Middle Wisconsin News - November 2012

7/31/2019 Middle Wisconsin News - November 2012

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Information Technology SolutionsMiddle WisconsinNews

A FACT-DRIVEN VOICE FOR

MIDDLE WISCONSIN VIEWS

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE

FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

No ve m b e r 1 , 2 0 1

Editors Note ........................1

George McGovern ................1

Working Wisconsin ..............2

Greed & Debt .......................3

Pro Life? ..4

Tax Pledge Cult ....................5

Land Line Free Market .......6

Bain & Sensata .....................7

Paul Ryan & Ayn Rand .........8

Things to Know .....................9

Kreitlow vs. Duffy ................10

Spaceship Earth .................11

From Third to First ..............12

Wealth & Money .................13

Challenging the Myth ..........14

2012 Midd le Wiscons in

IN THIS ISSUE:

www.M id d le Wisco n s in . co m

Faith and Hope

Its November in Wisconsin. The leaves are down, and

the forests have taken on the quiet, stark beauty that

comes with the end of the growing season.

While November is a me for giving thanks, it is also

a me when we rearm our faith and hope that the

coming winter will once again usher in the spring. This

same faith and hope is expressed in the words of the

late Senator George McGovern in our opening arcle, and this same spirit of faith and

hope is at the heart of all the valiant eorts being made in the progressive movement.

As always, we encourage you to forward this newsleer to others. In joining together,we become stronger.

,

Middle Wisconsin News

welcomes leers, arcles and

essays on relevant topics. We

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to 800 words and provide

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Submissions may be edited for

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Former Senator and presidential candidate George McGoverndied early Sunday morning, October 21, at a hospice inSioux Falls, South Dakota.

In a tribute to Senator McGovern, here is an excerpt from his1972 Democratic convention speech:

It is the time for this land to become again a witness to the world

for what is just and noble in human affairs.

It is time to live more with faith and less with fear,

with an abiding conidence that can sweep away

the strongest barriers between usand teach us that we are truly brothers and sisters.

Deliver us from secrecy and deception in high places;

Deliver us from military spending so wasteful that it weakens our nation;

Deliver us from the entrenchment of special privileges in tax favoritism.

Come home to the afirmation that we have a dream.

Come home to the conviction that we can move our country forward.

George McGovernBy Virginia Kirsch Wausau

George McGovern

(19222012)


2/14

In 2010, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election

Commission in which the Court held that the First Amendment prohibited the govern-

ment from restricting independent political expenditures by corporations and unions

The aftermath that ensued was an onslaught of corporate money into the political pro

cess the likes of which have never been seen before in this

country. As Willard (Mitt) Romney so famously stated in a

stump speech to a heckler Corporations are people, my friend.

It is the beginning of the demise of our democracy

a government that is controlled by corporate interests.

So why is John Spiegelhoff, a labor activist advocating forthe repeal ofCitizens United when unions are impacted as

well? The answer is simple. There has and always will be a

wealth disparity between the corporations and labor

unions, much less any worker for that matter. The

playing ield is not evennot one iota. Historically, labor unions have been the last

bulwark against corporate domination in the United States. They are the great equalizer.

Labor unions maintain the scales of economic justice for all workers.

When placed in perspective, we (workers) are many, and they (corporations) are few

Before the advent ofCitizens United, there were limits on what persons could contrib-

ute to a campaign or political party. CORPORATIONS ARE NOT PEOPLE. Never havebeen and never will be. The whole concept that they are is ludicrous.

A constitutional amendment repealing Citizens Unitedputs the brakes on

corporate power and domination in our political system. Individuals are free to

contribute to a political party or candidate, but there is a limit. There is no collective

pooling of money and hiding said money through misleading names such as

Americans for Apple Pie. There are more of us (workers) than them (corporations)

when we decide to inancially contribute to a political party/candidate with limita-

tions. Then justice will be served and balance restored.

Middle Wisconsin NewsNo ve m b e r 1 , 2 0

Pa g e

These are the mes

for real choices and

not false ones. We are

at the moment when

our lives must beplaced on the line if

our naon is to survive

its own folly. Every

man of humane con-

vicons must decide

on the protest that

best suits his convic-

ons, but we must all

protest.

ReverandMarn Luther

King, Jr.

2012Midd le Wiscons in

Working Wisconsin Labor News & Views

By John Spiegelhoff Merrill

The Case for a Constitutional Amendment

to Repeal Citizens United

The inherent power of the people is more than enough to turn the de if

people realize what's at stake and that they've got the power, with trade

unions and environmental groups and consumer groups, to prevail and win.So that we have global cooperaon with the maximum of democracy, a

respect for local instuons and community iniaves, instead of these mega-

corporaons that are strategizing and lobbying to control our world.

