BizTimes: Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin Business News | BizTimes

BizTimes: Milwaukee and Southeastern Wisconsin Business News | BizTimes

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The United States Student Association and Youth Empowered in Struggle joined the striking workers in distributing information about the dispute Sunday at the Middleton branch of Costco, which is the largest retailer of Palermo products in the country. 

The National AFL-CIO and the United Steelworkers have also thrown their support behind the strike. The workers plan to continue leafleting Palermo retailers to encourage customers to boycott the products.

Riverwest Co-op in Milwaukee has stopped carrying Palermo products to show solidarity with the striking workers.
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) has postponed indefinitely a vote scheduled for July 27 that would have decided whether Palermo Villa Inc. employees would form a union while it investigates accusations of unfair labor practices against the company.

Editorial: More dirty money flows into Missouri politics. Don't be surprised. : Stltoday

Editorial: More dirty money flows into Missouri politics. Don't be surprised. : Stltoday

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snip
In the case of Missourians Against Higher Utility Rates, the only way we'll ever know where the money came from is if the nonprofit formed this month eventually files the IRS forms required to show its donors. Many such nonprofits never file those forms. They dissolve. So does any trace of public accountability.

The last time Missourians Against Higher Utility Rates was involved in Missouri politics, all of its money came from Noranda Aluminum, a southeast Missouri smelter that has been battling Ameren Missouri's plans for a new nuclear plant.

Is the company suddenly shy about its campaign preferences? Voters might never know.

The Republicans who suddenly are angry about secret money are getting what they deserve for ignoring proposals to pass ethical campaign finance laws.

Kathleen Parker: John Roberts' resurrection : Stltoday

Kathleen Parker: John Roberts' resurrection : Stltoday

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Sometimes the law is what it is — an ass. By communal consent, we tolerate outcomes that don't always suit us because the alternative of settling disagreements in the streets is less appealing.

One of several ironies of Thursday's ruling is that liberals are crowing about winning something they didn't actually win. Yes, the court ruled that Obamacare is constitutional, but not on the basis of the commerce clause, as proposed by the Obama administration. Instead, the court ruled that the individual mandate to purchase insurance falls under Congress's authority to tax and therefore is constitutional.

In other words, according to the high court, Obamacare constitutes a tax, which the administration and the legislation's authors repeatedly insisted was not the case. It is considered a tax because the government will "tax" those Americans who decline to purchase health insurance. This alone is the reason Obamacare passed constitutional muster.

Meanwhile, the commerce clause remains intact, which is cause for conservatives to celebrate. It is not as elastic as it might have been, had the court embraced President Obama's justification for the mandate. We will not, in fact, all have to eat broccoli, as Justice Antonin Scalia proposed in one of his characteristically humorous hypotheticals during oral arguments.

Freedom's Flame

Charlie Brennan – Monday, July 30th « CBS St. Louis

Charlie Brennan – Monday, July 30th « CBS St. Louis

dlick link  has audio of event  clay/carnahan

Editorial: Clay record makes Carnahan best bet in primary : Stltoday

Editorial: Clay record makes Carnahan best bet in primary : Stltoday

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mentioned previous posting

Carnahan gets unflattering endorsement

Carnahan gets unflattering endorsement

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Mr. Carnahan is a plodder, but his record shows little evidence of corruption. He hasn't been as effective as Mr. Clay in bringing home the bacon to his constituents, but he hasn't sold out his constituents, either.
We choose the plodder over the pal of predatory profiteers.

While Clay gets the worst of it, the P-D’s Carnahan endorsement is reminiscent of H.L. Mencken’s unadmiring assessment of President Calvin Coolidge.
“There were no thrills while he reigned,” Mencken wrote, “but neither were there any headaches. He had no ideas, and he was not a nuisance.’

