And, we're going to get 'change' if the Democrats have their way...and that seems likely.

Saxby Chambliss (R-GA) retained his seat in the senate yesterday so the Democrats will not have the magic number necessary to absolutely control the senate.  The outcome in Minnesota is still somewhat in question, but, at the rate that new votes for the Democrat candidate are being 'found', I suspect that he'll prevail.

The problem with Republicans in the senate has always been the number who have worked hard to earn the right to be called by that ugly name, "RINO"; "Republicans In Name Only".  Those people are still there and they are still beyond the ability of the Republican leadership to 'control'.  Even though the Democrats will technically be unable to override filibuster attempts, the RINOs will often tip the scales by bolting from the 'party line'.  Those three or four people tend to be more liberal in their thinking than conservative.

So, we are going to see the 'change' we voted for in November.  The only questions remaining, in my mind, are just what that 'change' will be, how quickly it will occur, and how much it will cost.

The magic "first 100 days" comes into play so far as answering the question of how quickly change will occur.

The Democrat leaders are busy shaping what they'll propose, developing the time lines for each, and determining whether or not they'll go for a few all-encompassing bills or take smaller bills up, pass those and bask in the victories during the course of those first 100 days.

The likely items include the vaunted "economic stimulus plan", a bill requiring electric utilities to be using renewable sources for at least 15% of their power by 2020, a big push on funding and hurdle-clearing for embryonic stem cell programs and increases in the funding and reach of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).

After the meeting between governors and the president-elect yesterday, I presume we'll also see some kind of state-directed stimulus programs proposed, possibly as part of the overall stimulus package.

Change is around the corner.  The Democrats understand that they will be gaged by what they accomplish in the coming two-year period, so far as the elections that hit two years down the road for the entire house of representatives and for one-third of the senate seats in Congress.

As always, these are interesting times in which we live.

Okay, I lied just to get you to look; because, not many people read when I write on this topic...even though it is critically important! 

This is really about Wisconsin and its plan to require all small businesses (50 or fewer employees) to have health insurance.

I am a small business person and I do provide health insurance.  I don't want to be forced to do that, since I might be unable to stay in business someday if that were to be a requirement.

It is bad enough that Wisconsin would tell me I have to do this, but it is also going to ultimately tell me what plan I have to subscribe to in order to provide the required coverage.  I will be forced to buy my health insurance through something called BadgerChoice and a new concept called a 'connector'.  Massachusetts has been using a 'connector' for a couple of years; that plan has exacerbated the shortage of primary care doctors, has driven many insurance brokers out of business and has been short of money since its inception (this leads to rationing of care, by the way).

As I drive through Germantown, I see a bunch of what are called 'small businesses'.  I recognize that there are more employees employed by small businesses in Wisconsin than are employed by big business.  I am among the roughly 50% of small businesses that are able to provide health insurance and I do that because it is good for my business and for my employees...and therefore for my customers.

There have been rumors circulating about a new small business health plan that was being touted in very quiet sessions using a power point show that had been designed by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services that is now run by Ms. Karen Timberlake who obviously gets her marching orders from Governor Jim Doyle.  The Business Journal published an article today that discusses this program.  I know enough people in the benefits industry to have heard about this several months ago, and dreaded the day that it gained enough steam to break out into the light of day...at least partially...since there are a lot of things that we're not yet being told.

By the way, Ms. Timberlake is quoted in this article as saying, "I would like to avoid having small businesses opt out if they already have a good deal.  Otherwise, the program will only have high-risk participants and insurance will still be unaffordable."  That is why I said that we'll be forced to join this plan.

This is one of the 'great benefits' of the new Democrat-controlled state government.  They can make this happen without regard for whether or not it is a good thing.  They have wanted this for a long time, and by golly, they're going to have it now that they are in absolute power.  They need some "Pass Go & Collect $200" cards from the Feds and that will happen, if not already in place, because the Dems control that level of government, as well.  We voted for change, and we're gonna' get it whether we like it or not.

What is worse is that this is being cobbled together in the new state budget so that it will not be a stand-alone bill that can be debated in public.  This is the same state budget that now has to find ways to handle a $5.4 billion funding shortfall.  Tell me what comes to mind when you see this great new program being foisted on the small businesses in Wisconsin at the same time we have a huge hole needing to be filled?

TAX INCREASES!

On top of tax increases, there will be more and more vacant store fronts and more and more people unemployed; and it will be able to be traced directly to this garbage.

How appropriate that this would surface just as we prepare to "stuff" our turkeys.  Those aren't the only things being "stuffed".

The voters in Wisconsin have decided that the Democrats are going to run the state for at least two years.  They control state government and can, if they choose, push their way past any Republican opposition.  That remains to be seen, however I suspect the power vested in the Democrats will be too much for them to resist.  Just as there is a 'pent-up demand' in the Democrat majority in Washington, there is also that same force at work in Madison.

Some of the things I expect we'll see include (in spite of my protestations):

