Oktoberfest

Last week the NSEA -- the Nebraska teachers' union -- said they are endorsing Dave Heineman and Tom White in 2010.

Hmm. OK. But, over a YEAR before the election? Really?

Does this make it official that the Dems have NO ONE to go against Governor Dave? That they're not even going to try?

Of course, former Dem Chair Steve Achepohl put it best when talking about Democrat candidate recruitment:

"I'm not God."

***

One thing you gotta love about a freed-up Joe Jordan is that he has time to JUST stir the political pot.

The new Nebraska Watchdog reporter snagged Lee Terry recently, and got him to knock the Matt Sakalosky campaign. Terry confirmed that Sakalosky is going to make him spend money in the primary that he would otherwise be spending in the general against the Dems.



Lee said that Sakalosky is only going to "soften me up" for Tom White.

Jordan asked if it isn't the "whatever doesn't kill me makes me stronger" adage.

Terry responded, "no".

And in politics, that's really true, no?

(Open question:) When has a primary challenge made the winner stronger in the general?

Not Ronald Reagan vs Gerald Ford, in '76.
Not Ted Kennedy vs Jimmy Carter in '80.
Not Pat Buchanan vs George H.W. Bush in '92.

All Presidential examples, but you get the gist.

A few that were suggested to us (when we put the question out to local politicos):

• Clifton Batchelder "damaged" Governor Norbert Tiemann in '70. The close race (Tiemann won the primary with only 50.51%) split the party so badly that Tiemann went on to lose the General to J.J. Exon.
• Mort Sullivan "softened up" Kay Orr in '90? Though while one would say that Sullivan wasn't a "real" challenger, the issues of taxes and Boyd Co. maybe came up sooner.
• Tom Osborne "strengthened" Dave Heineman in '06? Though, there's a question as to whether the General landslide would have been any different without the tough primary.

Please add your thoughts in the comments.

***

And how about the Omaha Police Union giving Mayor Jim Suttle a big, "Don't F*** with us!" with their recent poll.

(First of all, what the hell is the police union doing, out there polling political issues? Really? That's what they're there for? "To Serve, Protect, and Call you at dinner time, If you're a Likely Voter")

So along with questions about whether spiking should be eliminated (because that's how the issue should be resolved -- ask John Q. Voter), they asked, "Would you support a recall of Mayor Suttle?"

Oh, and now they're not releasing the results.

Really, police union, wouldn't it be easier to just shove Suttle into his locker as you pass him in the hallway on the way to gym?

***

Rebekah Davis has a new website up for her Third District Congressional run.

Oh, and she's a very thoughtful Democrat.

How do we know this?

Because on the splash page she has a photo of herself , only half in the picture, tousled hair, looking down and away:

It's called ART people!
She's contemplative!
What more do you need to know?

***

In the OWH today, regarding Senator Ben Nelson talking to people in Scottsbluff:

Nelson opened his remarks by busting a few myths about the proposed legislation.

Among them, he said, is the myth that a new law would cover illegal immigrants.
“It will not,'' he said, because he would vote against it.

We will leave it up to those of you who have studied Logic (and politics) to parse Nelson's statement there.

***

Jim Esch is asking people to give money to the Dem candidate for Governor of Hawaii.

Heh?

That's right. A current House Rep from Hawaii, who is running for Governor, is coming to the Field Club in Omaha to raise money.

Uh...Ok...Because why wouldn't he, right?..

Of course, the more interesting thing, is the apology Esch adds to (former) supporters in his email:

"I am sure there are a few of you that are not terribly happy with me. If you are one of those, people, please accept my apology.

My decision to become an independent was not meant to be a reflection on those who supported me and worked so hard to get me elected. Instead, it was decision of conscience and the beginning of a long journey to fundamentally change our political system.

I don’t believe in the two-party system, and I see no reason to pretend otherwise.

There was probably a better way to handle this decision, but the damage is done. However, please know that I am forever grateful for all you did for me.

I hope with time you will understand this decision."

And this is all fine and good, and we've heard a variation of this before, but he doesn't "believe in the two-party system"?

What's the alternative? Italy? (Hawaii?)

September Morn

We are still watching the machinations around the State Treasurer's race.

As you know, former Attorney General Don Stenberg is committing to it, and is ready to go all out to win. (Though frankly, having been AG, and coming very close for U.S. Senate...Treasurer? Really?)

