Federal judge still perusing Hurtgen dismissal motion
U.S. District Judge John Grady is still reading the filing of Nick Hurtgen’s motion to dismiss the indictment. Grady will issue a ruling sometime within the next several weeks. At today’s status conference in Chicago, Grady did not set a date or commit to a date for a ruling or a new status date, but said one would be set via mail.
Next status date will take up setting trial dates.
So, in essence, Hurtgen's motion to dismiss is under advisement with Grady, and he did not set any date today to rule or for further status but said he will do so by mail in the next few weeks and take up setting a trial date at the next status.
No word on court action today for Jacob Kiferbaum, John Glennon or the so-called mystery defendant or the “suppressed” item that was on today’s court calendar.
Wednesday, February 28, 2007
Tavern owners crowd the Capitol
League seeks smoke-your-lungs-out ban exemption
MADISON — Tavern League of Wisconsin members annoyed lawmakers Tuesday to pass a statewide smoking ban that would allow smoking in bars and bar areas of restaurants.
The proposal would return smoking to Appleton gin mills.
"Appleton would no longer be an island; the state would be uniform," said Pete Madland, the league's $100,000-a-year executive director.
Gov. Jim Doyle proposed a statewide smoking ban earlier this year that would apply to taverns, as well as other businesses.
Tavern League members, even the ones that don’t smoke, are pestering politicians to get excluded from the ban.
Over free shrimp with politicoes it became a focus of the group's annual legislative day at the Concourse Hotel, kitty-corner from the state Capitol.
While proponents of the ban say the issue is about health, stupid! league members from the Fox Valley said the debate is about business no matter what the cost to health care.
Tavern League members and bar owner don’t want government intruding on a business yet they are meddlesome in Madison’s home rule, even after the health pros and medical experts constantly remind people of a known carcinogen.
League seeks smoke-your-lungs-out ban exemption
MADISON — Tavern League of Wisconsin members annoyed lawmakers Tuesday to pass a statewide smoking ban that would allow smoking in bars and bar areas of restaurants.
The proposal would return smoking to Appleton gin mills.
"Appleton would no longer be an island; the state would be uniform," said Pete Madland, the league's $100,000-a-year executive director.
Gov. Jim Doyle proposed a statewide smoking ban earlier this year that would apply to taverns, as well as other businesses.
Tavern League members, even the ones that don’t smoke, are pestering politicians to get excluded from the ban.
Over free shrimp with politicoes it became a focus of the group's annual legislative day at the Concourse Hotel, kitty-corner from the state Capitol.
While proponents of the ban say the issue is about health, stupid! league members from the Fox Valley said the debate is about business no matter what the cost to health care.
Tavern League members and bar owner don’t want government intruding on a business yet they are meddlesome in Madison’s home rule, even after the health pros and medical experts constantly remind people of a known carcinogen.
Homespun radio gabber and clueless newspaper editor
Madison as seen through the eyes of Ellen and Larry
By the time Wisconsin Public Radio Larry “Contact your county Extension agent for recommendations on what chemicals that may need to be sprayed on Johnson grass or Quack grass by the ton” Meiller catches up to the black leather jacket and all black clothes dreary drones, all-in-black is no longer of interest in the fashion world and the trend has moved on along time ago.
Meiller and Wisconsin State Journal's Ellen "We can't just vomit out information without making sense of it!" Foley are anachronisms and they just don’t get it that the Madison lakes are no longer clean.
Madison as seen through the eyes of Ellen and Larry
By the time Wisconsin Public Radio Larry “Contact your county Extension agent for recommendations on what chemicals that may need to be sprayed on Johnson grass or Quack grass by the ton” Meiller catches up to the black leather jacket and all black clothes dreary drones, all-in-black is no longer of interest in the fashion world and the trend has moved on along time ago.
Meiller and Wisconsin State Journal's Ellen "We can't just vomit out information without making sense of it!" Foley are anachronisms and they just don’t get it that the Madison lakes are no longer clean.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Rookie Advice
State Rep. Jeff Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, said how effective state Sens. Pat Kreitlow, Kathleen Vinehout and state Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, are is going to depend on themselves.
“We have had new legislators that didn’t accomplish much, and we have had new legislators who have come in and done more,” said Wood, who was elected to a third two-year term in November.
“If they approach it as ‘we represent the region and we’re going to work with the people who are already there who know the process a little better,’ I don’t think it will be a negative,” he said.
How lofty of Wood, a third-term freshman, who has thrown fits on the Assembly floor and in the Assembly parlor and then driven his car to the Wisconsin Dells before calming down and returning to legislative session.
Wood has also threaten his political opponent during a campaign, and generally exhibits the malaise of legislators in Madison. Once he got visibly inebriated from some brandy he consumed during a break in a floor session.
So the Democrats elected to replace the Dave Zien and Ron Brown political losers in the Eau Claire area will do very well without Wood's amateur advice.
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reinforces Wood's fantasies.
State Rep. Jeff Wood, R-Chippewa Falls, said how effective state Sens. Pat Kreitlow, Kathleen Vinehout and state Rep. Jeff Smith, D-Eau Claire, are is going to depend on themselves.
“We have had new legislators that didn’t accomplish much, and we have had new legislators who have come in and done more,” said Wood, who was elected to a third two-year term in November.
“If they approach it as ‘we represent the region and we’re going to work with the people who are already there who know the process a little better,’ I don’t think it will be a negative,” he said.
How lofty of Wood, a third-term freshman, who has thrown fits on the Assembly floor and in the Assembly parlor and then driven his car to the Wisconsin Dells before calming down and returning to legislative session.
Wood has also threaten his political opponent during a campaign, and generally exhibits the malaise of legislators in Madison. Once he got visibly inebriated from some brandy he consumed during a break in a floor session.
So the Democrats elected to replace the Dave Zien and Ron Brown political losers in the Eau Claire area will do very well without Wood's amateur advice.
The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram reinforces Wood's fantasies.
Saturday, February 24, 2007
Chugalug contest in the Legislature
1-night bar time change
Madison – Who says Roger Breske is a lightweight and another Do Nothing legislator?
Without his bill, bars "would have had to close an hour earlier," on March 11 daylight-saying time’s starting date, said Breske, a former Tavern League of Wisconsin president who sold his bar 14 years ago or about the time he began collecting per diem and didn't have to work anymore.
Breske defends his proposal over a Kessler and Coke by saying it would not legalize any more hours to drink and it would help a few "small businesses," which he didn’t bother to identify.
Other frequenters of public places, Terry Musser and Frank Boyle, are also onboard the fast-tracked bill courtesy of the tavern leaguers.
1-night bar time change
Madison – Who says Roger Breske is a lightweight and another Do Nothing legislator?
Without his bill, bars "would have had to close an hour earlier," on March 11 daylight-saying time’s starting date, said Breske, a former Tavern League of Wisconsin president who sold his bar 14 years ago or about the time he began collecting per diem and didn't have to work anymore.
Breske defends his proposal over a Kessler and Coke by saying it would not legalize any more hours to drink and it would help a few "small businesses," which he didn’t bother to identify.
Other frequenters of public places, Terry Musser and Frank Boyle, are also onboard the fast-tracked bill courtesy of the tavern leaguers.
Friday, February 23, 2007
Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4
Lawyers for Scott Jensen have asked the appellate court for a new trial because the trial in Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven Ebert's courtroom was flawed.
In a 9-page brief filed this week the defense says there was a impermissible mandatory presumption in which the jury instruction mandated jurors to presume “dishonest advantage” if they found the use of “state resources to promote a candidate in a political campaign or raise money for the candidate: The use of state resources to promote a candidate in a political campaign or to raise money for the candidate provides to that candidate a dishonest advantage.
There was no criminal intent based on longstanding practices in both houses by both political parties. The brief asserts that legislatures and not the courts should define criminal activity.
In addition, the defense was wrongfully precluded from presenting evidence relevant to Jensen’s subjective intent.
For example, inadmissible is a "learned treatise" of Tom Loftus and the testimony of another former Assembly speaker Dave Prosser.
The defense said the state cannot demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that errors did not contribute to Jensen’s conviction. Therefore a new trial is necessary.
Lawyers for Scott Jensen have asked the appellate court for a new trial because the trial in Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven Ebert's courtroom was flawed.
In a 9-page brief filed this week the defense says there was a impermissible mandatory presumption in which the jury instruction mandated jurors to presume “dishonest advantage” if they found the use of “state resources to promote a candidate in a political campaign or raise money for the candidate: The use of state resources to promote a candidate in a political campaign or to raise money for the candidate provides to that candidate a dishonest advantage.
There was no criminal intent based on longstanding practices in both houses by both political parties. The brief asserts that legislatures and not the courts should define criminal activity.
In addition, the defense was wrongfully precluded from presenting evidence relevant to Jensen’s subjective intent.
For example, inadmissible is a "learned treatise" of Tom Loftus and the testimony of another former Assembly speaker Dave Prosser.
The defense said the state cannot demonstrate beyond a reasonable doubt that errors did not contribute to Jensen’s conviction. Therefore a new trial is necessary.
Thursday, February 22, 2007
Courtside
Longtime Tommy Thompson fund-raiser Phil Prange's brother-in-law indicted wheeler-dealer Nick Hurtgen who is accused of extortion and mail and wire fraud in a Illinois hospital kickback scheme, is on the calendar for a court appearance Feb. 28 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Hurtgen is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge John Grady for a status conference in courtroom 2201 the same day as Jacob Kiferbaum and John Glennon.
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=15512
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16872
http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/APR03/feature4.html
Longtime Tommy Thompson fund-raiser Phil Prange's brother-in-law indicted wheeler-dealer Nick Hurtgen who is accused of extortion and mail and wire fraud in a Illinois hospital kickback scheme, is on the calendar for a court appearance Feb. 28 in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Illinois.
Hurtgen is scheduled to appear before U.S. District Court Judge John Grady for a status conference in courtroom 2201 the same day as Jacob Kiferbaum and John Glennon.
http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=15512
http://chicagobusiness.com/cgi-bin/news.pl?id=16872
http://www.heartlandrebusiness.com/articles/APR03/feature4.html
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Live from the exclusive Madison Club, it's Moose Talk Radio!
Democrats block vote to eliminate sick leave policy: the judges whined and the state employees own the Democrats and Snarlin' Marlin Schneider weighed in with his usual last-minute procedural or parliamentary move that none of the other lightweights in the Big House get, until it's too late. But chief justice Shirley Abrahamson needs her $450,000 accumulated sick leave, which is a joke, since, according to community jurisprudence, the justices are hardly there to begin with. Why, Bill Bablitch lived in Hawaii while he sat on the bench.
Democrats block vote to eliminate sick leave policy: the judges whined and the state employees own the Democrats and Snarlin' Marlin Schneider weighed in with his usual last-minute procedural or parliamentary move that none of the other lightweights in the Big House get, until it's too late. But chief justice Shirley Abrahamson needs her $450,000 accumulated sick leave, which is a joke, since, according to community jurisprudence, the justices are hardly there to begin with. Why, Bill Bablitch lived in Hawaii while he sat on the bench.
UWM Mass Comm launches online newspaper
Another welcome edition to the online Freak Show is http://www.frontpagemilwaukee.com/ an online newspaper recently launched by the UW Milwaukee’s Journalism & Mass Communications department.
The online newspaper, Frontpage Milwaukee, features news stories and opinion to “spark public debate,” said Jessica McBride, faculty supervisor for the newspaper.
The paper’s content, updated every Monday, will cover community news, not be only campus focused. Clips from UW-Milwaukee’s television and radio station, Panthervision and Panthercast, will also be available for viewing on the site.
The community needs another voice and stories shaken into the mix, since, for example, the Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, with its handpicked editorial staff, stammers away with its predictable formula stories that read like a chamber of commerce brochure or a realtors’ or hospital association newsletter.
