The man responsible for the massacre that killed six people in a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin shot himself in the head, as confirmed by the FBI on August 8. The authorities have maintained so far that the shooter, Wade Michael Page, died from being shot during a confrontation with a police officer after the killings.

FBI Special Agent in Wisconsin, Teresa Carlson, said on a news conference on Wednesday that, according to the security video footage of the scene, it was the shot in the head, not the one from the police officer received in the stomach, that killed Page. Therefore, he committed suicide when he was already injured by the first officer, who responded to emergency calls in the temple of Oak Creek, south of Milwaukee.

Carlson, who leads the investigation, also confirmed that Page acted alone and did not blame anyone else for the shooting. In the hours after the incident, local police did not rule out that Page had received support.

Carlson said the FBI is going to keep investigating, to determine the causes which would lead the Army veteran to act against a religious temple, and why he would choose the one on Oak Creek.

“This is a guy that has moved around a lot, and so we are very, very thorough. We’re going to try to talk everybody that he may have had contact with or anywhere that he may have been. So we’ve got leads going in a lot of different places.”

Although Page’s supremacist ideas are well known, there is still a lot to be clarified: “We may never know exactly why he chose that place at that time,” Steven Conley, an FBI assistant, told reporters. “We may have a good idea of his motives when the investigation is finished, but the reasons may have disappeared with Page.”

Authorities also said on press conferences that Lt. Brian Murphy, the veteran Oak Creek police officer who first arrived at the temple and was shot at least eight times, is recovering.

“He’s progressing amazingly and we’re very, very thankful for that,” said Oak Creek Police Chief John Edwards. “Yesterday he was up walking and they had him sitting up for a period of time.”

As part of the investigation, police arrested Page’s former girlfriend on August 7 as a “felon in possession of a firearm,” according to South Milwaukee police investigator Michael Hill. However, she is not being accused of playing a role in the slaughter.

Image Courtesy of   BC Gov Photos

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Since Scott Walker’s win in the Governor recall election of Wisconsin, many Republicans have been declaring Mitt Romney’s victory in Wisconsin already. However, Walker warns that Romney will need to have a better platform if he is to win the hearts of Wisconsinites.

Walker’s recall election was held in the beginning of June and resulted in the only time in the nation’s history that a governor has survived a recall election. Many Republicans and Democrats have questioned the necessity of the recall. Additionally, many individuals from both sides of the aisle have claimed that Walker’s victory signifies the death of the political influence of unions.

Romney made a controversial statement shortly after the recall election stating:

“[Obama] wants another stimulus; he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more firemen, more policemen, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.”

The Democrats were quick to criticize Romney’s statement. R.T. Rybak, Vice-Chairman of the Democratic National Committee claimed this statement proved just how disconnected Romney is from the American middle class. “To suggest that police, firefighters, and teachers aren’t helping the American people and aren’t vital to our communities shows that he has no clue what’s going on in the real world.”

However, the Democrats were not the only ones criticizing Romney. Walker claimed that Romney misinterpreted the message of the recall election results on CBS’s “Face the Nation” with Bob Schieffer on June 10, 2012. Walker stated, “I think it’s slightly different…I think in our case what they wanted was people who are willing to take on the tough issues, not only here in Wisconsin but across the country.” Walker also agreed with Rybak, a Democrat, that the reforms in Wisconsin protected firefighters, police officers, and teachers; they were not the enemies

Walker warned Romney that he needs to be a reformer as well as a Republican and that Wisconsin will not necessarily vote for Mitt Romney unless he has a strong platform. Currently, Walker believes that Romney has been focusing too much at criticizing Obama and Romney’s own strategy and plans have suffered for it. Walker said, “I just hope he takes a page out of President Reagan’s playbook in 1980, where it was not only a referendum on the failed policies of President Carter at the time, it was also something where President Reagan laid out a clear plan.”

Image Courtesy of   davelawrence8

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Chicago, U.S.A. – Just ahead of a major U.S. Senate vote on the Environmental Protection Agency’s authority to clean up mercury and other toxic air pollutants, a Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) report shows that the 25 worst coal-fired power plants account for more than half of the dangerous mercury pollution emitted by the total of 144 electricity generation facilities in the Great Lakes region. The report also finds that almost 90 percent of the toxic emissions could be eliminated with off-the-shelf technologies.

According to ”Poisoning the Great Lakes: Mercury Emissions from Coal-Fired Power Plants In the Great Lakes Region,” Ohio emits the largest amount of mercury from coal-fired power plants (21 percent of the total in the Great Lakes region), followed closely by Pennsylvania (20 percent) and Indiana (16 percent). The remaining five states in the region rank as follows: Michigan (14 percent); Illinois (11 percent); Wisconsin (9.5 percent); Minnesota (6.5 percent); and New York (2 percent). Plants from outside the region also contribute to mercury pollution in the Great Lakes.

The Great Lakes region’s five worst coal-fired power plants for mercury pollution are: Shawville (Clearfield County, PA); Monroe (Monroe County, MI); Homer City (Indiana County, PA); Cardinal (Jefferson County, OH); and Sherburne County (Sherburne County, MN). (See the complete list below of the worst 25.) A dozen power plants in Ohio and Indiana – owned in whole or part by American Electric Power — accounted for 19 percent of all mercury emitted in 2010 from the total of 144 coal-fired power plants in the region.

U.S. Senator James Inhofe, R-OK, recently filed a Congressional Review Act (CRA) resolution to void health standards reducing mercury and other toxic air pollution from power plants and to permanently block EPA from re-issuing similar safeguards.

Thomas Cmar, attorney, Natural Resources Defense Council office in Chicago, said: ”Mercury is a dangerous brain poison that doesn’t belong in our Great Lakes. It puts the health of kids and pregnant women at risk and adds an unwelcome danger to eating what our fishermen catch. That’s why it is so important that we support the EPA’s standards to reduce mercury pollution by holding polluters accountable. Even more critical is that every single U.S. Senator from the region stand up for the Lakes by rejecting reckless attempts to derail the long overdue Clean Air Act updates that can help tame this problem.”

Cindy Copeland, report author and formerly with the EPA Air Program, said: “Mercury is poisoning the Great Lakes and the three states – Ohio, Indiana and Pennsylvania – that impose no rules are by far the worst offenders. Airborne mercury from coal-fired power plants in the Great Lakes Region harms our health, and the benefits of reducing mercury emissions are well worth the cost. With a reduction of health costs to the economy at up to $90 billion, it is hard to say no to this.”

In the Great Lakes region, there are more than 144 coal-fired power plants which pumped over 13,000 pounds of mercury into the air in 2010. Mercury pollution from these plants’ region accounts for close to 25 percent of the nation’s total. The Great Lakes region is comprised of the five Great Lakes (Erie,Ontario, Huron, Michigan, and Superior) and the eight surrounding states (Illinois, Indiana, Michigan,Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, New York, and Wisconsin).

Eating poisoned fish is the primary cause of mercury poisoning of humans. Mercury is a neurotoxin that harms the brain, heart, central nervous system, kidneys, lungs, and immune system. Young children and developing fetuses are most at risk, and can suffer developmental problems from mercury poisoning.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) recently issued nationwide rules to require coal-fired power plants to limit airborne mercury emissions and other toxic air pollutants by 2015. The technologies to meet the EPA’s mercury limits are widely available and effective.

Based on projected reductions in fine particulate emissions due to the combined benefits of various air toxic pollution controls, the EPA has projected that the benefits of its Mercury and Air Toxics Standards (MATS) far outweigh the costs of pollution controls. The health benefits of the MATS are projected to be worth $37 to $90 billion in 2016 alone. The EPA has projected that the majority of the benefits would be reaped in the eastern United States, including the Great Lakes region.

Mercury emitted into the air from coal-fired power plants is by far the leading man-made source of mercury reaching the Great Lakes and the lakes, rivers, and streams of the Great Lakes region. This report lists the top 25 mercury emitting plants in the region. Mercury pollution from plants outside the region also contributes to the overall quantity of mercury found in the Great Lakes. When coal is burned to produce electricity, mercury is emitted into the air. The EPA estimates that coal-fired power plants are the largest man-made source of mercury pollution, accounting for 50 percent of mercury air emissions in the United States.