Then there's state Senator Tony Fulton of Lincoln who is also going full bore with a run, and should announce soon.

Fulton may very well have the backing of some bigger names, and word is he has a campaign manager lined up in one Jessica Moenning (she of the former Pete Ricketts for Senate camp).

The Norfolk Daily News tells us that Moenning and her husband, Rep. Fortenberry communications director Josh Moenning, just moved the fam to Norfolk, and will be running ops out of there. (Maybe better keep a condo in Lincoln though, no?)

The same list of GOPers are apparently still interested -- Janssen, Langemeier, Cornett. We'd heard Dave Nabity's name thrown out, though we're assured that he's not interested.

As far as the Dems go, we saw that state Senator Amanda McGill plans on running for re-election to the Uni, so looks like no Treasurer's gig for her (which we'd heard rumors of). Other than her, we have heard musing of state Sen. Danielle (Nantkes) Conrad and, of course, cowpoke Scott Kleeb -- though no confirmation on either.

Will the Dems really throw in the towel for this spot? Do they remember where the likes of Kay Orr and Dave Heineman have come from?

***

And just curious, but are there ANY Dems who will take on Governor Dave Heineman?

Really?

Well, apparently Tom White will have their full attention then...

***

After the whole budget debacle in Omaha, this Tweet from (Democrat) City Councilman Pete Festersen last week:

Budget is over. Good news is $500k for dundee, $500k for florence, and $500k for benson.
10:35 AM Sep 17th from txt

Now kids, keep in mind that Festersen voted AGAINST Mayor Suttle's budget. Yet....yet...he's happy about money "going to" different parts of his City Council District?

Ya know, last time we checked, Festersen is not in Congress. He's not even in the legislature. Yet he is pumping his chest out about, what, making sure money goes to certain parts of the city? So now the council is pitting parts of the city against each other?

We could understand this sort of parochialism in a city like New York or L.A., but Omaha? So if it's "good news" that Benson got half a million, is it bad news if South O gets $750,000? And what does he mean that there is five hundred thousand dollars "for" each neighborhood? Is he going door to door with a bag of money?

We all know that Festersen is using his Council seat as a launching pad for Bigger & Better, but making declarations like this (on Twitter for gawd's sake) is already setting a bad precedent. (And if other councilmen have done it, same for them.)

***

Well the Jim Suttle for Mayor campaign is in full swing.

The WHAT you ask?

Well, you need only go to JimSuttle.com to find his "100 Days" accomplishments PDF doc. (We searched and searched but we couldn't find a reference to 1) raising Property Taxes; 2) Matt Samp or; 3) the bright red Dodge Durango listed anywhere...).

Or you can go to Suttle's FaceBook page -- where you can see the Jeff Koterba cartoon showing Suttle riding on the back of the Fire truck - HAR HAR HAR (and of course, note who put up comments on another page).

You can go to the Jim Suttle Twitter page, linking all those pages.

Or you can just sit back and watch your email box fill up with the "Jim Suttle campaign newsletter", paid for by JimSuttle.com

So much social-networking, with so little time for the busy Mayor. Of course, we know HE'S not updating those sites.

So who is???

***

Speaking of the ubiquitous Mayor, we were fishing around the NADC site and saw these post-May 12th Election Day contributions for Jim Suttle on Schedule B, which caught our eyes:

$5,000
PJ MORGAN REAL ESTATE
7801 WAKELEY PLAZA
Omaha NE 68114

$30,000
FIREFIGHTERS FOR BETTER GOVERNMENT
6005 Grover Street,
OMAHA NE 68106

Oh, and in the "Expenditures" section in Schedule B, there was this:
6/16/09
SUREPAYROLL PD $850:
RONALD PENZKOWSKI

(emphasis ours...)

Two tickets to paradise

**UPDATE 9/18/09 12:30pm**

According to Nebraska Watchdog, Lee Terry's campaign manager has asked Fahleson to rescind the ticket offer. That makes Tom White happy.

(Which is actually perfect, because it makes Terry the "good guy" and Fahleson takes the hits, per the job description.)

***

A year from now the 2nd District Congressional race will really be heating up.

Today? Meh. We get stuff like this:

Nebraska GOP Chair Mark Fahleson took to his personal blog, Mark That Down, to ask his readers to scan Democrat Tom White's financial filing to see if there's anything in there worth discussing.

