Welcome to WisCairo

Tonight, part of my state just nominated this guy to be their...

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 01:15:00 -0500

Tonight, part of my state just nominated this guy to be their Republican nominee for the United States Senate. He served as Governor here for fourteen years, then left that post to spend the first four years of George Bush, Jr.’s presidency as head of Health & Human Services. In 2008, he spent nearly four and a half months as a Republican candidate for President, before getting 7% of the vote in Iowa’s Ames Straw Poll, and dropping out of the race the next day.

Most interestingly, he was a key member of ALEC before really anyone know what it is. “Myself, I always loved going to these meetings because I always found new ideas. Then I’d take them back to Wisconsin, disguise them a little bit, and declare that ‘It’s mine,’” he told an ALEC conference in 2002.

He’s 70 years old, and his mortality would never allow him to gain any influence or traction in the Senate. Which is all well and good, because Tammy Baldwin will be a great Senator repping Wisconsinites in D.C. once she’s elected in November.

Replacing Tammy in her seat will be Mark Pocan, a perfectly fine legislator, but a bittersweet choice, since his victory tonight was at the expense of my friend Kelda Roys, who faced him in the Democratic primary. She was elected to the state Assembly in 2008, rapidly became caucus chair, and did a fantastic job of being the people’s representative in our statehouse. I don’t know what’s immediately next for her, but whatever it is, she’ll be fucking great at it.

Ryan - Romney roundup

Sat, 11 Aug 2012 15:42:00 -0500

=
The pick of Paul Ryan? A Mormon-Catholic ticket to appeal to a bumptiously Protestant voting base? This’ll get interesting. I’m keeping an eye out for any tantrums of the religious right’s this weekend.

   The recent, long Ryan Lizza New Yorker piece was sent to the roundup this week — here it is if you missed it:
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2012/08/06/120806fa_fact_lizza?currentPage=all

   And CJR’s overview of it —
http://www.cjr.org/campaign_desk/what_makes_paul_ryan_tick.php?page=all
(& TPM http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/paul-ryan-new-yorker.php?ref=fpnewsfeed)

They used this pull quote:
To envisage what Republicans would do if they win in November, the person to understand is not necessarily Romney, who has been a policy cipher all his public life. The person to understand is Paul Ryan.

Lizza is “genuinely surprised” about the pick:

For one thing, Ryan has no significant private-sector experience. Besides summer jobs working at McDonald’s or at his family’s construction company, or waiting tables as a young Washington staffer, Ryan has none of the business-world experience Romney frequently touts as essential for governing. In the run-up to his first campaign for Congress, in 1998, that gap was enough of a concern for Ryan that he briefly became a “marketing consultant” at the family business, an obvious bit of résumé puffing.

But Ryan’s Washington experience is also light, at least for a potential President—which, after all, is the main job description of a Vice-President. Ryan has worked as a think-tank staffer and Congressman, but he’s never been in charge of a large organization, and he has little experience with foreign policy. Given how Sarah Palin was criticized for her lack of such experience, I’m surprised that Romney would pick someone whose ability to immediately step into the top job is open to question.

And the experience that Ryan does have is not exactly what voters are clamoring for at the moment. The bulk of Ryan’s House career coincided with the Presidency of George W. Bush, during which he was a reliable vote for many Bush policies that have not aged well: Medicare Part D; the Iraq War; and the Troubled Asset Relief Program. Ryan told me that voting for all of that spending, which added trillions to the deficit, made him “miserable,” but he’ll need a better explanation in his October debate with Joe Biden.

His budget proposal —
   http://budget.house.gov/prosperity/factsandsummary.htm
http://paulryan.house.gov/UploadedFiles/Pathtoprosperity2013.pdf
http://paulryan.house.gov/UploadedFiles/PathToProsperityFY2012.pdf

Budget Committee Republicans’ Roadmap for America’s Future has a series of videos of him explaining his budget:
http://roadmap.republicans.budget.house.gov

Paul Ryan’s Health Industry Ties
http://www.opensecrets.org/news/2011/04/paul-ryans-health-industry-ties.html

Ryan’s Top 20 Contributors, 2009 -2010:
http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?type=C&cid=N00004357&newMem=N&cycle=2010
2012: http://www.opensecrets.org/politicians/contrib.php?cycle=2012&type=C&cid=N00004357&newMem=N&recs=20

Paul D. Ryan - Congressional Record entries
http://capitolwords.org/legislator/R000570-paul-d-ryan/

His House site has videos of recent appearances, mainly on Fox News & CNBC
   http://paulryan.house.gov

As does his YouTube channel — http://www.youtube.com/reppaulryan

And, too a lesser extent, the House Budget Committee — http://www.youtube.com/user/HouseBudgetCommittee

He tweeted these videos:

Paul Ryan on John Roberts — on ABC’s This Week, July 1
http://abcnews.go.com/ThisWeek/video/paul-ryan-john-roberts-16688983

Ryan says Obama can’t run on his record — on CBS’s Face The Nation, July 15
   http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7414950n&tag=mg;ftn

