A Tax Is Not A Tax

From JSOnline

Business lobby backs hospital tax
WMC support represents important gain
for new coalition of health care, employer groups
By GUY BOULTONgboulton@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 14, 2008
A coalition of health care systems and business groups in Milwaukee is setting out to explain why a proposed tax on hospitals is not really a tax.

The coalition, StopTheShift.org,
came together to win political support for the tax - or, as supporters prefer to call it, an assessment.

O K from Dictionary.com
as·sess·ment –noun
1.the act of assessing; appraisal; evaluation.
2.an official valuation of property for the purpose of levying a tax; an assigned value.
3.an amount assessed as payable.

Why do people have to change the name for a tax? Is it to deceit people? Huh! And at the end of the article.

"Cost-shifting is not a concept that is easily understood by the general public," said John Oliverio, chief executive of Wheaton Franciscan
Healthcare.

From Pauls Dictionary-
Cost Shifting- noun -
1) the art of taking both hands and grabbing ones own ankles and kissing your money away.
2) double speak from liberals to explain how you are not paying enough taxes.

When will people wake up . Where are the people that complain of the high cost of health care?

How About Them Badgers

From JSOnline

Suppressive power
Defense takes total control
By MARK STEWARTmstewart@journalsentinel.com
Posted: March 14, 2008
Indianapolis - The saying goes that defense wins championships. What they don't tell you is that sometimes it's not pretty.

Case in point was Friday afternoon.
The Wisconsin Badgers dismantled Michigan, 51-34, in the quarterfinals of the Big Ten tournament, setting tournament records for fewest points allowed and opponent's field-goal percentage. The Wolverines' 20% shooting (10 for 50) was also a season low for a UW opponent, as were their 10 field goals.

We In Wisconsin Are Idiots

From Charlie at WTMJ.

People will wonder why some day we are moving to upper Michigan. Looks like it may be sooner than later.

Greetings Charlie from da UP,

To illustrate the tax haven for retirees
in Michigan. We are 71and 70 and I retired 12 years ago. We built a home and moved to MIv in 1998. My wife and I have a combined income for 2007 of $95,008.
Broken down as follows:

Interest & Dividens: $7,160
Social Security: $24,792
US Govt retirement: $ 43,308

( I retired from the US Navy and my wife had a short career with DOD Schools in Germany)
Company Retirement: $ 3,549
MRD from IRAs: $ 16,199

We have a Michigan State tax bill of $11.

Michigan is a good State to retire in, but I might not
want to live here and be looking for a job!

By the way we live on the shores of Green Bay, looking across the bay at Door County. Our Property tax on a $400,000+ home is a tad over $2,400 a year.

I can't believe people accept this tax HELL HOLE in Wisconsin. I ask the following questions.

How did Diamond Jim Doyle get elected?
How did Steve Kagen get elected?
How did Dave Obey get elected?
How did Tom Barret get elected?
How did Tammy Baldwin get elected.
How did ................ (fill in the blank) your own elected official that votes for raising taxes.

I am not letting any RINO's off the hook. I question my areas own Gary Tauchen, is he for market forces setting prices or does he want mandates on ethanol? To be fair to Mr. Tauchen for now I will look at how he will vote on any future tax issues.

You wonder why I am hesitent on John McCain. If he sleeps with the left than he is the left.

Right now I know of only one politition that accepts no campaign money, votes for what is right, cannot be bought off. He is someone we need more of. The people of Bellevue Wis. are lucky to have such a true conservitive. I wish he was in my area.

If this country goes to HELL. It won't be my fault , I 'm trying to do what I can! I can tell you this,

I WILL NOT GIVE UP OR SELL OUT MY VOTE!

I WILL NOT GIVE UP OR SELL OUT MY BELIEFS!

I am feed up. You on the left and moderates in the middle get me sick!!!!!!

The Donner Party

Remember this!

The Donner party
In the winter of 1846, the Donner party was a wagon train of 87 pioneers that resorted to cannibalism after they became trapped by heavy snows in the Sierra Nevada Mountains.

Because of Al Gores global warming at least they can't blame the snow. It's happening again in the Democratic party. There eating their own.

All I can say is WOW!

From The New York Post and Rich Lowry
BONFIRE OF THE DEMS
'VICTIM' WARS RUN AMOK

March 14, 2008 -- WHEN an unimpeachably liberal former Democratic vice-presidential candidate is likened to David Duke by a liberal media hero, the political apocalypse - or at least a grievance-politics cataclysm - is upon us.
In one of his sputtering-mad "special comments" usually devoted to damning President Bush to hell, Keith Olbermann of MSNBC accused Geraldine Ferraro of employing the "vocabulary of David Duke," and of "insidious racism that is at least two decades old."

