WPRI is the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, although some suggest it is We Push Republilcan Ideas, like school choice, which didn't look as good in the last poll as the numbers WPRI decided to emphasize made it appear.

WPRI says it's a non-partisan think tank, but its roster is filled with refugees from previous Republican administrations and campaigns, including a lot of Tommy Thompson sycophants -- Jim Klauser, Ave Bie, Gerald Whitburn, Rick Graber, etc. etc.

the new poll, of course, will include questions on the races for governor and US Senate. You might wonder why a non-partisan think tank even cares about politics. Or you might not. You might wonder what the spin will be, and that would be an appropriate question.

Anyway, here's your invitation. See you there?

There still remain a few open seats for this Friday's poll release preview from the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute. We are in the field this week (last Sunday through tomorrow) so the results will be very fresh. This statewide poll includes questions about the Governor's race (both Primary & General), the US Senate race (Primary & General) as well as several other policy related issues.

Dr. Ken Goldstein, professor from the UW Madison will give an overview along with the facts found from this poll. There will also be time for questions and answers relating to the process, and expectations of what he has found and how it pertains to the current political climate in the state.

The breakfast will take place on Friday, March 12 (THIS FRIDAY) from 7:30-8:45am at the Wisconsin Club downtown. Breakfast will be included. Please email Laura Gralton at Laura@Graltonconsulting.com or call Laura at 414-881-1005 if you are interested in attending.

The Wisconsin Institute of Policy Research is a non-profit 501c(3) organization and operates through general gifts and grants. If you enjoy and appreciate what you hear, we hope you will consider a gift to the organization. All types of contributions are acceptable; personal, corporate or foundation. For further information, please contact Laura Gralton.

By “employers,” Scott, do you mean all Wisconsin businesses? (Scott? Sounds a little chummy, ain'a?)

Specifically, will you recommend cutting -- or even abolishing -- the
$700 million corporate income tax?

Scott, would you freeze property taxes only on homes, or also on other types
of property (manufacturing, commercial, farmland, utilities)?

Walker took aim at Wisconsin’s new “combined reporting” taxation law, which treats parent companies and subsidiaries as one corporation for income tax purposes.(What was known as the Las Vegas Loophole allowed companies to pretend to be headquartered elsewhere and avoid Wisconsin taxes. Walker wants to reopen the loophole.)

Walker said he would try to repeal the increase in the top income tax bracket... (the top one per cent, who make over $225,000 a year)

and new changes in capital gains deductions... (Guess who pays most capital gains taxes?

He also promises to eliminate Wisconsin’s tax on retirement income...

--Ending health care assistance to over 100,000 families (two adults, two children) per year enrolled in the state’s BadgerCare programs.

--;Firing 14,000 public school teachers

--Cutting nearly all funding to the University of Wisconsin System

Good news, Wisconsin taxpayers. There are more swimming pools in your future. Look for one in a backyard near you -- but not at the park. Campaign press release:

Scott Walker, Milwaukee County executive and Republican candidate for governor, told a crowd of over 125 at Sheraton Hotel this weekend that as governor he would keep his promise to “spend taxpayer money as if it were my own,”...

In Wauwatosa, weeds snake up through cracks in the empty pool at Hoyt Park. The landscape is a stark contrast to the days when thousands of swimmers made Hoyt the most popular pool in Milwaukee County.

State Rep. Kevin Petersen, a Waupaca Republican who clearly believes in individual responsibility, has an idea to solve the problem that has stumped the nuclear industry, scientists and the government for 50 years: What to do with the deadly nuclear waste produced by reactors?

It's such a small quantity, Petersen seems to say, that maybe we could all just carry our own around.

So let me get this straight.

Wisconsin's facing a budget deficit of something like $2-billion, and Scott Walker's idea is to dig the hole deeper with a big corporate tax break? And the news media treat him seriously?

Wisconsin citizens will have their first chance on Wednesday, Jan. 27, to tell state legislators that making it easier to build more nuclear reactors should not be part of a proposed Clean Energy Jobs bill.

A special State Senate committee considering the bill, (SB 450)  will hold a public hearing at 10 a.m. in Room 412 East of the State Capitol.  

It is critical that people turn out in numbers to register and testify against changing the current law, which protects citizens and the environment by requiring that a federal nuclear waste repository be operating to handle high-level radioactive waste from nuclear power reactors before any new ones can be built. 

The proposed new law would eliminate that requirement and open the door to more reactors here.

