Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Flying Over Wisconsin

Spring is the best time of year to fly over Wisconsin. The other seasons provide an inviting landscape but spring is the best.

On the hills and in the valleys you see the contour lines of rich brown, freshly turned soil. Then come the neat rectangular green fields of winter wheat and alfalfa accompanied by creeks, a few ponds, and adjacent fields of cows. Some fields are still flooded from the winter snow and spring rains.

To Madison's west in Montfort are two rows of wind turbines, one longer than the other.  The neatly laid out farms with their accompanying towns and villages make all the sense in the world.

As we approached Madison the sprawl began. The farms were continually interspersed with residential development. The problem is not the amount of housing or even the size of the homes. It is the lack of compactness.

Farmers' Markets Open Tomorrow

Even surer than the beginning of the baseball season, the opening of Madison's farmers' markets signals the real end of winter.  Last year, I cited some of the differences between the big Dane County Farmers' Market at the Square, and the Westside Community Market, on whose Board I serve as its only non-vendor:

I don't drink the stuff myself, but others enjoy the fact that the Westside Market offers free high-end coffee.  You can buy lattes and other fancy drinks from the many vendors across the street from the Dane County Market on city property.

Some foodies like the fact that the high-end produce is available later on the Westside, whereas at the Dane County Market, the restaurants often buy up the scarce and choicest stuff before 8 am.

The Dane County Market is an event, with musicians busking and crafts sold, both across the street on city property. It's the place to take your out-of-town visitors. The Westside Market is the place to meet your middle-aged friends from Middleton on their way to Borders.

The only thing I have to add is that at the Westside Community Market we allow people to walk in any direction they choose, rather than only counter-clockwise.

This year there's a great new tool to find your way around the Dane County Farmers' Market: The Wisconsin State Journal created a useful page that shows locations for all the area markets and an interactive map of the Square with vendors' locations and specifics. Congrats to WSJ editor Sandy Kallio and her team for showing us how newspapers can use the Web to create resources that supplement the dead trees rather than supplant them.

There's also the old standby for finding area farmers' markets and their farmers: the REAP Farm Fresh Atlas. The wonderful print version is available free at both the Westside and Dane County markets, and a whole lot of green and crunchy other locations around the area.

Either way, print or digital, you can't use the excuse that you don't know where to buy and eat local.

- Barry Orton

The Real Reasons to Buy A Supreme Court

When Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) and its cohorts, the Club for Growth Wisconsin and the Coalition for America's Families, spent an estimated $3-4 million to buy their second seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, the message was crime.

The advertisements focused on distortions and falsehoods about the record of Justice Louis Butler in an effort to entice voters to select a new justice, Michael Gableman, who would follow their right-wing agenda.

The conventional wisdom was that the real issue was so-called tort reform.

Wrong.

While there are a small minority of WMC members, concerned about their liability in tort cases, that issue was of minimum concern to the coalition established to control the Supreme Court.

One need go no further than WMC's own surveys of its members to see the irrelevance of tort reform. In its 2006 survey of its members, when asked, "What is the top business concern facing your company?" the  lowest response polled was lawsuit abuse with a measly response of 1.23%.

One look no further than the legislative agenda of these three organization (WMC, WCFG, CAF ) to get a real understanding of why they want to own a Supreme Court:

• Health Insurance. Health care is the single, most significant cost facing employers, if it is part of benefit packages. The standard for coverage is set by labor unions, particularly public employee and teachers unions. When buying a court, WMC and its friends are trying to gain favorable rulings against labor agreements in general, and and legislation in specific, that might require them to pay a fair share of the cost of health care.
• Unions. Because of their bargaining power in the marketplace, WMC needs a court that will weaken the power of unions. Unions are an impediment to exporting jobs overseas, hiring immigrant workers with H-1-B visas, outsourcing, and lowering safety standards.
• The Environment. As the public becomes more conscious of global warming, the significant monetary value of fresh water, calls for clean air and water, increase. This results in more regulations, particularly on manufacturers, who subsequently need a Supreme Court that will take an activist position and overturn progressive legislation designed to ensure the publics health and safety.
• Education. Long ago, convinced that public schools produce a liberal and progressive citizenry, these reactionary organizations want to get more and more children into private and religious schools where they can be indoctrinated into conservative values. To do this, public monies are needed. The problem is that there are serious constitutional problems in funneling money into private schools, particularly if they teach religion. These right wing extremists need a Supreme Court that will open the door for public money to be used for private education.
• Privatizing government. These right wing organizations do not want to stop public services, they just want to be able to make a profit offering them. Whether it is outsourcing wars to Blackwater and Halliburton or having private companies provide fire departments and water, the idea is to crush the local governments and their public employees as a first step towards a feudal system of governance. Note that when no-bid contracts, landed with fraud and mismanagement, are offered to the private sector, these organizations never protest or complain.

