CONVENTION TIME!

See You in Milwaukee!

Or....maybe it's more like this!

Let the gnashing of teeth begin....

I posted that on Monday the Senate Democrats introduced their long-awaited State-Wide Health plan and immediately held a public hearing....then...on Tuesday, they passed it as part of the budget bill through the Senate.

Republican reaction was immediate and predictable.

Here's Assembly Speaker Mike Huebsch from New Salem:

“The budget proposal passed by the state Senate last night sends a frightening message to the people of Wisconsin – give us billions more of your hard-earned money and trust government to run more aspects of your lives. Senate Democrats found new and innovative ways of raising taxes and increasing state spending and put the wishes of government ahead of taxpayers. When people find out that their budget plan raises taxes by over $18 billion dollars, increases state spending by 23%, creates a socialist-style health care system and gives government more control over their lives, the reaction will be severe."

Huebsch is a real pro...notice in the line I high-lighted, he got all the Republican talking points into one sentence. "raises taxes", "increases state spending" "socialist-style health care system" "government control over their lives"....

Some Republicans seem to be more ....ummmm....focused than others...Take Senator Fitzgerald from Juneau:“The Senate Democrat budget is a recipe for economic disaster in Wisconsin,” Fitzgerald said. “They want to blow up the top-ranked health care system in the country, they want to take $18 billion out of people’s pockets in new taxes and they want to reward their special interest friends with taxpayer-funded earmarks. Their tax hikes would drive jobs and employers from Wisconsin and throw health care here into disarray.”

Got the theme? Raise taxes raise taxes raise taxes.... and ignore that the "taxes" replace significantly HIGHER HEALTH INSURANCE PREMIUMS.

We will hear some heavy-duty teeth gnashing from these folks but we haven't heard from the heaviest hitter of the republican side yet...WMC....I wonder if WMC isn't doing the math.....and discovering this could be a really good thing for their members..

drive-by post....

Just time for a quick one...

on "another" website I found this book

Some listed causes of death:

visitation of God

incautious use of gunpowder in driving out mosquitoes

and

convulsion and neglect from an idiotic mother

I think they were less politically correct in those days...

HEADS UP!!!

Press release out this morning...

Senate Democrats are having a public hearing to announce their new health care initiative!

This is the BIGGIE FOLKS.....

About that resolution.............

As a lot of you know, a delegation met with Joe Wineke in Madison on May 30. We'll recount more of the meeting on Thursday night. Joe did think we should bring a resolution regarding lobbying by State Party officers to the floor at the convention.....and Eau Claire, Door and Clark Counties are sponsoring one...

I wonder....

Is Joe going to cooperate to resolve this?

Or are we going to be faced with this?

DIGBY!

At the "Take Back America" awards last night the identity of one of our favorite bloggers, Digby, was revealed. Here's the picture and Digby is the one in the middle...

Blogger Rick Pearlstein is on the right and the gentleman with the beard is none other than Ambassador Joseph Wilson.... Thanks to Jane Hamser and Firedoglake for the pic...btw...if you click on the link the first picture is actually a video of the event where Digby is giving a great speech....

Digby is female?

Who Knew?

This is truly ugly

For the past couple of weeks, primarily since the end of the Libby Trial, the verdict and the sentencing, we've watched in absolute horror as the "inside-the-beltway" gang rallyed around one of their own and showed us the horrible, ugly truth about the state of reportage in America today...

Now it has become obvious.....Glenn Greenwald points out to us in his Salon Blog

Richard Cohen, supposedly a liberal working for a supposedly liberal paper writes:

With the sentencing of I. Lewis "Scooter" Libby, Fitzgerald has apparently finished his work, which was, not to put too fine a point on it, to make a mountain out of a molehill. At the urging of the liberal press (especially the New York Times), he was appointed to look into a run-of-the-mill leak and wound up prosecuting not the leaker -- Richard Armitage of the State Department -- but Libby, convicted in the end of lying. This is not an entirely trivial matter since government officials should not lie to grand juries, but neither should they be called to account for practicing the dark art of politics. As with sex or real estate, it is often best to keep the lights off

Keep the lights off?

