Really, the Journal Sentinel is willing to pimp Thompson's Empty "Tammy missed a 9/11 Vote?"

How desperate is Tommy Thompson?

Thompson has been resorting to one last desperate ploy; in the words of Samuel Johnson, "Patriotism is the last refuge of a scoundrel." Tommy is questioning Tammy Baldwin's patriotism. This "patriotic" horse and pony show in congress over symbolic resolutions that have nothing to do with a representatives real job, is all Tommy has left sling.

It also seems odd jsonline's Dan Bice is writing this useless trash too? The headline blames Tammy for missing a vote on one isolated 9/11 resolution, but down a few lines Tammy explains she was sick that day. So...no story right? Wrong. It calls into question Tammy's patriotism. Pathetic.

I just came across this phrase in Bob Dylan's great song "Sweetheart Like You," with a few extra lyrics that describe Romney to a T:

New Marquette Law School Poll; Obama up by 8%, Baldwin up by 4%

Marquette Law School Poll: October 25-28 2012

Baldwin 47%, Thompson 43%

Obama-Biden  51%, Romney-Ryan  43%

The Tea Party? Favorable 30%, unfavorable 43%, haven't heard enough 20%

The tax cuts should; Continue for all 35%; Continue for those earning less than $250,000 42%;

Expire for all 12%

This was an interesting take on Wisconsinites hope for Medicare:

Medicare in the future:  Option A: Medicare should continue as it is today, with the government guaranteeing seniors health insurance and making sure that everyone gets the same defined set of benefits.

Option B:  Medicare should be changes to a system in which the government would guarantee each senior a fixed amount of money to put toward health insurance.  Seniors would purchase that coverage either from traditional Medicare or from a list of private health plans.

Option A  64%, Option B 28%

A few odds and ends: 

Gay couples should be allowed to legally marry?  Or, Gay couples should be allowed to form civil unions but not legally marry?  Or, There should be no legal recognition of a gay couple’s relationship.

Allowed to legally marry 44%, Civil unions 29%, No legal recognition 22%

Abortion: Legal in all cases 29%, Legal in most cases 32%, Illegal in most cases 23%, Illegal in all cases 12%

No Romney Plan: Do you think Romney as or has not provided enough details about the policies he would pursue as president? Has provided enough 39%, Has not provided enough 57%

WKOW:

Time to say No to Disaster Victims? Next thing you know, they’ll want food and health care.

Add another few million to the “takers” list under Obama…

theGrio: Republican Iowa Representative Steve King has said he doesn’t want to sign off on federal Hurricane Sandy relief unless a specific plan on how the money will be spent is set in place. He supported his statement with claims that money provided during Hurricane Katrina was spent on “Gucci bags and massage parlors.” King said, “I want to get them the resources that are necessary to lift them out of this water and this sand and the ashes and the death that’s over there in the east coast and especially the northeast … But they need to come with a plan on how to spend it.”

Here's a video someone put together that shows this total disregard for life and the American ideal. Simply put, it's hard to imagine anyone thinking and talking like this.



So would Mitt Romney just let the states handle this? Chris Christie reacts, and Rachel Maddow wonders what the Mittster would say, despite being asked 11 times:



Even the Wall Street Journal chimed in on the horrors of helping homeless hurricane victims:

Newsmax: Liberals are mistaken to argue in the wake of super-storm Sandy that it proves the need for more government, according to a Wall Street Journal editorial. “The larger liberal fallacy here is that effective government requires bigger government,” Journal editors write. “Americans expect a government, at whatever level, to do its core functions well. But the bigger and more costly the government, the more likely it is to do more things poorly.” Romney was right to say that the federal government should allow states and cities to handle disasters to the extent that they can … “Energetic governors and mayors are best equipped to handle disaster relief because they know their cities and neighborhoods far better than the feds ever will, and they know their citizens will hold them accountable. The feds can help with money and perhaps expertise.”

Sykes continues to defend Racist Billboards.

Charlie Sykes doesn't like being corrected. He was caught lying and promoting the race baiting billboards posted mostly in minority area's throughout Milwaukee. He also knows the billboards were used to gin up anger and paranoia among conservative voters in outlying areas so they would be sure to go out and vote.

