Burlington Area Progressives

Barbarians at the School House Door!

2012-02-09T06:28:00.000-08:00

Greetings citizens
and friends of the Burlington Area School District, the barbarians are again at
our gates! Our public schools are under a second round of attack by the Tea
Party (TP) group WeVoteBurlington. Four TP candidates are challenging the
incumbents John Anderson and Susan Kessler in the primary election for school
board on Tuesday February 21st.

These candidates are intent
on inflicting the TP agenda on our schools, an agenda crafted by the corporately
run feudal American Legislative Exchange Council (fALEC) with their local
vassal Robin of Vos who is tasked with enacting the agenda of his corporate
lords in their province of Wisconsin. It is an agenda disseminated to the TPs by
Americans for Plutocracy (they say “Prosperity”, but we know better than that).
The agenda of these special interests includes defunding, dismantling and
privatizing our public schools to make them profit centers and turn our
children and grandchildren into perpetual revenue streams for educational profiteers.
For information about fALEC’s private designs on public education go here: http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

These TP candidates
think of themselves as “taxpayers” and they want you to think of yourself as a
taxpayer too. Personally, I find the term “taxpayer” to be an insulting
epithet. Taxpayers are passive, hapless victims from whom money is extracted. I
am not a “Taxpayer”, I am not a victim, I am a citizen. And as a citizen, one
of the things I do is to pay my dues for living in a civilized society, taxes.
I am very fortunate to have done well enough so that I can and do pay taxes. By
virtue of the public school education that was provided for me by my forbearers,
I have succeeded and therefore pay taxes. By virtue of the people of goodwill
who built this country and established public institutions, public roads,
courts and a system of laws that facilitate an organized and prosperous society,
I have succeeded and therefore, proudly pay my dues. My story is by no means
unique, none of us succeeds on our own, we all benefit from the achievements of
those that came and built before us. It seems that those who gave us so much
would have but one requirement of us, pass it on!

John
Adams said, “Laws for the liberal education of the youth, especially of the
lower class of the people, are so extremely wise and useful, that, to a humane
and generous mind, no expense for this purpose would be thought extravagant”.

Thomas Jefferson said, "I have indeed two great
measures at heart, without which no republic can maintain itself in strength:
1. That of general education, to enable every man to judge for himself what
will secure or endanger his freedom. 2. To divide every county into hundreds,
of such size that all the children of each will be within reach of a central
school in it."

James Madison wrote,
"The liberal appropriations made by the Legislature of Kentucky for a
general system of Education cannot be too much applauded. A popular Government,
without popular information, or the means of acquiring it, is but a Prologue to
a Farce or a Tragedy; or, perhaps both. Knowledge will forever govern
ignorance: And a people who mean to be their own Governors, must arm themselves
with the power which knowledge gives."

But a vibrant and
interdependent society, buoyed by public institutions and progressing over time
is not the TP vision. They believe in a country of everyman for himself. To
them “public” and “taxes” are dirty words. They want to sack these public institutions
because they don’t want to pay for them. These TP candidates for the Board are
focused on only one aspect of our schools, taxes, money and the “greedy
teachers” who victimize them by taking their beloved money. One of them even
believes that it is appropriate to compare the compensation of educators with
advanced degrees to that of average Wisconsinites with high school diplomas.
These self-centered values and myopic outlook are not what is needed on our
school board. We need rationalism and balance, not extremism and selfishness.

Ask yourself, are you
a citizen or a taxpayer? Do you believe in local control and self-governance or
would you act as a feudal serf and help advance an agenda that comes from your
corporatist lords far beyond Burlington, far beyond Wisconsin? Citizens I
implore you, behave in a manner becoming of humble freemen on February 21st,
vote and repulse the barbarians at our gates!

Burlington Educators Attacked with Flawed Logic

2011-12-12T06:21:00.000-08:00

Philip Ketterhagen must think the readers of the Standard Press are fools and wouldn't see through the apples to oranges analysis of Burlington Area School District (BASD) compensation he included in his letter to the editor last week. Ketterhagen's focus is on money alone as he states that "the BASD staff is in the elite percentile of income." True, but what he leaves out, is that the BASD staff is in an even more elite percentile for educational attainment. Philip says he's a college graduate so I'm going to assume the statistics he quotes are accurate. The way he uses them however, is deceptive and inappropriate as demonstrated below using 2010 census data for education level obtained here: http://www.census.gov/hhes/socdemo/education/data/cps/2010/Table2-Both.xls and here: http://www.census.gov/compendia/statab/2012/tables/12s0233.xls for adults 25 years and older.

For his analysis, Mr. Ketterhagen states that he used numbers from the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal for the top 128 BASD employees in terms of compensation, skewing his sample right off the bat. He then goes on to compare BASD employee compensation to the of average income for Wisconsin citizens. Now the average income includes people who hold down jobs stocking shelves or driving a delivery van, for example. These jobs are critical to the functioning of our economy and the people who do them deserve our respect, a family supporting wage, family healthcare and a decent retirement, but they're not qualified to educate America's children and naturally they're not compensated as well as those who are and rightly so.

Ketterhagen stated that BASD administrator salaries are in the 76th percentile nationally and in the 86th percentile when benefits are considered, implying that they are over compensated. But BASD administrators have a minimum of a masters degree, putting them in the 92nd percentile for educational attainment nationally (92nd for Wisconsin). They are more likely to have a professional or doctoral degree, both in the 99th percentile nationally! These are management positions where people are responsible for million dollar budgets and hundreds of employees, corresponding to the highest paid jobs in the private sector. People in the 92-99 percentile for their education that are compensated in the 86th percentile nationally are clearly NOT over paid!

Then there are the teachers. First of all it should be recognized that all teachers have continuing education requirements and must obtain a teaching certificate which is an additional requirement beyond a bachelors degree that is not reflected separately in the census data for educational attainment. All of the teachers have minimum of a bachelors degree, which puts them in the 81st percentile nationally and the 74th percentile for citizens of Wisconsin. Fifty-two percent of Wisconsin teachers also have a masters degrees, which places those individuals in the 93rd percentile nationally and the 92nd percentile for Wisconsinites. Assuming the 52% also applies to BASD and aggregating these numbers for teachers with bachelors and masters degrees we come up with a teaching staff at BASD with average educational attainment levels that fall in the 86th percentile nationally and 83rd percentile for our once fair state. And where do the teachers fall in terms of compensation? According to Ketterhagen, the Wall Street Journal says they average in the 68th percentile nationally for pay and the 83rd percentile with benefits included, which they negotiated for in good faith. So BASD teachers are in the 86th percentile nationally for the level of education achieved, but they're compensation falls in the 83rd percentile.

What is Ketterhagen complaining about, why the need for flawed apples to oranges analysis and why his relentless and baseless attack on our educators?

Recall Misinformation

2011-12-06T06:48:00.000-08:00

There's some misinformation being spread about the recall effort. First let me tell you that if you want to sign legitimate recall petitions you can go to the SLUE office at 616 Droster Ave. Burlington from 9 am to 6 pm, 7 days per week, behind Coop Plus and across Hwy 36 from Miller Motors. However, if you're going to go there with the intent of destroying a petition as one couple did recently, don't. It's both a felony and an affront to freedom and democracy.

Secondly, the recall process is not being abused at all, but is operating as intended. The recall was put into the Wisconsin State Constitution by our forbearers who were far wiser than we. The founders left the grounds for recalling a public official up to the judgment of we the people. They set the bar high in terms of the number of signatures required to trigger a recall election, which is why they are rare. A lot of citizens have to be very unhappy with an official and very motivated to put forth the level of effort necessary to be successful in gathering the expressed will of the people in the form of their signatures. And there is no reason to change our Constitution or the recall process. Malfeasance or illegal activity in office is already grounds for removal under Wisconsin state law. Did State Senator George Petak commit malfeasance or an illegal act when he voted to include Racine County in the Brewers stadium tax prompting his recall? No. Heck it was the impending recall and subsequent resignation of Tom Ament that cleared the way for Scott Walker to become Milwaukee County Executive.

Then there is the GOPropaganda generated nonsense about Wisconsin being flooded with people from out of state being paid to circulate petitions. Even if I could, I wouldn’t go to another state and stick my nose in their business and we don’t need or want any outside help in this grassroots effort. I’ve yet to meet one person in this cause who is not a local resident, let alone from outside Wisconsin. But today's republicon party runs on this sort of misinformation so one should not be surprised by it. What is already flowing into the state from elsewhere is gobs of money which Walker is using to flood the airwaves in an attempt convince us that “it’s working” despite the fact that Wisconsin lost almost 10,000 mostly private sector jobs in October and that his budget was balanced with one time gimmicks that increase the debt service payments after 2012 according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

Walker, like his republicon counter parts in states like Ohio, Michigan and Indiana has worked to implement a radical hidden agenda on which he did not campaign, that was handed down to him from far beyond Wisconsin. This agenda, including tax breaks for the wealthy few on the backs of the poor and middle class has divided our state as never before and Walker has shown nothing but disdain and disregard for the opinions of a large percentage of Wisconsinites. And in a stark demonstration of the kind of person he is the Governor is now poised to kick 75,000 of our fellow citizens off of Badger Care, a program started by Republican Governor Tommy Thompson. Some of these people will surely die without access to medical care. Apparently Walker doesn't care, better they do so and decrease the surplus population. 25,000 of these rejects are innocent children. No health care for you kiddies, only a lump of coal. Merry Christmas!

Actions have consequences and it’s time for Walker to face his, as provided for by our Wisconsin State Constitution.

John Nichols @ Walworth Dems this Saturday!

2011-12-01T21:23:00.000-08:00

Hot Coffee - Occupy the Plaza Theater!

2011-11-11T12:10:00.000-08:00

Recall Walker Training & A Movie!

2011-10-27T14:59:00.001-07:00

RECALL SCOTT WALKER!
Free Training - Free Movie!

Inside Job
How Wall Street’s 1% Trashed Our Economy
The 2010 Documentary Film by Charles H. Ferguson
Academy Award Winner – Best Documentary

Recall Walker Petition Drive Training by United Wisconsin
Movie to Follow Immediately Thereafter

PUBLIC IS WELCOME - ADMISSION FREE!
Bring a snack and your favorite non-alcoholic beverage

SLUE/WEAC Office Center
616 Droster Ave. Burlington
Saturday Nov. 5th – 6:00pm

e-mail: burlingtonareaprogressives@gmail.com

JOIN US IN RESTORING WISCONSIN! – WE ARE THE NINETY-NINE PERCENT!

BASD's Frightening Emergency

2011-10-21T13:18:00.000-07:00

Greetings progressive residents and friends of the Burlington Area School District, we have a frightful emergency. Our public schools are under a coordinated attack from a Tea Party (TP) group in the form of WeVoteBurlington (WVB). The outcome of the first battle (it won’t be the last) in this attack will be decided on Halloween at the School Board meeting to be held in the BHS auditorium on Monday October 31st at 7:30 where they will try to brow beat the members of the Board regarding adoption of the district’s budget.

