Scott Walker's Clueless Columns

By Jeff Simpson

In the immortal words of - Ronald Reagan - the person Scott Walker first voted for as a teen -  "There you go again".

Walker who, for some reason has been giving column inches in the Rev. Moon's Washington Times, is out with his second column.   The first was incomprehensible and things have not gotten much better   However what you can gleem from Walker's second column is that he has never had much self awareness. 

Recently, Social media giant Facebook, culled from its community a bunch of far right extremists, like hate monger lunatic Alex Jones, Wisconsin Republican Parties own white Supremacist Paul Nehlen, even a crazy WISGOP group Wisconsin Conservative Union(which has caused Dan ODonnell countless faux tears), among many others (even Louis Farrakhan). 

One thing that our friends on the right are great at, is playing the part of the poor innocent victim.   Yes, there are claims of censorship, but Facebook is a private company and not bound to the first amendment.   When the Republicans can not control something/someone it makes them crazy. 

Which leads us into Walkers latest attempt at an opinion column.  Incredibly titled - Who wants to live in a country that can block free speech.   More of his obsession with Venezuela.

History shows us that dictators often seek to deny the people access to information to thwart revolutions. And in Venezuela, the government has historically had a heavy hand on the media.
Radio and television are censored by an organization sympathetic to the government, and most newspapers are owned by supporters of Mr. Maduro and his predecessor, Hugo Chavez.
Now, they are turning their efforts to blocking digital to stop dissent. We saw similar attempts in 2011, during the April Spring uprisings. Eight years ago, the government in Egypt shut down all access to the Internet. Now, it is happening again in our hemisphere.

Scott Walker, who controlled the message for 8 years, by when he did make a rare appearance in public, only had the courage for invite only events. 

However, nothing showed a heavy hand of the Government and total censorship of free speech as when Scott Walker as Governor, ordered the arrest of anyone who dared sing in the Rotunda of the Capitol. 

Here are pics of the Capitol Police arresting Vietnam War Hero Will Williams and then him falling down on the stairs as they take him down to process him.  He put his life on the line for our country in Vietnam but was treated like crap by Scott Walker for singing in a public building. 

While there are many many many other stories of censorship and desperation in controlling information from the Walker administration, there is one image that sums up the lack of transparency and Unconstitutional actions that defined Scott Walker.

When this picture defines your tenure, you should probably take a good, hard, long look in the mirror before you offer an opinion on censorship anywhere else in the world! 

The Walker Legacy

By Jeff Simpson

Yesterday, as Scott Walker keeps trying to burn the state down on his way out of town, he decided it would be a good day to hand 28 million of our taxpayer dollars to Kimberly Clark.  Walker, the self proclaimed "fiscal conservative" was very proud of himself after.

I want this to be my legacy," Walker said. 

Kimberly Clark currently has plans to lay off up to 5500 workers, while also enjoying an operating profit last year of $3.3 Billion dollars.     Unfortunately for Scott Walker, he has made a habit of sending millions of our dollars to companies that have profits in the billions, so this final(hopefully) giveaway, will not be his legacy.

However after eight long years, what Scott Walker's legacy will be is open to date.  Let's take a look at some options.

1.  The first option, is the infamous video where Scott Walker tells his boss the strategy he has to screw over the working class of WI. 

2.  The next option would be, when, shortly after his inauguration, he called his cabinet together and told them to get ready, because he planned on "dropping a BWOMB on the people of WI."   Which led to this:

and this:

3.  The next option would be the Senators heading to Illinois, the recall and probably the real highlight of Walker's career - the fake phone call with "Charles Koch" which turned into the most honest 10 minutes of his life. 

4.  Which led to the beginning of the Solidarity singers.  When you are a complete partisan tribal hack the way Scott Walker is, you get disgusted anytime a group of people you disagree with gather in public.  Which led to Scott Walker and the WISGOP completely dismissing the first amendment, and arresting anyone who looked liberal and stepped foot in the Capitol (at great cost to the taxpayers).  Here is American hero Will Williams getting manhandled for daring to be in the people's house. 

