Are ad hominem arguments convincing?

We've seen Sen. Barbara Boxer from California present an ad hominem argument to Condi Rice. Condi responded politely and professionally. We've seen Rosie O'Donnell present an ad hominem argument to Donald Trump - and he responded with his own directed at O'Donnell. The quagmire of corrosive communication has even come to Baraboo with school district administrator Lance Alwin's ad hominem argument directed toward a specific member of an anti-referendum group, as well as group members and the community in general that voted against the same referendum twice.

How credible are the presenters of ad hominem arguments? Did it add to the credibility of Boxer, O'Donnell, or Trump? Did their personal attacks on someone else convince people to think differently about the position they were promoting?

Baraboo school district administrator Lance Alwin's ad hominem attack sets a couple of new precedents compared to the others noted above:

• Neither the east coast (Trump/Condi) nor the left coast (Boxer/O'Donnell): Alwin hits in the midwest.
• Face to face? No. Televised exchange? No. Alwin uses cold correspondence, allowing him to attack without response.

What do you think of our school district leader now? He's setting a bad example for our kids and district employees. Disgraceful.

Benny Parsons 1941-2007

Thank you Benny. You were a true sportsman.

http://www.nascar.com/special/parsons/

Madison City Council oath

The Madison City Council recently voted in support of a supplemental statement that could be added to council members oath of office they'll take in April. The misdirected majority of city council members wish to state their opposition to the successful state referendum last November regarding the protection of marriage. The article can be viewed at:

http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/local/index.php?ntid=115160&ntpid=1

There are any number of outlets for frustration by those who are upset about the outcome. Making a farce of the oath of office should not have been one of them.

UPDATE: I'm not the only one that thinks the majority of the council members are misguided...
http://www.madison.com/wsj/home/opinion/index.php?ntid=115310&ntpid=1

More "Selective Disclosure" by Baraboo School District

Here's another example of selective disclosure by the Baraboo School District.
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Baraboo News Republic 1/15/07
School worker files grievance
By Brian Bridgeford

BARABOO - A longtime Baraboo schools employee is asking for arbitration after district officials offered her a new position her attorney claims was a sham.

The district's legal representative counters that the matter was dropped when the employee declined the offer, and she suffered no harm.

Jack Young Middle School administrative assistant Johann W. Mortimer has filed a complaint with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission. She has been employed by the district for about 11 years.

According to a statement prepared by her attorney, Jim Schernecker of Reedsburg, she was approached by District Administrator Lance Alwin on Oct. 20 and asked if she would make a voluntary transfer to secretary of the district's Buildings and Grounds Department.

Schernecker told the WERC that no such opening existed and the offer was a sham, not made in good faith and was a violation of the labor agreement between the district and its clerical staff.
The district is harassing Mortimer because her husband was an opponent of the recent school district referendum, Schernecker said in an interview. He is asking the school district to cease further harassment of Mortimer and for a WERC arbitrator to help settle the dispute. The grievance does not ask for any other compensation.

Mortimer said she did not want to comment on the grievance on the advice of her attorney.
The district's attorney in the action, David Rohrer of Madison, said the complaint is without merit because nothing happened to Mortimer.

"It was simply an inquiry," he said. "Since she did not express an interest, it was not pursued further."

The parties haven't yet selected a WERC staff member to act as arbitrator, the agency reported. Alwin said he could not comment on the grievance because it is a personnel matter and confidential.
=========================================================
It's too bad Alwin refused to comment. It would be interesting to hear his perspective of how his "inquiry" was presented to Mortimer (ie: his tone, demeanor, body language, etc.), or did he send a cold letter by mail?

Why would Alwin "offer" a position to anyone where no vacancy existed? What about the person whose position Mortimer would have taken? How was Alwin going to address it? Did they receive a similar "offer" too? Was Alwin just trying to shuffle people around so he didn't have to address other labor issues?

Sounds like a desparate sham to avoid addressing other issues beyond the mere "offer" of a transfer. Have there been (Are there) other instances of this type of management in the district?

Where is the leadership?

This all points to desparation, vengence, and avoidance by Alwin. So, nothing new.

It's time to look forward to 2007 and priorities for the new year. The editorial staff at the Wisconsin State Journal weighs in with one subject, in particular, that's close to home.
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An agenda for 2007
The Wisconsin State Journal's priorities
January 13, 2007
The Wisconsin State Journal editorial board considers the following issues to be among the most important facing south-central Wisconsin in 2007. Throughout this year, we'll be writing about them and evaluating how the region is doing in these areas. We will continue to seek your views and insights.

Fix school financing
A loud school bell has been ringing across Wisconsin for years now, and it's not the end of recess.
It's an alarm bell -- one that state leaders can no longer ignore.

Wisconsin's school financing system is an out-of-date and unfair mess. For many schools, the state essentially forces them to increase spending faster than they are allowed to raise revenue.
About the only way around the rigid formula is to ask voters for more money in referendums, which are difficult to pass, divide communities, hinder efficiencies and create financial instability. Districts also have dramatically different transportation, special education and security needs, which a new funding formula must better account for.

Caught in a vice grip are school districts with falling enrollment, rising property values, and in many cases those that were frugal to begin with.

Reasonable cost controls are fine, especially in payroll and benefits that consume most district budgets. Yet health costs make controlling spending difficult -- especially when teachers unions cling so tightly to existing and generous health plans.

The school financing system has been in need of an overhaul for years, but lawmakers keep shrinking from the task. The state cannot afford further stalling. This year the governor and legislators should commit to finding a solution that benefits children, parents and taxpayers.
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It isn't the state lawmakers that have shirked their responsibility to children, parents, and taxpayers. It's the local school boards that have the final say in approving or disapproving labor deals with the teachers unions and administrators. It's the local school boards that set budget priorities. If they choose to give away the farm to district employees for benefits, that's their choice.

Overhauling school financing on the state level won't fix the core problem with Wisconsin public schools. Communities need to dethrone existing school board members and bring something new to the table: a sense of reality and a backbone to stand up to the administrations and unions and tell them, "No more!" Shuttling funds from state to local government, or further burdening communities by hiking local school taxes will not solve the problem. It will only perpetuate an eroding educational system that values self-esteem over self-responsibility, and where accountability is a forbidden word.