Tuesday (tomorrow) is a special election to fill three seats vacated by Republicans appointed to Walker's administration. Even though the elections are in pretty heavy Republican districts, I'm betting not a lot of Republicans show up to vote, so it's possible for a strong Dem showing.
In my nearby race:
State Assembly 60th District (Hey, you Trenton people, GO VOTE)--Democrat Rick Aaron,
former teacher and veteran, info about Rick Aaron info here and here.
District 83: Democrat James Brownlow info here
District 94: Democrat Steve Doyle info here
Call your friends and neighbors to help Dems (aka "voice of reason") make up some ground in the State Assembly.
Monday, May 2, 2011
Sunday, May 1, 2011
Obama's big news: Is Bin Laden dead?
Link here to reason.com (original source for this post)
Updated 9:52 PM According to NBC News Reports, bin Laden is confirmed dead by a military action and the US forces have Bin Laden's body. Obama is preparing to address the nation.
Link to msnbc here.
Updated 10:55 PM Personal viewpoint: If anyone's death is justified, the horror and hatred caused by bin Laden made his so. Someone asked me if he's in his heaven now. Islam is not about hatred, it is about love. In my religion, my God is about love. Right now, no doubt in my mind, bin Laden is burning in his hell.
Never rest in peace, bin Laden.
Obama's powerful message:
Updated 9:52 PM According to NBC News Reports, bin Laden is confirmed dead by a military action and the US forces have Bin Laden's body. Obama is preparing to address the nation.
Link to msnbc here.
Updated 10:55 PM Personal viewpoint: If anyone's death is justified, the horror and hatred caused by bin Laden made his so. Someone asked me if he's in his heaven now. Islam is not about hatred, it is about love. In my religion, my God is about love. Right now, no doubt in my mind, bin Laden is burning in his hell.
Never rest in peace, bin Laden.
Obama's powerful message:
Recalls and a house divided...
At a rally here to recall my State Senator Glenn Grothman, people told me of changes in their lives since Scott Walker arrived. I heard about friends who no longer spoke to one another, and sleepless nights for public workers wondering how to make up a shortfall of hundreds of dollars per month. Twenty-something Austin was there--as he was in Madison--to "fight a good fight," showing support for his mom, a public school teacher. There were stories about educators with family members that openly express derision towards teachers and public education, sentiments that weren't even in the conversation three months ago. And I thought of the distrust and the acrimony of the Supreme Court election, and the misinformation that spews daily on the Internet.
Republican Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divded against itself cannot stand." Republican Governor Walker recently said, "Sometimes, bipartisanship is not good." To those ends, Walker has continued to divide, not unite. As a result, we'll have maybe nine recall elections this summer. I can't imagine that will initially bring anyone together.
I spoke with a Walker backer protesting the Grothman recall rally, a very nice guy named Mike. He's been laid off a painfully long time, hoping for the promised creation of jobs, and tax rates that won't take any more out of his already-too-empty pockets. His parting comment was,"They talk about jobs and unemployment--both sides--and to them, I'm just a figure, and I'm not. I'm a real person."
And I couldn't help but hope that no matter which side ends up running the show, they remember Lincoln's words and not Walker's, that instead of dividing, they work to unite all of us, public workers like me and nice guys like Mike.
If you have any stories you'd like to share, to commiserate, to inform, please click here to visit the Talk About It page and post a comment.
Republican Abraham Lincoln once said, "A house divded against itself cannot stand." Republican Governor Walker recently said, "Sometimes, bipartisanship is not good." To those ends, Walker has continued to divide, not unite. As a result, we'll have maybe nine recall elections this summer. I can't imagine that will initially bring anyone together.
I spoke with a Walker backer protesting the Grothman recall rally, a very nice guy named Mike. He's been laid off a painfully long time, hoping for the promised creation of jobs, and tax rates that won't take any more out of his already-too-empty pockets. His parting comment was,"They talk about jobs and unemployment--both sides--and to them, I'm just a figure, and I'm not. I'm a real person."
And I couldn't help but hope that no matter which side ends up running the show, they remember Lincoln's words and not Walker's, that instead of dividing, they work to unite all of us, public workers like me and nice guys like Mike.
If you have any stories you'd like to share, to commiserate, to inform, please click here to visit the Talk About It page and post a comment.
