"The Star" endorses partisanship, not free speech

Update! 4/3/2013

The Star finally posted my comment!  Thank you, Mr. Mertes! It says it was posted on 1:05 pm on Fri, Mar 22, 2013 (when I wrote it) but I sent an email on 3/25 asking why he didn't publish it and kept checking periodically & it still wasn't there...I think the last time I checked was late last week. Still no response to my email, though.  I won't hold my breath on that one.

But the more compelling update is that BOTH progressive candidates - Dave Carlson and Andrea Gage - won seats on the Sun Prairie City Council, proving once again that when voters have a choice in our community, they choose the progressive candidate! Congratulations!  Here's to moving forward, and with better, more open dialogue!

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The following is a letter I felt compelled to send to my local paper, the Sun Prairie Star, when its editor, Christopher Mertes, not only failed to publish a fairly innocuous comment I posted on an endorsement on its website, but entered a public squabbling match - insulting and threatening to silence - those who dared to disagree with him on the paper's facebook page.  He then issued a disturbing tirade against an excellent informational public service interview by Dane County Supervisor Nick Zweifel with Superintendent of Public Instruction Tony Evers and our own Sun Prairie School District administrator, Dr. Tim Culver, to which Nick Zweifel has responded here and to which Mertes responded on his personal blog here.  [Note that the paper has endorsed Don "An Unhired Gun in Every School" Pridemore for Superintendent, and our community's elected school board stands strongly against increased public funding to unaccountable and unproven voucher programs].  I find this behavior unbefitting of the editor of our town's only news outlet, and I make public my invitation to Mr. Mertes to take seriously the call for more balanced - and less reactionary - forum for coverage of local issues and events.  Our community deserves better.  This sort of strong-arming of oppositional views has no place in America, much less Sun Prairie.  I would hope that those who agree that we need to be respectful of the views of all of our citizens will let Mr. Mertes know where they stand as well.

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Why I don't subscribe to the many hypocrisies of The Star. 
To appreciate the full irony of this bullying, see the endorsement in question.

Dear Chris,

Am I banned from commenting online at The Star (something I very rarely do)?  What is your policy for moderating comments there? I posted the comment (pasted below) on City Council President Zach Weber's endorsement of Steve Villand many days ago and it still has not appeared. The comment clearly takes issue with Mr. Weber's (and the paper's) endorsement, but I don't see any reason why you wouldn't publish it, especially considering you already posted my letter of support for Dave Carlson and Andrea Gage.

It seems you've taken to disparaging SPARC (Sun Prairie Action Resource Coalition, a grassroots group I'm closely involved with) as leftist ideologues and party players in this latest election cycle (both in your endorsement piece and in your comment on the education interview posted by County Supervisor Nick Zweifel), but the fact is, SPARC is a non-partisan coalition of locally-focused people with a wide range of political views.  While many of us support candidates independently, our only hope as a group is that people pay attention and look at all the information out there on the candidates to make informed personal decisions that fit their own goals for the community.  [Our focus is on public service events, information sharing, and filling needs in the community (like with our upcoming SnackSmart School Snack Drive)]. Many of us are not even Democrats, but do tend (like the rest of our community) to vote for the candidates we feel best reflect our own values.  Further, our group is not only concerned with engaging people in paying attention to local politics and elections; we have a much broader mission that seeks to address issues that matter to all of us and to build bridges across partisan divides.  I know there are many in our community who welcome this intervention into the local political discourse and recognize the need for it.

I appreciate, then, that The Star has covered SPARC community forums and events, and am a bit confused as to why you've begun to point fingers at the group, which does not endorse candidates, even if its members often have strong positions on who would best serve our community. 

I am really troubled by your bans of commenters who don't share your views (most notably your most formidable ideological rival, Eric Basile - who really deserves a regular column in the paper - and now I see you're publicly threatening to ban him from commenting on facebook, too), and your dismissive and disrespectful comments to people like my good friend and local volunteer Barb Muse (seriously? just because she lives in Bristol she shouldn't care about Sun Prairie?  She's here every day!).  Your reactionary replies come across like schoolyard retorts; they demean the paper and make it clear that you truly do not welcome differing perspectives. And your willingness to ban people from commenting makes the paper come across more like your personal blog than the award-winning news source it once was.

