Cool Trumps Hot

So did you watch the debate last night? If not, I understand. This election has been going on forever. Even I found myself getting distracted while John McCain and Barack Obama were having at it. The race seemed so close a mere four weeks ago. These debates were among the most anticipated in history. The pressure was on both candidates to define themselves for the dwindling number of voters who were still undecided and, perhaps more importantly, casting doubts in their minds about their opponent. But that was then. Since the conventions ended, the nation has witnessed an economic collapse unlike anything since the Great Depression of 1929. Wall Street is in a tailspin, capital markets have stopped functioning, and Congress has passed an $850 billion rescue package. People are nervous and angry. How much more of this can anyone take? Conventional wisdom says that the more concerned people are about the economy, the better off Obama is. But that only seems to scratch the surface. McCain has appeared so erratic since the economic crisis blew up that he almost seems intent on convincing voters to support Obama. You’ve heard the litany. First he said the fundamentals of the economy were fine, then he called for President Bush to fire Security and Exchange Commission Chairman Christopher Cox, then he suspended his campaign, then he was back on the trail. It’s been exhausting to watch. McCain has effectively ceded the argument about which candidate is more stable and calm under pressure. And, what do you know?, McCain threw out another seemingly half-baked idea last night suggesting that he would instruct the Treasury Secretary to buy out the mortgages of every home in the nation that had been foreclosed. Obama’s response that the rescue package already gave the Treasury Secretary that authority seemed to let the air out of McCain’s trial balloon. McCain appeared to spend much of the debate wandering around the stage. By itself, age should not be a factor but McCain’s choppy answers and his surliness emphasize the contrast between the two candidates. McCain is dangerously close to appearing cartoonish. Am I the only one who was reminded last night of Howard Beale, the hysterical aging news anchor from the movie, Network? Here was a man who seemed lost in time. He wants to inherit the mantle of Ronald Reagan but last night McCain reminded me more of Abraham Simpson. Barack Obama’s performance was also somewhat disappointing. He seemed insistent on tamping down his normally inspirational language. A couple of the questions appeared to give him ideal opportunities to wax philosophical on the challenges facing the nation. Yet he returned to the same themes and principles of the failed Bush years and McCain’s links to the current president. In contrast with McCain, Obama almost seemed too cool. He chose his words carefully and remained calm. While his supporters may have wished he be more aggressive, I have to believe this was intentional and that undecided viewers will react favorably […]

The Last Refuge

It was a less than great weekend for sports fans in Wisconsin. The Badgers and Packers both lost and the Brewers ended their season though not before winning a playoff game at home on Saturday. So it’s time to return to more mundane topics like the economy and health care, national security and foreign relations. Yes, boys and girls, there still is an election a month away and the stakes couldn’t be higher. The wind appears to be at the back of the Democrats but, like a well-conditioned athlete, Barack Obama is wisely not letting his guard down. John McCain finds himself on the wrong side of the electorate on the war, has proven to be clueless on the economy and has, perhaps fatally, allied himself with the policies of an incredibly unpopular president. McCain may still wish to carry the brand of a “Straight Talker” but his words and actions show him to be a typically calculating, if inept, politician. McCain was a supporter of President Bush until he wasn’t a supporter of President Bush and his response to the economic crisis changed from day to day, revealing a candidate who seemed to feel that voters would be comforted by a strategy of “winging it.” So it comes to this. The McCain-Palin campaign has let it be known that “the gloves are off” which means that we can expect attacks on Obama’s vague and flimsy association with former Weatherman William Ayers. The whole thing is ridiculous. Obama has soundly criticized Ayers revolutionary activities from the 60s and 70s (when Obama was in grade school) and only has a tangential relationship with the university professor who happens to be his neighbor. McCain personally has taken pains to avoid this kind of guilt by association and we’re about to see why. It would have been nice if principle was involved but more likely it was because McCain is aware of the old axiom about people in glass houses. Remember Charles Keating? If not chances are good you’ll be hearing all about him soon. Keating was the Savings and Loan mogul who McCain went to bat for by improperly meeting with regulators to get them off his back in the ‘80s. And this wasn’t simply a matter of helping a friend. McCain’s record of opposing regulations is diametrically opposed with the needs of the nation at this moment in time. So go ahead Sen. McCain, bring on the smears. To paraphrase Samuel Johnson, these kind of attacks are the last refuge of a scoundrel. Here in Wisconsin. we can vote early, beginning today. So go down to City Hall and take care of business. That way, you can avoid long lines and maybe even volunteer on election day. It’s the right thing to do.

