Winnebago Dems Inaugural Events

Winnebago County Dems Inaugural Events

Hello Members and Friends of the Winnebago County Democratic Party!

Below you will find an overview of events in Madison around the inauguration on Wednesday, January 3rd.

First and foremost is:

Rep Elect Gordon Hintz’s Inaugural Ceremony!
When: 2:00 PM
Where: the Capitol, Madison
Each member has been given a limited number of tickets (5). After 1:50 pm, any “open seats” in guest seating areas will be made available to the general public on a first come, first served basis. The ceremony will be televised at: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/insession/assembly/indexvideo.htm

From Gordon’s announcement:

My office is located in Room 420 North of the State Capitol and will be open throughout the day. You are encouraged to stop by and store your coat and/or other belongings when you are in the Capitol. A small reception will take place during and immediately after the ceremony.

Tours of the State Capitol will be available on January 3, starting at 9am, 10am, 11am, and during the afternoon. Tours begin at the Information Desk, which is located on the ground floor, and last approximately 45 minutes.

After Gordon’s ceremony, we will host a reception:
Winnebago County Democratic Party Inaugural Reception
When: 4:00-6:00PM
Where: the Signature Lounge at the Best Western Inn on the Park - 22 South Carroll (across from the capitol), Madison
We will host friends, supporters and great conversation over snacks. We hope to see you there!

Some other events going on in Madison that day:

Governor’s Inaugural Breakfast
When: 8:00-10:00 AM
Where: the Madison Ballroom, 1 John Nolan Dr, Madison
This is open to the public and free of charge, but you must RSVP at 608-250-5083 or http://madison.inauguration2007.com/

Governor’s Inaugural Ball
When: 8:00 PM
Where: Monona Terrace Community Center
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased at: http://www.ticketmaster.com/event/07003D8F9EA99033?artistid=853208&majorcatid=10001&minorcatid=107
The celebrations will feature blues legend Taj Mahal!

If you can’t make it to Madison, there will be an event in with Lt Gov Barbara Lawton in Green Bay as well:
Lieutenant Governor Lawton in Green Bay for an Community Inauguration Celebration
When: 9:30 AM Tues, Jan 2nd
Where: Boys and Girls Club, 1451 University Avenue, Green Bay, WI

Also, do not forget this month’s:
Winnebago County Democratic Party Meeting
When: 7:00 PM Wed, Jan 10th
Where: The Delta, 515 N Sawyer St, Oshkosh WI

Also, if you are thinking of ever running for office, or want to learn a lot about campaigning:
Camp Wellstone Madison
When: Jan 26-28th
Click this link for details: http://www.wellstone.org/camp/events_detail.aspx?itemID=8897&catID=3752

As always, contact me anytime with questions!

-jef-

(Another) Republican DA (and eager Van Hollan defender/supporter) on trial for felony...

I guess it isn't just Winnebago County....

Bayfield Co. DA to stand trial on felony misconduct charges

Suspended Bayfield District Attorney H. Craig Haukaas will face arraignment in January on charges of felony misconduct in office and conspiracy to entice a defendant to commit bail jumping, a state judge ruled Wednesday.

Haukaas appeared in Bayfield County Circuit Court before Douglas County Circuit Court Judge George Glonek for a motion hearing and preliminary examination to determine whether there was enough probable cause for Haukaas to stand trial.

The two counts stem from an investigation by special prosecutor Guy T. Ludvigson into allegations that Haukaas conspired in a secret deal with public defender Joe Crawford between October and November 2003 on charges against Crawford's client, Joseph Soulier.

This is the weird part...

The criminal complaint, filed on Oct. 31, alleges that Haukaas and Crawford arranged for Soulier to leave Wisconsin for three years in exchange for dropping the three misdemeanor charges. After a Nov. 4, 2003 status conference, Soulier was released on bond and was supposed to return for a Dec. 9, 2003 court appearance.

Does this really happen? It sounds like a bad movie where the lawman takes you to the edge of town with a warning not to come back...

Is that really in society's best interest?

Anyway, it turns out that Haukaas was quite the Van Hollen cheerleader. There was the $500 donation, the quote defending Van Hollen from his own mistakes in the DA's office:

“This ad by the Falk team is a desperate display of politics. It further victimizes the surviving family members, something Van Hollen was able to avoid when he got Newago to agree to plea guilty without going to trial. The Falk team should be ashamed of themselves.”
Bayfield County District Attorney Craig Haukaas

Gerald Ford, James Brown and the History of Funk...

A witty aside from a review of a recent Fishbone show...

"James Brown got to go to heaven for Christmas," declared Fishbone singer/saxophonist Angelo Moore after the very first song at Harpers Ferry on Wednesday. The veteran funk/ska/punk band owes an obvious debt to the late Godfather of Soul and paid homage by quoting his songs and mimicking his showmanship throughout the night. No mention was made of Gerald Ford, whose impact on the development of funk was less profound.

Good to hear Fishbone is back out on the trail. I was supposed to see them in 2002 (Aug 9th - the day after my birthday) in Milwaukee. I didn't make the show, wouldn't you know I received $500 in needed car replacements for my birthday that year when the radiator of my Jeep died.

Anyway, here's one of my favorite Fishbone songs - I'm sure James Brown would approve. (I won't presume to speak for Pres. Ford.)

Another reason we will miss Peg...

AG releases opinion on domestic pratner benefits in Madison...

Click here.

The Consequenses of Poorly Funded and Managed Services:

I hope the investigations are thorough and the punishments complete. All the way to the chief executive of the county. It is time for him to take responsibility for his irresponsible management.

State inspectors declared all patients at the Milwaukee County Mental Health Complex to be in immediate jeopardy after discovering that a second person was starving and neglected at the facility last month, a new report shows.

The state inspection was prompted by a Journal Sentinel investigation detailing the starvation death of Cindy Anczak, 33, at the Wauwatosa complex.

When state inspectors arrived after the story appeared, they learned of a 65-year-old man who had lost 44 pounds in three months. The patient was suffering from dehydration and weakness when he was transferred to an acute medical care hospital. He also had been overmedicated.

Happy Birthday, Stan!

Marvel Comics' Stan Lee turns 84 today!

Edwards is in the Pool...

Something to look forward to tomorrow:

When Mr. Edwards announces, with a round of morning talk show interviews and a press conference in the Lower Ninth Ward in New Orleans, he will become the third Democrat to enter the race formally.
...
Understandably, candidates are going to do what it takes to get publicity. Mr. Edwards’s aides said they chose this slow-news time of year, and the backdrop of New Orleans neighborhoods ravaged by Hurricane Katrina, in part to command the maximum amount of attention. Camera crews will be permitted to film Mr. Edwards as he helps with the cleanup efforts.

I think that Edwards has done all the right things for a Presidential run in '08. He saw the return to economic populism that was building in '04 (and was maybe just a little too far in front of it).

Note - Just as he was just a little bit in front of the 'Daily Show' movement by announcing his '04 run on the show.

But, time and circumstance has caught up with Mr. Edwards. I think his message of two Americas becoming one is exactly what we need and want to hear in '08.

By announcing in New Orleans, the heart of the Republican failure in both economic and governmental mis-management and failure shows that he was right all along. There is no better fishbowl for his message of hope amid the ruins of our economy.

Go get 'em John!

A Sad Milestone...

The latest deaths also brought the number of U.S. military members killed since the beginning of the Iraq war in March 2003 to at least 2,978 — five more than the number killed in the Sept. 11 attacks in New York, Washington and Pennsylvania.

A little disappointed...

Colbert did not have the entire Decemberists, just the incredibly talented guitarist.

Framton was quite the surprise...

Well, here is the coolest Decemberists song, split in three:

Part 1:


Part 2:


Part 3:

A View from the Den...

Well, I received my email from the Mark Green campaign today.

The headline said:

From the desk of Mark Green

How's the view form the den, Mark?

Watch Colbert Tonight...

He will be doing a 'shred off' against the Decemberists!

On Pinochet

Remember the words of perhaps my favorite political thinker, Joe Strummer:

As every cell in Chile will tell
The cries of the tortured men
Remember Allende, and the days before,
Before the army came
Please remember Victor Jara,
In the Santiago Stadium,
Es verdad - those Washington Bullets again

The whole song is here.

