This Just In ...

Friday night means InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on July 23, 2009

Here are the topics the panel discusses on InterCHANGE Friday night at 6:30 on Milwaukee Public Television Channel 10 with a repeat on Sunday morning at 11:00:


1 -- Obama & Health-Care Reform

Did the president do himself any good with Wednesday night’s press conference? Or with his many other appearances on the topic over the past couple of weeks? Will he get what he wants before Congress’s August recess?  Is the reform effort in trouble? If so, is it the Republicans who’ve stalled it, or members of the president’s own party? Should Obama be taking a more active role -- even dictating the details he wants to see -- or is he smart to let Congress hash it all out first? 


2 -- “Blowing Up” County Government?

Lee Holloway calls for eliminating the position of Milwaukee County Executive and replacing it with an “Administrator.” Scott Walker, meanwhile, says Holloway’s proposal doesn’t go far enough: Walker wants the County Board eliminated, too! Is this a serious effort at reform, or simply political tit-for-tat? Is there a reason Milwaukee needs a County Executive? A County Board? Do their responsibilities overlap? Should everybody just tone it down until the Public Policy Forum study comes out later this year?

3 – School Voucher Standards

Two interesting aspects to this week’s Journal Sentinel article on school vouchers. First, the number voucher programs approved falls dramatically, as tougher standards are applied. Two, the moving force for those higher standards is Howard Fuller, who used to be a strong advocate for much more limited standards.

Are the programs that didn’t get approved right to be annoyed? Is it appropriate to have an outside group (which Fuller heads) wielding so much influence in the process? Are students better served by more voucher schools, or fewer but better voucher schools? And what accounts for Dr. Fuller’s major shift in his approach?

4 – Henry Louis Gates in Cuffs

The police are called to investigate a possible home break-in in Cambridge, Mass, and by the time the incident has played itself out, they’ve got Harvard Prof. Gates -- who lives in the house -- in handcuffs for disorderly conduct. The president says the cops “acted stupidly.” Do you agree? What should they have done? Did Gates make the situation worse when he got angry? Can you blame him? Would this have happened if all parties involved were of the same race?

5 -- Moon Memories 

Where were you when they landed 40 years ago this week? What do you remember about the moon landing, and the moon walk? Could/Would we embark on a similar program today? Some of the Apollo astronauts are calling for a return to the Moon, and then a manned mission to Mars. Man’s eternal quest for discovery? Or a budget buster we simply can’t afford?


Our colleague Rick Horowitz will be the guest host filling in for Dan Jones.

Please watch anyway.