Sex Predators and Work Release

Lawmakers Move to Amend Wisconsin’s Jessica’s Law to Prohibit Work Release Privileges for Convicted Child Sex Predators

Madison…Madison law enforcement officials today are searching for a child sex predator who was granted work release privileges despite pleading no contest last month to repeatedly sexually assaulting a young child near Madison. After learning of the disappearance of the child sex predator this morning, State Representative Scott Suder (R-Abbotsford) and State Representative Mark Honadel (R-South Milwaukee) immediately drafted an amendment to their Wisconsin’s Jessica’s Law to bar state courts from granting work release privileges for all child sex offenders awaiting sentencing in state courts. Suder and Honadel said they were outraged by the court’s decision to allow this monster to walk back out onto the streets of Wisconsin unsupervised while he was awaiting sentencing for his attacks.

“Thanks to a ridiculous decision by a Dane County court this monster is now back out on the street instead of behind bars where he belongs,” Suder said. “This unfortunate case highlights the fact that our criminal justice system is failing to protect the public from these monsters. That is why we must immediately pass Jessica’s Law and Project KidSafe to protect our children from these predators.”

Suder and Honadel said Verne A. Hahn slipped away from his work release job last week while serving time for a burglary conviction. In addition to his recent child sexual assault conviction, Hahn’s extensive criminal background includes a string of prior offenses including bail jumping and four drunken driving convictions. The lawmakers said their Jessica’s Law proposal with the amendment would prevent state courts from granting work release privileges and lenient sentences in these cases by instituting a strong mandatory minimum prison term of 25 years to life for any person convicted of sexually assaulting a child in Wisconsin. Suder and Honadel called on members of the state Senate to immediately pass their legislation.

"Cases like this make it all the more evident that we must pass a strong Jessica's Law without delay. Citizens in my district and around the state are calling for these dangerous individuals to stay behind bars. Wisconsin has been a national leader on many issues and we should now lead the way to strengthen penalties against sexual predators."

The lawmakers said as of this morning, Verne Hahn’s whereabouts are unknown. Suder and Honadel urge anyone with information on the case to call their local law enforcement authorities or 911.

Life in the Fast Lanes?

The Small Business Times Reports:

How much would you be willing to pay to get out of a traffic jam on Milwaukee's congested freeways? A new study by transportation experts is proposing the construction of a new tollway of "Fast Lanes" throughout southeastern Wisconsin's freeway system. The study contends that the state's planned $6.2 billion freeway modernization would provide only a temporary fix for the region's growing traffic congestion.

According to the study, a network of variable-priced toll lanes, if included in the plan, would permanently offer buses and emergency vehicles free access to lanes that are guaranteed to move at the maximum speed limit, and tolled access to the same uncongested lanes for automobile drivers who are willing to pay a fee.

Those are among the recommendations in a new report, "Adding Fast Lanes to Milwaukee's Freeways: Congestion Relief, Improved Transit and Help with Funding Reconstruction." The report was compiled by the Reason Foundation, an independent think tank, and Kevin Soucie, a former state legislator and a transportation consultant at Milwaukee-based Soucie & Associates.

The authors of the report are proposing a network of toll lanes that would encompass the approaches to downtown on Interstate 94, Interstate 43 and U.S. 45.

I heard this proposal was coming, but I don't think there is much here except a mere idea. I guess it's the ultimate 'user fee,' but I am not to hot on the concept of having two tiers of infrastructure.

The price to use the Fast Lanes would vary with demand, meaning drivers would pay higher prices during rush hours and much lower rates at off-peak times. Drivers wouldn't need to slow down to make payments and there would be no toll booths. Instead, all payments would be made electronically, via windshield-mounted transponders.

The full report is available on line at www.reason.org/ps342_FASTlanes.pdf.

Martinifest Story Tough to Swallow

Something about this story doesn't sit right with me.

The glistening white Santiago Calatrava addition has made the Milwaukee Art Museum one of the city's classiest social addresses. But a recent martini fete held there turned into an overcrowded, drunken affair. Some unruly guests accosted artworks, which have been taken off display for a checkup.

People threw up, passed out, were injured, got into altercations and climbed onto sculptures at Martinifest, a semi- formal event organized by Clear Channel Radio and held at the museum Feb. 11, according to several people who attended or worked at the event.

First, this event took place nearly three weeks ago. It was heavily promoted. The largest NEWS paper in the state devotes the lead story in the paper and countless column inches to the story today?

Second. This event was sponsored by Clear Channel, a multi-media company which owns a half dozen stations in the Milwaukee market, which compete directly against stations owned by the Journal Sentinel's parent company.

The story itself was long on outrage and short on facts.

Did people actually drink to the point of vomiting in the Art Museum? Was it crowded beyond capacity? Were any artworks damaged? Were the Art Museum operators duped into gettng into something different than they anticipated?

My gut tells me this has more to do with a Journal Communications v. Clear Channel grudge than actual lead story-worthy newsreporting.

It's true that I occasionally am on the Early Spin program on Clear Channel's NewsTalk1130 WISN. Before anyone tries to sniff out any conspiracy, you should also note that my site links to JSOnline, Charlie Sykes, Jeff Wagner and Jessica McBride all the time. I'm not pushing any agenda here. Just wondering aloud why a well known event which took place nearly three weeks ago merited such manufactured outrage.

As for who is at fault here? There is probably enough blame to go around.

But is anyone surprised that an event in Milwaukee with the moniker 'Martinifest' resulted in excess alcohol consumption and some obnoxious behavior? If you are, you've never been to Church festival.

I love the Calatrava addition. But I don't revere it. I think this has been blown out of proportion.

The lead story? Really?

Wigderson on Reynolds

A great recap by James Wigderson on the Senator Tom Reynold's incomprehensible position(s) on the School Choice compromise.

State Senator Tom Reynolds (R-West Allis) may be the deciding vote in the school choice compromise. With all of the State Senate Democrats opposed to the school choice compromise (except possible Jeff Plale) and with Senators Mike Ellis and Robert Cowles opposed to the compromise because of the money going to the SAGE program, the State Senate could come down to one vote. If you had told me last week that the one vote would be Reynolds, I would have jumped up and down and said we win! This week, Reynolds is giving school choice supporters an ulcer.

Click here and read the whole thing.

Audit on UW Employing Hoodlums

Getting slammed with work requests from those who pay the bills today, but had to quickly comment on this LAB report of hoodlums in the UW System.

A must, if disgusting read.

From the Forward.

Using Department of Corrections’ felony data and UW System’s payroll data, we identified 40 felons employed by UW System in September 2005 and under state supervision in November 2005. UW-Madison employed 27 of the 40 felons we identified, including 4 who are incarcerated.

Section 111.321, Wis. Stats., generally prohibits employment discrimination on the basis of arrest or conviction record, but under s. 111.335(1)(c), Wis. Stats., employment can be terminated when a conviction is substantially related to the circumstances of an individual’s job. The decision to terminate is typically determined by an internal investigation. Because UW institutions were unaware of most of the 40 felons and could not provide complete information on how many internal investigations had been conducted, we have recommended that internal investigations be conducted to determine whether the convictions of any of the felons we identified are substantially job-related and any action is appropriate.

Terminating employment is often a lengthy process. In February 2006, the Board of Regents approved changes to expedite the termination of faculty who are convicted of serious criminal misconduct. We have recommended that it also clarify its termination process for academic staff and discuss the process for classified staff.

Finally, we found great variation in how UW institutions conduct background checks of candidates for employment. We have recommended that the Board of Regents promulgate uniform policies to identify the types of jobs for which background checks should be conducted.

Blue Light Special in Aisle Four

How in the world could KMart, a company whose financial troubles were widespread and well known, purchase Sears, one of America's largest retail chains?

That was the question many folks had when the deal was anounced last year.

Many analysts speculated the deal had more to do with real estate than it did with corporate synergy. That Sears coveted the off-mall real estate and that KMart was looking at some sears locations in smaller shopping malls across the country.

That take would appear to have been correct.

Four Wisconsin Kmart stores are among 14 in the United States that will be turned into Sears Grand stores by May. The stores are in Menomonee Falls, West Bend, Oshkosh and West Baraboo.

"These are the next wave of the off-mall format," said Chris Brathwaite, spokesman for Sears Holdings Inc., which operates both Kmart and Sears stores.

Since Kmart Corp. bought Sears, Roebuck and Co. last year, 50 Kmart locations around the U.S. have been changed to Sears Essentials stores, a sort of hybrid of both formats, but with Sears brands. There are no Sears Essentials stores in Wisconsin.

Last week, Sears said it was dropping the Sears Essentials format in favor of Sears Grand, a large-scale off-mall format that Sears introduced at just a few locations before the merger.

KMart couldn't keep up with Wal-Mart's supply chain management systems. Their products weren't as low cost or as diverse as the Arkansas-based retail behemoth. I have my doubts about the long-term success of the chain, but would imagine that Sears will be able to survive, thanks in part to the new off-mall locations.

I can't remember the last time I went to KMart.

Choice Deal Passes Finance

I just received an email from Madison.

The School Choice compromise passed the Joint Committee on Finance 11-5.

Republican Senator Rob Cowles joined all four Democrat legislators in opposition.

Reader Mail

As much as I enjoy the comments which call me a liar and/or a racist pig, the most interesting response to any of my posts within the last week had to do with the Tavern League's capitulation on the smoking ban legislation. The comment, posted verbatim below, was directed more broadly, to the idea of a smoking ban in general.

We forget who pays for the medical cost of smoking. We do, the taxpayers pay the cost. How? Medicare and Medicaid. As as Family Physician Practicing 26 years in Wausau Wisconsin it is disconcerting to repeatedly deal with the anguish patients and families go thru when their loved one has lung cancer, Heart attacks or damaging strokes. Thes patients don't die right a way. They linger on for many years with the most scientifically advanced medical care in the world. Need I add expensive? Hospital costs, Physician costs, Highly trained nurses, Lab personel, X-ray people, CAT scan operators, MRI specialists, all highly trained and highly educated people that cost money. These patients eventually end up in assisted living and nursing homes. After their personal money runs out(unless they divest themselves 3 or more years before they need nursing home care) Medical assistance pays the bill. We want our individual rights to smoke and damage ourselves prematurely; then the rest of society pays the bill. Medical economists claim that 50% of medical costs in America are the direct and indirect result of smoking. Yes, we human beings have to be baby sat. We are not as wise as we like to think we are. (emphasis, mine) Frank J. Rubino MD Family Practice Wausau Wisconsin 54401

In a nutshell, this is the impetus behind the nanny state. Protecting ourselves from ourselves.

We get the government we deserve. And members of the Tavern League get the leadership they elect. I can't imagine TLW members in Appleton, Oshkosh, Milwaukee and elsewhere are too pleased, however.

Much more on the smoking ban issue here later, but this comment was too good to simply go without highlighting.

Holloway Saga Now a State Issue

Many interested observers who live outside Milwaukee County view the Holloway saga as nothing more than a ‘Milwaukee problem.’

No longer.

Thanks to the actions of the Wisconsin Counties Association, taxpayers in nearly every county in Wisconsin are now paying the price for Milwaukee County’s Lee Holloway mess.

The Association, which receives dues (tax dollars) from nearly every county in the state, has paid for legal research which (they believe) supports Holloway’s contention that it would take a two-thirds vote of the Board to remove him as chair in the middle of his term.

It is conceivable that the WCA could be encouraged to intervene in the case on Holloway’s behalf, just as the NAACP has asserted it will. For the sake of taxpayers across the state, let’s hope not.

From social services to criminal justice and from law enforcement to cultural enrichment, I know that the work of county government is vital to all of us in Wisconsin. I’ve been a supporter of county government and of the WCA for many years. I’ve been honored to be a three-time recipient of their legislative staff recognition award and I’ve been a lecturer at their annual conference on more than one occasion. In short, I’m a fan of the WCA.

But their findings with regard to this matter are more than disheartening. Frankly, it smacks of an organization going out of its way to prop up a major funding source. We all know Holloway plays hardball. He's even bragged about that. I imagine he could take steps to reduce or eliminate Milwaukee’s membership dues to WCA if he was so moved.

The one upside, this development has raised the stakes and made it an issue that should concern taxpayers in nearly every county across the state. Now, their tax dollars have been spent to keep Holloway at the helm of the Milwaukee County Board.

Michael Joyce, RIP

Michael Joyce was perhaps the most influential conservative in Wisconsin in my lifetime.

The Bradley Foundation's impact is clearly nationwide, yet they have never lost their focus on Wisconsin.

John Miller writes:

In 1985, Rockwell International bought Milwaukee’s Allen-Bradley Company. One result of the purchase was to pump nearly $300 million into the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation. The suddenly enriched philanthropy recruited Joyce to lead it, with a mandate that he turn it into what one of the board members called “Olin West.”

To the extent that the Bradley Foundation funded conservative intellectuals, Joyce stayed true to this objective. Yet the Bradley Foundation was not simply a clone of the John M. Olin Foundation. Instead, it was committed to supporting local initiatives in Wisconsin. Joyce’s genius was to leverage conservatism’s best ideas and apply them on the state, county, and city level, where they wound up nevertheless having a national impact.

At the Olin Foundation, for instance, Joyce helped Charles Murray secure a grant that contributed to the success of Losing Ground, a landmark book on welfare. At the Bradley Foundation, Joyce worked with political figures in Wisconsin, such as Republican Gov. Tommy Thompson, to push through welfare-reform measures that were inspired by the work of Murray and others. This in turn helped create the conditions for Congress and President Clinton to overhaul welfare at the federal level in 1996.

Joyce was even more closely connected to school choice, which has achieved greater success in Milwaukee than anywhere else. Earlier this month, Wisconsin’s current governor, Democrat Jim Doyle, agreed to raise the number of Milwaukee students who can use public money to attend private schools from 15,000 to 22,500. It is safe to say that without Joyce’s influence at the Bradley Foundation, few of these voucher kids would have had an alternative to the city’s government-run schools. Moreover, the very cause of school choice would not be nearly as prominent as it is today — it might still be a fantasy in the mind of Milton Friedman rather than a reality in one of America’s big cities.

In Milwaukee, Joyce also gained a deep appreciation for the importance of faith-based organizations in the lives of the poor, whether it was church groups that provided job training or Catholic schools that offered an education. Through his work on welfare and school choice, Joyce became a founding father of “compassionate conservatism” — a term that may mean many things, but one that also would have been nearly impossible for George W. Bush ever to utter without Joyce’s work at the Bradley Foundation. After Joyce left the foundation in 2001, he worked in conjunction with the Bush administration to promote the president’s agenda on faith-based initiatives. At a speech in 2002, Bush praised Joyce and his legacy: “The Bradley Foundation has always been willing to seek different solutions. They’ve been willing to challenge the status quo. They’d say, ‘Where we find failure, something else must occur.’”

“Mike was a populist in the best sense of the word,” said Frank Cannon of Capital City Partners, who cooperated with Joyce on faith-based programs. “He believed that people are able to run their own lives from the bottom up, and that this is preferable to some government’s running them from the top down.”

Joyce may go down in conservative history as one of its most important philanthropic spenders, but in fact he was a great builder — a builder of ideas and institutions that already have outlasted him and almost certainly will outlast the rest of us.

Immediately upon graduating from the UW, I worked at a think tank that received support from the Bradley Foundation. I had the good fortune of meeting Michael Joyce from time to time and have seen his impact on major public policy over the last twenty years.

Truly, a good man.

May he rest in peace.

*** Update.
Charlie Sykes knew Joyce well. His initial take is here. I'd expect more from him in ensuing days.

And watch the classless left use the tragic news of his death as a vehicle to rip the Bradley Foundation, School Choice, welfare reform, etc...

Tom Reynolds and School Choice

First, let me get this out of the way. I am NOT running for State Senate against Tom Reynolds. Everytime he exercises his 'quirkiness' I get asked that question.

Now, as to the 'quirky' Senator's motivation to scuttle the School Choice deal...

Other than trying to garner media attention by attaching his name to yet another high profile issue, I have no idea.

So, if it's attention he seeks.... give him some. Call and ask him yourself, "What's the deal, Senator?"

His toll free number, 1-866-817-6061.

Share his responses here in the comments section.

Catching Up, Not Catching Fish

Well, I am back and can definitively decree that all Oconto County angling records remain in the hands of the same people who held them before Friday.

Rumor has it the Early Spin Crew is going to try to wake me up tomorrow to be on around 7:05 to discuss the latest developments regarding Lee Holloway and a few other things in the news.

So I’ve spent an hour or so tonight reading some blogs to catch up on what I’ve missed.

Boots and Sabers informed us of Diamond Jim's campaign hiring practices.

Shark and Sheppard posted a copy of his Journal Sentinel community editorial regarding MPS.

Right off the Shore took Governor Doyle to task for his continued promotion of his Canadian drug website.

McBride's Media Matters was hot on the case of Senator Tom Reynold's School Choice 'quirkiness.'

Milwaukee ID10T commented on the shenanigans of the likely future Governor of New York.

Oh, and Badger Blogger found a way to end the war in Iraq.

Seriously, it was nice to take a break, but it’s good to be back.

Gone Fishin'

For tomorrow at least, I'll have something in common with Michael Mayo, Scott Walker, James White, the NAACP and Peggy West.

I won't have anything bad to say about Lee Holloway.

My excuse?

I'll be gone fishin'.

Literally.

Your humble blogger has armed the newly-installed home security system and is taking a short break for some serious ice fishing.

I'll be back on Sunday evening.

In the meantime, please check out the most recent takes of others listed along the right hand column of this site. That list is continually updated to give you latest from the cheddarsphere.

Where have they gone?

Wonder what Mark Chmura's been up to since he and his defense team beat the rap in his infamous Waukesha County case?

He's back in the courtroom. No, it's not what you think.

Donovan Riley Has Another Oopsie

From the Spice Boys column today:

Yeah, Donovan Riley is a carpetbagger, having just moved back to the city to run against state Sen. Jeff Plale, a Milwaukee Democrat.

But you'd think he would at least learn the contours of the district before jumping into the race.

Riley's campaign Web site, www.rileyforstatesenate.org, includes a district map that expands it well beyond its current borders.

"If he wants to go do doors in (Sen.) Spencer Coggs' district, hey, have at it," Plale said of his Democratic foe.

Riley, a 69-year-old former hospital administrator, said he was not aware of the mistake but said he would fix it soon.

He's experienced at fixing his own campaigns errors.

I went to his website and noticed that Jeremey Levinson, Lee Holloway's attorney, is no longer listed as his treasurer.

Donovan, thanks for readin'!

Sports Update

Quick thought.

Watched a Bucks game the other night.

Andrew Bogut looks like he's lost 40 pounds since the season started.

I think I know where it went.

I saw Ben Sheets being interviewed from Spring Training the same night.

That was some off season "training" program he was on.

Yeesh.

Holloway Case: Game On

At least some folks aren't easily intimidated.

An appeals court has denied Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway's request for a temporary halt to the ethics case he is fighting.

The order by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 1 agreed with Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Richard Sankovitz, who earlier this month declined to put the ethics case on hold.

Holloway had sought the stay while he asks the appeals court to throw out the ethics allegations, which he contends were unlawfully issued. That broader appeal is pending.

The appeals court called Sankovitz's view - that it is premature to put a hold on the case while the ethics allegations are being heard by the local administrative agency presiding in the matter - "well founded." The county's Personnel Review Board has appointed a hearing examiner to determine whether Holloway violated the county ethics code by not disclosing ownership of various properties. Holloway is also accused of using his office for personal gain in a real estate deal with a county-funded social service agency.

The full story.

Violation of Non Smoking Ordinance

His crime spree went up in flames.

DAYTONA BEACH -- Dennis Crouch had already slashed himself. And when he refused to drop his knife, Daytona Beach police Officer Betsy Cassidy decided she had no choice."Taser! Taser!" Cassidy shouted as she sent a two-pronged wire, packing 50,000 volts, at Crouch's chest. What happened next stunned everyone.

A Taser probe pierced the pocket of his khaki shirt -- and ignited the butane lighter inside. Crouch's pocket exploded in flames."The subject," recounted Sgt. Al Tolley in a subsequent report, "immediately dropped the knife."

I bet he did! Full story.

h/t Drudge

Breaking News! Tavern League to Cave on Smoking Ban?

For the last 18 months, the Tavern League of Wisconsin has been working to pass a bill setting a single, statewide standard on indoor smoking in Wisconsin. This standard would allow their members to operate their small businesses on a level playing field with other taverns throughout the state. Extreme bans in Appleton and Madison have hurt taverns in those cities, as smoking customers flock to bars in neighboring communities that allow business owners to set their own smoking policies.

The bill supported by the tavern league narrowly passed the Assembly, facing much stronger opposition from majority Republicans than expected. The bill has stalled in the state Senate, due also to opposition from some GOP senators. Governor Doyle has insisted he would veto any bill that set a single standard or that would overturn the ban in Doyle's hometown (and political base) of Madison.

In a memo just delivered to all state legislators, Tavern League President Bill Hunter says the League would accept a compromise that would allow smoking bans in Appelton, Madison and possibly Milwaukee to stand.

