President Trump Wants to Kill You

If they can't afford bread, let them eat Twinkies!

If you rely on SNAP (Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, i.e. Foodshare) to buy groceries or rely on Obamacare or other health insurance that's eligible for tax credits, then Trump doesn't give a rat's ass about you. Better if you starve to death or die from disease because then the wealthy won't have to pay for your food or subsidize your medical care anymore.

The Republicans' objective is singular. They want to cut both programs to put that cash back into the pockets of the rich, including donors who gave to Trump's campaign. There are too many mouths to feed, and the rich shouldn't have to feed them--despite the fact that the rich made their millions off those masses.

Does this remind you of anything? It should. Under imperial rule, France in the late 18th century saw many of the same problems that are appearing today in the United States. A foreign-born queen named Marie Antoinette was at the center of the corruption along with her consort/husband King Louis XVI. Neither lasted long after the decay reached a boiling point during the French Revolution. Both were publicly beheaded by guillotine for various crimes to the state, including treason.

Marie Antoinette is famous for the words she uttered about the starving people: "If they don't have bread, then let them eat cake!" Those words embody the moral climate in France as of 1793--and in the United States of 2025.

Similar to Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette, President Donald Trump has been convicted of various crimes including multiple felonies for falsifying business records to hide hush money payments. Other more serious charges against him were dropped when he was re-elected president last fall. Those charges included insurrection, a high crime and a close cousin to treason. Now he is working relentlessly to cut social programs and divert the tax savings into the pockets of the country's wealthy.

The parallels to late 19th century France are obvious.

What does this have to do with Hoofers? There are two types of individual who join Hoofer Sailing: those who want to sail, and those who want to enrich themselves, either financially or in standing and authority. While a $500,000 annual budget may not sound like a lot, it's enough. Club leaders get paid and get free memberships and numerous other perks, and there is incentive to rip off as many customers, a.k.a. general club members, as possible.

Corruption seems to be deeply ingrained into the human animal, suggesting that (1) everyone is corrupt (or corruptible), (2) getting a job in government corrupts you, and/or (3) only corrupt individuals seek jobs in government.

Here's an idea: From now on, new HSC commodores can take the name a former commodore they idolize. For example, if your name is Max Bublik, you could instead choose to be known as Pepe (party animal) II, or if you want to sound scarier, perhaps Nate (Salowitz the slanderer) II, or maybe Mike (Larsen the abuser) II. And so on.

BANKRUPT

October 25 UPDATE--Today the UW suffered yet another embarrassing loss. This comes on the heels of three consecutive blowout losses at home, including 34-0 to Ohio State on Oct. 18 and 37-0 to Iowa a week earlier, for homecoming. In their past four games, UW has been outscored 119-17! Ay, chihuahua. Incredibly, the Brewers are even more embarrassing, going ass-up and getting swept in the NLCS after beating the Cubs in the NLDS. To put that into perspective, in the first game of the World Series last Friday night, the Blue Jays scored as many runs with one swing (an Addison Barger grand slam) as the Brewers scored in the entire NLCS! The Brewers just don't have any studs, except maybe Christian Yelich and Rhys Hoskins when they're healthy (and owner Mark Attanasio is a penny-pinching piker). The only thing we wonder is: When was Shohei Ohtani last tested for banned substances?!

Analysis--Recently I sat under the canopy as Gene Rankin assembled a lesson nearby. It was joyless, with a total lack of enthusiasm all around. It's not because Gene is old or because he's a grouch, I don't think. Gene and others were behaving as if somebody had died. Well, two people have (see below), but the lack of enthusiasm and joy had mostly vanished years before that.

The end of the sailing season is always a sad time of year, just like the end of UW football's dominance and the end of UW-Madison as a top university.

Like Hoofers, the UW football program is finally bankrupt. A week after being dominated by Alabama, UW lost 27-10 at home on Saturday in embarrassing fashion to Maryland. Maryland--who had never before beaten the Badgers. The Terrapins led 27-3 late in the 4th quarter, so the thrashing was even worse than indicated by the final score.

Sadly, there is no going back, and that's the real tragedy. Starting in the 1990s, UW brass wanted to stress football over academics, thinking that just perhaps, the UW could be good at both. They wanted to run with the big boys--Michigan, Ohio State, and Penn State--and for awhile it succeeded.

But now it's over.

The football program has come crashing back to Earth, and in the meantime, the UW's national academic ranking has plummeted.

In the aftermath, UW admins are learning that it's much more difficult to elevate a university and its reputation than it is to improve a football program. The former takes many decades. Nor will dishonest UW administrators even admit that the UW's standing has slipped, even as they continue to cut funding and close libraries, with most being turned into useless study halls. Libraries without books! It's almost unthinkable. The administration blames it on budget cuts, yet even as campus libraries are closed with journal subscriptions cancelled by the hundreds, new hundred-million-dollar buildings are popping up all over campus.

It's an incompetent university leadership in denial.

Indeed, the UW's decision in the 1990s to emphasize football over academics paid some dividends, including Rose Bowl wins and a Big Ten championship appearance (in which they were trounced by Penn State). The flip side is, the UW has fallen steadily in college rankings and now limps in as the 10th best state university. In the late 1980s, it was 3rd behind only UC Berkeley and Michigan--and the 10th best university overall, including private and Ivy League schools. Now it barely cracks the top 50 overall. In the latest rankings, UW has slipped to 12th among public universities (with UC Berkeley still at #1 and Michigan down ever so slightly to #3).

What goes up must come down. Hence the UW's fall may have been inevitable even without the presence of incompetent administrators like John D. Wiley and Rebecca Blank stare.

Similarly, Hoofers' decision to gut their program and replace it with a neutered one led by bland-but-crooked staff like Dave Elsmo has been a disaster. Hoofer Sailing have replaced the rock stars that once drove the keelboat program with asexual, semi-incompetent team players, the result being that two Hoofer sailors have died (link 2) in recent years--the first-ever deaths in Hoofers.

