W.P.I.N.: 04/15/11

Friday, April 15, 2011

Final vote count gives Prosser Supreme Court victory

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/elections/article_bdd2d89c-6797-11e0-861d-001cc4c002e0.html

CAPTIMES Article Posted by Wisconsin State AFL-CIO

A conservative justice has weathered attempts to link him to Wisconsin's governor and a divisive union rights law and won re-election, according to county vote totals finalized Friday.

Tallies from each of the state's 72 counties show Justice David Prosser defeated challenger JoAnne Kloppenburg by 7,316 votes. State election officials said they will wait to declare an official winner until the deadline for Kloppenburg to seek a recount passes. She has until Wednesday to call for one.

Obama To Boehner In Budget Talks: 'You Think We're Stupid?' | TPMDC

Pandemonium! Dems Jam Republicans With Even More Conservative Budget | TPMDC

Pandemonium! Dems Jam Republicans With Even More Conservative Budget | TPMDC

"Panic ensued. In the House, legislation passes by a simple majority of members voting. The Dems took themselves out of the equation, leaving Republicans to decide whether the House should adopt the more-conservative RSC budget instead of the one authored by Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan. As Dems flipped to present, Republicans realized that a majority of their members had indeed gone on the record in support of the RSC plan -- and if the vote closed, it would pass. That would be a slap in the face to Ryan, and a politically toxic outcome for the Republican party.

So they started flipping their votes from "yes" to "no."

In the end, the plan went down by a small margin, 119-136. A full 172 Democrats voted "present."

Moments after it failed, RSC Chairman Jim Jordan took to Facebook."

VIDEO: Included on link. VIDEO AND FULL ARTICLE: Pandemonium! Dems Jam Republicans With Even More Conservative Budget | TPMDC

House Republicans Pass Plan To Phase Out Medicare, Slash Medicaid | TPMDC

Find elected officials, including the president, members of Congress, and more.| Progressive Democrats of America

Get Active | Progressive Democrats of America | Please find and post the names of your elected officials and contact information in an easy to get to place... call often and encourage your friends and family to do the same.....

YouTube - Recall Momentum! (Green Bay)

Voting Irregularities | The BRAD BLOG : Waukesha, WI Follies: 97.63% Turnout in 2004? 20,000 More Votes Than 'Ballots Cast' in 2006?

The BRAD BLOG : Waukesha, WI Follies: 97.63% Turnout in 2004? 20,000 More Votes Than 'Ballots Cast' in 2006?

Waukesha County, Wisconsin's County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus was already known, for some time, to be among the nation's worst elections official. And that's saying quite a bit. But new information being discovered over the past several days suggests she may be even worse than previously known --- which is also saying quite a bit.

We noted last Friday that the stunning 14,000+ "new" votes she announced as having discovered in the state's Supreme Court election from the city of Brookfield last Thursday actually weren't "new" at all. In fact, they were independently reported late on Election Night by Lisa Sink of the Brookfield Patch, exactly as they were eventually included in Nickolaus' final canvass report [XLS].

If anything, as we indicated in the same article, it is perhaps more troubling that the city of Brookfield's numbers didn't change at all from Election Night, suggesting that the ballots have never been examined by any human beings in order to assure the accuracy of the oft-failed, easily-manipulated optical-scanners used to tabulate the paper ballots in Waukesha (and across most of the state.)Full Article Here | The BRAD BLOG

The BRAD BLOG

The BRAD BLOG
"As per our story published a few hours ago on the still-unexplained anomalies found in past Waukesha County, WI elections, it looks like the state's Government Accountability Board (the body which oversees elections in the state) can't understand County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus' explanations for the anomalous 2006 results either, where some 20,000 more votes were tallied than "ballots cast", according to her own reports.

Just in tonight from the Wisconsin State Journal: "State investigating vote irregularities in Waukesha County going back 5 years""
link to full article here | The BRAD BLOG

Additonal Link: The BRAD BLOG : Waukesha, WI Follies: 97.63% Turnout in 2004? 20,000 More Votes Than 'Ballots Cast' in 2006?

