The Communicator News

Page 2 The Communicator News, September 1-15, 2012


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Communicator

NewsThe Communicator Newsis a biweekly publicationpublished the 1st and15th of each month.

In our pages you will findthought provoking com-mentary, local news,social issues, reviewsand entertainment.

We welcome articles,columns, information onevents and will review allfor publication.

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Our office is located at3001 Douglas Ave, foradvertising call 262-752-0030 or email us [email protected] visit us online atwww.racinecommunica-tor.com Email:[email protected]

Website:RacineCommunicator.com

Brian Krizmanich“I don’t think the important stories are being told.Racine is a great place, great restaurants, greatplaces to go, but people don’t know thatbecause little is being printed. I ride my bikeeveryday and it’s beautiful, clean…I hearChicago this, Milwaukee that. Racine has a lotof positive, Right now down in Pershing Parkthere’s a dog show.”

Joe Munez ”Lacks interest. We need interestingarticles with better local coverage.”

Speaking Out

Hanief Young”Racine needs a different angle and a different point of view from the community.Something a little bit more edgy. Something that digs down and tells you what’sactually going on in Racine.”


This is my community. I am anative here.. I've got a lifelonglove of this Root Riverwatershed. It's positivelyFECUND... go look up the wordin the dictionary! Lived here allmy life! So maybe you have seenme around? I don't miss much, doyou? I travel via railroad tracksto the water. When its cold orthere's a storm I head for the tun-nel system that property ownersare told does not exist but can popyou out almost anywhere on astreet or in a park as beautiful asWest Park. Streets lined withgarbage cans and fascinatingtwists and turns which is part ofliving in a watershed. I've cometo know most of the human resi-dents of Racine as well as my fel-low quadrupeds and featheredfriend and yes, folks, there aretwo Racines.

My name is Rocky. It was tocheck out Sixth Street, one of myfavorite places, that I popped outof the tunnel in the middle ofGrand and Seventh just yesterdayto be utterly flabbergasted......

Whoa now...what is this?Where is the big green in front ofCity Hall? Where is the picnictable, Where are the two garbagecans at Harris Square? All I couldsee through the flying concretedust, all that could be heard, ortasted or felt was CONSTRUC-TION! Total Chaos.

Why would humans do this? Ihad to know more.

Soon I saw one of my favoritetrails made by construction menin yellow and lined with orangeand white upside down cans..... atrail made of manufactured sand,my favorite substance because ithad just rained and the manufac-tured sand retains impressions ofall who had come before me andwhich way they went.

Immediately I saw Big Foot'stracks. His trail was fresh andwent directly to the steps of CityHall. Big Foot owns a buildingwhich looks like it is in the mid-dle of this construction zone and Iknow him well. He is heading for

the second floor at City Hall andwhoa to whomever hemeets.

As Icontin-ue tosurveythis spec-taculardemise ofthe CityHall GreenI spot myfriend theuptown rab-bit pronounc-ing that thisroundabout isnot in the rightplace and thatfurthermore itdoesn't fit. He isin a protest stanceand shouting thatSixth Street shouldrevolt, that SeventhStreet shouldrevolt. "Where isthe parking? Whereis the plan? Who isresponsible?"

All through the rab-bits rant the gulls aredive bombing humans in the areaas they fear for their young nest-ing atop the Christian BelieversChurch and City Hall itself. Theyare really upset.

I hung around long enough tosee humans emerge and shout athard hats and shout at each other.One human shouted at another,"Go park in front of your ownplace!" Then the other humanshouted back, "You look likeyou're new here. Maybe you don'tknow that none of us have anyparking....that is why we are onyour street parking in front ofyour place!"

The shouting match was hot!Hey I just saw the Mayor of

this City sneaking out the backdoor. There is a host of neighborsfollowing him shouting, WHEREIS THE PLAN? WHY ARE YOUDOING THIS TO US?

