Free Republic

Waukesha - The sight of a terrified little girl about to have an MRI scan gave Doug Dietz a different perspective on his work as an industrial designer at GE Healthcare - and led to a project that has turned imaging departments at 27 children's hospitals into small theme parks. The idea that eventually emerged from a mix of brainstorming and research - with some persistence thrown in - was to transform a frightening medical test into a voyage on a spaceship, a visit to a pirate island and other adventures. Imaging departments became elaborate sets. Technicians became amateur actors...

Barack Obama was in Wisconsin and Tennessee Thursday happy talking about "opportunity." He's for it, by the way. "It's good to be in Wisconsin," he told Wisconsin. Few hours later, "It's good to be in Nashville." In both places he talked about "opportunity"--the opportunity that comes with jobs and the opportunity that comes with education. As a word, "opportunity" polls well. Americans like the idea. Yet, these days whenever Obama has the opportunity to talk about his signature namesake "achievement," he rarely seizes the opportunity. It wasn't until two-thirds of the way through his 7,000-word State of the Union address...

Madison — In a bit of a political mismatch Thursday, Republican Gov. Scott Walker will meet with President Barack Obama, while Walker's opponent will skip the chance to be seen with the nation's highest-ranking Democrat. Walker plans to greet Obama at the airport Thursday and talk to him about the state's propane shortage. Walker isn't attending the event Obama is headlining at a GE plant in Waukesha as he touts themes he hit in Tuesday's State of the Union address. Mary Burke, the Democrat challenging Walker in the Nov. 4 election, will not be at the airport or the Waukesha...