What this means for Wisconsin

Along the streets of northwestern Milwaukee today people were out and about actively engaging and shouting (yes, shouting in the streets - yelling to neighbors to get to the polls) about voting; some were explaining to anyone who'd listen how they voted for the first time today.  Throughout the bustling day, people were overflowing with optimism that the Walker administration, an administration that chooses to defund public education, to attack the impoverished, and punish the needy while rewarding the wealthy and well-to-do, might just be defeated and tossed out of office.

There was hope.  I can't claim to have seen that much hope for some time, since 2008 for sure.  Even though I know this country is in the midst of a great new movement from the far right, I also believe there are the downtrodden and the working class, the indigent and the working poor who believe in  a progressive, equal, fair and just United States.

Tonight we know that the revolt against the greed, inequality, and abuse of the new regime represented by the far right will not begin with the removal of the autocrat Scott Walker.  We also know that the State Senate will probably remain in Republican hands.  The voters will get what they ask for.

Workers of this state who have spent the last year bashing fellow workers and unions will slowly begin to understand what Walker's message "Open for business" truly means.  Already many tradesmen have reported taking lower wages in order to retain their jobs.  This trend will continue.  The aces are now all held by corporate leaders and they have the support of a corrupt government that rewards its lackeys and henchmen well.  Because if Republicans know anything, they know loyalty well.  And they did loyalty well today. 

But this is just the beginning of drastic change in Wisconsin.  The far right regime buoyed by the racist and divisive rants of talk-radio shock jocks like the intolerable Limbaugh and equally repulsive C. Sykes will continue to wage a violent effort to exert control over the workers of this state and in the country and to further separate the impoverished from the privileged.  These are sad days for workers who earn a fraction of the corporate bosses.  The robber barons have taken control of the moral compass and are funding political campaigns that promise to pay them back in full. Wisconsin has been home to some of the worst fighting over the last year between fellow workers, between family members and friends.  Yet, the voters reelected the regime that started it all and in the process affirmed the divisive and regressive tactics.  How quickly we forgot Walker's real motto, "This is non-negotiable."  

For the country, today was also momentous.  Mitt Romney must be creaming his suit with glee; his power hungry cravings are right now transforming him into a giddy school boy contemplating his next prank or bit of tomfoolery.   Leading up to today, neo-cons around the country were preaching about Wisconsin; preaching about the importance of this vote.  And Wisconsin witnessed a flood of neo-con, far right money splattered like dung across the dairy farms and air waves and county fairs.  It energized a lot of hatred and anger on the right.  People spouted off that they were upset they were being forced to vote again by "union thugs".  What mishmash! 

All the fueled rhetoric amounts to for the tea party and Republicans who turned out en masse is a few saved tax dollars, about $20 off property taxes by recent estimates.  Although, Walker's next move will be to lower state capital gains tax to 0, a nice fatty bone for recent large donors to his recall campaign.

The message for the people of Wisconsin in this recall race is that more than 50% of Wisconsinites prefer to save a few dollars on their taxes than to see quality public education.  That more than 50% of Wisconsinites think more about themselves than others - like those who rely on BadgerCare or Medicaid, like those who rely on public social programs for food and shelter - because that is what the new far right stands for.   A celebration of greed.  What it will eventually boil down to is far more poverty and a few more very wealthy plutocrats.

The issues that we continue to ignore are the alarming poverty rates, the out of control imprisonment rates, and the run away income inequality rate.  The saddest part of all of this is that rural poor seem to have been lured in to believing the propaganda of the right - that their enemies were the unions.  No working poor person should ever believe that.  Without the unions we wouldn't have a 40-hour, 5-day work week.  We wouldn't have child labor laws or OSHA.  We wouldn't have a minimum wage.  Those gluttons for punishment (the poor, the workers, the middle class, women) who just reaffirmed Walker's and his cronies' politics have ultimately attacked themselves.  Like most things, the consequences of these actions will not be felt immediately.  But citizens of Wisconsin will feel the pain of these destructive policies.