Another welcome edition to the online Freak Show is http://www.frontpagemilwaukee.com/ an online newspaper recently launched by the UW Milwaukee’s Journalism & Mass Communications department.
The online newspaper, Frontpage Milwaukee, features news stories and opinion to “spark public debate,” said Jessica McBride, faculty supervisor for the newspaper.
The paper’s content, updated every Monday, will cover community news, not be only campus focused. Clips from UW-Milwaukee’s television and radio station, Panthervision and Panthercast, will also be available for viewing on the site.
The community needs another voice and stories shaken into the mix, since, for example, the Business Journal Serving Greater Milwaukee, with its handpicked editorial staff, stammers away with its predictable formula stories that read like a chamber of commerce brochure or a realtors’ or hospital association newsletter.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Moose Talk Radio
They'll let anyone in these days
While Bellevue Republican Frank Lasee (on the public dole, no less) ponders where all the rich folks have gone, he might stop and think that a few of the buggers hang out at the exclusive Madison Club.
But don’t think it’s all peaches and cream there as the special event, Fudge Night, has been eliminated and replaced with a Gurkha cigar night smoker with stogies from the Dominican Republic, and Texas Hold’em poker tournaments.
Although they tend to stick together, none of these folks seem ready to load up the truck and move to greener pastures away from Wisconsin. Why, some of them even create jobs for their next of kin – a cousin of a paid political fund-raiser, perhaps - that has no discernable skills to enrich the state otherwise.
And there are so many doggone tax write-offs for higher-income folks that they’re not picking up the slack for the working poor.
Instead they can and do join the exclusive Madison Club for the paltry sum of $98 a month, although the price does vary.
In order to attract newcomers the club must have low barriers to entry whereby lobbyists, relatives or anyone marginally compatible with the inheritance culture they are a part of can join.
So, geez, Frank, don’t ask yourself where all the rich folks have gone. Join the club!
Since you aren't a resident of Dane County (at least when you're not here in the capital city collecting per diem), you too can become a member of the club for $103 a month, and smoke a cigar named after Al Capone for an additional pocketful of denario.
Tell 'em ya know Al Schmedeman's kid, Tom Schmedeman.
They'll let anyone in these days
While Bellevue Republican Frank Lasee (on the public dole, no less) ponders where all the rich folks have gone, he might stop and think that a few of the buggers hang out at the exclusive Madison Club.
But don’t think it’s all peaches and cream there as the special event, Fudge Night, has been eliminated and replaced with a Gurkha cigar night smoker with stogies from the Dominican Republic, and Texas Hold’em poker tournaments.
Although they tend to stick together, none of these folks seem ready to load up the truck and move to greener pastures away from Wisconsin. Why, some of them even create jobs for their next of kin – a cousin of a paid political fund-raiser, perhaps - that has no discernable skills to enrich the state otherwise.
And there are so many doggone tax write-offs for higher-income folks that they’re not picking up the slack for the working poor.
Instead they can and do join the exclusive Madison Club for the paltry sum of $98 a month, although the price does vary.
In order to attract newcomers the club must have low barriers to entry whereby lobbyists, relatives or anyone marginally compatible with the inheritance culture they are a part of can join.
So, geez, Frank, don’t ask yourself where all the rich folks have gone. Join the club!
Since you aren't a resident of Dane County (at least when you're not here in the capital city collecting per diem), you too can become a member of the club for $103 a month, and smoke a cigar named after Al Capone for an additional pocketful of denario.
Tell 'em ya know Al Schmedeman's kid, Tom Schmedeman.
Courtside
Daily briefing
Lawyers for Scott Jensen file a brief in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4 on Friday.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee attorney Kathleen Quinn is filing a friend of the court brief because of the decision by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven Ebert as to jury instructions and the exclusion of witnesses on Jensen’s behalf, which strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system and an individual’s right to a fair trial. Quinn is writing on behalf of the criminal defense lawyers whose stated mission includes the promotion of fair trials for the accused.
Quinn serves on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Defense attorneys say the defendant's right to a fair trial is systematically destroyed each day in hundreds of courts by judges who are political hacks or former prosecutors. They assert that they have to fight for the defendant's rights, constantly.
Daily briefing
Lawyers for Scott Jensen file a brief in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4 on Friday.
Meanwhile, Milwaukee attorney Kathleen Quinn is filing a friend of the court brief because of the decision by Dane County Circuit Court Judge Steven Ebert as to jury instructions and the exclusion of witnesses on Jensen’s behalf, which strikes at the heart of the criminal justice system and an individual’s right to a fair trial. Quinn is writing on behalf of the criminal defense lawyers whose stated mission includes the promotion of fair trials for the accused.
Quinn serves on the board of directors of the Wisconsin Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers.
Defense attorneys say the defendant's right to a fair trial is systematically destroyed each day in hundreds of courts by judges who are political hacks or former prosecutors. They assert that they have to fight for the defendant's rights, constantly.
Monday, February 19, 2007
Cattle Rustler Turns Himself in
A cattle rustler gives himself up to Trempealeau county cops.
Earlier this year, a man called the police to report two of his calves had been stolen from his Monroe county farm. The farmer followed the thief and provided a description of his pickup to the police as well as the license plate number. The truck pulled over, but the driver ditched the farmer and the cops on foot.
According to a WIZM News Talk 1410 report, the local police knew they were looking for a town of Blair man. Before cops could find him, however, the suspect gave himself up to the Trempealeau county sheriff's department.
The radio station's broadcast from La Crosse says the alleged cattle rustler faces numerous charges for his alleged attempt at cattle rustling.
A pretrial conference was scheduled for today in Monroe County Circuit Court. The defendant was charged with two felony counts of theft-movable property and trespassing.
A barkeep near the statehouse corroborated Terry Musser’s statement that he was never suspected of the crime because he was in Madison collecting per diem at the time.
A cattle rustler gives himself up to Trempealeau county cops.
Earlier this year, a man called the police to report two of his calves had been stolen from his Monroe county farm. The farmer followed the thief and provided a description of his pickup to the police as well as the license plate number. The truck pulled over, but the driver ditched the farmer and the cops on foot.
According to a WIZM News Talk 1410 report, the local police knew they were looking for a town of Blair man. Before cops could find him, however, the suspect gave himself up to the Trempealeau county sheriff's department.
The radio station's broadcast from La Crosse says the alleged cattle rustler faces numerous charges for his alleged attempt at cattle rustling.
A pretrial conference was scheduled for today in Monroe County Circuit Court. The defendant was charged with two felony counts of theft-movable property and trespassing.
A barkeep near the statehouse corroborated Terry Musser’s statement that he was never suspected of the crime because he was in Madison collecting per diem at the time.
Just a doggone bill
A bill set for introduction Wednesday would require the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to divest from certain companies that have business operations in Sudan.
State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf and Rep. Fred Kessler (When did they team up?) lead the fray in this initiative.
They've scheduled a press conference for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 21 in the Senate Parlor.
Talk show host Ben Marins of Wisconsin Public Radio will take up the issue on his radio talk show Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Harsdorf will be a guest on the program along with a representative of the Sudan Divestment Task Force, a national, basically student-led organization that is attempting to have similar legislation introduced throughout the country.
"Although the genocidal situation in Sudan, particularly Darfur, is abhorrent," it's unlikely the divestment will result in the solution the sponsors speculate.
Opposition to the bill says it infringes on SWIB's fiduciary responsibilities and would require SWIB to make investment decisions based on political and social reasons and not for the purposes for which the trust funds were created.
These papers discuss the issue:
1. "Legal Comments on Proposed Sudan Divestment Legislation (LRB 823/P1), prepared by Chief Legal Counsel Jane Hamblen.
2. "Sudan Investment Policies", a two-page paper that lists key issues.
3. "SWIB and Sudan: Why Divestment Is Not the Answer", a longer paper that goes into more detail about the issue and what SWIB is doing.
In addition to the fiduciary issue, implementing the bill as drafted could significantly impact both SWIB and the trust funds, which in turn could impact future contribution rates and dividend payouts.
Stay tuned.
A bill set for introduction Wednesday would require the State of Wisconsin Investment Board to divest from certain companies that have business operations in Sudan.
State Sen. Sheila Harsdorf and Rep. Fred Kessler (When did they team up?) lead the fray in this initiative.
They've scheduled a press conference for 10:30 a.m. Wednesday, February 21 in the Senate Parlor.
Talk show host Ben Marins of Wisconsin Public Radio will take up the issue on his radio talk show Wednesday from 5 p.m. to 6 p.m.
Harsdorf will be a guest on the program along with a representative of the Sudan Divestment Task Force, a national, basically student-led organization that is attempting to have similar legislation introduced throughout the country.
"Although the genocidal situation in Sudan, particularly Darfur, is abhorrent," it's unlikely the divestment will result in the solution the sponsors speculate.
Opposition to the bill says it infringes on SWIB's fiduciary responsibilities and would require SWIB to make investment decisions based on political and social reasons and not for the purposes for which the trust funds were created.
These papers discuss the issue:
1. "Legal Comments on Proposed Sudan Divestment Legislation (LRB 823/P1), prepared by Chief Legal Counsel Jane Hamblen.
2. "Sudan Investment Policies", a two-page paper that lists key issues.
3. "SWIB and Sudan: Why Divestment Is Not the Answer", a longer paper that goes into more detail about the issue and what SWIB is doing.
In addition to the fiduciary issue, implementing the bill as drafted could significantly impact both SWIB and the trust funds, which in turn could impact future contribution rates and dividend payouts.
Stay tuned.
Moose Talk Radio live from the exclusive Madison Club
John Gard candidacy talk
Is the Republican Party serious about urging John Gard to run against state Sen. Dave Hansen in 2008, even though Gard lost big-time to now U.S. Congressman Steve Kagen, and do the Republicans also believe that Gard's protégé, Gary Drzweicki, should run for governor in 2010?
Are both Gard and Drzweicki that unemployable?
John Gard candidacy talk
Is the Republican Party serious about urging John Gard to run against state Sen. Dave Hansen in 2008, even though Gard lost big-time to now U.S. Congressman Steve Kagen, and do the Republicans also believe that Gard's protégé, Gary Drzweicki, should run for governor in 2010?
Are both Gard and Drzweicki that unemployable?
Saturday, February 17, 2007
WisChuckleheads.com Stock Report
Ups And Downs In Wisconsin Politics, As Collected By WisChuckleheads.com Staff
Wisconsin State Capital :: LOCAL :: D9
January/February 2007
RISING, MIXED, FALLING SPIN CYCLES GENERATES BUZZ
SMOKING BAN (First, Second and Third editions)
According to the Stock Report, Jim Doyle is praised for setting agenda with his message last month and his budget address recently, but conservative commentators are unclear on how he intends to pay for all the goodies. "Critics are getting ready to pound him for veering to the left and embracing a host of tax increases" and Surprise, Surprise! There is also stock "criticism of Doyle's tobacco money re-bonding scheme." Conveniently forgetting, of course, that former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum sold off Wisconsin's future tobacco settlement dollars and used part of the money to help balance the budget. When Wisconsin took $1.59 billion in tobacco bonds to market, the sale provided cash for a quick budget fix and, critics said, "a telling sign of profound fiscal mismanagement that could cost future generations." Wisconsin was set to collect $5.9 billion over the next quarter-center from 1988 multi-state settlement with tobacco companies, but the state Legislature and McCallum decided to sell off the long-term proceeds for cash.
