Showing posts with label Right Wing Extremism. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Right Wing Extremism. Show all posts
Thursday, June 12, 2014
Thursday, April 11, 2013
RIP Kansas!
By Jeff Simpson
Jason Probst, news editor at The Hutchinson News wrote this brilliant editorial about what happened when an extreme right wing republican and legislature took over Kansas!
Big money came in and chased anyone with a sense of moderation out, what caused that Disease to truly get a stranglehold on the once great state of Kansas? Apathy(which we know all too well)!
Sound Familiar Wisconsin?
Jason Probst, news editor at The Hutchinson News wrote this brilliant editorial about what happened when an extreme right wing republican and legislature took over Kansas!
TOPEKA — The Great State of Kansas passed away on March 31, 2013, after a long and difficult battle with extremism that became markedly more aggressive in 2010. The struggle left the state so weakened it could no longer fight against the relentless attacks by the fatal disease.Yes right wing extremism is a "disease"! You can say that, hasn't Kansas always been crazy? As Probst points out, Surprisingly no!
Kansas was born on Jan. 29, 1861.
The state is preceded in death by fair taxation, good highways, strong education, family farms, a good public parks and wildlife system, open government, neighborliness and belief in helping each other out, freely elected public servants, and political moderation.
Kansas is survived by widespread poverty, low-wage jobs, high property taxes, pollution, poorly educated children, out-migration and rural depopulation, foreign land and farm ownership, lobbyist-funded legislators, chronic mistreatment of the disabled, a maniacal hatred of government and children who dream of living anywhere else.
Throughout its life, Kansas often aligned with leading progressive causes. William Allen White, one of the state’s most notable residents, once wrote that “if it’s going to happen, it happens first in Kansas.” That once was true. Kansas was the first state to ban the Ku Klux Klan, and the first to elect women to public office — one as mayor and another as sheriff.
Kansas was a leader in public education, with one-room school houses dotting the plains. A full 12 years before it was a national concern, Kansas established child labor laws that restricted employment of children in potentially dangerous industries.
Along with its compassionate nature, Kansas proved to be a state teeming with inventiveness, ingenuity, determination and a savvy sense of business.
Cessna, Beech and Stearman helped establish Kansas as a center of the aviation industry. Coleman launched an international company that became a household name. Pizza Hut and White Castle — two iconic eateries — both got their start in Kansas.
Kansas’ history is filled with dynamic people: settlers who claimed land once described as a desert and turned it into the world’s garden; immigrants who came by the train-load and brought with them the winter wheat that germinated the state’s prosperity. Kansans endured drought, grasshopper plagues, depression and fierce weather, yet its people worked to hold tight to their land. In spite of those hardships, the state produced world-renowned artists, writers, inventors, business leaders, astronauts, even a president.So what happened to this once great state? The elections of 2010!
The elections of 2010 and 2012 brought the poison pills that would bring about Kansas’ untimely end. The first election seated a governor who tossed aside Kansas’ storied history and replaced it with a vision of his own design. In 2012, record-setting campaign money from out-of-state donors financed the defeat of those moderate Republicans who had spent the last of their political careers keeping Kansas alive.
Big money came in and chased anyone with a sense of moderation out, what caused that Disease to truly get a stranglehold on the once great state of Kansas? Apathy(which we know all too well)!
Along the way, the state’s defenders — the farmer, the laborer, the property owner and the shop keeper — stood mute and passive, hoping for a day when the state would spark back to life, as it had always done before. They remained silent too long.
Sound Familiar Wisconsin?
Sunday, March 17, 2013
Rebecca Bradley: With Extreme Prejudice
With the news full of things like Scott Walker campaigning for president, the jobless mining bill and other acts of malfeasance by the Republicans and the race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court, it's easy to forget about the local races this spring.
One such race that hasn't gotten much attention from the corporate media is the race for Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45. The race is between the "incumbent" judge, Rebecca Bradley and Janet Protasiewicz.
For the record, I endorsed Protasiewicz for the primary and I am proud to endorse her for the general election on April 2. I endorsed her because I know first hand of her strong work ethic, her balanced view and her dedication to the law.
As noted above, she was appointed by Scott Walker just five months ago. The first red flag came in his announcement of her appointment to the bench (emphasis mine):
My suspicions grew in the time leading up to the primary and we received numerous flyers from her campaign. That was a lot of money for a county race primary and for someone who just started her campaign just three months before.
What I also found interesting was some of the language on her mailers:
Pay note to the first highlighted line: "...applying the law impartially, free of any political agenda." One would think that when someone says something like this, they would mean there would no political agenda, but the facts show that Bradley's whole campaign is about furthering the extreme right wing agenda.
First off, a quick look at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's database shows that not only has Bradley made political donations, but all $1,350 of it went to Scott Walker, with the most recent being just months before he appointed her to the bench:
Another red flag should be when Bradley announced her campaign and named Michael Grebe as one of her campaign co-chairs. Grebe is, as the gentle reader already knows, the head of the corrupt, racist Bradley Foundation and was Scott Walker's campaign chairman for both of his last two campaigns.
Well, at least now we can surmise how she afforded all those mailings.
