Monday, August 28, 2006
Even slower newsday in NE Wisconsin
Really? Too bad both are going to lose their primaries.
The face of politics is changing nationally as seasoned female candidates compete for critical congressional seats this election year.
Locally, Republican Rep. Terri McCormick of Greenville and Democrat Nancy Nusbaum of De Pere are challengers in the 8th Congressional District.
McCormick, a three-term legislator in the state Assembly, and Nusbaum, former Brown County executive and mayor of De Pere, are vying for the seat being vacated by U.S. Rep. Mark Green, R-Hobart, who is running for governor. Also running are Democrats Steve Kagen and Jamie Wall and Republican Assembly Speaker John Gard.
Political experts say the slate of female congressional candidates nationally represents "an impressive field" of incumbents and challengers with strong political resumes.
Here in the 8th District, that's definitely the case, said David Wegge, political science professor at St. Norbert College in De Pere.
McCormick and Nusbaum "both have a fair amount of political experience, and they are not newcomers to the game of politics at all," Wegge said.
More than 200 women this year began bids for Congress. Of those still in the race, 163 are vying for seats in the House and 18 for the Senate. Most are Democrats, with 113 running for the House and 13 in the Senate.
"I don't know if it's a sign of the times, or if it's a pattern where women have gained the experience and the wherewithal necessary to handle the job, and to be successful in solving problems and creating a new way of thinking about government," McCormick said.
Nusbaum said she sees women motivated to seek national office for two reasons: they are negatively affected by policies, and it's a natural progression of their community service.
"You are just seeing more women getting involved in local school boards, town boards, and city councils and local government as really an extension of their community involvement," Nusbaum said.
Nusbaum and McCormick agreed that women provide important perspectives that need a voice and a place in Congress.
"It's just another perspective that really makes national policy richer," Nusbaum said.
Maybe you're running because your 15 minutes of fame are up? McCormick probably could hold her seat if a real conservative ran against her. Nusbaum is trying to get a real job after being run out of the Brown County Executive office.
Labels: Election 2006
Must be a slow news day in Madison.
For a few months, the old image of the political insider - the backroom man and decision-maker who spews cigar smoke and crass talk - will be out of step with reality in Wisconsin. Until November at least, for the first time in nearly 20 years, the chiefs of staff to the state Capitol's highest-ranking politicians are all women.
November's elections will bring at least one change in this bipartisan trifecta of top aides, which ranges from the young Eileen Schoenfeldt, interim head of Senate Majority Leader Dale Schultz's office, and Ellen Nowak, of Assembly Speaker John Gard's office, to the veteran Susan Goodwin, the right hand of Gov. Jim Doyle. But for a few weeks, it stands as one example of the slow shift that has brought women into one of the least-known and most influential positions in government.
Women in office are the obvious indicator of their influence in politics, and this season there are several in prominence. The Democratic candidate for attorney general will be a woman, either incumbent Peg Lautenschlager or Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
The lieutenant governor's race has incumbent Democrat Barbara Lawton and Republican challenger Jean Hundertmark, who's squaring off against primary opponent Nick Voegeli. Congressional races in the state include both women incumbents and challengers.
But control of the chief-of-staff's office gives another picture of women's influence - the backroom kind that's exercised outside of the public eye and often assumed to still be the domain of the good old boys in smoky rooms, said Mordecai Lee, a UW-Milwaukee professor of governmental affairs.
Labels: Election 2006
Thursday, August 24, 2006
We're Number 1....in drinking!
It will come as no surprise that the residents of a city known as "The Nation's Watering Hole" like to have a beer or two.
But Milwaukee isn't just your average brewing town. It's the hardest-drinking city in America, according to Forbes.com's ranking of America's Drunkest Cities.
To determine the rankings, we started with a list of the largest metropolitan areas in the continental U.S. Thirty-five candidate cities were chosen based on availability of data and geographic diversity.
Each city was ranked in five areas: state laws, number of drinkers, number of heavy drinkers, number of binge drinkers and alcoholism. Each area was assigned a ranking in each category, based on quantitative data, and all five categories were then totaled to produce a final score, which was sorted to produce our rankings. ( Click here for the complete methodology.)
