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Read the complaint filed against the city of Racine here.

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AFSCME council 24 contract consessions

"This vote signals that our members understand the difficult economic times our nation is facing. We are doing more with less every day but we remain steadfast in our commitment to keeping Wisconsin moving forward," said Council 24 Executive Director Marty Beil.

"We have negotiated long and hard and in good faith to reach a contract that continues the smooth delivery of quality services through difficult times. Our members have voted. We've done our job. Now it is time for the state legislature to do its job," Beil said.

According to the Office of State Employee Relations the total dollar amount for benefit concessions and furlough days by represented employees will amount to $103.2 million for the biennium with the approval of these contracts.

These contracts coincide with the two-year budget established by this governor and this legislature. They are fully accounted for in the current budget.

The contracts between the State and workers cover five state bargaining units represented by AFSCME: Professional Social Services, Blue Collar, Administrative Support, Technical, and Security and Public Safety.

Jersey Shores cont.

At first I thought Obama said "Sookie" and was refering to True Blood. Then someone corrected me and pointed me to Jersey Shores. I actually, out of total inability to cope with not knowing something from the current social meme had to go watch - not one, but two episodes of that show. I watched the first one and couldn't quite grasp what the hell was going on and what the hell the point of the show was so I watched a second episode. I was still scratching my head in confusion over why this group of low class morons were 1) on their own TV show, 2) getting famous 3) why they were in FLA and not Jersey 4) why they seemed to go out of their way to look cheap and sleazy 5) how they managed to live to the ripe old ages of being in their 20's without having constant supervision so they don't kill themselves with stupidity. And, of course 6) were they really real or playing characters?

It confused me. It upset me.

Then I read the last (Oct.) Vanity Fair that came the day after my foray into TV torture and found an excellent article (as if any of his aren't excellent) by James Wolcott talking about this whole new New Jersey thing where he starts with old school New Jersey shows like the Sopranos and moves into The Real Housewives of New Jersey and so on. I admit to watching an occasional housewives show, including a couple of the New Jersey ones that are almost as mystifying as Jersey Shores for their sheer vulgarity and endless dramas.

You must read it.



Thank the Goddess of literacy for Mr. Wolcott because when I read those words I somehow felt vindicated for all the bile that rose in my throat while slumped on my sofa in a sort of daze of confusion over why MTV would choose to air a group of people we used to kindly refer to as *trash*. When I read what he wrote I exhaled that bit of breath I had been holding while struggling with my own bitchy judgements attitude towards the cast. At least now I know I'm not the lone person in America that thinks they are closer to the gutter than to the floor.

Meanwhile, are young people watching this and thinking it's remotely close to a reality that would provide any source of establishing a meaningful life? God, I hope not.

sorry, I would link but it's not up on VF.com yet. Although, there are tons of other great things to read there.

Happy Fuckin Labor Day! cont.

Hey, don't get me wrong, Rahm. I fucking like you. You single-handedly got the House returned to the Dems in 2006. But you and your boss better do something fucking quick to put people back to work. How 'bout making it a crime to take an American job and move it out of the country? In other words, treat it as if It were a fucking national treasure like you would if someone stole the Declaration of Independence out of the National Archives or some poacher stole eggs out of the nest of an America bald eagle.

Or how 'bout arresting some of those Wall Street guys who fucking stole our money, the money that ran the American economy. Now that would take some fucking guts.

And maybe, just maybe, that one act of real guts might save your ass come November 2nd.

Oh, I can just hear you now: "Fuck Michael Moore!" No problem. But Fuck the UAW? How 'bout if I just leave off the ‘A’ and the ‘W’?

Yours,
Michael Moore

P.S. I'd like to pass on something that Rep. Alan Grayson wrote today:

Here is what Robert Kennedy had to say on Labor Day, 42 years ago:

"Too much and too long, we seem to have surrendered community excellence and community values in the mere accumulation of material things. Our gross national product ... if we should judge America by that - counts air pollution and cigarette advertising, and ambulances to clear our highways of carnage.

"It counts special locks for our doors and the jails for those who break them. It counts the destruction of our redwoods and the loss of our natural wonder in chaotic sprawl. It counts napalm and the cost of a nuclear warhead, and armored cars for police who fight riots in our streets. It counts Whitman's rifle and Speck's knife, and the television programs which glorify violence in order to sell toys to our children.

"Yet the gross national product does not allow for the health of our children, the quality of their education, or the joy of their play. It does not include the beauty of our poetry or the strength of our marriages; the intelligence of our public debate or the integrity of our public officials. It measures neither our wit nor our courage; neither our wisdom nor our learning; neither our compassion nor our devotion to our country; it measures everything, in short, except that which makes life worthwhile. And it tells us everything about America except why we are proud that we are Americans."

When Robert Kennedy said these words, the unemployment rate in America was 3.7%. Today, it is almost three times as high. Too many of our working brothers and sisters are out of work, thanks to over a decade of economic mismanagement. 10% of us are unemployed, and the other 90% work like dogs to try to avoid joining them. Which is just what the bosses want.

