I AM THE FORCE

I have a great suggestion for the authors of the bill described below to require GPS tracking for sex offenders. It's such a rare pleasure to be able to offer my suggestions to all my lawmaking friends at the capitol without even having to write a letter. Well anyway, here is my idea for a brilliant amendment to the bill. We should also require GPS tracking for state legislators! After all, don't we pay their salaries and deserve some level of oversight?

I guarantee you that people would be shocked to discover the minimal hours of work put in by their local legislators. Barbara Gronemus would probably have to change her campaign theme from "Working for You!" to something more like "Sleeping on the Couch for You!" Regular citizens would be stunned to discover that Roger Breske puts more hours in at the Inn on the Park Bar than in the State Capitol. If these people knew they were being monitored at all times, they might even start helping staff by doing some of the work!

This could be an incredible tool to improve productivity, accountability, and voter awareness. Staff is now required to account for 40 hours of work per week, with timesheets and sworn affidavits and ethics classes. Wouldn't it be funny if our hard-working legislators had similar responsibilities? But even if such a requirement would be too much of a shock to the system, knowing where our legislators are spending their time could really change some behaviors. It might even cut down on the number of affairs between legislators after GPS codes show up together in strange places and at strange times. We could even be entertained by checking out their 24/7 whereabouts on-line.

This has to go down as one of my best ideas ever. Please feel free to share my suggestion with other opinion leaders like yourself. We can make the Wisconsin Legislature a better place to work and conduct the people's business. Please help me and the incomparable Dean Kaufert transform the capitol culture with an amendment to require GPS tracking for state legislators! Thanks in advance for your help with this critically important initiative.

GPS tracking sought for sex offenders
Millions would be spent to monitor child molesters

By STEVEN WALTERS
swalters@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 30, 2006

Madison - The Legislature's budget committee on Thursday recommended lifetime global positioning tracking of criminals on supervised release for first-degree sexual assault of children - at a cost of more than $10,100 per year for each offender.

Legislators said the high cost, which the Department of Corrections said could total $477 million over the next 20 years, is justified.

"There are no bigger sleazebags than these types of child molesters," said Rep. Dean Kaufert (R-Neenah), co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee. "When they know they're being tracked, their behavior is going to change."