JS Online: Pawlinski announces resignation: Milwaukee alderman indicted in March on federal corruption charges

NEWS YOU CAN USE:
CBS News | Are 'Mini-Nukes' The New Big Thing?

It turns out that cookies are EVIL!!!!!!

Luckily the trial lawyers are here to help! Having saved America from tobacco they will now save us from fatty foods. Thank you Mr. Trial Lawyer! Lawsuit seeks to ban sale of Oreos to children in California.

Remember: When Oreos are outlawed only outlaws will have Oreos.

If you were ever concerned with free speech and the right to protest peacefully look at this: U.S. News: Taking it off the streets(5/12/03)

From our 'Let's Make Wisconsin Politically Relevant' File: Legislature Passes Bill to Move Up Presidential Primary

From Charlie Sykes this: GAFFE ALERT


"In our ongoing effort to determine whether or not a liberal can ever commit a gaffe, consider this.

Today, during discussion in open caucus of Senate Joint Resolution 24, which commends the families and friends of those soldiers serving on active duty in the Middle East and praying for the prompt and safe return of their loved ones, State Representative Frank Boyle (D-Superior) said: "This [SJR 24] is a stupid, memorializing piece of nothing bullshit; totally unequivocal bullshit."
Even for an inveterate lefty blowhard like Boyle, this was more than a little over the top. But let's see:

Question (1): Will this be reported anywhere?
Question (2): Will it be the subject of any editorial comment?
Question (3): Will fellow Democrats criticize him?"

---Charlie Sykes

Man announces second attempt at political hari kari: Rothbauer to challenge Dave Obey again

Last Time:
"Bloomer native only had about $20,000 to spend on his entire campaign. By contrast, Obey raised nearly $900,000"

Now we are seeing the beginning of Presidential parody sites:Gov. Howard Dean for President: a Satire More to come.

"Compelling Theater" is the Washington Post review of the Democratic Warm-Up Debate

The WisconsinDemocracy Campaign put out a report entitled Graft Tax .

Interestingly, if you read the report, it turns out that ALL public spending is motivated by corruption. Who knew?

[As a side note the Editor points out that the WDC is percieved as a Democratic Party front group. It was embarrassed by its own partisanship for some reason. Tax exempt status, anyone?]

Opposition Research is one of the dark arts of politics. One of the best sources is available in our wonderful state is here: Wisconsin Circuit Court Access

Use it to find every legal proceeding that your opponent Senator Balderdash has been named in. What fun!

NEWS FLASH!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

"I Own John Gard" Says Obnoxious Man In Bar.

The Editor has just learned that Rep. John Gard, the Speaker of the Assembly has as his most intimate political advisor and kitchen cabinet guru none other than Eric J. Petersen. Those privileged enough to have met Mr. Petersen know that he is the smartest man in any room, and a brilliant political operator, perhaps the most brilliant ever to deign to inhabit the state of Wisconsin. Just ask him.

This page notes that Mr. Petersen has never run or held a significant position in any campaign organization and essentially bought his present position as big-wig Madison lobbyist. Apparently experience is not needed when you are truly a brilliant political mind.

Wow!

Quote of the Year Nominee:

"They're not even [within] 100 miles [of Baghdad]. They are not in any
place. They hold no place in Iraq. This is an illusion ... they are
trying to sell to the others an illusion."

--Muhammed Saeed al-Sahhaf, Iraqi Information Minister
(presently on extended administrative leave)

Sometimes it is helpful to review the basics: How to Pass a Law This is of course the real-deal not the unrealistic pap they put in the blue book.

The only surprising thing to the Editor about McCAIN FEINGOLD LAW DECLARED UNCONSTITUTIONAL is the timing. It went down pretty fast. The ink isn't even dry on the thing yet.

The State Historical Society is hiring a new Director. Their anonymous staff blog leaks the hiring interview questions:Oh, Crap
Ten Questions To Be Asked At Director Interviews

The management team of the society has been building a list of questions to be asked of both candidates for the position of "Director." The draft of the list has been leaked to "Oh, Crap."

1. How do you spell "Potawatomi"?
2. Are you related to the Governor?
3. Are you now, or have you ever been, related to any member of the legislature?
4. Boxers or Briefs?
5. Suits: two button or three?
6. Are you a member of the Society?
7. Are you a member of the secret society?
8. If you re-arrange the letters in "wisconsin history," how many other words can you come up with?
9. Are you gellin'?
10. And you are...?

