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hue
hue's Journal
hue's Journal
August 31, 2014
(CNN) -- Carlos Enrique Londoño laughs at the Ku Klux Klan recruitment flier recently left on the driveway of his suburban New York home. It's unlikely the group would accept him.
"I'm Colombian and dark-skinned," said Londoño, a painter and construction worker who has lived in Hampton Bays on Long Island for 30 years.
The flier was tucked into a plastic bag along with a membership application, the address for the KKK national office in North Carolina, a list of beliefs and three Jolly Rancher candies.
The packages appear to be part of a wider recruitment effort by the Klan across the country, Ryan Lenz, senior writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told CNN on Saturday.
Similar fliers have turned up in dozens of U.S. cities over the past six months, Lenz said. The SPLC was founded by civil rights lawyers, and is known for tracking and exposing the activities of such groups.
The SPLC says the Ku Klux Klan is the most infamous and oldest of American hate groups. African-Americans have been the main target of the historically violent group, but the Klan also has targeted Jews, immigrants, gays, lesbians and Catholics.
The center estimates that there are between 5,000 and 8,000 Klan members nationwide, divided among dozens of divergent and warring groups.
From NY to Texas, KKK recruits with candies and fliers
http://www.cnn.com/2014/08/31/us/new-york-kkk-recruitment/(CNN) -- Carlos Enrique Londoño laughs at the Ku Klux Klan recruitment flier recently left on the driveway of his suburban New York home. It's unlikely the group would accept him.
"I'm Colombian and dark-skinned," said Londoño, a painter and construction worker who has lived in Hampton Bays on Long Island for 30 years.
The flier was tucked into a plastic bag along with a membership application, the address for the KKK national office in North Carolina, a list of beliefs and three Jolly Rancher candies.
The packages appear to be part of a wider recruitment effort by the Klan across the country, Ryan Lenz, senior writer for the Southern Poverty Law Center, told CNN on Saturday.
Similar fliers have turned up in dozens of U.S. cities over the past six months, Lenz said. The SPLC was founded by civil rights lawyers, and is known for tracking and exposing the activities of such groups.
The SPLC says the Ku Klux Klan is the most infamous and oldest of American hate groups. African-Americans have been the main target of the historically violent group, but the Klan also has targeted Jews, immigrants, gays, lesbians and Catholics.
The center estimates that there are between 5,000 and 8,000 Klan members nationwide, divided among dozens of divergent and warring groups.
August 30, 2014
Republican Governors Association Head Talks Strategy at Koch Summit
Published on Aug 27, 2014
Executive Director of the RGA Phil Cox talks strategy on how winning gubernatorial races can help the GOP take control of the Senate in 2014, and cites the 501c4 Americans for Prosperity, which claims to be non-partisan, as its biggest partner.
August 30, 2014
The online Huffington Post confirms the ugly truth. Phil Cox, director of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), told a California audience at a private June political "seminar" sponsored by billionaire conservative activists Charles and David Koch that the RGA had no stronger financial backers than the Kochs, thanks to whom RGA spent mind-boggling, out-of-state sums running ads in support of Scott Walker's Wisconsin gubernatorial campaigns over the past four years.
"The RGA has already put $18 million in Walker over the last four years," Cox said in private remarks captured on audio. "We’re not going to let up now. We put $2 million in this spring. "Uh, AFP has been on the air. Walker’s been on the air, and the governor currently leads by six points. This is a race we’re going to have to be engaged in right on until the end."
Walker may have been leading by six points according to one pre-election poll or another back in June, but as of last week he's trailing Democratic Party nominee Mary BUrke by two points among likely voters, according to a Marquette Univeristy poll. Beyond that, Cox's syntax is interesting. Up to June, the RGA had "put" $18 million "in" Walker? Apparently the RGA views the embattled Wisconsin governor as some kind of meat animal to be stuffed with cash and displayed as a delicacy on a political carving plate. Pate de fog of war!
RGA support from the Kochs issues at least in part via AFP -- the Americans For Prosperity, the Koch-created, "non-partisan," "educational" group. According to Wikipedia, AFP is the so-very classy organization that in August 2011:
"... sent absentee voter applications instructing voters to return the paperwork two days late in at least two recall elections". In addition, the PO Box that was listed on the "Ballot Application" is the address of an anti-abortion group, Wisconsin Family Action, as opposed to an official state address. Responding to charges of voter suppression, AFP said the incorrect date was the result of a mistake and "was only intended for voters in the two districts where Democrats are set to face recalls on a later date, August 16."
