The Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism, through an open records request, obtained more than 300 constituent emails, letters or calls to Republican leaders. Virtually all of the citizens support a public hearing on Assembly Bill 185 and Senate Bill 163, which would mirror Iowa’s strong model for nonpartisan redistricting.

Instead of letting the politicians draw legislative and congressional voting district maps after each major census, Iowa assigns the task to a nonpartisan state agency. The result is more competitive elections without partisan favors or expensive lawsuits.

“The argument opposing redistricting (reform) must be weak if you fear a public discussion,” Sandy Whisler of Lake Mills wrote to GOP leaders last month.

...

“Refusal to hold a hearing reveals either a deficient understanding of democracy or a deliberate attempt to thwart democracy,” wrote Kaj Foget of Madison. “Please reconsider your position.”

How Wall Street — not pensioners — wrecked Detroit

While clueless elites continue to blame "reckless public pensions," a new report tells a very different story

In its house editorial yesterday, USA Today retold the now-accepted story of Detroit’s bankruptcy. Railing on “reckless public pensions,” the newspaper told its readers that the Motor City is “Exhibit A for municipal irresponsibility” because it allegedly “negotiated generous pensions” that were too lavish. In this fable, the average Detroit pensioner’s $19,000 a year stipend – which many get in lieu of Social Security – is somehow defined not only as excessive, but also as the primary cause of the city’s financial problems. Detroit, thus, becomes a weapon in the larger Plot Against Pensions, as the right holds it up as a cautionary tale supposedly showing that A) police officers, firefighters and sanitation workers are greedy and B) America cannot afford to fulfill negotiated agreements to pay public-sector workers a subsistence retirement benefit.

...

Commissioned by the think tank Demos, the new report out today from former investment banker Wallace Turbeville shows that contrary to the myths about a bloated municipal government overspending on lavish social services, Detroit’s “overall expenses have declined over the last five years” by $419 million thanks to the city “laying off more than 2,350 workers, cutting worker pay, and reducing future healthcare and future benefit accruals for workers.” Today, Turbeville notes that “Detroit has a significantly smaller workforce per capita than comparable cities.” Yet, those draconian cuts still left the city with an annual $198 million shortfall because of three big problems – none of which has anything to do with supposedly greedy public workers and their allegedly overly “generous” pension benefits.

...

But perhaps the least discussed factor is the financing cost associated with a series of Wall Street-engineered debt deals back in 2005 and 2006. These schemes crafted by UBS and Bank of America’s Merrill Lynch were supposed to reduce pension fund obligations by using derivatives to try to “synthetically” convert variable-rate interest instruments into fixed-rate contracts.

...

As Turbeville shows, in the five years leading up to today’s crisis, the city’s pension contribution expenses were essentially flat. Yes, its health care contribution expenses increased, but they rose by less than the nationwide annual increase in health care expenses, meaning Detroit experienced nothing out of the ordinary on that score. So if benefits didn’t drive the legacy cost increases what did? As Turbeville documents, it was fees, financing costs and payments incurred by Wall Street’s swap scheme. Those expenses constitute more than 61 percent of the total legacy-cost jump.

Don't they read this stuff before they post it on the web?

McDonald's knows they don't pay their employees like me enough to make ends meet. But instead of paying us enough to get by, their "help" consists of a website that's chock full of CLUELESS (and offensive!) tips. You have to see it to believe it.



The truth is, McDonald's made $5.5 billion in profits last year and they can afford to actually help – by paying us enough to make ends meet. It won't be easy, but to make that happen we need everyone to see – and be outraged by – just how out of touch they truly are. Watch the video to see for yourself, and spread the word on Facebook or Twitter after you have – or just forward this email.

We'll be in touch with what's next,

Maria Trisler
Low Pay is Not OK

Governors' races are where the action is in 2014.

We've seen the damage that Republican governors can do: "purging" eligible voters from the voting rolls, closing women's health clinics and passing economic policies that favor the wealthy and the well-connected.

Take a look at this infographic explaining why next year's 36 governors' races are so critical and then share it with your friends and family!

“Shall not be infringed.”

The right to bear arms is ALREADY “infringed” for many, and for very good reason. Here’s a short list of things that could easily happen if we were to give you your way, remove all “infringements,” and completely deregulate the Second Amendment:

...A career felon could walk out of prison, and purchase a full-auto AK-47 from Walmart
...Your psycho ex could buy a sniper rifle and silencer from “some guy” for $100
...A mentally handicapped child could get a pistol from a vending machine
...Known terrorists and those with terrorist affiliations could easily purchase Stinger missile launchers to shoot down airliners, and RPGs to blow up your Hummer
...Any nutjob could walk out of the asylum, buy a grenade launcher and flamethrower, and visit your kids at school.