I’d like to place this event in the broader context to better understand what is happening and why. Mark Belling has promoted this attack and Charlie Sykes is threatening to bring in bus loads of outside agitators, single-issue anti-tax zealots to flood the meeting. People of goodwill need to be present and ready to speak up (three minutes allotted per person) to provide a counter-balance to this coordinated TP attack and to support our elected representatives on the Board who have gone through the months-long process of developing a reasonable budget for our public schools which are the central organizing, social institution of our community! Please email your Board members regardless of whether you can be at this meeting and let them know your position: http://www.basd.k12.wi.us/boardmembers.cfm

Tea Party Connection: I know that “coordinated” sounds like conspiracy, that “attack” may seem like hyperbole and that representatives of WVB recently denied their TP status in the Standard Press. But I will demonstrate why all three are apt descriptions of what we face. WVB held a legislative night on October 8th at Burlington’s public high school which featured as one of the key guests Tim Dake of the Grandsons of Liberty, a bonafide TP group promoting the “Legislative Agenda for the Wisconsin TEA Party Movement – 2010/2012”. The legislative items listed in this agenda are noted as being sponsored by TP groups from all over the state including: Uninfringed Liberty, Campaign for Liberty, Wisconsin GrandSons of Liberty, Two Rivers Tea Party, Rock River Patriots, Menomonee/Marinette Sons and Daughters of Liberty, Manitowoc County TEA Movement, Americans for Constitutional Enforcement and the Rock County Voter Education Forum, a pungent brew indeed. The strategy is to have a Wisconsin TP group adopt a piece of legislation and through activism to help push it through our legislature. To see the disturbingly ill-willed TP legislative agenda which precisely mirrors that presented at the WeVoteBurlington event go here: http://www.wisconsingrandsonsofliberty.com/

Attack on Public Education: That takes care of the TP connection, now to justify my use of the words “coordinated attack”. The TP groups cited above are promoting this legislative agenda, but they didn’t draft the legislation. Most of these bills were written by members of the secretive, Koch brother funded, American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC), where global corporations pay big bucks to sit down with Republican State Legislators and draft laws in their interest to rule you from your State House. Although the special interests behind this are narrow, their agenda is very broad and includes the dismantling and privatization our public school systems in the United States of America. Why? Power, including the power to make profits for the “Educational Entrepreneurs” and to destroy unions. For more information on ALEC’s moves to starve public education see this article: http://www.commondreams.org/view/2011/07/14-12 and this website: http://alecexposed.org/wiki/Privatizing_Public_Education,_Higher_Ed_Policy,_and_Teachers
For information on ALEC in general go here: http://alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

Are the WVB folks aware of the selfish and sinister agenda they’re helping to advance and who is behind it? Probably not. When it comes to public education, they’ve been conditioned to focus on only two things, taxes and thugs (their term for our teachers). But the Tea Party movement has been co-opted and turned from grassroots to astroturf by Americans For Prosperity (Plutocracy), the Club For Growth and other well funded groups founded by one-percent folks like the billionaire Koch Brothers, Dick Armey and others. The agendas of these groups are handed down from on high by corporate sponsored conservative think tanks founded by the Koch brothers and others like them, to serve their self-interest. For some insight on the Americans For Plutocracy and the Koch Bros agenda for our public schools watch this short video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2mbJhjCbwo8

Furthermore, the WVB people have probably never even heard of ALEC. After all, it is supposed to be a secret. The likes of Belling and Sykes are certainly not going to expose ALEC and its goals. It was only revealed last spring that local State Representative Robin Vos is also the ALEC state Co-chair, tasked with enacting the ALEC agenda in Wisconsin like his counter parts in the other states. You’d think he’d be proud of such a lofty distinction, but he doesn’t discuss it or campaign on its “merits”. Skirting Wisconsin’s good government campaign laws, Vos even got an ALEC “Scholarship” worth thousands of dollars for airfare and hotel accommodations to be wined and dined in a sunnier clime by the ALEC corporate lobbyists who fund the organization. A “Scholarship”, why that’s a major award to be illuminated and displayed prominently before your constituents! But modest Robin never mentions it. You know what they say, news is what people want to keep hidden, every thing else is publicity.

And now PR Watch has discovered who Wisconsin’s secret ALEC Corporate Co-chairs are: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/09/11031/koch-lobbyist-alec-state-co-chair-wisconsin-scholarships-raise-ethics-concerns Every state has them and guess what, one of Wisconsin’s is a lobbyist for Koch Industries! Such a tangled web! And I’ve connected only a few of the dots here. There are more, many more.

The citizens of Burlington have elected a local School Board to represent our interests in our community. It’s called local control, a principle the Republican Party once stood for. We must not let a few vocal people, acting at the behest of squawk-radio propagandists, force on to us a hidden agenda that comes from selfish, narrow and far away special interests that have no stake in what becomes of our children or our community, other than how it advances their national political goals and their potential for future profits to be reaped at the expense of millions of students across the nation and right here at home. Scary!

Thank you for your attention. You are the 99%! Please make yourselves heard at the Board meeting on October 31st. Boo!

Live Feed from NY Occupy Wall Street in the middle of the night.

2011-10-08T02:05:00.000-07:00

globalrevolution on livestream.com. Broadcast Live Free

If you want to chat live with people across the country while watching at the Live Stream website here is the link. It's pretty damn cool.

While I was watching they showed the solar panel flat bed truck that supplies the power for the protesters to use. It's being provided by Green Peace and says "Give Up Coal" on the side of it. I'm just so impressed right now.

They have lots of great food available from donations made from all over the country. Most people have sleeping bags and are curled up sleeping on hard ground toughing it out.

The mainstream media won't even talk to the guys doing the live feed.

Awesome stuff here.

fALEC State Private Sector Co-Chairs are Koch Lobbyists

2011-10-04T07:51:00.000-07:00

The secret fALEC Wisconsin State Co-Chairs have been unveiled! Koch industry lobbyists Amy Boyer and Byron Wornson have been revealed by PR Watch as secret private sector Co-Chair that work along side Robin Vos to enact the fALEC agenda in our once proud state of clean and open politics: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/09/11031/koch-lobbyist-alec-state-co-chair-wisconsin-scholarships-raise-ethics-concerns

Lavish all-expenses-paid "Scholarships" are used to skirt Wisconsin's lobbying laws that prohibit ANY gifts and to fly, house, wine, dine and buy corporate access to OUR representatives to enact THEIR laws.This is a traitorous betrayal of the foundational American principle of the right to the informed consent of the governed!

Why didn't Vos tell the voters he's in ALEC? Why didn't he tell us he's the State of Wisconsin Co-chair? Why all the secrecy? If Vos gets his legislative ideas from his constituents as he claims, then he doesn't need ALEC and should renounce ALEC and all it's works as the democracy betraying nest of corporatist vipers that they are.

The Selling of School Choice

2011-09-29T14:30:00.001-07:00

DeVoss (Amway) - Can you say Sen. Van "Amway or Highway" Wangaard?
Walton (Walmart) - Can you say Rep. Robin "I like $chool choice becau$e I like $chool choice" Vos?

Selling? I'd say it's more like buying school choice as people who don't live, vote or go to school in Wisconsin flood money into OUR state to fund groups and bribe OUR? representatives to advance their cynical, selfish, national, anti-worker/middle class, privateering agenda to destroy public education (my opinion, not necessarily the Author's). This is the first of an excellent 3 part series of investigative journalism on the subject and well worth the read. http://www.wisconsinwatch.org/2011/09/18/school-choice-part-1/

IMF: Income Inequality Bad for Economic Growth

2011-09-23T10:38:00.000-07:00

Well duh! In an economy driven 70% by consumption DEMAND is the ONLY "Job Creator" and income inequality means consumers cannot create demand. That's intuitively obvious, but here is a scholarly study based imperical evidence from the international monetary fund: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/09/20/income-inequality-economic-growth_n_969933.html

EXCERPT: The widening gap between the wealthy and everyone else in the United States may be hindering a broader economic recovery, according to a new study. http://www.imf.org/external/pubs/ft/fandd/2011/09/Berg.htm

The study out of the International Monetary Fund found that greater income equality positively correlates with stronger economic growth. Released in September, the study more specifically concluded that a 10 percent decrease in inequality increased the expected duration of economic growth by 50 percent.

The IMF paper, which studied a sample of countries around the world between 1950 and 2006, found that in countries with more income inequality, such as Jordan and Cameroon, the economy more frequently plunged into deeper recessions, while economic growth lasted much longer in more equal societies.

Indeed, greater levels of income equality corresponded more strongly to sustained economic growth than other economic factors, including lower debt levels, according to the report. "Sustainable economic reform," the authors write, "is possible only when its benefits are widely shared." The United States

Income inequality has grown in the United States over the past four decades and now more closely compares to the income distributions of Russia and Iran than many other developed economies.

FALEC Member Exposed

2011-09-12T05:07:00.000-07:00

If you're intersted in learning more about Robin Vos, particularly his activities with ALEC, or as I prefer FALEC, the fascist American Legislative Exchange Council because it embodies the merger of state and corporate rule, which the definition of facism or corporatism, there is a website for that: http://defeatvos.blogspot.com/2011/08/grassroots-effort-to-defeat-vos.html?spref=tw

In the interest of informed consent of the citizenry.

Your's Truely,

CorpSerf ID: IMFD-OURFD-2

New - Rocking Fun Music, Records and Teen Outreach Grand Opening

2011-09-10T05:51:00.000-07:00

Rocking Fun Music, Records and Teen Outreach has just opened and will be having their Grand OpeningTomorrow, Sunday 9/11 at 549 N. Pine St. in Burlington. http://www.rockingfunmusic.com/ A glitch with the Hi-Liter left them without a promo ad for their Grand Opening, so I said I would help get the word out on their new venture. Finally a local place to get strings and other music supplies!

Meet & greet at 5 PM with Recording Studio Manager & Guitar teacher Mark Hill, Owner Kellie Levans, Floor Manager Katie Joike, Administrator Michelle Dorrington and volunteers Chris and Randy. Sign up for guitar lessons (4 lessons, 45 min./session).

Rocking Fun Music tm Records and Teen Outreach is changing the way Burlington is dealing with the strong-hold of drugs, alcohol, and teen suicide rates have on the youth population. Milwaukee Rock Music Examiner Reporter, Kellie Levans, has planned, developed, and opened a retail music store and teen-wi-fi center fand recording studio for the reason of keeping teens talking and sharing through music. Rocking Fun Music tm Records:Teen Outreach, is a comfortable retail shop and hang out. The center will provide a safe environment for social contact with peers. Guitar, drums, vocal lessons, wi-fi access, and fun will be provided.

"The atmosphere is such as the show "Friends," providing a cafe' style setting without the coffee, lol " owner Kellie Levans says. Guitar lessons will be taught by Mark Hill , a community leader and trained in composition and music theory. Teen Wellness was a community program first accepted by the Burlington Wellness Center in 2004. Lack of funding cut the program. Kellie Levans approached the city of Burlington , Wisconsin in July of 2011 asking for a conditional use permit to allow 4 young adults in the store at a time. All counseling issues will be referred to local trained professionals.

GOPster Voter Suppression Promise from Sen Von Zipperer Hollow & Compassionless

2011-08-29T09:53:00.001-07:00

So Sen. Von Zipperer (R-Peewaukee), right before pointing to his forehead and freezing his little FALEC brain said; “Any constituent, or anybody in the state…if there’s an individual with a legal right to vote, have them contact me or my office and I will make sure they get properly registered and have an ID,”. “If you know any individual, bring them to my attention. Even if they don’t live in the 33rd Senate District, I’ll get them to the office of their senator.”

http://brookfield-wi.patch.com/articles/zipperer-stands-behind-voter-id-law

So did, I called and I spoke with one of Von Zipperer's staff members and explained my Grandparent's situation and disenfranchisement.

He took their information and said he would pass it along to Senator Amway, I mean Wanggard. I asked him what Senator Wanggard would do. He said he would put them in touch with the local DMV. I reminded him that going to the DMV IS the problem and that putting them in touch with the DMV, was hardly necessary as they're in the phone book.

I asked if they are they going to need to go to the DMV and he said yes. I asked how that was going resolve the problem and he said he didn't know.

I asked if transportation would be provided and he said he didn't know. I said, well in this case transporation isn't an issue waiting at the DMV is, but what about other people who didn't have transportation, how would they be helped? He said he didn't know.

I said that some people who are in wheel chairs or have other disabilities need specialized transportation, would the senators be making arrangements and paying for that? He said he didn't know.

Empty words, hollow promises and no thought, planning, compassion or consideration given to the problem.

I love the comment made to Von Zipperer by one of his constituents: Resident Emil Glodoski hammered Zipperer for his support of the bill, saying it’s racist and is aimed at suppressing votes. He told the senator the number of people who have actually been caught in the state perpetrating vote fraud wouldn’t even “fill a basketball roster,” yet the number of people who will have their votes suppressed would “fill the Bradley Center two or three times.”

“That’s voter suppression and it moves us into 'Wississippi,'” he said. “(T)his is the first time we’re eliminating voters rights and it’s just racist.”

Right on Emil!

By the way, I've turned this little tidbit over to Disability Rights Wisconsin and they said they would get the word out to the disability community to contact his office. You bet they will!

While we're at it Let's Recall the Wingnut Judicial Hacktivitists on the WI Extreme Court

2011-08-22T11:43:00.001-07:00

Judicial Hacktivist Michael Gabbleman was elected under a cloud of lying and ethical violations, which he was found guilt of in a court of law, but which his fellow nutbags on Wisconsin's Extreme Court let him get away with in a 3/3 tie. I know state FALEC Chairman Robbin Vos must be in agreement on thsi one as meets his proposed revised criteria for grounds for recall, right?

Now some are calling for his recall along with Gubnah Snott Wanker: http://www.expressmilwaukee.com/article-15786-after-the-recalls-whats-next-for-democrats.html

I agree, let's get this injudicious shithead off the bench. Gathering signitures for his recall while already collecting them for Wanker's recall is a miniscule additional effort.

