Speaking of Vos and Michelle Litjens, Samantha Vos is a student at Concordia University School of Law, in Boise, Idaho.
What does United Sportsmen have to do with all that?This is where I disagree.
Since it was formed two years ago, the group has spent a lot of money lobbying for a wolf hunt, easier access to wetlands by developers, and the massive open-pit mine proposed by Gogebic Taconite in northern Wisconsin -- including a measure to keep hunters and other outdoorsmen off the land where GTAC wants to build its mine.
Doesn't sound like much of a conservation group, does it?
Oh, and it sent out a mailing, along with Americans for Prosperity, supporting Republicans in the 2011 recall elections.
Former Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder, who is about to start making a big salary as a Walker appointee to the Public Service Commission, carefully crafted grant language to exclude real conservation groups from getting the $500,000 state grant. If you were a chapter of a larger, national organization, you were not eligible for the money.
Suder rigged the grant for United Sportsmen. But also, by writing the rules the way he did, he jeopardized $28 million a year in federal wildlife management funds.
Talk about not upholding Wisconsin values.
The lobbyist for a self-described sportsmen group offered free fishing excursions to then-Assembly Majority Leader Scott Suder just days before an affiliate of the group secured a now-canceled $500,000 grant from the state, newly released records show.Don't worry Ms. Conniff, Rep. Nick Milroy agrees with you.
Suder, an Abbotsford Republican, went on the Lake Michigan outing with the head of the United Sportsmen of Wisconsin in August, about 21/2 months after he engineered money for the grant into the state budget. Also scheduled to be on the Aug. 22-23 trip were a lobbyist and a former lobbyist for the National Rifle Association. The former NRA lobbyist, Darren LaSorte, is also a board member of the foundation affiliated with United Sportsmen.
"Public officials are held to a higher standard," Milroy said. "The people who elect us expect more of us than this."
At that time I noted that the City of San Francisco was paying the highest minimum wage in the county at $10.55. Even though they are paying this rate, none of the doom and gloom predicted by the corporate special interests have occurred. The city still stands and hasn't burned to the ground by suddenly homeless people when all the jobs went away.The increase translates to $310 a year for the average affected worker. The minimum wage will rise in nine other states, including Northwest neighbors Oregon and Montana. The minimum wage in British Columbia went up last spring to $10.25 (Canadian) an hour.And now we see the entire state of California has just raised their minimum wage as well:
The hike in low-income wages results from a 1998 ballot initiative, championed by organized labor and opposed by some business groups, that provides annual rate adjustments to keep pace with the rising cost of living.
“Washington’s modest annual minimum wage increases have proven incredibly valuable in promoting economic growth and protecting the real value of low-wage workers’ paychecks during the weak post-recession recovery,” said John Burbank, director of the Economic Opportunity Institute.
“Congress should learn from Washington’s example and pass a federal minimum wage increase with annual cost-of-living advances to promote consumer spending and help cash-strapped workers make ends meet,” Burbank added.
Calling it a "matter of justice," Gov. Jerry Brown put his signature on a bill that will hike California's minimum wage to $10 an hour within three years, making it one of the highest rates in the nation.Imagine that, actually putting money back into the hands of the public to help improve and maintain the economy. I wonder what Scott Walker would make of this? He's so far has only taken money from the people and given it to his wealthy campaign contributors and benefactors. The only thing he has given the people is a lot of lip service.
The legislation signed Wednesday at a ceremony in downtown Los Angeles will gradually raise the current minimum of $8 an hour to $9 on July 1, 2014, then to $10 on Jan. 1, 2016.
The increase is the first to the state's minimum wage in six years and comes amid a national debate over whether it's fair to pay fast-food workers, retail clerks and others wages so low that they often have to work second or third jobs.
Brown called the bill an overdue piece of legislation that will help working-class families and close the gap between "workers at the bottom and those who occupy the commanding heights of the economy."
The governor was joined by state legislators and business owners who supported the measure, saying increased wages would boost the state's economy.
The state Senate approved AB10 on a 26-11 vote Sept. 12, and the Assembly followed hours later on a 51-25 vote. Both chambers voted largely along party lines.
Miguel Aguilar, a worker at a Los Angeles car wash, thanked the governor for signing the bill.
"We work really long hours," said Aguilar, who has a union contract. "Now, with the increase in the minimum wage, we'll be able to sustain an income that can support our families."
Supporters said the bill by Assemblyman Luis Alejo, D-Watsonville, would help workers left behind during the recent recession.
The Milwaukee Brewers' Ryan Braun won't be getting Gov. Scott Walker's endorsement, at least not any time soon.
Walker said he and his two sons, Matt and Alex, all big Brewers' fans, were disappointed and angry "that he lied to us as fans."