The Iraqi Information-meister, this must be seen to be believed.

From the Scrum a calendar of the presidential campaign:

Here is the Post again, only this time with the 10 reasons to become a federal bureaucrat.

Your faithful Editor boils it down to this:

FEDERAL GOVENTMENT: The pay is OK and you can NEVER be fired.

From the Washington Post, an article on the 10 reasons to avoid a (federal) government career.

If it looks like it was written by a careerist thats because it essentially was.

Blood in the water at the start of the presidential primary campaign.:Kerry Campaign Blasts Dean's Credentials (washingtonpost.com)

Legislator announces he doesn't have time to legislate: MikePowers.

In a related story the Editor's doctor and plumber also annouce that they have no time to do their jobs either. They also still expect to be paid for not working.

A sad commentary on the changes faced at the capitol. There was a time when four full-time gardeners competed to make the grounds of the capitol inviting and beautiful to behold. Now we have prisoners maintaining the capitol grounds.

As provided by Frmr. Congressman Jay Johnson (Buffoon-Green Bay):

HOW NOT TO BECOME A CABINET SECRETARY:

1. Allow yourself to become widely viewed as an unemployed air-headed idiot.

2. Get kicked out of your cushy incumbency-protected congressional seat by one eighth of the state's populace.

3. Lobby for the job loudly and publicly.

ABC News' The Note, which is one of our favored links in the right-hand column, has concieved of an interesting online addition to the Presidential race:

Back when they were working with faxes and dial-up modems (and when Doug Bailey and Roger Craver were still veritable pups), the Hotline had a great feature in the 1988 cycle in which the communications staffs of presidential campaigns were allowed to write daily submissions, giving their message of the day in a more casual and humorous way than it normally was delivered.

The champions of the format � Republican John Buckley and Democrat Mike McCurry � still hover around the political world, but they have this cycle been replaced by a new generation of warriors, ready to show us all each morning how cleverly they can wield the electronic pen in furtherance of their candidates' cause.

The rules are simple. The submissions �

1. must be 200 words or fewer (longer than that, we cut it off at 200).
2. will be printed in the order they are received.
3. should be irreverent and breezy � written in Note style.
4. must be signed by someone in the campaign (although they can be written by different people on different days).
5. must be received by 8:30 am each day (lazy boys and girls can send them the night before).

They can be on any topic: message of the day, reacting to something in the papers, whatever the campaigns wish.
When there IS a Bush campaign, we will welcome their Notepad contributions. Candidates of other parties will also be considered.
This gives the campaigns a chance to reach The Note audience en masse.

Federal agency wants to formally recognize what it already does; ignore emails from the public.Forest Service Email Regulations

Given the first and abrupt departure of Governor Doyle's first Cabinet member, the Editor believes it is time to republish the ten rules below:

TEN RULES FOR NEW CABINET SECRETARIES:




1.) You work for the Governor.

You serve at his pleasure. Remember that. The Governor sets your policy, principle, and politics. Don't ever disagree with him publicly while working for him. (Cabinet meetings may be generally be considered "public".) If you find that you can not agree and follow his course, shut up, and find a new job. Once you are again a free agent you may speak your own mind.


2.) The agency works for you.

The career staff often believe that they run the agency. This should not and need not be true. If you do not disabuse them of that notion early on, you will be failing both the Governor and the voters who elected him. You must gather your agency's senior and midlevel staff and lay out the fact that there is a new administration, and with the new administration comes a new direction. Invite them to join in helping the administration achieve the goals it was elected to deliver. Suggest that changes will be made and reorganization is likely. Make it clear that you respect the staff but that you will be ultimately directing the agency. Do not let the staff make key decisions without your approval. Don't let them set the timetable, or withhold information that is critical to your decsion making. Don't let them recommend a single action in writing: always demand multiple options. Find an agency legal counsel who will aid you in your adminisrtative activities within the agency, who will search for a "yes" rather than one who tells you "it can't be done".



3.) Make the Chief of Staff your friend.

