"Bear Trader" Writes: What's in their coffee on Wall Street?

On 7/13/12, The Evansville Observer wrote: > Bear Trader > On the Squak on the Street this morn prior to the opening, Jim Cramer > commented on the announcement by JPMOrgan that their loss was 4.4 billion up > from two, that when one considered that the final net PLUS the losses was a > huge number if applied by the multiple, then the valuation of the stock was > much higher....huh? thus he was positive on the stock for the future. > Lets all not discount our losses and apply the multiple and then be wildly > positive hUH? what is the new math..or is it new meth? > > Bear Trader Answers: As I said earlier Wall Street is totally hot to Buy, Buy, Buy. I didn't use those words, exactly, as I recall. I recall saying they acted like manic bipolars off their meds. The problem is that the world central banks including the Federal Reserve have printed so much money since 2008 ($15 Trillion in 2008 and 2009, as much as the US GDP) that Wall Street is awash with cash, drowning in it, and the money is burning holes in every pocket in the financial world. Even JPMorgan-Chase is throwing money around like a coke head. Dimon even says their $5,000,000,000 trading loss don't mean nothing. Did you know that Greenberg of Bear Stearns bragged about his coke use to an underling once, and showed him his stash? About 60 or 100 grams, it appears, costing several thousand dollars. Who do you think bought, buys, all that coke up in Harlem? It is not local residents as they don't have enough money. It is easy to snort $1000 a day worth (assuming you have the cash). Too bad I can't borrow a few trillion at 0.5% and get 0.6% from soon maturing Treasuries. I would get, for each trillion dollars borrowed, ten basis points per year, or one billion dollars per year. Not bad for no work and no risk, eh? Just call me Mr. TARP.

Listen to bloomberg today---here is my take

Thank You for Your Feedback! Feedback Status: TicketID: W00496150630649368880 Status: Waiting Summary: news coverage today, July 13, 2012 poor LOG: 7/13/12 20:14:40 Your Feedback: The JPM spin was poor--it is not positive that they thought it was two bil and it was six. It is not behind us---that is a disservice. Investors care that there is no integrity in the reporting, and not one reporter stepped up to ask difficult questions. Also---on LIBOR--- Geithner wrote memos and yes Paterno wrote memos--and both failed to address a serious situation--and every home mortgage applicant has an action at law for the fraud on the rate---On Wells Fargo--on that interview---weak panzy ass questions---they have had settlements in St. Paul and all over for fraud in lending and you give them the pass on the questions---if you need a reporter call me...www.evansvilleobserver.blogspot.com I am not bought and paid for like u guys.

Big Weekend August 4th in Evansville, Wisconsin

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE July 12, 2012 Contact: Mary Rajek, Executive Director Evansville Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism Office: 608.882.5131 // evansvillecoc@litewire.net Plan to Spend August 4th in Evansville, WI! Evansville, WI – Stateline area shoppers: Make your plans now to head over to Evansville for a fun day of bargain-hunting on Saturday, August 4th. Our annual Ciy-Wide Garage Sale and Main Street Inside Out Day sidewalk sale combine to be Evansville’s biggest shopping day of the year! Inside Out Day is a family-friendly event that highlights local businesses as well as area vendors! PLUS, while there, you can enter to win up to $10,000 in cash! Only 600 tickets will be sold, and 33 cash prizes will be given away later that day! This annual raffle benefits the Evansville Area Chamber of Commerce & Tourism, and will be drawn at 3:00 PM as part of the ongoing August 4th festivities held just off Main Street during the annual Pete’s Inn anniversary celebration. A special note to vendors – there is still room for you! Whether you have something to sell, or you just want to get the word out about your organization, this event is perfect for you! Sign up today and take part in this annual event that attracts customers from across the Stateline area! Saturday, August 4th calendar of Events: All Day: City-Wide Garage Sales 8:00 AM – 2:00 PM: Inside Out Day on Evansville’s Main Street, including: Rock County Dairy Trailer, Bounce House & Kids’ Area, Car Show, Vendors galore and much, much more! Noon – 5:00 PM: Pete’s Inn Celebration – groove to a DJ while you shop! 3:00 PM: Winners for the 6th Annual Chamber of Commerce Cash Raffle announced 5:00-9:00 PM: Continue the Anniversary Celebration with the country & rock band - The Moon Dogz! # # #

Mailbag: Vinehout writes re WRS Retirement System

Retirement System Gets High Grades July 11, 2012 ~ Volume 6 Issue 27 Can you tell me what is happening with the state retirement system, the WRS?” asked a worried Eau Claire man. means grocery money for many retired people. There has been a great deal of talk about changing the system or eliminating it entirely. Two recent reports should put to bed any of that talk. The reports show the WRS is the best funded in the United States, provides half the taxpayer contributions of the national average and uses a unique ‘risk sharing’ method to keep funding stable and taxpayer costs low while delivering promised benefits. First, the nonpartisan Pew Center on States found Wisconsin is the only state in the union with enough money set aside to meet guarantees made to workers. The study ranked Wisconsin as a ‘solid performer’ in both pensions and retiree health care – the only state to receive such a designation. Second, the state Department of Employee Trust Funds released a long awaited report ordered by the Governor that recommended no changes in the current retirement system. “The Wisconsin Retirement System is an efficient and sustainable retirement system,” began the report which was conducted by an independent firm. Part of the reason for the fund’s success, according to the report released last week, is the combination of cost sharing and risk sharing. Workers pay half of the contributions to the system – currently almost 6% of their salary. The unique ‘risk sharing’ structure allows participants to benefit from good times but also to lose in bad times. The report mentions that retirees’ pensions were reduced collectively by over $3 billion in the past few years. Additionally, the contributions of active employees are reviewed each year and are adjusted up or down depending on the performance of the market. The study found benefit levels in Wisconsin are lower than most public plans; members shoulder most of the risk of the plan; the cost of the plan has decreased to taxpayers and the flexibility of benefits paid out has allowed the plan to remain solvent despite the economic downturn. Those of us over age fifty worry about retirement income. For many farmers or small business owners, retirement means selling the farm/business - including passing it on to the next generation. For larger private companies, employers may offer some form of contribution to a worker’s own retirement account. Many believe the “Cadillac plan” offered to public employees provides overly generous benefits they will never see. But the reality is the median benefit is about $21,000 a year. Not bad; but certainly not a “Cadillac”. In addition, state law forbids ever offering a cost of living adjustment to retirees. Similar to many private sector plans, the amount paid out to retirees varies with market performance. Making sure retirees can buy groceries is important for Wisconsin’s economy. In taxes paid and purchases made, WRS retirees supported 35,000 jobs, lowered the unemployment rate by 1.6% and sent half a billion dollars to government coffers in taxes paid. Yes, they all pay taxes just like the rest of us. At the heart of the WRS are the hard working folks at the State of Wisconsin Investment Board. This agency oversees all of the investments of the state of Wisconsin, including the retirement funds. Over $90 billion in assets are managed to bring the best return to the taxpayers of Wisconsin. The retirement fund is the largest but many other parts of state government involve funds under SWIB's highly experienced financial investors. It is this professional management and large pool of assets that gives WRS an edge over other types of investments. The ETF study shows both taxpayers and workers benefit from sharing risk with a large pool of employees which brings higher returns at lower administrative costs. The reports are so positive some, including Senator Dave Hanson, are now talking about opening up the system to private employers. “That’s a great idea,” a small business owner told me. “Please keep me informed.” I will do just that. * * * * * If you’d like to read the reports the Pew report can be found at The Pew Center on the States And the ETF report can be found at the Employee Trust Fund website Click here to download the PDF

An Evening of Conversation with Russ Feingold

7/11 Wed 7 pm Russ Feingold: Sustaining a Movement for Justice - Madison. At First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. The Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice (ICWJ) invites you to a unique evening of conversation with Russ Feingold. He will speak about: collective bargaining and the current attacks against organized labor; increases in income inequality; immigrant workers and immigration. Admission is free and open to the public. Copies of the New York Times bestseller, “While America Sleeps” will be for sale, and Sen.Feingold will be signing books at the event. For more information, please contact Becky Schigiel, organizer@workerjustice.org. ©2012 Wireman & Associates | 4001 Monona Dr, Madison WI 53717

Activities for Wednesday, July 11, 2012

7/11 Wed 6 pm What Happened in Wisconsin? A Radical Perspective on the Wisconsin Uprising - Madison. Rainbow Bookstore (426 W. Gilman) Join an informal discussion with Bob McChesney, Andrew Sernatinger, Paul Buhle, Mari Jo Buhle, and Ruth Conniff. In the aftermath of the June 5 recall election, radicals, progressives, and liberals in Wisconsin are discussing why things happened the way they did in the last year and a half. How did a mass movement in the streets get funneled into the recall election? What alternatives were there and why were they not pursued? And how did Walker and the Republicans mobilize a large number of voters to reject the recall? Was it money alone? And, most importantly, where do we go from here? Info? # 608-257-6050 7/11 Wed 7 pm Russ Feingold: Sustaining a Movement for Justice - Madison. At First Unitarian Society of Madison, 900 University Bay Drive. The Interfaith Coalition for Worker Justice (ICWJ) invites you to a unique evening of conversation with Russ Feingold. He will speak about: collective bargaining and the current attacks against organized labor; increases in income inequality; immigrant workers and immigration. Admission is free and open to the public. Copies of the New York Times bestseller, “While America Sleeps” will be for sale, and Sen.Feingold will be signing books at the event. For more information, please contact Becky Schigiel, organizer@workerjustice.org. ©2012 Wireman & Associates | 4001 Monona Dr, Madison WI 53717

Agenda: Park Board: Should Evansville Add a "Peace Park?"

