9.16.2005

From a satirical email newsletter I recieve:

"Kanye West said that President Bush doesn't care about black people. I think this was an incredibly insensitive statement. It was especially hurtful to the hundreds of millions of other people the President doesn't care about."

Excerpts from Newsweek online:

Bush Repackaged
The White House hopes to repair the president’s image by throwing money at the hurricane zone. Progressives need to come up with an alternative vision ahead of the ’06 election.


By Eleanor Clift
You can tell that Karl Rove is back in the game after a bout with kidney stones that landed him in the hospital during the height of Hurricane Katrina. Rove’s absence explains in part President Bush’s curious aloofness in the face of looming disaster. Returning to the Gulf Coast on Thursday for a fourth visit, Bush is trying to make up for the lapses that tarnished his image as a leader and to repackage himself as a visionary for the next phase, a rebuilding effort that will dwarf Iraq's reconstruction and likely make Halliburton even richer.


To hear Bush talk, we’re about to witness a Republican utopia in the hurricane zone. Children will go to school with vouchers. Wages will be lowered and regulations waived to accommodate the big contractors. The entire area will become a free-enterprise zone. And the GOP, under the guise of economic revival, will impose one of its favorite ideas, the flat tax. It’s reminiscent of the Jim Carrey movie “The Truman Show,” where Carrey lives in a picture-perfect town--except it turns out all the residents are actors. In Bush’s version, everybody’s a Republican.

The rebuilding effort is ideologically motivated and influenced by the Heritage Foundation, the conservative think tank that fueled the Reagan presidency. The proposals in a report titled “Tragedy to Triumph” are premised on the belief that corporations freed from labor unions, environmental restrictions and onerous taxes will reap huge profits and those profits will grow the pie for everybody--and at least create some crumbs for the masses.

The latest Pew Research Center poll has Republicans trailing Democrats 52 percent to 40 percent among registered voters, with Democrats favored on most major issues. Even on terrorism, consistently the GOP’s strength, the party’s advantage has narrowed. The ’06 midterm election will give the public a chance to vent its anger at the party in control, but it’s not enough for Democrats to stand aside and wait for the GOP to implode. The Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, offers an earnest set of guidelines to a responsible recovery of the Gulf Coast. Among them are dropping the repeal of the estate tax and curbing the special-interest favors for members known as “earmarks” while expanding low-income housing, improving mass transit and raising the minimum wage. These are chestnuts long advocated by the left and unlikely to gain traction in the GOP-dominated political climate.

There is already a lot of money flowing to the gulf region, and people with close ties to the White House could be among those who benefit. The gold rush is on. Progressives better make a case for reinvigorating government before Bush and his pals dismantle what’s left of the New Deal.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9368131/site/newsweek/

Playing the 'Blame Game'

E-mail suggests government seeking to blame groups

Federal officials appear to be seeking proof to blame the flood of New Orleans on environmental groups, documents show.

The Clarion-Ledger has obtained a copy of an internal e-mail the U.S. Department of Justice sent out this week to various U.S. attorneys' offices: "Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the (U.S.) Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation."

This e-mail was sent to U.S. Attorney's offices:

SUBJECT: Have you had any cases involving the levees in New Orleans?

QUESTION: Has your district defended any cases on behalf of the Army Corps of Engineers against claims brought by environmental groups seeking to block or otherwise impede the Corps' work on the levees protecting New Orleans? If so, please describe the case and the outcome of the litigation.
District: __________
Contact: _________
Telephone: ________

http://www.clarionledger.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050916/NEWS0110/509160369/1260

Bush's needs vs. the victim's...

