April 2011 Archives

One Wisconsin Now filed the following Open Records request today with the 18 Wisconsin Senators who illegally passed Gov. Walker's attack on the rights of working families in March. We look forward to seeing what comes back in the most timely fashion.

Dear Senators:

This letter is to request the following records, under the state's Open Records Law (19.31-39, Wisconsin Statutes):

Copies of all correspondence you have received or sent, (including, but not limited to, letters, emails, voice mails, records of phone calls, and logs of in-person meetings) regarding the subject of changes to Wisconsin's collective bargaining laws for public employees. This request covers such correspondence received or sent between January 1, 2011 and March 23, 2011.

Included in this request are communications specifically pertaining to 2011 SSSB11, 2011 SSAB11, and 2011 Wis. Act 10 as well as the issue generally.

Please be aware that the Open Records law defines "record" to include information that is maintained on paper as well as electronically, such as data files and unprinted emails. Wis. Stat. § 19.32(2).

Please also be aware that the Open Records law "shall be construed in every instance with the presumption of complete public access consistent with the conduct of governmental business. The denial of access generally is contrary to the public interest and only in exceptional cases can access be denied." If you deny my request, the law requires you to do so in writing and state what part of the law you believe entitles you to deny my request. Wis. Stat. § 19.35(4)(a).

The Open Records law states that you may charge for "the actual, necessary and direct cost" of locating records, if this exceeds $50, and for photocopies. The Wisconsin Department of Justice advises that copying fees under the Open Records law should be "around 15 cents per page and that anything in excess of 25 cents may be suspect." Please advise me before processing this request if the total cost will exceed $50.  Where the documents are available electronically, they can be sent to the following address: own@onewisconsinnow.org.

As you know, the law requires you to respond to this request "as soon as practicable and without delay."

If you are not the records custodian for this information, please forward this request to the appropriate person. Also, please let me know if I can clarify or refine this request.

Sincerely,
Scot Ross
Executive Director
One Wisconsin Now

(h/t -- The MacIver Institute)

Gov. Scott Walker and his GOP underlings have complained (incorrectly) for months that the pro-union movement in Wisconsin is being fueled by out-of-state forces. Now, the press is reporting that Gov. Walker is in Florida asking out-of-state donors to fuel the campaigns of GOP Senators facing recall:

Last week, news outlet Newsmax talked to Walker in Florida about his plans to raise money nationwide for a new endeavor from the Wisconsin Republican Party called Frontline Wisconsin, which aims to support Wisconsin's eight GOP state senators who face recall efforts.

No word on whether or not this interview took place under the shade of a palm tree.

[Jefferson County Daily Union]

No, not the Hindenburg. That's just a zeppelin.

Rush Limbaugh launched a false and inflammatory attack against One Wisconsin Now on Friday, because he wants a Wisconsin Supreme Court that supports Scott Walker, and not us.

Rush is in a snit because One Wisconsin Now has called for an investigation into Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus's conduct and the votes that magically appeared in her county for her old boss, David Prosser. Here's part of Rush's rant, titled, "GOP Finally Learns to Play Game, Wisconsin Clerk Finds 14,000 votes":

"Now, needless to say, One Wisconsin Now is a radical, leftist ... 'charity' hell-bent on putting liberal Democrats on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. They are also major opponents of Governor Walker's reform initiatives..." [Rush Limbaugh Show, 4/8/11]

Rush thinks he can intimidate the 50,000-strong online army of supporters like you at One Wisconsin.

Rush is wrong.

As we keep fighting to Save Our Supreme Court, can you send a message loud and clear to Rush Limbaugh that you support One Wisconsin Now? We can't match the airpower of Rush Limbaugh, but your contribution will help us fight against the right wing in Wisconsin and all the corporate money they have at their disposal.

http://onewisconsinnow.pnstate.org/site/Donation2?3300.donation=form1&df_id=3300

Rush is right about one thing. We are "major opponents of Governor Walker's reform initiatives" like his slashing education, health care and workers' rights to reward the Koch fiends, corporate special interests and fat cat donors who put him into the Governor's mansion.

With the case surrounding the takeaway of workers' rights likely to go before the state Supreme Court, we cannot afford to stop fighting for one moment.

One Wisconsin Now needs your help to keep this fight going. You might say we are in a "rush" to execute our strategic plan and preserve our shared values. They're coming at us, but we have no intention of backing down. Can you support us in this fight?

http://onewisconsinnow.pnstate.org/site/Donation2?3300.donation=form1&df_id=3300

"My heart bleeds for (County Clerk) Kathy Nickolaus of Waukesha County," said Bernier, adding that she is confident that Nickolaus never intended to forget to add up all the votes.

Republican Rep. Kathy Bernier is very upset over the allegations that former Republican Assembly voter database expert Kathy Nickolaus somehow cooked the books in Waukesha County to help her former boss, David Prosser, overcome huge enthusiasm on the left. 

Sure, Rep. Bernier knows what it's like to be in Nickolaus's shoes because she too was a county clerk, but Bernier could also just be looking out for one of her top campaign donors. In September of last year, Nickolaus wrote Bernier a $200 check in her run for Assembly.

Afterall, if Bernier had taken an earnest look at Nickolaus's 20 years or so dealing with voter databases and elections, she might have formed a different opinion.

Xoff has at least two examples (here and here) of Nickolaus fudging an election as Waukesha County Clerk. Rachel Maddow has more, here.

A coalition of respected scientists from countries spanning four continents praised this morning's "tweet" supporting Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser from cable reality show washout Sarah Palin for not only its proper spelling, but also for correctly identifying the date of Wisconsin's Supreme Court election.

"We have come expect from Sarah Palin factual error, mangled grammar and use of words which exist not in the English language," said Dr. Rint Reggie Backsby, Director of Linguistics at Oxblood University. "Repeated screenings of this Palin tweet reveal none of this."

Backsby added, "You can't refudiate that the election is April 5, 2011. There's no squirmish over that."