Walker gives away $4 million for the heck of it to Spectrum Brands

This is not a slap at Spectrum Brands, who only asked for some cash. It’s what the Walker's Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation did that should send conservative voters screaming from their houses. We all just gave a very profitable company taxpayer dollars...to do nothing. Just stay where they are. A pre-emptive bribe so to speak.

WTDY News Director Zack Stein talked with Sly in the Morning and gave this jaw dropping account:

WSJ: Spectrum Brands Holdings is getting a $4 million forgivable loan from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. to keep nearly 500 jobs at its Madison offices and to invest in its Wisconsin operations over the next five years. It is the largest forgivable corporate loan issued so far by the WEDC.

“Keep” nearly 500 jobs here in Madison, that weren’t going anyplace. I’m not kidding. The Walker trick is to later claim he kept or created those jobs, when in fact, they weren't leaving to begin with. And for the record, it was Scott Walker’s baby:

"It's about securing those companies and their jobs that have built these communities," said Paul Jadin, WEDC chief executive officer. "Gov. Walker was very involved with (Spectrum Brands') leadership throughout this process, as well."

Bottom line:

 Spectrum Brands was not seriously considering moving out of Wisconsin. "Our intention was always to remain not only in the state of Wisconsin but in the Madison area," Prichard said.

Oops? Did Walker just learn a valuable lesson? Nope, it just part of the plan:

Jadin said the WEDC is looking at other companies that may qualify for proactive loans.

Walker Thugs to Neutral Businesses; You’re either for or against us!!!

The radical Republican Party leaders in Racine County have decided that neutral businesses who allow recall petitioners in their parking lots must take a stand, or else. That’s the sad condition of our state, what we now know as FitzWalkerstan.

Businesses that simply allow the recall petitioners on their premises with or without permission are being intimidated by the Racine County Republican Party into taking sides. What happened to neutrality, not taking sides?

   

Instead, the Racine GOP appears to be causing chaos in recall parking lots so businesses have no choice but to remove the petitioners.

What you can gather from the following story is this; recall petitioners at an All Sports parking lot had to pack up and leave because “the owner was getting mad because of what they were doing.” Who are “they?” What was going on? “They” were Republican Walker brownshirts upset with the petitioners using the parking lot without permission, despite no objections from management. They caused a violent scene that appeared to be escalating out of control, forcing recallers to leave just to keep the peace.  

Caledonia Patch: …one confrontation became particularly heated, which involved an unnamed Racine County Republican Party member and Tom Simons, a retired Caledonia Police detective, according to Kelly Gallaher, a community organizer for Community for Change.

On Saturday, several people collecting signatures for the recall were parked in the All Sports parking lot, located at 3458 Rapids Drive, when a man driving a Lexus drove into the parking lot and almost struck Simons, Gallaher said (Simons is a retired police officer).

Bill Folk, chairman of the Republican Party of Racine County, said the member of the Republican Party admitted that he had “probably taken things too far.” Folk said he’s advising his Republican members not to confront petitioners, but to talk to the businesses about their decision to let petitioners on their property.

Here’s another glimpse into the Republican vision of “freedom and liberty,” and their quest to create a one party government. This striking statement should give pause to anyone who might want to speak or act out against a tightly protected authoritarian state:

“Whether they are pro/against, we’re encouraging business owners to reconsider having petitioners on their property because of how it could be perceived,” Folk said.

Isn’t it amazing what's revealed sometimes in a small offhand comment by a random Republican Party leader? I assume “it could be perceived” that All Sports supported the "wrong" side of our current governmental authority.

But the All Sport neutral position would not stand:

Folk said the petitioners didn’t have permission from the owners and that’s why they left. Gallaher said the group left because of the confrontation between the Republican and the owner of the business. When Simons and the group went to leave, the Republican came back to check to see if the petitioners had left.

Gallaher tells the story a little differently. “A Lexis ran through parking lot and the man (driving it) almost backed up into a retired police officer,” Gallaher said. “The man in the Lexis was yelling profanities and he had stalked the location a couple of hours prior to that.” The owners of All Sports didn’t file a trespassing police report with the City of Racine Police Department.

“The man in the Lexis was causing so much trouble and the owner was getting mad because of what they were doing,” Gallaher said. “And I don’t blame them for changing their mind. But we left because of the Republicans and the weather, not because we didn’t have permission to be there.”

Republicans don't stand for freedom and liberty, but a police state, where brownshirted conservative thugs keep us in line. It's that simple. Fascism is here, quietly endorsed by Gov. Walker, unless he demands an end to the intimidation.

blue cheddar has even more HERE!!!!

Riverfalls Recall Ripping, and Operation Burn Notice revealed!

Here are a few more examples of level headed conservatism, the Walker way, as the recall campaign roars ahead. Try to remember each example as a debate point for future condescension from the far right wing, who always seems paint liberals as violent commies out to destroy the country. Pure projection:

Riverfalls Journal: A 53-year-old rural River Falls man is a suspect in a petition-shredding incident last Wednesday, Nov. 23, after 5 p.m., in front of EconoFoods on Main Street. After he pretended to sign a recall for Gov. Scott Walker, the man allegedly jabbed at the petition form with a pen and then ripped the paper. He was confronted by recall petition volunteers. As he walked away, the man gave his name as “George Washington.” One witness snapped photos of the George Washington suspect’s car and license plate as he drove off.

Police arrived right after he left ... they have identified the man. He is to be questioned Tuesday, Nov. 29, by a police investigator and could be charged with a felony by the Pierce County district attorney.

A little while back I posted a story about another shredding (burning) scheme, this time from Operation Burn Notice. In an exhaustive bit of investigative journalism, here's an update from the Examiner's Bill Schmalfeldt in Elkridge, Maryland:

If one is searching for a "brain" behind Operation Burn Notice … Monday evening, a confidential informant told the Examiner that an individual named Jason Grossman of Prescott, Ariz., may be the driving force behind the Facebook page.  The informant suggested that Grossman posts online under the alias "Aaron Burr" on two websites, "Evilconservatives.net" and "Evilconservatives.org"

(UPDATE: At 2:45 pm, the Examiner received an e-mail from someone identifying himself as "Aaron Burr." 

