Scott Walker, Union Buster

Started by Valerian, February 17, 2011, 09:31:43 AM

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Trieste

Quote from: Valerian on April 08, 2011, 08:15:16 AM
She was a computer tech and programmer, so presumably knows how to put together a decent fake on a computer.

Wouldn't count on it just because of a job title. First of all, it sounds like she is knee-deep in nepotism and corruption, which has a habit of placing people in jobs for which they are not even close to qualified. Second, even if she is a formally trained programmer, some of them are morons and hardly know a dongle from a dildo.

RubySlippers

Why pick on just Wisconsin I live in Florida we have our own issues but not voter fraud they just want a DO OVER well here an impeachment must come from the House and in Florida that is 75% Republican so its not going to happen.

The issue for me on the fraud was the miscount in the county and number of votes enough to question the main election if it was say 250,000 votes over and its 15,000 votes in the air its not going to matter overall. Maybe all the the people that opted not to vote will not see why voting is important if they had 500,000 or so people vote for the Democrat and in local elections you might not be in this mess, that is an example I'm not sure the exact numbers involved. And you don't vote then you don't matter and you agree to let whoever wins decide your fate.

That is crazy not the fact the governor or legislature are doing these things and there is no checks left in the system apparently if the parties were split close to 50/50 the Republicans would have to cut deals.

Valerian

Quote from: Trieste on April 08, 2011, 12:24:45 PM
Wouldn't count on it just because of a job title. First of all, it sounds like she is knee-deep in nepotism and corruption, which has a habit of placing people in jobs for which they are not even close to qualified. Second, even if she is a formally trained programmer, some of them are morons and hardly know a dongle from a dildo.
Then I'll hope she's barely computer-literate and her creative counting will be easy to spot.  Her story is that she forgot to save.  :P

I don't know who would have to ask for an official federal investigation, but I hope it happens soon.  I don't think I trust anyone in the state to handle this mess at this point.

Kloppenburg and her supporters are already looking at ways to raise funds to help cover the recount, so I'm glad she's not giving up, at least.


And now I'm worrying about what Walker & Co. are going to get up to while all the outrage is focused on Nickolaus and this debacle.  They've filed an appeal with the state supreme court to overrule the Dane County judge's ruling blocking implementation of that wretched bill.  And they put Secretary of State Douglas La Follette's name on it without even speaking to him about it.  La Follette has asked the supreme court to drop the appeal and let the restraining order stand until the investigation is complete.

http://www.dailycardinal.com/news/la-follette-asks-supreme-court-to-drop-doj-s-appeal-1.2149616
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Callie Del Noire

Quote from: Zakharra on April 08, 2011, 12:21:46 PM
That woman is stupid. This should be and very likely will be looked at. Especially if they can prove she isn't folowing the election law guidelines.  Seriously.. what the fuck are theser politicians thinking?  They can't get away witrh this sort of crap anymore. Why the hell are they doing this when they know they will be caught?
I hate to say it but they could zap. Shes already gotten immunity for prior acts of fraud. And if the authorities or opposition throw out the vows as tainted the GOP folks backing her can and will scream bloody murder. Walker can appoint an investigator and whitewash the whole thing. Which is what I'll bet he'll do. Ten to eighteen months down the line the investigator will publish the results and quietly cite her for something minor or she'll plead out to a small misdemeanor. 

Valerian

This is why we need the federal investigation, as soon as we can get it.  I'm not even normally a fan of federal involvement at the state level, but with Walker thinking he's king, that's the only thing that might give him pause.  But if it has to be Walker or one of his cronies that calls in the DOJ, then that's it.  We're screwed, unless the recount can find something.  Hopefully that will happen.

Some right-wing bloggers are already starting up a "flower fund" for people to donate money and send flowers to Nickolaus, since she's being so persecuted.  Poor thing.  :P
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Callie Del Noire

The ONLY mistake I think that Jeb Bush did in the 2000 national election was not setting up a non-partisan recount administrator but that is the only case I think that a federal inquiry should have been made into elections that I have participated.

