Rail line to Ron Johnson’s factory built with federal grant money

This is just incredible. We already knew that Ron Johnson, better known as Mr. “I have never lobbied for some special treatment or for a government payment,” relied on a big government loan to start his operation. It was a municipal government loan. But it gets better: Johnson then asked for federal assistance to get a railroad line built for his factory.

From WKOW once again:

According to documents from the Oshkosh city clerk’s office, an Urban Development Action Grant in the amount of $75,000 was used to build a rail spur to Pacur, a plastics manufacturing company owned by Johnson.

The city resolution approving the grant was passed on March 15, 1979, the year the Oshkosh factory was built.

The [federal] money for the line went to Wisconsin Industrial Shipping Supplies, owned by Johnson’s brother-in-law, Pat Curler. Months later, WISS changed its name to Pacur and the plant opened. [Emphasis added]

Wait—a rail line? Don’t Republicans hate rail? The two GOP gubernatorial candidates are squaking about rail like it would rain death and economic ruin upon the state. (It would do quite the opposite.) Perhaps this one was okay, as it wouldn’t bring dangerous people from a big city to a suburb.

Would this line get an upgrade with the other lines getting upgraded to a higher speed? That will happen thanks to federal money, you know. Mmm, can’t do that, Ron!

Johnson’s campaign was quick to retort with this statement:

“This grant was secured in March of 1979 by Wisconsin Industrial Shipping Supplies [emphasis added] in exchange for a substantial business investment for the City of Oshkosh…”

Remember the previous indented paragraph? It read:

“The money for the line went to Wisconsin Industrial Shipping Supplies, owned by Johnson’s brother-in-law, Pat Curler. Months later, WISS changed its name to Pacur and the plant opened.

With this, the Johnson campaign tried to spin the granting of federal money away from Johnson—but it landed on his doorstep.

Nice try, folks. I have no problem with people using federal money. But don’t attack it like a hobbling leper when your candidate got his start with it.

Ron Johnson again proves himself to be the not-self-made-man!

The incomparable illusory tenant has the finest derailing of Johnson’s claims that I’ve yet seen.

Washington D.C. special interest trying to buy the Wisconsin senate election

Remember Norm Coleman? Politically astute Wisconsinites may remember him as the embattled senator from our neighboring state of Minnesota. He fought at length and in vain to prevent the recount of the U.S. Senate election in 2008, which Democratic candidate Al Franken ultimately won after each vote was fairly recounted and the election was certified in June 2009.

Not resting happily, Coleman pondered a bid for governor, until he saw the numbers were against him in most of the state, save Michelle Bachman’s district. Still not satisfied, there have been rumblings that the twice-defeated Coleman may try to oust GOP Chairman Michael Steele. Think that’s good enough? Well, hold your horses — ol’ Norm’s back, and he’s trying to muck with Wisconsin’s 2010 senate election.

As the Journal Sentinel reported yesterday, “American Action Network, a right-of-center group based in Washington, D.C., announced Tuesday that it would spend an estimated $380,000 to air an ad in Wisconsin targeting U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.).”

Heading the group is our man from Minnesota, Norm Coleman. You can see him on their About page, along with big wigs from pharmaceutical giant Pfizer and financial mavens JPMorgan Chase.

Let’s be clear: these people aren’t from Wisconsin. It’s a Washington, D.C. special interest group that’s trying to buy the Wisconsin senate election by using a huge pool of money to buy attack ads targeting Senator Feingold.

Get out of Wisconsin, Coleman & Co. You’re not welcome here.

Green Champions for Chris Larson fundraiser tonight @ Sweet Water Organics

Green Champions

for Chris Larson

to support Supervisor Chris Larson for State Senate

at

Sweet Water Organics

2153 S. Robinson Ave., Milwaukee, WI

Thursday, August 26th
6:30-8:30pm$50 suggested contribution
all contributions gratefully accepted

Please join fellow progressives and pro-choice advocates in supporting the next state leader from Milwaukee, Chris Larson, in his run for State Senate against Jeff Plale.  Chris, currently a County Supervisor, has provided great progressive leadership in the fight for quality jobs, public transit, parks and environmental stewardship.

Chris Larson will champion protecting our natural resources, and won’t give up until our lake, our waters and wildlife have the protections denied them by short-sighted policy.  Please pass this invite on to any friends you wish to.

