Happy Birthday to Us

My wife had to remind me that B&S is 9 years old today.  Thanks for reading, folks.

Kramer’s Letter to Barrett

Dear Mayor Barrett:

I write to you as a taxpayer, a voter, and a Republican legislator representing the varied interests of central and southern Waukesha County. In short, as each of these things, I am deeply dismayed at the tone of your campaign and your lack of courage to face the reality of the challenges facing our great state.

Recently, John McCormack of the Weekly Standard queried of you and former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk how you would have addressed the $3.6 billion deficit that the state was facing in the fall/winter of 2010 and 2011. Maybe you recall your response. In case you don’t, you stated:

“And then [Walker] said we have a deficit. First of all, I didn’t buy the fact that we had a deficit.”

Maybe you were misinformed, or maybe your views on the deficit we faced are yet evolving; but I assure you, as does the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, that the deficit was real.

But equally troubling as your refusal to “buy” reality on the fiscal condition of the state, is that you have been less than forthcoming as to how to address the shortfall (though, ostensibly, if you’ve convinced yourself that no deficit existed, then the need to address the shortfall matters not).

In this race, a mulligan of your 2010 bid for governor, are we to believe that what you recognized as truth in 2010 is no longer valid, that a deficit was, in fact, fictitious? As a taxpayer, a voter, and a Republican legislator representing the varied interests of central and southern Waukesha County, I’m confused, because right now I’m looking at an op-ed you penned in October, 2010, in the Madison Capitol Times that says you would, “balance the deficit”.

But setting aside my confusion, and seemingly yours, I notice a theme developing that ran through your last campaign for governor 18 months ago, and your current campaign for governor.

Both are conspicuously short on recognition of the challenges we faced and are finally beginning to claw away from.

Last week, the Co-Chairs of the Legislature’s Joint Committee on Finance – you know, the one that actually writes the state budget (and presumably the Republican legislators you would have “quaking in their boots” if they didn’t repeal Act 10, the law that reined in government unions) – sent you a letter asking you for specifics on how you would have addressed the budget shortfall that the state was facing last year. I restate and emphasize those questions here.

On cue, your response was neither appropriate for someone who claims to be messianic in his bid to end a “civil war” nor mindful of the challenges we face. You called it a “stunt”. No, Mr. Mayor, a stunt is running twice for governor in as many years.

Representative Vos and Senator Darling posed serious questions about serious issues and you were dismissive. Certainly, Ulysses S. Grant never dismissed Robert E. Lee. But this isn’t an allegorical, or history, lesson, Mr. Mayor. This is the here and now, and the voters and taxpayers of Wisconsin deserve honest answers to honest questions, regardless of how uncomfortable honesty makes your campaign consultants and benefactors.

Which leads me to my next point, and perhaps the more serious one.

Earlier this week, Governor Scott Walker announced that his administration would release recalculated jobs numbers based on a more thorough set of data and refined matrices that paint a clearer picture of where our economy, vis a vis, employment, stands and is headed.

On cue, your response was neither appropriate for someone who claims to be messianic in his bid to end a “civil war” nor mindful of the challenges we face. You alleged that the Walker administration was going to “spin” the figures to paint a rosier picture than reality. I’ll presume you get the irony (if not, see your recent reaction to the deficit noted above).

Mr. Mayor, I fear, and God knows I want to be wrong, that your response to this and the tenor of your campaign, appears that you don’t share the angst of the rest of Wisconsin, but rather, relish, bad economic news. Forget the mulligan campaign you are running for a moment: let’s see and discuss the revised numbers and if the data – after a true and public review – truly indicates something contrary to your reflexive response, then I hope you would publicly acknowledge that Wisconsin’s economy has, or is, turning a corner and moving forward.

But alas, there is no indication that you or the Democrat party wants to see positive in the economy. It was exhibited by Democrats in the legislature – and by your absence in public – when we tried to reform the state’s mining laws and create thousands of new jobs in northern Wisconsin and here in Southern Wisconsin.

It was exhibited when your supporters wrote to leaders of Milwaukee Public Schools asking them to not support union contract renegotiations to save teaching jobs because, “we believe such legislation will have an adverse impact on all Wisconsin public employees. Such legislation will enable Governor Walker to claim victory of his policy to reign [sic] in public employee wages and benefits. Because he did not adequately fund education, we are all currently suffering. Allowing Governor Walker to make such a claim just before the recall election will prove detrimental to recalling him and, therefore, will only enhance his ability to further harm all Wisconsin public employees.”

