One Wisconsin Now

Will Alberta Darling Accept Invitation the Racist Tea Party Express?

2011-08-02T20:23:26Z

It's no secret that a lot of the tea party movement anger is fueled by a combination of ignorance and racism.

But as this caravan of extremism trucks in a cadre of malcontents, ne-er do wells, and in the case of Joe the Not Plumber, lampreys on the corporate money shark, one wonders: Will Alberta Darling accept their invitation to come and speak?

We've documented tea party racism and hatred in Wisconsin, here...and...here. And here, where the-wackadoo Tea Party Express spokesliar Mark Williams told Wisconsin that "political correctness was responsible for 9/11 and political correctness was responsible for Barack Obama."

Let's also not forget this appalling episode of the Tea Party Express, when Williams said in a hateful letter to the NAACP, "I am disinclined to take lectures on racial sensitivity from a group that insists on calling black people, 'Colored.'"

Lovely.

The question is: Will Alberta Darling join the hate fest, or will she condemn, or will she offer the kind of wink and nod to the hatred, ignorance and extremism of the tea party?

Remember it was the tea party that in 2010 was going to dispatch its people as the poll workers to suppress minority and students votes.

This may be why many elected Republicans, like Scott Walker, have embraced this hateful movement. What will Alberta Darling do when they're in her community this week?

Our Posts #F*ckYouWashington

2011-07-25T01:27:22Z

You may have heard about the amazing outpouring of frustration and outrage realized this weekend over the ceaseless power of corporate special interests which own the Republicans and can occasionally rent a few Democrats in Congress. This, combined with a superficial and senationalistic horserace mentality by the national media have pushed the patience of the people to the breaking point.

Pondering all of the gridlock, blogger Jeff Jarvis finally encouraged people to share their anger with the simple twitter hashtag "fuckyouwashington"

One Wisconsin Now noted this new tag in the early evening Saturday, and after reading what others were saying about the failed corporate policies mixed with noxious conservative ideological extremism that has brought progress in our nation to a grinding halt.

We thought we'd provide a running tally of our contributions. Feel free to add your own (pun intended) as the mood strikes you. Your voice matters. Use it how you see fit.

Here's ours. There's the use of "language," but it was the only way to populate the tag. And if you think about, the policies are a helluva a lot more obscene than the word itself.

#FuckYouWashington for making Mark Halperin a celebrity. #wiunion

#FuckYouWashington for allowing 60 votes to be an excuse for ignoring Wall St./Corporate accountability. #wiunion

#FuckYouWashington for making Gen X/Y indentured servants to student loans - tops $1 trillion on 12/1/11. #wiunion #boomerfailure

#FuckYouWashington for Politico. #wiunion #rightwingmedia

#FuckYouWashington for the "Redskins." #racistmascots #wiunion #macaca

#FuckYouWashington for "Freedom Fries" #wiunion #globalembarassment #obamagotbinladen #bushfail

#FuckYouWashington for "Ronald Reagan National Airport" #taxcutsforrich #welfarequeens #deficits #scalia #bork

#FuckYouWashington for Michelle Rhee. #rheediculous

RT @RawStory: #fuckyouwashington Twitter hashtag unleashes a "shitstorm" of grievances. http://cot.ag/mRD7Ey #wiunion

#fuckyouwashington for making racist septuagenarians yelling at town halls more important than gen x/y soldiers dying in war. #mediafail

#fuckyouwashington for making Palin's twitter the moral equivalent of a White House press briefing. #mediafail

#fuckyouwashington for experts Liz Cheney, Alwayswrong Kristol and Dumb Doug Feith #mediafail

#fuckyouwashington for "Mission Accomplished" #mediafail #kristolalwayswrong

#fuckyouwashington for telecom policy allowing six ginormous corporations to own our media. #mediamonopoly

#fuckyouwashington for allowing a hapless crook like Rod Paige to forever screw education policy #nochildlefteducated

We continue to enjoy....RT @jeffjarvis: My blog post about the saga of #fuckyouwashington, so far: http://bit.ly/o4gcIV

We're going to take a break from populating the tag, but our sentiments remain. It's time to free America from the soullessness of our corporate "persons." Our government, whether it's that of Paul Ryan or that Scott Walker, will remain in business of transferring of our tax dollars to unaccountable corporate interests at the expense of education, health care, seniors, students, neighborhoods and the needy -- that is until we liberate this nation once and for all.

