Taylor vs. Walker: The First Debate

by capper

Yesterday, State Senator Lena Taylor and Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker had their first official debate. Unfortunately, I wasn't there, and the only information is from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. (More about this in my next post.)

Senator Taylor pointed out that Walker has failed to work with other leaders, including the County Board, Mayor Tom Barrett, other regional leaders. Even more significantly, Walker willfully sabotaged any efforts to get more money to come to Milwaukee County during the last state budget talk, by putting his own political aspirations before the good of the County. (Not surprisingly, the county budget is already in critical condition and large cuts or other drastic measures will be needed in the near future. Walker is probably just hoping to make it past the election before the matter hits the fan.)

Senator Taylor also highlighted some of her accomplishments, including successfully passing budgets on a state level, bringing millions of dollars to Milwaukee County, effectively pulling Walker's butt out of a mess. Senator Taylor also pointed out that she would find better ways to improve the local economy, including helping people get back into the workforce.

Walker, who got by far, much more coverage, also got away with some, shall we say, inaccuracies. Walker said that he helped form groups studying transit, but fails to state how he has sabotaged those studies. He said that he has worked well with Halloway (who has a history of being less than ethical himself). Another one of his bragging points is the proposed move from the mental health complex to the old St. Michael's hospital. He fails to point out that this would be more expensive than doing the necessary work at the current facility. (This must be the affordability part of his plan.)

Walker said that he had also worked with local communities to train and equip paramedics. This must have been after the County Board overrode his veto of the whole County portion of this budget. He also boasts of going on a local trade mission to the Czech Republic. I can't wait to see this. What is the Czech phrase for "Putting lipstick on a pig.", anyway?

Walker's plan for the future includes the "new approaches" of slashing budgets and privatizing everything that he can, including the airport. That's an attitude that raises questions from even one of his biggest backers.

But the most telling part of who won the debate came in afterwards. Senator Taylor's campaign manager, John Zapfel, put out this statement right after the debate:

“Today, Lena Taylor outlined exactly why she is the best choice to lead Milwaukee County into the future. She has the relationships with the Governor and the State Legislature to fight for the needs of Milwaukee County in Madison, as she did when she provided the county with $3 million for the transit system in the recent budget. She has the ability to work with the Mayor, the board Chairman, and the County Board to get things done. And she has the experience necessary to be an effective Milwaukee County Executive.

“In contrast, Scott Walker has demonstrated an inability to work with public officials in both Madison and Milwaukee, opting instead to blame others for the lack of funding for Milwaukee County. He even failed to approach Senator Taylor this past budget cycle when she was on the Joint Finance Committee in the State Legislature, neglecting his duties as the county’s CEO.

“Milwaukee County residents need action and results, not excuses and scapegoats. Lena Taylor is the right choice for the county, and the voters will make their voices heard on April 1.”

Meanwhile, the MSJ article reports that Walker was doing a lot of mewling:

Speaking after the debate, Walker said that Democrats had made sure that Taylor got credit for sponsoring the $3 million transit budget amendment for Milwaukee County as a way to boost her county executive bid. The aid permitted the County Board to preserve bus routes that Walker had proposed cutting.

First point goes to Taylor.

Debate Reminder

by capper

Just a friendly reminder that there will be a debate between Senator Lena Taylor and Scott Walker tomorrow, Thursday, February 21 at the Italian Community Center, 631 E. Chicago Street. The debate is scheduled to run from 11:45 to 1:30 p.m.

The debate is co-sponsored by the Milwaukee Press Club and the Public Policy Forum and will be moderated by William Holahan, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Admission, which includes lunch and parking, is $40 for press club members and $50 for non-members.

Also, there apparently will be an blogtalkradio debate next Tuesday.

H/T The Thoughtful Conservative

A Bad Night for Bloggers?

by folkbum

Almost worse than writing prediction posts, and certainly worse than writing endorsement posts, is the dreaded morning-after post. Everybody else is gonna be all "winner!" this and "significance!" that and if I want to stand out and keep my reputation as original and thoughtful, I have to come up with something clever and otherwise un-beat-to-death on a morning like this one.

The pressure to make WisOpinion sometimes is enormous.

So here's my spin: Last night was a bad night for bloggers.

Now, a constant theme of mine is that blogs don't vote. I think the blogs play an important role in the public discourse, of course, and we are slowly weaseling our way into polite society. Nothing pleases me quite so much as seeing my blog on the first page of google results for some particular candidate or issue. But blog fervor does not, cannot, will not replace actual voters, who more often than not end up doing what they want anyway.

And last night was a case study of that in several ways.

For starters, two bloggers lost their primaries for Milwaukee County Board. Okay, technically Jason Haas isn't really blogging any more, and he didn't really try in his race, but he finished dead last of four in my district. Dan Cody, who does blog, also finished last--albeit much closer--in his race in the 15th Supervisory District.

Sam McGovern-Rowen, son-of-a-blogger, finished third in his race for alderman in a crowded field here in Milwaukee. (On the upside, both Dan and Sam got more votes in their races than Republican hero Rudy Giuliani did statewide--and almost as many as Republican savior Fred Thompson.)

The liberal side of the Cheddarsphere is not the only side that suffered last night. Conservative blogger enemy number one Michael McGee, Jr., took first in his primary from behind bars. (Not that I'm happy about that, either, but it's a particular blow to them and their complaints about the "alderthug.") All their plans to crossover and vote for Hillary Clinton to torpedo Barack Obama got them nothing but a total Republican turnout that was less than either Clinton's or Obama's vote totals individually. If I were Kathy Carpenter, the one blogger who survived the night, I'd be worried.

I'm sure that someone else, somewhere, is putting up a more interesting collection of pithy observations about last night's primary. The fact that some of the biggest coming contests--state supreme court, Milwaukee county Executive--lacked a primary kind of means there just weren't many fireworks to be had, and the to-do list doesn't really kick in until today: The real work starts in earnest now in both of those big races. Clinton needs to seriously consider suspending her campaign at this point. And bloggers need to keep rethinking their oft-inflated view of themselves.

How Not To Make A Point

by capper

I have often expressed my concern about the possibility of Wisconsin passing a concealed carry law. Naturally, there are some squeaky wheels who sit in opposition to this position, and advocate for such a law, citing antecdotes.

In today's JSOnline Newswatch, there is another antecdotal story that confirms my postion:

A 76-year-old West Bend man was charged today with brandishing a shotgun at a city snow plow driver after apparently becoming angry that the plow struck his mailbox.

According to a criminal complaint filed today, Edward H. Haas, of West Bend, at about 4:45 p.m. on Monday followed the plow driver to the next block on Park Avenue and parked a minivan in front of the plow, blocking its path.

The plow driver said Haas ran up to the truck, yelled "You hit my mailbox four (expletive) times," went back to the van, pulled out a double-barrel shotgun, brought it up to his shoulder and aimed it at the driver, the complaint says.

When he saw Haas point the gun at him, the driver immediately stepped on the truck's accelerator and turned it away from Haas, according to the complaint.

West Bend police responded and went to Haas' home, but Haas refused to come to the door after police knocked. Officers entered the house and after a brief search found a shotgun in a basement storage room that fit the description given by the plow driver, according to the complaint.

Haas told police he did not aim the gun at the driver but waved a broom stick at him, the complaint says.

Haas was charged Tuesday with pointing a firearm at another person and disorderly conduct with a dangerous weapon. Both are misdemeanors. If convicted on both counts, Haas could be imprisoned 18 months.

Haas has no prior criminal record, according to online court records. He could not be reached for comment.

This man has gone through 76 years without committing a crime. And he was wielding a shotgun, not a handgun. Yet he threatened someone's life and safety in a moment of rage.

Now imagine hundreds, if not thousands of younger people, packing handguns, walking and/or driving around. It only takes one moment of rage and someone could get seriously hurt, if not killed. Of course, the recent news of a rash of shootings, both locally and abroad, already proves that point.

A Walk(er) On The Wild Side

by capper

Now that the primaries are over, it is now time to turn our focus on April 1st, when the spring general elections are being held. Even though I am sure that these races will get more heated as the next few weeks go by, here are some things to help whet your appetite.

