Uppity Wisconsin

"Is there any group of people held in lower regard than lobbyists? Car salesmen? Journalists? Here's one possibility: Lobbyists who are thinking about becoming politicians."-- Dan Bice column in the Journal Sentinel,Dec. 6, 2007.

Bill McCoshen's all over the news these days, talking like the unofficial spokesman for the might-be, could-be but maybe-not Tommy Thompson campaign for US Senate.

McCoshen also took time this week to trash the state's (and Democrat Jim Doyle's) record on job creation, in an appearance in Beloit where he relied on data from the conservative (read Republican) Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. "Forward may be the state motto, but it's going backward," McCoshen said. Cute.

Some people watching and reading the news may be wondering just who this McCoshen guy is.

Just days from embarrassing national media exposure questioning its ethics and credibility, WPRI is back with another poll, coming your way soon.

WPRI is the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, although some suggest it is We Push Republican Ideas, like school choice, which didn't look as good in the last poll as the numbers WPRI decided to emphasize made it appear.

WPRI says it's a non-partisan think tank, but its roster is filled with refugees from previous Republican administrations and campaigns, including a lot of Tommy Thompson sycophants -- Jim Klauser, Ave Bie, Gerald Whitburn, Rick Graber, etc. etc.

the new poll, of course, will include questions on the races for governor and US Senate. You might wonder why a non-partisan think tank even cares about politics. Or you might not. You might wonder what the spin will be, and that would be an appropriate question.

Anyway, here's your invitation. See you there?

For those of us who sometimes think Wisconsin is the center of the political universe, the best-seller, "Game Change," on the presidential election from New York Magazine's John Heilemann and Time magazine's Mark Halperin, is a good reality check.

The Wisconsin presidential primary -- remember how exciting it was here? -- gets two passing mentions.

One is because Wisconsin was where Michelle Obama said, "For the first time in my adult lifetime i'm really proud of my country."

Here is the other Wisconsin mention, in its entirety:

On February 19 Obama won his tenth straight contest, administering a 58-41 drubbing to Clinton in the Wisconsin primary, carrying virtually every demographic group and opening up a pledged delegate lead of 159.

Tommy Thompson's presidential campaign made a lot of news in Wisconsin, if nowhere else, as the Journal Sentinel checked in with him regularly and reported repeatedly that he said things were going just great.

It may be impolitic to say this while we are encouraging people to attend public hearings on the Clean Energy Jobs Bill, but the first public hearing on the bill, held Wednesday by a special State Senate committee, was a nightmare if you were a member of the public trying to have a voice.

Most of the activists from the Carbon Free Nuclear Free campaign, opposed to the nuclear section of the bill,waited more than eight hours to testify for four minutes in a nearly-empty room with almost all of the committee members gone. Environmental groups, who supported the bill, didn't fare much better.

If you had the misfortune to be a woman, or a person of color, you were at the absolute bottom of the barrel. With a single exception, a parade of white men in suits testified for the first eight hours. The one exception was a woman representing an electric utility.

The hearing on the comprehensive 174-page bill drew a full house in one of the State Capitol's biggest hearing rooms. Many of the CFNF representatives -- which included most of the women in attendance -- got there early and registered before the hearing started at 10 a.m., when the room was less than half full.

Where is Annie Laurie Gaylor when we need her? 

Event to welcome Listecki at City Hall

By anjohnsonjournalsentinel [dot] com (Annysa Johnson) of the Journal Sentinel

Posted: Jan. 7, 2010 12:26 p.m.

Polish dancers and politicians will share the bill Friday morning at a public welcome for Milwaukee's newly installed Catholic archbishop at City Hall.

Archbishop Jerome Listecki will be the guest of honor for an hourlong program that begins at 10:30 a.m. in the first floor rotunda.

Expected to attend are several state and local politicians, some of whom are seeking higher offices, including gubernatorial candidates Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and County Executive Scott Walker.

The Syrena Polish Folk Dance Ensemble of Milwaukee will perform in honor of the Milwaukee Archdiocese's first Polish prelate.

Listecki, 60, was installed as archbishop of the 10-county archdiocese on Monday. He succeeds the Most Rev. Timothy M.

Time was when politicians who wanted to show their anti-crime bona fides would rail about how prisoners were watching color television -- or any television at all.

In Wisconsin these days they don't even want prisoners to read books.

At the state level, the Dept. of Corrections has made it as difficult as possible for a well-intentioned Wisconsin Books to Prisoners project to function, banning any used books. Since the project relies largely on donations of used books, that has crippled its ability to fulfill the many requests it gets from Wisconsin prisoners. It sends books to prisoners in other states, almost all of which allow that. That struggle continues.

Now, Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke closed the county jail library on Nov. 1 and will do the same at the House of Corrections on Dec. 31. Clarke offered no reason and caught the Benedict Center and librarians who operate the program by surprise. Kit McNally of the Benedict Center explains:

The Benedict Center created the jail library in 1992 when the jail opened, after pushing a book cart through the old jail in the Safety Building for years.

A state motorcycle, of course.  Isn't that on your holiday wish list?

We already have a state flower, fish, rock, insect, soil, dog, dance, fruit, fossil, beverage and more.  Contrary to popular belief, there is not a state muffin, although that was proposed and debated a few years ago.

So why not a state motorcycle, asks State Rep. Leon Young, a Milwaukee Democrat who has introduced a bill to give that honor to Harley-Davidson. While hundreds of other bills languish in committee, that one actually got a public hearing recently. 

The Wausau Daily Herald reports that the only opposition at the hearing came from Noise Free America.

