Dennis Brault Columns

WALKER’S BIG CON: Yet Another Promise Broken As Foxconn Costs Go Up & Wage Promises Go Down

  (Dennis Brault creatively put a portion of a recent Commoner Call cartoon to work in this meme.) Democratic Party of Wisconsin (7/11/18) Recent reporting by Arthur Thomas for BizNews, detailed below, shows that Foxconn is seeking “flexibility” in meeting its average wage target, which will be artificially boosted by including high-end executive pay in the “average” calculations.This news, of course, comes after we know that Foxconn has already scaled back its Mount Pleasant factory and after costs to taxpayers have gone up. Meanwhile, Foxconn continues to face criticism over its pollution and water use; treatment of its workers; and its use of eminent domain to kick people out of their…

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Rep. Ron Kind’s New Democrat Coalition Key In Voting To Gut Essential Bank Failure Protections

By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (5/28/18) Trump just signed, and a bipartisan congress passed (RON KIND), a bill that says banks worth $249- $50 billion are NOT deemed important enough and therefore are allowed to fail. Four regional banks fail, worth $249 billion each, and a quick trillion evaporates from the economy. Regional and medium sized banks are doing fine and don’t need this. How is this loss of taxpayer protections, against a future economic bubble bursting, a good thing? Why RON KIND? Why would congress do this? Why RON KIND? It couldn’t be that this is an election…


Tab On Walker’s Costly Foxconn Con Grows

When one lives under the tyranny of one party rule, our laws and constitution don’t matter to the party in power. They can just rewrite them to suit their tyrannical wants. #EndTheTyranny    #VoteBlue2018 By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (5/7/18) Here are updates on recent Foxconn developments… The Political Environment Blog — “Scott Walker’s done it! He’s found another way to bring Wisconsin special recognition in addition to his headline-grabbing wars on clean water, hungry families, women’s health, public employees, poor people, federal funds or ethical spending.SE Wisconsin population centers will be exempted at Walker’s request from US Clean Air…


Rep. Lee Nerison Voted To Poison Your Family’s Water

“Sulfide mining puts rivers, lakes, wildlife, and public health at risk by creating acid mine drainage, a permanent toxic process that renders water poisonous and ecosystems lifeless.” — Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call Rep. Lee Nerison’s cowardly vote for AB499 “will endanger Wisconsin families and its natural resources for generations.” Writing about the passage of AB 499, Nonferrous Metallic Mining Regulations bill, the Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters blasted Rep. Lee Nerison and his fellow GOP tyrannic majority’s “lack of courage” writing that because they caved to monied special interests and not the people their cowardice…


The GOP Robbing Hoods Of The State Legislature Have Slammed The Doors Of Open Government Shut

Like a coven of blood sucking vampires, our state representatives are afraid of sunshine’s truth revealing power. What, a citizen might wonder, goes wrong when lobbyists and our representatives are hiding in the darkness away from the view of the electorate? By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (10/23/17)   Wisconsin Open Meetings Law Wis. Stat. § 19.81 (2016) .  Declaration of policy(1) In recognition of the fact that a representative government of the American type is dependent upon an informed electorate, it is declared to be the policy of this state that the public is entitled to the fullest and…


Medicare For All: An Unalienable Right — Not A Privilege!

Medicare For All is freedom from the tyranny and abuse of the health insurance monopolies. Call Rep. Ron Kind (202) 225-5506 Tell Ron you expect him to support our freedom and security by signing on as a cosponsor of HR 676 – Expanded & Improved Medicare For All Act By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (10/2/17) Freedom in a free society, is freedom for all. Everyone’s freedom, to be who and where one wants to be, depends upon having good health. Poor health can deprive a person of all sorts of their God-given freedoms. Medicare For All secures the freedoms that come…


Lawmakers Should Never Choose Their Voters

Call Lee Nerison (608) 266-3534 Have you made your call to Rep. Lee Nerison yet? He needs to hear from you. Tell Lee to sign on as a cosponsor for AB44 and help make nonpartisan, Fair Maps elections a possibility. Tell Lee Fair Maps preserve the sanctity of “one person—one vote.” Cheeseheads of all political strips agree, it’s time for Fair Maps! Call Jen Shilling (800)385-3385. Tell Jen to sign on as a cosponsor for SB13. Tell Jen Fair Maps help ensure our freedom to choose our representatives. Tell them you support nonpartisan redistricting reform for fair map elections! And…


American Blood Lust On The Boil

  By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call America’s blood lust is boiling. If Trump keeps dropping big bombs and holding press conferences showing his tough authoritarian side, his favorability ratings will top 50% within the next few weeks. Ask yourself if their propaganda is working? Do you believe Assad gassed innocent civilians? If you do, based on what evidence? Do you believe that Trump now loves NATO and dislikes Putin? Again, based on what evidence? Is all this bombing and tough war talk just another distraction from the fact that we have no evidence that Assad gassed people? A distraction from…


Bought & Paid For: Wisconsin State Supreme Court Legalizes Bribery Of The Courts

By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (4/24/17) Yes, indeed, the Wisconsin Supreme Court just ruled that your First Amendment right to free speech would be impinged if you couldn’t bribe …err… support with cash, Wisconsin judges. This should come as no surprise, as our state supreme court is the most expensively purchased court in state history. They are, like so many politicians, nothing more than employees of the far right wing Ayn Randian corporate groups funding their campaigns. The free speech, which isn’t free if it costs money, argument can be fixed by amending the United State Constitution to state…


Breaking Down The Wall Within Is The Key To Our Times

“When I despair, I remember that all through history the ways of truth and love have always won. There have been tyrants, and murderers, and for a time they can seem invincible, but in the end they always fall. Think of it — always.” — Mahatma Gandhi   By Dennis Brault The Commoner Call (2/6/17) The Electoral College and Congress have spoken. The oath’s been given. Our Constitution is a harsh mistress and a very undemocratic one too boot. In fact, our system of government was designed to be rather anti-democratic right from the get go. James Madison wrote that the…