Republicans to allow Businesses to hire based on your Politics, Non-Religion, Prior Wage History...etc!!!

Scott Walker's recent ad campaign asking out-of-state young people to move to Wisconsin for jobs is just one side of the story, and a deceptive one.

"Don't Live in Wisconsin" ads? It's time the "left" fought back. We should have some well-funded group running ads to counter the deceptive ones put out by Walker. Yes, an anti-Wisconsin ad, where minimum wages are forced, benefits laughed at, mass transit discouraged, and protected class status wiped completely out so employers can mistreat and take advantage of your situation. Basically, tell the truth about the market here, and see how their policies help or hurt their state's economy.

Insulting "Equal Employment Standardization Act" does the Opposite:" See this previous blog post. Digging deeper in Rep. Chris Kapenga's big government Republican plan to establish a one-size-fits-all labor standard, it looks like employers will have the opportunity to bring back the kind of coercive serfdom they've been craving for decades.

...prohibit local municipalities from establishing and enforcing their own employment discrimination laws.The protected classes that would be eliminated include gender identity, non-religion, homelessness, source of income, lack of a social security number, physical appearance, political beliefs, student status, domestic partners, citizenship, unemployment status and credit history.

"Political beliefs?" Wow, I didn't expect that one, but then again, it makes sense since Republicans only allow businesses in Wisconsin that fit their narrow corporate agenda. Nothing overtly fascistic here.

Here again is a video showing a stumbling bumbling Kapenga struggle to explain his earlier purely ideological bill in Feb. 2014 to Dane County Executive Joe Parisi.

  

Remember, Republicans recently repealed and then rewrote a regulation that now allows 16 and 17-year-olds to work without a parents permission, while they're still in school.

Eliminated restrictions on 16- and 17-year-olds working more than 26 hours during a school week and more than 50 hours a week during vacations ... but they will not be permitted to join a union without a signed parental consent.

Democrats maintain the bill would allow children to make important life decisions that could adversely affect their educations — against their parents’ wishes.

And remember this:

Seven-day workweeks (are now) allowed and provisions for a "living wage" (were) struck from state statutes.  

Note, this will also spread into Wisconsin someday, maybe tied in with work requirements for food stamps, BadgerCare, and unemployment:

"...in Georgia, thousands of unemployed people are working without a salary in “auditions” for paying gigs."

Getting back to the current bill...:

The city could not enforce employment discrimination in Madison. Between 70 and 80 percent of all cases the civil rights department receives are related to employment. By removing the city’s enforcement ability ... the state would need to absorb over 100 cases, which would likely take longer to investigate.

This is the GOP's plan to end American progress, terminating social and economic ideas that always start at the local level:

1. Create uniform regulations across the state for employment hours and benefits.

2. Give employers the right to ask for prospective employees’ salary histories.

3. Prohibit municipalities from setting a higher minimum wage than the state for contracted employees.

4. Set a statewide standard and prohibit local ordinances regarding wage claims.

  

Walker's Big Government Budget wipes out Local Control again, taking with it Public Safety!!!

Republicans hate liberal big government policies. That doesn't mean they hate big government though. How would you like an overbearing, know-it-all, one party, dictatorial, authoritarian state? Coming right up. 

Heck, why don't I let a Republican explain the concept:

Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield: “There are certain values that the state upholds. If the values aren’t consistent at the local level, there is an opportunity for the state to come in and say these are our principles and they are good.”

Kinda takes your breath away...or at least it should.

Former Republican State Sen. Mary Lazich redefined "local control" this amazing way:



Question of Balance? Totally destroying the idea of local control, Republican weasel Rep. Robin Vos resorted to the old standard, "it's just a question of balance," to do away with local control:



GOP Making Liberal Big Government Look Really Really small: This authoritarian one party vision has been rolling along for the last seven years. Take a look at the Republicans latest takeover bid that would kill the spread of those liberal-leaning walking/bike trails that takes cars off our now crumbling roads:

A provision added to the 2017-2019 state budget denies cities, villages and towns the ability to use condemnation — acquiring private property from unwilling sellers for public use — to expand or build new sidewalks, bicycle lanes and trails.

An incensed Madison Mayor Paul Soglin blasted GOP lawmakers: "We happen to think it's important that children going to school not get run over. But obviously we've got legislators who just don't give a damn about issues of safety. This is driven by bitter people who hate the rest of the state.

