Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Revisiting the Iraq War Pre-Flight Checklist: Vietnam II

In 2003, this list was all over the Internet.  In 2006, it is worth revisiting.

Vietnam II Preflight Check 1. Cabal of oldsters who won't listen to outside advice? Check. 2. No understanding of ethnicities of the many locals? Check. 3. National boundaries drawn in Europe, not by the locals? Check. 4. Unshakable faith in our superior technology? Check. 5. France secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check. 6. Russia secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check. 7. China secretly hoping we fall on our asses? Check. 8. SecDef pushing a conflict the JCS never wanted? Check. 9. Fear we'll look bad if we back down now? Check. 10. Corrupt Texan in the WH? Check. 11. Land war in Asia? Check. 12. Rightists unhappy with outcome of previous war? Check. 13. Enemy easily moves in/out of neighboring countries? Check. 14. Soldiers about to be dosed with our own chemicals? Check. 15. Friendly fire problem ignored instead of solved? Check. 16. Anti-Americanism up sharply in Europe? Check. 17. B-52 bombers? Check. 18. Helicopters that clog up on the local dust? Check. 19. Infighting among the branches of the military? Check. 20. Locals that cheer us by day, hate us by night? Check. 21. Local experts ignored? Check. 22. Local politicians ignored? Check. 23. Local conflicts since before the USA has been a country? Check. 24. Against advice, Prez won't raise taxes to pay for war? Check. 25. Blue water navy ships operating in brown water? Check. 26. Use of nukes hinted at if things don't go our way? Check. 27. Unpopular war? Check. Vietnam II, you are cleared to taxi.

Wisconsin Republican Assembly Adopts Bastard Child In 3:00 AM Tryst

Walter Lippmann:

The ordinary politician has a very low estimate of human nature. In his daily life he comes into contact chiefly with persons who want to get something or to avoid something. Beyond this circle of seekers after privileges, individuals and organized minorities, he is aware of a large unorganized, indifferent mass of citizens who ask nothing in particular and rarely complain. The politician comes after a while to think that the art of politics is to satisfy the seekers after favors and to mollify the inchoate mass with noble sentiments and patriotic phrases.

Last night  Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly adopted a stripped-down version of a constitutional amendment to limit state spending. As Xoff noted:

Trying to save face and say they did something, Assembly Republicans twisted arms until 4:30 a.m. to get enough votes to pass, 50-48, a constitutional amendment that will look even uglier in the light of day than it did at 4:30 in the morning. (Emphasis mine.)

The culture of cynicism, greed and selfishness that led to the criminal convictions of a handful of legislators from both parties is alive and well in the State Capitol. While illegal use of public resources may pass for another generation, the disease that plagues our State's most treasured asset runs rampant, within at least one political party.

For two decades legislators have looked at the people of this state as pawns to be manipulated and aligned in their quest to maintain and expand their power. We citizens are nothing more than inconveniences in a quest to rule.

These Assembly Republicans continue to use the legislative session as a means to create state-wide referendum designed to generate anti-Doyle voters in November.  They shamelessly bounce from one crummy idea to another, forgetting about health care reform, environmental degradation or tax fairness.

Whole Foods: Madison City Council Needs to Uphold Plan Commission; Mayor Cieslewicz Is Wrong On This One

Pardon me while I rant about something very local, and take this rare opportunity to criticize the Mayor.  The recent death of Jane Jacobs makes this especially relevant. 

Madison's original "upscale" mall, Hilldale, once on the outskirts of Madison's west side, is being redeveloped by an Illinois company, Joseph Freed and Associates. The plan features condos, new restaurants, the first Sundance Theaters complex, and new stores, all in a denser, "new urbanist" mode, with structured parking rather than seas of parking lots, and multi-story mixed-use buildings rather than single-story stores and separate housing.  Great.

The latest portion of the plan, however, features a single-story Whole Foods surrounded by a very large, standard-issue surface parking lot.  The City of Madison Plan Commission voted against the 50,000-square-foot "big box" Whole Foods twice, but the full council could override the Plan Commission's vote by a simple majority.

Joseph Freed and Associates were wrong to keep pushing the exact same plan: "Whole Foods Won't Give Up at Hilldale."

You can see the plan they don't want to change here.

The Madison Plan Commission was right (twice):  "'No' Again to Whole Foods."