Ironwolf85

i am so glad I live in NH...
our politicans don't play dirty, mostly because the state is politically aware enough to keep an eye on these things, "Live Free or Die" is the state motto for a reason, our leaders have to tread carefully when making policies.
In most of new england, save NY. and Penn. of course, the states tend to be small, politically aware, and their people remember the abuses they suffered at various times.
people in maine got pissed that the governer wanted to remove a mural with protestors and people striking on it.
Prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, love...
debate any other aspect of my faith these are the heavenly virtues. this flawed mortal is going to try to adhere to them.

Culture: the ability to carve an intricate and beautiful bowl from the skull of a fallen enemy.
Civilization: the ability to put that psycho in prision for killing people.

Oniya

Quote from: Ironwolf85 on April 08, 2011, 07:00:05 PM
people in maine got pissed that the governer wanted to remove a mural with protestors and people striking on it.

I read about that - did they end up keeping the mural?
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Callie Del Noire

Quote from: Ironwolf85 on April 08, 2011, 07:00:05 PM

people in maine got pissed that the governer wanted to remove a mural with protestors and people striking on it.

That wasn't the only thing that they got pissed about. Just the most recent.

Ironwolf85

it was removed, but they used government funds, so the local fed stepped in, and forced the governer to pay out of his pocket to have it completely replaced on the side of the local unemployment office, which seems to have both sides quiet for now.
Prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, love...
debate any other aspect of my faith these are the heavenly virtues. this flawed mortal is going to try to adhere to them.

Culture: the ability to carve an intricate and beautiful bowl from the skull of a fallen enemy.
Civilization: the ability to put that psycho in prision for killing people.

Oniya

So it got moved instead of destroyed. *nods*

Quote from: Callie Del Noire on April 08, 2011, 07:05:30 PM
That wasn't the only thing that they got pissed about. Just the most recent.

And the most visible.  Not many people know that LePage also renamed several conference rooms that carried the names of historic leaders of American labor, as well as former Secretary of Labor, Frances Perkins.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Avis habilis

We're anticipating that he'll soon decide the Department of Environmental Protection is too one sided & ought to include more representatives of polluters.

Oh, wait ... he already made one the Commissioner of the Department. So we're all set.

Valerian

Well, an official request for an investigation by the U.S. Attorney General has been made -- Tammy Baldwin, one of the Wisconsin reps in the U.S. Congress, has sent a letter asking for the Justice Department Public Integrity Section to look into the fraud allegations.

I'm not sure what's happening with the "forgot to hit save" story.  Apparently the program she was using was Microsoft Access, which auto-saves after every entry.  So I'm not sure why first, she tried to use that as an excuse, or second, why anyone's buying it for a moment.

I'm not knowledgeable enough about computers myself to know if this scenario is feasible, but there's an interesting article I found discussing how the fraud could have been managed.

As for the recalls, State Representative Jennifer Shilling has declared her intention to run against Republican Dan Kapanke in that recall election, which now looks like it will happen.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

TheGlyphstone

Quote from: Ironwolf85 on April 08, 2011, 07:00:05 PM
i am so glad I live in NH...
our politicans don't play dirty, mostly because the state is politically aware enough to keep an eye on these things, "Live Free or Die" is the state motto for a reason, our leaders have to tread carefully when making policies.
In most of new england, save NY. and Penn. of course, the states tend to be small, politically aware, and their people remember the abuses they suffered at various times.
people in maine got pissed that the governer wanted to remove a mural with protestors and people striking on it.

Granite state power!  ;D *fistbump*

Valerian

The latest:

Jessica King, who lost to Republican state senator Randy Hopper in 2008 by just 163 votes, is expected to announce today that she will run against him in the recall election.  The signatures for that election have already been filed, so that makes two.  Almost 24,000 signatures were collected, so hopefully that's at least 24,000 people that will vote for her; and based on previous voter turnouts, that number would be almost 80% of what she would need to win.

Walker -- no longer insisting that other states should stay out of Wisconsin's politics -- is starting up a fundraising tour of the U.S. to gather funds to support the Republicans in the recall elections.  (I wonder if he's also planning ahead and fundraising for his own?)  Anyway, he basically snuck out of the state -- the fact that he was gone wasn't made public until a right-wing website published an interview he gave in Florida, his first stop.