5.  There was also the time when Scott Walker asked the people of Wisconsin. to skip out on buying their kids Christmas presents, and send the money to him instead(that really happened).   

Friend,
Instead of venturing into the cold this Black Friday, stay in and give your children a gift that will keep on giving.
This year, we are celebrating the Holiday Season with a Black Friday special that is better than any deal found in stores. Donate $5, $10 or $25 to help Governor Walker get reelected and save your children from a future of double-digit tax increases and billion dollar budget deficits.
Instead of electronics or toys that will undoubtedly be outdated, broken, or lost by the next Holiday Season, help give your children the gift of a Wisconsin that we can all be proud of. Governor Walker is helping Wisconsin move forward to a future where your children and grandchildren can experience:
Economic Prosperity
Improved Schools
Freedom From Government Dependence
The Governor wants his sons to grow up in a Wisconsin as great as the one he grew up in. When asked why he never stopped fighting for Wisconsin during the Recall, Governor Walker says he has two reasons, his sons Matt and Alex.
With your help, Governor Walker is enacting reforms that are securing a strong state for the future of Wisconsin’s children. This Black Friday, donate $5, $10 or $25 to help Governor Walker win reelection so he can continue to help Wisconsin move forward.
A strong Wisconsin is the best gift you can give.
Respectfully,
Taylor Palmisano
Friends of Scott Walker

6.  Then there was his incredible ego, and a conversation with God, that led Scott Walker to think(after promising he had no interest and would not do it) he could be the next President of the United States.   However the real story here, besides God's sense of humor, is that he burned through over ten million dollars, while making  drunken fool of himself for three months and ended up with 0.0% support! 

7.  Or the fact that when he finally dropped out of the race to be the Republican Presidential Nominee, he said he did so, to make sure that The Donald would never be President.

8.  Let's not forget also, that the one big policy point that made Scott Walker stand out when he was running for President.   He wanted to build a northern war between the US and Canada. 

                                “So that is a legitimate issue for us to look at.”  

9.  We also can not forget that Scott Walker, is the only Governor to have a "Criminal Defense Fund".

10.   While those are all important parts of the Scott Walker legacy, if I had to sum up his eight years into one picture, this is what I would choose!

What do you think the Scott Walker legacy is?

Gordon Hintz Hates Sondy Pope

By Jeff Simpson

We brought you the story yesterday of how Gordon Hintz was so incensed that someone would dare to challenge Robb Kahl in a primary.

This is such a distraction," said Rep. Gordon Hintz, D-Oshkosh. "Think about this. Hopefully all 35 of us (Democrats in the Assembly) are going to come out strongly for Robb. Every dollar and every door that we do for our colleague is another dollar and another door that we’re not doing in a Republican district that we can win. When we pick up a seat or two fewer in the fall, I’m going to think about these so-called progressive hypocrites that went after this unnecessary seat to make themselves happy or to high-five their friends at the co-op."

The vision of 35 sitting assembly reps doing doors in a Democratic Stronghold to make sure their buddy gets reelected while letting reps such as Scott Krug, Andre Jacque and Robin Vos skate free, while passing a whole different group of young progressives doing doors for their candidate would explain everything you need to know about the end of the Wisconsin idea.

However as we say here, there is more....there is always more.

It seems as if Robb Kahl is not the only Democratic incumbent to have someone challenge them in a primary.   For instance, Representative Sondy Pope has TWO challengers.     Luke Joseph and Dale Yurs.  

Yet Mr. Hintz expects Sondy Pope to spend her time helping Robb Kahl(who probably has a zero percent chance of being beaten) get reelected.   Despite the best effort of the Solidarity singers and your local coop to hijack the election.  

So the question you have to ask is why is Robb Kahl untouchable but Sondy Pope should be left to twist in the wind?   Is it because she is a woman?  Or does he not want to work with someone who tragically lost his ability to walk?   Or maybe there are other reasons he is not telling us.  

Maybe the best thing to do is contact Gordon Hintz and ask him to explain and tell him he owes the people of the Democratic party an apology!