Alder Robbie Webber explains it all at the Dailypage:

The current building on that spot, the Humana building, is a multi-story building with underground parking. The site is on a hillside, which generally makes constructing underground parking much easier than needing to excavate from grade level. The original statement from Freed & Associates with regard to their development plans for Hilldale was that it would be a mixed-use, new urbanist, pedestrian/bike/transit friendly development with structured parking.

Then this proposal shows up with one story and surface parking. They thought that just wasn't appropriate for that location. So they turned it down.

It got referred back to them. Generally, that would mean some changes would be made over the proposal that was nixed. Pretty much the same stuff came back, but a promise was made that future portions of the project would be better.

My guess is they were insulted that the same stuff had been pitched again. And why not? It's like Freed & Associates didn't pay any attention the first time. So the Plan Commission turned it down again.

Joseph Freed and Associates are still wrong: "Whole Foods Plan Heads for Council Showdown."

Tim Metcalfe is right:  "Sentry Takes On Whole Foods."  Tim has gone public and political with this fight, and he's right to stand up for his business and the neighborhood. The fact that Tim is a competitor to Whole Foods in no way diminishes his arguments.

Metcalfe said if the mayor and council are truly supportive of local businesses, the Whole Foods proposal should be denied.

"The mayor came up with a policy to encourage locally owned businesses," Metcalfe said. "Whole Foods is a national chain and they are not being held to the same standard."

The Cap Times is right: "Whole Foods Is Not A Victim."

The council should let the commission's decision stand at this point.

If Whole Foods wants to come back with a better plan, the corporation and its developer have every right to do so. And if their plan fits into the long-term vision for development in the Hilldale area, then it should be approved. But neither the Plan Commission nor the council should bend over backward to accept a plan that lets Whole Foods operate by its own set of rules.

Even Supervisor Al Matano, with whom I rarely agree, is right: "Council Should Uphold Decision on Whole Foods."

If Madison is to have good planning, it needs to reward the thoughtful work of its Plan Commission. The City Council should ratify the decision of the Plan Commission to reject construction of the Whole Foods store.

Mayor Dave Cieslewicz should speak up for compact, dense, urban development and against the proposal for big box development on University Avenue. Good planning and a good vision for Madison require making some tough decisions. Our Plan Commission has twice made theirs. It is time for the City Council to do the same.

But Mayor Dave Cieslewicz is wrong:

Cieslewicz, according to spokesman George Twigg, isn't "wildly enthusiastic" about the Whole Foods plan, but feels the Hilldale makeover on the whole is in line with the new urbanism philosophy.

Given what the developer has done with the site thus far, plus plans for future development, taken as the whole the site plan will be a good one," Twigg said today.

This specific project is everything that Mayor Cieslewicz has been arguing against for years. His support for it helped swing exactly one Plan Commission vote.  Supporting Whole Foods' "big box" is not a "pro business" position; it is simply wrong.

There will be a close City Council vote next week. It would be a mistake to override the Plan Commission and build a West Town-style "big box" in an area that is no longer suburban in character.  The location is fine; the plan is not.  It is not too late for Joseph Freed and Whole Foods to rethink this bad design, and for the Mayor to rethink a bad decision.  Once it is approved and construction begun, it will be too late.

(Good grief; I'm agreeing with Robbie Webber and Al Matano on this. What's next?)

Mark Green Owes Wisconsin Taxpayers $7000

Mark Green was the selfish beneficiary of Wisconsin tax dollars. He attended the UW-Eau Claire and the UW Law School from around 1979-87, and probably paid a total of $9000 for his higher education. That was in the day when Wisconsin residents were expected to pay about 28-30% of the cost of their education.

These days a Wisconsin resident is expected to pay half (50%) of the cost of their education. And Mark Green wants to raise that bar.

If Green was required to pay 50% of the cost of his schooling, so that the rest of us hard working taxpayers didn't  have to pay as much to send him to UW for seven years, Green would have owed another $7,000.  With interest, that comes to $28,000 today.

Cough it up, you tightwad. You cheapskate.

We all know that if your budget plan was adopted, Wisconsin residents would pay even more. Your plan would stop middle class kids from going to college. We shouldn't be surprised; you have been screwing middle class families your entire career.

We know you as a Republican wastrel, Mark Green, who managed to vote for the biggest federal budget deficits and record federal spending while in Congress, claiming to be a fiscal conservative.

