The Sconz: An Isthmus|TheDailyPage.com blog

The Sconz: An Isthmus|TheDailyPage.com blog http://www.thedailypage.com/daily The Sconz: Breaking news from the UW-Madison campus plus commentary on city and state politics webmaster@isthmus.com (Webmaster) Wed, 16 May 2012 09:45:47 CDT The Sconz bids Isthmus adieu Thu, 29 Dec 2011 14:55:36 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35579 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35579 All good things must come to an end. For a long time, this blog was a very good thing. However, in recent months, I've become distracted by other endeavors, such as the radio show I produce and the business I have recently become a part of. So, for some time, this blog has not been such a good thing. Hence, it would be unreasonable for me to expect payment for it, no matter how paltry (and man, was it paltry) the sum. Thus, The Sconz bids farewell to Isthmus, who so graciously provided a platform for one of my favorite pastimes: Talkin' politics. I don't think this is the end, however. Not only can you listen to me impart wisdom on a daily basis between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 WTDY (or 106.7 FM), where I play the contrarian to host Kurt Baron, but I will also be blogging once again at <a href="http://www.thesconz.com/">TheSconz.com</a>, where it all started three years ago! I've had a lot of fun blogging for the dead-tree press. Although I may have lost a number of my early readers because of Isthmus' rather strict commenting policy, I met many other citizens of Sconz Nation through the comment-section banter in the past two years. So please bookmark <a href="http://www.thesconz.com">TheSconz.com</a> and say hi! As I stated when I started the blog in May 2009, "Readers are enthusiastically encouraged to post anything in the comments section, from blistering criticism to slathering praise." I'm involved in some pretty cool other ventures as well. My short-lived start-up, Sconz Creative, has now been absorbed by another company, <a href=http://www.leadvia.com/>LeadVia</a>, an online marketing and Search Engine Optimization firm. I'll be writing web content for a variety of different businesses. For instance, this crazy website, <a href="http://www.bikerfan.com/">BikerFan.com</a>, for whom I wrote descriptions of motorcycle helmets with NFL logos! So drop by The Sconz, drop me a line, or meet up with me for a beer and a Plaza burger, no joke. Long Live Sconz Nation! Follow The Sconz on Facebook<a href="facebook.com/wisconzin"></a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/?hl=en">Google+</a>! And check out the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">Twitter account</a> for the radio show I produce on WTDY on weekdays from 10-11 a.m. For anonymous tips, questions or criticism, send me an email at jcraver@isthmus.com. Who to blame for Wisconsin job losses? Thu, 08 Dec 2011 16:12:05 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35422 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35422 It's a fascinating question in American politics: Who takes the blame for job losses? In a presidential race, the answer is simple: The incumbent. He's either doing too much, too little or nothing at all. It's all his fault. It's more complex, however, on the state level, since state voters often do not know who to hold accountable for the tough times their communities are facing. Who should Madison voters blame for slow economic growth? President Obama, Gov. Walker, Mayor Soglin? All three? Who voters blame often depends on their personal politics. If the opposing party is in power, then it's their fault. If your own party is running the show, then it's the economy that's gone awry, not political leadership. What's great, however, about a split government, is that everybody gets to blame one group of politicians for economic woes. Democrats can blame Congressional Republicans and Gov. Walker, while Republicans, of course, can lay all the blame on Obama. What a good pollster needs to do is find out who Wisconsin independents see as the culprit for recent job losses in Wisconsin. If Democrats are smart, they should be jumping all over recent stats that show the Badger State lost more jobs than any other state in October. Scott Walker certainly did not hesitate to point out that Wisconsin's unemployment rate was higher than the national average when he began his gubernatorial bid in spring of 2009. That talking point, of course, vanished from his lexicon as unemployment here dipped below the national average. Assuming the economy doesn't drastically change in the next year, the 2012 elections in Wisconsin will feature a very interesting dynamic. Democrats running for legislative office will blame Walker for the bad state of the economy in Wisconsin, while Republicans running for Congressional office will blame the president for national economic woes. What will Walker say for himself, however? Assuming he faces recall, will he say that his attempts to open Wisconsin for business are limited because of mismanagement at the federal level? And will independents believe him? In most states, I think voters will generally vote with a national perspective up and down the ballot. That certainly was the case in 2010, when Republicans swept the state legislature, despite Wisconsin's better economic condition than the rest of the country. However, what's unique about Wisconsin, in addition to our long tradition of ticket-splitting, is the intense focus on state politics that has come as a result of the spring protests and the recalls. As a result, I think there is a good shot that voters could likely favor one party at the federal level and another at the state level. Follow The Sconz on Facebook<a href="facebook.com/wisconzin"></a> or <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="https://plus.google.com/u/0/?hl=en">Google+</a>! And check out the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">Twitter account</a> for the radio show I produce on WTDY on weekdays from 10-11 a.m. For anonymous tips, questions or criticism, send me an email at jcraver@isthmus.com. In defense of the Wisconsin State Journal Mon, 28 Nov 2011 14:48:51 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35324 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35324 Many friends of mine are upset with the legal battle the Wisconsin State Journal waged to obtain the 1,000 sick notes Madison teachers used to get off work during the union protests in February. My own radio host and boss, Kurt Baron, referred to the paper as the "Wisconsin State Urinal" in describing his decision to no longer have the paper as his home page online. Some called into the show and promised to cancel their subscriptions. Teachers should have a right to individual privacy over their medical records. We shouldn't know whether John Q. cited herpes or hemorrhoids on his doctor's note. I am less sympathetic, however, to the teachers' right to collective privacy. As long as their names are redacted, the public has the right to know if 273 teachers cited malaria and 345 claimed to suffer from ebola. Unfortunately the recent ruling will violate individual privacy by allowing the State Journal to see the names of the teachers on the sick notes. If the names were redacted, however, the case would be relatively easy from a personal privacy perspective, since it is virtually impossible to link an individual to a specific case out of 1,000 total sick notes. If there were far fewer -- say 3 -- then the privacy implications would be much murkier. What I find truly disappointing, however, is how quick people are to condemn media for doing its job -- investigating news. Frankly, if anything, the case has increased my esteem for that skinny, starving rag. The lawsuit is similar to the one the Cap Times launched two years ago against the Doyle administration, which had failed to release public records in a timely manner. At the time, Doyle's spokesman, Lee Sensenbrenner, a former Cap Times reporter himself, <a href="http://thesconz.wordpress.com/2009/08/12/lee-sensenbrenner-is-not-cool/">made light of the administration's apparent strategy</a> to wait out the impoverished newspaper: <blockquote> When asked for comment about an open records suit The Capital Times filed against the governor, Doyle spokesperson Lee Sensenbrenner sarcastically remarked he was "surprised" that The Capital Times had the "resources" to file a lawsuit. </blockquote> It's bad enough when politicians try to keep out the press, but it's even worse when the people become convinced that they don't need it either. Increasingly, people are puzzled by local news outlets whose coverage doesn't cater to a specific political ideology. If it doesn't specifically appeal to theirs, they assume its bias leans the other way, especially if its news coverage ever focuses on negative aspects of politicians or groups they support. The massive sick-out by Madison teachers is a good story. For better or worse, public employees in Wisconsin are not allowed to strike, and investigating the sick-out is what any good local paper would do to help people understand how work-stoppages work in Wisconsin. Paradoxically, while we expect national media to be aggressive, even cruel in its coverage of public figures and people, we find vigorous objective reporting in our own backyards unsettling. For instance: We don't like seeing alders we know and like face tough questions over unethical or criminal conduct. On a separate issue, it's depressing how many people don't seem to understand that the editorial page is independent from the news coverage. At least it's supposed to be. All journalists have their own political opinions and biases, but the news section does not serve to carry out the agenda of the paper's editorial board. Just look at The Capital Times. Although that paper really has made a concerted effort to brand itself as the "progressive" news source, the guys writing the editorials -- John Nichols, John Nichols, John Nichols and Dave Zweifel -- have nothing to do with what the reporters are writing. In fact, Nichols seems to work mostly from Ancora. Don't give up on local news just because the local paper's editorials are lame. And don't hold it against journalists when they dig places that make you uncomfortable. Take comfort in the fact that we have a press that is doing its job. Madison to Occupy Wall Street: Been there, done that Wed, 23 Nov 2011 14:51:04 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35314 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35314 