Commentary Update for June 10, 2002: Globalization, Nero Awards, Soglin on Chvala, Commentary on Ed Thompson Website, Micklos on Thompson, DA Turmoil, FBI Harassment

Greetings,

The last few years have witnessed large protests against the World Trade Organization, the World Bank, the International Monetary Fund, and other institutions associated with the new "global economy." This week's Commentary guests are activists in the protest movement. Mike Prokosch is Global Coordinator of United For A Fair Economy (https://faireconomy.org/).

• With Laura Raymond, Mike recently edited the Global Activists Manual: Local Ways to Change the World
  (http://www.globalroots.net/manual/index.html). Information about Mike's "Globalization for Beginners" workshop will give you a good idea of where he is coming from on global economy issues:
  http://faireconomy.org/econ/workshops/globalization_for_beginner.html
• Steve Watrous is the Coordinator of the Wisconsin Fair Trade Campaign (http://www.wisaflcio.org/fair_trade/). Steve also writes for the Milwaukee Shepherd-Express, and I think Oshkosh residents will find a 1998 column of his about the Square D corporation's Tijuana connections interesting:
  http://www.shepherd-express.com/shepherd/19/11/headlines/news_digest.html#square%20d
• In early 2000 I wrote a piece for the Oshkosh Northwestern about Square D after they announced the closing of their Oshkosh plant:
  http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/palmeri/squared.htm
• On the show, Mike and Steve define the globalization movement for us. They explain what they see as problems with "fast track" trading authority, they respond to criticisms of the anti-globalization movement, and they discuss a range of other issues.
  

In other news, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign recently gave "Nero Awards" to those members of the Wisconsin legislature who have "fiddled while the [capitol] Dome burns":
http://www.wisdc.org/nerocover.html
My only problem with the Nero Awards report is that while it is very tough on the state Senate (Democrats and Republicans) and the majority Assembly Republicans, it leaves the minority Assembly Democrats untouched. The way I see it, the assembly Democrats are a horribly fractious group whose inability to get their act together hardly contributes to getting campaign finance or any other legislation passed. See this article from the Journal Sentinel for evidence of what I am talking about:
http://www.jsonline.com/news/state/may01/krug02050101a.asp

Meanwhile, former Madison Mayor Paul Soglin (Democrat) has called on State Senate majority leader Chuck Chvala to retire (http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/guest/27166.php). The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign has started to keep an archive of mainstream sources calling on Chvala and/or Assembly leader Scott Jensen to step down:
(http://www.wisdc.org/caucus_editorials.html).

"Commentary" has to be a serious show since we made it to the Ed Thompson for Governor website! Only problem is they renamed us "Crossroads" with Tony "Palermi" as a co-host: http://www.edthompson.com/album/view.php?which_group=Oshkosh%20%20Crossroads%20TV%20Show&which=191&sid=170
Ed Thompson has gotten lots of positive press from the Wisconsin and national media, but Democratic pundit Chris Micklos has a different take on "The Other Boy From Elroy": http://www.visuality.com/special_feature/2002_04feature.html.

Locally, while the Oshkosh Northwestern was busy last week providing us with 3 days worth of vital front page, above the fold detail about a high school teacher having sex with a 17 year old boy (including 9 times in one day, he claims in an obvious attempt to get into the Guinness Book of World Records), the Appleton Post-Crescent was printing sensationalistic tabloid material like the statement of Connie Christensen to Ann Gollner regarding the former's claim that she paid money to get out of a drunk driving charge: http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_4347263.shtml as well as the police report on Christensen: http://www.wisinfo.com/postcrescent/news/archive/local_4367627.shtml. Where are the Post-Crescent's journalistic priorities when they think that information that could lead to the fall of a District Attorney is more important than the most graphic details of a student-teacher sexual relationship? (I hope everyone can recognize the sarcasm in this paragraph (:-)).

Finally, in the last update I joked about possible FBI infiltration of Commentary. Hey, this is no joke. The San Francisco Chronicle has recently put together a special report covering a 17 year struggle to obtain documents indicating FBI harassment of students, professors, and administrators at UC-Berkeley: http://www.sfgate.com/news/special/pages/2002/campusfiles/
Former UC-Berkeley President Clark Kerr (now 91 years old) recently commented on what has now been proven to be an active government conspiracy to remove him from his presidency in the 1960s: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/c/a/2002/06/10/MN64831.DTL.
Oh well, can't happen here.

Best,

-Tony