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SCHEDULE FOR SATURDAY, MAY 21, 2011
- 10:00am - 3:00pm - NC Labor Picnic (Sponsored by We Are Wisconsin) in Merrill, WI
- 2:30pm - 5:00pm -Teachers vs. Billionaires: The Fight to Defend Public Education at Wilmar Neighborhood Center, 953 Jenifer Street, Madison, WI
The Ed Show: WI Senate passes voter ID bill
FRIDAY NEWS ROUNDUP
The Miami Herald: Gov. Rick Scott signs controversial election bill into law
TALLAHASSEE -- Gov. Rick Scott on Thursday signed a controversial overhaul of the election laws that Republicans say is needed to prevent voter fraud and Democrats call a cynical act of partisanship to improve GOP chances in Florida next year. Critics assailed him for endorsing "voter suppression" tactics aimed at making it tougher for President Barack Obama to capture Florida's prized 29 electoral votes in 2012. "I want people to vote, but I also want to make sure there's no fraud involved in elections," Scott said. "All of us as individuals that vote want to make sure that our elections are fair and honest." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Journal Times: School officials: vouchers 'morally wrong'
RACINE — Public school officials called vouchers "morally wrong" and potentially "crippling" for Racine at a press conference Thursday. A school choice voucher program in Racine would cost taxpayers money while hurting the academic chances of public school students, officials said during the afternoon press conference at Walden middle and high school, 1012 Center St. The press conference was held in response to a proposal from Gov. Scott Walker to expand Milwaukee's school choice voucher program, which allows low-income Milwaukee students to receive state-funded vouchers to attend participating private schools. Walker has proposed removing the low-income requirement while also expanding the program to other cities. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Wisconsin State Journal: GOP legislative aide under investigation for voter fraud
A Republican legislative aide is under investigation for possible vote fraud after she cast her ballot in the November election in Onalaska although she lives in Madison. La Crosse County District Attorney Tim Gruenke said he has forwarded the report from the Onalaska Police Department to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne to see if criminal charges are warranted against Marcie Malszycki, 30, an aide to state Rep. Warren Petryk, R-Eleva. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Senate passes photo ID bill; some Democrats refuse to vote
Madison - Senate Republicans approved requiring people to show photo ID at the polls amid a cacophonous vote Thursday, with eight Democrats not even voting on the measure in protest and because of confusion over how the proceedings were conducted. Immediately after the 19-5 vote was tallied, the crowd in the viewing gallery thundered with chants of "Shame!" as senators exited the chamber. Later, they chanted "Recall!" and sang "We Shall Overcome." Republican Gov. Scott Walker plans to sign the bill Wednesday in a ceremony at the Capitol. "Requiring photo identification to vote will go a long way to eliminate the threat of voter fraud," Walker said in a statement. "If you need an ID to buy cold medicine, it's reasonable to require it to vote." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Ed Show: Ryan's budget blunders -- The Nation's John Nichols explains why Rep. Paul Ryan's budget to privatize Medicare isn't gaining traction.
La Cross Tribune: Current IDs won't work for area college students who want to vote
Thousands of local college students will not be able to vote using their current school IDs after the Senate approved a bill Thursday that would require Wisconsin voters to show photo identification. The bill is waiting Gov. Scott Walker's signature. Under the law, students would be able to present a college-issued ID at the polls if it shows a signature and an expiration date that falls within two years after the card was issued. None of the three local higher education schools' ID cards meets those standards. "Our concern is, if we have to redo ID cards every two years, there's a cost with that," said Larry Ringgenberg, director of university centers at University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. "We don't know how that cost will be absorbed." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
CMD REPORTS: KOCH INDUSTRIES' TOXIC GIFTS TO WISCONSIN
11:00 a.m. - Rebekah Wilce reports for CMD:
Koch Industries ranks in the "top ten" of the Toxic 100 list of the Political Economy Research Institute, which identifies the top U.S. air polluters among the world's largest corporations based on their chronic human health risk. Koch Industries is included in the list as the parent corporation of a diversity of industrial facilities that process and distribute fossil fuels, paper, wood products and synthetic fibers. The pollution from these facilities has a significant effect on the natural environment and on human health.
