Vogeler Challenges Media Blackout

My September Media Rant can be found here. I'm including it also in the body of this blog post:

Wisconsin’s millionaire Democratic Senator Herb Kohl visited Oshkosh in late August to deliver a $150,000 federal grant to the UW Oshkosh Living Healthy Community Clinic. No one is really sure what Kohl’s role was in securing the grant, nor does it really matter. Herb Kohl sits in the Senate because of his personal fortune, because he is marginally competent and avoids controversy, and because an irresponsible corporate media won’t give challengers a fair shake. Kohl’s September 12^th Democratic Party primary challenger, Madison activist Ben Masel, is all but nonexistent in the mainstream press, ensuring that Kohl will be on the November ballot seeking a 4^th term.

The Wisconsin Green Party’s candidate for US Senate, Rae Vogeler (www.voterae.org/), will be on the November ballot. Running a spirited grassroots campaign, Vogeler last month met voters in northeast Wisconsin at the Fond du Lac public library, South Park in Oshkosh, Appleton’s Harmony Café’, and a peace rally in Green Bay. Cheryl Hentz and I also had the opportunity to interview her for an hour on our cable access television program “Eye on Oshkosh.” Vogeler, a 50-year-old working mom originally from Milwaukee and now residing in Oregon, WI, is an articulate citizens’ candidate who presents herself as a viable alternative to the wealthy Kohl.

“For the last three years, George Bush and Herb Kohl have been spending our nation’s wealth on Iraq. It is time we bring it home and start focusing on rebuilding our own communities here in Wisconsin,” said Vogeler in a press release announcing the northeast Wisconsin tour. “Voters across the nation are demanding their voices be heard. I am running to be the voice of Wisconsin voters in Washington.”

Vogeler wants to be the voice of Wisconsin in Washington, but will the establishment media allow voters to hear HER voice? As a Green party member and someone who has worked on Green campaigns and run for office as a Green, I can attest to the difficulty of getting heard when one chooses to challenge the Republicrat duopoly. During Vogeler’s Fox Valley visit, I asked her about media non-recognition of her campaign:

“Wisconsin’s major media gave us a ton of stories about whether or not Tommy Thompson would challenge Kohl, and then a ton more when Tommy decided not to run,” she said. “Why not give the focus instead to candidates like me who are actually in the race?”

Vogeler pointed to Ned Lamont’s victory over long-time incumbent Joe Lieberman in last month’s Connecticut primary as an example of the appeal of anti-war candidates: “Lamont’s a millionaire who has the resources to produce expensive ads, but the success of his campaign really had more to do with word of mouth at the grassroots level. Connecticut’s primary voters discovered that they had the power not only to send Joe Lieberman a message, but to remove him from office.” Not surprisingly, Lieberman is now running for the seat as an Independent after a lifetime of castigating anyone who dares run for office as anything other than a Republicrat.

Is Herb Kohl vulnerable on the Iraq War? John Nichols of the Madison Capital Times thinks so. After Kohl’s re-election campaign announcement was disrupted by peace activists who asked the senator to sign an Iraq withdrawal pledge and vote against supplemental funding for the war, Nichols wrote:

Kohl missed a chance to be the sort of leader that is needed at a point when a disastrous war is spiraling deeper into chaos.

The senator refused to sign the pledge, which was his right. But, after criticizing President Bush for misusing the authority given him by Congress to pressure Iraq and for mishandling the war itself, Kohl essentially echoed the administration's line on staying the course.

"My own position is we ought to do much more to encourage, if not insist, that the Iraqi government, the leadership, come together in a unified manner so that they can, number one, govern their country and, number two, take over security," Kohl said. "That will enable the U.S. to draw down and then hopefully phase out of the occupation."

By any meaningful measure, those words are indistinguishable from the talking points of a White House that Kohl admits has misused its authority and mishandled one of the most important responsibilities given any president - that of sending the sons and daughters of this country into combat.

Incredibly, Kohl’s campaign website does not even include the Iraq War under its “Issues” link. What a sad commentary on the major media in this state that it is willing to let a United States senator go through a reelection campaign without seriously challenging him on the most critical issue of our time. Last spring 24 of 32 Wisconsin communities voted to bring the troops home now, powerful evidence that the electorate wants to hear about peace candidates on the ballot.

Kohl’s Republican challenger, Robert Lorge, supports the war. That leaves Rae Vogeler as the only peace candidate in the race. She says, “It’s really our obligation to come forward and challenge this business- and politics-as-usual.” Mainstream media should have the same obligation, which is why the blackout of the Vogeler campaign is wrong and should end now.

Deadly Deja Vu: US Cluster Bombs In Lebanon

In 1982 the Reagan Administration suspended exports to Israel of the Lockheed-Martin manufactured M26 cluster bomb after a congressional inquiry found the weapon had been used against the civilian population in Lebanon. The suspension ended in 1988.

During the most recent invasion of Lebanon, Israel once again used cluster munitions, drawing a harsh rebuke from United Nations Emergency Relief Coordinator Jan Egeland. He called the Israeli military leadership "completely immoral" and said: "It's an outrage that we have 100,000 unexploded bombs among where children, women, civilians, shop keepers and farmers are now going to tread."

Human Rights Watch has a good introductory primer on cluster munitions that can be found here.

The video below is a CBC National news report on the Bush Administration's horrifying use of cluster bombs in Iraq.

The Fruits of Doylenomics

Jim The New Democrat Doyle has given Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce everything it wanted. Never before in the history of Wisconsin have big corporations, whether in or out of state, had as much of a friend in the guv house. Not even in the dog days of Tommy Thompson did big business call the shots like they do now.

The result? Wisconsin experienced a "stunning" drop in median household income in 2004-2005. What's funny about the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report is watching Doyle sympathizers like David Newby of the AFL-CIO and Laura Dresser of the Center on Wisconsin Strategy minimize the numbers. Had the stats been released under a McCallum or Mark Green administration they would RIGHTFULLY express outrage. These folks are so addicted to lesser evil politics and so unwilling to support a politics of conscience (i.e. endorse Nelson Eisman for governor) that they are no longer even in a position to influence the policies of the Doyle administration--he knows they are in his camp regardless of what he does so why even bother?

Meanwhile the Doyle toadies warn that Mark Green's economic plan will just send more money to business, which is true, but what the hell do they think the Doyle plan was/is? Wisconsin has a "Development Finance Board," completely endorsed by Doyle, that doles out millions to business with no public hearings or oversight. It's a first order scam that the toadies would be screaming bloody murder about if McCallum or Green presided over it.

Only one candidate in the race stands for honest budgeting to meet the needs of real Wisconsinites, and that's Nelson Eisman. Too bad the We The Pinheads, I mean "People," organization gave in to Republicrat pressure to keep him out of the debates.

Media for the Birds

While the American media has been obsessing once again over JonBenet, it is left to the European Press to give currency to important happenings in the United States. Today, for example, the London Independent gave front page treatment to a story on bird extinction that features a study out of Duke:

Last month, a study by Duke University's Nicholas School of the Environment and Earth Sciences concluded that without the impact of human exploration and activity, a natural rate of extinction would be around one species of bird a century. Instead, one species a year is being lost.