John Nichols Sells Out Progressive Ideals, Calls for Petri to Join Dems

This kind of chaffes my hide.

I enjoy Nichols' writing for the most part, but I have seen him speak several times where he says that the Democratic Party is not pure enough, that we are the lesser evil and need to become more Progressive...

Yet, his new solution is to have Petri, who stands firmly against collective bargaining and overtime, for the PATRIOT Act, voted for all of Bush's tax cuts, called Medicare Part D the 'greatest domestic legislative accomplishment of 2003' and stands firmly with Bush on the war; join the Democratic Party.

Petri can go ahead and join the Greens with Mr. Nichols.

Newsweek CW Wraps Up 2006 For Bush in a Sentance...

Bush
Last year's CW said, "Nowhere to go but up." Once again, he confounded expectations.

John Gard is Trying Somethng Different in Retirement...

"I've had opportunities to go other places, but I really want to live in northeastern Wisconsin," he said.

2 Quick Lunch Hits

Eric Boehlert on the various conservative bloggers pushing more and more war:

the 101st Fighting Keyboardists

Here is a must read: American whistleblowers are subjected to torture conditions and detention in Iraq.

Former U.S. Detainee in Iraq Recalls Torment

American guards arrived at the man’s cell periodically over the next several days, shackled his hands and feet, blindfolded him and took him to a padded room for interrogation, the detainee said. After an hour or two, he was returned to his cell, fatigued but unable to sleep.

The fluorescent lights in his cell were never turned off, he said. At most hours, heavy metal or country music blared in the corridor. He said he was rousted at random times without explanation and made to stand in his cell. Even lying down, he said, he was kept from covering his face to block out the light, noise and cold. And when he was released after 97 days he was exhausted, depressed and scared.

Profound Thought of the Day:

From a NYTimes Article on why no one is defending Bush anymore...

But when a politician makes likability a substitute for authority, his opponents make hatred a substitute for opposition.

A Dark Day...

Today in History:

2000
Republican George W. Bush claimed the presidency 36 days after Election Day; Democrat Al Gore conceded defeat.

...

p.s. - Happy Birthday Steve Buscemi

Muhammad Yunus' Nobel Lecture

Click here for the entire lecture. Hat tip to Playground Politics.

Some highlights:

By giving us this prize, the Norwegian Nobel Committee has given important support to the proposition that peace is inextricably linked to poverty. Poverty is a threat to peace.

World's income distribution gives a very telling story. Ninety four percent of the world income goes to 40 percent of the population while sixty percent of people live on only 6 per cent of world income. Half of the world population lives on two dollars a day. Over one billion people live on less than a dollar a day. This is no formula for peace.
...
Poverty is the absence of all human rights. The frustrations, hostility and anger generated by abject poverty cannot sustain peace in any society. For building stable peace we must find ways to provide opportunities for people to live decent lives.
...
We get what we want, or what we don't refuse. We accept the fact that we will always have poor people around us, and that poverty is part of human destiny. This is precisely why we continue to have poor people around us. If we firmly believe that poverty is unacceptable to us, and that it should not belong to a civilized society, we would have built appropriate institutions and policies to create a poverty-free world.

We wanted to go to the moon, so we went there. We achieve what we want to achieve. If we are not achieving something, it is because we have not put our minds to it. We create what we want.

What we want and how we get to it depends on our mindsets. It is extremely difficult to change mindsets once they are formed. We create the world in accordance with our mindset. We need to invent ways to change our perspective continually and reconfigure our mindset quickly as new knowledge emerges. We can reconfigure our world if we can reconfigure our mindset.

I believe that we can create a poverty-free world because poverty is not created by poor people. It has been created and sustained by the economic and social system that we have designed for ourselves; the institutions and concepts that make up that system; the policies that we pursue.

Poverty is created because we built our theoretical framework on assumptions which under-estimates human capacity, by designing concepts, which are too narrow (such as concept of business, credit- worthiness, entrepreneurship, employment) or developing institutions, which remain half-done (such as financial institutions, where poor are left out). Poverty is caused by the failure at the conceptual level, rather than any lack of capability on the part of people.
...
A human being is born into this world fully equipped not only to take care of him or herself, but also to contribute to enlarging the well being of the world as a whole. Some get the chance to explore their potential to some degree, but many others never get any opportunity, during their lifetime, to unwrap the wonderful gift they were born with. They die unexplored and the world remains deprived of their creativity, and their contribution.

He also goes in to the idea of social businesses, and even a social stock market. Read it all.

A Must Read

Waxing America on the Cheese War

I agree 100% - Cutting benefits for elected officials will only allow the wealthy to run

Left on the lake has a great explanation here.

I discuss a full vs part-time legislature here.

I assume there will be a large fiction section...

Big names, big dollars in Bush library bid
Baylor, SMU, Dallas pull out all stops for site that can be economic boon for host city

DALLAS — For a president, it's a place where his legacy is polished and set on display for posterity.
For the host town, a presidential library can mean an instant tourist attraction and a shot of economic vitality.
Three Texas universities are hoping to land the George W. Bush presidential library, and each is calling in its own heavy hitters and Bush backers to try to make the case.

Oshkosh Northwestern Does Follow-up on Poverty in Winnebago County

Here is the story. Below are some highlights:

One year after a special two-part series in The Northwestern, "Living on the Edge: The Peril of Poverty," recently released statistics show the number of people living in poverty is on the rise in Winnebago County. In fact, an additional 4,100 residents saw their incomes slide enough over the past two years to be considered living in poverty.
...
The U.S. Census Bureau's 2005 American Community Survey, which was released in October, reported that more than 15,500 individuals in Winnebago County, or 10.4 percent of the county's population, were living in poverty based on federal guidelines. That 36.1 percent increase means 4,100 more county residents are now living in poverty as opposed to the 11,000 the U.S. Census Bureau reported in 2003.
...
For a family of four, the federal poverty line for 2006 is an annual income of $20,000. But in Winnebago County, the cost of living for that same family is more than twice that amount. Penn State University's "Poverty in America" project determined the living wage in Winnebago County for a family of four is $42,356.
...

Local agencies that help individuals who are struggling have seen the results of the increase.

Tim Gessler, the manager of the financial assistance division at Winnebago County Department of Human Services, said an increase in the number of individuals seeking help closely mirrors the increase in the number of residents who are considered living in poverty.

In April 2006, 15,068 county residents received BadgerCare or some other type of medical assistance, a 36.7 percent increase over the 11,030 residents who received the same benefits in April 2003.

While not as large, the number of residents seeking food assistance has also increased.

Gessler said in 2005, 11,543 county residents received assistance through FoodShare, a food and nutrition program based on the federal food stamp program that helps Wisconsin residents not only purchase food, but also make healthy nutritious choices. That's an increase of 25.8 percent over the 9.175 residents who received nutrition aid in 2003.

Kudos to Today's OshNW Editorial: "What corporate income tax burden?"

Here is the complete editorial.

Wisconsin Manfacturers and Commerce (which paid for plenty of those anti-property-tax political commercials bombarding your TVs before the Nov. 7 election) has been a leading voice in the "tax hell" chant. The organization has also called for the elimination of corporate income tax burden in Wisconsin to recharge the business climate.

What corporate income tax burden?

It's no surprise the WMC's leader was quick to downplay the Institute for Wisconsin's Future income-tax analysis as slanted, emanating from a "left-leaning"
organization created by public unions and Democrat backers.

Frankly, average property taxpayers have far better standing to question the WMC's slants right now.

Yes: Wisconsin's property tax is unfair. Yes: Too much of our tax burden is borne by average Wisconsin homeowners.

But if the WMC was honest about or aware of Wisconsin's true tax problems, it would acknowledge many of Wisconsin's most esteemed manufacturing and commerce leaders don't seem to be paying a proportionate share.

If only average property taxpayers could afford to buy a TV ad explaining that one to the WMC.

I love that last line...

Moyers Speach to West Point

Read it all here:

It is impossible for soldiers to sustain in the field what cannot be justified in the Constitution; asking them to do so puts America at war with itself. So when the Vice President of the United States says it doesn’t matter what the people think, he and the President intend to prosecute the war anyway, he is committing heresy against the fundamental tenets of the American political order.

Is Kaufert Looking for a Job with Doyle?