Join celebrated activists Tom Brandstetter, Leonard Sobczak, Tia Nelson, Representative Spencer Black, and many others at Sweet Water Organics, a cutting-edge urban farm in the heart of Milwaukee.  Chris Larson has been endorsed by the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters and the Clean Wisconsin Action Fund.  Join our coalition of eco-activists and organize your neighborhood to fight for a Chris Larson victory on September 14th!

Please RSVP with Megan Schmidt at megan@larsonforsenate.com or donate directly at www.larsonforsenate.com

If you cannot attend, please consider contributing to Chris’ crucial campaign at www.larsonforsenate.com or sending a check directly to Friends of Chris Larson, 3261 S. Herman St., Milwaukee, WI  53207. Thank you!

Hope to see you there!

Sept. 10th Beautification Day at the Bay View Hide House Garden

This came in via email a moment ago:

Hope all is well!!  I wanted to make sure everyone knew about the major beautification plans that are underway for the Bay View Hide House Community Garden.  Teri, from Arts at Large, has coordinated a phenomenal project between Muneer (fabulous artist that did Walnut Way) and Tippie Canoe school.  They have taken the fence posts that Home Depot has donated and have created super cool tiles that are an artist perception of the cellular structure of nature (ie, plants animals, insect etc).

Home Depot & BVNA will be installing the fence on Sept. 10th in the morning. VGI, Arts at Large and the kids from Tippie Canoe School are going to be installing benches, flowers, and woodburned sponsor signs around 11:30-2pm on Sept. 10th. We would love to see YOU there too!  The Bay View Hide House Community Garden is located on the corner of Burrell Street and Deer Place.

Feel to bring any perenials that you would like to see at the garden and we can plant them together!

Thanks
Melissa Tashjian

• • •

This garden has succeeded beyond my wildest dreams. Many of the plants in it literally are six feet tall — and those are just the tomatoes! It’s been an honor to be a part of it.

Madison Teachers endorse Ben Manski for Wisconsin Assembly

This is something. The group Madison teachers union has endorsed Wisconsin Green Party candidate Ben Manski in his bid for the state Assembly.

Ben will face whoever wins the crowded Democratic primary next month, and the winner of the November election will take the seat of outgoing Rep. Spencer Black (D-Madison). I think very highly of both Ben and Rep. Black, and I will be eager to see how this election turns out in November.

The teachers union endorsement will certainly confound the traditionally safe Democratic Party waters in Madison.

Some may instinctively laugh or snort at a Green Party candidate getting endorsed. Those who do so probably do not know Ben Manski. I knew Ben when I lived in Madison and was involved with the Progressive Dane Party at the time when Ben was the staff person. I was glad we had him on our side, for I have seen few people work as hard, as thoroughly, or as smartly as Ben Manski. His words carry the kinetic energy that few have been able to match, and I know his skills of organizing will make it very difficult for his opponents.

I’m reminded of when a colleague of mine who is a very classic Republican happened to meet Milwaukee Mayor Frank Zeidler. Mayor Zeidler was Milwaukee’s third Socialist mayor, and a very well-respected mayor at that. Upon meeting, Zeidler asked my friend Charlie his name, which party he was with, and what he believed in. He replied with his name, said that he was a Republican, and that he believed in providing efficient government, in giving people the lowest possible tax rate, and enabling people to lead independent lives. Mayor Zeidler replied that it was funny that he, a Socialist, and my friend Charlie the Republican, believed in the same things. Strip off the party labels, and they’d be hard to tell apart.

Ben Manski is a proud Green. I can tell you that the efficacy of his message will make it hard for people to not try to look past party labels and look at the message of what he’s saying. I know this may not be easy reading for the state Dems, but it’s true. Prepare your people well. Ben Manski is out to win this! Republican candidate David Redick and Constitution Party candidate David Olson must be praying that this splits the votes. We’ll see how it goes.

Update: Ben noted on Mr. Redick, the Republican candidate: ” ‘The owner of Sustainable Energy Earth, an environmental consulting firm, Redick calls himself “sensitive to the environment.” He figures he’s unlikely to win because he is a Republican in a …liberal district but doesn’t worry about the odds.’ “ 

Ron “I have never lobbied for… a government payment” Johnson did — and got — just that

This is pretty big. Ron Johnson, the not-self-made-man who’s running for the Republican nomination to challenge Senator Russ Feingold, and claims not to have asked for government money, did just that.

