I'm piecing this together, but with all but one precinct reporting, it's Kloppenburg by 201 votes.

Then there's the one outstanding precinct, which looks like "With the hand-counted ballots added in, Town of Lake Mills final count is: Prosser - 378, Kloppenburg - 376."

Looks like Kloppenburg by a nose....

JoAnne Kloppenburg issued this statement:

“We owe Justice Prosser our gratitude for his more than 30 years of public service,” Kloppenburg said. “Wisconsin voters have spoken and I am grateful for, and humbled by, their confidence and trust. I will be independent and impartial and I will decide cases based on the facts and the law. As I have traveled the State, people tell me they believe partisan politics do not belong in our Courts. I look forward to bringing new blood to the Supreme Court and focusing my energy on the important work Wisconsin residents elect Supreme Court justices to do.”

The Town of Lake Mills vote count will be certified tomorrow, Thursday.

The recount is expected to take a month.

The winner will take the oath of office on August 1.

State Legislator's Guide to Repealing Obamacare

This guide is intended for use in all 50 states. It might disappear, so you may want to save a copy of the PDF.

Further proof of how strong and divisive the fascists' influence is...while acknowledging where President Obama's loyalties lie...(hint) it's not with the American working class - not like Elizabeth Warren's do. She has the tireless head and the heart to beat these greedy bastards...and THAT is the reason she isn't being considered to head the Consumer Protection Agency, on the fear that she won't be confirmed. Let's stop legislating on guesses and preconfirmed notions. Read her bio. Hear her explain why we need a Consumer Protection Agency (in case you don't know, from your own personal experience). So she gets the lukewarm political endorsement of Barney Frank, BFD. She's worked long, hard and consistently on behalf of the American consumer. Will Barney Frank work that well and hard for her - and for YOUR financial interests as a consumer? Let's see...

Walker can now fill formerly civil service positions with political appointees to administer open records laws. I wonder how they'll do...

"Gov. Scott Walker will be able to name political appointees to fill three dozen civil-service jobs that handle open records requests from the public under the budget-repair law he signed last week.

The changes affecting 15 state agencies and offices are among the provisions of the law that drew less attention over the past month because of the epic fight over its provisions stripping public employee unions of most of their bargaining power."

More: http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics...

I listened to Mark Belling on the way to the Sheboygan rally yesterday. He really was trashing all the Capitol protesters as dirty, unemployed, hippies who were doing millions of dollars in damage to the Capitol.

Walker's supporters' increasing desperation is showing through, and so they are spreading misinformation.

They know that a Bloomsberg Business Week poll showed "...60 percent of adults surveyed oppose efforts to weaken public employee union members' rights to collectively negotiate the terms of their employment." While there's variation in the poll results, there's no doubt that Americans don't favor the unilateral dictatorial removal of collective bargaining rights.

Walker's supporters are so desperate that they will even lie about millions of dollars in damage to the Capitol building. This charge, propagated by Walker's Department of Administration, which Dane County court judge, John C. Albert, found to be false when he wrote in his ruling reopening the Capitol that based on his investigation, “no injuries or damage to personal or government property."

Those who have been to Madison for the protests know that they are conducted in an orderly way, that people are helpful, and that only painter's tape is used to prevent damage to the Capitol's walls.

That's only one example of the desperation of Walker's supporters.

After the owner of one local Sheboygan restaurant learned that the dinner reservation was for a political event, she canceled the reservation, saying that "want to be seen as taking sides in political debate at all."

The local tea party, the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, contrived the story to assert that "union thugs threatened Nino's, where SLC and AFP had planned on holding their event today. The owner received so many calls including threats to shut their business down, that she canceled our event."

The restaurant owner denied that. "I never got a call specifically at all from someone in a union saying they were going to shut me down," she said.

It's said that a picture is worth a thousand words, and this one sure is. The radio station, owned by Midwest Communications, airs Rush Limbaugh, Glenn Beck, and The Savage Nation, among others.

Walker's supporters aren't visible in this picture because the small overflow group (restaurant capacity is 275) was clustered around the building entrance.

The hundreds of collective bargaining supporters are the ones shown in the picture, yet the text of the picture implies that they are Walker supporters. Not so.

More misrepresentation showing their increasing desperation.

Walker's scheduled bus tour, created and financed by the Kochs, continues through Sunday, where it ends its state run in Madison.

Good video of protest today. Cold, blowing weather didn't keep this group home! Collective bargaining supporters outnumbered Walker supporters about 3:1! Good showing! Loud, we chanted "Hey, hey! Ho Ho! Walker has got to go!" "What's disgusting?? Union-busting!"

