MAL Contends . . .

Scott Walker's Extremism Led to Shadow Government

2012-01-28T10:22:00.003-06:00

Scott Walker e-mail to aide Tim Russell, former Walker deputy chief of staff,
and Walker Housing Director for the Dept of Health and Human Services

"We can't afford another story like this one. No one can give them any reason to do another story."

The revelation that Scott Walker's inner circle was responsible for setting up a secret e-mail-computer system that was used to conceal illegal fundraising is a predictable outcome from this extremist and secretive bunch that literally locked the doors to the people's house of Wisconsin, the state capitol.

There is no commitment to representative democracy from this gang facing recall. That's why they feel no need to abide by Wisconsin Open Meeting laws, and feel entitled ordering the arrest of opposition representatives who try to gain entry into their own offices like in the Winter-Spring of 2010.

Scott Walker's Criminal Path to Power

Truth is these are not very bright guys as the John Doe investigation into Walker's tenure in Milwaukee County and his 2010 campaign is demonstrating, as each new arrest flushes out a new act of corruption, never mind jetting around the country bagging $millions in out-of-state campaign funds.

"This was a shadow government meant to further the political career of Scott Walker," said Graeme Zielinski, spokesman for the Democratic Party of Wisconsin. "All of them knew what was right and what was wrong, and they chose the crooked path."

Walker says he didn't know. Few take his assurances at face value anymore.

Scott Walker Email to Aide Tim Russell
Clearly by mentioning 'laptops' Walker is aware of the illegal scheme to do campaign work in the government office with campaign laptops and on a private campaign network.

The complaint also details how Rindfleish did fundraising for Lt. Gov. candidate Brett Davis, which the complaint states 'persons associated with the Friends of Scott Walker campaign committee generally favored Brett Davis over other candidates for the office of Lieutenant Governor.'

Here's the kicker, though: Even though Rindfleish has been under the investigative cross hairs for months, the Walker campaign had kept her on the pay roll up until a week ago!

Speaking of keeping people on the pay roll, guess who was Brett Davis' campaign manager aka the guy that was helping coordinate all this illegal activity out of Walker's government office? The governor's current spokesperson, Cullen Werwie. - Uppity Wisconsin

What did Walker mean in his e-mail on the secret system in which he says, "We can't afford another story like this one. No one can give them any reason to do another story."

Wisconsin citizens might be more assured had Walker written, 'What we are doing is wrong. This whole secret system is wrong and should not have been set-up in the first place; our commitment is to serve Milwaukee and Wisconsin and not Scott Walker.'

The Walker campaign has hired former U.S. Attorney Steven Biskupic to respond to the request [subpoenaed emails by John Doe prosecutors], paying his firm nearly $110,000 over the past year, reports the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel.

Two more former aides to Scott Walker charged with crimes

2012-01-26T12:17:00.003-06:00

Scott Walker

Update: Scott Walker'a inner circle was responsible for setting up a secret e-mail-computer system that was used to conceal illegal fundraising.

Wisconsin wonders if it can get a statement of condemnation from Scott Walker as his former aides keep getting charged with criminal acts.

Is Scott Walker in favor or against criminal acts? The circle is closing in on Recall target, Scott Walker.

By Chris Bowers

Already, District Attorney John Chisholm's office has charged Tim Russell, former Walker deputy chief of staff, and former county veterans official Kevin Kavanaugh with stealing more than $60,000 in donations intended for Operation Freedom, an annual event honoring veterans at the county zoo. Both are facing multiple felonies.

Russell's domestic partner, Brian Pierick, was also charged with two felonies for child enticement. [Bice, Umhoefer. Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel, Jan 26, 2012]

Two aides to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker during his time as Milwaukee County Executive have been charged as part of an ongoing investigation of Walker staffers:

By Dan Bice: Two staffers who worked directly for Gov. Scott Walker while he was county executive were charged Thursday with illegally doing extensive political work while being paid by taxpayers to do county jobs.

Kelly Rindfleisch, deputy chief of staff to Walker in 2010, faces four felony counts of misconduct in office for working for then-Rep. Brett Davis' 2010 campaign for lieutenant governor while on the county clock. Davis, who lost in the Republican primary, is now Walker's state Medicaid director.[...]

Also facing two misdemeanors is Darlene Wink, Walker's one-time constituent services coordinator, who is accused of using county resources to raise money for Walker's 2010 gubernatorial bid. Wink, a former vice chair of the Milwaukee County Republican Party, resigned in May 2010 after admitting that she was spending part of her work day doing campaign work. [Wink is represented by a writer for the Waukesha, Wisconsin Freedom Weekly. Wisconsin's Pravda.]

To Ron Paul Apologists: Racism is Never OK

2012-01-25T13:00:00.003-06:00

Ron Paul will not win the Republican nomination for president, though I think he'll launch a third-party run this year.

But his racism is not a disqualification for his candidacy in the Party.

The GOP candidates love racism as a tool, and they love their states' rights. [States' rights to take away a woman's right to choose; states' rights to gerrymand voting districts; states rights to obstruct voters, and so on.]

Paul's racism is a disqualification from the more civilized members of our community and Paul's apologists deserve a knock-down.

By Phil Scarr

Ta-Nehisi Coates takes Ron Paul to the woodshed over his position on the abolition of slavery. It’s a thing of beauty.

For those who don’t know, Ron Paul was not OK with freeing the slaves through the Civil War. It represented an illegitimate theft of private property from the southern plantation owners (property the rest of us casually refer to as “people”).

Here is Ron Paul speaking with Tim Russert and blaming the Civil War on Lincoln.

MR. RUSSERT: I was intrigued by your comments about Abe Lincoln. “According to Paul, Abe Lincoln should never have gone to war; there were better ways of getting rid of slavery.”

REP. PAUL: Absolutely. Six hundred thousand Americans died in a senseless civil war. No, he shouldn’t have gone, gone to war. He did this just to enhance and get rid of the original intent of the republic.

MR. RUSSERT: We’d still have slavery.

REP. PAUL: Oh come on, Tim. Slavery was phased out in every other country of the world. And the way I’m advising that it should have been done is do like the British empire did. You, you buy the slaves and release them. How much would that cost compared to killing 600,000 Americans and where it lingered for 100 years? I mean, the hatred and all that existed. So every other major country in the world got rid of slavery without a civil war. I mean, that doesn’t sound too radical to me. That sounds like a pretty reasonable approach.

Ta-Nehisi Coates points out the gaping flaw in Dr. Paul’s logic (the same Dr. Paul who thinks the gold standard is just ducky, he shouldn’t have to share a toilet with gay supporters and that the Federal Reserve should be abolished):

When Ron Paul claims that Lincoln “shouldn’t have gone to war,” he is deploying a convenient and erroneous frame which necessarily holds that the inciting aggression was not in raising an Army, seizing federal property and arms, urging revolution among ones neighbors, and then firing on a federal fort, but in democratically electing a president with whom slave-holders disagreed.

Throughout the War, Lincoln attempted to bring about a peaceful and magnanimous end. He pitched compensated emancipation, and was rebuffed, not by the Confederates, but by slave states still loyal to the Union. When Union armies brought states back under federal control he urged easy paths to regaining citizenship.

The racist states-rights advocates have been advancing the same, tired argument since 1865.

Some things never change.

President Obama Delivers State of the Union, Calls for Unity

2012-01-24T21:46:00.004-06:00

Pres Obama delivers address at U.S. Capitol. Unknown to a global audience
moments before, a bold hostage rescue operation had played out half a world
away by Navy SEAL teams. Photo Bill O'Leary/Washington Post

Update: Special Operations Forces Rescue Hostages in Somalia -At start of the president’s address last night, TV cameras caught Obama shaking Leon Panetta’s hand, saying “Good job.” No one knew then what he was talking about.
---

The domestic enemy is clear, and the enemy of the American people, including all 26-million American veterans, is the Republican Party.

Against this backdrop, President Obama vowed to move forward to the dismay of a rightwing party unprecedented in American history.

But President Obama called for unity and common purpose, as is embodied in the U.S. Military.

President Obama: Armed forces offer example of looking out for the person next to you,
or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit,
serving one Nation, leaving no one behind

Obama bore little resemblance to the straw-man figure derided in Republican debates, delivering a sober, respectful call for national purpose during a crisis that we as a nation face together.

State of the Union Address - January 24, 2012
Remarks by the President in State of the Union Address

United States Capitol
Washington, D.C.

... Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they served us. That includes giving them the care and benefits they have earned - which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our Nation.

With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we are providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And tonight, I’m proposing a Veterans Job Corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that America is as strong as those who defend her.

Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind.
---

Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans:

Last month, I went to Andrews Air Force Base and welcomed home some of our last troops to serve in Iraq. Together, we offered a final, proud salute to the colors under which more than a million of our fellow citizens fought - and several thousand gave their lives.

We gather tonight knowing that this generation of heroes has made the United States safer and more respected around the world. For the first time in nine years, there are no Americans fighting in Iraq. For the first time in two decades, Osama bin Laden is not a threat to this country. Most of al Qaeda’s top lieutenants have been defeated. The Taliban’s momentum has been broken, and some troops in Afghanistan have begun to come home.

These achievements are a testament to the courage, selflessness, and teamwork of America’s Armed Forces. At a time when too many of our institutions have let us down, they exceed all expectations. They’re not consumed with personal ambition. They don’t obsess over their differences. They focus on the mission at hand. They work together.

Imagine what we could accomplish if we followed their example. Think about the America within our reach: A country that leads the world in educating its people. An America that attracts a new generation of high-tech manufacturing and high-paying jobs. A future where we’re in control of our own energy, and our security and prosperity aren’t so tied to unstable parts of the world. An economy built to last, where hard work pays off, and responsibility is rewarded.

We can do this. I know we can, because we’ve done it before. At the end of World War II, when another generation of heroes returned home from combat, they built the strongest economy and middle class the world has ever known. My grandfather, a veteran of Patton’s Army, got the chance to go to college on the GI Bill. My grandmother, who worked on a bomber assembly line, was part of a workforce that turned out the best products on Earth.

The two of them shared the optimism of a Nation that had triumphed over a depression and fascism. They understood they were part of something larger; that they were contributing to a story of success that every American had a chance to share - the basic American promise that if you worked hard, you could do well enough to raise a family, own a home, send your kids to college, and put a little away for retirement.

The defining issue of our time is how to keep that promise alive. No challenge is more urgent. No debate is more important. We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What’s at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values. We have to reclaim them.

Let’s remember how we got here. Long before the recession, jobs and manufacturing began leaving our shores. Technology made businesses more efficient, but also made some jobs obsolete. Folks at the top saw their incomes rise like never before, but most hardworking Americans struggled with costs that were growing, paychecks that weren’t, and personal debt that kept piling up.

In 2008, the house of cards collapsed. We learned that mortgages had been sold to people who couldn’t afford or understand them. Banks had made huge bets and bonuses with other people’s money. Regulators had looked the other way, or didn’t have the authority to stop the bad behavior.

It was wrong. It was irresponsible. And it plunged our economy into a crisis that put millions out of work, saddled us with more debt, and left innocent, hard-working Americans holding the bag. In the six months before I took office, we lost nearly four million jobs. And we lost another four million before our policies were in full effect.

Those are the facts. But so are these. In the last 22 months, businesses have created more than three million jobs. Last year, they created the most jobs since 2005. American manufacturers are hiring again, creating jobs for the first time since the late 1990s. Together, we’ve agreed to cut the deficit by more than $2 trillion. And we’ve put in place new rules to hold Wall Street accountable, so a crisis like that never happens again.

The state of our Union is getting stronger. And we’ve come too far to turn back now. As long as I’m President, I will work with anyone in this chamber to build on this momentum. But I intend to fight obstruction with action, and I will oppose any effort to return to the very same policies that brought on this economic crisis in the first place.

No, we will not go back to an economy weakened by outsourcing, bad debt, and phony financial profits. Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward, and lay out a blueprint for an economy that’s built to last - an economy built on American manufacturing, American energy, skills for American workers, and a renewal of American values.

This blueprint begins with American manufacturing.

On the day I took office, our auto industry was on the verge of collapse. Some even said we should let it die. With a million jobs at stake, I refused to let that happen. In exchange for help, we demanded responsibility. We got workers and automakers to settle their differences. We got the industry to retool and restructure. Today, General Motors is back on top as the world’s number one automaker. Chrysler has grown faster in the U.S. than any major car company. Ford is investing billions in U.S. plants and factories. And together, the entire industry added nearly 160,000 jobs.

We bet on American workers. We bet on American ingenuity. And tonight, the American auto industry is back.

What’s happening in Detroit can happen in other industries. It can happen in Cleveland and Pittsburgh and Raleigh. We can’t bring back every job that’s left our shores. But right now, it’s getting more expensive to do business in places like China. Meanwhile, America is more productive. A few weeks ago, the CEO of Master Lock told me that it now makes business sense for him to bring jobs back home. Today, for the first time in fifteen years, Master Lock’s unionized plant in Milwaukee is running at full capacity.

So we have a huge opportunity, at this moment, to bring manufacturing back. But we have to seize it. Tonight, my message to business leaders is simple: Ask yourselves what you can do to bring jobs back to your country, and your country will do everything we can to help you succeed.

