Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost - NPR

Research on "Trust" ... from NPR staff

Wolfers researches trust in institutions, in public figures and in government. He analyzed data from polls on people and trust collected by the Gallup Organization since the early 1970s. Not surprisingly, people trust the government, the courts, the media and big business far less in times of economic distress. But over the course of the past 60 years, overall trust in those institutions has been in steady decline — even in good times. In the 1950s, Wolfers says 4 out of 5 Americans trusted government. Today, that number is down to 1 in 5.

Message to the Wisconsin Legislature ... open the Caucuses and let the cameras in ... you want trust and your own ability to act for Wisconsin citizens  ... I think the sausage making is still hidden ...

TED: Trust, Trustworthiness, Think about Politics

WI 1848 Forward: Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost - #NPR #Gov #Sequester #Debt - Maybe it is the #Demographic

#Trump #Morality - what is it? WI 1848 Forward: #Trust In America: Recovering What's Lost - #NPR #Gov #Sequester #Debt - Maybe it is the #Demographic

It's NOT Working - MacIver Institute - Americans For Prosperity Foundation

The reality is that we, especially in Wisconsin, are going to be bombarded by slick ads in the next 6 months. These slick ads frequently mislead by juxtaposing numbers that seem shocking and draw conclusions from those numbers as if they are facts but truly never substantiated or explained in context.  Another technique is to cite an example, call it a success story, imply that it is true everywhere, every time and again not explain the context or provide any details.

All I can say is please THINK before you just believe.  Everyone seems to have their own echo chamber and you really need to know that the bubbles being blown float for more than a few people.

I really don't want to promote this site or these people but "You Need To Know" -

ItsWorkingWisconsin.com

We heard the sky would fall and that there would be massive layoffs of state and local government workers and teachers. Some asserted that Wisconsin’s budget reform would mark the end of the state as we know it. But the sky’s still there. And Wisconsin is stronger than ever. Thanks to Wisconsin’s budget reform This website is committed to providing the facts to Wisconsin taxpayers. Every week there are more examples of how It’s Working. Together, the Americans for Prosperity Foundation and the John K. MacIver Institute for Public Policy have chronicled success stories...

Evidently the MacIver Institute put this video up on YouTube ItsWorking

It has had 18000+ hits as of 10/30/2011 (uploaded 10/25) with 15 dislikes and 120 likes.  It begins with a number claiming that it was the budget deficit of $3.6 billion that was the reason Walker proposed his special session in which "collective bargaining" was to be tanked.  I think I recall the number was something like $137 million and as I recall the $3.6 billion had more to do with Medicaid costs.  I know I am being just as fuzzy as them.  My grant request of the Koch Brothers was rejected ... so I don't have the resources to debunk this completely ... that's a joke!

In my gut I suspect that the number of hits has been ginned up by a PR campaign ... could I be wrong?  I congratulate the 15 people who are really paying attention ...

The Lede - NYT - Occupy Update ...Much on Oakland videos

 The Lede ... NYTimes ...

October 26, 2011, 12:01 pm

Updates on Occupy Protests Nationwide

By ROBERT MACKEY and J. DAVID GOODMAN

After a night of violence in Oakland, Calif. where police officers fired tear gas at protesters affiliated with the Occupy Wall Street movement, The Lede is following the response of demonstrators in cities across the country on Wednesday.
To share links to eyewitness accounts, video or photographs of the protests, post a comment in the thread below or send a message on Twitter to @thelede.

... click the title to see the full article with several videos ...

A twist - Richard Wilkinson: How economic inequality harms societies - TED

4/4/12 ScienceDaily ... Free Term Paper? Income Inequality and Distrust Foster Academic Dishonesty

           A new study published in Psychological Science ... Lukas Neville

...the data showed that people who live in states with more income inequality were less trusting in general, and those states had more evidence of academic dishonesty. The next step, Neville says, will be to duplicate this finding using laboratory experiments, using pay structure to alter income inequality, then observing the effects on students' trust and dishonest behavior.

_________________
"The respected ... the disrespected."  "Stress" "Income Equality  vs Income Inequality."

"If Americans want to live the American Dream they should go to Denmark."

"We can improve the quality of human life by reducing income inequality."

Static Screen Capture of Trust in the 50 U.S. States

WI 1848 Forward:A twist -Richard #Wilkinson :How economic #inequality harms societies- #TED : #AARP #47% #Obama #99% 

#Trump WI 1848 Forward:A twist -Richard #Wilkinson :How economic #inequality harms societies- #TED : #AARP #47% #99% 

Upd - OccupyTogether - OccupyOakland - OccupyLondon - OccupyDC - OccupyMiami

Finding your way in Social Media is extremely difficult.  Those in the know remain in the know but sometimes the rest of us get lost in the shuffle.  Yesterday morning (10/25) when I started to see twitters about #OccupyOakland being squeezed, taken down, destroyed, whatever.  I was more than curious.  I lived the Bay Area for nearly 15 years and near Oakland ... so I knew the neighborhood and still have many friends who live there.  Yesterday I was just caught up in the "live" aspects as this solitary persons perspective continued to unfold.  As I understand it, last night continued to be a little more difficult for everyone but punkboyinsf was not broadcasting.

Yesterday (Tuesday) I followed one of the tweets and found a USTREAM site for punkboyinsf live stream and started following it.  I contacted one friend who was already at work in downtown Oakland and was told about four helicopters in the air ... I passed along the USTREAM url which was then passed on to some fellow workers who started watching from home in the Oakland area.

