Sly In The Morning

Did Walker lie under oath to Congress? Chief Political Correspondent Dylan Brogan on his exclusive report

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 22:05:23 PDT

Documents reveal Walker began drafting Act 10 in November 2010, contradicting his testimony before Congress

Dylan Brogan – WTDY NEWS

On April 14th, 2011, Gov. Scott Walker was called before Congress to testify at a hearing title, “State and Municipal Debt: Tough Choices Ahead”. Governor Walker and Vermont Governor Peter Shumlin were selected because of their contrasting approaches to governing under difficult fiscal circumstances. Regarding the process in which Governor Walker went about achieving concessions from state employees, Walker thought it was important to put in the record that, "In December, after the elections but before I was sworn into office, the public sector unions and the state rushed to the lame-duck session Legislature and to the Governor and tried to pass through contracts that would have locked us into a dire financial situation.”

But drafting documents obtained by WTDY News from the non-partisan Legislative Reference Bureau reveal that Act 10 was actually being drafted in November, just weeks after Walker was elected governor. As lawmakers struggled to pass state worker contracts in December of 2010, a non-partisan state attorney was already hard at work drafting the very provision in ACT 10 that stripped away bargaining rights for nearly all public employees in Wisconsin.

Cathlene Hanaman is the Deputy Chief at the Legislative Reference Bureau and has drafted all the collective bargaining changes in recent years, which she says were always minor until Governor Walker was elected. When shown an email she sent to another non-partisan bill drafter on December 3rd, 2010, Hanaman confirmed that the legislation described in the email was part of a project she had been assigned in November and that veteran Department of Administration budget staffers were working with her on behalf of then governor-elect Walker. In the email, the intent of the legislation lists “prohibiting public employee union from collectively bargaining over health care benefits.” An undated memo entitled “Alternative Approach to Collective Bargaining,” given to Hanaman at a meeting with Department of Administration staffers, lays out plans to prohibit any state or local public employer from collecting union dues, require public sector unions to vote to re-certify each year, and allow police and firefighter unions to keep all their bargaining rights.

Barely a week after being elected, Walker made the unprecedented move of asking then-Governor Jim Doyle to halt negotiations on long overdue state labor contracts. Walker said he wanted the negotiations stopped so he could deliver on his campaign promise to help balance the budget by bringing benefit contribution levels for state employees more in line with the private sector. But democrats brought the Legislature back for a rare lame duck session in mid-December despite repeated objections from Walker.

In his testimony before Congress, Walker cited this lame-duck session as the catalyst for Act 10. “When people ask why we didn’t begin by negotiating, the tone was set early on by the process that was taken – after the election but before we were sworn in – and that’s why it became clear to us that we need to empower our state and local government to make those sort of long-term changes.”

During that lame duck session, it looked as though the contracts might pass over Walker's objections, but Sen. Russ Decker shocked his fellow democrats when his last vote as Senate Majority Leader killed the 11th hour effort to give state workers a contract before Scott Walker took over negotiating duties for the state.

Walker's testimony before Congress has also been called into question because of recently released footage from the documentary “As Goes Janesville.”

In the footage, walker is asked by Beloit billionaire and campaign supporter Diane Hendricks, “Any chance we’ll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions?”

Walker responded by describing what he called a “divide and conquer” strategy.

“The first step is, were going to deal with collective bargaining for public employee unions,” he told her.

Walker’s meet and greet with Hendricks occurred just over a month before the lame duck session of the Legislature, again contradicting his testimony that the push to re-negotiate contracts sparked his controversial collective bargaining law. It is a Federal offense to knowingly and willingly tell false statements under oath.

WTDY NEWS

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Waupun Correctional Officers Speak Out Against Act 10's Dangerous Safety Implications

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:25:48 PDT

Wisconisin Correctional Officers Brian Cunningham and Mark Elliot spoke of the dangerous conditions that they and their brother and sister correctional officers are facing, caused by Act 10 in Wisconsin's State Prison system.

Act 10 didn't just take money out of their pockets; it also took their ability to have a constructive dialogue with their warden away.

The situation has deteriorated to the point that prisoners have now figured out that officers do not have the same level of input that they once did. In many cases, near-riot behavior has prompted facility lock-downs. We've never lost a correctional officer in the line of duty in Wisconsin, but the possibility is steadily increasing because our danger-hungry correctional officers have been stripped of their rights.

Will he wind up attending the funeral of a man or woman who takes care of business with the most dangerous people in Wisconsin? Perhaps the officers will have the pleasure of serving him meals through a slit in the door if bald-spot Saturn-driving brown-bag John Doe keeps making trouble in our state.

