, RoboCop gives the kids (and their dead coach) a stern talking-to, which they promptly ignore.

Then he opens fire on a guy enjoying a cigarette. So great is the idiocy that our hero finds no other option but to open up a power station and electrocute the stupidity out of himself. If only it were so easy for the rest of us.

I really like RoboCop 2, even if the end involves a battle to the death between RoboCop and a junkie deathbot. Films like the RoboCop series are a good reminder that all the political and corporate shit we’re dealing with now is nothing new. People decades ago knew where we were headed, and here we are. Perhaps we should have heeded the warnings.

— Brett Emerson

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1910 Campbell Rd • La Crosse 608-782-7696 • secretsunlax.com

M-Th 8am-10pm; Fri 8am-8pm; Sat 9-5; Sun 12-5

8// July 14, 2011

Second Supper

MUSIC

music directory // July 15 to July 21 FRIDAY,

just a roadie away Milwaukee

July 15

population

BOTTOMS UP // 500 Copeland Ave. Bad Axe River Band (rock/blues) • 10 p.m.

596,974

PHIL KEAGGY // JULY 16 Shank Hall • $25

JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. Porcupine, The Quick are the Dead, Cardiac Radio (rock) • 10 p.m.

NORMA JEAN // JULY 17 The Rave/Eagles Ballroom • $18

NIGHTHAWKS TAP // 401 S. Third St. Cheech (rock, folk, blues) • 10 p.m.

VANS WARPED TOUR // JULY 19 Marcus Amphitheater • $35.50

PEARL STREET BREWERY // 1401 St. Andrew St.

Kokopellians (jamgrass) • 5 p.m.

FIVE FOR FIGHTING // JULY 20 Pabst Theater • $22.50

PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Doghouse Jon and the Misbehavors (blues) • 8 p.m.

RX BANDITS, MAPS & ATLASES // JULY 22 Turner Hall Ballroom • $14

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. The Hobo Nephews of Uncle Frank Cleveland, Ohio punk rockers Signals Midwest will be bringing their eclectic blend of happy hardcore infused pop punk to (roots rock, folk) • 10 p.m. the Concordia Ballroom for one night only this coming Monday, July 18. Joining them will be La Crosse’s staple ska band, THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. The Adam Palm Band (rock) • 10 p.m.

1,2,3 Walrus along with folk favorites Elliot Arms, Cannon City and 64 Squares. Doors open for this all ages punk show at 6 p.m., and tickets are only $5. What could possibly be a better way to spend your Monday night?

SHER BEARS // 329 Goddard St. The Stoney Ridge Band (classic rock) • 8:30 p.m.

RIVER JACK'S //1835 Rose St. Ontourage (variety) • 8 p.m.

THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. Brian Rolland (Brazilian jazz) • 8 p.m.

THE WATERFRONT TAVERN // 328 Front St. Wycliffe Gordon w/LaX Jazztet (jazz) • 8 p.m.

SATURDAY,

July 16

FIELD HOUSE // W5450 Keil Coulee Rd. Michael Patrick Duo (jazz, blues, rock) • 8 p.m.

JB'SSPEAKEASY // 717 Rose St. The Songs For (singer/songwriter, rock) • 10 p.m.

PETTIBONE BOAT CLUB // 600 S Pettibone Dr.

Coulee Region Steel Band • 6 p.m.

PIGGY'S BLUES LOUNGE // 501 Front St. S. Doghouse Jon and the Misbehavors (blues) • 8 p.m.

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Taki Allstars (dub reggae) • 10 p.m.

July 17

MONDAY,

July 18

DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. Open Jam with Cheech • 10 p.m.

THE MONKEES // JULY 23 Marcus Amphitheater • $41.80 UNDEROATH // JULY 27 The Rave • $18

RECOVERY ROOM // 901 7th St. S. Kin Pickin' (jam grass) • 5 p.m.

