Christian Schneider

Author, Columnist

Month: May 2006 (page 1 of 2)

Making a Donation to the Library

Thank God we have public libraries to provide us with all of our educational needs. For an illuminating example of tax dollars at work, check out this investigative report from a Cleveland television station. It\’s about five minutes long, but well worth your time.

I actually heard some people feel sorry for this guy, the way the reporter ambushes him. But if you feel comfortable enough at the library to fire off some knuckle children while my kids are around, I feel comfortable holding you up for public shame.

And if you think this doesn\’t happen at public libraries all over Wisconsin, you are willfully deceiving yourself.

Somebody Loves Me!

The Diamond Mine today gives me credit for… well, something. I would say it\’s a good blog, but he thinks I am respectable, which means he might be a little crazy. But seriously, go check it out. Apparently, I have shown him how exciting it can be to be an average smartass anonymous political blogger. In upcoming weeks, I will show him how to be fat, pasty, and have your wife hate you for blogging too much.

And as long as I\’m saying good things about lefty blogs, go check out In Effect. Well written, well thought out. A daily read of mine.

Heroin Really Needs a Warning Label

Last week, a woman was found dead of a heroin overdose here in Madison. It seems to be a pretty routine (albeit tragic) story, but I ran across this interesting passage from the State Journal story:

Assistant District Attorney Mike Verveer said in court Monday that Prager is not only a defendant in the case but could be a material witness in what might become a \”Len Bias\” homicide case against the person who supplied the heroin that killed Schnitzler. People who supply illegal drugs that cause the death of a user can be charged with first- degree reckless homicide under the state\’s Len Bias law. That charge carries a penalty of up to 25 years in prison.

Now let me state up front that I have no tolerance for drug dealers, but this does seem a little weird. I supply something (albeit something illegal) to someone, and it is a crime. If I\’m willing to take the risk of being a drug dealer, I should be able to look at the state law and figure out how much time I\’m going to get. However, with this law, if someone I sell it to goes overboard and kills themselves with it, I\’m then an accessory to murder? I had nothing to do with how the product was used – my criminal penalty at that point is completely out of my hands. How much jail time I get is incumbent on the actions of others whom I may never see again.

I don\’t believe we criminally penalize other products this way. In fact, the legislature is trying to make sure gun companies can\’t be sued for the actions of someone to whom they sell a gun, since what happens with the gun is completely up to the purchaser once they walk out of the store. If a friend gives me a baseball bat and I crack someone over the head with it, is he liable for what I did?

Obviously, an exception would occur if the drug dealer provided a drug laced with something that killed the person on the spot (and I\’m not implying that there is such a thing as \”responsible\” heroin use).

I don\’t feel strongly either way on this, and I\’m sure it was debated to death whenever the legislature enacted it. I have no problem with the law staying where it is, and I will likely be blown out of the water by a smart commenter and have to change my position (whatever it may be).

Just thought it was interesting.

Does Your Grandmother Think Madonna is Offensive Anymore?

The headline on the front page of the USA Today Life Section this morning breathlessly promised details of Madonna\’s \”shocking\” show last night in Los Angeles. The accompanying story lays out what was so \”shocking\”- a crucifix, some bad stuff about George W, and other run of the mill garbage that was lame in 1985 when she was doing it.

I was going to do a whole post about how lame and tired the whole Madonna act is, but I ran across this English concert review that says it a lot better than I can. It is just dripping with contempt for her ridiculous attempts to offend.

The world\’s most famous 47-year-old took to the stage, a mere 50 minutes late, determined to prove to all those willing to listen – and pay up to £200 a ticket – that she still had the ability to grab headlines.

She insulted George Bush, simulated sex and suspended herself from a giant mirrored crucifix, head adorned with a designer crown of thorns (provided by Cotter Church Supplies, LA) in an all-out attempt to get someone, anyone out there, riled…

And then it started to go a bit wonky. We know about the former Material Girl\’s newfound spirituality and devotion to Kabbalah, and Madonna seemed determined to Leave People With A Message.