In return, said Fahleson, the person with the best info would get two tickets to Nebraska vs Kansas State.

So what does Tom White do in response? Well, he of course takes his "case" to the social media: Facebook and Daily Kos.

But what is it exactly that White is complaining about? He says that the GOP is making personal attacks against him and his family? "Kneecapping"? Huhwha?

Fahleson asked people to look over White's disclosure. Well, guess what: the reason for filing this public document is so that the public can look it over and see if there is anything untoward in it.

White also doesn't like Fahleson's request that people send in info about Tom White campaigning negatively. (In other words, bad campaigning that White is doing.)

And in case you didn't know, White thinks these are all "Karl Rove-style tactics".

So this is what it's come to? You run crying to Facebook when someone looks at your FEC report?

When you see Tom White waving his hands at 72nd and Dodge, you'll know that someone sent him a Twitter with a frowny face.

***

But onto more political calculations, what about Fahleson's offer of tickets for someone's work?

Well, honestly, we're not crazy about the offer, in general (no matter how bad K. State may be at the time). Does it pass the smell test?

On average, we would guess that people aren't crazy about the idea of political muck-raking quid-pro-quo. (And is the NEGOP really that bereft of staffers?)

Then again, another way to look at it is, "Hey, in the end, this has gotten great PR! White is talking about it. Scott Voorhees is talking about it. You're reading about it. Now, even more people can dive in!"

Well...maybe. But is this really the best doc to throw all that into? Is there really that much there? I know, maybe that's the question. But maybe it would have been better left to a different topic. Then again, who knows. Maybe it is.

But one should figure that this is the document that people will be really diving at, so you better make it worth it.

Unless, of course, there are Oklahoma tickets on the line.

***

"RECALL!" is the word of the day. As in Mayor. As in Omaha.

Well, not necessarily a call for it. Yet.

But a whether it should even BE a discussion.

Joe Jordan, on the Nebraska Watchdog, interviewed Congressman Lee Terry to see what he thought.

Terry responded that he thought the discussion was a little early. Interesting.

(And then Kyle over at the NNN threw up in his mouth when he realized that he just agreed with Lee Terry on something.)

Of course, maybe a more politically adept answer would have been, "I don't know, that seems early. But ultimately it will be up to the Omaha voters to decide."

In any case, let's say that the wheels are already in motion, and that the "Recall Suttle" thing WILL happen.

Jordan lets us know that, "anyone circulating a recall petition would have 30 days to collect 26,642 valid signatures. Following a successul petition drive Suttle could choose to either resign or stand for election. If he ran and lost, another election would be held to choose Suttle’s successor."

So, that begs the question... who would run as Suttle's succesor?

Hmm.

***

OK, here's who we'll throw out:

Hal Daub -- a given, right? Like he would take the last loss lying down. Would people give him ONE MORE chance?

Jim Vokal -- probalby. He's set himself up via his OmaPac, and not leaving the Omaha political scene. But would he be willing to risk a second straight loss, if it wasn't guaranteed?

Dave Nabity -- the main proponent of the anti-Fire union gang. Nabity himself notes that he'd have to move his family. But you'd think that if he was willing to move to Lincoln, he'd be willing to move to Omaha.

P.J. Morgan -- Hmm. He's interested in the Douglas County Board, but of course he'd take the Mayor's office. And you'd think he'd be willing to take on Daub. But could voters be convinced to take him back after the way he left?

Dan Welch -- If other heavy hitters were in, probably not. Most think that Welch is more interested in the 2nd Congressional seat, should it come available. But there's always a chance.

The rest of the Omaha City Council -- you KNOW they all think they could run the city. But after Suttle, would voters give any a shot?

Now, we may or may not be on more of the Lee Terry slant here -- Suttle could certainly come back before a serious recall petition.

But dangit, what fun is it to sit back and pooh-pooh such things?! Lean in and give us YOUR suggestions on who would run and who could win!

***

To see a Mayor Jim Suttle who is VERY proud of raising taxes to balance the budget, check out KMTV's Brian Roberts and his full twenty-five minute interview with Suttle here.

And we would also steer you back to Joe Jordan's Nebraska Watchdog site for a more thorough discussion of what Jim Suttle knew and when did he know it regarding Omaha's finances during his election campaign.