Walker supporters gradually became cowed, silent, unsure what to chant or to do.

A Sheboygan, WI restaurant canceled a reservation for Governor Walker's Americans for Prosperity Bus Tour Across Wisconsin after receiving phone calls about the rally. It had been billed as an ordinary dinner reservation, not as a political event.

The owner said "she didn’t want to be seen as taking a side in a political debate."

Local organizers, the Sheboygan Liberty Coalition, said "Activists will take pictures in front of the 'Stand Against Spending. Stand With Walker' bus and send photo postcards to their runaway legislators, urging them to put an end to Wisconsin’s out-of-control state spending and to stand with Walker on commonsense spending reforms."

No information is available on the rally's relocation.

UPDATED: The rally is relocated to: Seabird Restaurant at Blue Harbor Resort and Conference Center, 229 South Pier Drive, Sheboygan, WI, at 4:30 CST.

We’re starting to pull apart the pieces of Scott Walker’s 1500-page biennial state budget, in its horrifying callousness and fiscal illogic. Republican Senators added a dash of just plain malicious retribution to the situation.

Remember death panels, Sarah Palin’s imaginary bureaucratic scare tactic, that so riled the Republican base? That farce is about to become reality in Wisconsin.

Among the outrageous proposals in Governor Walker’s budget plan is $110 million cuts to the Family Care, a program which provides long-term care for people who are elderly or disabled. That budget cut will reduce payments for 2,000 patients with end-stage kidney disease. Scott Walker is making Palin’s propaganda a reality. One can only sadly muse at the lengths that presumed presidential contenders will go to show they are tough enough for the job.

Women’s reproductive health is also poised to take a hit as Walker seeks to eliminate a recently passed law requiring coverage for prescription birth control. Walker maintains that it is an “unacceptable government mandate on employers with moral objections to these services,” and that it “increases the cost of health insurance for all payers.” Nevermind that the “National Business Group on Health, an organization representing more than 160 large national and multi-national employers, estimates that failing to provide contraception coverage actually costs employers 15 to 17 percent more than providing it.”

As several Democratic legislators literally moved their desks outside to speak with their constituents who were denied entry into the Capitol building (despite a judge’s injunction against Walker's Capitol closure) Republican Senators, seeking to coax the Fab 14 back into the state, displayed their abysmal motivational techniques.

Previously, they had withheld paychecks from direct deposit demanding that the checks be picked up in person and denied Democratic staff copier access. As further inducements to return, Republican senators voted to impose $100 per day fines for their fellow legislators AWOL for 2 or more session days, depleted their expense accounts, and revoked the legislators' and staffs' parking privileges.

Whether balancing the budget on the backs of the terminally ill, impeding responsible reproductive health, or dictating terms to fellow elected officials, Republicans are showing they are both heartless and clueless.

I've just watched Lawrence O'Donnell on The Last Word replay an interview with Charlie Sheen. With all the events happening, why is Lawrence O'Donnell | MSNBC spending air-time on this?

Not to say that I don't wish Charlie well. I do.

But Lawrence has to up his game to replace KO.

No kidding.

It was another very good day yesterday, Tuesday, at the Wisconsin Capitol. The protests were well-organized, peaceful, and powerful. It was LOUD and CROWDED.

Catching the bus was a hassle because the bus driver said his orders were for earlier pickup than the AFSCME website's posted schedule. As I watched the bus breeze by in the opposite direction, I decided to try catching the bus from another pickup point about 40 miles west. I’m sure the bus breezed past that pickup point because the Park & Ride was unplowed, with no waiting riders (again, the driver was ahead of schedule, and didn't make his scheduled waiting layover at that stop. Later, on the return trip, some riders speculated that the bus driver was a subversive Republican).

Luckily, I met up with several other riders at that stop, and caught a ride to the Capitol with them. Then it was on to a day of protesting.

We started off marching around the Capitol building, then we entered, en masse to the first floor rotunda, where we were greeted with cheers, applause, and high-5’s. We continued on to the upper level galleries, where I stopped to watch other protesters below receive the same warm, raucous reception by the chanting, cheering crowd. The atmosphere was overwhelming. Strongly spirited and serious, but it was also carnival-like, with drummers, dancers and political costumes. Even Santa was there, proclaiming “Scotty has been naughty!”

Union flags and colorful signs with meaningful, succinct slogans (all that twittering paid off) draped the galleries: “Corporations Get Handouts, We Get Shutout” “FOX Says I’m Not Here!” “Don’t Stand Between A Badger And His Rights” “This Is A Republicans’ Wet Dream; Let’s Wake Them Up” and “Stewart/Colbert: We Came To Your Rally, Now You Come To Ours!” to mention only a few.

Then, the firefighters came in, most in their gear. They have been real leaders in this, and they received a rousing, royal welcome.

By about noon, I decided to munch lunch (kind Egyptians and other supporters had again sent pizza to sustain the protesters), and found a secluded 4th floor spot to sit. I nibbled while listening to the thunderous chant "Kill the Bill!" Protesters aimed to be heard by the representatives in the Assembly chambers.

Afterward, I searched out a bathroom (the Capitol is big and it's difficult to go from point A to point B if you're not accustomed). Done, I started down a stairway. About half way down, a marshal said in a commanding voice: "Please stay put. Stop!" OK, being a good sheeple, I stopped.

Suddenly, I was confronted with Rev. Jesse Jackson, accompanied by John Nichols of the Nation and Mahlon Mitchell, president of the Professional Fire Fighters of Wisconsin, ascending the staircase. As they passed by, I simply said "Thank you for coming, Reverend Jackson!" That was the first of my three encounters with him; one more when he was being interviewed in an opposing staircase, and I somehow wound up 2 rows back from him as he prayed and spoke on the rotunda floor.

In typical Wisconsin style, a few milk crates provided the ersatz platform from which Rep. Tammy Baldwin spoke. She began by echoing one of the chants heard repeatedly in the rotunda: “This is what democracy looks like!” She observed that Gov. Walker was trying to end in 6 weeks the rich labor heritage that Wisconsinites had fought for and won over 6 decades. Rep. Baldwin declared that Wisconsin has become Ground Zero for workers’ rights. Noting that this was not about the budget (the unions have already offered, and the Governor has rejected, the financial concessions that he claims are necessary to balance the budget) she told the crowd that “You have to succeed!”

Another protest sign summed it up: “No Labor Justice, No Labor Peace!”

Wisconsinites bused from across the state to rally in Madison against newly-elected Republican Governor Scott Walker's plan to end public employee collective bargaining.

A public hearing begun Tuesday morning lasted until 3 AM Wednesday morning, when Republican legislators ended it; Democratic legislators said they would continue to hear those who wanted to speak.

The Joint Committee on Finance will vote on the bill today. The legislature will vote on the bill tomorrow, Thursday.

Among the bill's union busting provisions is one that requires annual re-certification of union representation by workers.

Supporters can use the AFSCME toll-free line to tell their legislators to vote against Walker's union busting bill: 1-877-753-5578.

Workers displayed protest signs including:

"If Wisconsin is broke, why did Walker use taxpayer $ to go to the Super Bowl?"

"Walker's Labor Policies: Let the Brain Drain Begin"

"Dear WI, We're the folks who brought you weekends, work comp, OSHA, Social Security, and Unemployment. Yours truly, WI Unions"

”Negotiate! Not Dictate”

”Taking our contract doesn't solve the budget mess”

United We Bargain, Divided We Beg

The crowd of protesters broke out in raucous cheers when firefighters joined in support.

Although national media coverage has been very limited (but mega thanks to Ed on MSNBC for his great coverage with Wisconsin's own John Nichols), Fox 11 media was on the scene.

Fighting Bob is proud - but it's not done yet.

US Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner claimed today that the US did too much in housing laying the foundation for radical retrenching of the government’s role in housing.

CNN Video of Sec. Geither on New Housing Plan

That determination paves the way for an extensive revamping of the American housing market, one in which one of the bedrock pillars of the middle class is marginalized to many: homeownership.

Long viewed as emblematic of middle class status as well as an inflationary hedge and retirement investment, the Treasury Secretary is once again playing to his real constituency, Wall Street.

The Obama Administration plan Geithner proffered obscures the multitude of illegal and abusive housing practices Mary Bottari of the Center for Media and Democracy cataloged:

"…The SEC settlements alone have revealed a plethora of illegal, predatory and deceptive lending related to mortgages, securities fraud, accounting fraud, insider trading, brokerage fraud, bribery of government officials, criminal conflict of interest, deception of shareholders and investors, and more.

Now the ”robo-signing” scandal is pulling back the curtain on Act II of this white-collar crime spree — revealing a new array of financial crimes by the very same institutions: robo-signing, fake witnesses, fake notaries, fake documents, fake attorneys, not to mention plain old theft as servicers rob consumers of hundreds or thousands of dollars in misapplied fees. There are additional crimes related to the way that banks have failed to correctly transfer promissory notes through the system and efforts to mislead and defraud investors."

Like Obama’s decision to ”move forward” rather than to investigate and prosecute the Bush administration for crimes like torture and invading a sovereign nation, Iraq, under a false pretense, Geithner’s plan looks past all the financial crimes that contributed to the collapse of the housing market.

Ignoring those illegal and abusive business practices lead to a crisis of 3 million foreclosures nationwide in 2010, and that number could triple in 2011 to 9 million foreclosures.

By dismantling a pillar of the middle class, Geithner’s plan serves his Wall Street masters by dissolving one way individuals have more control over their future. ”Home ownership is one of the best ways for the middle class to accumulate some assets for retirement, to not have to worry about where they’ll live or what they’ll have to pay to live in their retirement,” points out karoli.

karoli goes on to nail Geithner’s apparent end game, furthering Wall Street’s interests at the expense of average Americans, by speculating that the whisper campaign against home ownership benefits cash-heavy real estate investors ready for cheap real estate buys, while forcing Americans with excess cash and savings into Wall Street investments.

Dr. Timothy Johnson recently made a very alarming statement: If the health care system cost curve isn't "fixed," the US could go bankrupt in 7-8 years.

Dr. Johnson, who recently wrote a book titled "The Truth About Getting Sick in America: The Real Problems With Health Care and What We Can Do" discusses the problems with our current health care system as: using high cost, unproven treatments; services guided by the profit motivation; pay for service (providers make more money for doing more treatments); misuse of the term "socialized medicine," politicians scaring people, and high hospital costs.

Although he calls himself apolitical, Dr. Johnson does favor something like the insurance system Medicare, where there are public-private partnerships competing under federal rules.

He recommended four approaches to reducing health care costs: pay for outcomes, electronic records, appropriate treatments selected by using comparative treatment data, and using more primary care/general practitioner doctors rather than specialists.

You can watch the entire video segment here. The segment begins at 8:40, the first notch on the white timing bar.

The discussion depends on how the issue is framed, whether it's framed as a "human rights" issue or a "law and order" issue.

Neither is correct.

Follow the money. Who benefits? Corporations who exploit "undocumented" workers by paying substandard wages for jobs "Americans won't do."

The fascists benefit.

Never mind that the border wars are raging because of the drug wars, with over 4,000 deaths now and spilling over the borders into the US. Never mind the unknown costs for social services to illegal immigrants: education, health care, welfare, crime, air tickets home (about $700), funerals, and more.

That's all corporate welfare to boost corporate profits as immigrants' native nations reduce their own costs to provide for their citizens.

Consider emigrating to Mexico legally and investigate what are the legal financial requirements and subsequent property restrictions.

Illegal immigrants got here, and they will get home when the nation's immigration laws are enforced.

The alternative is to undermine the rule of law and endorse anarchy - because it promotes corporate welfare.

To me, the topic of illegal immigration involves how the issue is framed. Is the issue framed in terms of "human rights" or "rule of law?"

If the issue of illegal immigration is framed in the broad general term of "human rights," then how does it not also endorse anarchy?

No doubt all aliens are human, and humans break laws.

Defining the issue in terms of "human rights" ignores a fundamental issue: "Who benefits?"

As workers, these people are exploited for profit by corporations and other employers who pay them substandard wages, without benefits, sometimes in cash, avoiding taxation. In advocating for ending workplace enforcement of federal immigration laws, human rights advocates also unwittingly advocate for continued worker exploitation and support the 9th characteristic of fascism, Corporate Power is Protected: The industrial and business aristocracy of a fascist nation often are the ones who put the government leaders into power, creating a mutually beneficial business/government relationship and power elite.

Advocates of "human rights" for illegal aliens place those "rights" above the legal citizens' rights to live in a lawful civil society, often employing accusations of xenophobia. Those accusations only ignore or cloud the myriad of issues involved with illegal immigration by lumping together any pragmatic issues under the disparaging umbrella of "racism" and "xenophobia."

Some of the pragmatic issues involved include:

• border violence,
  
• human trafficking,
  
• sexual exploitation and forced labor,
  
• drug smuggling,
  
• sex tourism,
  
• the Trans-Texas corridor,
  
• identity fraud,
  
• hospital costs,
  
• education costs,
  
• prison costs

to name a few.

That linguistic framing of the issue as critical to obscuring the pragmatic issues is evidenced by a recent enigmatic event when it initially was reported that the Arizona Supreme Court banned numerous immigration-related phrases, including “illegal alien” and “open-borders advocates” only to have that recanted in an update.