As the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign reports, Scott Walker, our new governor, is only pushing ideas from right-wing ideologues that funded his campaign.
Friday, January 28, 2011
Wisconsin Governor Walker – A Plagiarist and Shill With No Ideas (of his own)
Wisconsin Governor Walker – A Plagiarist and Shill With No Ideas (of his own)
Thursday, January 20, 2011
62% of Americans: Leave Obamacare as is or Make it do MORE!
A January 2011 AP Poll shows 62% of Americans like Obamcare as is, or want to see it changed so that it does more. See Table HC14a, above. http://www.ap-gfkpoll.com/pdf/AP-GfK%20Poll%20011411.pdf
Tuesday, January 18, 2011
The GOPbuser Protection Act of 2011
Part of the GOPster corporate takeover involves an attack on the Constitutional Right of The People to seek redress for their grievances in order to protect Corprate ASSets. They call it "Tort Reform" and use the GOPmyth of many frivolous lawsuits and outrageous awards as cover for the schilling for their corporate sponsors.
That's bad enough, but their assualt on the rights of the most vulnerable among us to receive justice is nothing less than DISPICABLE!
Please take a moment to read the attached letter from Disability Rights Wisconsin et. al. to see what being done to the defenseless in your name, for one reason, the conservation of money for the Ownership of Greed Oligarch's Party. It's only 3 pages, but what it reveals . . .
http://www.disabilityrightswi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Senate-letter-re-SB1-Aging-and-Disability-Groups.pdf
EXCERPT:For the large number of elderly residents of nursing homes or group homes who have any degree of memory loss, for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and for many people with mental illness, asking the resident to testify about the abuse they experienced is not a realistic option (they may not clearly recall the events or their testimony may not be convincing to the court). The most accurate and compelling evidence of physical or mental abuse they have experienced in a facility would be a) an incident report created by staff of the facility contemporaneous with the incident, as required by federal and or state law; and b) investigative reports generated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). SB 1 explicitly prohibits prosecutors, residents, families, guardians, or advocates from using either of those types of reports in any criminal or civil legal proceeding. This prohibition applies to all state, county, and private long term care, psychiatric, or children’s facilities.
Republicons just make me SICK!
That's bad enough, but their assualt on the rights of the most vulnerable among us to receive justice is nothing less than DISPICABLE!
Please take a moment to read the attached letter from Disability Rights Wisconsin et. al. to see what being done to the defenseless in your name, for one reason, the conservation of money for the Ownership of Greed Oligarch's Party. It's only 3 pages, but what it reveals . . .
http://www.disabilityrightswi.org/wp-content/uploads/2011/01/Senate-letter-re-SB1-Aging-and-Disability-Groups.pdf
EXCERPT:For the large number of elderly residents of nursing homes or group homes who have any degree of memory loss, for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, and for many people with mental illness, asking the resident to testify about the abuse they experienced is not a realistic option (they may not clearly recall the events or their testimony may not be convincing to the court). The most accurate and compelling evidence of physical or mental abuse they have experienced in a facility would be a) an incident report created by staff of the facility contemporaneous with the incident, as required by federal and or state law; and b) investigative reports generated by the Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS). SB 1 explicitly prohibits prosecutors, residents, families, guardians, or advocates from using either of those types of reports in any criminal or civil legal proceeding. This prohibition applies to all state, county, and private long term care, psychiatric, or children’s facilities.
Republicons just make me SICK!
Friday, January 14, 2011
Voter ID, Unconstitutional, GOPolitically Motivated, Uneeded, WRONG!
Dear Citizens:
Many of you have written to me in response to my email yesterday about the voter ID bill. Some of you were very enthusiastic in your support of our efforts to fight back against this assault on our voting rights. But others of you had questions about the bill, and wondered why we oppose requiring qualified voters to show an ID at the polls. "You have to show an ID to rent a video, why not to vote?" someone asked. "With all the voter fraud out there, I think voter ID is a good idea," another person wrote.