***

Finally, how about MJ this week? (No, not the one in the NBA Hall.)

Nebraska Senator Mike Johanns pushed through an amendment in the Senate denying funds to ACORN, after their foray in pimpin', whorin' and voter fraudin'.

Then he was on the floor of the Senate today getting his amendment into the Department of Interior Appropriations Act. California Senator Dianne Feinstein suggested that a simple voice-vote be taken on Johanns's ACORN amendment, because, well, it was pretty clear that everyone (80+ Senators) was for it.

MJ got up and suggest to Feinstein that, no, a full recorded vote should be taken on the important issues, so that the American people knew where Senators stood on the issue.

(Oh, and so Senators like Feinstein couldn't have their cake and tell ACORNers that they were really on their side...)

Feinstein then suggested that the amendment wasn't even really needed, since there was no ACORN funding in the bill.

MJ got up and again, thinking on his feet on the Senate floor, pointed out that as a former Ag Secretary, he knew that once appropriations went out, they could often be spent however one wished. So unless there was specific language BARRING ACORN from receiving federal funds, you just never knew.

So here's to Mike Johanns.

Knowing how to make a point. Knowing the political score. And knowing how things really work in Washington.

And looking quiet and humble while kicking ass.

Take five minutes of your time and watch it here.



***

And GO HUSKERS!!!

9/11/09

Remember.

***

On a lighter note, the boys from Dragnet give a little lesson...



***

And finally, so we can all understand the Omaha budget mess, KMTV Economist/Reporter Molli Graham explains:



(We kid, we kid. You're one of our favorites Molli.)

Is Tom White running as an (I)?

**UPDATE 10:20 PM **

***
Tom White announced his run for the 2nd District Congressional seat, held by Representative Lee Terry, today.

In his announcement (apparently hosted by one of our fellow bloggers), White says:

"It's time for independent, effective leadership."

"...I know that with my unwavering independence..."

The word missing from his announcement -- and oh by the way, missing from his website, TomWhite2010.com , is...

DEMOCRAT.

Are we missing something here? Has White joined the Jim Esch Independent party? Does he plan to reject any help from the DCCC? Would he give the Heisman to any help offered by the POTUS?

Well, of course we know the answer to this.

Oh sure, White tells the OWH that he "loves the word 'nonpartisan.'".

Apparently he also loves the words, "load of crap".

You see, White is hoping hoping hoping he can take a page out of Ben Nelson's campaign book and pretend that he's not a Democrat. And Nelson's had some success in that vein. (Though not in EVERY race.)

But White doesn't exactly have the same political pedigree as Nelson. (Oh, and most people like Nelson, personally.)

So after Congressional candidate Richard Carter left the Dems...
And Congressional candidate Jim Esch left the Dems
And Tom White won't acknowledge that he IS a Dem...
Q: What's a REAL Democrat to do?

A: Oh, they'll be supporting White. Vigorously.

So don't be fooled. OK?

***

Oh, and remember that DNC "ad" (has it made it beyond YouTube?) claiming that Lee Terry voted to end Medicare?

Well, the non-partisan FactCheck.org has declared that claim: FALSE.

"The proposal is similar to one endorsed a decade ago by the National Bipartisan Commission on the Future of Medicare. It is controversial, to be sure: Most Democrats don’t like it, and not all Republicans do either. It’s a plan to change Medicare significantly but not to "abolish" it."

We won't get into all the details -- that's what they're for -- but you can feel free to read the lengthy piece on the "Senior Scare" here.

***

Toga! Toga! Toga!

Speaking of Ben Nelson, The Politico has a feature on the Top Party Animals in DC.

It notes that when in DC, you can find Nelson "grabbing drinks at Capitol Hill joints such as Charlie Palmer Steak or Sonoma wine bar."

They also note that Nelson will be receiving "a lifetime achievement award from the annual D.C.’s Funniest Celebrity contest."

Nelson likes to pull the occasional prank, and of them, this is one of the funnier that we've heard:

"...he tricked Hillary Clinton minutes before she was to be sworn in as senator by telling her she also needed to recite a Bible passage."

(Just thinking of the look on Hillary's face as she's fretting, "Bible passage? Bible passage??...Bible passage...Bible passage...uh....")