Milwaukee ranks high for its drinking habits across the board. According to data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System Survey 2004, more than 70% of adult Milwaukeeans reported that they had had at least one alcoholic drink within the past 30 days--the highest percentage on our list. Twenty-two percent of Milwaukee respondents confessed to binge drinking, or having five or more drinks on one occasion--also the highest on our list. And 7.5% of the population were reported as heavy drinkers--adult men that have more than two drinks per day, or adult women who have more than one drink per day.
High percentages of alcohol consumption and abuse can translate into serious trouble for a city, including increased public health costs. (See " Cutting Alcohol's Cost.")
Milwaukee has long had a reputation as a city built on beer. It was once the nation's top beer-producing city, home to four of the world's largest breweries: Schlitz, Pabst, Miller and Blatz. Legendary sitcom characters Laverne and Shirley fixed bottle caps on one of the city's assembly lines. Even the name of the town's baseball team--The Brewers--alludes to its boozy past.
Today, Miller Brewing, now a subsidiary of SABMiller (otcbb: SBMRY - news - people ), is the only major brewery left in town, but other major corporations call the city home, including Harley-Davidson (nyse: HOG - news - people ), Briggs & Stratton (nyse: BGG - news - people ) and Manpower (nyse: MAN - news - people ).
Prominent Milwaukeeans say the city's history gives it a bad rap. "It's just such a stereotype," says "Lips" LaBelle, longtime afternoon DJ on 94.5 FM WKTI. "Milwaukee has so much to offer, and I hate to see it painted in that light. I don't think [alcohol abuse] is any worse here than in any other city." Perhaps the city's wide and varied summer activities are driving up the alcohol numbers, he suggests--Milwaukee is also known as "The City of Festivals."
The rest of the list is:
- Milwaukee
- Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minn.
- Columbus, Ohio
- Boston, Mass.
- Austin, Texas
- Chicago, Ill.
- Cleveland, Ohio
- Pittsburgh, Pa. (Where I was over the weekend.)
- Philadelphia, Pa.
- Providence, Ri.
Cool. We have to keep it up.
Labels: Greatness
Back in Green Bay after what could have been the best vacation in my life. Since I was gone, there was a lot of news that hit in the great state of Wisconsin and I have some thoughts on almost all of them.
Rep. Steven Nass is my hero
OK, so it should come to no surprise that a critic of the UW System is my hero. But this guy just doesn't talk the talk -- Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, walks the walk. In an op/ed from August 14, Nass outlined his vision for a new UW System, and I couldn't agree more. His four points made sense and are much needed.
1.) New Leadership. We need to reinvigorate the management practices used in the UW System. That will require changes in the mindset of current administrators and, in many cases, new people to be hired both System Administration and on each campus. The leaders of public higher education in this state must reflect Wisconsin values.
2.) A Leaner, Meaner Board of Regents. The Board has 18 members. Its current size and composition prevents implementation of timely reforms to address the serious structural problems threatening the future of the System. I suggest that the size of the Board of Regents should be no more than nine. Its membership shouldn’t be selected based on political patronage, but based on each nominee’s ability to establish policies governing public higher education in this state.
3.) Campus Realignment. The current system has 13 four-year campuses and 13 two-year campuses (UW Centers). While this model may have worked in the 1970’s and 1980’s, it has become apparent that a realignment to achieve a better economy of scale is necessary for the financial security of the System. It is possible to serve the same number of students or more, with fewer but larger campuses. I believe the financial need exists to eliminate at least one of the four-year campuses, and to merge of the two-year UW Centers with the Wisconsin Technical College System. Such a move could potentially eliminate at least two-thirds of the UW Center campuses, quite often located in the same communities as facilities of the technical college system. This reorganization can be accomplished through a process similar to the one used for military base realignment at the federal level.
4.) An Academic Bill of Rights. In recent debates over the UW System, we have heard lengthy debate over academic freedom for faculty, tenure rights for faculty, and back-up appointments for administrators. However, there is no written charter that specifically identifies the rights of students to receive a quality education in the classrooms of the UW System. Such a charter would help establish a system of accountability in the educational process that is fair and balanced.
