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Politics

Petition to Recall Michigan’s Governor Rick Snyder is Approved

Rick Snyder, the governor who approved and spearheaded the poisoning of Flint’s children by giving them water from the Flint river to drink, could be recalled from office in an upcoming recall election.

The Board of State Canvassers, part of the secretary of state’s office, rejected nine other recall petitions, six of them based on Snyder’s widely criticized handling of lead from corroded pipes that began leaching into Flint homes following a cost-saving move to pump water from the Flint River.

The water crisis is under criminal investigation by state and federal authorities.

But the petition approved Monday seeks to remove Snyder, a Republican, from office over his decision last year to take control of the state office to reform schools, which organizers say disregards local prerogatives, according to The Detroit News and The Associated Press.

It takes three members of the four-person member board, which is split between Republicans and Democrats, to approve a recall petition.

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News

Nissan Recall – 990,000 Airbags Need Fixing

Nissan is recalling 2013 and 2014 model-year Leaf electric cars to fix an airbag sensor software issue.

The recall will correct faulty software in approximately 29,165 Leafs that controls the front-passenger seat Occupant Classification System (OCS), which senses weight to determine if a person is sitting in the seat.

The OCS is used in the Leaf and most other production cars to prevent airbag deployment when the passenger seat is unoccupied, or when an underweight individual is sitting in it.

In the affected vehicles, the system may read the seat as empty even if it is occupied as an adult. If this happens, the passenger front airbag will be deactivated and will not deploy in a crash.

Nissan dealers will reprogram the OCS software free of charge. This is expected to begin in mid-April, but owners will be notified of the exact date

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Chrysler News

Chrysler Pushes Back on US Call for Jeep Vehicle Recall

The U.S. government today called for a major recall of nearly 3 million Chrysler sport utility vehicles based on what its experts say is a deadly fire hazard that has left an estimated 51 people dead.

“This will be the biggest recall [in terms of impact] since the Ford Pinto,” said Clarence Ditlow, executive director of the Center for Auto Safety, which requested a U.S. probe into the SUVs in 2010.

The automaker is refusing, however, saying that its vehicles are safe and not defective.

The government says that initial findings show a safety defect in older model Jeeps — the Jeep Grand Cherokee from 1993 to 2004, and the Jeep Liberty 2002 to 2007.

The government also says the fuel tanks are vulnerable to rupture in rear-end collisions.

Photo credit: Jenelle Embrey 

h/t – ABCNEWS

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Politics Wisconsin

Democratic Challenger To Scott Walker Gets Slapped In The Face By a Woman – Video

As if losing for the second tome to Republican Scott Walker in last night’s Recall elections wasn’t enough, Democratic challenger Tom Barrett was slapped in the face by a women while he was greeting supporters.

No word on whether this woman was in fact Scott Walker in drag. Or maybe the slap was intended for Scott Walker for him secretly ending Wisconsin’s version of the Lilly Ledbetter Equal Pay for Equal Work Act for women.

UPDATE: The woman seen slapping Tom Barrett was not Scott Walker dressed in drag. She was a supporter of Mr. Barrett who was upset that he conceded the loss to Scott Walker so early while people were still standing on line to vote. When Barrett was asked about the incident, he told reporters  that the woman asked him if she could slap him for giving up so early. Barrett told the lady that he would prefer a hug instead and when he leaned forward to hug her, her hand forcibly introduced itself to his face.

Barrett admitted congratulating Walker on the win after he was determined to be the projected winner… less than an hour after polls in Wisconsin closed.

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Politics tweet

Scott Walker Wins in Wisconsin – Best Tweet That Summarizes This Win

I couldn’t have said it better. After NBC News called the Wisconsin Recall election a “win for Scott Walker,” Twitter went wild with tweets both for and against the Union killing Republican governor.

But in all the fast flying tweets, this one resonated with me. It perfectly sums up what happened in Wisconsin a short while ago when it became obvious that Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly gave Walker permission to continue crushing the unions – unions that are set up to protect the very people who voted for Scott Walker today.

No truer words have been spoken.

