Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Wisconsin "Video Competition" Bill Proponents Shut Out Opponents' Views; Opponents Speak Out Anyway

Judith Davidoff provides details in the Capital Times on the extent that Rep. Phil Montgomery, the "video competition" bill's chief Assembly sponsor, entertains opposing points of view:

Bob Chernow has been chairman of the Regional Telecommunications Commission for two decades. The commission negotiates cable franchise agreements on behalf of 33 communities in southeastern Wisconsin, representing about half of the state's population and cable subscribers.

As chairman, Chernow thought it would be important to meet with Rep. Phil Montgomery, author of a state bill calling for deregulation of the cable industry.

Chernow said it took 45 days of constant calling just to get an appointment with Montgomery, R-Green Bay. When Chernow and a West Allis official finally met with Montgomery, Chernow said it was clear the state representative was not interested in anything they had to say.

"We went into his office, and he pulls out a gyro sandwich and starts scarfing it down," Chernow recalls. He said Montgomery then got angry at the suggestion that city representatives should be involved in hammering out details in the bill.

"He started screaming at me," Chernow said. "I mean really screaming at me."

Chernow said Montgomery then started to lecture him on how the bill, which is being pushed hard by AT&T, would save consumers money.

"He had his facts all wrong," Chernow said. "If you look at Texas, the rates have not gone down."

"The attitude he had was 'We're not going to listen to you. We've already made our mind up. We don't care who we step on.' "

Now the little guys are talking back. In a clever PSA campaign, the public access folks are arguing that those soapbox channels are really little local business incubators. The DailyPage's Kristian Knutsen focuses on Blame Society's spot featuring Chad Vader's creators:

"This is what Blame Society Productions looked like back in 1993," explains Aaron Yonda in a voiceover atop the clip. "And this is what we look like today," he continues as the strains of an acoustic "Imperial March" start playing atop scenes from their breakout hit Chad Vader.

"But how did we get from this to this?" asks Yonda rhetorically over another pair of before-and-after images. "With the help of locally-funded public access TV stations," he responds. Yonda goes on to credit cable access with the success of their programming and, more importantly, their subsequent ability to work as filmmakers in a state that's quite a distance from either coast.

The spot can be seen here.

More certainly to come, soon.

- Barry Orton

Paris Hilton and Ann Coulter: Expert Commentary

As the longest running, continuing, commentator to juxtapose Paris Hilton and Ann Coulter* (Hilton Trounces Coulter, December 7, 2005)**, I owe it to you, the readers of Waxing America, to evaluate current efforts to compare these two boney-ass white girls.

From Mike Garibaldi Frick, in the Huffington Post, Ann and Paris: Put Blame Where It's Due

Let's face it, the blame for both Ann Coulter and Paris Hilton's meteoric rise in our culture is you and me.

Rating:  Another blatant liberal effort to blame the victim. one star.

Another Huffington Post, Robert L. Borosage, Matthews and Coulter: No Shame

... Need a ratings boost? Focus on Paris Hilton, she's out of control. Ship in Ann Coulter, she's likely to say something obscene. There are no limits, no shame. OK. But lie in the bed you make.

Rating. Bad start, omitted Hilton from the headline. Maybe Britney Spears or Lindsay Lohan are out of control, but not Paris. one star

Capitol Hill Blue, The Paris Hilton of Politics

Ann Coulter is the Paris Hilton of politics, the blonde bimbo liberals love to hate but also one that TV loves to promote because putting her on the air drives up ratings and public debate

Rating: WTF? Ann Coulter is the Paris Hilton of politics? You want to put both names in the same sentence, you got to do better than that. Hilton is not a bimbo. Convict?  Yes. But not a bimbo. nada - doesn't get even one star.

Tom Shales, Washington Post Style Columnist: Paris Hilton, Free To Speak Her Mind (Such As It Is)

It was more just guilty guilt -- though Paris Hilton, the subject of the interview seen round the world on CNN last night, kept insisting that she had passed a crossroads in life and is a better person because of it....Matthews was still discussing the Coulter appearance on his show last night. Next to Coulter, Paris Hilton is pure refreshment.

Rating: It would take someone from the Style Section, not the front page or the editorial pages to grasp the significance of this week's events. Snappy headline. three stars.

Mary MacElveen, Paris Hilton shows more class and beauty than Ann Coulter could ever dream of

Exactly what value does Ann Coulter have to the listening audience? She has none! While both are blondes, clearly it is Coulter who is the bimbetee. Oh and at least Paris has more fashion sense and does not wear the same skimpy black dress while on-air that Coulter seems to do.

