Brunch Links

In a hurry and very hungry. And people are coming to paint the ONLY exit to my apartment, so I have to leave soon.

Feingold goes after U.S. radio and TV propaganda program in Cuba, saying the broadcasts fail to meet “journalistic standards of objectivity.”

A reminder for any of you busing to Milwaukee today or tomorrow, make sure to go to Memorial Union – the bus depot on West Wash is no more.

The Diversity War continues: Smathers’ column about breaking down conceptions of diversity or something. Again Herald, “quotas” are not legal in American higher education. The Multicultural Student Coalition writes yet another response to the Andrew Carpenter article from last week – they don’t say anything controversial but it’s hard to read through all the contrived, academic jargon. They also misquoted Carpenter. And if that wasn’t enough, the Cardinal ed board writes an editorial making clear that it does not agree with Carpenter’s original statements. Just to be in style, I’ll write a response later today or tomorrow to this whole issue.

Very good point that more people should hear: you don’t need to sign a lease in November! Unless you’re living with a bunch of people.

HOLY SHIT: University of California schools are raising tuition by 32 percent!

Why aren’t we using stimulus money to repair bridges? Why are we building new roads and not trains?

Cap Times ed board: “There’s a lot of talk about shopping locally these days, but some of us have been shopping locally for decades.”

But State Journal can brag too: State Dept of Health Services has apparently killed pay cuts to private contracted nurses after a State Journal article shed light on the complaints from patients.

Gunning up for Socialism

Every red-blooded American knows why handguns are practically illegal in Europe. Unlike America, which is governed by the sweat, blood and tears of its own people, European nations are controlled by a tyrannical socialist (masonic) elite who stays in power only because its oppressed citizens are prohibited from bearing arms. It’s good to know this will never be the case in the USA:

Meanwhile, in Madison background checks for handguns are running nearly 36 percent above last year, suggesting a big increase in gun sales.

People on both sides of the gun control debate agree on this: People have been stocking up on guns and ammunition since President Barack Obama took office early this year.

“This is definitely a nationwide trend,” said Alexa Fritts, a spokeswoman for the National Rifle Association. “We believe the increase in gun sales and the ammunition shortage is a direct result of our current administration.”

Brunch Links

Manna.

Herald endorses legalization of marijuana. Hopefully not the first time in the paper’s history but you never know. It’s good to see the logical argument made – decriminalization only gets us half of what we should have: a fair and regulated marijuana market. Good to see the Herald has a readership in Norway (first comment). Norway is the third most cited European nation of origin in Wisconsin, I believe.

Beth Mueller has apparently watched enough Cheech and Chong to determine that marijuana cannot “be used to an extent which does not impair reason.”

“I get calls from the White House from the highest people of power to the cabinets . . .  they call me many times about this or that on health care,” Tommy Thompson says. Sounds like a guy running for Senate.

Rumors about the impending death of the Neumann campaign are already afoot. Democrats should be praying he stays in as long as possible.

A UW-Madison prof tells of the torture of reading term papers.

Some WI businesses making money during this recession. There is some stimulus.

Too many people read Alec Slocum’s column and are not hunting deer.

WisOpinion has set up a weekly showdown between two guys over the federal stimulus. A good passage to start with: “Brian, it’s taken me a little while to get back at you because your missive made me spit a mouthful of fair trade coffee across my computer screen.”

Paul Soglin: When will Paul Ryan look at the facts about the deficit?

Playground Politics points out the following: There’s a difference between winning and competing. Terri McCormack, one of the Republican candidate looking to challenge Steve Kagan, does not distinguish between the two, at least when it comes to her supposed 1977 Harry Truman Scholarship. When it comes to politics…we’ll see.

Now the NYTimes is talking about the asian carp that’s going to strike and kill the Great Lakes, according to James Rowen.

Mental health parity coming up again in Wisconsin. Girl tells a story of anorexia.

Think GM is recovering? Ask somebody in Janesville.

Fat Sandwich – a fat waste of cash

The only thing that Fat Sandwich Company really has working in its favor is its unbelievable intrigue. Clearly, I just had to go. I had to see what the fuss was all about.

Unfortunately, Fat Sandwich did not deliver.

From the second I walked in the door, I just knew I would hate it. The speaker placed right next to the door blared music in my face the second I opened it.

I walked through to find a completely overwhelming menu of 20+ “fat sandwiches.” After realizing that I would never know what I liked on my fat sandwich until I tried something, I decided to choose the “Fat Sconnie,” in honor of “The Sconz.” This sandwich contained chicken fingers, mozzarella sticks, marinara sauce and to my surprise, French fries, which all came wrapped in a large roll to soak up all the saucy… well… It wasn’t good.