What's wrong with that?  Well, the high-level radioactive waste the reactors produce is dangerous to humans and the environment for hundreds of thousands of years.  To put that into some perspective, I like to remind people that 15,000 years ago Wisconsin was covered by glaciers.

Climate change is real, and we must act.  But a friend and ally on this issue, Jennifer Nordstrom, likes to say that proposing more nuclear power as a solution to global warming is like telling someone to start smoking in order to lose weight.  Bad tradeoff.

We don't need nuclear power to solve our problems, and we don't need to fake the false choice between nukes and coal.  Available renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies are faster, cheaper, safer and cleaner strategies for reducing greenhouse emissions than nuclear power.

The Clean Energy Jobs Act goes a long way toward putting Wisconsin on the right track toward renewable energy.  Probably 90 or 95% of it is good policy.  It was recommended by the Governor's Task Force on Global Warming, which worked long and hard to produce a comprehensive bill.

But there were a few too many utility reprersentatives and their allies on the task force, who were able to force the outnumbered environmentalists to accept a deal with the devil and include the provisions that reopen the door to more nuclear reactors.

Groups which participated in the task force, including several organizations with solid anti-nuclear credentials from past battles, are forbidden to seek changes in the bill; they are signed on to support the whole package.

So that leaves it up to the general public, the citizens of Wisconsin, the ones who got the current law passed, to keep it on the books.  That sensible law, passed in 1984, is the one that says before you can build another reactor there must be a federal waste repository to handle the waste it produces. 

Why did Wisconsin pass that law?  Here's what the Legislature said at the time:

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

SECTION 1 . Legislative findings and purpose. The legislature finds that :

(1) Until there is a facility available for the permanent disposal of radioactive waste from nuclear power plants, the present lack of a long-term waste disposal option increases the risk that the insufficiency of interim storage space for spent fuel could lead to power plant shutdowns.

(2) Large cost overruns in nuclear power plant construction projects in other states have adversely affected ratepayers .

(3) The public service commission, by order, has found that present uncertainties in the nuclear fuel cycle regarding waste storage and disposal, uranium availability, reprocessing and decommissioning costs make it contrary to the public interest for Wisconsin utilities to commit themselves presently to any future nuclear expansion.

(4) The public service commission, by order, has required electric utilities to identify maximum cost-effective conservation and renewable energy potential in their service areas and to submit specific proposals for achieving the potential.

(5) The public service commission, by order, has recognized that wind, water and other alternative sources of energy are potentially valuable as a supplement to conventional electric generation in this state and that it is in the public interest for utilities to become more involved in the development and implementation of such sources.

The US nuclear industry has been producing that waste for more than 50 years, but hasn't been able to solve the problem of how to dispose of it safely and permanently. Neither has any other country, and despite what the nuclear advocates tell you about those clever French folks they haven't done it, either.

Please speak up.  Sign this petition.   Call or write your legislator.  Come to the hearing.  Go to this webpage and get more information and ideas.

Don't let them nuke Wisconsin's climate.

Happy days are here again, according to Scott Walker, the county executive who's made such a mess of Milwaukee County government that his long-term solution is to abolish county government.

Walker's "state of the county" speech on Tuesday painted a rosy picture of his tenure, proposed even more privatization of services, and promised to reduce the property tax levy.

The Obama administration is going to renominate Louis Butler for appointment as a federal judge. The Senate returned the nomination to the White House, along with several others, when it recessed at Christmas.

A GOP flack offers this negative comment on Butler:

"Voters across the state decided not to elect him to continue serving on the Supreme Court because they thought he was a radical judge who was legislating from the bench," Kristin Ruesch, communications director for the Republican Party of Wisconsin, said.

They thought that because Butler's opponent, Michael Gableman, ran a television commercial to make them think that.

Gableman's now an Injustice on the State Supreme Court.

You may haveheard that national Republicans are considering a litmus test to see if the party's candidates are conservative enough to call themselves Republicans and get backing from the party. 

To qualify, a candidate needs to agree on 8 of the 10 points.  Bonus if you think the world is flat and/or was created in a week.

So here's the question.  Will anyone -- perhaps a reporter -- ever ask Scott Walker and Mark Neumann to take the test?  And if not, why not?

