Badgered State Blues (not from here anymore)

The Badgered State Blues (Not From Here anymore)

This is what happens when your misperceptions are swept away and you suddenly discover that the fellow citizens of your beloved Badger State are either half "Rascals" or don't know one from a hole in the ground.

Composed & Performed by Sean Cranley
CorpSerf ID: IMNFD1-OURFD2

Shame on Seth & Sony

I say this not in deference to North Korea or the current dictator of their brutal regime Kim Jong-Un, but I hope that Sony Pictures takes an absolute bath on this movie. I will not be seeing The Interview.

I'm aghast! With all the discussions of this movie amongst the pathetic punditry that I seen and heard, there's not been one single talking head that has brought up what should be a central point to this controversy. That being, that it is TOTALLY inappropriate to make a film about killing a real, non-fictional, living human being.

Just imagine the reaction if someone made a movie about killing one of our leaders! President Obama, Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush, even the war criminal GWB . . . The Dick Cheney.

O.K. probably not The Dick Cheney - Torturer-In-Chief.

They could have used a stand-in character that everyone would have known was a representation of The Dear Bleeder or someone like him, but making it about him literally, crosses the line. This is not about freedom of speech. I'm not making the argument that those involved in making this picture don't have the right to do so. It's just that they are wrong to do so. Disgustingly wrong. And it certainly isn't going to make the world a better and safer place to live. Bad move dudes!

Justice, Ferguson and Beyond

Judging by the on-line response to the decision of the Ferguson grand jury not to indict the officer that shot Micheal Brown, what I'm about to say may not be popular with some, but here it is anyway.

As I understand it, there were contradictory accounts of what happened from witnesses near the scene and therefore what occurred in this tragedy is not completely clear. In order to have justice, you must have actual evidence that a crime was committed that will stand up in a court of law before you can bring charges against someone. It's not clear to me that this standard has been met.

Is there a problem in this country with police militarization and with police shootings, especially with regard to minorities? Yes. Are minorities in general targeted for law enforcement and prosecution at far higher rates and more punatively than white communities and law breakers? Definitely, the evidence is overwhelming. One only need look at the fact that whites use illegal drugs at slightly higher rates than blacks, yet blacks suffer arrest and incarceration at far higher rates for such crimes and for longer terms. Do people have a right to be outraged? Absolutely, not only a right, but I would argue, a duty.

But right now emotions are running high. And to demand that the officer in Ferguson specifically, be offered up as some kind of sacrificial lamb to in some way satisfy the rightful outrage of many (myself included) at the conditions of our criminal "justice" sytem generally, without the evidence to back it up? That would just add to the injustice and the tragegy that has already occurred.

If I'm wrong about the nature of the evidence or new shit comes to light, I'll reconsider my position and if it appears that the officer committed a crime he should be prosecuted accordingly. But until then I'm going to continue my position opposing lynching.

Ketterhagen's Konspiracy!

Phillip Ketterhagen  -  Stark Raving Mad

Can we please get this kook off the Burlington School Board!? Replace him with another conservative even, just as long as it's a rational human being and not a Whacky conspiracy theorist. If I was a local conservative, this Klown would embarrass bejeezzes outta me!

On page four of the November 20, 2014 edition of the Standard Press is an article headlined "Board member fears proposed course propagates UN agenda. I needn't have read the article to know which board member.

In question was the proposed edition of an advanced placement (AP) class in Human Geography at Burlington High School. Board member Phil Ketterhagen stated that the class could be "programming" future generations and that the proposed curriculum and samples align with the United Nations Agenda 21. Ketterhagen stated that Agenda 21 is a talking point for conservativve leaders such as Glenn Beck. GLENN BECK!? Yes, Glenn Beck who is a Serial Conspiratorialist and is too ridiculously Batshit Crazy even for FuxSnooze!

Robin Vos - Forked Tongue and Fangs Award!

I Hate Freedom Thiiiiiiiiiiis Much!

"As I said this week, having one of the Bucks new owners go and greet Barack Obama on the tarmac in the middle of the Mary Burke campaign probably wasn’t the wisest decision," - Vos

"Representative" Vos showed his true scales when he assaulted the freedom of conscience of one of the owners of the Milwaukee Bucks and demonstrated his penchant for cronyism, this time in reverse. He also exposed his fangs with the never very thinly veiled disdain he and his "caucus" from around the state hold for Wisconsin's urban centers and the folks that live there generally and for Milwaukee specifically. 