In a telephone interview Tuesday, the GOP governor said that "it was bad enough that he broke the rules, but the fact that he didn't immediately fess up to it, that he dragged it all out...It's not just what he did, it's that he strung us out for so long."
Gov. Scott Walker announced in a press release Tuesday that Wisconsin is now ranked second in economic growth for the first time in the state’s history, according to data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia’s coincident index.
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| There is no mistake where the union stands. |
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| The official SSA t-shirt |
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| Lane Hall of the OLB and Trenchant "I solemnly swear I am up to no good" Tracey |
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| Get yer SSA t-shirts and bumper stickers! |
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| Intermission between singalongs |
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| DC 48 Executive Director Boyd McCamish speaks to the crowd. |
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| Rep. Evan Goyke prepares to speak to the group. |
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| The ever fabulous Kelly Albrecht |
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| Sing Along! |
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| Unintimidated: The Book Coming October 31st |
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| Rep. LaTonya Johnson and some union thug. |
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| Marty Beil tells us how to be a union thug. |
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| It's Milwaukee! Gotta have the brats! |
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| But we also have a taste of Madison with Ian's Pizza |
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| Those dreaded union bosses: Biel, McCamish and Phil Neuenfeldt of the AFL-CIO |
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| #unintimidated |
Shortly after this ruling, there has had been some discussion of the county taking over the regulation of the taxis. This talk reached the level where Supervisors Russell Stamper II and John Weishan introduced a resolution in August to do just that:At issue is the city's ordinance, which took effect Jan. 1, 1992, that imposed a hard cap on the number of taxicab permits allowed in the city. Under the ordinance, the only way to get a taxi permit was to purchase one from an existing permit holder. There are 321 permits, fewer than the number of permits in 1991. Documents in the case indicated there is just one taxi for every 1,850 residents in the city, fewer than in other large cities.
When the ordinance was enacted, Milwaukee aldermen argued that they did not want to hold annual hearings on taxicab permits. And they reasoned that the system they created would pro vide an incentive among permit holders to improve their business.
In her decision, Carroll said the ordinance violated the state constitution's equal protection and due process clauses. She said the actions of the city's Common Council in 1991, in effect, handed a valuable commodity to taxicab company owners.
A permit is now valued as high as $150,000.
"The city, in essence, gave permit holders a significant asset," Carroll said. "That is where the problems come in with this law."
Sanders said the ordinance, which he called arbitrary, prevented cabdrivers from pursuing their right to a living and "enriches the privileged few."
Milwaukee County Supervisors John Weishan Jr. and Russell Stamper II today unveiled a draft resolution directing County Executive Chris Abele to negotiate an Intergovernmental agreement between the City of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County for the operation and regulation of taxicab service.This resolution came up before the Milwaukee County Board for a vote on Thursday. On Wednesday, Milwaukee County Emperor had one of his yes people send out an email to each of the supervisors, begging them not to pass the bill. Abele asked them to vote against this resolution because it was a bad bill.
Weishan, co-chairman of the County Board’s Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee, said the measure was designed to lower costs of taxicab service while increasing service, especially in under-served areas.
“This draft resolution is meant to get a discussion started over taxicab service not only in the City of Milwaukee, but in all of Milwaukee County,” Weishan said. “We believe that through inter-governmental cooperation we can better serve the public, increase the availability of taxicabs and cut costs.”
On April 16, a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge ruled that the City of Milwaukee’s taxicab ordinance, which set a cap on taxicab permits, violated the State’s constitution. The Judge Jane Carroll said that limits on the number of taxicabs was arbitrary, anti-competitive and unconstitutional. On April 25, the County Board adopted a resolution supporting a City of Milwaukee’s Common Council measure seeking to repeal the city’s cap on issuing new taxicab permits. Abele signed the County Board resolution on May 2.
Under Weishan and Stamper’s proposal, all operation and regulation of taxicab services would be transferred to the County. A negotiating team from the County would work with the City to develop more innovative regulations governing taxicab operations.
“This is a natural addition to intermodal coordination county-wide,” Stamper said. “It will help to increase competition and lower costs to the consumer. It will enhance the quality of service and help to serve areas where service is unavailable or difficult to obtain.”
Under the resolution, negotiations between the City and County would be completed by Dec. 31, 2013, and would be implemented by June 1, 2014.
Supervisors,Abele had months to prepare for this, but chose not too. Perhaps he was too busy holding fundraisers for Republicans and sending drunken emails to realize he had a job to do.
In advance of the Board's consideration of the taxicab resolution on Thursday, I would like to share with you the County Executive's perspective.
