Is Janesville Metro Area At Crossroads For Progress?

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Kiplinger's recently issued their latest report on best American cities for every life stage and for your future. As was expected outside of the cost of living, Janesville did not fare very well.

Here's a snapshot of the chart listing a few cities posted at Kiplinger's Personal Finance considered for its list of Best Cities for Every Age, 2012. The Cost of Living Index is based on 100 being the national average. Job growth is the increase in employment from 2006 to 2011. Income growth is the increase in household income from 2006 to 2011.

Because the trends are taken within a five year window, The adverse economic effects from the closing of the General Motors plant are very obvious. As you can see, my town of Janesville is not doing well at all, particularly in the job and wage growth areas. It's in "Flint, MI" mode if I may be so blunt, and in fact has worse wage growth than Flint (2.5% vs 4.1%) over the same period of time.

With a feeling of complete helplessness, I've witnessed Janesville tumble down in slow motion from a solid upstart blue collar middle-class town and wrote about it all at this blog in real time as it happened, not after the fact.

Since 2006, I railed against the partisans and sycophants running the Janesville Gazette media monopoly and their decade long low-wage conservative agenda and war against school teachers, unions, liberals, democrats or anyone else who did not fit their particular brand of social engineering. Since that time I've "outed" the unholy alliance between the area's political action business groups and our local city and county governments. I even recall the dozens of emails I used to get from some Janesville residents telling me how wrong I was regarding my allegations of political activity about Forward Janesville and the Rock County 5.0.

I also remember like it was yesterday writing about the time when Congressman Paul Ryan, after being appointed to House committees, bragged that he would bring home even less of a return on tax dollars (federal aid, etc.) to his hometown and congressional district. These policies acted like a capital drain on the area and the results have been only short of catastrophic. I repeatedly warned readers that Janesville area workers and the people are losing the war many had no idea was being waged upon them, and that the American Dream isn't slipping away by chance, but is being systematically legislated out of our lives by right-wing ideologues. Apparently all to no avail.

All I can say now is let's hope we have bottomed out and the only way from here is up. But that's going to be a tall order to accomplish since most of the same phony people and the machinery that took us down that path are all still behind the wheel. That has to change first - before hope. With the opposition dug in with a divide and conquer mentality and in positions of power, we have a formidable enemy to overcome.

On the flip-side, there is some good news for Wisconsin. Madison, the Liberal Outpost and Unionista Sanctuary as eloquently described by the Democurmudgeon, was ranked No. 1 in the US by Kiplinger’s for young adults. The magazine said Madison was an “educated, tech-savvy city” with many recent college graduates who help foster an “entrepreneurial community” for start-up companies. Thugs. It even ranked high for families. Imagine that. Congratulations Madison!!

For the full report on best cities, click here.

Chart of 361 metro-areas and how they stack up.

Polarizing Business Group Looking To Change Image. Not Their Own of Course.

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The Janesville Gazette posted one of their typical damage control messages masquerading as a news article on the front page about the politically motivated local economic development group, the Rock County 5.0, and their newest campaign to "get the word out" about the area's "friendly" business climate.

In addition, the group would like to dispel "negative stereotypes" attached to the Janesville/Beloit area - ummm, but it's not the group's own deeply polarizing and negative red state union busting divide and conquer sponsorship that we've all come to learn about over the past several months that needs dispelling. Instead, they believe the negativity stems from the perception that the area's base was dominated by the auto industry. That's the latest excuse now - it's all a matter of how others perceive the area. In their view, what could possibly be worse for a town than to be perceived as a slice of American Pie. So they're looking to target and rob the Chicago area of a few businesses. That explains their collaboration and friendliness all so perfectly well.

JG Excerpt:
Rock County 5.0 is a public-private organization designed to build economic development collaboration, communication and connections to benefit the county. [...]The marketing and public relations campaign will “get the word out” about Rock County to business and industry decision makers in the Chicago area, Otterstein said. It will run through the summer and into early fall using print, digital media, billboards and bus wraps, for example.[...]The campaign should increase awareness about opportunities in Rock County, Otterstein said. Another goal is to dispel “negative stereotypes” attached to the Janesville/Beloit area — that its economic base was dominated by the auto industry, he said.

What should have been a simple press release by the group is spun into a professionally polished "news" article for everyday local consumption. The Gazette has to do their part of course as a loyal and true ally to their own. They write up the group's story and statements without challenge or record of their latest controversy. But why should they afterall? It's not like the group is a democratic candidate or organization, the teacher's union or some malcontent blogger. Sheesh!

Janesville Gazette Admits Cover-Ups Are A Courtesy In Exchange For Access

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The Janesville Gazette issued their expected editorial defense for the local economic development group, Rock County 5.0, on Sunday. Titled, "Focus of Rock County 5.0 remains unchanged," the Gazette pretends like nothing happened but openly admits they would have preferred the film maker, Brad Lichtenstein, cover-up the conversation between Gov. Scott Walker and Rock County 5.0 officials Hendricks and Willmer - just like they apparently always do, and the Gazette went so far as claiming that Lichtenstein owed the RC5 that service because they granted him access to the meeting ...just like they do.

JG Editorial Excerpt: A stronger case of betrayal can be made against Lichtenstein for his treatment of some of the people who gave him almost-unrestricted access to their efforts and meetings. Those would include Diane Hendricks, Mary Willmer and the other members of the Rock County 5.0.

[...]Regardless, the release of the now-infamous clip with Gov. Scott Walker's "divide and conquer" statement about unions smelled of a "gotcha" moment intended to promote the film and advance a political agenda. The inevitable negative effects on Hendricks, Willmer and Rock County 5.0 obviously didn't enter into Lichenstein's decision.

It was Lichtenstein who betrayed? This is almost laughable. Wait! It is laughable. Remember that Scott Walker, Hendricks and Willmer gave permission to be taped and acknowledged it's ok that the tape won't be released for over a year. Plus, Walker, Hendricks and Willmer were reading from their own script, not Lichtenstein's.

So, instead of saying how proud they are of Brad Lichtenstein to have the gumption to produce a documentary that by chance exposed the duplicity of an economic development group and some of their members, they attack him. Truth is, I would not have expected anything different from this newspaper. But the admission they consider it a betrayal to not sweep pertinent information under the rug in exchange for access is something new, the admission that is, and you can bet this type of "protection" is leveraged.