Thinking Twenty-Ten

So there's a new ad by the DNC (and actual ad buy related to it, or just a YouTube vid? Hmm....).

And the national Dems want you to know that Lee Terry is doing a crackerjack job.

No? Oh, well. Watch for yourself:



For those of you who don't want to bother, the spot makes these claims:

"Republicans want to end Medicare!"
"Congressman Lee Terry: No Friend of Seniors"

Now...

We weren't going to even post this worthless spot, because its so obsequious (we're pulling out Roget's on this one).

But this ad should really be a learning tool for all pols who pay attention:

Claims like these are silly, ineffectual, unbelieveable, and may even work the other way.

Why (you are shouting)?

Because no rational voter believes this. See, the Dems here are convinced that you, Old Person, are so gullible that if it's on TV it must be true. But what has happened instead is that because you make these ridiculous claims (Republicans want to end Social Security! Republicans hate children! Republicans want you to live on the street!), pretty soon all anyone hears is another cry of "Wolf!!!".

So people will read the rest of the story. What did Lee really vote for here? Oh, to cut the President's bloated budget? And it didn't pass because the House Dems just want to spend more of your tax money? Got it.

See, that was easy, huh? Rinse Repeat.

***

Oh, and Tom White is going to "officially" announce his candidacy tomorrow. No word yet as to whether the OWH or LJS can find a more flattering photo of him.

***

The new Nebraska Watchdog website is up -- run by Joe Jordan, produced by Joe Jordan and, reporting live, Joe Jordan.

(Well, actually Joseph Fenton Jordan, according to his YouTube site).

This is the new endeavor by Pete Ricketts and the non-profit Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity. In the initial page, you can see stories about MECA, Pete Festersen, and an on-camera interview with Matt Sakalosky, among others.

The site also has a blog up by Jordan, though it's not too apparent how different this is from the rest of the stories.

Freed up from the TV parameters, it would seem that Jordan can give a little more time for some straight opinion points -- that P.J. Morgan could use a seat on the County Board as a stepping stone for a freed-up Omaha Mayor's office; that a lack of any Dems to run for state offices will free up Dem money for Tom White's attacks on Lee Terry. (A point that WE were going to make today. DAMN YOU Jordan!!!)

It is not clear how often Jordan will be updating the site -- Daily? Weekly? Or if there will be other features. But we've enjoyed Joe Jordan's work in the past and hopefully it will be a new source for you and for us on a continuing basis.

***

Is it...ALIVE?

Fresh from our update on Friday about possible Nebraska State Treasurer candidates we get this one from our sources:

Scott Kleeb. Oh yeah.

If the blogging gods are listening, please note that we will be sacrificing a Runza on the altar this afternoon.

***

Oh and remember how Omahans voted to not let the Qwest Center be paid for raising property taxes? And remember how Mayoral candidate Jim Suttle promised to lower your property taxes?

Well, we're told (though this is, ahem, on background with no on the record verification, so hey, this could be 100% rumor) that Councilman Jerram and Mayor Suttle have come to an agreement:

Jerram is going to pull the satellite ordinance leaving a $2,000,000 gap. Suttle WILL NOT veto the budget. The Council then has no further say since there is no veto for them to override.

The gap will automatically be filled with property tax increases per the City Charter, resulting in an increase of just over 4 cents.

And then everyone gets to yell, "Whadn't my fault!!"

Don's last stand

Former Nebraska Attorney General and U.S. Senate candidate Don Stenberg is expressing interest in the State Treasurer's job that Shane Osborn will be leaving next year.

You gotta think this would be Don's last shot, right?

• 1996's GOP Senate primary didn't work out for him.
• Then he came within 2% of Ben Nelson in the 2000 Senate race.
• But after coming in second to Pete Ricketts in the 2006 GOP Senate primary, we were sure that he would call it quits in the elective political world.

So why would the Treasurer's gig interest him? A launching pad for a future Governor's or Senate run? Possible we guess.

The OWH is throwing out -- " Tony Fulton of Lincoln, Sen. Abbie Cornett of Bellevue, Chris Langemeier of Schuyler and Deb Fischer of Valentine", as interested.

The LJS notes state Sen. Charlie Janssen of Fremont as well.

And we've heard at least two other Dem State Senators who are interested (setting up a potential cat-fight).

In other words, this is the type of race that many would be interested in, the likes of a Don Stenberg in there or not.

