Dreams Can Become True

From Steve Kelley:




From Rev. King:

Let us not wallow in the valley of despair, I say to you today, my friends.

And so even though we face the difficulties of today and tomorrow, I still have a dream. It is a dream deeply rooted in the American dream.

I have a dream that one day this nation will rise up and live out the true meaning of its creed: "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal."

I have a dream that one day on the red hills of Georgia, the sons of former slaves and the sons of former slave owners will be able to sit down together at the table of brotherhood.

I have a dream that one day even the state of Mississippi, a state sweltering with the heat of injustice, sweltering with the heat of oppression, will be transformed into an oasis of freedom and justice.

I have a dream that my four little children will one day live in a nation where they will not be judged by the color of their skin but by the content of their character.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day, down in Alabama, with its vicious racists, with its governor having his lips dripping with the words of "interposition" and "nullification" -- one day right there in Alabama little black boys and black girls will be able to join hands with little white boys and white girls as sisters and brothers.

I have a dream today!

I have a dream that one day every valley shall be exalted, and every hill and mountain shall be made low, the rough places will be made plain, and the crooked places will be made straight; "and the glory of the Lord shall be revealed and all flesh shall see it together."

This is our hope, and this is the faith that I go back to the South with.

With this faith, we will be able to hew out of the mountain of despair a stone of hope. With this faith, we will be able to transform the jangling discords of our nation into a beautiful symphony of brotherhood. With this faith, we will be able to work together, to pray together, to struggle together, to go to jail together, to stand up for freedom together, knowing that we will be free one day.

And this will be the day -- this will be the day when all of God's children will be able to sing with new meaning:

My country 'tis of thee, sweet land of liberty, of thee I sing.

Land where my fathers died, land of the Pilgrim's pride,

From every mountainside, let freedom ring!

And if America is to be a great nation, this must become true.

And so let freedom ring from the prodigious hilltops of New Hampshire.

Let freedom ring from the mighty mountains of New York.

Let freedom ring from the heightening Alleghenies of Pennsylvania.

Let freedom ring from the snow-capped Rockies of Colorado.

Let freedom ring from the curvaceous slopes of California.

But not only that:

Let freedom ring from Stone Mountain of Georgia.

Let freedom ring from Lookout Mountain of Tennessee.

Let freedom ring from every hill and molehill of Mississippi.

From every mountainside, let freedom ring.

And when this happens, when we allow freedom ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual:

Free at last! Free at last!

Thank God Almighty, we are free at last!

Budget Blasts, 11/6

The Milwaukee County Board’s Finance & Audit Committee, under the leadership of Supervisor Elizabeth M. Coggs, held its last meeting on the County Executive’s 2009 Recommended County Budget on Wednesday. The seven-member Committee met 11 times since the beginning of October to vote on a number of amendments to the budget. County Executive Scott Walker appeared at Wednesday’s meeting to share his thoughts on the amendments made thus far:

On Monday, the entire County Board held its annual Public Hearing on the County Executive’s 2009 Recommended Budget at the Washington Park Senior Center. Several hundred people attended. Approximately 60 individuals, primarily representing Milwaukee County skilled trades, parks, fleet and University Extension employees, provided testimony to the Board of
Supervisors.

The County Board of Supervisors, under the leadership of Chairman Lee Holloway, will adopt the County’s 2009 budget on Monday, November 10 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 200 of the Courthouse. Any vetoes from the County Executive will be considered at 1:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 19th.

