From x779 at webtv.net  Thu Apr  2 09:29:54 2009
From: x779 at webtv.net (mrcooby)
Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 13:29:54 -0000
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] "Scott Walker's secret mission."
Message-ID: <gr2eki+5lfa@eGroups.com>

Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit

By Robert Bauman

<http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>

In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial, Milwaukee County
Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to abolish public transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing the economy so that poor people who depend on transit can afford to buy cars.

By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use or need a public
transit system.

In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's obsessive opposition to
any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid it will succeed!

It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention to the success of
new rail transit systems across the country than anyone thought. He has
no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders - often individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles and homes and vote-potent political constituency.

To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new riders actually live
in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class Republicans will use
and support rail transit, then he has a real problem achieving his goal of abolishing the transit system.

He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in cities with new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening the base of political support for transit in general. He may have even observed that new rail transit lines are popular with the business community in general and the real estate development community in particular - groups that could stand in the way of his plan to abolish all transit.

We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be introduced in
Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has learned from the
experience of other cities that new rail transit lines are popular and
have even generated popular support for increased taxes to further
expand and improve transit systems.

Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that has the potential of
reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) and
broadening the appeal of transit in general must be opposed at all cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a public service that is
well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the community and has
widespread popular support.
Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with investing in a rail
transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be successful?


Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.






From yance at oldmilwaukee.net  Thu Apr  2 12:58:08 2009
From: yance at oldmilwaukee.net (Y Marti)
Date: Thu, 02 Apr 2009 12:58:08 -0400
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."
In-Reply-To: <gr2eki+5lfa@eGroups.com>
References: <gr2eki+5lfa@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20090402125808.364245mrbjlcafsw@horde.oldmilwaukee.net>

That's all there is to it for transit riders? The ability to buy a  
car? I have two and a motorcycle but I would rather spend the parking  
money and gas money on something more interesting. I guess I am a bad  
American....

Quoting mrcooby <x779 at webtv.net>:

> Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit
>
> By Robert Bauman
>
> <http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>
>
> In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial, Milwaukee County
> Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to abolish public  
> transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing the economy so  
> that poor people who depend on transit can afford to buy cars.
>
> By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use or need a public
> transit system.
>
> In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's obsessive opposition to
> any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid it will succeed!
>
> It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention to the success of
> new rail transit systems across the country than anyone thought. He has
> no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders - often  
> individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles and homes and  
> vote-potent political constituency.
>
> To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new riders actually live
> in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class Republicans will use
> and support rail transit, then he has a real problem achieving his  
> goal of abolishing the transit system.
>
> He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in cities with  
> new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening the base of  
> political support for transit in general. He may have even observed  
> that new rail transit lines are popular with the business community  
> in general and the real estate development community in particular -  
> groups that could stand in the way of his plan to abolish all transit.
>
> We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be introduced in
> Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has learned from the
> experience of other cities that new rail transit lines are popular and
> have even generated popular support for increased taxes to further
> expand and improve transit systems.
>
> Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that has the potential of
> reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) and
> broadening the appeal of transit in general must be opposed at all  
> cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a public service  
> that is
> well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the community and has
> widespread popular support.
> Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with investing in a rail
> transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be successful?
>
>
> Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.
>
>
>
>
>
>




From yance at oldmilwaukee.net  Fri Apr  3 09:02:44 2009
From: yance at oldmilwaukee.net (Y Marti)
Date: Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:02:44 -0400
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."
In-Reply-To: <gr2eki+5lfa@eGroups.com>
References: <gr2eki+5lfa@eGroups.com>
Message-ID: <20090403090244.16072ejyzysi3jtw@horde.oldmilwaukee.net>

Wow, I guess I should have read the link first. It is a little dated  
and hopefully Walker has grown up since he made the statement two  
years ago. Maybe? Things have changed a lot since then.

Quoting mrcooby <x779 at webtv.net>:

> Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit
>
> By Robert Bauman
>
> <http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>
>
> In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial, Milwaukee County
> Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to abolish public  
> transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing the economy so  
> that poor people who depend on transit can afford to buy cars.
>
> By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use or need a public
> transit system.
>
> In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's obsessive opposition to
> any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid it will succeed!
>
> It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention to the success of
> new rail transit systems across the country than anyone thought. He has
> no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders - often  
> individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles and homes and  
> vote-potent political constituency.
>
> To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new riders actually live
> in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class Republicans will use
> and support rail transit, then he has a real problem achieving his  
> goal of abolishing the transit system.
>
> He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in cities with  
> new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening the base of  
> political support for transit in general. He may have even observed  
> that new rail transit lines are popular with the business community  
> in general and the real estate development community in particular -  
> groups that could stand in the way of his plan to abolish all transit.
>
> We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be introduced in
> Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has learned from the
> experience of other cities that new rail transit lines are popular and
> have even generated popular support for increased taxes to further
> expand and improve transit systems.
>
> Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that has the potential of
> reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) and
> broadening the appeal of transit in general must be opposed at all  
> cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a public service  
> that is
> well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the community and has
> widespread popular support.
> Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with investing in a rail
> transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be successful?
>
>
> Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.
>
>
>
>
>
>