Rocky on the Prowl

A roundabout is a type of circular intersection or junction in which road traffic is slowed and flows almost continuously in one direction around acentral island to several exits onto the various intersecting roads.[1] In a modern roundabout, entering traffic must always yield to traffic alreadyin the circle, and roundabouts have additional restrictions on the junction layout to give high safety. Elimination of the opportunity for the mostdeadly crashes at intersections (T-bone or perpendicular crashes), is the greatest asset of the intersection design. Pedestrians are routed awayfrom the intersection into which automobiles enter to separate crosswalks located at least one full car length outside of the intersection, wherethey have a refuge between lanes of traffic. This enables pedestrians to only have to cope with traffic coming from one direction at a time, whichis traveling slowly enough for visual engagement with drivers and encourages deference toward the pedestrians. Roundabouts, in their modernform, were standardised in the U.K., improving on the experience of traffic circles built in the U.S. following WWII, Modern roundabouts are nowcommon in many countries around the world.The word roundabout dates from the early twentieth century,[1] In the U.S., the term traffic circle is used where entering traffic is either controlledby stop signs, traffic signals, or is not formally controlled at all and speed of vehicles may remain unchanged. The term, roundabout, is reservedfor circular flow intersections where entering traffic must yield to traffic already in device, with the intention to calm the traffic and enable thehighest flow possible through the intersection along with the highest safety for pedestrians and cyclists.[2] Not all modern roundabouts arestrictly circular, some being elongated to include several former intersections, but the traffic always follows a circular flow.

No doubt you’ve used that old expres-sion, “What’s the difference?” I know Ihave, usually when someone thinks I’veused the wrong word for something and

they try to tell me how I should have saidit. Let me give you an example. Let’ssay I’m having a conversation with some-one, and I refer to another individual as a“racist”, possibly because I heard the gen-tleman talkin’ about “nig***s”.

My conversational partner may correctme and say, “You mean, he’s a bigot. Iknow the man and he’s not a racist”, andmy reply might be “What the h*ll is thedifference?”.

In fact, there is a difference, and know-ing the difference can lead to greaterunderstanding, possibly even friendships,between people that would never beexpected. I’m not saying there won’t besome work involved, but we know thatBlack folks have always had to work a

little harder, so we ought to be good at it.And all work isn’t backbreaking labor,sometime’s it just means thinking a littledeeper. Believe me, if growing up in thepre-civil rights South taught me anything,it’s that it’s very nice to have a choicebetween thinking and pickin’ cotton.

Now, speaking of growing up in theSouth, it was very ordinary back then forWhite folks to refer to Black folks asº“nig***s”. And strangely enough, notall of those who did so were racists whohated Black folks. Certainly many were,but to assume that all were would be anexample of prejudice. And we know thatprejudice is an unfavorable opinion basedon inadequate facts. There’s enough ofthat in the world, you don’t need to beadding to it. I admit, the “n” word issometimes enough to make you want tograb a stick and knock the stupid offsomeone, but that response can lead toeven worse circumstances.

But as ugly as that word can be, and asmuch anger as it brings up, some peoplereally do use it in a non-malicious man-ner, almost like calling someone Germanor Italian. They just need to be educated(and a stick is probably not the best toolfor that job).

By the way, if you think learning istough, try teaching. My friends who areteachers tell me it can be an absolute joy,which is often what makes them stickwith it, but it can also feel frustratinglyimpossible at times.

One of those times when it’s going to

feel impossible is when you are attempt-ing to educate a bigot. A bigot is some-one who is intolerant of opinions that aredifferent from his (or her) own andabsolutely unwilling to change. So, it ispossible for someone to be a bigot, with-out being a racist. People who hatehomosexuals or different religions, forexample, are also bigots though “some oftheir best friends” might be of a differentrace.

They may have been brought up tobelieve that there’s nothing inherentlywrong with the “N word” and they intendto go on using it without regard to otherfolk’s feelings or opinions, which they ofcourse consider to be less valid than theirown.

One of the truly strange things aboutbigots, is that they can often behave inthe most charitable and generous manner.This can result in situations that confoundthe mind. Like the story of the Redneckwho stopped on a country road to help aBlack man change a flat tire. The manwith the flat had no jack because his sonhad used it and failed to return it to itsproper place.

The Redneck jacked the car up andwent about most of the work of changingthat tire for the man, even sharing somehand cleaner and a towel he carried in hisown trunk. The Black man offered to payhim, which he refused, and as they shookhands and smiled the Redneck said,“Yeah, I ain’t never had no problem withnig***s”. It’s difficult for the brain toprocess that kind of information withoutemotions getting in the way.

Bigotry is an uncomfortable thing to bearound, even when it’s not directedtoward you. Hearing offensive remarksdirected toward anyone, almost demandsa response, even though it often leads to

conflict. But we have seen whatunchecked bigotry can lead to, an exam-ple being the horrible shootings thatoccurred recently in Oak Creek.

