Walker's Recycling Of Failed Budgeting Schemes Could Cost Tax Payers

As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker repeatedly kept doing budget-related grandstanding.  These stunts only gave him the appearance of actually standing up for the tax payers, when the truth of it is the tax payers usually ended up paying more for his stunts.

Examples of this would include when he cut staffing in the call center for the Income Maintenance Program to the point that the state had to take over the entire program to avoid a multi-million dollar class action lawsuit.  This in turn led to county tax payers paying several million dollars more for these services than if he had just kept the center staffed like it was supposed to be.

Another example would be when he ginned up a fiscal crisis that did not exist, and used that as an excuse to lay off the county security guards so that he could give a sweetheart contract to campaign donor Wackenhut.  When it was found that he did indeed violate county rules and policies, it ended up costing tax payers hundreds of thousands of dollars in back pay and double payments for the same service.  Needless to say, Walker's stunt cost tax payers much more than if he had acted like a fiscally conservative leader and left things put.

Now, as the worst governor in state history, we see Walker's pattern of irresponsible behaviors being recycled as he decided to try to slash the state's required payments to municipalities for their recycling programs.  This has at least the City of Milwaukee seriously considering suing the state:

Barrett says in his April letter the DNR’s transfer from the state recycling fund was “at minimum irresponsible and perhaps even unlawful.”

Stepp responds in an April 22 letter, “I understand the budget challenges that all levels of government face … Virtually all lapsable local assistance funds within the Department of Natural Resources were significantly reduced or totally eliminated to help meet our obligation to help balance the state’s budget shortfall.” She added, “The recycling grants to responsible units were no exception.”

Then, in a May 4 letter from City Attorney Grant Langley, the city’s position hardened. He writes that under state law, the recycling fund is established as a segregated fund that can’t be lapsed back to the general fund.  The statute Langley references reads: “There is established a separate, nonlapsible trust fund designated as the recycling and renewable energy fund.”

Langley calls the cut in recycling grants “illegal” and says the city plans “to explore all options available … to challenge the reduction.”

Barrett spokeswoman Jodie Tabak says the city is awaiting a response from the DNR, adding, “We are seriously considering legal action.”

If Milwaukee chooses to pursue this, they probably have a good chance to win it. And when they are successful, the state will then have to come up with the money to pay all the municipalities across the state. And the money that should have gone to these programs in the first place aren't going to the tax payers in frozen or even reduced taxes, but to the CEOs and the businesses that supported his gubernatorial campaign.

This would mean that Walker will either have to raise taxes, or more probably, cut more services that many of our most vulnerable citizens rely on, like Badger Care.  This, in turn, will lead to even more lawsuits and greater expenses.

We need to get an adult in that office and we need to do so as soon as possible. We can't afford any more of Walker's brand of fiscal conservatism.

I Warned You About This

Even back in the days when I was part of folkbum's posse, I have warned of the costs of untreated mental illnesses.  According to the National Alliance on Mental Illness, just the economic cost of untreated mental illness in this country is more than $100 billion each year, and this does not include the human costs.

Now we're seeing this in Wisconsin.

It was recently released that due to Walker's and the Fitz Boyz' narcissism, paranoia and megalomania, it will cost tax payers nearly $8 million. And this doesn't include any fines or court costs that they are charging to us and our future generations as they continuously disregard the law and even the Constitution.

A little bit of Haldol and/or Geodon would have been much, much cheaper.

To add insult to injury, these dangers to society keep insulting our intelligence, apparently thinking we are as crazed as they are.

The gales of November can't come soon enough for me.

In Solidarity With My #wiunion* Brothers And Sisters.

Alternate title: "Just A Slob Like The Rest Of Us"

Yesterday, as advertised, I was part of a panel which discussed the role of social media in the Wisconsin protests, or as they are known by the Twitterati, #wiunion.