Spice Boys have the scoop here:

"John Kerry won my district," Kaufert said of the 2004 Democratic presidential candidate. "But you've got to look beyond that. I've got to look out for my future too. . . . You've got to look out for the team, the Republican team. But after the events recently, I've got to look out for myself, too."

Translation: Kaufert's references are available on request.

Actually, Doyle probably knew that already, since his guys broached the subject with Kaufert a couple of days after he was re-elected on a 52%-48% margin.

Kaufert said a pal who is close to the guv called him to congratulate him on his victory and to ask whether he would be open to joining the administration. Kaufert's response: He'd listen to any offer but would be particularly interested in a cabinet post heading revenue, tourism or commerce. Deputy secretary would be OK, too.

The More Things Change...?

Aspointed out by the Center for American Progress:

"The recent bombings were to perpetuate the sectarian violence. In other words, we've been in this phase for a while."-- President Bush, 11/27/06, on how the recent violence in Iraq does not represent a new phase

VERSUS

"We're clearly in a new phase characterized by an increase in sectarian violence that requires us to adapt to that new phase."-- National Security Adviser Stephen Hadley, 11/27/06

Creative Legislation

From MSNBC:

SAN DIEGO - The City Council here voted late Tuesday to ban certain giant retail stores, dealing a blow to Wal-Mart Stores Inc.’s potential to expand in the nation’s eighth-largest city.

The measure, approved on a 5-3 vote, prohibits stores of more than 90,000 square feet that use 10 percent of space to sell groceries and other merchandise that is not subject to sales tax. It takes aim at Wal-Mart Supercenter stores, which average 185,000 square feet and sell groceries.

Kagen - Ahead of the Curve on Iraq

Steve Kagen's Website

Elect Strong and Smart Leaders to Bring an End to our Involvement in the Civil War in what once was Iraq, and Win the War against Extremism. We are engaged in an Iraqi conflict projected to cost more than $2 trillion and saddle our next generation with a debt they are unable to repay. It is time to develop a smart and strong solution - other than by making war in the wrong places.

Steve Kagen - Jun 10, 2006

Though he also said the U.S. must end its involvement in the "civil war in Iraq," Kagen focused his remarks on taking back control of Congress from the "corrupt" Republican leadership this November.

Steve Kagen - Aug 6, 2006

"I agree with President Bush that the war ended in May of 2003 and we should now call it what it is, an occupation of a territory that used to be known as Iraq,'' Kagen said. "We are involved in a civil war…It has turned into a civil war. What else can you call it when 100 people a day are being assassinated in what used to be a capital city?

Steve Kagen - Nov 2, 2006

Kagen said America must acknowledge that mistakes have been made in Iraq, deploy the forces elsewhere and go after terrorist leaders in Afghanistan. "We are currently in the middle of a civil war between the Sunni and Shiite peoples," he said. "The plain fact is they don't want us there."

Steve Kagen - Nov 9, 2006

"I don't think our brave military men and women belong in the middle of a civil war," Kagen said Wednesday. "I believe Iraq is gone. It has gone the way of Yugoslavia. At the end of the day, it will be Kurdistan in the north and it remains to be seen how the Sunni and Shiite sects will solve their problems."

And now:

MSNBC - Nov 27, 2006

NBC News Monday branded the Iraq conflict a civil war — a decision that put it at odds with the White House and that analysts said would increase public disillusionment with the U.S. troop presence there.

Washington Post - Nov 27, 2006

After nearly four years of letting the Bush Administration set the terms of the national debate over Iraq, some major news organizations are finally calling the conflict there what it is: a civil war. The White House is howling in protest.

UPI - Nov 27, 2006

A number of major U.S. news organizations have begun calling the sectarian strife in Iraq a "civil war."

Touchscreen Voting on Agenda for State Elections Board

Meeting Nov 29th @ 9:30AM at the Capitol

Here is the agenda (follow links in agenda for more info)

Peg Lautenschlager Mixes It Up in the FDL 'Caged Bird' Saga

Atty Gen Peg Lautenschlager has come out in support of the classic lit piece:

Speaking as a parent, State Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager said she is opposed to a Fond du Lac family's petition asking that Maya Angelou's "I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings" be removed from the sophomore advanced English curriculum at Fond du Lac High School.
...
A mother, father and student oppose the book as part of a reading assignment because passages in the book describe Angelou's rape and subsequent unwanted pregnancy, said Fond du Lac High School Principal Mary Fran Merwin.
...
District policy allows any parent the right to request a book not be used. If the complainants are unhappy with the committee's decision, they can appeal to the superintendent and the board of education, Merwin said.
...
Lautenschlager said she was most concerned with the manner in which those arguing for the book's removal have framed Angelou's discussion of her rape.

"Rape is not a sexual act; it is a violent act. Rape is a vicious means by which a perpetrator uses forced sex to obtain domination and control of a victim," she said. "It happens every day in this nation, and it happens in Fond du Lac. It has happened to many Fond du Lac High School students."

Goldsmith said when the parents objected to the book, the student was immediately assigned an alternative reading assignment, but the parents decided to take it a step further and asked to have the book removed.
...
Lautenschlager said that for too long the crime of rape could not be discussed publicly and victims were further victimized because they were shunned by society's disgust of the crime.

"Denying all students at Fond du Lac High School the opportunity to read, discuss, analyze and learn from a brilliant, insightful and relevant piece of literature is just plain wrong," Lautenschlager said. "I also am the daughter of lifetime educators, and I get nervous when a small group of parents are allowed to overrule the wise judgment of educators and dictate what all of our children will learn."

Way to go, Peg!

Look What I Found!

I loved this movie back in the day, and had the opportunity to meet Steve Via a few years ago.

Kitchen Polka Won!

As I talked about here, a co-worker of mine was up for winning a new kitchen.

According to the OshNW, they won!

Oshkosh family wins a new kitchen
BY AMANDA M. WIMMER of The Northwestern

Kelley Hansen said she’s never won anything in her life.

CBS’s Early Show changed that this week. Hansen was announced as the winner of the Early Show’s Homemade Memories contest, which she entered with an essay about a month ago.

“I’m pretty excited but it hasn’t really sunk in yet,” said Hansen, who listened to the results via telephone from the east coast one hour before the program aired in Wisconsin.

“They told us we were going to have to watch the show to find out and they wouldn’t tell us anything ahead of time,” she said. “It was horrible waiting to find out.”

Hansen entered the contest about a month ago on a whim. Her essay told a story of her mother, Kay Keough, dancing the polka in their kitchen when she was a child. Hansen’s entry was picked as one of five finalists and a CBS film crew came to her Oshkosh home to film a segment, which aired on the Early Show Nov. 13.

Voting took place on the CBS website for four days. Hansen said she won by a 5 percent margin. As the winner, Hansen will have her kitchen renovated beginning the first week of December.

Read Thursday’s Northwestern for more on this story.

Here is the family website.

Watchdog Milwaukee Praises McCue

Here is the post.

I merely point it out because Ryan and I were rugby team mates when he was at UWO.

Good to hear he knows what he is doing.

Buy It Local

The OshNW is right on here:

That's just one reason Oshkosh residents who bemoan a lack of retail options in their home city should keep their cash local this holiday season. Consider it consumer activism: Know thy numbers.

This idea is nothing new. Northwestern columnist Streetwise offered similar observations on Sunday.

But, since the greatest shopping day of the year time is nigh, it bears repeating on this page.

Consider yourself dared to do most or all of your holiday shopping in the Oshkosh area this holiday season.

Let's face it: Appleton, the Fox Cities, Oshkosh and Fond du Lac are on a development course to, some day, become Foxkoshdulac -- if not in name, then in concept.

However, until that era when their development fringes converge or collide, each
community is vying for industrial and commercial identity. That's healthy. And when the cities do meld, they'll each have something unique to offer.

Note: Just don't do the local shopping at Wal-Mart.

Did Van Hollen Break Federal Law?

Crawford's Take has the goods here.

Long story short. In a blog post, one of his election workers admits to dropping lit saying, in essence, it is OK to vote for Doyle and Van Hollen.

The money quote:

We targeted Doyle donors who were already likely to go to the polls.

That is illegal. Donor information is public for the purpose of disclosure only. It is illegal to use that for your own targeting and fund-raising.

I hope someone looks into this.