The County Executive appreciates the intent of Supervisors Weishan and Stamper in attempting to improve the policy environment for the provision of taxicab service in Milwaukee County. He is also interested in exploring opportunities to advance shared goals more efficiently and effectively. Because he understands the Supervisors’ concerns, he is committed to engaging in conversations with the City to gauge their interest in transferring this service, as well as further analysis to better to understand the scope of work the County would be responsible for, the cost to operate the service (including startup costs which presumably would be paid for by the County) and any possible revenue. Further, the County Executive commits to giving the Board an update on progress by December 31, 2013.
The resolution, which mandates the County Executive negotiate with the City, is inappropriate and premature given competing priorities and the budget process and timeline. The County currently does not provide licensing services and does not have existing capacity to do so. For example, the City has over 4 departments that play a role in the complex licensing process, including the Licensing Division, Treasurer's Office, Milwaukee Police Department, Department of Public Works and others.
I ask that Supervisors reject this resolution and allow the administration to do the necessary analysis before deciding to move forward.
Please contact me with further questions.
Thank you,
Raisa
Raisa Koltun
Office of County Executive Chris Abele
Phone: 414.278.4338
I would point out that in the pre-Act 14 days, this issue would have been settled with a staffer of the county board and a staffer from the executive meeting with their counterparts from the city and working something out. One of the many bad decisions involved with Act 14, the Usurpation Law, was that only Abele could negotiate contracts. But because of Abele's ineptitude and incompetence, this could end up being delayed, underfunded and bungled in a thousand different ways.
MADISON (WKOW) -- A Wisconsin lawmaker is proposing to legalize plastic duck races.
State Rep. Andre Jacque circulated a proposal Thursday to legalize the races.Non-profit organizations commonly race the little plastic ducks with numbers on the bottom as fundraisers. Participants usually buy a raffle ticket corresponding with a duck's number. The first to float across the finish line wins.
It is common knowledge that Fitzwalkerstan Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is a political hack who abuses the power of his office to advance the Teapublican agenda. Whether it's from joining in the frivolous lawsuit against Obamacare to defending fellow Teapublicans from having to follow the Freedom of Information Act to not prosecuting any of the high levels of corruption in the state, one could count on Van Hollen not to do the right thing.The Department of Justice will not seek to seal emails and other records that are to be added to the case file in an appeal by a former aide to Gov. Scott Walker when he was Milwaukee County executive, a department official said Thursday.Why would Van Hollen not ask for the documents to be sealed? He must know that they would at best be embarrassing to Scott Walker.
But the former aide, Kelly Rindfleisch, could seek to keep those records secret, and the judge in the case has not explicitly said whether the records will be made public.
Appeals Judge Patricia Curley on Wednesday ordered that the emails and affidavits be filed with her as part of Rindfleish's appeal within 15 days. Curley did not specify whether the records must be filed under seal, but documents in case files are ordinarily public records unless a judge orders that they be sealed.
First, who in their right mind would trust the corporate media to be the holders of this information? There is no reason to believe that they would make all of the transcripts, emails and other documents available to the public. They would pick and choose which ones to release, with their own spin, in order to protect Scott Walker and other key politicos.
An appeals court judge ordered the release Wednesday of numerous documents in the closed secret investigation of aides to Gov. Scott Walker, including the personal emails of convicted aide Kelly Rindfleisch.Walker must be having conniptions about all this. Not only is there a good chance that said emails will hurt both his gubernatorial and presidential campaigns, but to have it done by one of the state's biggest Republican hacks has to be absolutely galling to Walker.
Also to be filed with the Court of Appeals are the search warrant for seizing records from Walker's office when he was Milwaukee County executive and a transcript of the secret hearing over that and other warrants. The search warrant was issued on Nov. 1, 2010, the day before Walker was elected governor.
Appeals Judge Patricia Curley ordered the filing of the records within 15 days as part of Rindfleisch's appeal. The office of Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, a Republican, sought to include the records in the court file as it fights Rindfleisch's contention that the warrants were overly broad.
The release of the records would give a glimpse into the 21/2 year John Doe investigation of Walker aides. A John Doe proceeding is Wisconsin's form of a secret judicial investigation of potential crimes or public misconduct and is similar to a federal grand jury investigation.
Just think about that for a minute."This is like taking a history class from Abbott and Costello." - Charlie Pierce on Cruz's "filibuster".
"Every time Ted Cruz talks about Christianity an angel coughs up blood." John FugelsangJohn Stewart couldn't pass up a shot at Cruz either:
...Wisconsin Reporter detailed in a previous story, sometimes conflates things lawmakers say, which leads to misleading articles with incorrect ratings.Um, yeah.
