Who's Lying?

I just want a full John doe investigation of Falks longtime spokesman Mellisa Mulliken (sp?) this week now taking the elections coordinator position with WEAC.  Sounds to me like they are going to illegally coordinate their expenditures together. 

I’m sure if we seized all the WEAC computers and you gave me a few months I could find something bad in there.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Hartford Jt 1 schools saved $600,000.00 in one year by moving our insurance from WEA Trust to Universal Health.  A move that would have been blocked if WEAC would still have the power.  Whoever thinks that forcing a school district to waste $600k every year does not hurt the kids should get their head examined.

BTW- The 600k does not include the 412k we saved by asking the employees to kick in for their benefits.

Who's Lying?

Selling out the whole state for the union was not playing very well, Therefore we pretend it never happened.

Tough Mudder

Good Luck with that….  The heart has only so many beats, not sure if I would waste them on that.  I have a buddy who is in excellent shape that did it last year.  He said it was the worst thing he has ever done!  And he would not do it again!

Scot Ross Lands

What, you mean EVERYONE in MADISON is wrong about this?

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

I have to disagree with JIM the fireman a little.

WEAC does do things to hurt kids in MPS:

1.)  When teachers, via WEAC, have to sue for viagra coverage, that is pretty clear where WEAC priorities lie.

2.)  Polly Williams, Democrat pioneer of Milwaukee School Choice, always indicated WEAC was the hurdle to the raising the Milwaukee school choice cap (which limited number of kids that could escape MPS with vouchers).  It took Scott Walker and Republicans to liberate and expand the school choice cap.  (unlimited, thanks to Scott! This alone, makes Scott the most caring, for the children gov. the state has ever had!)

3.)  WEAC excuses and spins MPS failed results, thus enabling the promblem of 58% of kids in MPS never graduating high school.  Main way WEAC did this was:  making it very difficult to fire bad teachers.    You don’t have to listen to me, listen to what Michael Holt has been saying this last week to the dismay of Tom Barrett and the liberal African American constituency.  I don’t always agree with Michael Holt, but kudos to him for standing up and saying how liberal policies are not working and destroying Milwaukee.

I suggest everyone rent “Waiting for Superman” on Netflix and listen to what former MPS boss Howard Fuller has to say!  The indictment of WEAC is very clear.  WEAC is a hurdle (its more like a 3 mile long, 800-trillion ton anvil) to any reform!  I must caution, “Waiting for Superman” is a heartbreaking film when you realize some of the kids that will be sentenced to a failing public school.

The solution:  100% voucher system and schools have to compete. Parents, families, and children have the choice where to attend school!  The market innovation and competition will bring vibrancy and innovation to education.  WEAC stands opposed to any of those principles because the market will punish marginal to bad teachers and possibly reward rock star teachers that excel.  Unions want everyone to be the same, reward failure, punish success.

So sorry, Jim, I think you are too kind to WEAC when it comes to WEAC being a road block to the success of children.

Who's Lying?

This is right up there with the $500K teacher Union boss in NJ saying life just “isn’t fair” when asked why children should be stuck in the crappy union public schools in NJ.

Pretty clear from these 2 incidents its nowhere near about the children when it comes to the union.

Who's Lying?

Interesting this story is in the Lacrosse tribune but not on JS online.

Walker's Friends

Billiam is dead on up there in number 3.  Even many Republicans will tell you privately that Walker keeps far too small an inner circle, and it’s one that’s based far more on loyalty than on competence.  Eric Schutt’s a very smart guy, but there was a whole lot of social hiring that went on prior to his ascendance to COS.  The whole place was staffed with friends, drinking buddies, and yes men.  Many of the more competent people have already jumped ship to other positions in the administration or with interest groups.

The devil’s advocate is usually the most valuable person in the room.  And if there were more of them, Walker wouldn’t constantly be stumbling into the hornet’s nest.

My money says that if Walker wins the recall, you are going to see Schutt lead a staff housecleaning of epic proportions.  But in the meantime, Walker also can’t afford to have a bunch of disgruntled ex-staffers floating around out there.  People who get fired are bad at keeping secrets.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Dean, I don’t speak for Kevin but I will say this:  The obsession with the Koch (note spelling) brothers by the left really is silly when you consider how much the Dems are in the back pocket of Wall Street and just about every other billionaire except for the Koch brothers.  The Dem party is absolutely flush with big corporate money.  If you don’t believe me, ask yourself this:  Why do the Dems talk a big game about mean, evil big corporations but never really seem to do anything about them.  Why do you think that Warren Buffett so very much loves the Dems?  Because he knows that they will never do anything that even remotely hurts him.  He’s saying, go ahead and call me and folks like me every name in the book.  Just don’t do anything that really hurts me.

