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We want to make it easier for Democrats in the five county area within the 5th CD to access information that concerns them and find more easily how it relates to our current political climate.

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Profits for the five largest U.S. health insurers' rose 56 percent in 2009

McClatchy Tribune

In Print: Friday, February 12, 2010

WASHINGTON — As the nation struggled last year with rising health care costs and a recession, the five largest health insurance companies racked up combined profits of $12.2 billion — up 56 percent over 2008, according to a new report by liberal health care activists.

Based on company financial reports for 2009 filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, the report said insurers WellPoint, UnitedHealth Group, Cigna, Aetna and Humana covered 2.7 million fewer people than they did the year before.

The report Thursday also said three of the five insurers cut the proportion of premiums they spent on their customers' medical care, committing relatively more to salaries, administrative expenses and profits.

Prepared by Heath Care for America Now, a coalition of liberal advocacy groups and labor unions, the report was aimed at bolstering the drive by Democrats to complete work on a health care overhaul, which insurers have vigorously opposed.

Industry representatives Thursday criticized the report's approach, pointing out that 2008 was a bad year financially across many industries, skewing the 2009 comparison.

"It is disingenuous to look at the profits at one company today compared to where it was in the depth of a recession," said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America's Health Insurance Plans, the industry's Washington-based lobbying arm.

The 2009 profits are nonetheless intensifying pressure on an industry already under attack for raising premiums and denying coverage to millions of Americans.

"That's why we need health insurance reform today in this country and why we are going to continue in the Congress to work on this until we see it through," said Rep. Rosa DeLauro, D-Conn., a leading advocate of the health legislation being pushed by Democrats on Capitol Hill.

In California, Anthem Blue Cross, a subsidiary of WellPoint, is facing growing scrutiny over its decision to raise premiums for individual health insurance policies by as much as 39 percent this year for some consumers.

Thursday, WellPoint defended the rate increase in a letter to U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, saying the rising rates reflect soaring medical costs and will average closer to 20 percent.

WellPoint also said Anthem's individual business in California lost money in 2009, as the weak economy prompted many customers to switch to lower-cost options. The company did not say how much Anthem lost.

Indianapolis-based WellPoint as a whole posted a profit, recording net income of more than $4.7 billion in 2009, thanks in part to the sale of its NextRx pharmacy benefit management business, which accounted for roughly half the company's profit.

That put WellPoint's profit margin at 7.3 percent, the highest of the five big insurers. Margins at the other four ranged from 3.4 percent for Louisville, Ky., based Humana to 7.1 percent for Philadelphia based Cigna.

Other sectors of the health care industry, including pharmaceutical companies and device makers, typically are more profitable.

But the industry's improving financial fortune is drawing more criticism because all but one of the companies achieved the better results at the same time they lost customers.

WellPoint shed nearly 1.4 million customers, a 3.9 percent drop over 2008, according to its filings. And Cigna lost 5.5 percent of its customers, or 639,000 people.

Only Aetna, which also was the only company whose profits decreased from 2008, gained new customers, picking up an additional 1.2 million people, an increase of 6.9 percent.

The shrinking customer base — which reflects increasing unemployment and the growing number of companies that are dropping coverage — was offset slightly by growth in the companies' public sector business.

Many increased the number of people they insure through Medicare and Medicaid. The government programs for the elderly and the poor increasingly rely on private health plans to administer benefits.

Industry analyst Sheryl Skolnick, a senior vice president at CRT Capital Group, said many of the insurance

companies would likely benefit from more customers.

But they are driven to increase prices for their products to satisfy investors, which in turn drives away more and more customers.

"It is a terrible thing to run your business for Wall Street," Skolnick said. "It creates very bad incentives, and it ultimately prevents you from doing the thing that is in the best long-term interest of your business. ... There is no way that as long as these businesses are publicly traded, they can have the best interest of their customers at heart."

Fewer customers, more profit

Each of these companies, except Aetna, shed customers in 2009 and saw profits jump.

Company 2008 profit 2009 profit Change in profit

WellPoint       $2.5B         $4.7B        + 91%
UnitedHealth   $3.0B        $3.8B         + 28%
Humana         $647M       $1B           + 61%
Cigna             $292M       $1.3B         + 346%
Aetna             $1.4B        $1.3B         – 8%
Totals             $7.8B       $12.2B      + 56%

Source: U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission filings

[Last modified: Feb 12, 2010 07:27 AM]

The GOP's starve-the-beast strategy will lead to catastrophe

Republicans insist that the deficit must be eliminated, but they're not willing either to raise taxes or to support cuts in any major government programs, writes columnist Paul Krugman. They're not willing to participate in serious bipartisan discussions, either, because that might force them to explain their plan — and there isn't any plan, except to regain power.

By Paul Krugman
Syndicated columnist

OK, the beast is starving. Now what? That's the question confronting Republicans. But they're refusing to answer, or even to engage in any serious discussion about what to do.

For readers who don't know what I'm talking about: Ever since Reagan, the GOP has been run by people who want a much smaller government. In the famous words of the activist Grover Norquist, conservatives want to get the government "down to the size where we can drown it in the bathtub."

But there has always been a political problem with this agenda. Voters may say that they oppose big government, but the programs that actually dominate federal spending — Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — are very popular.

So how can the public be persuaded to accept large spending cuts?

The conservative answer, which evolved in the late 1970s, would be dubbed "starving the beast" during the Reagan years. The idea — propounded by many members of the conservative intelligentsia, from Alan Greenspan to Irving Kristol — was basically that sympathetic politicians should engage in a game of bait-and-switch. Rather than proposing unpopular spending cuts, Republicans would push through popular tax cuts, with the deliberate intention of worsening the government's fiscal position. Spending cuts could then be sold as a necessity rather than a choice, the only way to eliminate an unsustainable budget deficit.

And the deficit came. True, more than half of this year's budget deficit is the result of the Great Recession, which has both depressed revenues and required a temporary surge in spending to contain the damage. But even when the crisis is over, the budget will remain deeply in the red, largely as a result of Bush-era tax cuts (and Bush-era unfunded wars). And the combination of an aging population and rising medical costs will, unless something is done, lead to explosive debt growth after 2020.

So the beast is starving, as planned. It should be time, then, for conservatives to explain which parts of the beast they want to cut. And President Barack Obama has, in effect, invited them to do just that, by calling for a bipartisan deficit commission.

Many progressives were deeply worried by this proposal, fearing that it would turn into a kind of Trojan horse — in particular, that the commission would end up reviving the long-standing Republican goal of gutting Social Security. But they needn't have worried: Senate Republicans overwhelmingly voted against legislation that would have created a commission with some actual power, and it is unlikely that anything meaningful will come from the much weaker commission Obama established by executive order.

Why are Republicans reluctant to sit down and talk? Because they would then be forced to put up or shut up. Since they're adamantly opposed to reducing the deficit with tax increases, they would have to explain what spending they want to cut. And guess what? After three decades of preparing the ground for this moment, they're still not willing to do that.

