NOH8 - The Trevor Project

Proud Progressive, at Blogging Blue, took on radio squawker Vicki McKenna's vitriol towards the rash of hate crimes that have been going on lately. Also in his post is a moving video done by the NOH8 campaign.

While repeating PP's post at Whallah!, I came across this other video. If you are or know a LGBT teen, have them watch this:

Health Care Reform Amazing Retroactive Abilities

Fred Dooley, at Real Dimwits Wisconsin, was sharing a conversation he allegedly had with his "socialist boss." In said conversation, Dooley is mewling about how his insurance rates have gone up, all because of that dastardly Barack Obama and his health care reform, not corporate greed or anything like that:

ME: good lord insurance has gone up
SB: well, of course
ME: what are you talking about? I thought insurance was supposed to go down?! It has more than tripled for me because of all the new regulations, some companies have just decided to either jack their rates or get out of the biz.
SB: if you believe that, I’ve got some swamp land in florida….
ME: you cannot be serious! You think they are just jacking up their rates for the money and nothing else? SB, I spent about 2and a half hours in the insurance ladies office just going over my new options!
SB: of course its only about the money. The regulations only help.

I anxiously await when Dooley shares the conversation with his boss about how health care reform actually went back in time and that it wasn't profits or anything like that that caused insurance rates to jump higher every year, sometimes by double digit. Of course, in order to do so, Dooley will have to pull out his secret weapon of ignoring the truth:

Over the past decade, the largest health insurance companies have seen a disproportionate increase in profits of 250%, or 10 times the rate of inflation. During the past year alone, there has been a double-digit increase in health insurance premiums.1

In response to such increases, the new health care reform law, the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (“Affordable Care Act,” or ACA), requires the secretary of health and human services, along with individual states, to establish a process for the annual review of unreasonable increases in health insurance premiums. As a result of the new statutory language, the Department of Health and Human Services (DHHS) and all relevant states will now review proposed premium increases, and health insurers will be required to justify any increases that these authorities consider unreasonable.

Would Someone Please Explain...

...how the heck this is newsworthy? Especially for a "liberal paper"?

Also, how long before they change their name to the Milwaukee Faux News Journal Sentinel?

Scott Walker's Labor Pains

Scott Walker's animosity towards Milwaukee County workers, especially the unionized workers, is well known to anyone that pays even the remotest attention to Milwaukee County politics.

For the past eight years, Walker has tried to run his perpetual gubernatorial campaign on the backs of these workers. In 2006, Walker grandstanded around the issue of negotiating a contract with the unions, demanding all sorts of concessions. When he was forced out of that race, all of a sudden there was a contract that nearly matched the union's original proposal along with a signing bonus.

This time around is no different. For two consecutive budgets, Walker has put in major concessions from the unions, claiming that it was only fair to make public sector employees suffer like private sector employees. I guess it would be too hard for someone who can't even formulate a jobs plan to make things better in the private sector.

But for someone so ready to stand by his convictions, it is rather odd that he refuses to present these demands in the arbitration hearing. Maybe it's because he doesn't understand what good faith bargaining is. Perhaps it's because he knows that they wouldn't fly, since no other local government has had to resort to such drastic demands. Or maybe it's just that he isn't really on the tax payers side and is only pulling a stunt so that he could get elected to governor.

To show that Walker really is a slow learner (which would also explain his collegiate career), Walker has apparently no understanding on where he went wrong in his dealings with the county's unions.

Even before he is sworn in as Goobernator of our not-much-longer-Great State of Wisconsin, Walker is trying to interfere with contract negotiations between the State and their unions, first telling the unions to stand down, and then asking the same from Governor Doyle. Somehow, the memo that Walker thinks he is now king never made it to the real world, and Doyle and the unions continued to follow the law, reaching tentative contracts.

The unions also took the opportunity to let Walker know that they are more than willing to be partners with his incoming administration in improving the conditions for all workers, public or private sector, in Wisconsin. However, if Walker would rather try to scapegoat them like he has Milwaukee County workers, he will find them just as willing to stand up for their rights which are protected under the law.

