Limbaugh Argument Against National Healthcare: Private Healthcare Takes Care of Dogs Just Fine....

He says "it works" because "It depends on your ability to pay."

And describes swank animal hospitals and dog kennels.

Hey Rush, what do you do to a dog when you can't afford to pay for their care?

Are you advocating for putting the sick poor to sleep?

New Oshkosh leaders group to hold community meeting on state budget impact

New Oshkosh leaders group to hold community meeting on state budget impact

Citizens for a Strong Oshkosh (CSO) will hold a public meeting on June 15 to examine the proposed state budget and how it will affect the Oshkosh community. The meeting will take place Monday at 6:00 pm at the Oshkosh Convention Center, 2 North Main St, Oshkosh.

Diverse community leaders formed CSO to preserve quality services and infrastructure that Oshkosh residents rely on every day. CSO includes business owners and union leaders, elected officials from all branches of local government and interested citizens. Although members have different roles in the community and reflect different political persuasions, all care deeply about Oshkosh. Steering committee members include John Nichols, Frank Tower, Mark Harris, Tom McDermott, Steve Hintz, Jessica King, Paulette Feld, Dennis Schwab, Kathleen Propp, Joan Wade, Ashley Hesse, Sean Fitzgerald, Vue Thao, Tom Willadsen, and Steven Powers.

CSO has been looking at the large role that state revenue decisions play in our community. The budget proposed by the Governor and amended by the Joint Finance Committee is being debated now by the entire legislature in Madison.

According to Mark Harris, Winnebago County Executive, “At this community meeting, we will discuss the growing state budget deficit and how it may affect Oshkosh. We want to inform and involve citizens so state legislators hear their opinions before the budget is finalized. The decisions our state legislators make may raise our property taxes and jeopardize local services for years to come.”

CSO has met at least monthly since November to discuss the role that state revenue and decisions play in local public structures from law enforcement to schools to human services and economic development. They have been studying reforms at the state level that could make Oshkosh stronger.

Interested members of the community are encouraged to attend the meeting on June 15 at the Oshkosh Convention Center. Call 231-4770 for more information.

The Myth of Canadians Flocking to the US for Healthcare:

Phantoms in the Snow...

U.S. ambulatory facilities survey. Almost 40 percent of the facilities we surveyed reported treating no Canadians, while an additional 40 percent had seen fewer than ten patients (Exhibit 1Go). Fifteen percent of respondent sites reported treating 10–25 Canadian patients, and only about 5 percent reported seeing more than 25 during the previous year (generally 25–75 patients; none reported more than 100). These findings were fairly consistent across the service categories. The overall response rate was 67 percent, and it varied across type of clinical facility from 56 percent for ambulatory surgery centers to 80 percent for cancer centers.

If we extrapolate these findings (assuming that nonrespondents show a pattern similar to that of respondents), these facilities in the three large metropolitan areas combined saw approximately 640 Canadian patients for diagnostic radiology services such as computed tomography (CT) scans or MRI and 270 patients for eye procedures such as cataract surgery over a one-year period. By comparison, the annual volume for CT scans and cataract extractions averaged about 80,000 and 25,000 procedures, respectively, in British Columbia alone during the mid-1990s.9 In Quebec the annual volume during the same period for CT scans and MRI averaged 375,000 procedures and 44,000 procedures, respectively

Wisconsinites Want Healthcare Reform

From an AARP survey:

• 49 percent say the state's health care system has major problems, and 13 percent say it is in a state of crisis
• 76 percent consider it important for the state to reduce the number of residents without health care coverage and 84 percent feel it should make health care more affordable for all
• 82 percent agree that all Wisconsinites should have access to the same basic health care coverage, and 76 percent agree that everyone should contribute to the health care system
• 56 percent say they would be more likely to vote for a candidate who supported health care coverage for all Wisconsin residents

Will the Newest Council Members Decide the Main St Parking Lot Issue?