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Sheriff Mahoney talks Memorial Day weekend safety, department resources, gangs, Karleton Armstrong

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 11:10:04 PDT

Are you planning on driving anywhere this holiday weekend? Probably. Unfortunately, some motorists will ignore intoxicated driving laws, and disregard the safety of their fellow motorists. Thankfully, The Dane County Sheriff's Office will be out to get the aggressive, speeding, non-seat-belt wearing, and most importantly, drunks. $126K in federal grants will keep our Deputies on the hunt with overtime. The DCSO and the DNR will be partnering to patrol the waters for the same offenses. Don't be stupid - be safe.

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Madison Mayor Paul Soglin: The end is near for Madison gangs and aggressive homeless population go hand-in-hand

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Fri, 25 May 2012 10:43:12 PDT

By fixing the intoxicated homeless situation in order to prevent Madison Police from wasting a stunning amount of time and resources on dealing with the homeless in Madison, we can keep more officers on the beat to prevent incidents like the Darbo gang video, and last weekend's shooting on University Ave from happening. The homeless must seek help from already-existing resources as well as new ones, and it may be as simple as pointing them in the right direction. The average amount of time spent dealing with a single intoxicated, belligerent, non-compliant panhandler on State Street is 8 man-hours. Madison must be dedicated to helping the homeless resume their lives in order to save others by driving out the thugs.

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Scott Fitzgerald's opponent Lori Compas recaps debate in Jefferson last night

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:12:37 PDT

Last night, F. Scott Fitzgerald admitted, with no delight to the audience at Jefferson High School, that the mining company authored the bill because they knew what they were doing, and the legislature did not want to make things tough for them. Fitz says on the topic of public unions that families whose collective bargaining rights were yanked were previously offending the neighbors next door. Grassroots mom-turned-politician Lori Compas clearly earned the cheers and support from the majority of the crowd in the room. 13th Senate District voters can get information on how to support Lori Compas on June 5th, when she'll send half of the Fitz back with the help of thousands of volunteers who have been with her since her campaign announcement earlier this year.

loricompas.org and Lori Compas on Facebook

Walker brings in Right To Work Governor Nikki Haley from South Carolina 4 days prior to election

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 09:06:47 PDT

And we're gonna be there, in Milwaukee, at the yet-to-be-announced venue, with all Winter Soldiers and Walker Stalkers to give Haley a warm welcome, and show her how her "union killing" Confederate tactics that she brags about won't fly in Wisconsin.

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Veteran Dave Boetcher on Walker's war on men and women who served Wisconsin and the nation

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:44:11 PDT

Operation Freedom, an organization founded to financially help disabled and sick veterans, was raided by Scott Walker's gubernatorial campaign - and the boy-lovin, predatory couple Tim Russell and Brian Pierick. Is there a bigger slap in the face to the most worthy people to take away assistance in VA facilities and at home? Get the details of the whole thing with Dave Boetcher, former Veteran's board member.

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President Obama must think there that are only 49 states comprising his nation and party

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 12:34:56 PDT

It won't do us any good now, but it could have done us a favor if Barack Obama had devoted even a tiny bit of his time to the recall of Scott Kevin Walker. What's his deal? That of the DNC? Do they think that we've got it in the bag? Or maybe they lost their atlas and memory of the way Scott Walker has turned labor upside-down across the nation. He also probably doesn't realize that his political fate depends on Tom Barrett, not just himself.

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John Nichols: South trying to steer Wisconsin to Right To Work status - here's how

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 08:57:36 PDT

John Nichols is Associate Editor of The Capital Times and The Nation and joins us each weekday at 8:00.

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Republicans trying to suppress early voting - why?

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Thu, 24 May 2012 10:15:54 PDT

GOP afraid of Wisconsin's Democratic base; with an effort in Milwaukee to get minorities, poor, sometimes-voters, and those without transportation, to the polls in a fleet of vans to vote early and presumably to vote on June 5th.

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John Nichols: Does John Doe drive a Saturn and pack a brown-bag lunch?

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:44:54 PDT

John Nichols is Associate Editor of The Capital Times and The Nation and joins us each weekday at 8:00.

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Peg Lautenschlager: John Doe in plain English

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:13:36 PDT

Is Scott Walker John Doe? There was a new plague discovered in February of 2011 - the syndrome where Scott Walker lies through the teeth of his straight-face, although at times the symptoms may be mistaken for mad-cow disease. The only way, by law, to be allowed a criminal defense fund is for you or your aides to be standing before the man, or at least are to be doing so, in a matter of time. Wisconsin has a right and an urgent need to know who is funding his criminal defense fund.

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Which Scott Walker moment first curled your nose?

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:39:29 PDT

Take a walk down memory lane with me and tell the story about when you first clenched your blue fist at Scott Walker's race to the bottom.

Alert: this is a long list, so you just gotta bite the bullet and relive the nightmares as best you can without losing your mind.