RIVER JACK'S //1835 Rose St. Journeymen (duo) • 6 p.m.

FREIGHT HOUSE // 107 Vine St. Muddy Flatts & the Hepcats • 8 p.m.

THURSDAY,

FIELD HOUSE // W5450 Keil Coulee Rd. Michael Patrick (acoustic jam) • 5 p.m.

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Shawn’s Open Jam • 10 p.m.

CAVALIER LOUNGE // 114 5th Ave. N. Hipster Indie Night • 10 p.m.

FREIGHT HOUSE // 107 Vine St. Muddy Flatts & the Hepcats • 8 p.m.

TUESDAY,

SUNDAY,

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Som’n Jazz (jazz) • 10 p.m.

July 19

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Paulie (one-man band) • 10 p.m.

WEDNESDAY,

July 20

THE JOINT // 324 Jay St. Adam Palm, Cheech and Jammin’ CAVALIER LOUNGE // 114 5th Ave. N. Reggae vs. Hip-Hop (rare vinyl) • 10 p.m.

George (Palm Sunday) • 4 p.m.

July 21

DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. Andy (from T.U.G.G.) • 10 p.m.

NORTH SIDE OASIS // 620 Gillette St. Shawno & Echant (acoustic jam) • 9 p.m.

SOUTHSIDE NEIGH. CENTER // 1300 S. 6th St.

The Driftless River Band (Irish/country) • 7 p.m.

RIVERSIDE PARK // La Crosse Riverside Jazz Party • 2:30 p.m.

DEL’S BAR // 229 Third St. Kokopellians (jamgrass) • 10 p.m.

THE STARLITE LOUNGE // 222 Pearl St. Kies & Kompanie (jazz) • 5 p.m.

SCHMIDTY'S // 3119 State Rd. Jim Bee Three (easy listening) • 4 p.m.

POPCORN TAVERN // 308 S. Fourth St. Dave Orr (man about town) • 10 p.m.

TREMPEALEAU HOTEL // 150 Main St. Rewind Society (classic rock) • 7 p.m.

Second Supper

The Beer Review Red Stripe Jamaican Lager Desnoes & Geddes Limited Kingston, Jamaica

Last Friday night I stood in my sweltering kitchen, blasting dancehall and stirring seasoning into a pot of jambalaya. I was quite thirsty. Thankfully my refrigerator was stocked with a plethora of beers — sublime dopplebocks, high gravity IPAs, artful porters, Belgian sours — but I didn’t want any of that, not on a 90-degree night when I was breaking out the cayenne pepper. In the heat of the summer I have a soft spot for light lagers. So I’ll save another column for bitching about American microbreweries, how they have tunnel vision on ales, and for

the beer distributors that don’t think they need to bring decent summer lagers to La Crosse. On this spicy night, I already had the perfect beer: Red Stripe.

At some point in their life, I think everyone goes through a Red Stripe phase. It comes from exotic Jamaica, sits in a squat little bottle, and has a nascent kiss of dry hopping over smooth German malts (although no one actually knows that during their Red Stripe phase). And then — unless you’re a bassist in an alt-reggae band — we all drift apart from our Jamaican cousin. And it’s too bad, really. Because when it comes it comes to globally distributed pale adjunct lagers, Red Stripe is among the very best.

Purchase: 6-pack of Red Stripe from Festival Foods, $7.49 Style: Adjunct lager

Strength: 4.7 percent ABV Packaging: Red Stripe is one of the world’s all-time classic beer brands. Its white and red logo has been ripped off a thousand times but still looks dignified. And the squat brown bottles are just more fun to drink.

Appearance: It was a little disconcerting to pour Red Stripe into a glass, but thankfully it doesn’t look nearly as ghostly as other macrolagers. In fact, it has an appealingly cloudy gold color and a foamy white head that leaves excellent lacing.

