We did not think so at the time. No one could escape the news of it but none of us thought it would change everything. It seemed too trivial
It was the fodder for newspaper cartoonists from coast to coast. Inexplicably, some electronic news outlets found fuzzy footage of the event, involving the President of the United States both unguarded and in a remote location.
This President had let military men and civilians captured and potentially executed by Islamic radicals. National unemployment was soaring. Foreclosure was rampant. Turning on the printing presses of the U.S. Mint to paper over a deficit resulted in runaway inflation. People should drive less, buy more fuel-efficient cars and turn down their thermostats in winter to use less energy.
President Barack Obama has learned from this example. Photographers are banned from Martha’s Vineyard, so as not to be caught in an unguarded and remote location doing something potentially embarrassing. The President uses his children like human shields, shaming the press into making them off-limits except to trot them out when it is his political purpose to do so.
U.S. military men and civilians have been captured and executed by Islamic extremists. National unemployment is soaring. Foreclosure is rampant. There is the potential of turning loose the printing presses of the U.S. Mint. People should drive less, buy more fuel-efficient cars and turn down their thermostats in winter to use less energy.
When Jimmy Carter used the canoe paddle like a weapon to fend off the swimming “Killer Rabbit,” it was a symbol of how events had got away from him. At some time, Barack Obama will do or say something that will be more damaging to him than saying the Cambridge police acted “stupidly” or that Washington elites went “wee-wee.”
Monday, August 31, 2009
Tuesday, August 18, 2009
Wisconsin’s Lame Duck
News that Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle will not seek another term in 2010 makes him a lame duck until his successor take the oath. He will now have less influence over state spending and state policy than he had before the announcement.
Doyle could read polls like anyone. A liberal poll showed his approval rating at 43 percent. Another poll showed him at 34 percent, a Bush-like rating. Raising taxes to fix the current deficit angered taxpayers, the same-sex benefit registry angered some who voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman, and Wisconsin has lost 123,000 jobs in the past year. Doyle was not helped by the resignation of the Governor’s chief legal counsel, Chandra Miller Fienen, for not being licensed to practice law in Wisconsin.
At his remarks at Randall School, Doyle said he “intends” to serve out his term. When a public figure says he “intends” to do something, it means the exact opposite. Doyle would leave early for a Presidential appointment or to head a liberal interest group, letting Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton become Acting Governor.
There is irony here. Doyle became Governor in 2002 with less than 50 percent of the vote. Scott McCallum was never the choice of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson for Lieutenant Governor but beat his top choice in a primary. Thompson never talked his brother Ed out of running in the 2002 General Election. Ed Thompson took enough votes from McCallum to elect Doyle. Acting Governor Martin Schreiber was defeated by Lee Sherman Dreyfus in 1978.
Among Democrats, Lawton will be hurt if other elected liberals declare. If Congressman Ron Kind runs, he has the General Election advantage of being a moderate and not being from Milwaukee or Madison. These traits do not help win the Democratic Primary Election, however. The Mark Green suit shows that Kind can not apply Congressional campaign funds to running for Wisconsin Governor.
Republican candidates jockeying for Governor are Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann. I would guess another one or two moderate to conservative Republicans, such as State Senators Mike Ellis and Glen Grothman, will soon declare for Governor. Someone will mount a non-traditional campaign like Dreyfus or working at a job per day like former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander.
Other members of the Assembly and State Senate will also announce that they will not seek another term. The announcement of Doyle not to seek another term as Wisconsin frees them to make a similar announcement but to help pick their successors.
Doyle could read polls like anyone. A liberal poll showed his approval rating at 43 percent. Another poll showed him at 34 percent, a Bush-like rating. Raising taxes to fix the current deficit angered taxpayers, the same-sex benefit registry angered some who voted to define marriage as between one man and one woman, and Wisconsin has lost 123,000 jobs in the past year. Doyle was not helped by the resignation of the Governor’s chief legal counsel, Chandra Miller Fienen, for not being licensed to practice law in Wisconsin.
At his remarks at Randall School, Doyle said he “intends” to serve out his term. When a public figure says he “intends” to do something, it means the exact opposite. Doyle would leave early for a Presidential appointment or to head a liberal interest group, letting Lieutenant Governor Barbara Lawton become Acting Governor.
There is irony here. Doyle became Governor in 2002 with less than 50 percent of the vote. Scott McCallum was never the choice of former Wisconsin Governor Tommy Thompson for Lieutenant Governor but beat his top choice in a primary. Thompson never talked his brother Ed out of running in the 2002 General Election. Ed Thompson took enough votes from McCallum to elect Doyle. Acting Governor Martin Schreiber was defeated by Lee Sherman Dreyfus in 1978.
Among Democrats, Lawton will be hurt if other elected liberals declare. If Congressman Ron Kind runs, he has the General Election advantage of being a moderate and not being from Milwaukee or Madison. These traits do not help win the Democratic Primary Election, however. The Mark Green suit shows that Kind can not apply Congressional campaign funds to running for Wisconsin Governor.
Republican candidates jockeying for Governor are Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and former Congressman Mark Neumann. I would guess another one or two moderate to conservative Republicans, such as State Senators Mike Ellis and Glen Grothman, will soon declare for Governor. Someone will mount a non-traditional campaign like Dreyfus or working at a job per day like former Tennessee Governor Lamar Alexander.
Other members of the Assembly and State Senate will also announce that they will not seek another term. The announcement of Doyle not to seek another term as Wisconsin frees them to make a similar announcement but to help pick their successors.
Thursday, July 23, 2009
A Little Revolution Now and Then
Many Iranians continue to defy authority by taking to the streets to protest the results of their election for President. Some figures in the revolution against the Shah now think that the revolution has been hijacked by autocrats. The state-sponsored slogan is “Death to America,” like it is still the 1970s. Sometimes the crowd chants, “Death to dictators.” As the Who said, “Meet the new boss/ same as the old boss.”
Revolutions do not have to be as bloody as the French under Robespierre or the Russian under Lenin. In mature democracies, voters will often take out their frustrations at the polling place.
Israel often exchanges one party in power for another. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown may be swept out of office by a newly-energized Tory party. Dissatisfaction with the status quo in France led to the election of Nicolas Sarkozy.
With soaring unemployment and tax increases, state voters around the Great Lakes may broom Democrats and replace them with Republicans. When what should be down is up, those who are in power have a way of becoming out. Republicans may pick up seats or seize control of the lower houses in Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Republicans might win Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of state in Michigan. The exception among Great Lakes states is Indiana, where Republicans rule and a revolution could favor Democrats. Hoosier Daddy, indeed.
Washington is not immune from revolution. Historically, the party in control of the White House loses seats in Congress in the first election after President. In 2010, Democrats who won Congressional seats in areas that voted for McCain in 2008 face voters for the first time. It will be a referendum on TARP, the stimulus plan, health care reform and record deficits.
They called it the Republican Revolution when Newt Gingrich wrested control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats in 1994. They called it the Reagan Revolution when Dutch toppled Jimmy Carter and Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate in 1980.
1980 and 1994 seem like ancient history now. There will be another Gingrich and another Ronald Reagan to lead the GOP to another revolution. Maybe it will be John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Huckabee, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney or someone who has not emerged yet.
A new spirit of freedom is sweeping the world and the nation. A little revolution now and then is a good thing.
Revolutions do not have to be as bloody as the French under Robespierre or the Russian under Lenin. In mature democracies, voters will often take out their frustrations at the polling place.
Israel often exchanges one party in power for another. British Prime Minister Gordon Brown may be swept out of office by a newly-energized Tory party. Dissatisfaction with the status quo in France led to the election of Nicolas Sarkozy.
With soaring unemployment and tax increases, state voters around the Great Lakes may broom Democrats and replace them with Republicans. When what should be down is up, those who are in power have a way of becoming out. Republicans may pick up seats or seize control of the lower houses in Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio. Republicans might win Governor, Attorney General and Secretary of state in Michigan. The exception among Great Lakes states is Indiana, where Republicans rule and a revolution could favor Democrats. Hoosier Daddy, indeed.
Washington is not immune from revolution. Historically, the party in control of the White House loses seats in Congress in the first election after President. In 2010, Democrats who won Congressional seats in areas that voted for McCain in 2008 face voters for the first time. It will be a referendum on TARP, the stimulus plan, health care reform and record deficits.
They called it the Republican Revolution when Newt Gingrich wrested control of the U.S. House of Representatives from Democrats in 1994. They called it the Reagan Revolution when Dutch toppled Jimmy Carter and Republicans seized control of the U.S. Senate in 1980.