From x779 at webtv.net  Sun Apr  5 00:24:59 2009
From: x779 at webtv.net (Louis Rugani)
Date: Sun, 05 Apr 2009 04:24:59 GMT
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] "Scott Walker's secret mission."
Message-ID: <BAY137-DAV8B53EE2E293FC9E9B7C8098870@phx.gbl>

That article was from 2007, but my opinion on Mr. Scott Walker and his ilk remains:

Leopard/spots - smoke/fire - walk/duck.

It's imperative for all traction advocates in SE WI to diminish Walker's influence in Milwaukee, and stopping him in his goal to win the WI governorship. 

=Lou=

~~~~~~~~~~ **-=\/=-** ~~~~~~~~~~

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.       Robert Anthony


-----Original Message-----
From: Y Marti
Sent: Friday, April 3, 2009 8:02 AM
To: milwaukee-electric at lists.dementia.org
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."

Wow, I guess I should have read the link first. It is a little dated  
and hopefully Walker has grown up since he made the statement two  
years ago. Maybe? Things have changed a lot since then.

Quoting mrcooby <x779 at webtv.net>:

> Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit
>
> By Robert Bauman
>
> <http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>
>
> In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial, Milwaukee County
> Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to abolish public  
> transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing the economy so  
> that poor people who depend on transit can afford to buy cars.
>
> By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use or need a public
> transit system.
>
> In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's obsessive opposition to
> any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid it will succeed!
>
> It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention to the success of
> new rail transit systems across the country than anyone thought. He has
> no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders - often  
> individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles and homes and  
> vote-potent political constituency.
>
> To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new riders actually live
> in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class Republicans will use
> and support rail transit, then he has a real problem achieving his  
> goal of abolishing the transit system.
>
> He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in cities with  
> new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening the base of  
> political support for transit in general. He may have even observed  
> that new rail transit lines are popular with the business community  
> in general and the real estate development community in particular -  
> groups that could stand in the way of his plan to abolish all transit.
>
> We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be introduced in
> Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has learned from the
> experience of other cities that new rail transit lines are popular and
> have even generated popular support for increased taxes to further
> expand and improve transit systems.
>
> Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that has the potential of
> reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County Transit System) and
> broadening the appeal of transit in general must be opposed at all  
> cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a public service  
> that is
> well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the community and has
> widespread popular support.
> Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with investing in a rail
> transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be successful?
>
>
> Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.
>
>
>
>
>
>







From x779 at webtv.net  Mon Apr  6 08:20:40 2009
From: x779 at webtv.net (Louis Rugani)
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:20:40 GMT
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Walker was blindsided by Barrett's 'end-around'
Message-ID: <BAY137-DAV8756E84C3C58EA4A42AAD98840@phx.gbl>

All together now to Walker: 
Boo hoo ... you lose. ;-)
http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2009/3/13/walker-was-blindsided-by-barretts-end-around

=Lou=

~~~~~~~~~~ **-=\/=-** ~~~~~~~~~~

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.       Robert Anthony




From rmadisonwi at gmail.com  Mon Apr  6 08:29:42 2009
From: rmadisonwi at gmail.com (Robert Madison)
Date: Mon, 06 Apr 2009 07:29:42 -0500
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: Walker was blindsided by Barrett's 'end-around'
In-Reply-To: <BAY137-DAV8756E84C3C58EA4A42AAD98840@phx.gbl>
References: <BAY137-DAV8756E84C3C58EA4A42AAD98840@phx.gbl>
Message-ID: <49D9F5B6.8030608@gmail.com>

Louis Rugani wrote:
> All together now to Walker: 
> Boo hoo ... you lose. ;-)
> http://www.biztimes.com/daily/2009/3/13/walker-was-blindsided-by-barretts-end-around
>   

Second paragraph of article:

> The provision dedicates spending $54.9 million for a proposed downtown 
> streetcar system and $36.6 million for Milwaukee County electric buses.

If only the second half of that were true!



From jdl896 at yahoo.com  Tue Apr  7 15:35:24 2009
From: jdl896 at yahoo.com (jdl896 at yahoo.com)
Date: Tue, 7 Apr 2009 12:35:24 -0700 (PDT)
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."
In-Reply-To: <20090402125808.364245mrbjlcafsw@horde.oldmilwaukee.net>
Message-ID: <219692.46032.qm@web81904.mail.mud.yahoo.com>



I believe that NOTHING gets past Scott  Walker and also believe that this little project' of Mayor Barrett might be one of his 'talking points' when the man runs for Governor. I can umagine speeches like:
'Though I tried to keep the city of Milwauke free from tax increases, I wait defeated by a mayor who wanted to to turn Milwaukee into another Portland, and that is why I am running for the gubernatorial sea. Then you can watch me try me try not to raises taxes for an entire state!

--- On Thu, 4/2/09, Y Marti <yance at oldmilwaukee.net> wrote:

> From: Y Marti <yance at oldmilwaukee.net>
> Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Re: "Scott Walker's secret mission."
> To: milwaukee-electric at lists.dementia.org
> Date: Thursday, April 2, 2009, 11:58 AM
> That's all there is to it for transit riders? The
> ability to buy a  
> car? I have two and a motorcycle but I would rather spend
> the parking  
> money and gas money on something more interesting. I guess
> I am a bad  
> American....
> 
> Quoting mrcooby <x779 at webtv.net>:
> 
> > Walker's secret mission is to abolish mass transit
> >
> > By Robert Bauman
> >
> >
> <http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/authors/robert-bauman>
> >
> > In a Feb. 20 Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial,
> Milwaukee County
> > Executive Scott Walker let it slip: his goal is to
> abolish public  
> > transit in Milwaukee County by, as he put it, growing
> the economy so  
> > that poor people who depend on transit can afford to
> buy cars.
> >
> > By implication, if everyone has a car, no one will use
> or need a public
> > transit system.
> >
> > In this context, the reason for Scott Walker's
> obsessive opposition to
> > any form of rail transit becomes clear: he is afraid
> it will succeed!
> >
> > It turns out that Scott has been paying more attention
> to the success of
> > new rail transit systems across the country than
> anyone thought. He has
> > no doubt observed that these lines attract new riders
> - often  
> > individuals with higher incomes who own automobiles
> and homes and  
> > vote-potent political constituency.
> >
> > To his chagrin, he has noted that some of these new
> riders actually live
> > in suburbs and support Republicans. If middle-class
> Republicans will use
> > and support rail transit, then he has a real problem
> achieving his  
> > goal of abolishing the transit system.
> >
> > He has no doubt observed that overall transit usage in
> cities with  
> > new rail lines has often increased thereby broadening
> the base of  
> > political support for transit in general. He may have
> even observed  
> > that new rail transit lines are popular with the
> business community  
> > in general and the real estate development community
> in particular -  
> > groups that could stand in the way of his plan to
> abolish all transit.
> >
> > We now know why Scott cannot allow rail transit to be
> introduced in
> > Milwaukee, no matter how modest the plan: he has
> learned from the
> > experience of other cities that new rail transit lines
> are popular and
> > have even generated popular support for increased
> taxes to further
> > expand and improve transit systems.
> >
> > Clearly, any investment in a rail transit line that
> has the potential of
> > reversing the death spiral of MCTS (Milwaukee County
> Transit System) and
> > broadening the appeal of transit in general must be
> opposed at all  
> > cost because Scott knows that you cannot abolish a
> public service  
> > that is
> > well-funded, used by a broad cross section of the
> community and has
> > widespread popular support.
> > Who would have guessed that the biggest problem with
> investing in a rail
> > transit line in Milwaukee is that it might be
> successful?
> >
> >
> > Robert Bauman is a Milwaukee alderman.
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >
> >


      


From x779 at webtv.net  Wed Apr  8 11:08:28 2009
From: x779 at webtv.net (Louis Rugani)
Date: Wed, 08 Apr 2009 15:08:28 GMT
Subject: [milwaukee-electric] Scott Walker
Message-ID: <BAY137-DAV5B942DA659912655AA72B98820@phx.gbl>

Yes, he'll keep playing the "does it cost a nickel?" card. Except he doesn't worry about nickels whan it comes to HIS pet projects, like highways. 

Our job is to keep the fact before the people that because Walker is rabidly anti-rail, he caused Milwaukee to lose close to $200 million in federal/state aids over the past 17 years because it involved rail. Other cities are spending Milwaukee's money now. 

There's still 90 million left, and about half of that is going to Milwaukee's new streetcars. It took Obama and Barrett together to finally overrule Walker to release what's left of that money. 

If Walker hadn't frittered away all that money and time with his stubborn, stupid anti-rail stalemate, Milwaukee could have had a downtown streetcar system to rival TM.

The thing we have to remember is that Scott Walker hates rail with a passion and he will try to stop any rail projects even if it jeopardizes his political career.


=Lou=

~~~~~~~~~~ **-=\/=-** ~~~~~~~~~~

The opposite of bravery is not cowardice, but conformity.       Robert Anthony