Aroma: There are faint notes of pale malts and European hops along with some indiscriminate grain aromas. Still, it’s a lot more pure than the corn-y aromas of most American adjunct lagers.

Taste: A very clean beer, Red Stripe tastes like dry grains or crackers with some faint

The Best Food & Drink Specials in Town LOCATION

SUNDAY

BODEGA BREW PUB BROTHERS

CLOSED

306 Pearl St. 784-0522

CARLIE'S ON THIRD

$5 domestic pitchers

1914 Campbell Road 782-7764

FEATURES

W3923 State Highway 16 786-9000

FISH'S BAR & GRILL

Bar Menu

TUESDAY

WEDNESDAY

2-Fers, Buy any regularly priced food item and get one of equal or lesser value for free

$4 Rueben Sliders

$1 Wells, $5 Domestic pitchers All specials 9 p.m. to close

Wristband Night: AUC2D domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands. All specials 9 p.m. to close

15-cent wings, $1.50 Keystone Lights, $1.50 rail mixers; $2.50 call drinks. 2 For 1 Captains All specials 9 p.m. to close.

Wristband Night: AUC2D, Domestic taps, rail mixers and Long Islands. $2.50 SoCo & Jack.

All specials 9 to close.

Mug Club 9pm-12:30pm $5 for filled mug $1 Domestic Taps, Rail & Long Islands 12:30-Close Ladies night Free Taps Rails & Long Islands *excludes premium long islands.

Mug Club 9pm-12:30pm $5 for filled mug $1 Domestic Taps, Rail & Long Islands 12:30-Close Ladies night Free Taps Rails & Long Islands *excludes premium long islands.

5 domestic taps for $1; $2 domestic pitchers

$2 domestic pints and $2 rail mixers; $1 shots of Doctor (3 flavors);

All specials 9 to close.

$3 Bacardi mixers; $3 Three Olives vocka mixers (8 flavors); $2 domestic pints and $2 rail mixers

CLOSED

1125 La Crosse St. 784-7400

IMPULSE

214 Main St. 782-6010 www.impulseoflacrosse.com

Free Beer: 5:30-6:30 p.m.

Free Wings: 6:30-7:30 p.m.

Free Bowling: After 9 p.m.

Taco buffet 11-2; $1 Pabst bottles and $1 bowling after 9

All you care to eat pizza buffet, 11-2 (Holmen)

All you care to eat fish fry 4-10; un- Prime rib dinner 4-10; limited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99 unlimited Glow-N-Bowl $9.99

Bar Menu

La Crosse's Best Tacos: Beef $2, Chicken $2.50

La Crosse's Best Tacos: Beef $2, Chicken $2.50 Dog in a Diaper, $5

Fish’s Fish Taco $3.50

La Crosse's Best Tacos: Beef $2, Chicken $2.50 Chimis and Burritos, $5

9 p.m. to close: $1.25 rails, $1.75 bottles/cans

9 p.m. to close: $2 Captain mixers, $2 bottles/cans, $3 Jager bombs

9 p.m. to close: $2 Bacardi mixers, $2 domestic pints, $1.50 shots blackberry brandy

Free Wing Night (while supplies last); $5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close ($7 after 11p.m.):; live DJ

$5 AUC2D Wristbands 9 p.m. to close ($10 after 11p.m.): Domestic Taps, Rail Mixers, Long Islands; Live DJ, Dancing 9 p.m. to close

$5 AUC2D Wristbands 9 p.m. to close ($10 after 11p.m.): Domestic Taps, Rail Mixers, Long Islands; Live DJ, Dancing 9 p.m. to close

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m.

Bar Menu

Ladies Night, $1 off all drinks, 4 to All you can eat boneless wings, inclose; Pint-Aritas $3 (lime or straw- cludes a choice of potatoe, slaw and berry) a frosted pint, 4-9:30 p.m., $8.99

Happy hour 4 to 9 p.m.; 9 p.m. to 9 p.m. to close: $3.50 domestic 9 p.m. to close: $1 rails, $2.50 pitch- $5 all you can drink close: Night Before Class - $3 pitch- pitchers ers, beer pong ers of the beast CLOSED

SATURDAY

Fish Tacos: 1 / $2.50, 2 / $5.00, 3 / $6.50.

