TIME award not meant for Them

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Our friendly little community newspaper the “Janesville Messenger” has once again shown their true colors with their latest editorial titled “This one’s for “You.” But unlike TIME magazine, the editor(s) of the Messenger have not quite bought into the idea that the American public deserve some credit for our creativity or willingness to explore and understand the world with our own eyes. No, if it were up to them, we would be fed a steady diet of intellectually pretentious propaganda from organizations such as the Heritage Foundation, the Cato Institute or the “objectively superior” Ayn Rand and told to shut up and learn to like it.

JM editorial excerpt:
Time’s choice of “you” for 2006, is, in fact, a colossal cop-out that reflects intellectual paralysis among Western media elites who cannot bring themselves to acknowledge that we risk unimaginable conflagration if we do not muster the will to stand up to Muslim extremism.

That terrible Time Magazine, how brain numbingly stupid of them to give an award to “You.” After all, “You” according to the way they (Messenger) see it, are nothing more than a lazy uninformed slob sitting in front of your computer, punching keys for no good reason, completely oblivious to the Islamists.

Like as if its up to the mainstream media to save us from any and all perceived enemies. But the real oddity here is that for all of the Messenger’s superiority and hubris puffery, why are they relying on the very media or liberals that they so oftenly bash, to save the planet? What about the rest? The editor(s) essentially slams America, but somehow manages to exclude themselves from the culture. Does the Messenger know that regardless of how localist they are, or anti-liberal their rhetoric, they are viewed by readers as part of the fading mainstream establishment?

Just a few days earlier though, the Messenger let all of their readers know that they have received the Forward Janesville Business of the Year award. That was their Dec. 27th cover story, “We’re Honored.”

JM excerpt:
“It’s always nice to be recognized for achievements,” said Steve Karstaedt, president of Community Shoppers, Inc., which publishes the Messenger.

But what about those Islamists? I find the irony here almost too much to bear, but nevertheless, realize that awards are usually given to those who deserve. Even this author congratulates them for the achievement.

Unfortunately, I can’t link to the column I describe here because the Messenger’s editorials are not part of the digital democracy known as the internet. The Messengers “You” editorial does not offer even a small congratulatory acknowledgment of sorts to anybody, because it turns out, the TIME award wasn’t meant for them. That explains everything.

Swift Boat Candidate On Esquire

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The frontcover of the January 2007 issue of Esquire magazine depicts a legless young man with a prosthetic arm proudly holding his Purple Heart. The heart wrenching picture is worth a thousand words, and any thoughts of comfort, thanks or honor may seem trivial to the loss this soldier endured.

Esquire excerpt:
“I kind of felt guilty. I feel like I took the easy way out, which I know isn't true, but I wanted to be back there.” – Sgt. Bryan Anderson, triple amputee

The only thing I can offer the young man is this advice: Do not grow angry towards the president or the country. If you feel you have made a difference, keep that faith. Because if you don’t, and you roll up to the White House fence and throw that Purple Heart (or a facsimile of it) over in disgust and then run for Congress or President 20 years from now, the Swift Boat Veterans will remember. They will say that you volunteered for military service to get into Iraq. They will say you deliberately drove over an IED just to get the medal and cut your time short. They will say the Esquire photo was a publicity stunt for your future campaign run. They will repeat your “easy way out” conscience, brave soldier. Who knows, they may also imply everyone got a medal even if it was only a scratch…… God bless you, Esquire soldier.

TIME buying time with Award

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The tractionless TIME magazine has deemed its Person Of The Year Award to you(us). Although I wouldn’t put too much stock into its meaning, even George W. Bush was named person of the year at one time, at least we can be assured that the latest choice was not based on notoriety. Of course this blog wasn't named specifically, but they may of had it in mind when they discussed the explosion of bluntly honest citizen-run content. That's right – the most significant contribution to the world this year by anyone was, in part, due to your comments right here on Rock Netroots.

Sun Times Excerpt:
It seems like almost every time I read a mainstream media story about political Web sites and bloggers, the pieces are full of ill-informed junk.

The quote above is interesting because its author is saying that mainstream news reports about blogs are poorly written and absent of pertinent information, much like everything else the mainstream reports on. What did you expect? Worse yet, the mainstream frequently belittles the information offered by bloggers, but consider this - most bloggers (including myself) are tireless consumers of big media including magazines like TIME, if they think we are ill-informed, well guess what?

The mainstream media has painted themselves into a corner about blogging, and bloggers will not go away anytime soon, no matter how much it is dismissed or chastised. Brick and mortar media institutions keep a close eye on blogs like this while denying their existence and refusing to give it credibility. That's what happens when you've painted yourself into a corner.

