Citizen Ystad Hits Sacred Cow, the Dairy Business Association, as Wisconsin Lakes Perish

Nepco Lake in Central Wisconsin in the Past
[See picture below for the present]

Update IV: Scott Krug's threat to pursue legal action has proven to be as credible as his claim to be working for the interests of clean water and the environment.

Update III: In the week of August 18 since Scott Krug issued his libel threat, Krug has gone dark, refusing all responses to press queries on the libel threat. Yesterday, Krug said he is against the proposed massive Wysocki CAFO and 49 high capacity water wells that environmentalists have criticized Krug for not fighting. Also, this week Krug belatedly accepted a debate with his general election opponent, Dana Duncan, sponsored by Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors and Rome and Saratoga Friendly. Krug refuses comment on his position on the existing CAFOs in or near his district, and still refuses to address nonpoint source runoff pollution from farming operations, a problem getting worse as lakes, streams, rivers and other bodies of water are polluted by land regions with carrying capacities of runoff already exceeded.

Update II: Running scared now, Scott Krug's Capitol office is dodging phone calls, picking up only calls preceded by *67. One staffer reached this morning after hitting *67, with an apparent IQ of 90ish, said Krug's office is "unaware of the situation" regarding Krug's stated intention by email to sue for libel.

Interesting. Below is the email from Krug (with the email address omitted):

From:	Scott Krug (xxxxxxxxx@gmail.com)
Sent:	Sun 8/17/14 8:52 PM
To:	malleon@live.com

   

The post forwarded to me is libelous and we will persue action.

#
Update: State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Wisconsin Rapids) is threatening legal action against me for "libel," Michael Leon, citing the below post.

Krug alerts me, and several of his constituents, last night that in an email with the subject heading, "Really," that: "The post forwarded to me is libelous and we will persue (sic) action." Scott Krug's email is indicated as having been sent to me Sunday night: "Sun 8/17/14 8:52 PM."

Krug refers to an email forwarded by Don Ystad, citizen of Rome in northern Adams County, in which Ystad sends the URL of this piece.

Krug sent an email to Ystad (dated Sun, Aug 17, 2014 at 8:56 PM) reading: "We've informed Mr. Leon of the libelous nature of his forwarded blog post and we will be persuing (sic) legal action."

Attempts this morning to reach Krug by email, and by phone at his campaign and office in Madison have been unsuccessful

Stay tuned.

As for Rep. Scott Krug, Mal Contends makes the following statement: Scott Krug should study the elements of a civil action under libel law. Bring it on, Krug, if you dare.
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"We abuse land because we see it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect." - Aldo Leopold

The last three years in Wisconsin citizen groups have emerged across the state to protect community control in defense of Wisconsin families and vital resources such as clean water.



"Right here in our local Lake Nepco -
Attack of the Blue/Green Algae.
Our reps, both local and at the state level,
better start getting a clue!
Water worries everywhere!
Nepco Lake for E. Coli and blue-green algae.
Just kayaked in the nastiest water EVER.
We must fix these issues." - Rhonda Cain-Carrell

Outside of the Citizens Concerned about the Proposed Penokee Mine (Facebook) (and the Penokee Hills Education Project), among the most articulate groups of Wisconsin citizens are the folks fighting a proposed massive concentrated agricultural feeding operation (CAFO) factory farm that would directly impact four counties in the Central Wisconsin Golden Sands region: Wood County, Adams County, Portage County and Juneau County.

Protect Wood County and Its Neighbors; Friends of the Central Sands (Facebook) and Rome and Saratoga Friendly (Facebook) know well the danger dumping literally millions of tons liquid cow manure into Wisconsin waterways and drinking water aquifers.

The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources under the administration of Scott Walker wants to stand by and watch as the acceleration of the death of Wisconsin's 15,000 lakes continues from the existing practice of dumping cow manure into the environment.

Exaggeration? I wish.

And cynical, corrupt politicians are providing political cover for the polluters.

Scott Walker is allied with Wisconsin State Rep. Scott Krug (R-Wisconsin Rapids and ALEC) who is supposed to be protecting his constituency from being poisoned.

Instead Krug is assisting Scott Walker, Walker's DNR and the Dairy Business Association in their project in which one objective is to contaminate and literally toxify Wisconsin lakes and other waters.

Unconscionable.

