The extension of unemployment benefits raises some very tough issues.  On the one hand, we have high levels of unemployment.  On the other, we have no money to continue these benefits if jobs are not forthcoming sooner rather than later.  On the one hand, there are few jobs available and that might be the worse issue, but the apparently compassionate thing to do is to extend benefits.  On the one hand, we are being considerate of those who are not employed.  On the other, we risk creating a whole new group of dependent Americans.

The Republicans find themselves in the unenviable position of either having to vote in favor or of facing the accusations of not caring during the coming election cycle.  The underlying issues such as continuing high levels of unemployment, jobs being done by illegal immigrants that could be done by citizens, the increasing debt burden of our country that we can not afford and so on do not play as well in the sound bite.

This issue is one that exemplifies the surface nature of our political debates these days.  If a politician tries to engage in full fledged debate of various issues, they find themselves fighting for face time and losing that fight.

We seem to have gotten to the point where we want the ‘USA Today’ version rather than the ‘Wall Street Journal’ version of every issue.  It has become the nature of our political debate to do the ‘fast food’ version because few of us seem to have the ability to make ourselves focus on the underlying issues present in each of these debates for longer than two or three minutes.

We seem to have become a nation of ‘sound bite’ addicts.  We seem to have become intellectually lazy. 

We are nearing, more rapidly with every passing day, the point where we just roll over and let government do everything for us…and that is precisely what many in governments want us to do.  If we become so demoralized and so intellectually incapable, then we are very easily controlled with government hand-outs.

We have only to look at what our approach to welfare has done to generations of people who have become perpetually dependent upon those who work; the result of that approach is not where we want to be going, and yet that is where we’re pointed with this ‘compassionate’ approach to adversity.

Continued hand-outs, without changing the underlying problem, are bad, not good.  We ought to be focused on job creation…private sector job creation…instead of extending the periods for hand-outs to 99 months.   We are running our debt to levels we’ll be unable to sustain and we’re doing harm to those we purport to help at the same time.

There really is something to that long known statement that it is better to teach a person to fish than to give a person a fish.  We have yet to truly learn that, if our current and continuing actions are an indication.

That seems the mantra of many Americans these days.  When asked, by the Rasmussen polling organization, “Do you favor a one-year moratorium on all new regulations?” a plurality favored doing just that.  38% favored a moratorium while 34% opposed it.  28% couldn’t decide; maybe they’re so over-loaded that they’re unable to think any longer.

I’ve used the analogy of taking a sip of water from a fire hose before.  The flow of information has increased to the extent that it threatens us.  For those of us who are news junkies, there is even too much for many of us to absorb.

I avoided news almost entirely (compared to my normal intake) during the vacation we recently enjoyed in Colorado.  I actually felt more relaxed as the result; and, I didn’t suffer withdrawal, either.  I know more and more people who simply have tuned out to the point that they are unaware of bills moving through Congress even as those sometimes threaten their industry and ultimately their livelihood.

Information overload takes a toll on people, even on those who deny they are susceptible to that kind of overload.  The 24 hour news cycle has produced changes in the quality of news and changes in the quantity of news.  The Internet has forced the print media to change simply in order to survive.  Book stores are fearful that printed books may be on their way out of existence as e-books make their way into the mainstream.

I have lived long enough, so far, to have seen the invention of television, and the land line telephone system (using party lines and human operators) giving way to cellular telephones broadcasting over the airways; and the diminishing fortunes of newspapers and, especially, of magazines.  I have seen the first computer that required enormous cooling and very large rooms, and now watch as millions of people use hand-held telephones that wield magnitudes greater memory and storage capacity than did that first machine.

I recall reading a treatise a couple of years ago that estimated that mankind’s combined knowledge was doubling every five years.  My grandsons are now more computer literate than I am in many ways.  They intuitively find their way around new software and new hardware in no time at all.  I have ‘suddenly’ become several generations behind on digital recording devices.

A modern day Rip Van Winkle would need only to doze off for a year or so in order to experience the mind-bending experience of the earlier version of that mythical man.

I’ve recently spoken with physicians and pharmacists who are considering retirement but recognize that this will be a final decision since they’d so rapidly lose their edge in their fields of involvement as to be unemployable in a couple of years.

My aging process has given me wisdom to now appreciate those who have gone before me.  I had some difficulty recognizing why those predecessors were so ‘out of touch’ with technology; that is no longer a question I have.  I have developed a new-found respect for what they were experiencing.

I am thankful that I have grandsons who can help Bompa and Gamma out when something new hits our lives; even if they have that silly little smile on their face that says volumes about what they’re thinking.

I have been there and bought the T-shirt.  Things really do come full circle for us if we live long enough.

The old bromide, “there ought‘a be a law” came to mind yesterday with the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision that the raiding of the Patient Compensation Fund by our Governor and legislature was improper.

The $200 Million was just sitting there and Governor Doyle needed to find money from somewhere to at least maintain the semblance of a balanced budget.  He has, of course, purloined untold millions from many different locations that had been earmarked for other uses.  That wasn’t new.  That he took this money that had literally been placed in Trust was the straw that broke his back in this case.

Maybe there is the need for a Constitutional amendment that will preclude such “shenanigans” from occurring in future years.  We do have a requirement that our state’s budget be balanced.  We continue to spend more on annual programs than we have, and then we perpetuate that over-spending by seizing funds from other places.

