December 2009
December 31, 2009
Dog ate my homework
I apologize for my very late blog post yesterday--computer problems to end the year.
Some good news to start the new year or say goodbye to 2009. On January 5, the new book by Bob McChesney and John Nichols will be ready for the bright lights. Title will grab your attention: The Death and Life of American Journalism.
These two friends and contributors to FightingBob.com keep the flame burning. We need newspapers, democracy is challenged without them, papers are in trouble. This book lays out the plan to save them and democracy.
Why am I so dumb? I don't get it. Tell me again but slower. The government (ours) will give GMAC (owned by us) another $3.8 billion today. Tim Geithner says "it is needed for the stability of the system." (Any new ones, Tim?)
OK, but why can't we stop evicting people from their homes under the same umbrella? Would Timmy tell us that evicting families from their homes adds to the stability of communities? Meet me at the Waldorf and we will look for Tim.
The U.S. now owns AIG, GMAC and GM, and has significant influence at Citigroup and Chrysler. Can't we spread the money to those who will spend it instead of those who will hoard it? I am too dumb to understand. You?
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December 30, 2009
I cannot believe it!
Louis Butler is a good person, a very capable judge, and he should have been confirmed by the Senate as Federal District Judge in Madison, but nope! Republicans on the Judiciary Committee sent his name back to the Barack, the tough guy in the White House.
Some of you might wince, but I think Butler's "problem" is that he is black. This group of Republicans doesn't feel comfortable with him.
Admittedly, it was also a rare opportunity for Republicans to boot two Wisconsin "liberals" in the butt. Kohl and Feingold, inexplicably, both sit on Judiciary and yet they failed to gather the votes. Look for Kohl to lead the fight for Butler's confirmation.
Gather your wits and think about this. Glenn Grothman, a state Senator in the Glenn Beck category, has a plan. He wants the state to determine which streets to plow in Madison during snow storms. (DNR perhaps?) Presumably this guy wants a clear path out of town. Given his voting record I can understand.
I thought Republicans liked government closest to the people. No?
"Only two more days" to get your money to senator, congressman, mayor, governor, Sierra Club, Common Cause--god I am sick and tired of the same old pitch. "Our candidate needs your contribution by tommorow at midnight." Why? Well, to prove he is viable--he can only do that with a filing that shows he is raking in the dough. You become the theater. This is sick.
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December 29, 2009
If you have to ask, maybe you can't afford it
The "it" is a college degree--the bedrock of the American dream. When JFK was president, about 80 percent of financial aid for college students came in the form of grants, 20 percent as loans. Students graduated with little or no debt. (I made it through Law School on the G.I. Bill and my wife's part-time teaching income.) Today it is not unusual for new grads to start out with loans in excess of $50,000. ("Tell us about the good old days, grandpa.")
Today a student needs a loan, a parent or two to guarantee the loan, caring state and federal government guarantees--not for grants--for loans! Then add a couple of jobs and a cooperative school, and the student is on the way! The Washington Post points out that the most common type of federally backed loan has a $5,500 limit per year. You can't make it on 5 grand! Not even at Slippery Rock.
Even when parents offer to back a student loan with a home-equity loan guarantee, guess what ain't selling these days? So turn to credit cards? Too many students have no choice, so they pay through the nose.
It is not surprising that students are getting arrested for raising hell over outrageous tuition increases. Berkley, UCLA, Virginia? Yikes! Virginia.
Ten years ago, tuition at the University of Virginia was $4,000 for in-state and $17,000 for out-of-state. Today? It is $10,000 in-state and $32,000 out-of-state. One expert quoted in the story asked, "How are you [average family living paycheck to paycheck] going to afford state tuition of $20,000 not to mention a private school at $40,000?"
Now the bad news. Expenses are exploding just when endowment losses have delivered a gut-kick, and when states are on the edge of the financial abyss. Then think about Wisconsin. The leading Republican candidate for governor threatens to file bankruptcy for his county, Milwaukee County. You can bet he won't be advocating lower or free tuition.
So, if you have to ask "how much?", maybe you should shelve the American dream.
To that I say NUTS.
Our parents and grandparents came to America for a better life for their kids. Education, education, education was their mantra. Education was, is, and will always be the the key to the dream that brought us here.
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December 28, 2009
He had an impact
Percy Sutton was Manhattan Borough president; Malcolm's lawyer; responsible for advancing the black agenda; helped elect David Dinkins mayor of New York City. He owned radio and TV stations; tried to purchase an NBA franchise--would have been the first and only black owner. The "mayor of Harlem" has passed away and you must read the NYT obit.
He learned this from his father: "Suffer the hurts, but don't show anger, because if you do, it will block you from being able to effectively do anything to remove the hurts." Pretty good advice. Thank you Percy, Sutton. You made our country a more interesting and more just place for all of us.
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December 27, 2009
Prohibition works--just ask Capone
"There is an almost unanimous consensus in Juarez, Mexico, across the river from El Paso, Texas, that the government's anti-drug strategy hasn't worked." Asked a professor, "If the army comes in and cannot control the situation, what happens now?" And the army has been sent into Juarez by president Calderon--10,000 soldiers--and the violent murders continue. The army is losing the war.
Catch this in today's Washington Post: "Criminal outfits fighting over Juarez overwhelmed even military authorities in this critical port of entry into the world's largest market for illegal narcotics." That would be us! "With more than 2,500 drug-related homicides in Juarez alone, since April...Mexico is considering a different approach." No way! C'mon! Have you tried nukes?
The government said two-thirds of those murdered are aged 14-24. The chief of the U.S. mission had the chutzpa to say, "If you can get to the children...you are helping the people and the society." He said that even knowing that the drug lords "draw their power from billions of dollars in drug sales in the United States."
