Happy Holidays

I'll be in New York for the holidays. No more blogging until around January 5th. My Media Rant for the January 2008 Scene will be part 1 of a two part column on the most censored stories of the year. Previous editions can be found here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, here, and here.

Regardless of what each person chooses to call this time of the year, let's hope it is a season of love for everyone.

Save The Date: Feb. 11

What Ever Happened to Good Government in Wisconsin? How Can We FIX it?

Monday, February 11, 2008 6:30–8:00PM
Room 227C – Reeve Memorial Union – UW Oshkosh
1748 Algoma Blvd - Oshkosh, WI

Panelists:

• State Senator Carol Roessler – (R-Oshkosh)
• State Representative Gordon Hintz – (D-Oshkosh)
• Professor James Simmons – UW Oshkosh Political Science Department
• Professor Tony Palmeri – UW Oshkosh Communication Department/Oshkosh Common Council
• Kathy Propp – League of Women Voters of Wisconsin
• Jay Heck – Executive Director of Common Cause in Wisconsin
  
  Moderator: Alex Hummel – Editorial Page Editor of The Oshkosh Northwestern
  
  SPONSORS: COMMON CAUSE IN WISCONSIN, LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS OF OSHKOSH AREA, UW-OSHKOSH POLITICAL SCIENCE DEPARTMENT, AARP, WISCONSIN ALLIANCE OF RETIRED AMERICANS, AND THE UW-OSHKOSH POLITICAL SCIENCE STUDENTS ASSOCIATION
  
  For more information: http://www.commoncause.org/wi or call Scott Colson (608) 256-2686

Increase in Income Inequality Highest on Record

From the Economic Policy Institute, summarizing Congressional Budget Office data:

Earlier this week, the Congressional Budget Office (CBO) updated its authoritative data series on household incomes (1979-2005). The new data—highly regarded as a particularly complete source of information on this important topic—reveal a sharp increase in income inequality over the past few years. In fact, the increase in income inequality (both pre-and post-tax) as measured by the change in the shares of income going to different income classes, was greater from 2003 to 2005 than over any other two-year period covered by the CBO data. Over these years, an amazing $400 billion in pre-tax dollars was shifted from the bottom 95% of households to those in the top 5% (all income data in this report are inflation adjusted and in 2005 dollars). In other words, had income shares not shifted as they did, the income of each of the 109 million households in the bottom 95% would have been $3,660 higher in 2005 . . .

Back in 1979, the post-tax income of the top 1% was eight times higher than that of middle-income families and 23 times higher than the lowest fifth. In 2005, those ratios grew to 21 (top compared to middle) and 70 (top to bottom), a vast increase in the distance between income classes.

In looking at the increase in income inequality from 1979-2005, I can't imagine a more powerful indictment of the economic policies of Reagan, Bush 41, Clinton, and Bush 43. Not to mention the bipartisan majorities of both houses of congress that enabled those policies.

The Corporate Tax Accountability Act

The Institute for Wisconsin's Future recently released an important report, "Wisconsin's Revenue Gap: An Analysis of Corporate Tax Avoidance." Kudos to Senator Dave Hansen (D-Green Bay; yes Virgina, there are Green Bay politicians interested in something other than nativity scenes) for introducing the "Corporate Tax Accountability Act" in response to the report. According to the Cap Times:

The Corporate Tax Accountability Act is aimed at stopping what backers estimate was $1.3 billion in lost state and local tax revenue in 2006 through exemptions, credits and aggressive use of subsidiaries.

For example, three of the largest corporations in the U.S. -- Microsoft Corp., Merck & Co. and Sears Holdings, owner of Kmart and Lands' End -- paid no corporate income taxes in Wisconsin in 2005, according to information released at a Capitol news conference today . . .

A report from the Milwaukee-based Institute for Wisconsin's Future, released today, said that "corporate tax leakage" is shifting the tax burden onto small business and working families. It's also putting pressure on local government and school districts to make tough decisions.

"The resulting gap in income is creating budget shortfalls which can only be resolved by cutting services, raising property taxes or both," the report said.

My understanding is that IWF will, if requested, provide communities with a local analysis of tax accountability. At the common council's first meeting in January I plan to ask Mayor Tower to schedule an IWF tax accountability presentation as a workshop item.

Big Media's Christmas Present

From big media watchdogs stopbigmedia.com:

Today, the Federal Communications Commission voted to remove the longstanding “newspaper/broadcast cross-ownership” ban that prohibits a local newspaper from owning a broadcast station in the same market. When the Commission voted today, 3-to-2 along party lines, they did so in spite of enormous public pressure and stern warnings from Congress.

