Another example of the 'Wal-Martization' of America.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5567865/
Suburban sprawl is a huge drag on the economy. As people move from city to suburbs, property tax revenues move with them, starving the city schools of needed funding.
We need to ensure that the suburbs, people utilizing the benefits of city life, pay their fair due into the city they surround.
Just a quick opinion on my way out....
See you if you are going to the Sheboygan Democratic Picnic!
-jef-
7.31.2004
This is 100% un-American:
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040731-149566.shtml
I went to the Cheney event in Wrightstown, not because I am a supporter, but because I am curious and enjoy politics. I did not applaud, but I did not boo or heckle, I just listened.
Granted, I got a few weird looks from people when I didn't applaud at the applause lines. When asked I responded "I am a democrat."
Now, that got some weird looks....
"Why would you come to this, then?"
"Because I want to hear what he has to say. I think it is important."
They looked like I had just punched them in the gut. I am sure they were thinking "Why would someone want to listen to something they disagree with?"
THIS SHOULD NOT BE WEIRD! We should take the time to listen to each other. We should discuss, not scream. We should find a way to make this society work for the people.
Granted, after I got out, I crossed the streets to the protest and picked up a sign.
-jef-
http://www.borderlandnews.com/stories/borderland/20040731-149566.shtml
I went to the Cheney event in Wrightstown, not because I am a supporter, but because I am curious and enjoy politics. I did not applaud, but I did not boo or heckle, I just listened.
Granted, I got a few weird looks from people when I didn't applaud at the applause lines. When asked I responded "I am a democrat."
Now, that got some weird looks....
"Why would you come to this, then?"
"Because I want to hear what he has to say. I think it is important."
They looked like I had just punched them in the gut. I am sure they were thinking "Why would someone want to listen to something they disagree with?"
THIS SHOULD NOT BE WEIRD! We should take the time to listen to each other. We should discuss, not scream. We should find a way to make this society work for the people.
Granted, after I got out, I crossed the streets to the protest and picked up a sign.
-jef-
7.30.2004
I attended a great speech watching party last night in Sheboygan - and was quoted in the Sheboygan-Press:
http://www.wisinfo.com/sheboyganpress/news/archive/local_17120543.shtml
I was referring to the fact that so much of the convention was not being shown on BROADCAST television. The networks operate using the PUBLIC airwaves, and are supposed to use them in our best interest.
What is in the best interest of the people, the once every four year nominating convention for president, or 'Last Comic Standing'?
As usual, Paul Krugman sums up what I really meant better than I ever could have here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/opinion/30krugman.html?th
Thanks to Mike for putting together a great shindig last night - I will be all over the district in the next week, so stop by and see me!
-jef-
http://www.wisinfo.com/sheboyganpress/news/archive/local_17120543.shtml
I was referring to the fact that so much of the convention was not being shown on BROADCAST television. The networks operate using the PUBLIC airwaves, and are supposed to use them in our best interest.
What is in the best interest of the people, the once every four year nominating convention for president, or 'Last Comic Standing'?
As usual, Paul Krugman sums up what I really meant better than I ever could have here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/30/opinion/30krugman.html?th
Thanks to Mike for putting together a great shindig last night - I will be all over the district in the next week, so stop by and see me!
-jef-
7.26.2004
Whoever would have thought....
....I agree with David Brooks!
"We're not in the middle of a war on terror, they note. We're not facing an axis of evil. Instead, we are in the midst of an ideological conflict."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/opinion/24brooks.html?th
We are not at war with people, we are at 'war' with ideas. You cannot stop ideas with military, you need to fight them with ideas & and action backing your ideals.
This was the major failure of the Iraq war. With pre-emption and the mistreatment of Iraqis, we showed that our ideals and actions are not the same, therefore our ideas are bankrupt.
We need to change our actions to match the ideals of America. The promise of freedom and liberty, backed by equal action, can defeat Islamic radicalism better than guns and bombs.
....I agree with David Brooks!
"We're not in the middle of a war on terror, they note. We're not facing an axis of evil. Instead, we are in the midst of an ideological conflict."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/24/opinion/24brooks.html?th
We are not at war with people, we are at 'war' with ideas. You cannot stop ideas with military, you need to fight them with ideas & and action backing your ideals.
This was the major failure of the Iraq war. With pre-emption and the mistreatment of Iraqis, we showed that our ideals and actions are not the same, therefore our ideas are bankrupt.
We need to change our actions to match the ideals of America. The promise of freedom and liberty, backed by equal action, can defeat Islamic radicalism better than guns and bombs.
Here is a great Op-Ed on Walmart:
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/opinion/25ehre.html?th
We need Wal-Mart unionized immediately. I urge everyone to refuse to shop there until it is. This is the poster-child for why unions are still needed today:
"Wal-Mart fails at least five out of 10 criteria set by the Worker Rights Consortium"
I do not shop there, and will not until they improve, I urge you not to as well. Also, please find a way to join in on:
"Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, will soon begin a national effort to "bring Wal-Mart up to standards we can live with." He envisions a nationwide movement bringing together the unions, churches, community organizations and environmentalists who are already standing up to the company's recklessly metastatic growth."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/25/opinion/25ehre.html?th
We need Wal-Mart unionized immediately. I urge everyone to refuse to shop there until it is. This is the poster-child for why unions are still needed today:
"Wal-Mart fails at least five out of 10 criteria set by the Worker Rights Consortium"
I do not shop there, and will not until they improve, I urge you not to as well. Also, please find a way to join in on:
"Andy Stern, president of the Service Employees International Union, will soon begin a national effort to "bring Wal-Mart up to standards we can live with." He envisions a nationwide movement bringing together the unions, churches, community organizations and environmentalists who are already standing up to the company's recklessly metastatic growth."
7.25.2004
I've been featured in a letter to the editor!
This was yesterday's Northwestern:
Democrat candidate offers change for Petri
In a time when our economy is supposedly growing yet real people are seeing their jobs disappear, it’s obvious why a change is needed this November. U.S. Rep. Tom Petri has consistently voted to hurt the working poor. He voted for cuts to housing assistance programs and against Access to Jobs grants. He hurt many citizens when he chose to vote for the Medicare Bill, which is going to prop up drug companies and hurt the elderly who so desperately need the assistance.
The Northwestern made a great point when speaking about the 54th State Assembly District race in that it is good to know there is a choice for voters. Petri also faces competition.
Jef Hall is the Democratic challenger for Petri’s seat. Hall stole the show with his speech on June 11 at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention, and he is the right man for the job. Hall is like many of us out here. He is still paying off a car loan. He works hard and makes an honest wage. He’s seen the effects on the community by Petri’s pro-corporate votes.
At a time when nobody is representing the working man in our district, we need Hall to be our representative in Washington. Hopefully the Northwestern will devote a fair amount of press coverage to help Hall get his campaign going and to force Petri to debate what’s best for our district. Without the media asking for a fair look at both sides, nobody will know exactly what choice they have this November.
Letters name,town:Robert Poole, Jr Oshkosh
Great letter!
-jef-
This was yesterday's Northwestern:
Democrat candidate offers change for Petri
In a time when our economy is supposedly growing yet real people are seeing their jobs disappear, it’s obvious why a change is needed this November. U.S. Rep. Tom Petri has consistently voted to hurt the working poor. He voted for cuts to housing assistance programs and against Access to Jobs grants. He hurt many citizens when he chose to vote for the Medicare Bill, which is going to prop up drug companies and hurt the elderly who so desperately need the assistance.
The Northwestern made a great point when speaking about the 54th State Assembly District race in that it is good to know there is a choice for voters. Petri also faces competition.
Jef Hall is the Democratic challenger for Petri’s seat. Hall stole the show with his speech on June 11 at the Wisconsin Democratic Convention, and he is the right man for the job. Hall is like many of us out here. He is still paying off a car loan. He works hard and makes an honest wage. He’s seen the effects on the community by Petri’s pro-corporate votes.
At a time when nobody is representing the working man in our district, we need Hall to be our representative in Washington. Hopefully the Northwestern will devote a fair amount of press coverage to help Hall get his campaign going and to force Petri to debate what’s best for our district. Without the media asking for a fair look at both sides, nobody will know exactly what choice they have this November.
Letters name,town:Robert Poole, Jr Oshkosh
Great letter!
-jef-
7.21.2004
Here is a great editorial rom the Northwestern about jobs.
We NEED a national health plan in America to be able to compete in the world.
