Did Romney Blago the VP Seat To Koch Bros. For $100M?

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>>> Suggest a Caption <<<

Certainly not from the most reliable source, but I've learned long ago that the truth is always sharper than the axe.

National Memo Excerpt:
According to Stone, the billionaire Koch brothers purchased the Republican vice presidential nomination for Ryan from Romney in late July by promising to fork over an additional $100 million toward “independent expenditure” campaigning for the GOP ticket.

Any such transaction would represent a serious violation of federal election laws and perhaps other statutes, aside from the ethical and character implications for all concerned. Although Stone is not the most reputable figure, to put it mildly, he has been a Republican insider, with access to the party’s top figures, over four decades. His credentials date back to Nixon’s Committee to Reelect The President and continue through the Reagan White House, the hard-fought Bush campaigns, and the Florida fiasco in 2000, when he masterminded the “Brooks Brothers riot” that shut down the Bush-Gore recount in Miami-Dade. Peruse his site and you’ll see his greatest hits and the attention he has drawn from major publications. more>>>

In fact, I'd say the chances that Romney sold the seat are so great, they practically needed a cock-eyed story like this to pre-empt any ideas that it is even remotely true.

Janesville Gazette Admits Cover-Ups Are A Courtesy In Exchange For Access

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The Janesville Gazette issued their expected editorial defense for the local economic development group, Rock County 5.0, on Sunday. Titled, "Focus of Rock County 5.0 remains unchanged," the Gazette pretends like nothing happened but openly admits they would have preferred the film maker, Brad Lichtenstein, cover-up the conversation between Gov. Scott Walker and Rock County 5.0 officials Hendricks and Willmer - just like they apparently always do, and the Gazette went so far as claiming that Lichtenstein owed the RC5 that service because they granted him access to the meeting ...just like they do.

JG Editorial Excerpt: A stronger case of betrayal can be made against Lichtenstein for his treatment of some of the people who gave him almost-unrestricted access to their efforts and meetings. Those would include Diane Hendricks, Mary Willmer and the other members of the Rock County 5.0.

[...]Regardless, the release of the now-infamous clip with Gov. Scott Walker's "divide and conquer" statement about unions smelled of a "gotcha" moment intended to promote the film and advance a political agenda. The inevitable negative effects on Hendricks, Willmer and Rock County 5.0 obviously didn't enter into Lichenstein's decision.

It was Lichtenstein who betrayed? This is almost laughable. Wait! It is laughable. Remember that Scott Walker, Hendricks and Willmer gave permission to be taped and acknowledged it's ok that the tape won't be released for over a year. Plus, Walker, Hendricks and Willmer were reading from their own script, not Lichtenstein's.

So, instead of saying how proud they are of Brad Lichtenstein to have the gumption to produce a documentary that by chance exposed the duplicity of an economic development group and some of their members, they attack him. Truth is, I would not have expected anything different from this newspaper. But the admission they consider it a betrayal to not sweep pertinent information under the rug in exchange for access is something new, the admission that is, and you can bet this type of "protection" is leveraged.

Scary stuff from a small town daily newspaper.

Note: This Janesville Gazette editorial is not available on the Web as of this posting.

Epic Fail: Rock County 5.0 and Allies Betray Themselves and Community

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Much has been made so far, rightfully I must add, of Scott Walker's outrageous discussion with Rock County 5.0 officials about using a strategy of "divide and conquer" on a constituency in the state of Wisconsin. There's still more to come in the following weeks, but there's also an equally disturbing local story unfolding that seems to be getting a free pass here in Rock County. We must keep in mind however, that local truth and justice is at the mercy of the Janesville Gazette media monopoly.

Rock County 5.0 Co-chair Hendricks greets Walker: "Any chance we'll ever get to be a completely red state and work on these unions and become a right-to-work?" Hendricks continued. "What can we do to help you?"

"Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill," Walker said. "The first step is we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer."

Bingo is his namo.