Keep the f-ing lights off?

Isn't it the role of the press to shine light into the darkness so the public can see what's going on and make informed decisions?

Worse yet, Greenwald goes on to point out that this isn't the first time the Washington/National Press Corps "kept the lights off".

snip

Or, as Richard Cohen put it: "It is often best to keep the lights off." In exactly the same way, Tim Russert was forced to reveal his vital role in keeping the lights off for his friends and colleagues, Our High Government Officials, as described by Dan Froomkin: "According to Russert's testimony yesterday at Libby's trial, when any senior government official calls him, they are presumptively off the record. . . . That's not reporting, that's enabling."

In other words, the role of the press is to protect the palace and all who inhabit it because they are, once and forever, the elite.

Some more Xposting

Take a look at this(these)

Pseudo-intellect

I almost vomited when I read this essay about "liberal hawks" and the fact that the term is shallow because it was applied by Ezra Klein to people based upon their position on the war and not "their underlying philosophy"....

Underlying philosophy?

Whiskey Fire has it right

snip:

There the young Mr Klein, who supported the Iraq war when he was even younger and should have been doing something more useful, like smoking a lot of grass, points out that the "liberal hawks" who pompously and thoroughly botched the whole "should we invade Iraq" question, are refusing to account for their screwup in any serious way -- but are instead huffing and puffing on the question of Iran. "Just because we were wrong in the past doesn't mean we are ontologically wrong," they intone: they are washed in the blood and spittle of Marty Peretz or some shit like that, and their sins washed clean.

Whatever. Observe how this "Militant Moderates" punk prefers to engage with the utterly meaningless question of "what is a liberal hawk" rather than talk about, well, anything that has happened or might actually occur in the real world.

The first question, of course, is what is a "liberal hawk" anyway? Klein's
definition suffers from a pejorative tautology. "Liberal hawks" to him are
defined solely by their stances on the issues of Iraq and Iran -- favor towards
the Iraq war then, embarrassment and avoidance of the Iraq issue now, and a
vaguely noncommittal stance towards Iran. Klein's depiction of "liberal
hawks" is thus not a description of a political philosophy or a foreign policy approach at all, but rather just a list of behaviors Klein doesn't
like. Klein does not expound upon the underlying beliefs or theories
that might give an understanding of how "liberal hawks" would approach a range
of issues and he certainly does not allow the "liberal hawks" to speak for
themselves on such points, he merely defines the concept in terms of his
negative opinion regarding their outcomes on two specific issues.

If you're not projectile vomiting by now, then you have a stronger stomach than I....

but Whiskey Fire ends brilliantly:

"The essay is crazy. The guy thinks the primary debate about foreign policy is between "pacifists" and "militarists" -- as if the primary reason anyone opposed the war in Iraq was from a position of committed pacifism. Well, maybe a small minority did, and good for them. But most of us opposed the war in Iraq because it was obviously a stupid fucking idea. The administration was clearly spouting bullshit about why it was necessary and how much it would cost in money and lives. "

You know....sometimes I think there are some bloggers who just have TOO MUCH TIME ON THEIR HANDS....

X-post time again

Honestly...it's been busy...

Check it out here

and of course......

Up Against the Wall!!!!

Steve Day's site, Last Chance Democracy Cafe' has their every-other-Thursday edition of "Ask Winston" up and it asks a very serious question.

Under the general question "Should Alberto Gonzolas be impeached?", Winston writes:

"What’s at stake here is nothing less than the rule of law in the United States. And if Democrats won’t go to the wall for that, then just exactly when will they? "

let's repeat that: "....then just exactly when will they?"

We had a recent test of political courage locally and we rose to the occasion quite nicely. True, when push came to shove, there were a few wobbly knees, but that's to be expected. (Some of us old high school athletes know the "wobbly knee" feeling just before a big competition...it's normal...it's natural) The important thing is that when we had to stand for our principles, we didn't shirk ...we stood together.

Now....

