Hospital Tax Coming Back

This thing is like a zombie.  It won’t stay dead.

Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle today told members of the Wisconsin Hospital Association that he plans again to propose a hospital tax that could bring hundreds of millions of federal dollars to state hospitals and provide the government with $125 million to help it through trying economic times.

“We’ll be putting forth a new budget next January for the next two years, and when we do we’ll be working to make sure that that federal money is coming into the state of Wisconsin and we are working in a way to be able to raise the reimbursement rate that you have needed,” he said.

All Roads Lead to Obama

Obama is showing his sensitive side. 

In a speech to Israel’s Knesset, Bush said: “Some seem to believe that we should negotiate with the terrorists and radicals, as if some ingenious argument will persuade them they have been wrong all along.

“We have heard this foolish delusion before. As Nazi tanks crossed into Poland in 1939, an American senator declared: ‘Lord, if I could only have talked to Hitler, all this might have been avoided.’ We have an obligation to call this what it is — the false comfort of appeasement, which has been repeatedly discredited by history.”

Obama responded with a statement, seizing on Bush’s remarks even as it was unclear to whom the president was referring.

“It is sad that President Bush would use a speech to the Knesset on the 60th anniversary of Israel’s independence to launch a false political attack,” Obama said in the statement his aides distributed. “George Bush knows that I have never supported engagement with terrorists, and the president’s extraordinary politicization of foreign policy and the politics of fear do nothing to secure the American people or our stalwart ally Israel.”

White House press secretary Dana Perino flatly rejected the idea that the Knesset remark was aimed in any way at Obama. The remark is fairly typical for Bush speeches, and Gordon Johndroe, a national security spokesman for the president, said the president was referring to “a wide range of people who have talked to or suggested we talk to Hamas, Hezbollah or their state sponsors” over a long period of time.

[...]

“I understand when you’re running for office you sometimes think the world revolves around you. That is not always true. And it is not true in this case,” she said.

Bush has been making similar comments about appeasement for 7 years or so. 

Seriously, Obama’s ego is comical.

“without regard to racial background”

I support the goal here.

Doyle’s order also directed state agencies to use information technology systems to track and analyze data for racial disparities. It also means the state Office of Justice Assistance and the Transportation and Corrections departments must track traffic citations, arrests, charges, sentencing and parole revocations by race and jurisdiction.

The disparity problem runs deep, the governor said, and solutions should be sought without worrying about political correctness or sparing the feelings of any state officials. He called for cooperation at all levels of the justice system, saying people at each level make decisions that determine who gets incarcerated.

“We want to make sure in this state, each of those decisions is made without regard to racial background,” he said.

I want to make sure the law is applied regardless of a person’s race too.  The problem I have is that the racial disparity in incarcerations is being used as evidence of racial bias in the system.  That may or may not be true.  It’s possible that there are some racists in the justice system that results in more minorities being jailed.  It’s also possible that some races in Wisconsin commit more crimes than other races and the equal application of the law will result in a racial disparity in incarcerations.  The goal should be exactly what Doyle said - that the system operates “without regard to racial backgrounds.” The goal should not be to make the prison population mirror the racial proportions of the general population. 

WCTC Board Votes for 3.8% Tax Increase

Great.  Another unelected board decides to jack up taxes. 

Although not without opposition, Waukesha County Technical College trustees have given administrators the go-ahead to boost property taxes more than $2 million next year.

If implemented, the budget strategy would constitute a 3.8% tax increase and would raise property tax collections to nearly $59 million in Waukesha County and surrounding areas.

[...]

In planning for the 2009 budget, administrators presented trustees with a variety of options that included tax increases ranging from 3% to the approved 3.8%, or a difference of about $400,000.

Trustees endorsed the largest tax increase on a 6-2 vote Tuesday, with Trustee Barbara Soto-Ryan joining Neill in opposition.

Justine Henin Retires

I think Favre’s attitude is catching on.