We should start with our tax code. Right now, companies get tax breaks for moving jobs and profits overseas. Meanwhile, companies that choose to stay in America get hit with one of the highest tax rates in the world. It makes no sense, and everyone knows it.

So let’s change it. First, if you’re a business that wants to outsource jobs, you shouldn’t get a tax deduction for doing it. That money should be used to cover moving expenses for companies like Master Lock that decide to bring jobs home.

Second, no American company should be able to avoid paying its fair share of taxes by moving jobs and profits overseas. From now on, every multinational company should have to pay a basic minimum tax. And every penny should go towards lowering taxes for companies that choose to stay here and hire here.

Third, if you’re an American manufacturer, you should get a bigger tax cut. If you’re a high-tech manufacturer, we should double the tax deduction you get for making products here. And if you want to relocate in a community that was hit hard when a factory left town, you should get help financing a new plant, equipment, or training for new workers.

My message is simple. It’s time to stop rewarding businesses that ship jobs overseas, and start rewarding companies that create jobs right here in America. Send me these tax reforms, and I’ll sign them right away.

We’re also making it easier for American businesses to sell products all over the world. Two years ago, I set a goal of doubling U.S. exports over five years. With the bipartisan trade agreements I signed into law, we are on track to meet that goal - ahead of schedule. Soon, there will be millions of new customers for American goods in Panama, Colombia, and South Korea. Soon, there will be new cars on the streets of Seoul imported from Detroit, and Toledo, and Chicago.

I will go anywhere in the world to open new markets for American products. And I will not stand by when our competitors don’t play by the rules. We’ve brought trade cases against China at nearly twice the rate as the last administration - and it’s made a difference. Over a thousand Americans are working today because we stopped a surge in Chinese tires. But we need to do more. It’s not right when another country lets our movies, music, and software be pirated. It’s not fair when foreign manufacturers have a leg up on ours only because they’re heavily subsidized.

Tonight, I’m announcing the creation of a Trade Enforcement Unit that will be charged with investigating unfair trade practices in countries like China. There will be more inspections to prevent counterfeit or unsafe goods from crossing our borders. And this Congress should make sure that no foreign company has an advantage over American manufacturing when it comes to accessing finance or new markets like Russia. Our workers are the most productive on Earth, and if the playing field is level, I promise you - America will always win.

I also hear from many business leaders who want to hire in the United States but can’t find workers with the right skills. Growing industries in science and technology have twice as many openings as we have workers who can do the job. Think about that - openings at a time when millions of Americans are looking for work.

That’s inexcusable. And we know how to fix it.

Jackie Bray is a single mom from North Carolina who was laid off from her job as a mechanic. Then Siemens opened a gas turbine factory in Charlotte, and formed a partnership with Central Piedmont Community College. The company helped the college design courses in laser and robotics training. It paid Jackie’s tuition, then hired her to help operate their plant.

I want every American looking for work to have the same opportunity as Jackie did. Join me in a national commitment to train two million Americans with skills that will lead directly to a job. My Administration has already lined up more companies that want to help. Model partnerships between businesses like Siemens and community colleges in places like Charlotte, Orlando, and Louisville are up and running. Now you need to give more community colleges the resources they need to become community career centers - places that teach people skills that local businesses are looking for right now, from data management to high-tech manufacturing.

And I want to cut through the maze of confusing training programs, so that from now on, people like Jackie have one program, one website, and one place to go for all the information and help they need. It’s time to turn our unemployment system into a reemployment system that puts people to work.

These reforms will help people get jobs that are open today. But to prepare for the jobs of tomorrow, our commitment to skills and education has to start earlier.

For less than one percent of what our Nation spends on education each year, we’ve convinced nearly every State in the country to raise their standards for teaching and learning - the first time that’s happened in a generation.

But challenges remain. And we know how to solve them.

At a time when other countries are doubling down on education, tight budgets have forced States to lay off thousands of teachers. We know a good teacher can increase the lifetime income of a classroom by over $250,000. A great teacher can offer an escape from poverty to the child who dreams beyond his circumstance. Every person in this chamber can point to a teacher who changed the trajectory of their lives. Most teachers work tirelessly, with modest pay, sometimes digging into their own pocket for school supplies - just to make a difference.

Teachers matter. So instead of bashing them, or defending the status quo, let’s offer schools a deal. Give them the resources to keep good teachers on the job, and reward the best ones. In return, grant schools flexibility: To teach with creativity and passion; to stop teaching to the test; and to replace teachers who just aren’t helping kids learn.

We also know that when students aren’t allowed to walk away from their education, more of them walk the stage to get their diploma. So tonight, I call on every State to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn eighteen.

When kids do graduate, the most daunting challenge can be the cost of college. At a time when Americans owe more in tuition debt than credit card debt, this Congress needs to stop the interest rates on student loans from doubling in July. Extend the tuition tax credit we started that saves middle-class families thousands of dollars. And give more young people the chance to earn their way through college by doubling the number of work-study jobs in the next five years.

Of course, it’s not enough for us to increase student aid. We can’t just keep subsidizing skyrocketing tuition; we’ll run out of money. States also need to do their part, by making higher education a higher priority in their budgets. And colleges and universities have to do their part by working to keep costs down. Recently, I spoke with a group of college presidents who’ve done just that. Some schools re-design courses to help students finish more quickly. Some use better technology. The point is, it’s possible. So let me put colleges and universities on notice: If you can’t stop tuition from going up, the funding you get from taxpayers will go down. Higher education can’t be a luxury - it’s an economic imperative that every family in America should be able to afford.

Let’s also remember that hundreds of thousands of talented, hardworking students in this country face another challenge: The fact that they aren’t yet American citizens. Many were brought here as small children, are American through and through, yet they live every day with the threat of deportation. Others came more recently, to study business and science and engineering, but as soon as they get their degree, we send them home to invent new products and create new jobs somewhere else.

That doesn’t make sense.

I believe as strongly as ever that we should take on illegal immigration. That’s why my Administration has put more boots on the border than ever before. That’s why there are fewer illegal crossings than when I took office.

The opponents of action are out of excuses. We should be working on comprehensive immigration reform right now. But if election-year politics keeps Congress from acting on a comprehensive plan, let’s at least agree to stop expelling responsible young people who want to staff our labs, start new businesses, and defend this country. Send me a law that gives them the chance to earn their citizenship. I will sign it right away.

You see, an economy built to last is one where we encourage the talent and ingenuity of every person in this country. That means women should earn equal pay for equal work. It means we should support everyone who’s willing to work; and every risk-taker and entrepreneur who aspires to become the next Steve Jobs.

After all, innovation is what America has always been about. Most new jobs are created in start-ups and small businesses. So let’s pass an agenda that helps them succeed. Tear down regulations that prevent aspiring entrepreneurs from getting the financing to grow. Expand tax relief to small businesses that are raising wages and creating good jobs. Both parties agree on these ideas. So put them in a bill, and get it on my desk this year.

Innovation also demands basic research. Today, the discoveries taking place in our federally-financed labs and universities could lead to new treatments that kill cancer cells but leave healthy ones untouched. New lightweight vests for cops and soldiers that can stop any bullet. Don’t gut these investments in our budget. Don’t let other countries win the race for the future. Support the same kind of research and innovation that led to the computer chip and the Internet; to new American jobs and new American industries.

Nowhere is the promise of innovation greater than in American-made energy. Over the last three years, we’ve opened millions of new acres for oil and gas exploration, and tonight, I’m directing my Administration to open more than 75 percent of our potential offshore oil and gas resources. Right now, American oil production is the highest that it’s been in eight years. That’s right - eight years. Not only that - last year, we relied less on foreign oil than in any of the past sixteen years.

But with only 2 percent of the world’s oil reserves, oil isn’t enough. This country needs an all-out, all-of-the-above strategy that develops every available source of American energy - a strategy that’s cleaner, cheaper, and full of new jobs.

We have a supply of natural gas that can last America nearly one hundred years, and my Administration will take every possible action to safely develop this energy. Experts believe this will support more than 600,000 jobs by the end of the decade. And I’m requiring all companies that drill for gas on public lands to disclose the chemicals they use. America will develop this resource without putting the health and safety of our citizens at risk.

The development of natural gas will create jobs and power trucks and factories that are cleaner and cheaper, proving that we don’t have to choose between our environment and our economy. And by the way, it was public research dollars, over the course of thirty years, that helped develop the technologies to extract all this natural gas out of shale rock - reminding us that Government support is critical in helping businesses get new energy ideas off the ground.

What’s true for natural gas is true for clean energy. In three years, our partnership with the private sector has already positioned America to be the world’s leading manufacturer of high-tech batteries. Because of federal investments, renewable energy use has nearly doubled. And thousands of Americans have jobs because of it.

When Bryan Ritterby was laid off from his job making furniture, he said he worried that at 55, no one would give him a second chance. But he found work at Energetx, a wind turbine manufacturer in Michigan. Before the recession, the factory only made luxury yachts. Today, it’s hiring workers like Bryan, who said, “I’m proud to be working in the industry of the future.”

Our experience with shale gas shows us that the payoffs on these public investments don’t always come right away. Some technologies don’t pan out; some companies fail. But I will not walk away from the promise of clean energy. I will not walk away from workers like Bryan. I will not cede the wind or solar or battery industry to China or Germany because we refuse to make the same commitment here. We have subsidized oil companies for a century. That’s long enough. It’s time to end the taxpayer giveaways to an industry that’s rarely been more profitable, and double-down on a clean energy industry that’s never been more promising. Pass clean energy tax credits and create these jobs.

We can also spur energy innovation with new incentives. The differences in this chamber may be too deep right now to pass a comprehensive plan to fight climate change. But there’s no reason why Congress shouldn’t at least set a clean energy standard that creates a market for innovation. So far, you haven’t acted. Well tonight, I will. I’m directing my Administration to allow the development of clean energy on enough public land to power three million homes. And I’m proud to announce that the Department of Defense, the world’s largest consumer of energy, will make one of the largest commitments to clean energy in history - with the Navy purchasing enough capacity to power a quarter of a million homes a year.

Of course, the easiest way to save money is to waste less energy. So here’s another proposal: Help manufacturers eliminate energy waste in their factories and give businesses incentives to upgrade their buildings. Their energy bills will be $100 billion lower over the next decade, and America will have less pollution, more manufacturing, and more jobs for construction workers who need them. Send me a bill that creates these jobs.

Building this new energy future should be just one part of a broader agenda to repair America’s infrastructure. So much of America needs to be rebuilt. We’ve got crumbling roads and bridges. A power grid that wastes too much energy. An incomplete high-speed broadband network that prevents a small business owner in rural America from selling her products all over the world.

During the Great Depression, America built the Hoover Dam and the Golden Gate Bridge. After World War II, we connected our States with a system of highways. Democratic and Republican administrations invested in great projects that benefited everybody, from the workers who built them to the businesses that still use them today.

In the next few weeks, I will sign an Executive Order clearing away the red tape that slows down too many construction projects. But you need to fund these projects. Take the money we’re no longer spending at war, use half of it to pay down our debt, and use the rest to do some nation-building right here at home.

There’s never been a better time to build, especially since the construction industry was one of the hardest-hit when the housing bubble burst. Of course, construction workers weren’t the only ones hurt. So were millions of innocent Americans who’ve seen their home values decline. And while Government can’t fix the problem on its own, responsible homeowners shouldn’t have to sit and wait for the housing market to hit bottom to get some relief.

That’s why I’m sending this Congress a plan that gives every responsible homeowner the chance to save about $3,000 a year on their mortgage, by refinancing at historically low interest rates. No more red tape. No more runaround from the banks. A small fee on the largest financial institutions will ensure that it won’t add to the deficit, and will give banks that were rescued by taxpayers a chance to repay a deficit of trust.

Let’s never forget: Millions of Americans who work hard and play by the rules every day deserve a Government and a financial system that do the same. It’s time to apply the same rules from top to bottom: No bailouts, no handouts, and no copouts. An America built to last insists on responsibility from everybody.

We’ve all paid the price for lenders who sold mortgages to people who couldn’t afford them, and buyers who knew they couldn’t afford them. That’s why we need smart regulations to prevent irresponsible behavior. Rules to prevent financial fraud, or toxic dumping, or faulty medical devices, don’t destroy the free market. They make the free market work better.

There is no question that some regulations are outdated, unnecessary, or too costly. In fact, I’ve approved fewer regulations in the first three years of my presidency than my Republican predecessor did in his. I’ve ordered every federal agency to eliminate rules that don’t make sense. We’ve already announced over 500 reforms, and just a fraction of them will save business and citizens more than $10 billion over the next five years. We got rid of one rule from 40 years ago that could have forced some dairy farmers to spend $10,000 a year proving that they could contain a spill - because milk was somehow classified as an oil. With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk.

I’m confident a farmer can contain a milk spill without a federal agency looking over his shoulder. But I will not back down from making sure an oil company can contain the kind of oil spill we saw in the Gulf two years ago. I will not back down from protecting our kids from mercury pollution, or making sure that our food is safe and our water is clean. I will not go back to the days when health insurance companies had unchecked power to cancel your policy, deny you coverage, or charge women differently from men.

