GOOD STUFF HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN

TUESDAY'S WI RECALL ELECTION - -

REASONS TO KEEP THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS IN MADISON: Walker and the Republicans put into place reforms that are producing tangible results in a short period of time.

EXAMPLES OF GOOD STUFF HAPPENING IN WISCONSIN:

Ashland School District - saved $378,000 on health insurance;

http://www.ashlandwi.com/articles/2011/07/18/news/doc4e24f08b80b26580859031.txt

Kimberly School District - saved $821,000 by dropping WEA Trust Insurance;

http://maciverinstitute.com/2011/07/wisconsin-school-districts-are-switching-health-care-providersplans-to-create-savings-in-2011/

Edgerton School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save at least $500,000;

http://gazettextra.com/news/2011/mar/15/edgerton-reaches-teacher-contract/

Here are additional examples. I won't include all of the links, but this information is easy to check on Google.

Baraboo School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save at least $660,000;

Dodgeland School District - dropping WEA Trust, expecting to save $260,000

Elmbrook School District - changing health care provider, savings estimated at $878,000;

Mequon-Thiensville School District - saving $49,000 on dental insurance coverage;

Marshfield School District - saving $850,00 by dropping WEA Trust;

City of Sheboygan - Mayor Bob Ryan says collective bargaining reforms will provide enough savings to make up for the reduction in state aid;

Wauwatosa School District - tax levy decreasing, no programs will be cut, class sizes won't increase, thanks to the reforms in collective bargaining;

Manitowoc - Laid-off city workers may get their jobs back due to the wage/benefit reforms contained in Walker's budget. Changes to overtime rules saving the county $100,000;

Pittsville - will see a 9% decrease in the school portion of their property tax levy. "This is the first year we have not needed to short-term borrow," stated Board President Strenn;

Appleton School District - will save $3.1 million just in health insurance costs due to being able to bid out the coverage and being able to drop WEA Trust;

Racine County - inmates can now be used to perform tasks such as landscaping, painting and shoveling sidewalks. Executive Ladwig states this is a win/win for the inmates and the county. It frees up county employees for other tasks, gives the inmates a sense of value, and helps the county maintain property that has been neglected."

Kaukauna School District - hiring additional teachers, reducing class sizes, enacting a merit pay system, and due to Walker's Budget Bill, Kaukauna's operating budget has moved from a negative $400,000 to a positive $1,500,000. Much of this savings was due to being able to drop WEA Trust.

Hartland School District - switched from WEA Trust and saved $690,000;

Hudson School District - saved $832,000 on health insurance due to ability to bid the insurance.

KSTP did a study of the savings in Sheila Harsdorf's 10th Senate District. They found that Ellsworth, Prescott, Menomonie, Somerset and Hudson school districts are all reporting large savings due to the changes signed into law by Walker.

Keep in mind, WEA TRUST is Shelly Moore's union insurance company, a company that has obviously been ripping off the school districts for years, thanks to collective bargaining that prohibited school districts from seeking insurance coverage from any company other than WEA Trust. How much tax money would we have saved if school districts had been "allowed by the unions" to bid out their insurance over the years? I'd say probably many, many, many millions statewide. It's the union money train running off the tracks, finally, and Shelly and her union don't like it.

WANT MORE GOOD NEWS??

Walker just signed an Unemployment Insurance extension adding 13 weeks of UC benefits.

Passed a state budget on time, without tax increases, that leaves WI in the black for the first time in over 10 years.

Turned a $3 billion deficit into a $300 million surplus.

Cut bonding by nearly 20%.

Cut more than 1,000 government jobs, including 735 long-term vacancies.

In the first 6 months of 2011 WI showed job growth more than twice the national rate.

Protected our votes by requiring a picture I.W. at the polls.

Became the 49th state to recognize our 2nd Amendment right to carry concealed weapons.

Paid off WI's $60 million debt to MN under the former tax reciprocity agreement.

Paid back over $200 million to the Injured Patients and Families Fund. This is money that Gov. Doyle unconstitutionally raided from the Patients' Compensation Fund.

Walker expanded the prohibition against tax money being used to subsidize abortion.

