West Bend Strikes Again

By Jeff Simpson 

With the over abundance of testing in our public schools, there has been a movemento to limit testing that has even reached the White House.

While it is consuming the country, the one place it apparently has not reached is West Bend, WI.  The backwards land, represented so well by racist Republican Bob Gannon, is back at it again,

 A social studies teacher, Tanya Lohr, had some concerns about their new testing program called Galileo.  Ms. Lohr feels that there are some flaws in the system and wanted to address them with the administration.   In order to be heard, she did what our democracy affords her to do, she drew up a petition and had her fellow teachers sign it.

One Voice speaks louder than 100 individual voices.



However, as we explained earlier, this is West Bend, and the Administration and School Board of the district handled it like you would think they would.   They sat down with Ms, Lohr and discussed where she felt the problems were  and worked on ways to address them to make sure we are getting the most and best information about our kids when we are evaluating their progress.

They suspended Ms. Lohr with pay.

That sent a nice do not talk to us about your area of expertise, we do not want to hear it message to their staff!

That led to the packed house at the School Board meeting, where there was a huge show of support for Ms. Lohr.

In front of a packed West Bend School District School Board meeting Monday night, there was an outpouring of support for Lohr.

• "This teacher puts her students` needs all ahead of her own," one parent said.

• Some members of the community came to Lohr's defense, believing Lohr was doing what is best for the students.

"What is happening to our democracy when teachers are not allowed to circulate a petition?" Joy Schroeder said.
Kimberly Roemer launched her own petition, gathering 1,100 signatures to get Lohr back in the classroom. At Monday's school board meeting, she expressed her disgust toward district decision-makers.
"I think at this point, there`s very little concern about our teachers and our children," Roemer said.

After the outpouring, and another petition calling for Ms. Lohr to be reinstated, Republican activist and School Board President Randy Marquardt, reading a condescending and snarky statement,  announced that Ms. Lohr will be returning to her classroom.

“As you’re aware of the ongoing investigation into possible policy violations of a member of the high school. While no decision has been made regarding this matter it is clear from the information that has been supplied to this board there is significant and outright false information being published about this matter. By law the district unfortunately cannot address and correct the specific misleading or false information because as the employer the district does not have the same rights  as public employees to go public and share with others their version of the facts of the personnel matter.
This inability to publicly address the situation and correct the inaccurate information that’s being communicated by these individuals puts the district at a significant disadvantage.
This district can not utilize social media in the same manner and to the same extent as the supporters of the employee who apparently don’t care what the facts really are as long as they can blame the administration for the situation and absolve the employee of any responsibility for the choices she made regarding her own behavior.
The district holds all staff members to standards of behavior that this community has the right to expect of any employee of the district regardless of the subject matter of an interaction between a staff member and an administrator.
When the administration receives information that those standards may not have been upheld the board expects the administration will conduct a thorough investigation of the matter that is exactly what is happening here.
The board fully supports the administrative actions in investigating this situation.
Finally we also agree with the administration recommendation to place Miss Lohr back in her classroom immediately.”

(WBEA response to Mr. Marquardt is here).

I guess the School Board and Adminstration, want the children of West Bend, to grow up to be as ignorant as Bob Gannon.

More from Tanya Lohr!

Tanya Lohr is ABSOLUTELY, THE best person to be the next Senator from the 20th Wisconsin state senate district!!

Support her here and VOTE for he November 6th!

The Republicans' Slow But Steady Downward Spiral

With just over 30 days out from Election Day, the Republicans are already in a spin mode that is often associated with the downward spiral that happens just before the crash and burn mode kicks in.

And it's happening on all levels.

On the state level, Tanya Lohr has gotten Glenn Grothman all flustered. He's in such a panic that he sent out a sloppy email begging for help. And in a move that makes this old man's eyes twinkle in pleasure, Lohr deftly used his own words against him in her own email blast:

Dear Volunteer,

We've finally flushed Glenn Grothman out from hiding! He couldn't ignore the strong presence of our campaign any longer. In fact, in the fundraising letter he just sent out he stated, "While she failed to get the signatures, a strong grassroots network was established which is now out to get me in the general election."

That's you! You're the strong grassroots network that formed! But now that he's taking our campaign seriously, it's time to step it up a notch and meet the challenge that's coming.

