Wordless Wednesday: None Needed

Outside the Capitol

Rubbing the Badger’s Nose

I went to the Capitol on Friday.  I’m not very adept at city life.  Cities are smelly and noisy and filled with hustling bustling people who all seem to want to go through the same spot at the same time.  Everyone wants to be heard and no one listens.  I hadn’t been there half an hour and I already had a headache.  But I had my camera and when I got inside the capitol building the din and smell of the city subsided somewhat, so I began taking pictures.

Before you get too high an expectation about these photos understand that I have zero experience with indoor shooting and I have to admit, my lack of experience with this kind of photography has given me a newfound respect for those of you who can do indoor photography.

Wisconsin’s capitol building has a central rotunda with four wings.  In each wing of the building is one aspect of the government.  One wing has the Wisconsin Governor’s office, one wing has the Wisconsin State Assembly, one has the Wisconsin State Senate, and the fourth wing contains the Wisconsin State Supreme Court.

Now, a long time ago I had a conversation with a woman I had a huge crush on.  She lived in the building where my dad operated a business and she had this huge Sheepdog.  You know the kind with the long white and gray fur.  A really sweet dog.  The dog’s name was Motley, if I remember right.  Her dog wandered through an open door and into my dad’s shop.  She walked in behind apologizing for her dog and she said something to me that stuck,  “He’s funny like that, whenever he sees an open door he just walks through.”

I’ve been like that ever since.  Whenever I see an open door and it looks like something interesting, I just walk through it whether I’m invited or not.  That’s how I was last Friday as I wandered around inside the capitol building.  I saw an open door, I went through it and took pictures.

Inside one of the legislative chambers.

Off of this chamber is another meeting room that I always seem to end up in, because when the congressman aren’t around the door is always open.

Mostly because it has a picture of this Wisconsin native.  Some of you may have heard of him.

Now you might be asking, so you endured a headache brought on because of the smells and noise of the city to take a picture of Admiral Leahy?  Or was it to take pictures of the Capitol?  The answer would be neither.  It takes something extraordinary to get me to willingly and of free mind to travel into a city.

Something like say, some dear friends of mine getting married.

Outside the governor’s office is a statue of a Badger.  Rubbing the Badger’s nose is said to bring good luck to newlyweds.  Congratulations Jason and Kathy!

Wordless Wednesday

I feel so much like a politician today.  One week after promising wordless posts on Wednesday and I’m already breaking that promise.  Oh well…I’ll just say it was the other guys who made that promise in order to convince my constituency (that would be you my faithful few blog readers) to follow someone else’s blog.

Today will be just a follow-up post on last night’s election.  I’ll just hit the highlights.

It was the highest recorded turnout for a primary election in sixty years.  Not since 1952 had so many people turned out for a primary election.  Still at only 30 to 35% that really isn’t anything to brag about.

The right-honorable Governor Walker will represent the Republicans.

The right-honorable mayor of Milwaukee Tom Barrett will represent the Democrats.

This is a rematch of the 2010 election when Walker defeated Barrett in a very close election.  Oddly enough polling data has the two in a dead heat now.  The next election will be one month from now in June.

Let the lying begin.  Well, actually, it never ends.

Making History

Today marks a day in Wisconsin History like no other day in the state’s history.  We had an election today, unlike any other election we’ve ever had.  For the first time in the history of Wisconsin we had a recall election for governor.  Wisconsin is not a rich nor powerful state, but for over a year now we have been ground zero in a national debate between worker’s rights and government control over those rights.

The central figure in this debate is Governor Scott Walker who is currently the national darling of the union busting conservative right.  He is called upon to speak at political rallies across the country where he is greeted with enthusiastic pride and devotion, but here in Wisconsin he is greeted less enthusiastically.

Governor Walker touched off this debate when he rammed legislation through the state legislature to eliminate the collective bargaining rights of state workers.  The votes for and against this legislation split along party lines with republicans supporting it and democrats against.

This touched off a series of protests by unionists and their supporters that numbered in the tens of thousands and created the usual national media circus along with.  Wisconsin hasn’t seen protests like those since the anti-Vietnam War protests of the late sixties and early seventies.

This led to a recall movement against Governor Walker and many members of the state legislature, both republican and democrat.  In a recall election a petition is sent around asking people to sign in support of the recall.  If enough signatures are gathered then the recall election is scheduled.  In this case more than a million signatures were gathered asking for a recall of Governor Walker.

Today was the primary election, which is just the first step in an American election.  In the primary election we vote for the two candidates we want to appear on the ballot, which will feature one republican and one democrat.  A month from now, in June, we will then decide on which of those two we want to be our governor.

So today marked a first in Wisconsin History with the first ever recall of a Wisconsin governor and I participated.

Mighty Mississippi

The Mississippi River is a working river.    Riverboats push cargo – mostly Midwestern grain – up and down the Mississippi’s entire length.

This boat is pushing its load south on the Mississippi River and is at the confluence of the Wisconsin River, which enters from the right.  The photo was taken from the bluffs of Wyalusing State Park at Prairie du Chien, Wisconsin – one of the oldest towns in America.  A French trading post was established here in 1685.