Living on Earth: Climate Change Here and Now

Living on Earth: Climate Change Here and Now

WI 1848 Forward: Living on Earth: #ClimateChange Here and Now #NPR

3 Billionaries Invade Tiny Iron Cnty, WI ( Koch Brothers, Cline , Gogebic)

Follow Up - February 2015 ... Walker appoints Gogebic LOBBYist to his Administration

Follow Up - August 2014 ... emails reveal $700,000 Gogebic campaign contributions!

Follow Up - April 3rd, 2014 - Wisconsin State Journal

Five backed by Koch brothers group win seats, 4 lose in county split by plan for huge mine

In a sparsely populated northern Wisconsin county where residents are split over a proposed open pit iron mine, five pro-mining candidates prevailed in Tuesday’s county board election after receiving last-minute help from a well-funded national conservative group.

Four others, however, were defeated in Iron County Board elections despite aggressive support from the Wisconsin chapter of Americans for Prosperity, which was founded by billionaire businessmen David and Charles Koch.

The proposed mine would run for more than 4 miles through the Penokee Hills in the northeast portion of the state. Proponents say a mine would bring jobs, while critics say recently relaxed state regulations may not protect the environment.

Five AFP-backed incumbents won. Three other AFP-supported incumbents lost along with one challenger who had the group’s backing. AFP didn’t indicate a preference in the other contested race.

... “For three incumbents to lose a county board race here is kind of a big thing,” Stella said. “It’s hard to say if (AFP) had any effect, but you could be sure they didn’t have the effect they wanted in those four races.”

It would be more direct to say that of eight incumbents backed by AFP three lost and five held their seats.
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Daily Beast 

POLITICS

 

03.25.14

Koch Brothers Invade Tiny Iron County, Wisconsin

A mining town of 6,000 people isn’t too small for billionaires to mess with to get their way. Inside the race bringing in big money. ...

...But Iron County has one other thing:  Iron ore.  And therein lies the interest of the billionaires. And not just one, but three, plus Wisconsin’s ambitious Governor Scott Walker.

Billionaire number one is Chris Cline, the man behind Gogebic Taconite (GTAC), the company that in 2011 first proposed $1.5 billion dollar massive open pit iron ore mine. The (over) promise of new jobs excited many in the county.  But some local residents, including the nearby Chippewa Indian tribe, objected because of the environmental hazards posed by the mine that would ultimately extend for 22 miles. ...

This story needs to heard loud and clear.   Voters are not for sale but they can be lied to.

What does this say about his ethics and moral compass ... 2014/02/20

Update 2014/4/11 - On The Media -

SOMEONE HAS A KOCH ADDICTION


WI 1848 Forward: 3 Billionaries Invade Tiny #Iron Cnty, WI ( #Walker , #Koch Brothers , #Cline , #Gogebic ) #1% #Vote #WeaponizedWealth 

#WIVote WI 1848 Forward: 3 Billionaries Invade Tiny #Iron Cnty, WI ( #Walker , #Koch Bros, #Cline , #Gogebic ) #WeaponizedWealth 

Walker 's War On Education - Real Motives? Privatize Public Education ? Promote Charter Schools ?

9/25/2017 Budget: UW down 12%; Technical Colleges down 18% ... from 2009-2011

A Summary of the Final 2017-19 Budget for Higher Education

1/7/2015 WSJ : Bill would allow low-performing public schools to be made into charters

Democrats also proposed accountability legislation Wednesday, seeking to require criminal background checks for teachers and administrators at private voucher schools, ensuring all voucher school teachers are licensed by the state, and guarantee schools receiving Wisconsin public money are located in Wisconsin. 

10/24/2014

Participating voucher schools, most of which are religious-based private schools, receive $7,210 per voucher for students in K4 through eighth grade. Voucher schools receive $7,856 per voucher student in high school.

Read more: http://host.madison.com/news/local/writers/jessica_vanegeren/overwhelming-majority-of-vouchers-given-to-continuing-private-school-students/article_a3809654-5baf-11e4-8f11-6f5af18c5063.html#ixzz3HBSKCvEP
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What are the real motives of our Governor?