• Smoking Bans that apply to all public buildings, and some outdoor public spaces across the state...
• These bans will follow the patterns set by some municipalities and counties that have taken action already.  The ban will probably include taverns and gaming establishments.  The ban will not attempt to outlaw tobacco products but could also include additional taxation above and beyond that we've seen in the recent past.
• These bans will, unfortunately, trample on the property rights of business owners.  Tavern owners should be given the right to determine if they will appeal to non-smokers or to smokers.  Cigar bars and retail smoking parlors should be permitted to continue to exist.  Second-hand smoke and its dangers to employees will be the mantra and "property rights be damned" will be the battle cry.
• Expansion of state-funded health care plans...
• There will be little or no opportunity for a rational discussion of those already existing programs where lessons could be learned because the controlling party members want no such 'light of day' to shine on their ideas.  That proved too damaging in the past, and they have the raw power to ram this through.
• We risk moving too far down this slippery slope so as to inhibit a return in the future as this behemoth proves to have been the wrong decision.  These incursions in the 'free marketplace' will carry a dastardly price tag.
• There will likely be more 'mandated benefits' than in the past in spite of the fact that a significant part of our cost issues can be laid at the feet of existing over-zealousness on this front.
• Education Economics...
• I am convinced that the QEO (qualifying economic offer) provisions in place now will be eliminated or significantly altered and that this will lead to higher taxes within a year.
• I expect that there will be a significant change in the manner in which education is funded and there is a present danger that, without adequate debate, those results will be skewed toward the establishment and not the students and taxpayers.
• I expect to see limitations on alternative forms of education such as home schooling, Internet Schools, school choice and on and on.  WEAC owns the Democrats and it will demand its payback.
• Increased Taxes...
• At the very time when our state should be cutting expense to reduce the tax burden, it will add expense.  The state budget is already some $3 to $4 billion underfunded.
• Mandated programs implemented at the state level are unlikely to be adequately funded, so localities will be forced to increase their taxes to comply.
• Caps on local tax increase rates will be lifted or significantly modified so that property taxes can and will increase more often and at higher amounts.  There is never 'enough' money and there are always 'good programs' that really need to be enacted.

My concern is that the controlling party will be unable to keep itself from making too many things on its 'wish list' reality, and we will all suffer as the result.

I really hope that I am wrong

Now that the dust of the election returns has begun to settle, the talk of the governance approach of our new president has taken flight.  I have read several pieces that discuss this subject and heard several discussions on the same subject.  The Wall Street Journal had an excellent editorial today titled Obama's Real Opposition.

The subject of that piece was the old line liberals who will be pushing and pulling President Obama as they wish, to make him decide as they wish him to decide.

There are many who believe that President Obama will actually move to the center left as he takes office and begins to face the daily decisions required of him.  There are also many who remind us of his very liberal voting record and suggest, therefore, that he'll govern from the left or far left.

We are reminded of those with whom President Obama will interact:

• David Obey from our own state who wants to slash the defense budget to get money for his social entitlements.
• Barney Frank who recently said that he thought defense could be reduced by 25%.
• Chuck Schumer who continues to push banks to lend more money even after being heavily involved in causing the Freddie Mac/Fannie Mae problems due to similar tactics.
• George Miller who heads the House Education and Labor Committee who is talking about 'nationalizing' 401K and other private pension plans to free up all that money for other purposes.
• Jim McDermott who chairs the House Ways and Means Committee and who seems to like Mr. Miller's ideas.
• John Conyers who loves the idea of the Europeans indicting President Bush and Bush officials for 'war crimes'.
• Henry Waxman who wants to grab the Chairmanship of the House Energy and Commerce Committee from Rep. John Dingell so that he can really push the global warming agenda.
• Pete Stark who believes that a Canadian-style single payer health care system is exactly right for us.
• Rep. Pelosi whom we presume will retain her leadership post will continue down the very liberal path she has trod to now.
• Sen. Reid whom we presume will continue in his leadership role, although he could find that a difficult task given his miscues so far.

These men are well-seasoned congressional combat veterans who know the inner workings much better than does the new President Obama.  They will stop short of nothing to take advantage of what they see as a 'significant mandate' from the United States electorate.  They are running short of time in which to make the country over into the image they believe is best for us all; they will not be anxious to slow their pace simply because a new president wants that to happen.

President-Elect Obama has seemed to recognize this in his appointment of Rep. Rahm Emanuel (D from Chicago) as his new Chief of Staff.  This is the single most powerful position in any White House.  The person in this role manages the President; he determines who the President will see and what he will hear; he selects those on the staff who will be granted limited access to the President; he will play a very large part in determining the programs the new president will pursue and the order in which various initiatives will occur.  Everything goes through the Chief of Staff.  Everything.

Emanuel is a rough and tumble Chicago-style politician.  He is liberal.  He is going to be a tough Chief of Staff.  The battles between him and those in Congress who believe they deserve the President's ear will be legend before this tour of duty is finished.

I suspect that our new president will be pushed to the left of center very quickly whether or not he wishes to be in that position.  The question in my mind is just how far left of center he'll end up after the first hundred days that seem to be so magical.

He will have inherited a terrible economy and a country with so much debt that it will be able to do only limited things in the way of new programs.  Against that backdrop stand the legions such as described above who simply don't care about this, that or the other.  They are intent on getting their way, on making their imprint seen.

This Congress has it within its power to limit this new president to a single term, as was the case with President Carter, if it forces the new president too far to the left and pushes too hard for what it thinks is now being demanded by a country they believe to be left-leaning like themselves.

Wow, voting day is finally here and my telephone will quit ringing so much, my mailbox will be less cluttered and I can either celebrate or cry in my proverbial beer.  This election 'season' has seemed to go on forever.  Several things are at top of mind this morning...

Milwaukee Police Unit Disbanded...

The special investigative unit of the Milwaukee Police Department that generated the 67 page election fraud report has apparently been disbanded some five days prior to today's election.  The detective who led that operation has, according to the Wall Street Journal, been relegated to the sidelines today.  John Fund of the Wall Street Journal reported this morning that Detective Michael Sandvick had predicted that Wisconsin could see as many as 55,000 illegal votes cast.  He cited the cross-border flow from Minnesota and Illinois since Wisconsin is one of only eight states that have 'same day' registration coupled with the weak verification of eligibility.  His estimate was that as many as 30,000 votes could be cast today in that manner. 