Sykes is scrambling to defend himself now that he's been exposed, just like Mark Belling was when he used the term "wetbacks." Milwaukee conservatives love their racist radio talk hosts because they legitimize and offer cover for their own deep seeded racist inclinations. Check out the map below of billboard locations warning voters they'll go to jail if they commit voter fraud. We're not stupid.

Sykes and his loyal listeners are claiming that of the 85 posted signs, a whole bunch of billboards were in outlying areas, offering them supposed political cover. Not a chance Charlie, only your listeners would believe that. Just look at the predominately red area below as proof;

Twisting and spinning, Sykes can't run from the obvious, though he tries:

The entire attack on the voter fraud billboards and the philanthropist who paid for them boils down to the charge that they were "racist" because they were only placed in central cities. But that charge is factually false ... the charge is based on an easily refutable lie. Here is the map of the sign locations. You can easily see that signs were placed in Ozaukee, Washington, and Waukesha Counties, as well as Milwaukee County suburbs.

To distract, Sykes is outraged at jsonline's Dan Bice for omitting a line in their paper version:

The phrase "though some were posted as far out as Waukesha and Washington counties." was edited out of the dead tree. Why? Who took it out??? Bice replied, saying that no one had taken it out, but rather that the print story had been taken from an earlier edition of his blog post.

What really rankles Sykes is that he's have been exposed. Sykes' rabbit defense of the Einhorn's is desperate and pathetic:

Here is what is disingenuous:
Your [print edition] subhead suggests that the Einhorns are racist;
You [the print edition] include(s) a quote that accuses them of racism.
Your editors highlighted that charge of racism in the pull-quote.
And the one phrase that is exculpatory [for the Einhorns] appears nowhere in your print-edition story.

Tired of Bronco Bamma?

Here's a video making the rounds that pretty much appeals to the inner child in all of us:

Tired of Bronco Bamma and Mitt Romney: This is my four year old daughter, Abigael, after hearing one too many mentions of the election.

Republicans see Hurricane Sandy as "political opportunity," not horrific natural disaster.

To be a Republican, you only have to keep your eye on the political prize; winning. But governing, working for ALL the people and solving problems...that's just an annoyance. They'll complain that 47% of Americans are freeloaders, but then blatantly freeload themselves by relying on pre-written legislation from think tanks and ALEC, that support a purely ideological agenda.

So is it any surprise that the massive devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy is being viewed by Republicans as "a political opportunity?" This is how they think and govern:

click to enlarge

Think Progress: A day after criticizing President Obama’s handling of Hurricane Sandy in a Denver Westword interview, former FEMA Director Michael Brown clarified his comments Tuesday…he had no substantive objection, but felt he missed out on a political opportunity.

Brown suggested that Obama could have taken more political advantage from the hurricane to squeeze “more mileage out of” the tragedy … “In other words, he peaked too soon.” 

How politically tone deaf of Obama? Don't even get me started on the opportunistic campaign rally's disguised as food drives for hurricane victims, by Paul Ryan and Mitt Romney. The Red Cross said they won't take food donations. But Republicans continue to see a political silver lining from other peoples pain:

Newsmax: Former Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour is predicting a boost in the polls for President Barack Obama as Election Day approaches, due primarily to his strong response to the devastation caused by Hurricane Sandy. “The biggest change in the race is to Obama’s favor — and that's been this storm,” Barbour said the hurricane, from a political perspective, was “like manna from heaven” for the president.

When Walker makes cuts to Badgercare Providers, he's a taxpayers friend. When Obama does it, he's killing Medicare.

I thought this headline was a bit odd in Forbes:

“In Wisconsin, Obamacare to Increase Individual Insurance Premiums by 30%, Says Obama Adviser”

Turns out, the increase covers 4 years, which means they've got nothing to really complain about. A 6 percent increase in premiums is low. But then, I know something about health care.

One of Obama’s key health-care advisers, Jonathan Gruber, found that by 2016, individual premiums in Wisconsin will increase by an average of 30 percent.