Time Excerpt:
Who are these people? Seriously, who actually sits down after a long day at work and says, I'm not going to watch Lost tonight. I'm going to turn on my computer and make a movie starring my pet iguana? I'm going to mash up 50 Cent's vocals with Queen's instrumentals? I'm going to blog about my state of mind or the state of the nation or the steak-frites at the new bistro down the street? Who has that time and that energy and that passion? The answer is, you do. And for seizing the reins of the global media, for founding and framing the new digital democracy, for working for nothing and beating the pros at their own game, Time's Person of the Year for 2006 is you.

I don’t know whether they are poking fun at bloggers or not, to be honest with you, I don’t care. They do seem to be making concessions to web based information. Only time will tell whether or not they are willing to make the necessary changes from this lesson learned. But what must really set them on fire is the “for working for nothing” part.

Whether you agree with my perspective or not, I salute your never-ending quest for information and knowledge without the careful and formal pretensions manufactured by the hired hands of big media. Sure, TIME may be patronizing here a little much and it's a mistake to romanticize this any more than is necessary but nevertheless, to all my visitors, even the ones who hoped I got a lump of coal in my stocking for Christmas, I thank you for visiting this webpage and wish you a Happy New Year!!

Unplugged: Wisconsin Brain Drain

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It should come as no surprise that not only have Wisconsin college grads been overlooked for top positions in local government, but other Wisconsinites have as well. At this level, I don’t buy the idea that we must be in competition with other states and cities in order to acquire smart, competent people. If a manager or superintendent hops from one city to another simply because of signing perks and more money, by all means let em’ go. Their loyalties can be bought. No one is an island, everyone is expendable, there are no guarantees.

Unfortunately this ill-advised hiring mindset is pervasive throughout society as explained by one anonymous caller to the Janesville Gazette.

JG excerpt:
It seems too convenient that Rock County Sheriff-elect Bob Spoden appointed Cmdr. Barb Tillman to chief deputy. How extensive was the search? The Janesville Police Department searched nationwide for its new chief of police, and he seems to be working out just fine.-- anonymous

Got something against promoting a Wisconsinite who passed through the state's educational system and happens to be a 24 year department veteran? Too bad. Barb Tillman has also completed the Criminal Justice Executive Development Institute Program at Fox Valley Technical College in Appleton, Wisconsin. In retrospect, appointing a Wisconsinite from within is the best first decision from Sheriff-elect Spoden. In addition, she toughed it out in what still is viewed as a man's world in the law enforcement environment and deserves to be congratulated for her hard work. Tillman's promotion will likely usher in more advancements of hard working deputies at the lower levels to fill the voids. The snowball effect from this one appointment would not exist had Spoden chosen an outsider. To the contrary, Sheriff-elect Spoden should be commended for his smart choice.

The anonymous comment also implied that the best candidate for a top job can only be found through nationwide searches which of course is not necessarily true or economically feasible.

The Janeville Police Department did a nationwide search for a new police chief and plucked Neil Mahan from Bakersfield, California.

Before that, the city chose a graduate from the University of Iowa who worked as a manager in Concord, Massachusetts and Salem, Illinois to be the new city manager. A seemingly bright individual with plenty of experience, he is still with us today, his name is Steve Sheiffer.

This same direction continues today in Janesville's search for a new director at the Hedberg library, a position which pays upwards to $90,000 a year. In 2005, they appointed Dennis Wilson, who previously worked at libraries in Arkansas, Kansas and Colorado. He was a product of the Missouri University System. His commitment here fizzled out quickly. Afterwards, the board considered one of two applicants from Illinois. The most recent applicant from River Forest, Ilinois, also turned them down.

I am only using them as examples so don’t mistake my comments here as a personal slap against either official or as blind pride at any costs. They all are respectable and committed individuals. My target here more or less is the peculiar set of priorities established by the policy makers doing the hiring. If other Wisconsin municipalities are doing the same, it is no wonder why our graduates refuse to remain here after they graduate.

I can’t blame the state to begin grasping at desperate measures when our graduates are faced with slanted hiring practices. However, the latest proposal of offering free college tuition in exchange for staying in Wisconsin for 10 years after they graduate runs counter to the very idea of what graduates strive for while achieving their education. Not to mention the estimated billions in cost to the taxpayer, if the jobs are not there to begin with, we are just spinning our wheels.

Sure, those promoting national searches for local leadership will claim the importance of fresh eyes and ears, but aside from a completely corrupted and degraded chain of command, it is a poor excuse to use. And aside from the obvious needs of giant cities like New York or Chicago, if other states are doing this perpetual outsourcing as standard procedure for acquiring competent individuals for top positions, they are merely trading apples for apples.