Scary stuff from a small town daily newspaper.

Note: This Janesville Gazette editorial is not available on the Web as of this posting.

Epic Fail: Rock County 5.0 and Allies Betray Themselves and Community

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Much has been made so far, rightfully I must add, of Scott Walker's outrageous discussion with Rock County 5.0 officials about using a strategy of "divide and conquer" on a constituency in the state of Wisconsin. There's still more to come in the following weeks, but there's also an equally disturbing local story unfolding that seems to be getting a free pass here in Rock County. We must keep in mind however, that local truth and justice is at the mercy of the Janesville Gazette media monopoly.

Rock County 5.0 Co-chair Hendricks greets Walker: "Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right-to-work?" Hendricks continued. "What can we do to help you?"

"Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill," Walker said. "The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."

Bingo is his namo.

After wishing to turn Wisconsin into a "completely red state," the co-chair of the economic group Rock County 5.0 does not say what can "I" do to help. It's what can "we" do to help. Remember, Scott Walker was not holding a personal conversation with Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply or Mary Willmer-Sheedy of M&I Bank. Hendricks and Willmer were acting and speaking in their official capacity as co-chairs of the Rock County 5.0 economic development group with cameras rolling. That's why this meeting was held in the first place.

So why is that important and what's so special about the Rock County 5.0 group? Nothing good actually, in fact I've been one of few local voices warning that the groups Rock County 5.0 and Forward Janesville are not the helping hand community organizers that they project to be. They are mainly politically driven self-interest groups whose core leadership is comprised of hyper-partisan right-wing engineers. We're in Atlas Shrugged territory here with a smattering of old world Republican pseudo-conservatives. Do they have a few members who are sincere with the community and true to themselves? Sure they do. But the group's 'community' image is highly over-rated and mostly staged through their enabler the Janesville Gazette, the Janesville Messenger and radio affiliates, and that includes much of what people will eventually see of them presented in the documentary, As Goes Janesville, no fault of the film maker.

But what should be extremely important within the context of Walker's "divide and conquer" conversation with the RC5 is the following overview statement from the group's Website. It reads...

Overview Excerpt:
Rock County 5.0 is a five-year public/private initiative to advance Rock County’s economic development vision through a single voice. This vision, which has been developed through various interrelated local and/or countywide plans, represents a holistic approach to repositioning and revitalizing our economy. By working together as one community, we have the ability to leverage ideas and resources.

Rock County 5.0 will foster a culture of collaboration, open/maintain functional communication channels and create connections - among and between various constituency groups - in unprecedented ways.

So when the sitting governor of the state advances a "divide and conquer" strategy for economic development to the co-chairs of a "culture of collaboration" group, did they reject that negative language by saying something like, "in all due respect Mister Governor, we wish to advance our vision by communicating and collaborating unity between the various constituency groups. We cannot support your strategy." No, not at all. Instead, the one voice, one vision of the Rock County 5.0 nods in agreement and then in the following year donates a half million dollars to the deceitful man and his sinister plan.

Where's the outrage? Where's the condemnation?

In the first two days, the RC5 enabler Janesville Gazette constructed their own hit piece to marginalize Brad Lichtenstein, the documentary film maker who captured a piece of business as usual between Walker and RC5 officials and dared to publish it. The newspaper sees this stuff all the time locally and works hard at keeping it properly reframed, filtered, presented, or omitted - properly gazetted. Because Lichtenstein apparently did not gazette this unflattering segment, they go after his $100 donation to the Barrett campaign back in 2010 to prove his nose is crooked. Without posing questions in the story, they write up (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to the Gazette story) the film maker's comments in a grilling fashion and frame him defending the recording and release timing of the video. See, Lichtenstein is in denial. Seriously, that's how they see it. Just pay no mind to the conversation or content of the video or the hundreds of thousands donated to Scott Walker from members of the RC5 - because they're our local non-partisan economic development community group!

The Gazette also headlined a "Sides spin union remark" story to further impeach the issue as typical partisan banter and deflect away from the local Rock County 5.0 betrayal. So these folks have no shame at all. They go into defense by playing even more offense.

The Gazette also worked some damage control into the Lichtenstein article to help shield one of their own, Mary Willmer, from some of the heat created by this firestorm.

JG Excerpt:
Willmer was asked for comment today, and BMO Harris Bank, which owns M&I, responded with an email that stated Willmer was not involved in the Walker-Hendricks conversation.

“Any interpretation that Mary Willmer was involved in the conversation or endorses the content of the conversation or reflected the views of BMO Harris Bank is simply inaccurate,” according to the statement.

Although MBO Harris/M & I is a supporter of the RC5, the banks were not participating in the conversation with Walker. Willmer was not at the RC5 meeting with Walker on behalf of BMO Harris Bank. She was there acting as co-chair of the Rock County 5.0, so injecting that defense becomes an irrelevant deflection. Yet BMO Harris/M & I Bank are not entirely innocent bystanders in this matter because they continue to financially support the Rock County 5.0.

Willmer too, in the role of co-chair of the RC5 has attempted to distance herself from the conversation, but has not condemned Walker's strategy or Hendricks uber-partisan "red state" remark and neither has any cash donors or supporting allies of the group stepped forward to declare Gov. Scott Walker incompatible with their vision and core strategy.

The following is a list of Rock County 5.0's major donors and sponsoring allies. Please call or write a letter asking them to publicly condemn Gov. Scott Walker's "divide and conquer" strategy and to withdraw their support from the Rock County 5.0 group. Or explain how does Walker's polarizing and destructive strategy harmonize with the RC5's stated "culture of collaboration" and constituency goodwill? The fact is, it doesn't. They already have over a year of support under their belt for Walker, so be respectful but confident knowing that you are on the right side of history.

