Thursday, May 12, 2005
Old Men and Old Mistakes
I always feel sorry for the people when I hear stories like this. Some kid is rounded up into the SS and forced to stand guard over some terrible things. After the war he deports to America and has kids who are 100% American. He pays taxes, maybe votes, for 50 years. Then they find out that when he was 20 he stood guard at a camp so they deport the old man to another country. It's sad really.
Personally I'd choose to forgive the man, nothing is served by deporting him.
I always feel sorry for the people when I hear stories like this. Some kid is rounded up into the SS and forced to stand guard over some terrible things. After the war he deports to America and has kids who are 100% American. He pays taxes, maybe votes, for 50 years. Then they find out that when he was 20 he stood guard at a camp so they deport the old man to another country. It's sad really.
Personally I'd choose to forgive the man, nothing is served by deporting him.
Polls
When people start doing polls again may I suggest one simple addition to the questions? I'd ask them if they have photo ID. Most of the current data is taken from figuring out the number of people over the age of 18 and subtracting the number of people who have drivers licenses. The number left is how many don't have it. It's awfully simple and probably the wrong way do things I'd guess.
When people start doing polls again may I suggest one simple addition to the questions? I'd ask them if they have photo ID. Most of the current data is taken from figuring out the number of people over the age of 18 and subtracting the number of people who have drivers licenses. The number left is how many don't have it. It's awfully simple and probably the wrong way do things I'd guess.
I caught myself
One thing I don't want to do is become a groveling toady. I caught myself the other day. I had a few insights to the convention but didn't want to say anything about the Walker campaign being semi-disorganized because I knew that they'd read it and might not want me to volunteer again if I posted complaints where everyone could read them. I bucked up though and posted what I thought anyway. I got a few comments from people inside, but nobody called me names and said they'd quit inviting me to stuff. When in the Welch campaign I tried to keep my postings full of why I thought X was better than Y based on my observations. I don't think I called Michels too many names, only a few for Darrow. I'll try to keep it even-handed for Green.
Although I'll openly say that I like Walker the best right now, I'm also open to listening to what Green has to say. I'm partisan, but openly so. I'll always be that way. I want to always be able to say what I think in the blog, it's my main reason for posting once in awhile I think. The topic came up while reading some posts by Jiblog and Het2Blog. I have no desire to be as influential as Owen (or at least not Owens commitment to it), although I'd be tickled pink if people would leave comments once in awhile and let me know if the liked stuff or if I'm full of shit.
One thing I noticed at the convention is that I was the only blogger taking sides. It's probably just early but I hope that changes. I hope that bloggers don't try to avoid running off with their opinions. I like rants and raves and posts full of pure opinion. I don't want the blogs to start reading like a newspaper. I want to read about their thoughts, bad things and all. Just make sure the opinions are full of good reasoning's and well thought out. I doubt Charlie will stop mentioning you guys and Senators will stop talking to you if you just vent once in awhile. I mentioned this to Owen at the convention, he refused my Walker sticker and I gave him a hard time about it and said he needs more ranting and rumor-mongering. I'm glad to see he delivered. Kevin's WTF** awards are good too, I hope he keeps them up.
**I can't find a good link, but they're awarded to RINO's when they do something dumb.
One thing I don't want to do is become a groveling toady. I caught myself the other day. I had a few insights to the convention but didn't want to say anything about the Walker campaign being semi-disorganized because I knew that they'd read it and might not want me to volunteer again if I posted complaints where everyone could read them. I bucked up though and posted what I thought anyway. I got a few comments from people inside, but nobody called me names and said they'd quit inviting me to stuff. When in the Welch campaign I tried to keep my postings full of why I thought X was better than Y based on my observations. I don't think I called Michels too many names, only a few for Darrow. I'll try to keep it even-handed for Green.
