"Lack Of Fact, Lack of Reason"

Brendan Fischer, legal fellow at PRWatch, analyzed and broke down the highly questionable and irregular act of the Koch-sponsored majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  Here is an excerpt, but do read the whole thing:

"Many people would likely find it puzzling," Justice Crooks writes in dissent, that "we, the highest court in the state, cannot simply order up whatever information is needed." But because of the unusual procedural posture, "those boxes of documents, transcripts and evidence that we ordinarily review were not made available to us."

Justice Abrahamson, also dissenting, wrote that "faced with no record, [the four justices in the majority] conjure their own facts -- something this court should never do, regardless of whether it is exercising appellate or original jurisdiction ... The ready availability of a direct appeal by aggrieved parties makes this all the more puzzling," Justice Crooks wrote. "I am convinced that these significant issues should be addressed through a direct appeal, which would allow this court to more fully resolve, with the benefit of a complete record, the complex legal and factual issues at stake."

The lack of factual background tainted the Court's decision and constitutional interpretation. Nothing prevented the Court from waiting to accept a direct appeal, and to make a careful decision based on a complete evidentiary record. But with Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald threatening to insert collective bargaining into the budget if the Court did not act before the end of Tuesday, the court rushed an order with minimal factual background.

According to Justice Crooks, "those who would rush to judgment on these matters are essentially taking the position that getting this opinion out is more important than doing it right and getting it right." Indeed, that is what happened. In its rush to issue an opinion, the conservative majority overreached, issuing a problematic constitutional interpretation and violating its own judicial principles in the process.

Read it all and allow yourself to feel the rage. Then join in the fight to take Wisconsin back, while there's still a Wisconsin to take back.

The Walker Budget Is Already Working! Part II

Not even enacted yet, we can see Walker's budget already having an impact (emphasis mine):

Hamilton said expansion didn't make sense for them right now with the city's current economic situation. He cited the 360 jobs lost at the NewPage Whiting paper mill last February and many people in the Stevens Point area who will face reduced incomes as a result of the state's budget repair bill.

Hamilton said the Supreme Bean will continue its operation in Ministry Saint Michael's Hospital. Despite several relocation offers from other building owners in town, Hamilton said reopening in a new location doesn't make sense right now.

"Who wouldn't want a 22-year business occupying their space?" Hamilton asked. "Apparently, not the Children's Museum."

I, along with every other sentient being, have been pointing out that Walker's plan will drive businesses into the ground and bring our economic recovery to a grinding halt and hurt a lot of private citizens. This is just the beginning of the pain, folks.

Barca On Walker's Anti-Working Family Budget

From Rep. Peter Barca's press release:

State Assembly rubberstamps Gov. Walker’s budget that attacks working Wisconsin families
MADISON – Upon passage of the biennial state budget on a party-line vote, Assembly Democratic Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha) released the following statement:
“Gov. Walker’s vision for Wisconsin was rubberstamped by Assembly Republicans today. That vision, unfortunately, will permanently hurt the middle class. They grabbed taxpayer money from our public schools and gave it to private voucher schools. They cut job training opportunities at technical colleges. They raised college tuition while lowering student aid. And they raised taxes on Wisconsin seniors who are struggling to remain in their homes.

“This budget desecrates our proud Wisconsin tradition of supporting our middle-class – the backbone of our state.

“In this budget, Republicans also increased spending by $1.1 billion, spent $411 million from raided funds, hiked fees by $111 million, increased borrowing to kick an even bigger can even farther down the road and raised taxes by $70 million on working families and senior citizens.
“Every one of these actions represents a broken promise by the Republicans.
“It is a strong, vibrant middle class that made America an economic powerhouse and the envy of the world. Attacking Wisconsin’s working families, while spending billions on special interest giveaways and corporate tax loopholes, permanently harms Wisconsin’s citizens, economy and our future. Democrats will not rest until we can restore the rights, values and opportunities that Wisconsin’s working families deserve.”

You can also find Rep. Tamara Grigsby's response at Milwaukee County First.

The Fight For Freedom Continues - Without Koch Interference

The unions, and by that I mean just about every union in the state, has filed a federal lawsuit against the unconstitutional, freedom-stripping Budget Disrepair Bill, just like I had said they would.

