Wisconsin
updated
3:25 a.m.
The past six weeks have seen a narrowing of focus here at the blog as we concentrated first on the election, and more recently on the events unfolding in Egyptian politics. As often happens when covering these major events, we have an abundance of stories that are piling up...and deserve our attention...and in this case, it’s a story that will take us far from the usual political real estate up...
Uppity Wisconsin - 12:43 a.m.
From the County Board, a break down of all the override votes, including how each member voted on each issue: FINAL 2009 MILWAUKEE COUNTY BUDGET BLAST Board overrides 22 of county executive’s 29 budget vetoes Milwaukee, WI - Wednesday afternoon, the Milwaukee County Board of Supervisors voted to override 22 of the 29 budget vetoes handed down by County Executive Scott Walker earlier this ...
Cognitive Dissidence - Thu 11:01 p.m. - 4 clicks 
The Boon Elliot, over at From Where I Sit, has sent out a plea of collaboration , in which if someone posts about him, he will return the favor. He claims it is about turning readers on to each other's sites. I really think it is the spirit of change and bipartisanship (actually, tripartisanship) inspired by the election of Barack Obama to be our next president, although he would never adm...
Cognitive Dissidence - Thu 11:01 p.m.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorially supports the Lake Michigan diversion plan being rolled out by the City of Waukesha. The editorial is here . But the carts are being lined before the horses, so to speak. For one thing, the editorial says the diversion and preferred water return-flow plan are in line with recommendations in a study being done by the Southeastern Wisconsin Regional Plann...
The Political Environment - Thu 11:00 p.m. - 2 clicks
Since it’s nearly the end of the week I thought I’d keep the mood light and share this funny spoof trailer of “The Ring” since I’m still unable to pry “Saved by zero” from my mind. If I must suffer, so must we all. “I’m troubled by these drawings…” Hilarious. ...
Left on the Lake - Thu 1:10 p.m.
To borrow a line from Art Kumbalek of the Milwaukee Shepherd Express , "Man, oh Manishevitz, what a world we live in, ain' it?" We the taxpayers are being called upon to socialize recapitalize, not only the financial markets, but now the auto industry, too. Who's next, the retailers? Something has to be done to save the more than 3 million workers serving this domestic...
Uppity Wisconsin - Thu 12:03 p.m. - 7 clicks
Odd response to the Journal Sentinel series on alcohol abuse very close to home . So the issue is how the NY Times made Wisconsin look? Come on. Wasn't the point of the JS series that we are responsible for how we are behaving, not how others are interpreting it?...
The Political Environment - Thu 12:03 p.m. - 7 clicks
As America enters what is feared to be a long and deep recession, one question is whether we save or let fade our auto industry. The GOP has long been hostile to the auto industry's unions so any union-busting opportunity not used is a wasted opportunity, in their view: Let 'em crash, millions of jobs lost, so what? House Republicans sitting in their fantasy world spouting free marke...
Uppity Wisconsin - Thu 10:23 a.m.
On the flip side, the best argument I've seen for being nice to Lieberman is this Time Magazine article . Only time will tell if Obama made the right decision, but I sure hope it was made very clear to Lieberman that if he steps one inch off the ranch in the future he'll instantly be demoted to bellboy with a brand new office somewhere in the boiler room of the Senate Office Building....
Reform Dem - Thu 7:23 a.m.
Markos tells it like it is... ------------------------------------------------------------ VA-Gov: Would you buy shit from McAuliffe? by kos , Mon Nov 17, 2008 at 03:00:04 PM PST Huh ? [Terry] McAuliffe’s pals dismiss such criticism and say his unique blend of charm and cash will prove irresistible. "Terry could sell shit to the zoo," explains lo...
Reform Dem - Thu 6:43 a.m. - 2 clicks
Several right wing bloggers, including Owen Robinson and Dad29 , have been touting the recent run on guns, supposedly based on the fear that President Elect Barack Obama would ban all weapons on January 21. Yeah, that's just what we need more guns out there. From today's news: A Hatfield man confesses to shooting his ex-wife in the head, killing her, after an argument. A woman is accuse...
Cognitive Dissidence - Thu 4:50 a.m. - 6 clicks
I've been doing a lot of writing this week on the tragic, needless and completely avoidable death of Christopher L. Thomas, Jr. Even though I am usually on the verbose side, I can not find the words to describe my feelings about today's turn of events : The dispute simmered throughout the service but erupted near its end, as people lined up near the open casket to pay their final respects. ...
