Playing the Christ card.....or...... Scott Walker slaps down Christ.

I'm sure that my readers in the United States have encountered stories from different media sources regarding the decline of the number of citizens who identify as being religious.  Or perhaps more accurately more Americans are identifying as spiritual as opposed to religious.  And that is understandable after the political agenda of the Southern Baptist Convention was revealed, likewise with the horrific and ongoing scandals of the Roman Church and its support and protection of child molestation..

Likewise many more people are identifying themselves as being either Agnostic or Atheist.  Now I am ordained by my church as most of you likely don't know.  And I have no problems with agnosticism and/or atheism, many, many people lead very positive lives and are a benefit to their community just by the virtue of their character.  And by your character and your actions will you be known and judged in the eye's of the Creator.  From a more secular view point the percentage of felons who identify in American prisons is under 1%  Yet they are a far, far larger part of the population.

I have no problem with these folks.  One group of people I have a huge problem with are liars.  Especially  liars that because of their lies, make other people into scapegoats and just look very bad in general.
Scott Walker on Tuesday told a horrible and reprehensible lie and he not only made Christianity in general look bad, but all monotheism as well.  It does not matter if you follow the King James Bible, Eastern Orthodox Bible, the Koran, the Torah or the Coptic Bible.  Scott Walker made you look absolutely horrible in the eyes of the world.

How that came about I am about to explain.  As you know there is an ongoing federal investigation into Scott Walker and his campaign staff regarding voter fraud and illegal campaign activities.  On Tuesday of this week Governor Walker issued a press statement of an obviously false and facetious nature.  Besides denying knowing an investigation was going on ( he hired a disgraced former federal attorney as his defense counsel in November of 2010 in regards to this investigation) he also denied knowing that members of his staff back in April of this year were granted immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony.  Including his personal spokesman and media relations person Cullen Werwie.

And he tried to try and make himself look innocent (give me a break) by declaring that he was a former Eagle Scout and also, that he is a Christian.  The Eagle Scout thing I am not going to touch on here.  But his declaration of innocence due to his Christian status is outrageous.  Is anybody actually so ignorant as to believe that attending church either regularly or occasionally, makes you incapable of sin or wrongdoing?  Does that mean there is no such thing as a pedophile priest?  That ministers have never stolen or misappropriated funds from the parishioners of the parishes they look over?  But these are secondary issue's.

What is important is that Scott Walker stated that he is a christian.  I am sorry but that just can not be possible.  Christianity is based on the concept of love and charity, of kindness and concern for the entirety of the human race, regardless of faith status, nationality or any other division.  Christianity is about forgiveness and thoughtfulness, introspection and commitment to self improvement as we are all flawed vessels and also that we are ALL EQUAL in the eyes of our creator.

Scott Walker by his actions and by his agenda obviously does not believe that we are all equal.  By his legislative agenda he has stated his belief that minorities are lesser beings than himself, that non-Americans are lesser beings than himself.

Scott Walker by his legislation that he pushed onto the republican party on behalf of ALEC and the Koch brothers does not believe in compassion.  He is intentionally hurting the poor the weak and the afflicted.  He is doing this for personal gain through kickbacks from the corporations he is financially strengthening to the detriment of the citizenry.

You can not force senior citizens to choose between needed medications and having food to eat and claim to be compassionate.  Especially when you are blatantly doing it for personal gain and profit.

You can not allow lethal weapons to be carried openly and claim to have christian concern for the well being of all peoples.  In short you can not, absolutely can not inflict poverty and disease and all forms of suffering and ugliness upon people and be a God fearing christian.  You can not cause suffering and inevitable early death of human beings and be a God fearing christian.

You can only do these things if you have no belief in a benevolent creator.  You can only do these things if you have no fear of divine retribution.  You can only do these things if in your heart of hearts, you are absolutely convinced that their is no afterlife, no judgement, no punishment for transgressions and sins committed in the name of self glorification and personal gain.

Once again atheists and agnostics are not bad people based on faith, statistically they are the best citizens.  But a person like Walker without any human compassion, without any feeling or emotion, with no fear of God or the laws of man is a bad person.  An extremely bad person beyond my ability to put into words.

And for him to play the Christ card, to claim deniability for the actions he has taken, is reprehensible.  It is horrific and cowardly in the extreme to take these actions as he has, and then hide behind the holy cross.  All this does is inflict his sins onto the members of the monotheistic faiths.  The Muslims and the Christians and the  Jewish community have done nothing to deserve to have Scott Walkers sins and the blame for them, placed upon their shoulder's, shoulder's already weary from terrorism, from molestation scandals, from the politics of nations.

The eyes of the state, the nation and the world are on leaders like Walker during these very troubled times.  And the faithful are dedicated to improving these very real concerns, to improving the human experience.  To alleviating the suffering of others that leads us down the wrong path.

I believe that the Divine created Scott Walker to test the faith and strength of the people.  Scott Walker I see you as a plague or a flood or other such large sweeping disaster.  We are improved through challenges and trials.  I accept and understand that.  I will pray for your salvation Mr. Walker, but I can not forgive you for your endless multitude of transgressions.  I will pray that I someday can forgive you, regardless of what you cause to happen.

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In the words of Christ "that which you do unto the least of my brothers, that you do onto me"  These words fall on your deaf ears Governor.  Scott Walker you are not a Christian and you should never claim that you are again.  Not until you realize what a Christian is and should be.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Not Not Not and No No No

He was not inmate #whatever (numbers are for concentration camps)

He was not a statistic

He was not just an error that occurred

He was not an anomaly

He was not an unhappy accident

He was a human being

He was a friend

He was a member of his community

He was a citizen of his home town

He was an American

He was a son

He had a mother

He had a father

He was you

He was me

He was your brother

He was your father

He was a member of your church

His name was Troy Davis

His name is Troy Davis

His name was Troy Davis

He was

He was

We are......................for now

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

It's payback time

Lots of good things going on in Madison today, too bad I wasn't there to see it though.  The postal workers held a really good rally today amongst other things.  And a group left Madison today to stand in solidarity on Wall street.  In case you don't remember I am touring the state right now, helping organize efforts and digging up dirt and even more dirt on the likes of Fitzgerald, Nass and others.

