WI Court recount over, Prosser wins: What now?

The "Immaculate Election" is complete. With the recount now over for the Supreme Court race, it appears David Prosser retains his seat over off-the-charts-underdog JoAnne Kloppenburg whose 200-vote, April 5, election-day victory miraculously turned into a 7,316-vote deficit because one-time Prosser aide and current Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus forgot--she forgot!--to count some 14,000 votes from heavily Republicanized Brookfield in Waukesha County (previous post here).  And, amazingly, it just happened to benefit Prosser, the candidate in this non-partisan post that the Walker administration brazenly said would best help advance its agenda.

Although Kloppenburg gained only 306 votes during the recount, the far greater impact was that of restoring faith in the state's election system and its officials.  Kloppenburg said in her statement at the time of the recount request, "We must restore trust and confidence in the integrity of this and future elections."

So, what happens now?  Does Kloppenburg go to court to challenge the recount?  Her camp isn't saying.  Blogger Cieran (writng at the Daily Kos), however, tracked nearly 5,000 votes that were suspicious due to things such as improperly sealed or registered ballot bags, so it appears there could at least be a possibility of some tainted ballots.  In the Journal Sentinel, however, former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske implied that kind of challenge would be a very tough battle.

If, on the other hand, there is evidence of something more sinister, shall we say, either behind the handling of ballots by Nickolaus or courtesy of some other improprieties, things could get interesting.

To be honest, though, even without a smoking cannon here, the more this stays in the headlines, the more energized the anti-Walker base will be as recall elections come this July. And if this lasts beyond August 1 (when the next Justice term is slated to start), there will be a vacant seat if the collective bargaining bill then comes before the Court, which could lead to a 3-3 tie, in which case, the Journal Sentinel reports, "a lower court might have the last word."

The recount may be over, but the excitement may have just begun.

Photo of Kloppenburg from timesunion.com

Sen. Taylor's incredible speech on WI's voter ID/suppression bill

Senator Lena Taylor (D-Milw) gave a speech for the ages on the Senate floor today regarding that which the Republicans passed as Voter ID.  Taylor hearkened back to Wisconsin laws barring voting supression as far back as 1849, and her very emphatic points include a passion and a real grasp for the truth behind this heinous Republican bill: to disinfranchise voters, especially minorities and the poor  (read an earlier post here). 

Republicans set an unbelievable and unconscionable one-hour limit for debate on the issue.   They were also met with cries from the public of "Shame! Shame! Shame!" as they left the chamber, something, quite sadly,  they must be getting incredibly used to by now.  Eight Democrats refused to vote, and that bastion of democracy, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau), reassured the people of Wisconsin that he was "confident the photo ID requirement was constitutional," something he, too, has gotten incredibly used to saying as of late in defending the underhanded politcs of his party (check out today's proceedings in the full  JS Online article by Patrick Marley).

And many thanks to Stacy B. who tipped me off on "another mind-blowing speech by Lena Taylor."

WI GOP moves: Change of heart, calculated, or scared?

Are state GOP "breaks" with parts of Walker's agenda the result of a change of heart and ideology (a break from the wealthy rule of plutocracy), or are they a calculated move (ask for a whole lot more, so merely a lot more doesn't seem so bad), or are such moves a response because Republicans are scared from the real threat of losing recall elections?

An unexpected $636 million windfall from tax revenue has helped shed more light on the true motives of the GOP.

We can rule out the first, it's no change of heart--the entire Republican legislature sided with Walker with no reservations for virtually the last few months.  Given the chance to use the $636 million to reduce the cuts, Walker and his legislators immediately said (and I'm paraphrasing here), "Not gonna happen."

How about the second option? Remember not too long ago when oil companies jacked gas prices way past $3, so all of the sudden, $2.50 didn't seem so bad?  Maybe Walker asked for these cuts (such as SeniorCare, BadgerCare, education, recycling, farmland preservation, local governments, mass transit, for example), so when he'd have his loyal legislative minions request some restorations, they assumed people would say, "Thank goodness they restored that...Maybe they're not so bad, after all, those Republicans, hey?"

But it's obviously disingenuous.

The Walker regime can pass--and has shown it will pass--whatever law it wants, no matter what the public says (witness 100,000 people protesting at the capitol against "budget repair," and the illegal--or at least unethical--way it was pushed through the Assembly).  Walker and his pals have shown time and again they don't give a crap about anything except appeasing big business and dismantling the Democrat base (witness Voter ID  and union-busting).

So, that leaves us with door number three.  Successful recall elections are a very real possibility--ones that could turn the Senate and eventually turn out the Governor.  So, now, out of nowhere, Republicans say the $636 million should be used to reduce some cuts, even in--you've gotta be kidding me--education, the institution they've virtually accused of sucking the state taxpayers dry (witness Fond du Lac's recall-bound Senator Randy Hopper now pleading for restoring education funds).  Somewhere, one of the Republican think tank (a very shallow tank, to be sure) said, "Um, you know what?  If we all get voted out of office, those dirty scheming Democrats are going to cheat by trying to change the rules we set up.  Maybe we should throw them a bone to get them off our tails." 

And that bone right now is in the form of SeniorCare and recycling, among others.  Although I am very happy these cuts look as though they will be reduced, I, for one, (and now one of a not-so-silent majority) am going to do whatever I can to make sure we stay on their tails until democracy, and not plutocracy, once again governs our state.