But why stop there? Annette Ziegler is another extremist ideologue who doesn't have the ethics to know that she should recuse herself when her husband's business come before her in court. Let's purge her ass too while we're at it.

Then perhaps in a year we can get rid of Prosser, Extreme Court Strangler.

Remember 150,000 motivated protesters at the Capitol in March need only 3 signatures on the petitions, plus their own for 600,000 names, more than enough!

Gubnah Wanker WILL be Recalled, then Forgotten

2011-08-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

In Ohio Gubnah Kasich forced through un-American, anti-union, anti-right of assembly, anti-right to petition legislation from the Fascist American Legislative Exchange Council - FALEC that is almost identical to the FALEC legislation pased by Gubnah Wanker in Wisconsin. People in Ohio took to the street and flooded the capitol in protest like in Wisconsin, but the Gubnah didn't care about the people, he was more invested in serving his FALEC masters. For more information on FALEC, see this link: http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

With 11.5 million citizens, Ohio has roughly twice the population of Wisconsin. In response, the good people of Ohio easily gathered 1.3 million signatures to force a referendum to over turn the FALEC law, which is expected to to win by a two to one margin. Kasich has now come begging to the unions to negotiate, which he refused to do when the shoe was on the other foot and the unions where willing to talk. In resonse the unions have now told the FALEC member to fuck off.
In Wisconsin we need 500,000 signatures, less than half of what was needed in Ohio, to force a recall of the exposed FALEC member Snott the Wanker who is also now trying to pretend to play nice. Fuck off Wanker, you're going down along with your 60% dsisapproval rating. There's WAY more energy in Wisconsin to flush your a$$ than there is in Ohio to castrate the thier FALEC law and ensure it never takes effect.

It's bad enough to have FALEC legislation shoved down our throats for the gratification of the corporatists, Americans For Plutocracy (AFP) and the Wisconsin Club for Growths, but it is totally unacceptable to for Wisconsin to represented by an A$$hole. And Wanker is surely that.

If every one of the 150,000 people that showed up in Madison that glorious gets only 4 signatures that's enough, 5 and it's guaranteed, 10 and it's a breeze. Wanker, you're a dick and you're going DOWN!

Warren Buffett - Stop Coddling the Super Rich

2011-08-16T05:40:00.000-07:00

Warren Buffett asks where is the shared sacrifice from the super rich and calls for increased taxes on the wealthy to help put our fiscal house back in order, like it used to be when we could pay our bills and created many more jobs: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/08/15/opinion/stop-coddling-the-super-rich.html

EXCERPTS: While the poor and middle class fight for us in Afghanistan, and while most Americans struggle to make ends meet, we mega-rich continue to get our extraordinary tax breaks. Some of us are investment managers who earn billions from our daily labors but are allowed to classify our income as “carried interest,” thereby getting a bargain 15 percent tax rate.

Last year my federal tax bill — the income tax I paid, as well as payroll taxes paid by me and on my behalf — was $6,938,744. That sounds like a lot of money. But what I paid was only 17.4 percent of my taxable income — and that’s actually a lower percentage than was paid by any of the other 20 people in our office. Their tax burdens ranged from 33 percent to 41 percent and averaged 36 percent.

I have worked with investors for 60 years and I have yet to see anyone — not even when capital gains rates were 39.9 percent in 1976-77 — shy away from a sensible investment because of the tax rate on the potential gain. People invest to make money, and potential taxes have never scared them off. And to those who argue that higher rates hurt job creation, I would note that a net of nearly 40 million jobs were added between 1980 and 2000. You know what’s happened since then: lower tax rates and far lower job creation.

Since 1992, the I.R.S. has compiled data from the returns of the 400 Americans reporting the largest income. In 1992, the top 400 had aggregate taxable income of $16.9 billion and paid federal taxes of 29.2 percent on that sum. In 2008, the aggregate income of the highest 400 had soared to $90.9 billion — a staggering $227.4 million on average — but the rate paid had fallen to 21.5 percent.

The taxes I refer to here include only federal income tax, but you can be sure that any payroll tax for the 400 was inconsequential compared to income. In fact, 88 of the 400 in 2008 reported no wages at all, though every one of them reported capital gains. Some of my brethren may shun work but they all like to invest. (I can relate to that.)

Gubner Wanker Republicon Recall Spin

2011-08-12T09:58:00.000-07:00

The latest factual rotations from the GOPsters is that because we only stripped them of two Senators, that the wind is out of the sails on the recall of Gubner Wanker and that getting the 700,000 signatures necessary in 60 days (11,667 signatures/day) to force a recall election is too heavy a lift. Pure unadulterated nonsense!

I was in Madison that amazing day along with 150,000 other massively motivated Wisconsinites. If everyone of those people just gets 5 signatures that's 750,000, more than enough with cushion for challenges. If everyone gets 10, that's 1.5 MILLION!

The Wanker WILL be recalled!

Bush's Debt Crisis - Republicons are Hypocrites

2011-08-08T12:16:00.001-07:00

The melt down's true villian: http://readersupportednews.org/off-site-opinion-section/83-83/6936-bushonomics-the-meltdowns-true-villain

Teabagger Express

2011-08-05T09:19:00.000-07:00

The Koch fueled Teabagger Express will be at the Birchwood Grill 7515 - 125th Ave. this Saturday (8/6) 2:30-4:00. Let's overwhelm them with our spirit like we did when they "graced" the Brat Stop, just across the street last spring. http://www.teapartyexpress.org/

"Restoring Common Sense Tour" That IS hilarious!

What Kind of Madman Would Blowup a Balloon!?

2011-08-04T09:53:00.000-07:00

Further proof that Republicons are A$$holes, it's just that simple: http://www.journaltimes.com/news/local/state-and-regional/article_df0b334a-bea6-11e0-9cac-001cc4c03286.html

Pucker Power!

2011-07-26T09:22:00.000-07:00

Gubnah Wanker is very good at ignoring the people and keeping his composure during his speakifyin. I wonder how he'd do if 30 seconds in, the people whipped out lemon wedges and started licking and biting them.

Fascist American Legislative Exchange Council - FALEC

2011-07-22T05:41:00.000-07:00

Fascism has come to Wisconsin in the form of Scott Walker and his radical Republicon minions all of whom are members of the Fascist American Legislative Exchange Council - FALEC. A party of complete DICKs!

When Benito Mussolini founded Fascism in Italy, he replaced the representatives of the people in the parliament of the former republic with representatives of the largest corporations in the country to form a corporate dictatorship and proclaimed that "Fascism should more appropriately be called Corporatism because it is a merger of state and corporate power". By the time he got done screwing his country, the people cut off his parts, stuffed them in his mouth and and hung him upsidedown from a gas station roof by a meat hook where his body was stoned by the public. A fitting end for a tyrant.

What has come to light in Wiscossissippi is that the entire hidden (until now) agenda of the Fitzwalkerstanis is not that of the citizens of Wisconsin, but rather that of a secretive corporately run organization determined to take power away from ordinary people and enact laws favorable to the mega-global-corporations that pay for the crafting of FALEC legislation that it's Republicon members are sworn to push through in states across America. For an excellent discussion of how the entire Walker/Republicon agenda in Wisconsin (as well as MI, OH, IN, NJ, AZ, etc.) is FALECally derived and a list of Wisconsin's fascists check out this article from PR Watch: http://www.prwatch.org/news/2011/07/10880/alec-bills-wisconsin

For a broad based exposure of FALEC from the Center for Media and Democracy see: http://www.alecexposed.org/wiki/ALEC_Exposed

Fascist Robin Vos is the FALEC Wisconsin Chairman and a DICK. But Wiscossissippistan also has a Corporate Co-chair whose identity is kept secret, who is no doubt also a DICK. This is NOT Democracy, This is NOT informed consent of the citizenry envisioned by our founders. This is a traitorous betrayal of the very notion of America! THIS IS FASCISM!

Democracy My A$$!

Yours Truly

CorpSerf ID: IMBNFD-OURBNFD-2

PS: Below is a list of the FALEC fuckings of Wisconsin:
-Attacking Abortion & Women's Rights
-Tort Deform
-Telecom Reregulation
-Voter Supression
-Elimination of Public Campaign Financing
-Defunding Unions & Attacking Collective Bargaining
-Wage Supression & a Race to the Bottom
-School Privatization
-Corporate Welfare
-Pension Fund Priavatization
-Private Prisons
-Predatory Lending
-Road Builder Protection
-Insurance Industry Protection
-Racial Profiling & Immigrant Harrassment
-Concealed Carry
-Making it Harder to Raise Government Revenue

Time for Action!

2011-07-15T07:25:00.000-07:00

From BAPster Peter Endemann:

We are in need of canvasers for our Sen. Robert Wirch this Saturday. If interested please either email me or call me at (262)767-0087, canvassers will meet at our house right by Cooper school, call/email for address, we are supplied with all the information & packets you will need from the WI Democrat Party & Steven from the party will also be here if you have any questions. We start at 11:00 & it only takes a couple hours of your time & it is something that you can do that will make a difference right in our own town.....only 4 weeks left before the election!

Peter

Bless His Noodley Appendages!

2011-07-15T06:36:00.000-07:00

In Austria one of the strangest fights for religious freedom has come to an end: Niko Alm, a self-described "Pastafarian," fought for three years for the right to wear a pasta strainer on his head in his driver's license photo.

His argument? Alm claimed he belonged to the Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster and wearing the strainer was part of his religion. http://www.npr.org/blogs/thetwo-way/2011/07/13/137824732/austrian-man-wins-right-to-wear-pasta-strainer-in-license-photo?sc=fb&cc=fp

Let's Give Wanker a Hot Reception

2011-07-11T07:03:00.000-07:00

Gov. Walker will be in Racine next Tuesday, July 12 -- to speak at 3:00 p.m. at the centenial celebration of the WI technical college system. The event is being held at Gateway Technical College’s Racine campus, 1001 South Main Street, Racine. The program is scheduled to take place OUTSIDE in the grassy area facing Main Street.

Wanker's Budget is an Assault Wrapped Lies

2011-07-06T05:51:00.000-07:00

The linked piece does a good job of documenting 5 lies that surround the Wanker budget: http://bdgrdemocracy.wordpress.com/2011/06/25/the-big-five-lies-in-the-walker-budget-in-his-own-words/

See the piece for a summary of the details but the lies are:
1) The budget isn't biult on tax increases
2) The budget isn't built on accounting gimmicks
3) Our children and grandchildren aren't saddled with mountains of debt (Part 1-tax give aways to the corps)
4) Our children and grandchildren aren't saddled with mountains of debt (Part 2-Kicking the debt service can down the road)
5) The budget balances and eliminates the deficit

To which I would add another lie.

6) The budget will help create jobs: http://host.madison.com/ct/business/biz_beat/article_bbc41e88-388c-11e0-87d9-001cc4c002e0.html

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_8c50dc92-52f7-11e0-993d-001cc4c03286.html

Projections range from 9,000 to 21,000 private sector jobs will be lost due to Wanker's budget.

Wisconsin is open for the business.

ECOFAIR360

2011-07-05T09:31:00.001-07:00

¬FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MAKING GREEN HAPPEN AT ECOFAIR360

Lake Geneva, Wis. (June 29, 2011) – Interested in electric vehicles? Want to know more about cost saving lighting options, alternative energy choices and conservation landscaping? These topics and many more will be presented at the second annual EcoFair360, coming July 8-10 to the Walworth County Fairgrounds in Elkhorn, Wis., just eight miles from beautiful Lake Geneva.

With 200+ exhibitors, speakers and demonstrations, each day will offer a variety of learning and exploring opportunities.

Opening day, Friday, July 8
State Senator Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, chairman of the Wisconsin Natural Resources and Environment Committee, will speak at 4 p.m., addressing legislative issues related to the environment and its impact on the community.

Every day of the Fair will offer a green buffet of choices; there will be solar, wind and geothermal exhibits, information on eco-friendly cleaning solutions and alternative health choices. Visitors can see alternative fuel vehicles on display, learn how to install LED outdoor lighting on patios and outbuildings, find handcrafted outdoor furniture built from sustainable and recycled materials, and much more.

There will be a daily assortment of presentations on a variety of topics, plus a special daily focus area:

• Friday, July 8: “Greening our economy: making sense (and dollars) of green.”
Learn how to develop a sustainable plan for your community. Discover how investing in green can save money, while helping the environment. Presentations on everything from conservation landscaping to how to create a sustainable community and earn ‘green points’ for free solar, wind or electric car charging stations at the same time.