Don Ystad of Rome, Wisconsin has this to say in an email sent to politicians, DNR personnel and fellow citizens:

Here's why I have an issue with Big Agriculture: Our communities have banned residential use of phosphorous fertilizers, and we implemented enforced testing of septic systems every three years to reduce the possibility of phosphorous leaching into our waterways. We monitor the transfer of unwanted aquatic species from lake to lake and we have enacted a shoreland protection ordinance to further protect our waterways from runoff. And here we have the Dairy Business Association petitioning their members to reverse the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection (DATCP) change to NR 150, allowing communities to establish their own ordinances to limit runoff into waterways. We have 7 years of hard evidence showing flows from upstream agriculture entering our lakes have 4 times more phosphorous than anywhere else in our lake.

I've learned to mistrust the various agriculture interests touting their concern for the environment, whether it's the Wisconsin Potato growers telling me they are not to blame for our water issues, or the Wisconsin Vegetable growers claiming they practice water conservation while they submit record numbers of high cap well permit requests. They have proven that their only desire is to have unfettered access to the public's water, with no control over how they treat the land. Their claims to be 'the stewards of the land' ring hollow with those of us watching the decline in our environment. I understand that there will always be greedy business people to take advantage of our rights. What I don't understand is why some of our agency heads and politicians allow themselves to be influenced by these self serving Big Ag interests at the expense of our environment and their own constituents. Maybe they need to read the many newspapers around our state to get a sense of the groundswell of public opposition.

I'm a citizen and I vote, as do the concerned citizens blind copied here. [emphasis added, and text edited slightly for clarity]

Mr. Ystad and his fellow citizens are right on all points.

Obtuse Wisconsin politicians like Scott Krug and Scott Walker should listen for a change.

Said Krug's general election opponent, Dana Duncan of the Village of Port Edwards: "CAFOs are to agriculture what Sweatshops and child labor are to manufacturing."

Duncan ran his primary election campaign, emphasizing the need to protect Wisconsin waters from CAFOs and other polluters.

Safe, clean drinking water should be a foundation of the state of Wisconsin, it used to be.

The Man Behind the Proposed GTac Mine in Wisconsin

America's leading asshole - Christopher Cline

Christopher Cline is a billionaire living variously in Palm Beach, mega-yachts, hiding behind his extraction conglomerates with a long history of poisoning huge tracts of land and water, leaving area residents and governments to clean up his toxification.

Known as the new New King of Coal, Cline doesn't bother much with his public image, beyond avoiding as much as possible the public eye, as he looks at the Illinois Basin for more coal extraction and fracking and northern Wisconsin for the largest open pit mine on the planet in a pristine area that for now draws tourists from out-of-state.

The coverage of Cline in the American press has been relegated to celebrity pieces on whom Cline is dating with an occasional piece on Cline buying up stock in the extraction industry. Cline manages somehow to keep an extremely low profile.

Bios of Cline are typically written by environmental activists noting how destructive and oblivious cline is to the health of the people his extraction operations destroy:

Although Cline’s lifestyle appears to be all about champagne and caviar, the basis of his wealth presents a far darker story than the golden-hued online tour of his 33,413 square foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida.

According to an extensive 2010 profile of Cline in Bloomberg Markets Magazine, he became "a billionaire by betting on a dirty fuel the world can’t get enough of." (Pember, Indian Country Today)

I'll poison your land and water, buy the politicians and there's nothing you can do about it, is the position of this gaping asshole of a man, pictured above-right, next to his Mine Games Yacht (unless he's already sold the $ 28-million, 161-foot toy for a more expensive yacht). (Fabrikant, New York Times)

The new problem is that Cline is trying to begin operations in pristine northern Wisconsin in Iron and Ashland counties by ripping open the largest open pit mine in the planet looking to make some more $ millions from iron ore extraction (eventually), expressing no concerns that his proposed open pit mine would release into the pristine environment various toxic amounts of mercury, arsenic, and other heavy metals, sulfates, sulfur dioxide, and nitrogen oxides, and simply ignoring what looks bad such as the release of sulfuric acid into area rivers, streams and lakes.

Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin - Perfect for a
massive open pit iron ore mine, claims Christopher Cline

For now, most legal experts see high hurdles before Cline could begin operations no matter how many Wisconsin Republicans are trying to help Cline destroy the Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin, pictured at right. (Kaufman, New York Times)

Political opposition has galvanized against the very idea of disturbing a pristine wilderness, as Cline is now allied now with the Koch brothers. (Verburg, Wisconsin State Journal)

Supported by Scott Walker (and opposed by Walker presumptive Democratic Party opponent, Mary Burke), the proposed Gogebic Taconite mine would toxify the pristine "headwaters of the Bad River, which flows into Lake Superior, the largest freshwater lake in the world and by far the cleanest of the Great Lakes. Six miles downstream from the site is the reservation of the Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa, whose livelihood is threatened by the mine." (Kaufman, New York Times)

Iron County Wisconsin is a corrupt political jurisdiction, where the rule of law has long been supplanted by political and personal alliances.

Yet, even Iron County touts the grandeur of its natural resources and habitats as a "place of incredible natural beauty. With 300 pristine lakes encompassing 34,000 acres of pure water, the only thing that could make it better is Lake Superior coastline. Good thing Iron County has that, too. Come and enjoy an amazing waterfall, or take a long walk on the beautiful sandy beaches of Saxon Harbor."

Why despoil such an amazing environment: Corruption and convenience, and the sociopathic drive for extraction of natural resources for profit, whatever the consequences of poisoning the surrounding environment and residents.

The CIA has a term for the type of human being who would inflict mass casualties intentionally by injecting toxic agents into populations: Terrorist.

"Terrorists have considered a wide range of toxic chemicals for attacks. Typical plots focus on poisoning foods or spreading the agent on surfaces to poison via skin contact, but some also include broader dissemination techniques," reads a public CIA site dealing with the delivery devices of toxins and other "typical agents ... available to al-Qa'ida and other terrorist groups."

Unfortunately, for Americans the extraction industry is not listed as a terrorist organization.

Fortunately for Americans, we still do have the Environmental Protection Agency, the Army Corps of Engineers and a federal court system protecting the habitat and environment of protected species under federal law that Cline would need to navigate before he begins his plan of destruction.

Citizen groups insist their voices are heard before Cline executes his project of terror by extraction.

Wisconsin environmental activist, Frank Koehn, remains optimistic of stopping the would-be terrorist, Cline: "With the mercenaries he hired, Chris Cline shows that he’s just another rich guy who’ll try to take our resources and pollute our water. It’s not the first time this happened, and they’ve all failed. He will, too." (Pember, Indian Country Today)

Implausible Deniability by Mining Company in Wisconsin

Microscopic image of asbestiform grunerite, one of the most dangerous
forms of asbestos, from the site of GTac’s proposed iron mine.
Image is from a scanning electron microscope (SEM) made at
UW-Madison by the Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey.

There came to northern Wisconsin a mining company that did not know

Mike Simonson of Wisconsin Public Radio reports the confirmed presence of dangerous asbestiform grunerite at the site of the proposed open pit mine in the Penokee Hills range in northern Wisconsin has resulted in a new company strategy: "Gogebic Taconite (GTac), the company behind the proposed iron ore mine in the Penokee Hills, says it won’t take rock samples from an area where asbestos-like fibers were found."

Out of sight, out of mind.

So, asbestiform grunerite is present, but GTac simply will go somewhere else and pretend this dangerous toxin does not exist.

Writes Simonson: "The fibers are in grunerite deposits, but in a letter last week to the DNR [Department of Natural Resources], GTAC continues to deny its existence, saying: 'Our position remains that asbestosform material is unlikely to be present in the reserve.'"

This position is a lie, a bald-faced lie, already disconfirmed multiple times.

The United States Geological Survey warns about the danger of naturally-occurring asbestiform:

According to the U.S. EPA and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry potential health effects of exposure to asbestos can include asbestosis, mesothelioma, and lung cancers. In the past, most medical research and regulatory focus has been on the health effects of asbestos used industrially or commercially. However, there have been increasing concerns recently regarding the potential health effects of naturally-occurring asbestos (NOA), which occurs as an accessory mineral in some rocks ... .

A Wintery Hike Along the Tyler Fork River in the Penokee Mountains
- Photo by Greggory Jennings at
Citizens Concerned about the proposed Penokee Mine

You never wish mesothelioma onto anyone, not for the worst of humanity, not even for the sick, dangerous sociopaths who would inflict this horrible disease onto others.

In light of the fact of the confirmed presence of asbestiform grunerite at the GTac mining sight, here's a phone conversation that will never take place between Bill Williams, president of the Gogebic Taconite LLC (GTac) and Christopher Cline, billionaire CEO of Cline Resource and Development company, the father conglomerate of GTac.

