tagged w/ Governor Walker
-
-
Keith HAS to consider this guy as "Worst Person" when he gets back. He just HAS to!
Handsome fella. Gentle as a lamb. Except when he’s threatening to kill people for videotaping his really cool pickup truck.
Meet 65-year old Carl D. Sosnoski of 2475 Knapp St. in Oshkosh, Wisconsin. Owner of Custom Heating and Cooling at 1503 S. Main Street. (No charge, Carl!)
http://www.turningovertherocks.com/2011/12/30/meet-carl-d-sosnoski-of-oshkosh-bgosh/Keith HAS to consider this guy as "Worst Person" when he gets back. He just... more
-
-
-
Opponents contend the state's open meetings law was violated.
MADISON, Wisconsin — A Wisconsin judge issued a temporary restraining order Friday blocking the state's new and contentious collective bargaining law from taking effect, a measure that drew tens of thousands of protesters to the state Capitol and sent some Democrats fleeing to Illinois in an tempt to block a vote on it.
Other political news of note
AP
NRC to review safety of all US nuclear plants
The Nuclear Regulatory Commission will conduct a "comprehensive review" of the safety of all U.S. nuclear plants following what U.S. officials are calling the dangerous and complicated situation at Japan's damaged Fukushima Dai-ichi reactors.
Clinton to Libya: U.S. not 'impressed by words'
Obama's trip seeks to engage with Latin America
House votes to cut NPR's federal funding
Senate sends 3-week funding bill to Obama
The judge's order is a major setback for Walker and puts the future of the law in question.
Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi issued the order, which was requested by that county's District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a Democrat. Ozanne filed a lawsuit contending that a legislative committee that broke a stalemate that had kept the law in limbo for weeks met without the 24-hour notice required by Wisconsin's open meetings law.
Video: 'Nuclear option' used to pass Wis. anti-union bill (on this page)
The Republican-controlled Legislature passed the measure and Gov. Scott Walker signed it last week. Secretary of State Doug La Follette planned to publish the law on Mach 25, but the judge's order will prevent that from happening, at least for now.
A spokesman for Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald declined to comment, citing the legal fight. Messages left for comment with Walker's spokesmen, as well as Democratic legislative leaders, were not immediately returned.
The bill was part of Walker's solution for plugging a $137 million state budget shortfall. A part of the measure would require state workers to increase their health insurance and pension contributions to save the state $30 million by July 1.
Other parts of Walker's original proposal to address the budget shortfall were removed before the bill passed last week. The Legislature planned to take those up later. Lawmakers are not scheduled to be in session again until April 5.
People opposed to the law converged on the state Capitol over the past month with massive demonstrations that went on for days on end.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42151681/ns/politics/Opponents contend the state's open meetings law was violated.
MADISON,... more
-
-
MADISON, Wis. (Associated Press) --
With the labor movement suffering an epic defeat in Wisconsin, union leaders plan to use the setback to fire up their members nationwide and mount a major counterattack against Republicans at the ballot box in 2012.
Wisconsin's measure stripping public employees of most bargaining rights swiftly advanced to GOP Gov. Scott Walker on Thursday, and he promised to sign it as soon as possible. But labor leaders say the events in Wisconsin have helped galvanize support for unions across the country. They hope to use the momentum to help fight off other attacks and grow their membership.
Said the president of the AFL-CIO: "I guess I ought to say thank you particularly to Scott Walker. We should have invited him here today to receive the Mobilizer of the Year award from us!"
As several states seek to follow Wisconsin's lead, newly invigorated public unions are looking ahead to the next election. Democrats are pressing to recall Republican opponents of organized labor and turn the debate into a focal point of next year's campaign.
The Wisconsin Assembly voted 53-42 Thursday to pass the bill after about three hours of discussion, far less than the 61-hour, three-day marathon it took to approve a previous version two weeks ago.
The passage drew shouts of "shame, shame, shame" from protesters in the gallery and came only a day after dramatic action in the Republican-controlled Senate, which used a legislative maneuver Wednesday to quickly adopt the bill without any of the 14 Democrats who fled to Illinois three weeks ago.
Democrats said their counterattack efforts were already beginning to bear fruit in the form of donations: The party's Wisconsin chapter said it raised $300,000 overnight and has collected $800,000 from 32,000 donors in just five days.
Party chairman Mike Tate said Senate Democrats have raised $750,000 over the past month alone.
Republicans said they were simply doing what voters wanted.
In last year's election, "people spoke very clearly and very loudly and said they wanted government to change here in Madison," Republican Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald said. "It's a tough vote, but it's the right vote. People are sick of the status quo."
Shortly before the vote, police had to move dozens of protesters who were sitting just outside the Assembly chamber doors, blocking the way for lawmakers. Officers dragged many of them away, but there were no arrests.