But that’s not all. In a series of late night revisions to his rule, FCC Chairman Kevin Martin fattened his holiday gift to Big Media by granting permanent waivers to companies across the country who have been in breach of the cross-ownership ban for years. Already ignoring the millions who have spoken up against media consolidation, this last-minute immunity for Big Media is a slap in the face to the American people. Read More

Dan Fogelberg

Another fallen rock star--Dan Fogelberg passed away today as a result of prostate cancer.

Fogelberg was an activist on environmental and other issues; his song "Face The Fire" was a great anthem for the no-nukes movement of the early 80s and he performed as part of Musicians United For Safe Energy during that time period.

I think Fogelberg's best tune is "Longer," a Beatlesque love song with a timeless quality to it.

Ike Turner

Ike Turner, most known these days as the guy who beat up Tina, died yesterday at the age of 76.

In teaching the Rhetoric of Rock and Roll class this semester, I was reminded of Ike's contributions in the early years of the genre. The song "Rocket 88" from 1951 (the first song on the tribute video below) is arguably the first rock record and features Ike's band. And who could ever forget Ike and Tina's version of "Proud Mary"?

Advertising in Corporate Media: Wise Use of Tax Dollars?

As noted in Jef Hall's blog, the Oshkosh Northwestern recently included an unnecessary sidebar that provided information as to what kinds of consumer items could be purchased with the $2,208.00 tax bill of the owner of a $100,000 home. Jef correctly points out that the paper left out what services the taxes pay for.

Also left out is the amount of tax dollars that the Northwestern receives from the city of Oshkosh for advertising that is not required by statute. At the request of councilor Paul Esslinger, Finance Director Ed Nokes prepared an itemized list of 2007 advertising dollars the city has paid out to Gannett. The total advertising bill for 2007 (as of this week) is $24,363.53. That's enough money to hire another part-time librarian, or plant more trees in the city, etc. etc.

State law only requires the city to place a few legal notices in the local newspaper. While I am not sure if we should suspend all other advertising in the paper, I do think it is time for us to examine how much "bang we are getting for our buck." It may well be, for example, that the city's website and/or local blogs are more than sufficient to advertise certain activities.

One of the consequences of the print media monopoly enjoyed by Gannett in our region is that they can charge literally whatever rates they wish without any fear of competition. All I am suggesting here is that, where possible, we should compete with Gannett via use of the city's website and other sources. Who knows, perhaps Gannett might then be compelled to lower their rates or--gasp--even provide some free advertising to give the taxpayers a break.

Palmeri on Friday Week in Review + Frisch

On tomorrow's WPR "Week in Review" from 8-9 a.m. I'll be the left guy. On the right will be Dave Blaska, a former member of the Dane County Board of Supervisors. You can join the discussion by calling 1-800-642-1234 or email talk@wpr.org.

On another note, in today's Northwestern Dr. Ann Frisch does an excellent job of cutting through the crap in the mainstream press coverage of Venezuela's failed referendum. Excerpt:

The propaganda machine calls Chavez a dictator, but dictators don't lose elections.

This was evidence of participatory democracy.

I am, however, ashamed that the U.S. government has allegedly been using our tax money to destabilize a democratically-elected government, artificially creating some of the opposition. The CIA's alleged "Operation Pliers" plan was to foment rebellion among the armed forces by creating phony polls to show the "No" vote would prevail, releasing phony early reports that the "No" vote was winning, all against election rules. T-shirts with "fraud" had already been printed. Opposition advertising claimed that if the referendum passed, children would be taken away from their parents and businesses would be seized.

The media propaganda has not been limited to Venezuela. We have been drowning in assertions that are false and misleading.

The full opinion piece can be found here.

Council Needs Waterfront Backup Plan

The optimism once associated with the Akcess Group's office building development seems to be absent in today's Northwestern blip. Securing tenants for the building--which the common council and city administration should have required as a condition before approving the project--is apparently proving to be much more difficult than the developers expected.

I'm going to ask that the Waterfront development be placed on council member statements at the next meeting so that we can have an open discussion of possible backup plans.

The 2007 Tony Awards

What you've all been waiting for! (Yeah, right). The 2007 Tony Award recipients can be found here.

"When I wrote the first Tony Awards column in 2002, I never imagined it would become an annual tradition. But with corporate media in our region now bad beyond belief and getting worse each year, it has become vital to recognize worthwhile alternatives."

Former Member of Oshkosh Redevelopment Authority Going To Prison

Read about it here.

Happy Birthday Jimi

Yes, another rock star post. Jimi Hendrix would have been 65 years old today. It's hard to imagine a more influential guitar player.

