middle wi news - december

8/3/2019 Middle WI News - December

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/middle-wi-news-december 1/22

Information Technology Solutions Middle WisconsinNews

A FACT-DRIVEN VOICE FOR

MIDDLE WISCONSIN VIEWS

FROM THE MIDDLE OF THE STATE

FOR THE MIDDLE CLASS

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Christmas.. . . . . . . . . . . . .1

Recall Stories . . . . . . . . . .2

Survey Analysis . . . . . . . . 4

The Moral Question . . . . . 5

Last Weapon . . . . . . . . . 6

Letters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7

Winning . . . . . . . . . . . . .10

Robin Hood . . . . . . . . . .11

The Literary Page . . . . . .12

Recipes . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13

Public Statement . . . . . .15

Rep. Duffy Survey. . . . . .16

Challenging The Myth . . 17

© 2011Middle Wisconsin

IN THIS ISSUE:

www.M id d le Wisco n s in . co m

Peace on Earth - Good Will towards men. These simple words are the hope -

the dream of Christmas. This is a Christian day of remembrance of course,

but peace and good will towards others are basic tenets of all the world’s great reli-

gions. The values of fairness, and respect, and the community of man are univer-

sal. How heartbreaking that the wealthy power structures in America and around

the world are doing everything in their power to kill the dream of Christmas - to

convince us that it is every man for himself and survival of the fittest.

Let us find strength and courage in the struggles ahead knowing that we are the

voice of Christmas. We are the hope - the dream. We are the fairness, the respect,

the community of man. So to all - be we Christian, Jew or Muslim, Buddhist, Hin-

du or Unitarian - - -

Merry Christmas and a Blessed and Joyful Holiday

,

CHRISTMAS

2011



Stories From The Recalls ANOTHER REASON FOR RECALL

By Nate Timm

Canvassing door to door always has the potential to produce the unexpected. And,that’s just what I experienced this past weekend.

After having lived in the same neighborhood for over 40 years one tends to settleinto some patterns. I have lived with most of my neighbors for the majority of thistime. One of these neighbors has always supported my request to place Democraticsigns in his yard. So when I pulled up to his house this weekend with a RecallWalker Petition in hand, I was sure of a positive result. As expected, I was met atthe door by a friendly greeting and invited in. I asked the lady of the house who hagreeted me if she had signed a recall petition yet. She seemed unsure so I advisedher to sign again. I next turned to her husband with the same question. His re-sponse was the surprise of the day. My neighbor’s reaction reminded me of an applicable Russian proverb:

One day a Russian serf was plowing a field with a walking plow. He wassurprised to strike a hard object which pitched him over the plow handle.He immediately dug the object from the ground. To his amazement it wasa brass urn. Upon pulling the stopper, a magic genie appeared.

The genie informed the serf that he would be given one wish. After somethought, the serf said “My neighbor has a goat which gives milk fromwhich he makes cheese. He is becoming wealthy by selling the cheese.”The genie interrupted, “So you would like a goat?” “No” the serf replies,

“I want you to kill my neighbor’s goat.”

My neighbor too was victimized by this mean-spirited Walker agenda of turningneighbor against neighbor. Average people experience wage cuts and job losseswhile the Governor gives tax breaks to corporations.

He informed me that he had long ago experienced the transfer of health care and pension costs from his company to himself. Therefore, it seemed only fair that public employees be faced with the same demands. His wife then reminded me that thecompany had gone into bankruptcy and still owed him back wages.

I empathized with their comments and then expressed my reason for supporting therecall. “Yes, many people like you are hurting under the Walker economy. Unem- ployment has gone up from 7.4% to 7.9% not down as he had promised.

Middle Wisconsin News

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Hope beginsin the dark,

the stubbornhope that if

you just showup and do the

right thing,the dawn willcome. You

wait andwatch andwork; you

don’t give up.

-- Anne Lamott Bird By Bird

© 2011Middle Wisconsin Continued on Page 3



Stories Continued . . .

“Even worse, rather than supporting the train project which would have created jobs, he supported tax breaks for corporations, $122 million at the very start of hisadministration. Not to mention the opening of the Las Vegas loop hole which al-lows large companies like M&I Bank to avoid paying their State Corporate tax.What do you think of that?” The husband replied, “It’s not right.” “But” I said,“most of all I personally think Walker should be recalled because he is attacking oudemocracy.”

“Just think about all the people the age of our parents who have worked hard raising

their families and paying their taxes all of their lives. And now when they are in anursing home without a driver’s license or ID, they are denied the right to vote byWalker and his allies.”

“John, didn’t you go to Viet Nam and risk your life to give them the right to vote?And now the Governor is going to deprive your parents of this very right. ThisGovernor is depriving his own people of their democratic rights. And for that alonehe should be recalled.”

At that point I turned to the wife to ask her if she would like to sign. At which pointhe husband grabbed the clipboard from my hand saying “I want to sign.”

He had found another reason for the recall.

Nathan Timm, Wisconsin Recall Task Force/Wisconsin Grassroots Network


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“I don’t agree witheverything your

Occupy Movementdoes, but I sympa-thize with your

cause and agree onour common ene-my,” declared anOctober internet

posting by a“former tea-

partier” from rural

Minnesota.

--THE HIGHTOWER LOW -

DOWN, November 2011




Response to the Press Release Titled Wisconsin Associa-

tion of School District Administrators Survey Shows

Walker’s Reforms are Working By Dave Michlig

Most of us have seen the November 10, 2011 press release from Governor Walker’s officentitled “Wisconsin Association of School District Administrators Survey Shows Walker’sReforms are Working”. While the numbers they tout in this release are essentially correcthey are misleading. There are also numbers they did not include in this release, perhapintentionally because they would not support their assertions. What I’ve done is take theraw data from the survey, question by question, to come up with responses when some-one cites these results.

