The Ideas Lab Is Uninhabited

By Jeff Simpson

For quite some time, the only employed opinion writer of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was right wing hack and Bradley Foundation gopher, Christian Schneider. 

Recently, JSonline finally showed Schneider the door.  A few years ago, Schneider used his platform, to "break the news" that Congressman Mark Pocans husband, beat up his opponent in the upcoming election.  Of course it was all made up, and the paper just deleted the story (instead of issuing a retraction), like nothing ever happened.

Yes, excellent writer, who was a once a week, free lance opinion writer, credited Schneider with recommending her in her last column.   Schneider also worked to get rid of everyone else who had ever written for JSonline in their opinion pages(including myself).   His fragile ego is only surpassed by The Donalds.

That being said, here is a perfect example of the right wing scam that the Journal has pulled on its readers(2013):|

The Journal Sentinel hired Christian Schneider from the right-wing Bradley Foundation as a columnist and let him keep both jobs until public pressure forced Schneider to leave Bradley. Today, the Walker Administration leaked details of their Medicaid decision through Schneider, who was then cited as a source by the news division of the paper to break the story. Now Schneider's op-ed defending the decision has been placed on the front page of the paper without an opposing editorial.   

A brief history of where the Journal Sentinel came from and while the stain of Schneider is still fresh and does not come out with the first washing, now David Haynes wants to switch the editorial page to an "ideas lab".  In Haynes own words:

In the Ideas Lab, we’ll kick the tires on ideas meant to solve problems. We’ll report on and evaluate these ideas based on independent evidence. We'll search for the best practices out there. 

Giving them the benefit of the doubt, we see that they started their "ideas lab" out with reporting by David Haynes himself, with a cheerleading post for some of the bigger businesses in Milwaukee area.

 That's why Tuesday's announcement that Foxconn is partnering with three of Milwaukee's most prominent corporate citizens to create a venture capital fund has the potential to be a watershed moment for southeastern Wisconsin.
It's a given that Foxconn Technology Group’s massive factory in southern Wisconsin could have a profound impact on the state’s economy. It’s a $10 billion investment, after all, a mammoth plant that could employ as many as 13,000 people.
 Now, Foxconn, Advocate Aurora Health, Johnson Controls Inc. and Northwestern Mutual have raised a $100 million venture capital fund to focus on investments in companies that employ Foxconn’s technology. The Wisconn Valley Fund will be based in the company’s North American headquarters at 611 W. Wisconsin Ave. The announcement came a day after Foxconn announced it had pledged a $100 million matching gift to the University of Wisconsin-Madison to establish a new research center in the College of Engineering.

Let us take a look at:   

 • Expert, solutions-focused essays on issues the community cares about, by people who have shown success in addressing the problem at hand.

* The four companies Foxconn, Aurora, Johnson Controls and Northwestern Mutual are loaded with executives who have donated thousands to Scott Walker and the Republicans.    Their investment at this time in the election process is not uncoincidental. 
     
*  Of the four, Johnson, Northwestern and Foxconn are all known for laying off thousands of employees, and while Aurora has not, they recently took part in a major merger where they will need the support of the Governor. 

- Maybe not the best group to have "shown success" in the problem at hand.   

*  Foxconn.   To say Foxconn "could" create 13,000 jobs is technically true.  It is also technically true that the Milwaukee Bucks could trade for Lebron and dominate the next five years of the NBA.   No one expects it to happen but it most definitely could. 

Foxconn has been handed $4+ trillion dollars of Wisconsin taxpayer money to build their new factory here in Racine.   This money has helped displace Wisconsin citizens from their dream homes, moved around highway funds to help expand roads to access Foxconn, steal 7 million gallons of water from Lake Michigan a day, and also offers up 100 million dollars of our money to the UW-System as long as they can match it and educate students as Foxconn wants them too?

 - Maybe touting the company that has broken many promises, made $149 billion in profits last year and is known for their suicide nets at their factories in China, is not the place to start out looking for successes at hand. 

Now in keeping with the theme at hand, let's look at actual solutions to the problems at hand.   - New Business and Jobs. 
1.  Health Insurance.  The number one reason people go broke in America is for unexpected medical bills.   It takes a supreme amount of confidence and luck, to start a business and have no health insurance for you and your family.