This whole situation begs for adult government, honest adult government, without the games that have become so commonplace. 

We have change in the air in Wisconsin.  If Scott Walker is elected as our next Governor, the change that will occur will be refreshing, not easy but refreshing.  We will need to wean ourselves from the mother’s teat of endless programs that we simply cannot afford. 

It is way past time for this state to regain the stable and honest form of governance that it once had.  Arrogant political leaders are a dime a dozen these days.  We voters have to get a lot better at reading the tea leaves if we’re going to change our governments for the better.  We have to look at the history of those whom we’re considering for office.  If there is no history, the candidate ought to be sent back to the minor leagues until they have some history.

And really, there ought’a be a law that would actually apply a significant monetary penalty on lawmakers who do things like take money from a ‘trust’ account.  As it stands today, the Governor will skate into history when he ought to be vilified for what he did.  And those who voted for this stinky budget with those dollars being used in the way they were ought to be subjected to a monetary penalty.  That will be the only way to get their attention and to make changes to the way some politicians conduct themselves.

Barleypop…

We had not tried the Barleypop under its new ownership until Friday evening and stopped for a fish fry.

My impressions were:

The place had been cleaned up and seemed more open and much less noisy.

If the number of people there at 5:45PM last Friday were an indication of the regular crowd, I will be surprised if the new owner is able to make this a going concern over the long pull.

The menu has several new items that look interesting.

The fish fry was delicious, was served quickly, and extra pieces were quickly offered.  The wait staff was very good and very attentive without bothering.

Fox and Hounds Brunch…

We were invited to a birthday celebration for a longtime neighbor and friend yesterday and the scene was the Fox and Hounds in Hubertus.  We had been there several times since it was re-opened under new ownership and were quite pleased with those visits.

We had not tried their brunch, however, and were quite interested in it.  The experience was wonderful.  There was a wide array of food, a desert table that almost made me forget to eat my meal first, and the service for this group of twenty was excellent.  Everything was either hot or cold, as it was supposed to be, and all was very tasty.

We will certainly plan to go again.

Nardo’s…

Nardo’s continues to deliver top notch food, drinks and service.  The menu is large, the choices almost mind-boggling and the service is excellent.  The prices are, I think, quite reasonable for the amounts and quality of the food. 

I enjoy an occasional serving of liver and onions…and Nardo’s has some of the best I have ever experienced.  The liver is done to a “T”, the onions sautéed just right and the bacon is crisp.

Their Caesar salad is right up near the best I have eaten no matter where and no matter the cost.

We’re blessed with good choices for the occasional meal out.

The recess appointment of Dr. Donald Berwick, to become the head of Medicare and Medicaid with the tangential duties as overseer of the new ObamaCare health plan, will prove to have been a critical appointment made without the Senate’s advice and consent role in place.

This appointment was done by President Obama so as to avoid re-opening the debate on his health care plan.  Some have pointed to the recess appointment made by his predecessors as the justification for this recess appointment.  The scope of his duties and the magnitude of his decisions will affect each and every person in this country…and not necessarily for the better.  Such appointments should not be made without the Senate's oversight.

Daniel Henninger, in his Wonderland column in this morning’s Wall Street Journal, provided ample evidence of the thinking of this man.  Some of the quotes, from speeches and articles, attributed to Berwick follow:

• “You cap your health care budget, and you make the political and economic choices you need to keep affordability within reach.”
• “Indeed, the Holy Grail of universal coverage in the United States may remain out of reach unless, through rational collective action overriding some individual self-interest, we can reduce per capita costs.”
• “It may therefore be necessary to set a legislative target for the growth of spending at 1.5 percentage points below currently projected increases and to grant the federal government the authority to reduce updates in Medicare fees if the target is exceeded.”
• “A progressive policy regime will control and rationalize financing – control supply.”
• “Health care is a common good – single payer, speaking and buying for the common good.”
• “One over-demanded service is prevention; annual physicals, screening tests, and other measures that supposedly help catch diseases early.”
• “I would place a commitment to excellence – standardization to the best-known method – above clinician autonomy as a rule for care.”
• “Young doctors and nurses should emerge from training understanding the values of standardization and the risks of too great an emphasis on individual autonomy.”

Dr, Berwick has been selected by President Obama to create the one-size fits all health care approach that some have long thought is the ideal.  To have subjected him to the scrutiny of the Senate was, apparently, not something our President was comfortable doing.  That seems understandable when one reads Berwick's words.

The practice of medicine relegated to what the bean counters tell our physicians and nurses to provide will result in those doctors and nurses deciding to leave the practice of medicine in droves.   Physicians had already begun to refuse new Medicare patients given the low reimbursement rates in place.

ObamaCare was always intended to lead to nationalized medicine in spite of all the denials and protestations to the contrary.  The selection of, and recess appointment of, Dr. Donald Berwick as the sole decider of the future of health care in America was part of the grand scheme to accomplish nationalized health care.

We have seen the good old days so far as the quality and availability of our medical care is concerned.  I will soon be too old to qualify for certain procedures that might extend my life, and Dr. Berwick thinks my earlier death will be a boon to him since I’ll be one less drag on the system.  We are well down the road of “cradle to grave” government, only the grave is closer for each of us than it was before ObamaCare became the law of the land.

