May 2009 Archives

In case you missed it, Gov. Jim Doyle signed a bill earlier this week allowing the state to take over Scott Walker's failing public assistance programs in Milwaukee County.

This ends an irregular but long-running turf battle Walker had been waging with the state amidst the worst recession in decades. Walker's lack of leadership has meant that the county's poorest were effectively locked out of public assistance funds when they needed help the most. The state's takeover occurred after a series of warnings that the program was being mismanaged.

At times, Walker seemed to be fighting with himself over the issue. He urged the State to take over the agency in a letter Jan. 27. Days later the state announced it would take over the county's public assistance programs. And yet the very same day the state agreed to Walker's request, he told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel the county was considering challenging the plan, which he called "The worst of all scenarios."

The results of Walker's dithering, on the other hand, were crystal clear. Under Scott Walker's leadership, only 5 percent of the hundreds of thousands of phone calls to the county's public assistance call center every month were answered, according to a state report.

Too bad for Walker that the Joint Finance Committee was equally clear, voting 16-0 to request that Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen investigate whether administrative fraud has occurred on Walker's watch.

At least you can't fault Walker for his unintentional honesty: Failing so badly that the state had to come in and clean up his mess was indeed the worst of all scenarios.

An online petition campaign to preserve the state's existing law regulating licensing of new nuclear power reactors has been launched by the Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice (WNPJ) in cooperation with One Wisconsin Now (OWN).  The message:

Dear Friend,

 

We urgently need your help to maintain reasonable restrictions on nuclear power in Wisconsin.

 

Learn more and sign our petition here, or read on.

 

Wisconsin has wisely had a state law in place since 1983 that prohibits the construction of new nuclear reactors unless two conditions are met:

 

1. There is a federally-licensed facility to dispose of high-level radioactive waste from the reactors, and

 

2. The Public Service Commission makes a finding that nuclear power makes economic sense. 

 

The nuclear industry, using concerns over global climate change, is trying to resurrect itself as a viable option, calling nuclear energy a “clean” solution. 

 

The Governor’s Task Force on Global Warming, as part of a long list of recommendations, has proposed relaxing the law on nuclear reactors and eliminating the requirement that the waste disposal problem be solved.

 

To license more reactors to produce more deadly radioactive waste without any way to dispose of it is not only irresponsible.  It is unconscionable.

 

Sign HERE to stop that from happening.

 

The waste generated by the reactors is so deadly that the Environmental Protection Agency has issued rules requiring that it be kept out of the environment and away from humans for up to a million years!  To put that into perspective, 15,000 years ago Wisconsin was covered by glaciers.

 

Opening Wisconsin to more nuclear plants could have another dangerous side effect – increasing federal pressure to select our state as the repository for the nation’s radioactive waste, in the granite formations in central and northern Wisconsin.

 

Nuclear power has never made economic sense, despite rosy predictions.  No new nuclear plants are being built because the economic risks are too high. That's why the nuclear industry keeps looking for billions of dollars in taxpayer subsidy. 

  

Act now!  Sign this petition! Tell the governor and legislators there are far better ways to fight global warming than risking the safety and economic well-being of Wisconsinites by opening the door to more nuclear reactors.

 

Thank you,

 

Chamomile Nusz and Bill Christofferson, co-chairs,

Wisconsin Network for Peace and Justice.

There are few things as ubiquitous as the golden arches of McDonald’s. Rarely is one more than a quick car ride away from the glorious greasy gut bomb of a quarter pounder with cheese or an order of mystery meat McNuggets. 

But here in Wisconsin, there is one industry that has penetrated our communities, large, small and in-between, more than the ever-present home of the Hamburglar – payday lenders. More than 500 payday lenders currently operate in Wisconsin; there are more payday lenders in Wisconsin than McDonald’s.  Within walking distance from my apartment in Madison there are at least three payday loan predators (and only one McD's).

Here at OWN we got the following listing for an event for folks who have unfortunately lost their jobs in these tough times. Please pass the word around to your friends and neighbors who are looking for some support!

You can register for the event by calling Buzz Davis at 608-873-4886 or register online at http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/event/detail/townhall/wrby

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Have you or a friend been laid-off, downsized, or part-timed and now you’re looking for work?

The Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans has organized a third town meeting for workers who have lost their jobs, been part-timed or are underemployed.  Workers and their partners living in Stoughton, southern Dane, northern Rock counties or other communities are invited to attend.

Lead GOP budget talker Rep. Robin Vos is likely to put his "Protect Rich People" crying towel into overdrive in the coming hours.

In the interest of fairness, here are a couple of things to remember when Vos claims that by opposing the tax boost for the top one percent and closing a portion of the capital gains wealth loophole, he's lookin' out for you -- "the folks" as sexual harasser O'Reilly would say before being limo'ed home.

Seemingly irrelevant Republican Assembly honcho Jeff Fitzgerald returned from a long spring nap to yammer about plans by the state's budget writing committee to work part of this coming Memorial Day weekend.

Dusting off his keyboard and reintroducing himself to capitol staff, Lil' Fitz fired off a press release today complaining about the proposed Friday and Saturday workdays, writing, “Now on the weekend where we are to honor those who have given their lives to protect our freedom and open form of government, Democrats are scheduled to vote on provisions in the budget that they want held out of scrutiny by the media and public."

Judge for yourself.

http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/GOPbudget

By all accounts it's still a big, fat nothing from the state Republicans on how to solve the massive budget deficit the eight years of failed George W. Bush policies have levied on Wisconsin and nearly every state in the nation.

One Wisconsin Now sent our OWNews reporter Cody Oliphant to the state Capitol in the hopes of finding answers from GOP leaders.

You wouldn't know it from the news media -- they can only cover one story at a time, and there's a state budget crisis -- but there is a growing, resurgent movement in Wisconsin determined to solve the energy and climate crises without resorting to nuclear energy.

It's not the old "No Nukes"movement, although there are elements of it, and the same reasons for opposing nuclear power in the past -- safety, waste, and cost -- and all still relevant reasons to oppose building more nuclear reactors.

But it's a broader, more thoughtful and sophisticated conversation taking place, that includes a commitment to finding efficient, renewable energy sources, reducing carbon emissions, and using conservation as part of the package.

What if your partner was in the hospital and you legally couldn't visit him or her? Or if you got seriously ill, and your partner couldn't take time off from work to help care for you?

Thousands of our family members, friends and neighbors in committed and caring same-sex relationships don't have basic legal protections like hospital visitation or family leave. You can help change that.

Show your support for domestic partner protections:
http://www.OneWisconsinNow.org/domesticpartner

Nuclear power, being heralded by some as the solution to the global warming crisis, has a few problems, and they're not minor.

One is safety; the potential for an accident or terrorism is ever-present. Another is the lack of any safe, permanent way to dispose of the highly radioactive waste.

And, today the Wisconsin Public Interest Research Group highlights a third problem: Nuclear power is much more expensive than other solutions to clilmate change. WiSPIRG released a report on nuclear power costs today:

With the state considering solutions to reduce our global warming pollution, a new WISPIRG report finds that renewable energy sources can produce far more electricity than nuclear plants for less money.

Unfortunately, the nuclear industry has proposed thirty new reactors across the country at an estimated cost of $300 billion.

"Taxpayers should not be subsidizing nuclear power when there are faster, cleaner, cheaper alternatives to meet our energy needs," said WISPIRG Advocate Kara Rumsey.

Here in Wisconsin the nuclear industry is pushing to overturn a long-standing law that prevents new nuclear plants from being built unless the proposed plant is economically advantageous to ratepayers and there is safe and adequate disposal for radioactive waste.

Nuclear power is among the most costly approaches to solving America's energy problems.

"Per dollar of investment, clean energy solutions - such as energy efficiency and renewable resources - deliver far more energy than nuclear power," Rumsey stated.

Read the report here.

The unfortunately-not-frogged-marched-yet Karl Rove spent Friday meeting with investigators about the possible illegal purging of U.S. Attorneys who the Bush administration thought weren't abusing their authority and charging enough Democrats with crimes in the lead-up to the 2006 elections.

Rove, a central player in a number of bastardizations of the U.S. Department of Justice, was hauled behind closed doors to talk to investigators Friday about his role.