I won’t even go into the sadness that overcomes me when I think about establishments like this one (and the idea it promotes) and the amount of obesity plaguing our nation.

The sandwich was really dry, which I blame on all the carbohydrate- bread, potato, breading.. can’t be good for ya. On top of that, the French fries were stale and limp, the marinara had no flavor and the bread fell apart because the pieces within the sandwich were too big to bite into.

The sandwich cost me a whopping $7 and with a drink, my total came to over $8. Granted, the sandwich was huge, but the quality was poor and I wish I could have my $7 back.

While the food wasn’t stellar, the Fat Sandwich did deliver a certain sense of humor. The menu was tailored to college life, offering creations such as the “Fat Magnum” and “Fat Sorostitute” (sorry ladies). They also made the effort to play to internationalize their sandwich selection by offering the “Fat Gyro” and “Fat Falafel.” In addition, there’s a BYO (build your own) option and other standard choices: burgers, salads and wraps, though this is clearly not the appeal of eating at Fat Sandwich.

The staff was friendly and there were rolls of paper towels conveniently placed on each table (and you need them, trust me).

Fat Sandwich offers a few conveniences such as cigarillos and cigarettes. They also have long hours (11am-3am) and have delivery and online ordering options.

An important convenience they lack, however, is Wi-fi. I asked the employees if I could get Internet and I was told that if I sat at one corner of the restaurant, I could “steal” Wi-fi from the University Inn because it wasn’t a secured network. It did work, but they should consider getting their own so that the entire restaurant can enjoy this service.

At lunch on a Monday, there were about 8-10 people in and out, including myself. This was an unfortunate, but understandable crowd. I could only justify coming here again if I was so drunk that Taco Bell was no longer appealing. Even then, $9 for a drunken snack hardly seems worth it, although I might have to remember the “burger donut” for my next drunken escapade. Truly, $9 wasn’t worth it for lunch either when the “$5 footlong” is just a block away.

Sadly, Fat Sandwich just did not hit the spot. My prediction is that Fat Sandwich’s unique appeal will subside and that its fat presence on State St. will be gone very soon.

555 State Street
Madison, Wisconsin 53703
(608) 819-8119

Have a restaurant suggestion that you’d like to see reviewed here on The Sconz? E-mail jechapman@wisc.edu

Pretend diversity is way easier

One of these things is not like the other one…

Look about halfway down the left side of both pictures. Notice any difference between the original picture on the right and its final copy on the left?

In the summer of 2000, in a small room in the University of Wisconsin, the editors of the fall admissions brochure were frantically searching through every single photo ever taken on campus, desperately trying to find photographic evidence that black people went to their school.

Insert snarky comment about UW diversity here. I always wondered how every college brochure picture included such an eclectic mix of ethnicities.

Kagen gets another challenger

Republicans are slathering over the opportunity to unseat Rep. Steve Kagen, the most vulnerable Democrat in the Wisconsin congressional delegation.

Rep. Roger Roth is the most recent addition to the GOPers fervent health care reform advocate Steve Kagen (M.D.). Roth recently returned from a two month stint in Iraq, so I’m guessing his wife is wondering when she’s ever going to get to see him again. In his official declaration of candidacy, Roth used some creative language to describe the path his opponent is taking the country down:

“In 2010 we will decide if our nation can be preserved as a beacon of hope to the world or if it will continue on a certain path toward socialism and economic stagnation,” Roth says in the letter.

“This attack comes from the liberal elite who believe that spending and wasting massive amounts of money while going ever deeper in debt is the answer to every problem.”

Unfortunately he apparently ran out of time and did not get to outline his policy on FEMA concentration camps and the war on white people. More on that later.

Nobody applying for ALRC position

It’s almost poetic. Weeks after the student community student newspapers made so much noise about getting a student voting member on the ALRC, only one person has applied for the new position, according to sources in city government.

That one person is Mark Woulf.

Bryon Eagon says potential applicants should get their applications in by the end of next week. Those interested need to fill out this application, which can also be found on the city’s website.

 

Brunch Links

The day is going to be cold but not wet, which is good, because the latter of these two caused me to sprain my ankle yesterday. Walking home from a volunteering stint at the Veterans Museum too…wounded for my country. Anybody catch Sarah Palin with Billy O last night? It was pretty good but then Elisabeth Hasslebeck on Hannity blew that out of the water. Hasselbeck or Hannity. Which one is more beautiful?

Finally somebody writes a response to the recent onslaught of anti-affirmative action columns. Predictably, the first racist to comment on the article doesn’t understand the word “censorship.”

Herald ed board: UW needs to find other colleges to mount pressure against Nike.

