February 13, 2013

Justice Details ‘History Of Abusive Behavior’ At Wisconsin Supreme Court

Wisconsin State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley has decided to have her say.

She’s been publicly silent since the incident on June 13, 2011, in which fellow Justice David Prosser allegedly put his hands around her neck during a heated exchange in the presence of other justices in her judicial chambers. The justices were ostensibly arguing about the court’s decision upholding Gov. Scott Walker’s anti-public employee union legislation.

But in a document filed Wednesday, in which she recused herself from the judicial misconduct case brought against Prosser as a result of the altercation, Bradley offered details about what she called “a history of abusive behavior in our workplace that has escalated from tantrums and rages, to threats, and now to physical contact.”

(snip)
“To this day, the Chief Justice and I continue to lock ourselves inside our private offices when working alone because of concerns for our physical safety due to Justice Prosser’s behavior,” Bradley wrote. “That is not a satisfactory solution. Our court needs to address and solve its workplace safety issue. If nothing is done, I wonder what will happen next in this escalating pattern of abusive behavior.”

Read Bradley’s document:
http://tpmmuckraker.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/02/ann_walsh_bradley_prosser_case.php


Bradley received more security before Prosser incident, safety concerns remain
http://www.jsonline.com/news/statepolitics/justice-bradley-sought-more-security-long-before-incident-with-justice-prosser-7o8p2n5-191072701.html

State Supreme Court Justice Ann Walsh Bradley received stepped-up security from law enforcement more than two months before Justice David Prosser put his hands around her neck in a dispute over a controversial case, according to a court document issued Wednesday.

That disclosure came in a decision Bradley released recusing herself from the ethics case against Prosser over the June 2011 altercation. Bradley wrote in the filing that she and Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson to this day lock themselves in their offices when working after hours because of concerns about Prosser's behavior.

"If nothing is done, I wonder what will happen next in this escalating pattern of abusive behavior," Bradley wrote.

(snip)
"My filing is in response to (Roggensack's) recent statements," she said in an interview. "The issue of workplace safety and work environment have not gone away simply because she denies them. It's time to set the record straight."

February 13, 2013

Pelosi: Boehner Was ‘Projecting’ his own failures when he called Obama Weak

Pelosi: Boehner Was ‘Projecting’ When He Called Obama Weak
http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/pelosi-boehner-was-projecting-when-he-called-obama

House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-CA) said that Speaker John Boehner (R-OH) was "projecting" his own failures when he claimed that President Obama won't cut spending because he is too weak to stand up to the liberal wing of his party.

"I don’t understand that because he’s a gentleman, the speaker is," Pelosi said in an interview with CNN published Wednesday. "But that remark was -- I mean, it was almost as if he was projecting onto the president his lack of being able to pass any bill that created jobs since he became speaker."

CNN's Chris Cuomo clarified: "You think the speaker is projecting onto the president his own failure?"

"Exactly," Pelosi said. "Because he hasn't been able to deal with his own party. There isn't anything that he passed that we haven't' delivered the votes for him that has been job-creating."

video
http://cnnpressroom.blogs.cnn.com/2013/02/13/pelosi-to-cuomo-speaker-boehner-is-projecting-his-own-failure-onto-president/

February 11, 2013

Paul Krugman: The Right’s Stuff

Many conservatives, including old-line relatively moderate conservatives, were outraged by the political thesis of my book The Conscience of a Liberal (first published before the 2008 election) — which was that extreme movement conservatives took over the GOP a long time ago, were able to win elections by exploiting white resentment, but were on the verge of losing their grip thanks to demographic change.

But that’s pretty much exactly what Sam Tanenhaus, the Times book review editor and a long-time conservative, is now saying.

In COAL I also argued that the place to begin a new liberal agenda was with health care reform, more or less along the lines of the Massachusetts reform, which I believed was finally achievable. (I hoped for a public option, but oh well).

I sometimes get people declaring that I don’t know anything about politics; I’m willing to agree, with the proviso that you also admit that *nobody* knows anything about politics. But I don’t think that I’m doing all that badly here …

http://krugman.blogs.nytimes.com/2013/02/11/the-rights-stuff/?smid=tw-NytimesKrugman&seid=auto

February 11, 2013

White House: Raising Medicare Eligibility Age Is Off The Table

Source: ThinkProgress

The Obama administration has ruled out raising the Medicare eligibility age from 65 to 67 as a means of reducing spending, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney announced during a briefing on Monday.

The measure — which the President floated as part of a larger deal to reduce the deficit in 2011 — is widely supported by Republicans, but would only save the federal government a net $5.7 billion, while shifting an added $11.4 billion in health care spending to states, employers, and individuals.

The proposal could also devastate the majority of seniors. While the richest Americans have fared well during the sluggish economic recovery, most Americans continue to struggle with falling wages and job uncertainty. According to a recent report from the Conference Board, 62 percent of workers between 45 and 60 plan to delay their retirements, a stark jump from 2010 — when 42 percent of workers planned a delay.

Read more: http://thinkprogress.org/health/2013/02/11/1570981/white-house-raising-medicare-eligibility-age-is-off-the-table/

---

http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/white-house-rules-out-raising-medicare-eligibility-age
The White House bluntly ruled out raising the Medicare eligibility age as part of a plan to reduce the federal debt on Monday.

“The president has made clear that that’s not the right policy to take, press secretary Jay Carney reiterated during a daily briefing at the White House.
http://tpmdc.talkingpointsmemo.com/2013/02/white-house-medicare-eligibility-age.php

February 10, 2013

Rep.Keith Ellison Destroys GOP Hypocrisy On Looming Budget Cuts

Democratic Congressman Destroys GOP Hypocrisy On Looming Budget Cuts
http://thinkprogress.org/economy/2013/02/10/1567251/democratic-congressman-destroys-gop-hypocrisy-on-looming-budget-cuts/

On ABC’s This Week Sunday morning, Rep. Keith Ellison (D-MN) called out Tom Cole (R-OK) for his claim that President Obama is responsible for the automatic budget cuts set to go into effect if Congress cannot reach a budget deal by March. The so-called “sequester” includes steep defense cuts intended to motivate Republicans who refused to agree to any deal that included a tax increase in 2011.

When Cole tried to pin the cuts on Obama, Ellison reminded him that Cole himself voted for the Budget Control Act that created the sequester:

COLE: I think it is inevitable. This was a presidential suggestion back in 2011, an idea. And yet the president himself hasn’t put out any alternatives. Republicans twice in the House have passed legislation to deal with it, once as early as last May and again after the election in December. Senate never picked up either of those bills, never offered their own thing. Now we’re three weeks out, and folks are worried. They ought to be worried. On the other hand, these cuts are going to occur. [...]

ELLISON: Well, Tom, the problem with saying this is the president’s idea is that you voted for the Budget Control Act. I voted against it. We wouldn’t have ever been talking about the Budget Control Act but for your party refused to negotiate on the debt ceiling something that has been routinely increased as the country needed it. You used that occasion in 2011 August to basically say we are going to default on the country’s obligations or you’re going to give us dramatic spending cuts. That’s how we got to the Budget Control Act.

Watch it:

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February 7, 2013

Sen. Sanders:The Corporate Tax Fairness Act

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Sen. Sanders introduces the Corporate Tax Fairness Act to End Tax Havens