I wish I wasn’t compelled to write this letter, because I believe you a better person than what your consultants and benefactors are pressuring you to be and that this election, more so than any other, behooves us all to be more candid than we, as politicians, are wont to be.

I wish you the best and good luck on June 5th.

Warmest regards,

Bill Kramer
Taxpayer, voter, and Republican legislator representing the varied interests of central and southern Waukesha County

Elementary School Adopting iPads

It’s good to see tablets being adopted. I do question why they aren’t exploring less expensive tablets, though. There are some really nice ones out there that don’t carry the price tag of the iPad.

The positive response by students and teachers to the introduction of tablets in classrooms this year has motivated district leaders to buy more.

The school board will vote on Wednesday to allow Jefferson Elementary to buy 120 additional iPads, bringing its total collection to 198. If the measure passes, the school would become the first in the district to have enough tablets for all students and teachers to have one.

“The reality is there’s a higher need for iPads in the classroom than we have iPads,” said Principal Julie Skelton. “Teachers are signing them out weeks in advance. They have become such a natural part of teaching… because of the great impact in the classroom. We need to keep moving in that direction.”

Act 10 Saves Taxpayers a Fortune

Act 10 has been a resounding success for taxpayers.

The Beacon Institute analysis argues the law may have been controversial, even divisive, but there’s no disputing its benefit to taxpayers.

“The cost-saving measures prevented painful tax increases that would have damaged the state’s private economy resulting in slower job and income growth,” said Paul Bachman, BHI director of research. “Moreover, the provisions avoided further painful layoffs of school teachers and other public employees.”

There have been numerous media reports of school districts and municipalities that have balanced their budgets or hired more educators by employing the so-called tools of Act 10.

Municipalities will realize annual cost savings of between $775 million and $1.2 billion, according to the analysis.

Barrett Demands Illegal Activity

Is Barrett too stupid to understand what “John Doe” means? The whole proceeding is legally bound to be secret. If Walker disclosed anything about the proceedings, he would be breaking the law. And yet, Barrett sees fit to demand that Walker break the law. I understand that Barrett is apparently privy to the entire investigation - contrary to the law - but that doesn’t empower him to give license to others to violate the law.

Barrett demands that Governor Walker release all information related to the John Doe investigation – including more than 1,000 emails that were sent through a secret internet system set up near Walker’s office when he was serving as Milwaukee’s County Executive.

Mandrell Sisters

Standing with Walker

My column for the Daily News is online. It’s called, “Standing with Walker.” Here’s a part:

Even though the accomplishments listed in this column is incomplete, even this short list is truly remarkable when one considers that Walker hasn’t even reached the half-way point of his term and has been dogged by liberal obstructionism. More than that, the things that Walker has accomplished are substantial and real. Wisconsin will benefit for generations because of some of these policies.

  In short, Walker promised that he would govern according to his values for the betterment of Wisconsin and he has fulfilled his promise. That’s why we elected him. That’s why we continue to stand by him. And we will continue to stand by him as long as he continues to stand by us. Judging by his record, we’ll be standing together for a very long time.

Fake Washers

You see it from time to time. I notice it most often in airport bathrooms. No, I’m not talking about wide stances… I’m talking about those people who pretend to wash their hands when they see that someone else is around. You know the guys (I don’t know about girls). They stand and spray, jauntily zip up, and begin their strut out of the lavatory. Then, lo and behold, they notice you. YOU, with your askance glare and disdainful sniff. So they walk over to the sink. They turn it on, flail around, but nothing appears to get wet. Then they grab a paper towel - just one, and we know that one never does the job of drying fully saturated hands - and they prance out into the world.

Frauds.

I see you.

Chisolm Defends Appearence of Bias

I had high hopes for D.A. Chisolm…

Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm is defending the chief investigator in the John Doe investigation into Scott Walker’s administration while he was county executive after a report surfaced that David Budde has a recall sign in his yard.

In a statement Monday, Chisholm said Budde told him his wife, who is a county employee, put the sign in the couple’s yard about a week ago.

“I do not regulate or control the constitutional freedoms of my employees’ families in their private lives,” the district attorney said. “They have the right, under state law, and in this case, county civil service rules, to express their political views as does any other citizen.”

...and then he has spent gobs of money on a secret investigation that has lingered for years while someone in his office illegally leaks information to Democrats and the media. Now he’s showing that he doesn’t give a rip about even the appearence of impartiality from his staff. It’s a shame for someone who holds so much power to destroy lives to prove to be a partisan on a matter so grave.

