Transvaginal Ultrasound Probe Government Mandated Health Care?

We hear it all the time about Obama's Affordable Care Act; it's a government take over, requiring coverage people don't want. Right?

So what do the Republican hypocrites do to "walk the walk?" They get between the patient and doctor requiring an unnecessary procedure. They couldn't have been more flagrant going against everything they've ever said for the past 40 years. Only lately did it occrue to the press or Democrats that this was big government health care...by Republicans.

It's the end of their argument. Done. Toast. Next time they start whining about "government health care" ask them about the trans-vaginal ultrasound probe they tried to force on patients. Rachel says it perfectly!



Here's one of the years most disgusting displays of juvenile bullying by a Republican lawmaker yet. Virginia's own knuckle dragger David Albo. This is the kind of government conservative voters are looking for?

Waukesha's Cheapskate capitol Brookfield takes it's chances with Tornado's.

Not much to say about this show of utter cheap stupidity and recklessness. Tightwads in the wealthy community of Brookfield couldn’t upgrade their alarm system, and instead will leave those without cell phones or who are not listening to a radio or watching TV to fend for themselves.  Just a tip; I hear tornado's sound like freight trains coming. There are so many holes in their thinking that it almost doesn’t seem real. Go Walker. WISC Channel3000:

Brookfield, a suburb of Milwaukee, is getting rid of its tornado sirens. City officials said the main reason for the elimination is cost.

The federal government is mandating that warning systems get upgrades, which would cost $100,000. The 38,000 residents in Brookfield will rely on cellphone text alerts.

Brookfield cannot afford this, so the City Council voted to shut down the system that some residents describe as a "Cold War-era relic."

A public alarm system is a Cold War relic, and another example of freedom and liberty? 

  

What better reason do you need to recall Sen. Pam Galloway; She's Holding up a School Sports Concussion Law! This is literally a no brainer!!

Every parent with a child in school must be out of their minds over the stunt Sen. Pam Galloway is pulling, when it comes to a state wide policy that would protects their kids from sports related concussions.

This is pure ideology over the safety of our kids, period. Galloway’ tea party agenda; freedom and liberty mean no rules, no protections, you take your chances and oh, don’t bother me.

It’s not an overstatement to say she’s flat out dangerous, when you consider that she’s been unresponsive to reporters, and won’t explain why she’s holding up the law in the committee. She chairs the Senate Committee on Public Health, Human Services, and Revenue. Even more egregious; Galloway is a board certified surgeon?

And Galloway has nothing to say. Hey, no one said your kid had to take a sport.

This ruthless stunt is a powerful reason to replace Galloway’s tea party lunacy with recall challenger Donna Seidel. I’m mean really, holding up a policy to put in special protections for children participating in sports from concussions?

TMJ4: Keeping kids safe is becoming a political game. A new law to protect athletes after concussions is getting held up. The future of this legislation to protect young athletes rests in one woman's hands at this point. The bill is stuck in a state Senate committee. Only the chair can move it forward, and so far, she's refused to do so. All because of one woman -- state Senator Pam Galloway. She needs to schedule a vote for it to move on, and so far, she's refused.

TODAY'S TMJ4 talked to an aide at her office.  He said he'd give her the message -- but TODAY'S TMJ4 never heard back.

TODAY'S TMJ4 tried her at home.  "Hi, this message is for Senator Galloway, my name is Keller Russell, I'm a reporter with TMJ4 in Milwaukee."

And by e-mail -- still nothing. Former Packer Mark Tauscher held a news conference earlier this week in favor of this bill.

If you think this is important legislation that needs to be passed -- you can email state Senator Galloway here

If Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus couldn't handle an election, why should we trust her with a Gun?

So how is Waukesha's bumbling incompetent, and election fraud professional, Kathy Nickolaus been doing lately. I thought she would have been voted out by now...but instead, she's now armed and seriously dangerous.

