Good Economic Cartoon

From the Center for American Progress:

OshNW Sidebar Unnecessary,..

Along this the OshNW's story about the current tax bills going out, they included a sidebar informing people of the consumer purchases they could have made with the tax bill on a $100,000 home instead of paying taxes.

Things such as:

What you could buy

For 2008, the property tax bill for a homeowner with property worth $100,000 is $2,208. But there are a number of other things people could get for $2,208:
A Dell XPS Computer with 20’’ widescreen display, a high-speed processor and Microsoft Office: $1,999 total plus tax.
A five day, four night trip for two to West Palm Beach Florida from Appleton, Wisconsin on Priceline.com: Total $1,875 plus which means you’d have $333 left for spending money.
Five 8 GB iPhones at $399 each: $1,995 total plus tax

What the OshNW leaves out of the story is what you are getting out of your tax bills. Things such as:

Plowed Roads
Fire Protection
Police Protection
Garbage Collection
Care for Indigent Elderly
Jail Services
Public Education

As you know, I could go on (and on). To see a list of services your county provides to you, go here.

I personally feel that the ability to safely traverse your community, live in your home, educate and prepare your children, know you will be safe in retirement and have access to aid in any disaster is a much better deal than a Dell PC or a few I-Phones.

I would hope the OshNW would consider what you receive for your tax dollar. Not just deliver hype in numbers.

The History of Oil

A huge hat tip to the Chief - this is a great post:

The History of Oil

This headline (and its subsequent article):

Iran drops the dollar

-- reminded me of a wonderful stand-up routine by the British writer/comedian/actor/activist Robert Newman, specifically the part of the act below:




The audio track doesn't seem to jive well with the visual track, but I think the point still gets across. If you have 45 minutes to spare, I highly recommend watching the whole thing, which can be found here in its entirety (and in much better quality).

Book-Banning, Oshkosh Style

This from the OshNW:

At least one local school has temporarily pulled the books from its library shelves that the film “The Golden Compass” is based on, over concerns about what critics call its anti-Christian message.

“The Golden Compass,” which opens in theaters Friday, is based on the first book of the trilogy, “His Dark Materials,” by British author Philip Pullman. It follows a headstrong girl named Lyra on a quest to help a world that is somewhat like the real world.
...
Mary Miller, media specialist at St. John Neumann Middle School and Lourdes High School, said she has temporarily taken the series off the shelf at the shared school library because she wants to have a chance to read them and decide for herself if they are appropriate for students.

“I just heard all the news and I decided to pull them,” Miller said. “After (I read them), I’m not sure what I’ll do with them.”

I guess I'm curious about the quote "I decided... and what I'll do..." Is there truly no policy? Is it one person's opinion?

Another question:

Why, if this book is such a threat, has it been on the self until there was a movie made?

Hype is more dangerous than knowledge...

Multiple Voting Scandal?

Here's a good one. I wonder if we will see the same thing on Wisconsin Eye?

Hat tip to the Chief.

A reason to stay alive for awhile...

Mythbusters announced that they will have an all MacGyver episode coming up!

WSJ: Sub-Prime Loans Pushed on Buyers Qualifying for Regular Loans

How much could consumer protection regulation have averted this?

One common assumption about the subprime mortgage crisis is that it revolves around borrowers with sketchy credit who couldn't have bought a home without paying punitively high interest rates. But it turns out that plenty of people with seemingly good credit are also caught in the subprime trap.

An analysis for The Wall Street Journal of more than $2.5 trillion in subprime loans made since 2000 shows that as the number of subprime loans mushroomed, an increasing proportion of them went to people with credit scores high enough to often qualify for conventional loans with far better terms.

In 2005, the peak year of the subprime boom, the study says that borrowers with such credit scores got more than half -- 55% -- of all subprime mortgages that were ultimately packaged into securities for sale to investors, as most subprime loans are. The study by First American LoanPerformance, a San Francisco research firm, says the proportion rose even higher by the end of 2006, to 61%. The figure was just 41% in 2000, according to the study. Even a significant number of borrowers with top-notch credit signed up for expensive subprime loans, the firm's analysis found.

