Looks Like the Tide Is Turning

By Keith Schmitz

Statement from Sen. Herb Kohl's office on the Senate race in Connecticut:

Patrick Morris, of Senator Herb Kohl's (D-WI) press office, had much more to say, which was a refreshing change compared to some other statements. "Senator Kohl has known and worked with Senator Lieberman for a long time, and respects his principled stands and commitment to public service," said Morris. "However, the voters of Connecticut have clearly chosen Ned Lamont to represent the Democratic Party this election year, and Senator Kohl honors their choice and will support their nominee this fall."

Crickets

I'm waiting for the harsh condemnations from the Right Cheddarsphere to the most recent round of Criticism of our Commander in Chief During War Time. You know talking bad about Bush's leadership only emboldens the terrorists!

Bloggers vs. Journalists

I think the journalists win this one. At least, the blogger is a giant-sized loser.

Who Do You Trust?

By Keith Schmitz
This is my sign-off post as well at Folkbum, and I want to thank Jay for loaning me his space for the past few weeks. This is not as easy as it looks and I did my best to make it seem that way.

I will be going back to pumping out newsletters to Grassroots Northshore. Hoping all of you who live in this part of town, especially those of you on the Milwaukee East side, will mosey over to www.grassrootsnorthshore.org and join the movement to lifestyle politics – making politics part of your lifestyle.

Now on to shoving this cow into the piranha pool.

God knows many of us hate to think this way. You know, every time this administration gets into trouble some terror alert hits the fan.

I tried to sit on my BS detector after Democratic voters in Connecticut urged the party to grab a back bone by voting down Joe Lieberman and going with the positive Lamont program.

Happened to be going to the airport early on Thursday when I saw the news on the Mitchell Terminal monitors about the liquid bomb plot. Considering where I was and what I was about to do, and the fact that the British pulled it off I was a) glad that another airline threat was snuffed out and b) I happened to have my gels and liquids in the checked luggage.

Driving through Texas later I heard on the radio the speculation about the administration in trouble =’s flip over the terror card in the case of the London plot. Tempting, I thought, but not plausible. I mean it appears the Bobbies and MI5 were the one's on top of this. At least no one in the US could lay claim to cracking the case.

Oh my naiveté. From NBC News…

A senior British official knowledgeable about the (terror plot) case said British police were planning to continue to run surveillance for at least another week to try to obtain more evidence, while American officials pressured them to arrest the suspects sooner.

I think this, ladies and gentlemen, blows up the 9/11 as inside job theory because immediately someone hisses out information to the press. The NBC post goes on to quote an unnamed US official:

Another U.S. official, however, acknowledges there was disagreement over timing. Analysts say that in recent years, American security officials have become edgier than the British in such cases because of missed opportunities leading up to 9/11.

Yeah, yeah the timing does match up with the Lieberman loss, but this might have been done just in case considering the drift of the polls. I suggest this as a possibility, not an absolute.

At any rate, lately what goes on in Washington reminds me of the name of the quiz show that launched Johnny Carson to fame – “Who Do You Trust?”

Signing Off At Folkbum

By grumbleberries

These are great days to be a blogger, particularly if you are a lefty blogger! As all of you know, there is so much information in print and online, no one person can possibly read it all. My wife and adult children, of course, think that I try! I see my role as pointing people to places they may have missed or will find interesting. I hope that the regulars at Folkbum enjoyed my contribution. I certainly enjoyed my time here and thank Jay for the opportunity. I'm sure that he is itching to get down to business.
Until now I have not hawked my website too much as so much was going on in the political sphere I didn't feel that it was appropriate. Today though is my last guest column so I want to invite all of the Folkbum crowd to Grumbleberries. The only thing missing from my site is you. I hope that if I'm missing anything else you will let me know. Take care and I hope to hear from you soon. -grumbleberries

G-berries Makes Amazing Progress

By grumbleberries

Grumbleberries is over a month old and according to the latest Zogby poll of Dems, I've made tremendous progress. I am no longer part of the lunatic left fringe! Now I don't know if I changed or the country has changed but according to the latest poll:

1. 78% of Democrats are pleased with the primary election results in which Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman.
2. 62% feel that the CT election will have national ramifications.
3. 70% feel that the CT primary has made the Democratic party much stronger or somewhat stronger.
4. 62% feel that the primary increased the chances that Democrats will take over one or both houses of Congress.
5. 62% are more optimistic than 30 days ago.
6. 78% want Democratic candidates to oppose the war in Iraq.
7. 68% disagree that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the far left. (Only 16% agree)

Even when I consider the margin of error, I am still well within the thinking of most of the nations democrats! Imagine that!