Calculation Errors: Wisconsin has a couple of different types of school districts. Mostare what we consider normal (K-12). There are others called union or unified districts tha

have separate districts for their K-

8 and high school. An example is Lakeland, which is aunion high school that consists of I believe four elementary districts, Lac du Flambeau,North Lakeland, Minocqua-Hazelhurst-Lake Tomahawk, and Woodruff -Arbor Vitae. Theresponses included data from LdF, NL, MHLT, and Lakeland as four separate items in thetotal of 353 districts who responded. If the data was related to elementary school items,the high school data had NA in the response and vice versa.

In looking at the data, there were two errors I noted when they calculated the percentages

1. Numerator of the fractions – This was calculated by subtracting the number of “Yes”

answers from the total 353 responding districts. Therefore, the numerator interpreted the“NA” answers as “No” answers. Denominator of the fractions. When the percentages were calculated, they were donestrictly by dividing by 353.

There were some “NA” responses in some K-12 district data as well. However, since wedo not know whether the question is really not applicable for the particular district or it wa just not answered, the “NA” responses should have been excluded from both parts of thefraction. I recalculated the percentages using this premise. It did not change the overallresult of any item.

I also found minor math errors that did not materially change the figures. However, theyraise my level of suspicion of the accuracy of the data that was entered. Without havingthe individual surveys to review, I assumed the data as entered is correct.

Here is a question by question look at the data:

Question 1 – Listed below are four staff positions. Write the number of retirementslayoffs, nonrenewals/resignations and new hires that took place for the 2011-12school year in the appropriate spaces. Then indicate the net gain or loss. The foustaff positions listed were: Teacher Aides, Other Support Staff, Teachers, Administrators.

Per the Press Release: The release cited three items related to this question “new teacherhires outnumber layoffs and non-renewals by 1,213 positions”, “the three districts with themost teacher layoffs (Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Janesville) didn’t adopt the reforms put inplace by Governor Walker”, and “the Milwaukee, Kenosha and Janesville school districtsaccount for 68% of teacher layoffs for the entire state, but only contain 12.8% of Wisconsstudents”.


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Dave Michlig is a Cer-tified Public Account-ant. He was born andraised in Wausau, WI,but after graduatingfrom college in 1987

Dave moved to CrossPlains, about 15 mileswest of Madison, and

has lived there with hisfamily ever since.

Because of his workwith the Middleton - Cross Plains Area

School District, Davehas extensive experi-

ence with publicschool funding formu-lae and the financial

issues currently beingfaced by Wisconsin

school districts.

We are all indebted toDave for the extraordi-nary work he has doneanalyzing the SchoolDistrict Administrators

Survey released byGovernor Walker.

We urge you to takethe time to read

Dave’s analysis. It isan education not onlyin how this particular

survey was interpretedand misinterpreted, butalso in the design and

use of surveys ingeneral.

© 2011Middle Wisconsin Continued on page 18



Information Technology Solutions

This Country is at the crossroads of a great moral question whichwe must all ask ourselves:

What is the role of government in our lives?

Dwindling resources, global competition and increased demandfor governmental services has strained the ties that bind us to-gether as a nation. When we go about our daily lives we dependon others in our community to function as a caring society. Inother words, we do not act alone. That is simply not how we have evolved.

However, the Republican echo chamber wants us to believe something entirely different.They desire us to act against our collective best interests and the societal fabric which holus together. The Republicans claim that each person is in essence their own spinning planet separate and distinct in our universe. That each person is only responsible for them-selves. They spin the big lie that everyone can make it big in the “free market economy”and if you don’t, then you are a failure. If you fail (or don’t even attempt to “make the bimoney”) then don’t expect others in your community to help you out. There are very few people who have won the free market economy lottery. The odds are stacked against Joeaverage citizen who has little to no opportunity to make it big in the free market economy

The banksters have little desire to lend money to the little guy. There goes the Americandream of striking it rich. The poor, working and middle class are relegated to work at substandard wages and keep their jobs at the pleasure of their employer.

To make ungodly amounts of money, corporations and the wealthy strip workers of their rights, reduce worker’s pay and lay off the workforce. For those who have been victim-ized by this unjust system, they are only seen as chattel. When workers do lose their jobsthe Republicans cut their unemployment compensation, rob them of their houses and cutthe very programs they need to get back on their feet. They justify these actions by claiming that these people were just not disciplined enough to “make it in a free market econo-my.” They claim that you need to pull yourself up by your bootstraps and quit complaininthat life (in reality the wealthy) gave you a raw deal. You should not receive government

handouts. Such lies are contrary to the very core of our communities. We take care of each other. We have a moral obligation to help out those who have fallen on hard times athe hands of the wealthy, the banksters and the corporations. Government is the greatequalizer.

We have a moral obligation to change the very system which enslaves us. We are repre-

sented in Congress by a gang of millionaires on both sides of the aisle. This wealthy elite

creates laws which only serve their interests. It is time to demand justice for ordinary

working people. Political apathy perpetuates our enslavement to the corporations and the

wealthy. We are standing at the precipice. Fight back.


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“We have to bewilling to broad-en our sense of attachment from property rights

and obligationsgrounded in terri-tory to universalhuman rights andobligationsgrounded in our collective participation on a

shared Earth.”

--Jeremy RifkinThe Hydrogen Economy

The Moral Question Before Us

By John Spiegelhoff





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You Gave Up Your Last Weapon

You gave up your last weapon without a fight.You didn’t even notice that “they” came and took it from your hands. You voted for them and cheer them on to this day. During October of 2005 the

Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Consumer

Protection Act of 2005 went into effect with con-servative corporate and banker backing. The result: You lost the right to file for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy protection.