IDEA - Lets expand Medicaid for all, so you are not deciding between eating and going to the Doctor.  We need to make sure that the biggest worry that someone who starts a small business has, is how do I increase my market share, and not I hope this unknown pain goes away. 

2.  Public Education.  The heart and soul of every town, village, city, municipality is the public schools.  School events bring the people together, their favorite teacher is their kids hero, etc...  To have the attack on public education that the Governor and his group have enacted over the last 8 years has done every one, but Scott Walker, a huge disservice and we are starting to pay the piper.   There is a reason Walker is spending millions advertising to millenials trying to get people to move to WI.

Idea - We need to start funding education like we need to and stop the war on teachers.   Understand that a strong public education system is the one thing that attracts people to WI to want to grow their roots. 

3.  Technology.   There is no need, with the ability we have to communicate, that small business start ups, can come from anywhere as long as they have access to high speed internet and the ability to get to the post office.  It is unfortunate Scott Walker gave back 23 million dollars earmarked to increase broadband access to rural Wisconsin. 

IDEA - make high speed internet access available and affordable for every single Wisconsinite!

Christian Schneider Is Dizzy

By Jeff Simpson 

Anyone paying attention, knows that last night was a huge win nationally for the Democrats.  Especially in Governors races, where A Democrat won in both North Carolina and New Jersey handily.   

It is also a widely held belief across party aisles and pundits that the Democrats had a great night mostly as an American public repudiation of The Donald!  

Democrats scored a pair of major gubernatorial victories Tuesday, based on ABC News' analyses of the exit poll and vote, landing new governors in New Jersey and Virginia as the party attempted to showcase resilience one year after President Donald Trump's surprise election victory.
In Virginia, which was expected to be the closer of the two races, Democratic Lt. Gov. Ralph Northam prevailed over former Republican National Committee chairman Ed Gillespie, based on ABC News' analysis of the vote, while in New Jersey, former U.S. Ambassador to Germany Phil Murphy beat Republican Lt. Gov. Kim Guadagno, based on ABC News' analysis of the exit poll.
The Virginia race, in particular, took on the air of a referendum on Trump throughout the campaign. The commonwealth's status as a swing state in presidential years and the stark divide between its suburban northern region and rural Appalachian southwest turned it into a representative test case on the country's response to the two major political parties a year after electing the former real estate mogul.

Although I think that Scott Walker, as head of the Republican Governors Association(RGA), is in line for a good chunk of the blame also, but that is another post! 

“Virginia is a top pickup opportunity for Republicans and the RGA is proud to partner with Gillespie’s campaign as an early investor,” Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, chairman of the RGA, said in a written statement. “With this additional major investment, the RGA is proving once again that we are all-in to ensure Ed has the resources to win in November.”

Speaking of incompetence in Wisconsin,  one of the great mysteries is how in the world can Christian Schneider have his own column in an organization that is in trouble financially and wants to be considered credible?

In a surprise to no one, here is Schneider's column the morning after the shellacking!   

As a public service to our readers, I read the article so you do not have too.  Here is the money line:

Ultimately, though, the Trump Effect in Wisconsin likely will help Walker. After all, Wisconsin voters knew full well who Trump was when they went to the polls, and they voted for him anyway. If there’s evidence that associating with Trump hurts Republican politicians in the state, I haven't seen it.
In the upcoming months, you may be hearing pundits wonder how Scott Walker can overcome the Trump Effect in Wisconsin. Actually, they should be asking Democrats that question.

Schneider is trying to desperately to spin the Donald GOP marriage mess that he is obviously dizzy!   

If you want to contact him with jokes about his incompetence:

 Email christian.schneider@jrn.com. Twitter: @Schneider_CM

Christian Schneider - Stupid M@th@rf$ck$r

By Jeff Simpson

For a time everyone respected and was sad to hear the news that Prince had passed.

Scott WalkerVerified account ‏@ScottWalker  Apr 21Wow. Growing up in the 80s, the music of Prince was a big deal. What a shock!

Then in typical right wing media fashion, Scott Walker was also praised as having the tweet of the day:

Politicians went crazy with tweets after Prince's untimely death Thursday, but Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker did it best.

Scott WalkerVerified account ‏@ScottWalker  Apr 21Dearly beloved. We are gathered here today. To get through this thing called life...

Seriously, USA Today called out Scott Walker as being brilliant for plagiarizing Prince's lyrics on the day Prince died.   Not to mention that a quick search of twitter and you see too many tweets to count with the same thing.