Madison Office:Room 109 North
State Capitol
P.O. Box 8952
Madison, WI 53708Telephone:(608) 266-2254
(888) 534-0054Fax:(608) 282-3654District Phone:(920) 232-0805Email:Rep.Hintz@legis.wisconsin.govVoting Address:502 East Irving Avenue
Oshkosh, WI 54901
Staff:Carly Michiels Carly.Michiels@legis.wisconsin.gov
Emily Pritzkow Emily.Pritzkow@legis.wisconsin.gov

@gordonhintz

Four Years - One Pic- Nuff Said!

By Jeff Simpson

They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but I say this picture sums up four whole years!  

This is what Scott Walker brought to our state and its time to end his reign! 

PLEASE VOTE!  Please call your friends and family.  Let us end these scenes in WI and bring our state back to respectability!   

Let's elect Mary Burke!! 

Wiggy Wobbles With The Truth

By Jeff Simpson

The Hypocrisy is Strong in this one*:    

August 12th 2013:

 Another day and another chance for the Solidarity Singers in Madison to get a permit. They won’t, and they will get arrested. Democratic legislators like State Senator Bob Jauch will lose all sense of perspective and compare the arrests to  various atrocities and the media will gloss over them.

But then this was never about free speech. This is about power. Notice the rhetoric of the Solidarity Singers and their supporters when another group takes out a permit. They allowed the permitted event to happen. They didn’t interfere with the wedding. They are allowing others to exercise their free speech rights.

That is not what democracy looks like. That’s fascism

fas·cism

noun \ˈfa-ˌshi-zəm also ˈfa-ˌsi-\

: a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government

: very harsh control or authority

Full Definition of FASCISM

1

often capitalized :  a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition

2

:  a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality — J. W. Aldridge>

 May 8, 2014: 

 

 

The decision that will receive the most publicity is the one by Judge Rudy Randa, who shut down “John Doe 2.” It was an investigation into conservative organizations who spoke out during the recall elections, including Wisconsin Club for Growth.
Randa slapped down the investigators, even threatening them with contempt of court if they attempted to continue the investigation. Randa freed the organizations from any obligation to cooperate with the investigation and ordered the return of any property seized by the investigators.
Randa based his decision to end the John Doe probe on the effect it was having on the free speech rights of the investigated organizations. Because they were not engaged in express advocacy in the elections, their free speech was (and is) protected under the First Amendment and not subject to campaign finance laws.
Think what was happening. Organizations who were solely engaged in the practice of speaking about political issues were subject to police raids in the night, the seizure of computers and records, and then forbidden to speak publicly about it.
It is not an exaggeration to say what was happening in the John Doe investigation was just steps away from Solzhenitsyn’s description of the Black Marias of the state security police coming in the night.
Randa recognized that when he wrote, “It is a recognition that maximizing First Amendment freedom is a better way to deal with political corruption than allowing the seemingly corruptible to do so. As other histories tell us, attempts to purify the public square lead to places like the Guillotine and the Gulag.”

 

So first amendment rights do not apply to a handful of citizens who want to sing in a publicly held building but they are unlimited to billionaires who want to take a few million and work with the campaign of a politician to see the best way to spend their money?  

Dumb ass!  

*  picture from @jwigderson public twitter feed.    

Lenny Kravitz Is A Wanted Man

By Jeff Simpson


Lenny Kravitz was walking by a choir practice and heard one of his songs being played, so he jumped in! 

Word has it that when Chief Erwin and Mike Huebsch saw a black man joining a spontaneous singing event, he immediately issued a  warrant for his arrest.   The next time Mr. Kravitz steps foot in WI, he will be tackled and detained.  

Singing is NOT allowed here, especially by people of color!  

Welcome to Wisconsin.     

Scott Walker Gets His Wish

By Jeff Simpson

In case you need reminding, Scott Walker took the fake Koch Brothers phone call no questions asked.  He figured it was just his boss checking in on how things were going!

MURPHY: What we were thinking about the crowds, was planting some trouble makers?