Cognitive Dissidence - Wed 8:42 p.m. - 3 clicks
During the campaign, the right wingers tried to make hay with the "bitterly clinging to their guns and Bibles" line. Now they're just clinging to their bitterness....
Cognitive Dissidence - Wed 8:11 p.m. - 4 clicks
After learning the results of the County Boards override votes, it reminded me of seeing your favorite football team's star cornerback intercepting an errant pass in his own end zone and running it back for a touchdown, only to fumble on the opponent's five yard line. It gets you cheering your head off and then it feels like the rug is pulled out from under your feet. Seeing the report from th...
Cognitive Dissidence - Wed 8:11 p.m.
It’s heartening to see that I’m not the only one who is being driven up a wall by Toyota’s “Saved by Zero” ads. Peter King of SI (towards the botom) Time.com Ad Rants Dear Toyota ad executives: I understand there’s no such thing as “bad publicity”, but please, P-L-E-A-S-E, make it stop because any time I even see a [...]...
Left on the Lake - Wed 7:09 p.m. - 6 clicks
I'm guessing that Congress will fashion some sort of financial package for the US auto industry, but before the deal is struck, it would be helpful to generations of Americans less aware of history to have two GM-related items put on the record. The first was GM's sabotage of its 1960's electric car. As the auto company pleads for taxpayer dollars in the billions to help it stay afloat in a perio...
The Political Environment - Wed 2:25 p.m. - 3 clicks
A murdered coed and Dane County's troubled 911 call center has sparked an opponent, former school board member Nancy Mistele , for incumbent Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk. At this point, I'd post odds at about 60-40, Falk. Making political hay out of a horrible tragedy should cost Mistele a few votes. Isthmus offers perspective and history, here ,...
The Political Environment - Wed 2:25 p.m. - 17 clicks
To quote the great Yogi Berra , it's like deja vu, all over again. Walker submits a broken budget. The County Board fixes it. Walker takes it and breaks it again, in a showboat fashion. The County Board fixes it again. It's been the same story for the past six years, with the exception of a couple years ago when Walker completely took himself out of the process by vetoing the whole budget, w...
Cognitive Dissidence - Wed 2:28 a.m. - 5 clicks
Both stories may not hold up but for the moment Cheney is being indicted and Ted Stevens has lost the Alaska Senate race. Rather promising news, but Stevens might be allowed a recount, and Cheney has lawyers calling for dismissal. For a moment though ...<!--break--> ...
Uppity Wisconsin - Wed 12:47 a.m. - 6 clicks
Wisconsin's Iraq Moratorium campaign, which asks people to act on the Third Friday of every month to end the war and occupation of Iraq, continues to grow. A new organizing effort in western Wisconsin, with the theme of "Health care, not warfare," has sparked new Moratorium events on Friday, Nov. 21, in Rice Lake, Superior, and Eau Claire. “People quickly see the connection...
Uppity Wisconsin - Wed 12:47 a.m. - 13 clicks
Best part of the dustup between Charlie Sykes and Milwaukee Magazine's insider piece on talk radio? Sykes' inability to handle criticism. You can read all about it here . Imagine if Charlie had laughed it off, or thanked Mil Mag for spelling his name correctly. Maybe next time....
The Political Environment - Wed 12:32 a.m. - 22 clicks
State firefighter union president Rich Gale has correctly stepped down after it was disclosed he had used the "n-word" in reference to President-elect Barack Obama. I took a class at the UW-Madison from William Appleman Williams, the great US historian who'd had an earlier career in the US Navy. The context to the ancedote is lost to me, but Williams illustrated the clueless by saying that on ...
The Political Environment - Wed 12:32 a.m. - 17 clicks
OK, it wasn't a daring prediction, but the election of Mark Begich, the Democratic Mayor of Anchorage, is another sweet Senate pickup in the party's march towards a filibuster-proof majority of 60 seats. All I can is that the Democrats better get an agenda moving Jan 20th or the work this election cycle will have been in vain. And to my faithful conservative readers: these close elections and re...
The Political Environment - Wed 12:32 a.m.
So the current Dane County Sheriff, Dave Mahoney (a Democrat), has made interagency cooperation a priority and he is currently taking an active role in reporting all undocumented immigrants to Immigration, Customs and Enforcement (ICE). He is not required by law to do so, and the County Board passed a resolution several years ago instructing the sheriff not to do so except as required by the law ...