• Saturday, July 9: “Greening our land and homes: alternative energy and smart building.”
Rural landowners can start the day off with donuts and coffee as they listen to four hours of presentations tailored specifically to their needs; Making solar Energy profitable for farmers, Future of biogas on Wisconsin farms—making anaerobic digesters possible, Cover crops as a conservation method, Wind Turbines and Farms, and more throughout the day.

Homeowners will find information on a variety of topics covering everything from how to save money by building an energy efficient home or retro fitting your current residence to green laundry options and how to minimize the clutter in your home and life.

• Sunday, July 10: “Greening our table: smart local choices in produce and meats.”
From cooking demonstrations with local produce to getting your kids to eat right, attendees will learn the pleasures of eating with local, seasonal food. Chef Rick Starr from Kirsch’s Restaurant will do a cooking demonstration, using local produce and teaching attendees how to organize a pantry for best results. Charles Crave of Crave Brothers Farm and Farmstead Cheese will talk about the value of artesian cheese production, and Wendy Staller of Staller Estate Vineyard and Winery will speak about local wine making as well.

The Kids Zone will provide children with activities throughout the day.

• Friday – The Science Alliance will present “WorldWorks!,” an environmental program, entertaining children on the issues of recycling, composting, the water cycle and acid rain through the use of visual demonstrations and active participation.

• Saturday – Seno Woodland Education Center offers a variety of one-hour based activities, centering around recycled paper, pond peeking, Wild Life in Learning Design (Project WILD), and Learning Tree Activities.
• Sunday – Tim Glander, of Walworth County’s Public Education program will present ‘Trash Time, the Magic of Going Green.’
• “The Comfy Chair” will provide children with a place to gather round and listen to stories with Sara Soukup, hear the music of Joe Fred and participate in Reader’s Theatre with Chris Brookes.

EcoFair360 Film Festival
Films will be shown in a unique structure, built specifically for this year’s Fair – a 16' diameter geodesic dome equipped with a home theater system; designed, built and donated by Bill Sokoloskis of AV Systems.

The screenings will include:
• Friday – Green Fire; Aldo Leopold and a Land Ethic for our Time
• Saturday – Dirt, A Story with Heart and Soil
• Sunday – How to Boil a Frog; Make friends, Make fun, Make trouble.

E85 Flex Fuel Special
The American Lung Association has a special EcoFair360 offer for Flex Fuel Vehicles (FFV). From 4-6pm on Friday, July 8, FFV’s can help the clean air efforts by purchasing E85 for $0.85 a gallon at Daniels Sentry Foods, 681 Kenosha St. Walworth, WI. Customers will receive a free parking pass for EcoFair360 when they take advantage of the E85 promotion. The American Lung Association will also be on hand at the Fair to provide information and answer questions on the clean air benefits of using E85.

Eco-Vision Sustainable Learning Center

EcoFair360 is brought to you by Eco-Vision SLC, a Wisconsin Not-for-Profit corporation, promoting renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building and sustainable living through education and demonstration. Their goals are to promote and develop scalable solutions for renewable energy and sustainable development, support renewable energy projects though the purchase of Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs), and as a community, find new ways and build new models to make renewable energy, energy efficiency, green building and sustainable living an integral part of American life.

Contacts:

Wen-D Kersten
Eco-Vision Sustainable Learning Center
262-248-0970
wend@ecovisionslc.org

Catherine McQueen
Eco-Vision Sustainable Learning Center
262-248-0970
catherine@ecofair360.com
www.ecofair360.com

Hot Coffee Official Trailer

2011-06-27T11:06:00.000-07:00

And guess who was involved in this coordinated attack on justice for average people, KARL ROVE, when he worked for Philip Morris. Now I know why he has the ethics of a tobacco executive!

What really happened: http://www.citizen.org/hot-coffee

Tuesday Afternoon

2011-06-20T06:13:00.000-07:00

Tuesday, afternoon,
I'm just beginning to see,
Now I'm on my way,
It doesn't matter to me,
Chasing the clouds away.

Something, calls to me,
The trees are drawing me near,
I've got to find out why
Those gentle voices I hear
Explain it all with a sigh.

The GOPsters didn't want to have to vote on the union busting bill again because it's deeply unpopular with the public, would have caused a new round of protests and would have provided a kickoff reminder as to why we want to recall the A$$holes in the upcoming elections. Well they didn't have to because the judicial hacktivists on the wingnut packed Wisconsin Supreme Kangaroo Kourt did the bidding of their political masters showing again the lie that is "justice" and the "independent judiciary".

Jeff Fitzgerald: "If need be, we are going to have to pass collective bargaining again because it is such an integral part of not having those services slashed and those people laid off," Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald, R-Horicon, said of the plan, which is currently held up in court. Fitzgerald said he expects the state Assembly to take up the $66 billion two-year spending plan on Tuesday and will add collective bargaining limits as an amendment if the Supreme Court fails to act on the plan by Tuesday afternoon. The court last week heard oral arguments on whether a legislative conference committee violated the state's open meetings law when it rushed passage of the provision in March. "I'm an optimist. I still think they might rule yet," Fitzgerald said. "They still have some time." http://www.wiscnews.com/bdc/news/local/article_8f58d97a-963c-11e0-8fe9-001cc4c002e0.html

When did the Judicial Hacktivists act? TUESDAY AFTERNOON!

David "Values" Vitter Should Vacate

2011-06-17T07:38:00.000-07:00

Now that Weiner has walked, Senator David "Values" Vitter Rat-La should do the right and resign instead of being another family values republicon hypocrite. what he did, screwing protitutes was far worse than anything Weiner did and he is a horrible example for our children, not only morally but also from a public health standpoint. The Republicon Party should not tollerate his continued debauched presence. Wiener and the Dems should never have backed down without demanding that Values Vitter go first, but then backing down is what Dems do best.

For an exhaustive list of powerful men (mostly) who can't keep it where it's supposed to be, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_federal_political_sex_scandals_in_the_United_States

The Truth About The Economy In 2 Minutes

2011-06-16T11:32:00.000-07:00

The Truth About The Economy In 2 Minutes

Judicial Hacktivists; "Republicons are Above the Law"

2011-06-16T07:24:00.000-07:00

Not that I had much faith in the impartial justice of Supreme Courts anyway, that has been shown repeatedly since Bush V Gore to be unwarranted in 21st century America, but the decision by the Wisconsin Supreme Kangaroo Kourt that the legislature need not follow the law, lays bare once again the judicial hacktivism of the Republicons.

When you control the executive branchg and the legislature and you've packed the court with Robed Reactionaries who've got your back you can enact any radical agenda you want with no checks and no balances. Republicons are a$$holes it's just that simple.

The very fact that the court decided to take this case and issued a decision on the same day, without even having the facts or oral arguments presented shows that the the predetermined fix was in. This should be no suprise with moral miscreants like Gabbleman and Ziegler polluting the bench no to mention the vindictive partisan Prosser who is clearly unfit in judicial temperment to serve. Democracy my ass!

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson wrote a scathing dissent of the judicial "process" that you can access here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=439x1297191 It starts on page 31. Excerpts are below.

¶79 In rendering a decision, a court is to provide not merely an answer but also a reasoned, accurate explanation. A reasoned, accurate explanation is not an inconsequential nicety that this court may disregard for the sake of convenience or
haste. It is the cornerstone of the legitimacy of judicial
decision-making.
¶80 At first glance, the order appears to provide some support for broad conclusions reached on fundamental and complex issues of law. But on even casual reading, the explanations are clearly disingenuous, based on disinformation.
¶81 Justice Prosser's concurrence is longer than the order. The concurrence consists mostly of a statement of happenings. It is long on rhetoric and long on story-telling
that appears to have a partisan slant. Like the order, the concurrence reaches unsupported conclusions.
¶82 In hastily reaching judgment, Justice Patience D. Roggensack, Justice Annette K. Ziegler, and Justice Michael J. Gableman author an order, joined by Justice David T. Prosser, lacking a reasoned, transparent analysis and incorporating numerous errors of law and fact. This kind of order seems to open the court unnecessarily to the charge that the majority has reached a pre-determined conclusion not based on the facts and the law, which undermines the majority's ultimate decision.

¶90 The legislature must play by the rules of the Wisconsin Constitution and the laws.
¶91 Playing by the rules and playing fair are integral to public trust and confidence in our government officials—— legislative, executive, and judicial. Public trust and confidence in the integrity of the judicial branch is engendered
by a court's issuing a reasoned public decision based on public records after public arguments. The judicial branch claims legitimacy by the reasoning of its decisions. "Any step that withdraws an element of the judicial process from public view makes the ensuing decision look more like fiat and requires rigorous justification."4
¶92 Trust and confidence in the integrity of the judicial branch as an institution is critical at all times but especially when a case has high public visibility, is mired in partisan politics, and is emotionally charged. The need for reasoned judgment is at its greatest in a case such as this one, in which substantial public policy and budgetary decisions of the coordinate branches may be affected.5 The issues presented in this case are steeped in a politically charged environment and
involve highly controversial public policy and budgetary matters.
¶93 That the judiciary has the power of judicial review, that is, the power to interpret the Constitution and hear challenges to the constitutionality of legislative enactments, without pressure from the executive or legislative branches, is a fundamental principle of the United States and Wisconsin Constitutions.
¶94 This fundamental principle of judicial review was described in Federalist No. 78,6 which emphasized the importance of the separation of powers and of an independent judiciary to ensure that legislative enactments are consistent with the
constitution.
¶95 Ascertaining the meaning of the Wisconsin Constitution and whether the enactment of the Budget Repair Bill complies with constitutional directives is the essence of the present case. And the court must do so adhering to the Constitution,
laws, and its own rules of procedure.
¶96 The order and Justice Prosser's concurrence are based on errors of fact and law. They inappropriately use this court's original jurisdiction, make their own findings of fact, mischaracterize the parties' arguments, misinterpret statutes, minimize (if not eliminate) Wisconsin constitutional guarantees, and misstate case law, appearing to silently overrule case law dating back to at least 1891. This case law recognizes a court's power to review legislative actions in enacting laws when constitutional directives are at issue.

Protest the Pall (Lyin Ryan)

2011-06-11T05:27:00.001-07:00

Protest today (Sat 6/11 - 11:00 AM) outside Pall Ryan's Kenosha Office 5455 Sheridan Rd, Ste 125. Tell Privateering Pall that we need good jobs, not the end of medicare and slavery to the insurance profiteers!

Why WI New Voter ID Sucks for Democracy

2011-05-26T09:41:00.000-07:00

Scot Ross of One Wisconsin Now tells it brilliantly. We need to keep opposing this.

*

Dear Friend:

Many of you have written to me in response to my email yesterday about the voter ID bill. Some of you were very enthusiastic in your support of our efforts to fight back against this assault on our voting rights. But others of you had questions about the bill, and wondered why we oppose requiring qualified voters to show an ID at the polls. "You have to show an ID to rent a video, why not to vote?" someone asked. "With all the voter fraud out there, I think voter ID is a good idea," another person wrote.

I want to address these questions and fully explain why this bill is wrong for Wisconsin.

First of all, the right to vote is guaranteed to citizens of Wisconsin in our state constitution. The right to rent a movie, open a checking account, go to the bar, get on an airplane or any other similar activity is not, and requiring an ID for these types of activities is not a barrier to exercising a constitutionally-protect right. Voter ID is fundamentally different.

There is absolutely no evidence of a widespread conspiracy to commit voter fraud.Wisconsin's Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen has made prosecuting so-called voter fraud one of his top priorities. However, after a two year investigation into the 2008 election, Van Hollen has found a scant 11 potentially improper ballots out of nearly 3 million total votes cast. Of those, eight involved felons who voted while out in the community on probation or parole, a situation that voter ID would not remedy. That leaves 3 potentially bad votes out of 3,000,000 votes, or about 0.000001% of all votes cast. Voter ID is a solution in search of a problem.

The bill's authors, Republican Rep. Jeff Stone and Sen. Joe Leibham, have modeled their bill after Indiana's Voter ID law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court case upholding Indiana’s Voter ID bill, the lower court found “99 percent of Indiana’s voting age population already possesses the necessary photo identification to vote under the requirements.”