Jud Lounsbury, writing at Uppity Wisconsin, points out that Walker is also making illegal threats against any people Doyle appoints to civil service jobs. Walker's concern is that Doyle will be appointing his staffers and cronies to jobs so that they can stay working after the transition. (Which is extremely ironic considering what Walker has done for Tim Russell and John Chianelli.) Be it as it may, it is illegal for Walker to make that threat. In reality, what Walker has really done is given everyone a chance to fight any kind of corrective action by claiming retaliation.

It should be noted that just because the State and the unions are reaching these tentative agreements, all is not good for them. They still need the Democrats to develop some spinal strength and testicular fortitude to hold a half-day special session in order to approve these contracts. If they don't, Walker and his Republican allies will tried to kill these contracts. This will lead to a stalemate in contracts negotiations and the tax payers will either have to pay for years of back pay and other benefits after Walker's one term is over or Walker and his allies will lose the inevitable legal challenges and arbitration hearings.

I have no doubt that the state workers and their unions are in for a rough go of things for a while. But if they keep their eyes on the big picture and look at not just the immediate blows that are coming, they'll be just fine. It's the tax payers that are the ones that are about to get cold-cocked by the bill coming from Walker's immaturity and hubris.

Of course, this whole mess could be avoided if Michael Grebe dipped into his wallet and instead of giving his money to the RGA, spent some of it to buy Walker a book he could really, really use.

PolitiFarce Strikes Again

In this morning's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, they had their PolitiFarce section take a gander at the claim from WisDems that Michael Grebe, Walker's campaign chairman, as well as chairman of the Greater Milwaukee Commission and Bradley Foundation (in other words, the hand up Walker's behind), squelched a report from the GMC recommending that Milwaukee County be allowed to declare bankruptcy.

The Dems claimed the Grebe had GMC sit on the report in order to protect Walker leading up to the primary and general elections. They based that on the simple fact that Grebe admitted to the fact that he put it to the GMC for a vote.

The crack reporters at MJS went around asking various members of the GMC if Grebe had indeed put any pressure on them to vote to squelch the report. They were mostly told they weren't going to talk, including one that cited the fear of retaliation. If there was nothing to hide, why would the group retaliate? But that was irrelevant to our intrepid, but not objective, reporters.

The one person that came out with any sort of support for Grebe was Sheldon Lubar, who is also a Walker supporter and did a little pay for play with Walker, getting the county grounds for a campaign donation.

That apparently was good enough for the MJS, and they called the Dems allegations, based on Grebe's own admission, as barely true.

Does anyone else see a problem with this?

Oh, and for what it's worth, I seriously doubt the report has any merit when one takes into consideration the special interests behind the group and their history of being anti-Milwaukee County in their past reports as well.

James Rowen also points out that the MJS is also suddenly not so much into the whole transparency from the government stuff either.

Kuenzi Trial Starts Monday

Rory A. Kuenzi is the butthead who, along with his brother and a buddy of theirs, thought it would be great sport to chase down, torture and kill some deer in a snow-covered field in Waupaca County a couple of years ago.

It turns out that Kuenzi also allegedly involved in a hit and run homicide before that. But due to inept investigations by the Waupaca County Sheriff's Department, it looked like he might get away with it. The state stepped in, did their own investigation and found enough evidence that they are taking it to trial.

After some attempts at postponing the hearing, it is scheduled to start this Monday.

The defense has laid out their strategy to get their client off the hook on this one, but methinks it might be pretty hard to argue away how Kuenzi's DNA got on the victim's leg, especially when a witness helped him move the body off the road said that Kuenzi had taken the victim by feet and legs during the move.

Yoo Hoo, TEA Zombies! Yoo Hoo!

It's kind of funny that the TEA Zombies could make it out time and time again to protest their taxes going up a couple of bucks and threatening armed revolts, but when it comes to the actual problem, they have all seemed to have dried up and blown away.