Elaine Boldt is a member of Girls with Guns, a no-fee group for women who share a passion for what they call the shooting sport.  Waukesha County Clerk Kathy Nickolaus heard about it and joined in on the fun. “I’m able to meet other women that are also going to go through that class on concealed carry and understand how to use a gun properly, I think that’s important," said Nickolaus. 

Nicholaus should have been as determined to "understand how to" run an election properly, because "that's important" too isn't it? 58 News:

Walker's pathetic fight with Illinois

Milwaukee's Fox 6's Mike Lowe put together another great report, this time about the bizarre rivalry created by Gov. Walker with the state of Illinois. This is a must see, and a revealing look at how petty Walker is when it comes to his neighbor to the south. Lowe is even handed, even a little confrontational with Walker:

Lowe: "Your policies haven't exactly brought political stability to Wisconsin either, have they?"

Walker: "Well, you see there's a difference. I always say, ah, temporary, ah, political instability, eh, if it leads to long term fiscal sanity and economic security, ah, it's worth it."

He always says that? Of course Illinois has a whole set of different problems. There's so much more. You can see the video below, or check out the story at Fox 6.

John Nichols: Why David Koch is Guilty of Illegally Using Americans for Prosperity to Campaign for Walker.

I heard John Nichols mention the following on Sly in the Morning, so I'm kind of glad he wrote about in the Nation, because it saves me the work of transcribing it: 

Billionaire campaign donor David Koch has rarely spoken in public about the central role he has played in the election of Scott Walker as governor of Wisconsin … But Americans for Prosperity and its foundation could not campaign openly for Walker or other candidates, as they are tax exempt organizations operating under laws that protect civic and educational charities.

So it was incredible when David Koch admitted in an interview with the Palm Beach Post that he planned to support Walker with spending by AFP. “We’re helping him, as we should,” Koch said of Walker. “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.” The Post added: “By ‘we’ he says he means Americans for Prosperity, which is spending about $700,000 on an ‘It’s working’ television ad buy in the state.”

Could Koch really be admitting to a violation for the Internal Revenue Service code? On the Koch Industries website, a statement by Koch several days later said that: “as the Palm Beach Post story indicated, my comments concerning support for Governor Walker related solely to Americans for Prosperity and its activities in Wisconsin.”

Complaints have been filed with the IRS and the Wisconsin Government Accountability Board alleging—in the words of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin—“illegal use of tax exempt status by billionaire David Koch.” There is no question that, based on what Koch has said, the complaints are legitimate. 

There's more details in the story, so might want to check out the whole article.

Song: Paul Ryan's Lies

For your enjoyment, the song Paul Ryan's Lies, discovered by the folks at Sly in the Morning. Originally just an audio track with no artist credit, the video here is something I basically threw together, with a bunch of Ryan pictures, so I could post it.

Absolutely no production value whatsoever. I just liked the song.

GOP Candidates for Senate Seat Promise Cuts to Social Security and Medicare. Yeah?

Are these guys kidding? 

Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald says he is a fresh face who promises to make the same tough decisions in the U.S. Senate that he made in the Legislature.

Like he's done so well in Wisconsin over the last year? All three candidates plead their case in the short clip below, all promising to shift the cost of "entitlement" programs from the government to individuals with no means to absorb it, and promising tax cuts for Americans who saw their earnings take a hit. Wow, thank you very much. 

But the worst was Tommy Thompson, who sat back in his chair like some fat lazy elitist, suggesting the world owed him the senate seat. What a slob.

jsonline: Former congressman Mark Neumann says if he is elected to the U.S. Senate he will be focused on cutting spending, lowering taxes and balancing the federal budget.

And former governor Tommy Thompson says, if elected, he will be a builder and a doer who will find common ground with Democrats in the U.S. Senate in order to solve the nation's problems.

Appearing separately Thursday before the Wisconsin Newspaper Association/Associated Press Convention and Trade Show, the three Republican candidates skipped personal attacks and instead outlined their political philosophies.