Forward Our Motto - Tue 10:41 p.m. - 14 clicks
The announcement last week by the City of Waukesha that it intends to use Underwood Creek as its new wastewater discharge point on the back end of a Lake Michigan diversion scheme guarantees that water-based environmental concerns will be front-and-center in Southeastern Wisconsin throughout 2009. Why? Waukesha has to sell the idea to its taxpayers and water utility ratepayers. Approval by the ...
The Political Environment - Tue 4:24 p.m. - 13 clicks
Last week, we've learned of the tragic death of Christopher L. Thomas, Jr. (pictured on the right), who was a baby in the foster care system of Milwaukee County. He, along with his sister, were tortured by their aunt. The torture ultimately led to Christopher's death. Since that time, there have been many things learned, mostly due to the yeoman work of Crocker Stephenson of the Milwaukee...
Cognitive Dissidence - Tue 11:09 a.m. - 18 clicks
I’ve got a few things to follow up about yesterday’s post regarding the County pension backdrop payment to Mr. George Brotz. When I wrote about this subject yesterday, the point I was making is that the media, right wing blogs & talk show hosts and the County Executive tend to lump all Milwaukee County workers into [...]...
Left on the Lake - Tue 11:09 a.m. - 23 clicks
I have been telling a serialized story about Egyptian politics recently, and my friend noemie maxwell , over at the Washblog, left a comment that suggested to me that I had “buried the lead” during the Part One and Part Two conversations. We’ve been hinting at Joe Biden’s comments about inevitable challenges to the incoming Obama Administration, as well as describing political repression a...
Uppity Wisconsin - Mon 11:02 p.m.
Congressional Republicans are balking at loaning billions to US automakers, thus telling the companies, their suppliers and workers to drop dead. If Michigan had broken for McCain, the story would have been different....
The Political Environment - Mon 9:01 p.m. - 2 clicks
Shut out of leadership positions after their party won control of both houses of the legislature, Milwaukee Democrats were given two seats on the pivotal, budget-writing Joint Committee on Finance. The committee has 16 members. Milwaukee County supplies the largest number of Democratic voters in the state, and Milwaukee is the only city its size in Wisconsin. All in all, a weak showing by and...
The Political Environment - Mon 9:01 p.m. - 10 clicks
Contractors are looking forward to a couple of years of labor-intensive digging to install the City of Waukesha's water diversion project if it wins state and regional approvals, reports the Daily Reporter ...
The Political Environment - Mon 9:01 p.m. - 12 clicks
Whenever the local media establishment finds itself in a slow news cycle, it’s good to know we can count on them to dredge up another story about a County worker cashing in for a big pension payout. It’s a huge drain on the resources of this County to be sure, but of all the people making [...]...
Left on the Lake - Mon 6:46 p.m. - 15 clicks
As soon as I get home tonight, I will be busy writing to the members of the County Board, urging them to resist the lies and misdirections of Scott Walker and his irresponsible plans to profiteer and launch his gubernatorial campaign off the back of the people of Milwaukee County. After all, look at what happens when the County Board does listen to the County Executive's office without a skep...
Cognitive Dissidence - Mon 12:01 p.m. - 16 clicks
Readers of this blog will not be surprised to see that activists are beginning an effort to strengthen a provision of the Great Lakes Compact. At issue: whether water is a commodity that can be sold beyond the boundaries of the Great Lakes basin. As written, the Compact compromises the bottling issue, allowing unlimited export of water in containers with volumes less than 5.7 gallons each, but...
The Political Environment - Mon 10:08 a.m. - 5 clicks
I've been in and out of DC recently and I can report that by all accounts, the transition to Pres. Obama is going smoothly. There seems to be little need for the outburst of gun sales reported back home, and Obama's interview on "60 Minutes" last night - - ratings story and video link here - - again demonstrated that the guy has a refreshing familiarity with the English language and how it appl...
The Political Environment - Mon 8:27 a.m. - 5 clicks
One of the GOP's no-name, no-heft US Senators keeps up the intra-party, post-election sniping by blaming John McCain's loss on a failure to adhere to party principles - - something of an oxymoron as George W. Bush follows The New American Socialism and other Big Guvmint programs that are out-McCaining McCain. If Sen. DeMint thinks the way for the GOP to win a national election is to run farther...