The unification of the "disorganized" party must have come as a terrible shock to Republicans who, despite claiming that they are not driven by polls, fired up the great Wurlitzer on terrorist threats again this week. One cannot argue that they are extremely good at making noise!

Other things the Republicans are extremely good at:

1. Lying
2. Attacking the opposition.
3. Distraction
4. Fear mongering
5. Hiring incompetent cronies
6. Securing tax breaks for those who do not need them
7. Yelling privatization at every opportunity
8. Add your own favorite

The truth is the Republicans "got nuthin" left with the possible exception of attacking Iran. (I have serious doubts whether that would win people over.)Observe the evidence that they have nothing left:

1. All national polls have the Repugs at their lowest point.
2. Polls have Dems at their highest point.
3. The Red Terror Alert, although the focus of the past few days MSM, hardly slowed down passengers. Think of it, if you were really concerned during a RED alert, would you get on an airplane?
4. All the political commentary from the right wing is warning the dems that they have gone off the left wing cliff. Take this as an indication that we are indeed doing something correctly!
5. The Democratic Leadership is starting to usher itself to the front of the parade!
6. The Republican taking heads are hysterical!

The hysterical scare mongering is only going to get worse from now until the November elections. We are winning and the louder it gets from the right, the more likely we are to win in the fall. When we hear the noise from the Wurlitzer, we should realize that they are playing our song!

Update, within minutes of my post Georgia10 at DailyKos posted this.

Friday Random Ten

by folkbum

The Not Really Random Alaska Edition Edition
Speaking of iTunes and things, here's a big plug for Alaskan Leopard, whose comedy tour was, while not all that funny, fantastic--and I won an iPod in the contest. I won't tell you how--but you can tell them that I sent you. If you ever go to Alaska. And need transportation. Or an iPod.

1. "Moose in the Road" Girlyman (unreleased, but there are live MP3s out there)
2. "Cold as it Gets" Patty Griffin from Impossible Dream
3. "Northern Lights" Bill Camplin (as Doët) from Love Songs and Other Trios
4. "Alice's Champagne Palace" Ellis Paul from American Jukebox Fables
5. "Girl from the North Country" Bob Dylan from The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan
6. "Cold Water" Tom Waits from Mule Variations
7. "Bring 'Round the Boat" Susan Werner from Time Between Trains
8. "Letter from Vancouver" Patty Larkin from
9. "Northern Girl" Cheryl Wheeler from Different Stripe
10. "When the Ice Goes Out" John Gorka from After Yesterday

J-S Reads the Tea Leaves

By grumbleberries

Many of us have been here regarding the Iraq war for a long time. In fact, we were called traitors for merely thinking the very same things expressed in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial.

From the editorial:

It is long past time for President Bush to admit as much and give the country a workable plan for a flexible withdrawal. Polling speaks forcefully of large and growing dissatisfaction nationally with the Iraq war.

And this,

The administration needs to adopt a plan much like one authored by Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

And many bonus points for this,

Should Wisconsinites take into account Green's congressional record when they vote for governor? Of course they should. His congressional record is likely more of a mixed bag than his detractors depict, but in the absence of a more recent state record, it's more than fair game. The war, in particular, is fair game, not just for Green but in assessing all congressional candidates. It goes to judgment.

Golden bonus points for hitting it out of the park,

Speaking of accountability, Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, promised a report on whether the administration misused intelligence to sell the war. Enough with the stalling. Get on with it.