Thus, words of cod wisdom such as: \”There\’s light even in the darkest places\” flashed up on screen – which was nice enough, even if it sat oddly with her previously stated message to \”turn the world into one big dance floor\”.

But Didactic Madonna wasn\’t finished-Up she went, suspended on a large crucifix, as images of child poverty flickered on the screens. The tour, incidentally, is estimated to gross $200 million. In the next segment she engaged in an energetic \”fight\” with a male dancer which involved a demonstration of her unnerving ability to bend her leg around the back of her head.

Next, a montage of world leaders was flashed up as Madge sang: \”I\’ve listened to your lies\”, images including Nixon, Pinochet, Hitler and Blair.

But Madonna had bigger fish to fry, in the shape of George Bush. She urged fans to perform a certain sexual act on the President…

The show ended – rather abruptly – with no encore and with the lights immediately going on, leaving us all looking at one another in a slightly embarrassed fashion, as though we\’d just been caught doing something we shouldn\’t have been.

At this point, the only way Madonna could be shocking would be if she displayed any talent.

Bin Laden Surrenders to Dixie Chicks

Sorry for the lack of posting lately, but the mix of too much playoff basketball and a stack of books I\’m trying to read has hampered things somewhat.

One thing specifically dragged me back, confused and dismayed, to my keyboard.

I noticed the cover of TIME Magazine this week:

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Now, I\’m well aware that one of the \”Chicks\” said something derogatory about George W. Bush a couple years ago, and had to fight off some bad publicity. But if I were putting together a list of 10 million Americans whose opinions I valued about the War in Iraq, the \”Dixie Chicks\” wouldn\’t make the list. How is this relevant to anything in any way? Was Nipsey Russell not accepting calls the day TIME wanted to talk about global warming? Was Tiffany Amber-Thiessen at the spa when they called to interview her about the relative value of the Euro?

I am racking my brain to figure out how news that belongs on page 24 of US Weekly somehow made it on to the cover of a magazine some believe to have some credibility (It was also in USA Today as well). Here\’s what I got:

1. The Dixie Chicks have a great publicist willing to gin up a phony controversy to sell their new CD.

2. TIME Magazine has a business relationship with their record label (Sony), and therefore has an interest in selling as many Dixie Chicks CDs as possible.

3. TIME Magazine actually believes this is a matter of national importance and deserves to be featured above all other news stories this week.

4. One of the editors got drunk and lost a bet, so he had to put the most ridiculous story he could think of on the cover.

5. This one is the most cynical, but I believe also the most plausible. TIME Magazine has a natural impression of country music fans that they are all backwards, intolerant religious conservatives who turn on their own when they step out of line, and that is why this is newsworthy.

I mean, think about it – musicians with actual artistic credibility rip on Bush all the time. In fact, I don\’t think I own a CD by a single artist I would be consider even to be a moderate. Yet somehow when Michael Stipe or someone pops off, it\’s never news, since their message is usually delivered to a willing audience. But suddenly when someone makes a political statement to those intolerant conservatives, it becomes a national scandal when those right wingers express their disagreement with the artist.

Plus, her \”insult\” to Bush was just lame. If you\’re going to take a shot at the President, do it with some panache. To wit:

LONDON – Morrissey, outspoken lead singer of \’80s rockers the Smiths, has sparked an Internet storm with reported comments about U.S. President George W. Bush.Manchester\’s Evening News said yesterday it had received a record number of
hits after reporting on its website that Morrissey, 45, had interrupted a Dublin
concert Saturday with news of former President Reagan\’s death, adding that he
wished Bush had died instead.

-Ottawa Citizen, June 11, 2004

Or:

Radiohead singer Thom Yorke has sent out a Christmas greeting that includes a swipe at U.S. President George W. Bush\’s \”new war.\”In a message sent out by the group\’s fan club W.A.S.T.E., Yorke wishes his fans a Christmas that is \”peaceful and loving and spiritual,\” and thanked his fans for \”still listening and sticking with us and understanding the records we make.\” But his greeting also carried a strongly worded condemnation of the war in Afghanistan.\”Violence breeds violence,\” Yorke said. \”We need a world court, not a Republican with his hands covered in oil and military hardware, lecturing us on world security,\” he wrote in the message.
-Toronto Sun, December 12, 2001

Now that\’s insulting the leader of the free world. Take that, Bush!

