March 2011
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Watchhow the midwest was won.
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Update from Wisco
The Madison Fire Department has issued a statement saying the whole welding-of-the-windows thing isn’t true.
In other news, Senator Scott Fitzgerald (of the Family Fitzgerald) made a motion to cut off the copy privileges of the Democratic Senators’ staffers. Yes, you read that correctly; he wants to deactivate the codes staffers use for the copy machines, (so… they’ll...
February 2011
64 posts
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Scotty's Trouble Telling the Truth
When I first learned that One Wisconsin Now filed an open records request for all communication between Koch lobbyists and Walker&Co., this is the first thing that came to mind.
Most people blew off that article at the time because a) Holloway’s transition to County Exec was a mess anyway and b) despite plenty of evidence to suggest his shadiness, apparently it wasn’t well-enough...
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50 Photos from Rallies Throughout the Country
Check them out here.
This Wisconsinite is profoundly grateful for the show of support. Thank you. So much.
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Scott Walker's Unprincipled Rigidity
Recommended reading: Dana Milbank’s column
Of course, Washington knows all about tribalism, as both sides giddily await a possible shutdown of the government. But Walker’s excesses show where this leads. It leads to hypocrisy: He called President Obama’s health-care reform an “unprecedented power grab,” but once in office he launched his own grab by attempting to...
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Recalling Alberta Darling
If elected officials are going to legislate against the will and the best interest of their constituents, they should be held accountable. Although Scotty can’t be recalled yet, Republican Senator Alberta Darling can. Darling chairs the Joint Finance Committee and has been an outspoken advocate for Scott Walker’s “budget repair” bill. The Shepherd Express has a great...
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Today’s recommended reading: Disability Rights Advocates Protest at WI. GOP Headquarters
It is small as protests go these days in Madison. A line of advocates, activists, and people with disabilities, some in wheelchairs, maneuvers its way through the slush Thursday, past honking horns and over puddles, from Capitol Square to a squat, nondescript office building at 149 E. Johnson....
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AP: "Republicans in the Wisconsin Assembly took... →
stfuconservatives:
I can hardly fucking believe the sliminess of this:
This shit goes beyond party lines, this goes beyond pro-union anti-union, this is not democracy. How dare they open and close the rolls before Democrats even have a chance to vote.
“Hey do you want to strip unions of their right to collectively bargain?”
“Well actually n-.”
“Too late! The vote is closed.”
I’m shaking...
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Exploiting a Crisis for Fun & Profit
Today’s must read: Paul Krugman
…right-wing ideologues have exploited crises to push through an agenda that has nothing to do with resolving those crises, and everything to do with imposing their vision of a harsher, more unequal, less democratic society…
What’s happening in Wisconsin is… an attempt to exploit the fiscal crisis to destroy the last major counterweight to...
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WI Assembly Passes Walker Budget →
Speechless.
hoitycoity:
This is not the Senate vote, the Dems are still in hiding. But it wasn’t without craptastic drama:
After much buildup in the 61-hour debate — of Republicans wanting things to be over, and Democrats railing against Republicans who they said would cut off debate — at about 1 AM Speaker Pro Tempore Bill Kramer (R) announced that he would hear a voice vote for a roll call...
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Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Rasmussen, & Fox
Why does the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the largest paper in the state of Wisconsin, insist on presenting data from Rasmussen as if it were factual? Rasmussen has been widely discredited for using shotty methods of data collection. In particular, the recent poll regarding Wisconsin would not have passed Statistics 101. Continuing to publish bad data from an unreliable source costs the paper...
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Scott Walker Understands Power: Voter ID Bill in...
Ezra Klein wrote a must-read piece on the proposed voter ID law.
Thought Scott Walker’s effort to reshape the balance of power in Wisconsin began and ended with his initiative to yank collective-bargaining rights away from public-employee unions? Think again.
I really encourage you to read this. If this passes, Wisconsin will have the most restrictive voter ID requirement in the...
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Decoding the Wisconsin Polls →
Great piece by Nate Silver on making sense of the Wisconsin polls (linked above).
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Walker's Office Confirms Call
Well, this is awkward, Walker.
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The King's Speech
I can’t even comment on Scotty’s fireside chat, except to say that it was painfully awkward and I’d rather not relive even one second of that weirdness.
In other news: Scotty lied during a press conference yesterday. Is anyone even remotely surprised at this point that he’s lying? Anyone?
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“Mr. Walker has rejected union concessions and won’t even negotiate. His true...”
– -The New York Times. “Spreading Anti-Union Agenda”
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Fun Facts: Voter ID Bill in Wisconsin
Today, Republican members of a state Senate committee approved a bill that, if it becomes law, will require Wisconsin voters to show ID at the polls. Here are a few fun facts about this bill:
If the bill passes, Wisconsin would have the most restrictive photo ID requirement in the country;
Only 3 types of ID would be allowed: Wisconsin drivers licenses, Wisconsin IDs issued by the Department of...
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“In the course of our work we have never found any evidence to support...”
– John Chisholm, Milwaukee County District Attorney, regarding the idea that widespread voter fraud is the true motivation behind the voter ID legislation.
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Koch Brothers open lobbying office in downtown... →
Charles and David Koch, who co-own Koch Industries Inc. and whose combined worth is estimated at $43 billion, have been recently tied by many media outlets to Walker’s push to eliminate collective bargaining rights for public workers. The two have long backed conservative causes and groups including Americans for Prosperity, which organized the tea party rally Saturday in support of Walker’s...
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Voter ID Legislation
Stay informed about the voter id bill presented by Wisconsin Republicans. Such bills have historically been used to make it more difficult for people to vote, a move which not only suppresses democracy, but one that often targets the most vulnerable people in society, as well. Not surprisingly, one of the Wisconsin representatives jamming this bill through advancing this bill is Republican Jeff...
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WatchYes! Rachel does it again.
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"Rasmussen Should Probably Just Drop the Pretense... →
I am secretly a nerd for statistics. I am especially in love with fivethirtyeight so I’ve been trying to keep an eye Nate Silver’s reaction to Wisconsin-related polls as of late. Check out his latest post, linked above. Results from Rasmussen’s recent poll should be disregarded and… Nate Silver straight up wrote that their work should be viewed with “extreme...
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The Wisconsin 14 are in good company: Lincoln!
Lovely little piece from LincolnDuncan on DailyKos.
It provides good perspective on the history of walkouts to avoid quorum. Learn something new everyday!
