Grumbleberries

No Presidential Run For Russ

2006-11-12T07:47:00.000-06:00

Feingold's letter posted at Daily Kos:

Dear Friends and Supporters,
On Sunday, November 12th in Racine, I will hold my 1000th Listening Session with the people of Wisconsin. Before reaching that milestone, I want you to know that I've decided to continue my role as Wisconsin's Junior Senator in the U.S. Senate and not to seek the Democratic nomination for President in 2008.
Like many Americans, I am excited by the results of the November 7th election. My fourteen years in the Senate have been the greatest privilege of my life and I am extremely pleased with what we have accomplished. During so much of that time, however, we Democrats have not only been in the minority but have often been so deeply mired there that my role has often been to block bad ideas or to simply dissent. That is a very important role but I relish the thought that in this new Congress we can start, not only to undo much of the damage that one-party rule has done to America, we can actually advance progressive solutions to such major issues as guaranteed healthcare, dependence on oil, and our unbalanced trade policies. The Senate of the 110th Congress could also well be a place of greater bi-partisan opportunities for change; something I am very proud to have been effective at in both Republican and Democratic Senates.
I hope all of you know how much I have appreciated the incredible response you have given me and the efforts of our Progressive Patriots Fund since January, 2005. In addition to all of our work in Wisconsin and D.C., I have traveled to seventeen states trying to promote the election of progressive Democrats in all states. At every stop from Birmingham, Alabama to Burlington, Vermont, to Ft. Dodge, Iowa, to Las Vegas, Nevada, people have agreed with my view that we need to stand up for a strong, principled Democratic party that is willing to replace timidity with taking the risks of promoting a platform of bold solutions to our nation's problems. Unfailingly, people responded well to my positions: opposition to the Iraq war; calling for a timeline to redeploy our troops from Iraq so we can focus on those who attacked us on September 11th, 2001; my opposition to the flawed provisions of the USA Patriot Act that threaten the freedoms of law-abiding Americans; my call for accountability for the Administration's arrogant disregard for the law especially with regard to illegal wiretapping; fighting for fiscal responsibility including tough common sense budget rules that will help end the reckless policies that have heaped a mountain of debt on our children and grandchildren; as well as my strong belief in guaranteed healthcare for all Americans and substantial investment in alternative energy sources and technologies.
Yet, while I've certainly enjoyed the repeated comments or buttons saying, "Run Russ Run", or "Russ in '08", I often felt that if a piece of Wisconsin swiss cheese had taken the same positions I've taken, it would have elicited the same standing ovations. This is because the hunger for progressive change we feel is obviously not about me but about the desire for a genuinely different Democratic Party that is ready to begin to reverse the 25 years of growing extremism we have endured.
I'm sure a campaign for President would have been a great adventure and helpful in advancing a progressive agenda. At this time, however, I believe I can best advance that progressive agenda as a Senator with significant seniority in the new Senate serving on the Foreign Relations, Intelligence, Judiciary and Budget Committees. Although I have given it a lot of thought, I cannot muster the same enthusiasm for a race for President while I am trying simultaneously to advance our agenda in the Senate. In other words, if I really wanted to run for President, regardless of the odds or other possible candidates, I would do so. However, to put my family and all of my friends and supporters through such a process without having a very strong desire to run, seems inappropriate to me. And, yes, while I would strongly prefer that our nominee in 2008 be someone who had the judgment to oppose the Iraq war from the beginning, I am prepared to work as hard as I can through the Progressive Patriots Fund, and consistent with my duties in the Senate, to maintain or increase our gains from November 7 in the Congress and, of course, to elect a Democrat as President in 2008.
Most important, I want to continue my work as a Senator from this wonderful State of Wisconsin. Our fourteen year ongoing conversation that has taken place in hundreds of communities in Wisconsin in the form of open Listening Sessions is the principal reason I have been perceived as "ahead of the curve" on many key issues. Simply listening to the reasoning and passions of Wisconsinites remains the best source of good ideas and common sense I've ever encountered.
I love this country very much and am so lucky to be able to serve it in the United States Senate. My heartfelt thanks to all of you for your support and encouragement.
Sincerely,
Russ Feingold
Middleton, Wisconsin

WSJ Endorses Jorgensen

2006-11-01T19:16:00.000-06:00

The conservative Wisconsin State Journal has endorsed Democrat Andy Jorgensen for the 37th Assembly District. Jorgensen is running against Republican Greg Gasper who was a staffer for Representatives Rob Kreibich (Eau Claire) and Eugene Hahn (Cambria). Gasper has been heavily supported by the Michigan right wing nut group All Students Matter as well as others. Ivan Davis is also running as an Independent.

Jorgensen is a long time resident of Fort Atkinson who at one time was a local radio personality. Andy left his radio show in order to support his family and went to work at the GM plant in Janesville. Besides being articulate and intelligent, he is truly "every man" and does in fact carry a lunch bucket to work. Well I could go on but I'll stop and let you read the endorsement!

From the WSJ:

Andy Jorgensen is the best choice to represent the many farms and small towns in eastern Dane and western Jefferson counties at the Capitol.
Jorgensen displays a good dose of independence, deep roots in the community and a broad perspective.

Like the retiring and popular Rep. David Ward, Jorgensen comes from a farming background and strongly supports the new ethanol plant in Jefferson. Like most farmers, Jorgensen says, he's a conservationist but also a realist. The Farm Bureau endorsed him.

Jorgensen also spent five years as a radio broadcaster in Fort Atkinson, where he lives, before landing a job at the Janesville auto plant. He's not just a good talker. He knows a lot about what he's talking about. And he wants to listen and learn. A centrist Democrat, Jorgensen promises to balance his strong support of education with the need to control taxes.

His opponent, Republican Greg Gasper, is sharp and knows the issues. But Gasper is a Capitol insider, having worked for three lawmakers. Ivan Davis, an independent candidate, has failed to excite voters.

Jorgensen will bring a fresh and sensible approach to the job that the 37th Assembly District deserves.

Why are you here?

2006-10-20T19:29:00.000-05:00

I am very busy helping in the Governor's race and in AD37...HEY....shouldn't you be somewhere helping a candidate?

Republican Loss Offers Rhinos Hope

2006-10-08T08:59:00.000-05:00

My Republican friends, the few that I have, are very moderate ones. We agree on probably 90% of all issues. These RHINO's, as their own party calls them, have been derided, ignored, and taken for granted for the past few years. Any suggestion of moderation has been met with litmus tests as to the loyalty of these good Americans. That many have still remained in the party can, from my way of thinking, only be genetic. It may be good that they have remained as our state and country will need them to rebuild the Republican Party into an effective opposition party that will hold the Democratic Party from repeating the same mistakes of absolute power.
Rhinos, I think, recognize this opportunity and will sit out this election. It would be too much for them to vote democratic. The extremists have acted as if Rhinos did not matter and if I were one, I'd let them reap their just reward.

Backing Away From The Edge

2006-10-07T08:25:00.000-05:00

A couple of days ago I blogged (Now mostly deleted) about 37th AD Candidate Greg Gasper's past conviction for possession of drugs. In my glee of the moment, I wrote things that were unkind and inappropriate. Worse, I may have hurt the feelings of some of those who I care the most about. As I was reminded, people can and do change. Of course they can and do. Usually this act of contrition also causes one to have a little more humility than with which one started. When these things happen to my family members or students, I always welcome them to the human race. Nothing unites us more than acknowledging our lack of perfection. In fact, the people I like most are those who have gone through a few rough times, some self imposed and others not.

In thinking about why I would do such a usually out of character thing, I do offer an explanation but there is not excuse for resorting to this type of thing.

True, politics is a very dirty business. Many people will do anything for the power. I am a politics junkie who has over the last few years become completely convinced that our country is going in a direction. I've resented greatly the people who try to impose their morality system on others. The bigotry displayed against the Hispanic immigrants, the gays and the poor, the erosion of Constitutional rights, the lies that led to an unjust war, and the hypocrisy displayed by our mostly Republican leaders have all led me to the point where I want a change in government NOW!

In Wisconsin, these same Republicans have an opportunity to replicate what has been going on in Washington if Mark Green is elected governor. The very thought is repugnant.

Greg Gasper represents, at least in my mind, a continuation of these non democratic and dangerous principles. When I saw that he had made a mistake 10 years ago, I pounced. Not because the mistake was reason to be excluded from the human race but that it would be reason enough for some not to vote for him. It certainly had no effect on how I would vote. In fact, if the same were true about Andy Jorgensen, I would still vote for him.

Thanks Sonny for the reality check!

