Harris Defends Sales Tax; Won't Veto Board Reduction

My Radio Commentary interview with Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris can be found here. The bulk of the interview features Harris justifying his proposed sales tax increase. In the last 5 minutes of the interview, Harris explains why he will NOT veto the county board of supervisors' recent decision to downsize from 38 to 36 so as to short-circuit a Progress Oshkosh proposal to shrink the board to 19.

Don't Know Much About History

The Intercollegiate Studies Institute recently released a study on American college seniors' civic literacy. Those of us who teach at the university level do not find the results shocking. According to the summary:

Responses from college seniors to a selection of individual questions display how little they actually know about basic historical facts, ideas, and concepts germane to meaningful participation in American civic life.

* Seniors lack basic knowledge of America's history. More than half, 53.4 percent, could not identify the correct century when the first American colony was established at Jamestown. And 55.4 percent could not recognize Yorktown as the battle that brought the American Revolution to an end (28 percent even thought the Civil War battle at Gettysburg the correct answer).
* College seniors are also ignorant of America's founding documents. Fewer than half, 47.9 percent, recognized that the line "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal," is from the Declaration of Independence. And an overwhelming majority, 72.8 percent, could not correctly identify the source of the idea of "a wall of separation" between church and state.
* More than half of college seniors did not know that the Bill of Rights explicitly prohibits the establishment of an official religion for the United States.
* Nearly half of all college seniors, 49.4 percent, did not know that The Federalist Papers—foundational texts of America's constitutional order—were written in support of the ratification of the U.S. Constitution. Seniors actually scored lower than freshmen on this question by 5.7 percentage points, illustrating negative learning while at college.
* More than 75 percent of college seniors could not identify that the purpose of the Monroe Doctrine was to prevent foreign expansion in the Western Hemisphere.
* Even with their country at war in Iraq, fewer than half of seniors, 45.2 percent, could identify the Baath party as the main source of Saddam Hussein's political support. In fact, 12.2 percent believed that Saddam Hussein found his most reliable supporters in the Communist Party. Almost 5.7 percent chose Israel.
The full study can be found here.

Chavez, the Devil, Chomsky, and Us

Michael Albert of ZNET recently wrote an excellent essay about Hugo Chavez's scolding of Dubya' at the UN; the best best part of the essay is the lessons he draws for the so-called "Left." I think in this paragraph he is RIGHT ON:

". . . I think the difference between Chavez and most others even on the left is that Chavez is seeking to win, and we are instead seeking, as often as not, to avoid alienating pundits or to even appeal to them. We are seeking to avoid annoying anyone we like, or anyone we might like, or who might like us. We are seeking to avoid looking odd to anyone, or to avoid making a mistake, or to avoid seeming shrill and angry, or self serving, or passionate. And we need to transcend all that."

The full essay can be found here.

Scatterbrain

I've been placing Jeff Beck video footage over on TonyPalmeri.Com this week. He's a legendary rock/jazz guitar player. Pretty much every serious guitarist has him in the top five list. The poor guy has gone deaf after all those years of playing with mega-loud amps.

The tune below is "Scatterbrain," with Vinnie Coliauta (used to play with Frank Zappa) on drums.

Harris To Go On Sales Tax Increase Offensive

Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris claims that last year his proposal to raise the county sales tax was "bowled over by special interest groups." He told me in an email that opposition was driven by "critics that demonstrated a blatant disregard for the truth." This year Harris intends to go on the offensive: tonight he will provide county board supervisors with a detailed examination of why the tax increase is necessary, and he will soon unveil a "Cut Winnebago Property Tax" website.

Mr. Harris will be a guest on Radio Commentary (WRST 90.3 FM) this coming Friday at 6:15 p.m. Web streaming is available at the WRST site.

You can learn more about Mark Harris at the Mark Harris Watch.

Republicrat Integrity

From the Journal Sentinel:

Madison -- While details of a third gubernatorial debate were released today, plans for another one were canceled.

Both Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle and Republican U.S. Rep. Mark Green turned down attending an Oct. 11 debate at the University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire. It was the only debate Wisconsin Green candidate Nelson Eisman was invited to, and he was the sole candidate to accept the offer.