The analysis also raises pointed questions about the practices of major mortgage lenders. Many borrowers whose credit scores might have qualified them for more conventional loans say they were pushed into risky subprime loans. They say lenders or brokers aggressively marketed the loans, offering easier and faster approvals -- and playing down or hiding the onerous price paid over the long haul in higher interest rates or stricter repayment terms.

The subprime sales pitch sometimes was fueled with faxes and emails from lenders to brokers touting easier qualification for borrowers and attractive payouts for mortgage brokers who brought in business. One of the biggest weapons: a compensation structure that rewarded brokers for persuading borrowers to take a loan with an interest rate higher than the borrower might have qualified for.

What is the GOP Agenda?

Rolling back consumer, worker and environmental protection. Let them run on this:

WASHINGTON - Business lobbyists, nervously anticipating Democratic gains in next year's elections, are racing to secure final approval for a wide range of health, safety, labor and economic rules, in the belief that they can get better deals from the Bush administration than from its successor.

Hoping to lock in policies backed by a pro-business administration, poultry farmers are seeking an exemption for the smelly fumes produced by tons of chicken manure. Businesses are lobbying the Bush administration to roll back rules that let employees take time off for family needs and medical problems. And electric power companies are pushing the government to relax pollution-control requirements.

There's a growing sense, a growing probability, that the next administration could be Democratic, said Craig L. Fuller, executive vice president of Apco Worldwide, a lobbying and public relations firm, who was a White House official in the Reagan administration. Corporate executives, trade associations and lobbying firms have begun to recalibrate their strategies
...
At the Transportation Department, trucking companies are trying to get final approval for a rule increasing the maximum number of hours commercial truck drivers can work. And automakers are trying to persuade officials to set new standards for the strength of car roofs - standards far less stringent than what consumer advocates say is needed to protect riders in a rollover.
...
At the Interior Department, coal companies are lobbying for a regulation that would allow them to dump rock and dirt from mountaintop mining operations into nearby streams and valleys. It would be prohibitively expensive to haul away the material, they say, and there are no waste sites in the area. Luke Popovich, a vice president of the National Mining Association, said that a Democratic president was more likely to side with "the greens."

Krugman on the Sub-Prime Crisis

“What we are witnessing,” says Bill Gross of the bond manager Pimco, “is essentially the breakdown of our modern-day banking system, a complex of leveraged lending so hard to understand that Federal Reserve Chairman Ben Bernanke required a face-to-face refresher course from hedge fund managers in mid-August.”

All here.

Bill Moyers on FDR

From The Nation:

When I was born he (Moyers' father) was making two dollars a day working on the highway to Oklahoma City. He never made over $100 a week in the whole of his working life, and he made that only when he joined the union on the last job he held. He voted for Franklin Roosevelt in four straight elections, and he would have gone on voting for him until kingdom come if both had lived that long. I once asked him why, and he said, "Because the President's my friend." Now, my father never met FDR. No politician ever paid him much note, but he was sure he had a friend in the White House during the worst years of his life. When by pure chance I wound up working there many years later, and my parents came for a visit, my father wanted to see the Roosevelt Room. I don't know quite how to explain it, except that my father knew who was on his side and who wasn't, and for twelve years he had no doubt where FDR stood. The first time I remember him with tears in his eyes was when Roosevelt died. He had lost his friend.
...
My father, with his fourth-grade education and two fingers with the missing tips from the mix-up at the cotton gin, got it when Roosevelt spoke. "I can't talk like him," he said, "but I sure do think like him." My father might not have had the words for it, but he said amen when FDR talked about economic royalism. Sitting in front of our console radio, he got it when Roosevelt said that private power no less than public power can bring America to ruin in the absence of democratic controls.

Don't think for a moment he didn't get it when Roosevelt said that a government by money was as much to be feared as a government by mob, or when he said that the political equality we once had won was meaningless in the face of economic inequality. My father got it when he heard his friend in the White House talk about how "a small group had concentrated into their own hands an almost complete control over other people's property, other people's money, other people's labor--other people's lives." My father knew FDR was talking for him when he said life was no longer free, liberty no longer real, men could no longer follow the pursuit of happiness--against economic tyranny such as this. And my father listened raptly when his friend the President said, "The American citizen"--my father knew the President was speaking of him--"could appeal only to the organized power of government."