So, rather than continue to fight for their principled position--that all their members deserve protection from local bans that put businesses at risk--TLW has appeared to have caved to Jim Doyle and decided to let their members in areas which already have local bans (including Appleton, Madison and possibly some very soon, Milwaukee) fend for themselves by supporting a "compromise" that would permanently lock in the non-smoking "islands" established by these local bans.

The small businesses who have patrons who smoke have been disorganized and demoralized from the start. This cave in appears to be yet another example of their inability to fight the anti-smoking zealots.

For the record, I loathe cigarette smoke. I generally choose to spend my time and money in places where the impact of smokers is minimized. It's the exercise of free market principles.

The nanny state mentality of the anti-smoking zealots escapes me. But they are well funded, organized and motivated.

Bar owners could be. But for some reason are not.

Racist Claim Rebuttal #23084087

Award winning columnist Robert Miranda has penned a column on the Holloway mess. He, predictably, claims the efforts of those who wish to oust Holloway are purely racially motivated.

You can read the screed here.

In his rant, he refutes his own arguments.

He cites the fact that the 'group of ten' didn't solicit the help of the black and latina Supervisors as proof of their racism. Yet, just a few lines later he notes that they also didn't ask a white Supervisor to sign on to their efforts.

What is truly interesting is that Supervisor Marina Dimitrijevic, a white supervisor, wasn't shown the letter also.

I believe the Supervisors did err by not circulating their original letter calling for a special session of the Board to all supervisiors. However, it is clear race did not play a factor here. They went to those who had in the past expressed their concerns with Holloway's behavior. They excluded Holloway's expressed supporters, black, white and Hispanicc.

Miranda also admits, at the very beginning of his piece, that a multi-racial supermajority of supervisors initially empowered Holloway. That's right. So were they racist then? Or just now?

This situation has crossed racial lines. It has crossed ideological lines. (John Weishan and Gerry Broderick are not conservatives, folks. I am sure they cringe at the thought of being labeled as such). The problem with Holloway is just that. A problem with Holloway.

Attempts to blow this into something more than that are overblown.

For crying out loud, even Eugene Kane thinks so.

Growth is Not the Problem

Another great column from Madison's own Mike Darda on National Review Online.

To be sure, if the residential real estate market goes into a tailspin, households likely would sideline a significant portion of their after-tax income, and spending would decline. However, widespread weakness in residential real estate typically has followed periods of high short- and long-term real interest rates that also weakened employment and output.

Today, real short rates have normalized while long rates remain well below historical norms. This is not to say there are no significant risks to the outlook. If Congress doesn'’t act to extend the 2003 tax cuts, tax rates on capital will rise, which would depress after-tax rates of return to capital and stunt growth. Even worse, there are rumors circulating that China could be tagged a '“currency manipulator'” by the U.S. Treasury, which would only invite a potentially disastrous protectionist legislative response from Congress (i.e., a 27.5 percent tariff on Chinese goods).

Read the entire piece. But with all Darda columns, keep your Thesaurus handy.

MJS Edit on Holloway

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorializes on the Holloway saga Today.

An excerpt:

The serious problems with Holloway's properties aside, his refusal to accept a court summons and failure to appear in court hardly qualify as acceptable behavior for any elected official, much less one in his position. Holloway seems to act as if he doesn't have to answer to anyone but himself.

This is illustrated in his repeated attempts to punish supervisors who don't agree with him and his preoccupation with the ethics prosecution, prompting some County Board members to ask him to either step down or possibly face another election for chairman.

Holloway on Monday gave his critics even more ammunition by telling a Journal Sentinel reporter he might try to block funds for the Ethics Board to pressure the body to drop some of its charges against him. Not only would that have been a desperate measure but possibly illegal.

The section of state law that deals with misconduct in public office declares that it is a felony for a public officer or employee to, among other things, do anything "with intent to obtain a dishonest advantage" for himself. It seems that blocking funding for an investigation of yourself arguably qualifies as "dishonest advantage."

On Tuesday, Holloway reversed course and sent a letter to the Ethics Board and the Personnel Review Board saying he would not try to block, or even vote on, any measure to continue funding for the ethics prosecution.

In the letter, Holloway said the Journal Sentinel story was false. We believe Holloway said what he said and his letter Tuesday was nothing short of political backpedaling by a public official who obviously realized he had overstepped his bounds.

Supervisor John Weishan Jr., one of the board members who has pushed for Holloway to step down as chairman until the ethics complaint is resolved, said the public deserves the "full truth" behind the alleged improprieties. Weishan is right; the only way that truth will come out is if the investigation continues.

Holloway has resisted appeals for him to step aside temporarily as chairman. The chance supervisors unhappy with Holloway will be able to legally force another election was complicated Wednesday when the state attorney general's office said it will not, as promised, provide a formal opinion on the legality of the move to replace Holloway.

That puts the matter back in the lap of the County Board, especially the Holloway supporters, who now must ask themselves if they are truly prepared to have him continue as their leader. Again, Holloway should spare them the effort and step aside as chairman.

Yes, he should. But he most likely won't.

So hold a vote.

Lay the cards on the table.

What's Next for the Milwaukee County Board

So, what's next?

Well, like most other developments at the Milwaukee County Board, there are two scenarios.

What should happen, and, what will likely happen.

Here is what should happen:
The board to meet as soon as possible and hold the vote to elect a new chair. Given Holloway's actions of the past few days and new revelations of his interesting landlordly philosophies, he should face an overwhelming vote of no confidence, although the Attorney General has said that a majority is sufficient. If a majority votes for someone other than Holloway, that person is the new chair. If not, Holloway remains chair and so be it. An election on a new chair would almost assuredly prompt legal action on the part of Lee Holloway. That case will run its course, as will the 90-Count ethics investigation he faces.

Here is what will likely happen:
Several members of the board will whine about the lack of direction from Lautenschlager and the performance of their own counsel, Domina. They will claim it makes no sense to hold a meeting to elect a chair if it will guarantee costly litigation, so unless their side has a 2/3rds super majority to elect a new chair, they won't take up the issue. But they will claim it is not their fault, but rather the fault of those who are still in Holloway's camp. The bullying makes the Board cower. In short, Ground Hog day. Again.


Clearly, when dealing with the current Attorney General, the Milwaukee County Board, and its embattled Chairman, there is plenty of incompetence to go around...

So, if Holloway demands, the courts should settle whether County Chair positions can or can not be revisited by a majority vote mid term.

Why not now?

This is the perfect test case.

Now What?

Confirming the suspicion from a little birdie from West Bend who told me he heard this earlier today, JSOnline reports:

No more guidance planned on Holloway vote
The state attorney general's office informed Milwaukee County today that it will not, as promised, provide a formal opinion on the legality of the move to replace Supervisor Lee Holloway as board chairman in the middle of his term.

The development throws the contentious matter back into the lap of the County Board, which had hoped for definitive guidance from Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager before deciding whether it could hold an out-of-cycle election.

Citing the impact of Holloway's ethics case on board operations, 10 supervisors contend that state law does not prohibit a simple majority from electing a new leader in midterm.

The board held a special meeting Monday but delayed a vote after County Corporation Counsel William Domina said he continued to disagree with Lautenschlager's preliminary opinion on the controversy. Lautenschlager said Domina had relied on the wrong statute in determining that only a two-thirds board majority and a showing of cause could unseat a sitting chairman.

In a letter to Domina today, Assistant Attorney General Michael Bauer said further guidance from the attorney general would not resolve the controversy, and possibly only prolong a clash that seems destined for resolution in court.

Bauer said it would be pointless for the attorney general to spend time on the issue because Domina has already made clear that he stood by his original thinking.

County lawyers are not supposed to request guidance from the state on issues that appear imminently headed for litigation, Bauer wrote. He noted that Holloway's attorney has threatened to sue if the election is held now without any process demonstrating wrongdoing by Holloway.

So, now what?

According to Bauer, Domina screwed up. Does this move save Holloway's bacon?

Let's face it, Holloway is likely to litigate this no matter when the Board moves to elect a new chairman. So, does the Board cower to his threats?

Choice Deal

The hearing is going on now...

Wednesday, February 22, 200612:00 PM225 NorthwestState Capitol
Joint Assembly and Senate Hearing
Assembly Bill 1057

Relating to: the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and the Student Achievement Guarantee in Education Program.

By Representatives Vukmir, Fields, Gard, Sinicki, Huebsch, Honadel, Ziegelbauer, Towns, Nischke, Lothian, Pridemore, Vos, Musser, Gielow, Ott, Hundertmark, Davis, Bies, Ballweg, Stone, Newcomer, Jeskewitz, Moulton and Albers; cosponsored by Senators Darling, Kanavas, Plale, Lazich and Stepp.

An executive session may be held on Assembly Bill 1057 at the conclusion of the public hearing.

Update...Here is the fiscal note

Prediction

Prediction: I am hearing rumblings...The Attorney General will refrain from issuing a formal opinion in the Milwaukee County Board/Lee Holloway Chairmanship election dispute. She's getting hit from all sides. The political move would be to duck and cover. The election is in November. ...

King of County Board a Land Baron, Too

It would appear that Lee Holloway's troubles extend beyond his role as a public servant.

Seven weeks after a Jan. 2 fire battered a six-unit Holloway-owned building on the north side, basic repairs remain undone despite a city building code deadline last week. Tenants in the only two still-inhabited apartments at 2026 W. Atkinson Ave. resorted to heating their apartments with electric stoves to compensate for a cold draft from a large, uncovered broken window in the building's central corridor. Firefighters had to knock it out to fight the fire.

On Tuesday, a day after a reporter and photographer visited, workers boarded over the window, and the property manager said the broken front door was being replaced. In a lower level apartment where water seeped into a light fixture, the tenant is concerned the situation poses a fire hazard.

Tenants also said they spent three days without heat over the weekend - the coldest so far this winter. They said they were forced to wear winter coats around the house to stay warm, even when the furnace is functional, because of the draft from the broken window.

These tenants didn't need assistance from the state to pay their bills, they merely needed their landlord to fix the furnace and replace broken windows. Shameful.

The story continues:

At a different Holloway-owned property, court records show, a dispute with city building inspectors over the condition of a single-unit rental on N. 7th St. escalated in December to the point where a Municipal Court judge issued an arrest warrant for Holloway.

The warrant came after Holloway failed to appear in court on a building-code prosecution that started last September - and two months after a building inspection worker says she was angrily turned away by Holloway when attempting to serve him with a complaint and court summons in the case.

Holloway paid a $220 fine last month in the case, in which the city attorney's office alleged that he waited six months to fix safety, heating and plumbing problems at a 125-year-old cottage in the rear of the property at 3422 N. 7th St.

The fine was set at the minimum allowed by law because the repairs were deemed completed by the time the court case was disposed of in January.

And in an unbeleivable case of irony...(emphasis mine)

The N. 7th St. property is one of several that Holloway failed to disclose on annual economic-interest statements required by the county Ethics Board, according to a pending civil complaint filed by the board. Property records show the parcel, upon which two residences were built, was deeded to Holloway in 1987.

And if that wasn't enough, the story gets even more interesting. The article also details how Holloway reacted to the whole matter:

The department attempted to serve Holloway at his home in the Sherman Park neighborhood on two separate days in October, city records show.

No one answered the door the first time. On the second try, Holloway was home but refused to accept the summons, closing the door after expressing his displeasure, said Susan Sloniker, the special compliance inspector for the city who tried to serve the papers.

"He was verbally very loud and very unhappy with the situation," Sloniker recalled.

She said Holloway asserted that all repairs had been made at that time. But that was not the case, based on an early November visit to the property, Sloniker said.

Karen Jacobs, assistant supervisor of the Department of Neighborhood Services' enforcement division, said that fewer than 5% of defendants in building-code cases personally refuse to accept court summonses.

Because Holloway did not accept the documents in October, Milwaukee police as a matter of routine were asked to mail him the complaint, which they did in November, Jacobs said.

By the time of the arraignment date in Municipal Court on Dec. 15, all the cited violations had been taken care of through repairs, city inspectors say. But because Holloway had rejected the summons and did not appear in court or send anyone to plead his case, Municipal Court Judge James Gramling Jr. issued the arrest warrant*** Dec. 15 to compel Holloway to enter a plea.

A word of warning to Holloway's tennants. These tenants should not complain about Holloway's actions (or lack thereof). They may be accused of trying to lynch their landlord.

I should also note that one of the reporters on this story is Dave Umhoefer. Yesterday, Holloway accused Umhoefer of incorrect and inaccurate reporting regarding the funding of the ethics case he faces.

Whom do you believe?

Oh, and by the way, yes, Holloway is still the chairman of the Milwaukee County Board.

Still.

Really.

***The Milwaukee Municipal Court (the court) declares that information obtained from this Internet site does not constitute the official record of the court. Further, the court provides no warranties as to the accuracy of the information contained in records available on the Milwaukee Municipal Court Case Information System (MMCCIS). Information on this site may be subject to error or omission.

The Walker Reform Plan

Give credit to the Walker team for timing. Capitalizing on the media frenzy surrounding the trial of State Representative Scott Jensen, gubernatorial candidate Scott Walker released another comprehensive reform package today.

The plan, highlighted below, contains several planks upon which Walker has campaigned before. There are a few new wrinkles as well. Here's the plan, and my quick takes in red.

Scott Walker's Ethics Reform Plan

• All appointed employees will be prohibited from contributing to Scott Walker's campaign committee. (100 Day Agenda and Walker's current policy in county government) Good. Consistent.

• All appointed employees will be prohibited from organizing or participating in fundraising for Scott Walker's campaign committee. (100 Day Agenda and Walker's current policy in county government) Good. Consistent.

• Scott Walker will not accept any campaign contributions (from any source) from the time he takes office (January 3, 2007) until the state budget is signed into law.(100 Day Agenda) Erases any chance of being accused of pay for play, at least immediate pay for play. Good. Not sure if this is his current policy.

• Scott Walker will call on Legislative leaders to enact a similar policy for all elected tate officials. (100 Day Agenda) He vows to lead by example. Good.

• Scott Walker will push legislation that prohibits contributions to his campaign from firms that are seeking to do business with the state while the contracts are being bid and awarded. (Walker's current policy in county government) Excellent. Consistent.

• Scott Walker will require every member of his administration to attend ethics training every two years to ensure that all executive staff members are aware of ethics standards and laws Can't hurt.

• Scott Walker proposes a five year ban on paid lobbying of the agency they worked in for all members of the administration, Legislature and legislative staff. Pointless as discussed in post below.

• Scott Walker will push legislation to combine the State Elections Board and the State Ethics Board I'm ambivalent on this one. No harm that I can see, though.

• Scott Walker will call for legislation to prohibit state candidates from accepting political contributions from the owners, operators or managers of casinos and racetracks. (Walker proposed similar legislation in 1997 and 1999) Works for me. Consistent.

• Scott Walker will propose legislation to prohibit closed caucus meetings and to require that all votes in Legislative committees take place in public. First part is a bad, impractical idea. Second part is a great idea.

• Scott Walker will push for term limits on all state offices of no more than 12 years (3 terms for Governor, other constitutional officers and State Senate and 6 for State Assembly). Term limits empower staffers who are not accountable to the electorate. Not a fan.

• Scott Walker will push for a return to a part-time Legislature. Pointless. Scott was a full time legislator. He served as an honest, hard working, ethical representative.

• Scott Walker will propose legislation to prohibit the transfer of funds from federal campaign accounts to state campaign accounts. Didn't this already pass? funny hit, though.

Overall, the new items in the plan are clearly designed to grab the attention and adoration of the goo goos and the media. In that end, it should be a big hit. The campaign is clearly attempting to emphasize Walker's well-earned reform credentials, first born in the Legislature and then further cultivated at the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

As I mentioned, while I like a lot of his reform ideas, I think several of the proposals are impractical and some are outright bad. The campaign also appears to be trying to drum up a "throw all the bums out" chorus, which is neither wise nor merited.

Finally, while the timing of the release of the plan is sure to maximize its impact, as a Republican and former legislative staffer, it leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

Some in the Walker camp may just say that's because of my perspective. As a former lobbyist and a former staffer, that I am bitter and was part of the problem...that I don't hear what the people are clamoring for. They are entitled to their take, of course.

I like Scott. He's my neighbor and a former client. I've been a major donor to his campaigns. I may yet vote for him.

Personally, I believe the people are clamoring for (and deserve) consistent, principled, ethical leadership and well-thought-out policy.

But what do I know, I haven't seen the focus groups...

Governor Takes Fundraising to Cyberspace

Word is they are starting an online auction. First item up for bid, a Kenosha casino.

h/t Mark Belling

Latest on Holloway

WisPolitics is reporting that Lee Holloway strongly refutes a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel story that he intends to defund the County's efforts to prosecute a 90-count ethics case against him.

Any suggestion that I would vote to block or reduce funding for the Ethics Board investigation is totally false. I think it has been made obvious, and remains obvious, that any attempt to do so would be inappropriate. I would abstain from any vote on the matter, not voting for or against. While the Ethics Board has made many decisions that, in my opinion, made these matters dramatically more expensive with which to deal, it has always been clear to me that I should not, and I will not, act to block or reduce funding.

He later says the story in the Journal Sentinel "was totally inaccurate."

We'll see if the paper runs a correction or refutes Holloway's claim.

Things that make you go hmmm...

Scott Walker introduced another reform plan today.

It includes:

• Five year ban on paid lobbying of the agency an individual worked in for all members of the administration, Legislature and legislative staff.

Scott has a clear track record on reform, but I always thought the 'revolving door' prohibition was more style than substance.

If a legislator could be unduely influenced by a lobbyist with whom he had a relationship, then the skewed moral compass of the legislator would not right itself after a five year cooling off period.

Wonder who helped him devise that plan?

The Return of Baloney Man!

I've received several emails regarding this post at Eye on Wisconsin.

Some remember that in 1996, while serving as the political director of Wisconsin, I helped baptize the original Baloney Man.

While Butt Man was following Bob Dole on the campaign trail in an attempt to bring attention to Dole's donations from 'Big Tobacco,' Wisconsin Republicans had their own fictional character. Baloney Man shadowed President Clinton and his surrogates. Baloney man did not talk, but he clearly pointed out when someone was full of baloney.

Ok, it wasn't high discourse, but it served its purpose.

I helped design and assemble the original costume, which was worn across the state by College Republicans, interns and assorted refugees, malcontents and deadbeats who hung around the RPW offices and basically worked for donuts and beer.

Well, in light of the recent post by Cory, and in a grasp of nostalgia, I now resurrect, Baloney Man.

He'll pop up on this site from time to time when I point out someone is full of baloney.

For example... After calling for an election for a new County Board Chairman AND getting an informal opinion from the Attorney General that supported their course of action, two Milwaukee County Supervisors flip flopped and voted to postpone the vote yesterday.

That's Baloney, Man!

Now I can just imagine what's happening in the halls of the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Holloway and his supporters know they dodged a bullet, and those who tried to elect a new chairman feel they have the cover they need to weather any constituent-driven storm.

That's Baloney, Man.

As a reminder, it's never too late for Milwaukee County residents to call their supervisior and (maybe again) tell them how they feel about allowing Holloway to remain as chair.

The main County Board switchboard at 414-278-4222.

Think your opinion doesn't matter?

That's Baloney, Man.

Good Grief

Good Grief.

A cap of three quarters of a million dollars?

$750,000.00?

Two Republican lawmakers today will roll out a bill that sets a $750,000 medical malpractice damage cap on pain and suffering awards to victims, an aide said Monday.

Rep. Curt Gielow, R-Mequon, and Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, R- Juneau, put together the bill to stop the rising health-care costs they think will result from a state Supreme Court decision last year that struck down the state's old caps as unconstitutional, Fitzgerald spokesman Mike Prentiss said.

The move marks the second attempt by Republicans to put new caps into place. Gov. Jim Doyle recently vetoed a lower set of proposed limits.

That's a steep price to pay for the Supreme Court decision. The old cap was a bit more than $440k.

If this passes and Doyle signs it, it's a lose-lose for Republicans. They lay down and suggest a huge new cap level and Doyle takes another major issue off the table for November.

I would have thought the GOP would have offered a cap of $500k, adjusted for inflation.

That said, there is still a chance Doyle won't agree to any cap. The trial bar's grip is pretty strong, after all.

Words Have Meaning

News Item:

The NAACP's Milwaukee chapter held a press conference in the County Board room before the meeting and speakers declared the vote as a "lynching."

In August, 1930 when James Cameron was just 16 years old, he was falsely accused of participating in the murder of a white man in Marion, Indiana.

In the ensuing chaos, Cameron was rounded up by a mob and forced to watch in horror as a mob of approximately 15,000 people brutally beat and lynched two of his friends. The mob's intent was to have Cameron share his friends' fate.

Yet, Cameron survived the beating and attempted lynching. However, he was sentenced to four years in the prison for accessory to manslaughter. Incredibly, no one was ever accused, arrested or charged with the murder of Cameron's teenage friends, nor for the beating and attempted lynching that Cameron suffered.

His story is but one of perhaps thousands. Countless victims who were forced to suffer at the hands of ignorance and hate-fueled racial violence in the United States since this nation's founding.

Because of this personal experience, Cameron dedicated his life to promoting civil rights, racial peace, unity and equality. He helped found three NAACP chapters in Indiana during the 1940s, and became the first president of the NAACP Madison County Branch in Anderson, Indiana. In 1988 he founded America's Black Holocaust Museum in Milwaukee, from whose website I obtained the above information.

