Paul Soglin: Waxing America

Tammy Baldwin Looking Out for Us On Bailout

Waxing America readers know of my concern that stimulus money not work its way into elections for Members of Congress who voted on the bailouts. While individuals and corporations may have protected rights of free speech, they do not have the right to use public money for electioneering. If they do not like the rules attached to the stimulus funds, they can refuse to accept the money.

Our congressional representative Tammy Baldwin (D-2) is keeping an eye on this matter. Last spring she wrote to Elizabeth Warren, chair of the Congressional Oversight Panel, and received this response:

Dear Congresswoman Baldwin:
Thank you for writing the Congressional Oversight Panel about your concems
regarding financial institutions' use of funds dispensed through the Troubled Asset Relief
Program (TARP). The Panel shares your belief that the TARP was intended to strengthen
financial institutions in order to restore economic stability - not to further interests of
individual banks - and that using TARP dollars for lobbying or electioneering would not be
appropriate.

To that end, the Panel has pressed Treasury from its very first report, issued on
December 10, 2008, to describe how the money that it has provided to financial institutions
through the Capital Purchase Program (CPP) and other programs has been used by those
banks to further the goals of the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act (EESA). Since then,
in numerous letters and reports, we have reiterated our belief that it is indeed possible to
track TARP dollars as they move from the financial institutions into loans, dividend
repayments, executive compensation, or the purchase of other assets.

The issue of tracking specifically how TARP funds have been utilized by financial
institutions is one that most closely falls within the domain of the Special Inspector General
for the TARP (SIGTARP). On February 5, that office began sending letters to recipients of
TARP funds, asking the firms to document how they are spending the money they received
through the TARP. As of March 23, SIGTARP had received responses from all TARP
recipients. While SIGTARP continues to analyze the responses it has received, among its
more significant preliminary conclusions is that complaints that it is impractical or
impossible for banks to detail how they used TARP funds were unfounded.

While an outright ban on lobbying or electioneering on the part of companies
receiving TARP funds raises potential conflicts with the First Amendment rights of those
companies, we agree that taxpayer dollars should not be used for these purposes. In the
weeks and months ahead, the Panel will continue to work with Treasury, SIGTARP, and
others in order to ensure that funds provided to frnancial institutions through the TARP are
used for their stated pu{pose - to stabilize the financial system and to promote an economic
recovery that benefits Americans from Wall Street to Main Street.

 Let's all join Rep. Baldwin and keep our eyes on how the TARP recipients lobby and politically advertise, and not forget to include their use of sock-puppet "grassroots" organizations (aka "astroturf"). Don't just leave this issue to the SIGTARP.

Jealousy Over The Week in Review - Missing A Great Discusssion

Every few months WHA radio invites me to appear on Joy Cardin's Week in Review for Wisconsin Public Radio. When I appear we talk about things like the Wisconsin budget, war in the Middle East, and President Obama's economic policies.

If I am lucky we discuss the White House puppy or a Wisconsin legislator picked up for drunk driving. When I am invited to participate, the night before each broadcast I review the stories and assign them stars based on importance.

Here is what they will probably discuss the morning of Friday June 26, 2009 :

• The Milwaukee Police Chief having an affair with a reformed journalist. ***
• Mark Belling saying that by definition, anything dealing with gays is pornographic.****
• Shaq is traded to Cleveland upsetting balance of power in the East.***
• Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas says that in the name of discipline school officials can strip search 13 year old girls with no probable cause. It may be titillating but it is not porn. *****
• South Carolina Governor has an affair with torrid South American beauty from Argentina. ***
• GM makes logical choice to open plant in Michigan, its home state with the worst unemployment, not Janesville, WI. Republicans blame Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle*
• Major debate erupts as to whether the Michael Jackson death and funeral will eclipse Elvis'.*****
• China and the United States consider whacking Kim Jong Il on his ass upsetting the balance of power in the Far East ***
• South Carolina Governor, known for fiscal prudence, pays back state treasury for trip to Argentina. Remains silent as to who paid for condoms.*****
• The Wisconsin legislature may adopt a budget before July 1, 2009. *
• Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle cancels trade mission to Argentina.*****
• Farrah Fawcett a decent, kind celebrity who balanced her work and generosity, is dead. **

Belling on Censorship, Pornography, Love, and Romance

Mark Belling is attempting to become the most outrageous self-centered Wisconsin hypocrite. It's a touch competition, but Belling is succeeding.