That protection allowed you to stave off creditor predators and submit your plan to pay your bills for the approval of a court of law. Some people can still file Chap-ter 11. Those people whose secured debts of well over $1,000,000.00, for example, can file Chapter 11. Even religions can file Chapter 11 to escape paying dam-ages from convictions for pedophilia. Not you though.

When “the plant” closed, you couldn’t make the payments on your pick -up anymore. Same for the house now. The “job creators”, who closed “the plant” ,where you got the money for the payments, filed for Chapter 11 Bankruptcy“protection”. Not you though. You lost your job, pick -up and soon the house, butyou can‘t file Chapter 11. If corporations are people, aren’t people corporationstoo? If you had kept your financial weapon of Chapter 11 protection, you would-n’t have a financial crisis.

During the run up to the passage of the Bankruptcy Abuse Prevention and Con-

sumer Protection Act of 2005, all of the finance lobbyists were out in force.Banks and financial corporations knew that this bill would pass. They paid for passage. Who was lobbying for you to keep the right to Chapter 11? Nobody.The path was cleared and financial institutions gave mortgages to anyone whoasked.

If you had kept your Chapter 11 weapon, banks and finance companies wouldn’t

have been able to make reckless loans. Now, you pay both ways. Whatever you

have left goes to keep the pick -up and the house, plus bailing out the banksters

with your hard earned tax money. The common man deserves his last financial

weapon back.

By David Chekouras

The cardshave been

deliberatelyand

methodicallystacked

against us.




Under the BadgerCare cuts, supported by Senator Dr. Galloway, people now have to pay much more out of pocket to cover com-mon treatments, such as mammograms.

That’s not fair!

Last week I went to a small business establishment here in Marathon County. Theowner, self employed and hard working, is in crisis. She has exhausted almost all

health insurance coverage with previous breast cancer treatment.

She works hard from dawn to dusk trying to earn money to pay medical bills fromcancer treatment. Two medical credit agencies phone her constantly trying to gether to pay more – even suggesting she max out her credit cards. Her bills are pilingup. She can’t sleep and is always stressed. No one should have to suffer like this.

On top of it all, she continues to need breast cancer treatment. The treatments shemust endure are horrible. Making matters worse, her husband is being treated for aheart condition.

Under Dr. Galloway’s cuts to BadgerCare, this small business owner, and her fami-ly, will no longer be able to afford insurance. They will be forced to go to the ER.Increased ER visits will increase insurance premiums for the rest of the policyholders and will put more demand on our taxes.

That’s not right!

Contact Senator Dr. Galloway and ask her to keep BadgerCare funding for citizenswho need it. If she continues to support BaderCare cuts call 715-817-6583 and askto sign a recall petition.

Joyce Chekouras

(This letter was originally published in the Wausau Daily Herald)


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Letters

“I hope that all mem- bers of the interna-

tional communityagree on a responsi-

ble and credible re-sponse to this worri-some and complex

phenomenon, takinginto account theneeds of the poorestand future genera-

tions.”

--Pope Benedict XVI at the UNClimate Change Conference

Letters continued on next page

Senator Dr. Pam Galloway’s Prescription




Act 23, the Voter/Photo ID law in place for 2012 has many aspects that will hinderour most sacred right--the right to vote. This law will make it more difficult for allof us to be equals in the poll booth. It will undermine the very pillar of democracy.

1. The voter will need to have a Voter/Photo ID. 23% of Wisconsin voters ages 65and older lack a state ID. Half of Wisconsin’s African-American and Latino votersin Wisconsin do not have a state ID. This Voter ID needs to be obtained by going to

a Department of Motor Vehicles (DMV) office. People will have to travel manymiles to a DMV office and many have limited hours. I recently went to a DMV of-fice. The wait was at least two hours. The waiting room was filled to capacity. Howwill the disabled and/or elderly be able to maneuver through the obstacles at theDMV especially if they do not have someone to assist them?

A recent article in the Capital Times gave an example of a 101 year old woman andthe obstacles she had to go through to receive her Voter ID. Another example was ayoung man who had all the needed documents to obtain the Voter ID but was re-fused because he did not have enough activity in his checking account. This is justunimaginable that this is happening in Wisconsin.

A more recent article in the Wausau Daily Herald (12/6/2011) about 84-year -old,Ruthelle Frank, highlights the egregious hurdles Act 23 puts in place. RuthelleFrank is an elected official of the Village of Brokaw, but she does not have a driv-er’s license. Two of the hurdles she faces in getting the Photo ID are the cost of getting a certified birth certificate and the cost ($200) of having the spelling of her maiden name corrected.

The more heinous issue of Act 23 is the hurdles/obstacles Ruthelle Frank, andmany, many others, have to go through to obtain the appropriate documents (andthere are many!), get to the DMV (What if they don’t drive?), and obtaining help

with this nefarious law. (What if they don’t have family/friends to help?)

2. To obtain a Voter ID, a person must pay to obtain a certified birth certificate.This birth certificate will cost the person at least $20.00. This is a form of a poll taxwhich is unconstitutional. Some have had to wait eight weeks to receive the birthcertificate.


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Letters Continued . . .

“If an elephant hasits foot on a mouseand you say you areneutral, the mousewill not appreciateyour neutrality.”

---Desmond Tutu

Continued on next page

Our Sacred Right To Vote




3. A new residency requirement is also in place that will further hinder the voter. Now the person needs to have lived in the mu-nicipality where he or she will vote for 28 days. Will that persongo back to the previous municipality to vote especially if that per-son can’t drive?

4. College and university students along with technical studentswill also face barriers in voting.

5. People who vote by absentee ballot, especially the elderly and disabled, will also

face obstacles. If they have a Voter ID, they will need to include a photo copy of this. What if they don’t drive?

