Hello Wisconsin

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by TwinSwords

Thanks. Those two really do a great podcast.

You're welcome. Glad you liked it, and thanks for letting me know.

[bjkeefe]

Exclusive video of the biggest, baddest one of them all. Truly chilling stuff.

(h/t: Mahablog and JABbering Stooge)

[bjkeefe]

Good post from a real libertarian, Thoreau at UO.

[handle]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Good post from a real libertarian, Thoreau at UO.

They have those? Boy, if I was one, I'd be beyond pissed about the great co-opting of the concept. Before anyone wants to correct me and call it an ideology, I will say I haven't seen a lot of real solutions to real problems offered, but I could just be reacting to the LINOs (I could be wrong).

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Or not:

[...]

Thanks, Liberal Media! Now I can better understand that chart!

On a related note:

That Iraq Feeling

I don’t watch cable news, or actually any kind of TV news. But I gather that there’s a virtual blackout on the huge demonstrations in Wisconsin, except on Fox, which portrays them as thuggish and violent.

What that makes me think of is January-February 2003, when anyone watching cable news would have believed that only a few kooks were opposed to the imminent invasion of Iraq. It was quite spooky, realizing that hundreds of thousands of people could march through New York, and by tacit agreement be ignored by news networks whose headquarters were just a few blocks away.

And it’s even more spooky to see it happening all over again.

Thanks again, Liberal Media!

[bjkeefe]

... and elsewhere: why, eventheliberalNewYorkTimes ...

Golf claps to the NYT for correcting the piece, though.

On a related note, via the above:

Tea Party plan to impersonate union protesters: “Even if it becomes known that we are plants the quotes & pictures will linger as defacto truth.”

Your RWNM in action.

[bjkeefe]

(Following up from this.)

Scott Lemieux:

Not surprisingly but still depressingly, the authoritarian faction of Wisconsin politics is beginning to assert itself over the pro-speech/pro-dissent faction, as Scott Walker has closed the Capitol to any citizens not already there. In fairness, if he didn’t start to shut off the protest this might lead to even more speech that violates arbitrary etiquette rules with the Capitol building, and it’s hard to see how that could be consistent with democratic values.

He also recommends a post from the Koch-funded website, Reason (!!!), in which someone goes off the reservation. Amazing.

He closes with a link to this:

Walker Welding Capitol Windows NOW to Keep Workers from Passing Food to Those Inside

This from AFL-CIO Political Communications Director Eddie Vale who’s on the ground in Madison, Wis.

Silly AFL-CIO blogger. We all know eating=thugging it up.

[bjkeefe]

REPORT: Top 10 Disastrous Policies From The Wisconsin GOP You Haven’t Heard About

As the standoff between the Main Street Movement and Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) continues for the twelfth day, much of the media coverage — and anger — from both sides has focused on Walker’s efforts to strip Wisconsin public workers of their right to collective bargaining. But Walker’s assault on public employees is only one part of a larger political program that aims to give corporations free reign in the state while dismantling the healthcare programs, environmental regulations, and good government laws that protect Wisconsin’s middle and working class. These lesser known proposals in the 144-page bill reveal how radical Walker’s plan actually is:

The rest.

(h/t: @Joshua_holland1)

[operative]

...face and belly.

http://americanglob.com/2011/02/28/w...to-of-the-day/

[badhatharry]

Originally Posted by operative

...face and belly.

http://americanglob.com/2011/02/28/w...to-of-the-day/

and feet. yuk!

[bjkeefe]

Minnesota Protester Photo of the Day:



More thugs here.

[bjkeefe]

Despite slanted or sketchy media coverage, not to mention RWNM disinformation campaigns led by FoxNews, this is a measure of how the country feels:

Majority in Poll Back Employees in Public Sector Unions

As labor battles erupt in state capitals around the nation, a majority of Americans say they oppose efforts to weaken the collective bargaining rights of public employee unions and are also against cutting the pay or benefits of public workers to reduce state budget deficits, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News poll.

[...]

... the nationwide poll found that embattled public employee unions have the support of most Americans — and most independents — as they fight the efforts of newly elected Republican governors in Wisconsin and Ohio to weaken their bargaining powers, and the attempts of governors from both parties to cut their pay or benefits.

