RIP: Molly Ivins

After a long ordeal with cancer, columnist Molly Ivins died today at 62. The New York Times coverage can be found here. Molly was a feisty Texan and unapologetic liberal--perhaps being a liberal in Texas is what made her such a great humorist. I mean not only that a liberal Texan would need a sense of humor just to cope, but also that there is no other place in America that provdes as much fodder for a humorist. George Bush alone provided her with enough material for two best selling books (Shrub and Bushwacked).

Molly Ivins was always a Democrat, but never a party hack and in her later years grew ever more frustrated with the Republican-lite goo oozing from the mouths of the party leadership. Her announcement in January of 2006 that she would not support Hillary Clinton for President has the kind of progressive vision and passion that I think she would want to be remembered for. I'll close with a lengthy quote from that piece.

AUSTIN, Texas — I'd like to make it clear to the people who run the Democratic Party that I will not support Hillary Clinton for president.

Enough. Enough triangulation, calculation and equivocation. Enough clever straddling, enough not offending anyone. This is not a Dick Morris election. Sen. Clinton is apparently incapable of taking a clear stand on the war in Iraq, and that alone is enough to disqualify her. Her failure to speak out on Terri Schiavo, not to mention that gross pandering on flag-burning, are just contemptible little dodges.

The recent death of Gene McCarthy reminded me of a lesson I spent a long, long time unlearning, so now I have to re-learn it. It's about political courage and heroes, and when a country is desperate for leadership. There are times when regular politics will not do, and this is one of those times. There are times a country is so tired of bull that only the truth can provide relief.

If no one in conventional-wisdom politics has the courage to speak up and say what needs to be said, then you go out and find some obscure junior senator from Minnesota with the guts to do it. In 1968, Gene McCarthy was the little boy who said out loud, "Look, the emperor isn't wearing any clothes." Bobby Kennedy — rough, tough Bobby Kennedy — didn't do it. Just this quiet man trained by Benedictines who liked to quote poetry.

What kind of courage does it take, for mercy's sake? The majority of the American people (55 percent) think the war in Iraq is a mistake and that we should get out. The majority (65 percent) of the American people want single-payer health care and are willing to pay more taxes to get it. The majority (86 percent) of the American people favor raising the minimum wage. The majority of the American people (60 percent) favor repealing Bush's tax cuts, or at least those that go only to the rich. The majority (66 percent) wants to reduce the deficit not by cutting domestic spending, but by reducing Pentagon spending or raising taxes.

The majority (77 percent) thinks we should do "whatever it takes" to protect the environment. The majority (87 percent) thinks big oil companies are gouging consumers and would support a windfall profits tax. That is the center, you fools. WHO ARE YOU AFRAID OF?

Watch The Forum

Last night's League of Women Voters Forum was fun to participate in and very informative. If you live in Oshkosh and did not get a chance to see it, replay times this week on Oshkosh Cable Access Channel 10 are:

*Tonight at 7 p.m.
*Thursday at 7 p.m.
*Saturday at noon and 4 p.m.
*Sunday at noon and 4 p.m.

Public Comments Sought By UW Oshkosh

UW Oshkosh is up for reaccreditation this year. Find out how to become part of the process here.

Palmeri's Statement + Answers To Ten Questions

The Oshkosh Northwestern recently asked candidates for common council, school board, and mayor to provide a 300-word statement and answer some questions. All of the candidate responses can be found here. In the body of this blog you can find my 300-word statement and responses to the questions. If you like what I have to say and would like to volunteer for the campaign or plant a yard sign, email me or call me at 235-1116.

The 300 word statement:

City government is broken. In recent election cycles candidates have told us that if elected they would be taxpayer friendly and ask tough questions. Instead we have gotten garbage fees, buck passing, and blatant open meetings law violations.

We can and must do better. As a member of the Council I will fight for open and accountable government, quality services delivered efficiently, and strong neighborhoods.

I’m 45 years old, own a home near City Hall, and have been a resident of Oshkosh for 18 years. I’ve taught at UW Oshkosh for all of those years. In addition to teaching I have served as Chair of the Department of Communication, President of the Faculty Senate, and president of the Association of University of Wisconsin Professionals. I’m currently serving as President of the Wisconsin Communication Association, an organization that named me “Communication Educator of the Year” in 2004.