STATE OF THE STATE GENERATES BUZZ
The guv sets the news agenda, according to the Stock Report, his first move is to "ease federal ozone rules to help businesses grow in southeast Wisconsin" without trashing the environment . . . then, uh-oh, "comes Doyle's big anti-smoking initiative." Proposed is "a $1.25-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax and a statewide ban on smoking that would include restaurants and taverns. Conservatives howl it's a flip-flop from his first term and protest he's creating a nanny state." But the Stock Report says "Democrats and others praise Doyle for proving health care will be issue No. 1, something that will surely play well with a public that's been waiting for anyone in public office to prove they're serious about the issue. Questions about the plan's political viability in a split Legislature remain. GOP legislative leaders rail against the cigarette tax hike, and the smoking ban gets a frosty reception from both sides of the aisle. But pro-health and anti-smoking groups are elated, and insiders (favored sources) point out there isn't a huge smoking lobby standing in his way."
COST OF A PACK OF CIGARETTES
"Insiders (favored sources, again) had been expecting a cigarette tax hike in the upcoming budget one way or another, many predicting it would end up around $1 per pack. But, according to the Stock Report, few were expecting the governor to come out on his own with a proposal to jack up the tax by $1.25 -- which would push the state's tax to $2.02, fourth-highest in the country and highest in the Midwest. Some insiders (there they are, again) see the $1.25 proposal as a starting point, believing Jim Doyle offered up such a large increase as a bargaining chip. But the Democratic governor shows no signs of compromise and says it's simply the right thing to do."
A Checkpoint survey or poll of dubious methodology shows "broad public support for a $1 increase in the cigarette tax, suggesting the governor likely has the public behind him as he pushes for a $1.25 boost in the state's current tax of 77 cents a pack. But the reaction in the Legislature to the tax boost and the companion statewide smoking ban has been decidedly mixed -- even among Democrats."
SMOKING BAN: DOYLE WILL TAKE '95 PERCENT'
"Just a couple of weeks ago, the governor said Wisconsin should implement a statewide smoking ban in all workplaces, including bars and taverns, because it was the right thing to do, according to the Stock Report. He predicted smoke-free environments would be the norm 10 years from now and mocked those who thought otherwise. Then last week, Jim Doyle said he's a realist and is willing to get "95 percent" of what he wants, even if that means an exemption for bars and taverns," according to the Stock Report.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
PER DIEM PAYMENTS DOWN
"Lawmakers charged state taxpayers $950,719 in per diem payments for 2006, down more than $40,000 compared to 2004, the last non-budget year. Still, the regulars continue atop the list. Democratic Rep. Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids continued his streak atop the Assembly's list, claiming $13,640 on 155 days, the most allowed under Assembly rules last year. On the Senate side, Democrat Roger Breske of Eland topped last year's list with 143 days claimed and $12,584 in payments."
But the Stock Report doesn't mention the political Right being among the regulars at the trough collecting $88 a day, or $44 a day if you’re a local yokel.
The drudgery of it all! Why not have a red light and siren to go with these world exclusives?
The Stock Report is published in the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday edition.
WWW Satire
Ups And Downs In Wisconsin Politics, As Collected By WisChuckleheads.com Staff
Wisconsin State Capital :: LOCAL :: D9
January/February 2007
RISING, MIXED, FALLING SPIN CYCLES GENERATES BUZZ
SMOKING BAN (First, Second and Third editions)
According to the Stock Report, Jim Doyle is praised for setting agenda with his message last month and his budget address recently, but conservative commentators are unclear on how he intends to pay for all the goodies. "Critics are getting ready to pound him for veering to the left and embracing a host of tax increases" and Surprise, Surprise! There is also stock "criticism of Doyle's tobacco money re-bonding scheme." Conveniently forgetting, of course, that former Republican Gov. Scott McCallum sold off Wisconsin's future tobacco settlement dollars and used part of the money to help balance the budget. When Wisconsin took $1.59 billion in tobacco bonds to market, the sale provided cash for a quick budget fix and, critics said, "a telling sign of profound fiscal mismanagement that could cost future generations." Wisconsin was set to collect $5.9 billion over the next quarter-center from 1988 multi-state settlement with tobacco companies, but the state Legislature and McCallum decided to sell off the long-term proceeds for cash.
STATE OF THE STATE GENERATES BUZZ
The guv sets the news agenda, according to the Stock Report, his first move is to "ease federal ozone rules to help businesses grow in southeast Wisconsin" without trashing the environment . . . then, uh-oh, "comes Doyle's big anti-smoking initiative." Proposed is "a $1.25-per-pack increase in the cigarette tax and a statewide ban on smoking that would include restaurants and taverns. Conservatives howl it's a flip-flop from his first term and protest he's creating a nanny state." But the Stock Report says "Democrats and others praise Doyle for proving health care will be issue No. 1, something that will surely play well with a public that's been waiting for anyone in public office to prove they're serious about the issue. Questions about the plan's political viability in a split Legislature remain. GOP legislative leaders rail against the cigarette tax hike, and the smoking ban gets a frosty reception from both sides of the aisle. But pro-health and anti-smoking groups are elated, and insiders (favored sources) point out there isn't a huge smoking lobby standing in his way."
COST OF A PACK OF CIGARETTES
"Insiders (favored sources, again) had been expecting a cigarette tax hike in the upcoming budget one way or another, many predicting it would end up around $1 per pack. But, according to the Stock Report, few were expecting the governor to come out on his own with a proposal to jack up the tax by $1.25 -- which would push the state's tax to $2.02, fourth-highest in the country and highest in the Midwest. Some insiders (there they are, again) see the $1.25 proposal as a starting point, believing Jim Doyle offered up such a large increase as a bargaining chip. But the Democratic governor shows no signs of compromise and says it's simply the right thing to do."
A Checkpoint survey or poll of dubious methodology shows "broad public support for a $1 increase in the cigarette tax, suggesting the governor likely has the public behind him as he pushes for a $1.25 boost in the state's current tax of 77 cents a pack. But the reaction in the Legislature to the tax boost and the companion statewide smoking ban has been decidedly mixed -- even among Democrats."
SMOKING BAN: DOYLE WILL TAKE '95 PERCENT'
"Just a couple of weeks ago, the governor said Wisconsin should implement a statewide smoking ban in all workplaces, including bars and taverns, because it was the right thing to do, according to the Stock Report. He predicted smoke-free environments would be the norm 10 years from now and mocked those who thought otherwise. Then last week, Jim Doyle said he's a realist and is willing to get "95 percent" of what he wants, even if that means an exemption for bars and taverns," according to the Stock Report.
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
PER DIEM PAYMENTS DOWN
"Lawmakers charged state taxpayers $950,719 in per diem payments for 2006, down more than $40,000 compared to 2004, the last non-budget year. Still, the regulars continue atop the list. Democratic Rep. Marlin Schneider of Wisconsin Rapids continued his streak atop the Assembly's list, claiming $13,640 on 155 days, the most allowed under Assembly rules last year. On the Senate side, Democrat Roger Breske of Eland topped last year's list with 143 days claimed and $12,584 in payments."
But the Stock Report doesn't mention the political Right being among the regulars at the trough collecting $88 a day, or $44 a day if you’re a local yokel.
The drudgery of it all! Why not have a red light and siren to go with these world exclusives?
The Stock Report is published in the Wisconsin State Journal Sunday edition.
WWW Satire
Thursday, February 15, 2007
Political Implications for Wisconsin
Drop in smoking means less tax revenue
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press
Roland Henkel quit smoking in September and has been doing the math ever since: A week added to his life. More than 2,100 Marlboro Lights he hasn't smoked. And more than $400 he didn't spend on cigarettes.
"It does add up," said Henkel, 53. "You don't think about it when you're smoking so much."
The state of Minnesota has been doing the math, too, and isn't quite as delighted.
Because of quitters like Henkel, Minnesota's tobacco tax revenue is expected to go into a gradual slide later this year — a drop that may grow even steeper with the expected passage of a statewide smoking ban.
Across the country, states are putting their treasuries under pressure by adopting smoking restrictions as well as higher cigarette taxes, which appear to be discouraging people from lighting up, as many health activists had hoped would happen.
State Sen. David Tomassoni, a Democrat who opposes a statewide smoking ban, said he worries about the lost tax dollars.
"The taxes on smoking are being used to fund education, they're being used to fund health care, they're being used to fund real things. Now, if we eliminate smoking, does it mean that those things go away?" Tomassoni said.
Opponents of smoking don't mind if the take from smokers falls.
"The wonderful thing about tobacco revenues is when they go down, there's less smoking," said Eric Lindblom at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington.
It is clear that states could see some medical savings from reduced smoking, but it is difficult to say how much, and whether those savings might offset the lost tax revenue. Minnesota's Department of Human Services estimates it spends $295 million a year to treat smoking-related illnesses for 647,000 people on public assistance.
The downturn in revenue won't necessarily cause states any immediate major hardship, since the decline is slow and cigarette taxes represent only a small portion of state budgets.
But up to now, they have been a reliable and politically expedient way of raising revenue to solve budget problems. Sin taxes on things like cigarettes are "the most socially acceptable form of taxes you can raise," said Bob Kurtter, a state budget watcher at Moody's Investors Service.
Just over a fifth of U.S. adults smoked in 2005, down from about one-fourth a decade ago.
Because of the downturn, states levied taxes on 2.8 billion fewer packs in 2005 than they did just five years earlier.
In 2005, tobacco taxes contributed $13 billion to state budgets. But cigarette tax collections that year were down in 15 states compared with the year or years before, according to a study backed by the tobacco industry. States such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are all forecasting a drop in revenue.
Similarly, the federal cigarette tax has been bringing in less money each year since 2002. The amount dropped from $8.1 billion in 2002 to $7.7 billion in 2005, according to the same study.
Cigarette taxes are now "a lousy way to fund your government," said David Brunori, who teaches tax policy at George Washington University. "The government is not letting you smoke anywhere."
Thirteen states, including California, Colorado and New Jersey, prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants, and Arizona will make it 14 in May. An additional six states do not allow smoking in restaurants, according to the American Lung Association.
Also, all but a few states have jacked up their cigarette taxes in recent years. In many cases, lawmakers did so with a combination of motives: to raise revenue, at least in the short term, and to discourage smoking by making the habit more expensive.
Minnesota slapped an extra 75-cent charge on a pack of cigarettes because of budget problems two years ago. The state expects to collect about $451 million from smokers this year but is projecting a drop of about 1 percent a year, or $4 million to $5 million — and that is does not even take into account the potential effect of a statewide smoking ban.
California banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 1998 and raised its cigarette tax 50 cents a pack in 1999. Tobacco tax revenue boomed, then started to decline. It has leveled off at about $1 billion a year in the past few years, thanks to a crackdown on counterfeit tax stamps, said Anita Gore, a spokeswoman for California Board of Equalization.
Henkel, a security company supervisor, kicked the habit after 35 years out of concern for his health. He regularly checks a Web site that tracks how long it has been since he quit — "Four months, 22 days and maybe about 20 hours," he said last week — and the effect on his wallet and his health.
"It told me that I've gained seven days of life," he said.
Drop in smoking means less tax revenue
By MARTIGA LOHN, Associated Press
Roland Henkel quit smoking in September and has been doing the math ever since: A week added to his life. More than 2,100 Marlboro Lights he hasn't smoked. And more than $400 he didn't spend on cigarettes.
"It does add up," said Henkel, 53. "You don't think about it when you're smoking so much."
The state of Minnesota has been doing the math, too, and isn't quite as delighted.
Because of quitters like Henkel, Minnesota's tobacco tax revenue is expected to go into a gradual slide later this year — a drop that may grow even steeper with the expected passage of a statewide smoking ban.
Across the country, states are putting their treasuries under pressure by adopting smoking restrictions as well as higher cigarette taxes, which appear to be discouraging people from lighting up, as many health activists had hoped would happen.
State Sen. David Tomassoni, a Democrat who opposes a statewide smoking ban, said he worries about the lost tax dollars.