Chief Justice Abrahamson Sums Up Partisan GOP Supreme WMCourt

2011-06-15T14:11:05Z

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

But Abrahamson wrote that the order seems to open the court unnecessarily to the charge that the majority has "reached a predetermined conclusion not based on the facts and the law, which undermines the majority's ultimate decision."

The majority justices "make their own findings of fact, mischaracterize the parties' arguments, misinterpret statutes, minimize (if not eliminate) Wisconsin constitutional guarantees, and misstate case law, appearing to silently overrule case law dating back to at least 1891," Abrahamson wrote.

"Justices" Gableman, Prosser, Roggensack and Ziegler have time and again showed they are unconcerned about the law, but rather use their power to serve the interests of corporate America and the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. It is shameful. It is against the values of Wisconsin.

It is madness.

GOP 'Corporate Tax Giveaway Day' Raises Taxes on 270,000 Working Families to Pay for Tax Breaks for 400 Companies

2011-06-01T21:36:26Z

The Republican-controlled Joint Finance Committee voted to raise taxes on as many as 270,000 working Wisconsinites through changes in the Earned Income Tax Credit, while handing out more than $84 million in corporate tax breaks.

So far, budget committee Republicans have voted in favor of raising taxes on as many as 500,000 Wisconsin families.

The Republican math is clear: raise taxes on 500,000 Wisconsin families and to reward as few as 400 Wisconsin companies. These 500,000 Wisconsin families are more of the victims of Gov. Scott Walker and the Republicans' unconscionable version of "shared sacrifice."

Republicans yesterday pushed through $84 million in new corporate tax cuts. At the same time, Republicans on the Joint Finance Committee unanimously increased taxes on people by $43 million by altering the Earned Income Tax Credit. Previously, Republicans voted to freeze Homestead Property Tax Credit. [Wisconsin State Journal, 3/6/11, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 5/31/11]

When fully phased in, additional capital gains tax cuts will put the total at nearly $140 million every year in total tax breaks for corporations. [Legislative Fiscal Bureau Budget Analysis]

The tax increases to 500,000 Wisconsin families come on the heels of a number of additional attacks on the middle class and those in need by Gov. Walker and the Republicans, including:

Reducing funds available for public schools by $1.6 billion, while expanding unaccountable private school investment by $40 million.
Stripping 175,000 workers of their right to collective bargaining.
Giving the Walker administration the ability to cut 70,000 people from accessing health care, as well as raising costs on health care for 1 million Wisconsinites.
Risking the end of SeniorCare prescription drug benefits, or raising the costs of prescription drugs for participating seniors.
Privatizing broad functions of state government services, many involving no-bid contracts.
Consolidating power in the hands of the Governor's office and unelected bureaucrats.

Wall Street, the nation's largest banks and speculators nearly bankrupted the economy, but Gov. Walker and the Republicans want to punish the working poor.

Once again, Republicans remind Wisconsin that their idea of 'shared sacrifice' is the middle class and poor sacrifice and the rich and big business get to share our tax dollars.

Conservative Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance Thinks $1 Billion Education Cut, 70,000 Off BadgerCare Is 'Fiscally Mature'

2011-05-12T19:56:08Z

It's the same old story with Todd Berry and the conservative, pro-corporate Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

Their biased view says there's only money available in the treasury for corporate tax cuts - everything else is second-tier.

In a story today in the Wisconsin State Journal about the additional $636 million in new revenue Wisconsin has from the state's rebounding economy due to the investments by President Obama, former Gov. Jim Doyle and the then-Democratic-controlled legislature, conservative WISTAX head Berry had this to say:

[Berry] said the state was in a similar position in 1979, 1994 and 2005: coming out of an economic downturn and finally seeing a little light at the end of the tunnel. Berry said leaders then chose to spend the money.

"The question I have is: Have our politicians learned anything from our history?" Berry said. "We will see if this time they will be fiscally mature."

Excuse me?

