Palermo's Cited For Multiple Safety Violations Showing Need For Unionization

The labor struggles at Palermo's Pizza has lasted well over a year already.

During that time we have learned the Palermo's has been:

• Hiring illegal immigrants
• Intimidating and threatening workers who were trying to organize into a union
• Received $26 million from Scott Walker's WEDC and other government subsidies to create jobs, but it can not be confirmed if they created those promised jobs.

Despite Palermo's multiple violations of the law and poor reputation, right wing morons like Milwaukee Alderman Bob Donovan stood up for the company.

Milwaukee County Executive Emperor Chris Abele also came out against the workers, using the irrefutable logic that he is friends with the owners.  Abele even went so far as to say the workers have it pretty good and shouldn't be griping about anything.

Radio squawkers cawed and paid hacks blarghed for days and weeks that Palermo's is such a great company and berated and badgered anyone who would try to do the right thing of boycotting the pizza maker until they started treating their workers with respect.

I would expect that these three amigos - Abele, Sykes and Donovan - will make public apologies today and offer to stand with the workers who had their claims of poor working conditions confirmed by OSHA.Per a press release from Voces de la Frontera:

Today the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced major new citations against Palermo Villa, Inc. Members of the Palermo Workers Union expressed alarm over the continued disregard for the safety of workers at the Milwaukee pizza factory, anger at the revelation that Palermo’s covered up years of injuries dating to 2008, and concern for potential dangers to the broader community. Click here to view the OSHA citations.

The news comes in the immediate aftermath of a reported amputation at the factory on May 7th, involving a 21-year old Burmese man who lost three fingers, in yet another machinery accident at Palermo's.

“Dangerous working conditions at Palermo’s drove us to seek union recognition and the ability to address safety issues without fear of reprisal,” said Cesar Hernandez, a Palermo Worker Union member who previously suffered a partial amputation at the factory.

“Union representation would enable workers to establish our own workplace safety committees and address the safety issues that we know are serious, even if Palermo’s is unwilling to do so.”

The new citations issued by OSHA carry fines totaling $38,500. These include seven “serious” violations and one “Other-than-serious” violation for process safety violations surrounding the ammonia refrigeration system. Ammonia is a deadly gas that in large quantities can cause mass casualties. OSHA defines a “serious” violation as existing “when the workplace hazard could cause an accident or illness that would most likely result in death or serious physical harm”.

Ammonia is used in food production for refrigeration and freezing, and the refrigeration system was expanded in 2011, according to the citations. It was the cause of the West Texas fertilizer plant tragedy last month.

“Palermo’s is located less than a mile from Miller Park,” said Hernandez. “It’s of great concern that the surrounding community could be threatened with potentially catastrophic safety hazards.”

In addition to the numerous citations, the OSHA letter exposed that Palermo’s hid information about injuries that should have been provided. In a cover letter to Giacomo Fallucca that accompanies the OSHA citations, dated May 17, 2013, OSHA criticized the Palermo’s president and CEO for redacting injury details from a federally required injury log for the period between 2008 and 2011.

OSHA called upon Fallucca specifically to “immediately provide the original requester copies of the un-redacted OSHA logs.”

“Everyone who was injured earned the right to at least have what happened to them investigated and analyzed, rather than swept under the rug as though these injuries never happened,” said Steve Sallman, a health and safety specialist with the United Steelworkers.

"Furthermore, the tragic amputation earlier this month may have been prevented if Palermo's had not suppressed employees' lawful efforts to address health and safety issues by forming a union."

OSHA is now the second federal agency to find Palermo’s guilty of violating federal law. The National Labor Relations Board found in November 2012 that Palermo’s threatened and retaliated against workers who sought union recognition and ordered 11 workers reinstated with back-pay, but Palermo’s has yet to comply with this order.

So despite all the yammerings of the right, we find that the truth is that the unions and the workers are again correct.

This is why the workers at Palermo's need to be allowed to unionize without any further harassment or threats from the company.  This is why we need to continue to put pressure on Palermo's by boycotting their products and to get the stores, campuses and other places to join us in demanding that Palermo's starts acting like the company it claims to be.

And this is why the corporate puppets like Sykes, Wigderson, Donovan and Abele need to shut up and stop proving themselves to be fools.  We figured that out already without the constant reminders.

And if you can, please help support the Palermo's workers who have been fighting for their rights for over a year now.

Want To Reverse Citizens United? Here How You Can Help!

As the rest of the nation is passing referendum after referendum calling for the
Constitution to be amended so that Citizens United can no longer harm our country, we in Milwaukee County have not been so lucky.

We have a county executive emperor who thinks that referendums are like Facebook polls.  Unless they are red herring referendums to distract from his overreaching power grab.

Despite Abele's corruption, United Wisconsin, along with the Grassroots Tosa and Move to Amend, is still working to reverse Citizens United:

Across the state, the grassroots campaign to restore our democracy and reverse Citizens United is heating up, and United Wisconsin is leading the charge!  

United Wisconsin is kicking off petition drives to pass local referendums in cities and towns across Wisconsin, and is launching petition drives right now in Southeastern Wisconsin – starting with the City of Wauwatosa, followed by Shorewood and Whitefish Bay this July – and many more to come.  (Click here to email our organizer if you are interested in getting involved in the Shorewood/Whitefish Bay campaign.)

Each Saturday, United Wisconsin’s volunteer office located at 7028 W North Ave in Wauwatosa (Right next to Tosa Nails and Spa) is open from 10am to 4pm, and will be hosting door-to-door canvasses and petition signature gathering at stationary locations along with our partners Grassroots Tosa and Move To Amend-Milwaukee to collect the signatures needed to put the referendum on the ballot! 

We need people like you who care about stopping the takeover of our democracy by special interests to help us put Wauwatosa on record calling for the reversal of theCitizens United ruling, which gave corporations the same rights as people, and said that unlimited spending on elections is “free speech.”

The only way we can put an end to corporate rule is for YOU to take action. 

Sign up with us below at a day and time that works for you to meet at our volunteer office at 7028 W North Ave in Wauwatosa (Right next to Tosa Nails and Spa). We have all the supplies you need, and after a brief training, you will be out making the difference!

Be sure you stop by the Wauwatosa Public Library between 9:30am-4:30 Monday through Friday to sign the petition!

Sign up today!

A Nation Of Cretins!

By Jeff Simpson

Charlie Sykes had a "best seller" a while back called "A Nation of Moochers", which drew tremendous interest whenever he spoke about it.   I think Sykes had it wrong(like usual)!  We are a nation of CRETINS not Moochers! 

Let me present my case:

1.  We are closing schools in the poorest areas of the country, not just a school but now we are closing SCHOOL DISTRICTS!

2.  In Wisconsin, not only did we pass a bipartisan bill telling the poor WHAT they can buy with their food stamps, now we are trying to kick half the people off of the program!  