It has been estimated that between 1880 and 1920, an average of two African Americans a week were lynched in the United States.

To equate a political squabble over the competence and ethics of a politician with the brutality endured by Cameron and hundreds of other men and women in the United States is to make a mockery of their suffering. Moreover, it a betrayal to the NAACP's proud legacy of campaigning against actual lynching.

There is no doubt that there are racial tensions in Milwaukee. And it would appear that the 'battle lines,' if you will, within the County Board regarding Lee Holloway's chairmanship have drawn mostly racially segregated camps.

But for crying out loud, let's have some perspective, shall we?

Years ago, Clarence Thomas was wrong to accuse Democrat senators and others of conducting a 'high tech lynching' when they tried to subvert his nomination as a Supreme Court justice. And now, the NAACP in Milwaukee is wrong to so casually use the term as well.

America can not hide from its history of racial violence. Lee Holloway should not be allowed to hide behind it, either.

Stall, Delay, Deny...Then Cut Off Funding

Showing he has no shame, embattled Milwaukee County Board Chair Lee Holloway is threatening to cut off funding for the prosecution of his own ethics case.

Holloway tries to cut funding of ethics case
Supervisor Lee Holloway said that he would try to block more funding for the year-old ethics prosecution that imperils his tenure as leader of the Milwaukee County Board.

Holloway, who remained on the job as chairman after a delay Monday in a move to replace him, told a reporter that his strategy was to pressure the Ethics Board into dropping some charges by trying to deny it the money that it is expected to seek this spring to continue the case.

"I'm not being reimbursed (for legal fees). I'm broke," Holloway said. "My understanding is they've spent a ton of money. I can't imagine their money will last."

A second infusion of county funds for prosecuting the case would require a two-thirds majority vote if the contingency fund was tapped. Holloway accounts for one vote, and he would need just six supervisors to join him to block the funding. The initial $50,000 for the case squeaked through the County Board in July - with Holloway's support - by two votes.

Holloway spoke Monday just a few minutes after a racially charged debate ended short of a new election for chairman.

His comments drew immediate protest from some colleagues.

"Trying to starve them for dollars so he personally can get a better settlement is another example of him misusing his office," said Supervisor John Weishan Jr.

Weishan has supported the move to get Holloway to step down until the ethics case is resolved.

If Holloway 'did no wrong' why not let the case proceed???

Webcast of President on Presidents' Day

WisPolitics/WisBusiness has a link to the webcast of President Bush's appearance in Milwaukee today.

It's posted as a part of their Energy Forum.

You can access it here.

Private Health Insurance in Canada

Professor McAdams has a great post today regarding the Canadian Health Care System.

He always offers insightful opinions. Today's post is, again, worth your time to read...

More Dailytakes on Holloway Mess

Yours truly is slated to be on NewsTalk 1130 WISN tomorrow morning at 7:05 am to share my takes regarding the Holloway drama.

So, catch the Early Spin.

Thanks for listenin'.

DPI's Choice Rationing Plan

Because legislation has not yet been drafted, voted on and signed, the Department of Public Instruction has finalized its rationing plan for the Milwaukee Public School Choice Program.

JSOnline's Daywatch reports:

DPI said that, as of now, it would allow each of the schools planning to have voucher students in the fall to take in 47.13% of the number of voucher students each said it had room for as of Feb. 1.

The impact varies widely from school to school, but among the best known school on the list: Messmer Catholic Schools would go from 761 voucher students this year to 470 next year, Holy Redeemer Christian Academy from 307 to 148, St. Marcus Lutheran School from 223 to 134, St. Anthony Catholic School from 795 to 609, Pius XI High School from 217 to 141, and Believers in Christ Academy from 219 to 130.

The school where Doyle and Gard announced their agreement, CEO Leadership Academy, would go from 123 to 71.On the other hand, 40 individuals or organizations that applied to join the voucher program for next year and do not currently have any voucher students were assigned seats on the same basis as existing schools, including some that have applied in previous years but did not actually open.

For example, Greater House of Joy Academy of Excellence was assigned 132 students and Elijah's Brook God's Nation Children School was assigned 97.

Outrageous.

Even more evidence of the need to pass the compromise legislation.

More on the Milwaukee County Mess

From the Journal Sentinel's coverage on today's Milwaukee County Board meeting:

County Board delays vote on Holloway
The Milwaukee County Board today delayed a vote on a new chairman, choosing to wait for more definitive legal advice from state Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager on the legality of replacing embattled Board Chairman Lee Holloway in midterm.

The 11-8 vote to lay over the item came after an emotional and racially charged debate at a special meeting forced by 10 supervisors who contend that Holloway's aggressive defense against civil ethics charges has destroyed his leadership ability.

Lautenschlager came under attack from several Holloway supporters for providing a quick informal opinion Friday that raised hopes among the group of 10 that supplanting Holloway would not require a two-thirds majority. But others praised her for giving some guidance on short notice at the county's request.

She is expected to provide a formal opinion in the coming weeks or months.

The NAACP's Milwaukee chapter held a press conference in the County Board room before the meeting and speakers declared the vote as a "lynching." Holloway is the first African-American chairman of the board. The 10 supervisors who sought the
special meeting are white.

Backers of the special meeting said the issue was about removing the cloud of public distrust over county politics, not racism. Holloway is fighting a 90-count ethics complaint that accuses him of using his office for political gain in a real estate deal with a county-funded social service agency.

The NAACP will try to intervene on Holloway's behalf in his lawsuit against the county Ethics Board, an agency official said. He is challening the prosecution with the state Court of Appeals.

Supporters of the layover argued that the issue has statewide import because county boards across Wisconsin could be affected if it is ultimately decided that only a simple majority of supervisors is needed to unseat a chairman in midterm, with no showing of malfeasance by the chairman.

That is the legal argument advanced by the group of 10 Milwaukee County Supervisors.

Holloway joined the 11-vote majority to lay over the election issue. He was joined by Toni Clark, Elizabeth Coggs-Jones, Marina Dimitrijevic, Willie Johnson Jr., Michael Mayo Sr., Ryan McCue, Richard Nyklewicz Jr., Roger Quindel, Peggy West and James White.

Opposing the delay were Supervisors Mark Borkowski, Gerry Broderick, Paul Cesarz, Lynne DeBruin, Dan Devine, Joseph Rice, James Schmitt and John Weishan Jr.

This isn't about race. It's about ethics. It's about integrity. It's about a legislative body's ability to choose it's own leader through majority vote. In fact, the next chair of the county board most likely will be a person of color.

Quindel and McCue orginally called for this meeting. Since then, they received an informal opinion from the attorney general which aided their cause. Yet, today, they back tracked. Maybe they were intimidated by the accusations of racism? Maybe they were confused by the fact the attorney general didn't issue a formal opinion?

In any event, their weakness was on display today. And it's Ground Hog day all over again.

Cowards

Confused by mixed signals from the State Department of Justice, and cowered by claims that the move was racially motivated, the Milwaukee County Board has just voted to lay over the vote for a new chairman. Holloway remains at the helm of the board.

Long Live the King!

I'll have more, much more on this later. Including news on how taxpayers from across the state are now paying for this mess...

Crunch Time for Milwaukee County Board

Under the misguided direction of the Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel, Bill Domina, the Milwaukee County Board appears likely to cancel today's scheduled vote to elect a new chairman.

Domina, who continued to research the legal issues Sunday, said he likely would counsel the County Board to defer action until the formal attorney general's opinion comes out.

Under the Milwaukee County Board's rules, only seven votes are needed to push off the issue until next month's regular board meeting, set for March 9. A majority - 10 votes - would be needed to lay over the matter until the formal state opinion is available, Domina said.

Domina said he appreciated the quick opinion by the attorney general's office but agreed with Bach that the preliminary opinion does not answer the crucial question over the legality of a midterm election with no showing of cause.

Gutless.

Cause? A legislative body that wants to elect a new leader shows 'cause' by holding the election. Cause is purposely vague in the statues. It doesn't spell out the only circumstances that constitute it.

Canceling today's vote will only prove that their efforts were merely for show. That their public moves were merely meant to placate those of us who are growing frustrated with their inaction. Any County Board member who votes to put off today's scheduled vote is casting a vote in favor of Lee Holloway, period.

The Attorney General issued a letter on Friday which basically chastised Domina. The Department of Justice said that Milwaukee County's chief lawyer was referring to the wrong statutes when determining how the board could proceed.

So, why would the board accept his advice today and delay a vote?

The answer would appear to be simple. That they never really had the intention to hold this vote in the first place.

My fear is that if the election is not held today, it will never be held.

I am personally going to call the main County Board switchboard at 414-278-4222 and politely ask to be directed to my Supervisor's office.

Then I am going to ask my Supervisor to do TWO SIMPLE THINGS.

1) Please do everything you can to ensure that a vote is held today.
2) Please do not vote for Lee Holloway as Chair.

The drama has gone on long enough. Holloway is sure to mount a legal challenge over his ouster whenever it happens, so why delay? His thuggery should no longer intimidate that board.

Diamond Jim's Conundrum

What's a governor to do when his special interests are at odds?

Why, start a bidding war, of course!

From today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

If a federal agency approves a Wisconsin tribe's plan to turn a Kenosha dog track into a casino, Gov. Jim Doyle will find himself trapped between two of his biggest financial backers.

Casino investor Dennis Troha and his associates have spent more than $300,000 since 2002 to help Doyle.

Meanwhile, the Forest County Potawatomi - who fear their Milwaukee casino could lose customers to one in Kenosha - spent an estimated $450,000 on efforts to get Doyle and other Democrats elected in 2002. The Potawatomi and other tribes have not disclosed how much they plan to spend this year to get Doyle re-elected.

Doyle will have the final say on the casino at Dairyland Greyhound Park if the proposal clears the federal Bureau of Indian Affairs.

"They're trying to outbid each other. . . . Both sides are contributing to him, and both sides can't win," said Kenosha County Supervisor Terry Rose, an opponent of the proposal. "And both sides expect his endorsement. How can he resolve that?"

In the past four years, gambling interests have spent $1.3 million to help Doyle and other Democrats, while giving almost nothing to other candidates for governor. When Republican Tommy G. Thompson was governor from 1987 to 2001, he received about $200,000 in contributions from gambling interests.

Gov. Scott McCallum, the Republican Doyle beat in 2002, received just $3,150 from gambling interests.

The two Republicans running against Doyle this year - Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and U.S. Rep. Mark Green of Green Bay - have received almost no contributions to their campaigns from gambling interests, according to figures compiled for the Journal Sentinel by the non-partisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Which reminds me, there are only a few of those bumper stickers left, so drop me a line if you'd like one.

SAGE Advice

I've been criticized for my skepticism regarding the effectiveness of smaller class sizes. I am a skeptic. I believe the biggest push for SAGE comes from the teachers' union. Smaller classes equal more teachers, which equates to more union dues.

I am not alone in my skepticism that SAGE is not the silver bullet that guarantees better educational outcomes.

Below is the introduction to the executive summary of a 2000 Wisconsin Policy Research Institute's Report on the SAGE program.

Wisconsin has joined prominently in the growing movement toward the implementation of smaller class sizes in public elementary schools. Based largely on the support of conventional wisdom, heavy lobbying by the teachers' unions and various political leaders, and a less-than-thorough presentation of the local and national evidence on class size, smaller classes are now becoming all the rage.

Wisconsin's Student Achievement Guarantee in Education (SAGE) program began in the 1996-97 school year as a pilot program in 30 schools serving predominantly low-income students. The program's primary feature is the reduction of class sizes to fifteen students per teacher in grades kindergarten through third. SAGE now boasts well over 500 elementary schools as participants, and continues to expand. In the 2000-01 school year, the State will spend approximately $58 million on SAGE, while also receiving $22 million in aid from the federal government's class size reduction program. In addition, all public schools are now able to participate in SAGE, regardless of their poverty rate.

So what will these changes mean for education in Wisconsin?

One critical lesson that can be drawn from both the national research on class size policies and the results of Wisconsin's own SAGE program is that smaller classes do not always provide identifiable achievement benefits. Moreover, when smaller classes do help raise student achievement, the greatest gains tend to occur only in certain grades and for particular populations of students. In addition, achieving these results necessitates an immense and continual cost to taxpayers.

The full report can be found here.

This being said, I support the School Choice deal.

Cheddarsphere's Takes On Choice Deal

If I'm missing any, let me know...

Boots and Sabers
Folkbum
Texas Hold 'em
Ask Me Later
Badger Blogger
Lakeshore Laments
What's Left
Real Debate

And let's welcome James, everyone.

Milwaukee County Board Update

Here's the latest regarding the Milwaukee County Board.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's story regarding the Attorney General's letter offers an ominous foreshadowing of Monday's apparently tentative board meeting, wherein an election for Board Chair is scheduled to take place.

Milwaukee County supervisors interested in seeing an end to County Board Chairman Lee Holloway's tenure scored a legal victory Friday that apparently clears the way for an election for chairman, although perhaps not at the scheduled special meeting Monday.

Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager on late Friday contradicted the county's top attorney, who had opined that a two-thirds vote was needed to remove a chairman in midterm, along with a showing of cause and lengthy proceedings.

County Corporation Counsel William Domina and supervisors last week invited Lautenschlager to weigh in, and she tentatively concluded that the board's regular election rules should apply. That means a simple majority could pick a new chairman - a distinct prospect, given that 10 of the 19 supervisors sought the special meeting, saying that Holloway is too distracted defending himself against civil ethics charges to fulfill his duties.

The opinion stunned even some of the leaders in the group of 10, who had viewed the request for a special meeting as a symbolic act of protest designed to pressure Holloway into stepping aside until his ethics case is decided.

Symbolic? The time for symbolism is long past. The time for action has arrived.

If the County Board delays past Monday, they will have failed in their duties to look out for Milwaukee County taxpayers.

If outside entities try to intervene or ask the court to delay the election, they will be acting in their own self interest, and not in the interest of Milwaukee County taxpayers.

Enough is enough.

There is no reason for the County Board to be tentative in their actions. They now have more on their side than they did a few weeks ago when they scheduled Monday's meeting.

If they balk Monday, it will be a sign that this was all for show. Holloway's cloud will have enveloped them all.

Did they really want to elect a new leader? Or did they merely wish to placate the vocal critics of the current board chairman?

Postponing the election would be a sign of retreat and a vote of confidence for the embattled chairman. A postponement would not be prudent, or statesmanlike. It would be cowardly and calculating.

As the Wisconsin Counties Association notes on its webpage,

As we head toward the future, the challenges facing counties will continue to grow. State and federal funding reductions, paired with increasing demands for services, will force counties to find innovative solutions to better serve their citizenry.

From public safety to social services, county government plays a vital role in all our lives, regardless of which county we call home. I personally believe Milwaukee County government can better serve their citizenry under a chairman that has the support of the majority of the County Board.

Hold the election. If Holloway wins, so be it. We all live with the consequences of that election, whatever the outcome.

Team Doyle Needs More than Baseball Spring Training to Feel Optimistic

The poll numbers keep getting worse for Governor Doyle, picked by the Washington Post political blogger as the most vulnerable Democrat governor in the country.

According to the latest Survey USA poll, a majority of Wisconsinites disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing as governor by a 47 to 45 percent.

• A majority of men disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (56-38%)
• A majority of men and women age 18 to 34 disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (47-42%)
• A majority of men and women age 35 to 53 disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (51-42%)
• A majority of black men and women age disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (54-40%)
• A majority of Hispanic men and women age disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (71 to 22%)
• A majority of independent men and women disapprove of the job Jim Doyle is doing (48-45%)

Good luck with that.

BREAKING NEWS ON LEE HOLLOWAY

The Wisconsin Department of Justice says that the Milwaukee County Board's efforts to elect a new Chairman are . . .

LEGAL

Monday's special meeting therefore will be very, very interesting.

The key section of the letter.

In the brief time we have had to consider your inquiry, we have come to the conclusion that the matter of replacing the chairperson of a county board is controlled by Wis Stat. 59.12(1), rather than by either Wis. Stat. 17.09(1) or 17.10(2).

In a nutshell, the board chair servers until his successor is elected, which does not require a two thirds vote of membership of the board, as some of Holloway's supporters have argued.

Here is the letter.

Note that the Attorney General intends on conducting further review before issuing a formal opinion. However, this initial informal response is a serious blow to those who want to keep Holloway at the helm of the Milwaukee County Board.

Check back here all weekend. I will have more as developments merit.

Is the State of Wisconsin Paying WEAC for Web Ads

I noticed this icon/Web Ad on the WEAC website:



It links to a site dedicated to the travels of Wisconsin's first lady. (???) This page is a part of Travelwisconsin.com, the official site of the Wisconsin Department of Tourism. I guess its intent is to educate kids about various locales in Wisconsin. Kinda cute and harmless, I suppose.

I have left a voice mail with the good folks at the Department of Tourism. I'm going to ask them how successful the WIWIJD campaign has been, where else they have been advertising the site, and what if any costs were incurred with placing this ad on the union's website.

Who knows, WEAC may indeed be including this link as a public service. It may not be an ad at all. Results of my inquiry will be posted here at a later date...

Wisconsin Guv Race Draws National Attention

Poor Jim Doyle. He can't build any momentum. On the day he signs off on the school choice deal, The Washington Post's political blog, The Fix, has deemed him to be the second most vulnerable governor in the nation.

The Friday Governors Line
The fight for the 36 governorships up for grabs in November continues to be the most entertaining campaign story line this year. Picking just the top 10 best gubernatorial takeover chances for the two parties is extremely difficult since we could easily write about 15 to 20 races that will be closely contested and could switch party control come November.

But, in the interest of brevity (and the Fix's sanity) we continue to limit ourselves to ranking just the top 10 races in the Friday Line.
...

7. Wisconsin - Jim Doyle (D): First things first. This race has been neglected for far too long in the Friday Line. Doyle has been surrounded by controversy for much of the year with the biggest potential problem concerning the indictment of a state employee for fixing -- no pun intended -- state contracts.

Polling has shown Doyle running neck and neck with either Rep. Mark Green or Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker -- the two Republicans running for the nomination. The lone bright spot at the moment for Doyle is that the two Republicans face off in a September primary, giving them little time to raise the money or to focus to the incumbent (Previous ranking: N/A)

Others' Takes on School Choice Deal

My take on the deal is here.

I'll be posting others' takes on this issue throughout the day.... feel free to email yours or post in comments, below.

WEAC/MTEA
Boots and Sabers
Folkbum
Texas Hold 'em
Ask Me Later
Badger Blogger
Lakeshore Laments
What's Left
Real Debate

Sen. Alberta Darling
"It was both relieving and gratifying to hear that Governor Doyle has finally agreed with the majority of Milwaukee’s low-income families and business leaders that the artificial cap on the city’s parental choice program needed to be lifted.

"It is a great day for the people affiliated with the choice program, and for those who have worked tirelessly over the past three years to convince the Governor that rationing needed to be avoided. If this agreement becomes law, more students will be given the chance to expand and improve their educational opportunities and enter into this successful and thriving program.

"I look forward to learning more about the details behind the agreement struck today between Speaker Gard and Governor Doyle. It will not be easy, but I accept and embrace my role of helping to immediately shepherd this compromise agreement through the legislature. As the co-author of 2005 AB 941 / SB 521, I remain committed to the baseline concept of lifting the current 15% enrollment cap."

Scott Walker
"The highly successful Parental Choice program got a reprieve today thanks to the pressure put
on Jim Doyle to save the program.

"I am disappointed with the process and the amount of time it took to achieve this goal. Although this is not an ideal situation, it does mean that no child will be kicked out of school next year - the program will continue to expand.

"Parental Choice is one of the most important programs in Wisconsin today. Not only does it require the public schools to raise their standards and compete with choice schools, it also gives parents the option to remove their children from failing schools.

"As your governor, I will lift all the caps without strings, because every kid deserves a great school.

"Parental Choice makes our children more successful because education reverses the cycle of poverty and improves the lives of all Wisconsinites.

Alliance for Choices in Education Chair Howard Fuller
“We hope the Legislature will give early approval to the agreement and send it to Governor Doyle for his signature. This will remove a cloud that has been hanging over thousands of Milwaukee families.

Sen. Luther Olsen
“The announcement of the deal Governor Doyle and Speaker Gard have made on the expansion of the SAGE and Milwaukee Choice programs deserves serious and careful consideration.

“It’s vital that we raise the enrollment caps on the Choice Program.

“However, concerns have been raised about the multi-million dollar expansion of the SAGE program. Our schools struggle to pay for mandated programs, like Special Education, that are underfunded by the state. We must thoughtfully deliberate whether tens of millions of dollars of new spending for schools should go to those programs, that all schools must offer, or to a program that is optional, like SAGE, in which many schools, and most of our children, do not participate.”

Rep. Leah Vukmir
“With today’s agreement, students in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and their parents will have the stability and assurance they have been waiting for.

“I am extremely pleased that we were finally able to agree on two of the biggest issues surrounding the choice program. With this agreement, more students will be able to participate without the threat of rationing and we will finally have a comprehensive way of measuring the academic achievement of choice students.

“Senator Darling and I are prepared to move this agreement forward through the legislature and to the Governor’s desk.”