After wishing to turn Wisconsin into a "completely red state," the co-chair of the economic group Rock County 5.0 does not say what can "I" do to help. It's what can "we" do to help. Remember, Scott Walker was not holding a personal conversation with Diane Hendricks of ABC Supply or Mary Willmer-Sheedy of M&I Bank. Hendricks and Willmer were acting and speaking in their official capacity as co-chairs of the Rock County 5.0 economic development group with cameras rolling. That's why this meeting was held in the first place.

So why is that important and what's so special about the Rock County 5.0 group? Nothing good actually, in fact I've been one of few local voices warning that the groups Rock County 5.0 and Forward Janesville are not the helping hand community organizers that they project to be. They are mainly politically driven self-interest groups whose core leadership is comprised of hyper-partisan right-wing engineers. We're in Atlas Shrugged territory here with a smattering of old world Republican pseudo-conservatives. Do they have a few members who are sincere with the community and true to themselves? Sure they do. But the group's 'community' image is highly over-rated and mostly staged through their enabler the Janesville Gazette, the Janesville Messenger and radio affiliates, and that includes much of what people will eventually see of them presented in the documentary, As Goes Janesville, no fault of the film maker.

But what should be extremely important within the context of Walker's "divide and conquer" conversation with the RC5 is the following overview statement from the group's Website. It reads...

Overview Excerpt:
Rock County 5.0 is a five-year public/private initiative to advance Rock County’s economic development vision through a single voice. This vision, which has been developed through various interrelated local and/or countywide plans, represents a holistic approach to repositioning and revitalizing our economy. By working together as one community, we have the ability to leverage ideas and resources.

Rock County 5.0 will foster a culture of collaboration, open/maintain functional communication channels and create connections - among and between various constituency groups - in unprecedented ways.

So when the sitting governor of the state advances a "divide and conquer" strategy for economic development to the co-chairs of a "culture of collaboration" group, did they reject that negative language by saying something like, "in all due respect Mister Governor, we wish to advance our vision by communicating and collaborating unity between the various constituency groups. We cannot support your strategy." No, not at all. Instead, the one voice, one vision of the Rock County 5.0 nods in agreement and then in the following year donates a half million dollars to the deceitful man and his sinister plan.

Where's the outrage? Where's the condemnation?

In the first two days, the RC5 enabler Janesville Gazette constructed their own hit piece to marginalize Brad Lichtenstein, the documentary film maker who captured a piece of business as usual between Walker and RC5 officials and dared to publish it. The newspaper sees this stuff all the time locally and works hard at keeping it properly reframed, filtered, presented, or omitted - properly gazetted. Because Lichtenstein apparently did not gazette this unflattering segment, they go after his $100 donation to the Barrett campaign back in 2010 to prove his nose is crooked. Without posing questions in the story, they write up (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel contributed to the Gazette story) the film maker's comments in a grilling fashion and frame him defending the recording and release timing of the video. See, Lichtenstein is in denial. Seriously, that's how they see it. Just pay no mind to the conversation or content of the video or the hundreds of thousands donated to Scott Walker from members of the RC5 - because they're our local non-partisan economic development community group!

The Gazette also headlined a "Sides spin union remark" story to further impeach the issue as typical partisan banter and deflect away from the local Rock County 5.0 betrayal. So these folks have no shame at all. They go into defense by playing even more offense.

The Gazette also worked some damage control into the Lichtenstein article to help shield one of their own, Mary Willmer, from some of the heat created by this firestorm.

JG Excerpt:
Willmer was asked for comment today, and BMO Harris Bank, which owns M&I, responded with an email that stated Willmer was not involved in the Walker-Hendricks conversation.

“Any interpretation that Mary Willmer was involved in the conversation or endorses the content of the conversation or reflected the views of BMO Harris Bank is simply inaccurate,” according to the statement.

Although MBO Harris/M & I is a supporter of the RC5, the banks were not participating in the conversation with Walker. Willmer was not at the RC5 meeting with Walker on behalf of BMO Harris Bank. She was there acting as co-chair of the Rock County 5.0, so injecting that defense becomes an irrelevant deflection. Yet BMO Harris/M & I Bank are not entirely innocent bystanders in this matter because they continue to financially support the Rock County 5.0.