It's just one more example where with millions of people in this state there's one or two property owners upset about the ability to condemn for public safety. And now we've got a Legislature that disregards the safety of millions of people from one end of the state to the other."

Soglin also labeled the lawmakers supporting the provision as "anti-economic development," noting that Amazon recently issued a request for proposals for cities interested in being home to a new $3.7 billion headquarters facility. The specs include bike accessibility. Not only would the provision put Wisconsin out of the running, he said, but "nobody would be able to put bicycle paths or sidewalks into the Foxconn deal." 


The city intends to file an open records request to get any correspondence about the provision and “the special interest that’s going to be at work here,” Soglin said.“We really have not learned and had a good explanation from the perpetrators of this as to their motivation and what they’re trying to solve,” he said. Madison City Engineer Rob Phillips said the measure allows a single property owner who doesn't want to sell a right-of-way to kill several bike path projects, some in the works and some planned for the future. It's unclear who inserted the provision into a transportation budget amendment before last week's committee vote. 

Mining Taking control of Local Governments:  Right now, the legislative Republican environmental bulldozer Sen. Tom Tiffany is trying again to trash small local communities. Is it any wonder rural voters hate government:

• Limit public opportunities to contest DNR decisions, eliminate an automatic hearing with an administrative law judge and rolls back a judge's authority to halt mining activities if such a hearing was granted.

• Ends DNR authority to require a mining company to provide evidence that its solid waste disposal process will protect ground water indefinitely.

• Repeal a law requiring the DNR to deny a mine's request for a high-capacity well that would unreasonably harm the ability of others to have drinking water or enjoy lakes and streams. Instead require the mine to replace a dried-up water supply or temporarily shore up the water level in an affected lake or stream.

•  Eliminate rules that address the specific problems that a mining project can cause by disturbing the flow of water above and below the surface.

Here's something that ignored and affected a whole bunch of local communities:

WPR: Wisconsin residents can no longer challenge state Department of Natural Resources permits for a high-capacity well if state officials failed to look at what the well might do to overall groundwater in the area. Republican lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker got rid of the cumulative impacts challenge when they passed the state budget a year ago. 

Here's a great, but now outdated, list that was posted awhile back:

Wisconsin Republicans Consolidate Power, Erode Local Control Republicans Add to List of 100+ Measures that Harm Local Decision-Making; Republican legislators continue to propose even more bills that would tie the hands of local governments. “Republicans say they are the ‘Party of Local Control’ but their actions show the opposite,” Democratic Rep. Shankland said. 

Reporter Matthew DeFour wrote this nice summary:

Since consolidating control of state government in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Legislature have enacted a series of laws that upend a bedrock of their party’s conservatism: the principle of local control. The GOP has wrested from local government’s control of cellphone tower siting, shoreland zoning restrictions, landlord-tenant regulations, public employee residency requirements, family medical leave rules for private companies and large soft drink bans, among other things. It instituted a statewide voucher program opposed by many school boards and has kept tight property tax caps on school districts and municipalities. The latest and perhaps most disconcerting example for many local officials is a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, that would limit a municipality’s ability to regulate certain aspects of frac sand mining operations, such as blasting, damage to highways, and air and water quality.

“Many (municipal leaders) will tell you how terrible it is and how it’s the worst they’ve ever seen,” said Dan Thompson, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. UW-Madison political science professor emeritus Dennis Dresang. “But boy, recently, that’s really going out the door. What we see from the tea party types and the radical right types is, ‘I've got an idea, I've got an agenda, and it really ought to apply across the board."

N. Carolina GOP's Big Government drug test for 7,600 welfare recipients kicked out 9 users.

The Republican push to punish the poor has degenerated to simple humiliation via the food stamp drug testing program. 

While tightwad conservative voters want to keep more of their hard earned money, they’re perfectly fine wasting cash on humiliating the needy with drug tests for the innocent.

Public policy through intimidation, a roaring success? Nope, the proof is in again; out of 7,600 recipients, 21 tested positive, 12 of which had their food stamps reduced because they had kids. 9 lost their food stamps. Success?

North Carolina revealed early results on Tuesday from a round of drug tests given to those applying for or living with the help of welfare.