Posted July 20, 2004
Editorial: A Canadian wake up call for state, national leaders
Of all of the economic shakeouts of the past 30 years, folks in Oshkosh figured there was always a safe haven in the city’s storied manufacturers. Even while low-skilled manufacturing jobs were heading down south and then offshore, there was a belief that high-skilled jobs were safe from being shipped to places like Mexico and China.
Then came the Canadian wake-up call.
When the parent company of Leach Co. announced that nearly 200 manufacturing jobs were heading north of the border last month, it was a double-stunner. Plant closing stories typically include a reference to jobs moving to a third world locale where workers’ earnings pale in comparison to Oshkosh wages.
Alberta, Canada — Medicine Hat, to be specific — isn’t exactly a third world country. But it is home to a plant of a Federal Signal Corp. subsidiary (Wittke Inc.) where production of Leach vehicles will be shifted by early next year.
Now, you might be scratching your head wondering how Canada managed to land the jobs with roughly the same working conditions and costs as the United States. A special report in Sunday’s Northwestern examined that question and the findings were an eye-opener.
“The company’s choice in relocating there (Medicine Hat) sounds likely to me, to have been driven by health insurance costs,” said Kevin McGee, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
McGee figures keeping workers in Oshkosh instead of Medicine Hat would have cost an additional $4.50 per hour per employee in health insurance costs. Add to that labor expenses, and the cost grows to $10.50 per hour more to keep jobs in Oshkosh in a union plant versus a non-union facility in Canada.
The fact that Canada has a national health plan has not been lost on anyone who has followed the issue of prescription medicine and the substantially lower cost of Canadian drugs that has driven many seniors and governments north of the border looking for relief.
The loss of Leach jobs adds another even more pressing cry for our state and national leadership to tackle exploding healthcare costs which is costing us not only money — but jobs. Elections this fall give us a great opportunity to hear from candidates how they plan to tackle this complex problem.
It is time elected officials acknowledge that health care costs have become the rat in the pantry that needs to be dealt with. The original concern about health care cost centered around two issues. The first being the equitable availability of insurance and health care and the second being the drag on the economy it created as workers had less disposable income. Now the country needs to recognize how rising health care costs are capable to sending good paying manufacturing jobs to Canada.
In Oshkosh and other communities around the nation, health care costs could be the penultimate issues in the 2004 presidential election because the system is not working.
Just ask the employees at Leach.
The final thought: Unchecked health care costs may become biggest threat to U.S. economy
We NEED a national health plan in America to be able to compete in the world.
Posted July 20, 2004
Editorial: A Canadian wake up call for state, national leaders
Of all of the economic shakeouts of the past 30 years, folks in Oshkosh figured there was always a safe haven in the city’s storied manufacturers. Even while low-skilled manufacturing jobs were heading down south and then offshore, there was a belief that high-skilled jobs were safe from being shipped to places like Mexico and China.
Then came the Canadian wake-up call.
When the parent company of Leach Co. announced that nearly 200 manufacturing jobs were heading north of the border last month, it was a double-stunner. Plant closing stories typically include a reference to jobs moving to a third world locale where workers’ earnings pale in comparison to Oshkosh wages.
Alberta, Canada — Medicine Hat, to be specific — isn’t exactly a third world country. But it is home to a plant of a Federal Signal Corp. subsidiary (Wittke Inc.) where production of Leach vehicles will be shifted by early next year.
Now, you might be scratching your head wondering how Canada managed to land the jobs with roughly the same working conditions and costs as the United States. A special report in Sunday’s Northwestern examined that question and the findings were an eye-opener.
“The company’s choice in relocating there (Medicine Hat) sounds likely to me, to have been driven by health insurance costs,” said Kevin McGee, an economics professor at the University of Wisconsin-Oshkosh.
McGee figures keeping workers in Oshkosh instead of Medicine Hat would have cost an additional $4.50 per hour per employee in health insurance costs. Add to that labor expenses, and the cost grows to $10.50 per hour more to keep jobs in Oshkosh in a union plant versus a non-union facility in Canada.
The fact that Canada has a national health plan has not been lost on anyone who has followed the issue of prescription medicine and the substantially lower cost of Canadian drugs that has driven many seniors and governments north of the border looking for relief.
The loss of Leach jobs adds another even more pressing cry for our state and national leadership to tackle exploding healthcare costs which is costing us not only money — but jobs. Elections this fall give us a great opportunity to hear from candidates how they plan to tackle this complex problem.
It is time elected officials acknowledge that health care costs have become the rat in the pantry that needs to be dealt with. The original concern about health care cost centered around two issues. The first being the equitable availability of insurance and health care and the second being the drag on the economy it created as workers had less disposable income. Now the country needs to recognize how rising health care costs are capable to sending good paying manufacturing jobs to Canada.
In Oshkosh and other communities around the nation, health care costs could be the penultimate issues in the 2004 presidential election because the system is not working.
Just ask the employees at Leach.
The final thought: Unchecked health care costs may become biggest threat to U.S. economy
7.16.2004
It sure has been busy, sorry I haven't blogged recently.
I had a great fund-raiser in Manitowoc on Monday night. On Tuesday, I became a candidate with a line on the ballot when I dropped my signatures off in Madison. Wednesday was spent protesting Bush. Yesterday, I was back at work trying to catch up, then on the Fondy for the Dems meeting and tour of the new office for the election - they got a great one!
I would like to talk about the protests and the difference between the Bush & Kerry campaigns when it comes to the treatment of dissent.
Dissent and disagreement are truly the building blocks of democracy. The whole point of our government is to balance the needs and goals of the different groups.
Bush does not seem to believe that it is important to allow dissent. We were pushed a half a mile away from Mid-States in Fondy, with two dump trucks parked between us.
People were asked if they were Bush supporters before they were given tickets to any of the events.
In line at the Bush event in GB, people were asked to open their overshirts, to ensure that they were not wearing secret Kerry shirts underneath.
At the event in GB, there was a line of busses between the protesters and the venue.
When Kerry came to GB, I was a volunteer that worked the whole event. When people came for tickets, they were given out, all we asked was for people to sign their name - no questions.
We left the Republican rally alone in front of the building. I was working parking, in fact, and helped many of the attendees find the proper place to park for it.
We did not do pin or t-shirt checks. We did not allow signs of any sort, pro- or anti-Kerry.
This is a democracy. We should be polite to dissenters. We should also give everyone a chance to speak at their event. I got into the Cheney event in Wrightstown, and listened quietly. After, I crossed the street and joined the protesters. It is important to make sure you listen to the side you disagree with. You will need to work with them.
This, I think, is the problem with the Bush Administration and the current Congressional Republicans. They are not willing to work with anyone across the isle, not even to listen.
I hope that I would be different, in fact, I know I am. While I may disagree, I will always listen.
Here is a story about the protests:
By Paige FunkhouserFor The News-ChronicleA wall of empty school buses lined the entrance road to the Resch Center, hiding the group of protesters from the long lines of those waiting to see President Bush. The line of people with free tickets to the campaign rally were sheltered from the large cluster of President Bush protesters by both a line of buses - paid for by the Republican Party to sit empty all day - secret service agents and volunteers from the Republicans of Brown County group.
The long line of chanting, sign waving, Bush-hating protesters crowded Oneida street to voice their opposition to the President and the way he has run the country for the last four years.
"Bush has taken away our freedoms," said Vietnam veteran John Baraniak. "We're no longer the guiding light in the world, as we once were. John Kerry will restore respect to America."
Even though the protesters each had their own slogans and reasons for opposing President Bush, several groups made efforts to unify and direct the chanting crowd towards issues they felt the president is neglecting.
One fledgling group, Americans Coming Together, was trying to direct people toward focusing on the issue of jobs and unemployment. ACT, a grassroots group trying to mobilize and engage new voters, organized the protesters around an out-of-work electrician who spoke about the perils of his life without a steady income.
"I've been out of work since March 2003," said IBEW union member and electrician Craig Miller. "I have three children in college, $54,000 in hospital bills that need to be paid, and I'm living credit card to credit card. That's no way to live.
"We have to start punishing companies for going overseas," Miller continued. "We need to increase wages so people here can afford to buy things ... show us the jobs, Bush."
On the other side of the street, Republican volunteers were checking the shirts of those waiting to enter the rally. Several Kerry/Edwards supporters were turned away, their tickets ripped up after a volunteer found them wearing a shirt supporting John Kerry.