The Oshkosh Common Council will decide on Tuesday whether to support local small business on Main St or to delay/cancel a previously approved parking lot redesign project.

And, in a show of how elections matter, it will be the 2 newest members of the council who will make the decision.

Severl current council members have come out on this issue. Mayor Esslinger is against it, as is Councilor McHugh. Councilor Palmeri has previously proposed to have this project delayed.

I would assume from previous votes in favor of the project that Councilors King and Tower are in support.

That puts the vote at 3 against the lot & 2 in favor of the lot. Either of the 2 newest councilors, Buccholz or Poeschl can kill the lot.

Elections matter.

What did the kid in the green hat say...?

Courtesy of the Chief:

Life Imitates Art

Or rather, South Park imitates Oshkosh city council meetings.

Palmeri on Open Meetings - Updated

In a 2001 letter to Former DA Joe Paulus, Councilor Tony Palmeri quoted directly the statue he violated:

Wisconsin Statutes 19.83 say that "At any meeting of a governmental body, all discussion shall be held and all action of any kind, formal or informal, shall be initiated, deliberated upon and acted upon only in open session except as provided in s. 19.85."

So he can not please ignorance.

Original post below:

Perhaps the most disturbing part of this whole episode is how Mr. Palmeri has gone against his history of open meeting advocacy when an issue affected him. here are some of his greatest hits:

From Mr. Palmeri's blog regarding a closed meeting to discuss the goals of the city manager:

If a strong case is made for going into closed session on the 24th, I will certainly join my colleagues. But "strong case" has to be more than a narrow reading of the Open Meetings law. We need to be concerned not just with the letter, but also the spirit of that law.

and further in the comments by Mr. Palmeri:

I think we should do that hashing out in public. Not only is that more in line with the spirit of the open meetings law, but it would also allow citizens who make goal suggestions to see and hear for themselves if the Council is taking them seriously.

And finally from Mr. Palmeri's statement when running for the 54th Assembly:

OUR OPEN MEETINGS LAW SHOULD ALLOW NO EXCEPTIONS.

A side discussion in a recess after half the council has voted is absolutely against the spirit of open meetings.

Well this changes everything....

From today's OshNW:

Poeschl explained he was simply reviewing his notes while at the same time speaking with Palmeri. He said the conversation was geared toward the presentations and that Palmeri did not sway his vote.

"I was flipping through my notes the whole time," he said. "I can understand where the speculation is coming from…but the nature of that conversation was simply geared toward the presentations."

We now know they were discussing the appointment, that was what the presentations were for. This violates open meetings. From the UW Extension Local Government Fact Sheet on WI Open Meetings Law:

Purpose test. This test is met when discussion, information gathering or decision-making takes place on a matter within the governmental body’s jurisdiction. This test is met even if no votes are taken; mere discussion or information gathering satisfies the test.

Emphasis mine.

Here are some quotes from the WI Department of Justice's 2007 Open Meetings Law Guide:

In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the public is entitled to the fullest and most complete information regarding the affairs of government as is compatible with the conduct of governmental business.

In order to advance this policy, the open meetings law requires that “all meetings of all state and local governmental bodies shall be publicly held in places reasonably accessible to members of the public and shall be open to all citizens at all times unless otherwise expressly provided by law.”
...
Public officials must be ever mindful of the policy of openness and the rule of liberal construction in order to ensure compliance with both the letter and spirit of the law.

I will address "the letter and spirit of the law" in a later post. Suffice to say that Mr. Poeschl and Mr. Palmeri admitted to violating accessibility to all citizens at all times with their side conversation.

Let's talk about why the two councilors constituted a negative quorum:

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has held that the above statutory definition of a “meeting” applies whenever a convening of members of a governmental body satisfies two requirements: (1) there is a purpose to engage in governmental business and (2) the number of members present is sufficient to determine the governmental body’s course of action.

Can two councilors out of six "determine the governmental body's course of action?"