There are two key things to note about this action.

One, the unions were smart enough to file it directly in federal court.  With the way the Koch Court worded their ruling, it was obviously a threat to any Wisconsin judge against ordering an injunction, despite the legality or appropriateness of doing so.  By taking it to the federal level, they are able to avoid and eliminate the Koch Court's interference of justice.

Secondly, the lawsuit only seeks to restore the freedoms that Scott Walker and WISGOP would take away from the citizens, especially the working families of Wisconsin and has nothing to do with the money, as pointed out in the SEIU press release regarding the lawuit:

It is a violation of the U.S. Constitution for a legislature to discriminate among classes of public employees, much less to reward political allies, while punishing political opponents. Scott Walker’s actions are purely political and it is distressing that the Wisconsin Supreme Court would allow public employees to be used as sacrificial lambs.

The lawsuit seeks to enjoin some, but not all, of the provisions of the Budget Repair Bill.

“Working and middle class families in Wisconsin have long been on the record accepting substantial economic cuts. In fact, we are not seeking to enjoin the significant pension and health insurance contribution requirements imposed by the Budget Repair Bill. However, we will not tolerate continued attacks on basic rights. We are committed to preserving our rights to bargain and freely associate,” Palmer concluded.

The AFL-CIO emphasizes the same point on their blog.

This, of course, blows the hell out of the argument the right wing has been trying to fool people with, claiming that the unions are only after their "entitlements" or that the public sector workers were unwilling to "make a reasonable contribution" to their benefits.

If it weren't for the seriousness of the issue, where the unions have been forced to fight not just for the rights of their workers, but even for the rights of those who are constantly attacking them for doing so, I would be having great amusement watching the right wing's collective heads exploding as they realize that they stand a very real chance of having expended all their political clout for nothing.

Finally, since the unions have shown the savvy to file in federal court, one hopes that they will also build their case on another federal case in which they have already shown that it is illegal to take away the right of collective bargaining.

A Correction: I Was Wrong About Wisconsin Supreme Court

In my last post, I wrote this about the Supreme Court of Wisconsin:

Now word as come out that the "Supreme Court" of Wisconsin has, without apparent deliberation or research of the law, has ruled the open meetings laws to be invalid and that our elected officials (or at least the Republican ones) are above the law and don't need to adhere to the laws that they themselves had passed. Needless to say, WMC spent tons of money in making sure that Annette Ziegler, Michael Gableman and David Prosser were on the bench, just so that they could shred the Constitution and the law books and make irresponsible decisions like this one.

This turned out to be rather shoddy reporting on my part, and for this I apologize.

The truth is, it's much, much worse than what I had reported.

First of all, the corruption was easy to spot, as former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske points out:

Former Supreme Court Justice Janine Geske said Wednesday that she found Tuesday's high-court decision on the collective bargaining law disconcerting.

The court, which ruled 4-3, to reinstate the collective bargaining law left the perception that the decision was partisan because of the timing, she said.

"They had five hours of oral argument and issued a complicated decision within a week," Geske said in a telephone interview. "They didn't use their usual process."

Geske, a distinguished professor of law at Marquette University's Law School, is also a former justice. She served on the state's high court from 1993-'98.

The court, she said, is always faced with cases that both sides want action on quickly. But the role of the court is to take the case, analyze it thoroughly, review prior case law and render a decision.

"You want to establish the law for the future," Geske said. "Cases always are urgent. But the court always takes its time."

Instead, the court acted on the day the Legislature was prepared to vote again on the collective-bargaining law. The court issued its decision late Tuesday afternoon.

The "coincidences" of the timing of the ruling as well as how the Republicans "knew" that the Supreme Court was going to rule the way it did raised suspicions among more people than just Geske, and thus come amazing and horrifying things were found.

First of all, if the gentle reader would remember, there was a very despicable and irresponsible anti-Joanna Kloppenburg advertisement flooding the air waves. Said advertisement was paid for by a group called "Citizens for a Strong America" which turned out to be just another of the myriad and sordid front groups for the Koch brothers.

