Commentary Update for January 27, 2003: Lobbyists Win Super Bowl, MLK photos, Hentz v. Esslinger, TIFs, Rylance on Republicans, True Story, Old Italian Neighborhood Values
This week we will continue to broadcast our November 19, 2002 interview with Lt. Governor Barbara Lawton. One wonders how Lawton, who is much more liberal than Governor Doyle, must feel about some of the new Gov's early moves: approving pay raises for top administrators at the same time warning citizens of rough budget cuts to come; asking policy advisors to sign confidentiality agreements in spite of insisting on open government for public officials while serving as Attorney General; demonstrating that he is not going to take on the budget busting road builder lobby; referring to inaugural ball contributors as "leaders" ($25,000 or more), "role models" ($10,000), "mentors" ($5,000), and "friends" ($1,000). Perhaps we can get Barbara to come on the show again in the spring.
In other news:
Lobbyists Win Super Bowl!: I didn't particularly favor Al Davis' Corporate Raiders or the Tampa Bay Butterfly Ballot Buccaneers, but according to The Hill it looks like the corporate lobbyists were the big winners. I must say that for the first time ever I actually did enjoy the half-time show: Shania Twain has mastered the art of not looking embarrassed while lip-syncing, Gwen Stefani's name ends with the right vowel, and somehow they managed to get Sting to sacrifice his last 20 years of self-indulgent moralizing and instead sing his ode to lonely and depressed people, "Message in a Bottle," from 1979. Not bad.
Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration Day Photos: Some exclusive Commentary photos from the January 20, 2003 peace rally and Martin Luther King, Jr. Celebration:
Hentz v. Esslinger: Local journalist Cheryl Hentz wrote a piece for the "Eye on Oshkosh" site about Oshkosh City officials remaining silent in the face of ill treatment of Oshkosh workers. Councilor Paul Esslinger says the city cannot do anything of substance. Hmm . . . if Bob LaFollette had felt that way I reckon the railroad companies would be running the world right now. On the other hand, that might be better than oil . . . (:-).
Another reason to rid the world of TIFs: As if we needed more evidence that Tax Incremental Financing (i.e. a tax holiday for well connected developers) has been a sham, fraud, and complete economic failure in every state that has used it, the National Education Assocation last week produced this report demonstrating TIF's effects on school districts. NEA commissioned the Institute for Taxation and Economic Policy (ITEP) to do the study, and it includes a good bibliography of scholarly and other sources on this topic.
Rylance on Republican Tax Initiative: Some Republicans in the Wisconsin Legislature are proposing that the state constitution be amended to require a two-thirds vote of both houses of the legislature in order to raise taxes. In an exclusive piece for Commentary, Dan Rylance argues that the proposal "tears away the power of representative government."
True Story: Last week, I did my part to help revive downtown Oshkosh by having a sandwich at "Heros" on Main St. While there, I bumped into a Circuit Court Judge whose name I won't mention. This same judge and former County District Attorney Joe Paulus were never very fond of each other. I asked the judge what he thought of the fact that Paulus is now working for Jeffrey Dahmer's attorney, the controversial Gerald Boyle. Here's the judge's response: "Well, they say birds of a feather flock together. Let's just hope they flock each other."
Old Italian Neighborhood Values: Patrick Wood in the Green Bay News Chronicle wrote a review last week of a book that looks like worthwhile reading regardless on one's nationality. Author Stephen DeFelice has an interesting website for the book.
Coming Next Week: The Top 5 Censored Stories of 2002!
Best,
-Tony