john maddente | midwestern clarity

freepik image H illary Clinton has now identified "Republicans" as the sole cause of America's national debt. Yes, it's all a vast right wing piracy. Stumping yesterday in Maquoketa, Iowa in town hall style, Ms. Clinton addressed the causes of America's political, social and economic woes and explained them with one word - "Republicans." During Ms. Clinton's diatribe against all things Republican, she actually said to her audience... "They have driven us into nine trillion dollars of debt." Note: She didn't say "Congress" nor did she cite any spending complicity on the other side of the aisle - she said "they" i.e. Republicans. At the conclusion of the event, Ms. Clinton listened intently to one admirer and then enthusiastically replied... "Absolutely, absolutely, absolutely...totally partisan, totally ideological, that is not the way to get things done in America." Indeed, Senator.  

My family and I usually go to the theater this time of year and yesterday I went along with no advanced knowledge of the movie we were going to see. I rarely recommend a new film because I believe so few are worth seeing, however, I make an exception for The Kite Runner .  If it doesn't capture your attention, enlighten you about the Middle East in some way, or stir your emotions -- I'll be surprised. This film is based upon Khaled Hosseini's popular novel of the same title that tells a terrifying but ultimately redemptive tale that is set in Kabul, Afghanistan. The timeline takes us from Afghan life in the late 1970s under corrupt, albeit relatively stable rule, to the horrors of the Taliban in 2000. The stylish opening when credits are still rolling suggested that this would be no ordinary production, but I didn't expect how effectively the film's creators would capture the depth and dimensions of both evil and goodness in that part of the world. Suffice i...

A contributor named Lisa (Posted: lisa December 8, 2007 11:29 PM ) doubts the veracity of my remarks concerning popular opposition to Hillary Clinton (which I referenced in my post on Bill Moyers' blog .) The distrust and polarizing features of Ms. Clinton's candidacy I mention in that post, are not only consistent with my own views   (and those of a camp referred to these days as "A.B.H." (Anyone But Hillary) they are also supported by some non-partisan research.  This report from USA Today and Gallup may help others see the pervasiveness of  Ms. Clinton's baggage. http://www.gallup.com/poll/102907/What-Behind-AntiHillary-Sentiment.aspx#2 Note how analyst Jeffrey M. Jones asserts in his subtitle, reasons for Ms. Clinton's negatives... " Basic dislike, policy disagreements, character concerns commonly mentioned " Jones also contends that... "... few candidates have ever begun the campaign with such polarized ratings ." Want ...

W e now know that Dr. Paul's supporters include those who accused TV host Glenn Beck of treason, those who threatened Glenn Beck's life and those claiming that the US Government perpetrated the horrors of 9/11. Glenn Beck, Wikipedia These people do not represent a plurality of Dr. Paul's supporters and he did distance himself from them on Mr. Beck's program, but the question remains -- why would this group be attracted to the Paul candidacy ?   Ron Paul, official public photo

Meet The Press, Wikipedia Tim Russert remains one of my favorite television journalists of all time. He's tough, always prepared and fair to everyone he interviews. Today, however, he disappoints this fan. He has an hour one-on-one with Mitt Romney and how does he use the first 24 minutes? Mr. Russert spent the first 13 minutes discussing Romney's Mormonism and the next 11 minutes on abortion. What an abject waste of good interview time.  Here are issues, that could have dominated the interview: National Security, Healthcare Reform, Immigration, the Iraq War, Education, Tax Reform, Energy Policy or Federal Spending Reform. The program did become more substantive after that first 24 minute segment. However, Mr. Russert still squandered a third of the time playing to single issue viewers who are fixated on topics having little to do with running the country.

"Mr. Moyers, Your dialogue with Ms. Jamieson suggests that you are genuinely astonished at all of the vitriol surrounding Hillary Clinton. While I do not approve of all of it - I understand where much of it comes from. It's not related to gender or politics. Men and women, Republican and Democrat, draw such fire in campaigns. A more intriguing question is - why is Mrs. Clinton such a polarizing figure? I believe the answer goes to the heart of who she is - many believe she has a deep integrity problem and that she is purely craven for power. It's easy to see into her soul. If we must have a Democrat winning the White House in 2008, many Republicans including this writer would find Mrs. Clinton by far, the most objectionable of all candidates in her party. Respectfully, JJM"