I want to address these questions and fully explain why this bill is wrong for Wisconsin.
First of all, the right to vote is guaranteed to citizens of Wisconsin in our state constitution. The right to rent a movie, open a checking account, go to the bar, get on an airplane or any other similar activity is not, and requiring an ID for these types of activities is not a barrier to exercising a constitutionally-protect right. Voter ID is fundamentally different.
There is absolutely no evidence of a widespread conspiracy to commit voter fraud. Wisconsin's Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen has made prosecuting so-called voter fraud one of his top priorities. However, after a two year investigation into the 2008 election, Van Hollen has found a scant 11 potentially improper ballots out of nearly 3 million total votes cast. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/86917797.html
Of those, eight involved felons who voted while out in the community on probation or parole, a situation that voter ID would not remedy. That leaves 3 potentially bad votes out of 3,000,000 votes, or about 0.000001% of all votes cast. Voter ID is a solution in search of a problem.
The bill's authors, Republican Rep. Jeff Stone and Sen. Joe Leibham, have modeled their bill after Indiana's Voter ID law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court case upholding Indiana’s Voter ID bill, the lower court found “99 percent of Indiana’s voting age population already possesses the necessary photo identification to vote under the requirements.”
Wisconsin’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. Those without state-issued photo identification and who would need to obtain one under the Wisconsin Voter ID bill include:
•23 percent of all elderly Wisconsinites over the age of 65
•17 percent of white men and women
•55 percent of all African American males and 49 percent of African American women
•46 percent of Hispanic men and 59% of Hispanic women
•78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24
[Driver License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin, 6/05] http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_50902.pdf
Yes, the bill as written does have a provision to provide free identification for some Wisconsinites. Each and every one of these people would have to take the time off (in many cases unpaid) from work or family obligations to flock to Wisconsin DMVs. However, access to the DMV is a problem in Wisconsin; Indiana provides its residents exponentially more access to its Department of Motor Vehicles offices to obtain identification.
Wisconsin and Indiana have similar voting age populations (4.35 million vs. 4,8 million), but Wisconsin is 50 percent larger geographically than Indiana (54,314 sq. miles vs. 35,870 sq. miles). Indiana not only provides its residents 50 percent more DMV offices than Wisconsin (140 to 91), but also nearly three times the total hours these facilities are open.
Also consider:
•Twenty-six percent of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open one day a month or less, while none of Indiana’s are open less than 100 days a year and nearly all are open over 250 days a year.
•Wisconsin has only one DMV with weekend hours, while Indiana has 124 offices with weekend hours.
•Three Wisconsin counties have no DMVs, no Indiana county is without a DMV.
•Over half of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open on a part-time basis, while Indiana provides full-time DMVs in every county.
[Wisconsin DMV service centers and hours, by county; Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, locations and hours] http://dot.wi.gov/about/locate/dmv/scmap.htm
The need to expand the numbers and operational hours of Wisconsin DMVs to provide appropriate access could increase the $70 million biennial Wisconsin DMV budget by as much as 50 percent on top of the current $5 million price tag to provide free identifications.
Requiring eligible voters to produce ID at the polls is an unnecessary hurdle to exercising our right to vote which will prevent many people from voting. The "widespread voter fraud" that this bill is aimed at "fixing" does not exist, and the microscopic number of double votes will be FAR outpaced by the number of people who will be prevented from voting by the voter ID requirement. In a time when Wisconsin faces a $3 billion budget deficit, we simply cannot afford to double the DMV budget. Voter ID is a big-government, budget-busting solution in search of a problem; a solution that will make it more difficult to practice our most fundamental right.
That is why we oppose voter ID. I hope this email helps to answer your questions about this bill. If you're ready to join this fight, please sign up for our Voter Protection Task Force to push back against this assault on our democratic rights.