On Charlie Sykes —
Ryan Warns of New ObamaCare Costs
http://www.620wtmj.com/podcasts/talk/charliesykes/163702566.html

Ryan’s Address:
‘Our Rights Come from Nature and God, Not Government‘
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/ryans-address_649771.html?nopager=1

Views on a Romney-Ryan ticket from around the web
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/165833846.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

VP Pick Sparks Outpouring Of Reaction
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/romney-ryan-2012-vp-pick-_n_1684815.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Media Roundup:

NYT editorial: Mr. Ryan’s Cramped Vision
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/opinion/paul-ryans-cramped-vision.html

Paul Ryan’s strengths and weaknesses
http://firstread.nbcnews.com/_news/2012/08/11/13227281-paul-ryans-strengths-and-weaknesses?lite

Rep. Paul Ryan, Politics in America Profile
http://www.rollcall.com/news/rep_paul_ryan_politics_in_america_profile-216813-1.html?pos=htmbtxt

All 290 Pages of the Opposition Research File on Paul Ryan
http://www.karlfrisch.com/2012/08/11/5591

Nate Silver: A Risky Rationale Behind Romney’s Choice of Ryan
http://fivethirtyeight.blogs.nytimes.com/2012/08/11/a-risky-rationale-behind-romneys-choice-of-ryan/?hp

Call That a Budget?
http://www.newyorker.com/talk/financial/2012/04/09/120409ta_talk_surowiecki

CBO: Long-Term Analysis of a Budget Proposal by Chairman Ryan, April 5, 2011
http://www.cbo.gov/publication/25159

The Ryan Budget: A Primer on What’s Now the Hottest Topic in 2012
http://swampland.time.com/2012/08/11/the-ryan-budget-a-primer-on-whats-now-the-hottest-topic-in-2012/?iid=sl-article-latest

What’s in the “Ryan” Budget Resolution?
http://www.mainstreetinsider.org/90secondsummaries/?p=366

Jane Mayer: Paul Ryan and the Influence of Ayn Rand
   http://www.newyorker.com/online/blogs/newsdesk/2012/08/paul-ryan-and-ayn-rand.html

Paul Ryan - Ayn Rand’s Relevance in 2009
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=3XYw9RtDbU8
    Evidently posted on his Facebook page back then.

Now apparently it’s a “slam” to say Paul Ryan likes Ayn Rand (from April)
   http://www.salon.com/2012/04/26/now_apparently_its_a_slam_to_say_paul_ryan_likes_ayn_rand/

The Truth About GOP Hero Ayn Rand
http://m.youtube.com/watch?desktop_uri=%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Ds7zwO88nRH8&v=s7zwO88nRH8&gl=US

Wendell Potter: Rep. Ryan’s budget plan is a “Path to the Poorhouse”
http://www.iwatchnews.org/2012/08/11/10665/opinion-rep-ryans-budget-plan-path-poorhouse?utm_source=huffingtonpost&utm_medium=widgets&utm_campaign=huffpo-widget

With Ryan pick, Romney doubles down on economic radicalism
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/plum-line/post/with-ryan-pick-romney-doubles-down-on-economic-radicalism/2012/08/11/7f8e67a2-e3b2-11e1-a25e-15067bb31849_blog.html

Think Progress roundup:

12 Things You Should Know About Paul Ryan
http://thinkprogress.org/politics/2012/08/11/677171/12-things-you-should-know-about-vice-presidential-candidate-paul-ryan

Five Times Mitt Romney Has Embraced The Ryan Budget
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/11/677861/romney-ryan-buget/

Meet Paul Ryan: Climate Denier, Conspiracy Theorist, Koch Acolyte
http://thinkprogress.org/climate/2012/08/11/677051/meet-paul-ryan-climate-denier-conspiracy-theorist-koch-acolyte/

Does Romney Think Paul Ryan Is Qualified To Be President?
http://thinkprogress.org/election/2012/08/11/677261/paul-ryan-qualified
http://thinkprogress.org/justice/2012/05/30/492036/the-romney-amendment-eisenhower-roosevelt-and-mccain-are-too-unqualified-to-be-president
Hasn’t had Mitt’s requisite time in the private sector

Paul Ryan’s History On Welfare Undermines Romney’s Attack on Obama
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2012/08/11/678531/paul-ryan-lowered-wisconsins-welfare-work-requirement-threshold-in-2002/?mobile=nc

More News & Analysis:

Obama campaign video — Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan: Back to the Failed Top-Down Policies
   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oWyk-Mr6cfc
    http://www.barackobama.com/romney/ryan

Ryan: Obama has ‘record of failure’
http://host.madison.com/news/national/government-and-politics/ryan-obama-has-record-of-failure/article_3b845256-e7be-5dae-bbda-5249d52792b5.html

Paul Ryan, Congressman-Elect, at Age 28
   http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/08/11/paul_ryan_congressman_elect_at_age_28.html
        On C-SPAN in 1998!

