Two arrested for allegedly spitting on recall workers in Iowa County
BILL NOVAK | The Capital Times | Posted: Monday, December 19, 2011 7:00 am

Two Barneveld men were arrested Saturday in Iowa County for allegedly spitting on people gathering signatures on petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker.

Timothy Peterson, 28, and William Peterson, 55, were taken to the Iowa County Jail on tentative charges of disorderly conduct, according to a news release from the Iowa County Sheriff’s Department.

The incident was reported at 12:12 p.m. Saturday in the village of Arena.

Read more.

Now let’s hope that a majority of Californians vote for it—and that it passes!
MCM

Support California’s GMO Food Labelling Ballot – Nov 2012
By Jack Adam Weber – Guest Writer for Wake Up World

Dear Activists and Fellow Insanely Sane Humans who love this Earth,

We now have a golden opportunity to begin to save our planet and humanity a huge burden. I just received word from Organic Consumers Association (OCA) that the ballot initiative for mandatory labeling of GMO foods will be on the California ballot in November 2012.

PLEASE DO WHATEVER YOU CAN TO HELP. Spread the word, give them some money to help spread the word, and share this and the linked articles far and wide. For those of us who care about sanity and the preservation of Nature to make a difference, this is a key moment in history. Here’s the rub, in a nutshell.

Read more.

Cuz if ANYBODY’s going to hack those caucuses, it’s gonna be Republicans, God damn it! (Doesn’t anyone respect tradition any more??)

MCM

By Brad Friedman on 12/19/2011 2:10pm
GOP Fears Iowa Caucus May be Hacked Following Purported Video Threat by ‘Anonymous’
Last minute ‘security by obscurity’ defense unlikely to ensure integrity of results…

Well, whaddaya know? Suddenly, after all these years of warnings from The BRAD BLOG that electronic voting systems are exceedingly vulnerable to manipulation by insider election officials as well as outside hackers from almost anywhere, such as China or Iran or even al Qaeda, the GOP is now worried about electronic vote hacking in their Iowa Caucuses on January 3rd.

“Their fear”, as AP reports today, is triggered by little more than a two-minute video posted on the Internet in early November, purportedly created by the “hacktivist” collective known as Anonymous, calling on members, in a trademark computer-generated voice, to “peacefully shut down the first-in-the-nation Iowa caucuses.” [The complete video is posted at the end of this article.]

Progressive radio and television host Thom Hartmann covered the AP story on his radio show this morning, suggesting that while the GOP may have concerns about Anonymous shutting down or manipulating the results of the Iowa caucuses, they may also attempt to use the opportunity of heightened security to ensure that Republican candidate Ron Paul is not named the winner. A poll released last night by Public Policy Polling (PPP) shows Paul vaulting into the lead in Iowa, as previous front-runner Newt Gingrich’s numbers have collapsed in the Hawkeye State. Paul now leads over Romney in Iowa, according to PPP’s poll, with 23%, followed by Romney at 20% and Gingrich at 14%.

Read more.

In Madison, 1,000 Singers Defy Walker’s Edict
By Matthew Rothschild, December 19, 2011

Despite Gov. Scott Walker’s edictthat no more than three people can gather inside the capitol for a demonstration without a permit, about 1,000 people joined the Solidarity Sing-along at noon on Monday.

The sing-along, which has been occurring, Monday through Friday, for the past ten months, had its largest crowd since the earliest days of anti-Walker protests.

Signs dangled from the balconies (a practice also prohibited by Walker’s edict). One said: “This is a test of the Emergency Free Speech system.”

Read more.

NDAA Bill Aims to Suppress Internet Freedom
By Dave Smith | December 16, 2011 3:36 PM EST

The National Defense Authorization Bill 2012, unanimously backed by the Senate and passed in the House of Representatives Thursday, contains some language that allows the Pentagon to effectively wage a cyberwar on any domestic enemies of the state. The bill is a serious violation of First Amendment human and civil rights, including freedom of speech and freedom of the press, and the legislation could potentially hinder the movements of both Occupy Wall Street and the Tea Party campaign, as well as quash attempts from the whistleblowers in independent news media from exposing corruption from within the government.

Here is excerpt from the bill, which the House voted upon but the Senate didn’t:

“Congress affirms that the Department of Defense has the capability, and upon direction by the President may conduct offensive operations in cyberspace to defend our Nation, Allies and interests, subject to (1) the policy principles and legal regimes that the Department follows for kinetic capabilities, including the law of armed conflict; and (2) the War Powers Resolution.”

Read more.

I.

Walker, GOP sue state elections and ethics agency over recall effort
By Jason Stein of the Journal Sentinel
Dec. 15, 2011
http://thevotingnews.com/state/wisconsin/walker-wisconsin-gop-sue-state-elections-and-ethics-agency-over-recall-effort-jsonline/

II.

Milwaukee Biz Blog
Recall process has multiple checks and balances
Posted on December 15, 2011 12:53 PM
http://www.biztimes.com/blogs/milwaukee-biz-blog/2011/12/15/recall-process-has-multiple-checks-and-balances

Anonymous Retaliates: Massive Information dump released on Senators who Passed NDAA

This year’s National Defense Authorization Act passed quickly through the Senate and as expected President Obama signed the bill. 86 Senators in a bipartisan move, signed off on this controversial bill, which opens the door to invasive acts against Americans. Almost everyone has felt the effect of Anonymous’ presence online and off and now, the 86 Senators will feel their ubiquitous presence as well.

The collective activist group just released a massive dump of information, which begins with, ”Robert J. Portman is a Republican Senator from the state of Ohio. He has made himself a target as an advocate of the NDAA (National Defense Authorization Act), but we are truly disturbed by the ludicrous $272,853 he received from special interest groups supporting the NDAA bill that authorizes the indefinite detention of U.S. citizens on U.S. soil. Robert J. Portman, we plan to make an example of you.”

Read more.

Recall Trail: Our Lives Were Threatened, My Camera Destroyed
by noise of rain

This camera was three weeks old. It was stripped off of my wrist, and thrown full force into the street by a crazy rightwing bastard. The card and battery are missing, which I learned when I tried to retrieve the day’s photos and video. I lost the great picture of Santa in an SUV  (a real beard nonetheless!), signing the Recall Walker petition (and a Santa hat. And a full Santa coat!). I lost the video of Santa and his wife talking about the damage Walker had done to their lives (with Mrs. Claus chiming in agreement!). I lost the pictures of our beautiful “Total Recall” banner, planted in the ground like a moon landing. And I lost the picture of the man attacking me right before he threw my camera to the ground.

Read more.

December 18, 2011   //   General   //   No Comments   //  

This is why we’re getting martial law.

MCM

I.

Fortune 500 CEOs See Average Pay Rise 36.5% in 2010, While Report Indicates 1 of Every 2 Americans in or Near Poverty
Submitted by mark karlin on Sat, 12/17/2011 – 2:03pm.
Mark Karlin, Editor of BuzzFlash at Truthout
http://blog.buzzflash.com/node/13212

II.

Census data: Half of U.S. poor or low income
http://www.cbsnews.com/8301-201_162-57343397/census-data-half-of-u.s-poor-or-low-income/

III.

Revealed: huge increase in executive pay for America’s top bosses
Exclusive survey shows America’s CEOs enjoyed pay hikes of up to 40% last year – with one chief executive earning $145m
http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2011/dec/14/executive-pay-increase-america-ceos