In fact, conservatives have backed away from spending cuts they themselves proposed in the past. In the 1990s, for example, Republicans in Congress tried to force through sharp cuts in Medicare. But now they have made opposition to any effort to spend Medicare funds more wisely the core of their campaign against health care reform (death panels!). And presidential hopefuls say things like this, from Gov. Tim Pawlenty of Minnesota: "I don't think anybody's gonna go back now and say, 'Let's abolish, or reduce, Medicare and Medicaid.' "

What about Social Security? Five years ago the Bush administration proposed limiting future payments to upper- and middle-income workers, in effect means-testing retirement benefits. But in December, The Wall Street Journal's editorial page denounced any such means-testing, because "middle- and upper-middle-class (i.e., GOP) voters would get less than they were promised in return for a lifetime of payroll taxes." (Hmm. Since when do conservatives openly admit that the GOP is the party of the affluent?)

At this point, then, Republicans insist that the deficit must be eliminated, but they're not willing either to raise taxes or to support cuts in any major government programs. And they're not willing to participate in serious bipartisan discussions, either, because that might force them to explain their plan — and there isn't any plan, except to regain power.

But there is a kind of logic to the current Republican position: In effect, the party is doubling down on starve-the-beast. Depriving the government of revenue, it turns out, wasn't enough to push politicians into dismantling the welfare state.

So now the de facto strategy is to oppose any responsible action until we are in the midst of a fiscal catastrophe. You read it here first.

Remember when Republicans Opposed the $787 Billion Stimulus Bill To Help Average Americans because They Were Concerned About the Deficit?

The next time you hear a Republican expressing deep concern over the stimulus spending, you might want to remember that these are the same people who passed a $1.2 trillion Medicare Bill, a $1 Trillion Iraq War, a $250 Billion War in Afghanistan, and a $1.2 trillion tax cut all in the same eight year period.

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/35331019/ns/msnbc_tv-rachel_maddow_show/

Rachel Maddow Kicks Some Republican Butt - Exposes their Hypocrisy on the Stimulus - (and other matters).

Now, if only Democrats in Congress would do the same! (Hint: If they did, they'd probably increase their poll numbers AND increase their campaign donations!)

And while they're at it, they might consider getting legislation PASSED, with or without bipartisanship from Republican support, NOW, instead of delaying everything in a futile attempt to gain Republican support. (Democrats have been too nice. They've rarely used the filibuster to block Republican bills, while Republicans have used the filibuster to block every piece of legislation and more than 60 nomination's in 2009 and 2010. In 2009, there were more Republican filibusters than in all of one year than there were in two decades during the 60's and 70's, which have resulted in an increase in cloture votes. )

MADDOW: At the top of the show today, we talked about the myth of bipartisanship, the futility of Democrats, including the president, wasting time trying to persuade Republicans to go along with them on policies that are good for the country.

It totally makes sense in the abstract if people can agree on what needs to be done to solve the country‘s problems than those policies, even if they‘re big policies, should get votes from everyone who‘s in agreement.

In the abstract that‘s how it works. In Washington, that is not at all how it works. Republicans proposed a deficit commission. President Obama endorsed the idea so then Republicans decided they‘re against it.

Republicans proposed pay-as-you-go rules for budgeting. President Obama endorsed the idea. Then Republicans decided they were against it too. Republicans who voted for the bank bailout are now criticizing President Obama for that same bank bailout.

Republicans supported President Bush‘s policy of trying terrorism suspects in U.S. courts. Now that President Obama is implementing that same policy, they decided they‘re against that now, too.

Republicans supported a cap-and-trade policy against global warming. Now that President Obama is trying to pass that same policy, Republicans have decided - say it with me now - they‘re against that, too.

See the pattern here? What Republicans are doing on policy is no longer interesting. It is so thoroughly unrelentingly, consistently predictable that anyone who thinks it‘s an open question as to what Republicans are going to do about the next legislation that‘s proposed just is not paying attention.

Let me be emphatic here. Let me be emphatic about one particular example, the stimulus. The stimulus passed despite every single Republican in the House voting no on it - everyone.

Since then, the consensus among economists is that stimulus has worked, even though it‘s maybe been too small. The consensus among Republicans is that it‘s been a horrible giant thing that hasn‘t done anything good at all.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: I think everybody would agree now that the stimulus hasn‘t worked.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: $800 billion pork leg in stimulus bill - it was supposed to create jobs.

SEN. JOHN MCCAIN (R-AZ): With a stimulus package that has done so well, we now have 10.2 percent unemployment.

REP. PHIL GINGREY (R-GA): The vaunted Democratic stimulus bill has failed to stimulate anything other than a few federal bureaucrats.

SEN. MIKE JOHANNS (R-NE): Many warned as did I that the stimulus would amount to a mountain of wasted money.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Can you tell me where the stimulus money is?

REP. JOHN LINDER (R-GA): The $787 billion stimulus package only stimulated more welfare.

REP. GLENN THOMPSON (R-PA): We‘re united in imposing the massive waste-filled stimulus, or as I prefer to call it, stimu-less bill.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

MADDOW: If there‘s one thing that Republicans agree on now, it is that the stimulus is a bad, bad policy. It‘s a bad idea that does bad things. It‘s a bad president‘s bad way of making a bad economy more bad because he‘s bad. Stimulus bad.

Also? Stimulus good. What you‘re looking at here are pictures of the same Republicans who have trashed the stimulus as a bad, bad thing in their home districts taking credit for all the good things the stimulus has done.

That‘s Bobby Jindal there, governor of Louisiana who has railed against the stimulus, then gone around the state handing out big fake checks with his own name on them as if the money came from him instead of from the stimulus that he‘s been railing against.

Then, there‘s Congressman Phil Gingrey of Georgia. That‘s him getting all Publisher‘s Clearinghouse with a giant check for funds that he voted against and criticized as worst than worthless. He called the money and that check he‘s holding a boondoggle and a dismal failure.

And it‘s not just a couple of these guys who have been caught like this either. Republican John Mica of Florida trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district as “helping improve one of our key economic generators.”

Republican Frank Wolf of Virginia trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying, “We could use that money desperately. There are a lot of things up here that that money could be used for.”

Republican Bill Shuster of Pennsylvania trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home state by attending the groundbreaking of a sewage treatment plant that it funded and praising the jobs that it would create in his district.

Republican Senator Kay Bailey Hutchison of Texas trashed the stimulus, voted no, and praised its effect in her home state by saying this funding will spur growth in Texas communities.

Republican Senator Richard Burr of North Carolina trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district as a great thing for this county. We‘re not accustomed to federal dollars in that magnitude finding their way to North Carolina.

Republican Senator Kit Bond of Missouri trashed the stimulus, voted no and then praised its effect in his home district by saying it would create jobs and ultimately spur economic opportunities.