As I travel across this beloved state of mine I am touched and proud of the strength and solidarity of the multitudes united against the extreme radical agenda he is pushing on behalf of his corporate masters.  It is awesome to speak with so many informed and effective people.  I am truly having a great time.
And then I turn on my computer and I am shocked and appalled by the unwarranted brutality of the NYPD.  Anthony Bologna, Tony Baloney, how can that be a real name, sounds more like some attempt at stereotypical humor.  Officers like him are the reason when I was younger that I followed bands like M.D.C. , and the crucifucks who demonized cops.  About the only good thing I have heard coming from New York lately is the fact that dozens and dozens of good New York officers that have been calling in sick with the 'blue flu' in solidarity with protesters and making their own protest against the brutality.

So in solidarity with New York which has shown solidarity with Wisconsin since the beginning, I am dedicating the rest of this post to those wonderful protesters and listing sites where you can go to get more information on what is really happening and how you can help.

On Facebook check out the page - The People's Bailout

On Twitter check out - #occupynewyork

To donate to the protesters by providing them with food while they hold they're ground to protect all of us from corporate imperialism please go to   www.delivery.com
then create an account
enter address 146   2 Ave , New York, New York 10003
click on   Village Farm Grocery
choose items and add to cart
enter payment information
in the delivery section type in   Occupy Wall street  New York, New York 10006
insert "ground" for unit
insert *Tiffany Pl* for cross street
insert 212-475-7521 for phone

thank you in advance to all of you who can give to the cause.  There are now strikes and occupations in over 30 major U.S. cities.  It is a class war, and we will win.

On Wisconsin, On New York!    FORWARD!!!!

The Paragraph

Today like yesterday I am going to be writing on the theme of 'We are Wisconsin.'  It is an important thing to remember especially in the light of recent events and the truly remarkable media circus that surrounds them.
In the last few days there has been a minor landslide both local and national regarding an incident in which a private citizen poured a beer of the head of his districts legislator.  At first I thought this was going to be just another example of over-reporting of a minor issue.

Apparently the media felt the need to make much, much more about this than I thought the market could hold, and is succeeding.  I will be getting more direct feedback on how folks around the badger state feel individually about this as I travel around Wisconsin over the next week or so.

Its' nice to get away from all the stress that comes from spending too much time at the capitol building, the DOA offices and so forth.  We are all Wisconsin and included in that comes a great deal of diversity and character both individual and cumulative.  Likewise when it comes to all the multitudes of people opposed to Scott Walker there is going to be a diversity.  Not just of age or gender, locality and income level, race or ethnicity.  But a diversity of opinions on just what are the best tactics/strategies to use in protecting Wisconsin from the governor.

"Beer guy" from last weeks incident, is from Senator Robin Vos' district who spent a long and unsuccessful time trying to communicate with his representative.  In this years right wing avalanche of radical legislation, the GOP has refused to communicate or negotiate with their constituents or fellow legislators.  Things have become very heated as time went by and 'beer guy' and the senator did indeed eventually communicate with each other after much effort and by then both sides were rather frustrated and harsh words were exchanged by both people.  One time 'beer guy' approached Senator Vos (who for those of you who don't know yet, is a man, that's right one guy poured beer on another guy in a bar one night) and gave him a pink slip, literally a ladies pink slip, to symbolize the literal pink slip he believed the senator would receive through recall.  I don't understand how this is pressing news material.

Another person named and negatively portrayed in the press lately is 'Segway' guy as he has come to be known.  For those of you who don't know yet 'Segway' uses his segway as a mobility device, as he prefers it (understandably) to a wheel chair.  Segway has done lots of very good, very positive work for the Wisconsin movement and he has done it fearlessly.  Even though time and again he has risked serious physical injury at the hands of the state patrol officers who are brought in as skull-breakers.  He has been repeatedly injured by these rogue officers just like others were at the capitol last week for sitting quietly and recording the assembly while it was in session.

The amazing thing to me last week and what should have really drawn the media's attention, was the footage of the protesters being violently removed from the assembly gallery by officers.  Especially when minority student protesters, including young girls, were being viciously man-handled by these white officers.  These same officers in the footage can be seen selecting the minority individuals and intentionally leaving the white protesters alone.  With of course the exception of one disabled American individual 'Segway' who had multiple constitutional rights violated.

Also notable is that our right to film these procedures is and was, and previously defended before the supreme court, to be guaranteed.  The constitution can not be trumped in Wisconsin.  The officers knew this but followed the orders of papa Fitzgerald and other GOP influences and intentionally went after protesters anyway.  And by their individual nature, went after women and minority students out of preference.  That is why the district attorneys office dismisses all charges against the protesters, because they were illegally arrested and can sue the state if the charges are not immediately dropped.  There is no coddling of the protesters going on.

But that is what the the media reports on, not savage and illegal police behaviour right inside the capitol building itself.  But rather they focus on allegations of 'coddling' and spilled beer.  That is why right now I am organizing a large scale boycott of all Madison television media outlets for the month of October.  Not just tuning them out, but folks calling the stations managers and marketing director's and letting them know that it is their slanted/under reported, over reported/biased journalism.  The primary sponsors of these stations particularly the main news sponsors will be contacted as well and told that the boycott extends to them as well to apply pressure to correct these problems.

Now I can understand how some of the reporting of the issue's is going on.  I of course, don't agree with it but I understand some of it now after finally receiving information from the Wisconsin state Capitol press corps.  On page two of the protocols and definitions applied, to media to be allowed to cover the functioning of government in Wisconsin is what is becoming known to me as 'The Paragraph'  Cue dramatic music now.

The paragraph reads verbatim as:

"Correspondents shall declare that, while a member of the WCCA, they will not act as an agent in the prosecution of claims, and will not become engaged or assist, directly or indirectly, in any lobbying, promotion, advertising, or publicity activity (legally speaking 'publicity activity' is reporting of news and/or events occurring or occurred) intended to influence legislation or any other action of the Legislature, nor any matter before any independent agency, or any department or other instrumentality of the Governor's office.

No wonder the press is focusing on facetious issues like the current 'great butter debate' instead of the real issues affecting all of our lives.  Maybe some day all of this will be explained after the FBI and the fed's take their case against Walker and his campaign into court, by the media.  Or then again will it?

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

"Queer folk & Queerness" in Walkers Wisconsin.