We need to double our number of one on one voter contacts. This is the most effective method of campaigning, especially in a campaign like ours. Voters want to vote for the person, not necessarily for the party, but they have to know about the people running in order to make that choice. Please look at the shifts below and sign up for at least one!

Glenn Grothman also stated in his letter "You have all seen the blue Lohr signs throughout the district". He's noticed our signs. So have voters. It's time to double that impact. If you, or someone you know, would like to add to the blue wave of signs, please contact Andy Kougl at 262-365-9060 or via email and we will have a sign in your lawn within a couple of days.

Finally, Glenn Grothman states "I must raise money to respond. We need more signs. We need literature to combat the lies and we need money for advertising." The attacks are coming. I need to be in a position to respond. Please consider making a donation to our campaign so that our voices can be heard loud and clear over the racket he's going to try to make. Donations can be sent to Lohr for Senate, 1410 Lee Avenue, West Bend, WI 53090 or through ActBlue.


Thank you for your support. Together, we can bring change to Senate District 20!

In Strength,

Tanya

Then, after listening to the right wing tell us how screwed up and biased the Franklin poll was last week, showing that the tide had turned in favor of Tammy Baldwin, the new poll came out on Wednesday. Squawkers like Charlie Sykes and his shadow, Jeff Wagner, kept telling us how this week the polls would revert back to Tommy Thompson's favor, just because he's, well, Tommy the Teahadist now.

But when the polls came out, they're arguments went flat.

With Thompson seemingly unable to decide between running on a self-destructing platform or avoiding even his supporters lest he has to answer some uncomfortable questions about his past or about his finances, he hasn't got much to show for the million dollars that the Koch Brothers have spent on advertising for him.

Like Lohr, Baldwin did not hesitate to take full advantage of the news:

“This is the ninth poll that shows Wisconsin voters understand the choice in this election and that our campaign is moving in the right direction while Tommy Thompson faces a huge challenge trying to change the fundamental dynamics of this race. Tammy Baldwin is running to be a voice for the middle class – not another voice for the powerful. She has taken on powerful interests on behalf of Wisconsin’s middle class while Tommy Thompson has taken on powerful interests – as clients at his lobbying firm in Washington.

“This poll shows that Tammy Baldwin has maintained her lead while Thompson and powerful special interests in Washington have spent over $3 million attacking us since the last Marquette poll just two weeks. Thompson is clearly facing problems about his record of cashing in on his connections in Washington and his plan to put the wealthy ahead of hard working middle class families. As the poll showed, only 41% of voters believe that Thompson cares about them and only 38% have a favorable opinion of him. This poll makes clear Thompson’s problems are settling in with voters because they know he is not for Wisconsin anymore. Heading into the home stretch, we are on the ballot with President Obama, who is also in a strong position, while Thompson shares not only the ballot, but also many of the same problems that Mitt Romney does.”

- John Kraus, Communications Director

Adding to their misery, the same poll showed that President Barack Obama had an 11 point lead over Mitt Romney.

Now I did not have a chance to see the first presidential debate, but fortunately for us, Meg did an excellent job covering it.

I did have the chance to hear a few minutes on the radio. What I got to hear was Romney sounding smug and scared at the same time as he talked about wanting to kill Big Bird and Grandma.

Most of the reviews that I've seen exclaim their surprise at how much Romney was lying his ass off. Perhaps the best summary I've seen so far comes from Chicago Sun Times, which stated that "Romney won on style, Obama on facts."

Or in other words, Obama practiced forensics, Romney relived his adolescence.

In other words, despite his aggressiveness and his zingers, Romney only managed to perpetuate the Republican tailspin.

Forward With Tanya Lohr!

Capper introduced us to Tanya Lohr recently, now it is time to do your part.  Visit Tanya's website, help her out anyway you can(money, time, phone calls, signs, etc...) You know Tanya is making some serious inroads into the 20th Senate district because just the mention of her name drives the righties crazy!

"Small Government" Grothman Strikes Again!

H/T Jack Craver from Capital Times:

Glenn Grothman strikes again.   This time the "small government conservative" is at it again.  First off he is upset about a bill Tammy Baldwin supports, the problem being he has no idea whats in the bill(so he makes it up).  


n similar fashion, he put out a statement last week denouncing a bill proposed by U.S. Rep. Tammy Baldwin, who is running for U.S. Senate, that would require the Department of Health and Human Services to collect data on the sexual orientation and gender identity of people enrolled in public health programs, such as Medicare and Medicaid.

