This comes from Portside. I don’t know who wrote it, but it’s pretty comprehensive.

MCM

THE BATTLE FOR UNIONS IN WISCONSIN: HOW YOU CAN HELP

Folks from outside Wisconsin are contacting me and asking
how to help with the battle to save collective bargaining
for public employees in Wisconsin. (Additional information
on the current status of things here is at the end of this
letter.)

YOU CAN PROVIDE FINANCIAL SUPPORT

People of generally modest means, including many college
students, are continuing the occupation of the Capitol and
the daily picketing in resistance to the Governor’s plans.
Most teachers have had to/have chosen to return to their
classrooms, but many other union members remain, people
from private sector unions and public unions including
police and firefighters.

There are many private citizens, often seniors. Those
remaining in the capitol and on the picketlines need food,
water, transportation, housing. The Wisconsin AFL-CIO is
coordinating much of that support. No matter how small,
financial support is welcome:

ONLINE: The AFL-CIO is accepting donations online through
PayPal or any major credit card. Please go to
http://wisaflcio.org for the link.

CHECKS can be made payable to the
Wisconsin State AFL-CIO Defense Fund,
6333 W. Blue Mound Rd., Milwaukee, WI 53213
(Please indicate the purpose, e.g. “Capitol protests” or
“Madison rally”, on your check.)

* * * *

SEND FOOD AND WATER DIRECTLY TO THE PROTESTERS

These two close-by shops will supply food and water to
those in the Capitol or on the picket line:

> Ian’s Pizza 608-442-3535 minimum order $20.00 These
> folks are now taking orders only for delivery to the
> resistance, they’ve stopped all delivery to the general
> public. They tell me they deliver to wherever the people
> are — if they’re inside the Capitol, they go in. If
> people are marching and picketing, they take the food to
> the picket line.
>
> Subway on the Square 608-255-1636 NOTE: minimum order
> $100.00 They have set up a fund there for your orders,
> and they are giving free food from that fund to any union
> member or pro- union demonstrator who requests food.
> Thank Pat for arranging that, I’m sure this is the first
> time they’ve done anything like this.
>
> * * * *
>
> CONVEY YOUR OPPOSITION IMMEDIATELY TO THE LEGISLATORS AND
> GOVERNOR
>
> This legislation can be stopped in the Wisconsin Senate.
> The state has shut down the Legislative Hotline (!)
> through which you could reach the Wisconsin Senators. So
> each needs to be contacted directly.
>
> The Republicans
>
> We need only 3 Republicans to vote “no” to stop this. I’m
> listing here Republicans who may be willing to listen:
>
> Eau Claire area — Terry Moulton
> Sen.moulton@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266- 7511 District 23
>
> Green Bay area — Rob Cowles
> Sen.cowles@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-0484 District 2
>
> LaCrosse area — Dan Kapanke
> Sen.kapanke@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-5490 District 32
>
> Ripon area — Luther Olsen
> Sen.olsen@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-0751 District 14
>
> Richland County — Dale Schultz
> Sen.schultz@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-0703 District 17
>
> Racine area — Van Wanggaard
> Sen.Wanggaard@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-1832 District 21
>
> Sheboygan area — Joe Leibham
> Sen.liebham@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-2056 District 9
>
> Menasha/Fox Valley — Michael Ellis
> Sen.ellis@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-0718 District 19
>
> Fond du Lac area — Randy Hopper
> Sen.Hopper@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-5300 District 18
>
> Dodge County — Scott Fitzgerald
> Sen.fitzgerald@legis.wisconsin.gov
> (608) 266-5660 District 13
>
> To contact other Republican Senators, or if a voice
> mailbox is full, try sending an email. Email addresses
> are above, or at the senate home pages. Try this link:
> http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate
>
> If you live here or if you vacation here, contact the
> Senator from your District and urge a “no” vote on this
> legislation. If you know someone who lives or vacations in
> Wisconsin, ask them to contact the appropriate Senator. If
> you don’t live here, contact as many of the Republicans on
> the list as you can with your opposition to the
> legislation. (“The Whole World is Watching”)
>
>
> The Governor: Gov. Walker is not listening to us, and is
> in fact bragging about having received 19,000 emails in
> favor of the legislation to get rid of unions. So we need
> him to hear us.
>
> Try his phone 608-266-1212 That mailbox will probably be
> full. There are several email routes, I’ve used
> them both. Email him directly at
> govgeneral@wisconsin.gov
>
> Or go to http://walker.wi.gov and scroll down to the
> “Citizen Suggestion” box and give him your suggestion.
>
> * * * *
>
> KEEP THE RESISTANCE ALIVE, WIDESPREAD, HIGHLY VISIBLE AND
> VIBRANT
>
> * Participate in a protest rally
>
> Come to Wisconsin or urge those you know who live here to
> get involved. The Capitol in Madison is occupied 24 hours
> a day, with pickets outside at all hours. Come on down!
> Daily rallies and protest activities are happening
> throughout Wisconsin. Join in the activities near you.
> Two sources for detailed and timely information are
>
> http://wisaflcio.org
> [scroll down to Capitol and to In District Events]
>
> and http://www.wiafscme.org/
> [scroll down to the Activities List]
>
> * Organize a rally, a protest, an act of solidarity or
> civil disobedience wherever you are in support of
> Wisconsin workers and our cause. Alert the local media
> that you are acting in support of public employees’ right
> to keep their unions in Wisconsin.
>
> * Spread the word in whatever way you can: postal mail,
> email, Facebook, twitter.
>
> * Send a letter to the editor of your local newspaper and
> to the editorial directors of your local TV and radio
> stations.
>
> * Send this email on to anyone who might help with this
> fight, via email or postal mail.
>
> * * * *
>
> SUPPORT THE “WISCONSIN 14″
>
> In a remarkable act of civil disobedience and courage, the
> 14 Democratic Senators have left the state to deny the
> Senate a quorum. Without at least one of them, the Senate
> cannot pass this particular legislation. Their leaving
> had to be done quickly and some left, literally, with just
> the clothes on their backs.
>
> Contact information for the “Wisconsin 14″ is listed
> below.
>
> I suggest:
>
> ** Send them messages of solidarity and support, and urge
> them on.
>
> ** Most of these folks are not wealthy. Consider writing
> a check to their campaign committee to help with these
> extraordinary expenses. Send it to their home addresses
> and be sure to write it to “The Campaign Committee of
> Senator xxxx” — home addresses are on their senate web
> pages (“voting address”) which you reach via
>
> http://legis.wisconsin.gov/senate
>
> (The Government Accountability Board here has ruled that
> campaign contribution funds can be used for these
> expenses. No personal gifts are allowed, and they will be
> returned.)
>
> Tim Carpenter Dist 3
> Sen.carpenter@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-8535
>
> Spencer Coggs Dist 6
> Sen.coggs@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-2500
>
> Tim Cullen Dist 15
> Sen.cullen@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-2253
>
> Jon Erpenbach Dist 27
> Sen.erpenbach@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-6670
>
> Dave Hansen Dist 30
> Sen.hansen@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-5670
>
> Jim Holperin Dist 12
> Sen.holperin@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-2509
>
> Bob Jauch Dist 25
> Sen.jauch@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-3510
>
> Chris Larson Dist 7
> Sen.larson@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-7505
>
> Julie Lassa Dist 24
> Sen.lassa@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-3123
>
> Mark Miller Dist 16
> Sen.miller@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-9170
>
> Fred Risser Dist 26
> Sen.risser@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-1627
>
> Lena Taylor Dist 4
> Sen.taylor@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-5810
>
> Kathleen Vinehout Dist 31
> Sen.vinehout@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-8546
>
> Bob Wirch Dist 22
> Sen.wirch@legis.wisconsin.gov
> 608-266-8979
>
> Thank you.
>
>
> ****
> Update as of Tuesday February 22:
>
> The battle lines here have been definitively clarified:
> Last week, the public employee unions all agreed to the
> Governor’s economic demands contained in this contested
> “Budget” Bill. But the Governor continues to insist that
> the abolition of collective bargaining, as included in the
> Bill, is non-negotiable. So as we’ve known all along, this
> Bill is not really about budget issues . . .
>
> Also, FYI, the Legislature’s reach with this Bill is far
> beyond collective bargaining. Other major components of
> the Bill are an assault on any decent notion of the civil
> society to which we aspire.
>
> For example, access to health care assistance for the poor
> and elderly will be curtailed. And supervision of the
> privatized workers who care for the most vulnerable among
> us would be effectively abandoned. Important civil
> service positions, now filled by merit selection, are
> converted to political appointment — including such
> civil arbiters as agency lawyers.
>
> Legislators are meeting today (remember, the Republicans
> have majorities in both houses of the legislature) to
> continue this juggernaut as best they can without a quorum
> in the Senate. They are limited to non-fiscal actions in
> the Senate without the quorum denied them by the
> Democrats. The situation in the Capitol is tense. Police
> are now everywhere, and reporters tell me that the call
> has gone out for more police to be sent to the Capitol.
> Access to the Capitol is limited, with one door open and
> slow security searches of all entering.
>
> People are concerned that they are attempting to slowly
> strangle the occupation — hallways of the Capitol have
> been emptied and then closed off. Last night, those
> sleeping on the 3rd floor of the rotunda were told to move
> “to clean that area”, and they’ve secured that area.
> Internet access has been cut off. It appears the tactic
> is to limit access to the building and confine protesters
> to smaller and smaller spaces. This process, which may
> elude high-profile and organized resistance from the
> protesters, can lead to minimum media interest — as we
> are all slowly just pushed out the door and out of any
> semblance of a democratic process.
>