The Chief of Staff is the voice and right hand of the Governor. Don't try to bypass or backdoor the Chief of Staff, for that way lies doom. Meet or speak with the Chief of Staff frequently. The Chief of Staff either knows what the Governor's mind is on a policy area or can find it out more quickly and accurately than you. (Yes, Of course you are old friends and allies of the Governor, check with the Chief of Staff anyway.) The Chief of Staff has more frequent contact and a better view of the big picture.



4.) Your first job is to get the Governor re-elected.

This is the big picture. Many new members of an administration wrongly believe that they must achieve mighty deeds and darn fast too. Remember this: speed kills. If you work hard to make sure your boss is re-elected he will have the necessary time to achieve great things. Policy changes are often difficult in our system of government, increase the likelyhood of re-election and you increase the probability of achieving lasting change. In practice this means actively seeking out ways to be participatory and helpful to the campaign staff and the Chief of Staff.



5.) Your second job is to achieve the Governor's policy aims.

See rule number four.



6.) Return your phone calls.

This seems like a small thing, it is not. Upon this small item will much of your reputation for success and professionalism as a cabinet secretary be founded. This does not mean only your friends, treat your former opponents with professionalism and you disarm them and may even make them allies. Hold your friends close and your enemies closer.



7.) Shine a light on your problems.

If there is a problem or crisis that involves your agency tell the Chief of Staff immediately. Yes, if that means a call at three in the morning on Christmas Eve so be it. You have a job that now has you on call 24/7. If the first time that the Governor learns of a problem in your agency is in the paper or on the TV news, you will be looking for another job.



8.) Don't become a media hound.

The next worse thing to not telling the Governor of bad news, is for the Governor to see news going out under a cabinet member's name.
It is hard to over-estimate the importance of this. Never just put out a press release, call a press conference, or return a reporter's call. ALWAYS contact the Governor's office with the news first. If you have good news, consider offering to build an event for the Governor related to it. Every press release should mention your boss three times before mentioning your own. Don't work the media without first clearing it with at least the press secretary and probably the Chief of Staff as well. You exist to make the Governor look good not to indulge your own ego.



9.) Make your boss' life easier.

Your boss will need a variety of help that is not immediately obvious. Offer to help. He must attend events and fundraisers at which many people will be attending for the sole purpose of complaining. He will be chewed on incessently. If you attend with him you can save him from some of that suffering. He will be able to direct troubled people to "a member of my cabinet". You will suffer some as a result but will save him a bit of his enormous burden. Shared suffering the the lot of a good cabinet member. He may also need to hire more people than his immediate office can place, once you master the technique of hiring good people within your domain, offer to fill your opennings with his choices first. Everyone likes to master of their own domain but remember your boss first and you will both profit by it.



10.) Don't leak (and the corollary: Don't be caught leaking.)

You owe loyalty to the Governor and the press is not your friend. Leaking may well allow you to win a budget or policy battle within the administration. It will also truly hurt your boss. An administration that leaks is perceived to be ill-run and undisciplined. A cabinet member who is thought to have leaked is at best seen as a free-lancer and at worst a traitor. If you must betray your boss in that fashion make sure that you are "off the record" or "on background", and ask the reporter explicitly what he understands those terms to mean before speaking.

QUOTE OF THE DAY

"Okay, you've convinced me. Now go out there and bring pressure on me." President Franklin D. Roosevelt, (In response to a business delegation)

FUN WITH NUMBERS
The Democratic presidential primary is in full swing, check out this look at the Money Primary.--from The Scrum

AIR HEAD
Here is the report of Scott McCallum's air travel. The Ethics Board report makes for humorous reading.



Sloppy incompetance in Governor McCallum's office is the most generous description of this entire affair. Perhaps this explains why former Governor McCallumremains unemployed and has not even been appointed to corporate boards. Usually the fate of ex-politicos of note.



Or perhaps it is because McCallum was both ineffectual and mean-as-a-snake, an uncomfortable combination for CEOs.