1980 and 1994 seem like ancient history now. There will be another Gingrich and another Ronald Reagan to lead the GOP to another revolution. Maybe it will be John Boehner, Eric Cantor, Mike Huckabee, Mike Pence, Mitt Romney or someone who has not emerged yet.
A new spirit of freedom is sweeping the world and the nation. A little revolution now and then is a good thing.
Monday, July 13, 2009
Wisconsin: Alabama of the North?
Wisconsin lags neighbors Illinois and Minnesota in jobs and personal income, wrote Thomas Hefty and John Torinus, Jr., in a guest column in the Opinion section of the Wisconsin State Journal on Sunday, July 12. Iowa’s per capita income is less but job creation is three times ours.
With per capita income falling to 85.6 percent of the national average, Wisconsin’s income is about equal to Alabama’s. The authors conclude, “We need to build a more competitive economy or reconcile ourselves to being the Alabama of the north.”
Alabama of the north? I lived in the real Alabama for four years. Let me expound why Wisconsin will never be the Alabama of the north. In some ways Wisconsin is superior to Alabama but in some ways Wisconsin is inferior.
For all the griping about Wisconsin’s tax system, Wisconsin’s sales tax exempting groceries and the Wisconsin’s income tax so-called zero amount (income below this amount is not taxable) and credits for property taxes and other things are progressive, taxing the have-nots at a lower rate than those who have more. Alabama levies sales taxes on all groceries and even the poor have to pay income taxes. By soaking the poor and favoring the rich, Alabama often has budget problems.
The two pay very different property tax on primary residences. Alabama homeowners gripe when they pay more than $1,000 on a house worth $300,000. Depending on municipality, Wisconsin homeowners might pay $7,000 on the same house.
The unemployment insurance systems could not be more different. Wisconsin’s system is an unemployment shock-absorber. One could argue that Wisconsin’s unemployment benefit of 67 percent of previous earnings up to a maximum of $363 might be improved by paying a lower percentage or putting in a waiting week but the benefit level helps those who lost their jobs. In Alabama, the maximum benefit level is $255 per week, 30 percent less.
The public higher education systems could not be more different. Wisconsin’s system of four-year universities, two-year schools and technical colleges is enrollment-based. All of Alabama’s four-year schools are within 90 minutes of Birmingham. Technical colleges are legislative pork; there is a technical college in nearly every legislative district.
Alabama, however, leads Wisconsin in job creation by a wide margin. Wisconsin poured money into Janesville and Kenosha in a vain attempt to keep ill-fated auto plants open. Alabama has built plants to make sport utility vehicles for Mercedes and Honda, and engines for Toyota and Hyundai. They have trees and water so the paper mills that have closed in Wisconsin are open in Alabama.
High-technology jobs tend to be clustered around Huntsville, put on the map by Werner von Braun and led by the University of Alabama – Huntsville. Huntsville is ironically located near Madison, Alabama. All of the four-year schools excel at technology transfer and many jobs are an easy Interstate drive to Atlanta and Nashville.
If Wisconsin were to follow Alabama’s example, new jobs would be clustered in western Wisconsin and between Racine and Kenosha. Madison is nice but irrelevant, if not actively hostile, as a center of commerce. The capital of Alabama, Montgomery, is twice as large as Madison even though it has half as many state workers. For all the historic hoopla about Rosa Parks, there is hardly any public transportation but parking downtown is plentiful and cheap.
Wisconsin is not the Alabama of the north, then. It was a nice concluding remark by Hefty and Torinus but it ultimately fails.
With per capita income falling to 85.6 percent of the national average, Wisconsin’s income is about equal to Alabama’s. The authors conclude, “We need to build a more competitive economy or reconcile ourselves to being the Alabama of the north.”
Alabama of the north? I lived in the real Alabama for four years. Let me expound why Wisconsin will never be the Alabama of the north. In some ways Wisconsin is superior to Alabama but in some ways Wisconsin is inferior.
For all the griping about Wisconsin’s tax system, Wisconsin’s sales tax exempting groceries and the Wisconsin’s income tax so-called zero amount (income below this amount is not taxable) and credits for property taxes and other things are progressive, taxing the have-nots at a lower rate than those who have more. Alabama levies sales taxes on all groceries and even the poor have to pay income taxes. By soaking the poor and favoring the rich, Alabama often has budget problems.
The two pay very different property tax on primary residences. Alabama homeowners gripe when they pay more than $1,000 on a house worth $300,000. Depending on municipality, Wisconsin homeowners might pay $7,000 on the same house.
The unemployment insurance systems could not be more different. Wisconsin’s system is an unemployment shock-absorber. One could argue that Wisconsin’s unemployment benefit of 67 percent of previous earnings up to a maximum of $363 might be improved by paying a lower percentage or putting in a waiting week but the benefit level helps those who lost their jobs. In Alabama, the maximum benefit level is $255 per week, 30 percent less.
The public higher education systems could not be more different. Wisconsin’s system of four-year universities, two-year schools and technical colleges is enrollment-based. All of Alabama’s four-year schools are within 90 minutes of Birmingham. Technical colleges are legislative pork; there is a technical college in nearly every legislative district.
Alabama, however, leads Wisconsin in job creation by a wide margin. Wisconsin poured money into Janesville and Kenosha in a vain attempt to keep ill-fated auto plants open. Alabama has built plants to make sport utility vehicles for Mercedes and Honda, and engines for Toyota and Hyundai. They have trees and water so the paper mills that have closed in Wisconsin are open in Alabama.
High-technology jobs tend to be clustered around Huntsville, put on the map by Werner von Braun and led by the University of Alabama – Huntsville. Huntsville is ironically located near Madison, Alabama. All of the four-year schools excel at technology transfer and many jobs are an easy Interstate drive to Atlanta and Nashville.
If Wisconsin were to follow Alabama’s example, new jobs would be clustered in western Wisconsin and between Racine and Kenosha. Madison is nice but irrelevant, if not actively hostile, as a center of commerce. The capital of Alabama, Montgomery, is twice as large as Madison even though it has half as many state workers. For all the historic hoopla about Rosa Parks, there is hardly any public transportation but parking downtown is plentiful and cheap.
Wisconsin is not the Alabama of the north, then. It was a nice concluding remark by Hefty and Torinus but it ultimately fails.
Monday, May 25, 2009
A Day of Remembrance
A Day of Remembrance
We are simultaneously mournful and lucky that men and women in the service chose defending our liberties and values in conflicts from the French and Indian War to Iraq and Afghanistan, whether we agree with the conflicts or not. Some died in the conflicts; others died years later. My grandmother, a genial member of the Daughters of the American Revolution, always described Memorial Day as Decoration Day. The idea was to decorate graves of veterans and war dead.
We should honor the service of those who wear America’s uniform now or who have worn it in the past. My father and my favorite University of Wisconsin Economics professor served abroad during the Korean War but a former UW football player was at the Chosin Reservoir and was lucky to make it back. I am fortunate to know people who served during World War II who are still doing OK. One flew with the Flying Tigers before Pearl Harbor and flew from American carriers after. One was a Medic with the Seabees in the Pacific. One drove landing craft at the bloody battles to dislodge Japanese troops from Attu and Kiska in the Aleutian Islands.
In 2002, I met a man who was making copies of his 1942 high school yearbook. There were 34 boys in his high school senior class. They all enlisted. He enlisted in the U.S. Navy. The other 33 enlisted in the U.S. Army and were all killed in Italy.
Most know that I have a child in the U.S. Navy on an attack submarine at Pearl Harbor. He is far safer than my friends who currently serve in Iraq and Afghanistan but there is always an element of danger when people don the uniform. Ask the people entombed on the USS Arizona if they felt safe until the unexpected attack on December 7, 1941.
Monday, May 18, 2009
Sacking Speaker Pelosi Now American Tradition
Was House Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) briefed on Enhanced Interrogation Techniques, such as water boarding, or not? When? Current Central Intelligence Agency Leon Panetta and former Director Porter Goss have a different version of events. Pelosi read a parsed written statement repeatedly at her weird press conference, blaming the CIA.
The CIA says they discussed interrogation techniques in general and the methods used on Abu Zubaida in particular with Pelosi in September, 2002 and again in February, 2003. It is now hard to remember how aggressive the CIA was and how compliant Congress was in the wake of 9/11.
