http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/group_rss/CorporateWatch Wisconsinites keeping big business accountable. Just over a week ago, the Institute for One Wisconsin launched an email campaign asking concerned citizens to send a message to the board members of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). To date over 10,000 communications have been generated in that very short time. This is just another example of how people all across the state are sick of their increasingly partisan behavior. Outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor John Wiley accurately stated that WMC has been taken over by “political extremists” and that they have created a “toxic” political environment in Wisconsin. Obviously he is not alone in making that assessment as evidenced by large numbers of emails sent out by concerned Wisconsinites. The “political extremists” that Wiley describes are apparently so concerned about the email campaign that one of them decided to send his own communication to the WMC board members. In it he pleads that they should not let the emails disrupt their fundraising drive for the ads that they plan to run in the coming months. In an email to WMC board members, WMC Vice President for Government Relations James Buchen said the following: It appears that the email campaign is an effort to disrupt WMC's fundraising drive for the WMC Issues Mobilization Council, Inc. We hope that this will not be the case. We hope that Directors will continue to show the resolve and fortitude demonstrated at the June Board Retreat when the Board voted unanimously to launch our fall issue campaign. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBN http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBN/commentary#comments Mon, 25 Aug 2008 12:31:57 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBN Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBN/ Yesterday we told you about the early success of our email campaign to the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) board. Since then many more people have responded and thousands more emails have been sent flooding the inboxes of those that sit on the WMC Board. If you have not yet had the opportunity to speak your mind to the WMC Board of Directors, now is the time to take your stand . WMC has been rightfully on the receiving end of much criticism lately by some of the most respected people in our state. Most recently the outgoing UW-Madison Chancellor John D. Wiley called out WMC for allowing itself to be “hijacked by highly partisan, ideologically driven staff.” The senior staff at WMC have ignored very similar statements in the recent past by other prominent Wisconsinites and all indications seem to show that they will also ignore Chancellor Wiley’s as well. WMC Vice President Jim Buchen responded to the comments claiming that he and the other staff “is not ideologically fixated.” A laughable comment considering just some of the following facts available at WMCWatch.org : Many of the staff have worked in or come directly out of Republican Party politics. Only Republicans receive a high rank on their phony “scorecard”. They have spent millions of dollars to support Republican candidates. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHB5 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHB5/commentary#comments Fri, 22 Aug 2008 12:35:31 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHB5 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHB5/ Last week Rep. Frank Lasee announced his latest harebrained scheme, to drill for oil in the Great Lakes . There is nothing like handing over your most precious resource to an industry that can’t be trusted. And for what? For the remote chance that they will find (or spill) oil in 15 years and possibly save a few cents off gas prices? As if that is not enough for one month, now Lasee is cheering his Republican friends on the Natural Resources Committee who voted to block a reasonable rule to protect us from mercury contamination. Almost every Wisconsin lake is under warning for mercury pollution but Lasee and his friends on the committee would rather obey the corporate interests that pull their strings. The rule was proposed by the Department of Natural Resources as crafted by an independent group of experts. It would have required large coal-fired plants to reduce mercury by 90 percent by the beginning of 2015. Over 437,000 Wisconsinites are exposed to higher-than-safe levels of mercury and six percent of Wisconsin women of childbearing age have elevated levels of mercury. Health problems caused by mercury include neurological damage for babies and children, as well as hearing and vision loss and impaired coordination and speech for adults. Seniors are at risk from mercury for heart attacks and cardiovascular disease. Mercury is most commonly ingested by humans through fish consumption. The state has issued advisories about fish consumption due to mercury contamination for nearly every Wisconsin water body. Still Lasee cheers the status quo and its defenders in the Assembly. Apparently in the wacky world of Frank Lasee, poisoning your neighbors is not only praiseworthy but is the highest act of civic engagement. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp/commentary#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 15:40:46 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBp Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBp/ The staff and leadership of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) have proven that they are drunk with partisanship. The only hope is for both the rank and file and higher profile members to have a long overdue intervention. The long list of events over the last several months should finally inspire the legitimate business interests to take back their organization from the partisans that now control it. In a relatively short period of time WMC has lost board members and was on the receiving end of a well deserved rebuke from one of the leading businesses in the state, Epic Systems. Their successful effort to fill another seat on the state Supreme Court with an ethically challenged intellectual lightweight brought the scorn of a wide cross-section of independant observers . Now yet another Wisconsin leader is sounding the alarm over the direction and toxic influence of WMC. Outgoing UW-Madison chancellor, John D. Wiley penned a forceful piece in Madison Magazine this week. In it he observes that “We’ve lost touch with our traditions and values. Our politics has become a poisonous swill, and the most influential voice for the business community has been taken hostage by partisan ideologues.” He then goes on to thoroughly debunk many of WMC’s favorite talking points around the issue of taxes and regulation. He also confirms what many observers and activists have been saying for some time. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBJ http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBJ/commentary#comments Thu, 21 Aug 2008 11:40:10 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBJ Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBJ/ We have seen the Bush energy policy at work now for nearly eight years, it seems to be a plan based on not leaving any big oil and gas company behind. The policy appears to be the following simple formula: give a free pass to these massive special interests in any way possible, give them record amounts of handouts from the public and then allow them to “thank” the public by gouging them at every possible turn. This energy free-for-all has most definitely had an impact, unfortunately it has been a hugely negative one for individual citizens and the entire economy. Consumers are paying record amounts at the pump, while Big Oil pulls in record profits . This has a major impact on the price of things like food and other essentials. In many ways it is responsible for a 17 year record high in inflation. As if working people weren’t hurting enough in this Bush economy, now we are getting early warnings about just how much more it will take to heat our homes this winter . Estimates from the Department of Energy project that heating costs will climb 21 percent in the Midwest this year. There is an expected 26 percent increase for homes that stay warm with heating oil. Even with all of the bad news, John McCain has decided to follow the Bush economic and energy “plans”. As it has been previously documented, McCain has already learned how to roll over for Big Oil interests by reversing his own positions. Actually, McCain plans to go even further than Bush in many ways when it comes to appeasing Big Oil. He has not only decided to back Bush’s irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy but he also gives away the treasury on even more tax cuts for big corporations. Big Oil would receive some $4 billion in additional handouts . It would be difficult to imagine, but such a McCain economy could make a terribly bad situation much worse. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBS http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBS/commentary#comments Tue, 19 Aug 2008 12:28:59 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHBS Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBS/ Once again, elected officials have pounced on a report by the Tax Foundation to mislead taxpayers into thinking that Wisconsin can't afford to adequately fund its public institutions. The latest cases are Rep. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) and Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin), who separately cited a new study by the Washington, D.C.-based Tax Foundation, claiming Wisconsin is among the top ten states in tax effort. Not so! Indeed, the latest U.S. Census Bureau data show that taxes and fees for state and local government are 3% lower in Wisconsin than the national average. The national average is $5,803 per person; Wisconsin's figure is $5,607. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/iwf/CHBj http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/iwf/CHBj/commentary#comments Mon, 18 Aug 2008 15:41:22 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/iwf/CHBj Institute for Wisconsin's Future Institute for Wisconsin's Future 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBj/ Over the weekend the Wisconsin State Journal ran a story about the search for a new head for the Department of Commerce. It addresses how the right choice for the job is particularly important right now, during a challenging economy. The story goes on to quote state Senator Ted Kanavas (R-Brookfield) who trots out the right wing's one trick pony on the economy, endless corporate tax cuts. We have seen how good that approach has worked nationally, but apparently old habits (and knee jerk reactions) die hard for the Brookfield Senator. OWN Executive Director Scot Ross was also quoted shortly after Kanavas saying that tax cuts shouldn't be the first choice in creating a strong economy. He went on to say the following: "The next commerce secretary needs to support spending on roads, schools, universities and municipal services because that infrastructure makes businesses want to stay and move here. Experience shows both in the state of Wisconsin and the rest of the country that tax cuts won't buy loyalty from corporations." Most corporations rely on a decent infrastructure to carry out their normal operations (roads, educated workforce, safety ect) . Most of that infrastructure is provided as a result of taxpayer investment. Blindly cutting away at it or finding ways to keep corporations from paying their fair share is actually counter productive for everyone. There are countless areas where public investment has spurred both the development of new technology and entire industries. Hopefully the new Secretary of Commerce will be a person that approaches the economy from a fresh perspective. Hopefully they will be an advocate for bold and broad solutions rather than joining the overly simplistic "tax cut choir" headed by partisans like Kanavas. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGV http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGV/commentary#comments Mon, 11 Aug 2008 13:25:22 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGV Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGV/ It looks like we can all expect the races for the state Assembly to get really ugly this year , primarily because Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) plans on buying up as much ad time as possible. Some observers expect them to spend as much as $7 million to keep their iron fisted control of the state Assembly and its agenda. Wisconsin is still recovering from the dishonest and disgusting attacks that they helped launch earlier this year against Louis Butler. Their actions helped draw very negative national attention to Wisconsin. The vast majority of independent observers condemned their actions in that race and the nonpartisan Wisconsin Judicial Campaign Integrity Committee described the WMC ads as “ deceiving the public ”. Why would we expect anything else from them when their gravy train in the Assembly may be at stake? Whenever WMC prepares to spend record amounts of money to influence elections, they often send out their resident joke man Jim Pugh. It is his job to serve up the real whoppers that can sometimes get him laughed out of a room . His most often joke is that WMC’s nonstop flow of deceptive ads are merely an effort to “educate the public.” The Milwaukee Journal has reported the contents of a July fund-raising solicitation from WMC that appears to very clearly state their real goal for the fall, retaining Republican control of the Assembly. The story describes this as their “top priority.” It also reports that they would like to raise some $1 million by Labor Day to use for political ads that would serve that underlying goal. Flooding the public airwaves with deceptive ads is merely a vehicle for WMC’s real goal of maintaining their control over the Assembly. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGM http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGM/commentary#comments Thu, 07 Aug 2008 12:30:26 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGM Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGM/ The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that all the usual business suspects are going to pump cash into an effort to fight the paid sick day referendum. The story further reveals that if they don’t get the result that they want on the referendum, that they will spend even more money by challenging the will of the people in the courts. So what is a person supposed to take from this news? That business interests are willing to invest their money in an expensive ad campaign and possibly a protracted lawsuit but not in their own employees and the public health? Are they really going to launch such an effort to keep some of the poorest workers in the city from having a benefit that most people take for granted? The business interests involved in the fight against paid sick days list all of the same talking points that they have always used when asked to invest more into their employees and the common good. This story is no exception, once again they claim that requiring paid sick days will put people out of business and chase others businesses from the city. How many times have we had to endure this tired old argument? It is straight out of central casting but they have simply replaced the last issue with paid sick days. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMs http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMs/commentary#comments Mon, 04 Aug 2008 12:48:17 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMs Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMs/ Earlier this year the Institute for One Wisconsin launched an online resource that was the first of its kind. WMCWatch.org is a virtual library on Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, the state’s big business lobby. This valuable resource provides the legislation both supported and opposed by WMC, names the key people behind WMC, and lists the candidates benefiting from WMC’s deep pockets. The site also shows the true cost of WMC’s agenda with a large counter that keeps track of how much their agenda would cost the rest of us. Now the Institute is introducing the latest feature of the site, the WMCWatch.org news feed. Visit the site everyday to catch the latest news about WMC and their activities.  During your visit, don't forget to join hundreds of others by becoming a WMC Watcher! http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMX http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMX/commentary#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:04:26 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMX Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMX/ Last Thursday I found myself at a press conference held by local McCain supporters. The topic was generally about the economy and “small business” and was hosted at a company that had just moved to Milwaukee’s Fifth Ward. When I arrived at the location I was given a packet of information and led to the waiting area for the press. While waiting, I shared an OWN press release with the media on how McCain votes have been a disaster for women and the economy in general. First Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker spoke and then handed it off to the host CEO. The last scheduled speaker at the press conference was former State Senator Cathy Stepp. She largely focused on her business and how the out of control gas prices are hurting it. Frankly, I was surprised that she would make energy policy her central theme at this press conference given John McCain’s awful record in both the U.S. Senate and in recent policy statements. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMn http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMn/commentary#comments Mon, 14 Jul 2008 14:09:24 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMn Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMn/ In a 4-3 decision the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled against the State of Wisconsin in the Department of Revenue v. Menasha Corporation case. Of all people, ethically challenged Justice Annette Ziegler wrote the majority opinion. Last year hundreds of Wisconsinites called for her to recuse herself from the case because it was a major priority for her benefactors at Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Who could forget that they spent some $2 million helping to get her elected? That was more than she spent on her own campaign and almost more than both campaigns combined. She refused to recuse herself and now has delivered a big victory to her benefactors. It looks like WMC just won a $265 million return on a $2 million investment in just one year. Unfortunately this special interest gain is a big loss for Wisconsin. During this troubling economy and a time of tough budgets, Ziegler’s decision gives us $265 million less to invest in schools, public safety, or to fix our crumbling infrastructure. Although she chose to step down from many cases last year, oddly this was one that she refused to leave. At the time she said that she would only consider recusing herself if one of the parties in the case requested it. The person that was supposed to represent Wisconsin in the case was Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who also owes his current job to WMC’s deep pockets. Naturally Van Hollen didn’t cross them by asking for their latest installation to step aside. WMC really covered their bases on this one and it got what it paid for, meanwhile the rest of us just get the shaft. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMG http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMG/commentary#comments Fri, 11 Jul 2008 13:35:26 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHMG Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMG/ The Wall Street Journal is reporting on the prospect of $200 a barrel price for oil by the end of the year. The price has shot up over the last 7 years but that increase has been much more rapid in the last six months. During that time we have seen it go up from $100 to $150 a barrel. If the price actually hits the $200 prediction, that will translate to well over $6 a gallon for gasoline at the pump. The pain at the pump is only the beginning of the budget crunch for the average working family. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that natural gas is also at a high for this time of year. Experts in that industry are predicting major sticker shock for energy customers, especially when we try to heat our homes in winter. Natural gas futures have jumped 82 percent since just the start of the year. The story reports that increases in the price of natural gas have already driven up electricity bills twice since March. All of these costs are overburdening working families and impacting our already fragile economy. This is where the failed Bush policies of irresponsible tax cuts for the wealthy, coddling Big Oil, and lacking a forward thinking energy policy has brought us. U.S. Senator John McCain has been a rubber stamp for those polices in the Senate. He supported Bush as much as 100 percent in 2008 and 95 percent in 2007. In addition, McCain now says that he will make Bush’s tax cuts for the rich permanent. Actually he will go even further by offering unprecedented tax giveaways to some of the biggest corporations in the country. Under this economic scheme, Big Oil would get some $3.8 billion in tax giveaways. To the average person, such a massive giveaway to the very industry that has us over a barrel makes no sense at all. To John McCain it’s just business as usual. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjK http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjK/commentary#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 15:17:58 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjK Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjK/ Last week it was reported that a Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) staffer condescendingly referred to the Epic Systems founder and well-respected progressive business leader as “that computer lady.” As a result the Institute for One Wisconsin launched an education effort this week questioning WMC’s attitude toward women and their history of opposing legislation that would have been helpful to both women and their families. The online campaign includes a WMC Watch News Alert available at WMCWatch.org and a letter to the editor writing tool. Individuals can write a letter to the editor of their local papers expressing their outrage at both the dismissive WMC comments and their legislative positions that have been bad for Wisconsin women. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjp/commentary#comments Fri, 27 Jun 2008 13:41:38 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjp Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjp/ Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) have shown themselves to be little more than a partisan organization in recent years. Rather than simply representing business interests in the state, they have become hugely partisan and practically the funding arm for right wing candidates. Understandably, this increasingly partisan direction has concerned numerous businesses that did not sign up for such controversy. Partisanship has become one of the obvious faces of WMC, but in a recent story in the Isthmus, we may have seen a sign of something more troubling. The Isthmus profiled Epic Systems, a Madison based software company that has not only grown to be one of the most important companies in Dane County but a powerhouse in both the state and country. While describing the many ways that Epic Systems has been leading their entire industry, the story also takes a look at the leadership behind Epic Systems and their great successes. No look at the company would be complete without mentioning the founder and CEO, Judy Faulkner. The story goes on to give a professional and rather personal profile of the force behind this giant success story. As part of that discussion, the story points out that Judy Faulkner is very forward thinking and progressive when it comes to public policy and other important issues. This certainly does not fit with the increasingly right wing partisan WMC agenda. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjG http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjG/commentary#comments Wed, 25 Jun 2008 10:15:30 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjG Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 3 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjG/ Today Paid Sick Days Milwaukee, a coalition of labor, educational and community organizations, delivered over 42,000 signatures to the Milwaukee Common Council. The effort was lead by 9 to 5 , National Association of Working Women. They are asking the council to pass a requirement that all businesses in Milwaukee provide employees with paid sick day benefits . The council can either vote on it themselves or they could put the measure on the November ballot. The proposed ordinance would require all private businesses in Milwaukee to give their workers one hour of paid sick time for every 30 hours worked. Full-time employees for a large business would earn 72 hours a year. Smaller businesses (with 10 or fewer employees) would only be required to provide 40 hours a year in paid sick days. The days could be taken for illness, medical care for the worker, for their children, parents or any other person related to the worker. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjC http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjC/commentary#comments Mon, 23 Jun 2008 17:44:39 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHjC Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjC/ One Wisconsin Now has launched a petition to Wisconsin’s Congressional Delegation demanding that they stand against Senator John McCain’s plan to giveaway $4 billion in new tax breaks to his friends in Big Oil. In 2006 Bush and McCain supported budget giveaways of $5 billion in tax cuts. This at a time when working people are struggling to pay $4-a-gallon gas prices and Big Oil companies are raking in records profits. One company pocketed as high as $7 billion in only one quarter recently. According to a report from the Captial Times, “The unprecedented rise in gasoline prices helped put 2,600 General Motors employees out of work in Janesville.” That plant is scheduled to close as early as the end of 2009. It is pretty clear that the pain at the pump is spreading quickly to many other areas of our economy, especially in working family wallets. Take a moment to sign a petition to your representative in Congress! Tell them to reject the Bush/McCain policies of more tax giveaways to an industry that has devoured so much and given back so little. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGP http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGP/commentary#comments Fri, 20 Jun 2008 11:28:38 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHGP Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGP/ U.S. Senator John McCain has proposed a gas tax “holiday.” This is a concept that has been universally panned by economists . The average consumer would see almost no savings. It seems clear that it is little more than a pander to people that are struggling with record gas prices. While John McCain offers only smoke and mirrors to the average American, all indications show that his feet are firmly planted on the side of Big Oil and their record profits. Although he has said in past town halls (Rindge, NH, 11/18/07) that he would “oppose any tax breaks or good deals for the gas and oil industry…” his current tax plan does the exact opposite of what he promised last year. McCain’s plan would actually give the top five oil companies $3.8 billion a year in tax breaks. Further, McCain has consistently voted against windfall profits taxes for Big Oil and has voted against taxing them in order to provide rebates to severely strapped consumers. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHG2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHG2/commentary#comments Tue, 17 Jun 2008 14:24:41 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/CHG2 Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHG2/ Once again John Torinus has written a column trying his best to minimize the serious violations of Justice Annette Ziegler. Like Ziegler, Torinus is willfully ignoring many factors in the unprecedented decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to discipline one of their own. Once again he fails to inform readers of his own conflict while at the same time putting hypocrisy on full display. John Torinus again failed to tell his readers that he is hardly an objective viewer of the Ziegler scandal. He is a long-time board member for corporate lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). They shattered all kinds of records by spending unprecedented millions to get Ziegler elected. They not only spent more than Ziegler did on her own campaign but they spent more than both campaigns combined. To present his severely biased views of the Ziegler scandal without making full disclosure of this conflict is deliberately misleading. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27t http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27t/commentary#comments Thu, 05 Jun 2008 14:55:38 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27t Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 1 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C27t/ In an editorial today the Tomah Journal highlights a case that came before the Wisconsin Supreme Court last week. The case involved the family of a three-year-old boy suffering from brain cancer and a large HMO. The same day that the court slapped fellow Justice Annette Ziegler on the wrist for her willful violation of ethics rules, the court narrowly ruled for the family of the young boy. In a surprise to no one Ziegler dissented favoring the corporation. The editorial reminds its readers that the state’s corporate lobby, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC), spent unprecedented millions on her campaign. Even in the midst of facing a Judicial Conduct Panel last year over her conflicts, she still refused to step off a case involving her benefactors at WMC. It should be no surprise that she ruled against the young boy and his family and for the big corporate interests. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27J http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27J/commentary#comments Mon, 02 Jun 2008 15:14:30 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/coryliebmann/C27J Cory @ One Wisconsin Now http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/profile_picture/9ad40ac09a26a36f86_dlqmv2gn9.jpg Cory @ One Wisconsin Now 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C27J/