Whatever your position on funding for a new stadium for the team, or any other decision regarding the use of public funds for private purposes, the decision should be made on it's merits for the general welfare and NOT on the political positions of an American citizen, their ability to produce political payola or which party is the recipient. In fact it is against state corruption laws for Vos to do so!

But as we've seen repeatedly, that is not how the VOS / Valker Republicons who now rule the Badgered State roll when it comes to things like the corrupt WEDC and G-Tack's Walker directed bribery to the Wisconsin Club for Growths during the recall campaign in order to get their iron mine rammed through. That is how "business" is now conducted in what was once America's shining example of good governance, fair play and transparency. My once strong faith in the good sense and goodwill of the people of Wisconsin has been sorely shaken by the continued re-election of extreme, corrupt, slick-slithering and ill-willed career politicians like Robin Vos and his ilk.

Therefore, for the the @$$Oli$h exhibition of ill-liberal, venomous ill-will and disdain for representative democracy above and beyond the call of duty, the Gerrymanderer Vos is hereby awarded BAP's Forked Tongue and Fangs Award. FREEDUMB!

Republicons R @$$HOs

The GOPsters not only hate democracy, they're @$$HOs. I placed 4 campaign signs here several weeks ago at the request of the property owner. A couple weeks later some angry old jerk and thief in a big truck (you can see the tire tracks) ran them over and stole the Mary Burke and Susan Happ signs. The Andy Mitchell and Rob Zerban signs survived.

I replaced the stolen signs. Mind you, there are Pall Ryand (@$$hO) signs on this stretch of road, there are Walker/Kleefisch (complete @$$HO/Shirley Temple's Evil Twin) signs. All of which have been there unmolested for a couple months. Then when I went past today I found this:

The Happ sign is mangled, The Zerban sign is in the ditch on the right. The Burke sign is in the background and the Mitchell sign is off in the brush. I replaced them and fixed the Mitchell sign with Duct tape. What are the chances they'll make it to election day without one of these Uber "Patriots" trashing their constitutions.

What is it about the Destructicons that not only makes them want to tear up the fabric of our society bat also makes such angry hypocrites? Why is it that the bigger the @$$HO the more they love them and need to "stand" with them. Seriously, name 3 currently prominent GOPsters who aren't @$$HOs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .

Can't do it can you?

I didn't think so.

Republicons are Traitors

If you are an American Veteran with an ID card issued by the United States Bureau of Veterans Affairs you cannot use that ID to vote in Texas next week under the voter suppression law enacted by the GOPsters and allowed to take effect by the inconsistent nuts on the U.S. Extreme Court who blocked The Badgered State voter suppression law that DOES allow use of such an ID. Crazy!

Republicons are Traitors, enough said.

Walker's Deriliction & Deficit

I'm not one to pat myself on the back, but tooting my own horn? I'm good with that! Back in January I wrote about Walker's Surplus Smoke'n Mirrors, how Walker was falsely taking credit for a project surplus, how it one-time-money and that the fiscally prudent course would be to use it to eliminate the $500 million structural deficit that existed at the time instead of increasing it with more tax cuts for his rich constituents.

And now here in October where does the Badgered State find itself? At least $1.8 BILLION in the RED!

Am I genius? Prescient? No, predicting that Walker's slash and burn tactics would blow up was about as easy as seeing that his austerity policies during a recession would lead to a jobs failure or that hiring crooks and felons might get you investigated!

Scott Walker failing Wisconsin by every metric.

Republicon War on Representative Democracy

Sticking a flag pin on your lapel doesn’t make you a patriot. It’s what lies beneath in your heart that matters. And with Friday’s appeals court ruling imposing the GOPster’s voter suppression scheme on the Badgered state, the scary war on representative democracy that lies at the heart of the Republicon Party is laid bare. But lying, manipulating, gerrymandering, voter suppression and Blitz Gezetz (lightning law) are the means this minority party needs to obtain its ends. I say minority because that is who they now represent, a very small but increasingly wealthy and powerful minority. The Republicon Party has abandoned their belief in representative democracy and local control. They believe only in wealth and power and the related heresies, that money is speech and corporations are people and should write our laws. If the Boston tea party happened today the Republicons would side with the East India Company.

When Robin Vos gerrymandered Wisconsin, he drew the 21^st Senate district just for Van Wanggaard, with the district line running right down the side of his block, thus choosing Wanggaard’s voters for him, instead of the other way around. Vanny must be a very special boy to deserve such treatment. Scott Walker used blitz gezetz by the surprise introduction of Act 10 on a Friday afternoon, when all eyes were turned toward the weekend, with the plan to ram it through the inconvenient formality of public hearings and get it passed the following Thursday, before the citizenry would have a chance to consider it and react.

