The commercial made it sound like a change in Wisconsin’s State Constitution would provide for a democratically elected Supreme Court Chief Justice.  In reality it would reduce the number of people selecting the Chief Justice from 3.5 million voters to the seven current members of the State’s Supreme Court.

Currently, the Chief Justice of the Wisconsin Supreme Court is the Justice who has served the longest on the court.  Since the justices are elected to the court for a (10 year) limited term, the only way one can become Chief Justice is by being consistently endorsed by the eligible voters of the State.  If the Wisconsin S

tate Constitution is changed on April 7th the seven standing justices will elect a chief Justice for a two year term.  This would allow for much greater volatility of the Court and much greater influence by the special interest groups that have spent so heavily on recent elections.

I don’t always think the electorate is as informed as it could be but I firmly believe a pool of 3.5 million voters is more likely to be representative of the citizens of Wisconsin than seven.  I’ll be voting “No” on April 7 to changing the State Constitution.

To see the ballot question go to ballot item. 

I just got done listening to a father speaking of the day his son committed suicide.  The young man was 14 years old, had a learning disability, and just couldn’t take any more bullying.

Five years later Jeff Lasater, the boy’s father, has devoted his life to preventing bullying of special-needs kids.  This is a noble cause that is best engaged in by passionate people.  I’m positive Jeff has a way of bringing this important issue to people that touches them and that his son’s life is honored through Jeff’s actions.

As I listen to Jeff Lasater’s story I am reminded of so many people I know who have made their life’s work advocacy on behalf of a cause that may have been foreign to them until it touched the life of a loved one.  Frequently these “over night advocates” are a result of a marginalized person being the victim of injustice; a special needs kid victimized by bullies, a loved one suffering from mental illness, a teen walking while black, a family member who happened to be gay, and so on.

What I find myself thinking about when I hear these stories is “What would these advocates be doing if their loved one was not left on the fringe?”  How much productivity, creativity, income potential, tax revenue, etc. do we lose when family and loved ones feel compelled to take up the cause of marginalized people?  We kick so many people to the curb on the assumption the marginal cost of inclusion exceeds the marginal revenue to be gained by treating them as whole people.  We rarely tally the cost of those who devote their lives to finding justice in a culture that ignores marginalized people and ignores the ancillary costs of injustice.

Jeff’s story can be found at:  http://www.npr.org/2014/01/31/268996343/when-jeremiah-couldnt-take-more-bullying-he-took-his-life?ft=1&f=4516989#mainContent