The amendments adopted by the Finance & Audit Committee include:
• County Clerk: Deny the abolishment of Assistant County Clerk position.
• County Executive: Give CEX the final decision on compensation for his Chief of Staff.
• Airport: Remove $500,000 for airport privatization and direct staff to provide a report on airport privatization and extension of Airport’s 25-year Master Lease agreement, set to expire September 30, 2010.
• UW-Extension: Restore funding for the Horticulture Helpline and relocate the University Extension Service to either the former Child and Adolescent Treatment Center (CATC) or a privately owned facility.
• Combined Court Related Operations: Restore funding for nine Legal Research Intern positions, nine positions of Clerical Assistant 1 and eight Deputy Court Clerk Judicial Assistant positions, deny the creation of nine Administrative Intern positions and deny the implementation of Universal Screening.
• House of Correction: Add additional language on the proposed transfer of control of the House of Correction to the Sheriff, restore funding for four Correction Officer 1 positions, restore funding for a contract with Wisconsin Community Services for inmate job assessments, evaluate costs and benefits related to universal screening, and continue funding for the Farm and Fish Hatchery.
• Sheriff: Restore funding for three positions of Correctional Officer 1, evaluate costs and benefits related to the potential implementation of a universal screening initiative and continue funding for the Farm and Fish Hatchery and the Community Justice Resource Center.
• Fiscal Affairs Division: Transfer one position of Economic Development Coordinator and one position of Housing Program Analyst to the Department of Health and Human Services, deny the abolishment of one position of Housing and Program Analyst, abolish 1 DAS Budget Manager position and create 1 Grants Writer/Coordinator position in the Intergovernmental
Relations Division.
• DAS – IMSD Restore funding for seven positions, deny an appropriation for contracting IT services, deny the abolishment of one Business Systems Project Manager position, create one Business Analyst position and delete narrative language on a cooperative purchase with Racine County for joint partner Premier Workforce Solutions, instead referring the item to the Finance & Audit Committee.
• DAS – Property Management: Create one position of Principal Assistant Corporation Counsel, deny the creation of Associated Director-DAS Property Management and transferring the Real Estate positions into a new section of Corporation Counsel-Real Estate and Development.
• Department of Health and Human Services: Deny the outsourcing of Call Center and Customer Service functions within the Economic Support Division, provide $100,000 in Potawatomi Revenue to the Safe Alternatives for Youth program, and appropriate $60,000 for maintenance expenditures for the Milwaukee County Research Park.
• Behavioral Health Division: Deny the abolishment of 13 FTEs in the Targeted Case Management unit, deny the abolishment of 2.0 FTE RN 1 positions and 55 Housekeeping FTEs.
• Milwaukee County Transit/Paratransit System: decrease the recommended Adult Cash Fare to $2.00, the Half Cash Fare to $1.00 and Half Fare Tickets to $1.00, and implement a monthly $60 pass.
• Parks: Restore 48 FTE and unfund 4 FTE Park Maintenance Worker 2 positions; maintain seasonal staff at the 2008 adopted level; deny the creation of 1.0 Clerical Specialist, 9.21 FTE Park Worker 2 (Seas) and 4.61 FTE Horticulturalist I (seas) positions; deny the consolidation of the King and Kosciuszko Community Centers by restoring 2.0 FTE Community Center Manager positions; restore the positions of 1.0 FTE Office Assistant 3 position, 1.0 FTE Special Events Coordinator position, 1.0 FTE Horticulturalist 1 position, 1.62 FTE Horticulturalist 2 (seas) positions and 1.0 FTE Parks Artist position; create one position of Parks Marketing Public Relations Coordinator and one position of Parks Marketing Assistant; abolish the vacant position of Landscape Architect 2 and create a position of Chief of Administration; increase funding for Capital Outlay to $502,000; provide more County Board oversight of privatizing Parks
Department concessions operations; provide a maximum fee increase of 10%; decrease green fees and McKinley Board launch and Slip Fees by 12.5% for a total increase of 3.5%; provide $25,000 to both the King and Kosciuszko Community Centers for recreation and/or exercise equipment and deny the installation of parking meters along Lincoln Memorial Drive, increase
expenditures for the operation of Hales Corners Pool in 2009, increase contract revenues for the operation of the O’Donnell Parking Structure, increase general obligation bonding by $14,000 for the surfacing of the golf cart pathways at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course.
• Fleet Management: Deny the outsourcing of fleet maintenance operations and restoring necessary appropriations and departmental crosscharges and denying the outsourcing of right-of-way mowing services and pavement marking services.
• Child Support Enforcement: Restore funding for one Child Support Specialist, one Paralegal Child Support B/L, three Paralegal Child Support positions and .5 FTE Legal Counsel Child Support
• Restore all skilled trades positions.
• Deny the transfer of the DTPW – Facilities Management Division to the DAS Property Management Division.
• Create a new capital improvements project relating to the repair of the Estabrook Dam.
• Provide $1,000,000 in capital improvements funding for the Special Needs Housing Program financed with a loan from the State Trust Fund Loan Program.
• Deny an ordinance change in reference to the installation of parking meters along Lincoln Memorial Drive.

On Wednesday, the following additional amendments to the 2009 Budget were approved by the Committee on the following votes:
• 6-1 (No Schmitt) to allocate $150,000 for a Summer Youth Employment program.
• 7-0 to add language addressing potential layoffs and placement services for affected employees.
• 7-0 to amend the Offset to Internal Service Charges to reflect actions taken by the Finance Committee.
• 7-0 to increase Land Sales revenue by $150,000 and appropriated to the Economic and Community Development Reserve Fund.
• 5-2 (No Schmitt, Jursik) to restore Route 11 from 60th/Vliet to downtown.
• 5-2 (No Schmitt, Jursik) to increase transit expenditures by $55,000 for the local share of a Federal grant to continue operation of the Canal Street bus route (Route 17) through December 2009.
• 7-0 to decrease the recommended Transit Adult Cash Fare to $2.00, the Half Cash Fare to $1.00 and Half Fare Tickets to $1.00, offset by increasing CMO revenues for transit service and decreasing Transit/Paratransit fuel expenditures.
• 7-0 to transfer the Facilities Operations Section of the Property Management Division to DTPW and rename it the Facilities Management Division, and transferring the Real Estate Services Section to the DTPW-Director’s Office.
• 6-1 (No Johnson) to transition GAMP clients to BadgerCare plus – Childless Adults as of January 1, 2009.
• 4-3 (Noes Schmitt, West, Jursik) to increase revenues by $50,000 to be used for operation of America’s Black Holocaust Museum.
• 4-2 (No Schmitt, Jursik, Excused West) to increase general obligation bonding by $450,000 for the reconstruction of the Lion’s Bridge that is failing.
• 6-0 (West Excused) to increase State Computer Aid revenues.
• 4-3 (Noes Thomas, West, Jursik) to add a new capital improvement project for the construction of a new Behavioral Health Division facility.

At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, the Committee voted 5-1 (No Schmitt, Excused West) to approve the property tax levy. The Committee then voted 5-1 (No Schmitt, Excused West) to approve the amended 2009 Budget.

Scott Walker: Clearly Unclear On Certain Concepts

Scott Walker must be having a very bad week, and he is obviously starting to crack under the strain of it.

The first thing and the most obvious thing that is bothering Walker is the groundswell of progressiveness. Barack Obama wins the presidency in a decisive manner. Democrats take over both houses of the Congress. They also take over both houses of the state legislature.

That must make it hard for him to gain any traction for the next installment of his perpetual run for governor.

To add to the pressure is that he is trying to bully the County Board during the budget process, and they have been quite resistant to his aggressive approach. So much for his promise of working with the Board. Of course, Walker has already been known to leave a trail of broken promises where ever he goes.