February 23, 2011
Governor Scott Walker
Wisconsin State Capitol

Dear Governor Walker,

I am informed that a tape recording has been released in which you apparently held an
extensive discussion with someone you believed to be your campaign supporter, David
Koch. The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel states that the caller was actually a reporter,
pretending to be David Koch, and it has posted a transcript of the recording. It appears
that you admit the call occurred, and have not contested the authenticity of transcript.
David Koch is the billionaire businessman who reportedly contributed thousands to your
campaign and who the media claims is a key source of funding for shadowy political
groups that spend hundreds of thousands of dollars attacking your political adversaries in
our state.

At a historic moment in our State’s history, brought on by your refusal to compromise
with elected officials regarding the elimination of worker’s rights, you still refuse to talk
with Democratic legislators. However, you apparently have no problem taking a phone
call from “Mr. Koch” and to:

• Discuss your strategy to lay off public workers to seek partisan advantage to pass
your agenda;

• Discuss your plan to lure Democratic legislators to the Capitol on the pretext of
negotiation, but then state that you would never actually negotiate;

• Discuss your plan to use the pretext of negotiation to get a quorum for legislative
fiscal action that Republicans so far have not been able to do;

• Discuss that you considered the “planting” of paid troublemakers into the
peaceful protests at our Capitol; and to

• Give your enthusiastic acceptance to an offer from “Koch” to fly you out on a
vacation to show you a “good time” once you “crush these bastards.” Your
response was “That would be outstanding…” Given that Koch’s businesses could
reap vast rewards with the ‘no bid’ sale of the Wisconsin’s power plants that you
propose in your budget repair bill, this response is severely troubling.
Governor Walker, this tape would make Richard Nixon blush. If the recording and the
items discussed by you are indeed your plans, you have no business being in public office
in our State, and should resign.

Sincerely,
Tim Carpenter
State Senator

http://wispolitics.com/1006/large/110223_Carpenter_letter.pdf

Defense spending and national well-being
Posted By Stephen M. Walt Tuesday, February 22, 2011 – 11:43 AM

Saturday’s New York Times contained an interesting op-ed piece by Charles Blow, titled “American Shame.” The main item was a table listing the 33 countries designated as “advanced economies” by the International Monetary Fund and comparing them on various social and educational characteristics. Specifically, Blow charted income inequality, unemployment rates, level of democracy, the “percentage thriving” (according to the Gallup Global Well-Being Index), food insecurity, prison population, and student performance in math and science. The bottom line: The United States is at the bottom of the heap on most of these measures, and at or near the top in none.