Sorry for the long email, but thank you, as always, for everything you do.
scot
One Wisconsin Now
One Wisconsin Now is a new-media online network of citizens from across Wisconsin committed to advancing progressive policy, leadership, values and ensuring equal economic opportunity for all.
Many of you have written to me in response to my email yesterday about the voter ID bill. Some of you were very enthusiastic in your support of our efforts to fight back against this assault on our voting rights. But others of you had questions about the bill, and wondered why we oppose requiring qualified voters to show an ID at the polls. "You have to show an ID to rent a video, why not to vote?" someone asked. "With all the voter fraud out there, I think voter ID is a good idea," another person wrote.
I want to address these questions and fully explain why this bill is wrong for Wisconsin.
First of all, the right to vote is guaranteed to citizens of Wisconsin in our state constitution. The right to rent a movie, open a checking account, go to the bar, get on an airplane or any other similar activity is not, and requiring an ID for these types of activities is not a barrier to exercising a constitutionally-protect right. Voter ID is fundamentally different.
There is absolutely no evidence of a widespread conspiracy to commit voter fraud. Wisconsin's Republican Attorney General JB Van Hollen has made prosecuting so-called voter fraud one of his top priorities. However, after a two year investigation into the 2008 election, Van Hollen has found a scant 11 potentially improper ballots out of nearly 3 million total votes cast. http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/86917797.html
Of those, eight involved felons who voted while out in the community on probation or parole, a situation that voter ID would not remedy. That leaves 3 potentially bad votes out of 3,000,000 votes, or about 0.000001% of all votes cast. Voter ID is a solution in search of a problem.
The bill's authors, Republican Rep. Jeff Stone and Sen. Joe Leibham, have modeled their bill after Indiana's Voter ID law, which was upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. According to the Supreme Court case upholding Indiana’s Voter ID bill, the lower court found “99 percent of Indiana’s voting age population already possesses the necessary photo identification to vote under the requirements.”
Wisconsin’s population is substantially less likely to have a state-issued identification. Those without state-issued photo identification and who would need to obtain one under the Wisconsin Voter ID bill include:
•23 percent of all elderly Wisconsinites over the age of 65
•17 percent of white men and women
•55 percent of all African American males and 49 percent of African American women
•46 percent of Hispanic men and 59% of Hispanic women
•78 percent of African American males age 18-24 and 66 percent of African American women age 18-24
[Driver License Status of the Voting Age Population in Wisconsin, 6/05] http://www.brennancenter.org/page/-/d/download_file_50902.pdf
Yes, the bill as written does have a provision to provide free identification for some Wisconsinites. Each and every one of these people would have to take the time off (in many cases unpaid) from work or family obligations to flock to Wisconsin DMVs. However, access to the DMV is a problem in Wisconsin; Indiana provides its residents exponentially more access to its Department of Motor Vehicles offices to obtain identification.
Wisconsin and Indiana have similar voting age populations (4.35 million vs. 4,8 million), but Wisconsin is 50 percent larger geographically than Indiana (54,314 sq. miles vs. 35,870 sq. miles). Indiana not only provides its residents 50 percent more DMV offices than Wisconsin (140 to 91), but also nearly three times the total hours these facilities are open.
Also consider:
•Twenty-six percent of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open one day a month or less, while none of Indiana’s are open less than 100 days a year and nearly all are open over 250 days a year.
•Wisconsin has only one DMV with weekend hours, while Indiana has 124 offices with weekend hours.
•Three Wisconsin counties have no DMVs, no Indiana county is without a DMV.
•Over half of Wisconsin’s 91 DMVs are open on a part-time basis, while Indiana provides full-time DMVs in every county.
[Wisconsin DMV service centers and hours, by county; Indiana Bureau of Motor Vehicles, locations and hours] http://dot.wi.gov/about/locate/dmv/scmap.htm
The need to expand the numbers and operational hours of Wisconsin DMVs to provide appropriate access could increase the $70 million biennial Wisconsin DMV budget by as much as 50 percent on top of the current $5 million price tag to provide free identifications.