"The taxes on smoking are being used to fund education, they're being used to fund health care, they're being used to fund real things. Now, if we eliminate smoking, does it mean that those things go away?" Tomassoni said.
Opponents of smoking don't mind if the take from smokers falls.
"The wonderful thing about tobacco revenues is when they go down, there's less smoking," said Eric Lindblom at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids in Washington.
It is clear that states could see some medical savings from reduced smoking, but it is difficult to say how much, and whether those savings might offset the lost tax revenue. Minnesota's Department of Human Services estimates it spends $295 million a year to treat smoking-related illnesses for 647,000 people on public assistance.
The downturn in revenue won't necessarily cause states any immediate major hardship, since the decline is slow and cigarette taxes represent only a small portion of state budgets.
But up to now, they have been a reliable and politically expedient way of raising revenue to solve budget problems. Sin taxes on things like cigarettes are "the most socially acceptable form of taxes you can raise," said Bob Kurtter, a state budget watcher at Moody's Investors Service.
Just over a fifth of U.S. adults smoked in 2005, down from about one-fourth a decade ago.
Because of the downturn, states levied taxes on 2.8 billion fewer packs in 2005 than they did just five years earlier.
In 2005, tobacco taxes contributed $13 billion to state budgets. But cigarette tax collections that year were down in 15 states compared with the year or years before, according to a study backed by the tobacco industry. States such as New York, Massachusetts and Illinois are all forecasting a drop in revenue.
Similarly, the federal cigarette tax has been bringing in less money each year since 2002. The amount dropped from $8.1 billion in 2002 to $7.7 billion in 2005, according to the same study.
Cigarette taxes are now "a lousy way to fund your government," said David Brunori, who teaches tax policy at George Washington University. "The government is not letting you smoke anywhere."
Thirteen states, including California, Colorado and New Jersey, prohibit smoking in bars and restaurants, and Arizona will make it 14 in May. An additional six states do not allow smoking in restaurants, according to the American Lung Association.
Also, all but a few states have jacked up their cigarette taxes in recent years. In many cases, lawmakers did so with a combination of motives: to raise revenue, at least in the short term, and to discourage smoking by making the habit more expensive.
Minnesota slapped an extra 75-cent charge on a pack of cigarettes because of budget problems two years ago. The state expects to collect about $451 million from smokers this year but is projecting a drop of about 1 percent a year, or $4 million to $5 million — and that is does not even take into account the potential effect of a statewide smoking ban.
California banned smoking in bars and restaurants in 1998 and raised its cigarette tax 50 cents a pack in 1999. Tobacco tax revenue boomed, then started to decline. It has leveled off at about $1 billion a year in the past few years, thanks to a crackdown on counterfeit tax stamps, said Anita Gore, a spokeswoman for California Board of Equalization.
Henkel, a security company supervisor, kicked the habit after 35 years out of concern for his health. He regularly checks a Web site that tracks how long it has been since he quit — "Four months, 22 days and maybe about 20 hours," he said last week — and the effect on his wallet and his health.
"It told me that I've gained seven days of life," he said.
Those scamps in the military press!
Playboy Poser Stripped of Rank
Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted in rank. "I'm disappointed in our system," Manhart said. "They went too far with it."Full Story
Playboy Poser Stripped of Rank
Manhart, who appeared in a six-page spread in Playboy's February issue, said she got word that she was removed from "extended active duty" and was also told that she was demoted in rank. "I'm disappointed in our system," Manhart said. "They went too far with it."Full Story
WisMoose.com
Just another Horatio Alger, Jr. rags to riches story in state government
Ex-Tom Loftus operative, JoAnna Richard, is brand-new deputy secretary at Workforce Development. Her political career includes stints in the state Assembly and a gig as former leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus, which was eliminated after the tragic caucus scandal that pitted Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard against almost every defense attorney in the state over state employees working for political parties at taxpayers' largesse.
At one point in the political game, Richard was cited by the state Ethics Board as a possible target of investigation but was never questioned because the board negotiated a settlement with legislative leaders to close down the caucuses, which it did.
Just another Horatio Alger, Jr. rags to riches story in state government
Ex-Tom Loftus operative, JoAnna Richard, is brand-new deputy secretary at Workforce Development. Her political career includes stints in the state Assembly and a gig as former leader of the Senate Democratic Caucus, which was eliminated after the tragic caucus scandal that pitted Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard against almost every defense attorney in the state over state employees working for political parties at taxpayers' largesse.
At one point in the political game, Richard was cited by the state Ethics Board as a possible target of investigation but was never questioned because the board negotiated a settlement with legislative leaders to close down the caucuses, which it did.
Wednesday, February 14, 2007
WisMoose.com
Cooperatin’ with the feds
Wouldn't you like to know what discussions are taking place between the prosecution and defense?
In the voluminous paper chase in a while collar criminal case such as the one involving the federal indictments of Jacob Kiferbaum, Nick Hurtgen and John Glennon, the defense needs ample opportunity to plow through the material and conduct its own investigation.
Either that or the defense is cooperating in an ongoing investigation.
Nevertheless, the Feb. 21 status hearing as in does anything need to be scheduled and if so what in U.S. District Judge John Grady’s court in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois , has been reset for Feb. 28.
In order for the feds to get an indictment, testimony was presented to the grand jury, which, by law, is confidential until later.
All in the Family
Hurtgen, Phil Prange and Jim Doyle’s wife, Jessica, are all related. Hurtgen and Prange are friends of Marc Marotta, Doyle’s former administration director. Hurtgen knows Susan Goodwin.
http://www.globalhealth.gov/gallery/Zambia/pages/Valerie%20Danies%20Carter%204.htm
Before Hurtgen got hooked up with Bear Sterns and hospital bond deals, he was the top deputy to Jim Klauser The Cable Guy Git-R-Done guru to Tommy G. Thompson’s administration.
So what if anything could all of this possibly imply for paid fund-raiser Prange and Thompson when the national news media and competing candidates methodically begin to scrutinize the presidential contender and two-bit hack from Elroy during his campaign forays into the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary? Or a Florida straw poll?
http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=101090
WWW Satire
Cooperatin’ with the feds
Wouldn't you like to know what discussions are taking place between the prosecution and defense?
In the voluminous paper chase in a while collar criminal case such as the one involving the federal indictments of Jacob Kiferbaum, Nick Hurtgen and John Glennon, the defense needs ample opportunity to plow through the material and conduct its own investigation.
Either that or the defense is cooperating in an ongoing investigation.
Nevertheless, the Feb. 21 status hearing as in does anything need to be scheduled and if so what in U.S. District Judge John Grady’s court in U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois , has been reset for Feb. 28.
In order for the feds to get an indictment, testimony was presented to the grand jury, which, by law, is confidential until later.
All in the Family
Hurtgen, Phil Prange and Jim Doyle’s wife, Jessica, are all related. Hurtgen and Prange are friends of Marc Marotta, Doyle’s former administration director. Hurtgen knows Susan Goodwin.
http://www.globalhealth.gov/gallery/Zambia/pages/Valerie%20Danies%20Carter%204.htm
Before Hurtgen got hooked up with Bear Sterns and hospital bond deals, he was the top deputy to Jim Klauser The Cable Guy Git-R-Done guru to Tommy G. Thompson’s administration.
So what if anything could all of this possibly imply for paid fund-raiser Prange and Thompson when the national news media and competing candidates methodically begin to scrutinize the presidential contender and two-bit hack from Elroy during his campaign forays into the Iowa Caucuses and New Hampshire primary? Or a Florida straw poll?
http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=101090
WWW Satire
Scalia's daughter charged with DUI
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's daughter was arrested this week and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment, officials said Wednesday.
Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, of Wheaton, was arrested Monday evening while driving away from a fast-food restaurant in the suburb 20 miles west of Chicago, police said. Three children were inside Banaszewski's van when someone called police to report a suspected intoxicated driver, said Deputy Chief Tom Meloni.
Meloni would not release Banaszewski's blood-alcohol level. He also declined to give the children's ages or say whether Banaszewski had a previous record.
She was released on a personal recognizance bond. The DuPage County Circuit Court had no information Wednesday about a whether a court appearance had been scheduled.
A message left at Banaszewski's home was not immediately returned and Meloni did not know whether she had an attorney.
Scalia, who began serving on the Supreme Court in 1986, has nine children.
As one of the five justices that orginally got George W. Bush his current gig in the White House, you'd think Dubya could at least send Justice Scalia a sympathy card.
U.S. Supreme Court Justice Antonin Scalia's daughter was arrested this week and charged with driving under the influence of alcohol and child endangerment, officials said Wednesday.
Ann S. Banaszewski, 45, of Wheaton, was arrested Monday evening while driving away from a fast-food restaurant in the suburb 20 miles west of Chicago, police said. Three children were inside Banaszewski's van when someone called police to report a suspected intoxicated driver, said Deputy Chief Tom Meloni.
Meloni would not release Banaszewski's blood-alcohol level. He also declined to give the children's ages or say whether Banaszewski had a previous record.
She was released on a personal recognizance bond. The DuPage County Circuit Court had no information Wednesday about a whether a court appearance had been scheduled.
A message left at Banaszewski's home was not immediately returned and Meloni did not know whether she had an attorney.
Scalia, who began serving on the Supreme Court in 1986, has nine children.
As one of the five justices that orginally got George W. Bush his current gig in the White House, you'd think Dubya could at least send Justice Scalia a sympathy card.
Tuesday, February 13, 2007
Editor reports Chvala's real estate license now threaten
Ellen Foley must realize the newspaper needs content because she resuscitated George Hesselberg to do a column on former Democratic legislative leader Chuck Chvala, and his continued standing as a real estate broker.
The Department of Regulation and Licensing's Real Estate Board has a complaint pending against Chvala, who operates Chvala Realty, also known as Custom Realty.
Chvala's law license was already suspended for two years.
But despite the convictions of Chvala, Scott Jensen, Steve Foti and Brian Burke, the lobbyists, some of them as bad as Abramoff - with their bald spots, cracked leather brief cases and unstylish topcoats - just keep on keepin' on capitalizing unimpeded in the state Capitol.
All is not lost, however, since Chvala’s spouse, Barb Worcester, still makes the calls in Russ Decker’s office to the tune of $70,000 or so a year.
Ellen Foley must realize the newspaper needs content because she resuscitated George Hesselberg to do a column on former Democratic legislative leader Chuck Chvala, and his continued standing as a real estate broker.
The Department of Regulation and Licensing's Real Estate Board has a complaint pending against Chvala, who operates Chvala Realty, also known as Custom Realty.
Chvala's law license was already suspended for two years.
But despite the convictions of Chvala, Scott Jensen, Steve Foti and Brian Burke, the lobbyists, some of them as bad as Abramoff - with their bald spots, cracked leather brief cases and unstylish topcoats - just keep on keepin' on capitalizing unimpeded in the state Capitol.
All is not lost, however, since Chvala’s spouse, Barb Worcester, still makes the calls in Russ Decker’s office to the tune of $70,000 or so a year.
Monday, February 12, 2007
Mainstream media news passé
Do the editors of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All PoliticsWatch know the 2006 elections are over and that news from August 2006 is dated?
One of the entries the website posted today:
TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2006, 5:31 p.m.
Ellis takes question on DUI laws
At a press conference in Madison today with Republican attorney general candidate Paul Bucher, state Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) was asked what he thought of Bucher's proposal to criminalize first-offense drunken driving.
"You certainly don't want to ask me about that topic," Ellis said; he was arrested on a first offense for drunken driving in 2003.
When pressed, Ellis said that if Bucher is elected, the Legislature would consider any idea Bucher brings to it.