The forum was hosted by a group called New Organizing Institute. Apparently, in this case, the "new" is the same as when someone snarkly refers to the new math. It seemed that the entire forum was slapped together in haste and many issues were overlooked, such as simply archiving the video. Hopefully, I'm wrong, but I can't find it anywhere.

But despite the problems that we encountered, I believe we pulled it off with an amazing level of success.  Even with my hampering the whole affair. And true to nature, over the course of the last day, I have thought of dozens of things I wish I had said during the forum.

Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant, (@illusory_tenant for the Twitterati), proved to be the perfect moderator. His knowledge of the legal battles occurring in Madison and his dry wit helped keep things moving along apace and kept the audience more than entertained and interested. Note to Charlie Sykes: I know Tom personally and if you want lessons on how to moderate a panel the correct way, I'm sure some lessons could be arranged.

Click on photo to enlarge
From left to right: Melissa Ryan, Sen. Chris Larson,
Tom Foley, Emily Mills, myself, Maxwell John Love
Picture courtesy of @jjinsf

Melissa Ryan (@MelissaRyan) was also very entertaining and (rightfully) generous in her praise of the people of #wiunion.

Senator Chris Larson (@ChrisJLarson), as was predictable, was the rock star of the show and had people hanging on his every word. He made a good point, stating that no matter how useful social media is, it will never be a substitute for face to face contact and good old-fashioned "shoe leather politicking."

Emily Mills (@millbot), the Renaissance personified, is even more awesome and more fascinating in person than she is on teh Intertubes.  She also praised the people for their diligence and their tenacity in standing up for their rights and standing as one, without a leader per se, but just as a people.

Having been caught off guard when Tom introduced me and brought up my royal standing as King of the Hate Left, I then mumbled something about how I have been amazed by their strength and have come to use the people of Twitter and Facebook as my eyes and ears to supplant the corrupt and inept corporate media reporting that would allow people like Patrick McIlheran to use up ink or Charlie Sykes to pollute the airwaves.

Wish I had said it moment number one: I wish I had gone through the categorization of the mess Scott Walker had left us in Milwaukee County to contend with, including a failing transit system, hundreds of thousands of dollars in repairs and maintenance to our parks and buildings, and an almost completely dysfunctional mental health system, to name but a few.

Finally, a young activist and college student at the University of Madison, Maxwell John Love (@MaxwellJohnLove) who is the ultimate geek. He had great insight in how Twitter helped the cause and his role in keeping it going.

After our spiels, there was a question/answer session and it was heartening to see so many people invested in the topic and asking rather intelligent and thoughtful questions.

Now, I will admit, I was as nervous as a person could be going into this thing. Public speaking has never been my strong suit. As I often joke, I have a face made for radio and a voice made for blogging.  To add to my stress, I got a late start and was often frustrated with the traffic due to all the construction between Milwaukee and Madison. Knowing that there would be scores of people in the room as well as people all around the nation watching the livestream broadcast of the panel only made me feel more on edge.

By the time I arrived at the place where the forum was being held, my hands were shaking like a leaf. I felt the panic rise as I tried to find my orientation and figure out where the room in which the forum was being held and where said room was in relation to my current position.

Finding that the room was on the third floor, I stepped off the elevator and the first thing I see was this beautiful woman who was my #wiunion adopted little sister, Sarah (@sjzep). It was our first real life meeting, and I found out that she was also the best damn hugger I've ever met.  We walked in the room together and as I found out where I was to sit, Sarah also found a seat.

The room started to quickly fill to the point of being standing room only.  As I nervously looked up and into the crowd, I noted many people from my Twitterati family, including Matt (@matt_t1), Carol (@bluecheddar1) (Carol is also a wonderful blogger in her own right), Anna (@annaironside), and one of my bestest friends, Heather. (@ari_WISCslob).  Later, I found out that there were others, but having not met them in real life, did not recognize them for who they were.

