Rules To Break

by capper

We all know that Charlie Sykes is a self-serving, pompous ass. We also know that he recently wrote a book that he is still trying to sell to the unsuspecting public, including linking to almost every review or column or posting that mentions his book.

One review that I don't think he will be posting is in the November 2007 issue of Milwaukee Magazine (sorry, it's not online yet, so I can't link to it either). The review is titled "RULES TO BREAK" and was written by Lisa Holewa. Here it is in its entirety:

Charlie Sykes' 50 Rules Kids Won't Learn In School is based on his list of 14 rules that took on a bizarre Internet life as an e-mail attributed to Bill Gates. The original 14 were thought-provoking, clever and mercifully brief. But the book...well, what's really the difference between Rule No. 1:"Life is not fair. Get used to it," and No. 12:"Humiliation is part of life. Deal with it," and No.22:"You are not a victim. So stop whining." Each rule is followed by a curmudgeonly lecture, and the effect is simply exhausting. When it appears Sykes had a secret that made it worth slogging through 150 pages-Rule No. 46:"Check the guinea pig in the basement"-it turns out it's just a reminder to call your grandmother. The book has some worthwhile insights, but feels so repetitive and tedious, numbingly self-centered and indulgent, that your want to remind Sykes of Rule No. 8:"Your navel is not that interesting.
Don't spend your life gazing at it."

And for those on the right that would blow off Milwaukee Magazine as part of the "liberal mainstream media", this is the same issue that has an entire story, not just a column, written by Jessica McBride.

Points To Ponder

by capper

Bush and his conservative allies were so dead set against the expansion of SCHIP, that they went to the level of maligning a brain-injured twelve year old boy and his family, even though the allegations were untrue. Bush vetoed the bill, saying that it was a "budget buster". But now we see Bush coming out and asking for another $46 billion (yes, billion, with a B) for the Iraq war. This is on top of the $150+ billion he has already asked for. When can we expect AFP (Agents for Profiteers) to organize a protest rally outside of the White House?

Speaking of AFP, the Recess Supervisor has an interesting post on AFP's latest stunt, giving stuffed pig dolls to state legislators. What really is interesting are the comments to the post, which indicate that the dolls were hand-delivered, by AFP personnel, in U.S. Post Office Envelopes, thereby wasting tax dollars. (Word of warning: I expect St. Fred to come and offer his "real debate" and "civility" in the comments. Do be careful not to get any of his mouth foam on your monitor.)

Remember when France elected Nicolas Sarkozy. The conservatives were dancing in the streets feeling as if this was validation of Bush and his wrong-headed foreign policy. I thought at the time it was just the usual hyperbole and desperate attempts at self-validation the right often exhibits. I was wrong. The guy really is like American conservatives, right down to his family values.

If ethanol gas is so much more expensive to make than ethanol-free gas, why is that gasoline up north, the kind without ethanol, is 15 cents more per gallon?

Hey, Walker and Mitchell: We're Waiting for Your Outrage

by folkbum

Now that a budget compromise has been worked out, we can see that the final plan lacks the Tom Barrett-Jason Fields "fix" to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program "funding flaw." It seems there is something--the Milwaukee Public Schools must use part of the additional money the budget does aim their way to offset property taxes--but not what people like Scott Walker and George Mitchell so desperately want.

I know this, because Scott Walker has devoted two editions of his (non?) campaign's Walker Weekly to a non-vote in the Joint Finance Committee (yeah, their budget sure went places, ain'a?). You can find the gory details at this earlier post, if you want, but Walker is trying to blame Lena Taylor for not putting forward one particular fix to the flaw, when, in fact, she supported a different fix and more funds for MPS that not a single GOP member of the JFC voted for. Apparently, voting for more money for Milwaukee is, in Walker's mind, tantamount to betrayal. Taylor, by the way, is Walker's opponent, assuming he decides to run for re-election as Milwaukee County Executive.

George Mitchell, of School Choice Wisconsin fame, has carried Walker's Taylor-attack water on the blogs, including mine (see the comments to the post I linked above, for example). Mitchell has gone after Taylor and Pedro Colón (running for a city-wide office now and, therefore, a fancy new target) with incredible aggression. But Mitchell has not voiced a critique of his allies in the Republican-controlled Assembly who managed to pass a budget that lacks not only the Barrett-Fields "fix" but any "fix" at all! That makes me suspicious that, as with Walker, this is less about a "fix" than about Taylor.

The last comment Mitchell left here reads,

Jay, [y]ou imply above that this is about defeating Sen. Taylor. But, of course, if there is a school choice funding fix--my objective--it is a political win for her. Only if the budget includes no fix does she face political consequences.

It's now been about 72 hours since the announcement was made outlining the compromise bill. The Walker Weekly will show up in my inbox sometime overnight, so who knows, maybe Walker will rail against Doyle, Huebsch, and Robson for not including a "fix." The School Choice Wisconsin website is as-yet silent on the lack of a "fix"--Mitchell's "objective," remember.

So, to George Mitchell and Scott Walker, I offer up this space. Post a comment or email me with your outrage over this deal and those who brokered it--Lena Taylor and Pedro Colón had nothing to do with it!--and I will post it here for all to see. Whenever you're ready.

Doyle Still Winner in Budget Battle

by folkbum

I wrote a month ago that the Democrats seemed to be letting Governor Doyle take the glory on the budget negotiations. That turned out to be exactly what happened.

Consider, the Democrats aren't going to be losing the State Senate next year, and their odds of picking up the Assembly--absent a major Republican meltdown or some kinky redistricting--are relatively long. The legislative Democrats lose exactly zero by playing along with Governor Doyle's budget compromise. At worst, the legislative Dems can say they support Doyle and it's a great deal for the people, yadda yadda, even if the final plan lacks pretty much all of the legislative Dems' priorities.

Doyle, on the other hand, wins at every level. Doyle offered up a compromise; Doyle forced the legislature into a special session; Doyle gets pretty much all of his showpiece items (the Wisconsin Covenant, BadgerCare+, more UW funds). He looks like a winner in nearly every way. Even his one regret--that he couldn't get mandated autism coverage--was really a non-budget item and has a clear path in the Senate as soon as it's introduced.*

Legislative Republicans, however, are in it. They didn't get a budget that did what they promised--many in writing!--which was not to raise taxes or fees. Yes, they killed Healthy Wisconsin (for now), and they killed the hospital tax (which the hospitals supported). But they can't go back home and say they kept their promises if they vote for this budget. If they don't vote for it, then they're contrary ninnies who hate the children, kittens, and the elderly.

In the meantime, Doyle is perfectly positioned to be strong in his fight for the Holy Grail of Wisconsin Democratic politics: to be the first Democratic governor elected to a third term ever.

* The stupid thing about resistance to this mandate--resistance from legislators and heartless bloggers alike--is that catching and treating autism early saves tons of money later. What makes it a challenge is that insurance companies, whose lobbying cash flows freely in Madison, pay for the early detection and treatment, so they don't like the mandate. But the more expensive treatment later usually comes at taxpayer expense; you'd think legislators who hate paying for things with taxpayer money would be fighting each other to be the first in line behind Doyle's mandate.

Some Taxing Issues

by capper

There has been some interesting stories evolving around taxes lately.

First there was the AFP (almost a) rally yesterday in Madison. I won't go on to put my spin on the whole affair, because almost every other blogger has. I just wanted to point out one irony. Cory Liebmann at One Wisconsin has linked AFP to Big Oil. So the people that went on behalf of the AFP side of it, apparently have no issue that gas has more than doubled in price in the last few years, with their hard-earned money going to the fat cats of Big Oil, but don't want a few bucks extra on their tax bills. Apparently the issue is they don't mind spending the money, they just want it to go to their kind of people, not for the rest of the riff-raff, like the community in general.

