The number of home foreclosures has risen exponentially nationwide, andWisconsin is no exception to the rule. With rising unemployment andperhaps the worst of the mortgage default crisis still to come, manyWisconsin families may soon face the prospect of losing their homes toforeclosure. In this no-win situation, homeowners lose the money theyhave already paid on a home, and the bank or lending institution isleft holding a home which they must unload, often at reduced cost,further eroding real estate values. State Sen. Lena Taylor(D-Milwaukee) is set to introduce the Mortgage Mediation Act, whichwould allow homeowners to sit down with lenders and renegotiate theterms of the mortgage, either in terms of interest rate or length oftime to pay off the debt. Taylor hopes that the plan, if enacted, wouldkeep more families in their homes, preserve neighborhood stability andreduce taxpayer costs by keeping more cases out of the court system.
Jerk of the Week: Alderman Bob Donovan
AldermanTerry Witkowski recently introduced a Common Council resolution callingon the state Legislature to pass enabling legislation that would allowlocal units of government both cities and countiesto impose a tax onthe sale of cigarettes. Other forward-looking cities like Chicago andNew York impose a local cigarette tax because it provides revenueseparate from the property tax, and discourages young people fromsmoking. (Actually the city of Chicago and Cook County impose separatetaxes on cigarettes.)
Witkowski’s resolution was simply to askthe Legislature to provide this power to local units of government toutilize if they choose. But Alderman Bob Donovan, a smoker, again votedfor what he believes is good for himself, rather than what is good forthe people of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County. Donovanalong with formerJerk of the Week Alderman Jim Bohl torpedoed the measure in committee,and now Milwaukeeans will have fewer options to raise necessary revenuewhen they need it.
Hero and Scholar of the Week: Robert Kraig
The Wall Street Journal recentlylisted five books on presidential rhetoric that the incoming Obamaadministration should be reading. Topping that list is Woodrow Wilson and the Lost World of the Oratorical Statesman, written by Milwaukee activist and scholar Robert Kraig.
Hehas a Ph.D. in Rhetoric/ Communications Arts from UW-Madison and iscurrently the program director for Citizen Action of Wisconsin. Kraigwas formerly the Wisconsin state political director for ServiceEmployees International Union (SEIU) and, nationally, is a leadingexpert on health care reform.
Blog of the Week:Ed Garvey, for GarveyBlog www.fightingbob.com
Some Tour!
The JS headline:“Bush’s Iraq-Afghan farewell tour marred by dissent.” I guess so. Theultimate insult [in Iraq]: throwing a shoe at someone. In this case,the thrower hollered: “A farewell kiss, you dog.” That accompanied thefirst shoe. The second, “This is for the widows, orphans and those youkilled.”
One cable guy referred to this as Bush’s “victory lap.” Some victory. Nearlysix years of war and occupation later, the president of the UnitedStates must sneak into town unannounced. Recall the prediction that wewould be welcomed as “liberators”? A slight miscalculation. Now 4.5million Iraqis are homeless, as many as 1 million killed, therebuilding a shambles. Seen any polls lately?
Was the real reason forthe tour to avoid a decision on the auto bailout?
Quote of the Week
“Thisis a farewell kiss, you dog.” Iraqi journalist Muntadar al-Zaidi,while throwing the first of two shoes at President George Bush during aweekend press conference in Baghdad
Photo of the Week
A Bus Runs Through It, by Tracy Apps
"Taken from the train tracks going over Second Street in Milwaukee's ever-changing Third Ward, while on a photo-walk with the 'Cream City: Milwaukee' Flickr group."
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