SUSPICION CONFIRMED: Scott Walker bought and paid for by the Koch brothers (VID)
http://www.uppitywis.org/blogarticle/suspicion-confirmed-scott-walker-bought-and-paid-koch-brothersThe online Huffington Post confirms the ugly truth. Phil Cox, director of the Republican Governors Association (RGA), told a California audience at a private June political "seminar" sponsored by billionaire conservative activists Charles and David Koch that the RGA had no stronger financial backers than the Kochs, thanks to whom RGA spent mind-boggling, out-of-state sums running ads in support of Scott Walker's Wisconsin gubernatorial campaigns over the past four years.
"The RGA has already put $18 million in Walker over the last four years," Cox said in private remarks captured on audio. "We’re not going to let up now. We put $2 million in this spring. "Uh, AFP has been on the air. Walker’s been on the air, and the governor currently leads by six points. This is a race we’re going to have to be engaged in right on until the end."
Walker may have been leading by six points according to one pre-election poll or another back in June, but as of last week he's trailing Democratic Party nominee Mary BUrke by two points among likely voters, according to a Marquette Univeristy poll. Beyond that, Cox's syntax is interesting. Up to June, the RGA had "put" $18 million "in" Walker? Apparently the RGA views the embattled Wisconsin governor as some kind of meat animal to be stuffed with cash and displayed as a delicacy on a political carving plate. Pate de fog of war!
RGA support from the Kochs issues at least in part via AFP -- the Americans For Prosperity, the Koch-created, "non-partisan," "educational" group. According to Wikipedia, AFP is the so-very classy organization that in August 2011:
"... sent absentee voter applications instructing voters to return the paperwork two days late in at least two recall elections". In addition, the PO Box that was listed on the "Ballot Application" is the address of an anti-abortion group, Wisconsin Family Action, as opposed to an official state address. Responding to charges of voter suppression, AFP said the incorrect date was the result of a mistake and "was only intended for voters in the two districts where Democrats are set to face recalls on a later date, August 16."
August 30, 2014
Well, those Wisconsin revenue numbers we’d been waiting on finally dropped today. And as predicted, we’re now looking at a real and growing budget deficit in Wisconsin.
Huh, who could have predicted something like that?
You can check out the details on this shortfall for yourself by clicking this link. How did we get here? The big culprit is the Koo-Koo tax cuts of 2013 and other reductions passed at the start of this year, which not only reduced tax rates, but also changed the withholding tables, meaning that less money came to the DOR from people’s paychecks. The cynical idea that Scott Walker and company had is that this would make voters more likely to back the Republicans this November with a few more dollars in their pockets (key word- few), and much of these withholding table changes will be counteracted by what you don’t get in tax refunds over the next 2 years (basically, your refund will be less, so the state “keeps” more. Conveniently, this doesn’t happen until after the November elections).
So what does this do for our budget situation? Well, the State Journal rundown has one side of the story.
Wisconsin Gen Fund budget after revenue shortfall
2013-14
Opening balance +$759 million
Taxes and other revenues +$14,529 million
Net Appropriations -$14,865 million
2014 ENDING BALANCE +$443 MILLION
2014-15
Opening balance +$443 million
Taxes (3.49% growth) and other revenues +$14,994 million
Net Appropriations -$15,843 million
ENDING BALANCE -$406 MILLION
Required reserves -$65 million
TOTAL TO BE MADE UP BY 6/30/15 $471 MILLION
Scott Walker's budget implodes. $1.8 BILLION in Wis deficits
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2014/08/28/1325498/-Scott-Walker-s-budget-implodes-1-8-BILLION-in-Wis-deficits#Well, those Wisconsin revenue numbers we’d been waiting on finally dropped today. And as predicted, we’re now looking at a real and growing budget deficit in Wisconsin.
Wisconsin tax collections are more than $281 million short of estimates, nearly 2 percent less than anticipated.
The state Department of Revenue on Thursday released the figures for the fiscal year that ended in June. Those figures show the state collected $281.2 million less than was anticipated by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau in January.
The state Department of Revenue on Thursday released the figures for the fiscal year that ended in June. Those figures show the state collected $281.2 million less than was anticipated by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau in January.
Huh, who could have predicted something like that?
You can check out the details on this shortfall for yourself by clicking this link. How did we get here? The big culprit is the Koo-Koo tax cuts of 2013 and other reductions passed at the start of this year, which not only reduced tax rates, but also changed the withholding tables, meaning that less money came to the DOR from people’s paychecks. The cynical idea that Scott Walker and company had is that this would make voters more likely to back the Republicans this November with a few more dollars in their pockets (key word- few), and much of these withholding table changes will be counteracted by what you don’t get in tax refunds over the next 2 years (basically, your refund will be less, so the state “keeps” more. Conveniently, this doesn’t happen until after the November elections).