Superintendent Libby Burmaster
“I applaud the agreement reached by Gov. Doyle and legislative leaders that will ensure continued participation of students and parents in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program and provide greater accountability for the choice program. Increasing this program’s transparency and accountability is critical for all Wisconsin taxpayers.

“The governor has demonstrated once again his commitment to the children of Milwaukee. The agreement puts kids first across Wisconsin as it strengthens our SAGE program so schools with high concentrations of children from economically disadvantaged families can continue to provide smaller class sizes in kindergarten through third grade. I urge continued cooperation and speed in enacting this agreement as soon as possible to avoid rationing seats as prescribed in present law.”


U.S. Rep Mark Green
“Today’s announcement is great news for kids in Milwaukee who were facing the untenable prospect of being removed from their school. The cap on school choice isn’t just an abstract statistic – it is a cap on the hopes and dreams of families looking to build a better quality of life and a stronger community.

“Congratulations are in order to the Milwaukee families and their public and private sector advocates who refused to back down to the governor and his special interest supporters who have fought the choice program since its inception.

“I’ve had the chance to meet with a number of choice-school families, and I know what relief this news brings them. It is truly unfortunate Governor Doyle’s previous steadfast opposition to the voucher program caused so much unnecessary anxiety.

“While today’s announcement averts an immediate crisis, it doesn’t change my belief that there shouldn’t be any cap on the choice program. Elect me governor and no family will ever again have to worry about being forced out of their school because of an arbitrary cap, and the needs of kids – not a well-heeled special interest group – will come first.”

Rep. Sinicki
"A year ago, in exchange for substantial accountability measures, I promised to support increased enrollment in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP). Today I’m happy to keep that promise by supporting the Governor's proposed changes to the program. I am extremely pleased to see something I've spent twelve years fighting for finally come about.
All schools participating in the voucher program must now be accredited by an independent organization, and will administer regular standardized tests that will be reported to the Legislative Audit Bureau.

"Milwaukee parents and taxpayers deserve to know that the $93 million we are currently investing in the voucher school program is money well spent on quality education for our kids. These solid accountability measures will accomplish that.

"Today’s deal also provides $25 million more for the SAGE program, $8 million of which is earmarked to create smaller class sizes in Milwaukee Public Schools.

"I look forward to continuing to work with my colleagues in the legislature and Governor Doyle to ease the burden on Milwaukee taxpayers of paying for this program. I am committed to ensuring the additional voucher seats announced today do not come at the expense of our public school system."

Great Smack from Miller

I love this smack talk. Competition is a great thing, and Miller is a great beer.

Miller Bets on a Winner, Challenges Bud in Race for Nascar Glory

MILWAUKEE, Feb. 17

Miller Brewing Company is kicking off a new era in its 35-year history of motorsports sponsorship by boldly declaring its confidence in Kurt Busch's ability to drive the #2 Miller Lite Dodge to victory lane. Miller's chief marketing officer Tom Long today sent a letter to Anheuser-Busch vice president of brand management Marlene Coulis, betting the beer-market leader that Miller Lite driver Kurt Busch will finish ahead ofBudweiser driver Dale Earnhardt Jr. in the final 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Series season standings. The terms of the friendly wager: The losing sponsor must change the paint scheme on its car to match the winning brand's car for oneNextel Cup Series points-paying race next year. Budweiser has until the startof Sunday's season-opening race to accept the Miller challenge.

Of course, Miller looks forward to seeing Earnhardt Jr. driving a blue #8Miller Lite Chevy alongside Kurt's #2 Miller Lite Dodge for one race in 2007.

"We chose Kurt to drive the Miller Lite car because he thrives on competition and has an unrelenting will to win," Long said. "Healthy, fun-spirited competition is the essence of sport and of business; and the Miller versus Bud battle is one great example of this. We both have a great tradition in the sport, and a little added public competition will be fun foreveryone, especially the winner."

The winner of NASCAR's inaugural "Chase for the NEXTEL Cup" championship in
2004, Kurt is looking forward to taking the checkered flag early and oftenin his first season behind the wheel of the #2 Miller Lite Dodge.

"This challenge is great for our sport because it will create even more excitement throughout the season for fans of both teams, and I know it will give me and my team added incentive to win," Kurt said. "I hope the guys inSt. Louis accept the challenge because everybody loves a spirited rivalry.Whether it's Miller and A-B, or Junior and me, we're going to give the fans something to holler about this season."

Earlier this week, Miller Lite announced that legal-drinking-age consumers can register to win its "When Kurt Wins, You Could Win" sweepstakes online at http://www.millerbeer.com/ until 11:59 a.m. (Eastern) Sunday, Feb. 19. If Busch takes the checkered flag in Daytona Beach, then 500 randomly selected registered fans will win a year's supply of Miller Lite. (See the official contest rules online.)

Cap Lifted (Not Ended) at a Price

Here's the deal, per the official announcement.

Governor and Speaker Gard Announce Deal on School Choice, Accountability, and Small Class Size Funding
MILWAUKEE Governor Jim Doyle and Assembly Speaker John Gard, joined by other legislators and community leaders, announced an agreement has been reached that will increase the cap on the school choice program, bring strong new accountability to the program, and provide funding to help reduce class sizes in Milwaukee and across Wisconsin.

"This is a reasonable compromise that ensures there will be greater accountability for taxpayer dollars," Governor Doyle said. "It will allow the choice program to continue its growth like advocates wanted, but it will also help public schools in Milwaukee and across the state by providing significant new funding to help lower class sizes."

"I am happy we could reach an agreement before the deadline expired on voucher limits so that thousands of students may continue to have the opportunity to go to the school of their choice," said Speaker Gard. "Our solution will allow even more families to have a say in where they enroll their children, while increasing accountability for voucher schools. I am confident we now have a program
of which we can all be proud and that will be held as a model for school districts throughout thecountry."

The agreement calls for:
An Increase in the Choice Cap. The cap on the Milwaukee Parental School Choice Program will be increased by 7,500 students.

Strong Accountability. All schools participating in the choice program will be required to obtain independent accreditation by an outside group such as (but not limited to) the Wisconsin NorthCentral Association, the Wisconsin Religious and Independent Schools Accreditation, the Institute forthe Transformation of Learning at Marquette University, or the Archdiocese of Milwaukee. In addition,all choice schools will be required to administer the nationally normed standardized tests such as the Iowa Basics Test. The test scores will be reported to the Legislative Audit Bureau for analysis andalso reported to researchers at Georgetown University for use in a longitudinal study of theeffectiveness of the program.

Small Class Size Funding. Funding for the SAGE program, which funds smaller classes in public schools for grades K-3, will be increased from $2,000 to $2,250 per student effective in the Fiscal Year 2008 to Fiscal Year 2009 budget. This results in an increase of $25 million statewide,approximately $8 million of which will directly benefit Milwaukee Public Schools.

Eligibility Changes. The agreement eliminates the requirement that a student can participate in the choice program only if they have attended a Milwaukee Public School in the prior year. It also allows families currently in the program to remain eligible even if their income rises above the current limit.

While the current limit of 175 percent of the federal poverty level will remain in place for newly enrolling families, children in the program and their siblings will be able to remain as long as their family income does not rise to exceed 220 percent of the federal poverty level.

Governor Doyle and Speaker Gard said that the bill would be introduced when the Legislature convenes next week. They called on legislators in both parties to work together to advance the bill quickly so that parents and students in the program can have certainty about their educational plans.

My take? Any compromise comes at a price. This price is rather steep, a $25 Million increase in spending over the biennium. Worse, the funding increase in the deal is accomplished by changing the statutory per pupil reimbursement rate under SAGE, so it will be permanently locked in forever. Any legislative attempt to reduce it in the future could be vetoed back to the higher rate.

Looking at the political realities of the situation (Doyle hurting within his base, Gard running for Congress) it may have been the best deal conservatives who favor the School Choice program could have gotten. Plus, with the open enrollment clock ticking this month, time was of the essence.

It's great that the Milwaukee School Choice Program may have been given a long term reprieve with this deal. Opponents of School Choice complain about the lack of accountability in the program. But I have to wonder about the lack of accountability of the SAGE program.

If forced to vote up or down on a compromise like this, I guess I would hold my nose and reluctantly vote yes. However I would not vote for increased SAGE funding ever ever again. Now that the formula will be changed, this issue, too, has been resolved.

Things that make you go Hmmmm

Jessica McBride reports:

Al Zobel, news director for WKOW TV in Madison, revealed on my radio program tonight that federal authorities investigating the Travelgate scandal have subpoenaed the television station's interviews with not only Georgia Thompson, but also with Gina Frank-Reece.

WKOW is the station that broke the Travelgate story. Frank-Reece is the deputy secretary of administration. She stood directly under Doyle political appointee Marc Marotta.

WKOW TV has reported previously of Frank-Reece:
UW-Madison employees were part of the contract evaluation team, and e-mails obtained by 27 News have showed they complained about the contract process last March. E-mails have also showed a top UW-System official was directed to complain to DOA management. On two different occasions, UW-System spokesman Doug Bradley has told 27 News that complaint was made to DOA's number two person, Deputy Secretary Gina Frank-Reece.

"Somebody made the statement that somebody might have, from (UW) System, might have talked to my Deputy," said Bablitch. "She has absolutely zero recall of that." Last November, in a 27 News interview, Frank-Reece categorically denied ever being contacted by a UW-System official about contract problems.

So, although Georgia Thompson is not a Doyle Appointee, Gina Frank-Reece is; and, according to WKOW in Madison, the feds are interested in what she had to say to the station's reporters.

Wonder if it's the same Regina Frank-Reece, who is a major donor to Jim Doyle's campaign.

Hmmmm.....

Do you feel optimistic today?

Do you feel optimistic today?

If so, it's because pitchers and catchers report to Brewers Spring Training today.

Olympics? Please.

Opening Day is right around the corner.

School Choice Deal

Will be announced this morning.

Stay tuned.

Hell Frozen Over

Good gracious. I agree with the Capital Times Editorial Board?

Put state students first

A Cap Times editorial

The decision of the University of Wisconsin Board of Regents to cut tuition for out-of-state students by $2,000 per year was more than just misguided.

At a time when top graduates of Wisconsin high schools are having a harder and harder time getting into the UW, and finding it difficult to meet rising tuition costs once they have been admitted, the regents should not be coming up with ways to make it easier for students from outside the state to get a quality education.

...

When the regents bend over backward to aid out-of-state students at the same time that Wisconsinites are being priced out, they make it easier for state legislators to put the squeeze on higher education funding.

That's one hell of a cold snap we're under.

More Proof on Bush Abramoff Connection

Award winning investigative journalist Dan Deibert is on the case.

His work is sure to send shockwaves from here to Washington....Port Washington???? Maybe Washington High School???

WTPA Opponents' Straw Man

Xoff's post today is an amusing preview of the doom and gloom politics you'll soon see from the likes of Judy Robson (who is so on top of her game she failed to appoint two members of the caucus she "leads" to show up at the first committee meeting on TPA).

The story goes like this: If you support limiting future growth in taxes and spending you're a cold hearted Grinch and as such should have to be able to explain what you would do right now to undo the last twenty years of imprudent fiscal decisions in state and local government in Badgerland.

While Owen had a blast and jumped at the chance to tell him off, I won't attempt to pick apart the straw man.

The TPA does not require any draconian cuts like what Xoff describes. No one is proposing we set limits on state government retroactive to 1986.

If we had put TPA limits in place in '86, state and local governments would be spending considerably less money than they are right now. Probably not $5 billion less as projected by the Doyle donor, Reschovsky, though. The defective crystal ball in his ivory tower divines that local taxpayers would never approve a referendum (revenue limits on schools have proved that's not the case). Yet it is clear government would be spending billions less than we are now. But as Xoff puts it in his own post, "Let's deal with the reality, not the abstract."

The reason we want TPA is so the government will grow more slowly. If we had put incremental limits in place in 1986 the government would have grown more slowly, and we wouldn't be spending more than we can afford like we are today.

Now, Xoff, Seth, Jay et. al, that doesn't mean we're going to make billions of dollars in cuts as soon as TPA goes into effect. It simply means that as we go forward government will be constrained. No doubt some areas will be allowed to grow faster than others and the structure of government will change.

For the better.

And it's about damn time.

Pivotal Day?

Over at The Corner, Jonah reports:

Today is the day where the serious Cheney story and the Cheneymentia story split off from each other. The serious story will start to die off as reasonable people move on to other things, while those unable to let go ramp-up the volume and get sillier and sillier. The question is: how many people go the Cheneymentia route? The more who do, the better it will be for Cheney.

I concur. Have at it, Kane, Xoff, et. al.

School Choice Deal

A summary of my take on the supposed school choice deal, as voiced on the Early Spin this morning. (For you slackers who didn't tune in.)

• The leak was meant as a trial balloon. Gives both sides a chance to see how loudly either side reacts.
• Compromises are built on trust, Doyle has not proven to be a trustworthy negotiator in the past, School Choice Advocates are right to be skeptical and nervous.
• The Governor clearly did not get the concessions he demanded.
• The liberal bloggers are upset, this may be a good sign!
• A $25 Million increase in SAGE funding is a lot, but the devil is in the details. Is that over one year, two years, five years?
• I expressed surprise that Doyle would agree to lift the cap by 7500 students, if he hadn't postured so much over the last 8 months, he probably could have given choice a one or two year reprieve instead of this, which is a much longer lease on life.
• The radio, television and ground campaigns on behalf of choice advocates clearly had an impact
• If no deal is announced this week, it could mean the reaction to the leak was too ominous for Doyle to handle.

Dangerous

Hey, look at me! Look at me!

Once again, Feingold's lust for attention puts this nation's safety at risk.

If he fillibusters this to death, he and his supporters could at least say it's all about principle. But if he merely grandstands for a month or so, this was nothing more than an attention getting manuever.

Early Spinin'

Yours truly is slated to be on NewsTalk 1130 WISN tomorrow morning at 8:05 am to share my takes during the Early Spin program.

Thanks for listenin'.

Cheney Admits He is the Shooter!!!!

Here's the partial transcript of Cheney's interview with Brit Hume.

Next.

A Great Political Ad

This is a great political ad.

Deal on Choice Cap?

Doyle blinks a lot. GOP blinks a little. A compromise is born?

Cap to be lifted, as is sage funding?

If this story is accurate, that's the plan.

Gov. Jim Doyle and State Assembly Speaker John Gard are on the brink of reaching an agreement to expand enrollment in Milwaukee's private school voucher program, according to sources.

An agreement is likely to be announced Thursday and is expected to include a substantial increase in state funding of the class size reduction program known as SAGE.

Two sources told the Journal Sentinel that the agreement will likely allow an increase in the number of low-income students using publicly funded vouchers to attend private schools and religious schools in Milwaukee from roughly 15,000 to about 22,500. It also reportedly calls for all schools using vouchers - currently 124 schools - to obtain one of several forms of accreditation within several years. Many have such accreditation now, but some, including some of the weakest schools, do not.

Doyle, a Democrat, and Gard, a Republican - as well as other key figures in the dispute over the future of the voucher program - held a summit meeting in Madison last Friday to discuss resolving the issue. Discussions have continued this week.

Will be interesting to see the bill...and to see what equates a 'substantial' incrase in SAGE funding.

WisPolitics...

WisPolitics is reporting to their subscribers that President Bush will be in the Milwaukee area on Monday.

Non-FISA Court Approved Call Transcript

Recording begins in progress.

Automated Voice: Thank you for using the conference center. At the tone, you will be the twentieth caller on the line.

Beep.

Unidentified Female #1: "....which of course is the problem because the concept is so damn popular. I'm sorry, who just joined the call?"

Unidentified Male #1 "Sorry I am late, this is Rich, I typed in the wrong confirmation code."

UFV1: "That's ok, we are pretty much done here but let me summarize where we are at for you."

UMV#1 "Thanks."

UFV#1 "Well first and foremost defeating the Taxpayer Protection Amendment is going to take a coordinated effort as we said on the last call. We are up against the will of the people here. And it was reinforced, again, that we have to make sure we all use the same talking points and that we all use the same language. So, remember, never use WTPA, ok? We've agreed to continue to call it TABOR. TABOR sounds ominous, like some kind of monster from Lord of the Rings or something, and besides, we've already cut the commercials and have the direct mail designed. We don't feel the need to start all over."

UMV#1 "But I like the idea of calling it TP. See, like I'd wipe my ass with it."

laughter

UFV#2 "C'mon Rich, grow up a little will you. This is serious business. If this thing passes, all of us are in deep deep doo doo, and we'll need more than TP."

UFV#3 "Good Point, Judes, but I'd like to remind you that you are no Madame Maturity here. You ripped the plan before it was even introduced and it was obvious you didn't read it."

UFV #2 "Gimme a break. At least I called it TABOR like we agreed during the last call."

UFV#1 "Anyway, until we all agree to call it TABOR, we will never be able to move forward. So TABOR it is. Now, we have the, um, 'study' ready right, Professor."

UMV#2 "This is correct. I have compiled everyone's emails and related concerns and I can assure you they will be reposted in the final document. The study is ready to be released. I did a 'find and replace' word search on the old report to reflect the new name of the bill. But I suppose I needn't have done that?"

UFV#1 "Hmm, your call. Just make sure it paints the bleakest picture possible. Use the "effective words" from the list I faxed you last week. Remember, this is the single worst piece of legislation ever. Decimate, that's my favorite from the list. It will decimate the state. Remember, we need to be respectful and not use words like cripple, ok."

UMV#3 "This is Stan. Guys, I think we need to focus on how this will hurt education more."

UMV#4 "And Municipal Government."

UMV#5 "And College Students. The United Council..."

UMV#4 "Good grief, let's hear from the kids table again!"

UFV#1 "C'mon now. We need to respect every member of this coalition. Remember, we all need to keep the flow of tax dollars steady. We can't fight amongst ourselves or we'll all be cut off from the"

UMV#6 "Gravy train? Just kidding. But seriously, we need to be ready to combat that criticism from the TPA, I mean TABOR, folks. They will argue that we are only out for our collective self interests, and our actions, in a way could really reinforce that point. I fear we'll look like self serving opportunists. We have to come up with an answer to that. Because it is indeed a fact that all of our groups benefit from Wisconsin being a high taxed state. What's our answer to this line of attack? We couldn't answer this last call either. So..."
Beep.

UFV #1 "Agreed, it will hurt...wait...did someone just join the call? Hello? Did someone just join the call? Everyone who's supposed to be on is already on... Hello.

click
click
click
click

UFV#1 "Ok folks, let's move this to the online chat and for those of you who can, join us tomorrow so we can evaluate the coverage we get from the big study."

click
click
Call terminated.

Perhaps Cheney was the shooter, Eugene?

From Page 3 of the second section of Tuesday's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

And this item only merited a mention in the Regional News Briefs.

Federal drug agent fires at man, authorities say

A plainclothes federal drug agent fired at a man who pointed a gun at him Tuesday afternoon but no one was hit, authorities said.

An agent of the federal Drug Enforcement Agency, working alongside a plainclothes Milwaukee police officer in cooperation with the Milwaukee High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area, discharged his gun about 1 p.m. near the intersection of N. 82nd St. and W. Grantosa Drive, said Anne E. Schwartz, Milwaukee police spokeswoman.

The shooting occurred near Grantosa Drive School, which went into lockdown mode for about an hour, keeping students inside closed classrooms until police cleared the situation, Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman Roseann St. Aubin said.

Most students were dismissed at 2:30 p.m. as usual, but students who normally walk to school were kept until parents could pick them up...

As did this...

At least 10 arrested after fight outside high school

A large fight outside a basketball game Tuesday night at Vincent High School resulted in at least 10 arrests, according to a Milwaukee Public Schools spokeswoman.

Early indications were that the fight involved a group of youths loitering in a parking area outside the gym and another group that left the boys basketball game between Vincent and Madison high schools during the third quarter, said Roseann St. Aubin, MPS spokeswoman.

Police were still at the school about 10:15 p.m., St. Aubin said, adding that the final arrest count would likely be higher.

I believe in promoting the Milwaukee region. Some however, are of the impression that if we downplay our troubles, it's better for our image.

We can't imagine these problems away.

Occurrences like these deserve more extensive coverage by the local paper.

This is news?

Why is this news?

Doyle Donor Hates Wisconsin Taxpayer Protection Amendment

Cheney is the Shooter! Cheney is the Shooter!

Eugene Kane devotes the bulk of his blog today to the Cheney shooting.

It's his right, of course, to blog about whatever he chooses.

I just thought there would be more interesting/relevant things to comment on. (Granted, this coming from the guy who blogged about shower cleaning earlier.)

Like I said, I think the shooting is not something to be blown off. And frankly I think Cheney should address the press on this now. But the left's infatuation with the incident is dang interesting...

A Look at the Loony Left

The folks at Democratic Underground have a very warped view of life. But it is damn amusing.

If you have time to kill, take a look. Conspiracy theories abound, as does a very pessimistic view of the American public.

h/t Jenna.

Hackett Indeed Out

Xoff, in an update on something I commented upon yesterday, takes a giant whack at the folks at the helm of the national Democrat party.