Significantly, both deaths occurred under the negligent oversight of Wis. Union Director Mark Guthier.

Above are late summer photos of two types of HSC craft--a Tartan-10 and a, um, cardboard box, several of which were built for Commodore's Cup this year. And guess where all that cardboard, duct tape, etc. ended up..? In the lake of course. Can you spell m-i-c-r-o-p-l-a-s-t-i-c-s?

So join Hoofer Sailing now! (We urgently need an infusion of cash)

Flying Scot Regatta a success!

This past weekend was the big Flying Scot regatta on Lake Monona, hosted by Lake Monona Sailing Club. The Madison Clinigatta was a special event that emphasized learning and improving skills. It started with a clinic on Friday, mainly for less experienced racers or as a refresher for more experienced ones.

There was also coaching provided throughout, including by former and current North American Champion David Ames! Friday afternoon's events were partly rained out, but it was still an exciting start to the weekend.

Races were held Saturday and Sunday in almost perfect weather with some 30 boats and crews participating. As any Hoofers who were out on Lake Mendota already know, Saturday especially was really nice--partly cloudy with a 10+ kn breeze most of the time. It doesn't get much better than that for the Flying Scot. The wind came down a bit on Sunday but we still managed to get a few more races in.

"The most fun I've had in years," said one slightly imbibed racer at Saturday evening's party.

As expected (or feared?), the incomparable Dave Gorwitz took first place overall--though not by much, with lesser mortals finishing a close second and third. In fact, Dave only finished first in one or two of the individual races, but of course it's the overall numbers that count in the end.

The race results can be viewed here:

https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1rUzIVeg1Go6dqGnwHoq7obbYIx3WRnCfVVWV2oHtmBU/edit?usp=drivesdk

We meant to post this yesterday but are just now recovering from some serious Hoofer-style drinking! Photos coming soon.

Thanks to everyone who helped make this event an outstanding one!

A-scows but no Boc minutes

Summer is officially underway and so are the 2025 A-scow nationals--right here on Lake Mendota! With the hot temperatures come screaming winds, perfect for a race. Strong southerly winds are the only way the temperature can reach the mid-90s in Madison in June. But we're not complaining--summer is finally here!

And not many things are more fun that watching an A-scow capsize. At 38 ft long, an A is a giant version of an E, and we've capsized the E here plenty of times. But unlike smaller boats, an A-scow goes over in slow motion, and it has more lines, which creates a real mess. That's what makes it so much fun to watch! But the skippers in this regatta are too good to let that happen. :)

It's kind of like the Wisconsin Union and Hoofers--a real mess. Run by crooks and incompetents, Hoofers is a refuge for abusers, racists, and child molesters. It's funny that they got rid of most of the alcoholics, yet now they've been replaced by something far worse.

Some think it's funny that no BOC (Board of Captains) minutes have been posted in over two years, but it's a flagrant violation of the Hoofer Sailing Club By-Laws, Article IV, Section 1, which under Commodore Duties states:

8. Shall inform the membership of the Sailing Club of all decisions of the Board of Captains by posting the minutes of all meetings of the Board of Captains on the Sailing Club website.

Combine that with this interesting Wis. statute:

946.12 Misconduct in public office. Any public officer or public employee who does any of the following is guilty of a Class I felony: (1) Intentionally fails or refuses to perform a known mandatory, nondiscretionary, ministerial duty of the officer’s or employee’s office or employment within the time or in the manner required by law;

Is the refusal to post BOC minutes a felony..? Maybe, maybe not. The HSC commodore is a public employee, paid (suppress gag reflex) by the state. And in some sense at least, he's a public officer--he is after all the head office-holder in a state organization with a $500,000 annual budget. But then, the by-laws don't specify a time limit for posting the minutes; however, it's likely that any authority would consider two years ridiculous since BOC meetings are held every two weeks.

Hoofer leaders take their cue from their boss, Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier, a known criminal and child molester. So we haven't run it by our attorney yet, but it looks like Matt Keberlein is indeed a crook. And if he designated another BOC member to actually post the minutes, e.g. Lukas Duddleston, then LukasD is a criminal too. The secretary too, probably. At best, they're all guilty of gross negligence.

But who wants to do drudge work when you can be out partying instead?

We'll post photos of the regatta soon.

Winter Seminars

NOAA defines a gale as sustained surface winds, or frequent gusts, in the range of 34 knots (39 mph) to 47 knots (54 mph). In light of the return of the wind (S 20 mph g37 on Friday, S 33 g41 on Monday) and warmth (77 deg on Friday, 60 this past Mon), we just wanted to remind everyone that there are still a few more Winter seminars to go. Today, winter has returned just in time.

The seminars, usually on Wed evenings starting at 6:30 PM, cover everything from cruising to weather to first aid.

As you may know, they're taught (led? hosted?) by more experienced club members who've done things that you might want to do in the future, like sailing around the world, experiencing gale force winds on the open ocean, or setting a broken bone 1,000 miles from the nearest doctor. I personally would like to do two of those things. You can even do two of them right here in Madison (not the same two).

Hoofer Sailing Club is about sharing knowledge and helping others to learn, and of course about getting paid to do it, but who can blame someone for wanting to get a piece of the pie? (especially if they're a good talker, good at politics, good-looking, buddies with the right people, etc.) Note that the individuals presenting the Winter Seminar series are not getting paid for their presentations. They do it out of love of sailing--and love of loot! Plus, teaching is a great way to meet people from a position of authority.

The remaining seminars include:
Mar 12th: Radio maintenance and operation EVENT HAS ALREADY STARTED
Mar 19th: Cruising the Pacific (Adam Hughes)
Mar 26th: First Aid for Sailing (Bob Cape + VC Scafati)

You can find more details on the seminar series at https://lessons.hoofersailing.org, organized by HOI Nathan Holman and presented mostly by keelboat, J-fleet, and other instructors.