37th Republican Candidate Had A Secret

2006-10-04T20:35:00.000-05:00

Progressive Majority Wisconsin has posted an article concerning the conviction of Republican Candidate Greg Gasper 10 years ago for drug possession.
While I would not want everyone examining everything I've ever done wrong over the years, I am not running for public office. Today everything is fair in politics and it is a very nasty business. Voters have the right to know all the information they can about the candidates before they vote.
At any rate, this new information does not affect my vote. I've been for Andy Jorgensen since before the primaries.

Last Post. Starting Ladder Business!

2006-09-30T17:58:00.000-05:00

How tall is that wall going to be anyway? Details here.

Missions of the 21st Century

2006-09-30T09:09:00.000-05:00

The events of the last 24 hours truly sadden all those connected with public education. Weston HS Principal John Klang was truly a hero. He, along with ESP Dave Thompson, prevented the injury and possible deaths of who know how many people when they disarmed the 15 year old gunman. Words cannot express the sadness that I feel even typing these words. One story is here.

Most public schools are safe places for students and staff but these events are not isolated. To say so is dismissive and overly optimistic that such an event will not occur in another district. The truth is that staff in schools across the country prevent hundreds if not thousands of potential violent episodes each and every day. Students are, after all is said and done, reflective of society. For those righties....It's Society not the public school system...STUPID!

Private schools can pick and choose their clientele. Public schools cannot. The goal of the public schools is to teach everyone regardless of handicap. Although public schools do not explicitly teach religion, the golden rule is reinforced countless times throughout each school day. In addition to teaching "basics" we have over the last 40 years taken over the jobs of parents who in many cases are struggling just to pay the bills. Not an easy task but one educators have accepted as reality.

When comparing the goals of the public schools to that of private schools, which sounds more like the missionary work? I rest my case.

Our schools are full of people like John Klang and Dave Thompson. This takes nothing away from what these men did this week. It merely acknowledges what we all know would be the case in all public schools. Heroism doesn't only happen when someone brings a weapon. It occurs each and every day in our public schools!

Maybe now is time for you to contact that favorite teacher or staff and thank them today!

E-mail Forces Foley Resignation?

2006-09-30T08:21:00.000-05:00

Honestly, a casual reader of the Milwaukee J-S would get the impression from the
headline that the crusader against child porn resigned because of an electronic mix up.

Not being a casual reader of the news, I have to say the transcript of the email that Representative Foley (R-Florida) is some of the most disgusting sick stuff that I have ever read in my not so sheltered life. If you can stomach it you too can read the e-mailshere. The J-S printed mild versions of the emails in question.

These are the people who the extreme right elects because of their principles and values. Pardon me while I go puke!

National Priorities Project Tallies Bush's War Cost

2006-09-25T12:04:00.000-05:00

Check out this site! When I did, Bush's folly could have funded over 15 million 4 year college scholarships,or 5.5 million new teachers, or 2.8 million housing units or provided health insurence for over 190 million kids.
The craziness continues.

Bad Dems?

2006-09-25T07:28:00.000-05:00

While headline writers at the Journal-Sentinel think that the story is that the Dems are trying to "undermine Republicans", they minimize the National Intelligence Estimate report that our country's actions in Iraq have made the world a less safe place.

Were the Democrats bringing this to the attention to the sleeping media that as often as not is hesitant to report real news? Absolutely. To somehow attribute this predictable but damning report as a political attack is a dishonest way to deflect the Bush Bullies' decision realities. I recall very clearly that many had predicted the exact same thing that this report details five years ago.
This country's media monopoly is incredibly biased, lazy and despicable. Unfortunately, it is the only one we have with the exception of the increasingly important blogs.

NCLB Questions With Surprise Ending!

2006-09-24T08:54:00.000-05:00

Marion Brady has spent 75 years in education one way or the other. She has some questions for the Aspen Institute, an organization soliciting electronic feedback about the NCLB Act. Mr. Brady suspects that this information gathering is a prelude to a recommendation that the 50 state versions of NCLB be changed to one national version.
These are Marion's questions via Daily Kos.

Question: Management experts say poor institutional performance almost always indicates a "system" problem. NCLB doesn't blame poor performance on the system but on teachers and kids. Are the experts wrong?

Question: NCLB demands "standards and accountability" for school subjects. Wouldn't it make more sense to key standards and accountability to ends rather than means, to kids' ability to fuse and actually use what they've learned?

Question: Some researchers say that pre-natal and early childhood care, environmental contamination, parental attitudes, family income, language facility and many other factors affect student performance. In well-run NCLB schools, are these irrelevant?

Question: NCLB relies on market forces to shape schools up. Does this mean that learning is unnatural and won't happen unless teachers and kids are threatened or bribed?

Question: NCLB is rapidly pushing "frills" out of the curriculum. Has research now established that art, music, physical activity and so on have nothing to do with scientific and mathematical reasoning ability?

Question: Nationwide, hundreds of thousands of kids are being held back because of poor reading and math skills. Is the ability to interpret symbols the only way the young learn, and therefore sufficient reason to flunk them?

Question: NCLB's avowed aim is to "close the achievement gap." The tools for measuring that gap are tests of symbol-manipulation skills. Don't these skills track relative wealth and privilege, therefore tending to maintain the gap? And aren't the tests incorrectly but nevertheless widely seen as indicators of intelligence, bringing into play gap-perpetuating self-fulfilling prophecies?

Question: NCLB goes a long way toward cutting local educators and school board members out of the decision-making loop. Does the history of top-down, centralized control suggest this change strategy works well?

Question: Education is supposed to teach kids to think for themselves, not just recall what they've been ordered to remember. Are the centerpieces of NCLB (corporately produced, machine-scored tests) able to judge the relative quality of complex thought processes? If so, why aren't they already doing that?

Question: NCLB assumes the "core" curriculum (the mainstay of present schooling) is as appropriate today as it was when it was adopted in 1892. Is it?

Question: If there are problems with the traditional, same-thing-for-everybody curriculum, don't "raising the bar" and "rigor" just make them worse?

Question: Will manipulating the curriculum to "maintain America's competitive position in world trade" be more likely to ensure America's future well-being than helping kids love learning because it lets them pursue their interests and talents wherever they lead?

Question: Frantic to avoid the test-triggered "failing" label, most schools use myriad strategies to "game" the system. For example, knowing the worst kids will never make the cut on high-stakes tests, and the best will do so without help, the "marginal middle" gets most of the attention. Is it possible to track and counter all the ingenious strategies emerging in response to naive policies?

Question: Many educators (maybe most) now assume that NCLB is a clever strategy less concerned with closing the achievement gap than with undermining confidence in public education and laying the groundwork for privatizing the institution. Are they wrong? And if they are, how can their cynicism be countered and morale restored?

Many agree that the push to federalize education is on. Rod Paige and Bill Bennett state their case for education change in this recent Washington Post article.

You can add your comments to the Aspen Report here. As an added bonus GUESS WHO THE CHAIRMAN IS? Find out by clicking on the Aspen Report. SURPRISE!!! Isn't that reassuring?

Walmart Alternative to Wisconsin?

2006-09-23T07:39:00.001-05:00

If you have been avoiding Walmart as many of us do this development this is going to come as good news.According to the Wisconsin State Journal Costco is planning a store in Middleton and Grafton. This is important because Costco is the anti-Walmart. Costco wages average $17 per hour plus a full health and benefit package. Some employees are union members.This company creates the jobs that guarantee a living wage and generate an expansion of the tax base. Additionally, unlike Walmart, we do not end up paying for the health insurance of its employees.I'm looking forward to supporting this great company!

The Real Green Economic and Tax Plan

2006-09-17T09:02:00.001-05:00

I wasn't able to watch the debate between Governor Doyle and Representative Green on Friday so my comments are based upon things that I have read elsewhere.

From what I've read and to put it simply, U.S. Rep Green is concerned about expanding the manufacturing base and wants to freeze or cut taxes. Governor Doyle wants to expand the high tech jobs and make strategic decisions about where a limited amount of tax money needs to go.
Green's ideas seem deeply rooted to the economies of the past. As we are repeatedly reminded, we live in a global economy. Low tech manufacturing jobs are going or have already gone to other countries never to return. To encourage the return of these manufacturing jobs with corporate welfare (Bribing) keeps these companies in Wisconsin only as long as the next time another state offers an even more enticing package of corpowelfare benefits. This cycle does not build a sustainable healthy economy. It also does not expand the tax base or continue the services Wisconsinites have come to expect. Stubbornly clinging to these notions would be disastrous for Wisconsin.

Governor Doyle has the right idea concerning growing Wisconsin's economy. As is always the case, education is the answer to the problem. A highly educated workforce attracts higher end companies which increase the wages of workers far beyond those working in the manufacturing sector. These highly paid workers also contribute more in taxes than line workers thus there is more money available for tax provided services.
Although the some editorials and blogs blew off Governor Doyle's Wisconsin Covenant proposal earlier this week, his eye is on the goal of creating a highly educated workforce that will allow Wisconsin to thrive. To guarantee that every 8th grade student who maintains a B average, is a good citizen and takes the right preparatory classes while in high school admission to a Wisconsin college is exactly the commitment the state needs to make to the future.

