Curmudgeon's Corner

The 'Disturbing News' Blog posted on April 24th discussed the newspaper article that highlighted Trustee Langer's resignation as Campaign Finance Director for President Kempinski.  Since that time, I have reviewed the campaign finance reports for both individuals.

Copies of the 'resignation' letter written by Trustee Langer dated April 10th and the 'acknowledgement' letter written by President Kempinski dated April 12th were found in the respective folders.  Mr. Langer refers to "many changes on the forms that were turned in and have numerous changes to them that I have no knowledge of" as his reason for the resignation.  Mr. Kempinski responded in his acknowledgment letter by indicating his surprise that this happened a year after the election (for Village President), referred to the "minor amendment" that "had to be made because you did not fill the form out properly" and his statement that "What is most surprising is your failed memory in regards to your making those many changes you have referred to".  Kempinski went on, in his letter, to say that "the forms were filled out by you and signed by you".

There were two specific changes that had been made and that were acknowledged in the margins of the report.  One was noted as an "improper donation" which could mean that it was done using a corporate check rather than a personal check, for example.  The other was to a union fund that had exceeded the maximum amount permitted at that time by $50.

Of more interest were the half-dozen or more that were obliterated by the use of what I would call 'white out fluid'.  Those items are no longer legible and there are no indications present that I could see which would describe the changes made and the reasons for the changes.  The totals on the report were also changed with the use of the 'white out fluid' and there is no indication I saw as to what those changes entailed.  I have to assume that the totals were corrected to reflect the two visible changes as well as the other non-visible changes.

There is probably never going to be an answer to this puzzlement, but it all, once again, leaves me wondering what and why?

Back on March 25th, we discussed the first story that centered on the Wellness Committee within the Germantown employee ranks.  The committee was about to make a request for up to $20,000 to be used in a wellness program for village employees.  This proposal was sent back by the General Government and Finance Committee at that time for more work by the group.  I had mentioned at the time that there seemed little enthusiasm for a $20,000 expenditure but that the committee had been encouraged to formulate more detailed plans and return.

That return visit is scheduled for tonight according to a Journal Sentinel article this morning.  That article stated that the committee will be returning with a proposal for the expenditure of $14,495 this year on wellness activities.  The key here will be the plan of action that they present.

Wellness programs can be very good for employees and their dependents if managed correctly.  Many private sector employers use them and have had good results.  Among the keys is that employees have to be engaged.  They have to be challenged.  Some private sector employers have used incentives to get the employee's buy-in.  The incentives are legal if put together correctly.

In other instances, smaller groups have managed to create sound wellness programs with the expenditure of relatively few dollars.  By few dollars, I am talking about a few hundred dollars that is leveraged using the resources already available within the community.  Many wellness programs have begun on a smaller scale and then expanded as ideas were proved to work.

Other wellness programs see the gradual decline of participation by employees.  That seems to happen when the programs become old and stale; when there are no new ideas or approaches being developed year after year.

And, it is very important that wellness programs are available to dependents of the village employees.  Dependents typically outnumber employees especially in a more mature workforce such as seems evident in Germantown.

Finally, negotiated agreements may need to be revisited should the village decide to proceed with a wellness program.

I hope that we do not see blanket approval without some in-depth study and analysis.  These programs can be good or bad; they are never guaranteed to work.

In the final analysis, the purposes of wellness programs also include a return on investment.  What will the investment of $14,495 this year do, if anything, to reduce costs in the health care programs next year or in the next five years?  Who has put the plan together?  Are they qualified to do so?  If a professional group, does it have a track record that can be reviewed by the Board before moving ahead?

I received several emails that provided some additional information and thoughts on the subject of the intersection at Mequon and Wausaukee Roads at the very east edge of the village.

Trustee Wolter was kind enough to send an email covering a meeting held at the Germantown Library on Thursday afternoon, April 24th.  The City of Mequon and Village of Germantown were represented, Senator Darling and Representatives Ott and Jeskewitz attended and several Department of Transportation representatives were present.

The topic was the intersection in question and DOT was seeking a 'compromise' for the signalization of the intersection.  The plan that was in process of implementation at that time was for two straight through lanes, dedicated left turn lanes with islands, and dedicated right turn lanes on Mequon with a single straight through lane traveling north and south on Wausaukee Road.

City of Mequon officials thought this was 'overkill' since they consider the area to be rural, and their planning supports that it will remain rural in their eyes.  They preferred the roundabout solution and were pushing for that as the outcome of this meeting.  Germantown officials wanted the intersection to stay as the DOT had designed and based this on the increased traffic due to Waste Management trucks and the increase in auto traffic east and west during weekday commute periods.  They also foresaw an increase in traffic as building in TIF 4 increased.  The DOT was looking out 20 years so far as design and capacity.

The 'compromise' that came from this meeting was this: a single straight through lane east and west on Mequon along with dedicated left hand and right hand turn lanes while Wausaukee stayed as designed with a single lane in both directions.  The provision was that something might need to be rebuilt if traffic projections were to be reached in the next ten years.

