May 2011
53 posts
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“This ghastly voter suppression legislation saves no money, creates no jobs,...”
– Mike Tate, Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, on the voter ID bill passed by Wisconsin Republican Senators in a 19-5 vote today.
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Republicans Decimate Family Planning Programs in...
Today, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee passed a budget amendment that will have devastating repercussions for Wisconsinites.
Eliminated: Wisconsin’s only women’s health and family planning program
Eliminated: Access to BadgerCare Family Planning program for men
Reduced: Medicaid funding. By $500 million. With no specification about which programs will be cut.
You can...
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Ron Johnson Sides with Big Oil
Yesterday, Republican Ron Johnson voted against a bill that would repeal $2 billion per year in tax breaks for the five biggest oil companies, which isn’t surprising considering his funding sources. Does Mr. Johnson still own stock in BP? That was a campaign issue that I don’t recall ever being resolved one way or another.
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Tommy Thompson Claims He'll Run For Senate →
linked above.
Unlike Paul Ryan, Tommy Thompson has said he’ll run for Kohl’s senate seat. This is not exactly newsworthy, though, since he pulls this stunt a lot. He’s like the Brett Favre of politics (minus the creepy texts) in that he loves to play the “will he or won’t he?” game with the media.
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Planned Parenthood has asked for help
…so I’m spreading the word. Wisconsin’s Joint Finance Committee votes tomorrow on budget issues that will have a major impact on reproductive health in Wisconsin. Walker’s budget:
Eliminates the state’s only women’s health and family planning program
Kicks men out of the BadgerCare Family Planning program
Reduces Medicaid funding by $500 million
What can...
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Wisconsin Bill to Eliminate Regulation of Drinking... →
linked above.
Wisconsin Republicans adore government interference with local laws and schools (bonus points for targeting public schools in Milwaukee!). They think government should be able to pick & choose which citizens are allowed to visit loved ones in the hospital. Hell, they even want to further the need for government-issued IDs.
But when it comes to regulations for clean drinking...
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Paul Ryan Won't Be Running for Kohl's Senate Seat →
linked above.
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Scott Walker Asserts That Wisconsin's Domestic...
Scott Walker is seeking to stop hospital visitation rights for same-sex couples.
Gov. Scott Walker believes a new law that gives gay couples hospital visitation rights violates the state constitution and has asked a judge to allow the state to stop defending it.
Democrats who controlled the Legislature in 2009 changed the law so that same-sex couples could sign up for domestic partnership...
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The New Activists →
linked above.
To hear Republicans tell it, the protests against Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposals have been organized by “union thugs.” Professional troublemakers from big labor are pulling the strings to advance their self-serving agenda. In reality, many of the activists are ordinary citizens suddenly politicized by Walker’s approach. With no experience serving as...
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Bob Dylan Responds to Maureen Dowd & Co.
Or: Reason #115 why somebody needs to be fact-checking Maureen Dowd’s columns.
Bob Dylan responded to allegations by Dowd and others that he censored his lyrics to comply with demands from the Chinese government. The last paragraph is especially hilarious. From Dylan’s website:
As far as censorship goes, the Chinese government had asked for the names of the songs that I would be...
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Capitol Police Report Describes Drunken Republican...
Among the police reports from the capitol protests is this gem describing a drunken Republican staffer.
On Feb. 19 a state trooper responded to a report of an “intoxicated subject” and found a staffer for Rep. Joan Ballweg, R-Markesan, sitting on a bench. When approached, a deeply besotted Jonathan Pollitt informed the cops that he’d locked his “f—-ing keys”...
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“I’m proud to vote for a faculty union at UWGB. As we have seen this past year...”
– Aeron Hayne, Associate Professor of English & Humanities at the University of Wisconsin - Green Bay. UWGB faculty voted 117 to 2 to unionize and affiliate with the American Federation of Teachers-Wisconsin. Turnout in the election was 71 percent.
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“Even though I continue to love this job, I have decided that the time has come...”
– Democratic Senator Herb Kohl, announcing his plans to retire. He is the sixth senator from the Democratic caucus to announce he won’t be seeking re-election.
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Wisconsin Secretary of Workforce Development... →
linked above.
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