Hard Times Generation: Families living in cars

Claire McCaskill trails GOP candidates in Senate race, poll shows : Stltoday

Claire McCaskill trails GOP candidates in Senate race, poll shows : Stltodayl

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note  still too early

Fox News Rips Romney Olympics Gaffe

Editorial: The evidence-based reality of health care reform : Stltoday

Editorial: The evidence-based reality of health care reform : Stltoday

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But the savings would come at a price — 6 million fewer people would gain insurance coverage under Medicaid, the federal-state program that covers certain low-income Americans. The CBO estimates that 3 million of these people — most of them adults — would be able to buy subsidized insurance through state insurance exchanges created by the ACA. That leaves a net 3 million fewer people who will be covered than the 33 million envisioned in the new law.

The good news is that it will save the government $84 billion over 10 years. The bad news is that the cost of whatever health care these 3 million get, usually in hospital emergency rooms, will continue to be shifted onto those with private insurance in the form of higher premiums.
Even worse news: According to estimates in a study published online Wednesday by The New England Journal of Medicine, for each 500,000 adults who fail to gain access to Medicaid, 2,840 more deaths can be expected each year.

Thus, eliminating access to Medicaid for 3 million adults can be expected to contribute to 17,000 premature deaths each year — roughly equal to the fatalities from six 9/11-style terrorist attacks or 2.6 times the number of U.S. military deaths in Iraq and Afghanistan since 2001. Every year.

Clay, Carnahan agree to radio debate next week : Stltoday

Clay, Carnahan agree to radio debate next week : Stltoday

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 snip

The first and possibly only debate between congressmen William Lacy Clay, Jr. and Russ Carnahan has been scheduled for Monday, July 30, on KMOX radio (AM 1120).
The two St. Louis Democrats are former allies who've been thrown into a fierce fight for what will be the one remaining congressional district covering the city, after the GOP-controlled redistricting process last year. That process squeezed Carnahan out of his seat and prompted him to challenge Clay in the Aug. 7 Democratic primary.
KMOX executive producer Peggy Cohill confirmed that both candidates have accepted the debate, and that it will be conducted from 10 a.m. to 11 a.m., with Charlie Brennan hosting.

Paul Krugman; Money for nothing - San Jose Mercury News

Paul Krugman; Money for nothing - San Jose Mercury News:

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snip

For years, allegedly serious people have been issuing dire warnings about the consequences of large budget deficits -- deficits that are overwhelmingly the result of our ongoing economic crisis. In May 2009, Niall Ferguson of Harvard declared that the "tidal wave of debt issuance" would cause U.S. interest rates to soar. In March 2011, Erskine Bowles, the co-chairman of President Barack Obama's ill-fated deficit commission, warned that unless action was taken on the deficit soon, "the markets will devastate us," probably within two years. And so on.

Well, I guess Bowles has a few months left. But a funny thing happened on the way to the predicted fiscal crisis: Instead of soaring, U.S. borrowing costs have fallen to their lowest level in the nation's history. And it's not just America. At this point, every advanced country that borrows in its own currency is able to borrow very cheaply.

The failure of deficits to produce the predicted rise in interest rates is telling us something important about the nature of our economic troubles (and the wisdom, or lack thereof, of the self-appointed guardians of our fiscal virtue). Before I get there, however, let's talk about those low, low borrowing costs -- so low that, in some cases, investors are actually paying governments to hold their money.

After China oil bid, should Canada still play Mr. Nice Guy? - Decoder

ALEC Rock

America's Second Bill of Rights

Hatch Accuses Obama Admin. Of Gutting Welfare Reform With "Stroke Of A Pen"

ymca bookfair saint louis

34th Annual YMCA Bookfair August 17 - August 22, 2012 Kennedy Recreation Center 6050 Wells Road, St. Louis, MO, 63128 Near Meramec Bottom Road & I-55, 10 miles south of Historic Carondelet YMCA building. First Selection Night Friday, August 17 4:00 pm - 10:00pm $10 admission Tickets on sale at the Kennedy Recreation Complex at 8:00 am NO overnight camping in the park. Park is patroled by St. Louis County Police. Park open at 5:00 am, facilities will open with ticket sales at 8:00 am. Free Admission Saturday, August 18 - Wednesday, August 22 9:00 am - 9:00 pm Half Price Day Tuesday, August 21 9:00 am - 9:00 pm $10 a Box Day Wednesday, August 22 9:00 am -9:00 pm good deal

