Sikmathelioma

 

By Jeff Simpson

Asbestos poisoning - mesothlioma - is a deadly disease!

Mesothelioma (or, more precisely, malignant mesothelioma) is a rare form of cancer that develops from cells of the mesothelium, the protective lining that covers many of the internal organs of the body. Mesothelioma is most commonly caused by exposure to asbestos.^[1] The most common anatomical site for mesothelioma is the pleura (the outer lining of the lungs and internal chest wall), but it can also arise in the peritoneum (the lining of the abdominal cavity), the pericardium (the sac that surrounds the heart),^[2] or the tunica vaginalis (a sac that surrounds the testis).

Most people who develop mesothelioma have worked in jobs where they inhaled or ingested asbestos fibers, or were exposed to airborne asbestos dust and fibers in other ways. Washing clothes of a family member who worked with asbestos also creates a risk for developing mesothelioma.^[3] Unlike lung cancer, there seems to be no association between mesothelioma and tobacco smoking, but smoking greatly increases the risk of other asbestos-induced cancers.^[4]

It is a major problem for people who work in the mines for a living! Has our friends to the north have found out, there are risks and serious implications for mining.  

Risk

The risks associated with asbestos are significant, and workers have historically been subjected to concentrations 10–100 times the Canadian legal limit of 1 fibres/cm³ (3, 17, 13). These workers have suffered from a wide range of health effects. Asbestos has a significant risk even at lower concentrations. The families of workers have therefore had elevated rates of asbestos-related diseases from the asbestos inadvertently brought home on the clothing of miners. Radiographs of the spouses of workers exposed to asbestos indicated that 19% of them suffered from pleural changes, and that the only factor of significance in detailed questionnaires was the latent period since first exposure. The microscopic fibres of asbestos are therefore impossible to eliminate from the indoor air environment, and pose a significant risk for the workers, their families and those whose homes contain airborne asbestos.

Implications

The laxness of the regulations concerning the sale, export and mining of asbestos has detrimental consequences for the health of Canadian communities. The Chrysotile Institute continues to receive federal subsidies to mine asbestos in Quebec, and sets safety regulations “in accordance with government” in Canada (1). The safety regulations developed were described in the previous section, and since these regulations protect corporate interests more than community health, there are serious implications for community health.

Since asbestos-related diseases appear many years after first exposure to asbestos (Figure 3), it is often difficult to establish a link between disease and exposure, especially since smoking and genetics are confounding factors in the incidence of asbestos-related diseases. Lawyers and corporations have therefore depended on scientists to prove or disprove this link. Miller (2006) found in his analysis of radiographic readings for asbestosis using International Labour Office classification that evidence has been misused by the media and attorneys to give undue compensation to victims. However, evidence has also been found that victims of asbestos exposure are often misdiagnosed, and fail to receive adequate protection (4). The lack of firm government guidelines for the use and mining of asbestos is therefore of great detriment to miners and their communities.

Figure 3

Delay between the time of first exposure and employee diagnosis with asbestos-related diseases (Kamp and Weitzman, 1999)

Recommendations

Since epidemiological analyses and animal testing have clearly shown that asbestos has health effects through occupational and environmental exposure, it is the responsibility of the government to protect the health of its citizens instead of yielding to economic corporate interests. The government of Canada must stop exporting asbestos to EU countries in which asbestos has been banned, instead of continuing to challenge the rights of these countries to refuse imports using WTO guidelines (36). Although chrysotile is less potent than other forms of asbestos, serious questions must be asked about whether the benefits of economic development in Quebec outweigh the long-term health consequences of exposure to asbestos. One potential way in which these costs and benefits can be better balanced is by forcing companies such as the Chrysotile Institute to assume responsibility for the compensation of people affected by asbestos.

Overall, better monitoring is required, both of the health of miners and their communities and of indoor air quality in buildings containing asbestos. Despite claims that indoor air quality testing of public buildings is unnecessary and unduly frightens the population, the overwhelming risks of exposure and subsequent health effects warrant testing these sites for indoor air quality. It is only through a thorough knowledge of the potential health effects of a specific site that informed policies can be created.

Mesothlioma is no joke, unless of course your right wing extremist Brian Sikma


See Sikma had a crony leak him a preliminary report, that says that there is asbestos on the site and its dangers to the workers and the local community.   Sikma is having a field day making fun of this report because it was worked on by ...... (sit down for this) -----   Scientists and Academics! 

The non-governmental author participating in the report’s creation is Tom Fitz, an associate professor of geoscience at Northland College and outspoken mine skeptic. Northland touts itself as an “environmental liberal arts” college that focuses on climate change, sustainability, and green practices.

(Edit note to Sikma - Liberal arts colleges are not another word for Democratic Colleges) 

Another non-DNR expert whose work was featured in the report is Marcia Bjornerud, a geology professor at Lawrence University. Although she didn’t participate in drafting the report, the DNR panel repeatedly referenced a study of hers from 2012. Tom Fitz helped produce that study.

Why would a geologist have any credibility on geology study?  Especially when a guy who went to mailorder U.com disagrees with said study!   

The reality is this mine is dangerous for the long term health effects of our friends and neighbors in Northern Wisconsin.  However, to advance his extreme right wing, global warming is a hoax and the mine will be perfectly safe and create a gajillion jobs, Brian Sikma and the rest of the right wing cabal are putting your and your children's health and long term well being at serious risk! 

Who cares if your children die of cancer as long as Scott Walker gets re-elected! 

In Wisconsin we not only have to worry about mesothlioma, but also Sikmathelioma(the only thing that matters is electing republicans, no matter how many lives are destroyed in the process)!  

Amen! 