THURSDAY NEWS ROUNDUP
Thirdcoast Digest: Voter ID passes in Wisconsin: Here's what's in the bill
The Wisconsin State Senate has passed AB-7, the Voter ID bill, and Gov. Scott Walker will sign the legislation next Wednesday. It's a highly contentious piece of legislation that's been on and off the table for years -- backed almost solely by Republicans. The bill will not only require voters to provide photo identification at the polls, it will change how we all vote across Wisconsin. Supporters say the legislation is needed to reduce voter fraud. However, a December 2011 Politifact review of fraud claims found the allegation to be false. Opponents claim the bill will actually disenfranchise thousands of potential voters with its onerous identification provisions, reduction in voting opportunities and confusing requirements. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Wisconsin State Journal: Legislature passes voter ID bill; Walker to sign it Wednesday
The controversial bill requiring voters to show photo identification passed the state Senate Thursday morning over the protests of Democrats on the floor. It now heads to Gov. Scott Walker, who plans to sign it next Wednesday at the state Capitol. "Requiring photo identification to vote will go a long way to eliminate the threat of voter fraud," Walker said. "If you need an ID to buy cold medicine, it's reasonable to require it to vote." Immediately after the chaotic Senate vote, the crowd packing the galleries chanted "Shame!" as GOP members quickly walked out of the chamber. They then chanted of "Recall!" and sang "We Shall Overcome" after protester Christopher Terrell gave a speech about people's rights. Republicans in the state Assembly already passed the bill in a late-night session last week. The GOP, who control the Senate, began debate on the legislation on Tuesday and Democrats warned of dire consequences of the measure until after 1 a.m. on Wednesday. They then used a procedural move to delay final passage. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: Grass Roots: Walker budget 'not moral,' says faith group
I've heard Gov. Scott Walker's budget -- which would slash not only public workers' collective bargaining rights, but also funding to education and programs that assist needy state residents -- criticized as unfair and wrong-headed. Beyond that, the budget is not moral, a representative of communities of faith now is coming forward to say. "A budget that is balanced on the back of workers and the poor is not just, it is not moral, and it is certainly no solution," Linda Ketcham, executive director of Madison-area Urban Ministry, told a news conference gathered Wednesday for the unveiling of the Wisconsin Values Budget. Walker, a Baptist preacher's son, began the day of his inauguration with a prayer breakfast at which he told the hundreds assembled: "I'm proud to say I'm a born-again Christian." So, the judgment of his budget as "not moral" is particularly pointed. Ketcham referred to a passage in the Talmud, a central text of Judaism, which says someone who can protest an injustice, but does not, is an accomplice to the injustice. So people of faith, she says, "have an obligation to speak truth to power." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Planned Parenthood: Finance Committee Votes to Dismantle Family Planning in the State of Wisconsin
This afternoon, all Republicans on the Joint Committee on Finance voted to dismantle Wisconsin's family planning program by restricting the ability of most of Wisconsin's women's health centers to qualify for state funds. This restriction includes women's health providers like Planned Parenthood of Wisconsin -- the state's oldest, largest, and most trusted reproductive health care provider. Republicans on the Committee also endangered Wisconsin's entire BadgerCare family planning program, which provides basic health care to 60,000 women and families and is reported to save the state of Wisconsin $140 million by preventing untended pregnancies in 2008 alone. READ THE FULL PRESS RELEASE HERE.