Friday morning (power) line

(From Brian Williams) I am duty-bound to report the talk of the New Orleans warehouse district last night: there was rejoicing (well, there would have been without the curfew, but the few people I saw on the streets were excited) when the power came back on for blocks on end. Kevin Tibbles was positively jubilant on the live update edition of Nightly News that we fed to the West Coast. The mini-mart, long ago cleaned out by looters, was nonetheless bathed in light, including the empty, roped-off gas pumps. The motorcade route through the district was partially lit no more than 30 minutes before POTUS (President of the United States) drove through. And yet last night, no more than an hour after the President departed, the lights went out. The entire area was plunged into total darkness again, to audible groans. It's enough to make some of the folks here who witnessed it... jump to certain conclusions.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9314188/#050916

From MSNBC's First Read - How to pay for Katrina rebuilding:

House Speaker Dennis Hastert said after the speech that when it comes to spending on relief, it simply must be done now, and the government will worry about the effects on the deficit later, NBC's Mike Viqueira reports. "For every dollar we spend, it will be that much longer that we have a budget deficit." Asked about "offsetting" the new spending with cuts elsewhere, Hastert said, "We have to get it done, whether it's offset or delayed payment or however we do it."

Viqueira adds that a group of Hastert's fiscally conservative colleagues and other enemies of profligate government spending held a presser yesterday to call for offsets, concerned about yesterday's Washington Post report projecting a relief cost of $200 billion, and about Tom DeLay's suggestion earlier this week that after 11 years of Republican rule on the Hill, government has been cut to the bone and there are no ways to offset spending. Sen. John McCain said at the presser, "We are going to end up with the highest deficit, probably, in the history of this country." Rep. Mike Pence, leader of the House conservative caucus, said that "the president must not only tell the American people what government is going to do... but also tell them what sacrifices they are going to have to make" in order to pay for it all. Bush didn't.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796/

Democrats already know how to pay for it, and the majority of Americans agree with us:

How do people think the reconstruction after Katrina should be primarily funded?

Democratic Solutions:
Reducing spending on the Iraq war: - 45%
Repeal tax cuts: - 27%
Raise income taxes: - 7%

Republican Solutions:
Increase the Deficit: - 8%
Cut federal spending - 12%

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9332076/

It looks like we win 79-20. And so does the county this way by not starving education and medicare for Halliburton contracts.

Speaking of Polls:

Iraq:
Approve of Bush's handling: - 37%

Disapprove: - 58%

Maintain Troop Level: - 36%
Reduce: - 55%

Bush's Approval Rating - 40%

UAW Endorses Lautenschlager

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact:
Kate LaRocque

Friends of Peg Lautenschlager
608.333.5133
klarocque@execpc.com

UAW Endorses Attorney general Lautenschlager

Sheboygan, WI - September 15, 2005 - The Wisconsin State CAP (Community Action Program) Council of the United Auto Workers of America has endorsed Wisconsin Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager in her bid for re-election.

"AG Lautenschlager has been a tireless advocate for the concerns of working people throughout the state," stated Mike Sheridan, UAW's State CAP Chairperson.

"Peg's willingness to take on industry giants to address the issue of rising health care costs, her enforcement of fair wage and plant closing laws, and her advocacy for clean government and campaigns have all benefited working men and women and their families.

"Peg has proven herself to be a fighter, willing to take on powerful special interests and do what's best for the people of this state," said Sheridan. We are proud to include ourselves among her supporters."

The UAW represents thousands of men and women throughout Wisconsin.

http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=44456

9.15.2005

They are doing it again...

Senate Kills Bid for Katrina Commission

WASHINGTON - Senate Republicans on Wednesday scuttled an attempt by Sen.
Hillary Clinton to establish an independent, bipartisan panel patterned after the 9/11 Commission to investigate what went wrong with federal, state and local governments' response to Hurricane Katrina.


The New York Democrat's bid to establish the panel — which would have also made recommendations on how to improve the government's disaster response apparatus — failed to win the two-thirds majority needed to overcome procedural hurdles. Clinton got only 44 votes, all from Democrats and independent Sen. Jim Jeffords of Vermont. Fifty-four Republicans all voted no.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20050914/ap_on_go_ot/katrina_washington;_ylt=Am4OimLCTpmSJV5e9orW4SpI2ocA;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

Watch a segment from the Daily Show here:

http://www.crooksandliars.com/2005/09/14.html#a4950

It goes into Sen. Coburn's crying...