“Even if Tammy Baldwin succeeds in ramming her radical agenda through Washington, Wisconsin cannot let its doctors and patients be pushed around. I am sure most doctors in my area would be appalled at the federal government ordering them to ask such questions to their patients,” Grothman said in the statement.

Baldwin's bill, which was introduced in 2010 and remains in committee, does not refer to doctors. It refers to surveys that those participating or applying for federal medical programs fill out. HHS uses a variety of surveys to evaluate public health and recognize trends. Her intention behind the bill is help track health disparities and gather more information on LGBT health.

Significantly, the bill sponsored by Baldwin also specifies that providing sexual orientation and gender identity would be voluntary.

Nevertheless, it is increasingly standard practice for physicians to ask adult and adolescent patients about their sexual activity and sexual orientation.

The American Academy of Pediatrics and the American Medical Association both urge physicians to discuss sexual orientation with patients frankly, citing the unique challenges and risks that face particular groups. Gay men are at increased risk of sexually transmitted diseases, for instance, and transgender individuals are often more vulnerable to cardiovascular issues because of the hormone treatment they sometimes undergo.

So he is upset about something in a bill that is not there, and also upset about a Dr. doing something that they are already doing along with a voluntary "committement" for the patients to answer.  

The facts will not stop Grothman, he is on a mission! The small government conservative is looking to:

Grothman says he hopes to introduce legislation that would prevent Wisconsin from being subject to such mandates as Baldwin proposed, assuming they one day materialize. His bill would furthermore criminalize the distribution by a federal official of a form that "requires a minor to identify (his or her) sexual orientation."

So the "get the government out of your lives" guy, is going to introduce EVEN more  legislation which sticks government not only in our lives, but also in our Dr's office.  

 

Then comes the best part of the story, and so incredibly typical for the Wisconsin republican party.   Is Glenn Grothman coming at this bill from a position of expertise AT ALL?  of course not!  

 

 

The senator concedes his knowledge of Western medicine might be slightly outdated.

"I usually avoid doctors," he says.

 

 

Just another attempt by the republican party to intrude in our lives and demonize the democrats!   Grothman defines the word - extremist!   It is waaaaay time to send someone to the state senate who will actually listen to the constituents of their district and represent them like an adult!  

It is time to vote in Tanya Lohr for State Senate.   

 

 

A little more on Glenn Grothman:

If the Wisconsin republicans are allowed to continue on this path of their version of "less government" next thing you know, Scott Walker will be telling us to start spying on each other! 

 

They Weren't Counting On Tanya Lohr

The esteemed Dominique Paul Noth does an excellent job reporting how Tanya Lohr has already changed the face of politics in the red belt and hopefully will change it more. Here is an excerpt of this must read article:

Whatever vestiges of truth in such fear of progressive ideas, the clichés don't fit the families you meet from Port Washington to West Bend and farms in-between and villages to the north, and it is there that Lohr reflects the concern about family, community and restoring local control and input.

Lohr comes from these people, from large clans of kin and neighbors devoted to hearth and kids, willing to pitch in, proud of their self-help roots and educational advances and hardly deaf to the spirit of cooperation. A devoted mother and teacher for 17 years, she is hardly a novice to the realities of their lives. It is Grothman who represents an anti-community spirit and "keep away from me" approach to life more than any party label.

Past patterns don't consider Lohr's mastery of the communication and technological revolution that is overtaking the nation. It may not be fast enough beneath the presidential election to change outcomes. No one should pretend that Facebook, Twitter and the rest don't also bring disturbing elements of intrusiveness and triviality, much less turning older thumbs into slabs of jelly.

But the social media that is as natural to Lohr as swimming and clearly alien waters to Grothman has also changed the immediacy and imagery of relationships and how people know and deal with each other.

And this is too good not to point out as well:

Cheerfully she meets hostile voters and charms them into listening to her common sense approach to governance. "You win," they tell her in the end, ready to reverse a lifelong habit of voting. The direct honesty and conversational touch that keep ninth graders in line and devoted to her in West Bend classrooms ("I like them right back," she says) work wonders at the doors.