Bill Williams: 'Hey Chris, we gotta shut down our proposed open pit mine up there in Wisconsin. Multiple independent analyses have confirmed the presence of dangerous asbestiform grunerite, and we know this will adversely affect the habitat of Native-American treaty-protected species, for starters. We close, or I resign and go to Spain to face justice for our arsenic leak.'

Christopher Cline:—'Geez, Bill, no way did I know the GTac mine would adversely affect the habitat. You are so right. We are pulling up stakes and leaving—today. You put out the word, and issue an apology to the folks up in Iron County and Ashland County in Wisconsin. All we care about are the environment and jobs; and I don't care how much money leaving today costs us, we are out, if I have to come up from Palm Beach and do this myself.'

Gogebic Taconite ore samples contain: "a highly concentrated form of asbestos fibers...it is the most dangerous." From Wisconsin Public Television Here and Now's reporter Mike Simonson:

USA Today Piece on GTac Is Uncritical Mining Company PR

Carol Pogash in her piece for USA TODAY goes out of her way to accept Gogebic Taconite's (GTac) PR as fact, and presents a superficial piece of journalism typical of the corporate press.

A couple of examples:

"In March, the governor signed the law, written with GTac's help."

Right, GTac helped alright. They wrote the bill, even the GOP admits this.

"The mine would be built by Gogebic Taconite (GTac), creating 700 jobs and indirectly, several thousand more."

Wow!

But this is according to GTac's Northstar Study, "The Economic Impact of the Gogebic Taconite Mine," which was commissioned by GTac; thus reported as fact by Pogash.

Maybe Christopher Cline and GTac are secretly full-employment activists, environmental conservationists who are only marginally concerned with making money.

One can go on.

Christopher Cline, a Billionaire Who Could Not Care Less about Wisconsin

Penokee Hills

Mary Annette Pember has nice bio on billionaire and mega-yacht enthusiast, Christopher Cline, the man behind the proposed Gogebic Taconite Mine.

So, Cline's proposed 20-mile open pit mine going is going to cause terrible problems in the waters and land of northern Wisconsin.

Tell it to somebody who cares; Cline's busy at his 33,413 square foot mansion in North Palm Beach, Florida, and having his cronies funnel money to Scott Walker and other favored politicians.

Writes Geraldine Fabrikant in the Times:

The 161-foot Mine Games, a boat built by Trinity Yachts of Gulfport, Miss., was put on the market for $27 million (in 2011) ... because its owner, Chris Cline, who heads Cline Resource and Development, a mine development company, had a larger boat on order.

If you think Cline is in this for anything but getting his money and leaving behind a waste, you're kidding yourself.

So, when Cline's water carriers tell you all Cline cares about is full employment, jobs (just ask 'em) and the environment, if you have an IQ exceeding 80, don't believe it.

Cline knows he's not wanted; but that is not his concern.

Scott Walker Is in Way over His Head

Governor doesn't mention illegal corporate armed guards; Native American tribe calls for peaceful opposition to huge open-pit Iron mine, and the Republican Party's granted license to dump waste into water

Reckless and infantile is an accurate description of Scott Walker's ill-considered statement on out-of-state billionaire's Christopher Cline's mining operation, Gogebic Taconite LLC.

Even as Native-American leaders and other citizens of northern Wisconsin call for non-violent protests in the face of military-style corporate militias [since removed because they are illegally operating without a license], Walker did not take the occasion Friday to talk to all parties involved in the manner of a responsible public official.

Instead, Walker stuck to his playbook, dismissing the viewpoint of the Wisconsin people whom Walker has repeatedly failed to consult since ramming through unwanted mining legislation passed on a party-line vote after some $15 million was contributed by mining interests to Wisconsin Republicans, with one dissenting vote—Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center).

Can Walker recite the objections to the mining operation held by millions of Wisconsinites to their satisfaction?

Does anyone wish to go fishing after the mining company leaves the waters of northern Wisconsin.

No and No.

Walker refuses to try to talk, to engage, and simply speak to the concerns citizens have for their land and water.

An adult would realize that a heavily armed corporate, militarized force presents a clear and present danger, especially when acting illegally, as has been discovered after, not Walker and law enforcement, but rather Jason Stein of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel began asking questions, specifically, don't these guys need a license to walk around with semi-automatic weapons out of a stated purpose to provide 'security.'

Walker postures in the manner of an agent provocateur, attempting to inflame the very situation Walker and has party has created for the benefit of the mining operation for whom he fronts in Wisconsin.