At first, I was surprised. This was quickly supplanted by a sense of control, when I realized that they had come to support me and my co-panelists.  I was still nervous for a while, but as things progressed, I relaxed more and more, emotionally leaning on my friends by concentrating on only their presence and taking strength from their quiet support.

After the session had ended, many people approached the table we were seated. I was again amazed as not everyone was on their way to see Senator Larson, as I would have suspected, but many came up to shake my hand and thank me for my work.  I felt a level of guilt, as it was these people that deserve my gratitude, all our gratitude, for being there day in and day out, being our eyes and our ears, and suffering the abuses of the corrupt government on a first hand basis. (For example, it's one thing to hear of the atrocities committed by Walker's police state inside the Capitol, but it's wholly another thing to personally experience, as I can attest to.)

We then adjourned downstairs to the bar on the first floor, where I had the pleasant surprise of seeing more friends who were unable to make it to the panel.  These included Jenni (@legaleagle) who is a rock star in her own right, the famous tweeter @edcetera aka @superbranch among several other handles, my dear friend Maverick (@marivic), and @theandingo. I also met some new friends, including Matt (@mwisniewski) and the beautiful Maria (@SeleneMSC).

I came home in the wee hours of the morning feeling exhausted and exhilarated.  I also felt humbled and honored by, and in awe of, all these wonderful people.

On the next day, as I reflected on the evening before, I had a small epiphany of sorts.

In the regular unions, members often address each other as Brother and Sister.  When signing a letter, or when parting ways, it is not uncommon to say "In Solidarity."  I thought I understood the bonding message behind these acts, but it was not until Thursday night that I truly appreciated its meaning.

These were my brothers and sisters of #wiunion.  Most of them did not know me in real life. The few that did, I only met once or twice.  Yet they took time out of their lives to support me, to stand by me in solidarity, to lend me their strength, and just to meet me.  Even now, just reflecting on it, I feel overwhelmed by a sea of emotions.

I've always had my other two families, the labor unions and the Bloggerati, both of whom I cherish. The best part is that #wiunion encompasses them both. It's like my family has grown exponentially. I am truly a lucky man.

State Senator Glen Grothmann once called the people of #wiunion slobs. Like true Wisconsinites, instead of being insulted, #wiunion embraced it, like we did when people thought calling us cheeseheads was an insult.

And I'm damned proud to say that I'm just another slob, like the rest of my #wiunion family.

*For those not familiar with Twitter, a hash tag as used in the title is a way of identifying and categorizing a tweet.

The Limits Of Social Media

As I've been thinking about the panel that I will be a part of, in which we will be talking about social media's role in the Wisconsin protests, I've been paying particularly more attention to the workings of the various types of social media.

This turned my memory to a particular subject, namely the limitations of the social media, especially in the events of recent months or in getting people motivated enough to actually go out and do something, particularly when the weather is less than friendly.

This brought me to a post written by a friend on the very subject, which reflects a write up I did for a training earlier this year. The whole post is interesting and a worthy read, but for my purposes, I would point out this section:

Friendraising and public relations are great, but campaigns are won and lost on the streets. Knocking doors, appearing in town halls, and attending community events are how candidates are able to meet the people and give them the ability to put a face to a name. Candidates that are well-known and have special interest involvement in their campaigns have a distinct advantage in this area, as they can put more "boots on the ground" both in terms of numbers and times of day/week. To match those numbers, the power of social networking must be brought to the table. As with public relations, word-of-mouth through social media platforms gets the need and necessary information out to a large number of individuals in a very short period of time, which allows those people to pass along the word. People who know you (either virtually or in real life) are more apt to brave the weather during spring campaign season (signature gathering in December, campaigning in January and early February) and will stay in contact in between events than those who are motivated by organizational self-interest.

More Outside Agitators - Will Walker Complain About These?

Even as he was traveling the country, hitting up national GOP angels for big donations to defend his corrupt friends from being recalled, Scott Walker would lament that outsiders were throwing money at the people's efforts.