Oh, the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce and its awards.

The most recent: Wal-Mart won WMC's "Business Friend of the Environment Award."

Guess they must have missed this three-page list of offenses by Wal-Mart against our clean air and water that Wal-Mart Watch put together.

The violations include small infractions like widespread water pollution, air pollution and hazardous waste.

Let's Rave at Rove!

Karl Rove is coming to town to talk down the EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT. He's found the time in between investigations of his behavior by Congress into tampering with the justice system and avoiding subpenas for contempt.

Just the spokesman the sponsors, Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, needs.

Let's talk up the unions and show America that working people in Wisconsin back the EMPLOYEE FREE CHOICE ACT. Come and show your support!

Date: Tuesday May 19, 2009
Time: 8:30 a.m.-9:30 a.m.
Where: Milwaukee Athletic Club, 758 N Broadway, Milwaukee, WI

Sponsored by Milwaukee Area Labor Council

GOP state budget spokesperson Rep. Robin Vos must be calculating he’s never going to get called to carpet for anything he tells the press about the state budget.

Either that or he can’t read.

Here's a gem.

A new video from Public Citizen demonstrates just how easy it is for un-patriotic corporations to set up an offshore tax haven and avoid paying taxes in the US.

An intern at Public Citizen, Jessica, calls a lawyer in Panama about setting up a shell corporation there. The lawyer tells her "Panamanian corporations basically pay no taxes on any foreign derived income." So if Jessica's Panamanian corporation makes money in the US, she doesn't pay any taxes in Panama.

[Public Citizen Video via YouTube]

On the WisconsinEye newsmakers program taped just this morning, Robin Vos was asked how, as a small business owner, he was doing given the historic economic collapse from which America and Wisconsin desperately tries to emerge.

Vos, who explained he has three separate businesses and owns rental property in Whitewater, offered that he and his wife “did very well under President Bush.”

That’s good news for you, Robin.

After more than four months we finally have an answer to the question: What’s the Republican plan for closing the state budget deficit?

According to Wispolitics.com, “Rep. Robin Vos, R-Racine, said Republicans support closing the gap by reducing spending through furloughs, a pay freeze, reducing the number of state employees and holding departments to last year’s budget levels.”

“…holding departments to last year’s budget levels”?

Cory Leibmann had some particularly insightful comments on the "news" this weekend about a fake grassroots effort the right is trying fund.

A couple of guys looking for a paycheck on the state's right wing want to create another 14 organizations to go with their dozens of current organizations, such as the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, WMC, Americans for Petroleum and the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

Buried in the right wing's wish list to waste their already-unlimited corporate stream of money, is an odd entry on page four.

Activists in the One Wisconsin Now community have sent over 5,300 email messages to the Board of Directors of the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce (MMAC) demanding the big business special interest group drop its lawsuit preventing paid sick days from becoming law in Milwaukee. OWN launched the action last week in advance of the court hearing today about paid sick days and the frivolous suit brought by MMAC.

70% of Milwaukee voters supported the paid sick days referendum last November, a clear mandate. And paid sick days are good for business. Workers without adequate paid sick days often come to work when they are sick out of fear over losing their job. In the process, they spread the sickness through the workplace, making their co-workers sick, extending their own illness, and lowering their productivity. In fact, a study by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research showed local employers would save as much as $17 million annually in increased productivity when paid sick days become law.

If you’d like to compose your own message to the Board of Directors of MMAC you can do so by visiting:

http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/speakout/paidsickdays

Stay tuned for an update on the court hearing later this week.

On Wednesday, South Central Federation of Labor President Jim Cavanaugh moderated a discussion among Madison area small business owners and managers.The panel came to together to voice their support for the Employee Free Choice Act.

Visit the Wisconsin Employee Free Choice blog for video and photos from this discussion:

http://employeefreechoice.typepad.com/wi/2009/05/madison-small-businesses-support-employee-free-choice.html

I get the need to ask both sides about the budget. But why does the state GOP's abrasively-nasal budget face get to dole out criticism without once having to detail the alternative plan to close the formerly $5.4 billion and now $6.5 billion budget deficit.