Zachary, of Blogging Blue, takes the time to recap a few of the lies that Walker has told and some of the many promises that Walker has broken.

We also have Gretchen Schuldt, who has been telling the undercovered scoop of Walker failing to keep the community safe. For a refresher on Round 1 as Walker gets chastised by Chief Judge Kitty Brennan, I would refer you to my post from last week.

Gretchen now gives us details of Round 2. The highlight is when Judge Brennan gives Walker a sharp right to the chin with this:

I've already expressed my opinion that a GPS program will only be safe if there is sufficient law enforcement monitoring of offenders and strict enforcement of violations. I do not see adequate monitoring and enforcement staffing levels or jail beds addressed un your current GPS proposal...

We also have the Brawler of Brew City, who creatively hypothesizes what it might look like have Walker loses, and he is forced to go out and look for real work. Here is just a teaser to pique your interest, but do make sure to read the rest. It is hilarious:

Recruiter: I've been looking through your materials. I just wanted to note I was surprised by how many misspellings I caught on your resume --

Walker: I'm giving my secretary 30 days to fix those or she's gone.

Recruiter: Isn't it your responsibility to make sure your resume is clean before you submit it --

Walker: Fifteen days? Would that be decisive leadership or what? Think of what I could do for your business!

Recruiter: Right...and that's why we're here. OK, first off, congratulations on your political career. I think it's safe to say that your ascension to county executive has challenged my belief that this country is a meritocracy.

Walker: Thanks!

I think that the biggest slap at Walker came from Milwaukee County voters, when they decided to keep John Weishan, Jr., on the ballot, while the pro-Walker candidate, Matthew Muelver, doesn't make it past the primary. The results with 90% of the votes counted:

John Weishan (inc) 3,139 36%

Timothy Manzke 2,445 28%

Matthew Muelver 1,888 21%

Richard Eaton 1,343 15%

This just echoes of the special election last summer, when Walker backer/crony Chris Kujawa lost handedly in a race for the County Board.

To continue the roll, please support Senator Lena Taylor. To get more information, please click here to get to her website.

Uniter

By Keith Schmitz

I never thought I'd live to see a black man get a Texas crowd of 20,000 cheer upon hearing the names of Milwaukee, Eau Claire and Green Bay.

On a lighter note, John McCain says "he's ready to protect a health care system that is the envy of the world."

So is he running to be president of France?

Hillary Clinton: Winning the hearts and minds of wingnut bloggers all across Wisconsin

by folkbum

No, I don't know who I am voting for yet. But the conservative side of the Cheddarsphere has made up its mind: Hillary FTW!

See, just on my first run through the dark side, Lance Burri, The Game, Fred Dooley, Patrick Dorwin. There are undoubtedly more. (In comments below, 3rd Way points us to Sarah Kirby.)

Now, there are also plenty of people that I actually like who are voting for Clinton, out of much more pure reasons, like Mike Plaisted.

But the growing pro-Clinton wave on the right ... I feel like I need to take a long shower.

Something else to think about

by folkbum

Barack Obama seems to have won the coveted Susan Werner endorsement.

Vote Tuesday, with recommendations

by folkbum

The more often I do these kind of posts, the more often I'm convinced that they have little effect. But I do them anyway--people grow to expect them and sometimes they even help me work out some of my own messy thinking.

City of Milwaukee
There are a handful of primaries around the city, only two of which are really getting any attention. For the city's 6th Aldermanic District, I recommend Una Van Duvall--as I did during the recall election last year. There is a great deal of speculation about whether Michael McGee, Jr., the incumbent, can hold the seat from behind bars. Let's hope this is the year he is let go. In the 3rd Aldermanic District, there are about a bazillion candidates. I think many of them would do well on the Common Council, but I think my readers could do a lot worse than electing Sam McGovern-Rowen to the post.

Less visible are two campaigns closer to my home. The 13th Aldermanic District is just across the street, literally, from me; I recommend current alderman Terry Witkowski in his primary. In the 14th Aldermanic District, which is mine, I recommend Tony Zielinski, the incumbent. I do not always agree with him, but he has got to be the hardest working man on the Common Council right now. His opponents, to put it mildly, are nuts. Arthur Kimball seems to be on a personal vendetta against Zielinski, lobbing attack after attack at Zielinski at the forum last week--most of the attacks were quite baseless. Andrew Reid seems to be running on a platform of "I don't know the answers, but I'd like to be the guy you elect to try to find out the answers." That did save him the trouble of having to answer the questions at the candidate forum, but I don't think it makes for a very good campaign. (The candidate forum I tried to live-blog--before my battery ran out--is YouTubed here. Watch it if you don't believe me about Kimball!)

Milwaukee County
Again, not a lot of primaries, and I will only comment on two. In the 15th Supervisory District, I recommend a longtime friend of this blog, Dan Cody. In the 14th Supervisory District, where I live, I recommend Chris Larson. Jason Haas, also a longtime friend of this blog, is a good guy, but this is not his time. Steven Kraeger, who told a Bay View-centric audience at the candidate forum last week that he would "have Scott Walker's back," couldn't even earn Walker's endorsement. That honor(?) went to Sebastian Raclaw, who at the forum seemed more reasonable that I thought he would be. But Raclaw also plans not to devote his full-time attention to the work of the County Board, planning instead to keep his day job as a Milwaukee police detective. Hence, I plan to vote Larson.

President
In my head I have a long series of on-the-one-hands, pro-con lists that go on for pages and pages and pages. In the end, I come back to a few paragraphs I've written over the last year or so:

On the Democrats' side, I will repeat what I've said before about Hillary: I really, really, really want to have an election sometime in my lifetime without someone named Bush or Clinton on the ballot. Please. (Technically, 1976 was "in my lifetime," but I obviously couldn't vote then.) We don't--we shouldn't--have an aristocracy in this country; another eight years of a Clinton would make it feel uncomfortably like we do.

I have little doubt that Hillary would make a good president--and I think she can, indeed, win--so I will vote for/ volunteer for/ get excited about her candidacy should she be the nominee. But I don't think I'll be connecting the arrow next to her name.
*******
Obama has the potential to be a transformative candidate, a transformative president. As a veteran of the Dean campaign in 2004, I love transformative campaigns. Obama has the potential--indeed, he has fulfilled it in some early contests--to motivate younger voters and others often left out of presidential politics to vote in large numbers. His rhetoric and his tone is all about unity and hope and change, and he's a much more convincing agent of change in that sense than Clinton. Obama's Democratic majority would be larger, have longer coattails, and would look more like 21st-century America.

Clinton, on the other hand, would not be transformative. But she would be a fixer. Again, I think back to what drew me to Richardson--the idea that we'll need someone in the White House who has the ability to pick up all the severed threads of American democracy and secure them before this thing really falls apart. I have no doubt that Clinton can do exactly that.

Which is not to say that Obama couldn't also assemble a team who can handle the mundane, real, and practical challenges he would inherit next January, or that Clinton wouldn't be able to put together a wide and historic voting coalition with coattails and all in November. It's just that each seems to have a different key strength, which leaves me at this point unable to recommend voting against either one.

To be consistent, I'd have to not vote for Clinton. On the other hand (see?) I think she is the more liberal candidate, and a few of Obama's positions--like how he Harry-and-Louised Clinton, or his saying Social Security is in crisis--undermine Democrats and Democratic themes. I think Obama has the momentum, has had since Iowa, really, to win the nomination. On the other hand (I promised myself I wouldn't do this!), if Clinton and Obama both camp out for two weeks in Ohio--a must-win in November--because Wisconsin didn't settle this thing, it can only be good for organization-building leading up to the general this fall.

In short, I still don't know what to do. I will enthusiastically support Obama in November, but does his being the likely nominee tip the scales to make me vote for him now? Should I try to keep Clinton in the race longer to keep the excitement building and keep McCain shut out of the media spotlight? Should I cross over and vote for Huckabee to try to keep the Republican process extended and nasty?