Conversations I have had indicate that some are concerned about the village being required to pick up the future cost while the DOT is now paying 100% of the costs for the construction.  Others have voiced the opinion that a roundabout was their preference, as well, and cited the thought that we may have been able to forego all construction if enforcement were to be stepped up in that area.  Still others questioned the need for any change suggesting that there were single digit accidents per year from their observations.

So, there is apparently a compromise in place. Maybe this will stay in place since all the 'official' parties were at this table.  As is customary, some of the 'unofficial' parties will continue to disagree.  That is among the reasons we hold elections every few years.

We are experiencing a significant increase in costs for two 'staples' in our lives, food and fuel.  Rice purchases are being limited in some stores because people have begun to hoard this basic food item.  Gasoline and diesel fuel are both at all time highs and are moving higher.  Grocery costs are escalating rapidly.

How is it that this can be happening?  What is driving this rapid cost escalation?  Is it the Republicans having been in office for the past seven plus years?  Will a Democrat president change all this?

We are seeing the results of years of marketplace interference.  Our government (both parties are guilty) has created the gasoline and diesel fuel situation through its stubborn refusal to approve the construction of new refining capacity and through its equally stubborn refusal to permit drilling for oil where there are known fields that could take care of our needs for many decades to come.

We are seeing the result of farm programs that cause farmers to do things that are encouraged by financial incentives.  We are seeing the results of corporate farm programs that reward the very wealthy people who own large pieces of land.  We're seeing the result of legislation that favors the ADMs of the world.  We are seeing the results of political interference in the areas of 'bio-fuels' (ethanol) that have begun consuming bigger and bigger amounts of corn, which has caused the prices of other substitute grains to rise accordingly.

Ethanol is a very poor fuel additive.  It does not burn as efficiently, it is difficult to carry over distances, it has a government subsidy that is just being reduced to $.45 cents per gallon from the original $.51 per gallon.  So, we put one of our basic food stocks into our gas tank because of government meddling and wonder why we're seeing the food and fuel price increases that we're seeing.  We get poorer mileage, pay more for the gas that gives us that poorer mileage and we wouldn't buy the ethanol-laced gasoline if it were priced at its true market price.

Our food costs are rising due to supply and demand.  Substitute grains cause flour prices to escalate.  There is a shortage of soy products due to the move from soy beans to corn because the price of corn has been artificially manipulated.  Fuel costs affect the cost of food transportation.  Livestock is being fed with more and more expensive grains.

Beyond all this in our own country, we have seen the economies of both India and China expand at significant rates.  That has made them able to be larger consumers of the things we're paying more for today.  More people in India and China have automobiles, more can afford to buy clothing made from synthetic materials that are produced from fossil fuels, and both countries have tens of millions of newly empowered consumers.

The long and short, from my perspective is this:  politicians have played around with the marketplace and they broke it; the movement to force 'green' into our lives has cost us refining capacity and crude oil to refine if we had the capacity; we're burning 'food' in our cars that is driving up the cost of edible food from a raw materials perspective and a transportation perspective.

This will not be a problem we solve overnight.  Refineries require nearly a decade to build...if they were able to gain approval from the politicians who don't want more refineries.  We import crude oil when we could be drilling and extracting it from our own fields.  We import gasoline because of the lack of refinery capacity.  People are trying to hoard basic food stuff because they fear where all this is going.

And finally, we are in the midst of a presidential campaign and I don't believe I've heard one peep out of any of the candidates about this issue.  They must see this as a net losing subject or they'd be all over it with their promises to resolve the 'crisis'.  They'd certainly not get the votes from agricultural states.  They'd not get the huge contributions that flow to them because groups think they're going to favor the members of those groups.

How will this issue get resolved if we cannot even include it in the presidential campaign discussions?  How will this issue get resolved if the economic drivers created by Congress continue to exist as they currently do?  They are all too eager to side with those who 'know' that global warming is upon us.  They are only too happy to jump aboard the Al Gore bandwagon even though his 'research' has never been proved out in the scientific community.

I am tired of the disingenuousness of way too many of our politicians, from both parties, who are in office because it is a nice cushy job with great 'perks'.  I'm tired of those politicians who sit in a handful of staged hearings and emerge as the expert on any given issue.

And, I'm tired of ethanol in my fuel that raises the cost and reduces the mileage rate.  And, I'm tired of seeing our grocery bills climb weekly when I know that it is caused by artificially-induced government policies.  And, I wonder if I'm alone?

The intersection of Wausaukee and Mequon Roads has been accident prone for some time with the increased traffic loads that have developed.  The state Department of Transportation had originally indicated that it intended to place a 'round-about' at this intersection to slow traffic and control the flow through the intersection.  Seemingly the fact that this involved a state highway with relatively high speeds hadn't crossed the state's institutional mind.  Long story short, a couple of Germantown people who are no longer in office worked diligently to get this intended action changed and succeeded.