Randi Rhodes ‏@randiradio  Apr 21Dearly beloved, we are gathered here to get through this thing called life. And if the elevator ever brings you down

Apparently Scott Walker says the same things everyone else is saying but he says it best!    I wonder if Paul Singer has ordered his fathead of Scott Walker for his office wall yet or not?

Speaking of fatheads. Christian Schneider has had enough.

See while everyone jumped on the bandwagon of a private phenom who kept to himself, a funny thing happened along the way.  We found out that Prince was such a private person, that he had actually been giving to and supporting many causes without feeling the need to broadcast it.

Prince supported Black Lives Matter.  He also forced InStyle Magazine to hire a black woman to interview him in 2000. sent money to the family of Trayvon Martin, paid for solar panels for people tp put on their houses in the poorer areas of Oakland(double whammy, minorities and alternative energy), helped start the #Yeswecode, was a forty year Union member and strong supporter of the working class, made a point to elevate and mentor women in music.

The stories are endless and still trickling out, including one more I want to share.  A few years ago, the great drummer from Madison, Clyde Stubblefield, was diagnosed with bladder cancer and like most musicians was without insurance.  While his friends held some fundraisers for him(remember we have a coffee can healthcare system in America), it was Prince who heard about it and stepped up and paid the $80,000 bill that Mr. Stubblefield still owed.   Most of these stories being told now were done with the condition of anonymity.    That is who Prince Rogers Nelsen was.  

All of these stories coming out has made our friends on the far right very uncomfortable.  How can someone with Prince's resources dedicate his life to helping the poor, the working class, women and minorites instead of chasing every single dollar he could?   How could he do acts of kindness and not brag about it?   How could there be more to the person than the tiny talented recluse we see pop up on rare occassions?

That kind of human spirit and giving character is what leads to stories like this from Christian Schneider.    Schneider is employed by the Bradley Foundation and on loan to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, as the person they call when they need to get ahead of a stroy or change a narrative.   Mr. Schneider desperately tries here and fails as miserably as New Coke.

Good grief. First of all, there's a 95% chance none of you mourning Prince's death had listened to anything he recorded in the past quarter of a century. When he played at halftime of the Super Bowl in 2007, you said to yourself, "Hey, he used to be great!"
 And no, Prince did not make you the person you are today. You know no more about sex or life or the color purple than if he had never existed. If you learned about "compassion" from a guy who reportedly didn't allow employees to look at him in the eyes, perhaps some counseling is in order. (The only lasting effect Prince had on preteen boys in 1984 was forcing them to daydream about the feminine wonders to be found in Lake Minnetonka.)
 But the compulsion to grieve so publicly is simply too much for people today to resist. It's almost as if there is some government bureau taking note of who expressed sadness over Prince's passing and who didn't. It's not like saying "so sad Prince died!" on Twitter goes into your compassion bank, to be cashed in at a later date. You won't be on trial, and the judge says, "Well, he did steal that car and ram it into that hospital for puppies, but then again, he also seemed pretty shaken up about Bowie's death."

I could point out that social media is part of community and when some people grieve, they need community to help them.  However I am certain that it would go right over Mr. Schneiders head(unless it had a check attached).

 “Supporting people in grief means being with them in their pain and sorrow and taking our cues from them and what they need. It’s not helpful, logical or useful to pass judgment, and in fact, I think it’s precisely that judgment that often causes grievers the most pain.”

The reality is Schneider does not care of you grieve, how you grieve or that the great and talented Prince is no longer with us. Schneider's task was to try and diminish his legacy and get you to not look under the surface to who Prince was.  

The more we admire and hold up people who use their celebrity and gifts to help mankind, the more their silly version of "I built this and no one helped me" or the "drag yourself up by your bootstraps" and other just as ridiculous memes of the far right wing are becoming.  

In the age of information, the goal of certain people is to make sure you are not privy to certain information.  It is unfortunate that the largest newspaper/media outlet in our state allows that to happen and gives him a forum of faux credibility.

If you want to read a truly great and comprehensive eulogy of Prince I recommend this one.

Here is Prince's iconic performance at the half time of the 2007 Super Bowl! 