Perhaps the defeat of Senator Lieberman has awakened more than just the Democratic Party! Read the whole editorial as it just gets better.

A Guest Post from State Senate Candidate Jim Sullivan

Why I’m Running for the State Senate

Hello everyone, this is Jim Sullivan, guest blogger on folkbum and candidate for the 5th district state senate seat currently held by Tom Reynolds in the communities of Brookfield, Elm Grove, Milwaukee, West Allis, West Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa. Jay asked me to fill in for him while he’s on vacation, and to give you all some information about my campaign and why I’m running for the Wisconsin Senate.

I’m running for the state senate because I believe in a reasonable approach to solving the problems that confront us. I believe that the great majority of us value common sense, decency, and working hard to make our communities places we want to live, raise our children, and do business.

For too long, politics has degenerated into noise, partisanship, and distraction. That doesn’t fly on the local level. As a Wauwatosa Alderman these past 6 years, I’ve seen that government works best when people come together and work to get a job done. In Wauwatosa we have faced challenges and delivered solutions. We have built a business community around innovation and entrepreneurship. Wauwatosa delivers the services that people expect and need without meaningless the partisan acrimony, and with efficiency and respect for our tax dollars. When I talk to my neighbors about the issues of government, even though we might not always agree on everything, we have always been able to respect the fundamental American notion that we ought to be able to get together in the democratic process, work out the best path that we see to the common good for our own communities, and get the people’s business done.

We owe it to ourselves and our children to create family supporting jobs and economic growth today, and to have the strongest educational system that we can possibly have to give our children the fighting chance they need to build the future they deserve. We need a state legislature that harnesses education as an engine of future economic growth, and as a foundation of citizenship to protect against the challenges of the social problems that confront us. While Americans consistently identify education as one of their top priorities, the strength of Wisconsin schools has been hurt by legislators like Tom Reynolds. As teachers and students make due with their scarce resources, our communities suffer as Tom Reynolds fights for tax breaks for home schoolers, which just so happen to benefit himself. That’s not the way to ensure every Wisconsin child has the best school.

Another area that government has utterly failed to get the job done is health care. Our failure to responsibly address the issue of health care has left us burdened. It is a moral affront to fail to cover those who struggle, work hard, and pay taxes in this community every day. A health care system that does not cover every citizen cripples Wisconsin businesses, and crushes the entrepreneurial backbone that makes us great. My opponent has time for what divides us, but on healthcare, he has nothing to say but shifting costs to the already over burdened Wisconsin taxpayer.

Healthcare is not only an issue of decency and justice, it is an issue of creating good jobs in Wisconsin. We’ve been fortunate in this state to have some of the best and most creative minds in the world uncover new science, new technologies, and new medical treatments. Wisconsin has been on the forefront of a technological revolution that promises to radically alter our lives and health for the new millennium. Stem cell research offers us the opportunity to live longer and healthier lives, to cure horrendous and debilitating disease in both adults and children, and to create specialized, unique, and dynamic industries and jobs that will change the face of our health and our communities. Unfortunately, despite the unique nature of the 5th senate district, with our groundbreaking research and scientific facilities, when the issue came before the legislature, Tom Reynolds cast the deciding vote in the state senate to ban stem cell research in the state of Wisconsin, in the very same week that the Centers for Disease Control awarded the stem cell library project to the University of Wisconsin. He just doesn’t get it.

I am running for this state senate seat because I believe that we can do better. I believe that by far and away, my neighbors in Elm Grove, Milwaukee, West Allis, West Milwaukee, and Wauwatosa are good and decent people. We love our communities and want the best for our families. I believe the officials on the local level do a better job respecting those values and getting the job done for the people we represent with responsiveness and fiscal discipline. Tom Reynolds is part of that problem, and I’m here to find solutions. I’m running because Madison doesn’t get it, and Tom Reynolds doesn’t get it. It’s time to return effective, reasonable, and responsible leadership to 5th district state senate seat for all the people of our community, and I hope to earn their support to represent those people in November.