Then, on a more local level, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has the story of a guy that escaped from the Community Correctional Center, and then, while on the lam, murdered someone. I would humbly remind the reader of what I have written in the past about the House of Correction, the staffing shortages, and how Scott Walker wants to make the situation even worse:

But even if one was prone to praise Walker for doing this, he takes away any benefits by making the county more unsafe. First he wants to close the Community Correctional Center, and place all the inmates currently on Huber, and give them GPS tracking devices. He rationalizes this as being money saving and that criminals don't need to be locked up at night. Ask any cop and they would tell you the time of the highest amount of crime is in the evening and at night, when these prisoners would have been behind bars.

Walker said that he doesn't care where the criminals sleep at night. The shooting happened at 2:45 a.m. Uh, Mr. Walker, I don't think that the criminals exactly sleep at night. But I bet the victim's family is still thankful that Walker, Tosa Danger, saved them a buck or two on taxes last year. (On a sidenote, Walker is now saying he wants a full investigation and find out who is responsible for this murderer to be on the street and make sure they are disciplined and/or laid off. I can save the taxpayers lots of time right now, if Mr. Walker would turn in his resignation.)

And finally, we have Mr. John Jazwiec, who is now asking for the police to drop the matter of his claim that his house was invaded by a giant, armed robber. It seems that Mr. Jazwiec had developed stage fright due to a giant rabbit. This is the same Mr. Jazwiec that was the right's poster boy for the "tax hell" which was Wisconsin, despite the fact that Jazwiec was trying to angle for his own bit of the public wealth through corporate welfare. So, if Jazzy Jazwiec is so unreliable now, regarding the safety of his own family, and with the safety of his neighbors, how can anyone really believe him to be reliable about anything else, like taxes? Or believe anyone who would use this guy to argue against the need to pay for the necessaary services that the government provides?

The Conservative Blog Telephone Game

by folkbum

Over the weekend, Keith Schmitz wrote a long post that started in a great restaurant and ended with a cogent analysis of where Rudy Giuliani's campaign for president has gone off the rails. Well, not so much as gone off the rails as stalled in its tracks: Whatever actual success Rudy has had over the years has been subsumed in his insistence that his ability not to freak out in front of a camera on 9/11 makes him some kind of American hero.

Reality, of course, is not Rudy's friend: It is now clear that dozens, if not hundreds, of firefighters died becuase of Rudy's incompetence. Rudy credits 9/11 for his use of a treacly cell phone gag. Rudy supporters are doing "911" fundraisers (donations from which, to his credit, Rudy's trying to return). Rudy's made 9/11 his brand, which is offensive and denigrating to the day and the memory of those who died (including those who died because of his office's ineptitude).

Rudy is doing this not (solely) because Rudy is a bit of a tone-deaf idiot. He's doing this because the base that will be voting in the Republican primary eats it up--which is why, nationally, Rudy is leading big in the polls.

However, this post is not about Rudy, or even Republicans. This post is about right-wing bloggers, and what is clearly the bigger insult to 9/11 in their minds: A math error.

Here's how it went down. Keith's post included this:

[Rudy's] speeches have been diagnosed with being afflicted with 9/11 Tourette Syndrome, though lately Hillary Clinton Tourette Syndrome has crept into the spiel.

The answer in part lies in the fact that Rudy is desperate to become president, and he has to appeal to the base of the Republican base to get to the nomination.

In part this impugns on the people who are active in the Republican party who want to be treated like rubes. Yes, 9/11 was terrible, but 5,000 planes went up that day and 4997 planes landed, as have pretty much all the planes since 9/11.

Yes, there are people who want to kill around the world but there always have been people around the world who are so motivated. But it does us no good to be as irrational as they are. That to these old eyes looks like winning for the other side. [. . .]

This country is hungry for positive leadership, for vision and for our cities to be rebuilt. This is the type of boldness many of our Democratic leaders sad to say lack.

This is the type of leadership that a great country has, and Rudy could run on that if he didn’t have to cater to those in his party who spout macho but who cower in fear when they see someone in a turban get on their plane. Rudy could do this but his die has been cast and it would be tough to shift gears at this point.

This fear that politicians have ginned up through this decade has cost us and squandered opportunity in ways we have yet to appreciate.

You probably saw it right away, too, and the response in comments was quick: "4997? You count United 93 as a landing?" Keith, pretty quickly, responded with an "oops" and corrected himself. From there, it just got worse.

Aaron, whose comment that was, above, was first out of the gate with a lament that mostly mirrored--and preceded--the comment (thus preceding Keith's correction, too). But Aaron added, "In the effort to whitewash 9/11, do we really need to forget what actually happened?" I'm not convinced that there is anything in Keith's post to whitewash anything; I think his 5000 planes sentence was a bit clumsy, but if you kept reading, you could easily see that trying to forget or ignore (or "whitewash," even) what really happened on 9/11/01 was the last thing Keith was up to.

I made a comment to precisely that effect at Wiggy's place, when the Wigmaster joined the fray:

I remember when Jay Bullock thought it was unfair that I linked his blog with Cindy Sheehan and the Fighting Bob fest types. You're right Jay. You've got people writing on your blog right now that are writing things far wackier than anything Cindy Sheehan has said or done. No wonder Jay's fleeing to the Journal Sentinel.

Even more amazing, Schmitz must really think 9/11 wasn't a big deal because he can't even remember the number of planes.

The Wiggy Wiggy One is referring, I think, to this lovely moment, when he noted that I was depressed over thousands of war dead and that Cindy Sheehan was depressed because no one was paying attention to her anymore. You tell me if I was right to question that association. You can also tell me whether His Wigness is right to think that Keith feels that 9/11 "wasn't a big deal" based on What Keith Actually Wrote.

But Aaron and Jimmy the Wig are generally good-natured folk, and below the concern in Jim's post, there's an off-hand tone. But this is the Conservative Blog Telephone Game, remember. So the next post to pop up with outrage is from John McAdams, in a post titled Folkbum: 9/11 No Big Deal. Now, I can't prove that McAdams came to Keith's post from Wigderson's. But note that the post title "9/11 No Big Deal" plays on Wiggy's "wasn't a big deal" line. Also note that McAdams has responded to this blog only one other time ever, when he went after guest-poster Bryan Kennedy--after being alerted to Kennedy's post via Owen at Boots and Sabers. This suggests that McAdams doesn't really read this blog unless appropriately directed here first. Wigderson is on McAdams's blogroll; Aaron's Subject 2 Change is not. Anyway, here's McAdams:

That’s what being a liberal does to your mind. You not only label as “rubes” those people who care about 9/11, you assert that the murder of 3,000 Americans is no big deal! [. . .] And it can’t be that there is a real terrorist threat, or people who really want to kill Americans (an odd notion coming from folks who are constantly touting the death toll of American soldiers in Iraq). It’s all just the invention of those evil politicians.

In the process, McAdams quotes almost as much of Keith's post as I did--except for the paragraph where Keith explains that he thinks terrorism is a big deal! (The "people who want to kill us" one.) And McAdams seems to miss Rudy's creative campaigning:

Giuliani said the United States has disrupted 23 terrorist attacks against the United States since Sept. 11, 2001. That number seems high. Even if you count attacks that were disrupted in their infancy, there have not been more than a dozen that were targeting the United States. [. . .] A quick check of homeland security experts found some bafflement at the 23 number. Maybe Giuliani knows some things we don't, which would be surprising considering he has not held a public sector job since 2001. [...]