From the 7,600 recipients and applicants given an initial screening, social workers referred only 2% for drug testing. That amounted to 89 people. Of those 89, 21 people tested positive for drugs, representing less than 0.3% of the total number of those screened. Of the 21 people who tested positive for drugs, 12 of them will receive reduced benefits because they take care of children in need of support.

Here are a few other "success" stories:

Goodbye Local Control, Republicans want to ban Rental Permits and Inspections; Kick People out in 5 Days for Suspected Criminal Activity!!!

I think I’ve figured it out. There's a reason why Republicans are wiping out the idea of local control with sweeping one size fits all statewide regulations. Heck, they even justify it by saying it makes government less confusing and fair. After all, who wants a patchwork of locally controlled regulations?

Sneaky too, because when Republicans are kicked out of office again, they’ll fire up the base by demanding a return to local control. And around and around we go.

The Republican Authority Targets Peoples Homes: Since Republicans have already bypassed local law enforcement officials with recently passed gun laws, you can now add tenant rights to that list. They’re giving landlords the power to throw people out of their rental housing within five days...on just a whim that there's is illegal activity, bypassing law enforcement again:

Landlords could evict tenants in five days if they suspect criminal activity under a Republican-backed plan to rewrite Wisconsin's landlord-tenant laws. Backers of the plan said that if police don't investigate criminal behavior, it can leave landlords with few options. 

"This is used for criminal activity," said Attorney Tristan Pettit, who represents landlords in tenant disputes. "The drug dealing. The beating somebody up. The threatening. The shooting off of guns. That is what we need this for, because right now, landlords cannot do anything about that."

So what about the unintended consequences...:

Tony Gibard, with Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence, said "I just want the committee to think about what that means in the life of a domestic violence victim who may have just been beaten, bloodied and brutalized and has five days to figure out what to do."  

WISC had this coverage with one of the cosponsors, Sen. Frank Lasee:

”I feel like if you have bad-acting tenants, often the other tenants living nearby are paying a greater price than the landlord,”

The Republican Authority to Let Rental Housing deteriorate: I know, that sounds crazy right, but I swear it’s true. Killing local control statewide over the quality of rental housing is beyond anything I could have imagine.

According to the WPR report (audio below) Republicans want to ban local communities from requiring rental permits that make sure housing is up to code and provide for routine inspections over a 3 to 5-year period. 

We are after all talking about a businesses that are supposed to provide a safe and healthy place where people live, eat and bathe. No quality control? Just imagine Republicans catering to the food service lobby by banning unfair restaurant inspections…hmm, maybe I shouldn’t have brought that up. 

Yes, Scott Walker is a Big Government Republican, say Wisconsin School Principals.

Calling Scott Walker a big government Republican wasn't just my way to slam our sociopathic governor, I honestly meant it after seeing how quickly he signed away local control.

The party that celebrates "opposite day everyday," said they were giving school boards more local control, freeing them from Washington special interests, namely union bosses.

But that's not what happened say Wisconsin principals:  

Some 35 school principals from Wisconsin have sent a letter to Gov. Scott Walker — who is running for the 2016 Republican presidential nomination — saying that state education policies and budgets are hurting their schools. And they told Walker that his war on “big government” isn’t really returning power back to the people but actually making it harder for communities to have a say in local education decisions.

The principals said they're concerned about how changes passed under Walker forcing schools to compete will result in more segregation. The model will result in an exclusionary system between the "haves and have nots," they wrote. And they point to how Walker has pledged to reduce big government, yet they feel power "of the people, by the people and for the people" is less in the people's hands than it once was. 

"The people in local communities have far less voice today than they did only a few decades ago," the letter states, saying that school boards have less power now to make policy, funding and testing decisions. "Since the onset of revenue limits in 1992, our school districts have been reducing and eliminating programs and resources. We are burdened by the cumulative effects of budget cuts resulting in increased class sizes, cut programs and deferred maintenance plans."

Something I didn't see coming was this: Republicans are now quietly separating out school funding, slipping more money to rural districts, their voting base.  Don't get me wrong, they need the help, but so does every schools across the state. But this is ripe for abuse and voter bribery. From WISC:



Here's the principals letter (click to enlarge):

Republicans sow anger, frustration and desperation just to get elected.

