Uppity Wisconsin

It's being reported that McCain is conceding Michigan and transferring staff to more competitive states like Wisconsin. This is a huge development.

Man, he was getting his hat handed to him in Michigan. Way to show McCain the door, you good Midwesterners!

Things here in Scony are a little tighter ... but not by as much as you might think.

Wisconsinites put Obama at 49 percent to McCain's 40 percent when it comes to who's strategic vision for America we trust more (and yeah polls are an iffy way to moderate what's going on. Ya can't depend solely on them, I know).

Dave Dempsey is one of the Great Lakes most credible, prolific writers and activists, and he thinks the Wisconsin DNR is treading on thin ice if it thinks it can approve a diversion of Lake Michigan water to New Berlin without the approval of all eight Great Lakes states.

As others, including then-Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlater have pointed out, it's a matter of federal law.

Details here.

The State of Michigan's pioneering regulations to keep invasive species out of the Great Lakes has been ruled legal.

Now is the time for Wisconsin to do the same.

Details here.

Want to help stop the diversion of Great Lakes water? Want to make sure communities improve their water conservation?

An International agreement with Canada is undergoing review and the public comment period ends June 8th.

I had posted the other day about the urgency surrounding public comment on the Great Lakes Compact's conservation standard-setting.

     Here is a nice, direct link to join the debate.

     Or go here for an email address - - commentscglg [dot] org (  commentscglg [dot] org)

     Just do it before June 8th.

It's been almost five months since then-Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager issued a 20-page opinion on how and when certain Wisconsin communities could apply for permission to divert water from Lake Michigan.

 The ruling barred bureaucrats in the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources from administratively approving such a diversion request, and also said efforts in 2006 by the City of Waukesha to ask Gov. Jim Doyle for permission without getting the unanimous consent of the other seven Great Lakes states were also out of bounds.

 You'd think, as hot as this issue is in southeastern Wisconsin, and across the Great Lakes where the first regional test cases for new diversion efforts are brewing, that the AG opinion would be big news.

Nope. Hasn't been reported on in the traditional media, but you can read about it, access the full document and see a Wisconsin law firm's analysis here.