Bill Williams: International Man of Misery

Bill Williams, President of Gogebic Taconite (GTAC), is a very unpleasant fellow.  His disposition appears to be one of an assaultive nature.

He assaulted Wisconsin's democracy and legislative process by buying off State Representative Mark

Honadel and the other Teapublicans in order to get a mining bill, which is company wrote, passed despite the overwhelming opposition to it.  I would be remiss if I also did not bring up the matter of the armed mercernaries that Williams hired to threaten and intimidate Wisconsinites who might approach the area.  I should also remind the gentle reader that these Penokee Pinkertons were here illegally.

During the process, Williams is accused of assaulting an opponent to the mine:

An opponent of the proposed Gogebic Taconite (GTAC) mine in Ashland and Iron counties has filed a report with City of Ashland Police, alleging he was assaulted by GTAC President Bill Williams on Thursday at the Ashland County Courthouse after the Ashland County Board overwhelmingly approved a pair of mining-related ordinances.

David Joe Bates, a Bad River Tribal member from Odanah, said Williams snatched a cellphone he was using to record a conversation between Williams and Ashland County Administrator Jeff Beirl following the meeting.

“Bill Williams was angry with the passage of the zoning ordinance and he took his rage out on me,” Bates said in an email to The Daily Press. “By the way, I have been diagnosed with a hyperextended shoulder as a direct result of this assault. I’ll be lawyering up!”

Bates asserted on a Facebook posting that Williams “ripped the cell phone right out of my hand.”

As it turns out, it appears that Wisconsin isn't the only place where Williams has wrought his mayhem.

In the past few days, it has come out that there is a great likelihood that Williams will be facing charges in Spain for damaging the ecology near a copper mine and injecting arsenic-rich water into the groundwater, as reported by Barbara With at Wisconsin Citizens Media Cooperative:

In breaking news yesterday, a federation of over 300 environmental groups in Spain called Ecologists in Action (EIA) announced that Gogebic Taconite (GTac) President Bill Williams is facing criminal trial in Spain for multiple environmental violations committed while he was director of the Cobre Las Cruces (CLC) copper mine in Seville Province. Charges include the illegal pumping of arsenic-contaminated water into the local aquifer and other criminal damage to public property. Also being charged are François Fleury and Paz Cosmen, also employees of CLC.

Williams previously denied any involvement with the environmental problems at Cobre Las Cruces, claiming that he left the mine before the damage was done. On July 19, 2011 Williams addressed a crowd at the Deep Water Grill (see video below), citing Cobre Las Cruces as an example of a successful application of the “dry stacking” technology GTac claims would eliminate toxic runoff from waste rock at its proposed Penokee Hills iron mine. The Spanish court case, however, makes it clear that operations at Cobre Las Cruces caused significant environmental damage and that this damage occurred on Williams’ watch.

According to an article in No A La Mina, in 2008 EIA requested an outside hydrologist be brought in to monitor the water management system of the Cobre Las Cruces mine. At that time they also requested that judicial proceedings be opened against CLC for alleged crimes against the environment.

I would strongly suggest that the gentle reader also read the reports by Tony Stella at Stella Reports, who feels that it is all but a matter of time before Williams gets charged. Stella also provides a concise summary of the situation:

The court has concluded a preliminary period of investigation which included written responses from Bill Williams and others. It was determined that sufficient evidence exists to proceed with charges against three of the defendants, including Mr. Williams. One defendant was found to have joined the company after the violations took place, and he was dismissed from the proceeding.

The defendants subsequently appealed. A panel of judges has denied that appeal, finding enough evidence or "reasonable suspicion" to proceed, and no further appeals are allowed at this stage, meaning the prosecutor and Ecologists in Action have the green light to proceed with the charging documents. The court is now merely awaiting the charging documents, similar to our "information" or "indictment," and a trial will take place based on those charging documents, according to the individual quoted above, who has been closely involved in the case.

Mr. Williams will be subpoenaed to appear at the trial, but extradition is not guaranteed in this case, and it is possible he could be tried in his absence if the court so decides. The initially stated charges do carry the possibility of prison sentences.

Via Stella, there is also a link to an Spanish news article on the subject (which is poorly translated).

I would also recommend that the gentle reader follow Woods Person who is also following the story very closely.

No matter which way you look at it, the story is the same.  Williams is a soulless, greedy thug that is only concerned with increasing his wealth through corruption and exploitation.  He is a poor steward of natural resources and is selling the state a maleficent bill of wares which will leave our environment in ruins and the state to pay for the mess he is being allowed to cause.

Fracking Sellouts!

It is being reported that Trempealeau County Board Supervisor David Suchla has been trying to use his office to make big money off of the frac sand mining boom in the state:

Trempealeau County Board Supervisor David Suchla has been accused of threatening a high-level county administrator to keep silent about a business relationship that Suchla had with a Texas-based company interested in mining silica sand in the supervisor's district. The administrator, Environment and Land Use Director Kevin Lien, recently discovered Suchla's business ties from a document that someone inadvertently left on a table at the courthouse.

Suchla's accuser is fellow County Supervisor Sally Miller, who has said in a sworn statement that Suchla told Lien to "forget he saw" the document and "nip it in the bud or else." Lien said Miller's account is accurate.

LaCrosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke told the Star Tribune he will decide over the next few weeks whether to prosecute under a Wisconsin law that bars local government officials from personally benefiting from their positions.

The article goes on how Suchla was acting like a big fish in a little pond and using coercion and bribery to get mining permits approved, which would have greatly benefited him personally.

Sadly, this is not the only example of this sort of story.