Voting Integrity Watchdog Rep. Joel Kleefisch found out as hypocrite, and Lawsuit over voter ID filed.

Rep. Joel Kleefisch voted for absent Republicans on the floor of the chamber, and the video tape of his act went viral. Remember, these are the guys protecting the integrity of the vote, except on the floor of the assembly. That clip is included in the video below. 

On top of that, the Advancement Project filed a lawsuit today challenging the states voter ID law. Al Sharpton talked to co-director Judith Browne-Dianis and the plaintiffs daughter Debra Crawford: 

CapTimes: A Capitol insider tells me it’s not an uncommon practice, done by members of both parties. There are not rules that forbid casting proxy votes, as long as the legislator is present somewhere in the chamber, say, the bathroom. In addition, legislators have the opportunity to review their votes as part of the legislative process to guard against any monkey business.

But after all the GOP’s recent carping about voter fraud and the passage of the voter ID law, the video provides GOP critics with a little ammunition for payback.

Don't make Big Business Cry? Wisconsin Club for Growth desperate, throws juvenile tantrum over New Mining Bill

Want to take a trip down the rabbit hole? Check out this outlandish response from the spoiled little bully in the corner we know at Wisconsin Club for Growth:

jsonoline: The Wisconsin Club for Growth, a conservative advocacy organization, is taking on Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) for his efforts to alter proposed mining regulations: "Let’s get straight to the point: If the opportunity for iron mining, more than a billion dollars in private-sector investment, and thousands of quality jobs in mining, manufacturing, and ancillary businesses that would last for decades, go swirling down the drain in Wisconsin, you can chalk up the entire fiasco to the efforts of one man: State Senator Dale W. Schultz, R (for RINO), Richland Center."

Thereeee insane!!!  I’m surprised they just didn’t spray paint it on the side of the Capitol.

But just as belligerent and nonsensical is their statement about Schultz’s redistricting plans. Should I assume these are actual adults making comments like this from the Wisconsin Club for Growth?

"Just to clarify, derailing the mining bill and making redistricting even worse are about neither mining nor redistricting. They’re about pandering for favorable attention from the liberal media, a full-time preoccupation for Schultz since he first became a legislator in 1982."

20 years in office might mean he's doing something right? And the reward for "pandering for favorable attention from the liberal media is...?" What is gods name are they ranting about? Should we be scared now? I guess we now know how fair those redistricting maps were.

Is David Koch Violating Campaign Law after admitting his group Americans for Prosperity is helping Scott Walker's Recall Election?

An interesting legal question has been suggested by the Democratic Party of Wisconsin’s Mike Tate; after David Koch admitted that through his front group Americans for Prosperity, and he’s aiding Scott Walker in his recall election, are his ads illegal even though they don’t endorse the candidate?

jsonline: In response to billionaire David Koch's statements over the weekend, Democratic Party Chairman Michael Tate is calling on 19 Wisconsin television stations to pull ads by Americans for Prosperity. Tate said Democrats were also filing complaints with the Internal Revenue Service and the Government Accountability Board.

Koch told the Palm Beach Post that he had spent a lot of money, via Americans for Prosperity, and intends to spend more to help Gov. Scott Walker fend off a recall drive. Tate said Koch's statements indicated that Americans for Prosperity was violating the law because nonprofits cannot directly advocate for a particular candidate or campaign. "The ad that has resulted from this illegal coordination, which mimics the language of Scott Walker's campaign, is therefore the fruit of the poisoned tree," Tate said.

From WKOW 27 News:

Concussion Awareness Law for School Kids Opposed by some Republicans. Like Recalled Sen. Pam Galloway for instance.