WALKER: Well, the only problem, because we thought about that, my only gut reaction to that would be, right now, the lawmakers I’ve talked to have just completely had it with them. The public is not really fond of this. The teachers union did some polling and focus groups, I think, and found out that the public turned on them the minute they closed school down for a couple days. The guys we have left are largely from out of state, and I keep dismissing it in my press comment saying, ‘eh, they’re mostly from out of state.’”
[…]
I’m saying hey, ‘we can handle this, people can protest, this is Madison, you know, full of the 60s liberals.’ Let them protest. It’s not going to affect us. And as long as we go back to our homes, and the majority of people are telling us we’re doing the right thing, let them protest all they want.

As Capper points out, Scott Walker finally got his wish:

I wonder if Scott Walker opened up a $350 bottle of Wine to drink with his friends at WMC and celebrate the beating of a Wisconsin citizen?  i can not think of too many other things that would have made Walker happier.  

Solidarity Singers Grow As Does Their National Coverage

As Scott Walker and his top storm trooper, the cowardly Dave Erwin, keep violating the state and national constitutions by infringing on people's rights, reports are coming in that each day is seeing more and more people coming to sing or to simply observe.

And as the crowds grow, so does the level of coverage.  The latest being this special report by the Workers Independent News:



I am anxiously waiting to be able to show my support for the singers when I get this from my friend, Roberta Retrum:

If you want a shirt, look Roberta up on Facebook and be nice to her and she just might make one for you too.

And please donate to their cause, since they are singing for all of us.

Still Unintimidated!!

By Jeff Simpson

We brought you the story recently of National Hero Will Williams being arrested and thrown down the stairs of the Capitol in cuffs.  We showed how the Capitol Police treated this great American with no class or dignity. 

Now Mr. Williams is back(as everyone knew he would be) fighting for his our rights! 

H/T Craig Spaulding for the pics:

Mike Huebsch and Scott Walker can only hope to contribute half as much to our country as Mr. Williams has! 

Escape to Wisconsin

 

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker, in his never ending quest for less government yet one that works, as he told Morning Joe yesterday:

"That’s the difference between Washington and Republicans at the state level. We may as Republicans want less government, but we want the government we have to work.” - Gov. Scott Walker

Now Scott Walker and Mike Huebsch, after clearing the halls of 80 year old women who wear socks with sandals, have decided to start arresting public servants(and apparently yelling at everyone else).  

After spending tons of money, rewarding a right wing Hollywood director, to film a "tourism" commercial displaying Wisconsinites as bumbling dolts....The Capitol Police and the Dynamic Duo of Huebsch and Walker drive the point home:

The crackdown also focused press attention on the standoff between protesters and police. (Isthmus put together a storify and local activist and photographer Leslie Peterson captured good photos of the event.)

Meanwhile Erwin and his second-in-command have grabbed headlines with hefty raises, made legal through a bureaucratic shell game, prompting speculation that Erwin is being rewarded for arresting the state's most visible critics of Walker. The state Department of Administration denies the crackdown has anything to do with Erwin's pay raise.

Last week officers targeted the Raging Grannies singing troupe — comprised, you might have guessed, of elderly women — as well as a Madison alderman and a leftie journalist.

Capitol police is recent days appear to be making the point that anyone connected with the Solidarity Sing Along is game for arrest, with no exceptions for the young, the old, elected officials, journalists and now fellow protective services personnel.

As Madison Police Officer Brian Austin said: 

“I’ve been watching this with growing alarm,” says Austin, who is a leader with Cops for Labor. “This is unprecedented for a governor. I don’t recall anyone behaving like this and stifling free speech before. This is the most public of all places for dissent, and people of all political stripes should be outraged.”
He said this is “the ultimate in big government abuse,” adding that Walker is violating “the most sacred rights that make us Americans.”

Austerity Doesn't Apply To Fascism

As the gentle reader is already aware of, Scott Walker has sent his pet storm trooper, David Erwin, have spent the past couple of weeks cracking down on the Solidarity Singers for their audacity of singing truth to power and exercising their First Amendment rights.

Some of the Erwin's claims to infamy include arresting reverends, friars, veterans, grandmothers, mothers and teenagers.  They have also arrested Madison Alderman Mark Clear.  They have threatened to arrest State Representative Sondy Pope and other state officials for just observing.  These Keystone Kapitol Kops even arrested Matthew Rothschild, editor of The Progressive, who was there to cover the ongoing story, violating another aspect of the First Amendment, Freedom of the Press.