One of the reasons I wanted to get involved with a group like SPARC was because many of us feel silenced in our community by a local paper that not only doesn't reflect our editorial perspective, but actively asserts control over limiting who can say what in our community.  I would hope that The Star would welcome some differing positions, rather than squelch them.  Doing so makes your paper look like a propaganda outlet rather than a hometown paper.  I understand that the paper is owned by the Knox family, whose contributions to the Republican party are well documented, but that doesn't mean that you should abandon your professional obligation to support freedom of the press, and recognize the rights of members of our community to exercise freedom of speech and expression.

You have the opportunity in the pages of your paper to open up real dialogue about issues people in our community care about.  You could do this in a way that unites people, by giving equal space and respect to both sides, or you can continue to play an active role in dividing our community by trying to silence those with whom you do not agree (who happen to be the majority of the community, if we go by our voting history).  I invite you to take the high road by focusing on the issues rather than resorting to disparaging individual members of the community, and I offer my voice if you ever want to consider a point/counterpoint forum or need suggestions for community members who might be able to provide differing views on the issues that matter to all of us. 

I hope you'll publish the original comment, and I hope that you'll reconsider use of these heavy-handed tactics that prevent The Star from serving our community effectively.

Thanks,
Heather DuBois Bourenane


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And for what it's worth, here's the original comment that didn't make it through the "moderation" process (I'd copied it in anticipation of not seeing it posted, which is sad enough in itself). The comment responds to Mr. Weber's assertion that Andrea Gage is too "partisan" a candidate, while failing to acknowledge his earlier endorsement of another, highly partisan, candidate on the right:

This appeal to non-partisanship would be much easier to accept had Mr. Weber not also endorsed Republican Trish Schaefer, in the Distict 4 race against moderate Dave Carlson. While Schaefer has not accepted party endorsements, her campaign rhetoric (and attempts to smear supporters of her opponent) make her real agenda clear. Those of us who followed her unsuccessful campaign against Representative Gary Hebl last fall are well aware of how far to the right she stands, and her attempts to disguise her politics for this nonpartisan race seem disingenuous and misleading, as does Mr. Weber's attempt here to appeal to "nonpartisan" governance.

I agree that partisan politics should not play a major role in local government, but I also think we need candidates who will stand up for local values and be proactive in engaging the community. I am a resident of district 2 and I like Andrea Gage's agenda: it involves getting people more involved and a community-focused approach to local governance, something I think we could improve on.

I would hope that Mr. Weber would also welcome some change on the Council so that a more diverse cross-section of our community was represented at City Hall. Whatever the outcome of the race, I hope that partisan bickering and insular government is not on anyone's "agenda."

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Glenn Grothman Advises Senate to "Ignore" Democracy Watchdogs

WI Senator Glenn Grothman. Source.

Glenn Grothman, enemy of democracy. During the mining debate on the the Senate floor on Feb. 27, 2013, Senator Grothman (R, West Bend) spoke out in response to data revealing the depths of connections of the mining legislation to dirty money and special interests. The data in question was in part collected by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, which, he said "is a pretty shady organization" and advises his colleagues to "ignore anything this organization says,"  dismissing those who testified against the bill as "goofy protesters."


Now, to anyone who knows anything about the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, this is hard to believe.  But listen for yourself:

 
What IS the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign, really? A well-established nonpartisan organization comprised of well-respected professionals and led by Mike McCabe. Their mission: 

"The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a nonprofit, nonpartisan political watchdog group dedicated to clean government. We advocate for a real democracy that allows the common good to prevail over narrow interests by reinforcing and protecting the values of honesty, fairness, transparency, accountability, citizen participation, competition, and respect for constitutional rights and the rule of law."

That doesn't sound shady to me.  At all.

The work of people like Mike McCabe and others at Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is the only thing holding Wisconsin back right now from the brink of pure, unbridled partisan exploitation.  By publicly disparaging the character of this group and its findings, Grothman panders to the corporate interests who wrote the mining legislation and proves (as if we had any doubt) that the interests of the people are of no interest to him.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is a nonpartisan oasis in a desert of partisan drought.  It's precisely the kind of group that reflects the spirit of independent thinking, progressive values, and shared desire for open and transparent government that used to mark Wisconsin as unique among the 50 states.  We need to foster and support groups like this and encourage more citizen watchdogging of our elected officials. We need to applaud groups like this for doing the people's work when those we elect (and pay!) to do that work refuse to do it faithfully.

