Change You Can Freak Out About

South Shore community leaders in suburban Milwaukee think discussions about replacing the Hoan Bridge with a lowered, less expensive alternative amount to a plot by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce to help out some phantom developers.

Anti-government conservatives think proposed health care reform is a plot to route everyone to socialized medicine and a Death Panel.

School board supporters say a proposed transfer of control of the Milwaukee school system has been hatched by a racist Mayor.

In other words: you can't even consider new ideas or ways of doing the public's business without setting off hyper reactions that drown out discussion, let alone actual change.

And we like to think we live in an open-minded society.