Stand With Women ~ Scenes from the Struggle

From Texas, to North Carolina, to Ohio, to Wisconsin women must stand and fight back against the Republican attempt to control women's bodies and freedom. Sneaky Governors and Legislators are conspiring to pass draconian bills that hurt poor women and take away legal choices that are rights in this country. This isn't about being "pro-abortion" but protecting the right of women to control their own bodies. This is about the right of doctors and women to be free to discuss healthcare issues in a private way uncontrolled by the state. This is about the GOP closing down clinics for poor women and children in the name of being "Pro-life" whatever that means.



Thanks to gerrymandering and spineless state officials we can't win every battle, but if we keep it up, we WILL win the war . . . again. This is a struggle going back to the Suffragettes and the Women's Liberation movement in the 70s, and we can't forget those who fought before and made great strides in equality. Whatever nonsense the GOP comes up with next, there will be no surrender. But we all have to vote and work and text and tweet and network and make signs and stand up for ourselves and our daughters.

Edward Snowden can call himself a patriot, but he ran away on his own to be a man without a country. Meanwhile, real men and Women are standing and fighting for their states and their lives, willing to go to jail for what they believe. That is REAL civil disobedience as it was lived by Thoreau, Gandhi, and Mandela.

Scott Walker quietly signed a bill requiring ultrasounds for all women seeking abortions in Wisconsin: http://t.co/4vgembVhGX

— Talking Points Memo (@TPM) July 5, 2013

My latest article: Wisconsin Joins the Misogynistic Ultrasound Club; Federal Judge Promptly Blocks the Law http://t.co/oMjdqCOB7B

— Bob Cesca (@bobcesca_go) July 9, 2013

Ladies in #WI this is a transvaginal ultrasound wand. Feeling violated yet! #wow #WIunion #fem2 #p2 #tcot pic.twitter.com/SU3XcdKCvf

— Shasta Merlot (@ShastaMerlot) July 8, 2013

Women are holding protest rallies in #Ohio, #NorthCarolina, #Wisconsin, #Texas. GOP has woken the sleeping giant #WomensRights #waronwomen

— Thunder Maker (@thunder_maker) July 10, 2013

North Carolina Republicans quietly attach abortion restrictions to motorcycle safety bill http://t.co/EdU3exaM9w #icymi

— ThinkProgress (@thinkprogress) July 11, 2013

“@Upworthy: YES. #motorcyclevagina RT @agoets: @NCAbortionFund @lizziefin @Upworthy Ask, and you shall receive! pic.twitter.com/fmowm3wYlz” YES.

— Kelli (@as_kell) July 11, 2013

Happening right now: @PPCNC supporters pack #ncga gallery for debate on #sb353. Stay strong, NC! #MotorcycleVagina pic.twitter.com/YrQ2lzcf4B

— Cecile Richards (@CecileRichards) July 11, 2013

Here's the scene right now at tonight's 10th #MoralMondays demonstration in NC: pic.twitter.com/PHHBLHbckl

— Kennett Area Dems (@KennettDems) July 8, 2013

Great photo RT @rjgeary: #moralmonday Crowd in Raleigh is biggest yet. Maybe over 3,000. 10 weeks, bigger every time. pic.twitter.com/SLbQtYmWMu

— New Raleigh (@NewRaleigh) July 8, 2013

#SanAntonio protestors outside facility where Gov Perry just announced he won't seek reelection-PIC #txlege pic.twitter.com/isz6pspiZC

— Mary Tuma (@TumaTime) July 8, 2013

Wow. This picture of TX House Dems at the mic during today's abortion debate. With hangers. #sb1 pic.twitter.com/hDEUWxe3DV

— jennifer bendery (@jbendery) July 9, 2013

Another shot of the orange crowd and state troopers outside the Texas House @OmarVillafranca #txlege #hb2 pic.twitter.com/2ht1aGCclX

— Kolten Parker (@KoltenParker) July 10, 2013

Marching back to the TX state Capitol. Great turnout against a bad bill! #SB1 #StopTheWarOnWomen #txlege pic.twitter.com/WNvkAAL7p8

— Les (@LesHugTX) July 9, 2013

PBS and "Citizen Koch" - Show Us the Movie

Jane Meyer has written a must-read article about the interplay between David Koch and PBS flagship station WNET.

Jane Meyer on New Yorker: How Far Did PBS Go to Avoid Offending Board Member David Koch?

From the "Citizen Koch" Website

Statement about “A Word From Our Sponsor,” by Carl Deal & Tia Lessin

Our film CITIZEN KOCH tells a story about how the money of the few drowns out the voices of the many. Set against the Supreme Court’s controversial decision in Citizens United and the rise of the Tea Party and Occupy movements, the film explores the consequences for democracy when private interests determine who is elected to deliver public good.

Public television had commissioned our film last spring, but fearing that our film would displease one of its large contributors, public television abruptly backed out on our deal.

Investigative journalist Jane Mayer exposes the self-censorship process in her New Yorker article “A Word from Our Sponsor: Public television’s attempts to placate David Koch.” The carefully documented piece reveals how the role of billionaire industrialist and conservative activist David Koch as a trustee of and donor to PBS flagship stations WNET and WGBH compromised the independence and integrity of public broadcasting. It also tells the story of how we, as a result, lost our own public television commission for CITIZEN KOCH.

Public television viewers also lost out by being denied an opportunity to participate in a discussion of the issues our film raises.

After much thought, we decided to go public with our experience hoping that, like the film itself, it will spark conversation about how power wielded by high-dollar political donors like Charles and David Koch distorts the public dialogue.

With the possibility looming that the Kochs’ may purchase the Tribune Company of newspapers, this conversation takes on vital relevance to the public.