In short, this is exactly NOT the kind of organization any self-respecting politician should be publicly badmouthing. Although it's no surprise coming from Kwanzaa-bashing, famously racist and misogynist Grothman, who is happy to dismiss anyone who disagrees with him, and dismissed the hundreds of thousands of teachers, nurses, students, laborers, police officers, fire fighters, retirees, and countless other citizens speaking up against the unconscionable 2011 powergrab as "a bunch of slobs."  

Why does Glenn Grothman advise his colleagues to ignore transparency? Why does Glenn Grothman argue that we should avoid democracy?  

He owes all of us an apology, but especially he owes the good people at Wisconsin Democracy Campaign an apology for publicly disparaging their work.

It's the absolute least he can do.

A more decent man would resign, in the scope of such a long history of offenses to the people he allegedly serves.  But we all know Glenn Grothman is not a more decent man.


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Note:  this post has been updated to correct the date.  The footage is from 2/27/13, not 3/27/13.

Scott Walker's Open Letter Challenge: Budget Addition!

Take the Scott Walker/MoD Open Letter Challenge - 2013-2015 Budget Edition!

 
Rarely do the governor and I collaborate on a project, but I am totally on board with his letter to the editor suggestion!

Using this handy form, you can let your local
paper know what you think of Walker's budget!

Governor Walker had the fine idea of providing his supporters with an handy auto-form for sending "original" letters to the editors of their local papers, telling them how swell they think his new budget plans are.

Here's the propaganda template Walker's staff provides:

Governor Walker’s proposed budget puts the focus on Wisconsin families and presents a clear path to economic prosperity for our state.

The Governor’s optimistic plan highlights his continuing commitment to taxpayers by cutting income taxes for the first time in more than a decade, while maintaining a freeze on property taxes. Reducing these financial burdens puts money back into the hands of families who need it most.

His significant investments in education and workforce development renews his commitment to job creation, and by putting additional focus on infrastructure and government reform, he is ensuring growth of businesses as well as the personal economies of families across Wisconsin.
Governor Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the firm foundation he and the Republican legislature put into place with their last budget; he has given us a viable path forward. Now, we must do our part to stand with Governor Walker by spreading the message of his reforms and encouraging our representatives to pass his budget. The Governor continues to stand up for the taxpayers of Wisconsin, so we must stand with him and help him keep Wisconsin moving forward.

Analiese Eicher had the fine idea of encouraging people to customize this form:

So Walker's budget website has a form letter for you to sent to you local newspaper. All you have to do is fill out your name, email, and zip code.

Oh, and the form letter? You can edit it.

Edit and send away, my friends.

I put this challenge to my friends at the MoD facebook page, and below are some of the customizations we've seen so far.  If you take the challenge, please post your letter in the comments below, on the facebook page, or send them to me by email and I'll add them in!  And be sure to send them by email to your paper...never know what "filters" might be at work on the governor's end.

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Governor Walker’s proposed budget puts the focus on handouts to corporations and rich political donors while completely ignoring the needs of Wisconsin families. His budget presents a clear path to widespread poverty across our state.

The Governor’s cynical plan highlights his total lack of commitment to taxpayers by a symbolic and largely worthless cutting of income taxes for the first time in more than a decade, while maintaining a freeze on property taxes so as to ensure that public education continues to wither under his administration. Reducing these financial burdens puts money back into the hands of his corporate masters who are always at the forefront of his thoughts.

His significant attacks against public education and restricting any workforce development renews his commitment to job destruction, and by putting additional focus on handouts to donors and partisan reform, he is ensuring the growth of corporate profits while destroying personal incomes of families across Wisconsin. The few jobs that Governor Walker HAS managed to create have all been out of state as he seems to favor awarding contracts in any state OTHER than the one he was sadly elected to serve.

Governor Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the partisan and radical foundation he and the Republican legislature forced into place with their last budget; he has given us a viable path backwards. Now, we must do our part to stand against Governor Walker by spreading the message of his "reforms" and encouraging our representatives to vote against his budget. The Governor continues to stand against the taxpayers of Wisconsin, so we must stand against him and help turn Wisconsin around so she is once again moving forward. 

- Jeff Woosley

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Governor Walker’s proposed budget puts the focus on corporate interests and presents a clear path to economic prosperity for his campaign sponsors.