The Democratic Party, desperately in need of new blood, new candidates, and new ideas, has made sure it doesn't have to deal with any of those things in the Ohio Senate race, squeezing out a dynamic, outspoken Iraq veteran who threatened to shake things up a little. That leaves the good-old-boy seniority system safely in place. This short-term gain could be a long-term loss for Democrats.

Read all of his post here.

New Product

I'm not sure if this will catch on.

The good people at Wisconsin's own S.C. Johnson (A family company) have developed the Scrubbing Bubles® Automatic Shower Cleaner.

Scrubbing Bubbles® Automatic Shower Cleaner has a power sprayer that spins and sprays cleaning solution over 8 feet...even to the back wall. From a height near the shower faucet to the shower floor, the cleaner lands where moldy mildew and soap scum build up. It is designed to provide coverage for all four walls and tub of both standard six-foot shower/tub combinations and standing showers.

Seems a bit to George Jetson for the masses, but what do i know, they sell disposable dust rags (formerly known as paper towels) at a healthy pace...

Investigation Escalating?

Owen asks the question:

Did Doyle Lawyer Up?
Yesterday, The Cap Times broke a story in which they said that Doyle had retained a lawyer in the Travelgate scandal. Within a few hours, they pulled the story. The word is that they didn’t have enough confirmation. more

And the SpiceBoyz also wonder what is the real story behind the Cap Times' story.

Lame Ad

I have to say this: The pro-Taxpayers' Protection Amendment ads, well, suck.

This issue in its simplist terms, is about restraining the growth of government spending. Period.

I am sure some focus group directed the backers to push the good government, God Bless America stuff. But this ad does not ressonate with me, and I'm a WTPA supporter for cryin' out loud.

We don't need a history lesson.

Fotunately, the WTPA is strong enough that it should survive its lackluster sales job. That is if Senators Brown, Kapanke, Olsen, Roessler and Cowles do the right thing. Clearly, this advertising campaign will do nothing to encourage folks to contact these five...

I would imagine, however, there is a lot more going on than just the broadcast advertising.

Let's just hope the messaging for the direct mail and other grassroots communications is better than what they are using in the ads.

Fair and Balanced

This article in the Washington Post actually does a good job of exposing how ridiculous NBCs David Gregory was yesterday, by merely laying out the blow by blow account of the press briefing. More insightful are comments regarding the off-camera gaggle.

Press Corp: Cheney was the shooter.

The transcript and audio of the White House press briefing today speaks volumes to the divide between the Washington elite and the rest of America.

I've excerpted some of my favorite questions.

An exchange with the ridiculously self-important David Gregory of NBC

Q All right, if I may then, the Chief of Staff, at 7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m., tells the President that there was an incident. Later in the evening, the Deputy Chief of Staff tells the President that the Vice President was, in fact, the shooter; is that what you're telling us?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct.

Q And then the further details, then, unfolded throughout the course of the early morning Sunday?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct, additional details, additional information was coming out.

Q On Sunday morning at 6:00 a.m., you were clear, personally, that the Vice President had, in fact, been the shooter?

MR. McCLELLAN: That's correct. That's correct.

Q Thank you.

Q Wait, wait, hold on. Human beings are not normally this inefficient. I mean, was the Vice President immediately clear that he had accidentally shot his friend, or not? Or did that information become available later? You make it seem like there's all this information that had to develop.

MR. McCLELLAN: I wouldn't suggest that at all. I'm sure that that was the case. I mean, Mrs. Armstrong was there and saw that --

Q I don't understand what information had to trickle in?

MR. McCLELLAN: Well, David, again, what's important when it happened was to make sure the medical care was getting to --

Q Fair enough.

MR. McCLELLAN: -- Mr. Whittington.

Q Fair enough.

MR. McCLELLAN: That's where all the attention was focused, and making sure he was getting to the hospital --

Q That's been stipulated here. Everybody agrees that that's fine.

(THANKS, DAVID FOR DETERMINING WHAT IS AND ISN'T 'FINE.)

And some real winners from other reporters later on...

...

MR. McCLELLAN: Go ahead, Connie.

Q Is it proper for the Vice President to offer his resignation or has he offered his resignation --

MR. McCLELLAN: That's an absurd question. Go ahead, Ken.

...

Q Scott, would this be much more serious if the man had died? Would that change the --

MR. McCLELLAN: Of course it would, Connie. It would have been terrible. Personally, I don't know him very well, but I know Mr. Whittington and I have great respect for him from knowing who he is and what he's done. And it would be horrible news.

Look, I think it is a big deal that the Vice President was in a hunting accident; and that he actually shot someone. But, there is not some sort of giant media black out conspiracy here. Moreover, a look at the complete transcript shows the national press corps' utter disdain for the 'local yokel press.'

Washington Post's Dana Milbank joked on MSNBC this evening that a manicurist in Kansas was going to release information regarding the Administration's environmental policy to the local rag there. As if a dingy cube in the Eisenhower Old Executive Office Building makes one the ultimate arbiter of what is news, and the sole vehicle by which the government can communicate to the masses.

Arrogance. Pure arrogance.

GOP3.com has a great take on this.

As does Boots and Sabers...

Charlie, of course...

And Real Debate has his own conspiracy theory.

Timing is Everything

Oops.

Mayor's wrong statement about Senate candidate fuels speculation

Associated Press

Washington - An incorrect news release fed speculation Monday about Iraq war veteran Paul Hackett's political future.

Cincinnati Mayor Mark Mallory sent a statement to news media praising Hackett, a fellow Democrat, for leaving his campaign for U.S. Senate to instead take a second shot at a Cincinnati-area House seat that he nearly won last summer.

Mallory meant to send a release encouraging Hackett to take on GOP Rep. Jean Schmidt, his spokesman Dan Phenicie said.

"We apparently got some misinformation," he said.

National Democrats on Sunday openly asked Hackett to run in the House race instead of facing Rep. Sherrod Brown for a chance to take on GOP Sen. Mike DeWine.

Rep. Tim Ryan, D-Ohio, who is backing Hackett in the Senate primary but would prefer that he switch to the House race, said he received a call from Mallory, who was upset his spokesman put out the wrong statement.

I bet he was upset. I imagine Hackett is as well.

Timing is everything.

Prediciton: Hackett does indeed drop out.

When are Big Companies Good? When are they Bad?

Abbott Labs bought Kenosha land for $34.9 million

After all the drug company bashing Doyle has done in the last 16 years, you'd have to think the Abbott Labs' honchos have thick skins, or are pretty sure he won't be around much longer.

Doyle's made "Big Pharma" a pretty regular whipping boy, after all.

Part D 'terribly cumbersome,' Wisc. Gov. (Feb 10, 2006)Medicare Part D "should have been a single benefit" with a uniform payment system, Doyle argued, but instead, drug companies and other interests all "wanted a piece of the action."

Town Hall Message: Washington Letting Wisconsin Down (Jan 16, 2006)"It's just terrible what the federal government has done. This whole program from the beginning was just a boondoggle for the drug companies and now that they've been trying to put it in place, it's a real mess," says Doyle.

"“The drug companies know that, and they have proven they're willing to go to just about any lengths to protect their inflated profits. They are willing to choke off the drug supply to an entire country to force American citizens to keep paying exorbitant prices. They've gone too far, and it is time for the Bush Administration to start protecting our consumers."- December 19, 2003

HHS Importation Task Force
Public Meeting Wednesday, April 14, 2004
Jim Doyle testimony: "“Now, I can understand that the pharmaceutical companies don't want us buying safe prescription drugs from Canada, because it cuts into profits."”The drug companies have waged an expensive, highly coordinated scare campaign to try to convince people that buying from Canada is unsafe.""U.S. drug manufacturers have threatened to blacklist Canadian pharmacies and cause shortages in Canada if they move ahead with reimportation."

Jim Doyle answers to questions:
"“I mean, the fact is, if you believe the drug companies -- and I think that given the amount of money being spent on advertising it’s little hard to believe it, but if you believe the drug companies -- we as American consumers are footing the bill for all of the research going on, essentially, in the world. And, I think what has to happen is that they have to see that there is not a safe haven for just whatever profits they want to make in the U.S.A.… what we have to do is to figure out ways to put pressure on the drug companies to start bringing their prices down.Â"

"“My guess is, by the way, that if you were to hold these hearings six months from now, you won'’t be seeing two or three Governors up here; you'’re gonna be seeing 30 or 40 governors up here. Only ones that have major drug companies in their states might you not find here."

So, my question is when are"Big Pharmaceutical" companies good and when are they evil????

If you are Jim Doyle, or on his team, I'd come up with an answer pretty quickly.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

Drip. Drip. Drip.

First, accusations that the bid process was rigged.

Now, questions surrounding contributions and no-bid contracts, where there were no bids to rig...

At least 7 firms winning no-bid contracts gave Doyle money
By JR Ross
Associated Press

MADISON, Wis. - Employees of at least seven companies donated to Gov. Jim Doyle's re-election campaign around the same time the state picked their firms for no-bid contracts totaling more than $36.1 million, according to an Associated Press review.

They include two IBM salesmen who gave Doyle more than $11,000 over a three-year period as the business won more than a dozen contracts worth more than $6 million.

Also, three Oracle Corp. employees gave Doyle $3,250 within days of the company winning a contract that could be worth up to $29 million to provide software and technical support to the state.

Some $16,000 in donations from employees of the other five companies in the AP review were given to Doyle around the time their firms won work.

Doyle has been under fire over the last several months as federal, state and local prosecutors review a contract won by a travel agency whose executives gave $20,000 to Doyle shortly before and after the deal took effect. A federal grand jury last month indicted a state employee involved in selecting the firm, alleging she manipulated the process to help the company beat out a competitor to "cause political advantage for her supervisors."

Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, said a culture has developed in Madison that vendors feel they must make campaign contributions to enhance their chances to win state work.

"They've almost been trained like rats," McCabe said. "You push the right button, and out comes a treat."

Doyle's office referred all questions about the donations to his campaign. Doyle campaign spokeswoman Melanie Fonder said the governor has never tied state work to political contributions. He returned $10,000 in donations from executives of a Manitowoc company that came in three days after the firm won a $1.1 million grant.

Fonder said the campaign reviews all donations and has no plans to return those identified in the AP review.

"There is no connection," Fonder said.

IBM won more no-bid contracts awarded from the state's three largest agencies than any other company over the past three years, according to the AP's review. The work was largely related to hardware maintenance and software purchases.

Around the time the company won those contracts, salesmen Daniel Meixelsperger and Mark Ronnie made a series of donations to Doyle's campaign totaling $11,100. Some of the donations were made within weeks of the company winning the no-bid contracts.

Meixelsperger is the main sales representative the state deals with, according to the Department of Administration. A contract lists Ronnie as a company contact for the state.

Department of Administration Executive Secretary Sean Dilweg said the state selected IBM for its mainframe in the 1990s, which required the state to purchase IBM products that are compatible with its system.

According to a database of contributions maintained by the Democracy Campaign, Meixelsperger also donated to former Govs. Scott McCallum and Tommy Thompson while they were in office.

"These were private donations, and they weren't connected with contracts awarded by the state," IBM spokesman Scott Cook said, declining further comment.

Various Oracle offices had 47 contracts with state agencies to maintain databases tracking things like road work and criminal histories before the state decided to consolidate the work into one contract, Dilweg said. The contract is expected to save the state up to 45 percent of its prior costs, including a $2 million savings achieved in the first year of the six-year deal, Dilweg said.

The donations from Oracle employees came between May and June 2005, within weeks of the contract's approval. All three live outside Wisconsin, including Margaret Kuhlman, an account manager who works with the state. She is the only one of the three to have made a political contribution to a state candidate in the previous decade, giving Doyle $500 in 2003, according to the Democracy Campaign database.

Kuhlman did not return calls from the AP to her Chicago office, and a company spokeswoman declined comment.

By the way, now you see why the graphic I posted on the blog posts for these stories was not limited to 'travelgate...'

You don't really think this is the last of these kinds of stories, do you?

Sanctimonious Pandering Ass Update

It's one thing when artists and performers like the Dixie Chicks bemoan US policy on foreign soil. It's altogether different when Jimmy Carter or Bill Clinton do. And when Algore resurfaces from the buffet line and spouts off in this manner, it's down right outrageous.

Former Vice President Al Gore told a mainly Saudi audience on Sunday that the U.S. government committed "terrible abuses" against Arabs after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks, and that most Americans did not support such treatment. Gore said Arabs had been "indiscriminately rounded up" and held in "unforgivable" conditions. The former vice president said the Bush administration was playing into al-Qaida's hands by routinely blocking Saudi visa applications.

"The thoughtless way in which visas are now handled, that is a mistake," Gore said during the Jiddah Economic Forum. "The worst thing we can possibly do is to cut off the channels of friendship and mutual understanding between Saudi Arabia and the United States."

Gore told the largely Saudi audience, many of them educated at U.S. universities, that Arabs in the United States had been "indiscriminately rounded up, often on minor charges of overstaying a visa or not having a green card in proper order, and held in conditions that were just unforgivable."

Journalists forced to cover the discarded Dem politician beat should keep this paragraph handy.

[Gore/Kerry/Carter/Dukakis/Kennedy] told the largely [interest group] audience that many [interest group members] in the United States had been [hyperbole here]. (Eds note, if possible try to squeeze in the phrase "worked hard and played by the rules."}

Choice Update

As the Doyle team actually tries to claim the high ground in a battle of he said he said with the Archbishop, the Journal Sentinel today runs a recap of the choice debate.

Amid a barrage of television and radio ads, stories in the newspaper almost every day and conflicting claims about Milwaukee's controversial and precedent-setting program by which almost 15,000 low-income students attend private schools using public money, the basics of what is going on can be lost easily.

Here is a primer on the current, heated episodes in the long running battle over school choice.

Missing the Point

Craig Maher is a Wauwatosa alderman and an assistant professor of fiscal policy in the advanced degree program in public administration at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh. Whether it's on purpose or not, he misses the point of the WTPA. Completely.

1. WTPA is not aimed primarily at locals - locals are already under revenue restraints and are a minor part of the problem. WTPA's primary effect will be on state revenues, which can only be restricted by a constitutional amendment.

2. He points to cuts in things that are not "core services." That is, and will continue to be, a local decision. In the future local government may have to ask the taxpayers before they expend extras.

3. WTPA contains restrictions on cuts to shared revenue and school aids - if the state cuts their overall support for these revenue streams they have to reduce their own revenue limits.

4. WTPA contains incentives for the state to eliminate mandates on local governments and a specific prohibition on creating new unfunded state mandates.

5. Because WTPA limits revenue rather than spending or tax rates, it maintains flexiblity for the state to change the way local or state functions are funded.

6. Finally, the professor makes several references to a broader debate - no other proposal in the last 15 years has created as all inclusive a debate as what is being brought forward by this proposal.

I hope he at least reads the ordinances before him during tosa city council meetings. He clearly didn't read the WPTA bill before he wrote this tripe.

Telling the King to Shove it

The battle lines are being drawn at the Milwaukee County Board.

Six County Board members won't resign over vote
By DAVE UMHOEFER

Six Milwaukee county supervisors involved in the move to try to force out County Board Chairman Lee Holloway will not resign from leadership positions, they told Holloway on Friday.

Holloway asked the six committee chairmen or vice chairmen this week to resign while he fights ethics charges - if they believed they could no longer work with him.

We are confident in our abilities to carry out our committee responsibilities faithfully and in the best interests of the citizens of Milwaukee County; it is those citizens to whom we owe our allegiance," the supervisors wrote. "Should you disagree, as Chairman, you possess the authority to remove us from these positions."

The six - Paul Cesarz, Dan Devine, Lynne De Bruin, James Schmitt, Joseph Rice and Ryan McCue - are among a group of 10 who requested a special County Board meeting on Feb. 20 to attempt to conduct an extraordinary election for board chairman. In their letter Friday, they reiterated their request that Holloway step down as chairman until the ethics case plays out.

The legality of the chairman election is in doubt. Supervisors were told Friday that State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager has been asked for an opinion on whether a new County Board chairman can be chosen between the regular election cycle of four years.

Milwaukee County Corporation Counsel William Domina asked Lautenschlager for the opinion earlier this month in hopes of getting it by the Feb. 20 meeting.

Domina already has given the opinion that although the special meeting can be held, the chairman can be removed only for cause by a two-thirds vote - a lengthy process requiring special hearings. The group of 10 - which constitutes a majority but not two-thirds of the board - contends that the special election may proceed because state statutes do not explicitly preclude electing a chairman out of cycle with a simple majority.

Lautenschlager's office is reviewing Domina's request, her spokesman Kelly Kennedy said. Lautenschlager's opinion, like Domina's, would be advisory, not binding.

Supervisors leading the move to elect a new chairman filed their request Feb. 2 for a special meeting. They say Holloway is too distracted from fighting his ethics case to effectively conduct county business.

The next few weeks ought to be pretty darn interesting. I personally am interested in how Lautenschlager and her office handle the request for an opinion. Hopefully all of this will result in better leadership at the helm of the Board.

I'm not holding my breath, but I am following with a keen interest.

Disgusting

Disgusting. JSOnline's Daywatch reports...

FRIDAY, Feb. 10, 2006, 4:46 p.m.
By Gina Barton

A woman whose newborn daughter died after a home birth into a toilet has been sentenced to two and a half years in prison.

Angela L. Hamilton, 26, formerly of Cudahy, was convicted of two felonies, child neglect causing death and first-degree recklessly endangering safety, after a jury trial in December.

Hamilton, who has since moved to Waukegan, Ill., hid her pregnancy, according testimony during the trial. Testifying in her own defense, Hamilton said she had planned to use the toilet and then take a taxi to the hospital. Instead, she gave birth at the home she shared with her mother.

Hamilton testified that she initially left the baby girl in the water, then touched her daughter lightly. That touch brought Hamilton out of a shocked state, she said. She then cleaned the baby, and after a few more minutes, she and her mother called 911.

But police who interviewed Hamilton shortly after the baby's birth in November 2003 testified that she had confessed to holding the baby underwater for up to a minute.

The baby lived for several days on life support.

Hamilton was sentenced today in Milwaukee County Circuit Court. In addition to the prison term, she must serve six and a half years of supervised release.

The Judge has no sense of decency.

If she had drowned a puppy or a kitten libs and conservatives would unite in outrage and demand they throw the book at her.

But, it's only an unwanted (by her) baby.

RPW on Doyle's Regents

Graber & Co. play connect the dots.

GOVERNOR CONTRIBUTES TO “BRAIN DRAIN”
Politically Stacked Board of Regent Out of Touch with Wisconsin’s needs

(Madison, WI)…Jim Doyle’s pay raises for embattled university chancellors and cutting tuition for out-of-state students is pricing working families out of Wisconsin’s higher education system according to the Chairman of the Republican Party, Rick Graber. Governor Doyle’s political stacking of the Board of Regents is making it more difficult for Wisconsin students to be accepted at state schools. Graber says Jim Doyle has turned the Board of Regents into a political machine that ignores the needs of Wisconsin.

“Maybe all of Governor Doyle’s out of state donors want to send their kids to the University of Wisconsin,” Graber said, “Jim Doyle is putting the state further and further into debt and putting a college degree further and further out of reach for working families in Wisconsin..”

The same day that Governor Doyle blamed President Bush for the high cost of tuition, his politically stacked Board of Regents voted to raise the salary of an embattled UW chancellor by 22% and lower tuition for out-of-state students. Since Governor Doyle took office, tuition has gone up 51% for college students. Graber says Jim Doyle is making it harder for Wisconsin students to live the American Dream.

“The University of Wisconsin is called that for a reason. It’s to provide educational opportunities for people here in Wisconsin,” Graber said, “Jim Doyle’s Board of Regents is more worried about pay raises for chancellors and lower tuition for out-of-state students than they are about making sure Wisconsin students succeed.”

Since taking office, Governor Doyle has stacked the UW Board of Regents with political allies. State Legislators called for hearings in August of 2004 to find out what role Governor Doyle had in the ouster of Regent Nino Amato from the board. Doyle’s office pushed for a long-time Democrat activist to replace Amato. Amato came under fire for blowing the whistle on a Board of Regents meeting that ran afoul of the state’s open meetings law and ultimately resulted in pay raises for university officials. Soon after, Amato found himself being challenged for re-election by a Doyle ally. Regents have donated $67,967 to Jim Doyle. Graber says the politically charged atmosphere of the board isn’t serving students.

“If Wisconsin’s students are forced to go out of state for college, we all lose,” Graber said, “If they stay in state, they are more likely to stay here, work and raise a family. When that happens, we all win. Unfortunately, Jim Doyle is contributing the ‘brain drain’ problem our state is facing.”

Hmmm

Which individual would you believe...

Brother Bob Smith or Governor Jim Doyle?

Cmon, at least open the links before you answer.

Although, yeah, me too.

Tone Deaf at Van Hise

Quick Hit on a busy Friday.

Let me get this straight. Not only did the Regents move to boost the pay of UW administrators, they've moved to cut OUT OF STATE tuition.

What's wrong with that picture?

Everything.

This is Jim Doyle's Board of Regents in action, folks.

Waiting to hear reaction from Walker or Green.

To me, the only tuition that should be cut is in-state tuition. What do they think the W in UW stands for?

Dirty Harry (Backs)

The Milwaukee Admirals Hockey team is offering a, let me say unique, promotion tonight.