Investors: $50,000+
ABC Supply * Alliant Energy * The Beloit Foundation * Blackhawk Community Credit Union * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * Data Dimensions * GOEX * Hendricks Holding Company * Janesville Foundation * JP Cullen and Sons * Kerry * Prent Thermoforming * Beloit Regal

Investors: $25,000 to $49,000
Blackhawk Bank * First National Bank and Trust * Kaiser Companies * Rock Roads Companies * Stateline Community Foundation

Investors Up To $25,000
Baker Tilly * Brennan and Steil * Agrace HospiceCare * HUFCOR * Johnson Bank * Johnson Insurance * L.A. Duesterback and Associates * Murphy Desmond Lawyers * Nowlan and Mouat * RSM McGladrey * SSI Technologies * Westphal and Company

Investors: In-kind
Angus Young * BDN Connection (Beloit Daily News) * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * The Janesville Gazette * LAMAR * Terry Print Solutions

Source

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RELATED STORIES:

Phony Forward Janesville All About Partisan Politics

Local Political Business Group Suffering Identity Crisis

Forward Janesville Out Only For themselves

Economic Development Group Sees No Value In Economic Development Center

Local Alliance Needs Some Sunlight

Gazette a Government Watchdog? Not Even Close

Media Outlets Apply Double Standard For Their Own Political Activity

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TMJ4 Excerpt:
We expect anyone involved in the production of news to avoid situations that could compromise our integrity. We don't allow news employees to sign nomination papers for candidates, display yard signs or take part in a political campaign.

The Janesville Gazette, like many Wisconsin newspapers, regularly writes political action editorials and endorsements for candidates, referendums and on state and local issues. These might be considered little pet projects to newspaper editors and their owners, but for subscribers the newspaper's finished product is in many ways the equivalent of having a partisan's front yard full of political posters rolled up, and thrown at the foot of your doorstep. Whether you agree with or even bother to read their editorials or policy statements really doesn't matter because if you're subscribing to get the local news, you're still paying for the paper's broadcast distribution and entire political agenda.

"I write editorials--opinions--on behalf of the Gazette Editorial Board. That's my role; no one else in the newsroom, except for Editor Scott Angus, ever writes editorials. The policy against yard signs covers all of us collectively." -- Greg Peck, Gazette Opinion Editor

Their paycheck ethics policy prevents newspaper employees from participating in political activity as private citizens while at the same time, their ethics policy paycheck pays them to write and distribute political propaganda. It's their job!

This blatant hypocrisy now sits at the core of a fear and smear witchhunt in Wisconsin against political candidates, media employees and private citizens involving the Scott Walker Recall Petition data bases, so it comes as no surprise that it's conducted by the most professionally partisan and activist institutions in America - mainstream media news outlets. But woe onto those who seek to pull the mask off of secret campaign cash donors and boycott their businesses - why that's greasy union thuggery that has no place in a civil democratic society.

Nevertheless, the hypocrisy continues.

Uppity Wisconsin Excerpt:
According to Editor John Smalley, when you are in the newspaper biz, you "keep your politics to yourself" and maintain "strict neutrality in all things political." "It’s a common policy," Smalley says and "in place at nearly all credible news organizations."

Additional:

Blogging Blue - What a bunch of grade A hypocrites at WTMJ

Blue Cheddar - Wisconsin recall witch hunt hits Milwaukee’s right wing

Crawford's Take - Charlie Sykes, CRG, Ament, Walker and the WTMJ Hypocrisy

Uppity Wisconsin - Owners of Wisconsin State Journal are Big Donors to GOP and Union Busters

Janesville Gazette Publishes Letter Targeting Petition Signers

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Today's Janesville Gazette contains a letter to the editor listing the names of Janesville City Council and Janesville school board members and candidates for non-partisan office who signed the Scott Walker Recall Petition. The letter was written by none other than Janesville's hyper-partisan crank, Ed James. The Gazette, famous for their institutionalized anti-union Republicanism and black hole journalism have chosen the cowardly way to "out" our local civic-minded citizens. The Gazette not only lets someone else do the dirty work of combing the petitions for them, but they are more than happy to politicize and broadcast the poisonous message through their newspaper.

The letter was posted next to a regurgitated editorial written by the Eau Claire Leader-Telegram describing a L-T article proudly reporting on and also identifying Eau Claire's city council and school board member recall petition signers. Believe it or not, the message behind the misguided L-T editorial labels all signers of the petition as "partisans."

Below is an excerpt from the L-T editorial written word-for-word except where I took the liberty to substitute a few words with my own. They are in bold.

As citizens and voters, these newspaper media institutions are, of course, free to endorse politicians and attack the opposition or otherwise broadcast their partisan affiliations. But is doing so really a good idea? The deeper they wade into partisan politics, the more politicized - and partisan - their own institution becomes. Voters who traditionally have viewed newspapers as civic minded volunteers who have the best interests of the community at heart may instead begin to suspect they are simply partisan hacks. And such impressions - accurate or not - may undermine public trust in our most accessible democratic institutions.

Additional:

Rock - Smear and Fear Merchants Targeting Signers Of Recall Petitions

Rock - Anti-Partisan Crusader's Selective Rage Targets Labor Unions

Rock - Gazette's Anonymous Column: A Place To Offend

Reuters - Free The Gannett 25

Prohibiting Employees From Signing Petitions Should be a Crime

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The November 27, 2011 Janesville Gazette print newspaper contained an editorial titled "Sacrificing some rights come with the territory," where the editor went on to explain that the company's policy forbids them from signing the recall petition.

JG editorial excerpt:
More important, we're professionals who leave our politics at the door when we come to work. That said, several newsroom employees asked me if our ethics policy prohibited them from signing the recall petition.

Without hesitation, I answered yes.

Here's what our policy says about political activities: Staffers may not be involved in political campaigns or activities. Avoid outward demonstrations of support for candidates or causes, such as yard signs or buttons.

Okay, I'm going to stray here for a bit. "We're professionals who leave our politics at the door when we come to work," BUT can they pick up their politics off the coat hanger when they walk out the door? Apparently not.

Though the editor thinks his journalists can set their politics aside, his biggest worry seems to come from concerns over us dumb clucks in the public and our obviously wrong perception of media bias. I mean, my God. What would the world think if someone found out that Janesville Gazette employees signed the Recall Walker petition?

The editorial finishes...

JG editorial excerpt:
Our credibility is our most cherished asset and we need to protect it with every decision we make.

Whoa! THAT coming from a newspaper that proudly published political endorsements of McCain/Palin, Scott Walker, Ron Johnson, Paul Ryan, JB Van Hollen, Tyler August, Evan Wynn, Amy Loudenbeck and David Prosser AND whose boss is on the board of directors of the WMC. In addition, immediately to the right of this particular "concern over credibility" editorial in the newsprint copy was the paper's twice-a-week "Sound off" column of politically charged statements, claims and rants, all vetted to be officially "anonymous."

