May 2003
May 31, 2003
ALICE lives here
FightingBob.com contributing editor John Nichols has an article in the current issue of the Nation magazine about the things progressives in some states are doing to combat the efforts of conservative think tanks, Republican/corporate cabals and right-wing organizing efforts. (Yes, their side organizes better than ours; they have more money and they are framing the issues.)
The American Legislative Exchange Council—ALEC—is an outfit that has been around for about 30 years, was inspired by Paul Weyrich, Joseph Coors and the John Birch society, and gets some $6 million a year from the likes of Philip Morris, Chevron, the American Nuclear Energy Council. Enron was also a big contributor, but a funny thing happened to them. ALEC's mission is to draft and pass laws corporations want and to kill everything they do not want.
There are several progressive alternatives to ALEC throughout the United States, and there is an organization based in Madison called the American Legislative Issue Campaign Exchange—ALICE—that serves as a “clearinghouse,” in Nichols’ words, for several of these progressive, pro-worker and pro-environment organizations. These groups are having success throughout the United States, and their stories are heartening to read.
It’s exciting stuff. ALICE’S Andy Gussert will contribute a FightingBob.com article soon that explains what his group is doing and what each of us can do to countervail ALEC. In the meantime, you can find out more about ALICE online and you can read Nichols’ article in the June 9 issue of the Nation. And start thinking, start organizing and start framing the issues that will decide the next election.
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We elected them?
Watching the Republican "leaders" fumble this budget makes me wonder why we test teachers, firefighters, cops, and schoolchildren when we do not test legislative candidates. Like police officers and firefighters, they are dealing with life and death issues. But am I the only one who is reminded of "Lord of the Flies"? If you haven't read Golding's book recently, check it out of the library--if the libraries remain open after this crowd is finished.
The reason for the I.Q. test idea for legislators came to me while reading the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Saturday morning. It is quite apparent these right-wingers do not understand the basic role of government in our society. They see it only as a platform for gimmicks and nonsense. Dean Kaufert, co-chair of the Joint Finance Committee, said, "We're going to make cuts so that state government doesn't grow." Then he announced that he and his right-wing pals would cut state government by another $100 million and then freeze state expenditures for three years. What is he talking about? No more roads for three years? People should stop having children until 2006? The Department of Commerce should keep new companies out if they might be a burden on taxpayers? Hold off on going to technical college or the University of Wisconsin for three years? This is nuts.
Not to be outdone, Alberta Darling also spoke the other day. She does not want to "de-equalize" taxes, whatever that means. Then she is quoted saying, "We have to lead by example. If we continue to have fiscal disarray and sloppy fiscal irresponsibility, we can't get there." According to Alberta, we are in the midst of "sloppy fiscal irresponsibility." Words to live by.
And we thought the Reimer/Doyle budget was awful. Wait until these Republicans, who seem hell-bent on the destruction of state government, get their budget out there for inspection.
Time for a part-time Legislature and a qualification test before running.
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May 28, 2003
Dennis Kucinich comes to Wisconsin
Congressman and presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich will speak in Madison at the Orpheum Theater at 216 State Street. When? Saturday night, May 31, at 8:00 in the evening.
Dennis was the keynote speaker at Fightin' Bob Fest last September, and he turned on the crowd. He has been the leading voice in Congress for peace, and Saturday's rally is appropriately named, "Rally for Peace and Prosperity." The event is free, but I hope you will come with a few dollars to contribute to offset the costs.
For those of you who did not hear him last September, you are in for a treat. He is co-chair of the Progressive Caucus in the House, and has been outspoken in his condemnation of the invasion of Iraq. Name the issue you have read about on FigthingBob.com and you will have a champion in Dennis Kucinich.
Ah, but the wise old boys with money say, "He can't win." Really? Why not? As the Bush Administration gets ready to expand the "war" to Iran, we cannot sit and watch. We need some champions who will take the battle to the White House.
See you Saturday.
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May 25, 2003
Wisconsin treasures: Gaylord Nelson and the Namekagon
You will not find a lot of hero worship on FightingBob.com, but former Wisconsin governor and U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson is my hero. I urge you to read the Earth Day speech that he gave to the National Press Club last month, if you have not already, in our Articles section.
The article is infused with history and passion, and, I think, a calm sense of urgency. Gaylord worries about what is going to become of the planet in the hands of Bush, Ashcroft and the rest. So do I.
The speech is quite a bit longer than most FightingBob.com articles and I’m told that it is too long for the Web. I don’t care. It’s a great speech and, as far as I know, this is the only place it can be found. We are printing it with Gaylord’s permission, and it has been edited slightly for publication.