You'll note the biased Berry doesn't say word one about, perhaps rolling back the $200 million in corporate tax breaks and tax breaks for the wealthy that Gov. Walker has pushed for in the past four months.

Always the loyal propagandist, Berry's argument is always about the affordability of spending that goes to the middle class and the working poor - never about the unpaid-for corporate taxes or the unfair tax system that allows the investment income of the wealthy avoid the taxation leveled upon the income earned by the labor of the middle class.

No, apparently, Todd Berry and the conservative WISTAX think that a $1 billion cuts to education, which we now see is not needed, is a responsible action for the state's economic future.

And Todd Berry and the conservative WISTAX think that cutting 70,000 people off of BadgerCare is a responsible thing to do, when the state now has funds.

And Todd Berry and the conservative WISTAX think that gutting the university system and the technical college system will allow us to fully-realize the unlimited potential of the free market?

And Todd Berry and the conservative WISTAX think that jacking prescription drug prices for seniors so that private prescription drug plans can reap $100 million or more in tax dollars.

As One Wisconsin Now documented at WISTAX Watch, our comprehensive research project about corporate influence of the clearly ideological, pro-corporate Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, Todd Berry's outfit is in the pocket of the right wing message machine.

When we first explored the organization in 2010, we uncovered the following:

Nearly 93 percent of the political campaign donations from the board of WISTAX went to Republicans and conservatives ($1.29 million to $101,000 for Democrats or liberals). Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce's board at the time gave 80 percent to Republicans and conservative
Every WISTAX Board Chair since 1986 has also served on the board of director of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce or the Milwaukee affiliate
Despite its constant calls for budget austerity, its own finances have seen it run a more-than $2 million deficit in its revenues raised to expenditures from 1998-2008 (2004 figures unavailable). They also ran a deficit of $268,000 in 2009.
The deep ties between WISTAX and the Republican Party, including Todd Berry's appearance as a speaker the teabaggers' Americans for Prosperity event.

The Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance has regularly served the conservative agenda by consistently structuring the education spending debate singularly as a tax debate: Wisconsin spends money on education and that makes taxes high. When it creates "studies" of education, the data is blatantly skewed to ensure the results are those desired by the WISTAX anti-public education supporters.

As the Institute for One Wisconsin's report "We're Not Broke" showed, the tax burden has risen on the middle class because the burden has dramatically decreased amongst the wealthy and corporations. It is biased, pro-corporate groups like WISTAX, who have served, and continued to serve, as propaganda machines in the war on the middle class.

WISTAX has advocated getting rid of the corporate income tax, because of all reasons, corporations use a now-closed loophole that allowed them to avoid taxes on Wisconsin profits by setting up a phony post office box "address" in a state without corporate income taxes. WISTAX regularly reports the corporate income tax collections as unpredictable, despite other taxes having less predictability year to year.

WISTAX has a number of time-tested conservative techniques when it comes to advancing its anti-tax argument. For instance, using a relationship between whatever tax is being discussed and income levels, which raises Wisconsin's ranking because average income is under the national average. WISTAX will isolate a tax without talking about what it is used to finance. WISTAX will ignore fees paid by other states, not paid in Wisconsin, such as toll roads. Lastly, WISTAX will omit important context for a tax and the relationship between taxes paid by businesses or not paid by businesses.

Rather than Todd Berry asking for "fiscal maturity," mayhaps it's time the media starts asking for a little "intellectual honesty" from Todd Berry and the conservative, pro-corporate Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance.

For instance, the budget hawks of WISTAX have run a $2 million organizational deficit from 1998-2008, according to filings at the IRS. Turns out in 2009, they ran another $268,000 deficit. I thought the first rule from the conservatives was: don't spend more than you bring in?

One Wisconsin Now Exclusive: WI Senators Paying Corporate ALEC Membership with Tax Dollars

2011-05-08T15:13:30Z

Even this one, I have trouble believing.

The breaking news: One Wisconsin Now has obtained documents showing that 12 current Republican members of the State Senate are forcing you to pay the cost for their private membership in one of the nation's most powerful and influential corporate policy outfits - the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC).