As Glenn Grothman says - “That’s why I’m for it,” Grothman said. “Maybe they’ll leave the state to boot. Use that quote.”

3.   In Oklahoma, a tea party member is charged with blackmailing a state Senator.

4.  In Virginia a GOP candidate for Attorney General has introduced a bill forcing women to report miscarriages to police! 

5.  The MOST  Egregious act of the bunch is after yesterdays devastating tornadoes in Oklahoma, the two Oklahoma Senators are playing political game with disaster relief!  

Before the final body count has even come in (which currently stands at 51, with officials telling the medical examiner’s office to expect at least 40 more) a pathetic excuse for a human being, GOP Senator Tom Coburn, will apparently require offsets to spending before he votes in favor of disaster relief for the areas of Oklahoma devastated by tornadoes on Monday.

Yes, you’ve read that correctly.  Even with 20 children confirmed dead, along with 31 others (as of 12:30 am CDT), and countless others with their lives destroyed, this sorry excuse for a human is already playing politics with the lives of Americans who are in desperate need of help.

When did this country become one that only helps its citizens when the “proper budget cuts” have been made?

These are elected officials and supposed "leaders" of our community and our country!  Who elects these people, since when has it been ok to leave our fellow Americans stranded in times of need?  Since when has "balancing the budget" trumped taking care of fellow Americans?  Since when have we accepted this as the new normal? 











 This aerial photo shows the remains of homes hit by a massive tornado in Moore, Okla., May 20, 2013. A tornado roared through the Oklahoma City suburbs Monday, flattening entire neighborhoods, setting buildings on fire and landing a direct blow on an elementary school. (Steve Gooch/AP Photo)

IOOKIAPDI (It's Only OK If A Plutocrat Does It)

Yesterday, my esteemed colleague Jeff Simpson pointed out one of the greater overreaches of power by Scott Walker, in which Walker wants to have a free reign in selling off state assets without even the act of getting approval by the legislature or anyone else.

In the article that Jeff cited, this caught my eye and I had to read it numerous times:

"I think it's foolish, mindless and will have a very chilling effect on fundraising," said Milwaukee businessman Sheldon Lubar, who donated millions of dollars to help build academic buildings at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee, and served on the UW System Board of Regents from 1991 to 1998.

Lubar said it never occurred to him that campus buildings he supported financially could ever be sold to a third party.

"I really don't think (Walker) thought this through and understands the negative impact this would have on the university," Lubar said.

Take a moment and enjoy the schadenfreude.

You see, Lubar is a member of the misnamed Greater Milwaukee Committee and a driving force behind the usurpation of power by his fellow GMC member, Chris Abele.

And in that usurpation, look at what he helped buy for his friend Abele:

Provisions that kick in immediately include shrinking the board's role in land sales, labor negotiations and contracts. The county executive can hire as many people as he wants for his office without interference.

The executive also gets sole authority over the county fish hatchery, child support department, operation of the Milwaukee Public Museum, harbor facilities and any work relief program. Abele will have the sole power to create any new county department. He'll have primary oversight of minority contracting, which has been under the County Board.

I have a news flash for Old Man Lubar.

 From where the people are sitting, these two power grabs look a lot alike:

• Both give too much power to the executive branch.  
• Both allow the executive/governor to sell public assets at their whim, regardless of the will of the people or the common good.  
• Both were driven by well-moneyed special interests.
• Both throw the doors wide open for corruption.

There are, however, two major differences.

Just as the Kochs have an undue influence on the decisions and actions of Scott Walker, Lubar has the same control over Abele.  However, Lubar doesn't have that same level of control over Walker.

The other difference is that Lubar has money invested in the public assets that Walker wants to sell.  On the other hand, Lubar is looking at profiteering off the assets he wants Abele to sell, such as he is doing with the destruction of the county grounds.

The thing that Lubar doesn't realize is that both Walker's proposal and the usurpation of power for his plutocratic pal Abele are wrong and should never be or have been.  He doesn't realize that it's still not OK even if it's a plutocrat doing it.

Which goes to prove that all the money in the world still can't buy a person the intelligence of a rock or the ethics of an alley cat.

But judging by the likes of Walker, Abele and Lubar, money can buy one more than their fair share of hypocrisy.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLXXXII

Jack Norman of the Institute for Wisconsin's Future takes on Scott Walker's track record for job creation in comparison to the rest of the county.

Needless to say, Walker doesn't do very well:

As Norman points out, the jobs gap is not due to rainy days, as Walker tried to claim.  However, it does have everything to do with the fact that Walker and his agenda are all wet:

It’s not a coincidence that Wisconsin’s jobs slump coincides with Walker’s term in office, because so many of the policies he’s enacted are anti-growth, including:

• Cutting public employees’ take-home pay about one billion dollars a year;
• Rejecting federal funding for infrastructure construction and Medicaid expansion;
• Squeezing education at all levels—universities, technical colleges, secondary and elementary schools;
• Capping both state aid to local governments and local government spending.

Austerity economic policies help explain Wisconsin’s poor jobs performance. Bad weather does not.

And we won't see an economically sunny day again until we get rid of the likes of Walker. It's really that simple.

NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Condemns Effort to Fund Misleading, Anti-Choice “Crisis Pregnancy Centers”

From the inbox:

Jenni Dye, executive director of NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin, expressed serious concern regarding legislative efforts to fund so-called “crisis pregnancy centers” (CPCs).

A bill sponsored by Rep. Andrea Jacque and Sen. Mary Lazich would provide funds for CPCs by funneling the specialty license plate revenue to “Choose Life Wisconsin”, which would then allegedly give to crisis pregnancy centers.  However, research done by NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Foundation has clearly shown that crisis pregnancy centers are providing inaccurate, biased, and medically disproven information to women at an alarming rate. In the investigation, 100% of CPCs visited provided false and inaccurate information to women regarding abortion or emergency contraception.

Dye said, “State involvement in funneling money to anti-choice groups and so-called crisis pregnancy centers is completely inappropriate. Once again, we see legislators like Rep. Jacque and Sen. Lazich focusing on their extreme agenda on social issues instead of the pressing need to spur job growth in Wisconsin. Further, if the Legislature is going to take action regarding crisis pregnancy centers, they should be taking steps to prevent CPCs from misleading women instead of trying to find ways to fund them.”

“This bill is particularly misguided in its stated intent to fund crisis pregnancy centers (CPCs) through Choose Life Wisconsin. Choose Life Wisconsin is a new organization with no track record of accountability, but with ties to individuals with an extreme agenda on reproductive healthcare, like Julaine Appling, who is clearly out of touch with Wisconsinites on issues from LGBT equality to keeping abortion safe and legal.”