The Capital Times: Walker budget 'not moral,' says faith group
I've heard Gov. Scott Walker's budget -- which would slash not only public workers' collective bargaining rights, but also funding to education and programs that assist needy state residents -- criticized as unfair and wrong-headed. Beyond that, the budget is not moral, a representative of communities of faith now is coming forward to say. "A budget that is balanced on the back of workers and the poor is not just, it is not moral, and it is certainly no solution," Linda Ketcham, executive director of Madison-area Urban Ministry, told a news conference gathered Wednesday for the unveiling of the Wisconsin Values Budget. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: John Nichols: Effort to thwart voter suppression necessary and appropriate
State Senate Democrats used a procedural maneuver earlier this week to block the final roll call on the voter ID bill that Gov. Scott Walker and his allies have advanced in order to game the political process to favor their chosen candidates. The Democratic moves delayed the Senate vote until today, when it is likely that the Republican-controlled Senate will approve what can only be described as an assault on Wisconsin tradition of encouraging high levels of voter participation. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Appleton Post-Crescent: Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker introduces members of economic development corporation
MADISON — Gov. Scott Walker convened the first meeting of his newly reorganized Commerce Department's board Wednesday, introducing members with Republican and business ties. The GOP governor signed a bill earlier this year that retools the agency as a public-private hybrid called the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation. The governor said the move was designed to help the state provide businesses with incentives more quickly, a key element in keeping his promise to create 250,000 new jobs. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Walker wants changes to unemployment benefits
Gov. Scott Walker wants a change in state law that would allow the continuation of federally funded extended benefits jobless pay and is calling for a one-week waiting period before regular benefits are paid out. The bill, which is expected to be considered by an advisory panel on Thursday before it can be sent to the Legislature, would give Wisconsin access to an estimated $89million in federal money for extended benefits. Extended benefits are available to individuals who have exhausted regular unemployment insurance benefits during periods of high unemployment. Earlier this year, the Obama administration told state officials that extended benefits would no longer be available in Wisconsin as of April 16 because the state's unemployment rate had gone down. The March jobless rate in Wisconsin was 8.1%. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
CMD REPORTS: ROBIN HOOD STORMS CHASE CASTLE AND M&I EXECS GET PIGGISH
9:00 a.m. - Mary Bottari reports for CMD:
On Tuesday, the shareholders of Marshall and Ilsley (M&I) Bank of Wisconsin "voted" to give $71 million in bonuses to failed executives as part of an acquisition deal. "Voted" may not be the right word, since CEO Mark Furlong opened and closed the meeting within the span of five minutes, allowing no discussion and no questions from the dozen or so shareholders in the room. Furlong has apparently learned Robert's Rules of Order from his friend Governor Scott Walker and the rest of the gang in the Wisconsin Capitol.
Furlong fled to New York to get away from the Wisconsinites who had been badgering him with uncomfortable questions about those embarrassing bonuses, the $1.3 billion in unpaid TARP bailout funds, and the even more embarrassing $54,000 in campaign contributions to Wisconsin's newly-elected governor. Recently, the bank posted its 10th consecutive quarterly loss of $142 million. The bonuses alone would cover half this loss, if they were retained.
At the Marriott in Times Square, Furlong was met by towering piggy dressed as a banker, and a giant inflatable "fat cat" with a grip on the throat of a worker in a hardhat. About 700 protesters outside, including New York and Wisconsin firefighters, kicked up a ruckus which echoed through Times Square's urban canyon.
Madison, WI firefighters addressing the crowd of New York workers in front of the M&I shareholders' meeting at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square
WEDNESDAY NEWS ROUNDUP
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Assembly votes to give Walker veto over administrative rules
Madison - Lawmakers voted Thursday to give Gov. Scott Walker veto power over new state rules that have the force of law. The bill passed the Assembly, 58-34, with all Republicans voting along with Rep. Mark Radcliffe (D-Black River Falls) and Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (I-Manitowoc) and now goes to the Republican governor for his signature. Walker called for the change to the state administrative rules process as part of a special session on job creation he called in January, saying the bill would help him to cut through red tape that hinders businesses. The Assembly Tuesday also gave preliminary approval to proposals to repeal early-release provisions for prisoners passed in 2009; to repeal a mandate to study whether police engage in racial profiling to make traffic stops; and to give Walker the power to appoint the state veterans affairs secretary. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Senate vote on photo ID bill delayed until Thursday
