Cutting Off One's Nose

Madison, WI - There are times as a business consultant that I come across something so outrageous, that I almost have to pinch myself to ensure that I am lucid. Such was the case at the annual Brat Fest today.

Every year I usually do a 30 or 40 mile bicycle ride down to Willow Island, park my Trek and reward myself with some tasty dinner at the festival. This year I pulled into the access road and followed the signs to the bike parking, as I have in past years. But, this year was different. There was a guy with a "security" shirt on who flagged me to stop. I complied with a puzzled look on my face. He strolled over to me and said, "If you want to come in, you'll have to pour out the contents of that water bottle on your bike." Wanting to make sure my 55-year-old ears were hearing right I said, "What?"

He said, "There are no carry-ins allowed. I also need to ask you what's in that pack on the back of the bike."

I could feel my blood starting to boil as I said, "There are 10 pounds of contraband bratwurst in the saddlebag that I plan on smuggling in."

By the blank stare I assumed he didn't find the humor in my retort. Why is it when you give someone a shirt that says "security" on the back, it immediately brings out the "mall cop" in them?

It's something I noticed when I promoted concerts way back in the day. We would always warn the security folks that the audience was the customer, not someone to bully or manhandle. Even with that warning the cop-wannabes just can help themselves.

I turned on my heels, said "screw it," and rolled on to the "alternative Brat Fest" up on Capitol Square where I was greeted with open arms and not subject to search and seizure.

The reason there was an alternative in the first place was a group of folks didn't want to support Johnsville because they donated heavily to Scott Walker's campaign, as did some of the organizers of the event. Brat Fest does a lot of good by donating lots of money to scores of local groups, so it's a tough call on what to do on that level.

On a policy that makes people on bikes empty water bottles and have bike packs searched for fear of people smuggling in food, that I can't forgive.

I would have spent a fair amount of money there and drank my bike water later. They didn't get a penny from me and probably never will now. It's a case of them cutting off their nose, to spite their face.

Greetings from the Land that Gave You Joseph McCarthy

Madison, WI (YourNews) – Those who fail to learn the lessons that history teaches are doomed to repeat it. In Wisconsin this week it’s starting to feel like deja vu all over again.

Wisconsin, every once in a while, seems to execute the equivalent of a political fart that reverberates through the nation. Back in the 50s we gave the nation Republican Senator Joe McCarthy. He was the guy that thought there were communists hiding under every rock. He ruined lives and was a bully who was eventually exposed. He died a sad, discredited drunk at the age of 48.

Our latest gift to the nation in the Joe McCarthy tradition is Governor Scott Walker. He appears to believe that unions are the root of all evil. If we can destroy communists, oops, I mean unions, then all will be well with the world and the state’s budget problems will go away.

When will we ever learn? The state and nation’s budget problems weren’t caused by unions. They were caused by a downturn in the global economy precipitated by greedy banks and corporations that bent the rules and stole the equity from virtually every homeowner in the nation. They stole from me and from you, but these are the people that Scott Walker wants to give money to in the form of tax breaks to create more non-union jobs here.

I’m not a member of a labor union and never have been. But I realize that without them I probably would be a lot worse off. They won the 40 hour week for many workers, paid vacation, sick leave and retirement. I guess Walker and clan believes those same people that just got done robbing us blind would have given us all those things out of the goodness of their hearts.

I sure do hope they learn how to govern, which is very different than winning an election. One must keep in mind, the majority of people in this state didn’t vote for Scott Walker. He won by less than 10 percentage points and a slew of people didn’t vote at all. After you win an election you have to govern. That means doing things like talking to people to try to build consensus before you act.

President Obama could have done what Scott Walker did. He had the power on day one to get health care reform passed without one discussion with any opposition. He decided to govern. He talked with the opposition and built consensus. He knew somewhere down the road he would need the opposition. It should come as no surprise to anyone that he was able to broker a deal on taxes and START.

Scott Walker has lit a fuse that will come back to haunt him. He probably will succeed in jamming through his union-busting bill. But in the process he is creating the seeds of his own undoing. In this Facebook and Twitter era he has ignited a machine that is capable of turning out 70,000 people on a cold Saturday afternoon in Madison, Wisconsin. He has birthed a powerful opposition that is connected in the ether and will only grow stronger no matter what happens.

After the death of Joseph McCarthy, Democrat William Proxmire filled the seat. Proxmire called McCarthy "a disgrace to Wisconsin, to the Senate and to America." I wonder what the guy who takes over after Walker will say? History has a funny way of repeating itself.

Talking the Talk

By Glen Gardner

Madison, WI (YourNews) - The national debate that is raging concerning what influenced the Arizona shooter to go on a rampage that left death and sorrow in its wake is putting new focus on talk radio and the “temperature” of the national political debate.

Having been a talk show host, radio program director, general manager and radio station owner for the better part of 30 years, I have a unique perspective on this debate. So, did the right-wing nut-bags who spew their radicalized entertainment “cause” that young man to gun down a congresswoman and all those other people at that shopping center? As usual, if you ask the wrong question you will get the wrong answer.

There is no way anyone will ever know the answer to that question. I think the better question is, could the steady drumbeat of twisted logic and hate motivate someone to act in that fashion? There is no doubt in my mind.

Simple fact of the matter folks is radio (and television) works. If you repeat a message enough times to the right people, it will motivate them to act. I find it more than amusing that these talk show hosts and the companies that profit from their brand of free speech claim that they don’t wield that kind of power and influence.
In the next breath they send their sales departments out to tell potential clients that they most certainly can motivate behavior. Their entire business model is based on the fact that these people can motivate others to act in great numbers. I’m surprised that no one is calling them out on this point.

When I listen to these folks spew their crazy conspiracy theories and outright hatred for people like President Obama and Nancy Pelosi, I have a hard time accepting the fact that anyone buys what they are saying. Obama wasn’t born here, he’s not a Christian, and on and on it goes. I’m sure similar malarkey comes from the other side too, but the voices on the right are louder and more numerous.

Then I listen to the commercials that are in these shows and realize that the brand of hate these people are peddling without a doubt could motivate someone to act. People selling special seeds that you can plant after the world falls apart, magic crème to make your “petzel” bigger and instructions on how to hoard gold to better survive the impending collapse of world order that is right around the corner.

Boys and girls let me tell you, people do act on these messages. People buy this junk in great numbers. I know it for a fact. I have seen it from the inside. People call those 800 numbers and go to web pages and spend lots of money on stuff most of us would call crazy.

So, to these hosts and their companies that want you to believe that someone couldn’t be motivated to do something crazy by simply listening to a repeated message, over and over, think again. They really can’t have it both ways. To hear them talk you’d think that their message is “radio doesn’t work.” The ability of radio to motivate behavior provided me with a very comfortable living for many years.

Just because the First Amendment gives you the right to do something, doesn’t make it right. The flipside of freedom is responsibility.