To New Jersey I traveled last week, to celebrate the birthday of my mom's 60th year on Earth. At the stellar birthday bash, which featured two huge platters of sushi and a Smorgasbord of Lebanese goodies, all the New York crowd could talk about was Occupy Wall Street. "I've sent money, but I haven't actually been down there yet," said one 19-year-old who attends college mere blocks from the epicenter of the epic demonstrations. Most Lexus liberals at least experiment with hands-on activism in their youth â€“â€“ this young man apparently felt he could skip that stage in his development as a member of the American bourgeoisie. "Is there any Occupy movement in Madison ?" one journalist asked me. "Not really," I replied. "We've been there, done that." There are two reasons the Occupy Madison attempts have amounted to, as one friend <a href="http://www.channel3000.com/news/29827654/detail.html">called them</a>, "a fart in the wind." First, people are weary of protest and second, the most politically active lefties in Wisconsin are focusing their energy on the more tangible goal of recalling Scott Walker. Wisconsin's left is lucky that it has such venues for expressing its distaste in its political leaders. You have to wonder what would be taking place now if the recalls weren't possible. How long would the Capitol protests have lasted, and would the Occupy movement have rekindled the fire we witnessed in February and March? The essence of Occupy Wall Street is helplessness. In dire times, many people, especially the young, feel they have no voice in government and traditional political action is futile. Waiting until 2012 or investing hope in the two major parties simply cedes power to the corporate-controlled status quo. In Wisconsin, people don't feel as helpless. First, the war against Walker has given the state Democratic Party a chance to demonstrate its commitment to progressive ideals, regardless of whether it will follow through on them if it comes to power. As a result, state lefties feel that electing Democrats to replace Walker will represent a major step forward. Second, there is a clear path to eliminating the enemy. If the recall campaign is successful, Scott Walker could be out in a few months. Hence, people are not hopeless; they are tremendously hopeful. Do all Madison businesses need websites? Sun, 13 Nov 2011 13:45:44 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35156 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35156 It's been 10 years since the dot com bust, when investors realized that everything associated with the World Wide Web wasn't going to bring you P. Diddy-style wealth. Since then, people have realized the web is not extraordinary. It's so ordinary, in fact, that no company can afford to ignore it. Right? All over town, however, you see examples of businesses that shun the conventional wisdom. Some still don't have websites, and many more have yet to venture into the world of Facebook and Twitter. Is spending a few hundred dollars on a quality website not worth it for some businesses? Perhaps the more intriguing question is, are some businesses actually better off without websites at all? Take The Silver Dollar Tavern, for instance. The rustic exterior and barren interior of the 78-year-old W. Mifflin St dive is gloomy to some and charming to others, however, the bar's web presence is practically invisible to all. Besides a <a href=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Silver-Dollar-Tavern/113513578682297>Facebook page</a> with 15 likes and no information (no address), the bar offers nothing to would-be patrons online. Or does it? Perhaps the couple dozen reviews of the bar on Yelp and Urban Spoon is all that is necessary to stoke the interest of a dive crawler. Similarly, Paul's Books seems stubbornly opposed to the innovations of the 1990's. Caryl Askins, the owner since 1975, politely shook off my suggestions that Paul's adopt a website similar to A Room of One's Own, which features blog posts from staff members about their favorite reads. Currently, Paul's web presence is limited to a <a href=http://www.facebook.com/pages/Pauls-Book-Store/120589991289956>Facebook page</a> with 6 likes and a <a href=http://www.danebuylocal.com/directory/art-books-music-video/pauls-book-store.html>profile page</a> on the Dane County Buy Local website. As a longtime Paul's employee told me, "We like things the way they are." While being able to browse online might take away some of the intrigue that strolling amidst the shelves provides, I would have to say that there is a constituency of young people who will simply won't bother checking out a store if it doesn't have a website. Not having a website today is the equivalent of not having an entry in the Yellowpages 20 years ago. Local bookstores and dive bars will continue to profit from passerbys, but they are likely losing out to competitors who go out and win customers online. Everyday there are people in Madison who turn to Google to figure out where they can find a specific book or a nearby drink special. Why would a store want to forgo these customers? What do you think? What is a business in 2011 missing when it abstains from the internet? Soon-to-be Wisconsin Capitol rule: Cameras must be attached to guns Mon, 07 Nov 2011 16:23:41 -0600 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35142 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35142 The following article was recovered from the future. In yet another clarification of the state Capitol's policy against allowing cameras in the Assembly and Senate galleries, Capitol officials announced that photo and video devices are only allowed if attached to a licensed firearm. "While we believe keeping the current prohibition of cameras in the chambers is key to maintaining a respectful, decorous work environment, we simply cannot justify violating a citizen's second amendment rights by barring guns that happen to have cameras," explained Sen. Leah Vukmir (R-Wauwatosa), chair of the Senate Committee on Administrative Rules. National Rifle Association President David Keene said the rule was yet another step forward in Wisconsin's path towards full recognition of gun rights. "In just a few short months, the Badger State has gone from 'worst-to-first,'" he quipped. "Actually, maybe not first. They've still got nothing on Vermont -- those sons of bitches are craaazy! And by that I mean they have the utmost respect for individual liberty." Gun cameras, until recently used only by police departments to document shoot-outs, have become the most Googled item in Wisconsin since the new policy was announced. Popular gun manufacturers, such as Baretta and Colt, announced plans to make camera-equipped firearms available. Senate President Mike Ellis, the chamber's most senior Republican, was the only member of his party to voice skepticism of the policy. "I just don't know about this," he said. "Clearly most of these spectators mean well and just want to take a few pictures on their gun camera but it's tough to engage in meaningful debate when dozens of barrels are pointing down at you." Ellis added that he had overheard one spectator ask another if he had to pull the trigger to get the camera rolling. "I wanted to tell him, 'Hey, make sure to take a picture of [Democratic Sen.] Lena Taylor,'" he said. "Just kidding," he added, wiping tears of laughter from his eyes. Some legislative Democrats said they'd rather quit than face the barrels of the people. "Actually, I don't want this job anymore," said Sen. Jess King (D-Oshkosh), who recently won her seat in a recall election against former Republican Sen. Randy Hopper. "Being Deputy Mayor of Oshkosh was a lot more laid back." Still other Democrats plan to protest by fleeing to Illinois, a state that does not allow for concealed carry of firearms in the state capitol. State GOP Party Chair Mark Jefferson decried the Democrats' ploy as obstructionist and cowardly. "It's a sad day when the very same democracy that our founding fathers stared down cannon to create is obstructed by some pussy-ass Democrats who can't take a few tourists with camera-guns." Madison's sacred separation of bar and cafe Thu, 03 Nov 2011 16:06:28 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35128 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35128 It has worked in Europe. The late-night bar is also a cheery spot to get your morning espresso. But just like socialized medicine, the bar/cafe model is apparently doomed to failure in the United States. And nowhere is the situation better displayed than in Madison. As I write this, I am sipping a screwdriver at the historic Plaza Tavern. According to Plaza time (15 minutes fast), it's 3 p.m. It's too rainy and gray to lament the limited view of the outside world the bar gives you, but the dingy lighting in the bar does not create what most UW students would consider an ideal studying space. Nor, for that matter, would I guess it to be a place where many businessmen would choose to meet a potential client. Once a dive, always a dive. Some bars advertise coffee, but I don't think too many people pay attention. In Madison, the only cracks in the solid wall between caffeination and inebriation are Rum ' Cokes, Jaegerbombs and a few coffeeshops that offer a small selection of beer and wine. I worked at one such coffeehouse, Indie Coffee on Regent St. It has a respectable number of local beers and offers a number of alcoholic espresso drinks. But practically nobody orders them. Nobody apparently wants to be the only person drinking. Says Dean, the Plaza owner: "It is the Plaza Tavern and Grill, not the Plaza grill and tavern." I suppose that means that although some people come in for a nonalcoholic experience, alcohol is still front and center of a bar's brand, no matter what time of day. As Dean points out, there is a pot of black coffee at the Plaza if anybody is interested. However, the bar certainly does not offer "specialty drinks," such as lattes, mochas or macchiatos. According to Dean, a great admirer of the small-town tavern, northern Wisconsin bars have been doing just fine and will continue to prosper without adding raspberry mochas to their drink menu. Similarly, the Plaza has yet to fully use Internet marketing. The bar has no Facebook page, no Twitter account and <a href="http://www.theplazatavern.com/">a website that has been maintained by its janitor</a> for the past eight years. To Dean, however, even if the Plaza's limited web presence is partially the result of indecision, it also fits the the tavern's