And, he's worried about the perception of media bias and credibility?

But far more important is the idea that if a media company is within their legal rights to forbid their employees from signing petitions, any company can do the same. This is a democratic republic right? Land of the free, home of the brave and all that jazz. Oh never mind.

Of equal interest now is a bill authored by Rep. Evan Wynn that would make it a felony to induce someone to sign a recall petition by offering anything of value in exchange for a signature. "Mind-boggling is the only word to describe this legalized bribery," Wynn writes.

What about inducements not to sign? How about when a private entity, business or individual, either by written policy or verbal command, prohibits a person against their own free will from signing a petition by holding something of value like their job, paycheck or the fear of a written reprimand in the employment record over their heads? That too is mind-boggling and legalized blackmail. It is un-American.

Janesville Gazette Champions Governors Journal Faux Award

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JG editorial:
(Titled: Why Walker was named Governor of the Year)
As 2011 ended, United Wisconsin was closing in on the signatures needed to trigger a recall of Gov. Scott Walker. No doubt, it mattered little to his critics and the union-led recall drive that Walker was named Governor of the Year.

The editor insinuates that because so few bothered to recognize this award, there must be something more to it and he was going to do something about it by gum, yes he was. But not to expose the disinformation of the Governors Journal and its empty award for the cheap trick GOP "crisis publishing" gimmick that it is - but to expound upon and defend it's distortions, cover-ups and false equivalencies in order to save Walker's failed career.

JG editorial:
(Titled: Why Walker was named Governor of the Year)
Note, however, how the Governors Journal concluded its story: "Even if Walker is removed from office, he still wins the debate. Any setback will be temporary. Pensions reforms are a reality."

The editor then concludes, "Consider that if you're still contemplating whether to sign the petition."

This "Walker wins either way" frame of reasoning is the hottest form of false equivalency rhetoric being used by Republicans and their media enablers to deflate their opponent's enthusiasm and momentum, and to soften the contrast between party platforms and candidates. Another recent example of this false equivalency was written by AP writer, Ricardo Alonso-Zalvidar.

In that article, Alonso-Zalvidar attempts to soften comparisons of Rep. Paul Ryan's brutal privatization proposals on Medicare and Social Security to alternatives offered by democrats that merely make running adjustments to keep the programs solvent. The message is if you would only dial down the partisan rhetoric, the competing proposals and their sponsors are surprisingly similar. So, according to Alonso-Zalvidar, the future of Medicare is the same no matter who wins the White House. Believe me - it's not the same - not at all. It's like night and day.

The Governors' Journal tries to pull the same stunt several different times in their editorial, including the claim that the difference between Scott Walker and many Democratic governors is only a matter of degrees. No question, the GOP party and their well-funded supporters and media enablers know their top candidates and policies are ghoulishly brutal. They are in full crisis DefCon 5 media mode with heavily fortified articles and slapped-up Website gimmicks constructed intentionally to neutralize those stark contrasts.

It's sort of like saying, "it really doesn't matter who is elected because they're all the same, but always vote Republican."

Subscribers and ad buyers to the Janesville Gazette really need to start asking themselves some serious questions about the newspaper's intentions, agenda, journalistic integrity and value to the community. I can understand supporters of the right-wing, GOP and Walker supporting the newspaper, but if you're a paycheck earner who strives for a good government fair market democracy based on the highest morals and Wisconsin values of trust, compassion and compromise - you're trading your hard-earned money with an entity that is out to defeat you through deception.

Editorial not available on Web. Editor's brief blog entry on Governor's Journal here.

What I'd Like To See In Janesville 2012

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Why not?

Newspaper Editor Defends Politifact Lie Against False Balance Accusation

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The editor of the Janesville Gazette recently wrote about his take on Politifact's outrageously wrong choice for "Lie of the Year" when they chose democrat's correct portrayal characterizing Paul Ryan's proposals as ending Medicare, for the award.

Although the editor played it safe by refusing to state his position on the choice, he seemed offended by PolitiFact's critics and wrote that he found Politifact's original position convincing and sided against those who surmised that the fact-checking outfit was playing a game of false balance. One of the leading critics accusing the outfit of false balance is economist Paul Krugman.

Janesville Gazette Editor's View: (Dec. 25, 2011)
(Titled: Fact is, Politifact plays Important Role)

I won't get into the argument of for or against the choice. I did, however, find Politifact's original position convincing and it's subsequent defense more so. Here is a telling passage from that response...
"Others portrayed it as a case of false balance where we put our thumb on the scale for a Democratic falsehood. This too, is a sad byproduct of our polarized discourse, from people who are sure their side is always right."

I immediately thought, how is it that the editor of the Janesville Gazette would relate to a statement about false balance, and yet seem so indifferent to it? Why does that sound so familiar? Or, where in the world would anybody get the idea that editors and journalists are bias sensitive and consciously work to balance coverage and rebalance negative perceptions (about a group or issue) with positive stories in a deliberate effort to provide a perception of fairness?

Well, look no further than the editor's own words when he wrote this two years ago...

Rock Netroots (Dec. 2009)
Gazette Editorial Excerpt:
We are frequently criticized for singling out these groups, and we are sensitive to the perception that we are unfair to them. While we're comfortable with our decision making, we consciously work to balance our coverage by providing positive stories about GM workers, teachers and police officers.

No wonder why it struck a chord.

If you like analogies, you might enjoy this one comparing reality to a wheel, with the media spin balancing reality by applying weights to change its speed, shape and momentum to fit their political model.

Newspaper Injects Partisan Politics into Local Non-Partisan Elections

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Today, much like over the past 10 years or so, the only party politics openly exhibited in local non-partisan races in Janesville and Rock County has been created and disseminated by one source ...the Janesville Gazette. No doubt they think of themselves as the innocent messengers, but I believe it's important not to confuse the Janesville Gazette and their anonymous publishing "Sound Off" column gimmick with innocent bystanders who are merely reporting on local partisanship.

On the other hand, in no way am I trying to prove that political partisanship does not exist between candidates or in non-partisan offices. That is not the case here. My main point is it's the newspaper that is the guilty party for projecting accusations of partisanship on candidates simply for their friendships and affiliations, and then pushing an attack campaign against them for being transparent.

