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.

Our "Unintimidated" Governor, frightened by Protesters, Fabricates attack to reinforce his failed Authority.

Republicans, the only legitimate party, have created a barrier against criticism; they are the authentic exceptional Americans. It's almost unthinkable to question their authority, or the righteousness of their intentions.

So it's should come as no surprise that when Scott Walker sees angry protesters everywhere, he doesn't question his own policies, he instead vilifies and fears those he sees as opponents of freedom and of just punishments.

PolitiFact took a look at another fantasy Walker wrote about in his book, of an actual event many people remember differently today, including reporters and law enforcement officials.

Madison's Peaceful Walker Demonstrations or Tea Party Protest Thugs in D.C.? You decide.

Here's a perfect example of projection and/or hypocrisy from tea party Republicans. Remember when peaceful families, concerned citizens and labor unions protested Scott Walker's radical agenda at the Capitol? Conservative "Stand with Walker" teatards spread rumors about vandalism and violence at the Capitol...that never happened.

Now look at the tea party protesters in D.C.. Explain this one Vicki McKenna, Charlie Sykes, and Mark Behling? Didn't think so.

McKenna brings in the Singing Capitol Clowns!!!

Radio’s spreading statewide cancer stick Vicki McKenna thought she was being clever commandeering the Capitol on Labor Day, but really, she only ended up reaffirming her troll brigade’s utter hatred for working Americans everywhere. These are sniveling children in utter awe of their father figure Scott Walker. Father says get permission, they say yes. These are the same rugged individuals who don’t need government…except when they do. They can't get enough of those Walker Authority statewide law decrees usurping local control. They need leaders. Heil! WKOW:



All McKenna and her AFP purchased teabillies can do at this point is mock democracy:

WKOW: A group in support of Governor Walker used a permit to sing patriotic songs in the state capitol rotunda on Labor Day, as a regular group of anti-Walker protesters with organized labor ties found themselves outside the building. Liberty Singers organizer Brent Renteria of the Town of Middleton says obtaining the rally permit for Labor Day was motivated primarily by the holiday from work for those participating.

Regular protester Kristen Forde says she suspects the permit was obtained to displace the union-sympathizing protest on Labor Day.

As phony as the following Vicki McKenna reason is, there is some paranoia in play, rooted in the fear that grips every low information conservative. Oh, and pettiness is a big motivator too:

Conservative radio talk show Vicki McKenna of WIBA participated in the Liberty Singers event, and tells 27 News obtaining a permit is about security, not the political content of the activity. "We just want folks to understand, the permit is easy to get, it's a way to protect all of us and our ability to come here to our beautiful capitol and express ourselves," McKenna says.

And don’t leave out McKenna’s lack of respect for the state constitutions unabridged guarantee to protest the government. Yet she's a big believer in unabridged gun rights. Another cafeteria constitutionalist. Her playful jabs at middle class working families plays well with her dimwitted listeners, who she leads by the nose demanding they hijack the Capitol.

They won’t be happy until they've literally marked every inch of territory like a pack of rabid dogs:

McKenna says other Walker supporters have obtained permits for events in the capitol rotunda for upcoming dates in September … McKenna has encouraged people to apply for permits to stymie the Solidarity Sing-a-long.

They just love a jobless, no new business agenda that needs more time, more borrowing, more votes against their own best interests, no safety nets and lower pay. Smart.

NOTE: The state constitution is clear about the right to protest. The last time I looked, bus tours and weddings don't rise to what we would call peaceful assemblies to "consult for the common good, and to petition the government, or any department thereof" unabridged. Social events need permits, not the those protesting their government policies. And I didn't see a crowd size listed either..what's that arbitrary number thing all about anyway?

It's not safe to go to the Capitol anymore. Police now turning on Protesters and Onlookers alike!!!!

It was bound to happen.

Capitol Police Chief David Erwin's absence is telling. Unlike Chief Tubbs, who played the buffer between protesters and his police force, Erwin's cowardice and high salary separates him from his fellow officers. He's a leader watching from the back row. Perfect Walker material.

Wanna go to the Capitol for a visit? You would be risking everything, not to mention a big fat fine or a wasted day in court. Boy, what a way to make it easy for everyone to share the Capitol.

Erwin hopes to train and discipline the protesters. But with the tensions mounting day after day, and a few favorite protesters to arrest, what you're about to see was inevitable; an unprovoked attack.

"Segway" Jeremy Ryan posted the following video of Damon Terrell simply taking pictures, until officers out-of-the-blue surprisingly tried to arrest him. This raw video clearly shows Terrell as an observer:



WKOW's Greg Neumann covered the event:



Just think, this is what Scott Walker would bring to the presidency.  