"I had my buttoned shirt on, and they made me take it off," said Jayson Nelson, who was forced out of line from seeing Bush. "They took away my ticket and ripped it up."
When questioned why people were being turned away from seeing the President, Joann - a volunteer who refused to give her last name - explained that the rally was a private event. "We wouldn't want to do anything to embarrass the president," she said. "Yes, the tickets are free, but it's private, so we can turn people away."
The protests, which the police said were mostly peaceful but for a few problems started by republicans trying to push their way through the protesters, didn't phase many of those who came to see the president.
"I find this all very interesting," said Roger Wood, a Sturgeon Bay school board member. "How this whole rally works and everyone comes together. It's just great to see a sitting president."
I had a great fund-raiser in Manitowoc on Monday night. On Tuesday, I became a candidate with a line on the ballot when I dropped my signatures off in Madison. Wednesday was spent protesting Bush. Yesterday, I was back at work trying to catch up, then on the Fondy for the Dems meeting and tour of the new office for the election - they got a great one!
I would like to talk about the protests and the difference between the Bush & Kerry campaigns when it comes to the treatment of dissent.
Dissent and disagreement are truly the building blocks of democracy. The whole point of our government is to balance the needs and goals of the different groups.
Bush does not seem to believe that it is important to allow dissent. We were pushed a half a mile away from Mid-States in Fondy, with two dump trucks parked between us.
People were asked if they were Bush supporters before they were given tickets to any of the events.
In line at the Bush event in GB, people were asked to open their overshirts, to ensure that they were not wearing secret Kerry shirts underneath.
At the event in GB, there was a line of busses between the protesters and the venue.
When Kerry came to GB, I was a volunteer that worked the whole event. When people came for tickets, they were given out, all we asked was for people to sign their name - no questions.
We left the Republican rally alone in front of the building. I was working parking, in fact, and helped many of the attendees find the proper place to park for it.
We did not do pin or t-shirt checks. We did not allow signs of any sort, pro- or anti-Kerry.
This is a democracy. We should be polite to dissenters. We should also give everyone a chance to speak at their event. I got into the Cheney event in Wrightstown, and listened quietly. After, I crossed the street and joined the protesters. It is important to make sure you listen to the side you disagree with. You will need to work with them.
This, I think, is the problem with the Bush Administration and the current Congressional Republicans. They are not willing to work with anyone across the isle, not even to listen.
I hope that I would be different, in fact, I know I am. While I may disagree, I will always listen.
Here is a story about the protests:
By Paige FunkhouserFor The News-ChronicleA wall of empty school buses lined the entrance road to the Resch Center, hiding the group of protesters from the long lines of those waiting to see President Bush. The line of people with free tickets to the campaign rally were sheltered from the large cluster of President Bush protesters by both a line of buses - paid for by the Republican Party to sit empty all day - secret service agents and volunteers from the Republicans of Brown County group.
The long line of chanting, sign waving, Bush-hating protesters crowded Oneida street to voice their opposition to the President and the way he has run the country for the last four years.
"Bush has taken away our freedoms," said Vietnam veteran John Baraniak. "We're no longer the guiding light in the world, as we once were. John Kerry will restore respect to America."
Even though the protesters each had their own slogans and reasons for opposing President Bush, several groups made efforts to unify and direct the chanting crowd towards issues they felt the president is neglecting.
One fledgling group, Americans Coming Together, was trying to direct people toward focusing on the issue of jobs and unemployment. ACT, a grassroots group trying to mobilize and engage new voters, organized the protesters around an out-of-work electrician who spoke about the perils of his life without a steady income.
"I've been out of work since March 2003," said IBEW union member and electrician Craig Miller. "I have three children in college, $54,000 in hospital bills that need to be paid, and I'm living credit card to credit card. That's no way to live.
"We have to start punishing companies for going overseas," Miller continued. "We need to increase wages so people here can afford to buy things ... show us the jobs, Bush."
On the other side of the street, Republican volunteers were checking the shirts of those waiting to enter the rally. Several Kerry/Edwards supporters were turned away, their tickets ripped up after a volunteer found them wearing a shirt supporting John Kerry.
"I had my buttoned shirt on, and they made me take it off," said Jayson Nelson, who was forced out of line from seeing Bush. "They took away my ticket and ripped it up."
When questioned why people were being turned away from seeing the President, Joann - a volunteer who refused to give her last name - explained that the rally was a private event. "We wouldn't want to do anything to embarrass the president," she said. "Yes, the tickets are free, but it's private, so we can turn people away."
The protests, which the police said were mostly peaceful but for a few problems started by republicans trying to push their way through the protesters, didn't phase many of those who came to see the president.
"I find this all very interesting," said Roger Wood, a Sturgeon Bay school board member. "How this whole rally works and everyone comes together. It's just great to see a sitting president."
7.13.2004
As I have written before, I think the talk of canceling or postponing the election because of an attack is horribly scary. And it looks like Lincoln agrees with me (pay extra attention to the last line - it is a great statement on the war in Iraq):
Lincoln on the 1864 Presidential Election
Response to a Serenade
November 10, 1864
It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emergencies.
On this point the present rebellion brought our republic to a severe test; and a presidential election occurring in regular course during the rebellion added not a little to the strain. If the loyal people, united, were put to the utmost of their strength by the rebellion, must they not fail when divided, and partially paralized (sic), by a political war among themselves?
But the election was a necessity.
We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us. The strife of the election is but human-nature practically applied to the facts of the case. What has occurred in this case, must ever recur in similar cases. Human-nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak, and as strong; as silly and as wise; as bad and good. Let us, therefore, study the incidents of this, as philosophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as wrongs to be revenged.
But the election, along with its incidental, and undesirable strife, has done good too. It has demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election, in the midst of a great civil war. Until now it has not been known to the world that this was a possibility. It shows that, even among candidates of the same party, he who is most devoted to the Union, and most opposed to treason, can receive most of the people's votes. It shows also, to the extent yet known, that we have more men now, than we had when the war began. Gold is good in its place; but living, brave, patriotic men, are better than gold.
Lincoln on the 1864 Presidential Election
Response to a Serenade
November 10, 1864
It has long been a grave question whether any government, not too strong for the liberties of its people, can be strong enough to maintain its own existence in great emergencies.
On this point the present rebellion brought our republic to a severe test; and a presidential election occurring in regular course during the rebellion added not a little to the strain. If the loyal people, united, were put to the utmost of their strength by the rebellion, must they not fail when divided, and partially paralized (sic), by a political war among themselves?
But the election was a necessity.
We can not have free government without elections; and if the rebellion could force us to forego, or postpone a national election it might fairly claim to have already conquered and ruined us. The strife of the election is but human-nature practically applied to the facts of the case. What has occurred in this case, must ever recur in similar cases. Human-nature will not change. In any future great national trial, compared with the men of this, we shall have as weak, and as strong; as silly and as wise; as bad and good. Let us, therefore, study the incidents of this, as philosophy to learn wisdom from, and none of them as wrongs to be revenged.
But the election, along with its incidental, and undesirable strife, has done good too. It has demonstrated that a people's government can sustain a national election, in the midst of a great civil war. Until now it has not been known to the world that this was a possibility. It shows that, even among candidates of the same party, he who is most devoted to the Union, and most opposed to treason, can receive most of the people's votes. It shows also, to the extent yet known, that we have more men now, than we had when the war began. Gold is good in its place; but living, brave, patriotic men, are better than gold.
7.11.2004
Here is the text of an email I just sent out:
A message from Jef Hall, candidate for Congress,
As you probably heard, Leach announced they would be moving 190 manufacturing jobs to Canada. While company statements indicated that the Oshkosh plant produced a higher-quality product, the cost savings in Canada made it not feasible to stay in Oshkosh.
Cost savings in Canada, why? Canada provides a national healthcare plan. 9 out of 10 Americans receive healthcare through their employers. Skyrocketing costs have weighed down the bottom lines of business. If we were to offer a healthcare plan for all, allowing business to buy-in for their employees, the savings from this group purchasing would be huge. The government has a place as the negotiator and administrator of this plan.
Who knows, healthcare savings may have saved these jobs. While it is too late to save these, we can save others. And create many more jobs by offering a national health benefit. I know several small business owners who would hire, if they were able to offer healthcare.