Categories
Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

With Three Weeks to Recall, Walker Leads in Wisconsin

A new Marquette Law School Poll in Wisconsin shows that with three weeks to go until the recall election Gov. Scott Walker (R) has taken a six point lead over Tom Barrett (D), 50% to 44%, among likely voters.

Three weeks ago, Walker’s lead was just one point.

Said pollster Charles Franklin: “While both parties show unusual levels of involvement in the campaign, Republicans appear to hold an advantage in likely turnout, although Democrats are more likely to have been contacted by a campaign. In a close election with so few undecided voters, enthusiasm, turnout and campaign contact with voters may make the difference.”

[Political Wire]

Categories
employer discrimination Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Scott Walker Quietly Signs Bill To Repeal Equal Pay For Women in Wisconsin

The 2009 Equal Pay Enforcement Act was meant to deter employers from discriminating against certain groups by giving workers more avenues via which to press charges. Among other provisions, it allows individuals to plead their cases in the less costly, more accessible state circuit court system, rather than just in federal court.

In November, the state Senate approved SB 202, which rolled back this provision. On February, the Assembly did the same. Both were party-line votes in Republican-controlled chambers.

SB 202 was sent to Walker on March 29. He had, according to the state constitution, six days to act on the bill. The deadline was 5:00 p.m. on Thursday. The governor quietly signed the bill into law on Thursday, according to the Legislative Reference Bureau, and it is now called Act 219.

Walker’s office did not return repeated requests for comment.

Source: Huffington Post

Categories
Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

Court Strikes Down Part of Scott Walker’s Anti Union Law

The Huffington Post reports:

Just over a year after Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) signed a measure taking away most collective bargaining rights for public workers, labor unions scored a victory as a federal court struck down portions of the law. The court ruled that the state cannot prevent public sector unions from automatically deducting dues from workers’ paychecks and cannot require them to be recertified annually.

The law, known as Act 10, requires most public sector unions to hold annual votes on whether a majority of its members want to recertify the union. It also took away the rights of some unions to automatically collect dues from members’ paychecks.

The court kept most of the law in place, but it ruled that the state did not have the power to pick and choose which unions could deduct dues. Under Act 10, only “public safety unions” — those representing firefighters and police officers — could continue to take out payments automatically.

Categories
Wisconsin Union Bashing

One Month To Go Before Scott Walker’s Goose Starts Cooking

The water’s a-boiling, and Walker is literally feeling the heat. He has bombarded Wisconsin airwaves with television ads trying to convince the people that his failed policies are just what they need. But once the fire is lit, it’s just a matter of time before the feast begins.

MADISON — Organizers of the historic recall effort against Gov. Scott Walker have collected more than half a million signatures, a milestone that puts them more than 90 percent of the way toward the number needed to trigger an election.

Thursday’s announcement by officials with the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and the recall organization, United Wisconsin, comes with one month left before the deadline to turn in the 540,208 signatures needed to force Walker back onto the campaign trail.

“Scott Walker continues to spend millions on misleading TV ads trying to convince voters that his drastic cuts to education and other ‘reforms’ are working,” Meagan Mahaffey, United Wisconsin’s executive director, said in a press release Thursday. “But the people of Wisconsin are not buying his lies and are moving at record pace to stop Walker’s destruction and recall him from office.”

Categories
democrats Politics Wisconsin

Republicans Stole The Wisconsin Recall Elections… Again!

Election night in Wisconsin, and the big story is not that Democrats won two of the six senate seats held by Republicans. Yes, that in itself is an amazing achievement. All the elections were held in historically Republican controlled counties, and throughout the 80 plus years recall elections were held in the state, only 20 have been successful. So to have two successes in one night is amazing.

But what’s even more amazing about the recall elections held last night was the results from a place in District 8 called Waukesha county and the behind-the-scenes workings of a particular county clerk in Waukesha called Kathy Nickolaus.

As the polls closed and results started coming in, Republicans breathed a collective sigh of relief when the first three counties stayed in their control – R. Cowles maintained his seat in district 2, S. Harsdorf kept the Republican seat in district 10 and L. Olsen kept Republicans in power in district 14.

By this time, hours after the polling closed, the remaining three races in the recall elections were led by the Democratic challengers. Keep in mind, that Democrats needed to win a total of three seats to regain control of the Senate and stop Scott Walker’s future corporate policies from being implemented.