But I also offer an idea here. The state should first encourage all local and city governments to make hiring a Wisconsin graduate or a Wisconsinite one and two on their list of priorities for the best candidate for a top position. The state could accomplish this using sticks and carrots. This could apply to all permanent structural arms of public utilities as well. The state will need to legislate new rules governing the distribution of grants and other state funds regularly earmarked for various needs of each community. For instance, cutting off a $75,000 grant for new street lights if an out-of-stater is hired for a top public post. Of course this is just a rough idea and the state would have to play hardball here, but this is nowhere near the Big Bang proposal being kicked around now. Secondly, the state needs to involve corporations in the education and training of their future employees by cleaning up and enforcing the state tax on corporations and rededicating those funds in a split towards education and healthcare.

As long as communities like Janesville continue to fuel the exodus with their hiring procedures and policies, Wisconsin graduates will have no recourse but to leave Wisconsin, no matter how much money the state throws at the issue.

If encouraging Wisconsin graduates to remain in Wisconsin is the goal, you have to start hiring them here first. That is the bottom line.

Can Heaven Wait?

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The ABC special with Barbara Walters Heaven, where is it? – How do we get there? was very informative and revealed some of the principles behind those who have hi-jacked their own perspective religions.

The Walters special did not however reveal anything entirely new about Islam since after 9-11, but it was assembled in such a way as to encompass all religions including Islam and their relationships to an after-life.

Walters interviewed Islamists who strongly believe in a version of their religion contaminated by intolerance and violence. These quaslamists (new word invented right here combining al qaeda (base)- quasi(fake) and Islam) have been taught by bin laden and others to use their life and death as a weapon against all intruders and infidels, thus giving their leaders(survivors) power and victory over the enemy. Crimes against not only humanity but against their own faith as well. Of course, we have seen with are own eyes as to what extent they are willing to go.

The TV documentary was thought provoking and well made enough to help understand the motivations that drive those we perceive as our enemy. We are in combat with people who not only give their lives for their own cause, but willingly and wantonly do so. Whether we also perceive them as brainwashed really doesn’t matter at this point. The fact is, our military is in battle against those who want to die, while our loyal and courageous soldiers for the most part, are there to do a job, collect a paycheck and return home to their families and friends. Whether they believe it is a just cause or not. Not so with the quaslamists. So my question is – Is it possible for an invader to militarily defeat a people dying to go to heaven? Or can it wait? – in the regard that we change course dramatically enough to stop the killing but remain engaged in efforts to liberate Islam?

Post Election Gasoline Prices

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A letter writer to the Gazette disputed Election Day conspiracy theories regarding the price of gasoline. Claiming that prices did not rise drastically enough afterwards as many had guessed it would.

Unless you haven’t noticed, the price of gasoline has been going up at a pace of a few cents a week since after the election. Beginning in September, oil was going down so fast, many experts thought it would reach $15 a barrel within a year. They implied $1.35 a gallon gasoline was just around the corner.

Earlier in the year, when the prices were high, Bush said there is nothing he could do, after all, he said, “it’s a free market.” But all of a sudden, just before the election, something happened. OPEC, one of the tools of global free enterprise announced it will be cutting production by 800,000 barrels of oil a day. Not because of a hurricane, broken pipelines or a shortage of crude. No sir, they announced the cut in production with only one objective in mind; to stop the price from sliding any further.

Immediately afterwards, several prominent economists and market watchers said the announcement doesn’t carry much weight, that OPEC lacks the discipline to carry out its own threats/goals. Make no mistake, whether or not OPEC actually cut production, the announcement did what it was intended to do. It put the brakes on the declining prices. Around election time, oil prices flattened out, and ever since have been climbing steadily upwards. I can hear people crying foul already, saying Bush has nothing to do with the global price of oil. I would argue that his decisions regarding the middle-east does, but more importantly, mister energy task force himself, VP Dick Cheney held secret meetings years ago with Big Oil in the White House and it can be safe to assume that Big Oil has been given free rein to do whatever it takes to ensure a steady supply of gasoline at the pump. If you have to raise prices to accomplish some level of control over consumption, then by all means, do it. The Bush Administration could care less about high prices, that's “free market” in their view, just don’t repeat the energy crisis the nation experienced in the 70’s with widespread shortages, long lines and rationing. It would doom his presidency. But we'll never know for sure because, the meetings were "secret."

By keeping the meetings secret, the Bush Administration appeared to exercise the idea that energy is a free market untouched by outside forces. There can be no doubt that energy executives see their own interests as bound up with a Republican victory. Certainly they have invested more heavily in buying off Republican legislators than they have their Democratic counterparts.

There is nothing like the good ol'boy free market capitalism espoused by the President and many, many of my fellow Americans. But it is in words only.

JG letter excerpt:
The writer asks the question: So where are the apologies to President Bush and Big Oil from those who loudly advocated these theories?

