We need to adopt a computer-generated nonpartisan redistricting process. (This is a very detailed map using a nonpartisan process.) In my opinion, this is a must in order to take back our democracy from special interests which includes both Democrats and Republicans.

Today is Martin Luther King’s birthday.  Here is his I Have a Dream speech. (I went to the MLK prayer breakfast last year (this morning). Donna Brazile was the keynote speaker. Representative Heath Shuler was there. So was Senator Kay Hagan. Many city council members and the mayor Terry Bellamy were present. It was a great event.) Read more about Martin Luther King.

If you’re sitting in front of your computers at home, at work or anywhere in between, I would like to ask you a question — what is your dream? Do you dream of being able to send your kids to college? Do you dream that simple dream of being able to pay your bills and have some money left over at the end of the month? Do you dream of being able to go to your doctor without having to worry about how much the prescriptions, the diagnostic tests and other procedures may cost? Do you dream of getting paid a living wage? What is your dream?

When I close my eyes, I dream of a country where my grandson and your grandchild can go to a public or private school anywhere in the country and get a solid education. I dream of a country where we are not all slaves to big corporations. I dream of a country where we all have equal access to affordable, efficient and cost-effective healthcare. Finally, I dream of a country that has figured out that we are great because of our compassion and love for humanity and not because of our military might. These are my dreams as a progressive. What are yours?

This morning Emma tweeted “I’ve decided not to write the letter but I hope this opens the door for average citizens to voice their opinion & to be heard! #goingstrong.” Would you or would you not agree that we should all have the right to criticize our political leaders? She does not have the right to be rude, but she does have the right to express herself in a way that does not disrupt the class or the learning activity. If she’s able to do this, there’s no reason for the governor’s office to be offended. There’s no reason for the principal’s office to get involved.

Update: Finally, some common sense (and I didn’t think that Governor Brownback had any!)

From DK:

Oh, but there’s more:

In the uproar over a Prairie Village teenager’s tweet about Kansas Gov. Sam Brownback during a school trip, it is the governor who is apologizing. “My staff over-reacted to this tweet, and for that, I apologize. Freedom of speech is among our most treasured freedoms,” said a statement from Brownback’s office.

Overreacted, indeed. Ya think?

So let’s see. A teenager tweeted that her governor sucks. He does in fact suck, as is evidenced by his staff obsessively compiling an enemies list of teenage girls who don’t like him on Twitter. His staff complains, the school principal freaks out, probably correctly figuring that Brownback’s office will use it as excuse to cut their pencil budget again, this time down to one pencil per thirty kids, and tells the teenage girl she has to apologize. The wider world finds out about it, floods all parties with messages of support for the teenager in question and suddenly everybody remembers the First Amendment again.

In the 1960s, during the civil rights movement, we saw peaceful marchers attacked by vicious dogs and high-pressure water hoses. We saw massive arrests. Today, the #Occupy movement is being confronted by massive arrests. So far, there are no high-pressure water hoses. So far, there are none of those of vicious attack dogs. Instead, protesters are being sprayed with pepper spray. Why? I just don’t understand how the police justify pepper spraying nonviolent students. I think it would be different if the students were attacking the police. I think it would be different if the students were destroying property. I think it would be different if the students were actively doing any of a number of things. They are simply sitting and protesting.

Update:

UC Davis President has issued a statement stating that she was appalled and two of the police officers have been suspended.

From James Fallows -

Let’s stipulate that there are legitimate questions of how to balance the rights of peaceful protest against other people’s rights to go about their normal lives, and the rights of institutions to have some control over their property and public spaces. Without knowing the whole background, I’ll even assume for purposes of argument that the UC Davis authorities had legitimate reason to clear protestors from an area of campus — and that if protestors wanted to stage a civil-disobedience resistance to that effort, they should have been prepared for the consequence of civil disobedience, which is arrest.

I can’t see any legitimate basis for police action like what is shown here. Watch that first minute and think how we’d react if we saw it coming from some riot-control unit in China, or in Syria. The calm of the officer who walks up and in a leisurely way pepper-sprays unarmed and passive people right in the face? We’d think: this is what happens when authority is unaccountable and has lost any sense of human connection to a subject population. That’s what I think here.

Less than two months ago, it seemed shocking when one NYPD officer cavalierly walked up to a group of female protestors and pepper-sprayed them in the eyes. The UC Davis pepper-sprayer doesn’t slink away, as his NYPD counterpart did, but in every other way this is more coldly brutal. And by the way, when did we accept the idea that local police forces would always dress up in riot gear that used to be associated with storm troopers and dystopian sci-fi movies?