More Than We Remember #4

The city on the hill

I’m watching the Vice Presidential debates right now, which has on the whole been a sort of frustrating snore — the kind that wakes you up at night when you can’t breathe anymore. Sarah Palin just said (in reference to her Achilles Heel, by the way, which doesn’t make any goddamn sense) that America still needs to be the “shining city on the hill,” which she attributed — only somewhat correctly — to Ronald Reagan. It was Reagan and his cronies who resurrected the phrase, which is actually old as dust: it was originally spoken by John Winthrop in his sermon “A Model of Christian Charity” — and if you go back far enough, it’s biblical. Like most matters of reference in the world today, it only took a hot minute (thanks, Wikipedia) to get it right (I thought it was de Tocqueville). And because I’m a lady of the text, this distracted me for the rest of the debate — and really pulling apart Winthrop’s sermon, delivered in 1630, I actually think it’s prescient. And chilling. Here’s the full old English text: Now the only way to avoid this shipwreck and to provide for our posterity is to follow the counsel of Micah, to doe Justly, to love mercy, to walk humbly with our God. For this end, we must be knit together in this work as one man. We must entertain each other in brotherly affection, we must be willing to abridge ourselves of our superfluities, for the supply of others necessities. We must uphold a familiar commerce together in all meekness, gentleness, patience and liberality. We must delight in each other, make others conditions our own rejoice together, mourn together, labor, and suffer together, always having before our eyes our commission and community in the work, our community as members of the same body. So shall we keep the unity of the spirit in the bond of peace. The Lord will be our God and delight to dwell among us, as his own people and will commaund a blessing upon us in all our wayes, soe that wee shall see much more of his wisdom power goodness and truth then formerly wee have been acquainted with, wee shall finde that the God of Israell is among us, when ten of us shall be able to resist a thousand of our enemies, when hee shall make us a prayse and glory, that men shall say of succeeding plantacions: the lord make it like that of New England: for wee must Consider that wee shall be as a City upon a Hill, the eies of all people are uppon us; soe that if wee shall deale falsely with our god in this worke wee have undertaken and soe cause him to withdraw his present help from us, wee shall be made a story and a byword through the world, wee shall open the mouths of enemies to speake evill of the wayes of god and all professours for Gods […]

One Question

In the run-up to this historic election cycle, VITAL asked a sampling of your elected officials one question. We deliberately chose politicians at the city, county, state and federal levels, both Republicans and Democrats, in the hope that the responses of five different people who serve their constituencies from different horizons of perspective would offer some collective insight into where we are, where we’re headed and how we’re going to get there in the next four years. Their repsonses virtually careen from fiery stump speech to party line recitation to four-point-plan. If you follow politics, not much here will surprise you, but it is a rather fascinating character study.–Jon Anne Willow Willie L. Hines Jr. Alderman, 15th District Milwaukee Common Council President Having grown up in public housing, I am well acquainted with severe struggles many residents of Milwaukee face. My nine siblings and I always knew that having food on the table was not something to take for granted. We witnessed decay and destruction up close. And we learned to be thankful for everything, in and out of season – regardless of circumstances. Those childhood lessons have equipped me with a unique perspective when it comes to government and serving the needs of citizens. I know that significant challenges present significant opportunities – it’s a belief that guides my everyday life as an alderman and as Common Council President. I’ve witnessed individuals and communities in my district overcome myriad obstacles, so I know that it can be done with the right mix of determination and sound public policy. In regard to unemployment, housing and transportation, Milwaukee can do much better. We can – and should – face down these challenges and transform them into opportunities for growth, prosperity and a better quality of life for everyone. Part of the solution rests in a word that is often talked about but seldom realized: regionalism.Just as Milwaukee has its share of challenges, so too do our suburban neighbors: New Berlin has the largest industrial park in the state, but they need employees; many Waukesha residents want to get in and out of downtown Milwaukee quickly, but our inter-transit system is anemic; Shorewood and Whitefish Bay rely on Milwaukee for their employment options, but they offer almost no affordable housing. By recognizing that we are all one community, we can leverage our mutual advantages to address our mutual shortcomings. If Milwaukee can have sister-city relationships with municipalities in China and Africa, surely we can collaborate with our suburban counterparts. Recently, the topic of regionalism was fiercely debated when New Berlin came to Milwaukee seeking a deal for Lake Michigan water. This was not a surprise; as soon as the Great Lakes Compact was signed, we new that New Berlin would be the first candidate on the docket to be vetted for full connection to Milwaukee’s world-class fresh water infrastructure. Some have said that the New Berlin/Milwaukee water agreement offered an example of regionalism. But I say regionalism has to be a twoway […]