Zubaida was probably only a member of al-Qaeda in his mind and that of his interrogators. He was unlike Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a high value capture at the center of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, the 1998 bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Africa, the 9/11 attack and the murder of Daniel Pearl. Like his friend Ossama bin Laden, Mohammed fought the Soviets in Afghanistan. Mohammed was captured in Karachi by Pakistanis in 2003.
Smelling Pelosi blood in the water, the press feeding frenzy has started. If Speaker Pelosi stepped down in favor of #2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer (D-MD), it would be in the new American tradition of sacking a sitting Speaker of the House.
It was not always thus. Previous Speakers of the House served for 10 years or more until Jim Wright (D-TX) succeeded Tip O’Neill (D-MA). Wright resigned his job in 1989 under an ethics investigation for avoiding limits on gifts related to his book deal. His successor, Tom Foley (D-WA), lost his seat in the Republican House landslide election of 1994, catapulting Newt Gingrich (R-GA) to Speaker.
By 1998, Newt had lost his mojo and resigned as Speaker. Bob Livingston (R-LA) was unanimously elected to succeed Newt. Then porn publisher Larry Flynt broke the story of Livingston’s affair so he never served as Speaker of the House and House Republicans chose Denny Hastert (R-IL) as Speaker. Hastert was Speaker for eight years until Democrats regained the House Majority in their landslide of 2006. Pelosi turned back Hoyer for Speaker of the House.
Can Pelosi hold onto Speaker or is she too damaged by changing her story too often? She was convenient for President Barack Obama because she was so liberal, he looked like a moderate. Now she is caught in a war of words with a former House Democrat, Leon Panetta. This is an unneeded and unwanted distraction from the job of Speaker, focuses attention on the past and not the future, such as putting more troops into Afghanistan and conducting more military tribunals. He also does not want the compliant press becoming newly aggressive toward him.
House Democrats would be right to sack her.
The CIA says they discussed interrogation techniques in general and the methods used on Abu Zubaida in particular with Pelosi in September, 2002 and again in February, 2003. It is now hard to remember how aggressive the CIA was and how compliant Congress was in the wake of 9/11.
Zubaida was probably only a member of al-Qaeda in his mind and that of his interrogators. He was unlike Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, a high value capture at the center of the 1993 attack on the World Trade Center, the 1998 bombings at the U.S. Embassies in Africa, the 9/11 attack and the murder of Daniel Pearl. Like his friend Ossama bin Laden, Mohammed fought the Soviets in Afghanistan. Mohammed was captured in Karachi by Pakistanis in 2003.
Smelling Pelosi blood in the water, the press feeding frenzy has started. If Speaker Pelosi stepped down in favor of #2 House Democrat Steny Hoyer (D-MD), it would be in the new American tradition of sacking a sitting Speaker of the House.
It was not always thus. Previous Speakers of the House served for 10 years or more until Jim Wright (D-TX) succeeded Tip O’Neill (D-MA). Wright resigned his job in 1989 under an ethics investigation for avoiding limits on gifts related to his book deal. His successor, Tom Foley (D-WA), lost his seat in the Republican House landslide election of 1994, catapulting Newt Gingrich (R-GA) to Speaker.
By 1998, Newt had lost his mojo and resigned as Speaker. Bob Livingston (R-LA) was unanimously elected to succeed Newt. Then porn publisher Larry Flynt broke the story of Livingston’s affair so he never served as Speaker of the House and House Republicans chose Denny Hastert (R-IL) as Speaker. Hastert was Speaker for eight years until Democrats regained the House Majority in their landslide of 2006. Pelosi turned back Hoyer for Speaker of the House.
Can Pelosi hold onto Speaker or is she too damaged by changing her story too often? She was convenient for President Barack Obama because she was so liberal, he looked like a moderate. Now she is caught in a war of words with a former House Democrat, Leon Panetta. This is an unneeded and unwanted distraction from the job of Speaker, focuses attention on the past and not the future, such as putting more troops into Afghanistan and conducting more military tribunals. He also does not want the compliant press becoming newly aggressive toward him.
House Democrats would be right to sack her.
Monday, May 4, 2009
Kemp and Michaelsen
News that Jack Kemp has passed away is personal to me. Kemp was a big part of my personal and professional life.
Many are familiar with his story. Success as a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills translated into becoming Congressman from Buffalo. He acquired a national reputation as a champion of tax cuts, enterprise zones and more freedom for all, including welfare recipients and people living in public housing projects. He called himself a “bleeding heart conservative” and was glad to carry a message of hope and change to black and Latino neighborhoods. He ran for President to succeed Reagan in 1988, became Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare for the winner, President George H. W. Bush. Kemp was the candidate for Vice President when Bob Dole ran for President in 1996.
I wrote a paper on supply-side economics in a class at the University of Wisconsin in 1980, mentioning Kemp.
Kemp never called names. He was always positive, always glad to work with Democrats to solve problems. When I worked at Hillsdale College from 1982 to 1984, we used one of his quotes from a speech he delivered there in many campus publications.
When I was a candidate for U.S. Congress from Wisconsin in1984, I attended a National Republican Congressional Committee training seminar in Washington. Kemp was one of the speakers. His friend and star Chad Everett was with him.
I moved to Lansing in 1985 to be a policy advisor to the Michigan Senate Republicans. In the Michigan 1988 primary, I voted for Kemp for President. I was also elected a precinct delegate in Eaton County. The George Bush campaign counted me as a Bush delegate, but I was pledged to Kemp. The Eaton County Chairman was my friend Saul Anuzis, then chief of staff to the Kemplike Sen. Dick Posthumus.
I met the woman who would become my wife through a Jack Kemp fan club in 1993. Many of us thought Jack Kemp should be the Republican nominee for President in 1996 and that Elizabeth Dole, not Bob Dole, should be the candidate for VP. That would have been about attracting swing voters, not just mobilizing the base.
Although it is perfect hindsight, this would have been a pivotal moment for America. We might not be lamenting how far the Republicans have fallen. Had Kemp been President, hope and change would have been Republican ideas.
Many are familiar with his story. Success as a quarterback for the Buffalo Bills translated into becoming Congressman from Buffalo. He acquired a national reputation as a champion of tax cuts, enterprise zones and more freedom for all, including welfare recipients and people living in public housing projects. He called himself a “bleeding heart conservative” and was glad to carry a message of hope and change to black and Latino neighborhoods. He ran for President to succeed Reagan in 1988, became Secretary of Health, Education and Welfare for the winner, President George H. W. Bush. Kemp was the candidate for Vice President when Bob Dole ran for President in 1996.
I wrote a paper on supply-side economics in a class at the University of Wisconsin in 1980, mentioning Kemp.
Kemp never called names. He was always positive, always glad to work with Democrats to solve problems. When I worked at Hillsdale College from 1982 to 1984, we used one of his quotes from a speech he delivered there in many campus publications.
When I was a candidate for U.S. Congress from Wisconsin in1984, I attended a National Republican Congressional Committee training seminar in Washington. Kemp was one of the speakers. His friend and star Chad Everett was with him.
I moved to Lansing in 1985 to be a policy advisor to the Michigan Senate Republicans. In the Michigan 1988 primary, I voted for Kemp for President. I was also elected a precinct delegate in Eaton County. The George Bush campaign counted me as a Bush delegate, but I was pledged to Kemp. The Eaton County Chairman was my friend Saul Anuzis, then chief of staff to the Kemplike Sen. Dick Posthumus.
I met the woman who would become my wife through a Jack Kemp fan club in 1993. Many of us thought Jack Kemp should be the Republican nominee for President in 1996 and that Elizabeth Dole, not Bob Dole, should be the candidate for VP. That would have been about attracting swing voters, not just mobilizing the base.
Although it is perfect hindsight, this would have been a pivotal moment for America. We might not be lamenting how far the Republicans have fallen. Had Kemp been President, hope and change would have been Republican ideas.
Monday, March 30, 2009
Two Wisconsins Now
One Wisconsin Now and Greater Wisconsin Fund is paying for some political advertisements against Dane County Executive candidate Nancy Mistele. The advertisements distort Mistele’s record as a member of the Madison School Board and suggest that the listener call the Mistele campaign office and tell her we do not need her kind as Dane County Executive.
What are One Wisconsin Now and Greater Wisconsin Now? How are they funded?
One Wisconsin Now and Greater Wisconsin Fund are 527 Political Action Committees, PACs. It makes “independent expenditures,” so there is putatively a wall of separation between them and the campaign of Kathleen Falk, the incumbent Dane County Executive. I say “putatively” a wall, because 527s usually make the negative attacks so that a campaign can be positive. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is the most famous 527 and no one dos not associate it with the campaign against Senator John Kerry of President George W. Bush.