Republican spendthrift Mark Green now wants a TABOR-like solution for Wisconsin.  The consequence, among other things, would be to raise tuition for Wisconsin residents at all campuses.

Wisconsin Health Care Industry Supports TABOR - They Call It An "Industry" For Good Reason

I was pleasantly surprised reading Sunday's Wisconsin State Journal story, Republicans Look for a Way to Cap Government Spending . I found this statement from Jim Riordan, the head of Wisconsin Physicians Service (WPS) in opposition to a constitutional amendment that would strangle government and anyone who partners with them in providing health services:

"Government needs to have the ability to do economic development," said Riordan, the head of WPS Insurance Corp. in Monona. "Anything that slows down that process and creates an additional obstacle . . . is not right."

The surprise was in finding someone in the health insurance or health care industry opposing TABOR. Naturally, one would expect health care providers to oppose TABOR, but here in Wisconsin a number of hospitals are backing the various forms of TABOR through the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), the State's biggest proponent of crippling government. A quick check of WMC's Board of Directors reveals representation from:

• Marshfield Clinic
• Meriter Hospital
• Humana, Wisconsin and Michigan markets
• Sentry Insurance
• UW Hospital and Clinics
• Thrivent Financial for Lutherans
• Thedacare

WMC has over 4000 members so we can expect that more health care providers and health insurers are part of the organization. Here is what WMC said about TABOR-like legislation as recently as April 17, 2006:

The state’s largest business group Monday hailed Assembly GOP leaders for committing to have a vote on a constitutional amendment to cap taxes next week.

“Today our income taxes are due, and fortunately for taxpayers the Assembly leadership is scheduling a floor vote on a constitutional cap on taxes in our state,” said James A. Buchen, vice president of government relations for Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce.

The presence of so many health care providers and insurers in their ranks is shocking.

(It is stunning and tragic that the UW Hospital and Clinics are part of this masquerade; the management is consciously or unconsciously part of a Trojan Horse designed to privatize the system.)

Lasee Suggestions Would Mean Economic and Environmental Failure for Wisconsin's Second District

Wisconsin Rep. Frank Lasee wrote an opinion piece questioning the need to fund highways in Wisconsin:

Another Crisis! Is the Sky Falling this Time?

...Our $2.4 billion transportation budget isn’t big enough to pay for the highways, roads, and other myriad things it’s supposed to pay for.

Among other things, DOT chief Frank Busalacchi warned about a $4.7 million deficit by the middle of next year. Out of a $2.4 billion budget – less than two tenths of one percent...

...Or perhaps there’s a way for us to spend less. Consider these other numbers:

According to the non-partisan Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, we have 21 miles of roads per 1000 residents in our state – 17th most in the nation...

And in 2002 (the latest data available), we spent $557 per capita on our state and local highways – 35% more than the national average, and 14th highest per-capita road spending in the country.

Lasee focuses on a string of numbers about how Wisconsin spends more per capita on roads and has more paved roads per capita then our neighboring states (And thereason we have more miles of road per capita than Illinois and Michigan is that we have a sparser population-our population denisty is 50-90% less than their's.). There is not one word about the economic benefits of highways, particularly in rural areas.

I have been a long-time supporter of redistributive government investment in infrastructure. Without such an approach, rural America, including Wisconsin, never would have had paved highways.  The same is true in terms of the electrification of this nation and the extension of modern technology to the most remote places.

If we listen to Lasee, urban dwellers like myself were sadly in error when we willingly paid taxes to make Wisconsin agriculture more productive, to construct highways from the farm to the towns and in turn to the cities, and to fund public works projects that opened up once remote areas of our Wisconsin to out of state tourists.

Given my own suspicion of highway building, especially its inefficiency and its negative environmental impacts when compared to public transportation, perhaps we should cease paving the state.

That leads us to public transportation. It is the only rational choice in a $3.00 a gallon world, choked by green house gases, assorted poisons, and the venom of politicians who couldn't give a rat's ass about the condition they leave the planet to their offspring.

And if you don't care about the damn planet, at least be selfish enough to think of the state's economic viability. Wisconsin business cannot run on $4.00 a gallon gasoline and remain internationally competitive.  Ask your farmer.

Study after study demonstrates that public subsidization of transit systems is economically efficient and rational. The subsidies to the private automobile, including the majority of law enforcement costs, street cleaning and maintainance, is lost in the myriad of TABOR babble.