Can anyone honestly oppose a proposed concussion law for school children, because it shouldn't be a "one size fits all" solution? That's what recall bait Sen. Pam "guns" Galloway said, believe it or not. Need any other reason to give her the pink slip? WKOW and Tony Galli:

jsonline: A host of medical and sports professionals spoke Wednesday in support of a bill that would direct the state Department of Public Instruction, in conjunction with the Wisconsin Interscholastic Athletic Association, to develop guidelines and other information to educate coaches and athletes and their parents about the risk of concussion and head injury in youth athletic activities, including club sports.

The measure would require that a person who is suspected of suffering a concussion or head injury in a youth athletic activity be removed from the activity immediately. That person would not be able to return to the field until he or she has been evaluated by a trained health care provider.

A bill by Rep. Jason Fields (D-Milwaukee) passed easily in the Assembly but is languishing in the Senate. Sen. Alberta Darling, who has sponsored a similar bill in the Senate, acknowledged, there were members of her own party who had expressed reservations that the bill was an example of government inserting itself in people's lives. "We don't want to be a nanny state," Darling said.

I wish they were kidding. Again, this is the freedom and liberty Republicans are pushing…your right as a child to get a concussion and still play in the game. No rules, no medical attention. Good idea conservative parents? 

Maybe I’m not getting it, but what is Galloway talking about when she says she wants to avoid a “one size fits all” approach for childhood concussions?

Sen. Pam Galloway said she would work to avoid a one-size-fits-all approach.

Former Green Bay Packers offensive tackle Mark Tauscher, a native son who played his entire football career in Wisconsin, said the bill provided protection to young athletes.

Walker Leads Midwest in Mass Layoffs.

Rep. Brett Hulsey said it best: "Wisconsin leading the region with 6,014 layoffs in January clearly shows that Governor Walker’s backwards agenda is not working.” 

Mail to get slower? Thank you Republicans for moving us...forward?

Thanks to the efforts of the Republican Party, we now will be losing distribution centers in Wisconsin. Last time this happened, rural area residents screamed bloody murder and got the attention of their Republican lawmakers, Rep. James Sensenbrenner and Paul Ryan, who put a stop to the closings when customers found out their mail would be day late.

So will that happen this time? Probably.

Again, thanks to the Republicans rabid hatred of the constitutionally created mail system, for forcing them to pay 75 years in advance into their pensions, and breaking their backs.   

WKOW: The U.S. Postal Service is moving several Wisconsin processing and distribution facility operations, including the one in Portage. The Postal Service says Portage mail processing will go to Madison; Kenosha's will be moved to Milwaukee; La Crosse and Eau Claire will be moved to St. Paul, Minnesota; and Wausau's will move to Green Bay. Right now, there is no word on when the consolidations will take place. The retail operations at the facilities will remain open.

Rep. Steve Nass shreds First Amendment, Censors Art and Political Speech.

Who was it that said the corporations have already won, leaving the rest of us to fight over their crumbs? They appear to be right.

Rep. Steve Nass is your typical idea challenged conservative thug, an anti-education zealot that collects a pay check for a freeloading agenda that offers no solutions, but an awful lot of rage.

He also is committing censorship and getting away with it, because he can. And all we can do is helplessly watch?

The Progressive: Mike Konopacki, a labor cartoonist who was working on the “Art in Protest” event, is not happy about this outcome … “I’m getting e-mails from artists who are saying, ‘What the hell is going on?’ This is a direct attack on freedom of speech, on freedom of expression, on academic freedom, and on labor education,” says Konopacki. “We were celebrating all the art and creativity that people come up with at these protests. It’s beautiful stuff. We’ve had the largest outpouring of protests in the state’s history, and the School for Workers is not allowed to display this?”

Konopacki is worried that the Republicans in the Wisconsin legislature want to kill the School for Workers … “The School of Workers survived McCarthyism,” he says. “It may not survive Walker.”

This is government censorship. This is government intimidation that results in censorship. Political art work was considered free speech once. Yet why isn’t something being done to stop this legally? The reason is simple; the school can be dismantled for opposing the “authority.” The school can’t join with a legal representative without sealing their own fate. This is what oppression looks like.