Another terrorism expert, speaking on anonymity, also said he was not confident in the idea of 23 thwarted terrorist attacks. He points out that President Bush declassified aspects of several thwarted terrorist plots in May, but mentioned only about a dozen. He notes that it would have been in the White House's best interest to discuss more if there were so many others.

No . . . no "invention" of "evil politicians" there! (There are more Giuliani falsehoods for your reading pleasure at that link.)

So the story so far: Keith complains that Giuliani can't talk about his real successes because he has to pander to a base than thrives on FUD. In the process, Keith misses a number, and, when caught, corrects himself. Wigderson uses it to take a good-natured potshot at me, and then McAdams is aghast! that Keith doesn't think 9/11 and terrorism is a big deal.

Enter the 800-pound gorilla:

John McAdams points out a local liberal blogger who seems to think that 911 was no big deal. [. . .] Read the whole thing. And the left still wonders why some of us don't think they take the threat of terrorism seriously enough.

Sykes clearly didn't read What Keith Actually Wrote, missing the whole "fear [. . .] has cost us and squandered opportunity" line, which suggests Keith wants to take terrorism more seriously than Rudy's attack-inflation (not to mention radio-non-replacement) business. The title of Sykes's post? "NO BIG DEAL?"

It wasn't long until 9/11 NO BIG DEAL? was showing up elsewhere, from people back to knocking the error that Keith had long before corrected--which should not be all that surprising from someone who thinks we need another 9/11 anyway.

Oh, and not a one of them addressed the substance of Keith's post. Purple monkey dishwasher.

Walker Is Either Incompetent or Corrupt

by capper

In this morning's paper, MSJ has a short story in their regional briefs, about the county board continuing to do their corrections to Walker's poorly thought out budget. The corrections made today kept Walker from breaking state laws by eliminating positions that the state has mandated by law. I am not defending the appropriateness of the state laws, but the fact is they exist. The short article also includes these two paragraphs:

Cynthia Archer, Walker's budget director, said she had been unaware of the state laws.

She said, however, that other staffers in those offices could be designated as deputies without having an extra job solely for deputy clerk or deputy register of deeds.

These two lines lead to several questions.

1. If Cynthia Archer was not aware of the state laws, how can she make a statement regarding how the laws can be enforced?
2. If Cynthia Archer is not aware of the laws, why is she the budget director?
3. Why wasn't Walker aware of the state laws?
4. Didn't Walker read the budget before signing off on it?
5. Or did he want the illegal measures put in there on purpose, to take the heat off of himself, and on the County Board?
6. Why is Walker continuously hiring people that cannot do their jobs?
7. Is Walker really corrupt, or just that incompetent?

For another view on whether Walker is a liar, crooked or incompetent, the Brawler offers us his insight.

Scott Walker: Still a big fat liar

by folkbum

I subscribe to the Walker Weekly, for the entertainment value. But often the Milwaukee County Executive's email updates are not funny, but infuriating. The edition in my inbox this morning contained this paragraph (Walker's bold):

While School Choice is an important program for our community, two Milwaukee Democrats - including Senator Lena Taylor - are responsible for preventing a vote on the Barrett-Fields plan, which was put forward by Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and Democrat State Representative Jason Fields from the city's north side. While all 8 Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee stood prepared to back a motion that aimed to restructure the program's funding, Taylor and the other Milwaukee representative refused to introduce it. Ultimately, this will cost local taxpayers $22 million over the next two years.

This has come up before, and it became the subject of a hijacked comments thread at my jsonline blog. It was clear then that the Walker position on this was untrue. The Walker Weekly here continues to be drastically misleading, and the campaign's attempt to lay this in Lena Taylor's lap is just a lie.

Let's get this straight: While there was no vote in the Joint Finance Committee on the Barrett-Fields measure, there was indeed a vote on a measure to restructure the way the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program was paid for, which passed without a single Republican vote. That measure was what the Governor included in his February, 2007 version of the budget, and that measure was modeled exactly on what Tom Barrett asked for in 2006. (Barrett changed his mind in the intervening months between the Governor's budget address and the JFC's work.) That measure would have saved Milwaukee taxpayers nearly $20 million. Taylor's actions did not cost taxpayers $22 million--that is, in fact, a lie.

While Republicans now claim The Barrett-Fields proposal would have had their support (the evidence at the time was sketchy), we know now that it would only have had their support in lieu of some of the other JFC-passed school measures that also would have provided tax relief to the Milwaukee residents, like funds for targeted science and math instruction, that meant savings of many millions more. In other words, had Taylor introduced the Barrett-Fields measure instead of the Barrett-Doyle one, Milwaukee taxpayers would have lost out on additional tax relief as a result--Taylor saved us money there.

And, if there really were eight GOP members of the JFC ready to back Barret-Fields, why did none of those eight bother to introduce the measure themselves? If Walker can blame two Democratic members of the JFC, then surely he can also blame the eight Republicans who also sat idly by and watched the Democrats--without a single GOP vote!--pass a measure to save Milwaukee taxpayers money.

The Walker Weekly goes on to say, "We deserve a County Executive that understands our needs and sides with us - not the special interests in Madison." (I'm curious who that candidate would be, since Walker technically isn't in the race yet.) I don't know what "special interests" this means. It's pretty clear that Taylor was doing work to benefit the Milwaukee taxpayers she represents. The package that came out of the Joint Finance Committee not only included exactlly what Mayor Barrett asked for in 2006, but also additional relief that added up to more than the $22 miliion Walker now claims Taylor cost us. Taylor supported all of those provisions, and the GOP--Walker's former colleagues in the legislature--did not.

You know what that makes Scott Walker? A big fat liar.

(Also, I think it quite offensive that the Walker Weekly demands that working mother Taylor surrender her per diem while the budget remains unfinished. At a Milwaukee County Labor Council budget forum--attended by no Republicans, remember!--Taylor talked about how even on a state senator's salary it can be hard to pay for day care. I suppose Walker's not volunteering to babysit for free, is he?

Oh, and why isn't he demanding that his former Republican Assembly colleagues give up their per diems? After all, it's the Assembly that's holding up the budget!)

Socially Depressed

by capper

As some people might have figured out by reading my posts and my comments, I have a history of working in the human services field. I have worked in psychiatric hospitals, group homes, and social service agencies. I have worked in both the private and public sectors. I have worked with abused and neglected children, people with mental health issues, the developmentally delayed, and people with addictions. I have worked with clients as young as newborns (with cocaine in their systems) to geriatric patients.

So when I saw this article in yesterday's paper, I noticed that they listed social workers as being a career that suffers from the third highest degree of depression. (Here is the actual report that the article was based on.) That made me think about my experiences and of those people I have worked with, both clients and colleagues. I can understand how some social workers could be depressed. While working in foster care, I have seen things that have been done to a child that will haunt me the rest of my life. I have seen and experienced the stress of making decisions that someone else's life literally depends on, and second-guessing those decisions repeatedly. Fortunately for me, I had good teachers, bosses, and colleagues that helped me learn effective ways to cope with everything, and I am doing OK.

I could go on for days of the horrible conditions that I have seen people being forced to live in, about the delicate balance a social worker needs to try to meet the needs of the client, meet the bureaucratic regulations and paperwork, and not have enough time or resources to do the job as it really should be done. In last week's Shepherd Express, there is a story that touches on the resistance of the black community in dealing with mental illness, due to the stigma attached. That is true, but barely scratches the surface of the problems faced in all aspects of society, regardless of race, gender, age or socioeconomic background.

But what does depress me is while I am struggling to make my little corner of the world a better place (I learned long ago that I can't save the world by myself), taking on other people's problems and trying to help them through them, and trying to help them make the best life possible for themselves, all with very limited and insufficient resources, I also have to contend with people like Owen, James and others demanding that those resources be pared down even more, so that they can save $10 or $20 dollars a year.