Priceless.

"But Mommy, I gotta go!"

U.S. President George W. Bush writes a note to Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice during a Security Council meeting at the 2005 World Summit and 60th General Assembly of the United Nations in New York September 14, 2005. World leaders are exploring ways to revitalize the United Nations at a summit on Wednesday but their blueprint falls short of Secretary-General Kofi Annan's vision of freedom from want, persecution and war.

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/050914/ids_photos_ts/r2587077477.jpg

and

http://photos.reuters.com/Pictures/ViewImage.aspx?type=News¤tPicture=2&photoName=galleries/newspictures/2005-09-14T201816Z_01_UNS93D_RTRIDSP_2_SUMMIT-UN.jpg

What does the note say?

"I think I need a bathroom break? Is this possible?"

Christians, Government and the Lessons of Katrina

...three out of four Americans believe the Bible teaches this: "God helps those who help themselves.'' The Gospel according to Mark? Luke? Actually, it was Ben Franklin who came up with these words to live by.

"The thing is,'' McKibben writes, "not only is Franklin's wisdom not biblical; it's counterbiblical. Few ideas could be further from the gospel message, with its radical summons to love of neighbor. On this essential matter, most Americans—most American Christians—are simply wrong, as if 75 percent of American scientists believed that Newton proved gravity causes apples to fly up.''

Now, in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, we have seen—and been unable to look away from— the direct result of this self-deception.

And if such tell-me-I'm-dreaming scenes as rats feeding on corpses in the streets—American streets—isn't enough to make us rethink the public-policy implications of turning the Gospel on its head in this way, then truly, God help us.

We as a nation—a proudly, increasingly loudly Christian nation—have somehow convinced ourselves that the selfish choice is usually the moral one, too. (What a deal!) You know how this works: It's wrong to help poor people because "handouts'' reward dependency and thus hurt more than they help. So, do the right thing—that is, walk right on by—and by all means hang on to your hard-earned cash.

Thus do we deny the working poor a living wage, resent welfare recipients expected to live on a few hundred dollars a month, object to the whopping .16 percent of our GNP that goes to foreign aid—and still manage to feel virtuous about all of the above.

Immediately after the disaster, Bush quickly intervened—to make it possible for refiners to produce dirtier gasoline. He has since zapped working people on the Gulf Coast all over again by suspending the 1931 law that requires employers to pay the prevailing wage to workers on all federally financed projects.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9342324/site/newsweek/

Doonesberry Nails Halliburton

http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/uclickcomics/20050915/cx_db_uc/db20050915

Interesting statistic...

From a story on MSNBC about the caged kids:

In 2002, the most recent figures available, there were 127,942 children awaiting adoption in the United States, including 54,832 black youngsters, according to the Child Welfare League of America. The organization didn't tally the number of special needs children.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9319446/

I find this hard to believe, what with all the 'Adoption not Abortion' stickers and signs that I see. Tallying those up, I thought all children available for adoption would be accounted for.

Or do these people feel that a simple sticker or sign will solve the problem, and they do not want to put the hard work into it?

9.14.2005

Cheney's office orders power restored to pipelines before hospitals...

Shortly after Hurricane Katrina roared through South Mississippi knocking out electricity and communication systems, the White House ordered power restored to a pipeline that sends fuel to the Northeast.

That order - to restart two power substations in Collins that serve Colonial Pipeline Co. - delayed efforts by at least 24 hours to restore power to two rural hospitals and a number of water systems in the Pine Belt.

"I considered it a presidential directive to get those pipelines operating," said Jim Compton, general manager of the South Mississippi Electric Power Association - which distributes power that rural electric cooperatives sell to consumers and businesses.

"I reluctantly agreed to pull half our transmission line crews off other projects and made getting the transmission lines to the Collins substations a priority," Compton said. "Our people were told to work until it was done.

