Commentary Update for July 15, 2002: DA Race, Fox Valley Budget Reactions, Corporate Corruption, UFE ENNY Awards, Garvey on Miller Park, Photos

Dear Friends of Commentary:

It's a hot July here in Winnebago County, and so appropriately the race for County DA is heating up. This week we have two of the candidates, E.J. Jelinski and Brad Priebe. Our friend Alex Hummel of The Northwestern referred to the Commentary interviews in two recent stories:
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/news/archive/local_5000929.shtml
http://www.wisinfo.com/northwestern/news/archive/local_4993612.shtml

• Both Jelinski and Prieve have campaign websites:
  http://www.edmundjelinski.com/
  http://www.priebe4da.com/

I've just posted a new feature on the website, "Fox Valley Reactions to the Budget Repair Bill." Please do add your own reaction if you have the time and inclination to send one:

• If you read Cheryl Hentz's budget reaction you'll notice at the end she says that she will soon be debuting a cable access television program called "Eye on Oshkosh." Cheryl tells me that former Mayor Melanie Bloechl will be the co-host. I'll bet the ONEB (Oshkosh Northwestern Editorial Brigade) and the "professionals" in Oshkosh city government can't wait for that one! Northwestern Executive Editor Stew Rieckman once called Bloechl a "hypocrite and petty demagogue," while you may recall from a recent update how the ONEB jumped all over Hentz for having the audacity in her role as member of the Zoning Appeals Board to vote against the ONEB's favorite developer.

The Enron, WorldComm and other scandals have many people thinking about big business corruption. A recent poll taken by Gallup indicates that the majority of Americans are indeed aware of the big business influence on our government:

" . . . late June poll asked whether big business had too much influence over the decisions made by Bush, Republicans, and Democrats in Congress. In all instances, over six in 10 Americans said "yes" -- 63% in the case of the Bush administration, 64% for Democrats in Congress, and 76% for the Republicans in Congress."

• Meanwhile, United for a Fair Economy in April released a report by Scott Klinger and Holly Sklar on the "Enny Awards."
  The report is lengthy but well worth looking at if you have the time:
  http://www.ufenet.org/press/2002/Enron.pdf

Madison Attorney, for NFL Players Union rep and 1998 Democratic Candidate for Governor Ed Garvey is often capable of great hilarity in the columns he writes for the Madison Capital Times. These two sentences about Milwaukee's Miller Park just crack me up:

"All we taxpayers did was move Highway 41, raze the old one, give away the naming rights, give away parking and concessions, and tax four surrounding counties to pay for the building. Not bad for a late-night session of the Legislature."
Here's the entire essay:
http://www.madison.com/captimes/opinion/column/guest/28779.php

The Commentary Camera was hard at work at the recent 4th of July Parade in Oshkosh. We have photos of

• the Lake Winnebago Green Party
  
• the Winnebago County Republicans:
  
• Jim Doyle, the only candidate for governor to show up:
  
• State Senator Carol Roessler:
  
• Former member of the Winnebago County Board of Supervisors Ron Montgomery
  
• Miss Oshkosh
  
• Half of the Silent Six
  
• Winnebago County District Attorney Joe Paulus
  
• District Attorney candidate Brad Priebe
  
• State Representative Terri McCormick
  
• Winnebago County Sheriff Mike Brooks
  

There are some other new photos on the site, including:

• Dundee, Commentary's crocodile mascot
  
• Commentary videographer Doug Freshner hard at work
  
• Neenah Mayor George Scherck
  

If you no longer wish to receive these updates, simply email me. Also, if you know of someone who should be added to the update list, send their email address on to me.

Best,