5.) Wisconsin Students First. This one is quite simple. The legislature needs to act quickly by enacting legislation banning “Holistic Admission� procedures in the UW System. It must specify in law that admission to public higher education in Wisconsin is about opportunity earned through academic performance. Additionally, the legislature must recommit to Wisconsin families that enrollment and tuition policies will prioritize resident students over nonresident students. I will offer my Wisconsin Students First Bill when the Legislature reconvenes in January 2007.
I have been calling for the realignment of the UW System for about two years now. Twenty-six campuses are not needed in the state, when an comparable state like Oregon has far fewer. My list of keepers would be: (Four-years) Madison, Milwaukee, Green Bay, Stevens Point, Eau Claire, La Crosse, Whitewater and Platteville; (two-years) Marathon County, Fond du Lac, Sheboygan/Manitowoc, Barron County and Baraboo. Parkside, (which is in my hometown of Kenosha) would be converted into a two-year. The new UW System would have eight four-year universities and six two-year colleges.
Naysayers, and homers alike, will say you're shutting the door to higher education, but I say no. These campuses can grow to accomodate these students, or use satellite campuses in the old two-years. Let's face it, not everyone who applies to a UW should go to a UW. We need to get students in the right educational system instead of pushing the UW onto them. The UW should work with the techs, not against them, to make sure Wisconsin's youth are properly educated.
The other points Nass makes are common sense solutions to the problems within the UW. Educating WISCONSIN residents is the job of the UNIVERSITY OF WISCONSIN, not education out-of-staters.
A TV Ad Here, a Radio Ad There
The onslaught of political ads has hit Wisconsin. Democratic congressional candidates up here in the 8th Congressional District are putting out their anti-war, Ned Lamont-style ads in hopes of gaining support, in a big-time red district. Jamie Wall, Nancy Nusbaum and wack-job Steve Kagen all put out anti-war ads on the Fox Valley airwaves in the last week. John Gard, on the other hand, puts out a positive pro Women's health care, with the help of his wife
Cate Zueske. Terri McCormick,with less than $100K in hand, put out a radio ad blabbling about honesty and integrity. I'd link it, but she hasn't released an audio version of it to WisPolitics.com or anywhere else.
Catch-and-Release Kate Falk put out a new ad showing how she successfully shut down business in favor of cleaning up un-navigable waters and other envirowacko cases. She also shows her working with "Wisconsin government contracts are for sale" Diamond Jim Doyle. By first thought viewing the ad was, "my God, she looks scary." I think a bit more hair and a more femine look might not scare 75 percent of the state away from you.
The GOP candidates for AG also have radio ads out. Waukesha County DA Paul Bucher hit a slam-dunk with his ad, playing mostly on 620 WTMJ and 1130 WISN in Milwaukee, and other news-talk stations in Wisconsin. The ad tells a story how the rapist of a 15-year-old girl was not caught and committed more crimes, including murder, due to a backup in the state crime lab. It is a moving and poignant ad which should hit home with most mothers.
Former Western Wisconsin U.S. Attorney JB Van Hollen hit the small screen with a horrible 30-second spot outlining his appointments, his endorsements and other staged footage. Van Hollen never talks in the ad and is just seen behind podiums and what not. I'm glad to see he is throwing away the money from his second-mortagage on his home on this garbage.
Rounding out the new TV ads is an anti-Doyle spot paid for by the Republican Governor's Association. The ad outlines how Wisconsin is for sale to the highest contribution. The ad has been in heavy rotation in the Milwaukee and Green Bay TV Markets.
Mark Belling is Really Disgusted With JB Van Hollen
This should come to no surprise, but WISN-AM talker Mark Belling really dislikes Van Hollen. He spent much of his show on Tuesday ranting about how Van Hollen was soft on crime as U.S. Attorney. The whole second hour was priceless. I will dig it up as soon as I can find it.
That's all for now. Enjoy your rain tonight.
Labels: Election 2006, UW System
Monday, August 21, 2006
UW Students cry about tuition, avoid real problems
WASHINGTON, Pa. -- Still on vacation, but I found this funny on the Capital Times Web site.
University of Wisconsin Regents were poised today to approve what officials called the smallest tuition increase in the past 25 years, but students say it's still too much.
"We're fired up, can't take it no more," chanted a group of about 35 UW students from the Oshkosh, Madison and Milwaukee campuses as they held signs outside Van Hise Hall this morning.
