NorthShore residents elected Democrat Sandra Pasch in November because theyfelt her long career in health care and sensitivity to providers andpatients would result in sensible legislation. Pasch has just deliveredon that promise by introducing a bill in the state Assembly thatprotects women who breast-feed. If approved, no one could interferewith a breast-feeding mom, even if she’s in public. More than 40 stateshave passed similar legislation. Pasch and the bill’s supporters arguethat breast-feeding is healthier for babies, and the percentage ofWisconsin moms who breast-feed fewer than 68%is below the nationalaverage of 74%.
Jerk of the Week: F. Jim Sensenbrenner
TheHouse of Representatives, usually caught up in partisan games, actuallycame together today to vote on something so noncontroversial andcommon-sense that only 25 members voted against it.
Thatnoncontroversial, bipartisan legislation? HR 448: the Elder AbuseVictims Act of 2009, which establishes specialized elder abuseprosecution and research programs, provides training to prosecutors andother law enforcement, and establishes programs that provide foremergency crisis response teams.
Who was among the 25 whovoted against protecting the elderly from abuse? F. Jim Sensenbrenner.Why is he giving a free pass to those who commit such a sickening crime?
Letter of the Week
To the editors:
Rep. Paul Ryan opposes President Obama’s stimulus bill, which would help cities like Milwaukee to maintain their essential services. Youhave to give him credit for being consistent.
I was in the room back inMarch 2003 when the Professional Firefighters of Wisconsin urged Rep.Ryan to support increased federal aid to states and cities, to helpthem maintain adequate fire department staffing in the face of loomingdeficits. Rep. Ryan told us there was simply no money for that.
Instead, he told us his priority was to pass President Bush’s $500billion tax cut as quickly as possible. We warned him that such areduction in tax revenues would make it even more difficult to maintainessential government services, but he was not persuaded.
Hisparty’s other priority became clear a few days later, when our bombsbegan to fall on Baghdad. That invasion and occupation has cost usanother $500 billion so far.
In the six years since that conversation,we have helped train over a thousand firefighters in Iraq, while wehave cut over 100 firefighter positions in Milwaukee alone.
Aftereagerly spending hundreds of billions of dollars to make life betterfor Iraqi citizens, it is difficult to fathom why Rep. Ryan opposesdoing the same to make life better for Wisconsin citizens.
Sean Duffey,Milwaukee Firefighter
Quote of the Week
“I don’t want a Black History Month. Black history is American history.” Actor Morgan Freeman