Many Oshkosh residents recognize me from the public affairs television show “Commentary” I co-hosted with former Mayor Jim Mather, or from “Eye on Oshkosh” which I co-host with Cheryl Hentz. On those programs I have developed a reputation as someone who does his homework, asks tough but fair questions, speaks truth to power, and helps educate the community on important issues. I will bring those same qualities to the Council.

Our community faces some difficult issues over the next few years, including how to attract and create family supporting jobs, how to deliver basic services in an era of tight budgets, how to redevelop downtown, and many others. The current Council and City Administration have not gotten the job done, and as a result citizens no longer trust or believe that local government is on their side.

If elected I will work hard to restore public trust in local government.

The Responses to Questions:

Northwestern: Assess the performance of the city manager over the last year? Is it improving, declining or holding steady? How can it be improved?

Palmeri: Declining. In the part-time elected Council/full-time hired Manager form of government that we have in Oshkosh, the City Manager as a practical matter has to display visible leadership on all major quality of life and economic development issues. We’re not getting that kind of leadership today, mostly because the City Council has not insisted on it. City Manager Wollangk’s performance will improve when the City Council communicates to him in a clear, assertive manner that in the future he will be held accountable for Five Rivers and garbage fee style fiascos.

Northwestern: Is the amount of community leadership provided by the council not enough, too much or just about right? Why or why not? Please explain your answer.

Palmeri: Not enough. Community leadership requires working with citizens at the grassroots level to get their concerns addressed and needs met. Citizens in our community working on neighborhood improvement, poverty, housing, open government and other issues typically do not view our Common Council as part of the solution. Rather, the Council is seen as part of the problem because it is perceived as paying too much attention to favored special interests and not enough to the average citizen who pays the bills.

Northwestern: As the city finds more of its budget used to pay for basic services, what should be the role of public-private partnerships to fund quality of life projects, (such as the maintenance of Opera House Square, Pollock water park, Menominee Park Zoo?)

Palmeri: We need to continue to encourage the creation of public-private partnerships that result in developments that benefit the city at-large, such as the water park. The City Council needs to make sure that the “public” contribution to the partnership is reasonable and discussed fully in open session before any agreements are made with the “private” entity.

Northwestern: What should the city do with the convention center? Sell it, expand and renovate the facility or tear it down? How would you pay for improvements?

Palmeri: More visitors to Oshkosh means more customers for local businesses. Therefore, retaining the convention activity we have and attracting more should be a top goal for the city. Selling the convention center OR expanding and renovating it might accomplish that goal. I want to see the City Manager prepare a report identifying the pros, cons, and costs of each option.

Northwestern: Are you satisfied the city is doing enough to market, promote and execute development, from big projects such as the riverfront and big boxes such as Lowe’s to small business creation?

Palmeri: No, I am not satisfied that the city is doing enough, especially on small business creation. Oshkosh uses what I call a “faith based” approach to development in which the average citizen is reduced to hoping and praying that someone in City Hall or the Council knows what he or she is doing to facilitate progress in the community. I also find it distressing that urban development specialists at UW Oshkosh are rarely approached by City Hall for advice or consultation. That needs to change. And it will change if I am elected.

Northwestern: If the state continues some kind of local levy limit, what should be looked at in the city's budget if cuts need to be made? Is there so-called "fat" in the budget that can be cut or does the budget need to be looked at in a new way?

Palmeri: The Democrats now control the governor’s office and the state Senate. Every Democrat elected in November including the governor said that they are either against local levy limits or for allowing levies to grow by more than 2%. City Councils across the state, including ours in Oshkosh, need to hold them to their word. To handle budget cut and “fat trimming” issues, the Council needs to create a formal Budget Committee that would include citizens, members of the council, and members of the city administration. The Budget Committee would meet continuously throughout the year, and charged especially with looking at the budget in new ways.

Northwestern: If you were elected to the council, what specific impact could you point to after your two-year term?

Palmeri: If I am elected to the Council, the era of secrecy in Oshkosh government would be over. With me on the Council, the letter and spirit of the state statutes governing the way we do business will be enforced vigorously. In addition, citizens will know that there is at least one person on the Council demanding the highest standards of performance and accountability from all city officials.

Northwestern: What are the appropriate uses of TIF districts? Are there existing districts that you would have opposed and why?

Palmeri: TIF districts are fine as long as they are created in accordance with state law, which mandates TIF creation ONLY if development would not occur without it. I opposed the Five Rivers TIF mainly because it was created before the city even knew if the developer was credible and minimally capable of making good on his promises. Creating a TIF under those circumstances is the textbook definition of bad government.

