Gray Matter

• A Tale of Two Speeches - Part 1

  Mayor Tom Barrett had the misfortune of delivering his State of the City speech on the morning after President Obama’s Address to Congress and the Nation (why he avoided calling it a State of the Union escapes me. After all, as they say, if it walks like a duck…). The [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 26, 2009, 10:35am EST
  

• The Big Leagues

  I’m not Catholic but I was riveted by the developing story of whether Archbishop Dolan would leave Milwaukee to take over the prestigious New York diocese. I’m a native New Yorker so when the Big Apple makes off with Wisconsin talent it usually gets my attention. Brett Favre, in case [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 23, 2009, 1:07pm EST
  

• The Audacious Jim D.

  Many of us believe the Chinese word for crisis also means opportunity. Never mind that experts say there isn’t much truth to this adage. So let’s move on, and give Rahm Emanuel credit for the wise observation that no crisis should be wasted. And clearly Gov. Jim Doyle has warmly [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 20, 2009, 11:18am EST
  

• V is for Vindication

  It wouldn't be right for anyone to gloat over the economic crisis facing our nation but Marc V. Levine could be forgiven for doing an “I told you so” dance. The University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee professor has studied the city’s economic situation for years and has been a lonely' [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 16, 2009, 10:11am EST
  

• Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children?

  Tired of hearing about the troubled economy? Okay, let’s shift gears and focus some attention on another underperforming institution. A while back, I wrote about the challenges facing Milwaukee’s public schools. I was a bit incredulous that the leadership of MPS, the teachers union and the local business community were [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 09, 2009, 11:13am EST
  

• Won’t Someone Please Think of the Children?

  Tired of hearing about the troubled economy? Okay, let’s shift gears and focus some attention on another underperforming institution. A while back, I wrote about the challenges facing Milwaukee’s public schools. I was a bit incredulous that the leadership of MPS, the teachers union and the local business community were [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 09, 2009, 11:13am EST
  

• Who’s Side Are You On?

  So the battle is joined. 9 to 5, the scrappy nonprofit that got the sick leave referendum on the ballot last fall must now take on Milwaukee’s most powerful business group to get the new law implemented. You would think the city might be on the side of the voters [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 06, 2009, 3:15pm EST
  

• Who’s Side Are You On?

  So the battle is joined. 9 to 5, the scrappy nonprofit that got the sick leave referendum on the ballot last fall must now take on Milwaukee’s most powerful business group to get the new law implemented. You would think the city might be on the side of the voters [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 06, 2009, 3:15pm EST
  

• Groundhog Day

  No, I’m not gonna bitch and moan about that frigging rodent predicting six more weeks of winter. Hell, I’ll be delighted if we actually get to see anything resembling spring by the end of March. My reference is to the Bill Murray flick. I had a weird sense of déjà [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 04, 2009, 4:37pm EST
  

• Groundhog Day

  No, I’m not gonna bitch and moan about that frigging rodent predicting six more weeks of winter. Hell, I’ll be delighted if we actually get to see anything resembling spring by the end of March. My reference is to the Bill Murray flick. I had a weird sense of déjà [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 04, 2009, 4:37pm EST
  

• Take a Stand on Sick Leave

  Everyone loves a good David vs. Goliath story, when an underdog overcomes immense odds and defeats a powerful opponent. One such story may be taking place here in Milwaukee. When 9to5, the small nonprofit group dedicated to helping working women, collected enough petitions to place a referendum on last November’s [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 03, 2009, 10:39am EST
  

• Take a Stand on Sick Leave

  Everyone loves a good David vs. Goliath story, when an underdog overcomes immense odds and defeats a powerful opponent. One such story may be taking place here in Milwaukee. When 9to5, the small nonprofit group dedicated to helping working women, collected enough petitions to place a referendum on last November’s [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 03, 2009, 10:39am EST
  

• On The Shoulders of Giants

  One of Milwaukee’s treasures was in the news last week and it’s worth pausing to take note. Perhaps you caught Jim Stingl's story in the Journal Sentinel about how the Milwaukee County Children's Court Center was renamed in honor of Vel Phillips. No history of this city can ever be [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 02, 2009, 7:16pm EST
  

• On The Shoulders of Giants

  One of Milwaukee’s treasures was in the news last week and it’s worth pausing to take note. Perhaps you caught Jim Stingl's story in the Journal Sentinel about how the Milwaukee County Children's Court Center was renamed in honor of Vel Phillips. No history of this city can ever be [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: February 02, 2009, 7:16pm EST
  

• What Would Ebenezer Do?

