In addition to harming women, the foundation has also tarnished, perhaps permanently, its brand, symbolized by the pink ribbon [...]]]> In a scathing editorial, The New York Times condemns and assigns to the dustbin of history the Susan G. Komen Foundation for their move into partisan politics.  The editorial, entitled A Painful Betrayal, the editors observe that

In addition to harming women, the foundation has also tarnished, perhaps permanently, its brand, symbolized by the pink ribbon that adorns yogurt cups and running shoes and tote bags and Federal Premium Ammunition’s pink shotgun shells. Companies like Ford Motor, Dell and Yoplait may not find the same value in identifying themselves with the foundation after its sharp departure from political neutrality.

To try to justify its move, the foundation cited a new policy against making grants to groups under federal or state investigation — in Planned Parenthood’s case, an inquiry into how it spends its taxpayer money by Representative Cliff Stearns, a Republican of Florida. That is just a flimsy fig leaf.

If you would like to donate to Planned Parenthood, please click here.

There is a contract you enter into with society when you become a police officer.  You sign up for the job with the full understanding that you will never be wealthy.  You accept the fact that you will work nights, weekends, and holidays.  You will work in [...]]]>  Reprinted with permission from Badger Blue, Times Two.

There is a contract you enter into with society when you become a police officer.  You sign up for the job with the full understanding that you will never be wealthy.  You accept the fact that you will work nights, weekends, and holidays.  You will work in the blistering heat of the summer and the Arctic chill of the winter. You understand that there will be family events cancelled at the last minute due to a chaotic work schedule.  Little League games and piano recitals will be missed.  You will consistently see the worst that human existence has to offer.  You know that, statistically, you will die younger due to heart disease and stress-related illnesses than the average person (the most generous study has police officers surviving to an average age of 66, compared with 73 for the average US male population).

Finally, you understand fully that your spouse or partner may at some point receive a visit from very somber people in the middle of the night, a visit which starts with the words “we have some bad news.”

This is not a theoretical risk.  In 2011, 173 police officers were killed in the line of duty.  That number represents a 14% increase from the year before.  For the first time in 14 years, more police officers were killed by gunfire than by on-duty auto accidents.  Firearms related fatalities for officers, in fact, rose 70% from 2008 to 2011.  In one 24 hour period in January of 2011, 11 officers were shot in 5 states.  Last year was open season on cops.

The deal with a contract, though, is that obligations extend to both parties.  In return for the sacrifices listed above, police officers have a right to expect certain things.  A wage that allows you to raise a family in modest surroundings.  Patrol cars that don’t explode when rear-ended.  Body armor that stops bullets most of the time.  The ability to take your child to the doctor when she is sick.

And if fate determines that we don’t return home one evening, we expect a big funeral.  Really big, with scores of squad cars, officers in their dress uniforms, and citizens lining the streets.  This may sound shallow or trite, but trust me, it isn’t.  I didn’t understand the importance of this ritual before I became a cop, and even then I didn’t truly understand it until I became a father.  It simply boils down to this:  if I am killed in the  line of duty, I want my wife and children to see that my community appreciates the sacrifice they had to make.

However, the contract does not end after the funeral.  It used to be that we could count on society to take care of our families to some degree:  A ceremony every year.  A name etched into a memorial.  A politician praising the sacrifice of a profession undervalued by society. Special death benefits for the families of officers killed in the line of duty.  Not enough to make our families wealthy, but enough to keep them out of poverty.  Maybe reduced or free state college tuition for our kids.

The contract.

I had the sad honor of attending the memorial service for one of my fallen brothers last year.  Police Officer Craig Birkholz, age 28, was shot to death on March 20, 2011 in the City of Fond Du Lac, Wisconsin.  Craig was responding to a domestic violence incident gone bad, and officers on scene were calling for help. Craig was gunned down as he approached the residence to help his coworkers.  Another responding officer, Ryan Williams, and his canine partner were also shot and seriously injured.

There were several unbearably bitter ironies to this incident.  The first was that Craig was a decorated veteran of the United States Army who had survived combat deployments to both Iraq and Afghanistan.  He survived in a war zone only to be killed on the soil of his own nation.  This is almost too heartbreaking to think about.  The other bitter irony is that Craig was murdered by another combat veteran.

This incident devastated those of us in Wisconsin’s law enforcement community.  It is remarkable how much you can grieve for a man you never met.  I and my coworkers cried freely at Craig’s memorial service.  He was, by every single account, an absolutely extraordinary young man, a fact that makes the pain of this loss even more pronounced.  A wonderful, happy, committed, compassionate, and principled young man cut down in the prime of his life.

The other tragedy is that Craig left behind the love of his life, Ashley.  I can’t even begin to fathom the depth of her loss.  A young couple with hopes, plans, and dreams,  all cut short on March 20, 2011.