Racists are difficult enough to dealwith, but they can sometimes be educatedout of their racism, bigots can almostnever be educated out of their hatred,whether it’s based on race, religion, gen-der or something else.

Sometimes the problem is a belief thatthey are somehow being victimized bythose they hate. They believe that lifeowes them more, and the only thingstanding between them and what theydeserve, is the group that they havegrown bigoted against. If a person seeshimself as a failure, and refuses to acceptresponsibility for it, will look for some-one else to blame.

It’s in our nature to blame someonewho doesn’t look or act like us, and it’seasier and safer if they have less power.This type of behavior can be observed inpack animals, like wolves. One wouldhope that humans would evolve past this,but I know that not everyone believes inevolution

I realize I haven’t offered any solutionhere, I don’t have any. It just seems tome that bigotry, hatred and prejudice areNOT solutions. Maybe we can worktogether to have less of those.

Kenneth Lumpkin is a member ofRacine County Board for the past 14years and is the former owner and pub-lisher of the Insider News.

His Neckboneology artificals delve intoissuers that he say, “People want to knowabout but is to afraid to ask.”

We would love to hear your commentson this column.

NECKBONEOLOGY: Are Black Bars Being Targeted?

You May Be A Liberal!Like a duck who doesn’t know he’s

wet, some reasonably bright peoplehave no idea that they are knee-jerk liber-als. Now there is a blog ‘ You Just Mightbe a Liberal — to help them decide.There are a number of helpful tips whichcan help you reveal your true politicalcolors. For example, ‘If you spend moretime at ‘Peace’ rallies than at church’YouJust Might be a liberal’

Here’s a few more.‘If you believe the Dixie Chicks got all

those Grammys because of their singingability instead of their politics….You JustMight be a Liberal.’

‘If you think Charlie Sheen is a betterrole model than George W. Bush…YouJust Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you believe Bill Clinton “Never hadsex with that woman, Miss Lewinski.”You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you didn’t find “BrokebackMountain” the least bit creepy…You JustMight be a Liberal’

‘If you’ve never been north of 125thStreet or west of the Hudson River butthink you know how Alaska should drillfor oil…You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you think Al Franken isfunny….You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you feel the UN should have controlover America’s foreign policy….You JustMight be a Liberal.’

‘If you think Michael Moore is incredi-bly sexy….You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you hate the military, big oil andHalliburton but “Support OurTroops”…You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you’ve ever called Forbes magazinea “Capitalist Tool” and meant it in a badway…You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you “teach” in any of theHumanities Departments of any majorcollege…You Just Might be a Liberal.’

‘If you feel anyone who disagrees withyou is brain damaged….You Just Mightbe a Liberal.’

By and large the humor is sharplypointed and could draw blood from a fewthin skinned liberals. Written by RodPennington ‘ who also has the ‘YouMight be a Conservative’ Blog — that isjust as brutal to the folks on the right as‘You Just Might be a Liberal’ is to thepeople on the left.

If you’re looking for your daily chuck-le, this is a great place to start.


ByKennethLumpkin

Racine – On Friday, September14th, Ridgewood Care Center, RacineCounty’s skilled nursing facility, willhold its second annual Classic Car &Motorcycle Show. The show will runfrom 2:00 PM to 6:00 PM on thefacility grounds, 3205 Wood Road inMount Pleasant.

Complimentary popcorn and sno-cones will be available to all. Raffleprizes and concessions will also beavailable. From 2:30 to 4:30,

Chicago-based singer and guitaristMatt Cantlon will present a great mixof classics, rock, country and pop.From 5:00 to 6:00, Elvis will grace uswith his presence.

Admission for visitors is free, andso is registration for persons exhibit-ing their cars and motorcycles.Exhibitors even get a free lunch andraffle ticket.

Anyone interested in showing a caror motorcycle should call ShannonBenson at 262-898-1365.

Ridgewood Hosts 2nd Annual

Classic Car & Motorcycle Show

September 14


Ryan, the nation's most controversialbudget architect, is often described as theintellectual leader of the House Republicancaucus. But Romney's presidential cam-paign headquarters in Boston seems, fornow, to prefer that the 42-year-old father ofthree talks about camping and milking cowsinstead of the fiscal proposals that madehim a conservative hero

Ryan, who wrote a plan to overhaulMedicare as chairman of the House BudgetCommittee, did not use the word"Medicare" with voters over the first fourdays as the vice presidential candidate.When he finally touched on the health careinsurance program for seniors, he did so only in broadstrokes after Romney himself first outlined the cam-paign's talking points.