 Here is the list:

(1) We support smaller government, smaller national debt, lower deficits and lower taxes by opposing bills like Obama’s “stimulus” bill;

(2) We support market-based health care reform and oppose Obama-style government run health care;

(3) We support market-based energy reforms by opposing cap and trade legislation;

(4) We support workers’ right to secret ballot by opposing card check;

(5) We support legal immigration and assimilation into American society by opposing amnesty for illegal immigrants;

(6) We support victory in Iraq and Afghanistan by supporting military-recommended troop surges;

(7) We support containment of Iran and North Korea, particularly effective action to eliminate their nuclear weapons threat;

(8) We support retention of the Defense of Marriage Act;

(9) We support protecting the lives of vulnerable persons by opposing health care rationing and denial of health care and government funding of abortion; and

(10) We support the right to keep and bear arms by opposing government restrictions on gun ownership.

It's not exactly man bites dog -- maybe it's more like dog bites itself -- but Milwaukee Democrats will join peace activists Wednesday in expressing their concerns about President Obama’s plan to send additional American troops to Afghanistan, and Sen. Russ Feingold already has weighed in against the Obama plan.

A rally and response to Obama’s speech is planned at 5 p.m. Wednesday, Dec. 2, in front of the “blue” federal building at 3rd Street and Wisconsin Avenue.

Speakers will include the new chair of the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County, Sachin Chheda, as well as representatives of Peace Action Wisconsin, Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), and UW-Milwaukee Students for a Democratic Society (SDS).   State and local Democrats have passed resolutions against sending Wisconsin National Guard troops to fight in undeclared wars.

The event is sponsored by the Milwaukee Coalition for a Just Peace, which, in addition to Peace Action, SDS and IVAW, also includes local chapters of U.S. Labor Against the War, Progressive Students of Milwaukee, National Lawyers Guild, Casa Maria Catholic Worker, Green Party, Women’s International League for Peace and Freedom, Socialist Party, Iraq Moratorium, Voces de la Frontera, American Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee, Faith Community for Social Justice, Service Employees Local 1, Democracy Matters, Citizens for Global Solutions, Milwaukee Impeachment Committee, Arab Students Assn.-Marquette, American Muslims for Palestine, Catholics for Peace and Justice, and United Nations Association.  The Democratic Party of Milwaukee County and Progressive Democrats of America Southeast Wisconsin are co-sponsors.

We hold these truths to be self evident ... Rights, that among these are lying, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.

What's that? You don't remember the right to lie being enumerated? A panel of three Wisconsin judges took care of that oversight today. Candidates for public office -- specifically one Michael Gableman -- have a constitutional right to lie.

Judge Ralph Adam Fine explains, beginning on page 20 of this ruling.

Is this a great country or what?

Hat tip: Illusory Tenant.

Across the country, and in Wisconsin, there's a movement quietly taking shape to reclaim November 11 as a day of peace.

What is now called Veterans Day was originally designated in the US as Armistice Day, the day that World War I ended at 11 a.m.  on 11/11.  In the UK and elsewhere, it is also known as Remembrance Day or Poppy Day.

President Woodrow Wilson declared Armistice Day:

"To us in America, the reflections of Armistice Day will be filled with solemn pride in the heroism of those who died in the country’s service and with gratitude for the victory, both because of the thing from which it has freed us and because of the opportunity it has given America to show her sympathy with peace and justice in the councils of the nations…"

and Congress adopted a resolution endorsing Armistice Day which said:

...it is fitting that the recurring anniversary of this date should be commemorated with thanksgiving and prayer and exercises designed to perpetuate peace through good will and mutual understanding between nations...  

But somewhere along the line, after World War II,  those sentiments were replaced with flag-waving, fly-overs and military-style parades that seemed to celebrrate war more than peace, in the name of honoring American veterans.  The day was changed to Veterans Day.

This year, from Bellingham, WA to St. Augustine FL, from Burlington, VT to San Diego, Veterans for Peace and others are sponsoring events to reclaim the day as a time to celebrate peace, while honoring those who helped win and keep the peace. Here's a full list.

It is in the spirit of Vietnam Veterans Against the War, with its motto of "Honor the Warrior, Not the War."

Others are participating in official Veterans Day events, like the Santa Fe parade, which has welcomed Vetersns for Peace members for four years.  Some VFP chapters reportedly get the most applause of any group in the official parades.  In Milwaukee, where I live, we are still barred from the parade as being "political," while pro-war groups and non-veteran politicians are welcome to march.