I spoke last weekend with the wife of a small business owner, she was very concerned about their ability to stay afloat. They currently pay over $500 a month for health insurance. As these costs rise, they may be forced to close their business and go to work for someone else. Not because they failed in business, but because their healthcare costs, now that they have four children, have grown to fast to keep up with their ability to pay them.
The inability of Congress to come up with a meaningful health benefit has been a drag on the economy too long. When elected, I will make it my top priority to ensure that no one misses out on a shot at the American Dream because of unnecessarily high health insurance costs.
Also, no American should ever skip needed treatment because of cost concerns. There should be an option other than no treatment or lifetime debt. The under- or uninsured deserve treatment. They are not second-class citizens simply because of employment status.
Please help me fight for the rights of the uninsured and to keep Americans working by contributing today at:
http://jef4wi.com/contribute.html
Thank you.
I have added an events page to www.jef4wi.com. I have also acquired www.jefhall.com (it re-directs to www.jef4wi.com). Please feel free to send people to my website for questions or to contact me.
Some upcoming events to highlight:
Monday, July 12, 2004 – 7:00PM
Meet the Candidate Fund-raiser
Kathy’s Stage Door Pub
701 Franklin St, Manitowoc.
I will be saying a few words and answering questions.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 – 6:00PM
Winnebago County Labor Council Candidates Forum
Columbus Club
1821 Jackson St, Oshkosh
I will be on at 8:00 – giving a statement, and answering questions
Sunday, July 18th – 2:00PM
Backyard BBQ and Fund-Raiser
My House
224A Scott Ave, Oshkosh
Come out for a burger and fellowship
More at:
http://jef4wi.com/events.html
If you would be interested in hosting an event as either a fund-raiser or to help me get my name out, please contact me at jef@jef4wi.com.
Please forward this email to anyone that you feel may be interested. If you have been forwarded this, please signup for updates at:
http://jef4wi.com/contactinfo.html
Thank you,
-jef-
Jef Hall
Democrat for Congress
Wisconsin's 6th CD
Jef for Wisconsin
224A Scott Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54901
920-203-6883
jef4wi.com
jef@jef4wi.com
A message from Jef Hall, candidate for Congress,
As you probably heard, Leach announced they would be moving 190 manufacturing jobs to Canada. While company statements indicated that the Oshkosh plant produced a higher-quality product, the cost savings in Canada made it not feasible to stay in Oshkosh.
Cost savings in Canada, why? Canada provides a national healthcare plan. 9 out of 10 Americans receive healthcare through their employers. Skyrocketing costs have weighed down the bottom lines of business. If we were to offer a healthcare plan for all, allowing business to buy-in for their employees, the savings from this group purchasing would be huge. The government has a place as the negotiator and administrator of this plan.
Who knows, healthcare savings may have saved these jobs. While it is too late to save these, we can save others. And create many more jobs by offering a national health benefit. I know several small business owners who would hire, if they were able to offer healthcare.
I spoke last weekend with the wife of a small business owner, she was very concerned about their ability to stay afloat. They currently pay over $500 a month for health insurance. As these costs rise, they may be forced to close their business and go to work for someone else. Not because they failed in business, but because their healthcare costs, now that they have four children, have grown to fast to keep up with their ability to pay them.
The inability of Congress to come up with a meaningful health benefit has been a drag on the economy too long. When elected, I will make it my top priority to ensure that no one misses out on a shot at the American Dream because of unnecessarily high health insurance costs.
Also, no American should ever skip needed treatment because of cost concerns. There should be an option other than no treatment or lifetime debt. The under- or uninsured deserve treatment. They are not second-class citizens simply because of employment status.
Please help me fight for the rights of the uninsured and to keep Americans working by contributing today at:
http://jef4wi.com/contribute.html
Thank you.
I have added an events page to www.jef4wi.com. I have also acquired www.jefhall.com (it re-directs to www.jef4wi.com). Please feel free to send people to my website for questions or to contact me.
Some upcoming events to highlight:
Monday, July 12, 2004 – 7:00PM
Meet the Candidate Fund-raiser
Kathy’s Stage Door Pub
701 Franklin St, Manitowoc.
I will be saying a few words and answering questions.
Tuesday, July 13, 2004 – 6:00PM
Winnebago County Labor Council Candidates Forum
Columbus Club
1821 Jackson St, Oshkosh
I will be on at 8:00 – giving a statement, and answering questions
Sunday, July 18th – 2:00PM
Backyard BBQ and Fund-Raiser
My House
224A Scott Ave, Oshkosh
Come out for a burger and fellowship
More at:
http://jef4wi.com/events.html
If you would be interested in hosting an event as either a fund-raiser or to help me get my name out, please contact me at jef@jef4wi.com.
Please forward this email to anyone that you feel may be interested. If you have been forwarded this, please signup for updates at:
http://jef4wi.com/contactinfo.html
Thank you,
-jef-
Jef Hall
Democrat for Congress
Wisconsin's 6th CD
Jef for Wisconsin
224A Scott Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54901
920-203-6883
jef4wi.com
jef@jef4wi.com
UW financial aid not keeping up with tuition increase
WGBA-TV
July 10 - Students in Wisconsin may be having more trouble paying for college.
A report on the University of Wisconsin System says financial aid isn't keeping pace with tuition increases.
The report is by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Alliance president Todd Berry says poorer families now make up a smaller percentage of the student body than they did a decade ago.
The group says undergraduate tuition and fees for state residents attending System schools increased almost 27 percent from 1998-99 to 2002-03. The average financial aid package increased by about 16 percent.
That disparity is likely to grow after U-W regents approved increasing tuition to help offset cuts in state aid.
Berry says the state must increase financial aid if it hopes to keep college as affordable as it traditionally has been.
Source: AP
This could be a good reason why Petri talks about how to make student loans easier.
I think that we need to ensure that higher education is affordable for all. Right now, if you are from a household that makes $75,000 or more a year, your chances of attending a 4-year college are 5 in 6. The same qualified student, if their household income is under $25,000 only have a 1 in 2 chance.
The solution to this is not to ensure the ability of the poor to assume lifetime debt to attend college. The solution it to make sure the public university system can accommodate those with special needs.
At the same time that real wages are falling for working families, tuitions are rising for their children. This is not the American Dream.
-jef-
WGBA-TV
July 10 - Students in Wisconsin may be having more trouble paying for college.
A report on the University of Wisconsin System says financial aid isn't keeping pace with tuition increases.
The report is by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.
Alliance president Todd Berry says poorer families now make up a smaller percentage of the student body than they did a decade ago.
The group says undergraduate tuition and fees for state residents attending System schools increased almost 27 percent from 1998-99 to 2002-03. The average financial aid package increased by about 16 percent.
That disparity is likely to grow after U-W regents approved increasing tuition to help offset cuts in state aid.
Berry says the state must increase financial aid if it hopes to keep college as affordable as it traditionally has been.
Source: AP
This could be a good reason why Petri talks about how to make student loans easier.
I think that we need to ensure that higher education is affordable for all. Right now, if you are from a household that makes $75,000 or more a year, your chances of attending a 4-year college are 5 in 6. The same qualified student, if their household income is under $25,000 only have a 1 in 2 chance.
The solution to this is not to ensure the ability of the poor to assume lifetime debt to attend college. The solution it to make sure the public university system can accommodate those with special needs.
At the same time that real wages are falling for working families, tuitions are rising for their children. This is not the American Dream.
-jef-
7.08.2004
They're doing it again....
"Senior administration officials and counterterrorism experts view the coming months as a time to increase vigilance out of concern that Islamic militants may try to replicate the political success they had in Spain with coordinated pre-election train bombings.
Nearly 200 died in the March attack, and the prime minister’s ruling Popular Party lost to a rival who promised a pull out of Spanish troops from Iraq."
As I have written before - The conservative government was voted out in Spain because they LIED to the voters about who carried out the attack - even facing overwhelming evidence that it was Islamic Terrorism, they tried to pin it on the Basque seperatists because they knew the consequences.
Also, they were already facing low public opinion for committing troops to Iraq when the majority of their population was against it.
They lost because of lies, not terrorism. They lost because their leaders made them less safe, not more safe through their policies. They lost because their leaders made them more enemies internationally, not more allies.
Sound familiar? Keep your eyes open.
"Senior administration officials and counterterrorism experts view the coming months as a time to increase vigilance out of concern that Islamic militants may try to replicate the political success they had in Spain with coordinated pre-election train bombings.