But Prosser isn't the only one who received the blessings of the Koch brothers. Michael Gableman received nearly $7,000 from the Koch brothers' PAC:

Likewise, Annette Ziegler received nearly $9,000 in the same manner:

But Prosser's connection to the Koch brothers doesn't just end with a commercial.

Brian Schimming, who used to be Prosser's chief of staff when Prosser was in the state assembly, and was the director of Prosser's recount team, and is first vice chair of WISGOP, also has a history of being a lobbyist for the Koch brothers (along with some other interesting names like Steve Foti and George Petak).

Along with Schimming, Ray Carey, who was a legislative aide to Prosser, is currently a lobbyist for the Kochs.

We can't do anything about Prosser for the the moment. But perhaps it's time to seriously consider recalling Gableman and Ziegler along with Scott Walker in the next round of recalls.  It's time and beyond that we return to our roots and make WisKochsin back into Wisconsin!

The Corruption Of Wisconsin Is Complete -- Or Is it?

If you love Wisconsin, love your freedom, or want a thriving, healthy economy, things look grim indeed.

It would appear that the corruption of Wisconsin is now complete.

We have an uneducated, inept and unethical governor who managed to gain his seat through the massive expenditure of people like the Koch brothers, the road builders, WMC, and other big money special interests. Even though his campaign was about creating jobs, he has done everything but that.  His biggest claim to fame thus far is getting busted out by a blogger as being a kowtowing serf to the Koch brothers.

The Republican legislature, also sponsored by Big Corporation money, actually makes Walker look like a piker by taking his malevolence and expanding it, passing laws which can only be generously described as legalized prejudice and bigotry.  While they claim that the budget that they crafted resolves the alleged deficit and doesn't raise taxes, nonpartisan groups have repeatedly shown this to be patently false.  It spends more money than before and raises taxes and fees on working families and on the poor.  To add further insult to injury, the legislature has taken these higher taxes and fees and used it to suppress or even eliminate the rights of these very same people.

Now word as come out that the "Supreme Court" of Wisconsin has, without apparent deliberation or research of the law, has ruled the open meetings laws to be invalid and that our elected officials (or at least the Republican ones) are above the law and don't need to adhere to the laws that they themselves had passed.  Needless to say, WMC spent tons of money in making sure that Annette Ziegler, Michael Gableman and David Prosser were on the bench, just so that they could shred the Constitution and the law books and make irresponsible decisions like this one.

As a result, it would appear that the Republicans and conservatives of all three branches of the government have assaulted and insulted the state and its citizens in almost every aspect of imaginable.  They have stripped the working class of their very rights and their livelihoods, trashed environmental protections, raised taxes and fees on those least able to afford it while giving magnanimous rewards to their campaign donors (read Big Business), attacked the rights of women, attacked the rights of gays, attacked the rights of minorities and almost every other atrocity to our freedoms and our values.

As I said, it appears that the corruption of the state is complete.

However, the fight is not over. Far from it.

There are still tens of thousands of people pouring into Madison to make our collective voices heard.

There are tens or thousands, if not hundreds of thousands of people actively involved in recalling those that have violated all sense of decency and abused the authority of their office.  And that is only the first wave.

People are still anxiously and eagerly waiting for winter to return so that they may finish the job in recalling Scott Walker and the rest of the corrupt senators, as well as work to flip the Assembly as well as the Senate.  There are even some looking at removing WMC's justices and replacing them with justices that love the law and justice.

The "ruling" from the Supreme Court can, I believe (note: I am not a lawyer), be brought back for reconsideration, since it is so blatantly and egregiously out of line with what the law says. Furthermore, at least two separate actions have already been filed against the content of the law, and many more lawsuits are expected, even as early as today, regarding every aspect of this law, from the content to the way it was passed.

And to further strengthen one's heart and one's resolve, it would appear that part of the road to recovery has already been paved for us, with a very powerful ruling that would find the union-busting, rights-stripping, economy-trashing bill itself to be illegal:

In 1935, when Congress passed the National Labor Relations Act (also known as the NLRA, or the Wagner Act), it recognized the direct relationship between the inequality of bargaining power of workers and corporations and the recurrent business depressions. That is, by depressing wage rates and the purchasing power of wage earners, the economy fell into depression. The law therefore recognized as policy of the United States the encouragement of collective bargaining.

While the NLRA covered US employees in private employment, the law protecting collective bargaining in both the public and private sectors has developed since 1935 to cover all workers "without distinction."

In summary, while it might very well appear that Big Corporation and their corrupt puppets have won once and for all, that is as far as from the truth one can get and not become a de facto Republican. The union busting bill will be postponed from be enacted or enforced by dint of the lawsuits against it. And even if they try to illegally enforce it like they did with the restrictions to the Capitol Building, the unions are prepared for such a contingency and it will be only a temporary hardship as we continue to take back our state and put mature, responsible and accountable officials in the place of the corrupt ones now misrepresenting themselves as leaders.

So, if some conservative comes up to you to gloat about their "victory," just smile politely, agree with them that the war is all but over, and keep smiling in your knowledge that while the war may indeed soon be over, its not in the way they think it is.  The only real accomplishment that Walker, the WISGOP legislature and the Supreme Court have done is making their recalls all the easier to accomplish.

Who Do You Trust? The Election Game Show

Dominique Paul Noth of Milwaukee Labor Press shows his witty side in this humorous but simultaneously enraging look at the games the Republicans continue to play with our electoral system.  Here's an excerpt, but be sure to read the whole thing, especially to the end:

We understand, don’t we folks? So let’s just say you’re over 75. Well, Gladys, you’ll be happy to know that in the US, 75 is the typical age of a US poll worker. What’s that? Folks, Gladys HAS been a poll worker! Bet you itch to go back next year now that photo ID is here, right? What’s that, Gladys, speak up? Folks, get this, she says she definitely can’t wait to be one of those people who look at your photo ID, look back up at you, look down again and look up again and again to make sure you are who you say you are before she allows you to vote and lets others in line move forward. Talk about homeland security! Applause

But she’s also been an election official, right Gladys? She represented the Republican Party for the Ozaukee County Board of Canvassers in the recent Prosser-Kloppenburg race for the Supreme Court. OOOH-Applause Sign.

Well, Gladys, that loyalty is going to win you major prizes here on Who Do You Trust. First and most important, you’re getting to pretend to be a Democrat for a month! Turn on Cheer Sign

Yes, Gladys, you’ve volunteered to be the Pretend Dem in the Senate District 8 race to force the real Democrat, Sandy Pasch, to compete with you first. That gives her actual opponent, incumbent Alberta Darling, whose campaigns you have long worked for and given money to, an extra month to get ready. That’s more time to raise money, more time to hope voters forget how central Darling has been in passing that hateful Walker budget, more time to figure out what to say to Pasch’s stern arguments.

And if you’re willing to make this sacrifice, Gladys, to enter your twilight years to the hoots of laughter from disbelieving citizens, we’re ready to help with big prizes. We registered a Friends of Gladys Huber group with the state to help you raise money and gather the 400 to 800 signatures you need to force a Democrat primary race July 12.

Yes, Gladys, while it took almost 30,000 signatures of District 8 citizens to set up the recall against Darling, it only takes a few hundred to get you on the ballot. Isn’t democracy wonderful! Applause Sign

Reflect on what you’re doing for Walker and our beloved motherland -- you’re seeking to delay the real election to mid-August, when many voters will go on vacation and some might forget how badly the budget bill has stung their children and communities. You’ve made a mockery of the genuine voter anger and Democratic discipline that brought about the recall. You may need those paid Friends when it’s all over, but you’ve given Alberta Darling the only chance she has to survive. What a sweetheart!

The Walker Budget Is Already Working!

The Walker budget is already having its intended consequences, putting small businesses out of work in favor of the the larger campaign donors companies:

For Schaffitzel, a driver for Burns Bus, it was a typical late-spring afternoon route, except for one thing: When school ends today, so does Burns Bus.

A small family-owned school bus company, Burns Bus has held a contract for student transportation with the Edgerton School District since 1946, when founders Paul and Bill Burns started the Edgerton company.

But this spring, Burns lost the contract. The district, which has seen declines in revenues in recent years, opted to instead hire Riteway Bus Service, estimating the change would save about $140,000 a year.

Riteway has a fleet of 500 school buses statewide, and its client list includes 25 school districts. By comparison, Burns has 18 buses, about 30 employees and just one client—Edgerton School District.

The lost contract spells the end of Burns' 65-year run.

I'm sure Walker and his WISGOP allies are so pleased with themselves.

PolitiFarce Part V: PolitiFail

The controversial PolitiFact in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has done it again.

I would like to draw the gentle reader's attention to this story they did during the campaign, slamming Joanne Kloppenburg for accusing the incumbent and corrupt David Prosser of prejudging cases.  They got their undies in a bundle and gave Kloppenburg the dreaded "Pants on Fire" rating for this claim.

But when the WMC bought and paid for Supreme Court ruled that the state legislation doesn't have to follow the laws of the state, they were proven incorrect - again.  Or to cite Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson on this suspicious decision (emphasis mine):

Justice Shirley Abrahamson accused the majority of reaching a hasty decision that’s light on legal analysis, opening them up to the unnecessary charge that they “reached a pre-determined conclusion not based on the facts and the law, which undermines the majority's ultimate decision.”

Of course, we already knew that they were incorrect because Prosser himself told us during the campaign that he would be the "perfect compliment" to Scott Walker's maladministration.

With PolitiFail, er, PolitiFact distorting the truth so much that they could have direct bearings on elections and ergo our freedom, is it any wonder that the Wisconsin Democratic Party won't even waste the breath to talk to them anymore?

Because Guns Create Jobs, Right?

Do you remember Scott Walker and his Republican allies in the legislature saying their number one focus was to create jobs? Neither do they.

Instead, they are passing their extremist social engineering agenda which, today, included concealed carry legislation. Obviously, this creates no jobs unless you count the vacancies left by the victims of this careless and socially irresponsible law.

Steve Jagler at BizTimes.com did a real reporter's work and reached out to numerous business leaders in the Milwaukee area to get their take on the concealed carry legislation.  Unsurprisingly, the far greater majority of the job creators thought it was a bad idea. Jagler lists several of the responses in his column, but my personal favorite it this one:

H. Carl Mueller, president of Mueller Communications Inc., Milwaukee, said his company will not permit concealed weapons on the premises. “We already carry concealed weapons. We believe the pen is mightier than the sword, and we all carry pens. As for firearms, I asked the staff,and no one is interested in carrying concealed firearms. We will consider putting a sign on our door telling anyone who wishes to enter that we do not permit and firearms to be brought into our offices – concealed or otherwise. We also hope we won’t need such a sign.”

Sadly, the pro-gun doofuses of the blogging world, like Owen and Daddio, will never be able to figure out this simple concepts.

Sean Duffy Can't Make It In The Real World - Wisconsin

Sean "Pretty Boy" Duffy's main claim to fame is still his appearance in the reality TV show "The Real World."  It is becoming rather apparent though, that despite his reality TV show background, it did not come anywhere near to helping him deal in the real world in Wisconsin.

The first inkling came last week when Laura Hauser-Menting, Co-Chair of the Portage County Democrats issued this press release remarking on how Duffy was avoiding her county like the plague:

With media reports indicating that redistricting plans are well under way, Republican Congressman Sean Duffy appears to be hinting at Portage County's fate. According to his own website, he has held no town hall meetings in Portage County - the 7th District's third most populous county -- while making two stops each in next door Wood and Marathon Counties (http://duffy.house.gov/interactive-district-map, www.waow.com/Global/story.asp?S=14860214).

"I'm disappointed in Congressman Duffy," said Laura Hauser-Menting, Co-Chair of the Portage County Democrats. "After his promises to be accessible, I expected to see Duffy in Portage County quite often. There's been a lot of speculation here the past few months that Duffy would play backroom politics to chop our Democratic-leaning County out of his district, but I continue to hope I'm wrong and urge Congressman Duffy to keep central Wisconsin together where it belongs -- in the 7th District."

Portage County Democrats have long been proud to be in the 7th District and the County itself is a part of the Wausau television market that is based in next door Marathon County. In fact, Portage County, as well as Marathon and Wood Counties, have been part of the same district for 100 years. They have been together as part of the 7th District since the 1930-31 redistricting, but also for 20 years prior (going back to 1910-11), together in what was then known as the 8th District.