In this case, yes. Remember, at this time Mr. Buchholz had two votes for appointment. It took four out of six to make the appointment. This meant that three votes can block any nomination. Therefore Mr. Poeschl's vote was enough to detirmine the course of action.

This is why the council allows for discussion between the council members in open session. this is where Mr. Poeschl and Mr. Palmeri's conversation should have taken place.

The presentations were supposed to be the way the council made the decision. If they were, as Mr. Poeschl's quote indicates, discussing the presentations, they were in violation of both the letter and spirit of the law.

Things we know, things we suspect

There is a bunch of speculation out there as to what I was saying in this post.

So, to clear the air after a day's more thought let's run through...

Things we know:

1. Councilor Tony Palmeri selected Mr. Buchholz, giving interactions he had with Mr. Buchholz before this meeting as the main reason.

2. Councilor Dennis McHugh selected Mr. Buchholz without giving any real reason.

3. Councilor Bob Poeschl requested a recess to think over which of the candidates he was going to support. Mr. Poeschl and Mr. Plameri had an off-microphone conversation for the entire recess. They were referring to the notes Mr. Poeschl made during the meeting in this conversation.

4. Mayor Paul Esslinger, by his own admission, came to the meeting with Mr. Buchholz selected.

5. An email was sent to several members of the council by Mr. Buchholz discussing the open position. This email was not made part of the council packet or public record before the meeting.

6. Mr. Poeschl, after the recess, gave his 'youthfulness' as the only reason to select Mr. Buchholz (who, according to his resume started his career in 1975).

From these facts, we know: A negative quorum was made when Mr. Palmeri and Mr. Poeschl discussed who to appoint. This is because Palmeri and McHugh had both indicated their choice. If Mr. Palmeri did, as it appears, try to convince Mr. Poeschl to also support Mr. Buchholz, Mr. Palmeri created a negative quroum, as three votes is enough to block any nominee. If Mr. Palmeri had the discussion with Mr. Poeschl on microphone in the open meeting, there would have been no violation.

Things we suspect:

1. Mr Poeschl really did not know who he was going to vote for going into the meeting. He should not have spoken to Mr. Palmeri, creating the negative quorum, but it was Mr. Palmeri who had previously stated who he supported that caused the problem.

2. Presumably Mr. Palmeri had a reason to select Mr. Buchholz that he did not want to mention in open session that he discussed with Mr. Poeschl in recess.

3. Mr's Palmeri, Esslinger and McHugh all came to the meeting with Mr. Buchholz as their selection. Mr. Buchholz did have contact with each of them outside of the meeting (which is legal), but did they have contact with each other? They all seemed pretty sure of their selection, with two giving indication they had Mr. Buchholz selected before they hit their seats at the meeting.

4. The whole matter stinks. It seems to me that Mr. Poeschl is caught up in some manuvering that he may not have been party to until the suspect recess.

Someone on the council needs to come clean about the process, or more research into pre-meeting correspondence and recess discussions needs to be done.

Poeschl, Palmeri - Caucus or Open Meeting Violation?

Last night, the Oshkosh Common Council selected a new member.

In a long process Harold Buchholz was selected on the first ballot with 4 of the needed 6 votes.

The process worked like this:

1. Presentations from candidates
2. Comments from citizens (there were none)
3. Council discussion
4. Council polling for candidate nomination

The council discussion worked like this:

1. Palmeri says he would select Buchholz
2. Tower selects Hintz
3. McHugh selects Buchholz
*4. Poeschl asks for a recess to think over his selection - selects Buchholz after.
5. King selects Hintz
6. Esslinger selects Buchholz
7. Buchholz wins 4-2

* Let's talk about the recess and review a few things about open meetings.

A negative quorum exists when enough members of the council have come together to block a vote outside of the open meeting. In this case, 4 votes were needed to pass the candidate. That means that 3 votes (out of the 6 councilors) could block the nomination of any of the candidates.