You do not have to be a current HSC member to attend. The semenars are open to anyone*.

We're not sure why TV meteorologists get such a bad rap. Sure, weather is boring most of the time, but not when you're 500 miles southwest of Acapulco and the sky begins to darken.

*Except for certain people we don't like because they reported us for embezzlement, discrimination, sexual harassment, underage drinking, and other stuff.

End of season

The end of sailing season is always a sad time of year. Not as sad as it used to be, perhaps, but then Hoofers ain't what it used to be either. But it still has sailing, at least. Just a couple of weeks ago it was almost 70 degrees out and we were still sailing.

The season's end is about as sad as the UW football team which just ended a 22 year streak of bowl game appearances by falling to Minnesota 24-7. What an embarrassment. Actually, what's even sadder is that Wisconsin could still potentially get into a bowl game, despite a 5-7 losing record this year. Who wants to watch losers play losers?

The highlight of Friday's game, played in 20º temperatures, was Head Coach Luke Fickell blowing his nose, biker-style, straight onto the ground on the sideline in the second half. Yes, we were there watching for some inconceivable reason, shivering on the Wisconsin sideline and low on vodka.

As for Hoofer Sailing, today it's basically a glorified day care center for irresponsible college students. That was the wet dream of Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier who wanted control so he could make money off of it, and to puff up his ego some more. Even if Hoofers doesn't make money for the Union, it gives him a rush to know that he's finally running the show. He even refers to it as the "Tong Family Marina" or The Marina. Laughable.

Over the past two-plus decades, Guthier and other UW admins have grown increasingly out of touch with UW students and with the UW's mission. That puts some students out of touch too, creating a vicious cycle of ignorance and narcissism. It's elitist and reminiscent of some Ivy League colleges.

Eighty percent of Harvard professors identify as liberal or very liberal. On 60 Minutes last Sunday, U. of Austin (a tiny right-wing school in Texas) admins slammed that as biased and out of touch:

"Any university that is identifiably political isn't fulfilling its mission."
--U. of Austin spokesperson

But the fact is that intelligent people tend to be liberal/Democratic, whereas the uneducated tend to vote Republican. Why? It's because the brain is like a muscle--you need to use it or lose it. Education isn't indoctrination. It's development, and if you don't develop your brain and your mind, you'll get dumber--and in the end you'll have a stronger tendency to vote Republican.

Republican correlates with lots of stupid things, like guns, dogs, low taxes for the wealthy, ATVs, etc. There's nothing really wrong with any of those things, but they won't solve the world's problems or any of the growing problems here in Madison. It's more complex than that, of course, but a blog post can't go into that much detail. But the faculty at Harvard and other "elite" schools are not out of touch. They're educated, they're enlightened. They've developed their brains instead of their brawn. Unfortunately that can some across as elitist to the laboring class.

As for Director Guthier--a known criminal--he is a closet conservative who found a home at the UW which continues to slide to the right along with the rest of Wisconsin. One side effect of the creeping conservatism is the dramatic increase in surveillance, although it might be needed keep Outdoor Rentals staff from stealing anymore. Too bad there are no surveillance cameras in Guthier's office. That might turn up some really interesting stuff.

By the way Mr. Tong, we need more money--some of the new piers are already wearing out. Plus, we want to build an offshore bar next summer.

Infected Mushroom

Welcome to the 2024 sailing season! We're posting this today in honor of the amazing weather and wind we've been having lately, especially today. Most boats are already in the water although a few are not, but then it's still only June. Keep in mind that the water is still cold, with dangerous upwellings that are cold enough to kill, despite some very warm days recently. We also have a new HOI and lessons are underway.

A quick refresher for the partiers: NO alcohol is allowed on Hoofer boats (wink-wink). If you're caught with beer on board, well, just don't get caught. We were out on a [boat type redacted] in that great wind today (Saturday), and we didn't not have no beer on board. Anyway, beer doesn't kill--incompetent Union directors do, but there is still officially no beer allowed on Hoofer boats. Drugs? Yes. Beer, no.

Note that there is now a $200 work-hours deposit (which most of you will never see again). Of course, instructors and other preferred members don't have to pay a deposit. Only you the customer do.

With the season getting into gear, communication becomes more important than ever. Among other things, that means the club's email lists. You may need to be logged in to view or add comments.

There is also the keelboat list, but that appears to be dead in the water. In fact, the only posts over the past year have all been by Pete Mooney (see image)--not exactly what you would call "interaction" or a healthy exchange of ideas. Most of the posts aren't even about sailing--they're on off-topics like silent movies, folk concerts, sex organs, etc. The list's webpage (or is it here?) says "for Soma, Toy Boat, Decoy, Knotty Rascal and Spray..." Do we even still have any of those boats? One, maybe.

Facebook seems to be the preferred method of communication for club leaders, but as we all know Facebook is in its death throes and is a mediocre alternative. The anal wet dream of billionaire scumbag Mark Zuckerberg has just about run its course.

We strongly encourage the club's email lists for communication. Several are used regularly, some only sporadically, but they are the official venue for interaction and announcements. Check them out at the above link to the lessons site.

Speaking of communication, there haven't been any BOC minutes posted in over a year. How's that for pathetic, not to mention dereliction of duty? Nor has the club's website been updated to show current club leaders and instructors. It seems the webmaster has a free membership for nothing.

Of course, you can always use this blog for communication!

And who was that fetching young (not!) Treat Williams-lookalike with the blonde 'do teaching windsurfing the other day? (see photo) Meeow....

JIMMER FOR HOI?!

MARCH 23 UPDATE: Still no official hiring of a new HOI, but word is that Gretchen might return. We hope so! (but not for the reasons you might think.) Face it, we're not going to get top talent for this job, so just pick someone already.