The Milwaukee parade was last Saturday, so Veterans for Peace members, barred from marching, wore VFP vests and walked the parade route with cans to collect donations for the chapter's Homeless Veterans Initiative, to find homeless veterans and help them get veterans benefits, food, clothing, medical care, transportation. and eventually housing and jobs.  The response from parade-goers was remarkably positive, and donations were plentiful, with some 10s and 20s as well as many, many one dollar bills.

We encountered no hostility.  One utilities-clad member of Vietnam Veterans of America broke ranks to come and shake our hands and thank us for being there before rejoining the parade.  The only hostility comes from the parade committee, made up of more traditional veterans organizations.  We will keep working on them.

In the meantime, Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War and Vietnam Veterans Against the War will sponsor a Veterans Day observance in the rotunda of Milwaukee City Hall at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, Nov. 11.  The bell atop Milwaukee's City Hall will toll for peace on Veteran's Day as part of the ceremony.  Madison and Janesville will hold Veterans Day vigils, and many will join at 11 a.m. in observing the traditional two minutes of silence in honor of those killed in warfare, miilitary and civilians, and pray or express their hopes for peace,

Members of Veterans for Peace have again been barred from participation in Milwaukee's Veterans Day Parade.

Although the parade website says the event is “Honoring all Americans who have served,” it has refused to allow Veterans for Peace members – many of whom are combat veterans with Purple Hearts – from taking part in the observance on Saturday, Nov. 7.

The parade committee said Veterans for Peace is “a politically motivated group,” and therefore not welcome to be in the parade.

So much for “honoring all Americans who have served.”

Chapter 102 members (I am one) did not ask to participate in the parade to make a political statement, but to take our rightful place in the annual event saluting all who served our country in uniform.
 
Yet the committee, which finds us “political,” invites non-veteran politicians -- Scott Walker, Gwen Moore, Tom Barrett -- to march in the parade, and welcomes veterans groups which are outspoken in support of military action and war.

The committee’s reply, from Chairman David Drent, said,

“There is no doubt that your organization is a politically motivated group.  One visit to the organization’s website makes your views perfectly clear.

“We don’t make judgment on your purpose.  End the war or escalate it carries the same weight with the board.  A political statement is being made and there is no room in the parade for it.”

“We thank you for your service in our Armed Forces, but our goal has always been to have a day of honor that is 100% politically free.”

The committee’s decision was unanimous, he said.

Yet the Veterans of Foreign Wars is welcome to march in the parade, even though its commander, Thomas Tradewell of Sussex, WI, recently called on President Obama to “heed the assessment and advice of his military leaders” and send 40,000 more troops to Afghanistan, suggesting that as commander-in-chief Obama’s job is to do what the generals recommend. 

And politicians, some of whom are not even veterans, are invited to participate in the parade.
 
Apparently the parade committee doesn’t consider pro-escalation positions or even politicians to be “political."  Veterans for Peace is in a class by itself.

In his letter to the committee, Chapter 102’s Mark Foreman wrote:

“We share your pride in having served this nation, whether during time of peace or war.  We are a part of the Milwaukee community and of the veteran’s community. 

Our major project is a Homeless Veterans Initiative, which has been operating for a year, to find and assess homeless and at-risk veterans and help them get the services they need to reach their highest possible level of independence.  It is work we do on a daily basis with the estimated 3,900 to 5,200 veterans who are homeless in Milwaukee every year.

“We do not ask to participate in the parade to make a political statement, but to take our rightful place in the annual event saluting all who served our country in uniform.  Veterans cover the political spectrum, as they represent the diversity of this country with a mix of race, gender, religion, economic status, and other characteristics.

“What we all have in common is our service, which is what Veterans Day celebrates.  We respect other veterans and other veterans organizations.  All we ask is that your committee pay us the same respect.

“We have been told in the past that the very name of our organization, Veterans for Peace, is “political” and therefore cannot be part of the parade. 

But we believe all veterans who have experienced war share a desire for peace. As U.S. Senator John McCain, a decorated war veteran, has said, "Only a fool or a fraud talks tough or romantically about war… "I hate war, and I know how terrible its costs are.”  Senator McCain also said, “Veterans hate war more than anyone else.”

“Many Veterans for Peace chapters across the country are welcomed and march in Veterans Day parades in other cities.  We hope Milwaukee will reconsider its previous position and welcome Veterans for Peace in its 2009 parade.”

 Chapter 102 members will attend the parade to collect donations along the route for our Homeless Veterans Initiative, and distribute flyers explaining that VFP is not welcome in the parade itself.