This week it is A dual dose of double standards where he goes off the chart about the efforts of some of his friends to pull a book from the shelves of the West Bend Public Library. The book deals with among other things, gays. Yes, it  addresses homosexuality and the imagination of a young gay man who is beaten by thugs and his subsequent dreams or visions after he passes out.

Belling finds it pornographic.

 It all started when a pair of grandparents in the Bend found some gay porn in the children’s section of the library. The stuff was so raunchy I couldn’t even read from it on my radio program without jeopardizing WISN’s broadcast license...

The book, which Belling never identifies, is Baby Be-Bop, deemed appropriate for ages twelve and up, and is the story of the gay closeted fifteen year old.

 

Publishers Weekly :

Embroidering her prose with lushly romantic imagery, Block returns to the world of Weetzie Bat for this keenly felt story. A prequel of sorts to Weetzie Bat, the novel opens while Weetzie's best friend Dirk is still a child, lying on his mat at naptime. "Dirk had known it since he could remember" - known, that is, that he is gay. Tenderly raised by Grandma Fifi, famous for her pastries and her 1955 Pontiac convertible, Dirk struggles with love and fear: "He wanted to be strong and to love someone who was strong; he wanted to meet any gaze, to laugh under the brightest sunlight and never hide." After his first heartbreak, with his closest friend (who cannot accept Dirk's love nor his own for Dirk), Dirk battles more fiercely for identity; beaten up by a gang of punks, he slumps into semiconsciousness and is visited by his ancestors, each telling a haunting, lyrical tale of love, faith and self-acceptance. What might seem didactic from lesser writers becomes a gleaming gift from Block. Her extravagantly imaginative settings and finely honed perspectives remind the reader that there is magic everywhere. Ages 12-up.
Copyright 1995 Reed Business Information, Inc

 

Belling concludes

that the standard for censorship is majority rule

: "...This is what America is supposed to be all about – citizens petitioning their government to respect the public will..." I wonder if he would respect the will of a majority of Milwaukee residents if they voted him off the air?  

At that point he would start bellowing about the Constitution. For once he would be correct.

 

 

 

A Conservative, and Sometimes Even Liberal Contradiction

Targeting poor performance in government is a common sport. These days public safety and issues regarding law enforcement are receiving a lot of attention in Wisconsin, especially in Milwaukee and Madison.

The small government advocates, especially doctrinaire conservatives, often note that government is not the answer to everything. They are correct when it comes to law enforcement and public safety.

Study after study, going back to Kansas City in the 1960's, reveal that only adding more police officers does not lower crime.

Adding more police officers and a solid community backing does lower crime and make law enforcement far more effective.

There is an element of public safety that by the very definition of the task, cannot be provided by government. It is the community and neighborhood support  by leaders who will both stand up to crime and work for neighborhood interventions-- yes, the social services.

Government cannot do everything. Nor should it. And one thing government and the police department cannot be is be the neighborhood leadership.

Shootings In Iran, Kent State, Jackson State - Painful Then, Painful Now

Hopefully the painful, tragic loss of life will lead to freedom in Iran.

Last  night's news reports reminded me of the shootings almost forty years ago on the campuses of the Unites States.

    "Armed soldiers opened fire on  protesters....

Kent State : For an unknown reason, during their retreat, nearly a dozen National Guardsmen suddenly turned around and began firing at the still scattered students. In 13 seconds, 67 bullets were fired. Some claim that there was a verbal order to fire. Four students were killed and nine others were wounded. Some of the students who were shot were not even part of the rally, but were just walking to their next class.

Jackson State Accounts disagree as to what happened next. Some students said the police advanced in a line, warned them, then opened fire. Others said the police abruptly opened fire on the crowd and the dormitory. Other witnesses reported that the students were under the control of a campus security officer when the police opened fire. Police claimed they spotted a powder flare in the Alexander West Hall third floor stairwell window and opened fire in self-defense on the dormitory only. Two local television news reporters present at the shooting agreed that a shot was fired, but were uncertain of the direction. A radio reporter claimed to have seen an arm and a pistol extending from a dormitory window.

A Radical Remedy for Gang Violence: No Need in Madison. Been There, Done That.

The current issue of the New Yorker (June 22, 2009) features an article by John Seabrook: Don't Shoot. A radical remedy for gang violence.