Wisconsin’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. Those without state-issued photo identification and who would need to obtain one under the Wisconsin Voter ID bill include:

23 percent of all elderly Wisconsinites over the age of 65
17 percent of white men and women
55 percent of all African American males and 49 percent of African American women
46 percent of Hispanic men and 59% of Hispanic women
78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24

Driver License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin, 6/05

Yes, the bill as written does have a provision to provide free identification for some Wisconsinites. Each and every one of these people would have to take the time off (in many cases unpaid) from work or family obligations to flock to Wisconsin DMVs. However, access to the DMV is a problem in Wisconsin; Indiana provides its residents exponentially more access to its Department of Motor Vehicles offices to obtain identification.

Wisconsin and Indiana have similar voting age populations (4.35 million vs. 4,8 million), but Wisconsin is 50 percent larger geographically than Indiana (54,314 sq. miles vs. 35,870 sq. miles). Indiana not only provides its residents 50 percent more DMV offices than Wisconsin (140 to 91), but also nearly three times the total hours these facilities are open.

Also consider:

Twenty-six percent of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open one day a month or less, while none of Indiana’s are open less than 100 days a year and nearly all are open over 250 days a year.
Wisconsin has only one DMV with weekend hours, while Indiana has 124 offices with weekend hours.
Three Wisconsin counties have no DMVs, no Indiana county is without a DMV.
Over half of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open on a part-time basis, while Indiana provides full-time DMVs in every county.

Wisconsin DMV service centers and hours, by county

Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, locations and hours

The need to expand the numbers and operational hours of Wisconsin DMVs to provide appropriate access could increase the $70 million biennial Wisconsin DMV budget by as much as 50 percent on top of the current $5 million price tag to provide free identifications.

Requiring eligible voters to produce ID at the polls is an unnecessary hurdle to exercising our right to vote which will prevent many people from voting. The "widespread voter fraud" that this bill is aimed at "fixing" does not exist, and the microscopic number of double votes will be FAR outpaced by the number of people who will be prevented from voting by the voter ID requirement. In a time when Wisconsin faces a $3 billion budget deficit, we simply cannot afford to double the DMV budget. Voter ID is a big-government, budget-busting solution in search of a problem; a solution that will make it more difficult to practice our most fundamental right.

That is why we oppose voter ID. I hope this email helps to answer your questions about this bill. If you're ready to join this fight, please sign up for our Voter Protection Task Force to push back against this assault on our democratic rights.

Sorry for the long email, but thank you, as always, for everything you do.

Scot

One Wisconsin Now

Hochul Win Casts Pall on Ryan!

2011-05-24T20:09:00.000-07:00

http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/88957/hochul-wins

House Teabaggers step in it AND scenes from Arrested Development (one of the best shows ever) BONUS!

Gubnah Wanker in Racine

2011-05-23T08:49:00.000-07:00

Wanker will address the annual meeting of the Racine County Economic Development Corporation tomorrow, Tuesday May 24th. This event was free and open to the public until Gubnah decided to come and they put in place a $25 registration fee to discourage undesirable members of the public.

Make the anger he's generated in only 5 short months plain to see and hear! Meet at 4pm at Case High School.

Sunday May 22, 2011 - Bad Judgment Day!

2011-05-22T01:06:00.001-07:00

Mrs Attacks!

2011-05-20T08:05:00.000-07:00

Once foiled by Slim Whitman's yodal, this savy and persistant martian (Mrs Newt) has found a new avenue to take control of the whitehouse!

Don't Blame That Asshole!

2011-05-19T06:31:00.000-07:00

On my way up to Kimberly yesterday, just a bit north of Milwaukee I saw a teabagger with his pickemup truck towing his fancy boat. On the back window of his cap he had a sign that sad "Don't blame me, I voted for the white guy."

But I actually have to, in a way, commend this Asshole for clearly and succinctly demonstrating the source of his assholery, he's a racist. Now if you're a fucking racist scumbag, why hide it? If those are your beliefs stand by them and proclaim them! Don't be shy. Don't have a hidden agenda. Don't pretend that you hate the president because of some policy or position he's taken that you disagree with. Don't worry about what other people think, what's socially acceptable, be yourself.

Shave Your God Damn head!
Get yourself a pair of clodhoppers!
Grow a funny little mustache just under you nose!

Asshole

PS, I also saw another one of those billboards proclaiming the end of the world this Saturday coming back on Hwy 41. Our cornucopia is spilling over with nuts. I can't wait till Sunday.

Kloppenburg Recount Volunteers Needed in Waukesha

2011-05-16T17:58:00.001-07:00

A connected friend just called and told me that Kloppenburg's people need recount watchers in WAUKESHA County (where else could it be more important?) this Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday from 8-5.

If you have free time those days and times, you can call their scheduling line and sign up for a shift:

(608) 206-9452

If that doesn't work, they were previously advising people to call the campaign office.

608-218-1203

The numbers may not be staffed at all times, so be patient.

Connected friend said that Joanne is currently ahead, though she doesn't expect that to last.

Word is that some of the ballot boxes have come in unsealed and in other bad conditions.

So, it's vitally important that we keep an eye on the county folk that caused this cock-up in the first place.

Please Volunteer!

The End is this Saturday!

2011-05-16T06:01:00.000-07:00

That's what a lot of the fundies are saying: http://judgementday2011.com/may-21-judgement-day/

I heard about this on NPR and I even saw a big billboard put up by Relevant Radio, proclaiming May 21st 2011 as Judgment Day on I-43 coming back from Green Bay this Saturday. People are quiting their jobs, spending their savings in the certainty that this is it and they'll be raptured at the end of the week.

If I had any idea how to do it, I'd organize a flash mob in reverse, a flash rapture if you will. If we could get thousands of people to just disappear from where their supposed to be and leave a little pile of cloths and shoes. Just think about when these folks start hearing reports of people vanishing and they're still here, left behind to face the tribulation. What FUN!

Where did the debt come from? The Post & Bloomberg know.

2011-05-02T21:42:00.000-07:00

A really good article about where the National Debt (see clock at left) comes from?

http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/running_in_the_red_how_the_us_on_the_road_to_surplus_detoured_to_massive_debt/2011/04/28/AFFU7rNF_story.html?nav=emailpage

The simple answer: tax cuts and unpaid for spending -- including wars. And you'll never guess who's responsible for most of it...

Okay, probably you will guess -- but Tea Baggers and Republicans won't.

Lyin Ryan Racine Venue Change Friday

2011-04-28T07:56:00.001-07:00

RACINE: Friday 3:45-5:00pm, Caesar Chavez Community Center Gymnasium, 2221 Douglas Avenue (venue changed to accommodate larger crowds)

Please also see the Billionaires for Wealthcare tribute to Paully. Dress in your CEO finery to regale our wonderous benefactor! http://www.facebook.com/event.php?eid=203093959723333#wall_posts

Royal Pain in the Ass

2011-04-27T06:08:00.000-07:00

God I can't wait until this fricken wedding is done! It's getting increasingly difficult to avoid the annoying coverage. It's the nauseating combination of two things I have no use for whatsoever, fauning celebrity gossip and aristocracy.

I suppose I'm being optimistic that it will stop there. There wil be the honey moon and then the move in to the castle day, yadda yadda yadda.

There Goes Lyin' Ryan

2011-04-26T04:56:00.000-07:00

Today's location for Rep. Paul Ryan's Kenosha listening session on the GOP budget recently changed! The location is now Gateway Technical College - 3520 30th Avenue in Kenosha. It also now begins 2:45 instead of 3:00 and runs until 4:00 pm. Hope you can attend and let others know he has changed the place to Gateway! Thanks!

There Goes Lyin' Ryan

2011-04-26T04:55:00.000-07:00

Jeremy Ryan Getting Hit By Tea Party Guy With Sign!! SHARE!!

2011-04-26T00:57:00.000-07:00

Is this conservative who engaged in political violence a "Thug"? My guess is no, he's probably someone who let their politically passions momentarily get the better of him. Should we use his example to paint them all as "thugs"? Of course not!

I’ve heard so called conservatives use the word “thug” to refer to union members more in the last two months than I’ve heard it used in my entire life. I can only assume it must be one of their propaganda talking points, you know, such as ”waste, fraud and abuse” or “prosperity”. The GOPsters have brought a lot of things to average Americans over the years, prosperity isn’t one of them.

Thug, Noun 1. A violent person, especially a criminal. 2. A member of a religious organization of robbers and assassins in India, suppressed by the British in the 1830s. I’m going to assume they're attempting to use the former definition, not the latter.

I’m not a union member or a public employee, nor is anyone in my immediate family, but I am for the moment still a member of the middle class besieged by the Republican Party and their plutocratic patrons. I don’t know how many of these demonstrations the folks applying this term have been to, but I’ve been to a dozen or more both locally and in Madison and I’ve yet to see a single “thug”, no violence, no criminals, none whatsoever. In fact when I was at one of the protest rallies in Madison I spoke with several law enforcement officers, including a policeman from Manitowoc. He was very complimentary of the demonstrators and said he had witnessed no violence in the weeks that he had been there and that of the hundreds of thousands of people who had come to the capitol over the weeks, there had been only 9 arrests for minor incidents, mostly disorderly conduct. He said that was “nothing” and that you get more than that at a single Brewer or Packer game.

We've all seen how Fux Snooze invented supposed Thuggery in Madison: http://www.prwatch.org/spin/2011/03/10253/fox-news-madison-protest-footage-aims-deceive Funny thing though, I don't recall seeing palm trees or mounted police in Madison as their video footage displayed. So Cult of Con memebers, why not do us all a favor? Pull your heads out of you AM radios, stop doing the Fux Snooze and if you're going to call people names try to do it with a decent basis in reality.

The Sara Schulz Show

2011-04-16T09:33:00.000-07:00

We have a local progressive voice, Sara Schulz who has started a talk radio show Saturdays from 10:00 to 11:00 AM: http://www.blogtalkradio.com/saraschulz You can also listen any time to her archived shows. She said that her discussion of Walker's Wisconsin Ecomonic Development Corporation would make me angry. She was right. This unaccountable opaque board of Wanker's corporate cronies will have a $379,000,000 slush fund to what will with. The whole show was great and is well worth a listen! She encourages people to call in at: 310-742-1896 Or you can email her at saraschulzshow@gmail.com

Palin to Attend TP Rally in Madison this Saturday!

2011-04-14T13:20:00.000-07:00

More cowbell, less Palin! http://thehill.com/blogs/ballot-box/gop-presidential-primary/156099-palin-to-attend-wis-tax-day-rally

Rob Zerban (D) to take on Paul Ryan (R-WI) – Why I am Encouraged

2011-04-14T13:18:00.000-07:00

Rob Zerban (D) to take on Paul Ryan (R-WI) – Why I am Encouraged

After reading my take on the '08 race, don't scream at me, just an honest observation!

Waukesha Vote Irregularities Go Back to 2004

2011-04-13T05:29:00.001-07:00

Again, imagine if these vote irregularities were happening in Milwaukee. The wingnuts on reationary radio and their parrots would be beside themselves, "Brown people are stealing our votes! http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/04/11/965994/-Waukesha-voting-irregularities-go-back-to-2004

Statement & Account of Ramona Kitzinger, Waukesha Board of Canvassers member since 2004:

2011-04-11T12:42:00.000-07:00

http://www.orchidforchange.com/parties/waukeshadems.com/ht/display/ArticleDetails/i/1343504 Monday, April 11, 2011 (Waukesha County Democratic Party)On Tuesday night, I received a voice message from someone in the office of Clerk Kathy Nickolaus informing me of a Wednesday canvass meeting, which I returned the next morning and said I would be able to report into the canvass by noon � which I did. Normally the canvass would begin at 9am on Thursday, as has been the general practice for many years. No one explained why they were beginning the canvass on Wednesday, just to please report immediately. Before this telephone call, I had not been contacted as the designated Democratic observer, and I saw no public notice of the abnormal canvass time. The phone call simply instructed me to report by noon to begin the canvass, which I did. The canvass then proceeded as normal, with no glaring irregularities or mention of a possible 15,000 vote error in Brookfield City. On Thursday, I then showed up as per normal procedure at 9am and the canvass again went normally and concluded sometime between 4pm and 5pm. During the course of the day, the issue of minor vote corrections in New Berlin and Lisbon came up, but again nothing of a historic nature or reflecting glaring irregularities. In fact, the matter of vote totals in Brookfield City came up specifically during the course of Thursday�s canvass. In retrospect, it seems both shocking and somewhat appalling there was no mention of discovery of this 15,000 vote �human error� that ultimately had the potential to tip the balance of an entire statewide election. How is this possible? Once the canvass had been completed and the results were finalized, I was called into Kathy�s office along with Pat (the Republican observer) and told of an impending 5:30pm press conference. It was at that point that I was first made aware of an error Kathy had made in Brookfield City. Kathy told us she thought she had saved the Brookfield voter information Tuesday night, but then on Wednesday she said she noticed she had not hit save. Kathy didn�t offer an explanation about why she didn�t mention anything prior to Thursday afternoon�s canvass completion, but showed us different tapes where numbers seemed to add up, though I have no idea where the numbers were coming from. I was not told of the magnitude of this error, just that she had made one. I was then instructed that I would not say anything at the press conference, and was actually surprised when I was asked questions by reporters. The reason I offer this explanation is that, with the enormous amount of attention this has received over the weekend, many people are offering my statements at the press conference that the �numbers jibed� as validation they are correct and I can vouch for their accuracy. As I told Kathy when I was called into the room � I am 80 years old and I don�t understand anything about computers. I don�t know where the numbers Kathy was showing me ultimately came from, but they seemed to add up. I am still very, very confused about why the canvass was finalized before I was informed of the Brookfield error and it wasn�t even until the press conference was happening that I learned it was this enormous mistake that could swing the whole election. I was never shown anything that would verify Kathy�s statement about the missing vote, and with how events unfolded and people citing me as an authority on this now, I feel like I must speak up.