There are only two people of whom I'm aware who could've caused this 'stand down' and those are Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett and/or Police Chief Flynn.  Neither has been available for interviews today to my knowledge.

~~~~~~~~~~

My Voting Site...

I drove past the site where I vote at about 7:20AM today and was astounded at the number of vehicles parked and at the length of the line of people waiting to move into the building to vote.  I plan to vote in the 9:00AM range and we'll see if this surge was simply caused by people on their way to work as I suspect.

At any rate, it certainly seems that our voter turn-out will be in the range predicted by the Village Clerk's staff which I recall was in the 73 percent range.

On top of this was an inordinately high number of absentee ballots being cast based on my casual observations of parking lot loads during the preceding couple of weeks and of anecdotal comments from people working in village hall.

UPDATE:  I voted at about 9:20AM and was number 580.  The people were still streaming in and there was about a ten minute wait at that time.

~~~~~~~~~~

Media Hype...

I am angered with what now seems to pass for the mainstream media so far as their seeming promotion of Obama's 'inevitable' victory.

We have been fed the 'facts' for many days that there is no way for McCain to win.  There are, unfortunately, too many voters who are swayed by this 'stuff' and who don't think for themselves.  If just 1% of potential voters were dissuaded from 'wasting' their time voting, the swing could become a 'self-fulfilling' prophecy.

~~~~~~~~~~

Direct Legislation...

Finally, we are witnessing direct legislation in Milwaukee concerning mandatory sick days from employers.  This would create a burden for many businesses that would force them to close or move thus negatively impacting the residents.  But, there are too many who can't or won't think these issues through and simply vote because they like the idea that they can have sick days. 

We are witnessing some 25 to 30 communities across the state that have ballot questions concerning 'mandatory health care plans similar to those afforded state employees'.  These types of issues are done at the state level but grass roots groups have begun to work at the local levels to bring some pressure to bear on state legislators.  The simple fact is that there isn't enough money in the state to provide that level of health care coverage for all the residents.  We would bankrupt ourselves.

Having family members in Colorado, I am reminded of the folly that those voters are subjected to in the form of ballot initiatives.  There are something on the order of fifty individual questions on ballots in Colorado today that require some real effort to understand.  The majority of voters do not take the time to do their own research and, instead, follow the direction of their associations or unions or professional affiliations.

This is a very dangerous thing, in my opinion, that lends some credence to the old saw about us voters getting the government we deserve.

I am overloaded with politics!  This election for president has been going on seemingly forever.  Obviously, it has been going on for nearly two full years.  The two final candidates have spent nearly $1 billion between the two of them.  They have filled the airwaves with television and radio advertisements and they have filled the newspapers and mailboxes with written advertisements.

In addition to the presidential campaigns, we have been inundated with congressional campaigning and local senate and assembly campaigning.  Telephones have been ringing with 'get out the vote' campaigns and with 'robo calls'.  Lawn signs have seemed to grow for the past three or four months.  Early voting has been going on for a month or better.

I have watched the 'talking heads' tell me what I should be thinking until I want to throw something through my television screen.  I have seen the Saturday Night Live videos over and over again.  I have seen the late night show clips over and over again.

I have listened to the 'pollsters' explain this and that trying to convince us as to their method's accuracy.  The plethora of polls has produced varying numbers for months on end.  If there are six polls released in a day, there six different sets of numbers.  Exit polls were even wrong last time around.  Why should I put money on pre-election polls?

The candidates seem unable to even agree with themselves.  One tax plan has three or four different versions in as many weeks.  Amazingly, each political party is to blame for everything bad that has happened according to the other party.  Washington insiders dress up to appear on the Sunday morning talk shows and spew the day's 'talking points' as if they are gospel.

We are given the treatment befitting idiots by both parties.  If we are so dumb as to fall for their lines, why in the world are we given a vote?  We would obviously not even be able to find a polling place if we were susceptible to their diatribes.

Political activist organizations are falling all over themselves to sign up new voters.  Mickey Mouse and Donald Duck get registered and we are to feel assured that every vote cast is a legitimate vote from a legitimate voter.

Senators running for re-election are convicted of accepting bribes.  Congressmen who took money from Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac like it was going out of style are now sitting in Washington meeting rooms with the look of the pious telling us why it was someone else's fault that our economy took a nose dive.

Re-election to office is so nearly automatic that we citizens ought to be examined carefully to assure full mental faculties before we permitted to get close to a ballot box.

I am tired and it isn't even election day yet.  I am disgusted with what we have permitted to happen in our country.  I am disgusted that so many of my fellow citizens seem to fall for the largest promise of good things if we'll simply elect the right people from the right party.  Elect me and I'll give you this; no, elect me and I'll give even more than he will!

Have we lost our senses completely?  Do we really think that government creates anything?  Is it possible that we can all get a tax cut, especially when tax reductions from one administration will be ended?  Is it really possible for 95% of Americans to receive a tax cut?  How is it that we can reduce taxes when we have the national debt that we have?  How is it that we permit ourselves to be hoodwinked on a regular two year and four year cycle?  Should we really end our foreign trade deals?  Will we be able to have what we want when others don't get what they want?  How will we keep our economy moving when we refuse to recognize that we can't possible get to the level of greenhouse gas emissions the various players are telling us they'll get us to in the time span allotted by their plans?  Where do we think the money for such programs is coming from?

Are we nuts?

I have political overload, and I fear it isn't going to end on the evening of November 4th

There is more and more speculation as to the potential that we'll see a 'clean sweep' by Democratic candidates on Tuesday, November 4th at both the state and federal levels.  I hope that isn't the way it turns out, but I'm tiring of being beaten about the head and shoulders every time I read a newspaper article or watch the bulk of the television news items.  Maybe that is the intent.  If us conservatives can be sufficiently demoralized, maybe we'll just stay home.  Not this conservative!