One would think a sitting governor would front for, represent, the citizens of Wisconsin.

Even the GOP-leaning Wisconsin State Journal today runs a sub-headline in its print edition reading, "Governor doesn't discuss armed guards; tribe calls for peaceful opposition."

The local broadcast television 'news' coverage, exemplified by WISC and WKOW, was as usual not recognizable as news. Rather, the seconds resemble a short, free spot for corporate interests.

Compare the statements of Mike Wiggins, Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa Chairman and Scott Walker. Wiggins' statement is statesmanlike, Walker's is petulant.

I think we understand now why Scott Walker chose as his closest and longest-serving associates the likes of the criminally convicted Tim Russell and Brian Pierick, among several other Walker aides now serving criminal sentences.

At his essence, corrupt work for Cline Resource and Development Group; acting criminally, and associating himself intimately with the likes of Russell, Pierick and Kelly Rindfleisch (felony misconduct in public office); this is who Scott Walker is.

Perhaps behaving likes a statesman and responsible public official is too much ask of Scott Walker who has shown himself repeatedly not up to the job.

From left to right: Tim Russell, Scott Walker and Brian Pierick

Wisconsin Atty Asks DA, State Agency about Criminality of Bulletproof Security's Private Army

Before raping our land, poisoning our water, and further corrupting our political system, all agents and contractors involved with Christopher Cline's mining enterprises ought to at least follow Wisconsin law, as attorney Anthony J. Stella, Jr. is asking Wisconsin public officials.

That goes triple for those patrolling the Wisconsin north woods with militarized, semi-automatic weapons.

We know Gogebic Taconite LLC and Christopher Cline do not like Wisconsin citizens, but killing citizens is premeditated murder.

Killing, that's what these weapons do.

Firearms training instructs:  You don't take weapons out, unless you plan to shoot them. And you never point a weapon or use it threateningly towards another person unless you are ready to kill him or her.

Circumstances created by these out-of-state, corporate right-wing militias (and Wisconsin Republicans) need to be stopped.

Wisconsin law enforcement ought to consider these private, corporate terrorists are violating the safety and peace of Wisconsin citizens, as well as breaking the law; and take appropriate action towards Bulletproof's militia now.

If one of these corporate idiots kill someone, it's also on the hands of the Republican Party, and Wisconsin law enforcement which to this point has done nothing to rid Wisconsin of this out-of-state corporate terrorism.

[Thank you Blue Cheddar.]

To be used by Bulletproof's militia to massacre whom exactly?

Okay Mining Co, You're Planning on Killing Whom Exactly?

Used by Adam Lanza to massacre 20 children and six school staff members

To be used by Bulletproof's militia to massacre whom exactly?

Private Military Displays Anti-public Attitude of Mining Mogul and Scott Walker

Rightwing militia, armed against
citizens of northern Wisconsin. Mercs
are paid by rightwing corporations,
for whom the Wisconsin GOP works.

Update: A Teamsters writer asks of "Bulletproof" militia: What are you contemplating, a Ludlow Massacre (1914)? Are folks in northern Wisconsin really that threatening?

Nobody has any business walking around illegally we now know armed with the type of paramilitary weapons used in the Connecticut massacre of 20 children, not in this society.

Not even municipal police officers who risk their lives have any business turning into such an quasi-military force.

News that Gogebic Taconite's armed militia is being kicked out of Wisconsin for the time being is welcome news indeed.

But the private military parading in northern Wisconsin reveals something else that the Gogebic Taconite and Scott Walker have in common: A fear and disdain of the people of Wisconsin.

The GOP's mining legislation written by and for Gogebic Taconite enabling the massive open-pit mine of course also demonstrates the contempt the Republican Party has for the citizens and the democratic processes.

This is not the our parents' Republican Party.

This is an extremist band of social engineers, attempting to remake our country without consulting the citizens of our union and obtaining their consent, and the GOP endeavors to destroy the formal processes of democracy itself as it continues its attack against voting.

That this group of violent-minded social engineers have no regard for the people of Wisconsin is a vast under statement.