"We will not duck the tough issues," Ryan said Fridayin Virginia. "We will lead."

But Ryan has been directed to avoid taking questionsfrom reporters who travel with him, and to agree only toa few carefully selected interviews. He is known forsketching budget graphs on napkins to explain his ideas,but this past week it was Romney who used a whiteboard during a news conference to help detail his ownplan — one he says is virtually identical to Ryan's.

"I'm joining the Romney ticket," Ryan told an Ohiotelevision station this week. "It's not the other wayaround. So I'm supporting the Mitt Romney plan."

Some of the Republican Party's most passionate voterssee it a different way. Reluctant to support Romney dur-ing the GOP primary, they favor Ryan and his ideasmore than the former Massachusetts governor who willhead the party's ticket.

Romney hopes that Ryan's conservative credentialsand his boyish enthusiasm will help him solidify supportfrom the base of his party and close the "likability gap"with President Barack Obama, who remains relativelypopular in spite of the nation's struggling economy.

Yet Romney does not want Ryan's plans to overshad-ow his own candidacy. Advisers suggest that Ryan's rolewill change over time. He is eager to do more, and aweek after his selection became official, there arealready signs that he's beginning to play a more activerole.

The congressman planned to visit a retirement villagein Florida on Saturday, where he was expected to helpreassure nervous seniors that his plans are designed tosave Medicare, not end it. Still, Romney's campaignmanagers want him to proceed with caution.

Romney's team remembers well the problems causedby running mates who may have been trusted premature-ly to play a prominent role in a presidential race —Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin in 2008 and Sen. Dan Quayle in1988, among them.

The Republican presidential campaign has gone togreat lengths to remind voters that Romney's way rules.

Before Ryan first addressed Medicare in Ohio thisweek, large signs were placed in front of and behind thepodium reading, "The Romney Plan." After spending hisfirst two days campaigning with Romney, Ryan will beat his side again in the week ahead for at least one cam-paign appearance.

The candidates, labeled as "America's ComebackTeam" in Romney's campaign signs, are set to appeartogether in New Hampshire's largest city on Monday. Itis expected to be first of what may be many joint appear-ances in the coming days.

When they are together, the gregarious Ryan helpsRomney shed his sometimes wooden image, and theyseem to draw larger crowds together than Romney doeson his own.

Just don't expect Ryan to start charting his Medicare

plans on stage. His proposal to turn the guaranteedhealth care program for people 65 and over into a vouch-er-like system creates significant political challenges forthe Romney-Ryan ticket — and for Republicans acrossthe country. Many seniors don't fully understand the pro-posal, and Obama's re-election campaign is aggressivelycondemning the plan as something that would "endMedicare as we know it."

That's largely why Romney is easing Ryan into thedebate. While Ryan explained his complicated plans atlength during dozens of Medicare town hall-style meet-ings before becoming Romney's running mate, thosekinds of meetings probably are over because they're con-sidered too politically dangerous to continue.

Instead, Ryan is being encouraged to discuss hisyoung children, his working-class background and hislove of the outdoors as the American people get to knowhim.

"Let's play stump the running mate later. Right now I

want to enjoy the fair," Ryan said whenasked about Medicare at the Iowa StateFair.

"We do cow-milking contests inWisconsin," he continued. "I usually loseto a 17-year-old woman who grew up on adairy farm, who's wearing like a sash andtiara."

Despite the cautious approach,Romney's advisers are expecting Ryan tostumble at times early on as his recordfaces unprecedented scrutiny. Already,some concerns have popped up.

He reversed course on Thursday andacknowledged lobbying the government

for stimulus money after twice denying he had done so.The admission came only after the release of letters, withhis signature, asking for millions of the program's dollarson behalf of two companies in his home state.

And while he has tried to avoid diving into thespecifics of his Medicare plan, a reporter pushed him toexplain an apparent contradiction during an impromptulunch meeting in Ohio.

In the interview, Ryan said he never would haveincluded a $700 billion Medicare cut in his budget ifObama hadn't done it first.