I'm not sure why you would think my name is Jason Grossman. He's the guy who owns madshirtz.com. The only reason I even posted anything is because I for one, am starting to lose my patience. See, we did all this stuff weeks ago. Literally weeks. Want the run down? 1.) Some idiots on facebook got nasty with some friends of mine. No big deal, it's facebook. 2.) Friends of mine mentioned they were gonna' mess with the FB idiots. We say we're shredding petitions, the other side goes out and buys sigs from kidz and pays them in cigarettes. We say we're gonna' date rape a petition, the other side goes out and harasses people they don't like. I'm smacking seriously stupid people around on the net and it's boring the Hell out of me. I'm just a hired gun for this brouhaha. I could care less what Wisconsin does.  

The Examiner replied to his e-mail asking for a direct answer this time and asked what he meant, precisely, by "I'm just a hired gun for this brouhaha. I could care less what Wisconsin does."  We asked who was paying him, and how much.  He replied quickly.

I wish I could divulge the name of the client who hired me, but due to the confidentiality clause in the contract, I simply cannot. However, it ain't the tea party, the GOP, Scott Walker or anybody you've ever heard of. It's just some random guy. He liked my writing style and wanted to have some fun. Simple as that. Haven't you ever ghosted an article?

Again, conservative projection. Check out the whole detailed story at the link above.

Norquist Finds Way to Justify Ending SS Holiday; Endless BS is getting Really Really Tiring.

Republicans talk a lot about freedom and liberty, but watch out, it only means what they say it means.

In the past year since the Republicans took control of our state legislature, and the Congress, we're seeing how easily they can take everything away with the turn of an unfriendly card.

In Wisconsin, the GOP took away part of the Earned Income Tax Credit from the poor and middle class, which would normally have been considered a tax increase. Grover Norquist would be on their case instantly.

But like Humpty Dumpty, the Earned Income Tax Credit got the old Republican makeover and ended up being a "welfare program," a "redistribution of money" to people who didn't "earn" the credit. See. It's not a tax increase after all.

Which brings me to reinstating the Social Security tax holiday, which the Republicans insist didn't work, and...get this, was meant to end! Grover Norquist insists the Bush tax cuts were always meant to be made permanent, which is different from the temporary SS tax holiday, so it's not a tax increase like repealing the Bush tax cuts.  Check out the Rachel Maddow setup, and the down-the-rabbit hole bullshit from Grover Norquist.

"It's Working"...fewer families live in homes now, Low Apartment Availability.

Gov. Scott Walker's plan is working, and families continue to see the American dream slipping away. Thank you Scott Walker for cutting the pay of public workers, the loss of consumer certainty, thank you big banks sitting on their money, Wall Street gamblers, and thank you Republican deregulators. Channel3000:



Walker says it's working...

Madison's apartment vacancy rate hit its lowest level in at least 16 years, as economic challenges have forced thousands of Madison residents to seek affordable units. Only 2.6 percent of the city's apartment units were available in the third quarter … Vacancies have dwindled nearly every year since 2005, when 6.4 percent of units didn't have occupants.

The high demand is causing rent prices to increase and allowing landlords to turn more potential tenants away, said Brenda Konkel, executive director at the Tenant Resource Center in Madison. "It's probably the worst I've seen it," she said. "For people who have had problems with unemployment, who don't have steady income, for people who have any type of blemish on their rental record, it's become incredibly difficult."

The vacancy rates are all below 1 percent in the 53726 and 53715 zip codes on the near West Side … Many people who can't afford to buy a home are staying in apartments, while banks turn others seeking a mortgage away. Many others facing foreclosures return to rentals, and developers have been unwilling to add affordable units into the market.

What did Walker know about Ripped Up Recall Petition? Should Student Perpetrator be charged with Felony?

It’s about time? The Madison police are now involved.

The destruction of a recall petition is a felony, a felony one Edgewood College student committed when he ripped one up last week.

Despite that illegal act, it would be crazy to charged the kid with a felony, warned and fined maybe, but nothing that would seriously effect his life. But then…our disciplinary Republican father figures just passed a law preventing felons from working in our schools, even if their crime (ripping a piece of paper) is unrelated to their job. Is this guy really that kind of criminal? No, but thanks to his ideologically compatible party, teaching is out of the question in Wisconsin for this student felon.

WKOW 27: A Madison police official said his department is now investigating the alleged destruction of a recall petition at Edgewood College, days after college officials declined to contact authorities about the potential felony crime.

A student's alleged destruction of a petition of a small number of signatures to recall Governor Scott Walker also involved a tweet from the student's account to the governor, claiming responsibility for ripping up the petition … on his twitter account,  a message was sent this week to Walker stating the student's campus punishment was a letter of apology.  Student witness Zach Madden said he felt a letter of apology was insufficient to address what happened. "I agree that the college should do something, but I just don't think justice was served here."

But when the governor’s office found out about the ripped up petition, what did they do?

Gov. Walker's spokesperson Cullen Werwie has yet to explain what actions were taken as a result of the initial tweet from the student's account to the governor.   

Silent acceptance?

The Blue Fist of...Recall

I didn't know who was behind the blue fist, but now I do.

AP: An Appleton native is the creator of the iconic "blue fist" graphic in the shape of Wisconsin used in spring protests at the state Capitol.

Graphic artist Carrie Worthen graduated from the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. She now lives and works in Los Angeles, but she kept in touch with members of the AFL-CIO and, in February, the union asked her to take the germ of the fist idea and make it stand out.

"To me it needed to be bold and clear and loud and simple," Worthen told Wisconsin Public Radio. Worthen said it's been overwhelming to see thousands of people use her design to protest the policies of Gov. Scott Walker and Republicans in the state Legislature.

She said the fist has long been used by labor and civil rights activists. She expects it to be used in the effort to recall Walker, and said similar designs are being adopted by the Occupy Wall Street movement.

