For those of you who may not already have heard, I’m pleased to announce I’ve joined the blogging crew over at DownWithTyranny. I’ll be writing a lot about Gov. Scott Walker over at DWT, in order to provide some background on his history here in Wisconsin as he continues to make moves towards a formal announcement of his 2016 presidential campaign. My first post for DWT is a update of a post I wrote here on Blogging Blue, and I expect that my blogging for DWT will be a mix of original material and re-posts of material written here at Blogging Blue. If you all aren’t already reading DownWithTyranny, I’d encourage you all to check it out.
And just to be clear, I’ll be continuing my normal blogging here at Blogging Blue, so nothing will really change in that respect.
Zach, congrats.
Have admired/followed Howie Klein for a long time. It’s a national footprint that imho we desperately need to shine a light on what the state Supreme Court is pulling. From the new managing editor of the JS, “Public access ensures transparent, accountable government.”
“1. We asked the state Supreme Court to keep open oral arguments on John Doe investigations into possible illegal campaign coordination in the 2012 recall elections. Our state courts have always been open to the public; that transparency is important in this case. Did an overzealous district attorney misuse the secret Doe process to trample the rights of political opponents? Did the governor contradict his own call for transparency in campaign contributions to funnel secret donations to key advertising markets? Are state campaign finance laws constitutional? The good people of Wisconsin need to know. Late Friday, the court denied our petition and said it would hear no arguments.”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/public-access-ensures-transparent-accountable-government-b99469974z1-297914551.html
I don’t know how to make this latest perversion of justice interesting and accessible, but imho the oligarchs buying Wisconsin’s highest state court, and then them using it in such a bold, self-serving manner, qualifies as “news.” WSJ Editorial page editor Paul Gigot got a $250,000 prize from Mike Grebe’s Bradley foundation. He’s been using his editorial platform to bash Schmitz and the John Doe with stories Grebe can’t place in any news room, “Prosecutor alerts justices to secrecy violation in John Doe.” http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/prosecutors-alerts-justices-to-secrecy-violation-in-john-doe-b99466418z1-297078541.html
Maybe Glenn Greenwald at the Intercept would cover, Pando, IBTimes…..? That might help attract the attention of editors at NYT’s WaPo, Guardian and I know Howie’s got contacts in those news rooms.
Zach, to use an old encouraging expression, “give ’em hell!”
http://www.amazon.com/Stand-Give-Them-Hell-Experienced/dp/161121176X
Duane, nice catch.
To piggyback on your Gettysburg metaphor, “Obama honors Civil War hero Alonzo Cushing from Wisconsin with posthumous Medal of Honor.”
“At one point, some of Cushing’s men tried to flee after the wheel of their 3-inch ordnance rifle was destroyed and he pointed his pistol while ordering them to replace the wheel and return to their battle station, said Brown. As Cushing held his thumb in the vent of his artillery guns to prevent gases from escaping, his leather glove was burned away. When his body was later recovered from the battlefield, doctors discovered the flesh of this thumb had burned to the bone.
During the Confederate bombardment Cushing was struck in the shoulder and abdomen. Holding his guts in his hand he continued to exhort his soldiers. Historians estimate it was two hours from the time of his initial wounds until he was killed.
Though his 1st sergeant, who would receive the Medal of Honor, encouraged him to seek medical aid, Cushing refused to leave.
He said ‘No, I’ll fight it out or die in the attempt,’ said Brown.
When he was buried at West Point, Cushing was laid to rest underneath a tombstone inscribed ‘Faithful until death.'”
http://www.jsonline.com/news/waukesha/civil-war-hero-alonzo-cushing-to-receive-posthumous-medal-of-honor-b99385738z1-281764081.html