Scott Walker's Bombs Include Obliterating Community Control

Christopher Cline's Mega Mansion in North Palm Beach
Mining mogul Cline has his eyes set on northern Wisconsin's iron ore,
but Cline will not appear in person before community boards
concerned about environmental disasters and massive pollution.
The trip to Wisconsin from Palm Beach might interfere with Cline's life.
Cline is an avid mega yacht enthusiast - northern Wisconsin is not his place.
Cline famously sold his $27-million yacht, the 161-foot Mine Games,
because Cline had a larger boat on order, so don't expect Cline to
come up before some County Board and community panels to justify
his company coming in and destroying a near-pristine environment.
The man's too busy for Wisconsin.

Scott Walker never campaigned on taking away the liberty of workers to organise.

Walker never campaigned on taking away local control of communities to set policies protecting citizens, protecting its schools, and local environments.

Walker never campaigned on taking away a women's right to choose, or closing Planned Parenthood centers serving women's health care.

But only two years into Walker's administration, these rights and many others lie in ruin, as if hit by a depleted uranium shell air strike from a corrupt administration literally targeting its own citizens in service to huge-moneyed interests.

It would be nice to hear to voices of opposition on every medium, every street corner. But the guns of opposition have gone virtually silent. For now. Citizen action is gathering and war plans are being made.

Walker won't back down—because he's so brave (ask him)—from taking away the power of communities enacting residency requirements for their local employees.

Walker and the GOP are sneaking the anti-residency provision into the state budget, against almost unanimous opposition from community mayors, village presidents, town managers and other elected municipal representatives.

As more extreme, severe-weather events occur, Walker's usurpation could have another unforeseen effect, at least an uncared-about effect.

Said Larry Arft, City Manager in Beloit, Wisconsin: "Don’t forget, public works employees are also first responders. Winter storm events, summer rain storms, wind storms, we have people on call for our utilities. 24/7 somebody has to be on call and they need to be there in a few minutes."

Not Walker's concern.

If communities start passing laws protecting their land in any capacity, how can out-of-state billionaires strip the land? What would be next, stopping fracking?

Walker is getting set to cash in on his work for billionaires and out-of-state interests who could not care less if Wisconsin tips over and falls into Lake Michigan, as long as the Christopher Clines (a pure bastard of a man hooked up with the Carlyle Group) and the Koch brothers get their hands on our resources, the Wisconsin people and our public land and waters be damned.

New Film Says, Stop the Disaster Inflicted by the GOP and Mining Goon, Christopher Cline

The Iron Current

One would believe that self-consciously polluting water and watersheds is an act of mass poisoning perpetrated by sociopaths like the kind of crazies hunted by the FBI.

They should be.

What the Republicans and Christoper Cline's minions are doing is unforgivable.

A new documentary film coming out chronicles the crime before it happens—The Iron Current.

The documentary examines the issue of iron ore mining in northern Wisconsin and its impact on local citizens and the environment. The Iron Current: The goal of this documentary is to show how the communities and citizens of Northern Wisconsin are reacting to a proposed iron ore mine near Lake Superior. If permitted, this mine would be the largest open pit iron ore mine in the world, up to four and a half miles long and reaching depths of one thousand feet during phase one. With the unemployment rate near twelve percent in the area, many residents are aware of the need for good paying jobs. Other residents however, aren’t willing to gamble the environment for the jobs, especially the people of the Bad River Indian Reservation, which is located at the mouth of the Bad River on Lake Superior. The proposed mine would be placed at the headwaters of the Bad River, six miles upstream from the Indian Reservation.

The documentary will examine many complex topics surrounding this issue. The proposed mine site lies upon the oldest mountain range in the world called the Penokee Hills, which contains one half of the remaining Iron Ore left in the continental United States. It is an environmentally rich area consisting of many rivers and streams which make up the Bad River Watershed and the Kokaggun sloughs, nicknamed the Everglades of Lake Superior. The Bad River Watershed is considered the most pristine estuary left throughout the Great Lakes by many biologists and also serves as an important spiritual center for the Lake Superior Ojibwe people.

(Directed by Dean Vogtman; produced by Dean Vogtman and Dan Fitzpatrick).

For sale

Give me, give me, give me, says the GOP.
You got it, say rightwing billionaires

"We’re helping (Scott Walker), as we should. We’ve gotten pretty good at this over the years. We’ve spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We’re going to spend more." - David Koch (Singer. Palm Beach Post; February 20, 2012)

Koch, it was revealed last year, also boasted of siphoning money into the campaigns of Wisconsin GOP senators as well.  

Republicans have gotten pretty good at being the post-Citizens United party of billionaires, grabbing up money in a period in which concentration of wealth is worse than in the Gilded Age.  