This is just too funny to take. Lefty white women, oops , better not go there! Someone in November is not going to be happy. No matter what happens you on the left will be blaming the right, no matter what. Sore losers!

Can We Debate

To "Anonymous"and "The Blue Revolution", people that are afraid to tell us who they are and who also try to keep me straight on my blog posts. Can you explain this article from NOAA? Can we have a debate of ideas? My thought is that most good character people on the left are brain washed that we are in global warming. If the polar ice caps on earth and on Mars are melting because of mans destruction, how can we have cooler climate temperatures?

From NOAA

NOAA: Coolest Winter Since 2001 for U.S.,
Globe
March 13, 2008
The average temperature across both the
contiguous U.S. and the globe during climatological winter (December 2007-February 2008) was the coolest since 2001, according to scientists at NOAA’s NationallimaticDataCenter in Asheville, N.C. In terms of winter precipitation, Pacific storms, bringing heavy precipitation to large parts of the West, produced high snowpack that will provide welcome runoff this spring.

Alas, I only see negative name calling, _ _ _ _ _ _ _ or some other negative rant. "THE SKY IS FALLING you idiot" I will be told!

Hey you two, maybe your boss Steve will explain this to you, I would think he will tell you it is George's fault.

To My Children In 2043

To my children and grandchildren. How many grandchildren I will have in 2043 is any ones guess.

I may not be alive but I thought I would remind you of life back in 2008. If some nutcase is still telling you that there is global warming you can show them this and tell them they are full of crap. You've heard this for 50 years. From The Green Bay Press Gazette

Posted March 13, 2008
A.M. roundup: It's a record winter for snow; watch for slick roads Total snowfall tops 80 inches for record So far this snow season (through March 12)Green Bay has received 80.3 inches of snow. This is the first time in Green Bay’s modern-day weather history that more than 80 inches of snow has been measured (117 years of snowfall data). Normal seasonal snowfall is 53.1 inches,the National Weather Service in Ashwaubenon reported.In the 24-hour period ending 6 a.m. today, 1.1 inches of snow had been received in the Green Bay area.

Global warming huh!

A Message from Russ...

I searched for the following blog sites in the Wisconsin 8th congressional district. "(insert county) County Dems"

I looked for a Brown County Dems Blog...........
I looked for any Oconto, Marinette, Kewaunee,Manitowoc, Door, Vilas, Florence, Forest, Shawano, Waupaca and Outagamie "County Dems" blogs site.

None to be found. Well I look in the vast nether lands of central Wisconsin and I find ,

The Wood County Dems.
From March 11,2008

A Message from Russ...
Dear Wisconsin Progressive,As the Democratic
Presidential contest continues to chug along throughout our country, it’s important to remember that whoever our nominee and eventual Democratic President is come January 2009, he or she is going to need a Democratic Congress to work with to get our country back on track.

And while much of the talk has been about building on our gains in Congress this election cycle, we cannot forget about the strong Democrats who were elected last time and who now face stiff challenges this November. Here in Wisconsin we need not look any further than Congressman Steve Kagen in the 8th CD.

Since coming to Congress, Congressman Kagen has been a leader on a variety of issues - including advancing our combined effort of making universal access to affordable health care a top priority.

He’s refused to cave in to the Bush administration’s fear-mongering tactics by not immediately passing a flawed extension of the so-called "Protect America Act" – legislation that would weaken privacy protections for American citizens and provide retroactive immunity to telecom companies. In fact, a phony issue group has run television ads that accuse Congress Kagen and other freshman Democrats of being weak on national security issues–when nothing could be further from the truth.

It’s up to all Democrats in the 8th CD and across the state of Wisconsin to stand and fight for Steve Kagen leading up to this election. I’m going to continue to fight to keep him Congress and I hope you will join me. For more information, or to join our effort to support Congressman Steve Kagen, please contact the Kagen campaign at 800-255-9355 or brad@kagen4congress.com.

With high hopes,

Russ Feingold
United States Senatorwww.russfeingold.org

Why would Russ have to go all the way to Wood County to give Dr. Kagen an "at a boy" Is Steve a little worried and his buddy Russ has to bail him out? Interesting! Steve will need a lot of help this coming election. With his record, it looks like he needs some help, even from outside his own district.

There must be more to this story than we may know. Time will tell. Stay tuned.

Maybe my buddies Anoumonous or The Blue Revolution can help me out on this.

Can you explain this?

You two out there?

You Can't Win With Libs

From the Green Bay Press

Posted March 12, 2008
Guest column: It's time to quit playing with the clock
By Al Neuharth
Monday morning, March 3, our six school children (ages 7-16) started their day bright. They woke up to a brilliant sunrise that made them beam, had a good breakfast (even brushed their teeth) and went off to school as wide-awake go-getters.

Really?

Morning people — including farmers, city folks with early jobs, parents of school-age children — all oppose it. But lobbyists for the night crowd have cowed Congress.