The opening for the vacant Hoofer Sailing Club Head of instruction (HOI) job has closed, with interviews ongoing. Apparently Jim Rogers has applied. He was HOI for more than 15 years (1989-2005) and is intimitaly familiar with the job and its duties, so why not re-hire him?!

Here's why. As a crook and a con artist (sound familiar?), Jim probably isn't the best choice for HOI. Like Donald Trump on a much smaller scale, Jim covets the job he held for so long because of the power and perks that come with it, e.g. the power to manipulate and abuse people, to enrich oneself, etc. That didn't seem to work out very well for Jim before, but as HOI, you're the big fish in a small pond. Nevertheless, despite being dug in like a north woods tick, Jim was removed from Hoofers in 2010 and reassigned to the furthest corner of the Union. He has since returned as a bored board instructor.

Incredibly, the only prerequisite for the HOI job is "Previous sailing experience". Nothing about managerial experience, teaching experience, certifications, etc. Yup, we're easy, and desperate because most people don't last long in the Hoofer Sailing HOI job.

The job has a somewhat sordid history. Jim Rogers we've discussed. Brian Borkovich, a.k.a. Borko, also committed crimes on the job, including voting to increase his own salary (that may not sound so bad, but it's actually a felony in Wisconsin). Tom Barry died on the job. Dave Elsmo moved on to become head of Hoofers, as did Rogers. The latest, whats-her-name, quit. It's almost as if the job attracts unscrupulous people, or at best individuals who are naïve.

With the right oversight, the HOI position could be a great learning development opportunity for students in management or similar fields. Unfortunately, such oversight has always been lacking at Hoofers and the UW. The BOC has some control, and used to have more, but they need even more oversight themselves.

Meanwhile, you have a chance to change all that and help make the HOI position respectable again! Oh wait, you don't--the application deadline has already passed. In any event, the club better hurry and pick someone because the application deadline to apply as a sailing instructor for 2024 is this Friday.

We hate to be so critical, but there are so many serious problems at the Wisconsin Union and Hoofers that it would be impossible to elaborate on all of them. This blog is only the tip of the iceberg.

From U.S. presidents on down to Hoofer instructors, including the HOI, corruption is ubiquitous among public employees. As a federal appeals court just ruled, even U.S. presidents are not immune from prosecution and punishment for crimes they commit. Neither are Hoofer employees, although most have managed to escape justice so far.

Ghosts of Hoofers Past

For those who never got to see it, the old Hoofer lounge was similar to the Mendota lounge, although smaller. But it was cozy, with wood paneling, carpeting, and a fireplace. What's left of it now is just sad, a half-assed museum exhibit designed by Union hacks. The coziness is all gone--it's a bloody hallway!--bums sleep there, and surveillance cameras track your every move (see photo).

Adjacent to the Lounge was the old Chart Room, with its wood floor, bookcases, charts(!), awards showcase, etc. Jim Rogers always disliked it because any club member could come in and browse books, magazines, and charts. He wanted the Hoofer library (and many other things) to be the private purview of his instruction staff... and now they are. After all, knowledge is power, and the more perks and favors you have to give out, the more you can get in return.

Hoofers is a case study in cronyism, just like the UW-Madison administration. How do we know the UW is plagued by cronyism and nepotism? Because if it weren't, they would do something about the rampant abuse in Hoofers.

In the new movie The Killer (2023), Michael Fassbender explains the human condition:

From the beginning of civilization, the few have always exploited the many. This is the cornerstone of civilization... Whatever it takes, make sure you're one of the few, not one of the many.

That could be the Hoofer motto. Many (900) customers, a.k.a. "club members", provide cash, romantic interests, and other pickins for the few (100) paid employees.

Eventually, of course, Rogers was out of a job--kicked out by the UW for inappropriate acts with minors. Various other individuals linger like a disease--going into remission, then popping up again in a relapse of mischief and malfeasance. Jim Rogers, Lukas Duddleston, Mills Botham, and others (who won't be named here). These crooks and operators misuse their position and/or popularity to benefit themselves and their buddies, or to solicit sexual partners (e.g. Louis Tenebruso --> Michaela Rabas, Carl Stenbol, Peter Grimmer, and many others). The fact that the BOC openly discuss how to misappropriate some $60,000 in deposits annually--and the almost total lack of interest in prosecuting this and other crimes perpetrated by club officers--reflects very poorly on the Union and UW. Most of them stick their heads in the sand, probably hoping that they won't be called out for their own misdeeds.

It's a top-down problem that starts with the crooked Union director, Mark Guthier, and the UW chancellor. The whole system is rotting. The Big Ten is now the Big 16--or is it 18 now? That's beyond ridiculous, but money and power are what it's all about. And you thought it was about sailing?

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from Hoofer Sailing Club!

Dog days after noon

The next few days are forecast to be the hottest in Madison in more than a decade and will approach record high temperatures.

With that in mind, the club is suspending the life-jacket-at-all-times-rule. If you get too hot on a lesson or day-sail, you may take off your .... ha, just kidding! Rules are rules and they must be obeyed. Only The Man has the power to suspend rules. That would be the man up on the 5th floor, with the small you-know-what. If you want to take off your life jacket because it's 95° out, too bad. If someone says you can take it off, be very cautious. You could be kicked out of Hoofers for doing that. We simply cannot allow rulebreakers.*

Better to get heat stroke than to stumble overboard, hit your head, and drown. Actually, heat stroke might just cause you to do that, so life jackets must be worn at all times. They help keep you warm in the fall too. And they smell good. They do not smell like mildew or urine or other people's sweat.

This rule comes straight from the top--from Wisconsin Union Director Mark Guthier. He probably hasn't worn a life jacket his entire life, but he doesn't want to take a chance on some dummy falling overboard and drowning (again), leading to another nasty communique from the chancellor. But you don't have to be a sexual tyranosaur to sit in an office and make up rules. You only have to feel the rush. It's hard to believe sailing is even still allowed here anymore, so I guess we should feel lucky.