Reconsidering the turkey

The other day my son and I were driving in the country when we saw a small rafter of wild turkeys hanging out by the side of the road. We stopped to watch, which eventually caused the big tom to lead the dozen or so females and adolescents back to the tall meadow stand at a leisurely pace, one eye on us and one on his charges. He perched in a low tree, puffed up and giving orders in what sounded like a calm but firm voice, not descending until it was time to form a rear guard of one. It was very cool. For a 10-year old, Harrison is a fount of history and science trivia. As we pulled away he asked me if I knew that Ben Franklin thought the turkey would make a better national bird than the bald eagle. “I did know that,” I replied. “Do you know why?” “Because he thought turkeys were smarter and more honest than eagles, and that was a better symbol for America.” I asked if he agreed. “I think,” he replied, “that the turkey would be a better symbol of how we should be, but the eagle is more accurate for how we are.” Indeed. Benjamin Franklin’s now-famous thoughts on the turkey were disclosed in a letter to his daughter in 1784: “For my own part I wish the Bald Eagle had not been chosen the Representative of our Country. He is a Bird of bad moral Character. He does not get his Living honestly. …[T]oo lazy to fish for himself, he watches the Labour of the Fishing Hawk; and when that diligent Bird has at length taken a Fish, and is bearing it to his Nest for the Support of his Mate and young Ones, the Bald Eagle pursues him and takes it from him. … [L]like those among Men who live by Sharping & Robbing he is generally poor and often very lousy. Besides he is a rank Coward: The little King Bird not bigger than a Sparrow attacks him boldly and drives him out of the District. He is therefore by no means a proper Emblem for the brave and honest Cincinnati of America who have driven all the King birds from our Country…For the Truth the Turkey is in Comparison a much more respectable Bird …He is besides, though a little vain & silly, a Bird of Courage…” Franklin never petitioned his idea formally. Maybe he already had a sense of the direction in which things were headed and didn’t see the value in ruffling any feathers (sorry). He was, after all, a pretty smart guy, and eerily prescient on a host of matters. Philosophically, as a publisher, I’m probably a lot like Ben Franklin, who worked as a civil servant late into his life, more interested in improving the postal service, the library system and municipal functions than holding great power on the world stage. So when you read VITAL Source online or in print, […]

On Assignment

by Matt Wild + Photos by Kat Berger I’m sipping a flat rum and coke at a place called El Bait Shop (Spanish for: The Bait Shop) in downtown Des Moines, Iowa, when I realize how much this town is like a Lou Reed record: difficult, frustrating and haunted by past brilliance. Sure, there’s always something of worth to be found buried beneath the bright bars and non-existent music scene (or, in Lou Reed’s case, concept albums about Edgar Allen Poe) but damn if you don’t have to work for it. To explain: In late August, Vital sent me to cover the inaugural World Xtreme Boxing Challenge being held in Des Moines. Less than 48 hours before I was scheduled to leave, the tournament was cancelled. Figuring a weekend out of town might do me some good, I decided to make the trip anyway. My story would now be of the city itself, its similarities and differences to Milwaukee, its selling points and hidden treasures. It would also be a half-assed travelogue, one that would come to feature a failed Wayne Newton encounter, an appropriately geeky renaissance fair and me getting slapped in the face by a dwarf. And finally, like a Lou Reed album (I’m thinking something along the lines of Transformer now), it would be about how a road trip can be a bundle of blind hope, bitter disappointments and – given enough time and patience – something like a revelation. This is the story of that road trip. This is Des Moines. DAY 1 Looking out the windows of the ultra-swank Embassy Club atop the 801 Grand building, you can see nearly everything there is to see of Des Moines, a city roughly a quarter the size of Milwaukee. It’s a beautiful city, really, with the Iowa State Capitol – its 23-karat gold-plated dome shining in the sunset – overlooking downtown. I’m taking it all in with a glass of red wine in my hand, joined by Milwaukee’s own Amy Elliott, Bridget Brave and Kat Berger. (A quick note to male readers: when making a road trip with three women, it takes less than 20 minutes before the conversation turns to tampons and Judy Blume books.) We’ve just driven seven hours and have barely made our dinner appointment with three members of the Des Moines Convention and Visitors Bureau. There are no prices on our menus and the ladies look amazing. I’ve managed to put on a shirt and tie. The similarities between Des Moines and Milwaukee are striking: both share a clean, compact downtown that has benefited from recent revitalization programs, and both have a contentious, newly-erected bronze statue to contend with (in the case of Des Moines, it’s of recent Olympic gold-medalist Shawn Johnson). Other fun facts learned over our five-course meal: Des Moines is the insurance capital of America, it contains some of the most extensive urban biking/hiking trails in the world, and its four-mile downtown skywalk system is second-to-none. Later, a helpful Wikipedia […]