The local paper is reporting that electricity rates have been climbing at shocking rates over the last two decades and having a marked impact on the state's business climate:

The price of electricity has shot up faster in Wisconsin than in all but five other states since 2000, which could pose a threat to the state's economic competitiveness, a new analysis by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance says.

Wisconsin businesses and homeowners are paying more than most surrounding states, as the state continues to pay for power plant upgrades that followed near-brownouts in the late 1990s.

That, coupled with rising natural gas and coal prices, has pushed rates up. The state's electricity prices, which ranked 11th-lowest in the nation in 1990, now rank 20th-highest, the report found.

"We need to recognize that energy prices really do have an effect on the competitiveness of the state," said Kyle Christianson, policy research analyst at the nonpartisan Taxpayers Alliance. "We're talking about trying to attract employers and adding new jobs, and particularly in a manufacturing-intensive economy like Wisconsin, energy prices are a major cost of doing business."

And despite what the radio squawkers or their echo chamber on the right side of the Cheddarsphere would have you believe, it has nothing to do with those evil unions, taxes, cap and trade or any of the other ecofriendly laws and regulations.

It has to do with one thing and one thing only. Pure unadulterated greed:

Wisconsin Energy Corp. said Tuesday its profit in the third quarter nearly doubled, as customers used record amounts of electricity during a hot, humid summer.

The higher profit for We Energies' parent company was also linked to an electricity price increase that hit customers in January, as well as completion of the utility's first new power plant in Oak Creek.

Net income from continuing operations was $112.3 million or 95 cents a share, up 93% from $58.2 million or 49 cents a share in last year’s third quarter. The results were 9 cents higher than the projection of 12 Wall Street analysts surveyed by Thomson First Call.

Sales in the third quarter rose by 19%, or $157.7 million, to $973.2 million.

But don't expect the TEA Parties, Americans for Prosperity or any of these other fools holding a rally in front of We Energies anytime soon. After all, these "grassroots" groupies are being sponsored and propped up by the likes of these very culprits.

The TEA Parties, AFP and the rest are nothing more than a very well executed exercise of misdirection and distraction. While they've gotten their base all riled up and mad as hell at the government, they continue to plunder and loot us even as they encourage their followers to howl even louder.

I just wonder if their followers will wake up and smell the coffee before they allow the country to be driven all the way over the brink.

Did Texas, George W. Bush Kill An Innocent Man?

While I can see the need for the death penalty on rare occasions, this story shows why we have to be damn careful before enforcing the ultimate penalty:

Claude Jones always claimed that he wasn’t the man who walked into an East Texas liquor store in 1989 and shot the owner. He professed his innocence right up until the moment he was strapped to a gurney in the Texas execution chamber and put to death on Dec. 7, 2000. His murder conviction was based on a single piece of forensic evidence recovered from the crime scene—a strand of hair—that prosecutors claimed belonged to Jones.

But DNA tests completed this week at the request of the Observer and the New York-based Innocence Project show the hair didn’t belong to Jones after all. The day before his death in December 2000, Jones asked for a stay of execution so the strand of hair could be submitted for DNA testing. He was denied by then-Gov. George W. Bush.

A decade later, the results of DNA testing not only undermine the evidence that convicted Jones, but raise the possibility that Texas executed an innocent man. The DNA tests—conducted by Mitotyping Technologies, a private lab in State College, Pa., and first reported by the Observer on Thursday—show the hair belonged to the victim of the shooting, Allen Hilzendager, the 44-year-old owner of the liquor store.

Because the DNA testing doesn’t implicate another shooter, the results don’t prove Jones’ innocence. But the hair was the only piece of evidence that placed Jones at the crime scene. So while the results don’t exonerate him, they raise serious doubts about his guilt. As with the now-infamous Cameron Todd Willingham arson case, the key forensic evidence in a Texas death penalty case has now been debunked.

HIC To Scott Walker: Did You Even Read The Law?

A few days ago, Scott Walker, Goobernator-Elect, made some brash and bumbling demands of Governor Doyle's administration in their final few weeks of being in office.