Northwestern: Should the power of the mayor be expanded, why or why not? If you think it should, how should it be expanded?

Palmeri: If we keep the Council/Manager form of government that we currently have, I do not support expanding the power of the Mayor. If we want a strong mayor, we need to change our form of government to a Mayor/Aldermen system such as Appleton’s or Green Bay’s, in which a full-time mayor runs the day-to-day operation of the city. I do support changing our form of government so that we have a strong, full-time, accountable mayor.

Northwestern: Would you rate the condition of streets in the city as good, fair or poor? If fair or poor, how would you expedite the repair and upgrade of streets under challenging budget times?

Palmeri: Mostly fair to poor. We need to create a Citizen Street Repair Commission charged with making recommendations about how street repair should be done in the city. In our current system, too many taxpayers are confused about how or if the city prioritizes street repair, how repairs are paid for, what kind of repair options exist, and who should pay. A Citizens’ Commission could give the street issue the visibility it has deserved for too long in our city.

The Frankenstein Veto

One weakness of the Wisconsin Constitution is that it allows the governor dictatorial control over the budget. The 132 individual members of the lobbyists' legislature are literally reduced to hoping and praying that their favored special interests survive the guv's veto axe. This is what we pay a full time legislature for.

Jo Egelhoff today in Fox Politics explains how Republicans on the Elections and Constitutional Law Committee are trying to push forward an amendment that would prohibit the "Frankenstein Veto." They are especially upset at Jim Doyle's mangling of the budget to raid the transportation fund. The hypocrisy here is obvious: Republicans never objected to Frankenstein in the person of Tommy Thompson, whose budgeting was every bit as creative as Jim Doyle's.

Senate Democrats, now in the majority, will probably stifle any attempt to limit Doyle's budget power. Perhaps Assembly Democrat Spencer Black should be called upon to lobby the Senate Dems--in 2005 Black proposed an amendment similar to what the Republicans are asking for today.

Hintz Should Initiate Student Speech Protection

In 2006 the US Supreme Court refused to hear an appeal of the Seventh Circuit's decision in Hosty vs. Carter, meaning that college administrators in Wisconsin, Illinois, and Indiana can legally censor student speech. Six state legislatures have responded by passing laws protecting college student speech; Wisconsin is not one of them.

The latest move to protect student speech is in the state of Washington, where Democratic Rep. Dave Upthegrove has brought forward House Bill 1307. The Bill would protect college and high school students against censorship, and would make it illegal for administrations to fire a media adviser who refused to censor students. A spokesperson for the Student Press Law Center told the Associated Press that Upthegrove's bill "would be the most comprehensive student-press bill in the country at this point."

Recently elected 54th district state representative Gordon Hintz was appointed to the Assembly's Committee on Colleges and Universities. Especially since he represents a university town and received substantial student support in the 2006 elections, Hintz is in a great position to initiate legislation to protect student speech and restore Wisconsin's reputation for guarding civil liberties. Gordon can be emailed at Rep.Hintz@legis.wisconsin.gov.

Rooting For Ryan Gosling

Found out today that Canadian actor Ryan Gosling received a Best Actor Academy Award nomination for his role in "Half Nelson." Saw that film at Milwaukee's legendary Oriental Theatre some months back and was awed by it. Gosling is an inner city social studies/history teacher well versed in class dynamics a la Howard Zinn, yet hounded by personal demons.

Below is the film's trailer, followed by a brief Q & A with the writer/director team of Ryan Fleck and Anna Boden, along with actress Shareeka Epps (who really should have been given a nomination also.).

Nonviolent Peaceforce: Feb. 1. 7:30 - 9:00 a.m. UWO Pollock Alumni House

This just in from the Winnebago Peace and Justice Center:

In the spirit of Martin Luther King, Jr., the Winnebago Peace and Justice Center, the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh Earth Charter, Fox Valley Pax Christi, the Fox Valley Unitarian Universalist Social Action Committee and the Fellowship of Reconciliation invite you to hear Erika Shatz speak about the Nonviolent Peaceforce Thursday morning February 1, 7:30- 9 a.m. Pollock House, 765 Algoma Boulevard across from Albee Hall, UWO campus. A continental breakfast will be provided. Parking is available in metered spaces across from Reeve Memorial Union on Algoma Street. For information, contact Ann Frisch afrisch@voyager.net 920 279 7884.