Here's Konopacki with Sly in the Morning with the amazing details:

Nass’ chief of staff seems to have forgotten the whole point of our university system, and instead feigns concern over the “appropriate” timing of the exhibit:

Mike Mikalsen, Rep. Nass’s chief of staff: “There are people from both sides of the issue who are paying taxes, and the question was whether this was an appropriate activity for the university … And the timing was a question. We’re just going into a recall election. Was this something the UW Extension wanted to get into at this point in time?”

There’s an appropriate time for freedom and liberty? When one is side going for broke and the other side is begging for compromise and a seat at the table, is there any question who would likely be on the winning side?

I know, it’s hard to hide my frustration with the Democratic Party. 

Paul Ryan's Desperate Support of the Contraception Flap and challenger Rob Zerban calls him out!!!

Paul Ryan has been frustrated by the trouble he's had tearing Medicare apart. If you've seen any of the video clips here at Democurmudgeon, like the one below, you might have noticed Ryan's preoccupation with dismantling Medicare. It's Ryan's focal point for god knows what reason. Sure it's a costly program, but come on, we've known for years the baby boomers were going to strain the system. Heck, Reagan and Alan Greenspan put together the surplus fund for that purpose.

But last Sunday Ryan threw the Hail Mary, giving up on his failed plan and hitched his wagon to the "religious freedom" zealots. Check out Ryan's transparent attempt to sound sincere about the trumped up contraception controversy. Ryan knows that this issue alone has the ability to tear all health care coverage into shreds. While he struggles to take on a social issue, he also appears to drool over the possibility this might kill health care:



Ryan's challenger Rob Zerban (zer-BON) not only takes on the contraception issue, but sounds light years ahead of Ryan on the economy. Here's Zerban's interview with Sly in the Morning. Zerban is a small business man that knows economics better than any career politician like Ryan, and his take on the pathetic rantings of Ryan's multiple phony positions is easy to understand, and not the least bit wonkishly obscure:



This reminder: Women's health groups will be gathering outside Rep. Ryan's Janesville office tomorrow (Friday, 2/24) at noon to tell Ryan to Let Women Speak! Join them, click here.

After all that's happened, UW School for Workers gives in to Republican Rep. Steve Nass' Threats, cancels Art in Protest exhibit!!

Major movements in our past have been historically captured through the eyes of courageous activist artists. But in Wisconsin, that history is being criticized and quashed by the authoritarian power of our ruling party.  

I've read public educations biggest enemy and dumbest SOB in the assembly, Rep. Steve Nass' comments over and over here, and I still can't see one reason why the UW's School for Workers would cancel their art exhibit. Not one. Hello, we're recalling the governor over labor rights...?

WRN: Republican Rep. Steve Nass, who has an often contentious relationship with the UW has gotten the UW’s School for Workers to cancel an “Art in Protest” exhibit that had been scheduled for next month. “The problem with it is that it would be funded with taxpayer dollars and that’s through the Extension,” says Representative Steve Nass. Nass charges the exhibit would have provided a one-sided view of last year’s protests at the Capitol, with UW Extension taking the side of protesters. “I did indicate to Extension that if they go forward with the event, any problems that arise from that, or any misbehavior by the protesters – which I certainly would expect, it would probably be very despicable – Extension would take ownership of that, and I will be watching.” “If the unions want to fund it, I have no problem with that.”

Is there anyway to recall this guy?

Republicans Pass Trash Legislation, while Democrats don't Promise to Repeal Anything.

So where are the promises to roll back the last year of the Walker administration? If we had heard one threat, one promise to repeal any particular proposed bill, you would think the other side might moderate a little? Forget it.