VFP will continue to press the committee to do the right thing in the future.  You can help, by expressing your views to the committee.   Write: Veterans Day Parade, Box 684, Milwaukee WI 53201.  Call 414- 414-453-8753.  Or email: vetsparade@tds.net 

Sponsors of the parade listed on the website are:  Batteries Plus, Tropic Banana Co., Meyer and Wallis, Budweiser, Radio Station FM 106.1, Paul Conway Shields and Equipment,  WISN Radio, and the Milwaukee County War Memorial Center. 

Drent, the parade committee chair, is also executive director of the War Memorial Center, which receives $1.5-million a year in support from county taxpayers. 

I think it's time to take our case to the sponsors and elected county officials, to let them know the self-appointed committee,including a tax-supported sponsor,  is excluding military veterans from what should be a community-wide observance honoring those who have served, as the parade website claims.

>Veterans for Peace, Iraq Veterans Against the War, and Vietnam Veterans Against the War will sponsor a Veterans Day celebration on the day itself, Wednesday, Nov. 11, at 7 p.m. in the rotunda of Milwaukee City Hall, 200 E. Wells. The public is invited -- even war hawks.

From Madison Area Peace Coalition:

BOOKS, NOT BOMBS !
Peace Demonstration for Obama's Visit to Madison
Wednesday, November 4th

President Obama is coming to Madison this week, and peace activists will assemble to call for an end to war and for shifting government spending priorities from the military to education and other needs.

LOCATION:      Intersection of Fish Hatchery Road and Wingra Drive
TIME:                  10 AM - 12 Noon Wednesday, November 4th

President Obama will be speaking at Wright Middle School in Madison on educational policy on November 4th.  Our message will be that funding schools must take a higher priority over funding wars.  After nine months in office, President Obama has continued to stall on his most critical promises, such as:  full withdrawal of US troops from Iraq; health care for all Americans; and restoring civil liberties by repealing the US PATRIOT Act. 

 Obama never promised to withdraw from Afghanistan, but we know it is necessary.  Earlier in 2009, President Obama escalated the war in Afghanistan by sending in 20,000 more troops and is now considering sending up to 40,000 more.  This is a key moment to influence the Administration's decision on escalating the war in Afghanistan, as well as the many other pressing issues of U.S. military involvements around the world.

Continuing to direct over half our federal discretionary funding toward defense (and only a tiny fraction toward education) is not just.  We need to prioritize education, health care, and other human needs, and re-think our military-oriented foreign policy.

Large-sized banners and signs are encouraged for visibility at a distance.  Please bring one if you can.  Messages that are especially encouraged include:

"Books not Bombs"
"Education not Occupation"
"Bring the Troops Home Now"
"U.S. Out of Afghanistan"
"Real Change is an End to War"
"Healthcare Not Warfare"

Organizers of this event include representatives from Iraq Veterans Against the War, Veterans for Peace, Democrats for Peace, Madison Area Peace Coalition, the Madison Rafah Sister City organization, WNPJ, and the Wisconsin Impeachment / Bring Our Troops Home Coalition.

Updates will be posted at www.madpeace.org
Please join us Wednesday morning. Barbara Smith – barbara@merr.com

Why don't we listen to the naysayers who urge us to get a life -- or get a job? (Heard that lately when you're out on the corner?)

This certainly isn't the last word on the subject, but here's one suggestion: Activism is it's own reward. Whether you succeed in achieving your goals or not, you'll enjoy life more because you tried. Skeptical? Here's what the Boston Post reports:

Activists are dissatisfied with the drift of the times and outraged at the misdeeds of their ideological enemies. But they are also, it turns out, enjoying their lives more than the rest of us. At least if recent research is to be believed, political activism, no matter the cause, seems to make people happy - even if they don’t win an election or triumph in a ballot initiative. Psychologists curious about what fuels human happiness have looked at political engagement and political activism, and they’ve found that it provides people with a sense of empowerment, of community, of freedom, and of transcendence. Political activists, in other words, are all happy warriors.

On its face, that seems dubious. Maybe it's just how it looks on television, but I'd say a lot of tea party types are hyperventilating and raising their blood pressure. But who's to say what makes people enjoy life?

Read the article here.

Wisconsin urgently needs to reduce its carbon footprint while providing safe, secure, dependable and affordable energy. One proposed solution is to build new nuclear reactors to boil water to produce electricity. But can Wisconsin afford new nuclear reactors? Energy expert Peter Bradford says no, and will explain why in talks in LaCrosse on Nov. 3 and Milwaukee on Nov. 5.

