Wisconsin used to be the heartland of leftist progressive politics under Gov. Robert La Follette.
"He supported measures that doubled the taxes on the railroads, broke up monopolies, preserved the state's forests, protected workers' rights, defended small farmers, and regulated lobbying to end patronage politics. La Follette worked closely with professors from the University of Wisconsin to help the state become "a laboratory of democracy." By the time he joined the U.S. Senate in 1906, La Follette had become a national figure.
In Washington, La Follette pushed for the same kind of reforms he had promoted in Wisconsin. He often spoke at length on the corruption of government and the abuse of industrial workers. Arguing that the entire nation's economy was dominated by fewer than one hundred corporate leaders, La Follette supported the growth of unions as a check on the power of large corporations." http://www.wisconsinhistory.org/turningpoints/tp-035/?action=more_essay
Today Gov. Scott Walker is launching an all out attack on unions.
The American Legislative Exchange Council, a special interest group that writes laws favorable to its corporate sponsors, is specifically exempted from lobbying regulations in South Carolina’s ethics laws.
http://www.free-times.com/index.php?cat=1992209084141467&act=post&pid=11862604123541405
There is essentially no chance that J&J will withdraw from ALEC. Big pharma companies have been among the longest and staunchest corporate affiliates with ALEC. This concerns several issues, but shielding drug and medical device companies from being sued is certainly at the core. A number of ALEC-written bills have been introduced in state legislatures over the past two years that would make it virtually impossible to bring suit against these companies. PhRMA, the trade organization, will also remain a loyal ALEC supporter.
Since some people (person) is still referring to this website, let me add my comment here. The second hand smoke science is bogus : http://www.fightingback.homestead.com
Repeating ad nauseam that only the tobacco industry is refuting the science is getting very stale and has lost all credibility. Of all the documentation in the above link that refutes the harm of SHS, please point out to your readers here which ones are tied to the tobacco industry and how. Bets are you won't find very many if any at all!
But I agree that people do not have to put up with second hand smoke if they dislike the smell or if it irritates their eyes and nose, they can go somewhere it's not allowed or stay home. They can even start their own smoke-free business if they can't find one to their liking. What they don't have the right to do is to dictate to private owners what legal activity they allow in their businesses just because they don't happen to approve or like it. If we were to ban any and every activity on such flimsy evidence (manufactured evidence is more like it) as the one the SHS science is based, we would have to eliminate an awful lot of activities before we even start thinking about eliminating second hand smoke.
Get over yourselves and ''the second hand smoke is harmful and only the tobacco industry denies it'' mantra! You have lost all credibility the day the surgeon general Carmona iirc declared that there was no safe level of SHS and the day some buffoon invented the third hand smoke danger. That's what happens when we don't know when to call it quits.
Just for the record, the Forward! Marching Band has been using "Move Wisconsin Forward!" as our battle cry since February of 2011. I wonder how Walker would react to a cease and desist order?
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