And I will not go back to the days when Wall Street was allowed to play by its own set of rules. The new rules we passed restore what should be any financial system’s core purpose: Getting funding to entrepreneurs with the best ideas, and getting loans to responsible families who want to buy a home, start a business, or send a kid to college.

So if you’re a big bank or financial institution, you are no longer allowed to make risky bets with your customers’ deposits. You’re required to write out a “living will” that details exactly how you’ll pay the bills if you fail - because the rest of us aren’t bailing you out ever again. And if you’re a mortgage lender or a payday lender or a credit card company, the days of signing people up for products they can’t afford with confusing forms and deceptive practices are over. Today, American consumers finally have a watchdog in Richard Cordray with one job: To look out for them.

We will also establish a Financial Crimes Unit of highly trained investigators to crack down on large-scale fraud and protect people’s investments. Some financial firms violate major anti-fraud laws because there’s no real penalty for being a repeat offender. That’s bad for consumers, and it’s bad for the vast majority of bankers and financial service professionals who do the right thing. So pass legislation that makes the penalties for fraud count.

And tonight, I am asking my Attorney General to create a special unit of federal prosecutors and leading state attorneys general to expand our investigations into the abusive lending and packaging of risky mortgages that led to the housing crisis. This new unit will hold accountable those who broke the law, speed assistance to homeowners, and help turn the page on an era of recklessness that hurt so many Americans.

A return to the American values of fair play and shared responsibility will help us protect our people and our economy. But it should also guide us as we look to pay down our debt and invest in our future.

Right now, our most immediate priority is stopping a tax hike on 160 million working Americans while the recovery is still fragile. People cannot afford losing $40 out of each paycheck this year. There are plenty of ways to get this done. So let’s agree right here, right now: No side issues. No drama. Pass the payroll tax cut without delay.

When it comes to the deficit, we’ve already agreed to more than $2 trillion in cuts and savings. But we need to do more, and that means making choices. Right now, we’re poised to spend nearly $1 trillion more on what was supposed to be a temporary tax break for the wealthiest 2 percent of Americans. Right now, because of loopholes and shelters in the tax code, a quarter of all millionaires pay lower tax rates than millions of middle-class households. Right now, Warren Buffett pays a lower tax rate than his secretary.

Do we want to keep these tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans? Or do we want to keep our investments in everything else - like education and medical research; a strong military and care for our veterans? Because if we’re serious about paying down our debt, we can’t do both.

The American people know what the right choice is. So do I. As I told the Speaker this summer, I’m prepared to make more reforms that rein in the long term costs of Medicare and Medicaid, and strengthen Social Security, so long as those programs remain a guarantee of security for seniors.

But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of Members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Tax reform should follow the Buffett rule: If you make more than $1 million a year, you should not pay less than 30 percent in taxes. And my Republican friend Tom Coburn is right: Washington should stop subsidizing millionaires. In fact, if you’re earning a million dollars a year, you shouldn’t get special tax subsidies or deductions. On the other hand, if you make under $250,000 a year, like 98 percent of American families, your taxes shouldn’t go up. You’re the ones struggling with rising costs and stagnant wages. You’re the ones who need relief.

Now, you can call this class warfare all you want. But asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense.

We don’t begrudge financial success in this country. We admire it. When Americans talk about folks like me paying my fair share of taxes, it’s not because they envy the rich. It’s because they understand that when I get tax breaks I don’t need and the country can’t afford, it either adds to the deficit, or somebody else has to make up the difference - like a senior on a fixed income; or a student trying to get through school; or a family trying to make ends meet. That’s not right. Americans know it’s not right. They know that this generation’s success is only possible because past generations felt a responsibility to each other, and to their country’s future, and they know our way of life will only endure if we feel that same sense of shared responsibility. That’s how we’ll reduce our deficit. That’s an America built to last.

I recognize that people watching tonight have differing views about taxes and debt; energy and health care. But no matter what party they belong to, I bet most Americans are thinking the same thing right now: Nothing will get done this year, or next year, or maybe even the year after that, because Washington is broken.

Can you blame them for feeling a little cynical?

The greatest blow to confidence in our economy last year didn’t come from events beyond our control. It came from a debate in Washington over whether the United States would pay its bills or not. Who benefited from that fiasco?

I’ve talked tonight about the deficit of trust between Main Street and Wall Street. But the divide between this city and the rest of the country is at least as bad - and it seems to get worse every year.

Some of this has to do with the corrosive influence of money in politics. So together, let’s take some steps to fix that. Send me a bill that bans insider trading by Members of Congress, and I will sign it tomorrow. Let’s limit any elected official from owning stocks in industries they impact. Let’s make sure people who bundle campaign contributions for Congress can’t lobby Congress, and vice versa - an idea that has bipartisan support, at least outside of Washington.

Some of what’s broken has to do with the way Congress does its business these days. A simple majority is no longer enough to get anything - even routine business - passed through the Senate. Neither party has been blameless in these tactics. Now both parties should put an end to it. For starters, I ask the Senate to pass a rule that all judicial and public service nominations receive a simple up or down vote within 90 days.

The executive branch also needs to change. Too often, it’s inefficient, outdated and remote. That’s why I’ve asked this Congress to grant me the authority to consolidate the federal bureaucracy so that our Government is leaner, quicker, and more responsive to the needs of the American people.

Finally, none of these reforms can happen unless we also lower the temperature in this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction; that politics is about clinging to rigid ideologies instead of building consensus around common sense ideas.

I’m a Democrat. But I believe what Republican Abraham Lincoln believed: That Government should do for people only what they cannot do better by themselves, and no more. That’s why my education reform offers more competition, and more control for schools and States. That’s why we’re getting rid of regulations that don’t work. That’s why our health care law relies on a reformed private market, not a Government program.

On the other hand, even my Republican friends who complain the most about Government spending have supported federally-financed roads, and clean energy projects, and federal offices for the folks back home.

The point is, we should all want a smarter, more effective Government. And while we may not be able to bridge our biggest philosophical differences this year, we can make real progress. With or without this Congress, I will keep taking actions that help the economy grow. But I can do a whole lot more with your help. Because when we act together, there is nothing the United States of America can’t achieve.

That is the lesson we’ve learned from our actions abroad over the last few years.

Ending the Iraq war has allowed us to strike decisive blows against our enemies. From Pakistan to Yemen, the al Qaeda operatives who remain are scrambling, knowing that they can’t escape the reach of the United States of America.

From this position of strength, we’ve begun to wind down the war in Afghanistan. Ten thousand of our troops have come home. Twenty-three thousand more will leave by the end of this summer. This transition to Afghan lead will continue, and we will build an enduring partnership with Afghanistan, so that it is never again a source of attacks against America.

As the tide of war recedes, a wave of change has washed across the Middle East and North Africa, from Tunis to Cairo; from Sana’a to Tripoli. A year ago, Qadhafi was one of the world’s longest-serving dictators - a murderer with American blood on his hands. Today, he is gone. And in Syria, I have no doubt that the Assad regime will soon discover that the forces of change can’t be reversed, and that human dignity can’t be denied.

How this incredible transformation will end remains uncertain. But we have a huge stake in the outcome. And while it is ultimately up to the people of the region to decide their fate, we will advocate for those values that have served our own country so well. We will stand against violence and intimidation. We will stand for the rights and dignity of all human beings - men and women; Christians, Muslims, and Jews. We will support policies that lead to strong and stable democracies and open markets, because tyranny is no match for liberty.

And we will safeguard America’s own security against those who threaten our citizens, our friends, and our interests. Look at Iran. Through the power of our diplomacy, a world that was once divided about how to deal with Iran’s nuclear program now stands as one. The regime is more isolated than ever before; its leaders are faced with crippling sanctions, and as long as they shirk their responsibilities, this pressure will not relent. Let there be no doubt: America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal. But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations.

The renewal of American leadership can be felt across the globe. Our oldest alliances in Europe and Asia are stronger than ever. Our ties to the Americas are deeper. Our iron-clad commitment to Israel’s security has meant the closest military cooperation between our two countries in history. We’ve made it clear that America is a Pacific power, and a new beginning in Burma has lit a new hope. From the coalitions we’ve built to secure nuclear materials, to the missions we’ve led against hunger and disease; from the blows we’ve dealt to our enemies; to the enduring power of our moral example, America is back.

Anyone who tells you otherwise, anyone who tells you that America is in decline or that our influence has waned, doesn’t know what they’re talking about. That’s not the message we get from leaders around the world, all of whom are eager to work with us. That’s not how people feel from Tokyo to Berlin; from Cape Town to Rio; where opinions of America are higher than they’ve been in years. Yes, the world is changing; no, we can’t control every event. But America remains the one indispensable nation in world affairs - and as long as I’m President, I intend to keep it that way.

That’s why, working with our military leaders, I have proposed a new defense strategy that ensures we maintain the finest military in the world, while saving nearly half a trillion dollars in our budget. To stay one step ahead of our adversaries, I have already sent this Congress legislation that will secure our country from the growing danger of cyber-threats.

Above all, our freedom endures because of the men and women in uniform who defend it. As they come home, we must serve them as well as they served us. That includes giving them the care and benefits they have earned - which is why we’ve increased annual VA spending every year I’ve been President. And it means enlisting our veterans in the work of rebuilding our Nation.

With the bipartisan support of this Congress, we are providing new tax credits to companies that hire vets. Michelle and Jill Biden have worked with American businesses to secure a pledge of 135,000 jobs for veterans and their families. And tonight, I’m proposing a Veterans Job Corps that will help our communities hire veterans as cops and firefighters, so that America is as strong as those who defend her.

Which brings me back to where I began. Those of us who’ve been sent here to serve can learn from the service of our troops. When you put on that uniform, it doesn’t matter if you’re black or white; Asian or Latino; conservative or liberal; rich or poor; gay or straight. When you’re marching into battle, you look out for the person next to you, or the mission fails. When you’re in the thick of the fight, you rise or fall as one unit, serving one Nation, leaving no one behind.

One of my proudest possessions is the flag that the SEAL Team took with them on the mission to get bin Laden. On it are each of their names. Some may be Democrats. Some may be Republicans. But that doesn’t matter. Just like it didn’t matter that day in the Situation Room, when I sat next to Bob Gates - a man who was George Bush’s defense secretary; and Hillary Clinton, a woman who ran against me for president.

All that mattered that day was the mission. No one thought about politics. No one thought about themselves. One of the young men involved in the raid later told me that he didn’t deserve credit for the mission. It only succeeded, he said, because every single member of that unit did their job - the pilot who landed the helicopter that spun out of control; the translator who kept others from entering the compound; the troops who separated the women and children from the fight; the SEALs who charged up the stairs. More than that, the mission only succeeded because every member of that unit trusted each other - because you can’t charge up those stairs, into darkness and danger, unless you know that there’s someone behind you, watching your back.

So it is with America. Each time I look at that flag, I’m reminded that our destiny is stitched together like those fifty stars and those thirteen stripes. No one built this country on their own. This Nation is great because we built it together. This Nation is great because we worked as a team. This Nation is great because we get each other’s backs. And if we hold fast to that truth, in this moment of trial, there is no challenge too great; no mission too hard. As long as we’re joined in common purpose, as long as we maintain our common resolve, our journey moves forward, our future is hopeful, and the state of our Union will always be strong.

Thank you, God bless you, and may God bless the United States of America.

Stem Cells—Thompson, Neumann and Fitz Have to Answer in Radicalized GOP

2012-01-24T10:38:00.003-06:00

James A. Thomson

Imagine if the lost decade of 2001-2009 saw a Manhattan Project-size effort funding stem cells—treating Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's, paralysis, Leukemia, blindness; imagination and political will are the only impediments to what stem cells may do in the future.

U.S. Senate candidate, Tommy Thompson, needs to answer to the Wisconsin people on stem cell research, namely Thompson's flip-flopping.

Pioneering scientists like University of Wisconsin-Madison professor, James Thomson, should be supported in the lab as though our families' health and lives depend on it; and not have to wage a political fight against the Republican Party that is steadfastly hostile to the promise of "human embryonic stem cell research, ... a [GOP] position running counter to both scientific and public opinion."

GOP candidates for Senate, Mark Neumann and Scott Fitzgerald, need to explain their extremism on this public-minded research as well.

Scott Fitzgerald for Senate

As Alan I. Leshner and Dr. Thomson write in their December 3, 2007 column defending embryonic stem cell research, "Standing in the Way of Stem Cell Research":

Efforts to harness the versatility of embryonic stem cells, and alleviate suffering among people with an array of debilitating disorders, began less than 10 years ago. Since then, scientists have continued to pursue embryonic stem cells because of their ability to transform into blood, bone, skin or any other type of cell. The eventual goal is to replace diseased or dysfunctional cells to help people with spinal cord injuries, neurodegenerative disorders, cancer, diabetes, heart disease and other conditions. ...

Federal funding is essential for both adult and embryonic stem cell research, even as promising alternatives are beginning to emerge.