Dan Jordan, manager of Southern Pines Electric Power Association, said Vice President Dick Cheney's office called and left voice mails twice shortly after the storm struck, saying the Collins substations needed power restored immediately.
Jordan dated the first call the night of Aug. 30 and the second call the morning of Aug. 31. Southern Pines supplies electricity to the substation that powers the Colonial pipeline.


Compton said workers who were trying to restore substations that power two rural hospitals - Stone County Hospital in Wiggins and George County Hospital in Lucedale - worked instead on the Colonial Pipeline project.

http://www.hattiesburgamerican.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050911/NEWS05/509110304
The move caused power to be restored at least 24 hours later than planned.

Click Here

http://news.yahoo.com/comics/uclickcomics/20050912/cx_bo_uc/bo20050912;_ylt=AlDtDHQ3g7lj63pP8AuIM7pL6ysC;_ylu=X3oDMTBiMW04NW9mBHNlYwMlJVRPUCUl

For a great cartoon.

Altercation gets better reader mail than I do..

..so I am posting his (they get the point right):

Name: Bill
Hometown: White Plains
Dr. Alterman,
Folks should take a close look at what is going on in New Orleans, because they are looking into the future. Armed mercenaries are now roaming the streets of N.O., hired by the government. Blackwater Security is roaming the streets of N.O., as though it is downtown Bagdad. Freedom of the press is being curtailed. The press is being stopped from video taping the removal of bodies that have been laying and rotting for two weeks, so their families won't be traumatized. The truth is being suppressed. Does anyone really expect a true count of the dead? The former head of FEMA was in the south hired as a consultant to arrange for FEMA funding of the rebuilding efforts, 5 days before the Hurricane struck. Contracts have been awarded without bidding to Flour Daniels and, yes you guessed it, Halliburton. Due process requirements for fair bidding have been excused due to the scope of the disaster the south is facing. 160,000 homes in the worst flooded areas, and yes the poorest, may not be habitable and will be destroyed. Mercenaries, censorship, cronyism, displacement of the impoverished from prime real estate. We need to do more than rebuild New Orleans. We need to rebuild this Country.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9312146/#050914

Conservatives fail to take in the whole story once again....

Many Conservatives are reccomending 'March of the Penguins' as a parable for thier views:

March of the Conservatives: Penguin Film as Political Fodder

To Andrew Coffin, writing in the widely circulated Christian publication World Magazine, that is a winning argument for the theory that life is too complex to have arisen through random selection.
"That any one of these eggs survives is a remarkable feat - and, some might suppose, a strong case for intelligent design," he wrote. "It's sad that acknowledgment of a creator is absent in the examination of such strange and wonderful animals. But it's also a gap easily filled by family discussion after the film."
Rich Lowry, the editor of National Review, told the young conservatives' gathering last month: "You have to check out 'March of the Penguins.' It is an amazing movie. And I have to say, penguins are the really ideal example of monogamy. These things - the dedication of these birds is just amazing."


http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/13/science/13peng.html?adxnnl=1&incamp=article_popular&adxnnlx=1126724847-/Or8nq5Yyw+qrO2166Qj1w

But, did they forget about this:

Central Park Zoo's gay penguins ignite debate

New York -- Roy and Silo, two chinstrap penguins at the Central Park Zoo in Manhattan, are completely devoted to each other. For nearly six years now, they have been inseparable. They exhibit what in penguin parlance is called "ecstatic behavior": That is, they entwine their necks, they vocalize to each other, they have sex. Silo and Roy are, to anthropomorphize a bit, gay penguins.
When offered female companionship, they have adamantly refused it. And the females aren't interested in them, either.
At one time, the two seemed so desperate to incubate an egg together that they put a rock in their nest and sat on it, keeping it warm in the folds of their abdomens, said their chief keeper, Rob Gramzay. Finally, he gave them a fertile egg that needed care to hatch. Things went perfectly, and a chick, Tango, was born.
For the next 2 1/2 months they raised Tango, keeping her warm and feeding her food from their beaks until she could go out into the world on her own. Gramzay is full of praise. "They did a great job," he said.