We need our elected officials to do the same thing. Especially that group of Democrats in the United States Senate who seem to find all kinds of "practical reasons" for capitulating to the Republicans or compromising the principles upon which our party is based, or, to rationalize their failure to do the job we elected them to do.

We know about their "collapse" on the War Funding Resolution but lesser known is their capitulation to the Republicans on "Abstinence Only Education" . That took place just this week and flew mostly under the radar screen.

I'm not being specifically critical of our own two Wisconsin Senators. Of our two Senators, Feingold has consistently shown a spine...while Kohl...occasionally exhibits one but not consistently.....it Reid and a few others that I worry about.

Courage of Convictions...that's what is needed now more than ever....

Campaign Season coming up

I think this guy needs a bigger truck

In case you can't read it, the back says:

"Caution: Vehicle may be Transporting Political Promises"

hat tip and thanks to Mayor Al over at Local Politics101

Campaign Season coming up

Informed Consent......

I've been harping about this principle for a long time and figure its about time to start the discussion up again....

Here's my take on it....

You are free to make any choice you wish, whether lifestyle, legal or what toothpaste to buy and you are equally free to reap the benefit or consequences of that choice....as long as you have made the decision with "informed consent".

That is, yhou know the consequences, benefits and detriments of that decision and are willing to live by them...now...of course you have many venues in which to apply this theory but the one we want to discuss here is candidates for political office.

Did you....or anybody for that matter, give George W. Bush your consent to:

Pursue American hegemony through military power across the middle east?

Did you give him your consent to pursue unilateal, pre-emptive war?

Did you give him your consent to "democratize" the rest of the world?

Of course you didn't....because Bush didn't give you even the slightest clue that these subjects were part of his agenda...Now you might argue that "9/11 Changed everything", but, in fact, the Partnership for the New American Century, fueled by the works of Leo Strauss, had been in the works since before Bush decided to seek the presidency...in fact, Bush even hinted AFTER his candidacy was announced that the only way his presidency would be successessful was if he were to be seen as a "war president"....

The plans were always there but they were implied in the cowboy macho rhetoric and nobody ever truly believed that he really had pre-emptive war in mind.

Hence.....he did NOT have our consent...

Likewise, the agenda of the entire republican party as practiced by the dreaded neocons, hides, conceals, obfuscates and spins the radical nature to which no sane American would consent.

In it's simplest form, it's false advertising....but it's also a fraud against the principles upon which our system is formed....

Consent of the governed.

Unintended consequences?

This has to be the funniest wingnut comment of the week!

UPDATE II: Comment of the day, from Mike:
The Fitzgerald investigation was 100% a perjury trap. It put Libby into a position where the only alternative to perjury was to violate one of his boss's fundamental principles by telling the truth.

Thanks for the Anonymous Liberal for the quote...

ROFLMAO

ROFLMAO

ROFLMAO

ROFLMAO

This one is pretty good too:

What planet does this guy live on? Scooter Libby is not and was not a soldier in anything. He was a public official who was intimately involved in the events that led to the outing of an undercover CIA officer. That's what Fitzgerald was investigating, not the war in Iraq or anything remotely related to the war in Iraq. And Libby lied and obstructed that investigation, crimes for which he was convicted beyond all reasonable doubt by a jury of his peers.

Libby isn't a fallen soldier. He's a convicted felon. There's an enormous difference.

WTMJ via CapTimes....

