Ending Democracy #2: Shut Down Protesting...I mean "rioting."

Scott Walker's Act 10 union busting plans were met with huge statewide protests. Walker couldn't even go out fishing without being confronted with a conga line of protest boaters paddling by. Despite a 100,000 protesters and tens of thousands marching daily around the Capitol, Walker didn't bother to agree to even one concession, saying this...

Hand it to Scott Walker for doing what is now spreading from Florida to every other red state, shredding the First Amendment and protesting, like when people were ticketed for protest signs and t-shirts:

On September 5, 2012 the Wisconsin Capitol Police arrest 8 people and charge them with "Unlawful display of sign" 

Shit Scott Walker Is Doing To My State: "Two of the “signs” were actually t-shirts being distributed by the organization "Muslims for Life" that helped to promote the American Red Cross blood drive taking place on the first floor. Another sign said, “We ♥Blood Donors,” and yet another was a copy of Article I, Section 4, of the Wisconsin Constitution, which reads: “The right of the people peaceably to assemble, to consult for the common good, and to petition the government or any department thereof shall never be abridged.” 

Madison's peaceful protests at the time were described by right-wingers as...insurrectionists. Yup, is was bad then:

Cornell University law professor William Jacobson wrote on his blog, Legal Insurrection ... The appearance of a bullhorn-toting protester on Feb. 27 in a "COPS FOR LABOR" T-shirt showed that "the police union members involved have actively advocated and offered to participate in insurrection against the legal authority in Wisconsin."

Walker then directed the Capitol police to crack down. From Friday, Dec. 2, 2011:

This DOA policy change is aimed at cracking down on freedoms in the Capitol building ... 22 page DOA policy … effect(ive) January 1st, 2012 after a “two week education period”. Starting with most WTF policy point first:

*No civil legal recourse is available for death, injury, damage or theft of property that a Wisconsin citizen may experience in a state facility. The state and its departments, employees, agents, are “held harmless” for all suits, damages, claims, or other liabilities related to death, injury, damage, or theft of property.

*Helium balloons are not allowed in the Capitol.

*Where a “public area” is can change at any time and the only areas deemed public are the ground and 1st floors of the Capitol.

*All “events” must have a permit but for “spontaneous” events and spontaneous events must occur in response to a “triggering” event which occurred in the previous week or is occurring. Events that are advertised by social media and other means 7 or more days before the event are not “spontaneous”.  

Fast forward 10 years...Republicans are now cracking down on Protesters with felony violations. Why?: In any of the Republican dominated state governments, guess who would most likely be protesting, getting arrested, and then lose their right to vote because they committed a felony? NOTE: Rachel Maddow brought up the fact that Al Qaida once planned to use cars as deadly weapons in the US.! Republicans were listening...and instead of dealing with actual racial injustice in America…

NYTimes: A wave of new anti-protest legislation, sponsored and supported by Republicans, have happened in the 11 months since Black Lives Matter protests swept the country following the death of George Floyd. Some, like Mr. DeSantis, are labeling them “anti-riot” bills, conflating the right to peaceful protest with the rioting and looting that sometimes resulted from such protests.

“This is consistent with the general trend of legislators’ responding to powerful and persuasive protests by seeking to silence them rather than engaging with the message of the protests,” said Vera Eidelman, a lawyer at the American Civil Liberties Union. 

Republican legislators in Oklahoma and Iowa have passed bills granting immunity to drivers whose vehicles strike and injure protesters in public streets.

A Republican proposal in Indiana would bar anyone convicted of unlawful assembly from holding state employment, including elected office. 

A Minnesota bill would prohibit those convicted of unlawful protesting from receiving student loans, unemployment benefits or housing assistance.