The protesters have been a constant presence in the building for more than three weeks, with their numbers swelling to more than 80,000 for one weekend rally. About 1,800 were in the building Thursday, and hundreds screamed outside the chamber doors before the vote.
Walker had repeatedly argued that ending collective bargaining would give local governments the flexibility they needed to confront the cuts in state aid necessary to fix Wisconsin's deficit, which is projected to grow to $3.6 billion deficit over several years.
"This is ultimately about a commitment to the future, so our children don't face even more dire consequences than what we face today," Walker said at a news conference in the West Allis community of Milwaukee. He said the bill would prevent layoffs of 1,500 state workers.
His proposal touched off a national debate over labor rights for public employees, and its implementation would be a key victory for Republicans, many of whom have targeted unions in efforts to slash government spending.
Labor organizations have already pledged to pour more than $30 million into efforts to stop legislation in dozens of states seeking to limit public workers' bargaining rights or otherwise curb union power. Union officials are helping to mobilize protesters in Wisconsin, Ohio, Indiana and other states to keep the pressure on.
"Gov. Walker's overreaching has brought us to this moment to be able to talk about jobs, to be able to talk about the right to collective bargaining," AFL-CIO President Richard Trumka said Thursday in Washington. "This is the debate we've wanted to have for 25 years. Well, guess what? Suddenly the debate came to us."
In Ohio, the Republican-led state Senate has passed similar legislation to restrict collective bargaining, and a House panel is considering the measure.
The debate is sure to sow opposition to the GOP agenda, said Ohio Democratic Party spokesman Seth Bringman, and it was "also encouraging many Republican, middle-class voters who have not voted for our candidates in the past to maybe come over to our side."
Walker and Republicans argued from the outset that the collective bargaining measures were directly related to balancing the budget. For weeks, they refused to separate the two ideas.
The fact that they did so in the end to pass the legislation shows that their true intent was to abolish unions, said Democratic Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca.
"To me the charade is over," Barca said.
In the aftermath of the debate, eight Republican senators and six Democrats are being targeted for recalls. Recall efforts against Walker cannot start until Nov. 3.
Kristopher Rowe, the main organizer of efforts to recall Republican Sen. Alberta Darling, said the group has collected about $3,000 in donations since Wednesday's Senate vote. Rowe said the group has "several thousand signatures" and more than 1,000 volunteers to canvass for more.
For more on this article go to:
http://ww2.cox.com/myconnection/sandiego/today/news/national/article.cox?articleId=D9LSUQNO1&moduleType=apNewsMADISON, Wis. (Associated Press) --
With the labor movement suffering an epic defeat... more
-
-
Reading the Pictures: Wisconsin Update: Trashing “the Hippies” | Huffington Post
With Governor Walker and the GOP trying their best to undermine labor rights in the legislative chamber and also remove citizen-protesters from inside the Capitol building, this NYT story and photo gallery is ultra-denigrating. To understand it, you barely have to read past the supposedly tongue-in-cheek title: Thank You for Your Support. Now, Can We Sweep the Capitol?Reading the Pictures: Wisconsin Update: Trashing “the Hippies” |... more
-
-
Ethics violations may be at the heart of Scott Walkers reign as Governor!
Here is a snippet of the article, for more click on the link;
— By Andy Kroll| Sun Feb. 27, 2011 9:01 AM PST
Protesters flood the streets of Madison surrounding the state Capitol building on Saturday, Feb. 26, 2011. John Murray, johnmurrayphoto.com.
If you need to know the basics of what's going on in Wisconsin, read on. If you're already up to speed, you can follow the action on Twitter or jump straight to the latest updates from our reporter on the ground in Madison.
—With additional reporting by Nick Baumann and Siddhartha Mahanta
The basics:
For days, demonstrators have been pouring into the streets of Madison, Wisconsin—and the halls of the state's Capitol building—to protest rookie Republican Governor Scott Walker's anti-union proposals. Big national unions, both major political parties, the Tea Party, and Andrew Breitbart are already involved. Democratic state senators have fled the state to prevent the legislature from voting on Walker's proposals. And the protests could soon spread to other states, including Ohio.
Is this like Egypt?
No.Ethics violations may be at the heart of Scott Walkers reign as Governor!
Here is a... more
-
-
Governor Walker likes to complain of "outside agitators." Hard to imagine an agitator with more influence and money than the Koch-family.
February 24, 2011 |
Embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker came under fire today after news broke about statements he made in a 20-minute phone call from a Boston-area alternative news reporter posing as David Koch, a billionaire whose PAC directly supported Walker and who has given millions to groups that have run ads to aid Walker's rise to the state's highest office.
As the Center for Media and Democracy has reported, the Koch PAC not only spent $43,000 directly on Walkers race, but Koch personally donated $1 million to the Republican Governor’s Association which spent $5 million in the state. Besides the Governor, Koch Brother’s has other “vested interests" in the state.
They include Koch Pipeline Company, which operates a pipeline system that crosses Wisconsin. It also owns Flint Hill Resources, which distributes refined fuel through pipelines and terminals in Junction City, Waupun, Madison and Milwaukee. Koch Industries also owns the C. Reiss Coal Company, a power plant company located in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan.
The Koch brothers opened a lobby shop in Wisconsin two days after Walker was elected, and many protesters have suspected that the “budget repair bill” provisions allowing the no-bid sell-off of any state-owned heating, cooling, or power plant, plus new rules on pipeline transport may be of interest to Koch. The company has denied any interest in these assets.
Transcript Raises Legal and Ethical Concerns.
At the start of the conversation Walker eagerly reports on all he is doing:
First, he tells the fake Koch brother about a plan to change Senate rules on pay to reel-in the out-of state Democratic senators who are holding out to protect collective bargaining. The new rule would force the Senators to pick up their paychecks in-person. This rule was passed in a partisan vote in the Senate yesterday--a move that went unnoticed by the mainstream press.
The fake Koch asks Walker how they might get others in Senate to vote to stop collective bargaining. Walker responds that he's involved the Justice Department in investigating whether the union is paying the absent Democratic senators to remain out of state, or providing them with food, shelter, etc., saying it would be an ethics violation or potentially a felony. Wisconsin legislators are well aware of these rules and have already stated they are using their own money while they are out of state.
More -http://www.alternet.org/teaparty/150030/hilarious_koch_prank_may_reveal_serious_ethics_violations_by_wisconsin_governor_scott_walker/Governor Walker likes to complain of "outside agitators." Hard to imagine an... more
-
-
Oh my, we got ourselves quite a tail-wagging going on in Wisconsin. You are thinking, what? This is about collective bargaining and workers' rights!
Bullshit. You are being wagged.
As always this has to do with money, and the union "compromise" coming down the pipe was set up to be the "booby" prize while the Koch Brothers get their "booty" prize. This is all being well-orchestrated with an end game that has absolutely nothing to do with unions.
As I said in comments before, to much bewilderment, this is about power plants and a vertical monopoly the Kock Brothers have their eye on in Wisconsin.
So 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 unsolicitated bids for which there will be no oversight
7) Koch Brothers get the best vertical monopoly in a generation
.
First off, before we talk about how this going to play out, because I have seen this same game tape, let's talk about why the Koch Brothers would have made Governor Walker their Manchurian Candidate.
When you are calling bullshit on such a grand scale as I, it takes extraordinary evidence.
So let's first state that the Koch Brothers placed their puppet Walker into power.
Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker: Funded by the Koch Bros.
By Andy Kroll, Mother Jones
http://motherjones.com/...
According to Wisconsin campaign finance filings, Walker's gubernatorial campaign received $43,000 from the Koch Industries PAC during the 2010 election. That donation was his campaign's second-highest, behind $43,125 in contributions from housing and realtor groups in Wisconsin. The Koch's PAC also helped Walker via a familiar and much-used politicial maneuver designed to allow donors to skirt campaign finance limits. The PAC gave $1 million to the Republican Governors Association, which in turn spent $65,000 on independent expenditures to support Walker. The RGA also spent a whopping $3.4 million on TV ads and mailers attacking Walker's opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett. Walker ended up beating Barrett by 5 points. The Koch money, no doubt, helped greatly.
Thanks to Kochs' poodles on the Supreme Court, this sort of activity is now legal. Poor Tom DeLay, bet he feels stupid for bribing the wrong people. Anyway, through the use of propaganda and corporate influence, the Kochs' money got their pigeon into the Governor's office.
Now here is where it gets tricky. Right now everyone thinks this is about collective bargaining and the rights of the worker, especially to assemble.
This is what these two Kochs want you to think. See, they are ginning up a great big whole controversy to hide something deep in the bill that they think no one will notice.
See, Governor Walker is going to back down on collective bargaining at the end of the day, if the Democrats will just "compromise" and pass the rest of the budget as is. The Democratic Party will view it as a success in policy and Progressives the land over will be doing a victory dance.
The Kochs will be laughing at you all, because they just played y'all like a fiddle.
See, when you think you won, this will get passed:
State of Wisconsin
SENATE BILL 11
http://legis.wisconsin.gov/...
Google Quick View of PDF:
http://docs.google.com/...