Unfortunately, under the policy President Bush outlined on Aug. 9, 2001, at most 21 stem cell lines derived from embryos before that date are eligible for federal funding. American innovation in the field thus faces inherent limitations. Even more significant, the stigma resulting from the policy surely has discouraged some talented young Americans from pursuing stem cell research.

On this, Wisconsin should listen and be guided by Dr. Thomson, not Tommy Thompson and Republican extremists.

A look at this video [below] of Thompson appears to indicate that Thompson may have lost it.

Republican Racism is an Air Raid Siren, Not a Dog Whistle

2012-01-20T08:55:00.001-06:00

Damn blacks.

From Ron Paul's phony libertarianism [incursions on liberty and equality are fine if done by state governments, but not by the federal government] to Newt Gingrinch's naked plays to states' rights and racism, the South Carolina GOP primary campaign has marked an ugly demonstration of America's original sin continuing unabated today—racism.

Think AIG, outsourcing and corruption caused the Great Recession; nooo, it was the blacks, says the GOP.

Republican candidates are overtly signaling that whiteness and American identity are intertwined.

By Chauncey DeVega

On his MSNBC show Hardball, Chris Matthews called out Newt Gingrich and other Republicans for what he described as their "dog whistle" appeals to white racism during the South Carolina debate on Monday night.

He was correct in identifying the work that racism does for the Tea Party GOP and its candidates in their efforts to win over white conservative voters. However, Chris Matthews was too generous and kind. Newt Gingrich, Rick Santorum, and other Republican candidates are not engaging in subtle dog whistles to their faithful, where racism and white racial anxiety hides in the background, masked and hidden by other language.

Definitions matter: dog whistle politics are based on a signal or cue to the in-group, and one so subtle that those not in the know will overlook it as no more than quixotic background noise, a blip, a comment without context or meaning.

For example, during the 2004 election, President Bush's mention of the infamous Dredd Scott Supreme Court decision had nothing to do with African Americans and slavery. Rather, it was a wink to a rabidly anti-choice conservative Right-wing audience that Roe vs. Wade would be overturned by his administration.

In 2008, McCain-Palin featured a negative campaign ad which borrowed from the movie The Ten Commandments and suggested that Barack Obama was the Anti-Christ. If one was not part of the Left Behind Jesus Camp Christian Nationalist Dominionist crowd, the visuals and narrative of the commercial were odd, bizarre, utterly strange, and devoid of context. The ugliness of these symbols and metaphors were so covert, that they made sense for those outside of the targeted audience only after Time magazine thoroughly deconstructed the campaign adand its malicious intent.

In 2012, Republican candidates are using overt signals, what are for all intents and purposes blaring air raid sirens and signal flares that race, whiteness, and American identity are deeply intertwined. The appeals to white racism by the Tea Party GOP during the primaries are not background rhythms or subdued choruses. They are the driving guitars of Blue Oyster Cult's "Godzilla," the chorus of Jay-Z's "99 Problems," the opening moments of the Notorious B.I.G's "Kick in the Door," or the flipped samples of Justice's "Stress". You feel it. You know it. To deny the obvious is to close one's ears to a driving drum line and cadence that travels up through your shoes...and to your bones.

Jewish family in NAZI Germany

How else can a fair observer excuse away Republican arguments that blacks are lazy parasites, whose children should live in work houses and pick up mops and brooms to learn a work ethic, that "illegal" immigrants should be killed by electric fences, or Muslim Americans should be subject to racial profiling, marked like the "Juden" of Nazi Germany?

In all, the Tea Party GOP's campaign for the presidency rests upon marshaling white anger and rage at The Usurper, a perpetual Other, and one not fit for the presidency by virtue of his birth and skin color--he who we know as President Barack Obama. If Birtherism is not based on this calculation, on what else does it rest?

Race matters to the Tea Party GOP. It matters overtly. And it matters to the white populists of the Republican Party without apology or subtlety. This leads to the following practical question: how do we separate the subtle dog whistle from blaring conservative racism? What are the elements of the racial appeal? How can we identify it so that reasonable folk can neuter and castrate it? Is this even possible?

Knowing is half the battle. To that end, let's work through elements of the puzzle:

The speaker effect. Using one of the most gross examples, when Newt Gingrich talks about lazy blacks on welfare and food stamps who do not know the meaning of hard work he is mindful of his audience. Remember, politics is ultimately about the creation and reinforcement of imagined communities. Gingrich, Santorum, Perry, and Paul know exactly how to talk to their respective audiences in order to get a response. To point: white conservative populists have disdain for non-whites, see them as lazy, outside of the polity, and as rightful targets for appeals based on symbolic racism. In the eyes of the Right, "those people" are not "real Americans." They never can be.

The audience as a public who receives, internalizes, and circulates the Tea Party GOP message about race, white racial resentment, white oppression, and hostility to people of color. The folks in the audience and on the stage during the Republican primary debates "get" the terms of the conversation. In fact, they are deeply attuned to the language and rhetoric of the New Right, as anyone who either goes to one of these events, or votes in a primary election, are deeply invested in its outcome, and a return to white American normality. In all, they are chasing nostalgia and a Leave it to Beaver vision and lie of America. This audience is also "tuned in" to politics. Gingrich and his peers are sending signals to a group primed and ready for his racial appeals...without a need for explanation.

This reality speaks to why there should be no surprise when Republican audiences cheer the death penalty, dying people without insurance, or heckle soldiers who happen to be gay. There are unstated rules, a script, which govern social norms and behavior. The outliers who go to political debates are intimately familiar with this language. Like marks at a professional wrestling event they know when to boo and when to cheer.

Context matters. In isolation, perhaps it would be a more difficult case to suggest that Gingrich's appeals to white audiences about lazy blacks are predominantly and clearly about white racism. However, given that communities are created through speech, and that "discourse" is about a sense of shared meaning with unstated assumptions, any argument for conservative colorblindness is judged to be insincere.

In South Carolina, where the Confederate flag still flies, there was Ron Paul (a bigot whose newsletters continue to suggest that African Americans are ravenous, craven, criminal, stupid beasts); Rick Santorum (a man fascinated by bestiality and the idea that blacks are parasites who only want to live off of white people); and Newt Gingrich who sees all African-Americans and Latinos as being on welfare and the public dole until proven otherwise. In total, these candidates are a rogues gallery where white supremacist attitudes towards non-whites is a standing rule, one only to be disputed after the fact.

Juan Williams is an object of abuse, a means to prove a point. Juan Williams is a paid pinata for white conservatives. I do not know if he was legitimately hurt and surprised by their reaction to him, or if his pain was not feigned, and rather sincere and real. In understanding the logic of Republican racism and naked appeals beyond the dog whistle, Williams was the stand-in, the object of abuse through which to actualize rage and hostility. Barack Obama was not available. Any black body would do. The cheering, snide glee of Newt Gingrich dressing down uppity "Juan," and the audience's cheering of a "boy" being put in his place, would be missed by only the most in denial observer.

Juan Williams is/was a repository for the fecal matter of white conservative bigotry, and a need to maintain superiority over negroes who dare not to step off of the sidewalk when white folks pass. That in another life Juan Williams would be a critic of "negro agitators" during the Civil Rights movement is coincidental to his designated role on Fox News: he is exemplary of Joel Kovel's theories about white supremacy, and how it manifests as a White society which is collectively (and individually) stuck in the fecal phase of human psychological development--it is all over his face. Juan Williams smiles while cashing his checks at the prospect of his politicalcoprophagia at the ass end of conservative politics. He revels in playing the role of the human centipede.

The excuse of ignorance and a lack of memory. One does not need to understand the root of a thing in order to buy into its power. White conservatives (and others) who traffic in racism do not necessarily need to be able to explain how blacks came to be associated in the White racist mind with apes. Likewise, those who hate Jews do not need to be able to give an exegesis on Nazi propaganda in order to be expert anti-Semites.

This is one of the greatest tools and defenses of the contemporary white racist--I didn't know that, you are being unfair!; You are "playing the race card" for calling out my association of the Obama with watermelons and apes as "racist"; I never associated blacks with welfare or crime, people like you are the real bigots for calling attention to how Republicans talk about such things, we are really all Americans!; stop talking about slavery, my family never owned black people!; (and of course) whites are oppressed in America by Barack Obama!

There is a collective reservoir of symbols, assumptions, and narratives that individuals borrow from in a given society in order to make sense of their world. Knowing the wellspring helps; it is not a requirement to perpetuate common sense understanding(s) of the world.

Ultimately, Chris Matthews was correct in the spirit of the law versus the letter of the law. To defeat President Obama, the Republican Party is wallowing in white racism in order to win over racially and economically insecure white voters. However, Gingrich and company are doing this overtly. There is little subtlety. Looking forward, the 2012 Presidential season will make the infamous Willie Horton ad of the 1988 presidential election look like a celebration of Dr. King's birthday. The challenge for liberals, progressives, and reasonable conservatives, is how to make the Republican Party pay for their race baiting, and desperate reaching back to the Civil War, Redemption, and Birth of a Nation as playbooks in order to defeat the United States' first Black President.

Sadly, matters may be so dire that the white identity politics of years past are now "new school" rather than "old school." To marshal that fear, insecurity, and anger one does not need nuance, sophistication, or dog whistles. White conservatives can put such feelings on blast and gin up the psychological wages of white fear, white anxiety, and white rage to try to defeat Barack Obama.

As always, the past isn't even past. It is yesterday. Get ready folks. What occurred in South Carolina is only a warm up for what the Tea Party GOP is preparing to unleash in the months to come. What is coming to pass will be an ugly, wild ride.

Scott Walker friends at AIG January fundraiser during Recall

Bain Capital Spells Big Trouble for GOP

2012-01-19T06:54:00.002-06:00

Mitt Romney the Tax Cheat - Image: Haraz N. Ghanbari

ABC News reports Willard Mitt Romney has parked millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven.

The last few weeks of the Republican Presidential road show has been dominated by discussion of Mitt Romney's career as head of a Wall Street private equity firm -- Bain Capital. Most people who enter politics have some previous career in the private sector -- especially if they're wealthy.

By Robert Creamer

But Mitt Romney's career on Wall Street -- which he apparently hoped would allow him to tout his credentials as a "job creator" -- will instead weigh down his election hopes like a massive millstone. There are six reasons why:

1). First and most important, attacks on Romney's history at Bain are not "attacks on free enterprise" -- or being "anti-business." They are important for what they communicate about Mitt Romney and his values and the contrast that it poses with President Obama.

Barack Obama - like Mitt Romney -- earned a degree at Harvard -- and all of the opportunities that afforded. But when he graduated from law school, Obama went to work helping workers in the shadow of closed -down steel mills. Romney made millions for himself closing down steel mills.

The point is not just that workers were laid off, or jobs were outsourced -- though they were. The point is not whether some of the ventures Romney funded succeeded and others failed. The point is that the impact of Romney's business activity on the lives of ordinary people was incidental to his one and only goal: making huge sums of money for himself and a small group of his partners and investors.

Willard Mitt Romney with friends at Bain

Romney's idea of success was embodied in that picture from two decades ago, with Romney at the center, surrounded by a squadron of Wall Street sharpies with money coming out of their pockets, their mouths and ears.

The point of the Bain story is that Romney would do whatever he could legally do to make money for himself and his crew. The effect of his decisions on the lives of ordinary people -- or even the businesses in which they invested -- was simply irrelevant. If shifting jobs overseas would make him and his friends more money - fine. If Bain could make millions by loading up a business with debt and bleeding it of cash -- that was fine too -- even if it meant that the business itself was ultimately forced to close. If buying a business and chopping it up into parts for resale would make him more money -- so be it.

Improving the lives of ordinary workers -- or of local communities -- was never his goal. His goal was to make millions and millions of dollars for himself -- often at other people's expense. Instead of viewing ordinary workers as human beings who were parts of a team, he viewed them as "factors of production" -- assets to be used when they helped him make money -- objects to be discarded when that would fatten his bottom line.

Americans want a President who understands and cares about ordinary people -- that's not the Mitt Romney of Bain Capital.

2). If you were the Republican Party, you couldn't pick a worse time to nominate a candidate with a resume as one of Wall Street's "Masters of the Universe."

Even today, most voters are acutely aware that the recklessness of the big Wall Street Banks -- and a complicit Bush Administration -- caused the 2008 financial crisis that cost eight million Americans their jobs and worst economic calamity since the Great Depression.

The GOP will have to go some distance to convince everyday voters that they should trust their economic futures to a guy who was part of precisely the same crowd whose greed and recklessness just sent the economy crashing in flames.

After all, not many people would be keen to sign up for a cruise managed by the same team that commanded the Titanic.

3). Over the last year, Americans have become increasingly focused on economic inequality -- and on the fact that the gang that caused the economy to collapse kept making billions while everyone else paid the price. The message of the Occupy Movement doesn't resonate solely on the left of the political spectrum. Occupy speaks to many independents and conservatives as well.

And let's remember, the Occupy Movement started out as "Occupy Wall Street." Americans are increasingly uncomfortable with the exploding role of the financial sector in the American economy. They are not uncomfortable because of theoretical or "policy" concerns. It just doesn't make sense to them that a relatively tiny number of people -- who don't build a product or create a service -- can make massive amounts of money, while ordinary people who work hard and play by the rules see their incomes flat-line.