Now, if you go to the polls tomorrow and vote for Shelly Moore, a staunch union and WEA Trust advocate, or any of the other union supported candidates, you will set back all of the progress listed above. Do you want to see WI's credit rating destroyed also? Do you want to see WI follow CA to bankruptcy?

Walker and the Republicans are doing the tough work that needs to be done to put WI in a sound financial position. And it's working. Please support the recalled Republicans in tomorrow's election.

AND BE SURE TO VOTE. EVERY SINGLE VOTE WILL COUNT!

THANK YOU, SCOTT WALKER

Here is an excellent article discussing the current "Debt Panic" in Washington and why we should be extremely thankful to Scott Walker and the Republicans in Madison for straightening out the Wisconsin mess and turning Wisconsin around. Read it and pass it on to others.



CLICK HERE FOR ARTICLE - THANK YOU, SCOTT WALKER

DWUUI - DRIVING WHILE UNDER UNION INFLUENCE

DRIVING WHILE UNDER THE INFLUENCE OF UNION PROPAGANDA - TAKE A LOOK AT THESE PHOTOS. IN HUDSON, WI SOMEONE SET OUT TO DESTROY A SENATOR SHEILA HARSDORF SIGN, AND THAT THEY DID. SUCH UNCONTROLLED RAGE! CAN YOU SAY "ANGER MANAGEMENT CLASS".

BREAKING NEWS! WI SUPREME COURT RULES IN WALKER'S FAVOR ON BUDGET BILL!

Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans have won a major victory today! The WI Supreme Court says Walker's union rights law can go into effect.
This is the law that eliminates most of public employees' collective bargaining rights and forces them to pay more for their health and pension benefits.

It's the law that passed while tens of thousands of union protesters stormed and damaged the state Capitol. It's the reason that WEAC's WI Mafia (teacher's union) continues to camp out at the Capital.

The law has been tied up in the courts since a Democrat filed a lawsuit accusing Republicans of violating the state open meetings law during the run-up to passage. Liberal Judge Sumi agreed with the Democrat (no surprise).

But now the Wisconsin Supreme Court has said the judge had no authority to interfere with the legislative process. Hopefully this will be the end of it - but I doubt it.

UNION THUGS OCCUPY WI COURTS

Transparency in our government institutions and accountability among its employees are great ideas that when acted upon allows voters and tax payers to make the appropriate decisions when it comes to election day.

Unfortunately, Judge Elliot Levine (LaCrosse, WI Circuit Judge) recently ruled that LaCrosse's public schools should ignore the requests for information from tax payers who would like to know how their tax dollars were wasted on teachers who called in sick when they went to Madison to protest Gov. Walker's budget bill a few months ago.

On May 11 Levine ruled that the school district should ignore an open records request for this information. Seems like the teachers who "ditched school" are afraid of harassment if their names become public. Well, pardon me! How quickly the teachers forget what WI's Senators had to endure at the hands of union thugs. And yes, many of these thugs were teachers. Did they forget about the death threats, the harassment, the shouting, screaming union members mobbing their homes, union morons throwing nails in their driveways, union letters to businesses threatening to boycott them if they didn't back the unions? Where is the media's outrage about transparency? Why isn't this front page news and on radio broadcasts every hour, on the hour? The answer is obviously because the media is an extension of Left Wing union progressives.

The taxpayers of Wisconsin are losing the battle against big labor unions and government corruption. The unions already own the public teachers and pretty soon they may own the entire political apparatus because of their attempted recall elections. If you are interested in conservative principles and if you are as concerned as I am, please get out and help us fight to keep the power in the hands of the people of this state. The voters spoke in 2010. If the unions don't like it they can go to the polls in 2012. That's what we do in America. But no, instead they organize a witch hunt called "recall" to replace Senators who were just doing what the public elected them to do.

If you care about the direction of WI you must write letters to the editor, volunteer at the GOP headquarters, walk with the recalled candidates in parades, or just help convince your friends and family that this attempted recall is all wrong. Do not assume the unions will not be successful in their recall attempts. They have power and money that none of us can even conceive of. Do not stay home from the polls when the recall election is held (currently scheduled for sometime in July). If you sit it out, the union mobsters will win and completely take over WI.