Documentary filmmaking is the nexus of art and journalism, and we hope that Mayer’s exposé informs honest conversations within and outside public television and the independent filmmaking community about the role and importance of public financing for public arts institutions and that it also encourages people to take a stand against censorship in any form.

- Carl Deal & Tia Lessin

Here's the trailer. I want to see the entire thing, and if PBS is too scared to show it, then it should go out on YouTube or Netflix - somewhere! And soon!

Campaign 2012 ~ Defining Hometown

Downtown Janesville, Wisconsin
For years Republicans have enjoyed pointing out that if Al Gore had won his home state of Tennessee in the presidential election, he wouldn't have needed Florida, and the vote wouldn't have been decided by the Supreme Court in favor of George W. Bush.

Let's ignore the fact that Gore was much more a citizen of Washington D.C. than Nashville, plus the fact the he knew he seemed further to the left than Bill Clinton on most issues so Tennesseans wouldn't vote for him. He never had an illusions of sweeping all areas of the country, and some would say that Gore actually won Florida, but moving on . . .

This year, Obama won not only his birth-state of Hawaii, but his adopted home state of Illinois. Hawaii matters because of the crazy birthers who seem to forget that Hawaii IS a state of the union, but also because it is a diverse state reflecting the demographic changes that are coming for the rest of the country.

Romney lost Michigan, his birthplace, where he bragged no one needed to ask for his birth certificate. He can blame it on his previous statement that "Detroit should go bankrupt," but the fact remains that he made multiple trips to Michigan and named-dropped his father George, who was once Governor of Michigan, yet it did him absolutely no good.

Romney lost Massachusetts where he was governor once back in his "moderate left-leaning" days. Once Romney swung far to the left and began rubbing elbows with Donald Trump and quoting Rush Limbaugh, he was never going to win the Bay State.

Romney lost New Hampshire where he has the "lake house" even though he campaigned hard there and never took it out of his equation to get to 270 electoral votes.

Romney lost California where the cars in his special elevator garage live. But obviously - he was never going to win there in Blue Land.

He did win Utah, where he graduated summa cum laude from Brigham Young University and "saved the Olympics" as they say. But seriously - any Republican on the ticket was going to win Utah, a solidly red state full of Mormons. Did I mention Romney is a Mormon? So yeah, he won Utah.

But his running mate Paul Ryan had even more trouble connecting with the hometown crowd, if that's possible.

Part of Ryan's stump speech for months - and really for all of his career - was "I'm from the small-town of Janesville, Wisconsin, where my family has lived for decades," or something of that nature. He said it in every interview, in every town-hall meeting, in every speech. His wife and kids live in Janesville instead of Washington and I suspect part of that is so his children can grow up there and use it in their own campaign speeches someday.

But on election night, Janesville said "thanks but no thanks" to Paul Ryan. He not only didn't win the town of Janesville, he didn't win the district, or the state of Wisconsin.

Yet in post-election interviews Ryan is blaming the "urban" voters for his loss, which is ridiculous. Janesville isn't "urban" and I assume most of the town is as white as Paul Ryan. He can't accept that he is out of step with his own hometown.

The L.A. Times Story

. . . the Romney-Ryan ticket didn’t exactly connect with the voters back in Janesville, either.

A struggling blue-collar manufacturing town of 63,575, Janesville lies on the eastern edge of Rock County, Wis., and unofficial election tabulations from the county clerk there show that only 37% of Ryan’s hometown neighbors voted for him and his running mate. Meanwhile, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden got 62% of the Janesville vote.

The results were even slightly worse for Ryan from his own polling place at the Hedberg Public Library. Out of 1,428 votes cast there, 65% went for Obama-Biden and just 34% for Romney-Ryan.

. . . in Janesville proper, Ryan fared only a little better in his congressional run than he did in the vice presidential one. Zerban grabbed 54% of the Janesville vote to 44% for Ryan. And at the Hedberg library polling spot, Ryan was the choice of just 41% of voters to 58% for Zerban.

Ryan explained it this way, admitting he lost Janesville due to being too far right, but coming back to this "urban" thesis to explain it away (I guess he is talking about Milwawkee?. Whatever - the truth hurts.

Huffington Post

"Well, as you know, Janesville is a very Democratic town, but I'm a Republican," Ryan said in an interview with Janesville radio station WCLO. "But I've always done very well here, because more people saw me not as a Republican but just as a Janesville guy."

"When you join a national ticket for a party, you become more seen as a Republican guy than necessarily a Janesville guy," he continued. "So I think my image, or the thought people had in their minds of me once I joined the Republican ticket, was more 'Paul Ryan, Republican,' than 'Paul Ryan, Janesville guy.'"

At 11.5 points, Ryan's congressional victory margin in the state was the smallest of his eight House campaigns.

During the interview, Ryan also admitted that President Barack Obama's reelection team ran a better campaign than the Romney/Ryan folks, chalking the Democrats' win up to their ability to mobilize the "urban" vote.

"What the president and his campaign excelled at doing is mobilizing turnout in their critical base areas, and they expanded the turnout above the norms," he said. "They had record turnout in urban areas and all of our polling did not project that kind of turnout, and that's why we thought we had a very good chance at winning this race going into election day."

Epic Crowd for the President in Madison, Wisconsin

Huge turnout for President Obama in Madison, WI, yesterday. I love to see him with all that adoration in Paul Ryan's backyard, not to mention Scott Walker.

More Pics at BarackObama.com

A few people showed up to see President Obama in Madison. 30,000, to be exact: twitter.com/Obama2012/stat…
— Obama 2012 (@Obama2012) October 4, 2012

Scott Walker's Union-Busting Law Overturned

Read the Judge's Complete Ruling Here

Huffington Post Story

The law, a crowning achievement for Walker that made him a national conservative star, took away nearly all collective bargaining rights from most workers and has been in effect for more than a year.
Dane County Circuit Judge Juan Colas ruled that the law violates both the state and U.S. Constitution and is null and void.