rustic brand. Dean recalls the day he began managing the Plaza, in 1985, when a fellow businessman asked him what he needed to change. "Nothing," he responded. The businessman agreed. Memo to Madison restaurants: Give me a punch card, a special, or something else Fri, 28 Oct 2011 09:21:34 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35072 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35072 I've never cared to learn much about coffee, but I very much like drinking it. I like it whether it tastes like dishwater or a smooth blend of Tanzanian peaberry and citrus, and whether it is produced by a cooperative of well-paid and environmentally conscious farmers in Nicaragua or an army of underpaid, underage employees of a warlord in Somalia. However, as much as possible, I prefer it cheap. Over the years, I've paid mo' fo Joe than I deserve. Even though I spent many disgraceful years as a coffeehouse leach -- the student who buys a small cup for $1.65 and then uses the store's table and WiFi for 6 hours -- the cost of not making my own coffee probably exceeds the small sum I've made blogging. Therefore, I strongly preferred coffee joints that provide punch cards to reward loyal patrons. Punch card policies differ drastically between shops. Some, such as Espresso Royale and Barriques requires 10 punches and reward you with a free drink of any size and type. Victor Allen's required 20 is demoralizing. Others, such as my former employer, Indie Coffee, don't offer punch cards but instead allow you to put money on a store debit card and give you a discount if you put a certain amount on ($1 for every $20 at Indie). Fair Trade and Michelangelo's offer no such deals. (Earlier I wrote that Barriques did not offer punch cards. The comment below clarifies that mistake.) Laurie, the owner of Fair Trade, says the store used to have a punch card policy, but that she came to believe customers were "self-punching" to get free drinks. She says that rewarding regular customers on an individual basis is a more fulfilling experience for her and is more appreciated by the customers, since the free coffee or treat is spontaneous and unexpected. Having a barista or bartender choose you as the recipient of free goods is a far superior feeling to getting a free drink for every 10 or 20, which any chump can do. However, secretly rewarding regular customers cannot possibly be as effective at creating new regulars. In the end, however, both methods of rewards are limited. The best way to give away free stuff and gain loyal customers is through social networks. Why give a customer a free drink before requiring them to become a fan on Facebook or a follower on Twitter? That way, you can lure customers in with specials and form a stronger bond with them by encouraging them to interact with you. For instance, "Whoever comes up with best idea for new mocha flavor gets free coffee all next week! #Madison #coffee." In Madison, perhaps the best example of the new model is <a href=http://twitter.com/#!/AJBombersMSN>AJ Bombers</a>, the burger joint on Henry and Gilman started by a Milwaukee entrepreneur. Not only does the restaurant boast huge followings on social networks, but it is constantly giving people reasons to pay check them! Specials, contests...even simply offering pictures of their delicious grub distinguishes them from the competition. Why is drunken driving on the decline? Sun, 23 Oct 2011 16:24:16 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35015 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=35015 The father of a buddy of mine told him about how he and his friends used to drive from their Minnesota town, where the drinking age was 21 during the 70's, to Wisconsin, where it was 18. "We'd get wasted and then drive back to Minnesota, which probably wasn't a good idea...but things were different then," he explained. Things were different then. Cars were less safe, less people wore seat belts, there were probably more drunk drivers on the road and they were probably less likely to get pulled over for DUI. Things have since changed for the better. <a href="http://www.nhtsa.gov/People/injury/research/FewerYoungDrivers/iii__d.htm">Statistics show</a> (a bit outdated) young people started taking drunk driving more seriously during the 1990's, and consequently, they are less likely to do it than their parents were at the same age. Some, such as Mothers Against Drunk Driving, attribute some of that success to a higher drinking age. As unfair as I believe the 21 drinking age to be, I think there may be some truth in that argument. What the 21 drinking age does is encourage teens and young adults to drink secretively and probably more dangerously. They are more likely to go to house parties, less likely to go to bars. However I also sense they are less likely to drive drunk. First, the penalties for an underage DUI are harsher. You're busted if the breathalyzer detects any amount of booze in your blood. While you also run the risk of getting slapped with a drinking ticket by simply attending a house party, the consequences of such an offense are relatively minor, whereas the shame, revocation of a driver's license and the black mark on your criminal record resulting from an OWI conviction are things that most youngsters take seriously. More importantly, however, has been the cultural shift against drunk driving in recent decades. A strong distinction between drinking and drinking ' driving has emerged. All you need to do is read the UW student press to see evidence of that thinking. The student papers, while typically opposed to restrictions on student drinking, are decidedly less tolerant of OWI than older Wisconsinites. While many in older generations, including most Assembly Democrats, were reluctant to oust embattled Rep. Jeff Wood (I-Bloomer) after his multiple OWIs last year, the student press seemed to think his resignation was a no-brainer. The drinking age is a bad idea. But some of its effects may have been positive. The way to retain the benefits and reduce the negative effects would be to allow 18-year-olds to earn drinking licenses by taking alcohol safety courses. If they are caught driving drunk or getting into fights, their drinking privileges would be revoked. Could Wisconsin Republicans make the Electoral College any worse? Mon, 17 Oct 2011 17:04:52 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34957 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34957 The Electoral College is an undemocratic system developed by a bunch of old white guys who didn't believe the American people were competent enough to elect their own president. Since then, the premise for its preservation has changed. Now people believe it must be kept to ensure that small states have representation in the presidential process. Of course, the Electoral College actually disenfranchises many more states than it empowers. While rural folk in swing states, such as Iowa and Wisconsin, will be heavily coveted voters next year, millions in less competitive states, both big and small, will be ignored. New York, Texas, Wyoming, California, Mississippi, Alaska..the list goes on. The obvious remedy would be abolishing the system completely and replacing it with a national popular vote. However, since mustering support for the necessary constitutional amendment is an arduous feat, one wonders if there are smaller reforms that could make the process more democratic. Hence the proposal being <a href="http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5gzJuRrLhUq7b1uhQuMB6-1Jl6bzA?docId=f2b2871dc930451489f65478e601d3a5">floated by a Sconnie Republican</a>: <blockquote> Wisconsin state Rep. Dan LeMahieu on Wednesday circulated a proposal for co-sponsors that make so a single electoral vote would go to the winner in each of Wisconsin's eight congressional districts. The statewide winner would get two electoral votes. </blockquote> Such a proposal could have some benefits, but probably not for Wisconsin. Awarding electoral college votes based on Congressional District, on a national basis, would mean candidates would have an incentive to campaign in traditionally neglected states, such as New York and Texas. While no Barack Obama could never dream of carrying the entire Lone Star state, for instance, he definitely could carry some of its congressional districts, and therefore, he would campaign there and be forced to address issues that people in Houston and Dallas care about. However, the weakness of such a proposal is that it gives political parties more power to manipulate the electoral college. As arbitrary as state boundaries are (and many are quite so), they never change, whereas congressional district boundaries change every decade, often as a result of highly-sophisticated partisan gerrymandering. In Wisconsin, for instance, Republicans have done their best to make 5 of the 8 districts solidly Republican, meaning that not only will those districts elect GOP members of Congress, but they'll fall reliably into the GOP presidential column. Since Wisconsin is already a swing state, and will probably remain so for the foreseeable future, there is little benefit to the people of the state to change the system. Democratic and Republican presidential candidates will be visiting the state and sucking up to us no matter what. Follow The Sconz on <a href=http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin>Facebook</a> or <a href=http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz>Twitter</a> or <a href=https://plus.google.com/u/0/?hl=en>Google+</a>! And check out the <a href=http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt>Twitter account</a> for the radio show I produce on WTDY on weekdays from 10-11 a.m. For anonymous tips, questions or criticism, send me an email at jcraver@isthmus.com. What's wrong with being poor or cheap in Wisconsin? Sun, 16 Oct 2011 16:04:24 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34954 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34954 "I shop St. Vinny's because it's great for the planet! I shop St. Vinny's because of the great variety! I shop St. Vinny's because it's fun!" Nowhere in that ad is the most obvious reason for shopping at a thrift store stated: "Because I'm poor." I say that even though I'll continue to shop St. Vinny's after The Sconz overtakes Apple as America's best-known brand and I make billions. According to the ever-imperfect but relevant laws of the free market, the amount of money you have strongly influences what you buy. Similarly, I recently went on a tour of the Minhas