Predictably, the very first partisan attacks on local candidates this season did not come from political parties, special interests or from the candidates themselves. Not at all. Instead, they came in the form of anonymous comments published by the Janesville Gazette.

Janesville Gazette "Sound Off"
(anonymous column, Dec. 21)
On city council:
Check out the candidates. It appears there are a couple of hard-core political activists running. We don't need more politicians running for a nonpartisan council.

Janesville Gazette "Sound Off"
(anonymous column, Dec. 18)
On Democrats:
Regarding Democrats elect officers, Page 10A Wednesday, people of Janesville and Rock County beware. If you want the city and county to be the same financial mess that Gov. Doyle and President Obama have led us into, allow all of these people running for council and Rock County Board to get elected. Educate yourselves.

Of course the above flame-throwing comments were not posted where they could be challenged, like on a political blog or called into a radio show. Instead, they were published "anonymously" in the print edition of the Janesville Gazette! This is outrageous stuff.

Just for comparison, the Gazette editors recently refused to print a signed letter sourced from a Janesville resident because they claimed the core premise of the writer's letter was deemed false by Politifact. Unbelievable. But the newspaper prints this other unsourced cockamamie bullshit?

Yet, the editor claims to publish the best or most representative comments (in their view) of the community in their "Sound Off" anonymous column. So do they really believe the basis on what those comments are founded on to be true? Were they Politifact vetted?

If you happen not to like the comments published in their anonymous column, the editor laments, "well, they're not pretty." Which tends to say that the published anonymous comments really are more representative of what the editors think, without them actually saying it, OR what they want you to believe are representative of the community. At the same time, they admit to eliminating comments that are out of bounds or in bad taste, comments that actually could be representative of the community. But we'll never know. The question to ask is why in the world are they publishing an anonymous column at all?

Make no mistake. It is a powerful publishing tool and a political weapon to help shape public opinion.

So, after the above false and bigoted statements were published in print, the newspaper then does their usual "follow-up" a few days later by conjuring up a faux news article with statements from unassuming candidates that the newspaper purposely reframes against their newly invented partisan backdrop. The paper even digs into certain candidate's backgrounds further by pointing out their friendships and where their mom's have worked. They are way out of bounds, but we can expect a supporting editorial blasting away at the candidate's partisanship and the sad state of politics within the next week or so.

Since I began blogging here in 2006, all of the candidates and incumbents running for local non-partisan offices in Rock County, whether they referred to themselves as Democrats, Republicans, Independents or whatever have done a good job of keeping partisan politics out of their campaigns. They rarely if ever used true partisan differences against one another. The truth is, it's only the Janesville Gazette that feeds on the partisan distinctions and reshapes them into ad hominem attacks against targeted candidates.

As typical of the Gazette, the newspaper frames Democrats and unions as the subject partisans throughout the article and then attempts to "balance" their hit job with a few statements from a counter source, this time the local Republican party, but not until they limit and reconstruct the Republican position as a concluding response to the democrats "obvious" partisan infractions. They've been doing this for years.

Older Posts Related To Gazette's Partisan Attacks On Local Candidates:

Anti-Partisan Crusader's Selective Rage Targets Labor Unions (April, 2011)

When Phony Non-partisans Come Home (May, 2008)

Phony Non-Partisans Complaining About Open Advocacy (April, 2008)

Non-Partisan Elections Like Throwing Darts (March, 2007)

Janesville Gazette Checks Readers Letters With Politifact

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I really haven't been paying as much attention as I'd like to our area's local media monopoly, the Janesville Gazette. They were one of several reasons why I started this blog in the first place, but because of the serious threats our state and nation faces from the likes of Rep. Paul Ryan and Scott Walker, I've taken my eyes off of their little game. Besides, I thought I've seen it all about the Gazette and posted what needed to be posted here on my blog over the years. Well I was wrong.

Sunday, the Gazette posted an editorial titled, "Let's Pause Political Rhetoric For Civil Debate" where the the editor writes a story about the National Conference of Editorial Writers starting a Civility Project in an effort to raise the bar on political conversations.

The newspaper (editorial) eventually moves on to explain they're trying to do their part. For example...

Gazette Editorial:
... we won't run a letter from a Janesville woman who compared union protesters to murderous Mexican drug cartels.

If it was a signed letter from a genuine citizen entity in Janesville and did not contain obviously explicit language - why not publish it? That's her opinion. Besides, labor unions have heard it all so letters to newspaper editors won't change the temperature a whole lot.

I'm sure there was nothing new in the letter but the same old lies and smears anyways. But how about the time when their own endorsed Congressman Paul Ryan likened labor unions to Saddam's Hussein's strong-arm Ba'ath Party? Where was the Gazette's quest for civility then? What about the time during a radio interview when the toxic Ryan agreed with Glenn Beck's outrageous statement that "Progressives are a cancer?" How's that for poisoning the well of civil discourse? Or when the ever alarmist Ryan called the protest events in Madison, riots. Oh well, that's different I suppose, why he's a rising star.

But it gets better.

Gazette Editorial:
We wouldn't let another writer suggest Walker accepted a raise.

As we all know, Scott Walker's salary as governor is $7,000 more than the previous governor. Was it technically a raise? Well no, but it was an increase in the governor's annual salary at a time when Walker was cutting compensation for public employees and asked everyone to join him in his "Brown Bag" campaign. It's box wine for everyone!! Except himself of course.

The point is, Walker could have easily rejected the increase in salary by saying the state cannot afford it and that there is nothing to negotiate about it. You know, like he did with public employees. We're broke! Remember? But the fact that the editor rejected a signed letter from someone expressing their opinion without any apparent vulgarity or personal attack is an outrage. This is pure partisan censorship.

But it gets even better about why they rejected that particular citizen's letter.

Gazette Editorial:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Politifact project debunked that argument, saying it's only a "raise" if you start at one rate and increase to another.

That's why!?? So the editor qualifies readers signed letters, statements and opinions with Politifact. Unbelievable!! But using their logic, I suppose when Walker increased state spending by $1.1 billion, it really wasn't an increase because Walker was not the governor of the previous budget. Walker's starting from a neutral baseline, huh?

Many of the Journal's Politifact editorials have been debunked by several different opinion sources enough times to change their name to PolitiFarce. Plus, they are little more than an opinion editorial themselves. But oh well, if Politifact says so, it must be true or whatever. Sunday funnies!