At 25, after half a year of seeking to rekindle that flame, the seven-time major champion finally accepted that it was out forever, announcing her decision Wednesday to leave the sport as the No. 1 player in the world.

“I always based everything on this motivation, this flame that was in me. And once I lost that, I lost many, many things,” Henin said during a farewell news conference which had far more smiles than tears.

Her departure was as abrupt to the rest of the world as it seemed inevitable to her.

The Belgian won 10 tournaments last year, including the last two of seven majors. But since beating Maria Sharapova in the longest three-set final in the history of the Sony Ericsson Championships, it took something out of her that never came back.

She started to find it an ever bigger chore to pack bags. Her legs felt heavy when she should have been dancing in the backcourt, ready to turn another backhand into a winner.

Beavis and Butthead Movie

Breaking news!

MTV’s animated 90’s show Beavis and Butthead could be making its way to the big screen as a live-action feature, according to creator Mike Judge.

In further news, Jed and I scored the lead roles! 

Edwards Endorses Obama

Way to stick your neck out there, John. 

Democrat John Edwards endorsed former rival Barack Obama on Wednesday, a move designed to help solidify support for the party’s likely presidential nominee even as Hillary Rodham Clinton refuses to give up her long-shot candidacy.

Kennedy Questioned About Wisconsin’s Weak Election Laws

Oh, man, I would have loved to have been there.

A routine congressional hearing about how state elections chiefs can handle weather emergencies or terrorist attacks got a little more interesting Wednesday during an exchange between Kevin Kennedy, who serves as director of the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board, and Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif.

As the state’s top elections official, Kennedy was testifying in front of the House Administration Subcommittee on Elections about the state’s contingency plans. But McCarthy asked to introduce into the congressional record a copy of a controversial police report on the 2004 election.

The 67-page report, released this year, generated controversy because it was seen as a political report by the Milwaukee Police Department. The report, which identified problems in Milwaukee’s 2004 election, recommended that the state eliminate same-day voter registration and require voters to show photo identification before they could cast a ballot. Incoming Milwaukee Chief Edward Flynn, who did not see the report until it was released publicly, later said his agency should not be in the business of making policy recommendations.

Chicago Repeals Ban on Foie Gras

Perhaps there’s a bit of common sense left in Chicago’s government. 

With Mayor Richard Daley running the vote, the Chicago City Council on Wednesday repealed its controversial ban on foie gras.

Hat tip Nick.

Roll Call Almost Lost

From Wheeler…

In a cyber version of “the dog ate my homework,” a computer glitch when the vote was taken on the budget repair bill failed to record the vote. The vote was entered manually by Chief Clerk Patrick Fuller, who was provided with a colorized photo of the Vote Board taken from the Wisconsin Eye broadcast of the vote..

Hmmmm… was someone trying to hide the roll call?  Whispers put odds on a “yes,” but we’ll never know for sure.  Thank goodness for Wisconsin Eye.

Here’s the roll call if you’d like to see if your Representative voted for this garbage. 

For the record, the Republicans voted 32 to 19 for the bill.  The Democrats voted 19 to 27 against it.  I don’t agree with the reasoning of the Dems’ vote, but they got it more right than the Republicans. 

Big Cow

This is one big cow. 

Very Similar, I Must Say

I finally figured out who David Archuleta from American Idol sounds like when he talks.

That’s a pain that’s going to linger…

Clinton’s Spread

Wow.  One rarely sees a spread like this unless a presidential candidate is running against Kucinich or Paul.  Clinton won West Virginia taking 67% of the vote as compared to 26% for Obama.  A 41% margin.  That’s stunning by anyone’s measure. 

Also, Huckabee and Romney both finished above McCain, but only about 1,100 people voted on the GOP side. 

Fuzz Graduates (almost)

Congrats, Fuzz!

As Claude referenced in the previous post, I have finally finished my bachelors degree. Yesterday, I took my last two final exams as a college undergraduate! So, aside from walking up to the stage and picking up my diploma, I am done with UWM!

Empty Chairs and Empty Tables