“Shadow” was a 1^st Sergeant in the National Guard unit I was assigned to following receipt of my shiny new 2^nd Lieutenant’s bars many years ago.  He was wiry, a little shorter than me and had a twinkle in his eye.  He was, I have just learned, about 13 years my senior.

For some reason, Shadow decided I’d be okay as an officer even though I needed a lot more polishing than I’d received during my days in the Wisconsin Military Academy.  Even as cocky as I was at the time, somehow I knew that I needed to listen to my self-appointed mentor.

Shadow and I served together over the course of quite a few years.  I became the Battery Commander and he kept me out of trouble…for the most part.  We developed, or maybe he developed in spite of me, a partnership.  I made the decisions, but he counseled me since I went to him often to determine his opinion.  There were few times that my decision didn’t mirror his counsel, and some of those went my way and others went his way, but we always had each other’s back.

I don’t know how or where he came to have the nickname “Shadow”, but it was very appropriate since he was my shadow.  He sensed when things needed his guiding touch, and he made sure that I didn’t embarrass myself in front of the men of the unit.  Shadow was just that, a shadow that seemed to be there when I needed him most.

I lost touch with Shadow when I resigned my commission and left “the Guard”.  I heard that he had moved to Northern Wisconsin.  For a couple of years, he would call around Christmas just to say a quick “hello”.  He was not much for maudlin conversations; just get the job done and move on.  This morning I found him again.  His obituary appeared in the morning paper.

Shadow (Richard J. Nuszbaum, Sr.) was a St. Francis firefighter for 25 years, and my shadow for a lot of years.  He has two sons and I hope they received some of those special genes from their Dad.  I have missed him for a long time, but now I know that he has gone on to his next challenge…getting St. Peter ‘squared away’ without letting anyone know that is what he is doing.

The last time the Republicans had the role of leadership in our national government, they did a poor job.  They spent money that we didn’t have and that didn’t need to be spent.  Political cronies were recipients of government largess.  There seemed little, if any, conviction as to how to guide the country.  Waffling was the watchword; positions were wishy-washy.  Politics was more important than governing.  Sounds familiar doesn’t it?

The Republicans deserved to be ousted as happened with the election of Barack Obama and with the domination of both sides of Congress by the Democrats.

Now we have the coming fall election races and we have the President’s Press Secretary stating that his party could lose control of the House of Representatives.  There appears a swing back in the other direction; whether or not the swing is real remains to be seen, but all the signs are there.

This morning I read that Newt Gingrich is seriously considering a run for the presidency and will make his decision early next year.  He brings so much baggage with him that I cringe to think of the impact his entry into the race would have.  He is a brilliant thinker but doesn’t seem able to survive in office.  He would sell a lot of newspapers for the mainstream media, but likely would not stand up well over the long haul.

Mitt Romney, creator of the Massachusetts health program that was the forerunner of ObamaCare, which is already unaffordable, is certain to throw his hat into the ring.  For a conservative, such as me, he would require the holding of a nose while casting a vote in his favor.

Sarah Palin will, I hope, not become a candidate for the presidency.  Again, she has been demonized, whether rightly or wrongly, and would be even further demonized if she were to run for national office.  Maybe next time; she is still young enough to continue to build her ‘creds’ while raising money for others.  She is much brighter than the press gives her credit for being.  McCain did her no favors after she became his running mate.

Michael Steele, head of the Republican Party, seems unable to keep himself out of hot water for more than a month at a time before his mouth gets him in trouble again.

The “Young Guns” still seem to be relegated to the back of the Republican bus even though they are the deep thinkers of the party.  Paul Ryan is running uphill within his own party even though it is he and a handful of others whom the party ought to be embracing as its future.  Ryan’s ‘Roadmap’ ought to be the program on which the next presidency is decided, and it ought to be part of the congressional races this year.  It is a real and viable solution unlike most other things we see from those in office.

If the voters hand control of at least the House over to the Republicans, I hope that party will move to the more conservative positions, which the Tea Partiers espouse, when governing.  Again, voting ‘for’ someone rather than voting ‘against’ someone else is where I’d like to find myself in the next few elections.

One more flub in the use of power will find the Republicans out of office for a much longer time...and deservedly so. 

VAT – Value Added Tax – looks more and more likely for the U.S.  It is widely used in other countries (over 130 have it) and our government does not appear to be thinking at all seriously about cutting our country’s expenses.  We can’t continue to spend more than we have, but our elected officials do not seem to understand that very simple rule of economics.

The VAT would lay a new tax on products at every level in which those are handled thus taxing the value that was theoretically added in each step of the process.  Iron ore could see taxes added at as many as six or eight, or more, different steps as the finished-use product is created and delivered to the end-user.

We all know, or should, that once a tax is created, it just doesn’t seem to do anything but get bigger as a percentage.  There have been a few instances where a sundown for a tax was actually permitted to occur, but I can’t think of the last time that occurred.

We should insist that our candidates make a commitment to bringing the budget back into balance for real if they want our votes.  They will whine and tell us that this is impossible, but you and I have to conduct our homes and businesses in that manner.  The growth in employment has been almost entirely in the public sector.  Government jobs have been created but the private sector, that supports those new jobs through taxes, is still struggling.  The changes will be very difficult and very painful to our government employees, but change is necessary. 

Federal jobs average between $100,000 and $120,000 per year depending upon the agency providing those jobs.  The private sector average is considerably less than $100,000.  Unless and until we remedy that inequity, we are destined to toil to keep our government employees happy regardless of the consequences to us.