ALEC is the corporate front group that has concocted and supported disastrous attacks on the middle class like ending collective bargaining, privatizing public schools, preventing access to affordable health care and starving local governments - taking police officers and firefighters off the streets.

When you think about how the people on this list, such as Dan Kapanke, Alberta Darling and Scott Fitzgerald have claimed over and over that Wisconsin is broke and we have to cut workers' rights, dismantle public education and raise health care costs for seniors, children and working families, their hypocrisy is enough to make your blood boil. Use this link to the see the Senate's Dishonorable Dozen:

http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/blog/WI%20Senate%20Republicans%20ALEC%20Membership.pdf

You are probably well aware ALEC was founded nearly 40 years ago to create pro-corporate legislation at the expense of the middle class. Among the many corporate and conservative interests to finance the group is the Koch Foundation and Milwaukee's Bradley Foundation. All 23 members of its public board are identified Republicans and 71 of its 73 state legislative chairs are Republicans.

Not only have Senate Republicans spent tax dollars on ALEC memberships, but also there are substantial ties between ALEC and Gov. Scott Walker, as well as the Republican Assembly Majority. Walker has served previously as a speaker at ALEC, Senate Republican Leader Scott Fitzgerald was appointed Wisconsin Chair of ALEC in 2008 and Republican Assembly Joint Finance Chair Robin Vos is current Wisconsin ALEC chair. [ALEC website; Fond du Lac Reporter, 12/28/08]

Let's not mince words here. The American Legislative Exchange Council is nothing more than a corporate propaganda machine and Kapanke, Darling and the other 10 Senate Republicans should immediate return the taxpayers' money and apologize for this improper use of our tax dollars.

If past is prologue, ALEC and its minions may retaliate against One Wisconsin Now. After all, when a University of Wisconsin professor criticized the group, the Republican Party of Wisconsin launched an unprecedented attack on him.

But we are not going to back down from any corporate special interest group or any political party. The stakes are simply too high.

As a final note, One Wisconsin Now also uncovered this: According to the IRS, ALEC, which says on its State Budget Reform page that, "states face structural deficits created by overspending," spent more than it raised in both 2008 and 2009.

Scholars Laud Correct Spelling, Proper Election Date in Sarah Palin's Pro-Prosser Tweet

2011-04-01T16:59:32Z

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."

Michelle Litjens: the Fox Valley's Convenient Christian

2011-03-31T21:12:17Z

Wisconsin homes are getting an interesting robo-call from Assembly Republican sheep team member Rep. Michelle Litjens.

Enjoy the noxious hyperbole and sanctimony and then we'll talk more:

This is Michelle Litjens, I'm a Republican state representative from the Fox Valley. Recently, a Democrat legislator threatened my life on the floor of the Capitol. He apologized later, and as a Christian I moved on.

But it demonstrates the divisiveness created by public union bosses who have interfered with our legislative process.

Now these same public union bosses are trying to take over control of our Wisconsin Supreme Court. I commend Justice David Prosser, a judicial conservative, for his proven record of deciding each case on the merits not the dictates of a special interest group.

Let Justice David Prosser know that you agree with him that justice should be based on the merits, not the special interests.

So, here are my thoughts of this call, which was paid for by the Illinois-based PatrioticVeterans.org, whoever they are.

First of all, no one threatened her life. A state legie yelled something in her direction when he was outraged about the nonsense they pulled and their illegal vote in the middle of the night in the Wisconsin Assembly (not to be confused with the illegal vote in the Senate). So, get over yourself.

Second, on the tossing of the "as a Christian" card. If you're so outraged about the conduct of your colleague, then why aren't you mortified by the fact that David Prosser, who you are endorsing and who you are supporting with this irritating robo-call, he screamed at Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson that she is a "total bitch" and that he was going to "destroy her"?

Third, if "as a Christian" you "moved on," why are recording a paid robo-call by some non-Wisconsin outfit that's so fly-by-night it doesn't even have a website?

Lastly, defending someone who refused to prosecute a pedophile priest who went on to molest others is not the Christian thing to do. And it raises the question: Why does Michelle Litjens want pedophile priests to get away with molesting children? It's a question I'll be asking myself for the next few days: Why does Michelle Litjens want pedophile priests to get away with molesting children? After all, if union leaders are responsible for a colleague yelling something on the floor of the Assembly, then by your logic, we can hold you also responsible for failing to make sure that a pedophile priest was imprisoned for molesting children.

