This Just In ...

Friday night on InterCHANGE

Posted by Kevin Fischer on Feb. 25, 2010

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


1 – Health Care Summit

The Democrats and Republicans get together with Obama to talk about the problems with health care.  Is this all just a show for the cameras?  Is it just a photo-op to show an insincere attempt at bipartisanship?  Will a few-hour discussion accomplish anything?  What happens now?  Will democrats just do what they want?  Will Republicans be able to stop it?  Will Obama succeed or fail in his attempt at heath-care reform?


2 – Sex Education.

The legislature passed and the governor signed into law a new measure which requires public schools to teach kids about birth control and sexually transmitted diseases as part of their sex education classes. Is it about time?  Are you taking control away from local school boards and local parental input?  Is that a good thing?  All Republicans in the legislature voted against the bill.


3 – Anthony Stancl Sentence.

Is 15 years in prison a fair sentence for the New Berlin High School who posed as a girl to get dozens of fellow male students to send him naked pictures of themselves, and then blackmailed at least seven of them into sex acts with him?  All of the victims have required hospitalization, medications, and/or counseling.  He faced up to 30 years in prison, but a plea deal led to most of the charges being dropped, and it spared his victims from having to testify.  Should the judge have imposed a tougher sentence? Will he be a 34-year-old “recovered” sex offender when he gets out?


4 – Milwaukee County Furlough Days.

The Milwaukee County Board goes along with Scott Walker’s suggestion and adds 10 unpaid furlough days on top of the 12 that have already been imposed on a large group of county workers.  That’s the equivalent of a month without paychecks. The county is still expected to be millions of dollars in the hole.  Will more furlough days be coming?  Is this better than layoffs?  Is it necessary because the county passed a budget that counted on lower wages and givebacks from the unions which have not yet materialized?  Does this show that County Executive Scott Walker can play hardball with the unions, or does it show that he is an incompetent leader who shouldn’t be given the chance to do the same thing as governor?