Willmer too, in the role of co-chair of the RC5 has attempted to distance herself from the conversation, but has not condemned Walker's strategy or Hendricks uber-partisan "red state" remark and neither has any cash donors or supporting allies of the group stepped forward to declare Gov. Scott Walker incompatible with their vision and core strategy.

The following is a list of Rock County 5.0's major donors and sponsoring allies. Please call or write a letter asking them to publicly condemn Gov. Scott Walker's "divide and conquer" strategy and to withdraw their support from the Rock County 5.0 group. Or explain how does Walker's polarizing and destructive strategy harmonize with the RC5's stated "culture of collaboration" and constituency goodwill? The fact is, it doesn't. They already have over a year of support under their belt for Walker, so be respectful but confident knowing that you are on the right side of history.

Investors: $50,000+
ABC Supply * Alliant Energy * The Beloit Foundation * Blackhawk Community Credit Union * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * Data Dimensions * GOEX * Hendricks Holding Company * Janesville Foundation * JP Cullen and Sons * Kerry * Prent Thermoforming * Beloit Regal

Investors: $25,000 to $49,000
Blackhawk Bank * First National Bank and Trust * Kaiser Companies * Rock Roads Companies * Stateline Community Foundation

Investors Up To $25,000
Baker Tilly * Brennan and Steil * Agrace HospiceCare * HUFCOR * Johnson Bank * Johnson Insurance * L.A. Duesterback and Associates * Murphy Desmond Lawyers * Nowlan and Mouat * RSM McGladrey * SSI Technologies * Westphal and Company

Investors: In-kind
Angus Young * BDN Connection (Beloit Daily News) * Blain’s Farm and Fleet * The Janesville Gazette * LAMAR * Terry Print Solutions

Source

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RELATED STORIES:

Phony Forward Janesville All About Partisan Politics

Local Political Business Group Suffering Identity Crisis

Forward Janesville Out Only For themselves

Economic Development Group Sees No Value In Economic Development Center

Local Alliance Needs Some Sunlight

Gazette a Government Watchdog? Not Even Close

Area Legislators With Ties To ALEC

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SourceWatch:
ALEC is not a lobby; it is not a front group. It is much more powerful than that. Through ALEC, behind closed doors, corporations hand state legislators the changes to the law they desire that directly benefit their bottom line. Along with legislators, corporations have membership in ALEC. Corporations sit on all nine ALEC task forces and vote with legislators to approve “model” bills. more>>>

Assembly

Rep. Stephen Nass (R-31), Education Task Force Member

Rep. Tyler August (R-32), ALEC International Relations Task Force/Federal Relations Working Group Task Force Member

Rep. Evan Wynn (R-43), ALEC Education Task Force Alternate

Rep. Joseph Knilans (R-44), ALEC Tax and Fiscal Policy Task Force Alternate

Rep. Amy Loudenbeck (R-45), ALEC Commerce, Insurance and Economic Development Task Force Alternate

Senate

Sen. Glenn Grothman (R-20), ALEC Education Task Force Member, International Relations Task Force Member

Area Legislators Paying ALEC Membership Fees with Tax Dollars

Neal Kedzie (R-Neenah): $100 – 1/1/2007

Ethics Complaint Filed Against Local Republicans

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The Center for Media and Democracy Filed a Complaint Asking Wisconsin Ethics Board to Examine Corporate-Funded Gifts to ALEC Legislators.

PRWatch Excerpt:
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) filed a complaint today with the Government Accountability Board (GAB) based on newly discovered documents revealing that numerous Wisconsin legislators have received corporate-funded gifts through their connections to the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC). Although ALEC describes itself as the largest membership group for legislators, over 98% of its $7 million budget is from corporations and sources other than legislative dues. Documents obtained via Wisconsin open records law and other sources show that ALEC corporations are funding lawmakers' out-of-state travel expenses to posh resorts for ALEC meetings with corporate lobbyists, in addition to gifts of entertainment and exclusive parties.