So for those of you that are planning on going to this tax rally, to save your precious $20, please take a moment to think of those that need it more than you. For it is these people, the abused children, the mentally ill, the developmentally-delayed, and the elderly, that I will continue to struggle and fight for, in order to get them the help they need. And if that means we all have to cough up a few extra bucks, and the thought of that makes you upset, well, that's just too damn bad.

Off Base

By Keith Schmitz

While my wife and I were on holiday last weekend in New York we took the "recommendation" of Bill O'Reilly and went up to Harlem to have the Gospel Brunch at Sylvia's Restaurant. When we emerged from the Red Line subway 125th St. stop at 11:00 Syliva's was about to open and there was already a line formed of people waiting to get in the place.

Turns out Sylvia's is somewhat large and the initial crowd was quickly seated.

We enjoyed a brunch off a rather savory plate of chicken livers and home fries for my wife and I did the ribs, black eyed peas and mashed potatoes. Both worth coming back for some other time.

We also had the pleasure to meet the diminutive soft spoken powerhouse Sylvia Woods.

Our server told us about how Sylvia struggled through the rough days of the 60's and 70's in Harlem, started to really make it in the 80's and 90's with somewhat of a setback just following 9/11 -- as suffered by other New York restaurants. Sylvia nevertheless supplied the first responders down at Ground Zero with her fine food. Sylvia's, who had just arrived from church, has the expressed protection of the Muslin Brotherhood.

Our server also mentioned that Bill O'Reilly has been good for business. Hopefully some of his audience made it up to Sylvia's for an education.

What they would see would be the main street of Harlem, Lenox Ave going through the process of gentrification with everything from a Starbucks and an Office Depot on the way up to Adam Clayton Powell's old church St. Abyssinian.

About 20 years ago many of us smartly wouldn't have wanted to make that journey, and the menu at Sylvia's pretty much said so. Among the mostly white crowd at the restaurant I talked to a number of international travelers including Brits, Germans and Swedes who are not Bill O'Reilly fans to say the least, but said Sylvia's is prominently mentioned in their Fodor's and DK guidebooks.

The leadership of Rudy Giuliani had a lot to do with the second Harlem Renaissance and the revival of the rest New York City. You have may agreed with his efforts to bring investment into New York City but troubled with his policing methods. But there were many places that were not safe in the city, including Times Square. Since the 90's investment and tourists have poured back in the Big Apple.

So why are we not hearing about this from his campaign?

Instead, his speeches have been diagnosed with being afflicted with 9/11 Tourette Syndrome, though lately Hillary Clinton Tourette Syndrome has crept into the spiel.

The answer in part lies in the fact that Rudy is desperate to become president, and he has to appeal to the base of the Republican base to get to the nomination.

In part this impugns on the people who are active in the Republican party who want to be treated like rubes. Yes, 9/11 was terrible, but 5,000 planes went up that day and 4997 planes landed, as have pretty much all the planes since 9/11.

Yes, there are people who want to kill around the world but there always have been people around the world who are so motivated. But it does us no good to be as irrational as they are. That to these old eyes looks like winning for the other side.

Rudy's ploy is not without risks. As formidable as the clueless inside the beltway feel Rudy is on his 9/11 "leadership," his actions of not fixing the first responder radio problems -- based on cronyism -- and locating the emergency response center at the WTC -- out of vanity -- leaves Rudy quite vulnerable should he make it to the general election. And don't think the even more desperate candidates in the GOP would go to these soft white underbelly issues.

Furthermore that authoritarian GOP base is going to look quite small versus those more numerous other voters who will be more skeptical.

It's too bad. This country is hungry for positive leadership, for vision and for our cities to be rebuilt. This is the type of boldness many of our Democratic leaders sad to say lack.

This is the type of leadership that a great country has, and Rudy could run on that if he didn't have to cater to those in his party who spout macho but who cower in fear when they see someone in a turban get on their plane. Rudy could do this but his die has been cast and it would be tough to shift gears at this point.

This fear that politicians have ginned up through this decade has cost us and squandered opportunity in ways we have yet to appreciate.

Don't look at this being in anyway an endorsement of this campaign, certainly not this fear-based juggernaut that has been rumbling through the primaries. But I'm open to any one who can get things done without compromising our principles.

Run on your record Rudy. Don't run like a record.

Question Of The Day

by capper

Will the conservatives demand the same respect and adherence to the words of retired Lt. General Ricardo Sanchez, as they demanded for General David Petraeus?

Cry Me A River

by capper

UPDATE: Scott Walker is such a tease. From today's full version of the story, MSJ has this:

Walker said it would be unfair to presume he will run and get re-elected, so he wanted to restore the money for a possible successor.

It's really unfair to get a guy's hopes up like that, saying he might not run.

There is a new river in Milwaukee, and it is coming from the office of Milwaukee County Executioner Scott Walker. Walker, who has spent the last six years decimating almost every department and service in the county, somehow felt it OK to increase the budget for his office.

Today, the county board, which has spent the past week correcting most of Walker's short-sighted budget fiasco, continued with their Herculean efforts by eliminating the money Walker wanted to give to his own office.

It turns out that Walker and County Board Chairman Lee Holloway had a deal that they would leave each other's budgets alone. But by proving the adage "There is no honor among thieves", Walker reneged on his end of the deal, and cut the budget for the county board's operation costs. Holloway returned the favor by introducing the cut to the extra funding for Walker's office. It passed 7-0.

Walker, never one to admit to responsibility for his actions, blamed the board's action as retaliation for his not approving their pay raises This is even though the money he cut from the board had nothing to do with the pay raises, and the fact that he admitted he did have an understanding with Holloway not to touch the board's budget.

Al Gore's Press Conference in Palo Alto

By Keith Schmitz

My daughter and new son-in-law live in Palo Alto where Al Gore has an office. When word got out he was to be making an appearance, many places gave their employees the day off to come down and express their appreciation for Gore's honor. Here is Brian's blog from this afternoon:

After receiving the Tip from a friend the Kango Blogger news crew (3 people and one Digital SLR camera) traveled the 5 blocks to see if the tip was real.

With ~ 30+ news crews we figured that the former Vice President would soon be arriving. People from the community came out to catch a glimpse of Gore including some young children with signs.

For a few minutes we went down a hall labeled “Press” and were politely asked to leave.

But we heard a tip that he would be arriving on the other side of the building; this tip also proved true and we were able to catch a glimpse of Gore as we stepped out of his Mercedes sedan “Eco 10” (powered by bio-diesel)

The Vice President was very polite to the press, and to the locals who had come out to support him; he stayed briefly outside the Alliance for Climate Protection offices and shook the hands of the children and their parents and thanked them for their support.

The place was buzzing after Gore arrived; and we went down the hall to the press room, going to the back door entrance we were welcomed inside by the “Alliance for Climate Protection” staff (despite our lack of press badges), climbing some steps in the back of the room already crowded by 10-15 journalists) we waited for Al Gore to deliver his speech.

His spokesperson entered the room first saying that Mr. Gore would be coming in 2 minutes to give a short speech and that he would not be answering questions; when he arrived he was hailed by the sound of 60+ cameras snapping photo’s (which failed to cease throughout the five minute speech) and the glare of the lights.

First the former vice president acknowledged the Nobel Prize committee for selecting him the (shared) winner and announced that he would be donating the prize to combat the climate crisis; he also said that he would travel to accept the prize in person.