Happy Hour: 2 for 1 domestic bottles Karaoke 9 p.m. to close and rail drinks, 3 p.m. to 9 p.m.

All you can eat wings, includes a Wisconsin cheese steak sandwich choice of potatoe, slaw and a frosted with a pint of beer, $8.99 pint, 4-9:30 p.m., $8.99

400 Lang Drive 784-2242

HOWIE’S

CLOSED

FRIDAY

$1.50 domestic taps and rail drinks, Bird Brain Trivia 8 p.m.; $1.50 do- Wing Night - 25-cent wings (dine- $1.50 domestic bottles and rail 4 p.m. to close mestic bottles and rails 4 p.m. to in only); $1 Miller High Life silos and drinks, $2 craft bottles, 4 p.m. to close PBR silos; $1.50 taps and rail drinks; close $2 craft taps. All specials 4 to close.

1452 Caledonia St. 782-6446

FLIPSIDE PUB & GRILL

— Adam Bissen

$2 BBQ Pork Sliders

CLOSED

115 3rd St. S 782-7550

THURSDAY

banana-y sweetness at the back of the tongue.

Then a kiss of noble hops sends it down with a refreshing finish.

Mouthfeel: Light to medium-bodied, the mouthfeel is actually rather creamy with some pleasing carbonation.

Drinkability: This beer is incredibly drinkable. It’s Jamaica’s best gift to the world since, uhh, its bobsledding team.

Ratings: BeerAdvocate grades this a B-, while RateBeer scores it a 63. I think those grades are unduly harsh, and perhaps hold Red Stripe to an unfair standard. This isn’t an artisanal beer — just a clean, easy-drinking lager that you can find anywhere in the world.

And more than that, a bottle will add robust, delicious flavors to any jambalaya.

MONDAY

122 4th St. 782-0677

EAGLES NEST

July 14, 2011 // 9

YOUR GUIDE TO CONSUMPTION

CLOSED

$5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; ($7 after 11p.m.): karaoke 10 p.m. to close

$5 AUC2D wristbands: domestic taps, rail mixers, Long Islands, 9 p.m. to close; ($7 after 11p.m.): karaoke 10 p.m. to close

JB’S SPEAKEASY

$1.75 domestic bottles, $1.75 Dom Monday Madness: $1.75 domestics bottles and rails, $2.50 Bombs and rails, $2.50 Bombs, $1 off all top shelf and specialty beers

SCHMIDTY’S

$1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.)

Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.

SLOOPY'S ALMA MATER 163 Copeland Ave. 785-0245

$1.50 Tacos, $4.99 nachos;: $11 Tacos: $11 buckets during pro and 12-inch pizza $8.99 buckets during pro and college foot- college football games. Happy Hour Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m. ball games.

2 to 6 p.m.; $2 pints all day

14-inch pizza, $2 off; Wings Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.

$1.89 hamburger + toppings Ladies Fish Dinner Special-$7.89 night, 2 for 1 drinks (6-close), Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.

Happy Hour 2 to 6 p.m.

$1.50 Tacos, $4.99 nachos; $11 buckets during pro and college football games.

THE LIBRARY

Wristband Night

$5 Wristbands and $2 Cherry Bombs

$2 bottled beer, double rail mixers & JUMBO long islands, $3 double call mixers & $2.50 shots of Jack Daniels, SoCo & Tuaca

$5 Mug Club (gets you a cup and first drink) with $1 refills & $2.50 Miller Lite bottles and 16oz. silos Ladies Night after 12:30AM, Check it out!