After Palmeri and McHugh selected Buchholz, they were in effect 'off the table'. However, when Poeschl asked for 5 minutes to think over his selection, he immediately began a discussion with Palmeri that lasted the entire break.

During this discussion, they repeatedly referred to Poeschl's notes. All of this took place off-camera and away from the eyes and ears of Oshkosh citizens.

In other words, it was against open meetings rules.

They created a negative quorum as soon as Poeschl decided to also support Palmeri's choice.

Wineke Welcomes Mark Belling to the Democratic Party

DPW Chair Joe Wineke today sent conservative talk show host Mark Belling a Party membership application, following Belling’s pledge to vote Democratic in the upcoming gubernatorial election. Belling said he would vote to re-elect Governor Jim Doyle if 50-1 long-shot racehorse #8 Mine That Bird won the Kentucky Derby.

“#8 MINE THAT BIRD---If this horse wins, I’ll never bet on another race and will vote for Jim Doyle for reelection,” wrote Belling on his blog.

Mine That Bird won at 50-1 odds. See Belling’s blog post:
http://content.clearchannel.com/cc-common/mlib/3627/04/3627_1241121103.pdf

Below is the message DPW Chair Wineke sent to Belling today. Attached is Belling’s DPW membership card.

----------------------------------------------------------------------------

Sent: Monday, May 04, 2009 2:32 PM
To: 'markbelling@clearchannel.com'
Subject: Message to Mark Belling from Joe Wineke
Importance: High

Mr. Belling:

Thank you for your pledge to vote Democratic in the upcoming gubernatorial election. (How about that Kentucky Derby upset?)

I just wanted to let you know that unlike the other side, we are a big tent party that welcomes people of all political leanings – and we are glad to have you. Attached is a DPW membership form. It will cost you $25 to join, but you won’t regret it. We sent Arlen Specter a similar card.

I look forward to hearing back from you.

Sincerely,

Joe Wineke, DPW Chair
Democratic Party of Wisconsin
110 King Street, Suite 203
Madison, WI 53703
608-255-5172 (office)
608-255-8919 (fax)
party@wisdems.org

Authorized and paid for by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, Joe Wineke, Chair

How public will the process really be?

Here is the OshNW article about the (already) confusing appointment process for the Oshkosh Common Council seat.

Looking at the time frame from the article:

The newly elected city council met for the first time Tuesday afternoon to discuss the process. With the hopes of soliciting public input on the issue, the matter was pushed back to the May 12 meeting.

and

Councilors who favored the application process also suggested accepting letters of interest and resumes for a one- to two-week period, which would likely lead to a vote to fill the position in the last week of May.

So, they want to decide how to fill the position on May 12th. Then have the appointment on May 26th - two weeks to the day later.

This doesn't really leave a lot of time for the application and interview process. It would seem to me that there is really only time to review people you already know in that time.

If you give 2 weeks to submit the application, then the appointment would need to be moved into June.

I think this could easily turn into a railroad. We need to keep our eyes on the process and actions closely.

Is this truly an open application process, or a thin veil to put over a selection that has already been made?

We will be monitoring...

Sign up for OPD Updates...

Go here to keep up to date.

I was gonna blog about the Oshkosh Mayoral election...

...but the Chief has said it better than I could.

A Thought About Tomorrow's Oshkosh Mayor's Race...

Candidate Paul Esslinger will still be on the council if he looses.

Mayor Frank Tower will be off the council if he looses.

So, should Mr. Esslinger win, would it not be fair for him to appoint Mr. Tower to the council?

Vote for Frank Tower anyway...

OshNW & Post-C Get it Right!

OshNW: Editorial: Harris clearly best choice for county executive

Rarely do voters get an opportunity to send someone to office as well-qualified and accomplished as Winnebago County Executive Mark Harris. He deserves your vote April 7 for a second term.

