The Obama administration is going to renominate Louis Butler for appointment as a federal judge. The Senate returned the nomination to the White House, along with several others, when it recessed at Christmas. A GOP flack offers this negative comment on Butler: “Voters across the state decided not to elect him to continue serving on […]
From the Oshkosh Northwestern: “A crowd of about 150 parents, teachers and concerned Oshkosh residents packed into a commons room at West High School Tuesday night for a public forum on upcoming spending cuts as high as $5 million. About 30 people spoke out against budget cuts that would close schools and layoff teachers.”The article […]
Todd Berry, the head of the conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance who must be on the speed dial of every reporter in Wisconsin, wound up in a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel about the IRS plan to begin regulation of paid tax preparers. Berry blamed the complexity of the tax code this way: “The reason […]
Walker’s legacy of managing the Milwaukee County parks: mid-year budget deficits, pool closures, underfunding, complete and utter mismanagement by his appointed staff, and taking credit for a national award that was granted because of the efforts of a creative director and private citizens who took park maintenance into their own hands. Walker’s often used strategy […]
Citing ‘new technology’ that supposedly didn’t exist eight years ago when he took hold of the budget reins of Milwaukee County as its executive, Scott Walker announced yesterday that he, himself, has ‘launched a public accountability link’.From the Walker press release:‘New technology allows us to post information for greater transparency in government spending,’ said Walker. […]
Corporate-friendly economic policies weren’t missing from the 90s (see NAFTA and the Gramm-Leach-Bliley Act) but without a doubt, it’s the 00s that will be remembered as the decade when the George W. Bush Administration took laissez-faire, trickle-down capitalism to new heights’putting pro-corporate, upper-class economic policies ahead of hard-working Americans’only to have the middle-class economy tank […]
As is the tradition, a tour through the best and worst of the year. The Best The year started off on the high note that was watching the Worst President Ever leaving the White House for the last time, which brought with it another yearly best: the endless video compiliations of the worst Bush moments. […]
Multi-millionaire developer Terrence Wall, who gained notoriety for his $34,000 pumpkin patch property tax dodge and his phantom Delaware post office box to avoid taxes on his millions in development assets, is laughably trying to link U.S. Sen. Russ Feingold to the aborted airplane attack from last week. What Wall’s breathless press release fails to […]
“It’s a Festivus Miracle.” Turns out Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker’s fight to dismantle the rights of all public sector employees in Milwaukee was big, giant George W. Bush-sized lie. Walker has made a career of blaming working men and women for his mismanagment of county government. His nonsense escalated exponentially as he continued his […]
Wisconsin’s unemployment rate continues to drop, and while the economy still has a ways to go before it’s fully recovered from the disastrous economic policies of George W. Bush (worst President ever), we’re getting there, thanks in no small part to the Recovery Act and steady leadership from democrats in Madison. Let’s go back, gentle […]
After decades of trying to spin outsourcing as good and natural in a capitalist economy, and after perpetually labeling Wisconsin a ‘Tax Hell,’ Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce (WMC) is now complaining’and seems somewhat surprised’that our state government is employing more workers than manufacturers.Read the GOP talking points memo, er news release, here. Of course WMC […]
Here’s the latest WisOpinion feature ‘That’s Debatable’ in which One WI Now Executive Director Scot Ross takes on Brian Fraley from the conservative MacIver Institute. This week’s topic is the most hyped story of 2009 — check it out! You can also keep up on the latest from ‘That’s Debatable’ on Facebook here.
Former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Louis Butler is under attack from a septic tank full of conservative slags. Among them, unindicted Jack Abramoff cohort Grover “Bipartisanship is a form of date rape” Norquist and, Family Research Council President Tony “I paid David Duke $82,500” Perkins, who authored a letter objecting to Butler’s nomination to the […]
Dear Mr. Walker, Yes, jobs are the top concern for people all across the state of Wisconsin. But unlike you, who didn’t start addressing job creation until after your announcement for Governor earlier this year, Wisconsin families have been concerned about losing their jobs in this Bush-created recession for nearly two years now. It’s great […]
The Oughts. We started with Democratic Vice Presidential Candidate Joe Lieberman throwing in the towel before Al Gore had given up the fight… and ended with JoeParty “President” Lieberman deciding he simply would not allow actual health insurance pass. And he got his way on both. On the scale of horrors, we were pummeled over […]
Voter rights and expanding access to the polls are the main topics of the One Wisconsin Institutes second annual Protect Wisconsins Vote Education Summit.