Cullen Werwie, Governor Walker”s spokesman, stated: “We already require it (a photo ID) to get a library card, cold medicine, and public assistance. I disagree withhim on these points:

1. I have never had to show a “Photo” ID to get a library card! All I needed was proof that I resided in the given county of the library.

2. I have never had to show a “Photo” ID to buy cold medicine.

3. The only time I have ever had to show my ID is when I write a check.

4. The bigger issue concerning Cullen Werwie’s remarks is this: In the above ex-amples he is talking about using or buying a service which is totally different from participating in the voting process--our most sacred right.

Does the reader see the obstacles put in place for the most vulnerable in our state byAct 23? Can you really say this is okay to put up barriers for people to vote? Is thisthe kind of government you want for this state: A government that puts up road

blocks to voting? What will be next?

For lack of space, I cannot fully explain all the deterrents and complexities of Act23. I suggest you go to the GAB website: http://gab.wi.gov for more information.

I urge you to assist people who do not have a Photo ID. I urge you to report anyincidences of obstacles/hindrances to the voting process to the League of WomenVoters:www.lwvwi.org

Joyce Luedke


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Letters Continued . . .

“The economy of

the future will be based on relation-ships rather than possessions.”

--John Perry Barlowcyberspace theorist

http://gab.wi.gov/

http://gab.wi.gov/

http://www.lwvwi.org/



http://gab.wi.gov/





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“The global

information andcommunication rev-olutions decimated

nation-state bounda-ries just as the can-

non once toppled thecity-state walls of the feudal era.”

---

Jeremy Rifkin

THE EUROPEAN DREAM

1. Unite and reclaim patriotism.

2. Learn how to “frame” all issues from a Democratic/Progressive point of view.

3. Know your progressive values: empathy, responsibility, strength, protection, fair ness, fulfillment, freedom, opportunity, prosperity, community, service, coopera- tion, trust, honesty and open communication.

4. Use language and framing that works for your position. Do not use Republicanterms such as “tax relief” or “compassionate conservative.”

5. Liberals in all religions should be active in politics.

6. Understand how a “Strict Father” model is shaping politics.

7. Activate the “Nurturant” model in swing voters.

What does Dr. Lakoff mean by “reframing”?

When you are talking with a Republican about “tax relief,” you say that taxes are in-vestments that provide dividends to all of us, such as the interstate highway system,the internet, and medical advances. Taxes are investments in people, in business andin a better future for everyone.

When you hear a Republican say we need a strong President to protect us, you talk about environmental protection, worker protection, consumer protection, and protec-tion through Medicare and Social Security. Democrats have delivered and supportedthese protections.

When you hear someone say they are against abortion, you reframe the issue by say-ing the issue is really women’s right to control their own lives. If you are pro-life,you are in favor of pre- and post- natal care, and health insurance for poor children.

When you hear someone say that same-sex marriage will undermine family life, yousay that marriage is affirming love in a long-term commitment. Love and commit-ment are sacred in our country.

For further details, go to www.winwithlanguage.com

How Democrats and Progressives Can Win

A Report on the Concepts of Dr. George Lakoff

By Virginia Kirsch

http://www.winwithlanguage.com/







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The State of Wisconsin is a much darker place today since Senator Galloway was elected. Her “give to therich, take from the poor, working and middle class” approach to government, attacks the very core of whatmakes Wisconsin a great place to live. Those of us who work to support our families and strengthen our communities are under attack by Senator Galloway and her corporate backers. Clearly, Senator Galloway’sand Governor Walker’s “reforms” are not “working for Wisconsin.” Consider the following:

Senator Galloway raised taxes on those least able to afford it. She and her like-minded colleagues gut-

ted Wisconsin’s Homestead Credit and Earned Income Credit Acts. These laws were originally intended to provide tax exemptionsfor those of limited means so they would have more disposable income to spend in our communities and reduce dependency on so-cial safety-net programs such as Food Stamps and BadgerCare. Senator Galloway’s changes to the tax exemptions took 70 milliondollars away from our citizens and local economies. Senator Galloway reduced our investment in our children and adult’s education programs by cutting more than 2 billion dollarsfrom our public K -12 schools, Technical Colleges and Universities. She distorts the effects of school budget cuts in order to mini-mize the damages done by her budget vote. See the actual damage done to your schools: http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/pb/11-13_budget.html

Senator Galloway stripped workers of their ability to provide for their families by reducing their compensation by

nearly 1 billion dollars. These dollars will be missed by Main Street businesses and their employees.

And what did Senator Galloway and her political cronies do with the money they took from working people, schools and local gov-ernments? They gave away over 2 billion dollars in special interest spending to their corporate donors and supporters while tellingus Wisconsin was broke! Senator Galloway’s budget priorities are truly a “Robin Hood in Reverse” which harms our communities.See:http://www.wisconsinbudgetproject.org/tax_cuts_increases_budget_bill_2011.pdf ]

But Senator Galloway didn’t stop with giving away our tax money.

She made it difficult for elderly and students to vote in next year’s elections. She claims the Voter ID law was necessary be-

cause of voter fraud, but in the last Presidential Election there were only eight prosecuted cases of election fraud in Wisconsin. Our right to vote is fundamental to Wisconsin. Her vote is contrary to Wisconsin values demanding free and open elections. Her support for Voter ID is self -serving. It seeks to maintain her Senate seat and protect her rich, out-of -state donors. Senator Galloway, and her “corporate friends”, are attacking health care for the working poor. They propose to:

1. Raise BadgerCare family premiums by 700%

2. Disqualify people from basic health care protection for a year if they miss a payment and

3. Redefine financial eligibility to include all individuals living under one roof.

The changes will eliminate over 65,000 people from BadgerCare. Emergency Room use will skyrocket driving up health insurance premiums for the rest of us.