“Regardless of our views on the issue of legal abortion, we should all be able to agree that Wisconsin women deserve the facts and the chance to make an informed decision about what is best for them and their families. Our state certainly shouldn’t be trying to find ways to channel funds to spread more falsehoods.”

NARAL Pro-Choice Wisconsin Foundation’s full report can be found at http://www.prochoicewisconsin.org/in-our-state/wicpcs.shtml.

Darling Doubles Down On Dumbness And Dishonesty

A few days ago, I demonstrated to you, gentle reader, that State Senator Alberta

Darling (R-19th Hole of the nearest country club), was a voucher school drop out.

I did this by showing how she went on the Charlie Sykes show falsely claiming that the Green Bay School District's graduation was 40%, when in reality it was twice that.

So it caught my eye tonight when she sent an apology to Charlie Sykes' listeners, all nine of them.  With interest, I looked at what she had to say:

Senator Darling's office has asked me to post the following statement 

“The statistics I used on the Charlie Sykes Show on Wednesday regarding the graduation rates in Beloit were inaccurate and I apologize.  I remain committed to making sure every child in Wisconsin has the opportunity for a great education.”

Talk about double the dumb, double the dishonesty.

She totally blows off Green Bay and the error she made with that district.

To make matters worse, she also tries to gloss over the fact that she is trying to ram through voucher schools even though they have been shown to be utter flops time and time again.

I think I overestimated Darling when I called her a voucher school drop out.  She's more likely a preschool drop out.

Comment Of The Year

While many of the comments we receive here are good ones (with the obvious exceptions of the trolls), there are occasions where we do get an exceptional one.

Today was one of those rare occasions.

In my post about Leah Vukmir and her promotion of white flight, an anonymous commenter left this, which I felt the need to share it with the world:

So that child from Milwaukee will be dealing with issues a suburbanite couldn't even fathom let alone empathize with that child over. That child will look at him/her and quickly realize this person doesn't understand as they likely haven't been exposed to gang violence, drug dealers, or the local pimp and his band of prostitutes. These kids have no safe places left, no role models to show them they can truly make it. The solution in their eyes will be leaving the city as their teachers have. I grew up on the northwest side of Milwaukee. I encountered gang members, drug dealers, was jumped by a group of thugs, was shot at with a small caliber handgun because some girl thought I liked her boyfriend when I was 13, had a gun held to my head when a guy thought I stole his necklace (my friend had apparently), was exposed to all kinds of drug dealers and even met a few pimps. Luckily I had enough people in my life to show me how to navigate the world without illegal activities. None of them were from the suburbs and most of them were teachers. Now I'm an RN and live in Wauwatosa because I want a safe community for my kids. The schools are expensive but the kids have art, music, and gym. The MPS school they attended a couple of years ago started out great, but was overrun with violence even teachers were in fear. 30+ behavior problems without a teachers aid was insane. You aren't going to get the "highest quality" teachers from the burbs with the conditions that exist for these students. They try hard to maintain a safe, productive environment but there is so much one person can do. I would volunteer to help tutor students and assist the teacher one day a week and many of those kids were starved for attention and affection. Their moms (many had absentee dads) worked so much they couldn't be the parent they needed or wanted to be. I had a few of these kids calling me mom because I gave them a kind smile and my time. If people were truly committed to improving the lives of these kids they would do that, give of their time and volunteer. The rewards would be felt for years to come. Now I work in mental health and much of my time is devoted to helping these kids once problems have occurred. We could prevent a lot of it though. So 'burbanites you wanna help the kids of Milwaukee? Go there and give them your time, be a mentor, be a tutor, be someone important in their lives now so they don't learn to survive by robbing you at gunpoint. All of us are to blame for the failures we have perpetuated. Opening residency requirements isn't going to fix this problem.

Damn.

For Sale - Cheap!

By Jeff Simpson

We already know the republican legislature is for sale, either as an individual sale, or as a whole package.  Now Scott Walker wants the ability to start selling off our assets  - Cheap(and unaccounted for)!

  Gov. Scott Walker's administration would gain broad authority to sell state property - including prisons, highways, heating plants and university dormitories - under a plan legislators will take up Tuesday.
Proceeds would be used to chip away at the state's $8 billion debt, but the state entities that formerly owned the properties might not see any benefit from the sales. So, a dorm built with student fees could potentially be sold to pay down the debt for a highway expansion, or vice versa.
Critics say the plan that's part of the GOP governor's budget proposal could saddle the state with higher day-to-day costs - such as buying power and steam to heat prisons and dorms - after it sells the properties.
Under the governor's plan, the state also could negotiate sales with individual buyers without going through a public bidding process. Any sales would have to go through a "competitive and transparent process," though that process is not defined and includes no explanation of how negotiations with a single buyer could be competitive.
The plan has generated fierce opposition from supporters of the University of Wisconsin System, who say allowing the sale of UW buildings without the approval of the Board of Regents could be detrimental , especially if the buildings were paid for with the help of student fees or private donations. Currently, the regents have a say in the management of all UW buildings.

What is the worse thing that could happen with this? O yea:

Student leaders worry that student unions, such as the landmark Memorial Union at UW-Madison, could be sold and no longer controlled by the university. Student unions, built with student fees, are central to student life, as are residence halls that also potentially could be sold under the governor's proposal, said Matt Guidry, communications director for United Council of UW Students.

 No need to worry though:

 "Legislators have told us that selling these buildings isn't their intent," Guidry said. "We believe that's their intent today, but the next person down the road may feel differently."

 This group of republicans is ALWAYS up front, open, honest and transparent!  

This bill is so bad it has upset some of his major contributors(who also contribute to their favorite university). Sheldon Lubar, who has donated millions to the Universities of Milwaukee and Madison, and apparently has not paid attention to Scott Walker's Governance the last couple years, was not very happy:

"I really don't think (Walker) thought this through and understands the negative impact this would have on the university," Lubar said.

 Has walker thought ANYTHING through in two plus years?   Well, true to form, if a republican donor is unhappy, so is his/her employee:

Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills), co-chairwoman of the budget-writing Joint Finance Committee, said she was surprised the proposal would allow the sale of highways and prisons and believed legislators would change it to provide more legislative oversight.
"I'm very reluctant to give up any authority that the Legislature currently has," Darling said.

 The Democrats response, typically intelligent, thought out, logical and meek:

Rep. Jon Richards (D-Milwaukee), a member of the committee, said he opposed the plan.
"I don't think we should be rushing to have a fire sale on state property with no bid-contracts," Richards said. "That is not good long-term stewardship of state property."

Things to look forward to under republican rule:

Walmart  Memorial Union - $50/join, $5 entry fee when its not closed for private parties. 

Rent A Center Randal - where the Badgers can pay a lease to rent games on Sunday, while losing all revenue from Sky Boxes.

ABC Supply Dorms  where rent has tripled and security is a broken down phone in the hallway

Ronald McDonald Kohl center where the Badgers basketball teams will not be allowed to play a home game in January thanks to the long term commitment to Ronald McDonald on Ice (bring the kids)

You get the idea...but hey at least the money we get from selling our treasures will go to the Friends of Scott Walker campaign fund!  

We can give up some conveniences to help Scotty get elected President can't we?  

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin Closes Chippewa Falls Health Center

More sad news from the inbox:

Loss of Cancer Screens, Birth Control Supported by Governor Walker,
Senator Moulton, and Representative Bernier

MADISON- Today, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin closed its health center in Chippewa Falls after 28 years of caring for thousands of patients. This center closure and those in three other communities comes as a direct result of budget cuts directed at Planned Parenthood’s patients supported by Governor Walker, Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier in the last budget cycle. Despite the cost-effective health benefits and need for continued access to preventive, essential health care, Governor Walker, Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier voted to end care for their constituents at the only health care provider offering affordable, essential reproductive health care in Chippewa Falls. Patients seeking cancer screens, wellness exams, birth control, and STD testing and treatment will now need to travel to the Planned Parenthood health center in Eau Claire. The governor’s current budget proposal threatens the availability of existing affordable patient care at providers like Planned Parenthood unless the public responds.

“For 78 years, Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin has been providing high quality health care for up to 70,000 women and families and we will continue to put the needs of our patients first,” said Tanya Atkinson Executive Director of Planned Parenthood Advocates of Wisconsin. “Ensuring every patient continues to receive affordable, quality health care, without interruption, remains our top priority. Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier’s previous votes to block health care access, their implicit support of the governor’s health care proposals, and misunderstanding of their own community’s health care needs and provider options challenges the future availability of affordable health care. Voting to eliminate the only source of affordable, preventive, lifesaving health care in their own community underscores just how out of touch Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier are with the needs of their constituents.”

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin remains committed to maintaining access for patients in its 23 remaining health centers, but cannot do it alone. Governor Walker’s decision to turn away federal resources that would fill health coverage gaps in Wisconsin, coupled with his budget proposal to end BadgerCare coverage for women making over $11,490 a year is a challenge to the future of women’s health.

“We call on those who value continued access to affordable, lifesaving health care to call on Senator Moulton and Representative Bernier to reconsider their stance on shutting down patient care at Planned Parenthood,” continued Atkinson. “Hard-working families who are struggling in this economy need the security of quality health coverage so they can receive health care when they need it, without facing huge medical bills.”

As a leading provider and advocate for women’s health care across the state, Planned Parenthood knows firsthand that continued access to BadgerCare so often makes the difference between access to cancer screenings and birth control, or going without. According to a recent article in the Chippewa Herald the only other health center in Chippewa County that provides care to people without health insurance does not provide any reproductive health care, does not take appointments, and is seeing an increase in need. They used to refer to Planned Parenthood in their community and are now referring to the Planned Parenthood in Eau Claire.

One in five women in America has been to a Planned Parenthood at some point in her life. For many women, Planned Parenthood is their only source of health care. Planned Parenthood is their health care provider, community resource, and advocate. Without the continued availability of BadgerCare, many women will have no other affordable health care options.

###

Chippewa Falls Closure Quotes
According to Chippewa Falls County Public Health Director Jean Durch:
Durch said it is disappointing to see the center close. "Anytime there are decreased options for people to receive health care, it is a loss for the community," she said.
Eau Claire Leader Telegram February 19, 2013: http://www.leadertelegram.com/news/front_page/article_a03e4428-7a56-11e2-8d06-0019bb2963f4.html

According to a Planned Parenthood patient:
“I’m tired of politicians who have access to health care working to take away important health resources that people like me trust and rely on,” she said. “I implore the governor and our elected leaders to stop the attack on women’s health and instead work to protect and improve access to essential health care providers.”
Chippewa Herald February 18, 2013: http://chippewa.com/news/local/planned-parenthood-blames-funding-loss-for-closure-of-chippewa-falls/article_eed610e8-79de-11e2-93c0-001a4bcf887a.html

Background Information
Governor Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature eliminated funding for patients accessing reproductive health care at Planned Parenthood in the 2011-2013 Biennial State Budget. The services provided by Planned Parenthood include birth control counseling and options, lifesaving cervical and breast cancer screenings, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, Well Women Exams, pregnancy testing, HIV testing, and colposcopies (advanced cervical cancer tests).

Investing in women’s health is a non-partisan issue as it contributes to healthy women, men, and families for Wisconsin while saving tax payers money. For every $1 spent on family planning, taxpayers save $4 (The Guttmacher Institute).

The elimination of state funding to Planned Parenthood in 2012 resulted in the loss of funding in nine of Planned Parenthood’s 24 family planning health centers in Kenosha, Winnebago, Eau Claire, Shawano, Wood, Chippewa Falls, Dodge, Fond du lac, and Jefferson Counties. These health centers serve 12,000 women each year and in eight of the nine counties, Planned Parenthood is the ONLY family planning provider.

According to the latest data, there are 282,000 women in Wisconsin in need of publicly funded reproductive health care services. Current provider networks and funding sources provide care for only 95,000 patients. The vast majority of these patients do not have access to affordable health insurance and receive assistance from various public funding sources to access this basic care.

In 2008, the network of family planning providers in Wisconsin averted 24,300 unintended pregnancies, 12,100 abortions, and saved taxpayers $94 million in averted health care costs.

Closure Facts
Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin is closing four health centers in Beaver Dam, Shawano, Johnson Creek, and Chippewa Falls. Health center staff at the four affected health centers have been serving the communities for decades: Beaver Dam since 1977, Chippewa Falls since 1984, Shawano since 1979, and Johnson Creek since 1999.

Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin health centers will close on the following dates: Shawano April 19; Chippewa Falls May 16; Beaver Dam June 14; Johnson Creek July 19.

These four health centers provide birth control counseling and options, lifesaving cervical and breast cancer screenings, annual exams, STD testing and treatment, Well Women Exams, pregnancy testing, HIV testing, and referrals to a network of community resources.

In just the last 10 years, these four health centers have provided services to 26,951 patients.

Republican Bell Ringing

By Jeff Simpson

We told you how the truth came out in Wisconsin and the republicans in Wisconsin are admitting to be being bought and paid for!   Now we know why the republicans are so incompetent on a national level.  They are just doing what they are told!

 In a letter to members of Congress, which was obtained by NBC News, Heritage Action for America, the lobbying arm of the Heritage Foundation (which recently found itself in hot water over the racial IQ theories of the co-author of their widely panned immigration reform study, Jason Richwine, who resigned from the think tank last Friday), urged Republicans on Capitol Hill not to govern, and instead, to focus on the would-be “scandals” plaguing the Obama administration.

Not only that, the Heritage Foundation was very explicit in their directions:  DONT TALK ISSUES!!

In light of the white hot media spotlight on the administration, and to deflect attention from the many policy areas where Republicans don’t quite get along, the letter urges: “it is incumbent upon the House of Representatives to conduct oversight hearings on those actions, but it would be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the Obama administration to the ideological differences within the House Republican Conference.”

It would be imprudent for anyone to know what the republicans stand for, just keep yelling  "Benghazi" and whatever you do do NOT do your jobs!   The worst part is though, the national republicans jumped at their letter like Pavlov's Dogs!

Full Letter Here:

The Honorable John Boehner
Speaker of the House
H-232, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515

The Honorable Eric Cantor
House Majority Leader
H-329, The Capitol
Washington, DC 20515
Dear Speaker Boehner and Leader Cantor:
For the first time, the activities of the Obama administration are receiving a sustained public vetting.  Americans’ outrage over Benghazi is amplified by the Internal Revenue Service’s intimidation of conservative grassroots organizations and a cascade of negative headlines.  There is the real sense the Obama administration has been less than forthright with the American people, the press and lawmakers.
Recent events have rightly focused the nation’s attention squarely on the actions of the Obama administration. It is incumbent upon the House of Representatives to conduct oversight hearings on those actions, but it would be imprudent to do anything that shifts the focus from the Obama administration to the ideological differences within the House Republican Conference.
To that end, we urge you to avoid bringing any legislation to the House Floor that could expose or highlight major schisms within the conference.  Legislation such as the Internet sales tax or the FARRM Act which contains nearly $800 billion in food stamp spending, would give the press a reason to shift their attention away from the failures of the Obama administration to write another “circular firing squad” article.
Make no mistake, principled conservatives will still oppose bad policy if it comes to the floor.  Rather than scheduling such legislation for consideration, we urge you to keep the attention focused squarely on the Obama administration.  As the public’s trust in their government continues to erode, it is incumbent upon those of us who support a smaller, less intrusive government to lead.
Sincerely,
Michael A. Needham
Chief Executive Officer
Heritage Action for America

A Sobering Look At Chris Abele

As I've been sifting through the tens of thousands of pages of emails and other documents regarding Chris Abele and his usurpation and corruption of power, which have been recently released I have found many alarming things.

For example, look at this single email from Abele to his Chief of Staff, Amber Moreen, who came from his private charity group, the Argosy, at a highly elevated pay rate:

Click to embiggen

The email exchange is in regards to what to do with Frank Bau and another labor relations staffer while they were waiting for authorization to fill those slots.

Kimberly Walker, Abele's top lawyer in Corp Counsel, again oversteps her position and starts offering ways around the law.  Abele, as evidenced in the email, is all for it.

There is an obvious cause of concern in that this is the second time we've see Walker again overstepping her position as serving the public in order to serve the CEO, as if she was still in the private sector.

What's even more alarming though is what Abele reveals about himself.

First he admits that he has "a hard time not responsding and wanting to know what's going on all the time."

In other words, he feels and obsessive/compulsive urge to micromanage everyone and everything.  In layman's terms, he's a control freak.  He has no faith in his underlings, even though he is paying them outrageously exorbitant amounts of money to do their jobs.

And if something would not go the way he wants it to, he flies off the handle.  I could point to any of the people that Abele has suddenly fired without reason or warning.  but obviously the most glaring example is the very fact that he launched this whole power grab against the County Board when they dared to stand up for the taxpayers and for those receiving services from the County.

A good comparison would be the way Mitt Romney responded when he realized

they were losing the presidential election to Barack Obama.  Romney went into piques of rage, even going to the point of putting a gag at times on his running mate, Paul Ryan.

Given the fact that he cannot control the unions, he will be attacking them soon enough.  I would expect Abele to start privatizing everything he can, even though the cost to the taxpayers and to those depending on the services are going to go through the roof.

The other alarming thing about Abele's email is his quaint quip about the "even slightly drunk me."

It's disturbing to thing that such a control freak would not be in complete control of even himself.

Has he made decisions related to the county while intoxicated?  He apparently must have, given the context of this email.  Then being such an egomaniac, even if and when he realizes he screwed up, he won't admit it but pursues his folly to the end.

And now they have given him an unhealthy and inappropriate amount of power, effectively destroying representative government and a balance of powers:

Provisions that kick in immediately include shrinking the board's role in land sales, labor negotiations and contracts. The county executive can hire as many people as he wants for his office without interference. 

The executive also gets sole authority over the county fish hatchery, child support department, operation of the Milwaukee Public Museum, harbor facilities and any work relief program. Abele will have the sole power to create any new county department. He'll have primary oversight of minority contracting, which has been under the County Board. 

A provision in the bill assigning one county lobbyist to the county executive and one to the board is already spawning differences. Abele said he gets to hire and supervise both lobbyists, though one would work with the board. Dimitrijevic said she understood that the two-person lobbying unit would be independent, with one lobbyist working with the board and the other with Abele. 

The board's budget will drop from this year's $6.6 million to a maximum of $1.1 million starting next year, likely forcing a significant reduction in the 38-person board staff. However, several staff jobs now assigned to the board would be transferred to the county clerk and county comptroller. Four policy analyst jobs would go to the comptroller to create an independent service department that could be tapped by both the board and the county executive. The board currently has seven research analyst positions, though three are vacant.

The gentle reader should take a moment and think of all the things that terrified them about a Romney presidency, about what would happen letting a uber-rich, out of touch, corporate puppet having that much power, where only Congress would stand in his way.  Now realize that Milwaukee County is about to face a similar situation, albeit on a smaller scale, but also without a legislative body to keep his greed and corruption in check.

37 Is Too Many

Rob Zerban, who is taking on the epic failure Paul Ryan, sent out a campaign fundraising email with this image which was just too go to pass up:

Now, I don't normally do this, but because I found that picture to be so funny and because Zerban is one heck of a nice guy, I will also reproduce his whole email in the hopes that it helps raise a few bucks of him:

Congressional Republicans are on a witch hunt to vilify President Obama for anything and everything they can get their hands on. But while some of the more recent disclosures are troubling, Congressional Republicans seem more interested in the political theater than in getting answers. And that's the problem. 

Give $7 if you think political theater is a problem.

Hearings that last for months and go nowhere. Presidential appointments that go unconfirmed because of obstruction. A budget process that is stalled because Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan refuses to name a conference committee. And today, Congressional Republicans will vote to repeal the Affordable Care Act for the 37th time! Enough is enough. 

Get 3 people to give $7 if you think 37 times is too many.

As I travel across Southeast Wisconsin listening to the voters here, the issue that keeps coming up over and over isn't Benghazi or Obamacare, it's jobs. But just two weeks ago, when a hearing on unemployment was scheduled, only 4 lawmakers showed up. That is not representative democracy. That's political theater, and it needs to stop. We can end it, but we need your help getting the message out.