Over the past year, I have met with dozens of business leaders who I would describe as moderate and thoughtful in their approach to government and public policy. When asked what are the most important issues facing their companies and the state, they respond, "A trained and educated workforce, as well as a satisfactory resolution to the health care problem."

As you might expect, these business leaders are not comfortable with many left leaning Democrats.  But they are just as uncomfortable with the kind of Republicans that presently control the Wisconsin Assembly. These business leaders are going to play a critical role in solving Wisconsin's problems if they can wrest control of the public policy discussion from WMC and its collaborators, and then fashion solutions with organized labor.

Why It is Hard to Relocate Snow - Think of the Residue

As another snow storm blanketed Wisconsin this morning, a question came up about snow removal.  Throughout the state there are sections of street that are overwhelmed by the volume of accumulated snow.

A simple solution is to bring in the plows and trucks and haul it out to some isolated site where it can melt by June or July.

Unfortunately is is not that simple. A lot of that snow contains petroleum byproducts, heavy metals, and even shards of sharp metal and glass. Just imagine what accumulates along the curbs.  Take that out to an isolated field or a local public park and imagine what remains after the melt.

Public Parks - the dump areas would be contaminated.

Wild environs - the areas would be contaminated.

Landfills - not really.  You would never dump raw petroleum in a landfill.

Ice covered lakes - ugh

No one said life would be easy.

WMC Fouls the Air, Attempts to Drown Great Lakes Compact

While it attempts to buy the Supreme Court, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) is busy drowning the proposed Great Lakes Compact, ratified by every Great Lakes state except Wisconsin three other Great Lakes states and the houses of several others.* In the Badger state, it was adopted by the Senate and is dying in the Republican-controlled Assembly, which often acts like a wholly-owned subsidiary of WMC.

Meantime, as the DNR gives us air quality alerts, WMC wants to roll back air quality standards.

Jim Rowen at The Political Environment has been on this for years. His latest post once again brings it together.  Bookmark for sure.

Statewide Air Quality Alert Extended All Day: Does The Pro-Pollution WMC Have A Solution

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources has extended its weekend statewide air quality alert through this evening, which means when it rains and snows later today, that's toxic precipitation landing on your yard and poisonous particulate matter in the air that is burying itself into your lungs...

...You will recall that the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, the state's leading business lobby, last year advocated rolling back air quality standards for southeastern Wisconsin, home to most of the state's polluting industry and vehicle traffic...

...You could also ask them why the organization is suggesting that the GOP-led state Assembly derail the Great Lakes Compact, too - - exposing the Great Lakes to whimsical and damaging exploitation through diversions without standards or controls

*Thank you Andy.

Fixing Madison's Bus System By Reversing Backwards Decisions

Rule One: The more passengers Madison Metro carries, the more money it loses.  If you have trouble understanding that, then do the math.

It the city loses a $1 for every rider, then a half million riders results in a $500,000 loss. A million riders results in a loss of $1,000,000.

Rule two: There is a sweet point for maximizing revenues for the system. Assume it is a fare of $2.00. If the fare is under two bucks, the system is leaving revenues on the table (or in the passengers' pockets). If the fare is over two dollars, the increased fare does not make up for riders who abandon the system because the bus ride is too costly.

Rule three: Subsidizing bus ridership makes economic sense. There are countless studies that have proven time and time again that:

In an efficient pubic transit system, the cost of subsidizing bus rides is more than offset by the savings in reducing congestion, not building additional street lanes and parking spaces, and maintaining those streets and parking spaces.

Rule four: To reduce waste in a transit system, consider adjustments in routes, using different equipment in non-rush hours, and maintain vehicles. Do not consider overall reductions in service, particularly during the rush hours.

Rule five: When fuel prices go up, increase bus service; do not reduce it.

