Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Ohio DWI Issued After Crash of "Motorized Barstool" - Doh!

This is both sad and funny.  A 28-year-old Ohio man with a suspended license was busted March 4 after the motorized 5 hp barstool he was driving home rolled over after he had consumed "about 15 beers." The Newark, Ohio Advocate has the whole story here. He pleaded not guilty and has demanded a jury trial. 

Good luck with that.

- Barry Orton

(ht: Scatterplot)

Wisconsin State Journal Is Wrong About the Supreme Court Election

For the second consecutive year, the Wisconsin State Journal refuses to make an endorsement in a spring Supreme Court race. Last year they refused to join fifteen of Wisconsin's major daily newspapers in endorsing Louis Butler as a Supreme Court justice.

Last week the newspaper refused to join the responsible newspapers who are endorsing the re-election of distinguished jurist Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson.

For Supreme Court: merit reform

In the April 7 election for a seat on Wisconsin's Supreme Court, the State Journal editorial board endorses no candidate.

Instead, the State Journal endorses a better method of choosing state Supreme Court justices -- merit selection.

The reason is simple. Madison's morning newspaper does not like the role of untraceable funds going into the judicial campaigns through 'issue committees.' I do not like that either.

The paper does not like any campaign money affecting judicial races. Neither do I. However, in balancing the value of voter participation in Supreme Court elections, I part with the newspaper and see no reason to rush to an appointive process.

There are a number of ways to improve the selection of justices. Perhaps pending legislation that would require disclosure of issue committee money is one solution. Other options include public financing of judicial campaigns as well as the appointment process.

To refuse to participate in the election or to endorse a candidate because one's preferred solution is not in play is not responsible. The Wisconsin State Journal made its point, but has failed its readers. 

Nowhere is it written that the Wisconsin State Journal cannot endorse and call for reform.

Big Ag Chemical Companies Resent White House Organic Garden; Want "Crop Protection Products" Used

Michelle Obama has started an organic White House Kitchen Garden and dug up part of the White House South Lawn to do it. Lots of good press. Even the Wall Street Journal purred:

Not since Eleanor Roosevelt’s World War II-era “Victory Garden,” has an administration eaten what it has grown on the White House grounds. Obama policy adviser Jocelyn Frye said the garden fits into the first lady’s broader agenda of promoting a healthy work-life balance for families.

The same Wall Street Journal story reported that the new White House Food Initiative coordinator is Sam Kass, Chicago-based local and slow food maven. He will help make health policy during the daytime and cook healthy for the Obamas at night. “The message is that food is really important with the health crisis we’re in,” Kass said. “Cooking is a big part of that.” So far, so good.

Now comes the blowback.  The Big Ag companies are aghast. That's the essence of a long letter addressed to "Mrs. Barack Obama," that urges her to "to consider using crop protection products and to recognize the importance of agriculture to the entire U.S. economy." It further asks that she "recognize the role conventional agriculture plays in the U.S in feeding the ever-increasing population, contributing to the U.S. economy and providing a safe and economical food supply." So whines the Mid-America CropLife Association, a trade association of chemical and other agriculture suppliers.  Among the members are Monsanto, Dow Agrosciences, DuPont Crop Protection, and many other large companies, many of whom have "warehouse" or "fertilizer" or "chemical" in their corporate name.

Translation: don't bring in cute DC schoolkids to weed that garden and keep it "organic," whatever that term still means these days. Spray those weeds with killer chemicals like real American farm (corporations) do.

The letter, in its entirety, is a gem of public relations obfuscation, and is available at the always-valuable La Vida Locovore.

(hat tip: MyDD.com)

- Barry Orton

Grothman Beaned In Spring Training: Dazed and Confused, Nothing New.

Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), who represents Wisconsin's 20th Senate District, appears back to his usual self after issuing another in a series of press releases which fail to articulate a rational analysis of a critical issue facing the state of Wisconsin.

The latest paper attack is on the University of Wisconsin- Madison for contemplated tuition increases.

Grothman Tells UW: Stop Punishing the Middle Class           

The "Madison Initiative for Undergraduates" plan would level a $250 supplemental tuition charge for in-state undergraduates this fall, and a $750 fee for nonresidents. If one goes to school for five years this means an added $5,000 for a UW-Madison degree for in-state students and $15,000 for out-of state students.

You do the math. Grothman's numbers are actually significantly more than the actual impact.  The in-state supplemental tuition charge grows cumulatively by $250 per year. 

According to the UW:

... for the 2009-10 academic year, the supplemental (in-state) tuition charge will be $250; for 2010-11, it will be $500; for 2011-12, it will be $750, and for 2012-13, it will be $1,000.

So for five in-state years, the total would be an additional $3,750, not $5,000.

The out-of-state tuition supplements are:

...for the 2009-10 academic year, the supplemental tuition charge will be $750; for 2010-11, it will be $1,500; for 2011-12, it will be $2,250, and for 2012-13, it will be $3,000.

So for five out-of-state years, the total would be an additional $11,250, not $15,000.