Conservative Pundit Kevin Hermening labels Capitol Protesters Fascists...dissent will not be tolerated.

WPT's morning radio show showcased a classic example of authoritarian behavior by a conservative political activist, former Iran Hostage and never quite realized 2010 senate candidate Kevin Hermening, now a certified financial planner in Wausau. He lost to teabilly Pam Galloway.

Hermening was quick to project his own "fascist" leanings in the direction of every protester at the state Capitol:

"Listen, this behavior is something that has gone on way too long, and tolerated way too long, by a group of people who are the most disrespectful, intolerant citizens and people who aren't citizens of Wisconsin...they would describe the governor and his administration as fascist. Um, but he technical term, definition of the term...fascist ideology...consistently invoke the primacy of the state. Now these protesters oppose this state government, but I'm pretty sure that they would very much raise up their primacy of their state as they would seek to decide and define it...!"  

Hermening doesn't just project, but he defines the conservative position: dissent will not be "tolerated." Protesters are showing "disrespect" to the party leaders. We're treading in dangerous waters here. He even justified the arrests at the Capitol over an already disproved story about forcing a wedding out of the Capitol.

Former state supreme court candidate Ed Fallone, a Associate Professor of Law at Marquette University, made Hermening look like a third world dictator, which wouldn't be to far off:

Hermening: "I'm surprised that there hasn't been true violence by people who are getting sick and tired and fed up with the behavior of the protesters..."

Announcer: "Democratic state representative...

Fallone: "Hold on, hold on, I mean, I'm still trying to get my head around what Kevin just said.

Hermening: "Don't be a bully Ed, don't join the bullies, you're part of the bully group if you support their behavior."

Fallone: "Yeah, well aside from your characterizing the protests in one fell swoop as a bunch of fascists. Let's remember Kevin, that the birth of the tea party movement, so beloved of the current Republican establishment in this state and nationwide, was a bunch of people disrupting townhall forums on health care policy, and taking over and disrupting the forum screaming and yelling. And a lot of people weren't happy about that Kevin, but that's democracy. And they supported the right of those individuals to speak out. And I think that for you, to be selective, and who has the right to speak out and protest and who doesn't, is unfortunately reflective of a real blind spot on your part. The constitution guarantees that right for everyone Kevin, not just for the groups..."

Great stuff. Check out the rest of this jaw dropping lunacy from Hermening in the audio clip:

Hermening's insistence on permits, and getting the target of the protest to okay dissent, leaves out one important point: What happens when the administration decides, like Hermening did here, that they're "sick and tired and fed up with the behavior of the protesters" and refuse the permit?  

Capitol Open to Everyone? Not if you like watching democracy in action....

It's no joke really:

Cap Times: A blaze orange safety vest attracts attention, and even more so when one adds a sign that says "TOURIST" and "DO NOT ARREST" and wears it inside the state Capitol.

Former Lincoln Republican primary candidate for governor and protester Arthur Kohl-Riggs tossed to the floor in Capitol.

With multiple video recordings of the event edited together, Arthur Kohl-Riggs is shoved to the floor without warning by a Capitol police officer.

The Capitol is there for Everyone to...get a citation.

Awhile back I pointed out how a memo from Sen. Scott Fitzgerald warning staffers to avoid the public areas of the Capitol was proof the arrests were meant to intimidate everyone, including innocent bystanders. Here's what I wrote:

WSJ: Fitzgerald warns politicians to not get near protesters … Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s office sent a note to legislative offices warning staff not to congregate along the balcony during the protests. “If you are in the vicinity of the illegal demonstrations that have been taking place over the noon hour in the rotunda, you will be considered part of the protests and are subject to being ticketed,” the message said.

Me: "Fitzgerald is aware that even innocent bystanders at the Capitol are targets for arrest. For a majority party that says they’re trying to protect everyone’s right to visit the Capitol, that’s not what I'm seeing, and leaves no doubt that they're outright lying. What better reason for a judge to find the “protest permits” unconstitutional. It’s impossible to say whose there to protest, and whose just watching, unless that wasn't the point:"

Joe Meiller, a Madison Metro bus driver who brought his two sons to watch the singalong Friday from the balcony, was upset that he was asked to leave by Capitol police.

“We didn’t sing or clap once,” Meiller said. “If I observe a bank robbery nearby, am I a participant because I was nearby?”

Thanks to Democratic Senator Jon Erpenbach, the media is catching on too. WKOW's Tony Galli:

Would it be so crazy if everyone with a citation said they were just watching?