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Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has survived the June 5 recall election in his state, the third recall election for a governor in the history of the United States. Also up for the recall vote are Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch – the first ever lieutenant governor to face a recall vote – and four Republican state senators including the majority leader, Scott Fitzgerald. The recall election was enacted when more than 900,000 signatures were organized on a petition – almost double the amount actually necessary.

Walker’s recall election was prompted after he cut collective bargaining rights for most public workers. Democrats tried to stop the bill from passing the legislative stage by leaving the state so that legislative quorum could not be formed, but they were unsuccessful.

Scott Walker’s opponent and candidate for the Democratic Party was Tom Barrett, Mayor of Milwaukee, who was only nominated after a speedy primary last month. The other candidates for the primary were Kathleen Falk, a former Dane County executive; Doug La Follette, the current Secretary of State for Wisconsin; Kathleen Vinehout, a state senator; and Gladys Huber, a Republican candidate running on the Democratic ticket. After the primary all of Barrett’s former opponents were quick to unite behind him.

Many believe that the Democrats outside of the state of Wisconsin should have done more. The Wisconsin Democratic Party requested more funds from national party but did not receive close to the financial support Walker did. Barrack Obama also never campaigned with Barrett and only acknowledged the election the day before in a tweet, claiming Barrett would “make an outstanding governor.”

All of Wisconsin had been polarized by the upcoming vote. The political landscape was harsh and neighbor was pitted against neighbor. The day of the vote lines were reported before the polls even opened at 7 AM. The election resulted in one of the highest turnouts ever reported in Wisconsin with 60-65% of Wisconsinites voting.

Walker won the election with 53% of the vote and Barrett lost with 46%. Mitt Romney, the Republican candidate for president, stated “[these] results will echo beyond the borders of Wisconsin. Governor Walker has shown that citizens and taxpayers can fight back – and prevail – against the runaway government costs imposed by labor bosses.” The White House has expressed they are not concerned with how this election will affect the presidential election in November because Walker outspent Barrett seven or eight to one.

Walker raised $30.5 million whereas Tom Barrett only raised $3.9 million. However, sixty-six percent of Walker’s money came from out-of-state contributions whereas only twenty-six percent of Barrett’s money came from out of state. The Supreme Court Citizens United ruling has allowed even state elections such as this one to grow larger than ever before.

However, during the election there were several instances in which voters were misled or denied the opportunity to vote. The Election Protection group in Washington, D.C received 594 calls from voters regarding issues they have encountered while trying to vote.

Several voters were asked for some form of photo ID even though the Wisconsin government has ended that law recently. There were also several who were denied the right to vote because of a new twenty-eight day residency requirement even though they met the qualifications of the law.

Perhaps the greatest miscarriage of justice was an anonymous robocall that began the day before the election. The call claimed that if the resident had signed the recall petition they did not need to vote during the election. Although Democrats did their best to alert people that this was not the case, it is likely that some voters did not vote because they believed they already had on the petition.

Democratic Wisconsin State Senator Lena Taylor was outraged by the robocall and urged for an investigation and prosecution of the caller. Taylor reported that she had heard from local WISN reporter Colleen Henry that the robocall originated from the Republican party. Taylor claimed that Henry called back the number from the robocall and got the Republican offices.

After the recall election had been decided, rumors arose that Walker had an illegitimate child with his college girlfriend while attending Marquette University in 1988. The rumors were almost immediately debunked by all news sources.

Now that Walker has been re-elected, he is planning to continue with his budget cuts while he tries reducing the state’s $3.6 million deficit. The Wisconsin Department of Administration claims that these budget cuts will result in the state having a surplus by June 30, 2013. Unemployment in the state is also at 7%, the lowest since 2008.

Although many Democrats are unhappy at the election results, many seats in the state senate will be voted on in the November election. However, some are worried about the results of that election as well since the district boundaries have recently been redrawn by the Republican-dominated Legislature.

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Wisconsin, US -Kohl’s Department Stores announced that in celebration of life, survival, and a “Wish for a World with Less Breast Cancer and More Birthdays,” Kohl’s threw a “One Wish” Birthday Bash at the 2012 American Cancer Society Making Strides against Breast Cancer walk, May 5, 2012, on Milwaukee’s lakefront. Decorated with nearly 8,000 pink cake pops, balloons and giant birthday candles, the celebration represents the company’s greater commitment to the fight against breast cancer. More than 3,000 Kohl’s associates, friends and family took part in the walk.

“Kohl’s is proud of our partnership with the American Cancer Society in providing valuable information and resource tools to local women battling breast cancer. It is important that Wisconsin women – our mothers, daughters, friends and co-workers – have easy access to breast health care information for prevention, diagnosis and treatment.”

“In the three years since we began our partnership, our program has provided nearly 17,000 women in southeast Wisconsin with life-saving breast health information and more than 1,850 breast cancer patients have received services and information,” said Julie Gardner, executive vice president and chief marketing officer of Kohl’s Department Stores.”

“This year our Kohl’s team included more than 3,000 associates, friends and family members – making it the largest corporate team in the history of the Making Strides against Breast Cancer Milwaukee walk. We know breast cancer has impacted thousands of families across the state and as a company, we are passionate about making a true difference in the fight against breast cancer and providing support to those when they need it most.”

“In 2012, more than 4,000 Wisconsin women will be diagnosed with breast cancer. Our partnership with Kohl’s Department Stores provides Wisconsin women access to life-saving breast health information and the steps necessary to prevent breast cancer or find it early.

It’s a gift that is truly life changing,” said Jari Johnston-Allen, chief executive officer, American Cancer Society, Midwest Division. “The American Cancer Society is honored to partner with Kohl’s in the fight against breast cancer and together, are working towards creating a world with less breast cancer and more birthdays.”

In 2010, Kohl’s philanthropic program, Kohl’s Cares, announced a nearly $5 million donation to the American Cancer Society’s Midwest Division over three years. In addition to this contribution, Kohl’s offers its Kohl’s Cares women’s cause merchandise, a series of exclusively-designed products to support the fight against breast cancer.

This women’s health philanthropic initiative builds upon Kohl’s long history of charitable involvement in the communities it serves. Since 2000, Kohl’s and the Kohl’s Cares program have combined to give approximately $47 million to support charitable initiatives in the metro-Milwaukee area. Also, during the past 12 years, the company’s Kohl’s Cares kids cause merchandise program, which sells plush toys and books, has raised more than $208 million to benefit children’s health and education initiatives nationwide.

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Expansions to the nation’s oldest private school choice program are giving thousands more Wisconsin families a choice in their child’s education, according to the School Choice Yearbook 2011-12—the annual award-winning publication offering the most comprehensive data on the nation’s 27 private school choice programs—released by the Alliance for School Choice.

A total of 23,198 children are receiving scholarships to attend the school of their parents’ choice thanks to the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, which last year underwent its most significant expansions since it became the first publicly funded private school choice program ever back in 1990.

Among the new provisions in the voucher program are the removal of the cap on the number of student participants, rules allowing schools across the states to accept program participants, expanded enrollment to benefit children from middle-class families, and—with a Democratic-sponsored provision known as “Once In, Always In”—a guarantee that participating families can remain in the program regardless of future income growth.

Legislators in the Badger State also created a new program in the city of Racine.  Signed into law in June 2011, the Racine Parental Choice Program, which is modeled after the highly successful Milwaukee Parental Choice Program, enrolls almost 250 students after only a short enrollment period last summer. The two programs in Wisconsin are among seven new programs and 11 expanded programs nationwide.

“Wisconsin’s school choice expansions represent years of hard work on behalf of kids,” said Yearbook coauthor Malcom Glenn, the national communications director at the Alliance. “The gains in Milwaukee and Racine are an integral part of what made 2011 such a breakthrough year.”

The Alliance’s annual Yearbook, entitled School Choice Now: The Year of School Choice, is a collection of the nation’s most accurate data on publicly funded private school choice programs across the country.  It features analysis of trends and information regarding school choice, a directory of the accountability provisions and requirements for each of the 27 private school choice programs, and a chronicle of the events from the past year.