To add to his distress regarding his gubernatorial crusade is the fact that the citizens of Milwaukee County also voted in favor of lowering their property taxes and for saving the parks and the transit system. The citizens realized that this was a necessary, if not necessarily pleasant, insurance policy to prevent the further decline of the county. Without the transit system, Milwaukee County would be facing serious economic disaster in a year when the Transit System would begin to fail.

But voting to increase the sales tax goes against his one trick act of not raising taxes, regardless of the consequences. That, of course, would be unacceptable to his dwindling chances for any kind of run.

I'm not the only one to notice Walker's inability to grasp the concept regarding this. My friend, Greg Kowalski puts it very well:

Scott Walker doesn't want his suburban supporters to realize and truly understand that an effective transit network will encourage businesses and further growth within Milwaukee County. Instead, he takes aim at suburban voters' pocketbooks and yells out loud, "IT'S TAXES, YOU KNOW!" and puts them in a panic. The "t" word has been used and abused so many times that it's almost numbing to the sense these days. Sadly, even with the numbness suburban voters have again and again voted the Walker ticket and the Walker way because of it.

Kudos to Milwaukee and 3 suburbs (Glendale, Shorewood, and West Milwaukee) for standing up against the rest and making them go through a reality check. There are people who live in Milwaukee that do take advantage of things like parks and buses. While you might see many suburban parks void of human life, those living in the inner city of Milwaukee rely on those facilities during the warm days and months to play and cool off. They can't afford the up-to $14,000 for a play set like many suburban households (like mine) put up for their children.

No wonder Walker has been trying repeatedly to keep the voice of the people from being heard. And then when they finally get to exercise their voice, instead of graciously accepting that this is what the people want, he insults them, saying they don't understand, that they're confused. Jim McGuigan points out the fact that this isn't the first time Walker's gone around insulting the same voters that elected him into the office he enjoys for the moment.

Another example of Walker being unclear on the concept is his incessant insistence on privatizing everything in sight. This is popular among his conservative base to be sure, but it is far from being fiscally conservative. A little bit of research would have shown that privatization usually ends up wasting lots of taxpayer dollars that could have been used more productively. Say on something silly like actually providing services or saving money instead of throwing it away.

Continuing to show his lack of fiscal sensibility is that he considers pursuing a risky borrowing scheme is good management. Heck, even the conservative Dad29 can see the folly in doing such a thing.

To compile his foolishness, Walker is still persisting on trying to convince people that it is wiser to get rid of the building and property that you have, to enter into a no bid contract on a building that is older and more unsafe than the one you say we have to get rid of because it is too old and unsafe. Just trying to understand that sort of rationale can give a person migraines.

Yup, Walker must really be feeling the strain. But instead of admitting to any stress, or stopping to take a rational look at the situation and admitting he is wrong, Walker instead chooses to put up a facade of machismo to hide the fear and angst he must be feeling:

You can't say Scott Walker's not looking ahead.

The Milwaukee County Executive opined today that Barack Obama's presidential victory likely means Gov. Jim Doyle gets a federal judgeship. And that means Lt. Gov. Barbara Lawton inherits the governor's office and will be the Democrats' likely candidate for governor in 2010.

Which just happens to coincide with Walker's possible GOP bid for governor.

Running against Lawton "would be like Lena Taylor, Part Two," Walker said today.

Walker trounced Taylor, a state senator, in his April re-election bid.

What Walker fails to acknowledge is that in his last run for governor, he couldn't make it through the primaries before having to drop out. From what I've seen and heard so far of the other Republicans who are also eying up a run for governor, it doesn't seem likely that Walker would make it any farther in the next election.

Then again, upon further reflection, perhaps I have the same problem that Scott Walker has: Maybe we are both expecting too much from him.

Regardless if we are both having delusions of his capability, or if Walker is alone with his struggle to get a grasp of reality, one thing is certain. It is imperative that you call your County Board Supervisor and urge him or her to prevent Scooter from doing even more damage to Milwaukee County than he has already done. You can find the contact information for the County Board by clicking to this page.

But call today, for on Monday, November 10, the County Board will do their final meeting and adopt the budget. If you wait, it will be too late.

It Just Looks Right

Simple Words Of An Observer

I received the following in an email today. The author Sherwin T. Hughes, sent it out as an obvious mass mailing, but I do not know who else received it. I thought that the prose and the thoughts behind it were significant and poignant enough that I wanted to share it.

As an African American man living in the United States, it is very easy to grow increasingly cynical of a country that is often increasingly suspect of you.

This great electoral victory is not just a triumph for African American’s; it is a true national triumph in which we all shall share collectively. Is this Black history? Yes. Is this American history? Absolutely.

An Electoral College landslide and a decisive accumulation of popular votes, equate to a mandate so strong it shall re-write the pages of campaign strategy for the next 100 years.

When placed within the context of American history, this event assumes an even deeper significance. Every bead of sweat dripping from the very brows of tireless marchers for justice, every tear cried and opportunity lost as a result of De facto and De jure, every drop of blood shed during the struggle manifested itself perfectly on the evening of November 4^th, 2008. A civil rights movement executed. A dream no longer deferred.

President-elect Barack Hussein Obama has ignited the American spirit in ways not seen in a generation. 21 months ago, I could not fathom that the “skinny kid with a funny name” could oust the Clintons, build a swollen grassroots organization, and turn a bitterly divided nation into a place that has reignited my pride. We can now focus on being great once again. It is for that in which I am most thankful.