If we become another Greece, we will likely never recover as the economic envy of the free world; and, there are, unfortunately, those in control in our own country that seem to believe that is just fine.  Those office holders need to be sent home.  That housecleaning needs to begin this fall…and continue every election after that until we have finished that job and gotten people in office who are like you and me, who spend only what they have; people who know that they are unable to raise more money from their neighbors through taxes to sustain their over-spending.

President Obama has his head down and is charging to the goal line, seemingly oblivious of the mood of the country.  He continues to demonstrate that his apparent goal was to gain office and to make as many changes of as significant a nature as possible before he had to stand for re-election.  For any President to have been compared to former-President Carter in such a short time after taking office certainly must be significant.  Even the mainstream media has picked up on those vibes.

Our health care system now has a person as its head who is in love with the British NHS, and who is an avowed ambassador of rationing.  The fact that Dr. Donald Berwick was given that office without any congressional hearings ought to tell all of us a great deal, whether we voted for or against Mr. Obama; and, that ought to be of very great concern.  The “czars” that permeate this Administration have effectively shielded us from the debate over whom and what they are and where they might well take us.

Members of Congress continue to reel from the possibility that their constituents might not like them anymore.  They seem unable to comprehend that we are not a nation of ignorant voters but that we are tuned in and increasingly disgusted with them and their antics.  Or maybe they simply know that we seldom keep our promises to “throw the bums out”.

The behind-the-scenes efforts that continue to be the everyday fare in Congress have caused us to no longer know what our elected representatives are up to, and our protests seem to fall on deaf ears.  Deals are made behind innocuous-sounding bill names and then spirited through at night.  The warning that, even if the current party in power lost its majority, there would be much hay made during the lame duck session following the elections is representative of the nasty nature of politics today.  And it is us who have permitted that, even encouraged that, mood to prevail with our apparent disinterest.

The election season is upon us.  Many expect a sea change while others think the losses of the current party-in-power will be less significant.  The election “season” has become perpetual; one campaign ends and the next campaign begins the morning after the votes are counted.  Our President has never stopped campaigning; maybe that is ‘the Chicago Way’ but it hasn’t left much time for governing as we used to think of that term.

We have endured a constant flow of charges and counter-charges.  We have had no respite from the political maelstrom.  The 24 hour news cycle is relentless and it seems to be sapping our will to weigh and form opinions.  We seem to be in danger of simply being swept along in the current of daily events without time, nor even inclination, to step back and take a deep breath.

Will the current voter angst be felt in the coming elections, or will we have lost our focus and vote the incumbents back into office as we usually do?

Discrimination Suit Filed...

The action, long rumored, has been filed against the Village, the Board and the former President.  This suit, brought by the former Administrative Assistant to the Village Administrator alleges the sexual discrimination and employment discrimination actions that have been discussed behind closed doors for the past many months.  If those actions did occur, there is rather detailed discussion (embedded in the article by Don Behm related to this topic) of them in the documents filed and available to the public if you care to read that, there are many who will have to share part of the blame.

There can be no winners in such a situation, there can only be people who lose in one way or another.

DA Appointed To Judgeship…

Todd Martens will assume the bench in a few weeks ending his run as the District Attorney for Washington County.  He has, in my estimation proved that he has the requisite qualities to make a very good judge.  His appointment by Governor Doyle has been a bit of a foregone conclusion, but, unless and until announced, such things are never a certainty.

He has successfully stood for election four times since being appointed DA and that suggests that he’ll be able to hold this judicial seat for so long as he desires since we seldom un-elect judges.

Vacation-Prompted Thoughts…

We have been in Woodland Park, CO for the past week visiting our daughter and her family.  This is the community from which Menomonee Falls Village Manager Mark Fitzgerald came and sits about 30 minutes up the front slope from Colorado Springs.  It has some 7,500 to 8,000 residents and is modern in almost every way.

That having been said, there is still a bit of the wilderness present.  We noted a 250 lb. black bear across the street grazing peacefully in the front lawn of that neighbor.  Bears know when garbage day is for they often forage before the trucks make their rounds.

A mother and her twin fawns were equally as welcome in that lawn and spent many hours cavorting and feeding where the bear had been.  That same residence is the seeming-perpetual home to a new fox family each year, as well.

There is still a frontier feel and that is borne out by the regular sightings of wildlife within a block or two of the Post Office and the Public Library and the City Hall.

Redemption is alive and well within our U.S. Senate.  Two recent deaths from within the group of then-currently seated Senators gave us that redemptive window through which to view these people.

Senator Robert Byrd died yesterday at the age of 92 after a long illness that kept him off the Senate floor except for key votes when he was wheeled in to make his vote.  The liberal press has, for all intent and purpose, forgotten the history of this man.  He was a Ku Klux Klan (KKK) leader.  He filibustered against the Civil Rights law.  He brought more taxpayer dollars to his home state of West Virginia than almost any other member of Congress brought to his or her state.  We call that pork barrel money.

That having been said, Sen. Byrd was an arch-defender of the protocol of the Senate and wielded his fierce protection of that body whether it was a Democrat or a Republican that threatened to defile its reputation.  Then-Senator Joe Biden was the recipient of one of Byrd’s ‘comeuppances’ in a federal appeals court vote in 1986.   Byrd carried a copy of our Constitution with him at all times and was not bashful about pulling it out to deliver a lecture as he thought appropriate.