Taylor Johnson, who organized the student protest as the regents were debating the proposal to increase tuition by an average of 2.5 percent for the next two years, said it's still too great and that a freeze is needed.
"It's a public university, that means public education," Johnson said. "We've seen an 82 percent increase over the past six years and we've had enough. We've got to open college to those with trouble affording it."
Public means public dollars, not manditory public education like K-12. After spending four days in Pennsylvania, and seeing how expensive it is to go to school here, I think Wisconsin students have it made. At Penn State University, and its satellites, tuition is right around $10,000. Out-of-state tuition is about $10K more than that. During the wedding after party which I had attended, there were a lot of college-aged kids and we all came to the conclusion that a UW tuition bill was still relatively cheap. My older PA cousin who graduated from PSU-Erie paid some $50K for the four years of college. My younger PA cousin (the bride), paid more.
Plus, this tuition increase is below 3.1 percent, the current rate of the Milwaukee-Racine Consumer Price Index (inflation). Last year about this time, we were desperately calling for a inflationary hike. This year, these out-of-touch students from Madison, Milwaukee and the Colleges are asking for an out-of-touch tuition freeze.
Call me crazy, but I think that 2.5 percent is OK.
When I get back on Thursday, I will have a lot of thoughts on a lot of developments in the UW, including state Rep. Steven Nass's proposal for the UW System, the 2007-09 UW Budget and a whole lotta' mo.
Labels: UW System
Friday, August 18, 2006
Santorum takes credit for pension bill in new TV ad
WASHINGTON, Penn. -- One day after President Bush signs the bill that preseves pensions, U.S. Sen. Rick Santorum has an ad out about it. The spot shows him taking about the bill at a senior citizen dance/event. Desperation? Maybe.
Labels: Election 2006
Thursday, August 17, 2006
On Vacation
Until next Wednesday, I am on vaction in Pennsylvania. I will have some thoughts on the PA governor's race with NFL Hall-of-Famer Lynn Swan as the GOP candidate.
Labels: General
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
They are really smart down in Madison
Somehow I think these students should be smart enough that the property management has to clean the property before someone new moves in...unless they like the smell of booze and puke.
But then again, it's Madison.
The scene outside a pink brick house on Gorhman St. was a common one Monday afternoon near the campus of the University of Wisconsin-Madison.
A wooden futon was perched on the front lawn, buried under piles of boxes and dishes. Bunk bed frames rested against the front porch. Garbage bags overflowing with clothes were strewn amid lamps naked of their shades.
Lounging in the middle of the madness, one on a swivel chair, the other on a sleeping bag, were the owners of the belongings, Phil Davis and Doug Biglow. The juniors were knee-deep in a dilemma that faces thousands of UW-Madison students this week every year.
Most of the apartments and houses that rent to students have leases that expire Aug. 14; by noon, the tenants must be out. But, in order for landlords to have time to clean, many of the new leases don't kick in until noon Aug. 15.
While many students who find themselves homeless for 24 hours check into hotels with their families or stay with friends, others are forced to stay on the streets with their possessions.
"It's ludicrous," said Biglow, who, along with Davis, planned to stay hunkered on the front lawn until this afternoon, when they will be able to move into their new house. "Walk around the streets, and you'll see, everyone has a base camp set up."
Labels: UW System
Monday, August 14, 2006
Attention AG candidates: You all 'suck'
I've held off on writing this for a few days now to let the audio and the blogosphere debates chime in. Republican Attorney General candidates Paul Bucher and JB Van Hollen debated last Thursday on the Charlie Sykes show live at the State Fair. Like their debate on "Now and Then" on Wisconsin Public Television a few weeks ago, both Bucher and Van Hollen argued with each other with Bucher interrupting Van Hollen and Van Hollen making general remarks like he knows where terrorism in Wisconsin.
But this time around (on a right-wing talk show), the two got into it even more with Van Hollen telling Bucher "you suck."
The debate turned personal during a commercial break when Bucher interrupted as Van Hollen was trying to clarify his position on whether suspected terrorists are operating in Wisconsin.
"Will you ever listen?" Van Hollen said. "That's why you suck, Paul, because you only listen to people who agree with you."
Bucher offered little reaction initially. But after the on-air debate resumed, he told listeners about his opponent's verbal jab.