City of Evansville, Wisconsin Park & Recreation Board Regular Monthly Meeting Evansville, City Hall Monday, July 09, 2012 – 6:00pm AGENDA 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 2. Motion to approve Agenda as printed 3. Motion to waive the reading of the June 11th, 2012 minutes & approve them as printed 4. Citizen appearances, relating to Park & Recreation, not listed agenda items a. Motion on request of refund, from Becky Hurley from Wisconsin Farm Bureau, for rental fees of upper & lower diamonds and Oscar Dietzch shelter that was to be used on June 10th, 2012 b. Discussion and information, regarding adding a "peace park". 5. Lakeshore Restoration 6. West Side Park, bathroom & shelter 7. Aquatic Report 8. Chair's report from other Committees/Common Council 9. Reports/Updates on projects or Maintenance a. Antes cabin b. Fourth of July 10. Old Business 11. New Business 12. Motion to adjourn Next meeting Monday, August 13 th, 2012 - 6:00 pm, City Hall

Duluth Trading Replaces Tent Sale With Outlet Store

Say goodbye Tent Sale and HELLO OUTLET STORE! Now you can shop for incredible closeout deals year round! Our New Duluth Trading Outlet Store in Belleville, WI will be stuffed to the rafters with catalog returns, discontinued items and other deals you don't want to miss. It's everything you loved about the tent sale – now in a building! Celebrate the Outlet Store Grand Opening July 19, 20, 21, 2012 (Yup, exactly when the tent sale USED to be…stay tuned for the address and hours of operation!)

Mailbag: Vinehout Speaks on Fixing Health Care; Creating Jobs

Joe runs a business making dentures. He hires highly skilled workers and pays them well. He also buys a good health insurance plan that costs him $3,000 a month per employee. If he could lower health insurance costs, he could hire more people. Sam and his partner Bob run a small business in a tourist area. Their shop is doing well, but health insurance costs are eating up more and more of their profit. Sally ran a café. She and her daughter needed health insurance but couldn’t find an affordable plan. The business was sold. Sally now works for a large company but still dreams of running her own business. The major barrier is the high cost of health insurance. The names are changed, but these are real Wisconsin business stories. Again and again I hear: one thing Wisconsin could do to help small business is lower health insurance costs. Last fall I introduced a bill to do just that. The proposed law would give small business, farmers and people who buy insurance on their own the same bulk-buying power of large companies. The bill used the federal Affordable Health Care Act, or as I like to call it “Obama Cares” as a way to create a uniquely Wisconsin competitive insurance market. Big business leaders like to say, “Wisconsin already has a competitive insurance market”. But any small business person – including myself buying insurance for our dairy farm – will tell you, “We pay way too much for just awful coverage”. It’s true there are a lot of companies competing for your insurance dollars. This is why Wisconsin needs a special approach to complying with new federal law. The recent Supreme Court decision to uphold “Obama Cares” gives Wisconsin an opportunity; one that should not be squandered. Delaying the implementation of the law until the state is forced to act is a big mistake. Every day we wait, people are paying too much for bad coverage. Every day we wait someone without insurance gets sick and we all pay for that care. Often that care is provided in the most expensive setting: the emergency room or intensive care. Most important: every night we wait, a parent without insurance lies awake worried their son or daughter will be sick and they will have to make a decision between selling the farm and caring for their loved one. I know. I’ve been there. The Affordable Care Act is not perfect. Many of us would like to have something different. But is it a start. And start we must. But instead of proposing changes to the law to improve it; instead of meeting with the other side of the aisle and compromising, conservative leaders are pouring big money into Wisconsin to change people’s minds and, hopefully, their votes. Recently Americans for Prosperity (AFP) began running $600,000 worth of ads in Wisconsin criticizing the President for the Affordable Care Act. According to WisPolitics, the ads will run in every major market in Wisconsin and are part of a nine million dollar ad buy in 12 swing states. In 2004, AFP began with money from David H. Koch and Charles G. Koch, both of Koch Industries. The oil industry giant continues to support conservative causes and influence elections. According to the on-line encyclopedia “Wikipedia”, AFP claims it spent more than $40 million in 2010 elections. Repeal of the Affordable Care Act is one of its goals. But the interest of the oil industry is not always in the best interest of Wisconsinites. Low cost, high quality health insurance is a goal we can all agree to pursue. Without it Wisconsinites continue to needlessly suffer; farmers and small businesses continue to pay too much. This makes it harder to add employees or to start a new business. Governor Walker must avoid falling into a political trap. He must not ignore his own Republican Attorney General who told him he must follow the health care law. He can take real action to show that we can work together and find a solution that works for Wisconsin. It’s time to put politics aside and get to work.

Nostalgia: School Board--4 Period Day---audio transcript

School Board--7-16-2007---Audio transcript of report to the board on the 4 Period Day Study. 40 minutes.


MP3 File

Mailbag: Wireman; Obama Farm Fest, July 7th

French Chef and author Monique Hooker who is a dedicated supporter of President Obama, organized a committee of kindred spirits. They created the Obama Farm Fest. This event is a combination of tasty food, a gorgeous flower farm, bluegrass music for listening and dancing and wonderful handmade quilts for auction. Dr. Zorba Paster from WPR's "On Your Health" will be the featured speaker. Star Valley Flower Farm is about an hour and a half to two hours west of Madison. It is a beautiful drive. So consider joining us and Mother Earth. You are welcome to share this email. Please register, see below or just come Saturday, July 7 at 5:00 pm. Bring a friend

Mailbag; Wireman: The Nuns Speak

"There was a large (500 people) and enthusiastic welcome for the Nuns on the Bus when they arrived at Paul Ryan's office in Janesville on Tuesday. People stood in the 93 degree heat for 2 hours to hear their extremely articulate spokeswoman, Simone Campbell. She provided a much needed and welcome contrast to the harsh and destructive economic policies that is Ryan's budget. She pointed out that to be truly Christian means to reach out and help the needy, not hurt them further by taking away their safety net. She also said that we must reclaim the Preamble of the Constitution which includes "promotes the general welfare". If you want to follow the nuns you can go to nunsonthebus.com" Joanne Swartzberg 2.Peggy Wireman: Nuns are right to worry about Paul Ryan budget http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/opinion/mailbag/peggy-wireman-nuns-are-right-to-worry-about-paul-ryan/article_4aa3f0f8-ba0d-11e1-952a-001a4bcf887a.html http://bit.ly/Myxpr5 POSTED: June 19, 2012 Letter to the Editor in the Wisconsin State Journal. http://bit.ly/Myxpr5 3.Peggy Wireman: The nuns’ bus tour has it right http://host.madison.com/ct/news/opinion/mailbag/peggy-wireman-the-nuns-bus-tour-has-it-right/article_8884e523-0e0f-5b0f-8912-02e4b53b1dab.html http://bit.ly/MjAsbf

Pdf : Retirement costs in Madison

Pdf : Retirement costs in Madison

Evansville gets new Event to Celebrate in Plein Air Competition

"Wonderful" was the word to describe the first ever Theodore Robinson Plein Air Competition held last Sunday at the Masonic Temple in Evansville. Web Traffic on the Evansville observer skyrocketed in video downloads, and as fans of the painters heard about their video film clips, they shared them on facebook with their friends--- Next year, I hope to get video of all the artists. I just got five this year. Relax, it will get better and I cannot wait. See you next year at the event.

Looking for paintings? Some art remains from Plein Air---

There are some paintings that were not sold on Sunday and they will be at the new Evansville Senior Center beginning on Friday, June 22, 2012. Look for them hanging in the hall on the left as you enter.

Bike Rodeo Coming Soon

Eager Free: Donuts With Daddy this Saturday

Don't forget to come to Donuts with Daddy this Saturday, June 16 from 10:00 to 12:00! Posted from Twitter

Kyle Martin, Artist in Plein Air Competition; Evansville:

James Richter; Artist in Plein Air Competition; Judging Sunday, Masonic Temple; 11am

Chris Gargan Artist in Plein Air Competition

Chris is from the Hoof and Woof Farm in Verona, Wisconsin. Look for his work on Sunday.

Mystery of the Theodore Robinson Paintings

When Theodore Robinson died, he left four paintings to the Evansville School District. What happened to them? What are they worth today? Someone out there knows the answer to this question posed to The Observer today by one of the artists in the Plein Air Competition.

Plein Air Competition: Happening Now: Judging Sunday, 6/17: 11:AM

Eager Library Ice Cream Social Raffle Prizes

Eager Library Ice Cream Social Raffle Details

Theodore Robinson Plein Air Competition in Progress--Judging on Sunday, June 17, 11AM; Masonic Temple

Check it out. Artists are now working on their paintings in Evansville---Artists will be creating the outdoor beauty of Evansville and the surrounding area from June 8th to 16th. After the judging at the Evansville Masonic Temple on Sunday, June 17, 2012 at 11:00AM you can purchase a painting if you wish. Creekside Place will display any unsold paintings thru mid July. Call 1-608-662-0598 for more information or visit www.windmillsonparade.com

Raffle Coming With Eager Library Ice Cream Social---

Stop by the library front desk to pick up your ice cream social raffle ticket for this year's raffle---The three items to win are an IPad2, a Vintage Quilt, and a Sting Ray bike. You do not need to be present to win; They will contact you if you won. Tickets will be available to purchase until 1/2 hour before the raffle on Friday, June 29th.

Mailbag: I and E Club Meets Wednesday---you are invited

Hi everyone We're going to have a nice evening at Creekside Place with two interesting speakers this Wednesday, starting at 6:30 p.m. Hope to see you there! I&E Club Meets June 13 Helping others lean skills has become businesses for two area entrepreneurs. Erin Kather and Tajali Tolan will talk about their businesses at the Evansville Area Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club meeting set for this Wednesday, June 13. The meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. at Creekside Place, 102 Maple St., Evansville. Kaether has Academy of Sound, a performing arts studio. Tolan has The Consciousness Project, which helps families learn to communicate with each other. After the presentation, guests are invited to network and enjoy refreshments sponsored by Main Street Café of Evansville. Meetings are always free and open to the public. For information about the I&E Club, contact Sue Berg at 608-333-1664 or suebergsolutions@gmail.com.

Mailbag; "Bear Trader" Writes Re Spain, Spain, Spain

Spain, Spain, Spain" For Spain to be really rescued would be tough. What Spain wants is the same thing that Greece wants, that is, all the free money it desires. Actually "rescuing" Spain requires putting adults in charge of government spending at all levels, that is, cutting politics and voters totally out of the fiscal loop. Spain has shown itself incapable of self government. Spain's banks are deeply insolvent. They have to be recapitalized. I don't mean that they need loans because the last thing they need is to be deeper in debt They need cash (and right now), not loans, and about 400 Billion Euros worth. Like the Spanish government the Spanish banks have shown themselves feckless and completely irresponsible, not capable of acting like bankers, who make prudent loans, but instead like drunken sailors or the guys who caused the American S&L debacle in the late '80s and the 2008 crash. You would be amazed to see the garbage Spanish banks wrote loans on. Spain won't accept that German bankers should have line item veto power over the budgets of every level of government or that German bankers be put in charge of each and every Spanish bank. Germany doesn't want to give Spain 400 Billion Euros just to watch them piss it away and come back for more. The Question: On 6/8/12, The Observer wrote: > Bear Trader > The press the past three days has had the two parties blaming each other in > advance for the coming collapse--- > Can Germany rescue Spain? or just with smoke and eurobond games... > I see a long slow hot summer and decline into the election. What is your > forecast? >

"The Cold Calling Cowboy...."