Although I believe Big Oil manipulates gasoline supply, demand and prices at will, I did not believe prices would jolt upwards after the election. Regardless, nearly everybody thought this would happen and so far, no apologies are necessary. The prediction was as good if not better than the accuracy of tomorrows weather forecast.

Related: Read The coming oil wars, a special report of a three part series by the Chicago Tribune.

Republicans Defeat Ends Gridlock

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Keeping one of his promises, Gov. Doyle agreed to an ethics reform package reached between Democrats and Republicans in Madison.

Ethics Reform excerpt:
"The devil is in the details," says Jay Heck of Common Cause. "We'll want to see how it all works. I think it's an incredibly positive sign. If you'dve asked me three months ago whether I'd envisioned this happening this soon I would've said no."

He is absolutely right. Three months ago, many thought the Democrats would sweep the national offices, but nobody figured the Democrats would do the same in Wisconsin. Mark Green was breathing down Doyle’s neck. Had Green won, ethics reform would have been shelved for years. The Republicans have been running the show in both the national and local scene, ramrodding through party-line bills and discarding democratic motions like common garbage. Now, the drumbeat is co-operation and bi-partisanship. Stuff that has been ignored for years like revenue shortages, budget deficits, job creation, healthcare and restoring the Social Security treasury fund will finally get their just due in Congress, because the people have said enough is enough.

JG editorial excerpt:
Perhaps Democrats, out of power for years in Wisconsin and Washington, have seen the error of idealogical gridlock and gotten the message that voters are demanding accountability and measures to move this state and nation forward.

Yes, being in the minority party while helplessly watching Republicans nearly destroy the state of the union has taught Democrats exactly how not to behave. Discarded by the majority Republicans, words like compromise, bipartisan, co-operation, and unity have been dusted off by the new majority and are the new buzzwords in damage control. Had the endorsements of this newspapers editorial staff won, the error of idealogical gridlock would have gone on much, much longer.

Big Media Censors Competition

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A short while ago, the Janesville Gazette ran an Op-ed article titled “FCC must separate speech and state” written by the Competitive Enterprise Institute. What is the Competitive Enterprise Institute? Don’t let the name fool you. This outfit appears to be nothing short of an extreme right-wing anarco-capitalist groupthink whose name oddly enough reminds me of the Cancer Institute. You know, the Cancer Institute is dedicated to stamping out cancer. Similarly, the Competitive Enterprise Institute is for, you know, stamping out competition. Simply, their attempt to throw the proliferation of media monopolies onto the coattails of speech and state separation is weak. The war between big business and free speech is all about power and control, nothing less. But this rather naively written opinion piece about “big media” is really not a reason to get concerned.

What is more telling of the Gazette's intentions is that they print such an easily debunked and extreme piece of work without running a competitive opposing view. In a real-time sample analysis, the lack of a side-by-side rebuttal in the paper actually disproves the authors philosophy. So, why blame the FCC for censorship and media business restrictions when the supposedly free market (Gazette) does it regardless. The absence of an opposing view censors at least half the available information. I for one do not want the government to practice censorship. But just as well, I want the government to create and enforce laws preventing free market or otherwise, from doing the same.

This article seemed to support the Gazette’s decision to consolidate their own business affiliates. They announced a couple of weeks ago in an info-commercial editorial that Bliss Communications(parent company) has decided to “converge” their radio and newspaper operations thereby creating, in their view, a better product speaking with one voice. Granted, newspapers are facing competition for readers with other multi-media but make no mistake, the Gazette is the only daily newspaper in Janesville, they have no competition. Sure, you can get the Journal Sentinel, Madison Newspapers and even the Chicago Tribune from boxes and stations around town, but they will not carry even poorly written stories about Janesville schools or the broken water main near your home.

In my view, their “convergence” happened for two primary reasons. One, to cut costs resulting from duplication and number two, to tighten the grip on their mini-monopoly. It certainly is their prerogative to do so, but under the guise of a better product?

The Gazette not unlike the cable company Charter has a monopoly in Janesville, they dictate prices, services and most importantly, the content. Take it or leave it.
In a letter to the Gazette editor titled, ”Football fans deserve more from cable TV,” the writer believes if consumers had more than one cable company in town, the quality of service and content would be better. Although the letter writer identified himself as the director of TV4US, the Gazette editor, as they oftenly do, noted afterwards that TV4US is a non-profit consumer advocate. But strangely enough, continued on with an endorsement for more cable competition and choices with this.

JG excerpt:
EDITORS NOTE: TV4US Wisconsin is a nonprofit, grass-roots coalition advocating on behalf of cable TV customers toward competitive alternatives, leading to lower cable bills and improved service. The coalition’s Website is We Want Choice Wisconsin

Remember, this is the editor’s note. So my question is: Why would the Gazette advocate more competition in other industries, but within their own, think convergence is best?