As much as some are tiring of Paris Hilton escapades and I cannot believe that I am even taking the time to write of her, she (Hilton) is angelic compared to the mean-spirited Ann Coulter. To her credit, Paris Hilton has never shown as much vitriolic haste as Coulter has done and continues to do.

Rating: great heading, despite the preposition at the end of the sentence.  MacElveen understands that to effectively slip Coulter the shiv, it is on he playground of fashion, haut couture, and superior femininity, not politics.  There are certain aspects of public discourse, starting with knowing when to wear the little black dress, that are best left to women. five stars     MacElveen's bio.

*Paris Hilton is young and having fun.  Maybe one day she will take over the family foundation, develop a sense of stewardship, and do some good things.  It is too late for Coulter. As age and boredom eat away at her youth, she will only find solace in fondling the stained pages of her dusty, faded, outdated, used books.  Score: Hilton 1 Coulter 0

**Bush: Paris, Britney, Lohan are Patriotic, Coulter Not

**Paris Hilton Trumps Ann Coulter, Again - Playboy Rebuffed

Regional Transit for Dane County: The Good, The Bad, and The Ugly

Last Saturday I posted on a Regional Transit Authority (RTA) for Dane County Wisconsin. Now word comes that county and city officials have reached an agreement on a plan for an RTA which places commuter rail ahead of trolleys: Falk, Cieslewicz seek new tax -- commuter rail would get most:

The RTA agreement announced by County Executive Kathleen Falk and Madison Mayor Dave Cieslewicz also put the mayor's pet project, a downtown trolley system, in the back seat, relegated to "phase II" status, while the cross-county commuter rail system pushed by Falk from Middleton through the isthmus to East Towne Mall grabbed the shotgun seat as the centerpiece "phase I" part of the agreement.

The Good:

• Commuter rail is the priority, not gimmicky trolleys
• The plan is multi-modal including rail, buses, bicycles, and para-transit.
• The service area and the tax base is county wide.

The Bad:

• We still do not have adequate land use controls in the service area. That means that an effective rail system can contribute as much, if not more to rural sprawl , as does the automobile.
• A search of the news articles and government websites does not indicate how taxes will be levied. It cannot be by the RTA, though it should propose the budget and the levy.  Tax levies must be approved by an elected legislative body, like the County Board.

The Ugly:

• A transit sales tax may kill any hope for funding property tax relief  for education from the sales tax. The life and death of Madison is more dependent upon its schools than a rail system. Right now the challenges facing our schools from too few revenues to significants numbers of students from indigent families is an overwhelming challenge.

Before I sign on to the RTA, I want to know its structure and I want to know if its proponents will make a similar commitment to fund education. My support for a 1/2 cent increase on the sales tax may be contingent up on dividing it between education and transportation.

This where we have to balance competing values.

Book Review: "Shadow Divers" and "The Last Dive"

Robert Kurson's Shadow Divers: The True Adventure of Two Americans Who Risked Everything To Solve One of the Last Mysteries of World War Two and The Last Dive: A Father and Son's Fatal Descent into the Ocean's Depths by Bernie Chowdhury both tell the same story of the risky attempts by a group of amateur divers to identify a wrecked World War II German U-Boat off the coast of New Jersey. 

Chowdhury narrowly focuses on the father and son who died in a futile attempt to gain glory by finding the logbook that would definitively ID the submarine and its mission. A pedestrian and uneven accounting of a  disaster caused by male bonding through thrill-seeking, The Last Dive drafts behind the wake of Shadow Divers like a VW behind an 18-wheeler on the Interstate.

Kurson takes the wider view and lets us in on the lives of the two key organizers of the many dives and archival research trips that ultimately let them piece together the real history of the U-Boat and its crew, whose remains still lie in the twisted steel coffin of the sub, not far from the entry to New York's harbor. In Kurson's hands, the historical detective story becomes every bit as interesting as the thrilling and dangerous dives. It's a book well worth reading.

There's been a PBS special, "Hitler's Lost Sub," and director Ridley Scott ("Blade Runner," "Thelma and Louise,"  "Gladiator") is in preproduction of a full-blown movie of Shadow Divers.

- Barry Orton

Ann Coulter, Peter Zenger, and Chris Matthews: Free Speech.

Going back to Peter Zenger, the right of free speech as embodied in the Bill of Rights is a protection against government repression:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.
— The First Amendment to the U.S. Constitution

Ann Coulter has no Constitutional protection against the legal efforts of anyone who wants to shut her up. 

All of us, bright people like you and me, and creeps like Coulter, are protected from the government censoring us. But there is no protection against boycotts, verbal attacks, or other public strategies to lock her mouth down.

There are two things we need to understand.

First, Coulter is not a political commentator; she is a stand up jerk, making money by being over the top. She could have been a fraudulent snake oil salesman in another era, or she could have been a semi-feminine Elmer Gantry if the timing and money were right.