Another Success for Janitors for Justice

Houston janitors ended a monthlong strike today against the city's five major cleaning companies after reaching a tentative agreement that will guarantee higher wages, more work hours and medical benefits.
"No one thought that a group of poor Latinos from Houston would be able to win anything, but today we can lift our heads up very high," Flor Aguilar, one of the janitors and a member of the bargaining committee, said in Spanish to a crowd of about 2,000 people after the agreement was ratified tonight.
"Where I come from there is a saying and it goes, 'Don't mess with Texas.' Today I can say don't mess with Houston janitors."
The settlement was hailed as a major victory for the 5,300 janitors who last year organized under the Service Employees International Union. It is the first citywide union contract since janitors formed a union last November.
Under today's agreement, the SEIU janitors will get a 50.5 percent pay raise over the two-year contract. On Jan. 1, pay will increase to $6.25 an hour, a 21 percent increase over current wage of $5.15 an hour. That will go up to $7.25 an hour on Jan. 1, 2008, and $7.75 on Jan. 1, 2009.

Hat tip to What's Left.

An Argument for Dollar Coins

Playground Politics has an interesting take here. This is something I have never thought about.

Democrats = Better Healthcare

Insurers propose to close gap
With Democrats' rise, the industry crafts a plan for 47 million who lack health coverage.

With Democrats vowing to make healthcare a top priority, the insurance industry Monday unveiled a proposal to extend coverage to nearly 47 million uninsured persons.

The move by America's Health Insurance Plans, which represents companies that provide coverage to more than 200 million people, focused attention on an issue politicians have shied away from for more than a decade.

We haven't even been sworn in yet and they are afaid of us...

A Problem With Democracy

From the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign:

Political Ads Account for 2.5 Times More Air Time Than Election Coverage on Local TV Newscasts

In the month leading up to the 2006 mid-term elections, local television news
viewers got considerably more information about campaigns from paid political
advertisements than from actual news coverage, a new University of Wisconsin
analysis shows. Local newscasts in seven Midwest markets aired nearly four and ahalf minutes of paid political ads during the typical 30-minute broadcast while
dedicating an average of one minute and 43 seconds to election news coverage.

The new post-election analysis also shows that most of the actual news
coverage of elections on early and late-evening broadcasts was devoted to
campaign strategy and polling, which outpaced reporting on policy issues by a
margin of over three to one (65 percent to 17 percent). These findings come
amid studies consistently showing that voters look to local television
newscasts as their primary source of information about elections.

Other bullets from the press release:

41 percent of the election stories were aired in the final week before Election
Day.

There was a political ad “echo effect.” One in ten election stories mentioned,
pictured or focused on a specific campaign ad.

In coverage of elections, 57% of stories in Milwaukee focused on strategy and
horserace, while 23% of stories focused on issues. In Madison, 59% of stories
focused on strategy and horserace, while 27% of stories focused on issues.

Vote for Oshkosh, Vote for Wisconsin

A co-worker's wife is in a contest here.

Vote for the Hansen Family.

The full story is here, but vote first.

Happy Birthday Howard!

Today is DNC Chair Howard Dean's Birthday.

Don't worry, we got him his present last week.

Long live the 50 state strategy!

The Best Healthcare Money Can Buy...

The Los Angeles city attorney's office filed false-imprisonment and dependent-care-endangerment charges against hospital giant Kaiser Permanente on Wednesday, the first criminal prosecution of a medical center accused of "dumping" patients on skid row.

The charges stem from an incident earlier this year when a 63-year-old patient from Kaiser Permanente's Bellflower hospital was videotaped as she left a taxi in gown and socks, and then wandered skid row streets.

In addition to the criminal charges, the city attorney filed a civil lawsuit against Kaiser, using a state law on unfair business practices that city prosecutors usually implement against unscrupulous slumlords to force them to clean up their buildings. The suit seeks a judge's order to forbid all Kaiser medical facilities from dumping homeless patients on skid row or impose financial sanctions if it violates the order.

Kaiser is one of 10 area hospitals under investigation by city prosecutors for allegedly discharging patients to the 50-block area of downtown that is known for missions and homeless encampments. City Atty. Rocky Delgadillo said Wednesday that the Kaiser case was a first step in holding hospitals accountable for dumping.

The rest and a video are here.

What's on the minds of America's Auto Manufacturers? National Healthcare - Not Tax Breaks

From MSNBC here is what WMC can learn from true business leaders:

Six months after their meeting was cancelled by a scheduling conflict, the leaders of America’s Big Three domestic automakers finally get to meet with President Bush at the White House Tuesday. And they will have plenty to talk about.

Chief among the topics of conversation will be the rising cost of health care, pensions, energy and commodities, like steel. The auto executives are also expected to discuss trade issues, such as the big advantage an artificially weak yen is giving Detroit’s Japanese rivals.

“They will probably talk about issues that are on the industry’s mind right now, like national health care and steel prices. But will there be tax relief for the industry? I don’t think so,” said George Magliano, director of automotive industry research for the Americas at Global Insight. “It’s really more of a meet and greet.”
...
One of the biggest problems the Big Three faces is the cost of health care for employees and retirees, which adds some $1,000 to the cost of every car they make. Automakers argue that they have already negotiated significant health care benefit reductions with their labor unions, and now it’s up to Washington to fix the broader national problem.

“The U.S. government doesn’t pick up health care costs for U.S. manufacturing, whereas many foreign governments do pay health care bills, and so relieve that cost,” said Alan Tonelson, a research fellow at the U.S. Business and Industry Council, a Washington-based research organization that follows manufacturing. “So Bush will hear from the automakers how the U.S. health care system puts companies like theirs at a competitive disadvantage, but I don’t think they are going to be able to give him very clear advice on this. It’s a much broader problem.”

Paul Soglin on the Single Truth to Governing... "Pick up the garbage"

He explains it all here:

I have long argued that the critical compact between the office holder and
the voters is this simple:
Voters elect office holder
Office holder picks up the garbage
Proving competence triumphs, voters now give the office holder the green light to start experimenting and bring greater change.

I think this goes a long way to why Democratic Candidates won so handily last week. Republicans can not pick up the garbage (see: Iraq, New Orleans, etc).

How can a movement predicated on the fact that government is bad hope to make it work well? I look forward to another long majority for those who believe government can work in the best interest of the governed.

Rich White, Republican

Carrie Lynch has the goods here...

I am Macaca...

Great Op-Ed from the WaPo by S.R. Sidarth, the target of George Allen's remark:

The politics of division just don't work anymore. Nothing made me happier on election night than finding out the results from Dickenson County, where Allen and I had our encounter. Webb won there, in what I can only hope was a vote to deal the race card out of American politics once and for all.

Appling Admits Lie in Campaign:

Today in the MJS:

Amendment opponents raised fears that the amendment might affect domestic partner benefits offered to public employees or short-circuit domestic abuse laws in cases involving unmarried partners.

"Will there be legal challenges? I don't know," Appling said. "Where will they come from? I don't know."

Appling said she has "no plans to be involved in litigation." She added "the government is free to give benefits to unmarried individuals on a basis that does not approximate marriage."

In a wide-ranging interview at her Madison office, Appling spoke in general terms about plans for her organization.

She said the amendment was "just the first piece" of an effort to build a "culture of marriage in Wisconsin."

"We want to see marriage rates increase, cohabitation decrease, divorce rates decrease," she said, adding that she's interested in "stopping the bleeding of no-fault divorce."

However, in her previous statements:

State Rep. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin), an author of the amendment, and Julaine Appling, President of Vote Yes for Marriage, have argued in public debates, in the press, and on radio talk shows that benefits for unmarried heterosexual couples aren’t jeopardized by the amendment, and that this is an allegation designed to confuse voters or distract them from “protecting marriage.” Appling and her allies frequently refer to Kentucky, where an almost identically-worded amendment passed in 2004 and where, to date, no efforts have been made to strike down domestic partner benefits.

Quote of the Day

The NYTIMES Paul Krugman:

And if you think the timing of the Saddam verdict was coincidental, I’ve got a terrorist plot against the Brooklyn Bridge to sell you.

Pung Leshke accepts money from out-of-state predatory lender

The first name on page 2 of Julie Pung-Leschke's Campaign Finance Report is a donation of $500 by Rod Aycox of Select Management Resources LLC. Another $500 came from Aycox's wife, for a total of $1000.

What is Select Management Resources? They are a predatory 'Auto Title' lender. He makes money by taking advantage of people who need money and pay up to 300 percent interest.

And he has a political history:

Aycox says his partners put up the money and he provided the expertise to open about 200 stores in 15 states. Expanding into some states meant little more than filling a regulatory vacuum; those states' laws neither specifically allowed nor barred title lending. Opening in other states, however, required mastering local politics.

In five states, Aycox appeared before legislative bodies, advocating laws that would permit title lending.

In other states, he met with banking regulators, encouraging them to interpret their rules to allow his business to operate profitably — that is, by charging triple-digit interest rates.

Almost everywhere he lent money, or wanted to lend money, Aycox spent money on political contributions.

Since 2000, Aycox, his companies and close relatives have donated $313,900 to 130 state and federal candidates and political committees in 10 states, according to an analysis of databases compiled by the Center for Responsive Politics and the Institute on Money in State Politics. About $90,000 of those donations went to Georgia campaigns.

Earlier, news reports in Tennessee identified Aycox as the largest individual contributor in that state's elections in 1998, three years after legislators there had legalized the title lending industry.

The story linked to above gives a good overview of his business. He loans people up to half the value of their car, on 300% interest. If a payment is missed, the car is repossesed and sold. In most cases, even though the loan is for less than the full price of the car, the Pung-Leschke contributor keeps the entire amount of the car's sale.

Who getstaken advanagee of by these services? Poor people, those on the edge and most shockingly, members of our armed services.

In Jacksonville, the Navy got involved in trying to regulate these predators:

In Florida, after lawmakers in 1995 approved interest rates of 22 percent a month, or 264 percent a year, consumer advocates began pressing for repeal.

"It took us about four years," says Lynn Drysdale, an attorney for Jacksonville Area Legal Aid. "Every year, we would go to the Legislature and they would say, 'We didn't mean to make it 264 percent a year. We thought we were making it 22 percent a year.' Then the title lenders would get to them and nothing would happen."

Finally, the U.S. Navy, which has a massive presence in the Jacksonville area, joined the fight, Drysdale says.

"They said, 'Look, we have people who are deployed in ships and they are talking to their wives and husbands back home and they are scared to death that the car is going to be repo'd.' "

In 2000, Florida lawmakers slashed annual rates to 30 percent, or 2.5 percent a month. Aycox and other title lenders said they could no longer make money in Florida and left the state, some moving across the border to Georgia. Florida is better off without them, Drysdale says.

What does Rod Aycox know about Julie Pung-Leschke that voters in Oshkosh do not?

Why does Julie Pung-Leschke accept money from lenders who dishonestly prey on American Troops?

Pung Leschke Treasurer Quits Over Negative Tone

From the OshNW. On a side note, I have run into Robin Makar a few times on the campaign trail. She deserves praise for standing up for her beliefs.

Here is the story:

Pung Leschke campaign treasurer quits over race's negative tone
By Bethany K. Warner of The Northwestern
The treasurer for Republican Julie Pung Leschke’s campaign for the 54th Assembly District resigned over frustrations with the flow of money and negative ads from outside interest groups in the campaign.

"I’m not resigning to try to hurt Julie, I’m resigning to make a statement about how nasty this process is. I think voters deserve better than that," Robin Makar, the former treasurer said Tuesday.

Makar said she informally resigned last week but decided Monday to publicly resign after an ad came out Monday from Wisconsin Family Action against Democratic Party candidate Gordon Hintz and the definition of marriage amendment.

"When I saw that postcard and it was just a lie. I saw that it was such a political ploy not just to damage Gordon and damage this amendment – that is really near to my heart, I so believe it’s wrong," Makar said. "The combination of two things being such lie and it being about something I feel so strongly about, I can’t be quiet about stepping away from this."

Makar is a resident in the town of Algoma and does not live in the 54th Assembly District. She cannot vote for either Pung Leschke or Hintz.

Makar said she got involved with Pung Leschke’s campaign after meeting Pung Leschke through the Choice Bank board. Despite personal political differences, Makar said Pung Leschke asked Makar to be her treasurer.

"I was really interested in learning about the process," Makar said. "I told her I wouldn’t campaign for her, but I’d be her treasurer."

The Northwestern will update this story later in the day and in its Wednesday print edition.

OshNW Endorses Hintz for Assembly!

A great endorsement!

Editorial: Hintz's experience , drive best to represent Oshkosh in Madison

The next person to represent Oshkosh in Madison must have more substance than style. What Gordon Hintz lacks in folksy political charm, he more than makes up for in intellect, experience and nitty-gritty fiscal smarts.

On Nov. 7, Hintz is Oshkosh's best choice for the 54th State Assembly seat, representing most of this great Wisconsin city.

Hintz, 32, knows Wisconsin's corrections crisis. He sees what ails education funding. His insights on shared revenues and property tax freezes – how they can help or hurt Oshkosh residents -- are dead on.

Hintz sees where public policy and common sense, where Madison and Main Street, intersect. He brings the right combination of drive and understanding of
government nuances to lead.

Read the rest here.

Where Was Ron Hardy?

Woman bitten by lemur
A 31-year-old woman was transported to an area hospital after she was bitten by a lemur Saturday afternoon, officials at the Green Lake County Sheriff’s Department said.

The woman was bitten while at an exotic animal farm in Marquette County. The Princeton ambulance service transported the woman to Ripon Medical Center where she was treated for the bite.

Lemurs are a type of primate native to Madagascar. They have large, reflective eyes and long bushy tails.

And they also blog in Oshkosh.

I knew he was a loose cannon.

Another Stem Cell Add...

Not the Michael J Fox add, but another as effective.

This shows how Republicans are willing to risk all of out lives, simply to hold on to their majority.

The New Ford Edge: An Argument for Healthcare Reform?

This statement is buried in a review of the new Ford Edge. In one sentance, it almost perfectly states what is wrong with our current health system and why we are losing good manufacturing jobs. Oh, and the car looks cool, too.

The vehicle is built at Ford's factory in Oakville, Ontario, where because of savings afforded by Canadian healthcare, labor costs are approximately 25% cheaper than in a comparable U.S. plant.

Quote of the Day: Bush Popularity Denial Edition

Fom MSNBC's First Read:

Asked yesterday why Bush isn't doing more campaign rallies and other events, spokesman Tony Fratto replied that Bush is ahead of his event pace in 2002, but that because of new campaign finance laws, rallies cost candidates a lot of money. Fratto had no good answer for why Laura Bush is doing so many, then. But he argued that Bush's lack of rallies is no reflection of his popularity.

Pung Leschke on Ethics Reform: It's Your Problem Not Mine

Last spring Assembly GOP Leader Mike Huebsch – who has personally campaigned for Julie Pung-Leschke – led an effort to kill an important government ethics bill. In doing so, Huebsch declared on the floor of the Assembly that there was no need for reform because Wisconsin ’s laws were a “model for the nation.”

All while Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen had been sentenced to prison for felony misconduct in office just days later.

What Huebsch essentially said was that sure we’ve spent the past five years reading about; pay for play, kickbacks, campaign on state time, sure we’ve seen five legislators convicted in the past year, but it’s really not our problem.

For this Huebsch was lambasted in newspapers from Beloit to Green Bay, but that didn’t stop him from passing the talking points onto his hand-picked candidates.

Case in point, Julie Pung-Leschke, who thinks that the best way to clean up the system is for voters to do a better job of paying attention.

Rather than strengthening the law, Pung-Leschke would rather have voters “sift through the multitude of information available to them.” She also would rather see unethical lawmakers answer to the “electorate” than prosecution. ( Oshkosh Northwestern 9/1/06)

Please.

Lets set aside the fact that the same person who quit the county board because it was “too much work” thinks voters need to devote time to “sifting through the multitude” and just focus on some of the other problems with this argument.

- How are people supposed to know where candidates stand when candidates, such as Pung-Leschke herself, wait months to turn in questionnaires or don’t turn them in at all?

- Unregulated special interest groups spend thousands – or in the case of Pung-Leschke $70,000 – on negative ads meant to distort the record and confuse voters.

- If Pung-Leschke had her way Scott Jensen would be lining up lobbying contracts instead of awaiting a prison sentence.

Is the Republican Party of Wisconsin Supporting Tasteless Ads in Sheboygan?

