I don't know about you, but for me, it's been a long week. By Friday afternoon, my creativity is just about tapped out.
As always, there are a few things I'd like to get off my chest, but a few punchy tweets are all I can muster.
Still, 140 characters doesn't always do them justice. So, if you care (and I fully understand if you do not), here's what's swirling around my head as we wrap up this first week in March:
Downward spiral: Bodog.com is accepting bets on whether Charlie Sheen's Twitter account, which he just set up, will have more fewer than 2.4 million followers by Monday night. I put $1 on the "over." They are not currently accepting bets on whether he will live until 2012. Sadly, I'd take the "under."
The buck would stop here: Most of you who know me also know my politics, but lefty or righty, one can't help but be sickened by what's happening in Madison. I'm not sure which "side" would advocate for this, but the whole problem would be solved if lobbying and campaign donations were abolished, not just reformed. Level the playing field. Make everyone play by exactly the same rules. This, of course, will never happen.
Don't punish the kids: One more comment on the budget impasse. I don't care what you need to sacrifice to make it happen, but taking money away from students and teachers turns my stomach. Leave the potholes, don't widen the highways, raise my taxes by a few hundred bucks if you must. But I'd rather have an educated future workforce than just about anything else that the state spends our money on. The debate over high-speed rail made me shake my head. Cutting money from schools makes smoke come out of my ears.
Pay it forward: I'm getting increasingly excited about the Brewers, and I can't wait to be at Spring Training in two weeks. But I'm disappointed that MLB would rather make a quick buck on its online offerings than enhance the fan base that could be going to games. Not only do you have to pay to listen to games online, video is blacked out, and you have to buy separate subscriptions for the iPhone, iPad and Web versions of Gameday/At Bat. MLB should give this away for free and get fans hooked. They'd spend more buying tickets and merchandise, I promise.
What a world: I still can't believe that Libya is on the verge of overthrowing Muammar Gaddafi. While I'm not a Middle East expert, I did major in International Affairs and work in the White House Office of Communications, so I've studied the region quite a bit. Obviously, the right of self determination is a beautiful thing, but we must be prepared that the replacement governments in Egypt, Libya and elsewhere may not look how we'd like them to.
Shiny toy: I won't be buying an iPad 2. It's a definite improvement, cosmetically, on the first iPad, and the dual cameras are nice. But as an owner of the first iPad, I can tell you that I still first reach for my laptop or my iPhone. My iPad remains an expensive paperweight.
Let there be light: Daylight Saving Time cannot come quickly enough. It's Sunday, March 13, in case you're wondering, and to me, it's the unofficial end of winter in Milwaukee.
Andy is the president, publisher and founder of OnMilwaukee. He returned to Milwaukee in 1996 after living on the East Coast for nine years, where he wrote for The Dallas Morning News Washington Bureau and worked in the White House Office of Communications. He was also Associate Editor of The GW Hatchet, his college newspaper at The George Washington University.
Before launching OnMilwaukee.com in 1998 at age 23, he worked in public relations for two Milwaukee firms, most of the time daydreaming about starting his own publication.
Hobbies include running when he finds the time, fixing the rust on his '75 MGB, mowing the lawn at his cottage in the Northwoods, and making an annual pilgrimage to Phoenix for Brewers Spring Training.