"Wisconsin should develop its own academic benchmarks by re-examining the Common Core Academic Standards already adopted by Wisconsin and many other states, Gov. Scott Walker said at an education conference Friday. 

In a speech at the State Education Convention in Milwaukee, Walker said he is working on legislation that would create a commission, chaired by Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers, to revisit the Common Core standards, which he said weren't high enough and were being dictated by people who weren't from Wisconsin."

Read more from Journal Sentinel: http://www.jsonline.com/news/education/scott-walker-backs-changing-common-core-standards-in-wisconsin-b99191158z1-241851461.html#ixzz2vBKE9kzx Follow us: @JournalSentinel on Twitter

Added 4/8/2014 - Moyers & Company

4/15/13 Voucher backers' cash detailed

 Walker is proposing expanding the schoolvoucher program in this year’s budget, less than a year after voucher backers gave him $2.2 million to help win the June recall election. The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign report detailing spending by voucher backers comes as negotiations over Walker’s proposal continue in private among lawmakers and program supporters.

#Walker 's War On #Education -Real Motives? #Privatize Public Education ?Promote #Charter Schools ? Destroy #WiUnion

#Walker 's War On #Education -Real Motives? #Privatize Public Education ? Destroy Local #SchoolBoards Local Control

#HiddenAgenda Walker 's War On #Education - Real Motives? #Privatize Educ? Promote #Charter Schls ? #Moyers #PBS

#Walker 's War On #Education -Real Motives? #Profitize Public Education ?Promote #Charter Schools ? Destroy #WiUnion

#Walker 's War On #Education - Real Motives? #Privatize Public Education ? Promote #Charter Schools ? #Moyers #PBS

TED: David Puttnam: Does the media have a " duty of care"? The Fourth Estate

Update: 1/12/2017  ... "Duty may be perilous but so critical in the Trumpian times."  -- BG
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~


The Fourth Estate:

David Puttnam: Does the media have a "duty of care"?

David Puttnam spent thirty years as an independent producer of award-winning films, including The Mission, The Killing Fields, Local Hero, Chariots of Fire, Midnight Express, Bugsy Malone and Memphis Belle. His films have won ten Oscars, 25 Baftas and the Palme D'Or at Cannes.  

Among many talents ... film maker.   Midnight Express (1978), The Killing Fields (1984) and The Mission (1986)

From the talk -> quoting Marcus Aurelius ...

If it is not true don't say it.  If it is not right don't do it.

I'd like to start, if I may, with the story of the Paisley snail.  ... 

See the video/story - you must be hooked by now! 

... Last year, the Hansard Society, a nonpartisan charity which seeks to strengthen parliamentary democracy and encourage greater public involvement in politics published, alongside their annual audit of political engagement, an additional section devoted entirely to politics and the media. Here are a couple of rather depressing observations from that survey. Tabloid newspapers do not appear to advance the political citizenship of their readers, relative even to those who read no newspapers whatsoever. Tabloid-only readers are twice as likely to agree with a negative view of politics than readers of no newspapers. They're not just less politically engaged. They are consuming media that reinforces their negative evaluation of politics, thereby contributing to a fatalistic and cynical attitude to democracy and their own role within it. Little wonder that the report concluded that in this respect, the press, particularly the tabloids, appear not to be living up to the importance of their role in our democracy. ...

...But most of us, I think, accept some small role for the state to enforce a duty of care, and the key word here is reasonable. Judges must ask, did they take reasonable care and could they have reasonably foreseen the consequences of their actions? Far from signifying overbearing state power, it's that small common sense test of reasonableness that I'd like us to apply to those in the media who, after all, set the tone and the content for much of our democratic discourse. ...

...Democracy, well-led and well-informed, can achieve very great things, but there's a precondition. We have to trust that those making those decisions are acting in the best interest not of themselves but of the whole of the people. We need factually-based options, clearly laid out, not those of a few powerful and potentially manipulative corporations pursuing their own frequently narrow agendas, but accurate, unprejudiced information with which to make our own judgments. If we want to provide decent, fulfilling lives for our children and our children's children, we need to exercise to the very greatest degree possible that duty of care for a vibrant, and hopefully a lasting, democracy. ...