The collateral damage? Some 7,000 orphans and 100,000 displaced people. Mexico is on the brink of collapse, so the mayor of Juarez sleeps in El Paso, Texas. And, "The head of the awful maquiladoras recently called on the U.N. to send peace keepers."
By the way, where does the bulk of U.S. aid go? Black Hawk and Bell helicopters and surveillance planes! (Ah, the children! One can almost hear Yul Brenner singing in The King and I.)
We all know that the older we get the smarter our parents become. Well, my parents told us that prohibition was an unmitigated disaster. Millions took up drinking because of the lure of the forbidden fruit; Al Capone had 10,000 speakeasies in Chicago when prohibition ended (he was so busy he forgot to file his taxes). Organized crime made billions through the distribution of alcohol. Prohibition didn't work! Even Wikipedia said, "After several years prohibition became a failure."
So, some would argue we are unable to make headway in Afghanistan because the president's brother is a drug lord. There is unrest, kidnapping, and drug cartels in Colombia. Mexico is on the edge of becoming a failed state. And we pretend that prohibition of narcotics will work? We close our eyes to the corruption in this country and on our borders knowing we are the largest marketplace in the world? I wonder if Bill Bennett has a bet on the outcome in Mexico's War on Drugs! Go, go Calderon!
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December 26, 2009
Now what?
We are currently spending about 17 percent of GDP on health care--and predictions are that we will zip past 20 percent soon. We can't afford either number. I have the feeling that the many of the 30 million uninsured, who must now--by government fiat--purchase insurance, can't or won't. Then what? If millions refuse, what's a poor nation to do? Insurance prisons? Run by Blackwater perhaps? Expand Gitmo?
Think the crisis is over? Think again. The only way out of our drive toward insolvency, even after passage of the "historic" package on Christmas Eve, is, as always, single-payer. Face it: Absent tough regulation or a public competitor the health insurance crowd will increase--not reduce--prices. Then what?
Rodney Dies: Odd but true--both the Washington Post and the New York Times noted the passing of the former sports editor of the Communist Party's newspaper, Lester Rodney. "Early Voice in Fight Against Racism in Sports, Dies at 98" was the headline in the Times. He was very critical of segregation of baseball--long before Jackie Robinson broke into Major League Baseball. Not much good to say about the NFL either.
Two Catholic bishops in Ireland resign after child-abuse inquiry. The report found the church in Ireland shielded 170 pedophile priests. The two said, "We hope to bring the peace and reconciliation of Jesus Christ to the victims...we again apologize to them."
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December 25, 2009
History or his story?
Vice President Joe Biden presided during the "historic milestone...debate." Senator Dodd called it "the most important vote that sitting members of the Senate will cast." President Obama said seven presidents have tried to pass health care reform and seven have failed.
Harry Reid, who dropped the public option and went along with deals with drug makers and hospital groups while giving 30 million new customers to the for-profit boys and, lest we forget, maintaining the antitrust exemption; no check on prices, also called it "historic."
Byrd: "This is for my friend Ted Kennedy."
Baucus (whose trail led him to the insurance industry treasure for future campaigns): "We stand with those who have blazed the trail ahead of us," and, "The spirit of Ted Kennedy is with us."
And finally, you can't top this, Reid said, "With Kennedy's booming voice in our ears--with his passion in our hearts--we say 'the work goes on, the cause endures'." He then voted NO!
Could it be a profile in courage moment? Was Reid telling Nelson and Lieberman to stuff it? Did Reid go through all this to kill it and start over? Had the Lord answered Senator Coburn's prayer for a Democrat to pass on?
Nope, nope and nope. He was simply tired and quickly changed his vote to "Aye."
This is Christmas, and so we should celebrate, but the bloviating senators catching history's gaze compel a smile or two or three.
As to this mild "reform" being their most important vote--in their careers--think about our soldiers in Afghanistan. Less important than Billy Tauzin's dream? I don't think so.
But thanks are still owed to Bernie Sanders, Russ Feingold, and Sherrod Brown--they gave it their all. We can't ask for more than that.
Now the fight begins. The crisis has not passed.
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December 24, 2009
Good news day
Good news! There are enough doses of the H1N1 vaccine for everyone--go get yours. We simply cannot tolerate lots of sick progressives.
Good news! Congress has allocated funds to permit the Pentagon to replace expensive private contractors with regular federal employees. The Washington Post reports a savings of $44,000 a year for every contractor replaced by a full time fed...let's see...$44K X 56,000...Congress found last year the average cost for each one in the "private army" was $250,000 per year.
Bad news. Dave Obey did not buck the president by insisting on the war surtax as he had proposed in his "Share the Sacrifice" manifesto. Too bad.
Good News--for Tommy: He was appointed to the board of United Therapeutics. He will be a so-called independent board member. Whatever that means. I'll bet lunch at the Main Depot it is not pro bono.
Great news! The Associated Press tells us there will be a shortage of Brussels sprouts due to cold temperatures and too much rain. Kids throughout the world may now enjoy Christmas dinner!
Bizzaro news: The President says the keep the health care industry fat and happy--a/k/a health-care-reform/lobbyist's delight/the disgrace of 2009--is 95 percent of what he wanted. He says he did not campaign for the public option. Whoa Nelly! Even Mr. nice guy Jim Lehrer had to suggest this statement was inaccurate.
Merry Christmas!
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December 23, 2009
Did he really want a dead bird?