Huh,

DST is distressing, dangerous and a dollar drain. It should be dumped.

Really, here is someone else chiming in on DST. ?

"We understand the need to conserve energy, but it should be balanced against children's safety. We remain concerned that the extension into March may increase the danger of traveling to school in dark hours." — Jan Harp Domene, National PTA president

You can't win, these green wienie's don't know what they want. They probably drive a Toyota Prius and chain themselves to trees! But change DST and "boo hoo, you can't do that." What in the Gods green earth do around Dec 22? Da, I give up!

GET OVER IT!

We love you libs.

'FFA Stars' to be Honored

Five Star performance, Curtis Horsens, Gillett.
GREAT job Curtis!

'FFA Stars' to be Honored at State ConventionWisconsin Ag Connection -
03/12/2008

Some of the top FFA members in Wisconsin will be honored this summer in Madison during the organization's state convention. This week, the Department of Public Instruction and the Wisconsin FFA Center announced its candidates for the 'Stars Over Wisconsin' awards--which include finalists for the Star Farmer Award, Star in Ag Placement, Star in Agribusiness and Star in Agriscience.In the running for Star Farmer this year are Ramanda Maves, Amherst; Justin Schmitt,Brillion; Tyler Mlsna, Cashton; Aaron Naedler, Granton; Callie Mae Midthun, Lodi; Dylan Stichert, Marshfield; Molly Heintz, New Richmond; Wes Vomastic, Pulaski; Kristen Bare, Sauk Prairie; and Jared Stillman, Weyauwega-Fremont FFA.

Students nominated for Star in Ag Placement include Audrey Borgen, Amherst; Thomas Horn, Brillion; Nathan F. Brandt, Cochrane-Fountain City FFA; Cody Carpenter, Darlington; Curtis Horsens, Gillett; Ty Hildebrandt, Hustisford; Mark Franseen, Marshfield; Amanda Ambrosius, Pulaski; Ryan M. Zimmerman, Randolph-Cambria-Friesland FFA; and CJ Jensen,Waupaca.

Link from Wisconsin Ag News

Hell Frozen Over

What in the heck is this?

From the Green Bay Press Gazette

Posted March 12, 2008

Editorial: Doyle's plan robs Peter to pay Paul
It's very interesting that Gov. Jim Doyle's "budget repair plan" transfers $243 million from the state's transportation fund, which is the pile of money replenished by the gasoline tax.

You might recall that's the fund that didn't have enough cash to take care of all our road needs, and so Doyle last year proposed an "assessment" on big
oil company revenues to cover the difference.
Now, the state is headed toward a budget deficit that could amount to $650 million by mid-2009. And the fund that needed a new tax to prop it up is suddenly so flush that the governor says it can be raided to help fix the deficit.

As many suspected, it's now clear the oil revenues tax was not about building roads and bridges;it was about creating another revenue stream to pay for everything else the state wants to do.
With a straight face, Doyle claims his budget repair bill doesn't require a tax increase, and then he hauls
out a 0.7 percent "assessment" on hospital revenues. (Isn't going from zero to 0.7 percent an "increase"? Just asking.) The new, um, assessment will bring in $700 million in federal revenue over the biennium, the governor says.

Quick quiz: Where will the federal government get the $700 million? If you answered, "the people of Wisconsin and 49 other states, or their children and grandchildren through borrowing," go to the head of the class.

The governor knows that some people, like us, will say the way to bring the budget under control is to cut spending, and so he points out that he has ordered $330.4 million in spending cuts at state agencies. But wait — "this includes $200 million in cuts that state agencies were required to make under the 2007-09 biennial budget signed in October."

The $130.4 million in new spending cuts represents roughly one quarter of the $527 million package the governor introduced Monday. Three parts taxes or robbing Peter to pay Paul, one part spending cuts.

Oh, and he'd like the Legislature to start working on it before they leave town Thursday, on top of all the other unfinished business, some of which we listed Tuesday — the Great Lakes Compact, endangered online public schools, smoke-free workplaces, etc.

Maybe people have asked the state government to do more than it, or we, can afford. Maybe the time has come either to jack up our already-confiscatory taxes to pay for all the state services we want. Maybe it's time to take a serious look at which state services can be reduced or eliminated.
But Doyle isn't saying that. Instead he issues a news release that says, "The plan provides for sufficient funding of essential state and local services — education, health care and creating jobs — without raising taxes ..."

Novelist Robert A. Heinlein famously stated the principle of TANSTAAFL:
"There ain't no such thing as a free lunch." By saying his budget repair bill does not raise taxes, Doyle demonstrates either that he doesn't understand TANSTAAFL or he hopes you don't.

Will the P G hold Diamond Jim's feet to the fire, highly unlikely.