Three years ago, Bush fiddled while New Orleans drowned
August 29, 2008
Oh, there I go again making mistakes in my blog post headlines. Bush didn’t fiddle. I don’t know if he played his guitar. But Bush most definitely did eat cake with John McCain while Hurricane Katrina came ashore.
Or at least they held a cake. But they couldn’t bother to eat it. According to Newsweek,
“It was Aug. 29, McCain’s 69th birthday, and on the tarmac, Bush presented his old political rival with a cake. The two posed, holding the cake up for cameras, and within seconds, went their separate ways. The cake, melting in the 110-degree Arizona heat, was left behind, uneaten.”
So while the levies broke, they had cake, but chose not to eat it.
And after the levies broke, over 1,800 people in a major American city drowned.
That is chief among many reasons why I call him President FAIL.
Oh no, Soviet icons on display. Evil must be afoot. *yawn*
August 27, 2008
It’s funny when psuedojournalists try to raise a tizzy about something. Tim over at The Other Side of My Mouth pauses to wonder why on earth some local right-wing bloggers with a slow news day are trying to make hay over “a video of a trip to Burlington Coat Factory where are found — gasp — Soviet era clothing and other items.”
As I commented over there, “Don’t tell them I have and wear this shirt in public. Or my Beatallica (a rocking Milwaukee band) ‘Blackened the U.S.S.R.’ t-shirt.”
Definitely don’t tell them that I’ve been hypothesizing that Bush and Putin have been waging a low-level new cold cold war for several years now. It’s not quite like the old Cold War, although there are many resemblances. But my question is, why would Russia support an independent North Ossetia when they’re still trying to crush the uprising in Chechnya? I would think that support of independence for one would indicate support of independence for all. But maybe it’s more about Moscow establishing control of its former Soviet empire, itself a product of Stalin’s quest to secure Russia from land invasion after the Great Patriotic War.
That’s all.
Drinking Liberally article in the Shepherd Express
August 27, 2008
Just as we’re getting Eating Liberally started, the Shepherd Express has a new article on Drinking Liberally. Good timing, eh? (Thanks, Kathy!)
A ramble through the garden
August 26, 2008
With all the tizzy about the primary and the historic presidential election, I’m glad I can return to my gardens for a few minutes. While these things (politics) are important, there’s nothing like working the soil and reconnecting with the earth. I’m no tree-hugger, but I sure am a dirt-lover!
It was none other than President Abraham Lincoln, who said in his address to the Wisconsin State Agricultural Society on September 30, 1859:
“…no other human occupation opens so wide a field for the profitable and agreeable combination of labor with cultivated thought, as agriculture. I know of nothing so pleasant to the mind, as the discovery of anything which is at once new and valuable — nothing which so lightens and sweetens toil, as the hopeful pursuit of such discovery. And how vast, and how varied a field is agriculture, for such discovery. The mind, already trained to thought, in the country school, or higher school, cannot fail to find there an exhaustless source of profitable enjoyment.”
Be it urban farming, mini-agriculture, or whatever you wish to call it, I could not agree more. We have had at least three major harvests from our Milwaukee gardens this year. Back when I was in elemenatary school, I had the impression from the songs we sang and living somewhat near Wisconsin farms that there was one big harvest, and that everything grew all at once during the summer to be harvested in the fall. Looking back now, that seems just a little simplistic. But it also tells me something about how used to industrial agriculture and supermarket culture we are today. Watching the rise of corn fields (and the later rise of McMansions where the corn fields once stood) is actually a useless in telling how food is grown. If there was just one harvest per year, how could we survive? How could our ancestors have survived the countless centuries before the corner grocer had the essentials we need? They couldn’t. It was an ongoing process or farming, foraging, gathering, hunting, and fishing. While it would be hard to hunt for my family’s food (in the city of Milwaukee?!), I can raise a lot of food crops. In fact, you can raise a huge amount of food in a very small space, much more than you’d think possible. As I said, we just had our third harvest. Granted, it was small, much smaller than the first two, but it was still significant, as it provided most of two meals.
You’re calling that significant? Yes I am. That’s an impressive yield for a totally amateur urban gardener in his first year of gardening. Two meals is a lot more than I suspected I could get from a garden prior to doing it. And I know I’ve barely scratched the surface.
Endorsement: Rep. Sinicki for State Assembly
August 25, 2008
In just a few days, Milwaukee’s south side will have a small but important election on September 9 that will decide who is our representative in the Wisconsin state assembly. Because there are only three candidates in that race, and all of them are running as Democrats, that means whoever wins the primary election will also win the seat.
Rep. Christine Sinicki has been our representative for the past ten years, and she deserves to keep the seat. I generally agree with the Journal Sentinel on why she should stay there:
“We believe 10-year incumbent Christine Sinicki, 48, has earned another term in office in this southeast Milwaukee County district, based on her service to constituents and her work on several key issues, such as equal pay for women and minorities, the Kenosha-Racine-Milwaukee commuter rail proposal and education.”
Unlike JS, I do agree with her on so-called “school choice.” Sinicki has been working to raise accountability for these sometimes fly-by-night schools. If our tax dollars are going to pay for something, we should be able to have a hold on what they do and how they run themselves. Receiving assistance from the state inherently means that your enterprise is not solely private, despite attempts to cast it as such.