I probably won't know until tomorrow afternoon when I have the pencil in hand. And even then, I may flip a coin.

Which Is Worse?

by capper

Which is worse?

Driving on a skating rink or driving through nearly a foot of snow.



OK, it was a trick question. The answer is both.

George W. Bush Visits the Africa Continent

by bert

Our president has deepened his knowledge of the world during his time as our leader.

Then (June 2001):

"We spent a lot of time talking about Africa, as we should. Africa is a nation that suffers from incredible disease."

Now:

"This is a large place with a lot of nations, and no question not everything is perfect."

But to be serious a second, I applaud him for this trip and for drawing some attention to Africa.

Self-indulgent Reminder: Come see me play

by folkbum

I know not all of you will be down at the Founder's Day Dinner being wowed by Sens. Clinton and Obama tomorrow night. The much cheaper event--though without the mediocre conference center food--is the finals of the Coffee House Midwinter Talent Contest. There will be seven very talented performers (plus me) vying for the top prizes. The skinny:

The Coffee House
631 N. 19th Street, Milwaukee
8:00 PM • $3.50

See you there. We now return you to our regularly scheduled mayhem.

Candidates and Content

by bert

A throng of republicans are right now turning their doleful eyes upward to right-wing radio sages for help. These people need to know why they should loathe Barack Obama.

So far, that help has been unsatisfactory.

The best thrust the right wing can orchestrate at the moment against Obama is that he is empty. This is obviously the talking point. Obama offers no specifics, they tell us. He is “content free”.

I don’t think that’s going to work, though. I was struck, after attending a Mike Huckabee rally last Wednesday for the heck of it, that Huckabee’s speech was no more full of “content” than a speech I heard Obama deliver last year at a rally in an Iowa gym.

It’s okay for Huckabee to stir applause and “amens” with wispy code words about “respect for life”. (I don’t even recall that he used the word “abortion” at this speech.) But apparently Obama needs to deliver a powerpoint lecture to the good people of Waterloo-Cedar Falls on his future trade policy with Azerbaijan. Otherwise, he’s a rock star and an empty suit.

It is laughable to hear Charlie Sykes dutifully talk this Obama point this week on his radio show. As a matter of fact, today Charlie again said Obama is “content free.”

It’s naïve for me to ask this, but why doesn’t Charlie have Obama on his radio station, as he has had Republicans like Huckabee this week, and ask Obama to give some content? If Charlie thinks it is a problem that people don’t know enough about Obama, Charlie and his transmitter possess a solution.

Like I said, naive question. Of course the right wing’s real problem is not what they say it is. Their honest-to-goodness problem is that their project to destroy Obama is not getting traction, yet.

Another Campus Massacre

By Keith Schmitz

Once again families were visited by tragedy thanks to the out of control actions of one person augmented with firearms.

A gunman dressed in black stepped from behind a curtain at the front of a large lecture hall at Northern Illinois University on Thursday and shot 21 people, six of them fatally, then shot and killed himself, said university President John Peters.

According to Peters:

A preliminary investigation has not uncovered a police record on the gunman, and records showed he had no contact with NIU police while a student there.

Here's the point. Another "law-abiding citizen" responsible for the firearm deaths of a large number of people.

Bill Clinton In MIlwaukee

By Keith Schmitz

The real American for Prosperity President Bill Clinton will be Milwaukee this morning. Doors open at 9:00.

Here's the place:

Italian Community Center
631 East Chicago St.
Milwaukee, WI 53202

The public of course is invited.

Walker Blames George Bush, Jim Doyle

by capper

Talk about being held with the bag, the daily paper in these parts are now reporting that the Milwaukee County Pension Fund is going bad, in a real bad way:

The Milwaukee County Pension Board got a sobering assessment Wednesday of the lagging economy's impact on the pension fund - and some dire speculation on how far south it might go this year.

The county fund lost $56 million in January, a 3.4% drop, to $1.55 billion. The reduction in the fund's value comes on the heels of a $50 million drop for the fourth quarter of 2007, which lowered last year's growth yield to a lower-than-expected 6.3%.

The economic slowdown is hitting or will affect nearly all sectors of the
economy, according to Terry Dennison of Mercer Investment Consulting.

He warned that the county's pension system, which relies on county taxpayer contributions to stay afloat, "could implode" if things spiral down as he fears they may.

"This is not a typical recession," Dennison told the Pension Board. "This one has the elements of system failure. . . . It's spread into everything now."

So the County's Pension Fund drops $100+ million in the last four months, there is talk of major recession (thanks for nothing, Bush), but this doesn't worry County Executive Scott Walker:

County Executive Scott Walker said he was more concerned about potential state budget cuts than he is about the problems with the pension fund.

County Auditor Jerry Heer said the pension fund was in better shape than some board members suggested. The county has taken steps to stabilize the pension system in the wake of the 2002 county pension scandal, he noted.

Okay, Mr. Heer, but what about the pension scandal that just surfaced last year? What did Walker do about that, besides nothing?

Why do I keep thinking about the phrase, "Nero fiddled while Rome burned"?

Question for John Torinus

By Keith Schmitz

When it comes to business there are few as sharp as John Torinus and as one who leans to the right, someone who can lay out a reasoned, civil argument.

He will be part of a panel discussion tomorrow at Marquette on health care. Torinus is a big fan of so-called market-driven health care as a solution to our problems.

Torinus will be pushing the idea of catastrophic health insurance policies as part of his overall approach.

Because of work conflicts I cannot be there and would like someone to ask Toriuns, what is to prevent insurance companies from not covering people due to pre-existing conditions, and preventing these companies from denying coverage do to loop holes as they do now.

Seems to me if there is not some kind of regulation of these practices even with the meager proposed coverage, a large number of people will still be at risk.

Walker Watch: Lawbreaker, Liar, Loser

by capper

Walker hasn't kept many, if any of his previous promises. Now he isn't even bothering trying to keep his current campaign promises to provide safety, affordability or pride to Milwaukee County. We have lots to cover so let's get at, shall we?

Scott Walker, Lawbreaker:

We already have seen how Walker would cut state-mandated positions in the county. Only the county board kept him from sending the county into violation of the state law.

Then very recently, we have seen how Walker has violated the federal laws on privacy. Ken Mobile has more on this violation and Jim McGuigan gives us some details on CRG, who owns Walker, and keeps him on a short leash.

Now, thanks to the intrepid and impeccable Gretchen Schuldt, we see that Walker wants the circuit court judges to stop giving convicts Huber (work release) priveleges. She provides us with a letter from Chief Judge Kitty Brennan pointing out that Huber is a state-mandated law, and cannot be refused to people who are eligible for it. This can cause all sorts of other problems. From Judge Brennan's letter:

Judges are obligated by law to consider work release along with many other sentencing possibilities. It’s part of the statutes and case law requirements. It’s up to you, as the ultimate supervisor of the HOC, to provide a work release center that effectively and safely supervises offenders.

If you decide to eliminate your work release center, please consider that you may be creating bigger problems for the public. All of those offenders who would otherwise be eligible for work release must then be housed in the jail or House of Correction. That will significantly strain the jail and HOC capacity and cost the taxpayers a great deal of money. In addition, without a work release program, no convicted offenders will be able to earn the money to: 1) provide restitution to victims; 2) support their families; or, 3) pay their fines and forfeitures.

Scott Walker, Liar:

One of Walker's favorite campaign themes is that State Senator Lena Taylor would be bringing in a million dollars or more in special interest money from all over, including Madison and Washington, D.C. He even exploited his wife to get this false message out.

Well, as it turns out, Walker is the one getting the big bucks, and most of it is from outside of Milwaukee County. Today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that 62% of the money he raised came from outside of Milwaukee County, including $7,500 which came from the Walton family. The Walton family is, of course, of Wal-Mart infamy. And, of course, as usual, Ken Mobile has beaten me to this story.

I do take heart in the fact that even though Walker has raked in four times the money that Senator Taylor did, at least her money shows a strong support amond Milwaukee County citizens. And we are the ones that will be voting, not the Wal-Mart family or the special interests from outlying counties.