Esenberg Knows Better

By Jeff Simpson 

As we have documented numerous times, JSonline keeps allowing the Bradley funded mouthpieces to push propaganda.  From Christian Schneider never making a salient point to Rick Esenberg trying to.  
The latest assault on the truth comes from Mr. Esenberg.  In a piece entitled "Free Speech for Me But Not For Thee". he attempts to make a correlation between campaigns being allowed to coordinate secretely with dark money donors and the press being allowed to keep theur sources secret.

But why should the media - corporations who already have a great big soap box - have greater rights than those who must rent that soap box? Again, it is necessary to balance the risk of corruption against the rights of persons to freely associate and speak. The strong presumption should be in favor of free expression, but, however that cashes out, it is not clear why some people called the "media" should have greater freedom than others who are not.
But even if you dispute my view of the matter, a sixty second "phony issue" ad pointing out another view would seem as relevant to the public's right to know and as much a contribution to our public discourse as anything in the pages of the Washington Post or seen during the nightly news.
Nor can we assume that the media is not a "special interest." Just about anyone - including people with a variety of interests - can own a media company. In any event, what the New York Times wants is not intrinsically of greater value than what George Soros or David Koch want. It should have no greater First Amendment rights.

 Because there is no one left (except for Rowan) on the left side of the aisle in the JSonline to dispute this ridiculousness, lets take a minute to do so.

Does anyone really think the New York Times, the supposed paper of record, has the same interests in getting a story out as Soros or Koch?  

The media's value is in their ability to give us the "news".   In order to have real value, we have to trust that what the media is giving us is true and timely(Fox News being the obvious exception).  Not only do these news organizations have to be true and timely, their reporters, have to give us true and timely news as part of their brand also.

A 60 second phony issue ad, usually has one goal in mind, to smear an opponent of the person they want to get elected.   Truth actually works against the idea of a dark money ad.   The fact that the issues are at best skewed and more likely flat out lies is why the people who fund the dark money ads do not want to be ackowledged.   It is much easier to lie and smear when no one knows who is behind it.  

Let's look at a couple examples.

In the lead up to the Iraq war, the Bush administration realized how important the NY Times was as a paper of record.  They then found a reporter, Judy Miller, who they would feed false stories too, and she would print without verification because she trusted her sources.   These stories of doom and gloom and WMD's in Iraq were blatantly false, but helped sell the public on starting the war of choice.  
We know now, that he stories were false, her informants were lying and she is now a disgraced reporter who will never write for a news organization again and the New York Times credibility took a huge hit.

Now let's compare that to a phone issue ad.

While we know WMC paid for the ad, we do not know everyone involved or who is spending the most money there.  We also know that the "information" inside this ad is as phony as any story that Judith Miller wrote.  

Yet while Judy Miller was disgraced for life, ads like this help get Scott Walker elected.  

To compare the media with WI Club for Growth, or  Wisconsin Manufacturing and Commerce is not only laughable, Mr. Esenberg knows better.  

Now for solutions.  While I do not think we should stop people from spending money on ads, as human beings, I do believe when we have a forum, we should at least make an attempt at the truth.

Simply by signing names and disclosing donors to these issue ads would make sure that happens.   When you have to sign your name to something then you need to take responsibility for the contents.  

The irony is not lost on me that the self proclaimed "party of personal responsibility" never wants to actually take any.  

The retaliation argument also falls on deaf ears, after the current Republican party has spent six years trying to punish anyone who signed the recall petition against Governor Walker.  

The Journal Sentinels Schneider Problem

By Jeff Simpson


Christian Schneider is a columnist for JSonline. He is also a paid shill of the Bradley Foundation and for some reason the Journal Sentinel has decided to keep giving him column inches to spread his ideas propaganda.

Schneider was a blogger for the JS and broke the Kyle Wood story.  Wood was a troubled kid who said Mark Pocan's husband beat him up because he worked for his opponent. The right wing echo chamber, led by Schneider, could not get that story out fast enough.  The problem though is it was not true.   Schneider then did the responsible thing and recanted his story with an apology deleted the story from the Purple WI website like it never happened.  For reasons unbeknownest to anyone, Schneider was then promoted to columnist.

Recently, Schneider called Senator Feingold worse than a child predator in a column to no repercussions, as David Haynes feels that helps advance the marketplace of ideas(Scott Walker is the only untouchable political figure in WI).

Now Schneider is out with one of his regular, public education sucks and vouchers are the way to go columns.   As is typical Schneider, facts do not matter.