The Republican frame on issues continues to dominate media coverage in the presidential race and of politics in general. Forget about the barrage of fabricated outrages, lies and myths that for the most part have been exposed as absolute nonsense.

The Fiscal Times article below is the prevailing thought process on the right. Voters assume all the confident declarations made by their candidates and politicians must be true, even just a little bit. 

Let’s briefly dissect the articles list below, starting with the right wing authoritarian Republican agenda; ramming their austere fiscal policies down our throats, borrowing, the “not-so-small government” takeover of local governments, overall privatization, vilification of the poor/teachers, and wild west gun laws. Republicans will say the Democrats “rammed” through “ObamaCare,” but is getting a super majority of 60 votes really considered ramming? 

Most of the whining below was intentionally created by Republicans to impose their one party dream on everyone else by frustrating and angering people:

6 years of Obama forcing unpopular policies down Americans’ throats.

Six years of lies and misdeeds by unaccountable bureaucrats (projection including total fabrications).

Six years of lame growth and resulting wage suppression (Republican oppose minimum wages).

Six years of appeasing our enemies and facing down our friends (endless wars/lost American lives).

Mainstream Americans feel marginalized, pushed to the back of the pack, while the plight of transgenders in the military or imprisoned blacks takes center stage (blatant bigotry and racism from the right wing, continuing into the next point…)

Under President Obama, Americans have become more polarized on race relations and immigration, and nearly every other issue as well. Obama has hinted that white Christian Americans are racist, indifferent to the travails of blacks and Hispanics and unreasonably hostile to Muslims (Republicans have rationalized away racism by blaming Obama for this polarization).  

Republicans have been so successful with their narrative of lies, that polls now reflect their agenda:

This is uncontestable. A poll this past spring showed that 61 percent of Americans think race relations are “bad,” the highest reading since 1992 … In the summer of 2008, before Obama’s election, 53 percent of the country considered race relations good and only 37 percent considered them bad. That’s quite a turnabout. 

Nearly two-thirds of the country thinks we are on the wrong track, while only 29 percent think things are going well. 

The article sums up this right wing lunacy with the following list that exposes the failure of the GOP’s austere free market shift:

The frustration at the sorry plght of our public schools (massive GOP cuts), the deterioration of our infrastructure (no money due to tax cuts), the weakening of our military (still believe in the military industrial complex), our bloated and unsustainable entitlements programs (thanks to trade policies), massive cybersecurity breaches (in the private sector) and so on. 

Fact: Republicans tried to repeal Open Records!!! Now the empty talking point backtracking has begun...

This is so vacuous and transparent, even I'm amazed:

Is there anything these guys could have come up with on their own, or is that also too much work? Expect more of the same from these rugged "individuals."

Republicans Blowup Public Education once and for all, for Freedom and Liberty!!!

The Joint Finance Committee literally ripped apart public education with a maze of big government regulations that hands taxpayer dollars over to parents, because they know what's best. Professional educators and researchers just got their pink slips.

These are the worst changes yet:

"Eliminate the Course Options program that allows college courses to be taught in high schools." (Kids would get) "high school and college credit." This would have saved families lots of money, and now penalizes advanced students.

"Students with disabilities would be eligible to apply for vouchers for the first time under a separate program." Private standards are so lax, this plan simply invites deception and corruption for profit.

Constitutionally possible? "Prohibits the state superintendent from promoting the Common Core State Standards, and from adopting new academic standards created by the Common Core State Standards Initiative, though there are none in the works."

Zero ability to compare schools: "The proposal allocates money to find up to five alternative tests for schools to choose from." 

Taxpayer money going out-of-state? To be honest, I don't even believe this one: "Allowing a student to attend a public school outside of the school district they live in, or outside of the state." 

Right Wing-nut Testing is here...freedom and liberty f**k yea: "Requiring students to pass a civics test to graduate from high school."

Allowing the failed virtual charter model to flourish by not holding host district responsible: "Prohibiting test scores from students attending virtual charter schools from being included in school accountability reports for the schools’ host school district if more than half of the virtual charter students don’t live there."

Lowering teacher standards: "Allowing DPI to grant teaching licenses to individuals who wish to teach technical courses and have a set amount of work experience and teacher training."

This isn't the complete list either. Republicans also took aim at Wisconsin's biggest cities, setting up the installation of an un-elected schools czar who can turn public to private on a whim. Oh, and two of those cities are predominantly Democratic. Coincidence?

