The Real Scott Walker

A timely video from WISDEMS:



They just don't know how timely it is. Yet.

St. Francis Soundly Rejects Racism, Sexism

I warned you last night that St. Francis could find itself with Judge Dreadful, aka Kyle Duerstein, who has made his fair share of offensive comments.

St. Francis responded in force to reject such hate:

Longtime St. Francis Municipal Judge Peter Hemmer kept his seat Tuesday in a contest in which nobody -- including himself -- was on the ballot.

Hemmer had declared he wouldn’t seek re-election to another two-year term. But when nobody else emerged as a candidate, Hemmer said he would serve if elected as a write-in candidate.

The final tally was 203 votes for Hemmer to 23 for Kyle Duerstein and 15 for Ellen Ferentz.

Congratulations to St. Francis.

Milwaukee County Pink Blizzard Alert

I have a feeling that soon Milwaukee County will be under a pink slip blizzard warning from the job service bureau.

All the conditions are right for a blizzard of pink slips for Milwaukee County.

There is high pressure moving in. This pressure comes from the most recent poll, which shows that Scott Walker and Mark Neumann are in a virtual tie in their race to become the victorious, if bloodied and broke, Republican nominee to go down in flames to Tom Barrett. (Yes, I know the poll also says both Republicans lead Barrett, but Barrett hasn't even run one commercial compared to their seven combined contributions to TV spam. Even with that, xoff points out why this poll doesn't really matter.)

Adding to this is the fact that any day, they will be coming out with the first quarter numbers for Milwaukee County's budget. Given the events of last year, when Walker proved that he couldn't count to ten without his fingers and someone helping him in the rough spots (like going from five to six), the budget is sure to be even deeper in the red, both in real numbers and in Walker numbers.

Further adding to the unstable employment climate is that soon Walker will be gearing up for his blatantly unethical, corporate-sponsored campaign bike ride, conveniently moved up by more than a month to hook up with the Wisconsin Republican Convention. Walker will want to walk into the convention with a feather in his cap to show everyone that he still believes he doesn't have to earn the win, but that he is the Ordained One. That feather, in Walker's estimation, should be hundreds of pink slips given to county workers whose only fault is having a county executive that wants to be governor, and wants to treat the unions like they're the new Jim Doyle.

But it won't be only county workers that will be getting pink slips due to Walker's ineptitude and malfeasance. It will be tens of thousands of workers in the Milwaukee County area who will be losing their jobs when bus routes get slashed, keeping workers from their jobs and shoppers from the stores. Walker's political gaming will also have many ripple effects as services get severely cut, if not completely eliminated.

If you don't believe me, just as a county supervisor, who gets to see the numbers not being released, yet warn that it is going to get much worse.

You Gave It A Hell Of A Try, Greg

Greg Kowalksi, author of Franklin Today, did what many of us bloggers don't do. Instead of sitting at the computer day after day, telling people how he thinks things should be, he put himself out there and actually ran for a seat on the Franklin Common Council.

Unfortunately, the voters in his district decided to stick with the inept incumbent, but Greg did put in a heck of an effort and came very close to actually pulling off the upset.

I would like to congratulate and to thank Greg on taking the risk, offering to serve his community, and for standing up for what he believes in. I hope that this one loss does not turn him off from trying again. He did a great job and should not feel any shame in the way he conducted himself in this race.

I am proud to have him as a friend.

Vote Today!*

Today is the day of the spring elections, so hie thee to the polls and vote!*



*Only good in communities where there is an election. There are no contested races in the City of Milwaukee.

Billboards Against Obama

A couple of months ago, I told you about the billboard that an anonymous group of businessmen put up in the Oshkosh area that was calling for the impeachment of President Obama for not fixing Bush's recession fast enough.

It now appears that this might have been part of bigger movement:

Achieving an unlikely harmony between old and new media, an anonymous group of Atlanta business owners is using a website to crowdsource the funding of an anti-Obama billboard campaign.

The group -- Billboards Against Obama -- was formed several weeks ago, and has already put up several billboards in the Atlanta metro area, according to local news reports.