Although I'll openly say that I like Walker the best right now, I'm also open to listening to what Green has to say. I'm partisan, but openly so. I'll always be that way. I want to always be able to say what I think in the blog, it's my main reason for posting once in awhile I think. The topic came up while reading some posts by Jiblog and Het2Blog. I have no desire to be as influential as Owen (or at least not Owens commitment to it), although I'd be tickled pink if people would leave comments once in awhile and let me know if the liked stuff or if I'm full of shit.
One thing I noticed at the convention is that I was the only blogger taking sides. It's probably just early but I hope that changes. I hope that bloggers don't try to avoid running off with their opinions. I like rants and raves and posts full of pure opinion. I don't want the blogs to start reading like a newspaper. I want to read about their thoughts, bad things and all. Just make sure the opinions are full of good reasoning's and well thought out. I doubt Charlie will stop mentioning you guys and Senators will stop talking to you if you just vent once in awhile. I mentioned this to Owen at the convention, he refused my Walker sticker and I gave him a hard time about it and said he needs more ranting and rumor-mongering. I'm glad to see he delivered. Kevin's WTF** awards are good too, I hope he keeps them up.
**I can't find a good link, but they're awarded to RINO's when they do something dumb.
Wednesday, May 11, 2005
Property Taxes
I have a side job fixing PC's for people around town. Since Oostburg is only about a mile or two from Lake Michigan I fix a lot of PC's for people who live on the lake. The houses sell from $500,000 for a 1 bedroom beach shack on up to the millions typically. All the new buyers are mostly doctors, lawyers, and famous movie stars (just kidding). However there are also a lot of people who live on the beach that bought their house decades ago because they just weren't that expensive compared to normal houses.
One couple who's PC I fixed (old win95 with a bad modem, argh!) are retired. He was a truck driver and she was a nurse and both are now living on fixed income. The house is a beautiful multi-bedroom house with a lot of lakefront and a nice swimming pool, huge deck, etc. I'd guess it's worth over a million. They said they won't be able to live in the house much longer because they're paying nearly a thousand a month in property taxes and they can't afford it on fixed income. They said it's been going up way too fast because every time a new house sells for big money in the area their house gets reevaluated and goes up in value again and their taxes have been skyrocketing. They need help!
When I got to their house I saw they had some Bush/Cheney 2004 stickers on their car, etc. While fixing the PC I engaged them in some political talk. They had a few choice words about John Kerry (he's a vet), but they saved their worst comments for Doyle. They seemed to absolutely loathe the man and had nothing but bad words to say for him because he blocked property tax reforms. They have some sons who live in Milwaukee and are big fans of Scott Walker. I mentioned I was volunteering with his campaign and they thanked me for helping out. They asked me to tell Walker their story since they said they've sent numerous letters to state officials asking for help but haven't gotten much of a response. I didn't get a chance to tell Walker at the convention since I figured he had better things to do, but if any of you reading this want to pass it on please do. I feel bad for these people, they said they recognize they're living in a gold mine but they don't want to mine it, they want to grow older and die in their house. I couldn't even afford to live there, their property taxes are higher than my taxes + mortgage.
Sorry for the rambling story there, I don't have the ability to write well and sometimes I make no sense. I write too train of thought. Anyhow, I think people like these two are why Walker is going to win the primary (even if the campaign seemed a little disorganized). People, whether they admit it or not, are interested in politics. Especially when they have a property tax bill. People can listen to all of Doyle's future campaign adds and they can read all the unfavorable stories written but lots of people are going to hear from friends and family in Milwaukee that not only does Walker make good promises, but he also delivers on them. I don't know all the ins and outs of Milwaukee politics - property tax levies, total spending, how many hours the zoo and golf courses are open, etc. But I do know that he'll do unpopular things (with special interests) in order to keep a hold on taxes. None of this "for only $10 more per person we can do X" crap. $10 here and $10 there and pretty soon you're talking some real money.
Anyhow, to summarize: I felt bad for the old couple and since I didn't bother Walker with their story at the convention I figured I'd post it on my blog for whatever good that does. The 4 of you who read it can hopefully get your blood boiling like mine was.