And after all this and the outcry from voters, republicans are now desperately trying to spin their way out of trouble for their over-the-top legislation:

A chorus of voices — from the state superintendent to teachers unions, school administrators and parents — claimed the Republican-led amendments result in a wholesale reshaping of education policy.

Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), the chairman of the Senate Education Committee, acknowledged the budget "doesn't make it easier to run a school district." Olsen said there wasn't enough money to fund property tax cuts that Walker promised and also fund the public education system. "Something has to give and that's what gave," Olsen said Wednesday.

Missouri Republican would ban Seafood and Steak from those rotten lazy Food Stamp thieves.

When I see Republican sponsored bills that reach so far into our personal lives that we’re basically being told how to live and eat, I always think of their bullshit about “small government.”

Here’s the tale of another pious conservative social engineer taking it out on the hungry poor, just like Jesus did:

Missouri State Representative Rick Brattin is sponsoring legislation that would prevent people receiving food stamps from buying “cookies, chips, energy drinks, soft drinks, seafood or steak.” He’s already admitted the bill might need “tweaking” to permit people to buy “canned tuna and fish sticks.”

These kinds of bills — premised on the idea that food stamp recipients are lazy thieves — are a favorite of Republican lawmakers: take Glenn Grothman of Wisconsin, who’s so suspicious of food stamp users that he recommends his constituents snoop on their shopping carts to make sure nothing looks too sinful.

And Brattin has already proven himself to be a stupendously effective troll: he was last seen sponsoring a bill that would have allowed men to have to grant women permission to get an abortion. (That one failed immediately.)

Prevent the poor from eating fish? Kinda reminds of a story...

When Jesus landed and saw a large crowd, he had compassion on them and healed their sick. The disciples came to Jesus and said, “We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish” … “Bring them here to me,” Jesus said. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. They all ate and were satisfied…

So tell me all about our “small government,” “get government out of the way” religious right Republicans dictators. 

3 GOP contenders stop by Koch's Retreat, happen to be in the Neighborhood, say it's not about the money but "the struggle for freedom!"

Since money is now speech, and Citizens United made this simple outrageous headline a total yawner, Republicans have embraced their own political job creators:

Three potential Republican presidential candidates appeared before a gathering of wealthy donors organized by the conservative billionaire Koch brothers in California on Sunday night. Charles Koch said "the struggle for freedom never ends."

That got me thinking; since it wasn't the Koch brothers money that got the 3 GOP presidential contenders to stop by for a visit, maybe they wouldn't mind stopping by the Democurmudgeon's own living room retreat for a little middle class conversation. I know I have better beer. Don't be surprised if next weeks Newsweek headline offered this glimmer of hope:

Anti-Government conservatives love Government Jobs.

I can hear them already saying, "Yea, let's make government smaller by downsizing it and shedding jobs. Oh, and by the way, elect me as your next 'on the public dole' Republican lawmaker."

Gerrymandering helped big time, along with an unrelenting campaign of fear, hate and government gridlock. But their warmed over pursuit of failed policies and shocking lack of a detailed agenda caught the imagination of conservative "magical thinkers" everywhere. Isn't it strange how conservatives are obsessed with pursuing government jobs time and time again. Losing any number of times (Mitt?) doesn't even stop them.

Yet they still hate the size of government, all the while filling statehouses everywhere:

The GOP now controls 68 of the 98 partisan legislative chambers. On top of that, Republicans have 31 seated governors.-21st Century Democrats

As long as there's a Democrat alive and well, elected to an office anywhere in this country, Republicans will always have someone to blame for their failures.

Remember when Republicans wanted to slow bills down, preventing Democrats from ramming through agenda?

I guess it has more to do with who's doing the ramming. Like Scott Walker's request to speed up the state tax cuts and budgeting, Republicans in D.C. are just as impatient. What, not enough time off? What happened to a per page public debate, online posting, and a test for each bills constitutionality?

Two Conservative states sue, try to stop Colorado's pot law, saying they can't protect their borders from pot importation.

Let the state’s do their own thing say Republicans. Get the federal government out of our way...

...not this time though. Conservative governors and AG's are now trying to interfere with another states right to have legalized pot. Hypocritical? Big surprise.