What do I mean by 'clean sweep'?  I refer to the potential that both the Assembly and the Senate in Wisconsin will see a sufficient Democratic majority that will be able to pass anything they wish in spite of the number of Republican votes that could be massed, with assurances on most such items that those will be signed into law by the Democratic Governor Doyle.

Similarly, I refer to Democratic victories in both the U.S. House and Senate that will be Republican-proof and that will likely find favor with a Democratic President Obama.

Jay Weber has done a good job on setting forth 23 items that could be part of the triumvirate of Sen. Harry Reid (D), Rep. Nancy Pelosi (D) and a President Obama and you can find those by clicking here.  Things included on Jay's list include renegotiating NAFTA, ending secret ballots in union organizing, government-run healthcare encroachments, reintroduction of the 'Fairness Doctrine' to control conservative access to the airways, and so on.

At the state level, we could easily see state-run health care, the increase in costs of education, ever larger portions of our income going to state and local taxes,  more and more loss of personal freedoms and so.

There has been, in most of our history, a certain "check and balance" relationship in most of our governments so that not everything that was proposed was ever likely to be passed.  That 'protection' could disappear for years if we see the 'clean sweep' at the state or federal levels, or both, as the result of our national election on November 4th.  Our country tends not to flourish well under such governments regardless of party in power.

Vote your conscience next Tuesday!

There is a very real sense that we have been placed in a new world of politics.  I'll call it Politics 2.0 signifying the coming of a new genre.

As I watched the debate last evening involving Barack Obama and John McCain, it was as if I was witnessing a battle between the old and the new politics.  And, that is exactly what we've been hearing during this twenty-month plus campaign.  Obama has been pointedly making himself the leader of Politics 2.0 so far as the race for the presidency.

Obama has appealed to those of us who are younger and has been successful.  He outlived his Democratic challengers and he appears poised, if we are to believe the pollsters and the mainstream media, to become our next President.  He is a masterful communicator so far as style points.  Too many of us are unable to, or don't feel the need to, dig beneath the smooth, suave surface to get at the underlying meat in his answers and in his speeches.  He has run a campaign of nearly two years in length and we are still waiting for some definition to his talking points; we'll wait until after November, 2008, too.

Obama has deployed one of the most effective campaigns I can recall, and I've been an active observer since Au H20 (Goldwater) days.  He has had an advantage in campaigning against one of the 'old' pols who can 'barely' communicate when viewed in the glow of Obama.  He has, in my opinion, had the advantage of having the mainstream press firmly in his pocket for well over a year, if not longer.  I have seen mainstream "journalism" largely trumped by Politics 2.0, and I have seen the Internet used to very nearly its current maximum potential by one candidate. 

As if this wasn't sufficient, we see our economy reeling and that almost always portends defeat for the party in the Whitehouse without regard to the cause or finding of true fault.

I have made no pretense as to my views of the final two candidates.  I am a fiscal and social conservative and there is but one place for my vote.

That having been said, I can say that I am fearful of a Democrat sweep that leads to control of the Congress and of the Whitehouse.  If that should occur, I will see much of which I disapprove happening in our country.  If there is nothing remaining but a vocal, versus meaningful, minority, the minority's voice will be silenced except for the Internet and talk radio for the next four years.

While our federal government usually takes a long time to get anything accomplished, that is usually because the two-party system is sufficiently active and potent to thwart some of the less-than-wise moves attempted by the majority.  If the Democrats sweep to the degree that they have absolute control in both the House and the Senate, and if they have Barack Obama in the Whitehouse, we'll see an activist government such as we've not before witnessed.

We will see Supreme Court justices that will re-interpret the constitution to their liking.  We will see congressional hearings into everyone who ever served in the Bush administration.  We'll witness the complete take-over of healthcare by the government.  We'll see 'progressive' taxation policies that will cripple the economy and stifle the growth of businesses.  We'll see states governed by liberal majorities creating laws recognizing same sex marriage.  We'll see attacks on our rights to keep and bear arms.  We'll see our education system subverted to become a political indoctrination tool beyond that which already exists.  We will see an inexorable slide toward socialism.

I hope that I am wrong...but I fear that I may be correct.

Kimberley Strassel of the Wall Street Journal has done a good job with her Obama's Magic opinion piece in today's Journal.

There will be a lot of "magic" required to accomplish all that he has promised us, but we're accustomed to 'rude awakenings' following  Presidential campaigns.

Much is being written and discussed during this Presidential election period about health care reform.  Barack Obama prefers a government-run version of reform.  John McCain prefers a private market reform that would use tax law changes to accomplish nearly-universal coverage...the stated goal of both approaches.

I saw a news report this morning that serves as a great reminder of one of the things we need to be mindful of if we are going to move to government-run health care.  Here is that article:

Medco CEO argues for federally mandated end of life care protocols for Medicare patients.

CQ (9/17, Weyl) reports that in a recent speech at the National Press Club, chairman and CEO of Medco Health Inc., David B. Snow Jr., said that "the federal government should set protocols based on medical science to guide Medicare treatment for patients at the end of their lives." Snow elaborated that "30 percent of Medicare spending -- about $130 billion per year -- is spent on patients in the last year of their lives, often when recovery is no longer possible." But, nearly all of that money could be saved by establishing guidelines "of when to forgo further treatment." Snow also proposed "increasing electronic medical coordination, passing tort reform, promoting healthy lifestyles, and encouraging compliance among patients," which would save an estimated "$1 trillion per year, or half of current healthcare spending."

I have written of the "R" word before.  Rationing is a very common practice where tax dollars are used to fund health care.  I recall the situation recently reported from Oregon where a patient with cancer was not accorded medicines that likely would prolong life, but would be accorded coverage for 'assisted suicide' since that is legal in Oregon.

This isn't intended as a debate on the efficacy of withholding treatment that would extend life.  It is intended to provoke some thought about the need for such decisions if we go down the government-run health care road.  There will never be enough tax money available.  We see that in the debate over a new school building, and in road repair discussions and so on.