Rock Star In Australian Government

Australian voters booted conservative Prime Minister (and Bush toady) John Howard out of office last week. Howard was beaten so badly that he became only the second Australian in 129 years not only to lose the PM position, but also his seat in parliament.

The new PM, Labor's Kevin Rudd, campaigned strongly on environmental themes. Part of his leadership team includes Peter Garrett, a Labor member of parliament who for many years fronted the rock band Midnight Oil (best known in the States for the their 1988 smash hit "Beds Are Burning").

Australian Green Party Senator Bob Brown calls Garrett a sell out, claiming that once he joined the Labor party he compromised his progressive environmental values out of existence.


A while back conservative treasurer Peter Costello lampooned Garrett on the floor of the parliament:

Let's Hold The Dems Accountable, Part IV

If the "Violent Radicalization and Homegrown Terrorism Prevention Act of 2007" had passed a Republican led House of Representatives, the Democrats would have rightly called it the most repressive piece of paranoid legislation since the USA PATRIOT Act. Yet the Democrat led HOR passed Rep. Jane Harman's (D-California) bill by a 404-6 vote and passage in the Senate is almost a certainty.

Historian Ralph Shaffer and co-author R. William Robinson characterize the legislation as a case of "Here Come the Thought Police." They write:

Ms. Harman, a California Democrat, thinks it likely that the United States will face a native brand of terrorism in the immediate future and offers a plan to deal with ideologically based violence.

But her plan is a greater danger to us than the threats she fears. Her bill tramples constitutional rights by creating a commission with sweeping investigative power and a mandate to propose laws prohibiting whatever the commission labels “homegrown terrorism.”

The proposed commission is a menace through its power to hold hearings, take testimony and administer oaths, an authority granted to even individual members of the commission - little Joe McCarthys - who will tour the country to hold their own private hearings. An aura of authority will automatically accompany this congressionally authorized mandate to expose native terrorism.

Ms. Harman’s proposal includes an absurd attack on the Internet, criticizing it for providing Americans with “access to broad and constant streams of terrorist-related propaganda,” and legalizes an insidious infiltration of targeted organizations. The misnamed “Center of Excellence,” which would function after the commission is disbanded in 18 months, gives the semblance of intellectual research to what is otherwise the suppression of dissent.

While its purpose is to prevent terrorism, the bill doesn’t criminalize any specific conduct or contain penalties. But the commission’s findings will be cited by those who see a terrorist under every bed and who will demand enactment of criminal penalties that further restrict free speech and other civil liberties. Action contrary to the commission’s findings will be interpreted as a sign of treason at worst or a lack of patriotism at the least.

While Ms. Harman denies that her proposal creates “thought police,” it defines “homegrown terrorism” as “planned” or “threatened” use of force to coerce the government or the people in the promotion of “political or social objectives.” That means that no force need actually have occurred as long as the government charges that the individual or group thought about doing it.

Did voters create a Democratic majority in both houses of Congress for this? Harman faced a surprisingly strong primary challenge from Marcy Winograd in June of 2006. Democrats should insist that she be challenged again.

*Part I (Nov. 13, 2006): The Dem Agenda
*Part II (Nov. 20, 2006): Ethics Reform
*Part III (Dec. 5, 2006): Robert Gates' Free Ride

Correction: EAA Won't Pay Until 2008

Well, I blogged too early I guess. Turns out that acting city manager John Fitzpatrick did not receive a check from EAA to cover sewage treatment for 2007. Rather, Fitzpatrick received a letter from EAA president Tom Poberezny saying that they would pay the fee starting with the 2008 convention. That's still good news, though it would be even better if EAA would consider compensating the city for 20 years worth of free treatment.

Along similar lines, at the budget hearing on Thursday I brought up the issue of Oshkosh's "hospitable taxes." If Mercy Medical Center and Aurora paid property taxes, approximately $1.4 million would come into the city coffers. Almost $1 million would go to Winnebago County.

We learned at the budget hearing that the city receives about $140,00 per year from several nonprofit organizations as "payment in lieu of taxes." These organizations, which include Lutheran Homes of Oshkosh, voluntarily make payments to the city to help cover the costs of city services they receive even though their tax exempt status does not require them to.

With annual revenues of over $108 million (Mercy) and over $50 million (Aurora), certainly these hospitals can afford to make some kind of payment. Before next year's budget we need to see leadership at the county and city levels to try and arrange voluntary payments in lieu of taxes from the hospitals.