Even has Walker was asking the person he believed to be David Koch for help in getting people to Wisconsin to support his besieged cronies, he mewled about how the unions and even President Obama were supposed to be shipping the hundreds of thousands of protesters to Madison.

And speaking of outside agitators, look at what the local paper finally got around to reporting (which is actually old news to anyone following the #wiunion on teh Twitter):

Democrats who filed challenges last Thursday to recall petitions filed against three Democratic senators broke down the number of signatures collected in each of the campaigns by out-of-state circulators. Such signatures accounted for more than 44% of those collected by the recall campaign against Sen. Dave Hansen (R-Green Bay), Democrats say.

According to a  Republican Party campaign finance statement filed last month, the party spent $92,000 on a Colorado firm, Kennedy Enterprises, to provide staffing for several recall campaigns.On its website, Kennedy Enterprises lists circulating petitions as one of the services it provides.

A Journal Sentinel spot check of Hansen recall signatures found that more than 150 of the 200 pages of signatures checked were circulated by people with out-of-state addresses.

But, wait! There's more!

The Democrats said 44.65% of the signatures against Hansen were collected by out-of-staters, while the out-of-state proportion in the campaign against Sen. Jim Holperin (D-Conover) was 36.64% and of the campaign against Sen. Robert Wirch (D-Pleasant Prairie), 33.12%. 

Democrats say some of the out-of-state circulators misled petition signers about what they were signing, and argued in their challenges to the petitions that anything these circulators collected should be thrown out.

I'm sure that we will soon hear from Walker that this was great news and was somehow going to lower taxes and create jobs.And I'm equally sure that no one with a modicum of honesty and/or common sense will ever believe him.

Watching Paul Ryan

With all of the chaos going on in and around the state these days, it's hard to keep track of things.

Most folks already know that they can come here or to Milwaukee County First for all things Scott Walker.

But I am only one man with limited time.

So what to do when one wants to know what some other schmuck, say Paul Ryan, the congressman with the bad hair, was up to? Do you scour all of the liberal blogs just to ferret out a grain of truth? Do you trust the corporate media to tell you the truth?

Well, you're in luck. You don't have to take any of those actions.

You can just go to The Paul Ryan Watch and see what the GOP's rising falling star has been up to.

Walker's Second Grand Irony Of The Month

Last week, Scott Walker committed an amazing feat of irony in which he proclaimed his respect for public sector workers after launching a full front assault on them, attempting to strip them of even the most basic rights.

But just when one thought he had reached the pinnacle of foolishness, he repeats the feat.

This time he declares Women's Health Week in Wisconsin, declaring that "women's health remains a priority for families, communities and government."

Amazingly, he did this with a straight face as well.

I was not the only one flabbergasted by his audacious act of absurdity.

Tanya Atkinson, Executive Director of Planned Parenthood, noticed this as well and issued a press release in response:

“At a time when women throughout Wisconsin are gravely concerned about what will happen to their own health and the health of their families, Governor Walker’s proclamation rings hollow.

“Governor Walker’s budget cuts fall on the backs of Wisconsin women and children. Forty percent of the Governor’s budget cuts are from programs that serve primarily women and children.

“The simple fact is, if women’s health were truly a priority for Governor Walker’s administration, he would not be gutting women’s health by eliminating state funding for the health care programs and community services that hundreds of thousands of Wisconsin women rely on everyday.

“Wisconsin women won’t be fooled by this. Governor Walker is saying one thing, but doing another when it comes to women and their health. For weeks women have been speaking out against Walker’s budget at hearings throughout the state and we will continue to work to restore funding for programs that truly protect our health and save our lives.”