Their view is simple. They create cars, or food, or houses or computers -- or they provide police protection, or care for sick people, or teach our kids. Why should they be asked to sacrifice when guys who basically gamble for a living -- as Wall Street speculators -- make incomprehensibly large sums of money?

It makes no sense to them that 400 families control as much wealth as 150 million of their fellow Americans -- that the top 1% control 30% of all of the wealth in America.

It makes no sense that a hedge fund investor like John Paulson can make $5 billion in income and pay a lower percentage in taxes than a secretary. He makes $2.4 million per hour -- or $40,000 a minute. Paulson makes as much in the first 1.25 minutes of the work year as the average worker makes all year long.

That kind of excessive wealth might not upset everyday Americans so much if their own incomes were growing. But those incomes have stagnated for decades. And over those same decades, the incomes of the top 1% have increased by almost 300%.

And perhaps most galling to everyday voters, is the fact that the wealthiest Americans have such an outsized influence setting the rules -- cutting their own taxes -- making their own regulations -- and are rarely held accountable for the recklessness that has cost everyone else so dearly.

Americans feel that the middle class is in dire jeopardy -- that it is under attack. They worry that the American dream will be snatched from their own families -- and those of their children.

Not a great time for the Republicans to nominate a poster boy for the one percent.

4). The impact of Romney's record at Bain is magnified by his own personality.

Romney comes across as a cold, calculating guy -- precisely the kind of guy who doesn't blink an eye when he orders up hundreds of "pink slips." He is about as empathetic as a rock.

He has a hard time connecting with people in public -- and on TV. And he seems to have a tin ear -- a hard time understanding how his remarks will be interpreted by ordinary voters.

He "enjoys" firing people who don't give him good service. Really?

He doesn't understand how it might sound for a guy who has a fortune of $200 million to say that he is actually "unemployed" too. Or when -- having graduated from Harvard, born into a family of the CEO of a big auto company, he says he has been worried about getting a "pink slip"? Sure.

He doesn't even have to stop and think when he offers to bet $10,000 on who is right in a televised debate? Ten thousand dollars is two thirds of the average annual Social Security benefit.

That kind of tin ear sends a message to ordinary voters that he is simply out of touch - that he doesn't understand or empathize with the lives of ordinary Americans.

Then there is the story of the 12-hour trip with the dog in the kennel on top of the car. The story about how when the dog got sick riding on top of the car -- had an attack of diarrhea. Romney hosed down the car -- hosed down the dog -- put the dog back on top of the car and continued the drive.

These personal characteristics just reinforce the picture of Romney as a Wall Street baron who doesn't understand or care about the needs, or lives, or interests of ordinary Americans.

5). The fact that Newt Gingrich and Rick Perry have joined in defining Romney's Bain years absolutely inoculates Democrats from charges that they are "anti-free enterprise" or "anti-business" when they make the same charges.

Probably not very likely that Gingrich or Perry would volunteer to attack Romney's history at Bain next September -- but they just did. All Democrats need to do is put a clip of Rick Perry in an ad where he accused Romney of being a "vulture capitalist.".

6). Finally, in so many respects, Romney's Bain history makes him the perfect antagonist in the campaign narrative set out by President Obama last month in his Kansas speech.

The President will, quite correctly, frame the upcoming election as a battle for the future of the American middle class -- a choice between a society where we're all in this together or all in this alone.

He will offer a vision of America where we look out for each other -- where everyone is called upon to play by the same rules -- and everyone gets a fair shot, a fair shake and contributes their fair share.

The Willard Mitt Romney who ran Bain Capital is the perfect foil for the Democratic narrative this fall. That's why the Bain Capital narrative is so important for defining Romney and setting the terms of this year's election campaign.

Just visualize the national political debate that features the Mitt Romney we've seen on TV the last several weeks and the Barack Obama who made the speech in Osawatomie, Kansas last month.

At the close of his Kansas speech -- which took place in the same town where Theodore Roosevelt had announced his "New Nationalism" a century ago. Obama said:

"We are all Americans," Teddy Roosevelt told them that day. "Our common interests are as broad as the continent." In the final years of his life, Roosevelt took that same message all across this country, from tiny Osawatomie to the heart of New York City, believing that no matter where he went, no matter who he was talking to, everybody would benefit from a country in which everyone gets a fair chance.

And well into our third century as a nation, we have grown and we've changed in many ways since Roosevelt's time. The world is faster and the playing field is larger and the challenges are more complex. But what hasn't changed -- what can never change -- are the values that got us this far. We still have a stake in each other's success. We still believe that this should be a place where you can make it if you try. And we still believe, in the words of the man who called for a New Nationalism all those years ago, "The fundamental rule of our national life," he said, "the rule which underlies all others -- is that, on the whole, and in the long run, we shall go up or down together." And I believe America is on the way up.

GAB Deserves Praise Standing Firm Against GOP

2012-01-18T07:30:00.007-06:00

View of the capitol from the GAB
Via PolitiScoop

Update: Wisconsin State Journal: GAB "Webcam becomes Internet sensation," reads Saturday's incoherent piece, written after parroting Republican Recall spin for months. State Journal editors chopped up an AP piece written by Scott Bauer, adding GOP spin meant to deride the 1.7 million-plus Wisconsin citizens signing petitions saying they want to recall Republicans felt to be fronting for ideological, anti-public multi-millionaires.

The Wisconsin Government Accountability Board (GAB) has decided on open, transparent Recall processes, including offering citizens a live video feed in which we can view the Recall signature counting room staff conduct validation of Recall petitions against Republicans.

None of this sits well with the Republicans who have been screaming for months that the Recall signatures are fraudulent despite not having viewed even one Recall petition, which were filed yesterday by volunteers from across the state.

A GOP spokesperson, Brad Courtney, called the Recall process "shameful" offering no evidence in support of his slur, and failing to note that Scott Walker was in New York yesterday attending a fundraiser hosted by disgraced AIG mogul, Hank Greenberg. :)

Shame won't be a governing cultural principle for this Party as Republicans scramble for out-of-state money to fight off Wisconsin citizens deciding what type of government we want.

Even if Walker manages to slip GOP partisans into the extra verification staff hired from four DoA-approved temp agencies, we'll be able to observe GOP mischief and misconduct live and on video. And the GAB has announced they'll approve the work of the temp staff, so knocking off signatures won't be as easy as the GOP hoped.

The GAB really socked it to the Republican Party with the video feed idea. What are the Republicans going to do, object to transparency?

The GOP requires confusion and misinformation to cast doubt on the integrity of Wisconsin citizens who say the Republicans are corrupt and bought-and-paid-for.

Recently, the GOP announced they created a "Recall integrity center" to check the work of the GAB and the million-plus Recall singers. Recall integrity hotline is: (608) 257-8032.

Good luck with that, GOP. But we'll watch the signature-validation process live and skip your show.

And don't bet on your Mickey Mouse and Bugs Bunny recall signatures actually showing up. You're lying and you know it.

An open process in the best tradition of Wisconsin guarantees everyone else will soon know your lies as well.

Good job, GAB.

Updated - Recall Scott Walker Petition to be Delivered Today

2012-01-17T07:56:00.005-06:00

Update: United Wisconsin to Recall Scott Walker annouces "volunteers from every corner of the state are turning in over 1,000,000 petition signatures to recall Scott Walker."

MADISON – United Wisconsin today announced that more than one million Wisconsinites have signed a petition to recall Scott Walker, representing the most-participated-in major recall effort in American history, and a number so significant that it is beyond any legal challenge. More then 845,000 signatures were collected for Rebecca Kleefisch. Signatures were submitted to the Government Accountability Board this afternoon.

The signatures represent the largest recall effort in the history of the United States and 185 percent of the signatures needed to trigger a recall of Walker.

John Nichols writes, "Recall Walker movement today files signatures from the highest portion of a state's electorate to seek a governor's removal in U.S. history."

Recall Walker movement today files signatures from the highest portion of a state's electorate to seek a governor's removal in U.S. history.

A 3:00 PM CST announcement is scheduled today. Leaks might come earlier.

Hundreds of thousands of Republicans, Democrats, Greens and independents are expected to unite today as Recall Scott Walker signatures are delivered to the Wisconsin Government Accountability office in Madison.

Wisconsin’s 2012 voting age population of some 4,372,347 will likely see at least one of every six citizens signed the Recall petitions circulated during the busy 2011-12 holidays' season of the last 60 days.

Stay tuned for announcements and numbers, as security has been employed to protect the Recall petitions now resting in an undisclosed location, and which together comprise a weight of more than 3,000 pounds.

Despite the holiday season, criminal harassment, this grassroots effort by Wisconsin families will make American history today.

Koch Brothers State Sen in Wisconsin Gets Recalled

2012-01-14T08:30:00.002-06:00

Fitzwalkerstan - Used to be Wisconsin

The organizers of a recall drive against Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald say they have gathered enough signatures to recall a major Koch Brothers ally. They held a press conference Friday.

One local citizen, Lori Compas of Fort Atkinson, started the recall against Fitzgerald on her own, working so hard that the effort became the perfect companion story to the successful recall of Gov. Scott Walker, to be announced Jan. 17.

By Giles Goat Boy

Recall organizers still have the rest of today and all day tomorrow to increase their margin to help fight off any challenges from Fitzgerald.

This is the one they said couldn't be done. The Democratic Party and United Wisconsin both passed on this opportunity, so one local citizen, Lori Compas of Fort Atkinson, started the recall against Fitz on her own.

For more go to recallfitz.com.

UPDATE: Go here For good background on how wedding photographer Lori Compas and her dedicated volunteers pulled off this major shocker.

I grew up in Fitz's district. My parents still live there (and signed the petition!) Let me assure you, this was no easy task. Fitzgerald was considered to be in one of the safest Republican districts in the state. The anger is real, my friends. The anger is real!

And the recall is real, Senator Scott Fitzgerald. You dismissed it, you laughed it off, now you are flailing about filing frivolous complaints with the election board claiming they got the deadline wrong. Save it, loser. Time for you to hit up your out-of-state corporate sponsors for some campaign donations. The days of FitzWalkerstan are numbered.

UPDATE 2 (hat-tip stcroix cheesehead): More from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. I love this part:

Fitzgerald filed a complaint with election officials Thursday arguing the collection of signatures must end Friday, rather than Saturday, because recall organizers have just 60 days to gather signatures.Election officials -- backed by the state Department of Justice -- believe signatures can be collected through Saturday because the 60-day clock did not start to tick until Nov. 16, a day after Compas registered her committee with the state and began collecting signatures.

...

"That's a kid not winning Monopoly throwing the board up at the end of the game," said recall volunteer Sarah Hammer, a Fort Atkinson nurse.

UPDATE 3: Just returned from the noon Solidarity Sing Along that we have been holding every weekday at the state capitol since March, 2011. As is our custom on Fridays, we sang outside today. It was a balmy 20 degrees with brisk northwest winds and a light snow. Lori Compas was still in Madison after her press conference and stopped by to give us the news personally. From where I stood, she looked to be about 5'3" tall and maybe 110 lbs. Charming and polite, too, but obviously as tough as anyone in Wisconsin this past year. Her voice was a little raw, but we heard her loud and clear and gave her a sustained chant of "Thank You! Thank You!" Here is video of Lori at the Sing Along:

Meanwhile, a lifelong Republican also spoke at Friday's press conference:

Obama May Issue Order Exposing Big Corporate Political Spenders in Citizens United Era

2012-01-11T08:10:00.000-06:00

A executive order requiring that federal contractors disclose their electoral spending—by top officers and as corporations—is being reconsidered by the White House despite stiff opposition from the business lobby after it was first proposed last spring, according to civil rights attorneys working on the issue.

By Steven Rosenfeld

“There’s a lot of movement at the White House,” said Craig Holman, government affairs lobbyist for Public Citizen. “I just had a meeting at the White House counsel’s office, trying to encourage them to move forward with the executive order. They have the perfect window of opportunity to get the executive order done.”

“It’s simple—any company that is paid with taxpayer dollars should be required to disclose political contributions,” said Rep. Anna Eshoo, D-Calif., who has pushed for the White House to issue the order. “With public dollars come public responsibilities, and I hope President Obama will issue his executive order right away.”

The order, if issued, would likely be the only campaign finance initiative to emerge from Washington this year as nothing is expected from Congress. It would take effect after the Federal Acquisition Regulatory Council adopts new disclosure rules. That could come as the 2012 election season moves beyond the primaries and it would offer a new way to see who is behind the newest independent groups spending millions on political attack ads.

“Most of the major corporate players are also government contractors,” Holman said. “So if we get this executive order approved, we will get a comprehensive picture of how corporations are spending money in elections.”

Spending on federal contracts was $541 billion in 2010, which was about 4 percent of the gross domestic product, according to the Congressional Research Service, and almost 15 percent of the federal budget. The top 100 contractors are some of America’s biggest firms, and include support services for the military overseas, weapons makers, computer companies, telecommunication firms and other service providers. Companies that could fall under the disclosure order employ about 22 percent of the domestic workforce, CRS said.