As with other Senate members, such as Edward Kennedy, we see complicated personalities that had both good and not-so-good episodes in their adult lives.  They were redeemed, as much by the forgetfulness of the mainstream media as by their changed ways.

Isn’t it interesting that our country has been told off, in an economic sense, by the European Union countries?

The G20 conference in Canada has given our government “what for” in that it told us in no uncertain terms that one cannot spend oneself out of a recession with borrowed money.  These are the same countries that we’ve been trying to bail out of their doldrums for some time.  Even they have finally come to understand that there comes a time when the piper must be paid lest they, too, become paupers.

The European socialism experiment is folding in upon itself like a wet cardboard box.  Those leaders have finally recognized that they borrowed and spent themselves into this situation, and seem, finally, to be taking steps to end the experiment.   This is the Europe where people could retire at age 60 with full nationalized health care, etc., etc.  This is the Europe that our current President seems to want to emulate because it works so well and puts big government at the top of the heap.

Our nearly two-year experiment with Obama’s policies seems to have turned sour of late.  We are in much worse shape now than we were when he took office, and not all of it is "Bush's fault".  Obama had some problems to take care of that were not of his making, but he has not seemed up to that task…and it is a task that faces virtually every president who has ever been.  There are always unexpected calamities that hit every presidency,

The presidency is not some neat, tidy arrangement where really important people sit in a nice “Oval office” and make decisions that will place them forever in our hearts and the history books.  The presidency requires tough, and often unpopular, decisions be taken at the right time.  The current President has the “often unpopular” part of that down pat.

We continue to see “big government can help” decisions emanating from Washington as we see the economy stumbling along on money borrowed from China which is tiring of our debt.  We “stimulated” car purchases with the ‘cash for clunkers’ farce.  We bailed out the auto industry with our money and the unions ended up in a better position as the result than did we taxpayers who funded the whole thing.  We stimulated home purchases and, when those funds dried up, so did home sales.  We have begun nationalizing health care at a cost of trillions of dollars that we don't have.  We 'stimulated' employment and that has not been the magic bullet we were told largely because the money went to expanding government jobs and not our jobs.  We are reforming this and that industry and the favored people seem to always benefit.  Those of us who are unfavored are reeling from the pace of this big government take-over.

We have watched major legislation pass through this Congress and we wonder what were they thinking?  What is happening is the very well-crafted erosion of the power of the people in favor of the power of big government.  The Saul Alinsky playbook is in full sway.  The Obama Whitehouse has not missed capitalizing on any crises and doesn’t give any indication that it will.

We bought the proverbial ‘pig in a poke’ and we seem to have gotten what we deserve for taking such an action as voters.  He who would be President had no discernable experience, but talked a good game, and was voted in by a wave of uninformed enthusiasm.  The man had no experience that would’ve possibly prepared him for the task for which he was hired, and he hasn’t disappointed.  He has been as effective in so many ways as would have been expected of a person with no discernable experience.

Maybe we need such lessons at various points in history.  If so, let us hope that we learn from this experience.

There are too few among us who give any thought to their relationships on a daily basis.  Then, we have an accident such as the one near Oconomowoc last week that claimed three young lives.  The loss of a young life in a kayak incident on Lake Michigan made the news a bit over a week ago.  And, the collapsing of a portion of the façade on the parking structure downtown yesterday that took one life.

I’d wager that none of those five who lost their earthly lives had given much, if any, thought to ‘being right’ with those whom they loved and who were important to them.  That includes, for those of us who are believers, being right with their Lord.

For some of us, the time we have left in our lives is shortened by illness that may’ve already been determined to be fatal in the short run.  Life is a fatal disease.  For some, the span of life is measured in many decades; for others, it is measured a minutes or hours or days or months.

Most will agree that it is good that we are unable to see into the future, for there are things in each of our futures over which we would anguish.  Those things are beyond our abilities to control, and the timing of such occurrences is among the things over which we have no control.

I try to remember that I should not permit wounds to fester without trying, at least, to make things right.  I try to never go to sleep angry with my sweetheart.  Being curmudgeonly, I also have to remember to tell people that I love them.  Sometimes I’m embarrassed to tell another that I love them but I try to at least euphemistically convey my feelings.  We men are often more susceptible to being macho and to not showing our emotions for fear that will make us appear weak.  If we live long enough, that ‘tough guy’ thing usually gives way to the underlying caring and concern that was always there.  It is most unfortunate when we don’t live long enough to have shown that caring side to those closest to us.

The misfortune of others usually serves as a wake-up call for me; I hope that it does for you, too.

“Disclose Act” is the name of a bill (HR 5175) that the current majority is working diligently to move through the House of Representatives.

This personifies the claim I have made repeatedly: assume the opposite of the bill’s name when trying to assess its intended results.  This proposed legislation is the majority’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in the “Citizens United vs. Federal Election Commission” case earlier this year that knocked down parts of the McCain Feingold Act that many thought were unconstitutional when it was passed.

This law would see the business-driven (and other groups resistant to habitual incumbency) election-focused advertisements being “outed” while those of the unions would be protected from that disclosure requirement.  It is a blatant attempt to subvert the highest court in the land with something very likely to again be determined unconstitutional just as was its predecessor act, but that not being possible until after the coming fall elections.  After the election, if the changes being predicted actually were to have been averted, the case against the Act would take a long time to wind through the court system; and incumbents, who were able to stay in Washington, would’ve been protected from things such as “the Conservatives” and the “T.E.A. party” group and its supporters.