Uninsured Fresno Woman Has Heart Attack: Thinks it Might be Better to Die

ara meeting St. Louis

Let's Not Be the Last Generation to Retire! Pleases Join Us! Missouri Alliance for Retired Americans Missouri Alliance for Retired "Americans Education Fund WHAT: A Celebration of the 47th Anniversary of Medicare and Medicaid WHEN: Monday, July 30, 2012, 9:30 am to 11:30 am WHERE: Ethical Society of St. Louis, 9001 Clayton Rd., St. Louis, MO 63017 (Park and enter in the rear of the building) Important Release of New Report Detailing the Impact of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid on all Missouri Residents Robert Soutier, President, Greater St. Louis Central Labor Council Brooke Timmons, Exq: Ex. Director of State Government and Regulatory Relations, Mercy* "Defending Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid" For Information: Judith Parker, 314.799.6690 or moara@ymail.com Judith Parker, Field Mobilization MO Alliance for Retired Americans 3301 Hollenberg Drive Bridgeton, MO 63044 Tel: 314-291-8666 Fax: 314-291-8676 Follow the Alliance online: Facebook: "Alliance forRetired Americans" FAN page Blog: http://ara.typepad.com Web:www.retiredamericans.org Photos:www.flickr.com/retiredamericans Videos:www.youtube.com/retiredamericans Twitter:www.twitter.com/ActiveRetirees Become part of a progressive grassroots movement! Alliance for Retired Americans 815 16th Street, NW Washington, DC 20006 www.retiredamericans.org ----------------------------------

O'Reilly Vs Moyers: Which Bill Is Right About Gun Control?

Interest Rate-Fixing Scandal Swindles Baltimore, Other Municipalities ou...

Paul Krugman: The climate dice are loaded and this roll has turned up a drought - Viewpoints - The Sacramento Bee

Paul Krugman: The climate dice are loaded and this roll has turned up a drought - Viewpoints - The Sacramento Bee:
click link above

snip

Making things much worse, of course, is the role of players who don't have the best will in the world. Climate change denial is a major industry, lavishly financed by Exxon, the Koch brothers and others with a financial stake in the continued burning of fossil fuels. And exploiting variability is one of the key tricks of that industry's trade. Applications range from the Fox News perennial – "It's cold outside! Al Gore was wrong!" – to the constant claims that we're experiencing global cooling, not warming, because it's not as hot right now as it was a few years back.

How should we think about the relationship between climate change and day-to-day experience? Almost a quarter of a century ago James Hansen, the NASA scientist who did more than anyone to put climate change on the agenda, suggested the analogy of loaded dice. Imagine, he and his associates suggested, representing the probabilities of a hot, average or cold summer by historical standards as a die with two faces painted red, two white and two blue. By the early 21st century, they predicted, it would be as if four of the faces were red, one white and one blue. Hot summers would become much more frequent, but there would still be cold summers now and then.

Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2012/07/24/4653434/the-climate-dice-are-loaded-and.html#storylink=cpy

The Shock of the New, ep 4 Trouble in Utopia

Pruitt-Igoe Sequence - "Trouble in Utopia" - Narrated by Robert Hughes [...

Official Trailer - the Pruitt-Igoe Myth: an Urban History

Introducing Hector Maldonado

Wall Street sharks eat pension funds

Leo W. Gerard: Casper the Friendly Ghost Can't Control Wall Street

Leo W. Gerard: Casper the Friendly Ghost Can't Control Wall Street:

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Bankers love to recount the fabled story of the invisible hand. In their version, the superhero Invisible Hand effectively controls the market, thoroughly trust-busting and fraud-forestalling. Everyone lives happily ever after.

Truth be told, however, the tale of the invisible hand is a horror story. The invisible hand fails miserably to constrain bankster racketeering. It didn't prevent the market crash in 2008. The ending to that sad saga is recession.

One Thing Jo Ann Emerson and Barack Obama Have In Common… « The Rockin' Conservative!