Post-C: Editorial: Harris deserves second Winnebago term

Mark Harris has a solid record of leadership in four years as Winnebago County executive. He's knowledgeable about financial issues, pragmatic about budget constraints and works to protect the services county residents rely on.

Message to WCDP... Lit drops Saturday!

Hello Members and Friends of the Winnebago County Democratic Party!

I am re-attaching this month’s newsletter, it seems I emailed out an incomplete copy. If you skip to page 3, you will see the additions. Sorry for any inconvenience…

The newsletter online is updated as well here: http://www.jef4wi.com/newsletters.html

Lit Drops for endorsed Candidates!

On April 4th, we will have 2 lit drops for endorsed candidates. They will be out of the Labor Hall in Neenah and Jef Hall’s house in Oshkosh.

If you can volunteer part of your Saturday for our candidates, please let me know. Call 920.203.6883 or email jef@jefhall.com (or just hit reply!).

Locations:

Labor Hall - 157 S Green Bay Rd, Neenah

Jef Hall’s – 112 E Irving Ave, Oshkosh

Here is a list of our endorsed candidates that we urge you to cast a ballot for on April 7^th:

Mark Harris - Winnebago County Executive

mharris1@new.rr.com - www.harris4exec.com

(920) 232-8688

Dennis Kavanaugh - Oshkosh School Board

dkavanaugh@ntd.net - (920) 231-3397

Jessica King - Oshkosh Common Council

jking@oshkoshlawyers.com - (920) 424-3938

Susan Rubick - Clayton Town Supervisor

920-836-1887

Shirley Abrahamson - State Supreme Court

www.abrahamson2009.com - (608) 222-8806

Tony Evers – Superintendent of Schools

campaign@tonyevers.com - (414) 755-2343

Stan Sevenich – Menasha City Council

www.sevenichforalderman.com – (920) 725-2429

Tim Hamlin – Neenah City Council

(920) 722-4593

Jef Hall

Chair, Winnebago County Democratic Party

2nd Vice Chair, Democratic Party of WI

224a Scott Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54901

920.203.6883

jef@jefhall.com

www.winnebagodems.com

www.jefhall.com

Authorized and Paid for by the Winnebago County Democratic Party – Jef Hall, Chair

The Truth (in drawings)

Film Credits are Good for WI

Take is away Chief.

Here's Citizen Dedow.

Tea Parties, Racism and Homophobia in Green Bay

I stumbled along this in the WI blogosphere...

The first photo is labeled as coming from a "Proud Member of the Nationalist Movement" and urges people to go to nationalist.org (I do not encourage you to).

I think that Wikipedia nails the organization in the first sentence:

The Nationalist Movement is a Mississippi-based, white supremacist organization that advocates what it calls a "pro-majority" position. It has been called white supremacist by the Associated Press and Anti-Defamation League, among others.

Quite the company to keep....

The next shot uses some snarky, homophobic language (from GOP Chair-in-all-but-name Limbaugh) "Banking Queen" in reference to Rep. Barney Frank (look at the black sign).

The last is my favorite for pure irony...

Ignore the man on the right-bottom of the center with the 'Hitler' sign. Instead, direct your attention at all the people crowding around the free t-shirt van at the rally protesting handouts...

WCDP Announcements

Hello Members and Friends of the Winnebago County Democratic Party!

Do not forget the Indigo Dinner this Saturday.

We do have a few extra tickets available at the door. We hope you can make it.

Speakers will include:

WI DPI Superintendent Candidate Tony Evers

DPW Chair Candidate Mike Tate

County Executive Mark Harris

WI Assembly Representative Gordon Hintz

Other local candidates

A tribute to Don Wyman

Fellowship begins at 5:00PM, dinner is at 6:00PM. Tickets are $30 at the door if you have not yet confirmed.

Hope to see you there!