Republican Joe Wilson of South Carolina, remember him? The “you lie” guy? He trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying it would provide jobs and investment in one of the poorer sections of that district.

Republican Senator Bob Bennett of Utah trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying said, the addition of federal funds would maximize the stimulative effect on the local economy.

Republican Pat Tiberi of Ohio trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying it would support businesses and jobs.

Republican Mary Bono Mack trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in her home district by saying the funding will provide much needed assistance.

Republican Senator Mike Johanns of Nebraska trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home state by saying that just one proposed stimulus-funded project in Nebraska would create 38 new jobs.

Republican Senator Lamar Alexander of Tennessee trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home state by highlighting a project he says would create over 200 jobs in the first year, and at least another 40 new jobs in the following years.

Republican John Linder of Georgia trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying the employment opportunities created by this program would be quickly utilized.

Republican Mike Castle of Delaware trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by sending out press releases touting how imperative those funds were.

You want to see Mike Castle of Delaware handing out one of those giant checks? Yes, as if he hadn‘t actually voted to kill the money that‘s in that check. Mike Castle is running for senator from Delaware now, presumably on the platform of being a giant hypocrite.

Republican Eric Cantor not only trashed the stimulus and voted no on it, he coordinated the feat of having all House Republicans vote against it. Then he held a job fair in his home district at which nearly which half of the companies who were at the job fair because they were in a position to hire have received stimulus funds.

Even John Boehner, leader of the House Republicans, who has led the trashing of the stimulus and voted no on it and who bragged so enthusiastically on Republicans in the House all voting against it.

When it came to his home district, John Boehner praised the federal funding for shovel-ready projects that will create much needed jobs.

Republican Senator Jim Inhofe of denying-global-warming fame - he trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised the effect in his home state by saying it would help spur additional economic growth.

Republican Jack Kingston of Georgia trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying these funds should help save or create local jobs.

Republican John Carter of Texas trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying it was a victory for the economy in central Texas.

Republican Glenn Thompson of Pennsylvania trashed the stimulus, voted no, then praised its effect in his home district by saying it would be great for employment in the area.

Shall I go on? I could. I could keep going until the top of the hour and beyond. But you get the idea, right? This stuff isn‘t secret. The conservative newspaper “The Washington Times” had a big feature on this today. “Politico” has reported on it as well calling what the Republicans are doing here a “cash-and-trash” strategy.

The blog “Think Progress” has done yeoman‘s work tallying up all the Republicans who have done this and posting pictures of them handing out giant checks representing funds that these politicians voted against even though they‘re now taking credit for handing it over.

Even the president has called out Republicans for attending ribbon cuttings for stimulus-funded projects that they voted against. The White House has put some of the documentation of Republican hypocrisy on this in writing.

None of this is a secret, which is the most important thing to understand about it. Republicans right now do not care about policy. By which I mean, they will not vote for things that even they admit are good policies.

On policy terms, they have been caught bragging on the stimulus as good policy. I have no doubt that some of them think that health reform is good policy. We know they think things like a deficit commission or cap and trade or pay-go are good policy because they‘re on the record supporting them.

But they‘re not going to vote for them because - screw policy. Screw what even they believe is good for the country. Screw what even they believe is good for their own districts. They are not voting yes for even things that they agree with, for anything substantive.

They are not going to vote yes for anything substantive that this president supports. It‘s not going to happen. You‘re not going to earn Republican votes for a second stimulus, for example, by pointing out it‘s good policy that creates jobs. We know they already know that.

They concede that in their home districts and they are still not voting for it. And they are unembarrassed about this fact. They are not embarrassed. Charging them with hypocrisy, appealing to their better, more practical, more what‘s-best-for-the-country patriotic angels is like trying to teach your dog to drive.

It wastes a lot of time. It won‘t work. And ultimately the dog comes out of the exercise less embarrassed for failing than you do for trying. Grow up, Democrats. Face the music. Do it alone. You‘re the majority. Kill the filibuster if they won‘t let you use that majority. The country needs you to.

We need to respond immediately to the outrageous threat of Senator Shelby of Alabama to block ALL administration nominees to any position, until he gets HIS multi-BILLION dollar earmarks for certain pork barrel defense contracts in HIS district.

TIME TO STOP THE FILIBUSTER ONCE AND FOR ALL

Obstructionism reached a new low of self-serving political blatancy this week with the move of Senator Shelby of Alabama to hold ALL administration nominees for ransom, until he got HIS pork barrel defense contract perks.

It's not as if the Republican party was not already blocking so many appointments. But this goes far beyond being the party of "No". The Republican party has now become the party of unmitigated and brutish spite.

And isn't it interesting how you don't hear any of them pontificate that, "elections have consequences" when THEY lose elections.

In particular point of fact, the Democratic Senate caucus never HAD a 60 vote majority they could count on, not with Lieberman and Ben Nelson jumping fence at the drop of a lobbyist contribution. So the loss of the Senate seat in Massachusetts, totally the BLAME of caving in to placate enemies of reform like Lieberman and Nelson in the first place, does nothing to change the bottom line reality . . . that NO real progressive policy change can possibly take place without first abolishing the filibuster.

Stop The Filibuster Action Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/action/pnum1027.php

Please note: The action page above does NOT require you to have your
own a fax machine. Just submit the form and it does this
automatically for you.

When we did the first action page on this some of you objected that we needed to keep the filibuster, in case "we" needed it to stop the Republicans should the tables turn. But experience teaches that when the Democrats were in the minority they NEVER had the courage to actual stand up to Republican bullies when it really counted. How else could we have gotten Constitutional wrecking balls like Roberts or Alito on the Supreme Court in the first place?

So in truth, the filibuster has never really stopped the Republicans, it is only stopping progressive change from happening, its only suppressing the voice of the people, it is only standing in the way of democracy. And if the day comes that the Republicans regain a majority in the Senate, then shame on us for not standing for our principles now, because that is the one thing most sure to lose elections in the future.

We say the Republicans have overplayed their hand. This latest move by Shelby just shows the American people that all the Republicans really stand for is holding public policy hostage, for paralyzing the business of the country out of sheer mean spiritedness because they are no longer the majority. How they howled when Ben Nelson forced concessions for his own state before he would drop his own filibuster threat over the shark eaten carcass of a health care reform bill.

What will they say about their own Shelby now?

The filibuster has been abused beyond recognition of its original courteous purpose. It is a rule the Senate as an institution has imposed on itself with NO basis in the Constitution. The filibuster must go.

And if you want one of the snappy new "Stop The Filibuster" caps, you can request one from the return page after you submit the action page above, or else you can get one directly here:

Stop The Filibuster Cap: http://www.peaceteam.net/all_gifts.php

Please take action NOW, so we can win all victories that are supposed to be ours, and forward this alert as widely as possible.