Tom Coburn (R-Oklahoma) proves there is no IQ test to pass before being sworn in as a U.S. Senator. On Sunday Coburn asked the American people to pray that a Democrat would not make the 1:00 a.m. health care bill vote. Naturally, everyone's focus was on Robert Byrd, the 92-year-old West Virginia senator. Arlen Specter said "forcing Byrd to vote needlessly is a new Senate low mark."
When Byrd was wheeled in he reminded Coburn that "the Bible says love thy neighbor as thyself." When the roll call came, Byrd shouted "aye!" and pumped his left fist. Coburn collapsed and missed the vote. Just kidding--Coburn, with the help of the Lord, voted against the health-insurance-lobby bill.
Now the work begins on health care reform. Item #1: Repeal the antitrust immunity enjoyed by the insurance scofflaws. #2: Get rid of the automatic filibuster. If they want to filibuster make them do it!
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December 22, 2009
You must be kidding
The question posed in the Journal Sentinel asks if the liberals in the Senate should be blamed for giving in to the forces of darkness in the Obama-Tauzin-health insurance company bill debate. Sure. Blame Russ Feingold, Tom Harkin and Bernie Sanders. Are they kidding? The problem rests in the White House; from back-room deals with Billy Tauzin and Big Pharma to a lack of engagement by the president. (Forget about leadership; I don't think he was even paying close attention.)
If Bernie Sanders or another progressive had killed the bill, the "Big D" Dems would have condemned him to the ashcan of history. (I suspect Al From was hoping that a progressive would pull a Lieberman.) No friends, look not at our friends who fight the good fight every day, look at Rahm Emmanuel, Bill Clinton, the DLC and Obama. They took a dive.
What the progressives understand is that this is not the end. This awful bill is not going to solve the problem. (Forcing people to buy insurance might not even pass constitutional muster before the Scalia court.) This is only the beginning of the fight, and the corruptors have exposed themselves. Stay tuned.
Two hours? Great news. Imagine you are in a small commercial airplane jammed against the window. You have a touch of claustrophobia. As you try to calm yourself, the large person in the middle under-sized seat next to you pulls down his tray, struggles to get his computer out, and takes half your space as he starts playing a computer game. The plane is full, in part because the airline sold more tickets than it has seats, and because, in order to fire all the luggage handlers the airlines stupidly have opted to charge a fee for luggage and now everyone stuffs luggage everywhere.
You are on the edge of panic, but then you are reminded that if the plane sits on the runway for two hours the airline will, if you are still alive, provide some water and assure you that if you could get out of your prison called a seat, you will find that the lavatories are working. (And if you believe that...)
Buck-up: Another 59 minutes and you can get off the plane. It would take about an hour to de-plane, but hey, this is America. This is passenger protection? Thank you, Mr. President. Thank you, Secretary Roy LaHood. Thank you.
Last comment: Take a sharp object and tell the guy next to you that you will destroy his computer in one minute unless he puts it away. Be prepared to go to jail.
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December 21, 2009
Out of whack?
You decide. Sixty-five students were arrested at the Berkley campus last week protesting a 32 percent increase in tuition. Students at a number of campuses in cash-starved California have protested and many have been arrested. What? They think access to higher education is important? C'mon.
The Chronicle of Higher Education, a worthwhile read by the way, reports that the main reason college students (a/k/a our future leaders) drop out is to get a job. The drop-outs cannot afford higher education.
Okay, now what? What caught my attention is the report that Michigan State basketball coach Tom Izzo received $8.7 million in 2006 and will probably do as well in subsequent years when data becomes available. Players do not get paid under NCAA rules. Who runs the NCAA? The schools, of course.
Mack Brown, the head football coach at Texas, gets a minimum of $5.1 million per year. Brown's minimum wage is higher than the federal minimum wage.
Pete Carroll at Southern Cal earns $4.4 million. (I don't know if he was protesting tuition increases.) The basketball coach at Virginia Tech gets $2.1 million.
The argument in favor goes something like this: "The wages do not come from the taxpayers nor from the university budget...the athletic program is independent...the program puts our university on the map, keeps alumni happy, generates enthusiasm and contributions."
Q. If the university did not exist, who would pay Tom Izzo 8.7 million bucks?
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December 20, 2009
The best Congress money can buy!
That title belongs to Phil Stern, the granddaddy of campaign finance reform writers. He wrote the book, and supported public financing by hosting conferences all over the country to give voice to those among us who believed in democracy.
Eventually he gave his library on corruption to the Center for Responsive Politics, headed by the indefatigable Ellen Miller. It was at one of those conferences where I met Phil and he inspired me (and still does). A tremendous man. Gone now for many years, he would have hollered "hypocrites" as the Dems patted themselves on the back after a tough "day as a lobbyist" performed in the Senate theater. The winner of the game had to guess how much money to give to the recalcitrant senator from Nebraska Ben Nelson, who was going for the Right To Life Man of the Year award for his principled stance. But it turns out he really just wanted money for Nebraska and was insisting on keeping the antitrust exemption for insurance companies. Whoa Nelson. Abortion has a price tag after all? Right-To-Life morphs into Right-to-Prop-Up-Nebraska?
How embarrassing can it get? Well, you are the witnesses. It got pretty awful. Okay, under President Nelson's deal, "States could prohibit abortion coverage." Thanks a lot, pal. He made them drop the public option and the expansion of Medicare to help the insurance campaign funders.
Here Nelson's words to live by: "Change is never easy, but change is necessary in America." What the hell does that mean? Is he using "change" as in "keep the change" to the Senate waiter?
Good heavens. We are not a democracy--money rules. Absolutely. Phil Stern--a new chapter is required.