In his 27-page ruling, the judge said sections of the law "single out and encumber the rights of those employees who choose union membership and representation solely because of that association and therefore infringe upon the rights of free speech and association guaranteed by both the Wisconsin and United States Constitutions."
Colas also said the law violates the equal protection clause by creating separate classes of workers who are treated differently and unequally.

The ruling applies to all local public workers affected by the law, including teachers and city and county government employees, but not those who work for the state. They were not a party to the lawsuit, which was brought by a Madison teachers union and a Milwaukee public workers union.

Gov. Scott Walker's Official Reply:

The people of Wisconsin clearly spoke on June 5. Now, they are ready to move on. Sadly a liberal activist judge in Dane County wants to go backwards and take away the lawmaking responsibilities of the legislature and the governor. We are confident that the state will ultimately prevail in the appeals process.

Dana Brueck, spokeswoman for Wisconsin Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, was quoted in the Milwaukee Journal: We believe the law is constitutional. We are reviewing the decision, but we're planning to appeal.

And Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) spoke for her Tea Party constituents when she ranted about the judge:

A judge living in the fantasy world of Dane County has decided they are going to substitute their singular opinion as opposed to the collective will of Wisconsin, through the Legislature and the recall process. We have litigated, reviewed and elected people because of Act. 10. In each case, they say the law works. And it is.

However, union representatives are delighted and see this as a great victory:

Walker's attempt to silence the union men and women of Wisconsin's public sector was an immoral, unjust and illegal power grab. Now, a court has ruled that the essential provisions of Act 10, Scott Walker's draconian attack on public worker's right to collectively bargain, is unconstitutional.
~ Phil Neuenfeldt, President of the Wisoncin AFL-CIO Union, via CNN

The decision essentially creates the (2011) status quo for municipal employees and school district employees because it declared the essential provisions of Act 10 to be unconstitutional.
~ Lester Pines, attorney for the Madison teachers union, via Milwaukee Journal

This is a sound decision by the court that upholds what we were saying all along — that Act 10 violates constitutional rights.
~ Christina Brey, a spokeswoman for the Wisconsin Education Association Council, via New York Times

This decision will help to re-establish the balance between employees and their employers. The decision gives us an opportunity to get back to the Wisconsin values of sitting down and working together to iron out differences, not taking away the constitutional rights of our citizens.
~ Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D-Kenosha), via Milwaukee Journal

Visit NBCNews.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Republican Insiders Bemoan Lyin' Ryan

Put this in the "we tried to tell you" file: Republican insiders knew Ryan was a liar and just a troublemaker when he was being vetted, but Mitt wouldn't listen. And not only does Ryan lie about automotive plants closing in Janesville, and about rewriting the definition of rape, he lies about simple things in his past such as how fast he ran in a marathon back in 1990.

In fact, the marathon story has legs . . . pardon the pun . . . because to lie to a perfect stranger on the radio when nothing is at stake is a sign of a sociopath. They were talking about sports in that interview. There was no reason to make up a braggadocio statistic about running a marathon in under three hours, which Ryan had to know was faster than he can actually run. Paul Ryan Watch Blog called it "Performance-Enhancing Rhetoric," LOL.

But Ryan's claim that he ran a sub three-hour marathon when he finished the one marathon he ran at just over four hours, records show was flat-out and unnecessary political plastic surgery to make himself look more accomplished than he really is.
Call it a dose of self-administered performance-enhancing rhetoric.
At how many campaign bean feeds and on how many first dates or in bull sessions at the gym or the deer stand has Ryan been impressing people with that story?

Exactly, and since he's been around Washington for quite a few years, people in the Republican Party surely witnessed this type of dishonest story-telling before.

And indeed they have and are speaking out - anonymously.

From Capital Hill Blue

Campaign insiders say Romney was so determined to capture support of the tea party that reveres Ryan that he was “more than willing” to overlook the Congressman’s casual relationship with the truth.

“Paul Ryan is a loose cannon. He’s Mitt Romney’s Sarah Palin and his involvement with the campaign will sink the Republican Party in this election,” said another GOP pro, who also asked to remain anonymous.

“When I heard Ryan was on the short list, my first reaction was ‘oh, Christ, here we go again,’ ” the longtime GOP operative said Sunday. ”The man tells so many whoppers so often that I’m not sure he even knows when he’s lying.”

People back home in Wisconsin are still wondering why he would keep lying about things that are easily verified.

Madison.com: Ryan's Dumb Lie Will Taint Him Forever

Assume that Mitt Romney loses this November. Who will be first in line in 2016? You guessed it. Ryan will be a frequent guest on “Meet the Press” and other talk shows. It is so obvious that he will be the nominee in four years if Romney can’t deliver that he might be nominated by acclamation. No primaries needed!

Here is the mystery. Why would Ryan tell a doozy of a lie on national television that will taint him forever?

. . . Fast forward to 2016. First question: “Congressman, you lied to the American people when you blamed Obama for the GM plant closing in Janesville. You lied about your concern for your high school buddies who lost out. Why did you lie to us?”

All Ryan had to say was, “We tried to save the plant but could not.” The real reason he lied? To tell the truth about the plant closing would have jeopardized his love affair with the tea party.

Joe McCarthy lied, and lied, and lied. “I have a list of communists in the State Department,” he said, and that claim helped him to national fame. “Tail Gunner Joe” was the sentry offering to save America from communist plots. But it was a whopper of a lie. And when prominent broadcaster Edward R. Murrow, the Cap Times, and others — in particular attorney Joseph Welch — asked, “Have you no shame, sir?” it was all over for Joe.

