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They did it again. Inexplicably the minority Democrats bailed out the Republican majority without getting anything in return. It boggles the mind.

The question was borrowing for roads. When the state budget passed in the summer, legislators appropriately balked at Gov. Scott Walker’s proposal to borrow heavily for roads instead of raising gas and other transportation taxes. A bipartisan group of legislators voiced their concerns about growing debt in the transportation fund. Behind the scenes, legislators said that the votes were there for a tax increase if only the governor would signal his support.

But in the midst of what looked at the time like a promising run for president, Walker shut down any and all tax increases. So the Legislature punted. They approved $500 million in borrowing, but held back on another $350 million, pending evaluation of needs and a later approval by the Joint Finance Committee.

When release of that extra $350 million of borrowing came up for a vote Nov. 4 in the Joint Finance Committee, the GOP majority didn’t have the votes. So, the four Democrats on the panel saved their bacon, providing enough votes to let the borrowing go forward.

This is only the second time in four years that the Republicans have asked for Democratic support for anything. The first was a few months ago when they needed Democratic votes for the deeply unpopular Milwaukee Bucks arena deal. The Dems obliged then as well — and again, demanding nothing in return.

Packers players using cryotherapy to aid in recovery process



Inside, temperatures plummet to levels that might be considered maniacal. Minus 100 degrees withers to minus 125 degrees. Minus 125 degrees shivers to minus 150 degrees. And by the time each treatment is finished, anywhere from 90 seconds to three minutes later, the red numbers on the digital thermometer read minus 153 degrees.

Oh, and that's Celsius. "The first time it's pretty crazy," said Clay Matthews, a linebacker for the Green Bay Packers.

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The cold inside the chamber is startling, arresting. It collides with your lungs, which are unaccustomed to gobbling such frigid air. It invades your quadriceps, which causes muscle and body to quiver. It jump-starts your heart, which can beat frantically as an indication that the science behind cryotherapy is working.

"I'm stimulating the body's fight-or-flight response by stimulating those skin receptors with that extreme cold," Shields said. "The body is fooled into thinking it's in danger. "Being in danger is forcing all the blood out of the extremities to the core, which makes it very nutrient-dense and oxygen-dense. Then when you come out you get hypovascular dilation, all those veins just go boom — huge endorphin rush and your brain is stimulated to heal after that for up to 36 hours."

The Obama administration is obsessed with secrecy — it is arguably the most secretive presidency since Richard Nixon scowled through the halls of power. The latest example: a furious crackdown on government watchdogs, the inspectors general at agencies whose job it is to keep the government honest. It has been a stunning turnabout for Barack Obama who promised during his first inaugural address that "Transparency and the rule of law will be the touchstones of this presidency." It has been anything but.

As The New York Times reported Friday, at least 20 investigations across the government have been "slowed, stymied or sometimes closed" because of disputes between the administration and its own watchdogs over how much access to give inspectors. The signature example among many cited: an investigation last year by Justice Department inspectors into the role of federal drug agents in the killings of unarmed civilians during raids in Honduras. The Honduran government cleared the U.S. agents of any wrongdoing but an American inspector investigating the case was denied emails on the attacks. It took 11 months to get the records.

In another case cited by the Times, investigators tried to look into allegations of sexual assault on Peace Corps volunteers overseas. A volunteer was murdered in Benin in 2009 and dozens of volunteers have reported that the Peace Corps handled their cases poorly. The inspector general for the agency reported that lawyers for the Peace Corps refused to turn over documents or only offered heavily censored documents — a common tactic by government agencies that may have something to hide.

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Republicans and Democrats alike have complained about the administration's record, and so has the press. Journalism organizations including the Society of Professional Journalists for months pushed for greater openness on behalf of the public. In a letter sent to Obama in August, the groups wrote: "The public has a right to be alarmed by these constraints — essentially forms of censorship — that have surged at all levels of government in the past few decades." Those groups will meet with White House Press Secretary Josh Earnest on Dec. 15. When such constraints are imposed, government operates in the dark with little accountability. Whatever you think of the way Obama has handled his job as president, this is unacceptable and dangerous. The administration's actions have created, as Bill Lueders, the president of the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council, put it, "a culture of contempt for the public's right to know."