Thanks to Jay for giving me this forum, and to the readers of folkbum’s rambles and rants. If you have any questions about me, or the campaign, please visit our website at www.sullivanforsenate.com or call the campaign office at 414-453-1070.

Live from Ted Stevens International Airport

In the photo at left, you can see the actual series of tubes that is carrying the WiFi over which I'm posting this.

It may be the Cheddarsphere's worst-kept secret, but I have been on vacation. In fact, I'm on my way home now, with a looooooooooong flight ahead of me, and then several days of cruise-ship food withdrawal.

I want to heartfully thank Keith, grumbleberries, Ben, and Steve for keeping the place going while I have been away. They have done an amazing job of keeping the content fresh and interesting, and I hope they can stick around through the weekend, after the DTs have worn off and I stop feeling like I'm still on the boat. I have been occasionally keeping tabs on the comments, too, and it continues to baffle me that such good conversation can happen in a forum that I created. Boggles the mind, really.

I will try to have some good pictures of wildlife, glaciers, and all kinds of other whatnot, so you can all see What I Did on My Summer Vacation. In the meantime, carry on.

What's Left? (With apologies to Carrie Lynch)

By Keith Schmitz

The Horse's Mouth Blog over at the American Prospect brings up an interesting point on the war on terror and how this last issue is melting away from the GOP.

POLL: AMERICANS PREFER DEMOCRATS FOR WAR ON TERROR. It will be very interesting indeed to see what sort of play this gets, if any. As Jamison Foser wrote recently, your typical media commentator will keep repeating the idea that the GOP is politically strong on national security as surely as his leg will jerk forward when the doctor hits his knee with a rubber mallet.

But guess what? Buried in today's big Washington Post poll is a startling number: It shows that respondents actually trust Democrats more than Republicans not just to do the right thing about Iraq, but to better handle the broader war on terror, too. To see the number, click right here.

If future polls show the same, it'll be interesting to see how much longer commentators keep repeating the idea that national security issues are an automatic winner for the GOP, and a sure loser for Dems.

--Greg Sargent

UPDATE: Don't miss the extensive look Foser has now posted at Media Matters about how WaPo consistently ignores its own polls (like the one cited above) to reflexively argue that national security's always a winner for Republicans.

Of course the beat will go on over at the conservative blogs and the Milwaukee Journal. The rest of us are catching on.

Questions About A Hypothetical Situation

By grumbleberries

This is going to sound crazy and I can't imagine this senario ever happening but play along for a moment.

Suppose two candidates of the same party declare candidacy for the same office and a primary election is held. Further suppose that there is a clear winner in this primary. The winner obviously will represent the party in the general election. Please consider the following questions:

1. Should the loser of the primary run for the office anyway?
2. What would one call a person who ignored the will of the people and ran as an independent?
3. Should the loser in the primary, if he runs as an independent, expect to be trusted by anyone in his former party?
4. Should the loser in the primary, if he runs as an independent , expect to have the plum committee appointments if he wins in the general election.
5. Should the loser of the primary have the support of the party members in the general election?
6. If members of the party support the loser of the primary in the general election, are they the ones who are hurting the party?
7. Had the loser won the primary, would all the losers supporters expect to have the support of the entire party in the general election?
8. If the loser of the primary had no intention of abiding with the will of the primary voters, why did he bother with the primary election anyway?
9. If the loser of the primary runs as an independent in the general election, is this evidence of the party being in shambles or the ego of one person getting in the way?
10. If the loser of the primary runs for the general election is he telling everyone to stick it?

I really don't think there is any doubt about how a Republican would answer the above questions. I thought I knew how Democrats would too. Sadly, I now truly wonder. I suppose time will tell.

Although I supported Lamont in yesterday's CT primary, I did not wish that Senator Leiberman would be banished from the Democratic Party. After listening to his Declaration of Independence last night, I have changed my mind.

A Shot in the Arm

By Keith Schmitz
Did a trip to the Truman Museum a couple of weeks ago. Stirring experience to see the great decisions that took place under this presidency, though today many of Truman’s viewpoints would be considered to be “quaint”, especially the idea that people who serve in government are public servants and not there to enrich themselves. Truman himself had to borrow money from Dean Achinson to move back to Independence from the White House.