Scott Walker, Loser:

To wrap up this episode, we return to Ken Mobile again. He has a post showing that even though Milwaukee County has absolutely nothing to do with MPS or with school choice, Walker is deciding to make this one of this talking points. To make matters worse, Walker is such a loser, he can't or won't even tell the truth on this matter either.

Mr. Mobile also shows that Walker is misrepresenting himself on his crime prevention position as well. That is nothing new either.

If you are as tired as I am of this lying, lawbreaking loser, who doesn't even know what his job is, even though he has supposed to have been doing for the last six years, please give whatever support you can to Senator Lena Taylor.

Of course the economy is humming along fine--look at all those new jobs!

by folkbum

The employment statistics are among those presented to bolster the claim that the George W. Bush economy has been a boom (leading to, dare I say it, prosperity?). All those new jobs people have, the argument goes, means we're not inarecession/ goingtodie/ inneedofaDemocraticpresident/ whatever.

Via Marginal Utility, there's this stunning fact from Marshall Jevons:

George W. Bush is in line to be the first president since World War II to preside over an economy in which federal government employment rose more rapidly than employment in the private sector.

The accompanying graph (from the New York Times, which also
has the story in words, but who needs words when you have a graph?) shows that since Eisenhower, only one president has shrunk the size of the federal work force. Your hint: It was not any of the small-government conservatives.

Abraham Lincoln: Fortune Teller

by capper

Seeing that today is Lincoln's birthday, and given the recent love-to-hate fest in Pewaukee, and that we are trying to survive the last year of Bush, while choosing someone to fix the country, I think the following quote from Honest Abe is more than appropriate (circa 1864):

"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. Corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."

14th District(s) Candidate Forum

by folkbum

The Lake Express has complimentary WiFi, so assuming that my battery holds out (I forgot the important half of my power cord), I will try to provide some updates as the forum progresses. Looks like County City candidates are up first, but we're about five fifteen minutes behind.

The League of Women Voters is moderating tonight. The Aldermanic candidates: Tony Zielinski (inc.), Andrew Reid, and Arthur Kimball.

Opening Statements:
TZ: Originally ran on property taxes, public safety, business revitalization, environment, and constituent services. Gives examples, including that he cut more budget items than any other alderman, but need to keep essential services; put more law enforcement on the street, law enforcement endorsements, etc. Revitalized business, anti-sweat shop legislation.
AR: Mostly life-long resident. Brought back nighttime trick or treat--make the neighborhood feel like a neighborhood again. My job is to get residents involved, want to hear from you first.
AK: Important for voters to be informed about choices--don't base vote on signs or who you know. Instead, who will represent you best. Live in Bay View for 14 years, seen growth and change. Been involved, have a Masters in Public Administration, worked with public agencies. Taxes increase as services decrease, our budget is leveraged and politicians failing.

Q1: Most important issue?
AR: Business--why so many vacant storefronts? Bring more business here = more money to fight crime and beautify. Walking business district.
AK: Fiscal Stability--MKE has structural deficit, borrow every year to support services because, in part, TZ puts more police on the street. MKE has too many cops per population based on a study, plus so much overtime. Police, debt too much. Need responsible govt.
TZ: Property taxes, Public Safety, and Business Revitalization. Have MBA and JD; my education provides me with expertise to make most sound decisions. We are not engaged in deficit borrowing, we borrow against revenue coming in the same year--not a deficit. Need safety, need strong business, which Bay View has grown in.

Q2: Last fall MPS lowered tax rate, resulting in cuts. How would you balance tax cuts and needs of MPS, and work with school board?
AK: City is integral to MPS, more integration of services (i.e., share gras cutting). Bay View High School is a problem--what has TZ done with BVHS. Wants to turn BVHS into a charter school, provide complete package to make BV attractive and stable. Also, be more rigorous in budgeting.
TZ: Some things I've done at BVHS: Gotten violence prevention counselors in BVHS, helped bring bursing apprenticeship, sits on board with community for improving BVHS, added truancy to list of nuisance property violations.
AR: (Digs at TZ for not answering question) This is why I'm here, want to investigate and look for answers, don't have all the stats about this money. But I will fight for it, find a way to do it.

Q3: Safety in MPS (my question)?
TZ: Need police in schools, supported efforts to get partnerships into schools for safety.
AR: Cops in schools, no. MPS has budget, should hire private security. MKE has cancelled auction program--bring it back and hire private security.
AK: Obviously we have enough officers, but do we want them in schools. Problems in MPS are social ones--poverty. TZ wants to give truancy tickets to poor parents. Sets students up for failure, increases cycle of poverty.

Q4: Homeless? ...

And this is where my battery died. I have handwritten notes for the remaining questions and the county candidates, but let me reiterate what I said this morning, because it's still true: I plan to vote for Tony Zielinski and Chris Larson next week.

Content-Free, Self-Amusement Blog Alliance

by folkbum

Is there a single sentence in this post that has even an ounce of truth in it?

Reminder: BVNA/BVC Candidate Forum Tonight

by folkbum

If you live in the City of Milwaukee's 14th aldermanic district, or the Milwaukee County 14th supervisory district, or--like me--in both, there is a candidate forum tonight sponsored by the Bay View Compass and the Bay View Neighborhood Association.

The Bay View Compass and the Bay Neighborhood Association are sponsoring a candidate forum on Tuesday, February 12 at the Lake Express Terminal Lobby, located at 2330 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

The event begins at 7:00 pm and is open to the public.

Candidates for the contested Aldermanic District 14 seat (incumbent Tony Zielinski) and County Supervisor District 14 seat (incumbent Richard Nyklewicz, Jr., who is retiring) are forum participants.

Candidates for Aldermanic District 14 are Arthur Kimball, Andrew Reid, and Tony Zielinski and for County Supervisor District 14, Jason Haas, Steven Kraeger, Christopher Larson, and Sebastian Raclaw.

Candidates will be asked questions prepared by BVNA, the Bay View Compass, and from members of the audience. Bring a question your next County Supervisor and Alderman--this is your chance to quiz the candidates about the issues and policies that matter to you!

My initial leanings are to vote to re-elect Tony Zielinski and for Chris Larson (sorry Jason, but I'm voting for the guy who can win here). I expect to be at the forum, and may take my laptop for live(ish)blogging.

The primary is next Tuesday, and the general election is April 1.

Speaking of Prosperity

by folkbum

Amid all this talk of Republican conservative* mid-weights gathered around talking about prosperity, I found this from Lance Mannion:

Republicans don't know they're out to wreck things because a.) they tell themselves out loud over and over again enough times so that the believe it that they are doing what's best for the poor in the long run and b.) what drives them at all times, in all their choices, including inspiring their antipathy to helping the poor, is their absolute horror at the thought of paying taxes---they quite often make the wrong choice, pick the policy that will not work or work well, because it is the cheapest! [. . .]

If the Goverment is a car setting out to give every one a ride to work, then for 40 years the Republicans have been puncturing the tires, pouring sand in the gas tank, stealing the distributer cap, and, whenever they can get their hands on the wheel, driving it straight into the nearest ditch and then, pointing to the wreckage as the tow truck backs up to it, saying, See, this proves that people were meant to walk.

And they do this so that they don't have to chip in on gas.

*Someone posted recently that they don't want to be called Republicans, but I forget who and I can't find the link. If it was you--or you know who did it--remind me and I'll fix it.

I was going to endorse a presidential candidate this morning on my blog

by folkbum

But I have to shovel snow instead. One more thing to blame on the weather . . .

An Ode To Winter In Wisconsin

by capper

Why I Love Wisconsin ...

It's winter in Wisconsin
And the gentle breezes blow,
70 miles per hour at 52 below!
Oh, how I love Wisconsin
When the snow's up to your butt.
You take a breath of winter air
And your nose is frozen shut.
Yes, the weather here is wonderful,
I guess I'll hang around.
I could never leave Wisconsin,
'Cause I'm frozen to the ground

Can We Have A Little HIPAA Over Here?

by capper

Last week CRG made a almost-noticed breakthrough. They introduced a data base that was to show all of the contracts that government has with various agencies. Their goal, apparently, was to increase transparency in government. While I have issues with CRG, I find this to be an admirable goal. After all, if there was more transparency in government, perhaps we wouldn't be in Iraq, or dealing with a sagging economy, while companies like Halliburton and Blackwater get sweetheart deals.