In the past, the Gazette rebutted reader's letters criticizing Paul Ryan's ideological budget manifestos by issuing an "editor's note" regurgitating Ryan's talking points from his roadmap plan. In a later blog post, the editor explained he thought it was appropriate to post Ryan’s policy statements "to balance the letter writer's right to express himself with our desire to provide accurate information and perspective." No kidding.

The "Civility" editorial continued on about two other PolitiFact statements as if those opinions were the ultimate and irrefutable truth. But the fact that Janesville Gazette editors reject signed letters from local readers by vetting the letter writer's opinions through Politifact is just too bizarre and downright funny. How do we write in cyberspeak? LOL!!

BUT, BUT while the newspaper is now doing Politifact vetting of signed letters from their readers, they have for over the past decade fueled up for twice-a-week bombing raids of random rants, slurs and anonymous hit jobs on public officials, Democrats, school teachers and labor unions and have recently ramped it up during the recall petition drive.

In the past two weeks alone, the Gazette published dozens of dubious individual statements in their anonymous "Sound Off" column about the Walker Recall. These called-in comments were running 5 to 1 against the Recall and were loaded with attacks of mindless, worthless grunts and gurgles against Democrats, Recall petitioners, protesters and anyone opposed to Scott Walker. You'd read worn-out garbage such as, "malcontents demand recalls," "greedy and selfish teachers, "Do these fanatics know," "Democrats belong to unions and they are bought and paid for by Socialist agendas," "don't let the unions intimidate you," "recall Walker means putting unions back in charge," and of course "Unions are not your friend," just to mention a few. The main point is, the Gazette has been running an anti-union marketing agenda and social incivility messaging campaign for years under the guise of anonymity and with zero PolitiFact vetting. The editors have also pompously claimed their newspaper product best reflects the area's political persuasion, when in truth it is exactly the opposite. But they're proud of it. They're professionals.

Lastly, the editor tries to smooth over their obvious authoritarian bias and partisanship by stating that no one, conservatives or liberals, has the fear and rhetoric market cornered. That's true, but why state the obvious unless you're looking for an excuse or equivalency to your own bias?

The truth is, the Janesville Gazette and the mainstream media at-large have had the incivility market cornered all to themselves and they are beginning to lose some of that control. Isn't it time their subscribers demand they practice what they preach? But you can bet they're going to keep their tools of incivility like the Gazette's anonymous "Sound Off" column no matter what, it's YOU who have to give up yours.

Related:

Bliss Com, True Colors

Janesville newspaper rips through Unions with anonymity

Newspaper's Anonymous Column: A place To Offend

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If you haven't yet seen this, check out the latest episode of Civil Discourse Podomatic!

Rewrite: Gazette Opinion Editor Writes Effectionately For Buying Local

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I couldn't let this blog entry by the Janesville Gazette "Opinion" editor get past me without setting their record straight.

Asking, "Will you be trying to “buy local” this holiday season," he writes inquisitively and with a fair level of effection about a promotion for shoppers to start buying local. He rehashes, it's the "Birth of a New Tradition!" "A conservative friend sent it" and "this piece originated from the tea party folks" and "It’s time to think outside the box, people!!" and asks, "What ideas would you suggest?"

Pretty harmless stuff, right?

Yeah. Except there's a big problem with this. When it comes to "local" ideas in Rock County, Wisconsin and encouraging people to buy local, few compare to our lil' former State Senator Judy Robson, and she ain't no Tea Party. But she was way ahead of her time on this.

See, in the recent past, the anti-social, anti-union Gazette regularly bashed and ridiculed Robson for her "too liberal" ideas, and when she proposed a "Buy Local" state-wide campaign back in 2007, they offered no kind or supportive words like, "thinking outside the box," or "hey, one of our local leaders proposed this common sense idea!" Not even close. As usual for the time, the Gazette editorial staff mocked and whipped the State Senator in their editorial for her buy local proposal. Yeah, she's a Democrat and a liberal I suppose was reason enough. But they're either brazen GOP-paid political propagandists masquerading as a legitimate newspaper ... or nuts. If you're a regular reader here, you'll know the answer to that one.

Unfortunately, I do not have excerpts of the newspaper's editorial from 2007 attacking Robson's "Buy Local" in my archives.

Janesville School Board Attempted To Re-Open Teachers Contract Yet Again

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Taking their cue in part from state legislative leaders and the nothing-to-negotiate-nothing-to-compromise Scott Walker, Janesville school teachers said they are not interested in re-opening their contract after the school board made yet another attempt to extract economic concessions from teachers to help fund education.

Over the past several months, Janesville school teachers have endured heightened public scrutiny arising from repeated misinformation campaigns spread by certain union-unfriendly school board members and their media enabler, the Janesville Gazette. During each attempt, the newspaper published multiple negatively slanted articles, blog postings and editorials while delivering a steady diet of anonymous rantings against the teachers in their "Sound Off" columns. Surfing through their internet content alone doesn't quite show the full extent the Gazette has gone to in their campaign against organized labor and public school teachers. You'd really have to include their daily hardcopy to get the full breath and scope of their agenda. All in all, it's been business as usual.

But this relentless local school board/media campaign to break the teachers unity gives me an idea I'd like to see implemented by an Assembly/Senate Democrat or two in the state legislature. I don't know the exact procedural steps involved, but I'd like to see a legislator write up a durable resolution to repeal Act 10 and present it to legislative committees. Ask for supporting sponsors each time and record and document the positions taken by fellow legislators on the resolution. After each submission, write up a press release every week listing who, why and how the resolution was refused. Accuse opposing legislators for being uncompromising and belligerent and constantly foment public opinion against them through the comment sections of major Wisconsin newspapers. Do this every week. Of course this won't work as well without compliant media outlets, but at least we'll be applying the same tactics they seem to be using here in Janesville.

Plus, what's the harm?

Rocked By Walker - Janesville Considers Higher Taxes and Fees

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According to this report from the City of Janesville, due to fiscal constraints with Scott Walker's draconian budget the City’s funding from the State will be reduced by almost a million dollars.

So City officials have created a survey asking residents to weigh in on some of the options they are considering to deal with the lost revenue. Among the considerations are reductions in police, fire and emergency service and the introduction of a vehicle tax, new charges on seniors and downtown businesses paying to maintain downtown parking lots and snow removal.