Republican House, Senate leaders praise Romney, Ryan presidential ticket
   http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/243213-boehner-praises-ryan-pick-calls-colleague-a-reformer-and-a-proven-leader

Romney’s veep short list applauds Paul Ryan
http://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/243225-romneys-vp-short-list-applauds-ryan-selection
http://thehill.com/blogs/twitter-room/other-news/243197-republicans-tweet-their-praise-of-ryan-pick

Reaction from Obama, Congressional leaders
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/reaction-from-obama-congressional-leaders-096f6rp-165847456.html

Ryan Choice Caps Romney’s Journey From Centrist to Conservative
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/ryan-choice-caps-romney-s-journey-from-centrist-to-conservative-20120811

Paul Ryan Covers Romney’s Right Flank
http://www.thenation.com/blog/169353/paul-ryan-covers-romneys-right-flank#

Ryan Pick Brings Medicare to Center Stage
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/ryan-pick-brings-medicare-to-center-stage-20120811

Poll: Ryan Could Help Turn Wisconsin Red
http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/paul-ryan-romney-wisconsin-poll.php?ref=fpnewsfeed
http://www.publicpolicypolling.com/pdf/2011/PPP_Release_WI_071112_Pres.pdf

Will Romney’s choice of Ryan put Wisconsin back in play?
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/will-romney-s-choice-of-ryan-put-wisconsin-back-in/article_4753b906-e3de-11e1-a1a1-0019bb2963f4.html

Paul Ryan House Race Can Proceed Despite VP Nomination
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-house-race_n_1767365.html?1344695705
   http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/ryan-would-be-able-to-stay-on-ballot-for-reelection-d36f2o1-165826096.html
   http://docs.legis.wi.gov/statutes/statutes/8/03/2?up=1

Wisconsin GOP Mulls Replacement if Paul Ryan Is VP
   http://www.rollcall.com/issues/57_155/Wisconsin-GOP-Mulls-Replacement-if-Paul-Ryan-Is-VP-215553-1.html

NYT’s original article: Romney Adds Ryan to G.O.P. Ticket
http://www.nytimes.com/2012/08/12/us/politics/mitt-romney-names-paul-ryan-as-his-running-mate.html?hp&pagewanted=all

Milestones: Paul Ryan — biographical interactive feature
http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/2012/08/12/us/politics/20120812-ryan.html

The Rise of Paul Ryan, Presumptive Vice Presidential Nominee
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-election/the-rise-of-paul-ryan-presumptive-vice-presidential-nominee-20120811

Influence profile: Paul Ryan
http://reporting.sunlightfoundation.com/2012/influence-profile-paul-ryan
http://influenceexplorer.com/politician/paul-ryan/474e8f584c074198b768cb985c604232?cycle=-1
   http://politicalpartytime.org/pol/N00004357/

Paul Ryan Is a Brave Deficit Hawk, If You Ignore His Record And His Policies
   http://swampland.time.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-is-a-brave-deficit-hawk-if-you-ignore-his-record-and-his-policies/
Profiles in Cowardice: How the Beltway Punditocracy Gets Paul Ryan’s Plan Totally Wrong, from
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,2063967,00.html

Paul Ryan’s Message: ‘Courage’
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/08/paul-ryans-message-courage/261024/

Dave Weigel: Paul Ryan’s Party
http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2012/08/11/paul_ryan_s_party.html

Rejoice! It’s Ryan! — Conservatives are thrilled by Romney’s VP pick. So are Democrats. One camp is very wrong.
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/politics/2012/08/ryan_vp_pick_romney_s_choice_makes_both_conservatives_and_democrats_happy_who_will_be_disappointed_.single.html

The Risks and Rewards of Choosing Paul Ryan
http://www.rollcall.com/news/the_risks_and_rewards_of_choosing_paul_ryan-216817-1.html?pos=hln

Tough talk: Romney is looking to shift campaign
   http://host.madison.com/news/national/government-and-politics/tough-talk-romney-is-looking-to-shift-campaign/article_216a536f-783b-5928-a743-b0538dc15d2f.html

Rep. Van Hollen has mixed feelings on Budget Committee rival Ryan as VP pick
http://thehill.com/homenews/house/243217-rep-van-hollen-has-mixed-feelings-on-budget-committee-rival-ryan-as-vp-choice

Kevin Drum: Romney Picks Paul Ryan as Veep, Hopes Everyone Will Now Stop Asking About His Taxes
http://www.motherjones.com/kevin-drum/2012/08/romney-picks-ryan-hopes-everyone-will-now-stop-asking-about-his-taxes

ACLU’s Anthony Romero: Ryan Has a Plan to Unravel Civil Liberties, Too
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/anthony-d-romero/ryan-has-a-plan-to-unrave_b_1767526.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Mitt Romney, Paul Ryan Styles Couldn’t Be More Different
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/mitt-romney-paul-ryan_n_1767818.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Paul Ryan Sponsored Fetal Personhood Bill, Opposes Family Planning Funds
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-personhood_n_1767760.html?utm_hp_ref=tw

Paul Ryan: Behind Blue Eyes
   http://prospect.org/article/paul-ryan-behind-blue-eyes

