Then don’t do the crime
Senator Johnson’s uneasy relationship with science
In his last poorly timed rant about the failings of Dr. Anthony Fauci, Sen. Ron Johnson again demonstrated his ignorance of science (“Johnson criticizes Fauci on ’80s AIDS threat,” Dec. 7).
Johnson seems clueless about the scientific method and has fostered misunderstanding in people who still listen to him. Because of this he sees Fauci’s change in stance on HIV in the 80’s and COVID-19 now as flip-flopping.
The reality is that in a health crisis that’s yet to be understood, the point person does his or her best to convey what science knows at a particular point in time for the sake of public safety. The beauty of science is that it evolves as information is gathered and tested. Eventually, consensus in the scientific community is reached and better guidance results. And even that may change down the road.
I wish the senator would brush up on the workings of science before he utters another word having to do with this topic. Until then I’ll listen to Fauci, and Johnson, not so much.
D. Anderson
Milwaukee
Barrett failed the neighborhoods
Last weekend, I had an opportunity to visit downtown Milwaukee and the neighborhoods on the north side near the residence of the late Mayor Frank Zeidler.
Afterward, I picked up the Dec. 5 Journal Sentinel and read the piece in the Ideas Lab focused on Mayor Tom Barrett and his pending appointment as ambassador to Luxembourg (“Ambassador Tom Barrett: A change of address for Milwaukee’s long-serving mayor”).
It was the visit, then the article, that prompted me to write. I was horrified by the condition of these north-side neighborhoods. In these neighborhoods I saw blowing trash, trash in the alleys, furniture dumped in public view. The city streets are in a condition more befitting a Third World country than a city of neighborhoods, with heaving pavement and large potholes. Sidewalks and curbs? The same pathetic condition.
From 1988 to 2021 Milwaukee has been governed by two mayors/neighborhood activists who championed neighborhoods. Yet, under both, the city streets were and are a joke. You want to make the neighborhoods look better? Start by rebuilding the basic infrastructure (streets, sidewalks) and even the challenged neighborhoods start to look better.
Historian John Gurda, in his piece, notes his unabashed admiration of Barrett
but correctly notes no signature plan or program over the past 17 years. That is not sufficient, and I hope the people expect more from their mayor. As I drove the crumbling streets of Milwaukee’s north side I kept thinking, “where has the mayor been all this time?” The crumbling basics of Milwaukee’s neighborhoods is a civic embarrassment.
This is not a suburban issue. This is a city issue. And maybe Milwaukee should elect a new mayor who will dedicate his or her time to rebuilding the basic infrastructure of the poorest of neighborhoods. The last two didn’t get the job done.
And just maybe more big shiny objects downtown and on the lakefront should be put on the back burner until the rest of the city is rebuilt.
James Casey Fort Myers, FL
A dismaying court ruling on maps
I was dismayed but not surprised that the Wisconsin Supreme Court voted 4-3 to basically maintain the current legislative district maps (“Court plans few map changes,” Dec. 1).
The most specious argument seems to have come from Justice Rebecca Bradley who contended that the justices must make as few changes as a way to “respect the past choices lawmakers have made.”
Where was the respect shown to lawmakers 10 years ago when the maps where drawn behind closed doors using computer algorithms known only to a few? Where was the respect shown to the voters of Wisconsin who have repeatedly voiced their desire to eliminate partisan redistricting?
Bradley further contends, “Claims of political unfairness in the maps present political questions not legal ones.” She further states that the questions, “must be resolved through the political process and not by the judiciary.”
But how can voters use the political process when the current political process has essentially been stripped of meaning?
Is not the right to vote a legal question? Is not the right to have all votes counted equally a legal question? How can issues so fundamental to our democracy not have the weight of a “legal” question to this court?
The outrageous maps created 10 years ago removed any chance of reform through the political process. The Wisconsin Supreme Court has just placed our democracy on very thin ice for another 10 years. With global warming, it is unclear just how long this ice will even last.
Mark Gennis
Mequon
In Daniel Bice’s article on Nov. 26 referencing the Waukesha parade tragedy, it stated that “the liberal prosecutor believes that cash bail is harmful to poor defendants who often can’t afford to pay the sum set by judges for their release from jail before their trial” (“GOP takes aim at Chisholm over bail”).
Well that is too bad. If you can’t do the time, don’t do the crime!
Here’s a thought: Just don’t do the crime to begin with. They can’t afford to pay — well, society can’t afford these tragedies.
Bob Hutson North Prairie
Administrators must share blame
As a retired teacher, I view the administration’s role in the school shootings in Michigan to be as crucial to the outcome as the parents (“Suspect’s parents charged in Michigan school shooting,” Dec. 4).
The administration had received information from two teachers relaying concerns about the student who had drawn a picture depicting violence and was searching on his phone for ammunition. When the parents refused to take the boy home, administrators simply sent him back to class. We know he did not go to class.
So many times teachers are the ones to bear the brunt for dealing with troubled children in the classroom while the school administration abdicates its role in discipline, intervention and ensuring safety.
Lee Ann Kingston
Shorewood
Wisconsin: Allow third-party solar
I thought the Dec. 5 article “Community systems offer solar alternatives” by John Flesher was an important piece.
As the article pointed out, a number of other states have already allowed for solar alternatives. Minnesota has implemented these alternative systems since 2013. Wisconsin needs to implement third-party solar systems, especially in communities needing lower utility bills and experiencing more air pollution from nearby industries.
Wisconsin at this time has not allowed for third-party utilities. In the past year, however, two state senators have introduced community solar legislation, which needs to be supported and implemented by the Legislature. Community solar systems can be economical for citizens, businesses, churches and schools with an increase in jobs and creation of new businesses. It can provide cleaner air and better health for Wisconsinites.
As Flesher’s article stated, we can have cleaner, cheaper and more equitable systems if we build smaller local energy resources. This is very much needed, especially at this time.
Nancy Kriofsky
Put the Packers in charge
Politics is broken and not likely to unbreak anytime soon. While many continue to diagnose our disease with elaborate explanations and theories, I have been busy working on a solution. Let’s ditch the politicians and hire the Packers to run state and local government.
The Packers follow the rules. They don’t make new ones. No more gerrymandering. No more bogus vote recounts. The Packers know how to win. Sure, we have had our bad games and bad years, but the Packers are winners. Period. End of story.
The Packers are consistent. The Packers are impervious to political winds, campaign contributions and political divides. The Packers make large investments in training and education. The Packers know the value of talent. And they know it costs money. They know how to get the best from their players.
The Packers don’t discriminate. They know how to get folks from diverse backgrounds to work together for a common goal. Unlike Wisconsin politicians, the Packers don’t focus on dividing factions along political affiliation, geographic area or racial and ethnic lines.
The Packers know how to budget and spend within their means. The Packers have a cap on how much they can spend. They have to get the most out of the money they have. The Packers would know how to set a budget and use it wisely year after year.
The Packers don’t hoard money and give it to only a few. The Packers aren’t owned by a rich billionaire like every other team. They are owned by the community. They don’t take their profits and give it to one person. They invest their profits in the team and their community.
The Packers aren’t whiners and sore losers. And the Packers know how to unite people (with the exception of Bear and Viking fans).
The way we are going, we’re not gonna make it. Let’s hire the Packers now before it’s too late!
Go Pack Go!
William McMahon
Please email your letters to jsedit@jrn.com, or mail them to Letters to the editor, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, P.O. Box 371, Milwaukee, Wis. 53201-0371. Letters should be about 200 words.