The state recently announced that a traffic light intersection would be created at that location and that the state would fully fund the work with the proviso that Germantown maintain the intersection.  Part of this intersection is in Ozaukee County and Mequon.

It seems that Mequon has made a 'stink' with very little in the way of rational reason, and this has apparently caused the state to threaten to renege on its written intention earlier provided to Germantown.  This situation has degenerated to the point where the 'round-about' solution was back on the table, and the ultimate outcome is very much in doubt.  In the meantime, accidents continue to occur and will continue to occur until something is done to eliminate the danger.

If you have strong feelings about this, it is the time to voice those to your elected representatives who serve in Madison.   When the state makes a decision and then rescinds that decision, someone somewhere must've done some tail-twisting.  You might also want to let your Trustees and Village President know just how strongly you feel about this so they can add the weight of your comments to their own.  The appropriate addresses are to found on the Village website link that is located at the very bottom of the GermantownNOW site you're on now.

Ty Finke wrote an article titled "Village president's campaign finance manager resigns" that appears both on the GermantownNOW site as well as in today's print edition.

The article is disturbing to me on several counts.  It seems to point up a schism between President Kempinski and Trustee Langer.  Mr. Langer was the 'campaign finance manager' referred to in the headline.  He reportedly resigned as the result of changes made to the campaign finance reports that he had helped Mr. Kempinski prepare a year ago.  I presume that one would not retain the services of anyone other than a trusted friend/acquaintance for such a sensitive role.  And such a seemingly abrupt end to the relationship raises questions for me.

We must remember that this is surfacing a short time after the changes in committee assignments made by President Kempinski that cost Trustee Langer his chairmanship of the Public Safety Committee.  Both men claim that one had nothing to do with the other.

We might simply be seeing some of those 'sour grapes' that have been referenced before following the recent election.  We might be seeing something that is symptomatic of deeper divisions between these two elected representatives.

It is disconcerting to think that two people who seemed to share common political positions and goals so closely could have such an apparent 'falling out' as this.  There has been little secret that both were closely aligned.  That suggests one or more of several things:

• Might neither person have ever had such a close affiliation as seemed the case to most observers?
• Might there have been something more that triggered the abrupt end of the campaign finance manager relationship?
• Might we be seeing the tip of some other iceberg?

Maybe we'll learn more as time passes.  Or, maybe this will get buttoned up and we'll learn nothing more.

This is one more in a series of things that raise questions in my mind.  There seems an arrogance permeating the leadership levels of our community that I find troubling.  I have to wonder what comes next as I mentioned a few days ago.

We've gone a long time between Blogs centering on MATC, but it is again time to take a critical look.  A 'headline' from some time ago suggested that MATC just can't help itself.  That seems to be the case.  They certainly don't seek out the kind of news coverage they tend to generate.  No organization would want to be in this type of 'limelight' and yet they do it to themselves over and over and over again.

Yesterday we learned that poor old MATC was being chastised by the 'state' for having proposed a budget that would require a property tax increase of some 6.4%.  It seems that even Governor Doyle thought that was too high, and that is going some when you think about all the tax increases and fee increases he has dumped in our laps.

So, having had their knuckles rapped with a ruler, they are being forced to the unthinkable...they may have to make some cuts in their expenses!!

They are now talking about cuts that will get the property tax increase down to as little as 5% to 5.5%.  These people do not live in the world that you and I populate.  They must breath some other life giving gas other than oxygen.  Maybe they're actually in a different orbit.  It seems obvious that they are not bound by the same life rules that we, the taxpayers, are bound to follow.

Hammering at an old theme again, if you and I have too little income for our expense load, we usually will look at our expense first and make the necessary adjustments.  In the world occupied by MATC, it seems that you first look at raising your revenue before you even give any thought to reductions in budget.

An article today centers upon the 'incubator boondoggle' that MATC created for itself many years ago.  We've Blogged about that before, as well.  Some of the businesses aren't real businesses with any hope of survival in the real world.  Many are considerably behind in their rent payments.  Now MATC is looking at actually closing or modifying the two incubators but it may have to give some money to those businesses that are to be displaced apparently according to some language in their agreement with each.  I've not seen those agreements, but I can't imagine that even MATC would give money away, much of it probably to those same businesses that are behind in their rent payments, if it were not bound to do so by the agreements.  Let's hope that MATC is sharp enough to hold back funds from this payment to at least recover the rental payments owed to it and to us taxpayers.

I have a high degree of difficulty in imagining that there is nothing else that can be cut out of the MATC budget.  How is it that MATC will cut expenses and still have to take us taxpayers to the cleaners for 5% to 5.5% more property taxes than we paid last time?  There are things that can be cut.  Let's talk about staff positions to begin with.  Let's look at the benefits next.  Let's review the travel expenses; it seems to me that was sort of a bloated area the last time we went down this pathway.  Maybe they need to sell off property and lease back the portions they actually need.  Maybe they need to shake up the status quo and actually take some real action like ending the deal with the current 'King' and getting a replacement that doesn't suffer from such egotism and illogical sense of institutional direction.  The Board should be capable of changing this direction unless it also suffers from something similar.