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Better to overdose on heroin as opposed to Donald Driver and Dancing With The Stars:

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 16:56:44 PDT

WKOW news last night consisted of 8 minutes worth of Donald Driver's Dancing With The Stars win. 2 minutes of real news to report. At least Tony had the day off.

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WisDems Spokesperson Graeme Zielinski: More Doe Reality Checking

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:50:34 PDT

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Janesville salary-leaflet planting cowards won't reveal themselves in fear of retaliation

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:34:02 PDT

Apparently there's nothing to a name, unless it's the names of teachers who are now going to be facing tea-party style criticism for their "exorbitant" teacher salaries. The people behind the stuffing of flyers in to the Janesville Gazette boxes of subscribers has been deemed the number one cowardly act of Fitzwalkerstan. We need to say goodbye. 12 days left. Let's do it! We're not going to retaliate against the cowards who offer parents a form to send their kid to a "non-radical" teacher's classroom, we're going to retaliate against the Governor on June 5th.

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AFSCME's Ed Sadlowski Jr: 12 days to go, and our boots need to hit the pavement until the polls close on June 5th

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Wed, 23 May 2012 09:23:19 PDT

Ed Sadlowski is ready to finish off the final 2 weeks of spreading the message that Wisconsin will plunge in to the deep red if Scott Walker isn't recalled and Tom Barrett put in his chair.

From Janesville, where last weekend a think tank started a bloody war on teachers, exploiting their "unionista" living-wage salaries with a flyer that was planted in lots of Gazettes.

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WisDems spokesperson Graeme Zielinski: More new John Doe Dope

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:56:23 PDT

The lies, John Doe, and perjury continue, and with the exception of a few, the state media continues to fail. How can we make the media get it together in the next 2 weeks?

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Soglin lays down the law on bums in Madison

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 15:46:54 PDT

Don't underestimate the Mayor. He's taking on gun violence, gangs, and troublemakers with an iron fist, something which certain Madison residents find disturbing. What would Mayor Mangina do about the criminal violence? Guns for Bikes?

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John Nichols: Power to the teachers

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:29:19 PDT

John Nichols is Associate Editor of The Capital Times and The Nation and joins us each weekday at 8:00.

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Karleton Armstrong: Busted with $800K

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:24:12 PDT

After having an apparently momentary lapse of reason, the convicted domestic terrorist and Sly nemesis is now back in jail after being pulled over driving his motorhome in downtown Chicago, waiving his 4th Amendment rights, leading to an officer discovering a large amount of marijuana-scented cash. However, for once, I'm rooting for him because somebody has to get the grass to Madison.

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Scott Wittkopf: Whole Foods labor situation is green greed

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:14:25 PDT

Scott was formerly employed at the corporate grocery chain that wears a pretty face; now putting on its Walker face.

[from Badger Democracy] The effects of “right-to-work”, even as a philosophy, leads to treatment of employees that is inherently unfair. Even as a company like Whole Foods Market (WFM) presents a “corporate conscience” to the public – they are currently forcing employees (“Team Members”) to partake in a “benefits vote”, selecting which increases in employee benefit contributions they wish to make. [full article]

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Janesville teachers exploited as radicals, moochers

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:07:02 PDT

Concerned Janesville parent Michael Southers joins us to shed some light on the flyer listing the salaries of Janesville teachers that came with The Janesville Gazette on Sunday. The paper claims no involvement, that Citizens for Responsible Government out of Milwaukee tried to bundle the message with a news source.

The teachers are about all that's left of that citie's population with living wages in the wake of GM's and Act 10. That will change once the salaries are adjusted at the end of their contracts this June. Read the paper's response to the situation here.

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Republican State Senator Glenn Grothman: "ya can't trust people"

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 09:02:13 PDT

Does Glenn Grothman consider military service to be a job? Apparently not - the Fair Employment Law which came to fruition under Doyle allowed employees to sue for back pay and other punitive damages suffered over the course of their time on the job, and Glenn says it's unfair to Wisconsin. He also remarks about his distrust for a jury, and his distrust for people in general, and hears his favorite protest song...

Marines, sailors, airmen, and soldiers have historically been untrustworthy to the United States of America compared to politicians, right Senator Grothman? Hey - politicians are people, too. But you gotta hand it to Glenn for entering the ring-of-Sly when called upon. Try getting that out of Scott Walker or Mitt Romney.

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North Carolina pastor responds to Obama's LGBT support Auschwitz-style

dylanbrogan@gmail.com — Tue, 22 May 2012 16:08:40 PDT

There's a lunatic in North Carolina who wants to round up all the queers, put them in to a pit with an electrified fence, cripple them with malnourishment, and rid the world of sin. Makes you wonder if radical Christianity is genetic.

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