I spent another 45 minutes typing stuff about Barry Bonds, Barbaro, and the movie \”A History of Violence,\” but Explorer crashed on me, so it\’s all lost. This is all I have saved, as lame as it is. Don\’t worry, the other stuff wasn\’t any better.

Madison Police Release Sketch of Downtown Mugger

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By Phil Brinkman, Wisconsin State Journal Reporter

Madison police today released a sketch of the individual they believe to be responsible for over 14 muggings in the downtown area this year. \”The perpetrator is believed to be between zero and 400 years old, and stands between 6 inches and 12 feet tall,\” said Police Chief Noble Wray. Papa Smurf was immediately released from custody, as he is 542 years old and stands only three apples high.

It took weeks for Madison Police to release this vital demographic information about the perpetrator, as they reportedly were worried about the negative effects releasing a description might have on Stick Figure Americans. \”The race of the mugger really isn\’t relevant,\” said Wray. \”What\’s really important is that the victims are mostly white,\” said Wray, noting that nobody really cares if any crime happens on the poor Allied Drive, but it looks like the Hurricane Katrina relief effort when a crazy white girl gets lost in swamp.

\”It\’s really nobody\’s business who might attack you with a deadly weapon,\” said Wray, adding, \”we need at least 300 muggings to take place to really get an idea of who we\’re dealing with.\” Wray said there were no leads, but David Hasselhoff had been brought in for questioning – not because he\’s connected to the crime, just because he really wanted to meet David Hasselhoff.

The importance of Stick Figure Americans was illustrated last week during a rally known as \”A Day Without Stick Figures,\” when they were urged not to come to work. Mass confusion ensued, as traffic and bathroom signs were rendered incomprehensible. In one particularly ugly incident, a group of third grade boys wandered into an unmarked Capitol bathroom to find Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager on the throne \”issuing a subpoena.\”

Little else is known about the perpetrator, other than he strongly supports Kathleen Falk for Attorney General.

Dennis York Turns One

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On this day in 2005, I set this crappy little blog up with the purpose of annoying everyone with semi-lucid, rambling and only occasionally coherent thoughts. It appears I have been successful (except for when I quit for a couple months). So here\’s a thanks to everyone who\’s stopped by and for those who helped me get this little idea off the ground. Of course, you people that helped me get started probably deserve more blame than credit.

To infinity and beyond.

Two Solid Gas Price Articles

Really good story by Jason Stein this weekend regarding all the gas price pandering at the state level (by both parties). Nice to have someone look skeptically at the information they\’re fed – I think he used to be a business reporter, so he probably gets how market forces work. From the article:

But economists are panning most of these short-term solutions, saying there\’s not much a state like Wisconsin can do about gas prices besides promote long-term solutions such as alternative fuels. What\’s more, they said, taking steps to artificially lower fuel prices may actually send consumers the wrong message – that they can keep blithely guzzling gasoline without cutting back.

Exactly. (Disclaimer: I am biased pro-Stein, as he spent an hour interviewing me for this story.)

And in that vein, I dug up this column from UW-Superior Professor of Environmental and Cultural History Nicolaas Mink, in which he illustrates the long term benefits of higher gas prices. He says:

I hope gas prices climb higher.

While the $3-per-gallon threshold certainly makes many rethink (and perhaps even question) their suburban automotive escapades, gasoline selling at $4, $5 or $6 a gallon, as it does in Europe, would radically alter American habits, culture and society for the better.

This line of thinking was what I was trying to illustrate with this post. The Democratic Party as a political operation may be trying to squeeze some good publicity out of the gas price issue, but I believe honest liberal thinkers would support anything that causes cutbacks in consumption and more conservation. Even a good conservative thinker like Charles Krauthammer advocated for increasing gas taxes to keep the price artifically high. On this issue, I think the Democratic party apparatus is out of step with its base.

