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Wisconsin Clean Elections Coalition

Promoting fair elections for all parties and candidates

eNewsletter #42

May 11, 2007

 www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org

Newsletter Archives

 

Campaign cash won out again. See the Drug Negotiation defeat in the US Senate (Item 1)  

Twice monthly on election and health care reform. Unsubscribe instructions at the bottom.

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In this issue:

1) Health Care 

2) The Aurora Saga

3) Single payer editorial

4) Campaign Reform

5) Taxpayers for Common Sense

6) Tidbits 

7) Give me a Break!

8)  Contact Information

9)  Removal instructions
.

 

1

Health Care

Thanks to Roger Bybee for this excellent piece in Madison's Isthmus, though the credit really goes to the massive support from the folks that volunteer their time on this issue, especially Gene and Linda Farley and their Toyota Hybrid, which has seen every mile of Wisconsin highways as they reach out to the public.

Nonetheless, I hope this piece will bring our business leaders closer to reality.

Sick system
Jack Lohman is trying to save the state's businesses -- from themselves
Roger Bybee on Thursday 05/10/2007

Excerpt: For example, says Lohman, "we can't compete in the auto business with Canada, which has overtaken Michigan as the biggest center of auto making." U.S. auto firms operating in Canada save approximately $5 per hour per worker in health costs alone compared to DaimlerChrysler's engine plant in Kenosha and GM's light-truck and SUV plant in Janesville.

See the complete article HERE.

See the two related articles at:

The Canadian experience - Roger Bybee on Thursday 05/10/2007 - HERE
Possibilities for reform - Roger Bybee on Thursday 05/10/2007 - HERE

Description and comparison of the three Wisconsin health care proposals....

  1. Wisconsin Health Security Act HERE --- (Miller-Benedict SB51/AB94 ----------- AKA The Medicare-for-all Plan)
  2. Wisconsin Health Care Plan HERE ------ (Decker-Musser AFL-CIO SB698 ---- AKA The Newby Plan)
  3. Wisconsin Health Plan HERE -------------- (Gielow-Richards AB1140 -------------- AKA The Riemer Plan)

Comparison of the Health Care Reform Plans HERE

My preferences are in the order listed, but any one would be better than what we have. The first is the most extensive, the second covers only employed workers (at the moment, but would be a reasonable start toward single-payer), and the third leaves the insurance industry in the loop.

The first is the most business friendly and the best for our state's economy, and for the same dollars we are now spending (16% of GDP) to provide health care to 85% of the population, we could provide complete care to 100%. It reallocates the dollars away from the inefficient insurance bureaucracy and toward direct patient care.

Single payer is great for businesses; great for patients; but not so great for insurance companies. But they will survive elsewhere.

DRUG PRICE NEGOTIATIONS BILL BLOCKED IN U.S. SENATE

A minority of the senators blocked legislation allowing Medicare to negotiate lower prescription drug prices in a procedural vote on April 18 that needed 60 votes to move the bill to an up or down vote on passing the bill.

The bill lifted the prohibition on government negotiation included in the legislation creating the Part D drug benefit. Supporters of the measure argued that it would enable the government to use the collective bargaining power of people with Medicare to secure lower prescription drug prices than under the current program consisting of myriad private plans.

Unlike a House bill passed in January, the Senate version would not have required the Medicare to negotiate with drugmakers, only that the ban on direct negotiations by Medicare be lifted. Still, the Senate vote on the bill came to 55-42. All Democratic Senators voted in favor of the bill. They were joined by only five Republicans. Brand-name drug manufacturers had mounted a massive lobbying campaign against the bill.

Medicare Rights Center
520 Eighth Avenue, North Wing, 3rd Floor
New York, NY 10018
Telephone: 212-869-3850
Fax: 212-869-3532

Web site: www.medicarerights.org

This, courtesy of the U.S. Senate Republicans. It is absolutely mind-boggling that these guys, especially Mitch McConnell (R-KY), get re-elected from year to year. Perhaps this is the one "win" that will put them out on the street in 2008. That is, if the Dems don't blow it in the meantime, which with Pelosi and Reid at the helm they stand a good chance of doing. Two bigger losers the Dems could not find.