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The 50-year-old herbicide atrazine, renowned for controlling weeds, is instrumental to conservation as well, according to a new study. University of Wisconsin-Madison economist Paul D. Mitchell, Ph.D., found the use of atrazine helps farmers reduce aggregate soil erosion by up to 85 million tons per year — enough to fill more than 3 million dump trucks.

Mitchell will present the findings of his paper, “Estimating soil erosion and fuel use changes and their monetary values with AGSIM: A case study for triazine herbicides,” Jan. 10, 2012, at the Wisconsin Crop Management Conference in Madison, Wisc.

The study’s other key findings include:

• Atrazine and sister triazine herbicides, simazine and propazine, benefit U.S. society by up to $350 million in soil erosion costs per year.

• By encouraging conservation tillage and no-till farming, atrazine and the other triazines reduce soil erosion, decrease fuel use and improve water quality.

• Increased farmer adoption of conservation tillage and related practices, made possible in part by popular herbicides such as atrazine, led to a 43-percent decrease in soil erosion from U.S. farmland over the past three decades.

• Because atrazine increases corn and sorghum yields, farmers use less land for crops. This allows as many as 875,000 acres to remain in the Conservation Reserve Program, where it generates environmental benefits for everyone, including wildlife habitat and reduced soil erosion.

Mitchell also will discuss a second paper he authored, “Economic assessment of the benefits of chloro-s-triazine herbicides to U.S. corn, sorghum, and sugar cane producers.” This study demonstrates that atrazine and chloro-s-triazines simazine and propazine benefit U.S. corn, sorghum and sugar cane farmers up to $3.3 billion in value annually.

“We are just beginning to understand the full environmental economic impact atrazine has on the agriculture industry and global food markets in this new agricultural economy,” said Mitchell. “Atrazine effectively controls weeds and significantly increases corn, sorghum, and sugar cane yields. But it also supports conservation tillage and no-till farming, which are critical to protecting the environment and providing food and clean water to our world’s population.”

Findings from the two studies show atrazine and its sister triazines generate a $4.4 billion consumer surplus annually. Combining the consumer surplus estimates with the soil erosion benefits, atrazine’s value to the U.S. economy totals up to $4.8 billion, with most of these benefits going directly to consumers.

Mitchell, an associate professor in the Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, grew up on his family’s farm in Iowa and received his doctorate from Iowa State University. Before joining University of Wisconsin-Madison, he was an assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural Economics at Texas A&M University. His current research and outreach programs focus on the farm-level economics of crop production, emphasizing pest management, risk management and specialty crop economics.

Syngenta, the principal registrant for atrazine, provided resources and support for Mitchell’s research. His papers are part of a broad assessment by Syngenta to examine the value of atrazine in today’s agricultural economy. Other papers include:

• “A biological analysis of the use and benefits of chloro-s-triazine herbicides in U.S. corn and sorghum production,” David C. Bridges, Ph.D.

• “The importance of atrazine in the integrated management of herbicide-resistance weeds,” Micheal D. K. Owen, Ph.D.

• “Efficacy of best management practices for reducing runoff of chloro-s-triazine herbicides to surface water: A review,” Richard S. Fawcett, Ph.D.

For more information about atrazine, visit www.atrazine.com.

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Now that Wisconsin and Oregon have won berths in the 2012 Rose Bowl Game, what are they going to do next? They are going to Disneyland!

The Number 10 BCS-ranked Wisconsin Badgers, champions of the Big Ten Conference, and Number 5 BCS- ranked Oregon Ducks, champions of the Pac-12 Conference, will make their first official appearances of the Rose Bowl Game week at 2:00 P.M. Tuesday, December 27, in a ceremony at the holiday-themed Sleeping Beauty’s Winter Castle at Disneyland.

Wisconsin Head Coach, Bret Bielema, Oregon Head Coach, Chip Kelly, and members of both teams are scheduled to appear in the Castle ceremony with Disneyland Resort Vice President Jon Storbeck, Mickey Mouse, and the Disneyland Band. Among the Wisconsin players will be running back (and 2011 Heisman Trophy Finalist) Montee Ball, quarterback Russell Wilson, running back Bradie Ewing, free safety Aaron Henry, and defensive tackle Patrick Butrym.

Featured Oregon players in the ceremony will be tight end David Paulson, linebacker Josh Kaddu, defensive end Dion Jordan, and offensive linemen Mark Asper and Darrion Weems. Following the ceremony, coaches and key players will be available for media interviews in front of the Castle, and then will experience popular Disneyland attractions, such as the Matterhorn Bobsleds.

Disneyland has been associated with the Tournament of Roses since 1959 and has had the honor of playing host to many teams during that time. The 98th Rose Bowl Game, played in Pasadena on Monday, January 2, 2012, will mark the second consecutive and eighth appearance all-time in the Rose Bowl Game for the Badgers (11-2).

The Ducks (also 11-2) will be making their sixth appearance in the Rose Bowl Game. January 2 will mark the fifth meeting all time between Wisconsin and Oregon; it will be the first time the two meet in a Rose Bowl Game.

dashingstock / Shutterstock.com

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As if the historically low 17 percent approval rating of Congress wasn’t low enough, certain members of congress seem to want to get this even lower.

Despite unemployment rates that have hovered just below double digits for a very long time, record foreclosures and a stagnant economy that can’t get moving, some members of congress are whining about their low paychecks. I am not kidding. Does it infuriate you??

Even though members of Congress are paid $174,000 a year, get a month off for summer, weeks off for the holiday season, paid travel, excellent health care and plenty of under the table lobbyists perks, these spoiled idiots are saying they are not being paid enough. All while trying to cut spending and put decent government workers out of job.

First up, we have Republican idiot Steve Southerland from Florida. Speaking to a retirement community in Tallahassee, the freshman congressman complained about some of the parts of his new job. He claimed that his salary is not so much because of the amount of hours he puts in. He said there was no instant pensions or free health insurance. Yeah, none of us “normal” folks get that either, jackass.

“And by the way, did I mention? They’re shooting at us. There is law-enforcement security in this room right now, and why is that?” Southerland told about 125 people in an auditorium at the Westminster Oaks retirement community.

“If you think this job pays too much, with those kinds of risks and cutting me off from my family business, I’ll just tell you: This job don’t mean that much to me. I had a good life in Panama City,” Southerland whined.”…He added that ‘if you took the hours that I work and divided it into my pay,’ the $174,000 salary would not seem so high.”

Southerland was a funeral home director before he became a congressman, making about $90,000 a year.

Rep. Sean Duffy from Wisconsin (remember the state that complained teachers’ salaries were too high????????) also complained about his paycheck a few months ago. He said it was a “struggle” to pay his mortgage and student loans with his congressional salary. “At this point, I’m not living high on the hog,” Duffy, a father of six, said.

Sorry, Mr. Duffy, but I don’t feel sorry for you at all. Buy a freakin smaller house. Use birth control. That is the same bullshit you as a Republican would tell a mother when you cut off her food stamps.

It is not only Republicans that whine though. Linda Sanchez, a Democrat from California, told MSNBC last spring that she was living “paycheck to paycheck.” Wow, these people need to budget a little better. You make more than four times what my husband and me make together.

You stupid lawmakers always have the nerve to tell us to cut out expenses. Really? If you can’t make it at six figures, what the hell else can I cut?

Ken Durden / Shutterstock.com

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Politics remains staunchly divided in Wisconsin and the local Labor Day parade is just another example of the divide. After the vote earlier in the year in Wisconsin led by Republicans to limit collective bargaining rights, a Wisconsin union has voted to ban Republican politicians from a local Labor Day parade. The Marathon County Central Labor Council, which sponsors the parade, includes some 30 local unions.

Council President Randy Radtke said in a statement on the group’s website that politicians are only welcome at the festivities if they have demonstrated support for workers’ rights.

“It should come as no surprise that organizers choose not to invite elected officials who have openly attacked worker’s rights or stood idly by while their political party fought to strip public workers of their right to collectively bargain,” Radtke said.

“It is a time for working families to come together to celebrate their hard work and a time where we recognize the labor movement for all they have given us — the weekend, the 40 hour work week, child labor protection, a safe work environment.”

