Debating the war at home

While Wisconsin's right-wing bloggers continue to suggest subversive links to the local anti-war referenda on Tuesday's ballot in many communities, consider this report from the Wisconsin State Journal's George Hesselberg:

In December in the town of Perry, population 754, the Town Board agreed to raise the wages of the recycling attendant, increase the dog license fees to $6.50 per neutered dog, and look into bringing the troops home from Iraq right away.

"Every time I watched the news or read the paper, more of our soldiers were getting killed, it made me sick," explained Roger Kittleson, a farmer, carpenter and the Town Board member who first suggested an anti- war referendum might be a good idea.

"We decided to urge the people to vote and to vote what their hearts felt," he said.

"The other thing we decided was to send the results of our referendum to all our elected officials, right up to the president, yes or no, just so they know how we feel."

Board chairman Pat Downing joined Kittleson, voting 2-1 to put the referendum on the Tuesday town ballot, joining 31 other Wisconsin municipalities doing the same.

The no vote came from Larry Price, who said he doesn't think "a national issue is an appropriate question for a town ballot."

Kind of raises hell with the conspiracy theories of McSykes and others, doesn't it?