Lipstick on a Wonk
http://prospect.org/article/lipstick-wonk

James Fallows: Paul Ryan: A Good Choice, but Please, Not a ‘Serious’ One
http://www.theatlantic.com/politics/archive/2012/08/paul-ryan-a-good-choice-but-please-not-a-serious-one/261020/

David Dayen: Thoughts on the Paul Ryan VP Selection
http://news.firedoglake.com/2012/08/11/thoughts-on-the-paul-ryan-vp-selection/

David Corn: With Paul Ryan, Romney Makes the VP Pick Obama Wanted
http://www.motherjones.com/mojo/2012/08/rep-paul-ryan-mitt-romney-running-mate-vp

Ezra Klein: Mitt Romney will name Paul Ryan as his VP. Here’s what that means.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/ezra-klein/wp/2012/08/11/paul-ryan-will-be-mitt-romneys-vice-presidential-pick-heres-seven-thoughts-on-what-that-means/

Liberal Groups, Unions See Opportunity in Paul Ryan Pick
http://www.rollcall.com/news/-216833-1.html?pos=hln

DNC Chair Debbie Wasserman Schultz: Romney-Ryan Economics Would be a Disaster for Seniors and the Middle Class
http://www.democrats.org/news/press/dnc_chair_debbie_wasserman_schultz_romney_ryan_economics_would_be_a_disaste

Mitt Romney’s VP Pick Resurfaces Fundamental Question: Do We Dismantle The Social State?
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/howard-fineman/mitt-romney-vp-pick_b_1767872.html?utm_hp_ref=politics

Marian Wright Edelman: Be Careful What You Cut
   http://www.huffingtonpost.com/marian-wright-edelman/be-careful-what-you-cut_b_1765233.html
   http://www.childrensdefense.org/be-careful-what-you-cut

Romney Campaign Raises More Than $1M In First Four Hours Of Ryan Ticket
   http://2012.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/08/romney-campaign-raises-more-than-1m-in-first-four-hours-of-ryan-ticket.php?ref=fpnewsfeed

Wisconsin reacts:

Romney-Ryan rally planned for Waukesha Sunday night
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/romneyryan-rally-planned-for-waukesha-sunday-night-096f6lt-165842666.html

Contenders in GOP Senate primary weigh in on Ryan
http://www.jsonline.com/news/milwaukee/contenders-in-gop-senate-primary-weigh-in-on-ryan-096f747-165852046.html

Ryan will excite the GOP base, Walker says
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/165847476.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

Rep. Vos praises Ryan, signals congressional run unlikely
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/165842856.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

Rep Barca: Wisconsin more in play in November
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/165845886.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

State political leaders react to Ryan selection
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/state-political-leaders-react-to-ryan-selection-d36f614-165850226.html

Janesville buzzing about Ryan’s new role
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/janesville-buzzing-about-ryans-new-role-me6f73l-165851636.html

Sen. Cullen of Janesville: Ryan a “terrific individual”
http://www.jsonline.com/blogs/news/165844526.html#!page=1&pageSize=10&sort=newestfirst

Older media on Ryan & his budget:

Everything You Need to Know About Chairman Ryan’s Budget
http://www.offthechartsblog.org/ryan
   http://www.offthechartsblog.org

March 12: Center on Budget & Policy Priorities statement on Ryan’s Budget Plan
http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3712

Another Quarter-Million for Millionaires Under Ryan Tax Plan
   http://www.cbpp.org/cms/index.cfm?fa=view&id=3733

Jon Chait’s April profile — The Legendary Paul Ryan
http://nymag.com/news/features/paul-ryan-2012-5/

The right’s Etch a Sketch imperative
http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/the-rights-etch-a-sketch-imperative/2012/03/23/gIQAIgReaS_story.html

From April, Ryan Pushes the Camel’s Nose Under the Tent
http://www.washingtonmonthly.com/political-animal-a/2012_04/ryan_pushes_the_camels_nose_un036949.php
   re: his Catholicism

From March, on Face The Nation — Ryan: “We want to avoid a debt crisis”
http://www.cbsnews.com/video/watch/?id=7403152n&tag=contentMain;contentBody

From March, Ryan introduces GOP budget plan, slashing social programs and tax rates
http://www.washingtonpost.com/business/economy/ryan-introduces-gop-budget-plan-slashing-social-programs-and-tax-rates/2012/03/20/gIQASVkSQS_print.html

Jon Chait from March, 2010: Paul Ryan And The Republican Vision
   http://www.tnr.com/blog/jonathan-chait/paul-ryan-and-the-republican-vision

From March, The Truth About Paul Ryan
http://progressive.org/the-truth-about-paul-ryan

From March: Ryan Promises To Close Tax Loopholes, But Won’t Say Which
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2012/03/ryan-promises-to-close-tax-loopholes-but-wont-say-which.php

Mike Elk, April, 2011 : Unlikely Alliance Stopped Federal Rollback of Construction Wage, Worksite Protections
http://www.inthesetimes.com/working/entry/7179/unlikely_alliance_stopped_federal_rollback_of_construction_wage_worksi