The Sheboygan Press has the story out today about Republican Assembly Candidate Job Hou-Seye and his tasteless if not racist ad and actions in his campaign.

Here is what the Press says about the ad:

A racially-themed radio ad and posts to an online political forum have raised questions about Job Hou-Seye's campaign for the 26th Assembly District.

The radio ad, running on WHBL-AM (1330), is a conversation between a man with an exaggerated Mexican accent and a woman about who they'll vote for in that race. Hou-Seye, a Republican, is challenging incumbent Democratic Rep. Terry Van Akkeren for the state Assembly seat. Both are from Sheboygan.

In the ad, which began running Oct. 18, the man, voiced by Hou-Seye, says he'll vote for Van Akkeren because Van Akkeren voted against preventing illegal aliens from receiving welfare. The woman - the voice of Hou-Seye's wife, Wendy - counters that Van Akkeren voted 100 percent for pro-choice issues and asks whether welfare for illegal aliens is more important than the lives of the unborn.

Other examples of Hou-Seye's behavior include:

In a posting to sheboygantalk.com dated Sept. 14, Hou-Seye jokingly refers to the mother of another contributor as "more of a mattress-back than a wet-back."

How does this come back to the RPW? It is true that the parties do not chose who runs under their banner, anyone who collects thnecessaryry signatures can claim any party as they run.

But, the RPW does choose who they fund. And in Hou-Seye's last report, he lists a $500 contribution from the RPW.

PAC and Political Committee Contributions* to:
Job E. Hou-Seye (R) - Assembly District 26
January 1, 2005 through August 28, 2006
PAC - Interest - Amount
Republican Party of Wisconsin - Political/Ideological - $500.00

They have chosen him. He's their guy. They are financing his statements.

They should be ashamed.

Two Paragraphs That Sum Up Iraq...

From Nicholas Kristoff in the NYTimes:

For every additional second we stay in Iraq, we taxpayers will end up paying an additional $6,300.

So aside from the rising body counts and all the other good reasons to adopt a timetable for withdrawal from Iraq, here’s another: We are spending vast sums there that would be better spent rescuing the American health care system, developing alternative forms of energy and making a serious effort to reduce global poverty.

New Element on Periodic Table

From Altercation:

New Element on Periodic Table

A major research institution has just announced the discovery of the densest element yet known to science. The new element has been named "Bushcronium." Bushcronium has one neutron, 12 assistant neutrons, 75 deputy neutrons, and 224 assistant deputy neutrons, giving it an atomic mass of 311. These particles are held together by dark forces called morons, which are surrounded by vast quantities of lepton-like particles called peons. The symbol for Bushcronium is "W".

Bushcronium's mass actually increases over time, as morons randomly interact with various elements in the atmosphere and become assistant deputy neutrons in a Bushcronium molecule, forming isodopes. This characteristic of moron-promotion leads some scientists to believe that Bushcronium is formed whenever morons reach a certain quantity in concentration. This hypothetical quantity is referred to as "Critical Morass".

When catalyzed with money, Bushcronium activates Foxnewsium, an element that
radiates orders of magnitude more energy, albeit as incoherent noise, since it has 1/2 as many peons but twice as many morons.

Speaking of Open Secrets....

This is why you always want to run in every district. Want to know how the NRCC (National Republican Campaign Committee is paying for those slime adds against Dr. Kagen?

Here is one way (from Tom Petri's expenditure report):

Recipient - Amount - Date - Description
NRCC, Washington, DC - $150,000 - 7/13/2006 - TRANSFER OF EXCESS FUNDS
NRCC, Washington, DC - $75,000 - 6/9/2005 - TRANSFER OF EXCESS CAMPAIGN FUNDS
NRCC, Washington, DC - $50,000 - 3/6/2006 - TRANSFER OF EXCESS CAMPAIGN FUNDS
NRCC, Washington, DC - $39,500 - 7/11/2006 - TRANSFER OF EXCESS FUNDS
NRCC, Washington, DC - $15,000 - 7/31/2005 - TRANSFER OF EXCESS CAMPAIGN FUNDS

A total of $329,500 - of which $204,500 came in the month he found out he would not have competition.

He only gave $90,294 to the NRCC in 2004.

Where's Tommy?

It was suggested in comments to last night's post that I use a different source than Wikipedia to assert Tommy Thompson's home address.

So I dug a little over lunch.

Well, Open Secrets has him living in many different places!

For a contribution to Gard, he was a Wisconsin Resident:

THOMPSON, TOMMY - MADISON,WI 53718 - AKIN GUMP/CONSULTANT - 2/21/2006 - $2,000 - Gard, John

But, when contributing to his office's PAC, he lived in DC:

THOMPSON, TOMMY - WASHINGTON,DC 20036 - AKIN GUMP/ATTORNEY - 3/22/2006 - $1,000 - Akin, Gump et al

Yet, in an even more recent donation to Orrin Hatch, he lives in Virginia:

THOMPSON, TOMMY G - ALEXANDRIA,VA 22302 - AKIN, GUMP, STRAUSS, ET AL/PARTNER - 6/21/2006 - $1,000 - Hatch, Orrin G

Someone make sure he only votes in the place he lives 10 days before the election. Wouldn't Voter ID bills allow him to easily vote in all 3 places if he had 3 driver licenses?

Am American Car Company (Ford) Finally Gets It

In a conference call with reporters and industry analysts, Mulally called the latest earnings results unacceptable, but said he was encouraged by Ford’s progress in turning itself around by emphasizing more fuel-efficient vehicles.

Mulally seems to be putting Ford on a correct course. Let's hope it works.

Mulally said there’s a clear opportunity to return to profitability by building more vehicles that will sell across the globe, increasing productivity and quality, more collaboration with parts suppliers and unions, and accelerating efforts to reduce plant capacity to match lower consumer demand for Ford products.

Suburbs are a battle ground?

An interesting point from David Brooks in the NYTimes:

But the suburbs happen to be where this election is being fought — around Philadelphia, New York, Denver, Minneapolis and Columbus. The general rule is that Democrats win in the more densely populated suburbs close to the cities and the Republicans win the more sparsely populated ones farther out. The central fight in American politics now is over where the line is demarking the two zones, and the central Republican problem is that every time the party mobilizes its exurban base it further alienates the marginal voters in traditional suburbs where Congressional elections are won or lost.

The Problems With the Republican/Conservative Movement

The (always insightful) Plaground Politics blog has a great analysis of what is wrong with the rights movement today here.

It is a great lesson for anyone interested in politics, and something we should think of with the coming Democratic majority...

Isn't it Ironic?

Don't you think?

Funny statement out of Tommy T on why he is campaigning for Mark Green and Julie Pung Leschke...

He says he is doing it to make sure "our young people will stay in Wisconsin and not move on after graduation."

Sounds great, except for his very first statement in the video:

People ask him, "what are you doing back in Wisconsin" campaigning?

You see, Tommy left. He doesn't live here anymore.

According to Wikipedia, he works in DC now.

That's OK, Tommy, stay out.

Post-Crescent Endorses Doyle, Says Green Lacks "either credibility or accountability"

Editorial: Doyle deserves vote
Gov. Jim Doyle inherited a fiscal mess when he took office in 2002 — a $3.2 billion budget deficit. Four years and two budgets later, there's less of a mess. The budget is still a problem, but Doyle has made strides in fixing the problem.

At the same time, he has — working with and against the Republican-led Legislature — protected K-12 education funding, accommodated rising medical assistance costs and functioned as a goaltender to stop some bad legislation from becoming law.

Republican challenger Mark Green, the House 8th District representative, blames Doyle for anything and everything. From rising health care costs to instances of job losses to rising college tuition to the Green Bay Packers' slide — just kidding about that last one — Green pins it on the current governor, conveniently avoiding the Legislature's shared responsibility.

But many of Green's proposals for fixing Wisconsin's problems lack either credibility or accountability. Obviously, he's never been through the budget process as governor, but he doesn't offer a clear picture of what he would have to do to make the budget balance.

Read the rest here.

Also recomended:

Herb Kohl

Kathy Falk

Doug LaFollette

Dan Naylor

Charlie Most

Tom Nelson

Richard Lieffring

Kevin Tillman Regains His Voice, Uses It...

Click here for an article by Kevin Tillman, brother of Pat Tillman. The Tillman brothers joined the armed forces together after Sept. 11. Kevin Tillman walked away from an NFL contract to do so.