While it is all gobbledy gook, one paragraph was particular telling:

Finally, let's suppose Wisconsin had an educational system rife with racism and bias. Wouldn't the best idea be to get those minority kids out of the existing framework and into schools that can better address their specific needs? In other words, exactly what the private school choice program does for poor children? If one thinks the achievement gap is caused by the status quo, simply pumping more dollars into that educational system would seem to only exacerbate the gap.

Let us break it down.

Finally, let's suppose Wisconsin had an educational system rife with racism and bias.   - Our public education system is absolutely NOT rife with racism and bias and there is not any evidence that Schneider can point to that would say it is.   

Wouldn't the best idea be to get those minority kids out of the existing framework and into schools that can better address their specific needs? 

The best idea would be to address the fact that under Scott Walker and Republican gerrymandered rule, Wisconsin is the worst state in the country to be African American in and poverty is increasing all over the state.    The best way to address minority kids specific needs is to bring jobs back to WI and address the poverty problem. 

In other words, exactly what the private school choice program does for poor children? 

The private choice program is not whatsoever, nor has it ever, been designed to address the specific needs of minority children.  Ever.   It is designed simply to be able to allow some people to cash in on the public education money that previously went to the kids.   The Education Reformers are just mining to fill their panning equipement with public education dollars.   

It is no small irony that Schneider wrote his column on the same day that a Federal Report was issued about the million dollars of fraud and waste in charter schools.  

The report, titled “The Tip of the Iceberg: Charter School Vulnerabilities To Waste, Fraud, And Abuse,” was released jointly by the nonprofit organizations  Alliance to Reclaim Our Schools and the Center for Popular Democracy. It follows a similar report released a year ago by the same groups that detailed $136 million in fraud and waste and mismanagement in 15 of the 42 states that operate charter schools. The 2015 report cites $203 million, including the 2014 total plus $23 million in new cases, and $44 million in earlier cases not included in last year’s report.
It notes that these figures only represent fraud and waste in the charter sector uncovered so far, and that the total that federal, state and local governments “stand to lose” in 2015 is probably more than $1.4 billion. It says, “The vast majority of the fraud perpetrated by charter officials will go undetected because the federal government, the states, and local charter authorizers lack the oversight necessary to detect the fraud.”

 If one thinks the achievement gap is caused by the status quo, simply pumping more dollars into that educational system would seem to only exacerbate the gap.

How would we know?  Scott Walker and the Republican legislature, have cut funding to schools more than any other state in the country.   Maybe "pumping more dollars in the educational system" might now work, but it is something that has never been tried so how would we know?

It is unfortunate that someone with such blatant disregard to the facts and who is pushing a blatant agenda is given such prominent column space.   It is also not surprising that when they highlight shills like Schneider that it would lead to a not very good business climate.   

Luckily it is a new era and while mainstream media lets you down, the real information is readily available.  

Remember in the future Christian Schneider is not your friend, and he has a very hard time with the truth.  Instead of reading through his column, maybe take the time to thank a teacher!   

Christian Schneider - Really, Really Wrong

 

By Jeff Simpson 

Recently Journal Sentinel columnist and Michael Grebe employee Christian Schneider wrote this:

 People didn't just start shooting each other when the law passed in June of 2011 — at the very least, those who want to carry must now receive training, which makes everyone safer.

Of course everyone has heard the story from this weekend:

 A gunman apparently enraged that a van had struck a 2-year-old boy Sunday on Milwaukee's northwest side not only "assassinated" the driver of the van — in the words of Mayor Tom Barrett — but cut down the toddler's brother, who had rushed to the scene.Rasheed T. Chiles, 15, had been attending a party at a nearby house with his brother, 2-year-old Damani T. Terry.
Archie Brown Jr., 40, was driving the van about 5:10 p.m. Sunday in the 4600 block of N. 48th St., near Wahl Park, when he hit Damani, who had darted into the road, according to Milwaukee police. Brown immediately jumped out and — by all accounts — was grieving and upset as he stood over the body.
A gunman shot and killed Brown, according to police. "Someone got angry," Barrett said. "Someone took a gun and basically assassinated this gentleman."

Archie Brown Jr. must not have read Christian Schneider's column, or else he would know how safe he actually is.  Schneider could read his column at Mr. Brown's funeral so his whole family would know how safe he is.