The release goes on to list the many insults and assaults Walker has committed to the women of this state, including, but not limited to:

• Eliminating $3.8 million from the family planning program, which helped pay for breast and cervical cancer screening;
• Endangers the $11 million in federal aid which is aimed at helping with prenatal care, preventive care, health care for special needs children and lowering infant mortality;
• Cuts Lab of Hygiene funding by more than a quarter of a million dollars, thereby denying cervical cancer screenings to uninsured women;
• Cuts more than a half a billion dollars from Badger Care, which provides medical coverage for 686,000 Wisconsinites;
• Attacks Income Maintenance Programs (something he has a history of having problems with) and;
• Eliminates Family Planning services for men and all the related health problems.

I'm guessing that in the upcoming weeks, we will see Clean Drinking Water Appreciation Week, Natural Conservation Week, and Voting Integrity Week.

Drinking Liberally: Rock Star Edition

This coming Monday, May 16, will be the next rendition of Drinking Liberally, with a cast of thousands, including some real rock stars!

First, there is the host, Zach of Blogging Blue fame, the man who broke teh Internets as he broke the story of Randy Randy "Bed" Hopper.

Then the night will be filled with two rocking guests.

One is the famous Chris Larson, State Senator and member of the Fab 14.

Also on hand that day will be Wendy Strout, Executive Director of Emerge Wisconsin and a rock star in her own right.

Drinking Liberally's new home is Transfer Pizzaria & Cafe, located at 101 W. Mitchell Street.

The festivities start at 7 pm.

Can't say that I'll be there as I don't even know if I'll be in town, but do go and enjoy yourselves.

WISGOP Looks To Tamper With Recall Elections

Apparently not satisfied with their bungling of the race for Wisconsin Supreme Court, WISGOP is now looking to tamper with the recall elections which are in just two months by interfering with the voting rights of the elderly, the poor and college students (emphasis mine):

Voters taking part in the upcoming recall elections would need photo identification, if the latest version of the controversial voter ID bill becomes law.

The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee passed an amended version of the photo ID bill Monday, removing a provision that required student IDs to carry correct addresses and moving up the date of implementation to immediately after the bill passes.

"We were all wondering why there's such a rush on this bill — now we know," said state Rep. Jennifer Shilling, D-La Crosse. "It's about the recall elections. You feel the rules need to be changed right in the middle of the game."

Apparently, the Republicans have figured out that despite their sound bites and the endless squawking points parroted by AM radio stations, they aren't really following the will of the people.

So instead of doing the things they were elected to do, they are following the bidding of the special interests that helped buy their seats (read Koch Brothers et alia).  Sadly, they do so by inventing a problem that doesn't exist in order to match their "solution."

I would expect that a class action lawsuit will be slapped on this thing as soon as it is published, which could still keep it from affecting the recall elections on July 12.  But just in case, since you really can't predict what any given court is going to do, I would suggest that the recall organizers, the unions and other groups do what they do best and figure out a way to boots on the ground to help people meet this illegal poll tax.

I tell you one thing, gentle reader, I can barely wait for the day that we can start getting things squared away and cleaning up this mess that these fools are making.

University of Wis-Koch-Sin?

Among the million and one things wrong with Scott Walker's proposed budget (did the man get anything correct?) was the proposal to cut the University of Wisconsin - Madison and separate it from the rest of the UW system.  This an idea that is already being panned by members of the Board of Regents.

Walker claims that the proposal is to save the state money and to allow UW-Madison to grow via private sector donations.  But as with all things Walker, one has to brush aside whatever nonsense he is spouting and seek out the truth behind the maneuver.

In this case, a post from Facebook leads us to a blogpost which leads us to the news story that explains all we need to know behind Walker's and the WISGOP's motivation for selling off one of the state's greatest assets. That reason is, of course, to appease the Koch Brothers and their big money:

A conservative billionaire who opposes government meddling in business has bought a rare
commodity: the right to interfere in faculty hiring at a publicly funded university.

A foundation bankrolled by Libertarian businessman Charles G. Koch has pledged $1.5 million for positions in Florida State University's economics department. In return, his representatives get to screen and sign off on any hires for a new program promoting "political economy and free enterprise."