Madison — Senate Republicans gave initial approval early Wednesday to a bill requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls, but Democrats blocked a final vote on the measure until Thursday. Senators signaled their approval of the bill on a voice vote, with Republicans who control the house voting for it and Democrats opposed. That vote came at 12:30 a.m., after more than 10 hours of debate, but Democrats used Senate rules to prevent the final vote. Senators will reconvene at 9 a.m. Thursday on the bill. "We should have it to the governor by the end of the week," said Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau). READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: Walker budget cuts will lead to cervical cancer deaths, hygiene lab doctor predicts
The medical director of the Wisconsin State Laboratory of Hygiene says women will likely die of cervical cancer if Gov. Scott Walker's budget proposal eliminating $266,400 for cervical cancer screening prevails. "I see at least 1 - 2 high-grade lesions every day during cytologic evaluations," Dr. Daniel Kurtycz says in prepared remarks to be given Wednesday to the Joint Finance Committee, which will consider Walker's budget request. "Without follow-up, there is no doubt that some of these lesions will become invasive. Because cervical cancer takes at least two years to run its course, sometime after 2015, we will have women dying of cervical cancer as a predictable consequence of the funding reduction for testing in this budget." READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: John Nichols: Ryan's wrong -- we need 'Medicare for all'
House Budget Committee Chair Paul Ryan proposes to undermine the integrity of the Medicare and Medicaid programs, with an eye toward enriching the insurance companies that so generously fund his campaigns. The American people are not amused. They have sent clear signals that they want to maintain Medicare and Medicaid. Ryan's town hall meetings in April featured noisy opposition in communities such as Milton and Kenosha, and tough questioning even in the most conservative communities of Walworth County. Likewise, Republican House members from Pennsylvania, Florida and other states got earfuls at their town meetings. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Options widen for Republicans interested in Kohl's Senate seat
House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan's swift decision to pass up the 2012 Senate race removes from the GOP field the closest thing to a consensus candidate within the party and a national figure who would have raised the political stakes in this contest for both sides. Instead, Ryan decided "it would make no sense to leave where I am right now because I have such a bigger impact" in the House, he told the Journal Sentinel on Tuesday. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Sen. Erpenbach on WI Voter Suppression Bill, May 17, 2011
CMD REPORTS: NO EXEMPTIONS FOR WISCONSIN FIREFIGHTERS AND POLICE
2:45 p.m. - Summer Abdoh reports for CMD:
The fact that they were exempt from from Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining bill never prevented Wisconsin's firefighters or police from stepping up to protest Walker's union-busting agenda. Walker said the unions were exempt from the bill not for political reasons but for reasons of public safety (strikes and burning houses are not a good combination), but the police and firefighter's unions knew that their rights too could soon be on the chopping block.
TUESDAY NEWS ROUNDUP
Wisconsin State Journal: Walker's nominees to WEDC have donated to him
Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation have donated money to Gov. Scott Walker's campaigns, according to researchers with the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. WEDC, the new public-private hybrid agency created and led by Walker will have and a 12-person board that consists of appointees from the public and private sector. Walker appoints six members. The Assembly and Senate appoint three each. A Republican and a Democrat from each body make up four of the Legislature's slots. The two remaining are appointed by leadership. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: Walker moves to withdraw state's defense of domestic partnership law
Gov. Scott Walker does not want to defend the state's domestic partnership law against a legal challenge and has filed court papers to withdraw from the case. In his motion, filed late Friday in Dane County Circuit Court, the governor also asks that, if Judge Daniel Moeser refuses to grant his motion to withdraw from the case, he be allowed to change the state's position and declare the domestic partner registry unconstitutional. Regardless of what happens with Walker's motion, gay rights activists say they will continue to defend the registry as defendants in the lawsuit. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Wisconsin State Journal: Ryan out, Thompson likely to run for Kohl's Senate seat
Thompson to run for Kohl's Senate seat, Politico.com reports. Former governor Tommy Thompson will run for the Senate seat held by Herb Kohl, Politico.com reported in this story. Citing "top Wisconsin sources," the web site said Tuesday that Thompson has "told friends he plans to run for" the Senate seat that will be up for grabs in 2012. Thompson could not be reached immediately for comment Tuesday morning. Kohl announced last Friday that he wouldn't seek a fifth term. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: John Nichols: Trump trumped -- how Obama turned a presidential prospect into a punch line