Ralph Nader

Corporaons are

people, my friend.


3/14

In his article in RollingStone Magazine, Greed and Debt:The True Story of Romney and Bain Capital, investiga-tive reporter Matt Taibbi explains how Mitt Romneybecame fantastically rich. While Romney portrays hisrole at Bain as helping other businesses create jobs,Taibbi points out that midway in his career at Bain, Rom-ney switched from creating venture capital companieslike Staples to leveraged buyouts. Romney noted the rea-son for the switch: Theres a lot greater risk in a startupthan there is in acquiring an existing company.

Romney/Bain selected a struggling target company, put down a small amount of its

own money, borrowed the resttypically 60 to 90%then used borrowed moneyto purchase a controlling stake in the target company. Hostile takeovers wereavoided by buying off the target companys management with lucrative bonuses.What most voters dont know is that when Bain borrowed all that money, the targetcompany ended up liable for the debt.

For example, Bain bought Indiana-based American Pad & Paper (Ampad) in 1992 for$5 million, financing the rest of the deal with debt. Within 3 years, Ampad was paying$60 million in annual debt payments plus $7 million for Bains management fees. Ayear later, Bain led Ampad to go public, cashed out about $50 million in stock andcharged the firm $7 million in management fees.Ampad went bankrupt, butRomney/Bain made more than $100 million on a $5 million investment.

Taibbi notes present tax policies already unfairly favor Romney/Bain. Bain deductsthe interest on debt used to acquire and loot their targets, the same mortgage inter-est deduction homeowners use. Romneys personal income is taxed at a maximumof 15% as capital gains or carried interest. Romney takes advantage of offshoretax havens in the Cayman Islands, and his wife has a $3 million Swiss bank account.

Taibbi points out the irony in Mitts harping on the size of the national debt whileRomney became so wealthy as one of the greatest and most irresponsible debtcreators of all time . . . . [Romney has] piled more debt onto more unsuspectingcompanies [and] written more gigantic checks that other people have tocover, than perhaps all but a handful of people on planet Earth.

In earlier times, people like Mitts dad, George Romney, got rich running business-es like AMC, but George paid his fair share of taxes and the wealth was shared withworkers who manufactured something. Mitt got rich by borrowing vast sums ofmoney that other people were forced to pay back, rarely losing any money regard-less of whether the target survived or went bankrupt or how many workers lostjobs. No wonder presidential candidate George Romney shared 12 years of his taxreturns with the electorate, but his son Mitt refuses to reveal his.

Be assured billionaires the likes ofSheldon Adelson and the Koch Brothers willmake billions more on investments of hundreds of millions in ads to elect Rom-ney and Republicans. They know that, when elected, their cronies will pass legisla-

tion that favors the rich at the expense of everyone else.


Pa g e

These are myths,

yet they are widely

believed in certaincircles. Poor people

are poor by choice.A

classic myth. A rising

de lis all boats.

Much more true when

we were an industrial

society and manufac-

turing products creat-

ed jobs. Much less true

when the economicde is one of nance

and money manipula-

on which lis the

gilded yachts but not

the rowboats of the

rest of us. Jobs are not

created when crackpot

nancial schemes

make hedge fund

managers rich.

Thus, a myth.

Gary Hart

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.html


By Jeanne Larson Phillips

Greed & Debt
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.htmlhttp://www.huffingtonpost.com/gary-hart/myth-and-its-dangers_b_1946636.html


4/14

Information Technology Solutions

What does it mean to be pro-life? Here are some food for thought questions.Is it pro-life:

That millions of pregnant mothers in the U.S. do not have health insuranceand pre-natal care?

That millions of children, once born, do not have health insurance?

That millions of people, including children, were once denied healthinsurance because of a pre-existing condition and/or had their insurancecapped because of a serious illness?

That 45,000 people die each year because they dont have health insuranc

TheAffordable Care Actsigned into law by PresidentBarack Obama will assure coverage for most Americans, and yetMitt Romney has stated he will repeal this legisla-tion. Under Romneys plan, 72 million people would be unable to obtain insurance, anhe will make it harder for 129 million Americans with pre-existing conditions to getcoverage. Out-of-pocket spending and premiums would increase. This plan would beparticularly tough for low-income people or people living in poverty who would be coered under Medicaid. Romney/Ryan would cut Medicaid funding. Romney has statedthat people without insurance should go to the emergency room. Is this pro-life?

Millions of people, many of them children, go hungry each day. Paul Ryans budget cafor billions of dollars in cuts for SNAP, the food stamp program, and many other pro-

grams that assist children, the poor and working poor, and the middle classall whilegiving the wealthiest Americans a tax break of at least $250,000 a year. Is this a visionof pro-life?

