Senior Viewpoint

Now that the Presidential election and other elections for legislative offices, both federal and local, are suddenly upon us, it is time to look at the forgotten campaign issues.

1. Crime. In past elections crime was at the top of the list and now the issue has slipped towards the bottom as an important problem in our society. It is a legitimate issue wide open for discussion and solutions. Yet, there has been very little or no discussion by the presidential candidates, and the local candidates. Do these people believe or want us to believe that crime does not exist ? Some carefully prepared statistics may conclude that crime is decreasing. Every day on our local television stations there are numerous reports of criminal acts at or near our vicinity. Arrests are made and the jails are overcrowded leaving convicted criminals at large. There certainly are solutions but politicians do not present any. The press has done nothing to pursue crime as a legitimate issue and almost never ask candidates for their viewpoints. We deserve more.

2. Immigration. The issue of immigration was a political football during the presidential primaries and has now been on a leave of absence since the primaries ended. Maybe all candidates have adopted a "do nothing" attitude, and if so, we need to hear from them loud and clear. When the election is over will there be a non-partisan approach to viable solutions.? I think not. There are laws that are not enforced and laws that are not enforceable. We are a nation of laws and our elected officials have a duty to create laws that all men/women that are created equal can live with.

3. Military Service. We keep hearing that the USA has the best military in the world. But, how long will the voluntary military last? And of course, can we afford it? Because there is no choice but to have the best military in the world we need to carefully determine where these people will come from. Volunteers are volunteers and can we depend on them in the future? There have been some hints at some type of national or government service but no specific plan has been brought forward. Every other country knows that we abandoned the draft and that military service in the USA is on a volunteer basis. We need to show the world more to have respect.

4. Social Security and Health Care. There have been so many plans and programs that the good and deserving citizens are by this time totally confused. Unless there is a good faith non-partisan effort made and solutions developed that are in the best interests of the citizens these critical systems will make the "Wall Street" debacle look like a picnic in the park. Time is of the essence to fix these systems.

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The recent website on AOL, "HOW TO FIGHT A SPEEDING TICKET" is a commercial that is misleading.

There is nothing to "fight" just because a police officer issued to you a speeding ticket. Under the law you have the right to defend yourself and state your case in a court of law.

The alternatives offered by AOL begin with Plead Guilty---With Explanation, and sometimes you can get a reduced charge is misleading. A Guilty plea requires the Judge to make a finding of guilty. The explanation is what is called "extenuating circumstances", and should be first raised when stopped by the officer, then at the prosecutorial level and again in court so that you are consistent.

A plea of No Contest is more appropriate because you neither admit nor deny but have the right to make a statement in defense of yourself, although the Judge will make a finding of Guilty. Also, a No Contest plea cannot be used against you in a civil case involving an accident.

A plea of Not Guilty protects your constitutional rights including the right to face your accuser/s and compel the prosecution to carry their burden of proof, along with your right of cross examination of witnesses and the ability to provide your own witnesses.

It is the reputation of some traffic courts that they are simply police courts and revenue producing outlets. This reasoning will not help you defend yourself.

The best and most prudent method of defending yourself is to retain a competent and experienced Attorney to represent you. This will give you the best result possible, save you time and money to make court appearances and to protect your driving record.

AOL refers to Bargaining which in the law is more commonly known as "plea bargaining" with the prosecutor and not the Judge. A pre-trial conference with the prosecutor to attempt an agreed stipulation to be approved by the Judge will for the most part be a fair resolution. However, the prosecution is bound by the facts and the law and is subject to guidlines and precedent. The idea that by paying a higher fine for dismissal of the case is not ethical and has been called "buying points", in addition to appellate court decisions rejecting such a procedure.

If you receive a traffic/speeding ticket be sure to get your current driving record, the Department of Transportation point system and by discovery obtain police department records of your case.

All 256 pages of the proposed city budget do not give a clue of what the line items are for or are about. That , in part, is because nobody ever asked. Line items are the nitty gritty of what goes into a budget, like paper, pencils and personal computer use. The computer in most industries is used partly for business and partly for monkey business. That is not meant to be funny. It is at times a wasteful form of communication. Let's assume that the city hall leaders carefully studied every line item in the budget. The result is that it becomes their person viewpoint of what is needed.

A prudent alternative is to have a group of local residents take a look at the budget and render an independent viewpoint of what is needed and what they will pay for.

This can be done by the establishment of a Citizen Review Oversight Board made of of interested local residents who can make an objective study of the city budget and make valuable suggestions.

In the times ahead the time is now because we have not yet felt the financial downturn at it's worse.

The city of brookfield should act now and not wait until it is too late.

Scripture tells us to "love thy neighbor", but that is not what is being done in the current political climate. Our neighbors include all people who have an opinion of their own. Why do we not respect our neighbors in the USA, instead of finding a way to ridicule them ?

The messages that are being sent out about candidates for public office emphasize the negative. This is self destruction and self endowing.

If you really "love thy neighbor", then emphasize the positive. 

In the past few days I have called 4 aldermen about the budget and the elimination of the DARE program, including the President of the Common Council and the Finance Committee Chair, and only one has returned the call which resulted in a good discussion. This alderman was not one of the above.