Senator Galloway and her colleagues have not improved our community or our lives. The opposite is true. These are dark times for

Wisconsin unless you are wealthy, or a big corporate CEO with loads of dollars siphoned from taxpayers. The Koch Brothers and

their friends must be very proud of her. I’m sure they will reward her with large amounts of corporate money. The only thing

standing in the way of her “giving to the rich and taking from the poor, working and middle class” is us. Sign a “Recall Galloway”

petition and elect someone else to effectively represent us who has the right priorities.

Senator Galloway’s “Robin Hood in Reverse”

Voting Weakens Wisconsin By John Spiegelhoff

http://www.dpi.state.wi.us/pb/11-13_budget.html




http://www.wisconsinbudgetproject.org/tax_cuts_increases_budget_bill_2011.pdf









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The Literary Page

TERRORISM

for the children

The vicious cycle of screaming jets

and screaming jets begins again.

For all the talk about precision,

aerial bombardment is a crap shoot; with ten civilians killedfor every active combatant.

Industrial warfare as social control – terror spread far and wide

by those who call any sort of resistance

to their sovereignty from above – terrorism.

Bobble headed journalists concur,

the defiance of the impoverished – terrorism.

A powerless anger washes through me. Thugs have their fingers on the trigger. The change salesman stands mute. The fading oil boy follows the foreign policy tradition

of sitting on his well manicured hands. Feigning concern, feigning neutrality

they both know that terror

is a necessary, unspoken pillar of empire.

“There are rare mo-ments in history whena generation of human beings are given a newgift with which to re-arrange their relation-ship to one another

and the world aroundthem. This is SUCH aMOMENT. We are being given the power of the sun! Hydrogenis a promissory notefor humanity’s futureon Earth.”

--Jeremy RifkinTHE HYDROGEN

ECONOMY

A Poem by Tom Neale



© 2011Middle


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Fudge 3/4 c. Margarine

2/3 c. (5 1/3 oz. can) Evaporated Milk

3 c. Sugar

1 (12 oz.) pkg. Semi-sweet Chocolate Chips

1 (7 oz.) jar Marshmallow Creme

1 tsp. Vanilla

Combine sugar, margarine & milk in saucepanover medium heat. Bring to a full rolling boilstirring constantly. Continue boiling for 5

minutes stirring constantly-important.

After 5 minutes are up, remove pan from heatand stir in chocolate chips, marshmallow creme& vanilla. Blend well until everything is meltedand of a smooth consistency.

Pour into well-greased 13x9 pan and cool atroom temperature. Cut into squares.

Makes approximately 3 pounds of yummyfudge.

Submied by Kim Rantanen Day

Recipes

Recipes continued on next page





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Tortellini Soup

2Tbsp. Olive Oil

2oz. Bacon or pancetta finely diced

1 med. Onion. Chopped

3 cloves Garlic minced

1 (49 1/2 oz.) can Chicken Broth

2 tsp. Italian seasoning

1 (9oz.) pkg. Cheese Tortellini

1 (28 oz.) can crushed Tomatoes in puree

8 oz. fresh Spinach, rinsed, stemmed, & chopped

Meatballs ( 1/4 to 1/2 pkg) frozen ready-made

Salt & Pepper to taste

1 c. freshly shredded Parmesan Cheese

Heat olive oil in dutch oven over medium heat. bacon, cook until crisp, add onion, cook until soft. Add garlic, cook 1 more minute.Add broth & Italian seasoning bring to a boil & sim-

mer for 5 min. Cook tortellini according to pkg. directions & drain.Add tortellini to soup mixture, stir in tomatoes &

simmer 5 mins.Add thawed meat balls & simmer additional 10 mins.Add spinach and cook just until wilted, season with

salt & pepper, garnish with cheese.

Submied by Kim Rantanen Day

Recipes Continued . . .



Information Technology Solutions Middle Wisconsin News

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A Public Statement to Representative Sean Duffy

Link to the currentlist of legislators who have signedthe Pledge Of Al-

legiance to Grover

Norquist and the Wealthy for WhomHe Stands, thus ab-dicating their oath

of office and pledgeof allegiance to the people of America

http://s3.amazonaws.com/atrfiles/files/files/072911-federalpledgesigners.pdf

Congressman Sean Duffy

208 Grand Avenue

Wausau, WI 54401

December 19, 2011

Dear Congressman Duffy,

In the past several weeks we have received surveys directed at senior citizens fromyou concerning Medicare and Social Security, and the US Postal Service. Alt-

hough we applaud your efforts to seek the opinions of your constituents, we feelthat the questions you have asked and the way in which they were worded left usunable to express our true thoughts and concerns about these vital programs. Addtionally, there are many other issues impacting the lives of average Americans thayou have not asked about, and we feel it is time that all legislators set their personideologies aside and begin asking people about these matters.

Attached you will find the first in a series of surveys we will be sending to you thwe feel is more representative of the questions that are truly being asked by avera people and that we feel you should be sending to all of your constituents. We wil be releasing these surveys publicly so that people are aware that you have receive

them.

We are all hoping to see a return to the democracy of, by, and for the people thatwe previously had before moneyed interests took control of our government.

Sincerely,

Dave Svetlik

Virginia Kirsch

Judith Rose

Joyce Leudke

Informed And Involved Citizens

See Survey # 1 On Next Page



Concerns For Our Democracy

Survey #1 For Congressman Sean Duffy

1. Do you feel that the financial inequality in America, now at the levels preceding the Great Depression, is aserious threat to our democracy?Yes____ No____ Unsure____

2. Do you feel that the deregulation of the financial sector that caused the 2008 economic collapse should becorrected by reinstating strict regulations on this industry such as the Glass-Steagall Act prohibiting commercial banks from collaborating in the investment banking that destroyed our economy?

