Find out more about Wisconsin's government at congress.org State legislature page State Constitution Government Accountability Board website

Todd Welch (ToddWelch) [Message] 1050 Curtis St. Baldwin, WI 54002

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The Philosophy of Liberty Video

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Precinct Leader Plan - Recruit, train, motivate and activate the Precinct Leaders to promote the ideas of (Campaign for) Liberty.The Precinct Leader goal in Wisconsin is 186. We are currently at approximately 47.  Consider becoming a Precinct Leader.   

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Wisconsin C4L Newsletter 10/26/2009 Posted by ToddWelch

Posted 10/28/09 Last updated 10/28/09

Tenth Amendment and Resolutions


Mike Rothfeld (Grassroots activist trainer) provided his take on Tenth Amendment resolutions.  Basically, he stated that:

1.  A resolution is a waste of time because it doesn't affect law or use of funds.
2.  A resolution can actually be dangerous because it allows politicians to sign something that doesn't affect law, but that they can use to crow about, and then blatantly ignore.
3.  Inserting tenth amendment language into legislation that affects law can be effective (for example, the recent Dangerous ID and Animal ID legislation).

Here's a good example of 10th Amendment legislation with teeth....

"_blank">http://www.legis.state.pa.us/CFDOCS/Legis/PN/Public/btCheck.cfm?txtType=HTM&
amp;sessYr=2009&sessInd=0&billBody=H&billTyp=B&billNbr=2053&pn=28
29.


Local Groups

We would like to compile a list of active local Wisconsin C4L groups so that we can create a directory on the C4L Wisconsin site, if you are a part of a local Wisconsin C4L group please send me as much information as possible (Location, Group Name, Website, Email, Phone, Activities, # of members, etc) to: Todd.Welch@CampaignforLiberty.com

With this information we will all be able to more easily find local chapters where we live and work together as a group!

Faxing Legislators

Would you like to be able to fax your legislators to get them information that you think is pertinent or just to let them know what you think? http://faxzero.com/ allows for two free faxes a day, lets use this service to the best of its ability to convey or stances.

New York Special Election

There are three candidates in the race: A Republican, a Democrat and a Conservative Party candidate.

Although the voting will take place in New York, this race is very relevant to us here in Wisconsin, as this election could set the tone for the type of candidates for the 2010 election.

The backgrounds of the three candidates in this race can be found here: http://www.campaignforliberty.com/blog.php?view=26874

Facebook

Join the Wisconsin C4L facebook group at: http://www.facebook.com/home.php#/group.php?gid=127941343411

Things Which Should Be Legal In Wisconsin Posted by Greg L

Posted 10/27/09 Last updated 10/27/09

  Medical Marijuana. On October 19th the Federal Justice Department finally declared an end to the policy of going after doctors who prescribe medicinal marijuana in states where it is legal. Let's take advantage of this rare case of state rights not being trumped by an overzealous federal government. Marijuana has many possible medicinal uses including the treatment of: Alzheimer's, anorexia, arthritis, cachexia, cancer, Crohn's disease, epilepsy, glaucoma, HIV/AIDS, migraine's, ...

What good has come from not allowing the use of marijuana? Let's get one thing straight - Medicinal Marijuana is not toking up!! This involves taking a pill or capsule with extract the same as other vitamins or supplement.

This is a chance for Wisconsin to take a step in it's advancement of health care and make a statement for state sovereignty with one action.

  Education Vouchers.  The voucher system should be expanded statewide. Where used the demand far exceeds the number of vouchers provided. Why are the futures of our children left to a lottery? Why is the program not opened to anyone who wants in? How can anyone claim that they are for better schools if they oppose vouchers?

Let's call a spade a spade. Anyone who supports WEAC or votes for WEAC endorsed candidates is for dumbing down our populace. Let's stop opposing vouchers just because a union believes every child deserves an overpaid teacher even in areas where they fail to graduate 50% of the students. Let's stop accepting a virtual monopoly that underachievers. Let's take a stand for giving our children every possible opportunity to overcome ignorance. Let's support the schools who do succeed in graduating educated students.