$5 Mug Club (gets you a cup and first drink) with $1 refills & $2.50 Miller Lite bottles and 16oz. silos Ladies Night after 12:30AM, Check it out!

TOP SHOTS 137 4th St. 782-6622

$5 Pitchers/$2 bottles of Miller prod- $1.75 Miller/Bud Light Taps, $2.25 $1.75 Rails, $1.50 Domestic Taps, $2 domestic bottles, $2.50 Skyy/ ucts (11-4pm) $2 Corona Bottles, $2 MIcro/Craft Taps, $2.50 Cherry $3.50 Jager Bombs Absolut mixers, $2 Dr. shots (7-1 Kilo Kai Mixers , $3 Bloodys (7-1 a.m.) Bombs (7-1 a.m.)

(7-1 a.m.) a.m.)

5 Domestic Bottles for $10, $5 $2 Captain Mixers, $2. Long Island Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, $7 Mixers, $3 Effen Vodka Mixers (7-1 Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1 a.m.) a.m.)

$5 Miller/Bud Light Pitchers, $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1 a.m.)

POPCORN TAVERN

$2 Lost Lake cans

$1.75 PBR Bottles $2 Lost Lake cans

$2 Miller Light Bottles $2 Lost Lake cans

$2 Grain Belt $2 Lost Lake cans

$2 Coors & Coors Light Bottles $2.50 Skyy mixers $2 Lost Lake cans

$2 Lost Lake cans

$2 Lost Lake cans

WHO'S ON THIRD

Happy Hour until 10 p.m. $1.50 domestic taps, $2 rails from 10 to close

$1.50 taps PBR, $1.50 rails

$2 domestic bottles, $3 call doubles

$2 taps, $3 Jack and Captain doubles

$2 Miller products, $8.50 fish bowls

$2 domestic taps, $3 Three Olives products

717 Rose St. 796-1161

3119 State Road 788-5110

Hat Night: Buy 1 drink, get 1 free w/ Rail drinks $2 (4:30 to close); Buckets of beer $10, Boston Bobby's Margaritas $4 (Straw, rasp, mango, hat (4:30 to close); $1.50 chili dogs After 8 p.m. specials: $5 skewer of drummies 10 for $2 (4:30 to close), peach and reg); After 8 p.m. specials: (after 8 p.m.) shrimp,l $1.79 burger, $1.50 chili dogs $1.79 burger (after 8 p.m.) $5 skewer of shrimp, $1.79 burger

$1 domestic taps and rail mixers and 1/2 price tequilas

123 3rd St. 784-8020

308 4th St. S. 782-9069

126 3rd St. N. 782-9467

Tuesday Boozeday $1 off all liquor Happy Hour 5 to 7 p.m. drinks and 50 cents off all shots, $2 Bombs

Breakfast 8 a.m. to 2 p.m.; lunch buffet 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., $6.99

10// July 14, 2011

DIVERSIONS

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614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601 Phone: (608) 782-7001 Online: secondsupper.com Publisher: Roger Bartel roger.bartel@secondsupper.com Editor in Chief: Adam Bissen adam.bissen@secondsupper.com Student Editor: Emily Faeth emily.faeth@secondsupper.com Sales: Mike Keith mike.keith@secondsupper.com Sales: Ansel Ericksen ansel.ericksen@secondsupper.com Graphic Designer: Jenn Bushman Regular Contributors: Amy Alkon, Erich Boldt, Mary Catanese, Jason Crider, Ashly Conrad, Ben DeLine, Marcel Dunn, Brett Emerson, Shuggypop Jackson, Jonathan Majak, Matt Jones, Briana Rupel, Julie Schneider, Stephanie Schultz, Nate Willer, Ralph Winrich Second Supper is a weekly alternative newspaper published by Bartanese Enterprises LLC, 614 Main St., La Crosse, WI 54601

1 Hit in the ring 4 Llama lookalike 10 "___ la Vida or Death and All His Friends" (Coldplay album) 14 "Can ___ now?"

15 Play ___ (feign death to trick a predator) 16 "The pressure ___" 17 "Black Swan" footwear 19 NPR correspondent Totenberg 20 "I'd Rather Go Blind" singer ___ James 21 L.A.'s area 23 Schedule abbr.