In Kentucky, where protests following the police killing of Breonna Taylor lasted for months last year, the State Senate passed a bill that would make it a crime to insult or taunt a police officer with “offensive or derisive” words or gestures that would have “a direct tendency to provoke a violent response.” The measure would have required that those arrested on such a charge be held in jail for at least 48 hours — a provision that does not automatically apply to those arrested on murder, rape or arson charges in Kentucky. State Senator Danny Carroll, a Republican who is a retired police officer, said his bill was needed to ensure community safety and protect law enforcement personnel. “They are under attack constantly,” he said, noting that police officers decades ago could “arrest someone for cussing them out,” until court rulings curtailed such police powers.

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis signed sweeping legislation.

The overwhelming majority of last summer’s nationwide Black Lives Matter protests were peaceful — more than 96 percent involved no property damage or police injuries, according to The Washington Post, which also found that police officers or counterprotesters often instigated violence.

There's more...

Rolling Stone: Governor Ron DeSantis declared, “We are taking an unapologetic stand for the rule of law and public safety.” But the Republican, and close Trump ally, also made it plain that the true legislative intent was to criminalizing the protest tactics of those he denounced as “the radical left.” “Let’s be clear: this is not an anti-riot bill,” said Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Florida. “It is a bill that criminalizes peaceful protest,” he said.

1, It lowers the threshold of a “riot” to include as few as three people engaging in “violent and disorderly conduct.” This could subject anyone at an otherwise peaceful event where such a disturbance occurs to third-degree felony charges, punishable by up to five years in prison and the loss of the right to vote. 

2, It creates a new second-degree felony of “aggravated rioting” for any large group action that, among other not-clearly-harmful and vaguely-described impacts, “endangers the safe movement of a vehicle traveling on a public street, highway, or road.”

3, The law creates a new, hazy, misdemeanor charge of “mob intimidation” that requires anyone so charged to be held until their first bail hearing — effectively giving cops carte blanche to lock up protesters overnight.

4, The bill also shields Floridians from civil liability if they happen to injure or kill a protester involved in a demonstration the authorities label a “riot.” According to testimony by the state ACLU: “A white supremacist who maliciously drove his car into protesters… like the one in Charlottesville that killed Heather Heyer, would be able to assert an affirmative defense under this bill.”

5, The new law in Florida also heightens punishment for protesters who damage or deface public monuments or flags, subjecting them to felony charges and forcing them to pay restitution for any damages.

6, The law enhances the power of the state government at the expense of local jurisdictions, taking aim at progressive politicians who attempt to rein in aggressive police tactics or bloated police budgets. Specifically, the law exposes local governments to financial liability for damages to property if they are found not to have responded aggressively enough to a riot or and “unlawful assembly.” The law also grants the state government power to review and reverse cuts made by local elected officials to their law-enforcement budgets.

For his part DeSantis mugged for the cameras and played to a national audience of FoxNews watchers. “If you riot, loot, harm others, particularly law enforcement, you’re going to jail,” he said. “We’re not going to end up like Portland.”

even more...

Micah Kubic, executive director of the ACLU of Florida, said in a statement. "It is no coincidence," that HB1 and its companion bill, Senate Bill 484, "were introduced by politicians who harshly criticized" millions of Floridians and Americans for demanding "racial justice and police accountability."  

The ACLU of Florida explained the full ramifications of the legislation:

By redefining "rioting," the bill grants police officers broad discretion in deciding who could be arrested and charged with a third-degree felony at a protest and fails to provide protection for people who have not engaged in any disorderly and violent conduct. In Florida, a felony charge strips people of their voting rights.

This bill would also hinder local governments from determining how to allocate law enforcement resources to address critical needs in their local communities. It allows the Governor, with the Cabinet, to usurp control of a city budget and amend it to their liking at the appeal of any county commissioner or state attorney, regardless of whether local elected officials approve of changes made in the budget. It would also shield violent counter-protesters from civil liability for killing a peaceful protester or demonstrator with their vehicle, and make pulling down a Confederate flag a punishable offense for up to 15 years in prison.

Since the right-wing insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on January 6, "at least 13 states have taken up legislation to crack down on protests," NBC News reported Thursday. "In addition to Florida, legislators in Arizona, Indiana, Maryland, Minnesota, Mississippi, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Rhode Island, Virginia, and Washington" have introduced bills that critics say use the violence at the Capitol to justify the repression of Black Lives Matter and other social justice demonstrations.