4,486 U.S. soldiers died in Iraq between 2003 and 2012, and 31,928 have been wounded. The war in Iraq will cost over $1 trillion. Unlike previous wars, the wars in Iraq anAfghanistan are paid entirely by debt. The Center for Budget and Policy Priorities esmates the costs of the wars and the Bush tax cuts will account for almost one-half of thprojected $20 trillion in debt in 2019. Is it pro-life to send men and women to war, es-pecially in Iraq, using faulty intelligence and false pretenses?

How will you vote pro-life on November 6th?

Sources: Wikipedia; U.S. News and World Report; Think Progress; N


Pa g e

2012Middle Wisconsin

Pro-Life?By Joyce Luedke Hayward

What dierence

does it make to the

dead, the orphans

and the homeless,

whether the mad

destrucon is wrought

under the name of

totalitarianism or the

holy name of liberty

or democracy?

Gandhi

I do not believe that just because youre

opposed to aboron, that makes you pro-

life. In fact, I think in many cases, your

morality is deeply lacking if all you want is

a child born, but not a child fed, not a child

educated, not a child housed. And why

would I think you dont? Because you dont want any tax money to go there.

Thats not pro-life. Thats pro-birth. We need a much broader conversaon

on what the morality of pro-life is.

Sister Joan Chister, Benedicne nun


5/14


Pa g e

For a complete list of

Tax Pledge

cult members,

see:

hp://s3.amazonaws.com/

atrles/les/les/072911-

federalpledgesigners.pdf

When plunder

becomes a way of life

for a group of men

living in society, they

create for themselves,

in the course of me,

a legal system that

authorizes it and a

moral code that

glories it.

Frederic BasatFrench writer &economist, 1850


I pledge allegiance to the flag of th

Wall Street Lords of America

and to the Predator Class

for which they stand

subjugated masses under domination

with liberty and justice for the fit.

Missionaries for the Lords of Wall Street

In regards to pregnancies resulting from rape:

From what I understand from doctors, thats

really rare. If its a legimate rape, the female body

has ways to try to shut that whole thing down.

The Grover Norquist

Tax Pledge Cult

August 2012 Featured Cult Members

These are the men and women who have

placed allegiance to an ideology above theirallegiance to the people of Americawhohave placed ideology above truth and intelli-gence. No matter how it harms America,these individuals refuse to ask the very richand corporations to pay their fair share.

Indeed, it is the goal of the SupremeLeader of this Cult, Grover Norquist,to destroy our governmentor, as hephrased it, To drown it in a bathtub.This is the respect these men and women

have for the hope of humanity for America once the shining light of democracy.Drown it in a bathtub.

Life is that gi from God. And, I think,

even when life begins in that horrible

situaon of rape, that it is something

that God intended to happen.

Republican U.S. Senate Candidate

Richard Mourdock of Indiana

Republican U.S. Senate CandidateTodd Akin of Missouri
http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdfhttp://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdf


6/14


Imagine facing a landline phone bill of double or triple youcurrent charge and not having a cell phone option. Or,worse yet, imagine that you are a senior citizen on 24/7medical alert over your landline and being told your rateswill double or triple, or your service even cancelled. Now

imagine the Public Service Commission (PSC) being removed as the regulating body toprotect you from excessive rate increases and coverage changes.

Welcome to the new world of free market telecommunications provided to you by th

Legislature and Gov. Scott Walker through the passage ofAct 22, Telecommunica-tions Modernization Act,spring 2011.

In what can only be considered an inside job, the legislature began working in Januar2011 to modernize telecommunications . . . modernization meaning deregulation, ofcourse. Senate sponsors included Olsen, Harsdorf, Galloway, Cowles, Grothman, Hop-per, Schultz, Taylor, Moulton, Leibham, Zipperer, Vukmir, and Wanggaard. But, itshould come as no surprise that the hand of ALEC (the American Legislative ExchangeCouncil) was ever present in the form of ALEC members serving as co-sponsors andtheir model deregulation bill providing text .

Telecommunication companies especially AT&T and Frontier North had much to

gain (and did) in this legislation and maintained a strong presence throughout the billdrafting process. Twenty-ive AT&T employees registered in favor of the bill and on itgoes. But, where was the public interest and care for the impact of this outlandisbill on rural Wisconsin, our elderly, and folks on ixed incomes?

Over 2.2 million landlines remain in use in Wisconsin, and Act 22s deregulation is in-credibly premature and dangerous. Many landlines are in remote rural areas where cphone signals are very unstable or non-existent. . . there is no competition there! Moreover, seniors and the elderly often have no interest in and money for cell phones, letalone Blackberrys and iPhones. Then there are those thousands of citizens that dependon landlines to carry their medical alert signals. This law will endanger lives!