I am always troubled when the kids ask me, "What would you like for Christmas?" Usually I have a book or two on the list. This year? I want a ticket to the bacchanal hosted by Big PharMa and the insurance industry. I just want to watch as they hoist Lieberman and Nelson, in Pope chairs, to carry them around the hall like they carried them through the Harry Reid show. You know, like Jackie Presser in Vegas a few years ago. Yikes and Whoa Nelly.
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December 19, 2009
Bopp is back!
James Bopp is a lawyer from Indiana who spends enough time in Wisconsin to claim residency for in-state tuition purposes. Talk about drawing the short straw! Bopp represents Justice Michael Gableman in the Judicial Commission investigation into the false TV spot approved by Gableman, aimed at then-Justice Butler. It is unknown if Bopp is paid by Gableman or some right-wing group or it could be pro bono publico. Could it be a left-wing funder?
Now Bopp is suing the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) on behalf of Wisconsin Right to Life (RTL). That group should, in my view, change its name to the "Wisconsin-Right-to-Life-But-Only-While-in-the-Womb."
Bopp is a busy guy. He is general counsel for the right-wing James Madison Center for Free Speech (free, that is, if you can afford it). He is on the platform committee of the National GOP, and was co-chair of the Election Law Subcommittee of the far-right Federalist Society.
The suit is filed in Federal District Court, Western District (Madison). It is titled Wisconsin RTL v. Brennan, et al, but we will refer to it as "the Bopper's suit." One Fighting Bob subscriber commented that the Bopper's claim seems to be that it is unconstitutional to hold fair judicial elections. (Just kidding.) The RTL claims that its First and Fourteenth Amendment rights are harmed if they, or the judicial candidates they support, are required to inform the public about their campaign contributions or expenditures. Huh?
The Boppers argue that the impartial justice law "reduces the ability of RTL to fully participate in judicial elections." How? "By mandating reporting of significant independent contributions or expenditures."
Bopp says RTL's free-speech rights will be chilled! I did not make that up.
Meanwhile, Justice Prosser, facing election next year, has suddenly changed his mind about impartial justice. More on this next week.
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December 18, 2009
I don't get it!
Watching the Senate grapple, not with health care but the efforts by the administration to convince progressives that something is always better than nothing, has been discouraging. David Axelrod, Bill Clinton, and the DLC instruct Bernie Sanders, Jay Rockefeller and Tom Harkin to act like the good kid--swallow your Castor oil. And the argument is incredible. Do it now or forever hold your tongue. This is it! Last chance saloon! Historic...and on and on.
I say nonsense. I don't buy this last-chance stuff. Will the Democrats give up if nothing passes? Will Obama, LBJ style, opt not to run for a second term? Will the voters reward obstructionists next year? Will the crisis just go away? If this is a "last chance moment" I think it should be Axelrod's last chance.
Axelrod urges us to forget about choice; forgive and then forget his shameful, secret White House deal with the pharmaceuticals behind closed doors that will cost billions and billions; forget the deal on 55-year-olds getting Medicare coverage; forget you have a soul and just vote for the lousy deal "President Lieberman and Vice President Nelson" give you. Let Joe Lieberman define your Party. Whoa Nelly!
Here is the NY Times: "Now that the Senate Democratic leadership has stripped the last vestige of the public option--the Medicare buy-in provision from its bill, progressives are feeling betrayed." Yes indeed. Count me as one of those feeling betrayed.
I again remind you of Fighting Bob's admonition--"half a loaf dulls the appetite for the whole loaf." But the current offering is not even a slice of bread let alone half a loaf. Follow Dean. Vote no, start over.
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December 17, 2009
You must be kidding
The "surge" of 30,000 U.S. troops into Afghanistan could be accompanied by a surge of up to 56,000 contractors. (You know--Halliburton, Blackwater, Brown & Root types.) An additional 26,000 to 56,000 contractors would bring the total in the country from 130,000 to 160,000. Where in the West Point speech was this nugget buried?
CRS, the Congressional Research Service, says this will be the highest percentage of contractors ever used--69 percent! It gets crazier. Walter Pincus of the Washington Post reveals that the Defense Department awarded a $44.8 million contract to a Florida firm for dogs and their handlers for use in southern Afghanistan. Let's see. Maybe we can look forward to drone-dropping dogs who will seek out Taliban fighters and kill them. Whoa Nelly.
I wish I still had a dog...but then I think my dog only barked in English and only chased squirrels. He would probably just wag his tail at a Taliban fighter. Damn!
Obama pointedly rejected comparisons with Vietnam. A war, you will recall, where the U.S. was caught plotting to get rid of corrupt Vietnamese leaders. Read the NY Times this morning and ask the president if Vietnam is still an inappropriate analogy. American diplomat Peter Galbraith proposed enlisting the White House in a plan to replace the (corrupt) Afghan president. Karzai became incensed when he learned of the plan. My, my, what thin skin you have Karzai.
So Galbraith was fired and the fraud and corruption continued. Yes, that would be the same Peter Galbraith who negotiated for the Kurds in oil negotiations in Iraq--without bothering to tell anyone that he would get paid millions of dollars through a Norwegian oil company if the Kurds did well in negotiations. So I think he knows corruption. Up close and personal.
How bad are things for Tiger? Accenture dropped him! Yes, Accenture, once known as Arthur Anderson, with a reputation so tarnished they had to come up with a new name!
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December 16, 2009
Compromise or surrender?
You have to feel for senators Brown, Sanders, Harkin, Feingold and Rockefeller. They have fought the good fight while Lieberman and Nelson destroy the health care reform the good guys fought to pass while Franken, Klobuchar and Kohl ducked for cover.
Guys like Wyden of Oregon, Conrad and Baucus will accept anything with a label that reads "Health care Reform 2009." And I mean anything. I hope the good guys vote no, kick Lieberman out of the caucus, take his chairmanships and, for good measure, pay his GOP dues for a year. Joe will enjoy the Tea Party.