Among Walker's attempts at power grabs was a demand for Doyle to freeze any progress towards preparing for new health care legislation, even though that law is still in the legislative process and couldn't be implemented until 2013 at the earliest.

The Health Information Campaign took note of Walker's absurdity and felt compelled to give him a national level smack down for his ignorance and arrogance (emphasis theirs):

The Health Information Campaign (HIC) asked Governor-Elect Scott Walker to promise to learn the health care law before he proceeds with plans to challenge it. Walked exhibited ignorance of the health care law and it implementation, in a letter he sent to the Wisconsin Department of Administration Secretary Daniel Schooff. In the letter, Walker who will not actually assume office until January 3, 2011, called sitting Governor Jim Doyle's administration to freeze implementation of the federal health care law.

"Scott Walker has made no secret of his plans to oppose the Affordable Care Act but, there are still 43 days until he actually has the authority to govern," said HIC spokesperson Erikka Knuti. "His request that the state halt its implementation of a federal law is unprecedented and inappropriate. More troubling, it demonstrates an embarrassing lack of knowledge about the actual health care law.

"Walker needs to hit the books, and use the next 43 days to get properly briefed on the issues," Knuti continued. "He needs to learn the law before he acts, and wait his turn before he governs. Wisconsin can't afford to go back to the days when people worried about losing their coverage or going bankrupt if they got sick. Acting without the facts will do real harm to real people."

In his letter, Walker specifically mentioned freezing the establishment of health care exchanges that would allow individuals to purchase insurance. What Walker didn't know before he sent his letter is that the health care exchanges, require state legislation to set-up, and do not take effect until 2013 at the earliest.

If a state fails to set up an exchange by January 1, 2014, the Secretary of Health and Human Services will establish and operate an exchange in the state, either directly or through an agreement with a nonprofit entity. Funding to establish exchanges will be available to states from 2011 until 2015. (Kaiser Health Foundation)

This is shaping up to be a long four years. But on the bright side, I won't have to go far for blogger fodder.

Scott Walker's Leadership Style: Brash and Bumbling

I do believe Scott Walker might have been trying to set a world's record on the most faux pas committed in one day today.

It started this morning when Walker told a symposium his grand idea for getting the money to come flowing into the state. His idea was to gradually scale back the tax on retirement accounts and then travel to Florida and Arizona to hold "welcome back" parties and then lure retirees to the state so they can invest their money into start up businesses.

It is not know if Walker was planning on dressing up as a Nigerian prince or an English banker when doing this.

Apparently Walker has not figured out that people move upon retiring to go live in warmer weather. As one friend put it this evening, "I can't even get my mom to visit for Christmas anymore."

And I'm sure that people will be migrating in mass droves to leave warm, sunny beaches to enjoy our below zero temperatures and drive on roads that haven't been plowed due to his budget cuts.

To add to this bit of folly, I clearly remember a friend who retired at the beginning of the year attending a seminar with the Walker's human resources people who told the group that the first they should do is move out of the state. Now he wants them back? I don't think they would willingly come back knowing what kind of leader he really is?

But Walker's faux pas did not end there.

It was also reported that Walker sent a letter to Doyle Administration Secretary Dan Schooff. In said letter, Walker told the Doyle administration that back off on several items, including the conversion of a power plan to be able to use biofuel saying he wanted it to burn natural gas instead, the creation of new health care legislation and the negotiations with the unions.

Such brash action has been unprecedented in the state and has received bad reviews from politicos on both sides of the aisle. Not only are Walker's behaviors bold and brash, they are also bumbling and fumbling.

Secretary Schooff sent a letter back to Walker that succinctly and politely tells Walker he doesn't know what the hell he is talking about:

I am writing in response to your letter dated November 10th. I am aware that there are those who would attempt to pit incoming and outgoing administrations against each other. As you know, Governor Doyle and this administration have worked hard to avoid this. We will continue to work with you and your team in an orderly and responsible manner.