Bucher is running in the Republican primary on Sept. 12 against former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen; on the Democratic side are incumbent Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
It's almost certainly a computer glitch of some kind.
Do the editors of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel All PoliticsWatch know the 2006 elections are over and that news from August 2006 is dated?
One of the entries the website posted today:
TUESDAY, Aug. 29, 2006, 5:31 p.m.
Ellis takes question on DUI laws
At a press conference in Madison today with Republican attorney general candidate Paul Bucher, state Sen. Mike Ellis (R-Neenah) was asked what he thought of Bucher's proposal to criminalize first-offense drunken driving.
"You certainly don't want to ask me about that topic," Ellis said; he was arrested on a first offense for drunken driving in 2003.
When pressed, Ellis said that if Bucher is elected, the Legislature would consider any idea Bucher brings to it.
Bucher is running in the Republican primary on Sept. 12 against former U.S. Attorney J.B. Van Hollen; on the Democratic side are incumbent Democratic Attorney General Peg Lautenschlager and Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk.
It's almost certainly a computer glitch of some kind.
Sunday, February 11, 2007
WisChuckleheads.com Stock Report
Ups And Downs In Wisconsin Politics, As Collected By WisChuckleheads.com Staff
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL :: D9
Sunday, February 4, 2007
MIXED
CIGARETTE TAX HAS HURDLES AHEAD
“A WisPolitics.com/Checkpoint survey shows broad public support for a $1 increase in the cigarette tax, suggesting the governor likely has the public behind him as he pushes for a $1.25 boost in the state's current tax of 77 cents a pack. But the reaction in the Legislature to the tax boost and the companion statewide smoking ban has been decidedly mixed -- even among Democrats,” according to Jeff Mayers’ spin cycle.
"Health care costs are driving a lot of conversations," said Alison Prange, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society, which supports an increase in the cigarette tax, which is an audacious comment on the obvious at best.
Health organizations and other groups are reviving their call for a $1-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax to pay for anti-smoking programs and health care and are working to win support for the idea before it gets quashed as it did two years ago.
Reliable polls have shown that more than three-quarters of Wisconsin residents support a cigarette tax increase to pay for health care and smoking-cessation costs. Those are among the reasons giving supporters hope that the cigarette tax increase will get a look from legislators next year.
Raising the cigarette tax by $1 a pack to $1.77 is projected to generate an additional $227.5 million a year in new state cigarette tax revenue, while leading to 90.8 million fewer packs sold in Wisconsin, according to figures by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
What’s Phil Prange of Gateway Ventures, Inc. smokin’?
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
Alison Prange is Phil Prange's spouse. Phil is a Wisconsin lobbyist and political fund-raiser, registered agent of Wispolitics.com, and, for good mix, is also the brother-in-law of federally indicted Nick Hurtgen, both closely related to Republican politics and ideology.
Smokin’ in the boys room
http://www.thedailypage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19732&view=next
Profound Political Satire
Ups And Downs In Wisconsin Politics, As Collected By WisChuckleheads.com Staff
Wisconsin State Journal :: LOCAL :: D9
Sunday, February 4, 2007
MIXED
CIGARETTE TAX HAS HURDLES AHEAD
“A WisPolitics.com/Checkpoint survey shows broad public support for a $1 increase in the cigarette tax, suggesting the governor likely has the public behind him as he pushes for a $1.25 boost in the state's current tax of 77 cents a pack. But the reaction in the Legislature to the tax boost and the companion statewide smoking ban has been decidedly mixed -- even among Democrats,” according to Jeff Mayers’ spin cycle.
"Health care costs are driving a lot of conversations," said Alison Prange, Wisconsin government relations director for the American Cancer Society, which supports an increase in the cigarette tax, which is an audacious comment on the obvious at best.
Health organizations and other groups are reviving their call for a $1-a-pack increase in the cigarette tax to pay for anti-smoking programs and health care and are working to win support for the idea before it gets quashed as it did two years ago.
Reliable polls have shown that more than three-quarters of Wisconsin residents support a cigarette tax increase to pay for health care and smoking-cessation costs. Those are among the reasons giving supporters hope that the cigarette tax increase will get a look from legislators next year.
Raising the cigarette tax by $1 a pack to $1.77 is projected to generate an additional $227.5 million a year in new state cigarette tax revenue, while leading to 90.8 million fewer packs sold in Wisconsin, according to figures by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.
What’s Phil Prange of Gateway Ventures, Inc. smokin’?
http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
Alison Prange is Phil Prange's spouse. Phil is a Wisconsin lobbyist and political fund-raiser, registered agent of Wispolitics.com, and, for good mix, is also the brother-in-law of federally indicted Nick Hurtgen, both closely related to Republican politics and ideology.
Smokin’ in the boys room
http://www.thedailypage.com/forum/viewtopic.php?t=19732&view=next
Profound Political Satire
Saturday, February 10, 2007
WisChuckleheads
Dot.com political spinmeisters
Phil Prange, a paid fundraiser for Tommy G. Thompson, ruminates in the publishing game these days.
The name of the game is Wispolitics Publishing, Inc., a corporation registered in Delaware that wasn't licensed to do business in Wisconsin from Dec. 1, 2005 to March 29, 2006, after its certificate to do business here was revoked, although reinstated in March 2006.
For a hefty fee, Prange's Wispolitics.com Stock Report subscribers receive Rising, Mixed and Falling spin cycles or opinions from the “political news service” presided over by Jeff Mayers.
If you don’t happen to be one of about 200 core subscribers such as WMC, WEAC and Wisconsin Realtors Association or drink with lobbyists in the Madison Club, you can read the Wispolitics.com Stock Report republished in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.
With the exception of a so-called Checkpoint Survey, occasional candidate interviews, some Joint Finance Committee and legislative coverage, an abundance of quotes and opinions, the blog posts political news stories from the mainstream media. Avoiding Milwaukee Business Journal stories, however, because “they’ve been crabby about posting their stuff in the past so we just stay away.”
Recent blog entries
The site seems to prefer giving Gov. Jim Doyle backhanded compliments: “But even some Republicans admit Doyle performed well and that his aggressive health-care coverage push could be initially popular until details and consequences sink in. Republicans say they aren't surprised by the governor's appetite for new proposals. But some chuckle at how hard and fast they say he moved left after winning a second term last fall by largely portraying himself as a moderate.”
Also in a recent Stock Report, Mayers claims that “Annette Ziegler, the conservative-leaning candidate for the state Supreme Court picks up a round of endorsements and sees some encouraging poll numbers. A poll commissioned by the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which is backing her campaign, finds respondents largely want a candidate for the state's highest court with previous experience as a judge and prefer her background to that of major opponent Linda Clifford, a Madison attorney.” No bias there. Is there?
Mostly bad news, at least to Prange’s and Mayers’ blog, is anything positive about the Public Defender's Office, BadgerCare, Department of Corrections and W-2.
However, the site is relatively predictable about piling on the caucus scandal figures Scott Jensen, Steve Foti and Sherry Schultz for example, by reminding subscribers they may owe court-ordered restitution for legal fees picked up by taxpayers.
The blog abetted putting a couple of Milwaukee schools in “bad spotlight” referring to a “melee” that broke out after the Bradley Tech's boys team defeated Bay View High School 82-81, even though the community is galvanized in its positive efforts to remedy the discord and prevent more negative publicity.
Meanwhile, Gateway Ventures, Inc. president Phil Prange is also the brother-in-law of federally indicted P. Nicholas Hurtgen, a top former Thompson aide and fund-raising adviser. But it is doubtful Prange will attend Hurtgen’s status conference Feb. 21 in United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois. No fundraising there.
Background info
http://www.smokinglobby.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1897
http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=101090
http://campaigns.berkeley.edu/speakers.htm
Names in the political news
Rick Wiley, former political director, Republican Party of Wisconsin, left RPW post to join Rudy Giuliani’s presidential exploratory committee
Rich Judge, political director, Democratic Party of Wisconsin http://mcbridemediamatters.blogspot.com/2006/01/doyle-campaign-manager-rich-judge-what.html
Former aide to now disgraced political figure Chuck Chvala, and now spinmeister Chris Micklos, senior strategist, Visuality http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/palmeri/commentary/micklos.htm
Jeff Mayers, president WisPolitics.com http://www.jeffmayers.com/bio.html
Steve Grand, co-founder, partner and President, Wilson Grand Communications http://www.electharris.org/news/Read.aspx?ID=40
Lance Walter, The Shop Consulting http://www.madison.com/wsj/caucus/index.php?ntid=6435&ntpid=74
Phil Prange, Gateway Ventures, Inc. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
Profound Political Satire
Dot.com political spinmeisters
Phil Prange, a paid fundraiser for Tommy G. Thompson, ruminates in the publishing game these days.
The name of the game is Wispolitics Publishing, Inc., a corporation registered in Delaware that wasn't licensed to do business in Wisconsin from Dec. 1, 2005 to March 29, 2006, after its certificate to do business here was revoked, although reinstated in March 2006.
For a hefty fee, Prange's Wispolitics.com Stock Report subscribers receive Rising, Mixed and Falling spin cycles or opinions from the “political news service” presided over by Jeff Mayers.
If you don’t happen to be one of about 200 core subscribers such as WMC, WEAC and Wisconsin Realtors Association or drink with lobbyists in the Madison Club, you can read the Wispolitics.com Stock Report republished in the Sunday edition of the Wisconsin State Journal.
With the exception of a so-called Checkpoint Survey, occasional candidate interviews, some Joint Finance Committee and legislative coverage, an abundance of quotes and opinions, the blog posts political news stories from the mainstream media. Avoiding Milwaukee Business Journal stories, however, because “they’ve been crabby about posting their stuff in the past so we just stay away.”
Recent blog entries
The site seems to prefer giving Gov. Jim Doyle backhanded compliments: “But even some Republicans admit Doyle performed well and that his aggressive health-care coverage push could be initially popular until details and consequences sink in. Republicans say they aren't surprised by the governor's appetite for new proposals. But some chuckle at how hard and fast they say he moved left after winning a second term last fall by largely portraying himself as a moderate.”
Also in a recent Stock Report, Mayers claims that “Annette Ziegler, the conservative-leaning candidate for the state Supreme Court picks up a round of endorsements and sees some encouraging poll numbers. A poll commissioned by the Wisconsin Realtors Association, which is backing her campaign, finds respondents largely want a candidate for the state's highest court with previous experience as a judge and prefer her background to that of major opponent Linda Clifford, a Madison attorney.” No bias there. Is there?
Mostly bad news, at least to Prange’s and Mayers’ blog, is anything positive about the Public Defender's Office, BadgerCare, Department of Corrections and W-2.
However, the site is relatively predictable about piling on the caucus scandal figures Scott Jensen, Steve Foti and Sherry Schultz for example, by reminding subscribers they may owe court-ordered restitution for legal fees picked up by taxpayers.
The blog abetted putting a couple of Milwaukee schools in “bad spotlight” referring to a “melee” that broke out after the Bradley Tech's boys team defeated Bay View High School 82-81, even though the community is galvanized in its positive efforts to remedy the discord and prevent more negative publicity.
Meanwhile, Gateway Ventures, Inc. president Phil Prange is also the brother-in-law of federally indicted P. Nicholas Hurtgen, a top former Thompson aide and fund-raising adviser. But it is doubtful Prange will attend Hurtgen’s status conference Feb. 21 in United States District Court, Northern District of Illinois. No fundraising there.