Brewery in Monroe, WI. The 160-year-old facility (whose Canadian ownership <a href=http://www.thedailypage.com/thesconz/article.php?article=29974>I blogged about</a> last year) is best known for its bottom-of-the-barrel brews, most notably Mountain Creek and Huber. I only had to take a quick dip in Mountain Creek my freshman year to understand that Blatz was worth the few extra cents. Unfortunately, the tour completely neglected its brands greatest asset: Low prices. Instead it focused on something they lack entirely: Quality. For shame. Their ads, in which angry consumers demand lower beer prices, were a refreshing break from the false advertising that we get from Bud, Miller and Coors. Unfortunately, their brewery tour was eerily similar to Miller's nonsensical "Triple Hops Brewed" jibber-jabber. It's not that a brewery should be expected to tout its sulfuric taste and scent, but I think it would bolster Minhas' credibility if it emphasized its strengths instead of inventing a narrative as a champion of great taste. For instance: "Minhas: Light spending and hard partying." My advice for St. Vinny's and Minhas: There's nothing wrong with talking directly to poor people. It's a recession; there are a lot of them. How to keep Prince Fielder with the Brewers Thu, 13 Oct 2011 11:20:04 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34946 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34946 <a href="http://www.mlbtraderumors.com/prince_fielder/">Conventional wisdom</a> says Prince Fielder would be crazy to stay with Milwaukee after this season. One of the best sluggers in baseball, Fielder, who is soon to be a free agent, could command a contract comparable to the Phillies' similarly husky first-baseman Ryan Howard, who was signed to a 5 year $125 million contract last year. Unfortunately, Fielder can't get this kind of money from the Brewers, whose entire payroll was $85 million this year. But it doesn't have to be this way. Some say if the Brewers go all the way, the emotional appeal of staying with the franchise he led to its first World Series could force the Prince to accept a salary the Brewers can actually afford. But as I'm sure Gov. Scott Walker will tell you, emotional appeal is only part of the game. A multimillionaire needs more assurance than a plea to "Escape to Wisconsin," to set up shop here permanently. So what would be the next step in the Walker plan? Prince Fielder needs a tax break. If he is a such a crucial piece of machinery in the Brewers business, why not offer the Brew Crew a giant tax rebate for investing in him? Such a policy would be no different than levying special taxes to fund Miller Park or refundable tax credits <a href="http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20110422/APC0101/104220550/Wisconsin-Governor-Scott-Walker-announces-tax-credit-aid-Oshkosh-housing-project">to the many companies</a> that Walker has championed as job creators in the past 10 months. Conversely, to use Warren Buffet's logic, if Fielder limits his pay by sticking with the Brewers, why should he pay the same tax rate as Derek Jeter! Moreover, why do guys making the MLB's minimum salary ($300,000) pay the same tax rate as the guys making $25 million a year? Such is the folly of the American tax code. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Occupy Wall Street is the left wing Tea Party Sun, 09 Oct 2011 12:57:14 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34887 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34887 The similarities between the Occupy Wall Street movement and the Tea Party movement are too great to ignore. Both are populist responses to a perceived coziness between government and big business. Both are fed by the frustration and suffering created by economic hardship. Most importantly, both began as grassroots movements but later gained significant institutional support from the establishment from corporations, interest groups, political parties or labor unions. Predictably, progressives aren't quick to acknowledge the similarities. Nor are <a href="http://www.thedailypage.com/blaska/article.php?article=34862'sid=9df71ad331ad42c3976817217e751442">my conservative friends</a> at The Daily Page. The responses I received on Twitter when I posed the question were typical of ideologues who cannot fathom that they share values with their political enemies. "Um, no. corporate-financed infrastructure to derail sensible energy policy and stall health care reform absent in #occupywallst," reported Scot Ross, the head of One Wisconsin Now. "Didn't #occupywallst reject Dem support," tweeted State Rep. Brett Hulsey (D-Madison). Both Ross and Hulsey are correct. But they're ignoring the important stuff and focusing on trivial details. Sure, one is right-wing and one is left-wing, so they have different interpretations of what is wrong with the country and different solutions for the problems. But both seem to agree that there is something fundamentally unfair going on; that the rules to the game of the American economy and political process have been changed at their expense. In both instances, the protesters are advocating a return to an idealized past, whether it be one in which American workers had secure retirements or one in which government was small and taxes were low. Ross and others insist the Tea Party was an astroturf movement, designed by corporate front groups. I don't think so, but the origins of the Tea Party and Occupy Wall Street are not as important as their evolution. Both began as a group of people on the extreme end of the ideological spectrum and then gained support and power from the establishment. The Tea Party continued to insist it was "non-partisan" while it promoted Republican candidates and accepted support from GOP groups, while Occupy Wall Street is now gaining the support of many Democratic officials and major unions. As both groups have gained establishment support, their cause broadens, from a few narrowly defined goals, such as opposing the bailout or campaign finance reform, to a big-tent ideological movement. While many of the Tea Party die-hards are Ron Paul die-hards who oppose the Patriot Act and the War on Drugs, the people getting on stage at the events are more likely to be mainstream Republicans, whose platforms have little to do with its libertarian origins. Similarly, Democrats clearly see the Occupy Wall Street movement as a resource to use to their advantage. To see how left-wing and right-wing movements can run parallel or even overlap, just look at the development of far right parties in Europe. In many instances, extreme right populist movements drew much of their support from former communist voters after the fall of the Soviet Union. Like communists, far right populists like Jean-Marie Le Pen in France offered people who felt overwhelmed by a complex global economy a promise that they could return the country to a simpler, more fair system. In the U.S. we see the marriage of those two separate political philosophies in figures such as Lou Dobbs, who appeals to left-wing anti-business sentiment as well as right-wing fears of immigrants. I have no idea what will become of Occupy Wall Street, but if I had to guess, I think it will follow the path of the Wisconsin Capitol protest movement</a>, in that it will eventually be absorbed into the Democratic Party apparatus and be used to mobilize young, progressive voters for President Obama's re-election. What think you, Sconz Nation? Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Madison beer is cheap, but it could be cheaper Tue, 04 Oct 2011 08:43:19 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34839 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34839 Apparently, I care about money more than the average Madisonian. That is clearly not demonstrated in my career choices, but it is in my drinking habits. The first thing I always say when I enter a bar is, "Do you have any specials," a question a coworker of mine (and longtime bartender) finds odd. Nevertheless, he has since adopted the habit. But we could both do better. We are consumers, and we have the right to know what the cheapest possible way to get hammered is. How often do you get your bill at the bar and feel strangely cheated? Your buddy was charged $2 for a Miller, and you ordered a Bud, assuming it's of comparable price, and are shocked when they charge you $4. If only you had known Miller was on special. The difference between Bud and Miller isn't worth $2. If you're ordering either, chances are you just want to keep the bulge in your wallet and out of your belly. (That's right. I just want a light beer, and taste doesn't matter. And before Miller calls me "unmanly," I say honesty is the "manliest" quality possible.) And yet, is it in poor taste to ask the bartender what the cheapest possible beer is? Why do I feel like a jerk when I ask waiters how much more it would cost to upgrade from rail Tequila to José Cuervo? I wish things were like in the movies, when a guy goes into a bar and just asks for a Cold One. The bartender doesn't ask for brand specifications, he just slides something cold and alcoholic across the bar. That's also the way it works in France --Â if you order "une biere" the waiter brings you the cheapest thing in the house. In fact, they'll even do the same for wine. Wine snobbery, although widespread in France, is something you choose, not something that is forced upon you. Going to a bar, especially a low-end one, should be like going to the gas station. If you want fancy schmancy service (premium gas, a car wash, brandy old fashioned), by all means, ask for it. But many of us just want a tank/pint of "regular." Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Four reasons Google+ will kill Facebook Fri, 30 Sep 2011 14:14:39 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34828 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34828 Yesterday I walked down State St. with a friend with whom I am starting a business venture and asked people what they knew and thought about Google+, the newest online social network. The responses from the youth were varied, ranging from complete oblivion to articulate predictions of Google Plus' failure. Almost nobody seemed excited about it, and nobody believed it would takeover Facebook as the premier social media outlet. It was a little surprising, but I don't think Google executives should worry too much. When it comes to internet success, the kids are important, but they're not everything. This is why I think Google+ is ultimately going to triumph. I'd love to hear your thoughts. Google+ will not delete your stuff. For instance, Facebook <a href=http://www.appleiphoneapps.net/iphone-5-specifications/facebook-deletes-iphone-5-fan-pages-ahead-of-october-4th-announcement>recently deleted</a> several iPhone fan pages in apparent anticipation of a big announcement from Apple about an upcoming Facebook app on the new iPhone. There are horror stories of businesses that spend months or years building up a fan page, only to have it deleted permanently over virus concerns. A politician I know only got his page back because he had a connection at Facebook. People -- especially in the business world -- want more consistency. How it helped Facebook to delete the iPhone pages mystifies me, but that a social network can delete fan pages to benefit its business interests means that companies cannot count on it as a reliable platform. If you want to, you can delete your stuff on Google+ You don't own a Facebook account. The company gives you the privilege of borrowing a piece of its cyberspace in exchange for all the information you feed it. Even if you delete your account, your information remains, which may be sold to advertisers and, perhaps, be used against you in an embarrassing way some years down the line. For instance, while Google tracks your activity on its services (Google search etc.), Facebook is alleged to have gone a step further, putting cookies in your browser that follow you to the darkest corners of the net even after you've signed out. I wouldn't be surprised if we start to see parents trying to get their kids onto Google+ and off of Facebook. Google+ offers more privacy more easily. Facebook's privacy policies are a hodgepodge of reactions to various outcries from users. Although you can adjust your settings on Facebook to limit what others can see on your profile, Google+ has streamlined this process and put it at the front and center of friend-making. Every time you follow somebody, you put them in one or more of the circles that you've created. You can choose what people in various circles see, meaning Dad doesn't see the picture of you at the Anarchist rally and your broskis don't see the pictures of you cuddling with the GF. Google+ is connected to Gmail. As much as Facebook has succeed in hosting a number of online services, such as instant messaging and video chat (who uses AIM anymore?), the link they're missing is email, which I believe is not going away anytime soon. As any adolescent will tell you, email is not necessary for effective online communication, but I don't think the professional world will abandon it anytime soon. At least not for another couple decades. As a result, Google+ will simply be the easier social network to partake in. Those who have both Facebook accounts and Google+ accounts will find themselves being more active in the latter because of its connection to their email. People want to sign into as few services as possible throughout the day. Any thoughts of your own on the topic? Anybody think Google+ is going to flop? Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a>, <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a> or <a href=https://plus.google.com/102319732156097862889/posts?hl=en>Google +</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Moneyball is a lie Fri, 23 Sep 2011 17:26:42 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34760 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34760 Now that I've awoken from the two hour daze that staring into Brad Pitt's baby-blues can provoke in even the most hardened cowboy, I am ready to assess Moneyball fairly. It was a good movie (and <a href="http://www.rottentomatoes.com/m/moneyball/">Rotten Tomatoes</a> agrees), but apparently the directors decided that it could only be a good if it skipped the facts. Let's start with the things the movie got right: Brad Pitt (<a href="http://celebrityscoops.net/wp-content/gallery/brad-pitt-picture-gallery/brad_pitt_10.jpg">pic</a>) is a stud, just like the real-life Billy Beane (<a href="http://www.freewebs.com/btief/Autos/Beane%2011_5.jpg">pic</a>). In the movie, Brad Pitt chews tobacco. In real life, Billy Beane also chews tobacco (see above picture). Former Oakland As manager Art Howe is probably dumber than <a href="http://host.madison.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/on-politics/article_34e992e2-e62b-11e0-b2c9-001cc4c002e0.html">Steve Nass</a>. The Oakland As are one of the poorest teams in baseball. Billy Beane and some numbers geeks fundamentally changed the way the baseball establishment thinks about hitting. As is thoroughly demonstrated in the movie, people began to think more about On-Base-Percentage, for instance. Billy Beane did assemble a remarkably productive team with very little money, largely due to his ability to get very effective but under-appreciated players for very little money. Relief pitcher Chad Bradford and first baseman Scott Hatteberg are the best examples. What the movie left out: The names "Barry Zito," "Tim Hudson," and "Mark Mulder." They were three of the best pitchers in baseball when the story was taking place, yet at no point did they seem to play a role in their team's rise to glory in the movie. In fact, I don't think there was ever one mention of starting pitching in the movie. The only mention of pitching focused on relief pitchers. So that's an average of six innings of every ball game that the movie neglected. There's no mention of college players. One of Oakland's big ideas was to minimize risky investments by drafting college players instead of high school players. The thinking, as explained in the book, is that high school stars have yet to prove themselves against good competition and they are much more likely to get injured because they're not used to the wear ' tear of a pro schedule. College players, in contrast, have had several years of experience against good competitors, have learned how to take care of their bodies (perhaps with needles) and have proven that they have the mental capacity to compete in high pressure situations. And, if they attended a non-SEC school, there's an outside chance that college helped them develop intellectually. As a movie, Moneyball gets a B. As a historical account, it gets a D+. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Why The Sconz will never be a high school teacher Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:27:55 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34704 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34704 I love history. I remember researching my senior thesis at UW's Memorial Library and, for the first time in my life, re-thinking my previous opposition to going to grad school. But then I realized that researching anti-Semitism in the rhetoric of French far right political parties might get old after four or five years. But unfortunately, I think being a university professor might be the only kind of teaching I could tolerate. Teaching elementary or high school sounds like one headache after the next. <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2011/09/13/us/13bully.html?_r=1'ref=education">Here's an example</a>: <blockquote> After years of harsh conflict between advocates for gay students and Christian conservatives, the issue was already highly charged here [suburbs of Minneapolis]. Then in July, six students brought a lawsuit contending that school officials have failed to stop relentless antigay bullying and that a district policy requiring teachers to remain â€œneutralâ€ on issues of sexual orientation has fostered oppressive silence and a corrosive stigma. Through it all, conservative Christian groups have demanded that the schools avoid any descriptions of homosexuality or same-sex marriage as normal, warning against any surrender to what they say is the â€œhomosexual agendaâ€ of recruiting youngsters to an â€œunhealthy and abnormal lifestyle.â€ </blockquote> Ugh. Being a history teacher would be tough. Not only do you have to find ways to make the content interesting to bratty little munchkins, but you have to try to present the material as "objectively" as possible, allowing the students to develop their own opinions on issues. But you have to do that in the context of a system that tells you that certain things in history are settled as good and bad. Martin Luther King was good. Tyranny is bad. The president is not a war criminal. Today, not too many teachers have to vigorously defend the righteousness of the civil rights movement, but they certainly did as recently as a couple decades ago. Today the best parallel is the gay rights movement. They have to cope with the fact that many people believe that gay rights is a topic subject to debate, rather than a relatively obvious moral imperative. In contrast, college professors are encouraged to develop a slant on current affairs or history (again, within certain bounds), and professors are generally not reprimanded for bringing controversy into their curriculum. Turns out writing and talk radio were the right places for me. A better way for Madison Prep Sun, 18 Sep 2011 14:16:54 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34703 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34703 If people want a charter school to be an inspiration to other youngsters in the community, here's a better way to do it. Instead of building an entirely new school, which costs a ton and isolates the kids from the rest of their peers, why not go with the school within a school model, in which a charter is operated within an existing public school? That's the only original idea I have. Now here is my two cents on the rest of the plan. I believe Kaleem Caire knows what he is talking about though. It's frustrating to see a debate on the crisis facing minority students as polarized between the know-nothings on the right who believe the only issues facing blacks are self-inflicted cultural ones and the lefties who refuse to accept that anything besides racism and poverty are responsible for the poor performance of black males in America. I saw the intersection of both the cultural and economic aspects that bring black guys down. At my high school, in Montclair, NJ, which was slightly majority-minority, blacks were not only much more likely to come from poor or uneducated backgrounds, but many black kids from well-to-do or educated families felt pressure to conform to the mainstream image of black Americans. To not be "oreos." This, according to friends who spent their whole lives in Montclair, was one of the reasons why groups of friends