Among those listed in the complaint are Rock County local Reps. Amy Loudenbeck, Evan Wynn and Joe Knilans and nearby district Reps. Stephen Nass, Glen Grothmann, Neal Kedzie and Tyler August.

Additional:

Bice: Federal Authorities Scrutinize Wisconsin Koch-Cain Nexus

Area Republicans Among Those Who Pledged To Secrecy

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Contrary to one report claiming all but one area republican signed a pledge of secrecy during the redistricting process...they all did.

Wisconsin State Journal Excerpt:
"What could have — indeed should have — been accomplished publicly instead took place in private, in an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny," read the order, written by U.S. District Judge J.P. Stadtmueller.

The following area legislators signed the nondisclosure documents a federal judicial panel characterized as a "poorly disguised" attempt to "cloak the private machinations of Wisconsin’s Republican legislators in the shroud of attorney-client privilege."

They are...

ROCK COUNTY - Rep. Amy Loudenbeck - Clinton, Rep. Joe Knilans - Janesville, Rep. Evan Wynn - Whitewater.

WALWORTH COUNTY - Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn, Tyler August - Lake Geneva and Rep. Steve Nass - Whitewater.

Almost all republican senators signed the confidentiality agreements. Ironically, Scott Fitzgerald was one of the few who did not do so. He said no one had ever asked him to sign it. The only other Republican senator who did not sign was Dan Kapanke of La Crosse, who lost a recall election in August.

In all, 75 Republicans signed the agreements.

Voces De La Frontera - Voces De La Frontera attorneys discover violations of Open Meetings Law

Copies of the complaint, maps and signed confidentiality documents can be found here. (This is a large PDF file) Does not contain hidden emails. Check out their signatures for some amusement.

Here's a well written summary of Walker's State of Disgrace.

Beloit Daily News - Local legislators who signed secret agreements named

Epic Fail: Janesville City Government Enters The Abyss

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At Monday night's Janesville City Council meeting, council members approved in a 4 to 1 decision to use their governmental power and tax revenue collectivism to leverage an advantage for a single private-for-profit business, SHINE Medical Technologies, with over 80 acres of free land, free capital and a taxpayer backed loan guarantee valued at $4 million. This is an outrage! The $9 million "incentive" package pledged to this single small business venture is almost one-quarter of the city's annual operating budget. By comparison, this deal was greater than the TARP bail-out was in proportion with the annual federal budget.

But first and foremost, this is about elected officials using government power and collectivism to leverage an advantage for a single private-for-profit special interest. That cannot be overstated.

Secondly, Janesville officials follow a notoriously backward status quo growth model that promotes the plowing under of our surrounding "Napa Valley." Rock County is home to some the deepest and most fertile topsoils on Earth, but no one would ever know it around here judging by the low value, priority and low esteem many area officials and residents show for the land. They view the level well-drained glacial-driven six-foot thick topsoil as the perfect substrate to lay curb, gutter and asphalt.

Make no mistake, local governments, mayors, city managers and councils all over the state and country are grappling with wrong-headed anti-competitive anti-market "incentive" packages and economic development guidelines written by corporate lobbyists and legalized in statehouses to lure existing businesses and start-ups away from one community to another.

These policies deliberately place a false onus on local officials for job creation and economic growth when in truth, there was absolutely nothing, city ordinances or other laws, stopping SHINE from starting up their business in Janesville on their own free will like other businesses have. In the end, these deals have a zero sum effect on the state economy while accomplishing their one true goal very effectively - redistributing wealth upward through elaborate capital shifting tax credits.

The other truth is, many of these business entrepreneurs have either strong investor backing or are wealthy venture capitalists themselves who comb state maps for Qualified New Business Venture Credits and Enterprise Zone Credits and mark economically distressed communities with pliable special interest controlled leadership like Janesville as an opportunity to exploit even further through intricately woven TIF District agreements and other financing derivatives. Economic tools offering access to government and tax treasury have become counter-productive and do little more than expand an entitlement mentality for the well-connected and other freeloading opportunists.