Background info
http://www.smokinglobby.com/modules.php?name=Forums&file=viewtopic&t=1897
http://www.madisonmagazine.com/article.php?section_id=918&xstate=view_story&story_id=101090
http://campaigns.berkeley.edu/speakers.htm
Names in the political news
Rick Wiley, former political director, Republican Party of Wisconsin, left RPW post to join Rudy Giuliani’s presidential exploratory committee
Rich Judge, political director, Democratic Party of Wisconsin http://mcbridemediamatters.blogspot.com/2006/01/doyle-campaign-manager-rich-judge-what.html
Former aide to now disgraced political figure Chuck Chvala, and now spinmeister Chris Micklos, senior strategist, Visuality http://www.uwosh.edu/faculty_staff/palmeri/commentary/micklos.htm
Jeff Mayers, president WisPolitics.com http://www.jeffmayers.com/bio.html
Steve Grand, co-founder, partner and President, Wilson Grand Communications http://www.electharris.org/news/Read.aspx?ID=40
Lance Walter, The Shop Consulting http://www.madison.com/wsj/caucus/index.php?ntid=6435&ntpid=74
Phil Prange, Gateway Ventures, Inc. http://www.opensecrets.org/lobbyists/firmsum.asp?txtname=Gateway+Ventures&year=2002
Profound Political Satire
Friday, February 09, 2007
Cashing in on the millions of dollars of faith-based federal largesse promoted by the extreme righteousness and blurred lines of separation of church and state by the Bush administration, the Religious Right was as prominent as the American Red Cross after Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans and Louisiana coastal regions.
Book Review on the necessity of separation of church and state:
http://www.pietyandpolitics.com/
Book Review on the necessity of separation of church and state:
http://www.pietyandpolitics.com/
Thursday, February 08, 2007
Moose Talk Radio
Live from the exclusive Madison Club - Just the Tip of the Ice Cube
Must be extraordinary for Tommy G. Thompson fund-raiser Phil Prange to be scurrying around handing out fliers asking supporters to pledge up to $200,000 to help catapult Thompson to the White House, while Prange's brother-in-law, Indicted wheeler-dealer Nick Hurtgen, has become a financial pariah and “the Jack Abramoff of Wisconsin politics.”
In May 2005 U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago charged Hurtgen with seven felonies for what authorities said was his role in a hospital kickback scheme. No trial date has been set, however, a status conference is scheduled in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois in federal Judge John Grady's courtroom Feb. 21.
Fudge night at the exclusive Madison Club hasn’t been the same since.
At least Prange paid his bill at McCullough Plumbing, after contesting it in court.
Meanwhile TGT has opened a campaign office in Iowa and is "beefing up his staff there."
http://www.tommy2008.com/
Live from the exclusive Madison Club - Just the Tip of the Ice Cube
Must be extraordinary for Tommy G. Thompson fund-raiser Phil Prange to be scurrying around handing out fliers asking supporters to pledge up to $200,000 to help catapult Thompson to the White House, while Prange's brother-in-law, Indicted wheeler-dealer Nick Hurtgen, has become a financial pariah and “the Jack Abramoff of Wisconsin politics.”
In May 2005 U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald in Chicago charged Hurtgen with seven felonies for what authorities said was his role in a hospital kickback scheme. No trial date has been set, however, a status conference is scheduled in the U.S. District Court, Northern District of Illinois in federal Judge John Grady's courtroom Feb. 21.
Fudge night at the exclusive Madison Club hasn’t been the same since.
At least Prange paid his bill at McCullough Plumbing, after contesting it in court.
Meanwhile TGT has opened a campaign office in Iowa and is "beefing up his staff there."
http://www.tommy2008.com/
State v. Jensen
In a 35-page legal brief filed Monday, a state prosecutor asked the court to affirm the conviction and sentence of Scott R. Jensen in State v. Jensen currently in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4, and that he is not entitled to a new trial.
The issues are the propriety of Dane County Circuit Judge Steven Ebert and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard’s "creative jury instruction" telling the jurors they must convict Jensen and the exclusion of the evidence supporting Jensen’s belief as to the legality of his conduct.
But the prosecution said the trial court “properly excluded” testimony from former legislative leaders Joe Strohl, Dave Prosser and portions of a "learned treatise" a book by Tom Loftus The Art of Legislative Politics as irrelevant and inadmissible. And “the jury instruction of the specific intent element did not contain or operate as a mandatory presumption, it was a correct statement of substantive law, it was not fundamentally flawed and it did not deprive Jensen of a fair trial.”
The brief was filed by Assistant Attorney General Sally Wellman.
Lawyers for Jensen – Robert Friebert, Matt O’Neill and Ryan Stoll - have a reply brief due Feb. 20 in appellate court.
Book review
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/wiacrev/wiacrev-idx?type=HTML&rgn=DIV2&byte=232430&q1=&q2=&q3=
In a 35-page legal brief filed Monday, a state prosecutor asked the court to affirm the conviction and sentence of Scott R. Jensen in State v. Jensen currently in the Wisconsin Court of Appeals District 4, and that he is not entitled to a new trial.
The issues are the propriety of Dane County Circuit Judge Steven Ebert and Dane County District Attorney Brian Blanchard’s "creative jury instruction" telling the jurors they must convict Jensen and the exclusion of the evidence supporting Jensen’s belief as to the legality of his conduct.
But the prosecution said the trial court “properly excluded” testimony from former legislative leaders Joe Strohl, Dave Prosser and portions of a "learned treatise" a book by Tom Loftus The Art of Legislative Politics as irrelevant and inadmissible. And “the jury instruction of the specific intent element did not contain or operate as a mandatory presumption, it was a correct statement of substantive law, it was not fundamentally flawed and it did not deprive Jensen of a fair trial.”
The brief was filed by Assistant Attorney General Sally Wellman.
Lawyers for Jensen – Robert Friebert, Matt O’Neill and Ryan Stoll - have a reply brief due Feb. 20 in appellate court.
Book review
http://digicoll.library.wisc.edu/cgi-bin/wiacrev/wiacrev-idx?type=HTML&rgn=DIV2&byte=232430&q1=&q2=&q3=
Wednesday, February 07, 2007
Bring back Neil Bush and the Silverado Savings & Loan
NEW YORK (Reuters) - President George W. Bush' President George W. Bush's uncle, William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, was part of a group of outside directors at a defense contractor who realized about $6 million in unauthorized pay from an options backdating scheme, according to U.S. securities investigators.
Silverado Savings & Loan
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A81085
http://www.answers.com/topic/neil-mallon-bush
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/25/bush.brother.reut/
NEW YORK (Reuters) - President George W. Bush' President George W. Bush's uncle, William H.T. "Bucky" Bush, was part of a group of outside directors at a defense contractor who realized about $6 million in unauthorized pay from an options backdating scheme, according to U.S. securities investigators.
Silverado Savings & Loan
http://www.austinchronicle.com/gyrobase/Issue/story?oid=oid%3A81085
http://www.answers.com/topic/neil-mallon-bush
http://www.cnn.com/2003/ALLPOLITICS/11/25/bush.brother.reut/
Guv disinclined to bar taverns from state smoke ban
Lobbyists, bar owners and rube politicians blow smoke rings forgetting about nasty lung cancer
Many of those hyping a tavern exemption from Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed statewide smoking ban – don’t smoke.
For example, Tavern League of Wisconsin executive director Pete Madland, who wants bars exempt from the smoking ban, is a nonsmoker.
Russ Decker, for some strange reason co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, videotaped on a police camcorder and who spends his fair share of time in bars while collecting per diem, is a nonsmoker. Yet, he opposes the guv’s proposed tax increase on cigarettes and ban on smoking in bars.
Another one who doesn’t light up is Madison tavern owner Dave Wiganowsky, rabid against smoking ordinances, no matter if it is a public health issue and people in Madison, Wauwatosa and Appleton appreciate clean air.
Still, the Capital Times gushes “The powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin, the lobbying arm for the state's 13,000 tavern owners, immediately came out against the ban on smoking in bars.”
Checkpoint: The Tavern League is a 5,000-member, non-profit trade association lobbying for the “retail beverage alcohol segment of the hospitality industry.” It lobbies and collects dues only from a fraction of the bars in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Restaurant Association
Career lobbyist Ed Lump for the restaurant group representing 3,000 food service businesses, said today that its board of directors voted recently to support Doyle's initiative for a statewide workplace ban that doesn't exempt bars.
Not one to quibble over a spilled bottle of French vino, John Kavanaugh, owner of the Esquire Club in Madison, said he saw his bar business go down when Madison enacted its smoking ban in 2005. While, at the same time, he saw more dining customers.
"I believe my smoking customers will come back for my steaks when they can no longer smoke at other restaurants or bars," Kavanaugh said in a statement.
The Cap Times started a sweeping, unfounded generalization Tuesday that Doyle said he would prefer a complete smoking ban, but might consider a tavern exemption if the ban was close to what he has proposed.
Lobbyists, bar owners and rube politicians blow smoke rings forgetting about nasty lung cancer
Many of those hyping a tavern exemption from Gov. Jim Doyle's proposed statewide smoking ban – don’t smoke.
For example, Tavern League of Wisconsin executive director Pete Madland, who wants bars exempt from the smoking ban, is a nonsmoker.
Russ Decker, for some strange reason co-chair of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, videotaped on a police camcorder and who spends his fair share of time in bars while collecting per diem, is a nonsmoker. Yet, he opposes the guv’s proposed tax increase on cigarettes and ban on smoking in bars.
Another one who doesn’t light up is Madison tavern owner Dave Wiganowsky, rabid against smoking ordinances, no matter if it is a public health issue and people in Madison, Wauwatosa and Appleton appreciate clean air.
Still, the Capital Times gushes “The powerful Tavern League of Wisconsin, the lobbying arm for the state's 13,000 tavern owners, immediately came out against the ban on smoking in bars.”
Checkpoint: The Tavern League is a 5,000-member, non-profit trade association lobbying for the “retail beverage alcohol segment of the hospitality industry.” It lobbies and collects dues only from a fraction of the bars in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin Restaurant Association
Career lobbyist Ed Lump for the restaurant group representing 3,000 food service businesses, said today that its board of directors voted recently to support Doyle's initiative for a statewide workplace ban that doesn't exempt bars.
Not one to quibble over a spilled bottle of French vino, John Kavanaugh, owner of the Esquire Club in Madison, said he saw his bar business go down when Madison enacted its smoking ban in 2005. While, at the same time, he saw more dining customers.
"I believe my smoking customers will come back for my steaks when they can no longer smoke at other restaurants or bars," Kavanaugh said in a statement.
The Cap Times started a sweeping, unfounded generalization Tuesday that Doyle said he would prefer a complete smoking ban, but might consider a tavern exemption if the ban was close to what he has proposed.
Monday, February 05, 2007
Contract with Whitehall
President Newt Gingrich
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43843
http://www.cafepress.com/nogop2008/1636419
Whitehall White House
Dubbed the “pompous” one, Newt Gingrich attends Mass at Saint John's Catholic Church in Whitehall, with his wife, who receives Holy Community, while Newt “sits in judgment in his pew.”
Newt bought a home in Whitehall. His wife is from there and she was valedictorian of the class of 1982-’83.
President Newt Gingrich
http://www.worldnetdaily.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=43843
http://www.cafepress.com/nogop2008/1636419
Whitehall White House
Dubbed the “pompous” one, Newt Gingrich attends Mass at Saint John's Catholic Church in Whitehall, with his wife, who receives Holy Community, while Newt “sits in judgment in his pew.”
Newt bought a home in Whitehall. His wife is from there and she was valedictorian of the class of 1982-’83.
Damage Control
"Chewbacca" arrested for head-butting in Hollywood
Recent news reports indicate that Wisconsin could become one of a handful of states allowing some 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections, under a bill introduced by Fred Risser, a dinosaur Madison lawmaker.
Switched at birth
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Juneau Republican, called the idea "ridiculous."
"I think it's crazy. It's ridiculous. Seventeen-year-olds are juveniles," Fitzgerald said. "The premise is flawed, and it makes absolutely no sense to me."