I have a side job fixing PC's for people around town. Since Oostburg is only about a mile or two from Lake Michigan I fix a lot of PC's for people who live on the lake. The houses sell from $500,000 for a 1 bedroom beach shack on up to the millions typically. All the new buyers are mostly doctors, lawyers, and famous movie stars (just kidding). However there are also a lot of people who live on the beach that bought their house decades ago because they just weren't that expensive compared to normal houses.
One couple who's PC I fixed (old win95 with a bad modem, argh!) are retired. He was a truck driver and she was a nurse and both are now living on fixed income. The house is a beautiful multi-bedroom house with a lot of lakefront and a nice swimming pool, huge deck, etc. I'd guess it's worth over a million. They said they won't be able to live in the house much longer because they're paying nearly a thousand a month in property taxes and they can't afford it on fixed income. They said it's been going up way too fast because every time a new house sells for big money in the area their house gets reevaluated and goes up in value again and their taxes have been skyrocketing. They need help!
When I got to their house I saw they had some Bush/Cheney 2004 stickers on their car, etc. While fixing the PC I engaged them in some political talk. They had a few choice words about John Kerry (he's a vet), but they saved their worst comments for Doyle. They seemed to absolutely loathe the man and had nothing but bad words to say for him because he blocked property tax reforms. They have some sons who live in Milwaukee and are big fans of Scott Walker. I mentioned I was volunteering with his campaign and they thanked me for helping out. They asked me to tell Walker their story since they said they've sent numerous letters to state officials asking for help but haven't gotten much of a response. I didn't get a chance to tell Walker at the convention since I figured he had better things to do, but if any of you reading this want to pass it on please do. I feel bad for these people, they said they recognize they're living in a gold mine but they don't want to mine it, they want to grow older and die in their house. I couldn't even afford to live there, their property taxes are higher than my taxes + mortgage.
Sorry for the rambling story there, I don't have the ability to write well and sometimes I make no sense. I write too train of thought. Anyhow, I think people like these two are why Walker is going to win the primary (even if the campaign seemed a little disorganized). People, whether they admit it or not, are interested in politics. Especially when they have a property tax bill. People can listen to all of Doyle's future campaign adds and they can read all the unfavorable stories written but lots of people are going to hear from friends and family in Milwaukee that not only does Walker make good promises, but he also delivers on them. I don't know all the ins and outs of Milwaukee politics - property tax levies, total spending, how many hours the zoo and golf courses are open, etc. But I do know that he'll do unpopular things (with special interests) in order to keep a hold on taxes. None of this "for only $10 more per person we can do X" crap. $10 here and $10 there and pretty soon you're talking some real money.
Anyhow, to summarize: I felt bad for the old couple and since I didn't bother Walker with their story at the convention I figured I'd post it on my blog for whatever good that does. The 4 of you who read it can hopefully get your blood boiling like mine was.
Tuesday, May 10, 2005
Walker Responds
On Scott Walkers Blog I made a comment about the convention (basically a rewritten form of an earlier post) and Green being more organized. I got a response and it puts to rest some of my fears.
On Scott Walkers Blog I made a comment about the convention (basically a rewritten form of an earlier post) and Green being more organized. I got a response and it puts to rest some of my fears.
Good points, Ben. No matter how successful we are as a team, there is always room to grow. Although we were not surprised with the organization of others. They're good folks, too. Our weekend was staffed and organized by mostly volunteers, while others' had full time paid staff assisting. We won't be the slickest campaign, but we aim to be the most inclusive, aggressive and passionate. The convention was about thanking the grassroots on Friday night and motivating them on Saturday. It was an important weekend, but we didn't want to spend a lot of resources on a few hundred people. We are saving our resources to spread the word about Scott's message and vision to the broad coalition it is going to take to beat Doyle. We are reminded that in 2004, the three US Senate campaigns spent tens of thousands of dollars each courting the less than 1,000 voters in attendance at their convention. That's money and time that could have been spent against Feingold instead.I feel less worried after reading that. It's good to know.