Christian Schneider is not just wrong, he is dead wrong.   As he asks at the end of his column(slightly edited):

 The question is, how wrong does Christian Schneider have to be before we stop believing him?

Christian Schneider Makes It Up As He Goes

By Jeff Simpson

How Christian Schneider is allowed to write fantasy, in the form of an actual opinion, so often in the Journal Sentinel is one of life's great mysteries.   His recent bit of fiction, tells us how great society is since we passed concealed carry laws. 

 Yet nearly four years later, nearly 250,000 concealed carry licenses have been issued, and one would be hard-pressed to notice any difference in the state.

Of course to get to Schneider's article, you have to get through this one

2 dead after shooting each other in fight outside Milwaukee bar

By David Paulsen

Two people opened fire on each other outside a Milwaukee bar early Sunday, leaving both dead and capping a day already darkened by four afternoon shootings in the city and two others the night before.
The double homicide occurred outside Comments Bar, 5219 W. Hampton Ave., as the bar was closing, Milwaukee police said in a news release Sunday.

In 2014 there were 111 shooting deaths in Milwaukee alone:

Two fatal shootings in Milwaukee this past week pushed last year's tentative final total of gun homicides in Wisconsin to 111.
One of the fatal shootings was the high-profile death of 13-month-old Bill Thao. The boy was hit when dozens of bullets were fired at the family home, though police say they don't believe the Thaos were the intended target.
The other death occurred on Monday night when Fernando Washington, a 31-year-old man, was shot during what police say was an argument.
Gun homicides were down slightly in Milwaukee in 2014, but nonfatal shootings were up. Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn said he hopes a recent swearing-in of more officers will make a difference .

 The medical community is more advanced these days, which means more survivors, but shootings are up.  

 The total number of people who were either fatally or nonfatally shot this year in Milwaukee is currently at 650, using data from the city of Milwaukee's Homicide Review Commission. 

Then Schneider as he is so prone to do, fell back on the old Republican talking point:

 Naturally, there were hyperbolic predictions that Wisconsin would become the "Wild West," where hypothetical people at traffic stops would suddenly open fire on one another.

 Of course in right wing world that has never happened.  In the real world however, it has happened.

Two Milwaukee men — each with a state permit to carry a concealed weapon — traded dozens of shots in a rolling shootout through two sides of town and down a freeway, the kind of scenario concealed-carry opponents feared would turn road rage incidents deadly.
 

It is so much easier to make your case for extreme right wing policies when evidence and facts can be ignored.   Schneider makes a living ignoring the reality of everyday in Wisconsin, yet amazingly continues to have a forum in our state's largest newspaper.  

Schneider though, was able to end his column in what will be elected into the Hall of Fame of irony:

The question is, how wrong do these people have to be before we stop believing them?

Seriously?   The answer is simple.   As long as Christian Schneider is given a forum. 

Quote of the Day - Journal Sentinal Edition

From the Journal Sentinal editorial board that twice endorsed Scott Walker for Governor:

And, of course, there's Act 10. Walker will never budge from his rock-solid support for this law, but he erred by taking such a radical step when a prudent governor would have taken a reasonable step. Act 10 wasn't necessary. It was a particular brand of political overkill designed to make public employee unions less of a factor in state politics. Walker had other options; he didn't have to drop a nuclear bomb on the unions and ignite a polarizing firestorm in the state. Labor costs were a problem, as we've long acknowledged. But other states took less extreme steps and got control of their finances. That Walker chose to do what he did speaks volumes about both his politics and his policy judgment. Act 10 was a mistake.

Scott Walker Sucked Some $3 Billion From Wisconsin's Economy

By Jeff Simpson

Politifact looked into the claim and rated it mostly true.   In an economy that runs on supply and demand, Scott Walker's policies have taken some $3,000,000,000 out of the Wisconsin economy!

Wisconsin has paid, and paid, and paid, and paid the price! 

Then Reality Sets In!

By Jeff Simpson

One of the loudest whistles that our republican friends, especially those who have never spent a day in the private sector, like to blow is the over regulation dog whistle. Too many regulations are killing business and jobs.  

WASHINGTON -- During the 2012 presidential campaign, Wisconsin businessman Lance Johnson said President Barack Obama's workplace safety inspectors were burdening him and killing jobs with too much red tape.
"I've never been audited by more government agencies in my life than I have under Obama," Johnson, president of Johnson Brass & Machine Foundry Inc., in Saukville, Wisconsin, told The Wall Street Journal in a Nov. 2, 2012, campaign story.