Ryan’s lie will get loud applause at GOP functions, where no one will ask Ryan: “What in the hell were you talking about?”

Paul Ryan Gave Us a Pack of Lies

Journalists and pundits across political lines agree that Paul Ryan was lying to the American People last night.

Transcript of Paul Ryan's Speech

Even Fox News Admitted:

. . . to anyone paying the slightest bit of attention to facts, Ryan’s speech was an apparent attempt to set the world record for the greatest number of blatant lies and misrepresentations slipped into a single political speech. On this measure, while it was Romney who ran the Olympics, Ryan earned the gold.

For all their smarmy kissing-up to the Romney/Ryan camp that CNN has done this week, such as the icky-sweet interview Wolf Blitzer had with the five strapping Romney sons - ack - last night even the CNN team had to admit Ryan was Lyin' - although they explained it as "motivation."

Via Talking Points Memo

Blitzer: So there he is, the republican vice presidential nominee and his beautiful family there. His mom is up there. This is exactly what this crowd of republicans here certainly republicans all across the country were hoping for. He delivered a powerful speech. Erin, a powerful speech. Although I marked at least seven or eight points I’m sure the fact checkers will have some opportunities to dispute if they want to go forward, I’m sure they will. As far as mitt romney’s campaign is concerned, paul ryan on this night delivered.

Burnett: That’s right. Certainly so. We were jotting down points. There will be issues with some of the facts. But it motivated people. He’s a man who says I care deeply about every single word. I want to do a good job. And he delivered on that. Precise, clear, and passionate.

Yes, Erin, sometimes liars are "passionate" about their lying so they can "motivate" people. Think Richard Nixon or Bernie Madoff or Ted Bundy or Dick Cheney or Jerry Sandusky.

The bottom line is, we shouldn't elect a liar and possible sociopath to be one heartbeat away from the Presidency. We need people who will tell us the truth, and not a pack of lies so they can fool us into submission with all their plans.

The Six Worst Lies in Paul Ryan's Speech
~ Think Progress

Pants on Fire: The The False Truths Paul Ryan Told During The RNC (LIST)
~ Global Grind

The Lies People Are Willing to Accept From VP Nominee Paul Ryan
~ Hyper Vocal

Paul Ryan's speech: a round-up of his most audacious untruths
~ Guardian UK



As for Ryan, it’s scary that he could lie so brazenly to the millions of people around the country who tuned in to watch the Republican National Convention. But what’s scarier? That quite a few of those millions will have hung on to and believed every word he said.
~ Tracy Bloom on Truth Dig

The sanctimonious V.P. nominee seems to have forgotten the Fourth Commandment: “Thou shalt not lie.” Ryan believes he can say anything and get away with it.
~ Joan Walsh on Salon

But really, the proper response to a speech like [Paul Ryan’s] isn’t to carefully analyze the logic, or to find instances of hypocrisy; it’s to call the speaker out for telling flat-out lies to the American people. Paul Ryan has had what I’ve long thought was an undeserved good reputation among many in the press and in Washington. It shouldn’t survive tonight’s speech.
~ Jonathan Bernstein in Washington Post

Ryan talked about moral creed, but his budget slashes programs aimed at protecting those that he said we have an obligation to protect. If that is the Romney/Ryan American dream, then voters -- young, old, middle class, African-American, Latinos and women -- would do well to say thanks, but we'll keep our hope and change even if it takes four more years to get there.
~ CNN

Ryan actually pushed the envelope, peddling new fantasies, like the spin that says: “Obamacare comes to more than 2,000 pages of rules, mandates, taxes, fees, and fines that have no place in a free country."
This will come to news as news to Britain, Canada, Germany and other American allies that somehow keep the light of liberty shining even as they guarantee all citizens access to quality healthcare.
~ John Nichols on The Nation

So the Democrats have to raise their game. They’ve never had to encounter this kind of buttery demagoguery before. Their campaign is going to have to be almost as much against Ryan as against Romney. (Does anyone think Romney’s speech is going to be more effective to the intended audience? I’d be awfully surprised if it is.) They have to rebut his lies, and they have to do it without sounding bitter or afraid or superior or haughty. That’s not easy to do. But it’s the challenge of this campaign. If they can’t win the Ryan war, they’re done.
~ Michael Tomasky on Daily Beast

But here's the thing: Most of the millions of people who watched the speech on television tonight do not read fact-checks or obsessively consume news 15 hours a day, and will never know how much Ryan's case against Obama relied on lies and deception. Ryan's pants are on fire, but all America saw was a barn-burner.
~ Dan Amira on New York Magazine

Romney & Ryan Use Steve Martin's "I Forgot" and "Excuuuuse Me!"

Comedian Steve Martin did a comedy skit on Saturday Night Live back in the 1970s that seems to be prophetic about the way both Mitt Romney and his running mate, Paul Ryan, deal with problems. First they say "I Forgot" then they say "Excuuuuse Me!"

SNL Transcript Here

You.. can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You can be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes! You say.. "Steve.. how can I be a millionaire.. and never pay taxes?" First.. get a million dollars. Now.. you say, "Steve.. what do I say to the tax man when he comes to my door and says, 'You.. have never paid taxes'?"

Two simple words. Two simple words in the English language: "I forgot!" How many times do we let ourselves get into terrible situations because we don't say "I forgot"? Let's say you're on trial for armed robbery. You say to the judge, "I forgot armed robbery was illegal."

Let's suppose he says back to you, "You have committed a foul crime. you have stolen hundreds and thousands of dollars from people at random, and you say, 'I forgot'?"