If you would like to get alerts like these, you can do so at
http://www.millionfaxmarch.com/in.htm

HELP GIVE AWAY SUPREME COURT PROTEST BUMPER STICKERS

Free Bumper Sticker Page:
http://www.peaceteam.net/bumper_stickers.php

So please put a small graphic button on your own web page linking to the free bumper sticker page, and you will automatically get a link back to your site on all our action pages

Here is a code block you can copy and use verbatim, just put it in the side bar of your page or anywhere else you like:

The more of you who support this initiative by posting these buttons on your own pages, the faster we can give away these bumper stickers, to build the movement we will need to actually amend the Constitution, or whatever else can be done to repair the grave damage to our democracy done by the rogue majority on the Supreme Court now.

Thursday, January 21, 2010

Contacts: Laura Smith, Office of the Governor, 608-261-2162

Seth Boffeli, Department of Health Services, 608-266-1683

Governor Doyle Unveils BadgerCare Plus Basic

Plan Provides Self-Funded Coverage Option for Over 20,000 Adults on Waiting List

MADISON – Governor Jim Doyle unveiled a new self-funded health care plan today for adults without dependent children who are on the state health care waiting list. BadgerCare Plus Basic will provide enrollees with limited access to physicians, hospital services, generic prescriptions and catastrophic coverage, and will be paid for entirely through a monthly premium of $130. The Basic plan is not designed to be a long term health coverage plan, but instead will be a bridge plan to keep individuals healthy while they wait for space in the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan.

“With BadgerCare Plus, we’ve made Wisconsin America’s health care leader,” Governor Doyle said. “Because of BadgerCare, we’ve been able to help people get through this very difficult period without facing serious health consequences or financial ruin. Badger Care Basic will provide access to care for those waiting for a spot in the Core Plan, so they can get care when they are sick and don’t go bankrupt in the process.”

More than 64,000 individuals have enrolled in the state's BadgerCare Plus Core Plan, which suspended new enrollments in mid-October due to budget limits. Since that time, more than 20,000 individuals are on a waitlist for the program. The BadgerCare Plus Core Plan provides standard health benefits for low income adults without dependent children.

For a monthly premium of $130, plus reasonable co-pays, a BadgerCare Plus Basic member will have access to catastrophic coverage plus:

Up to 10 physician visits each year;
Limited hospitalization;

Coverage for first inpatient hospital stay and five outpatient hospital visits;
Subsequent stays after $7,500 deductible;

Up to five emergency room visits each year;
Some generic medications; and
Badger Rx Gold discount drug membership.

“This will not be a Cadillac health plan,” Governor Doyle said. “In fact, it will be just what the name suggests – it will be basic. But basic coverage can be the difference between a treatable condition and a trip to the emergency room. And basic coverage can be the difference between having protection while you try and get your feet back on the ground and going bankrupt trying to pay for medical care.”

To be eligible for coverage, individuals must have incomes below 200 percent of the federal poverty level, have no dependent children, and be included on the waiting list for the BadgerCare Plus Core Plan. To find out more about the Core Plan or to apply for the waitlist, please visit: www.badgercareplus.org.

Announcing DemTEAM

Milwaukee County, part of which resides in the 5th CD, as well as in the 1st CD, but mostly in the 4th CD, is holding a fundraiser for their DemTEAM program. (Democratic Training for Education and Action in Milwaukee).

The event is called FAT TUESDAY (Mardi Gras Theme), and will be held on February 16, 2010 5-7 p.m. at The Wicked Hop - Jackalope Lounj 3rd Ward 345 N. Broadway. Milwaukee, WI www.thewickedhop.com

Suggested $50 attendance donation, ($20 for student or budget donations). $500, $250 or $100 to sponsor.

If you will sponsor this effort, thank you. Please let us know by February 9th. info@milwaukeedems.org or call our office 414-223-3050. Please RSVP via info@milwaukeedems.org

You can donate your sponsorship or attendance pledge online at: http://www.actblue.com/page/demteam

Jefferson County, part of which is in the 5th CD, reported that when Obama won Jefferson County in 2008, it was only the third time in their history, that a democratic candidate for President won in their county.

When Assembly Representative Andy Jorgensen won in 2008, it was the first time in 60 years that a Democrat had won in his district.

When the democratic candidate for D.A. of the county won in 2008, it was the first time in 70 years.

Jefferson County is having their President's Day Dinner on February 21st at the Fairway Inn in Jefferson. 5:00 p.m. Social hour, 6:00 p.m. Dinner

Contact JimSchroeder@charter.net for more details.

Dear OconDems, and Fellow Wisconsin Democrats,

The OconDems had a very successful Candidate Forum on Saturday, with 9 great candidates, and an attendance of 70+. I prepared some concise bio/intros for each candidate for the program. I thought I would share them with my Dems contact lists. We have an outstanding line up of Democratic candidates, and the bios show that! To all the candidates, I offer my deep gratitude to you for running. Wisconsin and America need many more Democrats to put everything on the line and give service in this way!

------------------------------------------------------------------------

Paulette Garin - Candidate, 1st CD:

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Paulette grew up in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in a strong union family. She graduated from Bradford High School, attended U.W. Whitewater on scholarship, and graduated cum laude with a B.A. in Music. Other degrees include a Master of Education in Curriculum and Instruction from Chicago Loyola, a Business and Accounting Degree, and a C.P.A. She has taught music privately, and in the school setting. She also has worked as a Director of Marketing for a technology consulting firm. Paulette ran unsuccessfully for the 1st CD in 2008, and is now making her 2nd run for that office. She has been working hard this last year for all of us in speaking out for Universal Healthcare. She is state coordinator for P.D.A. and Healthcare Now, and is an organizer with Leadership Conference for Guaranteed Healthcare.

Todd Kolosso - Candidate, 5th CD:

--------------------------------

Todd is running to unseat Jim Sensenbrenner in the 5th CD. Todd is the owner of a Menomonee Falls based small business. He is a husband, father, and lifelong resident of Wisconsin. He is a graduate of Marquette University High School. He attended Marquette University for 2 years, but graduated from American University's School of International Service. He also attended universities in Mainz, Germany, and Vienna, Austria. Todd has created and operates a commercial real estate company, and owns a small retail apparel company in Phoenix, Arizona, with over 40 employees.

Tom Barrett - Candidate, Governor:

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Tom is a graduate of Marquette University High School. He earned a B.A. in economics from U.W. in 1976, and a Doctorate from U.W. Law School in 1980.

Tom served in the state assembly from 1984 - 1988, and the state senate from 1988 - 1992. He was elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1992. During his 8 years in the U.S. House, he served on many key committees and sponsored many important bills. In 2000, census redistricting combined Barrett's district with fellow Democrat Jerry Kleczka's district. Rather than run against a colleague, Barrett decided to run for Governor in 2002. He narrowly lost to Jim Doyle. In 2004, he ran successfully for mayor of Milwaukee.