Related story: Milwaukee Dems vote Carbon Free,Nuclear Free.

With over 40 years of experience in the fields of energy and utility regulation, Bradford is particularly well suited to answer this question. He served on the federal Nuclear Regulatory Commission and is the former chair of the New York and Maine utility commissions.

Bradford will address the unfavorable economics of new nuclear reactors and debunk the myths that prop up the ‘nuclear renaissance’ idea. He will show that nuclear power is more expensive than alternative ways of combating climate change and how new nuclear reactors can only be built with taxpayer subsidies. Bradford will illustrate how investing in nuclear reactors will cost Wisconsin jobs, not create them as claimed by the nuclear industry. And he will explain why Wisconsin’s state statute regulating the construction of new reactors is still a good law.

Bradford will speak Tuesday, November 3, at 7 pm at UW‐La Crosse, Graff Hall Main Auditorium, and on Thursday, Nov. 5, at 7 pm at the Urban Ecology Center, 1500 E. Park Place, Milwaukee. He also will participate in a panel on Saturday, Nov. 7, at the Future Cities conference in Madison.

There was a time when newspapers like the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel would not report on a poll unless it had the entire poll, rather than partial or selective results that are strategically released or leaked to try to shape news coverage of a campaign. The Milwaukee paper would do its own polling.

But those days are long gone. In recent years, as we've repeatedly complained, media outlets will report on any poll, from any source, and treat them all as though they are equally valid.

One firm that has raised a lot of questions from political practitioners -- but, unfortunately, not from the media -- is Strategic Vision, a Republican strategy firm based in Atlanta (and, it claimed, in Madison). Strategic Vision has released all sorts of polls in Wisconsin in the last few years, all eagerly reported by the news media.

Now, all sorts of questions have been raised nationally about whether the firm even does polling, or simply releases numbers without making any phone calls. It's not the first time those questions have been asked, but they are being taken much more seriously.

The American Association for Public Opinion Research (AAPOR) found that Strategic Vision ..."repeatedly refused to release essential facts about polls it published prior to the 2008 presidential primaries in New Hampshire and Wisconsin. The AAPOR Executive Council announced today that this nondisclosure by Strategic Vision LLC was inconsistent with the association's Code of Professional Ethics and Practices. and contrary to basic principles of scientific research."

Ben Smith at Politico:

Details of Strategic Visions polls have long raised flags among pollsters, in part because it refuses -- unlike other pollsters -- to release "cross-tabs" -- the detailed demographic breakdowns of individual polls. A source noted other anomalies to me today. One is that the pollster always reports having called a round number of respondents -- unusual in an industry that typically uses large call centers and winds up -- as casual poll readers know -- with uneven numbers of calls.

Another question is how the firm pays for its polls. Its website lists at least 172 public polls, and at a stated cost of $30,000 a poll, that's an expenditure of more than $5 million -- quite a sum for a small firm.

A third question has to do with the firm's offices. Its website, as recently as last month, listed offices in Atlanta, Madison, Seattle, and Tallahassee -- all of which match the locations of UPS stores, rather than actual offices. The addresses are now gone from the site entirely, though it now also lists a Dallas presence.

One of the questions, in light of Strategic Vision LLC's repeated failure to disclose even basic details about its polling methodology, is whether the firm is in fact conducting polling at all, or rather, is creating fake but plausible-looking results in order to increase traffic and attention to its core business as a PR and literary firm.

I posed that question largely as a hypothetical yesterday. But today, I pose it much more literally. Certain statistical properties of the results reported by Strategic Vision, LLC suggest, perhaps strongly, the possibility of fraud, although they certainly do not prove it and further investigation will be required.

20 Sep 2006 by Xoff: Strategic Vision, the Republican polling firm that many dems think cooks the books -- or doesn't even interview anybody -- has new poll results that show Gov. Jim Doyle leading Congressman Mark Green 46%-42% in the governor's race. Link

8 Mar 2006 by Xoff: Question: who's paying for these? Strategic Vision isn't doing it out of curiosity. knowing who's paying the bill would help put it in some perspective. and, yes, the same is true of others that show up from time to time. Link

Friday, August 18, 2006 by xoff: Republicans are touting a Strategic Vision poll today showing the guv's race a dead heat, finding that more believable than one done for WISC-TV which has Gov. Jim Doyle leading Congressman Mark Green 48-38. There is some doubt among Democrats that Strategic Vision even makes any phone calls, since no one has ever seen any cross-tabs. Having it show up 12 hours after a public poll that has Doyle 10 points up makes it even more suspect. It's just a little too convenient. Link

Unfortunately, Wisconsin's biggest newspaper, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, has relied heavily on Strategic vision as a source for polling numbers. A search for "strategic vision" in the JS archives turns up 81 stories. Craig Gilbert of the paper's Washington bureau consistently used Strategic Vision numbers in stories about the 2008 presidential race.