were generally more integrated in grade school and middle school than in high school. As for the gender-specific classes, I say, why the hell not? So much of the anxiety in high school social life is due to guys desire to impress the gals, and vice versa. Even those who aren't into the opposite sex feel the pressure to live up to the conventional expectations of heterosexual prowess. Straight guys without girlfriends are worried about being perceived as gay, and gay guys are often worried about being found out. The latter is gradually changing, but high school is still a much more difficult time to come to terms with who you are publicly than later in life. Granted, my bias in favor of gender-specific schools may be influenced by the book I just finished about a famous gang-rape in New Jersey. Just in case you thought Tammy Baldwin was invincible Sat, 17 Sep 2011 18:55:59 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34702 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34702 There is a lot to say about a Tammy Baldwin senate candidacy. For instance, <a href=http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/madison_360/article_5a2e051f-3be9-5daa-84a9-c4590009a161.html>Paul Fanlund's</a> suggestion that Baldwin's aggressive progressive record may be a more effective approach to the Republican opposition, is likely true. The last thing the Democrats need is more John Kerrys. However, what has irked me recently is the oft-repeated meme that Baldwin's 7 straight victories in the 2nd Congressional district are evidence of her ability to win statewide. That's not even close to being true. Ever since the 2nd was redrawn in 2001, it has been a solidly Democratic district, made up mostly of Dane County and parts of surrounding counties, most significantly the heavily Democratic Rock County to the South. Although the Cook Political report only rates the district D+15, I don't think any Democrats running for federal office have gotten less than 60 percent of the vote in recent years. Obama got 69% in 2008 and Kerry got 62% in 2004. Baldwin matched Obama's result in '08 and performed one point better than Kerry in '04, which means she is not going above and beyond expectations. To get a glimpse of Tammy's ability to compete in a statewide contest, you have to consider her first two races, in 1998 and 2000, when the 2nd CD was still a relatively moderate district. In her first run, Baldwin beat Josephine Musser 53-47 and in 2000 she edged out UW Prof. John Sharpless 51-49. However, even those races give us a very limited view, since even then the 2nd CD was still more liberal than the rest of the state, and Baldwin's opponents were a very different breed of Republican than the right-wing nutjobs she will likely encounter in next year's general election (Tommy Thompson will either become one or lose). Indeed, Tammy Baldwin is entering entirely new terrain. It does matter what kind of beer you pour on a legislator's head Thu, 15 Sep 2011 12:10:20 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34672 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34672 I've previously expressed displeasure at Brewers fans who douse Cubs fans with beer. What self-respecting Crew supporter would waste a cold brew on the fan of a team that hasn't won since 1908? The Cubs' suffering is certainly more plentiful than the beer in the cooler. A similar event <a href=http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/crime_and_courts/article_1cd10232-dfad-11e0-b4e8-001cc4c03286.html>apparently took place last night</a>: <blockquote> Three state lawmakers had their night turn a bit soggy Wednesday when a man dumped a glass of beer on the head of one of the lawmakers, with the beer then splashing on the other two, Madison police reported. The two lawmakers getting indirect hits were Rep. John Nygren, R-Marinette, and Rep. Scott Suder, R-Abbotsford. The suspect allegedly yelled out something on the order of "Money" and "Damned Republicans" before pouring a glass of Miller Lite beer onto Vos' head. DeSpain told madison.com the suspect ordered a Miller from the bartender. "The bartender asked him what kind of Miller he wanted, Lite or Genuine Draft, and the suspect said 'It doesn't matter,'" DeSpain said. </blockquote> It does matter. Dumping a glass of MGD -- or the "nectar of paradise," as Jim Anchower calls it -- on the head of a Republican is a bigger sacrifice than doing the same with a measly 4.2% Lite. They're typically the same price, and I and many others would receive the beer bath as a badger of honor, however, I would take especial pride in being doused with the leaded version. Interestingly, however, there would be no significant difference between a Miller High Life and a Miller Genuine Draft bath. A source in the beer industry has told me that those beers are exactly the same on tap â€“â€“ the only difference lies in the filtration process for the bottled product. High Life is pasteurized by heat (as most beers are), whereas MGD is a cold-filtered pasteurized brew. This incident goes to show how much context affects how people interpret the invasion of their personal privacy. Slapping a teammate on the ass is the highest of compliments, whereas slapping an officemate in the same manner is sexual harassment. Similarly, pouring a beer on somebody can be both a celebration of friendship and an expression of enmity. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Jail in Wisconsin should not be like jail in Monopoly Sun, 11 Sep 2011 13:57:51 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34642 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34642 Of all the distortion that has been put out there about the earned-release program that Jim Doyle signed into law two years ago, Rep. Scott Suder is guilty of the biggest lies. This <a href="http://legis.wisconsin.gov/assembly/asm69/news/website/releases/05.05.2010.htm">one</a> was one of his worst: <blockquote> "We know the problem and we know the solution. Let's act today and stop the murderers, habitual drunk drivers, identity thieves, burglars, drug dealers, and other dangerous criminals from getting their 'get out of jail free cards'." </blockquote> Last time I wasted my time playing Monopoly, a "get out of jail free card" prevented you from going to jail altogether. It didn't set up a series of tasks for you to complete before you get out of jail. It didn't make you learn some lessons and improve your character. If it did, then Suder would be correct in labeling the earned-release policy thus. Actually, if there is anybody who supports a Monopoly-type prison policy, it is Suder. It is Suder who believes that prison should be a place where you simply wait as the other players continue, where you wait and think about what you do when you leave, and where no work is required to get out. Another time, Suder referred to earned-release as "rewarding bad behavior," which is also how he labeled a proposal to restore felons with voting rights upon release from prison. In Suder's defense, he referred to voting as a "privilege," not a right, which seems to indicate we are not debating the same concept. Traditionally, a prison is a place where criminals learn to become productive community members and citizens, whereas in Suder's system, prison is just one part of a lifelong punishment. If we choose to go with Suder's system of lifelong punishment, we might as well imprison felons for life, no matter what their crime. What's the point of letting offenders back on to the street if prison is nothing more than criminal camp, where society's rejects cavort, reinforce their social isolation and learn to become better criminals? It's frustrating to see Wisconsin take a step backwards in criminal justice. Neither crime rates or recidivism rates have changed since we introduced Truth In Sentencing in 1999. What has changed is the massive increase in spending on prisons and, in recent years, the massive cuts in funding to K-12 education, higher education and other social programs that keep people out of jail. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. What makes 'liberal' a bad word? Thu, 08 Sep 2011 10:27:00 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34620 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34620 The president of Sconz Nation had the pleasure of attending a ground-breaking diplomatic summit yesterday with the Squire of the Stately Blaska Manor at the Shamrock Bar. I figured there would be no better companion for my first venture into the Madison gay bar scene than the Squire, who honored his promise to buy me two beers if Jim Holperin prevailed in the Senate recall race Up North. Although it would be a serious breach of diplomatic privilege to disclose any of the specifics of the historic accords, I will mention that one of the many topics we addressed was the ideological make-up of the United States. Specifically, how many of us should be identified as liberals, moderates or conservatives. The U.S. has a very unique political lexicon. It is probably the only western country in which "liberal" is associated with the left, rather than with those who support free-market economics. For instance, The Economist refers to itself as a "liberal" magazine because it supports free trade and fewer government regulations. But words that work for the rest of the world apparently don't work for us. Polls have shown that many more Americans call themselves "conservative" or "moderate" than "liberal." Predictably, many commentators have interpreted those results as evidence that America is a "center-right" country. I don't share that interpretation. While I think there are a variety of cultural and political characteristics that make the U.S. more conservative than many other Western societies, I think that semantics play a much bigger role in the disparity. Let me explain. The word liberal has been very effectively demonized in the past 20 years by the GOP and talk radio. The defining moment is probably the 1988 presidential campaign, when Michael Dukakis was successfully portrayed as a pointy-headed liberal elitist, who supported positions (most notably weekend furloughs for dangerous felons) that were radically at odds with mainstream public opinion. In response, the Democratic Party tried to distance itself from the label, rather than trying to redefine what it means to be a "liberal." As a result, even mainstream politicians who were pushing policies that would most would identify as "liberal," (higher taxes on the wealthy, increased social services, gay rights, abortion rights etc.) avoided the term. Hence, many supporters of these politicians also did not identify as "liberal." Those who did refer to themselves as such were generally those who were comfortable supporting non-mainstream politicians or got their information from non-mainstream media outlets. However, even as Americans increasingly associated the term "liberal" with the far left end of the political spectrum, politically-active Madisonians still used the term to refer to mainstream Democrats, as opposed to more left-leaning "progressives." The irony is that as left-leaning politicians across the country seek to find a term that does not carry the negative connotations that "liberal" has picked up, they have turned to "progressive." Hence, there is a Congressional Progressive Caucus, but not a Congressional Liberal Caucus. Tammy Baldwin <a href="http://www.tammybaldwin.com/">touts herself</a> as "A Progressive Fighter for Wisconsin," not "A Liberal Fighter." Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. The Sconz celebrated communism on Labor Day Tue, 06 Sep 2011 11:01:47 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34584 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34584 One of the best labor days in memory. For one, I didn't spend the day laborin', as I did last year. Nor did I go to the labor fest, where those capitalist pigs charge for beer and brats. Instead, in the true spirit of worker solidarity, I hosted a barbecue for some of my comrades in our apartment building's (an old manor house on Gorham St.) communal backyard. The brats, corn on the cob, grilled veggie salad and some union made High Life to wash it down (three beers per brat usually does the trick) would have made Marx proud. However, what I most appreciated about the BBQ was the opportunity to actually meet neighbors, something that is definitely not a given in downtown Madison. It is rather common for students and other young people to go a year without once speaking to those with whom they share walls. In my experience, often you introduce yourself, hang out once or twice and then never talk again. Sometimes that's for better, but I think overall its for worse. Increasingly, people in our society are able to live their lives in specialized cliques. In addition to bars, neighborhoods and stores that cater to certain sub-cultures or scenes, the onslaught of technological changes allow us to further segregate ourselves from the general populace by gaining access to media outlets that fit our political views and dating websites that "match" us with people who share our interests, worldview etc. Although people tend to believe that they should be as tolerant as possible, they rarely have to exercise this belief because they are not forced to deal with many different types of people. I very rarely have to force myself to tolerate blaring country music, for instance. Many people don't even live in "neighborhoods" anymore. Do people living in McMansions in the nation's exurbs have block parties or belong to bowling leagues? I wouldn't know from experience, but from what I've read, megachurches do best in such areas because they tend to lack other community institutions to which people seeking a sense of belonging and fellowship can gravitate. Cultural and economic isolation is a boon for demagogues in religion and politics. Rush Limbaugh may have always had a choir to preach to, but he can get them to hate their fellow liberal Americans even more if they never are forced to know, barbecue with and like the liberals who live down the street from them. Interacting with neighbors on a regular basis is a great way to see the good in people you might not otherwise choose as friends. This is an especially relevant experience for me, as I search for new friends to replace my many college buddies who have moved away in the past year. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. How to save UW students money: Free textbooks Wed, 31 Aug 2011 14:20:48 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34524 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34524 A friend of mine, Patrick McEwen, who writes regularly for <a href="http://northparkstreet.com/">North Park Street</a> (a reference to the contributors' days in the notorious Chadbourne Residential Community), recently told me about an idea he has to lower the cost of education for the increasingly debt-trapped students of Generation Y: Free text books. Free books must be easier said than done, one presumes. If the plan were to buy every freshman chem major a Chem 101 textbook, it certainly would be. However, in the age of the internet, the processed forestry would be unnecessary. In fact, the entire publishing industry would be cut out of the process. Instead, some entity -- perhaps a foundation funded by a rich guy like Mark Zuckerburg or a university -- would pay a qualified author to write an open-source textbook that could be used by colleges all across the country for free. The idea would be especially useful for entry-level courses in math and science, which often cost freshmen students more than a lifetime supply of Natty Light their first semester. The curriculum in an intro level calculus or chemistry course is pretty much the same wherever you go, so there's little reason why professors wouldn't assign the cheapest option for students. And the best part is, individual professors could make edits to the book for their own courses if necessary. This <a href=http://en.wikibooks.org/wiki/Calculus/Differentiation/Differentiation_Defined>Wikibooks entry on calc</a> gives a good idea of what the final product would look like. For the liberal arts it wouldn't be so easy. History professors probably aren't going to be keen on assigning boilerplate analysis of the French Revolution or the fall of the Weimar Republic, and lit profs will be hard pressed to find a cheap alternative to Crime and Punishment. Oh well. Gaining wisdom and losing money has always been the foundation of the humanities. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Why Bill Clinton was Sean Hannity's best friend Tue, 30 Aug 2011 15:01:13 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34520 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34520 Many a conservative career were built on the back of Bill Clinton's shenanigans. The Drudge Report evolved from the obscure project of some basement dweller to a go-to news source after it started breaking news about the president's relationship with a White House intern. Dick Morris can likely attribute his successful transformation from a creepy Clinton political operative to a creepy political commentator to the nation's hunger for insider knowledge of the Clinton marriage in light of Monicagate. And of course, the thrice divorced Rush Limbaugh probably increased his dittoheadship exponentially as the nation sought a champion of traditional family values. However, it was not only Clinton's failures that provided a boon to right wing talk radio. If anything lined Limbaugh's pockets, it was one of the Democratic Party's successes: <a href=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Telecommunications_Act_of_1996>The Telecommunications Act of 1996</a>. The act overhauled existing restrictions on ownership of radio stations. The idea was to allow for more competition by allowing media companies to compete in multiple markets and buy multiple radio stations in a single market. Instead of being limited to four radio stations per market, big companies are now allowed to buy eight. The result has been more radio stations but considerably fewer different owners. For instance, Clear Channel, the largest radio owner in the company, went from 65 stations in 1996 to <a href="http://www.stopbigmedia.com/files/radio_ownership.pdf">1,200 stations in 2003</a>. The product is terrible. Clear Channel, for instance, determines almost all of its programming for both music and talk radio at the national level. If you listen to a Clear Channel music station, chances are the DJ you are listening to is talking from the "DJ factory" in Florida, where he or she is paid a pittance to to do multiple shows in multiple markets every day. As for talk radio, local hosts have been cast aside for syndicated ones, who obviously pay no attention to local issues and events. Many radio stations are now ghost-towns, employing only a few people to oversee the programming of syndicated shows. Furthermore, my belief is that even the local hosts who have survived are increasingly pressured to fit the mold of the syndicated hosts they compete with or accompany. Vicki McKenna, for instance, is a host cast in the mold of Rush and Sean Hannity, who she follows daily on WIBA. The Clear Channel format for talk radio is clear (no pun intended): Provocative talk works, thoughtful or nuanced discussion does not. As a result, many radio listeners have no where to go to find insight of things that matter to them on a local level -- those issues are deemed too small to merit rants, or too expensive for corporate HQ in New York and LA to employ personnel to cover. The 1996 Act was one of many examples of a "pro-competition" bill that in fact fosters the opposite: Monopolization. Similar to the 1999 overhaul of the Glass-Steagall Act, which removed barriers between commercial banking and investment banking, the Telecommunications Act handed over an industry to a few giants, at the expense of small business and likely at the expense of consumers. In the past, Rush Limbaugh became successful because he was a cheap and entertaining mid-day show that local stations purchased as a bridge for their local shows in the morning and afternoon. Now, however, those local shows have often been replaced by considerably less skilled versions of Limbaugh, such as Sean Hannity, Mark Levin and Dennis Miller. These hosts have nothing unique to offer local audiences, but their voices keep the conservative listenership who tune in for Rush satisfied, even if they offer little more than regurgitations of his program from earlier that day. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. George Will doesn't know Wisconsin Mon, 29 Aug 2011 14:25:40 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34506 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34506 I get it. There is a conservative narrative that demands unions be the culprits for state budget deficits. It further demands that union workers be regarded as benefitting at the expense of other middle class workers. But why do national columnists like George Will have to leave out so many facts when they make that case? <blockquote> Fueled by many millions of dollars from national unions and sympathizers, progressives proved, redundantly, the limited utility of money when backing a bankrupt agenda: Only two Republicans were recalled -- one was in a heavily Democratic district, the other is a married man playing house with a young girlfriend. Progressives also failed to defeat a Supreme Court justice. </blockquote> The facts Will stated above are of course true. His credibility as a political commentator is compromised, however, by what he leaves out. Yes, Dan Kapanke's district is Democratic, but every other district is solidly Republican. Most incumbent Republicans prevailed, but so did every Democratic incumbent. Yes, David Prosser won, but by much less than he would have without the union battle. And while there's only a certain level of local nuance we can expect national columnists to grasp, somebody who actually understands Wisconsin politics would note that Kloppenburg underperformed in Milwaukee County, likely due to the non-partisan nature of the race. If it were a Democrat-Republican contest, Prosser would have lost. And here's a big one Will left out: Scott Walker's approval rating. A governor who speaks with the voice of the People typically gets north of 37%. I don't get the urge that columnists paid by newspapers have to get into the spin game. It may gain you access, but that access is cheapened by the expectation that you will return the favor. As a result, columnists like Will never write anything insightful, original or interesting. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Tommy Thompson is a Progressive-Liberal! Thu, 25 Aug 2011 15:17:09 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34489 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34489 To our Prog-Lib acquaintances (for they are...no longer our friends), I present you your candidate for U.S. Senate: Tommy G. Thompson. Although the red-hot commie truth about our former governor should have been apparent ever since his 1994 landslide victory, in which he carried the Bolshevik bastions of Milwaukee and Dane counties, there were still some who held out hope that the "R" next to his name signified a vague commitment to conservatism. No more. Like a detective shining light into dark places, the Club for Growth reveals Thompson's fetish for leftist ideology in its most recent public service announcement: <center> <iframe width="420" height="345" src="http://www.youtube.com/embed/SzCUh41nD74" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe> </center> Jeff Simpson, from <a href="http://bloggingblue.com/2011/08/24/tommy-attacked/">Blogging Blue</a>, says the Club is going after Thompson for committing the "Republican career-ending sin of being complimented by the black man in the White House." Jeff, didn't you get <a href="http://fightingbob.com/guestblog.cfm?PostID=4006">the memo</a>? Conservatives are happy we have a black president, they just wish he weren't such a liberal redistributionist in the mold of TGT, who drastically expanded the scope of state government, apparently aided and abetted by his minister of propaganda and later ally in the Department of Revenue, David J. Blaska. Sconnies can thank their lucky stars Thompson's plans to orchestrate a government takeover of health care took him to Washington D.C., where he could no longer inflict damage on the People of Sconz Nation. Lord knows what other big government travesties he and Blaska had designed for the Badger State. No, we are lucky enough Tommy left state government in the hands of reliably conservative successors, who stemmed the growth of government by cutting state positions, imposing unpaid furloughs on state workers and finally, last winter, by abolishing the unions with whom Tommy had so closely snuggled for 14 years. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. Channel 3000: Whoopsies Thu, 25 Aug 2011 09:24:45 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34471 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34471 Did anybody notice that thesconz.com was not redirecting to this blog for a day or two over the weekend? I didn't think so. However, I have a sneaking suspicion Channel 3000, one of the most popular news sites in Madison, won't be so easily forgiven for not <a href="http://www.channel3000.com/">renewing its domain.</a> There's still plenty of breaking news, but most of it relates to great deals on web hosting and domains. And this stern warning to the current holder of the domain: <blockquote>If you are the current registrant for this domain name and wish to continue the registration on the domain, you must immediately contact the domain name provider and renew the domain name to ensure the name is not deleted. Once a domain name has been renewed, it may take up to 48 hours to be reactivated.</blockquote> Luckily, there is quite a bit of time for Channel 3000 to renew its domain before an enterprising pornographer takes over. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com. A bang for your buck = Milwaukee Brewers Tue, 23 Aug 2011 10:55:57 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34451 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34451 Says a non-baseball fan at work: "So the Brewers are kicking ass now, huh?" That's an understatement. The Crew's murderous rampage, during which they've thoughtlessly slaughtered Cardinals, Cubs, Astros, Mets and Pirates, makes every cent of their $85 million payroll look like the best investment since the Yankees doubled the salary of a young pitcher named George Herman Ruth. This certainly was not the case last year. Check out <a href="http://benfry.com/salaryper/">this chart</a>, which matches team spending to outcomes to show which clubs are paying their players most effectively. According to the chart, the Brewers lost slightly more than you would expect for their payroll, similar to far better teams, including the Yankees, the Red Sox and the White Sox. In contrast, there's a very good chance the Brewers are going to end the season having spent less per win than just about any other MLB team. I just hope other taxpayer-funded ventures are this productive. I wish the Brewers had stayed in the American League. Then they could have been my AL team. I guess I'd still root for the Phils if they faced the Crew in the World Series, but with the Brewers payroll, you'd assume that awkward event would probably only take place once in my lifetime. This year I'm genuinely scared of the likely Brewers showdown in the NLCS, in part because I fear they may be a better team, but also because I cringe at the thought of rooting against the impoverished underdog. I care about the Badgers, but not their autographs Mon, 22 Aug 2011 17:48:25 -0500 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34448 http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=34448 I remember marveling at my dad's autograph album as a youngster. The collection was Hall of Fame worthy. Willie Mays, Ted Williams, Hank Aaron. Jim Bunning before he went crazy. You name it. I showed it off to all the kids on the block, convincing some of them it was worth a fortune. It probably wasn't worth that much because those autographs aren't particularly rare. And in my later years I have come to the conclusion that they shouldn't be worth anything --Â they're goddamn signatures. Even the most stunning calligraphy is not worth spending <a href="http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/article_79d38dc2-cca9-11e0-b127-001cc4c002e0.html#ixzz1VnVBTzDU">four hours or four figures to acquire</a>: <blockquote> Schroeder said he was first at Gate 10 on Sunday morning when he arrived at 11 a.m. By the time the gate opened at 3 p.m., the fans waiting behind Schroeder curled around most of the stadium's east face, while another line stretched two long blocks down Breese Terrace from Gate 1 to the west. Schroeder and his friend, Aaron Myers, said they spent some of their four-hour wait insinuating themselves into the good graces of security personnel to find out "the lay of the land" -- that is, where star Badger athletes like receiver Nick Toon and running back Montee Ball would be found inside Camp Randall's walls. Myers, 32, and Schroeder, 35, said they have been coming to Family Fun Day for years, and have amassed a treasure trove of signed photographs, footballs, posters and helmets. "We're here for the kids," Schroeder said, referring to his three daughters, ages 3 through 14, whom he believes won't fully appreciate the memorabilia until they are a few years older. </blockquote> What will be most interesting about the autographs of college athletes 20 years from now is wondering what those athletes become. The successful ones might land a gig selling insurance or teaching gym. The less fortunate will be in prison or blogging for an alt-weekly. A very, very small number will actually make money playing the game that made their signatures so coveted. It's not that I don't understand the value of memorabilia. I love my old baseball and political posters because they capture an image of history, from Dick Allen smashing a home run at Connie Mack stadium in Philadelphia to Barry Goldwater delivering a menacing message about the evils of communism. However, I don't see why I would care a great deal about a piece of paper with either of those guys' names scrawled on it. Nor would I care to shake their hands. Dick Allen's hand probably feels the same as any other 70-year-old, and Goldwater's bones would probably crumble under my iron-firm grasp just like any other corpse. In theory, we are in awe of celebrities because they do something impressive. Maybe they run fast, or play guitar well, or write riveting books on anarcho-syndicalism. Very rarely, however, do they attain fame because of their penmanship. And yet often we value that more than the product that made them famous. Why? I would very much like to meet Russ Feingold because I believe he is an impressive person. A political conversation with Russ Feingold would be awesome. His signature? Meh -- I bet mine's better. Follow The Sconz on <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/thesconz">Twitter</a> or <a href="http://www.facebook.com/wisconzin">Facebook</a>to get regular updates on city and state politics. Tune in to the <a href="http://twitter.com/#!/forwardwithkurt">radio show</a> everyday between 10-11 a.m. on 1670 AM WTDY. Please send anonymous tips, interview requests or any other comments to jcraver@isthmus.com.