Even more outrageous, they apparently don’t want to or can’t “defend their own borders” like good Republicans are supposed to do. This is another example of how flip floppy hypocritical Republicans are about their unwavering principles.

AP: Colorado's top law enforcement official promises to vigorously defend the state's historic law legalizing marijuana after Nebraska and Oklahoma asked the U.S. Supreme Court to declare it unconstitutional, saying the drug is freely flowing into neighboring states.

The two states filed a lawsuit seeking a court order to prevent Colorado from enforcing (a law allowing) recreational marijuana for adults over 21. The complaint says the measure runs afoul of federal law and therefore violates the Constitution's supremacy clause, which says federal laws trump state laws.

Yes, while state after state pass some kind of marijuana legalization law, the few Republican states that are bucking the trend now want to use the big federal government to reverse that inevitable social transition.
  

Make up your mind, do you like big government or don’t you?  

And they can't control their borders? It’s always someone else’s fault isn't it? Funny, Republicans weren't like this when lax gun law states were pouring firearms into more regulated liberal states. Gee, what changed?

"This contraband has been heavily trafficked into our state," Nebraska Attorney General Jon Bruning said at a news conference in Lincoln. "While Colorado reaps millions from the sale of pot, Nebraska taxpayers have to bear the cost." Bruning, a Republican, blamed U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder for failing to enforce the federal law's ban on drugs in Colorado.

But the federal government dealt with this already, and besides, where’s the proof:

In a policy statement last year, the U.S. Justice Department laid out eight federal law enforcement priorities that states need to protect if they want to authorize "marijuana-related conduct." They include keeping marijuana in-state. The suit doesn't contain statistics to support the claim.

Big Business Bosses demand end to Highest Tax Bracket for the Wealthy and Local Control for Mining...that's all.

Okay, have we all seen enough of the warning signs we're no longer a functioning representative democracy anymore? Will of the people...zap! Will of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, of course.

A second, one party Republican term in Wisconsin, will finally pull away the curtain to reveal who's really in charge now (as if you still needed convincing after the mining bill).

In full public view, the state's biggest group of business lobbying thugs have "suggested" legislative changes that would do away with the top tax rate, pass right-to-work, and get rid of "burdensome" regulations that still holds businesses accountable to society in general.

For crying out loud, they want to do away with the top tax rate. Hello...?

WKOW: Officials at the state's top business lobbying group say Wisconsin's top income earners deserve a tax break ... WMC is pushing to eliminate the state's top income tax bracket of 7.65 percent, a rate paid by individuals earning $240,190 per year or more and married couples earning $320,250 per year or more.

No backroom deals, no subtle or concealed campaign donations, just a bold faced statement of fact; the wealthy are in charge. The growing grotesque income disparity ain't wide enough yet.

If eliminated, the highest rate would be just 6.27 percent, which WMC believes would attract more businesses to Wisconsin. 

By WMC's own estimates, scrapping the top tax rate will reduce state revenues by $250 million dollars per year. 

So how do you make up the difference so millionaires don't have it so tough? Well, you drag out a talking point from 20 years ago:

Rep. Amy Loudenbeck (R-Clinton) (said), "I think we're all trying to look for ways to make government more efficient and ways that we can streamline and not affect service delivery at the state level." But Todd Berry, President of the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance, says that could be easier said than done, especially since the state faces a projected budget deficit of $2.2 billion by mid-2017. "This state has had round after round after round of budget crises, so, in some respects the low-hanging fruit has all been picked," said Berry. 

WMC is also behind the "big government" Republican push to remove local control, and old and quaint talking point that no longer makes sense under GOP rule. Cap Times:

(WMC) called for weakening local control over frac sand mining, calling those opposed to the industry "radical environmentalists."

State Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst introduced a stalled frac sand mining bill last year, said he plans to try again in the upcoming session. He told WisPolitics.com that while most local governments haven't abused their regulatory authority, there are "a few that are just exceeding the authority that they have."

Tiffany doesn't like it when local governments step out of line I guess.  

WKOW covered the breathtaking arrogance of this power grab:

The Small Government Lie behind Big Government Republicans.