  Distilling Your Own Spirits.  It is legal to make personal use wine and beer at home, but not spirits.  Why not?  It's a legal product, it can be made safely.  This is not just Nanny state regulation. This is not just corporate welfare forcing us to buy from big alcohol. This is a slap in the face of self sufficiency and rugged individualism.

  Smoking.  This is a prime case of the government treating adults as children.  If one person owns a business, another person wants to patronize that business, and the owner allows the patron to smoke, what is the problem?  Non-smokers can get off of their tender oversensitve ass and choose a different place in which to dine, drink and be entertained?  I know I can make that grown-up decision.  Can you? 

The owner of a private establishment to decide whether they will or won't allow smoking on their premise. The customer, can voice their opinion with their wallet. If the support is their they can go smoking, non-smoking, or have separate smoking and non-smoking sections.

  Serve Alcohol Responsibly at a Restaurant.  Vito J. Congine, Jr. made news when he started flying his American flag upside down outside his property in Crivitz. Vito plans to open an Italian restaurant. In addition to pasta menu plans include beer and wine. Despite thinking he had everything in order his petition for a liquor license was initially denied.
The number of liquor licenses a municipality can hand out are limited. It is based on population. It no way factors in market demand, how responsible those who have or want one are, or how responsible the citizens of that municipality are.

These limits make the issuing and review of liquor licenses very political. This is wrong.
If a tavern violates noise ordinances, waters down their drinks, allows patrons to drive drunk, engage in fights, or other illegal actions then fine them. If they refuse to conform and have repeat offenses shut them down. But, don't declare them guilty before they even open for business.

  Open a Neighborhood Bar.   On TV in the 90's Cheer's was portrayed as a typical neighborhood bar in Boston where "everybody knew your name". That romanticized notion of a local watering hole is going extinct. Bars are being forced into entertainment districts.
Not only is the price of a night out driven up by artificially limiting the number of liquor licenses issued, but is driven up further when establishments are forced into high rent areas. No longer having a bar on just down the street one can walk to we a greater number of people having to drive to the bar and then choosing to drive home. One can not say they are opposed to drunk driving when they remove drinking establishments from residential neighborhoods.

At the old local tavern the patrons were from the neighborhood. The bartenders knew who the drunks, bullies, and hustlers were. They also needed to know how to control them or they risked seeing people go somewhere else.

The best way to promote responsible drinking is to have it take place where everybody knows your name and will hold you responsible for your actions.

  Buzzed Driving.  A current advertising campaign says buzzed driving is drunk driving. That may the case according to current drunk driving laws but there is a difference.

Different people have different tolerances. Most people are not drunk and can and do drive safely with a BAC of .08%. Many people who believe they have been drinking responsibly are actually above the legal limit. By having a BAC which is too low we are turning otherwise responsible individuals into criminals. When it is too easy to break a law it becomes trivial. When breaking the law is common place the negative social connotation goes away. There is little outrage when our elected leaders like Peg Lautenschlager,  and Jeff Wood get pulled over, in Jeff Wood's case again and again.

Wisconsin legislature is debating toughening drunk driving laws. I am all for this if they are applied to people who are actually drunk. This used to be defined as a BAC of .10%. Before that it was .12%. I would say that we move back to .12%, a point where most people can responsibly have a few drinks without having to worry about getting put in jail, a point where law enforcement efforts can be focused on people who are more likely to actually be impaired and dangerous.

  Give Legal Advice. We all give legal advise, it's hard not to. But, legally only a member of the state bar association may do so. The bar association is not alone in limiting competition.

The Wisconsin Dietetic Association has put forward the Wisconsin Dietitians Licensing Bill (SB115). This would limit the issuing of diet and nutrition advice to those who have been trained and certified as registered dietitian's by the American Dietetic Association.

  Running a Small Business Without Government Approval.  This is a catch-all to keep this list from going on too long.

Bureaucrats will tell you business licenses serve to protect the public, by making sure the a practitioner has the skills and competence necessary to do their job. This is only a small percentage. Most business licensing serves two purposes.  To collect taxes and to push one business person around to the benefit of another business person the politician likes better.

How much government regulation do we need for Tom's Snow Removal, Dick's Plumbing , or Harry's Barber Shop?  It's not like any of these people are performing open heart surgery. It snow's Tom plows my drive I pay him, my toilet backs up Dick snakes it out I pay him, my hair gets a little long Harry gives me a haircut where my sideburns are different lengths, by bangs a crooked, and the back half of my head is shaved bare so I wear hat, wait till it grows back, and find a different barber.

A return to normalcy...a recovery from job losses and bankruptcy story Posted by MarkStrand4Liberty

Posted 10/24/09

I'm happy to report that things are finally starting to look brighter in my personal life. It has been one year since my wife and I moved out of our (really, Wells Fargo owned it while we attempted to make payments) home. I have learned and grown so much in the last year. I learned that buying a home with zero down is never a good idea, especially when the home you buy needs repairs and you have decent credit but zero savings. Losing a lower management position at the local grocery store didn't help either. Neither did having 2 new vehicles with 6 year loans and vehicle payments over $850 a month. Hey, at least we were buying American and not paying any interest. I think my wife and I were caught up in what a lot of other Americans were, impressing people that could care less, and spending more than we were making because it was the thing to do.

My wife also lost her position at the local hospital, and has been under-employed since then. That was in May of 2008. I was unemployed from April 2007 until July 2007, then underemployed (I was lucky to work 10 hours a week until May!) from January 2008 until June 2008. We literally lost everything we had worked for last October when we filed for bankruptcy.

We are people that always paid our bills on time until it was no longer possible. I think a lot of people are in a similar position. We have received a lot of greif about filing bankruptcy and putting the burden of our debts on other consumers. It was a decision that has kept me awake at night. I sleep much better now, and have learned many valuable lessons that I am now teaching to my kids.

The American Dream of having it all and paying for it as you go is no longer a dream, it's a nightmare, especially when you're faced with job changes. I'm thankful that my wife and I are young enough to recover from our losses. She has returned to college, and I plan on returning to better solidify our prospects of advancement, once we have all recovered from "the Great Recession." My dream now is to live within our means, use credit only as an absolute last resort instead of a way of life, and to go without unless and until we can pay cash. Eventually, I would like to see our state government do the same, as well as our Federal Government.

When I hear people say that the US is the richest country in the world and we can afford it, I laugh. When does spending the most (on credit) make anyone wealthy? When companies claim to make a profit, is it a cash profit or a credit profit? Does printing more money mean you have more money or does it mean that you have less purchasing power? If you give someone a minimum wage increase of 100% over a decade and you have struggled to get to where you are and not received the same 100% increase in pay over a decade, does that make goods and services more or less expensive?  How can a person get ahead and save when everything is taxed to the hilt and inflation is rampant. Doesn't anyone else notice these things? These are questions I am requiring my representatives too think about before voting on legislation that makes the middle class and working class into the second class of America.

Counting Snouts Posted by tnerenz

Posted 10/03/09

http://timnerenz.com/content/counting-snouts

In my speech at the AFP Town Hall Meetings in August, I used the phrase "snouts in the trough" to describe trial lawyers and malpractice insurers.  An apology is owed; no, not to them, but to all the other snouts who were not given their due.

When I go to see my doctor, he spends a few minutes with me reviewing my vitals, asking how I feel, and renewing my prescriptions.  If I paid him $15 cash, he could earn over $300,000 at that rate; and I would cut my cost of health care by 80%.  We would both be happy. 

Michael Moore, if you are reading this, that is how capitalism works: a voluntary exchange makes both parties happy and everyone else minds their own business.  But that's not how health care works.  Oh, no.  There are a few more snouts in the trough and it is everybody else's business.  Let's count snouts.

Just in case I might sue him (aforementioned trial lawyer and malpractice snouts), he sends me for some lab work (snout), and the results go to medical records (snout), then on to billing (snout) and to someone who writes me a letter with the results (snout).  It contains some pamphlets on healthy living (snout) and a customer service response card (snout) so the clinic director can know if I am happy.   

The bill for the lab work is sent (snout) to my claims processor (snout), who runs it by their fraud detectors (snout) and then checks the discount (snout) and in-network status (snout).  If the claim is denied, then we repeat this loop several times (snoutis pluralis) until all the coding and paperwork is just so.  

Then it goes to their payable department (snout), and they send a check to the receivable clerk (snout) at the clinic, and they send me a statement (snout) showing my bill was partially paid.  My claims processor also produces an explanation of benefits (snout) that I can't understand, and mails it (snout) to me.  Once in a while, they send me a card (snout) to see if I'm happy.  Ecstatic; thanks for asking. 

The claims processor then sends a bill (snout) to my Flex benefits administrator (snout) for the amount of the co-pay that my claims processor doesn't pay.  The Flex people check my balance (snout) and send me a check (snout).  The clinic sends me another bill (snout) for the balance and I send them a check.  They process that check (snout) and send me a statement (snout) that the bill is paid.

Are you still with me?  Our snout count is up to 26 if the claim goes through perfectly on the first pass, which doesn't happen very often anymore.  But remember, that is just for the lab work I didn't need in the first place.  Now we have to process the original office visit bill.  No comment cards or healthy newsletter, so we only need to add 21 snouts; that puts us to 47.  But wait, there's more.

We are self-insured at my company, so there is no obscene profit of an insurance company to factor in to our snout count.  But we do have a benefits specialist (snout), a health coach (snout), and people in HR (snout) who help me straighten out my wrongly denied claims. And we pay consultants (snout) who pay other consultants (snout) to advise us on how to set all this up in compliance with the government's (that is a whole new trough) regulations for self-insured plans.   

And then of course we have accountants (snout) who count our health care beans, and a law firm on retainer (snout) to help us stay in compliance with the government (I already did them) regulators and HEPA law.  Bear in mind that those other firms with a snout in the trough also had their own accountants and lawyers and consultants and IT guys that could be added into the count - but that would be piling on.

And all of those snouts have to go to diversity training, and some pay union dues, and they go off to conferences where they learn the latest snout stuff, and if they work for the government they have too many holidays, vacation days, personal days, sick days, and work-at-home (yeah,, sure) days to keep track of.  So they are out there just a-snorting and a-grunting and shaking the flies off their fat muddy backs even when they are not processing my bill.

By my count, that's 54 snouts in the trough, not including the government snout factory that regulates all and mandates half of this insanity.  God forbid an MD and a Ph.D. could manage to exchange $15 on our own; no, we need 54 cubicle jockeys a-heppin' us to get it wrong.  

And that, my friends, is what is wrong with health care.  That is all that is wrong with health care.   

That is how you turn a simple $15 exchange that any two crack-heads can accomplish unaided into a $175 cluster-grunt that takes 54 people with college degrees 6 months to get completed. And we make fun of crack-heads? 

How about that public option/single payer idea? That just replaces my claims processor's private sector snouts with government snouts.  And if you think the GS-8 at HHS oinks more efficiently than the Anthem contractors over there in Bangalore, then you are probably one of those crack-heads I have newfound respect for.  Plus they retire at 50, so we have to count double to pay for the pensioners.

Are they fixing any of this up there in Congress?  Nope.  Those guys are just vibrating in place trying to finagle a way to stick that $175 bill to somebody that doesn't vote. When they are all done, it will be $350 and my grandkids will pay. There is not one snout coming out in any version of any Congressional reform bill.

These guys are all out of their minds. They had their chance this year to enact real health care reform; we get our chance again next November.

Vote Libertarian.  Vote for Tim, Not Tammy.

Tim Nerenz is the Libertarian Party Candidate for U.S. House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 2nd District. To support Dr. Tim's campaign, please visit the campaign website at www.timnerenz.com.