A National Survey of Physician-Industry Relationships: Most physicians (94%) reported some type of relationship with the pharmaceutical industry, and most of these relationships involved receiving food in the workplace (83%) or receiving drug samples (78%). More than one third of the respondents (35%) received reimbursement for costs associated with professional meetings or continuing medical education, and more than one quarter (28%) received payments for consulting, giving lectures, or enrolling patients in trials. Cardiologists were more than twice as likely as family practitioners to receive payments. Family practitioners met more frequently with industry representatives than did physicians in other specialties, and physicians in solo, two-person, or group practices met more frequently with industry representatives than did physicians practicing in hospitals and clinics.

Conclusions The results of this national survey indicate that relationships between physicians and industry are common and underscore the variation among such relationships according to specialty, practice type, and professional activities.

(Thanks to Medicare Rights Center for this link)

Recent Research (Thanks to www.pnhp.org for these links)

  • "Consumer-Directed" Health Care: In a paper published in the Journal of General Internal Medicine, Drs. Woolhandler and Himmelstein found that high deductible health plans are discriminatory against women, leaving them with far higher annual out-of-pocket health bills than men ($1,844 vs. $847).  The researchers also found that adults 45-64, those with any chronic condition (such as asthma or high blood pressure) and children taking even one medication were likely to suffer financially in high deductible plans.
  • U.S. - Canada Quality Comparison: In a paper published in the Canadian journal Open Medicine, Drs. Woolhandler and Himmelstein found that despite spending half of what the United States does on health per capita, the quality of care in Canada is at least a good (and maybe slightly better). A team of 17 researchers from the U.S. and Canada (led by Dr. Gordon Guyatt) statistically analyzed 38 studies comparing outcomes between the two countries in a diverse set of patient populations. Of the 38 studies, 14 favored Canada and 5 favored the U.S. the remainder showed equal or mixed results.
     

On HSAs: Isn't it interesting that legislators who won't support taxpayer funding of health care, don't seem to mind the taxpayers subsidizing HSAs via tax breaks? That's obviously because the insurance companies help fund their elections and the taxpayers do not.

Doctors Reap Millions for Anemia Drugs

Two of the world's largest drug companies are paying hundreds of millions of dollars to doctors every year in return for giving their patients anemia medicines, which regulators now say may be unsafe at commonly used doses.

<snip>

........ documents given to The New York Times show that at just one practice in the Pacific Northwest, a group of six cancer doctors received $2.7 million from Amgen for prescribing $9 million worth of its drugs last year.

See this unbelievable story HERE. Can this be called anything other that a Kickback?

4th Street Forum
WHERE:  Milwaukee Turner Hall, 2nd Floor, 1034 N. 4th Street (4th and Highland)
Thursday, May 17, 2007, NOON
 WHY CAN’T WE HAVE UNIVERSAL HEALTH CARE?
From Canada to Europe, citizens are guaranteed health care but not in the U.S.  Why not?
Who wins? Who loses?
Moderator: Enrique Figueroa, Ph.D., director, Roberto Hernández Center, UW-Milwaukee
MPTV Broadcast Dates: May 18, 20

This is not new to many of you, but excuse the repeat for the benefit of new subscribers.

The insurance and administration bureaucracy is eating 30% of our health care dollars on unnecessary administration, marketing, sales commissions, high executive salaries, gatekeepers to deny care, and shareholder profits. All without lifting a finger to provide direct patient care. We should expect the industry to protect a system that puts billions of dollars into their pocket, but should we expect politicians to help them?

There is absolutely no denying the rights of individuals or companies to lobby to save their position in life. What is despicable are those that lobby with cash in hand, especially to corrupt our trusted politicians by padding their campaign coffers, all to keep the healthcare system broken and very profitable. Worse are the politicians who pocket the money and then block reform, all while denying that the money affected their legislating.

Medicare is not perfect, but it is the only US healthcare system that works decently and efficiently today. For the same dollars we are spending to provide health care to 85% of the US population, we could put 100% of our people on Medicare-for-all. For the same 16% of GDP we could have a system that is NOT socialized, does NOT have Canada's with times, and does NOT ration medicine. (Though there could be no better form of rationing than having 15% of the people uninsured and another 16% under-insured.)