The end is in sight...for tax screaming politicians who do not have a solution or a clue as to modern problems, and that includes solving the economic crisis confronting our state as energy costs soar.

Additional links this Earth week:

Transpo Planners Oblivious to Impact of High Gas Prices by James Rowen

Do something on Earth Day by Xoff

Bride of TABOR and the Madison Press

While the Wisconsin Blogosphere has been inundated with reports, analysis and discussion about TABOR, Bride of TABOR, and the Taxpayer Protection Amendment, the local mainstream press is finally now focusing on the story.

There were two interesting Madison-based stories this week.  At WISC-TV, Colin Benedict and his editors deserve credit for going beneath the surface to look at the misleading data fed to a normally, passive press: Reality Check: Political Tax Talk Can Be 'Misleading'.

...However, WISC-TV finds this claim "needs clarification."

Wisconsinites are still paying $258 more per capita than 4 years ago. Also, the state residents pay $237 more than the national average, but that figure is down from $309 in 2002.

The census bureau tax rankings are missing a big component. It only takes state taxes into account and leaves out local taxes like property tax and county sales taxes...

..."When Jim Doyle took office our Tax Freedom Day was April 19. This year, it's April 28. We're going in the wrong direction and it's hurting our economy," said Green, at a campaign rally Monday in Green Bay.

WISC-TV's Reality Check report finds that claim "misleading."

Over the past four years, in that survey, Wisconsin's state and local tax burden has improved from 4th highest to 7th. And, while it's still high, it's the state's best ranking since 1980.

But, the reason Wisconsin's Tax Freedom Day is nine days later than when Doyle first started in office is because the federal government has been asking for more money. The Tax Foundation report shows federal spending drove the change -- not state or local governments.

And Green voted for three of the last four federal budgets.

At the state level, if elected, Green said Monday he would freeze property taxes and state tax collections in his first year in office.

WISC-TV gets credit for going beyond one source for its data.  However, I would take exception to one portion of their story which is included in the link above.  The Tax Foundation does improve the analysis by taking into account all tax payments, state, local, and federal, but the Tax Foundation seriously errors by omitting fees.  Wisconsin is high on taxes and low on fees, which is a good thing, since taxes are more progressive than fees.

The Wisconsin State Journal, Jason Stein did an excellent story about the impact of tax freezes, giving many perspectives from small town government to the school district, Republicans look for a way to cap government spending . The State Journal story had a good deal of depth, including a perspective from respected University of Wisconsin Professor Andrew Reschovsky,  but it failed to look at the faulty math and logic, and the misleading tax data emanating from the Tax Foundation and the WMC.

Democrats at the Crossroads, Again

The Democratic Party leadership is meeting in Washington D.C. this weekend.  The Washington Post reports:

Democrats Contour November Strategy

By Dan Balz
Washington Post Staff Writer
Sunday, April 23, 2006; A04

NEW ORLEANS, April 22 -- Democratic Party officials continue to assemble the pieces for their midterm election strategy, but questions about the party's overall message, differences on Iraq, reservations about their leaders, and debates about campaign tactics contribute to concerns that they may not be positioned to take advantage of the most favorable political climate since President Bush was elected.

By April, 2006, Democrats should know their message; the elections are six months away.

..."We have to do two things," said Bobby Kahn, the Georgia Democratic Party chairman. "One, disqualify the Republicans, and two, provide an alternative. The first part, they've done for us, and the second part, we need to do."..."I don't think we can coast through this election year by pointing out the shortcomings, which are multiple and gargantuan, of the Bush administration," said former DNC chairman Donald L. Fowler. "I don't think we can do that."...

While this past year Howard Dean attempted to focus on Kahn's alternatives, the Democratic Party does not have a clear message that addresses the priorities of the American people.

... In his speech Saturday, Dean sought to outline the elements of a Democratic message, adapted from what congressional Democrats have been assembling in recent months...The proposals include raising the minimum wage, ensuring tax fairness for the middle class, rewriting the Medicare prescription drug plan, enacting recommendations from the commission that investigated the attacks of Sept. 11, 2001, overhauling ethics and lobbying rules, and pushing the Iraqis to take greater responsibility for defeating the insurgency.

Democrats cannot allow the elite, elected party leaders to determine the message. The flagrant ommission of health insurance reform proves the point.

