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Blue Jean Nation - "Bravery in the moment of truth"

Posted by Mike McCabe, Blue Jean Nation
Mike McCabe, Blue Jean Nation
Mike McCabe is the founder and president of Blue Jean Nation and author of Blue
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 22 June 2016
in Wisconsin

dems-v-repubThe emergence of a new major party is unlikely, and it appears American voters are doomed to a choice between the two most disliked major party nominees in polling history. They both will play on fear of the other. But what can we do?


ALTOONA, WI - In case there are some out there who still need persuading that the U.S. is on the verge of political system failure, look no further than this year’s presidential election, where it appears American voters are doomed to a choice between the two most disliked major party nominees in polling history.

The Democratic establishment has been hellbent from the get-go to nominate one of the world’s best-known political figures who also happens to be one of the least trusted and most unlikable politicians around. The silver lining to her unpopularity is that Republican insiders have so far proven incapable of preventing an even more unpopular and distrusted character from capturing their party’s nomination.

Elections are, by their nature, popularity contests to one degree or another. This presidential election is shaping up to be an unpopularity contest.

The greatest danger in continuously forcing voters to determine who they fear and hate the least is how nose-holding steers the public’s thinking away from what America’s future should look like and diverts our attention from what we all hope for and dream about. The badly corrupted and unresponsive government we have today is the product of decades of voters choosing the lesser of evils.

The continuation of the American experiment has depended on some good luck along the way. The U.S. could have come apart at the seams on more than one occasion. In our darkest moments, gifted leaders like Lincoln and FDR emerged to light a path forward. We are again at a moment of truth. The major parties have grown calcified and estranged from the masses and incapable of replacing growing darkness with light. As one commentator observed, “the elites have grown so complacent and arthritic that the existing parties are having difficulty containing the conflict and both parties seem on the verge of nervous breakdowns.”

What might come from such a breakdown is uncertain. The emergence of a new major party is highly unlikely because America has a two-party system that actively discriminates against this outcome, but it is no longer inconceivable that either or both of the major parties could splinter or even disintegrate. The only thing that is sure is that parties deserve this fate when they no longer appeal to your hopes and dreams but rather can only play on your worst fears to gain power.

It is up to us to refuse to go where the ruling elites want to take us. It is up to us to look for chances to unite when they see endless opportunities to divide. If you are alarmed by Trump, you need to realize that obsessing over the horrors of a Trump presidency won’t prevent one. It actually helps him. Likewise, if you can’t stand Hillary, you also need to understand that being consumed by how much you despise her and can’t trust her won’t stop her from inhabiting the White House.

Fear will figure prominently in both parties’ campaigns this fall. They will play on it. They will count on it. Now more than ever, the American people need to prove once again that this is the land of the brave. When they tell you what you should hate, say what you love. When they tell you what is going to be destroyed, say what you want to see created. In this oppressive darkness, it is up to us to shine light.

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Let’s Make Electing a President a “democratic” Process

Posted by Dan Thomson, Madison
Dan Thomson, Madison
Dan Thomson is a former factory worker, Illinois Department of Human Services Ca
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 21 June 2016
in Wisconsin

bernie-sandersMadison Activist and Bernie Supporter wants a Constitutional amendment.


MADISON, WI - I woke up on June 14, 2016, and accepted that Bernie was not going to be our next President.

It was sad and hard because Bernie is for real. You know he isn’t lying to you when he speaks. We haven’t had a politician that honest since Proxmire. Bernie Sanders is hope.

We children of the sixties were a generation of hope. We were going to fix the world. We had real expectations that poverty, injustice and war would all be a thing of the past. Since then the world just got uglier.

We need hope. This thing we call Democracy just isn’t working. We have to make it work.

So what is the next step to sustain hope?

Let’s make Democracy work. Let’s make an amendment to the Constitution. Since the President is the most powerful politician in the country and the only one elected by the whole country, let’s make electing a president a democratic process. Call it the 28th Amendment.