Requiring eligible voters to produce ID at the polls is an unnecessary hurdle to exercising our right to vote which will prevent many people from voting. The "widespread voter fraud" that this bill is aimed at "fixing" does not exist, and the microscopic number of double votes will be FAR outpaced by the number of people who will be prevented from voting by the voter ID requirement. In a time when Wisconsin faces a $3 billion budget deficit, we simply cannot afford to double the DMV budget. Voter ID is a big-government, budget-busting solution in search of a problem; a solution that will make it more difficult to practice our most fundamental right.
That is why we oppose voter ID. I hope this email helps to answer your questions about this bill. If you're ready to join this fight, please sign up for our Voter Protection Task Force to push back against this assault on our democratic rights.
Sorry for the long email, but thank you, as always, for everything you do.
scot
One Wisconsin Now
One Wisconsin Now is a new-media online network of citizens from across Wisconsin committed to advancing progressive policy, leadership, values and ensuring equal economic opportunity for all.
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Sarah Palin’s “blood libel” Sparks Reaction by Jewish Groups
Sarah Palin’s “blood libel” Sparks Reaction by Jewish Groups
The term “blood libel” is not a synonym for “false accusation.”
Monday, January 10, 2011
Thursday, January 06, 2011
Repeal the Republicons!
Further proof, courtesy of the non-partisan CBO, that Republicons really don't care about the deficit (as if extention of the Bu$h tax cuts for the rich weren't proof enough: http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2011/01/06/AR2011010604419.html
EXCERPT: In a letter to Boehner, budget office director Douglas Elmendorf estimated repeal would increase the deficit by $230 billion from 2012 to 2021, the 10-year estimating period for budget projections. Moreover, Elmendorf said about 32 million more people would be uninsured in 2019 as a consequence.
But Boehner told reporters: "I do not believe that repealing the job-killing health care law will increase the deficit."
EXCERPT: In a letter to Boehner, budget office director Douglas Elmendorf estimated repeal would increase the deficit by $230 billion from 2012 to 2021, the 10-year estimating period for budget projections. Moreover, Elmendorf said about 32 million more people would be uninsured in 2019 as a consequence.
But Boehner told reporters: "I do not believe that repealing the job-killing health care law will increase the deficit."
Boehner's bit is further proof that are complete liars and GOPocrits. You see the House GOPsters instituted a rule that all the cost of all measures must be offset by corresponding cuts elsewhere except for tax cuts (for the rich) and repeal of the Job Saving Obamacare Law. HELLO! They wouldn't need to exempt it from their rule if it wasn't going to SAVE OUR GOVERNMENT MONEY!
Oh and bonus of BONUSES! Their GOPish exemption of tax cuts (for the rich) from their new House rule is blatant admission that tax cuts (for the rich) DO NOT increase government revenue!
Cons Supporting Terrorists (AGAIN!)
Wanted for arrest and prosecution: Rudy Giuliani and Bushites Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend. For violating U.S. law and providing material support to a U.S. designated terrorist organization: http://www.readersupportednews.org/off-site-news-section/69-69/4501-leading-conservatives-openly-support-terrorists
EXCERPT: Imagine if a group of leading American liberals met on foreign soil with -- and expressed vocal support for -- supporters of a terrorist group that had (a) a long history of hateful anti-American rhetoric, (b) an active role in both the takeover of a U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's brutal 1991 repression of Iraqi Shiites, (c) extensive financial and military support from Saddam, (d) multiple acts of violence aimed at civilians, and (e) years of being designated a "Terrorist organization" by the U.S. under Presidents of both parties, a designation which is ongoing? The ensuing uproar and orgies of denunciation would be deafening. (This will never see the light of day in the "Liberal" Press)
But on December 23, a group of leading conservatives -- including Rudy Giuliani and former Bush officials Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend -- did exactly that.
GOPocrisy Knows No Bounds!