CALL TO CONVENTION - 6TH CONGRESSIONAL DISTRICT

Saturday, April 18, 2009

WHERE: Feil’s Supper Club

Hwy 73 South , Box 124

Randolph, WI 53956

Phone: (920) 326-5544

TIME: 9:00 AM Registration opens

10:00 AM Convention Opens

Pledge

Speeches by Elected Officials, Invited Guests

Candidates for State Party Offices (Elected at State Convention)

Candidates for Public Office

12 Noon Registration Closes / Lunch is Served

1:00 PM Convention resumes / Election of CD Officers 2009-2011

Chair

1st Vice Chair

2nd Vice Chair

Secretary

Treasurer

Admin Rep

Platform & Resolutions Member

Alternate Platform & Resolutions Member

1:00/1:30 PM Congressional District Business meeting

Officers Reports:

Chair’s Report

Secretary’s Report

Treasurer’s Report & Budget

Goal Setting for Year:

JFK Dinner (TBA)

Conclude all unfinished business

PRICE: $20.00 Per Person – Pre-registered – Delegates, Alternates and Guests

$25.00 Per Person at the Door

Resolutions Needed for Submission to the State and CD for the DPW Platform

This is your opportunity to influence the Democratic Party of WI Platform.

Resolutions need to be presented at either the March or April Winnebago Dems meeting. They must be no more than 100 words and in a ‘Whereas” “Therefore, Resolved” format, such as this one:

1 Whereas, Social Security is a benefit that survivors, disabled and retired millions rely on;

2 Whereas, full benefits can be paid until 2052 according to the Congressional Budget Office 3 and 80 percent thereafter;

4 Whereas, increasing the income cap on FICA will make Social Security solvent beyond 2075;

5 Whereas, private Social Security accounts will cause the government $2 trillion in transition 6 costs; and

7 Whereas, Social Security is the principal income for 2/3rds of retirees, and for 1/3rd it is their 8 only income;

9 Therefore, resolved, the DPW opposes any privatization of the Social Security system and 10 favors an increase in the income cap.

Please have any resolutions ready for the meeting March 11^th.

Fox Valley ACLU Prisoner Rights Forum

On March 12^th at 7:00 PM the Fox Valley ACLU will host a forum discussing Prisoners Rights presented by George Curtis. The forum will be held at the Oshkosh Public Library.

Other Upcoming Events:

Fri Feb 27^th – Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast

7:00AM – BJ Clancy’s - 3341 S Oneida St, Appleton

Sat Mar 7th – WCDP Indigo Dinner

5:00PM - LaSure’s Banquets - 3125 S Washburn St, Oshkosh

Wed Mar 11^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Fri Mar 27^th – Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast

7:00AM – BJ Clancy’s - 3341 S Oneida St, Appleton

Wed Apr 8^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Fri Apr 24^th – Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast

7:00AM – BJ Clancy’s - 3341 S Oneida St, Appleton

Wed May 13^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Fri May 29^th – Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast

7:00AM – BJ Clancy’s - 3341 S Oneida St, Appleton

Sat Jun 6^th – Town of Algoma Parade

Wed Jun 10^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Jun 12-13^th – DPW Annual Convention

Convention will be hosted in Green Bay

Sat Jun 20^th – Claytonfest Parade

Fri Jun 24^th – Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast

7:00AM – BJ Clancy’s - 3341 S Oneida St, Appleton

Sat Jul 3^rd – Neenah/Menasha Light Parade

Sat Jul 4^h – Oshkosh & Omro Parades

Wed Jul 8^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Sat Jul 18^h – Winneconne Sovereign State Days Parade

Aug 4-9^th – Winnebago County Fair

Volunteers needed to staff the booth!

Wed Aug 12^th – WCDP Monthly Meeting

7:00PM – Delta Restaurant - 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh

Sat Aug 29^th – WCDP Annual Corn Roast

1:00PM – Winnebago Community Park - Oshkosh

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me anytime!

