Kohl Angles for New Arena

I hate it when I end up agreeing with Ed Garvey.

As the political uproar over Walker’s goofy priorities comes to a close, everything seems just a little too quiet. Now what? Well, the next issue will be the use of taxpayer dollars to build a new arena to help Herb Kohl. Kohl, you may remember, got elected to the Senate in 1988 in large measure because he saved the Bucks from moving out of state. Now he has a different song, and it is off-key if you ask me.

As we have been predicting, Kohl wants Milwaukee and Wisconsin to build his team a new home. (The Bradley Center was a gift from Jane Pettit, so now it is time for the taxpayers to give Herb another gift. Or is it?)

TV Stations Forced to Put Politicial Advertisement Info Online

The stations have a point. If I were going to advertise on TV, I’d check the rates given to politicians and push for those rates too.

The Federal Communications Commission voted late last month to require local TV stations to put detailed information about political advertising on their websites. Such material is already required to be available to the public, but must be requested in-person at TV stations, where files are often stored on paper and fees charged for copies.

FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski pushed hard for the requirement calling it a “common sense” move, which had failed to pass the first time it was proposed several years ago. Broadcasters fought against certain parts of the new rule, balking at having to include specific rates for individual advertisements.

They fear including the rates will make confidential information available to commercial advertisers as well as rival stations. Don Carmichael, general manager at Green Bay’s ABC affiliate WBAY, Channel 2, called it “anticompetitive.”

“It’s also a lot of work and we’re a small station without a lot of people around to do it,” Carmichael said. “We’ll be forced to publically post our best rates, which I’m by law required to give politicians. It gives everybody else some rates to shoot at.”

Gannett Broadcasting, a division of Gannett Co. Inc., which owns this newspaper and nine others around the state, lobbied against the rule change. Broadcasters are also peeved that the new rules won’t apply to cable or other media platforms.

Firearm Business Booming

Good news/bad news.

MILWAUKEE - Firearms-related businesses in Wisconsin say they are having a difficult time meeting demand from rising gun sales in the state.

Wisconsin’s gun sales follow a national trend, and businesses say the rising demand is being driven by various factors, from Wisconsin’s concealed carry law to presidential politics.

“It’s incredible,” said Steve Lauer, owner of Lauer Custom Weaponry, which manufactures firearms, firearm coatings and accessories in Chippewa Falls. “We can hardly keep up.”

The good news is that it’s great for Wisconsin’s firearms industry and it’s great to see more folks exercising their rights. The bad news is that it’s driving up prices. Ah well…

Business Journal: Wisconsin Lost 36,500 Jobs Since 2002

We’ve got a long way to go to get back.

Out of all of the states and the District of Columbia, only seven states lost more jobs than Wisconsin, with Michigan faring the worst with a loss of 433,600 jobs in the private sector. That was an 11.4 percent drop for the Wolverine State.

Wisconsin’s private-sector job loss represented a drop of 1.5 percent, which bested only 10 other states. Across the country, 32 states and the District of Columbia added jobs. The private sectors of seven states cranked out more than 100,000 new jobs during the past decade.

Texas added 1.15 million private-sector jobs during the past 10 years, putting it far ahead of the pack. The other states with six-figure increases were New York (up 340,800 private-sector jobs), Washington (up 180,700), Arizona (up 161,900), Virginia (up 137,200), Florida (up 132,100) and Utah (up 127,400).

Making the Phone Calls Stop

I think the GOP is targeting likely Republican voters in its most recent round phone calls, so I think next time they call (which should be in about 30 minutes) I will tell them I intend to vote for a Democrat. That will make me not a likely Republican voter, and they will stop calling. Then maybe they will stop harassing their supporters.

Honestly, the phone calls are the reason I stopped contributing to the party or any particular candidate. If you donate once, you get on a donor list and they call you (weekly, it seems) to get you to donate more, even if your donation was small.

I know they say that these calls are effective, but they are full of crap. And it’s repulsive that the same folks who passed “no call” legislation have no problem using telemarketing for their own benefit.

Mommy Falk

Um, no thanks. It’s creepy when politicians want to be our parents.

Falk likened the state to a broken family. Sometimes, she said, it takes a mother with a firm, strong hand to bring it together again.

“We need a mom and I’m anxious to be that mom and bring us back together,” Falk said.