http://sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2004/02/07/MNG3N4RAV41.DTL

9.12.2005

Georgia's 'Poll Tax' Same as Wisconsin's

Georgia's New Poll Tax

In 1966, the Supreme Court held that the poll tax was unconstitutional. Nearly 40 years later, Georgia is still charging people to vote, this time with a new voter ID law that requires many people without driver's licenses - a group that is disproportionately poor, black and elderly - to pay $20 or more for a state ID card. Georgia went ahead with this even though there is not a single place in the entire city of Atlanta where the cards are sold. The law is a national disgrace.

Until recently, Georgia, like most states, accepted many forms of identification at the polls. But starting this month, it is accepting only government-issued photo ID's. People with driver's licenses are fine. But many people without them have to buy a state ID card to vote, at a cost of $20 for a five-year card or $35 for 10 years. The cards are sold in 58 locations, in a state with 159 counties. It is outrageous that Atlanta does not have a single location. (The state says it plans to open one soon.) But the burden is also great on people in rural parts of the state.

The Republicans who pushed the law through, and Gov. Sonny Perdue, also a Republican, who signed it, say that it is intended to prevent fraud. But it seems clear that it is about keeping certain people away from the polls, for political advantage. The vast majority of fraud complaints in Georgia, according to its secretary of state, Cathy Cox, involve absentee ballots, which are unaffected by the new law. Ms. Cox says she is unaware of a single documented case in recent years of fraud through impersonation of a voter at the polls.

Citizens who swear they are indigent are exempt from the fee. But since the law does not define who is indigent, many people may be reluctant to swear and risk a criminal penalty. More important, the 24th Amendment, which outlawed poll taxes in federal elections, and the Supreme Court's decision striking down state poll taxes applied to all Americans, not just to the indigent. A Georgian who votes only in presidential elections, and buys a five-year card to do so, would be paying $10 per election. That is no doubt more than many people on fixed incomes, who struggle to get by but are not legally indigent, are willing to pay to vote.

If Georgia's law remains in place, other states are likely to follow. There is also growing concern among voting-rights advocates that a self-appointed election reform commission, led by James Baker, the former secretary of state who played a troubling role in the disputed 2000 election, and former President Jimmy Carter, may be about to propose national voter ID standards that would similarly make it harder for poor people and blacks to vote.

The American Civil Liberties Union is planning to challenge Georgia's law. It will have several strong legal claims, starting with the 24th Amendment. The Supreme Court said in 1966, in striking down the poll tax, that "the right to vote is too precious, too fundamental to be so burdened." It still is.

http://www.nytimes.com/2005/09/12/opinion/12mon1.html?th&emc=th

Newsweek headline get's it right:

Harry Truman: "The buck stops here." The Bushies say, "Let's not play the blame game."

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9288171/site/newsweek/

Al Gore: When there is No Vision, the People Perish

Gore's theme was based upon the quote from Proverbs, "When there is no vision, the people perish." He dwelt at length on the catastrophe of Hurricane Katrina observing, "It is important that we learn the right lessons from what happened, or else we will repeat the mistakes that were made." Gore identified three basic lessons that the American people must grasp: the first is deceptively simple - Presidents should be expected to pay attention. The former Vice President recalled that on August 6, 2001, President Bush received an intelligence briefing, "Bin Laden determined to strike in U.S.," but took no action as, "it was vacation time." Four years later, the Bush Administration received dire warnings of the damage that would be done to New Orleans, and the Gulf Coast, if Hurricane Katrina kept to its projected course; nothing was done, "It was, once again, vacation time."

http://www.commondreams.org/views05/0911-26.htm

I have always liked that guy....