This law cannot stand as written and must be changed before May 1st, 2013! The legilature must enact an 18-month moratorium on the landline provisionsofAct 22when it next convenes, including the re-authorization of the PSCs regulatory role.During this period of time, at least 3 things must occur:

1. An analysis of cell phone service access and stability in all rural areas must be con-ducted to determine the presence of coverage holes.

2. Limits must be set on the amount of phone line rate increases that can occur overany 2-year period.

3. Clear, enforceable provider of last resort provisions must be established on theway telecommunication companies can affect servicing and rates of customers witmedical alert services and areas with poor cell phone service.


Pa g e


Coming May 2013...

A Landline Free Market

for Phone Companies But NOT You!

By Roger Springman Wyocena

There is no such thing

as a free market, never

has been, never will

be. All markets are

regulated, but some

markets are regulated

in the interest of the

many and others in the

interest of the few. The

American economy is

now clearly and indis-

putably regulated by

the few and for the

few who now control

the wealth of the

naon.

Thomas Magstadt

www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005
http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005http://www.nationofchange.org/myth-free-market-1340630005


7/14


Bain Capital is the majority owner ofSensataTechnologies in Freeport, Illinois, since 2011.Sensata manufactures sensors and controls

used in aircraft and automobiles. 170 employees were told that the company wouldbe closed and the jobs moved to China. The company is non-union and making aprofit just not enough profit to suit Bain Capital.

For the past several months, the employees of Sensata and the people in Freeporthave been protesting the closure. They have set up Bainport across the street fromthe factory raising awareness of the job losses and how these losses will affect the

community. Even the mayor has asked Mitt Romney to come to talk to the workersHe has not.

The employees were forced to train the Chinese workers who will take their job

when the plant closes in November. While the Chinese were at Sensata, the American flag was taken down and put back up when they left. The employees are nowpacking up the machines to send them to the plant in China.

Mitt Romney still holds the Bain Capital Fund that contains the Sensata investment.He and Bain Capital will benefit greatly by shipping these jobs to China, where thereplacement workers will earn less than a dollar an hour, working 12 hours a day,

365 days a year. These workers and others like them live in small dorm rooms with 4 or more to a room often malnourished and of course no health care.

Mitt Romney, through the Bain Capital Asian Fund, has invested from time to time several Chinese companies. Asimco Technologies bought 2 camshaft companies inMichigan with 500 employees and in 2007 shut them down and sent the jobs to Chi-na. Bain has $2.25 million invested. In 2009, Bain invested $234 million in GomeElectrical Appliances and another $39 million in Feixang Group. Bain has invest-ments in at least 7 other Chinese companies.

Romney says he opposes sending jobs to China and will crack down on China.

His company, Bain Capital, tells a different story. Mr. Romneys income is about$450,000 a week. His money comes from his investments. Much of his money is inBain Capital, the company that is now closing another American company, sendingthe jobs and equipment to China.

We should all feel the pain of the 170 employees at Sensata because stories like thishave been told for years and are being repeated all across the country, with jobs beinlost and companies closing while venture capitalists are raking in millions. Whatfactories close to us in Wisconsin will be next?

Now more than ever, we must all do our best to Buy American.


Pa g e


Bain & SensataBy Joyce Luedke Hayward

I think rst thing is

each of us has to daily

ask a queson, "Where

am I complicit in a war

against the Earth?

Where are my daily

acons part of a dev-

astaon of the planet

and with it, a devasta-

on of the lives of peo-

ple." Because the two

go hand in hand. A war

against the Earth is a

war against people.Peace with the Earth is

peace among people.

Vandana Shiva

billmoyers.com/episode/full-

show-banking-on-greed/
http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/http://billmoyers.com/episode/full-show-banking-on-greed/


8/14

Ayn Rand (19051982) was a Russian immigrant, author, philosopher, pro-choiceadvocate, and atheist. Lonnie Griesbaum (Daily Kos) describes Mike Wallaces 1959interview of Rand:

Arguing that reason based solely on self-interest is the only moral required for life,

she deines altruism to be an evil force. . . . [S]he describes herself as an atheist who

doesnt believe in self-sacriice for others under any circumstance . . . . Using this

unique and caustic morality she goes on . . . to justify and indeed promote the notion

that unbridled industrialists operating in a totally unregulated free market capitalist

model would be the salvation of man . . . . [and] to deride most all of the institutions ofAmerican democracy.

Rep. Ryans proposed Path to Prosperity budget passed a vote in the House inMarch 2012 with no Democratic support. Rep. Sean Duffy voted for Ryans budget.U.S. Senate candidate Tommy Thompson says he would pass it. Although Presi-dential candidate Mitt Romney hasnt shared a speciic budget proposal with theelectorate, he called Ryans budget bold, exciting, excellent, and marvelous.