The Governor’s optimistic plan highlights his continuing commitment to road building lobbyists by creating more lanes of traffic for the first time in more than a decade, while maintaining a lock down on public transportation funds. Reducing donation obstacles puts money back into his hands rather than the hands of families who need it most.

His significant investments in pay-to-play charter schools renews his commitment to killing jobs that support Wisconsin families, and by putting additional focus on corporate sponsorship and donations, he is ensuring his national exposure to the Teabaggers across the United States.

Governor Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the firm foundation he and the Republican legislature have been bought and paid for; he has given us a viable path backwards. Now, we must do our part to stand with Governor Walker by spreading the wealth amongst his closest campaign donors and corporate sponsors. The Governor continues to stand up for the corporate interests of Wisconsin, so we must stand with him and help him keep Wisconsin moving towards even greater debt and division.

- Daniel Lyons

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Governor Walker’s proposed budget puts the bull's eye on Wisconsin families and presents a clear path to economic ruin for our state.

The Governor’s cynical plan highlights his continuing commitment to corporations by cutting services for the first time in more than a decade, while maintaining a freeze on property taxes. Reducing these financial burdens puts money back into the hands of richest 1% who need it least.

His significant cuts in education and workforce development renews his commitment to corporations, and by putting additional focus on infrastructure and government subsidies, he is ensuring growth of profits as well as the personal fortunes of millionaires.

Governor Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the foundation he and the Republican legislature put into place with their last budget; he has given us a path downward. Now, we must do our part to battle against Governor Walker by spreading the message of his abuses and encouraging our representatives to oppose his budget. The Governor continues to stand up for the corporations, so we must stand up to him and keep Wisconsin moving forward.

- Tim Stachoviak 

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Governor Walker’s proposed budget puts the burden on Wisconsin families and presents a clear danger to economic prosperity for our state.

The Governor’s plan highlights his continuing commitment to his overlords by these financial burdens. It puts money back into the hands of his business cronies, while cutting income taxes in amounts that do nothing for the majority of the people.

His significant disregard for one of the finest education systems in the country, now a disaster, as he continues his goose-stepping to privatization. Workforce development consists of job creation in, well actually nothing. He is a plague to the families across Wisconsin.

Governor Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the firm foundation he and the Republican legislature put into place with their last budget; divide and conquer. Now, we must do our part to stand up to Governor Walker by spreading the true message of his reforms and encouraging our representatives to show some spine and represent their constituents. The Governor continues to be controlled by outside influences, so we must stand up to him and help Wisconsin from becoming worse than a third world country.

- Jim Ross

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GovernEr Walker’s proposed budget puts the focus on placing average Wisconsin families at a further disadvantage as he continues to gut public education and healthcare. It represents a clear and present danger as the path to economic disparity continues to widen the distance between the haves and have nots in our state.

The GovernEr's unrealistic plan highlights his continuing commitment to his wealthy masters. By cutting income taxes for the first time in more than a decade, which will amount to almost nothing for the average tax payer, while maintaining a freeze on property taxes that caused a decrease in public services, he is able to fool the tools. Reducing these financial "burdens" puts money back into the hands of families who need it least and further disadvantages families already floundering in his jobless economy.

His insignificant investments in education underscore his commitment to privatization favored by his handlers. His focus on non-existant mining jobs give away our resources and concentrate profits to an unaccountable out of state extraction corporation that will destroy the environment, deplete our water supply and leave Wisconsin citizens with the bill for mitigation of the devastation. His mismanagement of 52 million dollars in workforce development funds, lack of focus on infrastructure and concentration on dismantling of individual civil rights, ensure the further degradation of small businesses, as well as the personal economies and freedoms of citizens across Wisconsin.

GovernEr Walker has laid out a plan that builds upon the firm foundation he and the Republican legislature put into place with their last budget to destroy the State of Wisconsin; he has put us on a path to poverty and illiteracy with the intention of making Wisconsin a southern style red state. Now, we must do our part to stand against GovernEr Walker by spreading the message of his "reforms" and encouraging our representatives to vote against his budget. The GovernEr continues to lie to the taxpayers of Wisconsin, so we must stand against him to prevent him from moving Wisconsin further backward.