Representative Green's tax freeze promise is much more draconian than the ill fated TABOR bills of the do nothing Wisconsin legislature. Any covenant that adults may feel toward providing for the future of Wisconsin students would be destroyed by its devastating effect upon the public education system.

I suppose that Green's plan would provide the low wage, uneducated workforce companies have been looking for in other countries. Perhaps that is the the Republican idea in the first place. Imagine running for office on that. God help our children and grand children should they succeed!

Detroit Teachers Tentative Agreement

2006-09-13T21:54:00.000-05:00

The Detroit Free News is reporting that the School District and the Detroit Federation of Teachers has reached a tentative contract.

"The package is not everything we hoped it would be, but we believe it's enough for our teachers to get back to work," Garrison said.
The 3-year deal that's on the table would mean the union's 7,000 teachers would give up concessions the first year, get a 1% raise the second year and a 2.5% raise the third year. The concessions are tied to fringe benefits and health care benefits and call for more union members to pay a portion of their premiums.
Coleman said the district didn't get all it asked of the teachers, either. The concessions will amount to roughly $64 million in savings for the district. But it is short of the $88 million Coleman said the state's largest school system needed to balance its $1.36 billion budget.
We didn't get everything we needed, but it was important to get the children back in school, he said.

I like to see what is going on in other states when I think things are bad in Wisconsin. On the surface it doesn't seem that the teachers got too much but I've been around long enough to know that what gets reported is not always the whole story. At any rate, I'm certain everyone is relieved and ready to go back to work!

Post Primary Regrets

2006-09-13T20:59:00.000-05:00

Upon reflection I have a couple of regrets regarding the primary elections. I had to vote against two very good people, Peg Lautenschlager and Walt Christensen (37 AD).

The Democratic AG race for me was a tough call. I believe that Peg has done a good job for Wisconsin. I also believe that had she won, she would have been subjected to a mud slinging campaign of epic proportions. I really did not want to watch such a campaign unfold as the last six years of Karl Rove in DC has left me very concerned about our country. My choice, therefore, was for another good person, Kathleen Falk. I am certain my vote was the correct one. Having met both these fine people, I came away from listening to Falk with the feeling that I wouldn't want to meet this "woman in an alley". She is one tough cookie and I am sure that she is up to the campaign as well as the job as Attorney General. I didn't think that Peg was up for what would have been awaiting her.

Similarly, Walt Christensen is a great guy. He is a great town supervisor and works very hard for his constituents. He is a very active member of the local Democratic Party. Andy Jorgensen and Walt agreed on about every issue so it came down to personalities. Walt seems by nature to be a quiet, reflective person. Jorgensen is more gregarious and outgoing. The professorial Walt did not seem comfortable among large groups of people while Andy seemed to relish the opportunity. People are much more easily drawn to Jorgensen who is a great speaker and a trained radio personality. In the end, I felt that Jorgensen had the best chance to capture the 37th AD for the Democrats. If this happens it would be the first Dem representing the district in at least the 26 years that I have lived here. I had to go with who I felt could win.

Upon even further reflection, I am proud that the Democrats had great candidates statewide. The state and the Dems are in better shape today because of these fine people. I'm glad to have met all of them. We all owe them a heartfelt thank you.

Man Marries Goat (And You Think You Had A Bad Day)

2006-09-09T20:29:00.002-05:00

Here's something that you don't see every day! A man was caught having sex with a goat in Sudan and the local council of elders punished him by making him pay a dowry and marry the goat.
Wonder what the marriage amendment folks would think about this? Could this be the next crusade to save marriages? I'm pretty liberal but this is a bit too much! It is worth a head scratch though!
BBC article is here!

No News Here, Bush Lied

2006-09-09T07:46:00.000-05:00

Now I'm no great fan of Saddam Hussein but he did tell the truth to the UN and the US regarding having no WMD as well as there being no connection between Iraq and Al Qaeda. So if Saddam told the truth, who lied? If GWB did not lie, what does that say about his "intelligence". So why did we go to Iraq?
I don't know, I'm just asking....

The response from the Bush administration was that there is no new ground covered here. That's for sure!

NYT Article here.

School has started!

2006-09-09T05:56:00.000-05:00

Postings, as mentioned earlier, are likely to be sporatic as the job of teaching today's youth is totally absorbing. I do enjoy writing these posts but do not want to be a slave to the blog at the expense of the other areas of my very full life. A real change for me came when I was guest posting at folkbum. I really tried to do a good job but in the process felt a self imposed pressure to post at least once a day. At a certain point this became more stressful than fun. Red flag!! It is my hope that with a more relaxed appoach toward Grumbleberries that the fun will return. Thanks for reading!

Teacher Strikes Here?

2006-08-28T13:32:00.000-05:00

Imagine that teachers in your community have just been offered a 5.55% pay reduction as well as an obligation to pick up either 10% or 20% of your health premium. This and more is what the Detroit Federation of Teachers has been offered as a contract settlement. As a result they are going on an illegal strike. Strikes by public employees are illegal in Michigan, as they are in Wisconsin.

Just for the sake of argument, what will it take to mobilize our teachers and support staff to the point where a strike would be successful? Apparently the QEO and revenue caps over 10+ years has not been motivation enough. The QEO and Caps also shoot the "as the market will bear" argument as they are artificially and arbitrarily imposed. So, assuming that most people work at a job in order to make money, what would it take to anger the Wisconsin education masses into action?

Read more about the Detroit strike here. You can access the
Detroit Federation Of Teachers Website here.

Hmmmm....... liberal media?

2006-08-25T07:52:00.000-05:00

Let me get this straight. Green's out-of-state donations questioned article is placed in the JS metro section, while this article concerning Governor Doyle's aide meeting with utility executives is considered prime page one material.
In the first place, one may consider the governor's office communication with a utility and a regulatory agency concerning a nuclear power plant sale is well within the responsibilities that we give to the governor. Some would be glad that the governor's office was interested.
It also seems equally reasonable that after the sale was first rejected that the petitioners would resubmit a proposal taking the reasons for the rejection into consideration. Therefore their may not have been a reversal of the previous decision but an approval of a revised plan.
As far as donations are concerned, it would be much more beneficial for the Republicans to use their obvious auditing skills to look at where Green and his Washington friends have been spending or rather wasting our tax dollars.
Who were the folks that met with VP Dick concerning energy policy? Oh yeah, apparently that's none of my business.

Transitions

2006-08-25T06:28:00.000-05:00

I have been posting erratically this week as I am transitioning back into the world of work.
As my family knows, once school starts I sort of disappear. The job, for almost all of education personnel, is demanding and all consuming. It will be interesting to see how blogging and work all fit together. I really admire the commitment of the bloggers who are also employed full time in the educational community.
I've also started a blog for my UniServ(regional union entity)in an effort to open communication with those union members who are more likely to get their information through this media. This will keep me extremely busy!

Zogby Poll shows 92% of Americans want right to see ballots counted

2006-08-22T08:30:00.000-05:00

A new Zogby poll to be released on Tuesday will reveal that 92% of Americans, spanning every party and democraphic group, believe that the public has the right to view and verify the counting of votes. The issue of transparency has become particularly important due to the use of electronic voting systems

read more

Bush's final gamble: Giving Iraq a dictator?

2006-08-20T21:00:00.000-05:00

Would this mean that Bush would be giving Iraq the purple finger?

read more

Generals: War Over, Bush Must Negotiate

2006-08-20T15:41:00.000-05:00

Twenty-one former generals and high ranking national security officials have called on George W. Bush to reverse course and embrace a new area of negotiation with Iran,Iraq, and North Korea. In a letter released Thursday, the group told reporters Bush's 'hard line' policies have undermined national security.

I'm a little late but this is not getting the MSM attention that it deserves!

read more

Blair Agrees with Prescott

2006-08-20T15:01:00.000-05:00

According to the Daily Mail:

The alliance between George Bush and Tony Blair is in danger after it was revealed that the Prime Minister believes the President has 'let him down badly' over the Middle East crisis.

A senior Downing Street source said that, privately, Mr Blair broadly agrees with John Prescott, who said Mr Bush's record on the issue was 'crap'.

Soon it will be unanimous.

Could This Get Any More Weird?

2006-08-20T13:39:00.000-05:00

I promised myself that I'd ignore the JonBenet stuff but this is beyond weird for me. This ought to keep the MSM from reporting anything important for at least a week.

GOP Deserts One Of Its Own

2006-08-19T09:07:00.000-05:00

Gotta love those rascally Republicans. John McCain and Newt Gingrich have endorsed Ex Dem Lieberman in the CT senatorial race.
What Democrat would want to vote for Leiberman?
You can read the article here.