Now the media has really stepped up the game of trying to split apart the ranks of the majority of Wisconsinites who oppose Scott Walker and his radical agenda of class warfare.  And what is really depressing me today besides a heavily biased article in the Wisconsin State Journal by a seemingly biased reporter, is the fact that we have been allowing ourselves to be divided by this blatant series of falsehoods.
In J.R.R. Tolkiens series of novels titled 'the Lord of the Rings' the central figures as I am sure you are all aware of are folks called Hobbits.

  You know cute little people with English accents and big hairy feet.  The Hobbits live across the countryside of their little part of the world (middle Earth) in villages and shires.  They are all merry and happy folk, very dedicated to their communities and their family ties.  So much so to the point that they have developed an unhealthy and, to my way of thinking, borderline paranoia of anything outside of their village limits.  Hobbits from just down the road are 'queer'.  Not in the homophobic way of course but in meaning 'different', 'weird' or something of that nature.

It doesn't take very much at all for one Hobbit to cast suspicion on others for wearing a slightly different style of hat, or for drinking ale and singing a song that another doesn't know.  This will get the Hobbits to labeling you a 'queer sort' of person.  Of course if you live in a different village five miles down the road then you are bordering on altogether alien standing.  "That Sun Prairie is a queer place and its folks are even queerer."  is something a Madison Hobbit may say of a suburban Madison Hobbit.

Of course we can have a good little chuckle at this right?  Because we can see right through this to the truth, or can we?  Wisconsinites from rural area's (and I was once one) have an odd or curious way of looking at folks in the big towns of LaCrosse or Green Bay.  The pace of life is a little different and the culture is very subtly changed from that of say a small town like Ripon, Cataract or Taylor.  And if your from one of those little towns or villages you may have a tendency to see the residents of a small city like Madison, or a big city like Milwaukee as being somewhat odd to you.  You may ask why are they going out to lunch instead of brown bagging it?  Why are they sitting in cubicles all day instead of pulling teat's or throwing bales?

Truth is it just doesn't matter.  We all need each other to get along.  City folk cant live without rural farms producing all of the goods that they produce.  Country folk cant get news or entertainment without city based government and infrastructure allowing for interstate sales of produce and import of products from other places.

At the end of the day, we are all Packer fans, we are all Badger fans.  We like beer in our bellies and cheese on our heads.  Which by the way looks darn 'queer' to folks from anywhere else on the planet.  We all pronounce the name of our state wis-CON-sin.  We are all considered hick citizens of a fly-over state by folks on the east and west coasts.  We are all the same.  We are all Wisconsinites and we are all proud to live and work together in the best state of the best nation on Earth.

So don't let out of stater's like Scott Walker from Colorado, or Robin Vos who takes all his cue's from special interests in New York and New Jersey tell you what a real Wisconsin citizen is because they have no clue.  They just want to confuse you and split you up and weaken you all and take over the badger state and sell it off to the highest out of state bidder.  And it wont be a public auction either, we are not invited.
Yeah folks in Madison are a little more politically aware of some things because they live in the political capitol of the state.  Just like folks in Colby know more about colby cheese than others.  Just like folks from Milwaukee and LaCrosse know more about mass beer production than some others.  In the end we are all in this together and if we are going to keep our state for ourselves and our children we all need to continue to stick it out together through these long and troubling times.

So put on your Bucky Badger sweat pants, your Green Bay Packers sweatshirt and your white tail deer antlered cheesehead and be proud.  Folks from other states may not get it and think we are all 'queer' but you know what?  In the words of the Hobbit Samwise "If that's being queer than we could all use a little more queerness in these parts."

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Curiosity led the cat to kool-aid.

Okay now that was a really mixed up title for this blog posting.  But then again we are living in some very mixed up and confusing times right now.  In this particular case I should have said that frustration led the cat to the kool-aid, not curiosity.  Perhaps I should explain a little further............

I was speaking this last Sunday on the phone with a very good friend of mine who I have known for over a quarter century.  Although I have probably never admitted it (or at least not recently) to my friend, I consider him to be a rather smarter, wiser person than myself.  Academically he had me beat all throughout our high school years.  When we spoke on Sunday our conversation began in the normal way for us, the Packers had just defeated the Panthers of South Carolina and their number one draft pick, the highly touted quarterback Cam Newton.  We discussed pattern routes, the role of fullbacks in the modern pro era and such matters.
Having exhausted our football related discussion points we moved onto the standard small talk.  What was happening in central Wisconsin where he and his family reside.  What was happening with myself down here in Madison in southern Wisconsin.  So of course we ended up discussing the big ongoing subject of badger state politics as is usually the course of our talks.

We were in agreement as usual until the conversation steered more to the side of economics and the impact on the citizenry and the shape of things to come.  My friend was very concerned about the situation with extended unemployment benefits and where the money would come from to pay for such benefits at a time when the nation is on the brink of near economic collapse.  I was just beginning to bring up the unfair burden placed on the hard working citizens who comprise the vast majority of our population, and how they were being shouldered with the burden of paying not only for tax cut after tax cut for the overly-prosperous, but also the multi-billion dollar corporations.

I didn't get to complete my statement though as my good friend, stressed out by his own financial challenges and similar concerns hung up on me.  I was very surprised and disturbed to say the least.  Here I am in Madison, ground zero of the movement to protect the poor, working and middle classes, and my own working class best buddy ever cuts off communication with me.

I thought about this for a little while and I began to see where he was coming from as I tried to place myself in his shoe's.  My friend has labored everyday since our high school years to build himself up and to provide for his wonderful little family that he dearly loves.  He is a good man and nothing could ever change that opinion which I have of him.  But like many others he is frustrated.  Like myself he is middle aged now, his body is becoming tired and worn from decades of labor.  He has received no reasonable pay raise for years, though his work load increases steadily.  His benefits are in doubt and he is fearing for the future of his family and his ability to provide for them in the way he feels is their due.  In other words he is getting squeezed from both ends and he is feeling the pressure very acutely.

He is angry at what he feels to be too many people riding out 99 weeks of unemployment while he busts his hump all week long and then toils on his brothers farm most every weekend.  Like I said my friend is very hard working and has little patience for those he deems to be 'lazy' or 'not trying hard enough.'  And I don't blame him for those sentiments, how could I?  We are both the product of central Wisconsin farm country work ethics.