Sister Simone Campbell, head of the Roman Catholicsocial justice organization NETWORK, led the Nuns onthe Bus tour this summer. Sr. Campbell characterizesRyans budget as immoral:

Paul Ryan claims this budget relects the principles ofour shared faith . . . but the United States Conference of

Catholic Bishops stated that the Ryan budget failed abasic moral test, because it would harm families living in poverty. . . . [T]hats why we

went on the road: to stand with struggling families and to lift up our Catholic sisterswho serve them. Their work to alleviate suffering would be seriously harmed by the

RomneyRyan budget. . . . Mitt RomneyandPaul Ryan are correct when they saythat each individual should be responsible. But their budget goes astray in not ac-

knowledging that we are responsible not only for ourselves and our immediate fami-

lies. Rather, our faith strongly afirms that we are all responsible for one another.

Sources: dailykos.com, budget.house.gov, thehill.com, abcnews.com, washingtonpost.com.


Pa g e

It is always incredible

to me that any adult

could actually believe

in something as shal-

low and childishly self-

centered as Rand's

work. Her wring is

food for a mind igno-

rant of any sense of

history, or sociology,

or religious philoso-

phy, or proven eco-

nomic theory, or any

sense of environmen-

tal science, and on

and on.

It is a frightened mind

that seeks protecon

in a simplisc, juvenileideology a mind

that seeks a safe, se-

cure lile world where

one is not required to

think, to queson, to

understand.It is a

mind ripe for

exploitaon.

Dave Svetlik



Paul Ryans Budget Guided by

Ayn Rand Philosophy, Not Moral Compas

The reason I got involved in public service, by and

large, if I had to credit one thinker, one person, it woul

be Ayn Rand.

I grew up reading Ayn Rand, and it taught me quite a

bit about who I am and what my value systems are an

what my beliefs are. Its inspired me so much that its

required reading in my oce for all my interns and my

sta.

U.S. Representave Paul Ryan, in 2005 speeches

Rep. Paul Ryan

Republican VP candidate


9/14

Highlights in Public Citizens Ongoing Fight to KeepBig Business from Taking Over Our Democracy:

New Jersey could become the 9th state to call for a constitutionalamendment overturning the U.S. Supreme Courts Citizens Unitedruling.

Public Citizen and allies are building amendment momentum in manother states, with ballot initiatives this fall in Colorado and Montana,and campaigns in Illinois, New York, Washington, and West Virginia.

USA Todayrecently published a column by Lisa Gilbert, director of PublicCitizens Congress Watch division, highlighting ways to bring the darkmoney into the light despite gridlock at the Federal Election Commission.

The New York Times in an editorial said that there may be some changes inhow unlimited money is spent, but now that it has been unleashed, only aconstitutional amendment or a careful system of regulation can bottle itback up.

Source: Robert Weissman, President of Public Ciz

WISCONSIN

KNOW YOUR

RIGHTS:

Time Off to Vote

Tuesday, NOV. 6, 2012

In Wisconsin, employees are entled to up to 3 hours leave to vote.

The employee must request leave before Elecon Day.

Pay can be deducted for me lost.

The employer can set the me for leave to vote.

Source: Wisconsin Statute 6.76(


Pa g e

That is the central

issue in this elecon.

It is a moral issue.

Who are we as Ameri-

cans? Are we cizens

who join together to

form a great naon?

Or are we isolated in-

dividuals, with no

commitments to each

other, at the mercy of

corporaons whose

central goal is their

short-term prot.

George Lako


THINGS TO KNOWReported by Virginia Kirsch Wausau


10/14

Despite this and numerous similar reports [Bloomberg News; Wall Street Journal;Politifact; FactCheck.org], Sean Duffy and other Republicans continue to falselyclaim that the Affordable Care Act (Obamacare) cuts $716 billion from Medicare.Do a Google search of the phrase msnbc youtube Duffy Medicare to view an inter-view in which the reporter called Duffy out on this lie. Mr. Duffy, no matter howmany times you and your Republican allies repeat the same false information, it isstill not true.

Duffy voted for dramatic cuts to Medicare in the Ryan budget, which offsetcosts onto seniors instead of shoring up the program [Bloomberg News;Washington Post].

Duffys ad claiming his Democratic opponentPat Kreitlow favors bailingout big banks is misleading [WAOW.com].

Duffy voted to give himself and members of Congress taxpayer-fundedhealth care for life [WisPolitics.com].

Duffy said, I struggle on a $174,000 salary [Milwaukee JournalSentinel].

Duffy agreed to 2 debates with Kreitlow: an untelevised debate in Wausau onOctober 22 and a November 1 debate in Superior to air only in the SuperiorDulutharea. Four of ive voters in the District wont have an opportunity to view the

debates. In 2010, Duffy advocated for a TV debate with his Democratic challengerafter a Packer game during prime time across the district.

