All Is Lost

Well, this is a gobsmacker.

Wisconsin had the absolute worst job record of all 50 states for the past 12 months; but according to a poll of voters in that state, they're supporting Republican Gov. Scott Walker because they think he's the better job creator. He's got a 7-point advantage over Democrat Tom Barrett (up from 6 points a few days ago).

Considering the $30 million in recall campaign funds Gov. Walker has pulled in (especially from well-heeled out-of-state friends), this makes me think as goes Wisconsin, so goes America.

Catching Up

Sorry; I haven't blogged for a week. I've been busy with numerous other projects (almost all of them good).

So let me get caught up with my news and views:

1) Even after listening to (or reading) all of the concerns about feeling good that Osama bin Laden was killed, I still feel good that Osama bin Laden was killed.

2) Let Greece exit the eurozone. Dragging this process out forever is just making everyone (markets and national voters) uncertain, which increases the costs of doing business.

3) What? Justin Bieber is called a "brat" by a co-star? Imagine that. A Johnsonville brat?

4) Jezebel reports that an ultra-religious Jewish newspaper Photoshopped U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton out of the famous situation room photo, which showed President Obama and his national security team following progress in the commando raid on bin Laden (again, I still feel good about that raid). The reason? "The religious paper never publishes pictures of women, as they could be considered 'sexually suggestive.'" Uh, right.

5) Wisconsin's right-wing governor, Scott Walker, put out a video praising public employees. Yep, the governor, whose name you know only because of his questionable efforts to strip public employees of rights and benefits, says he likes them, really likes them. He'd just like them to be poorer.

6) I should have my newest digital magazine available online by next weekend. If you like science and science fiction, you might want to check it out. I'll have more info on the weekend.

7) Still feel good about the terrorist's death. I don't care if he was behind a human shield, if he had a weapon, if he was watching American Idol.

The History of Wisconsin Governor Walker – in Cartoons

Many of you already know that my stepfather, Lyle Lahey, is a veteran political cartoonist in Wisconsin, having worked for decades at the now-defunct Green Bay News-Chronicle.

For the past several years, he has been producing his political cartoons for the web, only taking a leave of absence recently to accommodate a move across town. Then he picked a great time to come back: right in the middle of the brouhaha over Wisconsin's right-wing governor, Scott Walker, and his plans to radically alter the state's politics and economics. (Let's just say Lyle puts the "haha" in "brouhaha").

Here, then, is a small collection of Lahey comics on the topic of Wisconsin's famous and infamous maximum leader. You can see new and more than 560 archived Lahey comics at his main site, and you can follow his new ones on his blog.

Click on the cartoons to view them in larger format.

ScottWalkermageddon in Wisconsin, the Lighter Side

I've been watching with a mixture of home-state pride and bemusement the ongoing attempts of Wisconsin GOP Governor Scott Walker to bust the state's unions (hey, I'm not the most pro-union person in the world, but let's admit it: that's what this is all about). Anyway, not that you asked, but I think states have to reckon with huge largely unfunded pension obligations. I live in California now, and it's got unbelievable pension obligations that it might not be able to meet.

But Wisconsin? One report shows that state workers there earn an average of about $24,000. Hardly pilfering the pockets of the common man. Compare that to San Francisco, where the local paper reported that one-third of city workers earn more than $100,000. The latter brings out the Republican in me. The former confirms the Democrat in me.

Anyway, as I was trolling through the interwebs for info about my home state and my beloved Madison, Wisconsin, where I spent five of the most wonderful years of my life, I came across this story on Madison.com:

Protests Provide a Business Boon for Capitol-Area Shops

So, everyone's biz-friendly, Gov. Scott. Now grow up.

Wisconsin GOP Gov-Elect Doesn't Want High-Speed Trains, Still Wants the Pork

Ever since voters in my home state of Wisconsin shot themselves in the feet last month and replaced Sen. Russ Feingold and elected a conservative Republican to succeed a Democratic governor, we've witnessed the usual short-sighted decisions that this brand of populist conservative has unleashed on our country.

In the latest move, Governor-elect Scott Walker has rejected about $810 million in federal stimulus money that was restricted for high-speed rail, arguing that the high-speed train line would cost the state (horrors!) $7.5 million a year after it was completed.

