Wisconsin is home to an estimated 740 million ash trees - most of them found in the forests across the state with more than 5 million of those trees to be found in our urban communities. 

Since I last posted on this subject in May of this year the Emerald Ash Borer (EAB) has been discovered in Wisconsin.

It has long been expected that EAB was here - it being only a matter of time until it was located.

Enjoy your ash trees while you can because it looks like we're in for difficult fight.

Since it's discovery in Michigan six years ago, the pest has killed-off an estimated 25 million trees in the 10 states where it has been found.  This is an efficient killer - moving faster and with deadlier results than Dutch Elm Disease.

The larva of the beetle spends its life feasting beneath the bark of ash trees. The tree suffers extensive damage to its vascular system, depriving the tree's crown of water and nutrients until it dies.

According to Wauwatosa Parks and Forestry Superintendent, Kenneth Walbrandt, about seventeen percent of the city trees are ash.  Wauwatosa has already modified its master planting plan to favor alternative species in light of the unavoidable arrival of the ash borer.   

So what's going to happen when the borer arrives?  "We intend to use all of the tools at our disposal, especially the expertise of the people at the Department of Agricultural" says Walbrandt.  

For the present, the city plans to go above and beyond what Wisconsin's Department of Agriculture Trade and Consumer Protection recommends, with a plan to identify diseased city trees, take them down and process them in the city yard - chipping them and composting the debris.

So what can you do to slow the arrival?

For starters - don't move firewood into Tosa.  Purchase and use local firewood. 

The critter doesn't travel too far on its own but can cover a great deal of territory when unsuspecting people haul infested firewood from one location to another.

Now that EAB has been located in the counties to the north - do not transport or use firewood that was purchased, stored, harvested in, or that has in any way entered Ozaukee, Washington, Sheboygan, or Fond du Lac counties.  These counties are under quarantine.

I you observe crown die-back report it.  Same for other symptoms of a potential infestation like sprouting at the tree's base and D-shaped holes in the bark.  Call 1-800-462-2803 or e-mail DATCPEmeraldAshBorer@wisconsin.gov.

In the mean time you can probably expect to see a new infestation following on the heels of the EAB - con artists looking rip you-off.

Tom

Now that the flood has crested the city has decided to give away free sand - ostensibly so we can build a bunker or dike around our homes and businesses.

Too little too late?

To prepare for the next flood event you can purchase sand bags here.

For any of you who haven't recently constructed a bunker from scratch - it's back-breaking work.

Since these hundred year floods happen so frequently I propose that the city let us build our sand bag levees and leave them in place - permanently.

Tosa would look more like Beirut.

On a serious note here's a simple tip that I've used in the past to keep that nasty back-up out of the basement:

A standpipe for the floor drain.

For less than $20 you can purchase a length of PVC pipe and a rubber donut gasket to afix around the end.

Jam the thing into the floor drain.

When the sewer backs up, the water stays in the pipe. The system works unless the backup is so deep that it goes over the top of the pipe. 

Trust me - this really works. 

I suppose things could get so bad that the pipe could blow -but it's never happened to me.

Tom

By now you've heard about the Emerald Ash Borer - EAB for short.

EAB is a non-native insect - an exotic Asian gift courtesy of global commerce that likely traveled stateside in a wooden packing crate.

It's a gift that keeps on giving and an expensive one at that.  Losses resulting from EAB infestations are estimated at $157,000 to $665,000 per 1000 urban residents.  That doesn't include losses to nurseries, the forest products industry and woodland owners.  Those numbers would be staggering.

It would seem that while the infestation has practically surrounded us this destructive little critter hasn't shown-up in Wauwatosa.  At least that we're aware-of.

When it does - this is what we have to look forward to:

I'm old enough to remember the cathedral-like elm trees that lined the city streets. 

It will be interesting to see how Tosans cope with another massive tree die-off and its aesthetic and fiscal consequences.

Anyway - this week is Emerald Ash Borer Awareness Week.

Keep a sharp eye out for the symptoms and signs of EAB infestation and call the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection if you see this bugger:

The hotline is: 1-800-462-2803

Read about Wisconsin's current management strategy.

Tom

PS - The critter doesn't travel very far on its own.  Movement of infested firewood is generally how it travels long distances.  Remember that.

The Joint Committee on the Preparation of the Comprehensive City Plan is the group charged with reviewing the city's master plan on a regular basis.