We've moved so dramatically right in this state, that a total flip of power would never bring us back, even just a little. Democrats typically don't have the balls to pass their own agenda. I wonder what'll it take to breath some life into these people when they do control state government. Look at the radical list of lost rights passed by these corporate thieves:

Channel3000: The Wisconsin state Senate has passed a bill that would remove a requirement in state law that voter registration be offered to students in high school … saying high school students have many other options for registering and it's a burden for elections officials to offer it at the schools. pointed out testimony from the Fond Du Lac County Clerk pointing out a situation in which 80 students at a local high school registered to vote, but only five ended up voting. Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton, retorted by saying "So what?"

josonline: A Racine County man couldn't vote Tuesday after poll workers refused to accept his U.S. Veterans Administration card as a qualifying photo ID. Gil Paar, 69, of Mount Pleasant, told the Racine Journal Times that he has a state driver's license he could have shown, but instead just declined to vote. “Basically I was trying to make a point,” Paar told the newspaper. “I gave them four years of my life, why shouldn’t I be able to use my vet’s card?”

Jsonline: The Assembly approved major changes to wetlands regulations to ease restrictions over development in Wisconsin … current law hamstrings development. The aim was to balance environmental interests and the rights of property owners … developers would not be required to look for suitable sites elsewhere. It also establishes a balancing test that evaluates the economic and environmental effect of a project. Advocates of the bill say the changes would allow the DNR to spend more time on complicated projects.

The Assembly has concurred in a bill that would, in part, eliminate damages in employment discrimination cases.

Two Face Returns; Tommy Thompson!

Is Tommy Thompson, the flip floppy candidate for Senator Kohl's seat, for or against unions? Well, it depends on what year you asked the question...



Check out Sly in the Mornings radio segment on the subject.

Republicans pushed kicking and screaming into redrawing redistricting maps.

I guess the redistricting challengers were right; the Republican legislators had the ability to redraw the maps all along:

jsonline: A panel of judges ruled Wednesday that state lawmakers have the power to redraw election maps and gave them three and a half hours to decide whether they would try to do that or instead have a fast-track trial on the maps starting Thursday … report to the court by 2 p.m. Wednesday. If lawmakers won’t agree to do that, the trial will start at 8:30 a.m. Thursday on an accelerated schedule.  On Tuesday, an attorney for the state, Dan Kelly, told the judges that lawmakers were open to making changes to the maps … (but) Kelly argued Tuesday that a 1954 state Supreme Court decision prevented lawmakers from making changes to the maps after they had approved them. The panel of judges rejected that argument.

School Choice con artists want Taxpayer Money, but no Accountability.

Accountability? Protecting taxpayer dollars? Alert; it's opposite day, everyday in Republican world. 

When it comes to throwing taxpayer money into private schools, suddenly, the free market "faith crowd" doesn't care about accountability. Private businesses never make mistakes, have bad managers or lazy employees, and would never rip people off. It's a perfect world. 

Take voucher schools for instance. They claim that they are so innovative and unique that normal educational standards, applied to them, would be woefully unfair. 

jsonline: The state Department of Public Instruction on Wednesday will submit its application to get Wisconsin’s schools relief from (the) No Child Left Behind federal law, but one element of the application has irritated voucher-school advocates.

For public schools, the waiver application (here's a summary) proposes dropping the system of measuring school performance under NCLB in favor of a new accountability index that would hold schools accountable … Per the orders of the waiver, the DPI provided a ranking of the 5% lowest-performing schools in the state over the past three years (and) included 49 of the lowest-performing private voucher schools in Milwaukee.

Jim Bender, president of School Choice Wisconsin, which advocates for voucher schools, said it was unnecessary to put voucher schools in the waiver application's ranking of low-performing schools. He said it was an unfair comparison based on data that wasn't the same between both school sectors, and that the DPI was just trying to drum up bad publicity for the private schools.

Another words, choice advocates don’t want to be accountable to taxpayers and the parents of students who bought into the voucher fiction that they’re better.