Mandela Barnes was born and raised in Milwaukee, Wisconsin and graduated from John Marshall High School. He went on to attend Alabama A&M University and after college he became an organizer and moved back home to Milwaukee. He had served in a number of capacities before being elected, including the Mayor's office and as a youth and workforce development specialist. In 2012, he was awarded with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's "Grassroots Organizer of the Year" award.
On November 6th, 2012, Mandela was elected to represent the 11th Assembly District
Barnes was interviewed last week by liberal Madison-area talk show host John "Sly" Sylvester about statements made by state Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend), who said food stamps were making some young people dependent on government.
"When I was on food stamps, I had a job. And I tell people that all the time. I am not ashamed to say that there was a time where I received food stamps," Barnes said on WEKZ-FM (97.3).
"I still have my Quest card, actually, in my bathroom, so when I wake up and brush my teeth in the morning, I'm reminded it was not that long ago that I was in that position.
"That's why I feel my opinion is very valid. I was employed when I received food stamps. My hours were cut at the job that I was working. And the funny thing is, the place I worked provided job training, which is the irony of it all."
I would advise the gentle reader to not become too excited over this news. It is not justice being done. It is a red herring to distract one's attention from the fact that justice is indeed not being carried out.The head of the politically connected sportsmen’s group that won — and quickly lost — a $500,000 state grant after misrepresenting its tax-exempt status has resigned from his post on the state’s Sporting Heritage Council.
“With much regret I resign my position on the SHC,” United Sportsmen of Wisconsin president Andy Pantzlaff wrote Monday in a brief email to Scott Gunderson, the executive assistant at the state Department of Natural Resources.
The Sporting Heritage Council advises Gov. Scott Walker, the Natural Resources Board and Legislature on fishing, hunting and trapping issues. The 12-member council focuses on recruitment, retention and increasing access to resources and outdoor opportunities.
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United Sportsmen has since issued a statement saying Pantzlaff had not consulted with the group’s legal counsel and “was mistaken about the exemption process.”
The Political Carnival has more:The middle class brings home a substantially larger share of aggregate earnings in states that have high rates of union membership than in those where fewer workers are organized, a Center for American Progress Action Fund (CAPAF) analysis of Census data shows. Amid very high and still increasing income inequality, union density appears to offer some buffer for middle-class Americans.
By comparing the share of total income that went to the middle 60 percent of the population in each state to the level of union membership in each state, CAPAF’s David Madland and Keith Miller found that the states with the lowest rates of union membership return below-average shares of income to their middle-class residents. The income figures come from new Census data, and the union density figures come from UnionStats.com. In the ten most-unionized states, the middle class brought home 47.4 percent of total income. In the ten least-unionized states, that income share falls to 46.8 percent.
Given the size of the state income figures at play here, that 0.6 percentage point gap translates to billions of dollars. Madland and Miller note that in Pennsylvania, 0.6 percent of aggregate income for 2012 “would have equaled over $2 billion, or almost $700 per middle-class household.”
The finding shouldn’t surprise anyone. The rise of inequality over the past three decades tracks closely with the decline of union membership. Stronger unions mean stronger advocacy for policies that support workers, not just on the job but with regard to fiscal policy decisions that help set the path for what level of income inequality there will be.
As TP points out, and as we have in many posts, as unions get stronger, they increase their ability to stand up for workers. When that happens, not only does it improve work place conditions, but in the long run, income inequality is reduced.Unless you like to work in unsafe conditions, get paid poverty level wages, get harassed by management just because they're having a bad day and getting passed up for raises and bonuses because you're not married to the boss' child, there isn't really a valid excuse not to want to be in a union.
And since the very rich make way more than the rest of us, leveling the playing field benefits the entire country, the health and welfare of more Americans, and the economy.
Now, with Walker's next election a little more than a year away, and the latest census job numbers due out later this week, Walker is highlighting a different metric.It's interesting that he's trying to seize on a momentary blip on the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's Leading Index. As Jake at his Economic TA's Funhouse points out, that's not even a very cheery picture when looked at in the big picture.
“Rankings that come out are typically based on quarterly numbers that come out from [the Bureau of Labor Statistics], which are a six-month lag,” he says. “What we're trying to look at is not six months ago … but where are we going to be in the next six months.”
Walker is talking about the Philadelphia Federal Reserve's Leading Index, a complex prediction of where state economies are headed based on several factors, including housing permits, interests rates, and hours worked in manufacturing.
Marquette University's Charles Franklin says it's telling that Walker is moving away from a hard job count that's easy to understand to a much more complicated estimate that's hard to explain. “Politicians are not economists,” he says. “What politicians care about is the perception of how the economy is doing rather than the best or most reliable measure.”
