It's a great time of anticipation as most of America gets ready for the start of the summer season. Most of us are spending this weekend grilling and chilling, working in our yards and keeping in our thoughts those who sacrificed for our country and the reason for the upcoming holiday.
Others in our community and around America are working overtime to try and keep us frightened. From Cheney's snarl to Blaska's Blog, there are those who want us afraid and want to exploit that fear for no other reason than their political ends. Those tactics didn't work for the Republicans in 2006 and 2008, they didn't work for Nancy Mistele in April and they won't work for Dave Glomp next year.
That small minority that insist on spending their time and energy cowering in their homes and hoarding guns while waiting for instructions from Glenn Beck can have that. Meanwhile, like the rest of America, I'm going to check to see if the burgers are done. It's going to be a long, awesome summer.
They just can't quit her
Typically when a political leader is thrown out of office (and, from Abraham Lincoln to Bill Clinton, it happens to the best of them), there's a period where they fade from view and, before you know it, people ask "Whatever happened with so-and-so..."
This clearly isn't the case with how the local media are treating Citizen Brenda Konkel. Last week, it was The Capital Times chiding Brenda for somehow disrespecting Ald. Thuy Pham-Remmele in one of her blog posts. It mushroomed into reporting about what she posted on Facebook and, before we know it, Isthmus' version of Miss Manners (when he's not dropping f-bombs on the Forum side) posts in high dudgeon about Brenda playing the race card:
That's the Madison way, isn't it? Throw it up against the wall, see if it sticks. Watch the recipient stammer, deny, invoke past good deeds, swear to no incorrect thoughts, do a Winston Smith.
It's Joe McCarthyism, updated.
Political Correctness run amok!! It's terrible -- terrible! -- when politicians do that to their opponents, shutting down the debate and everything. So, once again, let's now play one of Spin City's favorite games: Who Said That?
In that same interview, [snip] accused Cieslewicz of being either tone deaf or arrogant on minority issues. [snip] said he doesn't seem to see the differences between groups, especially among Asians.
"It is arrogant to say, in effect, 'You all look the same to us,' " [snip] said.
That, of course, was Ald. Thuy Pham-Remmele from The Capital Times, October 27, 2007. In that same article, Thuy was caught in a bald-faced lie about the Mayor not speaking with her for the first four months of her tenure on the Common Council when, in fact, he had meetings and meals with her. And it was said without a word of response. No scolding from the Cap Times about disrespecting Dave Cieslewicz. No screaming about political correctness from the local right-wing media sources. Nothing.
Bratfest!
Part of my summer kickoff will be at Willow Island this weekend. Bratfest is where the elite meet to see and be seen as celebrity brat sellers. But I've never liked that kind of work - so you'll be seeing me further back behind the grill, baby!
Grill duty for Bratfest is where the real action is. Instead of rubbing elbows with your various alders, supervisors and TV anchors, I'm hanging out with scoutmasters and church groups and volunteering to raise funds for the North/Eastside Senior Coalition. The grills are where the men are men, the women are women and the brats are lightly charred by the thousands. It's all for good causes. So if you aren't too frightened to leave the house, come on down!