(Ed.note: Republished from 2008 due to popular demand: It is from the "Traders Little Black book" or as my brother calls it, "The Little Traders Black book) TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 5, 2008 "Cold Calling Cowboy"----The Wild West ; The Deregulation of Wall Street Over the past thirty years there has been a transition from a structured investment environment to one that is "deregulated"---it has been marked by the end of the era of salaried brokers with higher commissions and research, to a world of $7 trades and computer simulations. It has been a movement from wise older traders to young, churn and burn robots. "Where has been the saving,?" you might ask. I like to compare the situation to the airline industry. Years ago, when airfares were higher, and Northwest Airlines had ZERO debt, the transportation industry and financial services industry was seen as a public sector, where the government had a say in an organized and supervised code of conduct for all participants----those days are gone. When I fly, I always feel more comfortable when I know there has been maintanance done on the engines. The cheapest fare is not consoling if I see flames coming from the engines. Ditto for the financial services industry. When investment just becomes a transaction, when people just become a transaction, and when "churn and burn" becomes the overriding element in business, the customer always loses. Consequently, I reject the notion that nostalgia for the good old days of regulation is senile and old fashioned. I believe it just makes economic sense for the investor. Recently a lone French trader for a bank, using "proprietary trading funds", in the throes of breaking up with his girlfriend, took enormous options risk and....despite the bank even knowing about his risks, but not understanding it or choosing to ignore it for fear they would impede some gains, caused a 7 billion dollar loss. Imagine what would happen worldwide if just a dozen or so financial professionals broke up with their girlfriends. Yes. Girls that is something to consider. You may think you are just breaking up....but you might just be causing a global catastrophe. Be True to your man....o.k. In summary. The incredible catastrophe of ENRON was not just ENRON. The real catastrophe was that as a nation we have modeled our financial institutions on ENRON. And we have the major tactic of DELAY, the verb, not the noun. Posted by Evansville Observer at 1:20 PM

Agenda: Park Board: Monday, June 11, 2012

City of Evansville, Wisconsin Park & Recreation Board Regular Monthly Meeting Evansville, City Hall Monday, June 11, 2012 – 6:00pm AGENDA 1. Call to Order & Roll Call 2. Motion to approve Agenda as printed 3. Motion to waive the reading of the May 14th, 2012 minutes & approve them as printed 4. Citizen appearances, relating to Park & Recreation, not listed agenda items a. Motion on request of refund, from Becky Hurley from Wisconsin Farm Bureau, for rental fees of upper & lower diamonds and Oscar Dietzch shelter that was to be used on June 10th, 2012 b. Motion to approve Park Sellers Permit for Rock-N-Rollz, Todd Culbertson, 1 W Main Street, Evansville, WI, 53536 for 4th of July Celebration in Park. c. Motion to approve Park Sellers Permit for Phil Colwell for 4th of July Celebration in Park. 5. Lakeshore Restoration 6. West Side Park, bathroom & shelter 7. Aquatic Report 8. Chair's report from other Committees/Common Council 9. Reports/Updates on projects or Maintenance a. Antes cabin 10. Old Business 11. New Business 12. Motion to adjourn Next meeting Monday, July 9th, 2012 - 6:00 pm, City Hall

Video: 1 of 3: Art of Jonathan Wilde

(Ed.note: With over 11,000 podcast downloads, this video is the Evansville virtual tourist leader) Video: 1 of 3: Docents introduced from the Chasen Museum of Madison; Why did Jonathan Wilde live here? Video available on The Evansville Observer, www.evansvilleobserver.blogspot.com We set the standard for online news in Southern Wisconsin

OpEd: Pundits, Weather Forecasters and Hedge Fund Investors

Well it's only been a week or so since Jamie Dimon said his bank made a TWO Billion dollar trading error...which was a THREE BILLION dollar trading error the next day, and by the end of a week went to "maybe" a FIVE Billion dollar trading error, and then he has the smartest "Quants doing the math..... And just last night, the race was so close to call, in fact it was just about ONE VOTE separating the candidates..your vote?....and ...well...it was not close after all... Money can buy elections, make a note of it. Here is the other take away that I was not expecting from the last week of the campaign----I went to film the seminar on the pension funds for government workers, and in fact the finest pension managers in the country, the Wisconsin Retirement System. The financial instability....volatility....unpredictability...lack of regulation...has led to a situation where one cannot...you cannot individually...the state cannot collectively...know for a long time in the future enough to GUARANTEE an 8% rate of return...the only guy that did that was Bernie Madoff.....and you know the rest of the story there... The problem is that in times of Civil War, there is little time for thorough discussion....and sound bites will not suffice to discuss it. Stay tuned.

Mailbag: Wireman: "One Vote"

ONE VOTE. This race is a virtual dead heat with Scott Walker at 47.8% and Tom Barrett at 47.7%. We need to find the one vote we’re missing, and thousands more, to elect Tom Barrett and put Wisconsin back on track. YOU DON'T EVEN HAVE TO TALK TO ANYONE BUT IT WILL HELP FYI from Dane County Dem Office. Today, Monday June 4th, we need your help hanging "door hangers" with polling location information in neighborhoods all across Dane County. Click here to help us with this urgent request! You don't have to talk to anyone. Studies show that these "door hangers" can increase turnout by 2 percentage points which could make the difference in this race. Every door hanger needs to go up before Tuesday morning and we can't do it without your help. Click here to make it happen! Or, you can just head over to the MTI Office at 821 Williamson St. Shifts will start at 12, 3, 6, and later at night if needed. https://campaignaction.wufoo.com/forms/dane-county-get-out-the-vote-sign-up/

Nostalgia: 2009: Audio; Schools Face Crisis: Cut Math, Science, Reading;

Audio; Tales From Normal, Mn.---FICTION: Schools face Crisis Head On---Cut Math, Science and Reading----Add Baseball Coach


MP3 File

Mailbag; Getting Time off to Vote: Procedures;

1.REQUEST TIME OFF FROM WORK TODAY FOR TUES. RULES AND OTHER USEFUL DATA BELOW 2. FRIEND IN HOSPITAL CAN VOTE SEE BELOW AND HELP 3. NEW DATA ON POSSIBLE FEDERAL CASE VS WALKER ONE Your employer must give you time off on election day to go vote- it's the law! But you have to request it before election day, so tell your boss as soon as you can. If they say no or threaten your job/wages, call us: 414-274-0925 . Wisconsin law: 1) Up to 3 consecutive hours are allowed off. Employer may decide when hours are taken. 2) Time off is not required to be paid. 3) Employee must request leave before election day. To see if you're registered to vote at your current address, and to verify your polling location, check the Wisconsin Voter Public Access website here. YOU DO NOT NEED TO BRING A PHOTO ID TO THE POLLS IF YOU'RE ALREADY REGISTERED. Not registered yet? You CAN register at the polls! Bring your photo ID and proof of residency, such as a lease or a current utility bill. In Wisconsin, people with felony convictions CAN vote, as long as they are off papers (sentence complete, no parole, no probation). If you are or know someone who is a felon, share this very important information with them! HOSPITALIZED VOTING Hospitalized Absentee Ballot Request Note: In order to receive an absentee ballot, you must be a registered elector. If you are not yet registered, you can register through your agent. I request an absentee ballot for the election held on: Name (please print) Residence Address I certify that I cannot appear at the polling place on election day because I am hospitalized, and appoint the following person to serve as my agent, pursuant to s.6.86(3), Wis. Stats: Agent Name (please print) Agent Address AGENT: I certify that I am the duly appointed agent of the hospitalized absentee elector, that the absentee ballot to be received by me is received solely for the benefit of the above named hospitalized elector, and that such ballot will be promptly transmitted by me to that elector and then returned to the municipal clerk or the proper polling place. Signature of Agent 􀂲 WITNESS: I certify that I am a resident of this absentee elector’s municipality, and that the statements contained in this application are true to the best of my knowledge. Witness Name (please print) Witness Address Signature of Witness 􀂲 Signature of Elector 􀂲 Return to: Madison City Clerk City-County Building Room 103 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd

Special Retirement Seminar: See Video on Observer---Deforest, Wisconsin Public Library---6:30PM-8:00PM

Seminar Coming Re Wis Retirement System: May 31st Public Informational Event: Wisconsin Retirement System’s Future in 2012: “What You Need to know about Your Wisconsin Retirement System Account” Featuring expert analysts: Roger Springman and Buzz Davis Under present Wisconsin planning, discover changes that may soon take place affecting retirement all WRS accounts starting in 2012. Informed citizens may be able to give input that could have a positive effect on those decisions. Come to learn and share your ideas as well! May 31, 2012- A second event due to popular demand!! 6:30 pm – 8:00pm DeForest Public Library 203 Library St. DeForest, WI 55352 This is a public Service event open to all & Free. The Wisconsin Advisory Committee set up to review Wisconsin Retirement System’s Status will release its recommendations in mid-June. Join us to hear experts who’ve analyzed what changes are likely to be made to the Retirement System. This is information important to be aware of and share with all you know who are or will depend on the retirement system for their pensions. Now you can see and hear EVERY word from this seminar on the Evansville Observer Youtube site. See the videos on the front of The Evansville Observer. This is a blockbuster issue that has not seen the amount of press that it deserves.