Milwaukee celebrates

Holy cow, the Brewers are in the playoffs and their fans are ready to par-tey!!! Well, I’m glad. Truthfully, I would have liked the Mets and Brewers to have won yesterday to force a game between the two teams to decide which one moved on. You see, I’ve always been a Mets fan but that’s another story. But how can you not be happy for Brewers fans? The 26 year drought without an appearance in the playoffs is over!! Finally, the city can stop looking back nostalgically on a seventh game loss in the World Series. Big time thanks to Mark Attanasio, the kid from the Bronx who grew up rooting for the Yankees before making a fortune which allowed him to rescue this team from the cursed Seligs. This guy had the courage and commitment to open up his checkbook and bring CC Sabathia to town. Baseball fans can reasonably disagree about lots of things but there is no chance that the Brewers would have made the playoffs sans CC. How exciting it must have been to watch the Brewers win at Miller Park and then stay to cheer as the Mets fell to the Marlins. Me, I was home watching the Packers lose while on the phone with my brother who was providing me with a play-by-play of the Jets game. Clearly, this is not the day to talk football and relive the Brett soap opera but give me a break? Aaron Rodgers has played great and he may be the future of the team but if he misses a single game due to injury, boy will the Packer brain trust get an earful! So I will be totally and completely rooting for the Brewers against the Phillies and, hopefully, against the Cubs or the Dodgers, and, yes, against the Red Sox, Rays, Angels, Twins or White Sox in the World Series. Sure it’s a long shot but that’s why they play the games. Oh, and one last thing. Back in 2000 when I had just moved to Wisconsin I went nearly insane with excitement when the Mets and Yankees met in the first (and, so far, only) Subway Series of my life. Did anyone here care? Who cares about baseball, I was told. The Packers season has started! Well, folks, whaddya know? It’s October (almost) and baseball still matters in Milwaukee. Whoo Hoo!

Tragedy or Farce?

It couldn’t be any wackier if Paddy Chayefsky and Joseph Heller had collaborated on the script and Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman had done the directing. Let’s review. Those wild and crazy folks who are in charge of our federal government in Washington, DC continue to squander what little respect they have by appearing to be totally incapable of serious, mature behavior. The American economy has been the envy of the rest of the world because of one thing; its stability. Now the bedrock of the world’s financial infrastructure is in a state of collapse and those fine peeps responsible for righting this ship appear to be auditioning for a Three Stooges short. Who’s to blame? Where to start? Certainly evildoer #1 has to be President George Bush. His administration started a misguided and unnecessary war by manipulating Congress, the public and the world community. Thousands upon thousands of Americans and countless others have died or been maimed as a result and no evaluation of the current lame duck can avoid pointing that out. But let’s focus on the financial crisis. It is obvious that the Bush policies promoting deregulation and lax enforcement gave a green light to the lending practices that got us in our current situation. Bush may admire the presidency of Ronald “Mr. Teflon” Reagan but during this economic crisis he has appeared to be more deserving of the title Mr. Flypaper. And John McCain seems to think he can earn votes by competing with the President for Least Reassuring Performance of the Week. Sen. McCain continues to make light of his “Country First” slogan with his grandstanding behavior that appears to have blown up an apparent agreement on legislation to rescue the failing financial institutions. A cynical observer might conclude that McCain is so desperate to alter the perception that he is clueless on economic issues that he believes he must appear to be personally responsible for the bailout. Talk about a Messiah Complex! This prosposed legislation is so complicated that any delay may be a good thing if it gives members of Congress the opportunity to actually read and think about what they are voting on. But the world’s financial experts feel that the longer this takes, the worse things will be. The image of Treasury Secretary Hank Paulsen getting on his knees to plead with House Speaker Nancy Pelosi isn’t helping with that confidence thing. Who knows how this will end? Who knows if the debate will go on tonight? My advice? Rent Duck Soup or A Night at the Opera by the Marx Brothers and have a few laughs. But stay away from The Three Stooges. They behave too much like our political leaders to be a diversion.