Then he spoke briefly about the continuing effects of global warming on the polar ice caps “polar scientists are now warning that at current rates the polar ice caps will be completely gone within 23 years” (or language very similar, this humble blogger is relying only on memory)

He then spoke from a place of his own passion delivering a call in the form of an African proverb

Gore said:

“There is an old African proverb, If you want to go fast; go alone, if you want to go far; go together we need to act both quickly and together if we are going to put an end to the climate crisis” (Again I quote from memory)

With that, he concluded the press conference and thanked everyone for coming.

As he walked out of the room he was met with shouts from the press “Mr. Vice President Do you plan to run for president after winning this award?… Mr Vice president!”

With that; he left the room and he went to a private meeting with members of the Alliance for Climate Protection.

His message was loud and clear it sends a strong message that this years’ Nobel Prize is awarded to Al Gore. The world’s most important institutions are recognizing the urgency of the problem that we all face, for my part; I hope that we are able to make the simple green choices that will make that difference.

Nobel Peace Prize Winner Al Gore

by folkbum

That sound you hear is ten thousand right wingnut heads exploding.

It will be followed in a few days by the sound of ten thousand left wingnuts crying in agony when he still refuses to run for president.

(Seriously, though, congrats to Gore.)

Cancer Awareness Month

by capper

I meant to post this a few days ago, but it is still relevant today, so that is OK. This past Tuesday is my mother's birthday. She would have been 64 years old this year. She died in 1999, from breast cancer. She never smoked, and almost never drank alcohol. Another thing she didn't do was get regular exams. By the time the cancer was discovered, it was already spreading throughout her body.

Now, unless you have been living under a rock, almost everyone has been touched by breast cancer in one way or another. Maybe your mother, sister, wife, girlfriend, coworker, or for the gentler gender, you, has probably been diagnosed or knew someone who was diagnosed with cancer. Breast cancer is one of the most treatable kinds of cancer, but the odds are much greater, if it is caught early enough.

None of this is new to you, I'm sure. But, as it has been discussed at folkbum's and many other blogs on both sides of the political aisle, not everyone has health insurance, or can afford to see the doctor. When they do go, it is usually because they are already very sick, and by then, it may already be too late.

What I am asking of you, gentle reader, regardless of gender, age, or political persuasion, is simply to click on the link below, and then click on the button for a free mammogram for the poor and needy. Then safe the site to your favorites, so that you can do it everyday. It costs you nothing but a few seconds, and it may help save someone else's mother. (There are links at the site for other worthy causes, such as literacy, stray animals, etc.) It is something that my father and I have been doing daily for several years.

And if you are fortunate enough to have health insurance, please, please, make sure your loved one gets into the doctor's office for regular exams.

Here is the link for the The Breast Cancer Site:

http://www.thebreastcancersite.com/clickToGive/home.faces?siteId=2&ThirdPartyClicks=prcnbcf

Thank you.

Now, back to the bashing...

I watch too much television

by folkbum

I say this because when I read this headline:

Springfield chief candidate for job here

My first thought was this guy:



Could be worse. We could alse have Quimby running for mayor . . .

Walker: Starve the Beast, Starve the Beauty

by folkbum

One good thing that can be said about Scott Walker: Tosa Ranger is that he has a vision of what his job should be. That vision, however, conflicts with what I think most of Milwaukee County would want that job to be.

Today's story about Walker's budget plan sets up the competing visions--again:

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's proposed 2008 budget underfunds courts by more than $2 million, the county's chief judge said Tuesday.

Circuit Judge Kitty Brennan said she was dismayed by Walker's trims to court operations and charged that he put political considerations ahead of a legal obligation to fund the courts adequately. She commented during an appearance before the County Board's finance committee and in an interview.

"There's no explanation for why the county executive treats the courts with such disrespect," Brennan said. Walker's budget would abolish 18 court staff positions for 2008. [. . .]

Brennan said that Walker's demand for no increase in the property tax levy forces an annual rite of spring in which all county departments are given a target figure in June for their next year's budget requests. Butwhen Walker's version of the budget is introduced in September, the numbers are lowered, she said.

She called the procedure "goofball accounting" and said she was reconsidering her willingness to play along with the practice.

Though she complied with Walker's budget exercise and met with him about court needs, Walker's court clerk cuts were not discussed with her before Walker formally introduced his budget Sept. 27, Brennan told the board's finance committee.

The clerk reduction, if approved by the board, would force her to seek about 11 sheriff's deputies instead, she said. The clerks were authorized several years ago to provide lower-cost staff to manage juries in civil trials, Brennan said.

I elided a bit of the "he said" part of this "he said-she said" mess, but what Brennan hs done here is perfectly encapsulate the problem with Scott Walker: He has a blind obedience to one goal--no tax increases--and will do anything he can, even down to forcing our courts to spend more money on more expensive personnel in order to make his no tax-increase budget.

I think most of us (and, who knows, maybe I'm the crazy one for thinking this) think the County Executive's job is more than just drawing an arbitrary line in the sand and then refusing to cross it even in the face of necessity. There is little question that starving the beast--something like the inordinate pensions still being granted five-plus years into his administration--can provide relief for taxpayers feeling the squeeze. But Walker has moved on to starving the beauty, too: Capper has noted cuts to the parks; Gretchen Schuldt is following cuts to transit. And here we have cuts to, of all things, a cost-saving measure in our County Courthouse (which, as Jim Rowen notes, is in physical disrepair, too).

Nobody likes paying taxes. And, until this state collectively decides that it's going to stop relying primarily on the property tax to fund its schools, cities, and counties, paying taxes will remain acutely painful. But Walker's fix is no fix at all, and sooner or later an even larger bill will come due because of his negligence and idiotic obstinance today. Crumbling infrastructure and an anemic court system are not worth staying on his side of that arbitrary line.

Let's go on Offense on Wiretapping

by Ben Masel

While I agree with Greenwald that the Democratic draft of the FISA Bill re-write is not bad, given that the last revision expires in February, it's worth slowing down and fighting for amendments which repair gaps in communiucations privacy which preceded the summer capitulation, notably with respect to location data collected by the cellular and other wireless providers.

Realtime location tracking was mandated by the "E-911" legislation of the late '90s, for use when YOU dialed 911 in an emergency, but as built out, the architecture knows your whereabouts any time the phone's powered to receive calls. More, a record is retained, and with the Statutes silent, some Courts have held you've waived any privacy in this data history by contracting with the carrier. The highest profile case of law enforcement access in Wisconsin was the election-morning tireslashing incident.

Representative Baldwin, has a key role, as she sits on both the Judiciary and Commerce Committees, both of which have jurisdiction, along with Intel. In prior conversations, she's expressed interest in legislating the location data, but I've yet to hear back on her interest in attaching the fix requiring the same level of warrant requirements as content interception to the pending Wiretap bill.

Please call to try and get Tammy, along with Gwen and Russ onboard. I'll be pitching Senator feingold at his listening session in Cross Plains Thursday. (2:45. Rosemary Garfoot Public Library, 2107 Julius Street)

Now We'll REALLY Have to Protect Great Lakes Water

By Keith Schmitz

Miller Brewing Co. and Coors Brewing of Golden, CO have announced a joint venture.

In related news, Coors has revealed they have made their nearly tasteless beer even lighter by discovering the means of removing the second hydrogen molecule in water.

McIlheran Watch: Pity the Poor, Poor Rich People, Part 11,278

by folkbum

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columninst/ blogger Patrick McIlheran, who is not one of the richest 1% of people in America, nonetheless seems more willing than necessary to take up rhetorical arms to defend the monied on a regular basis.

I've written about this before, repeatedly; that's because McIlheran pretty regularly trots out the old "rich people pay more than their fair share of taxes" baloney. For example, yesterday:

The richest 1% of American taxpayers--make that the top-earning 1%, since income and wealth aren't quite the same--are earning a greater share of all income than before. This upper crust is earning just over 21% of all income in 2005, the data the IRS just released, compared to about 19% the year before. [. . . .T]his top 1% is paying a bigger share of all federal income taxes: 39.4% in '05, compared to 36.9% the year before. [. . .]