As to WEAC, you’re probably right.  They haven’t done anything that overtly hurts the kids performance.  But by te same token, they haven’t done a single thing that would be construed in any way as helping kids perform better.  Take for instance their insurance plan.  While WEAC knew that it was costing many times more than what a comparable plan in the private sector would cost, they didn’t do anything until they were forced to compete.  Literally millions of dollars that could have been spent on things that have a real positive impact on student performance had to be spent instead on health insurance for teachers.  Speaking of teachers, when did WEAC ever do anything to make it easier for schools to fire incompetent teachers?  And how about instituting work rules that do nothing to help the kids but make it easier for teachers?  Teachers leaving parent conferences after two hours because that is all of the overtime that they get.  Oh yeah, remember the time that teachers said that they wouldn’t write recommendation letters for their students to go to college because they were working withot a current contract?

No WEAC doesn’t set out to hurt kids, they just don’t do anything that helps the kids.  Then they have the cold-blooded gall to say that “Every kid deserves a great school”.

Tough Mudder

See you there.  Don’t worry, it’s not really that hard.

Who's Lying?

Well, we know one thing; that Falk is telling the truth.

Walker's Friends

Then you’re in the wrong country, Move.

Walker's Friends

The problem isn’t the deficit or the size of it. Walker is telling us it is actually a surplus!! Doyle knew it was bad and acknowledged it, that is why he retired instead of running again, he knew he would get hammered.

All I ask from all of them is to be honest with us and work to solve the peoples problems instead of building up their party first.

Walker's Friends

As much as we might wish it were not so, one of the reason structural deficits were so persistent under governors of both parties is because very few voters care about them.

Think of it this way: which has better retention with voters, fiscal policy or an association with a pedophile?

As for throwing people under the bus, if the people involved know things that you would prefer they keep to themselves it involves negotiation and not just a bus.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

***Promising to do their bidding in “payment” for an endorsement is a whole other deal.***

Very good point…..how is Walker/Kock different from Falk/ WEAC?

***Voting for a candidate that wants to, overtly, continue the 58% failure for MPS kids…wow…that would be industrial strength nose holding.***

That assumes that supporting WEAC is supporting the poor performance of MPS….How do you make that connection?  Please show me how WEAC causes MPS students to perform poorly….provide links please.

Different Pay for Same Job

I really don’t understand why workers earn different amount for the same job. it’s nonsense to consider credentials for this matter.
texas workers compensation

Walker's Friends

Let’s go into the Way Back Machine ...

2009: Broader deficit forecast for state

A new report Monday said the state government’s three-year budget deficit is slightly worse than the $6.5 billion estimated by Gov. Jim Doyle last week.

The Legislative Fiscal Bureau said the drop in tax collections over the three-year period will be $1.6 billion more than expected in January. That estimate is $100 million greater than the number the governor and Budget Director Dave Schmiedicke used last week.

The means the budget deficit is $6.6 billion through mid-2011, a period that includes the current fiscal year that ends June 30.

...

The Fiscal Bureau report put even more pressure on Democrats, who control the Legislature, to find the right mix of spending cuts, tax increases or new borrowing to balance the 2009-‘11 budget.

Doyle proposed $1.7 billion in tax and fee increases in February that Democratic legislators had planned to approve - increases that now will not be enough to offset the higher deficit.

Last time I checked, $143 million in deficits is better than $8.1 billion ($6.5B + $1.6B).

Remember too that it was Walker’s office which requested the investigation.

Class Size Doesn't Matter

I think class size definitely matters.  Growing up, I was a part of the public school system and the private school system.  Every 3 years, I upgraded to a “better” school where the class size got smaller and smaller.  Through my own personal experience, I believe that there’s more pressure on students to perform better when the class size is smaller.  Students feel more compelled to participate and keep up with the work due to increased competition in a small classroom setting.  Not only that, in a small classroom setting, as students get closer to each other, they feel more comfortable to ask questions and participate.  The classroom becomes more of a familiar setting rather than a room filled with strangers.  When looking at schools for children, there are many factors you should contemplate, class size being one of the main ones in my opinion.  Here are some other things to consider when choosing the right school for your children: http://www.mymove.com/tips-advice/lifestyle/children/how-to-choose-a-school-in-your-new-neighborhood

Walker's Friends

Does the WI GOP have a PR director? If so, he/she should be fired.

Conservationists Kill Rhino

Nice rationalization for their f*ckup:

“It’s sad for us; it’s the loss of another animal,” Hern said, referring to the rhino’s death. “It’s a death that I still chalk up to poaching.”

It’s not the conservationists fault! It’s those DAMN POACHERS!