In the meantime, maybe the petitions to be removed from this system should be filed quickly and the case pressed while this iron is still hot enough to burn some sense into the directors of the state technical college system. 

By the way, Waukesha County Technical College has solidified its budget with a 3% increase in property taxes.  It is in the same geographic area, and faces most of the same issues.  What is the difference?  It seems to be leadership from my perspective.

Some members of the Village Board are reported to be using the 'tactic' of claiming miles from work to the Village Hall even though that is a trip that they'd have made on the way home.  It is probably fine so far as the IRS is concerned.  It has been done in many different settings over the course of time.  If there is a specific reason/need for the stop at the Village Hall, then that is fine.  If this is simply a convenient way to gain a deduction while satisfying the recently enacted requirements of expense accounts, it troubles me.

The trouble with these kinds of things is that, even though not illegal, some might take away the wrong impression from this knowledge.  These kinds of things can too often cloud the minds of people.  These things can cause people to 'see' things that may not be there.  These are the things that help to create or feed the 'us versus them' issues.  These are the things that not all would be comfortable in doing.

Once in public office, one lives in a fish bowl, rightly or wrongly.  Maybe my naiveté is showing yet again.

My personal approach is to lean almost too far in the opposite direction in such situations, so, for me, I wish it wasn't so.

This revelation is a little disconcerting.  I find it troubling.  I wonder what is next.

It is expected that Corsair Capital, a New York based private equity group will sign a deal with National City today that will affect Germantown.  You've guessed by now, if you're a regular reader, that the effect is to keep our newest bank name, National City Bank, in Germantown, at least for the foreseeable future.  Corsair and some other individual investors will put around $6 billion into National City at a share price of some $5.00.

We earlier traced the evolution from St. Francis Bank to Mid America Bank to National City Bank in the first Blog that discussed the plight of National City.  It's shares closed at $8.33 on Friday and that marked a 52 week decline in value of 78%.

So, it appears that my friendly, efficient bankers in Germantown will continue to be there when I need them.  I'm happy for them and for me and the rest of their customers.  Changing banks is a nuisance.  If there are direct deposits, those must be changed.  If there are automatic withdrawls, those must be changed.  New checks and bank cards must be obtained, and decisions as to which of the numerous accounts offered is the right account need to be made.  If Internet banking is involved, there is another level of change, and if telephone banking is involved, yet another level.

We sometimes are oblivious to the things that happen on Wall Street and the world but many of those distant happenings directly involve us in one or another ways.  This whole subject has been one that most of us has not followed...and yet it has an impact on our nice little village.  Our economy has truly become a global economy whether for the better or not.  IBM sold its laptop computer business to a company in China.  The Jaguar and Range Rover nameplates are now owned by a company in India.  GM is building a new engine plant in Brazil.  Medical x-rays are read off shore.  When the Far East markets hiccup, Wall Street flinches.  The demand for gasoline and diesel fuel in India and China have thrown our prices into a seemingly unending upward spiral.

Perhaps more important, these changes have occurred in a relatively short span of time..in decades rather than centuries.

President Kempinski has made his committee assignments for the coming year and the Board has approved those assignments.

Notable, and laudable, is the fact that Trustee Langer is no longer Chair of the Public Safety Committee and does not sit on that committee any longer.  Given Trustee Langer's former role as a POC firefighter for the Germantown department, this removes any appearance that might have suggested a personal agenda present in decisions made on that committee.

President Kempinski is to be thanked for this action to assure good governance and to reassure the community at large that local affairs will be decided without obvious biases. 

The new Chairman is Trustee Dean Wolter and the committee has a new member in the person of Trustee Jeff Werderman, newly elected as a trustee.

This committee deals with serious issues that affect our public safety: the police and fire departments and public safety in general.  These are among the most visible services provided by Germantown for its citizens, and are certainly among those services that impact life itself more than most other village functions.  Our firefighters and EMTs and our police officers are, in my opinion, doing a great job.  If there are ways in which the two departments might be improved, Trustee Wolter will likely work in those directions.  His service to this point has been very solid and there is no reason to believe that will change during this term in office.

Again, thanks to President Kempinski for this decision.

The HBO network has retained the services of Bill Maher for some time now.  I don't watch HBO only because it isn't part of my DirectTV package.  I likely will not watch HBO in the future, but for another reason.

Mr. Maher has chosen the time of the visit of this Pope to our country to launch into a vitriolic attack on Catholics and the Catholic church.  I am not Catholic, but I do consider myself to be a Christian.  I am not favorably disposed toward pedophilia nor toward members of the priesthood who have engaged in and/or tacitly condoned that despicable conduct.  I do know that pedophilia amongst clergy has not been limited to the Catholic church.