So rather than fix this system the politicians are trying everything they can to protect the insurance industry that pads their pockets, including giving tax breaks to Health Savings Accounts that effectively deny care through high deductibles. If you are wealthy and healthy they are great tax shelters, but when forced upon employees they are boat anchors and will harm the economy.

Sources: www.wisconsinhealth.org, www.healthcare-now.org, and www.pnhp.org

2

The Aurora Saga

So now we have Aurora St. Luke's Hospital (Milwaukee) looking to acquire Advanced Healthcare (the largest physician group in SE Wisconsin), and they've apparently tried to buy land to build a new hospital across the street from Community Memorial Hospital. And ProHealth (Waukesha Memorial) wants to buy Medical Associates (the second largest physician group in Menomonee Falls).

If St. Luke's and Waukesha control all the physicians in Menomonee Falls, what will happen to CMH? Where is our Certificate of Need program when you need it?

I wrote my state reps, Sen. Alberta Darling and Rep. Sue Jeskewitz, about it and received zero response (ZERO!).

So I decided to check the WDC contributor database and found a good reason for their inaction. Numerous campaign contributions from Aurora executives, including numerous from its former CEO, Ed Howe, to just these two state employees. A total of $90,000 and $8500, respectively, to Darling and Jeskewitz from all health care interests.

Look HERE to see Aurora Cash to Darling and Jeskewitz (click on the names at the bottom)

Both legislators have argued that campaign contributions do not affect their actions, but this certainly challenges that claim. Neither have been responsive to the need for a Medicare-for-all system, and Darling has co-sponsored the tax breaks for Health Savings Accounts. She would say it had nothing to do with the $29,028 she received from the insurance industry or $114,450 from Banking and Finance interests, but it sure gives a strong appearance that it does.

The argument of "free-market competition" is destroyed as this consolidation would eliminate competition, not bolster it. We are obviously going to have to find a more believable excuse in the future.
I recently had this exchange with a physician friend with knowledge of the efforts:

Jack: I am hearing that Aurora is now looking to buy up Advanced Healthcare and they want to build a new hospital across from Community Memorial Hospital (in Menomonee Falls). And ProHealth wants to buy Medical Associates. What is the scuttlebutt? If St. Lukes and Waukesha control all the docs in MF, what happens with CMH?

Doctor: The Advanced Health Care Board voted last month to accept Aurora's offer to buy the clinic and build them a new hospital near Cedarburg.  They need 2/3 of the physician owners to agree, with the vote to come in the next few weeks.  Lots of reluctance, but the proposed merger of Columbia St. Mary's and Froedtert may push the physicians over the edge.  Both Froedtert and Columbia St. Mary's employ large numbers of physicians who compete with Advanced.  Froedtert owns Community Memorial, and [are] primarily served by the Columbia St. Mary's and Medical College physician groups.  So Advanced is left out when the music stops if they don't join Aurora. Community Memorial could lose both Advanced and Medical Associates.  West Bend Synergy is also in talks with Aurora.   If Advanced goes to Aurora, the word [is that] Medical Associates will sell to Waukesha Memorial.  Lots of consolidation going on now, as the costs and complexity of doing business, compliance with insurance company documentation etc is driving independent practitioners out of business.  Just as the insurance companies are consolidating (United and Wellpoint control 2/3 of the insurance industry now) so we are seeing a consolidation of hospitals and physician groups.  There will probably be few independent hospitals or physicians in 10 years, and a huge shortage of physicians, as the new crop will work only 50 hours per week.

Jack: Wow. So even without a single-payer system the shortage of physicians will create wait times. And to top it off, the consolidations will drive down physician salaries and there will be fewer going into the profession!

Politics can work wonders. All of this because the politicians (a) gutted the Stark laws that prevented hospitals from employing physicians, and (b) terminated the CON that prevented hospitals from building wherever they wanted. I guess the old saying "be careful of what you wish for" sure applies here. So that means that Froedtert and Columbia will have to build a clinic in MF. But maybe the corporate CEOs will have the last word as they force the industry to managed-care-for-all.