Make no mistake; Senator John McCain is a good man. Senator John McCain is an American hero. As evident by his very eloquent concession, he shall continue to be a servant of this nation. I wish he, nor his republican colleagues no ill will. However, I remain ever cautious. For the Republican Party is returning to the proverbial drawing board and will eventually reinvent and rebuild.

Politics aside, this campaign was far more. It kindled our most intrinsic values of hope, optimism. As I celebrated with the best of them into the early morning of November 5^th, I saw things that rocked my very core. Streets flooded with jubilant souls, horns honking, banners waving, and an indiscriminate expression of human love. This campaign did something to us – something absolutely divine.

Politics included, this campaign awoke the better angels of the American nature, and as a result, bent the seemingly fixed lines that characterized the political map of red and blue states.

Even though most of us, in the generation of X, have never bore witness to such a monumental testament of the American will for change, the work is not done.

It is the duty of every American, regardless of political stripe or affiliation, to make sure that President-elect Obama does not walk alone. What he needs now is far more tangible than a vote. He needs our hearts, minds, and steadfast will. I stand before you ready to submit all three—with shining pride.

A weak economy, coupled with two wars abroad and a health care crisis, shall take the same determination to resolve as the election took to win. Please pledge with me to commit. As we stand shoulder to shoulder under the direction of a new commander in chief who bears the burden of a nation fractured by eight years of thoughtless policy.

As cliché as these words may be, and as long as they have been a part of my oration, they have never possessed a much more poignant meaning:

“God Bless America”.

I Almost Wish That Obama Had Lost

There have been a few thoughts going through my mind for the past few days, but I never wrote about them, out of fear of jinxing the election, and for wondering how crazy those thoughts actually were. A couple of events today has impelled me to write them now.

One was a conversation with a friend, who had the same thoughts as I did, and the other was reading this line from by friend, Elliot Stearns (or whoever he thinks he is today):

No! I’m saying the Republicans clearly did NOT steal this one. And if they could, why wouldn’t they?

Sometimes, I really almost wish Obama had lost this election.

For the past eight years, George W. Bush and his buddies have been reliving his frat boy days. They have been throwing one helluva party.

Bush et alia have been going around starting unjust wars for whatever perverted reasons they could come up with.

They have trashed the economy while they've looted the country's coffers.

They've done everything they could to trash the environment.

In the process of having their two term version of a toga party, they've also caused economic and other sorts of damage to our global neighbors, and have strained the relationship the country has with just about every single one of them.

But for anyone with teenage kids who have thrown a house party, for anyone whose children are young adults in college and their parties, or for anyone who remember these events from their own youth, you know what a freakin' mess these parties can create.

Everyone has a blast at them, but no one wants to be part of the crew that has to pick up all the empty beer cans and bottles, and to clean up the place from the mess that can only be created by a bunch of out of control, carefree, reckless young adults. The same can be said about having to clean up the mess left by the Bush administration and all their buddies.

The clean up is stinky, hard work. Sometimes things end up having to be thrown out because they are so badly stained and/or damaged. And paying for the clean up and the damage caused by an eight year long party can be pretty darn expensive.

No one, either the kids or the Bushies, want the party to end. And they definitely don't want to be part of the clean up. They will do whatever they can to keep that from happening, whether it is blaming others for their mess, obstructing the cops and the voters, or just pretending it isn't there.

They just don't want to own up to their responsibility for the mess they created, and they resent anyone that would try to hold them accountable.

But now, in the form of Barack Obama and a majority of Democrats in both houses of Congress, the adults arrive home, and are aghast at the mess they find. Now it is the time to clean up the mess, fix what can be fixed, replace what can't be fixed, and to pay the bills for the good times.

But because this is work that is unpleasant and difficult, because it can be embarrassing and get quite costly, Bush and his supporters, the people that were enjoying themselves at this party, all at our expense, are becoming very angry indeed. They resort to the behaviors more histrionic and obscene than ever displayed by an angry teenager.

They will blame Obama and the Democrats for raising their taxes to pay these bills, without ever admitting they were the ones that ran up the bills in the first place. They will call Obama and the Democrats names like Marxist and Communist.

They will be resentful for having to take part of the clean up. The will tell Obama et alia that they are fascists and that they have no right to tell them how to live their lives, even if the rules are that of common courtesy and concern for one's fellow man.

We have already seen evidence of this. Obama has had more death threats than any other presidential candidate in American history. He has had to give his victory speech behind bullet proof glass walls.

There have been incidents on the local level, as pointed out by Brew City Brawler and Other Side, to just name two who have written about it already.

Also, let us not forget the nutter in Tennessee, with books penned by right wing squawkers like Michael Savage and Bill O'Reilly in his home, shot up a church and killed innocent people. He did it because he wanted to kill liberals who were "ruining the country."

So, you see, I am honestly afraid for the lives of Barack Obama and his family.

I am also afraid that even if they are kept from harm's way, Obama will still be a one term president. Fixing the problems that have been created in the last eight years will not be easy. It will not be fun. And it will not be cheap, at least not at first. The right have perfected the art of blaming those who try to hold them accountable and responsible for their behaviors. They have also perfected exploiting people's desires for instant gratification. I can see another amazingly difficult campaign for 2012.

It would be almost better to have had McCain in office and forcing him to own up and correct these mistakes. The right, who already don't care for him much, would have gladly sacrificed him if and when he started cleaning up the mess they created. Then the Democrats would have had a better chance to fix things. Much like the Clintons did when they took over from the Reagan/Bush years.

But then I realized that we could never have counted on a McCain/Palin ticket to do the right thing for the country, and my 'almost wish' goes away. That is why the Republicans wouldn't want to try to steal this election. They don't want to be responsible for having to clean up their own mess. In fact, I wouldn't have a hard time believing that they would have blown the election on purpose, given some of the dunder-headed moves McCain made during his campaign.