But their attack on voting rights is an extra special betrayal of our Republic. Armed with laws written in secret, by global corporations at the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) Republicons all across the country, including those in the Badgered state have moved to advance their hidden agenda, because everything the Cons do has a hidden agenda, EVERYTHING! Their voter suppression agenda is based on a wild conspiracy theory about massive voter fraud, committed on a perennial basis by busloads of brown people. The mechanics of this conspiracy are so ridiculously improbable that you'd have to be completely divorced from critical thinking to swallow it. Just how foolish does one need to be? Let's examine. If one believes that:

Every election year brown people coordinate getting the forged documents needed to register at the polls and travel all over your state committing multiple counts of voter impersonation fraud for democrats and never get caught, infiltrated or have someone spill the beans, one might be foolish enough to vote in Republicons (FEVIR).

Fraudsters never run into poll workers who know they don't live at the addresses they’re attempting to use or who know the real voter in whose name they're attempting to vote, never try to vote under the name of someone who has already voted or that the real voter never shows up later to find that someone has already voted in their name, one might be FEVIRish.

Brown people who are transported to the polls in vans must not be legitimate voters. And people who traditionally vote at rates lower than the general population would be motivated to risk a felony conviction with no chance of direct personal gain to get a job for someone they don't know personally and with no way of knowing if their effort is even needed to win or if it will be enough to be successful, one might be FEVIRish.

The few people who vote while on probation or parole would be identified and stopped by voter ID, one might be FEVIRish.

DMVs across your state have convenient hours and locations with available public transportation and that getting to the DMV to get a photo ID is easily done by the working poor or elderly without a car, one might be FEVIRish.

Everyone lives like you do and has or needs a driver’s license or photo ID and one is so special that it might be one’s personal vote, out of millions, that might be cancelled and that justifies putting road blocks in front of over 300,000 of our fellow citizen’s right to cast their vote, one might be FEVIRish!

The Republicon Party wouldn't trumpet the news all over the media if in fact they were ever able to catch the supposed perpetrators and expose this massive scheme and the reason they have never offered a reward for the exposure of voter impersonation fraud conspiracies is because they just don't have the money, one might be FEVIRish.

Photo ID is about election integrity and not voter suppression, the Republicon Party leadership actually believes in freedom and the wild conspiracy theory that they're foisting on us, one is definitely FEVIRish.

Interfering with the right of citizens to legitimately cast their vote isn't just down right Un-American, one is in a complete stupor!

Monday - BASD Annual Meeting!

This MONDAY NIGHT! It's time for the good people of the Burlington Area School District to come out and support the rational members of our School Board against those who believe (foolishly) that Joseph McCarthy was right. http://burlingtonareaprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/07/good-night-good-grief.html

ANNUAL MEETING - August 25th - Burlington School Board - 8:00 pm Burlington High School Auditorium--"Notice is hereby given to the qualified electors of the Burlington Area School District that the annual meeting of said District for the transaction of business will beheld in the Burlington High School Auditorium, 400 McCanna Parkway, Burlington, Wisconsin."

There is word that there will be the perennial pushback at this meeting from the tea swilling followers of the McCarthyite apologist who believe that ANY levy increase is too much. It's important to get a large number of reasonable people to attend this annual meeting and raise their hands in favor of the very very lean school district budget as it currently is written.

Expect that last-minute attempts to reduce the current budget will be made in the form of amendments to the proposed budget. This tactic must, once again, be voted down by us, the majority of the citizenry exhibiting goodwill to our community and responsibility toward the future.

Our children need us to show up that evening in a large group and show our support for them. Please come and show your support our current tax levy and budget. A lot of time and effort has gone in to trying to keep our tax burden as low as possible, and the results of any further reductions will be dire.

Let's get enough people to "be there and play fair" (like "be there or be square"). Let's be fair to our children and draw that line in the sand that says "ENOUGH!" No more cutting back. Every kid needs our support.

For more info on the annual budget as approved by the board, go here:http://myracinecounty.com/?p=15181

Citizen Koch is a Go!

BAPsters bought 64 tickets, more than enough to let the show go on!

There are still tickets left if you'd like to go. You can order them here for $10: http://www.tugg.com/events/10295

If there are still tickets remaining, they will be sold at the door prior to the show - 6:30 Wednesday August 13th at the Plaza Theater in Burlington.