LISTEN: WTMJ News To Go
Jun 5, 4:12 PM EDT
Democratic Party chairman steps down as lobbyist for AT&T
By SCOTT BAUER Associated Press Writer
MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- Democratic Party Chairman Joe Wineke told Democratic leaders that he will stop lobbying for AT&T on a bill designed to ease the telecommunications company's entry into the state cable TV market.
The move comes after some Wisconsin Democrats called on Wineke to stop lobbying for AT&T or resign his party position.(note: Iwonder who that would be?)
Wineke has insisted he did nothing wrong and said last month that he would not give up his position as a lobbyist or party chairman. He said Tuesday that he changed course because the issue was becoming a distraction within the party.
"I think this issue has been overblown from the first day," Wineke said. "I have not believed I did anything wrong, and I still do not."
Wineke said he plans to seek another two-year term as party chairman at the state Democratic Party convention June 30.
Wineke told Democrats of his decision to stop lobbying at a Saturday meeting of the 2nd District Democratic Party based in Madison, former 2nd District Chair Margaret McEntire said.
"I was shocked, and I was really sorry that it had come to this," she said.
The Eau Claire County Democrats passed a resolution last month calling on Wineke to resign as chairman because of his lobbying work. The Wood County Democrats passed a resolution saying Wineke needs to either serve as chairman or AT&T lobbyist, but not both.
Other similar resolutions were being debated by Democrats elsewhere in the state, including in the Madison-based 2nd District.
Katy Phillips, chairwoman of the Eau Claire County Democratic Party, said she was pleased with Wineke's decision.
"I think he showed a lot of character stepping down from this position," Phillips said.
Wineke defended his lobbying work last month, saying he made it clear that he wasn't speaking for the party when he pushed for the bill designed to ease AT&T's entry into the state cable market.
Wineke said he still supports the bill and believes it will be good for union workers in the state. He said he doesn't expect the controversy over his lobbying to affect its prospects in the Legislature, where it has passed the Assembly and is awaiting debate in the Senate.
The heavily lobbied measure would end the 30-year-old practice of letting local communities negotiate service agreements and instead have the state do it.
Supporters say it will provide competition where there is none and reduce the cost of delivering telecasts. But opponents argue it does not guarantee competition, or competitive pricing, and large telecommunications companies are unlikely to set up shop in more sparsely populated parts of the state.
AT&T spokesman Joe Steele said the decision to resign was Wineke's and the company respects his choice and wishes him the best. Wineke notified AT&T of his decision on Friday, Steele said.
Since taking over as chairman two years ago, Wineke has declined to accept a salary from the party and earns his living as a consultant based out of Verona. He said he was being paid $2,000 a month by AT&T.
---
On the Net:
Wisconsin Democratic Party: http://www.wisdems.org/
Wisconsin Legislature: http://www.legis.state.wi.us/
AT&T Inc.: http://att.sbc.com
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Whew! Look at this:

This is from Lee Rayburn's blog that accompanies his radio show on WXXM, 92.1 The Mic in Madison....Looks like quite a show in Beloit on Saturday.

Democracy Good & Messy at 2nd CD Dem Convention

Saturday 06-02-2007 6:16pm CT
I think I may have been the ONLY member of the media in attendance at today's 2nd Congressional District of Wisconsin's Democratic Convention at Beloit College. State Democratic Chairman Joe Wineke began this morning by announcing that he has resigned his lobbyist position with AT&T. As a result, two resolutions from the 2nd CD asking Wineke to step down were taken off the table. Because I had publicly disapproved of his apparent conflict of interest, he kept telling me that I should know better. Hopefully, he'll join us on the radio, I'll ask him about it & we can move forward together. During one of the elections for officers, there were accusations of ballot-stuffing which forced a recount. The accusations ended up being unfounded. I will have the full story for you with accompanying audio on Monday morning. Seriously, I can't wait...

News

Just after the Dairyfest Parade in Marshfield ended yesterday, I received a phone call telling me that Joe Wineke had stood up at the 2nd CD Convention and resigned his lobbying position with AT & T. This is, of course, what we asked for in our County Party Resolution and at the meeting with him last Wednesday.

The dispute is over for all practical purposes but Joe did ask us to seek "common ground" on the issue of lobbying by party officials in the future. We'll honor our pledge to him.

Speaking of the parade......

THANKS NORM TRITZ! You did a great job on the float....except you drove too fast for the candy-givers to get refills.....but that happens everytime the little beggars mug us for candy..

DeDe...! Thanks soooooo much !

Naddy! You were great!

Will we see everybody in the Rapids Parade?

We still don't know how foul-up with Julie Lassas entry happened...the car never showed up and her staffers were apparently wandering around aimlessly....lost...and couldn't even find our float.. The arrangements for the car were made from Madison so I have no clue who dropped the ball so to speak...but both Becky and I were confused....I didn't find Julies staffers until the parade was over.