The article describes the successful  efforts led by David Kennedy, a professor from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice whose work led to sharp declines in violence, including homicides, in Cincinnati; Providence, Rhode Island; and High Point, North Carolina, where it was most successfully used to deter public drug dealing.

From the abstract of the article (full article only available online to New Yorker subscribers):

...the police would identify gang members who were on parole or probation and compel them to attend a meeting. There, the cops would demand that the shootings end, and promise that, if they did not, the punishment would be swift and severe and target the entire gang. The city would also make life coaching and job counseling available to those who wanted out of the thug life. The police were initially skeptical about the program, but in 2007, they began implementing Ceasefire with a team that included social workers and academics. Describes how information about gang activity was gathered and organized by the team.

Kennedy's  program starts with the assumption that law enforcement alone cannot thwart gang activity. It is based in part on theories of community policing developed by many, including University of Wisconsin Professor Herman Goldstein and Madison Police Chief David C. Couper.

The program, Ceasefire, is predicated on the assumption that an attack on gang violence must be swift and effective with a clear message sent to members that there will be consequences, and that a social service component in the program will provide openings into family services, job training, and other basic links to transportion, child care and health services.

The work began when Kennedy first received a grant to develop the program in 1994.

The city of Madison  Neighborhood Resource Teams (NRT) were already in existence in 1992. Actually the first teams were organized in 1990. Think about it - almost twenty years ago.

For those interested in learning more about how the now moribund NRT might be used, here are some links to posts I wrote over the years:

• How to Improve the Prospects for Madison and Milwaukee September 21, 2007
• Solving Milwaukee's Gang Problem June 2, 2006
• Madison's State Street - Wasting Over $3 Million a Year December 15, 2008

When the NRT's were formed, they provided the coordination of law enforcement and social services. The Blue Blanket was formed at the same time as the concentrated law enforcement element needed to provide a safe and healthy community.

Both programs still exist today. Neither is as effective in tackling gang-related drug trafficking and the accompanying violence as they might be if the NRT existed as orignally designed.

Now the Madison NRT's exist in name only.

In 2000 their effectiveness was diluted as the teams were reworked citywide. This of course defeated the entire concept and purpose of the teams - targeting the most violent areas. Subsequent restructuring of the teams did nothing to return them to their original mission and effectiveness.

In the fall of 2000, Mayor Susan J. M. Bauman created an initiative to make the benefits of these cross-functional teams available to all areas of the City... The Mayor and the Guidance Team worked with NRT members and leaders to help the teams begin to operate in larger geographical areas containing approximately 20,000 to 25,000 people. (emphasis added)

The original teams worked in concentrated areas of 800-2000 residents. As the teams languished so did the potential effectiveness of the law enforcement component.

While the rest of the nation watches the wheel reinvented, nothing happens in Madison.

A note about crime data. When inital efforts are made to combat gang crime, there is a drop in reported offenses. Then there may be an increase followed by another drop. The increase is a reflection of effectiveness as trust is built. It does not mean there is actually more crime committed but that more crimes are reported. To examine crime statistics, two comparisons must be made. First, over a period of time - at least a decade; secondly, local rates must be compared to national trends.

Who Is Paul Ryan and Why Is He Saying TheseThings?

Paul Ryan is the congenial representative from Wisconsin's first congressional district. The district was badly hit by the implosion of the automobile industry, with scheduled closures of automobile production in both Janesville and Kenosha leaving thousands of workers and their families in dire straits.

Now Ryan is joining with Democratic colleagues to try and save the Kenosha plant. Wis. lawmakers to meet with top Chrysler exec

MILWAUKEE - The future of the Chrysler engine plant in Kenosha is on the minds of Wisconsin lawmakers scheduled to meet with a top executive of the automaker.

U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl's office said Kohl, Sen. Russ Feingold and Reps. Paul Ryanof Janesville and Gwen Moore of Milwaukee plan to meet with Chrysler Group LLC Deputy CEO Jim Press at Kohl's office in Washington Thursday afternoon. Ryan is a Republican and the others are Democrats.

This is the same Paul Ryan who characterized President Obama's budget plan and fiscal rescue plans as "European Socialism."

This is the same Paul Ryan who was the featured speaker at the April 15, 2009 "Tea Party" attacking opposing tax hikes.

Ryan says frustration is running high among many of his constituents. 