Now it's being reported that Erwin, who is supposed to be a civil servant, has received a most uncivil raise for his fascism:

Gov. Scott Walker's administration rewarded the new hardline Capitol Police chief and his top deputy with double-digit pay raises earlier this year after moving the pair on paper to phantom jobs for two weeks and then back to their real posts.

Chief Dave Erwin — who has overseen a crackdown on Walker protesters at the statehouse — received an overall salary hike of 11.7%, to $111,067 a year, the same rate as his predecessor. That amounts to an $11,680 annual raise.

That hefty raise was possible only because Walker officials transferred Erwin on Feb. 5 to a ghostposition in the state Department of Administration, according to a copy of the transfer letter obtained by the Journal Sentinel. Then, on the same day, he was shuffled back to his real job as head of the Capitol Police force.

Each of the moves, backdated to earlier in the fiscal year, came with a retroactive boost in pay for Erwin. Under state rules, the chief is a civil servant, not a political appointee.

The article goes on to report that Deputy Police Chief Dan Blackdeer had also received a huge jump of 14.6%.

Those raises are considerably better than the 1% raises the rank and file workers got, which weren't even close to covering the extra bite taken out of their contracts.  Then again, we have seen how cronyism and nepotism has become the norm for the state under the Walker regime.

I also find it very telling that the Teapublicans - who will wail, gnash their teeth and pull at their hair every time a dime is spent to help a poor person - are so mum about all these blatantly unethical giveaways.

Apparently, austerity doesn't apply to fascism.

More of Scott Walker's Legacy

H/T Craig Spaulding for the pic

Everyone sleep peacefully....the Raging Grannies have been apprehended!

Scott Walker ---- Still unintimidated!  

2013 Wisconsin

Just a quick reminder

It's Kind Of Funny...

No, not it's not funny at all:

Thanks Dave!

 

By Jeff Simpson

Yesterday, Dave Blaska, part of the new era of "conservatives", felt that the best way to petition the government was ask for their permission to do so, THEN go where and when they were told, and sing their praises! Blaska, who the news shows could not give enough airtime too, was able to prove his points perfectly!  Unfortunately for Blaska, the point he proved was not the one he was going for!

Let's start with the arrest.



This unnamed man was arrested for SILENTLY holding a sign that read simply - "Article 1, Section 4." 
Not only was he alone holding the sign, the letters on the sign did not reach the 20 member threshhold.  Yet he was arrested and hauled away in handcuffs.  YEs - HAULED AWAY IN HANDCUFFS.   Proving that what gets you arrested is NOT  not getting a permit but instead saying something that the PArty Leader does not want to hear(or read).  

FYI:

Article 1 Section 4 of the Wisconsin State Constitution reads as follows: "The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof, shall never be abridged."

Secondly, Blaska  tried to have radio personality Sly Sylvester arrested for asking him a simple question!

Dave how do you like your state funded pension? 

See Dave Blaska is a former elected official and state worker.  You pay his pension.  YOU pay for him to be able to run around the state and do childish pranks in the name of Scott Walker.  YOU pay for him to have numerous forums to talk about how horrible it is that YOU one day will be getting a pension!   Dave has never offered to give a penny back on his state funded pension, see unlike YOU he earned his.

Apparently once you take out a permit you decide who can and can not be in the Capitol and what they will be doing.  An hour's worth of power must have been all consuming for Blaska!  It is nice that we have three police agencies spending time at the Capitol, its not like they have anything else they can be doing.    It is more important that we keep the police in Madison to make sure Scott Walker or Dave Blaska's feeling never get hurt!   It's only tax dollars, its not like they have to pay for it!

Unforrtunately, the one person NOT arrested was this republican thug!  

As is the theme for this blog, BUT wait there's more:  While never being overly creative, the right decided the best way to prove a point was to sing thinly veiledracist hateful silly songs (badly I might add):

But WAIT, There's more.   It appears that Mr. Blaska was giving out twinkies to participants!  I will give Dave the benefit of the doubt in that I am sure he was making a political statement and not judging his peers.