Yes____ No____ Unsure____

3. Do you feel that the illegal, unethical behavior of the Wall Street Bankers that caused the 2008financial collapse should be prosecuted to the full extent of the law?


4. Do you feel that hedge fund managers, many of whom make millions or even billions of dollars per year should continue to be taxed at the 15 percent capital gains rate while ordinary Americans are required to pay 20

to 30 percent?


5. Do you feel there should be a financial transaction tax to limit the high speed computer trading of stocksthat has turned investing into a casino game that can only be won by the largest banks and investment firmsand is now destroying average Americans?

Yes___ No____ Unsure____

6. Do you feel that corporate CEO’s should be paid 300 to 400 times as much as average employees?


7. Do you feel that the Bush tax cuts for the wealthy that are the single greatest cause of government debt

should be canceled immediately?


8. Do you feel that corporate taxes and progressive taxes on the wealthy should be returned to the levels thatexisted at the time of President Reagan?


9. Do you feel that the lack of corporate taxes and progressive taxes on the wealthy is now the single greatest job killer because the resulting financial inequality has removed so much purchasing power from average people that there is no longer sufficient demand to sustain a viable economy?


10. Do you feel that those legislators that abdicated their oath of office to the American people by signingthe Pledge of Allegiance to Grover Norquist and the Wealthy for Whom He Stands should be required to publicly revoke their allegiance to Norquist and publicly restate their allegiance to the American people?


Please feel free to copy and mail completed survey to:

Congressman Sean Duffy

208 Grand Ave

Wausau, WI 54401



By Dave Svetlik


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CHALLENGING THE MYTH... “And if all others accepted the lie which the party

imposed—if all records told the same tale— then the lie passed into history and became the truth.”

—George Orwell, 1984 (published in 1949

Maybe The GovernmentDoes Create Jobs

How betrayed many “baby boomers” like me must feel to learn that they were lied to by their parents and grandparentsand even their history teachers. Well I remember the stories we were told about how the government founded theWorks Progress Administration and the Civilian Conservation Corp to create thousands of jobs for people left unem- ployed in the aftermath of the “Great Depression.” How upsetting to now learn that the government can’t create jobsand that these stories were just lies in some sort of socialist plot to take away our freedoms. And that municipal wel-fare recipient who drove the snowplow past my house at 4:30 this morning is just another example of big government

taking over my life. The guy should be thrown out on the street and told to go find a job.

Thank God for hedge fund managers and their credit default swappy things and exotic financial instrument stuff.Those guys really work for a living. Not like those lazy cops and firemen who just leach off all of us and need to gostand in line next to the snowplow guy and find a job. And I know that on average each of the top 25 hedge fund man-agers make over a billion dollars a year (more than all of the public school teachers at $50,000 plus benefits in Milwau-kee, Madison, Minneapolis, and St Paul combined), but those hedge fund guys have a job and actually work for a liv-ing. And those swappy things and instruments create real jobs. Good thing these guys are only taxed at 15% or they’dquit working for all of us. Ayn Rand told us these things. And even though she was a religion hating, married partner sex swapping atheist, she knew.1 God wants it to be every man for himself. It’s the only way we’ll get all these gov-ernment “employees” off welfare and out on the street and actually working for once.

And while we’re at it, we need to privatize everything the government does. Those corporate CEO’s who make over 300 times what average employees earn, know how to do things right. They could make a profit off criminals insteadof coddling them like public cops. Some of these public “workers” are actually dumb enough to think that we shouldtry to rehabilitate lawbreakers. Private throw-away-the-key prisons are the only way to go. And if a few houses burneddown because lazy people didn’t pay for fire protection, things would finally get better. And we should sell off all pub-lic buildings too. If we sold the capitol in Madison to real estate developers, things would start to happen. We couldkeep an office in it for Governor Walker because he knows how to work with corporations to get stuff done and throwout those lazy bum senators who ran off to Illinois. Once they saw we were on the right track, the Koch brothers might be decent enough to put in a water slide or something under the dome. This would create real jobs cleaning pools and bathrooms. Maybe some other private sector people would put in some nice chain restaurants on the second floor andcreate good waitress and busboy jobs. And if we can continue to get rid of those stupid child labor laws we can have 5and 6 year olds who don’t “fit in” scrub urinals for a year or two. Set ‘em on the right track. And since the capitol

would no longer be a public building, we would be done with all those lazy out of state hippie protestors. And, thanksto the good senator from Wausau, Dr. Pam Galloway, having all the paying customers carrying concealed 357 Mag-nums won’t hurt either. But the real frosting on the cake is that Dr. Galloway also made it legal for us to buy alcoholearlier in morning. We can start the day off at the water slide with our kids while slugging a few shots of brandy.We’re finally getting back to good Christian values.

There are lots of good things profit makers are trying to do to help get people back to work, but the first thing we needto do is get teachers and cops and firemen and snowplow drivers and their ilk off the public dole and out into the pri-vate sector working at a real job. Merry Christmas.

http://www.alternet.org/story/153454/how_ayn_rand








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My Observation: The 1,213 number is in total, not just teachers, but includes all four staff positions. It also does notinclude retirements. Many of the new teacher hires were a direct result of the retirements. If you factor the 4,581 retire-ments, there were actually 3,368 less positions at the school districts that responded.

They singled out the Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Janesville layoffs indicating that they didn’t “adopt the reforms.” How-ever, there was no question that asked that question. How many other districts did not do the same? Some could notbecause of contracts that were in place that covered the current school year. Being able to sort the data by this im-portant question could provide interesting data. I calculated the teacher layoffs to be 67%. They had a math error intheir calculation. They also indicate that these three districts contain 12.8% of the students. This must be the entire

state, not just the districts who answered the survey. However, these districts represent 17.1% of the students of thedistricts who answered the survey.

