One Down 7 to go - Hopper up for Recall

One Down 7 to go - Hopper up for Recall

"Efforts to recall Republican State Senator Randy Hopper from Fon du Lac have reached another milestone, as organizers issue a call for volunteers to turn in any remaining petitions to be counted. Organizer Scott Dillman says he's sure they have enough signatures to trigger the recall, but he can't give exact figures yet. He says, processing all the information they've collected so far will take a week. They need 15,000 signatures to trigger the recall and he had originally set a goal of 20,000 by April first. He says he should have set that goal higher. Once Dillman tallies and submits his petition, a candidate will have to step up to run against hopper in the recall, which could happen by this summer."

Scott Walker Kills His Wisconsin Union Busting Bill By Publishing It

Scott Walker Kills His Wisconsin Union Busting Bill By Publishing It

"...In any case, this won’t be the Wisconsin Republicans first run at violating the law in order to push their anti-union measure through.

It’s obvious from recent events, including the Wisconsin Republicans attempting to intimidate a Professor who wrote a critical article about their actions for the New York Times by demanding his emails through the Wisconsin Open Records law, that the Republicans are desperate. Apparently they are so desperate that they are no longer trying to hide their agenda under the guise of a budget issue, let alone pretend what they are doing is legal."

Notorious Pro-Corporate Group ALEC's Hidden Role in Stoking Class War in Wisconsin and the Rest of America | | AlterNet

Notorious Pro-Corporate Group ALEC's Hidden Role in Stoking Class War in Wisconsin and the Rest of America | | AlterNet

"Its principal funding comes from large corporate backers and right-wing foundations. About 300 corporate sponsors pay membership fees ranging from $5,000 to $50,000. Its backers include American Express, Coors, Wal-Mart, Texaco, GlaxoSmithKline, Philip Morris, Corrections Corporation of America and Koch Industries as well as the National Rifle Association. Among its telecommunications backers are AT&T, Sprint and Verizon as well as the National Cable and Telecommunications Association (NCTA).

ALEC actively supports repealing the minimum wage, privatizing Social Security and replacing guaranteed health benefits with medical savings accounts. It gives large donations and other perks to legislators, most often reactionary Republicans, in states across the country to carryout corporate initiatives. A couple of these efforts are illustrative."

"ALEC is, formally, a non-profit group that drafts model legislation. It has an estimated membership exceeding 2,400 state legislators from both political parties, but most are conservative Republicans. It regularly invites members to all-expense paid private gatherings with corporate executives and lobbyists where they devise model legislation to fulfill their political agenda. These legislators, in turn, return to their home states and promote the legislation at state houses throughout the country. Many of their initiatives are enacted."