Saturday, April 30, 2011
Dem14 Sen. Jon Erpenbach talks with MisLeading Wisconsin
Senator Jon Erpenbach spoke with me tonight (Fri.) before a Recall Glenn Grothman rally in West Bend. Sen. Erpenbach (D-Middleton) is known to Wisconsin workers as one of the courageous Wisconsin Dem14 Senators who went to Illinois to deny a quorum and stop a too-hasty passage of Walker's budget repair bill on Feb. 17. The italics are the questions I asked him in our short interview.
Do you have any regrets about leaving for Illinois? "Not at all. It was the only way to slow things down. It was the only way to give people a chance to see what was in (the budget repair bill)." The Senator added that it was expected the Republicans would consolidate power, "but not in only one guy's hands."
"They went way too far."
Do you think the time in Illinois had any affect on some changes in Republican stances on current budget issues? Erpenbach nodded. "Take Senior Care. 91,000 people depend on Senior Care and it's a wonderful program, a program that runs a surplus."
And is there any hope for teachers? "Yes, there is. More than not, people want friends and neighbors teaching their kids, not corporations."
Erpenbach expounded on several points during his speech, including his time in Illinois. "They said to come home and we can have the debate--by the way, which is not negotiable. We were offering proposals, they were taking away our paychecks, our parking spaces...they sent the State Patrol to our homes."
Regarding the non-re-passage of the budget repair bill: "We haven't been called back because they either don't want to put Glenn through that vote again, or they don't have the votes."
"This whole issue, it's not a right/left thing or a liberal/conservative thing, it's a right and a wrong thing. "
A crowd of 200-300 filled the pavilion in Regner Park, with a handful of Grothman supporters ringing the perimeter. Supporters cheered "Thank you, thank you" to Sen. Erpenbach as well as another speaker, local television personality Gus Gnorski, whose employer Fox 6 News, said he could either speak at such union rallies or keep doing reports for the station. Gnorski said goodbye to television and chose to speak at union rallies instead. His hit-the-mark points included the hypocrisy of Grothman's mantra "I share your values," and the realization that jobs in the state need to be added jobs, not just those moved from place to place.
Also sharing the dais, were Tanya Lohr, the local high school teacher heading up the Grothman recall campaign in Washington County, Rick Aaron, Democratic candidate for the 60th State Assembly District--now, suddenly with a chance to make a race of it in his Republican-heavy district-- and local columnist Waring Fincke.
Grothman petitions will be collected by 9 PM Sunday night. The committee is still shy of the 20,061 signatures needed to trigger the recall. If you haven't signed, check out the website here.
Do you have any regrets about leaving for Illinois? "Not at all. It was the only way to slow things down. It was the only way to give people a chance to see what was in (the budget repair bill)." The Senator added that it was expected the Republicans would consolidate power, "but not in only one guy's hands."
"They went way too far."
Do you think the time in Illinois had any affect on some changes in Republican stances on current budget issues? Erpenbach nodded. "Take Senior Care. 91,000 people depend on Senior Care and it's a wonderful program, a program that runs a surplus."
And is there any hope for teachers? "Yes, there is. More than not, people want friends and neighbors teaching their kids, not corporations."
Erpenbach expounded on several points during his speech, including his time in Illinois. "They said to come home and we can have the debate--by the way, which is not negotiable. We were offering proposals, they were taking away our paychecks, our parking spaces...they sent the State Patrol to our homes."
Regarding the non-re-passage of the budget repair bill: "We haven't been called back because they either don't want to put Glenn through that vote again, or they don't have the votes."
"This whole issue, it's not a right/left thing or a liberal/conservative thing, it's a right and a wrong thing. "
A crowd of 200-300 filled the pavilion in Regner Park, with a handful of Grothman supporters ringing the perimeter. Supporters cheered "Thank you, thank you" to Sen. Erpenbach as well as another speaker, local television personality Gus Gnorski, whose employer Fox 6 News, said he could either speak at such union rallies or keep doing reports for the station. Gnorski said goodbye to television and chose to speak at union rallies instead. His hit-the-mark points included the hypocrisy of Grothman's mantra "I share your values," and the realization that jobs in the state need to be added jobs, not just those moved from place to place.