Mailbag: Wireman: Videos regarding Union and Woman's Issues

Why Labor Unions Matter: How Labor Unions Protect the Rights of All Employees - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=obWZANR-AGY Unions Protect Us All - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4nTUr3YTyAY Living Wages or Safety Nets?: Minimum Wage Earners vs. the One Percent - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XHUxWggZ_Xo Myths about Families Driving American Policies: All Working Women are not Sarah Palin - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=19y-h6qpy-E What Do Working Mothers Really Need? How Can We Help Working Moms? - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=U5Wqgz-QA9I Code Words, Food Stamps and Getting Along: Or Why Newt Gingrich Was Wrong - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aG40C5saCAY The American Dream, Growth Jobs & the Myth of Meritocracy: Why your kids may not get American Dream - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QS3lTMkSTuo

Mailbag; Wireman: Ed Schulz Coming to Baraboo on Saturday

We just got word Ed Schulz will join John Nichols in Baraboo on Sat. Evening. See ticket information below. nicholsal.JPG June 2nd 7:00pm Al Ringling Theater Baraboo Tickets $5 alringling.com (608) 356-8864 Sponsored by the Center for Media and Democracy

Recall Walker Signs Sprouting Up

Video: Recall Walker signs are sprouting up between Black Earth and Mazo---check them out...some signs are doublesided---

Evansville Observer on Youtube on blueray

When you on your big screen, choose Youtube, and the login with your account name and password. Then search for Evansville Observer and you will see the video files available. Beautiful full screen video. The excitement is building. Check it out. It will only get better after Apple and Google launch their TV applications.

Mailbag: Wireman: WRS Pensions Under Attack

WALKER THREATENS RETIREE BENEFITS If you or anyone you know is on the Wisconsin Retirement System or expects to be in the future this is long but well worth reading. Walker likely to change the system in ways that hurt you. I sent you notice of a meeting about it yesterday. Basically it looks like Walker and the Republicans want to privatize the system that could cost CURRENT BENEFITS to current retirees and future retirees. NOW is the Time to Defend it! Months of investigation and reasoned analysis by union leaders, retiree activists, and political scientists have led to the conclusion that the Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) is under assault by Walker and the Republican majority. Really? How bad can it be? ANSWER: Not good and it could get worse! What’s to Gain? Why the assault? The WRS is under assault for three main reasons: Ideology . . . right-wing desire to end large, public benefit programs just like Paul Ryan wants to do at the federal level with Social Security, desire to “privatize” public pension programs by changing them to 401(k) style programs thereby sending millions in extra fees/charges to Wall Street and investment companies from individual annuitants. to undermine public employment and public employee unions because public employees are the last major opposition to the right-wing agenda for Wisconsin. Public employees have family supporting wages and benefits. By pitting public employee benefits vs. private employee benefits; they attempt to “divide and conquer”! But the WRS is So Sound and Safe . . . The fact that WRS is strong, cost effective, is in the top 4 of public pension programs in America, and is 99.7% funded does not matter. It manages about $77 billion in stocks, bonds, real estate trust funds; $13billion of which is invested in Wisconsin. And it doesn’t bust budgets! State and local government spending for pension contributions in Wisconsin only amounted to 1.26% of total government spending in 2009. Where is the evidence of assault? It began early with the passage of the 2011-2013 State Budget Bill which called for a study to: 1) examine creating a defined contribution plan and 2) determine the feasibility of allowing employees to “opt out” of WRS. The study is due June 2012 and will go directly to the Joint Finance Committee and Governor rather than the legislative committee established by law to review retirement issues. The study may well endorse the above changes as a pre-emptive move to “save” the system from future problems and/or offer employees greater flexibility. Not wanting to wait, in January 2012, Republican Rep. Pat Strachota introduced AB 539 allowing WRS “opt out” for new University of Wisconsin System hires. What is often ignored is that Rep. Strachota is a member of ALEC (American Legislative Exchange Council), an organization comprised of corporations promoting privatization and deregulation , and she borrowed one of their bills to write AB 539! The Wisconsin legislature is full of ALEC members: Robin Voss, Alberta Darling, Scott Suder, Van Wanggard, Terry Moulton and Scott Walker is a former ALEC member. WRS is a complicated system carefully crafted over many decades by Republican and Democratic leaders and even small changes like the April 2012 Wisconsin Employment Relation Commission (WERC) ruling on teacher base pay could have an impact. This ruling will reduce teacher contributions to the WRS as school districts would be able to only negotiate over local base wages, effectively reducing teacher salaries by 20% or more . . . and their 5.8% matching contribution. So, provisions like employee “opt outs”, reductions in contributions , and even changing who gets appointed to WRS governing boards or organizations like the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) and Department of Employee Trust Funds (ETF) can all add up and have adverse impacts. Wouldn’t adding a defined contribution option like 401 (k) be a good idea? No. The WRS operates as a defined benefit system which means you receive a known and predictable retirement benefit (annuity) guaranteed for a specified period. Defined contributions plans like 401(k) programs DO NOT guarantee a set monthly benefit. “Retirement income” is the money left at retirement meaning annuity payments are directly related to the current value of the portfolio. Market goes sour? So too does your annuity. The WRS has a small Variable Fund that operates like a defined contribution plan. Because of incredibly high volatility, ETF and SWIB have recommended closing it to new applicants and, in 2008, annuity values went down 40%! You get much greater peace of mind with a defined benefit program! The WRS brings great value because of its large volume transactions and low fees reduce management costs to nearly half that of most defined contribution programs. An added danger of defined contribution plans is “risk shifting.” Employers in defined contribution plans are only responsible for their contributions and take no responsibility for annuity outputs; their stability or adequacy . It is entirely YOUR risk! But my annuity is “guaranteed”! My annuity can’t drop; can it? “Yes” it can. You start with a base or floor which, by Sec. 40.19 WI Statutes, it cannot be reduced below. Over the past twenty five years, good performance allowed annuities to expand well beyond base amounts by about 4.6% per year. Unfortunately the 2008 bank-Wall Street collapse reversed this historic pattern, requiring the WRS to deploy one of its best stability tools: 5-year rolling average adjustment. Through 2013, the fund will re-stabilize itself and hopefully begin rebuilding upward again. In 2012, longer-term annuitants saw a 7% drop in their monthly payment. Many saw a reduction of several hundred dollars in recent years, but no one went below their guaranteed floor! The WRS can self-correct and protect its “floor guarantee”, so long as major market down-turns are not too close together and politicians don’t make matters worse with ill-conceived legislation. However, because the WRS is a defined benefit program, to save the WRS from actuarial failure under the most adverse of scenarios, it could be necessary for the legislature to revisit the “floor guarantee” to allow for greater management flexibility. What can be done to stave off the assault? Walker and Republicans are clearly showing their desire to change the WRS. Vote for Tom Barrett and Mahlon Mitchell on or before June 5th. If you live in a senate recall area, vote Compas in the 13th, Lehman in the 21st , Dexter in the 23rd, or Seidel in the 29th and support them with help and contributions! Democrats have shown far greater support for the WRS than most Republicans. Stay informed and work with others. Join an activist organization like the WI Alliance for Retired Americans, WI Coalition of Annuitants , contact your home union, or join a retiree chapter of your union. Contact or petition YOUR representative and senator! Take a delegation to their office and hold them accountable. Also, consider getting involved by signing a petition found at http://signon.org/sign/save-the-wisconsin-retiremen?source=s.em.cp&r This is the time and moment to defend YOUR retirement system!! For information on WI Alliance For Retired Americans, go to www.retiredamericans.org or call 608-241-1831 . For information on WI Coalition of Annuitants go to www.wicoa.org This publication was prepared by Protect Our Retirement System (POWRS). POWRS is a statewide working group of activist retirees and can be contacted at powrs2012@gmail.com. DEBUNKING THE MYTHS about the Wisconsin Retirement System The Wisconsin Retirement System (WRS) is a defined benefit pension program serving 572,000 active public employees and retirees (12% of Wisconsin’s adult population), affecting about 20% of Wisconsin’s population when families are included. Public employees of 1,400 units of government, including state employees and school districts are covered by the program. It is the 9th largest public retirement system in the country. The WRS provides exceptional return and security for its covered employees. Its nearly $77 billion in assets are managed by the State of Wisconsin Investment Board (SWIB) which invests in a wide array of stocks, bonds, real estate, and other investments. It is a true gem amongst public pension programs. Unfortunately significant disinformation and distortions are now being spread about the WRS in the hopes of undermining it for political gain and to justify program changes in 2013. This flyer reviews some of the more common myths and provides reality checks. Myth 1: Public employee pensions are busting state and local government budgets. Fact: Public employee pensions have very little impact on state and local government budgets in Wisconsin. In 2009, pension contribution costs represented 1.26% of government spending . . .well below the national average of 2.9%. Fact: Investment earnings support all Employee Trust Fund (ETF) administrative costs (about $31 million for 2010) and a great majority of annuitant distribution costs. In 2010, earnings covered 66% of the $3.8 billion in annuitant distribution costs and employee contributions covered an additional amount. Fact: All wages and benefits are earned compensation. No employee gets anything for free! General Employees currently contribute 5.8% of wages to their pensions. Myth 2: Public employees’ “gold plated” retirements are excessively generous. Fact: . In 2010, ETF paid out $3.8 billion in retirement payments. The average retirement benefit was $23,800 per year, 83% of WRS annuities were under $40,000 per year, and 26% were less than $10,000 per year. Fact: These benefits are typical. Nationally, public employee pensions average $23,407 per year. Private sector defined benefit pensions average $20,298 per year. MYTH 3: Public employee pensions hurt Wisconsin’s economy by increasing taxes. Fact: In 2006, WRS beneficiaries (86% of them live in Wisconsin) spent $4.5 billion, accounted for over 33,000 jobs that paid $1.7 billion in wages and salaries and over $730 million in federal, state, and local taxes. Their spending generated $1.48 in economic activity for every dollar paid in benefits. A 2012 study found $5.52 in total economic output for every dollar contributed by taxpayers to WRS. Fact: SWIB invested over $13 billion in Wisconsin companies in 2010 . . . many of whom use Wisconsin employees. WRS is an asset for all of Wisconsin! Myth 4: Defined contribution plans are better than defined benefit programs. Fact: The National Institute on Retirement Security and other organizations report that defined benefit plans, like WRS, are economically more efficient than defined contribution plans, delivering the same level of benefits at nearly half the cost. Most defined contribution (called 401k) programs built on individual investing are far more risky and costly due to added fees/charges than large, public pension programs. Fact: WRS has performed very well. The main Core Fund effective rate of return averaged 10.4% per year over the past 25 years and, because of this performance, the average annuity increased 4.6% per year over this period. Myth 5: WRS is not flexible and doesn’t meet the needs of employees. Fact: WRS has benefits similar to defined contribution plans while providing steady, low-cost performance. WRS provides individual accounts, retention in the event of system departure or job change, and the option for additional contributions. Fact: WRS has a feature called “money purchase” which is similar to a defined contribution plan. This feature allows employees to receive their final annuity as a series of payments based on the current market value of their account. Myth 6: WRS is not sustainable and will not be here for future retirees. Fact: WRS is “fully funded” (99.7%) which means the WRS assets are large enough to cover all expected current and future retirement payments for all current annuitants and active employees. WRS has always met all benefit payment obligations. WRS is rated as one of the top four public employee retirement systems in the nation by the Pew Center for the States . . . a true national leader! Fact: The size of WRS ($77 billion in assets) and the use of several risk management mechanisms to smooth market losses over 5-year periods provides great sustainability and stability. If it isn’t broken…don’t fix it! Sources: NASRA Issue Brief. “State and Local Government Spending on Public Employee Retirement Systems”. National Association of State Retirement Administrators. February 14, 2012. Wisconsin Retirement System, Wisconsin Legislative Fiscal Bureau, January 2011 The Trillion Dollar Gap, Underfunded State Retirement Systems and the Roads to Reform, Pew Center on the States, February 2010. 2010 Comparative Study of Major Employee Retirement Systems. Wisconsin Legislative Council, December 2011. Pensionomics 2009 and 2012, Measuring the Economic Impact of DB Pension Expenditures, National Institute on Retirement Security. February 2009 and February 2012. David Mills and David Stella, “Good Pensions for Everyone Would Boost Economy”, Capital Times, March 10, 2012. Department of Employee Trust Fund information can be found at http://etf.wi.gov/ . This publication was developed by Protect Our Wisconsin Retirement System (POWRS). POWRS is a statewide working group of activist retirees and can be reached at powrs2012@gmail.com .