PoliticusUSA | Sarah's Folly: Palin Invades Wisconsin To Rally Union Busting Troops

Sarah's Folly: Palin Invades Wisconsin To Rally Union Busting Troops

Sarah Palin is being sent to Wisconsin by the Tea Party in a desperate attempt to get more than 200 people for a pro-Walker, anti-union rally. Freedom Works (Koch brothers) last attempt to bus in bodies didn’t work out so well, so this time they’re bringing in their heavy hitter; the only national right wing “politician” ignorant enough to involve themselves Scott Walker’s anti-union debacle. But don’t let it be said that Sarah Palin isn’t doing something for the cause; while she is irrelevant politically, she is still capable of stirring up the opposition, and in this case, that means the pro-union forces. Thank you, Sarah Palin.

But Sarah Palin attaching herself to the anti-union call is the equivalent of waving a red flag at a bull, because if there is anything Palin has managed to do consistently, it’s raise money and generate motivation for the Democrats.

Palin might have wondered why no one else in her party was showing up in Madison; it’s because they can’t afford to be tainted with the anti-union brush of Scott Walker’s inept and now debunked “fiscal” governing. She may have wondered why President Obama did not insert himself into a cause he certainly supports; President Obama understands that when your enemy is shooting themselves in the foot, you don’t interfere and you certainly don’t show up to motivate the opposition.

5 Key Admissions Made Under Oath - Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

5 Key Admissions Made Under Oath - Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Posted on Facebook by: Not My Wisconsin
Walker finally admits some truths as he is called out on certain issues on Capitol Hill!
5 Key Admissions Made Under Oath - Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog
wisaflcio.typepad.com
Today, Scott Walker took his road show to Capitol Hill, where he was repeatedly embarrassed by members of the House Committee on Oversight and Government Reform at a hearing bought and paid for by his billionaire political benefactors, the Koch brothers. Below are give key admissions Walker was Full Article here - Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Blog

Mackinac Center for Public Policy - SourceWatch

Mackinac Center for Public Policy - SourceWatch
Schiavone Family Foundation $10,000

Posted on Michigan Stands up for Democracy Facebook page by:Jonny Cache
Help us update our article on the Mackinac Center for Public Policy
SourceWatch • Mackinac Center for Public Policy
www.sourcewatch.org
The Mackinac Center for Policy Research, founded in 1987, is the largest conservative state-level policy think tank in the nation. It was established by the state's leading conservative activists to promote conservative free market, pro-business policies. Reflected by its board of directors and …

Comment by: Jonny Cache
“The Mackinac Center for Public Policy has been in the news lately for filing very broad Freedom of Information Act requests for all emails and communications from professors who teach in labor relations programs at Michigan's major public... universities. The Mackinac Center is seeking copies of all emails that include such words and phrases as “Scott Walker,” “Wisconsin,” “Madison,” “Maddow,” (as in Rachel Maddow) and “any other emails dealing with the collective bargaining situation in Wisconsin” from January 1 to March 25, 2011. Who is the Mackinac Center, and what are they trying to accomplish with these current efforts against labor relations professors? What have you seen, and what have you read? Contribute the information to SourceWatch's article on the Mackinac Center for Public Policy If you would like to help in other ways, please take a look at some of our earlier citizen journalism projects here.”

Obama, Bush, Clinton: Who’s Worst On The Deficit? | MoveOn.Org

Obama, Bush, Clinton: Who’s Worst On The Deficit? | MoveOn.Org
Posted on Facebook by: MoveOn.org
Where the heck did all this debt come from?
Obama, Bush, Clinton: Who's Worst On The Deficit?
j.mp
So there's a rumor going around that all Democratic presidents want to grow the national debt. Take a look at the chart.

YouTube - Naomi Klein - The Shock Doctrine - Part 1 of 6

Uploaded by policyalternatives on Sep 4, 2007
From Youtube text:
Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives (http://policyalternatives.ca) presents:

Naomi Klein talks about her new book, The Shock Doctrine: The Rise of Disaster Capitalism.

Help spread this video: rate it, comment on it, favourite it, share it

Speaking at a benefit event for the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives, a social justice research institute.
The Shock Doctrine is the gripping story of how America's "free market" policies have come to dominate the world-- through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries.

Naomi Klein | Part one
Naomi Klein | Part Two
Naomi Klein | Part Three
Naomi Klein | Part Four
Naomi Klein | Part Five
Naomi Klein | Part Six

Get Active | Progressive Democrats of America

Get Active | Progressive Democrats of America
Find Your Legislator information here....
Contact Congress NOW! Let them know what you think of the budget.