"The slogan that we used, 'Stand With Wisconsin,' it was this sort of call to the nation to stand up along with Wisconsin," Worthen said. "I think it's great that everybody finally is with this Occupy stuff and you're seeing fists everywhere. And I think that's great because it means that standing up and fighting injustice is mainstream."

Worthen said she was not paid for her work on the blue fist design.

Nothing says Authoritarian Rule like Gov. Sam Brownback.

Dictatorial one party rule is the kind of future offered by Republicans, our future "leaders," who must make the unpopular decisions for our own good. 

Is anyone safe after this petty incident:

WP: A Kansas teenager got in some trouble with her school for comments she posted on her Twitter account — in which she claimed to have trashed Gov. Sam Brownback (R) to his face during a field trip. Sullivan didn’t even actually say any of these things to Brownback.

But as it turns out, Brownback’s office watches Twitter for comments about him. Brownback’s office flagged the tweet to the event organizers, who in turn passed the complaint on to Sullivan’s school. This got her called to the principal’s office: Sullivan said the principal ordered her to write letters of apology to Brownback. She isn’t sorry, and has no intention of apologizing to the governor, the Associated Press reports.

Was Fake "OccupyMadison" site really isolated incident, as Republican Party now claims?

I had to post this story just to document how confident conservative voters are about the popularity of their agenda, and the confidence they have brought to the electoral process. Whew, thank god they also gave us voter ID and fade Democratic candidates. 

NBC26, Green Bay: The government accountability board is investigating a "fake" recall website. Occupymadison.com is offline now. This weekend, someone posted info claiming recall organizers gathered all of their signatures and telling petitioners to stop collecting.

"If you can't defend Scott Walker, you have to resort to dirty tricks. And these folks are resorting to dirty tricks because they can't defend Scott Walker's record" says Graeme Zielinski of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

The creator of the page concealed their identity. Republicans say it's an isolated incident.

The Recall Numbers are In....

Like one Republican pundit said recently, 'The Democrats are hitting a recall road block with the holidays coming....'

Nice try.

WSJ: Organizers working to oust Gov. Scott Walker say they already have gathered more than half of the signatures they would need to force the new Republican governor into a recall election. United Wisconsin announced on Monday that more than 300,000 signatures have been gathered during the first 12 days of the recall effort, which was officially launched on Nov. 15. Organizers would need to gather 540,208 valid signatures by Jan. 17 to get the recall on the ballot next year.

People have signed the recall petitions at the rate of about 1,040 per hour, according to United Wisconsin. The group says signatures have been collected from people in all 72 counties in Wisconsin, including:

• 10,033 residents from Columbia County.
• 4,713 in Pierce County.
• 3,698 in Oneida County.
• 16,845 in Eau Claire and Chippewa counties.
• 8,540 in Portage County.

Here's Ed Schultz with Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chairman Mike Tate. Love the passionate delivery of facts:

  

Republicans Change Rules to Game System, Recalls! Rules they Wrote and Passed.

Have they no shame?

It must be fun being a conservative. To them, freedom and liberty means having no shame, moral or ethical qualms about doing any damn thing they want. Will their voters ever hold them accountable?

No.

jsonline: The law firm bringing a suit against the state's elections agency advised the Legislature on how to write the very law it is suing over. Republican lawmakers hired Michael Best & Friedrich and the Troupis Law Office to help them draw new legislative maps. That law was explicit in saying the new maps would take effect for recall elections starting in the fall of 2012.

Memorize and behold the actual language:

"This act first applies, with respect to special or recall elections, to offices filled or contested concurrently with the 2012 general election."

That means any recall elections before then must be held in the old districts, according to the state Government Accountability Board, which runs state elections.

But…

Now, Michael Best is representing a group of Republicans who have sued the accountability board, arguing any recall elections must be held using the new maps. The new maps favor Republicans. Michael Best attorney Eric McLeod has asked the state Supreme Court to take up the case … McLeod defended Justice Michael Gableman before the other state Supreme Court justices after the Wisconsin Judicial Commission alleged he had violated the state's ethics code for judges by lying in a 2008 campaign ad. McLeod said he did not believe his relationship with Gableman would require the justice to have to step aside in the case. "I don't think my past representation of a justice would result in the need for recusal," he said, noting his work for him ended more than a year ago.

There is no shame or ethical restrictions for far right wingers.

Monroe Freedman, an expert on judicial ethics at Hofstra Law School in New York, said Gableman should step aside. "I just don't understand why these lawyers put themselves, and more importantly the court, in this position," he said.

Teacher mill “Teach for America,” Failing!!

Is anyone who knows anything about education surprised at this news?

Teach for America was the be-all, end-all answer to replacing “all the bad teachers that can’t be fired” in our public schools. It’s a private non-profit. It received early financing from Ross Perot, and worked out a partnership with Wachovia Corporation. Then came the taxpayer grants. That resulted in building teaching “institutes” across the country.  

And it’s failing.

With successful educational models abroad, like Finland’s much talked about system, we continue to build from the ground up a mish mash of politically driven policies that don’t work or just duplicate what we already have. Teach for America is one such effort that really never made any sense.

EdWeek: In a distressed neighborhood north of Miami's gleaming downtown, a group of enthusiastic but inexperienced instructors from Teach For America is trying to make progress where more veteran teachers have had difficulty: raising students' reading and math scores.

By 2015, with the help of a $50 million federal grant, program recruits could make up one-quarter of all new teachers in 60 of the nation's highest need school districts. The program also is expanding internationally.

That growth comes as many districts try to make teachers more effective. But Teach For America has had mixed results. Its teachers perform about as well as other novice instructors, who tend to be less successful than their more experienced colleagues. Even when they do slightly better, there's a serious offset: The majority are out of the teaching profession within five years.

Despite these gaping flaws, supporters dramatically understate their own failure:

"I think ultimately the jury is out," said Tony Wagner, a professor at the Harvard Graduate School of Education, and an instructor to the first class of TFA corps members.