CUT TO THE HEART OF THE MATTER


This history site examines the historical record of scalping. Interestingly it points out:

Scalping, of course, predated the mid-eighteenth century. Historical records, archaeology, and other sciences strongly indicate the practice originated among certain Native American tribes.1 A French soldier, identified by the initials J. C. B., related in his memoirs that "this horrible custom was practiced by these savages alone, and sprang from their own barbarism, for it seems never to have existed in any other nation, not even among nations, who, like them, have never received any idea of civilized life."2
...
While Europeans did not originate scalping, they did encourage its spread through the establishment of bounties. J. C. B. writes that "the French and English were accustomed to pay for the scalps, to the amount of thirty francs' worth of trade goods. Their purpose was then to encourage the savages to take as many scalps as they could, and to know the number of the foe who had fallen."8

The Unkindest Cut, or Who Invented Scalping?

This site references author James Axtell :

"Axtell�s research for his essays uncovered archaelogical, written, and linguistic evidence that points to an Indian origin of scalping. There have been pre-historic sites in North America where remains with lesions on the skull suggesting a scalping victim have been unearthed. Written accounts from European explorers during the 1500�s and 1600�s provide historical evidence of the practice. In 1535, Jacques Cariter saw "the skins of five men�s heads, stretched on hoops�" Samuel de Champlain�s travels to Canada and New England provided him with tales of scalping after a battle in 1609: "Approaching the shore each took a stick, on the end of which they hung the scapls (testes) of their slain enemies�" These stories bring up three points for Axtell to use in his argument. The first is the novelty of scalping to the European observer. Next, there is the evidence of skill and art involved that suggest a long tradition of the practice. Finally, the words that are used to describe "scalp" and "scalping" had no set vocabulary and no universal translation in European languages, but Indians of different backgrounds and languages had nouns and verbs to refer to the specific use of the terminology. Without a word for the action or object, it is unlikely that the European cultures had conceived of what they witnessed prior to their introduction to Native American customs, and therefore unlikely that it had been a practice brought to the New World by them. "

SCAPLING THE TRUTH

The Republican Party of Wisconsin put together a cartoon that blasts Governor Doyle over the gaming compacts. A line in the script refers to taxpayers being "scalped" by the deal. This was portrayed as "racist" by hard left dem party members: Moore Demands Republicans Apologize For �Scalping� Comment



In fact one lefty group was so inflamed by the inclusion of the term "scalped" that they put out a press release blasting the racist republicans and demanding a staffer be fired for using the term. They then go on to suggest that scalping as an native indian custom was a "myth".


�To compare the state�s negotiated renewal of tribal gaming compacts with the historic practice of scalping is both shameful and incredibly inaccurate.�The myth of Native American �scalping� has long been used in racially offensive ways in Wisconsin and the nation at large, and the term now commonly refers to profiteers unfairly taking advantage of consumers who mark up ticket prices. American Indians probably acquired the practice of scalping from Europeans settlers. Absolutely no evidence exists that scalping was a widespread practice in the Americas before European contact, while French traders and English colonial assemblies actually legislated bounties to encourage the practice.
--Wisconsin Citizen Action.


Oops. Unfortunately they got their facts wrong.

If you want to be president: Visit Iowa!

David Obey pretends to be a resident of Wausau. The residents of Wausau pretend to care when he puts out DNC/Washington poll-driven pablum. David Obey: Bush trashes environment

Scott McCallum narrowly avoids jail. Still unemployed. Ethics Board filing

Controversy, we love it! : Check out Bobblehead Jim Doyle and the infamous "scalping" ad.

Biotech can save the world. Don't believe it ? Check out: Wisconsin Biotechnology Association

The Scrum is back.

QUOTE OF THE DAY: ( From Wispolitics)

REP. JULIE LASSA:
The voters of Central Wisconsin sent a powerful message tonight. They showed that they value a positive, grassroots campaign based on an honest discussion of the issues.

(Or they showed that the power of incumbency can crush non-political types-- Ed.)

And they showed that no matter how many times they hear distortions and deceptions, the people of Central Wisconsin recognize the truth when they hear it.

(Or does it?--Ed.)

We didn't have a lot of money to run on - but we had something much, much more important. (Sinister forces of evil? --Ed.)

We had the support of many dedicated (Obey hacks and Union assigned) volunteers who put in an unbelievable effort against very challenging odds. I want to thank every one of them for their hard work these past five weeks. This is really their victory.

Just as we are driving around today in our jeeps throughout Wisconsin's snowy spring comes this news: IT WAS WARMER IN THE MIDDLE AGES!