(They are) taking advantage of outrage over the far-right coup attempt to undermine demonstrations for progressive causes.

Florida's anti-protest bill remains highly unpopular. According to a poll conducted last month by Florida Politics, 63% of the state's voters view the legislation unfavorably.

More than 100 law professors throughout the country denounced the proposal, characterizing it as unconstitutional and "morally unconscionable."

Woman knocked down during protest by Police charged with "Interfering?" First Amendment...Gone!!!

It started with Scott Walker's book, "Unintimidated," where he portrayed protesters as ISIS like thugs trying to "intimidate" him. To anyone else, it looked like a First Amendment right to redress our government.  

Walker's mischaracterization continues to fester and swell, portraying American protesters as anti-American. Oh my, that troublesome First Amendment.

Tell me if you think the woman in the video below should be charged with obstruction after being pushed to the ground by police, remaining on the ground until those same policeman cuff her and charge her with "interfering." Lesson: Protesting is now illegal in this country:

The St. Louis Metrololitan Police Department Department tweets, "Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in FOX 2's video failed to obey officers' orders and was charged with 'Interfering.'

To one right wing observer who said he "was there," tweeted that while she was being pushed back and stumbling uncontrollably...

Yea, that's the ticket. Obstruction lying the pavement behind the police line. This nation is in serious trouble:

The video stirred outcry online, where some accused the officers of assaulting the woman. “They could have broken her hip like that,” one Twitter user wrote. “Who is that evil?”

The police department eventually responded to the backlash with a tweet, saying: “Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in @FOX2now's video failed to obey officers' orders & was charged w/ ‘Interfering’.”

Trump Fascism turns American Protesters into Felons.

Republicans and like minded voters just don't protest. It's a liberal thing, and they hate it.

The last time I saw conservative protesters was in 2011, when a group of seniors were bused in from areas around the state by Americans for Prosperity. No really, that happened. 

Scott Walker's union busting agenda included regulations curtailing free speech and protesting. Just so you know, that didn't work out for him in the courts:

The Department of Administration (DOA) and Capitol Police havebeen ordered to arrest and cite protesters whose only offense is the silent carrying of a sign ... protesters have been cited for gathering for the "Solidarity Sing-along," a non-violent group of citizens who sing every day over the noon hour.

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.

Capitol Police Chief Dave Erwin is installing panic buttons in some lawmakers' offices, changing the look of his officers' uniforms (banning facial hair) and raising some eyebrows with a suggestion to female legislative aides that they be prepared to hit demonstrators if they feel threatened and cornered. “There's a time and a place. But every day, every day, you've got to think about that," Erwin said.

The new DOA policy allows fees to be imposed on the indigent as a condition of protesting, it vests unbounded discretion in the Capitol police to determine whether to impose advance fees for security costs, and it requires permits from small groups of four or more protesters. Capitol Police were enforcing a rule in the state administrative code that required a permit to hold a sign on state property.

Nass said, "If they were arrested vigorously, I believe that would slow them [protesters]."

Gov. Scott Walker's administration could hold demonstrators liable for costs for extra police presence or cleanup and repairs following protests at the Capitol.

Trump takes it to the Next Level: And now we have the latest attempt to make even the original tea party participants felons:

"It's crazy, a few windows got smashed," 23-year-old Olivia Alsip said, two months after her arrest on felony riot charges. "Why are 214 people looking at ten years in prison?"

Alsip only knew one other person at the protest march that day. The political science graduate student from the University of Chicago had met her partner in November, when the two had joined the camps at Standing Rock opposing the Dakota Access Pipeline. When they heard about calls to protest Donald J. Trump's inauguration in D.C. on January 20th under the banner "Disrupt J20," they felt they had to be there. "I identify as an anarchist, and I've been an activist for women's and queer rights since the 8th grade," Alsip told me over the phone from Chicago.

