Presidential Campaigns Visiting Madison

20 years ago, I along with some of my roommates attended a Mondale-Ferraro rally on the Capitol Square. I seem to recall that many attended simply to catch a glimpse of Walter Mondale’s daughter, Eleanor. I’ve scanned some photos from that date and posted them here:

This week’s campaign visits include:

Garcetti’s Disney Hall Photos


Book cover of ‘Iron: Erecting the Disney Concert Hall.’ Credit: Gil Garcetti
Former L.A. County District Attorney Gil Garcetti is known for his high-profile prosecutions of O.J. Simpson and the Menendez brothers.
But he left the district attorney’s office in 2000 and got out his cameras, turning a lifelong hobby — photography — into a second career. He talks with Scott Simon about his images of the ironworkers who built the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, designed by architect Frank Gehry.

Posted in Art.

Lean, Green Money Machine


Dale Buss explains how the Packers have thrived, despite their small market.

For the past two years, the Packers have ranked 10th out of the league’s 32 clubs in overall revenue, up 10 spots from 2001. After a $295 million expansion and renovation completed last year, Lambeau has become a lucrative year-round attraction. And the Packers’ cash kitty now exceeds $84 million, seemingly on the way to a $107 million goal that would give it a year’s operating costs in reserve.
The NFL’s financial structure, which distributes TV and licensing revenue evenly to all teams, has created a level playing field for the Packers. Fans snap up every ticket to home games, and the waiting list for a Lambeau Field season pass is still more than 63,000 names long for a 72,500-seat stadium. More than 105,000 Packer backers responded when the team sold nonvoting shares for $200 apiece in the late ’90s. “When we play on Sundays, the people in the stands aren’t just fans, but shareholders,” says Robert Harlan, a 33-year team executive who has been president since 1989.

Brewers likely sold to out of state buyer(s)?


Don Walker explains:

A Los Angeles-based investor has emerged as a potential new owner of the Milwaukee Brewers, bringing to three the number of individuals or groups seriously looking at buying the team.
Two sources with knowledge of the sale said Mark L. Attanasio, a partner in the investment firm Trust Company of the West, is looking at making a bid for the team.

Attanasio is an ex-Drexel Burnham Lambert banker (Michael Milken’s firm). He was also on the board of Global Crossing.
The Brewers are a tough deal all around. It will be interesting to see if these folks can make money (if a deal happens).
A final word: despite many misgivings about the Seligs (particularily the entire Miller Park unpleasantness), there would be no major league baseball in Milwaukee without Bud.

Sensenbrenner Carries More Water for Hollywood; How does this benefit his Wisconsin Constituents?

Nice to see Republican Jim Sensenbrenner working hard to help our economic, education and health care concerns by carrying water for Hollywood….

Thwarted by the courts, copyright holders and their lobby groups, notably the Recording Industry Ass. of America (RIAA), have been forced to file “John Doe” suits against infringers. But HR.4077 brings the full power of the state to their aid:
The FBI will be required to serve as propaganda ministry, or in the words of the bill, “develop a program based on providing of information and notice to deter members of the public from committing acts of copyright infringement through the Internet,” and enforcer.
The Feds must “facilitate the sharing among law enforcement agencies, Internet service providers, and copyright owners of information concerning acts of copyright infringement described in paragraph”.
The chairman of the House Committee which nodded through the measure, Rep James Sensenbrenner (R.-Wis), was paid $18,000 by the Recording Industry Ass. of America to make a trip to Taiwan and Thailand in January 2003, a breach of the House ethics rules, say critics. [WaPo | Reg] Sensenbrenner said it was a “fact-finding mission”, even though his schedule was arranged by the State Department.
But the distinction between State and corporate interests are now so close as to be indistinguishable.

This is all about killing our fair use rights AND trying to make the internet a one way pipe (ala cable tv). How this benefits Wisconsin residents is beyond me. Let Sensenbrenner know your thoughts on how his time is spent working hard for Wisconsin. More from the EFF.

OODA Loop Round and Round Old Media – Amazing!

Observation, Orientation, Decision, Action – John Boyd’s OODA Loop applies to military as well as business and now media issues. Yesterday, the Minneapolis based powerlineblog used the power of the net to raise questions about a Wednesday CBS News/60 Minutes story. By the end of the day Thursday, the basis of CBS’s story was in doubt, as John Podhoretz explains.
This is truly a new day for citizen information (likely resulting in a variety of outcomes). Years ago, the only “check” on old media would have been a letter to the editor. Today, web writers (for better or worse) operate at a much higher cycle rate than the MSM (Main Stream Media) or old media types. This is the real change: the OODA loop is light years faster than the pre-internet days. Lileks and instapundit have more.
Counterpoint: The Daily Kos. This is funny….