"I don't suck. I resent that," he said, telling Van Hollen: "If we're going to denigrate into that, you go first."
Van Hollen told listeners that he had intended to criticize only Bucher's manner of arguing and interrupting people in mid-sentence.
"He's got a leadership style that sucks," Van Hollen said on the air.
So here we have two grown men telling each other they "suck," instead of telling Peg Lautenschalger or Kate Falk that they suck. Typical GOP primaries call out the Democrats, but this time around they are calling out each other, making Republicans state-wide scratching their heads.
Like those GOPers statewide, I am left scratching my head. I don't know who I'd support in this aftermath. Bucher sounded like a big mean bully and Van Hollen sounded like the 14-year-old who just got shoved into a locker.
Is there a way we can elect someone else then the 14-year-olds from the GOP, DUI Peg or Catch-and-Release Kate? An independent canidate sure is sounding good right about now.
Labels: Election 2006
Mark Green unveils first TV ad
The Green Team unveiled the first TV ad. It is a direct response to the ad paid for by the Greater Wisconsin Committee where they pinned Green as too extreme.
Labels: Election 2006
Friday, August 11, 2006
It's about time...
The Knights of Columbus at UW-Madison are recognized as a student organization, but had to make a deal with the devil to do so. But it seems like the Milwaukee Sentinel Journal got it wrong...this is from the Assoicated Press.
MADISON - A top University of Wisconsin-Madison official apologized Thursday for erroneously announcing the school had reached an agreement to recognize a Knights of Columbus affiliate as a student group.
The university announced late Wednesday that it had an agreement to recognize a branch of the Catholic service organization that would be open to all students. The university had earlier refused to approve the group because its membership was limited to Catholic men, violating a state anti-discrimination law.
But the group's faculty adviser, Mark Etzel, said no agreement had been reached because the Knights had not agreed to changes the university wanted to make to the group's mission and membership policies. He had objected to the announcement after it was issued, warning a school spokesman in an e-mail, "Do not release this false information to the media."
After standing by the release for most of the day on Thursday, Casey Nagy, executive assistant to UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley, issued a statement in the afternoon saying the university mistakenly believed it had resolved the issue last night.
"For the confusion that has resulted, and the distraction from the real question - of how to enable the good programs of the Knights organization to continue on campus - we apologize," he said. "We will continue to work toward an accord that all parties can endorse."
OK, so how does this happen? Do the administrators at Madison want to get rid of this bad publicity that badly? I guess so.
Labels: UW System
Wednesday, August 09, 2006
Viewpoint neutrality in question at Madison, Superior
"Christian groups say UW campuses will not recognize them."
That is the headline on today's GM Today Web site. This is disturbing at best. I smell a lot of violations of viewpoint neutrality, amongst other laws including a recent 7th Circuit ruling.
Seems odd that a decade ago, the UW wanted all students to pay for things they didn't believe in (like social causes and organizations) because it preached a diversity. Now, they don't want those same diverse viewpoints.
Does it have something to do with religion? I would bet a million dollars on it. Some administrator at Madison (John Wiley, the chancellor) and some anti-religous liberals (at UW-Superior) don't want to fund religion, even though faith-based organizations have contributed more to society than others.
Simplistic? I think so. I'll keep an eye on it.
Labels: UW System
As the President of the United States, George W. Bush, is set to arrive in
Green Bay for a fundraiser for McCormick's GOP oppenent John Gard, her clueless
campaign staff send out this press release.
GRAND CHUTE, Wis[sic]. -- Rep. Terri McCormick will continue her campaign as usual inthe 8th Congressional District as the President comes to Oneida, Wis[sic]. to raise $1000-per-plate for her primary opponent.
"For Rep. McCormick, campaigning as usual means taking her message to the voters and allowing them to ask questions and give feedback. She, along with several volunteers, will continue her door-to-door campaign.
"If the news media would like to catch up with Rep. McCormick, the phone number to cal lis 920-209-2357.
"'I will remain close to the people that I serve and continue to ask for the voters' trust instead of large campaign donations,' Rep. McCormick said."
This goes with this press relase from two days ago.
"I wish the President well as he deals with grave international turmoil. These are serious times and there is a long road ahead for President Bush as he works to ring the unrest in the Middle East to a halt.