As a political blogger on my own soapbox, I have spoken out against tax credits for jobs, even roasting Sen. Russ Feingold for proposing them, and criticized the Janeville City Council when they endorsed the sprawl expansion pro-tax legislative agenda of the local WMC satellite, Forward Janesville. These closed loop trickle-down policies including TIF District modifications have successfully shifted taxes for the benefit of their membership while leaving the average taxpaying wage earner footing the bill. It's easy to spend someone else's money. Let me be clear. I ain't no tea party.

Lastly, at a time when I thought the public’s awareness of a captured government working deals to advantage private special interests was at it’s highest, I never thought this “incentive” package deal in Janesville would have ever gotten this far, but I was dead wrong. I never thought four members of our city council, in Fitzwalkerstan style, would ram through one of the most absurd and abusive uses of local government and collective revenue power I have ever thought possible on this scale. Regardless of your politics, Janesville and/or Rock County does not have a grassroots voting bloc actively working on local issues at all and it's beginning to take it's toll on our quality of life and trust in government. We are headed into the abyss.

George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Martin Luther King,
Robert La Follette, John Maynard Keynes, Milton Friedman, Gaylord Nelson and Ronald Reagan must be all turning over in their graves after this one.

Full Disclosure Only Required When Participating In Democracy

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For some reason, I found these three unrelated articles - related.

#1. The process to draw political district maps was kept secret and public comments were to be ignored, GOP memo shows.

#2. Republican proposes legislation to eliminate full disclosure for political campaign donors based on unfounded concerns for safety.

#3. Signatures on petitions are subject to public scrutiny because ...any concerns regarding personal safety and privacy may not have been considered when signing.

Personal safety won't be taken into consideration for public disclosure when signing petitions, unless of course it concerns the safety of campaign contributors? So, not only are we dealing with the spectre of a bought politician, the contribution also bought some protection from full public disclosure.

MacIver - Grothman Calls for Ending Campaign Contributors Disclose Their Employers

JS Online - Lawmakers were made to pledge secrecy over redistricting

GAB - Personal safety not an issue when participating in the public process

Walker "the cathouse pianist"

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Star Tribune Excerpt:
Wisconsin Democratic Party spokesman Graeme Zielinski said Friday that it is unbelievable for Walker to say he didn't know about the illegal campaign activity going on in the county executive's office as alleged in the complaints.

"Clearly Scott Walker would have you believe that he's the cathouse pianist who doesn't know what's going on upstairs," Zielinski said on a conference call.

Perhaps it's time to start wondering who the Republicans will pick to run for their candidate in the recall election.

Too Much Computer Leads To Bad Computer

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Too much government inherently leads to bad government because there’s more of it to exploit and corrupt, according to Paul Ryan.

I've heard Ryan's big bad government speech several times before. It's the same old story and projections about how government naturally corrupts because crony capitalists always gravitate to where power is concentrated, etc., etc. But Ryan doesn’t see the obvious paradox, that by shrinking government for no other reason than to make it smaller, he would concentrate power in even fewer hands. We’re seeing this on a local scale in Wisconsin with county boards being whittled down from 30 supervisors to 7, 9 or 11. Fewer supervisors to influence makes it easier for those who naturally gravitate to power, but it also means more duties and more power in fewer hands.

I get a better understanding of his delinquent logic through my computer analogy. If Paul Ryan had a powerful 1000 trigabyte computer that became unstable after it was infected by a nasty virus, he'd scrap the entire computer and replace it with a much smaller one because there would be fewer trigabytes and registry keys to exploit and corrupt next time the system got infected, rather than legislate a remedy to remove and destroy the infection in order to restore the efficient 1000 trigabyte system. So, according to Paul Ryan and Tea Party ideologues - It's the size of government, not the alien corruption wreaking havoc inside that's the destabilizing problem.

That's a scary concept.

Watch Paul Ryan in his own words talk about the size of government and then make untrue and presumptuously skewed statements toward Barney Frank about the function of military. After being dismantled by Frank and Reich, Ryan then scrambles for the class war strawman saying how dangerous it is to talk about class division. He clearly does not play well with others:

"I never heard a poor person complain that it was dangerous to talk about economic equality" -- Rep. Barney Frank

Also, more pespective and videos on this story over the size of government at the Democurmudgeon.