Because of its size and the extraordinarily high numbers of teacher layoffs, the inclusion of Milwaukee skews these sta-tistics greatly. It has three times as many students as Madison, the second largest district. Milwaukee accounted for 51% of the teacher layoffs of the districts responding to the survey. If you take the top 10 responding districts in enroll-ment and exclude Milwaukee, these nine districts account for 21% of the students but only 19% of the teacher layoffs.Also, the non-Milwaukee responding districts account for 87% of the students but only 49% of the teacher layoffs. Inter-estingly, the non-Milwaukee districts had 95% of the teacher retirements and 99% of the new teacher hires.

Question 2 – If you have fewer administrators this year, indicate the positions lost with a check mark. Theylisted: Principal, Asst. Principal, Curriculum Director, Assessment Coordinator, and Other (specify).

Per the Press Release: There was no response in the press release.

My Observation: Principals – 23, Asst. Principals – 15, Curriculum Directors – 11, Assessment Coordinators – 5, Oth-er – 45. These are not the number of positions lost. They are the number of districts that checked a particular position.Among the cited “other” positions lost were Special Education Directors (6 responded), athletic directors, technologydirectors, and pupil services. There were also some that indicated a reduction in hours.

Question 3 – Overall, did you increase class sizes in grades K -3 in 2011-2012?

Per the Press Release: 75% of districts have the same K-3 class sizes or are decreasing them.

My Observation: Districts have made the choice to have minimal effect on the elementary school students. See theresults of question #8. Also, the question did not have a “decrease” option. Therefore, it should not be in the state-ment. This is an example of where the “NA” responses were included in both portions of the fraction. The fraction is

actually 74% when removing these.

Question 4 – Overall, did you increase class sizes in grades 4 -6 in 2011-2012?

Per the Press Release: 67% of districts for grades 4-6 are keeping the same class size or decreasing them.

My Observation: Districts have made the choice to have minimal effect on the elementary school students. See theresults of question #8. Also, the question did not have a “decrease” option. Therefore, it should not be in the state-ment. This is an example of where the “NA” responses were included in both portions of the fraction. The fraction isactually 66% when removing these.

Survey Analysis Continued From Page 4





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Question 5 – Were there increases in student fees?

Per the Press Release: 78% of districts are keeping student fees the same or decreasing them.

My Observation: Districts define student fees differently. Some may include participation fees for athletics or other extracurricular activities as a “student fee” while others may not. Another question should have asked if there was anincrease participation fees for athletics and other extracurricular activities. Also, the question did not have a “decrease”option. Therefore, it should not be in the statement.

Question 6 – Were sports programs reduced or eliminated? If yes, please identify the sports that were reducedor eliminated.

Per the Press Release: 92% of districts are keeping sports programs the same or expanding them.

My Observation: Increased participation fees may have kept the sports programs from being reduced or eliminated.Many schools have booster clubs who may be helping fund these activities. Also, the question did not have a “expand”option. Therefore, it should not be in the statement.

Question 7 – Were other extracurricular programs reduced or eliminated? If yes, please identify the programs.


My Observation: 92% of districts are keeping other extracurricular programs. Again, as with sports programs, are

there additional participation fees to keep these from being reduced or eliminated?

Question 8 – For Each area below, indicate if overall there were staff reductions for the 2011 -12 school year. If you do not offer the program or service, mark not applicable (NA). They then list 12 areas (Technology sup-port, Library/Media Center, Social work, Guidance, Psychology, Gifted and Talented, Special Education, AtRisk programs/services, Drug & Alcohol Abuse programs, Early Childhood (4K, Head Start), English-LanguageLearner programs, Reading Coordination).

Per the Press Release: The press release listed something similar to “89% of school districts have the same number or increased the number of technology support staff” for all 12 of these areas. The percentages ranged from 73% to96%.

My Observation: While they throw out a large number of statistics with large numbers, I find the summary statistics for

these categories more telling than the

detail by area. Of the 350 districts that reported having at least one of these 12

areas, 237 (68%) reported a decrease in at least one of the areas listed, 151 (43%) of which reported a decrease inmore than one area. Nine districts reported decreases in six or more areas. While no specific area was dramaticallycut statewide, school districts made some choices of what cuts for 2011 -2012 they needed to make based on their indi-vidual school district.

Also, the question did not have an “increase” option. Therefore, it should not be in the statement. This is another ex-ample of where the “NA” responses were included in both portions of the fraction.

Survey Analysis Continued . . .





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Question 9 – For the 2011-12 school year, is your district using federal stimulus dollars ("Education Jobs") todeal with budget shortfalls?


My Observation: 50% of the districts who responded to the question responded “yes”. When this is not around nextyear, the cuts will only be deeper.

Question 10 – For each area below, indicate if your district eliminated sections, eliminated course offerings, or increased class sizes in the areas listed for the 2011 -12 school year by marking “YES” or “NO” for each choice.Then indicate the grade levels affected by marking the appropriate spaces. They then list 12 areas (AdvancedPlacement, Vocational/technical, Art, Music/Band/Orchestra, Family/Consumer Ed, Physical Education, Busi-ness Education, Foreign Languages, English/Language Arts, Mathematics, Science, and Social Studies).

Per the Press Release: As with question #8, the press release listed something similar to “96% of school districtshave the same number or increased the number of AP sections”, “98% of school districts have the same number or in-creased the number of AP courses”, and “89% of school districts have their AP class sizes stay the same or decrease”for all 12 of these areas. There were three items per area (eliminate sections, eliminate course offerings, increase classsizes) for a total of 36 separate items listed as a response to this question. The percentages ranged from 77% to 99%.The press release did not address the fourth area (indicated the grade levels affected).