Finally! Wisconsin gets some positive coverage in national media

Don Gorske of Fond du Lac was celebrated because tonight he ate his 25,000th Big Mac! The first day for his obsession was also May 17--in 1972--when he ate nine of the double decker burgers.  Now, maybe finally we can get Scott Walker and the Republicans off the front page. 
Thanks to the AP article in the Washington Post and to the FdL Reporter.  Photo at right is of Gorske's 18,000th Big Mac, from an unknown few years ago.

Brief Newt in WI update: still on for Wed.

Former Speaker and current presidential candidate Newt Gingrich is still slated to host an "open house" near LaCrosse tomorrow night (Wed.) at 6:30 PM, according to a spokesperson this evening from Drugan's Castle Mound Country Club in Holmen , where Gingrich will appear in the "Grand Norway Area."  The event is open to the public, and while it appears there will be no speech, there will likely be opportunity to meet and greet the former Speaker.  Oh, it will also include a cash bar and appetizers (although it was unclear whether or not the appetizers will be free--most likely with public workers having to pay their fair share).

Gingrich is in the midst of a primarily Iowa campaign swing, during which, according to the Des Moines Register, he's "targeting "Obamacare" and promising to eliminate or reduce taxes, mostly for businesses"  (that's a surprise, right?). It's thought that Gingrich has to also assuage conservative angst on character issues which arose primarily from his own marital infidelity  (with eventual current third wife Callista) as he railed about then-President Clinton's infidelity with a White House intern.

Tonight (Tues.), Gingrich is in Minneapolis as the main speaker at a $100+ plate dinner for the conservative Minnesota Family Council.

Wednesday's event in Holmen is about 20 minutes north of LaCrosse, at Drugan's, a site that has hosted Gingrich events before, with owners Mike and Mary Drugan having known for many years Gingrich's current wife Callista, who grew up in nearby Whitehall.

If you go, give my best to the Newtster.

Walker brings the Fonz on board



 Governor Walker has come up big in his pledge to boost the state's tourism industry.  His Department's new "Picture the Fun" tourism campaign travels back to the '50's with the announcement that Wisconsin tourism has brought aboard "The Fonz" actor Henry Winkler from the 1970's TV sitcom "Happy Days" in a 2011 ad to promote the state.  I think it's possible Walker thinks he's Fonzie--viewed as cool and able to solve everyone's problems. Comparing Walker to the bronze Fonz in downtown Milwaukee, it's hard to tell whose head is harder.

Click here for a great post on one of Walker's statewide motorcycle treks from All About Bikes magazine

And don't miss Cognitive Dissidence's terrific take on the irony of the new state slogan: "Picture The Fun"

Photo of Walker on a Harley from http://www.flickr.com/photos/theaudioslave/

Republicans screw WI's teachers yet again

I'm a teacher, and I'm pissed off.  Wisconsin Republicans are going directly after my profession again, and they don't seem to realize (or care) that their moves directly impact kids.  The stripping of collective bargaining, overnight mandatory pension and health "contributions," insults, and almost $1 billion in cuts to WI's education aren't enough, now teachers are going to be disciplined on how their students perform on a one-shot standardized test. 

This is part of the state's proposed new education "reform," which also includes increased charter schools (which haven't been proven to be more effective)--with lax teacher requirements, no income restrictions for participating families, no caps on participation, and not the same required standardized tests as public schools. (Click here for a great article about such detriments and corporate connections).

So, why is this a bad idea? Let me count the ways. Standardized tests aren't really accurate measures of what all kids have learned. Some kids don't do well on one-shot paper-pencil tests.  Some students excel in areas not fully covered by testing (I've got a student who will be the next Stephen King, but his creative writing is never so assessed). Some kids are at a disadvantage because they haven't had the same experiences or backgrounds (I'm required to give an elemenrtary assessment that includes canoes--which if a kid doesn't know that word, they have a problem). 

Kids--just like adults--also have bad days. Imagine if all jobs were dependent on how your production was on a particular day--nevermind that you just had some problem with your family, or the neighbor's party kept you up all night, or you have a touch of the stomach flu.  Your performance on this particular day is the one that counts, And then imagine your boss got paid or judged on your performance for that day alone.  If the state government had that requirement, in light of the nine looming Senate recalls, Walker wouldn't be drawing a salary.

Some years, some groups of kids learn better than others. If I was judged on the smart, enthusiastic kids I have this year, I'd be rich, I guess.  If I was judged on the performances of an unmotivated, not-as-academically-bright class from a few years ago--a class with which I had to work even harder--I'd now be unemployed.  And that same group, sadly, has had difficulties throughout their school careers, despite the best efforts of some very good and dedicated teachers.

And just for argument's sake, how do you judge a class on a standardized test?  Do you give the blame to the current teacher, or the previous teacher?  The one before that?  The "inadequate" experience they had in Kindergarten?  And how about the fact that not even all grades have standardized testing?  Which, by the way, some non-public schools won't even be required to do the state standardized test ever.

And how does this affect students? 

If the impetus behind this is eliminating bad teaching and removing bad teachers, this process will do exactly the opposite.  In lieu of creative thinking and problem solving, students may very well spend their time getting ready for this paper and pencil test.  Bad teachers will look good.  Bad teaching will look good.  Test scores will look good.  But the kids will be much worse off.

Instead, reform the teacher evaluation processes, provide resources for schools, don't tie the hands of public schools by paying students to go elsewhere.  Give a better chance for students--and teachers--to be successful.

And make those changes in an inclusive way--don't just have corporate interests, or those fearful of getting axed by the Walker administration, on such a panel.  This isn't a slam against college drop-outs, but I don't want one in charge of running our educational system--just as I wouldn't want the guy who didn't finish med school doing my heart surgery.

Whew.  Thanks for letting me get that all off my chest.