Now, Wisconsin is not profligate California, but neither is it poor Mississippi. It performs much better than average economically and it has much better than average schools. Though it is now facing large budget deficits as a result of overspending and the bad economy, it will not always face that situation. It will, however, always need innovation and leading-edge developments to stimulate its economy, make use of its world-class educational institutions, and attract talent and investment from outside the state.

If Walker was just worried about the short-term financial situation, then the train project would have been ideal. It is, after all, stimulus money, intended to stimulate economic activity during times when the financial and business systems are unable to do so themselves. Such as, oh, now. But Walker is displaying none of the vision that long-time Governor Tommy Thompson used to show. Thompson, a very conservative and very independent Republican, was vocal in his support for trains in general and high-speed trains in particular. He got it. Walker doesn't, and it will harm Wisconsin's businesses and families in future years as their state falls behind states that are innovating in this technology – and it will increase America's distance behind countries that are leading in high-speed train technology, countries such as China and Germany and France and Japan.

Oh, Newser points out, Walker still wants the money from Washington. He wanted to stimulate other parts of his economy, perhaps, or he wanted to spread it around to projects that made him happy. Either way, he's not making the investment that would have real short- and long-term benefits for his state. The money will instead be redistributed to other states that aren't technophobic.

I think this is just the latest case of short-sighted Americans learning to feel good about giving up the lead in innovation and science and creativity.

Photo from Wikipedia/Creative Commons by Sese Ingolstadt.

Illinois Governor Blagojevich Arrested; Feds 2, Illinois Governors 0

Illinois Governor Rod Blagojevich (D) recently urged President George W. Bush to commute the sentence of Blagojevich's predecessor, George Ryan (R), who was convicted of various crimes. No word yet on that pardon, but Blago (as he's known to his legions of enemies) may be in need of a pardon himself. This morning came the shocking news that Blagojevich has been "taken into custody" by federal agents as the result of an undercover investigation of a broad array of corrupt practices. Apparently, the guv was trying to sell the U.S. Senate seat being vacated by President-Elect Barack Obama.

Even in Illinois, that's illegal.

Read the charges and the latest updates. I won't reiterate them here.

I will, however, note that as a born-and-bred Wisconsinite (now living on the West Coast), this does somewhat amuse me. After all, in various social studies and civics classes on good government (and in Wisconsin, most social studies and civics classes are good government classes), New York's Tammany Hall and Chicago, Illinois, were the go-to topics to demonstrate the perils of unclean and corrupt government, influence-peddling, low-morals, etc., etc., etc.

Two consecutive Illinois governors have now been arrested. It'd be funny if ... no, it's funny.

A Lot Is for Sale in Downtown Green Bay

Shoppers could always count on finding stuff to buy in downtown Green Bay when I was growing up there. The giant Port Plaza Mall had book stores, music shops, video arcades, restaurants, and a ton of clothing stores. The grand old Prange's (Green Bay's locally owned version of Macy's or Marshall Field's) offered upscale shopping and was later replaced by Younkers and Boston Store. The mall was ringed by the classic shops and offices you'd find in any downtown: barber shops, piano stores, luggage stores, magazine shops, banks, etc.

On my visit to Green Bay last week, I walked downtown and saw there was still a lot of stuff for sale, such as, well, downtown. The mall is closed and partly demolished. "For Sale" signs are to be found on almost every block, and many buildings were empty or at least looked deserted.

The signs of desertion were somewhat misleading. Green Bay isn't one of those dried-up rust-belt cities that started dying out in the 1970s and never recovered. In fact, Green Bay has done fairly well for itself over the years, and there are thriving (and constantly spreading) commercial districts on the city's outskirts. It's downtown is responding by turning into a venue for condos (not sure how big the market is for downtown condos in a city where land is relatively cheap and driving conditions are easy – good luck with that). But I do miss the downtown that was walkable, where you could do your banking, catch a movie, have lunch (probably not in that order), buy a book and get your new pair of pants without getting into your car four different times.

Welcome to Packerland

Last week, one of my first greetings upon landing in the town where I grew up, Green Bay, is this sign atop the baggage claim machinery.