Both Sides of the Fence
A Tosa resident since 1991, Christine walks the dog, cooks but avoids housework, writes and reads, and enjoys the company of friends and strangers. Her job takes her around the state, learning about people's health. A Quaker (no, they don't wear blue hats or sell oatmeal or motor oil), she has been known to stand on both sides of the political and philosophic fence at the same time, which is very uncomfortable when you think about it. She writes about pretty much whatever stops in to visit her busy mind at the moment. One reader described her as "incredibly opinionated but not judgmental." That sounds like a good thing to strive for!
Peeves
Driving west on Watertown Plank Road, I stopped at the red light at Highway 100. Behind me an impatient driver talked on his cell phone, tapping the steering wheel faster than any song I'd care to listen to. A speedy kind of guy.
From the corner of his eye, he must have noticed a flash of green and instantly laid on the horn, again and again, urging me to go, and slamming his fist against the dashboard in that damnwomandriver sort of way.
Of course, the flash of green was the left turn arrow. Those of us going straight had to wait for our green light. I bet it wasn't even 20 seconds.
I can't imagine why anyone would be in such a hurry to get to Brookfield. Or why you'd want to make yourself irritated with drivers who aren't doing anything wrong. There are so many who are, if you need your blood boiled.
But there you go. We're in such a hurry to leap out of the starting blocks we don't think enough about what we are doing.
I guess I'm in a picky mood today. This morning, reading about Milwaukee's battle about locating a for-profit post-secondary school downtown, a statement by Tim Sheehy slowed me down. Sheehy wants the school built on vacant land downtown, arguing it's a free marketplace for degrees too, and the school should have a chance to sink or swim.
Others, like Alder Milele Coggs, say that Corinthian Colleges suck student fees and graduate few--an accusation supported by 60 Minutes in 2005. She has some good points. Still, even research institutions admit that traditional colleges haven't always done the greatest job of adjusting education for students in a changing world.
Most city officials want the school purely on the basis of tax revenue, something non-profit schools don't provide. That's a morally neutral position.
But when Sheehy argued that the school would benefit the 21% of Milwaukee adults who don't have a high school education, I have to wonder about his own education. While the school's entrance application consists mainly of applying for federal financial aid to help with the hefty tuition, Corinthian does require a high school degree or equivalent to enter.
I don't know whether Corinthian-Everest College is a good thing or not. But taxpayers and students alike deserve careful thought and the real reasons for supporting or opposing it. Have we gotten so used to hearing reasons that don't really make sense that we no longer notice?
Then there's the other education headline:"State's schools get above average grade." The above average grade? C+. Okay: it's technically true. But not really what we had in mind, is it?
And while we're talking about education, can someone explain why Wauwatosa high school students who aren't college bound should take advanced placement courses? If students need better and more rigorous high school education, shouldn't all the regular courses be spiffed up and made more challenging?
22 COMMENTS
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Sorry, CarpieD...
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Kiss-kiss, hug-hug. Puke-puke.
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Yes, I did notice that removal of the carpool lane on that onramp within the last year or so. Well done. Maybe we can work together to speed up the metering lights on the NB45 onramp at Wisconsin Ave during rush hour.
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SOM,
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izzie,
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With regard to the for profit schools like Corinthian.....I've worked with a number of adults who were accepted at some of these places and led to believe they could become lawyers and social workers when they could barely add or write a coherent sentence. The schools took their grants or their financial aid for as long as they could keep it coming, and then cut them loose as soon as the well ran dry.
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I recently had someone honking and yelling behind me in my alley when I was stopped to wait for my garage door to open so I could drive in.
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Is this one of those story problems from junior high math?
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Let me get this straight, SOM.
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Those things happen to me once in a while. I'm mildy amused when I hear their wimpy horn urging me to move forward (presuming I'm not daydreaming). I respond with a few second blast of my very large and super-loud horn. Size matters.
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Load more comments View all comments Back to topStubbornOldMan - Jan 18, 2010 8:52 PM - Report Abuse
Three's a crowd.
CarpieD - Jan 18, 2010 2:23 PM - Report Abuse
StubbornOldMan - Jan 17, 2010 12:44 PM - Report Abuse
See, we're not so different after all. If people would only realize how effective our actions are making their everyday lives better, they'd all give us a collective high-five, eh? ;)
izzie - Jan 16, 2010 11:57 PM - Report Abuse
Congratulations! Perfect answer. I think we may be twins, separated at birth, which also would account for the difference in politics. By the way, I should take this opportunity to inform you that it was I (probably among others) who convinced the DOT to remove the car pool lane designation from the entrance ramp to 45 southbound at North Ave. For reasons that must be obvious to you . . .
StubbornOldMan - Jan 16, 2010 11:27 PM - Report Abuse
I am really talking about those idiots on 108th St who decide to go straight while stopped in the right lane (thereby blocking everybody behind them). But, to answer your question, yes, I always stay in the LEFT lane in situations such as your example, but I make sure that I leave enough space in front of me so that when the light turns green, I can veer a little to the right of that left-turning driver and continue on my way. I won't 'box myself in' under any circumstances. Does that make sense? I'm trying my best to be considerate to those drivers behind me who may be turning right on red. I'm not one of those idiot drivers who absolutely, positively has to be first off the line. If everybody drove like me, this world would be a much better place (I have a moderately high-performance car, by the way).
When I see traffic bottlenecks like this around town, I try to envision the why the traffic engineers at the WI-DOT or local government decided to design it the way they did. As of this moment, I have a fairly impressive record at being able to convince bureaucrats at many different levels to change things for the better. My latest accomplishment is on the Eastbound I-94 84th Street offramp. Watch for changes here this coming Spring. Y'all can thank me for those changes. I use logical arguments and real-world data to validate my viewpoints/suggestions to the traffic engineers, and that approach has proven effective at getting results.
You thought you were going to catch me being hypocritical, didn't you? Sorry to disappoint you, my liberal comrade. ;)
tosaoutsider - Jan 16, 2010 10:22 PM - Report Abuse
Graduation rates for MATC are about 45% with about 88% of graduates either working or continuing their educations within 6 months. About 60% of Marquette students graduate in four years. According to their records, it looks like most freshman have graduated by the six or seven year mark, but you really have to wonder whether it pays off in the long run.
tosaoutsider - Jan 16, 2010 9:51 PM - Report Abuse
People who can't share the road with other people shouldn't drive. That would include TT as well as anyone who feels that the only drivers who belong in the right lane at an intersection are people who are turning right.
The intersection of 70th and State is not the only one in town where drivers in the left lane may be stuck behind cars turning left. The northbound lanes of 68th at State and the northbound lanes of the intersection of Glenview/84th and Wisconsin come to mind. North Avenue was designed to keep all but left turning traffic on the right.
Raypy - Jan 16, 2010 5:44 PM - Report Abuse
izzie - Jan 16, 2010 4:17 PM - Report Abuse
You're heading east on State, on the way to Walgreens. As you approach the red at 70th, there's a guy in the left lane with his blinker on, and no one in the right lane. If you get in the right lane and someone who wants to turn right on red gets behind you, should you brace yourself for the horn, or would you have gotten behind the left turn-er?
StubbornOldMan - Jan 16, 2010 3:05 PM - Report Abuse
Don't get me started on the people who stop at a red light IN THE RIGHT LANE thereby blocking everybody behind them from turning right on red. My horn gets a lot of work in these instances. ;)