The "stand with Walker" trolls and my conservative friend in Milwaukee have given me great insight into what "small government" really means to them. Here's what I've learned so far:

A. Despite policy failures, conservatives will never vote for a Democrat.

B. The founding fathers wanted to limit the size of government? The "size" isn't dictated in the constitution, and is in fact, left up to the "people:"

"The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the States, are reserved to the States respectively, or to the people." Tenth Amendment

C. Big Government Republicans hate big government liberalism: It gets little attention, but have you noticed how red state Republicans have purged decades of progress as a way to fight against the evils of socialism? Liberal influences are erased. This is where "big" government Republicans replace everything with their own convoluted legislation:

1. Tort reform: "Injury" reform basically, that limits the peoples access to the courts and just compensation. This is big government at its worst, because it protects business and insurance companies from being accountable, at the expense of people. It doesn't just cut injury settlements artificially, but steps in and controls a private sector lawyers compensation. Again, it's government telling individuals what the can or cannot make. Big government Republicans. A free market would do away with all limits and open the courts up to everyone, even if it means the end of the offending business, costing hundreds or thousands of jobs.   

2. Health Care: Every other country in the world has a national plan, except for the U.S.. Everybody needs it. Imagine what we could do if we didn't have to think about finding an insurer, shopping every year for a new plan because of rising copays and deductibles. A national health care system would give people more time to deal with all of life's other curve balls and heartbreaks. That's real freedom. 

3. Environment: Big government Republicans want to "balance" the needs of business, with the need to keep citizens healthy. That's a hard one? Is there ever a time a business should be allowed to harm Americans? The EPA's news rules controlling smog, a local hazard that causes asthma, lung damage and other health problems, isn't something that belongs on the negotiating table. With the growth of wind, solar and electric vehicles, we now have the option to move from fossil fuels to cleaner energy, saving people health problems and premature death. Plus, states will have 20 years to comply to the new rules. 

4. Right Wind Authoritarianism: Without going into greater detail, which I could do, let's just chalk it up to who's in "control;" one party dictatorial "leaders." Right now, leaders are allowed to do and say whatever they like. From the big government takeover of local communities fighting mining, allowing companies the freedom to locate cell towers and billboards anywhere they like, controlling the minimum wage statewide, a statewide sick leave ban, retaliating against educators and businesses that don't fall in line with Republican values, and using recall petitions as a blacklist to trash the political opposition. If the Walker Authority doesn't like what you're doing locally, they've got a big government fix for you, like it or not.

We can't forget the judicial branch of government, already politicized by Republican lawmakers who are promising to make the courts more conservative. After all, activist conservative courts rulings are wonderful, but liberal court rulings? Let's not even go there. For Republicans, the courts should be as predictable their party platform. No surprises.

Big Government Republicans to collect DNA samples of Wisconsinites for possible future use, but oppose DNA data for public health policy.

Any privacy concerns warranted under our big government Republican DNA screening process for supposed lawbreakers?

Yes, Republicans want to keep a DNA record of you, to be used for whatever reason in the future.

jsonline: The state Department of Justice has hired nearly 20 more workers … so that it will be able to handle … additional DNA samples when new collection requirements take effect next year … expects to receive 25,000 samples from felony arrests and 40,000 samples from misdemeanor convictions next year.

DNA samples from anyone convicted of a felony and certain sex-related misdemeanors. A Republican-backed law dramatically expands the grounds for collection … requires anyone convicted of any misdemeanor to submit a DNA sample. Civil rights advocates, though, contend the expanded collection is an invasion of privacy. 

Welcome to “small government” Republican values folks, and the invasive nature of their controlling “authority.”

The Upside Down World of Conservatism: So what could explain the objections to a similar collection of DNA samples used to treat newborns and guide public health policy?

jsonline: A major bill that supports newborn screening nationwide has stalled in Congress because some Republican senators have privacy concerns about genetic research funded by the legislation. Blood is collected on a card that is sent to state public health labs for testing, in order to identify conditions that are often easily treatable. The cards are often later used anonymously for research. It's unclear which specific research is causing concern, although the Senate committee has said research on DNA has allowed people to be re-identified, even though initially they were anonymous.

Is it the “less we know” Republican way of doing things?

Samples are used for quality assurance testing, to help refine cutoff levels for identifying specific disorders, as well as many other studies on various public health issues. 

So in this case, Republicans are worried about the future use of DNA samples? My head is hurting. Yet they’re not worried about the use of DNA samples of adults who commit a minor legal infraction?