If you watch the whole clip, you see other police officers beginning to act “human” in various ways — taking off their riot helmets, being restrained rather than unbridled in use of force, a few of them even looking abashed or frightened as they walk off.

This Occupy moment is not going to end any time soon. That is not just because of the underlying 99%-1% tensions but also because of police response of this sort — and because there have been so many similar videos coming from cities across the country.

Yesterday, in a coordinated effort, many of the #Occupy movements were “closed down.” From California to New York, police moved in and cleared out encampments. Now, I think it is critically important for us to review what the #Occupy Wall Street movement is all about. To me, this movement is about Us. Our democracy has stopped working for Us. Over the last 30-40 years the scales have been tipped in favor of the rich and corporations. Politicians have stopped listening to Us. Instead, they listen to corporate lobbyists and the very rich.

If you don’t believe this and you don’t believe that the system has been unfairly rigged, all you have to do is look at the financial meltdown. Whether you understand or believe the cause of the financial meltdown is not important. Basically, our financial system was on the brink of collapse. Every single firm on Wall Street was in jeopardy of going under. The ripple effect from the massive uncertainty and huge losses was felt all over the country. Millions of Americans lost their jobs. Hundreds of thousands lost their homes. Now, the smoke has cleared. Wall Street is raking in record profits. Corporations that were on the brink of bankruptcy are now sitting pretty. The American people, on the other hand, continue to struggle. The unemployment rate remains unacceptably high. Wages are stagnant. Congress is arguing over cutting the meager benefits, which are keeping millions of Americans out of poverty.

The #Occupy movement is about restoring the balance. I support the right of Americans to peaceably assemble. I support Americans who want the right to free speech. I support Americans who believe that Congress needs to work for Us and not for corporations. I support hard-working Americans who want a living wage for a hard day’s work. I support #Occupy Wall Street.

Republicans aren’t stupid. They are hardheaded and ideological and facts almost never penetrate their craniums, but they aren’t stupid.

Watch the video on how Republicans are making it harder to vote all over the country:

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

Every now and then, it becomes unclear as to what’s going on inside the White House. Yesterday, the Obama administration decided to walk away from stricter ozone pollution controls. There really was no explanation. After thinking about the story for about 24 hours, I think it is clear to me that the Obama administration needs to hear from us. We need to let him know that this is unacceptable. I really don’t care if this topic is going to be revisited in 2013. The time is now. Now is the time for us to move forward in cleaning up the mess that was left by the Bush administration. Sitting around and hoping that tomorrow is going to be a better day or that the political environment will be friendlier in 2013 is based on what? Fix the environment now!

Toxic chemicals linger in our clothes after dry-cleaning. Yuck.

Martin Luther King was one of the most eloquent speakers of his day, if not in the whole of American history. He left us huge volumes of thoughtful and eloquent sayings. So why would the architect of the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial decide to change the words from his famous Drum Major sermon? The stupidity is overwhelming. The changes make Doctor King look arrogant. It is completely unacceptable. Once you read the section below, why would you want to change that? Arrogance? Stupidity? A deep misunderstanding of the words?

The section from the Drum Major Instinct speech:
Yes, if you want to say that I was a drum major, say that I was a drum major for justice. Say that I was a drum major for peace. I was a drum major for righteousness. And all of the other shallow things will not matter. I won’t have any money to leave behind. I won’t have the fine and luxurious things of life to leave behind. But I just want to leave a committed life behind. And that’s all I want to say.

Here is the way the inscription reads on the newly unveiled Martin Luther King Memorial statue – “I was a drum major for justice, peace, and righteousness”

The US government is suing Bank of America, J.P. Morgan and several other financial houses on Wall Street on the behalf of Freddie and Fannie for fraudulent mortgage-backed securities. I wonder if any of the people who bought the securities in Freddie Mae and Fannie Mac were fired for incompetence. Just wondering.

Another manufacturer of solar panels is struggling to fight cheaper Chinese imports. It appears that China is subsidizing their solar panel companies.

It is common knowledge that Republicans hate poor people. There’s a school of thought in conservativism that if you’re poor this means that you’re lazy and did not take advantage of the many opportunities that America has to offer. One conservative has taken this idea a step further. He has stated that it is “un-American” to register poor people. I wonder if he’s ever read the Constitution?

Giving a gun away as a prize in the district of Gabby Giffords is simply awful.