While the group plans to remain anonymous, they have asked life coach, motivational speaker, and New York Times bestselling author Tommy Newberry to act as their spokesman. Newberry told TPM that the group was united by a common frustration against Obama and a desire to do something with that feeling.

I'm sure this is just another "grassroots" movement, like the Koch Industries-sponsored TEA Parties.

Judge Dreadful: Coming To St. Francis?

St. Francis could be in a world of hurt by the end of the day on Tuesday if the voters there aren't careful.

It was reported that, as late as March 31, there were no contenders for the race for municipal judge for St. Francis. The current judge, the Honorable Peter Hemmer, had filed papers indicating that he was not running again. However, when no one else filed, Judge Hemmer said he would serve again if he received enough write-in votes.

However, I have learned just of late that there is another person running as a write-in candidate as well.

The other candidate's name is Kyle Duerstein, who is infamous for having made racist comments while serving as Speaker of the Student Senate at UW-Milwaukee:

The entry, dated November 12, 2005, reads: “If mainstream black anglo-hating racists can’t find a way to function in normal society and use the intelligence that God gave them, perhaps they ask to be held down and discriminated against, and placed back into slavery.”

In 2006, Duerstein wrote: “I know that a lot of black kids growing up these days do work hard” and “Unfortunately, it has been my experience that those folks are in the minority of their race.”

Duerstein is also known for wishing that a female student who disagreed with him be "raped and killed."

Zach at Blogging Blue has more on the issue, including some very sound questions on whether Duerstein is even qualified to be a judge.

But given the prejudicial and imprudent nature of the comments that we know Duerstein has made, I would say that he has already shown that he cannot be counted on for good judgment skills already.

Cue The Bush Excuse in 3...2...1...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Scott Walker received a report warning of the dangers of not performing required maintenance on the Courthouse. Said report specifically mentioned the cornice which came crashing down last month because Walker ignored the report.

Full story at Milwaukee County First.

Illy-T notes that the County is not releasing the reports for fear of lawsuits. Isn't that against open records request laws?

James Rowen sees it as a perfect advertising opportunity for Tom Barrett's campaign.

I'm just waiting for Walker to copy his hero, President George W. Bush by saying, "There's no way anyone could have anticipated that happening."

Scott Walker's Infrastructural Failures

A new video from WISDEMS:



I bet they come out with a new one, now that we learned Walker ignored an engineering report warning him of the danger.

Project Clean And Green

I saw this from Mayor Tom Barrett's weekly report:

Dear Friends,

I wanted to take this opportunity to let you know about a valuable City program that allows you to get rid of excess household clutter and debris at no cost. It’s called Project Clean & Green and it begins April 12th and runs through June 1st. During this time, Department of Public Works crews will target one area of the City each week collecting extra items left at the garbage collection point on the scheduled day. Residents will receive a tag on their garbage cart two weeks prior to their collection week. You can also visit the DPW Web site to find your Project Clean & Green collection date.

Residents within the targeted zone can place unwanted furniture, mattresses, household items, brush, up to five tires and extra recyclables at the collection point on their scheduled collection day.

I’m also pleased to let you know most recycling carts will now be collected every three weeks, versus every four weeks, from April 12th to November 24th. Residents without alleys should place carts at the curb for collection on designated dates. Affected households will receive a tag on the recycling cart stating the scheduled summer collection dates.

Both of these initiatives are designed to make life easier for residents to keep their homes and neighborhoods clean and green. I hope you’ll take advantage of them.

Sincerely,

Mayor, City of Milwaukee

This is the first I've ever heard of such a program. This is an absolutely wonderful way to help keep people from illegally their garbage in empty fields or other people's or companies' dumpsters to avoid the charges normally associated with taking them to the dump.

Keep up the good work, Mayor! Just make sure Scott Walker doesn't try to put any of his courthouse cornice debris in there for free.

Drinking Liberally?

Jason Haas, host of our local version of Drinking Liberally, has sent out the plug for the upcoming April 21 edition of DL, although it will not be quite as liberal as is the norm. From Jason:

Hi folks,

This is not an April Fool's joke. Republican (Tea Party) U.S. Senate candidate Dave Westlake is coming to the next round of Drinking Liberally Milwaukee. Westlake is one of the two declared Republican candidates who will be competing in the primary to run against U.S. Senator Russ Feingold.