Rep. Sean Duffy (R-Wis.), a federal congressman representing Wausau released a statement decrying the vote. “Having walked in this parade in past years, Congressman Duffy was hoping that for a moment, we could set our differences aside and simply have some fun in a family-friendly event,” a Duffy spokesperson said.

“[The congressman] walks in a lot of parades, and staff called to register a spot last week and was informed in colorful language that no Republicans were being allowed to participate this year,” added Duffy Chief of Staff Brandon Moody in an email to The Huffington Post.

In February, 14 Democratic state senators fled the state in order to prevent a vote on the controversial collective bargaining bill. Thousands of protesters flocked to the state capital in Wisconsin to protest the legislation. Through a last-minute budgetary and possible illegal move, Republicans were able to pass the measure without any Democrats present. All but one GOP state senator voted for it.

Radtke said the reaction to his decision has been mixed, with “some negative comments but mostly it has been overwhelmingly positive.” Other politicians who won’t be welcome at the parade include state Sen. Pam Galloway (R-Wausau) and state Rep. Jerry Petrowski (R-Marathon).

Image Courtesy of  Shaun Greiner

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Count Paul Ryan out of the presidential race, this time. Rep. Ryan (R-WI) has been floated as a possible presidential contender in an already overcrowded and strange field. But, the congressman says it isn’t happening.

Ryan issued a statement on Monday stating he appreciates supporters urging him to seek the 2012 nomination, but he hasn’t changed his mind about staying out of the race. Ryan is perhaps best known for his budget plan that would slash federal spending on various programs, including Medicare.

Ryan chairs the House Budget Committee. In his statement, he says he hopes the GOP will nominate a candidate committed to an agenda that “restores the promise and prosperity of our exceptional nation.”

Although it still appears that the GOP is searching for the one favorite candidate that could be the “savior.” Many thought Texas Governor Rick Perry would be that candidate but his new campaign has already run into a series of problems. Rumors last week surfaced stating that New Jersey governor Chris Christie would jump into the fold, but Christie’s camp has denied any plants to enter the race.

Meanwhile Rep. Ryan is trying to create more tax loopholes for his largest donors. For months, Ryan has argued that closing tax loopholes would help to pay for his proposed tax cuts in his budget plan.

“We’re talking about keeping revenues where they are, but having a better tax system to collect those revenues with an eye on economic growth and job creation,” he said during an April interview on National Public Radio’s “All Things Considered.”

He added, “You have to remember, the people in the top tax brackets are the ones who enjoy most of the loopholes and deductions.”

But, his record reflects a different attitude in general. Since Ryan was elected to Congress in 1998, he has tried to create an array of special loopholes specific for his top contributors. For example, S.C. Johnson & Son is one of Ryan’s biggest donors.

Ryan introduced two bills in May 2005 that would have granted the company special exemptions from tariffs. Specifically, his bills sought to suspend duties for imported components of “unique air freshener products … assembled by S.C. Johnson in the United States,” Ryan said during floor remarks at the time. Neither bill advanced.

A year later, Ryan put forward another bill to reduce the duty on S.C. Johnson cleaning appliances “capable of dispensing cleaning solution into a tub or shower enclosure using a button-activated, battery-powered piston pump controlled by a microchip.” That bill didn’t move.

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Democrats in Wisconsin fell short of taking majority control of the state Senate. Democrats succeeded in taking two seats away from Republicans but fell one short of their goal during recall elections this week. Republicans are claiming victory even though two of their members are now unemployed.

Republicans throughout the state believe the recall elections are a win Gov. Scott Walker and an affirmation of his conservative agenda and his attack on unions. The Democratic Party of Wisconsin said Wednesday that despite falling short Tuesday night, they still plan to recall Walker next year.

“Barely scraping by on their own turf is an incredible sign of weakness for Gov. Walker and Republicans,” party chairman Mike Tate told the Wisconsin State-Journal. “The historic gains made tonight to restore balance and accountability to our state, and restore Wisconsin values, will continue when the entire state weighs-in on the November 2012 elections — and with the recall of Scott Walker himself.”

Walker told The Associated Press on Wednesday that even though his party managed to retain control of the Legislature, he believes the recall election results show that voters want both parties to work together on jobs and the economy.”People still want us to focus on those two priorities,” Walker said. “They want us to work together.”

Walker reported that he will meet with leaders from both parties to begin working together. Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca expressed some doubts over whether that would really happen. “It’s bipartisan action, not bipartisan rhetoric that people are looking for,” Barca said.

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald, who will preside over a 17-16 GOP majority should two Democratic senators manage to win their own recall elections next week, echoed Walker’s talking points. “Republicans are going to continue doing what we promised the people of Wisconsin – improve the economy and get Wisconsin moving back in the right direction,” Fitzgerald said in a prepared statement after the victory.

Democrats and union leaders tried to make the best of the historic GOP wins. There had been only 13 other successful recalls of state-level office holders nationwide since 1913. “The fact of the matter remains that, fighting on Republican turf, we have begun the work of stopping the Scott Walker agenda,” said Democratic Party Chairman Mike Tate.

Phil Neuenfeldt, the president of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO, said voters sent a message that there is a growing movement to reclaim the middle class.”Let’s be clear, anyway you slice it, this is an unprecedented victory,” he said.

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Wisconsin governor Scott Walker conceded that he made a mistake last February in the way he limited collective bargaining power that led to weeks of massive protests in Madison. However, he still defends his policies and believes that ending collective bargaining was somehow a cost-saving measure to the state.

Nationwide, Walker was criticized for trying to end state worker rights. He was also heavily criticized for his bullying tactics that did not allow any debate on the issue, but rather forced the law through.”The mistake I made early on is, I looked at it almost like the head of a small business: identify a problem, identify a solution and go out and do it,” Walker told Reuters at the National Governor’s Association meeting in Salt Lake City.

“I don’t think we built enough of a political case, so we let … the national organizations come in and define the debate while we were busy just getting the job done,” he said.

Walker continues to argue that his extreme policies helped prevent layoffs for state workers, even though restricting collective bargaining has not saved one cent. The political fallout from the controversy is still being felt. Six Republican senators who supported the measure will be forced to defend their seats during a recall election in August. Three Democratic senators are also up for recall. Democrats vow to recall Walker in January after he has served one year in office and will be eligible for recall according to state law.

If Democrats gain just three of the seats at stake in the special summer elections, they will take control of the upper house and have some control at preventing Walker’s draconian slashing measures. But, Republicans will still control the Assembly.

“If the Republican candidates are outspent two to one, it’s pretty difficult,” Walker said of the recall effort.

“Conversely, if things end up being relatively even and the message gets out,” the party will have a better chance of prevailing, he said. Walker said he did not plan to campaign in the contested districts.

Last November, a large majority of states fell to Republican governors who promised to provide jobs to the nation’s long suffering unemployed. However, they have failed to deliver and their approval ratings are plummeting. Walker believes that his poll numbers will improve when voters see improvement in the economy.

But, while Washington fights over the ridiculous debt ceiling and each state is trying to ban abortion and other morality clauses, the unemployment rate stays stagnant. Sorry, Scott but your numbers aren’t going to improve any time soon. Slashing spending throughout the country DOES NOT help jobs.

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Strange things happened in Wisconsin this week. As you are aware of, because of the ridiculousness earlier this year, Wisconsin Democrats organized an astounding recall effort against six Republican state senators. On Tuesday, a group of Democrats were supposed to run against the Republican state senators, likely ousting them from their privileged positions.

However, the Republicans instead decided to stretch out the recalls by exploiting a little known provision in Wisconsin state law and forcing primaries. By forcing a primary election for the Democrats, the actual recall elections will not be held until August 9^th.

And that is not all. The Republicans then recruited “Democrats” to run against the true democrats in the primary.  Wow, they must be very scared. All of these so-called Democrats that the GOP recruited are actually, gasp, Republicans. These fake Democrats were only used to delay the recall elections. They are a collection of party officials and sacrificial lambs.

Three of them are over 80 years of age. One is twenty-five. None have raised any money. There was no dramatic upsets in the race. The real Democrats won handily. Five of the six winners had at least 65 percent of the vote, based on unofficial results. The sixth, Shelly Moore, had 54 percent.

