WHY THE FREE PASS?
Why is it that when Slick Scotty, our County Exec says something truly stupid, ("if they would only go out and get cars they could get to a job and wouldn't need public transportation," or "if only they would get a job, they could afford a car and wouldn't need public transportation," or "by cutting back on public transportation I am actually helping poor people (read Hispanics and African Americans) become more independent, because they will have to get a car like the rest of us,") and no one calls him out on it? He gets a free pass from local Fascist Radio. He gets a free pass from MMM, (our local Mega-Media Monolith). When his decimation of the County workforce and budgets borders on criminal, (court house infested with cockroaches) he gets a free pass and is praised on Fascist Radio for "saving tax dollars for average Milwaukeeans." Slick Scotty is carefully and with malice aforethought, dismantling the decent living standards enjoyed by this community for 60 years in favor of a small suburban elite who want only to drive their SUV's two blocks to Whole Foods and not contribute one single penny towards the general good.
I am so tired of his continual blaming of the pension scandals of many years ago for his asinine positions on public transportation and health services and his repeated failures to get anything accomplished for the county as a whole. He panders to those whose mantra is "I've got mine and to hell with you if you haven't got yours." Unfortunately, Slick Scotty is not alone. This selfish, mean-spirited attitude has permeated all levels of our society today. Have you ever noticed what happens when you squeeze a nickel? It shoots upward. And it gets grabbed by a higher hand. A modern parable I think. It is evident in obscene CEO compensation and it is evident in this local County Executive who only cares about his constituents who drive cars... large cars.
And now he wants to blame the State for not providing public transportation? It is so typical of Slick Scotty... it is ALWAYS somebody else's fault. He's never taken responsibility for anything during his disastrous terms and the standard of living in MKE inexorably sinks to even darker depths. Where is the righteous indignation from Fascist Radio, our protectors, S&B, those stalwart guardians of the good life? Oh, sorry, I forgot... their pensions are vested. They can afford to drive big cars. Isn't it time someone, ANYONE, notices that the Emperor has no clothes? And we're the ones left out in the cold?
Friday, February 23, 2007
Monday, February 19, 2007
Remember newspapers? Those morning and evening delights that told us about our world, near and far? I do. I also remember when the there was a Journal AND a Sentinel. I wailed at the folly of one paper owning both and correctly surmised (anyone and everyone could have predicted it) they would morph into one and eventually self destruct without the competetiveness of two reporting staffs. What I didn't expect was the wholesale gutting of competent writing in an effort to cut costs and increase ad sales. And worse, because the very same company that owns the local paper also owns the major television station and several radio stations in the city, access to real reporting is severly limited to what the current owners and editor consider the "news." Where is this going, you ask?
Becasue I travel a fair amount I get to compare "news" from a few disparate sources both within the US and Overseas. I felt as though I could never get a decent world view from the second hand re-prints that show up in the Journal-Sentinel two days after I've read them in another paper, but I looked forward to filling in the local blanks whenever I returned to MKE. This past trip I have seen the consolidation of local urban and suburban news (and I am using that term in this sentence facetiously) deteriorate into a series of paragraphs usually describing inane events, i.e. bake sales, purse snatching, bike thefts, while issues affecting the life of residents goes un-reported, un-noticed and apparently un-missed. It depresses me to think residents do not care enough to complain to this 1984-ish entity about their responsibility to the community as a whole and the residents of the varied segments within our metropolitan area.
In another depressing turn of events, I remember a friend telling me of the sudden retirement of the only local TV newsman I had any faith in, Mr. Gousha (?) I also remember the guessing game popular last year as to the "real" reason for his retirement. After watching the WTMJ 10 PM news the past two weeks, it has become painfully evident as to the whys of his departure. The "new direction" of the news was simply to forego news and air bombastic non-news fillers, calling them "the news." I am impressed that Mr. Gousha had the integrity to leave. I wish him well and hope he realizes there are a few of us who will miss his steady delivery and accurate priority assessments and story positioning. The current programing makes me nauseous. One might as well watch Entertainment Tonight. The truly depressing fact is that a huge segment of the audience does watch both and are entertained by both. Thank you, but I can find my own forms of entertainment and do not want it on a news program. Inform me, don't try to scare, titillate, or make me cry over (or allow me to feel superior to) someone else's bad luck, "just the facts please, Ma'am." But I know it is not going to happen. The rest of the world is right... we deserve the government we have elected... local and national. Sad.
