Love, Hate or Satire?

By Jeff Simpson

I need a little help from our readers!   I recently posted this blog on Forward Lookout, another blog I use for more Dane County happenings.   Where I pointed out that this sums up why I left the Catholic church:



Like Clockwork, Dave Blaska came to Vicki Mckenna's defense(apparently she is unable too) and in our discussion,  I pointed out that when she organized her rabid supporters to show up in New Berlin and hand out pacifies to teachers who wanted a say in their workplace, that showed the hatred and vitriol that Vicki Mckenna(Pyzinski) exhibits on a daily basis.  Also that the Bishop of the Catholic church should follow Jesus's teachings and not support this kind of hatred. 

Mr. B said it was not hatred at all but "satire" 

I will let you decide  

Hatred or Satire?   

Who The Hell Is David Blaska And Why Is He Talking?

I've heard of David Blaska before, of course.  He's some lame right wing Patrick McIlheran wannabe that writes for the Isthmus.  (It must be some kind of sympathy thing - they felt sorry for the boy and so gave him a spot in order that he can prove to a larger percentage of the population that he is indeed a major dolt.)  But to be honest, he's such a doofus that I don't go out of my way to read his drivel.  I figured that the impeccable Emily Mills is more than able to skewer him from time to time.

But once in a blue moon one of his posts comes to my attention.  Even less frequently does it have the power to remain in one's memory for more than a fleeting instance.

Today was one of the one in a million occasions.

Blaska, in an amazing fit of misogyny, decided to try to do a hit piece on my friend, Lisa Mux.  Just as his post is rich in misogyny, it is equally light in facts and truth.

You see, Lisa wrote a post condemning the New Berlin School Board for what was nothing but the exercise of despotic behavior by a group of small-minded people.  Apparently, Blaska was offended by Lisa pointing out that there were parts to the new handbook passed by the school board that only served as an effort to demean the teachers and break their spirit.  How demotivated teachers are supposed to perform better is beyond me.

Blaska starts out by referring to Lisa as a dinosaur and a Waukesha teacher.  Neither of those statements are anywhere near the truth, but Blaska is obviously unconcerned what the reality of the situation is, since he avoids that at all costs. But this post isn't really about defending Lisa, since she's got more talent in her little finger that Blaska will ever possess in his life.

What caught my eye was this quip by the ill-informed Blaska:

She is outraged that school boards -- chosen by the people in free elections -- have been liberated to actually set policy. Just this week the school board in New Berlin, Wis., did so unanimously, to the evident approval of the citizens of their community and perhaps unilaterally, although other school districts have voluntarily involved teachers without giving up their statutory authority.

Throughout the rest of the blog he echoed much the same theme.  Blaska seems to believe that New Berliners, or the outside agitators that pretended to be New Berliners, is representative of the rest of the state.

But is New Berlin really the yardstick the rest of the state should be held up to?

Let's take a look at a few of the most recent stories involving that town.

First, we find that New Berliners apparently like to fling food like monkeys fling poo. To get a real sense of this guy's mentality, the story points out that a young man who was mad because his pizza was delivered cold.   The reason it was cold was because he ordered the pizza for pick up and not delivery. So he drives to the restaurant to commit assault with a pizza and some breadsticks because he couldn't order a pizza correctly.

Secondly, New Berlin had to be taken to court in order to allow affordable housing to be built in their town.  They apparently don't wish to be bothered with the riff raff of society, like the elderly, the poor or the working class.  Poor babies will have to deal with these people now.

And finally, the self-admitted racist leader of the upcoming neo-nazi rally, scheduled to happen this weekend in West Allis, comes from New Berlin.

I can say that I don't personally know any pizza-flingers, class-conscious snobs or neo-nazis, so I wouldn't say that they're exactly mainstream.  Then again, I'm sure I don't hang around in the same circles as Blaska, so maybe that's why he sees violence, tantrums  and racism as normal behavior while the rest of the state sees it as abhorrent, loathsome and something to be shunned.

And for the record, I'd rather stand proudly with the teachers and good people like Lisa any day of the week than spend one minute with an asocial miscreant like Blaska.  But, then again, I also have self-respect.

What A Humanitarian He Is!

The mayor of New Berlin, Jack Chiovatera, is as clueless as they come.

Chiovatera is in a spitting match with the city's Common Council over their 2011 budget. The council has recommended that each employees take 7.5 days furlough for the next year to keep the tax levy at the same level as this year. The mayor disagrees with this approach. He uses the most inane and insane logic I've ever heard to argue his point (emphasis mine):

The 7.5 furlough days will save the city nearly $424,000 if all are used.

In 2009, the city required employees to take four furlough days to avoid a budget deficit. That measure was not needed this year.

Under the mayor's budget and the budget approved by the council, the tax rate would be just under $4.98 per $1,000 of assessed value, unchanged from last year's rate.

The $34.3 million budget for 2011 is down about 1% compared with this year's $34.6 million budget.

The tax levy would rise to slightly more than $23.7 million from nearly $23.5 million. Ament said the increase reflects growth in the tax base from construction.

Ament said it is important to keep the tax rate flat because residents and businesses are suffering because of the recession.

"We've got residents and businesses hanging on by their fingernails," he said.

The austerity budgeting, Ament said, also is a reflection that "city employees are not insulated from the effects of the economy anymore."

Chiovatero said his budget, which included layoffs, also reflected that fact. But he considers 7.5 furlough days to be excessive, saying the plan "balances the budget on the backs of the employees."

Um, yeah.

So, in Mayor Chiovatero's world, 7.5 days of furloughs is excessive, but 365 days of unemployment isn't?

Where do the conservatives come up with these people?