Republicans Losing The 'Security Moms'

2006-08-18T21:43:00.000-05:00

Married women with children, the "security moms" whose concerns about terrorism made them an essential part of Republican victories in 2002 and 2004, are taking flight from GOP politicians this year in ways that appear likely to provide a major boost for Democrats in the midterm elections, according to polls and interviews.

read more | digg story

Wiretapping Ruled Unconstitutional

2006-08-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

This ought to get the activist judge crowd and quaint constitutionalists hopping!

37th AD Republican Candidates Fail to Show

2006-08-16T07:43:00.000-05:00

I seldom agreed with Republican Assemblyman David Ward who, until his recent resignation, represented the 37th Assembly District. I always, however, respected that he always showed up for political events and in fact seemed to be everywhere in the community. I am sure it was Ward's attendance at most community events that enabled him to be reelected over and over again. It seems as though Republicans vying to replace Rep. Ward have adopted a different strategy.

According to the Daily Jefferson County Union none of the three Republicans facing off in a September primary attended a community forum sponsored by Heart of the City.

Heart of the City, as described by the Daily Union,

....... is a grassroots citizens organization that focuses on advocacy for sustainable change and the promotion of public good working with other citizens in government in visioning and planning.

According to the Daily Union:

....the forum touched on issues of interest to the group, including sustainability, healthcare and taxes.

The article continues: (Emphasis added)

Democrats Walt Christensen and Andy Jorgensen and Independent Ivan Davis participated Monday at the forum.

Republican candidates Joe Hermanny and Dennis Lund were unable to attend. Greg Gasper, also a Republican candidate, initially committed to participating, but withdrew Monday after Heart of the City altered the format and questions in the forum late last week.

"I apologize for not looking at your message sooner; however, upon reviewing your biased questions and format, I regret I can no longer take part in tonight's forum because of the large-scale changes in the previously agreed-upon questions and format," Gasper wrote in a statement to Heart of the City.

Now Jefferson County is not exactly considered a stronghold of the Democratic Party. Even if the questions were "biased" a Republican answering using conservative talking points would have scored as well or better than any Indy or Democrat. This is the second example of Republicans concealing positions this week. See Monday's entry. Wonder what they are hiding?

Although I would probably not have been in agreement, Dave Ward would have been there answering questions!

Lefties Have Fought the Right Longer!

2006-08-15T09:24:00.000-05:00

No, not those type of lefties! The ones who have a dominant left hand, of course! This past weekend I missed the fact that it was International Left Handers Day on Sunday. Now I usually don't get into this stuff too much but, being left handed myself, I do have a curiosity about other people who are left handed.

FromThe Buzz others who are left handed include:

50 Cent
Eminem
Nicole Kidman
Oprah Winfrey
Kate Hudson
Angelina Jolie
Scarlett Johansson
Tom Cruise
Dane Cook
Ne-Yo
George Michael
Jay-Z
Katharine McPhee
Denise Richards
Bob Dylan
Keanu Reeves
Goldie Hawn
Julia Roberts
Paul McCartney
Will Ferrell

If this list doesn't make your tail wag try this site of famous left handers.

I also should have known that lefties have their own Left Handers Day Website complete with lefty games, surveys and even scholarship opportunities.

If you missed the day as I did.....it sure looks like a great Wisconsin day to take off. Celebrate the great left!

Pro Life Wisconsin Denies Green Endorsement

2006-08-14T08:36:00.002-05:00

Tucked away in C3 of today's Wisconsin State Journal, Pro-Life Wisconsin explains that it will not be making an endorsement in the governor's race because none of the candidates returned a survey sent out by the group.

According to the article: (Emphasis added)

Green campaign spokesman Luke Punzenberger said Green would try to fill it out before the Nov. 7 election but that the campaign receives numerous questionnaires.

You can bet your life that this was not a mistake or a case of being too busy. Republicans for the last 25 years have counted on this group being whipped up into a froth come voting time.

Could it be that Green could not "find the time" because of this? (Emphasis added)

Among other things, the Pro Life Wisconsin survey asked whether candidates would support legislation granting fetuses an "inalienable right to life from the moment of fertilization," banning abortion in all cases including rape, incest, and when the mother's life is in danger, and banning research using embyonic stem cells.

I've been on candidate screening committees before and the only candidates who do not fill out the surveys are those who know that they would never be endorsed or those who are hiding their positions. Which is it Rep. Green?

Old Tricks Will Not Succeed!

2006-08-14T08:24:00.000-05:00

With a recent MSNBC poll indicating that 19% of the President's former supporters may defect to the Terrorist party in November, it seems like scaring the Republican base is on the agenda with Nancy Pelosi being the monster.

Like most people in Wisconsin, really know very little about Minority Leader Pelosi but using Pelosi as a bogeyman is something which Republicans are very, very good at. The conservatives need a villain in order to be successful and they know it. Without this no good, very bad, latte sipping,gay loving,gun hating, California liberal, conservatives know that they would have to be somehow accountable for the past 6 years. The Democrats have been, after all, effectively been shut out of all Washington decisions.

Conservatives have nothing and the old tricks will not be successful. Despite that, expect these attacks to continue and intensify as the obvious becomes more and clear to them. The Neocons have no conscience and their followers lack all independent thought. Batten down the hatches!

Sy Hersh: US Attack On Iran Is Being Planned

2006-08-13T17:55:00.000-05:00

Apologies to wherever I read about this earlier today! I wasn't going to write this article but it has been bugging me all day!

UPDATE: Found a related even scarier post at booman.

Seymour Hersh's new article Watching Lebanon in New Yorker magazine explains the US' strange lack of action concerning Israel's attack of Hezbollah in Lebanon. According to Hersh, President Bush et al were very careful to link Hezbollah with Syria and Iran, who W said were Hezbollah's main source of support. Additionally, the US helped plan the attack on Lebanon in order to test the bunker buster bombs that would be used on Iran's nuclear facilities. All of these actions were to act as a prelude to a US preemptive attack on Iran.

As frightening as this all seems, read this, from the article:

The Pentagon consultant told me that intelligence about Hezbollah and Iran is being mishandled by the White House the same way intelligence had been when, in 2002 and early 2003, the Administration was making the case that Iraq had weapons of mass destruction. The big complaint now in the intelligence community is that all of the important stuff is being sent directly to the top at the insistence of the White House and not being analyzed at all, or scarcely, he said. It's an awful policy and violates all of the N.S.A.'s strictures, and if you complain about it you're out, he said. Cheney had a strong hand in this.

The article goes on to say that the US and Israel are surprised at the resilience of Hezbollah,

Nonetheless, some officers serving with the Joint Chiefs of Staff
remain deeply concerned that the Administration will have a far more positive
assessment of the air campaign than they should, the former senior intelligence
official said. There is no way that Rumsfeld and Cheney will draw the right
conclusion about this, he said. When the smoke clears, they'll say it was a
success, and they'll draw reinforcement for their plan to attack Iran.

There is much more to the article so I'd recommend that you read the entire thing. Hersh does close with this:

The definition of insanity is continuing to do the same thing and
expecting a different result.

Couldn't agree more!

G-berries Makes Amazing Progress

2006-08-12T10:37:00.000-05:00

Grumbleberries is over a month old and according to the latest Zogby poll of Dems, I've made tremendous progress. I am no longer part of the lunatic fringe left! Now I don't know if I changed or the country has changed but according to the latest poll:

78% of Democrats are pleased with the primary election results in which Ned Lamont defeated Joe Lieberman.
62% feel that the CT election will have national ramifications.
70% feel that the CT primary has made the Democratic party much stronger or somewhat stronger.
62% feel that the primary increased the chances that Democrats will take over one or both Houses of Congress.
62% are more optimistic than 30 days ago.
78% want Democratic Candidates to oppose the war in Iraq.
68% disagree that the Democratic Party has been taken over by the far left. (Only 16% agree)

Even when I consider the margin of error, I am still well within the thinking of most of the nations democrats! Imagine that!

The unification of the "disorganized" Party must have come as a terrible shock to Republicans who, despite claiming that they are not driven by polls, fired up the great Wurlitzer on terrorist threats again this week. One cannot argue that they are extremely good at making noise!

Other things the Republicans are extremely good at:

Lying
Attacking the opposition.
Distraction
Fear mongering
Hiring incompetent cronies
Securing tax breaks for those who do not need them
Yelling privatization at every opportunity
Add your own favorite

The truth is the Republicans "got nuthin" left with the possible exception of attacking Iran. (I have serious doubts whether that would win people over.)Observe the evidence that they have nothing left:

All national polls have the Repugs at their lowest point.
Polls have Dems at their highest point.
The Red Terror Alert, although the focus of the past few days MSM, hardly slowed down passengers. Think of it, if you were really concerned during a RED alert, would you get on an airplane?
All the political commentary from the right wing is warning the dems that they have gone off the left wing cliff. Take this as an indication that we are indeed doing something correctly!
The Democratic Leadership is starting to usher itself to the front of the parade!
The Republican taking heads are hysterical!