Must have been all those Medieval SUVs.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

"We hang the petty thieves and appoint the great ones to public office."

-- Aesop

Extra Quote:

The right to be heard does not automatically include the right to be taken seriously.

-- Hubert Humphrey

"Political hitman" Tod Rongstad today has released those who paid for his direct mail "hit" piece. It is interesting to the Editor that the issue continues to drag along. The heart of the matter is, in this observer's opinion, can individuals say nasty things about politicians? I would hope the answer is yes. Most political figures could do with some additional criticism, if only to keep them on their toes.

The Editor enjoys debunkers: JunkScience.com

Back in January the Editor refered to Ches-lev-itch as: A man who clearly has no business ever running a city, let alone Madison.

Eating crow, the Editor must now acknowledge that this man's business is now, indeed, running Madison.

If you would like to find political quotes at a glance, this is an interesting site.


This is an even better quote site.

QUOTE OF THE DAY:

In order to become the master, the politician poses as the servant.
--Charles de Gaulle

Here they are: Wisconsin's stupid laws.

In the world of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) money is evil. People who give to candidates they like, especially people who have private sector jobs (i.e. members of a special interest) are horribly and intrinsically evil.

In order to save candidates from having to talk to people who have jobs the WDC suggests coercively taking money from citizens and giving it to all candidates equally. That is to say that every idiot who can't find a real job, and every loon who believes the moon is made of green cheese would be able to run on a "level playing field." In the Editor's opinion if you subsidize lunacy and weak candidates that is what you will get more of. How this is good for representative democracy is unclear.


What the WDC is good at is occasionally pointing out the obvious. In this case they put together a report that indicates that few people contribute to campaigns.

Shocking.

In an intense bit of research, the Editors have found the Doyle Clan homepage. Apparently Doyle is Irish for Evil Foreigner. One wonders if the present Republican leadership of the legislative branch would agree with that definition.


"Members of Clan Doyle /Clann O DubhGhaill ("Dubh-Ghaill" ... pronounced "Du-Gall") take their family surname from the Irish Gaelic words meaning "Dark/Evil Foreigner"; and this is just what the indigenous Celts called the Danish Vikings who started settling in Ireland and Scotland more than 1,000 years ago." -- From Doyle website.


Amaze your friends.

I think we'll be adding this blog to our links section. Damn well written stuff here.
AndrewSullivan.com - Daily Dish

You'll have noticed that one of our links is ABC's "The Note"
They had their politcal reporter snagged by a competitor. That's why they are writing less on their political blog. They, however, blame the war.

"Today's Note, with the war taking up more and more of our time, is ultra-mini." ---ABC News

QUOTE OF THE DAY: "The dogmas of the quiet past are inadequate to the stormy present. The occasion is piled high with difficulty, and we must rise with the occasion. As our case is new, so we must think anew and act anew. " --Abraham Lincoln

An intereseting essay from Peggy Noonan. The war coverage in the media oft times hangs heavy these days. She has a way of putting things in perspecitve.: Peggy Noonan

The employees at the State Historical Society have created an anonymous website that lampoons the massive cuts they are about to receive. It is called : Oh, Crap. Not again.

Senator Mike Ellis (R), Appleton: Evil or Just Disturbed?
Top Ten Signs Your Senator Has Lost It

Top Ten Signs Your Senator Has Lost It

The Wisconsin Historical Society is getting its budget gutted. Enterprising staffers have an anonymous humor site about their crisis. It is titled: Oh, Crap. Not again.

Here's a site of interest. "Spinsanity" The nation's leading watchdog of manipulative political rhetoric.

Micheal Moore just won an Oscar for "Bowling for Columbine". It was for best documentary. A variety of sources suggest it wasn't a documentary. Truth about Bowling for Columbine

Not to flog a dead horse; here is some of Michael Bright's brilliant lobbying: JS Online: Midwest Express' dismal lobbying ended in defeat

Here is an interesting list of the so-called "super lobbyists": Capitol lobbying

Here is the monster firm in Wisconsin lobbying: Broydrick & Associates


Tough as nails and quick on the invoices is Old Bill Broydrick.