Alsip is among 214 defendants facing felony riot charges, up to a decade in prison and a $25,000 fine for their participation in the anti-capitalist, anti-fascist march, which ended with a mass arrest on the morning of Inauguration Day. 

Alsip didn't break or throw anything. Now she lives in shock over the steep price she and her fellow protesters might pay as the new administration and police forces set the tone for how they will deal with the spike in organized dissent ... narchists and anti-fascist activists across the country have responded to Trump's ascendancy, and particularly the attendant emboldening of white supremacists, with confrontational protest.

Veteran D.C. attorney Mark Goldstone, of the charges. Goldstone, who has defended dozens of activist cases and is representing six of the J20 defendants, called the charges "unprecedented territory." The government has already proven its willingness to set what Goldstone called "a monstrous trap" for protesters, by leveraging high risk trials against paper-thin cases.

"It definitely hits in waves," Alsip told me. "I'm nervous. I try to think that even if I do go to prison, I would remain committed, and politically active. But," she paused, "I just can't believe that my thoughts have to go there. And that we're all facing this." Another pause. "A few broken windows."

Happening fast...welcome to a lethal police state in Indiana!!!.

Republicans have always hated protesting. What, can't people just go out and find a billionaire to pay politicians and influence public opinion with lots of money instead?

Indiana bill would allow police to shut down protests 'by any means necessary' ... Republican senator Jim Tomes proposed law, simply labelled Senate Bill 285, or SB 285, and designed to deal with “traffic obstruction by protestors” would go into effect in July if passed. It calls for officials, such as a city mayor or county sheriff, to be required to quickly clear any mass traffic obstruction – defined as 10 or more protesters – blocking roads ... the bill states.

“A responsible public official shall, not later than 15 minutes after learning of a mass traffic obstruction in the official’s jurisdiction, dispatch all available law enforcement officers … with directions to use any means necessary to clear the roads of the persons unlawfully obstructing vehicular traffic.” 

Republican hypocrites demand Clinton apology for saying their "views about women" similar to "some of the terrorist groups."

Who can forget this vilification of American protesters exercising their 1st Amendment right to redress their government:

Walker: “We need a leader with that kind of confidence. If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world."

That was just fine with rank and file Republican voters. There were no objections or apologies. And yes, Walker compared Wisconsin protesters to ISIS.

Fast forward to the following comment from Hillary Clinton defending women's rights:

“Extreme views about women – we expect that from some of the terrorist groups. We expect that from people who don’t want to live in the modern world..." Clinton said to cheers.

So what are our hypocritical Republican "war on women" warriors saying:

“For Hillary Clinton to equate her political opponents to terrorists is a new low for her flailing campaign. She should apologize immediately for her inflammatory rhetoric,” said Republican National Committee Press Secretary Allison Moore.

Do Republicans really want to go there? Of course.

Salon's Joan Walsh went a little deeper into Walker's bizarre comparison that his clueless supporters deny to this day, as shown in these tweets. Just to be clear, many of the protesters weren't in unions and showed up supporting WORKERS in general:

Joan Walsh: Walker himself tried denying that he’d compared Wisconsin protesters to ISIS.  

“You all will misconstrue things the way you see fit. But I think it’s pretty clear, that’s the closest thing I have in terms of handling a difficult situation, not that there’s any parallel between the two.” 

He made a similar argument at the New York event where Rudy Giuliani upstaged him … according to Larry Kudlow, an event co-sponsor:

"Walker argued that when Reagan fired the PATCO air-traffic controllers over their illegal strike, he was sending a message of toughness to Democrats and unions at home as well as our Soviet enemies abroad. Similarly, Walker believes his stance against unions in Wisconsin would be a signal of toughness to Islamic jihadists and Russia’s Vladimir Putin."

Former Texas Gov. Rick Perry quickly criticized Walker’s remarks:

"That is a terrible response. First, taking on a bunch of protesters is not comparably difficult to taking on a Caliphate … Secondly, it is insulting to the protesters, a group I take no pleasure in defending. The protesters in Wisconsin … they’re Americans, and as much as we may find their ideas, worldview, and perspective spectacularly wrongheaded, they don’t deserve to be compared to murderous terrorists." 