With respect to the specific items you mention, obviously you have not had the opportunity to be briefed on these items. For example, the health care exchanges you mention will require legislation and will not go into effect until 2013 at the earliest. The Charter Street Plant, on which work has begun, has natural gas capabilities along with the biomass fuel purchased from Wisconsin farmers and foresters.

Our offer to brief you on these and any other measures still stands.

To add to this, Walker is also running the risk of giving the state union an upper hand since he is basically illegally trying to interfere with their contract negotiations. But this isn't the first time he's pulled that stunt in the past few weeks.

On the bright side, at least he didn't try to drive more jobs out of the state.

The scary part about all this is that Walker is the smart one of the ticket.

In light of Walker's ineptitude, I say we take a page from California's playbook. They call Arnold Schwartzenegger "The Governator" (or sometimes the "Gropenator").

I say we start calling Walker the Goobernator.

Owen's Got Funnies

Owen Robinson is a proud conservative and believes in the Constitution and the rights it gives us, most notably the Freedom of Speech. But apparently only for certain people.

In a earlier post, I mentioned how support for the high speed train has rapidly surpassed support for Walker and his goobernorship

Owen was quick to respond that Facebook fans are not the equivalent of an election and that the "people have spoken." Apparently the people speaking now aren't as important.

To further cement Owen's double standard, he shares a story about how concerned parents are protesting the thought of having a gun store across the street from their children's school. Owen expresses his opinion about these people speaking as well:

"Frankly, the reaction of these parents is idiotic. Grow up, folks."

Apparently only the right people are allowed to have rights...

Teasel Pull At The County Grounds

The good folks at Johnson Nursery have kindly offered their expertise in taking care of some invasive teasel which is encroaching at the Monarch Trail on the County Grounds and will be hosting a teasel pull on Wednesday, November 17 (rain date on the next day). Here is a flier announcing their event:


For further information, I would refer the gentle reader to Urban Wilderness.

Facebook Wars: Walker vs. HSR

An anonymous emailer notified me of a curious phenomenon going on on Facebook.

A day or two ago, a Facebook page was created to save the high speed rail that Scott Walker wants to destroy. At the time of this writing, this "Save the train" page has 4,709 fans.

Now compare that to Walkers transition team Facebook page which has a total fan base of 576 people.

In fact, HSR even beats out Walker's campaign page which, after all the years of running, only has a total of 4,405 fans.

In just a couple of days, supporters for the train have surpassed all the supporters Walker could muster after years of campaigning.

And, of course, no story about Walker would be complete without a bit of hypocrisy.

This one's bit of hypocrisy is that Walker, in a letter to U.S. Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood, said that "it would be unwise for the Obama Administration to ignore the will of the voters."

Perhaps Walker could take a different approach to his management style and actually practice what he preaches. After all, while not scientific, it is pretty clear that more people support the train than support him.

Thank You, Veterans

Some gave all, all gave some.

I thank all veterans, especially my father and my friend Richard (RIP), for their service.

Walker's Lack Of Real Job Plan Becomes Painfully Evident

During the campaign, Scott Walker talked a good game on how he was going to create 250,000 jobs by attracting all sorts of new businesses. Many observers on both sides of the aisle questioned the realism of such boastful claims, especially in light of the fact that Walker didn't really have a plan on how to go about keeping this promise.

But now that it's time for Walker to put our money where his mouth is, his lack of a real job plan is becoming painfully obvious.

During the campaign, the one plank platform that Walker kept hammering and yammering on was that taxes were too high and that was making Wisconsin an unfriendly business environment. But that is not really true, but just common rhetoric from his usual campaign donors, like WMC.

In reality, even in 2007, Wisconsin was below national averages in business taxes:

Ernst & Young provides two methods for calculating Wisconsin's business tax rank compared with other states. One calculates total business taxes as a percentage of total personal income. The other takes total business taxes as a percentage of private-sector gross state product ' that is, the total value of private business activity.

In 2005, Wisconsin ranked 31st among the states using the first method and 33rd using the second. This approximates Forward Wisconsin's claim, based on data from the Federal Reserve Bank of Boston, that Wisconsin's business taxes are 'lower than those in 35 other states.'