And remember that in June the SCROTUS Robed Reationary Political Hactivists ruled that the USA (un)PATRIOT ACT superceded the first amendment, criminalizing even speech in support of designated terrorist groups and even when it's done by humanitarian groups trying to get these organizations to use international law to resolve conflicts peacefully: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-affirms-material-support-law-free-speech/story?id=10970249 (Cuz you know the Warrantless-Wire-Tapping-Cons just loves them a bounch O Constitution, hell they're reading it on the floor of the house today!)
Once again we see with the GOPsters that it's not about issues or principals, but about power and control and whose got it and who they want to keep it. The Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) aren't terrorists anymore, they're Fricken Freedom Fighters!
I just know the FBI is gonna perp walk these creeps any minute now, right? Cuz in America we believe in the rule of law and equal justice under it. Yeah right. Freedom, Justice and Democracy, my ass!
EXCERPT: Imagine if a group of leading American liberals met on foreign soil with -- and expressed vocal support for -- supporters of a terrorist group that had (a) a long history of hateful anti-American rhetoric, (b) an active role in both the takeover of a U.S. embassy and Saddam Hussein's brutal 1991 repression of Iraqi Shiites, (c) extensive financial and military support from Saddam, (d) multiple acts of violence aimed at civilians, and (e) years of being designated a "Terrorist organization" by the U.S. under Presidents of both parties, a designation which is ongoing? The ensuing uproar and orgies of denunciation would be deafening. (This will never see the light of day in the "Liberal" Press)
But on December 23, a group of leading conservatives -- including Rudy Giuliani and former Bush officials Michael Mukasey, Tom Ridge, and Fran Townsend -- did exactly that.
GOPocrisy Knows No Bounds!
And remember that in June the SCROTUS Robed Reationary Political Hactivists ruled that the USA (un)PATRIOT ACT superceded the first amendment, criminalizing even speech in support of designated terrorist groups and even when it's done by humanitarian groups trying to get these organizations to use international law to resolve conflicts peacefully: http://abcnews.go.com/Politics/supreme-court-affirms-material-support-law-free-speech/story?id=10970249 (Cuz you know the Warrantless-Wire-Tapping-Cons just loves them a bounch O Constitution, hell they're reading it on the floor of the house today!)
Once again we see with the GOPsters that it's not about issues or principals, but about power and control and whose got it and who they want to keep it. The Mujaheddin-e Khalq (MEK) aren't terrorists anymore, they're Fricken Freedom Fighters!
I just know the FBI is gonna perp walk these creeps any minute now, right? Cuz in America we believe in the rule of law and equal justice under it. Yeah right. Freedom, Justice and Democracy, my ass!
Wednesday, January 05, 2011
5 Myths About Federal Workers
For those of you misguided enough to buy the GOPmyth that government workers are over paid, are the problem and that we can balance our budgets on their backs:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/03/AR2010120303160.html
Just a little more of the plethora of evidence that the entire modern conservative agenda is fueled by lies. But we know that wingnuts need enemies, so here are your "enemies".
1. Federal employees are overpaid compared with private-sector workers.
Federal employees make on average 24 percent less than their private-sector counterparts. In addition, the average private-sector salary in 2010 for a recent college graduate was $48,661. Entry-level federal workers start at $34,075, or $42,209 for candidates with superior academic achievement.
2. The federal workforce is bigger than ever.
federal government employs 2.1 million people. The workforce is now slightly smaller than it was in 1967, at the height of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, and today there are 100 million more Americans to serve. Even during the Reagan administration, when small government was a political mantra, there were still between 2.1 and 2.2 million federal workers. In fact, there was an increase of about 95,000 federal employees between 1981 and 1989. Today, two out of three federal civilian employees work for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs or Justice. The vast majority of government hiring since 2003 has been in these four departments.
3. You can't fire a federal worker.
In the 2009 fiscal year, 11,275 federal employees were fired for poor performance or misconduct. In addition, a survey of federal managers by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board suggests that besides those who are formally terminated, there are a sizable number of employees who voluntarily leave after they are counseled that their performance is unacceptable.
4. Most federal workers are paper-pushing clerks.
The vast majority of federal workers hold white-collar professional, administrative and technical jobs. Approximately 20 percent of federal workers have a master's degree, professional degree or doctorate, vs. 13 percent in the private sector. Fifty-one percent of federal employees have at least a college degree, compared with 35 percent in the private sector. Remarkably, more than 50 current or former federal employees have received Nobel Prizes. In fact, about one in four American Nobel laureates have been federal workers. Their contributions have included the eradication of polio, the mapping of the human genome and the harnessing of atomic energy.
5. Pay or hiring freezes would help slash the federal budget.
History has taught us that arbitrary, broad hiring and pay freezes don't return significant cost savings. How much will the government save by cutting 10 percent of the federal workforce - about 200,000 employees - as recommended by the president's deficit commission? If the work of federal employees is simply contracted to the private sector, the savings could be minimal or the move could even cost us more. If government employees are not replaced and their salaries are returned to the Treasury, the government would save at most $20 billion annually, or roughly 0.5 percent of total budget outlays.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2010/12/03/AR2010120303160.html
Just a little more of the plethora of evidence that the entire modern conservative agenda is fueled by lies. But we know that wingnuts need enemies, so here are your "enemies".
1. Federal employees are overpaid compared with private-sector workers.
Federal employees make on average 24 percent less than their private-sector counterparts. In addition, the average private-sector salary in 2010 for a recent college graduate was $48,661. Entry-level federal workers start at $34,075, or $42,209 for candidates with superior academic achievement.
2. The federal workforce is bigger than ever.
federal government employs 2.1 million people. The workforce is now slightly smaller than it was in 1967, at the height of Lyndon Johnson's Great Society, and today there are 100 million more Americans to serve. Even during the Reagan administration, when small government was a political mantra, there were still between 2.1 and 2.2 million federal workers. In fact, there was an increase of about 95,000 federal employees between 1981 and 1989. Today, two out of three federal civilian employees work for the Departments of Defense, Homeland Security, Veterans Affairs or Justice. The vast majority of government hiring since 2003 has been in these four departments.
3. You can't fire a federal worker.
In the 2009 fiscal year, 11,275 federal employees were fired for poor performance or misconduct. In addition, a survey of federal managers by the U.S. Merit Systems Protection Board suggests that besides those who are formally terminated, there are a sizable number of employees who voluntarily leave after they are counseled that their performance is unacceptable.
4. Most federal workers are paper-pushing clerks.
The vast majority of federal workers hold white-collar professional, administrative and technical jobs. Approximately 20 percent of federal workers have a master's degree, professional degree or doctorate, vs. 13 percent in the private sector. Fifty-one percent of federal employees have at least a college degree, compared with 35 percent in the private sector. Remarkably, more than 50 current or former federal employees have received Nobel Prizes. In fact, about one in four American Nobel laureates have been federal workers. Their contributions have included the eradication of polio, the mapping of the human genome and the harnessing of atomic energy.
5. Pay or hiring freezes would help slash the federal budget.
History has taught us that arbitrary, broad hiring and pay freezes don't return significant cost savings. How much will the government save by cutting 10 percent of the federal workforce - about 200,000 employees - as recommended by the president's deficit commission? If the work of federal employees is simply contracted to the private sector, the savings could be minimal or the move could even cost us more. If government employees are not replaced and their salaries are returned to the Treasury, the government would save at most $20 billion annually, or roughly 0.5 percent of total budget outlays.
Monday, January 03, 2011
A comment (and personal history) on RNC chair front-runner Reince Priebus
A comment (and personal history) on RNC chair front-runner Reince Priebus
Hey fellow BAPers, do you remember his 2004 failed campaign as "fondly" as I do?
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