In Union, Wisconsin, located in Waupaca County, the town chair, Roger Henschel, was pushing for a frac sand mine to be permitted.  Lo and behold, Henschel owns a great deal of the land that the mining company would end up buying.

Despite strong resistance to the mine, a Waupaca County committee has approved a conditional permit for the mine.  Opponents have already filed an appeal against this horrible decision.

Across the state, the mining companies had given over $750,000 to candidates in order to buy the mining rights to our homes and backyards, even though studies are showing it is creating almost no jobs and having no significant impact on the state's economy.  As one might imagine, the biggest fracking sellout was none other than Scott Walker.

Bill Berry wrote over a year ago that these frac sand mines were going to be trouble for rural Wisconsin.  Time has proven his warning to be accurately, not only for the corrupt politics but also as an environmental threat.

I think Berry was also correct in saying that the way to overcome this and put things to right is good old fashioned citizen activism.

History has shown us that people always come before profits.

Question of the Day

Does anyone else wonder if the sudden and extreme crackdown on the Solidarity Singers is to distract the public's attention to the misdeeds going on at the Penokee iron mine?

I've noticed no one has anything about this since the crackdowns at the Capitol started.

Knot Their Facebook: Part 2

About ten days ago, I shared the story of some folks on Facebook who were being harassed by emotionally stunted trolls who call themselves "Knot My Wisconsin" and are trying to silence those who would speak out against the tyranny in this state and country.

Apparently, this same group of knuckle-draggers or one like them is out to harass people opposed to the iron mining up in the Northwoods.  As one might suspect, they seem to target women, foolishly thinking them to be weaker. It looks like that they might have been off more than they can chew this time:

But now Wells says she is being targeted with similar threatening behavior from the other side. Wells' name appeared on a list of mining opponents with three other women on Facebook last week.

A man named Terry Dipper listed them on the Wisconsin Reporter's Facebook page, citing their opposition as a reason armed guards are needed at the Gogebic Taconite site.

In response to Dipper's post, Wisconsinites For Safe Mining wrote: "We have initiated a shoot on site order for the malcontents you have listed. Trespassing on a mining site = genocide."

"If you threaten to kill someone, that is a crime - that is malicious. Its horrible. Its scary," said Wells.

She and at least two of the other women, Roberta Retram and Barbara With, are now asking their local law enforcement agencies to investigate the matter criminally.

27 News exchanged Facebook messages with someone from Wisconsinites For Safe Mining on Monday about the comment, who insisted it was obvious satire. They even sent a link to a Wikipedia entry explaining what satire is.

But Wells and the other women aren't laughing.

"Its not a joke when you're threatening someone's life and you're putting a target on their head," said Wells.

Wells says the Dane County Sheriff's Office told her they will assign an investigator to look into the matter, but 27 News has not been able to confirm that yet.

The person from Wisconsinites For Safe Mining who exchanged messages with 27 News today, refused to identify themselves.

In related news, it appears that one of my favorite trolls, the one that had been going around trying to impersonate me in the Cheddarsphere is back at its old tricks.

It didn't work then, so I don't know what makes it think it will work now.

But no one has ever accused trolls, especially right wing ones, of being smart.

Beware: EcoTerrorist On The Loose!

By Jeff Simpson

Capper told us how our Beloved Governor called the goofy lady who grabbed a video camera a "ninja". We also pointed out yesterday that her behavior has a history of going unpunished in Wisconsin.  Now we find that there is an actual ecoterrorist running free in the Northwoods(Here he is in a rare picture hiding from the police):








His name is Bill Williams and he is President of Gogebic Taconite and he is a thug.   Seems that Mr. Williams grabbed a cellphone that David Joe Bates, a Bad River Tribal member, was using to record him with(sound familiar?).  Mr Bates filed a Police report and we are still waiting to see if Governor Walker approves of the Bad River Tribe hiring Rambo wanna-be's to protect themselves from employees of Gogebic Taconite.

Unfortunately though, this terrible crime will go unpunished and Mr. Williams is free to contonue to terrorize the people of WI.  

The lesson to be learned here is that in Wisconsin, the anti Mining protestor already had a strike against her, because she is a female.  We know the disdain that Wisconsin republicans have for women! 

She also made a mistake in wearing a mask, in the future if you want to be able to roam the Northwoods without fear of prosecution  -  wear a Gogebic Taconite polo shirt*.


* Does Not apply to Native Americans, African Americans, any other minority group or Females!

Be on the lookout for this man!  

al Qaeda Ninja Terrorist From Outer Space

On Thursday, my brother in dissent, Jeff Simpson, pointed out to the way that the right wing nut jobs were trying to conflate an incident in which a protester was - gasp! - yelling at the miners and make it seem like it was something more than it was.

Holy terrorism, Batman!

But this was not enough for the more whackier of the right wingers.

Charlie Sykes, with his White Wisconsin radio show, was not satisfied with just calling the protesters terrorists or eco-terrorists.  Oh, no, he had to take it to a slightly higher level by saying that the protesters dressed like al Qaeda terrorists.  Sykes kept repeating and stressing the phrase "al Qaeda terrorists."

This was not a coincidence.  Sykes kept reinforcing the false comparison of a protester yelling at the mining company lackeys to a organized, murderous terrorist group to drive the people to fear and to anger.  That way, when the people were all riled up, it would make it easier for them to justify any acts of violence from the mining company or their Pinkertons.

In a small piece of poetic justice, Scott Walker blew up all the hard work of fear, smear and propaganda the right was doing when he came out with this:

“The irony is,” Walker says, “the angst seems to be focused at the company and not at the people who came in masked like ninjas on personal property violating the law by trespassing in a place they have no right of being and physically accosting people.”