Democratic Party spokeswoman Gillian Morris said she wasn’t concerned about how tight the Moore race turned out to be.”They were campaigning pretty hard there,” Morris said. “That also shows how scared they are of what Shelly Moore can do in a general election against.”

State Republican Party spokeswoman Katie McCallum said the results were an embarrassment for Moore but that ultimately Tuesday’s elections wouldn’t change the approach being taken by any of the incumbents.

I do not understand how anyone could defend the incredible tactics that have been used in Wisconsin since Governor Scott Walker took over. Claiming that terminating collective bargaining was a fiscal matter and then saying it wasn’t while they were still insisting it would save money.

Holding a vote without giving advance warning, defying court rulings, locking down the capital and arresting protesters have all been a part of Wisconsin’s dirty play. And now, they decide to recruit Republicans to mask as Democrats just to delay the inevitable. What the what?

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30 of June. That is the chosen date for Kanye West’s performance at Marcus Amphitheater in Milwaukee. And that is the only chance you got.

The  hip-hop king has chosen Wisconsin for his new show, with Kid Cudi as his special guest.

Presenting song from his fifth album, ‘My beautiful dark twisted fantasy‘, Kanye West will be on stage this only day. So do not miss this chance!

With he’s latest album, Kanye West sold more than 490.000 copies and took the first place on the Billboard 200 list of USA highest-selling music albums.

In addition to this, Rolling Stone magazine chose Twisted Fantasy as the best 2010 album, recognizing that Kanye blows “past all the rules of hip-hop and pop, even though, for the past half-decade, he’s been the one inventing the rules”.

The concert was on sale from March 26th, but there are available tickets online. Prices goes from 47 dollars to (get ready to read this) 1.077 dollars.

So choose according to your budget and do not miss this unique show in the USA.

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Despite the media’s obsession with Anthony Weiner’s downfall, there are actual news events happening. Like in Wisconsin where Governor Scott Walker still thinks he is somehow special even as the recalls are ramped up in the state. Both Republicans and Democrats in Wisconsin are gearing up for the summer’s state Senate recall elections that are widely seen as a referendum on Walker’s fight with public unions.

The summer certainly won’t be slow in Wisconsin. The collective bargaining issue may be settled for now by the courts, the issue is still on everyone’s mind in the state and nationally. Six state Republicans are up for recall and three Democrats are also facing recall challenges. Primary elections for the Republicans will be held on July 12.

Americans for Prosperity (AFP), a conservative group, is funding a recall effort against state Democrats. Over the weekend, conservative activists were volunteering at a phone bank to call residents about the recall elections. “It’s called the Wisconsin Freedom Phonebanks,” said Matt Seaholm, state director of AFP-Wisconsin. “It’s set up for citizen identification, asking people where they stand on the issues — just kind of identifying people to see what they think of the recalls going on, but also the governor’s plan on collective bargaining.”

Marjorie Haun, a public school teacher in Colorado, said she was closely following events in Wisconsin and decided to help out at the phonebank because she felt the collective bargaining issue was a national fight. She called about half a dozen people. Two hung up, one was unsure on the issue, and one replied, “I have to think about it.”

“The main question I had was, ‘Do you support Scott Walker’s efforts to balance the budget by limiting the public sector union ability to collectively bargain?’” Haun told The Huffington Post. “I’ve been very concerned about the way that the unions in Wisconsin have reacted to his effort to balance his budget — through not taking away what they have, but through limiting the way that they can take taxpayer money to support their pensions, which are huge and very lavish, especially compared to the one I have in Colorado,” she added.

Nearby, a progressive group was holding a Netroots Nation conference in Minneapolis. Former Wisconsin senator Russ Feingold, labor leaders, and other activists focused on the fight in Wisconsin during the event. On Sunday, Democracy for America (DFA) was busing participants over to Wisconsin to knock on doors on behalf of candidates in the recall elections. According to a tweet from DFA Deputy National Field Director Nick Passanante, about 20 volunteers joined up with them to canvass.

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The Wisconsin Supreme Court has upheld the controversial act that stripped most public sector unions of the right to collectively bargain.

By a 4-3 majority, the Supreme Court ruled that Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi had “usurped the legislative power which the Wisconsin constitution grants exclusively to the Legislature” when she issued an injunction prohibiting the enforcement of the act due to violations of the state’s open meetings laws.  “There is no constitutional requirement that the legislature provide access to as many members of the public as wish to attend meetings of the legislature or meetings of legislative committees,” the court said.

In her dissent from the majority opinion, Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson accused the court’s conservative majority of displaying partisanship in their ruling.  She also argued that the case should not have been allowed to leapfrog the usual appellate process.  “Only with a reasoned, accurate analysis can a court assure the litigants and the public that a decision is made on the basis of facts and law. free from a judge’s personal ideology and free from external pressure by the executive or legislative branches, by partisan political parties, by public opinion or by special interest groups,” she said.

The Secretary of Administration, Mike Huebsch, has said that his office will start implementing the law “when appropriate.”

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In a nod to the holiday classic, the collection of tents that have popped up around the capitol in Wisconsin have been named, “Walkerville.”  Protesters began camping out last week to protest the budget cuts which could be enacted this week, led by Governor Scott Walker. That budget bill may also include the anti-union provisions which passed but then got tied up in a court challenge over the procedures used to pass them.

The Walkerville protest is more organized than the spontaneous marches that erupted in February and lasted for weeks when the state Republicans tried to pass the measure banning collective bargaining.   Organizers have a permit for Walkerville until June 20. David Boetcher, leader of pro-union coalition We Are Wisconsin, which organized the tent city, estimated that about 80 tents and 250 people were camped out over the weekend.   Boetcher said the protests would continue until the state budget is voted on.”This is about changing the minds of the people of Wisconsin,” Boetcher said.

On Monday, at least eight people were arrested during a large protest organized by former Senator and liberal champion Russ Feingold. Thousands of protesters and taxicabs marched around and in the capitol. Despite the recent court ruling that requires the Capitol building to remain open to the public, protesters were arrested for entering the public building. The ACLU successfully sued the Department of Administration after the government attempted to limit access to the building during the February protests. Capitol police officers tackled and arrested reporters in an effort, so it seems, to prevent video of them locking the doors. Another disturbing event happened last week at a Joint Finance Committee meeting.  Protesters engaged in civil disobedience were carried out of the room during the meeting.

At a news conference Monday, Chief Charles Tubbs said Capitol police would be looking to recruit more state law enforcement officers to work in the Capitol in the coming weeks.”We’re looking at all types of security measures,” Tubbs said. The police chief said four people were arrested Monday for disorderly conduct in the Capitol, and one more person was arrested for opening the doors on the first floor of the Capitol that are currently locked. At least three protesters were arrested and ticketed at the rally Monday around the Capitol Square.

Suzanne Tucker / Shutterstock.com

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The controversial collective bargaining law that plunged Wisconsin into weeks of intense protests has been struck down by a judge.

Back in February, Governor Scott Walker introduced a Budget Repair Bill that contained provisions stripping most public sector workers of the right to collectively bargain.  But Senate Democrats opposed the measure and ended up fleeing the state in order to deny Republicans the special quorum necessary to pass fiscal legislation.  With neither side willing to compromise, the legislative proceedings seemed to be at a standstill until, on March 9, the Republican leadership hastily convened a meeting of the Joint Committee of Conference.  The committee stripped the fiscal provisions from the bill, which meant that the collective bargaining provisions could be passed even without the presence of the Senate Democrats.

Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi ruled that the legislature violated the state’s Open Meetings Law by failing to give at least two hours’ notice of the meeting.

“The legislators were understandably frustrated by the stalemate existing on March 9, but that does not justify jettisoning compliance with the Open Meetings Law in an attempt to move the Budget Repair Bill to final action,” Sumi wrote in her decision.

“It is not the court’s business to determine whether 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 is good public policy or bad public policy,” she continued. “It is this court’s responsibility, however, to apply the rule of law to the facts before it.”

Sumi’s decision is almost certain to be appealed to the state Supreme Court.  The high court is already scheduled to hear oral arguments on June 6 relating to an earlier challenge to her authority.