Let's get it right. Coulter is not about politics; she's about making money.

Secondly, to shut Coulter down, efforts need be directed at those who consort with her, those who provide a platform. Chris Matthews would have distanced himself from rabid racism aired on his program by anyone who preached the Nazi creed and used vile epithets to describe Jews and Blacks.

Those who provide Coulter a forum need to understand that she does not stand on the conservative side with George Will or Bob Novak, but with George Lincoln Rockwell. Her routine, when measured against the most obnoxious racist or bigot, is as cruel and demeaning to humanity.

Rachael Soglin and The University of Michigan MUSKET production of Urinetown

My friend Jim Rowen is recognized as the expert blogger on the need to conserve water resources in Wisconsin.  Actually it is me. Ever since Rachael appeared as Little Sally in Urinetown last year, I posted about this wonderful play. Here and here.

Youtube: Little Sally goes off to see what has happened to Bobby. She returns to the hideout to let everyone know that Bobby was killed. She is greeted by Bobby's mother and the revolutionaries. Tell Her I Love Her. (4:30)

More on the play and the plot:

The MUSKET Urinetown at the University of Michigan was fantastic.  Even more so, since it was an all student production, starting with the director, Stephen Sposito and a cast that demonstrated the importance of strong performances in every role. They were all great.

The story is simple.

There is a water shortage and private toilets are illegal. All of the amenities are pay toilets owned by a greedy capitalist. His daughter, Hope, falls in love with the leader of the scruff revolutionaries led by Bobby. The revolutionaries do not feel as kindly towards Hope, as does Bobby.

Little Sally, wise beyond her years, but so very innocent, works with Officer Lockstock to help narrate the play.

To understand the premise, watch It's a Privilege to Pee. (4:09)

To appreciate the fun of the play, take in the rollicking spiritual, Run Freedom Run (4:05)

The revolutionaries have kidnapped Hope. Bobby is off to see her father to negotiate a settlement. Some of the riff -raff want to Snuff That Girl. (4:06)

The  play concludes with reprise of I See A River (Part III) . (2:18) (A few lines from Little Sally with Officer Lockstock.)

General Vang Pao: Less Than Perfect, Far Less

In  war there are the situations where soldiers act honorably on half of an ignoble cause. Just as frequently, there are soldiers who act badly on behalf of an honorable cause.

Billions of words and thousands of books tell the story of not just Vietnam, but all of Southeast Asia. I make no pretense to cover that ground except to note that the American foolishness widened a civil war in Vietnam into one that consumed much of Southeast Asia.

Pol Pot and his thugs destroyed more than three generations in Cambodia. In Laos, millions of innocent people were deprived of life or freedom, or both. Some died fighting the Communists. Others died from the American carpet bombing. Many who survived the carpet bombing turned in horror to embrace their Communist assailants.

Now the United States is fighting a war on terrorism. It is holding nations accountable for those within their borders who raise money, prepare plans, and arm invaders to destroy our nation and to overthrow our government. If the United States is to maintain any credibility in the face of the hostility and enmity brought upon us in recent years, particularly by our War in Iraq, we must uphold the standards we apply to others.

General Vang Pao has a checkered past in protecting his homeland and his people. His most recent activities, if we are to believe the conservative Bush government, is not so checkered. They are unacceptable, no matter how repugnant the Communist regime in Laos.

It is logical to me that the Hmong people who he protected and fought with in Laos, and then led to the United States, respect and honor him.

But that is not the standard by which Vang Pao should be judged when it comes to naming a school. The great body of evidence shows that scattered among his deeds are unacceptable activities, inconsistent with public honor.

That the United States is responsible for the secret war in Laos is unquestioned. That the United States lied to and betrayed our Laotian allies, as well as the rest of the world, is unquestioned.

That the United States is responsible for creating the conditions that led to the collapse of the Laotian government in 1975 is unquestioned. That the United States has a responsibility to Laos and the Hmong people is unquestioned.

The way of righting that wrong is not by naming a school after General Vang Pao, nor is it by allowing a conspiracy to overthrow the present Laotian government.

Note: Yesterday Mark G. Michaelsen posted, Madison's Vang Pao Elementary School: On and Off  While I do not agree with his entire political analysis, I do think there is much for the Left to think about.

To please the Hmong community, the Madison School Board voted unanimously to name a new elementary school for Vang Pao, who is regarded by older Hmong people as a cross between George Washington and Ho Chi Minh...