What I wish I would have been able to say though, on the phone to my friend on Sunday is this.  Although the evening news may tell you that the national unemployment rate is hovering around 9.6 % the REAL percentage is much higher.  When you add in folks who have dropped off of the radar because their benefits have run out, those who have grudgingly had to apply for welfare.  Those who are in re-training or continuing vocational education hoping to have a job available on graduation, those who have given up out of frustration and depression, the actual unemployment rate in this nation is around 16 %.  Add in the folks who are under-employed, only working part time and such and something close to a 25 % unemployment/gross underemployment rate is the reality.

That figure is NOT a result of laziness or unwillingness to job search properly, it is not a disinterest on a massive scale by Americans to properly care for their families.  It is an economy and a job market that has been systematically weakened to the breaking point by abuse of those in charge of leading economic matters.  It is a result of uncontrolled and under-regulated greed.  And greed is just plain old human nature by those without a proper conscience.

I understand the frustration untold millions of our citizens are feeling.  They have worked their butts off for years and as this crisis goes on longer and longer they are reaching the snapping point.  Like a dog on a leash tormented by those just out of reach, they are about to break loose and attack whatever is in front of them, that is human nature as well.

But those worse off than ourselves are not the cause of this nor are they our enemy.  The corporations who have spent millions of dollars lobbying for unfair tax breaks to save billions of dollars, are the cause and the enemy.  The millionaires and the billionaires who have done likewise are the cause and our enemy.  The politicians and lobbyists who worked together to cause the crisis to reach this  point are the cause and the enemy of working folks.  And I know when you take a look at your own calloused hard working hands and look at the ivory towers of the overly prosperous you don't see how you can fight them as an individual.  And so you lash out at something or someone that you feel you can defeat, you turn on the weaker of those amongst us and label them as the problem.

But in our hearts we know this is not true.  When we listen to the overly-prosperous on the evening news with crocodile tears in their eyes, whining and moaning about how "on paper last year I made six million dollars, but after taxes, and re-investing a couple million in profit back into my own company as a write-off, I had to somehow struggle to provide for my family on only $700,000 last year."

Give me a gosh darned break here folks.  We are struggling on maybe $32,000 a year and we attack someone trying to maintain their home and family on 2/3 of the income they previously made, which is what unemployment pays out to you, if you qualify?  And you still pay tax on that at the end of the year.  The lying figure on the t.v. pissing and moaning about his taxes has $700,00.

SEVEN HUNDRED THOUSAND DOLLARS !!!!!!!

And we should feel sorry for this person?!?!?!  Why because they can only afford two vacation homes and four months off every year?  Because the cost of fuel (which they write off as a business expense) for the Lear jet is going up steadily, just like unleaded, just like home heating fuel?  Give me a break folks, please come back down to Earth.  Do not drink the kool-aid, put it down and walk away!

At the radical extreme of folks who have started to believe the crying, pissing and moaning of the rich, are the tea party who shake themselves to sleep at night with the lies of billionaires in their heads.  Does anyone really believe in their heart of hearts that someone who worships money and has their whole life will ever change?  When someone gets on Fox business news and states shamelessly in public that " I work hard and for the last decade have averaged 88 million dollars a year in pay, now with the economy in the tank I'm only going to make 57 million this year, its not worth it, I will shut down my company and go to work for Taco Bell."
They are not going to work for Taco Bell.  They can wait this recession out, heck they still have billions in the bank.  Besides 99 out of a 100 of these folks grew up wealthy beyond our dreams and they don't have any real world job skills.  They are terrified at the very thought of working for a living, having to produce or be terminated, that is their nightmare of nightmares.

They will not shut down all American industries, they will not let the auto industry fold, the armaments industry fold and likewise with pornography, music and high speed pizza delivery, the things our nation succeeds at.  They are playing with your mind.  They are making you confused and frustrated to the point where you begin to believe them from the sheer repetition of the lies.  Until you begin to drink the kool-aid.  And when you do that you not only weaken yourself but all other working people as well.

There is no need to get rid of a self sustaining "entitlement" like social security.  Where in the world did this recent renaming of s.s. as a 'entitlement' instead of a 'right' come from?  If there is 'entitlement' here it is the workers, who have labored, and paid into this system they believed in.  They are entitiled to reap the benefits of that which they have sown.  And yet the term is thrown around blindly,and by whom?  From the same lying and whining millionaires and billionaires who want you to drink the kool-aid, that is who.  An entitlement is being overly prosperous, being one of the 400 (yup that's all) families that control 50% of all the money in the United States, and throwing a temper tantrum because they want more, and they want to take it from the working folks who have suffered tax increase after tax increase under the former President Bush.

Stay the course my friends, we are gaining momentum and we are winning this fight.  It will be long and it will be hard.  We have been suffering for years and there will be more suffering and toil in our futures.  But stay the course and we will come out ahead.  Let the rich pay the fair share of the burden as they should instead of allowing them to step on our necks as they bloat living off the fat of the land.  This is our country and we are the majority.  We are the people, and the will of the people shall prevail.  We are waking up lately to find ourselves embroiled in a class war not of our making.  But it is a class war, well........it's only a class war if you have the brains and backbone to fight back.  Or else your just allowing yourselves and your families, your children and their children to be raped by corporate evil.

It is not fair and it is not right that this conflict should be thrust upon us.  But we cant close our eyes and make it go away.  We are in it now and we are obligated to see it through and carry the day.  Where would we be now if after in 1941 and the attack on Pearl Harbor, if America said "we do not want, nor did we ask for this fight, so we will simply give up?"  You cant even imagine that can you, just as you cant imagine how bad our future's will be if we give up now.  Solidarity.


On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

What media???