When there is not enough money in a government-run health plan, the patient will pay the price.  The organizational structure won't be pared down and taxes won't be increased because it is politically unpalatable.  The weakest link in this chain is the patient who has no way to fight the decision.  A "dispassionate" board who have never met the patient will make "an informed" decision and move on to the next agenda item.

Medicare is government-run healthcare.  Medicaid is government-run health care.  Between the two programs, more than 50% of the people in the United States already have health care coverage provided by the government. 

So, we debate the question all the while that government-run health care grows essentially unchecked.  The next step in Wisconsin, by the way, after BadgerCare Plus is to be BadgerCare Connect...if the politicians on the Democrat side of the aisle in Madison have their way.

Incrementalism is alive and well in Wisconsin.  It reminds me of the old saw that asks how one eats an elephant?  The answer, of course is: one bite at a time.

The 'virtual fence' that was approved by Congress to extend across hundreds of miles of the border between the United States and Mexico has been been put on hold indefinitely.

Why?  Well, it seems that the Interior Department has not signed off on the use of its lands.  These officials have refused to accept an environmental assessment that the towers, cameras, etc. would have no appreciable effect on the lands.

Even though the Department of Homeland Security has the authority to waive environmental laws for border security projects, it apparently does not extend to the virtual fence projects.  Sounds like the typical governmental bull!

An employee of a Florida hospital testified recently about the costs of treating illegal immigrants in one hospital.  You can watch the testimony by clicking here.

The citizens of this country finally prevailed on border controls, and yet the government continues to thwart this solution.  It seems like someone is a bit confused on just how this country works.  The people in these various departments are employed because we pay taxes to support their employment.  I am tiring of those within the system who pervert it to their own will.

Oregon has had government involved in health care for quite a few years.  The state electorate also approved the concept of state sanctioned suicide several years ago.

Recently, the board that reviews the medications that are approved for state residents made a determination that was controversial...in my mind if no where else.  The board, in essence, said that, given the cost of a certain medication, it would approve suicide for this patient but would not approve use of the medicine given its relative newness and the lack of convincing data as to the outcome.  It had essentially set a price on the human life involved.

Today I read the story concerning Denver Children's Hospital and heart transplants in infants that use the heart from another infant that died a 'cardiac-related death'.  This differs from a heart harvested from a brain-dead infant in which that heart is beating until removed from the donor body.  A decision has been made that the donor that has been pronounced dead and has been in that state for only 75 seconds, is a valid heart donor for purposes of this new program.  The earlier line that had existed required death be determined only after some five minutes during which time the heart did not re-start itself.  In this instance, the length of time a person had been deemed 'dead' had been reduced to assure that the harvested heart had a decent chance of functioning in the new body.  The three cases in which this approach has been employed resulted in three infants alive today.  The decisions to withdraw life support were made by the parents in all three instances.

We know so much more today than we did a decade ago.  We can do things from a medical perspective that were impossible then, and these procedures have become commonplace now.  We are, in this area, pushing the envelope as it has never before been pushed.

I know there are at least two sides to these issues.  I have good friends whose daughter lives today because of transplanted organs that were available on a timely basis.  I can't even begin to comprehend being placed in the middle of such decisions, and I earnestly hope that never befalls me.

And this leads to my general question:  Is there a line we dare not cross?  If so, where is or was that line?  Am I comfortable with an appointed board making life and death decisions about me?  Who among us can claim the right to make such a decision?  How do medical ethicists deal with these kinds of issues?

I don't profess to have the answers to these questions.  If you do, and you're willing to share, I'd appreciate your comments.

Barack Obama is the presumptive Democrat nominee for President of the United States.  He and his campaign staffers, and much of the press, appear to also have concluded that he is the presumptive President of the United States. 

The audacity of Obama is yet again on center stage for all to see.  He has kowtowed what passes for the 'free' press and the big three networks have trailed along in awe of the new President.  His campaign staffers refer to him as President when they say things such as, "When the President speaks..." which they did in the last day or so.  His campaign staffers refer to him as President when they create the phony 'Seal' that appeared on the podium behind which he was speaking.  Nothing about this campaign is an accident except for when Obama speaks extemporaneously without benefit of scripting.

Obama gets a 'free pass' on all this because the press is in his back pocket.  Thank goodness there is a Fox News Network.  Were that not the case, Obama would already be living in the White House so far as public opinion was concerned.  The election is a foregone conclusion.  He will undoubtedly deliver his 'inaugural speech' in Denver at the Democrat Convention; why wait for January 2009 and the Inauguration?

The 'World Tour' has taken him to Afghanistan, Iraq, Israel and on to Europe.  He has become an expert on foreign affairs.  He is telling General Petreaus when and where to position troops.  He has already convinced most that he, alone, can resolve the domestic issues.  He is the 'whole package'.

Hard to believe that this is a person who got a law degree, served as an Illinois state senator and has been in the U.S. Senate for 143 days of actual Senate sessions (as Jay Weber pointed out this morning on WISN 1130AM).  He is obviously the gift of a lifetime to us citizens who apparently have been stumbling about in the darkened wilderness all this time.  How in the world have we managed to even feed ourselves without Obama's guidance?  And we thought that JFK was something!

He may become our President, but he isn't there yet.  I, for one, am sickened by the sycophant press.  I am angered by the lack of criticism for Obama's actions.  This man has changed more positions than most people hold to begin with.  Politicians are chameleons, but he is the master chameleon.  He has built one of the most effective campaign organizations ever seen in our country or the world, for that matter.  It puts the 'Clinton Machine' to shame.

It seems that we now elect our leaders based on their charisma alone without regard to their experience.  That will demonstrate the shallowness of us as a people if he prevails.  As always, we will get the government we deserve. 