But check this amazing complaint about the cuts Medicare makes to providers:

In addition, Obamacare will deeply cut Medicare Advantage … And 27 percent of Wisconsin physicians say that they will place new or additional limits on accepting Medicare patients.

But the guy who wrote this whiny trash, outside adviser to the Romney campaign on health care issues Avik Roy, should first ask Gov. Scott Walker why Medicaid (Badgercare) providers are dropping coverage in the state. Could it be because Walker also made cuts to health care providers to hold down costs? Just asking.  

If it doesn't affect Dumb Ron Johnson, who cares!

Remember when Roll Call reported how Johnson was "someone who has talked more than he has listened?" Guess they weren't kidding.

Johnson is talking so much he's missed the war on women too.

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) said on Sunday that the issue of abortion will not play a role in the elections next Tuesday, despite media attention to it. "I've had one person talking about the abortion issue during this entire campaign ...

Gov. Walker "not the boss" of State Schools Superintendent Evers!

Scott Walker appears to have overreached again:

jsonline-Jason Stein: A portion of a law giving Gov. Scott Walker veto powers over rules written by the state schools superintendent was struck down Tuesday by a Dane County judge.

Parents of students and members of the Wisconsin Education Association Council and Madison Teachers Inc. challenged the law giving Walker the power to veto administrative rules written by any state agency. In the decision issued Tuesday, Circuit Judge Amy Smith ruled that the law violated the state constitution by giving Walker that power over the state Department of Public Instruction, which is headed by state schools Superintendent Tony Evers. The constitution says that "the supervision of public instruction shall be vested in a state superintendent … In a 1996 decision the state Supreme Court held that lawmakers and the governor cannot give "equal or superior authority" over public education to any other official. "Because Act 21 allows the governor to bar the superintendent from proposing rules or from even beginning the process of rule making … Act 21 places the governor in a position superior to the superintendent in the supervision of public instruction," Smith wrote in her decision.

It should be noted how hard it is for Republicans to work within the constitution, or any set of rules developed by past governments:

The decision is just the latest by a judge in Dane County striking down parts of legislation passed by Walker and the Republican Legislature, including laws severely limiting collective bargaining for public employees and requiring voters to show photo ID at the polls. Those lawsuits are continuing on appeal and this latest decision will likely be appealed as well, with Department of Justice spokeswoman Dana Brueck saying Tuesday that attorneys are reviewing it.

Canadain Politicians give up Economic and Environmental control to China without Public Oversight!!

The corporate takeover continues, even from outside players like China. This time it's in Canada. These deals are going on all the time, and NAFTA has similar provisions. Check out the supplied links below too:

The Canada-China Foreign Investment Promotion and Protection Agreement (FIPPA or FIPA) is the most startling trade deal to be put before Canadians in more than a generation. Actually, that's not quite right... The deal has NOT been put before Canadians. The Conservative government is actively avoiding debate and discussion on the deal, and are instead rushing towards ratification without anything resembling a sober second look.

This trade deal has the potential to permanently alter the course of Canada's economic and environmental security. It's set to pass in less than a week. Time is not on our side. We need to push our politicians to put the brakes on this deal, and to closely examine it with Canada's best interest in mind.

1, 2, 3, 4, 5 

Republicans Still Beat Up on FEMA!!!

Republicans would deep six FEMA. Getting rid of something that potentially could cost the federal government lots of borrowed money is supposed to show how fiscally responsible the GOP is now after spending like drunken sailors and crashing the global economy.

Republicans hate FEMA and the job it does so much that they're willing to show their more sociopathic side. It's better to be rugged individuals and rely on the private sector to come to the rescue, whenever that would happen, then to provide people without food, power and life saving help.

Here are two examples that will stun the senses of anyone who does not support of the Republican austerity agenda.

The Hill: Ryan’s Budget Committee, in nonbinding report language attached to the House-passed 2013 budget, called for all disaster relief to “be fully offset within the discretionary levels provided in this resolution.”

In other words, Congress would have to agree on cuts elsewhere in the budget if it wanted to dole out funds after a disaster. This idea was so far out of the mainstream that even Republican legislators abandoned the idea. 

The most frightening face of all is that of Mitt Romney. He appears here as an unaffected and unconcerned voyeur of the disaster, smiling and coldly spouting "concern."