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Although lawmakers promised to focus on the economy and creating jobs, instead states are now focusing on abortion.  Wisconsin and Tennessee are the latest in a string of states trying to cut funding for Planned Parenthood because the organization provides abortions.

In Wisconsin, the Joint Finance Committee voted last week to block state family planning grants from any group that provides abortions, or abortion referrals.  Despite the well documented fact that those funds cannot legally be used to pay for abortions, Wisconsin lawmakers are wasting valuable tax payer dollars to prevent something that is already prohibited. This proposed legislation would cut nearly a million dollars a year from nine Planned Parenthood clinics across Wisconsin.  The committee also voted to exclude men from the state run family planning program, Badger Care, and to lower the income eligibility for the program.

“What they’re trying to do makes our family planning program so dramatically different from what it was that the federal government could say, “This isn’t what we agreed on,’ and the program ends,” said a spokesperson for Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin. BadgerCare currently serves 60,000 patients in Wisconsin, many of whom have very limited access to low-cost preventative care and family planning services.

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-West Bend) said he would make deeper cuts to Planned Parenthood if he could, because he believes the organization promotes abortion, despite statistics that say abortions account for less than 3 percent of its services.  “There’s a very ugly side to this organization, and I regret that they’re going to take such a tiny cut in this budget,” Grothman said.

Lawmakers in Tennessee are also attempting to pass a bill that would pull Title X funding from “third party providers or private organizations or entities,” which means Planned Parenthood.  Again, even though no Title X funding pays for abortion and the funding will be pulled from essential and useful services such as family planning, cancer screenings, and STD testing.

Planned Parenthood believes that the likely legislation in Tennessee  would impact three clinics and a total of 9,000 patients. The organization is busy working on a contingency plan that would keep its doors open. “One thing that’s sure is none of our clinics will close. It’s gonna be difficult, but we’re committed to providing service to the women in need,” said Jeff Teague, president and CEO of Planned Parenthood of Middle and East Tennessee.

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The Tea Party, the great grassroots movement from a couple of years ago, is dying.   The media, bought and paid for by American corporations, does not want you to know this.  They worked really hard to cultivate the image of a huge uprising of political conservatives.  And many people bought that story line for a long time—even though it wasn’t much truth to it even at the beginning.  Now, there is a genuine uprising of the middle class, but you wouldn’t know that if you watched most American news networks.

The Tea Party rallies have been sponsored by giant corporations who are using middle class folks to further their own agenda of cutting down the middle class.  Many people who attended Tea Party rallies really believed in their cause of small government and lower taxes.  They voted in an overwhelmingly large numbers last election to get their candidates in.  Republicans jumped in the wave of the Tea Party, promising to shrink the size of government.  However, since Election Day, they have done nothing of the sort.  Promising to focus on the economy, the GOP has done essentially nothing but attempt to increase the size of government and attack the middle class.  And people are waking up to it.

A big tea convention was scheduled in Tampa, Florida over the weekend of March  19^th.  The Save America website, who was sponsoring the event, promised 25 guest speakers, including party bigwigs like Rep. Ron Paul (R-TX), Fox News Judge Andrew Napolitano, and former GOP Congressman Tom Tancredo.  Seems like a big deal, right?  Not so much.  Only about 300 people attended the event.  Pictures of the event show vast rooms with the majority of chairs empty.  Politics has consequences as some in the GOP are learning.  I just don’t understand why those like Wisconsin governor Scott Walker and the other Wisconsin Republicans think they can do something that is widely politically unpopular and hold on to their jobs.

Speaking of Wisconsin, there is another growing movement in the U.S.  The many states that have tried to attack the middle class and workers have been met with large scale protests and demonstrations.  Take Wisconsin for instance.  The rallies in that state far outnumbered the largest Tea Party rallies.  And the voters in Wisconsin stayed for weeks to make sure their voices were heard.  This is a genuine uprising, one that is not organized by any corporations.  In fact, the opposite is true.  Corporations and the corporate-owned media seek to blackout coverage of the movement.  If the middle class starts to really get mad, corporations might not be able to continue the huge transfer of wealth that they have been organizing for the past 30 years.  No matter what the media forgets to tell you, the facts are clear.  the Tea Party is dying.  Republicans took advantage to get elected and have not even come close to following through on campaign promises.  The middle class and workers in America are finally fed up with the growing attacks from the wealthy.  The real discontent will be reflected in the next election.  Most political pundits will act surprised at the overwhelming loss of the Republican Party.  They will only be shocked because they are not paying attention right now.

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Republicans, likely upset that they do not have public support in their union busting measures, are now targeting public employees that speak out against their overreach.  Freedom of speech is dead and buried in America.

The first instance of intimidation came in Wisconsin where a Republican group has filed a Freedom of Information Act seeking a professor’s emails.   William Cronon, Professor of History, Geography and Environmental Studies at the University of Wisconsin, spoke out against Governor Walker’s campaign against collective bargaining in a New York Times op-ed earlier in the month.  Two days after his post was published, Stephan Thompson of the Wisconsin Republican Party filed an open records request for the professor’s personal e-mails — including any memorandum that contains the words “Republican,” “Scott Walker” and “union,” among others.  Although Cronon is a public employee and his email are subject to such an inquiry, the information the GOP is looking for would be part of Cronon’s personal emails and not related to his job.

University of Wisconsin-Madison Chancellor Biddy Martin released a statement in response to the controversy, saying that the university would comply with the open records request as required by law. She continued, however: “Compliance with public records requests involves a balancing test. There are many cases in which the university must balance the need, for instance, to protect proprietary research against the public’s right to know. In this instance, we will need to consider whether disclosure would result in a chilling effect on the discourse between colleagues that is essential to our academic mission.”

Michigan is now, even more broadly, using the open record request to investigate those damn liberal commie professors in their state university system.  A conservative think tank in Michigan, the Mackinac Center, submitted a FOIA request seeking any emails from labor professors at the University of Michigan, Wayne State University and Michigan State University.  The center demanded any email that includes the words “Scott Walker,” “Wisconsin,” “Madison,” and “Maddow.”  The Mackinac Center is funded by many prominent conservative foundations, such as those of the Koch brothers, the Waltons, and the parents of Blackwater chief Erik Prince.

MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow, presumably who the Center is after, was perplexed on how she became synonymous with the Wisconsin protests.  “This show was the first national news outlet to report in detail on that policy, and now, the Mackinack Center is demanding the emails of anybody who could be an expert on that subject who might have the temerity to type the word ‘Maddow’ in any context in an email,” Maddow said on her Wednesday night show. “How’s that leave me alone personal liberty thing working out for you?”

The Republicans who campaigned fiercely on small government continue to pass laws that are not small government at all.  For instance, going through university professors emails—that really doesn’t strike me as small government at all.  Try again.  William Cronon writes on his blog that the “open records request seems designed to give him (Mr. Thompson of the state GOP) what he hopes will be ammunition he can use to embarrass, undermine, and ultimately silence me.”  This is big government oppression at its worst.

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After Ohio passed its dramatic union stripping bill, the state is posed for an epic fight over the measure.  Ohio does not have a recall process like Wisconsin but they may have something better, a referendum process that was used successfully the last time Ohio tried to strip unions.

Under Ohio law, opponents have 90 days from the time the governor signs the legislation to collect 231,149 signatures to get a referendum on the November ballot.  If they collect enough valid signatures from 44 Ohio counties within that time frame, the law wouldn’t go into effect until the November election—that is if voters approved the referendum, which now seems pretty unlikely.

It is pretty obvious that the majority of people are not for the union stripping measures that are popping up all over the nation.  It is certainly painfully clear in Ohio.  The Columbus Dispatch analyzed more than 14,000 of Governor Kasich’s emails obtained through a public-records request.  The breakdown was pretty dramatic.  Only 16 percent of the emails were in favor of SB 5 which proposed even more draconian union stripping measures than Wisconsin.  A whopping 84 percent of the emails analyzed were against the bill.  Despite these numbers, the Ohio legislators passed the bill and Kasich quickly inked it into law.

