Supreme Hackery

It’s long past time to publicly finance Wisconsin’s Supreme Court races. Last week we saw the injustice and cost to the citizenry that results from allowing democracy subverting special interests to buy seats on Wisconsin’s Supreme Court as Annette Ziegler led the charge for her corporate sponsors at Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce (WMC). The corporatists at WMC paid millions of dollars to put the ethically bankrupt Ziegler on the bench and now she’s dutifully returned their investment to the detriment of the citizenry.

Menasha Corporation bought SAP, a several million dollar canned software package, thousands of copies of which are sold worldwide, and they had to pay sales tax on it. They then claimed it was a custom package, therefore tax exempt because they had to pay consulting fees to integrate it and learn how to use it. They then sued the state, in conjunction with WMC, who filed a friend of the court brief on behalf of Menasha.

Annette of course sided with the corporate interests rather than the citizen’s interest and ordered not only Menasha’s money to be returned, but another $300 million in similar taxes. Talk about your judicial activism!

Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson stated correctly that the citizens of Wisconsin will now have to make up for the returned money and an estimated $100 million every year from now on because of this ludicrous ruling. That’s a pretty sweet deal for the corporatists. Spend a few tens of thousands of dollars in “consulting” fees and skate on the $300,000 tax bill owed to the People of Wisconsin.

In her former position Zeigler not only didn’t recuse herself from cases that involved her husband’s business, but kept those conflicted interests secret from the parties involved. For this violation of ethics rules she got a slap on the wrist from her fellow “justices” on the bench and as a result the citizenry has been slapped in the face. And once again she failed to recuse herself, in this case involving the group who paid for her seat on the bench. But then again there really is no conflict in her interest, we know exactly where that lies.

Justice Abrahamson is up for re-election next year and you can bet that WMC and national groups interested in forcing the corporatist agenda on America will spare no expense in buying that seat as well (as they did for Gableman this year) to put the final nail in the coffin of supreme justice here in Wisconsin.

Fortunately a good corporate citizen, Epic Systems of Verona has stepped in and made the following statement; “We believe that what we tolerate is what we stand for, and as corporate citizens, we stand for the preservation of the foundation of the judicial system," "… After careful consideration, we made a decision to try to work only with vendors that do not support WMC with its current management. This was not a decision we made lightly, but believe it is the right thing to do.” BRAVO!

These ”justices” can put on robes if they want to in a vain effort to instill a sense of mystery and awe surrounding their deliberations. But there’s no mystery about what lies beneath the robes of the likes of Zeigler and Gableman, a couple of bought and paid for supreme political hacks. It’s time for the citizens resume ownership of their court and the justices that sit on it by funding the elections with public money.

Campaign Office grand Opening Celebrations!

The Grand Opening Celebration of the Racine for Obama Campaign for Change headquarters is next Wednesday July 16th – 6:00 PM at 522 6th Street in downtown Racine.

The Walworth Co. Democrats are celebrating the opening of their campaign office at 21 E Walworth St. in downtown Elkhorn tomorrow Sat. July 12th at 3:00 PM, with Congressional and State Assembly candidate speeches beginning at 4:00.

As many people of goodwill as possible are encouraged to attend both events!

Great News!

Dr. Jeffrey Thomas did not file his 1st CD nomination papers to reprise his repeated role as a non-viable democratic candidate. This makes it far more likely that we will get a real candidate running as democrat to unseat the regressive Mr. Ryan.

Empirial Over Reach

This is what the Bushite Neocons mean establishing a free and sovereign Iraq. Yeah turn Blackwater and CACI loose with immunity on the already beleaguered citizens of Iraq, that'll go well. Not to mention the launching pad for war with Iran and then Syria that this is intended to facilitate. From today's Democracy Now! http://www.democracynow.org/2008/6/13/headlines

Iraqi PM: Talks With US at "Dead End"

Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki is claiming talks on a long-term agreement with the US have reached what he calls "a dead end." US demands have included maintaining fifty-eight permanent military bases in Iraq, immunity for American troops and contractors, a free hand to conduct military operations without Iraqi approval, and control of Iraqi airspace. Speaking in Jordan, Maliki said, "We have reached an impasse, because when we opened these negotiations we did not realize that the US demands would so deeply affect Iraqi sovereignty, and this is something we can never accept." The Independent of London reported last week the US is leveraging tens of billions of dollars in seized Iraqi assets to push through its demands. The Bush administration has angered Iraqi officials by refusing to lift support for Iraq's UN designation as a threat to international security. The New York Times reports Iraqi officials will ask the UN Security Council today to expend its protection of Iraq against compensation claims.