Since the citizens have been invited to research the budget and make suggestions I am doing just that. 

A major concern are high paying positions at city hall that are either not needed , can be absorbed by others or can be abolished. The city officials working hard on the budget may want to consider the elimination of the Assistant Chief of Police and the Human Resources director. In the numerous police departments I have been in contact with during 50 years as a trial lawyer and 34 years as a judge, there was a chain of command that went from the chief to the captain, etc. who were very qualified within the department to take charge in the absence of the chief. Human Resources in business has a reputation as the dumping ground for employee issues and serves no real purpose to represent the residents.

A huge cut could be made by having garbage service reduced to every 2 weeks during the winter months (say Nov. to April), because people I speak with say that neighbors don't have much garbage, it freezes in cold weather and is not a hazard in the garage, snow and ice makes it difficult for seniors to prepare their driveway for the ingress and egress of the workers and some say simply they can do without the weekly pickup in inclement weather if it reduces taxes.

It is budget time again the city department heads have been busy formulating their 2008 budget requests, having meetings with city leaders and preparing to make their presentations to the Finance Committee.

The proposed budget has been published for public consumption and it is a voluminous document which will take time for me to review.

With the staggering financial disaster we all have a duty in our community to watch carefully as our elected officials and city employees decide how to allocate our tax dollars.

During my 34 years as Municipal Judge I presented 34 budgets and that experience gives me an insight into city finances.

The numbers to look out for are the line items, not always published, which constitute the small expenses that grow into the final numbers that are published.

Some of these small expenses are office furniture and accessories, expense allowances, replacement equipment, paper, use of utilities, newsletters, medical insurance for employees, and yes even pens and coffee cups with the city logo.

The Journal/Sentinel recently reported that the Mayor is calling for a 4.29% general fund spending increase, and that trying to chop that increase back to 2.8% would mean finding about $520,000 in spending reductions which the Mayor said would reduce the city's high quality services.

The ball is in the Mayor's court to find that money, reduce the budget and maybe, just maybe, recommend a property tax reduction that city residents can live with during these difficult times.

So, let's all do our part to help our city save money.

The 2008 edition of the Milwaukee Brewers are winners. A playoff berth, 90 victories and record attendance tells the story. Only 2 teams go to the world series. The other teams end their season early, like our Brewers and our neighbors, the Cubs and the White Sox.

We can be proud of having a great owner, great management and a great ballpark.

We can see a bright future with one of the youngest teams in baseball and a farm system that produces quality baseball prospects. 

And above all we have great baseball fans of all ages who have something to cheer about.

The makeup of the 2009 Brewers will be determined in the coming months. To be sure there will be some changes in personnel.

Free agent players are a risk and come at a high price as we have learned.

C.C. Sabathia is a must to keep and our management knows that the price will be high. But C.C. is a proven leader and would give the Brewers a pitching ace for years to come.

There will be replacement players, maybe a key trade and a host of young prospects making a serious effort to make the roster.

But, before changing the lineup management must be sure that the replacement player is better than the one he replaces.

To return a now veteran lineup in the infield of Fielder, Weeks, Hardy and Hall, and the outfield of Braun and Hart and finally giving Gwynn his chance, and adding some improvement is pretty solid. Keeping Kendall behind the plate and most of the bullpen is wise. There are enough talented starting pitchers on the expanded roster.

Go Brewers.

The Brewers come home Saturday and the celebration begins to welcome the first playoff team in 26 years. Although, the home team is 2 games down the atmosphere will be much different for them. Many players return to their homes and families and will get the support they need from their loved ones and friends. The extra day off, today, will give the players a chance to get some rest and relaxation before they head for Miller Park on Saturday.

Let the game begin and let the hunger for the taste of victory dominate the desire to win once more.

This is no time to say wait until next year. This is the time to win the next 3 games and with the superb talent at hand our Brewers can and will succeed.

Saturday is the day that our team will brush off the woes of the past and play the game of the day with a zest that has never been seen before.

There is no room for criticism or finger pointing. Baseball is a team game and each athlete on the roster has to be prepared to perform at the highest level of excellence.

To be an underdog is to accept and meet the challenge by doing what they do best. Don't press to hard and the hits will come in droves.

Never say never and show your families, friends and fans that the 2008 Brewers are special.

Somewhere in Miller Park on Saturday  my Son and I will be cheering our own major league team.

The Phillies are now in our house and the Brewers will not let us down.

Today,Wednesday, October 1, 2008, was the first Brewers post season game in 26 years. The Brewers late rally in the 9th inning fell short as the Phillies starting pitcher was almost flawless, and the Brewer bullpen was solid.

But again the Brewers lack of ability to drive in runs was very costly. Watch their new manager make some changes in the batting order to get back to "small ball", and not hope against hope for home runs.

The decision to start a pitcher just coming off rehab may haunt the Brewers although the opportunities were present to overcome that.

My observation is that the 2008 Milwaukee Brewers have enough fire power to win playoff games and go to the World Series with their front line pitchers and a little luck.

The odds are on our side tomorrow with C.C. on the mound and hopefully better weather. Home run hitters don"t do well in the rain but the bunt is hard to handle and leads to runs.

Well, my chance to be at Miller Park is Saturday.