Bottom line: This robo-call is a smoke screen to try and divert attention from issues of Prosser's infamous temper highlighted in One Wisconsin Now's "Prosser's Abuse Conduct Troubling" video. It's been seen almost 15,000 times since we put it up and if you like it, help us spread the word.

But back to the Convenient Christian. Here's what we'll do, gentle readers, we'll try and get Litjens on the record answering these questions, particularly why Michelle Litjens doesn't want pedophile priest to be prosecuted for molesting children, and then we'll report back.

WI Right to Life: 'Prosser Not Guilty in Sexual Abuse of Children Case'

2011-03-31T18:57:35Z

Wisconsin thanks you for clarifying. And David Prosser thanks you for your snappy headline writing, no doubt. (Note: The graphic below is directly from WRTL and not photoshopped.)

'Fake Teacher from Wisconsin' Now in Florida Chamber of Commerce Ad

2011-03-30T18:34:27Z

Last week, we revealed that the corporate-financed mother of all special interest smear ad groups, the Republican State Leadership Committee, had a false ad about Sen. Dave Hansen with false claims about a fake teacher who would leave Wisconsin.

That "teacher" sure does get around, as an ad to attack workers in Florida, paid for by the Florida Chamber of Commerce, has footage of the same fake "Wisconsin teacher."

More evidence that the RSLC's false claim that this is a "Wisconsin teacher" has been confirmed to be a lie.

The ad should be yanked for outright falsehoods. Maybe they can appeal to Attorney General JB Van Hollen.

Oh, wait, Van Hollen got $10,000 from RSLC last election cycle. Oh, yeah and his top lieutenant was getting advice from RSLC's political director before doing corporate America's bidding and wasting our tax dollars trying to jump in on the lawsuit to block the federal health reform act.

More Lies from the GOP Noise Machine on Cronon Attacks

2011-03-29T17:44:16Z

Never allowing facts to get in the way of its smears, the right wing is trying to create a false moral equivalency between retaliatory actions taken by the Republican Party of Wisconsin against UW-Madison Professor Bill Cronon and a completely different kind of request for contract information made by One Wisconsin Now.

After Professor Cronon, in a widely-read opinion column in The New York Times, pulled back the long-hanging corporate curtain at the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Republican Party launched an unconscionable and chilling assault, demanding a laundry list of items from Cronon's UW email account.

Now reeling from the backlash, the Republicans have dispatched some of their leading cheerleaders, including the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute and Patrick McIlheran from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

Their dual campaign of disinformation has zero facts, but since One Wisconsin Now is being named in this laughable attack, here is our response to the nonsense:

One Wisconsin Now sought records, as was reported, solely related to a non-academic, polling project between the UW-Madison and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, a private entity which has raised over $2 million in the last three years and is funded by the right wing, pro-Wall Street, right-wing finance machine.

We requested no one's emails by name, simply seeking the documents related to how much in taxpayer-financed UW-Madison resources were going to the project, and supporting documents for the contract. It is noteworthy that the UW hastily canceled the contract and amended its press release announcing the project.

A copy of the information we requested October 5, 2009 follows:

"This is to request, under the state's Open Records Law (19.31-39, Wisconsin Statutes), a copy of any and all documents relating to the University of Wisconsin-Madison Political Science Department's partnership with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute to conduct joint polling as announced in a press release on September 10, 2009. This request includes but is not limited to:

Contract(s), memoranda of understanding, or any other documents setting forth the relationship between the University of Wisconsin and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute related to this partnership;
Other documents related to the partnership with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, including documents generated prior to the formalizing of any relationship with WPRI, such as draft contracts;
Contracts, memoranda of understanding, or documents setting forth the relationship between the UW and any other vendor or entity related to the project;
Billing statements and/or invoices issued by the University of Wisconsin or received from any and all persons, entities, or vendors working on the project;
Documents reflecting sources of funding for the project;
Documents reflecting the University's budget for the project;
Documents reflecting the methodology being used for the polls;
Documents reflecting all of the University of Wisconsin and Wisconsin Public Research Institute employees working on the project;
Documents reflecting University of Wisconsin student participation in the project, whether paid, volunteer, intern, or for-credit;
Agendas, meeting minutes, handouts and any other record of governmental bodies within the University discussing the project;
All correspondence (with any attachments) related to the project, including email messages, text messages, letters, memoranda, or other communications, including those exchanged between University of Wisconsin employees, students, and representatives and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute."