A year ago, this blog began by describing Wisconsin in a dark, dark place.  Unbelievably, it has got darker.  These neo-cons hate equality - they despise gay marriage and equal pay for women.  They hate science and the environment - they cut investment in stem-cell research and protections for wetlands.  They hate average citizens - they passed tort reform that effectively eliminates a citizen's recourse to sue for damages. 

Yet, this is the group of wealth-backers that Wisconsites reelected.  It's a sad day for Wisconsin.

What it feels like in Wisconsin is a collective slap across the faces of public instructors and public workers.  

Well, Wisconsin, prepare.  The policies enacted over the last year were the beginning.  More cuts are coming.  More cuts to education, more cuts to health care, and more privatization, more division, more isolationism as a result of the dog-eat-dog philosophy, pull-yourself-up-by-your-bootstraps claptrap that these neo-cons and tea partiers tout.

Consider the divisions that have been created.  Look at Waukesha county where nearly 75% of the vote went Republican.  3 of 4 voters voted against teachers' rights to collectively bargain for a safe environment; 3 of 4 voters voted against protecting our environment; 3 of 4 voters approved Walker's budget that hands out money to people like Ron Johnson and deprives assistance from people that need it.  They voted against their own neighbors and friends and family members.  How will overturned communities like that reunite?  The short answer is that they won't.  Grudges and lines have been fixed.

For what has traditionally been a progressive, forward thinking state, we have truly 'advanced' backwards and created an unequal playing field that clearly will take decades to repair.  In the meantime, we will witness worse suffering.

Wisconsites have also set the bar for November.  Prepare for a barrage of vicious attack ads - a continuation of the past few months - because you supported the unprecedented amounts of money that poured into the divisive and derisive political campaigning.  Because those tactics worked for Walker, they'll be more repulsive against Obama.  Prepare for a stark future, Wisconsin.  Many of us today wish we weren't Wisconsinites.

I can't seem to get the iconic Sinead O'Connor tune "Black Boys on Mopeds" out of my head.  So here it is for all to recall.

Margaret Thatcher on TV
Shocked by the deaths that took place in Beijing
It seems strange that she should be offended
The same orders are given by her

I've said this before now
You said I was childish and you'll say it now
Remember what I told you:
If they hated me they will hate you

England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses
It's the home of police who kill black boys on mopeds
And I love my boy and that's why I'm leaving
I don't want him to be aware that there's
Any such thing as grieving

Young mother down at Smithfield
5 am, looking for food for her kids
In her arms she holds three cold babies
And the first word that they learned was "please"

These are dangerous days
To say what you feel is to dig your own grave
Remember what I told you:
If you were of the world they would love you

England's not the mythical land of Madame George and roses
It's the home of police who kill blacks boys on mopeds
And I love my boy and that's why I'm leaving
I don't want him to be aware that there's
Any such thing as grieving.

End the Fossil Fuel Subsidy

Bernie Sanders and Keith Ellison have put forward a plan to cease the tax exemptions utilized by oil, coal, and gas subsidies. Said Mr. Sanders, "We are here not just to announce new legislation, but to send a message that it is time to end the absurdity of taxpayers providing massive subsidies to hugely profitable fossil fuel corporations," Bernie said. "In these difficult economic times, it is imperative that we support the taxpayers of this country and not the fossil fuel industry -- one of the most powerful special interests in the world.”

COMPREHENSIVE FOSSIL FUEL SUBSIDY REPEAL TO
SAVE TAXPAYERS OVER $110 BILLION
Endorsed by:
350.org, Taxpayers for Common Sense, Friends of the Earth, Sierra Club,
Defenders of Wildlife, Earthjustice, Oil Change International
ORIGINAL SPONSORS
Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-VT) and Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN)

IT IS TIME TO END FOSSIL FUEL WELFARE
At a time when we have a record debt, Congress should not continue to give away taxpayer money to the established, highly profitable fossil fuel industry.

• Fossil fuels are subsidized at nearly 6 times the rate of renewable energy. From 2002 to 2008, the US Government gave the mature fossil fuel industry over $72 billion in subsidies, while investments in the emerging renewable industry totaled $12.2 billion.
• The fossil fuel energy industry does not need taxpayer subsidies. In 2011, the Big Five oil companies alone made $137 billion in profits. During the first quarter of 2012, the Big Five oil companies earned a combined $33.5 billion, or $368 million per day.
• Unlike renewable energy incentives which periodically expire and require Congress to approve extensions, the fossil fuel industry has dozens of subsidies permanently engrained in the tax code from decades of successful lobbying. In 2011, the oil, gas, and coal industries spent a combined $167 million on lobbying the federal government.