But Dean's litany falls short of what other Democrats see as a comprehensive alternative to Republican governance, and while many of them believe there is still time to produce something for public consumption before the November election, there is not overwhelming confidence that the party can do it.

Yes, there is still time, but not a lot.

Dean has emphasized the need to appeal to the grass roots and to rebuild state parties in blue and red states. To that end, he has created what he calls the 50-state project and has deployed 175 DNC-funded organizers nationwide. Democratic state chairmen give the program rave reviews, not least because the DNC continues to hand out checks to help underwrite their operations. But some Democrats in Washington fear the strategy is financing operations in states the Democrats cannot win in 2008, and that that could shortchange some targeted races in 2006. These differences permeate attitudes about Dean's stewardship.

Dean has this one correct.  I suppose these cynics who refuse to let the Democratic Party play nationwide would prefer to launch the strategy in 2008, rather than 2006 when the stakes are even higher.  They fail to realize that defaulting districts and states to the Republicans also allows the Republicans to save their resources for the more competitive states.

Ann Coulter-Gender Confused

It was not that long ago that Ann Coulter commented on gay rights: Ann Coulter Finally Scores First Victory:

One student asked what would Coulter do if she had a gay son. "Did I tell you, you were adopted, " Coulter answered.

Coulter's sexuality , with her bony white ass,  has been the subject of some speculation. Even Air America Mama, Stephanie Miller,  is not reticent to challenge the conventional wisdom that Coulter is a woman, referring to the misguided misanthrope as a noted female impersonator or noted transsexual plagiarist.

Now comes the revelation that Coulter herself, is confused as to her sexuality:

Ann Coulter neglects to answer gender question on voter registration form

Conservative commentator and best-selling author Ann Coulter neglected to answer Question #15 on her Palm Beach County, FL voter registration form, PageOneQ has learned. The question asks the registrant to indicate sex by checking 'M' or 'F' on the form. Bloggers and comment posts have speculated about Coulter's gender identity.

In Coulter's defense one commentator noted:

"Generally speaking, I hope there is a day when transgendered people can be open about who they are without fear of retribution from employers, colleagues and neighbors. With that in mind, I hope anyone with a high media profile would use that opportunity to be honest with the American people."

I completely agree.  With so many choices these days (straight male, gay male, bisexual-either gender, lesbian, straight woman, and a variety of selections in terms of crossdressing, transgendered options, and shemales, females, and a selection of emales), it seems that a choice of M or F, is rather limiting.

However question whether our sympathies should be extended to the likes of Coulter, who takes endless delight in not only taunting a variety of sexual choices and orientations, but represses her own sexual identity, whatever that may be.

Bush-Schwarzenegger: Who Do You Believe?

As the two Titans of the Republican Party struggle for supremacy in blue California, the rest of us have to wonder who to believe:

Bush: Levees Not a Disaster

SAN JOSE — President Bush visited Silicon Valley on Friday with some good news for the state's crumbling levees — though not the relief the governor sought — as well as a promise to invest in human infrastructure via education and economic initiatives...

...But the bigger news came hours earlier, as administration officials announced the president would not declare California's crumbling levees a federal disaster-in-the-making but will let the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers help with vital repairs...

...Schwarzenegger declared the levees a disaster in February and has sought an immediate $56 million in federal aid...

...Polls show President Bush's popularity at a record low in California...

and

Feds Don't Understand Levee Dangers, Governor Says

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger is criticizing the federal government for what he calls a lack of understanding of the need to improve California's strained levee system.

The governor, who spent time Thursday at the Office of Emergency Services, warned that the state is just one earthquake or big storm away from a Hurricane Katrina-type disaster.

Bush has a record of consistently lying about things related to danger, support of domestic infrastructure, (Unless there is an opportunity for his cronies to bribe or loot the public treasury through public spending.).

Schwarzenegger lies about what the conditions and needs of California, until confronted with the ugly reality of his sagging poll numbers. This we witnessed last fall, after the trashing of his Propositions on the November ballot (Girlie-men Kick Arnold's Butt, and Schwarzenegger Ready To Intelligently Spend: Are Democrats Listening? .) Then he does an about face and tells the truth.

I believe Arnold, because:

1. HIs children live in California.
2. He is not a chronic liar.
3. His friends don't benefit from bribery, skimming, and looting pubic funds in a clean up effort.
4. He is not as dumb as a barrel of oil.
5. He is not a chronic liar.