Read more.

Control over your food: Why Monsanto’s GM seeds are undemocratic
By Christopher D. Cook

Large biotech agribusinesses like Monsanto control much of the global seed market with genetically modified (GM) crops. This centralization of GM seeds threatens food safety, food security, biodiversity, and democratic ideals.

——————————————————————————–

Question: Would you want a small handful of government officials controlling America’s entire food supply, all its seeds and harvests?

I suspect most would scream, “No way!”

Read more.

Koch Industries Front Group Launches Ad to Support Walker’s Union Busting
Lee Fang

As ThinkProgress has reported, the global conglomerate Koch Industries not only helped elect Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI), but is the leading force orchestrating his union-busting campaign.

Koch gave Walker over $43,000 in direct donations and its allies aired millions of dollars worth of attack ads against his Democratic opponent. Then, Koch political operatives pressured Walker to crush labor unions as one of his first priorities. Tim Phillips, a former lobbying partner to Jack Abramoff and current president of Americans for Prosperity, a front financed by David Koch, told the New York Times that Koch operatives “had worked behind the scenes to try to encourage a union showdown.” A Koch-financed front group, the American Legislative Exchange Council, has prepped Wisconsin GOP lawmakers with anti-labor legislative ideas.

Read more.

Did Gov. Scott Walker Break the Law During Prank Call?
By Andy Kroll

Did Wisconsin Scott Walker break the law during his phone conversation with a prank caller posing as right-wing billionaire David Koch? At least one campaign finance watchdog, the Public Campaign Action Fund, is exploring whether Walker violated a ban against political coordination in Wisconsin.

Walker believed he was speaking to Koch who-along with his brother, Charles Koch-is among the richest men in the US and major funders of dozens of right-wing groups. The political action committee of Koch Industries, the brothers’ business empire, was a top donor to Walker’s 2010 gubernatorial campaign. In reality, though, Walker was actually speaking with Ian Murphy, a self-described gonzo journalist and editor of the Buffalo Beast. The prank has stirred up a major national controversy, with critics crying foul over Walker’s comments to the faux “David Koch.”

Read more.

“One of the most elemental human rights [is] the right to belong to a free trade union.” — Ronald Reagan. Eh, Scott Walker?
MARK KARLIN, BUZZFLASH EDITOR FOR TRUTHOUT

“One of the most elemental human rights [is] the right to belong to a free trade union.” — Ronald Reagan

Question?

In this Ronald Reagan Presidential address on October 19th, 1982, is President Reagan rebuking the Soviet government of Poland or Scott Walker? Read it and honestly decide if Republican “Saint” Reagan’s condemning words equally apply to Scott Walker. They do:

Yesterday the Polish Government, a military dictatorship, took another far-reaching step in their persecution of their own people. They declared Solidarity, the organization of the working men and women of Poland, their free union, illegal.

Read more.

Black ops: how HBGary wrote backdoors for the government
By Nate Anderson | Last updated 2 days ago

On November 16, 2009, Greg Hoglund, a cofounder of computer security firm HBGary, sent an e-mail to
two colleagues. The message came with an attachment, a Microsoft Word file called AL_QAEDA.doc,
which had been further compressed and password protected for safety. Its contents were dangerous.

“I got this word doc linked off a dangler site for Al Qaeda peeps,” wrote Hoglund. “I think it has a US govvy payload buried inside. Would be neat to [analyze] it and see what it’s about. DONT open it unless in a [virtual machine] obviouslyÅ DONT let it FONE HOME unless you want black suits landing on your front acre. :-)”

The attached document, which is in English, begins: “LESSON SIXTEEN: ASSASSINATIONS USING POISONS AND COLD STEEL (UK/BM-154 TRANSLATION).”

Read more.

Indiana official loses job after ‘live ammo’ tweet
By Helen A.S. Popkin

Following a tweet suggesting riot police “use live ammunition” against demonstrators outside Wisconsin’s capitol building on Saturday night, Jeff Cox is no longer employed as a deputy attorney general with Indiana Attorney General’s Office.

Read more.