From May, 2011 - Paul Ryan: Secret Union Lover?
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2011/04/paul-ryan-labor-unions-wisconsin

End of the Line — GM guaranteed the people of Janesville, Wisconsin, a good wage for a hard job. Those were the days.
   http://www.motherjones.com/print/26853
September\October, 2009 issue

Conservative reactions so far:

Fred Barnes: What the Ryan Pick Says About Romney
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/what-ryan-pick-says-about-romney_649784.html

Larry Kudlow: The Reagan in Romney
http://www.realclearpolitics.com/articles/2012/08/11/the_reagan_in_romney_115070.html

John Fund: Smart Democrats Should Be Worried
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/313732/smart-democrats-should-be-worried-john-fund

Mo’ NRO: Substance and Style
http://www.nationalreview.com/corner/313741/substance-and-style-deroy-murdock

Forbes’ John Tamny: In a Presidential Election About the Economy, Paul Ryan Was the Only Choice
http://www.forbes.com/sites/johntamny/2012/08/11/in-a-presidential-election-about-the-economy-paul-ryan-was-the-only-choice/

William Saletan: Why I Love Paul Ryan
http://www.slate.com/articles/news_and_politics/frame_game/2012/08/paul_ryan_for_vice_president_he_s_the_fiscal_conservative_a_republican_should_be_.html

Rupert Murdoch: “Thank God! Now we might have a real election on the great issues of the day. Paul Ryan almost perfect choice. “
https://twitter.com/rupertmurdoch/status/234305139127758848

pre-Veep-pick articles:

Rich Lowry: Don’t fear Ryan
http://dyn.politico.com/printstory.cfm?uuid=86D44908-3885-4FF6-B2F3-9127B0386CC7

Wall Street Journal - Why Not Paul Ryan?
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10000872396390443404004577577190186374230.html

Stephen Hayes & Billy Kristol: Romney Prepares to Pick Ryan
http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/romney-prepares-pick-ryan_649722.html
http://www.620wtmj.com/blogs/charliesykes/165556586.html

From March, Ryan: Romney Will Enact My Budget
http://www.nationaljournal.com/2012-presidential-campaign/ryan-romney-will-enact-my-budget-20120325

“Agree to Agree”:

Paul Ryan may end up being the one thing everyone in this election agrees on. Republicans finally got their dream pick , and Democrats get their dream opponent.

“Join me in welcoming the next president of the United States, Paul Ryan.”
- Willard Romney, August 11, 2012

A li`l mainstream~y media news round-up for the day

Fri, 22 Jun 2012 14:24:00 -0500

Collective bargaining law may increase state pension costs by $87.5M

Fools at PolitiFact weigh in on Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca - “70 percent of the people who voted” on June 5, 2012, “just didn’t feel comfortable with the recall of the governor,” weakening any idea that Wisconsin is “fully behind this Walker agenda.”

Following Ziegelbauer from a couple days ago, Robin Vos pulls his name from attempt to intervene in photo ID case.
Vos is withdrawing his name from a motion filed in the case after questions were raised about whether he was violating state ethics law by accepting legal help in making the filing. Rep. Bob Ziegelbauer (I-Manitowoc), who also had signed on to the motion, withdrew from it earlier this week.Vos acknowledged a finding by state officials that receiving legal help on the motion would run afoul of the ethics law.”The initial guidance that I received from the Government Accountability Board provided me the opportunity to intervene in the case. Upon further review, the GAB went in a different direction in its final ruling,” he said in a statement. “I continue to support the efforts in this lawsuit and hope we can do everything possible to preserve the integrity of the election process.”

Public sector unions lose in the U.S. Supreme Court -
While everyone awaited release of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the constitutionality of Obamacare, the court today released a less-publicized case regarding the campaign activities of public sector unions. By a 7-2 decision in Knox v. SEIU, the Court held that public unions could not charge non-union government employees for their political activities - although non-union public sector workers could still be charged for non-political union administrative costs.

The Supreme Court’s Scott Walker Moment -
Five justices tell public-employee unions they “tolerate” them—for now.

Holding On For Evening in America -
Romney’s immediate challenge comes from swing state Republican governors, who are boasting to voters about the economic recoveries in their states. When your entire campaign depends on fomenting gloom about the economy, having such renown liberals as Rick Scott and Scott Walker heralding the morning in Florida and Wisconsin … well, let’s just say it doesn’t help. It exposes a palpable tension between the mixed reality of President Obama’s economic record, and Romney’s caricature of it.
It’s a rich story.

2012 elections:

Left girds for voting rights battle

Labor targets the Midwest
The Midwest is ground zero for organized labor this fall. In the wake of the failed Wisconsin recall attempt, unions are forging ahead with their 2012 battle plan, pouring cash and resources into Michigan, Wisconsin, Iowa, Indiana, Minnesota and Ohio in an effort to recapture ground lost when Republicans made sweeping gains in the 2010 midterm elections.At stake is control of state legislatures, a governor’s mansion and potentially the White House.