One Wisconsin Now is interlocked with the Greater Wisconsin Fund. Money given to one is sloshed over into the other. About half the money given to One Wisconsin Now comes from within Wisconsin and the rest from somewhere else. Only about one-third of the money given to the Greater Wisconsin Fund comes from within Wisconsin. Most of the money comes from national union, liberal and Democratic PACs.
If I can figure this out, why can watchdogs like Wisconsin Common Cause and the Wisconsin Democracy Project not mention them without criticizing contributions to right-leaning 527s? They only say, “A pox on both your houses.”
I suspect One Wisconsin Now and the Greater Wisconsin Fund is buying advertisements against Nancy Mistele for two reasons. One is that Mistele is gathering too much momentum against Falk for their comfort. More mainstream voters believe that Falk prevaricated or worse on the 911 center and supports raising taxes to pay for a commuter rail system that few will ride. The second is that re-electing Kathleen Falk buys time for her to run for another office, like U.S. Senate when octogenarian Herb Kohl retires or U.S. House of Representatives if incumbent Tammy Baldwin runs for the Kohl seat.
There will be no appointment for Falk in Madison or Washington and it is unlikely she could get a private sector job that pays as well as Dane County Executive. She has alienated many Madison liberals, including her defeat of former incumbent Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager before losing to Republican J.B. van Hollen and Governor Jim Doyle, whom she challenged in 2002 and was an early supporter of President Barack Obama. The best chance of Falk is by a campaign for a higher office.
There are two Wisconsins now. There is the Wisconsin of One Wisconsin Now, the Greater Wisconsin Fund, commuter rail, taxes and Kathleen Falk. Then there are the people who work hard to make ends meet, pay their taxes and support Nancy Mistele.
What are One Wisconsin Now and Greater Wisconsin Now? How are they funded?
One Wisconsin Now and Greater Wisconsin Fund are 527 Political Action Committees, PACs. It makes “independent expenditures,” so there is putatively a wall of separation between them and the campaign of Kathleen Falk, the incumbent Dane County Executive. I say “putatively” a wall, because 527s usually make the negative attacks so that a campaign can be positive. The Swift Boat Veterans for Truth is the most famous 527 and no one dos not associate it with the campaign against Senator John Kerry of President George W. Bush.
One Wisconsin Now is interlocked with the Greater Wisconsin Fund. Money given to one is sloshed over into the other. About half the money given to One Wisconsin Now comes from within Wisconsin and the rest from somewhere else. Only about one-third of the money given to the Greater Wisconsin Fund comes from within Wisconsin. Most of the money comes from national union, liberal and Democratic PACs.
If I can figure this out, why can watchdogs like Wisconsin Common Cause and the Wisconsin Democracy Project not mention them without criticizing contributions to right-leaning 527s? They only say, “A pox on both your houses.”
I suspect One Wisconsin Now and the Greater Wisconsin Fund is buying advertisements against Nancy Mistele for two reasons. One is that Mistele is gathering too much momentum against Falk for their comfort. More mainstream voters believe that Falk prevaricated or worse on the 911 center and supports raising taxes to pay for a commuter rail system that few will ride. The second is that re-electing Kathleen Falk buys time for her to run for another office, like U.S. Senate when octogenarian Herb Kohl retires or U.S. House of Representatives if incumbent Tammy Baldwin runs for the Kohl seat.
There will be no appointment for Falk in Madison or Washington and it is unlikely she could get a private sector job that pays as well as Dane County Executive. She has alienated many Madison liberals, including her defeat of former incumbent Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager before losing to Republican J.B. van Hollen and Governor Jim Doyle, whom she challenged in 2002 and was an early supporter of President Barack Obama. The best chance of Falk is by a campaign for a higher office.
There are two Wisconsins now. There is the Wisconsin of One Wisconsin Now, the Greater Wisconsin Fund, commuter rail, taxes and Kathleen Falk. Then there are the people who work hard to make ends meet, pay their taxes and support Nancy Mistele.
Monday, March 23, 2009
Obama’s Valentine to the Iranian People
Like a clock that does not run, President Barack Obama is only right twice per day. So his Persian New Year message to the Iranian people on March 20 was one of those times.
The Iranian government and especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underestimated the ability of Obama to deliver a message directly to the Iranian people with Farsi subtitles. The timing was the beginning of the festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the next year on the Persian calendar. Ahmadinejad and his advisors are not the first people to underestimate Obama and his communications ability.
“We have serious differences that have grown over time," said Obama. “My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”
Obama is lucky to follow George W. Bush again, who labeled Iran a country in the “Axis of Evil,” but drew no distinction between Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions and the people of Iran. Obama’s approach is both carrot and stick.
Obama said, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.”
The response of the Ahmadinejad government was both immediate and extreme. Washington must stop accusing Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism, charges Tehran denies. What they do not deny is Iran’s desire to destroy Israel.
"Obama has talked of change but has taken no practical measures to address America's past mistakes in Iran. If Mr. Obama takes concrete actions and makes fundamental changes in U.S. foreign policy toward other nations including Iran, the Iranian government and people will not turn their back on him," press adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr told the state-run English-language Press TV satellite station.
The danger for Ahmadinejad is that the Iranian people may turn their back on him when they could vote again for reformers. That is the real value of the Obama message.
The Iranian government and especially Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad underestimated the ability of Obama to deliver a message directly to the Iranian people with Farsi subtitles. The timing was the beginning of the festival of Nowruz, a 12-day holiday that marks the arrival of spring and the beginning of the next year on the Persian calendar. Ahmadinejad and his advisors are not the first people to underestimate Obama and his communications ability.
“We have serious differences that have grown over time," said Obama. “My administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us, and to pursuing constructive ties among the United States, Iran and the international community. This process will not be advanced by threats. We seek instead engagement that is honest and grounded in mutual respect.”
Obama is lucky to follow George W. Bush again, who labeled Iran a country in the “Axis of Evil,” but drew no distinction between Ahmadinejad’s nuclear ambitions and the people of Iran. Obama’s approach is both carrot and stick.
Obama said, “The United States wants the Islamic Republic of Iran to take its rightful place in the community of nations. You have that right -- but it comes with real responsibilities, and that place cannot be reached through terror or arms, but rather through peaceful actions that demonstrate the true greatness of the Iranian people and civilization. And the measure of that greatness is not the capacity to destroy, it is your demonstrated ability to build and create.”
The response of the Ahmadinejad government was both immediate and extreme. Washington must stop accusing Iran of seeking to build nuclear weapons and supporting terrorism, charges Tehran denies. What they do not deny is Iran’s desire to destroy Israel.
"Obama has talked of change but has taken no practical measures to address America's past mistakes in Iran. If Mr. Obama takes concrete actions and makes fundamental changes in U.S. foreign policy toward other nations including Iran, the Iranian government and people will not turn their back on him," press adviser Ali Akbar Javanfekr told the state-run English-language Press TV satellite station.
The danger for Ahmadinejad is that the Iranian people may turn their back on him when they could vote again for reformers. That is the real value of the Obama message.
Monday, February 16, 2009
New & Improved Links
A few regular visitors will notice that I have purged links to content that is almost never updated and added links to content which changes daily. Those who visit only when I post something outrageous and newsworthy will not notice.
There are new Wisconsin links and national links. New Wisconsin links are No Runny Eggs, Jo Egelhoff, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Recess Supervisor and Fighting Bob. I did not add more liberals because I find them mean and predictable. Sometimes contributors to Fighting Bob and Truth Dig get that way. My friend Paul Soglin is willing to offend both liberals and conservatives but is rarely mean.
Both Shark & Shepherd author Rick Esenberg, a current law school professor and Stanley Kutler, a retired law school professor who sometimes posts on Truth Dig, are smarter than me on legal issues. Not that it takes much to be smarter than me.
Among my national links, I have added Mark Steyn, Truth Dig and Andrews America. When Mark Steyn substituted for Rush Limbaugh, I found him so ironic and funny. I consider John Andrews, who I have known since 1981, to be a friend and mentor.
The ironic thing is that Kutler and Andrews are associated in different ways with the Nixon Administration. Andrews was a young speechwriter in the Nixon White House. It was Kutler who sprung the White House tapes in 1996. Andrews is mentioned three times by Nixon and is taped appearing in the Oval Office only once. Other speechwriters were Ray Price, Pat Buchanan and Bill Safire.