The broadcaster made mention of low battery ... a little later he was off air.  When he came back on he apologized that his MOM had called and wanted to know he was safe and would stay safe.  This was the way it went ... he continued to provide location information, stressing what he knew and what he did not know (the kind of reporting I like), what he did see and what he was guessing about.  He talked with others in the area ... none of this was filtered and just the feelings of those involved.  He remarked on all the Bay Area cities who seem to have their police force involved.  He tried to engage some officers - no response.  It is not that he personally did not have a point of view ... but you honestly know what it is!

I decided this morning (10/26) to give a little more voice to the situation and indirectly guide those of you who may be curious to punkboyinsf ... he has quite a few videos up about OccupyOakland that were being watched when live and now are available on his channel.  The thing you should be most interested in is the banner set of pictures for other occupy sites ... it appears under the lead "Occupy Together".  You can click on any of those pictures and go to another OCCUPY site and see what is going on "live" and/or look for some.


Take the time and see first hand views ... click the title and go the page and start watching and listening! The video embedded here has over 83000 views.  The view count may be telling you that is where the action is and that you might want to be prepared for some unpleasant content.  If you get "Service Not Available ..." try later or just try refreshing your browser a few seconds later.

FAIR : Simeone vs NPR vs. Free Speech -Opera show dropped by NPR to punish host's political activism

Clicking the title will take you to a page where you can read some of the best reporting on the topic and sign a petition asking NPR to clean up its very fuzzy "ethics" and preferably get out of the "of worrying about being thought police". Previously I blogged ...

Upd10/23 a: NPR drops "WofO" - Lisa Simeone - OccupyDC / NPR Controversy - The Conservatives Win I Fear

extracted from that entry ...

To borrow a phrase from UW-Madison history I am "sifting and winnowing" and at present not willing to draw conclusions about the current incident involving Lisa Simeone. (10/21) Based on the latest communication from David Swanson I am willing to conclude that NPR has some difficult ethical decisions/conflicts of interest of their own to deal with.  They should always give the benefit of the doubt to the individual and allow them the fullest possible freedom of expression.[B. Gates 10/21 addition]

I assume what Swanson says about Liaason, Simon and Roberts can be substantiated.  Even without that it seems like a rather backhanded way for NPR to deal with their own issues of ethics and conflicts of interest and the types and kind of activities that they allow their "different" personalities to engage in. How is this consistent for other independent suppliers of "programming" and what their hosts, producers, etc. may be doing on the side. (10/22)

 The petition that FAIR asks you to sign up for basically clears up any doubt about the three NPR personalities and makes the same point (as I did above) about what a can of worms it is to be checking every person who ever does any kind of work for NPR.

Upd #3: OccupyOakland ...10/25 ... being squeezed started at 4:30am Pacific time

History embed from earlier ... and if you want to see more http://www.ustream.tv/channel/j%27tao%27s-webcam-in-cyberspace%21%21%21

___________________________________
The Ustream went offline ... had said his battery was low ... 8:48am Madison ... nope it was his MOM calling him ... came back on ... now off 8:53 Madison 6:53 Oakland... I don't know if it is battery??

wmagates Bill Gates

Friend from Alameda reports four choppers in the air- 22nd (Oakland) street.. it is quiet here.. but maybe not for long ... #occupyOakland

AP story

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- Police in riot gear have moved in and begun clearing anti-Wall Street protesters from the plaza in front of Oakland's City Hall where they have been camped out for about two weeks.

Television news footage shows numerous people in plastic cuffs being led away from the site by police around 5 a.m. Tuesday.

Ustream Oakland Occupy direct link

I'm awake ... are you? Olberman "Special Comment"

Don't pick a side. 99% of us are on the same side only 70% of us don't know it and don't vote (when it counts)!  So wake up!

Has the awakening begun ... I hope so!

Personally ... been voting against Reagan for a long time !

WI 1848 Forward: Has the #awakening begun ... I hope so! #Reagan #wwJd #Occupy #ows #47% #99% #AARP #NOW #NARAL #WOW

Upd10/23 a: NPR drops "WofO" - Lisa Simeone - OccupyDC / NPR Controversy - The Conservatives Win I Fear

As background for the Lisa Simeone/NPR/OccupyDC story we need to know the timeline of what happened and when regarding whether Lisa Simeone was fired or not (it appears the latter).  I started following this story on 10/19 but did not blog until 10/21.  Now on 10/23 if you want to read this blog entry it has become rather long and jumbled - I have done a little rearranging but mainly have been adding content.  So skip it and read the "FAIR" reporting but I have moved my concerns to follow the 10/21 characterization of what was really factual from the NPR memo.

(added 10/22) The "cleanest" reporting I have seen is on FAIR: NPR, Lisa Simeone and Biased Opera Reporting 10/20/2011 by Peter Hart

(10/21) my rewrite ... World of Opera host Lisa Simeone’s participation in an Occupy DC group has been questioned. World of Opera is produced by WDAV, a ...station based in Davidson, North Carolina. The program is distributed by NPR. Lisa is not an employee of WDAV or NPR; she is a freelancer with the station.

_____________________________________________

The problem with my blog postings is that I expect you to follow the links and do the thinking - I will make an exception this time and summarize my remaining questions and "hidden" conclusions.

• If people stop supporting NPR/PBS politically the "conservatives" have won again.
• The NYTimes says NPR gets a small amount of government money ... but not how small.  Deriving a number is difficult but minimally you can claim 2% ... in 2010 they had revenues of $180 million - 50% from local stations for programming and distribution fees.  The NYTimes, for comparison,  (extrapolating from http://www.nytimes.com/2011/10/21/business/media/the-new-york-times-company-reports-a-profit.html) seems to have operating costs of $2 billion a year.
• Ironically NPR was one of the first sources to report on ALEC about the influence of large corporations on legislation (especially state legislators).
• In my recent memory (>2005?) I recall controversy with "Public Broadcasting"  Bill Moyers Responds to CPB’s Tomlinson Charges of Liberal Bias: "We Were Getting it Right, But Not Right Wing" from DemocracyNow past shows May 16 2005 which drives my premise that NPR/PBS is an ideological target of the"right".
• To borrow a phrase from UW-Madison history I am "sifting and winnowing" and at present not willing to draw conclusions about the current incident involving Lisa Simeone. (10/21) Based on the latest communication from David Swanson I am willing to conclude that NPR has some difficult ethical decisions/conflicts of interest of their own to deal with.  They should always give the benefit of the doubt to the individual and allow them the fullest possible freedom of expression.[B. Gates 10/21 addition]

______________________________________________
(10/22)The communication I have is via email (via Swanson) and repeats some previous material so I provide a link where I think it will eventually end up http://davidswanson.org/.  The new fact is that NPR has dropped "World of Opera".  I guess that is one way to deal with "their problem".  Swanson points out in his last paragraph ...

 Clearly Soundprint deserves its full share of condemnation in all of this, and WDAV merits strong support.  WDAV will be distributing "World of Opera" on its own and should have our backing.  But NPR has lowered itself to the bottom rung of our communications system.  Mara Liaason can opinionate on Fox News while providing an objective god's-eye view on NPR.  Scott Simon can publish opinion columns in corporate newspapers while reporting the facts.  Cokie Roberts can take corporate speaking fees that could cover most people's mortgages without being perceived as in any way tarnished. But Lisa Simeone cannot introduce operas while having taken the unforgivable step of supporting a nonviolent movement on behalf of the lower 99% of us.

I assume what Swanson says about Liaason, Simon and Roberts can be substantiated.  Even without that it seems like a rather backhanded way for NPR to deal with their own issues of ethics and conflicts of interest and the types and kind of activities that they allow their "different" personalities to engage in. How is this consistent for other independent suppliers of "programming" and what their hosts, producers, etc. may be doing on the side.

The Daily Caller 10/19 ~ 12 Noon

Baltimore Sun: NPR looking into show host Lisa Simeone's role with Occupy Washington group 10/19 ~ 10pm

...The issue of someone associated with NPR, which has long asserted its non-partisan approach to broadcasting, serving as a spokesperson for such an overtly partisan effort was raised this week at The Daily Caller, a conservative website.

..."National Public Radio host Lisa Simeone appears to be breaking the taxpayer-subsidized network's ethics rules by acting as a spokeswoman for Occupy D.C. group 'October 2011,' which is currently "occupying" Freedom Plaza in Washington, D.C.," Matthew Boyle wrote in a piece posted Wednesday afternoon.

A wrap up of the timeline by someone close to many of the details ...

About NPR, Soundprint, WDAV, and Lisa Simeone

By David Swanson
http://warisacrime.org/content/about-npr-soundprint-wdav-and-lisa-simeone

Lisa Simeone learned about her "ethical" lapse from NPR's public blog post, or rather from reporters calling her about it. 

Lisa was soon thereafter fired by Soundprint, which cited NPR's "ethics" rules and according to Lisa would have been strongly influenced by NPR's post and email [Wednesday, October 19, 2011 6:12 PM] if they saw them (she doesn't know if they did).

There is no evidence whatsoever that NPR contacted Soundprint.

NPR's email and blog post said "We're in conversations with WDAV about how they intend to handle this. We of course take this issue very seriously." (The issue of participating in a democratic society and not backing a corporate agenda like bigshot NPR hosts who opinionate on Fox, in op-eds, and at big business speaking events for big bucks.)

Lisa was told to be on a phone call with NPR and WDAV yesterday morning, but NPR and WDAV canceled the call without telling her, as she waited by the phone.

NPR's Anna Christopher Bross tells me that NPR spoke with WDAV about how to handle Simeone.  She says they went through many possible scenarios, and that NPR has been completely transparent.  I asked her what any of the scenarios were, and she refused to say.  I asked if one of them was the only one anyone has discussed, namely firing Simeone, and she wouldn't say.  But the announcement by WDAV was "Ms. Simeone remains the host of World of Opera."  The decision was not to fire her.

Clearly the worst actor here is Soundprint. 

We do not know exactly what NPR has done, and I should not have claimed that I did.  I know Lisa's suspicions and I know my own.  But we do know that NPR has a blatant double standard and views participation in representative government as a serious ethical lapse by certain people, although not others.

As part of the Timeline -

In her own words Lisa Simeone explains why she is going to October2011 in DC ... the upload date is July 28th 2011.

Where does NPR get its money ... Wikipedia

In 2010, NPR revenues totaled $180 million, with the bulk of revenues coming from programming fees, grants from foundations or business entities, contributions and sponsorships.^[14] According to the 2009 financial statement, about 50% of NPR revenues come from the fees it charges member stations for programming and distribution charges.^[14] Typically, NPR member stations receive funds through on-air pledge drives, corporate underwriting, state and local governments, educational institutions, and the federally funded Corporation for Public Broadcasting (CPB). In 2009, member stations derived 6% of their revenue from federal, state and local government funding, 10% of their revenue from CPB grants, and 14% of their revenue from universities.^[14][15] While NPR does not receive any direct federal funding, it does receive a small number of competitive grants from CPB and federal agencies like the Department of Education and the Department of Commerce. This funding amounts to approximately 2% of NPR’s overall revenues.^[14]
During the 1970s and early 1980s, the majority of NPR funding came from the federal government. Steps were taken during the 1980s to completely wean NPR from government support, but the 1983 funding crisis forced the network to make immediate changes. Now more money to fund the NPR network is raised from listeners, charitable foundations and corporations instead.^{[citation needed]} According to CPB, in 2009 11.3% of the aggregate revenues of all public radio broadcasting stations were funded from federal sources, principally through CPB.^[16]

Excerpts from my blog 3/27/2011 ...