For the Walker team, this is all about Jim Doyle. Our literature and Scott's speech focused on Scott's record of delivering on his promises and why Scott Walker has the best chance of winning and implementing our shared Republican agenda. By the way if anyone would like a copy of the Walker booklet each delegate received, let us know.
For us, this weekend was a dry run for the big convention of 2006. We feel we did some things well and we know we surely can improve in other areas. You are a valuable part of our efforts. We really appreciate your help and your advice; it will make us better as we move ahead. Thanks again!
Good Blog Entry by Walker
Scott Walkers blog doesn't have permalinks so I'll post his message here.
I think this is where Walker will distinguish himself. Liberal Media can babble on all day about how bad he is for cutting spending (and therefore taxes), and the conservative pundits can say they think Green will have the upper hand because he won't be constantly defending himself. However I think the typical voter will know that taxes aren't going up when they hear from government officials about how badly they are hurt by spending cuts, etc. Everyone knows the jokes about lazy government employees and wasteful spending. I think that people will listen to the articles, but that they will know the other half of the story as well. So I don't think the media will be as big of an advantage as people think.
Green seems like a pretty cut and dried republican to me, which is fine. But I don't remember him standing up in Congress fighting the spending interests and making the news constantly. Federal spending went up a LOT under Bush (30% in 4 years from what I've heard), and Green is part of the team that makes the budget.
Scott Walkers blog doesn't have permalinks so I'll post his message here.
Taxpayers' Bill of Rights
Saw some concern raised in the Blogosphere about Republicans' legislative commitment to TABOR. I want all of you to know that I support TABOR and a real property tax levy freeze. During my speech at the Republican state convention, I made it clear that I support the Lasee/Wood version of the Taxpayers' Bill of Rights and that I will propose a property tax levy freeze in each budget that covers my entire first term as Governor. I also want to end the state tax on pension and on Social Security benefits and end the state tax barrier on Health Savings Accounts.
Just like my promise to introduce county budgets without a property tax levy increase for the past three years, you can count on my team to deliver.
--Scott
I think this is where Walker will distinguish himself. Liberal Media can babble on all day about how bad he is for cutting spending (and therefore taxes), and the conservative pundits can say they think Green will have the upper hand because he won't be constantly defending himself. However I think the typical voter will know that taxes aren't going up when they hear from government officials about how badly they are hurt by spending cuts, etc. Everyone knows the jokes about lazy government employees and wasteful spending. I think that people will listen to the articles, but that they will know the other half of the story as well. So I don't think the media will be as big of an advantage as people think.
Green seems like a pretty cut and dried republican to me, which is fine. But I don't remember him standing up in Congress fighting the spending interests and making the news constantly. Federal spending went up a LOT under Bush (30% in 4 years from what I've heard), and Green is part of the team that makes the budget.
Monday, May 09, 2005
Convention Report
I have a few observations from the convention, they're in no particular order and it's mostly just a lose collection of mental notes. I showed up around 4:00 on Friday and left about 9:00 or so. I didn't get as much exposure to the inside stuff as Owen and Kevin did, but I probably spent more time observing and analyzing the two gubernatorial campaigns.
Walker: I was thoroughly unimpressed with the experience. I really like Walker and will probably vote for him, I'm about 80% sure at least. However I was not the biggest fan of the campaign itself. When volunteering with Welch the guys (at least Jason) I worked with made me feel valuable and motivated me to give 100%, I didn't get that so far with Walker. There was maybe .5 guys in charge it seemed, I don't really know who was supposed to be in charge. When I arrived at the convention center I was immediately approached by several people from the Green Team all wearing shirts and handing out stickers, signing up volunteers, etc. The volunteers for Walker weren't even meeting until 4:30 to get orders and Green was already out in force. Lots of T-shirts and they had a huge presence in the convention hall.