To show just how intent the current majority is about this bill’s passage, they made a deal with the NRA (yes, the National Rifle Association) that would’ve exempted it from the bill’s requirements.  That was calculated to buy its compliance so that it would not alarm its members about this subversion of freedom of speech.  A few other groups were also extended such courtesy.

That, by the way, also shows the “pliability” of the NRA; it permitted itself the luxury of walking on the ‘dark side’ for awhile until its members began to be heard.  If it was to be spared, it apparently was content to see the freedom of speech of other groups curtailed so long as the NRA’s freedom of speech was unaffected, at least for the time-being.

This whole contrivance is, unfortunately, emblematic of the general state of our democracy today.  We are governed by judges when our Congress decides that suits its fancy.  The ‘sleaze’, with which too many of our elected officials conduct themselves, when supposedly about ‘our business’, is astounding.  When you think you’ve seen the maximum extent to which this can be practiced, you come to understand there is no limit to the sleaze factor.

Finally, that the supposed ‘good guys’ remain silent when this is happening because it is seen as ‘politics as usual’ is also very disconcerting.  When this has become such a commonplace occurrence that citizens let it slide past them, it becomes even more alarming.  We are, it would seem, much further down that slippery slope than might have been thought.

This bill needs to be defeated!

Gen. McChrystal meets with President Obama this morning and may or may not emerge from that meeting with his command intact.

The press is, of course, speculating as to whether he ought to be kept in that position or removed from that position.  They, too, ponder just how the President ought to handle this ticklish situation in order to save face.  He could be damned if he does and damned if he doesn’t…and that seems the most important part of this situation from the perspective of the mainstream media.

Gen. McChrystal made his bed and likely is prepared to lie in that bed.  He knew that the Rolling Stone article was likely to use the most damning of the comments and innuendo to get the maximum level of readership possible.  Generals are very much political animals; they know how to use politics almost as well as do the politicians.  If they hadn’t mastered politics 101, they would simply not be Generals.  After the rank of Major, the cut rate increases almost exponentially for promotion to each succeeding rank.  Fewer Majors make it to Lt. Colonel than did Captains make it to Major.  Likewise, fewer at the level of Lt. Colonel make it to full Colonel, and so on.

A four-star General is rare and this one knew what he was doing.

He had to have felt that his role would become that of having failed in the next campaign in Afghanistan; he simply wouldn’t have spouted off to his aides about the innuendo and asides.  He knew his aides would share that with the reporter; had he not wanted that to happen, he would have issued direct orders to those aides to keep their mouths shut…and those aides would’ve followed that order.

So, what was his reason for doing this?  Was he trying to embarrass the President?  Was he trying to bring the attention of Americans to this topic?  Was he trying to get Congress to wade in?

If he wanted out, he could’ve simply tendered his resignation.  There is more to this than we know or understand at this point.

There apparently is another “gang that can’t shoot straight” in Washington, D.C.

It now has gotten to the point that every day presents another example of just how fouled up is the current Administration.  President Obama is in the hot seat that he sought and he seems less and less sure of himself as his term proceeds and as reality intrudes on the interlude.

He has a general in Afghanistan that apparently has let his feelings “leak” into the public arena.  Those occurrences are no accident.  Generals have come up through a very political process in the military, and seldom let their loose lips sink them.  That war is not going well and we have telegraphed that our troop withdrawal will begin on a date certain.

He met with the Governor of Arizona and since has not spoken with her.  She heard that her state was being sued by the feds as we all did when the Secretary of State let it “slip” that the Justice department would bring suit against Arizona.  Secretaries of state do not let things “slip”.  Is she secretly thinking about a one-term presidency that will open the door for her one more time?

The Congress has been unable to pass budget resolutions because it is in the most undesirable position of being unable to reduce the flow of money to the states without exacerbating the economic malaise in which we find ourselves.  That is quite the “darned if we do, darned if we don’t” fix that we find ourselves in.

Of course, all this is the fault of the immediate predecessor in the office.  That is apparently the plan of action/defense for the entire first term of this President.  Will he ever accept the blame for anything?

The White House has rammed through a “health reform” package that will have very adverse effects on us all.  The “magic” of this package is that it doesn’t really begin to be felt in its fullest until 2014, two years after the second term election for this President.  Do we really believe this was simply a benevolent accident of timing?

The federal dole to states will draw to a close leaving the states with unfunded liabilities and we all know it.  Well, all of us who think about the history of such initiatives know it.  Apparently the Congress doesn’t “know it”.  And apparently Governor Doyle didn't know it either or he certainly wouldn't but sucking up every last penny before he leaves office.

There is no effective management of the oil spill and that may simply be due to the fact that things of that nature are unmanageable.  That, however, has not stopped the grandstanding by this President and the claiming of another great “opportunity” disguised as a crisis.  The BP hierarchy seems unable to get out of its own way, either.  So, we have two adversaries stumbling through the “resolution” and we have the people impacted suffering.  We have governors of states with a better understanding of what they need and of how to use those tools and we have an inept federal response that is prolonging the problem.

We cannot help but poke meaningless sticks in the eye of Iran and we cannot help but alienate the one friend we have in the region that is called Israel.  There is not a single federal front that is working as we all expect it to work.  And even the “friends of Barack”, the mainstream media, have finally awakened to this debacle that is unfolding.   The “tingle” seems to mean something different than it did everyday since the inauguration.

