“Tothose who cling to power through corruption and deceit and thesilencing of dissent, know that you are on the wrong side of history;but that we will extend a hand if you are willing to unclench yourfist.” President Barack Obama, during his Inaugural Address
Heroes of the Week: Milwaukee School Board
Theheroes of the week are the members of the Milwaukee School Board underthe leadership of board President Peter Blewett. For years, the schoolboard was split almost evenly on essentially one issue: the experimentwith school vouchers. This split developed into two factions that thendisagreed on many other school issues. But change may be coming. OnThursday, Jan. 15, the MPS Committee on Legislation, Rules and Policiesheld a meeting to discuss two important, complex issuesarecommendation to reform the state’s school funding formula and a majorhealth care policy recommendationthat could easily have deterioratedinto a fight between the two factions. Instead, the recommendationsreceived unanimous support. Is President Barack Obama’s “we can allwork together” approach to governing reaching down to the school boardlevel?
Jerk of the Week: Mark Belling
WhileMark Belling can usually be relied on to miss the larger picture, hisdefense of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s expressed desireto refuse federal stimulus dollars makes one wonder if theinvective-spewing radio host is getting enough sleep. We understandWalker’s motive in sacrificing the communal good in order to keep theextreme wing of the Republican Party on his side in his 2010gubernatorial dream and agree with Belling’s description of the countyexecutive as a “hog in the back of the barn.” But the needed stimulusspending has been welcomed by economists across the political spectrum,even if word hasn’t filtered back to Belling, one of Walker’sstaunchest partisans. Belling continues to disparage the supporters ofthe stimulus package, including the mayor and the Common Council, as“poverty pimps” and “political hustlers.” Sadly, this follows Belling’spattern of pandering to the far-right fringes rather than engaging inreasoned debate about what is in the county’s best economic interest.
Photo of the Week
Entrance Sticker Migration, by Dhiraj Madura
"This shot was taken on the median facing south just in front of the Milwaukee Art Museum's Quadracci Pavilion on Lincoln Memorial Drive."
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