Spectators in the state capitol were warned Wednesday of possible arrest ... as a third week of a crackdown continues. Sen. Jon Erpenbach (D-Middleton) says warning capitol visitors of possible arrest has a chilling effect.

"What kind of message are you sending to the people who want to come and visit the capitol?" says Erpenbach. "If you're having police, (saying) they're going to be arrested if they don't move along, from a public building during the noontime, it's ridiculous."

In an encounter between a spectator and a Capitol Police officer Wednesday, a 27 News crew recorded the officer's admonition to the visitor. "So if you stay here, you could be arrested," the officer told the man.

But in a statement late Wednesday afternoon, Department of Administration spokesperson Stephanie Marquis articulated a different, law enforcement approach.

"Observers will not receive citations," Marquis wrote. 

It's unclear if DOA officials consider certain spectators protest participants as well, or whether police warnings lack teeth and are intended to try to disperse large crowds of spectators.

NOTE: According to another story in the Wisconsin State Journal by Matthew DeFour: "DOA officials declined to discuss why police were warning observers." That's not just amazing, but an indication the Walker administration hasn't come up with an adequate explanation yet. The intention to intimidate is message enough I guess.  

Scott Walker union busting featured on MSNBC, to show Union influence in elections disappearing.

MSNBC’s Melissa Harris Perry featured the Madison protests tonight, showing how Scott Walker was able to take union money out of elections, leaving nothing but corporate cash.

Perry then said this: 

Harris-Perry: “We cannot know if Republicans in Wisconsin were motivated to strip union rights in order to achieve this end…”

Oh but we do know. Here it is, the now classic and amazing performance by Sen. Scott Fitzgerald on Fox News:

It's no surprise that business lobbyists have already taken the lead, and hold the top 3 positions. Just wait till election season:

jsonline: The new leaders in lobbying spending at the Capitol are large business groups, which are more numerous than large unions. Some local government groups such as the Wisconsin Counties Association and the City of Milwaukee also spent substantial sums in the first six months of 2013 seeking to influence provisions in the state budget that reduced the power of local elected officials or affected local concerns.

 "The top five lobbying groups for the first half of 2013" shouldn't be a big shock.

■ Wisconsin Insurance Alliance, $357,000.

■ Wisconsin Hospital Association, $324,000.

■ Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, $295,000.

■ Wisconsin Counties Association, $292,000.

■ Wisconsin Property Taxpayers Inc., $233,000.

The preliminary lobbying figures from the Government Accountability Board released this week are just the latest sign of the deep impact of Act 10, Gov. Scott Walker's 2011 law repealing most collective bargaining for most public employees. The new figures on who's lobbying state lawmakers follow a recent Milwaukee Journal Sentinel report showing that Act 10 had effectively crushed the membership and finances of government labor unions as well as eliminating most of their former duties.

What next, a Capitol Ban on Roving School Kids? Sly points out Blaska hypocrisy.

With all the attention centered on the arrests at the Capitol, you’d think they would try to be as factual as possible. No such chance with the administration. They do realize making obvious lies will exposed almost immediately:

WKOW: A Dane County official disputes a state official Stephanie Marquis’ claim a scheduled state capitol wedding ceremony took place in the rain, as dozens of protesters inside the capitol occupied the building's rotunda.

County court commissioner Daniel Floeter tells 27 News he officiated the wedding ceremony, and said it was held outside the building by design, with no precipitation. "We did not do the ceremony in the rain," Floeter says.

If anything, Capitol Police might have to crack down on the problem of large groups of school kids getting in the way:

Floeter says the only delay in the ceremony just before noon resulted from the brief presence of about fifty school children.

Here's more from WKOW's Greg Neumann with the Blaska "permitted" sing-in with comments from 93.7's Sly:

Blaska sings out-of-tune, kills traditional American songs with other protesters at Capitol!!!

Give WKOW's Greg Neumann credit, that guy is everywhere. Take a look at his play-by-play Tweet + picture about Sly's protest against David Blaska's tea party singalong at the Capitol today:

For fun, here's the conservative fringe group MacIver Institute's coverage, which is nicely put together considering the time they had, and heck, it's pretty good. Sly and all. Blaska's 3 dozen to Solidarity's 200...thugs:



If you have a chance, check out the great story at Jake's Economic TA Funhouse on the other options open to the Solidarity Singers, and Blaska's tasteless Twinkies statement.

Depending on how much time you have, Neumann interviewed right wing loon David Blaska about his singing protest at the Capitol today. Rep. Melissa Sargent took this guy on as well, and verbally knocked him to the floor. When you get Republicans to focus, and press them for an answer, they fold like a house of cards.