Indeed, if corporations in Wisconsin were paying taxes simply at the U.S. average, this would annually generate nearly one billion dollars in additional revenue for state and local governments.

This would be enough to reverse statewide service cuts, which range from bus routes and library hours to road repair and school staffing. Or it would more than plug the state's $1.6 billion two-year budget gap.

The article also cites a comment from Edward Zore, CEO of Northwestern Mutual Life, who said at the time that if they were looking at a new location, their current one is not anywhere being a top contender. The problem wasn't taxes, but lack of college graduates for their workforce.

Of course, the brain drain for Wisconsin is a continuing problem, which stems mostly from the relatively low wages that are paid in Wisconsin as well as a generally lower quality of life level.

So far, the only things that Walker has done to attract new businesses his continue with his empty campaign rhetoric and set up a web site inviting businesses to bad mouth Wisconsin's business climate and tell him how to attract new businesses.

It is more than a little scary that only now after he has won the election he is admitting he doesn't know what to do and needs help.

But that is a very true statement, especially when one considers all the things he has done to deter business from wanting to stay in the state much less relocating to Wisconsin.

As county executive, he has refused to make Milwaukee County, the state's most populated county, increasingly unattractive. He has continuously cut mass transit services making it harder for businesses to get workers or customers. He has also decreased our quality of life to the point where county-owned buildings are actually falling on people, our parks are trash dumps and public safety is becoming very unsafe.

Along the same lines, two years ago when there was a big push to have a dedicated sales tax be created to support our parks and transit systems, Walker actively opposed businesses and pro-business groups, like the Greater Milwaukee Commission, who were asking the state to allow this to go through.

Walker also has shown a complete disregard for any sort of economic development by using those positions to give his campaign workers and cronies cushy jobs. Then, after they proved to be uniquely unqualified for the job, he eliminates the positions altogether so that even if a business wanted to come to Milwaukee County, there was no liaison to smooth their way.

But even worse than that is the way he has been treating businesses here as well as groups meant to attract new businesses.

It was Walker that called the efforts of M7, the group that was working so hard to bring companies to the Milwaukee area, like Talgo and Ingeteam, as "putting lipstick on a pig."

During his campaign to end jobs by killing high speed rail in Wisconsin, Walker ignored the jobs that have already been created as well as the thousands of other jobs that would have come with the project. Then when Talgo threatened to pull up stakes and leave, Walker tried to sweet talk them into staying, but then turned around and stabbed them in the back by asking the feds to cut their sales in half.

If you think that other business aren't paying attention to how Walker is already treating companies like Talgo, you are only kidding yourself. Walker's habit of putting his ideology before the public interest will also have a very negative ripple effect, with Talgo being a prime example.

Talgo is already making noise about leaving the state if Walker follows through with his threat to kill high speed rail. Governor Quinn of Illinois has already sent them an invitation to come to his state if they chose to relocate. At least one Talgo official has said that such a move is under consideration.

Now if Talgo goes, the companies that were supplying them with materials will lose their orders, causing them to either lay off workers and/or look at relocating somewhere else as well. Likewise, the businesses that were benefiting from the workers spending their paychecks at their establishments will suffer and so forth. Much like the scare that was produced in Fond du Lac when Mercury Marine threatened to pull up stakes and move out of state, the loss of income and jobs would be devastating.

Furthermore, other companies will see what is going on and wonder if they could expect the same type of treatment from Walker's administration. This could cause them to reconsider coming to Wisconsin if they aren't already here, and if they are here, make them reconsider if they want to stay.

To add to this self-induced miasma that Walker is about to create is the fact that without all of these jobs, state revenues will drop and this will lead to Walker making more cuts to services that directly affect our quality of life and making the state even less attractive.

I am sure the reader can see how this would start a very nasty downward spiral.

And to think, we could have elected someone like Tom Barrett, who had a real job plan. Again I ask, is it too early to say "I told you so?"