There are, unfortunately, occurrences that make one wonder whether or not we are truly a civilized people.

The morning newspaper contained a six paragraph story deep in an inside section with the following headline:

Prosecutors say Fitchburg boy was stomped to death for shoes, phone

It went on to describe what Dane County prosecutors claim happened.  It seems, according to investigators at least, that a 17 year-old boy stomped a 16 year-old boy to death in order to get his red-and-black Air Jordan shoes and his cell phone.  He then left the dead boy behind a shopping center.  The accused had a juvenile record that included two rapes while he was just 13 years old.

When the accused was arrested at his mother’s home, he was wearing the red-and-black sneakers that were two sizes too big for him.  He turns 18 years old today, so he was still a juvenile when this crime occurred.

Another story with an associated theme appeared today and that is one that questions if we still need two juvenile facilities in Wisconsin since fewer juveniles are incarcerated and there are only enough inmates to justify one facility.

Are we now so forgiving of juvenile offenders that we don’t need both the Wales and the Lincoln facilities?  Is that what leads to the story mentioned above?  Have we become so concerned about feelings and the worry that punishment might leave scars?

What kind of animal would stomp another human to death for a pair of Air Jordan shoes?  Has that become the value of human life to some in our society?  If so, is it those whom we wish to encourage by permitting them to be among us on the streets?

This speaks to all of us who are members of the human race.  We have permitted these kinds of acts to continue.  History is replete with stories of such horrendous acts.  The Bible is full of stonings and such.

Aren’t we so far advanced that this simply couldn’t have happened?  Don’t we have all the answers so far as permissiveness and feel good therapies?  This incident occurred in Dane County for goodness’ sake; that is the most liberal bastion east of Boulder, CO and things like this simply ought not to occur there.  Maybe Milwaukee can be the scene of such a thing, but certainly not Dane County.

Is it really possible for a human to be raised so that he or she has no concept of right and wrong; has no value for human life of something more than $100 or $200?  If so, is that the young person’s fault?  Or, is it the fault of the person who brought that boy or girl into this world and then abrogated their responsibilities of nurturing and teaching?

Are we reaping what we’ve been sowing for lo these many years?  

There seems to be a disconnect at work so far as our country’s economy as well as that of our state and region.

I had the rare opportunity to take a boat ride yesterday and the venue was Okauchee Lake.  Friends had issued an invitation to us and another couple and we were favored with wonderful weather for the afternoon.

We noted all the beautiful, way beyond our means, homes along the shoreline as we motored around the perimeter of Okauchee Lake.  After awhile, I mentioned that there were quite a few For Sale signs dotted amongst the big beautiful homes, and that there were several beautiful new homes under construction that had no workmen present.

This morning I noted an article in the Business Journal discussing the sorry state of the economy so far as home sales on Okauchee Lake and began to see that the disconnect is not limited to the lower and middle economic classes but that it extends upward to those more advantaged economically.  A First Weber realtor was quoted as saying, “They tell us we have a six-and-a-half year’s inventory for sale on Waukesha County lakes”.  These are homes in the $1 million to $3 million and above range.

The unemployment rates seem stable or falling slightly but those gains seem to be largely in the government sector based upon ‘found money’ from Washington.  I know of many people who have been in the employment marketplace for a long time without hope of any near-term solution.  Then there is a friend who runs a staffing company and he has indicated that his business is up significantly over the same period a year ago.  I believe his agency is placing people in light industrial positions where there has been an uptick.  Maybe he is benefiting from employers’ sense that they want the flexibility that ‘non-employee’ employees bring with the ability to turn them on or turn them off with a single phone call.

Whatever is happening seems scattered and seems to have had little ‘main street’ economic impact if closed store fronts are any indication.  On the other hand, the restaurants don’t seem to be showing signs of a recession; the local eateries always seem full in the evenings and on week-ends.

Maybe, rather than a disconnect, there is a disjointed economic recovery underway; one that touches certain elements but not others.  Whatever is the best word to describe where we seem to be today, I cannot buy into a broad economic recovery as being underway in spite of what some would like me to believe.

Maybe we are in the midst of that dreaded ‘stagnation’ malaise so far as our economy is concerned.  Whatever it is, it doesn’t seem to be felt uniformly and it doesn’t seem to be boosting our confidence as consumers.  That doesn’t bode well.

Menomonee Falls Is Moving…

Our southern neighbor is moving briskly on the re-development scene.  That community brought in Mark Fitzgerald as its Village Manager several years ago.  Not that he is the sole responsible party, but he did bring a reputation of having a solid skill set in helping communities find the way to renewed vitality.

Menomonee Falls has, it seems, announced a string of moves that are designed to facilitate new businesses, new amenities and a general atmosphere of growth and vitality.  Fitzgerald couldn’t have done this by himself, but, in concert with a trusting and aggressive Village Board, he has managed to garner attention for his community.  Positive attention is very important to the life of communities and to their success in attracting new jobs and to sustained growth.

Unintended Consequences…

The concept of squeezing a balloon has been applied to the health care industry and the attempts periodically to rein in spending in this area of our economy.  Squeeze the balloon and watch as the air eliminated in one area moves to another area.