Thank you to Friends of GovernEr Walker for providing this handy editable form and encouraging me to submit a letter to the editor. http://walkerbudget.com/letters-to-the-editor/

Sincerely,

- Chrissy Morrissey

  

 

Guest post: Walker launches nuke #2...because he "cares too much"

Another stirring post from my friend, frequent contributor, and president-for-life of the MoD fan club, Ryan Wherley.  Ryan published this first as a note on his facebook page, and linked up a deluxe version for his Wisco Wherls diary at the Daily Kos.  Cross-posted here with his permission, and my thanks. Oh, and Happy Birthday, little brother! Ryan turned 30 today. 

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Guest post:
 
Scott Walker prepares to launch another budgetary nuke as reassurance that he "cares too much" about Wisconsinites

by Ryan Wherley

Wednesday, February 20, 2013 

When Scott Walker releases his 2013-15 biennial budget with a public address tonight at the Wisconsin Capitol, I hope people are paying close attention to the health care portion.  In it, GovernEr Walker will codify his cruel rejection of $4 billion in federal money proffered (not to be confused with "Prossered") to fully expand Medicaid (BadgerCare in Wisconsin) as part of the Affordable Care Act and extend direct health care coverage to approximately 175,000 additional Wisconsinites.  This ignominious decision will cost the state thousands of new jobs that would have accompanied a full Medicaid expansion.  It will lower the maximum income threshold for those who are currently childless adults on BadgerCare, kicking them off BadgerCare and over to the federally implemented, private health care exchanges that Walker so despises where they can hopefully afford coverage. It will force countless individuals, who would have otherwise been covered, to avoid preventive care and risk their lives if they become sick, while relying on the last-resort Emergency Room care that drives up everyone's health care costs.

Photo courtesy of Erica Case

On top of all of that, Scott Walker's ridiculously shortsighted decision to play politics and reject another facet of the Affordable Care Act, after already punting on the opportunity for Wisconsin to create its own exchanges, will cost Wisconsin taxpayers $250 million MORE through 2020 than if he had simply accepted the billions in federal funding.  For the first three years, the feds would have fully covered the expansion and by 2020, the coverage would have dipped to 90%.

However, by rejecting the full expansion, Walker has ensured that not only will Wisconsin leave all of those funds on the table, the feds will continue to match only 60% of our Medicaid costs, as they currently do.  Even John Kasich (OH), Rick Snyder (MI), Jan Brewer (AZ) and now Rick Scott (FL) accepted the steal of the deal that was laid before them by the federal government, and nobody would ever accuse any of those four governors of being even remotely left of the Tea Party.

That was OUR money that will simply move along to other states because of his rejection, in exactly the same manner this had previously happened after GovernEr-elect Walker convinced then-Governor Jim Doyle to needlessly turn down hundreds of millions of dollars of federal money that would have brought high-speed rail and sustainable jobs to Wisconsin in 2010.

So what about those "hardworking taxpayers" Walker endlessly drones on about protecting when he's bashing unions, the poor, the sick, the elderly, the left? I cannot stress this enough: SCOTT WALKER DOES NOT GIVE A SHIT ABOUT THE CITIZENS OF WISCONSIN.  He is willing to demolish the foundations of our state at the drop of a hat if it means scoring political points and to prove his ideological purity and devotion to his corporate puppet masters who paid so handsomely for his two gubernatorial electoral victories.

In the meantime, he continues to travel around the country (and occasionally the state), posturing and pandering to right-wing extremists while moving Wisconsin decades in reverse socially, economically and culturally, all with an eye toward the 2016 presidential campaign.

Speaking to an audience last week at the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce in front of many of those who have contributed mightily to his rise to, and continued hold on, power, Walker dropped this little anecdote on the crowd on his decision to reject the federal Medicaid funds:

"Some people will portray this as not caring about people.  I think it's just the opposite.  I care too much about the people of this state not to empower them to control their own destiny."

Translation: "If you think this removes all doubt that my photo will be placed next to the word "sociopath" in the American Psychiatric Association’s Diagnostic and Statistical Manual, you're dead on.  Since I have no regard for the impact my actions have on the lives of poor Americans, I will carefully extricate myself from the responsibility of holding onto the social safety net that protects our nation’s most vulnerable individuals.  I understand that elected officials are supposed to look out for the best interests of their constituents.  However, while in practice I oversee a government so “small” it can fit inside a woman’s uterus, in theory I swear allegiance to a belief in government so small it can drown in a bathtub. Thus, we’re making the calculated decision that those of you most in need are better left to the whims of an austere worldview that grows increasingly antithetical to protecting and achieving those best interests.   But hey, at least I’m "freeing" you from the throes of governmental assistance to help you in your time of need.  Although some of you may die in the process, at least you'll know you died while independently pulling up your own bootstraps."   