WI - Reprise from 3/17 - NPR an Ideological Target! Why? - ALEC - Cronon

... Going back to 3/17:  Sometime later, again in following the news, the issue of public funding for NPR / PBS and "gotcha videos" became a hot topic.   I recalled that there had been some "news" about ALEC from NPR or PBS or both -  it seemed to me it was "video" but in my searching I stopped searching when I found the NPR (quite politely labeled) audio story below.

Shaping State Laws With Little Scrutiny by Laura Sullivan

... First, perhaps the rest of us think too short term or tactically and when we organize to support "collective bargaining" or some other cause we need to be more like a conservative.  

Second, we  need "journalists" to be vigilant and thoughtful and perhaps a little more strident about asking tough questions and not just "neutral" reporting of sound bites and platitudes.

In 3/27 from 3/17 Blog:

L - NPR an Ideological Target! Why? from New York Times 3/14 ... my title

The NYT title ... Gains for NPR Are Clouded 

And while NPR receives a small [how small??] portion of its operating budget through government money, millions of people also think that its journalism is worthy enough to pay for through contributions, a trick that the rest of news media have had trouble figuring out, to say the least.
Trouble is, NPR has often been better at breaking news than running a news outlet. The current problems started five months ago when Juan Williams, a longtime NPR commentator, was hastily fired for remarks he made about Muslims making him fearful in airports. Then in January, Ellen Weiss, senior vice president for news, resigned after a report to the board found her management of the affair wanting.

3/17/2011 ...and another kind of reason
Shaping State Laws With Little Scrutiny by Laura Sullivan

... as I recall some state legislators were "given" scholarships to attend ... it would be interesting to trace legislation back to Wisconsin and our Legislative Reference Bureau where it would be redrafted for introduction ... any students need a project? 

Complete from 3/17 blog ...

Elements Of NPR Gotcha Video Taken Out Of Context by David Folkenflik

Elements Of NPR Gotcha Video Taken Out Of Context by David Folkenflik

Worth a listen ...teaches the problem with quick judgments!   From Morning Edition 3/14/2011.

How to protest ... if you did not already know?!

From Wired ... How To Wiki!

From Egypt to London to Wall Street, people everywhere have been banding together and taking to the streets (and the internet) to make their discontentments heard. But as we've seen, protesting can be risky, as peaceful protests can turn violent in an instant. Furthermore, certain behaviors can unexpectedly land even the most benign citizens behind bars. Being informed is key, which is why we've put together this Wired guide to protesting, which includes virtually everything you need to know about exercising your free speech rights.
And if we missed anything, you can log in and add it.

Contents

[hide]

• 1 Preparation
• 2 Health and Safety
• 3 Legalities
• 4 Recording a Protest
• 5 Communication
• 6 Disclaimer

 From Wired ... Epicenter page

Guest Post: Occupying Facebook

• By Dave Winer
• 
• October 5, 2011  | 
• 3:32 pm  | 
• Categories: Internet Culture & Etiquette, Social Media
• 
  
• Follow @davewiner

Yesterday I was given a list of Occupy sites on Daily Kos, about 200 of them. Most were Facebook sites; there were a handful of blogs with feeds.

Of course without feeds they can’t be part of occupyweb.org. But that’s okay, because occupying Facebook is every bit as good as occupying Wall Street. Seriously. And because of what’s happening on Facebook, the show is going to move out to the web.

Read this article about where Facebook thinks they’re heading. And then try to imagine the conversations they’re having with advertisers. How long before there’s an Occupy for individual brands? And do they really want to compete with the occupiers on Facebook?

Walker 's future? - Ohio SB 5 Headed For Rejection - Take Heart

The best news I have seen today!!!  The problem we continue to face is that we need to get people to stay engaged, become engaged and sway those who do not generally take much of a walk from their "values".

Ohio SB 5 Headed For Rejection

 from Public Policy Polling

...poised for a big victory in Ohio next month- PPP's newest poll of the state finds that voters intend to reject Senate Bill 5 by a 56-36 margin. Although that margin is consistent with what we found in the state earlier this year, when we polled Ohio in August the support for repealing SB 5 had tightened to 50-39.  These numbers suggest that momentum is back on the side of the groups trying to kill the bill.

The preferences of Republicans and independents on Senate Bill 5 are mostly unchanged from two months ago.  Independents are evenly divided on the issue, 46/46. And Republicans want to uphold it 61/30. But Democrats have unified in their support for repealing SB 5.  In August they were only planning to overturn it by a 69/21 margin. Now that figure is 80/13. That increase in Democratic support for repeal may be indicative of voters becoming increasingly aware what the implications of a 'yes' and 'no' vote are on this somewhat complicated referendum.
The rejection of Senate Bill 5 would be a huge defeat for John Kasich, and Kasich continues to be the most unpopular Governor PPP has polled on anywhere in the country in 2011. Just 37% of voters approve of the job he's doing to 54% who disapprove. He has an unusually high number of Republicans disenchanted with him- 23%- and he attracts little crossover support from Democrats to make up for that, with only 10% of them approving of him. Independents split against him by a 49/43 margin as well.