If you think I’m blowing ideological smoke, see how the Republicans tried to give an accountability pass to voucher schools:

Republican legislators released education reform bills recently that didn't include a law to create a statewide accountability system that would hold all schools that receive public money - traditional public, public charter and private voucher schools - to the same standard.

Which proves again Republicans and conservative voters aren’t really fighting about taxes or accountability; they’re really fighting against the enemy of the people, their own government? 

Mine Baby Mine!! Assembly Republicans tip hand, could care less about environment.

Think about it; we’ve got the resources. We can call the shots on mining. Mining companies are coming into our state asking to take our resources and make money. The least they could do is act responsibly. Certainty? They had certainty for many decades before. Nothing has changed. The sky won’t fall if a few new rules that streamline the process are adopted.  

WKOW: Republican Sen. Dale Schultz (R-Richland Center) said its a concern being voiced by more than just a few environmentalists … the legislators say allows for reasonable public legal challenge of approved permits, provides more tax dollars to local communities and corrects what critics say is a weakening of some environmental protections in the Assembly bill. "There is nothing in our proposal that weakens environmental policy," Jauch said. "I have seen polling in the past that Wisconsinites are open to mining, but feel very strongly about the environmental protections we have in our state law," said Sen. Schultz.

But just as Republicans bad mouthed Wisconsin to the entire nation for years, claiming it was bad for business, assembly Republicans are signaling to mining interests that they should not settle for less and move on if they don’t get their way.

"I think they're may be some areas for compromise, but unfortunately I don't see those within the legislation that's coming out of the Senate," said Rep. Jeff Stone (R-Greendale). "At the end of the day we can have legislation, but if we don't end up attracting mining into the state, we really haven't accomplished what we need to," said Rep. Stone.
WSJ: Assembly Republican leaders were quick to denounce the proposal … they opposed the Schultz-Jauch bill because it contains ideas that were introduced as amendments to the Assembly and voted down.

Who’s Teacher Karl McCarty, and why is he indoctrinating our kids?

Its one thing to teach history and political science in high school, it’s another to bring in every Republican politician you can find to spew their conservative dogma to a classroom of high school kids. Are school administrators on board with this?

And how does a teacher rate to bring in dumb Ron Johnson, or Rep. Thomas Petri? How does a teacher plan field trips to GOP presidential debates and the Faith and Freedom Coalition Forum of zealot religious right wingers, with students from his class? I don't care if he did get permission, a tea party trek to Iowa is inexcusable. 

Check out the pleasant conversation Ron Johnson had with a group of McCarty’s kids, in what can only be described as blatant indoctrination:

FDLReporter: (A) small group of students at Oakfield High School that studies current political leaders had a chance to interact with one Monday when U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson paid a visit. Karl McCarty, who teaches history and political science at Oakfield High School, invites politicians to speak with his class as a way to show students that politicians are human. Recently, the class hosted U.S. Rep. Thomas Petri.

Student Braden Ryan asked Johnson his thoughts about the future of small, family farms. Though there is nostalgia for survival of smaller farms, Johnson said some will be lost and others will survive. He likened it to the emergence of Walmart and Home Depot stores. Though people like the “mom and pop” stores, many people shop at the chain stores, he said.

Johnson likes to teach “creative destruction” to whoever will listen. Poor mom and pop, relegated to the dust bin of capitalism. And this wasn’t some nonpartisan message from Johnson:

Johnson discussed how Mitt Romney, Ron Paul, Newt Gingrich and Rick Santorum are portrayed in the press … He did say any of the GOP candidates would be better than President Barack Obama … “That (hope and change) was an empty vessel filled by the people that voted for him — their hopes and dreams,” Johnson said.

Is this political indoctrination allowed by Oakfield school administrators?   

McCarty is no stranger to politics. In 2004, McCarty was elected to the Campbellsport Board of Education at the age of 21. He ran an unsuccessful bid for the Assembly in 2008.

