This morning, I woke up to find out that Gogebic Taconite, the mining company,was giving up on a mine that would have destroyed a heavily forested area near Lake Superior. I was so happy I was ready to jump up and down and wake Gary up to tell him, though he wasn't likely to wake up on his own for another three hours. When he heard about it, he said he wouldn't have minded getting up early for news like that.
Lake Superior is one of the last places on earth with pristine water. As good water disappears around the world, here in Wisconsin we share this big and beautiful body of water with Michigan, Minnesota and Ontario. Every so often, someone takes a run at that water, and we fight them off. The latest was Texas, suffering from drought. The Texans wanted to run a pipeline from the Great Lakes. They didn't get that and the mining company didn't get their way with that mine, which could easily have polluted the Bad River that leads into the big lake. The Native Americans that live in the area are the Bad River Tribe who knew that the mine could destroy their way of life and were prepared to fight.
Some of the local people thought the mine would be good by adding jobs but even they knew that would only be if the company were held to certain standards. Instead, the Republican controlled Wisconsin legislature said they were “speeding up the process” but that meant that the Gogebic Taconite would not be held responsible in an environmental disaster. Furthermore, Wisconsinites would be kept from making comments in open forums.
One state senator, Dale Schulz, held up the legislation. Schulz is one of a disappearing breed, the moderate politician.The original bill had been drawn up by the mining company and he found plenty wrong with it so he refused to vote for it. The pressure he must have been under!
He stood firm. The bill failed to pass 16-17. For that this Republican senator deserves a Profiles in Courage award, if such a thing still exists.
There is another Republican state senator, Glenn Grothman, who is just the opposite. He recently introduced a bill which would formally consider single parenthood as a form of child abuse. He claims that unwanted pregnancies are the choice of women who should be taught that it is a mistake. Taught, of course, by a sanctimonious prick.
As a woman who raised a child alone, I consider Grothman lower than low. If there was an award for Jackass of the Year, I would be proud to award it to him.
Two senators, both Republican, but what a difference.
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