News

As President Obama gets ready for his big jobs speech Thursday, America's nurses have a message for him. "Heal America, Tax Wall Street!" the signs read as nurses rallied in front of 61 Congressional offices this week. The nurses are proposing a bold alternative to the "cut, cut, cut" rhetoric emanating from Washington, D.C.

Their proposal? "It's time for the Wall Street financiers who created this crisis and continue to hold much of the nation's wealth to start contributing to rebuild this country and for the American people to regain their future," explained Rosanne DeMoro, Executive Director of National Nurses Union (NNU), in a press release. The nurses are joining groups across the nation and around the world who are calling for a financial transaction fee on high-volume, high-speed Wall Street trades, to tamp down dangerous speculation and to raise revenue for heath care, jobs and other critical needs.

Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman's allegation that Justice Ann Walsh Bradley smacked him upside the head in 2008 is being disputed by three Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices. Gableman made the allegation to Dane County sheriff's deputies investigating the June 13 "choking" incident between Justices David Prosser and Bradley.

As CMD has reported, sheriff's deputies questioned all seven state Supreme Court Justices about a June 13, 2011 altercation between Prosser and Bradley that took place just before the court released its decision on Governor Walker's collective bargaining law.The investigation was initiated based on Justice Bradley's concerns about workplace safety and officers questioned each of the justices on the topic.

The Sheriff's report on the investigation into Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice David Prosser allegedly "choking" Justice Ann Walsh Bradley in June not only describes a dysfunctional work environment, but also provides new details about the process leading to the court's decision on Governor Walker's contentious collective bargaining bill.

As CMD has reported, last week the Dane County Sheriff's office released the report of its investigation into Justice Prosser placing his hands on Justice Bradley's neck the evening before the court issued its controversial 4-3 opinion upholding Governor Walker's contentious collective bargaining bill. That report describes Prosser's role in creating the situation leading to the dispute by issuing a lengthy concurrence, without notice, after the court's liberal minority had drafted their dissenting opinion.

Across the country on September 1, nurses will converge on local congressional offices to demand a tax on Wall Street financial speculation, a move they say is a step towards healing the nation, trimming the deficit, and preserving social programs.

National Nurses United (NNU) is planning a day of action in over 60 congressional offices in 21 states. In Wisconsin, the group is sponsoring a soup kitchen outside of Rep. Paul Ryan's Janesville office "to provide residents with the sustenance they are not getting from Paul Ryan," says NNU spokesman Charles Idelson.