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Thom's blog
18 State Senators undid fifty years of civil rights in Wisconsin
Late last night – Governor Scott Walker and Republicans in Wisconsin proved to the world what we all suspected - that their union-stripping agenda has absolutely NOTHING to do with the budget. With Democrats still AWOL and public opinion turning against him – Walker used the nuclear option. Senate Republicans convened a special session last night – and stripped the budget bill of all the stuff related to an actual budget so that they could pass it without the necessary quorum of Democrats.
The resulting bill was pretty much nothing more than to screw over public unions – including stripping most of their collective bargaining rights away - and to sell off public utilities and defund women's health services. Republicans passed the bill by a vote of 18-1 – with no Democrats present. As one of the filibustering Democratic senators – Chris Larson – said about the move last night - it, “obviously wasn’t about any kind of financing, it was an attack on working families.” And Senate Minority Leader Mark Miller said, “In thirty minutes, 18 State Senators undid fifty years of civil rights in Wisconsin.”
The state capital in Madison was loaded with thousands of protestors at the time of the vote. People who saw the democratic process crumble right before their eyes as the their voices were silenced by Republican back-room deals and parliamentary maneuvers. Massive labor protests outside the capital are planned for today and this weekend – and there at talks of labor strikes.
For the Republicans – all along – it was never about the budget – it was about enacting one-party rule in America, and handing over our nation to billionaires and transnational corporations. In fact – Wisconsin Republican state Senator Scott Fitzgerald admitted that fact in an interview on television yesterday when he said they were doing this to make it harder for Obama to win Wisconsin in 2012.
-Thom
(What do you think will happen now? Tell us here.) |
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Tonight on The Big Picture on RT TV at 9pm and 11pm... Death of Democracy (check your local listings for stations or stream at RT, and catch past shows on Youtube)
Need to Know: Death of Democracy
Screwed: War on Labor / Democracy With Lisa Graves, Executive Director - Center for Media & Democracy.
War on Labor steps up With WI State Senator Chris Larson (D-District 7).
The Best of the Rest of the News...
"Corporatocracy" Koch Industries Employs PR Firm To Airbush Wikipedia, Gets Banned For Unethical ‘Sock Puppets’. With Lee Fang, Reporter/Blogger-Think Progress.org.
"It's all about the money" With John Berlau, Director - Center for Investors and Entrepreneurs, Competitive Enterprise Institute (CEI).
Green report: Corporate malfeasance Outrage: People in the US Still Lack Access to Clean Water and Erin Brockovich back testing the water years after landmark settlement with PG&E and film. With Erin Brockovich, Consumer Advocate and author of the new book "Rock Bottom".
Daily Take: The Death of Democracy and the rise of the national security industry (wagging the tail of the dog/state)
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Read Thom's Book for Free!
Now you can read all of Thom Hartmann's " Unequal Protection: How Corporations Became 'People' and How You Can Fight Back" for free online. Truthout is publishing weekly installments over the coming weeks. Read the introduction: The Battle to Save Democracy today. |
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The Daily Stack 
Quote: "The most effective way to restrict democracy is to transfer decision-making from the public arena to unaccountable institutions: kings and princes, priestly castes, military juntas, party dictatorships, or modern corporations." -- Noam Chomsky.
Hour One: Latest from the trenches...Wisconsin's war on Labor with John Nichols, Washington Correspondent - The Nation Magazine; Associate Editor-Capital Times; author/co-author of several books, latest (with Robert McChesney) "The Death and Life of American Journalism".
Latest from the trenches...Dems fight back with Wisconsin State Senator Jon Erpenbach, District 27 (one of the 14 awol WI state senators).
Dems fight back against Walker with State Senator Chris Larson, Wisconsin State Senator (D-District 7)(one of the AWOL 14).
Book: " Babbit" by Sinclair Lewis.
Hour Two: What's next for Wisconsin? Thom asks Mike Tate, chair of Democratic Party of Wisconsin.
Push for single payer health care - Oregon State Rep Michael Dembrow, Single Payer Oregon.
Hour Three: Latest from the trenches...Wisconsin's war on Labor - with David Vines, Political Science major-University of Wisconsin, speaking from the Capitol.
Madison Ground Zero...fight for democracy - with the Rev. Jesse Jackson, Civil rights activist Baptist minister & candidate for Democratic presidential nomination - 1984 and 1988.
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Coming up Friday on The Thom Hartmann Program
Hour One: If it's Friday, it's "Brunch With Bernie"... the honorable Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT) joins Thom with all the news from our nation's capitol and as always he'll be spending the hour taking your calls and answering your questions too...
And, the best of the rest of the news and your calls right here on...
The Thom Hartmann Program... your media support group for we the people.
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Thom's Poll
What was Governor Scott Walker and the Republicans union-stripping agenda all about?
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Watch & Listen to Thom
In Wisconsin "starve the beast" is almost complete
Is "gotcha journalism" the new way to report news?
You can learn a lot by eavesdropping on a billionaire!
Or watch the whole show...
Full Show - 3/9/11. 'Starve the Beast' Strategy Killing Democracy
The real story behind the ongoing labor strikes started long before Scott Walker's battle with public employees. Thom explains how the 'Starve the Beast' strategy has been killing democracy in the US for more than 30 years. Then, nearly a quarter of American homeowners are upside down on their mortgages. When will the nation bail out the middle class? Plus, the same right-wing activist who went after ACORN is aiming at NPR. In a panel discussion, Thom talks about how "gotcha journalism" is changing the way news is reported in the US. And it appears the bubble economy is back and one bank in particular is rolling in the dough! Don't miss Thom's daily take on another possible financial meltdown.
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 Would you like to help give a child with a very troubled background this feeling of peace? Thom and Louise Hartmann founded the New England Salem Children's Village (NESCV) in New Hampshire in 1979. With states delaying payment for the children they entrust to the village, they need help with cash flow. Can you help? |
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Show Info
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