Recall Walker Signs Evansville, Wi

Recall Walker Signs Sprout up in Evansville, Wisconsin as Signs spread all across Wisconsin. For questions about set up of your own signs, contact people4progresswi@gmail.com

Bear Trader Replies Re; Bank Holiday in a Digital Age

(Ed.note: "Bear Trader" is a "bear" on market matters and his thoughts are reflection, not market advice.) As far as European events are concerned, nobody, but nobody, knows what will happen to our derivative backed financial system ($600 Trillion notional and counting!). The European Central Banks are pretty sure they are ready for it, they say. Could be. I think they are whistling past the graveyard. Got to keep up public confidence, don't you know. One thing is for sure, the various Big Boys and Girls don't intend to be the ones that end up realizing the losses. There will be big hiccups in derivative settlement ranging from years of squabbling to years of inter-country fighting over who takes the loss. We could see finance retreating into national borders as in the Great Depression, and no 'return to normalcy' for generations if ever. Major war is, hopefully, not terribly likely. Greece is a small potatoes thing. The big problem is the debt and unfulfillable politician''s promises. Democracies can't handle telling the voters to go quietly away and starve somewhere else. The voters will vote in their local equivalent of Adolf Hitler. Plato and Aristotle both held that Democracy always ends sooner than you think, and ends with the election of a Tyrant. If you think the USA hasn't been moving in this direction for over fifty years then you haven't been watching. Economic progress has been halted, or more precisely, can no longer be the tide that raises all boats. We cannot live on Ipads, Ipods, or other toys. That is why you are seeing the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. As far as bank holidays in the USA, I think access to FDIC insured accounts of about $1000 a week maximum should be available after a few days, probably over a weekend. Business would halt until the bank clearance system is back on line. This is a fairly likely scenario. Suggestions for individuals interested in protecting their families? What follows should be seen as insurance, as a small expense today to hedge low probability but potentially catastrophic future possibilities. Call this "the Greek scenario". Some cash on hand could be useful. Do not stockpile hundred dollar bills as they attract too much attention. Stick to well used twenties. A little food storage, enough for about four weeks, no luxuries, only staples. Rice and dried beans store well. Don't worry too much about 'a balanced diet', the "informal" marketplace will provide. The wise can read between the lines. Consider electric power outages, maybe days or weeks long, and amazing gasoline prices. On 5/27/12, The Evansville Observer wrote: > Question for you Bear Trader-- > When FDR took office, he declared a bank holiday that took I think three > days. Then we went off the gold standard. > Soon, when Greece leaves the Euro, EVERY option spread involving Greece will > have to be restated or settled? In a world where everything is online, what > will the bank holiday look like?How will not this disrupt the LIQUIDITY of > the current banking system in the US and in fact all of our deposits? > I know not how much liquid cash you have on hand, but I would guess the > average American is not expecting a 4-5 day bank holiday where everything is > frozen. > Corporations are preparing for the Greek situation by moving money out of > greece every night to Britain and pounds...What do you see as practical > steps that every family can do to prepare? > If Jamie Dimon was wrong about the 2 Billion dollar trade that might be a > 5billion dollar trade, what about the millions of other trades out there? > Is not this too big to bail out?Give me your thoughts----thanks. >

Video: 1 of 3: Art of John Wilde

(Ed.note: With over 11,000 video downloads, this video is the virtual tourist record setter of The Evansville Observer and makes the point that the Artists of Evansville are a key element that makes Evansville special.) Video: 1 of 3: Docents introduced from the Chasen Museum of Madison; Why did John Wilde live here? Video available on The Evansville Observer, www.evansvilleobserver.blogspot.com We set the standard for online news in Southern Wisconsin

Memorial Day Evansville, Wisconsin 2 of 2

Video: Memorial Day Parade, Evansville, Wisconsin; EHS marching Band.

Memorial Day Evansville, Wisconsin 1 of 2

Video: Memorial Day Parade, Evansville, Wisconsin

Assistant Director of Eager Library Named

Please welcome our new Assistant Director for Eager Free Public Library. Megan Becker began her duties on May 21st. She comes to EFPL from a library in Mequon. Megan and her husband will reside in Fitchburg. The Trustees of the Library are initiating a search for a new Director. In the interim, Megan will be Acting Director

Eager Library Spring 2012 Newsletter

The Friends' major fund-raiser every year is the Ice Cream Social and Charity Auction on the EFPL Lawn to kick off the Evansville Community July 4th Celebration. This year, we're pumping up the excitement level. • ELVIS PRESLEY will entertain the crowd! (Well, sorta like Santa Claus, it's not the Real Elvis.) For all you hound dogs and lovers of blue suede shoes, he will bring back memories. For the younger set, it will just be a blast to see and hear what their elders rocked to a generation or more ago. • RAFFLE! This year's ICS will feature raffles for an Apple iPad, an antique quilt, and an adult StingRay bicycle. These three items have all been donated by Friends of the Library, and your committee decided they have too much value to be auctioned. You'll be able to buy raffle tickets soon, and we urge all our Friends to buy and to volunteer to sell raffle tickets around town, perhaps even to out-of-town folks, during the next month. Winners don’t need to be present at the drawing. Take a chance; maybe you’ll win something really super! • THE AUCTION itself will be a whole new animal as well. The ICS committee has gathered a grand assortment of items unlike any offered before. You'll want to come to the Social just to see some of the unique and fascinating goodies on which you can bid. And hopefully you’ll bid freely, because you know that this is how we raise money to support Eager Free Public Library. Shelving, security system, movie projection equipment, language-learning programs: these acquisitions and support for the library's services and programs all were paid for with money the Friends raised in the last several years. We would be grateful to receive a few more unique and intriguing auction items. If you’ve not donated (tax-deductible!) to our auction in the past & wish to help this year, please call Audrey Shomos (882-4070 ) to arrange your donation. Thanks! • SOCIALIZE! Schoepp's ice-cream, beautiful (and taste-y) home-made cakes and cupcakes for you to savor as you socialize with your friends. We’re also challenging you, as a FRIEND, to invite a friend who is not yet a FRIEND to come to the ICS with you. Introduce them to the glories of our library & how we support it as an entire community. Ask them to join you as a FRIEND OF THE EAGER FREE PUBLIC LIBRARY!

Mailbag: Wireman: Volunteer Opportunities Re: Election

GROUPS NEEDING VOLUNTEERS THE DEMS sun & mon. from 12 p to 5p to show up at our office 210 N. Bassett St. We will give them a short training and then send them to the Brat Fest to sign people up to volunteer for GOTV. We also need people to sign up for GOTV, (see below) we still need a lot of people to help on election day. They can sign up by entering the following link in to their web browser bit.ly/dane2012gotv . They must write the link exactly as written and it is case sensitive. we must schedule 170 volunteer shifts per day in order to reach our goal for "Get Out The Vote Weekend." Recruit your friends, family, and co-workers to come with you by copying this link: bit.ly/dane2012gotv and posting it all over the internet. We need the most help for election day and Monday June 4th. We may also need help during the weekend, but if people go to the website, they will be able to see which locations and times we are still open. We need help both with phone calls and with canvassing doors, the information is on that website. A canvass shift consist of approximately 50 doors, which is what a person can do in 3 hours. A phone shift is 3 hours. Still a little uncomfortable about volunteering? That's normal. We'll give you a training beforehand and make sure you're up to speed before volunteering. Click here to stand up and tip the scales our way. Already signed up but still want to help? Great. Any chance you could sign up for another shift on Monday June 4th and/or Tuesday June 5th? These are the days where we need the most help. Already did that and still want to help? Phenomenal! Encourage them to sign up for every shift they can. Dane County Field Team Democratic Party of Wisconsin 608-692-9740 danefieldoffice@wisdems.org WE ARE WISCONSIN today, mon and rest of week we will be lots and lots of doors. We are running canvasses all days. The first canvassers we send out is 11am, then the times change during the day, all depending on the time people have available. During the evenings we launch canvassers go out at 5pm. Thursday will be our big weekday canvass, and that will also be at 5pm. I assume they are making phone calls as well in case you don't want to do doors. Saturday starts our 4 days of Get out the Vote, these 4 days we will have many doors to knock on to ensure that people vote on Tuesday. The times for this will be 9am, 12pm, 3pm, and 5pm. Except for Sunday morning, we will not be canvassing until 12pm on Sunday. also here is an e-mail volunteer@wearewisconsin.org Madison - Baldwin St. Office 412 Baldwin St. Madison, WI 53703 Contact: Steph Mulvey (608) 535-9771 ; Steph@wearewisconsin.org Madison Labor Temple 1602 S. Park St., Madison, WI 53715 Contact: Andrew Collier (608) 620-3053 ; andrew@wearewisconsin.org Madison - American Federation of Teachers 6602 Normandy Ln, 2nd Floor Madison, WI 53719 Contact: Ben Tobias (920) 960-8238 ; ben@wearewisconsin.org THE HOURS MAY BE DIFFERENT for sun prairie HERE SO CONTACT THEM Sun Prairie Office 1571 Ivory Dr., Sun Prairie, WI 53590 Contact: Neal Waltmire (608) 535-9131 ; neal@wearewisconsin.org ©2012 Wireman & Associates | 4001 Monona Dr, Madison WI 53717