The President and Vice President shall be elected by all of the people of the United States voting together with one vote to each qualified person. To be voted upon for President, a candidate must be supported by a petition of 100,000 citizens from anywhere in the United States, presented to the Federal Election Commission. All of the states shall have the same list of candidates supplied by the Federal Election Commission. The Presidential candidates shall supply to the Federal Election Commission the names of their respective Vice Presidential candidates. In the event that no candidate receives a majority of the ballots cast, the Federal Election Commission will hold a runoff election between the two top contenders. The Electoral College will be eliminated.

That is a short and simple solution to some big problems. Let’s send petitions to our U.S. Senators and Representatives to make this change to the Constitution. Let them know this is a one-issue voting requirement for us to continue to support them and reelect them. If we get behind it, it will work. We need hope for the future. This is our immortality. We live; we die. But something greater continues. We must contribute to it.

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Don’t Click on that Email from the IRS!

Posted by Kathleen Vinehout, State Senator 31st District
Kathleen Vinehout, State Senator 31st District
Kathleen Vinehout of Alma is an educator, business woman, and farmer who is now
User is currently offline
on Tuesday, 21 June 2016
in Wisconsin

elderly-people-on-computerThe IRS has witnessed a significant increase in email scams using the IRS name to lure people into giving up important personal information.  Sen. Kathleen Vinehout shares information about what the IRS won’t do and how to report a scam.


ALMA, WI - In my inbox was an official looking email from the “Internal Revenue Service”.

The subject line was: “Tax return request submitted”. Without thinking, I clicked on the attachment to the email.

“Did you file our taxes by email?” I asked my husband. It was a silly question. He would no more send our tax return by email than bank by email. The computer was a dragon to be tamed. You only woke the dragon when absolutely necessary.

“NO!” came the answer from the other room. “Delete it! It’s a scam!”

I hurriedly clicked “cancel” on the downloading email attachment. Then I noticed the attachment was a .zip file – a big file zipped-up. “Oh, dear,” I muttered under my breath.

Even though tax season is over, scammers are still using official looking emails to lure unsuspecting, honest taxpayers into their evil web. I did some research and learned that scammers have many ways to use the IRS name to lure unsuspecting people into their net – phone calls, faxes, emails, fake websites, and even text messages and Short Message Services (SMS).

Scam phone calls are familiar to many people. If you receive a call from the IRS, document the caller’s badge number, name, call back number and caller ID. Then call 1-800-366-4484 to determine if the person is a legitimate IRS employee and really needs to talk with you about your taxes.

IRS email scams are becoming much more common.

The IRS witnessed a 400% increase in email scams this year. A February 2016 IRS alert warned, “The emails are designed to trick taxpayers into thinking these are official communications from the IRS or others in the tax industry, including tax software companies. The phishing schemes can ask taxpayers about a wide range of topics. Emails can seek information related to refunds, filing status, confirming personal information, ordering transcripts and verifying PIN information.”

The IRS also noted there are more email scams seeking personal tax information. When an unsuspecting person clicks on the email, it takes them to official looking websites that masquerade as IRS.gov. These sites ask for personal information like social security numbers. The emails also contain malware or nasty programs that track your keystrokes and allow criminals to impersonate you on-line.

It is important to know that the IRS does not initiate communication with taxpayers by email. Unless that first communication with the IRS is a letter, you can be certain that email message or phone call is a scam.

In a recent new release, IRS Commissioner John Koskinen stated, “We continue to say if you are surprised to be hearing from us, then you’re not hearing from us.”

Commissioner Koskinen listed a few of the actions the IRS will NEVER do: call to demand immediate payment; threaten to send local police or other law enforcement to arrest or deport you; require you to use a specific method to pay your taxes (like a debit card); ask for a credit card or debit card over the phone.