The results of our investigation found the following (documented at this link):

The documents showed that political calculations were front and center with the project, including altering the polls' presentation under pressure from the head of WPRI, because the data depicted statewide overall opposition to private school vouchers. That is doubtless why WPRI is trying to raise this noxious and false comparison, and how they were able to get soul mate and stenographer McIlheran to hop on board.

Contrast our effort to obtain records above with the Republicans' nonsense:

The RPW asked for e-mails from Cronon for "reference any of the following terms: Republican, Scott Walker, recall, collective bargaining, AFSCME, WEAC, rally, union, Alberta Darling, Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Rob Cowles, Scott Fitzgerald, Sheila Harsdorf, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Mary Lazich, Jeff Fitzgerald, Marty Beil, or Mary Bell."

"Union"? "Rally"? "Collective Bargaining"?

Only in the midst of a corporate-financed disinformation campaign could a moral equivalency be made between the ruthless intimidation tactics of the Republican Party of Wisconsin against Professor Cronin and what One Wisconsin Now requested related to contracts and finances in the cancelled polling project that would have used taxpayer-financed university resources.

Looks like WPRI is scrambling again because, they've "been burned a couple times and don't need to be the one holding the gas can."

Rightwing MJS' Columnist Patrick McIlheran's Downplays Sexual Assault of Children to Defend Prosser Inaction

2011-03-26T17:14:26Z

Rightwing Republican talking-point stenographer Patrick McIlheran has outdone himself on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's website today. McIlheran, a prolific contributor to the opinion page and the print version of the MJS outdoes himself on the site in a column defending David Prosser's unwillingness to prosecute a sexual abuse of children by a priest with prominent family ties, which happened while he was Outagamie District Attorney. Not only is McIlheran factually wrong throughout, despite these facts actually being reported in today's MJS, but also he shows a despicable lack of concern about the crime of sexual assault of children. (Facts on Prosser's unwillingness to prosecute are available with full documentation at ProsserFacts.com)

1. These activities all happened in 1978, but McIlheran repeatedly refers to 1979 including in the lede, a glaring factual inaccuracy which casts a shadow over his comprehension of the case itself and David Prosser's unwillingness to prosecute these sexual assaults. David Prosser was in the Assembly in 1979, and in fact spent 1978 running for office and engaging in all the fundraising, coalition building and controversy avoiding that goes with being a legislative candidate.

2. There was a third victim of abuse who Prosser knew about, something that McIlheran completely ignores. This would be three children who made the accusations which Prosser subsequently failed to prosecute. One wonders how many victims would Prosser have needed to bravely come forward before he would have been willing to act in the midst of his Assembly campaign.

3. But what is most serious. For political reasons, McIlheran downplays the assault of children in their beds and during confession by characterizing the criminal as someone "who tried touching two boys inappropriately." Sexual assault of children is perpetrated often by the attacker using his or her authority as an adult. Far from McIlheran's dismissive language, Feeney's case is worst example of the use of authority to attack children, scare them into silence and scar them for a lifetime with the belief that somehow the attack upon them was their fault. The police report stated, "Fr. Feeney then slipped his hand down and under his pajama bottom." This assault occurred in the child's bed. Feeney assaulted the child during confession. In what environment could these criminal acts be more manipulative of the authority dynamic discussed above?

Perhaps McIlheran's zeal to put something defending Prosser is why he is sloppy on the facts, but it is my belief that it is his politics which is causing him to use language downplaying the assault -- which in my mind, is unconscionable and indefensible. It is likely Prosser's unwillingness to prosecute despite the evidence in a case indirectly involving the powerful diocese during his campaign for Assembly had much to do with political concerns as well.