Her "nonpartisanship" is also demonstrated by the fact that she is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA). One of the main issues for the RNLA is voter suppression, which has been shown to be targeting young minorities the most. As written by the Republicans, the voter suppression laws would be the most restrictive in the nation. Bradley's RNLA responded with inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless rhetoric, saying opposition to the voter suppression law came from "the far left, anti-democracy and divisive campaign funded by George Soros."
Well, that certainly makes it clearer on why Grebe is involved with the campaign.
As I had mentioned before, Bradley also did a stint as President of the Milwaukee Federalist Society - a fact that she is trying to scrub from her profiles. The Federalist Society is funded in part by the Bradley Foundation (cue Grebe again) and the issue this presents is best described by Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant:
As further proof of her "freedom of any political agenda, it should be noted that she has a rather peculiar habit of attending Republican fundraisers and other events such as the Milwaukee County Reagan Day Dinner and the Milwaukee County Lincoln Day Dinner:
Needless to say, a preponderance of the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Rebecca Bradley is an extremist and as partisan as they come.
So when it comes to April 2nd and the election on who will sit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45, the choice is really, really clear.
You can vote for Protasiewicz and get justice or you can vote for Bradley and get more of Scott Walker's right wing extremist agenda that will do nothing to protect you or your rights.
Please support and vote for Janet Protasiewicz for Milwaukee County Branch 45.
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| Janet Protasiewicz |
For the record, I endorsed Protasiewicz for the primary and I am proud to endorse her for the general election on April 2. I endorsed her because I know first hand of her strong work ethic, her balanced view and her dedication to the law.
At that time, I also pointed out that Protasiewicz' opponent was not being honest with the voters:It turns out I was not completely accurate with that assessment. As it turns out, Bradley is a lot more partisan and a lot more dishonest than I had previously thought.
I need to point out that the "incumbent," Rebecca Bradley was appointed to her seat by Scott Walker four months ago, for no other purpose than to give the incumbent boost at the polls.
I know many people that have appeared before her. Let me just say they were not very impressed. She took an exceptionally long time to learn her job and still has a hard time trying to do it.
Furthermore, she is less than honest with the voters. Almost nowhere in her literature (which she sends two of each one to my home), her webpage or ads does she mention that she used to lead the Milwaukee Branch of the Federalist Society.
For the unfamiliar, the Federalist Society is to law what Media Trackers is to journalism. Their mission is to find legal ways to advance their uber-conservative agenda.
As noted above, she was appointed by Scott Walker just five months ago. The first red flag came in his announcement of her appointment to the bench (emphasis mine):
“Appointing Ms. Bradley ensures the residents of Milwaukee County receive timely and fair service from the court system,” said Governor Walker. “Ms. Bradley is a great lawyer, a person of integrity, and she understands the proper role of a judge. She will be a great addition to the Milwaukee County bench.”Given his relationship to certain members of the Wisconsin Supreme Court, like David "Rubber Stamp" Prosser, we know what this means.
My suspicions grew in the time leading up to the primary and we received numerous flyers from her campaign. That was a lot of money for a county race primary and for someone who just started her campaign just three months before.
What I also found interesting was some of the language on her mailers:
 |
| Click on image to embiggen |
Pay note to the first highlighted line: "...applying the law impartially, free of any political agenda." One would think that when someone says something like this, they would mean there would no political agenda, but the facts show that Bradley's whole campaign is about furthering the extreme right wing agenda.
First off, a quick look at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign's database shows that not only has Bradley made political donations, but all $1,350 of it went to Scott Walker, with the most recent being just months before he appointed her to the bench:
 |
| Click on image to embiggen |
Well, at least now we can surmise how she afforded all those mailings.
Her "nonpartisanship" is also demonstrated by the fact that she is a member of the Republican National Lawyers Association (RNLA). One of the main issues for the RNLA is voter suppression, which has been shown to be targeting young minorities the most. As written by the Republicans, the voter suppression laws would be the most restrictive in the nation. Bradley's RNLA responded with inflammatory, irresponsible and baseless rhetoric, saying opposition to the voter suppression law came from "the far left, anti-democracy and divisive campaign funded by George Soros."
Well, that certainly makes it clearer on why Grebe is involved with the campaign.
As I had mentioned before, Bradley also did a stint as President of the Milwaukee Federalist Society - a fact that she is trying to scrub from her profiles. The Federalist Society is funded in part by the Bradley Foundation (cue Grebe again) and the issue this presents is best described by Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant:
The incumbent, Republican Scott Walker appointee Rebecca Bradley, describes herself as a "nonideological" member of the Federalist Society, which is an organization of malcontents and paranoid hysterics with law degrees that was founded on political ideology.
Kinda like being a Milwaukee Admiral but you don't play hockey.
As further proof of her "freedom of any political agenda, it should be noted that she has a rather peculiar habit of attending Republican fundraisers and other events such as the Milwaukee County Reagan Day Dinner and the Milwaukee County Lincoln Day Dinner:
Needless to say, a preponderance of the evidence shows beyond a reasonable doubt that Rebecca Bradley is an extremist and as partisan as they come.
So when it comes to April 2nd and the election on who will sit in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Branch 45, the choice is really, really clear.
You can vote for Protasiewicz and get justice or you can vote for Bradley and get more of Scott Walker's right wing extremist agenda that will do nothing to protect you or your rights.
Please support and vote for Janet Protasiewicz for Milwaukee County Branch 45.
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