But it's this attitude that not only boggles the mind and contorts reality, but it also spends needless decades looking at "innovations" that never really pan out.

American Enterprise Institute (a right wing think tank): American K-12 schooling is a hotbed of dynamic problem-solving on this front. Non-profits like Teach For America, Florida Virtual School, The New Teacher Project, Carpe Diem, and Citizen Schools are showing new ways to recruit and utilize educators. For-profits like Wireless Generation, Tutor.com, Pearson, Discovery, and Rosetta Stone are offering up a range of ways to harness new tools and technology to support teaching and learning. Figuring out how to leverage these new problem-solvers is a place where our state systems, districts, and schools have fumbled badly. This is an area where would-be reformers have devoted far too little attention. Meanwhile, not only have the "best" performing nations not done any better on this count, but the schemes promoted by those covetously eyeing Finland inevitably entail oodles of regulations and rule-writing calculated to stifle such providers.

Did you catch the "Figuring out how to leverage these new problem-solvers..." caveat?

Santa's Job this Year? Deliver bad news to Kids.

While Republicans think of more ways to take from the poor and middle class, their Christmas message of austerity is now being delivered to children by Santa Claus. 

NY Times: The result is a Christmas season in which Santas — including the 115 of them in this year’s graduating class of the Charles W. Howard Santa Claus School — must learn to swiftly size up families’ financial circumstances, gently scale back children’s Christmas gift requests and even how to answer the wish some say they have been hearing with more frequency — “Can you bring my parent a job?”

Santa’s here tell of children who appear on their laps with lists that include the latest, most expensive toys and their parents, standing off to the side, stealthily but imploringly shaking their heads no. On the flip side, some, like Fred Honerkamp, have been visited by children whose expectations seem to have sunk to match the gloom; not long ago, a boy asked him for only one item — a pair of sneakers that actually fit.

“In the end, Santa’s have to be sure to never promise anything,” said Mr. Honerkamp, an alumnus of the school who also lectures here. 

Walker Thugs Try Everything to Derail Recall. A lesson not to be forgotten.

For having a winning political philosophy “that’s working,” you would think Republicans would just sit back and laugh at the Democrats for wasting their time and money on a futile recall effort.

Right now, they’re acting like cornered animals.

Daily Koz: How hard is this message; Republicans break pledge, raise taxes on the middle class?Even though the payroll tax holiday is ending, just like the Bush tax cuts, Republicans don’t consider that a tax increase. They think just the opposite about the Bush tax cuts.

A fake website claiming the recall petition drive is over is their latest:

A website posing as "Occupy-Madison" is seeking to undermine the petition drive in Wisconsin to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker by claiming enough signatures have been gathered. In a November 27 blog entitled, "Walker Recall a success, all necessary signatures collected," the accompanying post says: "The Committee to Recall Scott Walker and United Wisconsin have issued a report stating they have succeeded in collecting all necessary signatures... We are thankful for the efforts, [and] we are suspending all collection activity."

As of this writing, the website in question is not functional. It currently shows only a simple message, "content reported, under review."

Missed Message: A tax increase by any other name is a tax increase.

How hard is this message; Republicans break their pledge, raise taxes on the middle class?

Even though the payroll tax holiday is ending, Republicans don’t consider that a tax increase. The Bush tax cut holiday is ending too, but that's different? The Bush tax cuts were passed under reconciliation, which means they have to expire, because they add to the deficit.  

In the story below, never once is breaking the no tax pledge used against the Republicans for raising taxes. It almost seems like the media wants to perpetuate the "no tax" party line ;myth:

NY Times: The No. 2 Senate Republican, Jon Kyl, expressed concern on Sunday about President Obama’s proposal to continue a reduction in the Social Security payroll tax … Senate Democrats want to offset the cost by increasing the tax on income over $1 million a year. Obama says that if Congress does not extend the tax cut, “the typical family’s taxes will go up $1,000 next year.”

Richard Durbin, said on “Fox News Sunday … “I can’t believe that at a time when working families in this country are struggling paycheck to paycheck,  the Republican position is, they’ll raise the payroll tax on working families. I think that just defies logic.”

Again, the message is easy and missed by everyone in the story: Republicans are breaking their pledge, raising taxes on the middle class.

State Republican Party Spins Wheels Obstructing Democratic Recall!

Obstructing democracy, and a state Constitutional right, is just another part of the Republican idea of government in Wisconsin now. It looks like the whiners on the far right  know how to do only one thing...whine. 

Reedsburg city leaders agreed to let recall supporters and opponents use their city hall to promote their causes. Joan Meyer and Jeri Nikula … get to work inside city hall on the weekdays after Reedsburg administrators gave them permission (to collect recall signatures).

The odd argument from Republican obstructionists?

Republicans say that government resources like city hall buildings should not be used toward the recall petition process at all.

So the recall of a government official can’t be conducted on public property? In fact, Republicans have made such a convincing argument, they asked for, and got permission to use…"what should not be used toward"…city hall. Huh?

But if you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em, so Sauk County Republicans filed paperwork so Reedsburg leaders would let them in too.

But the theatre of the absurd doesn’t stop there:

The city gave the OK, but Reedsburg's mayor says the GOP hasn't been back. “We didn't understand what they were doing,” said recall organizer Bill Waser of the GOP's push for equal access. "They haven't really showed up, they've come in and talked to us."

After realizing they didn’t have any real reason to use the building, the party of whiners decided to silently crawl back under their Reedsburg rock:

The county Republicans haven't said much after gaining access to Reedsburg’s city hall, and calls and e-mails to the area’s GOP chairman have not been returned.

Channel3000 had the story:

Walker Tax Credits not the Answer After all.

We passed out money to businesses for infrastructure under the stimulus plan, but according to Republicans, that failed. But passing out money in the form tax credits to businesses under the Walker plan, well that's a rip roaring success...just you wait and see in five or ten years from now.