Traditionally, university donors have little official input into choosing the person who fills a chair they've funded. The power of university faculty and officials to choose professors without outside interference is considered a hallmark of academic freedom.

Under the agreement with the Charles G. Koch Charitable Foundation, however, faculty only retain the illusion of control. The contract specifies that an advisory committee appointed by Koch decides which candidates should be considered. The foundation can also withdraw its funding if it's not happy with the faculty's choice or if the hires don't meet "objectives" set by Koch during annual evaluations.

Read on and later in the article you find that the Koch Boyzzz have had their fingers in a lot of pies, including the federal pie, for many years.

What is really sad is how many people who have been put in a role of responsibility suddenly roll over and become mewling sycophants at the first sight of a few bucks.  And that is exactly why, after we clean up the current mess in Madison, we remain vigilant for any other infections, before they too spread.

NOI And I: Where I Get To Be A Hip Muser

On Thursday, New Organizing Institute (NOI) will be hosting a discussion regarding the events surrounding the Wisconsin protests and what role social media played in the course of events, including #wiunion for the Twitterati.

The panel discussing these issues will be moderated by our own Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant, although putting him and any form of the word moderate is surprising to me.

The panel itself will include:

• State Senator Chris Larson, of the Fab 14, and a rock star in his own right,
• Melissa Ryan, New Media Director of NOI and organizer extraordinaire,
• The incomparable Emily Mills, woman of many talents, including blogger, columnist, actress, musician, and all around great person,
• Max Love, UW student and concerned citizen,
• Some guy named Chris Liebenthal, aka capper, who will be there for comic relief and doing his best imitation of the Hip Muser.

The event will be ironically held in the "Industry Room" in the Union South building at UW (the one in Madison).

If you are unable to attend, you can watch get a live feed by signing up at this site.

There will be an autograph signing session afterwards.

GOP Paying Koch Bros. Front Group With Your Tax Dollars

If I may, I would remind the gentle reader of a group called ALEC, which stands for American Legislative Exchange Council. ALEC is one of the heads of the Koch Brothers' hydra. This particular one is the legal think tank which comes up with legislative bills for the Koch-owned politicians to pass, in order to make the Koch Brothers even more filthy rich.

ALEC came to the public's attention when Professor William Cronon revealed their entanglement with Wisconsin Republicans.  For his troubles, Cronon received the same witch hunt tactics that I have been subject of and will be again in a week or three.

ALEC is again in the spotlight. This time, One Wisconsin Now has put their collective head in the proverbial lion's mouth by doing some actual investigating and found that no less than 12 current Republican state senators have paid dues to belong in ALEC.

In itself, no biggie. But it becomes a biggie when the fact is that these Senators are using tax payer dollars to pay for their membership fees.

Or to put it another way - the Republican Senators that said they were going to be responsible with our tax dollars are using those dollars to pay a group funded by the Koch Brothers, who in return, give the GOP Senators bills to pass which would help the Kochs'  cause of literally owning the state.

Imagine the uproar that would come from so-called government watchdogs or from squawk radio if some Democrats would use tax dollars to pay to be members of Milwaukee County First (if we had people pay for their membership, which we don't).  Their pinheads would just explode. But now that it's the GOP Senators doing it, these people are oddly silent.

Even Smoke And Mirrors Can't Hide Darling's Nervousness.

Alberta Darling is scared for her job.

Oh, she won't admit it, not publicly at least. But you can tell that she and the GOP are awfully nervous.

First, she's been running radio ads for several weeks now, even before she knew who her opponent might be or even before they turned in her recall papers. (Oh, yeah. She's really on the tax payer's side, all right. Two words: Child Welfare. No savings there, just higher taxes.)

Darling's latest stunt is to roll out a new drunk driving bill which would make the first time offense a criminal case, but only if the impaired driver was twice the legal limit.But what the hey, who could bad mouth a law toughening drunk driving, right? That'll surely get her a vote or three.