EAA Pays 2007 Sewage Fees

At Thursday's budget session (4:30 p.m.), acting city manager John Fitzpatrick will announce that he has received a check from the Experimental Aircraft Association to cover the cost of sewage treatment for the 2007 convention. After the sewage fee waiver (approved in 1986 by a common council that rubber stamped then city manager Bill Freuh's city manager statement request for it) was revealed at the October 30th budget session, councilor Paul Esslinger called EAA president Tom Poberezny to request that EAA voluntarily pay the fee. Kudos to Esslinger for taking the leadership to call Poberezny and kudos to EAA for making the payment.

What's still not clear is whether the city can recover unpaid fees from the prior 20 years, or whether a formal resolution from the council is still necessary to ensure payment of the fees for all following years. I will raise these questions at the Thursday session.

The EAA sewage fee waiver is an excellent example of local "corporate welfare." Do other examples exist in Oshkosh? Absent a Budget Committee or other citizen led body charged with looking critically at the city's finances, it is difficult to know. The EAA fee waiver lasted for 20 years without anyone asking a question about it, so we can only imagine what else has been forgotten. Anyone with the time and desire should try and get hold of the city manager reports from around 1970-1996 and review them closely--who knows what kind of goodies might be turned up!

The Worst Rhyme of all Time?

I always liked the song "Suite: Judy Blue Eyes" but thought that "ruby throated sparrow/sing a song, don't be long/thrill me to the marrow" was one of the lamest rhymes of all time.

But now the striking Hollywood writers have created a rhyme that makes Stephen Stills look like Shakespeare: "For Eva Longoria, we write the storia." Notice how long it takes for these word slingers to figure out that poor Eva is on their side (note also how at the end she is almost moved to tears over the prospect of her hair and makeup artists not getting a pay check. You could not make any of this up.).


The writers actually have a strong case:

Tom and Toby and the Teaching of History

Last week in the music class we listened to and discussed post 9/11 political music. Two of the selections were Tom Morello's "The Road I Must Travel" and Toby Keith's "Courtesy of the Red, White, and Blue (The Angry American)." Morello plays with Rage Against the Machine and is a political activist who founded Axis of Justice with Serj Tankian of System of a Down.

Toby Keith's song was part of a wave of post 9/11 "patriotic" themed country music. Back in 2004 NPR broadcast a segment showcasing the divisions between country artists.

Students had no trouble identifying the nationalist rhetoric in Keith's song or the fact that Morello's video identifies him with his favorite historical agitators. Morello's video flashes quotations from Frederick Douglass, Che Guevara, Joe Hill, Emma Goldman, Huey Newton, Subcomandante Marcos, Malcolm X, and Mohandas Gandhi, but almost none of my 26 students (almost all seniors) had heard of any of these activists except for Malcolm X and Gandhi. With all of the right wing accusations of the left slant in the academy,you'd think the students would already have those quotes burned into their biceps as tattoos.

College students' lack of "civic literacy" made the news last September, but most college profs were aware of the problem long ago. Probably it would be a good idea to mandate more teaching of history in K-12 and the universities, but I don't really think that will produce any dramatic changes in what students know. The students (and non-students for that matter) most interested in history, it seems to me, are those who see themselves as history makers. Wanting to make history (especially as regards social justice issues) gets them excited and interested in the historic struggles of the past. Those least interested in history are those for whom history is over: the world is the way it is, you really can't change anything even if you wanted to, and so you just make the best of what's available.

Toby Keith's video can't be embedded but you can see it here.

Krause's Two Cents

Jonathan Krause, News Director at local radio station WOSH, maintains a blog called "My Two Cents." In his Friday posting he argues that the Common Council should continue with the interim city manager search in order to provide time for a referendum on the form of government to get on the ballot. Money quotes:

You may recall, the council decided to hire an interim manager to give residents a chance to circulate petitions for a government change--or to at least talk about what format they might want to consider. That came after the council rejected a referendum on government format out of hand--saying there needed to be more "discussion" on the topic . . .

Hopefully the council will stick with its original plan--interim first, referendum on the form of government--and the hire of a permanent manager if the position still exists. Otherwise the cities of Appleton, Neenah, Menasha, Green Bay, Madison, and Milwaukee will have to continue to fail on their own with their out-dated elected mayor-council forms of governments.

The complete posting is here.

My concern, as noted in my previous post, is with the ethics of recruitment, though Krause's post did remind me of what other councilors have said previously. From an earlier post:

King and B. Tower clearly do not want to see any council led referendum on the ballot, F. Tower wanted the referendum placed on a November ballot (which no one else supported), and Bryan Bain again said that there should be community discussions about what citizens want to see in government. It's still not clear if he is going to call for those discussions and lead them or how they are supposed to happen.