At least the hot temps look to bring some decent wind for a few days. This August has already been better than average in that regard.

To help you determine whether to file a complaint against Hoofers or the UW, we've included the heat-exhaustion/heat-stroke chart above.

Note to HOI: Doublecheck that everyone who's been skippering Salom actually has a rating on that boat. That they got legitimately. Which hasn't been revoked. And from an instructor authorized to give them. There's been some very iffy boat handling and other minor screw-ups lately.

*Doesn't apply to BOC members, instructors, or their buddies.

We've been so busy dealing with spam comments from former instructor Daniel Sutton on our previous post that we couldn't post this until now. But worry not! The best of C-Cup is yet to come: The Commodore's Ball starts tonight around 8 PM! Best of all, the ball is open to almost anyone! So come on down (unless you're on the short list of unwelcome guests), get sloshed, and dance the night away. But don't get too hammered, because....

In the past, individuals have been known to take boats out on which they didn't actually have a rating. Hey, if you're a good sailor, why not grab a J-boat, or maybe even a T-10? Who will ever be the wiser? (unless they're on board with you.) We'll all be awash in alcohol well before midnight, so if you can still walk, as in walk down to the lakefront and operate a motorboat or a winch, then the fleet is your oyster!

Note that we in the syndicate do not recommend or condone such unruly behavior, but it has become something of a tradition for the close of C-Cup! Heck, if nothing else, just get yourself out to one of the keelboats and go for a swim. Be sure to snag an extra bottle of wine for that. It's only against the rules to drink on Hoofers boats if you're actually sailing!

Harvard This Ain't

With the boats back in the water and lessons posted for a new season, the darker side of Hoofer Sailing Club rears its ugly head again too. Misbehavior is present year-round, but it peaks in the summer months.

With the return of summer comes the return of crooks and con-artists who ensconse themselves in various Hoofer positions and operate with near impunity. Former Hoofer advisor Jim R., former commodore Lukas D, instructors like Georges Daniel S., and many others have broken the law while employed at HSC. We're not talking about violations of club rules--those happen all the time. We're talking about actual crimes and civil rights violations, not to mention other abuses, racism, etc.

Of course it's possible to violate club rules and the law at the same time, e.g. former commodore Peter Grimmer drinking beer on a J-boat in violation of club rules (and the law if he was under 21 at the time). Here is a funny article from a few years back that quoted him talking up the club.

"Sailing is often a rich, white person sport," Grimmer said. "It's almost like a fraternity or sorority."

Ha! Petey wasn't so dumb after all. (Note: If you can't see the whole article, just view the page source in your browser.)

Grimmer also boasted that "past Hoofer Sailing Club members have won Olympic gold medals, coached Olympic sailing teams and entered the Collegiate Sailing Hall of Fame at the US Naval Academy." What he didn't mention was that HSC employees have also committed crimes, everything from theft to slander to false police reports to sexual abuse to various white collar crimes (see the rest of this blog).

That's in addition to gross criminal negligence that led to the gruesome deaths of Hoofer sailors in 2015 and again in 2017.

The article also quoted former instructor Daniel Sutton as saying, "There is no race, culture or age demarcation at all (in HSC)." Alas, King Georgio never was very perceptive. There is, unfortunately, a big grey area for state employees, which all Hoofer employees are.

For example, is it a crime to grab a girl's butt in a crowd when she's not looking? Not if you ask LukasD. It's only a crime if you don't work for the state. What real harm was done anyway? She probably enjoyed it, even if she yelled "sexual assault!" right? Was it a crime for King George to make a false police report about someone he viewed as a competitor for the same woman he was interested in? Never mind that he was married and she was less than half his age, and taking lessons from him too. That's a dirty tactic well-known in some frats.

Was it a crime if he put his hand on a female student's shoulder as he stepped down into the cockpit, and let it "accidentally" slip down onto her chest..? Nothing you could likely prove. Is it a crime to relieve Hoofers of an outboard motor in the middle of the night? You bet. In Wisconsin, property is worth more than people.

With all that in mind, we've added a new button to the menu at right. Click on it to report any misbehavior you observe by HSC staff or other Wisconsin Union employees. It might seem alarmist, but Hoofer employees get away with far too many criminal acts. Slander in particular is widespread and difficult to catch. We are considering posting excerpts from some of the internal Wisconsin Union and other documents that we've obtained but will hold off on that for now.

And why not Harvard..? Because that's a private school and their employees have to follow the law. The UW, on the other hand, is a big state school and its employees seemingly can do whatever they f@cking please.

A better place

Today was the memorial service for former Chancellor Rebecca Blank stare who croaked recently at age 67. Thank goodness for small miracles. The hundred or so people attending her service seemed to be former staffers or clueless passers-by who had nothing else to so.

Rebecca Blank did little in her time here at UW-Madison. She had trouble staying awake in meetings and had trouble understanding documents, she made baffling, capricious decisions, and served only as a figurehead. Perhaps her general uselessness in recent years was due to the progressing cancer that finally got her.

"She made decisions and stuck to them," said one subordinate. Yup, even if they were terrible ones. She couldn't think for herself and relied entirely on her staff. Sticking to a bad decision while those around you explain why it's a bad decision is not a virtue; it's a serious shortcoming.

Perhaps her early departure is poetic justice for her misdeeds and general incompetence. At least now she can relax and spend some time getting to know Bernie Madoff, Richard Nixon, Al Capone and other white-collar criminals of the past. There's a special place for those who held positions of authority and through their incompetence or negligence or malicious intent caused harm to others.

Let's hope new Chancellor Jennifer Mnookin has a better moral compass than Rebecca Blank stare did.