All this has made her the queen of the Internet. The Huffington Post headlined an analysis of her race "Beauty and the Beast" (guess which is which) and had readers rolling in the aisles describing Grothman's positions in his own words - money means more to men than women; women shouldn't get equal pay or value in the workplace because they leave to do such terrible things as have children; women pregnant out of wedlock lie about their needs because of society's stigma; single parents should be a condition of criminal child abuse investigation; alternate energy standards should be reduced; early kindergarten should be eliminated; most education of women is a fraud; Obama wants more welfare because that translates into more lazy voters for him, and on and on -- leaving traditional Republicans aghast that this is the guy they have let speak for them in the legislature.

Lohr not only wins the publicity battle hands down. Her use of social media lets voters daily follow the campaign. She clearly adores her husband of 10 years, Andy, also a teacher, their two teenagers from his first marriage (Mallory and MacKenzie) and their young twins, 6 year old Elena and Eadrick.

Like I said, it's a must read.

The Wisconsin Revolution In Politics

From the venerable Dominique Paul Noth, describing the next phase for the battle of Wisconsin versus Fitzwalkerstan:

What's happening on the Milwaukee North Shore is typical around the state. Articulate family-focused lifelong residents interested in politics but novices to public office have been stirred to run by all this obstinate resistance to facts, by the misguided focus on antique concepts of families and values rather than on modern children and communities.

Deals made behind doors in the State Capitol have been exposed to main streets and forced people to wonder about the overreach of Act 10 attacking basic collective bargaining or Act 43 forcing a redistricting tightrope of extreme partisanship or the broad effects of Act 32 cutting the local citizens' ability to solve education, health care and general services.

That's not what we sent people to Madison to do. That's the cry you hear around the state regardless of political history. Perhaps that's why people find their neighbors who step forward to run far more credible than those paid pretend-neighbor outsiders from Koch-funded ugly rallies against health care, contraception and Obama's birth record.

There has been a widespread emergence of people everyone knows from down the street who are now running for office whatever the odds. It seems quite legitimate in contrast to the coordinated Tea Party outrage. It's an uncoordinated but now active and necessary outbreak of citizenship, a groundswell of civic involvement to slowly restore sanity and progress. Noted one political consultant, "These are not people who can be dismissed as some sort of flaming liberal activist."

Do read the rest as he goes on to introduce Cris Rogers, who is taking on Paul Ott. Also in the article are Kelley Albrecht and Tanya Lohr.

My Birthday Wish List

My birthday is coming up in ten days. In light of that, I was going to start a begathon today, asking people to donate to the old tip jar so I could buy a new monitor and printer/scanner to go with the People's Computer.

But as I was thinking about it, there is something I'd like more for my birthday, and it's something that each and every one of you could help with.

So here is my birthday wish list:

I want my state back.

And the only way that can happen is if we get true progressives elected into office. Sadly, the true progressives are running against people that have sold their souls for the chance to sell us out and are all running with big corporate/PAC money.

And that, dear friends, are where you come in.

I would like you to donate to these people instead of giving me your money. Furthermore, any money I receive between now and on my birthday will be divvied up among the following four candidates, unless you specify otherwise:

• Laura Hauser-Menting is running for the 71st Assembly District. One of her opponents in the primary is taking money from one of these national PACs, which she just "coincidentally" works for. We need to keep our state ours. Please help Laura out.
• Scott Michalak is taking on Joel "Honey Wagon" Kleefisch (and he's earned that nickname in more than one way, if the stories are to be believed). Kleefisch is on the take big time and is receiving the help of people like the Bradley Foundation and the Kochs. Please help Scott out.
• Mandela Barnes is taking on Jason Fields, a corporate Democrat who has sold out his city and his constituents to the education profiteers who would throw our kids under the school bus if it would help their profit margin. Please help Mandela out.
• Tanya Lohr is taking on the slimy, mysoginistic, utterly hateful Glenn Grothman, who just wants to watch the world burn, using Wisconsin as the kindling. He too is the beneficiary of people like the Bradley Foundation and the Koch boys, Please help Tanya out.

In advance, I thank you for the wonderful birthday present of giving these four people a fighting chance to give me us my our state back.

Tanya Lohr: Standing Up For Our Families And Communities

Tanya Lohr

On Saturday evening, I had the distinct pleasure and honor of speaking with Tanya Lohr, the Democratic candidate for the 20th Senate District currently being held by Glenn Grothman.