Kreitlow wants district-wide televised debates, saying, Were looking forward todebating what Congressman Duffy has been up to these past two years shiftingthe tax burden to the middle class, voting to replace Medicare with a voucher pro-gram, and creating gridlock in Washington. Duffy ran in 2010 saying he would bean independent voice for the 7th District. Kreitlow says Duffy has not been inde-pendent or an advocate for the 7th District.

Duffy chooses to spend big money on false ads instead of debating Krietlow on factsand issues. The 7th District deserves better. Vote Pat Kreitlow for Congress.


Pa g e

The Tea Party claims

to speak in the name

of populism even as it

seeks to sweep aside

so many of the re-

forms for which the

original Populists

fought.

E. J. Dionne, Jr.

in Our Divided

Polical Heart



Kreitlow vs. Duffy

ProjectedMedicare costs over 75 years areabout 25% lower because of theAordable

Care Act. Medicares long-run decit con-

nues to be much lower than it has been in

recent years due to the Aordable Care Act.

Overall, the Aordable Care Act stabilized and improved this important program

that serves nearly 50 million seniors and individuals with disabilies.

Medicare Board of Trustees

2011 Annual Report


11/14

For a moment let us attempt to envision the reality of being aboard Spaceship Earth to internalize being crewmembers of the ship to understand that our continued wellbeing depends upon the integrity of the ship and the well-being of our fellow crewmembers. Thinking as diligently as we can in this frame of mind . . .

Would we ask how do we make the most money,

or how do we make the most sense?On a spaceship, the answer is obvious:

Making money is utterly meaningless.

Making sense is a matter of life and death. We humans are asking the wrong questions. On board a spaceship one would never askhow to make money. One would ask:

Does our Spaceship Earth have adequate food production capability to feed alcrew members? Yes if we properly manage our agricultural resources in an ecologically sound manner and apply the latest scientiic and technical knowledge.

Does our spaceship have adequate supplies to clothe and house all crew members? Yes if we eficiently utilize and recycle available resources and apply thelatest knowledge and practices in our production and construction industries.

Does our spaceship have adequate energy income in the form of wind, solar,tidal, geothermal, hydroelectric, etc. to allow us to phase out climate warmingfossil fuels? Yes if we properly manage our resources, utilize the latest knowhowin energy conservation in our buildings and elsewhere, rethink and redesign ourtransportations systems, and apply the latest scientiic and technical knowledge.

We are attempting to operate a spaceship using scientiically disproved reptilian relexive you or me, not enough for everyone, survival of the ittest thinking. Failure tochange this mode of operation is lethal to the future of our ship and its crew members.

To be continued . . .


Pa g e

Our lile

Spaceship Earth

is only eight

thousand miles

in diameter,which is almost

a negligible

dimension in the

great vastness

of space.

R. Buckminster FullerOperating Manual for

Spaceship Earth


Ive oen heard people say, I wonder what it would be like to

be on board a spaceship, and the answer is very simple. Whatdoesitfeellike? Thats all we have ever experienced. We are all

astronauts.

I know you are paying aenon, but Im sure you dont immediately agree and say,

Yes thats right, I am an astronaut. I'm sure that you dont really sense yourself to be

aboard a fantascally real spaceship our spherical Spaceship Earth. Of our lile

sphere you have seen only small porons. However, you have viewed more than did

pre-tweneth century man, for in his enre lifeme he saw only one millionth of the

Earths surface. Youve seen a lot more.

R. Buckminster Fuller

Operang Manual For Spaceship Earth

SPACESHIP EARTH


12/14


Pa g e

Clearly the current

political landscapeis stomach turningfor most if notnearly all citizens.Thats why theranks of the politi-

cally homeless have grown so. Pew Re-search Center indings show thatthenumber of Americans who refuse toalign with either major party is at itshighest level in 70 years. That speaksvolumes about the disillusionment somany feel about politics and those in

power.

The question is what to do about it. Nei-ther major party is seen as working forthe common good or doing whats bestfor America. They are seen as working forthe narrow, wealthy interests that fundthem. This leads more than a few to pinefor a third way.

The problem is that third parties in thiscountry are destined to fail. Third partiesfail because, well, their aim is to make itso we have three parties. For better or

worse, ours is a two-

party system. It isnot a parliamentary democracy.

Third-party movements also routinelyfail because they organize to the left ofthe Democrats or to the right of the Re-publicans. Thus they largely operate onthe political fringes, and only meaningful-ly compete for the votes of a small part ofthe electorate. Put another way, they seekto clip a major partys wing but dont tryto cut its heart out.