Spencer Coggs - Candidate, Lieutenant Governor:

-----------------------------------------------

Spencer currently serves in the Wisconsin State Senate. Before becoming a full time legislator, he was a Milwaukee Health Officer. He served as Chief Steward of his AFSCME union local. He has also been a postal worker, and industrial printer. He was elected to the State Assembly in 1982, and re-elected until 2002. During his time in the Assembly, he was Majority Caucus Vice Chairperson. He was elected to the State Senate in 2003 in a special election, and re-elected in 2004 and 2008. He currently sits on the Committee on Housing and Financial Institutions, and the Joint Committee for Review of Criminal Penalties. Senator Coggs also serves as Vice President of the National Labor Caucus of State Legislators.

Tony Zielinski - Candidate, Lieutenant Governor:

------------------------------------------------

Tony graduated in 1979 from St. John's Military Academy in Delafield. He has a B.A. in political science from UWM, a Master of Business Administration Degree from Cardinal Stritch, and a Doctorate from Marquette Law School. He served as Milwaukee County Supervisor from 1988 until 2004. During that time, he served as chair of Judiciary, Safety, and General Services Committees. Since 2004, Tony has been on the Milwaukee Common Council.

Henry Sanders - Candidate, Lieutenant Governor:

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Henry is a graduate of Madison Public Schools, and UW Whitewater. He has received many awards, including: the U.W. Whitewater Outstanding Recent Alumnus Award in 2007, and the Village People Award in 2008 for professional achievement and civic involvement. He also received the Hometown Heroes Award. He was named Business Magazines' "Top 40 Under 40" award winner in 2005. Henry has been in Madison Magazines' "Up and Comers," and was recently the cover story for Dane County's Business Watch Magazine. Henry is founder of the "Madison Area Growth Network"

and "Propel Wisconsin Innovation." A small business owner, Henry connects businesses with capital. Henry Sanders brings a broad range of business development experience to potential public office.

Scott Hassett - Candidate, Attorney General:

-------------------------------------------

As a trial attorney, Scott handled civil and criminal litigation in state and federal courts for 22 years. He has done extensive work representing law enforcement personnel at every level of government. At Lawton and Cates, he was involved in many of the environmental cases - including those involving groundwater pollution and toxic waste. Scott has always been an advocate for environmental concerns. He was appointed by Jim Doyle as Secretary of the DNR in 2003, and served for 5 years. As DNR Secretary he led an agency of 2700 employees with a budget of $500 million. The DNR's enforcement division alone represents one of the largest law enforcement agencies in the state - comparable in size to the Department of Justice.

Note: The incumbent Attorney General - Van Hollen - has shown hard right partisanship. He received $3 million in support from WMC. (He also has refused to get involved in Consumer Protection issues, a complete reversal of his predecessor’s policies. (Democrat - Peg Lautenschlager fought for consumer protection – particularly in the area of predatory lending))

Don Vanpool - Candidate, 84th AD.

--------------------------------

Don Vanpool is the President of Vanpool Consulting, Inc., a firm specializing in improving business processes and organizational effectiveness. Over the past 20 years, as a leader with the General Electric Company and the U.S. Army, Don Vanpool has developed significant professional expertise in strategic planning, leadership development, and operations management in the U.S. Government, the financial services industry, and the healthcare industry. Beginning in 1993, Don led his operation in the 82nd Airborne Division through a revitalization process.

In 2000, Don led a highly successful effort to transform a financial services organization. Don has built globally diverse organizations and managed international operations.

Don is a 2001 graduate of Booth Graduate School of Business at the University of Chicago, and has completed several leadership programs in the U.S. Army and at General Electric.

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Hope these bios prove helpful to you.

Keep striving for Excellence and Integrity in the Democratic Party. I believe we first build a World Class Democratic Party - then we work for World Class in the State and Nation. Being obsessed with Excellence is not a bad thing.

Keep the Faith!

Dwayne Block

OconDems

OconDems Breakfast - Candidate Explosion - Sat., Jan. 9 10 a.m. The Depot. The Depot/Maxims Restaurant on Hwy. 67 in the center of Oconomowoc at the RR tracks. The address is:

115 E Collins St
Oconomowoc, WI 53066

(262) 569-0072

Maps available on Mapquest.com. You can also see them on the Calendar page. Click on the Calendar link on the left.

Candidates Confirmed thus far:

-----------------------------

Don Van Pool - 84th Assembly Dist.

L.D. Rockwell - 11th Senate Dist.

Henry Sanders - Lieutenant Gov.

Tony Zielinski - Lieutenant Gov.

Tim John - Gov.

Todd Kolosso - 5th CD.

Also,

Jeff Christensen, Chair, WaukDems (MC) Confirmed

Mike Tate, Chair, DPW - Confirmed.

Waiting to hear:

Scott Hassett - Candidate, Attorney General

Tom Barrett - Candidate, Gov.

Note: This will be our biggest OconDEms Program thus far. This will be a great chance to meet these great candidates in person.

Spread the word. Bring a friend. I really would like to achieve a "standing room only" crowd.

Note: Please think some about financial contributions to your favorite candidate(s). Contribution forms will be available at the meeting. Also, think about joining the campaign team of one of our great Democratic Candidates. Campaign materials will be available as well.

These are pretty good days for Democrats. Come and let's celebrate a little - or a lot!

Keep the Faith!

Dwayne Block

“Jobs, Jobs, Jobs”: It’s a replay of “It’s the Economy Stupid”

Remember how an unknown Governor, Bill Clinton, of a relatively minor state (who only earned about $35,000 annual salary in that position), was elected President of the United States after Ronald Reagan and George H. W. Bush ran the country’s economy into the ground?

Obama won because Dubya ran the country’s economy into the ground, after Dubya had inherited the best economy that this country had seen in U.S. History, under President Clinton.

Remember also, that it took several years for Clinton to turn the economy around, and the damage that Reagan and George H.W. Bush did to the U.S. economy was a tiny fraction in comparison to what Dubya managed to accomplish.

(Under Reagan, LBO’s – Leveraged Buyouts – flourished. These were schemes where executives of multi-million and even multi-billion dollar companies drove the value of these companies into the ground, scaring off the shareholders who were convinced to sell their shares for pennies on the dollar, and then these same executives took the company over as a private company. These same executives who drove the companies into the ground in the first place, suddenly managed to accomplish “miraculous turnarounds” – on paper – so that they could sell the company for hundreds of millions of dollars more than what it had been “worth” previously, which they pocketed, leaving the company and the new investors with little to no cash value.

Considering that this happened hundreds of times, it couldn’t have been much of a miracle. There were 4 deals worth a total of $1.7 billion, completed in 1980, and that grew to 410 deals, worth a total of $188 Billion, completed in 1988 alone. Supporters of these tactics claim that shareholders made money off of the deals, but they fail to mention that most of the shares were held by the executives who put the deals together, while at the same time, the people who borrowed money to acquire these companies often ended up not being able to pay the borrowed money back, because the companies didn’t have the operating capital to continue to function (that money went to pay off the previous owner/executives, and the loans and interest to do so), so the companies often went out of business, taking the jobs with them.)