Nearly two-thirds of the emails came from writers who identified themselves as a public employee or a close relative – virtually all of whom opposed the measure.  However, even without the self-identified public workers, the Senate bill was still opposed by 57 percent of those who emailed Kasich.  And dozens of those who backed the anti-union law are from out of state, with several remarking that they had seen Kasich on Fox News.

Before passing the bill, Kasich said there were some who support Senate Bill 5, and the number will grow as more people understand what’s in it. He also acknowledged many Ohioans’ dissatisfaction with him and parts of his agenda.  “I really think that people want change, but they’re not sure what it should look like,” Kasich said. “When the headlines every day are about change, it unsettles people. But I said that from the beginning, that this was going to be a time of big change, and that there would be people who wouldn’t like it.”

It seems like doing something that is overwhelming politically unpopular will have consequences.  That is certainly the case in Wisconsin where the first recall petition has been filed.  In Ohio, it appears that the political consequences could defeat this bill ultimately.  It seems like lawmakers would be more concerned with taking on these losing battles knowing that it will affect their future.  Their cavalier attitude concerns me.  Do they know something about the next election that I don’t know?  Or are they simply betting that voters will continue to have poor memory and will forget about their giant misdeeds by the time the next election rolls around?  The reason why these positions are elected positions are to prevent this sort of power grab.  If the vast majority of voters are against a proposal, the elected official should bow to the will of the people.  This is intended to be a “representative government.”  What happened?

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In Wisconsin, the promised recall battle following the state legislature’s insane decision to pass a hugely unpopular anti-collective bargaining bill has delivered its first victim. The first petition with the required signatures was filed for Republican State Senator Dan Kapanke of La Crosse. He is one of the eight Republican state senators that the Democrats want to oust.

Organizers in Wisconsin say that all of the recall petitions are gathering significant support, ahead of schedule, and multiple petitions with the required signatures will be filed in the coming days and weeks.  Election season will come much sooner for Wisconsin voters.  The petitions will first have to be verified but summer elections are likely.

The recall supporters collected 21,700 signatures.  The Government Accountability Board has 31 days to verify the signatures.  The board has asked the court to extend the verification period because of other petitions that will likely be filed. If the Government Accountability Board finds at least 15,588 signatures to be valid then it would lead to the fifth recall of a state official in history of Wisconsin. It would also be the 21ist recall of a state official in United States history.

Republicans are also attempting to target several Democrats in the state for recall, but it is unknown if they will be able to garner the needed signatures.  They are being outspent by the Democrats and Democrats also clearly have the public opinion.

Kapanke has not commented since the recall papers had been filed.  He previously defended his vote, claiming it was a necessary step to balance the budget while minimizing layoffs.

Last month, thousands of state residents protested the anti-union measure that would strip public employees of their collective bargaining rights nestled inside a “budget repair” bill.  Senate Democrats fled the state in order to prevent the measure from being passed.  After three weeks of epic protests in the Midwestern state, the GOP Senate chose to separate the collective bargaining measure from the rest of the bill.  Since it no longer contained fiscal matters, the Senate was able to vote on it without the Democrats present.  Democrats protested that it violated Wisconsin’s open meeting law, which generally requires 24 hours’ notice, and a minimum of two hours, for meetings. The law is currently being challenged in court and is not able to be implemented.

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Wisconsin has forced the debate nationally on teachers’ salaries as more and more states are cutting spending for education, claiming austerity measures.   Although there is no clear correlation that better paid teachers produce more educated students, there are certainly some valid reasons why teachers should be paid better in the United States.

According to the Economic Policy Institute (EPI), many people do not join the teaching profession because of its low starting salary, which trails the pay of educators around the world.  The average starting salary for a teacher is $32,642.  The maximum salary for teachers with master’s degree is $60,036.  Teachers have also been “losing ground” to other professions for years, EPI says. A 2008 report by the Economic Policy Institute argues that teachers with bachelor’s degrees earned about 12.2 percent less than their peers in 2006, while the gap between teachers and non-teachers with a master’s degree was 11.3 percent.

The National Education Association, the largest teacher’s union, believes that teachers should receive more compensation for receiving a master’s degree.  “People who improve their skills should get paid more,” says Bill Raabe of the NEA “Wouldn’t you want that adult work with your children to be the best that money can buy. It’s a no brainer.”

A few schools are fighting these trends by paying teachers six-figure salaries. A New York City charter school earned headlines in 2008 for its plans to pay teachers $125,000 in exchange for working longer hours and assuming additional duties. A voluntary program instituted in Washington, D.C., last year could raise total compensation for some teachers to $140,000.  Some teachers in Wisconsin and Illinois are also reportedly as handsomely compensated along with other states. According to the NEA, about 1 percent of teachers are paid that well.

Though teachers’ unions and their political allies argue that educators are underpaid, fiscal conservatives argue that given the amount of work they do and the hefty benefits they receive, that is not the case. Frederick Hess, director of education policy studies at the American Enterprise Institute, says he is not against paying well.  “I don’t think that all teachers should earn six figures,” Hess says in an interview. “The best teachers should earn six figures and the worst teachers should be fired.”

The states that teachers are the lowest paid are generally not known for high quality education.  The states with the lowest paid teachers are Kansas, Tennessee, New Mexico, North Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Utah, Missouri, North Dakota, and South Dakota.

Throwing more money at a broken education system may not solve the problem.  But, teachers in the United States are significantly underpaid, suggesting that the nation may not value education as it once did.  This will negatively impact future generations.

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You may remember that during the heated battle between Wisconsin’s Republican lawmakers and the union supporting protestors, Governor Scott Walker claimed that he was receiving more emails from people who supported his cause than those that were against it.  Walker declared that the majority of emails received by his office supported his union busting measure.  Guess what, Walker?  Emails are public record.

The Associated Press analyzed the emails and it seems that Walker may have misspoken.  For close to a week, according to the AP, the messages in Walker’s inbox were running roughly 2-1 against his plan.  The AP analyzed more than 26,000 emails sent to Walker from the time he formally announced his plans until he first mentioned the emails in public – a span of seven days.  The tide only changed in Walker’s favor shortly after the Senate Democrats fled the state.  The overall results were pretty divided.  Walker received about 55 percent in support and 44 percent against. In the weeks since, Walker has continued to receive tens of thousands of emails on the issue.

Walker made the email comments on February 17^th while tens of thousands of protesters gathered inside the Capitol’s rotunda and the lawn outside.  “The more than 8,000 emails we got today, the majority are telling us to stay firm, to stay strong, to stand with the taxpayers,” Walker said of the emails. “While the protesters have every right to be heard, I’m going to make sure the taxpayers of the state are heard and their voices are not drowned out by those circling the Capitol.”  However, the AP found that several preceding days, the emails of support Walker had received were vastly outnumbered by those opposed to his plan.  A week before when Walker formally outlined his budget repair bill, including the union busting measure, the emails sent to his office ran more than 5-1 against his plan.

The emails were obtained through a legal settlement with Walker’s office, a result of a lawsuit filed by the AP and a weekly newspaper in Madison.  The news organizations sued after the governor’s office did not respond to requests for the emails under the state’s open records law.

“Thanks for the 10% pay cut,” wrote a Department of Corrections employee. “I can’t believe that I voted for you. Get bent.”

After state Republicans used a parliamentary procedure, they were able to pass the controversial bill without the Senate Democrats.  However, Democrats have challenged it in court and a judge has issued a temporary restraining order on the law.

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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker continues to prove that he is suffering from delusions of grandeur.  He and the Republican lawmakers in his state used questionable tactics to ram through the controversial measure that would eliminate collective bargaining.  Democrats maintain that the law was passed illegally and challenged the matter in court.  A judge in the state ordered that the law not be published until the court could review the matter.  Walker, however, published the law anyway.

Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi ruled earlier this month that Senate Republicans may have violated the state’s open meetings law when it passed the collective-bargaining bill.  Judge Sumi said more time was needed to examine the actions of the legislators.  Despite her ruling that the law not be published, last week the Legislative Reference Bureau, a legislative service agency not named in the original restraining order because they don’t normally publish laws, went ahead and published the law.

Using that loophole, Walker began to implement the law.  The Walker administration announced Sunday that, in accordance with the collective-bargaining bill, it would no longer collect dues on behalf of the unions and that public employees would be charged more for their pension and health-care obligations.