Every Penguin a Wanted Penguin

I know I\’m waaaaaay late to the party on this, but I just watched March of the Penguins and I have now officially caught penguin fever (my man-crush on Morgan Freeman notwithstanding). If the purpose of the movie is to show much more evolved and mature penguins are than humans, it did its job for me.

\"\"The pro-life message of the movie, whether the filmmakers intended it or not, is unmistakable. In a society where female humans form entire associations to fight for their right terminate their unborn children, female penguins brave cold, starvation, and predators to make sure their eggs hatch. Some are so distraught about losing their unborn chicks, they try to steal them from other penguins (which has all the makings of a Lifetime movie starring Tracey Gold). Needless to say, there won\’t be a National Association of Women Penguins.

Additionally, the male penguins take an incredibly active role in protecting the eggs from the elements. Virtually as soon as the eggs are hatched, the males take over the role of squatting on the eggs to protect them from the brutal cold, and stay on them for months while the females return to the ocean to feed. Contrast this to humans, where many fathers are out the door as soon as they can break free, if they\’re ever tracked down at all. Needless to say, you will never see a penguin on the Maury Povich show getting a paternity test – they take care of their bidness.

I\’m obviously not the first person to point this out – the Catholic organizations were all over this from the get-go. And the New York Times thinks the film is a conservative conspiracy. Although I can honestly say I would now rather have an emperor penguin living in my house than any New York Times correspondent.

So when it comes time for President Bush or his successor to pick a new Supreme Court justice, I\’m hoping it is a penguin. Honestly, if the Republican presidential primary came down to John McCain versus an emperor penguin, I\’d have a hard time choosing.

I can see it now:

\"\"

Thumbs Up to "A Day Without Gays"

When I first read Susan Lampert Smith\’s column today, I rolled my eyes, as I do most of the time when I read \”The Queen of Sensitivity.\” In it, she advocates for a \”day without gays,\” in which gay people don\’t show up for work, to mimic the \”day without Latinos\” rallies of a couple weeks ago. This is supposed to show how valuable gay people are to our every day lives, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah, blah.

But it dawned on me that this could actually be a fantastic idea, if only for the comedy and excitement it would present. You\’d have legitimately sick guys from all over the state push, pull, and drag themselves into work to avoid being absent. There would be 100% attendance in offices statewide. You\’d have men that get into car accidents on the way to work that would crawl out of their flaming cars, and drag their bloody stump of a leg all the way into the office to avoid missing work that day.

I can see a guy calling his elderly mother\’s doctor:

\”Yeah, Doc – I know she\’s wheezing quite a bit, and she\’s already gotten her last rites. But I really need you to prop her up for an extra day. If she says she\’s heading towards the light, just feed her another Brandy Old Fashioned – she\’ll be fine. I cannot miss work today!\”

Some poor guy will take a little extra time getting into work to get his office donuts, and for a half hour his coworkers will be shaking their heads and saying things like \”I knew the wife and four kids was just a show.\”

Productivity would be off the charts. The economy would boom. The Dow would hit 20,000. The only business to really take a hit would be golf courses (they\’d be empty). Of course, all those sick guys at work would probably cause some kind of viral epidemic that could wipe out the planet, but at least everyone would know they\’re swingin\’ for the right team.

On a more serious note, I think this might actually cause some tension in the gay community. I\’m sure that there are some more strident gays and lesbians who resent other gays who choose to remain in the closet. You\’d have a ton of closeted gays who would refuse to take part, which could cause a rift between them and the openly gay community. Not to mention all the effeminate straight people who will have co-workers come up to them and say, \”Um…weren\’t you supposed to be off today?\” Awkward.

Finally, I was intrigued by the stereotypes Lampert-Smith uses in her column. Needless to say, if any right-wingers were to say gay people are hairdressers, wedding planners, caterers, and waiters, it would send the sensitivity police into a code red mobilization. But I guess as long as you advocate for their pet cause, stereotypes are acceptable. I just hope at some point she makes a list of aggrieved groups it is acceptable to paint with a broad brush and those that are not eligible.

My suggestion: \”A Day Without Jim Doyle.\” Suggested date: November 8th, 2006.

ENOUGH OF JOHNNY LECHNER. REALLY.