Third-party aicionados rightly lamentthat their fate is sealed by the fact that wehave winner-take-all elections. They havea point when they say that if we had pro-portional representation or instant runoffvoting or one of its variants, things wouldbe different.

Such reforms would greatly beneit socie-ty and improve our democracy. The De-mocracy Campaign has advocated thiskind of reform for nearly a decade. Buthow do you get from point A to point B?How do you get proportional representa-tion or rank-order voting or a none-of-the

-above ballot option? Any of these re-

forms would have to be passed by a legis-lature controlled by the major parties andsigned into law by an executive from oneof the major parties. The major partieswould have to agree to weaken them-selves and threaten their grip on power.Not bloody likely.

So the rules are rigged against third par-ties and changing the rules wont happenwithout the consent of the two major par-ties. How then do you loosen their stran-glehold?

An answer can be found right here athome. Attempts to create alternativesthat can shake the major parties to theirfoundations have succeeded a couple oftimes in Wisconsins history, but in eachcase they were what I would call irst-party movements, not third-party move-ments.

First-party movements do not aim to giveus three parties. They force one of thetwo existing major parties to either adaptor perish. One time a major party got re-placed. The other time both major parties

were reformed.

In the time of slavery, the Whig Party wasone of the two major parties in America.The Republican Party was born here inWisconsin out of frustration over the lackof a true anti-slavery party and eventual-ly drove the Whigs to extinction.

And then out of the cauldron of bank fail-ures and economic depression in the1890s, the Progressive Party rose to chal-lenge the Republicans and Democrats.That irst-party movement didnt end up

replacing either, but reformed both. Bothparties developed predominant Progres-sive wings. Teddy Rooseveltwas electedpresident as a Progressive Republican.Woodrow Wilson won the presidency asa Progressive Democrat. The nation'scharacter, and Wisconsins in particular,were fundamentally reshaped.

The lesson from the history books is tostop hoping for three parties and startfocusing on creating one that is worth adamn. You do that by creating some com-petition in the form of a new political

brand and then go to battle in major par-

ty primaries to win voters over to thatnew brand.

To be both constructive and successful,the brand cant be an appeal to the fring-es, it has to be a threat to the major par-ties by strongly appealing to the heart ofthe electorate. It also cant be a resurrec-tion of an old political brand. The Pro-gressive label, for example, doesnt meanwhat it once did; the term is now loadedIf theres a new political brand to be cre-ated, it needs a new name.

Rather than trying to run candidates on aseparate party line on the ballot, leavingthem vulnerable to the spoiler and wastedvote phenomena, why not compete di-rectly with the major parties in their ownprimary elections? Most people who endup voting for Republicans or Democratsare actually politically homeless. Mosthate both parties. Create some competi-tion within each party. Give people anappealing new option within each party.

In private industry, if a product is outthere and no longer seems to meet the

needs of consumers, some competitorjumps into the market with a new andimproved product. The same principleneeds to be applied to politics, in a realistic way that takes into account the waythe American system is structured.

Third-party organizing has been triedmany times, and many times it has failedFirst-party organizing has been triedtwice when enough people werefeeling alienated and politically homeless and two times it succeeded inproducing major political realignmenand reform. Maybe we are approachinganother such moment when the estab-lished political arrangement can be sub-verted from within. Maybe the time hascome for a new political brand. Whatmight that brand look like? More on thatsoon....

Arcle reprinted with permission from

Wisconsin Democracy Campaigns

Big Money Blog, October 22, 2012

hp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third

to-rst.html

From Third to FirstBy Mike McCabe Madison
http://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.htmlhttp://blog.wisdc.org/2012/10/from-third-to-first.html


13/14


Pa g e

4,000 households withincomes over a milliondollars paid no federalincome taxes in 2011.

Another 14,000 house-holds made between$500,000 and $1 million

and paid no federal taxesin 2011.

6 of the richest Ameri-cans paid no federalincome taxes in 2009.Here are just 2 reasons:A wealthy tax iler mayreport dividend incomefrom foreign stocks. Thisdividend is not taxed bythe IRS because taxesare paid in the foreign

country. People who liveoff their investment in-come will report invest-ment loses and will payno taxes. The tax code isfull of tax breaks andexceptions beneitingthe wealthiest, includingMitt Romney.

50% of U.S. corporationsdo not pay federal taxes,

because accounting andlegal teams takeadvantage of every loop-hole, as Mitt Romneydoes.

$6.6 trillion would bethe tax cuts put forth bythe Romney/Ryan budg-et. This 20% cut wouldextend the Bush tax cuts,cut corporate taxes, andeliminate the estate tax.

$260,000 is the average taxcut per year for a millionaireunder this plan.

$5 million is the amountRomney would saveeach year under his ownplan.

$900 billion over 10years is the amount ofrevenue lost by the cutsto corporate taxes pro-posed by the Romney/Ryan plan. Corporatedeductions would not beeliminated.

Over one-half of allpeople in Congress aremultimillionaires, whichincludes CongressmanPaul Ryan. Taxpayers

pay for very generousbeneits for the 535members. Is it any won-der Congress wont passthe Buffet Rule thatwould raise taxes by just4% for millionaires/billionaires. Clearly, theydont want to raise taxeson themselves.

$2,000 to $4,000 a yearor more would be the

increase in taxes paid bythe middle class.

Romney/Ryan will notname the deductionsand loopholes theywould cut to maintaincurrent levels of reve-

nue. Will it be: (a) theEarned Income Creditand the Child Care Credithat working people de-pend on? (b) the mort-gage deduction? (c) thetax credit for collegeexpenses? (d) the deductions for local and statetaxes? (e) the deductionsfor health insurance andother health expenses?(f) the charitable giving

deduction? If many ofthese deductions areeliminated, the middleclass would be hitespecially hard.

Mark Zandi the chiefeconomist for Moodyssays the arithmeticdoesnt add up. TheWashington Post callsthe Ryan budget

limlam and the NewYork Times calls it theFairy-Tale Budget Plan.Mitt Romney calls itmarvelous.

Sources: Washington Post

New York Times, CNN Money

Think Progress, Tax Policy

Center, Cizens for Tax Jusce

Numbers to ConsiderWhen Voting on November 6

Wealth & Money

By Joyce Luedke Hayward


The greatest country,

the richest country,

is not that which has

the most capitalists,

monopolists, immense

grabbings, vast for-

tunes, with its sad, sad

soil of extreme, de-

grading, damning pov-

erty, but the land in

which there are the

most homesteads,

freeholds where

wealth does not show

such contrasts high

and low, where allmen have enough

a modest living

and no man is made

possessor beyond the

sane and beauful

necessies.

Walt WhitmanAmerican poet(18191892)


14/14

By Dave Svetlik Mosinee


Pa g e

And if all others accepted the lie which the party imposed

if all records told the same tale

then the lie passed into history and became the truth

George Orw

1984 (published in 194

There is a life cycle to all

empires a historical

evolution in the birth,

maintenance, and loss of

world preeminence. It has sometimes been conceived

brutally, through conquest and cunning, but the birth

of new empires has also been the result ofrelocation of the leading centers of

knowledge and science, as well as of tech-

nological and engineering expertise. Such

was the transfer of power from Great Brit-

ain to America after the first and second

world wars.

Like previous empires, America maintained its

preeminence as long as the major focus of its econo-

my remained in knowledge and science and in techno-logical and engineering expertise. This is so because

the long-term result of knowledge, of science, and of

technological and engineering expertise is a genuine

increase in human wealth in the ability to sustain

ever more humans with an ever rising standard of liv-

ing. In this scenario, an empire, a

society, is earning its living.

But empires have a lifespan. They pass their zenith

when their financial industry (manipulating money to

make money, rather than developing true life-

sustaining wealth) becomes the dominant sector of

their economy. This occurred in America in the

1990s.

When an investment manager using high-

speed computers buys a million shares of

XYZ stock for $1.03/share, sells them 1.3

seconds later when the price has fluctuated

to $1.06/share, pockets $30,000.00, and

claims he has created wealth, a society

has passed its zenith. When a banker who deliberately

makes bad loans and then buys insurance protecting

himself against loan failure that eventually requires

bailout by the U.S. government claims he is creatingwealth, an empire is in decline. When Wall Street is

nothing more than a giant Ponzi scheme claiming it is

creating wealth, America is on its way out.

The only exceptionalism left in America is

how exceptionally gullible we as a people have

been in being manipulated by corporations and

the super rich.

Skepcs invoked a warning that went against the de: this faith in nance was not new,

but old and it had played wayward pied piper to prior leading world economic powers.

On the edge of decline the Spanish had gloried in their New World gold and silver; the

Dutch, in their investment income and lending to princes and czarinas; and the Brish in

their banks, brokers, and global nancial network. In none of these situaons, however,

could nancial services succeed in upholding the naonal preeminence that had earlier

been built by explorers, conquistadores, marime skills, innovave science and engineering, the rst rail-

roads, electric dynamos, and great iron and steel works. Invariably, power and greatness passed on to new

explorers, innovators, and industrialists.

Kevin Phillips in his book Bad Money, addressing the historic signicance of the fact that

nance had become the single largest component of U.S. gross domesc product by the 1990s

CHALLENGING

THE MYTH...

The Myth of American Exceptionalism

Documents

Middle Wisconsin News - November 2012