The new model seems to be our ex-governor Tommy Thompson.

The Washington Post reports today that apparently some of Tommy’s business connections stand to benefit from his tenure as head of health and human services.
According to the article:

Thompson, who served during President Bush's first term, is on the board of Centene Corp., a St. Louis-based company that operates Medicaid-funded health maintenance organizations in Indiana, Kansas, Missouri, New Jersey, Ohio, Texas and Wisconsin. His proposals to move more Medicaid beneficiaries and uninsured people onto such plans could improve the company's bottom line.

The article goes on to talk about how Tommy’s ties with Deloitte and Touche and the company which makes implantable RFID chips VeriChip stand to benefit as well.

Incidentally these chips, which carry your medical data get injected right into your arm. Marvelous or scary depending upon your viewpoint.

This argument of course can play either way. Admittedly, these companies could do some very beneficial things for the government through their expertise. But then this situation calls into the question the special edge these companies have in their dealings with the government versus their competition which may do these same things better and cheaper. Because of this relationship the chance to find this out gets a bit blunted.

In fairness, I am happy to point out that many Democratic officials and legislators do this as well.

I don’t think this is a discussion we are really having in light of all the sweetheart deals that seem to be tumbling out of the federal government. And unlike Truman who launched his commission that aggressively went after contracts set up by a DEMOCRATIC administration, our current congress seems allergic to exercising any oversight whatsoever.

Gotta tweak the Journal here. Now think about if this was Jim Doyle. In the first place doubt if this story about Tommy will see light of day in the Milwaukee Journal, which slept while under Tommy the state morph from boring squeaky clean to something that almost makes Illinois blush.

No, Tommy wasn’t totally responsible but as we all know, the boy from Elroy loomed large over state politics in the 80’s and 90’s when we saw our own version of climate change.

For Doyle, the Journal head would probably run “Doyle Stands to Bilk US out of Billions for Business Friends.”

At any rate, we have come a long way since Harry Truman. Now instead of having to borrow money to leave the White House, many of our ex-politicians can probably now afford to buy the White House. It’s your money.

CT Primary Day

By grumbleberries

Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont face off today in a primary that many feel has nationwide implications. The national blogosphere has been obsessing on this race for weeks with the past week being almost unbearable. There have been many articles but here are two recent ones that I found interesting. David Sirota provides four senarios concerning the possible outcomes and some comic relief. At NY Daily News, Lieberman pleads that he is not George Bush.

Although the MSM wants us to believe that this primary is a referendum on the war, I believe it to be much more than that.
The Democratic party is currently in a struggle for the direction it will take. According to John Dean in his book, Conservatives Without Conscience many Democrats have chosen to remain silent regarding the extremes of the Neocons because they feel the electorate is not interested in process. Additionally, Dems think such action would make them seem whiney. These Democrats want to move the party to the center of the political spectrum, a center that has moved decidedly to the right. Many in the lefty blogosphere have the opinion that this outlook makes the Democrats seem wimpy. I share this opinion.

The grass roots, emboldened by a blogosphere, is leading the charge to create an opposition party that seeks to aggressively wrestle with the current Republican one party rule. Russ Feingold was one of the first Democrats to "get it". Sooner or later the leadership will be forced to get in front of the Democratic party revolutionary parade or they will need to move over.

This is democracy as it is supposed to be! Messy, loud, and undisciplined, democracy comes from the bottom up pressuring our leaders to do the will of the people. Democracy is not stubbornly sticking to a course of action long after the public has withdrawn its support. Democracy is not blind allegiance to leadership even when all evidence suggests that serious, sometimes illegal, errors have occurred.

Perhaps this is the difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans seem to follow slogan spouting leaders without question and call it a strength. Recent history suggests that Republicans get it wrong much of the time. Democrats, on the other hand, question, argue, research, and have great difficulty following each other. Despite the mess the Democrats will eventually get it right. After all is said and done, how many times has Senator Feingold been wrong?