Also sharing the dais, were Tanya Lohr, the local high school teacher heading up the Grothman recall campaign in Washington County, Rick Aaron, Democratic candidate for the 60th State Assembly District--now, suddenly with a chance to make a race of it in his Republican-heavy district-- and local columnist Waring Fincke.
Grothman petitions will be collected by 9 PM Sunday night. The committee is still shy of the 20,061 signatures needed to trigger the recall. If you haven't signed, check out the website here.
Thursday, April 28, 2011
WISGOP says Do You Like Me Now?
Like a big brother that beats you up and then bribes you so he won't get in trouble, Wisconsin's fine Republican legislators are offering crumbs, really, now that their recall butts are on the line. After the merciless pounding the Walker-run legislature gave worker rights in this state (rights, Walker finally admitted under oath , had no direct fiscal bearing on the budget, but rather were union-busting), Republican legislators are saying--all of the sudden now that recall papers have been served up-- "Hey, you know what? Um, maybe this part of the budget could be changed, after all."
If the Democrats had not delayed the quorum for the budget-repair bill, and got people thinking about and actually reading things, for goodness sakes, the Republicans would have passed the 2011-2013 budget, no questions asked (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester gushed about it), as they would have budget-repair.
So now GOP legislators, even those that are--surprise--up for recall, are "breaking" with Walker and making nice with Wisconsinites through lip-service against budget items including Walker's removing income limits for school voucher families, splitting UW from the UW system, removing recycling, and using general funds for transportation.
But really it's just b.s. window-dressing. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says there are still "more than 40 non-fiscal policy items in the governor's budget...proposals that aren’t absolutely essential to balancing the books," something that Walker campaigned against doing (Superior Telegram, 4/27). And there are still numerous, equally-vile budget items remaining (drastic cuts to education and communities, for instance). Oh, yeah, and Republicans may insert the court-stalled, anti-collective bargaining bill into the budget, as well.
Make sure your friends and neighbors don't fall for these little bribes to win back public favor.
The damages the Republican legislature has inflicted, and will inflict, on this state are far too serious to let them buy us off.
If the Democrats had not delayed the quorum for the budget-repair bill, and got people thinking about and actually reading things, for goodness sakes, the Republicans would have passed the 2011-2013 budget, no questions asked (Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester gushed about it), as they would have budget-repair.
So now GOP legislators, even those that are--surprise--up for recall, are "breaking" with Walker and making nice with Wisconsinites through lip-service against budget items including Walker's removing income limits for school voucher families, splitting UW from the UW system, removing recycling, and using general funds for transportation.
But really it's just b.s. window-dressing. The non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau says there are still "more than 40 non-fiscal policy items in the governor's budget...proposals that aren’t absolutely essential to balancing the books," something that Walker campaigned against doing (Superior Telegram, 4/27). And there are still numerous, equally-vile budget items remaining (drastic cuts to education and communities, for instance). Oh, yeah, and Republicans may insert the court-stalled, anti-collective bargaining bill into the budget, as well.
Make sure your friends and neighbors don't fall for these little bribes to win back public favor.
The damages the Republican legislature has inflicted, and will inflict, on this state are far too serious to let them buy us off.
Wednesday, April 27, 2011
Grothman's gotta go
If there's anyone who thinks State Senator Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) speaks for Wisconsin, we should be very afraid for Wisconsin. During the politics of the last few months, Grothman has shown disdain for Wisconsinites that have dissented with him by calling them names such as "smelly" and "slobs" , and labeling an obviously cognitively-challenged man as "a socially-inappropriate lefty."
Even his political moves for his own district are questionable, at best, as is shown in how the Walker budget cuts Grothman's been championing will be more severe for his home district.
But it's Grothman's ideas, the way he thinks, the vision he has for our America--a country built on freedom and equality--that should make the stoutest American truly shudder. In a little video at an August Tea Party Rally he espouses how our country's "committing suicide" through "gals" having kids out of wedlock (because it's financially advantageous to not marry), through immigrants walking around on with a "chip on their shoulder" waiting for government handouts, and how big companies are routinely promoting women over more qualified men (what Grothman calls the "war on men").
This sounds like a parody of Wisconsin's infamous 1950's,communist-hunting, Senator Joseph McCarthy, or a skit from SNL, but it's not. It's my State Senator in 2011.