 Blaska’s event lasted about a half hour, after which he handed out Twinkies to celebrate “American resilience.”

 Lets take a look at what Twinkies "celebrates", which is everything that the republican party loves!  

*   Corporate greed

*   Unemployed Americans

*    Misperception and Lies from the right to push an agenda

*   Corporations giving you less for more money

*   Jobs outsourced 

*   Sh*t food! 

I always say that when people tell us who they are, we should listen!

Yesterday David Blaska and the modern day Wisconsin "conservatives(term used very loosely)" spoke volumes!   

PS: Want to know whats wrong with Wisconsin?  Today on WKOW Wake Up Wisconsin, Blaska received about 6-10 minutes an hour of TV time, Wisconsin Ride for Kids was afforded a whole two minutes!  

Nuff' Said!

Question of the Day

Does anyone else wonder if the sudden and extreme crackdown on the Solidarity Singers is to distract the public's attention to the misdeeds going on at the Penokee iron mine?

I've noticed no one has anything about this since the crackdowns at the Capitol started.

Dave Blaska's Trollidarity Squawkalong

Dave Blaska, right wing blowhard and glorified troll, thinks he is going to make a point against the Solidarity

I got a permit!

Singers by holding his own Trollidarity Squawkalong on Monday during the lunch hour.  He's even has a permit for it!

Sing patriotic songs like America the Beautiful and fun songs like Gilligan's Island and Flintstones. Show Wisconsin what respect for free speech looks -- and sounds -- like. Because the permit system assures everyone can have access to their Capitol and WE GOT A PERMIT!

Word is that Americans for Prosperity are busing in Teapublicans from Illinois so that they can reach 20 people to make the permit worthwhile.

And they are sure going to show us, because nothing says Free Speech like asking permission from Dear Leader to use it.  I wouldn't be surprised if Blaska already has a song list from Mike Huebsch.

I would hope and expect that the Solidarity Singers will hold with tradition and move outside as they have done any other time there as been a permitted event inside.

I mean, just because Blaska is the permit holder and thus is legally responsible for any and all costs associated with his event, whether or not it was his fault, should be no reason for any of the singers to stoop to their level and disrupt their squawking.

Walker's Malfeasance Goes For A Song

For those who have been reading my reporting about Scott Walker dating back to his time in Milwaukee County is fully aware that one of his predominant traits is the need to overreach is authority in order to get his way, whether it's to reward a campaign donor, advance his political career or punish his political  enemies.  With the help of the corporate media, he has all too often been able to get away with such malfeasance.

But even the most powerful corporate media in the state can do little to spin away Walker's latest acts of

Image courtesy of
Sarah Mittermaier

malfeasance - his vain efforts to stifle the people who participate in the Solidarity Singalong.

My colleague in dissidence, Jeff Simpson, has been doing a yeoman's work in covering the abuse of authority going on in the state capitol.  You can find his excellent coverage here, here, also here, there, this one and that one.

As the gentle reader is probably aware, Walker has sent Commandant Dave Erwin and his jackboots into the Capitol's rotunda to arrest octogenarians, veterans, mothers with children, the disabled, friars and reverends. They even arrested journalists and onlookers.

One of the acts of suppression that I have personally found most egregious involves a friend of Cognitive Dissidence, the good Reverend Carter Dary, who is also running for the 13th Wisconsin Assembly District. Not only did Walker's goons arrest the good reverend, but also were neglectful towards him as he was having an apparent cardiac incident:

The minister, a gentle man named Rev. Carter Dary, sits in his zip tie cuffs, says he isn't feeling well, is having chest pains. Nitro, nitro… this man needs his nitro! He's not well, and he needs his nitro. The policeman in charge of collaring and cuffing errant Lutheran clergy put it in his palm. But he's handcuffed, see, and he can't get the pill into his mouth. He fumbles, but the pill doesn't reach its target. Too many zip ties are in the way. The policeman puts it under his tongue for him, like some weird reverse benediction. Things seem better. Rev. Dary tells the policeman that he has no family or friends to be contacted, and the policeman leaves the processing room.