The hysterical scare mongering is only going to get worse from now until the November elections. We are winning and the louder it gets from the right, the more likely we are to win in the fall. When we hear the noise from the Wurlitzer, we should realize that they are playing our song!

Update Within minutes of this post Georgia10 at DailyKos stikes a similar note.

G-berries One Month Old!

2006-08-11T17:06:00.000-05:00

Ok I'm a little late but I've been blogging for over a month now. In fact, this is my 30th post. Most people who know me wouldn't think that I would ever have this much to say. Thanks to the Republicans there is a forever rich line of crap to become irritated about.
It looks like my time posting at Folkbum is rapidly coming to a close. I appreciated the opportunity to expand the readership. I hope that I will have some regular visitors as a result of my time there. I really don't know how to tell how many hits I get per day anyway. I suppose that if I did I may become discouraged.
I hope that all who have visited will come back whether they are lurkers or tend to comment. I wouldn't even mind a troll or two! I do no plan on giving up!

J-S Editorial Board Reads Tea Leaves

2006-08-10T08:18:00.000-05:00

Many of us have been here regarding the Iraq war for a long time. In fact, we were called traitors for merely thinking the very same things expressed in this Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial.

From the editorial:

It is long past time for President Bush to admit as much and give the country a workable plan for a flexible withdrawal. Polling speaks forcefully of large and growing dissatisfaction nationally with the Iraq war.
And this,

The administration needs to adopt a plan much like one authored by Democratic Sens. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

And many bonus points for this,

Should Wisconsinites take into account Green's congressional record when they vote for governor? Of course they should. His congressional record is likely more of a mixed bag than his detractors depict, but in the absence of a more recent state record, it's more than fair game. The war, in particular, is fair game, not just for Green but in assessing all congressional candidates. It goes to judgment.

Golden bonus points for hitting it out of the park,

Speaking of accountability, Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas, chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence, promised a report on whether the administration misused intelligence to sell the war. Enough with the stalling. Get on with it.

Perhaps the defeat of Senator Lieberman has awakened more than just the Democratic Party! Read the whole editorial as it just gets better.

Questions About A Hypothetical Situation

2006-08-09T05:31:00.000-05:00

This is going to sound crazy and I can't imagine this senario ever happening but play along for a moment.

Suppose two candidates of the same party declare candidacy for the same office and a primary election is held. Further suppose that there is a clear winner in this primary. The winner obviously will represent the party in the general election. Please consider the following questions:

Should the loser of the primary run for the office anyway?
What would one call a person who ignored the will of the people and ran as an independent?
Should the loser in the primary, if he runs as an independent, expect to be trusted by anyone in his former party?
Should the loser in the primary, if he runs as an independent , expect to have the plum committee appointments if he wins in the general election.
Should the loser of the primary have the support of the party members in the general election?
If members of the party support the loser of the primary in the general election, are they the ones who are hurting the party?
Had the loser won the primary, would all the losers supporters expect to have the support of the entire party in the general election?
If the loser of the primary had no intention of abiding with the will of the primary voters, why did he bother with the primary election anyway?
If the loser of the primary runs as an independent in the general election, is this evidence of the party being in shambles or the ego of one person getting in the way?
If the loser of the primary runs for the general election is he telling everyone to stick it?

I really don't think there is any doubt about how a Republican would answer the above questions. I thought I knew how Democrats would too. Sadly, I now truly wonder. I suppose time will tell.

Although I supported Lamont in yesterday's CT primary, I did not wish that Senator Leiberman would be banished from the Democratic Party. After listening to his Declaration of Independence last night, I have changed my mind.

CT Primary Day

2006-08-08T19:50:00.000-05:00

Joe Lieberman and Ned Lamont face off today in a primary that many feel has nationwide implications. The national blogosphere has been obsessing on this race for weeks with the past week being almost unbearable. There have been many articles but here are two recent ones that I found interesting. David Sirota provides four senarios concerning the possible outcomes and some comic relief. At NY Daily News, Lieberman pleads that he is not George Bush.

Although the MSM wants us to believe that this primary is a referendum on the war, I believe it to be much more than that.
The Democratic party is currently in a struggle for the direction it will take. According to John Dean in his book, Conservatives Without Conscience many Democrats have chosen to remain silent regarding the extremes of the Neocons because they feel the electorate is not interested in process. Additionally, Dems think such action would make them seem whiney. These Democrats want to move the party to the center of the political spectrum, a center that has moved decidedly to the right. Many in the lefty blogosphere have the opinion that this outlook makes the Democrats seem wimpy. I share this opinion.

The grass roots, emboldened by a blogosphere, is leading the charge to create an opposition party that seeks to aggressively wrestle with the current Republican one party rule. Russ Feingold was one of the first Democrats to "get it". Sooner or later the leadership will be forced to get in front of the Democratic party revolutionary parade or they will need to move over.

This is democracy as it is supposed to be! Messy, loud, and undisciplined, democracy comes from the bottom up pressuring our leaders to do the will of the people. Democracy is not stubbornly sticking to a course of action long after the public has withdrawn its support. Democracy is not blind allegiance to leadership even when all evidence suggests that serious, sometimes illegal, errors have occurred.

Perhaps this is the difference between the Republicans and Democrats. Republicans seem to follow slogan spouting leaders without question and call it a strength. Recent history suggests that Republicans get it wrong much of the time. Democrats, on the other hand, question, argue, research, and have great difficulty following each other. Despite the mess the Democrats will eventually get it right. After all is said and done, how many times has Senator Feingold been wrong?

The Lieberman-Lamont primary is a major battle in this healthy struggle within the Democratic Party. Democrats do not fear the perceived lack of control that Republicans allow to run their lives. In fact, many welcome it because the only thing for certain is change. Regardless of what happens in Connecticut, major changes are coming.

Guest Posting at Folkbum

2006-08-07T08:11:00.000-05:00

For the past week I've been cross posting at Folkbum. What you may be missing here at Grumbleberries are the comments posted in response to my numerous posts. Grumbleberries has not been around long enough to pick up any trolls or even comments so far. I encourage you to go the Folkbum blog and see what others are saying. Pretty amusing actually!

Mark Green Defender of UW Students?

2006-08-06T18:33:00.000-05:00

Candidate Green made a stop in Janesville last Thursday and made numerous points about how he "would fix Doyle's errors". According to Friday's (8/4/06) Janesville Gazette, Green stated:

"I support a cap on tuition increases" he said. "You can't balance the budget on the backs of in-state students...It was Jim Doyle's Board of Regents that raised tuition."

Having a son attending one of our fine Universities, I share the pain of the tuition increases but what about that troublesome Representative Green voting record?

US Representative Green cast the deciding vote in February to slash student aid by nearly $12 billion, the largest cut in the program's history. [Source: HRS653, Vote 4, 2/1/06]

US Representative Green voted against increases for Pell grants for our neediest students. [Sources: HR2863, Vote 668, 12/18/05; HR3010, Vote 573, 11/8/05; HR3010, Vote 320, 6/24/05]

Assemblyman Green repeatedly voted to increase tuition at the University of Wisconsin System when he was in the Assembly. [Sources: 1993 SB44, 1995 AB150, 1997 AB100]

Sorry Mark and Friends, this voting record doesn't seem particularly student or parent friendly. Enough said!

Dare to Hope

2006-08-06T11:22:00.000-05:00

Although one needs to view events with a degree of caution sometimes it is necessary to also have hope. During the last five years we have witnessed: two wars, Abu Graib, Guantanamo, huge, increasing national debt, attacks on social security, Hurricane Katrina, a shrinking middle class, class warfare, out of control health care costs, obscene gasoline prices and profits, tax cuts for the top 1%, alienation of our allies, Jack Abramoff, Tom Delay, Republican corruption, presidential signing statements, Vice Presidental shootings, and proclivity of Congress to name bills the complete opposite of what they really are all about.

Deep breath! Once one gets started it is difficult to stop but in the interest of time and space I will.
So who is to blame if not the Neocon controlled Congress and Executive Branch.

Despite my good memory, I am optimistic. America is a great country and a group can only dupe the public for so long. I have many moderate Republican friends and relatives who are just as fed up as I am. Eventually voters will get it right even though for some of us it can't come soon enough.

Two articles that articulate the change I sense is happening are The Beginning of the End of the Adventure and The End of the Right. There is great hope but it will only happen with all of our continued hard work! Let's get going! This time we cannot afford to let these guys resurface in thirty years!

Chicks!