The Eisman Cometh

The only peoples' candidate for governor, a man who wants to make a HUGE Difference for Wisconsin while the establishment candidates fight over which one is less corrupt, is coming to UW Oshkosh on Wednesday evening. That's right, Green Party candidate Nelson Eisman will be on campus so that all members of the Oshkosh community can hear for themselves what he is saying that is so threatening to the Doyle/Green camps that they have done all they can to prevent him participating in debates.

Nelson Eisman will speak at the UW Oshkosh Reeve Memorial Union, Room 227C, from 8:30 - 9:30 p.m. on Wednesday, September 27. Admission is free and open to the public.

Rylance on Radio Commentary

Yesterday's guest on Radio Commentary was local pundit Dan Rylance. We talk about the primary election results, the Oshkosh tax referendums, the size of the county board, the Kevin Barrett situation, and a few other issues. The show starts off with the famed tune "The Wabash Cannonball," so don't think you clicked the wrong mp3 file. We are also in a new studio that we have not figured out the logistics to yet, so there are some annoying phone rings in there.

The interview is can be found here.

Manufacturing Chomsky

Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez held up Noam Chomsky's Hegemony or Survival in his UN speech the other day, shooting the book to the top of Amazon's best seller list. Here's Chavez's "review" of the book:

First, and with all respect, I highly recommend this book by Noam Chomsky, one of the most prestigious intellectuals in America and the world, Chomsky. One of his most recent works: Hegemony or Survival: America’s Quest for Global Dominance (The American Empire Project) . It’s an excellent work to understand what’s happened in the world in the 20th Century, what’s currently happening, and the greatest threat on this planet; the hegemonic pretension of the North American imperialism endangers the human race’s survival . . .

The book is in English, in Russian, in Arabic, in German.

I think that the first people who should read this book are our brothers and sisters in the United States, because their threat is in their own house. The devil is right at home. The devil -- the devil, himself, is right in the house.

Ahmadinejad Invited To Speak At CU + Academic Slavery

Controversial Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has been invited to speak at Columbia University, a move certain to upset New York politicians, pundits, and university haters in general.

I think the campus Greens should invite Ahmadinejad to speak at UW Oshkosh. Then before he gets here, our chancellor could assure everyone that no taxpayer dollars are being used to arrange the visit. Then he could reprise the Kevin Barrett provoked panel on "Why Smart People Believe Weird Things" and create another on "What Social and Psychological Conditions Predispose People to Develop and Accept Holocaust Denial?” He'd have to arrange these panels, of course, because our campus community apparently would not be smart enough to recognize on their own where Ahmadinejad is coming from, just like they are apparently not able to dissect the views of Kevin Barrett without first having his presentation framed as "weird." Plus the panels would allow our legislature and governor to rest assured knowing that we are good little boys and girls here at Oshkosh who will do what is necessary to stigmatize any event on campus that does not meet with the approval of Representive Steve Nass, right wing pundits, or other university haters.

I'm starting to think that we ought to replace the once venerated notion of "academic freedom" with one that is more realistic to the time we are living in, "academic slavery." In the era of academic freedom, the universities invite controversial ideas, urge an ethic of subjecting them to critical analysis, and defend the right of each individual to draw his or her own conclusions from the evidence presented to them. In the era of academic slavery, administrators and faculty go to lengths to protect their collective asses against the Nass-es of the world who are perceived as having power to punish us if we do not behave according to their definition of what is appropriate for the academy.

Will Lautenschlager Go After Doyle?

Bruce Murphy today opines that Doyle operatives and the guv himself played key roles in tanking Peggy Lautenschlager's bid for reelection. He then wonders, as have others, whether Peg will now "go after" Doyle to embarrass him before the election. I think that's the wrong question. The right question is: Will Lautenschlager continue to DO HER JOB now that she has declared "unity" with the Democratic ticket? If doing her job professionally and ethically means that the guv gets embarrassed, so be it.

My guess is that Lautenschlager will probably run for Congress someday, or some other office, and she's calculating that she's better off not offending even Democratic party lightweights like Doyle. So while hyper partisan Dems might worry that she'll embarrass him, the rest of us citizens should worry that she will turn a blind eye toward abuses that may be going on in the executive branch just to protect her future political prospects. I hope I'm wrong.

Council Looks To Shift Blame

The four members of the Oshkosh Common Council who voted to place a tax increase referendum on the November ballot cannot honestly think that it will pass. What this really represents is an effort to blame the citizens if and when deep cuts in city services happen. I can hear it now: "Well, we told you that taxes needed to be raised, and you voted it down."