A quiet and sunny day in Madison after another exciting weekend.  Last Friday night we kicked off the 'Fighting Bob" festival at the Barrymore theater.  Festivities began with the pipe and drum corps of the Madison firefighters local 311.  A long list of speakers including Jim Hightower, John Nichols fired up the crowd and then at the end key note speaker David Kucinich really blew the roof of the place.  For those of you who could not be there be sure to look for the footage on youtube.com. 
A long day Saturday at the festival.  My guess would be around nine or ten thousand people attending from all around the Midwestern United States.  David Obey gave a very rousing talk and unless something changes soon he will be my favorite candidate for governor to replace Scott Walker at the end of his political career.  The F.B.I. is all over his campaign and his legal bills defending himself already are closing in on $70,000 or more at this point.
Not that you would here about this from the media either in Wisconsin or elsewhere.  Last week a 'special volunteer force' of state troopers created by papa Fitzgerald came to the capitol supposedly to guard the solidarity singers from the tea party, but actually were there to break the skulls of protesters.  Four people were taken to the hospital with serious injuries including two young girls.  The media refused to cover this at all under GOP guidelines.  The story they ran instead and covered ad nauseum all week long dealt with a beer being spilled on a member of the republican party at a bar downtown.
The obvious and blatant bias of the media has been a constant challenge and concern across the state of Wisconsin and in fact, the entire nation lately.  That is why I am now organising a month long boycott of all four Madison area television local news channels throughout October.  We will not only be initiating large scale media boycotts but also taking the word to their primary commercial sponsors and pressuring them as well through monetary boycott to effect a return of a least a slight modicum of integrity to local television journalism.
Later this week I will be posting on how all news crews basically now have to swear an oath of allegiance to governor Scott Walker to be allowed to cover events at the capitol.  I hate to bring it up but some other despot years ago named Adolph something or other did exactly the same thing.  More on that this week though folks as I am going to be releasing the full story on that through politiscoop.com first.  So until then sisters and brothers, keep up the good fight.  We will win, unless the FBI beats us to it that is.  Either way though a Walker free Wisconsin is what we must have.  Solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Media brutality and police bias

Or is it police brutality and media bias?  We have been dealing with both here in Madison this week which is somewhat of a surprise to many of us.  As previously mentioned on this blog the tea party showed up to disrupt a solidarity sing-along earlier this week.  Given the violent and hateful nature of the tea party extra police officers were brought to the capitol to deal with these extremists.  After the tools and fools left though, the extra officers were still stationed at the capitol for the rest of their shift.  These extra officers were of course hand selected volunteer State Patrol officers who are very loyal to pappa Fitzgerald and soon to be removed governor Scott Walker.  Can you smell the trouble brewing already?

Later that same afternoon many people were attending the assembly session from the viewing gallery.  The event was broadcast on WisconsinEye and a large group of media personal were also in attendance.  Now some of the ladies and gentlemen in the gallery also had camera's or camera phones with them and were recording the session as well.  Republicans on the assembly floor noticed that folks in the gallery had camera's and ordered the troopers into action. The troopers rushed in with brutal results causing serious injury to multiple parties who more than likely would never have considered physically resisting these large armed men with an agenda.

One individual who I will not name was approached my a trooper who told him camera's were not allowed.  This person then told the officer what the officer should have already known, that the constitution can not be trumped in any public or government building and that the law blatantly and clearly states that such activity is legal and fully protected by the law.  The trooper then grabbed and smashed the camera out of the citizens hands before grabbing him by the neck and slamming his face into the seats in front of the citizen.

Luckily there were also human beings in uniform in the gallery at this time.  The brave women and men of the Capitol Police and Security force who jumped in to rescue the innocent citizen from Walkers personal goon squad member.  Although the outcome could have been worse the damage was already done, property destroyed, innocent civilians had to receive emergency medical care, and faith in our American way of life was permanently altered.

Which of course led to yesterday evenings media circus.  Reporters and staff from all over south central Wisconsin were at the courthouse in Madison to cover the big story.  The big story of course was..............an angry protester spilled a beer on republican Robin Vos.  Yes the reporters were shoving and clubbing each other and pushing citizens around in a animalistic display of savagery in an attempt to get footage of someone who poured beer on somebody.  We of course berated the crap out of the highly compromised, some would say bought and paid for, main stream media.  This circus like, frenzied behaviour over a beer spilling incident while zero, zilch, no attention is paid to deliberate and organized politically based displays of police brutality.

Earlier today I was watching footage of a soccer game in what I believe was Spain.  A fan with a sign during a break in the game ran across the field to attract attention to some cause or other.  Four police officers took the man to the ground and began to torturously beat him with fist and batons in front of thousands of spectators.  The good citizens could not sit idly by while this happened, they took to the field where they proceeded to grab the officers and throw them to the ground.  They then basically had the living snot kicked out of them by the outraged people.

It is terrible that the original person with the sign was brutalized by police.  It is terrible that the police were then brutalized in return by the crowd.  But what were those officers thinking?  What were the state troopers at the capitol thinking?  That they were gods or governments onto themselves, untouchable and beyond any human reproach?  The reports issued after Mondays trooper brutality in Madison includes the names and badge numbers of the troopers responsible. I will pray nobody is killed or seriously injured.  I will pray that this never happens again.  I will pray that people see the folly of such activities, but I don't know if I will be able to pray for the safety and health of those who initiated these terrible events.  Like all other people on Earth, I am a flawed vessel and subject to all sorts of shortcomings.  Apparently at some level I may be no better than the troopers who perpetuated this outrage.  At least I'm smarter than the media and have my priorities all in order.  Peace and solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Scott Walker created his first job in Wisconsin