In 2006, the week before the Doyle-Green election for governor, Gilbert wrote:

There have been at least 24 independent polls in the race for governor this year.

The good news for Democrat Jim Doyle is that he has trailed in only one.

The bad news is that his support has reached 50% -- the comfort level for incumbents -- in only one.

As news coverage of the 2010 governor's race begins, you probably won't see Strategic vision in the mix. While that would be an improvement, what's really needed are some standards for which polls get reported and which don't. All polls are not created equal, and many others which get reported are amateurish and questionable, if not fraudulent.

But with shrinking newspaper staffs and budgets, don't look for a lot of improvement in coverage. Let the buyers and the voters beware.

Two Madison college professors with religious backgrounds, who have worked tirelessly to change the world, will be honored for their lifetimes of activism on Oct. 3 by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ), a statewide network of 170 organizations working for social change.

Joe Elder, a Quaker peace activist who is a University of Wisconsin professor of sociology and Asian studies, and Esther Heffernan, O. P., a Dominican nun who is emerita professor of social science at Edgewood College, and a widely respected leader on prison reform and criminal justice issues, will receive Lifetime Achievement Awards at a reception following WNPJ’s annual fall assembly at the Goodman Community Center in Madison.

Seven others will be honored with Peacemakers of the Year awards. Two veterans, Iraq veteran Jason Moon, of Milwaukee, and Vietnam veteran Will Williams, of DeForest, won in the adult category.  Senior citizen winners are Elaine Kinch of the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice and Don Hoffman of Rapids Citizens for Peace in Wisconsin Rapids. Youth awards will go to Dartanian Lewis of Milwaukee and Josh Bartz and Jannett Arenas, both of Madison, for volunteer work with WNPJ member organizations.

Esther Heffernan, 80, began her lifelong social activism in the 1940s as a University of Chicago student working for interracial justice.  She describes her research in a Washington, DC women’s prison as “life-changing.”  It resulted in, Making It in Prison: The “Square,” the “Cool” and “The Life,” published in 1972”, a book considered a seminal work in the field, which continues to serve as a resource to those who set corrections policy.

Her promise to the women in the Washington, DC prison to make their lives visible to others has shaped her deep involvement in criminal justice reform over the last several decades, especially on issues of women in prison and rehabilitation upon their release.

She is currently chair of the Task Force on Money, Education and Prisons, seeking change in Wisconsin’s criminal justice system; a board member of Family Connections that brings children monthly to visit their mothers at Taycheedah Correctional Facility; and a member of the Dane County Task Forces on Disproportionate Juvenile Minority Confinement and on Racial Discrimination in the Criminal Justice System.

Joe Elder, 79, informed his draft board during the Korean war that he would go to jail rather than be inducted. Two years later he became a Quaker. With other Quakers, he has carried secret messages between authorities in conflict in India and Pakistan; North Vietnam and Washington; North Korea and Washington; and Tamil Tiger militants and the government of Sri Lanka. 

During the Vietnam War, he delivered medical supplies a hospital in Hanoi, and after the war helped organize Madison Quakers, Inc. which has built a peace park and a school in My Lai, and provides micro-loans to village and ethnic women in Vietnam.

Deeply committed to internationalism, as a UW professor in Sociology and Languages and Cultures of Asia he has encouraged countless students to broaden their horizons, learn languages and live and study in other countries.  He has long served on Wisconsin's Governor's Commission on the United Nations.

Elder, also committed to inter-faith dialogue, in 1995 was one of the founders of the International Committee for the Peace Council that includes Nobel Peace Prize Laureates Mairead Maguire and the Dalai Lama. During the past decade the Peace Council has met in world trouble spots such as Chiapas and Jerusalem to listen, learn and provide an interfaith presence.

Peacemaker of the Year winners:

Jason Moon, 35, is a leader in Milwaukee’s chapter of Iraq Veterans Against the War (IVAW), Veterans for Peace (VFP) and the board of VFP’s Homeless Veterans Initiative to find and assist homeless veterans in the Milwaukee area.  He testified at the national Winter Soldier hearings in 2008, at which Iraq and Afghanistan veterans told of their experiences.

