On Wednesday the State Supreme Court issued its ruling on the disciplinary case against Justice Annette Ziegler giving her a public reprimand – a first, albeit pretty toothless punishment. Ziegler’s immediate response was the same old, same old nonsense that her ruling repeatedly on cases in which her husband’s bank was a party was inadvertent. Right. And let’s not forget, Ziegler refused to recuse herself from the first case she heard as a justice involving Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce which spent millions to benefit her during the campaign.

General Motors announced Tuesday it will close its Janesville plant, costing Wisconsin 2,600 jobs. With $4-a-gallon gas prices cited as the reason, OWN is asking how long will Rep. Paul Ryan remain a cheerleader for the failed economic policies of President George Bush and Sen. John McCain? Paul Ryan has stood arm in arm with Bush and McCain, voting in 2006 for an unconscionable budget giveaway of $5 billion in tax breaks into the profit ledgers of Big Oil. Now McCain has offered a reckless new tax cut for Big Oil – this one for just under $4 billion for the five biggest oil companies. It’s time Paul Ryan stand up for lower gas prices and against anymore tax breaks for Big Oil.

Last week Attorney General JB Van Hollen refused One Wisconsin Now’s call he investigate Supreme Court Justice Elect-Michael Gableman for prohibited political calls that Gableman made from his state phones when he was the Ashland County District Attorney, including calls to Republican fundraisers, Republican Party of Wisconsin and the campaigns of Scott McCallum and Attorney General candidate Vince Biskupic. As an AG candidate, Van Hollen sure talked big at the bar about how he would use DOJ to root out public corruption. Guess that doesn’t apply to public officials who share fundraisers with Van Hollen.

Shortly after the U.S. Supreme Court’s abominable decision upholding the right for Indiana to enact a restrictive voter-ID laws, Sen. Russ Feingold introduced the Election Day Registration Act, which would allow citizens across the country to register and vote on election day for federal elections. “The right to vote is at the heart of our democracy,” said Feingold, “And we should constantly be looking for ways to make it easier for Americans to exercise that right.” Wisconsin has had same day registration for all election for 30 years and that’s why we had the second highest voter turnout in 2004. More voters means more accountability.

Fair Wisconsin issued a press release several years ago condemning Rev. Grant Storms for advocating the murder of gays and lesbians. In 2003, Milwaukee lawyer James Donohoo fired back on behalf of Storms with a defamation lawsuit against Fair Wisconsin. This week, the state Supreme Court rightly ruled against Donohoo, deeming his lawsuit frivolous and ordering him to pay Fair Wisconsin $87,000 plus interest in court costs and attorney's fees.

While Sen. John McCain held a fundraiser and meeting in Greendale last week, a coalition of Wisconsinites opposed to McCain’s continued support for the policies of George W. Bush joined OWN in holding another “Stamporee”. The event highlighted McCain’s performance as a rubber stamp in the U.S. Senate for the disastrous policies of George W. Bush. Armed with a five-foot high rubber stamp that read “McSame,” the OWN team dressed as McCain, Bush, McCain’s wife Cindy and Condoleezza Rice while Wisconsinites affected by the Bush-McCain failed agenda shared their stories.