Pete Souza/The White House In the photo that has hung in the West Wing for three years, President Obama looks to be bowing to 5-year-old Jacob Philadelphia, his arm raised to touch the president’s hair — to see if it feels like his. WASHINGTON — For decades at the White House, photographs of the president at work and at play have hung throughout the West Wing, and each print soon gives way to a more recent shot. But one picture of President Obama remains after three years. In the photo, Mr. Obama looks to be bowing to a sharply dressed 5-year-old black boy, who stands erect beside the Oval Office desk, his arm raised to touch the president’s hair — to see if it feels ... Continue reading →
The United Way of Dane County has yanked its welcome mat from a visit this weekend by a former Chicago and Philadelphia superintendent who critics say promotes anti-union approaches to public school reform.Paul Vallas, interim superintendent of the Bridgeport School District in Connecticut, is speaking Saturday at 1 p.m. at La Follette High School.Boys & Girls Club of Dane County CEO Michael Johnson, who organized the event, said he invited Vallas to share best practices, talk about school reform and answer questions on how to improve academic achievement.Vallas will be joined by Urban League of Greater Madison president Kaleem Caire, YWCA CEO Rachel Krinsky, former Madison School Board member Juan Jose Lopez, teacher Kong Vang and Kimberly Boyd, National Vice President for Boys & Girls ... Continue reading →
Pulitzer Prize winning tax reporter, David Cay Johnston, has written a brilliant piece for tax.com exposing the truth about who really pays for the pension and benefits for public employees in Wisconsin. Gov. Scott Walker says he wants state workers covered by collective bargaining agreements to “contribute more” to their pension and health insurance plans. Accepting Gov. Walker’ s assertions as fact, and failing to check, creates the impression that somehow the workers are getting something extra, a gift from taxpayers. They are not. Out of every dollar that funds Wisconsin’ s pension and health insurance plans for state workers, 100 cents comes from the state workers. Via tax.com How can this be possible? Simple. The pension plan is the direct result of deferred compensation- ... Continue reading →
Ellen Berz, who won a Dane County judicial post in April in part by criticizing the incumbent as an appointee of Gov. Scott Walker, was herself appointed by Walker on Tuesday to take the job early.Berz, 54, of Madison, will take the job vacated on April 27 by former Circuit Judge Roger Allen, who was defeated in the spring election by Berz. Rather than stay in the job until the end of July, when his term was to end, Allen resigned so that he could return to his former job in the Madison city attorney's office.In a letter to Berz on Tuesday, Walker wrote that her appointment to the $128,000-per-year job is effective June 11.Berz was an assistant public defender before running for Allen's seat. ... Continue reading →