Pre-Existing Political Condition (You're Denied!)

Below is a piece by Jack Lohman of www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org from most recent edition of his bimonthly newsletter on clean elections and healthcare reform. It's an excellent snapshot of the train wreck we find ourselves in with regard to healthcare and disfunctional politics, with a republican party both in denial of the problem and ideologically unequiped to address the healthcare issue and two parties that are enmeshed in the status quo of money driven politics. The full newsletter can be viewed at www.ThrowTheRascalsOut.org/eNewsletter71.htm You can sign up for this excellent source of information by sending a blank email to jlohman@execpc.com with “Subscribe eNewsletter” in the subject line.

Three steps to Health Care Reform
By Jack E. Lohman
I’ve got it!
Step One: Refuse insurance coverage for 15% of our politicians, under-insure another 15%, and put the rest on a high-deductible health savings account.
Step Two: Ban all campaign contributions moving from the healthcare and insurance industries to the politicians.
Step Three: Actually, step three isn’t needed. Without health insurance or industry money, the politicians will fix the system virtually overnight. Even if we just eliminated the industry money, the politicians would do the right thing.
Sad, isn’t it? That the guys and gals that are paid by us actually work for them. But that’s the world we live in.
That’s the way it’s going to be until November and we throw out the old and bring in the new.
Yeah, some of the indestructible young bucks will be okay with the high deductible plans, at least until one of their kids is diagnosed with genetically contracted diabetes or something of the like. No amount of, what do they call it, personal responsibility and keeping fit, will protect them from this family tragedy.
Then they’ll want to convert to a standard policy, but it’ll be too late. It’s that “pre-existing disease” thingy we’ve been talking about.
It is what it is; live with it.
This just puzzles the hell out of me. We are all paying for everyone’s health care already. . . . in cost shifting, bankruptcy costs, and when businesses add their costs to the price of their product and we (even us old geezers) reimburse them at the cash register.
Why don’t we just pool everybody into one system and all share the costs in a forthright manner, and pay less dollars than we are paying today? And at the same time make our businesses more competitive with imports!
For the same amount of dollars we are spending on health care today, we could provide first class care to 100% of our population. We’d use the same private doctors, the same private hospitals and we’d have wait times no longer than we have today.
Under a single-payer universal healthcare system, no one would have to declare bankruptcy because of exhorbitant healthcare costs, where those costs are now borne by the rest of us.
Why are we spending more to avoid doing it the right way, than it would cost to do it right in the first place?
I know of no intelligent business leader that would design a system like today’s. But I do know of many politicians who would. What’s that tell you?

Source: http://moneyedpoliticians.wordpress.com/2008/05/19/three-steps-to-health-care-reform/

BAP at Chocolatefest

The Burlington Area Progressives had a successful run promoting progressive values at this year's chocolatefest. We would like to thank the Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Co. Democratic Parties for supporting this effort and the progressive candidates that spent some time at C-Fest and our booth including State Assembly candidates Doug Herrod (Dist. 32), Mike Orr (Dist. 66) and Larry Zamba (Dist 66), as well as Wisconsin 1st Congressional District Candidates Paulette Garin and Marge Krupp.

We also had information and literature provided for distribution by State Senator Robert Wirch (Dist. 22) and Linda Flashinski, candidate for State Assembly (Dist. 63)

Our presence was well received. We met people and handed out literature. To see the BAP literature that we posted and/or handed out please see the Chocolatefest 2008 file on our yahoo group, the link to which is under "Join the Discussion" on the left-hand side of this page. Photos of our booth will also be posted soon. We also registered 8 new voters!

The results of our presidential straw poll are as follows:

McCain 0

Clinton 8

Obama 8

Well it seems there's just no decisive result to be had in this regard (at least between the dems).

Thanks again to all who helped, stopped by or provided general encouragement. Particular thanks go out to Kay Collins-Schultz for meritorius service above and beyond the call. We couldn't have done it with out you!