As Scandal Engulfs American Legislative Exchange Council’s U.K. Affiliate, A Closer Look At Its US Operation

Lee Fang and Scott Keyes on Oct 17, 2011 published this story about ALEC and its UK affiliate (Atlantic Bridge) in Think Progress.

The article also includes an embedded YouTube report of attempts to report on the ALEC meeting in New Orleans this year. It has also been embedded here.  Two for one!

Inside the 2011 American Legislative Exchange Council conference - New Orleans

The story about Atlantic Bridge is very revealing at how a lack of public accountability, behind the scenes meetings, hidden agendas easily corrupts politics.

The Atlantic Bridge, the British affiliate organization to the American Legislative Exchange Council, is quickly erupting into a scandal that may force the public to scrutinize the practices of both right-wing groups. Earlier this month, the U.K.’s Charity Commission shut down Atlantic Bridge after an investigation revealed that the nonprofit has operated as little more than a front for various corporate lobbying and Tory party interests. The scandal has already forced the resignation of David Cameron’s Defense Secretary Liam Fox after the revelation that the Atlantic Bridge’s London-based director, Adam Werritty, had improperly acted as a high level advisor to Fox while employed by a number of military industry and lobbying clients.

 It seems a shame that we must resort to "guilt by association" but it seems the "smoking gun" is all to often in the room.

Presidential candidate Herman Cain’s spokesperson and foreign policy adviser also has strong ties to Atlantic Bridge.

WI 1848 Forward: Scandal Engulfs ALEC Council’s U.K. Affiliate, A Closer Look At Its US Operation vs #47% #99%

The Atlantic - 50 Occupy Photos Worldwide

You might like to see 1000+ photos but these (50) put up The Atlantic does just about as well ... OCCUPY is alive and well.  Click the title to see ...

From the introduction -

The Occupy Wall Street movement continues to grow and has now spread across the world, motivating thousands to voice their anger at financial and social inequality, and in some places merging with existing anti-government protests. On Saturday, a global "Day of Rage" was observed, and demonstrations took place in more than 80 countries around the world. Protesters took their messages and anger to the streets from Hong Kong to Fairbanks, from Miami to London, from Berlin to Sydney, and hundreds more cities large and small. The demonstrations were largely peaceful -- with the exception of some violent clashes in Rome. Collected here are some images from the past several days as the Occupy Wall Street message continues to resonate and grow.

 WI 1848 Forward: #TheAtlantic - 50 #Occupy Photos Worldwide 2011

5/11/13 Walker's High Speed Train Wreck - Cronyism, Corruption

Legislature gets into Walker Corporate Welfare - How is this different than High Speed Train

Chris Rickert: On the (corporate) welfare express

For sale: 70 miles of railroad track. Low traffic, but likely to need major repairs soon. Owner is motivated to sell, but current lessee is not interested in buying. No public access.

Does this sound like a product the taxpayers of Wisconsin might think was worth $47 million? It does to their legislators, who appear to be leaning toward making a little-used section of freight-hauling track between Madison and Reedsburg a state property.

That’s good for the rail company that owns the line, Union Pacific; the rail company that leases it, Wisconsin & Southern; and the 14 companies that rely on it to one degree or another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~
The hallmarks of Walker's politics has so obviously been cronyism and corruption ... yet we seem to forget.  Later today I will add a video from a performance from the "Stop the Wars" rally yesterday (10/15) in Madison, WI on the steps of the Capitol ... the music sort of brings it altogether.  I'll add "video" to the title ... hope you read, remember and stop back.

Vision and Jobs (Obama) vs Cronyism (Walker) :

...Infrastructure investment - Walker turns it down and then rewards his "felon" railroad campaign donor buddy!  Remember?!

Upd Isthmus: Iron(y) Rails at Walker - Political Freight? PolitiScoop

...A later email exchange also details a personal meeting that Gardner had with Walker at the Noodles in Madison on April 13, 2010. The GAB was contacted by Gardner’s disgruntled ex-girlfriend, Stacie Long, on April 19, 2010 and told of the potentially illegal campaign contributions.... Emily Mills article above

 Walker's brush with illegal campaign donations - Isthmus

Walker Rewards Felon Company Owner with State Grant

WI 1848 Forward: 5/11/13 Walker's High Speed Train Wreck - Cronyism, Corruption #1% #elites vs #47%

BBC - Infrastructure Investment ... the EU way

EU plan to spend billions on boosting broadband speeds

The following quote from the article should be remembered again and again.  It reminds us how market systems are not perfect in achieving equality or equity and that we organize collectively to adjust and direct the markets to bring about what we, as the people, consider just and fair.

... A particular objective is to get more money invested in rural broadband. Left to their own devices, telecoms companies often invest less in such areas because they are not as profitable as more densely-populated towns and cities.

 WI 1848 Forward: BBC - Infrastructure Investment ... the EU way ... upgrade internet, public works

BBC 10/15 'Occupy' protests at financial crisis go worldwide

#oct15 is the Twitter hashtag used to send the call for an end to corporate and political greed.

Here are some excerpts from BBC -

... Organisers expect rallies in 82 countries, with the protests due to come full circle when they reach New York.

... Tens of thousands of people had turned out to demonstrate peacefully in Rome.
Television pictures from the city showed streets packed with protesters waving banners, close to the Colosseum.