AP: A newspaper analysis raises questions about how effective tax credits are in prompting Wisconsin businesses to hire. Gannett Wisconsin Media examined state data over the past five years. It found that 40 percent of Wisconsin businesses that completed tax-credit programs tied to job creation failed to hire as many people as they expected.

A Wausau Daily Herald report says 9 of 15 businesses in that period met the hiring goal. And of the 191 other businesses still active in the program, just 8 percent created the required number of jobs to earn the credits. Some business owners say hiring decisions depend on more than short-term tax benefits.

The fact that tax credits have proven themselves to have little effect on jobs creation, is still not enough do away with the same old failed policy.

Governor spokesman Cullen Werwie says government can't directly make jobs, but it can improve the environment for businesses to grow and invest.

Invest in Republican campaigns. We know.

'Tis the Season to Recall Walker in Eau Claire, while conservative voters threaten to stay away from stores that allow petitioners.

Using the holidays as a way to take advantage of the large concentrations of potential petition signers around stores and malls, instead of the holidays working against them, recall Walker organizers have planned wisely. And like any grass roots show of public anger, the strategy has taken off all over the state, like Eau Claire:

The Democratic Party of Eau Claire County says there are plenty of recall volunteers signed up to petition outside when shoppers are busy shopping this Black Friday.

But I thought this was interesting, especially for conservatives who criticized Democrats for boycotting businesses in the state that supported Scott Walker. Weren't Republicans the ones calling boycotts a waste of time, saying it hurts local business and is basically a temper tantrum. Typically hypocritical. 

WEAU: Editor's Note: Many have went to our comments section and mentioned specific stores they may or may not shop at because petitioners are outside signing up people for the recall. These establishments cannot force them away, because as long as it is on public property outside the building, (sidewalks, etc) those with petitions have a right to be there. ALL comments mentioning specific stores have been deleted and no others will be accepted.

Chevy's Past still Alive, Despite Republican attempts to Destroy It.

I guess I was lucky growing up at a time when America had it's love affair with cars. "My kingdom for a car," as Phil Ochs once sang. I miss those times, and the mindless carefree car songs that stayed with you all day.

Chevrolet brought back that feeling with this great heart wrenching moment of joy, all in just a 60 second ad:

'Tis the season for Recalling Walker in Milwaukee area...Best Buy again asks people to leave!!!

I thought it would be interesting to see how the holiday recall action in Milwaukee was panning out, after posting the Madison reaction, when I noticed how one retailer went after petitioners there too. It appears Best Buy, now the electronics monopoly, is concerned about their private property rights in Madison and Milwaukee. Wait till corporate finds out about the Castle Law...TMJ4:



Boycotting Best Buy would be at the top of my list of retailers, except there's almost no other place to go, except for a pretty good competitor in American TV.

MILWAUKEE- Taking advantage of one of the busiest shopping days of the year, recall Walker supporters are hoping this will be a busy day for them as well. Between the honking, five fingered and one fingered waves, political activists have seen it all on the corner of Pilgrim and Capitol in Wauwatosa. "I heard that this was going to be a big day for the Recall Walker people so I wanted to come out and show my support for Scott Walker," said Pete as he held up a pro-Walker sign.

"He's heckling. It's common. It happens," said recall petition gatherer Denise Tyson. Tyson argues this Walker supporter isn't going to stop her from what she came out to do. "People keep coming to sign and I'm out here for the signatures," Tyson said. 

Walker to Wisconsinites: "...it feels like sour grapes." Classy, Professional.

It looks like the Republican “disciplinary council” has become our “father” figure, treating the other adults in the state like irresponsible children. Scott Walker had to do it, and you’ll thank him someday.

The latest “sour grapes” ad from Scott Walker insults the voters intelligence with an ad hominem attack. History is littered with “leaders” who did claimed they had to do “what’s right.” 

Keep in mind the ads spokesperson "Kristi," is a teacher at a corporate "choice" school in the Kenosha Unified School District. LakeView High:

LakeView opened in the fall of 1997. LakeView has a unique partnership with the Kenosha Area Business Alliance (KABA), WISPARK Corporation, Gateway Technical College , Marquette University College of Engineering, and the Kenosha Unified School District . 

TMJ4 had this short description:

The ad features a mother and high school teacher named "Kristi." She talks about her support for Scott Walker. And now, she's getting blasted online for saying it … she says, "I mean, Scott Walker said from the beginning, I'm going to do what's right for Wisconsin, and he did, he did. I'm not big on recalls and I think at this point, in my opinion, and I'm only speaking from the "I", it feels a little like sour grapes."

"Kristi" stated in the commercial, "It's not about being popular, it's not about getting the votes, it's this is what is right."

So doing what’s unpopular is better? Let me see now, a majority always reflects what is popular, so doing what is unpopular is Walker’s minority “I know what’s best” solution? Kristi reflects the odd, winner take all ideology, of the far right.

The Facebook page, "The Heroic Wisconsin 14," … (saw) hundred(s) of comments in just the few hours after the ad hit the page. "Sally" writes, "No kidding, I am not a violent person, but I want to punch her in the head every time this ad is played!"

And like any of the past authoritarian states, the ruling government has “requested” silence from the propagandist.

In a Facebook conversation with TODAY'S TMJ4's Annie Scholz's, "Kristi" says a PR person for the Governor asked her not to speak to the media.

TMJ4:

Kristi of course, after willingly betraying her fellow teachers and endorsing the less popular “tough love” edict handed down by the Walker administration, is now hurt by all the "surprise" criticism?:

She did say, "it said what I feel" and all the threats are hurtful.

Like my conservative friend told me the other day when I suggested Walker should have compromised after seeing how unpopular his policies were;

“We won the election.”

Not forever…(I hope). 

Watch the Accident: Helicopter Crash, and Man with Jet Pack Flying with Jets.

NBC featured these two amazing moments.

Rep. Don Young Republican Bully, Embarrassment! Historian Doug Brinkley reminds him he works for us.

Ed Schultz talks to Doug Brinkley about an uncomfortable outburst by Rep. Don Young. Another in a continuing stream of authoritarian displays of intolerance, the opposite of the familiar conservative refrain of bringing freedom and liberty back to America.

