"JimDoyle2010" OLD SITE GETS NEW NAME

Special to the Readers of Milwaukeeworld.com

By Michael Horne

It's the same stale information from the 2006 campaign, but now you have a new way to access http://www.doylelawton.com/, the campaign website of Wisconsin's governor and lieutenant governor.
Ladies and Gentlemen, set your browsers to http://www.jimdoyle2010.com/, which was quietly launched in March, 2008. The absence of the name of Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton is not unexpected, since she has said two terms in the state's Number Zero position is enough for her. She told supporters at the state Democratic Party convention in June that she would run for governor if Jim Doyle would not. Judging from the governor's new web address, the question for Barbara might be if she should run for governor even if Doyle does, too. After all, he promised Lawton in 2002 that he would only serve for two terms, and he's never truly been grateful to her for sparing him the burden of there being a Lieutenant Governor Kevin Shibilski.
There is a chance that Lawton could pursue a campaign from the Governor's office, in the event that the seat is mined for a cabinet position, as most recently happened when Governor Tommy Thompson was appointed Secretary of Health and Human Services by President George W. Bush.
Barack Obama is said to consider a position for Doyle in his administration if he wins the presidential race. But then, maybe he means Gus Doyle, the governor's son, who heads the college campaign for the Illinois senator in Wisconsin, and whose real estate website makes mention that he is the first Doyle to support Obama.
However, being governor for a couple of months didn't help Scott McCallum when he tried to keep the seat.
If you would like to give the JimDoyle2010 campaign a nice financial boost, why don't you grab your checkbook and head over to The Good Life, 1935 N. Water Street, Milwaukee, on Wednesday, September 24th, 2008 from 5:30 p.m. to 7:30 p.m., when a reception for the Governor will take place. The event is sponsored by Bob Peret (Robert's Roofing) and John Piette (Famous Tobacco).
The Doyle campaign's chief of protocol has dictated a wardrobe level of "Business Casual," which means the governor will show up as always in a boring suit, while you'll be able to dress in golf knickers if you care to. The last event at The Good Life, in October 2006, raised $29,300 for what was then the Doyle Lawton campaign.

BEER LIQUEUR HERE

Great Lakes Distillery, makers of Rehorst Premium Vodka and gin has added a new product to its lineup. Owner Guy Rehorst took a batch of last year's Lakefront Brewery Pumpkin Lager Beer, (inspired by a recipe of Thomas Jefferson) distilled it and aged it for a year in used bourbon barrels. Lakefront Brewery owner Russ Klisch shared a sample of the product for select guests at the 100th anniversary party for Wolski's Tavern, held at the brewery yesterday, Sunday, September 21st, 2008.
The potent (90 proof) Pumpkin Seasonal Spirit was dry and complex. The pumpkin and spices (a Lakefront proprietary blend produced by the Spice House including nutmeg, cinnamon, clove and allspice) had already merged in the four months that the beer had lagered (it is the only lager Pumpkin beer produced; all others are ales). The distillation process and further aging left 1100 bottles of a dry, sippable spirit that could be the basis of new cocktail innovations, but very likely will hold its own neat, in a snifter. The manufacturer likens it to a "malty whiskey" with "a hint of hops," and detects cinnamon, cloves and quite a bit of pumpkin in the taste. It would be interesting to see the effect of further barrel aging for the product. Also, Lakefront's seasonal Cherry Lager Beer would seem ideal for the distillation treatment. All in all, a wonderful new product and bit of entrepreneurial synergy for the Cream City.
Rehorst told me a couple of weeks ago that he was hoping to get the Tax and Trade Bureau to approve the designation of his product as "Bierschnapps," [a traditional term] but was having some difficulty doing so.

--Michael Horne

"GENIUS" GRANT FOR WILL ALLEN?
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website briefly had an item posted this afternoon announcing that Will Allen, the founder of Milwaukee-based urban gardening initiative Growing Power, had been selected as one of 25 individuals to win a 2008 John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Fellowship of $500,000. The information, which was unsourced, probably emanated from an "embargoed" press release, a quaint relic of an earlier era in journalism. The foundation will officially announce the winners tomorrow, Tuesday, September 23rd, 2008. Let's hope Allen's name is on the list. Among other projects, Allen uses the spent grain from Lakefront Brewery in his vermicompost program.

--Michael Horne