WELL, I PROCLAIM!

GOVERNOR'S PROCLAMATION BORROWS
-- OR SHALL WE SAY, "STEALS" --
FROM MILWAUKEEWORLD.COM POSTING

By Michael Horne

Governor James E. Doyle, Jr. presented our friends at Glorioso Bros. Company Italian Foods with an official plaque in honor of the firm's longevity. If I flatter myself to think the wording was particularly melifluous, I trust you will excuse me, since it appears the governor's highly ethical and hardworking staff pretty much cut-and-pasted an item about Glorioso's that I wrote and posted here on Monday, February 13th.
[Note: italics below added for emphasis. -- Ed.]
The Governor's salutation begins, "February 14, 2006 marks the 60th anniversary of Glorioso Bros. Company Italian Foods, a landmark Milwaukee grocery store that opened February 14, 1946 and is still in business today."
I had begun my posting with, "Happy 60th birthday to Glorioso Bros. Co., the grocery store at 1020 E. Brady Street that opened February 14, 1946 and is still in business today."
The governor's proclamation mentioned that the store is "run by three brothers -- Joe, Eddie and Ted Glorioso -- who have worked side-by-side for six decades."
I had written, "three brothers -- Joe, Eddie and Ted Glorioso -- have been able to survive working with each other for six decades."
The governor wrote, "Glorioso's remained as anchor on Brady Street even during the steet's declining days and played a major role in the rejuvenation due in large part to their support and allegiance to the area which led other property owners to realize the hidden value of Milwaukee's lower East Side."
I had written: The Gloriosos stayed put even during Brady Street's declining days ... Indeed their support led other property owners to realize the hidden value of Milwaukee's lower East Side."
The governor wrote: "The brothers' success in working together for the last 60 years, despite disagreements in English and Sicilian -- with the latter adding undeniable flair to the debates -- has been based on their ability to forgive and get back to work."
I had quoted Eddie Glorioso saying about the interfraternal disputes: "we forget all about it and get back to work."
I had also written that "more complicated arguments, like 'who taught you how to stack persimmons?' tend to be held in Sicilian, which adds a certain buoyancy and flair to the debate."

As you know, Dear Reader, I write milwaukeeworld.com as a labor of love, and because you like to read my always original material. I haven't hit you up for money, or begged you for contributions.
Meanwhile, we the taxpayers are supporting a governor and his well-paid staff who find it necessary to steal the words of others because they lack the talent or energy to pen what is essentially a Hallmark greeting card on their own. They certainly lack the integrity to give credit where it is due.
On second thought, we know what the Governor sounds like when he writes his own material -- how boring and tiresome that can be. I suppose I should be flattered. But I'd rather be credited, and paid, and not have my words stolen by a Harvard Law School-educated son of a Federal Judge who is (for now) the governor of Wisconsin.

[For the complete text of the Proclamation, and an abridgement, properly credited, of the milwaukeeworld.com story about Glorioso Bros., please pick up a copy of The Italian Times, April, 2006 edition, available now.--Ed.]

[Update: March 28th 2006. I called the Governor's office yesterday and did not receive a response. I called again this morning and left a detailed message with Anne Lupardus of his staff.]

[Update: March 28th 2006 2:48 p.m. I spoke in person with Anne Lupardus who says she is looking into the matter and that I should expect somebody to get back to me.]

[Update: March 29th 2006 11:53 a.m. I spoke with Dan Leistikow, the Governor's Communications Director. He said he would send me a written response sometime today. When it is received, I will share it with you.]

[Closure: March 29th 2006 3:30 p.m. The governor's office has issued a statement crediting milwaukeeworld.com with the text of the governor's proclamation. The letter is posted above.]