NYTimes Editorial Board: Say No to Computerized Voting Machines

The 2008 presidential election is fast approaching and some states are still using unreliable paperless computerized voting machines.

That is a big mistake. The danger is too great of votes being recorded wrong — or stolen.

Touchscreen machines — which resemble a bank ATM — are simply too prone to glitches like “vote-flipping,” in which votes for a candidate are recorded for his or her opponent. And it is too easy to plant malicious software that changes votes without anyone noticing.

Many states, but not all, now require their touchscreen machines to produce a “voter-verified paper trail” — a paper record of the vote that a voter can review, which becomes the official ballot. These paper records can be audited, to ensure that the recorded vote totals are correct.

Voter verified paper trails are an improvement, but the best solution is to avoid touchscreen voting machines entirely.

NYTimes Blogger on School Uniforms

A good point for those who think prayer and uniforms will save our schools:

Will school uniforms help re-establish education as the top priority in our American cities? Will uniforms cause parents to become vested in their children?s education? Will uniforms provide for stable and loving households? Will uniforms motivate the students to care about their own education? Will uniforms abolish social promotion? Will uniforms integrate the schools? Will uniforms prevent gang membership and teen pregnancy? Will uniforms provide financial security? Will uniforms prevent drug dealing and drug addiction? Will uniforms bring better teachers and facilities? Will uniforms combat teacher disillusionment? Will uniforms finance more technology-based education? Will uniforms save the music and arts programs? Will uniforms increase attendance and decrease tardiness?
...
As with school prayer, I think proponents of school uniforms are relying on a simple, popular and very superficial “solution” to remedy the complex societal and educational issues that currently plague the schools and students in our cities’ low-income communities.

Charles Peirce on Dukakis and Midwest Passenger Rail

I would love to see this happen:

As part of the day job, I had occasion to talk for a while last week with Michael Dukakis, whose energy I continue to envy. We talked about trains. My lord, does this man like to talk about trains. Anyway, he mentioned that, somewhere in a dusty file cabinet, there is a plan for a 10-state high-speed passenger rail system that would connect all the major -- and some of the not-so-major -- cities in the Midwest. As it happens, I spend an awful lot of time in O'Hare Airport -- aka Gehenna With Bookstores. Some ungodly large percentage of the flights in and out of that sclerotic nightmare cover 350 miles or less, according to Dukakis. If you could get from Chicago to St. Louis -- city center to city center -- in four hours, why would you not do that? Or Indianapolis to Madison -- again, city center to city center. This whole thing was a revelation to me. More to the immediate point, Iowa is included in the plan and, as Dukakis fumed, have you heard any of the Democratic contenders even mention this thing in the past two years? (The GOP field is, of course, hopeless, unless the plan can be made to include windowless cattle-cars for the transportation of undocumented lawn-service men, or a luxury rolling seraglio for Mrs. Giuliani du jour, or both. However, it should be noted that one of the original drivers of the plan was Tommy Thompson, the former Wisconsin governor who's already dropped out.) Part of the whole reason for giving slices of Velveeta like Iowa and New Hampshire pride of place in the nominating process is to make the national bigfeet respond to local concerns. This is why we have to talk about freaking ethanol every four years. This is a real plan -- and, note well, Dean Broder, a bipartisan plan -- that will ease congestion, reduce greenhouse gases, and make lives easier for hundreds of thousands of people across an important region of the country -- to say nothing of the fact that it will help get this country on the same track -- Yeah, I know, but there was no way around it -- with the rest of the industrialized world on something. (Today passenger rail; tomorrow, universal health care!) Speak up, lady and gentlemen.

Iraq: 5 More Years?

It's all here:

The briefing seemed uneventful -- very much a reflection of the ongoing mood of the moment among American commanders in Iraq -- and received no significant media coverage. However, there was news lurking in an answer Col. Bannister gave to a question from AP reporter Pauline Jelinek (about arming volunteer local citizens to patrol their neighborhoods), even if it passed unnoticed. The colonel made a remarkable reference to an unexplained "five-year plan" that, he indicated, was guiding his actions. Here was his answer in full:

"I mean, right now we're focused just on security augmentation [by the volunteers] and growing them to be Iraqi police because that is where the gap is that we're trying to help fill capacity for in the Iraqi security forces. The army and the national police, I mean, they're fine. The Iraqi police is -- you know, the five-year plan has -- you know, it's doubling in size. ? [We expect to have] 4,000 Iraqi police on our side over the five-year plan.

"So that's kind of what we're doing. We're helping on security now, growing them into IP [Iraqi police]?. They'll have 650 slots that I fill in March, and over the five-year period we'll grow up to another 2,500 or 3,500.

Most astonishing in his comments is the least astonishing word in our language: "the." Colonel Bannister refers repeatedly to "the five-year plan," assuming his audience understands that there is indeed a master plan for his unit -- and for the American occupation -- mandating a slow, many-year buildup of neighborhood-protection forces into full fledged police units. This, in turn, is all part of an even larger plan for the conduct of the occupation.

State Law: City Electeds Can Not Sell to Businesses With Liquor Licences

It's been months since Norm Barber resigned from the Stevens Point city council, citing an "archaic law" that prohibits city aldermen from selling materials to businesses that hold liquor licenses.
...
Barber, who owns Barber's Sewing Machine & Vacuum Cleaner Shoppe, 2400 Church St., has said he sells vacuums to around 90 percent of the taverns in Portage County. According to state statute 125.51 (1b), "No member of the municipal governing body may sell or offer to sell to any person holding or applying for a license any bond, material, product or thing that may be used by the licensee in carrying on the business subject to licensure."

Paul Soglin on Govt Regulation "Rural Electrification, Town Roads, Grandma's Telephone, and the Packers on Cable TV"

I like how this post starts:

It was not Milton Friedman's free market capitalism that brought electricity to rural Wisconsin and America. It was not Ronald Reagan's dismissal of government regulation that paved roads from the farm to town. It was not some silly Neocon view of the world that installed a telephone in Grandma's living room in some poor neighborhood of Milwaukee.

All of those changes were the result of government interference in the market place through regulation, taxation, and the redistribution of both public and private resources.

After the 1936 passage of the Rural Electrification Act, bureaucrats worked to assist electric utilities to wire rural America with low-interest loans and technical assistance. Congress decided that the social value of rural electrification would mean progress for farmers and their families. It was not some invisible hand that lead to the mechanization of American agriculture.

State legislatures and county boards voted to build paved roads to small towns and farms. That was a redistribution of tax dollars, mostly coming from wealthy city folks. Some of it was self interest, some of it not. After all, getting goods to market, through these public subsidies benefited the producer and the consumer.

Eighty years ago the telephone was a luxury. Yet state legislatures and their regulatory public service commissions made it clear to AT&T that if the behemoth wished to wire wealthy neighborhoods, they would have to provide service to the poor ones as well.

Brown County Republican Party Shut Down

No interest in leadership...

State Republicans have disbanded the Green Bay area’s Republican Party after its chairman was busted for child enticement and the party couldn’t muster enough officers to pick a new leader.
...
The party’s dissolution comes as the GOP fights to recover from some painful losses in northeastern Wisconsin, historically a staunch Republican stronghold.

A year ago, Democrat Steve Kagen narrowly defeated Republican star John Gard in the race for the 8th Congressional District seat, which encompasses northeastern Wisconsin. Gard has since vowed to defeat Kagen and has campaigned against him for months. And Gov. Jim Doyle, a Democrat, handily beat GOP challenger Mark Green of Oneida, just outside Green Bay.
...
Fleischman’s resignation created two vacancies in the party’s officer corps. Holly Arnold, the first vice-chairperson, did not want the top spot, and the second vice-chair position already was vacant, said state GOP Chairman Reince Priebus.

That meant the party didn’t have enough officers to call a caucus to elect new officers, Priebus said. At Arnold’s request, the state GOP decertified the county party on Nov. 13.

That move, for all practical purposes, dissolved the party. Priebus said the state GOP itself can now call Brown County Republicans together to pick officers and start the county chapter anew.

Priebus said the state party expects to call meetings soon and hold an officers election within the next two months.

I don't blame them, I wouldn't want to be known as a leader in the Republican party right now either. Not just because of the legal charges of the members/leaders.