'Tis the Season to Shop and Sign a Walker Recall Petition.

Thanks to the heads up from Political Environment for the jsonline story about how Republicans are whining again about the public's willingness to sign a recall petition, near a mall.

Wisconsin Republicans are ripping Democrats’ plans for recall signature drives near malls on Black Friday. Recall organizers say signature gatherers planned to set up near malls, shopping centers and park-and-rides around the state Friday. Republicans say the effort amounts to harassing shoppers.

Democracy…harassing people? One party rule is so much fun, or is it. Conservatives don’t seem to like it much.

The party says businesses should call police if signature gatherers don’t leave their property upon request and shoppers should report problems to the GOP’s “Recall Integrity Center” website.

It’s a terrific strategy and an unfortunate turn of events for Republicans. Although Scott Walker does have the advantage of raising unlimited amounts of money on an ad campaign (propaganda) filled with utter BS.

A spokeswoman for United Wisconsin says volunteers are collecting signatures on public spaces near malls and other busy areas.

Here's a nice look at the horrible Democrats ruining Christmas shopping, from WMTV 15:



Isn't it odd Best Buy appeared to be the only retailer booting petitioners? Monopolies are so much fun.

Conservative Wisconsin State Journal front page: Teachers Porn Lovers Too!!!

Teachers sit around all day looking at porn in school.

Just in case you missed it, Republican vilification of teachers reached its peak in Wisconsin with legislation that portrays them as panting purveyors of porn and/or felons.

This below the fold headline nails those lousy teachers!

The smear campaign wasn't over after stripping collective bargaining. It's not like you couldn't fire a teacher before this law was signed into law by Gov. Walker. But Republicans had to go one step further, by actually revoking their teacher license. That'll teach 'em. It wasn't enough to be able to pull their license for immoral conduct.

Looking at porn at school is a bad idea, sure, but does it end a career or make a great teacher bad? The answer:

Gov. Scott Walker said the new law will help ensure children are being educated by qualified teachers. 

These moral upstanding beacons of perfection can hopefully spend more time now ripping up recall petitions or making it harder for adults to get birth control.

And to make room for law abiding citizens to get jobs, Walker signed into law the ability of schools to discriminate against former felons, even if their offense doesn't directly relate to the job in question. That was the actual reason given by a Republican legislator for passing this law. I guess mistakes like drunk driving, a tragic fatal accident, burglary, theft, white collar embezzlement can be a job ending moment...for life.

Blatant Walker Thugs Continue Ripping Up Recall Petitions...

Is it me or have the Walker thugs threats of ripping up recall petitions gone into high gear? I guess we can't do too much about it, until after the fact, and even then we don't know if anyone is caught or charged. 

A guy in a pickup stopped at a roadside sign up, ripped a petition, and drove off. That's an easy one. But no news yet on the guy who did it. Why? From WKOW 27 and reporter Tony Galli:

Now another petition got the Walker thug treatment:

WKOW: Edgewood College officials notified the campus community of the destruction of a recall petition against Governor Walker, but a campus official said the police were not notified.

Edgewood College Dean of Students Maggie Balistreri-Clarke wrote campus security was notified someone had destroyed a recall petition with signatures.   The email notes such action is a felony crime. Associate Dean of Students Ryan Bouchard told 27 News as students gathered recall signatures in a campus dining commons November 15, a student took a petition and ripped it up. Bouchard said campus officials have identified the student allegedly responsible for the petition destruction, and the student faces possible sanction from the institution … officials have not contacted Madison police.

Bouchard said student witnesses were encouraged to contact police … there's no record of such a report. One of the student witnesses,  18-year old freshman Zach Madden told 27 News witnesses have consulted with representatives of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin but no police report has been filed. "I feel a crime was committed."

Another instance of petition destruction in Madison took place last week, when police officials said a man tore-up a petition after pulling over on Midvale Boulevard and talking with a petition circulator.

A DPW spokesperson has yet to respond to a request for comment from 27 News on why party representatives have failed to report the campus incident to authorities.

The Governor is getting the information via social networking sites.

Arizona gets a $1.3 million grant from the federal government for job creation, advancement.

We all know that government doesn't create jobs, right? But business interests still seem to need taxpayer handouts for some reason to expand, relocate or for job train. Funny how that works. Check out what's going on in Arizona. It's not a bad idea.

Fox News and Sheppard Smith:

Walker's first ad Fact Checked

Channel3000l's Reality Check:

The reported Walker death threats sounding like exploitation!!!

What, more threats leveled at the governor. I guess we'll have to take their word for it. The few public threats that have made the papers have been determined to be non-threats. I wonder...?

Death threats have been exploited in a disgraceful way by Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican legislative majority, as a way of garnering sympathy for their draconian austerity agenda.

Everything is a death threat now, or a scare tactic that must be taken seriously enough to...what? All this from a party that wanted to bash a few heads at the Capitol to discourage any dissent (of course that would only make things worse, but conservatives still don't know that).

In this recent interview from TMJ4, Tonette Walker takes hearsay to a whole new level, when she got a call from someone who heard from someone else, that they had somebody else run up to them and threaten to kill Walker. You can't make this stuff up:

Governor Walker isn't worried the recall effort will be a distraction for him. But Mrs. Walker is worried about the political charged atmosphere. She worries about his safety every time he leaves the house.

"I'll be honest I do worry," said Tonette Walker, Wisconsin's First Lady. "There's death threats all the time. I just had a call the other day, someone called me on Saturday and said: 'a woman ran up to someone and said you know, let's just kill him.'"

Of course Walker's occasional one finger salute from car windows passing by his home makes me so sad...that he still doesn't get it.

Union under threat in radically conservative Brookfield.

Freedom and liberty apparently don't extend to those who want to organize and belong to a union. After all, unions participate in elections, forcing corporate interests to spend more money than they would normally have too. Take out the unions and the corporate buyout of our elections is complete. 