The next election results showed that two seats would go to Democrats.  J. Schelling in district 32 and J. King in district 18 both defeated the Republican incumbents. Then all eyes turned to district 8 where the Democratic challenger S. Pasch was leading the Republican 52% to 48%. This was the last race to be decided for the night, and things were looking good for the Democrat. But remember Waukesha county and the particular county clerk name Kathy Nickolaus? Waukesha county is in District 8, and at the time when the Democrat challenger Pasch was leading, only one of eleven precincts in Waukesha county had reported their results.

Why is Waukesha county so important in these elections?

Kathy Nickolous, the county clerk responsible for, among other things, maintaining the integrity and accuracy of the votes in the elections, is a Republican with questionable morals.

Remember the election for the Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice a few months ago between Republican David Prosser and his Democratic challenger JoAnn Kloppenberg? In that election, Mrs. Kloppenberg was leading and predicted to be the winner. Then miraculously, after all votes were counted, Kathy Nickolous “found” an additional 12000 votes in her computer. Those additional votes were all that Prosser needed to move ahead. He was later declared the winner.

Which brings us back to last night’s election.

When the election in all the other districts were decided, Waukesha county still only had one precinct reporting a total of 600 votes, with a little over 400 going to the Republican, Mrs A. Darling. Television pundits began questioning why Kathy Nickolous was not reporting the other precincts. On the Ed Show on MSNBC, questions were being asked suggesting that another “Prosser” moment may be happening in Waukesha, and calls for a possible investigation into the county clerk were being echoed on different news networks.

Then suddenly, hours after the polls had closed, results from 9 precincts in Waukesha county came in – a total of 12,000 votes, putting the Republican in the lead 53% to 47%. When Kathy Nickolous reported the final precinct numbers, District 8 was called a win for the Republican.

Final results, A. Darling 54%, S. Pasch 48%.

Yes, an amazing night in Wisconsin indeed, but for all the wrong reasons.

Categories
Wisconsin Wisconsin Union Bashing

More Wisconsin Republicans Added to Recall List

The count is now up to four. That’s how many petitions have been filed to recall the Republican senators who supported Governor Walker’s decision to strip Wisconsin workers of their union rights. Democrats got the required 15,000 signatures needed to add the latest senators Luther Olsen and Sheila Harsdorf to the recall list.

Meanwhile, progressives still plan to file recall petitions against four other GOP state senators, and have until May 2 to do so. They plan to do the same against Walker once he is eligible for recall. And as FDL’s Dave Dyden notes, “While conservative activists have hinted that they have achieved enough signatures to recall Democratic members of the Senate, they have yet to file any petitions with the GAB.”

Governor Walker will be eligible for recall in January 2012.

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Democratic Featured Republican Wisconsin

Wife of Republican Wisconsin Senator Wants Him Recalled

The doorbell to the known residence of Wisconsin’s Republican Senator Randy Hopper rang. The maid for the residence opened the door and found a group of protesters collecting signatures on a petition to recall Hopper. The maid quickly signed the petition and called her boss, Randy Hopper’s wife, who came to the door with the shocking news that he no longer lived at that residence.

She then indicated that she too, will sign the recall petition.

According to Mrs. Hopper, it seems the conservative Republican senator lives with his 25 year old mistress in another part of town. Mr. Hopper represents Wisconsin Senate District 18, and worked hand in hand with Wisconsin’s governor, Scott Walker to take away voters negotiating rights.

According to reports by Blogging Blue:

Randy Hopper filed for divorce from his wife in August 2010, and it’s being reported his soon to be ex-wife will be signing a recall petition.

As for the claim by Hopper’s soon to be ex-wife that Hopper is living in Madison with his 25-year-old mistress, I’ve received unconfirmed reports the “other woman” is Valerie Cass, who as of this morning was a lobbyist for Persuasion Partners, Inc., a right-wing lobbying firm

Wisconsin’s law states that elected officials can be recalled by the voters and as a state senator, Randy Hopper’s name is among the eight names on the recall petition drafted by the state’s Democrats. Mr. Walker will be up for recall in 2012.

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