So by now, you\’ve all heard the story of Johnny Lechner, the \”lovable loser,\” who has spent twelve years at the UW-Whitewater. He\’s been featured in both the state and national media, and was only marginally entertaining then.

Well, there he was this morning, on the front page of the state\’s two largest newspapers (the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and the Wisconsin State Journal), as he was announcing that he would be staying for a 13th year of college. Translation: he\’s going to milk this thing for all it\’s worth. Not to be outdone, the MJS is offering an online chat with Lechner.

We get it; he\’s got a publicist and feels the need to \”announce\” things to keep his name in the news, since he is unqualified for anything other than being a media hound. If his goal is to keep embarrassing himself and the UW-Whitewater, he has been a resounding success.

It is shameful that the supposedly serious media in this state would continue its complicity in this charade. I hope they\’re happy that they continue to be manipulated in the \”Get Johnny Lechner Laid\” sweepstakes.

I imagine his little stunt is less popular to the kids who legitimately want to go to college and succeed, and they probably resent his taking up a spot for someone who actually does want to go to college. Then again, if you can\’t get into UW-Whitewater, you may want to consider the possibility that college may not be for you.

The Last Straw for "24"

I\’m too lazy to re-type my entire discussion with a buddy of mine about this week\’s \”24,\” so I\’ll just cut and paste what we had to say. There are spoilers in here, in case you haven\’t watched it yet. My friend demanded to go by the name of Evil Grossmouth, the bad guy in this Wisconsin Dental Association comic book.

Dennis York: You\’re right – 24 was outrageous.

DY: There wasn\’t a single scene without a hole you could drive a truck though.

Evil Grossmouth: Was there not a 100% chance that the worm Miles was going to rat them out to the President? Anyone with a GED or a certificate from a welding college could have figured that out.

EG: That was where I lost it. And I love how Bierko\’s henchman is driving the van taking him from CTU, and they give us no explanation how they set that up.

DY: So Jack risks the lives of 50 plane passengers to secure the recording, gets back to CTU, then promptly hands it over to Chloe to go see Audrey for 15 minutes.

DY: PLAY THE F—ING TAPE!

EG: Or better yet — MAKE A COPY OF IT. He gives it to her, doesn\’t tell her to copy it, but tells her to \”clean it up\” And he tells her to work alone and let nobody near her and then you see her siting there working in a goddamned conference room?

DY: When he was on the plane, he was on the phone with CTU – why wouldn\’t he play the tape for them over the phone? Then, if they got shot down, which he knows the president was trying to do, the evidence would survive.

EG: Also, to prevent the country from having to deal with the agony of a sitting president being charged with murder and treason, Logan decides to blow his own brains out? Yeah, that would have really prevented a scandal.

DY: And Mike Novek was already on the phone with the woman from CTU a couple times that day. All it would take would be for one of them to call each other during the plane incident, and everything would be cleared up.

DY: He would never think to call Jack? Or CTU?

DY: When he knows something is going on?

EG: The more I think about it, the more angry I get. Thanks a lot.

DY: Actually, the Bierko scene was one of the least outrageous to me. I was just thinking \”Jesus, how many moles can there possibly be?\”

EG: And none of the eight guards with him noticed him nod at the driver and the drive nod back? Nobody would have caught that?

DY: But when Jack left the recording to be with Audrey, who he had already been told was okay, I almost had an aneurysm.

DY: Or when Karen, Chloe, and Bill Buchanan are in the conference room and Karen decides she has to tell Miles what\’s going on. Everything is going totally fine, and telling him would do absolutely no good, but could jeopardize the operation.

EG: Of course. He wouldn\’t need to prepare anything to brief the AG about the president being a traitor and a murderer. Karen telling Miles was really the last straw for me. I almost turned the TV off there. I only kept it on because I was hoping against hope that she was luring him into the hallway so she could tell him she knew he was working with Logan and then stab him in the throat.

DY: I actually considered just not watching anymore after 21 hours.

EG: I thought about it too, but I can\’t do that. It\’s the same reason I\’m sticking with Alias despite its awfulness — I\’ve already invested enough time in the thing, I ought to see how it ends.

EG: I just hope they finally set 24 somewhere other than LA next season. Seriously, after the last five years, why would any president, government official or person ever go to LA?

DY: And, gee, what was the chance that Logan was going to get a call from someone right as he was about to kill himself? And I\’m sure calls that come in to the retreat from a cell phone go right to him at 4 AM.

EG: That\’s usually how it works. \”Yes, I\’d like to speak to the President. May I tell him who\’s calling? My name is Miles. One moment please, sir.\”

DY: \”Please hold all calls except any unexpected calls I might get from people named Miles.\”

Not exactly Pulitzer material, but I had to complain.

Local Klan Election Features Contrasting Styles of Racism

\"\" Lodi, Wisconsin (AP) – The much anticipated race for Wisconsin Klan Grand Dragon between Orville Hornblower and Herbert \”Stumpy\” Williams has turned into a contentious race, with each candidate accusing the other of not being sufficiently culturally ignorant.

In a race littered with charges, counter-charges, and broken English, Hornblower has vowed to take a hard line stance, while Stumpy has pitched himself as practicing a more family friendly brand of racial and religious hatred.

Williams introduced his four part\”compassionate racism\” platform to appeal to middle of the road Klansmen. \”Under my plan, we would give people at least 60 seconds\’ notice before we torch their house,\” said Williams, who also vowed that biracial residents would only be harassed every other week.

Williams emphasized personal responsibility and a good work ethic. \”I once lost a job down at the grain mill to a colored fella,\” said Williams. \”I didn\’t get mad, though. It just made me work that much harder to burn his house down,\” he said.

Williams believes he can find an audience by bringing racism home to the average American. \”You know how when you\’re at the grocery store and you really want a bag of Ruffles potato chips, and there\’s only one bag left, and somebody grabs it right out from under your nose, even though you saw it first? It\’s just like that, except the potato chips are taken by the blacks, Jews, and Catholics,\” said Williams.

Meanwhile, Hornblower has called Williams a RINO (Racist in Name Only), and promised voters that he will reward them with truly vitriolic hatred of people of different religions and skin colors. \”Racism really is a growth industry,\” said Hornblower. \”There are Armenians, Greeks, Brazilians… groups out there that we really have never thought about hating before. Hatred really can be a limitless endeavor under the right guidance,\” said Hornblower. He also said he has evidence that Williams\’ great aunt once got a footrub from an Eskimo.

Both candidates agreed, however, that images of black men and white women together should not be condemned. \”Naw, that\’s too hard core for me,\” said Hornblower. \”Anybody that\’s uncomfortable with a public image depicting interracial affection is a little too extreme for the Klan,\” said Williams.

Record turnout for the election is expected, but only if Hornblower gets his cocker spaniel to vote. Last year, the vote was tied 1-1, but Williams was disqualified, as he failed to spell his name correctly on the ballot. \”I got a third grade education, and I ain\’t afraid to show it off,\” said Hornblower.

Gas Prices: A Tale of Two Liberals

Madeline is a 58 year old single woman who lives on Milwaukee’s East Side. She’s a UWM psychology professor who gladly pays extra for a good cup of fair trade coffee. She volunteers at a local homeless shelter, helping people get back on their feet. Her Joan Baez records still speak to her. She didn’t think John Kerry reflected her views very well, but held her nose and voted for him anyway. Divorced for 20 years, she feeds her strong sense of self through her work and by continuing to raise her adult children.

Madeline walks to work, and takes the bus on the days it rains. She’s dismayed at how many people drive to work and school and strongly supports government investment in public transportation. She has contacted Mayor Barrett in support of light rail service. She supports increased gas prices because she knows that the higher gas prices go, the more people will be forced to find alternative modes of transportation. She knows that if gas rises to $4.00 per gallon, people who now drive to work alone will begin to be more creative with how they get around. They will begin to carpool or take the bus.

Also, she recognizes the benefit to the environment that high gas prices offer. The fewer miles people drive, the less gas tax will be collected, which means less road building. The fewer people drive, the cleaner the air will be, and the ozone layer won\’t be damaged at the rate it is now. She sees protecting the environment as a moral choice, and supports anything that gets us closer to a cleaner earth, since current conservation efforts have been ineffective.