I am glad, after all, that Obama did when the election. We'll just have to hope that the majority of the right grow up in the next four years, and are equally glad for the start to the reparation of the damage Bush and friends have caused.

Budget Blasts, 10/30

From the office of County Board Supervisor Elizabeth Coggs:

The Milwaukee County Board’s Finance & Audit Committee, under the leadership of Supervisor Elizabeth M. Coggs, held its last October meeting on the County Executive’s 2009 Recommended County Budget on Wednesday. Click here to review the budget proposal. Each day, the seven-member Committee votes on a number of specific departments and items in the budget.

The following amendments to the 2009 Budget were approved by the following votes:

• 7-0 to abolish 1 DAS Budget Manager position and create 1 Grants Writer/Coordinator position

• 7-0 to provide $125,000 for services related to the Men of Color Task Force

• 7-0 to decrease CBDP revenues by $15,000, increase CBDP services expenditures by $2,000 increase DAS Property Management revenue $17,000 and modify CBDP budget goals and objectives

• 7-0 to give the Director of Human Resources the authority to enhance and expedite services to departments by modifying procedures, redeploy assets and enhance accountability

• 7-0 to allow the Director of DAS to continue to coordinate Long-Range Strategic Planning for the County in 2009

• 7-0 to restore all skilled trades positions

• 4-3 (No Mayo, Schmitt, Johnson) to deny the transfer of the DTPW – Facilities Management Division to the DAS Property Management Division

• 6-0 (Thomas excused) to increase the anticipated payment from Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital and restructure the loan repayment from the Marcus Center for the Performing Arts by reducing the 2009 payment

• 6-1 (No Jursik) to increase parking revenues at the 6th and State lot and increasing expenditures for County Board – Sister Cities, Transit/Paratransit – Fare Increase Offset, and Property Management – Summer Youth Employment

• 7-0 to restore funding for one Child Support Specialist, one Paralegal Child Support B/L and .5 FTE Legal Counsel Child Support

• 5-2 (No Schmitt, Jursik) to restore funding for three Paralegal Child Support positions

• 4-3 (No Mayo, Schmitt, Coggs) to add an appropriation for a Jail/Criminal Justice analysis

• 6-1 (No Schmitt) to restore the position of Resident Contract Manager – Structures, deny a professional services contract to manage the bridge program, increase expenditures and revenues in the Transportation Services Division, reallocate expenditures in the Parks Department, Zoo and Highway Maintenance Division, deny the appropriation for membership in the East Wisconsin Counties Railroad Consortium and increase revenues in the Property Management

• 7-0 to deny the abolishment of 2.0 FTE RN 1 positions within the Behavioral Health Division

• 7-0 to direct the Behavioral Health Division to prepare a report addressing the necessary stops to become certified by the Join Commission (on Accreditation of Hospitals).

• 7-0 to amend the Capital Improvements Budget to create a new project relating to the repair of the Estabrook Dam.

• 6-1 (No Schmitt) to amend the Capital Improvements Budget to provide $1,000,000 for the Special Needs Housing Program financed with a loan from the State Trust Fund Loan Program

• 7-0 to designate an allocation from the appropriation for contingencies for the implementation of the Ethics Code revisions

• 5-2 (No Schmitt, Jursik) to provide $50,000 to Career Youth Development (CYD) for the Victory Over Violence Program

• 7-0 to designate the YWCA of Greater Milwaukee to administer the new voluntary FoodShare Employment and Training program

• 5-1 (No Coggs) to increase expenditures for the operation of Hales Corners Pool in 2009

• 5-1 (No Coggs) to increase contract revenues for the operation of the O’Donnell Parking Structure

• 6-1 (No Schmitt) to amend the Capital Improvements Budget for New Parks Capital by increasing general obligation bonding by $14,000 for the surfacing of the golf cart pathways at the Brown Deer Park Golf Course

• 7-0 to realign funding of active and legacy health care and pension costs with actions already taken by the Committee on Finance and Audit, and to appropriate $1,500,000 to the Appropriation of Contingencies to provide funds for possible wage agreements in 2009.

• 7-0 to deny an ordinance change in reference to the installation of parking meters along Lincoln Memorial Drive

At the end of Wednesday’s meeting, the Committee voted 4-3 (Noes Schmitt, Johnson, Jursik) to approve a property tax levy increase of 3.17%. The Committee then voted 5-2 (No Schmitt, Johnson) to approve the amended 2009 Budget.

The Finance and Audit Committee will reconvene for one more meeting on the 2009 Budget, including consideration of any additional amendments from Supervisors submitted after the public hearing and comments from the County Executive, on Wednesday, November 5, 2008 at 9:30 a.m. in Room 203-R of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

The County Board of Supervisors, under the leadership of Chairman Lee Holloway, will adopt the County’s 2009 budget on Monday, November 10 at 8:30 a.m. in Room 200 of the Milwaukee County Courthouse.

History Made And Other Election Night Thoughts

First of all, congratulations to President Elect Barack Obama and Vice-President Elect Joe Biden. And congratulations to all of the volunteers, community organizers, and voters for a job well done. Whether you supported Obama or not, history was made tonight with the election of our first African American president. It is a sign of how far our world has come.

It is a sad commentary on our world though that PE Obama had to give his victory speech behind a box of bullet proof glass.

Congratulations also are in order to Senator John McCain. It was nice to see he regained his personal dignity and integrity. He gave a very classy concession speech. Too bad the same couldn't be said for many of his supporters, both at his party and in the blogosphere.