In 1968, then-Senator Nelson passed the Wild and Scenic Rivers Act to protect the Namekagon River in northwestern Wisconsin, and a couple Saturdays ago he was in Wisconsin to celebrate the Namekagon at a ceremony in Springbrook. Nick Vander Puy wrote about the Namekagon for FightingBob.com before the celebration, and we will post his follow-up later this week.
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May 24, 2003
Prosperity here I come!
Don't know about you but I am really excited about the Republican tax cut. So excited, in fact, that I am going to work harder so I can become part of the top 1 percent of our economy or die trying. What an incentive President Bush and Senate leader Frist have given us. You know, give up sleep, take a second job on the weekends, and soon we will be enjoying lower taxes on our dividends, lower capital gains taxes, lower income taxes. Whoa Nelly! This is great!
Now, the negative types like the Grinch known as Paul Krugman argue that spending cuts and deficits in the states will force services to decline while taxes will rise on the least of our brethren. So what, I say. Tell those at the bottom to get with the program. Give up your weekends, invest wisely, save money and enjoy our newfound prosperity. Thank you, President Bush. You can count on my help in your next campaign.
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Thanks Annika
What a treat to watch Annika Sorenstam play against the best men in the world of golf. Thousands packed the gallery, millions watched on television, every golfer in America knew what was happening. She presented a gift to our daughters and granddaughters. She not only scored better than 99 percent of the men who play golf could have, she handled the pressure with grace and dignity. Golf seems more civilized today than it did just a month ago when a guy in his sixties called "Hootey" was defending his "men's only" Augusta National Country Club.
Bye-bye Hootie, hello Annika. One will soon be forgotten as an asterisk, the other will be remembered as the woman who showed men how to act under pressure.
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May 20, 2003
PSC for you!
We are not making this up, as Dave Barry would say. The Wisconsin Public Service Commission, known for its utility friendly positions under former chair Ave Bie, has posted a job opening: "We are recognized as one of the leading and most innovative utility regulatory agencies in the nation." (By whom?)
The job opening posted on the PSC Web site is for an administrator of the Telecommunications Division. Qualifications?
"Well qualified candidates will have extensive executive-level experience in the telecommunications industry (editor: in other words one of the regulated companies), supplemented by excellent conceptual, analytical, strategic planning, and management skills. We are particularly interested in big picture thinkers who are effective communicators, problem solvers, and decision-makers. The appointee must have the ability to establish credibility and build trusting relationships and partnerships with key stakeholders."
May we be so impolite as to ask, who these "key stakeholders" might be? The phone companies perhaps?
Contact us if you want to apply, but don't forget to remember the big picture.
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Another Powell, another problem
The invasion of Iraq should be enough trouble from one family, but now Powell Jr. is adding his touch.
FightingBob.com is proud to have John Nichols and Bob McChesney as contributing editors and pleased to post an article they wrote for the Nation magazine about the efforts of Federal Communications Commission chair Michael Powell and a majority of the FCC to pave the way for even more consolidation of our electronic media. Should the proposal pass June 2, as predicted, there will be even fewer voices in the media than we now have. Scary, don't you think?
Nichols and McChesney state the case for opposition and provide a road map to active opposition. We urge you to follow their advice. "All that is necessary for evil to triumph is for good people to remain silent." And, if the majority of the FCC with Bush support has its way, they will silence us. Don't let it happen.
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May 18, 2003
Reading newspapers?
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Michael Nowakowski held that the Wisconsin Department of Corrections has again violated the U.S. Constitution by denying inmates at Supermax the right to read local newspapers. The warden, Jerry Berge, said the policy was developed to keep prisoners from "significant information" in the local community. (I'm not making this up.)
Berge admitted that the policy was developed back when the prison opened, so he is only speculating that there may be something of interest in the paper.
But leave it to the prison guard's union to condemn this decision. "These are predators. They're not nice people. They didn't get there by missing Sunday School," said Allen Highman of WSEU. He then asks this question, "What reason would they have for having a local paper?"
The warden and the guards seem to ignore the fact that inmates are human beings with constitutional rights and that they will be released into society sooner or later. Instead of worrying about the Boscobel paper, perhaps Berge and WSEU could do something about racial profiling. Almost 70 percent of inmates are African American and 8 percent Hispanic. Guess what? There are no African American guards and none who speak Spanish.
A plan: While inmates read the paper, the guards study Spanish.
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There goes the neighborhood!