There are new Wisconsin links and national links. New Wisconsin links are No Runny Eggs, Jo Egelhoff, Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Recess Supervisor and Fighting Bob. I did not add more liberals because I find them mean and predictable. Sometimes contributors to Fighting Bob and Truth Dig get that way. My friend Paul Soglin is willing to offend both liberals and conservatives but is rarely mean.
Both Shark & Shepherd author Rick Esenberg, a current law school professor and Stanley Kutler, a retired law school professor who sometimes posts on Truth Dig, are smarter than me on legal issues. Not that it takes much to be smarter than me.
Among my national links, I have added Mark Steyn, Truth Dig and Andrews America. When Mark Steyn substituted for Rush Limbaugh, I found him so ironic and funny. I consider John Andrews, who I have known since 1981, to be a friend and mentor.
The ironic thing is that Kutler and Andrews are associated in different ways with the Nixon Administration. Andrews was a young speechwriter in the Nixon White House. It was Kutler who sprung the White House tapes in 1996. Andrews is mentioned three times by Nixon and is taped appearing in the Oval Office only once. Other speechwriters were Ray Price, Pat Buchanan and Bill Safire.
Tuesday, January 27, 2009
Barack Obushma
Expectations of those who flocked to Washington and tuned into television around the country for the Inauguration of President Barack Obama are so high, they are bound to be disappointed by the Obama Administration.
Expectations were similarly high for George W. Bush to be transformative in 2000. He worked with Democrats as Governor of Texas so many thought a new spirit of bipartisanship was coming. The Bush Administration squandered opportunities to reach out to Democrats in Congress and were buffeted by events at home and abroad. They failed to privatize parts of Social Security instead of pushing for immigration reform. Then the unexpected events of Hurricane Katrina, the attacks on 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq completely changed the nature of the Bush Administration. They came to Washington to change it and ended up being changed by Washington.
Events are also against the Obama Administration, which is largely peopled by Clinton retreads. Congressional Democrats have priorities which will outlast Obama. Republicans could find their footing again as the party of ideas. If the Obama Administration becomes incremental in its approach to policy, it dashes hopes by supporters for sweeping change.
The Great Depression started with a Wall Street panic worsened by raising taxes and barriers to imports. President Obama and Congressional Democrats could make things worse. On the other hand, federal deficits undermine the ability for President Obama to deliver on expensive promises. Democrats are in a box and risk alienating supporters. Hostility of Obama and Congressional liberals to life and gun rights means that voters for which these are important will be more motivated in the next election.
During the campaign, Joe Biden was criticized for saying that the new President would be tested by a manufactured crisis and that it would not be clear that President Obama was right. “Gird your loins,” he said, sounding less like a candidate for Vice President than an eccentric uncle. It is a dangerous world; maybe a rogue nation will exert power over a neighboring democracy or there will be an attack on American soil. Obama will close Camp Gitmo in a year and take 16 months to remove combat troops from Iraq. They are in danger of figuratively hanging the “Mission Accomplished” sign on an aircraft carrier.
Liberal voters hated George W. Bush, but the continuation of Bush policies at home and abroad by President Barack Obama could result in him becoming Barack Obushma.
Expectations were similarly high for George W. Bush to be transformative in 2000. He worked with Democrats as Governor of Texas so many thought a new spirit of bipartisanship was coming. The Bush Administration squandered opportunities to reach out to Democrats in Congress and were buffeted by events at home and abroad. They failed to privatize parts of Social Security instead of pushing for immigration reform. Then the unexpected events of Hurricane Katrina, the attacks on 9/11 and the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq completely changed the nature of the Bush Administration. They came to Washington to change it and ended up being changed by Washington.
Events are also against the Obama Administration, which is largely peopled by Clinton retreads. Congressional Democrats have priorities which will outlast Obama. Republicans could find their footing again as the party of ideas. If the Obama Administration becomes incremental in its approach to policy, it dashes hopes by supporters for sweeping change.
The Great Depression started with a Wall Street panic worsened by raising taxes and barriers to imports. President Obama and Congressional Democrats could make things worse. On the other hand, federal deficits undermine the ability for President Obama to deliver on expensive promises. Democrats are in a box and risk alienating supporters. Hostility of Obama and Congressional liberals to life and gun rights means that voters for which these are important will be more motivated in the next election.
During the campaign, Joe Biden was criticized for saying that the new President would be tested by a manufactured crisis and that it would not be clear that President Obama was right. “Gird your loins,” he said, sounding less like a candidate for Vice President than an eccentric uncle. It is a dangerous world; maybe a rogue nation will exert power over a neighboring democracy or there will be an attack on American soil. Obama will close Camp Gitmo in a year and take 16 months to remove combat troops from Iraq. They are in danger of figuratively hanging the “Mission Accomplished” sign on an aircraft carrier.
Liberal voters hated George W. Bush, but the continuation of Bush policies at home and abroad by President Barack Obama could result in him becoming Barack Obushma.
Monday, December 15, 2008
Falk’s 911 Albatross
On the last day of her life, University of Wisconsin senior Brittany Zimmerman, 21, called 911 from her cell phone about noon on April 2, 2008. She was knifed to death in her apartment near campus a short time later.
Police arrived nearly an hour later when her fiancée found her lifeless, bloody body. Zimmerman’s death and the failure of the 911 system to dispatch officers sooner shocked both Madison and her hometown of Marshfield, Wisconsin.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk repeatedly denied that there are any problems at the 911 center and said Zimmerman hung up on 911 operators. Falk defended 911 Director Joe Norwick until Falk announced she will seek another four-year term in 2009, when she suddenly announced Norwick’s “retirement.”
Even now Falk says a nationwide search for a 911 director resulted in Norwick being selected. This is hard to believe because Norwick was the chief Dane County Deputy to former Dane County Sheriff Gary Hamblin. It is more likely that Hamblin could arrest someone in Falk’s family and the price was continued employment for Norwick. Norwick was unable to tell the Dane County Board how many calls the 911 center received per month after Zimmerman’s death.
Falk’s version of events and repeated denial that the 911 system erred in handling the Zimmerman call appear to be lies. Local reporters have heard the tape of Zimmerman’s call when the warrants in her case became unsealed in error. A struggle and her screams are plain in her call.
The Zimmerman call was cited as the public blackest eye and Falk the leading public enemy in an Isthmus reader poll but the 911 center has mishandled more calls. Two escalating noise complaints came from neighbors of Lake Edge Park between 9 and 10 p.m. on November 11 with no officers sent. A call came about 11 p.m. that there was an unconscious man in the park. There had been a fight and one of the combatants was dead.
Although Falk is wearing the 911 albatross around her neck, her announcement to seek another term in the April 2009 election scared off other Democrats. Mismanagement of public safety and the 911 system are key issues in the campaign of Nancy Mistele against Falk.
Falk’s response to Mistele, a former Dane County school board member, was to say that Mistele lost twice and is an extremist. Most know Mistele lost twice trying to topple Democrat State Senator Jon Erpenbach, is in the private sector and is a moderate Republican. Other candidates are possible.
Apparently Falk forgot that she also lost twice. While serving as Dane County Executive, she lost for Wisconsin Governor in 2002. In 2006, Falk beat the incumbent Attorney General in the Democratic primary before losing to Republican JB Van Hollen, angering some liberals. It does not seem like Falk really wants to be Dane County Executive. Some consider her to be an extremist on environmental and social issues.
Neighborhoods in Madison that considered themselves safe are increasingly plagued by burglary and violence. Falk is only one more bungled 911 call from what many consider a politically fatal third strike.
Police arrived nearly an hour later when her fiancée found her lifeless, bloody body. Zimmerman’s death and the failure of the 911 system to dispatch officers sooner shocked both Madison and her hometown of Marshfield, Wisconsin.
Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk repeatedly denied that there are any problems at the 911 center and said Zimmerman hung up on 911 operators. Falk defended 911 Director Joe Norwick until Falk announced she will seek another four-year term in 2009, when she suddenly announced Norwick’s “retirement.”
Even now Falk says a nationwide search for a 911 director resulted in Norwick being selected. This is hard to believe because Norwick was the chief Dane County Deputy to former Dane County Sheriff Gary Hamblin. It is more likely that Hamblin could arrest someone in Falk’s family and the price was continued employment for Norwick. Norwick was unable to tell the Dane County Board how many calls the 911 center received per month after Zimmerman’s death.
Falk’s version of events and repeated denial that the 911 system erred in handling the Zimmerman call appear to be lies. Local reporters have heard the tape of Zimmerman’s call when the warrants in her case became unsealed in error. A struggle and her screams are plain in her call.