Republicans maintain their alliance with the religious right and Catholic Church out of practical political necessity. The same with gun manufacturers. (See today's Homeowner Shoots and Kills Teen Who Entered Wrong Home After Party.)

But GOP hearts are where they get their money—rightwing billionaires like Christopher Cline of Cline Research and Development (Mining), the Koch brothers, Diane Hendricks, and rightwing forces such as Sheldon Adelson, and assorted other billionaires funneling money into Super PACs.

For Republicans, Wisconsin, the United States, public land, the public school system, anything they can get their hands on are for sale.

One Wisconsin Democrat, Sen. Lena Taylor (Milwaukee) has her hands out and wants to suck in some of the anti-public school, rightwing money as Taylor apes her GOP colleagues.

Let's hope Taylor is an aberration. We know Scott Walker, Paul Ryan and hacks such as Pennsylvania Republican Governor Tom Corbett are the norm.

Scott Walker Trying to Provoke Those Opposed to Massive Open Pit Mine

Stand against Scott Walker and Christopher Cline

Update: Meanwhile, back in Madison Scott Walker's Department of Administration "plans to implement emergency rules for citing protesters, which would bypass the need for public input," and allow the police to successfully target anyone protesting Walker's policies, even to the point of closing the state capitol because of the declared emergency.
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"I think (mining-related companies) would like to get going as quickly as possible," Scott Walker said. "Even with the threat of legal action, I don't think you'll see a slowdown of the process."

Scott Walker knows exactly how his words are received, and now Walker is attempting to again play the part of agent provocateur.

Just days after Walker signed the mining bill gutting environmental laws, in typical Walker fashion, Walker is directing his rare public comments with words intended to offend, insult and inflame those who oppose the huge mine.

Opposition to the Gogebic Taconite's [of Cline Resource and Development Group] open-pit iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin is growing; and Native Americans have made clear they will not stand down as their land is raped and the waters are polluted.

Walker acts like the operation and legality of the open pit mine is a fait accompli.


Wisconsin League of Conservation Voters

Walker gives no measure of respect whatsoever to the widespread opposition and the many legal and constitutional problems with the mining bill and the proposed mine.

He doesn't even attempt to address any concern, no matter how widespread, no matter how obviously valid, no matter the grave nature of what an open pit mine can do to an ecological system

"I think (mining-related companies) would like to get going as quickly as possible," Walker said last week. "Even with the threat of legal action, I don't think you'll see a slowdown of the process."

Walker wants conflict; that's why he shows open contempt by pretending to believe opposition does not exist, and that no serious issues are in play.

Walker has his hand on the National Guard trigger, and would love to call for federal law enforcement to block Native American resistance, all in service to the mining industry and Walker's political career.

As Al Gedicks notes, Gogebic Taconite's open-pit mine is "not only a major rollback of environmentally protective mining laws, it is also a well-funded mining industry assault on the grass-roots environmental, sport fishing and tribal movement."

Governor as troll: One who makes inflammatory commentary intended to offend.

A corrupt governor and a con artist, Cline Resource and Development Group's Scott Walker may one day look back and discover that the open-pit iron ore mine was a bribe and callow insult too far.

Stand with the Bad River Tribe Site

Stand with our environment, our state and the Bad River Tribe

Stand with our environment, our state and the Bad River Tribe,

"Throughout the process, Republican leaders along with the Governor have falsely claimed that the bill would not reduce environmental standards. However, the day following Senate deliberation of the bill, Senate author Tom Tiffany finally admitted the truth - that his bill would not only allow for 'adverse environmental impacts' to occur during mining, but that the bill was written to protect the company in the case of an inevitable lawsuit."

- Wisconsin Sen. Bob Jauch (Poplar, Wisconsin), via Sarah LittleRedfeather Kalmanson

View of the econsystem immediately downstream from Gogebic Taconite’s proposed mine

Update: Must reads today by Charles Pierce (Esquire) and Brian Pierson (Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel), an attorney representing the Bad River band of Chippewa arguing for the rule of law.
---
From Rep. Tod Ohnstad (D-Kenosha):  Aerial view of the econsystem immediately downstream from Gogebic Taconite’s proposed mine in northern Wisconsin.

"The way the Republicans have rushed this bill through the committee process left me no choice but to vote against it,” said Rep. Ohnstad. "We would have more hearings of the Kenosha City Council about whether to put up a new stop sign!"

As for Gogebic Taconite's Christopher Cline: You really think I give a shit, I live in Palm Beach!

