April 8, 2005 by guest columnist Les Nakamoto
A local perspective on dealing with terminal illnesses
Having had two members of my family with long term terminal illnesses, that had no chance of rehabilitation or survivability, and having seen the devastating effect that it had on surviving family members, I may have a different perspective than many who have opinions on the Terri Shiavo case.

November 14, 2004 by guest columnist Les Nakamoto
Voter Suppression and polling place irregularities hit Milwaukee
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker, cited vote-fraud concerns behind his reason for balking at the request from Mayor Tom Barrett for an additional 260,000 ballots (in anticipation of high turnout for the Nov. 2nd Presidential election). This was in spite of the fact that the high voter turnout would obviously require more ballots and the fact that Walker had only agreed to print about 1600 ballots per ward, plus extras for wards where a heavy turnout was expected, when two years ago the county printed about 2,000 ballots per ward and in the 2000 presidential election it was 1700 per ward....I was a volunteer for Election Protection in Milwaukee County and spent most of election day at one of the precincts for two wards.

November 10, 2004
Bush's Victory: Brace yourself for another 4 year bender
When I heard that Senator Kerry was conceding the race Wednesday morning I thought I was going to be sick.  How could the American people vote for what they know isn’t good for them I asked myself.  But then I remembered college -- and beer bongs.

October 13, 2004
The Bush Legacy: A betrayal of the American people
He sat there for over a half hour. It was a time for leadership. It was a time to spring to his feet and order fighter jets to be scrambled. It was a time he could have used to save thousands of lives -- instead he chose to visit with a group of school children. It was a classic case of our own Nero fiddling as Rome burned.

October 4, 2004
Sensenbrenner shows contempt for taxpayers, women and children
Jim Sensenbrenner has been a disaster for Wisconsin. As our congressman his indifference to taxpayers and his callous disregard for women and children have been hallmarks of his years in Congress. It’s time for him to go...Now Sensenbrenner is touting his experience as reasons why we should all re-elect him. Apparently he thinks his experience of neglecting women, children and taxpayers make him worthy of re-election.

September 8, 2004
Walker gets over $25,000 in campaign funds for deal that nets his friends $300,000 in tax dollars
In 2003, Walker’s buddy Nick Hurtgen, the embattled Vice-President of the Chicago investment firm Bears-Stearns, held an Illinois fundraiser for Walker. At the time, Bears-Stearns was bidding on a contract to restructure Milwaukee County’s debt. Hurtgen helped Walker raise $25,000, but taxpayers got stuck with a bill for $300,000 after Bears-Stearns was awarded the restructuring contract.  Thinking he would get away with it if he didn’t show a direct connection to Hurtgen, Walker accepted a large campaign donation from the wife of Nick Hurtgen. In his campaign finance report, Walker lists her address being in Wisconsin. Walker knows better, but in politics, appearances can be everything. (Note: I broke this story in June 2003.  It took the Journal-Sentinel over a year to pick up the same story.)

July 29, 2004
Panzer-Grothman race a fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party
The Panzer-Grothman State Senate race is shaping up to be an epic fight for the heart and soul of the Republican party and the soul-less Grothman wants to pull his party even further the right.

June 8, 2004
Charlie Sykes, Adulterer, Coward, Vindictive Republican shill
...An adulterous scumbag who preaches morality with the help of the radio station he works for, 620WTMJ, he shuts down people who disagree with him and promotes candidates and ideas that he agrees with.  He is brutal, vicious and uses his show to spread vitriolic rants that are little more than ads for the Republican party and their candidates.

The Press, January 2004
County's Top Cop Lies about Nomination signatures
Last month, Sheriff David Clarke... lied about how many signatures he had, and then submitted less than he needed. Only though incompetence of election commissioners did he manage to get on the ballot...You may have remembered the many times over the past two years that there were crises in the Sheriffs department and Clarke would march out and proclaim with astounding predictability, ‘some people in this department still don’t get it’. This time the person who just doesn’t “get it” is Clarke.

The Press, November 2003
Scott Walker Damage Report
In 2002, Scott Walker burst onto our political landscape portraying himself as a decent, concerned leader who was angry ...Whether his (Walker's) myopic policies are due to a lack of caring, lack of ability or slavish adherence to a socially conservative agenda, the end result is that people without means have paid greatly with this budget. Under the Walker administration, the poor have been relegated to second class citizens..

September 2003
Walker Finds Scapegoats by firing Department Heads
County Executive Scott Walker closed many pools early as a way to save a few dollars. The closings, he pointed out, were necessary to close the budget deficit. It was a budget deficit that was created when he won approval of his 0% tax levy budget that was fraught with artificially high revenue projections and underestimated expenses. The public was outraged about the pool closings... Walker saw this as a threat to his political future and looked for someone to deflect blame to. He found his scapegoats. 

The Press, August 2003
Walker hatches cruel & vicious scheme to patch budget
Seniors on fixed incomes and the poor have a difficult enough time paying their taxes and their mortgage but if Walker includes this plan in his budget, as he has already alluded to, some will end up having their homes foreclosed on them.  Evictions will follow and the homeless population will increase.  These are real people that will be affected.  They could be one of your neighbors or even your grandma who will be thrown out on the street. ..Ebeneezer Scrooge would be proud of Walker.  When asked about what would happen if his tenants were evicted, the Dickens character answered “are there no workhouses?”  Walker’s modern-day equivalent is “are there no homeless shelters?”

The Press, June 2003
Pay for Play or an Outright Sale? Walker turns on the red light for Milwaukee County
Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker recently held a huge fundraiser in Chicago... the event was either organized or well attended by Chicago investment banking and brokerage firm Bear Stearns. Bear Stearns reportedly made a cool $363,000 for orchestrating the refinancing of the County's debt. Normally bond issues are awarded by competitive bid. ...Former Governor Thompson’s Department of Administration chief Jim Klauser was the former boss of then-lackey, now-Bear Stearns Executive “Nick” Hurtgen. Hurtgen has since worked with the State to bring tons of Wisconsin taxpayer cash to the Chicago company.

The Press, August 2003
Walker proposes Borrow & Spend policy: Bills to come due in 2008
County Executive Scott Walker wants to borrow money to pay the County’s bills now. That money will have to be repaid starting in 2008. He is seeking approval from the County Board for his new plan. Supervisors would be well advised to reject the plan.