Sunday, April 10, 2011

Election turnout magnified divide in Wisconsin - JSOnline

Election turnout magnified divide in Wisconsin - JSOnline

Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

"This is, in my opinion, unconscionable," Grigsby said, accusing Vos of holding the facility "hostage" to prevent area residents from voicing any criticism of the budget bill. "They don't respond well to confrontation," Grigsby said of Republican legislative leaders.

Taylor said she confronted Vos at the committee hearing in Stevens Point. Vos told her, she said, that extending the hearing would turn it into a media circus.

"I said, 'You're making it into a circus. You literally went around and basically took it from us,' " Taylor said. "This isn't open government. This is not democracy. This is shameful."

Darling said there is some concern about things getting out of hand.

"You saw what happened at the Capitol," said Darling, a River Hills Republican. "Luckily, those crowds didn't happen in Superior or Stevens Point."

Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline

posted on Facebook by: Defend Wisconsin
WI Republicans really don't like listening to Wisconsinites who oppose them
Parties already sparring before local hearing starts - JSOnline
www.jsonline.com
This is how you pour gasoline on what is already expected to be an explosive hearing at State Fair Park on Monday over Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget:

The GOP Is in Trouble in Wisconsin | AlterNet

The GOP Is in Trouble in Wisconsin | AlterNet

Michigan Liberal::: Kathy Nickolaus - the County Clerk who "found" the ballots

Michigan Liberal::: Kathy Nickolaus - the County Clerk who "found" the ballots

Rachel Maddow

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/26315908/#42504154
Wis. vote count incompetence, not conspiracy?

Milwaukee County DA, state board schedule news conference on 'significant investigation' - JSOnline

Milwaukee County DA, state board schedule news conference on 'significant investigation' - JSOnline

Posted On Facebook, Investigate Kathy Nickolaus by: William Gilroy
gotcha!
Milwaukee County DA, state board schedule news conference on 'significant investigation' - JSOnline
www.jsonline.com
The state Government Accountability Board and Milwaukee County district attorney's office has scheduled a news conference Monday afternoon to discuss the results of a "significant investigation."

TODAY: Monday's budget hearing

WHAT:The third of four budget hearings around the state conducted by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.
Where: Wisconsin State Fair Park, West Allis. Expo Center, Hall A. Parking, enter Gate When: Public comments will be taken starting at 10 a.m. and are expected to continue until 6 p.m.

Waukesha County clerk, board clash over audit - JSOnline

Waukesha County clerk, board clash over audit - JSOnline

Defending Wisconsin | Recall Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, and J. B. Van Hollen

Defending Wisconsin | Recall Scott Walker, Rebecca Kleefisch, and J. B. Van Hollen

Posted on Facebook, in Investigating Kathy Nickolaus by: Barb Dawson
I LOVE THIS!! A great way to PEACFULLY protest IT TECH Waukesha County Clerk republican Kathy Nickolaus…I have really old (90's) windows and Mac text books from school I need to get rid of LOL!
http://www.defendingwisconsin.org/campaign.php

"That got me to thinking. Here we have a woman who has been employed as an IT “expert” and she can’t operate a simple database program? I think it’s up to us to help her. I would like to flood Kathy Nickolaus’ office with computer self-help books, i.e. “computers for dummies”. I say that if she is too stupid to figure out how to add columns on a computer, then it is up to us to give her the tools in order for her to learn how to do this right! I want us to go to every used book store, thrift store, charity store, and library and find a book that will help poor Kathy improve her computer skills. I want us to take those books, stick them in an envelope – no need for a letter or even a return address – and send them to:"

Charter Schools Outsource Education to Management Firms, With Mixed Results | Truthout

Charter Schools Outsource Education to Management Firms, With Mixed Results | Truthout

Sunday 10 April 2011
by: Sharona Coutts, ProPublica

(Photo: Tulane Publications; Edited: Jared Rodriguez / t r u t h o u t)

Since 2008, an Ohio-based company, White Hat Management, has collected around $230 million to run charter schools in that state. The company has grown into a national chain and reports that it has about 20,000 students across the country. But now 10 of its own schools and the state of Ohio are suing, complaining that many White Hat students are failing, and that the company has refused to account for how it has spent the money.

