January 29, 2009 • 5:52 pm
I’ve written before (OK, not on my blog or in a comment, but in e -mails to Kramer and Kanavas) what I think the Republican party should do on the pay raises for legislatures, but I guess that’s not going to happen.
(Thanks to Spring City Chronicle for the link; it was easier to go there than to go back and look for it from the online editions of the Freeman)
- Mary Lazich – “I’ve returned raises in the past and after I gave them back I saw how the state squandered the money. I don’t want to let it go to waste. I’d rather give it to a charity.” So I’m helping Sen. Lazich be charitable. Great. I don’t suppose she claims it on her income tax. Nah.
- Bill Kramer – “It’s my understanding that it was six years without a pay raise and I didn’t have anything to do with the voting on it. “But I still have to pay taxes on it. And I still have to spend time away from my business so I’ll need to put (the raise) into my business.” Yeah, well we’re all struggling, I guess.
- You’ve hear this one, right? “A state law that says we must accept the raise.”
This from the Freeman,
The Freeman contacted several departments within the Legislature and the state Department of Justice to verify that rule, though no one could confirm if there was such a requirement.[Emphsis mine]
Wigderson Library & Pub: I’ll see that and raise you a legislature
Perhaps even more disappointing than Kramer’s reaction was the mixed reaction from all legislative members of the Republican Party in Madison. It’s not like this pay raise was unexpected yet there was no strategy for dealing with the issue. Instead of being used to partisan advantage, the issue seems to have been rolled under the GOP tent like a live hand grenade. The reaction, sadly predictable, has been every man for himself.
And you would think legislators would at least acknowlege receipt of an e-mail, but maybe that’s asking too much.
Filed under: 33rd Senate District, 97th Assembly District, Spending, Wisconsin, Wisconsin legislature , Bill Kramer, legislative wage increases, Ted Kanavas, Wisconsin legislature
January 28, 2009 • 4:48 pm
Hackers Crack Into Texas Road Sign, Warn of Zombies Ahead
Transportation officials in Texas are scrambling to prevent hackers from changing messages on digital road signs after one sign in Austin was altered to read, “Zombies Ahead.”
Hackers Get Details of 4.5 Million Monster.com Members
The personal details of millions of job seekers have been stolen in the largest data theft in Britain, The Times has learned.
Hackers gained access to confidential details provided by 4.5 million people to Monster.co.uk, the online recruitment site.
What the Web knows about you
She had me at hello … or just about. Our conversation had barely started when privacy activist Betty Ostergren interrupted me to say that she had found my full name, address, Social Security number and a digital image of my signature on the Web.
From a magazine I receive (Don’t ask me why I get it, I just do), 10 Security Predictions For 2009. Number two states the bad economy will cause an increase in security crimes and number three names social networks as a prime target.
Filed under: Technology , computers, hackers, hacking, personal security, social networks