The Lieberman-Lamont primary is a major battle in this healthy struggle within the Democratic Party. Democrats do not fear the perceived lack of control that Republicans allow to run their lives. In fact, many welcome it because the only thing for certain is change. Regardless of what happens in Connecticut, major changes are coming.

Mark Green Defender of UW Students?

By grumbleberries

Candidate Green made a stop in Janesville last Thursday and made numerous points about how he "would fix Doyle's errors". According to Friday's (8/4/06) Janesville Gazette, Green stated:

"I support a cap on tuition increases" he said. "You can't balance the budget on the backs of in-state students...It was Jim Doyle's Board of Regents that raised tuition."

Having a son attending one of our fine Universities, I share the pain of the tuition increases but what about that troublesome Representative Green voting record?

US Representative Green cast the deciding vote in February to slash student aid by nearly $12 billion, the largest cut in the program's history. [Source: HRS653, Vote 4, 2/1/06]

US Representative Green voted against increases for Pell grants for our neediest students. [Sources: HR2863, Vote 668, 12/18/05; HR3010, Vote 573, 11/8/05; HR3010, Vote 320, 6/24/05]

Assemblyman Green repeatedly voted to increase tuition at the University of Wisconsin System when he was in the Assembly. [Sources: 1993 SB44, 1995 AB150, 1997 AB100]

Sorry Mark and Friends, this voting record doesn't seem particularly student or parent friendly. Enough said!

They're Going to Pump You Up

By Keith Schmitz

Brace yourself.

CNN announced this morning that BP has discovered “severe corrosion” in their pipeline leading out of Alaska’s Prudhoe Bay. They will be totally shutting down that flow of oil for pipeline repairs.

This is the US’s largest oil field so folks, the pain is coming in the form of yet another jump in oil prices. This is 8% of our oil supply and according to an oil analyst the increase will be five cents to a barrel of crude. Expect once the middle-men get their cut a multiplier will kick in on that figure.

It is predicted the repair to the pipeline will take weeks, perhaps months.
The question here: is this what the tax cuts our Congress happily handed over to the oil companies have bought us? What are they doing with the money? You would think pipeline maintenance would be one of the routine benefits that would have come out of this donation from you, the taxpayer, who will have to make it up by paying the interest that this contribution to the deficit will make down the road or more cuts in vital services.

Makes the mind wander as to where that money really went.

The timing could be good or bad for the oil companies depending on how you look at it. Fortunately for the oil companies Congress is in recess and the hearings that could have come out this would have been more bad publicity for the oil barons. I say could because our Congress has basically slept through its job of oversight.

Of course this is where the bad timing part comes in. The yet higher gas prices may quite likely inspire voters in November to put people in Washington who will do the job of oversight. You know, what a member of Congress is hired to do. Hear that Jim Sensenbrenner?

If our friends over at the right wing blogs pick up on this coming wave of higher prices, they of course in their usual spirit of “thank you sir, may I have another sir” will be cooking up all sorts of sonorous arguments in their pseudo-learned tones, lecturing us about the intricacies of oil price hikes. In less academic terms. BS.

Trouble for them is that most of the public doesn’t read political blogs, and their defense of the oil companies will be drowned out by the sound of that tank of gas going through the roof.

Bear in mind it wasn’t really Woodward and Bernstein that brought Nixon down. It was gas at over a buck a gallon.

Dare to Hope

By grumbleberries
Although one needs to view events with a degree of caution sometimes it is necessary to also have hope. During the last five years we have witnessed: two wars, Abu Graib, Guantanamo, huge, increasing national debt, attacks on social security, Hurricane Katrina, a shrinking middle class, class warfare, out of control health care costs, obscene gasoline prices and profits, tax cuts for the top 1%, alienation of our allies, Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Republican corruption, presidential signing statements, Vice Presidental shootings, and proclivity of Congress to name bills the complete opposite of what they really are all about.

Deep breath! Once one gets started it is difficult to stop but in the interest of time and space I will.
So who is to blame if not the Neocon controlled Congress and Executive Branch.