One Thing Jo Ann Emerson and Barack Obama Have In Common… « The Rockin' Conservative!:

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Sadly, that’s not the only thing.

Like Obama’s attack on Bain Capital, Emerson’s campaign is disingenuously attacking her opponent over a comment regarding the failed Federal war on drugs.  So, you have to ask the following question:

“Does Bob Parker advocate that laws should be changed such that residents of MO-8 can go out and buy marijuana for recreational use?”

Vertical Immobility: American dream too steep to climb

"Media Manipulator" Ryan Holiday: Genius or Idiot?

Great Latvia Success Story!

The Godawful Particle

Speakeasy

Canada Crushing America In...

Matt Taibbi: LIBOR Rate-Fixing Scandal "Biggest Insider Trading You Coul...

Climate Parents: For Kids' Future, Mark Hertsgaard Urges Families to Tak...

Congressman Blames Shootings On Attack on Religious Beliefs

Batman Premiere Shooting - 12 Killed, 59 Wounded in Aurora, Colorado

Fox News Latest Attack on Obama

Keep the Affordable Care Act Event

Mitt Romney's Medicare Fraud

Editorial: Trail of dirty money continues to pull Missouri into the mud

Editorial: Trail of dirty money continues to pull Missouri into the mud

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snip

This sleaziness is not a result of the Supreme Court's disastrous Citizens United ruling. It's purely a Missouri problem.

In 2005, when Missouri politicians, Republicans and Democrats, started pushing to get rid of campaign donation limits in the Show-Me State, their main argument was that it would bring transparency to campaign finance in the state.

If donors could give whatever they wanted, the logic went, there would be no incentive to launder money through multiple committees, as long had been the practice. The flaw in the argument was clear: There would be no transparency if lawmakers didn't also pass measures to ban committee-to-committee transfers, like the example above.

Now we have limited transparency and unlimited money. It's a dangerous combination.

Part of the problem lies with the federal government, which hasn't enforced rules that are supposed to limit certain nonprofit organizations, such as the inappropriately named Better Government for Missouri, from active involvement in electoral politics.

Because those rules aren't enforced, dirty tricksters can operate in the dark. In Missouri, this practice is widespread.

For instance, the organization trying to keep predatory payday loan rates high is funded by millions of dollars funneled through a separate nonprofit corporation run by Kansas City political consultant Patrick Tuohey. The assumption is that the money comes from predatory companies — who else would it be? — but voters can't know for sure.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/columns/the-platform/editorial-trail-of-dirty-money-continues-to-pull-missouri-into/article_a553acac-a696-5cee-ad14-089b2f9f82c6.html#ixzz21AhZP2Ur

Postal Service Set to Default on Pension Payment for First Time, but Congress Could Easily Fix the Problem | NationofChange

Postal Service Set to Default on Pension Payment for First Time, but Congress Could Easily Fix the Problem | NationofChange:

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snip

In 2006, the Republican-led Congress passed an unnecessary law requiring the United States Postal Service to prefund its pension benefits for 75 years through a $5.5 billion annual payment. The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act of 2006 (PAEA) is theonly one of its kind for a government agency. On August 1st of this year, the Post Office will likely default for the first time in its history on its 2011 pension payment. If Congress does not act, it will also default on its 2012 payment due September 30th.

The requirement has drastically harmed the functions of the agency, which is used by almost every American. In July, USPS began closing offices around the country to meet the annual payment. By the time current downsizing plans are completed in 2014, Americans will see 229 processing plants closed and 28,000 jobs lost. In June, ten USPS employees launched a multi-day hunger strike to protest the cuts.

Dark Knight Rises Conspiracy Theory From Rush Limbaugh

Hope for Homeowners: State by State | Rebuild The Dream

Hope for Homeowners: State by State | Rebuild The Dream:

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Missouri

$2,549 average savings per family

247,220 mortgages eligible for refinancing

$630,180,000 total annual savings

Desperate Mitt Romney Has Now Resorted To a Personal, Racist Strategy (1/2)

Bring the Jobs Home Act Call your Senators today

Republican Filibuster Of Bill To Bring Jobs Home Must End

Romney's tax secrets: How rich people avoid paying and what's in those r...

Social Class in America (1957)

compare this to the reality of social mobility in America today

Mitt Romney: Chairman, CEO, and Sole Shareholder—But Not Responsible?

Republicans Slam Romney For Not Releasing Tax Returns

Democalypse 2012 - Bain Damage

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
Get More: Daily Show Full Episodes,Political Humor & Satire Blog,The Daily Show on Facebook

Paul Krugman: Stop tut-tutting, it really is the rich vs. the rest of us - Post Bulletin

Paul Krugman: Stop tut-tutting, it really is the rich vs. the rest of us - Post Bulletin:

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snip

And neither group is living in the real world.

First of all, this election really is — in substantive, policy terms — about the rich versus the rest.

The story so far: Former President George W. Bush pushed through big tax cuts heavily tilted toward the highest incomes. As a result, taxes on the very rich are currently the lowest they've been in 80 years. President Obama proposes letting those high-end Bush tax cuts expire; Romney, on the other hand, proposes big further tax cuts for the wealthy.

The impact at the top would be large. According to estimates by the nonpartisan Tax Policy Center, the Romney plan would reduce the annual taxes paid by the average member of the top 1 percent by $237,000 compared with the Obama plan; for the top 0.1 percent that number rises to $1.2 million. No wonder Romney's fundraisers in the Hamptons attracted so many eager donors that there were luxury-car traffic jams.

What about everyone else? Again according to the policy center, Romney's tax cuts would increase the annual deficit by almost $500 billion

Republicans Slam Romney For Not Releasing Tax Returns

How Banksters Screw The Average Guy

Governor Nixon on SB 749 veto July 12, 2012

Joe Biden's Fiery Speech At NAACP Convention

Romney NAACP Convention Speech Conspiracy Theories

Guest commentary: How the ACA helps seniors

Guest commentary: How the ACA helps seniors

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snip

Medicare is a cornerstone of the American middle class. Before it was passed, half the seniors in the country had no health insurance. Today, nearly all are covered. Medicare is one of our nation's greatest success stories, rooted in shared American values of hard work and fiscal responsibility. For decades, a worker pays a small portion of each paycheck to Medicare for the peace of mind of knowing that he will have access to affordable medical care in retirement. The new law strengthens Medicare and protects the middle class from the self-interest and arbitrariness of the private health insurance industry. Repealing the law weakens Medicare and weakens the middle class.

But seniors care about more than just themselves. We care about our country and its future. The new health care law allows our grandchildren to stay on their parents' insurance until age 26, protecting them as they try to land a job with benefits. We are happy that our children's health no longer is hostage to insurance companies discriminating against those with pre-existing conditions or finding loopholes to cancel coverage when people need it most. We are delighted that 30 million more Americans will be able to afford health care coverage. By upholding the law, the high court has guaranteed that families of all ages will remain free from the fear that they will go bankrupt when someone gets sick.

Read more: http://www.stltoday.com/news/opinion/guest-commentary-how-the-aca-helps-seniors/article_610d7c4d-30bb-5991-85e5-de4a07930bef.html#ixzz20SFCuQrq

Healthcare-NOW! - States Pushing Medicaid Ruling to Cut Rolls Immediately

Healthcare-NOW! - States Pushing Medicaid Ruling to Cut Rolls Immediately:

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this might include Missouri when all said and done.  Missouri trimmed its health services many times in last few yers

Healthcare-NOW! - Health Care Reform: We’re Not Done Yet

Healthcare-NOW! - Health Care Reform: We’re Not Done Yet:

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snip

By Walter Tsou –

The Supreme Court has spoken. The Affordable Care Act, briefly on the ropes, has been blessed as the law of the land.

Too many feel that health reform is finally finished and we can move on to the big three issues: the economy, jobs and the deficit. However, because health care is the 800-pound gorilla of the economy, those issues cannot be solved without more far-reaching health reform.

Sorry, lawmakers, but you are going to need to get back in the ring to answer a fundamental question: what is the most cost-effective and constitutional way to finance health care so that we can have quality, affordable health care for everyone?

The answer – single-payer national health insurance, also known as an improved Medicare for all – would save America hundreds of billions of dollars annually. And as the Supreme Court reaffirmed, a program of this type, financed by taxes, is definitely constitutional.

Outrageously, this simple solution was never discussed in the two contentious years of debate surrounding the creation of the ACA because it was deemed “politically impossible.”

Paul Krugman: Romney’s hardly an economic savior - Omaha.com

Paul Krugman: Romney’s hardly an economic savior - Omaha.com

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In a better America, Mitt Romney would be running for president on the strength of his major achievement as governor of Massachusetts: a health reform that was identical in all important respects to the health reform enacted by President Barack Obama. By the way, the Massachusetts reform is working pretty well and has overwhelming popular support.

In reality, however, Romney is doing no such thing, bitterly denouncing the U.S. Supreme Court for upholding the constitutionality of his own health care plan. His case for becoming president relies instead on his claim that, having been a successful businessman, he knows how to create jobs.

Paul Krugman: What is Mitt Romney hiding about his personal finances? - San Jose Mercury News

Paul Krugman: What is Mitt Romney hiding about his personal finances? - San Jose Mercury News:
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snip

Once upon a time a rich man named Romney ran for president. He could claim, with considerable justice, that his wealth was well-earned, that he had in fact done a lot to create good jobs for American workers. Nonetheless, the public understandably wanted to know how he had grown so rich and what he had done with his wealth; he obliged by releasing extensive information about his financial history.

But that was 44 years ago. And the contrast between George Romney and his son Mitt -- a contrast both in their business careers and in their willingness to come clean about their financial affairs -- dramatically illustrates how America has changed.

Right now there's a lot of buzz about an investigative report in the magazine Vanity Fair highlighting the "gray areas" in the younger Romney's finances. More about that in a minute. First, however, let's talk about what it meant to get rich in George Romney's America, and how it compares with the situation today.

Mormons Bury Kitten Alive In Concrete (Graphic)

Climate Change or Just Hot Weather?

Democrats Focus On Creating Jobs As Republicans Stage Political Show Vote

Did Colorado Springs budget cuts affect wild fire response time?

MO State Auditor's Office

MO State Auditor's Office:

clixk link

snip

JEFFERSON CITY (July 13, 2012) State Auditor Tom Schweich said he was pleased with a judgment issued by Cole County Circuit Court Jon Beetem on the Schweich vs. Nixon court dealing with the governor's authority to withhold money from the state budget.

  

"From the very beginning, our office has urged Gov. Nixon to work with the legislature to define more clearly the appropriations process--particularly the authority of the governor to transfer funds among appropriations.  When that dialogue did not occur, we filed suit to get a clarification of the respective duties of the legislature and the governor.

"We are pleased that Judge Beetem recognized that Gov. Nixon violated the Missouri Constitution by transferring lawfully appropriated funds for higher education, seniors and students to other appropriations.  Reading the opinion as a whole, there are parts of the decision with which our office agrees and parts which we will appeal.  We look forward to final resolution of these important constitutional issues by the Missouri Supreme Court."

Beetem signed the judgment on June 28.  Schweich's office received notice of it this afternoon.

Double-Amputee Duckworth Not A 'True' Military Hero - Rep. Joe Walsh

Obamacare Is A Major Tax Cut For Middle Class Families | Fired Up! Missouri

Obamacare Is A Major Tax Cut For Middle Class Families | Fired Up! Missouri:

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GOP Has Become 'Goofy' - Conservative Judge

Rant: How You Get Screwed By Fees & Fines

Helmets to Hardhats: Military Veterans Rebuild the World Trade Center

Koch Bros Helped By Ear Marks From Tea Party Congressman

Cenk Mad As Hell About Arctic Oil Drilling

BPA Linked To Brain Cancer

bpa was chemical used at cancos

Medicare Scare Tactics on Fox News by Rep. Ryan