Which brings me to the current wave of threats.

Walker supporters have found new and illegal ways to corrupt democracy, all the while "saving it" (you know, like Medicare). Harassment and threats are all part of a standard campaign operating procedure developed by Walkerites, in the same city that decided the election of conservative activist Justice David Prosser:

Brookfield Patch: United Education Profession in Brookfield called police several times last week to report employees had receiving harassing, threatening phone calls. The same week that an effort to recall Gov. Scott Walker was launched, employees of United Education Profession called police three times about threats and suspicious vehicles in its Burleigh Road parking lot.

We Are Milwaukee spokesman Ted Kraig is an employee with Council 10 of the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state teachers union.

According to police reports: At 7:11 a.m. Wednesday, a United Education Profession staff assistant called Brookfield police to say a man had phoned the business three times that morning telling her how "(expletive) up" the teachers and their unions are. The caller's identity was blocked ... called again the next afternoon, saying it was continuing to receive threats ... Kraig, who works in the same building, (said) he was getting harassing calls to his home, cell and work phones, including calls at 2 a.m. Thursday ... the phone listed to a number with a 612 area code.

Recall Walker opponents "Operation Burn Notice" Supposedly Burning Petitions to save Democracy. What, no Video?

The righteousness of the far right, like Operation Burn Notice and most Walker supporters, is another reason why creeping fascism may be upon us. Recall petition burners and shredders are not encumbered by state and federal laws, or even the Constitution, if the battle itself will "save" America. Their doing it for us, don't-cha-know.

I'm almost surprised at how pathetic and desperate FitzWalkerstanians are to maintain one party rule. At one time, they begged for a split but balanced government. The smell of defeat has caused them to create the necessary amount of uncertainty to skew the recall or election results.

It's hard to believe the following pictures reveal anything but a satirical statement, on a Facebook site created by a lonely teenager, pranking his liberal middle or high school counterparts. If it isn't a joke...

Gun Lunacy gave Crackpots Weapons in Wisconsin

Since a majority of Wisconsinites don’t have a desire to carry a weapon, and prior to legalization a huge majority of people were against concealed carry.

jsonline: Gun-rights activist Krysta Sutterfield was charged Tuesday with carrying a concealed weapon for wearing a holstered gun under her jacket … Sutterfield also is fighting two municipal tickets stemming from the same incident: one for loitering or prowling and another for obstructing an officer, according to Coffee.

The officers asked Sutterfield if she had a concealed-weapons permit. "The defendant did not answer, but rather stated that she was not carrying a concealed weapon," the complaint says … The officers seized the Glock 17 loaded with 18 live rounds of hollowpoint ammunition, including one in the chamber. Police located two more guns and more ammunition in the trunk of the car.

This isn't the first time … Last year, she openly wore a holstered gun to a Brookfield church service and was later arrested. Her lawsuit against the city for false arrest was settled for $7,500.

Earlier this year, Milwaukee police seized a gun from Sutterfield after her therapist reported she had talked about suicide. Milwaukee County Circuit Judge Rebecca Dallet ordered the gun returned to Sutterfield after a national gun rights attorney took up the case. The attorney argued that the police had violated proper court procedures by revealing confidential medical information about her without notifying her first.

Everyone I know who supported concealed carry, carried anyway. It was illegal. What I’ve noticed about conservatives and laws; they break laws they disagree with. It’s a self-righteous position to take, and a reason history or facts never get in the way of their agenda. 

Want the latest concealed carry lawbreaker news? There's not a lot of information out there due to state laws restricting access to license holders information, but what is available can be found at the Violence Policy Center.

Walker Fumbles Collective Bargaining question...

Milwaukee's Fox 6 might have the dumbest, most partisan news anchor, but they have one of the best reporters in the business, Mike Lowe. 

In the interview below, Lowe doesn't let Gov. Walker get away with any one of his typically half assed answers, and nails him with the rarely heard...follow-up question. Walker looks lost and doesn't answer the question. Can anyone say "ad material?" For instance:

Lowe asks him why he wasn't straight forward or explicit in what he planned to do with collective bargaining, Walker tried to refute that by saying liberal groups speculated and guessed correctly his plans for the unions. 

Lowe's response: "It's one thing for a group against you to run a flyer, it's another thing for you to make that a central tenant of your campaign, and explicitly state it." 

Check it out:

Mike Lowe FOX6 Reporter: When asked whether he anticipated the animosity he would face regarding the bargaining rights debate, Gov. Walker said he knew there would be some push back. But he says he had no idea the national attention it would draw. As for the recall, Gov. Walker made news on FOX6 WakeUp when he indicated he did not collect a dime to combat the recall effort until November 15th. That's the same date as the start of the Democratic effort to recall Walker.

Occupy Reminds Obama Today.

I accidentally had Fox News on today and found this wonderful reaction from the hosts, when Occupy protesters interrupted Obama's speech today.

Walker Ad #2, bought and paid for by Koch brothers and Far Right Wing MacIver Institute, who speak for Voters?

I'm only proving the point that Walker's "Open for Business" recovery plan isn't working.

No matter how many ads the Koch brothers buy through the ironically name Americans for Prosperity, along with the fringe "think" tank MacIver Institute, the job losses and dire predictions by school officials proves beyond a doubt, its not working. 

While the ad below never mentions the concessions made by teachers before collective bargaining took the Walker hit, it becomes obvious that outside special interests have a stake in keeping Scotty in power. Why, especially when you see 65,000 people dropped off Badgercare and a $1.6 billion cut from education. Thanks for nothing. The ends shouldn't justify the means, but they do. And don't get me started on the lost revenues from tax cuts and corporate welfare.

Trashing government jobs and their employees because the private sector keeps shedding jobs is keeping up with the Jones' in reverse, and not a formula for an economic recovery. But that's the upside down world of conservatism. 

AP: Unemployment rates fell in three-quarters of U.S. states last month, a sign that many parts of the country are experiencing modest job gains. Unemployment rates rose in only 5.