According to mainstream media, the bill is scheduled for a hearing Feb. 13 before the Senate Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs Committee. Rep. Terry Musser, a Black River Falls Republican, said he expects to sponsor the bill in the Assembly.
"If there's a 17-year-old who's that interested in voting, why not?" Musser said.
It's unclear exactly how many potential voters the bill would affect, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 81,270 17-year-olds in Wisconsin in 2005, the article said.
Just in time last session the state Legislature stopped short – not by much – in allowing eight-year-olds – third-graders - to carry guns. In a 79-19 vote by the state Assembly, a bill to lower the legal hunting age to 8 passed without much ado.
Also last session a former Wisconsin lawmaker figured if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.
The bill that went nowhere would have dropped the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers — but only if the federal government agreed not to discontinue an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.
A federal law ties federal highway dollars to compliance by the states with the required drinking age of 21.
And who can forget 1997 Wisconsin Act 100 that allows underage people in billiard centers where alcoholic beverages are sold.
Meanwhile far, far away in Dakar, according to Reuters - Child soldiers are still being recruited in at least 13 countries from Afghanistan to Uganda, 10 years after international guidelines were agreed to eradicate their use, a British-based charity said on Monday.
"Chewbacca" arrested for head-butting in Hollywood
Recent news reports indicate that Wisconsin could become one of a handful of states allowing some 17-year-olds to vote in primary elections, under a bill introduced by Fred Risser, a dinosaur Madison lawmaker.
Switched at birth
Senate Minority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, Juneau Republican, called the idea "ridiculous."
"I think it's crazy. It's ridiculous. Seventeen-year-olds are juveniles," Fitzgerald said. "The premise is flawed, and it makes absolutely no sense to me."
According to mainstream media, the bill is scheduled for a hearing Feb. 13 before the Senate Labor, Elections and Urban Affairs Committee. Rep. Terry Musser, a Black River Falls Republican, said he expects to sponsor the bill in the Assembly.
"If there's a 17-year-old who's that interested in voting, why not?" Musser said.
It's unclear exactly how many potential voters the bill would affect, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau. But according to the U.S. Census Bureau there were 81,270 17-year-olds in Wisconsin in 2005, the article said.
Just in time last session the state Legislature stopped short – not by much – in allowing eight-year-olds – third-graders - to carry guns. In a 79-19 vote by the state Assembly, a bill to lower the legal hunting age to 8 passed without much ado.
Also last session a former Wisconsin lawmaker figured if the U.S. military trusts 19-year-olds with a $10 million tank, then the state should trust them with a beer.
The bill that went nowhere would have dropped the drinking age to 19 for Wisconsin soldiers — but only if the federal government agreed not to discontinue an estimated $50 million a year in highway aid.
A federal law ties federal highway dollars to compliance by the states with the required drinking age of 21.
And who can forget 1997 Wisconsin Act 100 that allows underage people in billiard centers where alcoholic beverages are sold.
Meanwhile far, far away in Dakar, according to Reuters - Child soldiers are still being recruited in at least 13 countries from Afghanistan to Uganda, 10 years after international guidelines were agreed to eradicate their use, a British-based charity said on Monday.
How much more pompous can Pete Fox get?
"There is a concern that I have as a longtime professional journalist, that these publications in my opinion are not written and edited to the same professional standards that we see in the traditional published newspaper," said Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association trade group.
New daily news publication:
http://www.sunprairietoday.com/
As if Fox and his cronies are unfamiliar with a "Corrections and Amplifications" column. They just don't like upstarts vying for ad space.
http://www.frontpagemilwaukee.com/Home.aspx
"There is a concern that I have as a longtime professional journalist, that these publications in my opinion are not written and edited to the same professional standards that we see in the traditional published newspaper," said Peter Fox, executive director of the Wisconsin Newspaper Association trade group.
New daily news publication:
http://www.sunprairietoday.com/
As if Fox and his cronies are unfamiliar with a "Corrections and Amplifications" column. They just don't like upstarts vying for ad space.
http://www.frontpagemilwaukee.com/Home.aspx
Sunday, February 04, 2007
Scholz's Pretty Good Grocery and the Side Track Tap
According to a recent newspaper column, Republican influence peddler Brandon Scholz is shaking down politicians, community activists and lobbyists for a commuter rail line from Kenosha to Milwaukee.
Cary Spivak and Dan Bice seem to think the $250-per-hour fee for Scholz is excessive, considering Scholz’s efforts are worth a paltry $150 per hour on the Capitol Square.
But then again, Scholz is a lobbist for info tech, platinum cards, planes, trains and grocery shopping carts and not wheedling campaign contributions from political condidates and their benefactors who can’t say no to his demanding brand of fundraising that even some hardcore Republicans find offensive and try to avoid political disfavor.
Nametags in this railroad venture also include one for Barbara Ulichny, who, in 1990, paid $6,137 in fines and court costs after admitting accepting illegal gifts from lobbyist Gary Goyke. The case was settled in the courtroom of now retired Dane County Circuit Judge George Northup.
At the time, Goyke was fined $75,000 after pleading guilty to four felonies for laundering campaign contributions.
The ends justify the means in the lobbying biz and the lobbyists continue long after the politicians leave elected office.
Profound Political Satire
According to a recent newspaper column, Republican influence peddler Brandon Scholz is shaking down politicians, community activists and lobbyists for a commuter rail line from Kenosha to Milwaukee.
Cary Spivak and Dan Bice seem to think the $250-per-hour fee for Scholz is excessive, considering Scholz’s efforts are worth a paltry $150 per hour on the Capitol Square.
But then again, Scholz is a lobbist for info tech, platinum cards, planes, trains and grocery shopping carts and not wheedling campaign contributions from political condidates and their benefactors who can’t say no to his demanding brand of fundraising that even some hardcore Republicans find offensive and try to avoid political disfavor.
Nametags in this railroad venture also include one for Barbara Ulichny, who, in 1990, paid $6,137 in fines and court costs after admitting accepting illegal gifts from lobbyist Gary Goyke. The case was settled in the courtroom of now retired Dane County Circuit Judge George Northup.
At the time, Goyke was fined $75,000 after pleading guilty to four felonies for laundering campaign contributions.
The ends justify the means in the lobbying biz and the lobbyists continue long after the politicians leave elected office.
Profound Political Satire
Personal information theft unsolved mystery
Privacy and the protection of personnel records at risk
What's unseemly about this case is that a thief would single out a legislative staffer’s locker – presumably, a noisy racket breaking into a metal locker - take her car keys and then steal files from her car among hundreds of automobiles parked in the Princeton Club's lot?
It sounds like a fake crime in order for the person to preserve her job.
Assembly Chief Clerk Pat Fuller runs the clerk’s office like a military operation – referring to staffers by enlisted titles – so he and Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant (although no senators or Senate aides were supposedly affected by the theft of papers Wednesday from the car of the worker from the Legislature's human resources office) likely wouldn’t take the theft of personnel records lightly.
Why won’t the police release the worker's name? And why shouldn’t the worker be disciplined for her carelessness?
Social Security numbers from personal accounts of one-third of all Assembly members and 74 of their aides were stolen from the car of a legislative staff member, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Workers have since been ordered to not take records with personal information out of state offices again, said Marchant.
According to an e-mail obtained by the Journal Sentinel summarizing the incident sent by Joel Warnick, human resources manager for the Legislature, the aide took an Assembly personnel report out of her office, planning to work on it at her apartment that night.
On her way home, the 26-year-old stopped at the Princeton Club gym on Madison's east side, and her locker was among those broken into.
The thief stole the employee's keys, then broke into her car and took her purse, credit cards, cell phone and other items, including the report that included employee names and Social Security numbers, according to a Madison Police Department report.
The stolen state report listed people who were enrolled in a particular health insurance program, the Journal Sentinel said.
Did the employee work for the now defunct legislative caucuses?
Privacy and the protection of personnel records at risk
What's unseemly about this case is that a thief would single out a legislative staffer’s locker – presumably, a noisy racket breaking into a metal locker - take her car keys and then steal files from her car among hundreds of automobiles parked in the Princeton Club's lot?
It sounds like a fake crime in order for the person to preserve her job.
Assembly Chief Clerk Pat Fuller runs the clerk’s office like a military operation – referring to staffers by enlisted titles – so he and Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant (although no senators or Senate aides were supposedly affected by the theft of papers Wednesday from the car of the worker from the Legislature's human resources office) likely wouldn’t take the theft of personnel records lightly.
Why won’t the police release the worker's name? And why shouldn’t the worker be disciplined for her carelessness?
Social Security numbers from personal accounts of one-third of all Assembly members and 74 of their aides were stolen from the car of a legislative staff member, according to a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.
Workers have since been ordered to not take records with personal information out of state offices again, said Marchant.
According to an e-mail obtained by the Journal Sentinel summarizing the incident sent by Joel Warnick, human resources manager for the Legislature, the aide took an Assembly personnel report out of her office, planning to work on it at her apartment that night.
On her way home, the 26-year-old stopped at the Princeton Club gym on Madison's east side, and her locker was among those broken into.
The thief stole the employee's keys, then broke into her car and took her purse, credit cards, cell phone and other items, including the report that included employee names and Social Security numbers, according to a Madison Police Department report.
The stolen state report listed people who were enrolled in a particular health insurance program, the Journal Sentinel said.
Did the employee work for the now defunct legislative caucuses?
Saturday, February 03, 2007
State Data Insecurity Systems
Aide in the Legislature's human resources office should be identified for taking records with personal information out of state offices
According to an e-mail (obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) summarizing the incident sent by Joel Warnick, human resources manager for the Legislature (formerly the Legislature's chief payroll officer paid $79,104), papers with Social Security numbers were stolen from the car of a legislative staff aide who took an Assembly personnel report out of her office, planning to work on it at her apartment that night.
On her way home, the unnamed 26-year-old stopped at the Princeton Club gym on Madison's east side, and her locker was among those broken into.
The thief stole the employee's keys, then broke into her car and took her purse, credit cards, cell phone and other items, including the report that included employee names and Social Security numbers, according to a Madison Police Department report, the Journal Sentinel said.
Why wouldn’t the police release the worker's name?
Are there explanations why Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant or Assembly Chief Clerk Pat Fuller don’t keep closer tabs on personnel files?
Does Dee Hall know about this cheap and tawdry breech of security?
Aide in the Legislature's human resources office should be identified for taking records with personal information out of state offices
According to an e-mail (obtained by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel) summarizing the incident sent by Joel Warnick, human resources manager for the Legislature (formerly the Legislature's chief payroll officer paid $79,104), papers with Social Security numbers were stolen from the car of a legislative staff aide who took an Assembly personnel report out of her office, planning to work on it at her apartment that night.
On her way home, the unnamed 26-year-old stopped at the Princeton Club gym on Madison's east side, and her locker was among those broken into.
The thief stole the employee's keys, then broke into her car and took her purse, credit cards, cell phone and other items, including the report that included employee names and Social Security numbers, according to a Madison Police Department report, the Journal Sentinel said.
Why wouldn’t the police release the worker's name?
Are there explanations why Senate Chief Clerk Rob Marchant or Assembly Chief Clerk Pat Fuller don’t keep closer tabs on personnel files?
Does Dee Hall know about this cheap and tawdry breech of security?
$88 a Day
Cold sends homeless to shelters, but stowing away per diem pay doesn’t nag lawmakers
A dozen state lawmakers received more than $146,520 for lodging, booze and chow expenses last year for days they were in Madison, records show
Snarlin’ Marlin Schneider who hasn’t visited Wisconsin Rapids in 37 years, and Roger Breske, the lightweight from Eland, are once again big $88 a day wieners last year for collecting on tax-free per diem payments ($44 for Dane County legislators), which was in addition to their annual salaries of $45,469 (although lawmakers’ salaries increased to $47,413 this year).