My Observation: As with question #8, while they throw out a large number of statistics with large numbers, I find thesummary statistics for these categories more telling than the detail by area.

Eliminated Sections: Of the 345 districts that reported having at least one of these 12 areas, 184 (53%) reported theyeliminated a sections in one or more of the areas, 133 (39%) of which reported eliminating sections in more than onearea. 23 districts (7%) reported eliminating sections in six or more areas.

Eliminated Course Offerings: Of the 345 districts that reported having at least one of these 12 areas, 106 (31%) report-ed they eliminated a course offering in one or more of the areas, 49 (14%) of which reported eliminating course offer-ings in more than one area.

Increased Class Sizes: Of the 345 districts that reported having at least one of these 12 areas, 154 (45%) reported theyincreased class sizes in one or more of the areas, 122 (35%) of which reported increasing class sizes in more than onearea. 55 districts (16%) reported increasing class sizes in six or more areas.

Indicate the grade levels affected: Any information that was entered on the individual survey responses was not en-

tered with the raw data. Therefore, no conclusions could be drawn related to this. However, the areas listed are pri-marily middle and high school level areas that have more elective opportunities which would be eligible for cuts.

As with question #8, while no specific area was dramatically cut statewide, school districts made some choices of whatcuts for 2011-2012 they needed to make based on their individual school district. The results shown here coupled withthe responses to questions 3 and 4 relating to class sizes for K -3 and 4-6, increased class sizes is a reality for the mid-dle and high school grades.

This is another example of where the “NA” responses were included in both portions of the fraction.






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Question 11 – For the 2012-13 school year, does your district anticipate cuts in staff will be greater, about thesame, or less than 2011-2012? There was also a spot to check for “Don’t Know”.


My Observation: Of the 347 districts who answered this question:

Greater - 114 (33%) Same - 118 (34%) Less - 45 (13%) Don't Know - 70 (20%)

The question itself was so poorly written that drawing conclusions from the above results is hard for a couple of rea-sons. First, it assumes that all districts will be making staffing cuts for 2012-13. If you do not anticipate cuts or actuallyanticipate staffing increases, how do you answer this? Second, by reading the question, you could interpret this as 80%know there will be cuts (33% will be greater than last year, 34% will be the same, and 13% will be less than last year).

Many of the things that I read from various school districts indicated that the cuts would be worse the second year.When 67% of the respondents indicate they anticipate the staff cuts for 2012-13 to be the same or greater (interpretingthe question literally), those fears are confirmed.

Question 12 – What is the official enrollment of your district during the 2010-2011 school year?


My Observation: The respondents ranged from 67 students (Washington Island) to 80,934 (Milwaukee),

Question 13 – Any comments about this survey or about your district’s educational or financial status?


My Observation: They were not on the spreadsheet either. These would be interesting to read.

Other Observations:

Early on, Kaukauna was cited as a district that turned a sizable deficit into a surplus with the “tools” given them. In look-ing at their response for question #1 regarding staffing, they had a net loss, including retirements of 26 positions (18

teachers, 6 aides, 3 support staff with an increase of 1 administrative position). When asked about using federal stimu-lus dollars, they also responded “yes”.

Waukesha School District did not respond. This is the district where the school board member that appears in the Gov-ernor’s ad telling us that he gave them “options” is from. Among other large districts that did not respond were Osh-kosh, West Allis, Elmbrook, Sun Prairie, Beloit, Middleton -Cross Plains, Chippewa Falls, and Marshfield.

The Monona Grove School District responses do not correspond to the claims by the teacher in the most recent ad for the Governor. The district is on record refuting his statements. In looking at their response for question #1 regardingstaffing, they had a net loss,





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including retirements of 9.5 positions (6 teachers, 1 aide, 1.5 support staff and 1 administrative position). When askedabout using federal stimulus dollars, they also responded “yes”. For questions #3 & #4 regarding increased class sizesfor K-3 and 4-6, they responded “yes” for both. For question #10 regarding increased class sizes, they reported in-creases in 6 of the 12 areas noted.

There were some questions that should have been asked that could have made this survey more complete and providemeaningful information. Among them are:

1. Did your district adopt the reforms enacted by the state earlier this year? If no, why not?

2. When does your current union contract expire? Were these extended prior to the effective date of the state re-forms?

3. Did participation fees for sports programs increase, decrease, or remain the same?

4. Did participation fees for other extracurricular activities increase, decrease, or remain the same?

5. For 2012-13, do you expect your staffing to increase, decrease, or stay the same as 2011 -12? If you expect a de-

crease, does your district anticipate cuts in staff will be greater, about the same, or less than 2011-2012?

6. For 2012-13, do you expect the number of course sections offered to increase, decrease, or remain the same as

2011-12?

For 2012-13, do you expect the course offerings to increase, decrease or remain the same as 2011 -12?

It appears that the methodology of analyzing the results of the survey was hastily put together. How else to you explainthe simple calculation errors that occurred as I noted earlier? I believe I did more analyzing of the data than those whowere actually paid to do this job. I also believe the press release listing of over 50 line items with large percentages wasdone to deceive the public about the true issues surrounding the staffing, course selections, and class sizes.

Conclusion:

Without a question asking if the district adopted the reforms, a conclusion that the reforms are working cannot bedrawn. In order to know if the reforms are indeed working, the data collected would have to be segregated betweenthose that adopted the reforms and those that did not so a comparison can be made. The numbers provided above,when looked at as one group, do not support the assertion that the reforms are working. The reduction in staff, pro-grams, and course offerings, coupled with the increased class sizes cannot be beneficial for the students.


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