  Nobody likes it when somebody tells them what to do so I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the business community is throwing a hissy fit over the new Milwaukee sick leave law. But the truth is that the local chapter of the 9 to 5 organization played [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 06, 2009, 11:22am EST
  

• What Would Ebenezer Do?

  Nobody likes it when somebody tells them what to do so I guess it shouldn’t come as a surprise that the business community is throwing a hissy fit over the new Milwaukee sick leave law. But the truth is that the local chapter of the 9 to 5 organization played [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: January 06, 2009, 11:22am EST
  

• Riders on the Earth Together

  Forty years ago, a very miserable year ended with a miracle. No matter how bad the economy is today or how terrible things seem to be going nationally and globally, 1968 was worse; really, really worse. The Vietnam War was raging in Southeast Asia, bitterly dividing the nation. The civil [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 24, 2008, 2:59pm EST
  

• Riders on the Earth Together

  Forty years ago, a very miserable year ended with a miracle. No matter how bad the economy is today or how terrible things seem to be going nationally and globally, 1968 was worse; really, really worse. The Vietnam War was raging in Southeast Asia, bitterly dividing the nation. The civil [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 24, 2008, 2:59pm EST
  

• Watching Brett from Baghdad

  New York Times Baghdad bureau chief James Glanz has filed a wonderful first-person report on watching the Jets-Bills game last Sunday from a war zone. It turns out Glanz has rooted for the Packers his entire life; his dad covered the team for a Madison television station. So, amazingly, he [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 17, 2008, 12:42pm EST
  

• Watching Brett from Baghdad

  New York Times Baghdad bureau chief James Glanz has filed a wonderful first-person report on watching the Jets-Bills game last Sunday from a war zone. It turns out Glanz has rooted for the Packers his entire life; his dad covered the team for a Madison television station. So, amazingly, he [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 17, 2008, 12:42pm EST
  

• Get Off the Damn Couch

  One of the most refreshing, unusual and effective aspects of the Obama campaign was its ability to convince an incredible number of regular people that they had a personal investment in his election. Every campaign relies on committed volunteers and every candidate builds networks of supporters, contributors and true believers. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 11, 2008, 12:12pm EST
  

• Get Off the Damn Couch

  One of the most refreshing, unusual and effective aspects of the Obama campaign was its ability to convince an incredible number of regular people that they had a personal investment in his election. Every campaign relies on committed volunteers and every candidate builds networks of supporters, contributors and true believers. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 11, 2008, 12:12pm EST
  

• Needy, Truly Needy and the Downright Greedy

  So the feeding frenzy has begun. What do you expect? When the federal government announces that it’s willing to spend as much as a trillion dollars there’s going to be a lot of folks lining up with ways to put that money to good use. You know what I’m reminded [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 09, 2008, 2:59pm EST
  

• Needy, Truly Needy and the Downright Greedy

  So the feeding frenzy has begun. What do you expect? When the federal government announces that it’s willing to spend as much as a trillion dollars there’s going to be a lot of folks lining up with ways to put that money to good use. You know what I’m reminded [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 09, 2008, 2:59pm EST
  

• Masters of the Universe

  The CEOs of the Big Three American automakers are returning to Capitol Hill clearly chastened by the lashing they took two weeks ago. Back then, they apparently expected easy access to a mere fraction of the $700 billion Congress has authorized to rescue the nation’s economy during this financial crisis. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 03, 2008, 9:53am EST
  

• Masters of the Universe

  The CEOs of the Big Three American automakers are returning to Capitol Hill clearly chastened by the lashing they took two weeks ago. Back then, they apparently expected easy access to a mere fraction of the $700 billion Congress has authorized to rescue the nation’s economy during this financial crisis. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: December 03, 2008, 9:53am EST
  

• The Bruce Bowl???