After Looting Communities, Walker Gives Away $4 Million Just for Asking

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Wisbusiness Excerpt:
Governor Scott Walker announced today that Spectrum Brands Holdings has received a $4,000,000 award from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to maintain jobs at its corporate headquarters in the Madison area and make capital investments at its Wisconsin operations.

That's not quite exactly the real story here, at least not according to new media investigative sources.

The story about Spectrum Brands winning a $4 million dollar hand-out seems to revolve around the idea that Spectrum was gearing up to make about $40 million worth of capital investments in its Wisconsin operations and hire up to 60 persons to fill key positions at their Madison headquarters, all on their own. Which means that Scott Walker was either first left out of the "economic expansion" publicity loop, but was able to buy his way into "saving" jobs after the fact for a cool $4 million dollars OR handed out the money simply for the asking.

Blue Cheddar Excerpt:
When asked by a local radio reporter if the company had planned to leave, a Spectrum spokesman answered “No, not really.” They got the money because they asked for it. Jobs were not threatened. They were paid for promising to do what they had already planned to do. The WEDC press release gives details of the “award”: “This award has been provided to preserve jobs at Spectrum Brands headquarters as part of the company’s investment in its operations,” according to Paul Jadin, CEO of the WEDC. The terms of the award require Spectrum Brands to maintain up to 470 existing full-time [...]

At this point, that there are "conditions" to the forgivable loan award is irrelevant if not somewhat comical. But I don't blame Spectrum Brands at all for jumping at ridiculously easy money. This is the dawn of new era of reverse robin hood taxpayer funded ransom package entitlements where only the wealthiest "job creators" can qualify.

Audio: Sly Radio Show Excerpt



Sly in the Morning - Full Radio Show Audio

Democurmudgeon - Walker gives away $4 million for the heck of it

Blue Cheddar - 4 million? For what??

Don't Let Republicans Tilt The Poll Workers

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I have to hand to Wisconsin Republicans, they've thought of just about everything under the Sun to rig the game and appear fully geared to neutralize Democratic majorities by diluting districts to steal elections from majority rule. Now, Republicans want to resurrect a little used state law that allows political parties to choose the poll workers. That's right.

WKOW Excerpt:
That law dates back to the 1970s, but Andrusz told 27 News she has never received a list from either political party since she started at the clerk's office ten years ago.

When we asked the Republican Party of Wisconsin why its choosing to submit names at this time, Spokesperson Nicole Larson responded in an emailed statement.

"In regard to the poll watchers, the Republican Party of Wisconsin is committed to a fair election process and we are in complete compliance with Government Accountability Board rules," the statement read.

Under those rules, if Republicans and Democrats both supplied names to a local municipality, election officials there would have to make sure the party which received the largest number of votes in the last presidential or gubernatorial election is entitled to one more inspector than the other party.

If the Democrats didn't supply a list of their own, the remaining workers would be appointed by local election officials.

That would be a mistake. Imagine having an army of trained Kathy Nickolauses, J.B. Van Hollens and David Prossers "poll workers" overseeing official polling places during the Recall Election. That would be the ultimate mockery of democracy in Wisconsin. Volunteers collecting signatures for the recall petitions deserve the assurance that their hard work was not in vain. I would prefer non-party officials at the polling places, but Democrats will have no recourse but to match them if the Republican party follows through on this outrageous plan.

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Walker Ad Reality Checked

Palin Rips Millionaires In Congress For a Life Of Entrenched Corruption

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Mail Online News Excerpt:
Nearly half of Congress are millionaires - a status shared by only one per cent of Americans. According to a new study, at least 249 out of Congress’ 535 members are millionaires.

The analysis — released by the Center for Responsive Politics — is based on the average value of each lawmaker’s assets and liabilities, which members are required by law to report every year.

Granted, some members of Congress were born with a silver spoon in their mouth. Others were millionaires in their own right before they were elected. But in a recent op-ed column in The Wall Street Journal, Sarah Palin took exception to those elected officials who arrived under modest means and now find themselves to be in the 1 percent. That is a select group.