Proxmire’s Plugs

We’re digging through some old boxes getting ready for a rummage sale and this turned up.

Election Fraud

Name the name...

The complaint alleges Yadira Colon forged signatures on nomination papers for Pedro Colon, and registered to vote under a Milwaukee address when she actually lived in Oshkosh. She voted via absentee ballot in Milwaukee for the 2008 primary.

Fighting Over Politics

I am occasionally passionate about politics, but I can’t imagine actually hitting another person because of politics. Apparently it’s normal for some folks.

Dennis Anderson, a 68-year-old private labor union member, fits the profile of someone who refuses to be swayed from his anti-Walker views when engaging in political conversations with others.

A frequent participant in the “solidarity singalongs” held daily at the Capitol, Anderson says he’s gotten close to fistfights with some people over differences of opinion. Shouting matches with others is common, he says.

Anderson thinks the singalongs bring out his more peaceful side. “But I’ll still get into fisticuffs with someone over this stuff,” he says. “That’s how strongly I feel about it.”

Poll: Walker and Barrett In Dead Heat

News to Walker supporters… we still need to get out and vote.

Gov. Scott Walker and Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, one of the Democratic candidates hoping to face him in the June 5 recall election, are in a virtual dead heat in the days leading up to Tuesday’s recall primary, according to a poll released Wednesday.

The Marquette University Law School also showed Barrett leading his Democratic rivals in Tuesday’s recall primary.

Barrett, who lost to Walker in the governor’s race in November 2010 by about 123,000 votes, or 5 percentage points, has a 47 percent to 46 percent lead on the governor among registered voters, the poll said. But among likely voters, the situation flips, and Walker leads by 1 percentage point, or 48 percent to 47 percent.

Both results are well within the poll’s margin of error.

Radio GaGa

I’ll be on WPR tomorrow morning from 7 AM to 8 AM chatting with Matthew Rothschild about… stuff.

Tune in!

Vote for whom you support

My column for the Daily News is online. I write about the election next week and have a pretty simple message. It’s called, “Vote for whom you support.”

La Follette Introduces Toy

Um… OK.

La Follette had a press conference Monday to discuss some repeals needed to roll back the growing power of the executive branch. But oddly, the secretary spent much of the press conference showing his toy cow, and talking about the commercial in which it has a starring role.

Walker Announces Economic Development Plan for Milwaukee

Great!

MILWAUKEE — Gov. Scott Walker announced a $100 million “Transform Milwaukee” initiative Monday that he said is intended to draw businesses to Wisconsin’s largest city by fixing up blighted areas and providing economic incentives.

Milwaukee’s economy has been especially troubled in recent years. While the state unemployment rate is 6.8 percent, unemployment in Milwaukee has remained around or above 10 percent. Of the 4,500 jobs lost in Wisconsin last month, 4,400 were in the Milwaukee metro area.

Walker announced the initiative days after Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, one of four Democrats vying to oppose Walker in June’s recall election, criticized the governor for not doing enough to help create jobs in the city. Walker, who said the newly announced plan has been in the works for a year, said the investment will help improve the state’s overall economy and decrease the number of people dependent on state resources.

“For the state to be successful, Milwaukee has to be successful,” Walker said. Walker said his team met about the plan in March with officials in Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee, including Barrett.

Barrett released a statement after the announcement suggesting its timing was politically motivated.

“With 36 days until he faces voters in a recall election, Gov. Walker is trying to act like he cares about providing jobs to the city of Milwaukee,” Barrett said.

Well, Mayor Barrett, at least someone cares about creating jobs in Milwaukee.

Waukesha County Clerk Won’t Seek Reelection

From the email.

Kathy Nickolaus has decided not to run for Waukesha County Clerk in 2012. “I want to thank the people of Waukesha County for the opportunity to serve them for the last ten years,” Kathy said. “Much has been accomplished during this time. I also want the people of Waukesha County to know I will continue to serve them as clerk until the end of my term.”

“Residents of Waukesha County and the State of Wisconsin should know that election integrity has always been my primry focus,” Kathy said. “Because of this and the fact that I am the Waukesha County constitutional officer charged with the responsibility of elections I have not relinquished any authority or responsibility in upcoming elections through the end of my term.”

I am making my announcement now,” Kathy said, “so that a qualified candidate will have the time required to mount an effective campaign.”