Patrick McIlheran's dismissive use language to describe the assaults should be addressed and condemned immediately by the editorial board which employs him. Sexual assault of children is not something that can be measured on the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's PolitiFact's meter -- assault is assault.

David Prosser: The Partisans' Partisan in Six Acts

2011-03-24T14:10:28Z

There's no denying former Republican Assembly Speaker and failed Republican Congressional nominee David Prosser is a long-time partisan cog in the Republican machine. But is he the most partisan state Supreme Court Justice Wisconsin has ever had?

The answer would be a resounding "yes." And when looking at his record on the Supreme Court, it's abundantly clear that his hard core partisan credentials have guided him in serving the corporate money interests which fund the Republican, anti-working family message machine.

Consider these six items:

David Prosser was a Republican Assembly representative for 18 years, including serving as the Republican leader and speaker. As the Greater Wisconsin Committee showed at www.ProsserEqualsWalker.com, "As a legislator, Prosser voted to restrict the collective bargaining rights of teachers. As a judge, Prosser sided against collective bargaining rights and against workers who were being deprived of their retirement benefits. Recently, Prosser told a Republican group that there was a "100 percent" chance that Walker's collective bargaining legislation would come before the court. Prosser said to the Republicans that he could not signal his likely position, but criticized his opponent for being supported by unions."

David Prosser served as a mentor for young Republican Representative Scott Walker and shepherded Walker into an unbending Republican partisan - and Walker and Prosser voted together 95 percent of the time when Walker served under Prosser's leadership in the disastrous 1995-96 legislative session. Prosser's campaign manager infamously also said he Prosser would serve as a "complement" to the Walker administration and its unprecedented attacks on workers' rights, education, health care, seniors' access to prescription drugs, recycling and support for local communities.

David Prosser has served the agenda of the Republican money machine at Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce including adopting their rule to allow justices to rule on cases in which they've spent money - such as the $5 million they spent to help Annette Ziegler and Mike Gableman get elected - and now WMC has put up ads to support Prosser in his current race.

David Prosser was a failed Republican candidate for U.S. Congress running in 1996 for the seat vacated by retiring fellow Republican Toby Roth. Prosser was a loyal Republican soldier ready to serve the agenda of Newt Gingrich and the attacks on the middle class.

David Prosser has been a featured guest of the Tea Party and his much-publicized appearance at the Koch brothers-financed Americans for Prosperity "Defending the Dream" summit in 2010 in which Republicans assembled to attack in public investment, access to affordable health care and strategize in advance of the 2010 Republican take-over of the Wisconsin state legislature and the election of Walker as governor.

David Prosser touts the endorsements of 69 Republican legislators who voted for the Republican assault on working families and who will help Walker pass his budget which includes the largest cuts to public education in Wisconsin's history -- $834 million in cuts to K-12 education alone; decimates technical colleges, privatizes the UW; includes $84 million in tax giveaways for big business and the wealthy, while at the same time raising taxes by $51 million on the poorest Wisconsinites. Walker's budget will raise SeniorCare prescription drug costs to pay off $1.3 million in donations to Walker and the Republican Governors Association; and even allow health care plans suddenly drop their coverage for contraception.

Quite a list.

But maybe I'm just being a "total bitch" with this analysis. I can only hope Prosser doesn't try and "destroy" me, too, by pointing out the obvious - he is the most unrelenting partisan who has ever been on Wisconsin's Supreme Court.

One Wisconsin Now has a long record of analysis and research on judicial ethics and integrity, including exposing Mike Gableman's pay-to-play contributions which helped get him his judicial appointment and Annette Ziegler's unprecedented scandal and conflicts of interest. You can support One Wisconsin Now's Judicial Ethics and Integrity effort by visiting here.

Out-of-state Republican Group Claims 'File Footage' Actor is WI Teacher in Hansen Attack

2011-03-22T23:43:20Z

The Republican State Leadership Committee is back at it again in Wisconsin. RSLC is a Karl Rove-assisted, Washington DC-area corporate front group, which has spent over $60 million since 2002 to elect Republicans.

It attacked Democratic state legislators here during 2010, in one instance using a race-baiting mailer where a white woman has her mouth covered ominously by the hand of a person of color in an apparent effort to infer crime run amok.