R epresentative Ron Paul hedged recently when asked whether he'd support the Republican nominee, regardless of who it might be and it's a safe bet it won't be him. In essence, Dr. Paul replied that his support would wholly depend upon the candidate's willingness to end the war and other positions about which Dr. Paul feels strongly.  I respect his fidelity to core principles but I'm not clear why Dr. Paul remains a Republican except perhaps out of political expediency.  Several of his views are out of touch with the party mainstream which begs the question -- does party affiliation matter anymore? Shirley Chisholm: Wikipedia Growing up in fiercely independent and purple  Wisconsin , I recall hearing a familiar line from adults, "I vote for the man, not the party." (And in those days, with few exceptions, like Shirley Chisholm, it was overwhelmingly men). As an impressionable kid, I respected adults who publicly affirmed beliefs in something hi...

If so, please check out this month's "back story" from the November issue of Conde Nast Port f olio magazine . The piece I refer to is called the "2005 SUBPRIME-MORTGAGE APPLICATION" Note the free bank check at the bottom of the page with inscription on center, "DUPLICATE AS NEEDED". Port f olio is a new and inspired business periodical. I give its creators plaudits not only because I cackled for five minutes after reading the aforementioned spoof on lax mortgage underwriting practices, but also because this magazine contains incisive stories, fine writing and an attractive layout. It is likely to succeed in an already crowded space.

I heard from an American Muslim troubled by my September 20, 2007 column, "National security vs. civil liberty in America" My reply to him follows... "I appreciate your thoughtful reply and I apologize for the length of time it has taken me to respond. Before I address the points you make below, I should like to make clear that I fully recognize that the overwhelming majority of Muslims (American and otherwise) are peaceful, decent, people of faith. Radical Islam represents only a small fraction of the one billion-plus Muslims in the world. Unfortunately that small fraction still equates to a large number of people that we must monitor and defend ourselves from, in order to preserve our freedoms. As for the incident that took place at the Minneapolis airport in 2006, it is obvious that you are troubled by my use of the word “suspicious.” If the 6 clerics involved were simply and quietly praying as you maintain, the flurry of events that made their presence so newsw...

Published: Sept. 20, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel It is a solemn anniversary each year, the kind where you hold your breath hoping that you won't hear a news report about a terrorist bombing or some other horrific act. I'm talking, of course, about Sept. 11, a date that will remain seared into our consciousnesses for the rest of our lives. Understandably, the date also has devolved into a ritualistic debate regarding the competing ideals of national security and civil liberties. Here's my take. Civil liberties, including the right to privacy, are critically necessary in any free society. The ability to express myself through this column is an obvious example. However, civil liberties should not in and of themselves supersede national security. And some of the clamor about domestic surveillance has gone from making my eyes roll to making my blood boil. Under the Health Insurance Portability and Accountability Act, or HIPAA, enacted in 1996, the government reserved...

Their question to readers: Would you be willing to pay a higher sales tax on gasoline to pay for bridge maintenance and replacement? My reply... Dear Editorial board, My answer is no I would not and it’s the phrasing of your question that might draw scrutiny from other like-minded readers. That is, why do you presuppose that the only way to fund such infrastructure improvement is through an increase in the gas tax- or an increase in any tax for that matter? We already pay among the highest sales tax rates at the pump. During the previous budget cycle, Governor Doyle, like a modern day Cesar Augustus, used his famous “Frankenstein veto” to instantly transfer over $400 million dollars from the highway fund to K-12 education. The magnitude of his audacity surprised pols on both sides of the aisle. Perhaps some of those funds might have remained better invested in infrastructure like that suggested by your query to readers in today’s paper. In any event - why not ask a follow u...

Published July 29, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Here's hoping that some things never change. The Civil War memorial statues on Wisconsin Ave. in Milwaukee, no stadium naming rights to Lambeau Field and the Menomonee River Parkway in Wauwatosa will all, with God's good grace, remain unaltered in my lifetime. What you're reading at the moment is a local newspaper that has existed in various incarnations since 1837. Different names, different mastheads and different owners, but, nonetheless, this paper has been a part of our consciousness for a long time. Some of us are old enough to recall a time when we'd pluck out The Green Sheet from The Milwaukee Journal and read Mrs. Griggs' advice column. For some, the memories go back even further. Many have heard prognostications about a trend away from newspapers as consumers demand more information via computer and the Internet. Some maintain that since more people than ever obtain their news and entertainment onlin...