If current trends continue, more than 1,200 different types of bird could become extinct during the course of the 21st century.

Perhaps Hitchcock was a prophet.

Ian Gillan in Milwaukee

Singer Ian Gillan, formerly of Deep Purple and one of the great heavy metal shrieking vocalists of all time, will be in Milwaukee this Wednesday. Gillan sang the part of Jesus in the original studio recording of Jesus Christ Superstar, and back in the day I preferred his vocals to other notable metal screamers like Robert Plant and Ozzy Osborne.

As much as I like Gillan, he didn't belong on stage with Pavarotti.

Keep Your Blog To Yourself

I won't be blogging for the next couple of days in order to attend a party for newlyweds Justin and Mandy Mitchell (and baby Anabel). The party is in Door County and I hear there might be some live music.

War Crimes In Lebanon

Amnesty International's findings as regards the conduct of Israel's war in Lebanon paints a devastating picture of a wide range of atrocities committed against the civilian population. Even if the Israeli government's assertion that Hizbullah's hiding within the population makes civilian casualties unavoidable is taken at face value, the report shows a pattern of gross excess:

The widespread destruction of apartments, houses, electricity and water services, roads, bridges, factories and ports, in addition to several statements by Israeli officials, suggests a policy of punishing both the Lebanese government and the civilian population in an effort to get them to turn against Hizbullah. Israeli attacks did not diminish, nor did their pattern appear to change, even when it became clear that the victims of the bombardment were predominantly civilians, which was the case from the first days of the conflict.

The report calls for"immediate establishment of a comprehensive, independent and impartial inquiry into violations of international humanitarian law by both Hizbullah and Israel in the conflict. The inquiry should examine in particular the impact of this conflict on the civilian population. It should propose effective measures to hold accountable those responsible for crimes under international law, and to ensure that the victims receive full reparation." No doubt the United States will use its Security Council veto power to block any UN attempt to create a body to perform such an inquiry.

In the video below, the always entertaining George Galloway leaves a British interviewer befuddled:

America's Drunkest City

Forbes.com says Milwaukee is America's drunkest city. I suppose if Scott Walker was your county executive you'd want to get drunk for sheer escapist purposes.

Gotta love the way Finnish rocker Pelle Mijoona sings "Wishkey."

Mike Ellis' Words and Deeds

Neenah Senator Mike Ellis, a Republican with an independent streak, has been on a 10 year quest to reform Wisconsin's corrupt and corrupting method of electing public officials. While the governor and the Republican controlled Senate have been obstacles to reform, the Republican controlled assembly has shown contempt for even the idea of changing the system of legalized bribery that got them into the majority.

Because of Ellis' outspokenness on reform issues, you'd think that in an election year he'd only support reform candidates regardless of party affiliation, right? Of if he can only support Republicans, you'd think that his support would at best be lukewarm for Republicans who refuse to embrace reform, right?

Not so. 54th District Republican candidate Julie Pung-Leschke, the only candidate in the district to fail to complete the League of Women Voters/Common Cause/Wisconsin Democracy Campaign ethics survey, in her campaign finance report shows a $500 contribution from Mike Ellis. I'd say that's pretty enthusiastic support.

Leschke even received a PAC contribution from "Friends of Mike Huebsch"--a legislator who has been openly hostile to the kinds of reforms advocated by Ellis.

No one would expect Ellis to endorse Democrat Gordon Hintz, but giving $500 to a candidate who refuses to embrace reform calls into question whether Ellis really believes the rhetoric coming out of his mouth. Looks like he's just one more partisan Republican.

Ed Garvey's Words and Deeds

I thought it was real nice the other day when Ed Garvey bashed the DemoPublican front group "We The People" for excluding Greens from their "debates" (i.e. Jim Doyle/Mark Green Snoozefests). He even lamented how the "Green candidate for Senate" probably won't be invited to debate Herb Kohl. (Dear Ed: Her name is Rae Vogeler).

Being that Ed is so upset at the exclusion of Greens from sham debates, you'd think he would then use his influence to get some exposure for Green candidates, right? Wrong. Neither Rae Vogeler nor Nelson Eisman (Green candidate for governor) have been invited to speak at the September Fighting Bob Fest, an event which is supposedly designed to "promote solidarity" among progressives.

Last year I argued that Ed should change the name of the event to the Gaylord Proxmire Fest, something I believe even more strongly today.

Wheezin' in the Wind

Chris Richards in the Washington Post says that Bob Dylan's failing voice is making his tunes unrecognizeable these days. Of course Dylan's appeal never was his singing, anyway (nor was it his guitar and harmonica playing). He's one of those artists I never really liked, yet always ended up buying his records anyway. I'm sure I'm not the only one.

Being that his voice is shot, perhaps we will start seeing more covers of his tunes. I like Scottish singer KT Tunstall's version of "Tangled Up In Blue." (see below)

Zeidler Interview On YouTube

Our friends over at the Nate Report have placed the Frank Zeidler interview into seven easily viewable YouTube videos. You can get them here. Thanks Nate!

Boston Massacre II

As a New York city boy and life long Yankee fan/Red Sox hater, I just have to take a break to congratulate Joe Torre's Yanks on their 5-game SWEEP of the Sox, completed today at Fenway Park. Lots of people believe that today's millionaire pro athletes don't play with the passion of yesteryear, but the Yankees' complete ass kicking of the Sox showed something different.

New Zogby Poll on Electronic Voting Attitudes

Michael Collins of The Scoop Independent Media summarizes the finding of a new Zogby Poll:

A recent Zogby poll documents ground breaking information on the attitudes of American voters toward electronic voting. They are quite clear in the belief that the outcome of an entire election can be changed due to flaws in computerized voting machines. At a stunning rate of 92%, Americans insist on the right to watch their votes being counted. And, at an overwhelming 80%, they strongly object to the use of secret computer software to tabulate votes without citizen access to that software.

The American public is clear in its desire for free, fair, and transparent elections. An 80%-90% consensus on the right to view vote counting and opposition to secrecy by voting machine vendor is both rare and remarkable in American politics. If only the public knew that these options are virtually non existent in today’s election system.

Part I of Collins' II part series can be found here.

Interview with former Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler

The link below is to a "Commentary" interview with the late Frank Zeidler, socialist mayor of Milwaukee from 1948 - 1960. The interview was originally recorded in August of 2001. The cohost is former Oshkosh mayor James Mather.

The video is in quicktime format and may take a long time to load:
Frank Zeilder interview.

Judge Finds Warrantless Wiretapping Unconstitutional

From the Associated Press. Nice to see there is at least one judge out there who sees the Constitution as something more than a doormat.

Images of the King

Having been to Memphis recently, I can attest that it is impossible to traverse that fine city without being subject to constant reminders of Elvis Presley. This week is "Images of the King" week in Memphis, kind of like the Elvis impersonators' equivalent of the Muslims' hajj to Mecca.

I once read a brilliant piece [by an author I cannot recall] which argued that the first Elvis impersonator was . . . Elvis. His performances in his latter years were such a pathetic parody of his former self that he was in fact an Elvis impersonator.