Under George H.W. Bush, housing developers scammed the U.S. Government out of billions of dollars of funding that was supposed to go toward helping individuals get into affordable housing. But instead these developers were trading their developments back and forth between one another, raising the selling price – on paper – each time, to artificially raise the “value” of the property so that they could take out bigger and bigger loans against the artificial paper value they had created. In the end, most of these big developers couldn’t sell any of the properties that they had built, with many developments going for miles and miles, with no individuals actually owning and living in these houses. And because they were poorly constructed, they ended up being bulldozed into the ground. Most of this occurred in Texas.

Four of the five biggest S&L defrauders had ties to the Bush White House. Of the 279 S&Ls in Texas, as of December 31, 1987, only 50 survived Only six of the top one hundred survived. The S&L Crash of 1990 finished off the survivors.

Long time viewers of “60 Minutes” may recall a very detailed investigative report they ran, that showed how this scam played out, shortly after the real estate crash of the early 1990’s, even before the empty houses in Texas were bulldozed.

So, when the Savings and Loans ended up losing all of their money because of loans made to people who based their collateral on property that wasn’t worth anything, they lost the money that they loaned out to individuals and became insolvent. That was the end of the Savings and Loan Industry. President George H.W. Bush signed off on over $157 BILLION in taxpayer financed bailouts to investors in these Savings and Loans who lost their savings.

But many of the people who had the loans from these Savings and Loans never had to pay back any of the money they borrowed, because the Savings and Loans they borrowed the money from no longer existed. Two of the individuals who managed to make millions out of this deal were Jeb Bush and Neil Bush, who were officers of different Savings and Loans, which they had taken loans out of, and NEVER PAID BACK.

Most of the documents related to this economic debacle aren’t readily available, even though there still are plenty of documents and articles that can be found on the internet today, because when this happened, there was no internet.

Jeb Bush also came under minor scrutiny by the press, when it came out in 1988, that in 1986, his real estate company had received a $75,000 payment from Miguel Recarey Jr., to find a new headquarters for Recarey’s International Medical Centers, a health maintenance organization, according to Newsday and other reports.

But published reports said IMC records showed that Recarey apparently had already selected the building, and note that the payment to Jeb Bush came after the then vice-president’s son called at least one official at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services to assist Recarey in obtaining a waiver from the limit on the number of Medicare patients he could treat.

In 1988 Recarey was investigated for suspicion of bilking the federal government of up to $100 million in Medicare funds. But many of the investigations during the Reagan, Bush and Dubya years went nowhere, if they were even investigated at all.

We are only beginning to find some of the fraud which occurred during the Dubya years, after the failure of the Republicans in office to even start any investigations.

These are only a handful of the many instances where the Bush family and their business associates have been on the wrong side of the law. Here are a few more.

(Recall that Congressman F. James Sensenbrenner was Chairman of the House Judiciary Committee for the first six years of the Bush Administration.)

According to congressional finance records filed on May 12, 2005 for the year 2004, House Judiciary Committee Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner (R-5-WI) met with Al Shamal Islamic Bank founding member and shareholder Saleh Kamel whose bank was co-founded by terrorist leader Osama bin Laden who invested $50 million in the Khartoum, Sudan institution. This banker was also tied to GOP Lobbiest/Fundraiser Jack Abramoff who was convicted of fraud, tax evasion and conspiracy to bribe public officials.

Any wonder why there were no significant investigations initiated by the House Judiciary Committee under Sensenbrenner?

One of the few times that F. James Sensenbrenner did step in to complain about a Justice Department action, was when the FBI raided Democratic Congressman William Jefferson’s office and confiscated his computer to investigate him on bribery charges. Sensenbrenner claimed that this was unconstitutional, but it is more likely that he just wanted to avoid having other Congressional offices from being searched. Senator Bill Frist, then Republican Senate Majority Leader stated that he was satisfied that the search was constitutional.

In 2004 when members of the House Judiciary Committee wrote to Kenneth Blackwell, Ohio’s Secretary of State, to investigate the many instances of election irregularities, including a lack of voting machines in Democratic districts and waiting lines of more than eight hours long, (predominantly in areas where blacks were the majority), and flyers which were deceiving people to go to the wrong polling places, so they were given provisional ballots. Election officials, including Blackwell ordered that those votes not be counted. Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner did not sign the letter.

Recall also that when the Republican Attorney General in California was going to use lists of people who had had their homes foreclosed and were on the street prior to the 2008 elections, to challenge them and deny them their right to vote, Democrats in the House Judiciary Committee stood up for their rights, and wrote to Attorney General Michael Mukasey to remind him of an ongoing FBI investigation and asked Mukasey to look into the matter and report back to the House Judiciary Committee on any actions the Department of Justice intended to take. The letter was signed by Chairman Conyers of the House Judiciary Committee, who became chair after the Democrats took the majority, as well as many other Democrats. Former Chairman F. James Sensenbrenner did not sign the letter.

But Republicans and some Blue-Dog Democrats, (as well as Democrat turned Independent Joe Lieberman who actively supported John McCain for President), are now complaining about the cost of healthcare reform, which would actually provide benefits to people who need them, instead of giving that same money to the Healthcare Industry - Pharmaceutical Companies, and Insurance Companies - who don’t need the subsidies, and aren’t providing the benefits to the people, which the Republican Legislation approved under a Republican Congress,_during George W. Bush’s Administration, allowed them to do.

The $157 billion that George H.W. Bush gave to the Savings and Loans as approved by Congress to bail them out, to cover the losses from unscrupulous developers who scammed the U.S. Government, was paid for by the U.S. Taxpayer, and we are still paying for that debt today, which has accumulated and increased in total costs over the years to be worth anywhere from $500 Billion to $1.4 Trillion dollars in costs as of 2003. The reason for the variances between the estimates, are due to the fact that Congress used bonds with varying interest rates based on the economy, worth $32 Billion per year over 30 years, or $960 Billion, to pay for it. (Of course, when you add in all the interest charges, even if this were a mortgage, the final number is far more than $157 Billion. Even if you only paid 5% interest, the 360 monthly payments would be $842,810,000.00 each for a total of $303,411,600,000.00. Needless to say, we are paying much more than that.)

But Republicans still complain about healthcare reform and the national debt, even though they created the debts in the first place, which we have inherited from them.

Banks, which the taxpayers have bailed out, have been preying on consumers who have been using credit cards, regardless of whether they are paying on time or not. Over the past few years, they have been increasing interest rates and fees on customers, because of the losses they have been taking as a result of their poor investments in the “derivatives” that were fraudulently labeled AAA investments by investment bankers, even when they knew that the properties that the mortgages represented were not worth the money and were going into default.

