Wisconsin's Alien Seed

There can be no joy in the fact that money rules.

By Jim Hightower

"Scott Walker Wins Wisconsin," screamed headlines across the country after the labor-bashing incumbent governor hung onto his job in the June 5 recall election.

Well, yes...but no. Walker will get to stay in office for the rest of his term, but he didn't win the election — money did. This was a victory for the Citizens United edict issued two years ago by the Supreme Court's five-man corporatist majority. This anti-democratic ruling opened the door for unlimited sums of corporate cash to barge into our national, state, and local elections and take charge. Walker is the first ugly sprouting of that alien seed.

Circle of Stupidity

Wisconsin shows us how

By Jen Sorenson




For the entire cartoon, click here.

Recalling the Gilded Age

Americans just won't take greed from their next-door neighbors.

By Donald Kaul

Organized labor, liberals in general, and President Barack Obama in particular got their heads handed to them by the good people of Wisconsin, with a little help from the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy.

The state, once home to Fighting Bob LaFollette — the father of the progressive movement — has now given us his photographic negative: union-busting Scott Walker, father of the regressive movement.

The election, an attempt by a liberal coalition to recall Walker two years after he'd been elected governor, wasn't really that close. Conservative commentators have been sent into a mass gloat.

ALEC's Comeuppance

Not only have the people rebelled, they've also organized and mobilized.

By Jim Hightower

No one likes a smart aleck — or a stupid one, for that matter.

A really stupid one is called ALEC, the American Legislative Exchange Council, which masquerades as an "educational" group that simply assists state officials with policy research. In fact, it's a corporate-financed, far-right front group that writes and aggressively pushes anti-worker, anti-consumer, anti-environmental, anti-immigrant, and other extremist "anti-people" legislative proposals.

Crazy mixed up news

Schilling won’t run; Foxboro won’t gamble; Republicans won’t help and I feel fine. Also: Brain studies, why we go on the internet, It’s NOT a Wonderful Life and thanks for the fish

By Will Collette

Curt Schilling – Not running. Former Red Sox pitcher and ultra-conservative Republican Curt Schilling made it official: he is not running for the open seat in Massachusetts District Four being vacated by retiring Rep. Barney Frank. He told the Boston Herald that he didn’t have the time, what with running his video game company 38 Studios and his family. 

I didn’t think he would run. Even if he gave every voter in District 4 an autographed bloody sock, he would still have a hard time explaining why he took RI’s $75 million economic development bribe to move his company out of Massachusetts.

Foxboro surprise. A lot of Rhode Islanders were surprised, and some were nervous, about a partnership between New England Patriots owner Robert Craft and a national casino developer to partner up to build a casino near Gillette Stadium. A casino in such a nearby and easily accessible spot would decimate state revenues from the Twin River slot parlor. Who would want to go to such a cheesy place, when you could go up I-95 to such a glitzy new, full-scale casino? 

A Right-Wing Jobs Program for America

To apply, just go directly to jail.


By Jim Hightower

Attention jobless Americans! If you're among the millions of long-term unemployed people searching in vain for a job, here's a hot tip: they're hiring in Wisconsin.

Peeps Wrap-up for 2011

After spending most of my spare time today reviewing additional newspapers' Peeps® contests, I am now ready to close Progressive Charlestown 2011 coverage of Peeps® art. Generally, the Peeps® shows I reviewed today were crap. Not up to this blog's demanding standards. Not even up to mine.

But I did find two worthy additions.

The first comes from the Syracuse Post-Standard where the winning contestant combined in one tableau two of the four basic food groups - Peeps® and pizza.

The second doesn't come from a contest, but rather from a contestant - members of the Service Employees International Union (SEIU) entered the Washington Post contest with a truly outstanding Peeps® diorama depicting the Solidarity struggles at the Wisconsin State Capitol against their union-busting Governor Scott Walker. I love it. The Post didn't.



Peeparoni Peepza from the Syracuse Post-Standard

 

Nice turn-out at Wisconsin solidarity rally

There was a nice turn-out of union members from both the public and private sector at the State House rotunda this afternoon.

The State House interior was awash in the various union colors and alive with signs of solidarity and support for embattled state workers in Wisconsin.

AFSCME, the union that took the lead in organizing this rally, was out in force. Lead speaker was Charlestown's own, Mike Downey, who is the President of AFSCME statewide.

Solidarity Rally Today at State House

Later today, February 22nd, at 4:30 PM, there will be a rally in front of the State House in solidarity with embattled state workers in Wisconsin. In keeping with labor's long-time rallying cry, "an injury to one is an injury to all," Rhode Island's labor movement and its allies will join dozens of other such events around the country to show our support for the stand state workers in Wisconsin are taking against Republican efforts to strip them of the fundamental right to organize. MORE INFORMATION HERE. Several of us from Charlestown are going.Despite the First Amendment right of free association, trade union membership was considered a crime until the 1930s. Before the passage of the Wagner Act that made union membership legal, courts frequently convicted labor union activists on the charge of "criminal syndicalism." Some labor activists were executed, including labor legend Joe Hill, under laws designed to squelch workers who wanted to organize unions for better wages, an end to child labor and decent working conditions. But the Wagner Act did not grant the right to organize to all. It left out many large labor groups, among the largest being government workers. Government workers had to fight an on-going and separate battle for the right to organize and that is what the Wisconsin battle is all about.