I've written about the consolidation of local health care organizations over the past months.  In preparing for a talk I delivered to an insurance agent's organization last month, I dug a little deeper to see what the trends seemed to be for the future.

There are some very interesting things happening to and with health care delivery and these things are, in part, already on or affecting the local scene.

Retail Medicine...

Several major corporations have experimented with and made commitments to what I'll call 'retail medicine'.  Major drug store chains have had walk-in clinics in their stores, and have gotten so serious about it that they've actually purchased the companies that were supplying the services.  One of those is Walgreen's and we see the result in Germantown.  Our local Walgreen store is 1 of 13 in Wisconsin with in-store clinics and that number is expected to be as high as 19 by the end of 2008.

Wal-Mart is doing similar development across the country along with the CVS drug store chain and several others.  These models all tend to rely upon the Nurse Practitioner and work to establish referral relationships to local physicians for the more serious conditions encountered.  Costs, according to the Take Care Health Systems (Walgreen) website range from $59 to $74 per visit with additional fees charged for vaccinations (seasonal flu shot priced at $24.99).

Physician Shortages... 

There are serious shortages of physicians in America and that is, in part, prompting the 'retail medicine' movement discussed above.  Massachusetts learned this the hard way when it passed laws that required virtually all citizens to have health insurance.  There were simply too few primary care doctors available in the state to handle the new demand that had been created.  The physicians who are moving through the education system today are too often choosing specialties that pay more and that have better schedules so they can also spend time with their families and pay off their loans more quickly.

These shortages are prompting our medical colleges to step up the effort to cause more graduating physicians to opt for primary care service but this will take time and there will need to be some economic push to make it happen.  This is spawning the following effort.

Nurse Doctors...

Minnesota has graduated at least one class of Nurse Doctors who are entering practice across that state.  This is a doctorate level program that claims to produce practitioners that "can do almost everything" a primary care physician can do except for some surgical procedures.  This program is being expanded to be able to graduate more Nurse Doctors every year as the program ramps up.

As we can all understand, the physicians' organizations are not at all happy about this movement.

Dentist Shortages...

The average age of dentists in many states, Wisconsin included, is increasing at an alarming pace and we are beginning to see a shortage of dentists.  Minnesota again seems to have taken a lead position with legislation that was being considered which would permit Dental Hygienists to both drill and extract teeth in addition to their normal responsibilities.

As you would also expect in this situation, this is meeting strong resistance from the organizations representing dentists, but the simple fact that this found its way to the floor of the Minnesota legislature is significant.  Minnesota has been more prone to experimentation in the general area of health care (health maintenance organizations took off very rapidly in this state in the early-1970s), so these trends aren't all that surprising in our neighbor state.

Summary...

Our health care world is changing very rapidly.  If we were to become a Rip Van Winkle and sleep for even just ten years, we'd likely encounter a strange new health care world when we awoke.

Who can say what is good or not good in these regards.  Time will tell which, if any, of these initiatives we will have accepted and which we will have discarded as bad ideas whose time hadn't yet arrived.  Some way needs be found that will permit us to control costs.  If we rely upon government to do that, I'm afraid that the consequences will be heavy-handed control and rationing of services...and I cannot find it within myself to think that is an improvement.

The mainstream media has taken up the fight now that Hillary and Barack have gotten their 'thing' settled; at least until the gathering in Denver. 

The learned political scientists on our college campuses have nearly unanimously opined that Obama is incapable of being defeated.  They have preordained that this election will be among the most lopsided victories for the left that we have witnessed in the entire history of our country.  Polls show Obama up by double digits over McCain.  It is all over but for the voting.

The election of Barack Obama as our next president is, apparently, inevitable.

So...there you go.  We conservatives can simply suck it up, pack it in, and decide how we're going to survive the coming four or eight years.  It is divined: Barack Obama is the next President of the United States...and will create a veto-proof majority for Democrats in both houses of our congress.

But wait.  Is it really inevitable?  Is the smugness of the left such that it will determine the course of history?  Is it really time for undefined change simply for the sake of change?  Are we in such dire straits that we will anoint Obama without so much as a discussion about that inevitable future?  Will the influx of young voters automatically accrue to the benefit of Obama?  Have the liberal professors that dominate our college campuses (98% + and counting) so indoctrinated the student body that inevitability is the only outcome imaginable?

Are 'we the people' so enamored of this man of change as to be taken with his oratorical skills in spite of the lack of depth of our knowledge of the details?  It is commonly discussed in political circles that the 'devil is in the detail', and yet, so far, there is very little flesh to be found on the skeleton of change. 

Will it remain the rule that any question of Obama's positions is akin to unfairly characterizing the man?  We smear him when we reflect upon the pastor that he followed willingly for twenty years.  We smear him when we talk about his very limited experience in politics, let alone on the national scene.  We smear him when we criticize his broadly-brushed position papers.  We smear him when he is forced to restate previous statements, sometimes more than once, to 'clarify' what he originally meant to say.

Obama has created a bubble that seems to surround him.  It is a protective bubble that keeps the hounds at bay.  One is to accept his speeches at face value.  One must not question the lack of substance.  One must not ask from where the money will come (although we know if we but listen to the tax increase rhetoric).  One must not ask which of the ladies in waiting the public would prefer in the White House.

Obama has created a protective bubble with the willing assistance of the liberal media.  Will that media be silent as well when we wake up to the second term of Jimmy Carter?  Will that media be silent when we throw away victory in the war on terror so that foreign governments will profess to like us better?  Will that media be silent when terrorists again begin to strike us in our homeland? 

Is it really Obama the Inevitable?  Or was the only inevitable thing about all this that the liberal media would fall into lockstep?