It is a must read.

Somehow we were sent to invade a nation because it was a direct threat to the American people, or to the world, or harbored terrorists, or was involved in the September 11 attacks, or received weapons-grade uranium from Niger, or had mobile weapons labs, or WMD, or had a need to be liberated, or we needed to establish a democracy, or stop an insurgency, or stop a civil war we created that can’t be called a civil war even though it is. Something like that.

Oshkosh Northwestern Needs to Tell the Whole Story

On 2 occasions, the Oshkosh Northwestern has failed its readers and the voters of the 54th District, which includes most of the city of Oshkosh.

First:

State parties loaning staff to Oshkosh Assembly candidates

By Bethany K. Warner of The Northwestern
All politics is local, the saying goes.

But that notion gets called into question, campaign watchdog groups say, when legislative staffers from Madison are loaned to local candidates.

The two candidates running for the 54th Assembly District seat – Republican Julie Pung Leschke and Democrat Gordon Hintz – both have campaign staff members currently on leave from their legislative staff positions.

Craig Trost a legislative staffer for Rep. Mark Pocan, D-Madison, is helping the Hintz campaign. Brian Pleva, a legislative staffer for Rep. Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, is helping the Pung Leschke campaign.

The arrival of outside campaign help underscores the importance both parties are placing on the race in the 54th. Some, like Mike McCabe, executive director of the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, argue it also shows the need for further campaign reform.

The whole story: Craig Trost is an Appleton native, UW-Oshkosh graduate who was active in local politics, very involved in the UWO Democrats and even worked for a short time after graduation for the Northwestern. After becoming involved in politics directly, Craig co-ordinated the Fox-Valley (including Oshkosh) area for both Jim Doyle in 2002 and John Kerry/Russ Fringold in 2005.

Craig requested a leave of abscence to come back to his home territory and work on a campaign that he cared about. He was not assigned by shady Democratic Party officials in Madison to excert thier control. He is a proud Fox Valley resident and UWO alumni who is coming back home to be part of the change that we are creating in an area that he deeply cares about.

Second:

Group pushes for emergency contraception for rape victims
By Krista B. Ledbetter of The Northwestern

Judie Koeppler is looking for some compassion for rape victims. But a bill that would've offered what she was looking for died at the end of the 2006 state legislative session.

Compassionate Care for Rape Victims, a bill introduced in both the state Assembly and Senate, would have required all Wisconsin hospitals that provide emergency services for rape victims to provide information about emergency contraception and dispense it if requested by the patient. Because it was pending at the end of the legislative session, the bill expired, and will need to be reintroduced in January if it is to be considered again.

Koeppler and Susie Elbing, both members of Concerned Citizens for Women's Health in Winnebago County would've liked to see the bill become law. They said offering information about and providing emergency contraception, or Plan B, directly at the hospital would help the thousands of women per year who get raped prevent an unwanted pregnancy.

"Eighty percent of rape victims are under the age of 16," Elbing said. "It is inexcusable and senseless to not tell this girl there's emergency contraception."
A study conducted by the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims Coalition in late 2005 and early 2006 concluded that 33 percent of hospitals in the state dispense Plan B unconditionally. The remaining hospitals either never, or sometimes provide the emergency contraception.

"This is all about preventing abortion," Koeppler said. "Emergency contraception is not going to cause an abortion, it's going to prevent a pregnancy that could likely end in abortion."

Opponents of CCRV said recent legislation to allow Plan B to be sold over the counter renders the bill needless.

Sen. Carol Roessler, R-Oshkosh, said the bill's flaw was that it mandated that faith-based hospitals would have to provide something that went against their moral mission.

"That is where I see the problem," she said.

However, in Oshkosh, both Aurora Medical Center and Mercy Medical Center have procedures in place to offer information about emergency contraception, and provide it if requested, said Koeppler, who sits on Affinity's professional activities committee.

Mercy, a faith-based hospital, follows Directive 36, developed by United States bishops in consultation with the Vatican. It states a rape victim should be allowed to defend herself against possible conception from a sexual assault, and should have access to emergency contraception if she is not pregnant.

The Whole Story: We are in the middle of a very important election season in Oshkosh. If the Northwestern felt it important to get this information out to Oshkosh, why did they not take the time to call the candidates for the 54th and report their views on this? They will most likely have to cast a vote on this issue in the next session.

Final Thought: The Northwestern needs to be more responsible and complete in their coverage of the 54th Assembly district.

Altercation: 655,000 dead: reporting the reporting

The following is taked directly from Altercation. I have wanted to post something about it, but Eric Alterman gets it right on:

655,000 dead: reporting the reporting

According to the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, George Bush's lies have killed not 30,000 innocent Iraqis, as the president not long ago estimated, but nearly 22 times that amount, or 655,000. Neither the Pentagon, nor much of the mainstream media have made much attempt to make their own counts -- it's just not that important to anyone. So how has the U.S. media reported on these shocking-albeit-necessarily-imprecise findings, based on door-to-door surveys in 18 provinces, by the experts trained in this kind of thing? The actual methods included obtaining data by eight Iraqi physicians during a survey of 1,849 Iraqi families -- 12,801 people -- in 47 neighborhoods of 18 regions across the country. The researchers based the selection of geographical areas on population size, not on the level of violence. How strict were their standards? They asked for death certificates to prove claims -- and got them in 92 percent of the cases. Even so, the authors say that the number could be anywhere from 426,000 to 800,000.

Well, Greg Mitchell has written two columns on the topic for Editor & Publisher and he finds, here and here, that:

The Associated Press casts a very skeptical eye on the study, emphasizing the views of one "expert" Anthony Cordesman, (as the AP describes him) who charges that it is nothing but "politics," with the November election approaching.

The Washington Post, meanwhile, interviewed Ronald Waldman, an epidemiologist at Columbia University who worked at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention for many years. He called the Johns Hopkins survey method "tried and true" and added that "this is the best estimate of mortality we have."

Sarah Leah Whitson, an official of Human Rights Watch in New York, told the Post, "We have no reason to question the findings or the accuracy" of the survey.

Frank Harrell Jr., chairman of the biostatistics department at Vanderbilt University, told the Associated Press the study incorporated "rigorous, well-justified analysis" of the data.

Richard Garfield, a public health professor at Columbia University who works closely with a number of the authors of the report, told The Christian Science Monitor: "That's exactly wrong. There is no discrediting of this methodology. I don't think there's anyone who's been involved in mortality research who thinks there's a better way to do it in unsecured areas. I have never heard of any argument in this field that says there's a better way to do it."

The sampling "is solid. The methodology is as good as it gets," said John Zogby, whose polling agency, Zogby International, has done several surveys in Iraq since the war began. "It is what people in the statistics business do." Zogby said similar survey methods have been used to estimate casualty figures in other conflicts, such as Darfur and the Congo.

I recall seeing on The Daily Show that when Bush got done playing around with Suzanne Malveaux and her fashion statement that day, she asked him about the study. He replied that "their methodology has been pretty well discredited." This is a bald-faced lie, of course. But here's my question. Were there any follow-ups? Or was the purpose of the question merely to get the president on the record without holding him responsible for anything at all, even the unnecessary murder of hundreds of thousands of people? What the hell kind of society kills all these people and cannot be bothered to care? Cannot be bothered to count them and when someone does, risking their lives in the process, lies to discredit them -- and no one cares about that either?

Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel Recommends Every Wisconsin Democrat for Election!

Below is the MJS's Recommendation in the 63rd Assembly Race:

Editorial: Recommending Daley From the Journal Sentinel
Posted: Oct. 18, 2006
Tim Daley, a Democrat and Union Grove attorney, is our pick in his race against GOP Rep. Robin Vos in the 63rd Assembly District.

There have been missteps in Vos' first term, chiefly his vote to kill an ethics reform bill. It would have merged the state Elections and Ethics boards, creating a new Government Accountability Board with teeth to monitor behavior at the Capitol. Vos voted against the measure. He said the current system works OK. He's wrong.
Daley would like to see the bill resurrected and also opposes the Taxpayer Protection Amendment. Vos favors it.

On government funding for embryonic stem cell research and on the gay marriage amendment, Vos gives unsatisfactory answers. He says he is for embryonic stem cell research if the embryos are first put up for adoption with the donors' consent. On gay marriage, he says he is for the public deciding but, when pressed, says he will vote for the amendment.