STOP MORE THAN $110 BILLION IN FOSSIL FUEL GIVEAWAYS OVER NEXT TEN YEARS
The bill would comprehensively abolish fossil fuel subsidies, saving taxpayers billions of dollars. It ends tax breaks, eliminates special financing, does away with taxpayer-funded fossil fuel R&D, and sets fair royalties policies to ensure the fossil fuel corporations pay their fair share. Examples of these giveaways include:

OIL, GAS, and COAL TAX BREAKS

• $14 Billion Saved by eliminating the intangible drilling deduction.
• $12 Billion Saved by repealing a 2004 law that allows fossil fuel corporations to take deductions aimed at helping American manufacturers by claiming they are manufacturers.
• $6.8 Billion Saved by closing the loophole that allows corporations like BP to deduct money they spend cleaning up their own oil spills and paying damages.

SPECIAL FINANCING

• $2.4 Billion Saved by stopping fossil fuel companies from investing through Master Limited Partnerships, an option not available to clean energy businesses.

TAXPAYER FUNDED R&D

• $3.7 Billion Saved by shutting the federal Office of Fossil Energy.

ROYALTIES

• $10.6 Billion Saved by recouping lost royalties for offshore drilling in public

Read the bill here.

Fluoride in Milwaukee’s Water Unsafe, Unnecessary and Unhealthy: Alderman Jim Bohl proposes legislation to stop Milwaukee’s Fluoridation Program

Statement from Alderman Jim Bohl

May 22, 2012

New research shows that ingesting fluoride delivers health risks without benefit of less tooth decay which makes water fluoridation obsolete, unhealthy and a waste of money, and that is why I introduced legislation today calling for the end of Milwaukee's water fluoridation program.

Fluoride chemicals have been added to Milwaukee’s water supply since 1953 when it was believed that ingested fluoride incorporated into children’s developing teeth would resist cavities. But science disproved that theory.

There is little convincing scientific evidence that swallowing fluoride actually reduces tooth decay. According to World Health Organization figures there is virtually no difference in tooth decay in 12-year-olds whether they have grown up in fluoridated or non-fluoridated countries. The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) says that fluoride hardens teeth from topical application and swallowing fluoride can lead to fluoride overdose symptoms such as dental fluorosis (yellowing, brown, white spotting or pitted teeth). Fluorosis rates increased from 22% of teens in 1986 to an alarming 41% in 2010, according to CDC statistics. If fluoride works topically why are we forcing people to swallow it, especially those who after doing their own research on the issue have emphatically stated that they do not wish to drink fluoridated water? If any one wants fluoride in Milwaukee they can buy fluoridated toothpaste and brush it onto their teeth and spit it out. Milwaukee shouldn't be playing either doctor or dentist to our citizens. We are not qualified to do this and those who urge us to continue accept no legal responsibility for any harm it may be causing.

It’s accepted that fluoride can also damage bones, but no studies have researched the bone damage caused to children with fluoride-induced tooth damage. The condition of teeth and bones may be the least of our worries, however. There have now been 26 published studies that indicate an association between fairly modest exposure to fluoride and lowered IQ in children. Promoters tell us that the level we add to water is very small (1.1 milligram per liter or 1.1 ppm) but that is actually greater than 250 times the level of fluoride that occurs in mothers' milk (0.004 ppm, National Research Council, 2006, p.40).

Further, the prestigious National Research Council’s (NRC) 2006 fluoride report revealed that fluoride, even in low doses, can harm the thyroid gland, kidney patients, babies and high water drinkers. They also report studies linking fluoride to osteosarcoma (bone cancer). A study conducted at Harvard in 2001 and published in 2006 showed that young boys exposed to fluoridated water in their 6th to 8th years had a 5-7 fold increased risk of succumbing to osteosarcoma by the age of 20. Despite promises that this study would be refuted, no published study has done so.