In which I Attend the Forward Music Fest, Day 2, Part 2

fig.1: Droids Attack, attacking Here’s one thing i didn’t do all weekend during the Forward Fest that i feel should be pointed out—i didn’t get drunk once. There’s a reason for this; it’s because despite running into people i knew all weekend, i was essentially going it alone. And look; stories of romantic rock ‘n’ roll excess play really well when the intrepid music journalist has a traveling partner or two, but alone there’s nothing Hunter S. Thompson about being drunk on Leine’s at three in the afternoon. When you’re 34, live in Milwaukee, and a humble blogger for a local publication, that’s just sad. So yeah, not so much with the drunken antics this weekend. I point this out because when i walked from the Frequency to Wisconsin’s best live music venue, by far (sorry Cactus Club), the High Noon Saloon, i managed to meet up with some pals who took care of all the alcoholic revelry for me in spades. Not two minutes into my High Noon visit (whereupon walking into the venue my first thought was “oh sweet! I didn’t completely miss Helliphant!”), i heard a “HEY DJ!” and ran into my yes-it’s-only-9-PM-but-god-dammit-i’m-loaded Chicago buddy Tanya and her pals Ashleigh and Kara, who weren’t far behind. What rules about Tanya is that she has the best musical taste of any 21-year-old i’ve maybe ever met. Cute girls who are barely drinking age are not supposed to be fans of music that falls under an umbrella referred to in the 80s as “pigfuck,” but there you have it. Tanya’s favorite band in the universe is Killdozer, and she is here, at this festival to see Killdozer and Killdozer alone. Oh, and the Heroin Sheiks, because apparently she’d totally blow Shannon Selberg. She said so about 20 minutes after she threw up in the High Noon’s beer garden. (NOTE: Tanya’s gonna kill me for writing this. My only possible redemption will be convincing her that because this is a new blog, no one is reading it yet, so no one will know her shame. Look, Tanya, at least i didn’t run the pictures.) After a completely ripping set from my boys in the Madison stoner-riff combo Droids Attack, i was tickled to hear a bunch of people around me exclaiming sentiments similar to “who were those guys? Droids Attack? They were awesome! Why haven’t i heard of them before?” Argh. BECAUSE YOU HAVEN’T BEEN PAYING ATTENTION. Droids have been around for almost as long as my band (8 1/2 years, guh), so there is no excuse for anyone who attends shows at the High Noon on a regular basis to have not heard of them before Sept. 20, 2008. End of story. Tanya gets a pass because she’s from Chicago. Speaking of Tanya, it was around this time that her friends were cutting her off because she apparently had enough to drink for the night (it was about 10 at this point). After an extended debate among the three […]

The Scorecard

John McCain is not having a very good couple of weeks. His campaign has been in free fall ever since last week when he called the fundamentals of our economy strong, He quickly tried to reposition himself on all this economic stuff by insisting he was talking about the American Worker and Small Business owner and we were, in fact, facing a crisis. Nearly every day since has been an adventure as McCain has unleashed a barrage of prescriptions as if he was engaged in a very public focus group test. “Establish a bipartisan commission,” “Fire SEC Commission Chairman Christopher Cox,” “Hire Andrew Cuomo,” “Suspend the campaign and postpone the debate.” I don’t know about you but these rants do not inspire confidence. Don’t take my word for it, look at what George Will has to say. His decision to cancel his appearance on David Letterman may have seemed a good idea at the time but it may prove to be his most egregious error yet. By insisting that his time would be better spent returning to Washington to focus on the nation’s economy, McCain has invited the wrath of a man who controls five hours of network television a week. Letterman was hilarious and ruthless in his attack of McCain last night. And, it turns out, McCain didn’t rush down to the Capitol but merely headed over to another CBS studio which enabled Dave to share with his viewers the shot of McCain having makeup applied to his face across from Katie Couric. Ouch! Grade: F Meanwhile, the President’s remarks last night fell short in a number of respects. The people who cared enough to watch were looking for an explanation of why this is happening and how the proposed plan will help. The tone and rhetoric needed to convey urgency while demonstrating that the government’s primary concern was with the average American and not simply bailing out the wealthy. And it wouldn’t have hurt for him to accept some of the blame for the crisis. The real purpose of the speech was to apply pressure on Congress to move swiftly. A leader with the nation’s welfare at heart would have been willing to share responsibility in order to spur action. What I saw and heard was a man who was on automatic pilot. He placed blame on everyone but himself. Foreign money flooded our markets. Consumers bought homes they couldn’t afford. Some on Wall Street got greedy. And the solution wasn’t of his choosing but it’s what the experts say is necessary. And, by the way, Congress needs to act quickly or average Americans are going to be even more screwed. Did he really say that the rescue was important so people can buy new homes and cars? This are the concerns of the well off. What about the people worried about keeping their jobs, staying in their current homes and putting food on the table? This guy is so out of touch it’s incredible. Is there a […]

Sign your name here!