Published July 5, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Watching our state's political budget process is not easy. There are so many additional taxes - and some with such vast implications - all under discussion at once. One billion, 2 billion, 3 billion, 15 billion: all numbers I have seen to describe potential tax increases. The characters involved mirror stereotypes of both political parties: Democrats are seeking a broader governmental role in fixing our problems through tax increases and government spending. The GOP is digging in its heels, wanting to hold the line on taxes and government spending and government's increased involvement in our affairs. Reminiscent of the high stakes budget showdown that occurred between President Clinton and House Speaker Newt Gingrich in 1995, Republican Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch stated he would block the process if the budget delivered to him contains tax increases. By any credible measure, we live in a high-tax state, and this budget...

Published 5.31.2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Why write about something that happened 12 years ago?" So went part of a reader's e-mail critique of one of my prior columns. To some, there is little value today in citing dates, events or people from a mere decade ago, let alone 14 decades ago. At this year's Memorial Day service in Delafield, about 100 observers begged to differ. The event was the Cushing Park Memorial Day service, with a speech delivered by Rick Gross, who along with a half-dozen or so other members of the Cushing Historical Association addressed a crowd to commemorate the military service of four brothers during the American Civil War. Three of the Cushing brothers were born in southeastern Wisconsin (two in Delafield, one in Milwaukee), and a fourth was born in Columbus, Ohio. On a resplendent spring day at Cushing Park, Gross and his colleagues wore period costumes to portray the kind of Union soldiers they were honoring, to speak of sacri...

Published: May 4, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel If the entertainment elite could remove the words "decorum" or "credentials" from Webster's Dictionary, many of them would assuredly do so. Consider Sheryl Crow's April 21 performance during the White House Correspondents Association Dinner in Washington. Crow decided to accost presidential adviser Karl Rove and, in the process, impress Lord knows who, about her passion for the topic of global warming. Recounting this is not an indictment of anyone concerned about global warming. Rather, the issue is public behavior (or, more precisely, public misbehavior) by entertainers with dubious qualifications but plenty of pluck and A-list invitations to do their public preening. To be honest, I do have a double standard. That is, I'd have less of a problem with the Crow-Rove ordeal if, instead of a musician, a renowned climatologist from Yale had cornered Rove and a heated debate ensued. At least such an a...

Published: March 20, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel "Americans love a winner and will not tolerate a loser . . . the very thought of losing is hateful to an American." So goes the famous quote from Gen. George S. Patton's 1944 D-Day address to his troops. That quote was later popularized in a 1970 masterpiece of a movie called "Patton." And Patton's words have relevance today when pondering President Bush's low approval ratings. It is not the president's decision to go to war in Iraq that sunk his popularity. For many, it's the perceived lack of results stemming from the war, which began four years ago today. That means it isn't the inherent "morality" of the war that troubles many Bush critics; it's the practical yield from it, or lack thereof. In pure theory, why wouldn't a plan to establish a democratic beachhead in a portion of the world fraught with violence and instability and depose an evil despot like Saddam...

Published: Feb. 8, 2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Trying to predict what current event will capture our collective interest is a fool's errand. I gave up years ago. For example, I never could understand the avalanche of news coverage on, or public reaction to, the Elian Gonzalez story several years back. The circumstances, while sad, involved one child. Yet politicians and media were consumed with the ordeal for more than a year. Now consider the recent information security blunders by state government and the relatively small amount of attention they garnered. One case involved Social Security numbers printed on the outside of tax booklets for about 171,000 Wisconsin taxpayers. Some were recovered, but most were mailed. It made me wonder: Were we really more concerned about Brett Favre's return to the Packers than actions that could have potentially compromised the identities of thousands of taxpayers? I hope that is not the case, but the amount of public and media i...

Published 1.19.2007 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Why should we care what children watch or read? Are we simply riding a high horse when complaining about parental indifference and the deluge of sex and violence surrounding our kids? Does it border on censorship? I called a local radio talk show once to comment on the ever-increasing flow of sex and violence polluting our airwaves, and the host's predictable response was something like, "Well, if you don't like it, just change the channel." Of course I can change the channel, pal. What I worry about is the impact on young people who won't change the channel. In many communities and particularly in our inner city, teen sex and pregnancy rates are beyond crisis proportions. It helps when Bill Cosby comes to Milwaukee to discuss personal responsibility for part of the population, but the problem is funded by people across all racial lines and economic strata. Can anyone make a movie targeted at younger people ...