A lovely sunny fall day here in Madison, the capitol of Wisconsin.  For those of my readers outside of the United States Wisconsin is the big green space north of the city of Chicago.  Once again a strong and very vigorous crowd at the solidarity sing-along.  Everyone here is happy as we gear up for 'Fighting Bob Fest" starting with a kick off show at the Barrymore Theatre tomorrow night.
For those of you who don't know the festival is named after Robert "Fighting Bob" LaFollette, former governor of Wisconsin back in the day and the creator of the Progressive party.  The progressives did more good for this state in a week than the democrats could do in a year.  Today the LaFollete family is still represented by Douglas LaFollette who is now and will be, the last secretary of state for Wisconsin.  Scott Walker eliminated the entire office of the secretary of state as a personal attack on the LaFollette family who fought for years to help people in need.  to create jobs with fair pay and safe practices, to level the playing field in general for the great citizens of the badger state.
Walker of course hates and despises all such notions as a radical right wing corporate tool.  People often ask me where does all his hatred and spite come from.  The answer is a simple one, Scott Walker fits the psychological profile of a psychopath, that being a person without conscience or emotion who is free to behave without the burden of ethics or morality.  But that is the subject of a future posting.
Speaking of Scott Walker it seems our radical governor after promising to add a quarter of a million jobs to the state, and then causing us to lose over 30,000 positions, has created his first job.  The lucky recipient of this position is none other than former U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic, that might be pronounced 'bisquick' I'm not entirely certain.  Bisquick is what came up on the spell check under his name.  Mr Biskupic is a very busy man indeed in his new position as defense attorney for Scott Walker.  It seems that Walkers past is catching up to him rather quickly this week.  Apparently our governor in his previous position as Milwaukee county executive, hired some cronies of his and paid them with tax dollars, to work on his campaign illegally and that was their only job.  Told you he has no moral or ethical cognizance.
Anyway yesterday the F.B.I. raided the Madison home of his Walkers former chief executive and confiscated materials and computers from her home.  The former chief staffer Cynthia Archer is the third person involved in the 'John Doe' investigation of Walkers campaign practices so far.  For over six months now thousands and thousands of us have worked tirelessly against the inhuman radical agenda of Scott Walker and we are on the brink of recalling him and lieutenant governor Rebecca Kleefisch.  And now it seems if this investigation continues on the logical path up to Walker he will be removed from office by the fed before we can even recall the soon to be, state's first one year governor.  Well as long as he is gone I suppose we will all still be overwhelmed with joy.
Of course there is the small possibility that some extreme promises will be made clandestinely to the other defendants, and they will perjure themselves to defend Walker.  That would take some very serious money and I don't see how it can be funnelled to them at some future time without attracting notice.
Anyway that's the news from the capitol today, we are all anxiously waiting for further information and details to be made available to us.  Insiders in Madison are cautiously stating that Walker is likely to be politically doomed for life by the end of this year.  Lets all pray that they are correct.  Solidarity forever.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

The last thing they want you to know

The last thing the Koch brothers, their tools & fools like Scott Walker, and the GOP want you to know is the difference between possession and control.  And they are definately terrified of you good folks out their ever learning the definition of control.  They refuse to even let their tea party stooges know this for fear of their own destruction.  So of course, I am going to tell it to you.

Possession is a tricky word, basically it means 'ownership' or 'to possess' but this is tricky because as the Koch brothers and the GOP have taught us things can be removed from your possession or anybody else's.  The republicans in the capitol building during the last legislative session possessed memo's and note's and advance copies of the legislation that they inteded to pass.  They left some of these materials in a place where a investigative private citizen, perhaps like myself, could find it.  These materials previously in GOP possession were transferred to said citizens possession and subsequently were then transferred to the media and others possession.

Possession is a very tricky and somewhat abstract concept that has primarilly worked so far out of a general mass-social regard for the concept of possession.  But as we have seen things that we formerly possessed like the right to vote, freedom of speech, and open government can be taken and we no longer possess them.  Likewise out of respect for democracy, freedom, peace and prosperity some things formerly possessed by the right wing is now in our, that is, the peoples possession.

Possession is fleeting and fairly easy to manipulate, it is not very solid and has little realistic grounding in nature.  Or as you may have heard from watching old police shows or perhaps the old movie 'The Exorcist' is that 'possession is 9/10's of the law'  And law is a tricky concept itself.

Now control is a much more easy to understand and solid concept to work with.  Control is something solid and secure.  It is easily understood my the masses and has a solid foundation in nature.  People can lie to you about what control's definition is (the GOP again) but they can never change the fundamental nature of 'control
' and therein lies the terror that stabs at the heart of right wing radicals.

Control of something, or of anything can be either an individual or a group thing.  For instance here in Wisconsin, Scott Walker considers himself in control of the state and all its people.  The Kock brothers are in control of the governor and the lieutenant governor.  That is they have control until all of us are on the same page as to what control is by definition.  We are allowing the Koch's, Walker and their like to control Wisconsin because we are not fully and completly aware of what control is and how it works.  Once we all have that information we will immediately realize that 'they' have absolutely zero, 0, zilch control over anything here.  We will realize that it is 'we' who have full and total control of the grand and glorious badger state.
And here is how it works people, please think upon this very seriously for everything you love and believe in and hope for hinges on this. ................

CONTROL OF SOMETHING, OF ANYTHING IS, BASED UPON THE ABILITY TO DESTROY THAT THING!!!!!  It is just that simple sisters and brothers.  The computer I am typing on now is the possession of someone other than myself.  Yet I control this computer right now because I have the ability to pick it up and toss it into a bathtub full of water and destroy it.  I have all the control, the 'possessor' has none at this moment.  I of course wouldnt do that as I appreciate the use of this machine and have no desire to see my friends possession damaged and  no rational reason to destroy this machine.

WE CONTROL THE GOVERNORS OFFICE, THE GOVERNOR, THE LEGISLATURE, THE ASSEMBLY, THE JOINT COMMITTEE ON FINANCE, THE DEPARTMENT OF ADMINISTRATION AND THE GOVERNMENT ACCOUNTABILITY BOARD. 

All of which at this time are enemies of the people of the state of Wisconsin.......well 97% of us anyway.  But we are the one's who have total and complete control of this state.  At any time of our choosing we could destroy any and/or all of the above and rebuild with something of use and purpose to the citizenry.  We could not be stopped, we would receive no retribution because we have all the control and they have no tools to deal out retribution with.  We are the workers, the thinkers, the doers, the planners, the muscle and mind and heart THAT IS WISCONSIN.  They are nothing, we are everything.
 
Minutes after posting this blog it will be read by tools of Walker in the GEFCO 2 building and word will be sent to Walkers office.  As Walker knows he has no control of the National Guard, the police, the firefighters, the paramedics, the citizens of this state, he does exert some small amount of control around his person with the personal security he pays for (with our tax money) to the Wackenhutt Corporation.  Those goons, if there are enough of them, may be able to exert some small amount of control over me as a person inside the capitol building, but that is all that they control.  So if these posts stop coming and I am not seen around the capitol you will know that a small amount of control has been exerted over me.  Just like twenty goons could control me by the ability to destroy me, the millions of Wisconsin citizens could at any time take control of the capitol building, elected officials, even the evil Scott Walker himself.  He could be tarred and feathered and run out of state on a rail anytime you good people decide to exert YOUR CONTROL.