Daley is for embryonic stem cell research, with no unreasonable strings attached and is against the gay marriage amendment. Vos is commendably accessible to constituents, but Daley is more right on the issues. Not a good fit for this district that skews Republican? Ethics reform, funding promising research and fairness for all Wisconsin residents cross partisan boundaries.

Let's look at the MJS's analysis of the issues that cause them to recommend Daley:

1. TABOR - Daley is against it, Vos is for it... Recommendation Daley
2. Marriage Amendment - Daley is against it, Vos is for it... Recommendation Daley
3. Stem Cell Research - Daley is for it, Vos is against it... Recommendation Daley
4. SB1 & Ethics Reform - Daley is for it, Vos is against it... Recommendation Daley

It seems to me that the the MJS just endorsed not only the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's platform, but just about every candidate we have up for election in 2006.

Thank you, MJS!

Doyle 51% - Green 38%

St. Norbert Poll Shows Doyle With 13 Point Lead
(AP) MADISON Gov. Jim Doyle leads his Republican challenger by 13 points in a new poll released Thursday. The lead is more than double that shown in a survey released earlier this month.

The latest poll done by the St. Norbert College Survey Center and paid for both by the college and Wisconsin Public Radio surveyed 400 likely voters between Oct. 9 and Oct. 16. The margin of error was plus or minus 5 percentage points.

Don't stop working, however...

Olbermann on the Death of Habeas Corpus

Click here.

US Carmakers Are Not Burdened by Labor Alone:

According to a recent report, inefficient design adds $2,400 to the cost of a car:

Side-view mirrors show Detroit’s problems
Report puts a number on Asian advantage over big U.S. automakers

It’s no secret that like companies like Nissan and Toyota are outrunning their American rivals, but now a new study has put a number on the advantage Asian automakers have over Detroit’s Big Three.

U.S. automakers make an average of $2,400 less per vehicle than their Japanese counterparts because of less-efficient purchasing and manufacturing procedures, according to a study by the Harbour-Felax Group, an industry consulting firm based in suburban Detroit.
...
By restructuring through layoffs and plant closures, GM and Ford are not focusing on the root cause of their problems, Felax said. One large U.S. automaker, which Felax declined to identify, makes 81 different types of wing mirrors, while its Asian counterpart Honda only makes two, she said. By using more common parts and processes, U.S. carmakers can close the gap with their rivals, she said.

“You can cut labor, but at the end of the day you can’t cost cut your way to competitiveness,” Felax said, adding that automakers need to share components between their vehicle brands to save money, especially commodity components that will not have a major impact on a car buyers' purchasing decision, like wing mirrors or batteries.
...
Felax calculates that for every component that is shared between vehicle models, automakers stand to save between $1,000 and $1,500 dollars per vehicle.

“So if you multiply that saving by the volume of vehicles made by any one of these companies you can see there’s a potential for saving billions of dollars,” said Felax. “GM still produces the largest volume of product of any other carmaker, and this is an issue over which they have total control” — as opposed to the vagaries of consumer tastes and gasoline prices.

Wal-Mart Workers Stage a Walkout!

From Businessweek via MSNBC:

For months, politicians and activists have been saying that the low prices at the world's largest retailer, Wal-Mart Stores, come at a tremendous cost to its low-paid employees. They point to lawsuits that contend the company discriminates against women and forces low-paid employees to work through lunch breaks and after their shifts, without extra compensation. Wal-Mart has also been boosting its political contributions to stop initiatives aimed at forcing the retailer to raise pay and benefits.

Now, as Wal-Mart rolls out a new round of workplace restrictions, employees at a Wal-Mart Super Center in Hialeah Gardens, Fla., are taking matters into their own hands. On Oct. 16, workers on the morning shift walked out in protest against the new policies and rallied outside the store, shouting "We want justice" and criticizing the company's recent policies as "inhuman." Workers said the number of participants was about 200, or nearly all of the people on the shift.
...
The protest wasn't led by any union group. Rather, it was instigated by two department managers, Guillermo Vasquez and Rosie Larosa. The department managers were not affected directly by the changes, but they felt that the company had gone too far with certain new policies. Among them were moves to cut the hours of full-time employees from 40 hours a week to 32 hours, along with a corresponding cut in wages, and to compel workers to be available for shifts around the clock.

In addition, the shifts would be decided not by managers, but by a computer at company headquarters. Employees could find themselves working 7 a.m. to 4 p.m. one week and noon to 9 p.m. the next. "So workers cannot pick up their children after school everyday, and part-timers cannot keep another job because they can be called to work anytime," says Vasquez.

In addition to scheduling changes and reduction in hours, workers are now required to call an 800 number when they are sick. "If we are at an emergency room and spend the night in a hospital and cannot call the number, they won't respect that," says Larosa, who has worked at the store for six years. "It will be counted as an unexcused absence."
...
The scheduling changes, which have been rolled out in Wal-Mart stores around the country in recent weeks, are a sign that the retailer is acting on ideas outlined in an internal document that was leaked last year. In the memo, a Wal-Mart executive said it would find ways to rid its payroll of full-time and unhealthy employees who are more expensive for the company to retain.

Wal-Mart executives have recently told Wall Street analysts that the company wants to transform its workforce from 20 percent part-time to 40 percent. Recently, it was also reported that older employees in some stores who had back and leg problems were barred from using stools on which they had sat for years.
...
What's next at the Hialeah Gardens store, where store managers have had to pitch in to keep the store open? Is this the first step to forming a union at the store? That's unlikely, given the fate of previous attempts to unionize store employees. When employees in Jonquière, Que., Canada, voted last year to unionize, Wal-Mart shut the store. Vasquez says the workers haven't really talked about their plans, beyond getting the company to change its practices. "At this point, we just want to be heard," he says.

Survey-gate: day 70

Leschke still won’t answer ethics survey while her campaign is run by antireform special interest groups

OSHKOSH – Winnebago County Democratic Party Chair Jef Hall today called on Republican candidate for the 54th Assembly district Julie Pung Leschke to stop her stalling tactics and finally answer a six question survey on ethics reform.

Seventy days ago, the August 6th Oshkosh Northwestern editorial called on all candidates to return a survey circulated by three clean government groups, including the League of Women Voters. To date, Leschke has refused to respond to the survey. In that August 6 editorial, the Northwestern said:

“What’s up here? Why did these three people avoid giving answers? Is this an indicator of how they will act if elected to the 2007-2009 term in the state Assembly?...The bottom line here is that constituents are entitled to know where political candidates stand when the issue is a statewide survey prepared by non-partisan interests. With few reasonable exceptions, candidates who don’t answer six survey questions probably shouldn’t be in office in the first place.”

In an October 2 televised Eye on Oshkosh debate, Leschke called the questionnaire a “special interest survey”, despite the fact that it was issued by an organization in which she claims membership. She went on to state that she left a name for herself as a reformer during her time on the county board, which was cut short when she quit during her second term.

As a result of refusing to answer the survey, Leshke has earned the endorsement of the anti-reform organization, Wisconsin Right to Life. Furthermore, the anti-reform group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), is running corporate attack ads for Leshke targeting Democratic candidate Gordon Hintz.

So far, WMC, the Wisconsin Realtors Association, and All Children Matter, a group that supports taxpayers funding private schools with no oversight, have spent an estimated $70,000 supporting Julie Pung Leschke’s campaign. All this is money that does not need to be reported to voters.

“In three weeks, Oshkosh has a decision to make,” said Hall. “Oshkosh will either vote for Gordon Hintz for leadership for a change, or for Julie Leschke and her special interest pals in Madison whose measures attacking local control have lead to the unfair garbage fee on Oshkosh property owners.”

Leschke has often called herself a reformer in her partial term on the County Board. However, while on the board, Leschke voted against resolution 54-72000 on July 25 2000 which added an advisory referendum to the ballot calling on the state legislature to pass meaningful campaign finance reform. The advisory referendum went on to have the support of more than 92% of the voters in Winnebago County.

“It’s simply irresponsible for Leschke to call herself a reformer when her record indicates she not only opposes campaign finance reform, but is comfortable with unregulated large corporate and special interests bankrolling her campaign,” said Hall. “Oshkosh needs leadership for a change. We need Gordon Hintz in the Assembly.”