Uppity Wisconsin
Making Wisconsin Progressive Again
Earmarks No Good? Tell That to Janesville
Fri, 03/13/2009 - 9:12am | mal contends
Update: Mike Madden in Salon - "President Obama urges pork reform and signs a bill with earmarks in it on the same day. Republicans make an unconvincing show of outrage."
From today's State Journal: "U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl D-Wis., added $951,000 to the federal Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Black hawk Technical College to provide job training and placement services for former employees of General Motors in Janesville and it supplier companies."
The horror ... because the job training and placement services are an earmark, according to Wisconsin's Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Middleton) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) and of-course the ever-foolish John McCain.
Reads Feingold's statement:
From today's State Journal: "U.S. Sen. Herb Kohl D-Wis., added $951,000 to the federal Omnibus Appropriations Bill for Black hawk Technical College to provide job training and placement services for former employees of General Motors in Janesville and it supplier companies."
The horror ... because the job training and placement services are an earmark, according to Wisconsin's Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Middleton) and Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville) and of-course the ever-foolish John McCain.
Reads Feingold's statement:
Tags: McCain's Nuts, Feingold and Ryan Following
Fri, 03/06/2009 - 2:50pm | mal contends
Update: Herbert: "Freaking out over earmarks is like watching a neighborhood that is being consumed by flames and complaining that there is crabgrass on some of the lawns."
Sen. John McCain is like a man on the Titanic complaining to the bartender that there’s not enough vodka in his drink as outside the iceberg approaches.
Reads a fundraising e-mail from McCain complaining about “pork” in a big spending bill (now blocked by Republicans threatening a filibuster in the U.S. Senate) as McCain seeks reelection in 2010:
Sen. John McCain is like a man on the Titanic complaining to the bartender that there’s not enough vodka in his drink as outside the iceberg approaches.
Reads a fundraising e-mail from McCain complaining about “pork” in a big spending bill (now blocked by Republicans threatening a filibuster in the U.S. Senate) as McCain seeks reelection in 2010:
My Friend, … I have called on the President to take a principled stand and veto the bill if it is sent to him, but unfortunately, he appears ready to sign it into law, which is nothing more than politics as usual.
Kill the filibuster
Fri, 12/12/2008 - 8:19am | mal contends
Update III: History of the Filibuster and Cloture - Great for those who seem believe that we just cannot survive without this relic from the 1850s.
Update II: Thank you William Greider: Stop Senator No, Senate Dems should disable the rule that gives Mitch McConnell a virtual veto over anything he wants to kill. Advocating the filibuster defies reason.
Update: Bush is acting now, good for him.
The take-away from last night is: Kill the filibuster.
At this moment when a depression is facing the American people on the heels of two historic elections and Democrats' huge majorities in the House and Senate, are we going to let the antiquated filibuster halt needed legislation next session?
Southern Republican senators [Bush seems to be a non-actor] would throw the country into a depression to lower the wages of workers and break unions.
Union Busting Writ Large
Thu, 11/20/2008 - 8:24am | mal contends
As America enters what is feared to be a long and deep recession, one question is whether we save or let fade our auto industry.
The GOP has long been hostile to the auto industry's unions so any union-busting opportunity not used is a wasted opportunity, in their view: Let 'em crash, millions of jobs lost, so what?
House Republicans sitting in their fantasy world spouting free market bromides are capable of anything.
But does anyone believe that saving the millions of jobs that depend on the domestic auto industry is not in itself sufficient cause to act?
The new Congress and President will act, and Republicans as a Party opposing comprehensive measures will find themselves by the political wayside very quickly.
The economy will be geared toward establishing a middle class and raising families by this new administration.
Health care reform and the whole array of initiatives addressing the concerns of real people will become policy next year, and the Republicans will scream while they lose a generation or two of voters who will see the results.
Autoworkers and All Americans Are Worth Subsidizing
Sun, 10/26/2008 - 3:29pm | mal contends
Excellent piece in the New York Times Sunday on the disaster of General Motors and its workers brings to the fore several questions.
- Should the United States government help American companies like GM by subsidizing the health insurance of employees?
- Should the government reward innovations that benefit the national war effort for the environment and alternative energy?
Sure, we have not yet declared war for a sustainable environment and the development of alternative energy; most of our domestic wars are ostensibly waged against something: Drugs and so forth.
How about a war for the environment and alternative energy? For full employment?
The 2,700-word piece illustrates well the desperation of and passion working people have for: Working.
- Should the United States government help American companies like GM by subsidizing the health insurance of employees?
- Should the government reward innovations that benefit the national war effort for the environment and alternative energy?
Sure, we have not yet declared war for a sustainable environment and the development of alternative energy; most of our domestic wars are ostensibly waged against something: Drugs and so forth.
How about a war for the environment and alternative energy? For full employment?
The 2,700-word piece illustrates well the desperation of and passion working people have for: Working.
Said ... Andy Richardson, who recently took office as the new president of (UAW) Local 95. 'If G.M. wants to build lawn chairs in Janesville, we’ll do it,' he said.
The Old Man and the She
Sat, 08/30/2008 - 8:01am | mal contends
Update: Most observers mention Palin’s less-than-two-year administration of Alaska's National Guard as a sardonic reference to her stunning lack of credentials to become commander-in-chief, but not Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Janesville); Ryan hypes it.
Said Ryan in a statement: "As the head of Alaska's National Guard and mother of a soldier she understands the importance of supporting our brave men and women in uniform. … I look forward to giving everything I've got to help the McCain-Palin team win in Wisconsin, so they can bring the right kind of change to Washington." (MJS, Aug. 29, 2008) The GOP looks like some desperate dudes. Can you imagine any Democratic nominee for president or vice-president touting his/her credentials by pointing to heading the Alaska National Guard for less than two years?
Said Ryan in a statement: "As the head of Alaska's National Guard and mother of a soldier she understands the importance of supporting our brave men and women in uniform. … I look forward to giving everything I've got to help the McCain-Palin team win in Wisconsin, so they can bring the right kind of change to Washington." (MJS, Aug. 29, 2008) The GOP looks like some desperate dudes. Can you imagine any Democratic nominee for president or vice-president touting his/her credentials by pointing to heading the Alaska National Guard for less than two years?
Like a modern-day Santiago, the politically ailing John McCain battles the titanic forces of Barack Obama and spears his GOP the largest catch of his political life: The great marlin in the form of Governor Sarah Palin.
Obama's Reaching White Wisc Men, Hillary Attacks
Sat, 02/16/2008 - 7:35am | mal contends
Much of what one hears in campaigns is anecdotal.
After hearing something over and over, a pattern emerges. Such is Obama’s appeal to the white male demographic, especially here in Wisconsin.
A source said that two male “red necks” listened to Obama at a Janesville GM plant on Wednesday, and walked away vowing to vote for him. This cross-over appeal looks to deliver a victory to Obama here on Tuesday.
Should that victory be something near 10 points, the talk of a Clinton campaign near death will amplify across the nation.
"If Obama is able to win by double digits, a significant win, it could be a very serious blow to her chances in other states," Feingold said in an interview. "If she keeps it close or by some chance wins, it could be a platform for another revival and be a real boost." (Craig Gilbert, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel)
Hillary Attacks