(Remember that Bush’s Secretary of the Treasury, Hank Paulson, a former Chairman of Goldman Sachs, protected Goldman Sachs and kept them out of bankruptcy, while allowing Goldman Sachs’ competition to go bankrupt. A recent story broke which revealed that Hank Paulson violated an ethics agreement by having a secret meeting with Goldman Sachs officials in Moscow. And there have also been recent reports that show that while Goldman Sachs was actively selling worthless mortgage derivatives, they were also hedging their bets by buying up billions of dollars worth of “shorts” or credit default swaps, which are a form of insurance in case the investment tanks, in 2006. Much of their recent profits are as a result of the fact that they bet on the derivatives to tank, even while they were actively selling them to investors.)

The Democrats in Congress responded to the Banks predatory practices by passing legislation to prevent credit card companies from using these predatory policies. The Banks responded by saying that they didn’t have enough time to implement these policy changes, and asked to have until February 2010 before the policies took effect. Congress obliged them. Then the Banks started jacking up interest rates and fees in anticipation of the new legislation taking effect, so that they could still rob you before the new legislation took effect, rather than preparing to implement the new policies as they claimed they needed the extra time to do.

In response, on November 4, 2009, the House passed legislation to accelerate the implementation of the new Credit Card regulations so that they would begin in December 2009, since the Banks have demonstrated their failure to live up to their agreement to use this time to set up the infrastructure to comply with the new policies.

Changing the laws that made it possible for unscrupulous banks and other businesses to create conditions which have damaged our economy will take time to correct. It took decades for Republicans to create the mess, and almost the same amount of time for people to wake up and recognize that we even had problems.

I don’t like the fact that things are taking so long to change, and I don’t like the fact that a handful of Democrats are often standing in the way of real change, while bucking the rest of the Democratic Party. But staying at home and allowing Republicans to take back control isn’t an option.

Californians were duped into voting for Schwarzenegger, in the recall election of 2003, when Republicans blamed Democratic Governor Grey Davis for the high energy costs in 2003, which we now know were as a result of Enron’s trading tactics that were driving up the costs of energy and bankrupting people living on fixed incomes. But those tactics were only made possible because of de-regulation which has been consistently pushed by Republicans in general, and signed into law in California, by Grey Davis’ predecessor, Republican Governor Pete Wilson.

And of course, Arnold Schwarzenegger’s top campaign advisor was Pete Wilson - The guy who really caused the mess in the first place. And of course, let’s not forget that “Kenny Boy” Lay, the CEO of Enron, was a top campaign donor for both George H.W. Bush and Dubya, so when Grey Davis called Dubya for help with the high energy prices, Dubya didn’t bother to help.

Ya think that perhaps Republican politics was behind the high energy prices in the first place to selectively remove Democrats from office, by blaming them for the results of policies that were put in place by their predecessors?

A Message from Michael Moore

"Michael Moore's Action Plan: 15 Things Every American Can Do Right Now"

You've Seen the Movie (Capitalism: A Love Story) -- Now It's Time to ACT!

Thursday, October 22, 2009

Friends,

It's the #1 question I'm constantly asked after people see my movie: "OK -- so NOW what can I DO?!"

You want something to do? Well, you've come to the right place! 'Cause I got 15 things you and I can do right now to fight back and try to fix this very broken system.

Here they are:

FIVE THINGS WE DEMAND THE PRESIDENT AND CONGRESS DO IMMEDIATELY:

1. Declare a moratorium on all home evictions. Not one more family should be thrown out of their home. The banks must adjust their monthly mortgage payments to be in line with what people's homes are now truly worth -- and what they can afford. Also, it must be stated by law: If you lose your job, you cannot be tossed out of your home.

2. Congress must join the civilized world and expand Medicare For All Americans. A single, nonprofit source must run a universal health care system that covers everyone. Medical bills are now the #1 cause of bankruptcies and evictions in this country. Medicare For All will end this misery. The bill to make this happen is called H.R. 3200. You must call AND write your members of Congress and demand its passage, no compromises allowed.

3. Demand publicly-funded elections and a prohibition on elected officials leaving office and becoming lobbyists. Yes, those very members of Congress who solicit and receive millions of dollars from wealthy interests must vote to remove ALL money from our electoral and legislative process. Tell your members of Congress they must support campaign finance bill H.R.1826.

4. Each of the 50 states must create a state-owned public bank like they have in North Dakota. Then congress MUST reinstate all the strict pre-Reagan regulations on all commercial banks, investment firms, insurance companies -- and all the other industries that have been savaged by deregulation: Airlines, the food industry, pharmaceutical companies -- you name it. If a company's primary motive to exist is to make a profit, then it needs a set of stringent rules to live by -- and the first rule is "Do no harm." The second rule: The question must always be asked -- "Is this for the common good?" (Click here for some info about the state-owned Bank of North Dakota.)

5. Save this fragile planet and declare that all the energy resources above and beneath the ground are owned collectively by all of us. Just like they do it in Sarah Palin's socialist Alaska. We only have a few decades of oil left. The public must be the owners and landlords of the natural resources and energy that exists within our borders or we will descend further into corporate anarchy. And when it comes to burning fossil fuels to transport ourselves, we must cease using the internal combustion engine and instruct our auto/transportation companies to rehire our skilled workforce and build mass transit (clean buses, light rail, subways, bullet trains, etc.) and new cars that don't contribute to climate change. (For more on this, here's a proposal I wrote in December.) Demand that General Motors' de facto chairman, Barack Obama, issue a JFK man-on-the-moon-style challenge to turn our country into a nation of trains and buses and subways. For Pete's sake, people, we were the ones who invented (or perfected) these damn things in the first place!!

FIVE THINGS WE CAN DO TO MAKE CONGRESS AND THE PRESIDENT LISTEN TO US:

1. Each of us must get into the daily habit of taking 5 minutes to make four brief calls: One to the President (202-456-1414), one to your Congressperson (202-224-3121) and one to each of your two Senators (202-224-3121). To find out who represents you, click here. Take just one minute on each of these calls to let them know how you expect them to vote on a particular issue. Let them know you will have no hesitation voting for a primary opponent -- or even a candidate from another party -- if they don't do our bidding. Trust me, they will listen. If you have another five minutes, click here to send them each an email. And if you really want to drop an anvil on them, send them a snail mail letter!

2. Take over your local Democratic Party. Remember how much fun you had with all those friends and neighbors working together to get Barack Obama elected? YOU DID THE IMPOSSIBLE. It's time to re-up! Get everyone back together and go to the monthly meeting of your town or county Democratic Party -- and become the majority that runs it! There will not be many in attendance and they will either be happy or in shock that you and the Obama Revolution have entered the room looking like you mean business. President Obama's agenda will never happen without mass grass roots action -- and he won't feel encouraged to do the right thing if no one has his back, whether it's to stand with him, or push him in the right direction. When you all become the local Democratic Party, send me a photo of the group and I'll post it on my website.