Walker hates government protesters...that whole 1st Amendment thing!!!

Scott Walker's reaction is beyond words, and beyond his understanding of the Constitution.

Note: Walker always insisted protesters at the Capitol in the winter of 2011 were imported, out-of-state agitators. Now he's saying protesters in other states are imported from Wisconsin. Make up your mind Scottie (I'm with Laurna):

Walker gets media cover for ISIS=Wisconsin Protesters comparison, but only briefly.

John Dickerson, Slate's chief political correspondent, took the word of Scott Walker’s campaign spinners, and threw up another media wall of protection for our Teflon governor.

Walker said he was taken out of context, and he was. This is reductionist and it’s a logical fallacy, but it’s not a comparison. The logical fallacy is that strength in one category can be transferred to another. Walker was arguing that since he had done one hard thing, he could offer the same internal strength to do another hard thing. 

Yikes, just when we thought everybody else and Gov. Rick Perry finally got it right, the media offered Walker a way out.

Not so Fast: But thanks to University of Wisconsin’s own Joan Walsh, at Salon, the media appeasers got it wrong again:

It turns out CPAC wasn’t the first time Walker has tried his “standing up to unions means I can whip ISIS” line. He made a similar argument at the New York event where Rudy Giuliani upstaged him by claiming President Obama doesn’t love America. 

According to Larry Kudlow, an event co-sponsor:

"Walker argued that when Reagan fired the PATCO air-traffic controllers over their illegal strike, he was sending a message of toughness to Democrats and unions at home as well as our Soviet enemies abroad. Similarly, Walker believes his stance against unions in Wisconsin would be a signal of toughness to Islamic jihadists and Russia’s Vladimir Putin."

If Kudlow is correct, that undermines Walker’s claim that he was merely citing the protests as an example of a “difficult situation” he’s faced. He thinks somehow ISIS in Iraq and Syria will be cowed by his battles on the steps of the Capitol in Madison.

Walker is already complaining that this is another “gotcha” moment . As Digby reminds us, the Urban Dictionary aptly defines a “gotcha” question as one Sarah Palin is too dumb to answer. Claiming fighting protesters prepared you to fight ISIS when asked about fighting terror? That’s an answer even Palin might have been too smart to give.

Media false equivalency; Walker's ISIS comparison to protesting Wisconsinites not the same as a simple sign at rally.

Scott Walker won't apologize for insulting protesting Wisconsinites and comparing them to ISIS, that's for sure.

So the media instead is insinuating the union leaders should apologize for a random accusatory sign seen at protest rallies, like calling Walker a terrorist. Sorry, not buying it.

A random individuals opinion on a sign does not compare to Walker. He likened protesters, Wisconsinites exercising their 1st Amendment rights, to ISIS.

Since when does a protesters, with no power, apologize to a guy who could crush him like an ant and make his life a living hell (he's already doing that).

It's almost surreal watching the media pressure those getting trampled by Scott Walker to apologize. They absolutely mad!!!

The Journal Sentinel's Patrick Marley's whole article titled "Terrorist rhetoric has emerged before among Walker, adversaries" made the following point:

Betsy Kippers, president of the teachers union Wisconsin Education Association Council, also decried Walker's remark. "It's disgusting that Governor Walker would compare everyday heroes — educators — to international terrorists," her statement said. "It shows the depths he will sink to in order to promote his own self-interest."

But the roles have at times been reversed. About 2,000 people showed up at the Capitol on Wednesday … Yon Yonsen … quietly stood near the Senate chamber for hours holding a giant photo of Walker that was labeled "Domestic Terrorist.

The roles can never be reversed. A regular citizen is not equal to a governor. WKOW's Greg Neumann suggested the same thing at the end of this clip:

Governor Walker himself has been compared to terrorists and even Adolf Hitler by union protesters in the past. 27 news asked the union leader who appeared with Yackel Friday if she should denounce those actions as well. “We have never done that - nor will we ever. Thank you,” said Stephanie Bloomingdale, with Wisconsin AFL-CIO.