Nothing can take that pain away.  Nothing can soothe that ache.  There are, however, things society can do to try to hold up its end of the contract.

In the Wisconsin Legislative session of 2009-2010, a bill passed both the Senate and Assembly providing health insurance to the families of firefighters killed in the line of duty.  For reasons unknown to me, police officers were not included in this legislation.  However, in May of 2011, a bipartisan effort led by Republican Senator Van Wanggaard and Democratic Senator Bob Jauch sought to remedy this.  Senate Bill 18 added the health insurance protection to the surviving spouses and children of Wisconsin’s fallen law enforcement officers, retroactively.  The bill passed the Senate on May 17, 2011 by unanimous vote.

On November 1, 2011, the Wisconsin Assembly was supposed to take up this measure, and passage would have certainly resulted in Governor Walker signing the legislation.  On that same day, the Assembly was scheduled to pass a resolution honoring the sacrifice of Craig Birkholz.  The Birkholz family was supposed to go from the ceremony honoring Craig to watching the health insurance bill pass.  It would have been a positive day among many filled with sorrow for this family.

Few could have predicted what happened next.

At the last minute, the Republican legislators in control of the Assembly blocked the bill from being brought to a vote.  BLOCKED the bill that unanimously passed the Senate.  From what I have discovered, the Birkholz family was given the choice of coming to the Capitol for the resolution only, but understandably opted not to attend. In a horrendous display of partisan politics in what should have been a unifying issue, John Jagler, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, called SB 18 an “unfunded mandate” on local governments that “isn’t ready to become law.”  ”We’re looking at a more fiscally responsible way of funding it,” he added.

These officers, and their families, have given everything in service to the people of the State of Wisconsin.  I mean EVERYTHING.  Lives are lost, and countless others are shattered.  The least we could do for them, on behalf of a grateful public, is to give the survivors the peace of mind of health care.  It doesn’t seem like a lot to ask, but the Assembly Republicans apparently believe it wouldn’t be “fiscally responsible.”

The contract broken.

To the people who blocked this bill:  It isn’t enough to attend the funerals of fallen officers in your districts, or memorial services during Police Week.  It isn’t enough to get teary-eyed when the bagpipes play, and to talk about how grateful the citizens of Wisconsin are for this ultimate sacrifice.  Your words are hollow, because your actions have broken the contract.  These families are trying to put their shattered lives back together, yet all you can talk about is fiscal responsibility.  For the sake of decency, please do not attend another officer’s funeral, or another police memorial service, until you make this right.  You are not welcome to share in our grief until that happens.

To my readers here:  please share this with everyone you know.  Share it on Facebook, Twitter, or anywhere else you can post it.  Email it to your friends and family.  This situation is a disgrace to the citizens of the great state of Wisconsin, and dishonors the sacrifice of our fallen officers.

The following politicians are responsible for the failure to bring this bill to a vote.  Please send them emails on behalf of Ashley Birkholz and the families of Wisconsin’s other fallen heroes, and ask everyone you know to do the same.  Please spend 5 minutes of your time serving those who sacrificed their lives serving us. Demand of these legislators that they bring this important piece of legislation to an immediate vote.

Tell them it’s part of the contract.

Brian

According to the Associated Press,

The Wisconsin Professional Police Association contends local governments are taking advantage of a state budget clause that allows municipalities to dictate [...]]]> Walker’s “tools” apparently permit localities to blackmail police and firefighters into accepting higher pension contribution rates by threatening them with jacking up their healthcare costs.  Well done, Walkerbots!

Scott Walker's Strategy Advisor, Frank Nitti

According to the Associated Press,

The Wisconsin Professional Police Association contends local governments are taking advantage of a state budget clause that allows municipalities to dictate the form of public safety workers’ health insurance plans. The WPPA told the Associated Press that local leaders are using their new power to set up exorbitant deductibles for police and firefighters if they don’t agree to contribute to pensions.

Municipal leaders counter that they’re simply using a tool the Legislature provided them to manage deep cuts in state aid and defuse tensions over Walker’s law between police and firefighters and other public employees. The measure forced most public-sector employees to pay more into their pensions and insurance but exempted public safety workers from the requirements.

WPPA executive director Jim Palmer likened the municipalities’ tactics to blackmail.

Police officers of all people should know that if you lie down with Republican dogs, you’re gonna get small-government fleas.  And cooties…

Greenfield Police Association President Brent Hart said that under the mayor’s health care plan, one major medical complication would have meant bankruptcy.

“He…held a gun to our heads and forced us to make a decision,” Hart said.

The WPPA has challenged the budget provision in a filing with the state Employment Relations Commission. The union argues the ban on negotiating health care plan design doesn’t prohibit bargaining over who bears what portion of responsibility for premiums and deductibles.

Using the term “middle class” means they “buy into the class warfare arguments of Barack Obama…something that should [...]]]> Rick Santorum wants to destroy the “middle class” (the phrase) through an ostrich-like process of denying America is a class-based society!  If there are no classes, there can be no “middle class” by definition!  QED!