Nichols on Barbara Bush & Family

On the tape of the interview, Mrs. Bush chuckles audibly as she observes just how great things are going for families that are separated from loved ones, people who have been forced to abandon their homes and the only community where they have ever lived, and parents who are explaining to children that their pets, their toys and in some cases their friends may be lost forever. Perhaps the former first lady was amusing herself with the notion that evacuees without bread could eat cake.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/thenation/20050906/cm_thenation/120080;_ylt=Ap7lOX.DLF6ltBEsLvoNvHms0NUE;_ylu=X3oDMTA3ODdxdHBhBHNlYwM5NjQ-

Feingold tries to save flood victims from crushing debt - Sensenbrenner tries to make it easier to kick them when they are down

Feingold to seek bankruptcy protections for Katrina victims
By Frederic J. Frommer
Associated Press

WASHINGTON - Sen. Russ Feingold plans to seek legislation aimed at softening the effects of a new, tougher bankruptcy law on victims of Hurricane Katrina and other natural disasters.

Feingold, D-Wis., said he wanted to make sure the new law "does not compound the hardship for thousands of hardworking Americans who simply will not be able to make ends meet as a result of this disaster."

The law, which makes it harder for debt-ridden Americans to wipe out their obligations, takes effect Oct. 17.

Feingold said he hoped to introduce a bill and have it included in disaster relief legislation Congress is expected to pass.

The current outline of Feingold's bill calls for people who lived in the hurricane's disaster zone as of Aug. 28 to be treated under the old bankruptcy law for a year after the new law kicks in.

The bill also would make the following changes for victims of all natural disasters, not just Katrina:

-Exempt payments from the Federal Emergency Management Agency or relief agencies from the definition of income for purpose of bankruptcy eligibility;

-Exempt natural disaster victims from the provisions of the new law that make it easier for landlords to evict tenants who are in bankruptcy than the current law allows;

-Exempt natural disaster victims from the new law's stricter paperwork and documentation requirements."

The bankruptcy system is a safety net that can provide a fresh start," said Feingold, an outspoken critic of the new law.

President Bush signed the law in April, after Congress passed it following eight years of lobbying by banks and credit card companies.

Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner, R-Wis., chairman of the House Judiciary Committee, does not support changes to the bankruptcy law, said his spokesman, Jeff Lungren.

"The chairman is interested in helping and protecting the Hurricane Katrina victims - they would qualify under the special circumstances exceptions under the bill," Lungren said.

Meanwhile, the House Wednesday passed Sensenbrenner's bill that would allow circuit, district and bankruptcy courts to conduct special sessions outside their geographic boundaries when they cannot meet because of emergency conditions.

And Rep. David Obey, D-Wis., said last week he plans to reintroduce legislation that would establish an insurance fund that states can buy insurance coverage from to help cope with future disasters.

http://www.gazetteextra.com/katrina_bankruptcy090805.asp

9.11.2005

From This Month's Newsletter...

Message from the Chair
We Should Support the County Sales Tax to Protect the Most Vulnerable in Winnebago County

"Declining support from the US government and the State of Wisconsin, a 1.5 million structural deficit left by the prior executive, very generous three year labor contracts that run through 2006, rapidly rising fuel and utility costs, and a levy freeze that deprives the county of the additional revenue from appreciating property. The county is left with only two real choices; lay off 100 to 130 employees and allow many services to the poor the elderly and the community at large to suffer, or adopt a 1/2% sales tax."

This was County Executive Mark Harris’ statement regarding the proposed 0.5% sales tax. The sales tax will bring in $9 million in 2006. $3 million will go to fill the budget holes, $4 million will go to property tax relief, and $2 million would go into the reserve fund.

What does this mean? Many people are not talking about the property tax relief portion. It creates a $.50 per $1,000 reduction in the property tax rate. These numbers matter, because they help show who is gaining and losing in this equation.

We know who loses if this tax does not go through, the poor, the elderly, the developmentally disabled, children and crime victims. Without the funds generated by this tax, the DA will not re- fill a domestic violence advocate; the sheriff office will reduce patrol in rural areas, lowering response times. Social workers will be downsized, removing 70 indigent elderly from service and reducing response to child abuse claims.