If I hear or read one more time, "Don't let the perfect be the enemy of the good," I will vomit. I think the better thought is for Lieberman: "Don't let the door hit you in the arse on the way out."
I applaud Dr. Howard Dean, former presidential candidate, who has called for defeat of this joke labeled "reform." No, friends, something is not always better than nothing. Compromise in good faith, of course, but not surrender to bullies. Fighting Bob Follette had this to say: "Half a loaf merely dulls the appetite for the full loaf."
Defeat this feeble cousin of reform, get new leaders, start over. Howard Cosell used to say, "You deserve whatever you get." Not quite, but once the Dems began making concessions to the bitter guy from Connecticut the game was over.
No capitulation in the Legislature today. The Doyle-Duncan-Barrett MPS takeover will not be debated today. Stay tuned.
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December 15, 2009
Lieberman!
This egomaniac, this so-called Democrat, this humanitarian, this former VP candidate on Democratic ticket, would apparently let thousands of people not covered by health insurance die over the course of the next 10 years in order to punish Democrats in Connecticut for voting against him in his last Senate race when they nominated Ned Lamont. (Let's hope that was Joe's last Senate race!) Nice guy. He parades his religious beliefs apparently to camouflage his incredible desire to be the the center of attention, while acting pained and explaining that he is "torn" by his convictions. Well, time for action. Relieve his angst. Show him the door of the Democratic caucus now.
I know, I know, that could cost us the health bill, but so what? Mo-Jo has killed most of the good stuff already, so kick him out, change the filibuster rule, and start over. Blackmail ain't pretty, and that is what Mo-Jo, Evan Bayh and Ben Nelson are up to. (And Olympia Snow? No better.)
Time for Harry Reid to step aside, kick Mo-Jo out on his way, and move in a new leader who is willing to take on the battle and go at it with the lobbyists. If the Democrats keep agreeing with Lieberman why not admit defeat at the hand of Aetna--the real Senator from Connecticut?
In Wisconsin, Doyle and Barrett are feeling better about their proposed loopy mayoral takeover of Milwaukee Public Schools. Why are they feeling so good? They were running low on excuses to justify this anti-democratic move. Arne Duncan won't give them a dollar figure for one. Well, not to worry. The unofficial governing class has spoken. Yes, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI) has spoken.
Led by Jim Klauser, Ave Bie, Richard Graber and other rightwing Republicans calling themselves "non-partisan," WPRI warns that MPS is broke. I think I get it. After 12 years of Klauser and Tommy Thompson and eight years of Doyle, MPS is broke. Solution? Blame incoming MPS board president Bonds and run for River Hills.
An interesting side note. We learn of this from the MacIver News Service. What's that? Ask Klauser, Bie, and Graber. "Birds of a feather flock together," said my 4th grade nun.
Final note: How embarrassing does it get? The U.S. has decided to raise wages for Afghans who are employed by us. How much? Not quite as high as, get this, Taliban wages, but higher than they were. Who takes credit? Who is making policy?
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December 14, 2009
Who cares about quality?
The JS's Dan Bice reports on a decision by Mayor Barrett to help a private corporation with a troubled reputation establish a for-profit "college" in Milwaukee.
The group would work under the auspices of Corinthian Colleges. Corinthians runs more than 100 for-profit institutions. Known more for legal problems than scholarship, the Attorney General of California said, "Its colleges misled students about their ability to land jobs after they graduated to bolster enrollment."
Michael Rosen, president of the Milwaukee Area Technical College union, said the company is "the educational equivalent of payday loan operations." Rosen added, "They are not competition they are predators."
I must ask, What is Barrett thinking? Is Corinthians part of Duncan's Race to the Top? Whoa Nelly.
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December 13, 2009
Can't afford war? C'mon!
If you want to make a Tea Party adult wince or even cry, tell him/her about Dave Obey's war surtax. But first tell him you want real help for the unemployed, under-insured, or under-educated. The right-winger will cry that we can't afford to roll back tax cuts given to the super-rich, we can't eliminate the cap on FICA tax to pay for Social Security well into the next century, we can't afford national health care no matter which program makes it past Mo-Jo Lieberman.
Nope, we are broke...but wait! We can afford one million dollars per-year for every soldier we send to Afghanistan and Iraq. We can afford billions for care of traumatic brain injuries from combat. We can afford every piece of equipment the generals ask for. And the surge? Silly question.
Today's NY Times carries a terrific article featuring our Congressman Dave Obey. When Obama called Obey, Dave asked if he had watched the Bill Moyers program featuring audio tapes of LBJ and Richard Russell. It is gut-wrenching to listen to them both say, "Well, we know this is damn near a fool's errand but we don't have any choice." You will recall LBJ, as was revealed on tape, was convinced we could not win Vietnam but was also convinced that he would be impeached if he withdrew. He had choices and he made the wrong ones.
Obama at West Point apparently thought it was necessary to explain Vietnam. According to NYT, Obama pointedly rejected the Vietnam analogy saying, "It depends on a false reading of history." Really. He said that.
I hope Obey will push the "war surtax" so we can tackle hunger, poverty, foreclosures and more, and that he will press the president to watch and listen to The Fog Of War--the McNamara version of Vietnam history. Obama has the same choices that LBJ had. Will he be a profile in courage or an LBJ--remembered most for his war?
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December 12, 2009
Barrett for DPI, mayor, governor
Many friends of Mayor Tom Barrett warned us that he does not have his heart in the run for governor and that he will, if elected, manage state government from home base--Milwaukee. Thus far his lackluster, issue-less campaign has given support to the notion that he prefers the friendly confines of Milwaukee's City Hall to the east wing of the Capitol.