Two simple words: Excuuuuuse me!!"

"Excuuuse ME!" is the seventies version of Mitt Romney's "retroactively" apologizing or scrubbing records.

For instance, Mitt Romney probably hasn't paid much - if anything - towards income taxes for the past ten years. First he said he paid "plenty of taxes," but didn't indicate what kind of taxes he meant. Then last week he said this via AtlanticWire:

I did go back and look at my taxes and over the last 10 year I never paid less than 13 percent. I think the most recent year is 13.6 percent or something like that. I paid taxes every single year. Harry Reid's charge is totally false. I'm sure waiting for Harry to put up who it was that told him what he says they told him. I don't believe it for a minute by the way. Every year I've paid at least 13 percent, and if you add in addition the amount that goes to charity, why, the number gets well above 20 percent.

But some are asking, 13% of what? Just his net worth, or his total portfolio? How much is sheltered overseas? We will probably never know.

Instead of risking being caught in another lie, he is simply not releasing his tax returns. When Harry Reid and the Dems call him out on it, he says "Excuuuuse Me, I have done the legally required minimum." His wife Ann vows "there will be no more returns for you," and figuratively "off with their heads if they ask" in every interview. "You People just don't deserve to know. Trust us, we're rich."

It's a classic Steve Martin defense. "Excuuuuuse Me!"

When Mitt was running for Governor of Massachusetts, he insisted that he had legally declared that state as his home on his income taxes instead of Utah where he actually resided. He needed to be a legal resident of Massachusetts in order to be the Governor - that makes sense, right? At one point, he listed his residence as the unfinished basement of his son Tagg. It was only when Romney got caught that he said "Excuuuse Me" and "retroactively" refiled his taxes with a Massachusetts address that he could run for governor. Whoops - I just forgot!

Romney was questioned about documents and letters he signed as CEO of Bain Capital when he was supposedly no longer involved in that company, having technically "quit" to work on the Utah Olympics, even though he was listed as CEO and Top Shareholder. Back in July, his top advisor Ed Gillespie explained to Candy Crowley of CNN that he had "Resigned Retroactively."
As Politicus snarks:

. . . Oh, and of course, he gets to tell you whatever he wants and you have to believe. Just trust. You wouldn’t understand. He’s a businessman (aka, divine, untouchable God).
Also, he can claim he was in Massachusetts to conduct business for Bain and therefore eligible to run for Governor, but years later he can say he had retired retroactively and just forgot to get around to filing stuff.
So, hey, Americans! Those tax returns you have to be so careful on, heck, you can just forget to file that you left that company you’re making all of that profit from — and you can forget to tell the SEC . . .

As Steve would say "I forgot!" That should be enough for anyone, right?

And now his sidekick and veep pick Paul Ryan is using the same defense. As a Congressman he spoke out against Obama's stimulus package for the states, and told a radio caller that he never requested funds, only then the AP found a bunch of letters signed by Ryan requesting jobs from the Department of Energy for his district in Wisconsin.

Ryan's repsonse ~ "Oh, those letters."

Yes sir - the ones with your signature, the ones you can see HERE.

ABC New Story

After repeated denials, Paul Ryan has admitted he requested stimulus cash even after sharply criticizing the program.
Ryan had denied doing so as recently as Wednesday, when he spoke to ABC’s Cincinnati affiliate, WCPO, in Ohio.

“I never asked for stimulus,” Mitt Romney’s new running mate said. “I don’t recall… so I really can’t comment on it. I opposed the stimulus because it doesn’t work, it didn’t work.”

Two years ago, during an interview on WBZ’s NewsRadio he was asked by a caller if he “accepted any money” into his district. Ryan said he did not.
“I’m not one [of those] people who votes for something then writes to the government to ask them to send us money. I did not request any stimulus money,” the congressman answered.

But as we’ve now learned, Ryan did write letters. He did request stimulus funds.
“The Olympics may be over but Paul Ryan could have gotten a gold medal in hypocrisy,” a senior administration official told ABC’s Jake Tapper. “As someone who spends all day every day railing against government spending, but then secretly seeks millions in funds for pet projects, he is as Washington as it gets.”

But that's okay ~ he just forgot! "Excuuuuuuuuuse MEEEEEEEEEEEE!"

Ad Targets Ryan's Wisconsin Constituents

This one touches on every important issue and "brings it home" into Ryan's backyard.


Transcript Via HungryCoyote

Steve: I'm a physician in Door County, Wisconsin.
Patti: I'm a speech and language pathologigist in Appleton, Wisconsin.

Susan: And I've been working in Appleton for 36 years.

Tom: Work in a papermill in Kaukauna for 43 years.

Patti: Winsconsin knows Paul Ryan as someone to really be careful with.

Susan: Paul Ryan, isn't for the middle class.

Tom: Right now the Mitt Romney and Ryan approach is stiffle the middle class. Nothing trickles down; it just doesn't work.

Steve: If I had to guess what Paul Ryan is known for? Destroying Medicare. Making a budget at the expense of some of our most vulnerable citizens.

Patti: Taking away the rights of women to make the proper choices for themselves. I really take that to heart.

Susan: He's not looking out for keeping our economy going.

Tom: If you want to keep giving the tax breaks to the rich, and thinking they're going to hand that money to keep the communities going. It's not going to happen.

Steve: We have to think about our kids; our grand kids. We have to think about the legacy that we're going to leave behind in health care.

Patti: We are strong and we are united, and we have to have a voice.

Tom: People know what's right and wrong. You don't have to tell them who to vote for. You just tell them what the issues are.

Patti: I have become an organizer for President Obama's reelection campaign.

Susan: If Romney wins with Paul Ryan, I don't think we're going to be getting ahead as a middle class.