Judge Sumi issued a second order late Tuesday to stop the state from violating her original ruling.  In her ruling, Sumi criticized the administration for violating her original ruling. “Apparently that language [in the ruling] was either misunderstood or ignored, but what I said was the further implementation [of the collective-bargaining bill] was enjoined. That is now what I want to make crystal clear,” she said.   Sumi warned against legislators who may act “in willful defiance of a court order” may be subjecting them to sanctions.

Even after that clear ruling, Walker is still acting like the bill is law.  Walker aide Mike Huebsch issued a statement following the ruling saying the administration will evaluate the new order. “We will continue to confer with our legal counsel and have more information about how to move forward in the near future,” Mr. Huebsch said.   The next hearing on the case is Friday.

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The standoff in Wisconsin continues.  Into the third week, the Democrat state senators are still outside of Wisconsin. Protesters are still in front of the capital.  And Governor Scott Walker still insists he is right.  Even though the Republicans’ widely unpopular idea of limiting collective bargaining rights has, shockingly, become even more unpopular—there is no signs of backing down from the state lawmakers.

However, Walker is getting some support from other Republicans.  In a press conference on Tuesday, Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) not only defended Walker, he used some pretty strong words to make his defense.

“It’s not just Wisconsin. It’s Ohio. It’s Indiana. You’re going to see these types of actions taken in a lot of states because the states are broke and over the last couple of years the Obama administration, the Democrat controlled Congress bailed out the states where they could avoid making the tough decisions. Well, there are no more bailouts coming from Washington. We’re broke. We’re broke! We don’t have money to dish out to the states so all these Governors are trying to find ways to balance their budgets, which they’re required to do. In some of these states you’ve got collective bargaining laws that are so weighted in favor of the public employees that there’s almost no bargaining. We’ve given them a machine gun and put it right at the heads of the local officials and they really have their hands tied. And I think what you’re seeing in these states is they’re trying to bring some balance to these negotiations that when you look at the pay of public employees today and you look at their retirement benefits they are way out of line with many other working Americans.”

Really?  Only six months after the shooting that left six people dead in Tucson, Arizona and critically injured U.S. congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords, Boehner is going to use that analogy. Boehner’s spokesman insists that the speaker’s violent comparison was just part of the political language.   “It’s a common metaphor, similar to when Sen. [Chuck] Schumer refers to a ‘dagger’ or when Sen. [Dick] Durbin said last week that ending the Washington spending binge would be ‘job-killing,’” said Michael Steel.

Maybe that is true.  But, it seemed particularly violent and specific.  And I don’t understand why any politician with any sense would back the lunatic Scott Walker and his really failing attempt at union busting.  No matter what poll you look at, a large majority of Americans support unions and are against what Walker is trying to do.

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Without the boisterous protests of Wisconsin, legislation in Ohio that would severely curb collective bargaining is speeding toward passage.  The Ohio bill narrowly passed in the state senate on Wednesday by a margin of 17-16.  Although protests have been held daily at Ohio’s capital for the past two weeks, the numbers have been nowhere near as large as the numbers in Wisconsin.

Ohio’s bill could go to House committee hearings as early as next week. The measure is likely to receive strong support from the full chamber and Republican Gov. John Kasich.  The legislation is even more damaging to unions than the proposed measure in Wisconsin.  It would restrict the bargaining rights of roughly 350,000 teachers, firefighters, police officers and other public employees. They would no longer be able to negotiate health care benefits or certain working conditions, and they would be barred from striking.  The bill would also eliminate all paid sick days for teachers.  Whereas in Wisconsin the limits on collective bargaining would not apply to firefighters and police officers, in Ohio—there is no exemptions.  The attack on the middle class is not hidden anymore, but plainly obvious.

Protesters and union members were surprised at the speed in which the bill was pushed through in Ohio.  Democrats are far outnumbered in the state and were helpless to try to stop the bill.  “For as far-reaching this thing is and how many lives it will affect, I can’t believe how fast it moved,” said Columbus Police Sgt. Shaun Laird.

Like in Wisconsin, the government claims that they need to limit collective bargaining to fix a budget shortfall.  What is not well-reported is that Ohio has done all sorts of idiotic things that do the opposite of saving money.  For starters, they eliminated corporate income tax a couple of years ago.  Hey, that might have something to do with your budget shortfall, dudes.  Now, the state, under Kasich, is trying to repeal the estate tax.  Another money saving idea.  These people are brilliant.  Kasich, a multi-millionaire who raised money on Fox News where he used to work, also has rejected a $400 million federal grant to upgrade the state’s passenger rail system, which would have created at least a thousand direct jobs and thousands more indirectly, along with a jump in state tax revenue.  Kasich meanwhile gave a huge raise to his chief of staff paying him $40,000 more than the chief of staff of his predecessor.  He has hired at least four commissioners to sit on a “job creation” panel with annual salaries of roughly $150,000 each.   The commission has been structured to operate without formal accountability to the legislature or taxpayers of the state. After he was elected governor, Kasich refused to live in the governor’s house in Bexley and instead maintained residence in Westerville. This cost taxpayers a few million dollars in security overhauls for his own personal house, plus transportation costs.  He also rented the 30th floor of the Riffe Center for his primary office, not in the Statehouse, which would be free.

And, yes, this complete idiot and his cronies in the state GOP have the nerve to ask firefighters, teachers, and police officers to sacrifice.  They do not know the first thing about sacrifice.  I, along with many others in America, can talk about difficult choices, crushing debt, and overdue bills.  Kasich obviously has no clue what that is like.  It would seem to be that either Republicans are brain dead morons – a distinct possibility – or Kasich is hiding these public numbers pretty good.  Unless you are in the top .1 percent of earners in Ohio, I haven’t got a clue why this attack on the middle class is justifiable.  It is time for a recall.  No one should get away with this complete abuse of power in the name of austerity.

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There may be an end in sight to the nearly three week standoff in Wisconsin.  Governor Scott Walker, previously resolute in his determination to not budge, is now proposing a compromise with the 14 Democratic state senators who fled the state in order to prevent a budget repair bill from passing the senate.  The bill would have limited collected bargaining rights for public employees and caused outrage throughout the nation.

In e-mails released by Walker’s office on Tuesday, Walker has suggested a compromise that would allow workers to continue bargaining over their salaries with no limit, a change from his original plan that banned negotiated salary increases beyond inflation. He also proposed compromises allowing collective bargaining to stay in place on mandatory overtime, performance bonuses, hazardous duty pay and classroom size for teachers.  However, the increased contributions for health insurance and pension, which would save the state $330 million by mid-2013, would remain. The unions and Democrats have agreed to those concessions to help balance a projected $3.6 billion budget shortfall.

Sen. Bob Jauch, one of the 14 AWOL Democrats, was hopeful that the compromise would be a starting point for future negotiations.  He and Sen. Cullen, both working with the administration, maintain that the latest offer is inadequate. The e-mails reveal that Jauch also wanted sick leave and vacation pay to remain items that could be bargained over.  “I consider the lines of communication still open,” Cullen said Tuesday. “Whether there’s going to be any communicating, remains to be seen. These things ebb and flow.”

Walker has repeatedly stated he would not budge on his bill that has been stuck in the senate for 19 days since the Democrats left the state.  Since that time, protesters have gathered in the capital daily—some camping out.  The numbers have swelled as large as 80,000, as teachers, nurses, firefighters, and other union workers were joined by family and friends to express their outrage.  Polls have also consistently shown that people support collective bargaining and want a compromise.  Recall efforts have also been launched against 16 senators, including eight Republicans.

Senate Republicans spent hours going over the compromise plan Tuesday morning in a closed-door meeting, Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said. He acknowledged that pressure was increasing on the senators, saying the recall efforts launched against eight Republicans was “on everybody’s minds.”

“Everybody’s obviously receiving a lot of pressure,” Fitzgerald said. “I had people on my front porch before I left this morning.”  He didn’t say whether Senate Republicans agreed with the concessions Walker proposed on Sunday said support for the underlying bill remained strong.  “We’re rock solid, we’re fine,” he said.

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