JG Excerpt:
Over the last couple years, the city reduced about $500,000 in salaries by eliminating jobs or holding jobs open, Levitt said.

But have they reduced salaries? Not that I know of.

City officials apparently have not yet received the message or don't fully understand what the election of Scott Walker really means to them. You didn't think that the ALEC-written Walker/Fitzgerald/Koch agenda was only meant for school teachers and unions, did you? Everyone will have to do with less and that includes you. The ratcheting down of wages and benefits in the private sector over the past decade was merely the preliminary groundwork to raise the wage-envy temperature of the average taxpayer against the public sector and government. Walker even alluded to this when he described public sector workers as the "haves." While the plutocrats continue to enjoy record profits at the expense of their workers, they knew their wage-earning employees were also taxpayers who would not let the taxes collected from their ever declining compensation continue to support "union" class public sector wages and benefits that they no longer can relate to.

Walker and his class war Tea Party conservatives knew his budget proposal would pit brothers against sisters against brothers and create a never before seen friction between neighbors and communities. In the beginning if you recall, he was prepping for a National Guard response to the expected public's outrage. They knew all along this would start a taxpayer driven class war.

So the City of Janesville is not alone in this wage envy battle and public sector workers of all stripes should consider themselves targets of this new and regressive economic contract. Unless you are a card-carrying member of a Fortune 500 family or one of their bought and paid for politicians or employees - you are one of us - a person made to feel lucky to have a job, if you have one at all.

The temperature within the Janesville School District is even higher than at city hall. Here the Janesville School Board is looking for ways to find $2.1 million to balance this year's budget.

UPDATE:
It turns out the Janesville School District's current deficit of $2.1 million was a charade. This article published Aug. 24th states the school district actually has a surplus of about $3 million. The Walker class war budget won't begin effecting the district until next year, when the district is expecting a $9 million deficit.

Saying it might be just a matter of additional cuts or taxes doesn't quite tell the whole story. The relationship between the school teachers, the school board and administration continues to suffer at the hands of the Pro-Walker Janesville Gazette, while the propaganda machine pummels the local teachers union with anonymous sources in their weekly "news" articles and Sound Off column.

Last year, I wrote that the Gazette and their political base was closing in on victory after a decades old local "cleansing" campaign against living wages, decent benefits and organized employee unions. In their view, the school teachers collective bargaining power is hopefully the final remnant of any leverage the working and middle class might strive for in Janesville. With the Walker union-busting budget, that battle is nearly over. The more anger they manufactured against taxpayer supported public employee wage and benefits - the better for their agenda. Taxes are bad. Taxes pay for government­. Government is bad. Government enables the people and everyone knows we can't have that.

Over the past few months, Bliss Com, the Gazette and their affiliates have started to soft-pedal their GOP politics and anti-union rhetoric a little. They cut loose the bomb-throwing Dan Conry from WCLO while the Ayn Rand worshipping Janesville Messenger appears, for the moment at least, to have halted their vicious attacks against Democrats and have embarked on a phony community outreach campaign all in the name of making amends towards compromise and bi-partisanship. It's too late. Besides, before compromise can be reached on genuine bi-partisan proposals - many reversals would be in order first.

It is as if they are all taking their marching orders directly from Scott Walker himself. They know the tide is changing and they don't want to lose any of the gains they've made on the working poor and middle-class.

This tells me more than ever before that ...this is our time.

Related:

Walker increased spending by $1.1 billion, property taxes are projected to rise an average of 2.6% while communities are shortchanged.

Janesville Newspaper Rips Through Unions With Anonymity

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For the past few weeks, the politically active Janesville Gazette has ramped up the usual highly caustic anti-union anti-teacher statements in their "professionally vetted" anonymous Sound Off newspaper columns. The recent upsurge in the newspaper's union centered articles and anonymous comments seems to draw on their reckless conservative assumptions that because the media's focus have become somewhat displaced by much larger and pressing issues than unions in the upcoming Wisconsin recall elections, they figure now is a good time to turn full attention back on them and re-energize their hardened conservative base with recycled anti-union propaganda.

Sorry, the newspaper's "anonymous" columns are not published online.

Odd Story On Proposed Janesville City Council Ethics Policy

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Does the Janesville City Council have a problem with ethics? Not bad enough where they need to prioritize or institute an ethics policy, at least not in my view.

I watch Janesville City Council meetings as often as I can and they are generally carried out in a very subdued if not alarmingly blase atmosphere. But, it's probably best to have something on the books just in case. My main worry is that there are two for sure, and possibly up to four control freaks on the seven member Janesville City Council who want nothing less than to keep all council members in procedural lockstep and borg-like personality shirt and tie. I'm afraid if the control freaks had their way, they would disband the council altogether and walkerize a czar to dictate policy and decisions. I hope this doesn't give them any ideas.

In this story from the Janesville Gazette, I also don't blame the person (council president) who wrote the policy for refusing to articulate to the media the reasons or instances that compelled him to propose it in the first place. It should have been left at that, but the Gazette proceeded to offer their own list of recent council member activity they view as individual behavior/ethics problems. It gave me the impression that if their subject won't provide the content they are looking for - they'll just provide it themselves anyways.

One blog commenter at the Gazette posted what I thought was a fairly accurate portrayal of the entire situation.

Comment at Gazette:
Nielsen (journalist) should have killed this story, because to be honest, Janesvillians should not be interested in what behaviors she felt were a priority to list. If Brunner feels comfortable enough to waste his time as our council member presenting this nonsense, then he had better be strong enough to present the reasons for which he feels it's necessary.

You can read the entire comment here. It's at lakennedy 4:19 AM.

Walker's Local Support Group Wants Teachers To Re-Open Contract

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The Janesville Gazette posted an editorial laying out the suggestion that Janesville school teachers owe it to the world to re-open their contract and surrender to Walker's uncompromising union busting demands.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Here's a message for officials from the Janesville School District, the teachers union and Forward Janesville who plan to meet Friday: Find a way.
Find a way to convince Janesville Education Association leaders and union attorneys that teachers can start contributing 5.8 percent of their salaries toward their pension fund without risking exposure to other concessions in Gov. Scott Walker's budget repair bill.