“That’s New York, and that’s their business, and that’s fine with me,” 

However, after being pressed on the issue by his far-right evangelical allies, here is what Governor Perry said on the same topic a few days later—

“I probably needed to add a few words after that ‘it’s fine with me,’ and that it’s fine with me that a state is using their sovereign rights to decide an issue. Obviously gay marriage is not fine with me. My stance hasn’t changed…”

Here is how Governor Perry addressed gay marriage on p. 13 of his book Fed Up!-–

” If you don’t support the death penalty and citizens packing a pistol, don’t come to Texas. If you don’t like medicinal marijuana and gay marriage, don’t move to California.”  

Yet at the same time, Governor Perry is on the record  supporting a Constitutional  amendment “.. that defines marriage between one man and one woman…”

What happened to Governor Perry’s view that the states should decide about gay marriage?

Rick Perry can’t stick to his guns on his alleged core issue of states’ rights even in the very first days of his presidential campaign. He buckles under pressure from the extremist far-right.

Given the number of views and flip-flops we’ve seen on just this one question, how many other times in the months ahead will we witness Governor Perry changing his mind and ditching his beliefs when it serves his political ambitions?

Update: The HuffPo has also tackled this subject (listen to the personal story in the podcast below)-

Journalists occasionally shine light on a public policy that is so disgusting it literally stuns you – just takes your breath away and leaves you speechless.

Your first thought is they’ve made a mistake. Or this is ratings hype. It can’t be true.

After the initial shock wears off, you realize it actuallyis happening – that it’s the system – and it hurt real people today; and it will hurt others the same way tomorrow, and others the day after that, and others the day after that. And you just want to urp.

That happened today when I saw this clip on CNN (from Houston station KPRC) that showed the attorney general of Texas (my home state) is sending letters to women who have been raped threatening their credit will be ruined unless they pay for the part of the criminal investigation known as the rape kit.

(A rape kit is a set of items that specially trained medial staff use to gather and preserve evidence of a sexual assault. A woman can decline the process, which can take up to four hours, but going to an emergency room and undergoing this additional intrusion helps document the attack and gives law enforcement evidence it needs to investigate the crime and prosecute the rapist.) The cost, according to CNN/ KPRC, runs $1,200 to $1,800. (more…)

• I just saw Hangover 2. Seriously, why didn’t I just read a couple of reviews before going to see this huge waste of time? My favorite film critic of all-time said, “If you saw that earlier film (which grossed $485 million, so you may have), there’s not much need for me to describe the plot this time. It’s the same story.” Why didn’t I read his review and simply watch the original Hangover which was funny and original? The story of guys screwing up a bachelor party isn’t original, but the story was told in an entertaining and interesting way, the first time. Hangover 2 is simply changing the place and time and giving the same actors a little different venue, Bangkok instead of Las Vegas. Huge waste of time. Don’t see the movie anywhere (in the theaters, pay per view, HBO, Netflix or DVD). See the original or, better yet, see Risky Business which is a much better film and has basically the same theme.
• Wisconsin Supreme Court blows a huge raspberry at its lower court and overturns the lower court ruling. Not only is it okay to union bust but it is okay to skirt the rules while you do it.
• Spiderman the Broadway play finally opened Tuesday night. I was not on the celebrity list.
• Paul Krugman is an economist and should be forgiven for saying something with his outside voice that he should have said with his inside voice. Medicare saves money. Damn it. I typed it. Let’s just pretend that I didn’t type it and Krugman didn’t say it. Okay?!?
• Speaking of our health, watching TV increases our risk of diabetes, heart disease and early death.
• Capital gains taxes are on the lips of Republicans again… or, rather, still on their lips. It was multi-millionaire Herman Cain who stood on stage during the Republican debate and boldly stated that he doesn’t have enough money, that he needs more money. Let’s lower the capital gains taxes to zero so that he can take home more. Okay, so I’m paraphrasing. This is basically what Republicans have been saying for over 30 years. The problem is that the benefits of cutting capital gains taxes basically stop at the doorstep of the rich. The benefits don’t trickle down to the rest of us.
• House Speaker John Boehner may have broken the law when he paid an outside firm to defend DOMA.
• Former Blackwater guard sentenced to three years in jail. I’m still wondering when some of the top brass at Blackwater will be sitting for trial.
• The Senate votes to keep tax subsidies for ethanol. Republicans are happy to cut programs that help the lower and middle classes, but they can’t cut subsidies for industry.
• Remember, in 2008, the Republicans were always looking for someone else to get into the presidential race. In 2012, it looks like we are going to have the same thing. Right now, Republicans are looking to Sarah Palin and Rick Perry. Right now, Rick Perry is gearing up and testing the waters. I’m sure there is a good reason why he compared himself to a prophet. I just can’t think of one right now, can you?
• Dallas Mavericks are still world champions!!