"A budget is a moral document." — Jim Wallis

Libya: All About Oil, or All About Banking?

Sarah Palin coming to Madison? You betcha

Contact your State Legislators | Make It Your Milwaukee County

Contact your State Legislators | Make It Your Milwaukee County

Action Center: How To Contact Your State Legislator or Milwaukee County Supervisor

Let your voice be heard!
The links below walk you through how you can contact your State Legislators and County Supervisors by email and phone. You can find your State Legislator here, and your County Supervisor here.

Call your State Legislator or Milwaukee County Supervisor. Phone calls have the greatest impact.

Send an email message to your State Legislator.

Send an email message to your Milwaukee County Supervisor.

Financial Martial Law in Wisconsin

ED GARVEY BLOG | http://www.fightingbob.com/weblog.cfm?postID=3851

"Wisconsin's governor has the same twisted idea for Wisconsin as Michigan's governor does of his state. The state would be allowed to take over local governments if financial management standards are not met. Who decides? The governor or a newly elected uber comptroller. (I am not making this up.) The secret plan is being prepared by the state's largest law firm, Foley & Lardner, for the Greater Milwaukee Committee, the Bradley Foundation, the governor, and key legislators. There is speculation that Alberta Darling is the Walker point person on this nutty scheme, but no need to speculate: call Senator Darling's office and ask!" Read full story | ED GARVEY BLOG | www.fightingbob.com

Daily Kos coverage here: Daily Kos: Financial Martial Law in Wisconsin

YouTube - WBEV Scott Fitzgerald Office Hours 1

The Wisconsin Protest Wave: Four ways to build the movement! | Wisconsin Wave

The Wisconsin Protest Wave: Four ways to build the movement! | Wisconsin Wave

Kara Wolff
Just FYI, it's http://www.wisconsinwave.org/ ...Go there and Volunteer or just be at our People's House with bells on!! :)
The Wisconsin Protest Wave: Four ways to build the movement! | Wisconsin Wave
www.wisconsinwave.org
EXCERPTS FROM THE CALL: . . . Wisconsin's democratic tradition faces the greatest threat it has ever known. Gov. Walker, operating at the direction of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, is using the financial crisis caused by Wall Street speculators as an excuse to impose devastating cuts to public

NO MORE TROLLS

BACK TO THE FRONT TO FIGHT

Posted on Facebook as a note by: The Heroic Wisconsin 14 on Friday, April 8, 2011 at 7:52pm

"I know that there is such a thing as freedom of speech & support that completely. I know that there is intelligent debate too. I also know that most of us have been fighting the hard fight & rarely getting sleep for the last 7 weeks.
"I DO NOT tolerate TROLLS."
I'm sorry if any of you would rather be on a page that lets them run loose & only bans them if they use hate speech. I do not have that tolerance. I've had my teeth kicked in far too many times & they don't listen or even WANT to listen. Trolls cannot be convinced, they are here to attack. They instigate because it's easy to be ignorant to people when you're safely at home behind a computer screen." See Full Note | BACK TO THE FRONT TO FIGHT

Milwaukee, WI, Mon Apr 18th 2011 | US Uncut

Milwaukee, WI, Mon Apr 18th 2011 | US Uncut
The Heroic Wisconsin 14
TAX day. This should be statewide. Not sure why it's just listed as Milwaukee.
Milwaukee, WI, Mon Apr 18th 2011 | US Uncut
www.usuncut.org
Details: We "pounce" (protest) at the Central Post Office, as lines of citizen tax payers drive up to pay their fair share, we pass out flyers and have signs about how FedEx hasn't paid their fair share of taxes.

Milwaukee Uncut Facebook page: http://www.facebook.com/pages/US-Uncut-WisconsinMilwaukee/199736063379233

Tea Party Counter Rally - It's our house!

Greetings From Fitzwalkerstan: Governor Tells Congress Busting Unions is 'Progressive' | The Nation

Santorum: Ryan Is ‘Wrong’ Because He Doesn’t Force Current Seniors Into Medicare Privatization Scheme

ThinkProgress » Home Page
Posted on Twitter by: thinkprogress
Ryan plan to end Medicare not radical enough for Rick Santorum. http://thkpr.gs/9HxK8I

"But potential GOP presidential candidate Rick Santorum veered off that script yesterday on Sean Hannity’s radio show, criticizing Ryan’s plan as “wrong” for not affecting current seniors:

SANTORUM: My big argument with Paul Ryan is that he doesn’t apply a lot of these programs to the current generation of seniors, or those who are at or near retirement. And I think that presupposes that a lot of those current seniors don’t want to participate in the economic solvency of our country. Don’t want to participate in saving our country. I think that’s wrong. I think most seniors –- certainly those that can afford to –- are more than willing to do their fair share to solve their problem.