Daily Kos: UPDATE: 84% Vote against Citizens United! Same votes nationwide will help Dems win in 2012

Daily Kos: UPDATE: 84% Vote against Citizens United! Same votes nationwide will help Dems win in 2012

Posted on FB in Defend Wisconsin by: Mandy Wertz
Every city, every county, every state needs to vote on this. In addition, we need to pass campaign finance reform since Washington seems unwilling to do it.
Daily Kos: BREAKING: 84% in Madison Vote against Citizens United! First City in the Nation to Do So
www.dailykos.com
Voters in Madison, Wisconsin on Tuesday overwhelmingly approved, by an 84 percent majority, a city referendum calling for amending the U.S. Constitution to establish that “only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to constitutional rights.” In Dane County, Wisconsin, which includes the city

wisconsin supreme court election stolen - Google Search 1,990,000 results (0.09 seconds)

wisconsin supreme court election stolen - Google Search
Advanced search
About 1,990,000 results (0.09 seconds)

Dennis Smith: From the Heritage Foundation to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services | Autonomous Solidarity Organization

Dennis Smith: From the Heritage Foundation to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services | Autonomous Solidarity Organization

Home » Dennis Smith: From the Heritage Foundation to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services
Dennis Smith: From the Heritage Foundation to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services
Submitted by thomasmbird on Sat, 03/26/2011 - 14:02

In a statement released on January 25th, 2011, Dennis Smith offered the following:

“I would like to thank Governor Scott Walker for the honor and privilege of joining his Administration as Secretary of the Department of Health Services. I also want to thank Senator Vukmir for her leadership of the Senate Health Committee as well as all of the Committee members; Senators Galloway, Moulton, Erpenbach and Carpenter and all of the Senate leadership members for their courtesy and support. I look forward to a successful working relationship with all members of the state legislature – especially the health care related committees.

There is no question that these are challenging times but we are ready to meet these challenges head on. I have dedicated my career to public service and I am proud to have the opportunity to serve the people of the great state of Wisconsin.”


While this appears to be a relatively normal statement released by a newly appointed public official, the implications of Dennis Smith taking this position deserve serious consideration. This statement was accompanied by a brief history of Dennis Smith’s employment:

“Dennis Smith previously served as the head of the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services under Secretaries Tommy G. Thompson and Michael Leavitt. Smith has also worked as Medicaid director in the Commonwealth of Virginia and as Chief of Planning for the California Department of Developmental Services.”

One interesting omission in this history of Dennis Smith’s employment is the time he spent as a Senior Fellow in the Center for Health Policy Studies at The Heritage Foundation. As a Senior Fellow, Smith wrote extensively on government-run health insurance programs, something extremely relevant to his new position. Let us now begin looking into Dennis Smith’s published writings on Medicaid and how they are relevant to his new position.

Attacks on Medicaid and Medicare from the Heritage Foundation are largely based on misleading, intellectually dishonest arguments. Arguments against these programs are almost exclusively fiscal in nature, claiming we cannot afford to operate these programs. It is a noteworthy argument once one considers that, for example in the 2010 Federal Budget, Medicare and Medicaid combined cost $793 billion while the Defense Department alone was allotted $693 billion. Total spending on military efforts brings this figure closer to a trillion dollars. You can spend days reading through The Heritage Foundation’s statements on how unaffordable these healthcare programs are, yet the subject of why such defense spending is necessary is strangely given less attention. These fiscal arguments are only remotely reasonable if considered in a vacuum, in which no other aspect of federal spending or taxation could be adjusted.

More specifically, some of Dennis Smith’s work at the Heritage Foundation attacks Medicaid under the misleading argument that those in Medicaid would be better off with no insurance at all.
FULL ARTICLE HERE: Dennis Smith: From the Heritage Foundation to the Wisconsin Dept. of Health Services | Autonomous Solidarity Organization

Urban Wilderness: Wisconsin’s wildlife more endangered than ever!

Urban Wilderness: Wisconsin’s wildlife more endangered than ever!

Vote TODAY !!!! Conservation Congress on April 11 – Please!


"As everyone knows, Governor Walker has made national headlines over controversial proposals. He seems to relish the publicity as well as the fight he provoked. Much of the ire has been directed, appropriately, at his attempts to bust unions and gut public education. But much more is also at stake, including wildlife and peaceful recreation in our state parks.

The Wisconsin DNR is holding a Conservation Congress Monday, April 11 to determine the fate of 85 proposals for changes that could have a dramatic effect on our state parks."
SEE FULL ARTICLE HERE....Urban Wilderness: Wisconsin’s wildlife more endangered than ever!



You can make a difference by voting no on these and other ballot questions! But here’s the kicker: the rules stipulate that no public comments will be accepted. You must vote in person, you must vote on April 11, and you must vote in the one location designated for your county.SEE MAIN ARTICLE FOR ALL NECESSARY INFO
If you live in Milwaukee County, please vote at Nathan Hale High School in West Allis at 7 pm on April 11.

Wisconsin | I am Working America

Wisconsin | I am Working America Petition

The lives of working people in Wisconsin and around the country are being challenged like never before.

Stand together and declare that all working people deserve…