 ...Outside the ECB itself in Frankfurt, Germany, thousands of people gathered to protest on Saturday.

... Hundreds of people marched in New Zealand cities while in Sydney, Australia, some 2,000 people - including representatives of Aboriginal groups, communists and trade unionists - rallied outside the central Reserve Bank of Australia.

Upd. Of All Places - Forbes - #OWS Genealogy and now NPR

 10/20 NPR has new related work on the BRAINS 

From the story ... listen later ... Morning Edition

The protests go by a variety of names: "Occupy Wall Street," "American Autumn," "The 99 Percent." And the lack of a unified message is matched by a lack of centralized control. But the protests share a common spark: a disillusioned Canadian adman.
The "Occupy" protests seemed to come out of nowhere. But the early participants, like John Garcia, in downtown Seattle, point to a very specific catalyst.
"I get Adbusters, so that's how I heard about it," he says.
Adbusters is an anti-consumerism magazine based in Vancouver, Canada. This summer, it proposed a Sept. 17 "occupation" of Wall Street, and the idea caught fire.

______________________________

The Brains Behind "Occupy Wall Street"

 .... KL: Forget divide and conquer. It’s too soon for that. And it may happen. I don’t know. The good thing about the Tea Party is that deep down in their guts they understand that there is something fundamentally wrong with our system. But they want to recapture the past when there is no going back. Their target is the government. Our target is the people who run the government: corporations and Wall Street. If some Tea Party people want to come out and protest, please come. They know we have to take away some of the powers the financial markets and speculators have over our system. They know that we have to make money less important in politics or this democracy is in very big trouble.

NPR & The Nation : The 99 Percent Rise Up

The communication technology (cellphones, hotspots, live cameras, etc.) made it possible ... the message is the right content ... but without the technology embodied in the internet and social media tools #OWS may never have gotten off the starting block ... we should have seen it coming.  Some may say they did and point to Arab Spring ... but as McLuhan would probably say it began happening years ago.

from Wikipedia

Hence in Understanding Media, McLuhan describes the "content" of a medium as a juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.^[4] This means that people tend to focus on the obvious, which is the content, to provide us valuable information, but in the process, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time.^[3] As society's values, norms and ways of doing things change because of the technology, it is then we realize the social implications of the medium. These range from cultural or religious issues and historical precedents, through interplay with existing conditions, to the secondary or tertiary effects in a cascade of interactions^[3] that we are not aware of.

An unusually blunt piece for NPR  ... probably due to The Nation's influence as partner content (and John Nichols):

...Occupy Wall Street started small, took a beating from the cops and struggled for weeks to get the attention of the political class, the media and even its own natural allies. The only thing going for this unlikely intervention has been the pitch-perfect resonance of its founding premises. The American people understood Occupy Wall Street, and began to embrace its promise, long before the mandarins who presume to chart our national discourse noticed that everything was changing. That's because the generators of this movement—and it is a movement—have gotten three things right from the start:

...

The demands are right. The most comic complaint about Occupy Wall Street—not just from critics but even from some elite sympathizers—is that it lacks well-defined demands. In fact, the objection of the occupiers to a system of corporate domination and growing inequality, and their desire to change that system, makes a lot more sense to a lot more Americans than anything being said by politicians. Polling confirms this point: Barack Obama's approval ratings are dismal, but the approval ratings for the Republicans in Congress are dramatically worse. The American people desperately wanted this movement. That is proven not only by the polls but by the practical embrace of the Occupy Wall Street ethos in more than a thousand communities across the nation. Some are already occupying public spaces, others are marching and rallying. Beyond Wall Street, there will be more specific complaints, more adventurous alliances, more practical politics, but there's no reason why a diversity of issues and tactics cannot build the movement that was invited when the call to Occupy Wall Street was issued.

Upd 9am Madison - OccupyDenver being squeezed - 9News Live Stream - Sometimes

9am Madison time ... 24 arrested or detained in Denver ... although there was some periods where only audio was being broadcast ... they have been on all morning!

When this is on it's interesting ... I was watching about 6:30am!  If you click on the title above it "seems" to take you to live feed?!  I will leave it embedded ... may go offline at any time!  Was in Lincoln Park?  Listening to the audio ... broadcaster can't tell the difference between homeless and protestors ... wonder why!?

Do have to put up with ads! Looks like they stopped the live and plugged in older static reports ... you can find the TV site on the link below.



Static Reports - Denver 9 News

From Channel 9's report ...

During a news conference on Thursday night, the State Patrol said the protesters could not stay on the land around the Capital, in Lincoln Park, and it said it would enforce the 11 p.m. to 5 a.m. curfew. The police action began at about 3:15 a.m. Friday morning.

Upd: Crisis Postponed : OWS arrests throw oil on protest fire

 Upd 10/14 AM

@NYCMayorsOffice NYC Mayor's Office

Late last night we received notice from Brookfield Properties that they're postponing their scheduled cleaning of Zuccotti Park. #OWS

________________________________________________
From RT - uploaded to YouTube about 7:30am 10/13 ... probably from day before!

Rumors are that Bloomberg wants the park cleaned ... is this a ruse to create a confrontation?

Keith Olberman talks with Erpenbach about Walker recall 10/11

Countdown : Keith Olberman on Tuesday 10/11/11

OccupyAustin ... Livestream ... past and present

OccupyAustin seems to really have it together.  Some tweets seem a little less encouraging ...

occupynetwork Occupy Multiplier

by superbranch

#OccupyAustin is under police repression, people being arrested Livestream is.gd/x7I4N6 #OccupySF #OccupyOakland #OWS watch & learn

Retweeted around 3am 10/13 ... I don't know how long this stay/keep stay up ... but the PROTEST is the message!