I told her that I didn't have to ask her why she is running. I said that almost anyone could give scores of reasons why he is not a good choice to represent the people of Wisconsin, between the damaging laws he helped enact to the many, many hurtful and hateful things that he has uttered over the years.

She agreed, saying that many of Grothman's comments are offensive across the board.

She told me that she was running because she could see that the communities are changing. They are tired of the mean-spirited attitudes and hyper partisanship that has gripped our state for too long.

Tanya said that has he has been doing the doors, and she has already done a lot of them, she keeps hearing the same thing from the people she speaks with. They want to heal the wounds that has been caused by the divisiveness in the state. They ask her if she is willing to to work with people on both sides of the table, Democrats and Republicans. Tanya told me that this is one of the things she would bring with her to Madison and it is something that her opponent has shown no interest in.

Tanya told me that even though her district is seen as a traditionally strongly reliable Republican area, she is getting a much better response from people than one might expect. While there have been admittedly people that simply shut the door on her when they learned she was running as a Democrat, there has been no explosive tirades, no verbal abuse or other poor showings.

She told me that the most common reaction she has gotten from people, regardless of their party affiliation, has been rather positive. Part of this is probably due to another comment she told me she's been hearing a lot: That no one has ever asked them for their input, not only on what needs to be changed, but how they would like to see the change take place.

That correlates with a lot of things that I have heard regarding Grothman being rather aloof towards even his supporters. I have heard from reliable sources that when Grothman attends events, he will often come late, stay to himself and then leave early.

Tanya told me that she saw the receptiveness of people to her is a sign that the people are ready to move forward.

Since both Tanya and her husband are teachers, naturally education is something about which Tanya is very knowledgeable and passionate. She said that the problems we are starting to see in school districts is a sign that the current approach isn't working. She said that it shows that we need to immediately fix the shared funding again. She also said that she would like to see the caps on school districts removed. She pointed out that referendums are expensive and time consuming and keeps people from moving forward. She feels that if people want to invest in their school districts, they should be able to without anyone from Madison telling them that they can't.

Tanya pointed out that in days of old, people could get by with just the basics: reading, writing and 'rithmetic. She pointed out that in in todays' global marketplace, just teaching the basics are no longer enough. Tanya stated that if our children aren't ready to enter the global marketplace sufficiently education, then we are dooming them to failure, which can lead to higher costs down the road.

Another unintended consequence of the gigantic slashes to the state's school systems is that the more rural communities, like those in the 20th district, are closing satellite schools and centralizing the schools. She pointed out that this means kids will be on buses longer, school districts will be more susceptible to the changes in gas prices and, most importantly, will lose their sense of community.

Tanya said that the number one issue she has heard about from speaking with the people is jobs. She emphasized that jobs are not a partisan issue, but requires both sides to sit down and actually focus on creating jobs in a bipartisanship manner. She said that not only are jobs needed, but that these jobs have to be family supporting ones.

This naturally led to discussion of Act 10. Tanya pointed out that the act cuts the take home pay of public sector workers which leads to cuts in their spending, which in turn hurts small businesses in their community.

Tanya with her family

Tanya offered two examples of this. She said that because of the cuts in her and her husband's take home pay, they no longer send their children to music lessons. This will hurt the music teacher, who in turn must cut down on her spending, and so on. Likewise, Tanya pointed out that she bought a pair of scissors and give her family haircuts instead of going to their usual place. This cuts the money that the barber is making and reduces his spending in return.

She went on to point out that these cuts in spending not only hurt the local small businesses, but can lead to other, and often, higher costs down the road, including people losing their jobs and receiving unemployment compensation and going on Badger Care.

Besides jobs, education and a higher level of congeniality among our politicians, the other big topic is taxes. Tonya pointed out that she has "no interest in raising taxes." Instead, she said that the state needs to collect the taxes that are owed. If people paid their taxes, a lot of the fiscal problems the state is facing would be resolved.

She also stated that she would seek to close the tax loopholes that are rife in the state's tax code. She state that "when billionaires pay nothing, but working people are paying up to 25% in taxes, something is wrong."

Tanya is very proud of the fact that her campaign currently has 22 volunteers and coordinators and no paid staff. She said that this is because she wants the focus to be on the people in the community.

