It took nearly three years, but California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has finally come out of the closet. The political closet, that is.

Conservatives cheered—a muted cheer, but a cheer nonetheless—when Schwarzengger replaced former Gov. Gray Davis in a recall election in 2003. During the campaign Arnie repeatedly tore into what he termed the dysfunctional state of the Golden State. The implication was that he offered an alternative.

Spending far out-stripped inflation, he complained. The state was gorging itself on tax revenues thanks to the tech boom of the late ‘90s, but spending the dollars as fast as they came in. Throw in some suspicious borrowing and accounting gimmicks—all done by Democrats, mind you—and you have a recipe for disaster. A disaster tailor made for the Terminator.

Modeling himself as a maverick savior, Schwarzenegger rode the wave of discontent all the way to the statehouse in Sacramento. Because of Schwarzenegger’s close ties to the Kennedy clan (his wife, Maria, is an in-law to the blue bloods from Massachusetts), conservatives have always cast a weary eye toward Arnie. But, they reasoned, anyone has to be better than Davis. And, who knows, perhaps the Terminator will surprise us and flex some conservative muscles.

Alas, the hopes have been dashed. Sure, Arnie refused to spare the life of Crips founder and convicted killer Stanley “Tookie” Williams. But Williams got a hearing, unlike most death-row prisoners. We learn that Maria may have had a hand in that. Maria also appears to be influencing some of Arnie’s staff appointments, including his new chief of staff, a certified liberal and holdover from the Davis administration.

Then there is the misguided ban on Barrett .50 caliber rifles. Termed “sniper rifles” and “weapons of choice for terrorists” by the anti-gun left, they could count on no support from “real man” Arnie. You can bet Maria was whispering in his ear about that too.

Now, coming at the heels of a failed attempt to rein in public spending and control influence of public works unions, Arnie finds himself doing what all wimpy politicians do when their backs are up against the wall: promise trainloads of new spending.

In his State of the State address on Thursday, Schwarzenegger unveiled a 10-year, $223-billion plan for new schools, roads, and other infrastructure projects. It would kick off this year with $25 billion in bonding.

Obviously reeling from the embarrassing defeat of his initiatives in the Dec. 13, 2005 special election, Schwarzenegger has decided to pull out all the stops in winning back the support of the people. Or at least he thinks he knows what the people want. You can bet the teachers’ and public works unions are celebrating. As are all the old-time, FDR liberal Democrats in and out of government. But what about the rest of the voters? What about those who supported Schwarzenegger because they truly believed the image that he portrayed and the message he implied during his campaign of 2003?

I guess those folks don’t matter. Arnie, ex-body builder and ex-Terminator, is now the Spendinator. With no spine to stand up to entrenched special interest groups and do what is right for the state, Arnie appears to be just another liberal politician. Perhaps that’s all we can hope for in California. That’s too bad.

Wisconsin football fans had something to cheer about this weekend, and especially today.

On Sunday the Green Bay Packers beat the Seattle Seahawks in a meaningless game (at least for the Seahawks). But the Packers were able to salvage a touch of pride in going out the victors. They left the field with a 4-12 record, the worst in over 40 years. We learn this afternoon that Coach Mike Sherman has been shown the door. We'll learn soon whether Brett Favre will return for another season. Very unlikely, if you ask me, especially after witnessing his salute to the fans at the tail end of yesterday's game.

Good bye, Brett, and best wishes. Let's hope the Green and Gold can return in August healthy, refreshed, and motivated to regain their winning ways.

Meantime, we can savor Wisconsin's victory over Auburn today. We came in underdogs (ranked 18th) against a very formidable and 9th-ranked Auburn team. But good ol' Bucky showed why it's not always good to write off the folks from the Dairyland State. From Play #2, when the defense picked off a pass from Auburn's quarterback, it was all Wisconsin, all afternoon.

The defense played tough, and the offense played tougher. Several long runs, including one for a touchdown, by our star tailback, Brian Calhoun, and some key clutches by wide receiver Brandon Williams, helped the Badger run all over the Tigers.

Early in the second period it appeared that Auburn had regained its composure and confidence. But the Badgers were able to hold Auburn to a field goal, and gradually retook charge of the game.

Auburn, which was favored by over 10 points, never really got its traction--literally, as its players were slipping down all over the place. Contrast that with great effort on the part of Wisconsin's offense and defense--despite the heat--and the Cardinal and White came out on top.

It was a great victory for the state, and an even better one for outgoing Coach Barry Alvarez. He's been strong in post-season play, winning seven of his 10 contests. But the three losses came at the hands of Southeast Conference teams.