No wonder conservatives don’t know which way is up anymore and just vote along party lines.

Republicans may not invite tyrant Obama to State-of-the-Union!

I'm not sure how long it will be before Democrats begin to notice that the Republicans are playing for keeps. They want a one party authoritarian system of government, with dictatorial leaders and a national religion. They will stop at nothing to do it, even refuse Obama's State-of-the-Union speech. 

This is a full frontal assault. Surprisingly, there are no plans to develop a Democratic offensive of their own. This whack job party of rugged small government individuals can't wait to install their own "leaders," ideologues promising to make unpopular decisions that may not represent the people's will, but what the heck, it's for their own good. If it sounds dictatorial, it is. Here's what they're "thinking:"

Bloomberg: A series of political commenters, led by the editor of the National Review, have a new idea for Speaker John Boehner: refuse to invite President Obama from the State of the Union address. 

The thinking behind this proposal is that it would aptly demonstrate the level of GOP discontentment with the president, in case he doesn’t already know. Rich Lowry, the editor of the National Review, told The New York Times Tuesday night that if he were John Boehner “I’d say to the president: ‘Send us your State of the Union in writing. You’re not welcome in our chamber.’”

Last week, the conservative website Breitbart suggested suggested Boehner do the same “so that the elected representatives of the people do not have to listen to, or applaud, a man who is violating his oath of office and governing as a tyrant.” Meanwhile, unnamed congressional Republicans are privately considering yanking the State of the Union welcome mat, according to Politico.

Malkin slips up: "Big Government Control Freaks are always troubled by dissent." The inadvertent truth comes out.

Well, didn't this quickly become very awkward...

...yea, those "big government control freaks" are "troubled by dissent"....

..."troubled by dissent?"...

And we all know how what happened after Selma...passage of the Voting Rights Act. Can't let anything like that happen again.

Small government Republicans? Only when it comes to Big Business, as Walker, Vos and Fitzgerald prepare massive new conservative regulatory maze for public.

With the initial stages of our new and convoluted electoral, food stamp and unemployment system in place, the Walker authority is about to enter the next phase of Rube Goldberg regulation including drug testing for public assistance, advantage GOP election law by getting rid of the nonpartisan GAB, expand charter and vouchers despite their devastating impact on rural schools, and delay an inmate’s release until they get temporary employment first (is that even legal?).

According to Republic Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, his goal is to hit the ground running in January, with no lengthy delays. Maybe “stand with Walker” supporters are okay with ramming more big government down our throats without any debate, but it wasn't so long ago Republicans wanted to slow bills down by deciding if they were first, constitutional, and then get citizen feedback. Not so much anymore.

   

I liked only one idea: to “create electronic benefit cards for public assistance recipients” with a photo. The card can then be used for voting as well? Vos and company never mentioned that for some reason. Would you be surprised if they didn’t want to make voting that easy for their targeted suppression efforts.  

And for those people buying food in the wrong places? Vos would attack food stamp abuse this way...

Cards should be programmed to automatically decline at places like casinos, liquorstores or strip clubs.

Their unashamed racist stereotype did not go unnoticed on page 11.   

State Supreme Court neutralizes Constitutional "Home Rule" provision used to Defend Local Control.

Big government Republicans? You bet.

Local control is a thing of the past under Scott Walker, thanks to his henchmen in the state legislature and the conservative activist Supreme Court. In just the first 4 years...

WSJ: Since 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers have wrested from local governments control of cellphone tower siting, shoreland zoning restrictions, landlord-tenant regulations, public employee residency requirements, family medical leave rules for private companies and large soft drink bans, among other things. Other proposals, such as limiting a local government’s ability to regulate frac sand mining, didn’t pass.

It just got worse, thanks to the latest activist conservative State Supreme Court decision on Act 10. Att. Ed Fallone said on WPR this morning the court says in matters of money, local control is gone:

"(The court) interpreted away the home rule provision of our state constitution. A provision that says the state legislature can't pass laws sort of countermanding local government matters...intended in our constitution to protect the cities and local governments from having micromanagement out of the statehouse...the majority opinion said that spending money is a statewide concern...I'm wondering what the home rule protects anymore. "

Pictured in this audio clip is Ed Fallone and John Prestigard: