Monday, Monday

"Rent-a-mobs"?

I have been sitting this morning reading various reports on Palin's appearance at a tea party rally in Madison this past Saturday. You've most likely read some as well. Perhaps I've read some you have not, so I'll post a few links here for you to peruse.

One comment of Palin's that grabbed me was the rent-a-mob comment. Seriously? "Death threats" was another. I must say once again that Andy and I have been in the streets for a large number of protest rallies. To our knowledge and awareness there has never been a rental mob of people in the crowds. There were tea party folks standing on a corner one Saturday with signs calling union members liars and cheats. When asked why they had that on their signs they parroted the conservative party line about union people raking in tons of money and stealing from private workers. Just the same thing you hear over and over.

This has become so polarized. Still I have a difficult time not pointing one finger in Walker's direction (and all the other govs who attended the Rancho Mirage confab put on by the Koch Boys to solidify the agenda for the elections) and drawing some conclusions that the assault on workers, unionized workers, is a well-planned, direct hit on We The People. I know, Palin used that term to describe the tea party. Hey, it's a free country, or at least we'd like to continue believing it is. But We The People are not the money folks, not the Koch relatives, not the corporate CEOs and not the wanna bes.

Seems the tensions rose this past Saturday at the edges of the crowd where the intersection of tea party and union met. This is a tough time for The People. Important, too. Critical as well. We must sift through all the rhetoric and arrive at our own considered stand. Are we for the Common Person, ourselves, or are we willing to cast our lot with the money and hope we get some of the crumbs? Are we ready to support the Creighton's and the poor in order to bring all The People along, as my son's grade school teacher used to say, providing health care and support or are we okay leaving some of us behind? Truly bring them along and not actually leave them behind? Because Palin's speech, no matter how stirring her words were to the folks who turned out to hear her, was essentially written by money. We should know that - drilling in Alaska, working to deep six bills supporting green infrastructure and future design, and, yes, dismantling of unions.

I gained some lift by listening to Bill McKibben this morning as well. He was a speaker at 350.org's recent Power Shift 2011 conference. You might also like to hear Bill fire up the crowd. Though Bill is not speaking directly to the fight for unions, he is most assuredly speaking about The Common People the world over.

http://action.350.org/content_item/powershift-speech

Snow has covered the ground here overnight. It's cold and windy. It's a good day to contemplate what it is that we really believe in and can truly support. Good day to take stock.

http://www.politicususa.com/en/booing-koch-puppet-palin-wisconsin

http://www.philly.com/philly/wires/ap/news/nation_world/20110417_ap_palinwisgovdoingtherightthingwithunions.html

http://ezkool.com/2011/04/the-wheel-fell-off-the-sarah-palin-bus-in-madison-wisconsin/

There's a few to read. I think today I'm going to take my own suggestion and contemplate my ideas about We The People again, how I stand in peaceful protest, the whole polarized situation and what might be the best way of responding in this time. I'll let you know what bubbles up.

Power To All The Common People!

p.s. Have you seen Fair Game, Naomi Watts' recent movie? If you want to see the story of Valerie Plame and what happened during the Bush administration's shady dealings with regards to the non-existent WMDs and the outing of Plame and the things that resulted from that including the lies to We The People, check it out. Might be a helpful antidote to listening to Sarah Palin.

p.p.s. Just had to drop this in for you. Andy sent me this while I was writing. "Frank Bailey, a former Palin aide, is releasing a book, Blind Allegiance to Sarah Palin, a "chilling tell" all book for release May 24, 2011." Hmmmm, me thinks all is not Princess Perfect in Palin Land - but didn't we know that already?

This just in.......

From One Wisconsin Now, Scot Ross reports he just returned from the Palin side show in the Mad City. He is irate. Read what he has to say -

"I can still hear her words clanging in my ears. Sarah Palin said Gov. Walker and the Senate and Assembly Republicans showed “courage.” “Courage”? Hurting Wisconsin’s seniors, students and working families to pay off Wall Street and corporate America with our tax dollars is as far from courage as Madison is from Palin’s Alaska. The agenda of Randy Hopper, Dan Kapanke, Alberta Darling, Scott Walker and the rest of them doesn’t show “courage,” it is the definition of cowardice. It is the people of Wisconsin who will show our collective “courage” in standing up to these corporate Koch fiends."

It's pretty clear there is a struggle ahead and that the past couple months weren't simply a hiccup. There will be more to come on the Palin/tea party rally today.

Protest is Good for You

I wanted to pass along some items that have arrived in my inbox the last few days. Nothing new but interesting reading on the actions and reactions to things in Wisconsin as the recall efforts go forward.

This from Credo Action:
Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin speaking about the irregularities in the recent election between David Prosser and JoAnne Kloppenburg said in a letter sent to U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder on April 8th:

"To ensure that the April 5th election for Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice is free, fair, and transparent, and to uphold faith in our democracy for ourselves and future generations, I ask for your immediate assistance in investigating these election inconsistencies in Wisconsin.

"Specifically, I urge you to immediately assign the Justice Department Public Integrity Section, which oversees the federal prosecution of election crimes, to investigate the questionable handling of vote records in Waukesha County, Wisconsin."

Justice Prosser's campaign has denounced calls for a federal investigation as "unnecessary," and has called on Kloppenburg to concede the election and reject a recount. Far too many questions remain unanswered for Wisconsin voters to have confidence in these election results.

Now hang on to your hats 'cause here comes a wild one:

An aide to Sarah Palin confirmed via Twitter on Thursday that the former Alaska governor and possible White House contender will attend a tea party tax-day rally on Saturday in Madison, Wis.--where the scent of protest is still fresh after a multi-month tug-of war-between Republican Gov. Scott Walker and the pro-union groups targeted by his budget.

Palin in Wisconsin? Will there be a demonstration? Well, you betcha! More on that later. Here's some additional comments from Mike Tate, Wisconsin Dem chair:

Mike Tate, chairman of the Wisconsin Democratic Party, said in a statement that it “makes sense that [Palin] would come to Wisconsin to celebrate Scott Walker’s war against its working families.” Tate also called attention to the eight GOP state senators facing recall in the current phase of battle in Wisconsin, asking if they will “stand with Sarah Palin as she lavishes praise over the Scott Walker union-busting, anti-family agenda.”

And guess what else? Ms. Palin's rally was sponsored in part by Americans For Prosperity - yup, the same group founded by the Koch Boys! Not a surprise is it?

The Common People stood up to be counted and heard in Neenah. This is what happened there: (I apologize for not being able to embed the links cleverly in my copy)

http://www.thenorthwestern.com/article/20110414/OSH0101/304140124/Story-photos-Emotions-flare-over-budget-Neenah-Joint-Finance-Committee-hearing?odyssey=nav%257Chead

"The ones who normally show up at these hearings are the ones who are opposed." ?? Um, yes. And the point of that is what exactly republican Rep. Robin Vos?

Still the heat has been a bit much for our beleaguered governor. He slipped quietly out the back to Florida for some downtime. Actually the trip wasn't about rest as much as it was to drum up support for a new effort, FrontlineWisconsin.com, that seeks to defend eight Wisconsin GOP senators from a massive recall campaign that now is under way. We need to keep the pressure on these recalls and speak with friends about those efforts. Let's not allow the money guys to pull another rabbit out of their hats. If you have a chance to view The Ed Show, take a peek at the challenge Dennie Kucinich put to Walker in D.C. Go Dennis!

On a very happy and positive note Russ Feingold was honored in D.C. to receive an award for his dedication to the progressive cause. You can read his remarks, very strong ones, at

http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/119817439.html

What's happening on the streets these days? What are The People doing? I found these calendar dates.

Tea Party Counter Rally - April 16th 11 am
Visibility Rally - April 16 noon
Run, Democrats, Run - April 16 - 1 pm
Visibility Rally - April 17th 11 am & 2 pm
Solidarity Sing-Along - Monday April 18th - noon in the Capitol
Solidarity Walk - April 18th Verona 5 pm

If you want to check out more opportunities to be involved go to scottwalkerwatch.com and click on Check for Defend Wisconsin's ongoing statewide calendar of events on the right hand side of the screen.

I had lunch with a friend today. We shared our concern over what the tea party/right ring repubs/ultra conservative folks are thinking these days. Makes our heads swim! Cut here, rip there, shred over here. It waters your eyes and makes me kind of sick to my stomach. The only thing for it, as I see it, is to work like hell. And protest. I found this little tidbit in a date book from a couple years ago. You might like it as well.

Protest is Good for You
Protest is not complaining, nor is it sending out negative messages. Pro means "for" in favor of. Test means "to speak" as in testify and testimony. So, protest means "to speak for". Protest is a completely positive endeavor. The media likes to portray peace, environment, and human and animal rights protesters as a fringe element of whining malcontents teetering on the margins of proper society. The truth is that those who step forward to speak their mind are happier and healthier folks than most.

I love it!

Power To All The People!