#Trump ?  #TED -David #Puttnam: Does the #media have a " #DutyOfCare "? #FourthEstate #Tabloid #Journalist - WI 1848 Forward 

#Trump ? WI 1848 Forward: #TED -David #Puttnam: Does the #media have a " #DutyOfCare "? #FourthEstate #Journalist 

Exploratory Emergency Surgery - Guatemala [ $$$ vs Dead vs Free]

5/6/2015 ... unfortunately the blog this story resides on is currently unavailable ... if you would like the article send me contact data and I will forward it to the author !

Emergency Surgery In Guatemala

They said I would die without surgery. Three ultrasounds, two external and one internal, revealed that I was bleeding internally. The doctors weren’t certain what the problem was so they wanted to conduct exploratory surgery. If I didn’t do something soon they feared I would become septic, but I hadn’t purchased travel insurance and I was in a public hospital in Quetzaltenango, Guatemala riddled with anxiety about the bill I assumed I already racked up. ...

See also -

Boehner, Cantor, Ryan, GOP : On Healthcare U.S. vs Guatemala vs Kristof @NickKristof


WI 1848 Forward: Exploratory Emergency Surgery - #Guatemala [$$$ vs Dead vs Free] ? #ACA #ObamaCare

#1% never think about it! WI 1848 Forward:Exploratory Emergency Surgery - #Guatemala [$$$ vs Dead] ? #ACA #ObamaCare

Grokking Democracy via IEEE ... on voting and social media

An hour's worth of listening ... especially for those who fancy yourselves as (you know who you are)?

Grokking Democracy ... more direct link with transcript

Grokking Democracy

The hour-long radio special “Grokking Democracy” examines how elections and governing have changed in today’s digital world. Cohosted by political journalist Jonathan Alter and public radio anchor Lisa Mullins, the program looks at social media campaigns, e-voting, and other transformative tools. We hear from campaign managers and political strategists and discover ways that digital technology has changed civil society from Northern Europe to South Asia.

This could not be directly embedded.  It also may not link correctly on "mobile" platform (at least mine - an iphone).  In the latter case click the Download Show button seems to pick up the hour of audio!

Code For America ... featured about 15min in


WI 1848 Forward: #Grokking #Democracy via #IEEE ... on voting and social media #WiVote #VoterID #WiUnion #99% #47%

Walker -Our Out-of-State Governor not Governing, Raising Money

Who paid for security ....

WSJ: State cost to protect Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch has more than tripled since 2010

Scott Walker headed to Texas fundraiser at billionaire's mansion

By Daniel Bice of the Journal Sentinel

Feb. 3, 2014

Gov. Scott Walker is headed to Texas this week for a fundraiser at the mansion of billionaire Harlan Crow, a strong supporter of conservative causes.

Politico is reporting that Walker's re-election fundraiser is scheduled for Tuesday at the real estate tycoon's Dallas residence. 

Walker announced last week that he had raised more than $5 million in the second half of last year, nearly triple the amount collected by his likely Democratic foe, Mary Burke, in the same period.

Crow -- the son of real estate developer Trammell Crow -- is a member of the committee that helped foundClub for Growth, a conservative outfit that raises money in support of conservative candidates and causes. 

Both the Wisconsin chapter of Club for Growth and Walker's campaign fund have come under scrutiny as part of a criminal investigation of campaign spending and fundraising in the 2011 and 2012 recall elections. But the judge overseeing the probe recently quashed subpoeanas for those two and others, concluding that prosecutors had yet to show that they had acted improperly. ......

... and now the Adelson Primary bucks in Las Vegas 3/28/2014 - Adelson spent $100 million last time around.

Who paid for security ....

WSJ: State cost to protect Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch has more than tripled since 2010

 #Adelson - #Walker #1% here -Our Out-of-State Governor not Governing, Raising Money #WI 1848 Forward: #WiVote

#Walker #1% here -Our Out-of-State Governor not Governing, Raising Money #WI 1848 Forward: #Adelson Primary3/28/14

#Walker #1% here -Our Out-of-State Governor not Governing, Raising Money #WI 1848 Forward: http://wi1848forward.blogspot.com/2014/02/walker-our-out-of-state-governor-not.html?spref=tw #WiVote #VoterID #99% #47%