To put it bluntly the city of Madison is handling its present transit 'crisis' ass-backwards. As The Capital Times reported last month:

Two years earlier, Metro eliminated Routes 11 and 10 on the east side - its second and fourth most productive routes, respectively. Both lines operated nine months a year, getting students and university employees from the isthmus to the University of Wisconsin campus via Johnson Street quickly, bypassing the Capitol Square, where riders now have to wait for several minutes before continuing their route.

Here are additional critical factors from the story:

• Mayor Dave Cieslewicz acknowledges that "we got a lot of heat" for the route cuts. But he says high fuel costs created budget pressures that made them necessary.
• Rising fuel costs make for an annual budget crisis. Last year's shortfall amounted to $878,000, and Metro's contingency fund - $2.5 million in 2003 - stood at $130,000 this year.
• Since 2000, the maximum fare on a Metro bus has been $1.50, while the cost per passenger is $2.89.
• But bus service makes for a thorny political issue, given that Madisonians ride buses at numbers far above the national average, not only for economic reasons, but because of environmental concerns.

But the real issue was articulated by Madison Mayor Cieslewicz : "And the iron triangle was three bad choices: In the face of these rising costs you can cut services, you can increase fares or you can dramatically increase the support from city property taxpayers. And none of those are very attractive choices." 

No, but it gets uglier if you make the wrong ones.

The city of Madison went through a similar dilemma in the 1970's. With the oil embargo, the percentage increase in fuel for both automobile drivers and Madison Metro was even greater. The city expanded services, especially rush hour express services, increased fares, and enjoyed increased support from the taxpayers while effectively lobbying both the State of Wisconsin and the federal government for more transit aid.

Anyone committed to a less auto-dependent community, sound environmental policies, and the overall economically efficient solution would do the same today.

Madison Metro saw an increase in ridership of 6% in the first nine months of 2007  because of the increase in the price of gasoline. Imagine what that increase might have been with expanded routes and a good marketing plan.

Wisconsin Needs A State Wide Smoking Ban

I am not much of a 'wedge issue' guy, but the proposed statewide ban on smoking in public places is the way to go.

As a long time supporter of a statewide ban, something which I see as preferential to local ordinances, I would hope the Wisconsin legislature would swiftly adopt the proposal backed by both Governor James Doyle and Madison Democrat Senator Fred Risser.

But as the fooling around begins, Senate Committee Changes, Then Passes Smoking Ban, I hope the matter is clearly and decisively brought to the floor of both houses of the legislature for a 'yes' or 'no' vote.

Both the medical justification and the popular support for a smoking ban is uncontroverted. I look for a gentler, kinder legislature next session. If the reactionaries want to kill this bill, then make sure there is an accounting. One way or another we will thin the herd in November.

Presidential Election: Soglin Household Becoming More Divided

We coasted into the New Year watching the Democratic presidential contenders with no strong opinions. Then last week, the family sounded unified and I was really ready to endorse Barack Obama.

Not today.

Alexandra is leaning towards Edwards - poverty issues. Natasha is still in the Obama camp - convinced he will do something about the environment. Sara watched Hillary Clinton tear up and decided that she finally saw the ultimate moment of honesty from a candidate and is now leaning towards the former First Lady.

Rachael has not checked in. Late word from R in LA: Obama.

All that puts my endorsement of Obama on hold.

Madison Snow Removal Policy Makes Right Turn

The recent snowstorms revealed the weakness in the city of Madison's snow removal policies, particularly as it applies to alternative street parking. The Capital Times tells us Mayor dreaming of better snow cleanup. 

Good start.

The proposal  that allows downtown residents to have a longer window to park free in the city ramps is excellent but credit needs to be given to Alders Konkel, Rummel, and Rhodes-Conway who really pushed the idea two weeks ago, Call for Cleaning Up the Street Clean-Up Efforts

1. Downtown City ramps would be available free starting at 9:00 p.m. instead of 1:00 a.m. to ease the burden on downtown residents who already have very limited parking.
2. Madison Metro would be free, and bus routes would be given a higher priority for plowing to reduce the number of commuters using the clogged streets.

But also critical is having enough equipment on the streets. The city has not kept up, Do we need more plows? Yes we do. A better intial plowing with more equipment (and operators) will reduce the chaos that this month continued for weeks if narrow streets are freed of ice and snow quicker.

Another critical element of the new proposal is to increase fines for violating the alternate street parking ordinances.  Before anyone rushes to increase the fines, recall that the purpose is to get the cars off the streets, not issue more expensive parking tickets.