The proposed executive order emerged last April, where it swiftly drew condemnation from some of Washington’s biggest business lobbies, including the Professional Services Council, the Aerospace Industries Association and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce. Almost immediately, Republicans in the House and Senate began adding amendments to appropriations bills prohibiting federal agencies from collecting the political contribution information as part of the procurement process.

Rep. Eshoo led the Democrats' response by making floor speeches and introducing short amendments to spending bills requiring the contractor disclosure.

“I rise to call for transparency and disclosure in our system and throughout our government,” Eshoo said, in a typical speech. “In 2002, when we voted to pass the historic McCain-Feingold campaign finance bill, most Republicans voted no, saying we needed disclosure….They said we needed to put spending out in the open and let the voters assess it. Today, when the president proposes requiring contractors to disclose their spending and not to limit it, Republicans are up in arms. They say it will politicize the contracting process. But when contractors can spend money in elections, the contracting process is already politicized.”

In July 2011, Eshoo sent a letter, signed by 62 other House Democrats, urging President Obama to issue the executive order. That letter noted that a handful of states ban forms of political spending by contractors, citing Connecticut, New Jersey, West Virginia and Hawaii. It also noted that since 1994, the Securities and Exchange Commission has barred brokers and securities dealers and their PACs from making campaign contributions to bond-issuing officials. The SEC rule was upheld in court.

“Political expenditures are already well-known to those that make them and to the officials who benefit,” she concluded in the letter urging the administration to action.

However, the White House took no further action after last summer. Meanwhile, every time Eshoo offered a disclosure amendment it prompted a counter measure from House Republicans. The stalemate ended in December, when a compromise was reached. The GOP’s stated objections concerned disclosing political contributions before contracts were awarded—in the bidding stage. The House Republicans withdrew their objection once Eshoo and Democratic leaders agreed to limit disclosure to after federal contracts had been awarded.

The most recent spending bill to pass the House removed those barriers, Eshoo said last month. “Today's compromise omnibus spending bill leaves the president free to require disclosure from any company receiving taxpayer dollars,” she said, alluding to the new window for the White House to move ahead with an executive order.

“Now we have the perfect window to get it done,” Holman said. “The [Republicans' legislative] riders have been removed.”

Neither Eshoo’s office nor Public Citizen’s Holman have seen newer drafts of the executive order since it circulated in April. That initial draft would report contributions to third-party groups, including the super PACs that spent millions on television ads before the Iowa caucuses—supposedly independent of candidates.

Should the executive order be signed, it would not stop the deluge of campaign cash into all flavors of political committees. However, lawyers for the super PACs have sought to delay reporting their contributions and expenditures until after the earliest presidential primaries. Thus, if adopted, it would force additional transparency on some of this political season’s stealthiest operators and might give some pause before acting.

Holman hoped the White House would issue the order before the upcoming State of the Union address. In the meantime, he said the White House’s lawyers were “attentive, polite and noncommittal” during their most recent meeting.

“With the two-year anniversary of Citizens United upon us, President Obama should seize the opportunity to address voter frustration and anger by putting in place meaningful transparency and disclosure,” Eshoo said.

Scott Walker's political payback: Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Sale

2012-01-06T06:57:00.002-06:00

Wisconsin is for sale to highest contributor to Scott Walker

Scott Walker turns down nearly $1 billion in federal taxpayer money for Wisconsin to improve our rail system. So, OUR money goes to other states, and now Scott Walker rubber-stamps some deal to sell taxpayer railroad resources to a holding company out of Kansas?

This story floating under the radar involves the sale of Wisconsin and Southern Railroad (WSOR) to a Kansas outfit called Watco Holdings.

Five Wisconsin legislators seek delay in Watco's WSOR acquisition

By Progressive Railroading

On Dec. 29, five Wisconsin representatives filed a motion with the Surface Transportation Board (STB) seeking a 60-day extension to the effective date of Watco Cos. L.L.C.’s control of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad Co. (WSOR).

In November, Watco reached an agreement with WSOR to acquire controlling ownership of the 600-mile regional. Watco filed a change of control notice with the STB and expected to complete the transaction by 2011’s end.

Wisconsin Reps. Brett Hulsey, Louis Molepske, Kelda Helen Roys, Fred Clark and Terese Berceau are seeking a 60-day delay in the transaction (from Dec. 29) so state legislators and the public have more time to explore several issues. According to a joint press release issued by the legislators, the extra time could be used to determine whether:

• the sale would hurt local farmers, manufacturers and rail shippers;

• Watco executives are willing to work with state and local officials to improve freight-rail and restore passenger-rail service to many parts of Wisconsin;

• the state could help broker a better deal with a more open bidding process since taxpayers "have invested" more than $60 million in WSOR’s tracks; and

• the sale is a political payback for illegal campaign contributions WSOR officials have provided Gov. Scott Walker.

After CN (Canadian National Railway) acquired the Wisconsin Central Railroad Ltd. in 2001, central Wisconsin paper mills and northern Wisconsin forest product companies had less access to rail service, so “the public must fully understand how business practices and reliable access will change” in WSOR’s corridors due to the acquisition, said Rep. Molepske in the joint statement.

“This sale should be further reviewed to allow the public more time to understand how businesses that use this railroad will be affected by its sale, especially since the public has invested so many tax dollars by upgrading the Wisconsin and Southern Railroad infrastructure,” said Molepske.

Adds Rep. Berceau: “We need more freight train capacity to get products to market and get trucks off the road, and I want to make sure this sale will do that.”

Veterans' Funds Stolen by Scott Walker Cronies in Growing Scandal

2012-01-05T13:12:00.007-06:00

Scott Walker

Update: Criminal complaint against Scott Walker crony posted.

A sordid affair in Wisconsin just became more disgusting as a John Doe investigation into Scott Walker corruption during his tenure as Milwaukee County executive, and his campaign for governor shows Walker appointees pocketed $1,000s intended for veterans and their families, among other repulsive developments.

By Dan Bice

Three individuals - including a former top aide to Gov. Scott Walker - were charged Thursday with felonies as part of the ongoing John Doe investigation into Walker staffers.

Tim Russell, a longtime Walker campaign and county staffer, was charged with two felonies and one misdemeanor count of embezzlement. Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm said the charges are tied to Operation Freedom, an annual military appreciation day held at the zoo.

The complaint says that Russell diverted to his personal bank account more than $21,000 intended for Operation Freedom, using some of those dollars to go on Hawaiian and Caribbean vacations with his domestic partner.

Other funds were used, the complaint says, for Russell to attend a weekend political strategy session in December 2010 with Herman Cain and his chief of staff, Mark Block, to discuss Cain's now-defunct presidential campaign.

Chisholm said some of the stolen money was intended for the families of Wisconsin soldiers who were killed in action in Iraq and Afghanistan. Funds also were used for wounded veterans of the war in Iraq. In 2010, Walker's county administration had asked prosecutors to investigate what had happened to $11,000 raised in 2007 for the event.

Chisholm announced the charges at a noon news conference, but said he could not take questions because of the ongoing investigation. He noted that Walker's administration had asked for the investigation and said his office was following the evidence without regard to politics. ...

Also charged Thursday was Brian Pierick, Russell's longtime partner and a staffer at the state Department of Public Instruction, and Kevin Kavanaugh, Walker's appointee to the Milwaukee County Veteran Service Commission.

Kavanaugh, 61, of Cudahy is charged with five felonies for theft and fraudulent writings by a corporate officer. He was the treasurer of the Milwaukee Purple Heart chapter at the time of the dispute over the $11,000 for Operation Freedom.

Prosecutors say he stole more than $42,000 in donations intended to families of U.S. service members killed or wounded in Iraq.

Kavanaugh embezzled and otherwise stole money given to the Military Order of the Purple Heart. Kavanaugh was finance officer for the organization's Milwaukee-area chapter, named for the late war veteran Michelle Witmer. ...

The donations for the event were obtained by Russell on behalf of Walker from local businesses.

He also siphoned Purple Heart money that came from three different sources: former state Sen. Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin), a grant from the Rolfs Family Foundation and the Purple Heart's own foundation. Gundrum, now a state appeals court justice, donated more than $28,000 of his legislative salary to the Purple Heart while he was on active duty in Iraq; Kavanaugh peeled off $4,800 of that amount. ...

In August 2010, authorities seized Russell's county computer just weeks before the gubernatorial primary.

A longtime political hand, Russell, 48, used to run former Gov. Tommy Thompson's Milwaukee office and had been with Walker since he ran for county executive in 2002. Russell did not get a job in the Walker administration in Madison. ...

Walker set up the annual Operation Freedom as a military appreciation day at the zoo for veterans, who got free admission and food. It was run through the county executive's office.

Russell was the coordinator of the event and worked on it with Darlene Wink, another former Walker aide at the county who has been under investigation in the John Doe probe.

Scott Walker's Big Lie on So-called Budget Repair Bill Revealed

2012-01-04T06:51:00.003-06:00

A news item (Wisconsin State Journal, February 11, 2011) includes Gov. Scott Walker's oft-repeated claim that he needed to force stripping collective bargaining for public employees as part of his "budget repair" bill in Walker's declared 'fiscal emergency.'

It was a Walker lie then, and a lie now that even Walker let slip in the video below, it bears repeating. Walker's lie is about taking rights away for political, cynical partisan purposes.

And the same applies to soon-to-be-recalled State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald, Walker's tool.

Iowa Poll: It's Romney, Paul, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann

2012-01-01T07:40:00.002-06:00

GOP - Angry, racist, and authoritarian

Update: Romney, Santorum and Paul Top the Pack: What the Iowa Caucuses Reveal About the GOP Base

Murderers’ Row this line-up of Republican liars, shills and whacks is not.

The 2012 Republican field is the weakest slate of candidates offered up for president by a major party in modern American, political history.

Des Moines Register’s latest Iowa Poll Results

Mitt Romney - 24 percent
Ron Paul - 22 percent
Rick Santorum - 15 percent
Newt Gingrich - 12 percent
Rick Perry -11 percent
Michele Bachmann - 7 percent

From the Des Moines Register

The Des Moines Register’s latest Iowa Poll shows a surprise three-way match-up in contention to win the Iowa Republican caucuses: Mitt Romney, Ron Paul and Rick Santorum.

Ron Paul in Shot with KKK Grand Wizard, NAZI, Stormfront Goes Viral

2011-12-31T10:36:00.011-06:00

Ron Paul with former American Nazi, Current KKK Grand Wizard
and Stormfront.org webmaster - Shot at the at the Values Voter Presidential debate
in Fort Lauderdale on September 17, 2007.

As "Ron Paul tries to scare the crap out of Iowans about the UN takeover and riots in the streets over the emerging dictatorship in America" (TPM), comes this charming shot (to the right) from the Values Voter Presidential debate in Fort Lauderdale on September 17, 2007.

The keynote speaker to the 50th anniversary of the Appleton-based John Birch Society? (Steven Walters in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Nice.

Publisher of the racist, and pathetically bigoted newsletters in which Ron Paul made $millions and tried to defend, and later attested he never read or approved, first reported by James Kirchick almost four years ago. Really nice.

Now, comes a shot (above) of Ron Paul pictured with former American Nazi Party member and the current KKK Grand Wizard and Stormfront.org webmaster, Don Black that is going viral.

Just maybe our neighbors to the Southwest have the wrong idea about Ron Paul. So Iowa, wise up.

And hey Paul, to win the GOP nomination or even the Iowa caucuses, you need to be subtly racist, not overtly racist.

Scott Walker on Fox Draws Groans

2011-12-28T07:30:00.001-06:00

Few are buying Scott Walker's line of BS any more.

Few have forgotten that Scott Walker is a scheming, corrupt liar.

This is the same Scott Walker who attests on tape to being willing to sacrifice 1,000s of working families for purely political ends.

Johnny Byram

2011-12-27T10:46:00.001-06:00

Johnny Byram

Uncle Johnny Byram made me laugh during a difficult period.

Many years ago Johnny said he wanted this song played when he passed away, reports Diane Manis.

So this is for you, Johnny: Crazy man from Georgia.

Thanks for making me laugh.

Secret Fracture between Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker Shows Moderate-Extremist Split in GOP

2011-12-25T10:45:00.001-06:00

Scott Walker

Ruth Conniff has an important story in the Huffington Post [and The Progressive] that is easy to miss during the holidays.

Scott Walker's corrupt and no-compromise approach to ruling (and not governing in a representative democracy) has Republicans from the Tommy Thompson days disgusted with Walker.

When Thompson was governor, he was known to take offense if anyone questioned his commitment to public schools and support for the UW System. But Walker is a different type of Republican: Slash-and-burn, violate civil rights; and so corrupt, Tommy Thompson appears a William Proxmire by comparison.

Paul Fanlund writes in the Capital Times: "The recall is not about public employees nor is it about politics as usual. It is about Walker's toxic brand of political fundamentalism -- heartless and historically unprecedented -- that should repel fair-minded, mainstream voters everywhere."

Yep.

Even Walker knows the gig is up, as he hits the holiday air waves with his wife talking about "peace" in a new awkwardly acted spot.