As Dave will be our special guest, let's treat him with respect. Even if you disagree with him, treat him with respect. Show him what good hosts a liberal crowd can be.

Dave is not the first Republican candidate we've had at Drinking Liberally, by the way. That was Don Holt, the honest Republican (yes, I said...) who ran against the incumbent faux-Dem Sheriff Clarke in 2006.

I'll send out another note or two closer to the actual night. As usual, we meet on the third Wednesday of the month. This one will be on Wed. April 21, and as always, it starts at 7 PM.

I wonder if Drinking Right would ever have a Democrat at one of their events, and if they would be able to act civilly towards him or her.

Happy Easter to My Christian Friends

And for the non-Christians, Happy Easter Beagle Day:

Color Me Unimpressed

As is my wont, I have subscribed to the E-Notify system to get all the updates on happenings involving the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County.

One of the things that recently arrived in my mailbox was the most recent enewsletter from County Supervisor Patricia Jursik. To put it mildly, it left me rather unimpressed.

The first entire page was dedicated to her mission of not only repairing the Hoan Bridge, but even expanding it. I've already addressed why the Hoan Bridge should not be a priority at Milwaukee County First.

Then Jursik has some stuff that might sound good on the surface, but in reality, is less what it seems:

Labor Contracts Achieved

Milwaukee County and two unions have approved labor contracts. TEAMCO (Technicians, Engineers, and Architects) and the International Association of Machinists and Aerospace Workers agreed to accept concessions in contracts effective through 2011. As chair of the Personnel Committee, I would like to thank the members for coming to an agreement with the County during times of financial stress.

Supervisor Jursik Sponsors 401k-style Pension Proposal

I introduced a resolution before the Personnel Committee to study a 401k-style pension for all elected county officials (supervisors, executive, sheriff, register of deeds, clerk of court, county clerk & treasurer).

By creating a 401k-style pension, elected officials would avoid a conflict of interest in dealing with employee benefits since they no longer would be covered under the pension plan. Staff must return to the Personnel Committee no later than July 31 with a report.

I am pleased that the County Executive has also spoken favorably of a 401k-style pension system.

I also supported the proposal to reduce the pension multiplier for elected officials to match the reduction given to our employees.

As for the union contracts, these two unions combined would barely add up to 50 workers. They are not very big and thus do not have a lot of resources they could devote to a long mediation or arbitration, and all the legal battles. Touting reaching a contract with them would be akin to boasting about taking candy from a baby.

What Jursik does not mention is how they gave the nurses union a big raise and then approved a collateral contract agreement in which the nurses would be allowed to skip the furlough days in exchange for four minor holidays. (Minor holidays are ones like Veterans Day, the Friday after Thanksgiving, MLK's Birthday and President's Day. Workers can takes these days off on those holidays or they can choose to save the days and use them at a later time.)

The 401k plan is also not the best of ideas. Taking the county's pension system and merging it with the state's system would take the conflict out as well. But the merger would have the bonus of saving the county tax payers over $10 million dollars worth of administrative costs.

And the decrease in the pension multiplier is an empty gesture at best, since it is not likely to ever be passed. It is just feeding into Scott Walker's campaign talking points. And anyone who follows this blog would have already deduced that Walker's stance of cutting his own pension multiplier via waiver is a gimmick, since he knows darn well that if he does somehow make it through the primary, and then really beats the odds by winning the election, his pension goes back up to 2% as governor, which is where the state system is at. And I have not heard Walker make on mention of cutting that one.

As I said before, this might play well to her constituents, as long as they aren't paying too close attention to what is really going on. But that doesn't mean her choices are the best ones, or even good ones.

Your Tax Dollars Not At Work - The Good Furlough Friday Edition

Today was Day 4 of the 22 furlough days that Scott Walker dictated I have to contribute to his gubernatorial campaign.

As I have repeatedly pointed out, every day I miss work due to these furlough days, it is another $600 in lost revenue for Milwaukee County. Just on me alone, Walker has now squandered $2,400.