Unfortunately for CRG, the only goverment agency to respond so far was Milwaukee County. And now it turns out, the County got it wrong. They did not screen the information they gave CRG, and CRG did not double check it, and now, the personal and private information of individuals has been released to the public. Anyone who needed a psychiatric evaluation, whether for a criminal hearing, a commitment hearing, or for the purposes of granting guardianship for a person unable to take care of themselves, their names and case numbers were available for all to see.

This is of course in direct violation of HIPAA and the right to privacy that is federally protected.

It appears that Walker's acting director of the Department of Administration, didn't bother checking the law, or running this past the Clerk of Circuit Courts, John Barrett. Instead, she just went ahead and released this information. Interestingly, but not surprisingly, Walker is mum on the subject.

To make the matter worse, when the error was discovered last Friday, CRG said they would. However, it was still up as late as Sunday night. I guess they were too busy over the weekend helping Walker with his campaign appearance (more on that on another day).

This is akin to the repeated failures of the State of Wisconsin, who on three separate occassions allowed the Social Security numbers of people to be printed on the labels of mailings. Of course, when that happened, the right didn't take long from blaming bureaucrats to blaming Governor Jim Doyle.

However, when Scott Walker's administration commits the same offense, the most we see is an "oops".

Owen Robinson, the only person on the right to even acknowledge this story, when challenged on the Doyle vs. Walker aspect said:

It depends on what action, if any, is taken. In the case of the state, we have seen repeated gaffes with the release of personal information. Yet, we haven’t seen any positive action taken to correct it. This indicates an issue with the leadership.

In this case, I believe this is the first case of such a gaffe (please correct me if I’m wrong). If it remains an anomaly, then it’s just an “oops.” If it happens again and Walker does not take more stern corrective action, then Walker shares the blame.

I can accept mistakes. We’re human and they happen. But the lack of management tans my hide.

Well, Owen, you better have Wendy drive you to the tannery, because this isn't the first time Walker and his sidekick, Archer, have come up on the wrong side of the law.

It is time for a change. The taxpayers of Milwaukee County are already having to pay for the multiple lawsuits that have been lost by David Clarke. We don't to keep paying for Walker's ineptitude as well. To support Lena Taylor, just go to this site.

UPDATE: The paper is now reporting that nearly seven thousand violations of confidentiality laws were posted for six days. They now have been removed. Scott Walker says, "Huh," and Cynthia Archer says, "I can't find the wisdom in them doing what we wanted them to do."

Where Credit Is Due

By Keith Schmitz

The big difference between those labeled liberal and those labeled conservative? Conservatives are totally hard-wired and binary. When it comes to government, it is bad, bad, bad. No ifs, ands, or buts. Just look at the railing from the circus that came to town the past weekend in the form of the oddly named Americans for Prosperty conference, presided over the Mark Block, someone that I have only seen wearing either brown or black shirts.

Never mind that government helped build the middle class in the 50's and 60's and by catering to the wealthy minority from Reagan on, helped to stagnate it. Never mind that government intervention in the form of the Marshall Plan (which Republicans at the time in Congress wanted to stop) rebuilt Europe and prevented a return to turmoil and maybe totalitarianism.

We liberals on the other hand can have issues with corporations because, many times by putting profit over people, they earn it. Now of course this statement will elicit cries from the right wing of "commie," "socialist" and the newest from the aptly named JONAH Goldberg, "fascist." Huh?

But we don't view the world in black and white. We realize that business and economics is merely a tool for good or bad, depending how it is used and who uses it.

Take Michael Rosen's piece on Johnson Controls. Rosen took time to point out that JCI is not only moving into green markets but is using decently paid labor to turn out the products to do it. Though it is too bad that JCI's lithium batteries are to be made in France rather than here in the US or Milwaukee, the company is actually paying $4 more per hour in labor costs.

This kind of flies in the face of the right wingers who will show up shortly below, bellowing that companies must provide "value" to their shareholders by cutting wages and benefits so that the writers' mutual funds can fluff their retirements, that this country is going to lose money by responding to climate change (JCI will make money -- lots of it), and oh yeah the other chestnut -- jobs are not being created in tired old Europe and in hated France. Don't they have something called government supported health care?

Indeed they will say these things. But since when have they resorted to using facts?

John McCain: Like Hope, but Different

by folkbum



Hat tip: Everywhere.

Hasta la Vista?

By Keith Schmitz

Viewing the binary world of TV talking heads on Morning Joe talking about how Barack Obama is losing Hispanic voters to Hillary Clinton in the primaries. Somehow this spells doom on the road to the White House.

All well and good...for now.

But as usual the cluelessness of millionaire pundits floats to the surface.

What in the world would make anyone think that in November Barack would lose the Hispanic vote to John McCain, or for that matter Hillary would lose the African-American vote?

The Thug-ization of James T. Harris

by folkbum

Dear Mr. Harris,

I've been reading the Wisconsin right-wingers for long enough to basically know what level of degradation and idiocy to expect from all the major players--who's good with the faux outrage, who dazzles with cherry-picked statistics, who's likely to fall into standard racist or sexist tropes, and so on.

Of all of them, I'm quite surprised that you, sir, would resort to something like this. As often as you decry the "thug" culture and the coarsening of our nation's discourse by such things as rap music, it confuses me that you would look to exactly those things for inspiration, that you would accuse the Clinton family of "pimping out" Chelsea Clinton.

Now, I know that you have standards for what your not-yet-adult daughter can and cannot do, and perhaps you may be legitimately dismayed that a 28-year-old woman would, even at that age, go outside the house or do things that she wants to do. (Can you doubt that she'd like to see her mom win the nomination?) But if that's true, I don't understand why, for example, you haven't said anything about 23-year-old Meghan McCain being similarly "pimped out" for her father's campaign. Sarah Huckabee, 25, has sometimes been called her father's "field general," and often talks to the press, but I guess she's not being "pimped out." You take no time to reflect on how the two Cheney daughters--or the two Bush daughters, for that matter--worked on the 2000 and 2004 campaigns.

Heck, Mitt Romney locked his boys in an RV last year--I guess so that they couldn't escape and enlist--to force them to drive around Iowa while their father blew through their inheritance. Not a peep from you--though maybe boys can't be "pimped out."

So it makes no sense to me that you'd accuse only the Clintons of "pimping out" their child, unless you're only willing to attack a family that campaigns together if that family is Democratic.

I don't let my students use that kind of language in class, and it would never, ever occur to me to use "pimping out" (or anything similar) as a line of attack against Republicans. I mean, you can go back and examine all the fun that the left had with those Romney kids--and it was a blast--and there was no resorting to the gangsta-rap bag of sexist metaphors.

I just wonder if this is the start of a trend. Are we going to see more attacks from you that have their origins in the thug culture you so decry? I mean, really, how long before you start promoting this "Bros Before Hoes" t-shirt? It seems just a matter of time now.

Sincerely,
folkbum


Hat tip: The ever-brilliant capper.

How Effective Are Concealed Carry Laws?

by capper

I fully expect the right to talk about the news from last night and use it as one more reason why they think Wisconsin needs to have a concealed carry law.

However, there are two basic flaws to their arguments.

First, it has been said time and time again how most of the gun shootings stem from gang members feuding with other members. Since both sides are armed, would this be a version of concealed carry, albeit not a legal one? Even though these gangsters know the other side is probably armed, this does nothing to slow them down from taking shots at each other. Why would the CCW proponents think that regular citizens being armed would slow these people down from using guns on them?

Secondly, as the CCW proponents are fond of pointing out, Wisconsin is one of the two or three states that don't have concealed carry laws. Yet in the last week or so, we have seen mass shootings in Chicago, Los Angeles, Baton Rouge and Kirkwood, MO. None of these shooters seemed to detered by the possibility of citizens having guns. Heck, even the shooters in L.A. and Kirkwood weren't detered by the police, who obviously have guns and extensive training in their use.