The real IRS warns that an email claiming to be from the IRS is a phishing attempt and should be reported at This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it

In Wisconsin, the hardworking consumer protection specialists at the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) protect us from scammers. A few weeks ago, they released a warning about the IRS scammers.

“Fake IRS callers are hitting Wisconsin residents hard,” the summer 2016 alert reported. Aggressive callers are “demanding immediate payment for (fake) back taxes.”

In a strange twist, telephone scammers in Wisconsin are accepting payment for fake back taxes with PayPal, Amazon and iTunes gift cards. In addition, the scammers will try the usual methods of asking you to wire money through Western Union or MoneyGram.

DATCP officials remind Wisconsinites the IRS will never call you demanding payment or making threats. They will always send a letter by postal mail – not email or phone.

Don’t be fooled. If you do receive an email, fax or phone call demanding payment, make sure to report it by calling 800-366-4484 or at IRS.gov. You can contact the Wisconsin Consumer Protection staff at the Consumer Protection Hotline at 800-422-7128.

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Blue Jean Nation - "You and I can’t run for governor"

Posted by Mike McCabe, Blue Jean Nation
Mike McCabe, Blue Jean Nation
Mike McCabe is the founder and president of Blue Jean Nation and author of Blue
User is currently offline
on Wednesday, 15 June 2016
in Wisconsin

county-demsIs it realistic for people who are truly reflective of the general public to run for governor, the House of Representatives? Doesn't seem so. That’s because nearly all Americans can’t realistically run for major political office. Our country is the poorer for it.


ALTOONA, WI - Representation is the foundation our political system is supposed to be built on. For authentic representation to be possible, it has to be realistic for people who are truly reflective of the general public to run for office.

By this measure, you can see that American democracy is on very thin ice when you consider what’s involved in seeking and holding an office like governor.

Those doing the campaigning in Wisconsin’s last election for governor spent well over $80 million. The popular assumption is that candidates need to have as much money as their opponents — or close to it — to be taken seriously. That thinking is mistaken, but widely accepted. That fact alone leaves nearly everyone on the outside looking in. Only a select few are able to put millions of dollars of their own money into a political campaign. Among the multitudes who can’t, most are unwilling to sell out their beliefs and principles to win over special interests capable of supplying them with the financing to compete.

Not having a personal fortune or a willingness to take out a second mortgage on your soul is not the only characteristic separating those who can run from others like you and me who can’t. Elections for governor are partisan contests, and America has a two-party system. The major parties expect candidates to join their ranks. Most Americans are turned off by both major parties at the moment, and have no interest in joining one. Candidates not only are supposed to be dues-paying party members, they are expected to take the position that their party can do no wrong and the other party can do no right. You and I and most Americans don’t believe that and aren’t comfortable pretending that we do.

There’s another thing about getting to be governor that might not rub you the wrong way, but it does me. Governors are supposed to be public servants. To my way of thinking, serving in public office puts you below the people you are elected to represent, not above them. In Wisconsin, getting elected governor entitles you to a salary of close to $150,000 a year, more than three times what the average worker makes. Governors take up residence in a 20,000 square foot lakefront mansion. Servant quarters it is not.

Never in my life have I made $150,000 in a year, and I can’t imagine getting such a lofty salary at taxpayer expense just for winning an election. One dollar less than the earnings of the average worker has a better ring to it. I’ve never lived in a mansion, and wouldn’t feel right moving into one in the name of public service. Governors should pay for their own housing, just like everyone else.

Putting governors up on a pedestal is only one way the ideal of representation is debased. Ever notice how the House of Representatives is not remotely representative of the American electorate? As a whole, the House’s membership is far older, richer, whiter and more likely to be male than the average American. That’s because nearly all Americans can’t realistically run for the office. Our country is the poorer for it.