You know - the vision thing that's been bandied-about in the four public mayoral forums.

The group is composed of members of the City Plan Commission, representatives of the Tosa Common Council and the mayor.

Meeting dates are scheduled months in-advance so that the Committee can be counted-upon to meet and do the people's business.

Guess what.

There was a meeting scheduled for last night and only one Council member was in attendance - Jerry Stepaniak.

I know that Alderman Treis had a good excuse.  I suspect there might be other Council members who have a good excuse.  If they want to share - post it here.  

If any Council members were at a fundraiser for a certain mayoral candidate the taxpayers are looking forward to your posting of an explanation. 

Tom 

Edited to include additional useful links.

The final organized Public Forum devoted to Tosa's mayoral race was held on Thursday, March 13th.  I was there and it was excellent.  I was told that approximately 120 people attended.

The students at Tosa East and Tosa West along with WauwatosaNOW deserve a big hand for all of their hard work in making this happen. 

I have now been to all four of the public forums and two observations stand-out:

I have the candidate's presentations committed to memory.  They both do a reasonable job of consistently repeating their respective messages.

Also, each forum has been a reunion of sorts as I'm always bumping into long and fast Tosa acquaintances.  For instance, the East faculty member that assisted the students at this venue was a classmate with my daughter all the way from Roosevelt to Longfellow through East High School. 

This is the culture of community that Tosa is all about.

According to my Debate Index Calculator - Candidate Stepaniak is the winner.  A copy of my notes are here:  TosaEastForum.pdf

Didier 112 Points and Stepaniak 279 Points

Some observations:

Pandering is back - with Didier injecting the word crime into unrelated topics or using it more than needed. 

When asked about the plans for Hart park she strayed into the past by stating that "the city never had a plan".  This bugs me and I know is has rankled others.  She said the same thing in the March 3rd forum.  She didn't misspeak. 

The truth of the matter is that there has been a Master Plan dating back to 2001.  Candidate Didier has known about this all along.  She was on the committee that is responsible for the Plan.   

Does the candidate have a poor memory, is she engaging in double speak or trolling for votes by misrepresentation? 

If the candidate is so wrong about this can you trust the accuracy of her other statements?  

What we know for sure is that the hard working folks from the city, the Park Board, and volunteers from a variety of community groups might not appreciate their countless hours spent working on the Plan over the last seven years being summarily rejected out of hand.

The loss of only two points but a major faux pas. 

When asked about the lifting of the bonding cap her answer was a rhetorical question about why it wasn't raised years ago - ostensibly before her less than 2 year tenure on the Council. 

Of what use to us is this query today? 

A useful debate adage is never to answer a question with another question.  A correct answer would have provided substantive details about alternative(s).  Redirecting a question to a different subject or backsliding into crime was a reoccurring mistake by the candidate.

Both candidates were Righteous and Hopeful although Stepaniak scored higher on this measure.

As for vision Didier certainly is enthusiastic but fails in taking enthusiasm to the next level - tell us the details please.  Stepaniak comes across as a policy wonk and played his strong suit of being detailed to the point of routinely running out of time.

Everyone was on their best behavior.

Intangibles: Candidate Didier made a point of stepping away from the podium which resulted in sporadic loss of the mic.  Candidate Stepaniak could have been more animated.  The house lights were turned-off and I struggled with my notes and pens in the darkness.  Next time I will pack my headlamp.

There is some time yet leading-up to the election so I'll probably post an observation or two on subjects brought-up in these forums that are deserving of more attention.

Stay tuned.

Tom

Three Forums so far - good ones I might add.

The February 21st forum conducted by the West Suburban Chamber of Commerce has had the largest turnout.  The questions were good.

The February 25th forum held at Eisenhower School included standout questions but was not as well-attended as I would have hoped.

Monday night's forum at St. Matt's included the best of both worlds - good attendance (I counted 60 people) and great questions.  Did you know this was my wife's idea?  Really it was.  She suggested it and I acted on it by contacting the League of Women Voters (LWV).

All the credit goes to the Milwaukee County League of Women Voters for doing the heavy lifting and for St. Matthew Church for providing the venue.  Bravo to them.

According to my Debate Index Calculator (the evening's notes are here: LWV Forum.pdf) candidate Stepaniak was the clear winner.

Stepaniak 160 Points and Didier 109 Points

Here are my immediate observations:

No pandering!  Can you believe it.  The candidates must have been inoculated or something.