Home Sales Rise

Great news!

April sales of existing homes in Wisconsin increased 19.5% and the median sale price inched up for the second straight month, a report released Monday shows.

There were 5,218 homes sold in April, compared with 4,365 in April last year. The median price rose 2.4% statewide to $128,000 from $125,000 a year earlier, according to the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

“With 10 straight months of double-digit growth in Wisconsin home sales, I think it’s safe to say we’ve turned the corner on sales, and we’ve seen some preliminary signals that prices have begun to move upward,” said Michael Theo, president and chief executive of the Wisconsin Realtors Association.

DNR Backing Off

As with most stories like this, you have to ask yourself… is this a good thing or a bad thing?

MILWAUKEE — The number of environmental inspections conducted by the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources declined sharply in Gov. Scott Walker’s first year, leading advocates to question whether the agency is paying less attention to environmental regulation under the Republican governor.

DNR officials said inspections are down because they face a worker shortage, and note that they are still meeting federal inspection requirements.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analyzed inspection records and reported Sunday that the decreases were seen in most categories affecting air and water quality. Of the biggest drops: Inspections of large farms were down 46 percent, and private well inspections were down 36 percent in 2011.

I think we can all agree that we want the DNR to monitor and enforce laws and regulations to ensure that our environment is clean. Where the friction arises is in how zealous the DNR should be and how they balance environmental enforcement with the other needs of the citizens - like a growing and vibrant economy.

In the case of this story, someone who strongly favors zealous environmental enforcement at all costs will see this as a bad thing. Someone who strongly favors a position where business interests always trump environmental enforcement will see this as a good thing. What we can’t do is assume that the number of inspections automatically correlates to the quality of our environment. Undoubtedly, there are a lot of useless inspections. What we should be focused on is outcomes. If the DNR can be less intrusive and less onerous and yet it still leads to the same or better level of environmental quality, then why shouldn’t we celebrate that? If the DNR can work with businesses to grow and expand while keeping the envornment reasonably safe, then shouldn’t we do that?

The DNR is one of Wisconsin’s most feared agencies. It doesn’t have to be that way. There’s a way to be good stewards of our environment without sacrificing all other interests.

Oodles of Campaign Cash

Wow.

Despite Gov. Scott Walker’s huge fundraising advantage heading into next month’s recall election, a Wisconsin State Journal analysis of the money that has flowed into all state campaigns and political groups since Walker took office suggests backers of the two major political parties have competed on an unusually level playing field.

Altogether, an estimated $86.8 million surged into Wisconsin campaigns and political groups between Jan. 1, 2011 — two days before Walker took office — and April 23 of this year, according to campaign finance statements filed with the state Government Accountability Board.

That’s a lot of cash for a campaign, but it highlights just how important it is to so many people. On a side note, it’s a positive thing for Wisconsin that the vast majority of that money will be spent in Wisconsin.

A Botched Cliche From a Botched Barrett

Ann Althouse has Barrett nailed dead to rights.

The only thing worse than a cliché is to miss the cliché. It’s a telling miss, because Barrett seems blind to the obvious fact that to save money you have to save money. So yeah, the first thing you do is try to get out of the hole. Hello? So there was a huge hole in the budget, and you would just try to get out of it. Well, you did get out of it, when you lost the election to Walker in 2010. And Walker didn’t try to get out of it. He didn’t even just stop digging. He filled the hole! And now, for all we can see, Tom Barrett wants to re-dig the hole. And then maybe try to get out of it. What a plan!

and…

That is, he doesn’t want to generally lower tax rates to stimulate business. He wants particular businesses to come to him and ask for an individual incentive and convince him somehow that their business is the right kind of business, to work through him. He sees himself as a power broker, dealing in privilege.

Muddy Day

I ran the Mud Run today in Verona with some buddies. It was a great time!

Couple Arrested for Faking Hate Crime

Well sure... if you don’t like the fact that I don’t pick up after my dogs, I’m going to try to get you thrown in jail for a hate crime. That sounds fair.

A lesbian couple who claimed they were victims of a hate crime have been arrested after police determined they staged the incidents.

On Oct. 28, Aimee Whitchurch, 37, and Christel Conklin, 29, called police and reported the words “Kill the Gay” were scrawled in red spray paint on the garage door of their Parker, Colo., home.

The next day, the couple told deputies they found a noose hanging on the handle of their front door.

The women told officers they believed the incidents were retaliation from their neighbors and homeowner’s association, who had complained the couple did not pick up after their dogs.