Nearly 200 died in the March attack, and the prime minister’s ruling Popular Party lost to a rival who promised a pull out of Spanish troops from Iraq."
As I have written before - The conservative government was voted out in Spain because they LIED to the voters about who carried out the attack - even facing overwhelming evidence that it was Islamic Terrorism, they tried to pin it on the Basque seperatists because they knew the consequences.
Also, they were already facing low public opinion for committing troops to Iraq when the majority of their population was against it.
They lost because of lies, not terrorism. They lost because their leaders made them less safe, not more safe through their policies. They lost because their leaders made them more enemies internationally, not more allies.
Sound familiar? Keep your eyes open.
7.06.2004
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5353901/
Here is an interesting article about a problem we with working cars and the ability to move freely about probably never think about.
I guess we can look at this as yet another problem to the Wal-Martization of America.
Remember when the local shopkeeper was an honest profession? When people at the grocery store could be working as a career?
I know I see it in old-time movies, and it looks really nice. People knowing your name as you walk in, helping you out, helping out your neighbors.
I took my nephews (6 & 9) into the local Piggly Wiggly recently. We drove past the Pick & Save, and they asked me why we were going to the Pig instead.
"Because this is a Union store." I replied.
"What does that mean?" they asked.
"It means that they treat their employees better."
We saddled up to the deli counter (I needed some 'home made' salad for a picnic we were going to - I don't think I fooled anyone) and, along with my modest order, they were given a cookie each by the lady serving us.
At check out, they were each given a token for the vending machines with the little toys in them on the way out. Every employee we passed smiled and said hello.
They played with the rubber balls from the vending machine all night and into the next day.
"They really are nice here!" my 6-year old nephew made sure I knew as we left.
Since the Wal-Mart Supercenter went up in Oshkosh, we have lost 2 Union Supermarkets.
And another slice of our sense of community.
Here is an interesting article about a problem we with working cars and the ability to move freely about probably never think about.
I guess we can look at this as yet another problem to the Wal-Martization of America.
Remember when the local shopkeeper was an honest profession? When people at the grocery store could be working as a career?
I know I see it in old-time movies, and it looks really nice. People knowing your name as you walk in, helping you out, helping out your neighbors.
I took my nephews (6 & 9) into the local Piggly Wiggly recently. We drove past the Pick & Save, and they asked me why we were going to the Pig instead.
"Because this is a Union store." I replied.
"What does that mean?" they asked.
"It means that they treat their employees better."
We saddled up to the deli counter (I needed some 'home made' salad for a picnic we were going to - I don't think I fooled anyone) and, along with my modest order, they were given a cookie each by the lady serving us.
At check out, they were each given a token for the vending machines with the little toys in them on the way out. Every employee we passed smiled and said hello.
They played with the rubber balls from the vending machine all night and into the next day.
"They really are nice here!" my 6-year old nephew made sure I knew as we left.
Since the Wal-Mart Supercenter went up in Oshkosh, we have lost 2 Union Supermarkets.
And another slice of our sense of community.
7.05.2004
From 'Perspectives' in Newsweek this week.....
"Let freedom reign." President George W. Bush, in a note, shortly after learning that self-rule had been transferred back to Iraq
This is a very disturbing quote to me.
What does it mean, "shortly after learning"?
Shouldn't the authorization for transfer of power come from the Commander-in-Chief? Why did he need to be informed of the transfer? Didn't he decide it?
What are we coming to?
"Let freedom reign." President George W. Bush, in a note, shortly after learning that self-rule had been transferred back to Iraq
This is a very disturbing quote to me.
What does it mean, "shortly after learning"?
Shouldn't the authorization for transfer of power come from the Commander-in-Chief? Why did he need to be informed of the transfer? Didn't he decide it?
What are we coming to?
6.30.2004
ACTION ALERT!! ACTION ALERT!! ACTION ALERT!! ACTION ALERT!!
We have never, to my knowledge, missed a November election. We cannot allow this to happen. We had them in the midst of every conflict in American history.
Too many people talk about the Spain election. The leader lost not because of the terrorist attcks, but because he sent his troops to a war that was unsupported by a majority of his people. And then lied about who committed the attacks, trying to shift blame to an unrelated group.
Sound familiar?
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040625/ap_on_el_ge/election_terrorism_1
Voting Official Seeks Terrorism Guidelines
Fri Jun 25, 3:59 PM ET Add Elections - AP to My Yahoo!
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission.
Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head of the voting panel.
Soaries was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission last year by President Bush (news - web sites). Soaries said he wrote to National Security (news - web sites) Adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in April to raise the concerns.
"I am still awaiting their response," he said. "Thus far we have not begun any meaningful discussion." Spokesmen for Rice and Ridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Soaries noted that Sept. 11, 2001, fell on Election Day in New York City — and he said officials there had no rules to follow in making the decision to cancel the election and hold it later.
Events in Spain, where a terrorist attack shortly before the March election possibly influenced its outcome, show the need for a process to deal with terrorists threatening or interrupting the Nov. 2 presidential election in America, he said.
"Look at the possibilities. If the federal government were to cancel an election or suspend an election, it has tremendous political implications. If the federal government chose not to suspend an election it has political implications," said Soaries, a Republican and former secretary of state of New Jersey.
"Who makes the call, under what circumstances is the call made, what are the constitutional implications?" he said. "I think we have to err on the side of transparency to protect the voting rights of the country."
Soaries said his bipartisan, four-member commission might make a recommendation to Congress about setting up guidelies.
"I'm hopeful that there are some proposals already being floated. If there are, we're not aware of them. If there are not, we will probably try to put one on the table," he said.
Soaries also said he's met with a former New York state elections director to discuss how officials there handled the Sept. 11 attacks from the perspective of election administration. He said the commission is getting information from New York documenting the process used there.
"The states control elections, but on the national scale where every state has its own election laws and its own election chief, who's in charge?" he said.
Soaries also said he wants to know what federal officials are doing to increase security on Election Day. He said security officials must take care not to allow heightened security measures to intimidate minority voters, but that local and state election officials he's talked to have not been told what measures to expect.
"There's got to be communication," he said, "between law enforcement and election officials in preparation for November."
We have never, to my knowledge, missed a November election. We cannot allow this to happen. We had them in the midst of every conflict in American history.
Too many people talk about the Spain election. The leader lost not because of the terrorist attcks, but because he sent his troops to a war that was unsupported by a majority of his people. And then lied about who committed the attacks, trying to shift blame to an unrelated group.
Sound familiar?
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040625/ap_on_el_ge/election_terrorism_1
Voting Official Seeks Terrorism Guidelines
Fri Jun 25, 3:59 PM ET Add Elections - AP to My Yahoo!
By ERICA WERNER, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON - The government needs to establish guidelines for canceling or rescheduling elections if terrorists strike the United States again, says the chairman of a new federal voting commission.
Such guidelines do not currently exist, said DeForest B. Soaries, head of the voting panel.
Soaries was appointed to the federal Election Assistance Commission last year by President Bush (news - web sites). Soaries said he wrote to National Security (news - web sites) Adviser Condoleezza Rice (news - web sites) and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge in April to raise the concerns.
"I am still awaiting their response," he said. "Thus far we have not begun any meaningful discussion." Spokesmen for Rice and Ridge did not immediately respond to requests for comment.
Soaries noted that Sept. 11, 2001, fell on Election Day in New York City — and he said officials there had no rules to follow in making the decision to cancel the election and hold it later.
Events in Spain, where a terrorist attack shortly before the March election possibly influenced its outcome, show the need for a process to deal with terrorists threatening or interrupting the Nov. 2 presidential election in America, he said.
"Look at the possibilities. If the federal government were to cancel an election or suspend an election, it has tremendous political implications. If the federal government chose not to suspend an election it has political implications," said Soaries, a Republican and former secretary of state of New Jersey.
"Who makes the call, under what circumstances is the call made, what are the constitutional implications?" he said. "I think we have to err on the side of transparency to protect the voting rights of the country."
Soaries said his bipartisan, four-member commission might make a recommendation to Congress about setting up guidelies.
"I'm hopeful that there are some proposals already being floated. If there are, we're not aware of them. If there are not, we will probably try to put one on the table," he said.
Soaries also said he's met with a former New York state elections director to discuss how officials there handled the Sept. 11 attacks from the perspective of election administration. He said the commission is getting information from New York documenting the process used there.
"The states control elections, but on the national scale where every state has its own election laws and its own election chief, who's in charge?" he said.