It’s a line straight out of the playbook of an abuser.  Walker repeatedly assaults and victimizes the poor and middle class, while blaming the victims for the pain he is inflicting and rationalizing that he is doing it out of love. “I’m doing this for your own good, Wisconsin.”

America, meet Scott Walker, grand protector of his lessers, We the Little People. Scotty’s Munchkins! (H/T to my friend and fellow Wisconsin Kossack Plankbob for the Munchkin line.)

If Walker is rejecting the $4 billion Medicaid lifeboat being extended by the federal government because he cares about us so damn much, when else had Scott Walker taken such drastic action to “empower” us out of compassion?  Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the sick, the poor and the elderly when he tried to kick 60,000 individuals off BadgerCare in 2011?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about all the “hardworking taxpayers” when he admitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services that the state budget was not only NOT balanced, as he squawked at every breath, but was ACTUALLY running a $2.6 billion deficit, in an attempt to legally kick those 60,000 BadgerCare recipients to the curb?   Did Walker “care too much” about those in need when he left tens of thousands of openings in BadgerCare unfilled while tens of thousands of Wisconsinites were left to anxiously flounder on the waiting list?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” for homeowners whose lives were thrown into turmoil during the Wall Street-induced devastation of the economy when he used over $25 million of the $31 million allocation in federal funds from the mortgage crisis settlement to plug holes in his budget? Did Walker “care too much” about teachers, snowplow drivers, janitors, prison guards, social workers, nurses and public servants when he slashed their pay and stole their rights to organize and have a say over the conditions of their workplaces?  Did Walker “care too much” about these public sector workers when he shamefully vilified and scapegoated them for Wisconsin’s budgetary shortfall that he created when he simultaneously issued $2.3 billion in corporate tax breaks shortly after taking office?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the children of our state, undoubtedly the lifeblood of its future, when he slashed an estimated $1.6 billion from public education funding through direct cuts and freezes on local revenue caps, while ensuring that thousands of experienced teachers and potential mentors for those same children would opt to leave the state or retire?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about women and minorities when he signed off on the repeal of the Equal Pay Enforcement Act, a law designed to help protect anyone discriminated against in the workplace by providing an additional avenue to pursue litigation in state courts? Did Walker “care too much” about same-sex couples when he decided to discontinue the state’s defense of the Domestic Partner Registry that protected those couples’ rights to hospital visitations and end-of-life decision-making?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about women and their ability to take preventive and potentially life-saving measures to control their health and their bodies when he moved to defund Planned Parenthood, worked to limit access to birth control and removed Planned Parenthood as the state’s provider of the Wisconsin Well Woman Program, putting thousands of uninsured and underinsured rural and poor women at risk?  Did Walker “care too much” about  all citizens, especially minorities, students, the elderly and the poor when he worked to curtail hard-won  voting rights by implementing a draconian Voter ID law and floating his enthusiasm for the elimination of same-day voter registration?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the working poor in Wisconsin when he slashed the Earned Income tax credit for hundreds of thousands of low-income citizens?  Did Walker “care too much” about children with special needs and disabilities and their families when he snuck $21 million worth of “Special Needs” vouchers into his soon-to-be-released budget, despite zero support and overwhelming opposition from specialists, educators and parent advocacy groups for children with special needs?  Did Walker “care too much” about these beautiful children when he offered their families the option of leaving the public schools system for private schools, leaving their federally protected rights under the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act behind along with any guarantee of receiving the focused attention and educational plans they so dearly need?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the citizens of Wisconsin when his right-hand man, Department of Administration Secretary Mike Huebsch, authorized the Capitol Police to harass, intimidate, profile, ticket and arrest peaceably assembling citizens for the crimes of holding signs, waving banners and daring to sing songs in defiance of his authority in the public forum of OUR Capitol Rotunda?