Seems to me we should undo the political changes. Physicians are much better off being independent and in the driver's seat, rather than reporting to CEOs whose bottom lines are profits. Where is the Medical Society when you need them?

Doctor: AMA and State Medical Society all strongly oppose these moves, but are handicapped by deep pockets of the hospitals and insurance industry.  A single payer system is the only way out of this mess. (emphasis mine)

When the Doc says that "deep pockets" are standing in the way, my reps Sen. Darling and Rep. Jeskewitz and yours really ought to listen up. That translates to CASH going into their campaign coffers, and the implications are serious.

Hellooo up there....... Money wouldn't be given if it didn't work as intended!

One thing you can say about these kinds of issues: it sure keeps the campaign cash flowing, doesn't it? And, conveniently, from both sides of the issue!

See campaign contributions to Darling and Jeskewitz here, and for your own representatives here: Assembly and Senate (Click on the reps name and then "Follow the Money" in the upper right corner)

Aurora employees have contributed $67,865 since 1993 to members of the current legislature, and $55,025 to Governor Doyle.


Ours is a health care crisis, caused directly by our political crisis.

You can be sure that if private campaign cash were not changing hands, our health care problems would be fixed overnight! But that's the way our electoral system is designed. Our system virtually demands that private money finance campaigns, and government giveaways are the best way to get the money.
 

 

On physicians and Hospitals: I have the highest regard for (most) physicians, but I do not believe they should be employed by any hospital. They should be paid very well (in fact, better than CEOs) and should be free to admit to any hospital that serves the patient's best interests. Hospitals can also pay their physician employees "production bonuses" which can cloud that process, and they can apply what are in effect "physician sales quotas."

Having been in the health care field for 35 years I've been lucky to know the best (at least in cardiology). My own cardiologist, rather than putting me through an expensive cardiac cath that I requested and he would have benefited from, instead sent me to a second cardiologist for a noninvasive test that showed I didn't need the cath in the first place. That's what good physicians do.

  

3

Single-payer and Rep. Paul Ryan

Single-payer system would give us the world's best care

By DR. JOHN DALEY
Union Leader
Commentary
May 2, 2007

THE APRIL 25 editorial "Rationing health care: Some want that for NH" represents another attempt by members of the health insurance industry, or someone with very good insurance, to torpedo the best choice for health care reform - a single payer system, or Medicare for all - by using scare words like rationing or socialized medicine.

As a family physician on the front lines of medicine I daily see the difficulties patients face due to lack of insurance or under-insurance. Generally these patients ration their own care, disappearing for a year or two when they lose their job and insurance, only to return with sky-high blood pressures or out- of-control diabetes, effectively taking years off their lives.

In New Hampshire, approximately 135,000 citizens lack health insurance, and for those who have it many can't get all they need. The MRI wait may not be long, but many people can't see their doctor, much less get an MRI. Now with health savings accounts and high deductible plans I have insured patients refusing their MRIs due to the cost.

It is estimated that 18,000 Americans die annually due to lack of insurance - which is a rather harsh effect of our present method of rationing. Shouldn't the elimination of these deaths be a national priority?

The editorial mentions Canadians coming to the United States for surgery because of better and more readily available care. These numbers are rather small and the editorial fails to mention Americans going to Canada to get affordable drugs or the ever-increasing phenomenon of medical tourism where Americans travel abroad to get surgeries that are more affordable.

The bottom line is that Canadians enjoy longer, healthier lives than Americans, despite spending far less than we do, while covering every citizen. In a recent survey, only 3.5 percent of Canadians reported feeling that they waited too long for care, which is a much smaller number than our 15 percent uninsured who wait quite a bit. Long waits are a misleading myth.

Furthermore, a recent Harris Interactive poll of patients in the leading industrial societies found that Canada ranked first and the United States last in patient satisfaction with health care. You can’t just poll those with good insurance, after all!

Remember the term “single payer” as the best solution to our health care system’s problems. If one believes that health care is a human right and not a privilege, and if one wants to avoid having a health insurance company — which profits by denying care — choosing which tests you can have and which drugs you can take, it is the best answer.

The government pays for more than 50 percent of health care costs already through Medicare, Medicaid, federal employees, the military and the Veterans Administration, so it is not a radical stretch to extend Medicare to all Americans to cover the uninsured.