It will not be popular but the entire snow emergency zone needs review. The problem started (when I was mayor), when certain downtown alders wanted to end alternate street parking and go to the emergency zone system. The experiment did not work. It is time for review.

And there is a very good environmental reason why alternative street parking applies from November 15th to May 15th, a period longer than the snow season. It allows city street sweeping equipment to get right alongside the curb. This is critical in late fall before the snow comes and in the spring. It allows for the removal of the heavy metal, petroleum by-products and the organic matter to be swept away so they do not run down the storm sewers into the lakes.

The Tempest: Bicycles and Snowstorms

Last week Bill Lueders, the News Editor of Isthmus and I chatted after he emailed me that "inquiring minds" wanted to know if I had taken a right turn, emulating John Dos Passos.

One of the problems of the 1960's, and every generational movement, before or since, for that matter, is the determination to define each act in moral, absolute terms. There is little room for discussion of relative importance or impact, and less room for dissension within the movement.

I criticized bicycling, in the dark, in a vicious snowstorm, with roads already difficult to navigate because of ruts in the snow and ice bonded to poorly plowed streets Bicycling Madison Style: As Dumb AS It Gets. I did not criticize any of the following:

• biking in subfreezing temperatures
• winter cycling
• ice biking or biking on snow packed streets
• bicycling in heavy traffic or streets poorly designed for bicycle safety
• biking in the dark

Yet it brought an avalanche of replies, over two hundred to my three posts. The replies are interesting. There were a significant number who focused on riding bicycles in the winter and the rights of cyclists. No quarrel here.

Several people noted that they had no alternative form of transportation - that for one reason or another there were no alternative means of transportation. I suggest that they do the same as anyone else stranded in a storm - either stay put or find an alternative means of transportation. The point does not change - biking in a dangerous storm after dark, with those kind of road conditions, is not worth risking your life.

Many of the comments were in defense of bicyclists' rights, accompanied by a torrent of criticism against drivers who do not respect the bicyclists' space. There was no one word in my posts conceding one inch of the space on the roads that rightfully belongs to those of us who use two wheels.

Lastly there were the posts on the environmental benefits of using a bicycle and a wave of attacks on carbon producing vehicles.

Excuse me for not using gasoline and spewing carbon emmissions (sic) when my commute takes less time by bike, is healthy for my body, and is far safer.

And that is the redefined essence of the debate.

While I criticized a specific act under specific conditions, my comments were taken as an assault on a life-style on a conscious environmental, political, social, and economic decision made by many readers. I had attacked their way of life.

It did not matter to them that my focus was a narrow specific circumstance.

And the rebuttal was more than just a defense of biking under winter conditions.  Note, that if you read all the comments, there are very few that actually defend riding in the snowstorm that prompted the debate.

Upon reflection, the furor was to be expected. Constantly under assault from the opposition, in this case motor vehicles, some bicyclist took any criticism on their own as an attack on themselves, on their culture, their way of life, and their core values.

A critic of any use of a bicycle, no matter how specific, must be a right wing, gas guzzling, carbon producing, cranky old man.

Those responses were interesting. Individuals who probably believe they are free of discriminatory bias launched an attack based on age. Others proudly announced their moral superiority. Some insisted that their right to access the public thoroughfare was absolute, regardless of the danger to their own personal safety.

All of us leave a carbon footprint. It is a matter of degree. It is virtually impossible to escape being a party to the exportation of jobs, a global economy that depresses wages and increases the need for carbon fuels, and incredible amounts of waste.

Just as individual acts contribute to solutions, so do larger local or state acts such as recycling programs, or national acts such as limiting carbon emissions. In the entire scheme of things, bicycling in dangerous snowstorms is an extremely modest contribution, and when balancing the value of human life, unnecessary.

As for the conservative, John Dos Passos part, I suggest reading posts at Waxing America for the past two years on :

• opposition to the war in Iraq dating back to 2002 -before it began
• a fierce attack on the Patriot Acts and defense of civil liberties
• defense of the rights of the most unpopular people to speak
• a hearty defense of consumers' right including criticism of the AT&T sponsored legislation to undermine the pubic when it comes to cable TV
• the right of Americans to freely walk the public streets without having to pay a toll
• Criticisms of Republicans and Democrats who tolerate torture
• Support of public education from the assault of right wingers who wish to privatize everything
• Support of labor unions