But then the soft spoken Reverend suddenly slumps where he sits, head against a pillar, eyes closed. A woman next to him, also in detainment tries to nudge him. He doesn't move. She yells for the police. Irving, stalwart Solidarity Singer already arrested too many times to count, also sits next to him in detainment. The police come and try to get the Reverend to respond. The police finally call EMS. It takes forever for the ambulance to arrive. Everyone waits and waits, Mr. Dary inert, folded over like too much laundry. Irving and the woman who nudged Mr. Dary, begin to recite the Lord's Prayer out loud. They think the Reverend is dying. The police, tell them to be quiet, to quit praying out loud. The police try to stop them from praying out loud to a semi conscious minister! They continue reciting the Lord's Prayer. Five to ten minutes after they call the ambulance, the police take the Reverend's handcuffs off.

Perhaps an ordained minister apparently having a cardiac event might be trusted to not run off? The police try to ascertain his condition. Can he recite scripture? He only gets out the first line of the Lord's Prayer.

Follow the link to see a video of Reverend Dary talk about how police had refused to allow him to offer guidance to the political prisoners of the day before as well as an eyewitness account of the unforgivable neglect by the troopers.

And make no mistake about it. The people that Walker is having arrested are political prisoners.  They have committed no crime, unless one, - like Walker does - thinks that exercising the Freedom of Speech is a criminal behavior.

In fact, the Madison National Lawyers Guild has sent out a pres release basically pointing out that Walker was overstepping his authority and purposely misinterpreting a court order in order to practice this particularly act of fascism (emphasis mine, for obvious reasons):

Citizens singing traditional civil rights songs, some with lyrics rewritten to criticize the current governor and state legislative priorities, were again subjected to mass arrest in the Wisconsin
Capitol Rotunda July 24 and July 25. After U.S. District Court Judge William Conley issued an injunction against enforcement of the Wisconsin Administrative Code and Capitol Access policies on
July 8, the Wisconsin Department of Administration tried to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat in their ongoing campaign to stifle voices of dissent in the Capitol. Twenty three people were arrested Wednesday, and another twenty or so on Thursday, some more than once, while hundreds sang along or looked on, including a number of Democratic state legislators.

Dept. of Administration Secretary Michael Huebsch, announcing the impending arrests on Wednesday, which included two people aged 80 and over and two journalists, claimed that the state was “enforcing” Judge Conley’s ruling, as if the judge had directed arrests. The decision issued in the lawsuit filed against Huebsch and Capitol Police Chief David Erwin did not direct arrests. Nor did it find that the state’s permitting scheme was constitutional, despite such claims by DOA spokesperson Stephanie Marquise.

An injunction was issued because the court determined that the permitting scheme was improperly content based and overly broad, and that the plaintiff Michael Kissick had shown a likelihood of success in his case against Huebsch and Erwin. One of Kissick’s attorneys, Larry Dupuis of the A.C.L.U. of Wisconsin, issued a press release condemning the misrepresentation of Judge Conley’s ruling by Secretary Huebsch and the DOA’s media handlers.

“Rather than impose a blanket prohibition on enforcing the existing permitting scheme, however, the court will preliminarily enjoin defendants from (1) distinguishing based on the content of the speech between “rallies” and other events for permitting purposes inside the Capitol and (2) enforcing the permit requirement for gatherings expected to draw 20 or fewer persons inside the Capitol rotunda itself. Of course, nothing in this decision prohibits enforcement of existing laws and regulations that restrict disruptive noise or other disorderly conduct,” wrote Judge Conley granting the injunction against enforcement of the rules as rewritten by the DOA on an “emergency” basis in April, 2013.

Image courtesy of
Sarah Mittermaier

All the singers and others present arrested Wednesday were charged with violating an administrative code provision that describes what kind of activity would justify a declaration of an “unlawful event” by Capitol Police. Yet no access was blocked to any part of the building, and no violence, threats of violence or any interference with the operations of state government during the lunch hour singing was observed during the event, which has continued for over two years every weekday in or outside the Capitol. The tickets merely listed “No Permit” as the basis for getting a citation, and when citizens asked why they were being arrested, Capitol police, state troopers and DNR wardens told them they would “find out downstairs,” but no further explanation was offered. Agents of the Wisconsin Dept. of Justice Criminal Investigations unit were called in to help process the large number of people arrested.