Using the term “middle class” means they “buy into the class warfare arguments of Barack Obama…something that should not be part of the Republican lexicon.”

The meme at risk here is the hardening of income mobility in America which I blogged about before.  American men are much more likely to have an income close to or below that of their fathers, unlike those “socialist” countries like Canada or Denmark where social and income mobility are much higher.  So Rick Santorum’s attack on the term “middle class” is an effort to distract Americans from the inconvenient facts of our hardening class system.

Rick Santorum Searches for a New Meme!

Ron Paul, during an interview on Fox with Chris Wallace [...]]]> The more time Ron Paul spends in the spotlight, the more people are exposed to the fraud that is libertarianism.  Libertarianism is simply the freedom to be a school yard bully without the consequences of a teacher or parent calling you on it, nothing more.

Ron Paul, during an interview on Fox with Chris Wallace discussed his belief that there should be no protection for women (and some men) from workplace sexual harassment:

WALLACE: Let me just interrupt, I’m sorry but we have limited time and we want to get to the other two candidates as well. I want to ask you about one other thing that you wrote back in your book in 1987 about sexual harassment in the workplace.

You wrote this, “Why don’t” — this is about the victims of sexual harassment. “Why don’t they quit once the so-called harassment starts? Obviously, the morals of the harasser cannot be defended, but how can the harassee escape some responsibility for the problem?”

You said that sexual harassment should not be a violation of someone’s employment rights?

PAUL: Well, the whole thing is, is you have to get a better definition of sexual harassment. If it’s just because somebody told the joke and somebody was offended, they don’t have a right to go to the federal government and have a policeman to come in and put penalties on those individuals. I mean, they have to say, well, maybe this is not a very good environment, and they have the right to work there or not there.

But if sexual harassment involves violence as libertarians, we are very opposed to any violence. So, if there is any violence involved, you still don’t need a federal law against harassment. You just need to call the policeman and say there’s been an assault or there’s been attempted rape or something.

So, you have to separate those two out. But because people are insulted by, you know, rude behavior, I don’t think we should make a federal case out of it. I don’t think we need federal laws to deal with that and people should deal with that at home.

People shouldn’t be protected in the workplace.  In fact, it’s the victim’s fault for not quitting.  This is what you get when you vote for Ron Paul.

The married "family values" mother, had an [...]]]> of the gays and lesbians in Minnesota. Amy Koch, one of the biggest supporters of the Minnesota Anti-Gay Marriage amendment, which will be on the ballot in 2012, recently resigned her majority leader post and said she will not run for reelection.

The married "family values" mother, had an affair with a subordinate (her married communications director who threatened his wife in front of their 3 children). Well the Minnesota LGBT community, realizing that Senator Koch is just a victim here, took time away from their grassroots effort to defeat the amendment, apologize for ruining her marriage.

An Open Apology to Amy Koch on Behalf of All Gay and Lesbian Minnesotans

Dear Ms. Koch,

On behalf of all gays and lesbians living in Minnesota, I would like to wholeheartedly apologize for our community’s successful efforts to threaten your traditional marriage. We are ashamed of ourselves for causing you to have what the media refers to as an “illicit affair” with your staffer, and we also extend our deepest apologies to him and to his wife. These recent events have made it quite clear that our gay and lesbian tactics have gone too far, affecting even the most respectful of our society.

We apologize that our selfish requests to marry those we love has cheapened and degraded traditional marriage so much that we caused you to stray from your own holy union for something more cheap and tawdry. And we are doubly remorseful in knowing that many will see this as a form of sexual harassment of a subordinate.

It is now clear to us that if we were not so self-focused and myopic, we would have been able to see that the time you wasted diligently writing legislation that would forever seal the definition of marriage as being between one man and one woman, could have been more usefully spent reshaping the legal definition of “adultery.”

Forgive us. As you know, we are not church-going people, so we are unable to fully appreciate that “gay marriage” is incompatible with Christian values, despite the fact that those values carry a biblical tradition of adultery such as yours. We applaud you for keeping that tradition going.

And finally, shame on us for thinking that marriage is a private affair, and that our marriage would have little impact on anyone’s family. We now see that marriage is more than that. It is an agreement with society. We should listen to the Minnesota Family Council when it tells us that marriage is about being public, which explains why marriages are public ceremonies. Never did we realize that it is exactly because of this societal agreement that the entire world is looking at you in shame and disappointment instead of minding its own business.

From the bottom of our hearts, we ask that you please accept our apology.

Thank you.
John Medeiros
Minneapolis MN

Outstanding, what a nice gesture by the LGBT community in MN. Which reminds me(not sure why), if the Wisconsin Gazette has had any luck finding love for Julaine Appling in this holiday season?

Finally: I wonder if Rick Perry saw this: