In This Issue:
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1. Environmental Extortion
2. Invitation for Fraud
3. Felon TV
4. Top Ten in Taxes
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Environmental Extortion
 Last week, two environmental advocacy groups, Clean Wisconsin and the Sierra Club, dropped lawsuits they had filed against three gas and electric utilities when the companies agreed to $105 million in improvements to Lake Michigan. The environmental groups had filed lawsuits challenging the utilities’ water cooling system on a new coal-fired plant being built by WE energies, but decided to use the threat of more costly litigation to extort money for costly environmental upgrades instead.
Naturally, the utilities will pass the costs of these improvements on to their rate payers.
Thus, the mob-style extortion is complete – bully someone with a costly nuisance lawsuit, then make them pay up for an unrelated project, all the while sticking it to their customers. And as politicians and businesses continue to capitulate to the environmental movement, the cost of heating and cooling our homes and powering what’s left of Wisconsin’s manufacturing base will continue to increase.
Some people thought the Sopranos ended last year – but it appears their tactics are still alive and well in Wisconsin’s environmental community.
Invitation to Cheat the Voters
 Last week’s newsletter discussed the fraud being perpetuated against the voters of Wisconsin by the Government Accountability Board. Despite taxpayers pumping over $22 million into a new statewide voter list, the GAB has nothing to show for it. Because Wisconsin has same day voter registration and no photo identification requirement, the GAB’s failure is like an engraved invitation to commit voter fraud in November, and left wing groups like ACORN have responded very promptly.
These groups have already begun to fatten up the state’s voter rolls, with little regard for the veracity of the names they add to the list. This week, six ACORN workers were referred to the Milwaukee County District Attorney on suspicion of registering fraudulent voters. According to Sue Edman, Executive Director of the Milwaukee Election Commission, the six workers were responsible for completing several hundred potentially fraudulent cards, including some that used the same address several times, driver license numbers that didn't correspond to birth dates listed, and one case in which a man's name was listed although his widow said he'd been dead for 10 years.
Once a name is added to the list, the name becomes an eligible voter – whether or not the name represents an actual person. And since Wisconsin has no voter identification requirement, anyone can walk into the poll on election-day and use that name to cast a vote.
As is the case in virtually every other instance, better lists exist in the private sector. Campaigns who rely on voter lists to target their message somehow manage to create fairly accurate voter lists without the benefit of $22 million of taxpayer money. It’s simple – when the incentive rests with an individual to create an accurate list, they do so in creative ways. When the government is in charge, it sucks the taxpayers dry. And when your vote is canceled out by one of these fraudulent, non-existent voters, you can thank the state’s Government Accountability Board for allowing you to pay for the privilege.
New Show: Are You Smarter than a Felon?
 Apparently Madison politicians aren't the only ones turning our capitol city into a national joke. Last week, the CBS affiliate, WISC TV announced the debut of an internet based television show featuring convicted felon and former Senate Majority Leader Chuck Chvala.
Voters may remember that Chvala was indicted on 20 counts of extortion and money laundering in 2004, and served jail time on several of those counts. As a convicted felon, Chvala can’t vote – but apparently Channel 3 thinks he should be telling viewers how to cast their votes.
So why did the television station choose Chvala for their new program? Is the city of Madison fresh out of liberal political activists? No such luck. It turns out the station manager is a friend of Chvala’s who says Chuck deserves a shot at redemption.
And what do the rest of us deserve?
Wisconsin Moves Up in Top Ten
 The refrain has grown tired, but still very relevant: Wisconsin taxes are too high.
According to a new study by the Tax Foundation, Wisconsin ranks 9th in the nation in state and local tax burden. The study found Wisconsinites paid 10.2 percent of their income to cover state and local taxes for 2008. That's down from 10.4 percent in 2007, but the state still moved from 10th last year to a tie for ninth this year.
And this, of course, is before Milwaukee sticks its citizens with a new sales tax, a new wheel tax, and a mandatory sick leave law that threatens to leave people without jobs. If liberals succeed in taking over the state assembly in November, Wisconsin might just leap-frog to number one. Remember, these are the same people who voted for more than $18 billion in new taxes, including a $15 billion government run health care program.
Elections matter.
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