Many of the other races that hold interest have not been officially declared yet, but the signs are hopeful.

Congratulations to Sandy Pasch, who just one the State Assembly District 22. I hope that she continues the fine work her predecessor has done.

Also, it looks like Sheldon Wasserman is on his way to a fairly decisive victory of Alberta Darling to become the State Senator for Dictrict 8. It shows that the negativity of that has become too common among the Republicans is no longer being favored by the public.

AMENDED: It appears that negativity might win the day in this race after all. When I wrote this post originally, 60 percent of the votes were in, and Wasserman had a 60-40 lead. Now at 98% of the votes in, Darling appears to have eked out the election, although nothing has been formally called.

If Darling should manage to escape, I would like to offer her my congratulations. I would also offer my cond0lences to the people in the eighth senate district, as well as all the citizens of Wisconsin.

Congratulations to the citizens of the City of Milwaukee who voted for fairness in the sick leave referendum.

Congratulations also to the citizens of the County of Milwaukee, who were finally given a chance to voice their opinion, and used that voice to state that they want to save the parks and the transit system. Hopefully, the people in Madison will hear us now.

Finally, I would say to my fellow liberals and lefties: Celebrate now and enjoy the moment, for a moment. However don't get too happy or celebrate too long.

The real work starts now. We, of course, need to start taking measures to put this nation back on track to greatness. To secure the economy, to get our troops the hell out of Iraq and back to work on getting bin Ladin, and to restore our place of greatness in the world.

Yes, that is a list of hard jobs right there, but they aren't the only things we need to do. We need to be responsible and hold the people we just worked so hard to get elected to the promises they gave us. It does not matter whether they are in the state legislature, the US Congress, or the president elect himself. It is up to us to hold their feet to the fires, and ensure they do the jobs we elected them to do.

We also have to be vigilant ourselves and remember what we have been through, what inspired us to work so hard this election season. We do not want to become our leaders to become the liberal version of the Bush administration, nor do we want to become like some of the worst of the right wing supporters. We must reach across the aisle to those on the right.

Oh, I know the temptation is great to go to some of them and say something like: "Obama won. Get over it." Lord, do I know the temptation is great. But we must keep our values in mind, and not lose sight of who we are. I remember the pain I felt in 2000 and 2004. I remember the anger I felt as some, no way all, but some from the right rubbed our noses in it those years. Even though it would bring some satisfaction to turn around and do the same to them, I do not want to become like that which I hated.

I ask you, my liberal friends, to do the same.

TV Wasteland

Unless you've been living in a cave that is not wired for electricity, you are aware of the upcoming change in television with the advent of digital TV.

In preparation for this event, my wife and I discussed our options, both here in Milwaukee, and in our northern castle. We decided to use our combined birthdays and anniversary to get a HDTV for our place here, and to take our nine year old analog TV up north, along with a digital conversion box. We figured the worst that would happen that way is that we would need to put up a digital antenna and/or a pre-amplifier. The castle is too rural for cable to even be an option. We did not want to go to satellite TV because of the cost for not being there full time.

Heh. Best laid plans and all that.

The TV down here works fine. We took the old TV up north, and plugged it in to the standard antenna. It worked better than the 25 year old set that we had been using, and more stations came in, and they came in clearer.

Then I hooked up the digital converter box. We went from receiving nine stations (from both Wausau and Green Bay) to three stations, and their substations. We received Channel 2 (ABC) from Green Bay, Channel 7 (CBS) from Wausau, and Channel 20 (PBS) from Wausau. The only one that would stay steady when the when blew was PBS. The other two would often freeze, pixilate, and/or drop the signal altogether.

We figured that we would need to go on to the antenna. Given the lay out of the antenna tower, my bad knees, and whatnot, that the best bet would be to hire a professional to do the job. There are only two in the area.

The first one I contacted told me that it would be a minimum of $1,000, and wouldn't come to the house to look the job over and give us an estimate. The second guy did come out and looked it over. He wanted to put a 40 foot tower in the middle of our front yard, and charge us the equivalent of eight years of satellite.

Needless to say, we did not want to spend that kind of money for what will hopefully be only a temporary need. So it was off to contact the satellite companies.

Direct TV offered us a package for $30 a month, plus tax and fees. Dish Network offered the same thing for $10 more and wouldn't accommodate our schedule for installation.

The drawback to both companies was that they only offered the Green Bay stations as the local channels. I did not want that. First of all, Wausau is thirty miles closer, so their news and weather would be more pertinent to our area. Secondly, Green Bay stations news channels stink. For example, Channel 5 (CBS) has Tammy Elliott. She is the epitome of the right wing media. I couldn't stomach her when she worked in Milwaukee, and she hasn't gotten better since leaving.

For what it's worth, we went with DirectTV. Worst comes to worst, we are committed for only 18 months. The best part is their installer came out on Sunday morning to put the dish in and hook us up. That is good service.

And I'll still be able to see Channel 7 with the antenna, as long as there is no wind, rain, snow, or birds flying within five miles.

Guess it could be worse, but the whole Wausau thing still ticks me off.

Get Out And Vote!

Brave men and women died to protect our right to vote. It doesn't matter if you vote Democratic, Republican, Libertarian, Green, or whatever, but get out and vote. Don't let them have died in vain.



And remember, if you don't vote, you have no right to complain for the next four years.

Cognitive Choice '08: President Of The United States

I am sure that this will come as no surprise to my 4.2 readers, but I am recommending Barack Obama and Joe Biden as being the cognitive choice for President and Vice-President of the United States of America.

Almost every single American can agree that our country is in dire straits at this time in our history. The Iraq War. Losing ground in Afghanistan. Bin Ladin still on the loose. The economy falling into a recession, if not into a depression. Increasing levels of unemployment. Record number of foreclosures. Poor and strained relations with many foreign countries, some of whom used to be friends and allies.

It has been a long, long time since things have been this bad, if ever.

John McCain is a hero. What he experienced in Viet Nam is not something I would wish on my worst enemy. And then to turn down freedom out of loyalty to his fellow Americans and to his country is something that is quite remarkable. He deserves the respect and admiration of every American for the service and sacrifices he has given this country.

But that alone does not qualify him to be President. Furthermore, McCain has eschewed that part of his life, that integrity, for political gain. He has turned his back on everything he once believed in and stood for, just to gain support from the Republican base. He has been more than willing to help Bush shred the Constitution, to destroy the economy, and give up on basic values like human rights.

In these troubled economic times, McCain has stated he thought the economy was strong. He has admitted to not knowing much about the economy. When the banks were collapsing, he did a show of grandstanding, returning to Washington, and accomplishing nothing. He has expressed that he is more than willing to continue with Bush's failed economic policies, but to start taxing health care benefits, as if they were too expensive already.

McCain has repeatedly shown his eagerness to not only continue the unjust war in Iraq, but to start other wars that are depleted economy and overtaxed armed services cannot support.

McCain has not displayed the type of temperament needed to be president. He is quick to anger. He is rude and disrespectful, not only to his opponent, but to people that are the closest to him. This is a concern given our strained relationships with many countries. For heaven's sake, the man didn't even know that Spain is an ally, and we're supposed to expect that he would heal these problems?

He has displayed poor judgment in his pick of running mates. Even though I do not wish the man ill, one must take in other factors, like the fact that given his age and health concerns, his choice of VP should have been done with thorough deliberateness and thought. Instead, he picked what he thought would be the most politically advantageous.

If John McCain is unqualified to be President, Sarah Palin is a nightmare. She has no clue to what the issues are in the rest of the country. She has no experience whatsoever in dealing with foreign relations. To make matters worse, she has shown in her short career as governor, and before that, as mayor of Wasilla, the same kind of corruption and secrecy that we have seen for the past eight years. We do not need nor deserve that kind of abuse of power anymore.

Together, McCain and Palin have offered absolutely nothing on how they would address the problems this country is facing. Instead, they have offered us unsubstantiated innuendo and rumors and outright lies. They have either contributed to, or refused to stop, some of the most vulgar and disgusting rhetoric ever seen in a national campaign.

On the other hand, Obama has been running a very effective campaign. He has offered solid plans to help the country both in terms of the economy, but in our standing in the world. He has been positive, but has shown more than a willingness to defend himself when maliciously attacked.

Even non-partisan groups have found that his tax plan would be more beneficial to more Americans than McCain's. Obama has a plan to give us more affordable health care, rather than taxing the already too expensive and dysfunctional system we have now.

Also of great significance is that Obama is prepared to make a safe and gradual withdrawal from the quagmire of Iraq and refocus our energies where it belongs - in getting bin Laden and keeping this country safe. For all the questioning we have heard for the last two years about Obama's ability to lead - well, that was all negated when General Colin Powell threw his support behind Obama.

The most telling thing to me is the way Obama has carried himself through the last two years of campaigning. He has been accused of being buddies with terrorists, and indeed, of being a terrorist himself. He has been accused of being a Muslim, even as he is attacked for not going to the "right kind" of Christian church. He has had his family besmirched. He has received more death threats than any other candidate in the history of this country.

During all these threats, smears and outright lies, Obama has maintained his composure and demeanor. He has not flown off the handle. He has not complained about the "gotcha media" or that he was being treated unfairly. He has still offered his hand in friendship to those that would rather spit on him, both figuratively and literally.

These are the traits of a well-balanced person and of a leader.

Obama has also shown good decision making skills by choosing a running mate that is a compliment to his own strengths and weaknesses. he has also chosen a person who would be able to take over and ably lead the country if he should, for whatever reason, be unable to continue with his duties as president.

What this race has boiled down to is a choice between maintaining the status quo, in the hopes of it somehow producing different results, or taking proactive measures to get this country back on its feet and become the bar to which all other nations and cultures should be compared. It is a choice between fear, anger and hatred or hope, peace and prosperity.

It is time for a change. It is time for hope. It is time to elect Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

Cognitive Choice '08: State Races

There are just too many state races for me to catch them all, but there are some that I would like to address.

Wasserman vs. Darling

I have already written extensively about this race in various posts, so I shan't rehash it all over again (you can thank me later). But I will offer this quick recap. Alberta Darling has probably done more in the past two months regarding her campaign than she has done in the last 18 years in the state legislature. But much like her long career, her campaign has either been ineffective, or actually a negative to society. Her lies have continued until today, at the eleventh hour.

Darling has nothing in 18 years to stand on, so all she has done is spread fear, innuendo, and outright lies regarding her opponent. Milwaukee Magazine has her own colleagues calling her a big do-nothing in office, and don't hold a lot of respect for her.

Wasserman is well liked by his constituents and his peers. If he does not have enough bills passed to satisfy some, well, most minority party members don't usually get their things through. What he has tried to get passed is commendable and would go long to benefit the state. Things like affordable health care, open and free elections, and dignity for all people, regardless of class, race or gender.

Unfortunately, there are a lot of people that would rather listen to Darling's lies, without looking at the fact that they are unsubstantiated and that she is equally guilty, if not more so, of what she is trying to hang on Wasserman. But from what I understand, the race is a close one, with Wasserman having a chance to eke out a victory.

As he should, given that he would be the cognitive choice.