HR 676 has been introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives by (along with others) Democratic presidential candidate Dennis Kucinich. The New Hampshire House has shown great wisdom in introducing a resolution to study single-payer care for New Hampshire.

When discussing health care reform, don't be scared by words like "rationed" or "socialized." Be informed, be wise and be empathic - choose what's best for America and all its citizens, not just those with good insurance.

If we took the money, structure and ingenuity in the current health care arena and applied it to the whole population via a single-payer system that eliminated the unfairness, complexities and waste, we truly would have the world's best health care for our citizens.

Dr. John Daley of Londonderry (NH) is a physician in Derry and a member of Physicians for a National Health Program.

A cardiologist friend of mine sent me this note:

"We had a talk this morning at the American College of Cardiology Wisconsin Chapter meeting from Congressman Paul Ryan, who did indeed use the scare words socialized medicine and the Canadian statistics of how many people died waiting for bypass surgery etc. "

Thus you folks in Racine/Kenosha had best get to Ryan with the U.S. – Canada Quality Comparison  He needs to know how very wrong he is on Canada, and the fact that we could cover 100% of the population for the same 16% of GDP we are spending today to cover 85% and have a Cadillac system by comparison. No wait times, no rationing, and the same private doctors and hospitals we have today.

What better form of rationing is there than keeping 15% uninsured, 16% under-insured and another small but growing number of employees that have been coaxed or forced into high deductible HSAs? Dr. Daley makes a quiet but powerful point about the number of Americans that are traveling to foreign countries to have surgeries that are too expensive in the US. Perhaps that's the next form of hype: "Join our HSA with a high deductible and travel the world!" Can't beat that one.

Here's contributions from Health Care and Insurance for all US candidates.

 

4

Campaign Reform

WISCONSIN DEMOCRACY CAMPAIGN E-LERT

In this update:
1. Senate passes three reform bills
2. Supreme Court rejects Ziegler, ethics complaint may proceed

The state Senate this afternoon passed three reform bills supported by the Democracy Campaign including Senate Bill 77, truth-in-campaigning legislation requiring full disclosure of special interest electioneering.

SB 77 was approved on a 26-7 vote. The Senate also passed Senate Bill 23, which addresses the revolving door between lawmaking and lobbying by requiring a one-year cooling off period before state lawmakers who leave the Legislature may start working as lobbyists at the Capitol. SB 23 passed on a 30-3 vote.

A third WDC-backed bill, Senate Bill 170, known as the Judicial Right to Know bill, was passed this afternoon on a 19-14 vote.

2007-08 Legislative Initiatives
 

5

From www.ctj.org  

Bush Tax Cuts Reduced President's Taxes by 14 Percent, Cheney's by 21 Percent, in 2006

A new paper from Citizens for Tax Justice shows that President George W. Bush and his wife Laura received a $31,037 income tax reduction for 2006 due to the President's tax cut program. Vice-president Dick Cheney and his wife Lynne, whose income was much higher, saved $110,932.

CTJ director Bob McIntyre notes, "At a time when our nation is running huge deficits and spending hundreds of billions of dollars and thousands of American lives on the Iraq war, you'd think such people would be asked to sacrifice a little rather than receiving such largesse."

Congress Considers Taking Money from Social Security to Extend Tax Breaks

House and Senate leaders are hoping to overcome some disagreements so that they can appoint conferees and finalize a budget plan before the middle of May. Democratic leaders in both the House and Senate initially proposed budget plans that would supposedly produce a budget surplus by 2012. The Senate plan was amended before it was passed, at the urging of Max Baucus (D-MT), to spend that alleged surplus on tax breaks and, to a much lesser degree, on expanded children's health care.

Members of the House passed their plan without any such amendment. Now the two budget proposals must be reconciled and the House must decide whether to accept the Baucus amendment in the final budget plan. Few have noted that the surplus they're talking about doesn't really exist. The "surplus" money that would be spent on tax cuts and so forth would really be taken from funds that are supposed to be used to shore up Social Security.