Nonviolent Peaceforce is a nonpartisan unarmed peacekeeping force composed of trained civilians from around the world. In partnership with local groups, Nonviolent Peaceforce members apply proven nonviolent strategies to protect human rights, deter violence, and help create space for local peacemakers to carry out their work. NP has been successful in Sri Lanka in helping parents recover children who have been abducted into guerrilla armies, has reduced violence in elections through the use of election monitors who protect candidates with cameras, has helped to resolve local issues such as tension between fishing communities, and routinely accompany local clergy and other peace activists who are mediating conflicts. NP also currently is preparing deployments in northern Uganda, the Philippines, and Colombia, and is creating an international reserve force. Both the Fellowship of Reconciliation and Pax Cristi are member organizations of Nonviolent Peaceforce.

Tony and Tommy

Just purchased a scanner, so I thought as a test to see if it works I'd try to place this old photo of me and presidential contender (yeah, right) Tommy Thompson on the web. The story: From around 1991-1996, I was one of the announcers at the UW Oshkosh graduation ceremonies. My main responsibility was to read the names of the graduating students over a public address system. One of the "perks" of the activity was the opportunity to meet commencement speakers, who in May of 1994 was then Governor Thompson.

Babs For Tony + Campaign Update

Many thanks to Babblemur for this post on his blog. I hope we can get Babs to run for something soon, so I can write a puff piece about him :-).

Campaign update. A recap of the week and some future events:

*On Monday I had the opportunity to speak at a poverty forum held before the annual Martin Luther King, Jr. dinner. My main points:

• We need to do a better job in Oshkosh of keeping the issue of poverty in the headlines for the entire year, and not just on Thanksgiving and Martin Luther King day.
  
• We need to fight hard to get shared revenue monies restored, as that program over the years guaranteed that all citizens regardless of income would be able to live in cities in which funds existed for providing basic services.
• W e have too many citizens in Oshkosh who are not labeled poor because they make too much money to be classified as such under the federal guidelines, but they are struggling. What we need to do is hold a jobs summit and/or create an Economic Development Commission to come up with real strategies for maintaining, attracting, and creating family supporting jobs in the community.
  

*On Thursday evening I spoke to the organization Progress Oshkosh. I told them that I appreciated the organization's call for volunteerism and the development of a community vision, as those things are vital components of making the city all that it can be. Candidates had only a few minutes to speak, so I provided them with a few ideas on the 4 points that Progress Oshkosh is most concerned with: accountable government, public and private partnerships, quality of life, and economic development. I said that I have been an advocate for open and accountable government in Oshkosh for a long time, evidenced most recently by the open meetings complaint I filed with Cheryl Hentz. I said that the Pollock Water Park is an example of how public and private partnerships should work--the project benefits the majority of the community and the public contribution is reasonable. On quality of life I reiterated my belief that fighting to restore the shared revenue program is vital. And on economic development, I called for the creation of a jobs summit.

*On Thursday I submitted a 300 word statement to the Oshkosh Northwestern, along with my answers to 10 questions that they asked all of the candidates. When the newspaper publishes the statement and responses I will also place them on this blog.

*The League of Women Voters will be holding a candidates' forum on January 30. More information about this as we get closer to the event.

Blue Hawaii A Smash At The Grand

I just got back from a screening of Elvis Presley's 1961 "Blue Hawaii" at the Oshkosh Grand Opera House. What a great event! Even though the roads were wet and kind of slick, the attendance was awesome, probably one of this highest ever for the Screen Scene Film Series. Lots of peope showed up wearing Hawaiin shirts and leis.

After the film, my colleague Doug Heil from the UW Oshkosh Radio/TV/Film program led an engaging discussion of Elvis and cinema. Not to be outdone, Grand Opera House Executive Director Joe Ferlo cooked fried peanut butter & banana sandwiches for everyone.

There's lots of catchy tunes and dance numbers in the film, but Elvis singing "I can't help falling in love with you" to his girlfriend's grandmother is the show stopper.

Palmeri on Friday WPR Week In Review

I'll be the "liberal" guy once again on Wisconsin Public Radio's "Week in Review" with Joy Cardin tomorrow from 8 - 9 a.m. The "conservative" guy will be Jim Miller of the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, Wisconsin's "Free Market Think Tank." Actually I have heard Mr. Miller on the show before, and he strikes me as an assertive, hard hitting communicator. Should be fun. You can join the discussion live at 1-800-642-1234.