Sincerely, 
Rob Zerban 

PS - If you stand with Rob, get 3 of your friends to give $7 because 37 votes to repeal Obamacare is too many.

More About The IRS "Scandal"

By Jeff Simpson

The IRS "scandal" is starting to dwindle and now the righties are desperate.  They want something, anything to stick on the president to cover up their own incompetence.  However its just not working. 

Let's take a look at some real History that they keep leaving out.

First thing is " NOT Just right wing hate groups were "targeted"....

Of the 298 groups subjected to additional review, 72 were “tea party” groups, 11 were “9/12″ groups and 13 were “patriots” groups, according to the inspector general’s report.

 
Secondly.....really no one knew how to be vindictive and attack your opponents using the full force of OUR Government better than Karl Rove, Dick Cheney and George W Bush:

4. The Bush Justice Department Targeted Democrats for Prosecution. Back in 2007, the House Judiciary Committee investigated charges that attorney general Alberto Gonzales singled out prominent Democrats for prosecution, specifically Pennsylvania Democrats -- an assertion that was backed up by Dick Thornburgh, the attorney general under Reagan and Bush 41.
5. The Attorney Firing Scandal. Of course there was the attorney firing scandal in which the Bush Justice Department fired a slate of U.S. attorneys for strictly partisan reasons, either because the attorneys were prosecuting too many Republicans or because they weren't prosecuting enough Democrats.
6. The Bush IRS Audited Greenpeace and the NAACP. Not only was the NAACP suspiciously audited during Bush's 2004 re-election campaign, but high-profile Republicans like Joe Scarborough had previously supported an audit of the organization even though he's suddenly shocked by the current IRS audit story. Also in 2004, the Wall Street Journal reported that the IRS audited the hyper-liberal group Greenpeace at the request of Public Interest Watch, a group that's funded by Exxon-Mobil.

 Third, according to Statistical guru Nate Silver, it doesn't make logical sense.

The point is, however, that even with no political targeting at all, hundreds of thousands of conservative voters would have been chosen for audits in the I.R.S.’s normal course of business. Among these hundreds of thousands of voters, thousands would undoubtedly have gone beyond merely voting to become political activists.
The fact that Ms. Noonan has identified four conservatives from that group of thousands provides no evidence at all toward her hypothesis. Nor would it tell us very much if dozens or even hundreds of conservative activists disclosed that they had been audited. This is exactly what you would expect in a country where there are 1.5 million audits every year.

Cog Dis: Now A Featured Blog on WisOpinion.com

Mike Schramm, the editor of WisOpinion.com, decided to update their featured blogs and the way they are presented:

Hi,

First off, thanks for reading WisOpinion.com.

I just wanted to post a quick explanation of recent changes to the featured blog listing on the WisOpinion.com front page because it appears they've caused a little confusion.

This week we added about a dozen additional blogs to the list, but that means there's not room to show all the blogs on the front page at once.

Instead, the front page shows the 10 most recent posts from those blogs. This system allows us to feature more blogs, while also ensuring that we get fresher content on the front page.

If you want to see the full list of featured blogs, it now appears at the top of the blog index page:
http://wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=feature.mdl&feature=10

Please email me at wisopinion@wispolitics.com if you ever have any questions or concerns about the site.

Thanks for your interest in the site.

Mike Schramm
WisOpinion.com editor
wisopinion@wispolitics.com

I am very proud to announce that Cognitive Dissidence is now one of the featured blogs on WisOpinion.com.  I thank Mr. Schramm for including us.

We are featured with other great lefty blogs like Lisa Muxworthy's Waukesha Wonk, Cory Liebmann's Eye on Wisconsin, the venerable James Rowen and The Political Environment, the gang at Fighting Bob and The Progressive.

I do note that we liberals are rather outnumbered in that list, which I find rather unfair.  Schramm should put more conservatives on their to make the fight more balanced.

Sadly, it looks like Schramm's hard work is already obsolete.

Conservative blarghers Cindy Kilkenny has hung up her keyboard again (for the fourth or fifth time) and Owen Robinson of Loots and Slobbers has also fled the field of battle.  Good luck to both of them and may they find peace in their underground bunkers with their tinfoil helmets.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLXXXI

I have repeatedly said that thanks directly to Scott Walker's agenda of taking money out of circulation and giving it to his wealthy benefactors and campaign contributors, this leaves less money for people to spend on luxury items, like eating out or going to movies.

But you know it's getting bad when not even the Republicans in the Fox Valley can support their favorite type of restaurants:

A Hooters spokesman confirmed Thursday that the restaurant at 2611 Holmgren Way will close May 28.

That’s the same day the Hooters at 1271 N. Casaloma Drive, Grand Chute, will close.

“Hooters and franchise operators continuously evaluate the business
performance of restaurants. On occasion, circumstances regretfully lead to closing a location,” said national spokesman Scott Yates.

He did not indicate if the closures were isolated or widespread in the chain.

In Grand Chute, store manager Mike Neumann said insufficient sales prompted the local closings. He said Hooters restaurants in other parts of Wisconsin remain open. There are locations in Brookfield, Madison, Janesville and La Crosse.

Yates said the chain is actively opening new restaurants in the United States and around the world. Hooters of America LLC is the franchisor and operator of more than 412 Hooters restaurants in 44 states and 27 foreign countries.

The two in Milwaukee closed a year or two ago.

Of course, the restaurants were kind of doomed when it was learned that they were actually the training grounds for Republican spokeswomen, like former mouthpiece for Scott Walker.

QOTD - Sunday Church Edition

From Pope Francis:

Francis, the former Cardinal Jorge Bergoglio of Buenos Aires, said the world was going through not just an economic crisis but a crisis of values.

"This is happening today. If investments in banks fall, it is a tragedy and people say 'what are we going to do?' but if people die of hunger, have nothing to eat or suffer from poor health, that's nothing. This is our crisis today. A Church that is poor and for the poor has to fight this mentality," he said.

Paul Ryan (R- Wall St.) needed an interpreter.

Republicans interfere with justice for veterans

The following comes from State Representative Nick Milroy (D-Superior):

Honoring and protecting Wisconsin’s veterans should always be a shared value among Wisconsin legislators, regardless of party. As a veteran, I’ve seen firsthand the sacrifices these brave men and women make every day to serve our country and keep us safe.

That is why I am so troubled by the actions of my Republican colleagues in the State Assembly who knowingly voted to take vital protection away from veterans. After hearing moving testimony from veterans, they decided to make it more difficult for patients, including veterans, who have been diagnosed with mesothelioma to get justice after they have been exposed to asbestos.