The corporate shills at the right wing Wisconsin Policy Research Institute has a typical corporate response to the skyrocketing health care costs.
A graphic in a front-page story in Monday’s Milwaukee Journal Sentinel including a stunner of a question from the most recent UW Badger Poll, which may give pause to elected officials who put health insurance gangsters ahead of the people. The question: “How responsible should the federal government be in making sure that all residents […]
Once again, Scott Walkers desire to score political points with his right-wing teabagger base rather than act as an effective and responsible leader leads to a black eye for Milwaukee County. A revealing, albeit stomach-turning video at WISN.com shows overflowing trash bins, plugged toilets and at the Milwaukee County Courthouse. Just last month, Walkers county […]
Here’s the latest WisOpinion “That’s Debatable” featuring One WI Now Executive Director Scot Ross. This week’s topic is ACORN – check it out!
The employment outlook for Milwaukee County snowplow drivers? Like many other Milwaukee County employees, layoffs. Fully half of all the drivers in the county could be laid off in the next year unless the County comes up with more money. Milwaukee County might have enough funding to get through this winter, but next summer and […]
Here’s the latest WisOpinion “That’s Debatable” exchange featuring One WI Now’s Executive Director Scot Ross. http://www.wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=article.mdl&article=25053 This week’s topic? Climate change. Check it out!
You may haveheard that national Republicans are considering a litmus test to see if the party’s candidates are conservative enough to call themselves Republicans and get backing from the party. To qualify, a candidate needs to agree on 8 of the 10 points. Bonus if you think the world is flat and/or was created in a week. […]
The U.S. Senate is a serious place, where serious people tackle serious issues in a serious way. No, seriously. Consider the most important issue of our time, health insurance reform. Whether you support expanding health insurance to every American, or you support the rights of health insurance companies to take billions while they deny coverage […]
A prominant Milwaukee business leader garnered a story in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel yesterday for calling for the dismantling of Milwaukee County’s governemnt at a Rotary Club meeting. While I fail to see why a conservative calling for the dismantling of government is news, the story did reveal that a new study will be coming […]
Good or bad, President Obama’s decision to send 30,000 more troops to Afghanistan was sure to incite some hilarious responses from teevees finest talking egos. Media Matters and Huffington Post did a great job tracking them down. Without further ado: First up, Bill O’Reilly. From MediaMatters, ‘Did O’Reilly Even Watch Obama’s Afghanistan Speech?’: Following President […]
It’s not exactly man bites dog — maybe it’s more like dog bites itself — but Milwaukee Democrats will join peace activists Wednesday in expressing their concerns about President Obama’s plan to send additional American troops to Afghanistan, and Sen. Russ Feingold already has weighed in against the Obama plan. A rally and response to […]
Back in September, One Wisconsin Now called into serious question the Tax Foundation’s claim of being an objective research organization when it was revealed that it was a ‘Silver Sponsor’ of an Americans for Prosperity event. Everyone knows the research coming out of the Tax Foundation is fundamentally conservative, but this was a little much. […]
One Wisconsin Now heard that teabaggers were going to be teabagging their way to the state capitol Monday to convince themselves that members of the state legislature give two flying snorts about whatever gripe these bitters have. We decided to greet the dozen or so (or in teabagger math “eleventy thousand”) with the kickoff of […]
Here’s the latest WisOpinion feature with One WI Now’s Scot Ross going head-to-head against right-winger Brian Fraley on the Recovery Pacage Link is here: http://www.wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=article.mdl&article=24804
New analysis sheds some intense light on the myths strewn throughout the news by WISTAX and WMC.
A new study out today shows that poor and middle class families are hit much harder by taxes in Wisconsin than the wealthiest taxpayers. In Wisconsin, its the working families that are asked to carry the burden. Individuals making between 20k and 88k all pay about 11% of their income in sales, property and income […]
Each week on WisOpinion.com, One WI Now Executive Director Scot Ross goes toe-to-toe with conservative Brian Fraley from the MacIver Insitute — here’s a link to the latest post on Sarah “Her Quitship” Palin’s visit to Milwaukee.
Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG) is running radio ads right now against a couple members of the Milwaukee Board of Supervisors, one of whom who earlier this week voted against the Board’s budget. Despite her vote against the budget, Patricia Jursik is apparently being targeted because of her support for spending in the past. Theo […]
We hold these truths to be self evident … Rights, that among these are lying, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. What’s that? You don’t remember the right to lie being enumerated? A panel of three Wisconsin judges took care of that oversight today. Candidates for public office — specifically one Michael Gableman — have […]
The right wing water cooler was abuzz this week over the effrontery of the Institute for Wisconsin’s Future. IWF, one of Wisconsin’s few think tanks that doesn’t hock regressive tax policy, was criticizing the Tax Foundation for a garbage tax plan that would stick it to the middle class in the name of more George […]
Once again despite the efforts of the states most notorious corporate tax loophole lobby group, Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, more jobs are coming to Wisconsin. Republic Airways to add up to 800 jobs in Milwaukee This isnt the first company to do so either ” as I pointed out earlier, there have been quite a […]
Across the country, and in Wisconsin, there’s a movement quietly taking shape to reclaim November 11 as a day of peace. What is now called Veterans Day was originally designated in the US as Armistice Day, the day that World War I ended at 11 a.m. on 11/11. In the UK and elsewhere, it is […]
So you might have heard that health insurance reform passed in the House over the weekend. And good thing too, as new information cites ‘seniors struggling with medical expenses’ as being a sizeable factor in the 30-percent jump in bankruptcy filings in Wisconsin since last year.From the AP: In eastern Wisconsin, there were more than […]
News last week the unemployment rate nationwide is up over 10 percent for the first time since the Reagan administration. And of course, the Dow is back up over 10,000, because these days, when Wall Street gets rich, real Americans get screwed. Perhaps a different post for a different day. As weve been told so […]
Sarah Palin came to Wisconsin Friday to stump for Wisconsin Right to Life, but desperately opposed having a record of her remarks made public. The rules were clear: No video recording, no audio recording, no strollers (why does Sarah hate children?), no phones, nada. Anyone coming to the event had to buy a ticket online […]
One might ask Walker to join the 21st century or stop taking benefits on the government teat. Ask him loudly, in fact. Again, Walker if Milwaukee can give your family health care benefits, so should domestic partners have the same right. In fact, Walker, what makes your wife, or your two kids more worthy of […]
Dropping to new lows of complete and utter disdain and abuse of workers, on Monday Walker told a radio DJ that the layoff notices mailed to Milwaukee County workers were just a “political ploy” to force the Supervisors to approve cuts to rectify a budget deficit created by the idiocy and mismanagement of yet another […]
Two simple truths about voting in the U.S.: one, there is no evidence of wide-scale voter fraud; two, voter ID would disenfranchise eligible voters. But that’s not going to stop a Wauwatosa alder from organizing a petition drive to require voter IDs in order to vote. From Wauwatosa Now: After her proposal for a voter […]
So, let me get this straight: Inviting non-veteran Scott Walker to march in the Veterans Day parade is not political, but having the word “peace” in an organization’s name is? Members of Veterans for Peace have again been barred from participation in Milwaukee’s Veterans Day Parade. Although the parade website says the event is Honoring […]
Smug Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has made a career of using government to the benefit of those who support his right wing agenda. We remember when for instance, while taking money from the private Corrections Corporation of America while authoring truth in sentencing legislation that would grow the need for private prisons as the […]
From Madison Area Peace Coalition: BOOKS, NOT BOMBS Peace Demonstration for Obama’s Visit to MadisonWednesday, November 4th President Obama is coming to Madison this week, and peace activists will assemble to call for an end to war and for shifting government spending priorities from the military to education and other needs. LOCATION: Intersection of Fish Hatchery […]
Why do we chronic malcontents do what we do, and keep on keeping on, even when it seems like no one is listening, and our protests appear to be falling on deaf ears, or no ears? Why don’t we listen to the naysayers who urge us to get a life — or get a job? […]
Two of Wisconsin’s leading right wing organizations are members the State Policy Network, a national group that helps organizations push out anti-public education information.
I just checked out Mark Neumann’s logo, and I swear I’ve seen it before.Oh yeah, I have (sort of). I’m not sure how this striking similarity is going to go over with his right-wing base who believe fervently in every brightly-colored, large-texted e-mail chain conspiracy claim about ‘Barack ‘Barry Soetero’ Hussein Obama’. Recall those ‘theories’ […]