Wow, that's real fiscal responsibility! He creates his own deficit, and then makes it even bigger in a bogus campaign stunt.

And as Walker's campaign logistics coordinator (is that a fancy name for chauffeur?) pointed out in the comments of last night's post, Walker is dipping into my check to help pay for his campaign. So far this year, I am out about $500, which really hurts considering my wife's severe underemployment, caused by Walker's inability to lead the County out of the fiscal crisis it's been in for years.

But don't worry friends, starting next week, I will be joining other county workers and hopping on the OT train. With Walker laying off people, and prompting scores of other workers to pull the trigger and take their retirement, most areas of the county is severely understaffed. This situation is, of course, only made worse by the furloughs.

But there are state and federal guidelines to meet. Since there are not enough workers and Walker refuses to hire more workers to bring staffing up to the bare minimum, the only other choice is to pay the existing workers overtime.

Presuming I survive the layoffs* that are coming, I should make all the lost money back in short order. Unfortunately for the tax payers, that might mean nothing, or worse than nothing, since he is still cutting revenue streaming while increasing this spending.

But at least I made good use of my time off today. I actually slept for a full seven hours. It was the first time I slept more than five in I don't remember how long. True bliss comes from a full night's sleep.

I then got a pair of new glasses that broke on me yesterday. Kudos to LensCrafters for their excellent customer service and standing behind their products and service. And I do so enjoy the first day or two of having new glasses, when everything is sharp and bright. It makes the whole world look new and fresh.

I also donated an unit of blood. They say one unit of blood can save three lives, which means I did more for Milwaukee County residents in one hour than Walker has done in the last eight years.

I also took care of some Milwaukee County First business, which was a good feeling when it was done, since it ended with favorable results.

To end the day was a thoroughly enjoyable fish fry with family and friends.

These furlough days are a lot easier to take when I know that some extra money is coming my way. It's almost like having another vacation day.

Walker Loses Face and Faith

Poor old Scott Walker is having himself another bad week.

Walker was counting on making a lot of political hay over the next couple of months on the fact that the State had to close off one of the bridges in the zoo interchange. Even though the delays were only five or ten minutes, he were taking good advantage of this opportunity to get his sound bites issued.

Only it wasn't meant to be. The state has announced that the replacement bridge will be ready by Friday morning, only one week after they closed it down. To make matters even worse for Walker, the rest of the project appears to be ahead of schedule as well.

Walker, his campaign staff and the usual right wing echo chamber is very upset indeed about the good news, and are still trying to make a mountain out of this molehill. They claim it was a set up by Jim Doyle and Tom Barrett to make Walker look bad.

To me, it just shows that they have never watched Star Trek. For if they had, they would have remembered one of Scotty's more memorable quotes from Star Trek III: The Search for Spock:

"How much refit time before we can take her out again?"
"Eight week, sir - but you don't have eight weeks, so I'll do it for you in two."
"Mr. Scott, have you always multiplied your repair estimates by a factor of four?"
"Certainly, sir - how else could I keep up my reputation as a miracle worker?"

- Kirk and Scotty

But Walker's problems didn't end at the bridge. There was a follow up story to Walker's crumbling courthouse in which it was reported that it could take up to five months to fix the cornice of the courthouse. Needless to say, the whole crumbling courthouse affair could have all been avoided if Walker just attended to the job he is getting paid to do, which is not going all over the state campaigning in a race that he has already lost.

Between having a golden opportunity taken away from him and having the courthouse issue falling on him like, well, a chunk of the courthouse, Walker must be feeling quite a bit of strain lately. And like many people under a lot of stress, Walker apparently finds himself in a crisis of faith.

His campaign has been tweeting all day about the new, vamped up look to his website. When I went to check it out, the first things I noticed was that it didn't really look all that different. But there was one major change:


Walker took down the picture of the hand holding a card that read "Believe in Wisconsin Again."

First Walker makes a fool out of himself over what turned out to me a minor and a very temporary traffic problem. Then his own house comes falling down around him due to his refusal to perform his duties as county executive. Now he no longer believes in Wisconsin, which was the whole theme of his campaign.

All of this combined will only help to accelerate his tailspin slide in the polls.