Soaries also said he wants to know what federal officials are doing to increase security on Election Day. He said security officials must take care not to allow heightened security measures to intimidate minority voters, but that local and state election officials he's talked to have not been told what measures to expect.
"There's got to be communication," he said, "between law enforcement and election officials in preparation for November."
6.29.2004
Here is the text of a speech often given by Tommy Douglas - OK, he's Canadian. It really hits on what I am trying to accomplish.
We should say "Enough!" to the rich, out of touch representation we are given. We need to demand politicians who will work in the majority's interest. And we need to remember that we, the working and middle class are the majority.
We should be giving the country it's direction, not just providing its leaders with labor and capital.
This has been taken, in the past as a socialist fable. I disagree. I identify with this story in the way it illistrates the way we constantly vote against our own economic interests. I feel that by putting more people in office from the working and middle classes, we can reign in the cats a little.
Here's a great first step to demanding our rights:
------------------------------
Mouseland
As told by Tommy Douglas in 1944
It's the story of a place called Mouseland. Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played, were born and died. And they lived much the same as you and I do.
They even had a Parliament. And every four years they had an election. Used to walk to the polls and cast their ballots. Some of them even got a ride to the polls. And got a ride for the next four years afterwards too. Just like you and me. And every time on election day all the little mice used to go to the ballot box and they used to elect a government. A government made up of big, fat, black cats.
Now if you think it strange that mice should elect a government made up of cats, you just look at the history of Canada for last 90 years and maybe you'll see that they weren't any stupider than we are.
Now I'm not saying anything against the cats. They were nice fellows. They conducted their government with dignity. They passed good laws--that is, laws that were good for cats. But the laws that were good for cats weren't very good for mice. One of the laws said that mouseholes had to be big enough so a cat could get his paw in. Another law said that mice could only travel at certain speeds--so that a cat could get his breakfast without too much effort.
All the laws were good laws. For cats. But, oh, they were hard on the mice. And life was getting harder and harder. And when the mice couldn't put up with it any more, they decided something had to be done about it. So they went en masse to the polls. They voted the black cats out. They put in the white cats.
Now the white cats had put up a terrific campaign. They said: "All that Mouseland needs is more vision." They said:"The trouble with Mouseland is those round mouseholes we got. If you put us in we'll establish square mouseholes." And they did. And the square mouseholes were twice as big as the round mouseholes, and now the cat could get both his paws in. And life was tougher than ever.
And when they couldn't take that anymore, they voted the white cats out and put the black ones in again. Then they went back to the white cats. Then to the black cats. They even tried half black cats and half white cats. And they called that coalition. They even got one government made up of cats with spots on them: they were cats that tried to make a noise like a mouse but ate like a cat.
You see, my friends, the trouble wasn't with the colour of the cat. The trouble was that they were cats. And because they were cats, they naturally looked after cats instead of mice.
Presently there came along one little mouse who had an idea. My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea. And he said to the other mice, "Look fellows, why do we keep on electing a government made up of cats? Why don't we elect a government made up of mice?" "Oh," they said, "he's a Bolshevik. Lock him up!" So they put him in jail.
But I want to remind you: that you can lock up a mouse or a man but you can't lock up an idea.
We should say "Enough!" to the rich, out of touch representation we are given. We need to demand politicians who will work in the majority's interest. And we need to remember that we, the working and middle class are the majority.
We should be giving the country it's direction, not just providing its leaders with labor and capital.
This has been taken, in the past as a socialist fable. I disagree. I identify with this story in the way it illistrates the way we constantly vote against our own economic interests. I feel that by putting more people in office from the working and middle classes, we can reign in the cats a little.
Here's a great first step to demanding our rights:
------------------------------
Mouseland
As told by Tommy Douglas in 1944
It's the story of a place called Mouseland. Mouseland was a place where all the little mice lived and played, were born and died. And they lived much the same as you and I do.
They even had a Parliament. And every four years they had an election. Used to walk to the polls and cast their ballots. Some of them even got a ride to the polls. And got a ride for the next four years afterwards too. Just like you and me. And every time on election day all the little mice used to go to the ballot box and they used to elect a government. A government made up of big, fat, black cats.
Now if you think it strange that mice should elect a government made up of cats, you just look at the history of Canada for last 90 years and maybe you'll see that they weren't any stupider than we are.
Now I'm not saying anything against the cats. They were nice fellows. They conducted their government with dignity. They passed good laws--that is, laws that were good for cats. But the laws that were good for cats weren't very good for mice. One of the laws said that mouseholes had to be big enough so a cat could get his paw in. Another law said that mice could only travel at certain speeds--so that a cat could get his breakfast without too much effort.
All the laws were good laws. For cats. But, oh, they were hard on the mice. And life was getting harder and harder. And when the mice couldn't put up with it any more, they decided something had to be done about it. So they went en masse to the polls. They voted the black cats out. They put in the white cats.
Now the white cats had put up a terrific campaign. They said: "All that Mouseland needs is more vision." They said:"The trouble with Mouseland is those round mouseholes we got. If you put us in we'll establish square mouseholes." And they did. And the square mouseholes were twice as big as the round mouseholes, and now the cat could get both his paws in. And life was tougher than ever.
And when they couldn't take that anymore, they voted the white cats out and put the black ones in again. Then they went back to the white cats. Then to the black cats. They even tried half black cats and half white cats. And they called that coalition. They even got one government made up of cats with spots on them: they were cats that tried to make a noise like a mouse but ate like a cat.
You see, my friends, the trouble wasn't with the colour of the cat. The trouble was that they were cats. And because they were cats, they naturally looked after cats instead of mice.
Presently there came along one little mouse who had an idea. My friends, watch out for the little fellow with an idea. And he said to the other mice, "Look fellows, why do we keep on electing a government made up of cats? Why don't we elect a government made up of mice?" "Oh," they said, "he's a Bolshevik. Lock him up!" So they put him in jail.
But I want to remind you: that you can lock up a mouse or a man but you can't lock up an idea.
6.28.2004
"The U.S. has the most expensive health care system on the planet, but millions of Americans without access to care die from illnesses that could have been successfully treated if diagnosed in time. Poor people line up at emergency rooms for care that should be provided in a doctor's office or clinic. Each year tens of thousands of men, women and children die from medical errors and many more are maimed."
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/opinion/28HERB.html?th
This is something we need to correct immediately.
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/06/28/opinion/28HERB.html?th
This is something we need to correct immediately.
6.23.2004
Nothing political right now, just want to suggest that everyone reading this go give blood.
We had a blood drive at work today, I always feel great after doing it. After 9-11 everyone went out and gave blood. It was great, the blood banks were overflowing. But guess what? A few years later, they are scraping by again.
Please tell me that Americans don't need another event like that again to get involved with the well-being of their neghbors.
Go out ASAP and give some blood, if you can. If you have recently - GREAT JOB - keep it up.
-jef-
We had a blood drive at work today, I always feel great after doing it. After 9-11 everyone went out and gave blood. It was great, the blood banks were overflowing. But guess what? A few years later, they are scraping by again.
Please tell me that Americans don't need another event like that again to get involved with the well-being of their neghbors.
Go out ASAP and give some blood, if you can. If you have recently - GREAT JOB - keep it up.
-jef-
6.22.2004
I sent out my first campaign email today. If you didn't recieve it,and would like to, please send me an email or fill out the Contact form on my website.
Here it was:
Hello,
My name is Jef Hall, we have met previously at one or several past events; I am running to be the next Member of Congress for Wisconsin’s 6th District.
I am sending this email to ask you to support my effort. I am starting a grassroots campaign to unseat a 25-year incumbent that is extremely out of touch with our district and our state.
Whether workers rights, women’s issues, healthcare or education, he has come down on the wrong side.
I am running to return Government to the people of America. Our current leadership has forgotten the true engine of our democracy, the working and middle class. We need to turn back the tax cuts for the wealthy that have translated to tax & fee increases on us. We need to end the exploitation of workers at a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. We need to insist on a National Healthcare System that will cover all Americans and be free to utilize its power in the market to provide real savings. We need to ensure laws limiting our American Liberties are not passed.
We need to stand up and demand never to be ‘trickled’ on again.
I want to serve in a government that works to solve society’s real problems, not one that runs on the maxim, “What can you do for me?” When were you last inspired by politics?
What happened to yearning for a government of the people by the people for the people? Who last asked what they could do for their country?