-jef-

Jef Hall

Chair, Winnebago County Democratic Party

2nd Vice Chair, Democratic Party of WI

224a Scott Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54901

920.203.6883

jef@jefhall.com

www.winnebagodems.com

www.jefhall.com

Authorized and Paid for by the Winnebago County Democratic Party – Jef Hall, Chair

Keep It Classy, Winnebago GOP!

How did Rep. Kagen got the spot right outside the door?

Just asking...

Change Has Come, Share it with Local Dems Tomorrow (Tues, Jan 20th)

Hello Members and Friends of the Winnebago County Democratic Party!

Tomorrow, we will join with people across America in celebration of the Inauguration of President Barack Obama.

We will meet at 6:00 PM at the Neenah Labor Temple: 157 S Green Bay Rd. We will replay the Inaugural events, including the swearing in, parade and other coverage.

We will provide refreshments and some snacks. You are encouraged to bring a dish to pass, and in honor of President-elect Obama’s call to service, a non-perishable food item we will donate to local food pantries.

Please come out and join us in friendship and celebration.

Other upcoming events:

Mark Madison Retirement Party
Local Dem Mark Madison is retired – celebrate with him at Fratello’s in Oshkosh Friday Jan 23rd after 4:00 PM

Green Lake Area Dems Meeting
Caestecker Library, 518 Hill St – Green Lake
Sat, Jan 24th, 10:00 AM

WI Council of Senior Citizen’s Discussion with Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber
Neenah Labor Temple, 157 S Green Bay Rd – Neenah
Mon, Jan 26th – 9:30 AM

Waupaca/Waushara United Dems January Potluck
Chez Marche, 108 S Main St – Waupaca
Mon, Jan 26th – 5:45 PM

Fox Valley Dems Unity Breakfast
BJ Clancey’s, 3341 S Oneida St – Appleton
Fri, Jan 30th – 7:00 AM

WCDP Monthly Meeting
Delta Restaurant, 515 N Sawyer – Oshkosh
Wed, Feb 11th – 7:00 PM

Winnebago Dems Indigo Dinner
La Sure’s Hall, 3125 S Washburn – Oshkosh
Sat, Mar 7th – 5:00 PM

Join the WCDP (Winnebago County Democratic Party) & the DPW (Democratic Party of WI). When you join one, you join both. Go here: http://www.wisdems.org/membership_sign-up.asp

As always, contact me anytime with questions,

-jef-

Jef Hall
Chair, Winnebago County Democratic Party
2nd Vice Chair, Democratic Party of WI
224a Scott Ave, Oshkosh, WI 54901
920.203.6883
jef@jefhall.com
www.winnebagodems.com
www.jefhall.com


Authorized and Paid for by the Winnebago County Democratic Party – Jef Hall, Chair

Details for Don Wyman's Memorial

Long-time Democrat and former Winnebago County Dems Chair Don Wyman passed this morning. He will be missed.

If you would like to attend his service the details are:

Date: Saturday, January 17th

Location:
Konrad-Behlman Funeral Home
100 Lake Point Dr.
(Corner of Witzel Ave & Lake Pointe Dr.)
Oshkosh, WI
Map & Directions
(920) 232-5485

Times:
Visitation: 10AM - 1PM
Funeral: 1PM
Burial Ceremony to Follow

Nursing Home Care: Gov't does it better.

I had been meaning to post on this since the ratings come out, but the Northwestern beat me to it with

You've probably heard the mantra "Private business can do it better." But, when it comes to nursing homes, can it?

A new study and sweeping round of nursing home ratings sizing up more than 16,000 sites around the U.S. shows, in Wisconsin, it's our state-, county- and city-owned facilities earning the higher average overall grades, followed by nonprofit nursing home operators, followed by for profit operations. The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services recently released its ratings, based on a new system. Some nursing homes are ecstatic with the findings. Others, a little baffled by them.

To be fair, any ratings glance is just that – a snapshot of a nursing home at a moment in time. Staff performance may have been uncharacteristically stellar or subpar during a rater's visit. There's a degree of subjectivity involved with any rating system. That said, a Northwestern analysis of the ratings statewide does back up the overall findings showing nonprofits and government nursing home operations are earning higher marks.

