State Debate: Favre trade best solution

An 8/7 roundup of editorials and columns in state papers

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  8/07/2008 9:37 am

Favre trade best solution, says the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The Green Bay Packers-Brett Favre imbroglio has become as messy and as emotionally charged as a divorce, with the kids (the fans) nudged into taking sides.

Wisconsin owes a debt to Favre for the thrilling plays, for the legacy of great quarterbacking he brought to the storied Green Bay franchise. But it's clear that Favre would have had much trouble sublimating his perceived hurts. We would argue those hurts were mostly of his own making.

A trade to a non-NFC-North competitor constitutes as amicable a split as can be had at this point. It is the fairest thing to all parties involved.

We wish Favre well. We wish also that he concentrates on making the most of his comeback rather than continuing the public dispute.

For the kids.

Demerit system for taverns fair, says city of Waupun administrator Gary Rogers in a column in the Fond du Lac Reporter.

In the case of the Slammer, more than 300 points were compiled by the business, necessitating the revocation of the license. By ordinance, if points are in excess of 200 in an 18-month consecutive period, the license to operate will be revoked.

In July 2007, the Waupun City Council approved a demerit system for monitoring establishments that serve alcoholic beverages. Fond du Lac and Appleton also use demerit systems.

The demerit system provides an administrative body to address revocation, suspension or non-renewal of all intoxicating liquor or fermented beverage licenses. A point system has been developed, ranging from 10 points for failure to maintain order to 150 points for very serious actions.

By and large the tavern owners have embraced the concept of the demerit system. The system is fair to the business and not subjective. A copy of the ordinance can be found on the city's Web site at www.cityofwaupun.org.

We need a comprehensive energy plan, says the La Crosse Tribune.

Jimmy Carter was right about energy. He advocated more energy conservation, plus development of alternative fuels.

A series of five energy bills were passed during the Carter administration. They created a comprehensive energy policy that had at its heart extensive conservation and alternative energy proposals. He also encouraged individual responses, including vehicle maintenance (yes, including checking your tire pressure regularly) and slowing down.

Unfortunately, after the energy crisis had passed, President Reagan eliminated most of the energy programs.

Congressman Ron Kind has recommended a comprehensive energy plan too. He basically echoes the congressional Democrats' plan that called for more drilling on land that oil companies already lease for exploration. He opposed offshore drilling and drilling in Alaska's natural wildlife area.

Republicans called for offshore and wildlife area drilling.

There will have to be some additional oil. But more important than that is the need to start developing alternatives. Those might include using natural gas for transportation and increasing the use of vehicles powered by electricity.

Wind and solar should be a part of any plan, and there should be exploration of ways to use coal and coal-derived fuel in ways that don't pollute.

Compiled by Judie Kleinmaier  —  8/07/2008 9:37 am