Medicare cutbacks in the amounts reimbursed to doctors for cancer chemo drugs administered in their offices resulted in the increased use of those therapies ostensibly to keep the practice incomes the same or improved.  The fear at the time these cuts were announced was that the number of physicians administering these treatments would decrease and that didn’t occur.  Neither did the cost savings occur.

This simply demonstrates that market forces react in predictable ways and that we seem to ignore that predictability to our detriment in one way or another.

The Blame Game…

There always needs to be an enemy that can be targeted if our politicians’ actions can be used as examples.  BP is, of course, a very convenient villain given the disaster that is upon us in the Gulf.  There was another culpable party involved but it has, so far, skated free and clear of the tar balls.  That party was, of course, our federal government that had the responsibility for inspections of the rigs.

While our government has used BP as the culprit, it has also managed to divert attention from its own shortcomings, at least until now.  The mismanagement of this entire issue has finally become apparent…even to the press, and that suggests the mismanagement must be truly monumental.

The White House has finally admitted that it doesn’t know how we’ll get this cleaned up, but that it does know that we will.  To this point, we would have been believers in the mantra that prevailed that our government was doing everything it could and BP was the laggard in all this.  We would’ve been believers had we not become such cynics as to be non-believers in every instance until proven otherwise.

Our government has lost any moral high ground from which it may’ve benefited; and that will take many years to be forgotten.  That is deserved for our government has used obfuscation so artfully for so long as to have forced us to become cynics and to question whatever we were told.  Our political class has pooped in its own nest and we are very, very tired of the odor emanating from Madison and from Washington, D.C.

BP’s Survival…

Given BP’s status as the enemy du jour, the question of its ability to survive has to be considered.  It has committed $20 Billion to the slush fund that President Obama publicly demanded to show he was tough and that he knew whose butt to kick.  BP then went further and announced that it was committing $100 Million to assist the workers that had been displaced from oil rig shutdowns and loss of fisheries and tourism.

Britain is quite concerned about BP’s ability to come back from this since there are many Brits whose pension funds are loaded with BP stock.  Politicians are seldom concerned with their actions so far as companies being able to survive and prosper, unless they hold stock in those companies.  That they might cause a company to be shut down is of little or no concern, especially when it isn’t headquartered in their district or state or country.

National economies may also be threatened depending upon the loss of economically-necessary oil flows and the related jobs.

A Bully Pulpit…

The presidency has rightfully been referred to as the “bully pulpit” since the occupant of that office is able to command high attention by his or her positions, actions and statements.

We seem to have created a new derivation of that old term.  We seem to have placed a bully in the pulpit.  The current president is more concerned with his image than he is with the effects his conduct in office are having in the real world…the world outside the Beltway.

He has bullied the Congress.  He has bullied the health care world.  He has bullied the insurance industry.  He has bullied Wall Street.  He has bullied the auto makers.  And through this bullying, he has bullied the voters; even the voters who supported him because they are feeling, or will feel, the adverse impact of his other bullying.

In short, he bullies anyone that disagrees with him; and he follows the edict of Rahm Emanuel because no crisis has been overlooked as the tool for another round of bullying.

Chicago-style politics is sure a joy, isn’t it?

If there were a morning after pill that Presidents could take following a speech that drew negative comments from both liberal and conservative pundits, President Obama would be picking up the glass of water and the pill this morning.  He might even take two of those magic pills just to be sure he ridded himself of the stigma.

President Obama set a high bar for himself with this first speech from the Oval Office and he failed to deliver to the expectations of even the most ardent supporters in the liberal press.  They were almost uniformly dismayed, and openly discussed their dismay.  We are so accustomed to his speeches at this point, that even the Oval Office setting was insufficient to carry the day.

This has become worse for President Obama than Katrina was for then-President Bush.  Even the people of Louisiana rate Bush higher on Katrina than they now rate Obama on the spill.

Presidents tend not to be too humble or even capable of much humility.  This President could’ve made himself seem more human by displaying his honesty that our government has no better ideas than does BP about how to control this disaster.  If it did, it would be about getting the disaster under control.  It is only about assigning blame to anything and anyone other then members of government.

There has been a major shift over the past few weeks.  There were the guarded assessments that hinted at some unrest amongst the ardent supporters.  Then there were the unkind references to former-President Carter.  Now there is a real groundswell amongst the liberal talking heads.  None of this can be seen as good by this White House…by this Administration.

What now?  There is the meeting today with BP representatives.  There will be the posturing about BP posting a fund of some amount from which claims will be paid by “a third party” since there are complaints of BP “slow walking” the process on its own.  Government oversight will be insisted upon, and BP probably will acquiesce given their horrible PR to this point.  Nothing much will change, however.  The spill is what it is at this point.

Our federal government has pointedly refused to consider private sector solutions that we have now seen as being practical from various television shows where we’ve seen the demonstrations.  Our government’s experts have demonstrated they know very little of a ‘real world’ nature.  The state governors were rebuffed in their efforts for things as simple as using sand buffers to keep the oil off the beaches.  The archaic law that forbids foreign-crewed ships wasn't removed by Presidential edict so Dutch-crewed ships to provide assitance with dikes couldn't be brought in.

This is a bad situation made worse by government diddling and ‘speechifying’.  And this example of government’s ineptitude threatens to undermine anything and everything it attempts to do in forthcoming weeks and months.  Some will applaud that, but we all should feel threatened should something even bigger hit us in this period of disillusionment with our elected government.