Bottom of Page 23:
SECTION 44. 16.896 of the statutes is created to read:
16.896 Sale or contractual operation of state−owned heating, cooling,
and power plants. (1) Notwithstanding ss. 13.48 (14) (am) and 16.705 (1), the
department may sell any state−owned heating, cooling, and power plant or may
contract with a private entity for the operation of any such plant, with or without
solicitation of bids, for any amount that the department determines to be in the best
interest of the state. Notwithstanding ss. 196.49 and 196.80, no approval or
certification of the public service commission is necessary for a public utility to
purchase, or contract for the operation of, such a plant, and any such purchase is
considered to be in the public interest and to comply with the criteria for certification
of a project under s. 196.49 (3) (b).
There are two big whoppers in this section, which is passing through the zeitgeist like ships in the night.
It will allow the Koch Brothers to buy or contract to operate state−owned heating, cooling, and power plants in Wisconsin without a solicitation of bids.
This is what it is about at the end of the day, and their puppet, Governor Walker, is ready to sell the Koch Brothers the state-owned utility system of Wisconsin for pennies on the dollar for his paymasters.
Governor Walker has intentionally muddied the waters concerning unions to muddy waters hoping no one will see the wholescale give-a-way of the state-owned public infrastructure to private interests.
Not only that, they are trying to redefine "public interest"! Who gets to decide? Not the public, Governor Walker by fiat!
Now combine that with the Koch Brothers' existing operations in Wisconsin:
http://www.kochind.com/...
# Flint Hills Resources, LLC, through its subsidiaries, is a leading refining and chemicals company. Its subsidiaries market products such as gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, ethanol, olefins, polymers and intermediate chemicals, as well as base oils and asphalt. A subsidiary distributes refined fuel through its strategically located pipelines and terminals in Junction City, Waupun, Madison and Milwaukee. Another subsidiary manufactures asphalt that is distributed to terminals in Green Bay and Stevens Point.
# Koch Pipeline Company, L.P. operates a pipeline system that crosses Wisconsin, part of the nearly 4,000 miles of pipelines owned or operated by the company.
# The C. Reiss Coal Company is a leading supplier of coal used to generate power. The company has locations in Green Bay, Manitowoc, Ashland and Sheboygan.
With an ownership of resources, distribution and generation of energy, the Koch Brothers will have a vertical monopoly that would make even Rockefeller blush!
And just imagine the profits! They investment in Walker is gonna pay out big time.
Which was the plan all along.
Now we know the end game, who is going to block it?Oh my, we got ourselves quite a tail-wagging going on in Wisconsin. You are thinking,... more
-
-
Monday, February 21, 2011
Wisconsin is in a showdown. Washington is headed for a government shutdown.
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker won’t budge. He insists on delivering a knockout blow to public unions in his state (except for those, like the police, who supported his election).
In DC, House Republicans won’t budge on the $61 billion cut they pushed through last week, saying they’ll okay a temporary resolution to keep things running in Washington beyond March 4 only if it includes many of their steep cuts — among which are several that the middle class and poor depend on.
Republicans say “we’ve” been spending too much, and they’re determined to end the spending with a scorched-earth policies in the states (Republican governors in Ohio, Indiana, and New Jersey are reading similar plans to decimate public unions) and shutdowns in Washington.
There’s no doubt that government budgets are in trouble. The big lie is that the reason is excessive spending.
Public budgets are in trouble because revenues plummeted over the last two years of the Great Recession.
They’re also in trouble because of tax giveaways to the rich.
Before Wisconsin’s budget went bust, Governor Walker signed $117 million in corporate tax breaks. Wisconsin’s immediate budge shortfall is $137 million. That’s his pretext for socking it to Wisconsin’s public unions.
Nationally, you remember, Republicans demanded and received an extension of the Bush tax cuts for the rich. They’ve made it clear they’re intent on extending them for the next ten years, at a cost of $900 billion. They’ve also led the way on cutting the estate tax, and on protecting Wall Street private equity and hedge-fund managers whose earnings are taxed at the capital gains rate of 15 percent. And the last thing they’d tolerate is an increase in the top marginal tax rate on the super-rich.
Meanwhile, of course, more and more of the nation’s income and wealth has been concentrating at the top. In the late 1970s, the top 1 percent got 9 percent of total income. Now it gets more than 20 percent.
So the problem isn’t that “we’ve” been spending too much. It’s that most Americans have been getting a steadily smaller share of the nation’s total income.
At the same time, the super-rich have been contributing a steadily-declining share of their own incomes in taxes to support what the nation needs — both at the federal and at the state levels.
The coming showdowns and shutdowns must not mask what’s going on. Democrats should make sure the public understands what’s really at stake.
Yes, of course, wasteful and unnecessary spending should be cut. That means much of the defense budget, along with agricultural subsidies and other forms of corporate welfare.
But America is the richest nation in the world, and “we’ve” never been richer. There’s no reason for us to turn on our teachers, our unionized workers, our poor and needy, and our elderly. The notion that “we” can no longer afford it is claptrap.Monday, February 21, 2011
Wisconsin is in a showdown. Washington is headed for a... more
-