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

As much as I agree that a Falk nomination would be great for Walker to face…I don’t know if my conscience can handle it.

Sometimes, even holding your nose is not enough. 

Voting for a candidate that wants to, overtly, continue the 58% failure for MPS kids…wow…that would be industrial strength nose holding.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

We conservatives should start aggressively working for Falk to win the Demcrat primary, if there is one.  She is an absolute gift to the Walker folks.

Cone of Silence

The thing I don’t understand about this is:  Aren’t the new district maps public record?  How could it not be?  You get to know who you are voting for before you go to the polls, right?

If they are public record, who cares if the mapmakers get to ‘talk’ about it or not, we can see what they did.  If they are blocking people from seeing the new districts, that would be illegal, I agree.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Dean,

How can this be compared with taking a call from a supporter (Koch…or pretend Koch)?  Falk taking a call from WEAC is perfectly fine.  Promising to do their bidding in “payment” for an endorsement is a whole other deal.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

I agree that Falk should not have promised to veto the any budget that did not restore collective bargaining.  It would have be better to just express support for collective bargaining. 

Does this rank up there with taking a call from Koch… a fake Koch?

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

How will Falk claim to be for the “children”?

With a 42% High School graduaation rate at MPS and the teacher’s union “nothing to see here” attitude, Falk will continue to sentence 58% of the children in MPS to failure with her Union pledge.

Aside from the actual criminal oay for play behavior, that will be the real crime of the recall election, should Falk be elected gov.

I could never live with myself, voting for a candidate that thinks what the Union is doing to the children of MPS is acceptable.

I don’t know how anyone else could vote for Falk and have compassion for the children at the same time.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Her action was stupid. But then no more stupid than signing Grover Norquist’s pledge!

Walker's Friends

Well it’s finally sinking in with you guys that who runs against that SOB Scooter may not be the key to his downfall…his arrogance and disregard for the law may take care of it. I suppose dumping his key aides may be effective.  Dumping Haldemann sure helped Nixon! Rejecting all the fed money he has during the worst economy in 70 years while forcing sizable reductions in the public employee ranks has been a great strategy in restoring the economy too.

Walker's Friends

Perhaps he has the same failing that Bush the younger had. He’s to ‘loyal’ to his friends. I remember reading that Cheney had offered to step aside in his re-election bid, to ease the liability. Bush said no, he wanted Cheney there. Now, to the lefties who hated him, nothing would have sufficed but his removal. To others, it may have narrowed the breach between Bush and the people. The same is true with Walker. There are lefties for whom nothing short of his removal and humiliation will suffice. They’ve hated him since his exec days, and they’re more unhinged now. There’s nothing you can do with those types. For everyone else, were he to clean house, it would be beneficial to him. I wonder how strongly any advisers are telling him that.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Oh wait. There was Plale. And Clarke. And the fake senate primary candidates. And the fake recall starter. And the fake circulator in Racine. But you know what I mean.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Go take a look at lefty blogs around the state. There are a lot of bloggers and a lot of commenters that think the posing of the pledge by the union and the acceptance by Falk, not to mention much-too-early endorsement, are way over the line. See, that’s difference between us and yous; we don’t have DINOs. We have differences of opinion that we attempt to work out. We may not always be successful, but it’s not a my-way-or-the-highway kind of thing.

Walker's Friends

What was the deficit under Doyle?  If it’s worse under Walker, he’s in trouble.

Verify Your Signature

Thanks for the links.  Looked through them.  Not really that many WB signatures.  Saw a few familiar names, i.e., Paul Rice, Kris Beaver, but nothing surprising.

Walker's Friends

Today the Legislative Fiscal Bureau announced that the state budget is $143 million in the red and $215 million behind revenue projections. That is the facts, we all know that they are bound to tell the facts and only the facts.

Walker’s press release concerning the budget shortfall was more than likely written by Werwie and was completely oblivious to the the facts.

Here is a quote:
“The numbers from the non‐partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau show that our tough choices have us heading in the right direction. According to the non‐partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau we will finish this fiscal year with a surplus.”

I have read the report and it is hardly optimistic. I think that Werwie had to write something fast and Walker is out of state getting ready to raise funds at CPAC. There will be a lot of backtracking on this one.

Verify Your Signature

Through 35,000 pages.  A lot of interesting data for Village of Kewaskum.  Big gender skew so far. favoring female signers.  A lot more unregistered voters than I expected also. 

Found 1 page circulated by Bret.  Great News for him.  I could not find one flaw, despite stopping and spending some time on that page.  I admit, as a long experienced petition circulator, he passed the toughest scrutiny I could muster on that page!  Fairly good handwriting also.  Looks like the recall movement has at least 10 good signatures, thanks to Bret.