Becasue I travel a fair amount I get to compare "news" from a few disparate sources both within the US and Overseas. I felt as though I could never get a decent world view from the second hand re-prints that show up in the Journal-Sentinel two days after I've read them in another paper, but I looked forward to filling in the local blanks whenever I returned to MKE. This past trip I have seen the consolidation of local urban and suburban news (and I am using that term in this sentence facetiously) deteriorate into a series of paragraphs usually describing inane events, i.e. bake sales, purse snatching, bike thefts, while issues affecting the life of residents goes un-reported, un-noticed and apparently un-missed. It depresses me to think residents do not care enough to complain to this 1984-ish entity about their responsibility to the community as a whole and the residents of the varied segments within our metropolitan area.
In another depressing turn of events, I remember a friend telling me of the sudden retirement of the only local TV newsman I had any faith in, Mr. Gousha (?) I also remember the guessing game popular last year as to the "real" reason for his retirement. After watching the WTMJ 10 PM news the past two weeks, it has become painfully evident as to the whys of his departure. The "new direction" of the news was simply to forego news and air bombastic non-news fillers, calling them "the news." I am impressed that Mr. Gousha had the integrity to leave. I wish him well and hope he realizes there are a few of us who will miss his steady delivery and accurate priority assessments and story positioning. The current programing makes me nauseous. One might as well watch Entertainment Tonight. The truly depressing fact is that a huge segment of the audience does watch both and are entertained by both. Thank you, but I can find my own forms of entertainment and do not want it on a news program. Inform me, don't try to scare, titillate, or make me cry over (or allow me to feel superior to) someone else's bad luck, "just the facts please, Ma'am." But I know it is not going to happen. The rest of the world is right... we deserve the government we have elected... local and national. Sad.
MAKE IT MOVE.
Last week the French TGV set a new speed record... 328 mph. I've personally ridden it for a couple of hundred miles into the Southwest of that country. At 180 mph, telephone poles are as fence posts, but the ride is smooth and mesmerizing. I've driven that route and even on the French equivilent of our freeways, the same trip takes twice as long. Just thinking out loud here but I love the suggestion of a friend who is a regular on the MAD-MKE commute. Why not spend some of those train dollars on this commute route? Taking the thought a bit further, we should all remember that mass transit is about speed FIRST and all those other perks afterwards. In other words, if you can't get me to the Capitol faster than I can drive it, don't solicit my support. HOWEVER, if I could get on train in downtown MKE make one stop in Brookfield somewhere and be in Madison 35 or 40 minutes later, I'd be the first to offer up a slice of my taxes. Where's Tommy when you need him?
What's more, is it not forward thinking (and just plain smart) to link the state's largest economic engine with the state's largest research center? We already do this digitally, it's called bandwidth. Of course moving people in a fast pipeline is do-able... TGV, Shinkaansen, and the Chinese Mag-Lev, to name just a few, all use divergent technologies to produce the same result. Here to there, FAST. It's what those DOT, SEWRPC, and RTA so-called planners cannot admit (or refuse to) because it is, as the Former Next President of the United States says, "an inconvenient truth." Especially in light of their repeated and desperate attempts to massage numbers and rationales for KRM. Advocates know in their hearts, it will never qualify for Fed approval for Fed Funds, but a local PR firm gets half a million dollars to sell the idea to our gullible public regardless.
Here's the rub. I've lived, traveled and used mass transit in a dozen countries besides ours. I WANT mass transit... I just want it for the right reasons. Spend the money, tax me, but make it useful. We live in a world of speed whether I like it or not. If it ain't fast, don't insult me with the bloated PR price tag to build the Big Lie. I've been paid to research several of our newer mass transit systems in this country (yes, including their TOD) and it does grow the region. BUT... in every case, it is about saving TIME first, and convenience second.
I'm just not interested in picking up the tab (a very large one) so a few (very few) folks in Racine and Kenosha can read the paper while they ride to MKE or Chi-Town. I may be dumb, but I ain't no ordinary dummy.
Last week the French TGV set a new speed record... 328 mph. I've personally ridden it for a couple of hundred miles into the Southwest of that country. At 180 mph, telephone poles are as fence posts, but the ride is smooth and mesmerizing. I've driven that route and even on the French equivilent of our freeways, the same trip takes twice as long. Just thinking out loud here but I love the suggestion of a friend who is a regular on the MAD-MKE commute. Why not spend some of those train dollars on this commute route? Taking the thought a bit further, we should all remember that mass transit is about speed FIRST and all those other perks afterwards. In other words, if you can't get me to the Capitol faster than I can drive it, don't solicit my support. HOWEVER, if I could get on train in downtown MKE make one stop in Brookfield somewhere and be in Madison 35 or 40 minutes later, I'd be the first to offer up a slice of my taxes. Where's Tommy when you need him?