Writes Kirsten Boyd Johnson: "The most comical part is that this is the best that Scott Walker can do even though he has been outspending his recall organizer opponents four to one in the contest so far."

An excerpt from Conniff's piece:

As the political crisis was brewing in Wisconsin last winter, Governor Scott Walker rebuffed former governor Tommy Thompson's advice to reach a compromise with public employee unions, according to a state senator as well as a friend of Thompson's who was involved in the political drama at the time.

"Tommy was beside himself that Walker was so dogmatic,' says the friend. 'We had lots of conversations about this--about how it was going to do nothing but cause chaos, and it was bad for the state. Businesses aren't going to move here in the middle of all this conflict."

Thompson, along with other moderate Republicans, reached out to Walker, the friend says, and urged him to sit down with union leaders and seek a compromise before Walker pushed through a law curtailing public employees' collective bargaining rights -- the issue that sparked mass protests and the state's first ever recall campaign against a governor.

"After a certain point, Walker quit taking Tommy's phone calls," the friend says. "I think Tommy was giving him advice he didn't want to hear."

Democratic State Senator Bob Jauch says that during the crisis, after he and 13 other state Democrats had fled the state to stall a vote on the collective bargaining issue, he spoke with former officials in Tommy Thompson's administration who said Thompson was trying to persuade Walker to reach a deal. "I heard it from three different people who talked to him," says Jauch.

Jauch also describes a recent meeting with Thompson at a memorial service for the president of the Wisconsin Capitol Correspondents Association, Dick Wheeler:

"I said, 'Tommy, you and I could have solved this whole thing over a cup of coffee.'" Jauch says. "Tommy put his hands on my shoulders and said, 'Bob, it would have been a pot of coffee, but absolutely we could have solved it.' "

---
See Conniff's entire piece.

Scott Walker's $810 million Rail Road Blunder Looks Even Worse One Year Later

2011-12-24T06:18:00.002-06:00

This model train, featuring the slogan "Wisconsin is Open for Business,"
is running around the base of the Christmas tree
at the state Capitol in Madison. Photo by Larry Tamiso

Update: See also Absurd: Tea Party Mayor Rejects Federally Funded, Job-Creating Amtrak Line.
"In what could be a new high water mark of anti-Washington sentiment, the city of Troy, Mich., is rejecting a long-planned transportation center whose construction would have been fully financed with federal stimulus money. The terminal, which would help Troy become a transportation node on an upgraded Detroit-to-Chicago Amtrak line, was hailed by supporters as a way to create jobs and to spur economic development." (NYT)

Suppose that a given state is offered $810 million in funding for a labor-intensive [lots of jobs] project to improve and expand its rail road system. And the state's governor said, in effect, 'no, we don't want the $810 million, or the jobs.'

This is precisely what happened when Scott Walker made one of the most foolish decisions in the history of Wisconsin public policy in this period of sustained high unemployment.

Scott Walker, taking his cues from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Koch brothers, has dictated over a no-growth, crony capitalistic, corrupt period of Wisconsin history that will take a years-long, damage-repair effort.

For an excellent analysis of the scope and danger of what is happening to our country, especially the state of Wisconsin (ground zero in the battle to take our country back starting with the recall of Scott Walker), see:

ALEC Exposed: Business Domination Inc. (Joel Rogers and Laura Dresser)
ALEC Exposed: The Koch Connection ( Lisa Graves)
ALEC Exposed: Rigging Elections (John Nichols)
Why the Koch Brothers and ALEC Don't Want You to Vote (Ari Berman)

The Capital Times (Madison, Wisconsin) has a tremendous editorial looking back at Scott Walker's corrupt and imbecilic rejection of $810 million:

A year later, Walker rail blunder looks even worse

Last Dec. 9, exactly a year ago, federal officials redirected $810 million in transportation funding that Gov. Scott Walker had rejected to improve Wisconsin's rail system.

That rejection may go down as one of the biggest political goofs in state history.

Walker had campaigned against the proposed Madison-Milwaukee passenger train project, saying it represented "runaway government spending" and would cost state taxpayers in the long run.

"I'm going to stop that boondoggle train to Madison" became a rallying cry for Walker, whose own polling showed that dissing Madison — and the train — was a winning issue despite the wider long-term implications for the state's transportation system.

Walker played that high-stakes gamble throughout the race, saying he could persuade Congress to redirect the money to fix Wisconsin's highways or bridges.

But after the election, when it became obvious the Obama administration was going to send the rail funds to other states, Walker had to fall on his sword to save face. That prompted the Los Angeles Times to famously write "Thanks a billion, cheeseheads" after the money was sent instead to California.

Now, as other states move forward to upgrade their rail systems — the 110 mph train could be a reality by 2015 — Wisconsin is floundering. No 2,300 construction jobs, no track improvements, no plan.

In fact, the only new train running in Wisconsin is the toy train around the Christmas tree in the Capitol proclaiming the state "Open for Business."

"At least we have one train we can enjoy while other GOP governors get a real train," quips Rep. Brett Hulsey, D-Madison.

And Wisconsin is still trying to figure out how to pay for badly needed rail improvements that would have otherwise been covered if Walker had not acted so foolishly.

This week, the Legislature's budget committee slowed planning for a permanent train maintenance facility in Milwaukee, opening the possibility the Amtrak cars will be serviced in Chicago instead. Republicans have balked at spending an estimated $53 million on the maintenance facility, saying it wasn't worth it for only two dozen permanent jobs. But not building the facility would result in the state defaulting on its contract with Spanish train company Talgo.

Sadly, the $810 million federal grant would have covered the cost of the maintenance facility, along with upgrades of tracks for the Milwaukee-to-Chicago Hiawatha line.

Earlier this year, the Walker administration went back to the feds and begged for $213 million to pay for upgrades to the Hiawatha line and most of the cost of the maintenance facility. But that request was denied.

"The Walker administration made a bad choice in wasting federal resources," says Rep. Tamara Grigsby, D-Milwaukee, in a statement. "Now Wisconsin taxpayers must foot the bill."

The state has already spent about $25 million on maintenance equipment and a temporary maintenance facility in Milwaukee for the Hiawatha line. All of that would have been covered under the money Walker rejected.

A sad day indeed.

Wash Post Plays GOP Defeat as Win for 160 million Americans and Pres Obama

2011-12-23T07:33:00.001-06:00

President Obama beats GOP in win
for American people

Facing withering criticism from across the political spectrum and abandoned by Senate allies, House Republicans bowed to political reality Thursday and agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans.

The agreement represented a remarkable capitulation on the part of House Republicans, who had two days earlier rejected such a deal with Democrats as the kind of half-measure that their new majority was elected to thwart.

By Rosalind S. Helderman

And it amounts to a Christmas gift for President Obama, who attempted to paint his Republican opponents as willing to raise taxes for millions of Americans. Such an image could have cost the party politically just as it is gearing up to try to take back the White House and the Senate in 2012.

The agreement resolved the last stalemate in a year of bitter congressional fighting that earned lawmakers their lowest approval ratings in recent memory.
---
H/T to John Aravosis

Ron Paul's Racist Newsletters Costing Him—Again, with Assist from Wisconsin

2011-12-22T13:20:00.009-06:00

Ron Paul - White and proud of it

In 2008 James Kirchick at The New Republic broke a disturbing expose about the anti-war, self-proclaimed libertarian candidate for president, Rep. Ron Paul (R-Lake Jackson, Texas; 14th District), now for the first time leading polls for the GOP nomination for president in Iowa, and who has a plausible path to the 2012 GOP nomination, to the utter panic of many Republicans.

Kirchick, whom many regard as a neocon writer, took a lot of grief from the many, loyal pro-Ron Paul fans. [So did I for merely applauding Kirchick in a piece that drew a lot of hits at the site, Uppity Wisconsin.]

By Michael Leon

Some of the political commentariat point out that Paul received a lot of support from veterans in 2008, though Ron Paul 2012 does not list Veterans Benefits as an issue in his webpage, and his anti-government benefits ideology makes this writer dismiss him as a veterans' advocates.

What's ironic is that a fairly rightwing writer, James Kirchick, may be dooming Ron Paul again and some believe throwing away the GOP's last, best hope to defeat President Obama in a GOP field dominated by lightweights and to be candid: Whacks.

Paul, who has a distinguished record as a flight surgeon in the U.S. Air Force, also has a political past where he was the publisher of several racist, anti-Semitic newsletters uncovered by Kirchick who concludes, "Ron Paul is not the plain-speaking antiwar activist his supporters believe they are backing -- but rather a member in good standing of some of the oldest and ugliest traditions in American politics."

Ron Paul is a radical, a politician who in the words of Gary Weiss "is a true friend of the 1 percent" engaging in a campaign of phony populism. In fact, just months after Kirchick's 2008 blockbuster, Paul traveled to Wisconsin (Steven Walters in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) where it was reported the "(f)ormer Republican presidential candidate ... will keynote Saturday's session of the 50th anniversary of the Appleton-based John Birch Society." The John Birch Society, dating back to the 1950s, is infamous for its conspiracy-minded, anti-Semitic, and Joe McCarthy-supporting radicals.

From Jonathan Chait:

"As early as December 1989, a section of his Investment Letter, titled 'What To Expect for the 1990s,' predicted that 'Racial Violence Will Fill Our Cities' because 'mostly black welfare recipients will feel justified in stealing from mostly white ‘haves.’' Two months later, a newsletter warned of 'The Coming Race War,' and, in November 1990, an item advised readers, 'If you live in a major city, and can leave, do so. If not, but you can have a rural retreat, for investment and refuge, buy it.' In June 1991, an entry on racial disturbances in Washington, DC’s Adams Morgan neighborhood was titled, 'Animals Take Over the D.C. Zoo.' 'This is only the first skirmish in the race war of the 1990s,' the newsletter predicted."

Below is a video from C-SPAN in which Paul discusses his newsletters [starting at the 1:40 mark] in which Paul, speaking in the first-person, ["I"], describes his racist nonsense as a business-investment, political-type of investment-monetary newsletter.

How panicked is the GOP? Here's some recent pieces indicating why even a nomination of Newt might bring Karl Rove and the Koch brothers better news than a potential Ron Paul nomination:

Why Don’t Libertarians Care About Ron Paul’s Bigoted Newsletters? (Kirchick, The New Republic, 2011)
How Ron Paul could give the GOP a heart attack (Kornacki, Salon)
Grappling With Ron Paul's Racist Newsletters (Friedersdorf, The Atlantic)
Ron Paul Gets Testy With Gloria Borger Over Questions on Racist Newsletters (Heather, Crooks and Liars)
The Company Ron Paul Keeps (Kirchick, The Weekly Standard)
News Bulletin: Ron Paul Is a Huge Racist (Chait, New York Magazine)
Tim Carney's Preemptive Defense of Ron Paul (Goldberg, National Review)
The Ron Paul Double Standard (Klein, Washington Examiner)

What did Kirchick expose in 2008 and for how long did this ugliness have Paul's assent?

Kirchick writes (Jan. 8, 2008):

Paul’s newsletters have carried different titles over the years--Ron Paul’s Freedom Report, Ron Paul Political Report, The Ron Paul Survival Report--but they generally seem to have been published on a monthly basis since at least 1978. ... What they reveal are decades worth of obsession with conspiracies, sympathy for the right-wing militia movement, and deeply held bigotry against blacks, Jews, and gays. ...

[In a] special issue of the Ron Paul Political Report, Kirchick cites:

According to the newsletter, the looting (1992 LA riot) was a natural byproduct of government indulging the black community with 'civil rights,’ quotas, mandated hiring preferences, set-asides for government contracts, gerrymandered voting districts, black bureaucracies, black mayors, black curricula in schools, black tv shows, black tv anchors, hate crime laws, and public humiliation for anyone who dares question the black agenda.' It also denounced 'the media' for believing that 'America’s number one need is an unlimited white checking account for underclass blacks.'

And these beauties, noted by Kirchick:

[L]iberals who “want to keep white America from taking action against black crime and welfare,” adding, “Jury verdicts, basketball games, and even music are enough to set off black rage, it seems.”
One newsletter ridiculed black activists who wanted to rename New York City after King, suggesting that “Welfaria,” “Zooville,” “Rapetown,” “Dirtburg,” and “Lazyopolis” were better alternatives.
While bashing King, the newsletters had kind words for the former Imperial Wizard of the Ku Klux Klan, David Duke. In a passage titled “The Duke’s Victory,” a newsletter celebrated Duke’s 44 percent showing in the 1990 Louisiana Senate primary. “Duke lost the election,” it said, “but he scared the blazes out of the Establishment.”
In an item titled, “The Pink House?” the author of a newsletter--again, presumably Paul--complained about President George H.W. Bush’s decision to sign a hate crimes bill and invite “the heads of homosexual lobbying groups to the White House for the ceremony,” adding, “I miss the closet.”
“The ACT-UP slogan, on stickers plastered all over Manhattan, is ‘Silence = Death.’ But shouldn’t it be ‘Sodomy = Death’?”
His adversaries are often described in harsh terms: Barbara Jordan is called “Barbara Morondon,” Eleanor Holmes Norton is a “black pinko,” Donna Shalala is a “short lesbian,” Ron Brown is a “racial victimologist,” and Roberta Achtenberg, the first openly gay public official confirmed by the United States Senate, is a “far-left, normal-hating lesbian activist.” Maybe such outbursts mean Ron Paul really is a straight-talker. Or maybe they just mean he is a man filled with hate.