Candidate Didier - Received a 2 point penalty for resurrecting the past in her assertion that there has been a lack of planning for Hart Park.  That's simply not true.  The city, many citizens and civic groups have spent countless hours and have been actively engaged in the process of directing the future of the Park. 

Both candidates scored very closely on being Righteous and Hopeful.

Again, Stepaniak's strong suite is detail on the Clear Vision thing; however, Didier is showing gains.  Both made good arguments directed toward their leadership strengths and how their respective administrations would be different.

Candidate Didier needs to renounce the use of clichés.  It's a style thing in public speaking.  The word proactive was used more times than needed. To her credit she admitted to this in one of her responses. No point reductions though.

Intangibles: Stepaniak has a folksy style.  Didier has a rah rah style.  They both need to change their wardrobe and mix it up.

Candidate Didier's closing statements alleged that candidate Stepaniak was a liar on the matter of her voting against the budget that included two new police officer positions. 

The gist of it was that the complicated budget proceedings allowed for money to be spent litigating the levying of property taxes on heretofore tax-exempt independent senior living centers.  Therefore, if money could be spent on litigation and not on cops, then money shouldn't be spent on one or the other or maybe both - which was why she voted against the budget.  I had trouble with the convoluted logic behind this and others in the audience had trouble making the connection as well. 

My suggestion is to adopt the KISS axiom to make difficult concepts easier for everyone.  No deduction of points.

Bottom line - Didier lost her endorsement from the cops to Stepaniak in this election.  

Since candidate Didier brought-up the subject of taxing senior living facilities (not me) I think the subject is deserving of a closer examination - in another post.

A copy of the calculator for you to use at the next forum can be found here: Debate Index Calculator.pdf

Bring one to the next candidate forum which will be:

Thursday, March 13 at 7:00 PM, at Wauwatosa East High School, 7500 Milwaukee Avenue.  Brought to you by WauwatosaNOW, in partnership with the two local high school newspapers - The Cardinal News and West Side Stories.

Score the candidates and have some serious fun. 

Tom

Ok.

I have been to a couple of the Tosa mayoral candidate forums and it is time to unveil the -

Gas Pains Debate Index Calculator

I just recently thought this up and it is very scientific.

It might possibly be brilliant.

Stay with me on this as I explain the intricacies.

I begin with the premise that certain terminology, tossed-about without any context, such as: crime, tough on crime, fiscal responsibility, balanced budget, free universal health care, free beer, no new taxes, I will lower your taxes, Jim Doyle is my drinking buddy, or a chicken in every pot, are mere pandering.  Candidates shouldn't receive credit for pandering to the voters. Politicians only do it because they think it works.  (Hint - don't encourage them - it's like feeding pigeons).

To discourage pandering the index deducts one point every time a phrase like this is uttered out of the context of an answer to a question requiring the use of the word.

Similarly, the Index deducts two points with every utterance that resurrects the past - when used out of the context of answering a question requiring it.  The past is history.  There is no voting on the past - only the future.

The index has a positive bias.  Therefore, utterances that are righteous and hopeful along with clearly outlined visions (as opposed to vague and nebulous generalizations) are to be rewarded.  Candidates earn ten points each time an uplifting and positive point of view or clear vision is articulated.  Details are critical which is why the points are higher.

The index encourages healthy debate and takes a dim view of negativity. 

A candidate who takes a cheap shot - an assertion not supported by factual evidence - gets five points deducted from their score.  The index is neutral on snarkiness as a candidate who engages in it does so at their own peril.

If things get really out-of-hand and a candidate uses a disparaging term such as cat poop or booger to describe their opponent they get a ten point deduction.

Each candidate starts at zero and the candidate with the highest net score (their index) is the forum winner.

The beauty of the Index Calculator is that you can score the candidates yourself.

The absolute scientific genius of it is that any personal biases are built-into the complex algorithm.

Clever, eh?

Yes - you can even delude yourself into believing a candidate without a hope can possibly win reelection - if they show-up for a debate.  A certain former State Senator comes to mind - but I digress.

As for the February 25th Forum at Eisenhower School - here are my results:

Didier - Score +50

Observations-

1.  Reduce pandering.  Unsolicited use of the word crime almost 20 times.  (Remember - no penalty for words used to answer a question requiring their use).