During the century since, the District has sent members of both parties to Congress including former Secretary of Defense Mel Laird (R) and Dave Obey (D). Last fall, Portage County supported the Democratic candidate over Duffy by a margin of 14,582 to 12,355 votes.
Now, with Republicans in solid control of the State Capitol, many local Democrats have worried that Duffy and Republican legislators might try to gerrymander the 7th District to protect Duffy by taking Democratic-leaning Portage County out of its traditional home.

"We get much of our news from Wausau TV stations, so being separated from the rest of central Wisconsin will have a lasting detrimental impact on our community. In that respect, my hope is simply that our County will remain where it has always been," concluded Hauser-Menting.

Unfortunately, it appears that her premonitions are correct.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that WISGOP has indeed gone ahead and done a redistricting plan with no feedback whatsoever from the Democrats or the local counties, cities and towns that will be affected. And the sole purpose of doing this chicanery and dishonest method of redistricting is to pull Duffy's bacon out of the fire:

Republicans are taking aggressive steps to protect House freshman Sean Duffy under a draft redistricting plan that hasn’t been released to the public but is circulating among Wisconsin members of Congress.

The plan goes to significant lengths to make Duffy’s marginally Democratic seat more Republican, according to a map provided by a Democratic source and whose main features were confirmed by sources in both parties. (You can find the map here).

Arguably his party’s most vulnerable House incumbent, Duffy represents the Seventh congressional district in northern Wisconsin, previously held by Democrat Dave Obey.

The plan would carve out a Democratic chunk of central Wisconsin (including the cities of Stevens Point and Wisconsin Rapids) and shift it from Duffy’s seat to Democrat Ron Kind’s western Wisconsin district.

The result: Duffy would “lose” one of the most Democratic counties in the state, Portage, while gaining the fastest-growing Republican county in the state, St. Croix.

Members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation discussed the map behind closed doors Monday evening. GOP House member Paul Ryan took the lead among his colleagues in crafting it, according to sources.

Duffy only won his election due to the strong anti-Democratic rage that occurred in 2010, which is appearing more and more like a fluke than a movement, and not because he was so wildly popular. To make things worse for himself, Duffy didn't make himself any friends when he told his constituents that he was struggling on his six figure income.

Because of Duffy's weakness as a re-electable politician, Paul Ryan apparently felt the need to be as corrupt as the other Republicans in the state.

From Walker and his pay for play way of ruling, the continuously law breaking Republican legislators and the corrupt and bought Supreme Court.and now even the Republican federal representatives being corrupt, we are going to have a lot of work to do to clean up this state from the stain they are leaving on it.

And as for their dishonest and unethical way of dealing with the redistricting business, don't expect that to fly too well.  In Milwaukee County alone there is quite the uproar when the County Board tried to do the redistricting without consulting with the local leaders. Imagine the outrage that could occur from 72 counties not being consulted and the Republicans trying to ram this through.

Sanfelippo Likes To Spend Your Dough

Milwaukee County Supervisor Joe Sanfelippo apparently feels that now that Scott Walker is making an ass out of himself and trying to ruin the state, it's his job to act the fool and continue to try to ruin the county.

Sanfelippo, all by himself, as managed to throw away at least another $160,000 for nothing more than ideological demogaguery.  

Sanfelippo needs to dip into his piggy bank and pay the county back for the money he just squandered with his folly.

The man needs to go before he causes any more damage.

WISGOP Attack On WiscNet The "Height Of Irony"

In a kiss up to the telecom lobby and all of their big money, the state Republicans have made the most illogical and irrational decision to all but destroy WiscNet, the UW operated network which supplies internet service to 75% of the state's public schools and 95% of the public libraries.

Once the Republicans are through trashing the system, these systems will have to likely pay two to three times what they are currently paying for it.

In another flash of brilliance, this stunt by the GOP will force the state to return $39 million in federal funds.  I'm not an expert in that particular field, but I would imagine that $39 million could have been put to use to create quite a few jobs.

This favor for the telecom lobby is so far out there that even tech journals are picking up on the story and shredding the GOP payback to shreds. While the whole article is fact filled and can cause severe rage at their folly, the most notable section is this part at the end:

"It would be the height of irony if sections 23-26 of the University Omnibus legislation were passed, as those provisions would prohibit the University from being directly involved in proving out further developments of innovations in the Internet that it helped create," he wrote. "This would deny the University the ability to participate in the innovation cycle that created the market for commercial providers (including those who support the 11th hour insertion of sections 23-26) to provide their services in the first place."