Before you jump to conclusions, stop and ask yourself a question: Why do some people seek out, even crave, positions of power and authority, while the rest of us do useful and productive work? Why do some individuals seek out the commodoreship or other BOC positions instead of sailing..? (And why do so many former commodores linger on the BOC like a sore that won't heal?) It's because they need the high that comes from making decisions that affect others.

What's under that ice?

Do you enjoy the sensation of your face hitting concrete at 25 mph? Do you get right back on your skateboard after a bad accident? If so, then ice sailing might be the thing for you! Ice is actually worse than concrete, and thus more exciting--it's hard as rock, but is also rough, with knobs and cracks and so forth, unlike concrete which at least tends to be flat.

For extra excitement, there's also the risk of breaking through thin ice and plunging into the icy darkness below. When you fall through thin ice, it's not like slipping into the kiddie end of the swimming pool. It's unexpected, and you start from 6 ft up (give or take), so your potential energy carries you at least six feet under, where you can easily be carried away from the hole by the currents. Thirty seconds is all you've got, at most, before you go into shock. After that, it's to sleep with the fishies (see pic).

So as you can see, ice sailing is at least as exciting as skateboarding in traffic or rollerblading on the highway.

In any case, we get to keep your money, because you've been warned.

NEWS FLASH: This Friday (Feb 10) is the deadline to apply as a sailing instructor for 2023. There are lots of perks to being an instructor--you don't have to follow club rules, you get paid in cash, you get to order people around, and if you screw up and someone is injured as a result, you get a frickin award for it! You can't lose!

Incredible Suckers

Like a fish flopping around on hot astroturf, Graham Mertz cocked his arm and threw from deep in Wisconsin territory. The ball was tipped, and caught!--by an Illini defender, and the crowd let out a collective gasp.

"Big time defense" was how radio announcer Matt Lepay characterized the play of the Illini, which led to a 34-10 loss for Wisconsin.

"The worst home loss that I can remember," was how another announcer characterized it. "The college football landscape has changed." It sure has. Northwestern is in first place now.

Last week's blowout at Ohio State was more or less expected, but to be embarrassed at home like this by Illinois? Where's that vodka bottle? I personally have never heard so many obscenities coming out of the mouths of Wisconsin fans after a game.

Illinois QB Tommy DeVito was 18/24 for a 75% completion rate, while Mertz was 17/32 for a paltry 53% completion rate, with two interceptions. The rushing attack was nonexistent: 16 total yards by Chez Mellusi, who is no Ron Dayne. He is more of a Nancy Drew, a dainty runner searching for holes that never appear. Maybe he can find a hole tonight. Actually, Ron Dayne is no Ron Dayne either, but he was great while he was at UW.

When the game was over, the Badgers had totaled 2 (two) net yards rushing because everyone else was going backward.

A 14-10 score at the half became an insurmountable 31-10 lead by late in the 3rd quarter. Illinois played like the home team, which isn't all that surprising considering that their head coach is former UW mastermind Bret Bielema.

Even Heach Coach Paul Chryst couldn't be honest in a postgame interview. At one point the interviewer asked him straight up: "Maybe some Badger players tried to play beyond their abilities..?" No comment.

"On paper, we should have beat them," said another announcer, still in denial. Hey, if you can't beat 'em, pretend that you did! Despite the embarrassing loss, the neighborhood is rocking with parties and the familiar Drink-drink-DRINK! Don't they realize their team just got slaughtered?

They do, but they don't care. As with the Brewers (link2), it's enough just to play the game as an also-ran. Win or lose, we're gonna get drunk afterward, especially when we lose, but the vibe is different--it's an even more enthusiastic binge tonight because there's nothing else to talk about, no gloating, no bragging about how great we are and how we just beat some other team in a meaningless football game.

It's drinking to get hammered, to forget. In the back of some people's minds may be a nagging concern, fading into an alcohol-induced haze: I hope at least the academics are good.

They're not. Although it was easy for Badger football to slide back into mediocrity, regaining the UW's former academic standing will be far more difficult, if not impossible. Former chancellors "Biddy" Martin, Blank Stare, and especially John D. Wiley emphasized sports over academics, and this is the result. It paid off for awhile with Rose Bowl appearances, but now we have a mediocre academic university and a mediocre football team.

Striving to excel has become a dirty word in Wisconsin. What's worse, no one has even bothered to ask the only ones who can provide the answer: the admins of this blog. There's really no need to ask--just explore the blog and you'll find out.

How does this all relate to Hoofers? It's baseline decay of The Wisconsin Idea, the inevitable result of having exceeded oneself. The motto "Sifting and winnowing" has come to mean winnowing out anyone who thinks differently (as a commenter noted on a previous post).

To some people, progress simply means change, and the randomness of things means that change will be for the worse as often as not. Just look at Hoofer Sailing. Guthier changed it, for sure.

Pirate's Day rained out

The melee that everybody was looking forward to on Saturday turned into a crowd huddled under the canopy for the afternoon. Everyone who stuck around, that is. Given the lingering pandemic and the number of gropers in Hoofers, we weren't comfortable packed in under the canopy. People gradually trickled off until only a few die hard, or hard-up, "pirates" were left (see photo, obtained by one of our operatives), hoping they didn't dress up for nothing and that the weather would miraculously clear up and let them be scurvy after all. That is, openly scurvy.

Did pirates in the 1700s run below and huddle in the fetid cabin whenever it rained? Not likely, and definitely not when other vessels were nearby, loaded with silver and gold and jewels and harlots. But then, they didn't have Hoofer's rules either, like no sailing if there's any lightning. Yet, there was no lightning on Saturday, which makes us think a lot of people around here have been beaten into submission by all the new rules.

It is true that the red flag was up because storms were in the area, but can't we make an exception for special events like C-Cup and PD? Well, Pirate's Day wouldn't be much fun anyway without alcohol. I mean, sober pirates..? Aargh.