And if they ["populist politicians"] want to talk about shifting more of the burden of government onto the very wealthy, they'll have to cope with the fact that the wealthy are already paying most of the freight.

Watch, then, for the left to make the point that it's really about reducing "inequality"--that if the economy insists on paying an ever higher premium for really top-notch talent, it's up to the government to knock the rich guys down a peg or two.

Only that's not an argument about taxes at all, then. It's about socioeconomic jihad.

Those conservatives--always willing to fight jihad!

Seriously, though, I don't dispute McIlheran's numbers. The problem is that he isn't giving you all of the numbers, just the ones designed to make you feel sad for all those poor, poor rich people paying all those horrible taxes. The numbers he cites include only the federal income tax. And any of you who have ever gotten a paycheck know that federal income tax is but one of the negative lines on your pay stub. When you factor in federal payroll taxes, you find that this "progressive" taxation system is really not so much (click for bigger image):

If you believed McIlheran, you would expect to see a giganticon spike at the right side of that graph, suggesting that the rich pay a much greater share of their income in taxes. But that graph shows no such thing. In fact, people earning between $50k and $75k pay a greater share of the income in federal taxes than people earning over $10m an equal share of their income as the top 400 taxpayers in the country (edited to correct for the fact that I can't read at 5 AM).

Kevin Drum, who whipped up that chart, has another (follow the "not so much" link above) that also includes state and local taxes, such as the property tax. He finds that the bottom 20% pays about 18% of their income in taxes overall, and the top 20% pays 19%. The middle 60% is still pretty flat--again, there is no giant spike of the kind McIlheran suggests you would see.

So, no, the lucky duckies who pay no federal income tax don't get off the hook so easily. And, no, the top 1% aren't being squeezed like so many wine grapes, either. So don't be jealous of the poor, and don't feel bad for the poor, poor rich people.

We Still Like Apple

by folkbum

A couple of people have wondered where the post Keith wrote last week about bad customer service from non-Apple vendors went. There's no conspiracy--just a miscommunication between me and Keith.

We like Apple--well, at least I do--and I've had plenty of good customer service experiences with Apple over the years. That includes everything from getting a brand-new iBook with little hassle and getting a MacBook Pro battery long after the battery warranty expired. Just because their customer service people do their jobs well.

We now return you to our regularly scheduled conservative-bashing.

George Bush Hates Taxpayers, Loves Deadbeats

by capper

Not only has George W. Bush proven himself to be absolutely incompetent at running a war, running a country, foreign policy and speaking English, he has added another nail to the coffin of the fallacy that he can do anything right fiscally or socially.

Bush slashed funds to child support enforcement in his Deficit Reduction Act of 2005. These cuts went into effect on October 1, 2007. There currently is a bill in the U.S. Senate, the Child Support Protection Act of 2007, which would, if passed, restore these funds.

What would it mean if the funding is not restored? According to the National Women's Law Center, in 2006, the child support program collected $24 billion for 17 million children-a fourth of the nation's children. For every 74 cents the federal government spent on the program, it collected $4.58 in private child support dollars. This is money that single parents, usually mothers, can use to provide for their children and raise their families out of poverty. It is also money that doesn't need to be spent in entitlement programs, such as welfare, Medicaid and food stamps.

Not only does this program collect child support from deadbeat parents, it helps impoverished and/or unskilled parents gain the skills necessary to attain and maintain viable employment so that they can help support their children.

So, if you would like Congress to exhibit uncommon common fiscal sensibility, contact your U.S. Senator and U.S. Congressman, and encourage them to pass the Child Support Protection Act. If you do, you'll have already done more than George Bush to make this country a better place.

Jay Bullock Gets One Wrong

by capper

Just three short months ago, when I was first entering and exploring the blogosphere, Jay was kind enough to invite me to join his cast of thousands and become a contributor to folkbum's. And I am grateful for the chance to express myself to an audience considerably larger than I would have had if I went off on my own. However, at the risk of appearing the ingrate, I have to point out an error, or at least a partial error, committed by my gracious host.

Last week, Jay wrote an eloquent piece about Lena Taylor's announcement that she is running for Milwaukee County Executive. This post was so well written that it was even listed in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Best of the Blogs in yesterday's paper. The part of the post that I found to be erroneous is:

I did not ask at the time, although it seems obvious now in retrospect: Where was Scott Walker on the Assembly GOP budget that treated Milwaukee County like a toilet? Should it not be the responsibility of the Milwaukee County Executive to stand up for the county that he theoretically represents? But Walker's silence on the Assembly budget was deafening. He could not bring himself to stand up to his former colleagues and do his job.

And if Scott Walker doesn't want to do his job, we should help him out of it.

While all of this is undeniably true, he has committed the error of omission.

Saturday's MSJ had an article about the county board preparing to contend with Walker's proposed budget. The article points out that Walker's budget is dependent on receiving $19 million in increased state aid that is included in the Governor Doyle's and the democratic Senate's version of the state budget, but is absent in the republican assembly's version. Walker is also hoping for quick approval for a borrowing plan, else his budget explodes like each and every one of his budgets for the past several years.

While Jay points out, accurately, that Walker is willfully failing to meet the basic responsibilities of his job, the one he ran for, was elected for and the one he took an oath to perform, Jay does come up a bit short of the mark. The MSJ article reports that not only has Walker failed to stand up for Milwaukee County, he has attacked those that want to help Milwaukee. It is hard to be persuasive when you are biting the hand that feeds you.

In other words, Walker is not only failing to faithfully represent Milwaukee County, but he is willfully sabotaging any effort to help the county out of the miasma he has created. Or to paraphrase County Board Supervisor Quindel, who is cited as saying, in a bit of an understatement, Walker is "not very politically astute".

But the one truth Jay did hit on the head is that Walker needs to be helped out of office.

Alberta Darling: Even I Don't Like The Job I've Done

by capper


As I had noted previously, in 1996, Alberta Darling, along with her fellow Republicans, at the marching orders of then-Governor Tommy Thompson added a clause to the budget bill, taking over the child welfare system in Milwaukee County. Their rationale was that, even though independent audits had shown the foster care system to be grossly underfunded, that they could do a better job at running the system than Milwaukee County had.

In 1998, the state took over, creating the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare (BMCW) and began to privatize the system. By the end of 2001, they had it all but completely privatized, with contracts to no less than five different agencies. They also increased the budget for Milwaukee County's child welfare system by some $35 million. At that time, the standard payment to a foster parent of a child less than three years old was $292 per month.

In this morning's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, there is an article that reports the payment to foster parents has skyrocketed up to $317 per month. That is $25 per month, or a .o9% increase, in six years. Not exactly a great big lot of help.

Now, I will admit that I don't have children myself, but I did work in the child welfare system. I know that the cost to raise a child is pretty high. It becomes higher when the child has been abused and neglected, as that child will have some serious emotional and sometimes physical issues that need to be contended with. There is the need for special medical equipment, extra time is needed for meetings with social workers, attorneys, advocates, doctors and other professionals that would not be in the life of a healthy child, and there is the damage that can occur when an emotionally scarred child acts out.

And, based on conversations that I have had with people that are still working in the system, foster parents are not getting a lot of support from BMCW. Their requests for extra services are ignored, their complaints fall on deaf ears, and they are often left with an inexperienced worker, or no worker at all.

Foster parents do one of the hardest jobs in the world. They take in someone else's child that has been neglected, physically abused, and/or sexually abused, and they give it a loving home, nurturing and an affection that is totally alien to what they have had previously experienced. They don't do it for accolades, or money, or any reason other than they love children.