Instead of speaking out on important state issues, he has focused his attention on the Doyle/Duncan/Journal Sentinel plan to take over MPS. (It looks like Minnesota is ending the tax reciprocity agreement with Wisconsin. How will you address that issue?)
An effort that is of little interest outside Milwaukee, aside from scaring the Bejesus out of school districts who see the big bad state taking over education if a Democrat wins the gubernatorial contest, keeps you occupied on mayoral issues.
Doyle, rebuffed by legislators who question the wisdom of total mayoral control and elimination of an elected school board, because the (distracted) governor/mayor will conduct a better selection process for the next superintendent in Milwaukee, is, in a word, nuts. Why does Barrett focus on a Milwaukee issue? If Milwaukee must be his focus, how about jobs in the inner city? Is he still running for governor?
Meanwhile, Doyle and the Journal Sentinel continue to dangle billions of dollars (fool's gold) allocated for the nation's schools as bait. Doyle would have you accept the notion that because Doyle endorsed Obama and Obama carried Wisconsin that we are the favored ones. The story/dream continues--if we just eliminate the elected school board money will flow from Washington to Wisconsin like the swollen Mississippi rushes south.
This ill-defined "sorta" promise has all the earmarks of consumer fraud.
Run for Governor as if you want the job, Tom. MPS Board President Bonds was elected to run the school board and he can handle the job. You were elected mayor, Doyle is governor. Is this all there is in the idea jar?
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December 11, 2009
Say what?
Now that newspapers are in decline it is hard for most of us called anything but "insiders" to separate the political wheat from the chaff. Where do we get the "good stuff"? That's easy--it comes from "anonymous experts." And, hey, if you can't trust anonymous experts, whom can you trust?
The Cap Times print version on Wednesday carried the WisPolitics report. A selection of quotes from it makes my point. I am not making any of this up: "Good government types say..others disagree especially when it does nothing to regulate [anonymous] issue ads... Possible Republican candidate Tommy Thompson...continues to kick the tires...many Republicans believe...some even suggested...[unnamed] poll numbers raise some doubts...
"Obama won't win without Wisconsin...one Dem notes...Sources tell Wispolitics...he worked numerous[un-named] campaigns...means Obama is going to make Wisconsin a priority...one candidate who could knock off Feingold...nip and tuck after a different [anonymous poll]..but new poll numbers raise doubts...some argue."
This progressive just completed an interview with himself but sources inside my computer tell us--not time yet...kick some tires, conduct a poll or two...
Oslo: Whoa Nelly! Gandhi, King and Karsai? As if lecturing freshmen in their first political science class, the president boldly asserted, "Make no mistake, evil does exist in the world." Wow! Then he really took a chance, "I understand why war is not popular." Guess not. Most Americans, and I suspect 99% of his Oslo audience, agree with that thought and ask, Why send 30,000 more troops?
Disappointing speech. But what can the Nobel Peace Prize recipient say after West Point?
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December 10, 2009
Cognitive dissonance
Hamid Karzai, apparently unfazed by the 18-month deadline set by Nobel Peace Prize winner Barack Obama, said he anticipated a U.S. combat presence in his country for five more years with funding (ah, yes, funding) to continue for 15 years. That's $10 billion a year!
Secretary Clinton suggests there is no deadline for exiting Afghanistan; Obama says there is a deadline, or did he?
Have the generals taken over, or were they in charge all the time but crouching behind the White House furniture? And what was the Oslo speech all about?
Why should we not have a "war surtax"? Obey is right--we should all sacrifice. I'm confused.
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December 9, 2009
Special session?
Jim Doyle has been hollering wolf for months. He shouts that unless the Legislature passes his ill-defined plan to rescue Milwaukee Public Schools Wisconsin might not get any of the cash President Obama has set aside for this unproven experiment he calls "Race to the Top." Doyle whines "don't blame me" when Arne Duncan's armored car drives past Wisconsin if we remain stuck in the muck of democracy. "Don't blame me!"
We get little more from Doyle than vague promises of an uncertain cash reward if Wisconsin dumps the elected MPS board of education in favor of the mayor of Milwaukee taking over MPS. Unable to persuade the public, he has called for a special legislative session on December 16 to pass his pledge to please Duncan. No need for hearings; no need for expert testimony; no need for consensus; no time for an open session to ask questions of Duncan, Doyle, Barrett or DPI. Nope! Act now or lose the money. How much? "Don't ask don't tell."
Meanwhile, the mayor of Milwaukee has endorsed Doyle's plan with all the enthusiasm of a child waiting for a flu shot at the doctor's office. Barrett said, "I call upon the Legislature to support and take action on the TEACH bill" (whatever that is).
"How much longer," Barrett asks, "will the status quo be accepted? The time to act is now." Wow! Such enthusiasm! A clarion call to action! Whoa Nelly, Tom Barrett. Thus far your gubernatorial campaign has been as exciting as the comet Kohoutek. Do you want to divide your Milwaukee base just as you plunge in to your campaign for governor?
People in Wisconsin like their public schools. Where a school fails, we usually hold local officials to blame. Let's hope the Legislature fills in the blanks before taking action. Our kids deserve sober reflection before buying a pig in a poke. It is their future.
PUBLIC OPTION: Looks like it is gone, but perhaps we may emerge with a drop in age from 65 to 55 for Medicare. If Bernie Sanders supports it, I can swallo hard, condemn Lieberman, and take the compromise. We can't emerge with a hat full of rain.
Eighteen months? Out of Afghanistan? Well, one or two soldiers might leave.