We all know that in November the garbage fee will be rejected, and so will this inane tax increase referendum. Instead of taking the easy way out and imposing an across the board 3% cut, it's time for the City Manager and this Council to start coming up with some criteria for determing what the city's priorities should be given the budget situation Madison has placed us in.

How to Steal an Election With a Diebold Machine

Fascinating and frightening stuff. Be sure also to read Babblemur's excellent account of the mendacity in Winnebago County.

Robert Scheer on Flaws in the 911 Narrative

In the video below, former L.A. Times columnist Robert Scheer offers a cogent perspective on the popularity of 9/11 conspiracy theories. One thing he reveals, which I did not know before, is that the 9/11 Commission did not get to speak to any of the "key witnesses" held by the US government who allegedly know something about the 9/11 plot. Not only that, but the Commission did not even get to talk to the CIA interrogators of these witnesses. Really builds trust in the government's version of events, eh?

Audio: Palmeri and Underheim

My conversation with soon-to-be former District 54 State Representative Gregg Underheim can be found here. In the interview he says he is actively seeking a position as a lobbyist FOR the UW System.

Palmeri v. Blaska

My "Week in Review" opposite former Dane County Supervisor Blaska can be found here. I think I only made one clever point, which was that Democrats in the 8th CD see John Gard as a "rash on the body politic," therefore it's appropriate that they selected an allergist (Steve Kagen) as their nominee. Okay, I admit it's not THAT funny, especially since "rash" may be too polite a descriptor for someone who wants to bring Cheneyesque values to our congressional delegation.

First Sham Debate Tonight

Tonight from 7-8 p.m. is the first sham "debate" between the establishment candidates for governor, Jim Doyle and Mark Green. Today's Journal Sentinel reports that neither of these characters are serious about balancing the state's budget: "Both Doyle and Green have positioned themselves as budget hawks. But when it comes to offering specific budget-balancing plans, they speak only in generalities."

The Green Party candidate for governor, Nelson Eisman, proposes a restoration of progressivity in our tax policy as the way to balance the budget. Unfortunately, the few people who will actually be watching the Doyle/Green snooze fest won't be hearing Eisman as the "We the People" (what people?) outfit has decided he is not worthy of being on the stage with candidates who will make the state's budget problems worse.

Friday "Week in Review" + Radio Commentary

I'll be on Friday's Wisconsin Public Radio "Week in Review" with host Joy Cardin and other guest Dave Blaska, former member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors from 8 - 9 a.m.

Then on Friday evening from 6:15 - 7:00 p.m., "Radio Commentary" returns to WRST 90.3 FM radio in Oshkosh. I will be interviewing soon-to-be former District 54 State Representative Gregg Underheim of Oshkosh. I ran against Gregg twice: in 1996 as a Democrat and in 2004 on the Green ticket. Web streaming is available on the radio station site.

So Much For Touch Screen Voting

After all the hype and nonsense about the compatibility of Diebold touch screen voting machines with other voting technology in Winnebago County, and all of the cheap shot attacks against critics of the system, the local press describes the less than stellar debut of the technology here and here. Imagine the situation we would be in right now if one of the elections had been close?

Meanwhile, a couple of Princeton professors have just released a report showing how easy it is to hack the Diebold machines. Here's a summary. Diebold's rapid response PR team immediately sent out this response.

Why Lautenschlager Lost

No one thought that Peggy Lautenschlager would have an easy time getting reelected. A drunk driving conviction is difficult for any politician to overcome, especially the top law enforcement official in the state. I think it's likely that Falk voters bought the argument that Peg would not be able to defeat the Republican in November, but I don't think that's the main reason she lost.

Peggy lost, in my opinion, because her campaign barely mentioned the fact that she has been the only official in the state standing between Jim Doyle and a complete turnover of the state to corporate interests. Yes, she talked about "standing up to special interests," but in a manner that was so general and vague that she essentially let Doyle off the hook. Lautenschlager needed to tell the voters that ours is a system of checks and balances, and especially being that Wisconsin gives its governor enormous budget and other powers, it is vital that the AG stand up to the governor whether he is a Democrat or Republican. Falk will be fine if Mark Green gets elected governor, but we have no assurances at this point that she will stand up to Doyle. A corporate Democrat governor with a toady in the AG's office is a frightening prospect. Let's hope Kathleen asserts some indepedence in the next few weeks.