Madeline is concerned about lower income individuals having to pay more for gas, but believes the government can set up a program to direct help to the people that need it. Instead of sending money for a war she disagrees with, she thinks we can at least help out the poor with gas prices or pay for their public transportation.

Doug is a married 35 year old father of three who works at the General Motors plant in Janesville, Wisconsin. He joined the United Auto Workers union fresh out of tech school when he was 22, and has been working at the plant ever since. He has been an active UAW member because he believes the union gives him the job security he needs, and he desperately needs to keep his job to feed his family. He knows the union has fought for better health benefits, hours, and working conditions. He values all of these accomplishments, as he likes nothing more than spending time with his family, and there\’s no way he could pay for his son\’s braces without the benefits.

Doug knows that the plant in Janesville dodged a bullet last year when GM announced it was laying off 30,000 workers, but none in Janesville. He worries that the Janesville plant is so reliant on SUV\’s, which use more gas than other GM vehicles. Doug knows that when gas prices rise sharply, people will be much more likely to buy smaller, more fuel-efficient cars, or hold off on buying a car altogether. When this is the case, GM\’s profits will fall off even further, leading to even more substantial layoffs than the ones announced last year. He fears that he could be among those that lose their jobs.

Doug has also talked to union members in other trades that worry about the ripple effect that high gas prices have on their business. When gas prices go up, it costs more money to transport goods, and when the prices of those goods go up, fewer people will buy them. When profits from things like plumbing pipes, electrical wiring, and groceries go down, employers will either look to scale back benefits or move right to layoffs. Doug doesn\’t want this to happen to him or any other union family that depends on their jobs.

———————————————————————–

While these are two hypothetical people, they are two very real points of view. While Republicans at the state and national level try to come up with a solution to high gas prices (they have to, they are in charge), Democrats have been relatively silent on the issue, other than to reflexively criticize whatever Republicans come up with.

Democrats have gone into PR overdrive with the gas price issue, offering \”anti-gouging\” legislation and criticizing oil companies\’ \”record\” profits. A day hasn\’t gone by over the last two weeks without a new Democrat plan or a politician threatening to send people to a ridiculous website to sign a petition to threaten oil companies into lowering prices (they could exert meaningful pressure by conserving their gas use, but apparently choose not to).

However, when you put politics aside, isn\’t there a wing of the Democratic Party that actually doesn\’t mind high gas prices? Don\’t high gas prices promote conservation and smarter transportation options? On the other hand, don\’t high gas prices line the pockets of big oil companies and sheiks with which we are at war?

Last week, the State Senate took up a bill (SB215) to repeal the state law that requires the price of gas to be increased by 9%, as it keeps small gas stations in business. There aren\’t many things that can be done at the state level to keep gas prices down, but this is the biggest one. That 9% markup costs the average consumer between 25 and 30 cents per gallon when gas is at its current levels. Yet when a vote on the bill was taken, every Democrat except one voted to kill the bill. Despite all of their huffing and puffing about \”gouging\” and the effect of high gas prices on working families, Democrats completely whiffed on offering real relief.

So when you see Democrats decry high gas prices, you should wonder if it really is in their best interest to do so. Every \”anti-gouging\” press release is really an \”anti-conservation\” press release. It appears that the Democrats\’ official position is that using as much gas as you want is a fundamental human right. The more you want gas, the less you should have to pay for it, environment be damned.

Are you Doug, or are you Madeline?

MJS Finally Pays Tribute Where it is Due

It\’s about time the Journal Sentinel recognized the contributions of the true heroes of society. It is people like Rotation Slim that are out promoting real economic development (as well as contributing to the windfall profits of the syphilis ointment industry).

Slim was fond of whores; he had an affinity for them.

And who isn\’t?

I love that they refer to him as a \”retired pimp.\” Is he collecting Pimp Social Security? Is there a retirement plan for that? When he needs his prescription drugs, does he go in, flash his pinky ring and cane the pharmacist?

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