A few West Bend residents were dispersed through first 35,000 pages, but a large chunk of West Bend petitions reside in these links for anyne in West Bend looking:

http://webapps.wi.gov/sites/recall/Recall Petitions/Governor/GOV 34301-34350.pdf

http://webapps.wi.gov/sites/recall/Recall Petitions/Governor/GOV 34351-34400.pdf

http://webapps.wi.gov/sites/recall/Recall Petitions/Governor/GOV 34401-34450.pdf

http://webapps.wi.gov/sites/recall/Recall Petitions/Governor/GOV 34251-34300.pdf

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Falk is promising to do everything she can to re-instate the multi-million dollar WEA Trust health insurance scam. 

Fitzgerald to Challenge Enough Signatures to Stop Recall

Well, I don’t think it’s right to do something just because the other side did either.  But I also think lots of things the left has done over the last year plus are plain wrong.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

What is the difference between this revelation and what sw has done with WMC?

Vinehout Jumps In

She could be the Democrat Mother Theresa, but she’s still not gonna win a primary without the unions.

New Nuclear Reactor Approved For First Time In 34 Years

magnitude lower than everything but solar/wind/hydro

Since wind energy is relatively new, it may be awhile before there is reliable data, but here is some examples of deaths in the wind energy industry:

[url=”
A]http://www.wind-works.org/articles/ASummaryofFatalAccidentsinWindEnergy.html”]A Summary of Fatal Accidents in Wind Energy[/url]

Some examples:

Robert Skarski died in 1993 while installing a small wind turbine at his Illinois home. He was killed when the tower he was on buckled and fell to the ground.

Mark (Eddie) Ketterling was nearly cut in half by a chunk of ice knocked off the interior of a tubular tower in Minnesota in 1994.

In a bizarre year 2000 accident, a young parachutist crashed into a wind turbine on the German island of Fehrmarn.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Northern Pike,

We’ll see about how much the police and firefighters “own” Walker when their endorsements come out.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

How is this different than accepting a bribe? We will give you money to vote our way. Just because she is not elected yet does not make it ok.

Obligated to Help?

Ahhhh. Thanks. I misread that article.

I still don’t care. If they were capable enough to drain her bank accounts, there still has to be some sort of punishment for knowingly letting her die.

It is one thing to pass someone on the road and not call, clearly not knowing the circumstances. It is another if I watch someone get stabbed, and stand next to them for hours or days while they bleed out or starve and do NOTHING about it. I would hope that you could make an argument for Depraved Indifference.

Obligated to Help?

“Wait, is this saying that if I become legal guardian of a relative incapable of caring for themselves and neglect them until they die, I can’t be held responsible?”

No, the opposite. The one who died was the legal guardian. The lawyer is saying that the dependent shouldn’t be held liable for not rendering aid to her guardian.

“These are despicable human beings and they belong rotting in prison for life.”

Agreed.

Obligated to Help?

Wait, is this saying that if I become legal guardian of a relative incapable of caring for themselves and neglect them until they die, I can’t be held responsible? That is ludicrous. I think that the term “guardian” infers a responsibility to care for and guard them to the best of their abilities. There has to be some sort of felony neglect charges at the least.

These are despicable human beings and they belong rotting in prison for life.

It was probably very difficult to care for the person who couldn’t care for themselves. But regardless of that fact, they took on the legal responsibility as guardian. Makes me sick.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

“Unions Want to Own Next Governor”

What’s new? The police, firefighters and State Patrol own the current one.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

PC - But this is different.  A pledge to not raise taxes or a pledge to be pro-life is pledge on a topic.  To pledge to veto a budget unless it contains a provisions that specifically benefits one individual special interest, the one that will be funding your campaign, is entirely different.

This is pay to play - simple.  And illegal.  And even if you can contort logic to say it isn’t, then at least you are clearly stating that with all the other problems that face Wisconsin and are traditionally dealt with in the budget, nothing rises above collective bargaining for public employees. 

I have seen the polling.  It is not a winner.

New Nuclear Reactor Approved For First Time In 34 Years

It’s been 34 years—and several nuclear accidents later

Always using fear to sell the agenda…

Never mind that coal mining causes dozens of deaths in the US every year (60-70 a year average) thousands die every year mining coal in China and who knows how many die or get sick in some way shape or form from the resulting pollution & mercury from coal fired plants.

Ignore the fact that the deaths per TWhr of nuclear is among the very lowest of energy source and orders of magnitude lower than everything but solar/wind/hydro.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

Kevin, if taking pledges were a considered a corrupt criminal action, then most politicians would be in deep trouble. On second thought, maybe not such a bad idea.  Most of these pledges GOPers & DEMs take are inane.