So, how can they possibly think that by having Wisconsin pass a CCW law would have any effect on shootings here?

The Real American Dream

by capper

Today, in Pewaukee, there is a small gathering of right-wing anti-tax zealots attending something called Defending the American Dream Summit, which is being sponsored by Americans For Prosperity. Their message is basically summed up as "Taxes are bad." Their most recent and questionable claim to fame was a rally in Madison last fall in which they were outnumbered two to one by people like firefighters, corrections officers, state employees, and people that understand that society needs basic services to provided in order to stay intact, and that these services need to be paid for.

Besides being a fairly transparent campaigning event for Scott Walker and Mike Gableman, they will be apparently doing a lot of cheerleading on ways to cut services to people that need it, like the poor, the elderly, the disabled and school children.

But their summit today is misnamed at best, and is rather misleading. The term American Dream came from a passage from The Epic of America, written by James Truslow Adams in 1931:

The American Dream is "that dream of a land in which life should be better and richer and fuller for everyone, with opportunity for each according to ability or achievement. It is a difficult dream for the European upper classes to interpret adequately, and too many of us ourselves have grown weary and mistrustful of it. It is not a dream of motor cars and high wages merely, but a dream of social order in which each man and each woman shall be able to attain to the fullest stature of which they are innately capable, and be recognized by others for what they are, regardless of the fortuitous circumstances of birth or position.

This definition has changed over the years and has included other aspects, such as the Declaration of Independence, in which is written the phrase:

"…held certain truths to be self-evident, that all Men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The basic premise of the term American Dream throughout all references is that people should have a chance to have the best life they can, regardless of race, class, gender, or any other trait that has been traditionally discriminated against.

The AFP and their followers have limited this vision down to simple material wealth, and are highly resentful of anyone or anything that would get in their way of attaining more of it. They also apparently don't feel the need to be responsible for anyone or anything else, but the addition to their own material wealth.

Grumps give a good example of this mentality out in this post dealing with the recent snow storm:

Still, Rock County has four plows operating in two 12-hour shifts, down fromeight plows about five years ago, Coopman said. Those same four plows patrol thesame stretch in both light snowfall and blizzards.

Coopman compared the snow plows to fire trucks. "You pray you never need them," Coopman said. "But in our business, elected officials have said we'll take our chances and start cutting back on having those 'fire trucks' available. Then when you have the fire like (Wednesday), you don't have them."

Every time you say that government needs to make cuts, every time you stand up and shout that your tax dollars are wasted you have to take part of the responsibility for the choices made in your name. Your nattering about waste, when looking at real hard choices, leads to cuts in services.

You are responsible for the lack of plows an the roads.

Listen. Learn. Figure it out. Some days the Cavalry isn't coming. Prepare. Grow the Hell up.

Instead of the American Dream being considered a situation of "more for me, screw the rest of you" as presented by the AFP, I much prefer the way the Changes to Win Foundation is choosing to defend the American Dream:

With a new Congress we have a chance to build a better future for our country and our children. For years, America’s been heading in the wrong direction with American workers working hard yet losing ground. Wages aren’t keeping up with the cost of living, fewer and fewer workers have health care, and retirement security is increasingly a thing of the past. But a new Congress brings new hope. Together we can restore the pillars of the American Dream:

• A paycheck that supports a family.
• Quality, affordable health care for all.
• A secure and dignified retirement.
• The freedom to join together in unions.

I think it would be better for everyone to have a chance at the best life they can have, not just the elitist few.

Reading the Papers . . .

by bert

On one page, the Journal Sentinel's lead editorial nails it:

In plain English: While we've been creating terrorists and a dandy cause for terrorist recruitment in Iraq, we forwent the knockout punch to al-Qaida in Afghanistan - where the Taliban is resurgent and the central government still ineffectual - and have seen the terrorists rebuild in Pakistan, a U.S. ally.

Meanwhile, about eight pages previous, our vice president surveys the complexity of our world and comes up with this nuanced assessment of our government's role in it, according to AP:

"Since the Sept. 11, 2001 attacks, President Bush has 'made the right decisions for the right reasons,' Cheney said. 'And would I support those same decisions again today? You're damn right I would.' "

Here's a brand of analysis that sounds closer to Isaac Hayes than George Kennan. Has the strategy of this war's defenders become so desperate that their last hope is to just gobsmack us all into stunned silence with their mendacious hutzpah? Could Patton or U.S. Grant claim such blemish-free success, as praiseworthy as their efforts were?

How long before Madison gets all its news from MyMadisonNOW?

by folkbum

I mean, with the Cap Times basically disappearing and all ...

You Know It's A Bad Storm...

When they close Grandma's House.

Love Triangle

by folkbum
Tommy Thompson endorses McCain
I considered looking for one of those "When you sleep with someone you sleep with everyone they've slept with" posters, but that's way too much photoshopping for me today.

Me v. Snow, round 1

by folkbum

• I get the day off school. Advantage: Me.
  
• Shovelfuls that weigh a good 15 pounds. Advantage: Snow.
  
• A DirecTV dish plastered with wet snow so I have to watch TV with commercials through bunny ear. Advantage: Snow.

More to come--this isn't over.

Congratulations, President Bloomberg

by folkbum

Because, as we all know, as we all have been told a million times, US Senators can't get elected president.

And now that we know it'll be McCain v. Obama or Clinton, it's so obvious that Bloomberg has this in the bag, I don't know why we just don't swear him in this afternoon.

Snow Day

by folkbum

So I get to stay home and clean the house--my parents are coming to town this weekend.

Consider this an open thread.

Wherein I Channel Owen Robinson

by folkbum

It was good to hear that his name is pronounced "cook":

Some 750 pornographic images were found on the work computer of Mark Jensen after the death of his wife, Julie, a computer expert testified today at Mark Jensen's murder trial.

The images, mostly of male genitalia, were organized in folders based on the size of the genitalia, said the expert, Martin Koch.

Note: I did not check to see if Owen had already posted something this cheeky. Apologies if he beat me in self-parody.

No Escape

By Keith Schmitz

Nothing is more frustration that the drip, drip, drip of becoming slowly marginalized. So it is with the climate change deniers.

The recognition that the world is slipping into a global climate change is reaching its fingers into all facets of the media.

I was doing an article search for a client, and ran across this article in, of all places, Sports Illustrated:

The next time a ball game gets rained out during the September stretch run, you can curse the momentary worthlessness of those tickets in your pocket. Or you can wonder why it got rained out -- and ask yourself why practice had to be called off last summer on a day when there wasn't a cloud in the sky; and why that Gulf Coast wharf where you used to reel in mackerel and flounder no longer exists; and why it's been more than one winter since you pulled those titanium skis out of the garage.

Global warming is not coming; it is here. Greenhouse gases -- most notably carbon dioxide produced by burning coal, oil and gas -- are trapping solar heat that once escaped from the Earth's atmosphere. As temperatures around the globe increase, oceans are warming, fields are drying up, snow is melting, more rain is falling, and sea levels are rising.

Never know where climate change is seeping into the media? What's going to be left for these guys to read? Didn't I spot something on the topic in Bon Appetite?

Hallelujah: Parshall Departing Local Radio

by bert

There is some good news about our local radio air-quality that Tim Cuprisin, who covers such changes in his Journal Sentinel column, seems to have missed.

I was waking up today to Janet Parshall’s nationally syndicated show that is carried locally by the Christian station WRRD-540 AM. Parshall is from Wisconsin, a graduate of Carroll College in Waukesha and appointed by Tommy Thompson to advisory councils. Like “Christian” rock music, her show on “Christian” politics is not well known outside the listeners of such stations. And, like "Christian" "music", her show is not compelling enough to be able to survive a wide-open market.

This morning, for as long as I chose to take it, Parshall performed her typical trick. She anoints rhetorical tricks that promote far-right political stances as somehow an obviously Christian way of thinking.