...

“The Second Amendment is our only protection from TYRANNY!”

They have drones. They have laser-firing aircraft that can blow up one target every 15 seconds in a 150-mile radius. They have surveillance satellites, nuclear bombs, missiles, poison gas, tanks, aircraft carriers, bombers. The U.S. government beat the THIRD REICH. They beat JAPAN. And that was 75 years ago, with 2,000-mile long supply lines. Seriously, not to be defeatist, but it’s not like they’re going to invade with cotton-shirted police carrying pointy sticks. At least, not before they laser-bomb you from orbit using atomic drones with nerve gas. (The usual response to this is, “Yeah, but they have to HAVE those things and people to operate them first.” The rebuttal is “So, your strategy is to win by assuming they can’t fight back, and that the U.S. Government won’t launch a first strike. Good luck with that.“)

...

“Gun regulations are a slippery slope…GUN GRABBING IS NEXT!”

The United States passed its first gun control laws prior to the Civil War, criminalizing possession of firearms by blacks. Be honest, what’s your opinion on THAT one? Gun regulations have existed in the United States for about 150 years, evolving many times since then to cover machine guns, assault rifles, Saturday Night Specials and undetectable firearms. And you can still carry an AR-15 around with a .45 in your back pocket.

...

“Everybody who don’t agree with us is a GUN GRABBING COMMIE!”

Gun grabbing Commies? Really? 91% of Americans are gun-grabbing Communists? Does that include the 88% of Republicans, 90% of Independents and 88% legal gun owners who support universal background checks? Wanting to regulate and control a certain type of gun or accessory doesn’t mean you want to get rid of ALL guns. About 59% of Americans (41% of Republicans) support a ban on assault weapons, 58% (40% of Republicans) want to ban hi-cap magazines, and 26% of Americans would support a ban on handguns.

But now Burke is coming under criticism from some within her own party following a decision last week by the U.S. Department of Labor. The federal agency found that up to 20 former Trek Bicycle employees are eligible for special federal aid via the Trade Adjustment Assistance program because they lost their jobs due to foreign trade.

Specifically, the decision said "the increased reliance on imports contributed importantly to the worker group separations and sales/production declines at Trek Bicycle Corporation."

...

Some labor officials and liberal activists have been slow to throw their support behind Burke — who is aiming to take on Republican Gov. Scott Walker — because Trek is a nonunion company that has moved much of its production to China.

They pounced on the decision finding Trek guilty of trade-related layoffs, noting a similar U.S. Department of Labor decision was used against Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney. "That's a tough pill to swallow for Democrats that spent last year bashing Romney for sending jobs to China," said a liberal activist. "Totally ridiculous — I'm ashamed to have Burke as our only candidate."

Furman wrote a 16-page 2005 paper entitled “Wal-mart: A progressive success story” when he was a visiting scholar at New York University’s Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. That’s something Michigan’s Mackinac Center liked LOVED. You may remember Mackinac from their support of Right-To-Work in Michigan, or their ALEC involvement, or their supporting role in readying and unleashing Wisconsin Act 10 upon our state. (If not, here’s their entry on SourceWatch).

Back in the day, Alternet printed a nice takedown of Furman by Lynn Stuart Parramore which includes this exremely off-putting quote from Furman on lefty “Kum-Bay-Ya”:

“The collateral damage from these efforts to get Wal-Mart to raise its wages and benefits is way too enormous and damaging to working people and the economy more broadly for me to sit by idly and sing ‘Kum-Ba-Ya’ in the interests of progressive harmony.”

...

I can see why Furman got a conservative stamp of approvall before he was appointed Chairman of the Council of Economic Advisors (CEA) in June of this year.

f the presidential thing doesn't work-out for Scott Walker, his back-up plan appears to be as a Jeff Foxworthy knock-off. In his upcoming book, he re-tells of a time that he cracked his staff up by reading the "Top Ten Ways to tell if you Might be a Member of a public sector union":

...

8.) You get paid twice as much as a private sector person doing the same job but make up the difference by doing half as much work.

7.) It takes longer to fire you than the average killer spends on death row.

...

4.) You know by having a copy of the Holy Koran on your desk your job is 100% safe.