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Birth, Life and Death of a Bad Idea on Family Care

Posted by Kathleen Vinehout, State Senator 31st District
Kathleen Vinehout, State Senator 31st District
Kathleen Vinehout of Alma is an educator, business woman, and farmer who is now
User is currently offline
on Monday, 13 June 2016
in Wisconsin

people_with_disabilitiesSen. Kathleen Vinehout writes about the governor’s proposed changes to the Family Care and IRIS programs, the fighting spirit that saved them from privatization, and the lives many from being so ill-advisedly disrupted.


MADISON - “No one had any inkling this was happening,” Michael Blumenfeld told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. “We are just scratching our heads. Why would you do this?” Mr. Blumenfeld spoke for the Wisconsin Family Care Association in early spring of 2015.

The frail elderly, disabled, and their families learned the governor sought to privatize the successful Family Care and IRIS programs, handing them over to a few large insurance companies.

The birth of this idea happened in secret.

The Department of Health Services (DHS) Secretary – charged with shepherding the plan through the legislative process – acknowledged to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that “she learned of the proposal only when the governor’s budget was released.” Evidently her staff also knew nothing of the plan.

“None of them knew anything about this,” said Barbara Beckert of Disability Rights Wisconsin. “They are in a state of shock.”

In December 2014, the governor’s office invited advocacy groups to a meeting to discuss what they would like to see happen with the programs. Jason Endres and his spouse Julie of Eau Claire attended that meeting.

“We were never listened to,” Jason said. “The governor did a complete 180 when the budget came out.”

Later an email circulated around the Capitol revealing that the governor’s office directed the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau to write budget language dismantling Family Care and IRIS programs. Governor Walker sidestepped the public agency budget process entirely. He ignored the advocacy/agency councils set up to design changes to long-term care programs.

His proposal would upend a critical safety net for almost 60,000 of our state’s most vulnerable citizens without their consultation.

According to an analysis done by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, “The administration did not solicit the recommendations of the Long-Term Care Advisory Council before or during the development of the Family Care/IRIS 2.0 proposal.”

The Council had requested meetings, but was not granted input.

Days after the budget came out, Jason, Julie along with other IRIS recipients and their families started the Save IRIS citizen advocacy effort to inform people about the proposed changes to their critical programs. Thousands of people from around the state participated in two disability awareness days and a SAVE IRIS rally at the Capitol.

During the spring of 2015, hundreds came to testify during the public budget process. More than 200 statewide and local organizations jointly passed a resolution against the governor’s plan.

Then the Joint Finance Committee met to vote. Jason related what he saw: “During the Executive Session they all talked about it. Talk [for the governor’s proposal] didn’t go all that great as far as getting rid of it. All of a sudden [Assembly Speaker] Robin Vos walked in the room. And the mood changed. The Republicans went into a little meeting room within the Joint Finance Committee room. Then they all came back out and everything had changed. Now they were going to get rid of IRIS. Not five minutes later they voted to get rid of IRIS…I was infuriated.”

For Jason, Julie, and thousands like them, IRIS means a sense of pride about determining for themselves how and whom assists them with daily care most of us can do ourselves. The programs help people stay and function in the community like everybody else.

After the final budget vote, the DHS Secretary scheduled meetings essentially to tell advocates to get on-board. Jason told me about an IRIS recipient who was “ousted from the table” and “read the riot act” because she refused to support the administration’s plan.

Jason then learned of a mysterious meeting in the governor’s office between representatives of big insurance companies expected to benefit from the governor’s plan, DHS officials, and Republican budget committee members. Thursday night DHS Secretary Rhodes withdrew the plan.

“This gave us a huge uplift,” said Jason. Julie added, “This is a major victory!”

For over a year our disabled and elderly struggled with the stress of uncertainty. Home care workers were also affected. Many left for other jobs, which created a huge shortage of workers for the disabled who need help for basic functions.

The unconscionable actions by the governor and his legislative allies caused chaos in so many lives. However, a fighting spirit brought about the death of their very ill-conceived idea.

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