Does it look like you are wearing a sweater, even when you have your shirt off? Do you have more hair on your back than you do on your head? Well my furry friend, Friday night at the Admirals game is the perfect time to let that back rug of yours pay off in a big way!

The Ads will host their first-ever “Hairiest Back Contest” this Friday night at the Bradley Center. The contest is free to enter and open to anyone 18 years and older. The winner will win a Funjet Vacations trip for two to Las Vegas. The hairiness begins at 6 pm in the East Atrium of the Bradley Center.

Hair Today Gone Tomorrow will award the top three finishers a laser hair removal packages, and their significant others will receive complimentary facials. The Grand Prize winner will receive a laser hair removal package valued at over $3,400, courtesy of Hair Today Gone Tomorrow.

Nationally renowned comedian, and Milwaukee native, Dobie Maxwell will head the panel of judges and the final three contestants will be brought to center ice during the first intermission where the fans will decide the winner.

Good luck, George. Let me know if you win.

Dems Feud, Taxpayers' Screwed

The headline of this story should have been:

Doyle-Lautenschlager Feud Reaches New Hieghts
Taxpayers Pay the Price

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports:

State officials fight; taxpayers wounded

Madison - A public records battle between the state Department of Justice and the Department of Transportation has cost taxpayers more than $18,000 in outside attorney fees, even though the two sides agree Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi improperly delayed the release of a report.

Busalacchi has acknowledged that he was in the wrong but claims he did not break the law because he did not act arbitrarily, as Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager maintains in a lawsuit against him. The DOT spent $18,584 during the investigation and initial stages of litigation for attorney Lester Pines, who represented Busalacchi.

Pines is an associate of Gov. Jim Doyle and the husband of Workforce Development Secretary Roberta Gassman.

Both sides say the other is entrenched, preventing a settlement.

The DOT replaced Pines with in-house counsel late last month. Department officials said the agency could not have done so earlier because of a conflict of interest.

Meanwhile, bills from Pines are continuing to pile up in a related case over the demotion of DOT attorney Jim Thiel, who says he was moved from chief counsel to staff attorney after he released other records in December 2004 that showed Busalacchi had delayed the release of a report on engineering costs. Bills in that case have climbed to $25,883.

Lautenschlager filed suit against Busalacchi in July 2005 after finding he took months to give the State Engineering Association the report, which showed consultants cost 18% more than state engineers. The union has protested the amount of engineering work the state outsources.

Busalacchi was in Washington, D.C., on Thursday for a meeting with congressmen and unavailable for comment. Busalacchi told the Journal Sentinel when Lautenschlager filed the suit that he had acted improperly but that he did not believe he had violated the law.

"I'm the keeper of the records and for whatever reason we screwed this thing up," he said at the time. "I can't blame anybody. It falls on me."

Busalacchi said then that he kept the report under wraps because he wanted to persuade Doyle to hire more engineers. Doyle agreed to hire 10 more engineers as a result of Busalacchi's lobbying.

Busalacchi said he would be willing to personally pay a $1,000 forfeiture but that he would not admit to acting "arbitrarily and capriciously," as the lawsuit claims.

If Lautenschlager wins, Dane County Circuit Judge Richard Niess could force the Department of Transportation to pay the attorney general's costs, which so far have added up to about $8,500.

Full story here.

WTPA TAKES--UPDATED

You've read my take.

Here are some other takes on the Wisconsin Taxpayers' Protection Amendment.

Fir
WTPA Authors
WMC
RPW
Scott Walker
Rep. Lasee
Sen. Lazich
Americans for Prosperity
Boots and Sabers

Agin
Sen. Robson
Rep. Richards
WEAC
AFSCME
United Council
WCCF
Rep. Pocan


What's your take?
Leave it in comments section.

Regarding Those School Choice Negotiations...

The Governor receives a swift and stunning rebuke from school choice advocates, as they seek to set the record straight.

An open letter for immediate release:

A February 8 letter from Governor Doyle to Representative Polly Williams falsely claims that Assembly Speaker John Gard told Stephen Bablitch “that they would not meet again until after February 20th” to discuss school choice issues. Each of us were in Madison last Thursday when the Governor claims this statement occurred.

One of us — Br. Bob Smith — personally sat in on discussions between Speaker Gard and Mr. Bablitch. In those discussions, and in several other venues that day, Speaker Gard emphasized his availability to meet on any occasion suggested by Mr. Bablitch to continue discussions.

For example, when Speaker Gard briefed other legislators about the discussion with Mr. Bablitch he explained that he had told Mr. Bablitch of his ongoing availability.

Br. Bob Smith,The Messmer Schools, The Archdiocese of Greater Milwaukee

Howard Fuller, Chair, Alliance for Choices in Education

Susan Mitchell, Vice-Chair, Alliance for Choices in Education

My Take on the WTPA

Unlike Senator Robson, I decided to read the legislation and the Legislative Reference Bureau analysis before offering my opinion on the Wisconsin Taxpayers' Protection Amendment.

My take, based on my reading of the legislation and with help of and discussion with legislators and staff, is summarized below.

The gist of the Amendment is such: With the exception of towns whose total revenues are one million dollars or less (a smart exception), governmental units in Wisconsin will be limited to collecting the amount of money they collected in the base year increased annually by the lesser of either the three year rolling average of the Consumer Price Index or the annual increase in Personal Income Growth plus a growth factor.

For the state, a county, a technical college district, or a special purpose district, the additional growth factor will be the percentage increase in population.

For a school district the additional growth factor will be the three year average of the percentage increase, if any, in enrollment in 5 year old kindergarten to 12th grade. If a school district does not have any increase in enrollment, or if they have declining enrollment, they will be held harmless.

For municipalities the additional growth factor will be sixty percent of the increase in property values due to new construction. This limit is based on the current limits in the Expenditure Restraint Program.

Revenue is defined in the amendment as all funds from taxes, fees, licenses, permits, fines, forfeitures, lottery proceeds, tribal gaming funds, and bonds with the exception of economic development bonding like TIF districts, bond refinancing, and short term cash-flow borrowing. This section raised a red flag for me. However, after reading the bill and talking to folks in Madison, my fears have been allayed.

Here's why I'm ok with the carve outs in the definition of revenue. They are very specifically defined and are present for a good reason. First, 'municipal economic development' bonds are defined essentially as TIF districts. These bonds are specifically used for real improvements to property directly related to development and are restricted to that use. This holds true to the intent of the Amendment to grow the economy not inhibit it. Moreover, local voters have a great deal of influence over the TIF process.

Refinancing of bonds is allowed when interest rates drop. This makes sense. It is in the best interest of taxpayers for the state to refinance at a lower rate. It saves them money and should not be discouraged.

Short term cash flow borrowing is often a sound management tool. For instance, local governments and schools use short term loans to pay bills that come due before they receive their state aid payments. The money must be paid back in the same year, and does not increase their revenue or spending ability.So, in a nutshell these exemptions are made to prevent inhibiting development and economic growth and to allow officials to manage government. Thus, diffusing the argument that the amendment is not practical as it pertains to how local governments operate.

There is also a Mandate Moratorium provision which I like. To prevent the creation of new unfunded mandates the amendment provides that, except to comply with federal requirements, the state may not enact any law or administrative rule which requires a local government to spend money unless the state provides the funds to the local government. The legislature needs to do much more in the area of unfunded mandates, but at least this caps them at their current ominous level.

The school revenue limits are a significant improvement over existing law. These limits are indexed from a base year rather than being based on the amount of revenue from the prior year. If a unit of government does not levy up to the limit in a given year, they do not lose any revenue authority in future years, so finally and thankfully there is no pressure to spend up to the limit. However, the revenue limit for any unit of government may be reduced by a majority vote of the ruling body (i.e. a city council, county board, both houses of the legislature, etc.) This will allow frugal governments to make their savings to taxpayers permanent.

The revenue limits may only be exceeded through referendum in a manner determined by the legislature by law. The question for any such referendum must specify whether the increase in the revenue limit will be continual or only for a given time period.

And I really like this provision: The amendment specifies that anyone living or paying property taxes in a given taxing district has standing to bring suit to enforce the revenue limits.

Bottom line: I still have a few more questions and will be talking to folks for the next few days, but I think this is a good, solid, Amendment, one which will protect taxpayers and one which I will support.

The only thing that could erode my support is if hearings on the bill bring up troubling aspects I haven't yet seen. That's what the hearings are for.

It is clear that those working on the bill, namely Senator Grothman and Representative Wood, not only wanted to create an Amendment that worked, but one that addressed potential pitfalls, be they rhetorical, political or practical. I believe they have succeeded.

So now, it's time to LET THE PEOPLE DECIDE!

More on Holloway's Hardball

Embattled Milwaukee County Board Chair not only asked Lynne DeBruin to step down from her committee leadership position, he made the request of all of the supervisiors (who are chairs or vice chairs of committees) who have called for a special meeting of the Board on February 20th.

I've confirmed this is the general text of the letters Holloway sent to Supervisors DeBruin, Cesarz, Devine, McCue, Rice and Schmitt:

You recently signed a petition to the County Clerk to hold a special meeting of the County Board to elect a Chairman. In addition, I appointed you to serve as (insert position: e.g. Chairman of Parks Committee.)

Because of this situation, as well as the need for continued cooperation and communication between the County Board Chairman and the Chairs and Vice Chairs of standing committees, I am requesting that you inform me as to whether you can continue to work with me in your leadership capacity under the current circumstances at the County Board.

As you know, I believe I am exercising my constitutional rights of due process in defending myself against what I believe to be unfounded and unfair ethics charge.

You have even expressed your opinion that I have the right to do this.

I am now asking you to inform me whether you feel you can continue to work with me given this situation.

If you believe you cannot continue to work with me, I would request that you resign from your current position as (insert position) until due process has been completed.

I would like you to give this your careful thought and give me an answer by Monday, February 13.

Thank you for your response.

This is Holloway's way of reasserting his authority. But I have to say, Holloway asking anyone else to step aside from a leadership position is quite ironic.

Part of the reason the supervisors asked for Holloway to step aside while he fights the ethics charges is because he's been distracted. They claim his ethics case is keeping him from running the board. They are worried that there hasn't been coordination and communication for months. Now he worries that their actions will impede the work that needs to get done?

Loophole?

Hey, the press conference is still going on, so I'll cut the authors some slack but since the clock is ticking, they won't have a lot of time to answer questions before the session is up (which is why this should have been introduced last spring, but I digress.)

At first blush, this is clearly better than current law.

However, I need to be convinced that this section of the LRB analysis doesn't point to a GIANT LOOPHOLE...

The proposed amendment defines “revenue,” generally, as all moneys received from taxes, fees, licenses, permits, assessments, fines, and forfeitures imposed by the state or a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town, lottery proceeds less the amount of any prizes, tribal gaming proceeds, and all moneys received from bonds not including moneys generated from municipal economic development bonds, from the refinancing of bonds, or from short−term cash flow borrowing. However, for the base year upon which the revenue limit is calculated, “revenue” does not include moneys generated from bonds.

Like I said, still digesting.

Will be searching for answers to the questions I raise.

More to come..

The Wisconsin Taxpayers' Protection Amendment Has Finally Been Introduced

The press conference is going on at the State Capitol right now.

Here is the official analysis, courtesy of the reference bureau. I will post my take/analysis soon.

Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This proposed constitutional amendment, proposed to the 2005 legislature on first consideration, limits the amount of revenue from taxes and fees that the state or a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town may receive in any year to the amount it received in the previous year, for the year in which the limit takes effect, or the maximum amount it could have received in the previous year, for subsequent years, increased by the percentage that is the average of the annual percentage increases, if any, in the consumer price index for each of the three years preceding the previous year, but not to exceed the annual percentage increase, if any, in state personal income for the year preceding the previous year, plus the percentage increase in population for the state, a special purpose district, a county, or a technical college district; the percentage that is the average of the annual percentage increases, if any, in student enrollment for a school district in each of the three years preceding the previous year; and 60 percent of the percentage increase from the first to the second of the two previous years in property values related to new construction for a city, village, or town.

Under the proposed amendment, a “special purpose district” is defined as any entity other than the state, a school district, a technical college district, a county, a city, a village, or a town that is authorized to collect taxes or fees.

The proposed amendment defines “revenue,” generally, as all moneys received from taxes, fees, licenses, permits, assessments, fines, and forfeitures imposed by the state or a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town, lottery proceeds less the amount of any prizes, tribal gaming proceeds, and all moneys received from bonds not including moneys generated from municipal economic development bonds, from the refinancing of bonds, or from short−term cash flow borrowing. However, for the base year upon which the revenue limit is calculated, “revenue” does not include moneys generated from bonds.

Generally, all revenue from taxes and fees that the state receives in excess of the limit must be placed in an emergency reserve fund. Any remaining excess revenue must be returned to the taxpayers. In addition, all revenue from taxes and fees that a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town receives in excess of the entity’s limit must be returned to the taxpayers.

Under the proposed amendment, generally, if a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town receives state aid in any year in an amount that is less than the amount of state aid that the entity received in any previous year beginning, generally, after the ratification of the proposed amendment, the entity may collect additional revenue in the current year in an amount not to exceed the greatest amount of state aid received by the entity in any previous year beginning, generally, after the ratification of the proposed amendment, minus the current year’s state aid. The additional revenue is not included in determining the entity’s revenue limit. Furthermore, the state must reduce its revenue limit by the amount of any aggregate reduction in state aid.

However, if a program or function for which the state aid is provided is eliminated or commensurately reduced in scope or applicability, as determined by the legislature, the state is not required to reduce its revenue limit by the amount of the reduction in state aid, and an entity may not collect additional revenue to compensate for the reduction in state aid.

The state may make expenditures from its emergency reserve fund with the approval of a majority of the members of each house of the legislature for tax relief or in a year in which the amount of the state’s revenue limit is greater than the amount of its revenue. The expenditures are included in the calculation of the state’s revenue limit.

Under the proposed amendment, the state, or a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town may reduce the revenue limit imposed under this section by a majority vote of the governing body of the entity or, in the case of the state, by the vote of a majority of the members elected to each house of the legislature; and may exceed the revenue limit only with the approval of the electors of the state, county, special purpose district, school district, technical college district, city, village, or town, respectively, at a referendum as prescribed by the legislature by law. The referendum must specify whether the increase in the revenue limit is on a recurring or nonrecurring basis.

Under the proposed amendment, the legislature may, by law, adjust the revenue limit for any governmental unit to accommodate the transfer of services from one governmental unit to another. In addition, generally, a state law or administrative rule that requires a special purpose district, school district, technical college district, county, city, village, or town to expend money may not be enacted or adopted after the ratification of this proposed amendment unless the state provides for the payment to the entity of an amount that is equal to the reasonable costs incurred by the entity to comply with the law or rule, as determined by the legislature.

The proposed amendment allows any individual or class of individuals residing in this state to bring a suit to enforce the revenue limits imposed on the state or on the local governmental unit where the individual or class of individuals resides or pays property taxes. In addition, the provisions created in the amendment may be amended with the approval of one legislature, rather than two, and ratification by the people.

A proposed constitutional amendment requires adoption by two successive legislatures, and ratification by the people, before it can become effective.

New WTMJ Talk Show Host

Prediction: Jessica Mc Bride.

Charlie teased there may be an announcement today...

....UPDATE....10:07....

Charlie confirms, she'll be the new part time talk show host for the 8pm to 11pm timeslot, when not pre-empted by their sports programing (The old Mark Reardon slot.)

Taxpayers' Protection Amendment

Is FINALLY here.

Details released later this morning.

I'll have more on this later (Come Back at 11am.)

Hail, Wauwatosa!

I'll be on the Early Spin at 8:05 this morning, discussing the manufactured controversy over Wauwatosa East's Red Raider nickname.

New! Improved!

It's all about the marketing.

Dems in Search of Pithy Agenda

Democratic leaders say they'll soon release a pithy agenda akin to the "Contract with America" that helped Republicans take over Congress in 1994. But the past two weeks underscore the difficulties of setting clear priorities and speaking with one voice.

Seizing the moment offered by President Bush's budget and State of the Union message, Democrats came forward in droves to float dozens of their own ideas and themes. They proposed energy independence in 10 years; universal broadband access in five years; a cleaned up Congress in 100 days; 100,000 new soldiers; 100,000 new engineers, scientists and mathematicians; a 17% tax credit to companies that give health insurance.

Virginia Gov. Tim Kaine talked about the dire consequences of partisanship and mismanagement. Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa talked about social ills. Capitol Hill leaders hammered at the GOP "culture of corruption." Governors offered a "competitiveness agenda." The chairmen of the House and Senate campaign committees stressed change and freshness.

Presidential prospects such as Indiana Sen. Evan Bayh and Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack, lamented the party's poor image on national security. Americans won't trust Democrats on education or health care "if they don't first trust us with their lives," Bayh warned.

Slogan for a 'change election'

CNN commentator Paul Begala, a volunteer adviser to Democrats on Capitol Hill, says governors, mayors, senators, House members and other party luminaries are well along in discussions to produce an agenda. Many already are using a phrase that figured prominently in Kaine's State of the Union response: "We can do better."

Begala says the slogan will work because "basically this is a 'change election.' If you're the party on the outs and you say we can do better, you're going to win." He adds, "If it were up to me, I'd be tougher and meaner. But you're trying to unite a diverse party."

Activists on the Internet don't think the phrase is "tough enough or meaty enough," Begala concedes. Some don't think their party is moving fast enough, either. "It's about time," Markos Moulitsas Z'niga commented on the liberal website www.dailykos.com when an agenda appeared imminent. That was in October.

Brendan Daly, a spokesman for House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., says the agenda is coming in spring or summer. Either timetable would put the party well ahead of the Republicans who announced their 10-point contract two months before the 1994 elections. Even so, the current void has proven an irresistible target to Republicans.

National Democrat leaders actually believe the reason they continue to lose most Senate, Congressional and Presidential elections is a matter of mere marketing?

Gee, they want to strip the Patriot Act of it's teeth, and they wonder why they are perceived as weak on terror? They threaten to filibuster conservative judicial nominees because they are, well, conservative, and they wonder why they are viewed as too partisan? All they do is react to the GOP and point out what is wrong but offer no solutions themselves and wonder why they are chastised for being devoid of ideas? I could go on and on.

The problem isn't in the packaging folks. It's in the product.

In Wisconsin, Joe Wineke is touring the state touting the Democrat Difference.

Maybe in Wisconsin they've slowly realized you can't beat something with nothing. Ole Yeller at the helm of the DNC, Reid and Pelosi in charge of the Senate and the House...at the national level, the Dems have yet to figure that out.

He Plays Hardball

Milwaukee County Board Chairking Lee Holloway has begun his campaign of retribution against the supervisors who wish to strip him of his leadership role.

In the latest leadership skirmish on the Milwaukee County Board, Chairman Lee Holloway on Wednesday asked Parks Committee Chairman Lynne De Bruin to resign "if you believe you cannot continue to work with me."

De Bruin is one of 10 supervisors who moved last week to force a special board meeting Feb. 20 for the purpose of holding a new election for board chairman. The group contends that Holloway's appeals in the ethics case against him are distracting his ability to lead the board.

De Bruin said Wednesday that she would not resign, citing a long history of working well with Holloway and any supervisor interested in parks issues.

Let's Go Raiders!

It was bad enough they changed the logo and mascot.

Now some want to change the name?

Ridiculous.

Brian Fraley
Wauwatosa East Class of 1986

Sign Here, Save the World

Russ Feingold's Progressive Patriot Slush Fund PAC is encouraging you to sign up for future direct mail/email/phone solicitations for contributions on a petition to HOLD THE PRESIDENT ACCOUNTABLE ON ILLEGAL WIRETAPPING!

Feel free to sign up in anyway you see fit. You can access the list building mechanism petition at Xoff.

Boo Hoo

The left is reacting to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker's efforts to stabilize parks funding through public-private partnerships with their usual "The Sky is Falling" rallying cry.

They're freaking out that every park will be cluttered with a Starbucks and that green space will be developed at an alarming rate.

Of course, this in not what Walker proposes. He's seeking ways to allow some commercial interests access to marginal areas of park land in exchange for revenue which will help the county parks system thrive.

Some, like Seth, bemoan the possible loss of wide swathes of open public space where dirty hippie types and others can congregate.

...But let's just entertain Walker's dream for a moment and imagine the best case scenario: the Milwaukee County Parks are transformed in the image of
Central Park.

What exactly does that entail?

In the 1970s, NewYork City hit upon tough financial times in much the same way Milwaukee County is facing a fiscal crisis today. The public service that felt the brunt of the budgetary troubles in New York was the parks, just like here in Milwaukee today. As a result, Central Park suffered,full-time employees were axed, seasonal work crews were cut, supplies went unordered, maintenance went undone, trash wasn't picked up (any of these cuts sound familiar?). Suffice to say, Central Park largely went into the toilet during the 1970s.

At the end of the 1970s, an influential group convinced the city to privatize as a means for revitalizing Central Park. In 1980, the non-profit Central Park Conservancy was formed to manage Central Park privately under contract with the city. To make a long story short, the park was revitalized to its current form under the control of the Conservancy, which generated funds through individual, corporate, and charitable foundation donations. All in all, the Conservancy has raised over $300 million to date.