We’ve all heard by now about the twin bombings in Baghdad last weekend. A lot in Iraq these days is ignored, but this tragedy cut through the willful ignorance that news editors and most other Americans have strapped to our eyes regarding Iraq, and not because the death toll was way up there around 100. That’s not enough to do it anymore. What did it was the reports that the humans carrying the bombs past the duped guards were mentally retarded women.

Parshall’s take on this –- deliberately using sneaky and exploitative logical fallacies that insults one’s intelligence -- was that these tragedies tell us something about Democratic politicians.

"I don’t know your definiton of evil, but if that isn’t it then evil doesn’t exist. And yet there are some out on the campaign trail right now even as we speak who have a postmodernist idea that we don’t have good and evil in the world. Everything is just various degress of gray."

She leaves to listeners the job of populating that category. But she a little later shepherds any who may have gone astray to the intended destination. Barack Obama, she falsely tells us, wants to negotiate with terrorists. So she implies that the senator would love to sit down and negotiate with the people who used these disabled women to kill 100 other innocent people.

This line of "thinking" is typical. She has said in the past that victims of child molesters should look to Bill Clinton and his sex acts for the real cause of their suffering.

Parshall reminds me of Dana Carvey’s church lady character on Saturday Night Live. Up tight, humorless, narrow-minded, phony, and wrapped in righteousness.

The good news that I mentioned at the beginning is that Parshall’s show is leaving 540 AM after this week. As Cuprisin has covered (that’s where I learned it), another company is buying this Salem Communications station (that's the company that fired employees who criticized the build up to the Iraq war) and replacing the Christian format with sports talk.

Good riddance, because even more so than Dana Carvey, Parshall gives Christians a bad name.

Have a Super Tuesday: Vote Democrat

by folkbum

I have been pretty steadfastly adamant about not endorsing anyone during this primary season. This is in large part because I felt, for a long time, that when the time came to cast my vote on February 19, the Democratic Party would have its nominee. That's still possible, but it seems less and less likely, and, two weeks from now when I fight my way through the inevitable blizzard to vote (seriously--can we have a week sometime without 10 inches of snow?), I may have to make up my mind for someone.

I'll cross that bridge when I get there. In the meantime, let me assure my readers in states that vote today that they should make the right choice, and vote Democrat.

The Democratic field has been an embarrassment of riches. Two years ago, I was ready to back Russ Feingold. He was making all the moves one associates with presidential candidates--buying friends with a PAC, giving big speeches in Iowa and New Hampshire, and so on. If Feingold's people had called and said to me, "It's on," I would have had a hard time saying no to packing it up and moving to Middleton for the campaign.

Alas, that was not to be. The day Russ announced he wasn't doing it remains, so far, the most heartbreaking day of the 2008 season.

Yet the rest of the field remained awesome: Chris Dodd and Joe Biden are long-standing, fairly well-respected senators. Mike Gravel and Dennis Kucinich--unelectable as they are--remain right on many important issues that the other candidates won't touch.

For a long time, I kind of leaned toward Bill Richardson. When the next president takes the oath of office in January, there will be a tremendous mess to be cleaned up. Richardson's experience in Congress and in the cabinet and as UN Ambassador left him uniquely qualified to come in and clean up that mess. Foreign policy or domestic, Richardson has a track record to love. But he proved to be a lackluster--really, bumbling--campaigner and just never could seal the deal with me.

John Edwards, too, offered one of the best hopes of the entire campaign. As much as everyone figured that Iraq would remain the big issue in the 2008 election, as it turns out it looks like the economy will be it. No one in the campaign has made more sense or presented a more compelling narrative related to poverty than Edwards. But he couldn't muster the support, either.

Which leaves us with two also-great candidates--Senators Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

Obama has the potential to be a transformative candidate, a transformative president. As a veteran of the Dean campaign in 2004, I love transformative campaigns. Obama has the potential--indeed, he has fulfilled it in some early contests--to motivate younger voters and others often left out of presidential politics to vote in large numbers. His rhetoric and his tone is all about unity and hope and change, and he's a much more convincing agent of change in that sense than Clinton. Obama's Democratic majority would be larger, have longer coattails, and would look more like 21st-century America.

Clinton, on the other hand, would not be transformative. But she would be a fixer. Again, I think back to what drew me to Richardson--the idea that we'll need someone in the White House who has the ability to pick up all the severed threads of American democracy and secure them before this thing really falls apart. I have no doubt that Clinton can do exactly that.

Which is not to say that Obama couldn't also assemble a team who can handle the mundane, real, and practical challenges he would inherit next January, or that Clinton wouldn't be able to put together a wide and historic voting coalition with coattails and all in November. It's just that each seems to have a different key strength, which leaves me at this point unable to recommend voting against either one.

A year ago, I kind of wished we could have stuck all our candidates in the transporter machines from The Fly, leaving us with one candidate who had Richardson's resume, Clinton's influence, Obama's wide appeal, Edwards's platform, Kucinich's pot of gold, and so on, and a whole bunch of flawed remainders. In the end, we're left with two candidates who will make history and could easily be the answer to all the questions and challenges the next president will face.

However you vote when you vote today--if you vote today--as long as you vote Democrat, you'll be voting for a winner.

Bay View Compass/ BVNA candidate forum next week

by folkbum

I am one of the lucky few people in the city of Milwaukee to find not zero, not one, but two local races on the February 19 primary ballot, as I live in both the 14th aldermanic district and the 14th county supervisory district. (Most spring races--from County Executive to Supreme Court to court and county and city positions--have but one or two candidates, meaning no primaries.)

If you, like me, want to see all the candidates for the two different 14ths in a candidate forum, you're in luck: The Bay View Neighborhood Association and the Bay View Compass are teaming up to bring you just such a thing:

The Bay View Compass and the Bay Neighborhood Association are
sponsoring a candidate forum on Tuesday, February 12 at the Lake Express Terminal Lobby, located at 2330 S. Lincoln Memorial Drive.

The event begins at 7:00 pm and is open to the public.

Candidates for the contested Aldermanic District 14 seat (incumbent Tony Zielinski) and County Supervisor District 14 seat (incumbent Richard Nyklewicz, Jr., who is retiring) are forum participants.

Candidates for Aldermanic District 14 are Arthur Kimball, Andrew Reid, and Tony Zielinski and for County Supervisor District 14, Jason Haas, Steven Kraeger, Christopher Larson, and Sebastian Raclaw.

Candidates will be asked questions prepared by BVNA, the Bay View Compass, and from members of the audience. Bring a question your next County Supervisor and Alderman--this is your chance to quiz the candidates about the issues and policies that matter to you!

Getting The Facts Straight

by capper

There is a lot of hullaballoo coming from the right lately about a bill that has been introduced into the state legislature, 2007 Senate Bill 401. Everyone from local squawkers Mark Belling and Charlie Sykes to local bloggers Patrick Dorwin and the Game have been screaming at anyone who can't avoid them about how bad this bill is and how it favors 17 year old thugs. Belling even goes as far as using one of his racist rants about the bill.

Never did it cross their minds on why this bill was introduced, or why it has support from members of both parties. They just want to use it to try to hammer Senator Lena Taylor, who is running against their favorite, Scott Walker (even though he promised not to run again).

They make claims, like Game did in a comment thread on a previous posting, that it coddles 17 year old murders:

Hey, they caught the people who murdered the Miller exec....they are 17.Maybe we can get Taylor elected so she can raise our taxes so young "men" like this are able to go through children's court and have some meetings and hugs before they are let back out on the street.

Unfortunately for Game, facts are indeed facts, and the facts don't back up their smear job.

John, a reader, provided a link to the bill itself (pdf). If you read the bill, which apparently none of these smearers on the right bothered to do, you will notice on the bottom of page 10, there in Section 28, it reads:

SECTION 28. 165.83 (1) (c) 2. of the statutes is amended to read: 165.83 (1)
(c) 2. An act that is committed by a person who has attained the ageof 10 but who has not attained the age of 17 18 and that would be a felony or misdemeanor if committed by an adult.