Patti: The majority is not represented in his policies.

Learn More about Paul Ryan

Boston Globe: Ryan's Selection Shrouded in Secrecy

New York Times: Small Town Conservative

 Media Matters: What Wisconsin Journalists Say about Ryan

Daily Beast: Ryan's Catholic Problem

Salon: Paul Ryan, Randian Poseur by Joan Walsh

Forbes ~ Ryan Would Slash Federal Senior Services

Washington Post: The Fight to Define Ryan
 

Wisconsin Shooter Was Military Veteran and Skinhead Racist

The man who went on a shooting spree at a Sikh Temple in Wisonsin was a military veteran and also a skinhead racist. I will never understand how someone can defend this big diverse country and serve with people of all races and religions, yet turn around and hate human beings enough to commit cold-blooded murder. It's Timothy McVeigh all over again, and this is what the "militia" culture has given us in this country.

From Reuters

According to the Southern Poverty Law Center, which tracks hate groups, Page was a member of two racist bands named End Apathy and Definite Hate, "a band whose album 'Violent Victory' featured a gruesome drawing of a disembodied white arm punching a black man in the face."

. . . The SPLC pointed to a 2010 interview with white supremacist website Label 56 in which Page said he had played in various bands since 2000, when he left his native Colorado on a motorcycle.

Two years earlier, in 1998, Page had been discharged from the Army for "patterns of misconduct," according to military sources. He had served for six years but was never posted overseas. He was a psychological operations specialist and missile repairman who was last stationed at Fort Bragg, North Carolina, the sources said.

In June 1998 he was disciplined for being drunk on duty and had his rank reduced to specialist from sergeant. He was not eligible to re-enlist.

More from the Southern Poverty Law Center

In 2010, Page, then the leader of the band End Apathy, gave an interview to the white supremacist website Label 56. He said that when he started the band in 2005, its name reflected his wish to “figure out how to end people’s apathetic ways” and start “moving forward.” “I was willing to point out some of my faults on how I was holding myself back,” Page said. Later, he added, “The inspiration was based on frustration that we have the potential to accomplish so much more as individuals and a society in whole.” He did not discuss violence in the interview.

Page told the website that he had been a part of the white power music scene since 2000, when he left his native Colorado on a motorcycle. He attended white power concerts in Georgia, North Carolina, West Virginia and Colorado. At various times, he said, he also played in the hate rock bands Youngland (2001-2003), Celtic Warrior, Radikahl, Max Resist, Intimidation One, Aggressive Force and Blue Eyed Devils. End Apathy, he said, included “Brent” on bass and “Ozzie” on drums; the men were former members of Definite Hate and another band, 13 Knots.

Shooting at a Sikh Temple in Wisconsin

So sad that there has been another mass shooting in the United States. This one has been classified as an "act of domestic terrorism," but really aren't they all?



NBC News Story  

A gunman opened fire Sunday morning at a Sikh temple outside of Milwaukee, killing six people and wounding at least three others, including a police officer, before being shot to death, authorities said.

. . . It was not immediately clear why local police were classifying the shooting as domestic terrorism. Federal law enforcement officials told NBC News the suspected gunman had no obvious connection to domestic terror or white supremacist groups and apparently was not on any list of suspected terrorists. The suspect was in his early 40s, and while he had an arrest record, it was for minor offenses, one federal official said. A law enforcement official told NBC News the gunman was dressed in a white T-shirt and black tactical-style pants, which had several pockets for holding ammunition magazines. He was armed with a single handgun, the official said. His name was not released but police say they have a tentative ID and were searching his home.

. . . Officials told NBC News the suspect, who served in the U.S. Army, had many tattoos. The suspect had some kind of radical or white supremacist views but, as far as officials said they had heard, he was not in any kind of radical organization. His previous run-ins with law enforcement involved traffic offenses, they said.

From Reuters

Turban-wearing Sikhs are often mistaken for Muslims, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation is overseeing the probe into shootings, Edwards said. "We're treating this as a domestic terrorist incident," he told reporters. Officials had no details about a possible motive.

Milwaukee's Froedtert Hospital said three male victims included one who had been shot in the abdomen, one in the extremities and face, and a third who was hit in the neck. The Oak Creek shooting was the latest in a series of suburban U.S. gun rampages. Organizations fighting gun violence rate Wisconsin's gun safety laws from low to moderate. There are no limits on the number of firearms that can be purchased at one time, nor on the possession or transfer of assault weapons, according to the Law Center to Prevent Gun Violence.

. . . The Sikh faith is the fifth-largest in the world, with more than 30 million followers. It includes belief in one God and that the goal of life is to lead an exemplary existence. The temple in Oak Creek, south of Milwaukee, was founded in October 1997 and has a congregation of 350 to 400 people. There are an estimated 500,000 or more Sikhs in the United States. Since the attacks of September 11, 2001 by Islamist militants, Sikhs have sometimes been confused publicly with Muslims because of their turban headdress and beards.

Voter Turnout Heavy in Wisconsin

I've been collecting Tweets all day on Snark Amendment and will be updating this until the polls close.
Badgers Vote and the World is Watching

This election is a huge deal and symbolic of the entire political system. I hope Wisconsin feels the weight of history and votes to throw Walker out. That is the only message that will be loud and clear. If he wins again, the Republicans will take it as a mandate even if he immediately gets indicted. He needs to be out, period. But at least this recall and his legal woes will keep him from being Romney's running mate. He's pretty much tainted himself forever. I don't know why Republicans would ever want this bozo for a governor except that they basically hate themselves.

The Solidarity Sing-Along on the Capitol Square in Madison this morning:


Milwaukee Journal-Sentinal: Who Benefits from High Turnout?

