Foxconn Boondoggle Is Electoral Ammo Wisconsin Dems Seeking

Update: "If Dems are smart, they’ll come out strong against this scam as it goes through the Legislature in the coming weeks, and tie it around the necks of any Republican who dares to sign off on this pre-election corporate welfare," (Jake's Econ).
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Madison, Wisconsin — The Republican scheme to donate $3 billion in public monies to corporate shareholders is a hard sell in Wisconsin, (Foxconn or Fox Con, Say No to the Fox Con, and Fox Con and Water).

For Wisconsin Republicans the public will and welfare of the state have never been considerations for public policy.

The Foxconn scheme is about Republicans transferring from tax-payers' some $3 billion to private Taiwanese interests, and no matter the fiscal and economic damage in the state then declaring rectitude and job creation is the 2018 elections.

The question is: Is the moribund Democratic Party in Wisconsin savvy enough to clobber the Republicans?

Will Republicans holding office in Wisconsin state senate, (20 (R) - 13 (D)), be vulnerable to a message of, 'if they think have $3 billion to burn, don't give our money away to Taiwan.'

Twenty-three of Wisconsin's 72 counties are swing, or pivot, counties, (Ballotpedia). Notes Ballotpedia, "Nineteen Senate districts in Wisconsin intersect with Pivot Counties. As of June 2017, Republicans controlled 14 of them, (Ballotpedia).

Of those 14 senate seats, (though gerrymandered), the Democratic Party should have begun looking at which Republicans can be recalled.

As a life-long Wisconsinite, I guarantee you Obama-to-Trump votes do not believe giving away the store to Taiwan and Illinois is a compelling message.

Ask former Sen. George Petak how working families like subsidizing private corporate interests.

Petak was recalled in 1995 after voting for a .1 percent sales tax increase for a new Brewers stadium.

Wonder how the $3 billion for a Taiwanese corporation will play.

New Berlin, Wisconsin—The GOP's Vision of Education

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker bragged how he plotted to drop the "bomb" on Wisconsin public workers in an infamous sneak attack on Wisconsin that revealed how conniving the rightwing Christian who thinks God guides him really is. Citizen groups are fighting back and a historic recall of the Wisconsin governor should begin early 2012, but not before Christian Fascism rears its head

By Steve Hanson

Monday's New Berlin, Wisconsin school district meeting is a frightening reminder of where education in Wisconsin is heading. Having been given the Scott Walker "tools" to compensate for draconian state funding cuts for schools, the New Berlin school board has taken full advantage. And then some.

About 2/3 of teachers in the state are now working with no formal contract - the former negotiations between teachers and school districts are being replaced by board-written handbooks of work rules. I am somewhat bewildered by some of the turns of events. The supposed purpose of the Walker "tools" has been to save districts money - but the new school handbooks seem to largely be about punishing teachers in the districts.

The New Berlin rules include such oddities as dress rules saying teachers (I assume only female) must wear below-the-knee skirts.

Many of the rules involve making teachers work more unpaid hours in the classroom. I don't know of any other profession where an employer could arbitrarily change all of the work rules, drastically cut salaries, and remove benefits with impunity, and then accuse the workers of thuggery if they had the temerity to complain. This is indeed a brave new world of union attacks.

The new rules go so far as to monetarily punish teachers if they quit. I find that astounding. I also have a number of questions:

a. Do the right-wingers really believe that attacking teachers personally is a good way to improve educaiton?

b. How can school districts hope to attract and keep quality teachers when the entire system is being set up to be punitive toward them?

c. What would happen if New Berlin schools opened with no teachers reporting to work?

A few references on this ---

1. New work rules for New Berlin Teachers
2. BlueCheddar's excellent blog post on this issue
3. More video of the school board meeting at Conley Media's Youtube Channel

Sarah, Oh Sarah

Update: A religious extremist a heartbeat away from the presidency?

Sarah Palin: McCain's won't let her near a press conference or an unscripted forum facing questions.

At least let her speak in tongues.

As Steve Hanson writes:
I swore that I wouldn't pile on to the Sarah Palin story, despite her and John McCain's need to lie continually in their speeches - but I think this should be seen. I think a person's religion is their own business - but when we're being asked to elect someone who would ask her church to pray for a pipeline because it's part of her political agenda --- it raises a lot of questions.

The Internet, PTSD and Keith Roberts

Just a weekend word on the power of the net and a story pursued on this site.

Here at MAL Contends, I have focused effort on veterans' concerns and one Wisconsin persecuted veteran in particular, Keith Roberts, among other political news and commentary.

Though the Roberts story has been pushed and advanced extensively on Wisconsin Public Radio (Gil Halstad), the Madison Air America-formatted radio station (92.1 FM) Lee Rayburn Show, and Harper’s magazine (Scott Horton), the viral power of the net, still, is a thrill to see in action.

Uppity Wisconsin (Steve Hanson's site that is pushing the story hard), connected to MyDD and Juan Cole makes any Roberts piece literally a click away from potentially 1,000,000s of readers. Combined with the power of veterans' online journals and other blogs like Daily Kos ... you get the picture.

Experiencing the commitment and intelligence of writers and Net techs is both humbling and inspiring.

This week, I want to recognize the work of the site, Crooks and Liars, a great political site that recognizes the PTSD issue and the Roberts case in particular:

PTSD: Given the underplayed, staggering numbers on veteran suicides, post-traumatic stress disorder, brain injuries and the like, it seems like awfully bad form to prosecute and imprison a veteran for pushing for PTSD benefits. While some innovative approaches for treating PTSD seem effective, replacing the VA’s ‘criminally negligent’ leadership might also help.