I vividly recall the day that Tammy Baldwin was sworn into the State Asemmbly and Wally Kunicki pulling me aside and telling me to get to know Tammy Baldwin that I would like her. Boy was he right! Seeing her grow and mature has been a wonderful experience for me but more importantly for the…
Badger on the Senate Floor (12.20.2012) Senator Dick Durbin on the coal ash dumping Lake Michigan carferry SS Badger Clipped from:Senate Session Dec 20, 2012 Senator Durbin expresses continued opposition to the efforts by owners of the Ludington Michigan based SS Badger carferry to continue the practice of dumping coal ash from the boilers of…
Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel writes here that there are not candidates ready to run against Governor Walker. Jason, what is the big deal? It is December 2012. The election is in November 2014. Chill out. First, Walker has a new budget to pass and plenty of issues to deal with. Second, he is…
Congressman Kind has circulated a letter that has garnered wide spread bi-partisan support highlighting how Wisconsin and other high quality low cost states are penalized in the current medicare reimbursement system. Wisconsin providers deliver higher quality at a lower price compared to many other parts of the country. There is a simple way to save Medicare…
Governor Walker is to be congratulated for saying that he would not sign the elimination of same day registration. Everyone should be encouraging participation in the electoral process. When more people vote they have a heightened normative commitment to the democratic process and the potential for alienation and disaffection is lowered. There have been so…
Today the House of Representatives passed the Coast Guard Reauthorization without a amendment that would allow the Badger to dump coal ash in Lake Michigan in perpetuity. It was a bad idea! Since 1966 when Gaylord Nelson first raised the issues there has been an unsuccessful fight to stop this ridiculous practices. Fortunately Jonathan Weissman…
The special interest amendment that would have allowed the Badger which dumps 3.4 tons of coal ash on every round term on Lake Michigan has been stripped from the Coast Guard Reauthorization Bill. The House is set tomorrow to vote on the bill without the provision shoehorned in at the last minute last year. The…
It is a mistake for Governor Walker to not establish a state health insurance exchange. We are losing an important opportunity for Wisconsin providers and insurers to innovate our own system. The Walker administration has argued that there are too many federal strings attached to a Wisconsin based system. I disagree. The Obama administration has…
All Americans are disappointed with the performance of the Red Cross in the wake of Sandy. We all know that there will be future natural disasters that will require a much better effort than the Red Cross has displayed for the citizens of Staten Island. Red Cross is chartered by Congress and several cabinet officers…
Susan Rice is eminently qualified to be Secretary of State. She is smart, tough, and done a terrific job at the UN. But her confirmation battle will be a nightmare at a time when the administration has many foreign policy nightmares. I think we should start a petition drive asking Hilary to stay. She should…