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December 8, 2009
Hide and seek?
Read and weep from the Washington Post: "Afghan lawmakers demand a full, not partial, list of President Karzai's new cabinet." Impertinent, I say. The article says, "This is the first test of the embattled leader's commitment to clean up graft and bribery in his government." Karzai's response--he will release the names of only six cabinet members! (I'm not kidding--you couldn't make it up.)
While we prepare to send 30,000 troops to face a hostile populace and an entrenched armed force, "Taliban leaders" according to the Post, "are quietly pushing ahead with preparations for a moment they believe is inevitable; their return to power." Maybe this is old news to you, but I had not heard this before the awful decision by Obama to cave to the hawks. The Taliban has a shadow government functioning throughout Afghanistan? Whoa Nelly!
Catch this: "U.S. Military officials say that dislodging the Taliban's shadow government, and establishing the authority of the [totally corrupt] Karzai administration over the next 18 months will be critical to the success of Obama's surge strategy." Who knows? In 18 months he might let us in on the secret--the full list of cabinet members. (How do we know whom to bribe? One needs a program.) This is nutso!
Meanwhile 16,000 have been killed in the battle over drug money in Mexico in the past three years. Let me see. How ya doin', Hillary? Enjoying the job?
A must read this morning--Bill Kraus on Prosser.
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December 7, 2009
Drugs and banks and Afghanistan
Washington Post, December 6, 2009: "Two shootouts between troops and gunmen in northern Mexico have killed 13 people including a drug trafficker...Morales, killed in the attack was accused of working for the Zetas, drug traffickers..." and on and on and on and on.
Our "war on drugs" is a bad joke and everyone knows it, but no one is laughing. The head-in-sand government pretends that we are making progress in the drug war but the news out of Mexico and the poppy fields in Afghanistan says otherwise. Meanwhile, moralists of the Bill Bennett ilk are bemoaning the sale of medicinal marijuana in the U.S. (They are afraid. "What if the buyers enjoy it? Then what?")
Remember the pompous moralist, drug Czar Bill Bennett? (Turns out he was a gambling addict...oh well.)
The demand for illegal drugs in America is the driving force behind unrest in Mexico, Colombia and Afghanistan. (The brother of the Afghan president is allegedly the drug king-pin in the country we are "saving" from the Taliban.) Our troops are, in a real sense, in harm's way to protect the drug supply lines from Kabul to Chicago.
Illegal drugs corrupt our government and the Mexican government, and proceeds from the sale of the illegal drugs fuel the insurgency in Afghanistan. Question: Are we stupid? Can't we learn our mistake called prohibition?
I say legalize, educate, regulate. You? A nation that permits the sale of cigarettes to kids should start acting a little bit smarter. Stop the war.
Hooray for Russ Feingold for opposing Obama's surge. Well done. Herb? You listening?
Pay Day Loans: Sixty million Americans--low-income minorities of course--are compelled to use non-bank outlets like payday loans. Why don't we stop this travesty? No will? Not good enough! A nation that will spend $97 billion on gift cards this year ought to figure out how to send a gift card to the robbers at Payday. Bye-bye!
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December 5, 2009
Face it Mr. President, they won't support you
A day or so after the disappointing speech on Afghanistan, where the war got a new owner with no valid warranties, I listened to the hawks' response to the Obama plan. Predictably, they jumped all over the president--"uninspired...too late...insuffiient support...the enemy will pull out calendars and mark July 2011 as the new target," etc.,etc., blah, blah, blah.
I had the feeling listening to Obama that his heart wasn't really into the speech. He seemed to be saying, "OK. We have no good options so let's all gather around the camp fire, in a non-partisan pledge to do our best, to get out of this fiasco." The hawks were having none of it and they never will. Their goal is to defeat Obama, and apparently they believe that defeating the Taliban would jeopardize that goal. (One can only hope that Obama understands that bipartisanship has a nice sound but it is not going to happen on health care, the environment, Afghanistan, or the economy.)
Good news from unlikely source: Governor Doyle appointed Rep. Gary Sherman to the District IV Court of Appeals. Gary represents Port Wing in the 74th Assembly District. A good guy, smart lawyer, and an excellent choice.
More good news. It looks like the zany Doyle-Duncan plan to end the elected school board in Milwaukee in favor of mayoral control will not go anywhere soon. Doyle is off to Tivoli, Barrett is otherwise occupied, and the people of Milwaukee said "No!"
The National Priorities Project (check this and many other sites on our Links page) reports we have spent $938 billion on Iraq and Afghanistan. Note to Obama: We are broke. Stop the war. Build our nation--ours.
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December 4, 2009
OK, who pays?
Dave Obey sometimes refers to Speaker Nancy Pelosi as "our quarterback." Well let's see how the QB responded to team player Obey's proposal to create a "war tax" to, as David suggested, "spread the sacrifice." She joined with Steny Hoyer and Harry Reid to kill the idea.
OK, Wisenheimers, how will you pay for the war, the surge, and the rebuild Afghanistan program? The Washington Post simply said, "In rejecting Obey's tax, Pelosi did not offer other ways to finance the stepped-up war effort."
The QB tells them in the huddle, "I don't have a play in mind so do your best--on three!" She fades back...
Louis Butler advances: The federal judge appointment of Judge Butler was approved by the Senate Judiciary Committee. Congratulations all around.
Left out are you? A former Hillary fundraiser who came out from the cold to raise mega-bucks for Obama complained that the Obama administration is not being nice enough to the money raisers. (And I thought they raised that money for good government. Tsk, tsk. Do I feel stupid.)