Americans oppose weakening the bargaining rights of public employee unions by a margin of nearly two to one: 60 percent to 33 percent. While a slim majority of Republicans favored taking away some bargaining rights, they were outnumbered by large majorities of Democrats and independents who said they opposed weakening them.

Those surveyed said they opposed, 56 percent to 37 percent, cutting the pay or benefits of public employees to reduce deficits, breaking down along similar party lines. A majority of respondents who have no union members living in their households opposed both cuts in pay or benefits and taking away the collective bargaining rights of public employees.

Governors in both parties have been making the case that public workers are either overpaid or have overly generous health and pension benefits. But 61 percent of those polled — including just over half of Republicans — said they thought the salaries and benefits of most public employees were either “about right” or “too low” for the work they do.

[...]

The poll found that an overwhelming 71 percent of Democrats opposed weakening collective bargaining rights. But there was also strong opposition from independents: 62 percent of them said they opposed taking bargaining rights away from public employee unions.

[...]

The one group that favors weakening those rights, by a slim majority, was Republicans.

[...]

Although cutting the pay or benefits of public workers was opposed by people in all income groups, it had the most support from people earning over $100,000 a year. In that income group, 45 percent said they favored cutting pay or benefits, while 49 percent opposed it. In every other income group, a majority opposed cutting pay or benefits: Among those making between $15,000 and $30,000, for instance, 35 percent said they favored cutting pay or benefits, while 60 percent opposed it.

Also:

Tax increases were not as unpopular among those surveyed as they are among many governors, who have vowed to avoid them. Asked how they would choose to reduce their state’s deficits, those polled preferred tax increases over benefit cuts for state workers by nearly two to one.

[operative]

Way to go, thugs.

http://jammiewearingfool.blogspot.co...ns-strand.html

[bjkeefe]

... the operative and some other jammie-wearing fool suddenly proclaiming their love for state-run health care.

Not as much as shrieking about THUGS!!!1!eleventy!!!1!, but still. Progress!

[bjkeefe]

More thuggery!!!1!

[...]

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R), who was inaugurated last January, will be eligible for a recall in January of 2012.

UPDATE The SEIU has signed onto the recall effort as well.

UPDATE The Chair of the Wisconsin Democratic Party suggests that his Party will continue to back this recall effort even if the eight targeted senators offer to withdraw their support for Gov. Walker's anti-union bill in order to quell the recall campaign:

[operative]

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/loc...cc4c03286.html

Thank goodness the police found it. Sooner or later one of the thugs is going to turn violent in a more severe way than punching a Fox reporter or roughing up people holding camcorders.

[handle]

Originally Posted by operative

http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/loc...cc4c03286.html

Thank goodness the police found it. Sooner or later one of the thugs is going to turn violent in a more severe way than punching a Fox reporter or roughing up people holding camcorders.

Better watch it. You are dangerously close to doing what you accused your blood enemies of doing in the AZ shooting.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by handle

Better watch it. You are dangerously close to doing what you accused your blood enemies of doing in the AZ shooting.

I'm amazed that the operative thinks he knows who stashed the ammo. I mean, didn't Breitbart and Hateway Pundit lead "millions" of teabaggers in protest there? How do we know it wasn't one of those 2nd Amendment fanatics who had it fall out of his pocket when he mounted his trusty scooter?

[bjkeefe]

Or, as some others might say, "This is what Democracy looks like."

Wisconsin:

A short film. Shot entirely on the top of State Street at The Capitol in Madison, Wisconsin - 2.21.11

[bjkeefe]

The Koch-whore has come up against a more powerful entity:

Twitter Won’t ‘Verify’ Scott Walker Because He’s Just a Random Jerk

If the operative doesn't show up to melt down about this within the hour, we'll know that suspected aneurysm was for realz.

==========

[Added] Or maybe he's just hiding due to embarrassment over the latest Koch-sponsored thuggery?

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

The Koch-whore has come up against a more powerful entity:

If the operative doesn't show up to melt down about this within the hour, we'll know that suspected aneurysm was for realz.

==========

[Added] Or maybe he's just hiding due to embarrassment over the latest Koch-sponsored thuggery?

In any case, Greater Wingnuttia's VIOLENT PROTESTORS!!!1! mantra seems to be whimpering to a close.