Unfortunately for our soon to be ex senator, the most vocal and passionate anti-drunk driving people, MADD, isn't so keen on Darling's shenanigans:

But Frank Harris, state legislative affairs manager for the national office of Mothers Against Drunk Driving, said in an email to Darling and Ott that, while their bills are well intentioned, MADD wants laws that make drunken driving a misdemeanor at 0.08 as opposed to 0.15. Additionally, Harris wrote, MADD wants laws that require an ignition interlock for first time offenders who have a blood-alcohol level of 0.08 or greater.

"MADD applauds your leadership on keeping the streets safe from drunk drivers in Wisconsin," Harris wrote in the email, which was also sent to the Journal Sentinel. "MADD supports making a third offense a felony but is neutral on the proposal to make a first conviction with a blood-alcohol of .15 or greater a misdemeanor.

"Making a first OWI conviction a misdemeanor at .15 BAC is not a step and this does not represent progress against drunk driving."

Added Harris: "This .15 BAC bill sends a mixed message on what the illegal level of drunk driving is in Wisconsin exactly and will not send any message or deterrence necessary to stop drunk driving or the majority of drunk driving deaths in Wisconsin caused by drunk drivers with no prior convictions. The only benefit to this legislation is that more drunk drivers may refuse and thereby receive an ignition overlock."

Senator to be Sandy Pasch also saw right through this and sent out her own press release regarding Darling's stunt:

8th state Senate District candidate Sandy Pasch issued the following statement today on Senator Alberta Darling's flawed bill that only criminalizes first time drunken-driving offenses for those driving nearly twice the legal limit:

"Every year in Wisconsin, families are torn apart by the tragedy of drunken driving, and Senator Darling's bill fails to seriously address the problem.  Essentially doubling the legal limit before criminal penalties are assessed sets a bad precedent, sends a mixed message, and embodies the kind of nonsense 'solutions' we get from out-of-touch career politicians who have been in Madison for far too long.  Rather than legislating in sound bites, we must take a more thoughtful, community-based approach to addressing the critical issue of drunken driving. Unfortunately, this proposal - coupled with likely cuts to public safety caused by the Walker and Darling budget - falls dramatically short for families and victims of drunk driving in Wisconsin."

At a time when the citizenry is already outraged and highly alert to the political climate, does Darling really think it was a good idea to sign on a meaningless bill? Does she think insulting her constituents' intelligence is really going to win over many people?

Alberta Darling is a person that is in dire need of being forced to retire, enjoy her truly lavish benefits, and spend her golden years touring golf courses.

Volunteers Needed For Sandy Pasch

Even though today is Mother's Day, the fight for our freedom and our state doesn't stop. Give a gift to every mother in the state by helping restore our state to the right path by volunteering for Sandy Pasch, who has announced that she is taking on Alberta "I never met a golf course I didn't like" Darling.

To help out:

Canvassing for the Pasch campaign starts tomorrow 5/8 at 2pm and phone banking starts at 3pm. We need as many volunteers as possible in the next few weeks to win this election.

Stop in to help out.

**Here's the volunteer schedule up until the last weekend of the election.**

Canvasses
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- Weekdays: 4:00pm – 6:00pm and 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Weekends: 10:00am – 2:00pm and 2:00pm – 4:00pm

Phone Banking
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- Weekdays: 3:30pm – 5:00pm and 6:00pm – 8:00pm
- Weekends: 11:00am – 1:00pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm and 3:00pm – 5:00pm

Calls to
- Volunteers
- Direct Voter Contact

Data Entry
- Every day
- Regional Dem. Party Office (6807 N. Green Bay Avenue)
- 9:00am – 11:00am; 7:00pm – 9:00pm

I Apologize To You, Wisconsin

I was just thinking that if I was more aggressive two years ago, I might have helped spare the state all of the misery we're facing now.

I apologize for dropping the ball.