NewsMax Excerpt:
“How do politicians who arrive in Washington, D.C. as men and women of modest means leave as millionaires?” Palin asks in her column. “How do they miraculously accumulate wealth at a rate faster than the rest of us? How do politicians’ stock portfolios outperform even the best hedge fund managers?”

Palin’s answer: “Politicians derive power from the authority of their office and their access to our tax dollars, and they use that power to enrich and shield themselves.”

Who pray tell would fit that description? Why none other than our very own Paul Ryan.

No question, when Paul Ryan arrived in Washington, D.C., he was considered a young man of modest means from a solid middle-class family from Janesville, Wisconsin. His earlier story at the time was that his mom was worried he would be a lifetime beach bum. Until age 18, he collected Social Security survivor's benefits, which he put away for college. Later, he started out working as a restaurant waiter and with insider connections, moved up to office staffer for politicians such as Sen. Sam Brownback before being elected in 1998. In 2004, Ryan pointed out that since entering Congress he has had no ties to a cousin's firm, Ryan Central Inc., a construction and earth-moving company headquartered in Janesville.

Yet according to the latest report on wealth in Congress from the Center For Responsive Politics, Paul Ryan is listed in the millionaires club with an average net worth of $2,068,050.

So how did Paul Ryan become a millionaire while collecting a government paycheck?

Well, at least Sarah Palin knows.

Center For Responsive Politics - Members of Congress Enjoy Robust Financial Status, Despite Nation's Sluggish Economic Recovery

Download the full list of disclosed wealth on all current members of Congress here.

Lobbying and Campaign Donations Pay Off Big For The One percent

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Meet the 0.01 Percent: War Profiteers



Rob from the poor, Give to the Rich

Care 2 Excerpt:
The list of tax avoiders and subsidy recipients includes a lot of familiar names, such as Boeing, Yahoo, Yum Brands, Marathon Oil, FedEx, Hewlett Packard, American Express, and Time Warner. Corporations point out they are doing nothing illegal paring their taxes to nothing and receiving rebates. They are merely abiding by tax laws. However, as the report points out, “The laws were not enacted in a vacuum; they were adopted in response to relentless corporate lobbying, threats and campaign support.”

Halliburton CEO
- $29.4 million compensation. Halliburton enjoyed a NEGATIVE tax rate of 5.3% during 2008 - 2010.

Hewlett-Packard CEO
- $34 million compensation. Hewlett-Packard received $2.7 billion in tax subsidies during 2008 - 2010.

Proctor & Gamble CEO - $25.6 million compensation. Proctor & Gamble collected $3.2 billion in tax subsidies during 2008 - 2010.

Citizens For Tax Justice - Corporate Taxpayers and Tax Dodgers (2008 - 2010 Full Report)

Two-Faced Ryan Still Scamming With Old Tricks

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Ryan’s newest scam involves eliminating tax breaks for employees who are enrolled in their employer’s group health care plans and give workers the tax credit to buy health insurance on an individual basis.

In my humble opinion, this really is nothing new from the two-faced congressman. Embedded in his "Roadmap for America's Future" were provisions offering employees a "choice" to eat a baited T-bone by giving them a tax credit to buy health insurance on an individual basis. This credit would be paid for in part by shifting healthcare tax breaks away from the employer to the worker. Of course this would likely encourage most companies to drop their employer-sponsored group plans. This self-cannibalizing slow-death baiting of American workers is a popular gimmick from Ryan's bag of old sucker tricks. What is new however, is that he's now trying to pawn it off as a replacement for Obama's health care reform package.

PoliticusUSA Excerpt:
According to Ryan, his plan will give consumers the needed incentive to demand more value from their healthcare. He said, “Giving patients and consumers control over health care resources would make all Americans less dependent on big business and big government for our health security; give us more control over the care we get; and force health care providers to compete for our business.”

Okay, we know that Ryan wants to end our employer sponsored health care. But what about his own employer sponsored health care from the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program? Although he boasts that his proposals offer insurance plans to individuals the very same standard health benefits Members of Congress enjoy, he doesn't address how Congress and Federal employees would fit under his individual privatization mandate or have the incentive to opt-out.