3. Recruit someone to run for office who can win in your local elections next year -- or, better yet, consider running for office yourself! You don't have to settle for the incumbent who always expects to win. You can be our next representative! Don't believe it can happen? Check out these examples of regular citizens who got elected: State Senator Deb Simpson, California State Assemblyman Isadore Hall, Tempe, Arizona City Councilman Corey Woods, Wisconsin State Assemblyman Chris Danou, and Washington State Representative Larry Seaquist. The list goes on and on -- and you should be on it!

4. Show up. Picket the local branch of a big bank that took the bailout money. Hold vigils and marches. Consider civil disobedience. Those town hall meetings are open to you, too (and there's more of us than there are of them!). Make some noise, have some fun, get on the local news. Place "Capitalism Did This" signs on empty foreclosed homes, closed down businesses, crumbling schools and infrastructure. (You can download them from my website.)

5. Start your own media. You. Just you (or you and a couple friends). The mainstream media is owned by corporate America and, with few exceptions, it will never tell the whole truth -- so you have to do it! Start a blog! Start a website of real local news (here's an example: The Michigan Messenger). Tweet your friends and use Facebook to let them know what they need to do politically. The daily papers are dying. If you don't fill that void, who will?

FIVE THINGS WE SHOULD DO TO PROTECT OURSELVES AND OUR LOVED ONES UNTIL WE GET THROUGH THIS MESS:

1. Take your money out of your bank if it took bailout money and place it in a locally-owned bank or, preferably, a credit union.

2. Get rid of all your credit cards but one -- the kind where you have to pay up at the end of the month or you lose your card.

3. Do not invest in the stock market. If you have any extra cash, put it away in a savings account or, if you can, pay down on your mortgage so you can own your home as soon as possible. You can also buy very safe government savings bonds or T-bills. Or just buy your mother some flowers.

4. Unionize your workplace so that you and your coworkers have a say in how your business is run. Here's how to do it (more info here). Nothing is more American than democracy, and democracy shouldn't be checked at the door when you enter your workplace. Another way to Americanize your workplace is to turn your business into a worker-owned cooperative. You are not a wage slave. You are a free person, and you giving up eight hours of your life every day to someone else is to be properly compensated and respected.

5. Take care of yourself and your family. Sorry to go all Oprah on you, but she's right: Find a place of peace in your life and make the choice to be around people who are not full of negativity and cynicism. Look for those who nurture and love. Turn off the TV and the Blackberry and go for a 30-minute walk every day. Eat fruits and vegetables and cut down on anything that has sugar, high fructose corn syrup, white flour or too much sodium (salt) in it (and, as Michael Pollan says, "Eat (real) food, not too much, mostly plants"). Get seven hours of sleep each night and take the time to read a book a month. I know this sounds like I've turned into your grandma, but, dammit, take a good hard look at Granny -- she's fit, she's rested and she knows the names of both of her U.S. Senators without having to Google them. We might do well to listen to her. If we don't put our own "oxygen mask" on first (as they say on the airplane), we will be of no use to the rest of the nation in enacting any of this action plan!

I'm sure there are many other ideas you can come up with on how we can build this movement. Get creative. Think outside the politics-as-usual box. BE SUBVERSIVE! Think of that local action no one else has tried. Behave as if your life depended on it. Be bold! Try doing something with reckless abandon. It may just liberate you and your community and your nation.

And when you act, send me your stories, your photos and your video -- and be sure to post your ideas in the comments beneath this letter on my site so they can be shared with millions.

C'mon people -- we can do this! I expect nothing less of all of you, my true and trusted fellow travelers!

Yours,

Michael Moore

MMFlint@aol.com

MichaelMoore.com

October 16, 2009

State News

WisPolitics: Dem speakers urge more women to run for office
- http://www.wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=173436
WRN: Good news on the jobless front
- http://www.wrn.com/2009/10/good-news-on-the-jobless-front/
La Crosse Tribune: Economist says recovery under way in Wisconsin
- http://lacrossetribune.com/news/state-and-regional/wi/article_22155222-b816-11de-80ff-001cc4c002e0.html
Wisconsin State Journal: Stimulus created of kept 8,284 jobs in Wisconsin
- http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt_and_politics/blog/article_5f4fb4d6-b823-11de-bab7-001cc4c002e0.html
WSAW: Rep. Dave Obey says nationʼs priority should be health care
- http://www.wsaw.com/home/headlines/64050492.html
WisPolitics: Moore says House will fight for public option
- http://wispolitics.com/index.iml?Article=173239
Post Crescent: Wisconsin Senators Russ Feingold, Herb Kohl join push for public option
- http://www.postcrescent.com/article/20091010/APC0101/910100457/1979
The Capital Times: Michael Moore exposes Paul Ryanʼs bailout bluster
- http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/column/john_nichols/article_04904082-b1da-11de-aacb001cc4c03286.html

National News
Bloomberg: Rockefeller says Democrats canʼt tailor health care to Snowe
- http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601087&sid=abuv6QZiPPrA

Minnesota Independent: Stewart ridicules Republicans for opposing Frankenʼs anti-rape
amendment
- http://minnesotaindependent.com/47231/stewart-ridicules-republicans-for-opposingfrankens-anti-rape-amendment

Huffington Post: Sarah Palinʼs rating plummet to an all time low in poll
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/16/sarah-palins-ratings-plum_n_323589.html
NBC News: Legal changes open doors to working women
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33312818/ns/politics-more_politics/
AP: No quiet fadeaway for public option
- http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/33320171/ns/politics-health_care_reform/
Huffington Post: GOP Rep. Gohmert claims Dems plan will let seniors die quickly
- http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2009/10/16/gop-rep-gohmert-claims-de_n_323933.html
Star Tribune: ʻThings are going to get better,ʼ Biden tells donors
- http://www.startribune.com/politics/state/64461302.html?elr=KArksi8cyaiUo8cyaiUiD3aPc:_Yyc:aUU

New York Times: 53 Republicans seek ouster of Obama schools official
- http://www.nytimes.com/2009/10/16/us/politics/16jennings.html

Video of the Week

Too healthy for health insurance?

Oct. 12: Bernie and Kelli Lange join Ed Schultz to explain their experience dealing with a health
insurance company that considers their healthy baby's large size a condition that makes him
uninsurable.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21134540/vp/33284468#33284468

Wisconsin Unemployment Numbers

• Four straight months of declining unemployment is a sign that Wisconsin is on

the right track.

• The unemployment rate in Wisconsin has dropped to 7.7 percent, the lowest

point in the past year.

• This drop reflects the effective leadership of Democrats, as well as the Recovery and Reinvestment Act which has created or save 8,300 jobs in Wisconsin already.

• Despite these positive signs many Wisconsinites are still without jobs and

Wisconsin Democrats

• Because of the actions taken by our Democratic leaders, we are moving in the

right direction.

• The unemployment numbers show there is still work to be done, luckily we have strong leaders, both in Wisconsin and Washington D.C. who can get the job done.

Here's a sampling of some of the news stories. Click on the titles to get the full stories.