And if we let that happen then God only knows what kind of permanent damage they might do. I have not surrendered in the past and I am not willing to do so now, but it's going to take ALL CONSERVATIVES GETTING TO THE POLLS AND ENCOURAGING YOUR NEIGHBORS, FRIENDS, AND RELATIVES TO DO THE SAME.

BOYCOTT BOO BOO & RECALL FIZZLE

GREAT ARTICLE BY RICHARD MOORE OF THE LAKELAND TIMES ABOUT WHY THE UNION "BOYCOTT" OF WI BUSINESS HAS FAILED. IT ALSO TALKS EXTENSIVELY ABOUT THE STATUS OF THE EFFORTS TO RECALL REPUBLICAN SENATORS. THE BRIGHT FLASH OF THE BOYCOTT AND RECALL FIRE HAS BEEN REDUCED TO A SMOLDERING PILE OF MANURE. CLICK HERE TO READ THE LATEST ON THE BOYCOTT AND THE RECALL

PROSSER DEFEATS KOPPPENBURG BIG TIME

What a day it has been in Wisconsin. As of Wed. this week. Kloppenburg was claiming the prize of all prizes, I won, I won, I am going to the WI Supreme Court - but only by 205 votes. Her grabbing the brass ring was slightly premature. Did she not think there would be a recount? And then this morning on the news came the announcement that after rechecking the ballots before submission to the state, Winnebago County found some votes that had not been counted. After they were included Prosser was ahead of Kloppenburg by 40 votes. Still too close to call, and still on the way to a recount. But tonight the Oscar goes to Justice Prosser. Waukesha County found a "human error" which caused nearly 15,000 votes from the city of Brookfield to be excluded from the early count of ballots. The data was sent from Brookfield to the Clerk's office but did not get transferred to the final report given to the media. Brookfield is a heavily red area, casting 10,859 votes for Prosser and 3,456 votes for Kloppenberg. The inclusion of these ballots netted Prosser over 7,000 votes. A lead this large may be enough to prevent an automatic re-count. Kloppenburg would still have 3 days to ask for a re-count, but she would have to pay for it herself. The Brookfield count appears to be legitimate. There were Dems and Reps there during the counting process, and all agree that the final count is 100% accurate. So no funny business to be had. Do you think the Democrats will finally get the message? They didn't get it from the 2010 election. They didn't get it for weeks while they caused $7 million in damage to the Capital. They didn't get it when 14 Senators left the state to avoid doing their jobs. They didn't get it when they squatted in the Capital for weeks instead of staying on their jobs. And now, when the union/Dem voter turnout was monumental, all voting for Kloppenburg, they have lost. I wonder if they will get it now? The equally strong Republican turnout was due to the over-the-top reaction the unions and government workers had to Walker's reforms. The fleeing of the Dem legislators, storming the Capital, the fraudulent sick slips, teachers abandoning their classrooms, the death threats, the intimidation, the law breaking. They sure didn't make a very good impression on the whole country. Conservatives rallied to get out their vote due to the exhaustion and revulsion they felt at the hysterical tantrums exhibited by the Left. They Are Fed Up! Conservatives also had a very clear understanding of what was in play. There is a very real threat that the lawful acts of the legislature will not play out without interference from a politically motivated court, Judge Sumi, who has issued an injunction against Walker's bill. There is a very real possibility that her activist antics will drive the issue right to the Supreme Court. We all saw that. And we weren't about to let the WI Supreme Court be controlled by Kloppenburg, a DNR activist prosecuter with no experience on the bench. Do you remember when the GOP finally won Illinois and beat the Daley machine by holding outstate votes until after Cook County/Chicago had to report their vote numbers? The Dems didn't know how many votes they had to create to win, and after the outstate totals were released, the Dems realized that, ooops, they guessed wrong. Now I don't want to say that's what happened in WI, but it is strange, I think, that Prosser was winning throughout the entire vote count, and even when the reporting precincts were over 99% he was still ahead by about 900 votes. And then suddenly with 1% left to report Kloppenburg takes the lead by 205. But the Dems didn't know about Brookfield! I suspect this was not intentional, but well Played, Wisconsin Republicans, Well Played.