“Keep Terrorists Out of the Midwest Act.” It was not introduced by Jim Sensenbrenner, although I’m sure he’ll be a proud co-sponsor.

Good article in the Cap Times about “developer fees,” which tax developers whose projects cause necessary infrastructure changes.

Scott Walker wins half the battle, according to the Journal Sentinel, on the county budget. Milwaukee County’s tax levy will go up 2.2%. Cory Liebmann is convinced the Journal Sentinel is spinning for Walker.

Illusory Tenant: Why are East Coast elitists so enthralled with Wisconsin judicial politics now?

If you’re trying to order some black market cigarettes, do not use the postal service. Kohl got that banned.

After Brett Favre Gov. Tim Pawlenty ended reciprocity with Wisconsin, the two states still have a chance to kiss and make up.

“Nuisances must register property.” Must anything else be said?

Doyle finally withdraws funding from UW water research consultant because UW-Milwaukee is jealous. Or something…

The New York Times writes that dozens of members of congress have been submitting health care talking points ghost-written by pharmaceutical lobbyists.

Surprising: Wisconsin has a higher rate of health care coverage than the country but employers pay 22 percent higher than national average.

 

 

Be a part of Shared Governance

ASM Voice is encouraging people to apply for positions in the Shared Governance Committee.

Applying for one of these positions is a great way to get involved on campus. Student-leaders appointed to Shared Gov seats are a part of some huge decisions every week.

For those of you who have no idea what Shared Gov is: check out the Herald, where there’ll be a feature on this very productive committee appearing tomorrow morning. Also, while you’re at it, check out Shared Gov’s blog where appointees are posting about the happenings in some very powerful campus committees.

The College Dems

I had a talk with College Dems president Molly Rivera yesterday at the Rathskeller. A junior, Molly grew up in Kenosha, WI. Her father is the former chair of the Democratic Party of the 1st Congressional District.

What has Rivera done to change the organization this year (not that they needed changing, she was quick to emphasize):

The development of “caucuses” (Obama fans have fond memories of caucuses). There are interest group caucuses, such as the LGBT caucus, a minority groups caucus, women’s caucus, and most surprisingly, the faith caucus. These groups meet every other week. Rivera discusses the concept as a way to get more members involved in leadership affairs, and allow more opportunity for discussion between members. People can feel distant and isolated at general membership meetings.

There are also issue caucuses. Currently there are three issues – health care, the environment and public education. Noticeably absent is any reference to foreign policy.

Rivera also said the Dems are taking the initiative to keep up with who’s coming to meetings, in order to retain more members. With a sign-in sheet at every meeting, the Dems are able to identify people who are coming consistently and maybe should be offered a chance to be more active. Frankly I’m surprised there aren’t simpler incentives: T-Shirts and Frisbees, for instance. Despite having an email list of over 4,000, Rivera says around 40 people will be present at any given general membership meeting. 1/100. Not bad.

When it comes to local issues, Rivera specified cleaning up the lakes and human services, such as the Rape Crisis Center, on the county level.

When I asked her who the Democrats main political competition was, she identified Progressive Dane, although she said she was “frankly impressed” with the Republicans’ improved message. She was stunned that Crystal Lee and Stephen Duerst publicly advocated repeal of the Defense of Marriage Act and said they supported civil unions.

Co-ordinating endorsements in local elections is tough because the organization is obligated to support Democratic candidates. However, she said that when evaluating candidates she would not hesitate to bring PD into the dialogue, and talk to their candidates etc, which I found confusing considering that there really is no room for the College Dems to make a choice if there is a Democratic candidate in the race.

On Obama: “Disappointed but sympathetic.” “I want to see more done than ever. I want to see health care reform, I want to see the Stupak amendment [abortion restriction in the house health care bill] defeated. But I’m sympathetic because I know that’s not how government works.”

Predictable enough. But when I suggested that Obama did not deserve the Nobel Peace Prize she was incredulous. “He won the Peace Prize. How about patriotism?”

But hasn’t he just continued Bush’s foreign policy? “What? He’s opened up a lot of doors in foreign policy. The perspectives and views conveyed to the world matter.”

What does Barrett need to do to win? ”He needs to make clear that he has different policy ideas than Doyle but that they’re still in line with Democratic values.”

State Democratic weaknesses: “Gay rights. I don’t think they’re bringing it to the table enough. We have a ban on gay marriage in Wisconsin!” Rivera thinks if Barrett is elected the state could repeal the ban within four years. If a Republican wins, it could take longer.

Overall, I don’t have much to criticize. It seems like the Democrats have their act together, however, I think the foreign policy could be trouble in the future. As I reminded Molly, the College Democrats was the organization founded to offer an anti-war alternative to the pro-Vietnam Young Democrats in 1968.