But you, all of you readers and all the citizens of Wisconsin have the real control, the firm and unshakable control over your home state, your lives and your childrens futures.  Dont believe any lies from the talking heads or the rradical right.  You are in power, you will  dictate what happens in our fair state and likewise nationwide because you are in control.  Consider yourselves empowered.  Solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Something beautiful happened today

I arrived late to the capitol building today, walking into the rotunda around the middle of the solidarity sing-along.  As I made my way up the staircase I sensed that something was very different, call it an odd vibe in the air.  Entering the open rotunda I saw a row of jaundice yellow tea party flags draped over the railing.  I immediately noticed also, dozens of uniformed police officers, nearly the entire Capitol Police and Security force on hand as well as many Wisconsin State Troopers.  "Darn it" I thought to myself, "the tea party is back again to incite violence."
Except this wasn't the usual tea party groups that we are used to seeing here in Madison.  These were mostly middle aged and older folks, more females than males by about a two to one margin.  Very curious indeed.  From past experience they usually send in small groups of young and very aggressive males to initiate violence with the females who are  singing.
Tensions were still high though and within a few minutes Chris Reeder who leads the sing-along announced that he was heading outside to finish today's event, peacefully leaving the rotunda to the far right wing radicals.  Most of the group (of singers) followed him outside but many of us stayed inside to observe what the tea party was up to.  The police presence was too strong for them to become physically violent so it was assumed that they would instead launch into some sort of radical tirade or hateful chanting.  None of that occurred though.
People from both sides were mostly standing around or milling about the rotunda.  A single tea partier walked up to a group of our folks and began yelling and making violent hand gestures inches from the face of one of our singers.  Not wanting the young man from our side to be tempted to respond to this I came up along side the tea party guy and clapped my hands once about a foot from his ear.  He turned towards me startled by the sound and advanced butting his chest into mine.  He had a bit of a freaky look in his eyes and I was sure he was going to assault me.  Very rare indeed for a right winger to actually risk a physical altercation with another male of his own size.
Instead he looked me dead in the eye and in a barely audible whisper told me that he would kill me.  He stated that he would 'rape me, kill me and eat me.'  He repeated this twice, I was somewhat stunned I have to admit.  I always considered the tea party to be something along the lines of rabid dogs but this was not expected at all.  At this time a couple of ladies called my name and asked me to back away from this individual and I did.  Several state troopers then informed the guy that inciting violence would not be tolerated and that he would be removed from the building and/or arrested if he continued.  He flared with self righteous indignation but he did back down.  One of the singers carefully approached the man and to my surprise within a couple of minutes the two of them were talking peacefully together in a calm and reasonable voice.
Still from the ground floor of the rotunda came the chanting from our side and soon the tea party was shouting down at the individual that they needed to speak.  We needed to stop smashing their right to speak.  Or maybe more aptly they wanted our silence so that they could repeat the rhetoric taught to them by their corporate masters.  So we called for silence and quickly the rotunda was in absolute silence.  Our folks stood quietly with the two fingered peace sign in the air reminding us to be peaceful and give the right wing a chance to say something as they were of course far outnumbered even by our now diminished ranks. 
None of them had anything to say whatsoever, not a word, not one peep.  After a full minute of this we broke our silence and began discussing how the radical right had nothing to say because without the words of the corporate powers in hand they had no words.  No ability it seemed to even think and come up with something, it was a very interesting experience indeed.
Quickly some preacher (southern baptist convention my best guess) began arguing with the police that he had a permit and that only his group had a right to be in the rotunda.  All the people who in their minds did not agree with them had to leave, the police had to make us leave he stated.  The police were not even close to being amused by this, but I was, as the chief of the Capitol Police and Security informed him on friendly but no uncertain terms that  1. He had no such permit.  2. No such permit exists because  3.  The capitol building is a public space and anyone is free to use it.
That shut him up rather effectively I thought.  I was just starting to quietly ask some of the tea party members what state they came from because there were nearly fifty of them and that means at least half of them had to be from outside Wisconsin.  They quickly became quiet and looked away from me.  So I approached a group of older tea party folks who looked like they must have reached retirement age.  I asked them if they were receiving social security checks which would make them socialists or communists by their own rhetoric.  Once again they looked  ashamed and confused and couldn't answer me, so I walked away.
So I start taking some pictures of all these folks from our side and theirs, nobody was saying or doing anything much just sort of milling around and that is when a beautiful thing happened.  The folks from the left and the middle and the slightly to the right of middle (us) began talking with the folks on the radical right (them).  And talk they did, like calm rational people discussing issues of relevance.  No 'us' or 'them' just talking and comparing opinions.  It almost brought tears to my eyes.  Was I witnessing a breakdown of the radical right as they realized that we are all human beings.  Was I watching the protester's starting to regain respect for the opposition as they tried communicating with people who don't agree with everything they say.  Was this the re-emergence of civility in our state so recently torn asunder?  Glory be.  Solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Monday morning coming down..............

.................which can only mean one thing, the legislature is back in session.  Recently Scott Walker tried being duplicitous once again by calling on the need for bi-partisanship and compromise with the legislator's.  This was not because of fear from the recent democrat recall victories and subsequent neo-con losses.  Rather it was another attempt at what he had tried previously which was to try and calm people down and lower their guard before he rams through more harmful at best, new legislation.
Of course the governor doesn't draft the new proposals and laws.  The governor receives the basic template of the legislation from ALEC as funneled through a Milwaukee law firm.  With template in hand the governor then confers with his top people who take the information and deliver it to key neo-con's in the assembly and the senate who then have their aids prepare the proposals.  Nothing homegrown, locally produced, grassroots about it.  Our legislation in Wisconsin at this point in time is mailed in from the east coast.
And thus here we are at the end of the summer break preparing to report on these new senate and assembly bills and proposals.  Trying to spread the word to the citizens of the state of what they stand to lose as mainstream media sources are clearly compromised by the power's within the right wing's radical minority.  Occupation, demonstrations, shenanigans and rallies are all possibilities in the near future as we wait with baited breath to see what dirty tricks they have prepared for us.  But be of strong heart folks, the truth will set you free, and we are busy getting the truth out to all of you good folks.  Until later ..........solidarity.


