Menard's dump
Is the only law that's going to call Wisconsin's riches resident on his malfeasances Milwaukee Magazine's "Murphy's Law"?
Here is the Final Cudahy TIF Audit
It was like pulling teeth to get it (that is another blog post and a letter to the State for all of the Open Records Request issues)!
South Milwaukee eVents newsletter
If you don't already subscribe to South Milwaukee City Clerk Jim Shelenske's SM eVents newsletter you might want to. Shelenske has been publishing this newsletter about all things South Milwaukee for the past couple of years. He'll deliver it right to your email inbox as a pdf attachment. To subscribe, send Jim an email at jim@southmilwaukee.org. He also maintains a website at www.southmilwaukee.org. Check it out!
Blizzard Day Thoughts
Now that most of the shoveling is complete, I get to spend a second "quality" day with my 3 kids. It may be a bit to cold to spend it in the backyard like yesterday though.
Some observations from Wednesday's storm:
My Son is Growing Up to be an Advocate
Last night, my son attended his first People First meeting (http://peoplefirstwi.org/page2.php). This was his first real opportunity to be with individuals who are fighting for their rights, other than his family. People First is an advocacy group that takes on issues that affect them and their families. It is a group run by individuals with varying disabilities.
The issue last night was the State budget. There is great concern about the Medicaid budget. Medicaid also covers Family Care and IRIS programs within the State. Not only does Medicaid affect people with disabilities, but it also affects the elderly.
What Wisconsin Elected, Part 2
Hot on the heels of the very generous corporate-friendly lawsuit-limitations legislation that flew through Wisconsin's now-Republican-controlled Legislature last month and was even more quickly signed by the new GOP governor, the state's new Republican triumvirate has enacted another law that gives tax breaks to companies that "create" jobs in Wisconsin. This law gives companies thousands of dollars in tax deductions for each job they create.
Aside from why avowed small-government/free-market advocates would get their pro-small government involved in private-enterprise matters such as this, I wondered what kinds of safe guards this law might contain that would prevent some enterprising company or companies from engaging in a grab-the-tax-breaks-and-run scheme. So, when I learned that this bill was whip-lashing through the Legislature, I contacted our new state senator, Chris Larson, to ask that he try to protect Wisconsin taxpayers who are going to get stuck with the bill for these tax breaks by inserting some taxpayer safe guards into the bill. Some of the conditions I had hoped the law would contain are:
Girls Softball
Now that the Packers season is over and the snow is beginning to melt, it is time to think about pitchers and catchers reporting to Arizona on February 16. It is also time to think about the upcoming baseball and softball season for the kids.
The Cudahy St.Francis Little Baseball Association (CSFLBA) (http://www.ballcharts.com/csfbaseball) is looking to expand its Girls Fastpitch Division in both the Majors and the Minors for next season. These leagues are open to all girls from the ages of 8 to 14.
What Wisconsin Elected, Part 1
People who are called conservatives these days say they want smaller government and for government to keep its nose out of people's lives.
Yet, one of the first laws the newly elected "small government" Republican triumvirate of both houses of the Legislature and the governor enacted is a huge poke of the government's nose into Wisconsinites' lives. This law restricts individuals' rights to sue, and limits the amount of damages juries can award people who have been harmed. The law not only raises the bar on lawsuit eligibility, it caps punitive damages at $200,000 or double the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is greater, and keeps noneconomic damages in medical malpractice cases involving nursing homes from exceeding $750,000. It further prohibits nursing home-abuse reports to be used as evidence in civil and in criminal cases!
Delivering a Message
There have been many occasions in my life where I have had to deliver difficult messages. The most diffucult by far was letting my brother, sister and my mom's sister know that my mom had passed away. This happened almost 25 years ago, but I still remember it like it was yesterday. I sometimes think back on that morning and wonder if I told them correctly, did I deliver this difficult message correctly. While it was not an easy message to deliver, I had to do it.
Throughout my career, I have had to deliver my share of messages, both good ones and bad ones. It was not until I became a father, did I realize the importance of how the message is conveyed. The delivery of the message is probably the most important part of a message. A poor delivery and there will be outrage. Deliver a message with much thought and maybe the message is received with more of an understanding. When I deliver a message to my kids correctly, there are no fights. When I come out and say that this is what is going to be done, my way, there is always an argument that ensues.
Another Budget Repair Bill Item
Invention Convention invention
E. W. Luther 4th grader's Invention Convention invention: Cover Clamps. (Sleep Tight, No Cover Fights) Good job, kid, and all of Mrs. Kloc's students who invented great inventions.
Remove the Medicaid Provisions from the Budget Repair Bill
Maybe the Medicaid aspect of the Budget Repair Bill should be removed completely. Not only will this affect people in the disability community, but it will also affect anybody currently receving Medicaid benefits.
Again, I ask, why no public input?
Guest Blog by Cudahy1st - We are BROKE!!!
Governor Scott Walker said. "We are broke in this state. We have been broke for years. People have ignored that for years, and it's about time somebody stood up and told the truth. The truth is: We don't have money to offer. We don't have finances to offer. This is what we have to offer.”
CPI - Consumer Price Indexes
The Consumer Price Indexes (CPI) program produces seasonally adjusted monthly data on changes in the prices paid by urban consumers for a representative basket of goods and services
Are the Public Sector Workers Really Paid Less?
Let’s look at a national study on this from left leaning MSNBC:
Raising Awareness to Medicaid
A media event will be held today in Madison to support Wisconsin Medicaid and raise the voices of people with disabilities, working families, older adults, and others with a stake in Wisconsin's health.
The event will be held at 1 p.m. on Sunday, February 20, 2011 at the
Madison Senior Center (330 West Mifflin St., Madison, Wisconsin).
Medicaid Matters Alliance
From Save BadgerCare Coalition
Medicaid is a vitally important safety net for over 1.1 million Wisconsinites including working families, older adults, and adults and children with disabilities including mental illness, developmental disabilities, and physical disabilities.
