Steve Hanson's Blog

The election crunch is on. People throughout the state are finishing up the campaign with a huge GOTV effort. For those of you who are still sitting on the fence for the state offices in Western Wisconsin, rather than lecturing you or giving my own opinion, I leave it to you to listen to some of the debates from the candidates for the legislature. I've included the public forums from Wisconsin Public Radio (and thanks to them for doing this). Listen to the attitudes toward government, public policy, and the beliefs of the candidates toward their constituents. I don't think the choice could be clearer. Let's start with the race for the 68th Assembly District with Kathy Bernier (R-Lake Hallie) and Judy Smriga (D-Thorp).

Bernier/Smriga 68th District Forum

You've undoubtedly noticed the little ribbon at the top right corner of the site.  We're participating in the Demand Progress Day of Action on copyright law. The Supreme Court is hearing a case that would remove the First Sale Doctrine for items that are partly made outside of the country.  The upshot of this is that you will legally be unable to re-sell anything you purchase that is not completely US made without getting the permission of the copyright holders.  Books.  Videos.  Your brand new Ipad. You name it. imagine a world where garage sales have to go underground.

Yes I know, one more thing to be enraged about during the election cycle - but this is yet another important one where your rights are potentially being trampled.  Click on over to the You've Been Owned web site to learn more.

It's become difficult to keep up with the misleading and just plain lying statements this week - but the recent ad from Tommy Thompson claiming that Tammy Baldwin did not support 9/11 responders is particularly appalling - one of the general rules here is that one should not call the kettle black, particularly when your own pot is a whole lot blacker. Thompson made millions of dollars off of the 9/11 responders by providing them with not-particularly-effective health care. The blowback against this ad has been stunning from many different sources, a few of which are included below the fold.

Altogether a sad day for a quiet Sunday.   In addition to having an old, sick, and possibly dying dog -

George McGovern died this morning.   McGovern was the first presidential candidate for whom I ever voted, at the ripe old age of 19. I cannot think of him without being reminded that I was on as the late-night reporter at my college radio station on election day.  By the time my shift came up, of course, the election had long been over during the complete rout that brought Richard Nixon back into office, as Watergate had just begun to unfold. Let's hope that we will not have that sort of disapontment in a few weeks.  McGovern was a good guy, and understood a lot that apparently the American public was not yet prepared to understand. Our thanks and hope go out to his family and friends this evening.

I am also saddened by yet-another completely senseless mass shooting in Wisconsin.  I know that we are a country that has a strong history of support for gun ownership but clearly we have a problem that must be addressed in some way. Continuing to just dismiss it is not an option. Our best wishes go out to everyone who has been affected by the day's events, and I am, in a sense, at least glad to know that the alleged gunman is no longer a threat to the Milwaukee area.

May you all have a peaceful evening.  As always, hope for a better day tomorrow.

New ad from Pat Kreitlow.   Pat could really use your support, either by volunteering for him or donating (remember -- the Act Blue widget on the site makes it easy to contribute to your favorite Wisconsin progressive candidates.  Only a few days left)

The live stream of tonights Vice Presidential debate will be here starting at 8 PM Central Time. In addition, if you're so inclined you can follow my Twitter stream and other commenters at the Journal-Sentinel web site tonight at http://live.jsonline.com/Event/Analysis_of_the_Vice_Presidential_Debate .

For those who have been struggling to understand the inconsistencies in Mitt Romney's foreign policy, this interview with one of his senior spokespeople should clear it up.  His policy is that he is not Obama.  That makes me feel much better.

And thanks again to Soledad O'Brien for actually asking questions.