So what does this do for our budget situation? Well, the State Journal rundown has one side of the story.
However, the budget was expected to have a roughly $724 million cushion by July 1, making emergency action now unlikely.
Gov. Scott Walker's spokeswoman Laurel Patrick says the state will finish the two-year budget cycle with a positive balance. She says, "As we have done in the last several years, we will continue to manage the Wisconsin taxpayers' money well and keep the state's fiscal house in order.”
Gov. Scott Walker's spokeswoman Laurel Patrick says the state will finish the two-year budget cycle with a positive balance. She says, "As we have done in the last several years, we will continue to manage the Wisconsin taxpayers' money well and keep the state's fiscal house in order.”
Wisconsin Gen Fund budget after revenue shortfall
2013-14
Opening balance +$759 million
Taxes and other revenues +$14,529 million
Net Appropriations -$14,865 million
2014 ENDING BALANCE +$443 MILLION
2014-15
Opening balance +$443 million
Taxes (3.49% growth) and other revenues +$14,994 million
Net Appropriations -$15,843 million
ENDING BALANCE -$406 MILLION
Required reserves -$65 million
TOTAL TO BE MADE UP BY 6/30/15 $471 MILLION
August 28, 2014
Even the most successful of power-mad schemers need reliable co-conspirators to accomplish their nefarious ends. The most power-mad of the power-mad, the American Legislative Exchange Council, relies on easily compromised spear-carriers to dominate state legislatures and push through model-legislation designed to benefit ALEC’s multi-national, special interest corporate donor base.
It was by pure happenstance I chanced upon such a co-conspirator the other day. It actually turned out to be three co-conspirators. I was digging through the South Carolina Ethics Commission’s statements of economic interests required of state and legislative office holders and their challengers. These interests include name, address, filing date, business and property interest, creditors, government contracts, lobbyist contacts and, most importantly, who is buying legislator’s votes through the section marked “gifts.”
I concentrated on my local delegation of seated representatives. On my first search, an initialism (thus termed when an acronym is unpronounceable) popped up that I’d never seen or heard of before. It appeared as SLLF. Whatever it was had gifted one of my local state delegations with a total of nearly $3,100 for the gift of a single trip. Not bad. There are some economy overseas jaunts you can take for three grand. The stipend covered ‘tuition,’ lodging and meals. As I looked at the economic interests of my other local representatives, SLLF appeared over and over. Four of my six house members accepted SLLF’s largess. This definitely called for further study.
It took but seconds to find the expanded version of SLLF. It stood for State Legislative Leaders Foundation. Here’s their charge “The State Legislative Leaders Foundation was established in 1972 as a nonprofit corporation dedicated to working with state legislative leaders in their efforts to reform the institution of the state legislature.” Reform is an interesting choice of words considering their Board Chairman is Eric Turner, Indiana House Speaker Pro Tem, who most recently attracted the attention of the legislative Ethics Commission for secretly attempting to kill a bill that would hurt his family business. Might we continue?
ALEC And Jeb Bush Are Conspiring To Kill Off Public Schools For Good
http://www.politicususa.com/2014/08/26/alec-jeb-bush-conspiring-kill-public-schools-good.htmlEven the most successful of power-mad schemers need reliable co-conspirators to accomplish their nefarious ends. The most power-mad of the power-mad, the American Legislative Exchange Council, relies on easily compromised spear-carriers to dominate state legislatures and push through model-legislation designed to benefit ALEC’s multi-national, special interest corporate donor base.
It was by pure happenstance I chanced upon such a co-conspirator the other day. It actually turned out to be three co-conspirators. I was digging through the South Carolina Ethics Commission’s statements of economic interests required of state and legislative office holders and their challengers. These interests include name, address, filing date, business and property interest, creditors, government contracts, lobbyist contacts and, most importantly, who is buying legislator’s votes through the section marked “gifts.”
I concentrated on my local delegation of seated representatives. On my first search, an initialism (thus termed when an acronym is unpronounceable) popped up that I’d never seen or heard of before. It appeared as SLLF. Whatever it was had gifted one of my local state delegations with a total of nearly $3,100 for the gift of a single trip. Not bad. There are some economy overseas jaunts you can take for three grand. The stipend covered ‘tuition,’ lodging and meals. As I looked at the economic interests of my other local representatives, SLLF appeared over and over. Four of my six house members accepted SLLF’s largess. This definitely called for further study.