From the Milwaukee Area Labor Council:

Union members need to grow up confronting opposition
As political strategy, and probably error, the Democrats leading up to June 5 underplayed the impact of what was happening to union workers. That strategy failed — hard — far from big cities. It was the rural communities that handed Scott Walker his victory - and out there, apparently, the word “union” had a bad taste and no contrary fire to dispute the view.While workers – including many non-union workers — remain proud of how quickly they gathered and protested in Madison and collected recall signatures, there were citizens who saw that not as America in action but an America to be afraid of.

A breakdown of the Farm Bill passing the Senate, by Bekah Wilce ,

and a very helpful interactive graph \ chart of the bill’s {proposed} amendments.

Organic Industry Watchdog Challenges USDA’s Lack of Transparency

Montana GOP Ad Joins Democrats in Attacking Ryan Budget
A plan to reorganize Medicare as a voucher program with less generous benefits over time is his biggest stumbling block. It’s a particularly sensitive spot for Republicans, who have pushed back hard against Democratic claims that this change would “end Medicare as we know it,” while trying to regain control on the issue by highlighting far less consequential spending changes to Medicare Advantage under President Obama’s health care plan.
“Rehberg refused to support a Republican budget plan that could harm the Medicare plan so many Montana seniors rely on,” the ad’s narrator intones.
It’s an oddly discordant note for the national GOP, who have remained mostly in lockstep behind Ryan, whose rise within the party has made him a popular pick among Republican politicians to be Mitt Romney’s running mate. Democrats are just as eager to tie Romney to the plan, whose combination of cuts to social programs and tax breaks for the wealthy they believe is politically toxic for general election voters.

Wisconsin Redux: Self-flagellating Progressives Continue to Miss the Real Problem
Article about very real problems with voting machines … aside from the fact the Walker clearly did not “steal” the fucking election, christ.

al-Jazeera covers the 20th anniversary of the start of the...

Mon, 09 Apr 2012 14:32:45 -0500

al-Jazeera covers the 20th anniversary of the start of the Sarajevo siege. It lasted four years and killed 10,000 people.

a little ode to Move On’s prodigious organizing prowess...

Wed, 04 Apr 2012 19:17:09 -0500

a little ode to Move On’s prodigious organizing prowess & efficacy, from The Onion.

ye gods, - Fox News does coverage of our trial last week. ...

Sun, 25 Mar 2012 10:07:00 -0500

ye gods, - Fox News does coverage of our trial last week.

blargh.

“Whatev,” Megyn!

We were tried for peacefully assembling in the Capitol on August 25th last year, the day the budget cuts went into effect for public workers statewide. Fox instead mostly shows footage of March 10th, 2011, when the Assembly initially passed Act 10. I was with dozens of others that morning trying to block their entry into the chambers - this was the first time state troopers & cops laid hands on people significantly, dragging and carrying people against our will.

August 25th was not the most recent time, and sure as hell isn’t the last, as long as this regime continues to pass bills that fuck people’s health and well-being.

Shocking view of life when it’s quiet in Homs, Syria - a...

Mon, 27 Feb 2012 21:41:00 -0600

Shocking view of life when it’s quiet in Homs, Syria - a city turned into an utter warzone.

An ode to Anthony Shadid, University of Wisconsin - Madison...

Mon, 20 Feb 2012 15:38:00 -0600

At the UW's Daily Cardinal in the 1980s

Shadid works by moonlight in Iraq, 2003

Shadid gathers the story in Egypt

An ode to Anthony Shadid,

University of Wisconsin - Madison graduate,

two-time Pulitzer-winning reporter,

and one of the best of our era.

We’re all immensely poorer for his death in Syria last Thursday.

It’s hard to believe he died in that country and wasn’t killed by Bashar al-Assad’s forces or shabeeha militia. Anthony gave forthright, honest reporting from the heart of the horrors of Syria over the last year, all of which make the Assad regime look like monstrously inhumane despots they are.

Instead, he died due to complications from asthma from a horse allergy, his father noting “he’s more allergic to them than anything else.” It was too dangerous to drive to the Syrian border. He’d previously crossed on his own recently - via motorcycle, sans passport, through a stretch of desert at the Lebanon border.

Round-up of obituaries:

His most recent employer, The New York Times:

Anthony Shadid, Reporter in the Middle East, Dies at 43

They nominated him for a Pulitzer again this year,

this was part of their citation:

“Steeped in Arab political history but also in its culture, Shadid recognized early on that along with the despots, old habits of fear, passivity and despair were being toppled. He brought a poet’s voice, a deep empathy for the ordinary person and an unmatched authority to his passionate dispatches.”

They also aggregated online tributes, in their “From Readers and Colleagues, an Outpouring of Respect for Anthony Shadid”

From The Washington Post, where we worked during the U.S.’s invasion & occupation of Iraq, Rajiv Chandrasekaran’s “Anthony Shadid, the ‘most gifted foreign correspondent in a generation’”

Their photo gallery, including when Anthony was shot by a sniper while reporting in Ramallah {in the West Bank} in 2002.

And a number of colleagues at the WaPo “recall Shadid as an extraordinary reporter, kind friend.”