But it doesn't have to be that way. I look forward to a Labor Day where every worker has a job, every worker has a pension, every worker has paid vacations, and every worker has the health care to enjoy life. Our Republican opponents call that France. I call it America, an America that is Number One.

Not #1 in wasted military expenditures.

Not #1 in number of foreign countries occupied.

Number One in jobs. Number One in health. Number One in education. Number One in happiness.

As Robert Kennedy famously said, "I dream of things that never were, and ask 'why not?'" Why not? Let's make it happen.

And then all of us who are Americans, including the ones today who are jobless, homeless, sick and suffering, we all can then say, "I am proud to be an American."

Hotel for Burlington cont.

He says it's going to bring business to downtown Burlington. Really? No bank wants to give out a loan for a hotel in B-town. He says it's because of this isn't a normal lending climate. I'm thinking this isn't a good time to invest in a business project based on hopes instead of real facts. Who did the research to see if this would pay off? Who needs hotel accommodations in downtown Burlington? People coming in for weddings and funerals? A few passing through town? For business purposes--which businesses bring in enough people from out of town that they need something this big right there right now?

And, my favorite bit was his talking up the great and wonderfully ugly river walk.
Take this example from Capitol Drive in Milwaukee, it was meant to make the area more beautiful:

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Up close, as you drive by, you can see it's rusted and more of a statement of contrast to what is it's surroundings. Sad for what it could have been........money spent on providing food, clothing and aid to the poor who live nearby. Racine has a $50,000 piece of pervert Becker's bribe to an artist bright red modern artwork in one of it's worst areas.......so, I guess *art for the poor* instead of building infrastructure and providing help is the new brain farts of local governments?

Take a good look at where the Burlington River walk leads to:

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Yep, right up to the Charcoal Grill. Not to any restaurant that was there before the river walk construction. How did that help local businesses? And, why, when Burlington's best feature is being a small city with a rural atmosphere would they put in (you can't see it in the google map) a railing system in a abstract art form? They used colors that will fade easily, bricks that tend not to hold up to hard Wisconsin winters.........and, it's just plain as out of place as the *artwork* on Capitol Dr. To me it already looks like it's starting to age poorly, just like me.

So, where exactly is this hotel going to lead people to anyway? The local hardware stores? Local shops? Maybe the local Super Walmart? Or is it going to house people who are there for one or two night stays that won't have much time to do other than seek out burger and a beer? Maybe a few bars will benefit? But, for the people who need the most help I just don't see this project being a sound investment.

Also, as noted by Sean in a comment on an earlier thread, it appears that State Rep. Robin Vos has a vested interest in the proposed new hotel, and, that his father, a common council member voted for it. If that's not enough to raise a few eyebrows and straighten a few spines I just don't know what is.

Is The Democratic Party Going The Way Of The Dinosaur?

So, what is the county Dem party up to these days? Oh, defending it's fearless leader's vote against a GLBT center in Racine. Fucking brilliant move on their part, eh? And, I'm pretty sure they're still passing around acrimony like hors d' oevers at the meetings. Then there's this e-mail going around that includes this passage, "We must not get caught up in our personal ambition and singular dogma."-- you know, so you don't lose sight of the bigger picture. *cough* I almost spit water out my nose on that one.
The county dem party refuses to discuss having a women's committee (chairman Mao Mike Shields told me to my face in_no_un-certain_terms he would not allow a women's committee or any committee based on gender or race or anything else that divided people into groups. Odd coming from the now head of Racine's NAACP, isn't it? Also, I hope he sent that meme to the state to inform them that the state women's caucus might be insulting to his delicate sensibilities). Ooo, it just occurred to me that there is also a college dems GLBT group, perhaps they should be alerted also?
It also refuses to use the internet to send out an e-newsletter to save money and paper, I'm thinking environmental or tech committees at this point would be just too funny to propose. don't even think about explaining to the leaders what an e-mail blast is or how to text to a large group. Also, it's funny because they don't seem to want to use the intertubes but somehow always know what I'm posting on here........a lurker I assume.

So, here's MHO.....if the party can't depend on it's leaders to put aside their personal ambitions in order to defend GLBT rights, can't grasp the use of the intertubes, thinks women don't have gender specific issues they don't want to share with men, has to wrestle with having 22 executive board members while only 5 make the actual decisions, can't have one meeting without some sort of dreary drivel about by-laws or why someone can't do something on their own without top officer clearance they might as well throw themselves into the nearest tar pit now. Because they are dinosaurs.
But, hey, that's just my personal take on what's what with this party. Of course I'm far from the only one who thinks this, but it appears I'm the only one who really doesn't give a shit about what they say about me anymore and "keeping it in the family" mentality has that all too familiar ring of keeping nasty family secrets to the detriment of some family members.

BACK TO BLUE RACINE

Politics and Death and Irony cont.