I’m especially disappointed by the Republican legislators who chose to ignore the strong opposition to this bill by veterans’ advocacy groups, such as the Wisconsin Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Military Order of the Purple Heart. On a party line vote, they even chose to abolish an amendment that would have granted an exemption for veterans who were exposed to asbestos while serving their country.

Veterans make up just eight percent of the population – but 30 percent of people who suffer from mesothelioma are veterans. Many Wisconsin veterans were exposed to asbestos during their military service. And many others were exposed to asbestos while working civilian jobs in factories, plants, shipyards and mills. Veterans who are suffering from this deadly disease have already been through enough – we shouldn’t be putting more obstacles in their way.

Unfortunately these kinds of anti-citizen proposals are all too common in the legislature lately. Republicans are now pushing a budget measure that would make it easier for predatory rent-to-own companies to take advantage of consumers by no longer having to disclose their interest rates. These companies, along with payday lenders, are notorious for setting up shop outside military bases.

These callous measures should not be our focus. We need to be working on important issues, such as helping to create jobs, reforming our troubled jobs agency and rebuilding Wisconsin’s middle class. This pattern of attacking workers, families and our most vulnerable citizens needs to end now.

We must stand up and fight for Wisconsin veterans. They have worked hard and given so much to protect us. It is our duty to protect them as well.

Previously, by yours truly:

• Walker's War On Veterans
• Walker's War On Veterans Wages On.

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLXXX

Oconomowoc, which is in the middle of the reddest part of the state, are now getting to enjoy the rotten fruits of their support for Scott Walker:

The Pabst Farms development, once envisioned as a Midwestern upscale retail jewel destination in Oconomowoc, will soon be the home of a 151,000-square-foot Walmart Supercenter store and a 136,000-square-foot Sam’s Club store.

Walmart and Pabst Farms Development Inc. announced their plans for the two stores today.

The stores are planned to be built northeast of Interstate 94 and Highway 67 in the Pabst Farms Town Centre area of the development.

Prior to the Great Recession, Pabst Farms developer Peter Bell planned to create an upscale regional mall in the Pabst Farms Town Centre. However, that project has not moved forward, and attempts by Pabst Farms to attract upscale national retail tenants have been unsuccessful so far.

The Walmart Supercenter and the Sam’s Club stores would be the first significant development at Pabst Farms in several years.

I cannot help but laugh at this whole situation. They made such a fuss in using taxpayer dollars to build up the area, including specially installed ramps to and from the highway. And now all they got to show for it is a Wally World and Sam's Club.

It should be interesting when it comes time to hire those supposed 400 people. I cannot imagine the people in the area want to work under Wally World conditions and I don't think they are going to like the "riff raff" that these stores draw.

The saddest part is that they cannot figure out that they did it to themselves.

RIP County Grounds. Cause of Death: Greed

For years, I've been giving the warning regarding the endangerment of the county grounds and the treasures it contains, the Eschweiler Buildings and the Monarch Trail.

In a nut shell, then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker sold the county grounds for a song, breaking his promise to never let the land be developed.  Then the Wauwatosa Common Council willfully ignored the experts and their own constituents, selling them out to the wealthy land developers, by ramming through approval for them to destroy the natural habitats contained on the county ground so that they could build really important things like a school no one wanted there, a hotel, more apartments, a restaurant and a strip mall.

At the beginning of the year, we caught a horrifying glimpse of things to come when the developers hired an out of state company to come up and destroy scores of century trees which weren't even near the proposed construction site.

Earlier today, I had the "opportunity" to pop in at the county grounds.  What I saw broke my heart.  The following are some before and after photos.

It is limited because they have the grounds so befouled you can no longer enter them, much less get to the Monarch Trail or the Eschweiler Buildings.  Lord only knows what they are doing to those areas.  Based on these pictures,  I shudder to think about it.

But they do have a sign to tell you what is going on:

Of course, none of the things the developers had promised during the charades they did with the Tosa Common Council has anything to do with what's on that sign.  And nothing on that sign has to do with what they are actually doing.

And who is to blame for this crime against nature and against the public trust?  Well, as stated earlier, there is Scott Walker and the Wauwatosa Common Council.  But even they are puppets for the real criminals, who were bold enough to pose in celebration of their evil:

How many members of the Greater Milwaukee Committee can you count in that picture?  There is at least three that I could spot in a minute: Sheldon Lubar, Chris Abele and Michael Cudahy.

And with Abele newly enthroned as Milwaukee County Emperor, how do you think that other county parks and assets are going to fare?  And don't think for a minute that these plutocrats and oligarchs are going to be using union companies or paying decent wages or even minority companies.  They were very specific about giving Abele full control of those things when they handed him his tiara.

The only question I have is how long will it take before people hit the tipping point and we can start working on these problems before they get any worse?

Vukmir Slams Milwaukee Workers

The following is from State Senator Leah Vukmir's newsletter (emphasis mine):

The Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee has approved a budget We are one step closer to abolishing this rule that prevents the best and brightest teachers, police officers and firefighters from choosing to work in Milwaukee. The Senate and Assembly will take up the budget measure next month and if approved, will head to the Governor’s desk to become law. I’m excited that the Governor stands with me on this. This is about freedom and choice for the family unit. It’s also crucial that we end residency rules so we don’t limit the pool of qualified applicants for any city or county position. Milwaukee Public Schools are one of only two major metropolitan school districts in the country (Chicago) to have teacher residency requirements and are expected to need to hire 700 new teachers before next school year. The residency rule in Milwaukee has been in place since 1938.
measure to abolish residency requirements throughout the state of Wisconsin. The plan gives non-emergency workers and school district employees the choice to live where they want. A compromise was reached on emergency personnel. Police, fire and other emergency workers can live 15 miles outside the boundary of the city or county government in which they are employed. I've fought hard to eliminate residency requirements. For the past 10 years of my legislative career, I have worked tirelessly to end the archaic rules of residency that prohibit many employees from living outside of the city in which they work.

Excuse me, but what?

Is she really saying that the only way Milwaukee would have the "best and brightest" teachers, police officers and firefighters if we went out of the city to get them?

Did she miss the story of Vidal Colon, whose heroics earned him a chance to be honored by America's Most Wanted? Per Vukmir, Colon, a Milwaukee resident, is a slacker even though he did this:

The officer responded to a domestic disturbance complaint Saturday night. The suspect ran. The officer chased. According to the police chief, the confrontation ended in moments in a blast of gunfire.

Fresh from a spring vacation, Milwaukee's police chief took time out Monday morning to survey the scene of Saturday's shootout.

"It's really quite startling to look at it first hand and see what an extraordinarily brave act our officer committed and the extraordinarily intimate surroundings in which this occurred," Milwaukee police Chief Ed Flynn said.