From his college newspaper, The Daily Cardinal, which always honored his status as an alumnus. {And is the office he’s pictured in above.}

“He first appeared in the doorway of The Daily Cardinal office on a summer day in the late ’80s carrying an army rucksack nearly as tall as him. He told the editor he had just moved up from Oklahoma to attend UW-Madison and to write for The Daily Cardinal.

He had just gotten off the bus. He hadn’t found an apartment yet. Everything he owned was on his back. But, he was ready for his first assignment.”

Wisconsin State Journal assistant city editor Mark Pitsch remembers Anthony Shadid.

Now a reporter for ESPN, Andy Katz reflects on he & Anthony’s time together at The Daily Cardinal.

Anthony Shadid also worked at The Boston Globe for two years before joining the Washington Post. A number of colleagues also wrote touching remembrances:

James F. Smith

Bryan Marquard

And the paper’s editorial, “Shadid: Bearing witness where others wouldn’t”

Rania Abouzeid’s “The Journalist as Hero: An Appreciation of Anthony Shadid (1968–2012),” for Time from Beirut

NPR’s Quil Lawrence recalls Anthony as an “Intrepid Storyteller” during their decade in the Middle East together.

Mother Jones: “Interrogating the NY Times’ Anthony Shadid,” a recent interview

Thanassis Cambanis reflects on “The Things That Anthony Shadid Taught Me” for The Atlantic

A round-up of New Yorker writers,

Steve Coll , Jon Lee Anderson , and Dexter Filkins.

Somewhat lighter, Anthony’s ode to the great Green Bay Packers, the only publicly owned team in the NFL: “Distance only makes devotion stronger..” The agony of following a team from across the world, through wars and anything else…

Christian Science Monitor’s “Anthony Shadid: Quite Simply The Best”:

“The quality and depth of his reporting from across the region, particularly Iraq, was peerless, leaving the rest of us regional foreign correspondents stumbling in his wake in rueful admiration of his bravery, modesty, and innate talent … .

Reading Anthony’s work, one sensed that he had an ability to shut himself off from the pressures of deadlines and the demands for instant analysis to take the time and thought to patiently locate, extract, and expose the soul of a story.

He did this with unforgettable and moving portraits of individual people attempting to cope with the rigors and fears of life in post-2003 Iraq. These elegantly written and nuanced reports, which became his trademark, offered a far more compelling and powerful insight into the realities of Iraq than the pedestrian daily accounts of the ebb and flow of the conflict.

His two Pulitzer Prizes for International Reporting, awarded in 2004 and 2010, were justly deserved.”

Another Madison, Wisconsin newspaper, The Capital Times, mourns the loss:

“What Shadid saw firsthand he communicated with a poet’s voice. And the power of that voice helped Americans to recognize and respond more wisely to developments in the region — especially the Arab Spring.

“The idealism of the revolts in Egypt and Tunisia, where the power of the street revealed the frailty of authority, revived an Arab world anticipating change,” wrote Shadid, who returned repeatedly to the region to tell its story.

Shadid once said: “I don’t think there’s any story worth dying for, but I do think there are stories worth taking risks for.”

This winter, he took the risk of entering Syria to tell the story of the popular uprising against the Assad regime, and of that regime’s brutal response to that uprising. He wanted to write the next great chapter in the history of the Arab Spring.

That task will now fall to others.

We hope that those who are moved by the story of Shadid’s death will help to support the journalism internship program to which he lent his name and support: The American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee’s Anthony Shadid Internship Program:”

American-Arab Anti-Discrimination Committee

1732 Wisconsin Ave. NW

Washington, DC 20007

202-244-2990

Foolish to not let Anthony Shadid speak for himself as his own eloquent legacy:

His articles from 2003 that won him the 2004 Pulitzer,

particularly this - “The Boy Who Was Like A Flower,” from March 31, 2003 - pointed out to me by Liz DiNovella, now at The Progressive in Madison.

Articles from 2009 that win him the Pulitzer in 2010.

Selections from his own site at AnthonyShadid.com, including coverage of Syria for Frontline, “In Assad’s Syria, There Is No Imagination”

Echoing my previous post, an excerpt from his newest book House Of Stone, now to be released February 29th, 2012.

And some audio interviews:

a talk at the UW - Madison from December 2, 2010 about journalism ethics, recorded & posted by Molly Stentz of WORT.

an interview on Fresh Air from December 21, 2011 about his war reporting.

Radio Open Source’s “Anthony Shadid: An immeasurable loss”

an interview with The Progressive magazine, about what he’d seen in the Iraq War.

Finally, some excerpts of footage via The New York Times of his war reporting.

R.I.P, Anthony Shadid

Sun, 19 Feb 2012 13:43:19 -0600

An excerpt from Anthony Shadid’s House Of Stone.

He died in Syria Thursday, while covering the uprising there.

In Arabic, the word “bayt” translates literally as house, but its connotations resonate beyond rooms and walls, summoning longings gathered about family and home. In the Middle East, bayt is sacred. Empires fall. Nations topple. Borders may shift. Old loyalties may dissolve or, without warning, be altered. Home, whether it be structure or familiar ground, is finally the identity that does not fade.