Mr. Maher has chosen this subject as his tool to castigate the Pope and the Catholic church during this visit to the U.S.  Among his comments, supposedly the comments from one of those who poses as a member of the literati in America, are the reference to the man who is now the Pope having been conscripted into the German military during the period of the rise of the Nazi movement in Germany.  The man who is now Pope was reportedly twelve years of age when this occurred.  Maher calls the Pope a Nazi but I've so far seen no evidence that this man who is now Pope ever was a member of the Nazi movement.

Mr. Maher has called the Catholic church a cult that supports pedophilia.  Mr. Maher has referred to the Catholic church as the 'Bear Stearns' of organized pedophilia in the world.

These comments are likely within Maher's rights as a citizen of our great country.  HBO has so far remained silent thus giving Maher its blessing to proceed unchecked.

This is an example of just how repugnant free speech can be.  This is an example of just how permissive some of our news and entertainment organizations seem to be.  That so few of the literati have had anything to say about this is telling indeed.

Nearly all of us are bombarded with information tidbits from the time we awake until we retire at the end of our day.  We live in the world of 24 hour news cycles unlike our forefathers.  We have electronic access virtually no matter where we find ourselves.  We are truly the 'plugged in' generations...and I submit we may well be too 'plugged in'.

If you're old enough, you may remember Mad magazine and the caricature character who graced its cover...Alfred E. Neumann.  The caption that accompanied the picture was..."What?  Me Worry?"  This was published before we became so well connected, back when print was more the primary conveyance for information.  I sometimes think back to Alfred E. Neumann and wonder if he would've been the happiest person on earth today, or if he would've also succumbed to what I've chosen to call "Subliminal Self-Fulfillment".

Again, if you're old enough, the term 'brainwashing' may carry memories.  This was supposedly a technique of erasing certain memories and replacing those with new memories.  It often involved the steady bombardment of the senses over many months and years.  Prisoners of war returning from the Korean 'Conflict' (thank goodness it wasn't a real war) were sometimes thought to have been the victims of brainwashing.

You, me and most everyone else in our world are subjected to a steady stream of messages that cannot help but be absorbed by most of us.  For example, 'Global Warming' has become "fact" even without scientific evidence confirming the theory.  That has largely occurred as the result of constant hammering by the press and the rest of the disciples for that movement.  For example, we seem to have talked ourselves into an economic 'recession' even though it very closely resembles an economic 'slowdown'.  For example, we feel the need to reward people who made bad home-buying decisions by bailing out Wall Street bankers that knew better but also knew that Uncle Sam would most likely bail them out...and they were right.

We seem to now believe that 'ethanol' is the savior for our country's appetite for gasoline to power our vehicles even though it is costing us a tremendous increase in the cost of our food stocks as well as costing us in the decreasing 'miles per gallon' arena.  Even though this product is being subsidized by our tax dollars and mandates since none of us would likely be inclined to pay more for something that delivers less than we were accustomed to receiving.

On top of all this 'noise', we find ourselves in that cycle of presidential campaigning...and there can be absolutely nothing good achieved by the administration currently in office no matter the political party involved.  It seems that we no longer have three years 'off' in between presidential elections.  Almost as soon as the President is sworn in, the opposition mounts the proverbial loudspeakers on the trucks and begins parading up and down the streets in our neighborhoods with the 'gloom and doom' message they desire to have implanted on our collective psyche.

This is what I choose to label 'subliminal self-fulfillment'.  We have become like the sheep following the 'bellwether'.  We have become like Pavlov's dogs.  Are we now nearing the point where we give up thinking for ourselves and simply let whatever others will to happen because we simply don't want to be involved?

Have we neared the point of becoming a nation of Alfred E. Neumanns?  Have we crossed over the mid-point?

Our neighbors to the south have just scored a significant new deal that will see a 110 room Radisson Hotel rise up like a Phoenix where the old, run-down motel stands today at the intersection of Main Street and Hwys. 41-45 in the Falls.  The eyesore will begin to be redone quickly according to reports and will include a 'name' restaurant when completed.

The development group doing the Radisson will also construct a total of 82 condominium units across the street from the hotel site apparently in three increments.

Maybe this will be the stimulus necessary to see the closed store fronts reopened, and to see the empty lots populated by farm market wagons in the Summer and Fall put to a more valuable use for the citizens of the Falls. 

And, it can't help but rub off a bit on us Germantown folks.  We'll have ready access to a new hotel for guests, a new restaurant that might be a nice destination and simply the general aura of success that comes from area re-development.

Tax incremental financing is great when used wisely, and the Falls seems to have come alive recently in that regard.  This is the second major deal to be announced in weeks.

The Village Board is apparently considering the creation of a 'mission statement' that would succinctly describe our community in a phrase.  A mission statement is often more than a phrase or a few words that are descriptive.  The examples that follow seem to indicate that a 'slogan' is more what is being considered.

Administrator Dave Schornack provided three examples, and those were:

• Excellence in Public Service
• Striving for Excellence in Public Service
• Committed to Excellence in Public Service

(We seem to be giving ground on each subsequent version:  We have excellence, then we are working on it, and finally we're committed to it.)