Veto Power Works When Mayor Votes Only In Case Of Tie

According to Gannett, Oshkosh Common Councilors Esslinger and McHugh are getting set to introduce referendum language that would allow the voters to decide if the mayor of Oshkosh should have veto power. If the story is accurate, the mayoral position would remain unchanged except for the addition of veto power that would take 5 of 7 council votes to override. That is, the mayor would remain primarily a member of the legislature with equal voting powers.

I'm a strong supporter of mayoral veto power; however, such power can be easily abused if the mayor's position remains unchanged except for the addition of the veto. We could find ourselves in an absurd position in which every time the mayor is on the losing end of a 4-3 vote, he vetoes the measure. He then gets to vote to sustain his own veto! Veto power was not meant to serve as another vote for a sore loser among equal members of a legislature. Nor was veto power meant to serve as a vehicle for legislative grandstanding. Rather, veto power was meant to serve as an EXECUTIVE check on the legislature.

The solution is simple: allow the mayor to vote only in the case of a tie. Suppose the council is having a tough deliberation over the budget the mayor wants to see defeated. If the Council passes the budget by a 4-2 vote, the mayor vetoes it and then 5 votes would be needed to override. If the council votes 3-3, the mayor votes NO and the budget is defeated.

Allowing a mayor to veto a piece of legislation that he already voted NO on not only runs the risk of creating image of the "sore loser legislator," but it is also a violation of the spirit of the system of checks and balances on which a constitutional form of government is founded.

Let's give the mayor veto power--but only if the mayor's voting privileges are changed so that s/he only votes in the event of a tie.

257 Potential Key to the City Recipients in Pentagon

Last month the city of Oshkosh in conjunction with the Experimental Attendance Association awarded the Key to the City to Jack Pelton, recipient of two "degrees" from a diploma mill.

Turns out that there are 257 potential key to the city of Oshkosh recipients employed at the Pentagon. Yes, a congressional study (cited in the September Harper's Index) found that 257 Pentagon employees actually listed "degrees" received from diploma mills on their resumes. According to Harper's, approximately 100,000 Americans each year receive "degrees" from diploma mills.

Soon millions of students will start another semester at accredited colleges and universities, going deep in debt to earn legitimate degrees. What fools. Using the Jack Pelton/Pentagon method of degree attainment, they could save lots of time and money. If they learn how to fly a plane and kiss the right butts they might even get a key to the city of Oshkosh.

Isn't it time for someone in a position of authority in Oshkosh city government to stand up and insist that Pelton's key to the city award be rescinded?

Ahmadinejad Blogs

Iranian President Ahmadinejad now maintains a blog.

The Jill Carroll Story

Jill Carroll, the reporter held hostage in Iraq for several months, has told the story of her ordeal to the Christian Science Monitor. The first of ten installments is here.

The video below is an interview Carroll was forced to participate in by her abductors before her release.

County Board Size Debate In Fond du Lac

Fond du Lac County voters in November will have the opportunity to reduce their County Board's size from 36 to 18. Gannett's Fond du Lac Reporter today presents a debate on the issue. It looks like the side in favor of reducing the Board size is using cost savings as the major argument in favor, a position that appeals to voters but doesn't pan out in the real world. There is no evidence that smaller boards spend less money, and some evidence that they actually spend more.

Fiona Apple's Tarantism

Saw Fiona Apple at Milwaukee's beautiful Riverside Theatre last night. Opening act David Garza wowed the audience with his frenetic acoustic guitar playing and soulful voice. His closing number was a duet with one of Fiona's band members; they performed an inspiring version of Bob Dylan's "My Back Pages" that gave me chills.

Fiona rocks with angst that is definitely not for upbeat, optimistic types who don't like to be brought down every now and then. My favorite number was "Sleep to Dream" (from her first album), which she sang with a kind of reckless defiance that was quite intense. Equally compelling was another tune from her first record, "Shadowboxer," which includes one of my all time favorite lines: "What a cunning way to condescend."

I'm not really sure how to describe Fiona's stage movement, except to say that it seems to be a good example of tarantism, an uncontrollable urge to dance. I found it quite unique and intriguing, actually.

RIP: Mike Douglas

Mike Douglas, perhaps the most underrated TV interviewer in the history of the medium, died today at age 81. As a teen in the 1970s, I used to watch the show regularly because of the musical acts. I remember actually watching the interview below with Tom Waits when it first aired in 1976.

Bertolt Brecht Year

The year 2006 marks the 50th anniversary of the death of Bertolt Brecht, one of the great political dramatists of the 20th century. The German newspaper Deutsche Welle marks the occasion here.

Below is the legendary Louis Armstrong singing "Mack the Knife," the famous tune from Brecht's Threepenny Opera.

Mushroom Cloud's Silver Lining?

Musings From Patti Smith

I've been a Patti Smith fan since her first album in the mid 1970s. Since the 1990s she's been outspoken on a range of social justice issues; the roots of her politics are disclosed in this interview with John Nichols of the Cap Times in 1997. Below are some musings Patti recently emailed to her fans:

August 9 full moon. This is the day Jerry Garcia died.
He was born on the first of August and passed away on
the ninth, so it's nice to think of that span as Jerry
week. It certainly seems that he well deserves a 9 day
week. So it's winding to a close. I lit him a candle,
listened to him singing Palm Sunday, and looked
at his paintings in a big Jerry book.

August 2, the birthday of my sister Kimberly,
was the anniversary of William Burroughs' passing.
While in my old house in Michigan I found my seventy
year old bottle of Chartreuse squirreled away. I
bought it in the eighties with him in mind. We promised
each other we'd share a drink one day, but we never got around
to it. I reread his Port of Saints and looked at a catalogue of
his gun shot paintings. I traced my son and daughter's names
written in his hand on an old Christmas card.
Then I cracked open the Chartreuse and poured us
each a shot. The green sugary liquid put me in mind
of nineteenth century absinthe, so while I had my
ritual drink with William, I kept in mind the likes of Paul Verlaine,
Baudelaire and Arthur Rimbaud.

August 3, on the birthday of Beverly Lee, a member of the wondrous Shirelles, Arthur Lee passed away. I met him a long time ago. He was just a little older than me. He was soft spoken with a vague criminal air. Forever Changes left its mark. I was in Michigan when he died and I walked down to the end of my dead end street and sat on a bench beneath a weeping willow. It was at least one hundred degrees but I still had my trusty black coffee, steaming fresh from Seven Eleven. I played back Amoreagain and Orange Skies in my mind. These songs of Love are so deeply rooted I can hear them as clear as if they were wafting from a turntable.

My son's birthday rolled around. August 6 was the anniversary of the bombing of Hiroshima. Over one hundred thousand people were massacred in that drop. Too many candles for one to light. I was back at my post on the bench looking out at Lake St. Clair. A huge Monarch brushed my cheek. I figured the butterfly, symbol of immortality, served to evoke them.

A few weeks ago I was in London. I visited a small bar painted green and lit with a green light. William used to frequent this joint some years ago. You can only enter through private subscription. I wasn't drinking. I was just visiting. It was three in the afternoon. There were a few old-school characters nursing their whiskies. Suddenly, in the center of the friendly yet oppressive silence, one of them cried out "Syd Barrett is dead." This took me off guard. But the fellows spontaneously raised their glasses, issued a " here! here! Syd!" and then retreated into their private worlds. For that one moment they were of one mind. And I was with them, saluting someone I never knew. Someone who made music. Someone who loved Arthur Lee.