As a result of the aforementioned NRC report, government, health and dental organizations now advise against routinely mixing fluoridated water into infant formula to avoid dental fluorosis.
The National Kidney Foundation is among a growing list of organizations that has withdrawn its support of water fluoridation saying, “Individuals with CKD [Chronic Kidney Disease] should be notified of the potential risk of fluoride exposure.” The American Dental Association itself now admits fluoride is a concern to all kidney patients, not just those on dialysis.

Fluoride is not a nutrient or essential for healthy teeth. Fluoride is regulated as a drug in toothpaste by the FDA. Fluoride supplements have never been FDA safety tested and it classifies fluoride as an “unapproved drug.” The EPA regards the type of fluoride used to supplement water supplies as a contaminant. Even the CDC reports on its website saying, “It is not CDC’s task to determine what levels of fluoride in water are safe.” If it is not the CDC's task, and the FDA refuses to do it, then whose task is it? Is the Milwaukee Common Council expected to do this?

While the less toxic calcium fluoride does appear in some waters naturally (.17 ppm in Lake Michigan water), Milwaukee adds hydrofluosilicic acid, a waste product of phosphate fertilizer manufacturing captured in its smokestacks, trucked as hazardous waste then injected unpurified into the water supply. These industrial grade fluoridation chemicals contain trace amounts of lead, arsenic, mercury, and other toxins. Arsenic is a known human carcinogen for which there is no safe level. By using these fluoridating chemicals we are knowingly increasing the cancer risk for our citizens. Why should we take these risks to reduce a negligible amount of tooth decay? Such a policy is reckless to say the least.

The ADA continues to actively promote the expansion of water fluoridation programs at the same time the CDC admits growing numbers of kids are fluoride-overdosed. National statistics show that tooth decay has grown in numbers and severity in toddlers more recently, and untreated tooth decay has grown in many age groups. The Pew Foundation reports “preventable dental conditions were the primary reason for 830,590 ER visits by Americans in 2009—a 16 percent increase from 2006.”

Americans are fluoride-overdosed and dentist-deficient. The lack of accessible, affordable dental care to many Milwaukee and Wisconsin residents has been widely reported. With no evidence, some claim that fluoridation helps the poor the most. Actually, the poor and malnourished are the most harmed by fluoride. They also are least in a position to afford expensive filtration systems required to remove fluoride from water, making this an environmental justice situation. According to civil rights leader and former mayor of Atlanta, Andrew Young, “I am most deeply concerned for poor families who have babies: if they cannot afford unfluoridated water for their babies’ milk formula, do their babies not count?”

We have served as guinea pigs in this ongoing and failed experiment for far too long. In my position as Alderman, it is my duty to promote the health, safety and welfare of all our residents. Adding fluoride chemicals into our public water supply runs counter to this and therefore needs to end.

Cultivating Fear in America: Human Rights Watch

Grace Meng and fellow researchers at Human Rights Watch have published a report detailing the widespread abuse of immigrant women in the farming industry. The jobs themselves entail enduring harsh physical conditions and just down right tough work. For women the report details the additional stress of rampant threats, and fear mongering, and outright physical abuse, sexual harassment and rape.

The report also indicates that many of the women never report the crimes for fear of reprisal, deportation, and lack of support.

The report concludes with detailed actions we can take to help.  Recommended actions include encouraging Congress to pass the Senate version of the Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) reauthorization bill (S. 1925) or similar legislation that strengthens the U-visa and other protections for immigrant victims of sexual violence, including farm-worker women and girls.

Ron Johnson voted against this legislation.

The bill passed the House rather sheepishly with bitter partisan division and only after impassioned testimony by representatives like Gwen Moore.

Rep. Gwen Moore (D) of Wisconsin recounts her own history of
being sexually assaulted as a child, then raped as a young woman,
at a press conference on Capitol Hill to push for an unrestricted
reauthorization of the Violence Against Women Act on May 16.

J. SCOTT APPLEWHITE/AP PHOTO

Find this invaluable and disturbing report about female immigrant farmhands here.

So Time Magazine's cover has caused a stir. But there's much more to attachment parenting than a controversial photo shoot.