I made burgers on the grill and made one for her so she wouldn't have to cook. I gave her a burger and some coleslaw at about 5:30. I went back to my apartment to eat with my husband and take a quick shower. When I went back to ask my mom how she liked the burger and if there was anything else she wanted she was in a full blown stroke seizure. I'm not going to go into details other than half her body was contorted and seizing and the other side was limp. I held her grasping hand in my left hand while I called 911 with my right hand. I was pretty cool considering what was going on. I gave them the address, her age and that I thought it was a stroke and described the symptoms.

The police arrived very quickly, the ambulance did not. We heard it getting nearer and then farther away.......I knew instantly they were lost because of our street being blocked off over 10 years ago by the expansion of the local school and it caused many people to get lost getting here. But, when I told the cops to call the EMTs to tell them how to get here they said, "They're local volunteers. They know this area."

I was trying hard to stay cool while holding onto mom and telling her things were going to be okay knowing it was already turning into a worst case scenario. By this time my husband was out on the front lawn because he knew the same thing as me, they were lost. We heard the ambulance approaching again and then moving away, again. This time I let go of my mom's hand to go out the front door to demand that the sheriffs call them. One was already doing so.

When they finally got here it was a terrible scene of too many people with too many amateur medics and not enough-if any- full time professionals.

I told them it was most likely a stroke and to move her immediately. They didn't.

When they did decide to move her I told them to let my husband and I move her recliner into the center of the room so they could lift her evenly. They didn't. They half dragged her out of her chair by her left arm, the one that was broken less than two years ago.

I asked why they got lost. They told me their mapping system hadn't been updated to show the closing of Center St. A street closure that happened over 10 years ago.

We got to the local hospital before the ambulance. We were forced to wait for a CT scan before the doctor would see her. It was a stroke. The one long shot immediate treatment is ATP therapy. By the time I was told this my son and his wife were there. They had driven from the UWM area all the way to Burlington before we even got to talk to a doctor. The window for using ATP is 3 hours.

The Burlington hospital is not equipped to administer it. Flight for life had to be called to take mom to St Lukes in Milwaukee and the on board EMTs started the ATP in flight. Hours after I called 911.

So, where do politics come into this horrible nightmare I will live with forever? Here's where. Waterford can't afford a full time professional EMT staff large enough to go to more than one event at a time. High taxes aren't high enough. There is no federal money to spread around to communities like ours because of many factors.

One is that we spend way too much on the military compared to what we spend on local emergency systems. I don't know about you but I'm a whole lot more concerned about having a serious accident or a heart attack over some terrorist cell bombing my neighborhood. You fall off a roof or have a seizure knowing homeland security is spending billions on reading e-mails isn't very comforting.

Another, more insidious reason, is that people are so indoctrinated into thinking that all taxes are bad and evil they don't understand that higher taxes mean a better shot at saving real lives. The lives of our loved ones and ourselves. And, the irony of all ironies is that overwhelmingly the people who claim to value human life over all else are the ones most apt to vote against any tax increases. Even to increase emergency medical services.

The ambulance got lost? Their mapping system isn't up to date? Well, try using fucking MapQuest or Google maps. Here is a huge systemic problem. We have people holding public office that don't even try to grasp the technologies we have at our disposal for free........and they always vote to not raise taxes so they can get re-elected. More irony. Mapquest, Google and Yahoo maps all show exactly where our house is located.

No ATP if you go to the wrong hospital. Have a stoke in the Waterford-Burlington area - sucks for you. Why? Because hospitals long ago melted under the heat of having to show profit margins over showing successful rates of saving lives. Wait for how long for that CT scan? Not enough staff on duty to handle something like this is my guess. Hello politics again. It's called privatization in the medical field. Thanks so much Ronald Reagan.

If all that wasn't enough for me to suffer through the worst part had yet to come. I had to give the order to deny my own mother a feeding tube or any other form of life support. She did have a living will. Unfortunately, after the famous Terri Schiavo case medical facilities have to make sure that the family is all okay with the patients own request.

I was very lucky because my mom had an excellent neurosurgeon at St Lukes and he insisted that I contact my brothers so I would not have to ever deal with knowing it was my sole direction. Even with that my fear of doing the wrong thing made ask my daughter-in-law to look at the CT scans to confirm the amount of damage so I could avoid a total breakdown from guilt. So, here I go having to give due acknowledgement to those assholes in congress that turned the Schiavo case into a game of political one-upsmanship therefore making countless people a lot more miserable during the hardest times of their lives.

Ninety years ago my grandmother held her two year old daughter, Apolonia Eva, in her arms while pressing the split skull together with rags after Apolonia fell into a concrete window well. There was no ER close by. There was no 911. My mom told me grandma never recovered from that loss and worse my grandfather suffered nightmares over the death the remainder of his life.

Here we are 90 years later and you can live somewhere where you can get DSL with streaming video, iPods and high def TV but you may not survive the wrong medical event.

What's wrong with this picture? Where have the priorities of our government officials gone? Where have society's priorities gone? Finance Wall Street but leave people, including children, the elderly and the needy, without access to state of the art medical care. "Corporate bailouts" have become a regular part of our vocabulary but avoided being tied to taxes. Meanwhile talk of any medical facility not turning a nice profit seems to be comparable to evil incarnate.

BACK TO BLUE RACINE