Frederica Freyberg took a whack at it last month when she asked him on "Here and Now" and his response was some horseshit about a $40 million increase in "welfare" benefits. Which what he referred to was not.

And that was it.

Career politicians really get my goat. Even worse is a career politician who makes his bones by selling out Wisconsin’s students to for-profit corporations in exchange for campaign contributions.

Exhibit A: Brett Davis (R-Oregon)

Brett used to be the chair of the Assembly Education Committee. And during his career in the legislature, Brett’s been leading the charge to take money from our public schools and funnel it to for-profit corporations and private schools.  Davis authored 2007 AB 870, which would have allowed charter schools funded by Wisconsin tax dollars to send money to for-profit out-of-state corporations.  He also led the charge to grow the voucher program in Milwaukee – because, you know, taking money out of public schools  will help them improve, duh. He even got an “award” from the now-defunct right-wing front group Wisconsin Institute for Leadership for his “work on virtual schools.”

Public school haters and ultra-conservatives profit chasers of all stripes have taken notice.

Virginia-based K12, Inc. is the for-profit company contracted to create curriculum for the Wisconsin Virtual Academy. In its prospectus filed with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, K12, Inc. anticipated $5 million in 2008 revenues from Wisconsin taxpayers. [K12, Inc. SEC Prospectus, 12/12/07, pg. 69]. Davis’ work to pump money into virtual schools has a direct impact on K-12, Inc. – more virtual schools means more money for K-12. And in a related story, Brett Davis got $500 in campaign cash from executives at K-12.  Shocker.

Citizens of the fightin’ 80th will remember the flood of smear literature, paid for by the law-breaking PAC All Children Matter, supporting Brett Davis that drowned Green County mail boxes last election.  All Children Matter are funded by a small group of ultra-wealty, uber-conservative profit hawks like the Walton family (of Wal Mart fame), Dick and Betsy DeVos (of Amway pyramid scheme fame) and Wisconsin’s very own crazy voucher couple George and Susan Mitchell. ACM has one mission: prop up elected officials with “issue ads” in return for toeing ACM’s line and pushing for more privatization of public schools. The financial backers of All Children Matter have given Brett Davis $13,000 in campaign contributions.
 

For some reason, Wispolitics.com offered a lil’ nugget in its afternoon summary about noted minority vote suppressor and GOP state party chair Reince Priebus doing a planned closed-door meeting with “business leaders about their concerns.”

“It’s closed to the media” the Wispo gang reports.

While my first response was “so?” after thinking for a nanosecond, your OWN team of malcontents came up with the following list of things we think Reince will say or ask. Our list, in no particular order:

This is good.

So Grover Norquist—who’s regularly full of bad ideas (see: Reagan Day)—had a brain fart a few years back from which came the Taxpayer Protection Caucus. But here’s the real kicker: heading up the Wisconsin caucus this year is the one and only Randy Hopper,  who once and only once paid state income taxes over the course of ten years.

The pride of the Journal Communications radio syndication line-up, Michael Savage, has been officially banned from entering Britain.

Reported in the Huffington Post, Savage is on a list of people unable to go into the country for his fostering of hatred and extremism.

Passing along the word on this great opportunity with a great purpose. Check out the detaiis on the “We’re Looking for Work” Town Meeting below:

Funny how big a crowd of 5,000 (if it really was that big) played in the media when it was right-wing teabaggers coming to protest paying for their government services. It was portrayed as a mammoth grassroots uprising, a taxpayer revolt.

When perhaps twice that number of people marched in Milwaukee Friday for immigration and labor rights, the stories were about how much smaller the crowd was than last year's 30,000.

The May Day rally organized by Voces de la Frontera had no official crowd estimate. The estimated attendance at the Republican-organized teabag rally at the state Capitol came from the organizers.

Given that precedent, Voces should have told reporters there were 50,000 at Veterans Park.

Many more marched than stayed for the speeches, but the photos are impressive.

Hey Everyone -- if you find yourself at the Monona Terrace in Madison, make sure you stop by the One Wisconsin Now table to get a sneak-peak at our latest project 9 in 09!