"He put those cuts there," Ryan said of the president."We would never have done it in the first place."

The defense represented a deviation from the Romneycampaign's talking points and overshadowed what wassupposed to be a made-for-TV stop at local hotdogrestaurant.

Mitt Romney puts muzzle on runningmate Paul Ryan on campaign trail


The Blood Skulls, the first band toenter into this newspaper because the firstissue needs to be kick ass, and as FrankDonohue puts it, “an artistic hard rockmetal type.” None of them really knowthe genre of themselves since they simplyplay for the people and their friends. Theyhave quite the following in Racine, eventhough they joked around with me when Iasked them if they loved the fame, “ likebasement fame?” Tony says. The BloodSkulls, hard describe, hard to define, butalways a good time we all say. They firstplayed in Gurnee Mills at a place calledSwing State back when the band firststarted in Spring of 2010. They said it wasa lot of fun and sort of laughed about itsaying how they'd never go back thereagain, but lately they've played from theback of Breaking Billiards on Douglasand High St, to The Brass Monkey withDr. Destruction off of Washington onJunction Ave, to the Mosquito Inn on 4mile. The Blood Skulls also head up toMilwaukee and play at a bar calledQuarters out in Riverwest, and nowthey've reached out to Kenosha to spreadtheir metal art at Hattrix with Die MonsterDie, another fellow band. Though if your

not a metal head thatdoesn't necessarily meanyou won't like them. Oneof the questions I askedthem was “What kind ofmusic do you guys listento and what made you getinto music anyways?”Frank Donohue the leadguitarist, singer, and writerresponds, “Guns andRoses” is what really gothim to start playing. TonyRit the lead guitarist, singer,and writer says “SmashingPumpkins and Slayer.” AdamGilboy on drums said “FrankZappa and Jazz, Tom Wiats.”David Rommelfanger on basssays, “Simple Plan”. Theseguys have quite the humor tothem and they told me theyreally like to bring the energyand most of all just bring thefun. I would say they aresomewhat underground music,if I may, around here that is.They have a sound you don'thear to much and if you like oldrock then you'll like them. Allthe band mates enjoy differentstyles of music and genres so the naturalcollaboration of the group is prettyextraordinary. “Red” is the color that hasbeen chosen to mainly represent the band.The Blood Skulls is best described byFrank D. as “...being like ying andyang..ying yang..twins.” Adam G. goes,“yeah like night and day, like good andevil and you can decide for yourselveswhich one are.” When you look a FrankD. and Tony R. you can see the slight dif-ference between their music styles andthey don't collab at all which is the mostoddest and unique part of this band. Theyhave two lead guitarists, singers, writers,and they get all get along just fine. Theyhave a certain connection between themusic rather then the writing. They'dtweak each others songs, but if they wereto try to write together lyrics or music,“We'd never stop fighting.” Tony R. says.

“We're trying to get Walter White tocome to our show.” -David

“He'd kill us with all his meth...”- Tony “It's my territory.” - Frank Their album is called “Love Cult” and

it has 8 perfected songs and few names ofthe songs are as follows: Love Cult, TheBlood Skulls, Sugar Veins, Haunt YourDreams...et. There is one witness I hap-pened to catch to help explain the essenceof a Blood Skull show. Her name isElyssia Wagner and she described it as,“Feels like you know everyone there.They're pretty intuitive with the audi-ence.” And it definitely is that way asyou'll see Tony taking breaks, talking inthe mike to the people, it's just an allaround great time. “We just got newequipment. Adam just got a new drumset.

It'sa huge asset to our band. It

just boosts our...” - Frank D. “It's worth like more then all our lives.” -Tony R.

“boosts our spirits.” - Frank D. It is a pretty nice drumset with all these

cool new sounds; percussion, tambourine,and a cowbell. It seems like they have alot options to work with now. They'll be

playing on Halloween at the Brass

Monkey with Dr. Destruction again, and

therewill be face painting for free so

everyone can look their spooky best whilejammin to these guys. Check out ourissues as we'll be featuring The BloodSkulls and their upcoming gigs along withother Racine undiscovered talent. You canalso see what they're up to on their BloodSkull Facebook where they have otherinformation on themselves and otherbands if your interested. Have a HappyHalloween!

BLOOD SKULL

CommunicatorReview

Music Messenger

Contact Lauren Jean

(414) 544-6638

Names of the members left to right: Tony Rit, David Rommelfanger, FrankDonohue, and Adam Gilboy.