Speaking of rules, here's the latest--Hoofer Sailing Club's new lifejacket rule:

A lifejacket must be worn at all times in the bathtub at home because you might fall asleep, slip under, or just slip, and drown without it. To enforce this rule, we have installed surveillance cameras in your shower faucet.

Brewers Downgrade for Playoff Push

AUG 28 UPDATE--We hate to do this, but we're going to eat our words. Despite everyone's initial reaction, including ours below, the Hader trade is looking like a good move. His ERA (earned run average) since joining the Padres is a horrific 25.71. But then, maybe if he hadn't been traded, he'd be pitching better. Who knows. All we can say for sure is that he's sucked big time since arriving in San Diego. The players the Brewers got back haven't played great, but they've been better than Hader. The Padres and Brewers are fighting for the last playoff spot (along with the Philthies).

Analysis.— By now everyone has heard the news, but I just have to let out this rant.

One day prior to Tuesday's MLB trade deadline, in what may go down as one of the worst trades in major league history, the first place Milwaukee Brewers on Monday in a stunning move sent their All-Star closer, Josh Hader, to the San Diego Padres for recently benched San Diego closer Taylor Rogers, reclamation project Dinelson Lamet, and two minor leaguers.

Then one day later, in a creepy second act to the incredible trade-away, Dinelson Lamet, the other major leaguer acquired by the Brewers, was DFA'd, i.e. released by the team. Urk?

What exactly is going on here? Does Brewers management know something that we don't, as in Hader is injured..?

"Thhbbbbbbb," said Brewers GM David Stearns when asked why he would trade away the game's best closer for a handful of marginal players.

Rogers was the Padres' closer until recently, when struggles saw his ERA balloon to 4.35. Hader, too, had a couple of bad outings in July, watching his own ERA balloon from 1.09 on July 1 to 4.24 as of August 1. But his velocity hasn't dropped, indicating that he's not injured.

As of August 2, Hader was leading the major leagues in saves this season. That means the Brewers got Rogers and two minor leaguers for the best closer in the game, and arguably the best player on the Brewers staff. Plus the Brewers are still on the hook for the rest of Lamet's $4.4M 2022 salary unless he gets picked up by another team.

Most first place teams at the trade deadline try to add a key piece or two to bolster their playoff run, but not the Brewers. They looked to the distant future, hoping to at least stay "competetive" for a few more years.

Apparently the rationale was: Hader will be a free agent in 2024 (not 2023) and we won't be able to re-sign him, assuming he's still good--so let's get rid of him now! That's two playoff runs the Brewers could have had him for before he becomes a free agent.

We explained the Brewers' modus operandi in a 2017 post. It's mediocrity, quantity over quality, the mindset of an also-ran. The problem with going for quantity is that major league rosters are limited to 26 total players, and 13 pitchers.

A less obvious and more insidious reason for the trade might be that Stearns, who wants to be released ASAP so he can join the Mets--where they do have a budget--made this move deliberately so the fans in Wisconsin would hate him so much that the Brewers would have to let him go early. Very clever, Dave. Unfortunately, in so doing you may have sabotaged any chance the Brewers had of advancing in the playoffs this year. You simply don't trade away one of your best players before the playoffs.

Hader had this to say about the trade:

"The atmosphere here [San Diego] is they want to win, and not just go to the playoffs but win a World Series," said Hader. "That's a contagious atmosphere to be a part of." By comparison, in Wisconsin it's enough just to play the game.

With that in mind, San Diego also did what the Brewers--or any first place team trying to go all the way--would have done. They also traded for Washington Nationals superstar outfielder Juan Soto and first baseman Josh Bell. That's what a team does if it's trying to get to the World Series. Not trade away your All-Star closer who's the best in the game.

San Diego was able to acquire Soto and Bell because they didn't send anything of value to the Brewers and still had all their top prospects to offer the Nationals.

The Brewers do have another All-Star reliever in Devin Williams, but they just traded one of their two aces for a jack, the two of clubs, and two cards in the blind. It should be noted that in his first appearance after the loss of Hader, Williams on Wednesday night gave up a game-winning home run to Pittsburgh in the ninth inning.

What does all this have to do with Hoofer Sailing Club?

It's another Wisconsin organization shitting on its customers.

C-CUP '22

SAT 7/30 UPDATE: It's been a fun week, but something was missing. Maybe a formal sail this evening? Some entertaining events however, like Rhubarb trying to depart the T-dock, while still attached to the pier! This at a beam reach in a 20-25 knot west wind (see photo). It was blue flag at the time. Maxim-um screw-up.

SUNDAY 7/24 UPDATE: Our operatives got ahold of the secret questions for today's no talent trivia quiz (we've changed them just a bit so as not to give everything away). Here ya go:

1. Is T.rex your mommy, daddy, or none of the above?
2. How many flamingos does it take to lay an egg?
3. How many commodores does it take to drive off the competition?
4. Which animal male has the largest, um, weenie?
5. If the end of the world is coming, where will the asteroid hit?

Yup, those really are the questions, and they're not G-rated, although they might change if the wrong people see this before the event. Check back for more hints all week long!

Hoofer Sailing Club Commodore's Cup is here! Is this now a family event? There have been children present, possibly Youth sailors although I'm not sure because I am not teaching youth lessons this year. And 10 feet away? Guys with pitchers of beer getting sloshed. Hmmm.

In any case, C-Cup is your chance to play all sorts of fun games and be groped by the commodore! (if you're female, or maybe it doesn't matter). Several former commodores have already been spotted (see photo). The event could be called Criminal's Cup due to past commodores who have committed criminal acts--Lukas Duddleston '19, Matt Duerst '09, Mike Larsen '05, Nathan Salowitz '00, to name a few. There are others who have violated the law, though possibly not criminally, like Mills Botham '17 and others. We don't know whether Austin Suvari has gone astray yet, but there is still time! (Some other Hoofer employees have also committed crimes.)