The Editor was hoping to find a similar list of right wingers on the Roggensack site to mirror Brunner's lefties, no such luck. There is, however, a consolidated list of all the state's law enforcement officials. Apparently, being mean as a snake is a plus with the sheriffs.: Endorsements

Hey good news! Brunner has compiled a list of every lefty elected official in the state for our convenience: (Its his endorsement list.)

Shortly, we will be asked to decide who our next supreme court justice will be: Pat Roggensack - who is reputedly mean as a rattlesnake, or Brunner who is reportedly a dumb-as-a-stump Stalinist.

Here it is! The ultimate in navel-gazing, uselessness, and business golf: American Association of Association Executives

In order to create a world of peace and non-violence, Madison anti-war protestors trash and crash the Republican Party headquarters.Anti-War Activists Claim Responsibility for Attack

Yeah, that will stop the war.

Surprise! The income tax is voluntary according to this website: Pay No Income Tax


Of course, what he's not telling you is that you'll be arrested and sent to jail... but go ahead just skip paying this year.

Michael Bright's brilliance can not go unrecognized. Here is a list of 'Major business lobbying firms' from Madison.com. How do you get on the list? It is all about estimated annual revenue. Who estimates? The lobbyist.


Well, well, well. In order to be listed as a "major firm" you have to gross big revenue.
Surprise ! Michael indicates that he books $700,000+.

Lets look at his list, shall we:

Midwes Express: $10,000+/month ( here's the big one)
Com Ed: $3,000/month ( maybe )
Wis Manuf Housing: $2,000/month ( plus or minus )
Salomon Smith Barney: $3,000+ /month
Dane County Towns & Cities: $1,000+/month (if he's lucky)
All other listed clients: diddley squat


TOTAL: $20,000/month (more or less)

This is $40,000/month less than his reported estimated revenue.
(And arguably $17,000/month more than he is worth.)

Puffery and cheap hype. Maybe he could go into the P.R. field.

People, especially legislators, get sick of this kind of claptrap.

The sinister forces of oppression (lobbyists and association executives) often gather together to hone their skills. Now you can learn their fiendish ways.: An Association Advocacy Primer

Perhaps you might suspect that all might not go well in this war. You may be right. We may well be attacked in the US, though probably not in Wisconsin directly. Disease and biowar know no boundries, however. If you are a boyscout or would like to be prepared check out: Ready.gov - From the U.S. Department of Homeland Security

What kind of Lobbyist are you? Check at: THE HALL OF LOBBYISTS

Why are the indian tribes riding roughshod over the government recently? According to the Minneapolis Star Tirbune: Indian tribes enjoy donor advantage over rival gaming interests

Here is a neat little find: Wisconsin Department of Electronic Government

This crackerjack outfit has been eliminated by Governor Doyle, but its electronic ghost apparently still haunts the machine of Wisconsin government.

Spooky.

Imagine you are the President. Imagine every morning you wake up and are briefed about the horrors going on around the world, and in particular Iraq. Things like this latest article from the Times of London.IRAQ: HUMAN SHREDDING


Would you let the man who did that continue to hold and produce chemical, biological, and nuclear weapons?

Would you really?

If you work for, or own, a Wisconsin company and you want to sell to the federal government; tough luck. Generally it is impossible or at least wildly difficult to pull off a sale to the Feds. Here is an institution that is designed to make that effort just a little easier: The Wisconsin Procurement Institute.

From wispolitics.com; Ed Garvey continues his efforts to crush political speech that he does not agree with: WisPolitics Features.

The irony is delicious. Here is a man who describes himself as a liberal, nay even a defender of liberty, who is going out of his way to destroy the liberty of someone who dared to mail a postcard criticizing a legislator.

Rongstad may be a mudslinger for hire, but Garvey is morally and intellectually bankrupt.

If you want a little help getting RE-ELECTED perhaps you should take a glance at this: POLITICAL EDUCATION


This link courtesy of the Internet Archive which everyone should look at now and again.

This is too crazy to be a parody:
Association of Junior Lobbyists

Want to be president? First you must be elected.

This man is a lobbyist: Michael Bright

Most lobbyists try to be extraordinarily accurate. Puffery generally annoys the hell out of legislators. Apparently Michael Bright is not aware of this. He asserts that he was named a Top Ten Lobbyist by the Wisconsin State Journal. A Lexis-Nexis search found no such "Top Ten List" published by the Wisconsin State Journal. A call to an editor there found no such list.