So, where is all that extra money going? Well, there is the administration of all these different agencies, and their own spending issues, including $9,000 for a conference table. There is also a faulty computer system, the lawsuits, and the ongoing internal audits done by the state to tell itself there are no problems, even though everyone else can see them. Oh, and there is the inefficiencies of the private agencies.

The article goes on to report that State Senator Alberta Darling, the same person who helped give birth to this monster, and is on the advisory board, which is supposed to be overseeing BMCW, due to all of its problems, takes this position:

Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) says she supports that increase - and more in the future. "We are really significantly behind," she said. "We are spending millions and millions of dollars on foster care, and some of that needs to be directed toward foster parent reimbursement."

Darling, who is a member of the advisory group to the state-run Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare, added that the state needs to come up with a 10-year plan to "redirect some of the money going to the bureaucracy into direct service on the line to foster parents and kinship parents."

She admits that there are serious flaws that are ongoing in BMCW, which she helped to create, and is supposed to be overseeing. In other words, she admits that even she doesn't like the job she has been doing. It should only be a matter of time before she is wearing a "Sheldon Wasserman for State Senate" button.

Coming out Party

By Keith Schmitz

It is with no small matter of pride that I caught my daughter Elise's first piece as a Milwaukee Journal Community columnist in this morning's edition. Actually I had my eye on one of the columnist spots, but I was unable to find time to try out as I was a bit tied up with her sister's wedding (another liberal by the way who married a guy who grew up in the Canadian health care system. And yes, he loves it).

Elise's inaugural column was on Bush's veto of the bill funding the SCHIP program to provide health care to kids whose parents have trouble covering the medical expenses.

In this case veto #4 is where W has slowly drawn the veto pen across the throats of incumbent GOP members of the House who are in swing districts, unless of course they had the moral and political smarts to vote for the

Needless to say, like all good op-eds, it will delight some and upset others. Unlike say Jonah Goldberg, who has no real world experience though gets carried by a newspaper syndicate because like Mikey in the Life Commercial conservative readers will eat up everything that gets served to him, Elise knows what she's talking about:

Working for a company that administers government dental programs - including SCHIP - in states across the country, I may be viewed as biased. I say I have a unique understanding of not only how these programs work but the immense benefit they provide to children. Children who, through no fault of their own, have parents who can't afford private health insurance and children whose parents are responsible enough to seek help.

This is followed up with some Bush indictments laced with facts:

Bush had to drag the issue of socialized medicine into the mix. I don't see the correlation between socializing medicine and taking care of under- or non-insured kids. Even with SCHIP, there still are about 9 million American children without insurance, with about 88,000 in Wisconsin.

And she closes with a nice call to action:

It's up to members of Congress to step up and get the necessary votes to override Bush's veto. Let's hope they listen to their constituents and do the right thing.

Of course I'm looking forward to more of these. What father wouldn't. As she told the Journal when she submitted her entries, "in our family we follow politics the way other families follow sports."

Needless to say, Elise represents a demographic trend for her cohort. As Howard Dean pointed out at the YearlyKos conference back in August, in the 2006 election a large percentage of voters 18 to 30 years old have swung to the Democratic party.

Even young Evangelicals are turning their total attention away from gay bashing and abortion politics, and are becoming more concerned about the environment, economic fairness and Darfur. And at this age their voting pattern becomes set for life unless some very serious disruption takes place.

Bush's veto of SCHIP will only accelerate this process.

Racist Pig Cuts Down Mexican Flag

It came as no great surprise yesterday when a veterans’ e-mail newsletter that I receive boasted that an American believed he possessed the right to invade the private property of a Reno, Nevada tavern owned by a Mexican-American and cut down a Mexican flag flying above an American flag (pictured above).

According to WorldNetDaily.com: “After hearing a Reno bar was flying a Mexican flag above a U.S. flag, an angered U.S. Army veteran took matters into his own hands, drove to the site and cut down the banners in front of a stunned group of Hispanic patrons.”

The bigot in question identified himself as one “Jim Broussard,” according to WorldNetDaily.com (smoke weed before visiting the site).

WorldNetDaily.com quotes Broussard:

"I'm Jim Broussard, and I took this flag down in honor of my country with … a knife from the United States Army. … I'm a veteran; I'm not going to see this done to my country. If they want to fight us, then they need to be men, and they need to come and fight us. But I want somebody to fight me for this flag. They're not going to get it back. … I was immediately infuriated and felt a duty to do something about it. I feel there's a lot of this turning-our-heads-on-things in concern with the Hispanic community and the things they do. They seem impervious to our laws in a lot of situations."

Guess what Broussard, we are they.

I’ve had my dealings with the likes of racists like Jim Broussard before and they share several traits: Ignorance, hate, cowardice, and a sociopathic sense of entitlement to inflict their authoritarian, sick vision of White America rules!

My ethnic heritage is Irish-Mexican.

The Mexican part comes from my father who hails from Aurora, Illinois.

And I have been both the recipient of oral history and eyewitness experience in seeing how Mexican-Americans handle the likes of the bigoted Jim Broussard.

Put it this way, it’s direct and confrontational. And Jim Broussard and his pathetic moment of racist pride would not win the day were he to attempt to pull this crap in a Mexican bar in Aurora.

The SOB would have an even worse time in an Irish bar.

In May last year, I was privileged to attend a ceremony (covered well in the Chicago Tribune) in Aurora honoring a relative who was a pioneering Hispanic police officer and listen to his daughter who ridiculed the racists (after all we are all “spics,” as the bigots say) as the fools that all racists are.

There is a report that the Hispanic community in Reno is considering legal and political action against Broussard.

That’s a good idea. Brother Jesse and Brother Al, I think we may just need you really soon over in Reno.

###

The yarmulke as sports apparel?

by bert

Is this funny or yet another bad idea from a radio PR genius?

What makes this event different from all others is that a “Braun for Rookie of the Year” yarmulke is required for admission. The yarmulkes are only available on air nd on site at Milwaukee’s ESPN Radio events.

UPDATE: Boston is already all over this trend:

Fans wore team jerseys and paint on their faces. Young fan Joey Hasson, with his Brookline High School classmate Joe Schacht, showed his pride by wearing a Red Sox team-logo yarmulke.
"I got it from Israel," said Hasson, who added that he hoped the Red Sox players would sign it.
"I had one, too," said Schacht, who wore a more conventional Boston baseball cap. "I lost it."

Howl Against Censorship, Howl, 50 Years Later

As we fight in this period of American repression, it's nice to mark a victory 50 years of ago when Lawrence Ferlinghetti and Allen Ginsberg won their victory to publish Howl, a passionate, good-humored, angry cry for love and justice.

Via Pacifica radio:

Fifty years ago, on October 3, Judge Clayton Horn ruled that Allen Ginsberg's great epic Beat-era poem HOWL was not obscene but instead, a work of literary and social merit. This ruling allowed for the publication of HOWL and exonerated the
poet Lawrence Ferlinghetti, who faced jail time and a fine 50 years ago for publishing "HOWL."

This is great program; following is an audio link to the special Pacifica special: Howl, 50 Years Later (includes Jan. 1959 reading by Ginsberg) and a conversation with Lawrence Ferlinghetti, among other wonderful people.

- HOWL (link to text)

HOWL
For Carl Solomon

###

Lena Taylor for Milwaukee County Executive

by folkbum

Joe Klein finally has a challenger in his race for County Executive, and it's State Senator Lena Taylor:

Following weeks of speculation, state Sen. Lena Taylor announced today she planned to run for Milwaukee County executive next spring "to restore balance integrity and fiscal accountability." "It's time for a higher degree of leadership and a new direction," Taylor, 41, said in a prepared statement.