Watch live streaming video from occupyaustin at livestream.com

MainStreamMedia does not get the Message (It's the PROTEST)

Mainstream media vs. Occupy Wall Street -- the battle

The Protest is the Message ... you say OCCUPY !

The Protest is the Message ... you say OCCUPY !

What would Marshall McLuhan say ... about #occupy99 ....

from Wikipedia 

Herbert Marshall McLuhan, CC (July 21, 1911 – December 31, 1980) was a Canadian educator, philosopher, and scholar—a professor of English literature, a literary critic, a rhetorician, and a communication theorist. McLuhan's work is viewed as one of the cornerstones of the study of media theory, as well as having practical applications in the advertising and television industries.^[1][2]

McLuhan is known for coining the expressions "the medium is the message" and "the global village" and predicted the World Wide Web almost thirty years before it was invented.^[3] Although he was a fixture in media discourse in the late 1960s, his influence started to wane in the early seventies.^[4] In the years after his death, he would continue to be a controversial figure in academic circles.^[5] With the arrival of the internet, however, there was renewed interest in his work and perspective.^[6][7][8]

from Wikipedia

Hence in Understanding Media, McLuhan describes the "content" of a medium as a juicy piece of meat carried by the burglar to distract the watchdog of the mind.^[4] This means that people tend to focus on the obvious, which is the content, to provide us valuable information, but in the process, we largely miss the structural changes in our affairs that are introduced subtly, or over long periods of time.^[3] As society's values, norms and ways of doing things change because of the technology, it is then we realize the social implications of the medium. These range from cultural or religious issues and historical precedents, through interplay with existing conditions, to the secondary or tertiary effects in a cascade of interactions^[3] that we are not aware of.

Upd: My Identity is being questioned ... I have been Bill Gates a long time ... Politics?

The Response from Google - (Another reason corporations should not be treated like people!)

profiles-support@google.com to me

show details 11:58 AM (4 minutes ago)

Hi,

Thanks for your report. Based on the information you provided, we were
able to verify your identity. We apologize for any inconvenience this
might have caused. Thanks for your assistance in resolving this issue, and
for hosting your profile on Google.

Sincerely,
Duyen
The Google Profiles Support Team

To All -

If I should suddenly disappear it would seem to be because some person (or group) has accused me of impersonating myself (hard act to follow) or Google has themselves decided I am not me. Not to worry I will come back via my UW account where I am just wgates@+suffix.

The story ... my email account was disabled this morning ... and I had to supply my telephone # and have a code delivered via telephone ... this all happened as I tried to sign into gmail. Then I noticed I could not set my status in CHAT although I do show up.

I decided to check my PROFILE in igoogle and found it had been disabled. I have been required to submit an image of my "national ID" or equivalent with a picture ... sounds like voting in the State of Wisconsin. That I checked the PROFILE at all was lucky ... if you just go about your business they will remove it in two weeks! But you only find that out by going and checking your PROFILE.

It's been nice knowing you all! Hope I have not missed anyone! (using bcc - long list)

--
Bill Gates

Search Update 2012: Occupy Madison 10/09/11 Sunday Capitol Rotunda - video

The OccupyMadison group, organized several days ago, proceeded from Reynolds Park up East Washington Avenue and into the Capitol.  Many different individuals then made statements about their motivations for supporting the "Occupy Movement" here in Madison WI and the country. At the end they exited peacefully out the State Street entrance.

Upd:  And what about the next night forever ... suggest an appeal to Mayor and City Council to remove constraints of permits where ever they land!  I'm listening to live WORT broadcast about just what may go on ... thinking about a rally at the Capitol (near Jail) tonight!

Read at ~7pm probably tweeted at ~6pm ..

dane101 Dane101

by 4SHCrane

After some discussion the police have agreed to allow #occupymadison to stay in Reynolds Park tonight. General Assembly starting shortly.

1 hour ago

Occupy Madison: Kittens, Love & Revolution ... gentle video

It is always amazing to me how paths cross and we meet people in one context and then another

Air Space Museum - American Spectator Editor Role - FireDogLake.com

American Spectator Editor Admits to Being Agent Provocateur at D.C. Museum just goes to show you have to be careful interpreting "facts".  There is no doubt people were maced ... but the why sometimes is hard to discover!

 From the story ...

...Immediately after the incident began hitting the newswires Howley published a “Breaking News” story with The American Spectator online in which he reveals that he had consciously infiltrated the group on Friday with the intent to discredit the movement.  He states that “as far as anyone knew I was part of this cause — a cause that I had infiltrated the day before in order to mock and undermine in the pages of The American Spectator — and I wasn’t giving up before I had my story.”

According to Howley’s story he joined the group in its march toward the Air and Space Museum but the protesters on the march were unwilling to be confrontational.  He states “they lack the nerve to confront authority. From estimates within the protest, only ten people were pepper-sprayed, and as far as I could tell I was the only one who got inside.”

What does radical #PaulRyan think about #AynRand?

2/17/2017
When Paul Ryan claims you will have "choice" he means "if you can afford it".

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Quite a juxtaposition ...

5/5/12 only 139,000+ views

11/25/2014 ... what's it worth ... Ryan can afford to be a disciple !