Also, if you missed BAP's hosting of John Nichols last week, you missed quite the presentation. John was very generous to give us his time (again) and his sometimes foreboding, but always insightful, optimistic and entertaining analysis of current events and the long history behind them. Thank you John!

Good Night & Good Grief

Ketterhagen Residence, Veterans Day 2012

Once again, Ketterhagen's got his crazy on. Phil has apparently fallen victim to recent attempts by some rightwing extremists to turn history upside-down by rehabilitating the reputation of Senator Joseph McCarthy -R, WI. you can read about it here in the Burlington Standard Press, with commentary to follow: http://myracinecounty.com/?p=14972

It seems Mr. Ketterhegen objected particularly to the donation of a DVD of the movie Good Night and Good Luck, a movie that recounts how newsman Edward R. Murrow exposed McCarthy for what he was a liar, a bully and threat to American freedoms.

Standard Press Excepts: He (Ketterhagen) said “Good Night, and Good Luck” vilified McCarthy, and didn’t address the historical context of the senator’s behavior. “Correct info should come from the Venona Papers which were released in 1994 from the Russian archives which shows McCarthy was totally correct in his findings,”

Ketterhagen also said at the meeting that he had reviewed teaching materials in the past, and had found a disproportionate amount of communist or socialist authors.

“I’m not going to allow the teaching of a philosophy, or a ‘left’ thing,” Ketterhagen said. He also held up a number of films he personally brought to the meeting, saying that most of the board would consider them too biased toward the “right” for use in the district. When asked, Ketterhagen declined to give the names of the films. End Excerpts

Notice that Ketterhagen not only echos McCarthy with his vague accusations regarding communist/socialist authors and what philosophies he is "going to allow", he also cited the Venona Papers, the very documents used by rightwing revisionists to attempt to justify McCarthy's behavior. Well, below is an article from the Wall Street Journal that demonstrates just how wrong the sort of upside-down thinking Mr. Ketterhagen is swallowingis , but how dangerous it is with regard to our potential to repeat the tragic mistakes of our past. After all, there certainly has been no shortage in the past few years of people of Mr. Ketterhagen's ilk making false and hate-filled accusations at our President of being a communist or a socialist.

WSJ Article: http://online.wsj.com/news/articles/SB120882522444233275

Excerpts: "The problem was that McCarthy lied about his information and figures," Lamphere said. "He made charges against people that weren't true. McCarthyism harmed the counterintelligence effort against the Soviet threat because of the revulsion it caused."

During the hearings, McCarthy failed to substantiate his claims that communists had penetrated the Army. He did, however, insinuate that Fred Fischer, a young lawyer at Hale and Dorr, the law firm representing the Army, was a communist sympathizer because he'd been a member of the National Lawyers Guild at Harvard Law School. Supreme Court Justice Arthur J. Goldberg had also been a member of the group, which was alleged to be a communist front.

Upon hearing this accusation, Joseph Welch of Hale and Dorr, responded, "Until this moment, senator, I think I never really gauged your cruelty or recklessness." When McCarthy continued to hound Fischer, Welch said, "Have you no sense of decency, sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?"

A Senate committee concluded that McCarthy's behavior as a committee chairman was "inexcusable," "vulgar and insulting." On Dec. 2, 1954, the Senate voted 67-22 to censure him; on May 2, 1957, McCarthy, age 48, died of acute hepatitis, widely believed to be a result of his alcoholism.

As a top Justice Department attorney, John L. Martin prosecuted scores of spies during a long career, and read many of the FBI's most secret raw files on historic espionage cases, including the files on Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, Judith Coplon, Alger Hiss and Rudolph Abel. "While Venona later confirmed and expanded upon what the FBI knew about Soviet operations in the U.S.," Mr. Martin says, McCarthy used "the umbrella of national security to justify his outrageous practice of besmirching reputations of loyal Americans."

Efforts to vindicate McCarthy overlook the fact that he did not help the cause of dealing with the spy threat. Rather, he gave spy hunting a bad name. In sanctioning McCarthy's intimidating tactics and dishonest charges, revisionists dangerously invite history to be repeated.

Once again we can only conclude that Phil Ketterhagen is not only wrong, he's a nut and an embarrassment to the Burlington Area school District.

BAP Presents and Evening with John Nichols!

Save the date! An Evening with author John Nichols. On July 30th, the Burlington Area Progressives will be hosting an evening with John Nichols. We will meet for coffee in the Burlington High School cafeteria at 6:30pm, with John's presentation at 7:00 in the auditorium. Below is his Bio from the Nation magazine:

John Nichols, a pioneering political blogger, has written the Beat since 1999. His posts have been circulated internationally, quoted in numerous books and mentioned in debates on the floor of Congress.

Nichols writes about politics for The Nation magazine as its Washington correspondent. He is a contributing writer for The Progressive and In These Times and the associate editor of the Capital Times, the daily newspaper in Madison, Wisconsin. His articles have appeared in the New York Times, Chicago Tribune and dozens of other newspapers.

Nichols is a frequent guest on radio and television programs as a commentator on politics and media issues. He was featured in Robert Greenwald's documentary, "Outfoxed," and in the documentaries Joan Sekler's "Unprecedented," Matt Kohn's "Call It Democracy" and Robert Pappas's "Orwell Rolls in his Grave." The keynote speaker at the 2004 Congress of the International Federation of Journalists in Athens, Nichols has been a featured presenter at conventions, conferences and public forums on media issues sponsored by the Federal Communications Commission, the Congressional Progressive Caucus, Consumers International, the Future of Music Coalition, the AFL-CIO, the Rainbow/PUSH Coalition, the Newspaper Guild [CWA] and dozens of other organizations.

Nichols is the author of The Genius of Impeachment (The New Press); a critically acclaimed analysis of the Florida recount fight of 2000, Jews for Buchanan (The New Press); and a best-selling biography of Vice President Dick Cheney, Dick: The Man Who is President (The New Press), which has recently been published in French and Arabic. He edited Against the Beast: A Documentary History of American Opposition to Empire (Nation Books), of which historian Howard Zinn said: "At exactly the time when we need it most, John Nichols gives us a special gift--a collection of writings, speeches, poems, and songs from throughout American history--that reminds us that our revulsion to war and empire has a long and noble tradition in this country."

With Robert W. McChesney, Nichols has co-authored the books It's the Media, Stupid! (Seven Stories), Our Media, Not Theirs (Seven Stories), Tragedy and Farce: How the American Media Sell Wars, Spin Elections, and Destroy Democracy (The New Press), The Death and Life of American Journalism (Nation Books) and, most recently, Uprising: How Wisconsin Renewed the Politics of Protest, from Madison to Wall Street (Nation Books). McChesney and Nichols are the co-founders of Free Press, the nation's media-reform network, which organized the 2003 and 2005 National Conferences on Media Reform.

Of Nichols, author Gore Vidal says: "Of all the giant slayers now afoot in the great American desert, John Nichols’s sword is the sharpest."

Citizen Koch Coming to Burlington

Citizen Koch

Promoted by Burlington Area Progressives

Wednesday, August 13 6:30PM - 8:26PM

at Plaza Theater 

448 Milwaukee Ave., Burlington, WI, 53105 (map) 

$10.00 General

Buy your tickets HERE: http://www.tugg.com/events/10295

In this searing exposé on the state of democracy in America and the fracturing of the Republican Party, Academy Award®-nominated directors Carl Deal and Tia Lessin (Trouble the Water; co-producers of Fahrenheit 9/11 & Bowling for Columbine) follow the money behind the rise of the Tea Party. CITIZEN KOCH investigates the impact of unlimited, anonymous spending by corporations and billionaires on the electoral process, featuring stories of life-long Republicans whose loyalty is tested when their families become collateral damage in the GOP fight to take organized labor out at the knees. Alternately terrifying and funny, CITIZEN KOCH is an essential and powerful portrait of our political times.

Declare Your Independence This 4th of July!

Final Push for Move to Amend in Burlington this Weekend!

Corporations now have Religious Rights!Is your corp circumcised?

Five men costumed in priestly robes have now bestowed souls on so-called 'corporate persons" in Merica. It's time to end this heresy confronting our democracy. And you can help this Independence Day weekend when we celebrate the beginning of our revolution, sparked not only by the plutocratic dictates of the British crown, but also by the predatory monopoly of the East India Company, the global corporate behemoth of its time and the target of the Boston tea Party!

We're so close to our goal, but time is running out! Come to Echo Lake Park after 3:00 on the Fourth of July and add your John Hancock to the petitions to get a referendum on the ballot in the City of Burlington in November advising our representatives of the need to overturn the Extreme Court's ruling on Citizen United vs FEC and affirm that corporations are not "People" they are legal constructs and money is not speech, it's merely amplification. We will have folks there to collect your signature. All you need to be is a resident of the City and eligible to register and vote.

Besides, you're going to have fun at the Dance and Fireworks and I personally vouch for the band Lunchmoney Bullies! http://www.burlington-wi.gov/CivicAlerts.aspx?AID=145

You can also stop by 324 Amanda St. on Saturday (7/5) between 9:30 and 2:00 from where we will be canvassing and sign the petition or pickup a walk packet and get some exercise, fresh air and signatures!

Thank you,
Sean

Abide Equally!

Gay pride week in Wisconsin begins with a bang!

Now at least one of my loved ones has the same right to love as the other ones I love, right?!

Shinseki Falls on Sword . . . AGAIN!

Getting rid of Shinseki, in typical DC fashion, is a do nothing non-solution designed to look like something is actually being done, when it's not. Nuthin up my sleeve, presto!

First of all I would point out that all of the major veterans organizations except one wanted Shinseki to be kept on the job. They ought to know.

Secondly, getting rid of Shinseki isn't going to help. We now have the new guy in charge, Sloan Gibson who may be a very good administrator, but he's only been with the VA for 4 months and therefore has a steep learning curve. One step backward.

But what is ironic about this is that Shinseki was undermined as Army Chief of Staff by Donald Rumsfeldt for telling the truth to the Senate Armed Service Committee that the 145,000 troops the Bush administration planned to send to Iraq would be inadequate to maintain order and that several hundred thousand troops would be required. He was of course proven right within a couple months when the shit hit the fan there with looting and an insurgency.

Now despite huge increases in funding for the VA under President Obama the VA is taxed with caring for the many tens of thousands of vets that were horribly injured in two expensive, off the books wars sold on lies by the Bush crowd, injuries that in many cases would have been fatal in previous conflicts, but which many survived due to advances in quickly and effectively caring for the injured in the field and getting them to a hospital. These are very challenging and expensive injuries to treat.

Do you remember when our troops started up-armoring their humvees in the field with whatever they could grab because they didn't yet have the parts needed to protect against road-side bombs? And Rummy said "you go to war with the army you have, not the one you wish you had. That jack-ass wasn't fired. But Shinseki once again falls victim by having the VA we have instead of the VA we wish we had and one that is swamped by the devastation caused by the bumblings of the worst president in American history, a fool who was completely in over his head and whose damage to our country Obama has had to contend with and fix from day one.

It's a shame, Shinseki, an honorable man and and servant of his country has once again fallen on his sword and once again, it won't help fix the things that are broken.

Capital Floods Capitol - Move to Amend!

Capital Floods Capitol

Money is not "Speech"!

Money is Amplification.

If I went down to the town square with a megaphone and drown out other people's voices, I would get arrested for disturbing the peace.

Citizens United is not Freedom it's a Drowning!

Stop the Deluge!

MOVE TO AMEND

We the Corporations, in order to form a more Perfect Corporatocracy . . .

Thanks to the Roberts Court, Corporations have more Constitutional rights than Actual People!

This is why we're collecting signatures in Burlington.

We're on track to collect the signatures we need, but we've got to maintain the momentum and a couple hours of your time would help enormously. we're running two canvassing shifts this Saturday, 9:30-Noon and Noon to 2:30. We go out in pairs, it's easy like a walk in the park. Some folks are even coming from out of town to help us! Please sign up for shift and fight for our democracy.

Sign up here: http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50961/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10882

Thank you for all you do.
Sean
(262) 237-4351
scranley@wi.rr.com

More background info here: http://burlingtonareaprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-extreme-courts-citizens-united-is.html 

Witch Hunt

I didn't write this song about the Republicons hatred of Obama. But with the GOPsters gearing up for another run at the Benghazi, Benghazi, Benghazi "scandal" the conversion of my rough audio recording into a video could not have been more timely.

I also feel I must point out that once again the Cult of Con is enraged and engaged in rank GOPocrisy. You see the equivalent of 13 Benghazi's occurred during Bushyboy's reign of error, without a peep from our elephantine friends. Four people were tragically killed during the Benghazi attack, while 13 attacks above killed 94! The Republicons could investigate these, but no.

Even better, the Reptilian Republicon Hatriots could investigate the Bushite War Criminals who lied us into the unprovoked attack on Iraq the resulted in the massive loss of blood and treasure with the death of over 4,000 (One Thousand Benghazis!) Americans and several hundred thousand Iraqis. But they're not interested in real justice, they just need to feed their fear and loathing of the black guy in the Whitehouse.

Witch Hunt features:
Sean Cranleys on vocals;
Skim Crumbly on finger style acoustic guitar;
Scat Cratley of a lead guitar;
Cran Codiddilehopper on 5-string banjo; and
Sham "Blowhard" Cranster on hamonica

Recorded and produced by Scan Crinkley Studios

Move to Amend Kickoff a Success!

We got 82 signatures on Saturday for the kick off! 

The Move to Amend effort is to place a referendum on the ballot this fall to push for the overturn of the anti-democratic Extreme Court's Citizens United decision! 

Read more here: http://burlingtonareaprogressives.blogspot.com/2014/04/the-extreme-courts-citizens-united-is.html

This effort will continue until July 15th. We need about 700 signatures, which is totally doable. You can volunteer just about anytime, all the materials you need to collect signatures are available for pickup on the nice enclosed porch (pictured above). Canvass for just a couple hours of fresh air and exercise, cover a stationary event or just grab a petition and get the signatures of your friends and family. 

Just contact me and I'll fill you in on what to do!

Sean Cranley

scranley@wi.rr.com

(262) 237-4351

Tomorrow - Fight for Your Democracy!

Make that Top Line Read BURLINGTON!

Tomorrow (Saturday May 17th 2014) meet at 324 Amanda Street in Burlington to fight for democracy!

https://www.facebook.com/events/1480655752163657/?ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

FuxSnooze Strikes Again!

Many of you have no doubt seen the latest FuxSnooze generated "outrage" orbiting the interwebs (including the BAP Yahoo group), decrying that Mary Burke's Company hasn't paid state income tax in three decades. As it turns out, that's kinda like saying fish don't comb their hair.

Thanks to Steve Herr for clearing up the Fog of Fuxed Up Misinformation being passed along by the unwitting.

Steve Herr - "It only has to do with the form of taxation. Trek (like my own business) elected to go with what's called Subchapter S status.  What happens is the corporation computes it's income for the year, files an 1120S return at the federal level, (There's a similar form at the state level, the number escapes me at the moment) and then allocates that income to the shareholders based on each shareholder's percentage of ownership by filing K-1 forms, which report income to the IRS just like W-2 forms do for wages.

The shareholders then report the allocated K-1 income on their 1040 forms on Schedule E , line 28, and add it to the income they get taxed on.

This only applies to closely held corporations (there's a limit on the number of shareholders).  

So yes, Fox News is technically correct - Trek has not paid income tax.  BUT TREK IS NOT SUPPOSED TO UNDER SUB S, THE SHAREHOLDERS PAY IT!!!!

It's just a smear on Fox New's part, probably fed to them by Walker's campaign."

May 17th - Act to Overturn Citizens United - Your Democracy Depends on YOU!

Make that Top Line Read BURLINGTON!

Remember that corporation that sat next to you in 3rd grade? No? How about that time you opened your mouth to speak and dollars came out? Yeah, me neither.

Yet your would be Rulers would have you believe that corporations are people and money is speech, because those are the tools of the moneyed aristocracy to rule over the once Sovereign Citizens of the United States of America.

Please come out just for a couple hours (9:30-12:00 or 12:00-2:30) in Burlington on Saturday May 17th to strike a blow for government of We the People like our founders envisioned:

"I hope we shall crush in its birth the aristocracy of our moneyed corporations which dare already to challenge our government to a trial by strength, and bid defiance to the laws of our country." - Thomas Jefferson

"The end of democracy and the defeat of the American revolution will occur when government falls into the hands of the lending institutions and moneyed incorporations." - Thomas Jefferson

SIGN UP HERE! http://salsa4.salsalabs.com/o/50961/p/dia/action3/common/public/?action_KEY=10882

See Event info here: https://www.facebook.com/events/1480655752163657/?ref=3&ref_newsfeed_story_type=regular

Vulture Vos Vows Repeat at Rape of Representative Democracy

Robin "Vulture" Vos

In response to Federal Judge Lynn Adelson's ruling Tuesday that Wisconsin's Voter Suppression law is Unconstitutional, because it Suppresses Voters, the fALEC Gerrymanderer Robin "Vulture" Vos stated; "I'm going to do whatever it takes to ensure that we have voter ID in place as quickly as possible," . . . "If that means having a special session so we have it in place by the fall then I'm definitely open to doing that, and I support it. If it means that because of Judge Adelman's actions that won't actually occur then we will do whatever we can in the most expeditious manner to make it work."

Special session you say Vossy to pick at the carcass of democracy?

Move to Amend Citizens United in Burlington?