There is some possibility--even though he promised he wouldn't--that incumbent Scott Walker may eventually join the race. But we'll have to wait and see about that.

Taylor has been working hard to establish a reputation as someone who will fight, unashamedly, for Milwaukee County. I wrote this recently:

Lena Taylor was perhaps the most fiery. [. . .] She, like Colón, had a lot of raw passion and, frankly, anger about the way the budget process has gone and what the Assembly GOP is trying to do to Milwaukee. She flat-out called Republican Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch "an a-hole" (she used the euphemism, that's not me cleaning it up) and at one point stood up to emphasize her points.

In particular, she was angry about the way the GOP budgets targets areas of the state that voted for Jim Doyle: Milwaukee, Beloit, Racine, and Superior. It was in that context--especially complaining about cuts in shared revenue aimed at those cities--that the "a-hole" comment flew. She was furious about the bait-and-switch Republicans pulled on MPS funding, about Republicans' provision limiting how many ballots Milwaukee County could print for elections, about the short-sighted nature of the cuts to MATC and UW. "If they [the Republicans] don't like what you're doing, they will punish you," she said.

I did not ask at the time, although it seems obvious now in retrospect: Where was Scott Walker on the Assembly GOP budget that treated Milwaukee County like a toilet? Should it not be the responsibility of the Milwaukee County Executive to stand up for the county that he theoretically represents? But Wallker's silence on the Assembly budget was deafening. He could not bring himself to stand up to his former colleagues and do his job.

And if Scott Walker doesn't want to do his job, we should help him out of it.

Cause and Effect?

by folkbum

Cause:

I was offered a spot under the aegis of jsonline to do some writing about issues in education and reform--stuff I find interesting but never get around to writing about here.

Effect:

Journal Sentinel looks to reduce staff

Journal Sentinel Inc. said today it is offering employee buyouts in the hope of reducing its workforce by 35 to 50 people.

The company said if not enough employees take the offer, an "involuntary program" will be considered.

Well . . . probably not.

WTMJ and the crusade against Miller

by bert

I have only heard enough from talk radio while driving around this week to know that Miller Brewing threatens Christianity.

The San Francisco poster promoting a gay festival that had Miller's logo would in fact offend Christians. I agree. But, as others have said, many gays are as anti-Christian as many Christians are anti-gay. This poster is called pushing buttons.

But Charlie Sykes plays into their ploy, mounting a crusade against Miller Brewing. He and his station mean business too, using their airwaves to encourage beer drinkers to not buy Miller. Although the brewery has backtracked plenty, Charlie continued to attack as of today.

That's selfless of Charlie to air all those callers who swore they'll never again drink Miller, hey? After all, he markets wine as a sideline, and looks to be a chardoney drinker. Maybe, once in a while on game day, he'll slum it and crack open a Zima.

Still, Miller is a Milwaukee institution. So Charlie is righteous and wreckless for taking them on. A man of principle, to h-e-doubletoothpicks with the consequences.

But here's where I need help from other listeners who've heard more than me of AM radio this week. Could you write in and let me know when Charlie and others explained that WTMJ is henceforth refusing to accept advertising from Miller? Isn't a radio boycott of Miller advertising revenue called for here? You know, to save Christianity and stuff.

Hillary Clinton Supports Resolution Prohibiting Funding for Military Action Against Iran

by Michael A. Leon

Hillary has taken a stand against the crazies on Iran, like that looney Lieberman neocon.

From Steve Clemons:

There is breaking news via Taylor Marsh that Hillary Clinton will support Senator Webb's Resolution demanding that the President seek Congressional approval before any military action against Iran and prohibiting the use of funds for military operations in Iran. This is significant news because while Hillary Clinton did support the Kyl-Lieberman Resolution calling for the Iranian Revolutionary Guard to be formally labeled a terrorist organization -- and thus providing the President with a potential back door Congressional authorization for yet another war in the Middle East -- her opposition to White House military action against Iran without Congress's sign off cuts a different and healthy direction.

Good for you, Hillary. [On a personal note, I just got done blasting you on the issue elsewhere, and am incorrect in my assessment.]

Below are links to a sample of pieces around the world on various aspects of the war president's next catastrophe.

- The Independent: US plan for air strikes on Iran 'backed by Brown'

- The Telegraph: Neocons seek to justify action against Teheran

- The Mail: I hate all Iranians, US aide tells MPs

- The Guardian: Bolton calls for bombing of Iran

- The New Yorker: Shifting Targets, The Administration’s plan for Iran

- Der Spiegel: 'The President Has Accepted Ethnic Cleansing'

- The Boston Globe: History and the drumbeat of war

Update: Madison, Oct. 20, Saturday, 11:00 AM-Noon; Peace Vigils At the Malls: West Towne Mall
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More On Walker's Proposed Budget

by capper

I was going to stop writing about Walker and his proposed budget for a while. Even I am getting tired of it, and I do have other interests in life. But then three things came to my attention this evening, and I had to give up my short hiatus.

One was that there are at least two entities, besides his usual cheerleaders, that are all for Walker's proposed budget. One is the Wisconsin Lutheran College. In 2003, Walker sold 25 acres of county land to WLC, with an option to buy almost another 9 acres, if the county vacated the greenhouses which stand on the land. If purchased within five years of the original deal, WLC would pay $100, 000 per acre. If between five and ten years, it would be sold at the appraised value at the time of the sale. As you can guess, Walker has it in his budget this year.

Not a bad deal right? But part of the agreement is that the county is responsible for the cost of demolishing the 30,000 square feet of greenhouses and abatement of any hazard materials. He also has a plan to build a 7,500 square foot greenhouse on the grounds of the Domes, at the price tag of $1,470,246. This plan would also force the county to purchase the flowers and plants it can no longer grow due to the loss of all that square footage. Perhaps he knows a landscaper that might be willing to work with him on this? That person would probably enjoy this budget as well.

Then I saw this. He brags about funding the deputies to patrol the lakefront and the buses, pointing out how it adds to the county's safety, which is true. But it takes audacity to take credit for restoring what shouldn't have been cut in the first place, but that politics for you. He also brags of the affordability of his plan, pointing out how much in taxes the county taxpayer was "saved" in the past five years, but does not mention the huge bills that are waiting in the forms of shorted payments to the pension fund, the lawsuits, and the cost of finally cleaning up the mess he made.

The funniest was when he spoke about the pride that he is bringing to Milwaukee County. Yeah, right. These people look real happy and proud of his transit plans. And we've already seen the beauty of the parks.

But all is not doom and gloom. Hope is just around the corner!

Now, maybe, I can move on to something else.

Too much awesomeness for one blog

by folkbum

Okay, now that the cat is fully out of the bag, I think it's important that everyone knows exactly what the cat looks like. A while back, I saw a "Wanna Writa Blog?" link on the jsonline Education page, and filled out the form. I was offered a spot under the aegis of jsonline to do some writing about issues in education and reform--stuff I find interesting but never get around to writing about here at what has really become a state-and-local political blog. I'm not giving up this fort, and I only expect to have the fort at jsonline for basically this school year. A new stable of community bloggers will likely rise to vanquish us in time. I'm still writing for the Bay View Compass (which is still not quite online--I think they would take volunteers if you're into that sort of thing), and I still have the day job.

Laura Thompson, who's heading up the Education@JSOnline stuff, has a blog post up today explaining the whole deal and introducing all of us. You can find us in the "Community Bloggers" pull-down menu here for future reference.

I keep thinking that someday I will be able to parlay this blogging thing into something profitable. It's not today. But someday.

Oh, and

by folkbum

I've sold out.