2006-08-05T07:41:00.000-05:00

Sure, parts of the world are in flames. The President is on vacation. The US Congress and the State Legislature are both in recess. Why shouldn't my thoughts wander to music and the first CD I ever purchased. It is after all Saturday!

Ok, I admit that I bought the first CD in my life for all the wrong reasons. I've always felt some type of kinship toward the underdog, so I was deeply moved by the hatred which erupted when the Dixie Chicks' criticized President Bush and the Iraq war. I simply had to purchase a Chick's CD.

The fact is, I'm not much of a music fan. I had never heard of Natalie Maines, but figured anything that her former fans were so vehemently against, I would automatically be emphatically for. At the very least, I would be supporting the Dixie Chicks right to free speech. I'm, after all, a little touchy on Bill of Rights issues.

As a small but meaningful act of defiance I even played "Taking the Long Way" with my car windows down and the found it to be GREAT. You can listen to "Not Ready to Make Nice" here.

Now I have a confession to make, I've always been attracted to spunky women. Mrs. grumbleberries has not lost anything in this department in the last thirty years, so I know one when I see one. The Dixie Chicks are the real thing. If you have not yet bought the CD, I hope you will consider it. There is nothing more American than dissent and nobody more American than the Dixie Chicks. I'm officially smitten!

Brewing Company Blackmails New Glarus

2006-08-03T10:03:00.000-05:00

I've been known to search the countryside seeking the perfect beer. I examine many samples and have narrowed my favorites to but a handful. Ranking high on my list is a product from New Glarus Brewing Company, Spotted Cow to be specific. Somehow this once fine beer will never taste the same after I read this article in the Wisconsin State Journal.

Basically, NGBC is seeking to shake down the village of New Glarus by seeking corporate welfare, er, I mean a TIF district in order to expand the brewery. Although the details are somewhat sketchy, a TIF, usually involves using the tax money collected from the company over ten or so years to pay for the loan needed to provide improvements that are required for the company expansion. This would include roads, sewer and water but not include tax money to support police, fire, schools,or the maintainence of those improvements. The local taxpayer is left to pick up the tab on these government responsibilities.

Tax Incremental Financing or TIF's were originally created in order to encourage companies to rebuild "blighted" areas, primarily urban. Today, most of these TIF's are granted on agricultural land and are used by companies as leverage to get a "deal" on their taxes. If there is no deal offered, the company threatens to relocate. Major League Stadium Districts, WalMart, Target and many others have been known to do this type of hostage taking. Although companies always make promises as to how this will benefit the community, 30 or so new jobs in New Glarus' case, there is no absolute certainty or accountability built into this plan.

As a result, companies get this form of welfare even though they may not need the financial support and create no jobs. Certainly companies like WalMart are not strapped for cash. Given the sales at New Glarus Brewing Company, I'm certain they are not really too worried either. This puts villages like New Glarus in a tough spot. As a result, the taxpayers of New Glarus will probably have tax increases for the priviledge of the Brewer staying in the community. For some reason conservatives see this type of coporate welfare and the tax implications as beneficial to all.

Perhaps a more committed beer "expert" would stick with his best list and not let corporate greed affect how he views the taste of beer but I've had it! No more Spotted Cow! No more contributions to a company that would act in this manner, period. Having made this statement, the rest of the afternoon must be spent trying to find an adequate replacement for Spotted Cow! These things do take time. Any suggestions would be welcome!

Class Warfare Continues

2006-08-03T08:19:00.000-05:00

The Center on Budget and Policy Priorities sees the Republican dominated Senate as "putting their cards on the table" as to how the tax cuts for the wealthy will eventually be paid if they are made permanent. In June, the Senate Budget Committee approved legislation(S.3521)that is being touted as a "vision statement" that would drastically cut domestic programs over time. Groups such as the Heritage Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute, and other conservative groups are hailing the legislation which will probably not be passed this year.

From the article:

"If the tax cuts are extended, entitlement programs would have to be cut $206 billion a year by 2012. If these savings were achieved through the bill’s automatic entitlement cuts, there would be deep cuts in everything from Medicare and veterans disability compensation to school lunches and assistance for the elderly and disabled poor."

Such pain can be avoided however:

Yet the bill’s deficit target in 2012 would be met without such budget cuts if the tax cuts were not extended or were financed through revenue-raising measures. Essentially, the bill charts a course under which the bill’s severe domestic program cuts would be used to pay for the tax cuts, rather than to reduce deficits.

Republicans often claim outrage at the thought of class warfare. Perhaps this outrage is only when the lower and middle class fight back. I cast my vote with those who would not make the tax cuts permanent.

Update by bonddad at DailyKos

Time to Hire the Government You Want

2006-08-02T10:58:00.000-05:00

Perusing the news and blogs for topics of which to blog the past few days is an act of desperation given the overshadowing events of the middle east. The news and pictures from Lebanon and Iraq are ones that make the problems in Wisconsin seem miniscule by comparison. The Daily Star, Lebanon's English paper, accounts and pictures are particularly touching.
One is left to wonder how and why we are in the situation that we are in worldwide.
Despite campaigning as the anti-government party the Republicans ended up in power. They are firmly in control of the Federal government and are threatening to control Wisconsin as well. Their hatred of public institutions is well known as they spread the mantra of tax cuts and privatization to every corner of our government. Governmental appointments are often made based upon the level of hostility one shows for that particular department. Hence the FEMA, EPA, Department of Education, the UN delegation are all headed by those whose main goal is to destroy or seriously disrupt the entity which they head.
All in all it is a little hard to blame the Republicans who are doing exactly what they have said they were going to do. Perhaps it is time to place the blame on those who have put this group in office. So here are a few questions for those who voted for the Republicans:

When you have your car repaired, do you take it to a mechanic who hates working on cars?
When you go to the Doctor, do you choose one who hates treating people?
Would you hire a babysitter who hated kids?
Why then do you continue to vote for those who hate government?

To continue to vote these guys into office and expect efficient good government is to expect the impossible. It is long past time to hire people who can and want to do a good job.

Dems Urge Withdrawal from Iraq

2006-08-01T21:05:00.000-05:00

According to this Washington Post article the Democratic leadership signed a statement urging the redeployment of troops from Iraq by the end of the year. Twelve Democrats, including Harry Reid and Nancy Pelosi, signed the letter which in part seeks to differentiate those who support a withdrawal timeline with those who do not.

" In the interests of American national security, our troops and our taxpayers, the open-ended commitment in Iraq that you have embraced cannot and should not be sustained. . . . We need to take a new direction."

Although Republicans were quick to criticize, there are Republicans who appear to agree with the Democrats.

Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) last week called Iraq "an absolute replay of Vietnam." Rep. Gil Gutknecht (R-Minn.) recently returned from Iraq with a call for U.S. troops to pull out.

Oddly, this development had very little play in the Wisconsin media.

Making Sense of School Accountability

2006-07-31T13:00:00.001-05:00

Accountability has been a major topic of conversation among Wisconsin's public school community for years. Conservatives promote a simplistic three step approach to public school improvement; demand improvement, endlessly test for signs of excellence and punish schools for the perceived lack of results. Truth be told, I don't think anyone involved in public education would have any problem with being held accountable if certain conditions were met. The following conditions are certainly not all inclusive but they are a good start.

All students would come to school ready to learn every day. Truancy, student mobility, hunger, neglect, violence and poverty are all issues that affect student learning. Students are not raw materials! A strong social structure with an adequate safety net would be required in order to meet this requirement.
Each child has a qualified teacher who is compensated fairly. Increasing the qualifications needed to become a teacher or support personnel without a corresponding increase in pay discourages good people from entering or staying in the field.
School and class sizes are appropriate as defined by educational research. All educational research supports limits on the school and class size. As funding evaporates due to the cost of living, these limits are being exceeded by most school districts. (Yeah, I know conservatives point to the amount of money going to education as ever increasing. Bought gasoline lately?)
Staff has an adequate training and evaluation program which promotes continuous improvement. The life long learning that educators promote must be emulated by those same professionals. Education research over the past twenty-five years has become information rich. Adequate time needs to be set aside for educators to find and implement the best education practices known.
All buildings and classrooms are adequate and comfortable so as to be conducive to learning. If one was to determine the value a society places upon the various parts of our culture by its buildings, what would our society seem to value? Banks? Churches?Malls? Resorts? Schools? My school resembles a 1930's paint factory.
Staff culture is collaborative and collegial in nature. Educators, who legally function in the place of the parent, need to work in an atmosphere that is non competitive. The role of the parent is difficult, imagine being responsible for 150 students per day in an isolated classroom. Educators need to work together in order to provide for the various needs of students. To do otherwise, is to not have a chance at success. Merit pay schemes reduce the possibility that a collaborative one may exist.
The community and private sector are held accountable for assuring that financial support is adequate. The businesses and the community benefit greatly from a great school system. There is a shared responsibility of all community members, as well as business to adequately fund the education system.
Every school receiving public funds is held accountable is exactly the same way. Presently private schools do not have to follow the same rules as public and are able to choose the method of evaluation. All public schools, if the ESEA (NCLB) is not changed, will be judged failing by the mid 2010's because the goals are impossible to fufill.

