Politics Plus

In solidarity with the 99%, I did not spend a penny on Black Friday, in spite of some very attractive bargains, but yesterday I learned of the kind of Black Friday shopping that I can heartily endorse.  In the Plutocratic Corporate Dictatorship of Fitzwalkerstan, formerly Wisconsin, patriots headed out to the malls to collect signatures to recall Scott Walker.

Black Friday is a big day for the American economy, with businesses starting off the holiday shopping season with big deals. And in Wisconsin, another bargain is on offer: Signing petitions to recall Gov. Scott Walker!

On Wednesday, the state Democratic Party announced that volunteers would be collecting signatures near shopping centers during Black Friday, in their effort to recall Walker.

"Volunteers in every corner of the state have been working very long hours over the past week to get the signatures needed to take Wisconsin back from the corporations and cronies Scott Walker serves, and this weekend, they’ll continue that grassroots effort," state Dem chair Mike Tate said in a statement on Wednesday. "While this means that some of them will miss out on time they’d normally spend with their families, they know the work they’re doing will ultimately benefit their families and the state far more."… [emphasis added]

Inserted from <Alternet>

Just in case you’ve forgotten how important recalling Walker is, lets look back to one of Walker’s most defining moments, the time that Ian Murphy from the Daily Beast called Walker pretending to be David Koch.  Note how little Murphy has to say, as Walker, completely fooled, rambles on and on, exposing himself as a Koch sucking, corporate whore.

Part 2:

Thank you to the Democrats in Wisconsin for sacrificing their holiday weekend to reclaim their state for its citizens.

One of the constant memes we hear from the Republican Party is that they are the ones who support and defend our Constitutional rights.  To see how valid this claim is, lets examine am example of how they practice what they peach in real life, in this case, the right to free speech.

In a blatant violation of the First Amendment, a public high school in Prairie Village, Kansas disciplined a student for speaking out against Gov. Sam Brownback (R-KS):

Emma Sullivan, a senior at Shawnee Mission East High School in Prairie Village, was in Topeka on Monday as part of Kansas Youth in Government, a program for students interested in politics and government.

During the session, in which Brownback addressed the group, Sullivan posted on her personal Twitter page: “Just made mean comments at gov brownback and told him he sucked, in person #heblowsalot”

On Tuesday, Sullivan was called to her principal’s office and told that the tweet had been flagged by someone on Brownback’s staff and reported to organizers of the Youth in Government program. . . .

Sullivan said the principal ordered her to write letters of apology to Brownback, the school’s Youth in Government sponsor, the district’s social studies coordinator and others.

It’s troubling that Brownback’s staff is so thin skinned that the felt the need to call down the government’s wrath on a simple high school student who had the audacity to criticize the governor. If nothing else, one would think a state governor’s office has better things to do than troll the internet looking for young dissenting voices they can intimidate.

Moreover, there’s no question that the high school principal violated Sullivan’s First Amendment rights… [emphasis original]

Inserted from <Think Progress>

Do you remember Joe Wilson (R-SC)?  He the Republican who called out “YOU LIE!” during President Obama’s State of the Union Address on the floor of Congress.  Republicans on the House Ethics Committee blocked a call for Wilson’s censure, claiming that they were protecting his right to free speech.  Such an act far and away outweighs the severity of Sullivan’s Twittering. But Republicans believe in the right to free speech only in so far as it protects what they want to say.  For the rest of us, they think the First Amendment does not apply.