The Madison Mass Defense group, involving attorney and legal worker members of the National Lawyers Guild, ACLU and others concerned about federal and state constitutional rights to petition and protest the government, has represented most of the 40 defendants given over 160 tickets in the “crackdown” ordered by Capitol Police Chief Erwin since he became chief a year ago. Only one case has gone to a jury trial resulting in a guilty verdict, and over 70 cases have been dismissed by the prosecuting Wisconsin Attorney General’s office or denied prosecution by the Dane County District Attorney. An appeal is pending in the Court of Appeals which may result in the state being ordered to pay the defendants’ attorneys’ fees if the prosecutions were not “substantially justified.”

Anyone needing legal assistance for arrests while singing or observing singing at the Capitol can call the NLG at 608-520-0654. The coordinator will then attempt to find legal representation for the person who has been arrested.

The Madison Chapter of the National Lawyers Guild is the local arm of the national organization of lawyers, legal workers, law students, and jailhouse lawyers. The National Lawyers Guild represents
progressive political movements, and its motto is that human rights are more sacred than property interests.

And yes, again, they are political prisoners. They are being arrested for singing the truth to power. They are being arrested because Dear Leader Walker doesn't like them pointing out his failures and corruption.

Ironically, Walker's overreach and malfeasance does more damage to himself than anything the singers could hope to accomplish.

Quote of the Day

 

By Jeff Simpson

Joe Sanfelippo, You know the guy who so many on the left want to jump on his end democracy in Milwaukee County as we know it bill, had this to say about the Solidarity Singers:

"It’s sad when a person feels their life is so empty and meaningless that the highlight of their day is to invade an otherwise peaceful capital every noon hour and raise a raucous in the rotunda. If these attention-starved individuals really wanted to contribute something helpful to society, they would spend their days volunteering in soup kitchens or homeless shelters rather than putting on infantile demonstrations for public gratification. Then again, helping people that really need it wouldn’t attract the TV cameras and news reporters that these individuals so desperately crave."

Here is the actual press release from Rep. Sanfelippo(spelling errors and all)

I called Representative Sanfelippo's office, and was told that if I emailed my questions, he would answer me.  I am guessing that they were busy volunteering at the homeless shelter(or writing poorly worded silly press releases).

My list of question for Joe, were these:

* When was the last time YOU volunteered at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen?
 *  Have you ever felt such things about lobbyists who are perpetually in your office and meeting with you?
*  Would you afford the same amount of meeting time with MS. Kemble as you do Convicted felon Scott Jensen?
* Do you think that that the $34,000 people have given you could be better used to help the homeless or for food shelters? 
*  Do you think that the $202,972 That convicted felon Scott Jensen earned as a lobbyist OR that the  $2,392,000 that the Walton funded, public school attacking, American Federation for Children spent trying to privatize our public education could have been better spent at a homeless shelter or soup kitchen?   That buys ALOT of soup(about 2.4 Million cans). I am guessing that $2.4 Million is more than the budget of the Dane County Food Pantry AND Homeless Shelters combined!  

Maybe you will have better luck getting an answer - rep.sanfelippo@legis.wi.gov <rep.sanfelippo@legis.wi.gov>;

By the way, Sanfelippo's quote sounds eerily like another quote from someone who did not like when the peasants revolted - , "for daring and desperate is the spirit of those leaders".

The King would have been proud!

Scott Walker's Wisconsin

By Jeff Simpson

"No disrespect should be shown to the flag of the United States of America." Section 8
"The flag represents a living country and is itself considered a living thing." Section 8j

This video shows Scott Walker's Wisconsin, and the contempt that the republican party have towards the people,  more than any other to date.....






A Vietnam Veteran, being arrested for standing QUIETLY in the middle of the People's house, who while being arrested, accidentally dropped his flag and the police officer who is arresting him for using his first amendment rights, stomps all over the American Flag.  

This is what Scott Walker has brought to WI!

 Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.^[1]

Is there anything besides money that the current Wisconsin republicans respect?