Today is my friend Betsy Lerner's birthday. It's the day the United States dropped an Atomic Bomb on Nagasaki. It's the day Hermann Hesse died. The day Jerry died. I have returned to the city. Children are racing up and down my street. We humans keep in mind. That's what we do. Tonight is a full moon. Guess when it sets, I will get me a cup of black coffee, sit on the stoop, and contemplate the bombing of Qana, the miracle of love and Dark Star.

Patti Smith

We Don't Stop, We Don't Slow Down, We Don't Swerve

Here's local Iraq War vet Jason Moon telling his story. A radio interview with Jason can be found here.

Lieberman Loss: Will Hillary Get The Message?

The biggest loser in last night's Connecticut US Senate primary was not Joe Lieberman, the "Democrat" who stands a good chance of keeping his seat by running as an Independent in November. The biggest loser was Hillary Clinton, whose hawkish stands on Iraq were matched only by Lierberman in terms of the extent to which such stands have provided crucial Democratic shield for the Bush Administration.

Hillary's public spanking of Don Rumsfeld last week hardly represented movement toward an anti-war position on her part. Rather, she's framing the problem with Iraq as largely a management problem. For the most part, that's the Lieberman position that was soundly rejected last night by Connecticut's Democrats.

Progressive alternatives to Hillary are available to New York voters. Jonathan Tasini is the real Democrat in the primary race, though unlike Connecticut's Ned Lamont he is not independently wealthy and probably won't be able to overcome Hillary's war chest. The Green Party's Howie Hawkins, a Vietnam Vet and a teamster, is running on a platform most in touch with the majority of New Yorkers, but he is not likely to overcome the barriers faced by all third party candidates.

Plugged In Again

I just managed to go an entire week with: (1) no television, (2) no newspapers, (3) no Internet. Other than a touch of public radio here and there, I was completely unplugged. I did hear about some flooding in El Paso . . .

Summer Blog Break

There won't be any updates to this blog until the weekend, as I am taking a much needed break after teaching classes non-stop until the end of July. Hope everyone is enjoying the hot weather.

Sinead's "War"

For the final July John Lennon celebration entry, we turn to Sinead O'Connor. In October of 1992, Sinead gained notoriety by ripping up a picture of Pope John Paul II on Saturday Night Live. Almost everyone who writes or speaks about that event conveniently forgets to mention that she tore the picture AFTER singing an a cappella version of Bob Marley's "War."

Years later, Sinead had the meaning of the event explained to her by John.

Valley Press Covers Up Fraud, Censors Courage

That's the title of the August Media Rant, which finds a connection between the local media's refusal to expose the fraudulent behavior of a "Key to the City" recipient at the same time censoring an act of real courage by a soldier.

Here's the way the piece will look in The Valley Scene.

Aug. 5th: Humane Society Rummage Sale

RUMMAGE SALE…at the Oshkosh Area Humane Society. OAHS will be holding a Rummage Sale on Saturday, August 5^th from 10:00 am – 3 pm.

Did you have intentions to declutter the garage, organize the basement, or clear the crawl space this summer? Well it is not too late!!! We welcome the community to look around their homes for items in good condition that they would be willing to donate to benefit OAHS -100% of proceeds will directly benefit our operations.

All donations for the Rummage Sale can be delivered to the Oshkosh Area Humane Society on Wednesday, August 2^nd between noon and 6:00 p.m. or on Thursday August 3^rd between 2:00 p.m. and 7:00 p.m. allowing our volunteers to organize and prepare our Community Room for the sale.

Please share our request with your family, friends and coworkers. Should you have any questions do not hesitate to contact OAHS, 920-303-3166.

An extra special thank you to Sharon Barlow, a special OAHS Volunteer, who will be overseeing the project.

OAHS * 1925 Shelter Court * Oshkosh, WI 54901 * 920-303-3166

www.oahs.org

Condoleeza Brazzi

(cartoon from Truthdig)

Condi Rice is headed back to the holy lands on Saturday to "broker peace." Somehow the American press can say "Bush Administration" and "broker peace" in the same sentence without any apparent sense of irony. It would be like reporting that the Corleone family sent Luca Brazzi to Brooklyn to "broker peace" with the Barzinis.

You have to go back to Dr. Henry Kissinger to find an American secretary of state as incompetent and delusional as Dr. Rice. That she could become Secretary of State after her shameful performance in front of the 9/11 Commission says much about the values of the current administration.

Military Intelligence and You!

Now THIS is funny:

Campaign Reform Survey: Hintz Yes, Leschke/Didlo No Response

The League of Women Voters along with Common Cause and the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign recently posed 6 questions to all legislative, gubernatorial, and attorney general candidates. With former state legislative leaders convicted of felonies, and Wisconsin now a national model of pay to play politics, and with the ethical caliber of the state's politics at an all time low, you'd think that candidates would jump at the chance to demonstrate their support for reform.

Not so. In the 54th Assembly District, Democrat Gordon Hintz answered "Yes" to all 6 questions, but Republicans Julie Leschke (who is supported actively by assembly majority leader Mike Huebsch, a hostile anti-reform insider) and Larry Didlo did not respond. Leschke continues to disappoint by claiming to be indepedent and not a politician, yet almost always ending up on the side of the Republican party leadership in Madison. In other words, she's acting just like another politician.

If the 54th continues to remain in the hands of the Republicans, it should be someone like Senator Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) who is willing to take stands that defy the party leadership. So far we have not seen that from Julie Pung-Underheim, I mean Leschke.

On the other hand, responding "Yes" to the 6 survey questions below doesn't really mean much of anything. Jim Doyle answered Yes to all six questions, yet no one seriously believes that he will lead on reform issues, especially given how his reelection campaign is for sale to the highest bidders. And no one around these parts other than Xoffian spinmeisters thinks that Gordon will go to Madison and defy Doyle on anything.

Mark Green would probably be worse than Doyle on campaign finance reform and ethics issues, but not by much. For honest government, the Green Party's Nelson Eisman is the only serious choice.

Here are the 6 questions Hintz answered yes to:

1. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for bipartisan legislation (similar to 2005-2006 Senate Bill 1) to strengthen enforcement of Wisconsin's ethics code and campaign finance laws by replacing the current State Elections and State Ethics Boards with a nonpartisan and politically independent Government Accountability Board with an enforcement division with the authority and resources to investigate and prosecute violations of state elections, ethics, campaign finance and lobbying laws and regulations?

2. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for bipartisan, comprehensive campaign finance reform that would reduce special interest influence and the cost of campaigning by setting new voluntary campaign spending limits as a threshold condition for receiving public financing grants equal to at least 35 to 45 percent of the legally established spending limits for the offices they seek as well as:

• Provide supplemental public grants to candidates who are the targets of outside interest group spending and/or are opposed by candidates who do not agree to limit their spending and exceed the spending limit;
• Require increased disclosure and regulation of so-called "issue advocacy" by interest groups or individuals;
• Prohibit campaign fundraising during the state budget process and ban contributions by anyone bidding for a state contract;
• Eliminate leadership-controlled legislative campaign committees;
• Limit out-of-state special interest money;
• Ban the pooling of special interest political action committee money to create so-called "SuperPACs"?

3. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for bipartisan legislation mirroring the federal Bipartisan Campaign Reform Law of 2002 (commonly known as McCain-Feingold) requiring the complete disclosure of the source of funding for so-called "issue ads" and requiring that the funds for such ads comply with campaign contribution limits in Wisconsin law? (This would limit individual donations and prohibit the use of money from the general treasuries of corporations, labor unions and Native American tribes to pay for such electioneering.)

4. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for legislative measures making electoral competitiveness a legal or constitutional standard that must be applied by the Legislature and the courts in establishing state legislative and congressional district boundaries?

5. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for legislative measures establishing an independent commission or authority to handle the task of redrawing legislative and congressional districts after each census beginning in 2011?

6. YES OR NO: Do you support and would you vote for legislation to tighten Wisconsin's "revolving door" policy by requiring at least a one-year "cooling off" period before former legislators, top legislative aides and key executive branch officials can become registered lobbyists and prohibiting persons convicted of a felony or a misdemeanor committed in their former capacity as a legislator, legislative aide or key executive branch official from becoming registered lobbyists?

sdaeh rieht edih dna nur yeht semoc niar eht fI

Continuing with our July John Lennon celebration, and having already blogged about the sun today, let's watch and listen to John's Beatles' classic "Rain."

My Letter To Doyle

Today I emailed this letter to the office of Governor Doyle:

I read in the Thursday, July 27th Oshkosh Northwestern that Governor Doyle will attend the Friday "Mayor's Breakfast" in Oshkosh. At that event, CESSNA CEO Jack Pelton will receive the "Key to the City." For reasons that will be explained below, Mr. Pelton does not deserve the award. I urge the governor to boycott the event.

In November of 2004, CBS' Sixty Minutes did a feature on "Diplomas for Sale." Reporter Vicki Mabrey reported on online diploma mills, focusing specifically on "Hamilton University." According to the story:

"How do you get a degree from Hamilton? You start by filling out a form on a site that claims to be an independent referral service. But it really was set up to funnel business to Hamilton. You’ll then be offered dozens of degrees. If you’re accepted, and chances are good you will be, it can take as little as a week or two to get a diploma. Your main assignments are to write a short paper and a big check."

When Pelton became CESSNA CEO, his official bio stated:

"Pelton holds BS and MS degrees in Aerospace Engineering from Hamilton University. He is a resident of Wichita and currently serves on the board of directors for the General Aviation Manufacturers Association and Wichita’s Habitat for Humanity. A commercial, instrument-rated pilot, he is Citation rated and flies regularly as pilot in command."

The Hamilton "degrees" have since been removed from Pelton's bio on the website of Textron, CESSNA's parent company. When hiring Pelton as CESSNA CEO in December of 2003, Textron's news release included the Hamiton "degree" credentials. After the Sixty Minutes story, CESSNA issued a statement sweeping Pelton's deception under the rug. To my knowledge Pelton has never offered a compelling explanation for why he obtained the Hamilton "degrees."

Pelton hails from Kansas. Students from that area attending Independence Community College and working hard for their diplomas said that Pelton's appointment as CEO should produce anger because: "Some of us actually work to obtain a degree. People like Pelton, who have not earned their credentials, should make us feel cheated. Some of us study hard to get through school; all he did was write a big check."

Oshkosh is a university town. Allowing Pelton to receive the Key to the City will represent a slap in the face to all the hard working students in the community. UW Oshkosh professors, myself included, teach our students that there are real consequences to be paid for lying or misleading on one's resume.' To give Pelton the Key to the City sends all the wrong messages to our students and undermines the ethical principles we attempt to teach.

Radio Shack's David Edmondson was forced to resign as CEO earlier this year when it was revealed that he lied on his resume about earning college degrees. What Pelton did is even worse: he PAID for fraudulent degrees and waited until a network television show exposed the fraud before removing them from his resume.

In the fall I plan to reveal to the UW Oshkosh student press that city leaders and UW Oshkosh administrators stood by silently while a major award was given to a man who declared himself to have credentials that he did not work for. I hope I do not have to include in my letter to them that even governor Doyle refused to stand up for academic integrity.

Thank you.

Tony Palmeri, Ph.D
UW Oshkosh Department of Communication

Here's the immediate response I received back from Doyle's office:

Dear Friend:

Thank you for your e-mail message. I welcome you expressing your views and concerns to me, and I commend you for participating in your state government.

I take into account the views of all of the citizens of Wisconsin, and will keep your specific comments in mind during my service as your Governor.

If you would like more information about my positions on issues, or would like to read my public statements on issues, I encourage you to explore my home page at http://www.wisgov.state.wi.us/

I like to respond individually to every letter and telephone call I receive, however, I cannot respond to each e-mail individually due to the volume.

If your request is time sensitive, please call my office at (608) 266-1212. You may also write to me via conventional mail at Governor Jim Doyle, 115 East, State Capitol, Madison, WI 53702.

Once again, thank you for contacting me. Please feel free to contact me again if I can ever be of assistance to you.

Sincerely,

Jim Doyle
Governor

Doyle Should Boycott Mayor's Breakfast

Gannett reports that Governor Jim Doyle will attend the Oshkosh Mayor's Breakfast on Friday. This is the event at which CESSNA CEO Jack Pelton, recipient of two "degrees" from a diploma mill, will receive the Key to the City. It demeans the office of the governor to endorse an event that turns a blind eye to the kind of behavior that has led to the resignation of at least one other CEO (David Edmondson resigned as CEO of Radio Shack after it was revealed that he lied on his resume--but at least he, unlike Pelton, offered a public apology for his actions.).

Hot Story

According to the World Health Organization, the sun kills 60,000 per year. (Possible wingnut response: "See, why are we worried about 2,500 dead soldiers in Iraq? The sun kills more people every year.").

Revolution

Continuing with our July John Lennon celebration, below is the Stone Temple Pilots' cover of the Beatles' Revolution, one of John's better songs IMHO.

Labor Forum: Will Leschke Show?

Tonight, AFSCME Locals 48 and 579 along with the Winnebago County Labor Council and Wisconsin State Employees Union are sponsoring a candidates' forum. The event is at the Knights of Columbus Hall on Jackson St. and starts at 7 p.m.

54th assembly district Democratic candidate Gordon Hintz will participate, but it is still not clear if Republican front runner Julie Pung-Leschke will. I emailed her last week to ask if she would be participating, and her response was that "I have been trying to get a hold of Steve Dedow about that - we've been playing phone tag, back and forth several times." Steve Dedow is the President of the Winnebago County Labor Council.

It's not clear to me exactly what Leschke would need to talk to Dedow about before accepting the invitation. Two years ago Republican Gregg Underheim did not attend the same event, which upset even the anti-union Gannett press in town.

Leschke turned down an invitation to appear on "Eye on Oshkosh," a program that reaches out to the working people of the 54th. Should she be a no-show at the Labor Forum tonight, she will have established that she is either not yet ready, willing, or able to discuss the crucial issues that face workers.

Can Blogging Derail Your Career?