The hex is off, at least for awhile. A new season starts in only eight months. But we'll savor this victory for a long time to come.

Go, Badgers!

Tuesday, and it's a slow night in the blog-writing department. Feels like a Monday night, but that was last night. Tomorrow's Wednesday, which means today is in-between day. As in "in between dreaded Monday and sought after Wednesday."

You see, once Wednesday has come and gone--and it always flies by once it gets here--there are only two more days until the weekend.

Who invented Tuesday, anyway? Someone with a cruel sense of humor? ("Hey, let's make 'em suffer another day after Monday before getting to Wednesday!" You can almost here the gnome snicker.) Or, perhaps it's designed to give us another day and night to sleep, knowing that most people find it terribly difficult to stay awake on Mondays, even after supposedly getting a good sleep the night before.

Other than serving as voting day--a duty most people ignore anyway--and an occasional holiday, Tuesday doesn't seem to have much purpose in our lives. Occupies important space, though. Without it we'd have only six days a week, and the Beatles would have to work even harder to come up with a hit record.

It's an important day for Mexican restaurants. Many offer 1/2 price Margaritas on Tuesdays. Thursdays, too, but that's another story.

Some communities have trash collection on Tuesday. Guess they figure you're too tired to haul out the garbage can on Monday morning, so they'll give you another day. Goodie. Then the darn thing weighs even more.

So what is the purpose of Tuesday? A better question might be: What's the purpose of today's blog? Good question. As a famous blogger once commented, "To blog or not to blog. That is the question."

Why didn't I think of that?

Our beloved Green Bay Packers got beat again. This time at the hands of the despised Chicago Bears, a team that we could usually count on to beat handily. Worst yet, the loss occurred at Lambeau Field, once thought to be immune to defeat. Not any more.

This loss comes at the heals of a severe drubbing by the Baltimore Ravens last Monday night. We thought that loss, at 48-3, was humiliating. But to get beat by the Chicago while at home is literally unbearable. Sorry, I couldn’t avoid the pun.

Give Chicago credit for fielding a pretty good team, despite its flaws. And it is true that that Packers suffered a number of key injuries during the year. But they still should have—and could have—pulled off a victory. Would’ve been a nice Christmas present to the fans at the tail end of a miserable year.

So, now what? Attention has been focused on quarterback Brett Favre all year. Will he return, or won’t he? Publicly he’s claiming that he hasn’t made up his mind, and that he won’t let the team’s performance sway him one way or the other. But you have to wonder. While it would be great to have him back or one or two more years, what’s the point? To rack up more records? Absent some wholesale changes in the team, it’s unlikely they will get to the Super Bowl any time soon. Hate to admit it, but it’s true.

You can be sure Brett would rather leave after at least a winning season. That’s possible. Several key players should be healthy and raring to go by next fall. But there’s no need to force the issue, and he has nothing else to prove. He has won the hearts of Packer fans the world over, and the minds of most (if not all) sports authorities. He risks severely tarnishing his reputation by coming back: What happens if he really tanks? (He has around 20 intercepts already.)

Hang up your cleats, Brett. You’ve done your job. Enjoy the good life down south. If by chance you find your way up north again, stop by and say hello to some of your fans. We’ll miss you, but we’ll understand.

Those of us who admire strong communication skills know that writing well is only one-half of the equation. Speaking well is equally important, and a skill that an unfortunate few make an effort to develop.

Studies have shown that public speaking ranks in one our top five fears--sometimes it's Number 1. The thought of getting up in front of a sea of faces--and a plethora of staring eyes--gives many people the willies. That's too bad, as strong speaking and presenting skills give people a leg up over others in today's competitive marketplace.

The best part is that it's easy and relatively painless to gain valuable experience. Many colleges offer courses that can be taken on a part-time basis. You need not sign up for a full communications program to develop basic skills in public speaking. (Though advanced training is helpful as well.)

Many people take advantage of Toastmasters, an organization devoted to developing speaking skills in a friendly and non-threatening environment. Speaking from experience--pun intended!--I can say that the program works. And is very affordable.

Speaking experience need not come from a structured environment, either. Look around. Speaking opportunities are more prevalent than you think. Some include:

Readings for your church services
Anniversaries
Wedding receptions
Reunions
Parties

Each of these offers the opportunity to stand up before an audience and speak, sometimes spontaneously, which itself is a powerful skill.

Take the plunge. Sign up now for a program or class in public speaking. You will be amazed at how quickly you overcome your fears. And you will soon enjoy the satisfaction of standing before groups and presenting in a confident and knowledgeable manner.