The Political Environment - Mon 8:27 a.m. - 2 clicks
Folk Bum has a post displaying the American Family Association’s (AFA) promotion of a Christmas-lighted cross that appears precisely like the image of a burning cross. And the AFA is drawing howls. “The American Family Association --they of the our-morality-for-all bent--is offering a sweet new Xmas gift,” laughs Folk Bum. "The American Family Association has really toppe...
Uppity Wisconsin - Mon 7:29 a.m. - 4 clicks
We've posted before on this blog regarding efforts of MPS teachers to halt the District's adoption of a flawed and problematic textbook series for the teaching of social studies and last week I saw first hand what's at stake. A few weeks ago, the Social Studies Task Force, the group of teachers and community members working on developing a meaningful curriculum for our students, received notice...
School Board Watch - Sun 11:50 p.m. - 11 clicks
Hi everyone, Glenn originally said early intervention was too expensive, despite easily Google-able sources from all over America suggesting that early intervention actually saves the taxpayer money in the long run. Maybe Glenn's problem was simply that the wrong taxpayers were being serviced? Long Fight Over Autism Care Could End Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman of West Bend says h...
Glenn Grothman Watch - Sun 2:27 p.m. - 3 clicks
Hi everyone, Yep, catching up on Glenn now that we've managed to get Mr. Obama elected (and increasing the Progressive/Democratic presence in Washington County to over a third of our registered voters). Glenn gets a lot of coverage in The Badger Herald. The state Senate also elected its new leadership this week. The Senate Republicans selected Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R-Juneau, as the minorit...
Glenn Grothman Watch - Sun 2:27 p.m. - 4 clicks
Hi everyone, Fresh from his huge victory, Glenn wants more supply side economics. Why not for Wisconsin? It's working so well on Wall Street. From The Badger Herald Sen. Glenn Grothman, R-West Bend, said any increase in spending or taxation would be disastrous. “I think the important thing to do is decrease taxes for business regulation to assist business,” said Grothman. “Anything that...
Glenn Grothman Watch - Sun 2:04 p.m. - 13 clicks
"There is nothing so annoying as a good example." Mark Twain So guess what passed in Milwaukee? That's right, a paid sick leave law like the one that was shot down in Madison (From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel). Under the measure, a full-time worker would earn a minimum of one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked, or nine days a year. Businesses with 10 or fewer employees woul...
Forward Our Motto - Sun 2:04 p.m. - 17 clicks
One day, the Equal Protection Clause will be sensibly applied to LGBT persons' right to marry. The Equal Protection clause will be read to mean that denying a citizen the right to marry, in defiance of equal protection under the law, is about as sensible as the reasoning in Plessy . Sounds like the California Constitution is ahead of the game in judicial policymaking on the national fr...
Uppity Wisconsin - Sun 8:05 a.m. - 3 clicks
At retail stores like Target and Kohl’s, sales are off and the forecasters are lowering their expectations for the holiday season in the wake of the Bush Recession. But, apparently, it’s not because they lack money because, at gun shops throughout the state, the bitter are in lines around the block to buy more guns to cling to. I guess happiness continues to be a warm gun. The election of Barack ...
Plaisted Writes - Sun 12:48 a.m. - 25 clicks
Handgun sales are rising after the November 4th election. FDR had something to say in hard times decades ago about fearing fear, and it seems his words were timeless....
The Political Environment - Sat 8:26 p.m. - 3 clicks
Joe the Biden famously warned us that the new President will be tested by a foreign policy challenge--and most of us assumed that challenge would come from somewhere like Pakistan, Afghanistan...or Russia. New developments in the Middle East are suggesting that the challenge might come from an entirely different direction. It’s quite a story we’ve been telling--and today’s installment involve...
Uppity Wisconsin - Sat 5:47 p.m. - 3 clicks
Hi everyone, As we guessed, yeah, it does Milwaukee Magazine : Feature Story : Secrets of Talk Radio hiho Mpeterson...
The Motley Cow - Sat 1:20 p.m. - 22 clicks
Hi everyone, Saturday's column . [I'll be posting these online now that I finally (!) figured out proper citation. For those of you without a West Bend Daily News subscription, you won't be able to access the electronic version... but then, you don't need to if you read it here.] I remember hiding under the covers, worried about the bogeyman under my bed. My mom would come in and turn on...
The Motley Cow - Sat 1:20 p.m. - 3 clicks
Political writers who in February ridiculed the notion that Obama, flush with a 17-point primary victory here, could in November win substantial blocks of voters among the 'white working class' (WWC), appeal to white voters in Republican strongholds such as Waukesha County, and who crowed that their reading of the Help America Vote Act (HAVA) federal election law was spot-on correct, are ...