Menomonee Falls has a mission statement but the leading thought in that statement is:

• Committed to open, ethical and responsive government

(This seems a very good statement and one that all governments should pledge to uphold.)

Mequon uses this:

• Preserving Quality of Life

(Nice but doesn't grab you.)

Based upon the comments that are posted to this Blog periodically, we have a lot of very bright, inventive people who read these pages.  In the interests of helping the community, we ask that you give a little thought to a suitable slogan for the Village of Germantown.  If you feel the need to be humorous, we could all use a smile or two.  If you feel the need to be serious, and if your selection would happen to flavor the final decision by the Board, you must promise to not think of extracting recompense for your efforts.

A few examples might be helpful:

Germantown...the last place you'll ever want to live.  (Maybe that's not a real good one; there seems a double meaning attached to that thought.) 

Germantown...you 'vil love it!  (That seems to need some work, too.)

Germantown...we're not Milwaukee.  (Not sure how that'll play on a bumper sticker.)

As you can see, I need some help.  Post your thoughts in the form of a comment or send an email to Curmudgeon's Corner by clicking the link above this Blog.  If you desire anonymity, simply advise me of that.

Help me...please! 

Northwest and Delta have announced that they are merging.  Northwest will essentially disappear into what will be known as Delta, and the headquarters will be located in Atlanta.  What does this hold in store for us passengers here in Milwaukee-land?

For starters, Northwest owns 47% of Midwest.  This 'merger' needs the approval of the Feds and part of that review has to do with monopolies being formed.  What if Northwest is told it must divest itself of its Midwest holdings before the 'merger' deal will be approved?  It will then need to find a buyer for Midwest.  Re-enter Air Tran.  Air Tran has already shown its intent to move into the Milwaukee market and make this a hub, and this would give it the opportunity to do the deal it wanted to do originally.  It could buy the 47% owned by Northwest and then wait until TPG decided it was time to cash out on the 53% it holds.  We were fearful that Midwest would ultimately become owned by Northwest and fretted over the meanings of such a deal.  There is a distinct potential for the return of Air Tran in my estimation.

Next, this represents further consolidation in the commercial aviation industry.  We are moving to fewer and fewer carriers and larger and larger carriers.  That results in less competition since three airlines are more likely to follow the lead of a fourth that raises fares, especially when the 'low price' carriers are being driven into bankruptcy by fuel costs as four have done over the past couple of weeks.

Then, there is the question of service.  Will it improve with fewer choices or will it be more likely to degrade further?  It will be more likely to degrade...and it has degraded a bunch already...except for our favorite, Midwest.  Say goodbye to legroom and backside room except in First Class and aboard Midwest.  Say hello to more over-booked flights since there will be curtailment of flights, and fewer competitors to help thwart this practice.  There has to be curtailment if the new entity is to save enough expense to stay alive.  Both of these airlines just recently emerged from bankruptcy and have been barely profitable so far.

Northwest employees and pilots will get the short end of the stick in this deal.  Start with those working in the Northwest headquarters in Minneapolis-St.Paul.  The headquarters of the new 'Delta' will remain in Atlanta.  There will be a lot of employee blood shed in Minneapolis-St.Paul, figuratively of course.

Look for Northwest's pilots to take some kind of job action, even if it means they'll lose...because they can already see the writing on this wall.  They were opposed to this deal for one reason.  They were to be the big losers since Delta was to emerge as the buyer in this 'merger'.  Airline pilots are assigned flights and are paid based on seniority.  The longer you're there, the bigger the aircraft and the better the pay grade.  There is already an excess of pilots in the pool since flight cutbacks have been going on for a period of time.  That probably means there will be several applicants for any opening that may come about.

The long and the short of this deal?  It will not be good over the long term for those of us in the Milwaukee marketplace, in my opinion.  Air travel is about to get more expensive and less enjoyable.

The reimbursement of 'pre-engineering costs' by the Village to Asset Development Group was the subject of Tom Kertscher's article in the morning paper.  This involves the bonding issue that Germantown floated on behalf of Asset Development for sanitary sewer costs associated with two manufactured housing parks.

This issue has remained contentious and seems destined to continue on that path for at least the near-term.  This reimbursement was for some $67,000 in expenses that Asset Development had incurred for this project.  The payment was approved on a 5-3 vote with Trustee Zabel abstaining.  The three 'No' votes came from Dean Wolter, Mel Ewert and Michael Bech.  Wolter stated that he didn't think the agreement called for this reimbursement, and Ewert said he didn't think the payment should be made because the expenses were incurred before the contract was signed.

The recent series of postcards and telephone calls that preceded the election were rumored to have involved Asset Development or persons friendly to that company.  In response to a question put to the President of Asset Development by Kertscher, Jim Reitzner was reported to have said, "We do support the folks who are in favor of doing positive things in Germantown."

That is not an admission nor a denial, but will certainly have many still convinced they were correct no matter which side they happened to be on in that issue.  It appears that we may continue to hear about this for some time to come.