I am asking you to help me. Please go to my website at www.jef4wi.com and spend some time, fill out the contact form with suggestions or questions you have. Let me know of any events or groups I could speak with. Print out some signature forms, and gather from your family and friends. Pass on my information to anyone that may be interested. And, if you can, please contribute.
It is the actions of the politically interested that will turn the course of our nation. And it is only through the grassroots that we can remove the obstructions placed on the middle and working class by this congress and administration, and get America working, learning and living again.
Thank you for your time; please contact me at any time, and pass this email on to anyone that you feel would be interested.
-jef-
Jef Hall
Democrat for Congress
Wisconsin's 6th CD
Jef for Wisconsin
224A Scott Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54901
920-203-6883
jef4wi.com
jef@jef4wi.com
Here it was:
Hello,
My name is Jef Hall, we have met previously at one or several past events; I am running to be the next Member of Congress for Wisconsin’s 6th District.
I am sending this email to ask you to support my effort. I am starting a grassroots campaign to unseat a 25-year incumbent that is extremely out of touch with our district and our state.
Whether workers rights, women’s issues, healthcare or education, he has come down on the wrong side.
I am running to return Government to the people of America. Our current leadership has forgotten the true engine of our democracy, the working and middle class. We need to turn back the tax cuts for the wealthy that have translated to tax & fee increases on us. We need to end the exploitation of workers at a minimum wage of $5.15 per hour. We need to insist on a National Healthcare System that will cover all Americans and be free to utilize its power in the market to provide real savings. We need to ensure laws limiting our American Liberties are not passed.
We need to stand up and demand never to be ‘trickled’ on again.
I want to serve in a government that works to solve society’s real problems, not one that runs on the maxim, “What can you do for me?” When were you last inspired by politics?
What happened to yearning for a government of the people by the people for the people? Who last asked what they could do for their country?
I am asking you to help me. Please go to my website at www.jef4wi.com and spend some time, fill out the contact form with suggestions or questions you have. Let me know of any events or groups I could speak with. Print out some signature forms, and gather from your family and friends. Pass on my information to anyone that may be interested. And, if you can, please contribute.
It is the actions of the politically interested that will turn the course of our nation. And it is only through the grassroots that we can remove the obstructions placed on the middle and working class by this congress and administration, and get America working, learning and living again.
Thank you for your time; please contact me at any time, and pass this email on to anyone that you feel would be interested.
-jef-
Jef Hall
Democrat for Congress
Wisconsin's 6th CD
Jef for Wisconsin
224A Scott Ave
Oshkosh, WI 54901
920-203-6883
jef4wi.com
jef@jef4wi.com
6.17.2004
Petri misses yet another TAXPAYER FUNDED opportunity to come clean about his conflict of interest!
If you go to the most recent 'Petri Reports', you will see a large article on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. If you reside in the 6th, you should have gotten this in the mail this week.
Tom Petri could have, but chose not to, used this TAXPAYER FUNDED communication device to disclose his inherent conflict of interest as a large stockholder in Walgreen's.
As diclosed in the 'Issues' section of jef4wi.com, Petri's interests are perhaps the only interestes this serves in the 6th District.
Yet, this is at least the 4th time Petri has used TAXPAYER FUNDED communication tools to try to sell you the worth of this bill.
Get the word out...
-jef-
If you go to the most recent 'Petri Reports', you will see a large article on the Medicare Prescription Drug Benefit. If you reside in the 6th, you should have gotten this in the mail this week.
Tom Petri could have, but chose not to, used this TAXPAYER FUNDED communication device to disclose his inherent conflict of interest as a large stockholder in Walgreen's.
As diclosed in the 'Issues' section of jef4wi.com, Petri's interests are perhaps the only interestes this serves in the 6th District.
Yet, this is at least the 4th time Petri has used TAXPAYER FUNDED communication tools to try to sell you the worth of this bill.
Get the word out...
-jef-
6.13.2004
Wow, what a great weekend. I know I have been somewhat remiss in blogging, but I promise I will do it more.
The state convention was a great success. Even with the schedule changes, it seemed to go off without a hitch. I met many very interesting people, and if any of you are reading this, please send me an email at jef@jef4wi.com.
I gave a speach on Friday that seemed to be recieved well. There were several requests for it, so I am going to post it below.
I did ad-lib a little, but this is what I had prepared. Let me know what you think, please.
-jef-
Remarks from June 11, 2004 to the Wisconsin Democratic Party State Convention:
Hello, my name is Jef Hall and I am running to be the next congressman from Wisconsin’s 6th District. And I am running as a PROUD member of the Democratic Party!
Why? Because Democratic values are AMERICAN values.
I run because I believe in Equal Access to the American Dream. I believe that affordable healthcare, good schools, American liberties and social equality are the building blocks of a great society.
We democrats embrace the words “We the People” and work to better all of American society. Our opposition seems to believe its “Me the People” – talking only of personal tax cuts, rabid nationalism, social division and class warfare.
Funny thing about class warfare, I’ve been told it’s a lot like fishing. It’s a sport, but only one team knows they’re playing.
Pullbacks on OSHA standards and overtime benefits are examples of the assault on America’s working class. We need to re-affirm the right to organize, and strengthen business’s commitment to its workforce and retirees.
You know, Henry Ford thought if he paid his employees enough, they would all spend their money on new cars. Wal-Mart seems to believe a similar axiom, they pay their employees so little, they can’t afford to shop anywhere else.
We need to end the Wal-Mart-ization of America by raising the minimum wage, immediately.
It is a moral outrage that in history’s wealthiest society someone can hold down a full time job, be a good employee, and still live in poverty. How can anyone argue the ability to support a family on $5.15/hour?
To rent an average 2-bedroom apartment here in the Fox Valley, you need to make at least twice the current minimum wage. I suppose that’s why so many people have 2 or 3 of the new jobs created by the Bush Congress.
Raising the minimum wage to at least $7.50/hour, coupled with a national healthcare plan and a TRUE Prescription Drug benefit that is free to utilize the buying power of its members will bring a forgotten segment of society back into the economy and the American Dream.
A second flank of the assault on the American Dream affects workers of all stripes, collar colors and job classifications.
The Bush tax cuts, supported by my opponent, have shifted the tax burden from wealth to work. The average person in Wisconsin received about a $750 tax cut. Do you feel like you have more money? These tax cuts evaporated to fee increases. Did you register a car – an extra $20 per car. Oshkosh added fees for grass removal, PUBLIC boat launches, to enter the PUBLIC city zoo, closed the PUBLIC pool, charges to enter the PUBLIC museum, even proposed charging youth soccer to use PUBLIC parks, and is anyone here trying to send someone through a PUBLIC school or university. Did you hear the news this morning on that?
In congress I will support REAL tax relief for those middle-class Americans who TRULY drive our economy and productivity. We need to turn back the tide of privatization in our country and our state.
“But Jef,” you say, “you are alienating the wealthy who make over $200,000/year.” They’re not my constituency. These wealthy few may be the constituency of my opponent, as illustrated by his votes not to continue unemployment benefits for workers while voting to continue tax cuts for those making over $1 million/year. He can have the vote of every person in the District making over $200,000/year. I’ll simply take the rest, count them up, and see who really represents Wisconsin’s interests.
Now, don’t think that I’m anti-business. Every business deserves a FAIR profit. It has been said that what is good for business is good for America. I disagree. I believe that what is good for Americans is good for business. The main consumers and producers of our economy are the workers and the middle class. You can sell neither product nor service without a vibrant, empowered marketplace and consumer base. If you want to support business, support the consumer.
I would like to finish today with a great quote from a Republican, Teddy Roosevelt (that’s how far back I had to dig). “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it is a good place for all of us to live in.” This, I feel captures perfectly what I hope to accomplish not only in this campaign, but in life. I urge you to help me to make this a world in which we all can live, by sending me to represent YOU in November.
Thank you.
The state convention was a great success. Even with the schedule changes, it seemed to go off without a hitch. I met many very interesting people, and if any of you are reading this, please send me an email at jef@jef4wi.com.
I gave a speach on Friday that seemed to be recieved well. There were several requests for it, so I am going to post it below.
I did ad-lib a little, but this is what I had prepared. Let me know what you think, please.
-jef-
Remarks from June 11, 2004 to the Wisconsin Democratic Party State Convention:
Hello, my name is Jef Hall and I am running to be the next congressman from Wisconsin’s 6th District. And I am running as a PROUD member of the Democratic Party!
