What does "No Reform/No Raise" mean? It's simple, really.

The New York state Legislature has the third highest pay in the nation - base pay of $79,500 for what is at best a part time job - and yet they are regarded by many as the most dysfunctional state legislature in the nation. It's true that state lawmakers haven't had a raise in 8 years, but then again, what exactly have they done to earn one? In our opinion, not all that much.

This hasn't stopped newly minted state Senate Minority Leader Smith from floating the idea of raising pay for legislators in the upcoming special session. To his credit, Smith has spoken of such a raise while at the same time speaking about passing badly needed reforms.

Reform first, we say. Now, we all know why Smith and others are interested in seeking a raise now in the special session. A sitting legislature can not raise its own pay. If they don't get it now, they'll have to wait another two years to see those paychecks get a little fatter.

Too bad. We are demanding that the legislature earn any new pay raise by passing reform measures FIRST.

A children's story by Siegfried Engelmann and Elaine C. Bruner, "The Pet Goat" rocketed to pseudo-stardom on September 11, 2001, when 'President' George W. Bush sat with a group of children in their classroom reading it while the United States experienced the most heinous acts of terrorism in history.

At the time of the attacks, Andrew Card slipped into the classroom and notified Mr. Bush of the attacks; the next seven minutes of silence as he continued to sit in the room will never be forgotten.

This is not a diary about a book, but on the eerie appropriateness of the story as an analogy to what we now see unfolding in our nation today -- the abandoning of Mr. Bush by his party and minions, and the equally damning confirmation that he has been, all along, their pet goat. A scapegoat, to be precise.  Jump with me...

How will Tuesday's Closed Door Senate Session play in America's Heartland?  Just ask Cindy Sheehan and the hypocritical callers to Milwaukee talk radio.

In the formerly blue collar city of Milwaukee, Wisconsin, we're all about accountability and transparency.  It's practically in our genes.  You see, we obtained these characteristics from the generations before us, who taught us that above all else stands honesty, and integrity, and a hard day at work.  And yes, you probably already know this from watching Laverne and Shirley reruns -

"Nothins gonna turn us back now.
Straight ahead we're on the track now.  
We're gonna make our dreams come true!"