Governor Doyle recently signed a bill that establishes age 15 & 1/2 as the age at which a person residing in Wisconsin can make his or her decision to donate organs if they were to die.  The age until now had been established at 18.  This was included in Assembly Bill 570 that was co-sponsored by Rep. Jeskewitz and Rep. Wasserman, names familiar to our community.

I have close friends who have experienced the life-giving results of organ donors' decisions.  They are passionately in favor of the program.  I am not discussing the pro and con of organ donation.  I am not raising questions about youthful donors; organs have been harvested and donated from infants and children for a long time.

I am raising the question of just when a person should be able to make that decision for oneself.  I am raising the question of when the person has accumulated the knowledge and wisdom to make such a decision without parental consent.  I am raising the question as to when parental consent and parental responsibility is removed from the family. 

What are the things one can do legally at the age of 15 & 1/2 years?  Drive? No.  Drink alcohol?  No.  Vote in public elections?  No.  Join the military?  No.  Own a gun?  No.  Marry?  No.  Go to school?  Yes.

Is it just me or does it seem to you, as well, that our society is gradually eroding the rights of parents and giving those rights over to the state?  Are we truly moving to that "It Takes A Village" thing?

If we think back, there has been a subtle, slow, but inexorable movement in which the parent has lost rights that have been given over to the state (or the schools which is nearly the same).  Vaccinations. Sex education. Corporal punishment. Driver's training.  Abortion.

Am I way off the mark, or do you agree?  Where is this going to end?  Will it end tomorrow, or next year, or next generation or will it end when the parents have given over all their rights to those who know best?  And, do the parents even know that they're losing parental rights?  And, if they know, do they care?

Troubling incrementalism.

The campaign for President of the United States seems, to me at least, interminable at this point.  It has been going on for years now in one or another forms.  We might think that we would, by now, even if trying to avoid the process, know the candidates almost as well as they know themselves.  The answer is that we do...and we don't.

Each candidate is artfully packaged by his or her 'handlers' to be just what the handlers' believe we all want in our next President.  Each candidate has been drilled on the policies and pitfalls.  Each has had multiple lines written for them that have, by now, become their own.  Different questions in different parts of the country elicit responses with slight variations on the central theme.

Every once in awhile, though, there comes the break-through moment when the candidate speaks from his or her heart...and thus reveals more about who and what they really are, their true beliefs and motives in an instant than has been revealed to us over the course of many months of appearances, and things we call 'debates', and countless articles penned by countless reporters.  In these rare moments, we are able to peel away the polished surface and see inside the person.

One of those moments occurred for Hillary Clinton when she 'mis-remembered' the situation the day she and Chelsea landed in Bosnia.  Another occurred when her husband, the former President, mis-mis-remembered on her behalf.  These two are, in my opinion, pathological liars.  They conjure up their own form of the truth and it pours out to we the people.  We the people scratch our heads and wonder if we are 'mis-remembering' or if we have just witnessed another of the seemingly regular prevarications to which we've become accustomed.

Another of those moments occurs on differing occasions with John McCain.  Those moments, for me, are the fleeting glimpses we get of the anger inside the man.  Some would say that is simply the 'set of his jaw' and that he is solid and steadfast.  I want to believe that because he will get my vote, but I still find a bit of concern welling up within me whenever I think I witness that.

Another of those moments occurred on April 6th and involved the 'great orator', Barack Obama when he opined in an off-the-cuff response to a question.  He conjured up the image of America that resides deep with him, and he saw small town middle Americans as being angry, since life was passing them by, since they had seen all their employment opportunities taken from them, etc.  And, he saw those middle Americans as now being relegated to holding on to their religion and their guns.  Barack Obama delivers one heck of a speech.  Speeches that have been pre-written and massaged over and over again.  Speeches that present the Barack Obama we are supposed to think is the real Barack Obama.

I believe we had another of those 'insightful incidents' on that April day, and it turned my stomach...for want of more descriptive terms.  It seemed to play to his wife's 'mis-speak' when she opined about finally finding something about which she could feel proud as an American.  This couple scares me.  I understand that he could easily become our President, and I am concerned for what that might mean to us all.  I know that he is the most liberal person in our U.S. Senate...and that takes some doing.  I know that he has served so little time in any elected office that we know virtually nothing of him and his ideas.

I know that John McCain has been tested as few among us have been tested.  I know that he is, for me, an imperfect candidate and not my first choice, or even my second choice.  I know that he will be a staunch defender of our country, and that is of utmost importance to me.

So, my intention to vote for John McCain has not changed, but my reasons for not voting for either Barack Obama or Hillary Clinton have been reinforced.

Has anyone ever thought that psychological testing might be a good idea before we annoint a candidate and subsequently elect a President?  I'm sure the United Nations would be happy to be the dispassionate arbiter of those test results.

Just kidding....