Kirchick must have had to research long hours to dig up these Ron Paul newsletters housed at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's State Historical Society [a state agency in itself), which maintains a very broad and deep collection of political material dedicated to preserving American history for the benefit of people of all states.

The Wisconsin State Historical Society has been collecting political newsletters and other material since 1849, the year after Wisconsin became a state.

At the very top of Rep. Paul's Congressional site, Paul quotes Frederic Bastiat, "Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all."

Right about now, Ron Paul likely wishes that preserving his racist tripe were not done at all.

Ron Paul explicit race-baiting

Pious GOP Celebrates Christ in a Perverse Manner

2011-12-22T08:23:00.000-06:00

One translation of a lovely quote from Jesus Christ is: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
- Matthew 25:45

Actually, the so-called Christians running for the Republican nomination for the presidency, U.S. Senate, down to the local school board, loudly acclaiming their devotion to Christ, don't know much about tolerance, compassion and peace.

When they take their campaign money from Wall Street, the military-industrial complex, or America's abundant supply of the merchants of hate, they betray Christ.

Such notions as compassion and peace tend to get in the way of the path to the Republican nomination for public office now-a-days.

Much easier to demonize gays, Muslims, the working class, blacks, and when expedient: Jews.

VA Launches Facebook Pages for All 152 Medical Centers

2011-12-22T06:30:00.001-06:00

Clement J. Zablocki VA
Medical Center in Milwaukee

Strategy Enables Returning Vets to Engage with VA at the Local Level

WASHINGTON – The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today that all of its 152 medical centers are now actively represented on Facebook, the world’s largest social networking site.

“This event marks an important milestone in the overall effort to transform how VA communicates with Veterans and provide them the health care and benefits they have earned,” said Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki. “Veterans and their families told us from the beginning that they want to engage and they want relevant information delivered at the local level. By leveraging Facebook, the Department continues to expand access to VA, and embrace transparency and two-way conversation.”

The process that began with a single Veterans Health Administration Facebook page in 2008 has now produced over 150 Facebook pages, 64 Twitter feeds, a YouTube channel, a Flickr page, and the VAntage Point blog. Additionally, in June 2011, VA produced a Department-wide social media policy that provides guidelines for communicating with Veterans online. The overarching strategy is designed to help break down long-perceived barriers between the Department and its stakeholders.

“Veterans of all eras are depending on us to get the right information to the right person at the right time,” said Brandon Friedman, VA’s director of online communications, and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. “With more troops returning home, we also have a responsibility to connect with the thousands of Servicemembers who have been—and will be—entering our system. They’re using social media, so that’s where we need to be. Facebook helps us do that.”

“We are very pleased to have pioneered social media in VA, and now our VA medical centers across the nation are all engaged,” said Dr. Robert Petzel, under secretary for health. “We are committed to helping Veterans understand their benefits and receive the health care their service has earned them.”

VA clinicians can’t discuss the specific health concerns of individual Veterans on Facebook, but that doesn’t prevent staff from monitoring VA’s sites closely each day—and providing helpful information to Veterans when they can. In the last year, for instance, VA’s Crisis Line counselors have successfully intervened on Facebook in cases where Veterans have suggested suicidal thoughts or presented with other emotional crises.

“Facebook’s mission is to make the world more open and connected and we are excited to see government agencies using our service to better to connect with citizens, provide information, and deliver services,” said Don Faul, Facebook’s vice president of online operations, a former U.S. Marine and a veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan. “We want to do all we can to support Veterans, so we’re pleased to see the Department of Veterans Affairs using Facebook connect with Veterans in an authentic and engaging way.”

VA currently has over 345,000 combined Facebook subscribers (or, “fans”). The Department’s main Facebook page has over 154,000 fans and its medical centers have a combined subscribership of over 69,000. The Department plans to continue expanding its Facebook presence while also focusing on bringing Twitter to every VA medical center as well.

For more information, please visit the sites below:

Scott Walker Henchman, Wis State Sen Faced Down at Town Meeting

2011-12-21T04:12:00.001-06:00

Fitzwalkerstan - Used to be Wisconsin

State Senator Scott Fitzgerald, held a listening session recently and Lori Compas showed up to face him and call him out on his fundraising letters that are blatantly untrue.

One woman has begun the recall of State Sen. Fitzgerald, a lying rubber-stamp for Scott Walker.

By Jeff Simpson

Bravo once more to Lori Compas! I am getting ready to start the Lori Compas for Governor campaign. Scott Fitzgerald never had the guts to face anyone he disagree with in person and Ms. Compas showed up at a listening session to not only face him but call him out on his lies!

Help Lori recall Fitz! NO ONE deserves it more!!

In case you forgot, here's Fitzgerald letting a big lie slip on Fox News this spring:

MAL Contends . . .

Scott Walker's Extremism Led to Shadow Government

"We can't afford another story like this one. No one can give them any reason to do another story."

Two more former aides to Scott Walker charged with crimes

Update: Scott Walker'a inner circle was responsible for setting up a secret e-mail-computer system that was used to conceal illegal fundraising.

Wisconsin wonders if it can get a statement of condemnation from Scott Walker as his former aides keep getting charged with criminal acts.

Is Scott Walker in favor or against criminal acts? The circle is closing in on Recall target, Scott Walker.

By Chris Bowers

To Ron Paul Apologists: Racism is Never OK

Ron Paul will not win the Republican nomination for president, though I think he'll launch a third-party run this year.

But his racism is not a disqualification for his candidacy in the Party.

The GOP candidates love racism as a tool, and they love their states' rights. [States' rights to take away a woman's right to choose; states' rights to gerrymand voting districts; states rights to obstruct voters, and so on.]

Paul's racism is a disqualification from the more civilized members of our community and Paul's apologists deserve a knock-down.

By Phil Scarr

President Obama Delivers State of the Union, Calls for Unity

Update: Special Operations Forces Rescue Hostages in Somalia -At start of the president’s address last night, TV cameras caught Obama shaking Leon Panetta’s hand, saying “Good job.” No one knew then what he was talking about. ---

The domestic enemy is clear, and the enemy of the American people, including all 26-million American veterans, is the Republican Party.

Against this backdrop, President Obama vowed to move forward to the dismay of a rightwing party unprecedented in American history.

But President Obama called for unity and common purpose, as is embodied in the U.S. Military.

Obama bore little resemblance to the straw-man figure derided in Republican debates, delivering a sober, respectful call for national purpose during a crisis that we as a nation face together.

Stem Cells—Thompson, Neumann and Fitz Have to Answer in Radicalized GOP

Republican Racism is an Air Raid Siren, Not a Dog Whistle

Think AIG, outsourcing and corruption caused the Great Recession; nooo, it was the blacks, says the GOP.

Republican candidates are overtly signaling that whiteness and American identity are intertwined.

By Chauncey DeVega

Bain Capital Spells Big Trouble for GOP

ABC News reports Willard Mitt Romney has parked millions of dollars of his personal wealth in investment funds set up in the Cayman Islands, a notorious Caribbean tax haven.

The last few weeks of the Republican Presidential road show has been dominated by discussion of Mitt Romney's career as head of a Wall Street private equity firm -- Bain Capital. Most people who enter politics have some previous career in the private sector -- especially if they're wealthy.

By Robert Creamer

GAB Deserves Praise Standing Firm Against GOP

Updated - Recall Scott Walker Petition to be Delivered Today

Koch Brothers State Sen in Wisconsin Gets Recalled

The organizers of a recall drive against Wisconsin State Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald say they have gathered enough signatures to recall a major Koch Brothers ally. They held a press conference Friday.

One local citizen, Lori Compas of Fort Atkinson, started the recall against Fitzgerald on her own, working so hard that the effort became the perfect companion story to the successful recall of Gov. Scott Walker, to be announced Jan. 17.

By Giles Goat Boy

Obama May Issue Order Exposing Big Corporate Political Spenders in Citizens United Era

By Steven Rosenfeld

Scott Walker's political payback: Wisconsin and Southern Railroad Sale

Wisconsin is for sale to highest contributor to Scott Walker

Veterans' Funds Stolen by Scott Walker Cronies in Growing Scandal

Update: Criminal complaint against Scott Walker crony posted.

By Dan Bice

Scott Walker's Big Lie on So-called Budget Repair Bill Revealed

Iowa Poll: It's Romney, Paul, Santorum, Gingrich, Perry and Bachmann

Update: Romney, Santorum and Paul Top the Pack: What the Iowa Caucuses Reveal About the GOP Base Murderers’ Row this line-up of Republican liars, shills and whacks is not.

The 2012 Republican field is the weakest slate of candidates offered up for president by a major party in modern American, political history.

Ron Paul in Shot with KKK Grand Wizard, NAZI, Stormfront Goes Viral

As "Ron Paul tries to scare the crap out of Iowans about the UN takeover and riots in the streets over the emerging dictatorship in America" (TPM), comes this charming shot (to the right) from the Values Voter Presidential debate in Fort Lauderdale on September 17, 2007.

The keynote speaker to the 50th anniversary of the Appleton-based John Birch Society? (Steven Walters in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel) Nice.

Publisher of the racist, and pathetically bigoted newsletters in which Ron Paul made $millions and tried to defend, and later attested he never read or approved, first reported by James Kirchick almost four years ago. Really nice.

Now, comes a shot (above) of Ron Paul pictured with former American Nazi Party member and the current KKK Grand Wizard and Stormfront.org webmaster, Don Black that is going viral.

Just maybe our neighbors to the Southwest have the wrong idea about Ron Paul. So Iowa, wise up.

And hey Paul, to win the GOP nomination or even the Iowa caucuses, you need to be subtly racist, not overtly racist.

Scott Walker on Fox Draws Groans

Johnny Byram

Secret Fracture between Tommy Thompson and Scott Walker Shows Moderate-Extremist Split in GOP

Scott Walker's $810 million Rail Road Blunder Looks Even Worse One Year Later

Suppose that a given state is offered $810 million in funding for a labor-intensive [lots of jobs] project to improve and expand its rail road system. And the state's governor said, in effect, 'no, we don't want the $810 million, or the jobs.'

This is precisely what happened when Scott Walker made one of the most foolish decisions in the history of Wisconsin public policy in this period of sustained high unemployment.

Scott Walker, taking his cues from the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) and the Koch brothers, has dictated over a no-growth, crony capitalistic, corrupt period of Wisconsin history that will take a years-long, damage-repair effort.

For an excellent analysis of the scope and danger of what is happening to our country, especially the state of Wisconsin (ground zero in the battle to take our country back starting with the recall of Scott Walker), see:

A year later, Walker rail blunder looks even worse

Wash Post Plays GOP Defeat as Win for 160 million Americans and Pres Obama

Facing withering criticism from across the political spectrum and abandoned by Senate allies, House Republicans bowed to political reality Thursday and agreed to a two-month extension of a payroll tax cut for 160 million Americans.

The agreement represented a remarkable capitulation on the part of House Republicans, who had two days earlier rejected such a deal with Democrats as the kind of half-measure that their new majority was elected to thwart.

By Rosalind S. Helderman

Ron Paul's Racist Newsletters Costing Him—Again, with Assist from Wisconsin

Kirchick, whom many regard as a neocon writer, took a lot of grief from the many, loyal pro-Ron Paul fans. [So did I for merely applauding Kirchick in a piece that drew a lot of hits at the site, Uppity Wisconsin.]

By Michael Leon

Pious GOP Celebrates Christ in a Perverse Manner

One translation of a lovely quote from Jesus Christ is: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me." - Matthew 25:45

Actually, the so-called Christians running for the Republican nomination for the presidency, U.S. Senate, down to the local school board, loudly acclaiming their devotion to Christ, don't know much about tolerance, compassion and peace.

When they take their campaign money from Wall Street, the military-industrial complex, or America's abundant supply of the merchants of hate, they betray Christ.

Such notions as compassion and peace tend to get in the way of the path to the Republican nomination for public office now-a-days.

VA Launches Facebook Pages for All 152 Medical Centers

Strategy Enables Returning Vets to Engage with VA at the Local Level

Scott Walker Henchman, Wis State Sen Faced Down at Town Meeting

State Senator Scott Fitzgerald, held a listening session recently and Lori Compas showed up to face him and call him out on his fundraising letters that are blatantly untrue.

One woman has begun the recall of State Sen. Fitzgerald, a lying rubber-stamp for Scott Walker.

By Jeff Simpson

Update: Special Operations Forces Rescue Hostages in Somalia -At start of the president’s address last night, TV cameras caught Obama shaking Leon Panetta’s hand, saying “Good job.” No one knew then what he was talking about.
---

Update: Romney, Santorum and Paul Top the Pack: What the Iowa Caucuses Reveal About the GOP Base

Murderers’ Row this line-up of Republican liars, shills and whacks is not.

One translation of a lovely quote from Jesus Christ is: "I tell you the truth, whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me."
- Matthew 25:45