OBAMA'S TAX PAYER SLUSH FUND

Well, if you haven't heard about it yet, you will soon. It was all over the news for the last few days. But I'll fill you in here and now. ObamaCare, we all know what this government power grab was all about. Of course, America really needed to have it forced upon us. And we aren't supposed to be concerned that over 1,000 businesses and most unions have been given waivers and don't have to be involved in the plan. And as the details leak out the taxpayers continue to be the patsy. Yesterday it was disclosed that contained in ObamaCare is a $5 billion slush fund. It's officially called the Early Retirement Reissuance Program, or ERRP for short. It is designed to help companies pay the costs of health care for their early retirees. So far over $2 billion has been given away, and the other $3 billion is spoken for, so a program that was supposed to last until 2014 will be out of money by mid-2012. Yesterday Obama slaves announced that they were closing the program because the money was all used up. Yep, another case where the Obama fools miscalculated the real dollar amount of their give away. No wonder they don't have a 2010 budget yet, well into 2011. They can't add! Anyway, you are probably thinking, well, another giveaway, what's the big deal? They've become so common with Obama's Tooth Fairy approach to taxpayer money. So here's the Big Deal! The recipient list reads like a list of Obama's top campaign donors, with six of the top ten being labor unions. Nowhere on the list are companies with a true financial need. The money is going to Obama Cronies. So here goes, THE LIST: UAW (auto workers' union), $207 million, a real sweet deal for auto workers. But wait, UAW had already received $3.4 billion from Obama's GM bailout. AT & T, $141 million, and of course, AT & T really needed tax dollars. They only had a NET PROFIT in 2010 of almost $20 billion and around $55.5 billion over the last four years. And there's more. AT & T is the biggest political campaign donor since 1990, and they greased the political wheel to the tune of $15.4 million in 2010. They apparently give in order to get. General Motors, $20 million. GM, previously received a taxpayer bailout in the neighborhood of $50 billion. GM profit for 2010 was $4.7 billion, but they still were given $20 million in ERRP money. Oh, I must not forget to tell you. The Obama Car, the Chevy Volt, which the government helped them build? GM is after yet another government handout to help them market this stinker of an auto. Seems like very few people want the car, so GM is getting a real "frosting on the cake" handout - a $7500 tax credit per vehicle. Oh, and it wouldn't be fair if I didn't mention the rest of the unions who were on the receiving end of ERRP funds. More than $6 million went to various Teamsters unions. Millions went to the United Mine Workers, AFL-CIO, United Food and Commercial Workers, and the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME). In case you didn't know, that's the union that's boycotting Wisconsin businesses who don't walk the union walk. And let's not forget Jeffy Immelt, former head of GE, one of the most frequent visitors at the White House to see his buddy Obama. GE got over $36 million in ERRP funding, while GE made $14 billion in 2010 profit and paid ZERO income tax on that money. GE donated $500 million in campaign cash in 2008 to elect our ethical President so we could all have change we can believe in. I guess the donated money was money well spent by GE. And in case you've forgotten or didn't know, the government (you and me) guaranteed $340 billion of the debt that GE's financial services arm had amassed to -- yup, you got it -- bail them out, prop them up, or buy them off - you can call it whatever you want to call it. It amounts to fraud and cronyism. But then, what's a billion here or a billion there? It's just funny money, printed in the Monopoly Money Room. Oh, yes, can't forget Verizon. They got $92 million in ERRP funds too. They spent $16.75 million in lobbying politicians in 2010. Verizon was surely needy. Their 2010 revenues were $106.6 billion, and their net profit was over $33 billion. But they needed our cash so Obama ponied up the bucks. See how this works? It's government sold to the highest bidder. It's Chicago politics in Washington. It's how every banana republic operates. Obama and the Dems have their very own personal ATM, using our money, handing out cash like cotton candy. And we are supposed to "shut up and sit in the back of the bus." It's sick, it's twisted, and it's now out in the open for all of us to see. Just open your eyes. Now I know some of you are going to say "but these companies donated to both Republican and Democratic candidates," and you'd be somewhat right. Most of it goes to Dems, but yes, some does to to Reps. But go back to the beginning of this post. This slimy provision was put into Obamacare by Obama and Crew. So please be sure to point your finger in the right direction.