If that weren’t bad enough, McCarty trucks his students to Republican sideshow circuses.

jsonline: Call this story Oakfield High School's Excellent Republican Adventure. In a whirlwind trip to Iowa, seven students and two recent graduates of the school, shepherded by teacher Karl McCarty and a father of two in the group, drove six hours from Oakfield to Des Moines, met top GOP candidates and got catbird seats for a presidential debate - making national TV in the process - Who won the debate? McCarty, who describes himself as an independent conservative, thinks it was Rep. Ron Paul - though he added that Rep. Michele Bachmann stuck well to her message.

This isn't the first Iowa trip he's made with students this year, said Everett O'Malley, one of the seniors along for the ride. A smaller group went in October to the Faith and Freedom Coalition forum in Des Moines and met many of the GOP candidates there.

No, it’s not alright for this right wing indoctrination to occur. I mean really, after the outrage over President Obama’s yearly school pep talk broadcasts, they have the balls to do this? 

Fitzgerald's Given till 5:30 this afternoon to decide to Draw New Redistricting Maps.

UPDATE  Wed: For the second day in a row, Republican lawmakers declined to revisit election maps they drew last year, setting the stage for a fast-track trial starting Thursday that will determine which political party has an advantage in this fall's elections.
UPDATE: Republican lawmakers said Tuesday they believe they have no power to make changes to election maps they approved last summer, inserting new questions into fast-changing litigation over those maps.

It looks like the judges are willing to let Republicans save face:

jsonline: In a surprise move, a federal three-judge panel told Republican legislative leaders Tuesday they should consider drawing new election maps taking into account challenges from Democrats and Latinos.

The court gave the Legislature until 5:30 p.m. to decide whether it wanted to revisit the maps it approved this summer. If it does not, the trial challenging the maps will resume Wednesday. If lawmakers agree to take up the maps, the court would give them until mid-March to approve them. At the opening of Tuesday's trial, presiding Judge J.P. Stadtmueller said, the plaintiffs have raised significant issues - particularly on the treatment of Latino areas and in the way it moved hundreds of thousands of people into new districts.

He said the panel's one-day pause was not to be taken as a signal of how it would rule on the merits. Stadtmueller was appointed by a Republican president.
 

Walker proves Government is the Problem with Convoluted Online Sales Tax.

The most efficient way to pay a sales tax is at the point of purchase. It's bulletproof. 

But what if the tax is "voluntary" for online purchases, and the party in control has a "no tax" pledge? It means they can't simplify this one troublesome revenue source.

You'll also see the state government send out 3000 letters to Wisconsinites who owe sales taxes on purchases they made...get this, between 2007-2010? 

Are you kidding me? This isn't competent government management, it's a god damn nightmare. 

If the state wants the sales tax anyway, then just charge the tax at the point of sale. Doh!!!

Check out this Channel3000 jaw dropper:

Walker has decided to hunt down buyers in the state to pay up for buying out-of-state goods online, between 2007-2010. 

Channel3000: State Department of Revenue officials sent a letter to about 3,000 people in late January, urging them to pay taxes on online or out-of-state purchases made from 2007 to 2010. "This is not an audit," said Stephanie Marquis, a department spokeswoman. "It's really just an informational letter to make them aware that we believe they may have made that purchase and may owe state taxes on that purchase." Wisconsin will miss out on $62 million in uncollected use tax on online purchases, according to an informational letter from the Legislative Fiscal Bureau.

It’s the states fault for missing out on $62 million of online sales taxes. Instead of expanding the standard easy system of taxation we already have in place, and because of the Republican pledge to not raise taxes, it's the buyers who have to keep track of their purchases all year long. 

If they want the sales tax, why not tax online purchases? This is pure ideological lunacy? 

  

As one who believes we should tax online sales, all online sales with no out-of-state exemption for business, this Walker tactic is not just intimidating but an amazingly convoluted way to pay for corporate tax cuts, and keep their no tax pledge.

Can we fire these guys soon?