2.  No resurrection of the past.

3.  I think regular town hall meetings are a terrific idea.  Has potential to be more righteous and hopeful (candidate's strong suite) if can overcome lack of detail - see #6.

4.  Clear vision suffers from lack of detail - see #6.

5.  No cheap shots that counted.  Some snideness about the challenger running over time.  The moderator offered the candidate additional time.  The candidate struggled to fill the additional time.  Dead air isn't good in a debate - refer to #6.

6.  Needs more detail.  Routinely falls-back on clichés such as:  reach across the table, come to the table, hit the ground running, new blood, keep the ball in the air - at the expense of furnishing details.  Can do a better job of staying on topic and being certain to answer the question directly.

The candidate pooh-poohed the challenger's endorsement by the Tosa police union - insinuating that endorsements require the mayor to be beholding to other interests.  The candidate must have forgotten her own endorsement by the Magnificent Six announced in a press release written in her own hand only a couple of weeks ago. 

The cops' endorsement is bad, but political cronies' endorsement is good?  No impact on points but a faux pas that left a bad impression. Ugh.

I was puzzled at the glowing suck-up to Alderman Donegan - no change in points but what the heck was that about?  

Intangibles - Likable public presence.

__________________________________________________________________________

Stepaniak - Score +166

Observations-

1.  Little use of pandering terms.

2.  No resurrection of the past.

3.  I liked the comment early-on about raising the level of discourse.  Righteous and hopeful was good - could be better.

4.  Outstanding on the issue of clear vision.  Good command of the facts and excellent detail.   Thoughtful and substantive.

The candidate needs to be mindful of time limits.  If you get too windy you get the hook.

Intangibles - Might remind you of your favorite uncle. 

 ____________________________________________________________________________

My Forum notes are here Eisenhower Forum.pdf

The Calculator still has some bugs in it and I want to get them resolved.  After April 1st, I expect to have a viable tool for use during the Presidential debates.  I already know I have to redesign the sheet for spacing.  I can probably save the Potty Mouth category for presidential debates.  Any opinions about adjusting the point system?

The Tosa mayoral race is an ideal proving ground - so your feedback and suggestions are welcome.

I sense the Calculator will be around to score forums featuring McCain and Obama.  That's gonna be a real gas.

In my continuing effort to provide a valuable public service you can conveniently print a copy of the calculator from here:  Debate Index Calculator.pdf.  

Take a copy along with a pencil to the next forum which will be: 

Monday, March 3rd - 6:30 PM at St. Matthew Church meeting hall - 1615 Wauwatosa Avenue.  Sponsored by St. Matt's and the Milwaukee County League of Women Voters.

Good luck and have some serious fun.

Tom

______________________________________________________________________________________________________

Edit 2-28-08    Here is a copy of WPOA's endorsement of candidate Stepaniak

This past Saturday hundreds of woodland owners from southeast Wisconsin gathered at the Country Springs Hotel and Conference Center for what we figure might have been our 30th or so winter conference.  Inasmuch as it's the second largest woodland owner gathering in the state you'd think they'd keep better track of how many times they've done this.

As a participant in the conference's organizing committee I was there to make sure everything went-off without a hitch.

In the ballroom to the north of us was a smaller gathering; a group calling themselves Americans for Prosperity - Defending the American Dream.  You can learn more about them here.  They appear to be big believers of free markets.

Anyway, the tree people had some issues with the prosperity people.  Seems they kept helping themselves to our breakfast as they wandered about the conference center.  Some wag even suggested that was likely how they got to be so prosperous.  I figured it to be a simple misunderstanding.  They probably have tree nurseries, John Deere implement dealers and portable logging winches on display all the time when they put food out at their meetings.  

The confusion was cleared-up with a simple announcement.

I bumped into some personal friends attending the American Dream meeting - and a handful of Republican politicians I am acquainted with.  I had a nice chat with former State Senator Tom Reynolds who told me about his new PAC.  I introduced myself to a conservative blogger from Boots and Sabers. 

What struck me about the two groups was the dichotomy in attire. 

Dark, conservative business suits contrasted by Carhartt dungarees, denim shirts and cammo ball caps.  Talk about two different worlds.

Today I read a comment posted over at Boots and Sabers about an exhibitor at the woodland owners meeting - the Wisconsin Farmer's Union.  The comment was obliquely non-complimentary - as if the farmers were somehow subversive.