Who benefits from higher turnout? There’s no pat answer to that question. There were 2,171,331 votes cast in the 2010 election. If turnout is, say, 200,000 votes higher than that, that could reflect a Republican turnout surge, a Democratic turnout surge, or both. Turnout is extremely unlikely Tuesday to match the 2008 presidential race, when almost 3 million votes were cast in Wisconsin.
But if turnout is in the very bullish range predicted by state election officials – 2.6 to 2.8 million – that could be good news for Democrats. That’s because the Democratic coalition includes voting groups – minorities, lower-income voters, young voters – that typically turn out at lower rates. If turnout really does top 2.5 million, that probably indicates a robust turnout by more casual Democratic voters.

Wisconsin State Journal: Turnout Heavy

Voters and public officials reported long lines at many Wisconsin polling places Tuesday — with Dane County Clerk Karen Peters calling the local turnout "just wild."
"It ranges from 28 to 42 percent already; it is a huge turnout. We could hit 80 to 88 percent," Peters said midday of Dane County's turnout. She collected status reports from local clerks....

..."Everything leading up to this election, it completely felt like a presidential (election)," said Maribeth Witzel-Behl, the city clerk in Madison, where turnout was strong. She was speaking of the workload, number of officials needed for the polls and the number of absentee ballots her office received prior to the election.
There were lines outside of many polling places this morning — full of voters who anticipated longer waits as the day progressed.

Barrett took that as a good sign for him. "Obviously the lines are very, very long, which we take as a very encouraging sign. People are engaged in this," he said. "We've noted over the last 96 hours is around the state the energy has just been building and building and building."

Walker, who cast his ballot Tuesday at an elementary school in Wauwatosa, said Election Day almost came as a relief.
"I think most people are just happy to have the election over," he said. "I think most voters of the state want to have all the attack ads off. They want to have their TVs back. They want to have their lives back."

Think Progress: Robocalls Telling People Not to Vote

Tom Barrett, the mayor of Milwaukee and the Democratic nominee to unseat Governor Scott Walker, told MSNBC host Ed Schultz last night that his campaign began receiving complaints yesterday that voters had been contacted with the misinformation. This morning, Salon reported on the robocalls too, and included comments from Carol Gibbons, a Wisconsin resident who got the call herself. And a local CBS affiliate is even reporting that the caller sounds eerily similar to Tom Barrett, suggesting the group behind the call may have hired a Barrett impersonator.

Obama Backs Barrett on Twitter

President Obama tonight tweeted support for Tom Barrett in the Wisconsin Recall Election:

It's Election Day in Wisconsin tomorrow, and I'm standing by Tom Barrett. He'd make an outstanding governor. -bo

— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) June 4, 2012

Barrett told voters tonight that the race is close.WIFR.com reporting:

PORTAGE, Wis. (AP) -- Democratic Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett says he thinks the recall race against Republican Gov. Scott Walker is now a dead heat heading into Tuesday's election. An exuberant Barrett spoke to about 100 of his volunteers in Portage in one of several stops he made on the final day of campaigning before the recall vote.

Also this breaking News tonight from Wisconsin Dems:

June 04, 2012 BREAKING: Scott Walker's Closest Aide Revealed in Court as Source of Damaging Leak; Flips on Embattled Governor
Scott Walker's closest political aide has just been named in Milwaukee County Circuit Court Monday as the source of damaging revelations that undermine Walker's claim that he has cooperated with the John Doe criminal corruption probe into his current and former administrations.
Tim Russell, who was hired or promoted by Scott Walker even after he was fired for stealing from a state agency, was said in court Monday to have given Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Dan Bice information that showed that, contrary to Walker's claims, Walker was stonewalling investigators all along.
The shocking revelation that Scott Walker's closest aide sought to damage Walker on the eve of Tuesday's historic recall election indicated that Russell was cooperating with a prosecution against Walker himself.

Polls Badgering Barrett One Day Before Wisconsin Recall

Tomorrow Wisconsin votes in the Recall Election of union busting Governor Scott Walker. Right now the polls show it is neck and neck between Walker and his Democratic opponent, Tom Barrett, with Walker pulling slightly ahead, unfortunately for beleaguered Badgers. There's all kinds of news coming out of the state, and it's hard to know what to believe at this point. Rumors of Federal Indictments, a Love Child(!), shoes dropping at the last minute - you name it, I've read it in the past week.

I even saw a blog pushing Scott Walker as a possible running mate for Mitt Romney - forbid it God Almighty!!!

I wish all the Wisconsin Democrats the Best of Luck! You have worked so hard and come so far - I hope the people of your state listen and vote Walker out tomorrow!

Wisconsin Recall is an Epic Battle

...Conservatives have elevated Walker, a Republican, to a one-man team of Avengers — Iron Man, the Hulk and Captain America rolled together — as he aggressively takes on craven public workers, growth-choking taxes and out-of-control spending.
To Democrats and unions, their nemesis is all but sprung from Bizarro World, deceptive and in the pocket of greedy oligarchs out to force the working class to its knees.

...former President Clinton, who campaigned for Barrett last week in Milwaukee, argued that Walker's uncompromising style and divisive agenda were a "dead bang loser." His retention, Clinton said, would only embolden those who say, "We're going to stop worrying about the middle class. We don't give a rip whether poor people get to work their way into it. We've got our way now. We've got it all. Divide and conquer works."
This is only the third time in the nation's history that a state has held an election on recalling a governor.