What's more, is it not forward thinking (and just plain smart) to link the state's largest economic engine with the state's largest research center? We already do this digitally, it's called bandwidth. Of course moving people in a fast pipeline is do-able... TGV, Shinkaansen, and the Chinese Mag-Lev, to name just a few, all use divergent technologies to produce the same result. Here to there, FAST. It's what those DOT, SEWRPC, and RTA so-called planners cannot admit (or refuse to) because it is, as the Former Next President of the United States says, "an inconvenient truth." Especially in light of their repeated and desperate attempts to massage numbers and rationales for KRM. Advocates know in their hearts, it will never qualify for Fed approval for Fed Funds, but a local PR firm gets half a million dollars to sell the idea to our gullible public regardless.
Here's the rub. I've lived, traveled and used mass transit in a dozen countries besides ours. I WANT mass transit... I just want it for the right reasons. Spend the money, tax me, but make it useful. We live in a world of speed whether I like it or not. If it ain't fast, don't insult me with the bloated PR price tag to build the Big Lie. I've been paid to research several of our newer mass transit systems in this country (yes, including their TOD) and it does grow the region. BUT... in every case, it is about saving TIME first, and convenience second.
I'm just not interested in picking up the tab (a very large one) so a few (very few) folks in Racine and Kenosha can read the paper while they ride to MKE or Chi-Town. I may be dumb, but I ain't no ordinary dummy.
Saturday, February 17, 2007
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
This whole KRM commuter rail thing is far beyond my ability to comphrehend. My simple minded thought that Milwaukee money should be spent in Milwaukee apparently has no advocates in Milwaukee government. A car rental tax? Gee, won't the vast majority of those funds come from General Mitchell? Let me see if I have this in perspective... Racine wants mass transit, they just want someone else to pay for it. They get all the benefits and Milwaukee pays all the bills. Doesn't anyone in MKE government (City OR County) smell the stink?
In the meantime, county buses will continue to get more expensive, go to less places, arrive less often, BUT you will be able to ride a train to Kenosha, get off the KRM and transfer to Metra, and voila, two and a half hours later you can be in Chi Town. Nevermind that the Amtrak is quicker, cheaper and already in service. What am I missing here? How about spending Milwaukee dollars IN Milwaukee? How about the County Executive taking responsibility for ALL of his constituents not just the suburbs?
And Hizzoner may be popular, but he and his staff are a disaster for the City's well being. Does anyone realistically think he will he take a stand on ANYTHING before his first term is up? Ahhh, but we love him! MKE is my hometown and (depressingly) I understand that we are addicted to this nice guy who does NOTHING but glad-hand, rather than have to put up with a guy who is not quite so nice, but who would actually take a stand on issues to improve the city.
Bottom line? Of course we should back mass transit. But perhaps, we should insure that Milwaukee, (the State's economic engine) stays healthy with a decent internal transportation system first and foremost. By the way, does anyone remember exactly when we abdicated control of this city to those two facsists (S&B) on talk radio?
In the meantime, county buses will continue to get more expensive, go to less places, arrive less often, BUT you will be able to ride a train to Kenosha, get off the KRM and transfer to Metra, and voila, two and a half hours later you can be in Chi Town. Nevermind that the Amtrak is quicker, cheaper and already in service. What am I missing here? How about spending Milwaukee dollars IN Milwaukee? How about the County Executive taking responsibility for ALL of his constituents not just the suburbs?
And Hizzoner may be popular, but he and his staff are a disaster for the City's well being. Does anyone realistically think he will he take a stand on ANYTHING before his first term is up? Ahhh, but we love him! MKE is my hometown and (depressingly) I understand that we are addicted to this nice guy who does NOTHING but glad-hand, rather than have to put up with a guy who is not quite so nice, but who would actually take a stand on issues to improve the city.
Bottom line? Of course we should back mass transit. But perhaps, we should insure that Milwaukee, (the State's economic engine) stays healthy with a decent internal transportation system first and foremost. By the way, does anyone remember exactly when we abdicated control of this city to those two facsists (S&B) on talk radio?
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