As a conference organizer I can tell you that our exhibitors pay to be there.  They don't attend unless they have something they think woodland owners are interested in.  The Farmer's Union was there to pitch, among other things, a program they sponsor which allows tree farmers who engage in specific afforestation and reforestation practices to sell carbon credits through their aggregator program.

Trees are incredible carbon sequesters.  Imagine getting paid to engage in these practices. 

What a novel idea - a new market to trade in. 

However, gazing toward the north ballroom I somehow figured this idea would not settle very well with the prosperity people.

The conservative right hasn't been very receptive to embracing the notion of trading carbon credits.

Uh-oh.  Another dichotomy.  Free economics is good as long as it doesn't involve trading carbon credits. 

I got to thinking.

What a novel idea - a new market to trade in.

The markets have evolved ever since.  They don't just trade stocks.  That is the beauty of a free market.

Decades from now there will be trading in things we haven't dreamed possible.

As for the concept of trading carbon credits - if it is such a bad idea why is it that Wall Street and private equity firms are all over it?

Let the markets decide the success or failure of this idea.

Isn't that what free markets are all about?

Capitalism - living the American Dream.

Tom

Wait a 'sec - almost forgot!

I saw someone else from the prosperity meeting.

The double-take when she saw me was priceless!

I think it was the identical twin sister of one of the Tosa mayoral candidates.

Comments below and visit the TTS for more. 

What's with the Tosa Council members that don't want to put this matter of replacing Station 1 before the voters in April?

You will find them here. 

Am I the only Tosan growing weary of the endless talk with no action? 

You've been discussing this matter for almost THREE YEARS.

What?  Is that an insufficient amount of time?

Put this matter before the voters and let's get this over with.

If any of you readers feel the same way you can contact your alder-person here. 

You can tell them you want a binding referendum or you can tell them you want more foot dragging.

You pick.

Tom

A recent commentator to this blog quite reasonably suggested the following:

It will be interesting how TTS fits in the race since its a mix of people like me....don't know these people and those who are personal friends of a particular candidate.  I kind of think that such things should be declared so people know what context the cheap shot or rousing praise comes from.

I agree. 

A perfectly legitimate suggestion.

In the interest of full and fair disclosure this is as good a time as any to tell you where I stand. 

Allow me to begin with candidate Didier.  

I can tell you that she is not a personal friend.

She is one of my alder-persons so I know of her.  

In the short time she has been in the position of alder-person I can tell you that until recently she has always been prompt in responding to anything I had to say.

Preceding her kicking the Mayoral campaign into high gear last year I was somewhat ambivalent about her as she hadn't been in city government sufficiently long enough to form any strong opinions - good or bad.

She never sought me out for support. 

When the Didier Campaign engaged far right wing radio and the peripheral blogosphere to attack the Mayor last year I viewed that as a particularly unsavory development.

The vast majority of Tosans don't want to listen to extremist fanaticism along with its attendant personal attacks.

Didier never considered that the mayor might not run for reelection. 

She over-reached. 

It is for her exceedingly short tenure in city government and her premature, yet enthusiastic embrace of the far-right that I will not support Ms. Didier.

On the matter of candidate Stepaniak I can tell you that he also is not a personal friend. 

Until recently I only knew of the guy as a former Common Council President. 

What is noteworthy is he sought me out.  He told me he wanted an opportunity to tell me about himself and his vision for Tosa. 

We met.  We talked. 

He asked for my support. 

I told him no, that I would have to think about it. 

Apparently I thought about it sufficiently long enough that he sought me out again.  So, we talked some more and I thought about it for quite some time.

My conclusion:  Stepaniak is a bright guy with good ideas and a clear vision for Tosa.  He also has the most executive experience. 

I spent half my life in business - I get it.

In short, experience matters and that would make him the most qualified. 

My wife and I contributed $50 to his campaign.

In closing I would like to add that in the continuing spirit of full and fair disclosure and in the interest of performing a valuable public service-

I am saving you all $4.25 and a trip to the city clerk's office. 

You can peruse the candidate's Campaign Finance Reports here.

didier.pdf and stepaniak.pdf.

I'm sure you will find them revealing.

Bon Appetit!

Tom

The Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters held their annual Conservation Lobby Day in Madison on Wednesday.

As an avid hunter, fisherman and conservationist this stuff is important so I took the day-off to become a citizen lobbyist.