"My campaign for Congress has been and will always be dedicated to the voters in the 8th Congressional District. I will not be asking for $1000 donations; I will be asking for the voters' trust on Sept. 12 and Nov. 7.
"Today I stand, as I have since the beginning of this campaign, on my own merit and my own track record of delivering major economic development reforms, small business regulation reform, manufacturing programs to keep our small companies competitive and competitive pricing for prescription drugs that saved $30 million in its first year.
"I call on the news media to ask President George W. Bush if he is aware that there is a Republican primary as he campaigns in the 8th Congressional District. My goal is to request the endorsement of the people who live and work in the 8th Congressional District. I trust that they are capable of making an informed choice about who will represent them in Congress. ..."
I'm pretty sure W knows that there is a primary in Wisconsin. Rove and the rest of the GOP elite know that she is not a viable candidate.
But it gets better. At the end of the release, she signs the release:
"Respectfully,
Terri McCormick
State Representative 56th Assembly Dist.
Candidate for Congress WI 8th CD
Republican, Conservative, Honest"
Conservative? Didn't you vote against against the strong, conservative amendment to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Protection Act (AJR77, ASA3)? Wait, I forgot, the RINOs in the state Legislature all voted it down.
The problem with McCormick's half-ass attempt to run for Congress is that she is not well-liked in GOP circles. Those in the know, want to see a strong GOP candidate that has conservative credentials. John Gard has the credentials to be a great congressman for the 8th District. His soon-to-be-predecesor, Mark Green, had a long list of credentials when he ran for Congress in 1998. He was a well-liked Republican Caucus chair and passed legislation that matters. He
never had to use the terms "Honesty Tour" in his campaign because he was honest, and people knew that.
The attack dogs on the opposite side probably are cheering on McCormick to do as much damage to Gard before the general election. If she cared about the 8th CD, then she would have dropped out long ago. Having just over $30K in the bank and hiring goons under-the-table does not win over the GOP base, where there will be a hotly contested primary for attorney general.
When Scott Walker dropped out of the race for governor, the GOP base was united and energized behind a candidate. This has led to the Green Team getting huge and at hundreds of events every weekend. The message is clear: Wisconsin needs a new governor and it should be Mark Green. However, here in the 8th CD we have a candidate that is bringing down the enthusiasm that was built but the Congressional Green Team.
The time is to end the charade. Terri, do the party a favor and leave the race.
Labels: Election 2006
Tuesday, August 08, 2006
Libermann loses primary...
...and so does Cynthia McKinney.
Labels: Election 2006
Silly Season Begins in Connecticut
Joe Libermann says his opponents, or goons of his, hacked his Web site, causing it to go to its knees late last night. His opponent, millionaire Ned Lamont (D-Crazyville) says Libermann didn't pay his bills. Joe2006.com is now offline on election day, which could affect turnout for Libermann.
Now anyone who knows technology knows that a simple hack like this is easy. You can either change the DNS entry in the Internic and redirect it to another IP address. And to top it off, these goons didn't just post that the site was taken down due to a lack of payment, they did a denial of service attack -- basically setting up a machine to continuously ping (send packets of data to a particular server) with a spoofed outgoing IP address. This DoS attacks are pretty common in today's Internet, but they rarely take down an entire server or Web site.
Time for Lamont's goons to put a stop to their tactics. Then again, Terri McCormick's goons here in the 8th District might get some ideas from Lamont. Afterall, as Kevin from Lakeshore Laments reports, John Gard's Web site was hacked a few weeks ago.
Labels: Election 2006
Monday, August 07, 2006
Green wants a tax holiday
(Rep. Mark) Green's proposal would exempt from sales taxes school supplies priced under $50, clothing and shoes under $100, and computers under $1,500 purchased during the first weekend of August.Examples of items that would be tax exempt include: notebooks, text books, folders, paper, writing instruments, book bags, art supplies, laptop computers, desktop computers, printers and keyboards.
Green said college students, who have seen massive tuition increases at the University of Wisconsin campuses, "are especially in desperate need of some tax relief."
"Under Jim Doyle, UW tuition is up over 50 percent in just four years on Wisconsin students. At the same time, they've actually lowered tuition on out-of-state students," said Green. "Jim Doyle is pricing middle class families out of a college degree, and I think that's wrong."