It would be nice to think he'd be justly recalled, but in this very conservative district, it must be he's preaching to the choir (in 2008, he pulled in over 80% of the vote). However, there are recall petition events set up and great sites such as the Glenn Grothman Watch (aka, What did GG get wrong this week?) to stay on top of this guy.
Hopefully, it will do some good.
Even his political moves for his own district are questionable, at best, as is shown in how the Walker budget cuts Grothman's been championing will be more severe for his home district.
But it's Grothman's ideas, the way he thinks, the vision he has for our America--a country built on freedom and equality--that should make the stoutest American truly shudder. In a little video at an August Tea Party Rally he espouses how our country's "committing suicide" through "gals" having kids out of wedlock (because it's financially advantageous to not marry), through immigrants walking around on with a "chip on their shoulder" waiting for government handouts, and how big companies are routinely promoting women over more qualified men (what Grothman calls the "war on men").
This sounds like a parody of Wisconsin's infamous 1950's,communist-hunting, Senator Joseph McCarthy, or a skit from SNL, but it's not. It's my State Senator in 2011.
It would be nice to think he'd be justly recalled, but in this very conservative district, it must be he's preaching to the choir (in 2008, he pulled in over 80% of the vote). However, there are recall petition events set up and great sites such as the Glenn Grothman Watch (aka, What did GG get wrong this week?) to stay on top of this guy.
Hopefully, it will do some good.
Monday, April 25, 2011
Educational misstatements from Walker?
Walker's projections about school district savings under his budget were incorrect in more than 99% of districts, according to Rep. Sondy Pope-Roberts (D-Middleton) in a column published today. Pope-Roberts has been in the WI State Assembly since 2002, and is current ranking member of the Assembly Committee on Education. (biography here)
Pope-Roberts presented evidence to Walker in a hand-delivered letter that shows significant differences in Walker's numbers compared to those projected by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (click here for access to the Pope-Roberts "Comprehensive Chart" spreadsheet). Pope-Roberts found numbers that showed Walker overestimated district savings by an average of $129,000, with Milwaukee's savings overestimated in Walker's numbers by $12.5 million dollars (click here). According to the analysis of the Pope-Roberts "Comprehensive Chart" spreadsheet, Walker "correctly projected savings for just three of the state’s 424 districts." The official release from the office of Pope-Roberts even includes the serious declaration of the figures being "public education budget numbers invented by Governor Walker." (my emphasis).
This comes in the face of $834 million in budget cuts to public schools, with Walker's proposals to allow unlimited increases in the number of charter and "virtual" schools, and removing the income requirements for private school vouchers, in essence, promoting payments to even wealthy residents to attend private schools. Some consider this a direct attack on public schools. Aside from merely the fiscal ramifications which Walker apparently misjudged (as compared to the numbers from Legislative Fiscal Bureau), Walker has proposed that districts would no longer need reading specialists, and, believe it or not, teachers would no longer need to obtain teaching licenses. JS Online
So, again, are we to trust educational reform to a Governor with an obvious agenda and a penchant for misstatements?
Hell, no.
And that's not a misstatement.
Pope-Roberts presented evidence to Walker in a hand-delivered letter that shows significant differences in Walker's numbers compared to those projected by the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau (click here for access to the Pope-Roberts "Comprehensive Chart" spreadsheet). Pope-Roberts found numbers that showed Walker overestimated district savings by an average of $129,000, with Milwaukee's savings overestimated in Walker's numbers by $12.5 million dollars (click here). According to the analysis of the Pope-Roberts "Comprehensive Chart" spreadsheet, Walker "correctly projected savings for just three of the state’s 424 districts." The official release from the office of Pope-Roberts even includes the serious declaration of the figures being "public education budget numbers invented by Governor Walker." (my emphasis).
This comes in the face of $834 million in budget cuts to public schools, with Walker's proposals to allow unlimited increases in the number of charter and "virtual" schools, and removing the income requirements for private school vouchers, in essence, promoting payments to even wealthy residents to attend private schools. Some consider this a direct attack on public schools. Aside from merely the fiscal ramifications which Walker apparently misjudged (as compared to the numbers from Legislative Fiscal Bureau), Walker has proposed that districts would no longer need reading specialists, and, believe it or not, teachers would no longer need to obtain teaching licenses. JS Online
So, again, are we to trust educational reform to a Governor with an obvious agenda and a penchant for misstatements?
Hell, no.
And that's not a misstatement.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)