It took but seconds to find the expanded version of SLLF. It stood for State Legislative Leaders Foundation. Here’s their charge “The State Legislative Leaders Foundation was established in 1972 as a nonprofit corporation dedicated to working with state legislative leaders in their efforts to reform the institution of the state legislature.” Reform is an interesting choice of words considering their Board Chairman is Eric Turner, Indiana House Speaker Pro Tem, who most recently attracted the attention of the legislative Ethics Commission for secretly attempting to kill a bill that would hurt his family business. Might we continue?
August 28, 2014
MILWAUKEE--President Barack Obama will be making a visit to Milwaukee on Monday.
The president will speak at Laborfest which will be held at the Summerfest grounds.
The president also made an appearance at Laborfest in 2010.
President Obama coming to Milwaukee for Laborfest
http://www.cbs58.com/news/local-news/President-Obama-coming-to-Milwaukee-for-Laborfest-272966751.htmlMILWAUKEE--President Barack Obama will be making a visit to Milwaukee on Monday.
The president will speak at Laborfest which will be held at the Summerfest grounds.
The president also made an appearance at Laborfest in 2010.
August 28, 2014
So despicable, so cruel beyond words...
‘Sons of Guns’ reality show star Will Hayden arrested for rape of 11-year-old child
Source: THE RAW STORY
The star of the Discovery Channel’s reality show Sons of Guns was arrested Tuesday on charges of aggravated rape of his daughter.
According to FoxNews.com, the East Baton Rouge, Louisiana Sheriff’s Department confirmed that Hayden is accused of raping his 14-year-old daughter in a series of assaults that began with him taking her virginity at the age of 11.
TMZ reported that Hayden’s daughter is backing up the allegations, claiming that her father forced her to participate in oral and vaginal sex “almost daily” for the past three years.
When asked why she didn’t report the sexual assaults earlier, the girl said that she was afraid her father would hurt her.
“Don’t tell them nothing,” he reportedly told her, “because I’m all you’ve got.”
Sons of Guns is a five-season reality program that centers around Hayden’s business, Red Jacket Firearms, which sells, builds, designs and repairs guns. Red Jacket specializes in weapons fabrication and modification.
The New Orleans Times-Picayune said, “On Aug. 9, Hayden was arrested and booked on molestation charges of a juvenile and crimes against nature. Hayden reportedly told TMZ that charge was sparked from an ex-girlfriend’s allegations. Red Jacket Firearms released a statement denying those allegations.”
Hayden was released on $150,000 bail. The charges in Tuesday’s arrest stem from information that has come to light since Aug. 9.
Read more: http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/08/27/gun-store-reality-show-star-will-hayden-arrested-for-rape-of-11-year-old-child/
So despicable, so cruel beyond words...
August 27, 2014
Marquette poll: Walker and Burke still deadlocked; Happ leads Schimel for AG
With the fall election about to kick into high gear after Labor Day, the race for governor remains deadlocked, while the Democratic nominee for attorney general has a large lead but remains widely unknown, according to a new Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday.
The latest poll shows Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mary Burke with a 2-point lead over Gov. Scott Walker, 49 percent to 47 percent, among likely voters. Among registered voters, Walker leads Burke 48 percent to 44 percent.
Poll director Charles Franklin called the results, which are within the poll's margin of error, "remarkably flat" over several polls.
In the attorney general's race, 40 percent of registered voters said they would vote for Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ, the Democratic nominee, and 33 percent said they would vote for Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, the Republican nominee. Among likely voters it was 42 percent to 32 percent in favor of Happ.
However, 82 percent of respondents said they haven't heard enough about Happ to form an opinion about her, and 87 percent said they haven't heard enough about Schimel to form an opinion about him.
Marquette:Walker and Burke still deadlocked;Happ leads Schimel for AG (Burke leads in likely voters)
http://host.madison.com/wsj/news/local/govt-and-politics/marquette-poll-walker-and-burke-still-deadlocked-happ-leads-schimel/article_bf5c4f37-0402-50be-90b5-559285684ffc.htmlMarquette poll: Walker and Burke still deadlocked; Happ leads Schimel for AG
With the fall election about to kick into high gear after Labor Day, the race for governor remains deadlocked, while the Democratic nominee for attorney general has a large lead but remains widely unknown, according to a new Marquette Law School poll released Wednesday.
The latest poll shows Democratic gubernatorial nominee Mary Burke with a 2-point lead over Gov. Scott Walker, 49 percent to 47 percent, among likely voters. Among registered voters, Walker leads Burke 48 percent to 44 percent.
Poll director Charles Franklin called the results, which are within the poll's margin of error, "remarkably flat" over several polls.