But, independent fixed income elderly, and working poor homeowners also loose if the sales tax is not passed. Combining the property tax relief with the sales tax, you see a reduction to the tax burden of these groups. An elderly couple owning a $100,000 house, on a fixed income of $20,000 per year, the will save $50 on property tax, and according to Sate of Wisconsin estimates, $40 more in sales tax for $10 in tax relief.

Also, this tax does not fall on purchases of food or medicine; therefore much more of the elderly couple’s spending would be tax- free.

An average couple making $45,000 in household income would see a small increase in net taxes of $40 for the year. The sales tax collected then goes up with the level of disposable income. Also this would enable the county to collect this sales tax on the tourists who enjoy our county services through EAA, Country USA & the like, yet pay no local tax.

It seems obvious to me. It is the poorest, the most vulnerable and the elderly; as well as those dedicated county workers that care and provide services for them that are being asked to shoulder the cuts of the county budget. Why? So those with a large amount of expendable income will not have to see a marginal increase in the yearly amount of taxes that are collected by the county. If there is any lesson to be learned from the experience in New Orleans, it is that starving and gutting government affects those who need the service the most.

We must never forget that compassion does not end at the curb of your street. We as a society have a responsibility to care for those defenseless among us down the street, across town and throughout the county.

The sales tax is not a course that should be taken lightly; it is the better of two bad choices that have been handed to the county government. We should be proud to have a County Executive like Mark Harris who sees that the necessary course is not always the politically expedient one. By supporting his efforts, we will be supporting those in Winnebago County who most need our help.

I urge you to call your county supervisor ant urge them to vote in favor of the county sales tax to support those most needy among us.

The ‘Message from the Chair’ is Jef Hall’s opinion only.

Added:
Please go to my website: www.jef4wi.com for a calculator of how the tax effects you.

25 Dumb Quotes About Katrina

http://politicalhumor.about.com/od/currentevents/a/katrinaquotes.htm

Department of Homeland Security Posts Mercenaries in New Orleans

Will they outsource anything?

Heavily armed paramilitary mercenaries from the Blackwater private security firm, infamous for their work in Iraq, are openly patrolling the streets of New Orleans. Some of the mercenaries say they have been "deputized" by the Louisiana governor; indeed some are wearing gold Louisiana state law enforcement badges on their chests and Blackwater photo identification cards on their arms. They say they are on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and have been given the authority to use lethal force.

Blackwater mercenaries are some of the most feared professional killers in the world and they are accustomed to operating without worry of legal consequences. Their presence on the streets of New Orleans should be a cause for serious concern for the remaining residents of the city and raises alarming questions about why the government would allow men trained to kill with impunity in places like Iraq and Afghanistan to operate here.

As the threat of forced evictions now looms in New Orleans and the city confiscates even legally registered weapons from civilians, the private mercenaries of Blackwater patrol the streets openly wielding M-16s and other assault weapons.

But in an hour-long conversation with several Blackwater mercenaries, we heard a different story. The men we spoke with said they are indeed on contract with the Department of Homeland Security and the Louisiana governor's office and that some of them are sleeping in camps organized by Homeland Security in New Orleans and Baton Rouge. One of them wore a gold Louisiana state law enforcement badge and said he had been "deputized" by the governor. They told us they not only had authority to make arrests but also to use lethal force.

Two men we spoke with said they plan on returning to Iraq in October. But, as one mercenary said, they've been told they could be in New Orleans for up to 6 months. "This is a trend," he told us. "You're going to see a lot more guys like us in these situations."

http://www.democracynow.org/static/Overkill.shtml

The government should not deputize mercenaries for service in America.

Bush in free-fall

Only 38 percent of Americans approve of the way Bush is doing his job overall, a record-low for this president in the NEWSWEEK poll. (Fifty-five percent of Americans disapprove of his overall job performance.) And only 28 percent of Americans say they are “satisfied with the way things are going” in the country, down from 36 percent in August and 46 percent in December, after the president’s re-election.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/9280375/site/newsweek/site/newsweek/