Furthermore, there is no position of "Chief of Staff" for the Joint Finance Committee and Bright did not hold such a title. Additionally, this man was not "Executive Budget and Policy Advisor to the Governor" there was (and may still be under the new Governor) such a position. Michael never held it. He was, in point of fact, a policy analyst in the Dept. of Administration, an entry-level civil-service job.

Puffery indeed.

The Editor is not a member of Amnesty International but they have a good guide to citizen lobbying: Activist Toolkit -- How To: Lobby Your Members of Congress:

The best example of how not to lobby a senator?: According to Sen. Steve Geller, D-Hallandale Beach, death by faxes, the method used by opponents of a bill that would give local communities more control over setting manatee speed zones.

At his desk while the fax machine whirs away on the credenza behind him, Geller holds up a ream of paper, all bearing an identical message urging him to vote against Rep. Lindsay Harrington's manatee bill. Geller says he hasn't yet decided how he plans to vote on the bill at today's Natural Resources Committee meeting.

In the right-hand corner of each printed page: a single, Washington, D.C. fax number. The fax onslaught has brought his office work to a screeching halt, Geller says.

"I've had to unplug my fax machine," he complains. "I can't get any other faxes in. I can't send any faxes out. They kept me from doing any other legislative business today."

As Geller sorts through the top 20 faxes -- not a single one from one of his own constituents -- Harrington, R-Punta Gorda, patiently sits in the waiting room, there to make a last-ditch pitch for his bill.

Geller listens and tells Harrington he still hasn't made up his mind. But the faxes -- and the e-mail -- aren't doing the manatees any good.

"All they're doing is irritating me," he grouses.

Yeah, you may think you're hot shit. These guys can actually get things done: Wshington Power 25

Want to be loved, you'll probably be hated too: Loved and Hated Interest Groups

Lobbying Tips
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
What Works...

1. Delivering the straight facts to lawmakers.

2. Having active allies in a Congressman's district.

3. Mobilizing grassroots action, such as phone calls and letters.

4. Getting along well with politicians and their staffs.
----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

And What Doesn't

1. Rounding up volunteers in an election year.

2. Buying TV, radio, and print ads to promote your cause.

3. Spending lots of money on issue-oriented ads for or against a Congressman.

Perhaps even more valuable information: How Not to Lobby!

Yet more on lobbying:Visiting your legislator.

More notes on the second oldest profession:How To Lobby

Here is something good: WRITE YOUR OWN BILL

The budget is announced. Here is a brief version of it, only 90 pages. To summarize: UW takes a $250 million hit, smoke and mirrors: $200 million, $408 million in imaginary federal dollars that WILL NOT be delivered, and maybe $150 million from indian tribes. This is inadequate.

Here the outline of the Governor's education plot is visible, including a cover organization funded by the teachers union.:
JS Online: Group proposes base dollar amount per student to revamp school funding

Here's a fairly good description of what is proposed: WSJ Solving the State Fiscal Crisis

What it largely leaves out is the fact that it, the "Foundation Plan", will blow Wisconsin's property taxes into the stratosphere.

Here's one if the idiotic Foundation Plans:
Bugher the Buffoon

Buffoonery abounds.
The new Governor is planning to announce a "Foundation Plan" for Wisconsin's educational system. It is a wild overreach. The basics are these: Every child in the state gets the same amount of money for their education. The problem comes that not every child needs the same amount of money. It true!

The cost of living in Superior isn't what it is in Milwaukee. Milwaukee students often need more services than suburban Waukesha kids. This is where adjustments come in, and politics, and decades of litigation.

Let the games begin!

Break a deal, face the wheel! The state negotiated a contract with the state employees. Now they want to break the deal. Bad idea, bad politics. READ THE STORY HERE Better would be to give them their (paltry) wage increase and reduce the overall size of the government. Weed out the incompetents, there are plenty.

As a point of reference. It should be noted tha Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin (D) is an indolent and indifferently skilled backbencher. She has absolutely no clout within her caucus (that would be the Progressive Caucus, for those of you not paying attention), her party, or her institution.

Why in the world is Tammy Baldin a hardcore member of the socialist run (I'm not kidding) Progressive Caucus?

Want