Donald Trump was never going to be the Republican nominee for president. He was always "running for ratings" -- using the spotlight afforded possible presidential contenders to focus attention on his business endeavors and entertainment enterprises. But Trump really did want to enter the race for the GOP nod. Every indication was that he planned to keep the speculation spinning for months. And he could have done so, had it not been for one of the most successful political interventions in modern history. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: School choice advocates spend freely on politics
A rural legislator who received tens of thousands of dollars in campaign contributions from out-of-state school choice advocates took flak back home for supporting expansion of a Milwaukee voucher program when his own school district is struggling financially. According to a story in the Sauk Prairie Eagle last week, an aide to Rep. Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green, had to use a gavel to bring order back to a budget listening session at Sauk Prairie Memorial Hospital on May 6. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: Walker moves to withdraw state's defense of domestic partnership law
Gov. Scott Walker does not want to defend the state's domestic partnership law against a legal challenge and has filed court papers to withdraw from the case. In his motion, filed late Friday in Dane County Circuit Court, the governor also asks that, if Judge Daniel Moeser refuses to grant his motion to withdraw from the case, he be allowed to change the state's position and declare the domestic partner registry unconstitutional. Regardless of what happens with Walker's motion, gay rights activists say they will continue to defend the registry as defendants in the lawsuit. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
MONDAY NEWS ROUNDUP
Wisconsin State Journal: Bill OKs teacher discipline for bad school test scores
School districts would be able to use standardized test scores as a factor in disciplining or firing teachers under a Republican bill made public Thursday and scheduled for a public hearing Monday. Currently, districts can use the scores to evaluate teachers, with certain limitations, but not to discipline or fire them. The bill comes after the state lost out on federal education funding in part due to limitations in how districts can judge teaching performance, and as a state task force develops a plan to better evaluate teachers. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Average pay for Wisconsin corporate CEOs up 27% in 2010
The pay of Wisconsin's top corporate executives rose an average of 27% in 2010, a year when unemployment hovered around 8% and pay to the average worker in the state fell. On average, total compensation for chief executive officers at 57 publicly traded companies increased by about $1 million last year, bringing the average CEO's pay up to $3.89 million. The raise more than made up for two years of compensation declines, according to the annual Journal Sentinel review of executive pay. As a group, the 57 companies paid their chief executives more than $237 million combined last year - a sum that is greater than the 2011 general fund budget for the City of Madison. Topping the pay charts again was Johnson Controls Inc.'s Stephen Roell, who received a 53% pay increase, bringing his pay package to run the state's largest public company up to $17.6 million. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Kohl's retirement adds to state's political drama
Sen. Herb Kohl's decision to retire is the latest in a series of tremors that have recast the 2012 election and turned Wisconsin politics into a realm of endless drama and perpetual conflict. "We now have, literally, a three-ring circus going on, maybe four rings," said Democratic pollster Paul Maslin, citing the epic struggle over collective bargaining, a round of recall elections without precedent in American history, a top-tier 2012 presidential battle and the first open Senate seat in nearly a quarter-century. "We may not have a Packers season, but we're going to have nonstop politics, that's for sure," Maslin said. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: Forum sets stage for moving from Walker protests to people's movement
Can a sustained grass roots movement grow from Wisconsin's season of protests? That's something I've been wondering about as the historic throngs that protested threats to public workers' collective bargaining rights in February and March have waned, and smaller crowds coalesce around concerns over the broader impacts of Gov. Scott Walker's agenda. The fact that the protests, though quieted, have not been quelled by exhaustion or frustration makes it seem like Wisconsin rebels could be on the brink of something really big. Former mayor Dave Cieslewicz thinks so. "We have started a new progressive movement all over the United States," he told a cheering crowd of protesters, estimated by organizers at as large as 20,000 (and by police at more like 10,000) at the State Capitol Saturday. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
The Cap Times: John Nichols: Transparency vs. pay-to-play corruption
As no-brainers go, they don't get much easier than this. President Obama is reportedly preparing to issue an executive order that would require federal contractors to disclose their campaign contributions. Campaign finance reformers and watchdog groups have, for years, argued that companies vying for federal contracts should be required to reveal their donations to candidates and political organizations. This call for transparency became all the more pressing after a 5-4 Supreme Court majority ruled, in the Citizens United v. FEC decision, that corporations could spend unlimited amounts of money to influence the results of campaigns and, by extension, the governing process. READ THE FULL ARTICLE HERE.
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