To hold educators accountable for the results in the classroom without at least minimum requirements as outlined above is similar to going to war without a plan, the needed equipment, the manpower to win that war, or a post war plan. Oh, that's right. We've already done that, haven't we?

Blogger Troubles

2006-07-27T07:08:00.000-05:00

I've been working on getting on the Blogger site to guest post at Folkbum for the past hour without success. I'll be guesting with four others for the next couple of weeks. I also had difficulty getting to my site. Oh well, I guess I'm not supposed to work on this today. I will be away from the computer Friday through Sunday so posting will be light or non existent. Stay cool this weekend! I may have a post later or....

Looking for Waste (and News) in all the Wrong Places

2006-07-26T08:03:00.000-05:00

Reading the paper from the back pages to the front has been quite a revelation to me the past couple of days. Two days ago the ABA article about filing suit against the Bush administration concerning the constitutionality of signing statements was on the last page of the first section in the Wisconsin State Journal.
Today, an article, in the WSJ reported that $12 billion in Federal funds meant for small businesses went to corporate giants. (Find the article here. WSJ not found electronically but can be found on C8 in the paper.) The corporate giants mentioned should not come as a great surprise. As stated in the article, Microsoft raked in $1.5 million, Rolls-Royce $2.2 million, Wal-Mart $14,232 and Exxon Mobil $63,855. Obviously these are not companies that need federal help.
Although Wal-Mart's amount here is not particularly large, couple this with the widely reported Wal-Mart employee usage of the BadgerCare low income health insurance program here, here, or here.
It seems that corporate welfare continues unabated. If we are serious about cutting the fat from government, I have a suggestion on where to start.

Liberal Media Strikes Again!

2006-07-25T15:29:00.000-05:00

One can always count on the Gmtoday to provide that little extra incentive to blog. The lead:

WASHINGTON - Russ Feingold, one of the most liberal members of the Senate, is trying a conservative approach to getting more people insured: giving states the flexibility to craft their own plans.

Now I will grant you that the good Senator from Wisconsin is not particularly known as a conservative but who is it that is branding him exactly as the most liberal members of the Senate? The word maverick, independent, progressive and usually correct come to my mind. The word liberal has been branded negatively by the Republicans for years. The only time I hear the word inevitably is when a conservative is using the word as a slur. Usually the word can be substituted for "sic him" when talking to the rabid ones.
The writer of this article scores double points when he attempts to claim Feingold's idea as conservative in the same sentence. Apparently the Senator has, according to the writer, had some type of conservative epithany. When was the last time you saw Washington look for advice from anyone much less use the States as laboratories? Our Republican run government has been nothing if not top down authoritarian and in most ways is close to dictatorial in nature.

Liberal media indeed!

Winston and Tolerance

2006-07-25T12:46:00.000-05:00

Of the thousands of students who have passed through my classroom, Winston is the most memorable. As the years pass and the faces become curiously confused in my mind, Winston's name and face remain vivid.
Winston bounced into class that first day with a big grin as he stuck out his hand to introduce himself. Almost a foot shorter than his seventh grade classmates and anxious to get started, he asked, "Where do I sit?"
Winston took his seat and proved to be a very attentive listener. In fact, he seemed to enjoy the class like no other student had before or since. He loved the corny jokes and soaked up the information presented orally as a sponge absorbs water. He was truly a delightful student to have around despite the learning disabilities that made reading and writing monumental tasks for him. Winston truly was looking forward to middle school as being the greatest experience in his life. Nothing prepared me for what was to follow.
Within a few weeks, Winston seemed to linger around the classroom in order to talk with me and the rest of his teachers. He would then scurry off to his next class in order not to be late. He often time would run as fast as he could to the next class. Soon I noticed the first of many uncharacteristic bursts of anger toward his peers in the hallway and at lunch. Fights were followed by crying and an inconsolable spirit. This went on for weeks and weeks while staff did everything they could to stop the symptoms. What all of the adults in the school were missing was the harassment, taunting, rejection and bullying that Winston was enduring from his classmates.
Peers had targeted Winston because he was indeed "different" from them. The harassment was perpetrated by the few leaders in the class and allowed to continue by the silence of the rest. I have never seen a group as amoral as these students were. To make matters even worse, Winston's family was also targeted by many adults in the community when they were out and about. The behavior exhibited by the adults was often interpreted by their children as the green light to continue Winston's torture. It was, what I view, as my first look at true evil.
The school year ended with the sad realization that this evil had won the day. Despite all of our efforts to intervene, the harassment continued. We all felt as though we had failed Winston and his family. Indeed, we did. The light that glistened in Winston's eyes on the first day of school was all but extinguished by the last.
I'd like to rationalize this experience by saying we did all we could and move on but there is more to the story. Four years after leaving my class, Winston died of a brain tumor. I can't help but feel that Winston's illness is somehow connected to being rejected by his "society". I can't help but feel somehow responsible.
So why blog about Winston today? Having experienced this evil horror, I am somehow more sensitive to those people society feels are different for one reason or another. Listening to hate radio, hearing of the prejudices and lack of tolerance of others makes me very aware that those who would like to divide others into the worthy and the worthless are the same evil that seemed to follow Winston around during his short tortured life. We must stand up and fight for those who the haves of society have deemed as not worthy. The Discrimination Amendment to the Wisconsin Constitution and talk of the "Law of the Jungle" are but two of the manifestations of the evil that man heaps upon those he perceives as different. If you look many more examples will be found. We are all responsible if we stand by passively. Evil counts on it.

American Family Assn. Attacks GLBT Students

2006-07-23T09:54:00.000-05:00

Regardless of how one may feel about the right for gay people to get married and Marriage Amendments, this type of amendment would, for the first time, write discrimination into the Wisconsin Constitution. The forces behind this amendment are without a doubt proponents of discrimination who will not give up ever! I have been around long enough to know that one cannot reason with religious zealots and I have no interest in doing so. I am very concerned, though, when a group that is called the American Family Association sends out this action alert that attacks gay/lesbian/bi/trans students, the National Education Association and this country's teachers.
I did not attend the NEA RA this year so I am strictly speaking as an experienced teacher who has seen just about everything in 30 years service. The AFA position on homosexuality in schools seems to be to completely ignore its existence. To insist that teachers and support staff not attempt to understand what approximately 10% of our students are going though would be tantamount to malpractice. Students are in classrooms every day working though what for them is a very confusing time sexually. GLBT populations have a very high rate of suicide, and are the targets of extremely cruel bullying. Are teachers supposed to ignore this type of behavior? One would only have to witness one such act of bullying in order to realize the immorality of the bullies. Sadly, there are those in the so called American Family Association that are be functioning as adult bullies. The AFA's position is immoral regarding these children. Thankfully, the National Education Association is being the adult on this issue.
The NEA, I am certain, is a proponent of all families that are an emotionally stable and healthy place for children to grow up. Teachers and support personnel welcome any family who wishes to become involved in their son or daughter's education. I have seen many marriages between "one man and one woman" that unfortunately have not been positive places for kids. Sexual, physical and emotional abuse is much more common than the AFA and their postcard image of families would like to admit. Unfortunately, many children who grow up abused eventually become the abuser. Failing to acknowledge and intervene in student problems in today's schools is a serious mistake and would continue the cycle. Schools are much more than reading, writing and arithmetic. A moral family orientated society would make sure that every student received a great public education.
Lastly, the AFA stated that the NEA refused to back a resolution concerning sexual contact between students and staff. In mentioning this, they seem to suggest that teachers and staff support sex with students. This insinuation truly proves that the AFA is absolutely NUTS! Thank goodness there are LAWS that prohibit sex with minors! Anyone crossing this line deserves the fullest prosecution of the law. It is ridiculous to insist that the NEA weigh in on something as illegal and immoral as this? Is it necessary that we continue to reinvent the wheel concerning everything in the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Pledge of Allegiance. Come to think of it doesn't the Pledge conclude with "with liberty and justice for ALL". One would hope that all students have the same rights. I wish this was all just a bad dream!

War

2006-07-22T07:57:00.000-05:00

Great article about pacifism at DailyKos here. There are many, many great quotes by people warning of the horrors of war. The one that confirms what I have always believed, is the one from George Orwell...."War against a foreign country only happens when the moneyed classes think they are going to profit from it." The now almost forgotten war in Iraq and the all but forgotten war in Afghanistan is hopefully not morphing into something bigger as a result of US sanctioned actions by Israel. I tend to think that the some of the "moneyed" interests will begin rethinking the power that they have given the present administration. I sure hope this is just not wishful thinking. ....Stolen from something I've read today and paraphrased....if the Middle East is the Holy Land, I'd hate to see Hell.