University of Michigan professor Juan Cole maintains Informed Comment, one of the more lucid places to go for commentary on the Middle East. He has drawn the ire of the wingnuts, resulting in a highly publicized attempt to prevent him from being appointed to a professorship at Yale. The Chronicle of Higher Education now presents an online forum sparked by the Cole controversy, "Can Blogging Derail Your Career?" Cole's Response Can be found here.

Give Peace A Chance

Continuing with our July John Lennon celebration, and with war as popular as ever, here's John, Yoko and friends with Give Peace A Chance.

The Lie That Won't Die

It's been almost 5 years since the Experimental Aircraft Association's bogus attendance reporting was exposed. Yet today, almost unbelievably, the Oshkosh Northwestern's Krista Ledbetter reports "nearly 700,000 visitors . . . " That's what happens when the "reporting " relies on EAA press releases and the editors are either too lazy or too scared to do their jobs properly. Back in 2003 the Northwestern did a story questioning the attendance figures (no longer online), but that has now apparently been relegated to the memory hole and they've decided to go with the bullshit numbers instead. So much for Gannett's code of ethics.

Down in Florida, the "Sun 'N Fun" fly-in was forced to adjust its attendance figures after some responsible reporting by reporter Rick Rousos. In November of 2003 the Sun 'N Fun management admitted to a paid attendance of 57,000. I would be shocked if the Oshkosh EAA attendance is much larger than that.

The continued lying about the attendance results in exaggerated estimates of the economic impact of EAA, which results in a continuation of the very generous treatment provided to the organization by Winnebago Couny and the city of Oshkosh.

This year in addition to the continuation of the attendance charade, we have to suffer through the shameful spectacle of the Key to the City being given to a man who lied on his resume'. What can be said about a mainstream press, city council, and county government that allows an organization to treat the city of Oshkosh like an ignorant backwater?

Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq

Beginning Sunday, the Washington post features a series of articles on the Iraq fiasco written by Pulitzer prize winning author Thomas Ricks. According to the paper: "'Fiasco: The American Military Adventure in Iraq' was based on a review of more than 30,000 pages of military documents, several hundred interviews with U.S. military personnel, the author's own articles in The Washington Post, and reporting in The Post and other newspapers." The first installment can be found here.

Come Together: Finger Pickin' Good

Continuing with our July John Lennon Celebration, below guitar virtuoso Michael Chapdelaine does a finger pickin' good version of "Come Together."

Jon Stewart on Lebanon Coverage

State of Wisconsin v. Joe Paulus: No Closure

Can anyone really believe that the criminal complaint filed today by the Wisconsin Department of Justice against former Winnebago County rogue DA Joe Paulus will bring closure to this sordid episode? After an investigation of multiple years, the DOJ essentially repeated the federal case against Paulus. There is nothing new here. The DOJ press release says that "charges are not expected against any other individuals based upon the evidence available." They claim the investigation will remain open, but today's filing sure has the look of sweeping the matter under the rug.

For me, and I suspect for many others, the issue is not about how many years Paulus spends in jail. The issue is whether citizens of Winnebago County can believe that the 4 years worth of local, state, and federal investigations of the Paulus years have provided us with confidence that the culture of corruption has been removed from the county justice system. Sadly, today's criminal complaint filing, like the federal case earlier, does not provide that confidence.

There is one amusing part to the complaint. Paulus' partner in crime, former defense attorney, former assistant DA, and former Winnebago County Republican Party chair Mitch Schierland, told the DOJ that he decided to cooperate with federal investigators "for multiple reasons, including his religious faith . . ." Funny how he got religion AFTER the federal investigation began.

Black Eyed Peas: Power to the People!

Continuing with our July John Lennon celebration, below is a video of The Black Eyed Peas performing "Power to the People" with guests Mary J. Blige and John Legend. The Peas originally recorded the Lennon classic in late 2005 on the John Lennon Educational Tour Bus.

WPR Dumps Harry Shearer

Satirist Harry Shearer, perhaps best know for being a voice of The Simpsons, produces a radio show called "Le Show." The show was recently dumped by Wisconsin Public Radio because, according to Harry, they were "displeased with the political content" of the show. Shearer mentions the WPR dumping during the intro to his July 16th program, which can be heard here.

John and Chuck go to Memphis

July is John Lennon Month here at T2T. In the video below we have John and Chuck Berry doing "Memphis" on the Mike Douglas Show in 1972. In the middle of the video it seems as if someone shut off Yoko's mike so that she couldn't continue shrieking (though by the end of the video the mike is back on and she's shrieking again).

Kevin Phillips on the American Petrocracy

Respected conservative writer Kevin Phillips argues that the oil motive is the "most plausible" one for explaining the Iraq fiasco, and he makes a convincing case in the July 17th cover story for the American Conservative.

Yer Blues

Continuing on our John Lennon theme, below is a classic video featuring John Lennon fronting a super group called "Dirty Mag" featuring Eric Clapton on guitar, Keith Richards of the Rolling Stones on bass, and Mitch Mitchell of the Jimi Hendrix Experience on drums. They play "Yer Blues" from the Beatles' White Album. As for the intro conversation between Lennon and Mick Jagger, let's just say they were not auditioning to be part of the "Just Say No" campaign.

What Barrett's Going To Teach

Right wing blogger Jessica McBride (who once appeared on Radio Commentary) posed some email questions to Kevin Barrett asking him to specify what exactly he will teach in his Islam class. Even though his responses are perfectly reasonable, McBride still cannot bring herself to defend Barrett's right to teach or defend the appropriate manner in which the UW Madison administration stood up for his course. In other words, she is locked into an ideology that has fixed her responses to Barrett regardless of what he says--the exact thing she and others are accusing HIM of doing as regards his approach to 9/11.

The U.S. vs. John Lennon

An interesting new documentary will be released in September.

Strange Days Indeed at the Oshkosh Common Council

Last night the Oshkosh Common Council rubber stamped, with NO DISCUSSION, the purchase of Diebold touch screen voting machines. This paves the way for the placement of equipment in our polling places that the Diebold corporation ITSELF admits has security flaws that will not be worked out until after the September primaries. 28 members of the Winnebago County Board and all 7 members of the Oshkosh Common Council appear apathetic or oblivious to the fact that it is easier to rig an electronic voting machine than a Las Vegas slot machine.

The Council also approved, with Bryan Bain the only Councilor showing any real interest, the placement of over $100,000 worth of security cameras in Oshkosh buses. I suspected this council would have no concern for the "surveillance society" issues raised by bus cameras, but thought they would at least care about the expenditure when they are allegedly trying to save money. Absent any real need for the cameras--a need that was never demonstrated--we should not spend a dime on the technology.

Probably the most bizarre part of the evening was the presentation of an award by League of Wisconsin Munincipalities official Dan Thompson to State Senator Carol Roessler for her advocacy on behalf of their issues. Thompson seemed unaware that Roessler rarely visits the Oshkosh Common Council and has voted for budgets and levy freezes that have placed the city in its most difficult financial position in many years. To portray her as some kind of municipal heroine was nothing short of outrageous.

Strange days indeed.

