Tim’s Blog | Tim John for Governor 2010 | Wisconsin, a Beacon of Hope

Past Emails from Tim John

March 2010

3.29.10 — By Tim John

Hello Friends,

The Tim John For Governor Campaign moves to new heights every week, with Wisconsinites discovering that positive changes come from our brand new ideas. No other campaign talks like us. Really!!

Our campaign looks for long-term meaningful change, even though our depressed economy often draws our attention to short-term solutions. My great grandfather, Fred Miller, the founder of the Miller Brewing Company, now MillerCoors, always used long-term solutions. He never cheapened his beer to make greater short-term profits

Long-term vision is what keeps MillerCoors successful and is exactly what will put our campaign in the State House.

We will bring Wisconsinites to the “table”, who have never been there. For instance, many unemployed black men have never been allowed to participate in the direction our state is headed. We miss out on their viable solutions to improve the climate for unemployment, low educational test scores, and taxes.

Also, our campaign supports ways to combine healthy living and sustainable local businesses. In this way, we can better buffer ourselves against problems coming from outside of Wisconsin. Our campaign also supports the legal right of Wisconsin's dairy farmers to sell raw (unpasteurized) milk and related products.

We also support our right to buy these products. Our legislature is moving forward on this matter, so let's support them.

Please enjoy our newest YouTube video on raw milk at www.youtube.com/timjohnforgovernor. Spill it around to your family and friends!

Let's send Wisconsin rocketing towards greatness.

3.19.10 — By Tim John

Fellow Wisconsinites:

State Representative Steve Danou (D-Trempealeau) and State Senator Pat Kreitlow (D-Chippewa Falls) have recently introduced legislation (LRB 3242/3) that would allow for the sale of raw (unpasteurized) milk in Wisconsin, overturning a prohibition, which has existed since 1957. Our campaign is supportive of this legislation because we believe the consumer should have the right to decide what products he/she wishes to purchase.

Raw milk and associated dairy products provide a larger return on investment to the farmer, which in the long run has the potential to reduce prices for consumers. It also has been shown to produce significant health benefits (such as the relief of asthma and digestive disorders) that cannot be derived from pasteurized/homogenized milk. As a state that claims to be “America’s Dairyland”, not allowing small farmers access to the marketplace for their product seems contradictory to that notion.

Having said that, we are concerned about making these commodities available across the state, especially among those with less disposable income. Current prices for raw milk range from $5-$7 per gallon, compared to $3-$3.50 per gallon for pasteurized milk found in local supermarkets. Given that production of raw milk is less expensive than that of pasteurized milk, a portion of those cost savings should ultimately be passed on to the consumer.

In the end, we believe that it is a person’s right to determine what they may or may not purchase or consume, provided that health standards are upheld and “informed consent” warnings issued on the products. There is no reason why raw milk should continue to be illegal for purchase in Wisconsin.

3.11.10 — By Tim John

Black Men and Raw Milk

The Tim John for Governor campaign is creating a sustainable coalition of black men and family farmers, to make Wisconsin viable for all working people and small business owners. Both black men and farmers benefit by participating in coalitions to further their self-supporting agendas.

By the September primary, our broad coalition of working people finally will gain control of their financial lives, granting our Great State many new jobs, lower taxes, and improved education. The answer to all these enduring problems is within us, not with the politicians.

Yesterday March 10, our campaign attended a public hearing, with about 450 people, on raw milk in Eau Claire, asserting that farmers should have the legal authority to sell their dairy products directly to the consumer, an action that has been prohibited since 1957. Let's make Wisconsin fair for those of us earning a decent living.

The raw milk issue has strong roots in my home. I have a lifetime of healthy foods, as my parents since the 1960s, were health-food leaders with information from Prevention Magazine and its founder J. I. Rodale. My father and mother plied us nine children with vitamin pills, unprocessed foods, fresh carrot juice (we had a presser), and visits to our 80-acre Oconomowoc dairy farm. Processed sugar and flour weren't allowed in our house.

For seven months our campaign has been working on feasible ways to reduce the high rate of unemployment among black men. We are looking for stricter enforcement of laws against workplace discrimination, encouraging diversity in all businesses, fostering loans for small businesses, supporting minority-owned businesses, developing and encouraging mentoring programs to bring all Wisconsinites to this issue, and helping to create business cooperatives. Black male unemployment is an issue that effects everyone and we all must act to resolve it. Let's get going!

As we reduce the high rate of unemployment among black men, we can export our successful manner of problem solving to other states. While they copy our way of reducing black male unemployment, we will move on to other previously intractable problems. Soon, we'll be leading the nation in many areas. Look out, here comes the Wisconsin Train of Hope! Choooo, Choooo!

This past week, I spoke to a large crowd at the annual Wisconsin Electric Cooperative Association meeting in Madison, promoting reducing black male joblessness and legalizing the sale of raw milk. The participants were indeed interested in our message.

Also, our campaign supports the owners of day cares operations, receiving money from Wisconsin Shares, who have been denied timely due process. They must receive swift hearings to determine whether their businesses can reopen or remain shuttered.

Please review our latest YouTube video at www.youtube.com/timjohnforgovernor called Farmer Tim. Do I really talk to cows? Check it out. Please spread the word about our YouTube videos.

Remember to spread our YouTube videos to your family and friends because they help us to get the word out. Please help us attain our goal of 10,000 viewings of my YouTube videos by my birthday on March 22. Be part of the challenge by personally forwarding our message to 100 friends and relatives.

Sunday March 14, beginning at 4:30 p.m. you can see me at the Outagamie County Democratic Party Annual Bettin' on Blue Bash at Liberty Hall in Kimberly.

Also, check out our recently unveiled website at www.timjohnforgovernor.com months in the making, which is loaded with videos, photos, and great information.

Please contribute to our campaign with a direct deposit link on our website at www.timjohnforgovernor.com or by sending us a check. Help us send Wisconsin rocketing towards greatness.

We will stay the course.

Tim John