It is their stands on taxation, healthcare and freedom that would embarrass me.

How can you publicly defend that?

Winnebago County Personal Function Review & 71 Things

For anyone interested in what your county government does for you, I published the Winnebago County Personal Function Review documents on my County County Board Website: www.winnebago17.org.

Also, I put together a smaller overview of 71 Things Your County Does (why 71? I wanted to keep it to 4 pages). I did not include some obvious ones, such as roads.

If you want a larger read, the full 23 page program overview is here.

VA Republicans Demand Loyalty Oath to Vote

RICHMOND, Va. (AP) -- If you're planning to vote in Virginia's February Republican presidential primary, be prepared to sign an oath swearing your Republican loyalty.

The State Board of Elections on Monday approved a state Republican Party request to require all who apply for a GOP primary ballot first vow in writing that they'll vote for the party's presidential nominee next fall.

There's no practical way to enforce the oath. Virginia doesn't require voters to register by party, and for years the state's Republicans have fretted that Democrats might meddle in their open primaries.

Virginia Democrats aren't seeking such an oath for their presidential primary, which is held the same day -- February 12th.

Pie Me in the Face for the United Way! This Wednesday!

Along with:

Mark Harris, Gordon Hintz, Jessica King, Frank Tower, Eric Sparr, Colleen Bradley, Bill Whitlock and John Fitzpatrick.

Wednesday, Nov 28th - 5:30-7:30PM - Pies fly at 7:00PM!

Flyer Below!

What I did last night...

Yep, that's a crappy phone camera picture of me with Paul Krugman!

Buy the book!

Another good reason to watch Heroes...

Creator, writer and producer Tim Kring is on the picket line with the Writers strike:

Tim Kring, a producer and writer of the NBC hit “Heroes,” said he had to revise the ending of the show’s 11th episode on the chance that it might be the last one to air this season.

“Fortunately we were able to hustle back,” Kring said from a picket line in an effort to shut down the show. “The audience won’t be left in a lurch.”

Also, guess who doesn't hire union:

“The Oprah Winfrey Show” doesn’t employ union writers and will continue uninterrupted.

WCDP Welcomes Sate Senator Kathleen Vinehout to Discuss “Healthy Wisconsin”

WCDP Welcomes Sate Senator Kathleen Vinehout to Discuss “Healthy Wisconsin”

For Immediate Release
November 1, 2007 920.203.6883 - jef@jefhall.com
Contact: Jef Hall, Chair
920.203.6883 - jef@jefhall.com

Oshkosh – Before their Nov 14th, 2008 meeting, the Winnebago County Democratic Party will welcome State Senator Kathleen Vinehout, who will discuss the details and benefits of the Healthy Wisconsin plan to provide affordable, quality healthcare to all Wisconsin residents.

“Wisconsin will lead the nation in providing real health care reform. Healthy Wisconsin is an innovative solution that expands coverage while reducing costs,” State Senator Kathleen Vinehout (D-Alma) has said about the plan. “Every man, woman and child who now lives in Wisconsin will have access to affordable health care.”

“I am happy to bring Sen. Vinehout to Winnebago County,” said WCDP Chair Jef Hall. “I am excited to start the discussion about healthcare reform locally.”

“It is the Democratic Party that is leading the healthcare discussion with real ideas. Sen. Vinehout is a great example of Democratic innovation for the benefit of all Wisconsin.”

Healthy Wisconsin is a plan that will guarantee access to affordable, high-quality coverage through a provider of your choice to every resident of Wisconsin, except those covered by public programs like Medicare, Medicaid, and Badgercare.

Healthy Wisconsin saves an estimated $1.76 billion a year by:

* cutting waste and streamlining administration
* lowering drug costs through bulk purchasing
* discouraging inappropriate use of the emergency room
* rewarding healthy lifestyles and preventive care
* closely coordinating care for the chronically ill,
* rewarding providers who deliver the most efficient and highest quality care

Senator Vinehout’s presentation will begin at 6:00PM, November 14th, 2007. The regular meeting of the WCDP will begin after the presentation.

The public is welcome to both the presentation and the monthly meeting.

All Winnebago County Democratic Party monthly meetings are held at the Delta Family Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St - Oshkosh, WI.

