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Heartstrings

Heartstrings's Journal
Heartstrings's Journal
February 19, 2018

Support thread for the Parkland students

Reposted from Facebook:

I was contacted by a teacher from Stoneman Douglas High in Florida. She would love it if her students had letters of support when they return. Please send to:

Diane Wolk-Rogers
Stoneman Douglas High School
5901 Pine Island Road
Parkland, Florida 33076

Thank you

I have verified the school's address. I was unable to verify this teacher personally probably for safety and security reasons. (Can't pull up my grandsons teachers name here in Madison either) Can't imagine this would be some sort of "hoax".

I will be sending a few letters, these children need all the support we can give them, a letter is miniscule in the grand scheme of this. It's the very least I can do at this point however.....

February 19, 2018

Anyone else think

while trump thinks he's playing a game of checkers, Robert Mueller has his chess pieces in position for checkmate?

February 19, 2018

This is powerful!



https://m.facebook.com/story.php?story_fbid=1773679265996889&id=908009612563863

Shared from Facebook.....🤞this link opens.
February 18, 2018

Wisconsin friends! Vote Tuesday! Please!

There is an important primary on Tuesday (2-20-18) for State Supreme Court. Two of the three candidates will advance to the April 3rd election. The candidates are Madison attorney Tim Burns, Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet, and Sauk County Circuit Judge Michael Screnock.

Michael Screnock is endorsed by the NRA. Nothing changes until and unless we vote. Please vote Tuesday and again on April 3rd.

Thank you, Riversedge for your ops about this election!

GOTV!

February 17, 2018

"It ain't fucking normal"

Jonathan Pie gets it......

February 15, 2018

My daughter's Parisian Waiter reacts to Latest US Shooting

My daughter is in Paris, her 1st trip abroad. It's her birthday today. I asked her if she had heard about our latest school shooting.....

She replied, "Oh yes, it's all over the news. Last night we went to a bistro and a server who barely spoke English asked where we were from. We said US, and his response was “oh bang bang”. He then gave us the father, son, Holy Ghost over his heart and said “I pray for you.”

Are we great yet?

February 15, 2018

"Since I Lost You"....dedicated to every child murdered by the GOP/NRA

This song was originally written by Phil Collins in honor of Eric Clapton's son, Conor who also died tragically.....seems fitting today.


February 6, 2018

As a shareholder, I'm not sure how to take this......

Gov. Scott Walker: Give Kimberly-Clark Foxconn-style deal to keep paper plants open
Jason Stein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Published 4:31 p.m. ET Feb. 5, 2018


MADISON - Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker called Monday for giving paper maker Kimberly-Clark some Foxconn-sized job incentives to avoid the closure of plants in Neenah and Fox Crossing.

As Democratic lawmakers were announcing their own Kimberly-Clarke plan, the GOP governor called for passing legislation to allow the state to give the paper company the same level of tax credits per job as Foxconn.

Walker and Republicans in the past said they were willing to provide unprecedented tax credits to Foxconn because the deal with the high-tech company would be "transformational" for the state's economy. Walker is now saying he's willing to provide similar incentives for an industry that, while critical to the state, has shed thousands of jobs in recent years.

More than 600 people are employed at the plants owned by Kimberly-Clark, the maker of Kleenex tissue and Huggies diapers with deep roots in Wisconsin.

Kimberly-Clark previously announced a plan to cut as many as 5,000 jobs and to close or sell 10 plants globally. The cuts represent about 12% to 13% of the company’s work force and there could still be more job losses in Wisconsin, where Kimberly-Clark also has a plant in Marinette and a consumer products headquarters in Neenah.


The Neenah factory makes non-woven fabric products and will be shut down within the next 18 months, according to Kimberly-Clark. The closure date has been determined yet for the Cold Spring plant, which makes Depend adult diapers.

Walker sent out his tweet as Fox Valley Democrats separately called for helping keep the Kimberly-Clark plants open by providing $60 million — or 2% of what could be spent on Foxconn. Under the proposal, the state would provide $30 million each for two revolving loan programs, one to help mills invest in energy and water efficiency and another to help mills shift from making white paper products to brown ones.

“I understand marketplace dynamics; I know that industries change. But I also understand that if the state of Wisconsin can muster $3 billion for a (Taiwanese) company, it can spare (two) percent for one of its own,” Outagamie County Executive Thomas Nelson said in a statement.

Foxconn Technology Group of Taiwan secured up to $3 billion in tax credits to open a flat screen plant in Racine County that could cost as much as $10 billion and employ up to 13,000 people.

Foxconn could receive more than eight times as much per job as similar 2017 deals. To provide those credits lawmakers and Walker had to pass legislation last fall.

The Foxconn legislation expanded existing state incentives known as enterprise zones, which require companies to demonstrate investments and job creation before getting state tax credits.

Typically, an enterprise zone employer must first pay workers at least $30,000 a year to qualify for jobs tax credits. The credits phase out for salaries above $100,000.

State taxpayers agreed to cover 17% of these qualifying Foxconn salaries instead of the usual 7%. Walker proposed legislation Monday that would also allow Kimberly-Clark to receive 17 cents back for every $1 it pays in qualifying wages at the two plants.

“Retaining outstanding Wisconsin companies like Kimberly-Clark is just as important as attracting new companies to our state, which is why I’m proposing we offer larger tax credits to ensure the company keeps those 600 jobs where they belong — in Wisconsin," Walker said in a statement.

As manufacturers in Wisconsin, both Foxconn and Kimberly-Clark pay little to no corporate and personal income tax on profits from those operations. That means that any potential enterprise zone credits could end up being paid to each company in cash if it has little tax liability.

Forestry, paper making and printing have long been important to Wisconsin's economy but changes in the industry and consumer habits have had a substantial impact on the sector. Fifteen paper mills in the state have shuttered since 1994, with 20,000 jobs lost since 2001.

Each paper-mill job supports several more positions as the industry has a deep supply chain for making its products.

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