[bjkeefe]

Rasmussen Poll: Almost Six In Ten Wisconsin Voters Disapprove Of Gov. Walker

Whoa.

(via)

[bjkeefe]

Scott Lemieux:

Now That’s Budget Cutting

You may scoff, but the state of Wisconsin has saved more than $7 million. The strategy involved was “stop making things up.”

[handle]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Scott Lemieux:

Yea I saw the "news story" last night and the night before, talking about the "damage" and the "cost" on the local Fox affiliate. They made the mistake of showing closeups the blue painters tape being peeled off. That blue masking tape is designed to be safe for use on painted sheet rock walls, but it harms sealed marble? Perhaps if it got stuck to the souls of their shoes they could file for "assault".

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by handle

Yea I saw the "news story" last night and the night before, talking about the "damage" and the "cost" on the local Fox affiliate. They made the mistake of showing closeups the blue painters tape being peeled off. That blue masking tape is designed to be safe for use on painted sheet rock walls, but it harms sealed marble? Perhaps if it got stuck to the souls of their shoes they could file for "assault".

Yes, they'll say anything to distract from the realities, won't they?

PUTTING THE ATTACKS ON UNIONS IN CONTEXT.... As Republicans at the state and federal level become increasingly aggressive in targeting unions and their members, the rhetoric from the right is that this is borne of necessity. When there are budget shortfalls, the GOP argument goes, public-sector workers and their families should shoulder the burden.

But it's become quite obvious in recent weeks that the argument is about far more than this. Indeed, in Wisconsin, where the dispute is arguably the most intense, labor agreed to all kinds of compensation concessions, only to see Gov. Scott Walker (R) insist that collective-bargaining rights have to be abandoned, too.

Yale's Jacob Hacker and Berkeley's Paul Pierson, co-authors of the brilliant and powerful "Winner-Take-All Politics" (now out in paperback), have a must-read op-ed in the Washington Post today, offering valuable context to the right's assault on labor as a societal institution.

It's tough to excerpt -- really, just read the whole thing -- but the Hacker/Pierson case explains that unions operate "as a counterweight to the demands of corporations and Wall Street in the corridors of power." Working families lack substantial financial capital, and labor helps level the playing field, which in turn has brought benefits that strengthened the middle class.

A stronger role for unions has meant less inequality, here and throughout the industrialized world. (It's not a coincidence that labor's decline has led to economic inequalities unseen in the U.S. in generations.) Labor has also been the institution to stand against reckless deregulation, including the steps that led to the 2008 global crash.

The rest.

(h/t: @azjayhawk47)

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Yes, they'll say anything to distract from the realities, won't they?

[...]

Not to mention from their their outright lies:

The Truth About Pensions

Dean Baker has a deeply enlightening analysis of state pension shortfalls (pdf), containing a lot of stuff I didn’t know. The basic moral is that the official story these days — of years and years of huge giveaways to unions, resulting in gigantic, unpayable debts — is just wrong: to a very large extent, the pension shortfall has emerged just since 2007, thanks to the financial crisis, and even then it’s not nearly as big relative to future state incomes as widely imagined. Here’s a key figure:



It puts an entirely different light on the situation. Whaddya know, we’re being sold a bill of goods.

(h/t: @TomLevenson)

[handle]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Not to mention from their their outright lies:



(h/t: @TomLevenson)

This is what I've been saying all along. But handle's rule applies:
Those with the least faith in their point of view tend to make the most noise.

[bjkeefe]

Footage of "good Koch foot soldier" Sen. Scott Brown (R-MA), asking his master for more money.

(h/t: Ken Layne)

[bjkeefe]

Looks like annalthouse and Big Meade-E-Uh spent some time in a comment section not filled with their worshipers.

(h/t: Thers)

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Looks like annalthouse and Big Meade-E-Uh spent some time in a comment section not filled with their worshipers.

(h/t: Thers)

Visual reinforcement, from the master of the form.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by operative

Bogyman time.

Bogyman this:

CONGRESS' ANTI-CONSUMER-SAFETY CONTINGENT.... On her show last night, Rachel Maddow had a segment on the political efforts of the right-wing Koch brothers, and there was one data point that I hadn't heard about before.