Second Supper

"Nose Job" Whaddya say?

24 Emotional debate topic 28 Photographer Adams 29 Apprehensive feeling 30 Toast at a bar mitzvah 35 Business execs who crunch numbers 36 Bubble gum sold in pouches 40 Tramp's companion 41 Do story time for (the kids) 42 Deck out 44 Packs down 48 It may be answered with "Who, me?"

53 1988 Dennis Quaid remake

54 "___ Johnny!"

55 Cough syrup amts.

57 Figure skating move 59 What you might say after hearing 17-, 24-, 36- or 48-across?

62 Other, in Spanish 63 Complete 64 Genetic material 65 Reasons 66 Anne Rice vampire 67 Lovemaking

"Set Us Free"— a freestyle vocabulary mix

26 Stomach trouble 27 Quite 31 Possess, to a Scotsman 32 ___ Khan 33 Birth control option 34 ___ World Peace (Ron Artest's newly-proposed name) 36 Talk smack about 37 Image worship 38 Greek wrap 39 Anorak, e.g.

40 Didn't attract attention

DOWN 1 Agree 2 First name in mystery authors 3 "Love Is a Wonderful Thing" singer Michael 4 Mimic 5 Auction section

Answers to June 30 puzzle

25 Taco ___

6 "Hey, over here!"

7 Take ___ in the dark 8 Actress Kaley ___ of "The Big Bang Theory" 9 "...sure plays ___ pinball" 10 Sports announcer Scully 11 Question asked many times in "Marathon Man" 12 "Reversal of Fortune" family name 13 Wreath-like garlands 18 Back muscles 22 Non-solid state: abbr.

43 Traditional Japanese drama 45 Tall tale 46 They're playing to the camera 47 Lying on one's back 49 Pelvic floor exercise 50 "Fame" actress Cara 51 Egg holders 52 Astronaut's outerwear 56 Lay's competitor to Pringles 58 "___ in 'zebra'" 60 Shooting org.

61 "Hill Street Blues" rank: abbr. ©2011 Jonesin' Crosswords (editor@ jonesincrosswords.com)

Second Supper

July 14, 2011 // 11

COMMUNITY

Choke Back

By Brett Emerson brett.emerson@secondsupper.com

I don’t really care who David Prosser is as a person, any more than I have any concern over who any public figure is in real life. Being that Prosser is a politician affiliated with one of the big two political parties in America, his identity is even less relevant. I know that America pushes its ideals of individualism to ridiculous heights (see: giving corporations the rights of people), but its citizens are fantastically deluded in thinking that candidates matter. If there’s a D and an R on the ballot, you’re voting for a party and not a person.

Justice Prosser, recently reelected (in theory) to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, is an R, and he’s jumped right into line with the rest of the Rs who have lost their minds and are dead set on imposing Dark Ages corporate Sharia law upon all us unworthy plebeians. The Republican Party hates the Taliban for its freedom.

I’m no fan of violence in the workplace, but if Justice Prosser wasn’t one of those hard Rs the recent allegations of him choking his fellow justice would have flown past all of our radars and remained a quiet matter for the authorities to deal with. As it stands, Prosser is a key part of the Republican Party’s attempt to create a one-party system in Wisconsin, which is a key part of the Republican Party’s attempt to create a one-party system in the United States, and so on.

So I’m going to say something that goes against the spirit of American justice: whether Prosser choked his colleague or not, I hope the allegations ruin his career. I hope David Prosser becomes the O.J. Simpson of the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Because as a judge, he’s not a person, but an R, and right now the Rs are the arrogant, entitled, aristocratic, authoritarian enemies of freedom, and their rampage must be stopped.

