Monday, January 23, 2006

Addressing Feedback


Last week I asked for some feedback on what you would like to hear more about on my blog. Thank you for your responses. Some of what you offered was praise (thank you!), some were good suggestions for more lengthy topics, and several of you wanted to know more about my new puppy.

Let me start with the most important issue, my new puppy. The reason there were no posts over the weekend was that I went to Grundy Center, Iowa to pick up a new puppy. It is a ten-week-old Cavachon - a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel and Bichon Frise mix. They are smart, have a good temperament and are alright with some absence in the house. He’s great! Isn't he cute? We named him “Che”.

Let me run down a couple of one or two sentence answers to requests I received.

* Should Wisconsin be looking at a bill to make Wal-Mart pay for their employee’s healthcare along the lines of Maryland, with a percentage payment to the state? Yes, we should look at any and all ways to make Wal-Mart pay their fair share. Rep. Terese Berceau and Sen. Dave Hansen have introduced one bill which creates a study for assessing the cost. Another option would be the Maryland model. The Governor will likely have a version he recommends given the State of the State address. And I personally like the model from a bill introduced in Arizona which simply has the state bill Wal-Mart for any employees on subsidized healthcare. Lets’ look at the bunch and find what works best for our state.

* Is the healthcare debate being done in the best terms? In other words, should we be looking at quality vs. cost, since quality could drive cost, up or down? I think the best option offered right now is the Democratic proposal to have legislative Democrats and Republicans sit down this legislative session, and by the end of the year come up with a plan to cover 95% of our citizens. It allows all options to be discussed, and that doesn’t favor anyone’s plan. I think that is a reasonable move. I support universal healthcare, personally. But I also support any measure to extend coverage and affordability as a move in the right direction.

* Could you comment on the Democratic Primary for Attorney General? No, sorry I can’t. For now, my website is linked to my state government web page and I sometimes post from the Capitol. I cannot ethically discuss campaigns - elect, don’t elect. When session is over I will reassess whether to make the sight political and move it from the state site.

* Why aren’t there more anonymous Democratic bloggers? There are quite a few Republican bloggers who are anonymous. Why there are fewer Democratic bloggers I do not know. But check out Lefty Blogs. There are plenty of good posts. Also, an aside on anonymous bloggers…I believe there is more trust with bloggers who state who they are. That adds credibility. Sometimes you have to consider the source. “Anonymous” is hardly a source at times. I'm not knocking any specific sites, but credibility is key.

I also had several other requests. People want me to keep up the behind the scenes look at the Capitol and exposing GOP dirt. Glad to oblige.

I also had several more in-depth requests like my opinions on school vouchers and a variety of economic issues from trades to taxes to unions. I also should address the issue of tax credits vs. tax breaks vs. GOP hype. Watch for those in the future.

Thanks for the responses. Give me a day or two of puppy time and I’m all yours.

5 Comments:

At 11:57 AM, January 23, 2006, Blogger Paul said...

Cute puppy! It's a nice departure from politics.

 
At 2:56 PM, January 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Why go all the way to Iowa for a dog when the more responsible thing to do would be to adopt one from the local animal shelter?

 
At 6:34 PM, January 23, 2006, Blogger Mark Pocan said...

Hi Jim, we've tried for a bit. We needed a smaller dog that could stand some time alone and be friendly with neighborhood kids. Luckily for those dogs, they were adopted. Unlucky for us.

 
At 8:43 PM, January 23, 2006, Anonymous Anonymous said...

Thanks for the reply, Mark. Glad you found a dog that works out for you. Sorry to hear you couldn't find one at the shelter (but glad they all found good homes).

 
At 11:36 PM, January 25, 2006, Blogger WatchdogMilwaukee.com said...

Geez Mark, I guess this means we can't count on you to support or author legislation against all the puppy mills that are putting out all of these designer mutts while the parents live in squallor? But awwww, but they're so cute... uh, right?

 

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