5 Minutes To Midnight

The Bulletin of Atomic Scientists today moved their famous "Doomsday Clock" forward two minutes. Read the Board statement here.

Board Approves UW-Fox Project on 35-2 vote (!)

On Tuesday night the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors voted to partner with Outagamie County and put over $5 million into building a new Communication Arts Center at UW-Fox Valley. In talking with a few of the supervisors over the last few weeks I had a feeling the proposal might pass, but never by a 35-2 vote. Much of the credit for the vote must go to UW Fox Dean Jim Perry, who for years has been lobbying every member of the Board while building support for the project throughout the Valley.

I personally had mixed feelings about building the new facility until I had the opportunity to visit the current UW Fox "theatre." That structure is clearly a safety hazard, inferior to most high school auditoriums, and an embarrassment to the County and the UW System. It's good that the Board finally took some responsibility to upgrade its own property. But because county executives and boards for years chose to defer maintenance on the theatre (at the same time they were spending over $30 million for a jail), we now have to spend more money to get a smaller building.

King on Vietnam

One of the greatest speeches ever delivered. Happy MLK Day.

Bill Moyers on Net Neutrality

There's an important National Conference on Media Reform going on this weekend in Memphis. Below is a portion of a talk delivered by Bill Moyers.

Ballot Order + Campaign Finances

In the February 20, 2007 primary election for Oshkosh Common Council, voters will see the candidates' names in the following order:

Kent Monte
Mark C. Nielsen
Bryan L. Bain
Meredith Scheuermann
Tony Palmeri
Jessica J. King
Bob Cornell

I also learned to today that the only candidates declaring exemption from filing campaign finance reports (meaning that the campaigns will not raise more than $1,000) are Kent Monte, Tony Palmeri (yeah, me), and [mayoral candidate] Paul Esslinger.

Faith Based River Development

As a result of last night's unanimous Oshkosh Common Council vote, Akcess Acquisition Group LLC (AAG) has six months to . . . well, to do something I guess. At least the Council last night had a public discussion with a representative of the development team, and at least there was an acknowledgement that the public needs to be meaningfully involved at each stage of the process. Those are good things, and represent progress over the incompetent manner in which the Five Rivers Resort fiasco was handled.

But as I've argued in the past, a major problem with large scale developments in Oshkosh is the lack of executive level leadership in place to explain the projects and build public support for them. City Manager Dick Wollangk seems content to farm out the responsibility for these important tasks to Director of Community Development Jackson Kinney. The result is that the public discussion of major development projects gets mired in a kind of "bureaucratic babble" that always seems to be concealing some crucial piece of evidence that could turn the Council or the public against any project.

AAG may end up providing Oshkosh with an outstanding, multi-use development that benefits the population at large in a way that the Five Rivers luxury condo plan never could have. Unfortunately, the lack of confidence and trust in City Hall means that we can only have faith that something good will happen. That's not good.

Regardless of what happens with AAG, the next City Council must insist that the faith based model of development be retired and replaced with a model of professionalism that is supposed to be the essence of the Council/Manager form of government.

Rep. Obey on withholding surge funds: "I don't believe in futile efforts"

As you watch the video of Wisconsin Rep. Dave Obey linked below, keep in mind that he is considered to be part of the Democratic Party "Left," a real progressive who is allegedly evidence of why we don't need Greens in the US Congress. Obey the great progressive believes that it would be "futile" for the US Congress to vote to withhold funds for the Iraq "surge" because the President would just veto the vote.

The interview was conducted by Sam Husseini of the Institute for Public Accuracy. Husseini lurks outside the major network studios when politicians do the "official" interviews with people like Tim Russert and George Stephanopolous. He then fires questions at them outside the studio. How sad that the only time a politician gets some tough questioining is when he is being "staked out" by someone like Husseini. What a powerful indictment of the corporate, mainstream media.

The Obey interview can be found here.

Song for the Surge

As the President gets read to foment more death and chaos in Iraq, and wreck more lives and families on all sides, and as the nation's editorial pages remain largely and shamefully silent, perhaps Bob Dylan's "John Brown" should be the new national anthem.

For what it's worth, I thought that Dylan's 1994 MTV Unplugged performance of "John Brown" was his best live work since his collaboration with The Band in the 1970s.