First , a little background. In 2007, following a series of scandalous incidents, federal officials created on online consumer-product-safety database, allowing Americans to go online and access free information about the safety records of household products. It passed the House unanimously, sailed through the Senate, and was signed into law by George W. Bush.

Who could possibly oppose this? Why would even the most unhinged Republican reject giving Americans free access to such materials? Or as Rachel asked, "Dear Lord, who is going to object to consumer product safety information being put online?"

The answer, it turns out, is Rep. Mike Pompeo (R) of Kansas, who ran a surprisingly racist campaign, and won last year thanks to generous support from his largest campaign contributors, the Koch brothers and their political action committee. Pompeo also happens to represent the district where Koch Industries is located.

As it turns out, the Kochs don't care for the consumer product safety database, so their congressman pushed a measure to delay and weaken it. As the Kansas City Star explained, Pompeo wanted to push off implementation "to give Congress a chance to make changes that both he and the business community would prefer."

The point of the database couldn't be any more of a no-brainer. The Consumer Safety Product Commission has valuable information, but faces challenges in reaching the public. For very little money, the government has created an online resource that will help families make more informed choices, and create a new incentive for manufacturers to put safe products on the market.

As Michael Lipsky explained today, "One would think it hard to find a politician who opposes reducing preventable dangers to children. [Pompeo] has stepped up to this challenge."

Pompeo's proposal, an amendment to the House spending-cut bill, was approved with 227 Republican votes, but it's not expected to be part of the compromise with the Senate. Still, the fact that he tried, and that the GOP backed his measure, should tell voters a great deal about the party's priorities.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by operative

Bogyman time.

Bogyman this nugget that Ed from Instaputz caught in Charles "Not Jenna" Koch's piece that, amazingly, Rupert Murdoch was able to squeeze in.

(previously)

[handle]

Originally Posted by bjkeefe

Bogyman this nugget that Ed from Instaputz caught in Charles "Not Jenna" Koch's piece that, amazingly, Rupert Murdoch was able to squeeze in.

(previously)

I am confident that businesses like ours will hire more people and invest in more equipment when our country's financial future looks more promising. Laying the groundwork for smaller, smarter government, especially at the federal level, is going to be tough. But it is essential for getting us back on the path to long-term prosperity.

This is the problem with the wingnuts describing the rich as "job creators", when unemployment is at 10%. They got their tax break, but they haven't created any jobs. Idiots like these guys are simultaneously implying they control the economy, and are waiting for the economy to improve before they invest in it... Catch 22. Who's going to buy your shit when they don't make any money?
They are spearheading a downward spiral that will eventually take even the super-rich down. Modern American counter-productivity approaches it's finest hour.

I say give 'em an award for extreme patriotism, and selfless commitment to the American people, and the state of the union, and then ship them off to Myanmar, where they can inflict human suffering for pennies on the dollar.... sorry, I meant facilitate "long term prosperity".

[bjkeefe]

From Chris Bowers at the GOS, so a grain of salt is probably in order, but still:

Governor Scott Walker is now leaking emails to the press about a potential compromise on collective bargaining rights. It's not much of a compromise, and may be a bad-faith PR stunt, but it shows Walker is feeling enough heat to change his tune. Just five days ago, when the recall was starting, Walker was vowing no compromise whatsoever.

In another measure of the effectiveness of the pressure, the GOP is panicking about this whole "let the people's voices be heard" idea:

... Republican majority leader Scott Fitzgerald is publicly musing about ways he would like to see the laws regarding recalls changed. Talk about signaling weakness!

You can contribute to the recall effort while reading the rest, if you like.

(h/t: @EricBoehlert, via RT)

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by operative

Bogyman time.