So much for being so broke, considering he's traveling around on Wisconsin taxpayer money.  :P

He's also threatening more layoffs if the courts don't let his bill go through.  That's right, he's trying to threaten the courts.




As for the supreme court election, county clerk Nickolaus has been asked to resign over the whole mess, but refuses, saying she has asked for help in reviewing her procedures to make them more transparent -- because now all of a sudden she isn't laughing about that, apparently -- and wants to spend her last year or so in office "restoring voter confidence".

The (apparently only) Democrat on the Waukesha county canvassing board, who signed off on the election results much to the glee of the right-wing, has now retracted her statement.

http://host.madison.com/news/opinion/editorial/article_1d6a7906-64a8-11e0-8b44-001cc4c002e0.html

Ramona Kitzinger, an 80-year-old who admits she knows nothing about computers, now says that the canvass was pronounced finalized before she was ever informed of any possible errors.  She was told of the problem just before the press conference Nickolaus gave to announce the "mistake".

Quote
But, the observer now says, she does not know where the numbers Nickolaus was flashing around came from. "I am still very, very confused about why the canvass was finalized before I was informed of the Brookfield error and it wasn't even until the press conference was happening that I learned it was this enormous mistake that could swing the whole election," says Kitzinger. "I was never shown anything that would verify Kathy's statement about the missing vote, and with how events unfolded and people citing me as an authority on this now, I feel like I must speak up."
Even the most out-there conservatives apparently know better than to attack an octogenarian over this, though, so instead the story is that she was threatened into this retraction by union goons.


My state is broken.  *mourns*
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Callie Del Noire

You aren't alone Val, each state has it's issues. Ironically I know more about NCs after my brother's run for office and I'm still learning Florida's. The last few mayoral elects in Jax have been a learning experience.  Like one mayor basically torpedoed a doubling of aircraft work in the area because he didn't want to lose his change to develop the land around Cecil Field (he'd been buying up land around it for a while and wanted to develop it.. then the bubble burst and well.. jax lost out both ways)

Ironwolf85

Prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, love...
debate any other aspect of my faith these are the heavenly virtues. this flawed mortal is going to try to adhere to them.

Culture: the ability to carve an intricate and beautiful bowl from the skull of a fallen enemy.
Civilization: the ability to put that psycho in prision for killing people.

Ironwolf85

Admitidly the granate state and most of new england paid for developing this awareness and political attitude, with blood, sweat, pain, poverity, and being abused by various rober barons in the first place.
most of the western states never suffered such a complete and utter anal ravaging by politicans, wealthy companies, and robber barons.

sorry for the nasty image, but look at the rustbelt and you'll understand.
Prudence, justice, temperance, courage, faith, hope, love...
debate any other aspect of my faith these are the heavenly virtues. this flawed mortal is going to try to adhere to them.

Culture: the ability to carve an intricate and beautiful bowl from the skull of a fallen enemy.
Civilization: the ability to put that psycho in prision for killing people.

Valerian

I think, like me, everyone's gone pretty numb reading about all this almost unbelievable stuff piling up day after day, but there's more, of course.

http://politics.gather.com/viewArticle.action?articleId=281474979226559

Walker was asked to the White House to testify before the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee about his plans for the Wisconsin budget.  I don't know if it was supposed to make him look better or what, but if that was the goal, it failed.

He started out claiming his budget would save local governments $700 million each year.  Then he backtracked to claiming it would save $330 million over three years.

It didn't seem like anyone there was particularly happy with Walker (there's a link to video of the testimony on the page linked below), but U.S. Rep. Dennis Kucinich, D-Ohio, was the toughest on him.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/27543355/detail.html
Quote
Kucinich replied: "Can you answer the question? How much money does it [removing collective bargaining rights] save, governor?"

"That particular part doesn't save any," Walker replied.