The Zimmerman call was cited as the public blackest eye and Falk the leading public enemy in an Isthmus reader poll but the 911 center has mishandled more calls. Two escalating noise complaints came from neighbors of Lake Edge Park between 9 and 10 p.m. on November 11 with no officers sent. A call came about 11 p.m. that there was an unconscious man in the park. There had been a fight and one of the combatants was dead.
Although Falk is wearing the 911 albatross around her neck, her announcement to seek another term in the April 2009 election scared off other Democrats. Mismanagement of public safety and the 911 system are key issues in the campaign of Nancy Mistele against Falk.
Falk’s response to Mistele, a former Dane County school board member, was to say that Mistele lost twice and is an extremist. Most know Mistele lost twice trying to topple Democrat State Senator Jon Erpenbach, is in the private sector and is a moderate Republican. Other candidates are possible.
Apparently Falk forgot that she also lost twice. While serving as Dane County Executive, she lost for Wisconsin Governor in 2002. In 2006, Falk beat the incumbent Attorney General in the Democratic primary before losing to Republican JB Van Hollen, angering some liberals. It does not seem like Falk really wants to be Dane County Executive. Some consider her to be an extremist on environmental and social issues.
Neighborhoods in Madison that considered themselves safe are increasingly plagued by burglary and violence. Falk is only one more bungled 911 call from what many consider a politically fatal third strike.
Thursday, December 4, 2008
Raising Taxes a Resort Wisconsin Democrats Will Visit
Wisconsin’s estimated current $5 billion deficit defies quick fixes. It did not happen overnight. However, a report from the union-dominated Institute for Wisconsin’s Future and the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families says it can be fixed in one year by delaying some tax cuts, raising others and taxing things that are not taxed now.
The report calls it “tax reform,” but it is really a menu of tax hikes. Other states facing such large deficits might ask state employees to work one free day per week, offer early retirement or extend a fiscal year to another quarter to improve revenue. Wisconsin, the report says, is not trying to raise enough revenue so we should pay higher taxes.
Democrats, who now have a majority in the Wisconsin House and Senate thanks to union money and volunteers, say that raising taxes that you and I pay should be a last resort. That is a Wisconsin resort which Democrats will visit.
How did we get here? When Jim Doyle was elected Wisconsin Governor in 2002, Wisconsin faced a $3.2 billion shortfall. Doyle blamed it on former Governors Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum. Low-hanging spending fruit was picked. Gradually, the Doyle Administration “borrowed” from other funds to paper over subsequent operating deficits. Last year, the Governor and legislature raised fees $763 million on registering cars, getting vital records, dry-cleaning clothes and applying to public universities.
The big ticket tax hikes put forth in the report are raising the state sales tax to six percent ($850 million), extend the sales tax to business and professional services ($468 million), bring back the sales tax on motor fuel ($403 million), eliminate state income tax refundable credits ($321 million), eliminate the marriage credit ($275 million), increase the top rate of the state income tax from 6.75 percent to 7.75 percent ($180 million) and reinstate Wisconsin’s inheritance tax ($120 million).
In my case, whatever I save from lowering the state income tax in my bracket could be more than offset by higher sales taxes. A Princeton University study says Wisconsin citizens with higher incomes than mine vote with their feet to leave the state to be replaced by citizens with lower incomes. That means that tax increases will never yield as much as promised.
Families struggling to pay bills, buy food and put gas in the car, cut back where they can. Increasing their taxes penalizes them and increasing taxes on their employers might cause more workers to lose their jobs, too. Republicans will find new backbone in the minority to stand with families. Raising taxes is a sure way for Assembly and Senate Democrats to become the minority again in 2010.
The report calls it “tax reform,” but it is really a menu of tax hikes. Other states facing such large deficits might ask state employees to work one free day per week, offer early retirement or extend a fiscal year to another quarter to improve revenue. Wisconsin, the report says, is not trying to raise enough revenue so we should pay higher taxes.
Democrats, who now have a majority in the Wisconsin House and Senate thanks to union money and volunteers, say that raising taxes that you and I pay should be a last resort. That is a Wisconsin resort which Democrats will visit.
How did we get here? When Jim Doyle was elected Wisconsin Governor in 2002, Wisconsin faced a $3.2 billion shortfall. Doyle blamed it on former Governors Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum. Low-hanging spending fruit was picked. Gradually, the Doyle Administration “borrowed” from other funds to paper over subsequent operating deficits. Last year, the Governor and legislature raised fees $763 million on registering cars, getting vital records, dry-cleaning clothes and applying to public universities.
The big ticket tax hikes put forth in the report are raising the state sales tax to six percent ($850 million), extend the sales tax to business and professional services ($468 million), bring back the sales tax on motor fuel ($403 million), eliminate state income tax refundable credits ($321 million), eliminate the marriage credit ($275 million), increase the top rate of the state income tax from 6.75 percent to 7.75 percent ($180 million) and reinstate Wisconsin’s inheritance tax ($120 million).
In my case, whatever I save from lowering the state income tax in my bracket could be more than offset by higher sales taxes. A Princeton University study says Wisconsin citizens with higher incomes than mine vote with their feet to leave the state to be replaced by citizens with lower incomes. That means that tax increases will never yield as much as promised.
Families struggling to pay bills, buy food and put gas in the car, cut back where they can. Increasing their taxes penalizes them and increasing taxes on their employers might cause more workers to lose their jobs, too. Republicans will find new backbone in the minority to stand with families. Raising taxes is a sure way for Assembly and Senate Democrats to become the minority again in 2010.
Sunday, November 16, 2008
UW Football: Ending with a Whimper
The turning point of this University of Wisconsin football season was the second half of the game at Michigan. The Badgers squandered a 19 point halftime lead only to lose that game.
Wisconsin’s Homecoming victory 27-17 over Illinois and 35-32 over Minnesota were reminders of how the Badgers have so dashed expectations in the 2008 season. So this team is bowl-eligible at 6-5. Big deal. Four wins were against non-conference patsies and a blow-out of hapless Indiana.
The Badger offense can not sustain time-consuming drives to wear down superior Big 10 defenses and scored mostly on field goals by Philip Welch. This means that the defense is on the field too much. Although the Badger defense is good, they have a tendency to give up the big play, especially against the spread offenses which now dominate the conference.
Previous Badger football teams found new ways to win close games. This team finds new ways to lose. Home field advantage meant little this season. True, the Badgers kept it fairly close to Ohio State before losing badly to Penn State. The drama of the Badger Band this year mirrored the drama on the field. Jump Around, indeed.
I am old enough to remember when the Badgers coached by John Jardine were bad enough to open the seasons of college football powerhouses. The home game scores were so one-sided that everyone came to see the band and stayed for the Fifth Quarter even if the buzz had worn off.
As I said, I’m looking forward to the end of the football season so we can again focus on men’s and women’s hockey. Basketball is here.
Wisconsin’s Homecoming victory 27-17 over Illinois and 35-32 over Minnesota were reminders of how the Badgers have so dashed expectations in the 2008 season. So this team is bowl-eligible at 6-5. Big deal. Four wins were against non-conference patsies and a blow-out of hapless Indiana.
The Badger offense can not sustain time-consuming drives to wear down superior Big 10 defenses and scored mostly on field goals by Philip Welch. This means that the defense is on the field too much. Although the Badger defense is good, they have a tendency to give up the big play, especially against the spread offenses which now dominate the conference.
Previous Badger football teams found new ways to win close games. This team finds new ways to lose. Home field advantage meant little this season. True, the Badgers kept it fairly close to Ohio State before losing badly to Penn State. The drama of the Badger Band this year mirrored the drama on the field. Jump Around, indeed.
I am old enough to remember when the Badgers coached by John Jardine were bad enough to open the seasons of college football powerhouses. The home game scores were so one-sided that everyone came to see the band and stayed for the Fifth Quarter even if the buzz had worn off.
As I said, I’m looking forward to the end of the football season so we can again focus on men’s and women’s hockey. Basketball is here.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Say Nothing against Obama
Most people have now seen the rants by angry voters at a John McCain town hall meeting in Waukesha on Thursday, October 10, urging McCain to be tougher against Barack Obama and his associates at the third and final Presidential debate. Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle, other Obama surrogates and the mainstream media have described the anger and fear of the election of Barack Obama as racist at best and threatening at worst.
Many liberals blame conservative talk radio hosts for whipping up this anger. There are some who believe everything that entertainers say about Obama and Joe Biden on the radio, just as many liberals believe everything that is posted against McCain and Sarah Palin on the Internet.