No tassel-toed loafers or martini-infused parties.  No pay or pay-off.  

I met-up with a bunch of folks that were from the 5th Senate District and both the 13th and neighboring Assembly Districts.

This included many Tosans I've come to know over the years.  One new friend was a recently retired conservation warden.  We compared notes on Dakota pheasant hunting. 

I ran into friends from other parts of the state that were there representing various hunting, fishing and woodland organizations.  

What we have in common is we hunt, fish and vote.  It is refreshing to see so many people who care so much about Wisconsin's resources take a day out of their lives to drive-home that point.. 

The crowd included a mix of suits, business casual, cammo, boots and jeans.

I was looking forward to meeting with Senator Jim Sullivan and Representative David Cullen and the opportunity to share my views. 

The League had previously scheduled time for our group to meet with them.  Very cool.

A similar foray a couple of years ago was disappointing. 

My attempt to hold a conversation with the previous State Senator could be described as...er, let's just say it was akin to trying to carry-on a conversation with a stump - but I digress.

This year's attendance was lighter as the previous night's blizzard cut into the travel of attendees from the further reaches of the state.

There was the usual welcome and preliminaries.

The Lieutenant Governor, Barbara Lawton, stopped by to visit.

She claimed she knows how to pee in the woods just like the rest of us.

Discussion and strategy followed.

I was chosen to speak to legislators about the Hunter, Trapper, Angler Bill of Rights.

Over the past number of years management of Wisconsin's natural resources has become increasingly politicized.  A handful of examples include nonsense such as an attempt to allow the snowmobile lobby to dictate the Wisconsin deer season framework. The committee chair happened to be tight with their lobbyist.  Or legislators raiding the Stamp Fund accounts; plugging holes in the state budget by stealing segregated funds voluntarily paid by hunters and anglers for turkey, pheasant and great lakes fish.

That stinks.

So, I took the opportunity to lobby for the restoration of the appointment authority for the DNR Secretary to the Natural Resources Board (NRB)  - reconciliation of Senate Bill 15 and Assembly Bill 504 if it passes.

I asked for support of Senate Bill 422, requiring that the state Senate vote on NRB nominees within six months of their nomination.  Stop playing games with the nominees and allow them a straight up and down vote.

With a weakening economy, budget forecasts aren't very promising, so there's a good chance some legislator is going to be drooling with anticipation over the prospects of swiping funds for a pet project outdoors folks know nothing about.  I lobbied for the support of Assembly Joint Resolution 34 which would prohibit transfer of funds from sportsman's and sportswoman's stamp accounts.

On this matter - hunters and anglers had best be vigilant.

We had a satisfying visit with Senator Sullivan.

He knows his stuff and appeared supportive of issues we discussed.  (It is possible we ran over into the time alloted to the Beer Distributors - but that's OK - on he way out we assured them of our support for beer.)

Representative Cullen was absent and while he has a good voting record on these issues we were disappointed in having to meet with one of his aides.

The wrap-up included a wild game feed of bear, venison, raccoon, salmon and pheasant.

With my stomach growling I had to take a pass and get back to Tosa on other business.

I'll be following-up with Sullivan, Cullen and others on these and related issues.

Thanks to the more than 70 outdoor, wildlife and conservation groups that supported this event - especially the 15 organizations that sponsored the wild game feed. 

I'll be going back next year.

You might consider doing so yourself.

Tom

PS -

Contact your legislators and ask them to support adoption of the Great Lakes Compact.

If you wait until you hear the great sucking sound of our water going to the arid southwest it will be too late.

For Wisconsin it's an economic issue.

I shoot arrows with a couple of hunting buddies once a week and we go out for dinner afterward.  Over dinner the conversation generally shifts from someone's crappy form or high score to politics.  Anyway, it usually does.  At least lately.

Last night Braumeister pointed-out that conservative pundits - radio and cable - were all lining-up to bash John McCain as not being conservative enough to deserve the Republican nomination for president.  (For the uninitiated this phenomenon has been labeled: McCain Derangement Syndrome.)  He was rather taken aback by this - at one point brandishing a meatball on a fork and sputtering, they've labeled McCain a liberal !

After puzzling over this persistent interest in the hijacking of the Republican Party by elements of the extreme right, replete with their collective anger-management issues, we shake our heads and conclude that this is the stuff over which elections are lost.  Go figure.