Two candidates have declared, so far, for the Assembly 24th district seat being vacated by Sue Jeskewitz.  They are Republicans Randy Melchert and Jason LaSage.  I continue to hear that there will be other candidates declaring between now and the deadline on July 8th, however we want to begin the Assembly 'Debate' so as to help voters learn as much as possible about the candidates.  I have posed much the same questions to both candidates as were discussed in the Senate "Debate' series.

The initial question was this:  If you were to introduce yourself to a roomful of voters, what would you tell them of yourself?

Melchert:  I am Randy Melchert, and I am a 5th generation Menomonee Falls resident.  My great grandmother ran a small café near the corner of Main Street and Appleton Avenue.  My grandfather started his law practice near that same corner as well.  My mother practiced law there as well.  I have lived my entire life in this community and I enjoy it.  Except for one thing.

Taxes.  While we have "The Best Care in the Air" nearby, the Packers up the road, and a beautiful wonderland every winter, the tax situation in this state is hurting the families of the state.  The average Menomonee Falls family over the next ten years will send around $77,000 to Madison in state income and sales taxes.  In Germantown a little less, in Richfield a lot more.  We have the 7th highest state and local tax burden, the 8th highest gas tax, and the 11th worst business tax climate.  Unfortunately the tax bill may rise.  On top of our already large spending habit, we could have a $2.3 billion deficit.  That's $1,655 of debt for every family of four in the state.  We need change now.  We need legislators who are responsible, dependable, and accountable.

* * * * * * * * * *

LaSage:  I am a life-long resident, taxpayer and worker in the 24th district, truly grateful for the support I have received from this community throughout my entire life.  When I was a 5th grader at County Line School, residents, led by my Cub Scout Leader, Jim McNally, generously donated money to provide me with a scooter so that I would have a way to keep up with my friends.  At Kennedy Middle School, one of the many special teachers in my life, now principal, Steve Bold helped spark my interest in social studies by demonstrating how serving others is a rewarding enterprise.  While I was a high school student, area parents came to my aid, as I helped lead the way with a group of friends to promote drug and alcohol-free activities in the community through initiating Youth Future's 1st annual lock-in for middle school students-an event that recently celebrated its 14th year.

In 1998, residents embraced my eagerness for public service, by electing me to the Germantown School Board-an office I was re-elected to.  That same year, current outgoing state Representative Sue Jeskewitz was kind enough to take me to Madison for a day to see first-hand how state government works.  As a board member, the MacArthur Elementary School community welcomed me, as I tutored youngsters and volunteered at MacFest events.  I also worked with Keith Musolff's gifted and talented middle school students for two years.  Additionally, as I was focusing on my bachelor's degree in communication and political science from UW-Milwaukee, state Senator Alberta Darling gave me the opportunity to intern for her.

Menomonee Falls also accommodated me for four years at Guaranty Bank and six years at Strong Investments.  I have kept involved with area youth for the past six years (and counting) by part-time substitute teaching in the Menomonee Falls School District.  I am also thankful to have had the ability to learn even more about the area and enhance my leadership skills through participation in Leadership Germantown this past year.

Now, as a 24th district taxpayer and homeowner, I want to be your representative in the state Assembly, taking my rich experience from the area and championing our shared values-creating jobs through lower taxes, spending and regulation; working to achieve more local control of education and municipal government; addressing healthcare with free market, consumer solutions; protecting individual liberties-while being accessible and willing to listen to all constituents.  I realize that some politicians have the tendency to disappoint, letting the lure of outside money get in the way of doing the people's work.  Though, if given the opportunity to serve as your representative in Madison, I assure you that my values and character, my ties to the community, and my aspiration to deliver sound, conservative leadership are not for sale.

* * * * * * * * * *

As always, we thank both gentlemen for taking time to participate in this 'Debate' and welcome readers' questions for future 'Debates'.  Either email those or frame them as comments to this blog.

We have, it appears, survived the presidential primary campaign season. 

During this season just passed, we witnessed the significant defeat of the Clintons.  Yes, of both Clintons, not just Hillary.  There is no 'just Hillary'.  With her comes the other, Bill.  With her comes the remembrances of all that was the Clintonian presidency; the innuendo, the smears, the lost billing records, the huge trading gains, the eleventh-hour pardons and on and on and on.  It wasn't a significant defeat in terms of numbers of votes, but it was significant in terms of the name and the legacy.

During this season just passed, we saw the emergence of a first-term senator from Illinois who is now the Democrat candidate for President of the United States of America.  He is biracial, and that means that a historic 'barrier' appears to have been overcome.  He is inexperienced as compared to the typical candidate for our highest elected position, but he has an eloquence about him that seems to enthrall those to whom he speaks.  He is Barack Obama.  Of that we can be sure.  But, beyond that we are unsure.  There is much about him and his beliefs that needs to be fleshed out between now and November

During this season just passed, we saw the Republicans settle on an elder member of the senate who will be nearly 72 if and when he takes office.  The word 'settle' was chosen intentionally.  The conservative members of the Republican party were forced to 'settle' for John McCain.  They may take up the banner and charge ahead, or they may hold back, contribute little and vote begrudgingly.  We know that he has been bloodied in battle, and that is reality and not simply an expression.  We know the mettle of the man.

So, Hillary is expected to finally make her amends to Barack Obama today by suspending her campaign.  That means that she is still trying to finagle something more for herself.  It might be that promise of a nomination to become a member of the Supreme Court, or it might be the payment of her $20 million campaign shortfall that came from the Clintons' pocket, or it might be the selection as the vice presidential candidate.  We don't know, and we may not come to know anytime soon; but we do know the Clintons and we do know that there will be some price extracted by them.  That is the way it is with them.

And the rest of us are left to make a monumentally important decision as to whom we desire as our next titular head.  I use the word 'titular' intentionally, as well.  The President of the United States influences but seldom decides policy.  The President lives in a world of 'checks and balances' that sometimes seems to be unchecked and imbalanced.  Congress will be very important as it always is.  That is frightening when one steps back and observes the ofttimes childish machinations that come from this body.