But to use Ryan's own words then, IF giving consumers Congress and Federal employees individual control over health care resources would make all of them less dependent on big government for their health security and give them more control over the care they get; and give them more incentive to demand more value from their health care - why hasn't Paul Ryan lead the way and opted out of his employer's group health plan?

Nothing was more telling than when Democrats proposed a simple House resolution requiring members of Congress to publicly disclose whether they will continue to participate in the Federal Employees Health Benefits Program. The entire Wisconsin Republican House delegation including Ryan voted "NO." Mind you, that wasn't a vote to opt-out of the Federal Employee Program, it was merely a request to publicly disclose their current status.

With that minor disclosure, they couldn't even muster the courage to stand with their own convictions.

Scammers.

Video: Champagne Sipping Spectators Become Face Of Wall Street Bourgeosie

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These hapless spectators gathering between capital pillars and gloating while sipping champagne high above the protesters have suddenly become a symbol of Wall Street's gluttony.



Politico: Masters of The Universe Readies Assault Against Warren

Another Walker Aide Resigns

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Governor Scott Walker's Chief of Staff, Keith Gilkes, resigned from his $112,000 salary to return to his one-man political consulting firm. Gilkes said the John Doe Investigation has nothing to do with it.

Democurmudgeon: Walker Gets Ready For Recall!

DailyKos: Scott Walker's Chief Of Staff resigns...

Politico: Scott Walker's top aide resigns amid probe rumors.

Video: Michael Moore Explains What Went Wrong

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Unrehearsed, Moore turns it on during an interview with Piers Morgan.

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Are Some Wisconsin Counties Software Electioneered?

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Is Wisconsin's election system really secure? Segway Jeremy Ryan seems to have uncovered a serious glitch in the system and raises some good questions.

Addicting Info Excerpt:
I watched the entire session and there it was: Kevin Kennedy says that the GAB does not have software developers and uses the DOA for that with elections code. But wait a second the famous election software that Kathy Nickolaus, the Waukesha County Clerk who had an incident of either gross negligence or election fraud that flipped the Supreme Court Race for David Prosser (the Republican), was written by the GAB as previously reported by the GAB, right? Guess the GAB was less than honest as Kevin clearly said, they have no developers on board so contract with the GAB.

In the statement left at the office, they asked for information on which counties had election software written by the DOA and who the people were writing the software. By watching the entire video you draw two conclusions. One, some counties use software from the vendor, others the DOA. And two, the software written for Kathy Nickolaus which was formerly thought to be written by GAB, was actually written by DOA.

“Mike Huebsch is the Secretary of the DOA. He is also former GOP leader and ALEC leader. It doesn’t take a PhD to see the conflict of interest in allowing any department run by such a highly partisan official anywhere near our election systems or software,” said Ryan, who is also Executive Director of Defending Wisconsin PAC.

State Republicans, famous for stealing local control under the guise of statewide uniformity, can't seem to get the state's election computers on the same page? Citizens of the State of Wisconsin deserve direct and honest answers to this inquiry.



More here.

Rep. Duffy Just Another Con-Man

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Titled,"House freshmen push bills that benefit big donors."

USA Today Excerpt:
•Rep. Sean Duffy, R-Wis., is the lead sponsor of legislation that recently passed the House that would curb the powers of a new Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. He has received nearly 40% of his political action committee donations this year from the financial services and insurance PACs. The bureau, which has broad authority to protect consumers from financial fraud, is backed by consumer advocates and opposed by banks.

Duffy spokesman Brandon Moody said his boss wants to rein in regulatory overreach and protect small banks "suffering under onerous rule-making requirements."

Here's the line that all Congressionals and their staff will memorize and parrot. Our own Congressman Paul Ryan has used this expertly in the past to squirm out of accusations of foul play.

So repeat after me...

"Campaign contributions play no role. People give to me because they support my ideas, my principles and my issues. They are not contributing to me because I'm doing what they ask."

Yeah, rrright.