Did Walker “care too much” about our state’s indigenous Ojibwe peoples and their livelihood when he repeatedly made the construction of Wisconsin’s own Grand Canyon (a 21-mile-long open pit iron mine and environmental disaster-waiting-to-happen in the heart of the sacred Penokee Hills and on the headwaters of the equally sacred Kakagon Sloughs wild rice beds) the centerpiece of his mythological and rapidly tanking “Fountain of Jobs” plan? Did Walker “care too much” about Wisconsin’s native peoples and their federally protected and guaranteed rights when he allowed his Teapublican underlings to ram this mining bill through consecutive sessions of the state legislature without ever once sitting down to consult with the affected Ojibwe bands?

Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the people in the streets when he discussed with his henchmen the idea of planting agents provocateur into the throngs of hundreds of thousands of peaceful protesters (which included children, the elderly and the disabled) in order to incite violence and turn public opinion against the massive, peaceful uprising that broke out in February 2011? Did Scott Walker “care too much” about the people of our state when he backed away from this idea, not because it would have been an unconscionably dangerous action and reprehensible violation of the public trust, but rather because the ensuing public outcry may have been politically untenable and forced the GovernEr to compromise on his signature Budget “Repair” Bill?

 

(Skip ahead to the 4:20 mark of the video to hear Ian Murphy from the Buffalo Beast acting as "David Koch" during his disturbing conversation with Walker over the idea of "plantin' some troublemakers.") 

 
I fully believe that Scott Walker cares about people.  He cares about the ridiculously wealthy corporatists and special-interest lobbyists who bought and paid for his seat on the throne of Fitzwalkerstan. He cares about the corporations that spread his propaganda, laid the foundations of his ALEC-driven agenda and reap the benefits of his fully realized and transparently extremist ideologies.  After all, Scott Walker is a strong proponent of the post-Citizens United, Mitt Romney School of Absurd Thought that holds that “Corporations are people, my friend.”  For the rest of us, who have been taken hostage and cast by Scott Walker into his vast sea of “caring,” it will take decades of maneuvering through the wreckage he and his minions have wrought before we eventually return to the shores of the land we once knew as the great state of Wisconsin.

During a particularly vindictive and ominous rant last January, Senate Majority Leader and Walker rubber-stamp Scott Fitzgerald was quoted as saying, “If you think this budget was scary, wait until the next one.”

Well, the “next one” is nearly upon us.  If Feb. 11, 2011 was the day that Scott Walker “dropped the bomb” on the citizens of Wisconsin, Feb. 20, 2013 will be the day Scott Walker unleashes the full nuclear arsenal at his disposal.  I don’t know how much more of Scott Walker’s “caring” we will be able to withstand before irreparable harm has been done to our once-progressive Wisconsin.

I consider it extremely fortunate that we Badgers have established such a well-developed sense of community and a tenacious fighting spirit over the past two years in order to withstand these trying times.  After all, if we’re going to stay afloat, we just have to keep paddling — Forward.


Photo courtesy of Callen Harty from the 2nd anniversary of the Wisconsin Uprising on Valentine's Day 2013

Round 2 of Walker's "Reforms": Bigger bombs, smaller targets

Round 2 of Walker's "Reforms": 

Brace yourself.  And put your legislators on speed dial

Many thanks to Isthmus for publishing my latest letter to Governor Scott Walker as a Citizen post, "Gov. Scott Walker's 2013-14 budget is even more radical than his last one, belying his new 'moderate' mask,"  in which I catalog just a few of the abuses of power Walker is trying to slip into his budget plans.  From healthcare to education, the list is long and sobering, and it doesn't even include the news leaked yesterday that Bomb #2 intends to conquer what has been divided by going after private sector unions.

I hope you'll take a minute to read it and find out why round two of his budget cuts are even more radical than the first, and why you need to contact your legislators NOW to let them know what's at stake in rubber stamping Walker's dangerous agenda.  

Let's put enough Citizen pressure on our legislators to ensure that Walker's budget plans do not make it to his desk. Click here to read the rest of the article and please it share with your friends, family, and anyone else who cares to pay attention to what's being done in our name, with our money. 

Roggensack & special interests, or: why contributors can count on a "return on their investments"

Pat Roggensack addressing a crowd of people who paid a minimum of $50-$65 each to attend the Jefferson County Republican's annual Lincoln Day Dinner.  Photo: Daily Union

Supreme Court Justice Patience Roggensack has well-established during her tenure that she is not immune to the lobbyists and legislation-pushers who have so generously supported her campaign.  Just this week she appeared at the Republican Party of Jefferson County's Lincoln Day event (at which Senator Ron Johnson likened Democrats to Marxists) but she has refused invitations to attend the nonpartisan citizen-organized forums she has been invited to throughout the state.  The message this sends to voters is clear: you don't pay, I don't play.

