What kind of people are we? What have we become? Have we changed? Or have we let fear and anger reveal our true character? Case #1-- People cheer for state sponsored execution. Recently in a Republican Presidential debate, Texas Governor Rick Perry was asked about the use of the death penalty in his state – to reflect on the fact that over two-hundred people have been sent to death, way more than any other state, while he never once granted a pardon or clemency. Before the governor could respond, a cheer rose up from the crowd in attendance – for people being put to death. Whether you agree …

“The phonograph… is not of any commercial value,” said Thomas Edisonof his invention in 1880. “Sensible and responsible women do not want to vote," said President Grover Cleveland in 1905. “There is no reason for any individual to have a computer in their home,” said Ken Olsen, president of Digital Equipment Corporation said in 1977. What do these men have in common? The demonstration of the crippling condition known as what Joel Barker, a futurist, calls the "paradigm effect.” Of course, today we know that the phonograph, women’s right to vote, and the home computer have had a profound …

No politician wants an “Eat-Me” float in their community’s parade. That is precisely what happened when the Dean expelled students from the Delta Fraternity at Faber College. The expulsion was the root cause of the students’ action. The resulting riot and near decimation of the town’s main street can be traced to its’ roots - the expulsion. If there were no expulsion, the students would not have been motivated to disrupt in grand fashion. Of course all of this is a fictional story from the classic National Lampoon movie “Animal House.”  Though this was just a movie, it is a classic example of…

In a recent scripted debate, all of the candidates for President were asked the question: Would you reject a revenue increase if there was a 10 to 1 ratio of decreases in spending to one in revenue? Every candidate at this debate raised his or her hand in agreement – agreeing to reject any revenue increase regardless of circumstance. This brief exchange in the debate reminded me of a short story I had once read called The Abilene Paradox: The Management of Agreement by Jerry P. Harvey, Ph.D. This short story may be that of a car trip – but I put it to you that Wisconsin and indeed this …

The recall elections are over. Net result? Two seats in the State Senate changed hands - from the incumbent Republicans to the Democrats. What was a 19 to 14 dominant advantage became a slim 17 to 16, with a very tenuous, one vote margin. Given that there is at least one moderate among their Republican ranks, does this spell the end of the ideological blitzkrieg of the Walker regime? Is the fat lady singing? After having picked up two seats in a flurry of recalls, the final two recall elections on August 16went to the Democrats with Bob Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie) and Jim Holperin (D-Conover) …

Vos’ attempt to amend the recall provisions in the state constitution is a brazen attempt to protect his party against any further ramifications from ram-rodding their right wing agenda. Any reason given is at best a deflectory tactic. Let’s proceed with an examination. Vos wants to “recall the recall elections.” In a recent article, Vos waxes eloquent about the recall provision in the state constitution. He stated: “I don’t want recalls to become the norm” as well as “When you vote for someone, you say ‘I trust you to represent me for the next two to four years.’” But even more sincerely, “…

“To be ignorant of one’s ignorance is the malady of the ignorant.”(Alcott) “There is nothing more dangerous than sincere ignorance and conscientious stupidity” When Martin Luther King Jr. said this it was in the context of explaining the rationalization of the enslavement, mistreatment, and vilification of African Americans by the white community. African American slaves were thought to be an inferior species and thus deserving of their fate. Written in our Constitution is the formula for representation of the states where every man gets a single vote and the slaves were considered three …

Republicans needed a Monster to do their bidding and they made one. Step one: gather miscellaneous parts (radicalized, disaffected, frightened, previously religious-right people) Step two: Assemble the parts (stage rallies/protests) Step three: Add mega jolts of lightening (endless monies from the filthy rich to finance a faux grass roots a.k.a. “Astroturf” party)  Yes, the Republicans have made a “Frankenstein-esque” like Monster of their very own - known as the Tea Party Freshman – oooohhhh run!. Originally designed to reek havoc against their arch nemesis – the Democrats – the Monster has …

There is no deal in Congress about a budget or the debt ceiling. Talks broke down. They have this weekend to fix it before the markets open. If they don’t fix this thing, you won’t have time to move your IRA or 401k before it gets rocked on Monday. The Republicans walked away from the table, and their responsibility to co-govern this nation - risking default on the national debt for the sake of politics. It should have been a deal marking the turning point about reasoned compromise and how our government addresses its’ fiscal responsibilities. Instead we get a Republican “walk-off” in a huff …

Busy lives. We all have them. July is probably busier than most of the months of the year. Why? There is vacation. There is the planning of the vacation, the getting everything done before the vacation. Then, there is the recovering from the vacation. The doing what didn’t get done at work while we were gone on vacation.  With all of this busy-ness, how much do we really know about the month of July? July is the seventh month in what is called the “Gregorian calendar.” It is said that his friend Marc Anthony named the month after Julius Caesar. Within three days in July 1863, Over 50,000 men …