To be clear, Bloomingdale was saying her union never brought those signs, but she also refused to answer whether she would denounce those actions by others.

Scott Walker compared Protesting Wisconsinites to ISIS!!!! It was no mistake.

This is the most amazing blunder yet by Scott Walker, who is apparently getting the whole Reagan/Air traffic controllers confrontation wrong, very wrong. Walker thinks Reagan's tough stand against the air traffic controllers union sent a strong message to the Soviet Union, that he would not be intimidated.

So of course, Walker tried to imitated Reagan when he ignored the hundreds of thousands of protesters back in 2011 at the state Capitol. Did that send a strong message to...ISIS? In Walker's mind, yes.

There’s just no way to describe what Walker said that doesn't sound scary:

CNN: Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker says his home-state battles against labor unions prepare him to take on terrorism -- but he denies he's comparing the two.

In context, Walker was talking about ISIS and terrorism:

Walker drew attention at the Conservative Political Action Conference on Thursday with his response to a question about how he'd handle ISIS, and the "radical Islamic terrorism" he condemned during his speech.

"If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the globe,"

Again and again, the media keeps getting wrong:

Walker told reporters he wasn't making a direct comparison.

"You all will misconstrue things the way you see fit," he said, "but I think it's pretty clear, that's the closest thing I have in terms of handling a difficult situation, not that there's any parallel between the two."

And I loved this reference to Walker's supposed "leadership ability," which is looking kind of comical, and very authoritarian:

Walker spokeswoman Kirsten Kukowski underscored Walker's explanation later, saying the comment was intended to highlight his leadership capabilities.

Just the opposite really. Yes, it's that gotcha media, like the conservative National Review's honest opinion:

That is a terrible response. First, taking on a bunch of protesters is not comparably difficult to taking on a Caliphate with sympathizers and terrorists around the globe, and saying so suggests Walker doesn't quite understand the complexity of the challenge from ISIS and its allied groups. Secondly, it is insulting to the protesters, a group I take no pleasure in defending. The protesters in Wisconsin, so furiously angry over Walker’s reforms and disruptive to the procedures of passing laws, earned plenty of legitimate criticism. But they’re not ISIS. They’re not beheading innocent people. They’re Americans, and as much as we may find their ideas, worldview, and perspective spectacularly wrongheaded, they don’t deserve to be compared to murderous terrorists. 

And the liberal response:

The Democratic National Committee highlighting it, as well. "If Scott Walker thinks that it's appropriate to compare working people speaking up for their rights to brutal terrorists, then he is even less qualified to be president than I thought. Maybe he should go back to punting," DNC spokesman Mo Elleithee said.

Facebook and Twitter lit up with parody pictures describing what our authoritarian leader must have meant. Also, here's  the full ISIS question and Walker answer:

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.

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. 

Wisconsin's Turning Point: Walker and Republicans market Idea Protesters are Terrorists, media buying into it.

It's odd how a small protest in northern Wisconsin has been met with such a major assault by state Republicans and media lackeys.

I'm working on video clips that show the strong push by state Republicans to tap down free speech and the First Amendment by redefining it as terrorism. This only applies of course to their political opposition, and not conservative armed civilians or paramilitary security groups willing to kill people to protect "freedom" and "property." Through "stand your ground" laws, we have made the destruction of property (usually covered by insurance) a penalty punishable by death.

Call it a turbulent 60's do-over, a conservative quest to right the wrongs of history's social upheaval that brought so much progress and change.

More to come....just be aware the message from the right wing is all about our left wing home grown "terrorists," and that would basically be your neighbor or friend, who just might oppose the "Walker Authority."

That's what I've been describing as a statewide movement to one party authoritarian rule, an amazing phenomenon the public appears to be willing to settle for if Walker's public opinion numbers are any indication.