Here's the thing that seems to have escaped Rep. Young's attention: None of the other state symbols have a commercial brand name attached.

The state beverage is milk, not Dean's milk or Borden's milk.

As the debate rages over how to fix what's wrong with Milwaukee public schools, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has found a new cause for alarm: Our schools leave our kids so ill-prepared that they can't even make the grade as cannon fodder any more.

It seems an unusually high percentage of Milwaukee's young people are failing to clear the basic hurdles to enter the military because they have dropped out of school, have criminal records, or are too out of shape physically. This has the newspaper so concerned that it devoted both an editorial and an op ed column by one of its editorial board members last week.

First came the editorial, headlined Not fit enough to serve:

A recent report says 75% of young people ages 17 to 24 are unable to join to the military because they are either too unfit, fail to graduate from high school or have a criminal record.

... These statistics argue for a greater emphasis on physical and academic education and illustrate the severity of a health crisis in America.

Military officials say the numbers are a threat to the military, because they are choosing from a smaller pool of qualified candidates.

"I think Tony Staskunas and I have worked out any of the details, which if anything were minor in their nature. If we're going to have an extraordinary (legislative) session, I certainly hope it will include drunken driving."- Sen. Jim Sullivan, D-Wauwatosa

Just about every session of the legislature has included drunken driving, usually by legislators. No reason this one should be any different.  That truly would be extraordinary.

Plans are taking shape for a memorial service for Ron Domini, the longtime Wisconsin AFSCME political director who passed away Monday night at Madison Hospice.  This is excerpted from an email from Domini's daughter. Jamie, who said it was OK to share publicly:

What an amazing three weeks we have had being with my father as he courageously made his way from this life. 

Time and Place:  We will be gathering at Holy Wisdom Monastery on Friday, November 20th.  We will have a "visitation" from 12-2pm (he has been cremated).  This is a great time for hugs and well wishes for us too. 

The service will begin at 2pm (Click here for directions) I would advise coming early.  The grounds are beautiful too so you might enjoy a walk.

Ron Domini, who for many years was the political director of Wisconsin AFSCME, died Monday night at Madison Hospice, where his family and political friends had gathered and visited to pay tribute during the last 10 days.

Domini was diagnosed in July with advanced lung cancer, which was complicated by pneumonia.  He was in his early 60s.

Domini, as the public employee union's political guy, had a hand in every major political campaign in Wisconsin for a couple of decades.  Many of those who paid their respects in his last days were younger people he had taught, advised or mentored over the years.

I had lost touch since he left AFSCME perhaps 10 years ago, and didn't know that he had fallen on some very hard times because of personal demons of addiction he had successfully battled for years.  I don't think his familiy would object to me sharing that.

Ron's daughter, Jamie, has kept friends and family updated with daily e-mails since he entered hospice care, and the way the family has handled it has been amazing.  This today from Jamie and her sister, Jackie:

Our father died surrounded by his ladies in waiting, including his favorite hospice nurse, on a beautiful clear and starry night. He was never in pain, except that he looked so sad to go. It is a pity that touches our core, not to see a father, but a fellow human being, have to let go this life.  We are so lucky to have known him and helped him on his way. The only answer to our sadness is to spread his love.

I don't know how long it will stay online, but you can read some of the messages to Ron, from friends across the country, by going to this site and just logging in with a password you create.  Then click on guestbook.  http://www.caringbridge.org/visit/rondomini 

Members of Veterans for Peace have again been barred from participation in Milwaukee's Veterans Day Parade.

Although the parade website says the event is “Honoring all Americans who have served,” it has refused to allow Veterans for Peace members – many of whom are combat veterans with Purple Hearts – from taking part in the observance on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The parade committee said Veterans for Peace is “a politically motivated group,” and therefore not welcome to be in the parade.

So much for “honoring all Americans who have served.”

Chapter 102 members (I am one) did not ask to participate in the parade to make a political statement, but to take our rightful place in the annual event saluting all who served our country in uniform.
 
Yet the committee, which finds us “political,” invites non-veteran politicians to the parade, and welcomes veterans groups which are outspoken in support of military action and war.

The committee’s reply, from Chairman David Drent, said,

“There is no doubt that your organization is a politically motivated group.  One visit to the organization’s website makes your views perfectly clear.

I've just created a Wisconsin Progresive Twitter List, using the new Twitter List feature. You can follow the list at http://twitter.com/cruiskeen/wisconsin-progressive .  If your favorite Wisconsin Progressive Twitterer is not on the list, you can nominate them on Listorious at http://listorious.com/cruiskeen/wisconsin-progressive

I paved a section of the road to hell with my good intentions this week, but did not get anything written about the latest outbreak of the concealed carry virus, which seems to have infected Milwaukee DA John Chisholm and Police Chief Ed Flynn.

The dynamic duo suggested they would be willing to trade concealed carry for other gun law reforms. In other words, at the same time we'd pass some laws that would save some lives, we'd put more guns on the street.

Terrible idea, for a lot of reasons. Wisconsin should be proud to be one of only two states with enough common sense and backbone to stand up to the gun lobby and ban concealed carry.

More on this next week, but in the meantime the Shepherd Express has come through in a double-barreled way today, with a column by Joel McNally, Shooting down guns laws, and an interview with author Joshua Horwitz on Using the 2nd Amendment to attack democracy. Both well worth a read.  Horwitz will be in Milwaukee Thursday night.  (So will McNally, I suppose, but he lives here,  Horwitz is coming for a fundraiser for the Wisconsin Anti-Violence Effort.