Skype Rocks!!

2006-07-21T14:08:00.000-05:00

Son #1 and his wife live about 1100 miles away from Wisconsin. Naturally we all miss them. This week marked a real milestone as we both started using computer communication program, Skype, and a mounted camera. We both ended up giggling as we looked at each other on the monitor. I hadn't even thought of how important it is to actually see someone to whom you feel so close. Very very cool and FREE! My sister told us of this a while back but it wasn't until recently that we really started using it. Wow. I'm canceling my landline! The Jetson's future is now! (Oldsters will understand that!)

Yippee I'm Young Again!

2006-07-21T14:03:00.000-05:00

According to this article bloggers are young internet users!! If they only knew! Heh, Heh

Education Bigotry

2006-07-20T16:13:00.000-05:00

I ignored the comments and requests from the parents of my students for many years. It would always seem that it was part of our job to teach the minority children, the learning disabled child, the physically handicapped, the gifted child and even the bigots child. So I ignored the comments from parents requesting that their child not sit next to or even be in a class with "those" children. We even had to endure the response of our colleagues at times who did not want that child in his or her class. The fact is that each child has a right to a substantially free public education. The last twenty-six years since the Nation At Risk report have been in my humble opinion an attempt to roll back of the rights that every US child has to an education. I honestly believe that public education had done too good of a job being the equalizer for Americans. Education is truly the key to the American dream and the great equalizer. Of course, those who are lucky enough to be born into a well-to-do family do not want the competing or to be equal to the black, Hispanic, or fill in the blank kid. Those parents want to maintain every advantage for their child. Add to this the fact that even though rich kids probably go to private school, their rich parents are also paying taxes to educate the underprivileged who were competing for spots in that prestigious college with "those who have been chosen". So what to do when these public school kids are in direct competition with the "good" kids.... destroy the possibility of a great public education. Create doubt among the masses regarding the quality of the beloved and successful public school system(Nation At Risk). Make public school accountable for results while limiting or cutting budgets. Giving private schools federal monies with no strings or accountability attached (NCLB). These policies reports and laws attempt to conceal the real reason by stating that they are trying to "help" the disadvantaged. BS the promoters of these changes in public education are bigots plain and simple. They are hurting little kids. The NYT article linked to the title explains the latest attempt by Republicans to keep their kids away from "those" kids using voucher schemes. Please read the entire article.

Bush Economy

2006-07-20T09:58:00.000-05:00

The story linked to this title may give some explanation why people do not have the sense that the economy is going gangbusters. Did I mention that job growth is at its lowest point in 40 years? Did I mention that working people have not had a raise in 5 years? I just don't think people are getting the message that the jobs that have been created pay $9000 less than the jobs lost. Hmmm... Where do people get the truth? It seems I have more questions than answers.

Gas Prices and Inflation

2006-07-18T16:45:00.000-05:00

With gas prices over $3.00 per gallon I couldn't help but be reminded of the late 1970's when gas prices greatly influenced all prices, hence inflation. Not being an economist, I thought that I'd Google the topic as surely someone smarter than I would have considered this subject. Sure enough there were two news articles expressing concern in CANADA, nada in the US. It would seem to me with the number of trucks on the road transporting goods of all types that the cost of these products would be going up proportionate to the rising cost of fuel greatly decreasing the buying power of the dollar. How can it be any other way? Why is there nothing being reported on this?

Dept. Of Ed: Public Schools as Good or Better than Private

2006-07-15T18:49:00.000-05:00

On Friday afternoon the Department of Education quietly released a report that showed that Public Schools perform as well or better than Private Schools. The NYT was one of the few papers to pick this up. (See Article linked to title) While this comes as no great surprise to public school employees, it apparently was a shock to those federal government agencies who withheld the results of this study for six months. Also long forgotten is the Scandia Report, linked below, that debunks the many myths that have been used to cause people to doubt the excellent education system in the US.
One wonders if the results would have shown private schools besting public that the fanfare or lack thereof would have been the same. I imagine that there would have been a major press conference with many conservative dignitaries calling for an increase and acceleration in public funding of private schools. Oh well boys, wait a few more years under the NCLB Act and every public school will reach the failed school level based on artificial anti public school criteria. Maybe then the rhetoric will seem to fit the facts.

Scandia Report

John Dean Interview

2006-07-15T07:02:00.000-05:00

Listening to Wisconsin Public Radio is always interesting but the interview linked to this article's title (You'll have to locate it in the archives, July 14th) with John Dean was particularly thought provoking. His new book, Conservatives without Conscience promises to be great reading. I ordered my copy today!
Dean, a key player in the Nixon administration, offered a really critical review of what is currently going on in US politics today. Things that stood out.....On a good note the US is not currently a fascist state; on a bad note the next two elections will tell which way the US will go.....Conservatives mostly like to follow strong leaders. They like simplicity in ideas, do not read or research much and are extremely loyal even when evidence is to the contrary. These are not particularly curious people. Authoritarian leaders rise to great heights with conservatives......Liberals are not followers. They are more highly educated and more likely to ask questions.
These insights from a former Republican got me to thinking.....Is it any wonder Republicans walk lockstep as they go about dismantling the rights long established by our Constitution or that they value decisiveness over reasoned contemplation? Is it any wonder that the Democrats can't get their act together when they do not follow well?
I agree with John Dean the next two elections will be very telling. I'd like to escape somewhere but it's a small world with many problems. Zot looks better and better.

End Times and A Vengeful God

2006-07-11T08:15:00.000-05:00

http://www.latimes.com/news/printedition/front/la-me-endtimes22jun22,1,7619771.story?track=crosspromo&coll=la-headlines-frontpage&ctrack=1&cset=true
The "religious groups" depicted in this story really make me wonder about people and their warped interpretation of God. The idea of hastening the End Times and a God that is vengeful is complete insanity to me. I was brought up Catholic and decided a long time ago that the idea of God was one of love. I have seen this love in the eyes of my once infant children and cannot imagine God in any other way. What I can imagine is an Evil Being (Devil) that absolutely would have ideas that would destroy civilization. I'm certain that noone who believes in a vengeful One would ever agree with me but I really wonder what goes through their mind. Actually, I really don't want to know!

Prez 2008

2006-07-10T16:37:00.000-05:00

I find it rather irritating to read on other blogs about all the speculation regarding who will or won't be running for president in 2008. Hillary, Condi, John McClain, Feingold, Edwards, Clark or Warner. I really don't enjoy reading this stuff or thinking about it for the next two years so I'm coming out early with my hope that Al Gore will run again. Yep, I know that VP Gore has said that he "has no plans to run". Al, change those plans as your country needs you NOW! There that feels better! Feels like I just made more room on the hard drive for other stuff. Frees up my time in order to take PP for a walk where we can holler and make nasty gestures at loud vehicles.

Particular Pup (PP) and me!

2006-07-09T20:17:00.000-05:00

I've been told that I need to get more exercise and loose weight in order to get my blood pressure down. One thing I do religiously is walk for at least 30 minutes per day. Particular Pup (PP) will not do her business on our lawn so I usually have her drag me around. I like this part of our walk including the dance of joy when PP finally chooses a spot to poop. The thing that really raises my blood pressure though is all of the noise that we encounter during these trips. Tonight for example we encountered seams using their air brakes, LOUD middle school girls, numerous muffler-defective cars and motorcycles but worst of all is the loud, loud rap music with the window rattling base emanating from the kid's cars in our neighborhood. PP and I agree that this noise is very irritating. In fact PP has learned a number of words young pups should not hear on our numerous trips. I realized that my walks were not relaxing when I was about to whip the finger to some 8o something lady as she was driving past. I really hope my walks help me get into better shape but have my doubts about them helping my blood pressure. I genuinely am more stressed after our walk than I am before. Is the world louder than it used to be or am I just getting older and more "sensitive"? Strangely writing of my irritation seems to make me feel better.

2006-07-09T09:19:00.000-05:00

Dad was a Hall of Fame caliber grumbler! He was often at his very best (and funniest) at breakfast after viewing the morning attacks by the media. Naturally, my sister assumed that Grumbleberries being served for breakfast was the only reasonable supposition. Although he only had an 8th Grade education, Dad was interested and had an opinion on everything. He was a strong supporter of Unions and the Democratic party and as a result blamed everything on Republicans and big business. I've been told that I am much like him and readily admit to sounding more like him every day. I started this blog in order to give my wife a break from my continuous tirades over the politics and news reports. Heaven knows she doesn't need it. I also want to honor the memory of my dad, who passed away in 2000. He was indeed a character and one of the most amusing people that I have ever known. Not too much grumbling to do right now but I'm sure that I'll get warmed up soon!