So now the protesters are not merely eco-terrorists, nor are they more fearsome al Qaeda eco-terrorists, but they are the dreaded al Qaeda ninja eco-terrorists. All we need is MacIver or Media Trackers to claim that they are also from outer space.

The paper was quick to point out that while the land was private, it also was subject to public access as the mining company benefited from lower taxes.

At the end of the article, they again cite Walker as he further buried his own cause:

In a statement Friday afternoon, the governor says these extremists — who are disrupting work and causing harm to law-abiding employees — should be prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. Walker says he spoke with the Iron County Sheriff to offer any assistance that may be needed. He adds, the laws of Wisconsin will be upheld.

It's really odd, in a sarcastic way, that Walker would mention that the laws of Wisconsin will be upheld.

Because no where did Walker mention that the Penokee Pinkertons, up her all the way from Arizona, were illegally traipsing around the woods terrorizing people.

But even more important to remember is that the mining law, which was written by the mining company, goes against the federal laws and contracts which allow the tribe to have a say on anything that would affect their land and water.  And the Bad River Tribe has made it abundantly clear that they are very seriously opposed to this.

If Walker was really serious about want to enforce the law, he should start following the law himself.

But that's as likely as there being al Qaeda ninja terrorists from outer space.

Terrorism or Not Terrorism

By Jeff Simpson

AFP-Wisconsin, our resident Koch brothers Shrill group, is now carrying water for Chris Cline.  Luke Hilgemann will sell out to anyone.    Today on facebook they posted the youtube video of a protestor in Northern Wisconsin, swearing and pulling a camera from someone who worked for the mine.   They posted it with this caption:

Only one way to describe this - Eco-terrorism.

So lets break it down for Luke.

 ter·ror·ism

[ter-uh-riz-uhm] Show IPAnoun

1.the use of violence and threats to intimidate or coerce, especially for political purposes.

2.the state of fear and submission produced by terrorism or terrorization.

3.a terroristic method of governing or of resisting a government.

 Hmmm  




               

Definition of ECOTERRORISM

1: sabotage intended to hinder activities that are considered damaging to the environment

2: political terrorism intended to damage an enemy's natural environment

if you look up the items needed to Mine our pristine Northwoods, no where is a camera part of the essential items.    So grabbing a camera from someone's hands is dumb it is NOT "ecoterrorism! 

So let us sum it up for you:

THIS is terrorism:

THIS is NOT terrorism:

If you insist that the above video IS terrorism, then this also has to be terrorism:

If you insist that the northern Wisconsin incident is terrorism, then THIS also has to be terrorism(PS- Santorum was AFP's guy):

Or Hilgemann is just a hypocritical partisan hack who brings nothing to the table.  



 

Update:  His buddy Parrots him - Bawk Bawk! 

Good Thing They Rammed Through That Mining Bill

Remember how the Republicans, after they had been richly rewarded by the mining companies, just had to pass that mining bill that the mining companies wrote, even though it was illegal, violated centuries-old agreements and would ravish the environment of the Northwoods of Wisconsin?

They said that they had to do it because it was "shovel ready" jobs, gazillions of them, both up north and in Milwaukee.

So they rammed it through, even though the majority of people opposed it.

To date, it has not created one job.

And it doesn't look like it will create any jobs anytime soon (emphasis mine)

Menomonee Falls-based Magnetek Inc. today reported first quarter net income of $472,00, or 14 cents per share, down from $6.9 million, or $2.14 per share, in the same period a year ago.

The company’s net sales dipped to $25.1 million from $28.7 million a year ago.

The decrease in sales from the prior year quarter reflects sales declines of products for mining markets, and the company's decision to no longer pursue new sales opportunities in renewable energy markets.

"Challenging conditions in mining markets, combined with moderating demand and seasonal factors in material handling markets, resulted in both a sequential and a year-over-year decline in both sales and profitability. In response, we focused our actions during the quarter on controlling our payroll and other discretionary costs. Despite the lower sales levels, our continuing operations remained profitable, and our first quarter adjusted EBITDA achievement was more than 10 percent of sales," said Peter McCormick, Magnetek's president and chief executive officer.

But don't worry, the company has a plan in mind to keep the stakeholders from not raking in their profits. The article says that the company plans to screw over their workers by raiding their pensions.

How so thoughtful of them.

It also makes me wonder all the more what Scott Walker was selling in China besides ginseng.

China Meets with Wisconsin (Manufacturers and Commerce)

A month ago, I questioned who were going to get those mining jobs in Northern Wisconsin - if they ever do materialize.  In said article, I referred the gentle reader to the fact that Canadian mining companies were bringing Chinese miners to do the work, instead of hiring the local miners:

A major B.C. labour organization denounced on Monday the “mass importation” of Chinese workers to mine coal in the northeast part of the province, saying it is “preposterous” to suggest British Columbians don’t have the skills to fill close to 2,000 full-time jobs destined for foreign workers.

“We want to register our grave concerns about the uses and abuses of the Temporary Foreign Worker (TFW) program as it relates to projects in British Columbia,” the organization told Prime Minister Stephen Harper and Premier Christy Clark in an open letter.

It was issued by the Bargaining Council of the B.C. Building Trades Unions, made up of 15 unions representing 35,000 craft construction workers, including underground miners.

“We believe this mass importation of labour is completely unnecessary and is simply a strategy to employ lower-paid workers who are compliant with the culture of coal mining in China,” wrote BCBCBTU President Mark Olsen.

“The coal mining in that country is patently unsafe and the industry there shows little regard for the life, health and well-being of the workers in that country.”

It's a serious enough concern that Senator Dave Hansen is asking for answers.