Think about what can be spent on the $75 saved from that $1,500 laptop you just purchased. I don' think it would be 75 cases of Ramen.
Labels: Election 2006
Sunday, August 06, 2006
Wisconsin Blogosphere debates the marriage amendment
Owen Robinson from Boots and Sabers and Ingrid Ankerson of Fair Wisconsin are going to debate the Wisconsin amendment to ban gay marriage and benefits for domestic partners. Jenna from Right of the Shore will be the moderator, posting the questions. You can read the rules here.
Owen is a conservative blogger based in West Bend and has a column in the West Bend Daily News. Ingrid is a staffer for Fair Wisconsin, the group that is opposed to the ammendment.
This should provide a pretty insightful experience to gain information from both sides and to make up an opinion for election day.
Labels: Election 2006
Friday, August 04, 2006
Now Diamond Jim wants to cap tuition
Nearly four years since Gov. Jim Doyle (D-WEAC/Casinos) is now calling for a 3-4% cap on UW System tuition. Where were you the last four years when your UW Regents raised tuition close to some 50 percent? Must be election year politics as usual for the governor, just like in 2002 when he said a 10 percent cap was too high.
"Making sure a college education remains affordable is a vital priority for our state," Governor Doyle said (in his press release). "The Regents should hold down tuition so that it doesn't rise faster than inflation. I am committed to reinvesting in the university, but I hope the Regents will also recognize the need to keep tuition in line with middle class families' ability to pay."
Excuse me governor, but didn't your Board of Regents cut tuition for out-of-state students? Didn't your Regents raise tuition 7 percent last year? Actually they have raised tuition every year since 1999.
The UW Students, who feel the brunt of this full-on attack from the Board of Regents, have been calling for tuition freezes every year. More and more students are being priced out of a quality education. If it weren't for my $3,000 in loans each semester, I wouldn't be able to attend UW-Green Bay.
Now in an election year, the governor is playing politics as usual instead of pushing for real cuts in tuition. Congressman Mark Green, who attended UW-Eau Claire for undergrad and UW-Madison for law school and is running for governor, has likened Doyle's tuition proposal like Barry Bonds and steriods: "Jim Doyle asking his Board of Regents to hold down tuition is like Barry Bonds asking Major League Baseball for a tougher steroid policy."
Funny line, but it is very true. While Green hasn't outlined specific plans for the UW (that will come in is 100 days to election day), this is what he said at the 2006 GOP Convention:
"Under this administration, the UW has been so wrapped up in red tape and bureaucratic maneuvers that they've actually been hiring convicted sex offenders, shelling out $700-a-month car stipends, creating hundreds of high-paying 'back up' jobs ... even jacking up tuition for Wisconsin families while slashing out-of-state tuition at the very same time.
"We are headed toward an era when anyone can go to the UW -- unless you're actually from Wisconsin. And the very people Jim Doyle put in charge of the university can't understand why everyone is so worked up.
"'But you don't understand,' they exclaim in a patronizing tone. But we do. While they defend turf, and programs, and perks, we defend students ... and we'll fight for their interests and their dreams."
While this is campaign rhetoric, Green nails what has happened in the UW for the last four years. Higher tuition, back-up jobs, and clueless regents.
Stay tuned for more as this will definitely develop in the coming months.
Labels: UW System
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
What's this all about?
Sitting at my desk this summer I thought to myself, how can I take my vast knowledge of the state and federal legislatures and do something productive with it. I could do research for a paper, independent study, internships and so on and so forth. But instead I have chose to take what's going on in Madison, Washington and around the world and break it down for what it means to the average college students.
Every morning I have a ritual -- go get the Green Bay Press-Gazette from my newspaper box, get a pot of coffee and read the Press-Gazette, read the Journal Sentinel online, possibly the Wisconsin State Journal and The Wheeler Report and various blogs from around the state. Add in some talk radio, and by mid-day I can tell you everything that is going on in Wisconsin Poltiics -- who's in what meetings, what's on the agenda in the next few weeks and everything else under the sun.
What this means is simple. I will put the news of the day here and give some sort of analysis. You may like it, you may not. But what I can tell you now is that is is always going to be clear and concise. If you have comments, send them my way: executive@fightingphoenix.com.
Labels: Election 2006, General, UWGB
