Activism

Wisconsin Protests, Sunday, February 27, 2011

 
Representative Brett Husley's office door papered with post-its from unions, students and regular citizens thanking him for staying around the Capitol to oppose SB 11.11:58 p.m. - Jonathan Rosenblum reports: According to unofficial count approximately 300 protesters are staying the night and a low profile contingent of law enforcement, some with "State Fair" patches on their shoulders. Less than two dozen visible.

10:51 p.m. - Jonathan Rosenblum sends this photo of Representative Brett Husley's office door papered with post-its from unions, students and regular citizens thanking him for staying around the Capitol to oppose SB 11. He and Representaive Kelda Roys were present through the announcement around 7:00 p.m. tonight that protesters of the bill would not be expelled from the Capitol.

8:48 p.m. - Jonathan Rosenblum reports that he is in line for official occupation manna (more pizza) with Andrew Rohn and Cat Capellaro who wrote the musicals Temp Slave and Walmartopia. They say they have contributed the following chant to the rotunda: "Unions make Wisconsin better. This revolution is fueled by cheddar.

Prank Koch Call Prompts More Legal Questions

Madison -- The heat ratcheted up on Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker as more questions were raised about the 20-minute phone call from a Buffalo-area alternative news reporter posing as David Koch, a billionaire whose corporate PAC directly supported Walker and who has given millions to groups that have run ads to aid Walker's rise to the state's highest office. (Find a transcript of the call here).

The section of the tape that has come under the most scrutiny involved Walker's comments that he considered planting "troublemakers" into the crowd. People on the ground here in Madison were quite aware that the first five days of protests were packed with children. The Madison school district and many surrounding districts were closed. Thousands of elementary school children and their parents marched at the capitol in support of local teachers. On the first day and second days, thousands of high school students walked out on their classes and headed to the capitol. The atmosphere was festive and fun, popcorn stands on the corner and thousands of homemade signs.

Wisconsin Protests, Saturday, February 26, 2011

SATURDAY NIGHT ENERGY AT CAMP CAPITOL

"Saturday night energy" on the last night the State Capitol will officially be open to the public.11:00 p.m. - Lynn Welch reporting: On the last night the State Capitol will officially be open to the public, those inside describe a festive atmosphere as a larger crowd has gathered. A circle of drummers and dancers engaged a larger group of overnighters with a real "Saturday night energy," described Oma Vic McMurray, a Madison resident staying her second night in the building.

Wisconsin Protests, Friday, February 25, 2011

50 RALLIES IN 50 STATES

Wisconsin state capitol rotunda packed with protestorsVisit MoveOn.org to find information about a rally in your state.

In Wisconsin and around our country, the American Dream is under fierce attack. Instead of creating jobs, Republicans are giving tax breaks to corporations and the very rich—and then cutting funding for education, police, emergency response, and vital human services.

On Saturday, February 26, at noon local time, we are organizing rallies in front of every statehouse and in every major city to stand in solidarity with the people of Wisconsin. We demand an end to the attacks on worker's rights and public services across the country. We demand investment, to create decent jobs for the millions of people who desperately want to work. And we demand that the rich and powerful pay their fair share.

We are all Wisconsin.

We are all Americans.

This Saturday, we will stand together to Save the American Dream. Be sure to wear Wisconsin Badger colors—red and white—to show your solidarity. Sign up today to join in!

Koch Lobbying Office Draws Protest; Building Employees Gawk From Windows

Protesters clamor around the doorway of 10 E. Doty St.5:15 p.m. - Cars, SUVs and buses whoosh down Madison's King Street Thursday afternoon, honking, windows rolled down, thumbs up in solidarity as neon-vested police officers direct traffic.

"Stay strong!" shouted a man out the driver's-side window of a State Employee Vanpool van. A Madison Metro bus driver drives by, honking and cheering.

Employees in the office building, surely distracted by the protesters' drumming, peer down at the rally.Hundreds of protesters marched from the Capitol Square at 4 p.m. to 10 E. Doty St.'s glass-windowed office building, on the seventh floor of which The Capital Times revealed that Koch Industries opened a lobbying office in late October. Koch's PAC was one of the largest donors to Walker's political campaign, and multi-billionaire, David Koch, has bankrolled groups that ran expensive ad campaigns last year that helped him win the governorship.

CMD Director Lisa Graves on Democracy Now

Submitted by Anne Landman on

The Center for Media and Democracy's Executive Director Lisa Graves appeared on Democracy Now to discuss the financial and political links between embattled Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the industrial billionaire brothers David and Charles Koch. "This is a situation in which a billionaire is exerting extraordinary influence, far more influence than tens of thousands of Wisconsin residents who have come out to protest his outrageous effort to destroy the unions here," Lisa said. She reminded viewers of the history of the Koch family and their political activities in the U.S.: "David Koch's father was a co-founder of the radical 1950s group the John Birch Society which opposed civil rights laws," Lisa stated. David Koch ran for president once back in 1982 on the Libertarian ticket, on a campaign platform much farther to the right than Ronald Reagan, in which he opposed Social Security, the minimum wage and other safety-net programs. After he lost that race, he spent the next 30 years forming a series of groups to advance his agenda of far right-wing positions. You can watch the entire video of the interview here.

No
Main Source: 
Democracy Now, February 24, 2011
Topics: 
Activism
Right Wing
Politics
Wisconsin

CMD Submits Open Records Requests to Governor's Office

Before news broke of the prank call from a David Koch impersonator to Governor Walker's office, CMD had submitted the below open records request to the Wisconsin Department of Administration for all phone calls to-and-from the governor's office since January 1. CMD confirmed receipt of the request via telephone on February 18 and expects a reply promptly. We have also submitted open records requests directly to the governor's office for copies of all email and visitor log records.

Wisconsin Protests, Thursday, February 24, 2011

5:16 p.m. - Brendan Fischer reports that the rally has a bigger showing than past days with international representation.

Highsticked by Walker and I'm mad5:15 p.m. - KOCH LOBBYING OFFICE DRAWS PROTEST; BUILDING EMPLOYEES GAWK FROM WINDOWS

Erica Pelzek reports:

Cars, SUVs and buses whoosh down Madison's King Street Thursday afternoon, honking, windows rolled down, thumbs up in solidarity as neon-vested police officers direct traffic.

"Stay strong!" shouted a man out the driver's-side window of a State Employee Vanpool van. A Madison Metro bus driver drives by, honking and cheering.

General Strike Looms if Walker Signs Union-Busting Bill

On-strikeWisconsin's South Central Federation of Labor is getting ready to call a general strike if the state's legislature passes Governor Scott Walker's bill to curtail collective bargaining rights. The Federation, which represents 97 unions and more than 45,000 workers in six counties, on Monday voted to endorse work shut-downs by both union and non-union workers around the country if the bill passes and the governor signs it. Federation delegates say they will strike even if unions elsewhere around the state or the country don't. The potential strike would affect government administrative offices, construction sites, schools and private businesses, but critical life-and-death services would be spared. University of Chicago law professor Richard A. Epstein, who has written extensively on labor and government issues, says there is a strong possibility of a major strike, since national leaders know that if they lose the battle over bargaining rights in Wisconsin, the same rights will fall in other states as well. Paul Secunda, a Marquette University professor who studies labor law, agreed that a general strike may be inevitable. "The ultimate power that employees have at the end of the day is to withhold their labor. This would be the ultimate trump card that unions could pull out, and it will be extremely powerful," Secunda said.

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