The answers are starting to look not so good, especially when we see something like this:

On March 18, Chinese Consul General Zhao Weiping met with Mr. Kurt Bauer, President of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce in Madison, the capital city of Wisconsin. They exchanged views on the trade and investment cooperation between China and Wisconsin.

Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC) are huge proponent of the mine.  I'm sure that there was a lot of discussion regarding that.

It's bad enough that it looks like the Chinese are looking to invest and/or mine our natural resources.  They are going to be much less prone to worry about the environment impacts - even with the Republicans having loosened all the safety nets - since they won't be here to deal with the impact of the mining.

But I can't help but wonder if Scott Walker gave WMC permission to speak on the state's behalf, or whether WMC had included that when they bought Walker in the first place.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLXX

Remember how Scott Walker and his ilk told us that the mining bill would create shovel ready jobs, not just for the good people in Northern Wisconsin, but for people in Milwaukee, like the workers at the Caterpillar plant?

Yeah, neither do they:

Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpillar Inc. is planning to lay off 250 to 300 employees in South Milwaukee by June.

“Short-term layoffs and other actions will be taking place,” Caterpillar spokesman Rusty Dunn told BizTimes. “We are not getting into specific numbers, as we continue to evaluate the situation given the fluctuating economic and business environment. Various Caterpillar facilities and business units are taking action to bring our production in line with demand, including our operations in South Milwaukee. This includes some short-term temporary layoffs and other actions. These actions vary from location to location and impact both production and support and management employees. We know this is difficult for our employees, but we are taking steps to better align with the current economic circumstances, while at the same time remain focused on positioning the company for long-term success."

Ross Winklbauer, United Steelworkers union sub-district director of District 4, received word of the layoffs from union president Kevin Jaskie, who was present for the company announcement.

The union is unsure if layoffs will affect only union staff or both union members and management staff.

The union also remains uncertain about whether the layoffs will be temporary cuts or permanent dismissals, Winklbauer said.

But there is a lot that is suspect about this news.

The company failed to notify the state, as is required by law.

The company failed to notify South Milwaukee about this.

The company is claiming that it is due to low sales, but never mentioned this to the union or anyone else. Maybe not so coincidentally, the company is supposed to enter into formal negotiations with the union next week for a new contract. Also maybe not so coincidentally, the company has also been trying to get scabs trained at MATC - y'know, in case there is a strike or something.

Yeah, I smell a scabby rat here.  Or should I say, a scabby cat?

Tourism Ad Is Perfect Example Of Waste And Fraud

Scott Walker's DNR paid an exorbitant amount of money to have David Zucker and Robert Hays make a series of commercials that are supposed to be promoting tourism in Wisconsin.

The business community and Walker's propagandists have been hyping it beyond belief, and to be honest, undeservedly so.

Here is the latest ad:



While the ad is slightly humorous, it is far from being memorable. Furthermore, it really doesn't do anything to make it uniquely Wisconsin. Change the wording at the end and it could be for any state with lakes, such as Minnesota which as more lakes (and jobs) than Wisconsin.

But not only is it a waste of time, money and talent, it is also fraudulent.

First of all, Walker and his Republican cohorts in crime against the environment just rammed through the mining law that will allow the mining companies to pump poison into a number of the lakes in Northern Wisconsin, despite the overwhelming opposition to this ceding of our land to out of state special interests.

If this law isn't defeated in court - as it probably will be - the fish in these lakes will be inedible due to the poison.

Then there is the fact that there won't be much in the way of walleye fishing this year at least:

The tribes Friday submitted their declaration to spear 59,399 walleyes in off-reservation lakes. The declarations by band were Bad River 5,609 walleyes; Lac Courte Oreilles 5,879; Lac du Flambeau 24,283; Mole Lake 15,060; Red Cliff 2,194; and St. Croix 6,374.

After calculating the potential impact to the lakes' walleye populations, the Department of Natural Resources on Monday announced the sport bag limits would be reduced to one fish on 197 lakes, two fish on 331 lakes and three fish on seven lakes.

The tribes are well within their legal rights to do this. The reasoning for these high declarations is also pretty clear, as blue cheddar succinctly points out:

Officially, the expanded spearing has nothing to do with mining next to somebody’s sacred rice beds.

Officially the expanded spearing has nothing to do with the law to allow hunting of Wisconsin wolves with dog packs (the only bloodsport wolf hunt of that nature in the U.S.)

Officially the spearfishing has zero to do with disrespectful treatment of native tribes by a certain bullheaded Governor.

Unofficially we know it has everything to do with those things.

Listening to talk radio, you could hear them already ripping out a page from Tommy Thompson's playbook, stirring up the racism that is innate to their base. They already had callers ranting about those "Damn Injuns."

I have also heard reports from my friends in Northern Wisconsin that the usual suspects up there are really starting to grumble about the fact that their white supremacy isn't being observed.

Not once have I heard a conservative make the connection between their own actions and these consequences for their poor behaviors. And no, that doesn't surprise me one bit.

If they had really wanted to make a commercial about tourism in Northern Wisconsin, they would have to show white supremacists fighting against the native tribes over fishing rights, by a lake with corporate special interests preparing to dump toxins into the lake, making the whole fishing argument moot anyway.

That would properly represent what people would find when they come to Fitzwalkerstan.

But we know that Walker and his ilk have such a strong abhorrence of honesty and reality that we won't be seeing that commercial coming any time soon.

Don't Hold Your Breath For Those Mining Jobs

Despite Scott Walker's grandstanding and showboating, those mining jobs that are "shovel ready" won't be happening this decade, if ever:

“Supporters of the new law, including the governor, are completely misleading the people of Wisconsin—especially those looking for jobs—by saying a mining operation could begin in as little as two years,” [Sen. Tim] Cullen said in his statement.

Cullen was chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Mining last year when the Democrats briefly gained control of the Senate.

A pre-application process that would include borings, exploration and hydrological studies would take two to three years, followed by the Army Corps of Engineers permitting process that would take four or more years, Cullen said. Legal challenges would follow.

Cullen also pointed to a statement by Tim Sullivan, who heads the Wisconsin Mining Association.

Sullivan was quoted by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Nov. 29 as telling the Senate Select Committee on Mining: “We’re not talking a year or two years. You’re talking five, six years out, potentially even further, depending on how the permit process goes.”

Of course, all the legal battles and whatnot could have been easily avoided if the Republicans did it the correct way instead of the right's way.

Remember, you can help the Bad River Band fight this irresponsible attack on the land.

You know as well as I do that the only reason Walker and the Republicans even passed this was due to the ungodly amount of money that the mining companies, the WMC and other greedy groups dumped on them.

Walker wants the money for his upcoming attempt at the presidency.  But before he gets himself up into campaign mode, he should remember what happened to other people that sold up their votes for the money of special interest groups.  People like former representative Jason Fields.

Stand With The Bad River Band!

Despite overwhelming opposition to the proposed mining bill, and the fact that it is not going to create on stinking job, Scott Walker and the Republicans ramrodded the bill through, with Walker signing it into law last week.

Along with environmentalists, the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Tribe has vowed to fight this every step of the way.

Now you can show your support too.  They have a paypal account set up for the Bad River Watershed's legal defense fund, if you will.  Just go to their website and you will see the button on the top of the left column.

And remember, when you help them, you're actually helping out everyone in that part of the state.  Heck you're actually helping the entire state!

So give today, if you can.

Q: What Does The Bible, The Constitution And The Wisconsin State Flag Have In Common?

A: Republicans cherry pick only the parts that fit their demented points of view.

It's been pointed out numerous times on this blog and other sites that Republicans will readily cite the Bible or the Constitution only when it fits their arguments, even if means ignoring all the rest.

They're doing the same thing with the Wisconsin State Flag.

When trying to justify their massive giveaway to the mining companies, they often will point out that there is a miner on the flag, as if that makes it OK for them to trash the environment, sink the economy and disrespect sovereign tribes.

The funny thing is that the flag also has the arm of labor on it.  That didn't seem to matter to them when they forced Act 10 down our throats, causing the state economy to come to a screeching halt and leading to a loss of over 15,000 jobs during Walker's reign.

Maybe I'm being too hard on them though.  I'm sure it's hard for them to see well when they have their noses so far up the corporate special interests' butts that they could tell us what they had for breakfast.

Tell Walker To Mine His Own Business!

As is his wont, Scott Walker is going to hold two grandstanding events on Monday to sign the mining bill, aka Mine Kampf.

One of the signings is in Rhinelander, tentatively from 1:10 to 2:10 pm.  It will be at the Oldenburg Group Inc., Manufacturing Floor, 3600 Lakeshore Lane.

The other signing is in Milwaukee, tentatively from 4-5 pm, at P & H Mining Equipment, Manufacturing Floor, 4400 W. National Ave, Milwaukee.

Note that I said the times are tentative.  Walker's already changed the Rhinelander time once.  Given that there is a winter weather advisory for a great part of Wisconsin, not to mention that Walker really tries to avoid his constituents whenever possible, I would not put it past him to change the times again, notifying only the friendly corporate media.

On the bright side, neither of these places are under the jurisdiction of the fascist David Erwin, so you do NOT need a permit to exercise your First Amendment right of free speech.

Let him know that it's in no way over.

And tell him that Cog Dis sent ya.  I'm sure he'll love that.

WISGOP's Money Pit

As expected, the corporate-controlled Republican-controlled legislature has ramrodded through the mining bill that was written by the mining company.  Scott Walker is expected to sign it into law as soon as he returns from his fundraiser in Florida.

In doing so, they ignored their constituents who oppose the mine by more than a two to one ratio, denied hundreds of citizens their right to speak on the bill and have repeatedly told blatant and transparent lies to justify their actions.

The Teapublicans promised that this will create eleventy zillion jobs and make Wisconsin an economic powerhouse.

Only the sockpuppets and the truly deranged find this in the least bit plausible.

Before the first pick falls, before the first shovel bites dirt and before the first toxins are released into the waterways, there are a number of considerable hurdles that have to be crossed.

It will have to pass muster with the EPA and the Army of Engineers, both of which have been repeatedly raising red flags about the way the bill was written.

It will also have to survive years of court battles as the Bad River Tribe will be fighting this all the way to the U.S. Supreme Court.

All that aside, there is no denying that they Republicans are pushing an agenda that will not create jobs, will harm the environment and will further damage the economy, especially in Northern Wisconsin.

Jobs

The mining bill proponents claim that the mine will create anywhere from 3,000 to 7,000 jobs.  What they will not claim is that those jobs will go to Wisconsinites.  We have seen with the fracking mines that the mining companies are bringing people up from the South to do the work.  And we have just recently seen the mining companies in Canada import their miners from China.

They also like to point to all the jobs the mine is supposedly going to create in Milwaukee, specifically at Caterpillar, who had bought out Bucyrus.  However, the news is that Caterpillar has not been playing nice with the unions and there are serious labor struggles forming at that plant.  That's just the excuse the company would need to move more jobs to other states or even other countries, as they have been known to do even without labor strife.

Environment

Everyone and their uncle has been pointing out to the vast amount of proof that this mine will cause serious environmental harm.  Meanwhile, the Republicans have been denying this up and down and until they are blue in the face.