In the attorney general's race, 40 percent of registered voters said they would vote for Jefferson County District Attorney Susan Happ, the Democratic nominee, and 33 percent said they would vote for Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, the Republican nominee. Among likely voters it was 42 percent to 32 percent in favor of Happ.
However, 82 percent of respondents said they haven't heard enough about Happ to form an opinion about her, and 87 percent said they haven't heard enough about Schimel to form an opinion about him.
August 27, 2014
New details emerge about callous tactics that fueled anger in Ferguson.
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours. Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement. Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away. Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.
Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation. Several officers emerged with dogs. What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down: An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.
The incident was related to me separately by three state and local officials who worked with the community in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. One confirmed that he interviewed an eyewitness, a young woman, and pressed her on what exactly she saw. "She said that the officer just let the dog pee on it," that official told me. "She was very distraught about it." The identity of the officer who handled the dog and the agency he was with remain unclear.
Candles and flowers marking the spot where Brown died were soon run over by police vehicles.
The day brought other indignities for Brown's family, and the community. Missouri state Rep. Sharon Pace, whose district includes the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, told me she went to the scene that afternoon to comfort the parents, who were blocked by police from approaching their son's body. Pace purchased some tea lights for the family, and around 7 p.m. she joined Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, and others as they placed the candles and sprinkled flowers on the ground where Brown had died. "They spelled out his initials with rose petals over the bloodstains," Pace recalled.
By then, police had prohibited all vehicles from entering Canfield Drive except for their own. Soon the candles and flowers had been smashed, after police drove over them.
Michael Brown's Mom Laid Flowers Where He Was Shot—and Police Crushed Them
http://www.motherjones.com/politics/2014/08/ferguson-st-louis-police-tactics-dogs-michael-brownNew details emerge about callous tactics that fueled anger in Ferguson.
As darkness fell on Canfield Drive on August 9, a makeshift memorial sprang up in the middle of the street where Michael Brown's body had been sprawled in plain view for more than four hours. Flowers and candles were scattered over the bloodstains on the pavement. Someone had affixed a stuffed animal to a streetlight pole a few yards away. Neighborhood residents and others were gathering, many of them upset and angry.
Soon, police vehicles reappeared, including from the St. Louis County Police Department, which had taken control of the investigation. Several officers emerged with dogs. What happened next, according to several sources, was emblematic of what has inflamed the city of Ferguson, Missouri, ever since the unarmed 18-year-old was gunned down: An officer on the street let the dog he was controlling urinate on the memorial site.
The incident was related to me separately by three state and local officials who worked with the community in the immediate aftermath of the shooting. One confirmed that he interviewed an eyewitness, a young woman, and pressed her on what exactly she saw. "She said that the officer just let the dog pee on it," that official told me. "She was very distraught about it." The identity of the officer who handled the dog and the agency he was with remain unclear.
Candles and flowers marking the spot where Brown died were soon run over by police vehicles.
The day brought other indignities for Brown's family, and the community. Missouri state Rep. Sharon Pace, whose district includes the neighborhood where the shooting occurred, told me she went to the scene that afternoon to comfort the parents, who were blocked by police from approaching their son's body. Pace purchased some tea lights for the family, and around 7 p.m. she joined Brown's mother, Lesley McSpadden, and others as they placed the candles and sprinkled flowers on the ground where Brown had died. "They spelled out his initials with rose petals over the bloodstains," Pace recalled.
By then, police had prohibited all vehicles from entering Canfield Drive except for their own. Soon the candles and flowers had been smashed, after police drove over them.
August 27, 2014
Bumping into WI DOJ investigator during 2013 Capitol Crackdown led to disorderly ticket (VIDEO)
Bumping into WI DOJ investigator during 2013 Capitol Crackdown led to disorderly ticket for photographer. Today: CASE DISMISSED
This is what it looks like to use a police force to harass politically engaged people like a photographer who took the best photographs of the arrests suffered during last summer’s crackdown on the Wisconsin Solidarity Sing Along.
Watch the court video but be aware that the stupid is strong within and you may be at great risk of applying head to desk.
Ultimately this case was dismissed.
Quoting from SSWIDTMS:
Judge Juan Colás quickly ruled the charge of disorderly conduct baseless and without foundation stating “This doesn’t even rise to the level of probable cause let alone the greater weight of credible evidence that is required as it is the states burden in this case.”
Are there no actual criminals in all of Wisconsin to pursue?
Must the state spend its time PURSUING PEOPLE WHO ACCIDENTALLY BUMP?
http://www.bluecheddar.net/?p=41280
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