As for WiscNet's Lois, he seemed cautiously optimistic, at least on Saturday. "The legislators have heard the WiscNet community. They've said 'you can't do this to us'," he explained. "We're trying to come up with a reasonable compromise."

UW's Lewis thinks that most of those section paragraphs could disappear, save language forcing a return of the grants. This would force the layoff of personnel already involved in rolling out broadband to those four areas.

"This thing is entirely inappropriate," Lewis declared. "If our slogan is 'Wisconsin is open for business,' we're going in the wrong direction."

Recall Darling Movement Gaining Speed

Coming off the amazing feat of collecting 30,000 signatures to recall Senator Alberta Darling (R-the nearest 19th hole), the recall movement continues to steamroll, gaining more and more momentum.

In accordance with their growing momentum, the group has since revamped their website into a new, crisper version.

They have also started their own diary on Daily Kos.

They also have some other tricks up their collective sleeve.  Be sure to be part of the action and donate your time and if you have a few bucks to spare, please donate them to help the cause.

A state senator's seat is a terrible thing to waste, and that is exactly what it is happening every minute that Darling occupies it.

Will There Be A Fake Republican Candidate After All?

The talk of the state for the last several days is how the Republicans, in an act of final desperation, have decided to put in fake Democratic candidates in the recall elections.  The powers of WISGOP obviously have no confidence in their own current seat holders' ability to retain those seats and now are doing anything, no matter how unethical or unpopular, they can think of to delay and possibly defer the inevitable.

The group We Are Wisconsin made some sort of, well, frankly, idiotic statement saying that the Democratic Party should follow suit and do the same sort of unethical behavior. Fortunately, cooler heads prevailed and the Democrats have stated that they will not be stooping to the level of the Republicans.

However, from what I have learned in the past few days, it appears that there might be a fake Republican candidate after all.  The truly ironic part of this is that it appears the Republicans themselves are going to be the ones putting up this sham Republican.

It's no secret that Tim Sullivan, CEO of Bucyrus International, has been floating the idea of running for a political office. The one most often associated with his name is to fill US Senator Herb Kohl's seat after he retires.  However, Sullivan has been very coy about whether he would run as a Democrat or as a Republican.

I have heard that Sullivan is being shopped around with the Republicans in an effort to shore up support for his proposed run for office.  Likewise, I have heard that in an effort to give him Republican cred, Sullivan has been pushing for the mining bill that WMC wants, even though the bill doesn't exist yet.

In support of this information, Scott Walker recently has been tweeting up his praises and the "super job" Sullivan has done with Bucyrus:

To further add to this is the fact that Walker has named Sullivan to be the Council Chair to his Wisconsin Council on Workforce Investment.  Sullivan's grand idea so far for this council is to have job training funds be tied into having the companies force local communities to adhere to their idea of education curricula, so that it is better suited to the businesses' needs.

All of this makes Sullivan sound like a Republican's Republican, doesn't it?

But not so fast there, kids.

It appears that Walker is trying to hustle the members of his own party as he tries to push Sullivan on them.

After all, it was Sullivan who sang the praises of former US Senator Russ Feingold for his help in clearing the red tape obstacles for Bucyrus to get a huge contract settled, in defiance to Reince Priebus.

It was also Sullivan who advocated for the much maligned KRM plan as well as the transit authority for Southeastern Wisconsin, both of which have proven to be anathema to Republicans.

And it was Sullivan that not only pushed for an increase in the sales tax for the transit system, but even hosted a press conference, which included then Governor Jim Doyle, to push for the higher taxes.

It, of course, has yet to be seen if the Republicans will accept Sullivan the business magnate, member of the MMAC and shill for WMC or if they will shy away from Sullivan the pro-rail, pro-mass transit, and tax hike advocate.

Whether they warm up to Sullivan or not will be interesting to watch to say the least.  But even more intriguing will be to see how the Republicans react to Walker when and if they figure out that he pulled the fake Republican candidate stunt on them.