Her opponents, who seem to be Republicans in Democratic clothing, have not made a sufficient argument as to why Rep. Sinicki should be replaced, and more importantly, how they would do a better job. Attempts to tar her as anti-Catholic are laughable at best; if Sinicki is anti-Catholic, how do you explain this picture of her chatting with a member of the Archdiocese of Milwaukee? Second, billing her as a “tax-and-spend liberal” carries little weight when Republican state and federal administrations who have racked up record debt and fiscal insolvency. Attacking her based on past finacial problems is not sufficient means to unseat her, especially when one of her opponents may be in the race because of his own such problems.
Rep. Sinicki knows we need to make sigificant investments in our infrastructure — not just new highways, but in rail and other means of access. She has been very accessible to her consituents, and has done a good job of representing us. On September 9, let’s give her another term in the state legislature. She deserves it.
Announcing Eating Liberally!
August 24, 2008
It gives me great pleasure to announce that Eating Liberally will begin meeting this September!
This newest liberal-minded social group offers something not found at Drinking Liberally — food! And as often as we can get it, food that was locally grown. Imagine the good conversations you’ve had at DL, suffused with the sights and smells of some of our favorite local eateries. Sound good? Here’s the low-down:
* Eating Liberally meets on the FIRST Wednesday of each month. (D.L. meets an hour later on the third Wednesday.)
* Our initial get-together will be at 6PM on Wednesday, September 3 at Transfer, 101 W. Mitchell Street. See below for details.
* We plan to eat at a different restaurant each time, some west, some south. We will come back to Transfer every few months.
* Bring your kids and friends; it’s all-ages!
* We plan to eat at local farmers markets in the summer of 2009!
The first get-together will be on Wednesday, September 3 at Transfer Pizzeria Cafe, located at 101 W. Mitchell Street at the intersection of First & Mitchell. On Transfer’s “Walker Rebate Wednesdays” — which happens to be when Eating Liberally meets — anyone who rides the bus or bikes to Transfer gets a 10% 20% (!) discount on their order. Finally, something you can thank Scott Walker for!
The next two Eating Liberally get-togethers will be on Wednesday, October 1 at Beans & Barley, 1901 E. North Avenue on Milwaukee’s upper east side, and a post-Election Day gathering on November 5 at Bella’s Fat Cat, 2737 S. Kinnickinnic Avenue in Bay View. (Hopefully we’ll have a lot to celebrate!) Then on December 3, we’ll round off the year back at Transfer.
In 2009, Eating Liberally plans to meet at Stone Fly Brewing Company, Maxie’s Southern Comfort, and Rice Palace Asian Cuisine. We’ll make one last stop at Transfer in April ‘09 before going to farmers markets over the summer.
Finally, Jeff Bedel will be the primary host of Eating Liberally. Big thanks to Jeff, and I hope we all have a great time there.
“Eat, drink, and be liberal!”
Best,
Jason.
Tear down the Hoan Bridge?
August 22, 2008
Holy landmark teardowns, Batman! To remove the Hoan Bridge, named in honor of Milwaukee’s last great Socialist Mayor Daniel W. Hoan, would be quite a feat. But it does bear consideration. The sheer cost of maintaining the bridge is one factor. I honestly don’t know what it costs or what it takes. I’m grateful that it is there and it seems to hold up all right, but like any human-made work, it will eventually have to come down. But, does it need to come down? Seems like the darn thing just got finished. Long-time Milwaukeeans will remember when it was the “bridge to nowhere” for seven years. (Mayor Hoan must have been spinning in his grave the whole time!)
We need a lot more documentation of the costs and benefits of demolishing the bridge. Also, it’s part of a federal highway, so we need to make sure los federales are good with it. Also consider the potential benefits of removing it. If more land was opened up, that could be good for development as commercial space or greenspace. It could be a way to get a much-needed bike and pedestrian path. And if it can make way for more shipments to and from the Port of Milwauke, that sounds all right too. Just don’t let any more zebra mussels in, eh?
Update: Links help, eh? In case you missed it, here’s a link to the Business Journal article (published by American City Business Journals, Inc).
Also: James Rowen has written some commentary on this as well.
test post from the iPod
August 21, 2008
hey, this does work! The trick is to use HTML mode rather than Visual mode, as the latter doesn’t work on Mobile Safari just yet. Bit this is good! Now if only I could copy+paste with ease my days of posting from wrist-straining computers may be near an end.
WordPress does not seem interested in letting me preview posts or set categories at all though.
Wisc. 20th State Assembly District Candidate Forum on 8/25
August 21, 2008
Forwarding this along:
You are invited to participate in the Holler Park Neighborhood Association L.L.C. 20th State Assembly Candidate Forum to be held August 25th @ 7PM in the Holler Park Lodge (5151 S. 6th Street).
We will be conducting H.P.N.A. business from 7-7:20PM with a Candidate Forum to begin immediately after.
Christine Sinicki (I), Phil Landowski and Steven Sutherland have been invited to participate in this casual forum. Candidates will answer questions given to them in advance by the Holler Park Neighborhood Association followed by an audience “Question & Answer” session.
The goal of this forum is to make an educated vote in the upcoming September 9th Primary Election.
Thank you in advance for getting this out to your members and your participation.
Sincerely yours,
Christopher Kuester
Chairman- Holler Park Neighborhood Association
Also: I just realized this primary election is important for the district, as all three candidates in the race are running as Democrats. There are no Republicans, Green, Libertarians, Independents, or members of any other party. In other words, this will decide who is our 20th District representative, at least until the next election. It’s a weighty choice for a primary.
Finally, I have endorsed Rep. Sinicki. She deserves your vote on September 9.