As it stands today, we would choose between an elder about whom we know a good deal and a junior about whom we know virtually nothing.  I am reminded of the phrase that refers to the 'devil we know versus the devil we don't know'.  I don't use that phrase in a derogatory manner.  This election is, to my thinking, a classic 'lesser of evils' election.  The campaign will be waged between one who is so far only a passable speaker but whom we know, and between the other who is as eloquent a speaker as any politician in my lifetime but about whom we know next to nothing.

And I confess to great concern since us voters tend to be swayed by eloquence more than substance far too often...and we often pay a dear price as the result.

We are, by all signs, involved in an oil cost run-up driven by demand being greater than supply.  It is exacerbated for us Americans because our monetary policy has seen an intentional softening of the dollar (our money is worth less than other peoples' money, so it takes more of it to buy a barrel of crude oil).  I paid $4.20 per gallon yesterday with the price of crude oil standing at about $130 +/- per barrel.  Predictions of crude oil prices of $150 per barrel or more are seen or heard regularly now.  And, the cost of oil could well be higher than that by year-end.

How did we get to this point?  We got there by congressional law making, by presidents rolling over and signing those bills, and by our country's increasing needs/demand for gasoline and diesel fuel.  Why would we permit ourselves to become part of such a quagmire?

Politics!  Politics played by those on both sides of the aisle.  Conservatives seem to have lost their voices.  Liberals never seem to lose their voices.

Laws were re-written more than thirty years ago to make it nearly impossible for a new refinery to be built.  Those were the result of congress being rolled by the environmentalists and presidents either believing the rhetoric of the day or fearing the backlash should they stand up to the rhetoric.  This has continued to this very day.  We are forbidden from drilling within 200 miles of the California and Florida coastlines but the Chinese are already doing so as we sit on our thumbs.  We are unable to pursue the shale oil deposits that span our northern plains and southwestern states.  We have ample untapped resources that are readily available but our laws don't permit us to make use of those resources.

We see the 'global warming' group and the 'environmentalist group' driving our economy into the ground...and we have not found the moral outrage/courage to stand up to them and say "no more"!  We could easily build new refineries in any number of locations around our country but we're not permitted to do so.  We know how to drill and refine today without ruining our world.  It takes from 6 to 10 years to bring a new refinery on-line so the time to have declared a moratorium on the rules that made it impossible to build new refining capacity has come and gone.  But, the typical congressional response of "that will take ten years" should remind us that if we don't roll back those silly laws today, it'll take ten years from whenever we do roll back those silly laws.  The time to begin is now, not next week or next month.

We witnessed the ridiculous 'hearings' held by congress in the past few weeks.  We watched as Sen. Herb Kohl embarrassed himself by chiding the 'big bad oil companies' for making a profit.  He is a former businessman who certainly understands that profit must be derived in order for businesses to exist and grow.  He knew how that worked when he ran Kohl's Food Stores.  He certainly must have some comprehension as the owner of the Milwaukee Bucks.  His statement to the oil company executives that their profits didn't seem fair gives one a lot of insight.  He knows better but he will play/pander to the crowd he favors.  He 'feels' as do most liberals.  He doesn't necessarily reason.  He has his millions, so he can set out to control everyone else who aspires to similar success.

Sen. Kohl is but one of the 535 members of congress.  Too many of those men and women are too intent on keeping their offices to actually vote the way they probably know they should.  You have probably heard the old phrase that states you must "go along to get along".  That should be inscribed over the doorways leading to the House and the Senate chambers since it is the rule that is followed by the vast majority of people who walk through those portals.  That is true on the national stage, the state stage and the local stage.

The people who go to Washington and who do not give in and play by the Washingtonian rules are few and very far between.

Whose fault is this dilemma in the final analysis?  Yours and mine. 

We're the men and women who have permitted this to happen.  We don't vote in the House or the Senate, but we do elect those who do...and we do not seem to unelect people very often once they've gotten into office.  Rep. Steve Kagen (D) from the Appleton area stands for re-election this November.  He is at his most defeatable point historically.  If he survives the first re-election campaign and keeps his seat, he is likely to be in that seat for so long as he desires without regard to how he votes or doesn't vote.

We're so unconcerned about our vote, it seems, that we don't even think voting is sacrosanct enough to require valid photo identification before we're permitted to cast a ballot. 

So, all this angst has been brought to us by us.  Remember that the next time you buy gasoline or diesel fuel.  Remember that the next time you go to the grocery store and try to make your food budget stretch.  Remember that when you ponder whether or not you'll be able to take a vacation this year, or buy new school clothing for your children, or go out for a fish fry.  Remember that when you try to stretch your retirement income to cover your basic needs.

And, when you've gotten yourself all 'cranked up', if that happens, make a resolution to get involved and stay involved and to talk with your elected representatives at every level of government and let them know what you think and what you want them to do on your behalf.  And, if they fail you, fire them with your vote at the polling place.

Had you and I done that two decades ago instead of simply going with the flow, maybe we'd not be in the situation we find ourselves in today.

Randall Melchert has announced that he is seeking election to the Assembly seat (24th District) being vacated by Sue Jeskewitz at the end of her current term.

He is the son of a prominent Menomonee Falls couple and the family has deep roots in the Falls.  Randy, as he calls himself, declares himself to be conservative and his stated positions suggest that he may be quite conservative.  His campaign site (www.randymelchert.com) contains position statements on a variety of subjects.  He is a member of the Waukesha Republican Party.

Among his areas of expertise is apparently that of debate skills.  That should serve him well in both his campaign and in the Assembly if he is victorious.

I have extended an invitation to him to engage readers by responding to questions that will be published on Curmudgeon's Corner much as we've begun doing in the Senate race.  I hope he will accept that invitation.

There is, so far, no indication of any opponents but that may develop over the coming weeks.