Little has been done to thank them. One of the heavy breathers was quoted in in the Washington Post saying, "Under Clinton, we did spend some time in the White House and at Camp David. There is real frustration in the donor community in general. There is so much less of that than I think ever occurred in the past." Heck, I would settle for a condo in the "donor community" over a holiday!
And we have the gall to lecture Afghanistan on corruption?
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December 3, 2009
Poor Harvard!
Harvard Law School is not cheap. Most students graduate with a huge debt. So, to encourage students to take jobs in the non-profit or governmental worlds, Harvard did something. The law school offered to waive tuition for third-year students if they would spend five years working for nonprofit organizations or the government. Imagine that faculty meeting!
The problem is too many students signed up in this bad economy, the New York Times reports, so the faculty has killed the program.
Who could blame them? The Harvard endowment declined 27 percent between June 2008, and June 2009. How much? By $26 billion! Should we send money to re-build the endowment?
Harley: Compare the fate of Harvard law grads and Harley-Davidson workers in York, Pennsylvania. The union just voted to accept a seven-year contract filled with concessions and an agreement that Harley could fire half the workforce. Why would a union vote yes, you ask? Because good old Harley told the workers, "Vote no and we will move the plant to Kentucky." That's why.
Harley, hailed as a success story, got government tariff protection. How did they thank us? The Bud Adams salute!
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December 2, 2009
Leave it to Sheldon?
When a new policy idea was presented to FDR, he reportedly said, "Clear it with Sidney." That would be Sidney Hillman.
It would appear that Governor Doyle is increasingly content to have his ideas vetted or created by Sheldon Lubar, or perhaps Lubar is only the trial balloon floater for Doyle. (And gubernatorial candidate Mayor Tom Barrett on Monday, Wednesday and Friday, and Scott Walker's advisor on Friday and Sunday.) Or, possibly Lubar is a loose, albeit gold-plated cannon speaking on his own. Rob Henken, Public Policy Forum president (GMC alter ego), recently assured some rotarians that Lubar "doesn't speak for the forum." (Maybe Henken is correct, but my guess is that he won't have his job for long if Lubar gets annoyed with him.)
So Lubar says blow up the county as an entity and elimiates the elected school board, and that is just for openers. I can hardly wait for him to tell us how to dismantle state government.
One can almost hear Doyle's order, "Leave it to Sheldon." For those outside the Milwaukee area, a little background: Elected government in Milwaukee plays second fiddle to the self-appointed Greater Milwaukee Committee. Not much happens until the heavy breathers on GMC give the green light.
Lubar's latest ideas were floated at a Rotary Club luncheon and reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Lubar says "get rid of county government. Turn over the services to the cities or some new special purpose districts." Recently Lubar said that Milwaukee County would not work even if Jesus was the county exec and Moses chaired the board of supervisors.
Thank you for that, Sheldon. Annie Gaylor will be pleased to note GMC rejects theocracy.
Meanwhile, the governor signed the most important change in campaign funding in decades titled Impartial Justice. Supreme court elections will be publicly funded. Hooray! Where was the signing? Guess: a.) At the bust of Fighting Bob La Follette in the Capitol b.) Outside the Supreme Court or c.) In a closet.
'C' is the answer. A "private" bill signing. Never happens, but it did yesterday. No mention of the Heffernan Commission; Wisconsin Democracy Campaign; Fighting Bob Fest; Lieutenant Governor--nope. Why hide it under a bushel? Ask Sheldon.
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December 1, 2009
Been there heard that!
The moment has arrived. Toughen up, folks! Tonight President Barack Obama will proclaim that he is a lot like those who preceded him to a carefully crafted speech that will roll out of a TelePrompTer as the young cadets at West Point sit and listen. Had the speech been delivered to Congress, as it should have been, a much older gathering of men and women, we would have watched the congressmen doze off, struggle to keep their eyes open, listen, and about every two minutes jump to their feet and cheer the same nonsense they applauded when other presidents told yarns about other wars, like the one our president will roll out tonight.
But the audience tonight will listen with the intensity of family listening to the surgeon reporting on the just-completed operation on a loved one. Obama will, tonight, respond to a 30-second spot aired in the campaign. You remember--the red phone rings at the White House. Three in the morning. Is he ready to be Commander-in-Chief?
I guess he is, if that means sending youngsters to war thousands of miles from family, friends, lovers, grandparents, teammates, teachers or pastors who inspired them; pets, the corner bar, weddings, funerals, Packers, "da Bears," Badger basketball, midnight mass--you know, the stuff of life in small towns. Hit the pause button on the lives of 34,000 troops, spouses, young kids, friends. West Point cadets? Well, they are anxious to show how ready they are to lead. They will applaud. They should not be the audience.
We will hear, pardon my expression, lots of bull-roar: "These brave men and women will...help strengthen the government of the country (theirs not ours)...they will help eliminate corruption in Kabul(not Wall Street)."
Or, as Gordon Brown pontificated in the true language of the colonialists of another century, "We will create the space for an effective political strategy to work." I'm not kidding. He said that! And for good measure Brown added, "Weakening the Taliban by (you guessed it) strengthening Afghanistan itself." Memo to Gordon: Cut the bullshit. You and the American president are relying on young people to kill and maime in Afghanistan under the transparent cover of nation-building, grand strategies, and ending corruption. We ain't buying it.
We heard it all as LBJ and Nixon tried to justify a disaster in Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia; we heard it in Korea; we heard it in Iraq. As a child I heard the zealots ask, "Who lost China?" Their idiotic answer was that it was communists in the State Department. Now we have a new generation of experts explaining why we must not lose Afghanistan. Or was it Pakistan, Kurdistan, Iran? I can't keep track.
I am sad today, Mr. President. The light was bright but it faded quickly.
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