Through the revitalization, Central Park has rebuilt many of its monumental treasures, established two successful upscale restaurants, and hosted hundreds of youth and community programs each year. All good, right? Not completely.

Before the fiscal crisis of the 1970s, Central Park was a flourishing public park that served as the site for numerous oppositional political and social movements. Women suffrage activists met there in the early twentieth century, gay and lesbian activists used the park to march as part of their liberation movement in the 1960s, and numerous love-ins' 'be-ins,' and 'fat-ins' took place in Central Park during the sixties to challenge conventional norms in a public venue.

Since the Conservancy took over in 1980, however, public meetings such as these have not taken place. Instead there are fences surrounding green spaces and rules regulating noise levels and activities. The effect is that the number of places in New York City to meet publicly for political purposes or to challenge social norms has severely decreased since Central Park was privatized.

Wow. That evil Scott Walker. He's trying save the parks, but only to squelch the free speech rights of liberal activists.

I hear he loves animals but eats puppies for breakfast, too.

And how long before someone on the left whines that I just called suffragists dirty hippies????

New Guv Race Polling

Even Doyle's top dogs can't spin away these numbers.


Wisconsin Governor: Doyle (D) with Modest Lead
Survey of 500 Likely Voters January 23, 2006
Election 2006 Wisconsin Governor
Jim Doyle (D) 47%
Scott Walker (R) 40%

Election 2006 Wisconsin Governor
Jim Doyle (D) 48%
Mark Green (R)41%

February 7, 2006--In Wisconsin, Democratic Governor Jim Doyle leads two Republicans challenging his reelection bid by single digits.

Doyle leads Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker 47% to 40%. In early December, a Rasmussen Reports election poll showed him leading Walker 48% to 37%.

Doyle leads Congressman Mark Green 48% to 41%, a similar result to our December poll. Then, he led Green 45% to 39%.

Incumbents who poll below 50% early in the campaign season are typically viewed as potentially vulnerable. Doyle certainly qualifies. Four years ago, there was a strong third party challenge and the Governor was elected with just 45% of the vote.
The current governor is viewed favorably by 56% of voters, more than those who favorably view either Walker (44%) or Green (45%). But, with high name recognition, Doyle also has significantly higher unfavorable numbers.

In light of the spate of corruption scandals making headlines in the state, we asked respondents several questions about the possible impact on their vote.

About two thirds of Wisconsin voters are following the news of the scandals closely or somewhat closely. Seventy-two percent (72%) say corruption is a problem involving both parties. Democrats and Republicans are more likely to say the other party is most to blame, but 68% of Republicans and 68% of Democrats also point the finger at "both parties."

Although most respondents agree that corruption is a very important (66%) or somewhat important (27%) issue, only about a third say corruption is more important to them than the economy or the war in Iraq.

Fifty percent (50%) of likely voters say Wisconsin is about as corrupt as other states; 13% say it's more corrupt; 28% say it's less corrupt.

Crappy Start to NBC Olympic Coverage

Drudge has the photos.

New TV Spots in Choice Battle

Much to team Doyle's chagrin, this issue is NOT going away.

Alliance for Choices in Education
Continues Campaign to End Enrollment Cap

The Alliance for Choices in Education (ACE) will launch a new TV spot today in its continuing campaign to convince Governor Jim Doyle to end the arbitrary enrollment cap on the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP).

ACE Chair Howard Fuller explained the ongoing need for the campaign:

“Despite an imminent crisis, the Governor’s representatives have not met with legislative leaders since last Thursday. We urge him to hold immediate discussions to avoid further needless disruption and uncertainty among Milwaukee parents, students, and schools.”

Fuller added, “The Governor has vetoed bills that would have avoided the dire situation that thousands of Milwaukee families now face. He has yet to offer a long-term plan for ending this crisis that has any chance of legislative approval.”

The new television spot features a father of four children who attend St. Marcus Lutheran School through the MPCP. “There’s no good reason for the Governor to block school choice. None,” says the father.

Earlier ACE television spots also highlighted the anguish that students in the MPCP and their parents feel because of the enrollment cap. Referring to earlier Doyle vetoes, a parent declares, “Governor Doyle, don’t turn your back on us again,” A high school student says in another ad that Governor Doyle is“throwing away my dream.”

Fuller said the length of the ACE campaign depends on “whether and when Governor Doyle signs legislation to end the enrollment cap crisis. We will be active as long as necessary.”

The commercial can be viewed at the School Choice Wisconsin website.

Location, Location, Location

The Governor can not be pleased that this story only made it to page two of the second section of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Non-FISA-Court-Obtained Transcripts

Unidentified Female Voice: Governor, we have to do something, this contract thing is dragging you down. Day after day another story.

Unidentified Male Voice: But it's nothing, you told me so.

UFV: I know, but we need a bold move. Something that makes it look like you're in charge. Because I have to tell you, being out of the country when the indictment came down was just awful.

UMV: But that was your idea.

UFV: Perhaps, but really, Governor, we need to look to the future, not the past. Time is of the essence here. We can’t wait for another month.

UMV: Well what do you suggest, then?

UFV: Um, let's see, we signed that car seat bill with great fanfare, so there's not much left on our desk...wait, what about a Special Session of the Legislature?

UMV: What?

UFV: Yes, it will be perfect. On Tuesday, call for a Special Session. We'll get press all day Tuesday and in the morning papers on Wednesday as well. Then, when those Representatives and Senators have to trudge back to Madison it will be because YOU made them. YOU THE MAN.

UMV: Yes, I the man. Ok, what should we call a special session on?

UFV: Campaign finance reform/pay to play?

UMV: What?

UFV: I'm just keeding. How about home heating assistance so that families who make $39,000 can get government assistance to heat their homes. Even though their heat can't be turned off in winter and even though we've had more over 40 days of above normal temperatures, the press and the goo goo groups will eat it up. And hopefully the GOP will balk, and then it's even bigger. We'll have a conflict and that will distract everyone!

UMV: I have calls to make. Do what you need to do.

Great Point, Junior

My bacon-chompin,' attorney friend emails me:

I can't stand McCain, but I love this letter he sent to Obama.

I concur.

Prediction

Orv Seymer will not sue Milwaukee County for ONE MILLION DOLLARS. Contrary to his own notice of claim and public pronouncements, the actual suit will be for considerably less.

Look, County Board King Lee Holloway was wrong to remove Seymer from a public hearing for joking about the Board's work ethic. However, to sue for such an amount runs counter to CRG's principles and frankly doesn't jibe with Orv's own personal code.

Conservatives who back CRG don't think to kindly of the litigation lottery, Orv. Take a deep breath and think about it and you know that's true.

Chalk this up as "It seemed like a good idea at the time," and let's hope calmer heads prevail.

Murphy's Take on Guv Race Fund Raising

Milwaukee Magazine's Bruce Murphy posts a weekly column online.

I agree with him about 30 percent of the time, but I'd have to say this analysis is hard to argue against.

Why Jim Doyle Won’t Raise $12 Million
For a year or more, we’ve been told that Gov. Jim Doyle could raise as much as $12 million in campaign donations. The idea was that he’d have way too much money to lose his bid for re-election.

I think we can stick a needle in that balloon. Doyle is unlikely to get anywhere near $12 million. The new campaign finance reports covering the second half of 2005 show that Doyle raised $1.2 million, after raising $1.4 million in the first six months of 2005.

To date, Doyle has raised $5.9 million. Is he going to raise that much over a 10-month period in 2006? Of course not. He will be lucky to hit $8.5 million in total money raised.

If Doyle had been a Tommy Thompson-type incumbent, whose high positives made him a shoo-in for re-election, he might well have hit the $12 million. But Doyle is at best the front-runner in a race that’s likely to be close.

In that kind of election, the many insiders who want access to government will hedge their bets and give to both parties. Thus, the combined Republican ticket of Mark Green and Scott Walker raised $1.3 million in the second half of 2005, besting Doyle’s $1.2 million.

Walker raised about 45% of the combined Republican total, a good enough showing that insiders could be left to split their donations three ways until the September primary. That could make Doyle’s task all the tougher.

On the other hand, Walker’s strength means that the GOP primary will be hard fought, and both Republican candidates could spend the bank to win, while Doyle sits back and saves his money. That should still leave Doyle with a huge edge in campaign donations to spend, but nowhere near $12 million and nowhere near as invulnerable as such a figure would have suggested.

My take? Doyle will have raised around $9-10 million for the race and will have a $4 million lead in cash on hand the day after the GOP Primary.

Super Bowl Spots

As I opined on one of my Blogger-eaten posts, I thought the Super Bowl commercials were rather lame.

For what it's worth, if you care to revisit their 20 or so minutes of lameness here they are.

Mangonomics

Wisconsin's own Mike Darda has another good column over at National Review Online.

Another Pro-Growth Jobs Report
The labor-market recovery is deepening and broadening. Congress should take note.
By Michael T. Darda

The economic malcontents scored a one-round victory after the release of the GDP report for the fourth quarter of 2005, which showed the economy only expanding by 1.1 percent at an annual rate. But January’s non-farm payrolls report, which showed three-month job growth snapping back to nearly 230,000, has promptly put the pessimists back on the ropes.

At the time the sloppy GDP report was released, I argued that one-off factors — such as a drop in auto production and sales and a contraction in government spending — were the proximate cause for the weak reading and were not a harbinger of the future. Other high-frequency data such as business-equipment and high-tech output, as well as non-defense capital-goods shipments and orders, all boomed during the fourth quarter.

Moron of the Day

The semi-regular feature is back.

Today's winner: Judge Beverly Grant.

Judge ‘regrets’ Hawks cheer
Pierce official apologizes for actions during manslaughter sentencing
KAREN HUCKS THE NEWS TRIBUNE

The Pierce County Superior Court judge who led a cheer for the Seattle Seahawks during a manslaughter sentencing Friday has apologized.

“I sincerely and humbly apologize if any of my actions caused any hurt or dismay,” Judge Beverly Grant told The News Tribune on Monday. “When you’ve done something that offended someone, you apologize. It wasn’t my intent to hurt or cause pain to anyone. And the right thing to do is apologize.”

Grant opened Friday’s sentencing hearing for Steve Keo Teang by asking everyone in the courtroom to say, “Go Seahawks” before they sat down. When their response was too restrained, she asked them to do it again. After court, deputy prosecutor Sunni Ko and sheriff’s deputies said they were embarrassed. Grant responded that she was trying to cut the tension in the room and unify people, and their criticism was “trite.”

Newspapers across the country ran stories about the incident over the weekend. Monday, Grant sent out a news release apologizing to Teang’s defense attorney and deputy prosecutor Mary Robnett, who was filling in for Ko at a Monday hearing in the case of the slaying of Tino Patricelli.

“I take full responsibility, particularly as it has impacted the (Tino) Patricelli family, the judiciary system and others,” Grant’s statement says. “I have consistently tried to treat everyone in my court with dignity, fairness and respect. … My sincere regrets to all.”

Oh, and Super Bowl Sunday was the anniversary of the killing.

h/t the blogfather

Base to Doyle: Do More

Drip. Drip. Drip.

It's only a matter of time before Doyle returns the Adelman money.

Doyle should give more back

A Cap Times editorial

Gov. Jim Doyle has returned $10,000 in campaign donations from executives of a Manitowoc boat company who gave the money two days before a state panel recommended giving the firm a $1.1 million grant.

Doyle, who still must decide whether to provide the grant to the Burger Boat Co. for the construction of a boat ramp, recognized that he could not possibly aid the firm without causing a firestorm. And the 142-year-old company, which is at the forefront of the revitalization of Wisconsin's boat-building industry, is a worthy candidate for economic assistance.

So Doyle did the right thing. But, as Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign watchdog group, notes: This is merely a small step for Doyle. He has yet to go the distance for clean politics and clean government.

For instance, the Democratic governor's re-election campaign is clinging to $20,000 in donations that have been linked to the Milwaukee travel agency that received a state contract that is now the subject of federal, state and local inquiries into so-called "pay-to-play" politics. Full editorial

Graft in Palestine

I am actually surprised it's only $700 million. When the 'world' community determines that compassion can only be measured in total allotment of foreign aid, this is bound to happen.

$700m reported missing from Palestinian coffers

By Nidal al-Mughrabi, Reuters | February 6, 2006

GAZA CITY -- At least $700 million in funds from the Palestinian Authority's coffers have been squandered or stolen by officials over the past few years, an internal investigation revealed yesterday.

Palestinian Attorney General Ahmed al-Moghani cited 50 cases of ''financial and administrative corruption" and said 25 officials had been arrested so far.

He said 10 officials had fled abroad but that the Palestinian Authority was seeking their extradition.

''The amount of money that was squandered and stolen is more than $700 million," Moghani told reporters. ''Some of these millions were transferred into personal accounts here and abroad."

Congressman Petri

Someone must have peed in my cornflakes this morning.

From WisPolitics Afternoon Report to Subscribers:
Wisconsin Congressman Tom Petri is seeking the chairmanship of the House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, but he won't be seeking to serve as head of the Education and Workforce Committee.

In a letter sent today to House Speaker Dennis Hastert, the Fond du Lac Republican said he will remain an active member of the Education and Workforce committee, “I believe I can most effectively serve in the Congress and represent my constituents by remaining Chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. As such, I will not be seeking the chairmanship of the Education Committee.

“As Vice Chairman and senior member of the Transportation Committee -- and one who believes strongly in the important work of that committee in ensuring that we have the basic infrastructure and transportation network needed to keep us competitive in the 21st century global economy -- I am working toward the goal of becoming Chairman of that Committee in the next Congress upon the expiration of the current Chairman's term,” Petri wrote.

First, there was no way he was going to be chair of Education. None. Zip. Second, this release is painfully filled with insider crap about which Petri and his staff love and 99.99999% of Wisconsin could care less. I love how he spelled out the entire subcommittee name. It's a killer line in his speeches. Rule number one on the Lincoln Day/Caucus/Convention circuit was that you don't want to speak after Paul Ryan. Rule number two, if you spoke after Congressman Petri, your speech would go over well with anyone who was still awake.

"As the Chairman of the Subcommittee on Highways, Transit and Pipelines of the Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure, I bring you news from Washington, D.C."

Paul Ryan, Jim Sensenbrenner and Mark Green are examples of good GOP congressmen. Petri? He's always been, just, well, there.

Ok, now I better stop while there are still a couple of Republican Party types who will talk to me.

270 Days or so from Now...

Didn't wake up this morning with the intention of cracking on my side of the aisle all day, really.

The Homeland Security Department plans to stop releasing illegal immigrants into the United States by October, a senior official said Friday.

October?

Why wait?

My Queasiness is Not a Super Bowl Hangover

Somebody get me a bucket.

Wisconsin's own Brian Riedl has authored this disturbing report of Federal spending on behalf of the Heritage Foundation.

Some lowlights:

Discretionary spending increases have not been contained to defense, homeland security, and Hurricane Katrina relief, but have grown across the board.

· Since 2001, all other discretionary spending has increased by 34% (23% after adjusting for inflation).

Entitlements (excluding net interest) consume 53% of all program spending and a record 10.8% of GDP.

· Entitlement spending is projected to nearly double over the next decade. Medicare is expanding by 9% annually, Medicaid by 8% annually, and Social Security by 6% annually.

· The Medicare drug entitlement is estimated to cost $724 billion over the next decade and as much as $2 trillion over the following decade. Lawmakers created this entitlement in 2003 without any plan to pay for it. The Medicare drug entitlement is a universal entitlement that will go to all seniors regardless of need.

· The total cost of Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid is projected to leap from 8.4% of GDP in 2005 to18.9% of GDP by 2050.

· Federal program spending is projected to reach 27.6% of GDP by 2050, while net interest spending will consumean additional 9% to 46% of GDP (depending on whether massive deficit spending increases interest rates).

· Unless Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid are reformed, lawmakers face three options:

A) Raise taxes every year until taxes are 60 percent ($11,000 per household) higher than today;

B) Eliminate every federal program except Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid by 2045; or

C) Do nothing and watch the federal debt expand so much that even a minor interest rate response would induce aspiral of rising debt and interest rates, threatening the entire economy.

About the report's author.

Disappointing

I'd call it a sin of omission.

Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker delivered his annual "State of the County" address today.

Not one word surrounding the ethically-challenged County Board Chairman.

In fact, he went out of his way to extend an olive branch to Holloway. Speaking about addressing the budget crunch, he said:

Mr. Chairman, I want to work with you and other members of the County Board to take on this monumental task.

Mr. Chairman, I want to work with you.

Lee Holloway, I want to work with you.

This speech was Walker's opportunity to finally express his concerns over the fate of the County Board and its leadership.

Apparently he has none? Or he's made the political calculation that it's best he not utter his concerns as to not anger a specific constituency? Or he thinks he needs to stay above the fray?

Besides being disappointed as a constituent, I think it's bad politics, too. He should be doing everything in his power to distance himself from Holloway. Instead, he went out of his way to explicitly address his desire to work with the current chairman.

Scott's doing a good job in Milwaukee County and was right to trumpet his successes in this speech.

I personally, expected more. And having heard from others today, I am not alone.

If Walker would exert even a modicum of political capital toward the Holloway matter, it just could be enough to make the difference.

He should reread his speech tonight. Especially this:

I like to say that great challenges bring great opportunities. Taking the right course of action, however, is not easy, but it is necessary to ensure the long-term prosperity of the county we love.

Indeed.

Public Service Announcement

To the dozens of loyal readers wondering what is going on.

Blogger is acting up. Ate a number of my posts and is preventing me from uploading graphics.

Supposed to be fixed by tomorrow.

In the meantime, blogging will be a little lighter than normal.

Pretty Strong Allegations

The Republican Party of Wisconsin just issued this press release.

MORE DOYLE PAY-TO-PLAY UNCOVERED
Software Firm Seals Huge No-bid Contract With Donations

(Madison, WI)…An out of state software firm appears to have secured a no-bid $29-million contract from the Doyle administration by donating to the governor’s re-election campaign.

Oracle Software officials made a donation to Jim Doyle the day after it secured the no-bid deal. Shortly after, thousands of campaign dollars flowed to the governor’s war chest.

The Executive Director of the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Rick Wiley says this is more evidence that Jim Doyle is for sale.

"If this company is so good at what they do and deserve to have the normal bidding process waived, why do they feel the need to pad the governor’s war chest. It’s obvious that the word is out, if you want to do business with Jim Doyle’s administration, it comes at a price,” Wiley said. “Unfortunately, it’s the taxpayers of Wisconsin that end up paying the price for Jim Doyle’s ethical lapses.”

According to state records obtained from the Doyle Administration by an open records request from the Republican Party of Wisconsin, Oracle Software of Redwood City, California was given a six-year, $28.9-million deal without any competitive bidding. Jim Doyle signed the deal on May 11, 2005. One day later, Oracle officials sent a $250 check to Doyle’s campaign. Forty days later, Oracle officials again reward Governor Doyle with another $3,000 in donations. Two of those Oracle officials had never donated to Governor Doyle prior to these checks.

Wiley called on Doyle to return the donations.

“I’m not optimistic that Jim Doyle can be trusted to do the right thing. He still refuses to return $20,000 in Travel-gate donations even though that deal is under federal investigation,” Wiley said, “For the sake of the integrity of our state, Jim Doyle must return all of his questionable donations.”

...

Wiley said this November, the people of Wisconsin can end the practice of pay-to-play by Jim Doyle.“There are two people ready and willing to clean up the ethical mess that Jim Doyle has created in Wisconsin,” Wiley said, “Mark Green and Scott Walker offer hope for taxpayers. This fall, the voters of the state will get a chance to evict Jim Doyle from the governor’s mansion.”

Pretty strong allegations.

The next questions are :

***Will the MSM pick up on this?
How will the Doyle team respond?

Drip. Drip. Drip.

***Update. DaSpiceBoyz point out that indeed, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel did report on this last week. Duly noted. Thanks for readin'.

So I guess a better question is. Will this episode merit more than a one-day story in one newspaper, albeit the state's most read daily?

On the Horizon

Those concerned with the state of Wisconsin's economy should follow these developments closely.

The Milwaukee operator of 130 Pick 'n Save, Copps and Rainbow stores in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Minnesota was acquired in 2002 by Willis Stein and Partners, a Chicago investment firm that has a track record of holding companies for five years.

On that timetable, a change looms by 2007, Mariano acknowledged in an interview.

"It's fair to say that in a reasonable time there's going to be a change in the capital structure; in the next year to 18 months," Mariano said. "All possibilities are on the table."

The retail grocery business is a highly competitive market where profit margins are never very high. While the jobs at the individual stores will almost certainly survive to some extent, the fate of the various distribution operations could be affected by a sale.

Big Game Predictions

Last chance.

Amen

Saving School Choice

Today's developments:

ACE Announces Ground Campaign to End the Cap

Milwaukee – The Alliance for Choices in Education (ACE) announced that a citywide ground campaign will begin on February 4 to urge Governor Doyle toend the cap on school choice.

Volunteers across the city will distribute literature, collect signatures on petitions to the Governor, and circulate posters asking Milwaukee residents to call the Governor and ask him to end the cap. Volunteers also will go door to door to talk directly with registered Milwaukee voters about the issue.

Neighborhoodstargeted in the campaign will include several legislative districts.