CapTimes: Bill Lueders: New tool helps track congressional assets

The 2013 report for Wisconsin Republican Rep. Paul Ryan fills 17 pages, which might have taken hours to tabulate. Now in seconds a snoop can find that Ryan and his wife reported 109 holdings worth between $2.3 million and $8.8 million. Last year these assets generated between $74,000 and $245,000 in income.  

In all, Wisconsin’s eight House members and two senators reported assets worth between $54 million and $171 million. These holdings generated income between $1.2 million and $7.4 million in 2013. 

August 2017 -

Tina Fey Absolutely Destroys Nazis, Trump And Paul Ryan While Eating A Sheet Cake

I sort of have a follower (I have embedded another tweet elsewhere) ... they seem worried about me embarrassing myself ... 20180618

I'm not embarrassed ... just wishing I knew for sure he has looked at the linked content not just the "tweet".

Afternoon 20180618 ... now he has become an abuser !

MT: #Medicare in #Ryan's 2015 Budget > #1% #elites —Center on #Budget and Policy Priorities http://www.cbpp.org/cms/?fa=view&id=4121#.VTT_zqbKN1s.twitter http://wi1848forward.blogspot.com/2011/10/video-what-does-paulryan-think-about.html?spref=tw


#1% #Elites Radical #Ryan == #RAND - What does #PaulRyan think about #AynRand?
WI 1848 Forward:  #wwJd #47% vs #1% #Elites #Ryan == #RAND #Janesville

WI 1848 Forward: 1/1/16 Radical #PaulRyan as House Spkr #Ryan == #RAND > Market Society vs Market Economy- #Sandel

WI 1848 Forward: What does Paul " #AynRand " #Ryan think about #Trump ? #wwjd vs #1% #Elites  #Janesville #PaulRyan

WI 1848 Forward: What does Paul " #AynRand " #Ryan think about #RandyBryce ? We need a " #Bryce " of fresh air!

#1% #Elites Radical #Ryan == #RAND -WI 1848 Forward: Video - What does #PaulRyan think about #AynRand? #TinaFey

What does #radical multiple #Millionaire #PaulRyan think about #AynRand? Wants his #taxes cut! Resigned or not #GOP == Ayn Rand in reality

Upd#4: Madisonite Maced at Air Space Museum ... one of many ?!

The other day I started following Ann Maria Bell because she was traveling from Madison to participate in various events in Washington DC.  She has obviously become quite involved!
__________________________________________
6:10pm 10/8 update

annmariabell Ann Maria Bell

For good account of what happened at Air & Space museum today search @WisCairo on twitter. #occupyDC #oct6 #wiunion #fb

5 minutes ago

__________________________________________

At about 3:30pm, Madison time (it is now 4:30), I was just checking up on the latest Twitter news and started seeing notes about mace (pepper spray) and started looking at some the material to see what was developing.  I am still not sure I know exactly what happened but ... here are some of Ann Maria's tweets and a YouTube video from another source!

annmariabell Ann Maria Bell

Britt. She looks sweet but she's a hardcore peacekeeper & medic who was on the frontlines today. #occupydc #oct6 http://instagr.am/p/Pg6Lf/

6 minutes ago

annmariabell Ann Maria Bell

Being treated for pepper spray in the medic tent. #occupydc #oct6 #wiunion instagr.am/p/PgymT/

25 minutes ago

annmariabell Ann Maria Bell

March to Air & Space Museum in DC hit w pepper spray. No word on arrests. #freedomplaza #occupyDC #wiunion #fb

2 hours ago

There are many other tweets that one can call concurrent validity evidence that something happened ... so I will leave it there!
_____________________
Here is a report from another source - Lisa Simeone - (out at 4:41 Madison time?)

At a demonstration by the  October 2011 Movement at the National Air &
Space Museum, Smithsonian Protection Services security officers pepper
sprayed protesters as soon as they entered the museum. They
pepper-sprayed a young woman from Woodlawn, VA who is not part of the
protest.

Demonstrators were protesting the drone exhibit at the museum, which
represents the glorification of extra-judicial executions and the
military industrial complex at a public institution.

The police closed the museum and have been telling the public that the
building was closed due to a bomb threat.

Video from Op-Ed News, one of whose correspondents was also pepper-sprayed.

----------------------------------
Lisa Simeone
October 2011

And another video from opednews.com ...

It was embedded in a piece from WashingtonNBC with a some what different slant on what happened!


Several hours later this is what AP reports ...10:30 pm

DC museum closed after protest; pepper spray used

By JESSICA GRESKO
Associated Press

US Video

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WASHINGTON (AP) -- The National Air and Space Museum in Washington was closed Saturday after anti-war demonstrators swarmed the building to protest a drone exhibit and security guards used pepper spray to repel them, sickening a number of protesters.

Smithsonian spokesman John Gibbons said a large group of demonstrators, estimated at 100 to 200 people, arrived at about 3 p.m. and tried to enter the National Mall museum. When a security guard stopped group members from entering, saying they could not bring in signs, he was apparently held by demonstrators, Gibbons said. A second guard who arrived used pepper spray on at least one person and the crowd dispersed, he added.

A number of groups have been demonstrating in the city in the past week. The group that arrived at the museum Saturday included individuals taking part in the October 2011 Stop the Machine demonstration in the city's Freedom Plaza, which has an anti-war and anti-corporate greed message. The group also included protesters affiliated with Occupy D.C., a group modeled on the Occupy Wall Street protests in New York City. Occupy D.C. has been holding marches and meetings in Washington's McPherson Square.

David Swanson, 41, of Charlottesville, Va., said he was among dozens of people sickened by the pepper spray. He said he got sick even though he was outside the building when the spraying began.

  AP