Will Williams, 65, a member of Madison’s Veterans for Peace chapter, uses his own experience in Vietnam to speak and counsel young people about the realities of military service and challenge promises of recruiters.  He has spoken across the state, linking peace, prison reform, and immigrant rights.  

Elaine Kinch, 70, Elaine was one of the founders of the Racine Coalition for Peace and Justice, and a member of the Central America Solidarity Coalition..She has traveled on peace missions to Nicaragua, El Salvador, and Chiapas and last winter to the Middle East, where she lived with a Palestinian family in Israel and helped harvest olives, to learn more about the situation there.

Don Hoffman, 70, a retired probation and parole officer, became a leader of Rapids Citizens for Peace in 2006, establishing monthly peace vigils on the bridge in Wisconsin Rapids.  .One of his projects was to get Democracy Now! on a local cable television station.

Dartanian Lewis, 13, a student at Blessed Savior Catholic School in Milwaukee, has been volunteering at Casa Maria Catholic Worker house for homeless families.  He has worked on a wide range of social justice issues – peace, worker rights, firearms violence, medical supplies for Cuba, protection of the rainforests, and help for Darfur. He sells fair trade chocolate at churches and events to raise money for those projects. 

Josh Bartz, 28, a board member of OutReach, Madison’s lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender community center, created a program (OutThere) to address the need for youth programming and social and support opportunities for LGBT people ages 18-24. It has become  a weekly program of outings, games, discussion groups and movie nights.

Jannett Arenas, 22, a Madison Area Technical College and UW-Madison student, is a co-founder and organizer for Alcance, a student organization focused on supporting access to higher education for Madison area Latino youth.  She has helped to build the Madison Chapter of Voces de la Frontera, working on immigrant rights issues of in-state tuition, drivers cards, and the national DREAM Act to provide undocumented students a path to citizenship. 

The Peacemakers of the Year presentations will be at 3:15 p.m. on Oct. 3 at Goodman Community Center, 149 Waubesa St., Madison, at the conclusion of WNPJ’s annual Fall Assembly, which begins at 10 a.m.  A special reception to honor Joe Elder and Esther Heffernan will be held from 4:30 to 6:30 p.m. at the same location, with speakers and music and Capital Times columnist John Nichols as emcee.  All events are open to the public.

Hard times have fallen on Journal Communications and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Thirty-four more buyouts, Editor and Publisher reports. More layoffs are likely.

 The Newspaper Guild already had accepted 6.6% wage cuts in April to try to save some jobs, after nine people accepted buyouts in the spring.

 Steve Smith, chairman of the board and CEO of Journal Communications, also imposed a 6% wage cut on executives, managers and others not represented by the union. Like the Guild members, they got 10 "personal days" off per year in return. Said Smith:

As we manage for the long-term success of the company, we must identify constructive ways to continue to reduce costs.

Citing “the challenging economic environment,” the board of Journal Communications Inc. said Thursday it will suspend the dividend on Class A and Class B shares of its stock. Quarterly dividends on the shares had been cut to 2 cents from 8 cents in February.

"While we regret having to make this difficult decision, we believe this is the prudent choice in order to maintain financial flexibility,” said Steven J. Smith, chairman of Journal Communications. “Given the continued challenging economy and business conditions, we believe that this will allow the company to continue to direct a significant portion of its cash flow to debt reduction.”

Total compensation increased almost 22% last year for Journal Communications Inc. chairman and chief executive Steven J. Smith, according to a regulatory filing by the company Thursday.

Smith earned no bonus, but his salary rose 3.7% to $798,077. He received stock awards worth $1,672 and option awards valued at $397,003, a proxy statement for the Milwaukee-based media company and publisher of the Journal Sentinel said. The biggest change in compensation was in the value of Smith's retirement benefits, which grew to $233,110, compared with $74,782 in 2007. He received other compensation last year worth $16,095.

Journal Communications posted a $224.4 million loss in 2008, largely due to $228.7 million in non-cash charges in the fourth quarter as the company wrote down the value of goodwill and some of its television and radio licenses. The company's newspaper, radio and TV operations also saw declines in revenue because of the recession and the ongoing migration of ads to the Internet. Its stock price fell 72.6% during 2008.

UPDATE: Walker now says he's a member of a different church, although the one with the liberal pastor was listed in his 2005 campaign biography.