Uppity Wisconsin - Sat 7:41 a.m. - 19 clicks
Saturday news accounts now show Alaska Senator Ted Stevens behind 1,000 votes in that state's recount, and I am predicting that Al Franken eventually wins the recount in Minnesota, where he is behind by only 206 votes. Republicans who benefited from the Florida recount in 2000 that awarded that state, and thus the presidency to George W. Bush can't complain too loudly if recounts in closely-conte...
The Political Environment - Sat 7:20 a.m. - 4 clicks
I know, I know, I'm supposed to be out of here , but when the story of the little boy that died came on the news, my wife knew I wouldn't find peace until I got this out of my system. No wonder I love that woman. For those that aren't aware, there is a continuing story of the tragic death of a little baby boy, Christopher L. Thomas, Jr. who was murdered by his own aunt. To make the matter even...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 10:21 p.m. - 21 clicks
John Torinus, free market advocate and nationalized health care opponent, is sending his employees to India so that they can take advantage of their more inexpensive, nationalized health care system. Jay Bullock has the breakdown of Torinus' hypocrisy....
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 10:21 p.m. - 6 clicks
Sheriff David Clarke has himself in a pickle. It is no secret that Clarke has aspirations for a higher office than Milwaukee County Sheriff. Probably he is holding onto the hope that County Executive Scott Walker would beat the odds and become governor in 2010, and then he could run for the spot that Walker is currently neglecting. But whatever his aspirations are, he has not been having a good...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 10:21 p.m. - 22 clicks
Yup, that's correct, I'm going to do some castling . Don't worry, I'll be back, and I already have a list of stuff I need to write about, so enjoy my time away....
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 10:21 p.m. - 2 clicks
Via WisPolitics : Milwaukee County Supervisor Coggs: Preserving county resources at a reasonable cost In some cases, County workers are more cost-effective than contract staff Milwaukee, WI – Preserving Milwaukee County resources in a cost-effective manner is a priority in the 2009 County Budget adopted by Supervisors this week. During budget deliberations, a...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 10:21 p.m. - 19 clicks
So the City of Waukesha has rolled out a key element of its Lake Michigan water diversion plan by announcing that it intends to return water to Lake Michigan via wastewater discharges into Underwood Creek. The wastewater will be treated to such a high degree that the extra discharge will be good for the creek, Waukesha representatives say, and the entire arrangement is a boon to the regional ecos...
The Political Environment - Fri 5:52 p.m. - 16 clicks
I’ve been wondering how long it would take for this to happen: President-elect Barack Obama is taping Saturday’s weekly Democratic address not just for listeners, but for YouTube viewers, his office said Friday. And he plans to keep videotaping the radio addresses after taking the oath of office on Jan. 20. Before then, the videos will be [...]...
Left on the Lake - Fri 11:10 a.m. - 5 clicks
Local post-election navel gazing in recent days has, for some reason (not sure – maybe it was this guy ), turned to which side of the political cheddar-sphere engages in the most "anger and vitriol" as it drives its various issues and agendas. As the title above indicates, we’ve been here before – that time talking about hypocrisy as an evaluative device. The issue came to a head after Obama’s...
Plaisted Writes - Fri 9:44 a.m. - 6 clicks
Like the rest of the country, and the rest of the world for that matter, Wisconsinites are worried about the economy . Business are failing. Government bodies are facing deficits. People are afraid of losing their jobs, if they haven't already. Mayfair Mall is in financial straits . Retailers are afraid of a bad Christmas season. How bad? Even the Christmas trees are broke. Trickle dow...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 9:04 a.m. - 18 clicks
I'm sure this fellow 's pa or grandpa once told him, "Never piss off, or piss on, a police officer." The complaint said the man failed field sobriety tests and when he was being taken to the police station, urinated in the back of the squad car and sprayed the officer, hitting him in the back of the head. ...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 9:04 a.m. - 5 clicks
I do love it up north. The castle is not too far, about 150 miles, but it is far enough to be able to get away from the city strife and to relax. Even if I am working the entire day doing yard work, repairs, or other jobs that come along with being a home owner, I still feel recharged after being there. That is one of the reasons my wife and I talk about moving there sooner or later. Unfortuna...
Cognitive Dissidence - Fri 9:04 a.m. - 2 clicks