It takes a lot of nerve to ask only one party to make concessions without offering ideas or anything in exchange and then painting the teachers and their union as the primary suspects for the district's $13.4 million budget hole. Even worse and almost bordering on hysteria is the fact that it is Scott Walker who has cut state aid and prevented local communities from raising taxes, yet it's the teachers the Gazette blames for residents and businesses unwillingness to "donate" to a local fundraising effort to raise money for the schools - money that Walker carved out. The newspaper then tries to turn the tables on the teachers by claiming "businesses are reluctant to donate until they see the teachers union step up and show a commitment to saving quality education." Got that? It's the teachers union and donor fundraising - not the Governor and taxpayers - who are ultimately responsible for funding public education.

But I also think it's bizarre that Walker's local contribution base, the politically active business lobby group Forward Janesville, would be permitted to sit in this meeting after they gave standing ovations to Walker's budget speech at their annual dinner - this while hundreds of Janesville teachers and public sector workers were protesting outside at the dinner function. So the question is: Why should an un-elected special interest group be allowed to participate in this meeting? What is Forward Janesville bringing to the table and more importantly - what are they willing to concede? Will they match teacher concessions dollar for dollar? Don't hold your breath.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
Many teachers say they're not in the profession for the money but instead because of a deep passion for educating young people. Their union must demonstrate that.

You can see where this is going. Instead of rewarding individual teachers with extra compensation, monetary or otherwise, for their often selfless work, the Gazette would rather take teachers up on their personal and individual commitments to kids and reward them with less. Oh, you think you're a care giver in your role as teacher? Well, let your union demonstrate your sincerity - you can start by demanding less. This is insanity.

When concerned but opposing parties get together to forge an agreement, there usually is an exchange of one thing for another, or in this case matching concessions from all parties. The teachers are not in this alone nor are they charged with the school district's budget duties or responsibilities.

It's time to clear the air and tell Walker that his tool, Rep. Joe Knilans, is the wrong tool for the job. Tell him the only way to make things right is to drop the budget repair bill - lock, stock and barrel.

Local Paper Punishes Moms With Monster Story

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On Mother's Day Sunday, a day traditionally reserved for family and celebrating mom, the Janesville Gazette ran a Front page headline story on James Humphrey, the fallen local man found guilty of shooting to death another man in a chance confrontation that went disastrously out of control over an exchange of words and gestures.

A letter published in Wednesday's newspaper written by a person identifying herself as a family member of the victim found the newspaper's two-page feature very distasteful and a slap in the face of the victim's mother and the mother of the victim's children. But she went further. She also offered the notion that the guilty suspect's mother did not deserve to have this heartbreak story thrown back in her face either, not on Mother's Day and quite frankly - you don't screw around with mothers.

As a close observer of the Gazette, I find Sunday’s murder story placement a placement of choice. This was not breaking news or time sensitive information delivered for the public's urgency need-to-know. The point is, the Janesville Gazette editors knew exactly what they're doing. They deliberately used the heightened passions surrounding Mother's Day to jack up the shock and loss and teach everybody a family lesson. They believe it's their calling to play with lives and emotions if they can use it to advantage their right-wing social engineering program. In fact, this newspaper truly believes that the more critics they attract from opposing sides of an issue - the better. That's their journalistic benchmark for a balanced nirvana. The element they didn't take into consideration on Mother's Day however is the fact that the perpetrator and the victim’s mom love for their children is a common bond and it's totally unconditional. That's just one reason why they deserved much better on Mother's Day than what the Gazette dished out.

On Mother's Day 2011, the Janesville Gazette recklessly tore at the heart of every mom cuddling their precious little baby and hoping that someday, their child will make a positive difference in the world and in the lives of others. The point is, this story was scheduled for Mother's Day - no other day would do that could chug at the heartstrings the same way with the same effect the social engineers at the Gazette wanted to achieve. Ironically, they'll likely win awards in journalism excellence for their trainwreck "Man to Monster" Mother's Day story.

But it doesn't end there. The soulless Gazette and their WCLO radio barker Dan Conry, another award winning champion of free speech, trash commenters and critics alike who supposedly call into the newspaper's mind-numbingly illegitimate "Sound Off" anonymous feature. This is their monster. Conry says "bravo to the Gazette for printing cowards corner," it's a good recipe for the toxic stew they're selling. Conry then begins his circus act by reading portions of the signed letter sent in by the victim’s kin. But what exactly in the letter offends the liberty-loving free speech corporate tool the most? It's the idea that she plans on exercising her freedom of choice. She writes...

When my family moves back to Janesville, I will be sure to rethink subscribing to your newspaper!

Conry's offended most by the suggestion of withholding purchasing a subscription (boycott) and then describes exercising this free market principle as really an exercise in censorship. He then downplays the suggestion that the murder event was a "tragedy for both families" by sarcastically poking "that's nonsense - that's garbage." Okaaaay. He also plays surprise that advocates of boycotts and critics of his show are indeed "not without education" and "raised the the right way" and "well heeled" who are "professionals" and who are considered "very nice people" that have written letters to the general manager of the radio show saying "Dan Conry shouldn't be on the air." Again Conry implies that such criticism is intellectually dishonest for anyone educated and who understands the Constitution. I mean, everyone knows that boycotts or criticism of the Gazette or the Dan Conry Show doesn't fall under freedom of speech. Why that's socialistic, union thuggery communism and censorship.

Walker Putting a Hurt On Janesville - Conservatives Blame "Madison"

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I've seen this several times before in a few recent articles but it didn't click with me until I saw the title to the Walker-endorsing Janesville Gazette's editorial, Hey Madison, let's be fair to Janesville. They blame Madison, whom according to the Gazette, is using old formulas to divvy up state aid that will end up shortchanging Janesville 23 percent of its previous state aid.

When the truth is, Walker and his budget repair legislative tools either didn't think how these old formulas would work with their draconian cuts OR they knew exactly how they would work - they were banking on them.

In their letterized editorial to Walker and state lawmakers, they make no mention in name of Walker's Budget Repair Bill. Although they acknowledge that the new budget measures have torn up the financial books, burned the old way of doing business and are "solving the state’s cavernous budget deficits" They write "we get that." But it's "Madison" they blame, that liberal bastion of progressive bureaucrats for shortchanging Janesville.

They also blame part of the local deficit on the Janesville school district and the city for approving previously negotiated union contracts. Of course!

But as far as Walker and his budget bill is concerned - they "get it."