And because of the Great Lakes Compact, we can 't pipe water from there. I can see that a drought could cause fuel rationing, water rationing, food rationing and electricity rationing.
To top it off, I can 't keep a donkey in the city, so I can 't even ride it to the grocery store. I don 't think I like this green energy.
-- Roger Rulseh, Madison
In merit selection, who picks choosers?The State Journal 's May 1 editorial suggested an "independent " committee be chosen to seek out and review candidates for the state Supreme Court.
Who chooses those who are chosen? What are the biases of those who choose the choosers?
Say, for example, the choosers select the president of the State Bar. What is his or her bias? Or a representative of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wisconsin Education Association Council or the Club for Growth. What are their biases?
When the governor (of either party) chooses from the independent committee 's list, what is his or her bias, or that of the governor 's advisers?
This system of selection will create a buffer of biases between the voters and their candidates. Are we ordinary folk out here to regard this as a buffer of our betters?
The accompanying cartoon, where the umpire calls a strike on a pitched ball that is obviously, even egregiously, outside indicates -- outrageously -- that the entire state Supreme Court, elected under the present system, is incapable of making a fair judgment because certain donors gave to their campaigns or paid for ads.
If the ump occasionally makes a bad call, does that mean we should kill the ump (figuratively)?
Americans are accustomed to having something to say about what goes on politically. The people of Wisconsin would be surrendering a precious part of their right to vote by giving selection of justices to persons unknown. Don 't do it.
-- Mary Anne Ripple, Madison
Stick with voters, not selected elitists
Having failed to cite even one instance where justice was compromised by the Wisconsin Supreme Court justice election process, the State Journal editorial board fabricated a baseball umpire comparison that doesn 't hold up in its May 1 editorial "High court elections strike out. "
Your position of removing voters from selecting justices is an affront to the integrity of every serving justice and all voters.
It has been said, without documentation, that confidence in the court is down. Prove it. And if this is the case, should we appoint and not elect members of Congress when its rating is low (as it is now), or the governor or president when their ratings are down.
The judiciary is a branch of our government and deserves to be elected by the people, not by back-room elitists who don 't care about the will of the people.
-- Bill Ridgely, DeForest
Farmers do their best for food and fuel
I enjoyed Friday's cartoon depicting the merits of using some of our nation 's corn crop for ethanol production.
I am a soil conservationist who works daily with farmers. Please keep them in mind while they do their best to ensure that the people of the United States have a full belly and a full gas tank.
Because of the weather, they have been facing less than desirable planting conditions this spring.
-- Troy Brechler, Boscobel
Need alternatives, not just penalties
Lawmakers seem pretty confident that stiffer penalties for drunken driving will solve the state 's problem. Would that be just like the death penalty did for the murder rate?
Maybe we should look at the questions we all ask ourselves when making the decision to drive. Why do Madison buses stop running before the bars close? Why is it impossible to get a cab in Madison on weekends? Is the $120 round trip from the suburbs into Milwaukee and back enough to prevent me from rolling the dice?
Why won 't cabs in Appleton cross city lines? Why does a college town like Whitewater ban overnight parking on the streets? How long would it take to walk from downtown Eagle River all the way back to the fishing lodge?
When the next obesity study comes out and tells us how overweight we are, should we penalize those who gain weight and hope the problem goes away? We can 't get a statewide smoking ban passed, not because we are stubborn, but because we lack alternatives to satisfy everyone.
-- Andy Blossfeld, Greenville
Using transport fund is wrong answer
Regarding Wisconsin 's budget deficit, Gov. Jim Doyle 's answer is to rob from the transportation fund again.
Robbing from the transportation fund means less work for contractors. Less work let to contractors means fewer workers employed and fewer contractors in business.
Fewer workers employed means less money coming into the economy and bad roads and bridges. Less money into the economy means less spending and higher unemployment.
Where does it end?
The next time you drive over a pothole or have to be detoured because you can 't cross a bridge in this state (and let 's just hope you 're just detoured. Does Minnesota ring a bell?), remember the majority of you voted for him. Make sure you thank him.
-- DeAnna Friemoth, Ruzic Construction Co Inc., Neillsville
Mixed church funds hard for contributors
Saturday 's article on whether to raze the St. Raphael 's Cathedral or not was the first I had heard that the bishop 's capital campaign for rebuilding it would include a retirement fund for priests.
Why combine such things? I do not intend to donate to the rebuilding of the cathedral, but I would surely donate for retired priests.
They should be two separate funds, and the one for retired priests could be started now. They probably need it now -- if it waits a year or more, some of them may be "retired " to heaven.
-- Sally Dreher, Madison
Subsidies must help small family farms
A few farm organizations are trying to dispel what has been described as the "clean air myth, " used by the Bush administration and the lobbyists of the grain trade. They are trying to force rural members of Congress to save tax dollars because grain prices are at an all-time high.
Congress is working on a very delinquent Farm Bill, a framework for which has already been established that would implement enough funding for more conservation measures.
Equally important is that money can be channeled into a disaster relief fund that is critical at this time of high grain production costs. That is if farm subsidy payments can be limited to $250,000 per farm.
Now all of a sudden passage of the bill is held up by those who contend that the "freedom to farm " requires more money be made available to the largest farms. Fifty-two percent of all farms are small family farms that are well within the limit of these subsidy payments and which need the protection.
Taxpayers cannot support corporate farms at the cost of losing small family farms.
-- Gene Rake, Columbus
Transitional school is worth saving
I 'm an alumnus of the Dane County Transitional School, and I am concerned about the possible closing of the school due to financial reasons.
It may be hard to understand how things work at DCTS from the outside, but the bottom line is it 's a successful program. If anything happens to this school, it will leave a higher percentage of kids uneducated in the Dane County area.
Not everyone can learn in a traditional public school, and I say this from experience. I got more than an education during my time at DCTS. I also developed lifelong friendships with students and teachers. I am still learning with -- and from -- these same people.
I 've gotten in touch with other alumni to make calls, write letters and do other prep work for fundraising in an attempt to keep the school afloat. This is the least I could do in return for all that I received from DCTS in my time of need. Now I 'll do everything within my power to give back to the school in its time of need.
I encourage people, and especially school boards in Dane County, to support DCTS in their mission. It worked for me, and I am grateful.
-- Carson McMannes, Madison
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