Then reality sets in:

On Monday, Johnson's foundry was the site of a horrifying industrial accident.
As reported by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, a "catastrophic failure" of machinery sprayed molten metal on workers, injuring eight and sending four of them to the hospital. According to a statement from Johnson issued Tuesday, the molten metal hit workers on their legs and backs. None of the injuries were life-threatening.
 According to OSHA records, Johnson's company was hit with proposed penalties of $9,638 for exposing workers to apparent hazards in 2011.

Say it with me.  "But wait, there's more.":

Another of their favorite things to do is override local ordinances they feel "hinder job creation"(yes its laughable but stick with me): 

 Gov. Scott Walker has signed a bill that prohibits local governments from passing ordinances guaranteeing workers’ paid sick and family leave…Walker, a Republican, says in a statement the bill removes another barrier to creating jobs.  

"This law removes another barrier in the road to creating 250,000 private sector jobs by 2015," Walker said. "Patchwork government mandates stifle job creation and economic opportunity. This law gives employers the flexibility they need to put people back to work and that makes Wisconsin a more attractive place to do business."

Heck even the JSonline editorial board was giddy over Scott Walker overturning this law.   

Milwaukee voters placed a risky bet in 2008 when they approved an ordinance requiring businesses to provide paid sick leave. Although on its face, the measure sounded good, the unintended consequences of this ordinance would deal a blow to job growth and economic development at a time when the city can ill afford it.
The state Legislature sent a bill to Gov. Scott Walker this week to correct that error. The governor said he is likely to sign it. He should do so.
The city ordinance could harm Milwaukee's reputation as a place to do business and could hurt the very people it is intended to help. In an economy struggling to gather steam, the cost of providing paid time off would likely come from fewer hours for part-time help and fewer jobs or expansions of the workforce for full-timers.
Beyond that, the ordinance would put Milwaukee on an island, isolated from its neighbors who would be perceived as more friendly toward business. Jobs desperately needed in Milwaukee could migrate elsewhere as a result. Do Milwaukee voters really want to see that happen?
Milwaukee voters approved the ordinance as a piece of direct legislation. In that binding referendum, 69% of voters said yes to requiring paid sick leave. But the referendum didn't spell out all the consequences. 

 I do not live in Milwaukee, but I am quite certain that the referendum did not spell out all of the consequences.  I doubt Ecoli, pneumonia or hepatitis was part of the referendum.

Then reality set in:

A sick employee in a Springfield, MO Red Robin restaurant may have inadvertently exposed thousands of customers to hepatitis A. CNN reported on Thursday that diners who ate at the restaurant between May 8 and May 16 are should contact the local health department for instructions.

The Springfield-Greene County Health Department held a news conference Wednesday that an estimated 5,000 people may have been affected.

OzarksFirst.com said that health department will open public clinics to test and process the public. However, anyone who is pregnant or immune suppressed, said officials, should go straight to their doctor.

Hepatitis A is a highly contagious viral illness that inflames the liver. It is most frequently transmitted through contaminated food and water.

Nothing says "open for business" like a preventable Hepatitis outbreak. 

 It is strange that the republicans, with the help of the Journal Sentinel, were able to get this "job killing obstacle" out of the way, yet still failed miserably at creating jobs.    


              

PolitiFlunked

 

By Jeff Simpson

Recently, Politifact checked out a statement that Mary Burke made, well kind of anyway, and called it "false". 

The Statement:

Says Gov. Scott Walker’s repeal of a 2009 law has left Wisconsin as "one of five states without an equal pay law protecting women from gender discrimination in their paycheck."

Their Rating:

Our rating
Burke said that Walker’s repeal of a 2009 law has left Wisconsin as "just one of five states without an equal pay law protecting women from gender discrimination in their paycheck."
But while Walker reversed an attempt to toughen up Wisconsin law, its protections against gender discrimination in workplace pay date back decades. The governor’s 2012 action left those in place, albeit without tougher penalties for employers.
We rate Burke’s claim False.

The problem is, in doing their research, the JSonline Politifact, should have checked with Karen Herzog of JSonline:

 Wisconsin is one of five states that have no equal-pay laws on the books. The other states are Alabama, Mississippi, South Carolina and Utah.

Two major errors in two weeks, Politifact, you are going to have to do better than that!