In 2012, the Social Security surplus, which is supposed to be separate from the rest of the federal budget, is projected to be $248 billion. The Senate budget plan, as initially proposed, would produce a surplus of $132 billion in 2012 - but that includes the Social Security surplus. So clearly the federal government is relying on the Social Security surplus to stay in the black. If the Baucus amendment is adopted in the final budget, that would essentially mean the Social Security surplus is being spent, mostly on tax cuts.

Of course the House and Senate budget plans are far more responsible than the President's since at least they revive the "pay-as-you-go" rule, or PAYGO, which helped us balance the budget in the 1990s. But the Baucus amendment, if adopted in the final budget, will be a pledge to waive PAYGO to spend the projected "surplus" that's supposedly coming in 2012.

IRS Avoiding Audits of Offshore Tax Cheaters  

A new report from the General Accounting Office (GAO) explores the murky waters of overseas tax avoidance by wealthy Americans, and finds that while IRS audits of Americans using offshore tax havens often uncover large tax scams and a great deal of revenue, the government is hampered in its investigative work by rules requiring tax administrators to wrap up most audits in three years. The GAO report was presented in a Senate Finance Committee hearing yesterday, where a Treasury official did not say whether the Bush administration would consider changing the statute of limitations for these particular tax audits. The report examines case studies showing that three years is simply not enough time to effectively catch tax cheats who are running away as fast as they can. The New York Times' Edmund Andrews has the story. The Talking Taxes weblog has commentary.

 

6

Tidbits

So Tommy Thompson now believes that employers should have the right to discriminate against gays in their hiring practices?

Funny how times change. As governor he pushed through and signed into law a Wisconsin statute that prevents these same employers from not hiring smokers as a way of reducing their health care costs, improving efficiency, and improving employee health. He eliminated the very "employer choice" he now supports.

But wait; the gay community didn't give him $160,000 and pay for three trips to Australia, Europe and South Africa, as Philip Morris did. Or pay for his many trips to the remote Badger games. And thanks to his pimping for the tobacco industry it took three years to get smoking out of day care centers. Day care centers, for criminy sakes!

It's funny how political money works, and we are seeing the same affects on passing health care reform thanks to $1.4 million from the insurers, even though it would reduce employer costs from 15% to 5% of wages and keep more jobs in Wisconsin. Thankfully the Country Bumpkin is off doing other things these days, rather than shilling for the state's insurance industry.

He later said he was "confused" by the question, which was: "If a private employer finds homosexuality immoral, should he be allowed to fire a gay worker?" Seems pretty clear to me, but my guess is that he had second thoughts about kissing up to the far right. 

Now Doyle is supporting a statewide law banning smoking in public places, including taverns. Good for him.

But exempting Casinos? I wonder why.

Actually, a third of smokers prefer smoke free dining, and 80% want to give it up. This will hopefully help. The restaurant association, after taking Philip Morris money for years, has finally joined the effort on the condition that it includes taverns. The Tavern League, however, wants taverns to be the only place people can smoke. If the restaurant association were smart, they'd agree, because for every smoker they lost they'd gain two nonsmokers.

But remember what I said: "If they were smart," and to date there has not been a lot of evidence of that.

To Governor Doyle......

Nevada Casino fight goes up in smoke -- Gaming industry eases opposition as state after state passes smoking bans -- After years of actively opposing smoking bans, the casino industry's primary lobbying organization is backing off as a wave of states pass indoor smoking prohibitions that include casinos. See complete story HERE.

On Illegal Immigration: Part of me wants to agree with Jim Sensenbrenner and just send them all back. They broke our laws and now want forgiveness. Too late.

But then the pragmatic side jumps in as I look at the guest worker proposals. Unfair, yes, to those who spent the time to follow the law. But I look at the recent housing boom, a good deal of which was fueled by immigrants in need of homes, pushing the market up from the bottom, and I wonder what would happen if all of a sudden we had 20 million fewer residents and 5 million more homes on the market. You remember Ross Perot's giant swooshing sound? The housing market would surely collapse, as would other parts of the economy. Like it or not, immigrants have played a role. We just all wish it had been a legal one.

Most of the immigrants are decent people that want a better life for their family, and we should allow the best of them to stay on the condition that they assimilate and learn our language within 24 months. But they must be vetted, and the convicts returned to their home country to stay.