Because I live and work in a non-partisan Madison establishment, I am surprised when people without prompting express to me their hatred for McCain and Palin. They have even turned down change involving Alaskan quarters, which are the newest state quarters issued. There is no value in arguing or letting these people know that I am a Republican. Only other Republicans and a few colleagues know that I have attended the last three Wisconsin Republican conventions and that I have a McCain sticker on my car.
It is true that the electoral map seems to be trending for Obama. If Obama wins the Presidency, there would be no shortage of mischief Congressional Democrats could wreak upon job providers and our economy. If this results in my paying less in taxes while others I love pay more, then it is typical Democratic class warfare.
In general, though, I am not afraid of a President and Congress controlled by leftist Democrats. Nothing galvanizes us in the opposition like being shut out of power. When Jimmy Carter was elected President in 1976, the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats. This led to the election of President Ronald Reagan and a Republican Senate Majority in 1980. When President Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992, the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats. It led to the Republican takeover of the House and Senate in 1994.
A couple of weeks ago, I drove northwest of Medford for a family gathering. Starting about in Waupaca along Interstate 39, I never again saw a single Democratic sign. If Obama wins Wisconsin, it will because their campaign turns out more votes in population centers than McCain does in the suburbs and the small towns.
Democratic voters tend to be fair weather voters and a smaller voter turnout tends to favor Republicans. I still hope for blowing and drifting snow on Election Day in Wisconsin.
Many liberals blame conservative talk radio hosts for whipping up this anger. There are some who believe everything that entertainers say about Obama and Joe Biden on the radio, just as many liberals believe everything that is posted against McCain and Sarah Palin on the Internet.
Because I live and work in a non-partisan Madison establishment, I am surprised when people without prompting express to me their hatred for McCain and Palin. They have even turned down change involving Alaskan quarters, which are the newest state quarters issued. There is no value in arguing or letting these people know that I am a Republican. Only other Republicans and a few colleagues know that I have attended the last three Wisconsin Republican conventions and that I have a McCain sticker on my car.
It is true that the electoral map seems to be trending for Obama. If Obama wins the Presidency, there would be no shortage of mischief Congressional Democrats could wreak upon job providers and our economy. If this results in my paying less in taxes while others I love pay more, then it is typical Democratic class warfare.
In general, though, I am not afraid of a President and Congress controlled by leftist Democrats. Nothing galvanizes us in the opposition like being shut out of power. When Jimmy Carter was elected President in 1976, the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats. This led to the election of President Ronald Reagan and a Republican Senate Majority in 1980. When President Bill Clinton was elected President in 1992, the House and Senate were controlled by Democrats. It led to the Republican takeover of the House and Senate in 1994.
A couple of weeks ago, I drove northwest of Medford for a family gathering. Starting about in Waupaca along Interstate 39, I never again saw a single Democratic sign. If Obama wins Wisconsin, it will because their campaign turns out more votes in population centers than McCain does in the suburbs and the small towns.
Democratic voters tend to be fair weather voters and a smaller voter turnout tends to favor Republicans. I still hope for blowing and drifting snow on Election Day in Wisconsin.
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Have Democrats Learned Nothing?
Choosing Delaware Senator Joe Biden to be the Vice Presidential candidate by Illinois Senator and Presidential candidate Barack Obama was an electoral mistake for several reasons. The last two unsuccessful national Democratic tickets were two Senators, even though one was already a sitting Vice President. Obama could have chosen a Governor or someone else with management experience.
Although Democrats believe that the ticket of Vice President Al Gore and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman should have won in 2000 had the Republicans not “stolen” Florida, Gore-Lieberman ultimately lost to a Republican ticket which featured Governor George W. Bush of Texas and Wyoming Congressman Dick Cheney. In 2004, Democrats nominated two more U.S. Senators, Kerry-Edwards against Bush-Cheney.
Why do Democrats keep nominating U.S. Senators even though they do not win? Democrats keep trying to recreate the coalition that was successful in 1960, when Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy chose Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson as his running mate. Winning Texas was more crucial to making Kennedy President than Kennedy’s celebrated victory over Republican nominee Richard Nixon in the televised debate.
When Democrats won the White House in 1992, they broke out of the habit of nominating two U.S. Senators. They chose Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Al Gore.
Choosing someone like Biden, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1973, undermines the Obama message that Washington is broken and change is about the future. It is also hard to imagine a Vice Presidential candidate who makes Barack Obama look younger and inexperienced, being old enough to be Obama’s father. Joe Biden has a long record of public service, speaks in public better than Obama, made disparaging statements about Obama when Biden was a Presidential candidate and is a gold mine for opposition researchers.
Republican nominee and Arizona Senator John McCain will nominate a running mate last. It is unlikely that McCain will choose a running mate who does not have executive experience.
By choosing Joe Biden, Barack Obama might have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Although Democrats believe that the ticket of Vice President Al Gore and Connecticut Senator Joe Lieberman should have won in 2000 had the Republicans not “stolen” Florida, Gore-Lieberman ultimately lost to a Republican ticket which featured Governor George W. Bush of Texas and Wyoming Congressman Dick Cheney. In 2004, Democrats nominated two more U.S. Senators, Kerry-Edwards against Bush-Cheney.
Why do Democrats keep nominating U.S. Senators even though they do not win? Democrats keep trying to recreate the coalition that was successful in 1960, when Massachusetts Senator John F. Kennedy chose Texas Senator Lyndon Johnson as his running mate. Winning Texas was more crucial to making Kennedy President than Kennedy’s celebrated victory over Republican nominee Richard Nixon in the televised debate.
When Democrats won the White House in 1992, they broke out of the habit of nominating two U.S. Senators. They chose Arkansas Governor Bill Clinton and Tennessee Senator Al Gore.
Choosing someone like Biden, who has served in the U.S. Senate since 1973, undermines the Obama message that Washington is broken and change is about the future. It is also hard to imagine a Vice Presidential candidate who makes Barack Obama look younger and inexperienced, being old enough to be Obama’s father. Joe Biden has a long record of public service, speaks in public better than Obama, made disparaging statements about Obama when Biden was a Presidential candidate and is a gold mine for opposition researchers.
Republican nominee and Arizona Senator John McCain will nominate a running mate last. It is unlikely that McCain will choose a running mate who does not have executive experience.
By choosing Joe Biden, Barack Obama might have snatched defeat from the jaws of victory.
Thursday, July 31, 2008
Journalists for Obama
Writing in the July 14 National Review, Weekly Standard contributing editor Noemie Emery compares how symbiotic the relationship was between Theodore Roosevelt and John F. Kennedy and the press and that now the press has become the cheering section for Barack Obama. Emery’s article can be found at http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1282/is_13_60/ai_n27925970.
Roosevelt and Kennedy cultivated relationships with journalists of their day and became President at 42 and 43, respectively. Both had aggressive personalities, came from successful business families and had a history of military service. Roosevelt had San Juan Hill; Kennedy had PT 109.
Now many journalists have become so effete and self-important, they are ceaseless in their indictments of the evil Republicans and the values of Americans in flyover country. Many journalists came from humble origins to rise through education and experience to their positions.
When they look in the mirror, they see Obama as a reflection of themselves. No experience in the military or business, they believe that Americans cling to guns and religion out of bitterness. A rise from humble origins through education at Ivy League Schools, Obama is just like them – cool, distant and a critic of the status quo.
Roosevelt and Kennedy were never depicted as the second coming of the Messiah with a halo over their heads. It is journalist cheering of everything Obama does and says that makes it seem as if he is divine.
Roosevelt and Kennedy cultivated relationships with journalists of their day and became President at 42 and 43, respectively. Both had aggressive personalities, came from successful business families and had a history of military service. Roosevelt had San Juan Hill; Kennedy had PT 109.
Now many journalists have become so effete and self-important, they are ceaseless in their indictments of the evil Republicans and the values of Americans in flyover country. Many journalists came from humble origins to rise through education and experience to their positions.
When they look in the mirror, they see Obama as a reflection of themselves. No experience in the military or business, they believe that Americans cling to guns and religion out of bitterness. A rise from humble origins through education at Ivy League Schools, Obama is just like them – cool, distant and a critic of the status quo.
Roosevelt and Kennedy were never depicted as the second coming of the Messiah with a halo over their heads. It is journalist cheering of everything Obama does and says that makes it seem as if he is divine.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Madison’s Traffic Problems
Madison has some unusual traffic problems even in summer with most of the University of Wisconsin students away for the summer. It will be worse when the college kids return.