Seminar Coming Re Wis Retirement System:

May 31st Public Informational Event: Wisconsin Retirement System’s Future in 2012: “What You Need to know about Your Wisconsin Retirement System Account” Featuring expert analysts: Roger Springman and Buzz Davis Under present Wisconsin planning, discover changes that may soon take place affecting retirement all WRS accounts starting in 2012. Informed citizens may be able to give input that could have a positive effect on those decisions. Come to learn and share your ideas as well! May 31, 2012- A second event due to popular demand!! 6:30 pm – 8:00pm DeForest Public Library 203 Library St. DeForest, WI 55352 This is a public Service event open to all & Free. The Wisconsin Advisory Committee set up to review Wisconsin Retirement System’s Status will release its recommendations in mid-June. Join us to hear experts who’ve analyzed what changes are likely to be made to the Retirement System. This is information important to be aware of and share with all you know who are or will depend on the retirement system for their pensions.

Mailbag: Bold Progressives: Amazon drops ALEC

WE DID IT! Over 95,000 PCCC members petitioned and Amazon answered. CEO Jeff Bezos announced yesterday the company would drop its membership in ALEC. Victory!! We got word as we protested outside Amazon's annual shareholder meeting with over 500,000 petition signatures in hand from PCCC members and our allies. Amazon bowed to public pressure and will no longer fund ALEC's agenda of union-busting and voter-suppression -- but corporations like AT&T are still standing by ALEC.

OpEd: Are YOU Divided? Will YOU be conquered?

In the now famous video of Gov. Walker speaking to Ms. Hendricks of ABC Supply in which he says the plan on destroying unions is one of divide and conquer.....think of what he might have meant for your situation. If you have lived in Wisconsin for the past ten years, recount the losses for non-union labor....these have gone on for a decade and have been very painful..Just think locally of manufacturing employees that were terminated, with little fanfare, and then told if they disclosed anything about their terminations, their pensions would be invalidated. Nice. Nobody has ever even written of it in the newspapers, much less protested it. So in the pain of it all, those who have gone before in the pain process and taken a decline in standard of living, may have just a bit of resentment about those union folks who may have not taken a cut, or at least they think. That is the "division". If because of personal pain, you believe that others and including yourself deserve a politician that would be terrible for all, you are deeply mistaken. The misdeeds of Gov. Scott Walker are far beyond unions, and reach to every corner of Wisconsin society. Just recount a bit of it...the disrespect for law, the disregard of open meeting laws, the poisoned politics, the misrepresention of intention, the repeal of rights of women for equal pay...and on and on... It's called the Stockholm syndrome, or "The Patty Hersch Syndrome", as in falling in love with your captors....and it is treated with therapy....Make a note of it.

I and E Corner: Conference Coming June 6-7

June 6-7 Special Conference in Madison A special invitation from Lynn Pitman, University of Wisconsin Center for Cooperatives and April 2011 Guest Speaker at I&E Club The I&E Club members might be interested in the upcoming Madison Cooperative Jobs Conference on June 6-7. The conference is sponsored by the City of Madison, UW Center for Cooperatives, and the Madison cooperative business community. The June 6th pre-conference session will focus on small business succession planning and the use of cooperative conversions as a way to maintain thriving businesses under employee ownership upon the retirement of the owners. The workshop is 9:00-4:00, followed by a reception from 4:00-6:00. This session will be led by Roy Messing, Business Succession Planning Program Coordinator, Ohio Employee Ownership Center, Kent State University. Topics will include: creating a successful decision-making process; the various succession options; and the tax, legal and financial environment of selling to employees. Roy is has significant experience working with small business owners to develop transition plans to employee ownership, and he'll bring a variety of case studies and best practices to the discussion. Topics on June 7 will include the role of cooperatives in our community, an introduction to cooperative finance and successful cooperative start-ups, and how cities and cooperatives can work together to support job creation and local ownership. The conference will run from 8:30 until 4:30. All conference sessions will be at the Pyle Center of the UW-Madison campus. Registration is $25 for one day, or $40 for both. Complete program and registration information is available at: http://www.cityofmadison.com/business/coopconference/schedule.cfm Madison Cooperative Business Conference: Growing Jobs through Co-Op... cityofmadison.com

Mailbag: Wireman: Absentee Ballots Info

Most requests for absentee ballots must be submitted to the clerk by the end of the day on May 31. There are exceptions for sequestered jurors and hospitalized electors, etc. See the May 17 memo on the GAB web site for more info. Voters mailing an absentee ballot must have it postmarked by Election Day, June 5, and received by 4 pm on Friday, June 8. Hand delivered ballots must be received by 8 pm on Election Day. In-person absentee (early voting) runs through June 1, but you may wait in line longer at the clerk's office than you would at your polling place on election day. Shirley H.

Dinner Party at Creekside is Coming SOON, June 2, 2012

Dinner Party at Creekside Place Date: Saturday, June 2, 2012 Time: Cocktails at 5:00PM Dinner at 6:00PM Cost: Member: Single/Couple $17.50/$35.00 Non-Member: Single/Couple $22.50/$45.00 (Gratuity included) This dinner will be catered in by JL Richards of Oregon, the featured entrée will include chicken cordon blu with seasoned red potatoes, crisp green beans, and for desert we will be serving brownie alamode. The tickets are $17.50 per member guest and $22.50 per non member guest (this includes gratuity). Reserva-tions may be made by calling 882-0407 or you may stop by the front desk at Creekside. To confirm your reservation guests are requested to prepay for the dinner prior to the Monday, May 28th.

Video: 1 of 8: "The Art of Theodore Robinson"

(Ed.note: Over 1600 people have downloaded this video and it is at the top of "virtual tourism" charts for the Evanville Observer) Video: 1 of 8: Richard Krake, Painter, speaks at the Eager Free Library on "The Art of Theodore Robinson" Video compliments of The Evansville Observer, www.evansvilleobserver.blogspot.com We set the standard for online news in Southern Wi.

Mailbag: ALEC petition: www.boldprogressive.com

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Share the petition on Facebook or share on Twitter. you signed our petition telling corporations to stop funding ALEC. Because of people like you, 14 corporations and 39 Democratic state legislators have dumped ALEC. Now, we're going after Amazon, one of the biggest corporations that still supports ALEC. This Thursday, we're going to take the fight to them by delivering your petition signatures to Amazon's shareholder meeting in Seattle alongside our partners at SEIU and Color of Change. Over 85,000 people have signed on already! Can you spread the word and help get even more signers before the petition is delivered? Click here to share the petition on Facebook or Click here to share on Twitter. (You can also forward this email to friends and family -- they can sign on here.) Thanks for being a bold progressive. -- Kristiane Skolmen and James Ploeser, PCCC organizers

The Rapid Rise of "Mobile"

About 25% of the traffic of The Evansville Observer is from "mobile" users, handheld phones, ipads etc. The number has been rapidly rising. This phenomenon has been mentioned in the discussion of "Facebook" in that in that stock issue, the idea of monetizing the handheld traffic had come into question, and that as that traffic had zoomed up in the recent months....What we are seeing on The Observer is rapidly rising mobile plus broad age participation and both men and women.

Mailbag; More Election Information

ink to print out the absentee ballot request from the clerk's website: http://www.cityofmadison.com/election/absenteeVoting/documents/AbsenteeBallotRequest-2012.pdf DATA FROM LEAGUE OF WOMEN VOTERS AND REQUEST AT BOTTOM FOR HELP MONITORING ELECTION You can still register to vote at your municipal clerk's office before the election or at your polling place on Election Day. Bring an official proof of residence document. To register, you will be asked to provide the number of your Wisconsin Driver's License or Wisconsin ID, if you have one. If you do not have one, you may provide the last 4 digits of your Social Security number. If you don't have any of these numbers, your clerk will assign a voter number for you. These IDs will not be needed to vote, once you are registered. If you are one of the many registered voters who are moving between May 8 and June 5 (students, this applies to you!), you will be able to vote in your old voting district. You can do this in person at your old polling place on Election Day or by absentee ballot before the election. You must request an absentee ballot from your municipal clerk. You can do this in person at your clerk's office before the close of business on Friday, June 1, or you can cast an absentee ballot by mail. Click here for instructions on requesting and casting an absentee ballot. Be sure to follow the instructions very carefully, or your vote might not be counted! Today the gubernatorial recall election campaigns are a-buzz about Wisconsin job numbers. Thirty-second TV ads don't tell the story! For differing views, see the press release from the Department of Workforce Development and an analysis by Forbes Magazine contributor Rick Ungar. Click here for the website Alice in Political Land, a web-based radio talk show. Recent interviews include one by Madison author and consultant Peggy Wireman with the LWV-WI executive director about new voting laws. If you can spare a couple of hours on Election Day, help the League monitor the June 5 election. Click here for information about our election observer program and an online volunteer sign-up form. You don't need to be a League member to be an observer. The League will provide training, a packet of materials and a polling place assignment. Find the League on Facebook! Like How to register and absentee vote; how to evaluate jobs numbers on Facebook Your contribution to the League of Women Voters of Wisconsin Education Network will help make democracy work in Wisconsin! Make a secure online donation or download a printable contribution form here.

OpEd: The Sharper Message

Walker did not need to destroy education to save Wisconsin....or destroy unions...he just needed to keep his promises about creating jobs. It is possible to REFORM education, and REFORM educational funding, and WEAC is not going to lead the way on that. So there is a middle way that has not been created yet, yet I see it as possible. Tom Barrett said in the televised debate that he did support a revised educational funding formula that added a sales tax to support education. This is reasonable since the property tax has been exhausted as a source, and voters if given the opportunity to raise their taxes on their homes, will reject it, and reject the candidate that opens that door---make a note of it. Standards for promotion in education must mean more than just interviewing all the teachers in a school for their present job. There must be a measurable way of evaluating teacher performance...I have not seen it yet. So--the bottom line. The message that "everything will be restored as it was before Walker" is a non starter. And the message that the property tax will be the source of restored funding is a non-starter. The message must be delivered by Barrett as to what his solution is. Voters need to hear it.