SLEAZY LIBERAL POLITICS AT SCOTTWALKERWATCH.COM

4/1/2011 - one of my astute readers pointed out the glaring fact that all of the businesses listed actually create REAL jobs in private industry, like manufacturing and retail. The businesses that are being boycotted make our economy work. They are not Government jobs that cost WI more $$$$. OUTSTANDING POINT. THANKS TO THE READER WHO POINTED THIS OUT!! SCOTTWALKERWATCH.COM - That's the name of the sleaziest of the sleazy sites that have popped up to destroy Scott Walker and anyone who supports his efforts to save WI. This site lists all of the businesses in WI that are being boycotted because they in some way support or supported Scott Walker. In addition to this site, many businesses throughout the state have received letters from unions asking them to express support by displaying a sign in their window. The letters say that failure to support the unions will mean a public boycott of the business. The letter also says that if the business stays "neutral" that means the business is not supporting the unions. One of the letters that has been sent came from Council 24 of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees, signed by council field representative Jim Parrett. CLICK ON THE LINK BELOW. ONCE INTO THE SITE CLICK ON "BOYCOTT LIST." AFTER LOOKING AT THE LIST OF BOYCOTTED BUSINESSES YOU SHOULD CLICK ON THE LINK THAT SAYS "REMOVAL PROCEDURES" OR "REMOVE NAME." IT STATES CLEARLY WHAT BUSINESSES MUST DO TO GET OFF THE LIST. AND IT AIN'T PRETTY. BEFORE YOU LEAVE THE SITE, THAT IS AFTER YOU ARE SO ILL YOU CAN HARDLY WAIT TO LEAVE IT, CLICK ON THE "RECALL" BUTTON. THE REPUBLICAN SENATORS ARE ALL LISTED. CLICK ON ANY OR ALL OF THEM. ONCE IN A SENATOR'S PAGE CLICK ON "RECALL TO VOTE NO." THEY ARE TAKING A SURVEY OF ANYONE VISITING THE SITE WHO WANTS TO VOTE YES TO RECALL OR NO TO NOT RECALL. THE RESULTS OF THE VOTE ARE ALSO VISIBLE. I THINK IT WOULD BE APPROPRIATE IF YOU ALL WENT TO THE SITE AND VOTED NO TO A RECALL. LET'S SHOW THEM WHERE THE SILENT MAJORITY REALLY IS. CLICK HERE TO SEE THE SLEAZY LEFT WING BOYCOTT OF BUSINESSES IN WI

EMAIL DEATH THREATS IN WISCONSIN

Here is the threatening e-mail sent to Wisconsin GOP senators last night at around 9:30 pm, shortly after the Senate passed an anti-union bill. The email not only threatens the senators with death, but it also vows that their families will also be killed due to their actions. Personally I know of one Republican Senator's family that was threatened by a 2 a.m. anonymous phone call to their home stating that if the Senator does not change his position "you and your kids will pay for it."

Local station WTMJ in Milwaukee has obtained the threatening e-mail and has redacted the sender’s name pending an investigation by the police. Spelling and grammar mistakes have not been corrected. (Emphasis in red added)

THIS IS THE EMAIL:

From: XXXX
Sent: Wed 3/9/2011 9:18 PM
To: Sen.Kapanke; Sen.Darling; Sen.Cowles; Sen.Ellis; Sen.Fitzgerald; Sen.Galloway; Sen.Grothman; Sen.Harsdorf; Sen.Hopper; Sen.Kedzie; Sen.Lasee; Sen.Lazich; Sen.Leibham; Sen.Moulton; Sen.Olsen
Subject: Atten: Death threat!!!! Bomb!!!!

Please put your things in order because you will be killed and your familes
will also be killed due to your actions in the last 8 weeks. Please explain
to them that this is because if we get rid of you and your families then it
will save the rights of 300,000 people and also be able to close the deficit
that you have created. I hope you have a good time in hell. Read below for
more information on possible scenarios in which you will die.

WE want to make this perfectly clear. Because of your actions today and in
the past couple of weeks I and the group of people that are working with me
have decided that we’ve had enough. We feel that you and the people that
support the dictator have to die. We have tried many other ways of dealing
with your corruption but you have taken things too far and we will not stand
for it any longer.

