Promoting
fair elections for all parties and
independents
eNewsletter #6
(Mar 1, 2006)
This
is a periodic newsletter on election and health care reform. If you wish not to
receive it please unsubscribe at the bottom and accept my apologies for the
intrusion.
In this issue:
2) State
may tackle catastrophic health care (John Torinus)
3) CitizensForEthics.org
4)
It's time to throw the rascals out!
5)
Interesting Links (from
6) Legislative Hearings
(nothing new to report)
7) Book recommendations
8) Contact Information
9) Removal instructions
Please do not respond to this email address. It is used for
cleanup purposes only. Please use jelohman@gmail.com
1
While the neocon plan seems
insane on its face, its purpose is to bankrupt government so that corporations
can dominate more completely.
By Ed Garvey
Perhaps there is an easy way to solve our nation's economic problems. Eliminate
taxes for everyone earning more than $100,000 per year and for all
corporations? After all, we are told that those at the top of our economy
create most of our jobs. If we eliminate their taxes, they will create more
jobs. Right?
Why not bar individuals from suing corporations? I recognize that the Chamber
of Commerce and the Republican Party nationally, and the Wisconsin
Manufacturers & Commerce lobby group in our state, have already proposed
something similar with a combination of tort reform, "tax limits" and
the latest federal budget, but maybe we should not stop at halfway measures.
Why not make it clear that corporations should have the same First Amendment
rights as other citizens to contribute to campaigns?
<snip>
See the complete text at: http://www.fightingbob.com/article.cfm?articleID=494
By John Torinus
Potentially the most far reaching
idea in Gov. Jim Doyle's "state of the state" message got the least
attention.
Though
put forward in only the broadest of terms, his proposal for coverage of
catastrophic health costs is a concept that could touch every resident in the
state, directly or indirectly. It could have major appeal in segments of the
<snip>
See the
complete article at: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=402478
John Torinus is chief executive officer of Serigraph Inc. of
This
week, Senator George Voinovich (R-OH), Chairman of the Senate Select Committee
on Ethics, was quoted in The Hill (a
"How are we enforcing our laws? Things are filed,
and, in some cases, nothing's done about it..." - Senator Voinovich, (R-OH)
Given that Sen. Voinovich is Chairman of the Senate Ethics Committee, this is a
ludicrous remark. As Chairman of the Ethics Committee, Sen. Voinovich IS the
enforcer of the rules; he cannot make excuses for the process that he controls.
CREW has a suggestion for Sen. Voinovich: enforce the Senate ethics rules!
On February 22, 2006, CREW filed an ethics
complaint against Sen. Rick Santorum (R-PA) for improperly taking a
$500,000 home loan. Sen. Santorum received the mortgage for his Leesburg,
Virginia home from The Philadelphia Trust Company, a private bank that only
offers loans to affluent investors who maintain an investment portfolio with
the bank. According to his financial disclosure forms, not only does Sen.
Santorum not have the assets to be a Philadelphia Trust Company client, he has
no account with the bank. CREW’s complaint alleges
that because Sen. Santorum did not meet Philadelphia Trust’s clientele criteria
and because the Senator was not, in fact, a bank client, he received special
treatment from the bank in violation of Senate
rules. Perhaps coincidentally, the CEO of the bank has been a major
contributor to Sen. Santorum’s campaign committee and leadership PAC.
Sen. Voinovich should immediately start an investigation into Sen. Santorum's
conduct.
CREW is asking you to call Senator Voinovich's office today -- the phone number
is (202) 224-3353 -- and ask him to investigate Sen. Santorum. The Senate rules
need to be enforced and there is no one better placed than Sen. Voinovich to
enforce them.
4
It's
time to throw the rascals out!
Frankly, it doesn't matter what party you support, they
are both terrible. They both dip into the same corporate till, and Doyle
is as bad as they come. Perhaps not in Tommy's league
yet, but he's a smart cookie and he's getting there. Give him time. The
Casino gambling money and the Adelman travel fiasco
are the visible stuff. The $41,550 that went into his coffers from energy
interests, and the subsequent reversal of votes by two Doyle appointees that
allowed the sale of the Kewaunee nuclear power plant to Virginia-based Dominion
Resources, is far too suspicious. If you never thought campaign money would
allow the selling of our resources check out the report from Wisconsin
Democracy Campaign athttp://www.wisdc.org/pr120605.php
I'm a moderate Republican, left on some issues and right
on others, as most of my friends know (but I don't support the current slate of
Republicans, either at the state or federal level). And I fully recognize that
"all of them" most likely means switching to
a Democratic leadership (though Doyle's got to go). But that's okay. In fact
it's necessary if we are going to send the message that the voters can make a
bigger difference than the cash constituents. Sure there are some Dems that
shouldn't be tossed, but virtually no Republicans.
They all have to go. If they aren't voting against or blocking election and
ethics reform, they are voting for the special
interests and the wealthy. I'm ashamed of what my party stands for today, and
they should be too.
Thus we need good competitive candidates for November.
Let's hope Barb Lawton breaks with the Doyle administration and runs for
governor. She's great, and even this Republican would support this Democrat.
Let's not have any uncontested seats in the
legislature. A complete turnover!
Find qualified candidates in your district and coax them
to run. Even run yourself if you have something to offer besides the lip
service we are getting today. But if you are going to run, do so on one issue only: cleaning up government. And show the
public how cleaning up government will both save each taxpayer $1300 per year in
wasted government giveaways, and fix all of the other major issues of concern.
Let's not leave even one uncontested seat! Only a public
movement to throw them all out will get their attention.
Jack Lohman
5
Interesting stories on the Madison Scandal
(compiled by Wisconsin Democracy Campaign www.wisdc.org)
What price to save Jensen? (Capital Times): http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=74002&ntpid=2
Green Comes Up In Trial (Wisconsin State Journal): http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=wsj:2006:02:24:545382:FRONT
Knowledge Of Doyle, Challengers Questioned (Wisconsin State Journal): http://www.madison.com/archives/read.php?ref=wsj:2006:02:24:545385:FRONT
Jensen trial: Staffers say caucus work was political
(Capital Times): http://www.madison.com/tct/news/stories/index.php?ntid=74000&ntpid=2
John Nichols: The true Jensen
unmasked at trial (Capital Times): http://www.madison.com/tct/opinion/column/nichols/index.php?ntid=73787
Voter database has shaky beginning
(Milwaukee Journal Sentinel): http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=403905
7
Book Recommendations
The Good Fight: Declare Your
Where the
Right Went Wrong: How Neoconservatives Subverted the Reagan Revolution and
Hijacked the Presidency
by Patrick J.
Buchanan (ISBN: 0312341156)
Conservative and mostly on target (though Buchanan fails to connect the dots to
the moneyed interests, and doesn't seem to want to).
8
Contact information
Contact: Jack Lohman
jelohman@gmail.com
Phone 414-477-8686 (cell)
9
Removal Instructions
To leave the list, send a blank email to jelohman@gmail.com
with “Remove” in the subject line