It ain't easy being Norwegian. This proud group is under siege as we speak. The news from the city of Stoughton is that the city council voted in favor of a plan to put an Irish pub right in the middle of Wisconsin's little Norway. Worse, the inconsiderate city council took the vote just before Syttende Mai. What's next? Swedish meatballs at next year's parade? German restaurants? Can't we count on anything anymore?
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May 16, 2003
Where's my toaster?
Once upon a time, banks competed with Savings & Loans and with one another. Customers were given toasters or other appliances when they opened bank accounts. These giveaways were part of the focus of Michael Moore's brilliant "Bowling for Colombine," where he found a bank that gave shotguns to new customers!
But now we learn from a terrific Capital Times series by Mike Ivey that bank owners are toasting their own bread. The reason they can't continue giving appliances to customers is that they are too busy opening tax havens in Nevada. That's right. The Wisconsin Department of Revenue estimates that 80 percent of state banks have subsidiaries in Nevada because that state does not have a corporate income tax.
The federal government tells us to lower our blood pressure, but, Ivey reports, the biggest corporations have managed to reduce their contributions to state coffers to a measly 4.6 percent with the use of loopholes and accounting strategies while many of our largest banks pay nothing at all. If that doesn't raise your blood pressure, hit the Capital Times link above and read the series.
Meanwhile, every locality in the state is announcing teacher layoffs, the UW gets a $250 million kick, students pay higher tuition and we are supposed to maintain a stiff upper lip? Where's my toaster! Perhaps the banks should make a deal with Eli Lilly. They could give out blood pressure meds with new accounts.
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May 14, 2003
The great smell
The pro-ethanol public relations flacks were trying to convince the Winnebago County Board that the smell of ethanol isn't too bad. "You get used to it," they said. Well, the city of St. Paul goes to court today to once again try to shut down the Gopher State ethanol plant in their city "until it can operate without forcing neighbors to stay inside."
Predictably, the ethanol company says the city is playing politics. Politics? The mayor of St. Paul, according to an article in the Minneapolis Star Tribune, "vetoed a City Council resolution backing legislation to cut off state subsidies for ethanol." Following his veto, the mayor "flew to a Minnesota Wild playoff game courtesy of a Gopher State Ethanol owner." Whoa Nelly!
Citizens play politics the old-fashioned way. They write letters, protest, hire an attorney to protect their health. Gopher Ethanol plays by the Golden Rule. (He who has the gold rules.)
Wisconsin now has two plants and one starting up. Hold your nose and stay inside.
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May 11, 2003
He's back!
Despite 16 years of structural deficits that have brought the state of Wisconsin to the edge of bankruptcy with its lowest bond rating ever, delegates to the Republican convention cheered, clapped and urged Tommy Thompson to "run again." (This is not a first-hand account; if I were to show up at a Republican Convention it might be dangerous.The reports come from the Wisconsin State Journal and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.)
But here was a convention hall full of fiscal conservatives ignoring his tax breaks for big contributors, his hand-outs to friends, and his irresponsible spending, on their feet. I guess the weakness of the line-up of potential candidates to oppose Russ Feingold explains their idealogical flexibility.
But Tommy did get off one good line: "The Democrats have gone from the New Deal to the Casino Deal." He then demonstrated why the Doyle reliance on gaming compacts is so dangerous. Tommy said what they will be chanting four years from now, "We would have done better."
Tommy, ignoring the morality of expanding gambling, said he would have negotiated for nearly $1 billion.
Yah, sure Ole. This is the guy who negotiated the deal with Bud Selig: We paid for the park, moved Highway 41 and tore down County Stadium, they got naming rights, parking, and concessions. Pardon my cynicism, but Tommy had better stick to his current job. If he tries to teach a course in negotiations the students will ask for their money back.
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May 10, 2003
SOS for UW
How do we expect the University of Wisconsin to remain a world class institution when the governor's budget cuts into it so deeply? After having attended a couple of sessions on campus, complete with a discussion of the highest tuition increase in state history and of the impact the budget cuts will have on programs and our ability to keep our best faculty members, I think it is time to raise hell.
In-state tuition will go up by $700 per student. Students from out of state now pay $17,800, and that will go up as well. We are second in the Big Ten only to the University of Michigan for out-of-state tuition.
The state will pay only 23 percent of the cost of maintaining the university, barely half the 44 percent in 1973-74, and the decline is likely to continue. The experts tell us that every aspect of the university will suffer: fewer courses, less help in the classroom, larger classes, less for the library. The smaller campuses throughout the state will feel the greatest impact.
