Law

Thursday In Madison Is LazichFest, In A Round About Way

October 5, 2011 by The Political E...

Ah, State Sen. Mary Lazich, (R-New Berlin) - - Wisconsin's gift to political theater that keeps on giving.

On Thursday morning she's scheduled a hearing on the state's use of traffic roundabouts - - that foreign roadway import that calms traffic, and saves on stoplight costs, but which Lazich finds overwhelmingly baffling.

City of Milwaukee Mark Belling fears a New Berlin roundabout, too.

Even though all turns are to the right.

Some other true-fact items from the Lazich archives:

*  She proposed criminalizing prank phone calls. This came after Scott Walker was embarrassed spilling the beans to the fake David Koch and earned her a shout out on "The Colbert Report."

* Led opposition to the Great Lakes Compact of 2008 even though it was making it possible for her home town to get the Great Lakes water supply it sought, because she believed it would destroy Wisconsin's sovereignty.

A State Of Incorporation - - Welcome to Wisconsin, Inc.

October 4, 2011 by The Political E...

If you examine the Walker/Fitzgeralds' agenda and accomplishments [sic] to date- - the Voter ID bill locking in Republican advantages, a parade of business tax breaks, the shift of agency rule-making to the Governor's office, the management of the DNR with a "chamber of commerce mentality," the easing of mining approvals and wetlands protections, the boosting of private school choice, the crippling of public employee unions and members' collective bargaining rights, the starving of local bus systems, outright killing of both a Madison-to-Milwaukee Amtrak extension and separate SE Wisconsin commuter train, and more - - there's only one way to interpret it:

The far right, with Walker as the front-man CEO, is re-shaping Wisconsin as a subsidiary of the private sector run by the Class "A," preferred shareholders - - the WMC, major conservative donors and Americans for Prosperity-type advocacy groups, and ALEC, which provides secretive, members-only ideological and technical guidance.

That group is rewarding itself with dividends guaranteed, across the board, by Walker, the Fitzgeralds and other compliant legislative/managers on behalf of the majority, controlling Class "A" shareholders.

Little in the Governor’s “Jobs Package” Deals with Jobs

October 4, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

When I heard the Governor had convened a “Special Session on Jobs” I was anxious to take look at the proposals.

Business owners tell me they need access to capital, lower health insurance costs and a skilled workforce. Just last week the Eau Claire Leader Telegram headline read Employers: Jobs are there, Skills are not.

 

Being from the country, I like to kick the tires and lift up the hood before I buy anything. Was anything that small business owners needed on the list?

This weekend, I got down to the tire kicking level. Amazingly, I found something besides ‘jobs’ on the agenda.

There are a few bills that help make it easier for businesses to get loans. One bill would make credit for farmers easier to obtain by expanding state loan guarantees; another bill increases the cap on loan guarantees for small businesses. There are several bills that create tax credits for investments.

Nothing on the list deals with rising health costs. Very little addresses the lack of skilled workers.

And who would have guessed a bill to protect drug companies and medical device companies from lawsuits if their product had FDA approval would bring jobs to Wisconsin?

Tommy Thompson And The Politics Of Exhaustion

October 4, 2011 by The Political E...

I went out of my way Tuesday afternoon to listen to John Mercure on WTMJ-AM radio interview apparent US Senate candidate Tommy Thompson, and frankly, Tommy brought nothing to the conversation.

Short answers.

No pep.

No snappy three-point program, no fresh pitch to listeners and voters who may have little information about a who last held office in Wisconsin 11 years ago.

And even his offering up a contemporary conservative talking point to prove he could speak in modern Tea Party lingo about taking the country back and denying Barack Obama a second term had theh inspirational content of used Cliff Notes and the energy of a batting practice toss.

There wasn't anything worthy of writing down and quoting.

His campaign hasn't even started formally, the election is a year away and already Tommy sounds weary.

WisDOT Having Hiring Problems; Walker's Pay Raise, Bargaining Limitations Aren't Helping

October 4, 2011 by The Political E...

Seems WisDOT is having trouble filling engineer vacancies. Here's the somewhat unusual hiring application re-announcement.

Who'd come here for 1% annual pay raises?

[Wednesday evening update: And why is DOA refusing to approve some requests from DOT to fill vacant positions and meet federal accountability and financing requirements? The positions in question would be financed with federal, not state dollars.]

Separately, the department is looking for recruiting help through its employee newsletter. Diverse hiring is certainly an important goal, but the timing is curious.

Help recruit new employees for WisDOT

One of the goals of the Department of Transportation is to recruit and retain a diverse workforce. The Bureau of Human Resource Services (BHRS) works with managers and supervisors on identifying recruitment resources during the staffing process.

In order to ensure we are attracting a diverse applicant pool for our vacancies, BHRS is reaching out to all department employees to learn of new or existing
recruitment resources we could use. As a department employee, you may be
aware of resources in your communities, organizations or internet outreach