Krupp vs. Ryan

Even though she is vastly underfunded when compared to Paul Ryan, Marge Krupp has Ryan scared. That is why even Dan Bice of MJS has noted that Ryan is sounding more like a Democrat than the ultra conservative that he really is. Ryan is realizing that his pro-Big Oil and pro-Big Business stances are not so popular as people, like the autoworkers in Janesville, are finding themselves unemployed in the start of a recession. Furthermore, Ryan has done nothing to help the state, much less the nation.

The cognitive choice would be to follow the Democratic wave and elect Krupp to replace Ryan, who is still trying to figure out how to fold his road map.

Kagen vs. Gard

Obviously, Kagen is the cognitive choice here. Even the Republicans realize this, or they would have fielded someone more competent than John Gard. Gard's claim to fame so far is to prolong the hit on Milwaukee taxpayers by not allowing the law to change, which would have allowed crooked cops, like the Jude cops, to be fired without pay.

Other races

As I said at the beginning of this post, there are just too many races to cover each one, but here are the cognitive choices in some of the other races around the state:

Sandy Pasch is the much better choice for the 22nd Assembly District. She has a more rounded background and is looking to improve life for all of Wisconsin citizens, and not just a select few.

Peggy Krusick is not my favorite person, but she is the strongest candidate for the 7th Assembly District.

Glen Brower should be the obvious choice to replace for Assembly District 21. Likewise, Tony Staskunas for District 15 and Dave Hucke for District 14.

Cognitive Choice '08: The Sales Tax Referendum

The other local referendum on the ballot tomorrow is regarding the sales tax.

The Milwaukee County Board has overridden a Walker veto to but an advisory referendum on the ballot. Let me re-emphasize this: It is only advisory. Even if it passes, it would still require action to be taken by the state legislature and the governor, and then it would still have to go through the county level, including another override of another guaranteed veto by Walker.

Opponents to the sales tax argue two basic points. That it would drive business out of Milwaukee and that it would not do anything to relieve property tax.

The first argument is the same tired old line that does not stand up to history. Milwaukee County's sales tax is already higher than surrounding counties, and businesses are doing fine. Furthermore, there are plenty of other cities that have relatively much higher sales tax than their neighbors, but they are also doing fine.

The second argument is also bogus. To support their argument, Walker and his allies have to stretch their time span by a decade or more to show a substantial increase. But tell me one thing that has not gone up drastically in 10 or more years. That is again a silly argument.

Proponents argue that it is necessary to save the parks, and especially the transit system, which will be all but destroyed in less than two years if another, stable funding source is not found. Another benefit would be the relief to the EMS system, and the ability to keep that running at top efficiency, and less overall cost than if each municipality tried to operate their EMS totally independently of their neighbors.

One other thing to keep in mind is the simple face that without the sales tax, bus routes will be cut drastically. Studies have shown that this means that 45% of people that are dependent on the bus to get to and from work will no longer be able to. This will not only cost them their income, but it will hurt the business that employed them. This in turn will also hurt the overall regional economy. Given the situation of the country's current employment situation, the county, and the entire southeastern Wisconsin region cannot afford to take that kind of blow, especially to save a possible couple of bucks.

I don't like paying more taxes any more than the next person. But I sure as heck don't want to pay more for everything because of the short-sightedness of others.

The cognitive choice would be to vote yes on the sales tax referendum. For more reasons why this would be a good idea, please click here.

Given the city's recent passing of the wheel tax, and the MPS approving a huge tax increase, I don't have a lot of hope of this passing. But there is still some hope that the people will see the value of their small investment, and the high level of return that they would see, and vote yes.

Cognitive Choice '08: The Sick Leave Referendum

This is really a no-brainer. The municipal referendum calls for mandatory paid sick leave for all companies in the City of Milwaukee.

The benefits are immeasurable. It gives parents the opportunity to stay home if sick, to take care of a sick child, and for abused and battered women to get to a safe place. Without fear of also losing their jobs.

It will help the economy and it will help people stay healthier. Sick kids won't be as likely to go to school to infect other kids. Sick parents won't be going to work to infect coworkers and customers. All of this will boost production in the long run.

I am sure that there will be some that will abuse it. There always has been and always will be, but the method to correct that is still the same. Fire 'em.

Likewise, I agree with some critics of the referendum in that it should not be the City of Milwaukee issuing this referendum. It should be statewide. But you have to start someplace.

And as for the worn out argument of costing jobs, ruining the economy, etc. That is the same tired line that they have used for generations to protest child labor laws, the 40 hour work week, paid overtime, and all the other things that many of take for granted.

For more information on the referendum, click here.

So vote yes on the municipal referendum.

And I predict that it will pass overwhelmingly.

Where In The World Is Elliot Stearns?

My friend, Elliot Stearns, sure gets around a lot. He is also a strong advocate of the Second Amendment.

Because of these two things, I have cause to believe that he is currently in Boston:

BOSTON (AP) -- Boston Police investigating an armed robbery lifted a man out of a wheelchair and found he was sitting on three guns, including two with high capacity magazines and one with a laser sight. Police said they were led to an apartment building in the city's South Boston neighborhood by two men who said they were robbed of their cell phones Friday.

The men said they were threatened by a teenager with a gun and saw another man in a window of the building holding a gun.

Police searched several individuals, including a 22-year-old man, who was sitting in a wheelchair. Police said when they lifted him out of the wheelchair they found the guns.

The man was set to be arraigned Monday on charges of illegal possession of guns and ammunition.

Heh. I didn't know that Elliot was so young. He looks much older than 22.

And Elliot, don't call me for bail money, OK?