Ps. If your reading this and your in a band or go to the studioand want your name or band out there let me know, call me!

Page 8 The Communicator News, August 1-15, 2012

New Northside Bar To Feature Food and Beverage

A new bar and grill will open FridayAugust 31 at 3316 Douglas Ave. The for-mer Chinese Restaurant was handsomelytransformed into 2 Sheets to The WindBar & Grill. The bar's name derived fromthe owners names Trent and SheliaSheets, Shelia said "we don't take our-selves to seriously , we have fun and wewant our customers to have fun."

The large bar is surrounded with bigscreen televisions, a pool table and dartmachines. The couple said dart teamswill start soon and there will also be poolleagues and of course baseball teams inthe summer months.

The kitchen menu consists of deepfried appetizers, chicken wings, specialmade sandwiches and a Friday night fishfry. Trent said "The northside was lack-ing a place with enough room to watchdifferent games, have a beer and eatchicken wings with your buddies."There's plenty of parking located next tothe Dairy Queen on Douglas Ave. Hoursare 12 noon to 2am daily.

Two Sheets To

The Wind Bar

& Grill

Shelia Sheets prepares bar for opening.


We may be months away from ElectionDay, but in states fighting legal battlesover newly minted voter-ID laws, time isshort. These laws, which require residentsto show government-issued identificationto vote, have been shown to disenfran-chise poor and minority voters in the firstplace. But as I've written before, the time-frame for implementing them posesanother major problem; just look atPennsylvania, where volunteers andactivists are rushing to inform residentsabout a voter-ID law passed in March.The fact is, comprehensive voter-educa-tion efforts can hardly be conducted intwo months. It is this basic issue—whether there is enough time to properlyimplement voter-ID laws beforeNovember 6—that has kept voter-ID fromgoing into effect in many states.

But in Wisconsin, Attorney GeneralJ.B. Van Hollen is hoping there's still timefor one last full-court press to rescue thestate's strict voter-ID law. State courts intwo different cases—one brought by theLeague of Women Voters, the other by theMilwaukee NAACP—have already ruledthat it violated the state constitution.Normally, at this point the attorney gener-al would file an appeal to the state Courtof Appeals, which kicks off a lengthyprocess. Then, only after the appealscourt had made its ruling would the casego to the state Supreme Court (assumingone side wanted to take the case further).Given that currently there are two sepa-rate challenges to the law, that wouldlikely happen twice. In short, there'salmost no way the state could fully andfairly implement the law by Election Day.

But Van Hollen has nonetheless askedthe state Supreme Court to bypass theCourt of Appeals and take the case direct-ly. He also wants two different casesagainst the voter-ID law consolidated sothat things can move more quickly.Finally, while court proceedings continue,the attorney general wants the SupremeCourt to suspend the rulings from thelower courts and allow the law to go intoeffect immediately.

Why? It's all "in a determined effort toensure the law will be in place for theNovember 6, 2012, general election."

Van Hollen has asked the stateSupreme Court to fast-track the casesbefore, when they were still being heardin the lower courts. The Supreme Courtrefused.

The lower-court judges wrote strongly

worded opinions against the law. In thecase brought by the League of WomenVoters, the judge determined that thephoto-ID requirement "impermissiblyeliminate[d] the right of suffrage altogeth-er for certain constitutionally qualifiedelectors." In the NAACP case, the courtfound that more than 9 percent of regis-tered voters in the state lacked the neces-sary ID—over 300,000 people statewide;the judge also pointed to the lack of fall-back plans for those who could not obtainan ID, and noted that elderly andAfrican American voterswould be dispropor-tionately affected.Both judges grantedinjunctions.

Besides those con-cerns, now there's aneven more pressing rea-son to stop the law fromgoing into effect: There'ssimply not enough timeleft to implement it.

"The time factor alone isreason for the SupremeCourt to not put this thingback in limbo," says DeniseLieberman, a staff attorneywith the Advancement Project,a voting-rights group. TheAdvancement Project and theACLU have filed a federal law-suit against the photo-ID law, butgiven that state courts have already sus-pended the law, they have put their chal-lenge on hold. But if the Supreme Courtdecides to hear the case, Lieberman saysthe federal suit will move forward. Buteven at a breakneck pace, saysLieberman, it will take time for the bothsides to collect the necessary evidence,and more time for the court to hear thecase and write an opinion. She estimatesthere is little chance the Supreme Courtcould decide the case sooner than amonth from now. That would leave scanttime for voter outreach and educationshould the court rule the law can moveforward.