Bogyman this:

Koch Industries Employs PR Firm To Airbush Wikipedia, Gets Banned For Unethical ‘Sock Puppets’

Last year, Koch Industries began employing New Media Strategies (NMS), an Internet PR firm that specializes in “word-of-mouth marketing” for major corporations including Coca-Cola, Burger King, AT&T, Dodge and Ford. It appears that, ever since the NMS contract was inked with Koch, an NMS employee began editing the Wikipedia page for “Charles Koch,” “David Koch,” “Political activities of the Koch family,” and “The Science of Success” (a book written by Charles). Under the moniker of “MBMAdmirer,” NMS employees edited Wikipedia articles to distance the Koch family from the Tea Party movement, to provide baseless comparisons between Koch and conspiracy theories surrounding George Soros, and to generally delete citations to liberal news outlets. After administrators flagged the MBMAdmirer account as a “sock puppet” — one of many fake accounts used to manipulate new media sites — a subsequent sock puppet investigation found that MBMAdmirer is connected to a number of dummy accounts and ones owned by NMS employees like Jeff Taylor. In a bid to undo a Wikipedia-imposed ban, the MBMAdmirer account now acknowledges that it works for Koch Industries. The tactics used by Koch’s PR firm clearly violate the ethics rules laid out by Wikipedia against sock puppet manipulation.

Soren Dayton, a GOP operative and executive at New Media Strategies, is reported to be the contact for Koch Industries at NMS. Reached by phone yesterday by ThinkProgress, Dayton exclaimed, “I’m not going to talk about this, thanks,” before hanging up. Lyndsey Medsker, a senior account director for NMS, spoke to ThinkProgress today. She explained that NMS also maintains the Koch Industries Twitter page, Facebook page, and has an active team working on promoting Koch Industries in the comment section of blogs and news websites. [emph. added --bjk]

As ThinkProgress has reported, the billionaire Koch brothers maintain contracts with over a dozen public relation firms and lobbying firms. Pushing back again recent scrutiny, the brothers have also relied on a conservative media infrastructure owned by the Koch brothers or closely linked to them by way of their donor conferences. We have documented how the Koch message machine has targeted ThinkProgress and even placed hit-pieces against a New Yorker journalist investigated the Kochs. But now it seems the Koch brothers are at work manipulating Wikipedia to polish their image.

See also George Monbiot's columns from Dec 2010 and Feb 2011 on the problem of online astroturfing, more broadly considered.

[badhatharry]

How the Wisconsin Senate Passed Walker’s Bill

[operative]

Originally Posted by badhatharry

How the Wisconsin Senate Passed Walker’s Bill

Finally, they did what should've been done the day the fleebaggers ran away.

A win for the democratic process, a loss for union thuggery. Hurray!

[Don Zeko]

Originally Posted by operative

Finally, they did what should've been done the day the fleebaggers ran away.

A win for the democratic process, a loss for union thuggery. Hurray!

I am shocked, shocked to see this phrase appear in your post.

As to the actual news, A few thoughts:

-More evidence that legislators know much less about what they are doing than is commonly assumed. It suspect that this didn't happen earlier because Scott Walker and the Republican state senators didn't know that this loophole existed. I'm imagining some junior staffer running through the hall waving an old book on state senate procedure, yelling that he needs to talk to the governor.

-I'm kind of amazed at how up front the WI Repblicans are that this isn't about the budget, it's about destroying an opposition interest group. After all, they're only allowed to pass this without a quorum if it has no effect on the budget. Oh, and then there's this:

If we win this battle, and the money is not there under the auspices of the unions, certainly what you’re going to find is President Obama is going to have a much difficult, much more difficult time getting elected and winning the state of Wisconsin.

-More evidence to support my contention that the US Senate's filibuster will end whenever Republicans regain control of it and the white house. They're remarkably willing to be hypocritical about process. I mean, everyone remembers how 60 senators passing the ACA despite its poor performance at the polls was horrible, right? But passing this in the dead of night without a quorum while the opposition is mobilizing recall campaigns is A-OK. While I'm at it, does anyone remember the House vote on Medicare Part D?

[JonIrenicus]

Originally Posted by badhatharry

How the Wisconsin Senate Passed Walker’s Bill

Here was a wonderful statement of bullsh*t


"But Democrats cried foul, saying that by springing the vote on the senate the Republicans had violated their rights.

The leader of the senate Democrats, Mark Miller, released a statement from exile in Illinois saying: "Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten. Tonight, 18 senate Republicans conspired to take government away from the people. We will join the people of Wisconsin in taking back their government.""

http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011...gaining-unions


Right, like that model of democracy that is preventing a vote with a quorum.

[bjkeefe]

Originally Posted by Don Zeko

[...] While I'm at it, does anyone remember the House vote on Medicare Part D?

I will never forget that. Sadly, everyone in the Serious Person class appears to have.