UW Madison Stands Up To The Three Stooges

The UW Madison administration took a stand for academic freedom yesterday, clearing lecturer Kevin Barrett to teach a course this fall on "Islam: Religion and Culture." Provost Patrick Farrell said that "we cannot allow political pressure from critics of unpopular ideas to inhibit the free exchange of ideas."

The decision disappointed the Three Stooges: Moe (Representative Steve Nass), Larry (Congressman Mark Green), and Curly (Governor Jim Doyle). Nass actually said that the decision is going to make it easier for him to argue for UW administrative cuts in the next budget. Curly and Larry were their typical gutless selves:

Matt Canter, a spokesman for Gov. Jim Doyle, said, "Everyone knows that Governor Doyle would have come to a different conclusion on this matter, but the governor recognizes the university has the legal authority to make their own personnel decisions."

Mark Green, the Republican candidate for governor, issued a statement calling Barrett "as unfit to teach our students as a math professor who would tell us that two plus two equals five."

I have a feeling we have not heard the last of this matter. Certainly The Stooges won't let it rest, especially in an election year.

Retired UWO Physics Prof Wants Evolution Referendum on Ballot

Yesterday in the Oshkosh Northwestern on page B2 of the Local section appeared a huge ad titled EVOLUTION: TELL ALL. The ad complains that "evolution in the Oshkosh public schools is not taught truthfully." It asks readers to petition the school board to place a referendum on the November ballot: "Be it resolved that when evolution is taught in Oshkosh public schools is (sic) shall not be taught as fact, but rather with evidence, pro and con, and with an analysis of its testability."

In case there was any doubt about the nature of this petition effort, the ad says this in bold letters: "Churches collect signatures of your members."

The ad tells readers to go to www.TellAll.org for more information. The site and petition drive are the work of Dr. Sandra Gade, retired UW Oshkosh Emeritus Professor of Physics.

Lake Winneblogo addressed an earlier letter of Dr. Gade's here and here.

Frank Zeidler and City Living

Former Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler, the "Sewer Socialist" who served from 1948-1960, died recently at the age of 93. Zeidler was a rare breed among elected officials--honest, humble, principled, smart, able to disagree without demonizing his opponents, and, GASP, comfortable with losing every now and then. As stated in the Journal Sentinel piece:

"Zeidler was undeterred by the fact that his stands were often lonely. To him, politics was never just about winning; it was about principle and issues." Zeidler was one of the first big city mayors to take the issues of racial discrimination and civil rights seriously, leading to vicious personal attacks.

I met Frank Zeidler at his modest Milwaukee home on August 24, 2001. Milwaukeean Doug Freshner (a great man in his own right), former producer and technical director for "Commentary," arranged for cohost Jim Mather and I to meet and interview him. I have the interview on VHS tape--someday I will have it transferred to a digital format.

Since Zeidler left office in 1960, Milwaukee and virtually every American city has suffered from almost 5 decades of mostly mindless, unsustainable development, most of it the product of an unholy alliance between profit driven builders and "professional" governments that have raised the strip mall and big box retail store to mythological status. Once liveable cities devolved to near rubble and were replaced by the ugly Frontage Road monster which municipal Mr. Hydes cloned along virtually every highway in America.

What became clear in our interview with Zeidler was that he never gave up on the idea of the city as a thriving space for citizenship, community, and commerce. Now that gas has passed the $3 per gallon mark, perhaps the idea of liveable cities featuring strong neighborhoods and reliable mass transit might gain currency.

We certainly won't get there without some Zeidler-like leadership.

Contact Information For Referendum Drives

The summer of 2006 is shaping up to be an active petition gathering season for Oshkosh area activists. Candidates for partisan office must have their signatures in to the State Elections Board by early next week. More significant are two referendum drives.

The first referendum drive is another attempt to provide Oshkosh voters with an opportunity to take a stand on the Iraq war: "Resolved: The United States should immediately withdraw from Iraq, beginning with the National Guard and Reserves." If you have interest in helping to collect signatures for this referendum, or want to sign it, contact Tina Haffeman (thaffeman@tds.net), Jenni Ryan (jenniryan@hotmail.com) or me (tony@tonypalmeri.com).

The second referendum is an attempt to make sure that the $10 a month garbage fee ends up in the waste dump of history after December of this year. The "Resolution to Establish Fee for Collection of Solid Waste and Recyclables" says: Now, therefore, be it resolved, that a fee of ZERO DOLLARS per month per residential unit for collection by the city of Oshkosh of solid waste and recyclables is hereby established.

Be it further resolved, that said fee shall be in full force an effect starting January 1, 2007.

To help collect signatures or sign the petition, contact Carl Sosnoski (235-7263) or me (tony@tonypalmeri.com).

GOP: Grand Old Pork

Today's Boston Globe exposes the hypocrisy of the Congressional Republican leadership in Washington that decries pork-barrel spending while helping to block 40 attempts this year to remove special interest "earmark" projects from spending bills.

Watada Charged For Refusal

Lt. Ehren Watada, the soldier who won't stand silent while American soldiers and innocent Iraqis die for a neo-con chicken hawk world order fantasy, was charged yesterday with "refusing to be deployed with his unit on June 22 and with expressing contempt against officials, including the president, and conduct 'unbecoming' of an officer."

Presumably the prosecutors will try to establish that it would be more "becoming" for Watada to willingly give up his life for a flawed policy rooted in incomptence and arrogance.

$14.1 Million and Counting

Wisconsin's State Elections Board has now doled out over $14 million of taxpayer money to the Accenture Coporation for a statewide voter registration database. Earlier reporting on this travesty by the nonpartisan Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is informative:

In addition to the $13.9 million the state has agreed to pay Accenture, millions more are being spent on other aspects of the voter registration project – including at least $4.1 million to another private firm, Deloitte Consulting, for project management and $10.2 million for state Elections Board staff oversight, hardware and data entry – for a total cost of at least $28.2 million. In contrast, Minnesota relied on state employees to do its statewide voter list and completed the work at a cost of $5.3 million.

The outsourcing of voter registration in Wisconsin is the offspring of a political promise Governor Jim Doyle made to eliminate 10,000 state jobs, thereby reducing the size of the state workforce to 1986 levels. Fulfilling that campaign promise has prompted the state to outsource government services to private companies, even when the cost of outsourcing is considerably greater for taxpayers.

This is the same State Elections Board whose Executive Director, Kevin Kennedy, resorted to parroting Diebold talking points at a Winnebago County Board meeting designed to air concerns about touch screen voting machines. It's interesting how the SEB is now parroting Accenture talking points to sweep under the rug the database disaster; in the Journal Sentinel article we learn that the voter list expense and the delay are the result of Wisconsin being "complex."

The Mid-Atlantic Region's Wisconsin

Guess who made these statements:

"The focus on short-term solutions to long term problems has continuously compounded the state’s deficit. It cannot and will not continue. It has undermined our state’s credit rating and prevented us from addressing other challenges, like property taxes, stem cell research, school construction and ethics reform. For too long the main objective of the budget process has been to finish it."

"The goal has been to complete a budget and go home with as little political discomfort as possible. Today, finishing the budget, simply for that purpose, is not good enough."

"Short-term patches that get us through the night are no substitute for sound fiscal policies."