The meeting started and everyone there was great I thought. I liked them all and they had lots of enthusiasm. We signed up for various tasks and then everything sort of just disbanded. I signed up to help get the hospitality suite set up and then everyone sort of just disappeared and nobody told me exactly what I should be doing to get it set up. I ended up wandering around and grabbed some stickers and headed downstairs to greet people in the lobby. Down there were a couple other volunteers who didn't know really what to do with their stickers and signup forms since it was their first time doing anything like this. I felt that people could have done a better job actually showing the volunteers what was up, not everyone knows what to do. I might suggest something like telling some of the volunteers who they should talk to for questions, etc. Giving a team of 3 a specific place to be and trying to have one experienced person in each group. It was kind of chaotic and could have been done WAY better. Good thing show time is still 18 months away.
The whole "I'm a W too, and look - a cowboy theme just like George W Bush!" thing was kind of dumb, IMHO"
Green: The Green Team seemed well organized and each person had specific duties from what I could tell. It seemed to me like there were more people, but maybe that's because they had 10 groups of 2 instead of 2 groups of 10? They also started earlier and I think that helped. Sean, a guy I knew from the Bush campaign, is working for Green and I really think he's a great leader. I just wish he worked for Walkers team. But if Green wins the primary I know that Sean will have duties for my friend and I and a way to use us by the next morning. We pestered him a little about wanting Green to take a stance on CCW and TABOR, he said he'd check on it. The Packer theme didn't bug me too much. His name is Green and he's from the Green Bay area so I suppose having green shirts and handing out green footballs isn't a big stretch.
I have a few observations from the convention, they're in no particular order and it's mostly just a lose collection of mental notes. I showed up around 4:00 on Friday and left about 9:00 or so. I didn't get as much exposure to the inside stuff as Owen and Kevin did, but I probably spent more time observing and analyzing the two gubernatorial campaigns.
Walker: I was thoroughly unimpressed with the experience. I really like Walker and will probably vote for him, I'm about 80% sure at least. However I was not the biggest fan of the campaign itself. When volunteering with Welch the guys (at least Jason) I worked with made me feel valuable and motivated me to give 100%, I didn't get that so far with Walker. There was maybe .5 guys in charge it seemed, I don't really know who was supposed to be in charge. When I arrived at the convention center I was immediately approached by several people from the Green Team all wearing shirts and handing out stickers, signing up volunteers, etc. The volunteers for Walker weren't even meeting until 4:30 to get orders and Green was already out in force. Lots of T-shirts and they had a huge presence in the convention hall.
The meeting started and everyone there was great I thought. I liked them all and they had lots of enthusiasm. We signed up for various tasks and then everything sort of just disbanded. I signed up to help get the hospitality suite set up and then everyone sort of just disappeared and nobody told me exactly what I should be doing to get it set up. I ended up wandering around and grabbed some stickers and headed downstairs to greet people in the lobby. Down there were a couple other volunteers who didn't know really what to do with their stickers and signup forms since it was their first time doing anything like this. I felt that people could have done a better job actually showing the volunteers what was up, not everyone knows what to do. I might suggest something like telling some of the volunteers who they should talk to for questions, etc. Giving a team of 3 a specific place to be and trying to have one experienced person in each group. It was kind of chaotic and could have been done WAY better. Good thing show time is still 18 months away.
The whole "I'm a W too, and look - a cowboy theme just like George W Bush!" thing was kind of dumb, IMHO"
Green: The Green Team seemed well organized and each person had specific duties from what I could tell. It seemed to me like there were more people, but maybe that's because they had 10 groups of 2 instead of 2 groups of 10? They also started earlier and I think that helped. Sean, a guy I knew from the Bush campaign, is working for Green and I really think he's a great leader. I just wish he worked for Walkers team. But if Green wins the primary I know that Sean will have duties for my friend and I and a way to use us by the next morning. We pestered him a little about wanting Green to take a stance on CCW and TABOR, he said he'd check on it. The Packer theme didn't bug me too much. His name is Green and he's from the Green Bay area so I suppose having green shirts and handing out green footballs isn't a big stretch.