• Rondo proved once and for all that you need two good arms to play in the NBA. Boston dropped game four. Garnett was completely ineffective on offense. If Boston can’t generate any more offensive power than what we saw on Monday night, this series is over.
• If you break the law you should be punished. If you are convicted of marijuana (which should be legal) possession, you should go to jail. A life sentence is a waste of tax payer money and over the top.
• Pastor lies about being a Navy Seal. Come on.
• As expected, House Majority leader John Boehner is holding the economy hostage. He wants big cuts, again, before he will raise the debt ceiling.
• Newt Gingrich is going to run for president. Yep, that Newt. I guess being wrong on major policy decisions and flip-flopping on major policy issues doesn’t disqualify you.
• New Florida election law is a great way to exclude voters. This law should be unconstitutional.
• Microsoft to buy Skype. I think that I can outbid Microsoft. Hey, can I borrow $8.6 billion from someone?
• BTW, how hard is it to de-feather a room? After three calls to the front desk and housekeeping, the Sheraton proves that it is impossible. Fail!

What’s up with you?

From CNN.com:

The 100th anniversary of the Triangle Shirtwaist Co. Fire this Friday should throw into sharp relief recent efforts by lawmakers in Wisconsin and other states in the industrial heartland to curtail collective-bargaining rights for state employees.

The Triangle fire in New York City on March 25, 1911, killed 146 people, mainly women, mainly young immigrant women. Some were girls of 14 and 15. The fire broke out on the upper floors of the factory, too high for fire department ladders of those days to reach. People gathered on the street below watched in horror as women and men jumped to their deaths to avoid the enveloping flames. Observers talked of the sky raining flaming bodies. Many of the workers trapped inside were burned beyond recognition.

It was all over in half an hour. But the events of that day were permanently burned into the collective memory of the city and the nation. New Yorkers were shocked and grief-stricken. Some 100,000 people filed by the makeshift coffins gathered on the 26th Street Pier, which became known as “Misery Lane.” A few days later, 350,000 people turned out for a march through through Lower Manhattan, many to vent their anger and express their determination that tragedies such as this should never be allowed to happen again.

After all, the tragedy was not a natural disaster but a man-made one, too, frighteningly typical of this age of laissez-faire capitalism. The technology to prevent or confine such fires — sprinkler systems, fire walls, secure and ample fire escapes — all had been available for years. Moreover, fires had broken out at Triangle before, as they had in many other industrial workplaces. But no local, state or federal law required that these safety devices be installed or that safety protocols be followed. And manufacturers like the owners of the Triangle Co. didn’t want to spend the money.

Governor Scott Walker thought with his Republican majority he would be able to force the unions into making major concessions which would cripple the unions in 2012 if not for the next 5-10 years. He thought that this would be a cakewalk. Strip collective bargaining agreements. Starve the unions of cash that they need. The plan, he thought, was brilliant. Unfortunately, like many plans that sound great in your head, it hasn’t gone that way in reality. The governor walked into a hornet’s nest. Instead of noticing all the hornets and slowly backing away, the governor took out a baseball bat. The hornets aren’t happy.

With the Wisconsin Senate being unable to do much of anything with the Senate Democrats out of town, the legislature has ground to a halt. Daily protests are not waning. If anything, they have increased in intensity. Now, the Wisconsin Democratic Party has launched a campaign to recall eight Wisconsin Senators. The good news is that the Democrats don’t need to defeat all eight of them in order to take back the Senate. Now, this is democracy in action. Take the legislative process out of the hands of the professional politicians and put it back in the hands of the people.

More information on the recall can be found here.

From FDL:

The Wisconsin recall effort is only a day old, but it’s going strong. The state Democratic Party has launched a website called Recall the Republican 8 to coordinate events. They have volunteer and contribution pages. There’s also a separate ActBlue page set up for the recall. A separate effort to air apowerful TV ad from the PCCC and DFA, filmed on the day of the 100,000-plus protests last Saturday, has already raised over $225,000.

SEIU has been organizing on the recall as well, both on a special Web page and through offline efforts. Other unions have engaged in traditional organizing on this as well, going back to last week. According to SEIU, they have signed up over 3,000 people from Wisconsin who want to get involved in a recall effort in the past 24 hours. 1,300 have pledged to canvas, and nearly 2,000 have pledged to contribute money.

So far, State Senate Republicans have dismissed the effort. One of the Republican 8, Sen. Randy Hopper, who won his last election by only 184 votes, said, “There is no backing down.” But a poll from themost Republican-friendly pollster in America may have Senate Republicans rethinking that.

Good afternoon, I’m Errington Thompson and I’ve been asked to talk a little bit about the state of the middle class and what we need to do. The good news is there is a lot to say. The bad news is that I only have 10 minutes to say it.

I grew up in the 70s. I grew up watching TV, in spite of the fact that my mother monitored our TV time relatively strictly. There were many middle-class role models on TV, from Marcus Welby, Andy Griffith and Ralph Kramden to Hawkeye Pierce and Radar O’Reilly from M*A*S*H. I would like to take a look at what would happen to one of these characters in a world without unions. Let’s look at Andy Griffith from Mayberry RFD and the Andy Griffith show. For those of you, too young to remember, Andy Griffith was the sheriff in a town called Mayberry. This a town where everybody knew everybody. The town was really one big happy family.

Let’s assume that Andy began as sheriff in 1960. He was young man. He was 20 years old. In 1970, he had to go to the City Council and ask for a raise. Andy had no pension. He had no worker’s comp. He basically had no days off. He could stay at home some mornings while Barney handled things (you remember how Barney handled things) but he couldn’t really take a vacation. In 1980, he went back to the City Council and asked for his second raise in 20 years. A modest raise was granted in spite of the fact that inflation of the late 70s caused prices to skyrocket. Andy had to tighten his belt. The Reagan revolution took hold throughout the 80s and the taxpayers of Mayberry “thought” they were paying too much. The City Council and the mayor asked Andy to take a pay cut. Andy Griffith pleaded his case on three separate occasions. He even thought about leaving Mayberry and becoming a sheriff in one of the surrounding towns but there were no job openings. Andy was forced to take a pay cut in spite of the fact that everyone told him that he was doing a great job. Andy was forced to take out a second mortgage on his house. The go-go 1990s brought prosperity to Mayberry. Andy got not one but two pay raises during the decade. Unfortunately, while chasing a drunk driver, he was in a car crash. The small-town only had a meager medical insurance policy. His friends and neighbors were forced to hold bake sales and pass the hat. Andy was in the hospital for over three weeks. He had two major surgeries for a broken pelvis and open compound fracture of his thighbone. The sheriff acquired another eight weeks of rehabilitation. There was some discussion in City Council meetings on whether Andy was becoming “too costly” for the city to afford. It was Barney who shamed the City Council into recognizing the value of Andy Griffith. The fact was that he’d been there for them every day for more than 30 years. The good sheriff was not fired. It took Andy a total of four months to recover. Andy wasn’t one to lay around. As soon as he was able he was back on the job.

It was in 2003 when Andy’s life truly changed. Andy was investigating a possible break-in. It turned out to be two lovers who are just looking for place to be alone. Andy startled the lovers and the man panicked. He grabbed a gun and shot Andy in the belly. Andy was rushed to a hospital in the nearby town. He underwent emergency surgery. He was over 60 years old. The City Council met in emergency session because the hospital bills were piling up. It was clear that Andy’s hospitalization plus rehabilitation was going to cost the city more than $50,000. The City Council decided to fire Andy on the spot. He was still in the hospital.

This is the world without unions. This is the world without strong unions.

• If you want a world in which you can work for a living wage and get adequate time off. You want world with… Strong unions.
• If you want a world where you can work in negotiate your benefits plan. You want a world with… Strong unions.
• If you don’t want your children to work before age 10. You want a world with… Strong unions.
• If you want to get paid overtime for working more than 40 hours a week. You want a world with… Strong unions.
• If you’d like a little bit more safety on your job. You want a world with… Strong unions.
• If you want some job security and a pension. You have to have a world with… Strong Unions.

We have a choice today. We can turn our backs on the unions as we have for the last 40 years. We can hope that the CEOs and executives of this country will look out for the American worker. Or we can stand up and support… Strong unions.

In my mind, the middle class of the United States of America cannot survive and thrive without… Strong unions.

Thank you.

Governor Scott Walker

The Governor of Wisconsin Scott Walker has made a name for himself. He was unknown three weeks ago. Now he is the face of the GOP agenda.

For an excellent update from C&L on the Wisconsin protests – here and here.

From ClimateProgress:

On Friday, Think Progress posted “REPORT: Top 10 Disastrous Policies From The Wisconsin GOP You Haven’t Heard About.”  I’m reposting the whole piece below since four of those disastrous policies would subject Wisconsin families to dirtier air and dirtier water.

As the standoff between the Main Street Movement and Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) continues for the twelfth day, much of the media coverage — and anger — from both sides has focused on Walker’s efforts to strip Wisconsin public workers of their right to collective bargaining. But Walker’s assault on public employees is only one part of a larger political program that aims to give corporations free reign in the state while dismantling the healthcare programs, environmental regulations and good government laws that protect Wisconsin’s middle and working class.

Below, ThinkProgress examines ten of the most disastrous policies the Wisconsin GOP is pursuing:

1. ELIMINATING MEDICAID: The Budget Repair Bill includes a little-known provision that would put complete control of the state’s Medicaid program, known as BadgerCare, in the hands of the state’s ultra-conservative Health and Human Services Secretary Dennis Smith. Smith would have the authority to “to overridestate Medicaid laws as [he] sees fit and institute sweeping changes” includingreducing benefits and limiting eligibility. Ironically, during the 1990s it wasRepublicans, especially former Gov. and Bush HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson, who helped develop BadgerCare into one of the country’s most innovative and generous Medicaid programs. A decade later, a new generation of radical Republicans is hoping to destroy one of Wisconsin’s “success stories.”

2. POWER PLANT PRIVATIZATION AND ENVIRONMENTAL NEGLECT: The same budget bill calls for a rapid no-bid “firesale” of all state-owned power plants. One progressive blogger called the proposal “a highlight reel of all of the tomahawk dunks of neo-Gilded Age corporatism: privatization, no-bid contracts, deregulation, and naked cronyism” and suggested that the provision will open the way for large, politically connected corporations, like Koch Industries, to buy up the state’s power plants on the cheap. While it’s unclear whether corporations would be interested in buying the plants, a similar proposal was vetoed six years a go by Gov. Jim Doyle (D), who called the plan fiscally and environmentally irresponsible. Many of Wisconsin’s power plants are in violation of federal clean air regulations and desperately need to be upgraded and cleaned up — not dumped into the private sector.

3. DANGEROUS DRINKING WATER: Republican lawmakers have introduced bills in both the Senate and the House which would repeal a rule requiring municipal governments to disinfect their water. Conservatives have said that the clean water rule — which went into effect in December — is simply too expensive. Yet the rule only affects 12 percent of municipalities and the price may be worth it. In 1993, 104 people died and 400,000 fell sick when the Milwaukee water supply became infected. Even two decades later, the Environmental Protection Agency Advisory Board notes that 13 percent of acute gastro-intestinal illnesses in municipalities that don’t disinfect their water supplies are the result of dirty water. Municipalities can keep their water clean for as low as $10,000 per well — but apparently for the Wisconsin GOP that is too high a price to pay to keep citizens safe from deadly microorganisms.

4. DESTROYING WETLANDS: In January, Walker’s proposed regulatory reform bill exempted a parcel of wetland owned by a Republican donor from water quality standards. But the exemption was more than just an embarrassing giveaway to a GOP ally: environmental groups believe the bill’s special provision would actually affect the entire county, eliminating public hearings on proposed wetland development, short-circuiting approval of development projects, and disrupting the region’s water system.

5. FISCAL IRRESPONSIBILITY: Walker signed a bill this week requiring a 2/3 supermajority in the legislature to pass any tax increase. Republican lawmakers are now reportedly considering a constitutional amendment that would make the rule permanent. A similar constitutional amendment in California has been called the “source of misery” of that state’s crippling budget crisis and has forced lawmakersto “gut public education, slash social services and health care programs, close prisons, and lay off record numbers of public employees.” While claiming to “make a commitment to the future instead of [choosing] dire consequences for our children” Walker and GOP lawmakers are instead putting generations of Wisconsinites in a “fiscal strait-jacket.” (more…)

I spoke at our Wisconsin solidarity rally today in Asheville. We had a great crowd. I was/am honored that I had an opportunity to address the crowd. (I’ll have a rough transcript of my speech here later on.)

There was a rally in Raleigh, NC.

From News Observer:

Wisconsin’s battle over collective bargaining rights spilled over into Raleigh’s streets today.

Hundreds of supporters of Wisconsin public employees in their dispute with Gov. Scott Walker waved signs and heard speeches on the south lawn of the Capitol, while a smaller, but loudly outspoken group of opponents shouted their own slogans from the other side of Fayetteville Street.

The pro-union rally was organized by the State Employees Association of North Carolina. SEANC doesn’t have formal negotiating rights, because North Carolina is one of two states that ban collective bargaining for public workers.

From FDL:

In what has been billed the largest rally in the history of Madison, over 100,000 people packed the Capitol Square for a “Rally for Workers’ Rights” to protest the budget repair bill and the proposed stripping of collective bargaining rights from public employees. Madison Police told AFL-CIO spokesman Eddie Vale that they estimated the crowd at 100,000 30 minutes before the 3pm rally. As Peter Yarrow of Peter, Paul and Mary, who graced the stage, said, it’s 40% of the March on Washington, which he attended.

Yarrow told me before going on stage that he was proud to see the spirit of the past resuscitated. “If they persist, they will prevail,” he said.

The peaceful crowd spanned age ranges, comprised of public and private workers, union and non-union, high school and retired. And it included Madison East High School’s Bradley Whitford, also known as White House Chief of Staff Josh Lyman of The West Wing. He told the assembled, among other things, that “Wisconsin is a stubborn constituency, we fish through ice!”

A recent blog post by Tea Party follower David Jennings at his Houston and Texas political blog Big Jolly Politics gives a clear sense of the ideologically extreme Tea Party agenda.

Mr. Jennings regularly attends and offers up observations from meetings of Tea Party cells. His most recent report from the Clear Lake Tea Party here in Houston gives a clear sense of a radical, unworkable, and often un-American Tea Party vision for our nation.

Reporting on a talk given the Clear Lake Tea Party member named Robert Gonzales, who Mr. Jennings describes as the “founder” of this local Tea Party cell, Mr. Jennings offers up a list Tea Party priorities for the days ahead.

Here are some of these Tea Party priorities as reported by Mr. Jennings—

* “Reject Obamacare.”

Repeal of Healthcare Reform will allow insurance companies  to once again toss people off coverage because they get sick, and will allow insurance companies to once again impose lifetime caps on policies. Is that what we want to go back to in our nation? Read about Healthcare Reform for yourself. It does a lot of good. For the extreme right in this nation, the issue is not the good points or the weak points of Healthcare Reform. Instead, it is all about political ideology and scoring political points no matter the merits of the program. You see the same with the reflexive far-right rejection to the idea of global warming.  No facts of any kind matter in the discussion. Ideology and anger are all that counts.

* ” Reinstate Judeo-Christian Values. ….Prayer back in schools and hanging the Ten Commandments in public buildings…”

People can pray anytime they want.  People can live true each and every day to the religious values they hold. Are these values so weak that they must be posted in every building? This would be little different from how an insecure and fearful totalitarian state posts propaganda in every classroom and in every possible location. Where is the confidence in ideas that Christians hold as eternal?  Does Christianity need government support? Can’t people find the truth for themselves rather than forcing one idea of truth on an ever-more diverse nation? What will stop a future government from posting anti-Christian messages in public buildings at some point?

* ” English as the official language….”

It sure would be intrusive of government to tell people how they should speak.  Will the declaration of an official language come with a language police? Will private business places that advertise to Spanish speaking customers or Chinese speaking customers be subject to fines or some type of official sanction?  Will people inform on others who are speaking the wrong language? We could set up a whole new language enforcement bureaucracy.

* “….Deport all illegal aliens, post the army along the border…”

How would we find all the undocumented people in this country? Raids into private business places and into private homes? Informants?  Does the Tea Party think they will just turn themselves in to the authorities?  Does the Tea Party think family and friends will just allow these people to plucked from their homes without a fight? If all undocumented people are being deported, what would they have to lose by fighting back? Do we really want the army employed for domestic purposes? Will the army take part in the raids to track down the so-called illegals? Once our country is cleansed of the illegals, what domestic mission will our army next be given? How about enforcing the payment of taxes? I think the army would be very useful for that purpose.

* “Repeal property taxes.”

Those three words are the extent of what Mr. Jennings wrote as the Tea Party goal on this subject. We already have no income taxes in Texas. Due to Republican mismanagement, Texas has a budget deficit of over $25 billion. Texas is nowhere near first in the quality of education we offer our children. How is “repeal property taxes” a serious idea in any respect?

* “ Reassert states rights under the 10th Amendment: Eliminate funding for EPA, education.”

It is worth noting that states rights is found in the Tea Party creed in the same place as is eliminating EPA and education funding. This is the states rights doctrine. It is about separating ourselves from the nation as a whole. Yet the air in Texas can be so bad that even the Republican State of Oklahoma has complained to the federal government. Being a bad neighbor can infringe on the rights of others. People in Houston know how bad the pollution was before stricter environmental regulations.

Do you think we should eliminate education funding? Kids who grow up in Texas are going to have to compete for jobs with kids from the rest of the nation and from around the world. Adherence to the lost cause of states rights will be cold comfort when you are breathing even more toxic air, and you are not educated well enough to get a job.

