Ryan Unwilling To Engage Evidence For Reform

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A letter writer to the Janesville Gazette shared his story when he had the opportunity to ask Rep. Paul Ryan a few questions while attending the Rock county 4-H Fair. The subject was health care.

JG Letter Excerpt:
What kinds of statistics would he need to see, I next asked Ryan, for him to accept that for-profit health care is a disaster and that America should switch to single-payer system like the rest of the world? His matter-of-fact answer: Nothing could make him accept that. Nothing? -- T.B.

The writer went on to accurately describe Ryan's irrational response as the self-denying position of one who adheres to blind faith.

With that, Congressman Ryan has no ground to stand on when he criticizes Obama or Democrats for their seeming unwillingness to compromise with his rigid ideology. Why compromise with someone who has now gone on the record as being immovable? His blind faith is unworkable in today's political environment and a big part of the reason why the country continues to be polarized. Whether if a majority or a minority of his constituents supported a public option or single payer, it would be his duty to engage the evidence and build a framework representative of all of his constituents - not his own or Ayn Rand's. Or get out of the way and vote accordingly.

Paul Ryan was elected by a clear majority in our district, but if he will not do the people's work, he has no business being our congressman.

It should be noted that the subject of Paul Ryan's upcoming "listening sessions" is being publicized as "on health care reform".

View health care reform listening sessions schedule here.

Information on the "single payer" comprehensive health care reform can be found online at: Healthcare NOW!

More health care reform links can be found here.

Wikipedia single payer health care

Jack Booted Thugs Threaten WI Listening Sessions

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Racine Post Excerpt:
That last listening session -- the one in Racine -- is featured prominently in a follow-up article on Huffington Post Saturday, and not in a good way. Union officials say the threats they've received "are punctuated by warnings that if organizers were sent to counter-demonstrate at health care town halls, they would be met with violence."

An official with the Service Employees International Union said she had received 50 threatening emails, including the following one, supposedly from a Marine, about Racine's session. (It's been cleaned up for publication.):

Huff Post Excerpt:
You socialist f---s have the nerve to say stop the violence at the town hall meetings when they weren't violent until you p---ies showed up because your n----- leader obama said to?????? When we have ours in Racine, Wi, I want you there. I want one of your little b----- to put his hands on this Marine. I want one of you to look or talk to me wrong. I'll be the last thing your ignorant faux body guards will remember for a very long time. You can f---ing guarantee that.

Town Hall Riots: Right-Wing Shock Troops Do Corporate America's Dirty Work.

Children's Museum Lobby On Track For Local Aid

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On Friday, the Janesville Gazette gave front page headlines to a privately funded group of activists pushing to prove how desperately the Janesville community needs a children's museum. The article titled "Not Just Fun And Games" and subtitled, Children's museum group hopes field trip to Illinois museum exhibits similar need described how the group hopes the field trip will further convince "community members" to support the museum sponsors efforts. But who is behind the children's museum and who paid for the field trip? For the answer, we have to go back to 2007.

JG Excerpt: (Nov.20, 2007)
Members of the Janesville Museum, Inc., steering committee are about to find out, thanks to a $30,000 grant offered by Alliant Energy and two charitable organizations. Alliant Energy, the Janesville Foundation and the Nancy B. Parker Charitable Trust approved the grant, which will fund a feasibility study for the proposed museum.

And of course, the idea grew out of a think tank at Forward Janesville. The children's museum it turns out, is just another project in a long line of pet projects designed to be built using a majority of local taxpayer dollars, but initiated and sponsored by folks who complain about high taxes and demand tax credits for themselves. Why are they so willing to enlist taxpayer dollars and government participation in so many of their projects? Simply because, from start to finish, these ventures are unprofitable. Members of Forward Janesville are not stupid. They are in business to make money. So for these red-ink projects, they turn to government (never mind that they think government is too big and incompetent) under the guise of a public/private enterprise.

The Janesville city council was first approached on the museum idea back in the summer of '08.

City Web Site Excerpts from Council Agenda: (Aug. 12, 2008)
Annual operating costs for such a facility are estimated at $648,000 a year with a full time staff of seven.

Childrens Museum’s do not operate at a profit.

The Administration is suggesting that the children’s museum be developed as a public-private partnership in which the city funds the capital building costs.

City Web Site Minutes From the Meeting:
Councilmember Voskuil moved to support Alternative 1 which includes $5.0 million in public capital costs and up to $125,000 in annual operating costs for the museum with the condition that the private sector raise $3.0 million to support this project. The motion was seconded by Councilmember Rashkin and passed unanimously.

None of this should surprise anyone familiar with Janesville's form of insider driven non-representative government. Yet after reading some comments over at the Gazette blog from the current article, some residents think that the current state of the economy warrants a stronger defense in the name of taxpayers. One commenter even suggested the council create a simple wants and needs list when deciding on the necessary things for the city. The fact is, it was just one month ago when the council re-affirmed their position by creating their own agenda which included continued support for the children's museum.

JG Excerpt: (July 10,2009)
-- Start a facility maintenance and replacement program to address major capital/facility needs such as Fire Station No. 1, the transit facility, children’s museum, aquatics, Tallman House and the ice skating center.

City council members adopted these plans during their July 13th meeting with little to no public opposition at the meeting.

I wrote my take on it here.

The bottom line is the children's museum lobbyists are doing all they can to petition for tax dollars in order to fund their unprofitable venture. They have that right to public resources just like the WHP. The Janesville city council committed the taxpayers to these projects in funding and in general agreement. The monopolized media has already framed the museum as a family issue, for the children and the community. The truth is, not enough citizens have the same commitment as Forward Janesville and paid lobbyists to organize and take back their local government.

It's time to give it up - stop fighting the power.

RNR's Five Most Popular Posts This Year

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To mark my 900th post written here over the three year existence of Rock Netroots, I thought it a normal curiosity to list the five most popular stories (based on total hits) since the beginning of this year. They are listed below in chronological order.

This one really surprised me. I had no idea people would enjoy reading the last sentence of the Declaration Of Independence and the message as it relates to today's health care debate.

TOP FIVE Return to Founding Roots In Health care battle. (July 28)

Cartoon created Aug. 6, 2009 by Tony Auth.


TOP FIVE Warning #9 Issued For Janesville Water (May 8)

TOP FIVE Past City growth Elevated danger to thousands (April 28)

TOP FIVE Can Jobs Be Created Without Subsidies And Tax Credits? (March 30)

TOP FIVE Will Junior Hockey Team Skate Right In? (January 19)

The number one all-time read page and hit champion at Rock Netroots is actually from last year just before Election Day Tuesday titled……Reject Ryan For Tomorrow’s Future

Another Grand Achievement For Our Congressman

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Save The Rich Excerpt:
"Astro Turf." Fake grassroots. It’s what you get when big business and rich zealots hire pricey consultants to manufacture public outrage. With big budgets, limitless manpower, sophisticated targeting, and a sympathetic media channel, it's not difficult to generate anger.

Think Progress Excerpt:
The lobbyist-run groups Americans for Prosperity and FreedomWorks, which orchestrated the anti-Obama tea parties earlier this year, are now pursuing an aggressive strategy to create an image of mass public opposition to health care and clean energy reform.

AFP Excerpt: (Feb. 2008)
The Wisconsin Chapter of Americans for Prosperity announced today that United States Congressman Paul Ryan, will receive the Defender of The American Dream Award for National.

AFP is just one of several groups distributing the “Rocking the Town Halls – Best Practices” political action memos.

It did take a high level of arrogance and cock-sureness to lead the charge for a tea party in a congressional district you're not representative of and organized by a rent-a-mob group.

Bravo - Mister Congressman - Bravo

Read more here: Unruly Mob Harasses Seniors At Kagen Listening Session

And here: Angry Mob Wins Shouting Match

And here: Shut up, They Teabagged

And here: Freshman Democratic lawmaker ‘physically assaulted'

Guess how much Paul Ryan received in contributions from the health care industry over the past ten years? Answer here.

4H Welcomes Hip Hop At The County Fair

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A series of excerpts from articles recently published in the Janesville Gazette.

JG Excerpt:
Trouble plagues bars that cater to growing minority population
JANESVILLE — Hip-hop clubs have run into problems with the authorities in Janesville, which raises the question: Can a community accommodate the entertainment desires of a growing minority population without conflict?

JG Excerpt:
Quotes and Corvina's serve energetic, young crowds
Both bars had boisterous, dancing crowds, although Corvina’s had less elbow room and lower lighting, and an edgier, hip-hop-dominated sound boiling from the speakers.

“Nine-tenths of things related to hip-hop culture, sadly, are also related to gang culture,” said Matt Schreier, who runs Looking Glass, another downtown bar.

JG Excerpt:
New, hip act a hit at the Rock County 4-H Fair
Some were mesmerized. Others tapped the tips of their umbrellas to the beat of the music. Some seemed awed.

As hip-hop music blared from the speakers, the dancers took turns performing solo then sometimes together on a 9x6 piece of aluminum flooring.

JG Excerpt:
Republican urges party to welcome outsiders
SAN DIEGO (AP) - Minnesota Gov. Tim Pawlenty on Thursday urged fellow Republicans to welcome outsiders into the party ranks, not scorn them…

Hip hop equals black culture plus Obama times first black president minus republican party divided by race. Got that?

Paul Ryan Playing Usual Games With Health Care Reform

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Here's a twist that's been working well for republicans and their gaggling gang of supporters in the gamesmanship being played against President Obama and congressional supporters of the public health care option.

The core premise behind the public option is that it offers the public an alternative to choose from along with traditional privately held health care insurance. It's an option. Obama has been saying all along if you like the health care plan you've got, you can keep it. If you don't, you can choose a different privately held insurance plan or consider the public option.

With that said, those against developing public-run competition in the health care industry swamped the traditional media, cable news and talk radio by claiming the government will eventually force everyone to accept the public option. That there really is no choice. Afterwards, they attempted to one-up the President with the question "Will you and your family give up your current health care program and join the new "Universal Health Care Plan," that the rest us will be on? It's a fair question only if you completely ignore the core premise of the public option. From the beginning Obama has been saying, "you can keep your plan if you like it. Lets just say Obama really likes the health care plan he's got. I don't blame him. Secondly, public option supporters never really claimed it is equal to what Congress gets. It's merely an affordable and competing option. Simple. I'm not defending it, or trying to make it into something it's not - it is what it is.

However, in this local radio interview last week, Rep. Paul Ryan made a series of statements supporting claims that his plan dubbed Patients Choice offers everybody the same plan Congress has right now. Yep, that's precisely what Ryan says. In fact he said it's literally in law what he proposes. But Ryan went even further. He said not only will the public get the same plan members of Congress have, it'll be at a better cost!

I don't know how important or fair it is to have the very same health care plan or coverage congress has. There certainly is a populist flavor to that idea, but I would rather see the impact of health care costs on their paychecks be the same impact as on everyone else. In other words, I would rather see Congress have the same plan I have, then have the plan they have - if you know what I mean. After all, how else can we make sure Congress has the very same experience with health care costs as everyone else.

But Ryan conveniently sets himself up by implying that because members of Congress would not be as well subsidized from the government as participants in the "Patients Choice", they (congress) will courageously and responsibly pay more and keep the plan they got.

We need to get past Ryan's typical blast of smoke and angling of mirrors and ask him to go on record with his own plan. Would Congressman Ryan drop his employer provided health care plan if by some chance "Patients Choice" became law? And since Ryan and his Republicans advocated a failed amendment that would have forced all members of congress to buy the public plan, thereby circumventing the option of choice, will Ryan drop his employer provided health care plan if a genuine public option became available? Or was that amendment just a another ploy to unfairly portray the public option and its supporters?

Companion article to this post.

Trickle-Up Clunkers Program A Wild Success

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Detroit News Excerpt:
"It's a huge success," Ken Czubay, Ford's U.S. sales and marketing chief, told reporters Thursday.

WKOW Excerpt:
Late Friday, Senator Russ Feingold in a statement said he supports expanding the program, calling it a bigger success than anyone predicted.

Caffeinated Politics Excerpt:
Talk about a federal program that worked! Wow! The ‘cash for clunkers’ program aimed to stimulate the economy, and help the environment took off like a rocket and is close to running out of money in just days. As such I think it essential that Congress allocate another huge chunk of money for this program.

JG Excerpt:
President Barack Obama said the program has "succeeded well beyond our expectations" and praised the House for moving quickly to establish new financing. "This is a test drive," Rep. Steve Israel, D-N.Y., said of the program, "and people bought it big time." Bell, in Glen Burnie, said the rebates have "pulled forward a tremendous market."

Fox news Excerpt:
Rep. Candice Miller, R-Mich., wrote in a letter to House leaders on Wednesday requesting additional funding for the program. "This is simply the most stimulative $1 billion the federal government has spent during the entire economic downturn," Miller said Thursday.

The $1 billion program sparked over $3 billion more in economic activity in less than a week. Republican Rep. Paul Ryan voted against it, calling the program poorly designed and another burden on the national debt.

RockNetroots On Tweeter – “Cash for Clunkers? Is that a new Wall Street PAC to jumpstart the Republican Party?”