“A growing number of concerned Milwaukee residents understand that if the cap is not lifted, thousands of students will lose seats in schools they attend and dozens of private schools will close. They want to help and we are putting them to work,” said Howard Fuller, Chairman of the ACE board of directors.

“We are approaching a critical deadline. On February 20, schools will be told how many seats they will have next year. Principals and teachers will need to start to decide who stays, who goes, and whether schools can stay open,” Fuller said.

Fuller said volunteers will work on Saturdays beginning February 4 to distribute material and gather signatures. He said the campaign would be extended as long as the cap remains in effect.

The last line of this press release is perhaps its most powerful.

Super Bowl XL Contest

Hit the comment section on this post to give me your take on the big game.

Pick the correct final score and win the admiration of dozens and a couple of Diamond Jim bumper stickers.

Hell of an incentive, no?

My prediction: Steelers 27, Seahawks 24

All Too Familiar

The controversy over radical Islamists' violent reaction to a newspaper cartoon hits close to home. As most of you know by now:

Cartoons of the Prophet Muhammad published in several European newspapers have caused outrage among some Muslims

While my home and workplace were never torched and I never suffered violently at the hands of Muslim protesters, I have been at the center of a similar controversy, now more than 15 years ago.

During the lead up to the Gulf War, I was a senior at the University of Wisconsin and served as the editor in chief of The Badger Herald, which at the time was a conservative newspaper and still remains an independently run publication at the school.

One of our staff artists produced a comic strip titled 'Suspended Animation.' One particular story line (that is, if memory serves, bear with me here it was several years and several beers ago) centered around Saddam Hussein discovering a magic lamp that had a genie inside. At some point during the fall semester of 1990, the Herald ran a particular strip that outraged area Muslims (including several non-students who were a part of the Muslim student union at the UW).

The strip contained several rather lame references to the work of filmmaker David Lynch. At one point one of the characters said that the Prophet Muhammad, if he indeed condoned the Iraqi aggression, seemed to be an "Eraserhead." Well that was enough to spark near riots.

I know my play by play here does not give justice to the strip and the controversy, but this was long before the Internet and pdfs were around, so again my apologies, this will have to suffice.

Anyway, one day dozens of Muslim students went all across the UW campus and picked up stacks of the free Herald and destroyed them. Almost the entire 20,000 print run was destroyed. Our offices were stormed by protestors. (in fact, there was a brief and tense occupation at one point). The intolerant Muslim student organization leaders demanded a front page apology, ordered that the paper fire the cartoonist, Mark Lysgaard, and me as well.

We received countless number of threats of physical violence. Threats on my life were made, and the artist received several threats as well.

We refused to be intimidated.

Instead of leaving bundles of papers in the front of campus building as we normally would have, for over a week the staff of the paper handed copies of The Badger Herald directly to students as they walked to class.

We increased security at our offices and made sure they were manned 24 hours a day.

We made sure no staffer walked home at night by themselves.

Capitol and Madison Police did an outstanding job of diffusing the situation whenever they were called to intervene.

I could say I bravely withstood the pressure, but I have to admit, I was damn scared. A lot of us were.

Unfortunately after several days, the board of directors of the paper basically caved and ran a 'we didn't mean to offend you' apology on the editorial page. Yet, as Editor, I insisted that we continue to run the comic strip. The strip was offbeat, I often didn't 'get' the humor. And Lysgaard was no right winger. But he had a right to express himself. It was the comics section for crying out loud.

No one was fired and no one was hurt. But I learned fifteen years ago just how intolerant those who demand tolerance can be.

Amy has a great post on this issue here.

This Week in the Wisconsin Legislature

MADISON--The Wisconsin State Legislature passed a flurry of bills Thursday as the two year floor period entered its final months.

"We're tackling the issues that concern us most," said State Senator Jo Schmoe (R-Riverbottom). "We all know it takes a village to raise a child, and what better village than state government?"

Among the bills which passed both the Assembly and Senate with bi-partisan votes:

• Mandating the use of car booster seats for most children under the age of eight
• Prohibiting the placement of more than one "snack cake" in any bag lunch
• Requiring the use of protective head gear when 'rough housing' in the park
• Allowing law enforcement officers to check to make sure 10 year olds actually wash their hands after going potty. (The bill defines going potty as doing either #1, #2 or both)

The 'rough housing' bill was the subject of a lengthy floor debate. Efforts to amend the bill to include stiff penalties for the cruel winter 'facewashes' were tabled. However the bill was amended to expand the definition of a park to include any area of land with visible vegetation.

"I was hopeful we could have mandated helmet usage, anywhere, 24-7 until the age of 12," said Schmoe. "Clearly, children would be safer if they always wore protective gear."

Schmoe pointed to the time she fell out of her bed as a child and received a lump on her head.

"Who can really know what kind of long-term damage that did to me," said Schmoe. "Thankfully I think I haven't suffered any mental impairment, but you never know."

Nanny State

Car booster seats have now been mandated for third graders.

Yet the Taxpayers' protection amendment has yet to have a public hearing.

And there are only a few months remaining in the legislative session.

Sure hope they can get to that Official State Tartan, at the very least.

Brokeback to the Future

Who knew?

h/t Sean at The American Mind

A Big Step in the Right Direction

These folks deserve credit for doing the right thing.

• Mark Borkowski
• Gerry Broderick
• Paul Cesarz
• Lynne DeBruin
• Dan Devine
• Ryan McCue
• Roger Quindel
• Joseph Rice
• Jim Schmitt
• John Weishan Jr.

Yesterday was a big step in the right direction for the future of the Milwaukee County Board. Regardless of the outcome of this maneuver, it was well played (finally).

Supervisors frustrated by Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway's drawn-out ethics case took a novel step Thursday toward electing a new leader, but Holloway and the county's own lawyer called the move into question.

Unable to muster a state-required two-thirds majority needed to attempt to remove Holloway for cause, 10 supervisors forced a special meeting for Feb. 20 at which they contend a new chairman could be elected by a simple majority.

Even some supervisors in the group of 10 conceded the uphill legal battle they face in holding a midterm election for chairman when the office is not vacant.

But even if the move fails, the group hopes to send a clear signal of protest over what it views as Holloway's failure to keep his eye on county business while aggressively challenging the ethics case on several appeal tracks.

The corporation counsel, Bill Domina, says the effort may not be kosher.

The chairman, by state statute, is elected by the board shortly after the new four-year term starts. Holloway was re-elected chairman in 2004 on a 16-3 vote.

Domina said Thursday that there is no legal basis for removing a County Board chairman without cause on a simple majority vote. He based that opinion on his own research and consultations with corporate counsels in other counties, he said. Domina said he views the special-election meeting as tantamount to a removal action. Rice disagrees. Supervisor Peggy West asked Domina on Thursday night to draft a formal opinion on the matter.

I believe the supervisors are asking the wrong question. Instead of asking whether state statutes expressly allow a vote mid term, they should ask if the statutes expressly prohibit a county board from revisiting its vote for leadership, or if they are prevented from conducting another vote at any time.

The supervisors who made this move should keep up the pressure, keep distancing themselves from Holloway and keep the public informed of any retribution that will surely be dished out.

The board members who did not back this move should be ashamed of themselves. Moreover, they should explain, in clear language and explicit detail, why they support Lee Holloway.

Playin' Hardball

Exactly why Holloway should not be the Chairman...

[T]he County Board voted Thursday to delay action on confirming Don Uebelacker as a member of the Ethics Board. That board will likely have a say in the penalty phase in the Holloway case, if it gets to that point.

Holloway joined a group of seven supervisors who asked that the appointment be sent back to corporation counsel for a written legal opinion. Only six votes were needed to delay action, based on board rules.

Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs-Jones, who sought the delay, said she believed Uebelacker had a conflict of interest that should preclude him from serving. County Executive Scott Walker nominated Uebelacker, a Brown Deer retiree who co-founded Citizens for Responsible Government.

The group's members led or assisted recall drives against former County Executive F. Thomas Ament, Holloway and multiple supervisors, and they endorsed Walker in the 2002 county executive's race.

Holloway and his cronies can control who sits on the Ethics Board. As Chairman, Holloway can pressure his colleagues in an attempt to obtain a preferential outcome before the Ethics Board.

He said he'd play hardball. Meanwhile taxpayers continue to get beaned.

Ridiculous Speech Update

Julian Bond takes his cue from Robert Miranda, comparing Republicans to Nazis.

Civil rights activist and NAACP Chairman Julian Bond delivered a blistering partisan speech at Fayetteville State University in North Carolina last night, equating the Republican Party with the Nazi Party and characterizing Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and her predecessor, Colin Powell, as "tokens." "The Republican Party would have the American flag and the swastika flying side by side," he charged.

Calling President Bush a liar, Bond told the audience at the historically black institution that this White House's lies are more serious than the lies of his predecessor's because Clinton's lies didn't kill people.

"We now find ourselves refighting old battles we thought we had already won," he said. "We have to fight discrimination whenever it raises its ugly head."

He referred to former Attorney General John Ashcroft as J. Edgar Ashcroft. He compared Bush's judicial nominees to the Taliban.

And the NAACP expresses outrage that Bush won't attend their annual conventions?

NAACP: The National Association of Anti Conservative People.

The talk so infuriated at least one black family in attendance among the 900 in the auditorium that they got up in walked out in protest. "He went on and on name calling," said Lee Wilson. "I walked out in the middle of his speech with my wife and three kids"

Only one family out of 900 people? Sad.

Free Speech Update

From Wisconsin Right to Life

Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission to Have Hearing February 17 in District of Columbia District Court

Court Recognizes Need to Expedite Case

“Wisconsin Right to Life is pleased that the District of Columbia District Court responded so quickly to our motion for an expedited resolution of Wisconsin Right to Life v. Federal Election Commission,” stated Barbara Lyons, Executive Director of Wisconsin Right to Life. “The District Court will hold a status conference hearing on Friday, February 17 at 3:30pm. The Federal Election Commission is likely to oppose the manner in which Wisconsin Right to Life has asked that the case be resolved.”

On January 17, the U.S. Supreme Court heard oral arguments in WRTL v. FEC, a case with national significance. Wisconsin Right to Life is asking for a grassroots lobbying exception to the McCain-Feingold campaign finance reform law.

On January 23, the Supreme Court removed a conceptual obstacle and remanded the case back to the District Court to consider the merits of the case. On January 24, Wisconsin Right to Life asked the District Court to reinstate summary judgment motions and expedite action on the case.

“Because 2006 is an election year and every state faces primary blackout periods, it is important that the court reach an expedited conclusion,” continued Lyons. “Since the case has been fully briefed, we asked that each side be permitted ten days to file supplement briefs so that the court can act quickly on this important case.”

An expedited calendar is good news for free speech advocates.

New Majority Leader

It's Boehner.

Well Done

Kudos to the ten Milwaukee county board supervisors who had the guts to take on the king.

We're far from over, but this is a significant development.

THURSDAY, Feb. 2, 2006, 11:42 a.m.
Supervisors push move to oust Holloway
A 10-member majority of the Milwaukee County Board today will request a special meeting on Feb. 20 to hold an election that some supervisors hope could force out Supervisor Lee Holloway as chairman of the board.

Holloway is fighting ethics charges and has refused to step down until the matter is settled, as some supervisors have requested in the past.

The 10 supervisor planned to present County Clerk Mark Ryan with the request for a special during a lunch break in today’s County Board meeting.

The legality of holding a mid-term election for chairman when the office is not vacant is in doubt; even some supervisors leading the effort concede that.

Supervisor Lynne DeBruin said the move would be without precedent in Wisconsin. But the supervisors say it is worth taking the chance in court to replace Holloway, whose ethics case in their view has become a major distraction.

Asked about the supervisors’ planned action, Holloway said he would not back down. He said he believes he has been denied due process in the Ethics Board prosecution against him.

“If I have to go, I have to go, but as long as I’m here I’m going to fight it to the end,” he told a reporter. “I’ll play hardball.”

Supervisors who have resisted trying to force Holloway to step aside have said such efforts are premature while the ethics case is pending.

The 10 supervisors seeking the special meeting are: Mark Borkowski, Lynne DeBruin, Roger Quindel, Jim Schmitt, John Weishan Jr., Ryan McCue, Paul Cesarz, Gerry Broderick, Dan Devine and Joseph Rice.

Here is the letter.

New Bumper Sticker

Peg's Car is More Dangerous

than My Gun.

www.Dailytakes.com

The Empire Strikes Back

Holloway will not go down quietly.

Pay close attention to the retribution that will be dished out soon...

*Milwaukee County Board Breaking News

Supervisor Lynne DeBruin was on Charlie Sykes' radio show this morning. She signed the letter referenced in my post below.They need 10 signatures on the letter to call the special meeting. They only have nine... So far Borkowski, Broderick, Cesarz, De Bruin, Devine, Quindel, Rice, Schmidt and Weishan are on. Mc Cue and Nyklewicz are on the fence.

The number at the County Board offices 414-278-4222.

Keep checking here for updates. This is turning out to be an interesting day.

***UPDATE

Supervisor McCue has now signed the letter calling for a special session of the Board for the purpose of electing a new chairman.

Anti School Choice Radio Ad

The leadership of the Milwaukee teachers' union fears School Choice. With Choice, parents of poor kids are able to vote with their feet. These parents have determined that the members of that union are doing a poor job of educating their children. Thousands upon thousands of parents have decided to let their kids participate in the Milwaukee School Choice Program rather than be warehoused in some MPS school.

For weeks, advocates of the Choice Program have been airing radio ads in the Milwaukee market, in an attempt to convince Governor Jim Doyle to lift the current cap that limits the number of children who may choose to attend a non MPS school.

This week, the establishment struck back with an ad encouraging citizens to call their legislators.

Here's the text of the teachers' union ad:

We hear a female voice, as if this were an automated voice mail system.

"To divert 95 million of your tax dollars to private enterprise, press 1. To risk lowering the value of your home significantly by weakening your public schools, press 2.

"You chose neither.

"To select sending 15,000 students to private schools with no accountability and questionable performance, press 1. To select larger public school class sizes and fewer funds for their educational materials, press 2.

"You chose neither.

The spot ends with an announcer attacking the choice program in general. He then instructs citizens to call their legislators and:

"Tell them to either limit the school voucher system or eliminate it. Those are the only choices that make sense."

The ad, of course, is outrageous. The value of homes in Milwaukee are not decreasing due to School Choice. School Choice is not the cause of MPS' problems. Choice schools have accountability and their performance certainly can be no worse than MPS.

Of course, the teachers' union honchos see no shame in making such outrageous statements. They are determined to keep the status quo at MPS, because for them it's all about jobs and the subsequent union dues.

As Susan Mitchell points out:

Consider that by the time African-American students enter their sophomore year in the Milwaukee Public Schools system, taxpayers have invested about $100,000 per pupil in their education. How accountable has MPS been in teaching these students?

New data show that only one in five black MPS sophomores is proficient in math or science. Fewer than four in 10 are proficient in reading. To make matters worse, these distressing results come after a decision to lower the score that a student must attain to show proficiency.

The majority of black MPS students won't receive a high school diploma. The Shott Foundation for Public Education has issued the numbing finding that "nearly three-quarters of the black male students (in MPS) fail to graduate with their (ninth grade) cohort."

Jay Greene, a nationally recognized expert on graduation rates, separately has estimated that the overall MPS graduation rate is 36%.

The actions of MPS teachers are also instructive. According to the latest federal census, nearly 30% enroll their children in private schools.

Choice for the teachers, but not their students.

School choice opponents are fighting a losing battle and this (very lame) ad will not help them prevent parents from choosing the best school for their children.

In fact, I'd expect this bland spot to be scrapped in short order. Look for the anti School Choice zealots to move to plan B quickly.

It's Ground Hog Day

Trouble in the Kingdom?

The legal and political battle over the ethics case against Milwaukee County Board Chairman Lee Holloway intensified Wednesday as a group of supervisors sought support for an attempt to oust him from his leadership post.

They gathered signatures on a demand for a special meeting of the County Board at which they contend a new board chairman could be elected. They said a majority is needed to get a special meeting.

The legality of any move to elect a new chairman in the middle of a term remains to be seen.

I spoke to my supervisor yesterday for nearly 15 minutes. While there is a growing frustration on the part of the Board, it is unclear whether enough of them will have the guts and the personal integrity to see this through.

As long as Holloway remains chair, the entire board is sullied by developments like this:

Meanwhile, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Richard Sankovitz again ruled against Holloway, who is trying to invalidate an ethics complaint that accuses him of 90 civil violations.

Holloway's attorney, Jeremy Levinson, had asked Sankovitz, in effect, to put the ethics case on hold while Holloway takes the dispute to the Court of Appeals.

...Levinson said he would file emergency motions today with the Court of Appeals seeking to overturn what he contends was a sloppy and unlawful Ethics Board investigation.

The alarm clock went off this morning and Sonny and Cher were singing "I got you babe." How many more days will we be forced to hear that song?

If you live in Milwaukee County and want to know how your supervisor stands on this issue, the number to call is 414-278-4222. Ask your county supervisor if they've signed the letter seeking a special meeting of the board. Let me know what you hear.

When I get a copy of the letter, I will post. I will also post the names of those who signed the document, those who have publicly come out in support of a new chairman as well as those who have come to Holloway's defense.

WDC = Wisconsin Democrat Campaign

Today's press release lacked the 'money is evil' tone that normally is exuded by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Apparently only GOP cash is evil.

Campaign finance reports filed yesterday show that Governor Jim Doyle has a sizable lead in the campaign arms race. Doyle had twice as much cash on hand heading into the election year than one Republican rival, Congressman Mark Green, and more than seven times as much as the other GOP contender, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker.

Doyle has raised over $2 million more than past Republican governors Tommy Thompson and Scott McCallum did at the same stage in their last election campaigns. The $5.9 million Doyle has collected through the end of 2005 is as much as he raised in his entire 2002 bid for governor, and $3.9 million of the $5.9 million he raised for that campaign was brought in during the election year. If he matches that election-year fundraising in 2006, his total fundraising this time around would approach $10 million. More likely, the governor aims to continue his record pace through the election year, making overall fundraising of $11 million to $12 million a distinct possibility.

Some are reading significance into the fact that Doyle raised almost $300,000 less in the second half of 2005 than he did in the first six months of the year. Actually, this dip is consistent with a well-established pattern. Leading up to the 2002 election, McCallum raised half as much in the second half of 2001 as he did in the first half – $906,534 in the last six months of the year compared to $1,890,631 in the first six months. Thompson's first-half fundraising also was greater in the year before his last election. He raised $868,460 in the first six months of 1997 and $851,854 in the second half of that year.

The Doyle campaign spin, in a nutshell. McCabe should report this as an in-kind contribution.

My Bad

I forgot to post the Democrats' response to the State of the Union address.

Nothing should be implied by not posting earlier. It was an oversight. My bad.

Attention Milwaukee County Board...

"In periods where there is no leadership, society stands still. Progress occurs when courageous, skillful leaders seize the opportunity to change things for the better." -Harry S Truman

That quote applies to every Milwaukee County resident as well. What are you willing to do to change things for the better? We get the government we deserve, after all.

Candidate Fund Raising

From WisPolitics, here is a summary of the campaign finance numbers for the three candidates for governor.

Doyle $ raised in 2005: $2,607,179, Cash on hand: $4,206,864
Green $ raised in 2005: $1,391,448, Cash on hand: $2,129,552
Walker $ raised in 2005: $1,230,245, Cash on hand: $563,306

More fundraising numbers available here.

Worst News in Today's Paper

I can't believe this.

Kurt Schottenheimer will lead defensive backs

...Schottenheimer, 56, coached the Packers' secondary in 2004 along with Washington but was fired after the season by coach Mike Sherman.

In 2004, the Packers allowed a club-record 33 touchdown passes and a club-record opponent's passer rating of 99.1. They ranked 25th in yards allowed under coordinator Bob Slowik, 25th in passing yards allowed (228.9) and had just eight interceptions, establishing another club record for futility.

Rookie Ahmad Carroll had a brutal season and, along with Al Harris, drew an excessive number of penalties. Moreover, the safety tandem of Darren Sharper and Mark Roman played poorly as well.

The Packers started Michael Hawthorne at left cornerback ahead of Carroll in the first five games. The Rams signed Hawthorne as a free agent during the off-season and started him at free safety early in '05 before he was benched for lousy performance and subsequently waived.

Several sources said Schottenheimer also played an instrumental role in the Packers' selection of cornerback Joey Thomas in the third round in '04. Thomas was waived Nov. 2.

Anti School Choice Radio Ads

A quick hit here as I head out the door...

I just heard the radio spots from the School Choice opponents. Rather than oppose lifting the caps, they have produced an all out assault on the program itself.

I will post more on this later, but the teachers' union and their allies underestimate just how much the program is appreciated by regular folks in the Milwaukee area.

Walker's Cash

Late last night the Walker campaign released their campaign finance numbers.

• Total 2005 receipts: $ 1,230,245.99
• Total 2005 disbursements: $ 770,737.74
• Cash balance as of 12/31/2005: $ 563,306.06
• Number of contributions: 9,262
• Number of contributions $100 or less (YTD): 7,846 (85%)
• Average contribution: $133
• Percentage of contributions from individuals: 99%
• Percentage of contributions from Wisconsin sources: 99%