Pat Roggensack not sitting in the seat reserved for her at a free and open to the public  non-partisan community forum.

Like the other members of the conservative bloc on the Court, she freely accepts funds from party-affiliated and special interest groups, even those who are directly involved in crafting controversial legislation in Wisconsin.  And yet she continues to claim that she is nonpartisan and impartial, and continues to deny dysfunction on the Court and dismiss the import of the physical altercation between Justices Prosser and Bradley .  By refusing to acknowledge the blatant facts of her allegiance, she forces voters to question her integrity.

I'm particularly wary of her acceptance of funds from out-of-state contributors like Dick DeVos, who paid $250,000 to stop Walker from being recalled, and whose wife Betsy has been called "the Four Star General of the Voucher Wars."  Betsy DeVos leads the American Federation for Children, an education-privatizing outfit that has played a long and very active role in shaping radical legislation under the Walker administration (and beyond) and has contributed millions to electing voucher-friendly candidates (like Senator Alberta Darling and Rep. Robin Vos) in Wisconsin. Betsy DeVos once famously said she "expects a return" on all of her political "investments." Since similar policies are being challenged in other states on the grounds that they are unconstitutional, it's no mystery why people like the DeVoses would want to buy "allies" on our Court. 

To me, that is the opposite of how democracy should function, and no self-respecting justice should accept such contributions without simultaneously promising that she would recuse herself from hearing any cases related to the "investments" these funders are paying her to "protect".  The Supreme Court must be comprised of people who can be trusted to put their personal politics aside to ensure a system of checks and balances.  If special interests can just buy another cog in the Walker machine, democracy is meaningless. 

The primary in this election is Tuesday, Feb. 19. Early voting ends Friday.  Experts are predicting only 10% of voters will care enough to show up.  For justice's sake, I hope this is not true.

For more on Roggensack's ties to special interests, check out this very revealing piece from the Capital Times: "Pat Roggensack's Out-of-State Cash." 

For more on why I'm supporting Ed Fallone - a much-needed voice of reason, integrity and justice - in this race, click here.

Guest Post: "How Many Guns?" By Jim and Laurel Tangen-Foster

Friends of MoD Jim and Laurel Tangen-Foster shared their timely and evocative thoughts on gun violence with this heartfelt poem.  They ask that we add your own verses and pass it on, but I think they've captured the heart of it:

And how false the cares and unjust the fears
Of the totes who stand tall on their caches?
(...)
How many prayers and petitions must we send
Before a weapons bill passes?

I'm honored to reprint their poem here with permission and hope it inspires action.

...

How Many Guns? 

By Jim and Laurel Tangen-Foster

How many rounds must a gun addict have
To keep his assassins at bay?
And how many puppet-playing Washington clowns
Make their nut off the clan NRA?
And how vile the scenes, how pierced the screams
Of the boys with their toys as they play?

The answer they say, that clan NRA,
The answer is blowin' 'em away.

And how many tears must one mother shed
As she waits at the doors to the school?
And how big the guns and the fears of the kids
And the teachers whose bravery is true?
And how much grief must a father withstand
As he waits at the church for the news?

The answer they say, that clan NRA,
The answer is blowin' 'em away.

And how fierce the sound of a rapid fire gun
Does it take to make macho a man?
And how great the need to stand out from the breed
Make their mark with their blood in the sand?
And how many moms camouflaged in their pride
Teach their sons with their guns in their hands?

The answer they say, that clan NRA,
The answer is blowin' 'em away.

And how false the cares and unjust the fears
Of the totes who stand tall on their caches?
And how barbarous the plan of the inglorious clan
Who link arms, with honor, as fascists?
How many prayers and petitions must we send
Before a weapons bill passes?

The Majority has spoken. Our hearts have been broken.
PASS THE ASSAULT WEAPONS BAN.

Act:  Sign Senator Diane Feinstein's petition in support of reinstating the assault weapons ban here, and use this handy form from the Brady Campaign to contact your legislators.  You can also sign the petitions here and here.

Protect kids, not guns. 
Image from Laurel Tangen-Foster via UPI.

The White House calls on Americans to stand up for gun reform.
Learn more at www.barackobama.com/gun-reform.