So while Stenberg undoubtedly has the top statewide name ID, Nebraskans often show that they're interested in moving forward in politics -- not hanging onto a name of the past.

It will most likely be THE primary race of the year.

***

On that note, we extend our congratulations to Shane Osborn on a job well-done.

He ticked off a successful list of accomplishments in his term as State Treasurer:

• Unclaimed property;
• Transparency website;
• Shrank the size of the office;
• Shrank his budget;
• Implemented a day reconciliation for bank receipts.

People who never paid attention to the Treasurer's office before saw successes there, and could actually see government working FOR them. What a quaint idea.

We wish Shane the best and look forward to seeing him again in the political world down the road.

***

(OK, non-Omahans: Note that we led off with two statewide stories before hitting the Omaha budget stuff? Don't say we don't look out for ya!)

So here's our question, Omahans: Satellite dishes? Really?

Omaha is going to balance its budget on the backs of satellite dish owners?

And this idea came to Councilman Chris Jerram while he was out jogging? Hmm.

Now if he'd said he was going to put a new tax on all fast-food deep-fryers -- because, well, you know, observation and stuff -- we wouldn't have been surprised.
(We kid Councilman, we kid. Sort of.)

But really, that's also the point right? Why NOT french fryers? Or a tax on flag pole installers. Or on picture hangers. You name it.

After making up several reasons the other day on the news, Jerram admitted as much saying, basically that they would implement the new fee because they could, and that it would be a revenue source.

Forget that NO ONE saw this coming. That no one in the business had any information about this or has had the opportunity to comment on it yet. Or that the statistics that Jerram is basing this all on came from the competitors of the satellite dish biz. (By the way, Pepsi has an excellent idea for how you can tax Coke products.)

Or if it will even work.

We're a little suspicious that this half-assed proposal is just set up there so the Mayor can veto it, and then the other taxes will automatically take its place.

***

And don't even get us started on the "voluntary" furloughs.

Look, here's what SHOULD happen: Either you cut enough so that you don't have to raise taxes, or if you do have to raise taxes, spread it around evenly.

Should city workers take the only hit? And we're talking about city workers who are supposed to be doing the job, and we are assuming that they shouldn't be cut.

Should you balance the city budget because you have a perfectly legal satellite dish?

Or should property taxes go up -- for EVERYONE in the city?

***

Well, guess what kids, that's what's likely to happen. And the Mayor is going to tell you that HE didn't do it, or some such other B.S.

But you know what? The Mayor SHOULD own the tax increase. And you know what else? He should SELL it that way.

It's called leadership.

The Mayor should be telling the public that if Omaha wants it's AAA bond rating and it's budget balanced, and pools open and libraries open, then taxes will HAVE to be raised. (For argument's sake, we're leaving out the whole 4 men on a firetruck issue.)

And then the Mayor should say,

"There is only one way to equally spread around a tax increase, and that's through property taxes.

If you own a home, you'll pay more. If you rent, the property owner will pass the higher costs through. Times are tough and we all have to suck it in.

And if Omahans want a great city with the type of things a great city has, then ALL it's people are going to have to give a little more.

And I'll be DAMNED if I'm going to balance this budget on the backs of a few city workers, who I can guarantee aren't making top dollars. Or on people who wanted to get the NFL Sunday Ticket.

If an extra fifty bucks a year for a $200,000 house stinks, then so be it. You come to ME to complain. Here's my phone number. You know where I work.

But when you take your kids to the pool or the library or to the curb while your garbage is being picked up, you can also thank the city for these services.

We've had good times and we've had rough times. We'll weather them all. Together."

Or some such.

And the point here isn't that we're in favor of new taxes. Frankly, maybe it's 100% the fault of the fire union, and putting 3 men on a truck would be the silver bullet.

But if the Mayor won't go that route, then he has to man-up and show some leadership.

Enough of this "the citizens are the stockholders" crap. If you're the Mayor, you take responsibility.

(And by the way, enough of being "elated" when someone suggests a new tax. HATE taxes. Despise new taxes. But we're living in a society where they're necessary if we want this quality of life. And blah blah blah. We have to give this advice? Really?)

But for gawd's sake, if you were elected then TAKE A FREAKING STAND.

***

Oh, and have a great weekend.
And GO HUSKERS!!!!!