I've edited each guest up, and included the whole shebang, depending on who you want to listen to most.

Blaska first: With gems like, "Why does David Blaska have to get a permit and they don't ... No ones ever said the Capitol is the property of the Solidarity Singers ... They're their own worst advertisement. the intransigence, the self entitlement, the public tantrum they're displaying...they're turning off the people of Wisconsin."  All crackpot comments that prove how easily these guys fall in line with their "leaders." If you've ever wondered how despots take power with the peoples approval, watch David Blaska:



Here's how Rep. Melissa Sargent argued for the protests, a lesson for Democrats everywhere on how not to back down and get to the point:



Or the whole interview by Greg Neumann:

Citations for Solidarity Singers not Popular even in Waukesha County.

In conservative Brookfield, I thought this online poll was a very encouraging sign:

Sen. Fitzgerald lets it slip, Capitol Arrests meant to intimidate and Isolate Politicians from the People.

This odd and very unsettling warning went out at the Capitol, reported in the Wisconsin State Journal like it was just another day in the park.

WSJ: Fitzgerald warns politicians to not get near protesters … Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald’s office sent a note to legislative offices warning staff not to congregate along the balcony during the protests. “If you are in the vicinity of the illegal demonstrations that have been taking place over the noon hour in the rotunda, you will be considered part of the protests and are subject to being ticketed,” the message said.

Fitzgerald is aware that even innocent bystanders at the Capitol are targets for arrest. For a majority party that says they’re trying to protect everyone’s right to visit the Capitol, that’s not what I'm seeing, and leaves no doubt that they're outright lying. What better reason for a judge to find the “protest permits” unconstitutional. It’s impossible to say whose there to protest, and whose just watching, unless that wasn't the point:

Joe Meiller, a Madison Metro bus driver who brought his two sons to watch the singalong Friday from the balcony, was upset that he was asked to leave by Capitol police.

“We didn’t sing or clap once,” Meiller said. “If I observe a bank robbery nearby, am I a participant because I was nearby?”

Meiller is a participant by Capitol standards, because that’s the point of the arrests…shear intimidation and government censorship. Unconstitutional as hell.

But just as bad, Fitzgerald is telling politicians and their staff to stay away from their constituents. An interesting way to serve the people.    

Arrests at Capitol, Day 2....

Wouldn't it be interesting if groups of 20 or less converged but were separate, legally? Each group could wear a different color t-shirt with a number on it, or a colored button with a number.

Arrests shown here from ustream.tv/channel/chaous64:

From the Progressive:

Capitol Singers Arrested, Released, Start Singing, Arrested Again!!!

Thanks to Twitter, especially WISC's Jessica Arp, at News3Jessica, I thought I would give you the timeline on the Capitol Singers arrest, along with a few other pictures. No doubt the Walker Authority has been watching the arrests taking place in North Carolina. It looked so easy, so why not:

Here's Arp's live feed, posted at Uppity Wisconsin, edited here and featuring Sen. Bob Jauch, who levels off on this administration:

Redefining Protesters: How dare they be “disrespectful” and so “despicable?” Get out the Assault Rifles…

Boy times have changed since the turbulent 60’s war protests.

The Republican Party has always opposed dissenters, always claiming they represented only a small minority of people. Meaning they should be ignored. 

Gov. Scott Walker successfully discredit them, by “marketing” them to his fearful base of voters as out-of-staters, who have no business meddling in our political affairs. Forget all that corporate money. 

Keep in mind that while the protests over Act 10 at the Capitol were nothing but peaceful, Republicans still portrayed them as violent, instigated by union thugs who caused millions of dollars in damage. Since none of that was true, peaceful protests can and will be re-imagined as something more horrific to the base, who'll buy it hook-line-and-sinker. My conservative friend in Milwaukee is convinced.

   

Which brings me to this frighteningly naïve but very conservative editorial in the Racine Journal Times.

An appalling video made its way across the Internet this month showing protesters last month with covered faces, yelling profanity and threatening workers on June 11 at the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine in northern Wisconsin. The workers are not the despicable ones — the protesters are. Watching that video, it almost makes you sick to see how disrespectful those protesters were.

Maybe the Times missed the documentary “The War at Home.”

It’s no wonder that after the incident the mining company, Gogebic Taconite, hired security armed with assault rifles to protect workers.

See, Gogebic acted normally under Walker Authority rules.  

In a letter to Gogebic Taconite’s president, state Sen. Bob Jauch, D-Poplar, and state Rep. Janet Bewley, D-Ashland, called the images of the mining company’s security “appalling” and compared it to security forces common in Third World countries.

