The Truth About the Affordable Care Act

In the wake of the recent (somewhat surprising) Supreme Court Decision, I thought it'd be useful if we all had some good information to counter the inevitable right-wing push back concerning The Affordable Care Act (sometimes derisively called "Obamacare").

Happily, the White House has a really good blog containing information about the program -- information that, frankly, the news media has tended to ignore (or outright lie about).  Because of the media's focus on fueling controversy to boost ratings, much of the public remains ignorant about the actual program.

But you can click this sentence and go directly to the source.

Arm yourself with The Truth and push back against the tide of right-wing scare tactics and lies!

Ketterhagen's Cattle Prod

I have it from reliable sources that TP school board member Phil Ketterhagen said at last Monday's meeting something to the effect that teachers need to be trained the same way he trains a wayward bull, with a crack on the head. If our teachers are chattel, perhaps Ketterhagen should invest in a cattle prod so he can deliver his shocking "lesson" with the touch of a button.

People of ill intent like Ketterhagen have no good business being on a school board. But this is what happens when you elect people of ill-will to positions of power. What you have in Ketterhagen is an extremist ideologue with an authoritarian mindset. And what you get from people of this ilk is scapegoating and vengeance against a group that we are told to believe are to blame for whatever "problem" the ill-willed are using to advance their self-centered political goals and they don't care who gets hurt in the process. That is what fascists do.

And make no mistake about it, the people who control the Tea Party agenda are fascists and the Tea Party, whether the rank and file adherants know it or not, is a fascist movement. And Ketterhagen is working to deliver our schools to the corporatist privateers to turn all our children into their revenue streams. And that is only a small portion of the modern American fascist agenda, to turn our government that is supposed to represent us into a money making concern for them.

To clarify, I am not equating Ketterhaggen with Hitler or Mussolini, but it is crystal clear that the Tea Party movement has been co-opted into astroturf by a top down corporate crafted fascist American Legislative Exchange Council (fALEC) type hidden aganda like I saw when I went to the WeVote Burlington legislative night last December. And as Benito himself, the founder of fascism said, "Fascism should more properly be called corporatism because it is the merger of state and corporate power."

My Name is Elmer J Fudd Milwionaire, I Own a Mansion und a Yacht!

Elmer J. Fudd, Millionaire by tobiagorrio

Dear Dick Bergman, thank you for your kind words last week regarding my contributions to the Standard Press, I’m glad that you enjoy my writing and that you look forward to more of it in these very dark times. I do try to inject a little humor in with the serious and substantive issues I address, to try and have a little fun and maintain a positive outlook, as difficult as that is these days.

Speaking of dark times, I just read that the Koch Brothers plan to use the Citizens United ruling by the U.S. Extreme Court to funnel as much as $400,000,000.00 through organizations they control to advance their corporatist interests and their rightwing agenda during the 2012 elections. How much money are you going spend to advance your interests Mr. & Mrs. John & Jane Q. Public? Do you think the government they ordain will represent your interests? They already write and VOTE on the laws that rule you through their organization, the feudal American Legislative Exchange Council (fALEC) and their representative Robin Vos, Wisconsin’s Public Sector fALEC chairman. Is that what freedom feels like?

Americans for Plutocracy (AFP) spent three millions dollars from people like the Koch Bros to help their hero Scott Walker keep doing their work. Heck, Scotty recently raised a million dollars from four out of state billionaires. One of them was Robert Benmosche, you know the CEO of AIG the deregulated global insurance behemoth that helped tank our economy and that George Bush had to bail out with your tax dollars in the Republicon crash of 2008. Is this what plutocracy feels like?

Mr. Benmosche has been thinking about you Mr. & Mrs. P. In a recent interview from his seaside villa in Croatia he said that “Retirement ages will have to move to 70, 80 years old,” “That would make pensions, medical services more affordable. They will keep people working longer and will take that burden off of the youth.” Yeah the burden of jobs off our youth as geezers continue occupy jobs keeping young people from being able to enter the work force, start careers, marry and have families. Talk about your out of touch elitist, but what does he care? He is the rich and the rich are getting richer! Meanwhile, the average net worth of American families dropped by 35% from 2005 to 2010, according to the Census Bureau. No wonder consumer demand, the ONLY “Job Creator” is down. Thank you Greedy Oligarch’s Party (GOP)!

But enough substance, now for the humor part. Just how dumb or ill-informed does one have to be, to be working or middle class and vote Republicon? Yeah, Mitt Romney and his NASCAR team owning friends are going to look after the interests of us average income folk out here, right.

Wait a minute, maybe it's not dumb at all, maybe it's just plain crazy. I've got it! Here is how you can convince yourself that the GOPsters are on the side of your shrinking middle class chances. Repeat after me; "My name is Elmer J. Fudd, Milwionaire, I own a mansion und a yacht." Again! "My name is Elmer J. Fudd, Milwionaire, I own a mansion und a yacht." Keep going, if you can be convinced that the plutoctopus is on your side, you can be made to believe ANYTHING! Right Elmer? Freedumb!

Standard Press: Large Crowds for and Against, REALLY!?

The Thursday June 7, 2012 edition of the Burlington Standard Press had this to say about the Burlington Area Progressives June 2nd event: "MSNBC's Ed Schultz, Burlington native Tom Gilding and columnist John Nichols were all part of the rally at Echo Park, which drew large crowds - both for and against."

Hmmm, large? Both sides? Really?

The Racine Journal Times estimated our supporters at around 350 people. I hardly noticed the counter-protesters that day, perhaps because there was only about a dozen of them. The photos in the paper were just as misleading as the excerpt above, a large one above the article showing four counter-protesters in the Vet's Terrace parking lot, the other a small photo below the article, showing only the bandstand with three of us BAPsters in the picture. I don't know if the piece was intentionally or simply carelessly misleading, but the pictures above are better representation of reality.

The good news is we took measures to make sure we didn't disrupt the outdoor wedding ceremony at Veteran's Terrace and were successful in that regard.

Jordan Debbink of the local TP group WeVote said that another group member organized the counter protest when she found out the rally would be held Saturday. Gee I wonder how she that found out? Could it have been the ads we ran in the Hi-Liter and all the Southern Lakes Newspapers broadsheets? Maybe it was the posters we had up for weeks at Reinemann's and the local grocery stores. It might even have been the listing of the event in the Out and About sections of the Standard Press, Waterford Post, Westine Report, Westosha Report, East Troy Times and Elkhorn Independent. Or it could even have been discovered on this very blog which is viewable by anyone with access to a computer. Whatever it was, kudo's to her on the sleuthing, she must be an investigative genius!

It is interesting to know however, that they will send a raggle-taggle band of protesters to any event we hold, even when they don't know what information is being presented. For example, when we showed Koch Brothers Exposed at the Plaza Theater last fall, they couldn't have known what was in the movie as it had just been released. But they protested anyway. After all, what good Cult of Con member needs knowledge and information to act anyway?

The Koch Bros are Republicons so they's gots to be good right? Nevermind that these plutocrats are writing laws in secret to rule us all from far far away. We'ins is fur freedumb, FREEDUMB!

FUWI

Now I know how rational people of goodwill must have felt when McCarthy was re-elected.

De' ja vu All Over Again

Walker Target of Federal Investigation

EXCERPTS: With the recall election less than two days away, federal prosecutors are closing in on Governor Scott Walker, according to veteran political reporter David Shuster, . . .

"I stand by my reporting 100 percent," Shuster said in the conference call. "It's clear to me that he is, in fact, a target in a federal investigation."

Despite copious reporting, especially in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, about the Milwaukee County district attorney's probe of alleged violations when Walker was county executive -- including a secret email network maintained by his staff for the purpose of conducting illegal campaign activity on county time, the theft of funds intended for the widows and orphans of Iraq War veterans, and possible favorable treatment of campaign donors seeking public contracts, not much has been written about the FBI probe.

In his reporting on FBI involvement in the current probe of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Shuster said he consulted with Justice Department attorneys in the public integrity section and "I got independent confirmation that he's a target."

Read thr rest here: In his reporting on FBI involvement in the current probe of Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, Shuster said he consulted with Justice Department attorneys in the public integrity section and "I got independent confirmation that he's a target."

Read the rest here: http://www.thedailypage.com/daily/article.php?article=36926&sid=fde5b08ba03e551e673cd61cbb8dcb78

Scott Walker Pro-Abortion?

EXCERPT: Bernadette Gillick was a college freshman in 1988 when she first met Scott Walker. It was spring semester, and she had just transferred to Marquette University. She was assigned a room in O’Donnell Hall (then a women’s dormitory), which she shared with her new roommate, Ruth (not her real name). Ruth was dating Scott Walker, who was 20 at the time, and, according to Bernadette, Ruth was deeply in love with him.


Midway through that spring semester, Bernadette alleges, Ruth found out she was pregnant. She informed her boyfriend, Scott, and initially he was supportive. That support changed to callous indifference for his girlfriend’s predicament after Scott informed his parents of the pregnancy.

Bernadette reports that at this point Scott began denying that he was the father of the baby, and when Ruth said she was considering an abortion, he claimed he didn’t care, as he wasn’t the father anyway.

Bernadette remembers being present when Ruth was dealing with the wrath of Scott’s mother, who allegedly admonished Ruth for trying to “ruin [her son's] reputation.”

“I supported her [Ruth] as he [Scott] went from encouraging her to get an abortion, to telling me it was in my best interest to keep my mouth shut, to denying that he was the father and having his own mother call her and tell her to stop erroneously accusing her son of paternity,” Bernadette recounts.

It was a “horrible time” for her friend. “Imagine her being 18 years old and pregnant, walking around Marquette’s Jesuit Catholic campus with her boyfriend denying he was the father,” says Bernadette.


All this was taking place while Walker was running for student body president. As one of his classmates, Dr. Glenn Barry recalled in a remembrance published last week, Walker’s campaign was, “one of the dirtiest in school history.” The student newspaper Marquette Tribune called him “unfit for office” after his campaign was discovered collecting and throwing out copies of their paper that endorsed his opponent. Commenting on the election and Walker’s political career and style at Marquette, he noted, “Walker lost on all counts, but not before destroying a few people’s reputations, and amassing personal power.”


Read more here: http://wcmcoop.com/members/integrity-the-child-scott-walker-left-behind/

Would Bernadette risk a libel/slander suit and ruin her reputation if thie were false?

EXCERPT: Bernadette is now Dr. Bernadette Gillick a college professor at a major Midwestern university. Through her attorney, Mike Fargione, she issued a statement: “It is rare that you will ever hear from me on issues of politics, as I am a firm believer that most politics are local and can be as local as our own kitchen tables. But I’m asking you to consider what I have to share …”

Over the phone, Bernadette recounted how she watched a recent televised debate between Scott Walker and Tom Barrett. As he talked about his “lifelong integrity” her anger grew. This was a man who had abandoned his pregnant young girlfriend — completely turned his back on her at the most fragile point in her life. She notes his “now-convenient ‘pro-life’ proclamations” after burying his past “indiscretion.” Says Bernadette, “I cannot listen to his lies anymore … I cannot dream of how anyone would support such an evil man. Once a man shows that he has no soul, there is nothing more.”

Thanks to Kay Schultz you can see the photos from yesterdays event if you go here: https://plus.google.com/photos/103660747430003433320/albums/5749661910794641249?banner=pwa&gpsrc=pwrd1#photos/103660747430003433320/albums/5749661910794641249

There are even more on BAP's facebook group plus videos: http://www.facebook.com/groups/111636908877191/

My favorite is the one above with 6 hapless TPz with Walker / Kleefisch signs drooping, trying to figure out what to do about 400 fired up progressives!

TPs & Great BAP Event!

Sorry about the false alarm, I got a call that there were three vans of TP's unloading. But they used the PUBLIC restrooms and moved on. A few showed up later and Kay got great shot of a half dozen of them standing looking confused and dejected, their Walker / Kleefisch signs hanging limply at their sides.


What an awesome event! Thanks to every one of the 300-400 people who came and those who made it happen! Good music, great speakers! Lot's of beautiful pics of Fighting Bob, Ed Schultz, John Nichols, Bowzer and fired up folks on the Burlington Area Progressives facebook group: http://www.facebook.com/groups/111636908877191/

Thank you for all you do!

Sean

MSNBC's Ed Schultz with John Nichols in Burlington!

I Heard it from the man himself, John Nichols on the Ed Schultz radio show yesterday. He and MSNBC's Ed Schultz will be at BAP's Fighting Bob in Burlington GOTV Rally at the Echo Lake Park Bandstand at 3:00 pm!

Then they're moving on to Baraboo for an event sponsored by the Center for Media and Democracy who broke the ALEC story which has lead to yesterday's announcement that WALMART is pulling out of ALEC!

Die ALEC Die! And take your global corporate rule to the grave! We went through that whole fascist experiment in the last century and it didn't turn out so well!