Well, now they are attacking Sen. Dave Hansen with a television ad that says the following:

She comes in early. She stays late. She's the best teacher in her school and if Dave Hansen has his way she has every reason to leave Wisconsin. Our government employee contract laws tie her salary to what we pay the worst teachers. It's not fair to teachers. And it's not fair to our kids. We can solve the problem, but Dave Hansen's playing partisan politics instead. Call Senator Hansen. Tell him to stop playing partisan political games.

So this Wisconsin teacher in a Wisconsin classroom is going to leave Wisconsin.

Trouble is if you watch the video, you can plainly see during the first four seconds "FILE FOOTAGE" in the bottom left corner.

A completely bogus claim in an issue ad. You can't claim this Wisconsin teacher is leaving Wisconsin because of Dave Hansen, if she ain't a teacher and she ain't in a Wisconsin classroom.

Also, few additional notes about RSLC:

One Wisconsin Now revealed though an incompletely-fulfilled open records request that back in April 2010, the top deputy to Wisconsin Attorney General JB Van Hollen sought direction from the partisan RSLC campaign committee leading up to the Wisconsin Department of Justice attempt to file a partisan lawsuit against the federal health reform act.

The emails One Wisconsin Now obtained indicate then-Deputy Attorney General Ray Taffora had contacted RSLC Political Director Ben Cannatti looking for lawsuit information. Van Hollen's office refused to release the full scope of emails, citing attorney-client privilege - an amazing claim between the state taxpayer-financed office and the RSLC, a partisan political outfit that gave Van Hollen a $10,000 contribution for his 2010 re-election effort.

Among the largest contributors to the RSLC is the American Justice Partnership, created by the National Association of Manufacturers. The American Justice Partnership has donated $2 million to RSLC since 2006 and its website features advertisements run by Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce against Kathleen Falk in 2006, Van Hollen's opponent. WMC spent an estimated $2.5 million in Van Hollen's razor-thin victory.

Walker Using Layoffs as Political Weapon? Deja Vu All Over Again

2011-02-28T18:58:50Z

There has been justifiable outrage over Gov. Scott Walker's candid and controversial conversation with a blogger he thought was billionaire conservative money-machine David Koch.

In the conversation, Gov. Walker admitted that he was using threatened layoffs as a political cudgel to try and break the will of the hundreds of thousands of Wisconsinites who have mobilized across the state in opposition to the Walker's bill. Walker says:

So, we're trying about 4 or 5 different angles and each day we crank up a little bit more pressure, but the other thing I've got layoff notices ready, we'll put out the at-risk notices, we'll announce Thursday, they'll go out early next week, probably get 5 to 6,000 state workers will get at risk notices of layoffs, we might rachet that up a little bit too.

It was a shocking admission. The governor of the state of Wisconsin using the livelihoods of thousands and thousands as his weapon to defeat his political opponents. And he was willing to brag about it.

To any of us who have watched the way Gov. Walker operates and his willingness to put partisan politics above all else, it had a familiar ring.

Turns out, Walker did a similar thing in November 2009, admitting to Madison radio host Sly that he was threatening pink slips for workers just before the holidays "to get their attention."

Here's the audio clip from that broadcast November 2, 2009:

They got all worked up over announcing layoffs - we don't announce them in a public forum, we actually allow supervisors and managers in their own departments to tell people about those. Somehow, the County Board after seven and a half years of me being here thinks I'm gonna change the process from what we've done every time before. In the end, I actually drew Holloway in and the Finance and Audit Committee Chairman in Friday and said, 'I've got an alternative,' - they went along with it and so, we avoided layoffs for now, and instead may be looking at additional furlough days or other additional things in the future to keep the budget intact.

But I needed to get their attention to show how serious we were about having a balanced budget.

It is appalling that in the midst of unemployment and economic uncertainty, Gov. Walker only cares about serving his Wall Street masters, appeasing donors like Koch and using any and all means necessary to attack the rights of working men and women.

All of this is a reminder about what Gov. Walker's real motivations are.

And why during his 20-minute call with "David," none of the shared sacrifice Walker has professed to want was mentioned.