Why? Because Democratic values are AMERICAN values.
I run because I believe in Equal Access to the American Dream. I believe that affordable healthcare, good schools, American liberties and social equality are the building blocks of a great society.
We democrats embrace the words “We the People” and work to better all of American society. Our opposition seems to believe its “Me the People” – talking only of personal tax cuts, rabid nationalism, social division and class warfare.
Funny thing about class warfare, I’ve been told it’s a lot like fishing. It’s a sport, but only one team knows they’re playing.
Pullbacks on OSHA standards and overtime benefits are examples of the assault on America’s working class. We need to re-affirm the right to organize, and strengthen business’s commitment to its workforce and retirees.
You know, Henry Ford thought if he paid his employees enough, they would all spend their money on new cars. Wal-Mart seems to believe a similar axiom, they pay their employees so little, they can’t afford to shop anywhere else.
We need to end the Wal-Mart-ization of America by raising the minimum wage, immediately.
It is a moral outrage that in history’s wealthiest society someone can hold down a full time job, be a good employee, and still live in poverty. How can anyone argue the ability to support a family on $5.15/hour?
To rent an average 2-bedroom apartment here in the Fox Valley, you need to make at least twice the current minimum wage. I suppose that’s why so many people have 2 or 3 of the new jobs created by the Bush Congress.
Raising the minimum wage to at least $7.50/hour, coupled with a national healthcare plan and a TRUE Prescription Drug benefit that is free to utilize the buying power of its members will bring a forgotten segment of society back into the economy and the American Dream.
A second flank of the assault on the American Dream affects workers of all stripes, collar colors and job classifications.
The Bush tax cuts, supported by my opponent, have shifted the tax burden from wealth to work. The average person in Wisconsin received about a $750 tax cut. Do you feel like you have more money? These tax cuts evaporated to fee increases. Did you register a car – an extra $20 per car. Oshkosh added fees for grass removal, PUBLIC boat launches, to enter the PUBLIC city zoo, closed the PUBLIC pool, charges to enter the PUBLIC museum, even proposed charging youth soccer to use PUBLIC parks, and is anyone here trying to send someone through a PUBLIC school or university. Did you hear the news this morning on that?
In congress I will support REAL tax relief for those middle-class Americans who TRULY drive our economy and productivity. We need to turn back the tide of privatization in our country and our state.
“But Jef,” you say, “you are alienating the wealthy who make over $200,000/year.” They’re not my constituency. These wealthy few may be the constituency of my opponent, as illustrated by his votes not to continue unemployment benefits for workers while voting to continue tax cuts for those making over $1 million/year. He can have the vote of every person in the District making over $200,000/year. I’ll simply take the rest, count them up, and see who really represents Wisconsin’s interests.
Now, don’t think that I’m anti-business. Every business deserves a FAIR profit. It has been said that what is good for business is good for America. I disagree. I believe that what is good for Americans is good for business. The main consumers and producers of our economy are the workers and the middle class. You can sell neither product nor service without a vibrant, empowered marketplace and consumer base. If you want to support business, support the consumer.
I would like to finish today with a great quote from a Republican, Teddy Roosevelt (that’s how far back I had to dig). “This country will not be a good place for any of us to live in unless it is a good place for all of us to live in.” This, I feel captures perfectly what I hope to accomplish not only in this campaign, but in life. I urge you to help me to make this a world in which we all can live, by sending me to represent YOU in November.
Thank you.
4.30.2004
Here is a benefit that Congress passed 415-0.
Now, it is important that we give as many benifits to our troops as possible. However, it is missing a very important point. Because of our dependence on the National Guard, many of our troops have been away from their careers for a year or more. In this time, they have been earning, in many cases, much less than their normal pay.
These troops did not buy their houses, arrange their budgets, or plan their lives around the military pay, but their normal pay.
Now, to address this wage gap, our representatives are allowing the soldiers to tap into their retirement benefits to cover this wage gap. This is an injustice. A 28 year-old soldier spending a dollar from retirement funds today is robbing that soldier of over $49 at retirement (the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the last 10 years was about 13%, if we project this out until the soldier turns 60, that would have added up to $49). If we expect the average to do less, even at 6.5%, we have stolen $7.50 from this soldier's retirement.
If we truly want to address the wage gap amongst our troops, we should not do it by mortgaging their future. We should arrange real financing and aid programs for these brave Americans.
Now, it is important that we give as many benifits to our troops as possible. However, it is missing a very important point. Because of our dependence on the National Guard, many of our troops have been away from their careers for a year or more. In this time, they have been earning, in many cases, much less than their normal pay.
These troops did not buy their houses, arrange their budgets, or plan their lives around the military pay, but their normal pay.
Now, to address this wage gap, our representatives are allowing the soldiers to tap into their retirement benefits to cover this wage gap. This is an injustice. A 28 year-old soldier spending a dollar from retirement funds today is robbing that soldier of over $49 at retirement (the Dow Jones Industrial Average for the last 10 years was about 13%, if we project this out until the soldier turns 60, that would have added up to $49). If we expect the average to do less, even at 6.5%, we have stolen $7.50 from this soldier's retirement.
If we truly want to address the wage gap amongst our troops, we should not do it by mortgaging their future. We should arrange real financing and aid programs for these brave Americans.
4.15.2004
Maureen Dowd makes a great point about Bush's answer to if he makes any mistakes:
After the Bay of Pigs, President Kennedy spoke to newspaper publishers and said: "This administration intends to be candid about its errors. For as a wise man once said, `An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.' . . . Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive."
I think that was the 'killer moment' of the press conference. Either he is too dumb to think on his feet, or he is too arrogant to admit mistakes. I'm not sure which scares me more.
After the Bay of Pigs, President Kennedy spoke to newspaper publishers and said: "This administration intends to be candid about its errors. For as a wise man once said, `An error does not become a mistake until you refuse to correct it.' . . . Without debate, without criticism, no administration and no country can succeed — and no republic can survive."
I think that was the 'killer moment' of the press conference. Either he is too dumb to think on his feet, or he is too arrogant to admit mistakes. I'm not sure which scares me more.
Here's something I put into an email to a friend - I think it's worth remembering.
"America is great, because we can, every 4 years, have a revolution. 100% of the Executive, 33% of the Senate & 100% of the House is able to be replaced through the will of the people. It is our duty as activists to make sure that they have an opportunity to make that choice. Only the voters en masse can turn the course of this country, and they can only do that with the choices that we give them."
"America is great, because we can, every 4 years, have a revolution. 100% of the Executive, 33% of the Senate & 100% of the House is able to be replaced through the will of the people. It is our duty as activists to make sure that they have an opportunity to make that choice. Only the voters en masse can turn the course of this country, and they can only do that with the choices that we give them."
3.30.2004
3.26.2004
3.24.2004
I sure hope that gays really are 10% (or more) of America, because it looks like we have their votes....
This is from todays Altercation weblog on MSNBC.....
"Meanwhile, The Daily Mis-Lead catches the following development: Despite what he and his gay supporters have claimed in the past, the president now supports the firing of gay government workers simply because they are gay. Bush has insisted that homosexuals "ought to have the same rights" (1) as all other people, but according to the Federal Times, the president's appointee at the Office of Special Counsel ruled that federal employees will now "have no recourse if they are fired or demoted simply for being gay." (2) To carry out the directive, the White House has begun removing information from government websites about sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. (3)
Sources:
1. Debates, 10/11/2000.
2. "OSC to study whether bias law covers gays", Federal Times, 03/15/2004.
3. "Gay Rights Information Taken Off Site", Washington Post, 02/18/2004.
This is from todays Altercation weblog on MSNBC.....
"Meanwhile, The Daily Mis-Lead catches the following development: Despite what he and his gay supporters have claimed in the past, the president now supports the firing of gay government workers simply because they are gay. Bush has insisted that homosexuals "ought to have the same rights" (1) as all other people, but according to the Federal Times, the president's appointee at the Office of Special Counsel ruled that federal employees will now "have no recourse if they are fired or demoted simply for being gay." (2) To carry out the directive, the White House has begun removing information from government websites about sexual orientation discrimination in the workplace. (3)
Sources:
1. Debates, 10/11/2000.
2. "OSC to study whether bias law covers gays", Federal Times, 03/15/2004.
3. "Gay Rights Information Taken Off Site", Washington Post, 02/18/2004.
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