I have lived all across the country, including in cities that dwarf Madison. I also have driven on several college campuses. Madison’s traffic problems were especially noticeable when I drove to central Wisconsin and back, arriving in Madison near bar time on Saturday. Clusters of pedestrians were jay-walking at random.
When the college students return, they pose unusual traffic hazards. Jay-walking students now have their eyes and ears glued to cellular phones instead of watching out for cars. A number of foreign students appear to have obtained their driver licenses by correspondence courses because they seem not to know how big their cars are to drive or park.
Although operating autos safely on the Beltline is an area of emphasis in public service announcements, speed and using turn signals is still random. The speed limit on most of the Beltline is 55 mph. I usually drive 60 mph and am often passed on both the right and left by people driving at least 70 mph.
I work on Mineral Point Road near the Beltline. I currently take the Beltline to work to avoid the construction backup at Mineral Point and Gammon. When there is no road construction, I can get to work in 10 minutes by taking Mineral Point Road. The posted speed limit on Mineral Point is 40 mph. Some drive 50 mph but some drive 30 mph. This is also true of University Avenue between Whitney Way and near campus.
What especially galls me when I am walking is the sheer number of those riding bicycles on the sidewalk. I am not heartless; I am fine with parents and little kids riding on the sidewalk. When I was a student, a lucky few were bicycle enforcement officers, empowered to write tickets for riding on the sidewalk, blowing through red lights and riding in an unsafe manner. Bicyclists operated safely to avoid tickets.
Tickets seem in short supply in Madison for autos and bicycles operated unsafely, however. Police in Madison seem to have their hands too full to respond to anything but accidents instead of preventing them.
I have lived all across the country, including in cities that dwarf Madison. I also have driven on several college campuses. Madison’s traffic problems were especially noticeable when I drove to central Wisconsin and back, arriving in Madison near bar time on Saturday. Clusters of pedestrians were jay-walking at random.
When the college students return, they pose unusual traffic hazards. Jay-walking students now have their eyes and ears glued to cellular phones instead of watching out for cars. A number of foreign students appear to have obtained their driver licenses by correspondence courses because they seem not to know how big their cars are to drive or park.
Although operating autos safely on the Beltline is an area of emphasis in public service announcements, speed and using turn signals is still random. The speed limit on most of the Beltline is 55 mph. I usually drive 60 mph and am often passed on both the right and left by people driving at least 70 mph.
I work on Mineral Point Road near the Beltline. I currently take the Beltline to work to avoid the construction backup at Mineral Point and Gammon. When there is no road construction, I can get to work in 10 minutes by taking Mineral Point Road. The posted speed limit on Mineral Point is 40 mph. Some drive 50 mph but some drive 30 mph. This is also true of University Avenue between Whitney Way and near campus.
What especially galls me when I am walking is the sheer number of those riding bicycles on the sidewalk. I am not heartless; I am fine with parents and little kids riding on the sidewalk. When I was a student, a lucky few were bicycle enforcement officers, empowered to write tickets for riding on the sidewalk, blowing through red lights and riding in an unsafe manner. Bicyclists operated safely to avoid tickets.
Tickets seem in short supply in Madison for autos and bicycles operated unsafely, however. Police in Madison seem to have their hands too full to respond to anything but accidents instead of preventing them.
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
Missing Some Things about the South
I lived in the Deep South for four years. There are some things I miss, but others not so much, in Wisconsin-speak.
Chiefly, I miss the food and drink. Even the best barbecue in Madison is not nearly as good as third-tier barbecue in the South. I miss Community Coffee with chicory. (Yes, I could buy it online.) I miss going to the grocery store, using a buggy instead of a cart, and choosing among two or more brands of sweet tea. I miss the guitreau at Mike Anderson’s with an appetizer of gator bits. I miss fresh hush puppies. I miss Milo’s and real Popeye’s chicken with fresh red beans and rice as a side.
I miss “y’all” instead of “you guys.” Collective is “all y’all.” I miss Baptist pastors who make invitations. I have yet to see an “altar call” in the North. I miss being called “Tiger” because I am wearing purple and gold in Louisiana. I miss Tiger Stadium, which is easily three times louder than Camp Randall.
There are a few things I do not miss. When I first moved to the South, I thought “Sir/Madam” was a sign of respect. Now I know it is rote superficial politeness. In the North, it is replaced by real politeness that seems rude by Southerners. I do not miss how far right Republicans were in the South, where symbolic religious issues often take the place of solving real problems. I was considered a liberal because I was insufficiently extreme. I do not miss voting on long tables with no privacy.
I do not miss people who tailgate at 90 mph on the interstate, then dart suddenly right and down an exit. I do not miss cars and people festooned with Alabama, Auburn, NASCAR Numbers and Christian Fish.
More than anything, I do not miss the weather in the South. It was usually too hot for my Northern blood. In the South, a hot day might be 100 and children and the elderly are warned not to go outside because the air quality is poor. In the North, a hot day might be in the high 80s but a cold day might be -40. I prefer four seasons to the green and brown seasons.
Chiefly, I miss the food and drink. Even the best barbecue in Madison is not nearly as good as third-tier barbecue in the South. I miss Community Coffee with chicory. (Yes, I could buy it online.) I miss going to the grocery store, using a buggy instead of a cart, and choosing among two or more brands of sweet tea. I miss the guitreau at Mike Anderson’s with an appetizer of gator bits. I miss fresh hush puppies. I miss Milo’s and real Popeye’s chicken with fresh red beans and rice as a side.
I miss “y’all” instead of “you guys.” Collective is “all y’all.” I miss Baptist pastors who make invitations. I have yet to see an “altar call” in the North. I miss being called “Tiger” because I am wearing purple and gold in Louisiana. I miss Tiger Stadium, which is easily three times louder than Camp Randall.
There are a few things I do not miss. When I first moved to the South, I thought “Sir/Madam” was a sign of respect. Now I know it is rote superficial politeness. In the North, it is replaced by real politeness that seems rude by Southerners. I do not miss how far right Republicans were in the South, where symbolic religious issues often take the place of solving real problems. I was considered a liberal because I was insufficiently extreme. I do not miss voting on long tables with no privacy.
I do not miss people who tailgate at 90 mph on the interstate, then dart suddenly right and down an exit. I do not miss cars and people festooned with Alabama, Auburn, NASCAR Numbers and Christian Fish.
More than anything, I do not miss the weather in the South. It was usually too hot for my Northern blood. In the South, a hot day might be 100 and children and the elderly are warned not to go outside because the air quality is poor. In the North, a hot day might be in the high 80s but a cold day might be -40. I prefer four seasons to the green and brown seasons.
Thursday, July 3, 2008
“Over the land of the free and the home of the brave”
July 4 for many Americans is a beery day of sports, food, boating and fireworks. Historically, of course, July 4, 1776, is the date we declared our independence from Great Britain when this was a risky proposition.
It is such an American holiday. Because it falls on a day off, I will get holiday pay even though I am not working. On the last Independence Day, my younger boy, Eric, was out of the country.
This July 4 has special significance for me because Jens Michaelsen is at sea, not at home on Oahu. Actually, he will be under the Pacific Ocean for several months with more than 100 of his closest friends. While his service is safer than those who serve on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is not without risk. He is serving on a boat that was launched and decorated for service during the Cold War before he was even born.
We all weep for the family and friends of those who become casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those of us who are parents never want to bury our children. Some who serve in the Middle Eastern have marked several Independence Days there. However, they are all volunteers.
Jens is a volunteer, too. He enlisted shortly before he was 18 and turned 23, also at sea. Here is a recent picture of him with his girlfriend.
It is such an American holiday. Because it falls on a day off, I will get holiday pay even though I am not working. On the last Independence Day, my younger boy, Eric, was out of the country.
This July 4 has special significance for me because Jens Michaelsen is at sea, not at home on Oahu. Actually, he will be under the Pacific Ocean for several months with more than 100 of his closest friends. While his service is safer than those who serve on the ground in Iraq and Afghanistan, it is not without risk. He is serving on a boat that was launched and decorated for service during the Cold War before he was even born.
We all weep for the family and friends of those who become casualties in Iraq and Afghanistan. Those of us who are parents never want to bury our children. Some who serve in the Middle Eastern have marked several Independence Days there. However, they are all volunteers.
Jens is a volunteer, too. He enlisted shortly before he was 18 and turned 23, also at sea. Here is a recent picture of him with his girlfriend.
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