Mythology of the Cult of Con

2011-04-08T07:15:00.000-07:00

Can you imagine the wailing & gnashing from the Cult of Con if 8,000 votes had appeared two days late out of Milwaukee instead of Brookfield? Brown people are stealing our votes! As it was Wanker had already segregated Madison off as not part of Wiscinsin.

April 4th Day of Action

2011-04-04T05:53:00.001-07:00

TODAY - Area Teachers will convene after school (3:30pm) in 3 locations:
Horlick cluster-sidewalk in front of Quarry Lake Park
Park cluster-Monument Square
Case cluster-Hwy. 31 and Hwy. 20
ALL WILL CONVERGE AT Hwy. 31 and Hwy. 20 At 5:00 pm for giant visibility event! Be There!

JoAnne Kloppenburg In Racine Today!

2011-04-04T05:48:00.001-07:00

The Candidate for Supreme Court will be in Racine on Monday April 4th for a whistle-stop rally. 11:30 am at Racine's Monument Square. Be there and tell your friends!

Prosser Not Fit To Be Dog Catcher!

2011-04-01T08:13:00.000-07:00

Stating that Prosser has lost the "even-handed impartiality" that is an essential asset for any judge, Lucey said in a statement issued Thursday evening. http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/119033134.html Prosser also has displayed "a disturbing distemper and lack of civility that does not bode well for the high court in the face of demands that are sure to be placed on it in these times of great political and legal volatility." Kloppenburg, on the other hand, has adhered throughout her campaign to both even-handedness and non-partisanship, Lucey said. The chair of Prosser's campaign is former Republican Gov. Tommy G. Thompson. In a response issued Thursday night, Prosser said he was disappointed with Lucey's decision but his respect and admiration for the former governor remain unchanged. IT GETS EVEN WORSE! Any sense that Prosser is impartial and judicious is ludicrous. the fact of the matter is that he is a vidictive A$$hole willing to use his seat on the People's bench to punish political opponents. This man is not fit to serve as dog catcher: http://blog.wisdc.org/2010/12/prossers-pitch.html Below is a letter account of Prosser's threat, made anonymously due to fear of retribution: I am writing to you anonymously to inform you of comments that were made by Justice Prosser in his stump speech to Wisconsin Association for Justice at its board meeting on December 2, 2010. In his comments, Justice Prosser indicated that he wished the trial lawyers to know that if the race led to him being attacked from the "left," that he would move to the right and the trial lawyers would suffer for it. He stated that it would be in the best interest of the trial lawyers if he stayed in the middle. In fact, he said "don't force me to run a campaign that is not down the middle and honorable." When asked to explain that, he indicated that if the left demonizes him, it will push him to the right. He said he would do whatever was necessary and would side with those who were supporting him so he would not be retired as a Justice. It was evident to those in the room that he was issuing a threat that if he was not supported by the trial lawyers, then they could expect that the decisions he renders will be against the interests that the trial lawyers espouse on behalf of injured consumers. It appears clear by his comments that he would prejudge any issue that came against him from someone who did not support him in the campaign. It should be noted that Justice Prosser's comments to the Wisconsin Association for Justice had been made privately to other individuals who reported that he was contacting them for support. In his contact, he would indicate that if he was not supported by those on what he considers the "left," he would move to the right in his decision making if he were to be re-elected. He further indicated that he wished he didn't have to do that but would do so if necessary so that he would be re-elected. These comments are not in keeping with the judicial code of ethics. These are clearly questionable campaign tactics for someone who seeks to sit on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. Sincerely, A Concerned Attorney

GOP$ter$ Fear the Public

2011-03-28T06:35:00.000-07:00

With the center of gravity for Wisconsin located in the southeast, where are the GOP$ters going to hold PUBLIC hearings on their budget bill? As far away from the public as possible, Stevens Point, Arcadia and Minong (MINONG?!). O.K. and West Allis. I guess they couldn't be totally blatant about waving their privates at the public.

We've long known that public is a dirty word to these corporatists, what's become evident now is that is also a scary word to them. Scary because of course Repubicons are A$$holes and A$$holes are fearful.

Or maybe I'm wrong and they just wanted to tour the highways that will get special treatment from the millions of dollars being diverted from the public education of our children to the corporate sponsors in the road builder lobby. But I'm willing to bet that the only facilities capable of accomodating a large public event in Arcadia and Minong are the public's schools.

WHEN GOP$TER$ ATTACK - ACADEMIC FREEDOM!

2011-03-27T09:10:00.000-07:00

MUST READ: Now the GOP$ers are going after distinguished professor William Cronon is the Frederick Jackson Turner and Vilas research professor of history, geography and environmental studies at the University of Wisconsin and recently elected president of the American Historical Association because they don't want The People to Know that: a group called ALEC writes their LAWS FOR THEM! http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/ Cronon on his private blog http://scholarcitizen.williamcronon.net/ "One conclusion seems clear: what we’ve witnessed in Wisconsin during the opening months of 2011 did not originate in this state, even though we’ve been at the center of the political storm in terms of how it’s being implemented. This is a well-planned and well-coordinated national campaign, and it would be helpful to know a lot more about" In other words, the Republicon ideal of "Local Control" is a LIE! You cannot have local control (or democracy) when your hidden agenda is adopted from NATIONAL THINK TANKS! The republicon party IS A LIE! You can read the NYT article comparing A$$hole Snott Wanker to UltraMericanScum Joseph McCarthey http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/22/opinion/22cronon.htm Very good! That and the blog piece linked above leads to this: http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/118654904.html The GOP$ters are making the HUGE stretch that by bringing this information to the public, he is violating UW policy: The university has an e-mail policy that states, "University employees may not use these resources to support the nomination of any person for political office or to influence a vote in any election or referendum.” To which charge the professor CORRECTLY responded: "It never occurred to me that my suggestion that more study needed to be done about the group might be interpreted as electioneering," Cronon added. "The GOP drew a line that had not occurred to me. That my posting might damage people involved in the recall elections. That surprised me. But that's clearly what they were concluding." SERIOUSLY, if citizens can't bring forth information about politicians and political groups because someone thinks it might influence votes then DEMOCRACY IS DONE! If information shouldn't influence vote then what the F%$& should! I guess I shouldn't need to ask this question of the would be junta that brought us FUX SNOOZE! The NYT calls this a shabby Crusade: http://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/28/opinion/28mon3.html?_r=1&ref=opinion "This is a clear attempt to punish a critic and make other academics think twice before using the freedom of the American university to conduct legitimate research." Professors are not just ordinary state employees. As J. Harvie Wilkinson III, a conservative federal judge on the Fourth Circuit Court of Appeals, noted in a similar case, state university faculty members are “employed professionally to test ideas and propose solutions, to deepen knowledge and refresh perspectives.” A political fishing expedition through a professor’s files would make it substantially harder to conduct research and communicate openly with colleagues. And it makes the Republican Party appear both vengeful and ridiculous. This is an attack on academic FREEDOM and further proof that Republicons are A$$HOLE$!

Racine Protest 3-25-11

2011-03-26T23:24:00.000-07:00

Don't Forget GOP$ter Protest Today - Racine Marriott

2011-03-25T07:27:00.001-07:00

Racine County GOP$ters are having their annual Lincoln Denegration Dinner today at the Racine Marriott to shill for their corporatist sponsors. Gather in the Case HS parking lot. Bring a sign or a noise maker. I'm bringing my cowbell. I've gotta fever for more cowbell and less Snott Wanker!

Invited guests include Scott Walker (word is he'll be there), Ron Johnson & JB Van Hollen. Cocktales @ 5:30, piggies to the trough @ 6:30.

GOP$ter Protest this Friday - Racine Marriott

2011-03-23T09:46:00.001-07:00

Friday evening (3/25/11) the Racine County GOPsters will host their annual Lincoln Dinner Fundraiser at the Racine Marriott. As if Honest Abe would have anything to do with these liars, crooks and corporate sell-outs! The keynote speaker is Georgia radio talk-show host and Presidential hopeful Herman Cain http://www.hermancain.com/ Go figure, a wingnut talk show host as President. I think that'd be about the last straw for America.

Invited guests include Scott Walker, Ron Johnson & JB Van Hollen. Cocktales @ 5:30, piggies to the trough @ 6:30.

The Friday visibility protest at Hwys 20 & 31 is moving west to make sure all GOP members get a good view of the energy they have inspired. Please be at the Case High School parking lot around 4pm. Think of a clever sign or bring a noise maker! And of course, dress for the weather. Bring every person you know - because the press will be there, and a good showing is key!

Also, "like" Racine Solidarity on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/pages/Racine-Solidarity/110477482366322 The place to find out about anti-Wanker Events in the Racine, Kenosha and Walworth CO. areas. And please pass the word on to others you know in the area.

It's the Inequity Stupid

2011-03-22T18:58:00.000-07:00

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

Scott Walker in Pleasant Prairie TODAY 9:30!

2011-03-17T05:38:00.000-07:00

Top o the Marnin! SCOTT WALKER will be at 7809 100th St. in Pleasant Priairie TODAY (3/17) at 9:30AM for a "jobs" press conference. I called and 12 news gave me the address which was being with held on the news and web (we've gottem on the run). Thank you channel 12! This is an empty mfg building in the industrial park about two block due south from the power plant off 80th Ave, just west of Green Bay Rd., east of Cty H and north of Hwy 165. 95th St or 165 will get you to 80th Ave which will get you to 100th St. on the east. There are no sidewalk and not much public right-of-way to be on. One possible solution is to drive by beeping show me what democracy looks like (dit dit dit dit-dit dit-dit dit dah!)

Aircraft Carrier USS Ronald Reagan

2011-03-16T11:08:00.001-07:00

To the Japanese victims of the earth quake/tsunami/nuclear disaster - "I'm from the (US) government and I'm here to help".

The Cult of Con vs the Founders, Freedom, Education & Democracy

2011-03-15T23:47:00.000-07:00

"If a nation expects to be ignorant and free, in a state of civilization, it expects what never was and never will be." Thomas Jefferson

Thomas Jefferson drafted the Northwest Ordinance of 1785, also known as the Freedom Ordinance providing the means by which the territories to the northwest of the orginal 13 states (south of the great lakes, north of the Ohio River and east of the Mississippi, later OH, MI, IN, IL & WISCONSIN) would enter the union.

The ordinance declared the area to be free of slavery and provided for a layout of townships of 36 square miles, 6 miles on a side with a north and south orientation, divided into one-square-mile lots of 640 acres, to be sold at $1 per acre.

One section was set aside to be sold for income supporting public schools (the first national education law written anywhere), which reflected Jefferson’s commitment to public education as essential to democracy.

Solidarity Racine Facebook Page

2011-03-15T10:01:00.000-07:00

Finally, a useful purpose for Facebook! http://www.facebook.com/pages/Racine-Solidarity/110477482366322

Kleefisch @ UW-P Tomorrow

2011-03-15T06:24:00.001-07:00

The Kenosha Chamber of Commerce has invited local business owners and leaders to a round-table discussion with Lieutenant Governor Rebecca Kleefisch, 9:00 AM-10:30 AM, Wednesday, March 16, 2011 at UW Parkside Student Center Walnut Room, 900 Wood Road, Kenosha Wisconsin. They will discuss ways in which small businesses can move our economy forward and create jobs for Wisconsin workers as the Walker Administration works to reform government, provide safety in our communities and no tax increases.