What has gone wrong? Where is the leadership? Plenty of money for the Department of Corrections but not enough to maintain the great state University of Wisconsin? Who is fighting for the UW if the Democratic governor starts the ball rolling with a quarter billion dollar cut. The Republicans won't reduce the cut, that's for certain.
It's time for all progressives to demand support for the university. We owe it to our children and grandchildren.
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May 8, 2003
More Band-Aids, nurse
In attempting to explain the $80 million shortfall from tribal gaming revenues, budget director David Riemer and DOA secretary Marc Marotta have told us not to worry about it. Riemer proposes to simply reduce from 8 percent to 5.8 percent the regular state payments to the pension fund and to refinance the unfunded liability for sick leave for state employees. Voila! The result is 80 million to cover the unexpected downturn in gambling. For those who worry about the viability of the pension fund, Riemer gives great comfort when he explained that Illinois has $35 billion in unfunded liability. Now that is comfort! Illinois is currently worse off than we are.
Marotta suggests that "actions" by the Legislature "have negatively impacted compact negotiations and have reduced the amount of gaming revenue available." If this is the case, then it is the first indication that the Legislature has done anything in 16 years, let alone that they have caused people such angst that they are staying home rather than going to a casino.
Is it possible that in the hard times we face with high unemployment, high property taxes, and low wages that fewer people have disposable income for gambling? Or that William Bennett scared the bjesus out of everyone when he admitted that he has lost millions as a compulsive gambler? Why isn't it preferable to consider increasing taxes on the wealthy rather than coaxing the poor to gamble? C'mon Marc, Democrats can do better than this. We can't gamble our way out of a $3.5 billion hole.
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Taking care of the family
When "Boss" Daley ran Chicago, a reporter discovered that he awarded the insurance contract for O'Hare airport to his son. The Boss held a news conference and everyone expected a contrite Daley to announce the contract would be put out to bid. But Daley explained, "What kind of father would I be if I didn't look out for my son?" Enough said.
Dick Cheney got a nice good-bye gift from Halliburton, his former employer, and in the best Boss Daley tradition, Cheney and Bush gave an "emergency no-bid" contract to Halliburton to thank them. The first news said it was to extinguish oil field fires. Remember that Bush and Rummy predicted that the evil one would set all the oil fields ablaze? Even though he didn't, the administration would not be caught without their version of Red Adair. Halliburton to the rescue.
Now it appears the contract would make even old Mayor Daley blush. This one will permit Halliburton to take over and operate the oil fields in Iraq. Wanna bet that part of the $3.6 billion contract finds its way back to the Bush-Cheney campaign fund for 2004? Even the virtuous Richard Bennett would win that bet!
One can almost hear our Vice President explain, "What kind of person would I be if I didn't take care of my family?"
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May 4, 2003
Let it burn?
The New York Times reported on Saturday that "Fuel Economy Hit 22-year Low in 2002." This stunning news came from the Environmental Protection Agency. Since 1981, the average car is 29 percent faster in going from 0 to 60. (This helps when leaving school zones.) And 24 percent heavier with 93 percent more horsepower. Ever wonder where in the world people drive these things?
The Times goes on: Cars and light trucks account for 40 percent of the nation's oil consumption and 20 percent of carbon dioxide emissions, the leading contributor to global warming. We know where the Bush administration is on this issue, so, where, may I ask, are the Democrats? Why isn't this a burning issue now? Where is the next Gaylord Nelson?
As for those who want ethanol plants on every school yard, forget it. Just mandate better energy savings and we can eliminate the import of oil from the Middle-East and protect the environment. Too much to ask? I don't think so.
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Meanwhile back at the ranch...
While the Bush/Rove public relations team rearranges our fleet to create photo ops, the economy needs more than a triumphant president on deck. Unemployment went to 6 percent last month, and even more disturbing than the 48,000 jobs lost in April is the 525,000 jobs lost in the last three months and 2 million since Bush was appointed.
None of George Bush's friends need worry. They are well provided for by the corporations who supply the Department of Defense. (Could we at least change the name to reflect the truth? How about the Department of Aggression"?)
Bush, undeterred by these facts, spoke at a defense contractor's plant and hollered that the 6 percent figure should convince Congress that "we need robust tax relief so our fellow citizens can find a job." Bush actually wants working families and unemployed Americans to believe that cutting taxes for "his fellow citizens," the top 1 percent, will create jobs. Cut it George. We may be slow, but we aren't stupid.
The denouement? Maureen Dowd discovered the Carlyle Group, that shadowy corporation controlled by Poppy Bush and John Major, owned half of the defense plant where the president spoke. Could fiction be any better?
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