  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so, of course, our thoughts naturally turn to … FOOTBALL! Understandably, most Packers fans are in a state of shock following the whupping the team took from the New Orleans Saints in the very same stadium which was the site of the team’s Super Bowl win way [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2008, 9:20am EST
  

• The Bruce Bowl???

  Tomorrow is Thanksgiving so, of course, our thoughts naturally turn to … FOOTBALL! Understandably, most Packers fans are in a state of shock following the whupping the team took from the New Orleans Saints in the very same stadium which was the site of the team’s Super Bowl win way [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 26, 2008, 9:20am EST
  

• Outing a Bully

  It’s a truth many of us learned on the playgrounds of our youth: nobody reacts to criticism worse than a bully. So it’s no surprise that conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes responded to a negative article in the December issue of Milwaukee Magazine with a longwinded, sniveling diatribe that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2008, 11:19am EST
  

• Outing a Bully

  It’s a truth many of us learned on the playgrounds of our youth: nobody reacts to criticism worse than a bully. So it’s no surprise that conservative talk show host Charlie Sykes responded to a negative article in the December issue of Milwaukee Magazine with a longwinded, sniveling diatribe that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 20, 2008, 11:19am EST
  

• Whither Hillary?

  I may be wrong but I don’t think Barack Obama will choose Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. For one thing, during the campaign they took significantly different positions on foreign policy; from her vote for the Iraq War to the wisdom of meeting with bad guy foreign leaders [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2008, 11:51am EST
  

• Whither Hillary?

  I may be wrong but I don’t think Barack Obama will choose Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. For one thing, during the campaign they took significantly different positions on foreign policy; from her vote for the Iraq War to the wisdom of meeting with bad guy foreign leaders [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 17, 2008, 11:51am EST
  

• The Morning After

  So the Obama girls will get a puppy. And the nation gets to celebrate. Barack Obama’s astonishing victory was the result of a nearly flawless, extremely well-run campaign. He assembled a talented, loyal and disciplined team around him who planned and implemented a remarkably effective strategy based on a message [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2008, 10:24am EST
  

• The Morning After

  So the Obama girls will get a puppy. And the nation gets to celebrate. Barack Obama’s astonishing victory was the result of a nearly flawless, extremely well-run campaign. He assembled a talented, loyal and disciplined team around him who planned and implemented a remarkably effective strategy based on a message [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: November 06, 2008, 10:24am EST
  

• The Finish Line

  In case you haven’t heard, next Tuesday is Election Day when our nation will choose its next President. This is no time for complacency and each campaign is struggling mightily to turn out its supporters and maintain a full court press through this last week. Here in Wisconsin we are [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 29, 2008, 2:26pm EDT
  

• Wisconsin as a battlegound

  Lots of people are assuming that Barack Obama has wrapped up Wisconsin. Certainly the polls suggest that Obama has a safe lead here and the fact that the Republican Party has stopped spending money on television ads here reinforce that impression. But, as we all know, the only poll that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 24, 2008, 3:00pm EDT
  

• Imagine a More Just Milwaukee

  Go ahead. Take a few seconds and give it some thought. If you had a magic wand and could do anything you wanted, how would you change Milwaukee to make it a better place to live, work and raise a family? Better schools? More jobs? Improved transit? More statues of [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 23, 2008, 9:18am EDT
  

• Is That All You Got?

  The third and final debate between John McCain and Barack Obama last night was certainly the most spirited and entertaining yet. As promised, McCain was combative and sought to pin the label of tax and spend Democrat on his rival. But if McCain’s supporters were looking for a transcendent performance [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 16, 2008, 9:17am EDT
  

• Game, Set and …

  Now hold on. You are not going to hear me say that this election is over. Sure every national poll has Barack Obama ahead and Real Clear Politics has Obama leading McCain in the all important Electoral College competition 313-158 (with 67 up for grabs). The latest poll here in [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 14, 2008, 2:30pm EDT
  

• Sometime’s a Pie’s Just a Pie

  It’s Sunday morning and I’ve got one eye on the public affairs programming while I’m getting caught up on the morning news online. Fox News Sunday host Chris Wallace just failed miserably to maintain decorum between McCain spokesperson Rick Davis and Obama uber flack David Axelrod. Come on, guys, let [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 12, 2008, 10:15am EDT
  