Except the idiot that is claiming to have written the bill that was really written by the mining company, Tom Tiffany has admitted that not only will the mine harm the environment, but it was written to protect the mining company from being held responsible for the damage they will cause:

Gov. Scott Walker's comments Thursday to The Business Journal in Milwaukee are typical: “We are going to go forward with a permitting process that still protects our natural resources. It’s incredibly important to tourism, it’s important to agriculture and timber in (northern Wisconsin). We’re not going to do something that jeopardizes that.”

But the main author of the controversial mining bill that's moving quickly through the Republican-led state Legislature admitted otherwise on Thursday.

And, with numerous groups already vowing to challenge the bill in court, Sen. Tom Tiffany also acknowledged that changes were made to the legislation to put the state on stronger legal ground to withstand such a challenge.

“The bill reflects the reality of mining. There are going to be some impacts to the environment above the iron ore body,” said Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst. “If the law is challenged and ends up in court, the judge needs to know it was the Legislature’s intent to allow adverse (environmental) impacts. That way, a judge can’t find fault if the environment is impacted.”

Despite this rare moment of honesty, the Republicans, including Tiffany, continue to deny any damage will occur.

Economy

With all the supposed new jobs, would come a boom in the economy, or so Walker and the Republicans try to tell us.  They specifically point to Northern Wisconsin as being on of the greatest recipients of this windfall of economic activity.

What the mine will do - if it is ever allowed (and hopefully it won't be) - is make the dire economic situation even worse.

Remember that the Republicans already have passed a law that the corporate tax will drop from the current 7.9% to 0.4% in 2016.  In the mining bill, they have all but done away with the tonnage tax.

Now consider this, even if the mine started operations immediately (which it won't), it would take it several years to start turning a profit.  By the time the mine would start generating a profit - if it ever does - for every million dollars the mining company rakes in, the locals will get a whopping $2,400.

That will hardly put a scratch in the amount they will be losing due to ever-decreasing revenue sharing, the loss of millions in tourism dollars ("Let's go see a big, toxic, ugly hole in the ground!" said no one ever.), the cost of shipping in potable water and the increasing health care costs due to the chemical contamination of the land, air and water.

Summary

Given all of this, it's pretty understandable that most people are against the mine.

And this doesn't even take into consideration the way the legal bills will be wracking up as the state is forced to defend the myriad of sins and illegalities contained in this bill.  For supposedly being such fiscal conservatives, one would have thought the Republicans would have wanted to pass something that is going to cost taxpayers untold hundreds of thousand - if not millions - of dollars even before the first rock is removed.

If there is a silver lining at all to this piece of offal, it is that it appears to be waking up more and more people to the fact that their elected leaders that promised them so much wealth and prosperity are not representing them at all.  Hopefully, by 2014, enough people will have become outraged enough that even the gerrymandering the Republicans did won't be enough to save their worthless political hides.

MacIver Institute Strikes (Out) Again!

Just yesterday, I reported on how the MacIver Institute punked itself by exposing a spoof site showing the foibles of the maleficent mining bill.

Not being ones to rest on their laurels, they actually managed to surpass themselves in their inanity.

This time, their blockbusting scoop was that a woman had a dream!

These trolls went through people's personal Facebook pages looking for something, anything, that they could use to demonize the people opposed to the mining bill.  (Maybe the group should change their name to the McCarthy Institute of Wayward Stalkers.)

What they found was the Facebook page of Karen Tuerk, a staff member at the University of Wisconsin, who had stated that she had a dream that involved a tornado, Scott Walker and a knife.*

Nick Novak, the spokesman for the institute then tried to tie in this one random post about a dream and Ms. Tuerk's opposition to the mining bill, although he never does say why these two things would be in any way connected.

Well, not being a two bit hack like anyone at the MacIver Institute, I thought I'd do some real research and you wouldn't believe what I found!

Not only is Ms. Tuerk a self-admitted dreamer, she also eats food!  Namely fish, just like the kind one might find at the Solidarity Fish Fry.

Ms. Tuerk is the second from the left, holding up her fork.  Obviously, she is one dangerous woman!

I also noticed that Ms. Tuerk was breathing air that evening.  That can lead to only one conclusion - insert drama music please - she's a real person!

A couple of things should be noted here.

One, it's not surprising that Ms. Tuerk is opposed to the mining bill.  Most Wisconsinites are, by more than a 2:1 ratio.

The other thing is that Novak is a blatant liar.  In his post, he wrote:

MacIver News Service reached out to Tuerk to allow her to respond to her facebook [sic] post, but requests have gone unanswered.

Novak did indeed try to contact Tuerk, but he did get an answer.  Just not the one he wanted:

click to embiggen

There is something really disturbing about this though and I am truthfully afraid for Ms. Tuerk's personal safety.

Ms. Tuerk is an attractive, young woman. And here we have an obviously disturbed man who is stalking her on Facebook, knows where she works, knows what groups she belongs to and/or supports and then lies about her in order to try to make her change her behavior/attitude- signs of an obvious control freak.

I would strongly urge Ms. Tuerk to contact the police and file a report. There is no telling what someone like this might do.

I would also strongly urge Novak to seek out professional help before he gets into real trouble.

*I'm a little rusty on my Freudian interpretations of dreams, but with the presence of a tornado and the fact that Walker is from Colorado Springs, Colorado, I would say the obvious interpretation is that Walker is the Wicked Witch of the West.

Sen. Hansen Goes Mining For Answers

Just the other day, I questioned just who are supposed to get those mining jobs that Scott Walker and his Republican sock puppets in the legislature have been promising us.