Rising Interest of Women in Wisconsin Governor's Race

At the time of the primary election for Governor of Wisconsin, only 10% of viewers of Evansville Observer Utube video channel were women. As of today, it is about 41%. It appears that women voters are doing their research as to the issues---and women may be the difference in the election. However--the irony is that most of the video offered by the campaigns is men talking to men...The videos that have gotten much viewing are women talking to women----Where is Falk talking about why she supports Barrett? Where is Vinehout talking to women voters about the policy wonk improvements needed? Make of note of it. The interest of women is rising in this election. They are looking for women leaders of the progressive persuasion to speak to them on the issues.

"It was just a dumb trade?"

This week JP Morgan announced that the broker-trader in London named "The Whale" had done a dumb trade that was going to cost the firm 2 BILLION dollars, but could cost more....the next day, they announced that the loss was more like 3 BILLION dollars...but could be more...Jamie Dimon, the chairman of JP Morgan was on the hotseat, and at the annual meeting, there was a vote on whether he should be removed...How could this have happened? He is so meticulous and such a wonderful leader and all....yada yada yada Every hedge that involves two options, maybe one a call and one a put, the net of the two is the NET risk of the trade---BUT if one of the two options becomes ILLIQUID or aka "WORTHLESS" then all bets are off as to the result of the trades....and the risk of that happening is NOT reflected in any data that a president of a firm would have....and there are tons of leveraged derivative "Hedges" out there that involve the European Union...and guess what, they are denominated in euros, and what happens when everyone reverts to their own currancy? In summary, the present assessment of risk by firms is a complete fiction...and is going to end badly. In summary....this was not a "dumb trade"---that is just a smoke screen public relations comment. What is crystal clear is that we need to revert back to Glass Steegal rules that were abandoned....or beware of the coming results.

Mailbag: Wireman: Details on Absentee Ballot Procedure for Election

this weekend is the last chance to reach UW students who are leaving town or graduating, and educate them on how they can vote. Graduations will be this Saturday and Sunday at the Kohl Center, and that area would be a good place to reach students--a shift from about 11:45 to 2:15 on either day would reach students leaving the morning ceremony and coming for the afternoon ceremony. The attached flyer has been checked for accuracy by the city clerk's office, and gives students instructions on where to vote depending on their circumstances. It is designed to be printed double-sided--the absentee ballot request file on one side, and the student voter guide on the other side. If anyone knows already by tonight that they are interested in this, I would be happy to make copies by tomorrow morning. Unfortunately I am leaving town for a funeral so I can't do anything after tonight. But anyone is free to make copies of this material. Please forward this to anyone you know who might be interested in reaching out to students this weekend. I know I saw other groups out doing voter registration but didn't think to ask them how to contact them in the future. Thank you everyone for all the work you're doing! Sherri Swartz How Do I Vote in the June 5 Barrett-Walker Election? If you have voted with your Madison address in the past, and you are staying in Wisconsin until June 5 or plan to return to Wisconsin in the fall, you can: 1) Vote at the Madison City Clerk’s office, 210 Martin Luther King Blvd, Mon. May 21-Fri. June 1 (most days 8 AM-7PM, limited hours Memorial Day weekend). OR 2) Request an absentee ballot—see form on back. This form can be mailed to your summer address. OR 3) Vote from your hometown address, if it is in Wisconsin. (You cannot vote from a temporary summer address if you plan to return to Madison in the fall.) If you are staying in Madison after graduation, vote at your usual location, or vote early at the City Clerk’s office, 210 Martin Luther King Blvd, May 21-June 1. If you’ve never voted before in Madison, you can register when you vote. Bring an ID and proof of address to register as a new Madison voter. Call 266-4601 to find your voting location, or look it up on www.vpa.wi.gov. If you have never registered to vote in Madison and you are not living in Madison this summer, you must vote at your hometown address. You do NOT need a photo ID to vote in the June 5 recall special election. Questions? Call Madison City Clerk at 608-266-4601) 266-4601 Make Sure Your Absentee Ballot Gets Counted! Ten to 15 percent of absentee ballots do not get counted. To be counted, mail it early—postmarked no later than election day, seal and sign the envelope, have a witness sign the envelope, and make sure you’re registered at the address you use to vote! Absentee Ballot Request In order to receive an absentee ballot, you must be registered to vote at your current address. I request an absentee ballot for the elections I have checked below:  Recall Primary, May 8, 2012  Recall Election, June 5, 2012  Fall Primary Election, August 14, 2012  General/Presidential Election, November 6, 2012  All 2012 Elections in which I am eligible to vote  _ Name (please print) Residence Address Madison, WI Mailing Address (if different than Residence) – Send ballot to:  I have attached a copy of my Photo ID Card If sending a copy of your student ID, you must also send proof of current enrollment. Signature of Elector  Return to: Madison City Clerk 210 Martin Luther King, Jr., Blvd #103 Madison, WI 53703 ©2012 Wireman & Associates | 4001 Monona Dr, Madison WI 53717

Mailbag; Vinehout Writes Re Wisconsin Budget Process

State Budget Fix: Moving Debt into the Future “Please tell me what’s really happening with the state budget,” the man asked me. “It’s so hard to know what’s going on.” Welcome to the murky world of state finances. Digging deep into state finances is not for the faint of heart. The numbers are big and the problems even bigger. The past several budget years started in the red. State law requires every Governor to submit a balanced budget. If things stray too far into the red, the Governor and Legislature must then craft a ‘budget repair’ bill. February estimates necessitate the state take action on repairing the budget. But recently, the administration announced things look better. In a recent Department of Administration memo, the numbers show a better than expected balance at the end of this budget. Legislators are scrambling to see what numbers are real. Reports suggest the national economy is improving. This is good news. I certainly hope this translates to improvements for Wisconsin. But it’s too soon to verify if this actually happened. What I can verify is the numbers released by the administration include several actions that raise cash by ‘refinancing and restructuring’ debt. This includes delaying – or not paying - debt payments coming due. Not paying bills can free up cash but costs all of us more down the road. Imagine your mortgage is coming due but you need cash. You ask your banker if you can delay making the mortgage payment. He says OK – but it will cost you in additional interest and principal payments over the life of your mortgage. The same thing happened in state government. Instead of a mortgage, the state sells bonds to finance debt. The bonds are paid off usually over 20 years. The Walker administration delayed paying over $500 million in debt payments. The consequence is increased principal and interest payments over the next 20 years. Delaying debt payments was only part of the strategy to improve immediate cash flow by increasing long-term debt. There are other actions to gain cash up-front that cause the state to pay more down the road. The administration sold bonds at a ‘premium’ - meaning bonds were sold for more than they are worth. The state pays higher than market interest rates to gain cash up-front to finance current expenses. This premium long-term interest rate means a higher debt payment. This action helps raise immediate cash – and makes the check book look a little better – but costs us all more in the long run and puts the state in worse financial shape by adding to the long-term debt. Some debt ‘refinanced’ by the administration was taken to lower interest rates – in the way you might refinance a mortgage to capture a lower interest rate and, hence, a lower monthly mortgage payment. But even this action was done for only short-term gain. The refinancing brought in a little over $10 million in savings. Rather than reduce the debt payments – spreading the new lower interest rate over the life of the loan - the administration decided to take all the cash up-front. This kept the debt at the higher interest rate. Delaying payments has been used by governors when the state faced a financial crisis. But the accumulation of techniques used to raise cash at the expense of increased long- term debt is unusual. As is the size of the debt delayed and the speed at which it was delayed. The timing of the action is also suspect. Not in 30 years has the administration released new revenue numbers before the usual pre-budget action in November. Without the help of experts in the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau, it would be virtually impossible to track the debt delayed and bonds refinanced. The difficulty in verifying numbers and ‘unspinning’ the spin highlights a critical problem in state government – the lack of transparency in state finances. If we want to have an honest discussion about how to move our state forward and cure our financial woes, we must have an honest discussion of what’s happening right now and how this action will affect our state’s future financial health. Click here to download the PDF

Committee of the Whole Meets Thursday, May 17, 2012

Common Council Special Meeting as Committee of the Whole Thursday, May 17, 2012, 6:00 p.m. Creekside Place, 102 Maple Street, Evansville, WI Agenda 1. Call to order 2. Roll call 3. Approval of agenda 4. Previous minutes approved at May 8, 2012, regular Common Council meeting 5. Citizen appearances 6. Basics: A-ha sheets, parking lot scribe, process monitor, notes & minutes 7. Report on League New Officials Workshop: new ideas, surprises (5 minutes) 8. May 8 Financial Overview: Comments, follow-up questions, or topics for parking lot (5 minutes) 9. Wrap-up from last Committee of the Whole meeting (20 minutes) a. Additions to list of “Appreciate What Is” b. Other comments/questions c. Cohesive Team Model i. Trust ii. Attention to results 10. Trust at Pivotal Moments (30 minutes) a. Ehlers Public Finance Seminar panel on economic development b. Procedure for city administrator hiring 11. Break (15 minutes) 12. Constructive conflict (15 minutes) 13. Commitment (10 minutes) 14. Accountability (15 minutes) 15. Attention to results – How do we succeed? (20 minutes) a. What is top notch service b. What are components of quality of life c. How are top notch service and quality of life translated to city budgeting strategy 16. Check-out (15 minutes) a. Review Cohesive Team Model b. A-ha sheets c. Parking lot d. Next steps 17. Adjourn. Sandra J. Decker, Mayor

Summer Clean Up Coming==Thursday May 17, 2012

Hello For the ninth year, third-graders from Levi Leonard school led by Nancy Greve-Shannon and the Evansville Community Partnership will team up to clean up the downtown. This year we will sweep from 1 pm until 2:15 on Main and Madison Streets and we need your help. We need 6-10 adults to take charge of a small group of very willing sweepers and cleaners for just one hour. The more adults we have, the better the event is for all concerned. Please plan on meeting us at Shannon Law Office on Main Street at 1 pm. We will reconnect at Creekside Place at 2:15 for snacks and camaraderie before going our separate ways. I hope you can help us this year as we make ready to welcome Summer guests to downtown. Nancy Greve-Shannon Jim Brooks

Wall Street Corner: "The Bathing Suit Rule"

Years ago I had the pleasure of training to be a securities broker on Wall Street, and trained in the heat of the summer in New York...It was memorable sitting on the steps of Wall street, across from the Starbucks, and reflecting that everybody was not there...they were at the beach...because it was just deserted..... With the summer coming prior to the Presidential Election, it foretells to be a hot, hot time....with a scarcity of retail activity...and I just am very thankful I am not a broker in this coming environment.... Hence...in our family there is a special rule..."The bathing suit rule" and every time my younger brother calls me with a special stock pick advice, I just say...but remember, Denis..."The bathing suit Rule"---wait till the temps get to 100 degrees and then buy something......