I received a copy of the statement released by Sen. Alberta Darling assailing rumors that were being circulated about her health.  She was angry over reports suggesting she had health problems that would keep her from serving another term.  An earlier article had appeared in 'Milwaukee Magazine' in which it was reported that she was "struggling with health problems".  Apparently the editor of that publication later admitted not having done the necessary fact-checking and published a statement pointing out the mistake.

Rep. Sheldon Wasserman has denied any involvement in this activity and vowed that he would never add such a thing to the race.  He is a physician and should certainly be sensitive to the sanctity of individual health information.  Among other things is a law called HIPAA (the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act) that carries heavy financial penalties for any leaks of personal health information.

All this having been said, there is obviously something going on here.  Articles don't just mysteriously find their way onto a printed page.  This is so terribly convenient to have appeared at this point in what could be a very tough campaign.  Voters have been duped time and again with these kinds of 'bogus' issues, and, unfortunately, they sometimes work; hence these tactics continue to be used.

Sen. Darling is Republican.  Rep. Wasserman is Democrat.  From which side of the aisle would such a story be most likely to originate?  How is it that the story became the talk of the day during a briefing conducted by the Wisconsin State Senate Democratic Committee for some 90 lobbyists on April 2nd?

It is all too convenient to make me think anything other than 'dirty trick'.  If Milwaukee Magazine was used, shame on them, but they are journalists and should've had the foresight to further investigate this item before it found its way into their product.  Will we ever know where this article came from?  Unlikely since the magazine is hiding behind  its journalistic need to protect sources. 

Sen. Darling proudly and thankfully discusses the fact that she is a cancer survivor; she keeps up a pace at her age of 63 that would be a challenge for a person of 43.  She has undergone back surgery and indicates that was a success.  I've been around her at events, and I have to tell you there is no indication of anything other than a healthy, engaged and active person.

We will be conducting a back and forth review of the positions of both the incumbent and the challenger in this Blog and that will commence very soon.  I can only hope that civility and honesty will prevail from this point forward in this campaign.  The Democrats would like nothing better than to push the incumbent from office and take over another seat for their majority in the Senate.

Buckle your chin straps.

The Governor has negotiated a deal with the Republicans to get the Great Lakes compact passed so that he can sign it.  The Republicans shouldn't have rolled over on this issue.

Does this mean anything to us Germantown citizens?  Not directly since we are located in the Great Lakes Basin and can have access to the water in Lake Michigan should we ever need that.  If we were in Colgate, though, we wouldn't be permitted to access Lake Michigan water.  Why?  Because Germantown is on the eastern side of the subcontinental divide and Colgate is on the west.  Water from Germantown flows ultimately back to the Great Lakes Basin.  Water in Colgate flows eventually to the Mississippi River and down to the Gulf of Mexico.

Why do I feel as I do about this 'issue' then?  Because the new compact that is being ratified by Canada and the states that sit in the Great Lakes Basin can still be vetoed by any signatory to the agreement.  Will any state dare veto the demands of another state?  Wouldn't that subject that state to the possible recriminations when it needed something approved by the others?

One state is fully within the Great Lakes Basin, and therefore will most likely never need to ask the others for permission.  It will always be able to draw water from any of the Great Lakes that it touches without further permission.  This means that a sitting governor of Michigan need never have any fear of the recrimination of another signatory if he or she decides to veto a request for access.  The Republican hold-outs had wanted to change the compact language to require a majority of the eight rather than all.  This would've caused the compact to have to go back for revision and be voted on again at some time in the future.

Governor Doyle agreed to the addition of language that prescribes the process for application by a community that is outside the basin, but that does nothing to thwart the requirement that all signatories must approve such a request unanimously.  So...nothing changed.  The Governor got what he wanted and gave nothing of real substance in return.  Republicans, at best, got a place to hide in return for caving.

If you've followed this debate at all, you'll remember that New Berlin sits astride the subcontinental divide.  It has been negotiating with Milwaukee to gain access to the Lake Michigan water supply that Milwaukee uses for its water needs.  New Berlin has agreed that whatever water it would take from Lake Michigan would be replaced by diverting all treated wastewater back into Lake Michigan.  While that makes sense to us, it needs to pass the judgment of the other signatories to the compact...or it won't happen.

And then there is Waukesha which is under orders to cure its radium issues, but lacks the ability to get at water that would permit that resolution.  Forever is a very long time and this compact goes on indefinitely if it is approved by the proposed signatories.  It appears on track for that outcome given Wisconsin's revised position on the issue.

Illinois, by the way, is happy as a clam because it did a deal sometime ago that diverts tremendous amounts of Lake Michigan water daily in the Chicago land area.  That deal is not subject to anyone's approval since it is grandfathered into the new compact.

All this is in response to the fears, which are reasonably well-based, that powerful western states will band together to vote that they should be entitled to water from our Great Lakes.  Remember that population is shifting to those western states and it is only a matter of time before that combined group will possess the votes to effect such legislation at a federal level.  And, it could have had sufficient influence to make most courts sympathetic to its cause.  This is a real problem that needs resolution, but this resolution is, from my perspective, significantly flawed.