Cline is like locusts; or more specifically the privately held Cline Resource and Development Group.

He buys up the politicians for sale; his companies come in, consumes all the natural resources; and then they as Cline's companies leave a wasteland.

He wants to despoil a pristine environment, and make a lot of money doing it.

What the people of Wisconsin, and the people of Ashland and Iron counties want is not Cline's concern.

Mining Owner from Palm Beach Gave Tommy Thompson $2,500, $10,000s More to GOP in 2012

Christopher Cline of Palm Beach Gardens, Florida and head of Gogebic Taconite gave Tommy Thompson $2,500 for Thompson's unsuccessful run for U.S. Senate in 2012, a search at the Center for Responsive Politics reveals.
Cline has numerous companies that he uses to funnel money into politicians with their hands out.

Cline also contributed over $100,000 in 2012 alone to GOP organizations and figures including Mitt Romney and House Speaker John Boehner, and remains a dirty coal producer who some call the New King of Coal.

As for Wisconsin, taking the iron and trashing the environment will do nicely.

Gogebic Taconite's Christopher Cline is set on raping the land in northern Wisconsin and no one is going to get in his way.

Certainly, not the people who live in in Iron and Ashland counties.

GOP May Find Out: Not a Good Idea to Mess with Folks' Land and Homes

Bad River Is Terrible Place to Rip Up and Plunder

GOP and Mining Interests: We're just here to help.The privately held Mining group that rewrote Wisconsin's environmental laws with GOP complicity is of course in this for the money, and it doesn't care what it leaves behind.
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Messing with people's land is not wise, no matter how illegally and underhanded the Wisconsin Republican Party has decided to scheme with the Florida-based Gogebic Taconite.

Scott Walker is in Florida for a fundraiser; wonder if any of his mining buddies are around.

For Gogebic Taconite to come to Iron and Ashland counties and rip up and pollute the land on the Bad River Watershed—which empties into Lake Superior, and the homes of the Bad River Indian Reservation and Wisconsin residents on this pristine land—will prove a difficult proposition no matter how many Republicans Gogebic Taconite have in their pockets.

In fact, this attack on a way of life may make Scott Walker's attack on workers look like a walk in the park by comparison.

"GOP extremists are fully in charge of Wisconsin state government and are willing to attack a native culture and the state's constitution for political and partisan hegemony," notes Jim Rowen after news that the state assembly passed the iron mining bill on a party line vote.

Now, GOP extremists may just find out how badly it plays to savage the Wisconsin Constitution, and pillage the pristine Bad River and Lake Superior in the land that Wisconsin citizens and Native Americans up North call home, many of whom live there because it's stunningly beautiful.

As for Gogebic Taconite, it is but one $billion company of the privately held Cline Resource and Development Group, of billionaire Christopher "Chris" Cline fame.

Cline is this for money, period. Not for jobs, not for preserving the land, not for helping Northern Wisconsin. In 2011, the New York Times (Geraldine Fabrikant) ran a piece on the slowing market for mega yachts.

The 161-foot Mine Games, a boat built by Trinity Yachts of Gulfport, Miss., was put on the market for $27 million several months ago, for example, because its owner, Chris Cline, who heads Cline Resource and Development, a mine development company, had a larger boat on order.

Not sure who Cline and his partners are going to have do Gogebic Taconite's public relations campaign up north in Wisconsin, but I can tell you they are going to be good.

Consider our neighbor to the South, Illinois. From the AP:

An investor who's trying to develop an iron ore mine in northern Wisconsin also owns a coal mine in Illinois that's accused of doing too little to resolve long-standing water pollution problems.

The Illinois Environmental Protection Agency is seeking enforcement action over Macoupin Energy, alleging that the company isn't adequately addressing groundwater problems at its Shay 1 mine in Carlinville, Ill., the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported (http://bit.ly/14ts7XI) (on March 6, 2013).

The agency said it plans to refer the case to the Illinois attorney general's office.

Macoupin is one of four Illinois mines owned by billionaire Christopher Cline, who wants to build a $1.5 billion iron ore mine just south of Lake Superior ... .

The proposed Wisconsin mine, known as Gogebic Taconite, is at the center of a debate over whether Wisconsin should ease environmental safeguards and make other regulatory changes to the process of granting mine permits.

Republicans and the huge energy companies assure us: Don't fret over the environment, climate change, your land, your water, or your backyard; we're just here to help.