CouleeConservatives.com

PLAIN SPEAKING: ObamaCare is not good for Wisconsin
By MIKE HUEBSCH

Opposition to ObamaCare has remained steady since its March passage. More than half of Americans think the president and Democrats in Congress damaged the health care system and the national economy with their plan.

Read the whole article here.

All Americans are encouraged to pause at 3:00 p.m. local time on Memorial Day for a minute of silence to remember and honor the men and women who have died serving our country.  The National Moment of Remembrance began in 2000 to ensure that the focus of this national holiday remains on the heroes who inspired its creation and on all of the heroes since who have continued to inspire a nation.

I am grateful for the men and women who serve this country and defend the liberty that so many strive to duplicate from the few who would destroy it.  The willingness of these soldiers to sacrifice their future for something bigger than any individual is not just humbling, it’s overwhelming.  The bravery, the sense of purpose and the selflessness of the more than two million soldiers who have died in service to our country, honors our history and safeguards our future.

The Doyle Administration has finally found a solution to the cost overruns that have plagued state IT projects for years: stop reporting them.  In 2005, state officials estimated that consolidating state computer servers would cost taxpayers $12.8 million.  They were off by nearly $100 million.

According to the Department of Administration (DOA), the project price tag will reach $110 million by the end of June.  After that, state workers will not track the costs even though they expect the consolidation to continue at least through December.  Once the project is finished, DOA expects the annual cost of running the new data center to be $18 million.

Wisconsin has an Office of Privacy Protection, regulators who investigate and publicize identity theft scams and pages of statutes designed to protect your personal information, finances and privacy.

But state government won’t go out of its way to protect your vote. And it won’t let you either.

Ten Wisconsin women formed the group We’re Watching Wisconsin Elections Campaign and lobbied local clerks and the Government Accountability Board (GAB) to check the photo IDs of voters who volunteer to show them.

In a recent, editorial titled “State Leadership Lacking,” the Wisconsin State Journal lamented the Democrats’ wasted opportunities after securing majorities in both Legislative chambers.  With Democrat Jim Doyle also occupying the governor’s office, most pundits predicted bold initiatives and major reforms.  Instead, according the State Journal, “creativity and courage were lacking.”  The editorial continued:

The Oshkosh Northwestern recently summed up the last 17 months in Madison this way: “Politically, it could be described as the most underwhelming display of leadership from Democrats, who failed to capitalize on holding the governor’s office and majorities in both chambers of the legislature.”  It was the first time in 24 years that Democrats claimed complete control of state government and I, for one, expected an ambitious (and misguided) agenda.

Wisconsin’s legislative session wrapped up early this morning after the state Assembly worked through the night for the second time this week.  With Democrats controlling both the governor’s office and the Legislature for the first time since 1986, the only thing standing in the way of an agenda 24 years in the making was them.  While they united last year to approve $3.1 billion in state tax and fee hikes, a 6.2% increase in government spending and a host of controversial new laws in a budget bill and a budget repair bill, competing priorities, policy divides and voter discontent tripped them up this spring.  That’s both good news and bad news for Wisconsin families and employers.