In addition, more UW students graduate in four years than five. If they do take five years, one factor may be the unavailability of classes as a result of cutbacks in funding for the UW led by Grothman and his cronies.

Grothman fails to note that since he was first elected to the legislature, state funding support for the UW has dropped by 20%. as the UW picks up more revenue from alumni, foundations, and research grants. The rest was made up by tuition increases forced upon the school by Grothman and his colleagues.

Grothman gets worse:

“One must remember that single parent families are about four times as likely to meet the definition of poverty as married couples, so this is largely an assault on two parent families with traditional values. We are punishing married couples with children. We know the left dislikes traditional bourgeois values, but to punish people for getting married and making over $80,000 a year is absurd,” said Grothman.  “It should also be pointed out that many couples do not give financial support to their children that go to college, either because parents want to instill in their children the value of working for their education or because they have six or seven other children.” 

Huh? Six or seven other children? Is Grothman projecting his personal feelings about birth control on the UW tuition issue now? (Scratching head.)

While some observers at the state capitol believe that this latest bizarre pontification was the result of Grothman taking a hard inside fast one in spring training, more experienced lobbyists are of the opinion that the beaning had no bearing on Grothman's logic.

 

Fitchburg Mayoral Candidate Says Drumlin Farmers Linked to "Domestic Terrorists" - WTF?

In what could be a very tight election for Mayor of Fitchburg, Mark Vivian's campaign has run off the rails of sanity into the great bog of the bizarre. Facing a popular 14-year veteran City Councilman, Jay Allen, former Mayor Vivian sent out a fundraising letter that claimed that:

"My opponent, Jay Allen, has introduced legislative action to use the City’s police powers to condemn land owned by the Novation Campus, and threaten 2.5 million dollars of your tax money to interfere in what should be a private matter between current tenants living illegally on Novation property and its owners. The illegal tenants have known ties to an organization identified on the U.S. Federal Government list of domestic terrorist groups."

Huh? In Fitchburg? Really?

Bill Lueders has the story on The Dailypage:

Grab the kids and run for cover! Can car bombings in McKee Park be far behind? Will deadly biological agents be added to the produce at the Agora Pavilion farmers market? Will Berbee and Promega become havens for sleeper cells?

Allen explains that he recently introduced a resolution to begin an eminent domain process against Alexander Co., which is developing the Novation Campus. He says the goal was to compel the company to discuss the possible sale of Drumlin Farm, a five-acre community garden that enjoys huge community support.

Waxing America told you about Drumlin Farm and the land development deal it is located smack dab in the middle of:

Everybody understand the meaning of "fair market value determined by independent appraisal assuming the highest and best use of the property?" As the Novation Campus business park develops, the highest and best use of property within and adjacent to it is... as a business park, not a farm or a community garden.

Lueders showed the Vivian letter to Allen:

Apprised that his rival in the race for Fitchburg mayor has linked him to domestic terrorists, Jay Allen has an interesting reaction: He laughs and laughs.

"He wrote that?" says Allen, a 14-year veteran of the Fitchburg Common Council, between guffaws. "Oh my God! That is just crazy. Just absolutely insane."

Drumlin Garden neighbor Tim Morrissey sees politics behind it all, but will be vigilant:

Jay Allen, terrorist sympathizer?  Yah, and I'm the poster boy for Weight Watchers.  This is a low blow even for the right-wing stooges behind Vivian's campaign.

I live a few blocks from the development site in question, but I'm across the boundary line in the wide-open Town of Madison.  I'll be sure to watch for any suspicious characters planting things over there in the community farm.

We need to keep an eye on those radical gardeners.

Maybe this photo of the Drumlin Garden explains Vivian's fears - the metal sculpture could do more than scare crows:

Fitchburg curmudgeon and lifelong troublemaker Rich Eggleston had the best reaction:

The Drumlin Gardeners are a well known terrorist group, dedicated to bombing us with tasty vegetables and threatening the American way of life, i.e., Americans' propensity to consume over-processed foods, foods laced with artificial ingredients like high-fructose corn syrup and foods grown thousands of miles away from our stomachs.

Emily Mills puts it all in perspective:

Basically, Vivian's letter is a pile of crap, and an incendiary one at that. The issue of land use rights and specifically what happens with the Drumlin/Novation property is an important one, and deserves a higher degree of debate that that which Vivian appears to be prepared to offer. I can't imagine that someone who would put out a piece of literature as ridiculous as that would make an even remotely good mayor. But, ultimately, that's for the fine folks of Fitchburg to decide.

Right. Early next month, we'll know whether the Fitchburgers, now living on land that was almost entirely farmland, will allow manufactured fear of the farmers to rule their city.  Shame on Mark Vivian.

- Barry Orton

Wisconsin Bankers Association Need Old Ideas

Last month the Wisconsin Bankers Association held their annual meeting and as reported by the Milwaukee Business Journal, Republicans dominate bankers' convention.

The three featured speakers were Milwaukee County executive and Republican candidate for governor, Scott Walker, Representative Paul Ryan, and failing radio talk show entertainer Mark Belling.

None of the three have a historical understanding or comprehension of what made America great. This country forged ahead since the Civil War on a partnership of public and private investment.