This radical Tea Party agenda is held by only a minority of Americans. But in mid-term elections with reduced turnout, a minority can easily carry the day. The same can be said for local elections that draw less attention than a Presidential election. The Tea Party is holding meetings and organizing.  Far-right ideas are held by some of the loudest voices in the 24 hour internet/cable news landscape.

It is the choice of every freedom loving American who values the future of our nation to either get involved in public affairs or, instead, to allow your life to be defined by others. Is the Tea Party/Republican Party plan outlined above what you want to see for  yourself, for your family, and for your nation?

From CNN:

In the wake of the Arizona shooting, the co-founders of the Congressional Mental Health Caucus want to make sure those who suffer from mental illnesses are able to receive the help they want or need.

Democratic Rep. Grace Napolitano of California and Republican Pennsylvania Rep. Tim Murphy, who founded the caucus in 2003, both acknowledged Sunday on CNN’s “State of the Union” that more education and action is needed to improve the response to mental illness in the United States.

Did you know that Martin Luther King was stabbed in 1958? He was stabbed by a woman who was suffering from paranoid schizophrenia.

From Stanford’s great MLK site:

On 20 September 1958, Izola Ware Curry, a forty-two year old mentally disturbed woman, stabbed Martin Luther King, Jr. while he signed copies of his book Stride Toward Freedom at Blumstein’s Department Store in Harlem, New York. Curry approached King with a seven-inch steel letter opener and drove the blade into the upper left side of his chest. King was rushed to Harlem Hospital where he underwent two-and-a-quarter hours of surgery to repair the wound. Doctors operating on the twenty-nine year old leader said, “Had Dr. King sneezed or coughed the weapon would have penetrated the aorta. . . . He was just a sneeze away from death” (Papers 4:499n).

Born in Adrian, Georgia, Curry moved to New York at the age of 20 to begin work as a cook and housekeeper. Shortly after her relocation, Curry developed paranoid delusions about the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP), Martin Luther King, Jr. and other civil rights leaders. After stabbing King, Curry was arrested at the scene and found carrying a loaded gun. When questioned by police at New York’s 28th precinct, she accused civil rights leaders of “boycotting” and “torturing” her as well as causing her to lose jobs and forcing her to change her religion (Curry, Statement to Howard Jones, 21 September 1958). Curry also suggested that dangerous connections were being forged between the civil rights movement and the Communist Party. After authorities informed her that she was being charged with felonious assault and possession of firearms, she reportedly replied, “I’m charging him [King] as well as he’s charging me…I’m charging him with being mixed up with the Communists” (“Dr. King’s Knifer,” 22 September 1962).

When King received word of his attacker’s mental state, he expressed his sympathy and issued a statement upon returning home to Montgomery, Alabama: “I am deeply sorry that a deranged woman should have injured herself in seeking to injure me. I can say, in all sincerity, that I bear no bitterness toward her and I have felt no resentment from the sad moment that the experience occurred. I know that we want her to receive the necessary treatment so that she may become a constructive citizen in an integrated society where a disorganized personality need not become a menace to any man” (Papers 4:513).

Following the stabbing, Curry was placed in Bellevue Hospital for observation and was found not competent to stand trial. On 20 October she was diagnosed as a paranoid schizophrenic and committed to Matteawan State Hospital for the criminally insane.

So, the Senate finally voted to end this discriminatory policy. This is a great thing. Now, the military will have to adjust. The military will adjust because they are great soldiers who answer to the people.

From HuffPo:

The Senate voted 65-31 on Saturday to end Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell, defeating a 17-year policy of banning gay and lesbian service members from serving openly in the military. Six Republicans initially crossed the aisle to vote against the policy: Susan Collins (R-Maine), Lisa Murkowski (R-Alaska), Mark Kirk (R-Ill.), Scott Brown (R-Mass.), Olympia Snowe (R-Maine) and George Voinovich (R-Ohio).

The Senate vote is a vindication of Obama’s decision to push for congressional repeal as opposed to unilateral executive action, though activists note he could have done both. The Senate will make a final vote on ending the policy at 3 p.m.

In the first procedural vote on Saturday morning, 63 senators voted in favor of the bill and 33 against. In the final passage, Sens. John Ensign (R-Nev.) and Richard Burr (R-N.C.) switched their voted to “aye,” despite initially voting against moving forward with the bill.

“The important thing today is that 63 senators were on the right side of history,” Joe Solmonese, president of the Human Rights Campaign, told HuffPost after the first vote, adding he sees the bill as a “stepping stone to further advances for the gay and lesbian community.”