Is it any wonder there are calls for Milwaukee County government to be dissolved?

Lee Holloway, Milwaukee County Board chairman, spoke at a recent meeting, which I attended, of a well-known and respected Milwaukee-based organization.

Acknowledging that he has no aspirations to higher office and thus can say whatever he believes, Holloway said he wholeheartedly supports an increase in the Milwaukee County sales tax because, "it will save property taxpayers money." He said the tax would spread the burden among those who visit Milwaukee and those who don't own property in the county. In the end, he said it would held reduce property taxes. "This is the greatest thing since apple pie," he said. "And I like apple pie."

Holloway opened his remarks by noting his fight against alleged ethics violations. He likened himself to the monster in late-night Japanese movies that destroyed cities and ravaged the countryside. He said the monster is bombed and shot, but keeps coming back to life.

He said it, I didn't.

The silver lining - if there is one - in a McCain loss

I'm getting to the point that a small, albeit a very small, part of me wants Barack Obama to win the 2008 presidential election. My reasons are several:

1) His rabid supporters will find out just how dangerous he is, and how destructive financially and socially his tenure is to this country;

2) With the highest elective office being held by a black, there no longer will be excuses for blacks to complain about their status in this country;

3) Whites, particularly liberal whites, finally will be absolved of their guilt over the supposed beleaguered condition of blacks in this country and for the problems blacks suffered as the result of slavery;

4) The "race card" no longer will be able to be used every time someone criticizes a black.

Despite these reasons, I steadfastly support John McCain for president simply because he is the best qualified to lead this country. Unfortunately, being the best qualified for anything nowadays in this country doesn't count for much. It's not about what is right or wrong, but what is politically correct.

Ban steroid users

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Sports Editor Garry Howard says that because the steroid scandal is in the past that baseball should, in his words, “Let it go.” Criminal laws were broken and, in many cases, the league’s own rules were cast aside, but, hey, let’s make as if nothing ever happened. After all, attendance is up, revenues are up, and home runs are up. And that’s all that matters, right?

Howard’s apparent lack of an ethical compass is exactly what’s wrong with sports – and society – today. Let’s hold no one accountable, particularly highly paid athletes. And, in fact, let’s sign them to even bigger salary increases. That’s a wonderful message to send to the world, especially young people who idolize these players: Be rewarded for breaking the law and cheating.

By Howard’s logic, then, we should perhaps overlook every crime against society because as soon as any crime is committed it’s in the past.

Until sports franchise owners, general managers, coaches, and people like Howard begin to understand the value and need for principles, things in the long run are only going to get worse.

Eighty-five (and counting) wrongs don’t make a right. But this one big wrong needs to be made right. And the way to do that is to ban any player who used steroids from ever playing again at the so-called professional level. I’ll even concede that only those players who violated league rules should be banned.

Only then will Bud Selig be able to crow about how he saved baseball and a whole lot more … things like responsibility, accountability, integrity, and respect.

Thanksgiving weekend observations from in and around my neighborhood

What does it say when there are more sports team flags flying on homes than American flags?

What does it say when dogs being walked have better clothing than many people?

What does it say when more people are able to get up for a 4 a.m. after-Thanksgiving sale than are able to make it to a 9 a.m. church service?

Who should be laughing now?

An opulent $800 million MGM Grand Hotel and Casino recently opened in downtown Detroit. While Milwaukee leaders continually like to poke fun at Detroit, when was the last time any developer thought that highly of downtown Milwaukee? The only Milwaukee project of that magnitude was the deep tunnel sewer. But that was built with taxpayer dollars. I can't think of any private sector development in Milwaukee as large as the one in Detroit. So who should be laughing at whom?

Public-sector salary scam

While Milwaukee Common Council President Willie Hines, Jr. is seeking a cap on police overtime, he ought to also throw in an overtime cap for janitors (Building Maintenance Mechanics) at the Department of City Development (DCD). Either that or someone ought to teach DCD employees how to be more cleanly. Perhaps a “trash sensitivity course” would do the trick. In many cases, janitors make more in total pay than DCD planners. From the jsonline.com list of annual and total salaries paid to city employees, I counted 11 janitors who made more than $10,000 in overtime last year. One made over $20,000! And DCD is located in a relatively small four-story building. I remember a summer job I had with the county 40 years ago in which I was charged with keeping a one-story park building clean. It took me three hours a day to make the place spotless, and even that was stretching it.

And Milwaukee’s mayor wants to raise taxes by how much next year?

The bigger picture, of course, is that the list of city of Milwaukee employee salaries is testimony to the con job the public sector has done in convincing people that public-sector employees are so woefully underpaid, particularly compared to their private-sector peers. Add in the princely benefits and pensions that public sector employees enjoy compared to what’s available in the private sector and the argument about poorly compensated public employees becomes even more ridiculous. To a certain degree I don’t deny public employees their largesse because that’s what they negotiated, but to listen to them whine when asked to pay something for their benefits or moan about their sad situations is just insufferable and disingenuous.

They should shut up and thank their lucky stars they don’t have to compete in the private sector.

Manpower's world headquarters decidedly suburban

I just received an invite to the grand opening of Manpower’s New World Headquarters “in commemoration of the company’s return home to downtown Milwaukee.” There’s going to be champagne, cocktails, hors d’oeuvres, and valet parking. The attractive invite was die cut in the shape of Milwaukee’s skyline, which really didn’t require much die cutting since the skyline consists of one or two modestly tall buildings. Nevertheless, the invite gives the impression that Manpower’s new building is adding something to the skyline. But that would be misleading because the new building is four stories. Its parking garage is taller!

When I asked Manpower CEO Jeff Joerres during the building’s groundbreaking about 18 months ago why Manpower wasn’t putting up a tower that would be a landmark and that would make people stop and take note, he said that Manpower wasn’t a tower kind of company (does that mean no one in the company likes to move up?), not showy or flashy. I think that was Milwaukee-speak for, “We don’t want to spend a lot,” even though the city kicked in $25 million in tax incremental financing to help defray the cost of the $64 million building.

This world headquarters looks decidedly suburban. There’s nothing architecturally or even visually interesting or inspiring about it. It’s simply your typical Milwaukee red brick structure with some glass thrown in to keep its daytime inhabitants from becoming mole people. And the side most people will see – along Martin Luther King Drive – resembles the back side of a strip mall, complete with an asphalt surface parking lot. The only things that make the building palatable are that it fronts on the Milwaukee River and the colorful flags out front. The plaza that opens to the river, however, is stark. A fountain reinforcing the building’s connection to the river would have been nice, but it probably would have been considered too showy, flashy, or expensive. No, I think I’ll pass on this invite.

For the world headquarters of an $18 billion company, this building is bland and boring. And for the $25 million the city gave to Manpower, it should have held the company to higher building and architectural standards, but that’s what happens when a city has no real leaders.