So, this is how it’s going to happen: I as well as many
others know where you and your family live, it’s a matter of public records.
We have all planned to assult you by arriving at your house and putting a
nice little bullet in your head. However, we decided that we wouldn’t leave
it there. We also have decided that this may not be enough to send the
message to you since you are so “high” on Koch and have decided that you are
now going to single handedly make this a dictatorship instead of a
demorcratic process. So we have also built several bombs that we have placed
in various locations around the areas in which we know that you frequent.
This includes, your house, your car, the state capitol, and well I won’t
tell you all of them because that’s just no fun. Since we know that you are
not smart enough to figure out why this is happening to you we have decided
to make it perfectly clear to you. If you and your goonies feel that it’s
necessary to strip the rights of 300,000 people and ruin their lives, making
them unable to feed, clothe, and provide the necessities to their families
and themselves then We Will “get rid of” (in which I mean kill) you. Please
understand that this does not include the heroic Rep. Senator that risked
everything to go aganist what you and your goonies wanted him to do.

We feel that it’s worth our lives to do this, because we would be saving the lives
of 300,000 people. Please make your peace with God as soon as possible and
say goodbye to your loved ones we will not wait any longer. YOU WILL DIE!!!!

WTMJ confirmed police are investigating several death threats, including the e-mail above.
Wisconsin GOP senators were told to flee the Capitol almost immediately after their vote because police said “it was not safe.” The police could not guarantee their safety.

How about these UNION THUGS? I say more power to the Republicans and Gov. Walker. It's about Time!

THE FACE OF SOCIALISM

Aaron Kennedy is the founder of Noodles & More. He grew up on a farm with no connections to big money. At the age of 29 while eating at a Chinese restaurant Kennedy had an idea, which he scribbled on a napkin. He gathered up funds from friends and family and he maxed out 8 credit cards, and he opened his first Noodles out of his basement. He then put together a team of people with whom he'd build and operate 100 Noodles branches. It is now a $75 million franchise with 240 locations in 18 states providing over 3,000 jobs to people like Rob, the Noodles employee in this video. Noodles is the perfect example of American ingenuity and the resulting small business creating thousands of jobs.

Rob Lewis was one of the demonstrators at the Capitol in Madison, WI. That's where he was filmed. The first part of this video shows Rob being proud to be a member a socialist organization. The video cuts away to a meeting of the socialist group that Rob is involved with. But the most interesting part of this video is when Rob talks about his employer, Mr. Kennedy. He complains about his boss telling him what to cook, how to cook it, and what time to be at work, amongst other things.

Under Rob Lewis's vision everything Kennedy has worked for should be taken from him. Lewis says workers need to take control of the work place. He says that Kennedy should "abdicate his ownership position" and become equal with the employees. He says the employees would be willing to work with Kennedy if Kennedy brought his "expertise" to the table. Readers, this is what SOCIALISM looks like. Be warned, this video contains graphic language. The discussion of the workplace at Noodles begins at 3:38 in the video. We must defeat Socialism and all its ugly appendages.

TRUMKA TRUMPETS WHITE HOUSE VISITS

Richard Trumka, head of the huge AFL-CIO union, visits the White House 2 to 3 times a week and talks to the administration everyday. Andy Stern, former head of the SEIU, was the second most frequent visitor to the white house in the last two years. SEIU Treasurer, Anna Burger, was the most frequent visitor. I suppose after spending over $400 million to elect Obama, the last two years have been payback. Oh, just so you know, Stern is NOT a registered lobbyist. His constant visits to the White House are in direct violation of the "registered lobbyist" laws. But hey, who cares? This is Obama and anything goes! Watch Trumka Trumpet his visits in the video.

Obama has all the time in the world for his progressive friends but there are at least 6 Obama appointed cabinet heads who have never received a phone call or a summons for a White House meeting in the last two years. They've never met once with their "boss." It's all on the video. It's hard to believe a sitting president, even one as inept as His Holiness, would not meet with ALL of his cabinet heads regularly. Maybe he's just too busy golfing and vacationing to be bothered.