"I think the message is people are fed up with this notion of chasing ever-higher spending with ever-higher taxes.  There's a limit to how much you can soak the taxpayer."

This is the same Paul Ryan who voted for the Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008 - The Bailout.

Who is Paul Ryan and why is he saying these things?

WMC Speaker: "cheap skilled labor" - Go to Eastern Europe. Screw Milwaukee

Every so often Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) holds a Leadership Summit to educate and guide the members on improving their business practices.

Last week they gathered at Chula Vista resort for a presentation from Rick Graber, the former Bush ambassador to the Czech Republic.

According to WisBusiness.com's Tracy Will -  Former Ambassador Graber touts Europe as positive option for state firms:

Graber told the summit that businesses will find “cheap skilled labor in already-industrialized countries.''

"They remain ripe for foreign investment," he said. The former Wisconsin Republican Party chair pinpointed Romania and Bulgaria for basic manufacturing and assembly, adding that the Czech Republic, Slovakia and Hungary are more advanced and offer higher-skilled workers.

If that was not enough, Graber boasted: "'Among my proudest achievements were getting the Czech legislature to pass bills permitting location of missile defense radar in the Czech Republic,' Graber said, adding, 'thanks to the efforts of President George W. Bush.'"

While the rest of the state and the UAW is working to elevate the educational and training opportunities for GM and other displaced workers, retaining and growing existing Wisconsin industrial and business opportunities, WMC, as usual, is riding off in another direction.

This is the same Rick Graber who was chairman of the Wisconsin Republican Party and is sometimes mentioned as candidate for governor who plans to represent US businesses who wish to do business in Eastern Europe.

He sees his experience as an opportunity to move US investments to Europe (again the YouTube link).

The future of the Republican Party - "Paul Ryan is a prime example of what the Republican Party needs."

The Point of Caperton v Massy

Last week I made the point that the importance of the Caperton v Massy decision may be its indirect consequences.  To make the case meaningful, there must be disclosure as to who contributes to issue committees in judicial races. I wrote  The Real Problem Caperton v. Massey poses to WMC and the Right Wing Fronts. "...For the U.S. Supreme Court decision to have any meaning, there must be disclosure as to the source of the funds. WMC, All Children Matter, Americans for Prosperity, all will have to reveal the funders..."

Legal scholar, legal commentator, and law school professor (I am none of them) Rick Esenberg makes two critical suggestions in his recent post, What Caperton ought not to mean.

Esenberg argues that the facts are so unusual that this kind of occurrence is not likely to happen again. After all Massy poured millions into the West Virginia race dwarfing other contributions. No doubt the standards will vary.  A contribution of $25,000 will gain little notoriety in a $3 million race but it might be significant in a $100,000 campaign.

Esenberg also notes that "...In fact, one might just as well argue that there is no due process problem as long as the donors are anonymous. The judge has no idea where the money came from and, therefore, does not know who she is "indebted" to..." 

That, of course, is an enormous leap of faith. There are always efforts to build a firewall between the judicial candidate and the issue committee so they do not run afoul of the law. I am not about to accept the fact that the judicial candidate does not get information about who is raising money for the issue committee. The rest of us do not know, but I am not about to accept a denial from Ziegler or Gableman that they had no knowledge or suspicion as to where the millions of WMC Issue Committee funds were raised.

Raise and spend the money - but disclose.

Who Pays For WMC Watch

Someone with the initial 'B' wrote a comment to the post, The Real Problem Caperton v. Massey poses to WMC and the Right Wing Fronts:

I'd like to know an itemized list of where the money for WMC Watch is coming from. If you demand accountability from others, you have to have the integrity and honesty to list your donors as well. Pot calling the kettle black?

These guys just do not get it. But let us try one more time.

WMC and the other fronts like All Children Matter raise millions of dollars to be put into elections. The money goes to buy media -TV, radio and mailers. The money is spent to elect candidates by purchasing advertising in an election.

All the money Soglin Consulting LLC. and WMC Watch receives that is used to elect a candidate is revealed. The amount is zero. Nada. Zilch. Zip.

Soglin Consulting LLC does have income for doing research and monitoring WMC and the other right wing groups. That income is not spent on electioneering. None of that money is spent on electioneering.

A majority of Americans believe that the sources of money used to finance campaigns should be disclosed. No one is telling WMC it cannot participate in the electoral process within the law.

The only issue for WMC and the others, like Americans for Prosperity, is disclosure.