Here's Jauch's comments edited together in his debate with corporate lackey Rep. Mark Honadel, from Upfront with Mike Gousha (Goo-shay):

Here's Honadel's comment edited together to show you how totally sold out Republicans are to big business:

Reminiscent of media in more dictatorial regimes around the world, the Journal Times sees nothing wrong with military force as a way to rein in social unrest. Being a private company, who are we to tell them what to do:

But when you have even one incident where opponents threaten the lives of workers, that more than crosses the line. As a private company … Gogebic Taconite should be able to determine how best to protect workers.

Uh oh, here come the armed citizens. Maybe that needs to be "adjusted" sometime in the future:

Hopefully … both mine supporters and opponents can agree to respectfully disagree. Then there will not be a need for armed guards who could be put at risk during hunting season. 

Federal Injunction returns Protests to the Capitol. Walker Rules provided "extraordinary chilling effect" on Free Speech.

The ACLU just released this victory in the courts, where everything Scott Walker does ends up: 

A federal judge yesterday granted a preliminary injunction in the Capitol free speech case, allowing groups of up to 20 people to gather without a permit inside the Capitol.

“This is huge victory for free speech,” said Larry Dupuis, legal director of the American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. “The court recognized the Capitol’s unique and historic role as a forum for free speech and public gatherings.”

Michael Kissick, an assistant professor in the UW-Madison School of Medicine and Public Health, sometimes participated in demonstrations inside the Rotunda, including the Solitary Singalong group. Kissick ceased exercising his First Amendment rights in the Capitol in September 2012, when Capitol police began arresting and citing people who exercised free speech inside the Capitol without a permit.

In his 47-page decision, which includes photos and details about the Capitol’s history and architecture, Judge William Conley wrote that the Capitol’s “design was intended to embody… the pursuit of fair and open government informed by an educated, politically involved citizenry and the ‘Wisconsin idea.’”

“The current permitting requirement sweeps in an enormous amount of ordinary activities that are unlikely to present any significant disturbance in the Capitol,” Judge Conley wrote. “The extraordinary chilling effect of permits explains why courts are careful to require that (permits do not) burden small gatherings posing no threat to the safety, order, and accessibility.”

A trial for a permanent injunction is scheduled for the week of January 13, 2014.

The judge noted this important consideration in his decision:

Principal architect George B. Post designed the rotunda to be the center of public interaction among the three branches of state government, the county and city, the University of Wisconsin and the public by constructing four massive wings around it, opening onto four major streets of the City of Madison: 

As specified in the original building program, the Capitol is “in the form a St. Andrew‟s Cross, providing a double axial configuration that welcomes state citizens to walk beneath the four classical porticos and enter the halls of government.”

Indeed, the Nomination argues persuasively that the design was intended to embody Wisconsin’s then-contemporaneous “Progressive” movement, articulated by the state’s governor, Robert M. La Follette, Sr., as the pursuit of fair and open government informed by an educated, politically-involved citizenry and the “Wisconsin idea.” 

Here's WKOW's coverage:

Virginia's AG Cuccinelli says protesting Obamacare is enough to protest and risk going to jail over.

Let me see, Wisconsinites protesting a wild and reckless authoritarian Republican takeover of our state while repealing worker rights was an outrageous tantrum, with threats of union thuggery, arrests and an amazing waste of taxpayer money providing security.

Yet it’s noble to commit these same acts if you’re a Republican. Kinda thought they had a different set of rules.

Newsmax: Virginia’s attorney general Ken Cuccinelli said in an interview Thursday that defying the “tyranny” that is the contraception mandate in Obamacare is important enough to protest and risk going to jail over.

Cuccinelli went on to say that the requirement for health insurers to cover most forms of contraceptives for their customers is an attack on the Roman Catholic Church, which demands civil disobedience. 

The suggestion that citizens break the law because they consider it to be an attack on their religious beliefs — Cuccinelli is Catholic, and has said as much — outraged not only pro-choice advocates, but Democrats as well. "For Virginia's chief legal officer to suggest that citizens break the law is not only reckless, it's dangerous," Democratic state Sen. Mark Herring told Fox News.

AIDS protesters strip for Boehner!

In one of the boldest protests yet, Rep. John Boehner's office filled up with naked people:

Naked protesters storm House speaker's office in D.C.: AIDS activists demand meeting with Rep. Boehner to discuss potential 'devastating' budget cuts to people living with disease.

The odd part of this story that went unexplained, was the fact that the naked women were the only ones arrested.