BAP at C-Fest

If you're at C-Fest this weekend stop in, say hi and see our booth in cooperation with the Dems of Kenosha, Racine and Walworth Co.

Our booths looks great and it's awesome to see that finally the GOPsters don't have C-Fest to themselves anymore. In addition to Our booth, Assembly cadidates Larry Zamba and Mike Orr also have booths and other progressive candidates Marge Krupp (House) and Doug Harrod (Assembly) have alsp put in appearance with more expected. The GOP doesn't know what hit 'em!

We're registering voters , handing out literature and conducting a one dollar/vote presidential straw poll with proceeds going to BAP to defray the costs. So stike a blow (or $5) for your cadidate!

Have a great Holiday!

Bush Torturer-In-Chief

Well Bush has finally admitted that he is a war criminal. In discussing the use of torture by the U.S. government with ABC news recently http://abcnews.go.com/TheLaw/LawPolitics/Story?id=4635175&page=1 Bush stated "And yes, I'm aware our national security team met on this issue. And I approved." He was referring to Dick Cheney, Condolezza Rice, Donald Rumsfeldt, George Tenet, John Ashcroft and Colin Powel who met and authorized specific techniques for use on suspected terrorists, including water boarding.

Water boarding AKA the drowning torture, conceived by the Spanish Inquisition is used to repeatedly induce the sensation and terror of drowning. Since the U.S. prosecuted Japanese troops after WWII for war crimes for using this technique on our troops it is clearly a war crime and a form of torture as recognized the world over.Our founders held that certain truths were self evident, that all men, not all Americans, but ALL men are created equal and endowed by their creator with certain inalienable rights including due process and not to be subjected to cruel and inhuman punishment. George Bush has betrayed the very foundation of what America stands for in the world.

Furthermore, George Bush has asserted that as Commander-In-Chief of the armed forces during wartime he is above justice and the rule of law. This is a further betrayal of the Constitution and our founding. Do we want to confer these powers on Obama, Clinton, McCain or any other future executive? NO! If this principle is allowed to carry forward we are unlikely to ever see the end of wartime, as we will elect a series of dictators to four-year terms.

It’s time for our representative Paul Ryan and the rest of the House, to stop collaborating with the Torturer-In-Chief and clean up the moral cesspool that is the Bush Administration once and for all by bringing to bear impeachment and criminal proceedings against these perpetrators.

From Abu Grabh to Gitmo to the secret blacksites around the globe this President has betrayed American values and diminished our standing as a nation. This is self-evident, torture is evil! By any name, for any purpose, by anyone, to anyone, no ifs, ands or moral relativisms.

If the Executive can detain you secretly, indefinitely, without charge, recourse or due process, if he/she can torture you, extract testimony and use it against you in a tribunal, you are not free. You are merely at large at the executive’s discretion. The Bushites have done all of these things. It’s time to stand up for freedom and put the criminal George Bush behind bars where he belongs.

Return to Sender - Iraq Veteran Gets the Call Again

The following are snippets from a letter in the SF Chronicle Open Forum (emphasis mine)

Colby Buzzell
Thursday, May 8, 2008

"When I voluntarily enlisted in the Army, I remember asking my recruiter about the fine print on the contract about being called back up to active duty once my enlistment was completed. He assured me not to worry, that every contract said that and it would only happen if "World War III" broke out."

"On way out of my building two weeks ago, I checked my mailbox and found a letter from the Department of the Army with "Important Document" printed in all caps on the middle. I immediately felt sick, so I went back to my room, locked the door, grabbed a beer from the fridge and stared out my window for a while. People outside were all wearing sunglasses and walking about enjoying the sun. I took a picture."

"Looking back, would I have joined the military if I were doing something that I loved? Or had a job that paid $100,000 a year? Probably not. Those are the men and women I feel that we need to mail these letters to. Let's see what happens when they receive letters telling them to put on a uniform and ship out immediately to the front lines in Iraq and Afghanistan."

Read the rest of his letter and get the link to where he blogs here.

Faith groups mount campaign against torture

They're protesting Bush administration policies. But polls show Americans are split on the issue.
By Jane Lampman Staff writer of The Christian Science Monitor
from the May 8, 2008 edition
As Congress and the Bush administration skirmish over still-secret interrogation techniques, American faith communities are mounting a national campaign to prohibit torture and cruel and inhumane treatment of US-held detainees.
More than 175 religious organizations have joined the National Religious Campaign Against Torture (NRCAT). Their aim is to build a moral consensus among Americans on the issue and to bring government policies in line with US law and international norms.
"Religions of the world do agree on basic tenets about how people should treat each other because of the dignity of the human person," says the Rev. Richard Killmer, executive director. The group involves mainline and evangelical Protestant, Catholic, Orthodox, Jewish, Muslim, Sikh, and other members.
The campaign has its work cut out for it. Polls since 2001 show great divergence and ambivalence in public attitudes toward the interrogation and treatment of alleged terrorists. And Congress so far has not convinced the administration to change course.
NRCAT worked for congressional passage of the 2008 intelligence bill, which required the Central Intelligence Agency and other agencies to conform to the Army Field Manual in their interrogations. The manual, revised in 2006 after the abuse scandal at Abu Ghraib prison in Iraq, prohibits the use of waterboarding (simulated drowning), military dogs, beatings, and electric shocks, among other techniques.
Rest of story here

Scumbag Scalia

Scumbag Scalia says that torture is not cruel and unusual punishment. Here we have a reactivist judge twisting words and using pretzel logic that is easily undone. Scalia is struggling to arrive at a predetermined conclusion regarding our Constitution that the founder would have never endorsed, to excuse the actions of our Torturer-In-Chief and to take us back to a time when the executive could do as he please with his subjects.

The Scumbag Scalia’s argument turns on his ludicrous conclusion that torture is not “punishment” but merely an attempt to extract information. Scalia in making this lead asks; “What’s he punishing you for?”

My simple and completely obvious reply is that you are being PUNISHED for not divulging information that your torturer believes you may have and that he believes he is entitled to. Logical? DUH!

It is absolutely pathetic that this is the caliber of man who wraps himself in the robes of justice and has sworn to protect our Constitution. This shows that for Scalia the end justifies the means when it comes to executive power and that his proclaimed originalist interpretation of our Constitution is just a sham.

Below is Scalia’s stuttering defense of his medieval beliefs in an interview with Leslie Stahl on CBS’s 60 minutes. http://www.cbsnews.com/stories/2008/04/24/60minutes/main4040290_page4.shtml

Oh and by the way, his final conclusion that “Anyway, that’s my view. And it happens to be correct.” Is also ridiculous.

The justice has been explaining his positions publicly more and more, and even delving into some thorny issues, like torture. "I don't like torture," Scalia says. "Although defining it is going to be a nice trick. But who's in favor of it? Nobody. And we have a law against torture. But if the - everything that is hateful and odious is not covered by some provision of the Constitution," he says.

"If someone's in custody, as in Abu Ghraib, and they are brutalized by a law enforcement person, if you listen to the expression 'cruel and unusual punishment,' doesn't that apply?" Stahl asks.

"No, No," Scalia replies. "Cruel and unusual punishment?" Stahl asks.

"To the contrary," Scalia says. "Has anybody ever referred to torture as punishment? I don't think so."

"Well, I think if you are in custody, and you have a policeman who's taken you into custody…," Stahl says.

"And you say he's punishing you?" Scalia asks.

"Sure," Stahl replies.

"What's he punishing you for? You punish somebody…," Scalia says.

"Well because he assumes you, one, either committed a crime…or that you know something that he wants to know," Stahl says.

"It's the latter. And when he's hurting you in order to get information from you…you don’t say he's punishing you. What’s he punishing you for? He's trying to extract…," Scalia says.

"Because he thinks you are a terrorist and he's going to beat the you-know-what out of you…," Stahl replies.

"Anyway, that’s my view," Scalia says. "And it happens to be correct."

The Blog Is Back

After a prolonged sleep, the Burlington Area Progressives blog is active again. In fact, the blog will now be the main venue for sharing information and opinions related to BAP. The BAP Yahoo group will continue, and probably continue to be a lively forum for debate among group members, both progressive and otherwise. Check the bottom of the page to subscribe to this blog. Thanks for dropping by!

Healthy Wisconsin

Recently I had the pleasure of hearing State Senators Jon Erpenbach and Robert Wirch give presentations on the Healthy Wisconsin Bill to the Burlington Area Chamber of Commerce and the Burlington Area Progressives, respectively.

Healthy Wisconsin (HW) is not socialized medicine. HW will create a pool of all working Wisconsinites to buy the same private health insurance our legislators enjoy, saving $1.76 BILLION per year and slowing the increase in medical costs. HW will cover the 600,000 of our fellow citizens, including many children, farmers and small business people who have no health coverage. The more than 10,000 family bankruptcies per year due to medical expenses will be eliminated, ceasing the endless parade of feel-good but ineffective tavern fundraiser band-aids.

Our citizens will be able to choose their own doctor and have prescription, physician, hospital and mental health coverage, because the brain is an organ too. Pre-existing conditions that make benefit slaves out of workers will no longer exist and health coverage will be portable. Doctors will be able to practice their craft rather than doing paperwork and fighting insurance companies. Preventive care will be encouraged and emergency rooms will cease to be the health care source of last resort for the uninsured, which we all pay for. Businesses will be attracted to Wisconsin and will be more competitive globally. People will not come to Wisconsin just for HW because you need to have a job to be covered. For more information visit www.healthywisconsin.net.

At the Chamber, State Assembly members Robin Vos and Samantha Kerkman, in denial of the fact that we have a health care crisis tried unsuccessfully to attack HW and defend the status quo that is preferred by the insurance and health industry lobbyists they represent. Mr. Vos made the argument that with healthcare costs anticipated to rise 6% per year under HW and working people’s pay barely keeping pace with inflation at 3% per year, something would have to give with respect to the payroll based funding. This is a potentially logical argument until you consider the rest of the truth, that without HW medical expenses are predicted to rise at over 10% per year, doubling in a decade, thus making his point meaningless as the ship sinks twice as fast.

Ms. Kerkman discussed the fact that during her recent difficult pregnancy she had to drive to Kenosha for medical services, making one wonder what her point was with respect to the bill and what she would do if she lacked coverage like roughly 10% of her constituents. The only solution offered by the Republicans are expensive health savings accounts (HSAs). But with median family income at $42,000 average Wisconsinites just can’t afford HSAs and will remain without coverage, demonstrating the intellectual and moral bankruptcy of GOP.
It’s time to use OUR government to promote progress in making the private sector work efficiently for the citizens of Wisconsin. If Vos and Kerkman are opposed to citizens having the same health coverage that they do, perhaps they should forego that coverage and turn to the golden bull of the supposed “free” market that they worship so dutifully and see how they fare. Come on in ya’ll, the water’s cold!

Burlington Area Progressives

Bu$h et al think it's irresponsible for Americans to want to know how they used the intelligence leading up to the war on Iraq, as was promised. Me thinks they doth protest too much.

People forget that there were WMD inspectors on the ground in Iraq for several months before the invasion and they weren't find anything (despite bu$h's later statement that Saddam wouldn't let the inspectors in and so we had to invade, which is a lie). If Rumsfeldt knew exactly where the WMDS were as he stated presumably he would have directed the inspectors to those locations. But since they were cooking the intelligence to get the war they wanted from day one of this administration and before, they couldn't do that because the inspectors would have found nothing, harming their hidden agenda.

Similarly, when Powell went to the UN, two of his most compelling points were the aerial photographs of the mobile chemical weapons trailers and the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq. The WMD trailers were described as being in central Iraq. Everybody knows we had total aerial dominance. So why would these photographed trailers not be traced and why weren't the weapons inspectors directed to their locations? The answer is obvious. The trailers turned out to be producing hydrogen for weather balloons despite the artist renderings that Powell produced at the time. Hardly cause to justify their war.

Furthermore the location of the terrorist training camp in northeastern Iraq was beyond Saddam's control in the independent Kurdish north. So the administration's use of this camp to link Saddam to his Al Qiada enemies is another obvious cooked intel lie. By the way, since the Kurds were our allies and we had aerial dominance of the entire country, it begs the question of why was this terrorist camp allowed to remain operating unmolested when we could have easily taken it out.

And these are just small pieces of a string of lies and misinformation that betrayed the trust of the American people and violated the democratic principle of informed consent. Their lies are coming home to roost. Reality can be denied only so long. They're starting to get a little of what they deserve. It's such a same that so many others have paid so high a cost for their crimes.

It's a shame. If people and the press would only have been paying better attention at that time and engaging their skepticism and critical thinking skills, we might have avoided this cooked up disaster, instead of waiting until now to wake up see the truth. Unfortunately, ignorance/apathy, which are two sides of the same coin, is by far the greatest problem facing our democracy and the root cause of most, if not all of the other problems we're facing.

Getting to the bottom of torture

One more thought to those GOP senators who want to get to the bottom of leaks:

It is vastly more important to put an end to torture in the name of the United States (and find out who's at the bottom/top of that policy) than it is to be concerned with who leaked the existence of the CIA's European hostile-hostels.

Save your rage for those who deserve it--the ones who've undermined what America's stood for far longer than the Republican Revolution.....

Steven Schend

On the elections this week

Listening to the morning natter on the radio driving in today and I came to this conclusion: It was not a victory for the Democrats so much as a failure by the Republicans.

If the Democratic Party lauds itself on the governors' wins in NJ and VA, they're kidding themselves. They were not an organized concern that helped defeat the GOP contenders. What happened on Thursday was two things: A) the voters are fed up with business as usual under the GOP, and B) The GOP failed to do its usual fear tactics to scare people into voting for them.

Me, I'm just glad that Kilgore in Virginia didn't get in, after sending out bogus Democratic/Progressive voting packets (paid for directly by his campaign committee) that urged voters to vote for the independent candidate, not Tim Kaine. Sigh....

If the Dems start thinking they're going to have an easy time taking back the Congress at mid-terms, they're only fooling themselves. They can take advantage of the weakening of the GOP bulwarks, as dissension among the ranks has started to show the GOP as three true parties--the fiscal, social, and religious conservatives--none of whom really agree with the others but have lock-stepped together for years in their mutual hatred of the Clintons.

Me, I just wish the Democrats could find a way to A) produce a consistent message, as opposed to the poll-driven mush-mouthed pablum they've spouted in hopes of never offending or challenging anyone; B) be the opposition party they should've been the past 5 years (and only Harry Reid, Russ Feingold, and scarce others really step up to the plate there); and C) realize they're not going to take the White House in 2008 unless they nominate a governor or someone who never had to vote on going to war in Iraq.

Anyone who gets up now in opposition to the war because it's now popular to be so is doomed by hypocrisy, and I don't care to hear the rationalizations. If you voted for it, you can't claim to have always been against it. And you undermine yourself even more if you whine about how the administration deceived you with bad intel; YOU are responsible for putting such power in their hands because YOU didn't do your job and investigate or even question the rightness of the actions. You ate up the trough of fear they fixed for you, and we're all paying for that.

If the Congress is starting to rethink the fixing of intel and how we got into Iraq, when's anyone other than Feingold really going to start asking the same questions on whether or not we were rooked into other bad decisions like the hypocritically named Patriot Act?

Steven Schend

Vos On Concealed Carry

I sent this letter to Robin Vos yesterday, urging him to reconsider his stand on Concealed Carry. I'd emailed him previously about the issue, not realizing he was a sponsor. He left a message on my answering machine, stating his position and some reasons. This was my response.

***

Dear Robin –

When we met at the Racine county fair, you indicated to me that you were more a moderate than a “party line” Republican in your opinions and voting habits. Yet, every issue I’ve contacted you on seems to indicate the reverse. Take the issue I recently contacted you on, the “Concealed Carry” proposal.

You are for the Concealed Carry bill. You even indicated that you are one of the sponsors of it.

This is not a moderate position. This is not something that a majority of Wisconsinites, or even the people in your own district, want. This is a position championed by a set of special interests that do not represent the majority of the people.

Additionally, this bill does not meet the “Where’s the need?” criteria. We need more affordable health care. We need a better environment. We need to make sure that people can earn a living for their families. Where’s the need for carrying concealed weapons?

On the whole, Wisconsin is a very safe state to live in. There are no unbiased studies that suggest that adding concealed handguns will make Wisconsin safer.

In your call to me, you cited some statistics. If I remember correctly, the point of them seemed to be that of the 45 (!) states that allow concealed carry permits, some or perhaps all of them have a lesser “gun violence” (or perhaps it was “crime”) rate than Milwaukee or Racine.

Robin, from what I’ve seen, you’re a fairly smart man. Clearly smart enough to know that this is a “weasel statistic.” That is, it’s a statistic that draws a conclusion by comparing two things that are not actually comparable.

A more reasonable statistic would be to compare the violence/crime rates in the major cities in those states to the major cities in ours, or to compare the violence/crime rates in the states overall to those in our state overall. Or, even, to compare the crime rates (and gun violence rates) in those major cities before and after the concealed carry laws were passed.

By your very use of these kind of phony statistics, you’re telling us that you know your argument to be false.

If statistics are a reason to enact gun laws – and I’m not sure they are – then, again, I will cite the case of Japan.

In Japan, it is nearly impossible to own a gun; Japan has virtually no gun violence.

If our aim is to reduce gun violence, clearly the Japanese model is the one to immitate – rather than adding more guns to an already violent American mix.

Last Friday, my wife and children went to the Racine/Burlington football game. When they got home, I was horrified to hear that there had been a shooting after the game. My family was close enough to that shooting to clearly hear the shots. That’s far closer than I ever want anyone to be.

Burlington is a safer place to live than some parts of Racine. Do you really think it is because we have more guns in Burlington? (As opposed to having less poverty, drugs, and crime in general?)

Do you really think that someone in that football crowd having a legally concealed gun would have made the situation SAFER?

No.

Guns are not the answer. More guns in the mix produce more violence.

A registered gun in the parking lot after that game could ONLY have resulted in more shooting – and more potential for loss of innocent life.

If, as you say, you believe that having more guns, concealed guns, would be safe because of a required course or series of gun handling courses, then why not require such courses of ALL gun owners?

If you are honest with yourself, you’ll have to admit that the reasons you’ve given for having a concealed carry law do not hold up to careful scrutiny.

Please, reconsider your position.

Thank you.

-- Steve Sullivan

Feeling a bit rebellious....

Sigh...I'm numb about the Gulf Coast, as it's a catastrophe worthy of all nuances of that word. I'm angry as hell at the lack of leadership on nearly all levels...save for those souls who did something (and are now threatened with arrest for trying to save people)...

To quote another angry fellow a few years back with a beef against a corrupt, indulgently rich, ignorant, and morally deficit leadership....

"When in the Course of human events it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another and to assume among the powers of the earth, the separate and equal station to which the Laws of Nature and of Nature's God entitle them, a decent respect to the opinions of mankind requires that they should declare the causes which impel them to the separation."

You have failed us with spectacularly tragic consequences.

You claim to be a leader, but avoid actually having contact with those you claim to lead (unless they agree with you 110% and have signed a loyalty oath).

You have shown callous disregard for anyone not of your skin color or earning level.

You and your administration seem more concerned with your image and polling than your citizens. By all means, fly across the country for one tragic story you can use for political means (Terry Schiavo) but remain at the ranch for a few days while thousands die of neglect from a hurricane.

No, you're not to blame for the hurricane. You ARE to blame for gutting the budgets of those systems that might have lessened the damage. You ARE to blame for removing the budgets and manpower from the National Guard to Iraq, rather than having their help now. You ARE to blame for putting hopelessly incompetent and unqualified people in charge of both Homeland Security and FEMA. And, last but not least, you ARE to blame for Karl Rove's latest bald-faced lie--that the governor of Louisiana "didn't ask for help or declare a state of emergency." (Thankfully, enough people noticed that she'd declared it as such and asked for federal aid on August 26, not days later as "Turd Blossom" would have us believe.)

(While I'm mentioning her, the governor's showing leadership by hiring the FORMER and QUALIFIED director of FEMA under Clinton to help rebuild Louisiana; you're patting your guy on the back while he's obviously failed in every way to do his job. Guess he's next in line for a Medal of Freedom like George Tenet, another guy whose 9/11 intelligence failures got him the nation's highest civilian honor?)

You lied to us to get two wars, which have only destabilized the world rather than made it safer. The only people better off than they were four years ago are employees of Halliburton, their stock shares forever safe, regardless of how many episodes of false charges and corruption pop up.

Your only successes come in lies and graft to your political cronies.

Your only truths are when you are "off script," and your spin doctors spend weeks throwing lies atop it to explain what you really meant, when we all heard you loud and clear the first time.

"Now is not the time for finger-pointing," because all the fingers point at you and yours and the failures that cannot be denied.

Thousands are dead, at home and abroad, thanks to your failures as a leader, as a president, and as a man.

Where's your Mission Accomplished banner now, Mr. Bush? If your true purpose was to create an oligarchal society where the rich ignore the plight of the poor and blame them for not having the means by which to save themselves, it's drapped all across the southern border on the Gulf.

Despite using Jefferson to open this screed, no, I'm not fomenting war or secession or open rebellion.

I believe there are enough good people, thinking people, caring people, who can save this country from you and your sociopathic oligarchs. We owe it as a true testament to people who gave their lives protecting our country as far back as the 18th century.

I think no amount of spin can bury your administration's lies of the past week, even with a flaccid White House press corps such as we have at present. Thankfully, the press has a few members finally uttering truths and letting themselves get angry and confronting the lies ON CAMERA during the hurricane aftermath coverage.

Misters Bush, Cheney, and all your ilk--stand notice. This country is mad as hell with you and
it's not going to take it any more.

Now is our time to take back our country by showing that we care more for our neighbors and our friends than our so-called leaders.

We want a United States, not Red/Blue States and a constant state of friction.

We want intelligent debate AND leadership that benefits a majority of citizens, not a fat-cat minority deciding what's news and what's "the bias of the liberal media."

One thing that can't be spun or ignored (but apparently it has been forgotten): Liberals formed this country's ideals, not people preaching the status quo or staying the course. Liberals shed the first blood shed for this country, not those wanting to protect their fiscal interests.

Forseeable Disaster - Forseeable Bungling

Where to start with Hurricane Katrina? Well, start by clicking the link on the right of this blog and contributing to the Red Cross -- or contribute to another relief agency of your own choosing.

After that, stop listening to the lies foisted on you by the government and corporate controlled media.

Recently, President Bush told us that no one could have forseen this.

That may be true for him -- but the rest of us might care to read the reports and recommendations of our own agencies, including the 2001 one from FEMA which predicted EXACTLY this disaster. Or maybe this article, from the same year:

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?chanID=sa006&articleID=00060286-CB58-1315-8B5883414B7F0000

(Hopefully, that link works. If not, go to the root and search for New Orleans flood.)

Air America Radio, and particularly Rachel Maddow (filling in for Al Franken) have done good coverage of the flood and the bungling that has followed (and preceeded) it.

http://www.airamericaradio.com

Check that out, and you can also click through to the passionate speech by the Mayor of New Orleans.

Bush, apparently, agrees that his administration has bungled the relief effort:

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/4208986.stm

And, of course, we all know where he was while this disaster was in progress -- vacation and making political speeches and, if you can believe it, strumming guitar while New Orleans flodded.

Is it any wonder things are going badly?

Anyone who's seen how they've handled the aftermath of the Iraq war could have predicted this bungling. The money and human resources (including the National Guard) that could be rushing to the striken South are, instead, in Iraq.

Will this disaster, the war fiasco, and $3/gallon gasoline be enough to bring this neglectful, corrupt administration toppling down?

Has the true, evil face of the rich, greedy, and well connected finally revealed its face for all to see? Consider this, amid the thousands of homeless, Bush is promising his friend and political supporter Trent Lott a new home (to replace the lavish one he lost) with a new front porch that both of them can sit on.

Let's send them both there now.

It's time to get rid of these greedy incompetents.

Let's throw the whole lot of them out of office.

America can do better.

But only with better leadership. Leadership that's interested in more than lining their own pockets (and those of their friends) and getting re-elected.

Rise up, America!

-- SDS

Upcoming Speakers

ED GARVEY from Fighting Bob Fest
September 28, 7 PM
Topic: Recapturing our democracy from political corruption

DARCY HABER from Wisconsin Citizens Action
October 20, 7 PM
Topic: Changing unfair practices at companies like Walmart.

BILLY FEITLINGER from Wisconsin Alliance for Retired Americans
November 17, 7 PM
Topic: Social Security

DAVE BERKMAN from Wisconsin Public Radio
January 19th, 2006, 7 PM
Topic: How the Mainstream Media have Reported-- and Misreported-- the War

All speakers will be at the CATHE center (current and soon-to-be former United Methodist Church) , one block west of the Post Office -- 125 E. State St. Burlington, WI 53139