You’ll notice that states around Wisconsin are showing a drop in unemployment, some are adding jobs overall, and Wisconsin is losing jobs.

Unemployment rates in Alabama, Michigan and Minnesota all dropped by a half of a percentage point -- the biggest declines among states. Illinois' job growth appears to have encouraged many people who had stopped looking for work to resume job searches, increasing the size of the labor force. That caused the unemployment rate to rise, despite the job gain.

Wisconsin reported the biggest job loss, a drop of 9,700, followed by New York, which shed 8,300.

One Wisconsin Now Strikes Back Again Republican Attempts at Recall Fraud.

Two can play at the recall fraud game:

One Wisconsin Now: In response to reports of alleged plans to illegally destroy recall petitions, One Wisconsin Now has established a $10,000 reward fund for information that leads to the arrest and conviction of any individual guilty of fraudulently destroying or defacing recall petitions from today until the end of the recall gathering process on January 14, 2012. “We cannot allow democracy to be threatened by those who would illegally destroy recall petitions with valid signatures on them,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. “We intend to keep the public informed about its rights during the signature gathering process and alert those who would engage in illegal conduct that they do so at their own peril.”

The terms of One Wisconsin Now’s $10,000 Reward Fund can be found here. 

Romney's Lying Ad Ushers in Truth Free Campaigning for GOP?

If the press ever met a challenge before, this is it. Let's see who reports the truth about the following ad from Mitt Romney, and who blames both sides or resorts to "some say" relativism...like in the first sentence of this Daily News story: 

Mitt Romney … already launching his general election attack on President Obama, with a vicious -- and some say deceitful -- new ad. The 60-second spot shows Obama during a stop in New Hampshire in 2008 as ominous music plays in the background. The text "he promised he would fix the economy," and "he failed" … At one point, Obama is heard saying "If we keep talking about the economy, we're going to lose." Although it sounds Obama is talking about his chances of winning in 2012, the then-Senator was actually quoting an aide from Sen. John McCain's presidential campaign in 2008.

Andrea Mitchell and Rachel Maddow rightfully rip Romney a new one:

Redistribution of wealth goes to Corporations; The Private sector, Free market Myth.

This nice piece from Blue Cheddar points out the Walker administrations attempts to redistribute tax dollars to...corporations. 

The good news;

Wausau Mayor Jim Tipple and Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker were on hand in Wausau Monday morning as the CEO of Collaborative Consulting, Bill Robichaud, announced plans for his company to locate 200 new jobs in Wausau over the next two years.

The bad news;

Walker was there to emphasize that the state of Wisconsin will be contributing 2.25 million dollars toward the new facility in the form of tax credits arranged through the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC). The city of Wausau will also kick in up to $450,000.

The free market, private sector job creation myth:

(An) interesting clause in the agreement states that the “Jobs Tax Credits are refundable.” The credits will first be used to offset any state income taxes that might be owed by Collaborative Consulting, but after that, the company will get what the agreement refers to as a REFUND of the unused credits. The Earned Income Tax Credit works the same way for the working poor in Wisconsin. Low income workers get a credit on their state income taxes that are refundable even if it exceeds their tax liability. Governor Walker’s recent budget slashed that tax credit for working families. In March, Governor Walker defended the cuts, calling the Earned Income Tax Credit a “redistribution program” that involves “taking money from other taxpayers and giving it to individuals who have a limited tax liability.”

If all the tax credits are utilized by Collaborative Consulting, Wisconsin and Wausau taxpayers will pay $13,500 in credits and refunds for each one of the 200 jobs.

Blue Cheddar sums it up this way:

Governor Walker calls that the free market creating private sector jobs. I call it a redistribution program that involves taking money from Wisconsin’s taxpayers and giving it to corporations who have a limited tax liability.  

Lt. Gov. Kleefisch babbles Recalls and Political Climate Killing Jobs Nonsense! She and Walker can change that?

Some things are more than obvious.

What’s obvious to anyone with a pulse; the Walker administration’s divisive policies. But what is also obvious; the cluelessness of Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, who doesn’t connect the protests and recall elections to their own uncompromising Republican takeover of state government and attack on middle class wage earners.

If the state is in turmoil, do we blame the protesters or the cause of the turmoil? That’s easy:

Nominee for "What Not to Wear?"

WisconsinReporter: In an interview with Wisconsin Reporter, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch said she worries about what she describes as the distractions of recall campaigns on business investment and expansion … she said, “We need certainty and stability in the financial climate of the state in order for job creators to invest. It’s a concern of mine that … our political differences continue to be the story. We want job creation to be the story.”

Okay, maybe that wasn't so easy. And whose fault was that? If they want certainty and stability, then…blame the angry Wisconsin voters?  

Wisconsin's private-sector employers cut 9,300 jobs last month … “It’s becoming increasingly clear that the results of Gov. Walker’s ‘reforms’ are more jobs lost and longer unemployment lines,” (said) Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca (D).

And what does the business community think?

Dick Granchalek, president of the La Crosse Area Chamber of Commerce … said linking the recent round of job losses to Wisconsin’s tense political atmosphere would be a stretch. Scott Furlong agreed. The University of Wisconsin-Green Bay political science professor said the uncertainty claim may be a matter of muddying the political waters. “In many ways that’s a political ploy as well as raising the fear factor as to why the Democrats shouldn’t be” pushing the recall campaigns, he said. Furlong said the ongoing nature of the ever-election cycle these days makes sitting on the sidelines in hopes of political change ineffective policy-making and a bad business plan.

Another words; asking the public to stop complaining and sit back and watch the train wreck isn't helping the state, and isn't a viable solution. But Kleefisch repeats the mind numbing psycho talk that suggests politicians can do anything they want if elected, and taxpayers don’t care about how the budget gets balanced or who gets run over in the process:

But the lieutenant governor said … “My concern is we are invalidating the results of the elections that we have done, invalidating the decisions that we made a year ago,” Kleefisch said. “We have done the job the taxpayers of Wisconsin have elected us to do, and we’ve done our jobs thus far.”