...When the Hmong people are seen as victims, the tendency by social liberals is to give them something symbolic but when they are viewed as U.S. allies in Vietnam, their anti-anti-Communist reflexes kick in. Misgivings by older Madison Vietnam war protesters about the possible Vang Pao history of drug trade, forced conscription of children and summary executions were ignored. Now 77, Vang Pao has raised millions of dollars among Hmong refugees in the U.S., issuing colorful certificates allowing the bearer to return to Laos in the future when the Communists are no longer in power...

...Among older Hmong people, attempted shipment of weapons from California to Thailand to be used by dissident Laotian soldiers and mercenaries against the Communists in power actually increases Vang Pao’s stature in their eyes. There have been polite rallies for Vang Pao in front of federal courthouses in several American cities...

What Is Wrong With the United States

A 40 year old woman, brought to the United States at the age of one facing deportation.  Thinking she was an American citizen, she voted in an election, and served on her city council. She plead guilty to voting and now faces deportation.

Unwitting woman votes, faces deportation

LOS ANGELES, California (AP) -- All of her life, Zoila Meyer believed she was an American. She even won election to the City Council of Adelanto.

But now she is facing a threat of deportation for illegally voting, because she never became a citizen after being brought to this country from Cuba when she was 1 year old.

***************************************************************************************************************************

There is nothing better for you than an apple. Over the years, I followed my mother's advice and was sure to wash them to remove any pesticides. I am comfortable now that the apples I eat are safe and do not contain harmful contaminants and are not irrigated with polluted water.

Now I learn:

U.S. apple growers brace for expected competition from China

The key points for the story are these three:

• China's advantage is its cheap labor. A picker makes about 28 cents an hour, or $2 per day, according to the U.S. Apple Association. In 2005, workers in Pennsylvania made about $9 to $10 per hour, and those in Washington state about $14 per hour...
  • I am happy paying for an apple and I do not want the benefits of screwing United States agricultural workers and orchard owners. Why doesn't the federal government worry about ending the War in Iraq if it wants to save me money.
• The current Farm Bill, which was worth about $100 billion, passed in 2002 and expires in September. In it, country-of-origin labeling was mandated, but its implementation has been delayed until September 2008 because of opposition by retailers and others who say it is too burdensome...
  • I want to know where everything I eat comes from. When polluted water enters lettuce fields in California, at least there is a fair chance that we can trace the source....

• it would be hard to promote U.S. apples as being better than foreign-grown apples if consumers can't be sure where they have been grown. One bad apple, he said, might give all apples a bad name.

  • Yes, I want to know I am buying a quality US apple.

***********************************************************************************************************************

This just in: Federal Safety Regulators Order N.J. Importer to Recall Chinese-Made Tires

Federal safety officials have ordered a tiny tire importer to recall as many as 450,000 tires that it bought from a Chinese manufacturer and sold to U.S. distributors...

Supreme Court Runs Afoul, Local DC Judge Sanely Presses on For Dry Cleaner.

While the United States Supreme Court, oppressed in the "Bong Hits for Jesus" Case, a District of Columbia Superior Court Judge, Judith Bartnoff, pressed on for sanity in the American court system.

Bartnoff ruled that the owners of a dry cleaners did not have to pay the plaintiff $54 million when the outraged customer was not satisfied with quality of their dry cleaning of his pants. In a moment of lucid, sanity the Judge also required the plaintiff to pay the defendants' cost of fending off this frivolous, over-the-top lawsuit.

On a serious note, for all of the rightwing crows squawking for the need for 'tort reform,' this case proved that the judicial system does work, despite the best effort of the Supreme Court to make a mockery of our Constitution.

Bong the Supreme Court: The Day Free Speech Died

There is no doubt that free speech took a near fatal blow today when the United States Supreme Court ruled that a student, outside of a school, on a public sidewalk, could not carry a sign that read, "Bong Hits for Jesus."

A majority of the right wing court found that free speech ended when the student did something that was 'disruptive' and violated the school's anti-drug policy.

In a dissent, joined by David Souter and Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Justice John Paul Stevens noted:

This case began with a silly nonsensical banner, (and) ends with the court inventing out of whole cloth a special First Amendment rule permitting the censorship of any student speech that mentions drugs, so long as someone could perceive that speech to contain a latent pro-drug message.

The consequences of the majority ruling, in simplest terms, is that students cannot challenge this nation's drug policy and call for the legalization of now illegal drugs.

It means  that the Supreme Court has returned us to the McCarthy era, rabid anti-Communist rule of law, consistent with Fascist and Communist States where your free speech ends when it collides with the public policy mandated by the thugs who run the State.

The only way this decision will be changed is when enough of these justices die and are replaced by responsible liberals or conservatives who are protectors of the Constitution, not the repressive politics of their president.

I hope every high schoolstudent in America slaps a "Bong for Jesus" sticker on their notebooks. See my previous post, Yeah Dude, Time for Bong Hits 4 Jesus.