Tanya will be a much needed breath of fresh air to the miasma caused by the hyper-partisanship which pervades our state now. She will represent all of the people in her district and will listen to them and act accordingly, which will make a pleasant change from her incumbent who has show a callous disregard for his constituents at best and has been rude and offensive to them way too often. She will also focus on the needs of the state as opposed to the wishes and whims of out of state special interests.

For these reasons, we are proud to give our endorsement to Tanya.

To learn more about Tanya and her positions on issues, please visit her website. You can also follow her on her Facebook page, which she updates regularly. And if you can, please help Tanya stand up for our families and communities by volunteering or making a donation today.

Three Emerge Wisconsin Alumnae Running For State Senate This Fall

From Emerge Wisconsin:

Emerge Wisconsin has trained 100 Democratic women to run for office.
Twenty-seven Alumnae are running this fall including three who are running for State
Senate: Senator Jessica King, Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Nikiya Harris and
Tanya Lohr.

“When Senator Jessica King won her election last year, we were very proud to have
her as our highest ranking alumna. Senator King has led the way for two more of her
Emerge sisters to follow in her footsteps.” Wendy Strout, Emerge Wisconsin
Executive Director.

Milwaukee County Board Supervisor Nikiya Harris, Class of 2011, is running for the
State Senate seat being vacated by Senator Spencer Coggs (SD 6).

Senator Jessica King (SD 18), Class of 2007, is running for re-election this fall. She
won her State Senate seat last year against one of the recalled GOP State Senators.
Tanya Lohr, Class of 2012, is running against the notorious Senator Glenn Grothman
(SD 20).

“Emerge Wisconsin is proud that our program has produced strong women who are
not afraid to take on the tough fights. Emerge women are proving that they are ready
to run, whatever the climate, whatever the seat.” Bethany Ordaz, Emerge Wisconsin
Board chair.

Launched in 2007, Emerge is the only organization in Wisconsin that provides
Democratic women with the comprehensive training they need to achieve their
political aspirations. Emerge Wisconsin is part of Emerge America, a national
movement and premier training program that addresses the under-representation of
women in office at the local, state, and federal level. There are Emerge affiliates in
ten states: Arizona, California, Kentucky, Maine, Massachusetts, Maryland, New
Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, and Wisconsin. Emerge was founded to create a legion of
Democratic women leaders for generations to come.

For the purposes of full disclosure, I do some volunteer work for Emerge Wisonsin, a fact of which I am very proud.

I Carried A Box

The following was written by Tonya Lohr, a woman who is currently a program member for Emerge Wisconsin* and had the privilege of being one of the people to help deliver the recall petitions to the Government Accountability Board on Tuesday.

I carried a box.

It seems like such a strange statement to use to describe a defining moment in your life, and yet for me, that’s exactly what it is.

My initial reaction to the honor of carrying a box of recall petitions into the Government Accountability Board on January 17th was pure excitement. I couldn’t wait to turn in the signatures we had all worked so hard to collect.

That feeling of exhilaration continued throughout that evening as we celebrated the victory of over 1 million signatures collected. We laughed as we hugged and congratulated each other on a job well done.

But now that the parties are over, I find myself quite reflective as my thoughts keep wandering to the experience of carrying that box.

I think about walking down that corridor of people who were holding hands with each other so our path to the GAB was clear of obstacles. As I walked down that path, I caught glimpses of the faces of people I had met in the last 11 months of my life. I had never met them before February 11th, but I was now connected to them for the rest of my life. They yelled “Thank YOU” as I passed by, but all I kept thinking was “Thank YOU for helping me find my way.”

I think about the people whose signatures I carried into the GAB. Even though I don’t know their names, or their stories, I feel connected to them forever. I carried their hopes, their dreams, their struggles, and their fears. What will happen to them after these boxes are opened, and their signatures are counted? What will it take to get their lives back on track and what else can I do to help make that happen?

I think about the sacrifices that were made to collect the signatures I carried. How many broken friendships and severed family ties are inside? And what did the volunteers have to give up in order to successfully circulate each of these petitions?

When I was first selected for this task, I thought I was just carrying a box. Now I know I was carrying the future of a state currently entrenched in its own cold war. I was told the box would be heavy. Little did I know how heavy it would really be.

I carried a box.

*For the purpose of full disclosure, I help out with Emerge Wisconsin's social media work.