Despite my good memory, I am optimistic. America is a great country and a group can only dupe the public for so long. I have many moderate Republican friends and relatives who are just as fed up as I am. Eventually voters will get it right even though for some of us it can't come soon enough.

Two articles that articulate the change I sense is happening are The Beginning of the End of the Adventure and The End of the Right. There is great hope but it will only happen with all of our continued hard work! Let's get going! This time we cannot afford to let these guys resurface in thirty years!

Did Anybody Notice?

MPS teachers will actually work under their current contract this year. No big fights, no protests, no bickering, no negative comments coming from either side to my knowledge. Here's the question. Can it happen two contracts in a row?

Chicks!

By grumbleberries

Sure, parts of the world are in flames. The President is on vacation. The US Congress and the State Legislature are both in recess. Why shouldn't my thoughts wander to music and the first CD I ever purchased. It is after all Saturday!

Ok, I admit that I bought the first CD in my life for all the wrong reasons. I've always felt some type of kinship toward the underdog, so I was deeply moved by the hatred which erupted when the Dixie Chicks' criticized President Bush and the Iraq war. I simply had to purchase a Chick's CD.

The fact is, I'm not much of a music fan. I had never heard of Natalie Maines, but figured anything that her former fans were so vehemently against, I would automatically be emphatically for. At the very least, I would be supporting the Dixie Chicks right to free speech. I'm, after all, a little touchy on Bill of Rights issues.

As a small but meaningful act of defiance I even played "Taking the Long Way" with my car windows down and the found it to be GREAT. You can listen to "Not Ready to Make Nice" here.

Now I have a confession to make, I've always been attracted to spunky women. Mrs. grumbleberries has not lost anything in this department in the last thirty years, so I know one when I see one. The Dixie Chicks are the real thing. If you have not yet bought the CD, I hope you will consider it. There is nothing more American than dissent and nobody more American than the Dixie Chicks. I'm officially smitten!

Brewing Company Blackmails New Glarus

by grumbleberries

I've been known to search the countryside seeking the perfect beer. I examine many samples and have narrowed my favorites to but a handful. Ranking high on my list is a product from New Glarus Brewing Company, Spotted Cow to be specific. Somehow this once fine beer will never taste the same after I read this article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Basically, NGBC is seeking to shake down the village of New Glarus by seeking corporate welfare, er, I mean a TIF district in order to expand the brewery. Although the details are somewhat sketchy, a TIF, usually involves using the tax money collected from the company over ten or so years to pay for the loan needed to provide improvements that are required for the company expansion. This would include roads, sewer and water but not include tax money to support police, fire, schools,or the maintainence of those improvements. The local taxpayer is left to pick up the tab on these government responsibilities.

Tax Incremental Financing or TIF's were originally created in order to encourage companies to rebuild "blighted" areas, primarily urban. Today, most of these TIF's are granted on agricultural land and are used by companies as leverage to get a "deal" on their taxes. If there is no deal offered, the company threatens to relocate. Major League Stadium Districts, WalMart, Target and many others have been known to do this type of hostage taking. Although companies always make promises as to how this will benefit the community, 30 or so new jobs in New Glarus' case, there is no absolute certainty or accountability built into this plan.

As a result, companies get this form of welfare even though they may not need the financial support and create no jobs. Certainly companies like WalMart are not strapped for cash. Given the sales at New Glarus Brewing Company, I'm certain they are not really too worried either. This puts villages like New Glarus in a tough spot. As a result, the taxpayers of New Glarus will probably have tax increases for the priviledge of the Brewer staying in the community. For some reason conservatives see this type of coporate welfare and the tax implications as beneficial to all.

Perhaps a more committed beer "expert" would stick with his best list and not let corporate greed affect how he views the taste of beer but I've had it! No more Spotted Cow! No more contributions to a company that would act in this manner, period. Having made this statement, the afternoon must be spent trying to find an adequate replacement for Spotted Cow! These things do take time. Any suggestions would be welcome!
Update:New Glarus and NGB reach agreement. Corporate welfare wins!