For more information, contact Jef Hall, Chair: 920.203.6883 or jef@jefhall.com.

Standards... Something to remember in online journalism:

OshNW Executive Editor Stew Rieckman, Executive Editor in their online forum:

If you read the print version of the Northwestern and compare it with the Web you will notice that most of the strange, bizarre and titillating stories from Sheboygan and Fond du Lac never make into print. The reason is that the print version of the Northwestern has different standards than the Web version. So we're not selling any extra papers with the Web only content.

While I understand his point, I think this is a real problem with journalism today. The focus on the 'titillation' over substance. We understand this from the blogs and the tabloids, but you would hope that the print mainstream would hold their standards no matter the forum.

Even more in light of the anonymous quotes that the Northwestern pull from their website and publish in the print edition, as pointed out in this recent letter to the editor:

Letters: Online comments not fit to print in newspaper

I would like to question the purpose of, and helpfulness of, publishing on the "Today's Conversation" page snippets of on-line chat, especially as the chat is anonymous. Is it because you think that the published chat is somehow representative of Oshkosh, and therefore newsworthy?
...
How does the publishing of anonymous, apparently uninformed (no substantiating evidence is offered by the writers) opinions contribute to the betterment of our city? By all means continue the online chats -- but let's leave it there, just as we leave the bar banter at the bar. At least there we know who's talking.

How can the OshNW claim that they have "different standards" between the print and online aspects, when they use content across both platforms?

I would hope the OshNW would hold the same (high) standards for their brand no matter what the delivery method.

WI GOP's #1 Priority.....

Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch (R-West Salem) said property taxes were controlled by limiting the 2008 property tax levies of cities, towns, villages and putting the first limit - 4% - on the levies of vocational colleges.

"That was obviously a No. 1 priority of Republicans," Huebsch said.

Yep, that's right. The Assembly GOP's #1 priority is reducing the amout of money the local units of government can levy.

It is not to keep their own house in order. It is not to find efficiencies in the governmental units that they are elected to oversee. It is, when you boil it down, to pick on those weaker than they.

Why weaker? They are putting limits on local government that they are not following themselves. To quote Huebsch:

As a point of reference, the US Department of Commerce recently announced that Wisconsin's per capita personal income grew at 4.6% in 2006. With the growth in all funds spending averaging 3.3% annually, the bipartisan budget agreement appropriates almost 1.3% per year below personal income growth and lives within the taxpayers' means.

By his own numbers, he is increasing the state budget increase of 3.3% annually as "within taxpayer's means." What does his budget hold city and county to?

State Senate and Assembly leaders ironed out a compromise with Doyle Friday evening that included allowing local tax levy spending to increase the greater of 2 percent or the value of new construction

Yep - 3.3% for them is "within taxpayer's means" but far out of bounds for the local ans most accountable to the citizen's government units.

After watching how the Assembly Republican's managed their budget, I'll thank them to stay out of ours.

Rep. Ryan Creates New Govt Waste Award... Gives it to Petri!

Ryan, colleagues unveil new version of Golden Fleece award

That's why Ryan and other Republican lawmakers, including House Minority Leader John Boehner, R-Ohio, on Tuesday unveiled the "Budget Boondoggle Award."

The award is their version of the late Sen. William Proxmire's "Golden Fleece" award, which highlighted examples of government waste.
...
Another example cited by the group was money allocated to bike paths and other "cosmetic projects" while more than 73,000 bridges in the United States are considered "structurally deficient."

Funny, I personally do not think bike paths are a waste... But, I do wonder if Ryan dropped the award off at Petri's office after the announcement (from a Petri press release)?

$286.45 Billion Highway Bill Approved by House
Wisconsin Highway Funding to Rise More Than 30 Percent

Sheboygan County will receive $25 million to carry out its plan for bike and pedestrian trails. Rep. Petri was successful in having the county included in a new program to demonstrate the value of nonmotorized transportation facilities. Rep. Petri said that "This is an exclusive group. Sheboygan County is joining Marin County in California, Columbia in Missouri, and the Minneapolis-St. Paul area in receiving these funds."

David Hayford Makes Sense...

OshNW Community Columnist David Hayford has been someone I have disagreed with often, however he has a good article here.