From the land grants for the railroads and the harbors to the space race and the interstate highway system the United States recognized the importance of public investment in infrastructure as the principal inspiration for private investment.

No banker ever approved a loan for the construction of a Cracker Barrel, a clinic, or a factory in a field without roads, water, and a workforce, an educated workforce.

Now Belling advises the state's financial leaders to abandon Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) because of his personal grudge with some of the key health care providers, particularly Aurora.

Wisconsin Bankers can do better. Wisconsin Bankers know better.

Upcoming CSA Open House A Quintessential Madison Event

For those of you smart enough to know that you want to sign up for a CSA farm share this season, but not sure which one to go with, this Saturday's the "speed dating" event you need to attend.  It's the 17th annual Madison Area Community Supported Agriculture Coalition (MACSAC) CSA Open House at Olbrich Gardens. Here you can meet the many of the farmers who distribute those great boxes of produce (and sometimes even meats) weekly at CSA pickup sites around the county: some at farms, some in neighbors' garages, some at farmers' markets, even some at smart employers like Epic.

CSA? Wha? You don't know from CSA? Are you new here in Madison?  Read this, once.

CSA is a unique social and economic arrangement between local households and farmers who work together to share the responsibility of producing and delivering fresh food. Households support the farm by paying an annual fee in the winter or spring that entitles them to a "share" of the season's harvest. Once harvesting begins, members pick-up a weekly box of fresh foods which may include produce, fruits, cheeses, eggs, meats, poultry, flowers, herbs or preserves. Pick-up sites are often located at a member's house or at the farm. Most farms create a newsletter that accompanies each delivery with notes about farm activities, descriptions of what’s in the delivery, cooking tips and recipes. Many farms also create opportunities for their members and families to visit the farm and participate in farm events.

The weekly CSA box and newsletter are a great introduction to what's fresh, local, and good for your family, the local economy and the regional foodshed. Go to the event, bond with a farmer, and become a partner in local agriculture without any of the hard work. You'll thank Waxing America when you open that mid-July box.

- Barry Orton

Tammy Baldwin: No Bailout Money For Political Campaigns

In a letter to Elizabeth Warren, Chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, Madison's U.S. Representative Tammy Baldwin (Dem -2nd) wrote, "Taxpayers must be assure that their money is being used to improve operations and performance...not being used to further the same policies that led to the current economic crisis."

Beginning in 2001 AIG sent several million dollars to the U.S. Chamber of Commerce for lobbying purposes. Over the years the distributions amounted to tens of millions of dollars. This money was not used to hire staff to wander the halls of Congress.

Last fall the U.S. Chamber spent $2 million to support the efforts of Senator Norm Coleman in Minnesota to survive the challenge from Democrat Al Franken.

As Baldwin notes in her letter:

• Only three days after receiving $25 billion in bailout funds, Bank of America sponsored an event to raise funds for candidates opposed to the Employee Free Choice Act.
• Principal Financial Group, which has applied for $2 billion in bailout funds, lobbied against Employee Free Choice throughout 2007 and 2008.

Baldwin is right when she says we must be careful not to inhibit free speech and we must  protect First Amendment rights for individuals and private companies. She is also on solid ground when she notes that just as any other recipient of government funds cannot use the money for political purposes, these bailout institutions must accept the same standard.

No one is forcing these companies to accept the bailout funds. They do not have to take the money for their corporate jets, Caribbean cruises and retention bonuses for already departed employees. If they want the money, they have to play by the rules.

 

 

 

Morrissey No Longer on Radio, But His Snarky Voice Lives On New Blog

Longtime Waxing America friend Tim Morrissey isn't on Madison radio any more: our loss. His caustic personal view of local, state and national figures and events was a feature of his superior news coverage for more than 20 years here. 

A couple of months ago, Doug Moe reported in the Wisconsin State Journal that after being involved in one of the many recent purges of local media professionals, Morrissey had landed a sweet gig with the Wisconsin Broadcasters Association Foundation to build a resource website for Wisconsin broadcast news rookies. A useful and needed project for the green J-school grad at a live microphone trying to pronounce Oconomowoc and Minoqua.

The rest of us can now get access to Tim Morrissey's fertile and caustic mind at his new blog, The Ways Things R.  The current term is "snarky," but Tim accurately describes himself as "cranky, out-of-sorts, and generally pissed off about a lot of stuff."  Whether it's his take on the bonuses for UW-Madison coaches or on the need for an ordinance prohibiting "dooring" of bicyclists, we get plenty of Morrissey attitude.  Well-written and worth a click.

- Barry Orton 

AIG: A Fresh Perspective - Maybe There is a Role for You

Last night Sara and I were watching the evening news and taking in the reports about the anger emanating from Washington D.C. over the bonuses paid to AIG executives. The $165 million in bonuses, some of which are over $1 million and designed to 'retain' executives who already left the company.

Raising three girls, two still in college and one a recent graduate and a struggling actress, coupled with my self-employment has meant things have not always been flush around here the past year.

Sara, fork in hand, gestured at me, "Why don't you go work for AIG?"