Thursday’s John Kerry/Bruce Springsteen Rally Video & Photos (intrepid photographer John Stathas took these great images):
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Click to view larger images.
Bear Creek’s Bill Lorge on Campaign & Media Reform
Bill Lorge (LorgeforSenate@aol.com) email his list of Political & Media Reforms (a very useful list it is):
- Campaign Reforms
- $100 Limit
- Eliminate $1 Check-Off
- Matching Grant Money
- State Contractors Cannot Donate
- Eliminate PAC’s
- Ballots mailed out with Tax Forms (timing challenge, I think)
- Online Voting (more challenges)
- Term Limits
- High School Seniors can vote
- Eliminate the State Elections Board
- Media Reform
- Balanced Print Media Reporting (! – I like this: “A better solution would be to have the State put legal ads on the Internet and avoid putting them in the papers altogether. This would save a ton of taxpayer money and lower our local property taxes; As one Town Board Chair once told me his biggest expense is paying the local weekly paper for legal ads.)”
- We (the public) own the airwaves and should be free to use it.
I’m not sure my synopsis did justice to Lorge’s document. Print and read it yourself here: 155K PDF. Or read it by clicking below…
The Great Circle: Wisconsin Manufacturing Jobs, Leadership (or not) and Competition
Yesterday’s news that GM would temporarily idle five SUV and pickup plants in early 2005, including Janesville amplifies the importance of:
- People that run large organizations thinking and planning ahead. The era of large pickup truck based SUV sales & profits is apparently drawing to a close (not a big surprise with high gas prices and a recent change in the absurd large vehicle tax deduction).
- The Japanese have a years ahead leadership position in the emerging hybrid vehicle market (gas/electric powered vehicles such as the Prius, Accord and the Toyota based Ford Escape (!) Hybrid components will likely not be coming from Wisconsin companies….
- Peter DeLorenzo reports that Porsche has approached Toyota to purchase/license hybrid components for their 5,000lb SUV.
From the “Hell Freezes Over” File, Automotive News Europe reported that Porsche is considering building a hybrid version of the Cayenne – using a Toyota powertrain. Readers of this site know exactly what we think about the Cayenne, but it’s clear that this is a new low in Porsche history. The company that was founded on building lithe little sports cars that bristled with innovation and the visionary thinking of its founder has now openly admitted that they have given up on the innovation game altogether.
- Wisconsin subsidizing some of these large businesses may not pay off at all…. Jim Doyle supported $5M in state training dollars for GM Janesville recently.
Once again, the big three are behind the curve, with broad implications for Wisconsin jobs….. (it should be noted that the big three have all invested in hydrogen power, which still seems to be a long way away).
Economies & Broadband Penetration
Lessig: “World Technology Leader?” ITU’s portable internet report
Springsteen stops at 508 W. Wash
Bruce Springsteen stopped at 508 W. Washington Ave. today, responding to a banner that invited the musician in for a beer. (Disclaimer: I lived at 505 W. Wash many years ago). Via Ann Althouse.
Badnarik in town: talks Government & Constitution
Libertarian candidate Michael Badnarik visited Madison yesterday. Rachel Patzer summarizes the visit. Kudos to Rachel for covering this visit.
Phone spamming at the Kerry Rally…..
Sources tell me that Kerry Rally attendees (West Washington; from the Capitol to Bassett) have been given phone numbers to call and a script to read with their personal cell phones.
In addition, the rally is evidently made up of two classes, those with “blue” tickets are next to the stage while those with “white” tickets (internet registrations) are farther away. Inside sources tell me that several “white” ticket guests have attempted to jump the barrier – and were immediately dealt with by campaign volunteers…..
In any event, I hope the music is good!
www.cnn.com has the best video stream (300kbps). Locally CBS affiliate channel 3 is also trying to stream the event, but doesn’t appear to have the servers or bandwidth that cnn does.
Where do I Vote?
Early Voting
I voted early – Monday. There was a short line at the city clerk’s office. No ID checks (I don’t think this is required in WI, but it’s easy to see how this could be a real problem). I do applaud the City’s decision to extend the clerk’s office hours, BUT it should be consistently open into the evening, rather than just tonight…. Megan Costello WSJ Editorial (this link will likely not work shortly)
Nearly half of Americans are Going Online for Political News
Latest Pew Internet Life Study:
Nearly half of Americans online have used the web to get information about the upcoming US presidential election.
That is double the number who used the net during the 2000 campaign according to research group, the Pew Internet and American Life Project.
Americans are increasingly going online for political news and commentary, its report found.
It suggests that the web is playing a positive role in democratic debate on a wide range of issues.
Hardly a surprise. The internet provides vastly deeper and more accessible information than traditional tv, radio and print media types. I’ve posted some candidate information here. Visit Wisconsinvote.org for additional data.