It's doubtful that it's Wisconsinites, since the Republicans killed the amendment that would have ensured that those jobs would be filled by residents of our state.

State Senator Dave Hansen Brings up some very good and rather important questions about this matter as well in a press release:

A little known provision tucked inside the state budget that would repeal a law in place since 1887 that protects Wisconsin land from being controlled by large foreign corporations or governments is leading people to question why the change is being made, who stands to benefit and why is the provision buried deep inside the state budget?

“People deserve to know the details behind this mysterious effort to repeal a longstanding law that is in place to preserve the state’s economic sovereignty, especially during a time when foreign countries like China are becoming increasingly aggressive in their attempts to gain economic advantage over the United States,” said Hansen.

Some are questioning whether the provision is somehow tied to a proposed iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin and whether it is designed to clear the way for the mining rights to be sold to a foreign competitor like China.

“Throughout the mining debate we heard over and over again that Gogebic Mining, which does coal mining and owns the rights to the mineral deposit in northern Wisconsin, has no interest in actually doing the mining themselves, that they would prefer to sell the rights to someone else,” said Hansen.

“Perhaps it’s a coincidence that we now find out about this obscure provision that could allow the mine to be sold to a Chinese-owned corporation. Whatever the answers, people have a right to know who is behind this, who stands to benefit and why this provision is buried in the budget rather than being debated on its own merits.”

China is the world’s largest producer of iron ore and as one of the world’s largest markets they have the ability to affect supply and prices. China has also recently begun expanding its mining operations outside of its borders, including opening the massive Sino Iron project at Cape Preston, in Western Australia's Pilbara region.

Others have suggested it could be related to the Governor’s announced trip to China in April or to plans by foreign corporations to buy up large tracts of farmland.

“Whatever the reason, people have a right to know the answers to yet another mystery wrapped inside the riddle that is the Republican state budget.”

I just hope that Hansen or anyone else is holding their breaths for Walker or any of the other Republicans will come out with a straight answer any time soon.  I'm not so sure they would know the truth if it bit them.

MacIver Institute - Most Definitely Not A News Service

A year ago, I exposed the MacIver Institute for being the right wing propaganda machine they really are.

A few months later, writing for the Shepherd Express, I also pointed out how they have gotten themselves in some hot water due to the way they play fast and loose with the laws of the land:

In March, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) announced that it had filed a complaint with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service against the MacIver Institute, the Heartland Institute and Americans for Prosperity (AFP), another group that has received funding from the Koch brothers and the Bradley Foundation. In its complaint, WDC accuses AFP and MacIver of violating their 501(c)(3) status by creating their "It's Working Wisconsin" project, which spent $1.2 million on advertising alone, urging people not to sign the recall petitions. In addition, WDC accused these groups of holding public meetings and other activities to try to influence the outcome of the recalls. WDC also alleged that the Chicago-based Heartland Institute's planned "Operation Angry Badger"—a public relations effort to support Walker in the recall—would violate the group's tax-exempt status.

But now they have completely beclowned themselves more than I could ever hope to do.

With a tip of the crown to Carol at blue cheddar, we see that the intrepid news service has found that a UW professor is allegedly tied in with a group that promotes seal clubbing:

An organization called Freedom Ferrous is trying to attract attention to Sauk County's iron mining potential, while reassuring the public this would lead to thousands of jobs, lower property taxes, more tourism, prostitution and seal clubbing, according to its brochure "American Iron for American Jobs."

This brochure was available at a display in the Capitol Rotunda this week. Dr. Joseph Skulan, University of Wisconsin-Madison's Department of Geoscience, told the MacIver News Service he took out the permit for the display.

Here is the brochure which they mention. Please do take a read, because it's one of the funniest things I've seen in a long time.

The "think tank" even stopped thinking long enough to post this as part of their "expose":

Skulan's science-based arguments in conversation contrast sharply with the tone of Freedom Ferrous' brochures.

"Acid mine drainage does not happen in modern mining. And any acid mine drainage that does happen can be controlled with a combination of modern science and legislation. Remember, under Wisconsin law there are no sulfides in iron mines. No sulfides means no acid mine drainage," the brochure reads.

The part that got me laughing so hard as to bring tears to my eyes was when the professor in question left this comment on their post (emphasis mine):

The title of this article (UW Prof Tied to Group Promoting Seal Clubbing?) is a scurrilous attack on my integrity. As is clearly explained in the Freedom Ferrous brochure, “seal clubbing for the kids”
is only one of the activities that will be available at Big Joe Lake. Adults will have an assortment of other amusements to choose from, including porpoise hunting and cruises on our pleasure barges. Big Joe Lake will be a wholesome destination for the whole family, and not merely, as you imply, a place to take the little ones for a bit of fun.

I will pass over as undeserving of comment most of the other inaccuracies in your article (you might want to look up the difference between ‘geology’ and ‘geography.’ If you read all the way to the end of each word you’ll see that they are different). However, I cannot leave unchallenged the imputation that Freedom Ferrous is not serious about iron mining, that we are some kind of joke. You should know that Freedom Ferrous’ plans for an iron mine in Sauk County are as serious and well thought out as those of any company currently proposing an iron mine in Wisconsin.

Something tells me the professor's comment was much too subtle and much too clever for the "think tank."

Y'know, it's one thing to get punked, but it's a whole other thing to punk yourself.

I won't pretend to know whether they bought on to this hook, line and seal club because they are just that dense or whether it's because they've been telling lies for so long that they can no longer discern truth from fantasy.

But it should cast a whole new light on the way they keep claiming that Scott Walker's agenda is working, when just about everyone else in the state, including Walker himself, knows all too well that it's not.

You can find Freedom Ferrous' Facebook page here.