They were farmers and lawyers. They were merchants, soldiers and physicians. Among them were a ship’s master, a printer, a tax collector and even a sheriff. Their number totaled 56. Fifty-six men of diverse profession and means. Diverse in almost every way, save one. Courage. The bold and audacious expression of that courage is celebrated in these United States on the 4th of July. The expression? The signing of the Declaration of Independence. In our lifetimes we have affixed our signatures to many things. We sign mortgage documents, tax returns, checks, and our children’s report cards. One …

Big is bad. Small is good. They are dumb. We are smart. They are political. We are not (?) They fail at teaching. We will succeed.  Unfortunately, this is the depth of the argument for a Caledonia School District. It has been disparagingly said that you can’t fix stupid and that RUSD must be stupid. If that is what you stand for - O.K. – but we should all ask ourselves if there are more options to consider. RUSD – they have a school board, so would CSD. They have a leader, so would CSD. They need to tax (uh-oh!) to support buildings, administrative staff, and the teachers, so would CSD. They …

What do you do when you give up on fixing schools? You offer “Vouchers.” What better way to say you don’t know how to fix schools than – “Vouchers.” How do you tell the world of your complete abdication of leadership and responsibility for educating ALL students than – “Vouchers.” It’s like throwing in the towel and giving up without giving the appearance of throwing in the towel and giving up. Yes – it’s the “V” word. When all else fails (and in this case it is thinking and the absence of hard work) use the “V” word. Not unlike a two-bit carnival barker selling a magic elixir of “Dr. …

The great thing about Pinocchio (as the story goes) is that whenever he told a lie, his nose grew. The more lies told, the longer the nose. It is the transparency of character and the overt results of “inconsistent” behavior that is the moral of the story. This past week a few stories made me wonder what it would be like if certain Republican leaders played the starring role in this childhood classic. Seven term, Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) had a tough week. Seems very few people want to see the evisceration of Medicare as designed in his budget proposal. He says he saves Medicare – sure – …

Imagine your house is on fire. The fire department shows up. You thank God. However, you find out the thanks is premature as all they do is watch as the fire consumes your home, your possessions, your pets, everything, as if put upon a funeral pyre. You forgot to pay the $75 dollar “fee.” On Oct 6, 2010, this precise scenario happened to Mr. Crannick of Tennessee. He begged, he pleaded, offered any amount on the spot to have the bold and brave firefighters save his home. Nothin doin. The fire department did take action though, for his neighbor – saves his property as Crannick’s home lit up …

Question: How do you reduce the size of government? Answer: Reduce the amount governments spend. Question: How do you reduce the amount of governments? Answer: By squeezing the budgets of smaller municipalities disproportionately, forcing survival and retrenchment modes of operation, pushing the crisis in budget down to those without structural means to win the battle – withering until they must be dissolved or absorbed. It is painfully simple really. Fewer governments mean fewer costs. Less mayors and village presidents, less board members and supervisors, less department heads and less …

With renewed Republican gusto – powered by the Tea Party - the 2010 mid-term elections saw a change in congressional leadership. It is this scenario that has emboldened our first district representative, seven-term congressman Paul Ryan. to propose his budget masterpiece, “The Path to Prosperity.” Before we start you should know that if you are a corporation or a wealthy individual, you are getting what you paid for here: A sweetheart of a deal. If you are not in one of the aforementioned group, well, your costs are about to go up, way up. First, a review of how we got here and why Ryan has …

No matter how you try to disguise it, be it Scott Walker’s Wisconsin budget or Paul Ryan’s federal budget; it’s a case of rich man - poor man. But it’s even worse than that. If you are not a person of considerable “means,” if you are one of the vast majority of those described as having “low or moderate income,” these budgets cast the die that make it extremely difficult if not impossible, to move up economically. First, let’s talk about the Scott Walker budget. The following data is from Wisconsin’s Fiscal Legislative Bureau, a non-partisan agency that assesses budgets and their impact. …

Paul Ryan and the Tea Party have branded themselves as budget hawks. I don’t have a problem with this, but Ryan’s record doesn’t match his rhetoric. Maybe he is a born again budget hawk. I’ll accept that. But he still needs to come clean with all of us about the disparity between his words and his deeds. Need examples? Here is a partial list; During the Bush Administration he voted for two expensive wars that were never funded. In fact there was never a proper accounting for the war. It was never a budget item; it was handled with a “supplemental.” This means that the costs are added to the …

It used to be that when someone said something that was false, deliberately misleading, or important facts withheld, the name we gave these utterances were “lies.” The people that uttered these words, well, they were called liars. As children we had it right. “Liar, liar, pants on fire,” was the appropriate response. But we don’t use the “L” words anymore. It is not politically correct. It is impolite. Other words, softer words are used these days. They are called  “untruths,” or “I miss-spoke,” or even “not entirely correct.”  A new one I heard just this week from a member of the U.S. …