Have any been charged or convicted? Not to our knowledge, although some Wis. Union employees have been. The problem is that many cops, prosecutors and judges are also corrupt (and others are incompetent), so laws don't get enforced. Or worse, they are used as a coercive tool to beat innocent people into submission. The old saying 'power corrupts' is a truism because as you gain more and more authority, you tend to be guided less and less by any moral compass.

This past Thursday evening, Rep. Adam Kinzinger (R-Il.) summed it up:

"Laws are just words on paper. They mean nothing."

It's an astonishing statement, especially coming from a lawmaker. At least he seems to be an honest one. In fairness, his full statement was: Laws are just words on paper. They mean nothing, without public servants dedicated to the rule of law and who are held accountable by a public that believes oaths matter more than party tribalism or the cheap thrill of scoring political points.

Was Kinzinger quoting straight out of the unpublished Hoofer Leader Manual?

In the absence of effective laws, people take their cues from animals. In many species, e.g. orangutans, the males do it with eachother while the females look on in confusion. Hence homosexuality is perfectly natural, or at least bisexuality is. Note however that in many cases the behavior is agonistic or domineering. Maybe that's why some Hoofer men become aggressive after approaching another guy and having been rejected. Male dolphins form alliances to keep competitors away from females, then rape the females themselves. Similarly, Hoofer leaders abuse their positions to drive off individuals they don't like, then try to monopolize women, boats, and whatever else they can. It is tribalism, cliqueness taken to an extreme.

Of course, not all commodores are crooks. Some (Matti, Pepe, JJ, and others) were more interested in having fun and partying than in embezzling money or slandering club members.

So as you make an ass of yourself this week, hoist one to them, the great commodores of the past!

Hoofers: Gangrene setting in

In recent months, I've heard from a number of people how great the sailing club is these days. The Badger Sloops are great! The instructors are great! The food is great! (uttered by a homeless person at a Friday social). The Techs are great! (that's actually true)

So just how great is it?

☉ The club is as xenophobic as ever. Still all white, still a feeding frenzy for paid positions (see screen capt), still slandering people as a way of asserting dominance. If you haven't heard any slander, it's because you don't rate the latest gossip, or maybe you didn't realize it was slander.

☉ We're treated like 5-year olds and ordered to wear our lifejackets. This is to teach us that it was very naughty of a Hoofer Sailing instructor to cause the drowning of a student in 2015. It's not that big a deal for us as instructors, but you feel for the general club members who have to share smelly old lifejackets every day.

☉ No more beer on the keelboats, not even with other consenting adults, some of whom are old enough to be your grandpa. All because a few drunkards took it too far and crossed the line. Well, and killed a couple of people.

☉ And (drumroll please)... The club's most experienced sailors managed to sink Sassafras a few weeks ago, one of the club's Tartan-10's (photo to right). Never checked the thru-hull fittings. Hence no surprise that the first storm that comes along sinks the boat, which may be a total loss due to water damage. We fragged Sassy's ass!

Hey Chicago, we need more keelboat donations again!

Hoofers' regular periodic conversion of keelboats into insurance money is so alarming that the original donor of Spray gave $5000 to the club so we wouldn't cash Spray in too! I think that's a first.

Overall, HSC is like a leg that has turned gangrene, then gets sprinkled with perfume and wrapped in a flowered sheet. Sorry, but that won't save the leg. One thing that's particularly nauseating to me personally is the mock seriousness at BOC meetings as young minds are schooled in the art of the steal.

Most of the old crowd is gone, but the ex-Advoosigator still lingers, attached to HSC like a 60-year old lamprey to a dying balleen whale, eager at the Youth program's return, and slandering those who done him wrong. He still likes to slip in a Mickey (figuratively speaking) with club leaders every once in awhile too, so watch out. A certain ex-commodore ambles by every so often in his button-down and baseball cap, seemingly lost. It's almost as if he doesn't recognize Hoofers anymore. Where's the beer? A few others from the good ol' days also resurface periodically.

There are some good people, of course, but they're trapped between the status (and cash) they enjoy as instructors or BOC and an urge to run screaming from this place. Most of the traditions are long gone. Mooning the Betty Lou horrified Union managers because it caused them to imagine dropping their own drawers, which would expose their tiny [CENSORED] and fat [CENSORED]. Since they never got a bid to join a frat and had to live in the dorms for four years (many years ago), they never learned how to have fun.

The good vibes are all gone, the whole renovation a farce. Thank you, Mr. Guthier, and Welcome To The New Hoofers! Where safety comes first, followed by sobriety, surveillance, and sycophancy.

And Shivjit. Apparently he is still doing keelboat lessons? OMG he is so clueless. He should have to re-certify his own skipper rating before being allowed to "teach" any more lessons.

Dangerous heat waves

Don't let the record high temperatures this week fool you. Lake Mendota is still very cold. Cold enough to kill you in 60 seconds unless you're wearing a wetsuit (or are 200 lbs overweight). The current water temp is 64°, but that's at the surface. The buoy is sitting out there in the sun all day. Ten feet down the water is still in the 40s, and shifting winds can bring that icy water to the surface.

A few years ago, lack of awareness of this combined with criminal negligence by a Hoofer Sailing instructor led to the death of a student after he jumped into cold water on a warm day. And that was in June. Cold water might also have been a factor in other drownings.

The air temperature in Madison varies wildly because it's a continental climate, i.e. not moderated by any large bodies of water. The only place in the US with more extreme temps from summer to winter is North Dakota (a horrid place if you've never been there). It's the opposite of someplace like Honolulu, where it's 80° every day and 70° every night, year round.

If you're out in a small boat and capsize, stay with your boat and try to get on top of it if you can. If you're on a keelboat, stay on board. Extra M.O.B. practice would be a good idea on all lessons.

--The HOI