In one thing, all the right wing hate speech is absolutely correct: At the moment, we’re living in a culture war, and there are only two, individual-less, sides to the conflict. There are the Republicans, fueled by aristocrats, zealots, and lackeys – and there is everyone else.

Everyone else, this is a fight, so fight to win.

You know who’s doing it right? Minnesota. Instead of doing the time-honored Democrat Kowtow, Gov. Mark Dayton stuck to his guns, refused to budge on taxing the rich, and let the Republicans shoot their hostage. And good for him. Let the Re-

publicans expose themselves as bastards so fixated on giving the rich a free ride that they’re willing to destroy the entire Minnesota government to get their way. Shit, the national government almost went into the same hole because the Republican Party hates women (see: Planned Parenthood).

Why not defuse the Republican bomb by calling its bluff and blowing it up? What leverage does shrapnel have?

Still, I hate placing my faith in any person in any position of power. So you know who else is doing it right? Every person who is still sufficiently pissed off in Wisconsin to keep fighting Scott Walker’s hostile takeover of the state. It’s goddamn disheartening to see that the governor is so callous and programmed that the shouting of hundreds of thousands of angry protesters has rolled off his back like oil off a BP duck. It’s infuriating to see the Wisconsin R continue its unlubed gangbang of the state’s civil liberties and its citizens’ way of life (see: proposed redistricting, concealed carry). But getting infuriated has led to the people of Wisconsin standing up, getting awesome, and becoming the pinnacle of today’s American Dream.

By the way: hey, James Smith, you f***ing scumbag, how’d sabotaging La Crosse’s recall election work out for you?

But here’s the problem: All of us in the way of right wing treads are facing some seriously crooked opposition who will destroy anyone in their way (see: Andrew Breitbart vs. Anthony Weiner). Against such ruthless assholes, we kind of have to take our victories where we can get them.

So when the swing vote in the Wisconsin Supreme Court goes to a dubiously elected R who immediately smacks down a good chunk of the protesters’ progress, a well-timed story about said Justice Prosser, as the slang goes, choking a bitch provides great ammo that we’d be fools not to use.

Am I wrong for hoping that he actually did it?

My fellow Anti-Republicans, whatever you do, don’t quit. Don’t stop fighting.

Fight clean if you can, but don’t be afraid to fight dirty if you must.

Recall Election

Primary Votes By County County

Shilling

Smith

La Crosse

17,686 (70.1) 7,334 (29.3)

Vernon

4,247 (68)

2,001 (32)

Crawford

2,346 (73.4)

849 (26.6)

Monroe

711 (65.3)

377 (34.7)

Richland

348 (77.2)

103 (22.8)

Totals

25,338 (70.4) 10,664 (29.6)

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Good People, Good Drinks, Good Times

SUNDAY

$5 Pitchers $2 Bottles of Miller Products (11-4 pm) $2 Corona Bottles $2 Kilo Kai Mixers $3 Bloody’s (7-1am)

MONDAY

$1.75 - Miller/Bud Taps $2.25 Micro/Craft Taps $2.50 Cherry Bombs (7-1am)

TUESDAY

$1.75 Rails $1.50 Domestic Taps $3.50 Jager Bombs (7-1am)

SATURDAY

WEDNESDAY

$2 Domestic Bottles $2.50 Skyy/Absolute Mixers $2 Dr. Shots (7-1am)

THURSDAY

5 Domestic Bottles 4 $10 $5 Micro/Import Bottles $11.50, $7 Micro/Craft Pitchers (7-1am)

$5 Miller Lite/Bud Light Pitchers $2.25 Leinies Bottles (7-1am)

FRIDAY

$2 Captain Mixers $2 Long Islands Mixers (7-1am)