The Extreme Court's Citizens United  Decision Is an Assault On a Nation conceived in Liberty  and Dedicated to the Notion that  All PEOPLE are Created Equal! Who wants to DO SOMETHING about it! burlingtonareaprogressives@gmail.com Most of you are more than aware (you would'nt be here if you weren't) of our  three decades-long slide into Plutocracy. Although a Scientific study by  researchers at Princeton has concluded that we live in an Oligarchy, it's  pretty much the same thing. Thanks to Jay Askin for sharing the linked article! However, in recent years America's slide toward the abyss of a society of  serfs and ruling feudal lords has been greased by five Posers in Priestly  Robes. In 2010 the Judicial Hactivists that makeup the Supreme Court  Reactionaries Of The United States (SCROTUS) reached beyond the  decision placed before them in the Citizens United vs FEC case in order  to achieve their Plutocratic goals. They not only swept away decades judicial  precedent and laws written by representatives of We The People and signed  by our elected Presidents, they declared that Corporations are "People" too  and entitled to free speech. How many of you went to grade school with a  corporation?! Of course to these Robed Reactionary Shills for our "Funding  Fathers" money equals speech!  Check your pockets and see how much  free speech you've got left at the end of the month. Recently, these Judicial Hacktivist Corrupticons decided in favor of McCutcheon instead of the FEC, greatly expanding the "free speech" of a few hundred billionaires to buy or threaten the politicians that are supposed to represent us all! And now, the Plutoctopus is increasingly reaching all the way down into our most local elections! Why should some fat cat from Michigan or Oklahoma decide who should "represent" you in the legislature or on you're school board, for crying out loud? Are you angry? Concerned we're losing our democracy? Do you want to do something about it? burlingtonareaprogressives@gmail.com On April 1st 2014 Thirteen original communities (13 to 0!) in the Badgered State joined those preceding them, and by strong margins, passed referendums calling for a Constitutional Amendment to overturn the Extreme Court's legislating from the bench ruling. This a bi-partisan issue, you can't get 68% (Delevan), 85% (Edgerton) or 56% (Conservative Elkhorn) without a fair number of Republicans! We would need 558 valid signatures in 60 days from the citizens of the City Burlington (fewer from surrounding towns/villages, if pursued) to place the following referendum on the the ballot: RESOLVED, the City of Burlington, Wisconsin, calls for reclaiming democracy from the corrupting effects of undue corporate influence by amending the United States Constitution to establish that: 1. Only human beings, not corporations, unions, nonprofit organizations nor similar associations are entitled to constitutional rights, and 2. Money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that we hereby instruct our state and federal representatives to enact resolutions and legislation to advance this effort. 558 is a doable number, especially with crowd drawing events like the Burlington Farmers Market (Thursdays), Memorial Day Parade, Chocolatefest and 4th of July Fireworks all right in the heart of Downtown between 5/8 and 7/6. But we need enough people committed to pitching in to preserve their Freedom to make this effort successful and worth undertaking. These are places many of you are going to be anyway! There are over 200 people on this list and 150+ on our facebook group, enough to make this a cakewalk. Please respond if you want to contribute a few hours to help. burlingtonareaprogressives@gmail.com Not only is this the right thing to do for our country, it will raise awareness and engage the public about the issue of money in politics, helping to build the movement. Put another city on the map calling for a constitutional amendment, which is how we can leverage our grassroots power at the state level to push Wisconsin to join the 16 other states by going on record demanding a constitutional amendment be introduced in congress. Give citizens one more reason to get out and VOTE in the fall mid-term election, which typically has lower turnout (especially Democrats) than in Presidential election years. The nine scariest words in the English language are; "I'm a corporation, I'm here to write your laws." Those ruled in the interests of others do not have liberty! Yours Truly, Sean Cranley CorpSerf ID: IMNFD-1-OURFD-2 . . . or are we?

Strangulation of Local Control

PLUTOCTOPUS REX!

First we saw that American Majority, a national group funded by the Koch Bros was training Tea Party candidates for the Burlington School Board.

Then we saw that the fascist American Legislative Exchange Council (fALEC), also a Koch supported group is also going to insert itself into local elected officials across the country.

And now we see that the national group Americans for Plutocracy, also funded by the Koch Bros has injected itself into the Kenosha Unified school board race, because the existing board had not used Gubnah Walker's divide & conquer "Tools" to sufficiently punish the public school teachers.

Just connecting the dots . . . or should I say suction pads?

Americans for Plutocracy, fALEC and Merican Majority, all tentacles of the Koch Bros Plutoctopus and all worming their way to strangle your local control and shroud your democracy in an inky cloud. Because Republicons no longer believe in local control. They only believe in CONTROL!