Could be Jim Doyle or Mark Green on the campaign trail--though at this point only establishment party hacks could be dumb enough to think that Doyle or Green will provide anything other than "short-term patches" to the state's deficit woes. Neither Doyle nor Green are willing to show the leadership necessary to make Wisconsin's tax code progressive, thus making the budget crisis a fact of life.

The statement was actually made by Democratic New Jersey Governor Jon Corzine, a former US Senator who now as Jersey's Chief Executive is willing to tolerate the shutdown of non-essential government services until the Democrats in the assembly give him a sales tax increase. Corzine, aware that Democrats in the state have lost elections after proposing tax increases, also said:

"Is a budget to be a political platform to seek reelection, as has too often been the case in the past, or is it a statement of our mutually agreed upon priorities with an honest and real way to pay for those same priorities?"

That's the rhetoric of leadership, but simply proposing to raise the sales tax (a regressive tax) from 6 to 7 percent shows that Corzine really is playing just another version of politics as usual. A proposal to raise the top income tax rate would represent real leadership because it would force Corzine (former CEO of Goldman Sachs who spent at least $43 million to get elected) to take on his Wall St. buddies. Instead he proposes to raise a tax that disproportionately hurts those who spend a greater share of their income on consumer goods; i.e. middle class and poor people. Some leader.

New Jersey's Assembly is controlled by Democrats who have called Corzine's sales tax proposal "dead." The Assembly Dems are hardly flaming progressives either, and they are scared shitless of running for reelection in 2007 after voting for any tax increase in 2006, but at least they are considering the possibility of asking for more from the wealthy. According to the New York Times:

"Legislators said that among the alternatives that were being discussed in private were a proposal to increase the income tax in the top brackets, an idea the Corzine administration has been cool to."

Wisconsinites ought to follow the New Jersey budget deliberations very closely as they portend what will happen here next year: a Governor that talks big but will not offer real leadership, a wealthy special interest legislature paralyzed by a system that keeps them indebted to big donors, smoke and mirrors from establishment party hacks to cover up their mutual responsibility for the mess, and a disconnected/marginalized public that ultimately pays a heavy price.

Hintz/Leschke in Journal-Sentinel

54th District Assembly candidates Gordon Hintz and Julie Pung-Leschke are both quoted in a Journal Sentinel article on "Candidates Don Campaign Faces." Nice people, but makes you long for a Green Party candidate in the race.

Corporations Aren't People

Joshua Holland of Alternet has a great idea for a Defense of Human Citizenship Amendment:

SECTION 1. Citizenship in the United States shall be conferred only on human beings. Neither this Constitution nor the constitution of any State, nor state or federal law, shall be construed to require that citizenship or the legal incidents thereof be granted to corporations, partnerships, proprietorships or trusts.

The passage of Measure T in Humbolt County, California last month represented an example of activists making some progress in the struggle to reign in the power of corporations.

Holland in the Alternet piece argues that the so-called left in America needs to be bold and borrow a page from Karl Rove's Scorched Earth Politics for Dummies, a strategy of which the proposed constitutional amendment campaign would be part.

The modern American "left," whatever and whoever that is, suffers from some powerful psychological barriers that make it difficult to get such campaigns off the ground. Probably the major psychological barrier is the tendency to blame the population for rejecting ideas that they have not even been exposed to. "The average person will never go for something like that," "that's too radical," etc.

Educating citizens about something like corporate power is difficult and not always rewarding, so I guess it makes sense that some "leftists" would adopt a psychological framework that would define the entire effort as not worth the time. Much easier to expend energy on the lesser evil candidate in a partisan race, I guess, since at least they "can win."

Meet Rae Vogeler

Wisconsin's next US Senator, the Green Party's Rae Vogeler, will be in Oshkosh on July 3rd and 4th:

Monday evening, 6:30 - 8 p.m., open house meet & greet, at the Hardy House, 1437 N. Main St., Oshkosh.

Tuesday morning, 9 a.m. Oshkosh 4th of July Parade, Rae Vogeler will be walking with the Lake Winnebago Green Party in the parade.

President Feingold?

I wrote the cover story for the July, 2006 edition of The Valley Scene. The story tries to answer three questions: how much enthusiam is there for a Russ Feingold for President campaign? Does Feingold want to run? Can he win? You can find the piece here.

Freak Out! At Forty

July of 2006 is the 40th anniversary of the release of Freak Out! by Frank Zappa and the Mothers of Invention, one of the most influential rock albums ever recorded. The July Media Rants column celebrates the anniversary.

Check out the video below. It's Zappa on CNN's Crossfire from March 28, 1986 discussing music censorship. The other guest, John Lofton of the Washington Times, comes off as a first rate putz. There's even a point where Frank tells him to kiss his ass.

Roger Waters Protests The Wall

Roger Waters, founding member of Pink Floyd, is considered by most popular music aficionados to be a progressive rock genius. He wrote most of the songs for The Wall, a work that perhaps best exemplifies the "concept album."

Waters granted a rare interview to the London Times, in which he revealed some of his political interests (he claims he recently bought Neil Young's Living With War). As seen in the video below, he's also an activist against the Israel/Palestine wall.

Lt. Ehren Watada Statement

On June 8th, Lt. Ehren Watada became the first commissioned officer of the US Army to refuse deployment to Iraq. He said, "My moral and legal obligation is to the Constitution and not to those who would issue unlawful orders. I stand before you today because it is my job to serve and protect America's soldiers, its people, and innocent Iraqis who have no voice."

Earlier this week a rally on his behalf was held at Fort Lewis. Jeremy Brecher and Brendan Smith in The Nation explain the significance of Watada's actions, the seriousness of the legal claims against the war he has raised, and the consequences he will face.

You can sign a petition in support of Watada at the Thank You site.

Brennan Center Report on Voting System Security

The nonpartisan Brennan Center for Justice has now released online "The Machinery of Democracy," an in-depth examination of the security flaws existing within electronic voting machine systems. The press release can be found here, the executive summary here, and the full report here. Reading these materials makes it abundantly clear that electronic voting machines are not secure enough to warrant trust from the general public.

What's extraordinary and insane is that even though the report makes it clear that the security regime in place for electronic voting machines is sorely lacking, election boards and voting jurisdictions across the country persist in falling for the Diebold talking point: that the Help America Vote Act mandates these lemons be used at the polls.

Prediction: Within 20 years touch screen voting will disappear from all elections.

Some New Blogs

If you check out the T2T Links column, you'll notice a few new items. The Gray Sheep is a new blog by Tom Breuer, former editor of The Valley Scene (he recruited me to write the Media Rants column, so he must be cool). Tom is co-author of Sweet Jesus, I Hate Bill O'Reilly and contributor to its companion website.

Jody Thompson of The Side Street is now publishing Half Moon Gazette.

Finally, a "blog and podcast for working people," Working to Make A Living. Be sure to check out the podcast.

USA Today: Analysis finds e-voting machines vulnerable

Gannett's USA Today summarizes a Brennan Center for Justice report finding that "there are more than 120 security threats to the three most commonly purchased electronic voting systems." Sounds like Brennan is only confirming what the Washington Post reported back in March--that it is easier to rig an electronic voting machine than a Las Vegas slot machine.