Kucinich replied: "OK, OK, that's the point. It obviously had no effect on the state budget."
It only took him, oh, several months to finally admit what everyone else had already figured out.  I'm wondering if Walker has forgotten how to talk to people who actually disagree with him.  He doesn't get much practice.  :P


Also, there's a petition that people can sign, asking U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder to investigate the Waukesha County votes.  They're trying for 10,000 signatures; they currently have just under 8,000.
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Oniya

Although I don't live in Wisconsin, I added my name, along with the following to the Attorney General:

Although I am not a Wisconsin voter, the implications of this discrepancy goes far beyond any one state's borders.  We, the American People, need to be confident in our lawmakers, rather than being concerned that they, too, might conveniently ignore standard security protocols when it suits their own interests.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Valerian

Three cheers for Oniya!   :D
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE

Oniya

I didn't see anything that said the signatures had to be from Wisconsin, but I figured I'd put that disclaimer in just to make sure.
"Language was invented for one reason, boys - to woo women.~*~*~Don't think it's all been done before
And in that endeavor, laziness will not do." ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think we're never gonna win this war
Robin Williams-Dead Poets Society ~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~Don't think your world's gonna fall apart
I do have a cause, though.  It's obscenity.  I'm for it.  - Tom Lehrer~*~All you need is your beautiful heart
O/O's Updated 5/11/21 - A/A's - Current Status! - Writing a novel - all draws for Fool of Fire up!
Requests updated March 17

Serephino

Added my name too, with pretty much the same disclaimer.  If this is fraud (and it certainly sounds like it), and they get away with it, other officials in other states might become inspired...  Others might already do it, but when something so obvious pops up, it would be foolish to ignore it. 

Rhys

Signed the petition. I wasn't sure about this whole fraud thing at first. But then Mr. Prosser went out and spoke out against the idea of a federal investigation. I firmly believe an ethical judge with nothing to hide and who cares that the states voting process and judicial system may've been marred by fraud and corruption would be more than willing to allow any and all investigation into the matter. The fact that he did the opposite really worries me.
O's and O's

My idea of good company is the company of clever, well-informed people who have a great deal of conversation ~Jane Austen

Valerian

Sarah Palin was at a Tea Party Rally yesterday in Madison --- the articles so far are surprisingly reticent about giving numbers, though.  The article linked says 6,500 people attended, but refused to guess how many were on which side, since an anti-Walker counter-rally was held at the same time.  However, since they also mention that the Tea Partiers were surrounded on three sides by counter-protesters (who occasionally drowned out the speakers), I'm guessing the percentages weren't exactly fifty-fifty.  And yet they still insist on calling themselves the silent majority.  Apparently they're also invisible.   :P

Scott Walker's latest, inspired by Michigan governor Rick Synder, is being called financial martial law by Forbes -- not exactly a liberal bunch.

Quote
Walker is said to be preparing a plan that would allow him to force local governments to submit to a financial stress test with an eye towards permitting the governor to take over municipalities that fail to meet with Walker’s approval.

According to the reports, should a locality’s financial position come up short, the Walker legislation would empower the governor to insert a financial manager of his choosing into local government with the ability to cancel union contracts, push aside duly elected local government officials and school board members and take control of Wisconsin cities and towns whenever he sees fit to do so.

Such a law would additionally give Walker unchallenged power to end municipal services of which he disapproves, including safety net assistance to those in need.

Still no word on whether or not the Attorney General is going to intervene, but it looks as though it's officially heading for a recount, and it's close enough that Kloppenburg will not have to pay for the recount.  The tally right now is that Prosser is ahead by 7,316 votes, but since that's a margin of less than 0.5%, Kloppenburg won't have to provide the estimated $1 million to pay for the recount.  (That will instead fall on the various local and county governments, which are having enough problems right now, unfortunately, thanks to Walker.  Brown County, for example, where Green Bay is located, anticipates a $3.5 million shortfall under Walker's proposed budget.  If this leads to a Kloppenburg victory, hopefully that will help ease the sting of some of Walker's plans, at least.)  She has until Wednesday to officially request the recount.

The petition met its goal of 10,000 signatures and now has 13,211 on the way to its new goal of 15,000.  :)
"To live honorably, to harm no one, to give to each his due."
~ Ulpian, c. 530 CE