And now Organizing For America (Obama's PAC) and the Enforcer-In-Chief, Obama himself, are diligently working to mobilize and bus union goons to WI, Ohio, Indiana, MA, and other states where governors are simply trying to bring fiscal sanity to their states. The reality is that unions and Obama are trying to trump the will of the voters who overwhelmingly spoke in 2010. Want to guess what Trumka and Stern talk about when they visit the White House 2-3 times a week?

And this from a president who said during the campaign, "Lobbyists won't find a job in my White House," and then immediately hired Patrick Gaspard, one of SEIU's top lobbyists and now welcomes Trumka and Stern with open arms.

This is corruption to the core. And we are stuck with it for 2 more years.

In the meantime, Mr. Above-The-Law-President, BUTT OUT OF THE STATES' BUDGET ISSUES! WHY DON'T YOU CONCENTRATE ON BALANCING WASHINGTON'S BUDGET, WHICH YOU HAVE FAILED MISERABLY AT??

WISCONSIN'S BATTLE CRY - ENOUGH ALREADY!

The political battle in WI continues with dueling rallies between union members from all around the country bussed in by the DNC and Organizing For America and supporters of Gov. Walker's Budget Reform package. Here is some information you won't get from most of the media - information they'd rather you not be aware of:

In 2001 taxpayers contributed $423 million to state employee health insurance coverage. For 2011 that figure will be more than $1 billion. In 2011 state employees will pay $64 million toward their health insurance, about 5.6% of the total cost. (ETF Health Care Analysis)

From 2001 to 2010 taxpayers spent more than $8 billion on state employee health care coverage. During that same period of time state employees contributed about $398 million. (ETF Health Care Analysis)

Public employers contributed almost $1.37 billion to the state's pension fund in 2009, while state employees contributed about $8 million, about 0.6%. (LFB paper 84, Wisconsin Retirement System, Table 28)

From 2000 to 2009 taxpayers spent about $12.6 billion on public employee pensions. During the same period public employees contributed $55.4 million. (LFB paper 84 Wisconsin Retirement system, Table 28)

When looking at state operations, state employees account for about 60% of taxpayer cost. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

Wisconsin taxpayers currently make nearly a 100% payment for the employee portion of the public sector pension contribution. Iowa, Michigan, Minnesota and Ohio pay 0% of the employee contribution. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

Public employees in Wisconsin are vested in the retirement system immediately, while in Illinois it takes 8 years, 10 years in Indiana, 4 years in Iowa, 10 years in Michigan, 3 years in Minnesota and 5 years in Ohio. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11

Survey data finds that private employer HMO plans in Wisconsin typically require a copay of $18 per office visit, $45 per specialist visit, $75 per emergency room visit, or $175 in-patient treatment. The average health insurance premium for these plans averaged $108 per month for single coverage and $261 for family. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

Taxpayers spent $733 million of general purpose revenue on fringe benefits for state employees in fiscal year 2010. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

Fringe benefits made up 25.6% of school district expenditures in 2008-09. (State Budget Office Memo 2-9-11)

About 40% of public-sector workers are represented by labor unions, versus 7.7% of workers in the private sector, and here is how the two sectors fare.

Weekly earnings for the union worker employed by state government is $917. A comparable private sector worker gets $703. A private sector union worker gets $855. (U. S. Labor Department)

For state employees there is a union versus non-union gap in wage gains. State union pay has risen 36% in the past decade, while non-union state employees saw wages rise 27% (roughly holding steady with inflation).

On benefits union compensation is higher and has been rising faster for government workers versus non-government workers. The cost of hourly benefits averaged $13.85 per hour in the public sector in the third quarter of 2010, up 32% in seven years. Private sector benefits averaged $8.20 per hour, up 23% in the same time frame. (U. S. Labor Department)

What is there about these statistics that the unions don't understand? Walker is not on a witch hunt to get rid of the unions. He sees the problem, which is, WE ARE BROKE.

Walker is doing what he was elected to do. His plan is about reform. It is about ending collective bargaining which is responsible for legacy contracts that can't be met. His plan is about regaining the publics' trust. His plan is about stopping out-of-control benefit costs in the public sector and balancing WI's budget. His plan is about requiring public employees to pay their fair share at a time when the private sector workers can no longer support themselves plus the public sector.

And most states are in the same sinking ship Wisconsin is in. Every state has to deal with this problem. I hope they all have the courage and commitment that Governor Walker has.

In the meantime, thousands of government employees are in Madison demonstrating. They have called in "sick," while we, the taxpayers, continue to pay their wages and benefits. Now there are real doctors writing "fake doctor excuses" because in order to get paid for their so-called sick days, the "sick" worker must have a doctor's excuse. The "excuses" say yes, indeed, the doctor did examine the "patient." It's a Big Fat Lie. It's pretty obvious that the doctors who are involved in this scam have sunk to an unethical low. I would hope that the state medical licensing board takes a good look at their activities.

And 13 Democrats have left the state so that the Budget Bill cannot be voted on. They are hanging out in Illinois, and the taxpayers are paying their Per Diem to be in Madison. What a dereliction of duty. They should all be recalled. But since they are hiding in a different state, maybe we should finally "close our borders" so they can't come back. Wisconsin would surely benefit if their absence became permanent.

THERE'S HOLES IN THEM CHEESEHEADS.

Wisconsin's newly elected Governor Scott Walker has picked a fight, and he has picked the right fight after only 6 weeks in office. WI faces a budget hole of $137 million for the fiscal year ending June 30, 2011. That's right, this deficit is ONLY for this fiscal year. When July 1, 2011 rolls around Governor Walker has to repeat the process of trying to balance the state's budget.

Walker has picked a fight with government union workers, and this fight is a good one. He is asking them to contribute 5.8% of their pay to their pensions and 12.6% of the cost of their health care premiums. Right now pension contributions by a worker can be as little as zero. The health care premium contribution can be anywhere from 2-6%. Walker's Budget Bill also includes proposals to strip state employee unions of much of their collective bargaining power. So what's the problem? I see nothing wrong with Walker's proposals. I believe the bill should be passed in its entirety. And when it passes I hope other states will follow suit. WE CAN'T AFFORD IT ANYMORE. Tinkerbell isn't going to sprinkle magic fairy dust over the states and the country and make the problems disappear!

Just take a look at the TV this week. See all those riots and demonstrations in Madison at the Capital? Most of them are teachers who have called in sick so they could march with ugly, name calling signs. Watch the video below. See for yourself what kind of people are teaching our kids. The rest of the protesters are students whom the teachers dragged along, many of whom did not even know why they were marching. And the teachers? If a private sector employee called in SICK so they could demonstrate at a rally, they'd lose their jobs. The teachers? They are protected by the unions. They can't be fired. Most of them called in sick, and guess who is paying them anyway? WE ARE. No wonder Walker wants changes made to collective bargaining.

Today the Capital was in full lock down. An email from Madison State Senator Glenn Grothman's office read as follows: "The police have advised that we lock our doors. Groups of young kids are marching through the halls yelling at the top of their lungs, drums are banking, etc. Restrooms are blockaded. Angry crowds are pounding on our glass windows. Please pray for our state." Doesn't sound like a peaceful affair, does it?

And today all the Democrat Senators walked out of the capital before a vote on the bill could be taken. They know that to have a quorum at least one Dem. had to be present. To stop voting they all left and hid out in a hotel in Rockford, IL. Hey, I have a great idea. Now that the Democrats have left the state it might be a good time to "close our borders."

And now for the truth. According to Politico, not a Right Wing media outlet, Obama's campaign arm, "Organizing for America," is responsible for much of the chaos. They have been using email lists, Face Book, Twitter (54 messages documented), and filling bus after bus with protesters and shuttling them to the Capitol. This was not a spontaneous uprising. It was an organized effort by The Left and "Organizing for America." They have been urging people to "bully lawmakers" and scare them into voting against the Budget Bill.

I believe Walker's decision to force a showdown with organized government workers is long overdue. WI has to reign in its legacy costs, as do most of the other states, or WI faces 6,000 government employees losing their jobs. So come on, government workers, give it up or become jobless like millions of other Americans -- Americans who you want to continue to pay your benefits and pensions, when they themselves have lost theirs.