Ryan and his Republican colleguges have astutely steered clear of advocating forcing current seniors onto their Medicare and Social Security schemes, recognizing that the idea would be wildly unpopular and likely political suicide. Moreover, Ryan’s plan would have devastating consequences for seniors, current or future, especially those with low income. But Santorum seems okay with this, as he notes that “those who can afford to” would be fine." Full Article | Think Progress

» Action: Stop Walker’s plan to break Secretary of State Office Rotundaville, WI

» Action: Stop Walker’s plan to break Secretary of State Office Rotundaville, WI

Link to Secretary LaFollette's Request: http://www.rotundaville.us/2011/04/14/action-stop-walkers-plan-to-break-secretary-of-state-office/

"You can help: contact the Governor’s office and the members of the Wisconsin Joint Committee on Finance to urge them to vote against this proposal. Telephone number to Governor’s Office: 608-266-1212."

Wisconsin Joint Committee On Finance http://legis.wisconsin.gov/lfb/jfc.htmlJoint Committee On Finance

Tell Attorney General Holder: Launch a federal investigation to ensure a fair Wisconsin election.

Tell Attorney General Holder: Launch a federal investigation to ensure a fair Wisconsin election.

Posted on Facebook by: Sharon Davis
Sign and share, please.
Tell AG Holder: Launch a federal investigation to ensure a fair Wisconsin election
act.credoaction.com
More than 24 hours after the Associated Press named JoAnne Kloppenburg winner of Wisconsin's Supreme Court race, Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus "found" 14,000 missing votes -- favoring her former boss, Justice David Prosser. Tell AG Holder that Wisconsin voters demand a federal investigation.

It's Time to End the Obama Birth Certificate Controversy | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch

It's Time to End the Obama Birth Certificate Controversy | The Range: The Tucson Weekly's Daily Dispatch
Controversy
Posted by Dan Gibson on Wed, Apr 13, 2011 at 3:30 PM

"Once Bill O'Reilly has called for the end of arguments about President Obama's birth certificate, I think that effectively wraps that story up, doesn't it?"

YouTube - Congresswoman Gwen Moore Questions Governor Scott Walker before Congressional Committee

YouTube - Congresswoman Gwen Moore Questions Governor Scott Walker before Congressional Committee
6,960 views

Michael Dell: The Making of an American Oligarch | Mother Jones

Who Owns the Tea Party? | Mother Jones

The Tea Party's 2012 Hit List | Mother Jones

Arizona GOP to Obama: Show Us Your Circumcision Certificate | Mother Jones

Arizona GOP to Obama: Show Us Your Circumcision Certificate | Mother Jones
Posted on Twitter by: DanielSchulman

AZ GOPers to Obama: No long-form birth certificate? No prob. But we will need to see yr circumcision records http://mojo.ly/gpoLll #birthers

"Republicans talk a lot about the need to make tough, painful cuts. We just didn't know this is what they had in mind."

GOP Freshmen Reflect on a Rough 100 Days | FrumForum

GOP Freshmen Reflect on a Rough 100 Days | FrumForum

Posted on Twitter by: davidfrum davidfrum
GOP freshmen speak out on the 100th day of the new Congress http://bit.ly/hPkDff

Maryland moves closer to extending tuition breaks to illegal immigrants - The Washington Post

Maryland moves closer to extending tuition breaks to illegal immigrants - The Washington Post

Posted on Twitter by: washingtonpost
Maryland moves closer to extending tuition breaks to illegal immigrants http://wapo.st/dE99Mg
By Daniel de Vise, Thursday, April 14, 8:22 PM

With anti-illegal-immigrant sentiment rising in the United States, a growing number of states are considering legislation that would forbid public universities from offering in-state tuition breaks to illegal immigrants.

But this week, the Maryland legislature, dominated by Democrats, took a step in the opposite direction, voting to guarantee in-state tuition to illegal immigrants. Gov. Martin O’Malley (D) is expected to sign the bill.