Following the roundtable the Lt. Governor will tour Jockey International, 2300 60th Street, Kenosha.

Welcome to Wiscossippi Walmart Elementary School #213

2011-03-14T07:03:00.000-07:00

Stop SB 22, the privatization of our public Schools. Public education should be in the interest of the public good, not for private profit, it should benefit children and communities, not corporations!

More Republicon Power Grabbing for the Plutocrats. If you thought the budget dispair bill which stripped $1B from K-12 education (While increasing the transfer to the road builder lobby by $5B) was bad, IT ONLY GETS WORSE! In summary, SB 22:

Creates a 9-person authorizing board for charter schools: 4 appointed by the Gubner, 3 by the senate majority leader and 3 by the speaker of the assembly (who know, Wanker and the Fitzfuckheads). This limits legislative oversight and hands decision making power over to Wanker's cronies.

Changes the law limiting organizations to opening only one charter school, allowing for profit Charter Management Organizations (CMOs) to enter Wisconsin, leading franchized schools.

Removes the requirement for teachers at charter schools to have achieved certification.

Lifts cap on and promotes virtual (online) schools.

By the way, there is NO EVIDENCE that charter schools do a better job at educating young people. So what are the ramifications if this bill is passed?

Public tax dollars will be siphoned to the clutches of private hands and away from local communities.

Traditional public schools become further strapped for funds.

The power of locally elected school boards will be decreased.

Segregation of the school age population will increase.

"Difficult" students will be pushed out of charter schools and into under-resourced public schools.

Increased reliance on teaching to the test.

Low educator compensation and moral.

High educator turnover.

Destruction of the one institution that pulls many communities together.

The Gipper vs the GOPsters

2011-03-14T00:22:00.000-07:00

"Where free unions and collective bargaining are forbidden, freedom is lost." - Ronald Reagan

IN YOUR FACE REPUBLICONS!

ReCall - Because Wisconsin Will Never Forget!

2011-03-10T12:18:00.001-08:00

This poll was taken yesterday, BEFORE last night's egregious events: http://voices.washingtonpost.com/plum-line/2011/03/poll_majorities_support_recall.html

Sen. GOPHopper or someone else? 54% - someone else, 43% GOPHopper.

How does Sen. Kapanke ranke? 57% someone else 41% Kapanke.

I like those odds!

Question: Collective Bargaining – Right or Privilege?

2011-03-10T10:33:00.000-08:00

After the blatant abuse of power illegal vote yesterday in the Wisconsin legislature, I keep seeing my fellow middle class workers’ right to collectively bargain called a privilege.

Anti-War on the Middle Class Rally - Friday 4PM Hwys 20 & 31

2011-03-10T08:52:00.000-08:00

Nuff said.

Protest 9AM Today - Monument Square

2011-03-10T05:43:00.000-08:00

A message to all members of Community for Change. In light of tonight's illegal assault to strip Wisconsin unions of collective bargaining rights and the insane and arrogant manner in which it passed the State Senate there will be a protest in Racine at Monument Square at 9am ~ Thursday March 10th. This will be a vocal and peaceful protest. Please come and stand with your friends and neighbors to say "NO" to this abuse of Wisconsin workers!

Town Hall Meeting At Case HS Thurs & Buses to Madtown Sat

2011-03-09T06:15:00.000-08:00

A message to all members of Community for Change

There will be a Budget Town Hall on Thursday (March 10) at 7pm at Case High School. Sponsored by the Institute for Wisconsin's Future.
Be there and spread the word....at least it won't be cold!
Buses! We got buses going to Madison on Saturday:

From Racine/AFL-CIO

Racine 1 bus (Kobussen School Bus)
12:00 pm Park & Ride Racine/Sturtevant

(First come first serve)

From Racine/Voces de la Frontera

Buses depart 10 am from Pick ‘n Save, 2210 Rapids Dr. Return at 6:30 pm
(To reserve your seat for Racine buses call: 262-619-4180

Unbalanced - Why America is Falling Over

2011-03-09T05:51:00.000-08:00

Most Americans don't realize how unbalanced we are (see above). Balance is a healthy thing for Democracy. We once had a healthy Democracy.

We once had balance, but 30 years of rigging the rules to advantage the elites who disproportionately fund (bribe) politicians has led to the Plutocracy we have today, where bankster crooks on Wall St. get bail outs and working people get attacked and are told to give up more of what little they have left and are propagandized to envy those workers that still have something left of what it once meant to be middle class in America.

It's a divide and conquer strategy by the Plutocracts like the Koch Bros and their puppets like Scott Walker and the other Radical Republicons who would have wealth rule like a banana republic.

Support Rally at the School for the Deaf in Delavan Friday 4-6

2011-03-08T09:41:00.000-08:00

Here is an opportunity for what we are hoping will be just as big as the event in Elkhorn (500-700):

DELAVAN CELEBRATING HOMETOWN HEROES—
SUPPORTING PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
FRIDAY MARCH 11th 4-6 PM

MEET AT THE DELAVAN SCHOOL FOR THE DEAF

This event will be similar to the Elkhorn event held on 2/22 and will focus on the positive contributions made by public sector workers. Keep it positive, professional, and proud. Please meet at the Delavan School for the Deaf, intersection of Hwys. 11 and X.; parking available on side streets

It is our job to help keep the heat on in terms of showing up for rallies and demonstrations. The Wisconsin 14 are keeping up their bargain by staying in IL. As Michael Moore said on Saturday in Madison, It is unusual to find Democrats in agreement on anything for so long. Keep up the hard work!! Bring your friends, neighbors, families and your children. Help them learn about democracy in action!!

See the Michael Moore video at http://prwatch.org/2011/03/99441/live-reporting-wisconsins-protests.

March for the Middle Class!

2011-03-08T09:08:00.001-08:00

Please join Kenosha Labor for a March to Save the Middle Class on Wednesday, March 9th. The March will convene at 4pm at Kenosha City Hall (625 52nd Street) and move to Civic Center Park (900 57th Street) for a rally at 5pm.

Join your brothers and sisters in Kenosha with a strong showing of support for workers rights and for Senator Bob Wirch! See you there, dress warm and get ready to shout loud!

Q: Why Tax the Rich to Fill the Deficit?

2011-03-07T06:01:00.000-08:00

A: Because they've got all the money now and they are the ones benefiting disproportionately from system, so they should support it disproportionately.

And remember, the next time you hear some GOPundit say that the average incomes of Americans are rising that it is only half the truth, designed to deceive and therefore, a lie. Ask them if the incomes of average Americans are rising. The answer is NO!

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

2011-03-05T08:21:00.000-08:00

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF WISCONSIN

From the concerned employees of UW-Parkside.

Local Kill the Bill & Worker Rights Event

2011-03-04T10:58:00.000-08:00

Saturday Rally and Canvass - Burlington
Saturday March, 5th - 10am-12pm
Southern Lakes United Educators office
616 Droster Ave. Burlington, WI. 53105

If you have questions about these events, please contact:
Justin Geiger
WI AFL-CIO
SE WI Service Area Organizer
office: (262)456-1151
Cell: (414)745-4177

BAPblog Redesign

2011-03-04T07:14:00.000-08:00

Awesome Kay! Thanks for the new look!

Vigil Tonight in Burlington

2011-03-03T13:50:00.001-08:00

TONIGHT! Thursday Candle light vigil - Burlington
Thursday, March 3rd – 5 p.m.
Burlington at the Wehmhoff square downtown- 355 N. Pine St. burlington,WI. 53105
You know, two blocks south of Fred's!

Fox News Lies About "Violent Wisconsin Protests"

2011-03-03T06:10:00.000-08:00

The palm trees, the mounted policeman and the violence proves that this is NOT Madison and tha FuxSnooze LIES!

ASStroturf

2011-03-03T05:56:00.001-08:00

WALKER'S PUBLIC RELATIONS BUS TOUR STARTS MARCH 3rd! The Koch Brothers funded front group, American's for Prosperity for Millionaires, are trying to shore up Walkers sagging support.

First Stop for Walker - Kenosha - Brat Stop 9 a.m. Be there today and tell puppet governor sell out Walker to hit the bricks! Here's the schedule link for other cities around the state.

Q: Why Tax the Rich to Fill the Deficit?

2011-03-02T17:52:00.001-08:00

A: Because they've got all the money now!

Snott Wanker's Answer instead?

- Tax cuts for the rich
- Sacrifice from the middle class
- Death panels for the poor
- Roads instead of schools

Local Kill the Bill & Worker Rights Events

2011-03-02T05:27:00.001-08:00

Wednesday AFSCME Meeting and March - Union Grove
TODAY Wednesday March, 2nd- 3:30pm
American legion hall
1027 New Street
Union Grove, WI 53182

Thursday Candle light vigil - Burlington
Thursday, March 3rd – 5 p.m.
Burlington at the Wehmhoff square downtown- 355 N. Pine St. burlington,WI. 53105

Friday Visibility on Hwy 20 - Racine
Friday, March 4th - 4pm-6pm
Hwy 31 and Hwy 20 Racine, WI.

Faith Forum: Budget Impact on Racine County
Friday, March 4th - 6pm
Location to be determined

Saturday Rally and Canvass - Burlington
Saturday March, 5th - 10am-12pm
Southern Lakes United Educators office
616 Droster Ave. Burlington, WI. 53105

If you have questions about these events, please contact:
Justin Geiger
WI AFL-CIO
SE WI Service Area Organizer
office: (262)456-1151
Cell: (414)745-4177

The Joke's On Us Peasants

2011-02-28T20:45:00.000-08:00

"A unionized public employee, a teabagger, and a CEO are sitting at a table. In the middle of the table there is a plate with a dozen cookies on it. The CEO reaches across and takes 11 cookies, looks at the teabagger and says, "Look out for that union guy -- he wants a piece ...of your cookie."

WI Taxpayers Contribute Nothing to Employee Pensions

2011-02-28T06:21:00.000-08:00

Forbes: Wisconsin Lie Exposed - Taxpayers Actually contribute Nothing to Employee Pensions

http://blogs.forbes.com/rickungar/2011/02/25/the-wisconsin-lie-exposed-taxpayers-actually-contribute-nothing-to-public-employee-pensions/

It's the Disparity Stupid / Plutocracy Now

2011-02-25T06:47:00.000-08:00

Look at these graphs: It's the Disparity, Stupid.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-in-america-chart-graph

Do not however, read this article: Plutocracy Now: What Wisconsin is Really About.

http://motherjones.com/politics/2011/02/income-inequality-labor-union-decline?page=1

It's just too damn depressing for our democracy. I'll go to Madison Saturday, because if I'm going down, I might as well be swinging against plutocracy. But if Madison isn't a water shed, then I fear democracy is dead.

You'd think actual proof of the sell out of your democracy by the Koch Whores to the big money guys would wake most people up. But the FuxSnooze.

The Repubicons say they're so concerned about the debt, though they caused it and their continued actions speak otherwise.What's maddening is that the middle class people are supposed to sacrifice (if ya want blood don't look to turnips) but we dare not even think about asking the mega rich people to kick in more to solve the debt problems, because both parties serve them alone. They alone possess the money that is key to the TV ads, which are most sacred to all who would "serve the public".

What the GOPsters have succeeded in doing again is what they are SO good at; pitting different sectors (public/private) of the poor, working and middle classes against one another to fight over the remnant crumbs while the top 1% who possess more wealth than the bottom 90% combined, laugh all the way to their bailed out banksters and tell the politicians they sponsor that they need even more! It's a disgusting, vile situation in America today! Democracy my ass.

Pro-labor Rally in Kenosha today at 4PM!

2011-02-24T08:32:00.000-08:00

Pro-labor Rally in Kenosha today at 4PM!

Click for details!

Madam, I Must Stick my Nose in There

2011-02-24T08:29:00.000-08:00

From Yesterday's Democracy Now! headlines: http://www.democracynow.org/2011/2/23/headlines

A Republican state legislator in Georgia has introduced a measure that would make abortion the legal equivalent of murder and force the criminal investigation of women who suffer miscarriages. The bill, HB 1, from House Republican Bobby Franklin, would classify the removal of a fetus under any circumstance other than during a live birth or to remove a dead fetus as "prenatal murder." Doctors and hospitals would be forced to report miscarriages to authorities, who would then have to investigate if the miscarriage occurs without medical attention.