Mailbag: MoveOn.org; Is DNC supporting Recall Walker?

Dear MoveOn member, As a Wisconsin progressive working day and night for the recall of Scott Walker, I'm shocked: The Democratic National Committee still isn't giving financial support to the recall fight in Wisconsin. After more than a year of grassroots efforts, Wisconsin citizens have accomplished more than anyone thought possible. We now have a Democratic challenger to Scott Walker who is neck and neck in the polls, even though Tom Barrett is being outspent by Walker's millions from out-of-state donations. There is no more time for the Democratic National Committee to wait—if Walker wins, it would be a huge setback to Democrats in races across the country this year. We need the DNC's support immediately! That's why I created a petition on SignOn.org to DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz, which says: Democratic National Committee and Debbie Wasserman Schultz, invest now in the crucial fight to remove Scott Walker from office in Wisconsin—the people have worked hard and it's time to help. Will you sign the petition? Click here to add your name, and then pass it along to your friends: http://www.moveon.org/r?r=275536&id=41477-2996462-en9ikrx&t

"Last Man Standing" found kneeling: The story of Jamie Dimon of JP Morgan

Stock Markets were rocked today by the loss announced by JP Morgan of "at least" TWO BILLION dollars. The head of JP Morgan, Jamie Dimon said he felt "comfortable" with the situation. As pundits will recall, Jamie is the hero of the book "The Last Man Standing"---it is available from Amazon here: http://www.amazon.com/Last-Man-Standing-Ascent-JPMorgan/dp/1416599533 The irony is of course that Mr. Dimon is one of the strongest advocates of non-regulation of the banking industry. Mr. Johnson, author of 7 Bankers, has called for his resignation today.

Mailbag: Recall Walker Happenings for Saturday, May 12, 2012

Labor Temple at noon We Are Wisconsin speakers, food, sign ups This Saturday at noon, We Are Wisconsin will host a grassroots Solidarity Kickoff at the Labor Temple in Madison. Click here to RSVP on Facebook. It’s going to take every ounce of grassroots energy we have to beat back Walker and his limitless out-of-state campaign cash. At this kickoff on Saturday, we’ll come together to show the Koch brothers and their allies that their slick TV ads can’t match our energy and momentum. This Saturday, please join us for food, music, speakers, and fun as we energize for the final push. P.S. Please remember to bring a non-perishable food item to the Labor Temple on Saturday to support the National Association of Letter Carriers Food Drive. After that, we’ll be hitting the streets to start vital conversations with our neighbors about how – together – we’re going to send Scott Walker packing. Polls show this race is going to be incredibly close and every single one of these conversations with voters will have an impact. Grassroots activism is how this started and it’s how we’re going to win. Please join national American Federation of Teachers President Randi Weingarten, John Nichols, SCFL President Kevin Gundlach, Rep. Chris Taylor, and our dear friend Sly to kick off the start of the general election. We can’t wait a minute more to start working to get Tom Barrett elected. Whether you’ve been volunteering nonstop for a year or are just getting started, we need absolutely everyone on board.

Mailbag: Theodore Robinson Society: Kendall Schneider Writes:

Hi All, I would like to meet again this month at 7:00 on May 10th at Creekside Place. A couple of topics would be a request from the organizers of the Pleine Air event coming up for some funding, another would be possible fundraising to help with costs associated with bringing D. Scott Atkinson to Evansville for the Theodore Robinson Annual meeting on Sunday September 16th the weekend of the 14 South artist's weekend. Kendall

Twitter: Library news: Moms Celebrated on Sat, May 12th

Moms, come Sat. May 12 from 10 am - 11am to enjoy muffins with your child at the library! Beverages also provided.

Mailbag: Wireman: Recall Walker Rally announced for Wed May 9,2012: State Capitol

. On Wednesday, May 9th, we will not be holding the regularly scheduled meeting of the Democratic Party of Dane County at the Concourse Hotel. Instead, we hope you will join the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for a rally at 6:30pm on the steps of the Capitol with the Democratic Nominee for Governor. The primary election on Tuesday, May 8th will determine who will be the Democrat to reclaim our state from Scott Walker's radical agenda and bring Wisconsin values back to the Governor's office. On Wednesday, May 9th, the Democratic Party will stand up with our nominee and let Walker and his big money allies know that they cannot divide us, and together, we will make history. The rally will be at the State Street side of the Capitol at 6:30pm. Our nominee, the three other candidates, and some special guests will be there to help us start the final phase of the recall of Scott Walker. If you'd like to RSVP, you can do so on the Dane Dems Facebook page or at this URL: http://danedems.nationbuilder.com/democratic_unity_and_forward_to_victory_rally

Mailbag: I and E Club: "Small Mistakes in HR can Cost you BIG Money": Wed, May 9, 2012:

Hi everyone Just a couple of notes to share: 1. First, make time to join us next Wednesday! 2. And, just a heads up, too: our main fundraising event is the Lunker Lob, a ton-of-fun kid event (well, OK, adults have loads of fun, too)! It is held at Lake Leota park on the Fourth of July, from 12:30 to 5:30 p.m. We are already recruiting prizes and volunteers to work two-hour shifts. Just email me if you can help with prizes (or connections) and shift. Thanks! Sue "Small Mistakes in HR can Cost Big Money" Presented May 9 Come to hear human resources consultant Maggie Ley present “Small Mistakes in HR can cost big money: a primer for new and small business owners.” Ley is speaking at 6:30 p.m. Wednesday, May 9, at the Evansville Area Inventors & Entrepreneurs Club. The meeting is free and open to the public, and will be hosted at Creekside Place, 102 Maple St., Evansville. Ley has more than 25 years of experience in human resources management, having served as human resources director for law, accounting and investment firms. With particular expertise in coaching, team building, and employee handbooks, Ley has become known for her dedicated approach to client service, firm grounding in the rules and regulations of employment law, team-focused leadership style, exceptional communication skills, and the ability to develop programs that are tailored to small business needs. Sponsoring this meeting is Wendy Pryce and her "sweet sensations,” which are delightful concoctions baked from scratch the old-fashioned way. Come to sample treats, and to meet interesting people who might have the connection or piece of information that matters to you. It’s a relaxed, informal way to trade phone numbers, tips, and ideas! For information about sponsorships or I&E club, contact Sue Berg at 608-882-0986 or suebergsolutions@gmail.com.

OpEd: Politics: The Ying and the Yang

If you step back for a moment....and reflect how Wisconsin got to where it is----Gov. Scott Walker got elected governor...and what were the grievances of those who elected him....one of them was high property taxes that supported public education...and with the lack of growth in Wisconsin, many communities had property taxes that were DOUBLE those of other parts of the USA that have higher concentrations of population in urban areas, and a better tax base. Who caused the failure of the legislature to revise the basis for school aid funding? Now enter WEAC. With the push for 4K. Expansion of the school system. Higher funding...and to come from where? the property tax? I think in retrospect residents of Wisconsin hit a wall of purchasing power....the end of property tax as a way of funding schools is at hand. A sales tax will have to be legislated...there is no other solution unless you plan on having all of Wisconsin being uninhabitable. One of the flaws then was the narrow focus...the focus of partisans just thinking of their special interest...higher property taxes beyond the levy limits to support their cause...and it imploded...was anything learned....NO...the partisans endorsed in a primary...how creative...when experienced politicos NEVER endorse candidates in a primary because it makes enemies all around....Doug LaFollette said it best at a recent forum...."The labor endoresements in the primary was strategic error". What he hinted at was that partisan enthusiasm harmed the overall effort to unseat Scott Walker. So....blinded by narrow self interest....a continuing theme .....the old chinese fortune cookie...."He who seeks a thing directly...will never attain it". Wisconsin is faced with the disintegration of a civil society, and pain is all over the place...to be the big tent is more than talking.... The Democratic primary debate is Friday....tune in to public radio and Tv...It should be interesting...Which candidate has the specific proposals...Which candidate can unite the people? Which candidate can win? You make the call.

Evansville Police Report: March 2012

(Ed.note: This is the Evansville Police Report section of the minutes of March 2012 Public Safety Minutes) 8. Evansville Police Report – There were 1228 calls for service for the month of March 2012, compared to 1401 in March of 2012. There were 60 license plate transactions for March. All training that was scheduled for staff was completed in February and March. Officers Schmidt and Job completed ARIDE training April 2-3. DAAT training on April 23 will be attended by Officers Nankee and Schmidt. On May 14-17 Instructor Development training is scheduled for Officers Job and Mahan-Strupp. Chief McElroy and Lieutenant Koehler continue to work on Police Office Evaluations. Office Anacker and Mawhinney are in their final phase of training-working with a second officer. Officer Matt McElroy currently attending the police academy and training for court officer is scheduled to graduate on May 4, 2012. Officer Reilly plans to start his training in April. Accreditation/Policy Updates continue with recent completion of Policy 6.14 on Eye Witness Identification. Files continue to be scanned daily and the Police Website is updated with significant information. The radar trailer is continued being placed outside in good weather. The department expects the new squad to arrive in May. The squad room dictation and office computers were lost over the April 1 weekend. These were replaced with less expensive laptops from Hanson Electronics in Evansville. The Intoximeter room laptop is also in for repairs, which was will be shared until this laptop is repaired. A TV was added to our conference room to utilize for presentations. An email was sent to Roger Berg in regard to the parking for the Eager Economy Building asking him to address this issue with Plan Commission. There are currently 55 parking stalls.