On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Langdon street you tools and fools

Quick post for the sake of necessity folks, yes I did announce yesterday my possible candidacy for Wisconsin state assembly.  No you tea party tools and fools, I no longer live on the east side of Madison behind Gardener's Bakery.  Leave my former neighbors alone please.  Come after me on Langdon street if you want but for the sake of decency leave people who are only guilty of living next to me alone.
Your only making yourselves look dumb, which is fine by me-if your good at it keep it up, but come after me and stop showing up drunk at nine in the morning stating that your gonna kick my butt.  I may shame governor Walker from time to time but I don't go to Colorado where he is from and harass his neighbor's.  I have announced over and again where I live plus I can be found at the capitol building every day.
I love the tea party and their ability to look awful in front of the media but this does not even serve my purpose, so please do your research and meet me for coffee on my porch in the morning.  Solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

And Wisconsin is gearing up............again

Tension is in the air as the badger state prepares for the return of the legislature next week after their extended summer break.  Kind of interesting isn't it that the republicans (tea party, same thing) in the legislature call us folks making 20k to 30k a year with one maybe two weeks of vacation annually at best, 'overly prosperous' and we need to lose half our salaries and have our benefits cut.  Simultaneously they feel fine making five or ten times our pay, have top notch benefits for life after putting in a few years on the job, and still feel they are justified in taking 1/3 of the year off after all that hard working looking for contributions and writing off $500 lunches..

I bet their staff members who actually do all the work are proud of their determined hard working bosses.  Okay in all honesty I don't see how they could possibly put up with all that hypocrisy an a daily basis.  It is one thing to deal with it in protest at the capitol, it must be quite another indeed to have your hands elbow deep in all that socio-political manure on a daily basis.

We celebrated solidarity singalong # 151 today and the turnout was excellent.  We were joined briefly by senator Wirch who is a fine outstanding representative for Wisconsin.  Also we had more international visitors today standing with us in solidarity.  They were in Madison from the nations of Holland and Norway.
Of course we are still receiving just a ton of support both nationally and internationally as people of mindfulness and character realize the importance of what we are dealing with here in our fight against a radical far right wing agenda, and all the dirty tricks that come with it.  We appreciate very deeply the support these good folks have extended to us and will never forget their contributions and solidarity.

Earlier today representative Mark Pocan announced what we have all been waiting for, that he will officially run to replace Tammy Baldwin as she runs for the seat formerly held by retiring senator Herb Kohl of Milwaukee.  Good luck to both Tammy and Mark and given the momentum we have achieved in Wisconsin I expect them to both march on to victory.  Which brings up something I having been thinking about for awhile and will now un-officially announce  'Schauenburg for Assembly' ............what do you folks think about that.  The odds look pretty good for me even with redistricting, and I have some name recognition around here, plus the promise of several key endorsements.  Plus the fact that I spend all my time around the capitol anyway as well as my track record of being willing to slowly and horribly die for the proud citizens of Wisconsin should prove my dedication to citizens rights and a truly representative democracy.  I would be honored to follow in Pocans place and will try with all my heart to follow the example that he had set forth in his time in office.

In peace and solidarity folks, keep up the momentum, our time is coming.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Reflections on Labor Day weekend.

Very busy weekend here not only at the state capitol in Madison but across Wisconsin as well.  It seems that many folks across the badger state began to remember what the true meaning of labor day really is.  Turnout here in Madtown was great as thousands met and gathered and celebrated at the labor temple on the cities west side.
Local Dem's and labor leaders could be found in  plenty to meet and greet and discuss the issue's of the day.  Much of the talk of course was about the economy and the first step to fixing that here in Wisconsin is of course the recall of governor Scott Walker.  I was surprised that my paranoid little mind didn't come up with this earlier but nonetheless, I am grateful that some folks pointed out to me the importance of simultaneously recalling our lieutenant governor as well as Walker.
Usually I have become fairly adapt at anticipating the dirty tricks being employed politically by the radical right but Lt. governor Klefisch slipped my mind completely.  I had failed to realize what governor Walker would do  to retain his power.  And by his power I guess what I really meant was the socio-economic base of his controllers power structure.   But as a loyal tool of ALEC and the Koch brothers he has the option, and I am sure it was presented to him, of sabotaging a recall of himself by abdicating his seat and allowing the Lt. governor to take over.
By allowing the talking head former news anchor (I cant bear to think of her as a journalist) to take over the governors seat, we would be forced to wait an entire year after she takes over to recall her.  Thus ensuring that the GOP/tea party would have another year to destroy private unions, further weaken health care and schools, destroy the minimum wage and child labor laws before we could take to the polls again.
Please discuss this real possibility with the folks that you discuss politics with to help spread the word about what could otherwise become a devastating loss to Wisconsin and America.
Knowledge is power folks and that is why the radical right wants to keep us dumb and complacent, fed a steady diet of sit-coms and sound bites to keep us from defending ourselves and our children's future's.
We are looking stronger than ever here and still gaining momentum against Walker as we head closer and closer to the recall election.  A big shout out to Tom Morello and the Justice Tour that I was lucky enough to attend at the Barrymore theatre last night.
Also we are starting to make some significant headway here with the Department of Administration and with the Government Accountability Board here regarding investigation into what absolutely appears to be nothing less than sanctioned voter fraud here in recent elections.  Slowly but surely we are breaking through the secretive dark curtain that the right wings loves to work behind in secrecy.
It would be really great to get the Beastie Boys or the full Rage Against the Machine line-up here.  I am still facing multiple computer related issue's here and will have trouble posting to all you folks for the short term.  I am doing everything I can to deal with this.  Keep up the good fight, solidarity.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!

Happy labor day

Lots of activities happening in and around the state Capitol building in Madison this weekend.  Still trying to digest all the information I received at the democracy convention last week.  Our election process has been so compromised in Wisconsin lately that it is impossible for me to even guess what will be happening here next week but it likes like it should be interesting to say the least.
I wish all of you out there a wonderful labor day weekend, this is a great year to take part in the parades happening all throughout America.  Please take the time to stop by and maybe even participate.  And if you see any tea party types or republicans on labor day be sure to shame them.  We are gaining momentum even as the far right wing is falling to schisms.  Keep the faith people and enjoy your holiday.

On Wisconsin!    FORWARD!!!!