Walker is a Koch Whore

2011-02-23T11:25:00.000-08:00

This is proof that Walker doesn’t work for the people of Wisconsin. He’s nothing but a shill for his plutocrat corporate sponsors, raiders of the public trough, enemies of democracy! Think government is too expensive? ANY price is too expensive when the government isn’t yours! You are being SOLD OUT!

A prank caller posing billionaire con-man David Koch was able to speak with Gov. Scott Walker for 20 minutes yesterday afternoon as Walker laid out in detail his strategy and confirmed that it was intent to cripple public employee unions. The governor's office has confirmed that the call did take place.

The Audio of the conversation was posted on the Buffalo Beast and you can listen to it here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2011/02/23/scott-walker-buffalo-beast-phone-prank_n_827058.html?ir=Chicago

The man pretending to be Koch said, “You’re the first domino.” To which Walker replied, “Yep, this is our moment”. Walker laughed about bringing a baseball bat to a potential meeting with Dems (Gee, ya think there’ll be a few cardboard bat in Madison after today?!).

In closing the prankster says: "I'll tell you what Scott, once you crush these bastards, I'll fly you out to Cali and really show you a good time." Walker replied. "Alright, that would be outstanding. Thanks for all the support and helping us move the cause forward. We appreciate it and we're doing the just and right thing for the right reasons and it's all about getting our freedoms back". Then the caller said, "Absolutely. And you know, we have a little bit of vested interest as well" and laughed. "That's just it. The bottom line is, we're going to get the world movement here because it's the right thing to do," replied Walker. Walker ended the call saying, thanks a million." Walker ends the call by saying, "thanks a million."

It should be more like THANK MILLION$! The brothers own Koch Industries, Inc., which is the largest privately-owned company in America and has significant operations in Wisconsin. Its political action committee gave $43,000 to Walker's campaign, and donated heavily to the Republican Governors' Association, which funded ads attacking Walker's opponent in last year's election. The Kochs also give millions to support Americans For Prosperity, which launched a $320,000 television ad campaign in favor of Walker's legislation. The Koch have also opened a lobbying office on Wisconsin’s capitol square and may be positioning themselves to buy publicly owned power plants at whatever price their boy Scotty sets as stipulated deep in the 144 pages of Walker’s Budget Despair Bill.

Part of the irony is that Walker suggests that if the unions are helping with costs for the 14 Dem senators to stay in the land of Lincoln (another Quorum foiler) that is might be an ethics or legal violation. But apparently he thinks there’s no ethical or legal violation to his shilling for his corporate sponsor! He also complains that unions give money to Dems and expect something in return while he’s talking at length to his faux corporate sponsor about doing his bidding!

Elkhorn

2011-02-23T07:21:00.000-08:00

400-500 demonstrated against Plan Plutocracy with peaceful high spirits on the square in Elkhorn last night, countered by 50-75 teabaggers.

Oh Mr. Lincoln, the Irony!

2011-02-22T11:30:00.000-08:00

Indiana Dems Flee to Illinois as former Party of Lincoln cries foul! On December 5, 1840 State Legislator Abraham Lincoln jumped from a 2nd story window to deny the Illinois House a . . . QUORUM!

http://www.kmph.com/Global/story.asp?S=9803297

Panderer to Payoff Plutocrats

2011-02-22T06:17:00.000-08:00

The Budget Dispair Bill contains provision for Walker to sell off or lease publicly owned heating and cooling power utilities with no bidding at whatever price they determine is "fair". And who will Pay the Plutocratic Privatizing Profiteers (Koch Bros) "return on investment" in little scotty walker? The citizens of Wisconsin of course!

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2011/02/21/947947/-The-Koch-Brothers-End-Game-in-Wisconsin

In short:
1) Koch Brothers get their puppet Governor Walker in power
2) Governor Walker gins up a crisis
3) Democrats and Progressives take the bait and counter-protest on collective bargaining
4) Governor Walker will compromise on collective bargaining if the rest of the budget is passed as is
5) Bill passes, with Trojan horse give-a-way to the Koch Brothers nested in
6) Koch Brothers will buy Wisconsin state-owned power plants for pennies on the dollar in closed unsolicited bids for which there will be no oversight
7) Koch Brothers get the best vertical monopoly in a

Evidence: http://motherjones.com/mojo/2011/02/wisconsin-scott-walker-koch-brothers

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.
Protesters surrounded Wisconsin's capitol building in Madison this week to register their opposition to GOP Gov. Scott Walker's plans to strip collective bargaining rights from public employees. Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott Walker, whose bill to kill collective bargaining rights for public-sector unions has caused an uproar among state employees, might not be where he is today without the Koch brothers. Charles and David Koch are conservative titans of industry who have infamously used their vast wealth to undermine President Obama and fight legislation they detest, such as the cap-and-trade climate bill, the health care reform act, and the economic stimulus package. For years, the billionaires have made extensive political donations to Republican candidates across the country and have provided millions of dollars to astroturf right-wing organizations. Koch Industries' political action committee has doled out more than $2.6 million to candidates. And one prominent beneficiary of the Koch brothers' largess is Scott Walker.

Public Wisconsin workers earn less in total compensation than private

2011-02-21T10:37:00.000-08:00

Graphic: Public Wisconsin workers earn less in total compensation than private

Video from Madison Saturday and Vigil for Workers in Elkhorn on Tuesday

2011-02-21T07:49:00.000-08:00

Great! video shot by a local man in Madison on Saturday the 19th with lots of excellent comments from demonstrators regarding what Walker's push to plutocracy is really all about, cheap labor, insecure workers and one party rule: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZQMu2NcCWDo

ALSO: A Candlelight Vigil will be held in downtown Elkhorn on Tuesday, Feb. 22 from 5:30 to 7:30 p.m. We are asking people to bring candles and signs that do not attack individuals, but rather point out the contributions that public service workers make to the community such as:
"Local Unions Support Local Jobs"
"We love our health professional/teacher/nurse/maintenance worker/child care professional" etc.
"Labor rights are human rights"
You get the picture...

**A sign making party will be held at the Walworth County Dems office at 13 E. Walworth St. on Monday at 6:30 p.m. - bring posterbaord and markers.

Please forward this and duplicate and distribute lavishly. We are expecting a good turnout - we have buy-in from WEAC, two local units of AFSMCE, IBEW, Walworth County Dems and the Construction and General Laborers Union Local 464 as well as numerous community members who "get it". Many thanks to all!

Conservatism: America's Leading Cause of Stupidity!

2011-02-20T17:24:00.001-08:00

Five states in the U.S. specifically prohibit collective bargaining for teachers. Their rankings in combined ACT/SAT scores:
44. Virginia
47. Texas
48. Georgia
49. North Carolina
50. South Carolina

Wisconsin is tied for second. http://law2.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/states/USCHARTsat.html

Walker's One Man Death Panel!

2011-02-19T08:05:00.000-08:00

The Budget Dispair Bill that Scott Walker attempted to ram through to prevent public scrutiny contains a change to the way Medical Assistance is determined that is every bit the egregious dictatorial power grab that his attack on labor and the middle class is. In fact, this is probably WORSE, because people's health and their very lives are at stake. These are the pro-life, family values folks, right? But hey, don't take my word for it. Below is a dire warning and analysis from a person whose famiily will be directly impacted by Walker's one man death panel and his would be power to change the rules with NO PUBLIC NOTICE and NO PUBLIC HEARINGS!

SPREAD THIS WORD!

Thanks,
Sean

For years, advocates in Wisconsin have been working to make life better -- in some cases, make life possible -- for people with disabilities.

The process has been slow. It has taken years to create the programs and put the funding in place to allow people with disabilities to live a meaningful life in their communities, in their homes, with the healthcare support they need. Bit by bit, but with much further to go, the argument has moved forward: if you don't want to go back to the bad old days of warehousing people in very expensive institutions where lives were unbelievably difficult and generally much shorter, the public needs to step up and provide support.

This successful argument has won us the MA waiver that provides intensive therapy for children with autism.

We've won funding for health care.
For respite care.
For the home modifications that keep people safe and mobile.
For the supports that allow adults with disabilities to live in the community.

On Friday February 11, Governor Scott Walker proposed a so-called "budget repair" bill that will allow him and his appointees to restructure and slash Medical Assistance programs in Wisconsin. If this bill passes, the future slashing will take place...

Without public notice. Without public input.

The budget bill was released on Friday. A public hearing was announced Monday noon to take place on Tuesday at 10am, less than 24 hours notice.

They want the legislature to rubber-stamp this bill with a vote THIS WEEK. (And they claim they have the votes to do it -- though the protests are beginning to make some Republican state senators squirm.)

Very few people even know about the provisions of the bill impacting Medical Assistance.

Some links to news articles backing this up...
Walker budget proposal would impact how health care works in state: http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/article_a28507fa-38a7-11e0-a87e-001cc4c002e0.html
Budget repair bill gives Walker free hand to revamp, cut Medicaid programs: http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/vital_signs/article_979fd798-385c-11e0-b233-001cc4c03286.html
State attorney said Walker's Medicaid plan raised "potential constitutional issues": http://host.madison.com/ct/news/local/health_med_fit/vital_signs/article_cee543c2-3939-11e0-8619-001cc4c03286.html

The bill also eliminates outright the agency that coordinates my daughter's respite care services, the Wisconsin Quality Home Care Commission. (The cuts in the respite funding itself will surely come later. Without public input or notice.)

Why don't people know about this?

Two major reasons:
1) The bill is loaded with outrages. The one that has been in the headlines, that people know most about, is the proposal to strip most collective-bargaining power from public employees, so that (for starters) the governor can implement a massive cut in take-home pay via drastically-increased employee benefit contributions. [For JoyDad and myself, the loss of income amounts to half our mortgage payment every month, the equivalent of a 150% income-tax hike.] The union-busting, an outrage in and of itself, also sets the stage for immense cuts in public education...
2) The timeline is appallingly, undemocratically short. The advocacy groups have not had time even to properly analyze the Medical

Assistance provisions in the bill, let alone inform the public to get to the hearing and tell their stories. People slept over in the Capitol rotunda in Madison last night. I submitted my written testimony Tuesday morning, but could not stay the whole day awaiting my turn to speak.

As I said in a letter to the editor that was published Tuesday, nobody is arguing that the state has no budget challenges. Some pain will have to be shared. Tax increases will have to be a part of this puzzle.

Governor Walker's approach so far, however, has been to hand over millions of dollars in corporate tax giveaways during a special-session in January this year. In other words, making the hole bigger, creating an "emergency" wher none truly exists.
And the mechanism that allows unfettered cuts to Medical Assistance, without so much as public notice let alone public input, is moving through practically un-noticed.

Scarier still -- the Walker-appointee in charge of the Department of Health Services, which will be responsible for the Medical Assistance revisions, is one Dennis Smith, formerly of the Heritage Foundation, who has argued that states would be better off dropping Medicaid altogether: http://www.heritage.org/Research/Reports/2009/11/Medicaid-Meltdown-Dropping-Medicaid-Could-Save-States-1-Trillion

Spread the word. Call the state legislators, or e-mail them if their phone mailboxes are still jammed full like they were yesterday! Write to your local paper. Hit the streets if you're anywhere near a rally. The Capitol was alive with protest today, what with the Madison schools closed as the teachers go out to advocate for Wisconsin public education -- JoyDad and I support them wholeheartedly.

But if the MA issue continues to fly under the radar, the protests won't get that part of the bill so much as tweaked.

Please help!

====
P.S. A little bit of wonky sausage-making detail for those who are interested in such things! According to the balance of powers in the State of Wisconsin, Medical Assistance changes have had to go through a legislative process, either through direct legislation or through administrative rule-making. Both approaches require public hearings.

The budget proposal changes the requirements for the process. Changes would be able to be made via "emergency rule," regulations which could be created by the Department of Health Services under the aforementioned Dennis Smith. Ordinarily, hearings must be held on emergency rules, and then after a specified period of time, the emergency rules must be converted into final rules, with another round of public hearing. However, according to the budget proposal, the new "emergency rules" slashing MA could be passed without hearing by the Joint Finance Committee, simply by the committee declining to take them up.

The JFC is currently 8 Republicans, 4 Democrats. The committee WILL DECLINE to take up any proposed emergency rules that result in MA cuts. So the emergency rules will simply pass into effect in 14 days. No public notice, no public input. The bill also waives the requirement for the emergency rules to be revisited and converted into final rules. No chance for public input and changes there either.

Re-posted with slight updates from the blog, Elvis Sightings by way of the Daily Kos: http://elvis-sightings.blogspot.com/2011/02/wisconsin-attack-on-medical-assistance.html