Commentary: All presidential contenders plagued by missteps, foibles, stereotypes

By David Hayford

Barack Obama is a black man. This country has never had a black person as a serious presidential candidate. The Newsweek poll cited above states that 4 percent of Americans will not vote for a black person, no matter what the qualifications. Another 4 percent are undecided.

But fewer than 60 percent of respondents believe this country is "ready to elect" a black President. Not sure exactly what "ready to elect" means. But the disparity in numbers seems to indicate that many believe fellow Americans will be adversely influenced by the color of Obama's skin. And only 57 percent believe that Obama "could get enough votes from white supporters to be elected President."
...
Mitt Romney has a bigger problem: 28 percent of respondents in the Newsweek poll stated they will not vote for a Mormon for President. And nearly half believe that America is not "ready to elect a Mormon president." That rates highest on the bigotry scale.

One might have thought that JFK, the first Catholic president, destroyed the religious denomination test nearly half a century ago. Or Richard Nixon, a Quaker, as a member of a "non-mainstream" sect. But one would, evidently, be wrong.

I believe an Obama vs. Romney campaign would be fascinating. Perhaps Americans would vote for principles over prejudices. Wouldn't that be a giant leap forward for mankind? It would not end bigotry and racism in this country. But it would be a step in the right direction. It probably will not happen.

Dane County to Remove Inmates From Winnebgo County Jails

The OshNW has this story today:

County will no longer house Dane County inmates

By Jennifer K. Woldt
of The Northwestern

A canceled contract for housing out of county inmates will result in Winnebago County losing more than $1 million in annual revenue.

Winnebago County Sheriff Michael Brooks learned earlier this week that Dane County will not renew its contract with Winnebago County to house approximately 60 of their inmates at the Winnebago County Jail.

The contract called for Dane County inmates to be held at the Winnebago County facility at a rate of $51 per day, Brooks said, which brings in about $1.3 million in revenue to the county. Brooks said the removal of Dane County inmates will happen in a "phased out" manner.

At the last meeting, I discussed the possibility of this, in the context of this Dane County Press release:

Falk, Mahoney Agree: More Public Safety, Less Cost in 2008 Dane County Budget

Some of the new deputies will be used to staff the expanded use of the electronic monitoring program from the current 40 to 60 inmates to 200 inmates. “This was one of the recommendations included in the Institute for Law and Policy Planning (ILLP) audit by Alan Kalmanoff,” Falk said of the report which stressed modernizing some of the county’s policies to promote more public safety and cost efficiencies.

With the expansion in electronic monitoring and several other key proposals which hold inmates more accountable than does the Huber Center, Falk said the county will reduce its costs of shipping inmates to other counties from more than $2 million to $150,000.

This could make a big dent in the budget. And it shows that we need a comprehensive study of the jail needs.

I propose that it be conducted as a joint effort between the offices of the Sheriff and the County Executive.

We need to make sure there is more than one set of eyes looking at the numbers. It may well be that we need to expand jail space, but I want to know that we are looking at a comprehensive picture of the situation, both from a view of jail needs and the current political reality of WI budgeting.

Winnebago County Exec Mark Harris Nominated Vice President...

...of the WI County Executives and Administrators Association.

Click here for the release.

Kaufert's reforms are self-serving gesture - Letter to the OshNW

Kaufert's reforms are self-serving gesture

I read with great interest, Representative Dean Kaufert's laundry list of proposals to reform the budget process. What I would like to know is where these reforms were the last seventeen years that Dean has been in the Assembly? This is not the first time the budget process has broken down while Rep. Kaufert has been in the Assembly. In fact it happened twice, in 1997 and 1999. It wasn't until the fall of those years that the legislature finally approved a budget. Where were these reforms then? Or, where were they just a few years hence when Rep. Kaufert co-chaired the powerful Joint Finance Committee and wielded enormous influence in the budget-writing process? It's easy to stand on the sidelines, knowing your influence has waned, and armchair quarterback problems like the budget process. Rep. Kaufert knows his reforms will go nowhere. He can "champion" reform and pose for holy pictures, knowing full well he can score political points without changing the system that worked so well for him when he has been in power. I guess for Rep. Kaufert he can have his cake and eat it, too.

James Reiland Menasha