The problem is compounded by thefact that voter outreach organizations willhave to do an about face if the SupremeCourt upholds the law. The law has beensuspended since early March, whenJudge David Flanagan ordered the stateGovernment Accountability Board to"cease immediately any effort to enforceor implement the photo identification

requirements" before the trial began. DaraLindenbaum, associate counsel to theLawyers Committee for Civil Rights,notes that for months, her group and oth-ers have told people that they do not needto bring an ID to the polls. If the lowercourt's decision gets reversed, they'll havelittle time to inform voters of the change.Furthermore, poll workers willhave to learn the insand outs of

thenew requirements

in short time; Lindenbaumsaid some voters who called her orga-

nization's hotline reported being improp-erly asked for ID.

"Having this decided this close to theelection is a terrible idea," saysLindenbaum. "This really needs to be puton hold."

The reason Republicans want to havethe law in place before November haseverything to do with gaining a partisanadvantage. Since the requirements dispro-portionately have an impact on nonwhiteand low-income voters—those more like-

ly to vote Democratic—GOP lawmakershope it will give them a boost at the polls.With close elections, every percentagepoint matters, and Wisconsin is already abattleground state in a tightpresidential race.

Strict

voter-IDlaws are already

laden with political implica-tions—most people know that on thewhole, Republicans like the laws andDemocrats don't. But their partisan effectswill only grow if there's not enough timeto educate voters. Such politics are yetanother reason for the Supreme Court torefuse to hear the case, says Lieberman.Any decision at such a late stage wouldlook politically motivated. "The issue istoo politicized in a state like Wisconsin tobe able to pretend that the political impli-cations are not there," she says. "There'sno way the court is going to be able toshake the sort of political stench that'sgoing to be attached to it."


On April 3rd 2012 Krystyna Sarrazinwon the 2nd district aldermanic race fromformer Alderman Eric Marcus, winningwith more than 100 vote difference. SinceSarrazin’s swearing in as alderwomenApril 17, 2012 and appointment to thePublic Safety and License committee herattendance has been questioned.

From April 17th thru August 21st 2012there have been 10 common councilmeetings Sarrazin has missed 5, Sarrazinhas attended 3 of the 7 Public Safetyand Licensing meetings from April 23rdto August 13th 2012. The 2nd districtencompasses the Southside of Racine,bounded by Lake Michigan on the east,

21st Street on the north, 11th Street to thesouth, westerly to roughly Racine Street.

The aldermanic race became contro-versial after an article in the local paper(“Deputies recommend abuse charges toAlderman”) on April 2, 2012 one daybefore the election. Misdemeanor batteryand disorderly conduct charges were filedon Marcus the day of election. Marcushas pleaded not guilty and has asked for ajury trial, scheduled for October2012.zAldermanic positions pay $ 6,900per year. Sarrazin was email asking for aresponse to this story nothing wasreceived as of press time.

Voter-ID Fight Gets Down to the Wire in Wisconsin

A study examined 2,068

cases of election-fraud

over the past 12 years

and found only 10 cases

of voter impersonation.

According to the study,

"…With 146 million

registered voters in the

United States during

that time, those 10 cases

represent one out of

about every 15 million

prospective voters."

When Will the

Second

Aldermanic

District be

Represented

News: We want our stories to be local, we want to write stories that are unusual, interest-ing to the people in the community. Profile local people and share their stories with thecommunity. We will cover elected officials, politics and others who are well known in thecommunity. When a story is developing we will do a series of stories on the subject. Wefeel we have an obligation to our readers to report the news that impacts them.Social Issues: How do social issues impact the community economically, politically, envi-ronmentally and how do these issues relate to people’s lives.Entertainment Events: The fun stuff that causes a buzz in the community, festivals, con-certs, street parties and photos of the fun.In Review: We review restaurants, art galleries, (local and distant) movies, books localbands and clubs from well known to the obscure. Neckboneology: Local editorial from a minority point of view. Ken Lumpkin brings 20years of insight to the Communicator. Rocky on the Prowl: Who knows where Rocky will show up and what’s on this mind, waitand find out.

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