In Wisconsin, the average overall scores on the CMS's five-star scale for government-operated nursing homes was 3.76. That was followed by nonprofit operations' 3.42 average score and for profit operations' 2.57. Winnebago County's taxpayer-owned Park View Health Center (even before it opened its new facility north of Oshkosh) earned five-star marks, a testament to the quality of care delivered within these top-rated organizations, not just their physical environs.

It should be obvious that Govt would do a better job in nursing and senior care. There is no place for profit in providing this service on a large scale.

The customers are, as a general group, people who are either beyond their earning years, or unable to earn. Therefore the incentive to supply high-quality care to all but the most affluent families is not there. The profit incentive can only be in the cutting of costs (and therefore quality of care).

However, a public facility is not accountable to a profit margin, they are accountable, in the end, to voters and elected officials. As long as expenses do not get to out of hand, the incentive is to provide a high-quality product.

Let me repeat, as long as these facilities are respectfully frugal with the taxpayers dime, all of the incentive is in providing quality of care.

Now that we have seen real numbers as to how gov't can supply this nursing care, when will the public make the logical jump that it will be the same for general medical care?

Winnebago County Single Stream Recycling

For anyone that is interested in the single-stream recycling presentation that was done for the Winnebago County Board yesterday, I have a copy of it linked here.

From MSNBC - The Bush years -- then and now

Results of GOP rule:

The Bush years -- then and now

From NBC's Mark Murray
With President Bush set to leave the White House less than two weeks from now, here's a "Then and Now" to show what the United States looked like when Bush was entering office and what it looks like now as he's leaving. The "Then" is the best-available figure as Bush was taking office in 2001. The "Now" is the most recent figure.

UNEMPLOYMENT RATE
Then: 4.2% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, January 2001)
Now: 6.7% (Bureau of Labor Statistics, November 2008)

DOW JONES INDUSTRIAL AVERAGE
Then: 10,587 (close of Friday, Jan. 19, 2001)
Now: 9,015 (close of Tuesday, Jan. 6, 2009)

BUSH FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 50% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 31% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CHENEY FAVORABILITY RATING
Then: 49% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONGRESS APPROVAL RATING
Then: 48% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 21% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

SATISFIED WITH THE NATION'S DIRECTION
Then: 45% (1/01 NBC/WSJ poll)
Now: 26% (12/08 NBC/WSJ poll)

CONSUMER CONFIDENCE (1985=100)
Then: 115.7 (Conference Board, January 2001)
Now: 38.0, which is an all-time low (Conference Board, December 2008)

FAMILIES LIVING IN POVERTY
Then: 6.4 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 7.6 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent numbers available)

AMERICANS WITHOUT HEALTH INSURANCE
Then: 39.8 million (Census numbers for 2000)
Now: 45.7 million (Census numbers for 2007 -- most recent available)

U.S. BUDGET
Then: +236.2 billion (2000, Congressional Budget Office)
Now: -$1.2 trillion (projected figure for 2009, Congressional Budget Office)

Which Side Are You On?

I saw the movie "Harlan County, USA" this weekend. I recommend it very highly. It is about the 1973 Coal workers strike.

During a previous strike in the same county, Florence Reece - the wife of a striking worker, wrote the song "Which Side Are You On?" and I think it may be the greatest song ever written.

Mrs. Reece sings a few verses of it on the movie, and many people have done versions of it since.

Here are some:

Pete Seeger


Dropkick Murphy's


Natalie Merchant (w/ Mrs. Reece in the beginning)


Billy Bragg


The Washington Squares


Movie Trailer:

DPW Chair

No, really... a chair made from DPW (Department of Pubic Works) barriers.

This is what you get when you look up 'DPW Chair' in Google:


Here is the blog I got it from...