In other words, any minor charged with certain crimes, like murder, would still be sent to adult court. They would not receive any special considerations for the more severe crimes. Thus, Game, Sykes, Belling and the rest are presenting false arguments. I won't call it lying per se, as that I doubt any of them bothered to actually read the bill. They just took what they thought was a damning talking point, and ran with it. Unfortunately for them, they are totally wrong.

Although they should apologize to Senator Taylor and to anyone that they shared this falsehood with, I doubt it will happen.

But not being satisfied on just proving the right wing slanderers wrong, I also looked further and found this article. It discusses the need for this bill:

Young criminals coming out of Wisconsin's prisons are more likely to reoffend and end up back behind bars than their adult counterparts, according to a report released Friday.

A study by the state Legislative Audit Bureau found that 17-year-old offenders released from prison in 2002 and 2003 were reincarcerated at more than double the rate of adult offenders released those years. They were reincarcerated at nearly twice the rate of offenders released from juvenile institutions.

The report also found that less than half of the roughly 10,500 17-year-olds sentenced to probation between 2002 and 2006 completed it successfully.

The study highlights questions about whether 17-year-olds are too young to serve time in the adult prison system. The findings reflect national research that shows young offenders tend to reoffend when treated as adults, said Shay Bilchik, a former Florida prosecutor who heads the Center for Juvenile Justice Reform at Georgetown University.

The article goes on to mention that Wisconsin is not the only state that is considering changing the law to the same means. It also points out that a similar bill was attempted in 2005, but failed because the counties hadn't budgeted for the change.

I guess the right will have to find another lie to try to use to protect Scott Walker.

Don't Hold Your Breath

By Keith Schmitz

What's worse, the lack of creativity or lack of oversight?

Cong. Paul Ryan has come up with his Budget Boondoggle Award, a copy of Bill Proxmire's Golden Fleece Awards to recognize government waste. Ryan could even out do Prox in coming up with a catchier name.

But the big issue is his first award were to two projects running only $59 million. Any chance Bush's Iraq occupation coming at 10,000 times more will earn one of these babies?

Be the First on Your Block to Own a His Majesty King Abdullah II Ibn Al Hussein Ayass Motors Car

By Keith Schmitz

Things have now come full circle.

From the people who have us over a barrel when it comes providing with the oil we continually chug, now offer a new way to burn it.

From the press release:

Under the patronage of His Majesty King Abdullah Ibn Al Hussein and with the attendance of the Prime Minister, His Excellency Eng. Nader Al Dahabi, His Majesty’s representative, Ayass Motors celebrated the launch of its first of a kind vehicle manufacturing and assembly plant in the Kingdom on 30th January at Le Royal Hotel, central Amman.

One can only imagine the features on these new cars. Also consider the interesting bed fellows in this deal.

Our overall aim is to our customers with high quality vehicles at competitive prices. This product is the outcome of Jordanian, Chinese and Iraqi collaboration, and will be sold to customers according to Jordanian and international quality standards, providing a premium vehicle all produced in Jordan.”
“We are in the middle of negotiations with a number of international companies who are also interested in assembling their products in Jordan. The added value benefit of assembling other products produced in the Arab world will be a plus to our investment. In some Arab countries the automobile car complimentary industry is competing on an international level resulting in the aspired Arabian economic union”, added Mr. Mazen Ayass, Chairman of Ayass Motors.

But admittedly, the bright side is it will take efforts like this to settle things down in the Middle East. Tom Friedman has pointed out that unless this region joins the rest of the economic world extremists will continue to offer up the only alternative for many, and it's not pleasant.

Detroit though won't have to worry because their production goals are modest:

Ayass Motors is the first Jordanian company specialized in vehicle manufacturing and assembly using the latest automotive manufacturing technologies in the Middle East, as it specializes in manufacturing a variety of vehicles under the name “Ayass Motors” according to the highest international standards. These vehicles include Pick ups with single and dual-drive Cabins, small vehicles and 4-wheel drive sport cars.
The company will start its operations by producing 5,000 vehicles during its first year, and will increase its production capacity to 12,000 vehicles annually in order to compete on a local, regional and international scale. The competitive advantage of Ayass Motors lies in the product quality, the competitive prices and maintenance and warranties.

I believe that works out to the monthly production at the Janesville GM plant.

America the Beautiful

By 3rd Way

My grandmother was a lover of music.  At sometime in her life she decided to purchase a player piano.  After she passed I was lucky enough to inherit the piano. 

 

I have fond memories of visiting Grandma’s and pumping away at the piano while the family sang along.  It is kind of like karaoke nerded up a notch.  The problem is you can only listen to the same rolls so many times with the same enthusiasm.  We recently decided that Grandma’s roll collection should be expanded.

 

We scoured the catalogs and ordered the most appealing rolls out of the limited selection, Marvin Gaye, The Beatles, Ray Charles, and as a dutiful Folkbum contributor, some folk music (Simon and Garfunkel).  My favorite new roll is America the Beautiful.  I have always preferred it to the Star Spangled Banner.  I have never been fully comfortable singing a song with lyrics like “bombs bursting in air”.  America the Beautiful is also far easier to sing, there is no way I can hit the right notes on the way up to "laaaa-and of the free”. After learning all the lyrics to the song I am even fonder of it.  My favorite verse is this:

 

O beautiful for glory-tale 
Of liberating strife 
When once and twice, 
for man's avail 
Men lavished precious life! 
America! America! 
God shed his grace on thee 
Till selfish gain no longer stain 
The banner of the free!

 

I can sing those lyrics loud and proud.

 

In 1926 there was a push for America the Beautiful to become our country's national anthem. Instead, the older and more established Star Spangled Banner was chosen. On March 31, 1931, President Herbert Hoover signed a bill making the Star Spangled Banner the national anthem.  Several times there have been attempts, particularly when John Kennedy was president, to give the song legal recognition, as a national hymn, or as a second national anthem.

Presidential nominees have talked about improving our image abroad.  World opinion of us is based on perception of who we are and what we stand for.  Our culture says more about who we are than any foreign policy or aid package ever can.  Changing something as trivial as a song is not going to cause a cultural shift or convince a terrorist that we aren't an aggressor, but it will send a subtle message to everyone in the world that we want to change the way we do business.  I would be more comfortable with my culture if we all sang a song with themes of liberating strife and removing stains of selfish gain instead of a song with themes of militarism.

Taylor vs. Walker: The Next Debate

by capper

I have just received word that there will be a debate tomorrow, February 2nd, (that would be Groundhog Day except in Milwaukee County, where it will be Wally Weasel Day). It will be at approximately 12:30 p.m. at the NAACP Youth Council Forum, located at 2745 N. Martin Luther King Drive.

I will post an updated list of debates next week.

Give Peace a Chance

By Keith Schmitz

Humorist Andy Borowitz comes out every other day with great parodies of the news.

Here's one of them:

Hillary, Obama Get a Room
Candidates Bow to Request of Debate Viewers

After two hours of a televised debate that many pundits characterized as a love-fest, Democratic presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton confirmed today that they have gotten a room.

Mr. Obama and Mrs. Clinton secured a room at the Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, conveniently located near the Kodak Theater where the CNN debate took place.

The extraordinary announcement came on the heels of a request made by millions of television viewers, who emailed CNN last night urging the Democratic rivals to get a room.

In a joint statement released by Mrs. Clinton and Mr. Obama this morning, the two presidential contenders said, “We have heard the voters loud and clear, asking us to get a room – and we have gotten that room.”

After the couple released a photo of themselves in fluffy white hotel bathrobes, there was a palpable sense of relief in Democratic circles that the two senators had in fact gotten a room.

“It was a little uncomfortable watching the two of them up there together, barely keeping their hands off each other,” said DNC chairman Howard Dean. “The sexual tension was so thick you could cut it with a knife.”

As news spread of the candidates’ decision to get a room, pundits speculated about what role former President Bill Clinton might play in such a room.

“I don’t see him playing a role there,” said Hillary biographer Carl Bernstein. “I think Bill Clinton respects the right of someone to get a room.”

Elsewhere, advisors to G.O.P frontrunner John McCain have urged him to stop speaking in that spooky voice.