12// July 14, 2011

Second Supper

THE LAST WORD

The Advice Goddess

By Amy Alkon amy.alkon@secondsupper.com

Putting spark plugs in the relationship

Five years ago, My Love and I shared our first kiss. Since then, we’ve been seeing each other three times a week for an hour. We spend this hour in his truck being intimate. We love each other. We talk about getting married, how we’ll spend our retirement years, where we’ll live, what our lives will be like. Unbidden, he promised that last year’s Christmas would be the last we’d spend apart, that our life together would begin this year. I’ve been ready for this step for three years. But, as the months fly by, he speaks less of this, and I’m increasingly despondent that we’ve wasted another year. We’re both married to other people. Neither of us has children. I know our lives are complicated, but doesn’t it come down to knowing what you want? Should I wait to see if he will be true to his promise?

— Waiting For My Love

Men sometimes make extravagant gestures for love. Heathcliff wandered the

moors calling Cathy’s name until he froze to death. King Edward VIII ditched the throne to marry Wallis Simpson. Emperor Shah Jahan built the Taj Mahal as an “elegy in marble” to his late wife. And then there’s your guy, who has yet to spring for sheets, pillowcases and a headboard.

Sorry, but you don’t have a relationship; you have sex in a guy’s truck. You can call the guy “My Love,” but he’s given you no reason to believe he’ll make good on his promise to take your relationship to the next level (the sidewalk?) by Christmas 2010 — or Groundhog Day 2020. You know very well that this is one of the oldest stories in the world. Yeah, sure, he’ll leave his wife for you. Eventually. When the time is right.

When the moon is in the seventh house, and dogs fly and pigs read aloud from the encyclopedia.

Your guy has the wheels; the thing that’s stopping him from speeding to a divorce lawyer is probably the same thing that always has: any need whatsoever to do it. Five years in, you have yet to demand (or even ask) that he leave his wife — let alone hop out of the truck and take you to Denny’s. And sorry to say it, but other women walk away with $50 for the service you’re providing. What do you go home with, more pretty talk about how you’ll spend your retirement years? (Lemme guess: feeding the meter?)

Not surprisingly, you spin this in the way that protects your ego: This is your great love, not pretty good sex in a Walmart parking lot. The truth is, you don’t even know the guy outside the confines of the

truck cab. Clinging to your fantasy future with him allows you to duck the looming questions in your present: What do you have with your husband, and should you try to repair your marriage or get out? Be honest about your situation and what you need to do. That’s how you might someday have a Love who makes good on his promises — and not just the easy ones, like moving a little to the side so you won’t go back to the office with “Built Ford Tough” pressed into your left calf.

they have access to a particular substance or implement, but because they’re people who do bad things. I didn’t invent the use of alcohol in dating, and I don’t write as if people reading me are stupid. Countless people drink on dates every day without any need for prosecutor involvement. They do exactly what this guy needs to do: Have a couple beers with a girl so he’ll have the guts to kiss her, and so she’ll be relaxed enough to be kissed (and by “relaxed” I mean so she’s giggly, not so she’s unconscious).

Sloshed In translation

Got a problem? Send an e-mail to AdviceAmy@aol. com (www.advicegoddess.com)

I’m a man who was deeply disturbed by your advice for “Not A Player” to “get some drinks in a girl” as a way to make moves on her. For my job, I took a class on preventing sexual assault, and learned that most sexual assaults include alcohol use by the assailant or victim. Your advice normalized the calculated use of alcohol in dating. I’m hoping you’ll rethink this and run a correction.

— Frustrated Reader

I wrote, “Get some drinks in a girl, then casually touch her arm a few times,” not “casually rape her in the alley.” The guy signed himself “Not A Player” because he has all the mojo of a lost kitten. My worry wasn’t that he’d date rape the girl, but that he’d end the evening by giving her a little wave and running away. Yes, alcohol is often involved in sexual assaults. A knife can be used to cut an apple or mug your granny. People don’t do bad things because

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