Sponsors overcame years of entrenched opposition with a provision that steers undocumented students to community colleges instead of the increasingly competitive flagship school, the University of Maryland, lessening the risk that they will crowd out others for coveted spots. Full Story Here - The Washington Post

Insincerely Yours - NYTimes.com

Insincerely Yours - NYTimes.com

Posted on Twitter by: NYTimeskrugman
Insincerely Yours http://nyti.ms/gulZVI

"The obvious parallel in my mind is what happened after 9/11, when more or less the same people declared themselves totally focused on fighting terrorism — but unwilling to give up anything they wanted, and in fact eagerly using the terrorist threat as an excuse to grab even more goodies. I mean, within 48 hours of the attack Congressional Republicans were preparing their response: a cut in the capital gains tax; in the immediate aftermath, the Bush administration fought hard to keep airport security in private hands. Somehow, responding to terrorism only involved doing things the administration wanted to do anyway: invading Iraq, torturing people, tapping our phones, etc..

For what it’s worth, Obama is actually offering to make some sacrifices on the budget; call it political positioning if you like, but that’s infinitely more than his opponents are doing." Full Article Here | NYTimes

Midwest living: The weather factor, the friendliness factor, the clog factor. - By Susanna Daniel - Slate Magazine

Midwest living: The weather factor, the friendliness factor, the clog factor. - By Susanna Daniel - Slate Magazine
Posted on Twitter by: ChrisJonesUW
Stupendous article on #Midwestern living by a "recent transplant" to #Madison: http://slate.me/dSOTcn

Russ Feingold's PAC Raises $1 Million To Fight Corporate Influence

Russ Feingold's PAC Raises $1 Million To Fight Corporate Influence: Posted: 04/15/11 01:47 | Huffington Post | Amanda Terkel

"Although Feingold has no intention of running for president - he has repeatedly stated his support for President Obama - his PAC has attracted support and money in amounts that put him in the same league as serious presidential contenders. As a comparison, Mitt Romney's federal and state PACs raised nearly $1.9 million in the first quarter of 2011.

Donations to Progressives United were fueled, in large part, by increased national attention on corporate influence in politics and the recent surge in on-the-ground progressive activism. That Feingold has remained highly visible since leaving the Senate also helped raise funds. Though his day job is now teaching law school at Marquette University, his vocal support of the labor fight in Wisconsin has kept him in the public eye.

Just two days after the launch of Progressives United, Feingold went to the state capitol in Madison and marched with local firefighters protesting Republican-backed legislation that stripped most of the state's public employees of their collective bargaining rights. When he arrived at the capitol, protesters cheered and some even broke into chants of "Feingold for Governor." Full Article Here | Huffpost Politics

Help us get and stay strong. Stay informed with Russ Feingold and the Progressive United organization directly.

Join Progressives United Here:Progressive United.Org website

Russ Feingold and Progressives United are both on Facebook....you can receive information directly from one or both of these groups by liking these pages:
Facebook Link: Russ Feingold's info page. Learn about Russ here.
Facebook Link:Russ Feingold's Facebook Wall for reading and posting.
Facebook Link:Progressive United Info: Facebook page

At The Local Level, Tea Party Activists' Skepticism Turns To Anger On Budget Deal [UPDATE]

At The Local Level, Tea Party Activists' Skepticism Turns To Anger On Budget Deal [UPDATE]

"The deal was cut in a back room, announced without specifics, members supported it without specifics and without reading the bill (shocking, right?), and now it turns out not to be even as it was vaguely presented. Sickening," said Mark Meckler, co-founder of the Tea Party Patriots.

"And amidst all this, Speaker Boehner proclaims that there is 'no daylight' between he and the Tea Party. If he actually believes that, he must have his eyes closed," Meckler told HuffPost.

But even among the grassroots, there was a recognition that bigger fights over the debt ceiling and the fiscal 2012 budget should become the focus of the GOP now, marking a willingness to swallow the weak tea that the budget deal for the current fiscal year now represents for them.

Bob MacGuffie, a conservative Tea Party activist in Connecticut, said the debt ceiling and the 2012 budget are "the main event."

"This is the fight worth having," MacGuffie said. "We want to engage in a ferocious battle over the debt ceiling and 2012 budget--bring it on--we'll give the Republicans a spine by holding our bayonets firmly at their backs."

Friday, April 15, 2011

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