Flynn said Officer Vidal Colon was chasing the suspect through a gangway when the 45-year-old man opened fire."The officer was wounded and went down. (He) continued to exchange fire with a suspect who went down, and both were on the ground shooting at each other before this gun battle ended. Mercifully, without the loss of our officer's life," Flynn said.

The officer shot the suspect five times. The suspect hit Colon twice in the legs and once in the stomach. The officer wasn't wearing a bullet-proof vest. They're not required to.

"I spoke to him yesterday (Sunday)and he had already gotten the stern lecture from his lovely wife, Tina, that he's never leaving the house again for the rest of his career without his body armor on. He did not have it on," Flynn said.

Colon is home recovering. His wife told WISN 12 News reporter Colleen Henry he has no comment.

And as far as teachers go, I would feel very safe in saying that Jay Bullock or our young friend on his Soapbox is worth any ten of her voucher school teachers.

I find it rather insulting that Vukmir would even suggest that the people who have enough pride in their community to work and live in Milwaukee are not the brightest or the best.

Given her extreme right-wing stance on everything*, including being a dyed-in-the-wool ALEC stooge, it would not surprise me if that the real reason for her to push so hard on destroying the residency rules is to further promote white flight and make the Milwaukee area even more segregated, ensuring it keeps its ranking as the most segregated region in the country for years to come.

Then again, it could be simple projection.  If she is the best and brightest of her district, the people might want to vote for someone outside of the district to be their next Senator.

*Vukmir does have the standard stance towards marriage and families.  Just ask her ex-husband.

Ron Johnson - Stooge of the Night

Wisconsin's own Ron Johnson made Letterman recently!

IRS + Walker Recall = Perfect Storm of B.S.

By Bert
It was a very bad week for Charlie Sykes.

It didn’t seem bad. In fact, it seemed for a while to be Charlie’s idea of fun.

Thanks to a blessed barrage of bad news for President Obama, Sykes was treated this past week to the chance to dutifully fluff up mere stories into full-blown Democrat-damaging scandals. Good times.

But then the problems for Charlie began to pop up all around one of those scandals. This is the one involving the IRS. The story goes that the IRS subjected right-wing groups to intrusive scrutiny. In actuality, the IRS would be an ineffective government agency if it did not scrutinize these groups quite a lot. To earn tax-free status as what is called a 501 (c) (4) organization, you are supposed to be non-partisan.

Hilarious that on Monday Sykes said one of the outrages that this “scandal” contains is that the IRS asks these non-profits for names and addresses of the groups’ participants, associates, even family members. This is outrageous, Charlie had to pretend, because then this personal information becomes public record.

Charlie, of course, conspired in the coordinated effort with these 501 (c) (4) groups to publicize the personal information of all Walker recall petition signers. It was a well-funded but shadowy effort that involved out-of-state groups.

So guess what? These personal-information publishers are claiming to be victims because, among other things, the IRS might make the information of those involved publishable public information.

On Friday, the Texas-based organization called True The Vote that helped run the recall petition signer harassment effort became a national story by pretending to be a victim of the IRS.

Combining all the BS on which the IRS scandal floats with all of the BS that the Walker recall opponents produced strained the dissembling abilities of Charlie, inducing a hernia of hyperbole.

Sykes sounded like a fool.

Speaking of foolish, here is how Charlie’s RightWisconsin website described the recall effort and his Republican allies’ efforts to oppose and exploit this righteous, homegrown movement:

“The result of the project helped Wisconsinites know who was forcing this expensive recall to move forward, busted the Democratic Party's myth of 1 million signatures, and added transparency and integrity to the recall process. Thousands of signatures were flagged as invalid, incomplete, or completely illegible. And Verify also provided transparency for judges, the media, prosecutors and other "non-partisan" employees who signed the recall.”

So much scrambling of reality here, when we know the 931,000 that the GAB ultimately tallied blew way past the necessary 540,000. The amount of fraud that was ultimately documented by this extraordinary scrutiny was also miniscule. Even if it did number in the thousands rather than a higher factor of 10 then it would be less than or maybe right around one percent of 900,000.

What has become obvious, though, is that the true purpose of the database was to give Charlie and Mark Belling the names of folks that they could target with their fascist thuggery, ranging from judicial candidates to school board members and reporters.

So listening to Charlie interview on Friday the True the Vote leader Catherine Engelbrecht of Houston, Texas, I had to cringe. His bad week of ignoring the monstrous holes in right-wing talking points and of straining to pretend reached a climax when he interviewed her.

Here are all of the whoppers that Sykes dutifully ignored in his interview:
1. That the untaxed group led by Ms. Engelbrecht – who dutifully used Rush Limbaugh jargon such as “democrat party” in her answers –is about as non-partisan as the Waukesha County Republican Committee.
2. That Sykes was a throbbing hypocrite for bitching at the IRS for doing to a group what the group itself exists to do even more blatantly and intentionally: making individuals’ names and addresses public.
3. That these shadowy GOP groups knew their work was not meant to “ensure the legitimacy” of the Walker recall movement. They know their work was done to to let talk show hosts target squadristi-like any candidates, reporters, public employees for on-air persecution.
4. That this campaign to intimidate a righteous home-grown Wisconsin movement against Scott Walker and the agenda of his out-of-state patrons is itself a conspiracy of dark forces, including Engelbrecht’s movement based in Texas, relying more on outside-the-state groups than the efforts to oppose Scott Walker in 2010 ever were.

The Market Rate of Wisconsin Republicans!

 

By Jeff Simpson

As someone who understands the "free" market and knows its importance in our economy. It is interesting to see how much money it costs to buy the Wisconsin republican party.

I used to think it was $325,000, but now apparently there is a fire sale.

Thanks to the honesty of Mike nASSelson,  he lets us know why the Governor Walker is pushing rent-own-deregulation.   As Steve MikalnASS tells Jack Craver, they sold out:

However, Mike Mikalsen, chief-of-staff to state Rep. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, one of the few Republicans who have opposed rent-to-own deregulation in the past, said the policy was made entirely as a favor to Ashley Furniture, a Wisconsin-based manufacturer of low-cost furniture that supplies many of the products in rent-to-own outlets.

Ashley, a large state employer, is not registered to lobby this session, but last session it reported spending $94,000 lobbying the Legislature just on the rent-to-own issue.

The other big backer of the measure is Rent-A-Center, a rent-to-own chain based in Plano, Texas. Last session it reported spending $192,000 lobbying the Legislature. Representing its interests is one of the top lobbyists in town, Eric Petersen, who, in addition to having an impressive array of powerful corporate interests on his client list, seems to be the go-to guy for stigmatized interest groups — payday lenders, tobacco companies, bail bonds, to name a few.

So while AFC and their flunky convicted felon Scott Jensen is paying $325,000 to buy one corrupt Senator (Rick Gudex),   The rent-to-own lobby is paying the same amount and buying the whole republican caucus!