Missing video, fear, and a little bit of hope from readers

As promised- footage and pics!

Info needed for AP photographers/videographers

More video and pic- more on the RNC brutality

More updates on police brutality at the RNC

Des Moines

Country First?

John McCain’s choice of Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate calls his judgment into serious question. Let’s start off by stipulating, as Barack Obama has, that family issues like her 17-year-old daughter’s pregnancy and her decision to give birth to a Down syndrome baby are personal and should not be open to analysis. And too much is often made of vice president choices. You have to go back to 1960, when JFK’s pick of LBJ provided the margin of victory by bringing along Texas (that and the shenanigans in Illinois allegedly employed at the behest of the elder Richard Daley). More often, even the lamest picks seem to have little effect on the outcome of the election (think Spiro Agnew and Dan Quayle). But with both candidates competing for the narrow group of voters who somehow have managed to remain undecided their choices may have a more than usual effect this year. Barack Obama’s choice of Delaware’s Sen. Joe Biden leaves little to criticize. McCain backers are asserting that Biden’s long experience in Washington casts doubt on the Democratic ticket’s promise of change. But Obama has already so strongly linked his campaign to change that that dog won’t hunt. Plus Biden promises to bring valuable expertise on many issues, foreign and domestic, that can only give the Obama administration a greater chance of success. As for McCain’s choice, what can you say? Where do you start? He apparently wanted to choose his friend, and fellow Iraq War hawk, former Democrat and current Independent Joe Lieberman of Connecticut but all signs suggested that a messy floor fight, possibly even challenging McCain’s own nomination would ensue. So his fallback was to go with a “fresh face” who would appeal to the social conservative base of the party, never all that comfortable with McCain, and possibly appeal to disgruntled Hillary Clinton supporters and other women. The idea that a pro-life, pro-oil industry, pro-NRA female would win over Hillary backers implies a radical feminist demographic that defies logic. Palin’s appeal is to people who weren’t going to vote for Obama anyway. What’s actually scary is the way this choice suggests that McCain relies on his gut instincts, a tendency that may not always lead to the best results in the Oval Office. Heck, he met Palin a mere two times. McCain’s slogan is “Country First” but this pick seems to put electoral considerations, however bizarre, ahead of governing priorities. Perhaps a better McCain slogan would be “WTF?”

I’m a little discouraged this morning

Hot Meeting About Potential UWM Dorm Site

The Maryland Avenue School played host to a tension-filled meeting to discuss one of three proposals for the location of the new UWM dorm. The proposal on the table was the nearby Prospect Mall parking lot location proposed by Boulder Ventures.

One Way to Replace The Hoan Bridge and Build a Better Milwaukee

The replacement of the Hoan Bridge and its associated freeway ramps with a grade level route offers many opportunities but will also require the rerouting of a portion of the 40,000 motorists that travel over the Hoan Bridge each day.

Grunt green, pea green, etc.

It isn’t easy being green. Check out the paint job on the parking garage on the east side of Downer Avenue. You know the one we mean. The one that’s big ugly and THERE. The addition of green paint laid on in confusing configurations is a bit like putting lipstick on a pig. Further south on Farwell, in the block where dwelleth “Mr. Shoe,” two more buildings are undergoing paint mania. The orange-ish 50’s Atomic design on the building on the west side of the Farwell drag strip is actually fun, but the one across from it is not to be believed … big blocks of color that shout in order to define the property. Not a good idea, plus the developer ripped out the funky awning windows which at least added a former note of interest. The Lafayette Park condos at Prospect & Lafayette are still rising, but whoa! when you stroll the Oak Leaf Trail that runs below them, the noise from the air-exchange system in the looming project is distracting to say the least. At this writing, only one was operating. Stella can’t wait till they fire up the others. Doesn’t Milwaukee have ordinances regulating nuisance noises belching forth from mega structures? The Breakwater Condo on Prospect Avenue (the one overlooking modest Burns Park) is moving along, most recently with the addition of major balconies hanging from the units. Next year they’ll be filled with grills and furniture no one ever sits in.

A mother’s perspective aka Police Brutality part three