There has been some very recent chatter over at the TTS about conservatives, liberals and government policy. It's interesting stuff and a remarkably civil discussion.  You might want to read it and chime-in.  I finally posted some observations last night as it seemed timely - considering the dinner conversation.

During my lunch break today, I read the New York Times while pounding out my miles on the treadmill and I absorbed a very compelling editorial by David Brooks. 

Brooks argues that a funny thing has happened this primary season. Conservative voters have not followed their conservative leaders. Conservative voters are much more diverse than the image you’d get from conservative officialdom.

Brooks concludes that the Republican Party, even in its shrunken state, is diverse. Regular Republican voters don’t seem to mind independent thinking. There’s room for moderates as well as orthodox conservatives. Limbaugh, Grover Norquist and James Dobson have influence, but they are not arbiters of conservative doctrine.

It might be seemingly coincidental that three archery nuts, a Tosa message board and a Times columnist all opined upon such closely related topics. 

I think not.

What I sense is a growing backlash among moderate Republicans and independent conservatives who have had their fill of a government that seeks to intrude into so many aspects of a citizen's private life, run-away spending by the current occupant of the White House (ostensibly a conservative) and the general name-calling and marginalization of anyone in the middle who doesn't unquestioningly embrace the extreme right's brand of political correctness. 

That stinks and I figure I'm not the only person to hold that view.

So what does this have to do with the Tosa mayoral race?

I think it has everything to do with the tone of the debate as each of the candidates stake-out their positions leading up to the election - that is if there ever is to be a real debate.  (That being another topic of discussion).

Last fall, the Didier Campaign's opening salvo was calculated to use conservative daytime radio in an attempt to exploit a largely phantom issue and turn it to the candidate's political advantage.

My guess was they figured conservative media would seize upon the opportunity to attack the incumbent Mayor.  They would be correct.

In a couple of posts I called-out candidate Didier over this issue. 

If you use the correct bait you usually get a bite.  Sometimes you get to set the hook.  What was revealing about the angry exchange that ensued was who the candidate's acolytes were.    

Personally, I think it a tactical error as the Mayor sucker-punched them later with the announcement that she wasn't running for reelection.  So chalk it up to inexperience.

Since then things have been quiet.  At least I think they have.  In the sweatshop where I work no one has the time to indulge in daytime conservative radio so maybe I've missed something.

Anyway, I'm hopeful that the campaign discourse remains civil and informative.  Without Terry Estness in the race it is possible that we have been spared a record amount of vitriolic rage from the far right.  Time will tell.

I'm still waiting for a series of debates.

Heck, I'd be satisfied with just one really big, city-wide debate - but I'll not hold my breath.

Cluck!

Tom

A Trivia riddle. 

I was born in Germany in 1881 and died in America in 1936.

I played a significant role in Wauwatosa's history.

Who am I and precisely what did I do?

_________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

WOW!  Nobody got this wrong.

Aside from the comments posted below I received a pile of emails - all with correct answers.

Dr. Werner Hegemann was instrumental in designing Wauwatosa's Highlands.  You can read all about it here.

Again, Beanhead was the first person to post the correct answer.  Good for you Bean.  If you want to collect your stocking stuffer you know the drill.

There is a development occurring far to the west of us on a remaining Pabst Farms property.  

I wonder if it will become a lasting gem of urban planning that the Highlands has become?

The comments board is open.

Have a very Merry Christmas everyone.

Tom

P.S. If you have a MORE DIFFICULT Tosa Trivia challenge you'd like published send me an email.  Someone needs to put this Beanhead to the test!

Ha.  I thought that title would grab you.

While having coffee with girlfriend this morning I mused over the attention that this topic seems to have garnered.  It has occurred to me that more than once someone has postulated that the Greatest Generation has paid enough in taxes (or something to that effect) and seniors shouldn't pay any more in property taxes.

Curiously this view has been advanced by some ostensibly conservative individuals.

So, the question of the day is this:

Should seniors in general, whether they live in their own home or in an independent living community, pay property taxes at all?

If so, why? 

If not, why not?

Should all seniors be eligible for PILOT payments? 

Should there be a means test?

Is the Wisconsin homestead credit a sufficient subsidy?

I'm interested in your feedback.

Maybe we'll even have one of the three announced mayoral candidates chime-in on the subject.

Just so you know - my personal and professional life and the girlfriend are off-limits; so play nice.

Tom