• Happy Birthday, Number Four

  It’s a beautiful fall day, great football weather, which is only fitting since today is Brett Favre’s birthday. It still seems weird, doesn’t it, that Favre suits up Sundays in a jersey that doesn’t belong to the Green Bay Packers. Look, full disclosure here, I grew up in Queens, New [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 10, 2008, 9:19am EDT
  

• Cool Trumps Hot

  So did you watch the debate last night? If not, I understand. This election has been going on forever. Even I found myself getting distracted while John McCain and Barack Obama were having at it. The race seemed so close a mere four weeks ago. These debates were among the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 08, 2008, 10:31am EDT
  

• The Last Refuge

  It was a less than great weekend for sports fans in Wisconsin. The Badgers and Packers both lost and the Brewers ended their season though not before winning a playoff game at home on Saturday. So it’s time to return to more mundane topics like the economy and health care, [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: October 06, 2008, 9:56am EDT
  

• Milwaukee celebrates

  Holy cow, the Brewers are in the playoffs and their fans are ready to par-tey!!! Well, I’m glad. Truthfully, I would have liked the Mets and Brewers to have won yesterday to force a game between the two teams to decide which one moved on. You see, I’ve always been [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 29, 2008, 1:10pm EDT
  

• Tragedy or Farce?

  It couldn’t be any wackier if Paddy Chayefsky and Joseph Heller had collaborated on the script and Stanley Kubrick and Robert Altman had done the directing. Let's review. Those wild and crazy folks who are in charge of our federal government in Washington, DC continue to squander what little respect [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 26, 2008, 9:54am EDT
  

• The Scorecard

  John McCain is not having a very good couple of weeks. His campaign has been in free fall ever since last week when he called the fundamentals of our economy strong, He quickly tried to reposition himself on all this economic stuff by insisting he was talking about the American [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 25, 2008, 10:10am EDT
  

• Sins of the Son

  Remember the presidential election of 1992 when George H.W. Bush lost to that young governor from Arkansas despite complaints by the incumbent that the media were unfair? The Republicans even promoted the slogan “Annoy the Media, Vote for Bush.” That didn’t work and it’s been conventional wisdom ever since that [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 24, 2008, 1:30pm EDT
  

• The Elephant in the Room

  Barack Obama responds to the question of whether race will be an issue on Nov. 4th with remarkable cool. On 60 Minutes last night, he said it would probably be a wash, with some people voting against him because of the color of his skin while others will vote for [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 22, 2008, 12:23pm EDT
  

• Wineke and Priebus are all winks and jabs

  Mike Gousha moderated a good-natured smackdown yesterday at Marquette University between Wisconsin’s political party chairmen, Republican Reince Priebus and Democrat Joe Wineke. The two partisan opponents were all smiles and slaps on the back as they reached into their bags of bon mots to attack each other’s candidates. Gousha once [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 19, 2008, 9:58am EDT
  

• Crony Capitalism, Crony Government

  While the news from Wall Street ain’t so hot, I’ll tell you what I wish I had stock in. I’m bullish on The Comedy Channel. The last week has been a windfall for Jon Stewart, Stephen Colbert and their writers on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report. Just hilarious! [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 18, 2008, 11:09am EDT
  

• Obama’s Straight Talk

  We look to our leaders for substantive answers to the challenges of our time and we also look to our leaders for inspiration and confidence in the future. Barack Obama has been delivering on both of these criteria since he first declared his candidacy back in the winter of 2007. [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 17, 2008, 10:05am EDT
  

• Reality Strikes

  A funny thing happened while lots of people were wringing their hands over how the McCain campaign seemed in total control of the news cycles since naming Sarah Palin to the ticket. The real world intervened. One prestigious Wall Street firm, Lehman Brothers, collapsed and another one, Merrill Lynch, was [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 16, 2008, 10:53am EDT
  

• Tit for Tat

  Alright, boys and girls, it’s official. The gloves are off as the campaign that will choose our nation’s next president enters its high stakes final stages. Yep that means the silly season has begun when both candidates and their surrogates struggle to control the news cycle with messages targeting the [...]
  Share | Rate | Archive

  Posted: September 12, 2008, 2:16pm EDT