MarketWatch: Wisconsin Recall to Ripple Into November

...if polls are to be believed, it’s Romney and his fellow Republicans who will catch a lift from what’s expected to be a narrow victory for Walker on Tuesday.
. . . analysts say that a win by Walker will embolden fellow Republicans including Romney.
“Republicans might be energized to contest the state more vigorously,” said John McAdams, an associate professor of political science at Marquette University in Milwaukee.
The vote is expected to be close, but Walker has an advantage in polls. The latest, a Marquette Law School poll taken May 23-26, found Walker with 52% to 45% for his challenger, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

Bridges, Badgers, Bagpipes and Barrett or What Enthusiasm Gap?

Daily Kos: Story of Scott Walker's Love Child Debunked

David Shuster gives a status update on Walker's Legal Woes:


Current: Regardless of Recall, Walker May Face Indictment

The investigation began in 2010 when Walker served as Milwaukee County executive. Six people have been charged, with accusations ranging from campaigning for Walker on government time to embezzlement. 13 other Walker associates have been given immunity from prosecution in exchange for their testimony in the case.
This week, Governor Walker acknowledged he has now transferred $160,000 from his campaign accounts to a legal defense fund. Mr. Walker confirmed the money is strictly for his own defense and not for any current or former staff.
Lawyers for Governor Walker recently appeared at the Milwaukee courthouse but refused to say why they were there. The lawyers have also refused to comment on the Governor's status in the investigation.

Esquire: Scott Walker Doesn't Like Him No Rules

Back in April, Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to manage its midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, was invited by the Oversight and Government Reform Committee of the U.S. House of Representatives to come to Washington and discuss in detail the management style he'd brought to said subsidiary — specifically, whether or not he was pretty much selling off the state wholesale to his political financiers. Walker told the committee that he would never, ever engage in such seamy activities as using his office to reward his friends and punish his enemies because, golly whiz, what a thing to think about a person.
Alas for Walker, that videotape subsequently emerged, in which he is shown telling his millionnaire backer Diane Hendricks that, using a "divide and conquer" strategy, he is working toward making Wisconsin a "completely red" state as regards union rights and collective bargaining....
...thanks to some good reporting by the Oshkosh Northwestern, we discover that Walker knew right from the moment he took office that what he was planning to do likely would initiate the process for his recall, so he simply never stopped running for governor. This rather belies his claim that his assault on public employees was dictated simply by the state's dire fiscal problems, and it's no great leap to use this as evidence that what he told the Congress about why he did what he did was, at the very least, disingenuous in the extreme.

Help Wisconsin Defeat Scott Walker

At nearly the eleventh hour, just days before the Wisconsin Governor's Recall Election on June 5th, the Democratic National Committee is finally drumming up some major funds and support on the ground to help Democrat Tom Barrett defeat the despicable union-hater Scott Walker.

Click Here To Make a Secure Donation to Act Blue Now

Elect Tom Barrett and Recall Scott Walker 

Tonight on MSNBC, Rachel Maddow had a great overview about Walker's union busting and why it puts the future of the Democratic Party in Wisconsin in jeopardy.

... Republican Legislators all over the country have all gotten religion all at the same time about the importance of killing off public sector unions. The most high profile among them is, of course, is Republican Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin, who with the stroke of a pen wiped out 50 years of union rights in the State of Wisconsin...

Scott Walker did not campaign on getting rid of those rights, but once he got elected he said he had to, he said he had to kill union rights in Wisconsin to 'save the state's budget.' When the unions said 'yes' to all of the financial concessions he asked for, and he still wanted to kill them off, it became clear that it wasn't about money, it was not about the budget. He wanted to get rid of union rights in order to get rid of unions altogether.

"If you get rid of unions altogether, then there is no one funding the other side. There will be no one funding the Democrats when business funds the Republicans. You get rid of union rights, you thereby get rid of unions, you thereby game the whole state so Democrats cannot compete in the big money part of elections ever again. Pull that off and Wisconsin didn't just go all red in 2010 - Wisconsin will be all Republican, all Red from here on out permanently. Democrats will never recover.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

But there is help on the way for Badgers who have been on the ground trying to throw Walker out of office for months: the Democratic National Committee is finally stepping up to provide fundraising for Walker's opponent, Tom Barrett.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinal

“The DNC is fully committed to helping Mayor Barrett win next month’s recall election in Wisconsin,” said Melanie Roussell, DNC Spokeswoman. “DNC Chairwoman Debbie Wasserman Schultz has spoken to Mayor Barrett and has pledged the DNC’s support for his successful election next month. She will host a fundraiser for Mayor Barrett, and the DNC will utilize both its substantial network of activists, volunteers and supporters and extensive online resources to assist in building the ground game that will win on Election Day.”

In the fundraising e-mail, Wasserman Schultz says:

“Of all the elections we are preparing for in 2012, one of the most important ones isn't happening in November.
On June 5th, the people of Wisconsin will have their chance to recall Governor Scott Walker, whose attacks on workers' and women's rights are the definition of a fireable offense. Democrats are rallying around our nominee, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett, and with just 14 days to go before the election, we're organizing one of the largest get-out-the-vote efforts in state history.
Will you donate today to help Wisconsin Democrats build the grassroots organization it's going to take to beat Scott Walker and win in 2012?
It's up to Democrats across the country to help win this thing.”

Huffington Post Story 

"Choices don't get clearer than this," read the email sent Wednesday evening by the DNC chair, Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.). "Winning in Wisconsin sends a powerful message to the far-right extremists, and it starts to roll back their worst offenses. To build our organization and make it happen, Democrats need to come together to turn out hundreds of thousands of voters -- and we all have a part to play."

What's notable about this fundraising appeal is that the money will go directly to Wisconsin Democrats, rather than to the DNC. Other national organizations -- including the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee -- have sent out solicitations related to the recall, but the money has not directly gone to Wisconsin entities.

A Democratic party official told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel that Wednesday's fundraising email was being sent to "millions" of people.