I went down to the Capitol later in the afternoon yesterday. It was about 4pm or so. It seemed pretty calm. I took some pictures and shot some video with my phone. You can see it here.
Madison it a protest city. I believe there are people hanging around just waiting to protest something - anything. One small spark ignites the whole thing and puts the machine in motion. Days like this are like a holiday for them or something. You can just sense it in the atmosphere. What a strange place this is.
How do you tell if a protester is from Wisconsin? They call it "Wesconsin" instead of "Wisconsin." :-)
First of all, raising the beer tax in Wisconsin just seems sacrilege. But, that aside, some reasons for it seem to be "just because" and I think that's weak.
She added, “My bill proposes that we add a tax on beer because that is priced at the third lowest in the nation … [and] beer is the alcohol of choice for the binge drinker.”
Just because it's the third lowest in the nation... weak.
We just know that the Wisconsin Government is just going to take that money to balance the budget and it's not going to go toward programs to help alcoholics. We've seen Governor Doyle highly raise taxes on cigarettes, people stopped buying them (isn't that the idea?) and so tax revenue went down, actually, and they he used that money to "balance" the budget - which was an epic fail. One reason to tax thing is so that people stop using that product, but the Democrats in Wisconsin don't think that way at all and just want control and tax revenue.
Another reason is "just because" it hasn't been raised since 1969. Oh, since we haven't raised taxes in a while, we need to! That is the reason? What??
The bills propose to increase the Wisconsin beer tax from $2 per barrel to $10
per barrel. WOW! That's too huge. There's no way that will pass and you don't increase it that much. Get real. Five times as much? You have to be kidding. Try from $2 to $3 first.
This is the third time Terese Berceau has brought this bill up. I guess she can keep trying but this is Wisconsin... hel-lo? Berceau's district is 76, which is a good portion of Madison - not my neighborhood though. So keep this in mind the next time y'all vote. She's putting through absurd legislation and wasting our time. We pay for her time.
I don't think people get what this train is all about. We don't need to pay another $1 billion in taxes for nothing. Spend it on roads. And the cost won't end in one year. This will be forever. It will cost money. LOTS of money. Check the facts on the train.
We're talking 8,000 stops per day in a city that's already congested because it has 4 lakes in the middle of it. What about that makes any sense?
This is about land use. The Dane County board wants more control over where we all live, can move and can build on. This train project gives them that control that they want. This is not about helping you. It's about helping them.
The whole county will pay. Cities not even using it will pay. That's hardly fair. Right there, red flags should be raised in your mind. This RTA (regional taxing authority) is made up of non-elected people who have the power to raise your taxes. That's completely unconstitutional!
The Dane County Board must think we're all idiots or something. Well, we're not. We can see a bad idea like this 6 miles away.
The bottom line is we're not Chicago. We're Madison. There is no more room downtown. There is no problem of people trying so hard to get on the busses that our bus system can't handle them. Not at all. If that were the problem and we couldn't get more busses on the road, then I'd be all for the train. No doubt. We're nowhere near even having to be concerned about that. The city just raised the bus fare because not enough people were using it.
We have high taxes already - and I'm not just talking property taxes. We get taxed high everywhere on all kinds of taxes and Wisconsin has the highest rates. So how does that bring new businesses into our area? Yeah, that's not happening.
Since I've become a home owner back in 2006, I've paid a LOT more attention to politics. You start really seeing your property tax bill and it's a shocker - versus living in an apartment, where you'd still paying property tax but you don't see it.
And lately, it seems like politicians everywhere are drinking the Kool-aid and passing insane policies. I wonder if I'm still living in America.
Although the Federal Government is doing crazy things, what's even more important are local elections. You've got the Governor, County Executive and Mayor that really matter when it comes to your property tax money. So since we're all paying property taxes in some way, these local elections should matter a lot.
Do you want to vote for a candidate that wants to put in a billion dollar train between Middleton and Burke and have the whole county pay for it while only a few people use it?
Do you want to vote for a candidate that keeps running for other offices while she's your County Executive?
Do you want to vote for a candidate that doesn't pay enough attention to public safety to the point where emergency 911 calls get ignored and people die?
If you've answered "no" to these common sense questions, then vote Nancy Mistele and get Kathleen Falk out of our lives.
Failing to check for a passing bicyclist before opening your car door on a Madison street could result in a $100 fine. The City Council passed an ordinance Tuesday that imposes the fine and also sets a $50 fine for those who leave the door of a parked vehicle open facing traffic for too long. State lawmakers are considering similar legislation that would also eliminate a law requiring bicyclists to ride at least three feet from a parked vehicle, which can force them into traffic.
I blogged about this before when it was still being considered (Opening Your Car Door in Madison Illegal) and my point was that if you're getting out of your car, you are a pedestrian - not a car. So when that happens, bicyclists who are moving faster than you have the right of way. So yeah, they better put in the 3 foot rule - then if they do that, the roads aren't wide enough downtown. Oh, and yeah... they want to add in a train rail on the Isthmus, too. What?
So who is going to be enforcing this law? Do police want to do that or catch this parka bandit that's robbing places?
If you're on a bike (and I sometimes to bike when it's warm), you should have the common sense to not ride so close to cars or else watch better. I know, it's not easy but life isn't always easy, ok? You're a biker against a pedestrian at that point and you need to be careful! Duh.
So as you get into your Prius Community Car in downtown Madison, sipping your herbal tea, wearing your Birkies with that smug grin on your face, you now can get fined if you happen to forget something in the house and open your car door again and nail someone riding a bike. You didn't even drive anywhere. You could be a 10 year old kid getting something from the car for your parents even - too bad!
Yeah, people are getting so stupid that we need the government to hold our hands to do anything. Insane! It's Socialism.
So I saw a billboard on Highway 51 this morning for Madison Metro. It said something like "Cure your addiction to oil" where they're trying to get you to ride the bus, I guess.
First, I'm not addicted to oil. Oil is a commodity. It powers my car. For me, the $2 per gallon I pay is a worthwhile investment for where my car takes me. I feel like I profit. Just like a baker needs flour, my car needs gas. For the baker, they profit because they can do something with flour that people want.
Second, it's my tax dollars that are partially funding that sign. I don't like that. It's OK to advertise for the bus system, but I can't believe I'm paying for that message which is supposed to somehow put me on a guilt trip or something.
Third, who is riding the bus? The vast majority are people who don't have a car, don't want to pay for downtown parking or students. The big target audience is not people who feel guilty for using a car to get somewhere 10 times faster than a bus would - so the ad is political. Why should my tax dollar pay for a political ad? It should pay for a billboard that does strict advertising to promote the benefits of riding the bus to the largest target market.
I know this post won't do much but I had to vent. Everyone is drinking the "green" Kool-aid it seems. Snap out of it, people!