Omar Khayyam

Fri, 17 Feb 2012 11:04:17 -0600

Your hand can seize today,

but not tomorrow;

and thoughts of your tomorrow

are nothing but desire.

Don’t waste this breath,

if your heart isn’t crazy,

since “the rest of your life”

won’t last forever.

translated by Juan Cole,

from Whinfield 30

Milton & Steinbeck

Thu, 09 Feb 2012 23:21:10 -0600

From John Milton’s Paradise Lost:

“If thou beest he — but Oh how fallen! how changed

From him! — who, in the happy realms of light,

Clothed with transcendent brightness, didst outshine

Myriads, though bright — if he whom mutual league,

United thoughts and counsels, equal hope

And hazard in the glorious enterprise,

Joined with me once, now misery hath joined

In equal ruin; into what pit thou seest

From what highth fallen: so much the stronger proved

He with his thunder: and till then who knew

The force of those dire arms? Yet not for those,

Nor what the potent Victor in his rage

Can else inflict, do I repent, or change,

Though changed in outward lustre, that fixed mind,

And high disdain from sense of injured merit,

That with the Mightiest raised me to contend,

And to the fierce contention brought along

Innumerable force of Spirits armed,

That durst dislike his reign, and, me preferring,

His utmost power with adverse power opposed

In dubious battle on the plains of Heaven,

And shook his throne. What though the field be lost?

All is not lost—the unconquerable will,

And study of revenge, immortal hate,

And courage never to submit or yield:

And what is else not to be overcome.

That glory never shall his wrath or might

Extort from me. To bow and sue for grace

With suppliant knee, and deify his power

Who, from the terror of this arm, so late

Doubted his empire — that were low indeed;

That were an ignominy and shame beneath

This downfall; since, by fate, the strength of Gods,

And this empyreal substance, cannot fail;

Since, through experience of this great event,

In arms not worse, in foresight much advanced,

We may with more successful hope resolve

To wage by force or guile eternal war,

Irreconcilable to our grand Foe,

Who now triumphs’, and in the excess of joy

Sole reigning holds the tyranny of Heaven.”

Emphasized section is the opening to John Steinbeck’s In Dubious Battle, which I’ve been enjoying immensely lately.

“Breaking the silence over #Hama atrocities,” ...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:45:10 -0600

“Breaking the silence over #Hama atrocities,”

three decades later.

“Witnesses of the bloody events in the Syrian city in 1982 speak as protests force open the veil of fear and secrecy,” run by al Jazeera a few days ago.

Video from the last month in Homs, Syria. Some footage of the...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 17:03:26 -0600

Video from the last month in Homs, Syria. Some footage of the Free Syrian Army; lots of the devastation wreaked by Bashar al-Assad’s military on the citizens of Syria

Omar Offendum - “Domino Effect (The Time Is Now)” ...

Tue, 07 Feb 2012 16:59:00 -0600

Omar Offendum - “Domino Effect (The Time Is Now)”

from October 24th, 2011.

Lots more footage of a variety of artists performing from “How rap music fueled the Arab Spring uprisings.” Despite being an MSNBC piece, still well worth your time, for both the music, the insight & the words from the artists themselves.

R.I.P., Don Cornelius. Sly & the Family Stone on Soul Train,...

Thu, 02 Feb 2012 00:50:00 -0600

R.I.P., Don Cornelius.

Sly & the Family Stone on Soul Train, blasting “Thank You (Falettinme Be Mice Elf Again)” -

some of the greatest shit ever.

Another peace officer, a proud public servant, keeping the...

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:44:45 -0600

Another peace officer, a proud public servant, keeping the streets safe.

U.S.’s dream-team vendin’ machine.

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:43:36 -0600

U.S.’s dream-team vendin’ machine.

ascent

Tue, 31 Jan 2012 02:09:07 -0600

“There are times when we must sink to the bottom of our misery to understand truth, just as we must descend to the bottom of a well to see the stars in broad daylight.” - Václav Havel

My dear friend Meg. Who helped bail out them brothers Terrell...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 16:34:29 -0600

My dear friend Meg. Who helped bail out them brothers Terrell today.

From the early afternoon of February 22nd, 2011.

Arrests in the Wisconsin Capitol last night, outside the...

Fri, 27 Jan 2012 15:37:00 -0600

Arrests in the Wisconsin Capitol last night, outside the Assembly doors. We’d been cleared out of the gallery by hypersensitive, self-victimizing Republicans. They seemed to fear having citizens present while voting on this appalling mining bill would be too much to bear. People of course got more furious, being locked out of parts of their statehouse - again - and barred by a variety of troopers and police.

My friends CJ & Damon Terrell were taken away drumming for literally 15 seconds apiece. They just got out on bail two hours ago, charged approximately a hundred dollars for each second they drummed - $1,450 bail apiece.

Troopers also saw fit to take a 12-year-old girl into custody. ‘Cause we’re that dangerous in Wisconsin.