“I’m in business,” Johnson told WKOW. “I have never lobbied for some special treatment or for a government payment.”

That’s quite a claim.

Too bad that’s not true. WKOW found this:

“According to a July 19, 1985, article published in the Oshkosh Northwestern, a $2.5 million industrial development revenue bond was approved by the Oshkosh Common Council on July 18, 1985. An article in the same newspaper, dated Feb. 16, 1986, said Pacur Inc., co-owned by Johnson, used the money to build a 40,000-square-foot addition.”

Congratulations to WKOW for doing their job as journalists. That may sound inane or condescending, but many politicians, and would-be politicians, hate it when you do that.

Now, if I were thinking of starting a business, I would investigate what government loans were available. That’s sensible. A low-interest loan can be a great way to help start your business. It’s a win-win for you and the government.

But if this is such a sensible business move, why does Johnson claim on his web site that the “Government doesn’t create jobs – the private sector creates jobs.”

That’s blatantly incorrect. Johnson’s claim that he never asked for government assistance is ridiculous revisionism. And now it’s been proven that he lied.

The incomparable illusory tenant has the finest derailing of Johnson’s claims that I’ve yet seen.

Flamethrower Trombone

I began playing the trombone around fifteen years ago, but never thought of making it into a flamethrower.

(h/t @MikeBrenner)

Foklbum: By the way, capper wasn’t blogging

Another one of Scott Walker’s staffers gets a computer removed from his office for an investigation about actual blogging, if not campaigning, during work hours. That is what Darlene Wink was discovered to be doing. My friend Capper was falsely accused of doing similar things, in what we know was a failed attempt to stop him from hounding Walker. Folkbum has the must-read on this.

Get well soon, Zach!

My good friend Zach W. over at Blogging Blue was in a car crash today, and I’m glad to say that he was able to walk away from it. It just so happens that he was on leave from work when this occurred… looking on the upside? Anyhow, please give him a kind word. Thanks.

ROJO on Greenland (sunspots!) and organizing a labor boycott

Ron Johnson, the not-self-made-man who somehow became the anointed Republican U.S. Senate candidate, has really gone out on the global warming denial limb. Once again overlooking the facts that Russia is burning, that one-fifth of land-locked Pakistan is underwater, and that we had two 100-year-floods within two days of each other back in 2008 and the 700-year-flood we had two weeks ago… Johnson is saying global warming is bogus by saying (drum roll, please):

“There’s a reason Greenland was called Greenland,” he said. “It was actually green at one point in time. And it’s been, since, it’s a whole lot whiter now.” [WKOW, 8/20/10]

Wow.

Has Mr. Johnson studied world history? Apparently not. Greenland was given that name to attract settlers. The Saga of Erik the Red, which was translated to English in the year 1880, says that the man who is accredited with discovering the island called Greenland because “men will desire much the more to go there if the land has a good name.”

A clever marketing ploy if there ever was one.

So, again, Mr. Johnson’s claims fall flat. First was his claim that global warming was caused by solar activity, specifically sunspots. I’ve heard this ultra-conservative talking point before. Fact is, solar activity has been decreasing, and there have been very few sunspots on the surface of the Sun in recent years. Even if sunspots do or do not cause more energy to be released form the sun, their correspondence to temperatures on the surface of the Earth falls apart. There isn’t one. Solar activity has been dropping for the past decade, but the atmospheric temperatures here on Earth has been rising all the while.

His latest bit of brilliance is that construction workers should boycott the building of the Cordoba House, the proposed Muslim community center in New York City. I didn’t think that Mr. Johnson would have supported the right of workers to organize, making this is an impressive flip-flop turnaround.

It’s also notable that he’s suggesting that available work be turned down in a time when we are still recovering from the recent economic meltdown. I have to wonder why Johnson is saying workers should have the right to organize. It’s a classic anti-labor talking point that giving workers more rights would cause the economy to seize up. However, deregulation was a big cause of this recent meltdown. There was certainly no liberalization of labor laws behind it.

Giving credit where credit is due, I praise Mr. Johnson for his distinguished ability to latch onto the latest populist stirring of the day. That would doubtlessly serve him well in the deliberative body that is the U.S. Senate.