We must also build the fence and close the border. Let the good folks come in at legal entry points. And let's penalize the companies and the CEOs that helped create this dilemma and use the money to pay for the fence. The laws they broke have been in effect for years. Bush played a heavy role with his "matching willing workers with willing employers" rhetoric, and that encouraged illegal entry. Sensenbrenner should have known that the willing employers were also heavy campaign contributors, but he refuses to support campaign reform.

There is a more far-reaching issue that has been buried by many, and that's the fact that terrorists are taking advantage of our weak borders. In time they will have built their masses in the U.S. and the games will begin. When we have 1000 terrorists scattered throughout the country, just where should we begin? We can thank the current administration for lax security to benefit its contributors, but a heavy burden falls on the Clinton administration as well.

Northwest CEO to get $26.6 million stock award

Get ready for more fireworks between Northwest management and the airline's front-line works. That seems likely after an Associated Press report saying CEO Doug Steenland "will be awarded $26.6 million in equity when Northwest … emerges from Chapter 11 bankruptcy next month, the carrier announced Friday."

See complete article HERE.

 

Recent Senate Votes

 

U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 - Vote Agreed to (51-46, 3 Not Voting)

The Senate gave final approval to this $124 billion bill that funds military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Sen. Herbert Kohl voted YES......send e-mail or see bio
Sen. Russ Feingold voted YES......send e-mail or see bio

 

Recent House Votes

 

U.S. Troop Readiness, Veterans' Care, Katrina Recovery, and Iraq Accountability Appropriations Act, 2007 - Vote Passed (218-208, 2 Present, 5 Not Voting)

The House passed this $124 billion bill that funds military operations in Iraq and Afghanistan and sets a timetable for the withdrawal of troops from Iraq.

Rep. F. James Sensenbrenner Jr. voted NO......send e-mail or see bio

And of course, one of the reasons Sensenbrenner opposes the Estate Tax is that he inherited his wealth from his parents' holdings in Kimberly Clark.

 Who won the Republican debate?

Who won the Democrat debate?

But remember that polls don't mean a hell of a lot in the early days...

 

7

Give me a Break!

-- Go to Google.com

-- Click on Maps.

Put into the command line:

Milwaukee, Wisconsin To Paris , France

-- And read line # 22 

See an example of what the border patrol is up against HERE

 A man died and went to Heaven. As he stood in front of the Pearly Gates, He saw a huge wall of clocks behind him. He asked, "What are all those clocks?"

St. Peter answered, "Those are Lie-Clocks. Everyone on earth has a Lie-Clock.
Every time you lie the hands on your clock move."
"Oh", said the man. "Whose clock is that?"

"That's Mother Teresa's", replied St. Peter. "The hands have never moved, indicating that she never told a lie."
"Incredible", said the man. "And whose clock is that one?"

Peter responded, "That's Abraham Lincoln's clock. The hands have moved twice, telling us that Abraham told only two lies in his entire life."
"Where's George Bush's clock?" asked the man.
"George's clock is in Jesus' office. He's using it as a ceiling fan".

 

8
Contact information

Lohman is a retired business owner that volunteers’ time on the issues of Election reform and Universal health care -

Contact: Jack E. Lohman
jelohman@gmail.com or jelohman@charter.net
Phone 414-477-8686 (cell)
 www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org
www.WiCleanElections.org

www.MoneyedPoliticians.com (my book: Politicians - Owned and Operated by Corporate America)

www.SmokeFreeDining.net (A searchable restaurant database)

Wisconsin State Assembly pages: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/leginfo/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=assembly

Wisconsin State Senator pages: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/leginfo/contact/legislatorslist.aspx?house=senate

 

9
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If either fails please notify me directly at jelohman@gmail.com. Thanks.

Disclosure: I am a center-right Republican that voted for Bush twice (though at this point I wish I could have a do-over). But the Republicans look worse here because they (are/were) in power and the party blocking reform. Next year it may be the Democrats taking center stage. Were I to have a political choice it would be for a strong third-party reform candidate in all seats. I do not like our very costly and ineffective duopoly. Jack Lohman

See Lohman's complete disclosure HERE.