Breske was in the Inn on the Park on unofficial business 155 days last year, earning him $13,640; Schneider, residing in Madison, 143 days for a total of $12,584 in per diem.
Neither politician had leadership roles.
Other mostly ridiculously short commute per diem winners were:
Neal Kedzie, $12,144; Tim Carpenter, $11,880; Scott Fitzgerald, Judy Robson and Russ Decker, recorded on police camcorder, $11,792 each. Gregg Underheim, who is no longer in the Assembly, $12,936; Steve Freese, who voters decided should join the circus, $12,672; Jeff Fitzgerald, $12,056; Frank Lasee, $11,704, and Terry Musser, $11,528.
These lawmakers and their colleagues earned the per diem payments because they can.
Per diems are paid for every day of the week - even though most weeks, lawmakers arrive late Monday afternoon and leave early Thursday morning.
Wisconsin has 132 legislators on the dole; 33 in the Senate and 99 in the Assembly and many lawmakers you will see bragging about collecting per diem.
Cold sends homeless to shelters, but stowing away per diem pay doesn’t nag lawmakers
A dozen state lawmakers received more than $146,520 for lodging, booze and chow expenses last year for days they were in Madison, records show
Snarlin’ Marlin Schneider who hasn’t visited Wisconsin Rapids in 37 years, and Roger Breske, the lightweight from Eland, are once again big $88 a day wieners last year for collecting on tax-free per diem payments ($44 for Dane County legislators), which was in addition to their annual salaries of $45,469 (although lawmakers’ salaries increased to $47,413 this year).
Breske was in the Inn on the Park on unofficial business 155 days last year, earning him $13,640; Schneider, residing in Madison, 143 days for a total of $12,584 in per diem.
Neither politician had leadership roles.
Other mostly ridiculously short commute per diem winners were:
Neal Kedzie, $12,144; Tim Carpenter, $11,880; Scott Fitzgerald, Judy Robson and Russ Decker, recorded on police camcorder, $11,792 each. Gregg Underheim, who is no longer in the Assembly, $12,936; Steve Freese, who voters decided should join the circus, $12,672; Jeff Fitzgerald, $12,056; Frank Lasee, $11,704, and Terry Musser, $11,528.
These lawmakers and their colleagues earned the per diem payments because they can.
Per diems are paid for every day of the week - even though most weeks, lawmakers arrive late Monday afternoon and leave early Thursday morning.
Wisconsin has 132 legislators on the dole; 33 in the Senate and 99 in the Assembly and many lawmakers you will see bragging about collecting per diem.
Friday, February 02, 2007
Cash Crops to run the Hoopie
Takes a Big Bite Out of Enchiladas
State Sen. Mary Lazich, a New Berlin Republican, can’t be too popular with George W. Bush and Dale Schultz these days for blaming the growing of cash crops for ethanol production on food shortages in Mexico.
She explained the connection this way: The effects have been devastating, especially in Mexico with a society, culture, and way of life dominated by the tortilla. Tortillas make up 40 percent of the diet for poor Mexicans, and with corn prices quadrupling in Mexico since last summer, Mexico is suffering through its worst tortilla crisis.
Exorbitant tortilla costs created by the buzz about ethanol have left few alternatives in Mexico. Mexicans who can afford food are bypassing tortillas for options that are less healthy, so they are gaining weight. The poor are eating less, eating less healthy, or going hungry.
There are many concerns about ethanol, its effect on world hunger being the latest.
Lazich historically noted that she made the Senate motion on March 9, 2006, that killed a bill to mandate the sale of gasoline in Wisconsin that contained 10% ethanol.
President George W. Bush asked the U.S. Congress recently to set a goal of reducing American gasoline consumption by 20 percent over 10 years, mostly through a nearly five-fold increase in use of home-grown fuels like ethanol by 2017.
Schultz of Richland Center announced a bill on Jan. 5 that would require 10 percent of all motor vehicle fuel sold in Wisconsin to be renewable fuel, such as biodiesel and ethanol. A group of Midwestern U.S. senators also introduced legislation that would require the United States to use 60 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel per year by 2030, which is 12 times more than the U.S. currently consumes and would represent about 25 percent of total U.S. consumption.
Corn and soybeans are staples of Wisconsin agriculture. Corn is the major feedstock for ethanol production, and soybean oil is the primary feedstock for biodiesel production.
Takes a Big Bite Out of Enchiladas
State Sen. Mary Lazich, a New Berlin Republican, can’t be too popular with George W. Bush and Dale Schultz these days for blaming the growing of cash crops for ethanol production on food shortages in Mexico.
She explained the connection this way: The effects have been devastating, especially in Mexico with a society, culture, and way of life dominated by the tortilla. Tortillas make up 40 percent of the diet for poor Mexicans, and with corn prices quadrupling in Mexico since last summer, Mexico is suffering through its worst tortilla crisis.
Exorbitant tortilla costs created by the buzz about ethanol have left few alternatives in Mexico. Mexicans who can afford food are bypassing tortillas for options that are less healthy, so they are gaining weight. The poor are eating less, eating less healthy, or going hungry.
There are many concerns about ethanol, its effect on world hunger being the latest.
Lazich historically noted that she made the Senate motion on March 9, 2006, that killed a bill to mandate the sale of gasoline in Wisconsin that contained 10% ethanol.
President George W. Bush asked the U.S. Congress recently to set a goal of reducing American gasoline consumption by 20 percent over 10 years, mostly through a nearly five-fold increase in use of home-grown fuels like ethanol by 2017.
Schultz of Richland Center announced a bill on Jan. 5 that would require 10 percent of all motor vehicle fuel sold in Wisconsin to be renewable fuel, such as biodiesel and ethanol. A group of Midwestern U.S. senators also introduced legislation that would require the United States to use 60 billion gallons of ethanol and biodiesel per year by 2030, which is 12 times more than the U.S. currently consumes and would represent about 25 percent of total U.S. consumption.
Corn and soybeans are staples of Wisconsin agriculture. Corn is the major feedstock for ethanol production, and soybean oil is the primary feedstock for biodiesel production.
Bull Moose Ticket
Live from the exclusive Madison Club
While denizens of the lobbying industry tonight hunkered down with watered down drinks and cheap beer from the lower level bar dispensary in the exclusive Madison Club, they mused over the job security of Roth Judd, Jonathan Becker, Kevin Kennedy and George Dunst in Senate Bill 1 that Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law. The predictable bar crowd also extrapolated a couple possible explanations for the delays in the feds' case against Nick Hurtgen.
In complex cases with tons of discovery material, federal courts throughout the country will give delays to allow the defense to analyze the material and bring the necessary motions.
Another reason is that the defendants are cooperating and the feds are putting other cases together. In other words, they don't want to have these guys sentenced before they finish cooperating and testifying against others.
Hurtgen, John Glennon and Jacob Kiferbaum are scheduled for a status conference in Judge John Grady's courtroom Feb. 21.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Live from the exclusive Madison Club
While denizens of the lobbying industry tonight hunkered down with watered down drinks and cheap beer from the lower level bar dispensary in the exclusive Madison Club, they mused over the job security of Roth Judd, Jonathan Becker, Kevin Kennedy and George Dunst in Senate Bill 1 that Gov. Jim Doyle signed into law. The predictable bar crowd also extrapolated a couple possible explanations for the delays in the feds' case against Nick Hurtgen.
In complex cases with tons of discovery material, federal courts throughout the country will give delays to allow the defense to analyze the material and bring the necessary motions.
Another reason is that the defendants are cooperating and the feds are putting other cases together. In other words, they don't want to have these guys sentenced before they finish cooperating and testifying against others.
Hurtgen, John Glennon and Jacob Kiferbaum are scheduled for a status conference in Judge John Grady's courtroom Feb. 21.
Stay tuned for further developments.
Gov. Doyle’s Proposed Statewide Smoking Ban
Today we're more aware of how bad smoking is for our health
After overserving Oscar Mayer hot dogs, bologna and bacon makers for 26 years, Dave Wiganowsky, co-owner of Wiggies in Madison, an outspoken opponent and poster child against the city's smoking ban is telling the popular press that the public health law is the end of his American Dream.
He’s also upset because his competition, Jerry's Place, 601 N. Fair Oaks Ave., a Blooming Grove bar, serves his lost customers.
Since Wiggie has difficulty drawing in a new crowd why doesn’t he offer something different to attract new customers? Kavanaugh’s Esquire Club, 1025 N. Sherman Ave. does a land-office business.
Gov. Jim Doyle has said that a statewide smoking ban would solve many of the problems that arose from local bans, such as Madison's, Appleton’s and Wauwatosa’s, which allow for patrons who want to smoke to go to bars in neighboring communities.
At least that’s the party line you hear from outstate legislators that smoke in their state Capitol offices and dislike going outside a bar to smoke while they’re in town collecting $88 a day.
Doyle’s proposal depends of what version of a ban on smoking in public places - including workplaces, bars, and restaurants that passes the state Senate and Assembly.
Tavern League of Wisconsin director Pete Madland, a nonsmoker, said his group supports a statewide policy on smoking, but wants to see an exemption made for bars and taverns. Much like it was in Madison before the smoking ban there.
Madland said: "A ban would put another nail in their coffins." Ironically, that hackneyed expression is attributable to smoking that puts the health of friends and family at risk.
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights now count 22 states and 577 municipalities with smoke-free laws, and 50.2 percent of Americans now live in areas that have smoking-bans.
Today we're more aware of how bad smoking is for our health
After overserving Oscar Mayer hot dogs, bologna and bacon makers for 26 years, Dave Wiganowsky, co-owner of Wiggies in Madison, an outspoken opponent and poster child against the city's smoking ban is telling the popular press that the public health law is the end of his American Dream.
He’s also upset because his competition, Jerry's Place, 601 N. Fair Oaks Ave., a Blooming Grove bar, serves his lost customers.
Since Wiggie has difficulty drawing in a new crowd why doesn’t he offer something different to attract new customers? Kavanaugh’s Esquire Club, 1025 N. Sherman Ave. does a land-office business.
Gov. Jim Doyle has said that a statewide smoking ban would solve many of the problems that arose from local bans, such as Madison's, Appleton’s and Wauwatosa’s, which allow for patrons who want to smoke to go to bars in neighboring communities.
At least that’s the party line you hear from outstate legislators that smoke in their state Capitol offices and dislike going outside a bar to smoke while they’re in town collecting $88 a day.
Doyle’s proposal depends of what version of a ban on smoking in public places - including workplaces, bars, and restaurants that passes the state Senate and Assembly.
Tavern League of Wisconsin director Pete Madland, a nonsmoker, said his group supports a statewide policy on smoking, but wants to see an exemption made for bars and taverns. Much like it was in Madison before the smoking ban there.
Madland said: "A ban would put another nail in their coffins." Ironically, that hackneyed expression is attributable to smoking that puts the health of friends and family at risk.
Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights now count 22 states and 577 municipalities with smoke-free laws, and 50.2 percent of Americans now live in areas that have smoking-bans.
Thursday, February 01, 2007
Enchilada Chronicles
Much touted ethics reform measure much ado about nothing. No wonder Steve Freese got a job so quickly with Barnum and Bailey after being outsted from the statehouse: He probably listed circus experience on his resume.
On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does.
-Will Rogers
The people are to be taken in very small doses.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
Much touted ethics reform measure much ado about nothing. No wonder Steve Freese got a job so quickly with Barnum and Bailey after being outsted from the statehouse: He probably listed circus experience on his resume.
On account of being a democracy and run by the people, we are the only nation in the world that has to keep a government four years, no matter what it does.
-Will Rogers
The people are to be taken in very small doses.
-Ralph Waldo Emerson
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