March 15, 2012
Climate change? Pass a law!
A Dominican nun in my home town of Burlington often said, "An idle mind is the devil's workshop." And Betty Garvey adds, "Legislators have too much time on their hands. We should go to a part-time Legislature." I agree with both thoughts, and if you followed the closing days of this session you will agree. But the idle minds are not restricted to the Legislature. The governor, lieutenant governor and DNR secretary also provide the devil with lots of idle time.
Wolves are off the list of endangered species for the first time in 50 years. So what does the Legislature do? Yup! We will now have a wolf hunting season complete with night hunting and use of dogs for tracking (as they do in bear hunting) and, oh never mind. Let me see, we can hunt morning doves; and soon we will be able to eat cranes; how about cows? A galloping cow could present a challenge.
Joint Finance defeated a plan to build a new train maintenance base. The decision: moth ball two brand new trains and walk away from $71.8 million already invested in them.
Then the idle minds move from wolves to abortion. New rules: Only a doctor can dispense abortion pills and the doc must be in the room when the woman wants one. (Could we not have a doctor in the room at conception? Could answer any questions. Possibly administer a breath test to make sure booze is not a factor.)
Add in the lieutenant governor, who gets into the top 10 commenting on Democrats who correctly say there is a war on women: "What about the rights of the women who have not been born yet?"
Then the legislators really got into high gear. Sex education: must promote marriage. Abstinence: the only way.
Climate change: Pass a law making climate change a punishable offense.
Cathy Stepp. Question: Who pays your salary? DNR and taxpayers or the mining companies? This state produced Aldo Leoppld, John Muir, Gaylord Nelson, Warren Knowles, Arlen Christiansen, the Public Intervenor. How bad could it be now? Cathy Stepp is the worst appointment yet. She should resign.
Why must we exaggerate? Those engaged in the recall effort did a great job at significant personal hardship. When the deadline passed, the Democratic Party (yes, Virginia, there is a Democratic Party) announced with much fanfare that they clearly had the 540,208 needed to recall Walker. To make sure, they took the petitions to a site and reviewed the petitions so they would be accurate.
Huzzah! The Democratic Party announced to hand-clapping and cheers, that over one million signatures would be turned into the GAB! Then the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel counted and found that the total was 931,002, or 69,000 less than a million. Does it matter? I say it does. Had the Dems simply said more than 540,0042 had been turned in the mood would have been just as joyous. Or they might have said, "We estimate we will be close to one million." But the million figure has been repeated and repeated so now the Dems get a black eye for no reason.
The goal should be to gain the trust of the people. Idea: Instead of estimating a crowd of 60,000 last Saturday, why not go with a more likely figure of 35,000?
Just tell the truth.
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Wisconsin and Mississippi. Two states seperated by Illinois and Tennessee. And it is showing! Well, they do say that Global Warming will make it easier for pests and infection to spread.
-Griebnotz Doerkpfester | (Glad) I Escaped! WI. | March 15, 2012
Do you know why they have idle minds? They only have to do what the Koch brothers pay them to do and dare not to think on their own.
-WisconsinLiberal | Fox Valley, WI | March 15, 2012
Gee ED, didn't I read here "a lie has traveled around the world while truth is pulling on her boots". At least there's hope for Rebecca, maybe she'll start caring for all the yet to be born people and their right to a good education, clean water and clean air, and their right to live without fear of being considered collateral damage in a war for resources.
-Dole O'Mite | Oconomowoc, WI | March 15, 2012
Marriage is a helluva price to pay just to have sex.
Does anyone really believe teens who discover the joy will abstain from it or get married so they can fool around in the family minivan? How do all the philandering legislators explain their own behavior? I'm surprised these bozos haven't made divorce a felony.
When politicians fail to govern, they restrict the rights and lives of the rest of us because that's all they know how to do.
-Pietr Haikuu | Hurley, Wisc. | March 16, 2012
Not sure what is being referred to by statement in your blog that Wisconsin produced John Muir. From Wisconsin Historical Society: John Muir was born in Dunbar, Scotland, on April 21, 1838. The Muir family immigrated to U.S., settling near Portage Wis in 1849. John entered UW Madison in 1860, but left after 3 years. After an industrial job and subsequent industrial accident in Indianapolis, Muir spent the next few years indulging his wanderlust in northern U.S., Canada, Mexico, Panama. He landed in San Francisco in March 1868 at the age of 30. Entranced by the Sierra Nevada Mountains and what would become Yosemite National Park, CA was his home until his death in Los Angeles in 1914. In 1880 he married Louie Wanda Strentzel and moved to Martinez, California, where they raised two daughters and managed a family fruit farm. He lived in CA 36 years. Probably technically correct to say his parents produced him in Scotland where he spent 11 years and that he lived in Wisconsin until he was about 25 years old. Whatever?!!?
-Bonnita | Spring Texas; hometown Burlington, Wis | March 18, 2012
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