Of course the sociopath that would be president is only making things worse...

AmericaBlog: Coming on the heels of the Romney campaign apparently confirming Mitt Romney’s earlier promise to shut down FEMA and move its duties to the states, the news that Team Romney’s token “hurricane relief” effort is making things worse for disaster relief agencies is yet another example of how everything Mitt Romney touches – even disasters – end up a disaster. All well and good except, of course, that it’s the opposite of what disaster relief experts advise you to do.  In fact, they warn that such efforts actually “hinder” relief.  Had the Romney campaign bothered reading the Red Cross Web site to see WHAT was needed, or even simply asked someone at the Red Cross,they’d have known this. And I quote from the Red Cross Web site: Unfortunately, due to logistical constraints the Red Cross does not accept or solicit individual donations or collections of items. Items such as collected food, used clothing and shoes must be sorted, cleaned, repackaged and transported which impedes the valuable resources of money, time, and personnel.

Oh, and I thought this was interesting from a guy who'll work with both parties...

Buzzfeed: Republican nominee Mitt Romney reached out to GOP allies on Monday in advance of Hurricane Sandy, but he has not spoken Democratic governors in the path of the storm.

Exposed: Stephen and Nancy Einhorn were anonymous donors behind billboards that Targeted Minority Neighborhoods with threatening Voter Fraud messages.

Voter fraud is nonexistent. But strongly paranoid conservative ideologues still think it worth committing a felony to vote fraudulently or that it’s happened at all (minus mistaken ex-felons).

While the Citizens United decision talked a lot about the free speech rights Americans and inanimate government creations known as corporations, my small donation can be tracked and identified, while big time conservative zealots can hide behind anonymous billboards. That’s fair?:

jsonline-Dan Bice: Stephen Einhorn - a Wisconsin venture capital fund manager and major GOP donor - acknowledged Monday that he and his wife Nancy paid for dozens of anonymous billboards in and around Milwaukee and two Ohio cities warning residents of the penalties for committing voter fraud.

"Stephen and Nancy Einhorn placed these billboards as a public service because voter fraud - whether by Republicans or Democrats - undermines our democratic process," said the Einhorns' statement, which was released by the Chicago public relations firm Culloton Strategies. "By reminding people of the possible consequences of illegal voting, we hope to help the upcoming election be decided by legally registered voters."

One Wisconsin Now and the website theGrio exposed the Einhorn’s who targeted mostly minority voters, all the while covering their tracks by allowing a few billboards in conservative areas. Even stranger, while it was against company policy at Clear Channel to accept anonymous political ads, they went ahead with the ads in a number of states anyway.

Projection much...?

Scot Ross, executive director of One Wisconsin Now, issued a statement Monday raising several questions for the Einhorn's; "Perhaps their Chicago public relations firm could answer why the Einhorn's (didn’t) put their name on it, rather than hiding behind the cowardly veil of anonymity."

The Einhorn's were so frightened and concerned about their anonymity, that they boldly did an interview with radio host Charlie Sykes. Hey they weren't seeking any attention...right?

But conservatives are paranoid frightened citizens, who know their odd vision for the country is so unappealing that they have to hide in the shadows to force change.

Sykes said the foundation chief was given the option of disclosing his family's identity or taking down the ads. After initially considering releasing the family's name, Sykes wrote, the foundation's leader opted to pull the billboards because he was "reluctant to put his children and grandchildren at any risk."

Do you believe "businesses are pulling back, out of uncertainty about...election?"

We've never seen so many businesses “wait” till after an election before, to…what, sell or manufacture product? I thought demand had more to do with that? Are we seeing a business movement that uses partisan excuses to push their agenda?  Of course, and it’s amazingly coordinated.

I don’t recall ever hearing this “wait and see” approach before:

Shawano Leader: Aarrowcast will lay off 90 employees effective Wednesday in what the foundry says is a temporary measure prompted by a drop in orders from its customers. Chief Financial Officer Jon Moreau said many of the foundry's customers are pulling back out of uncertainty about the upcoming election and what the country's tax laws will look like going into 2013 (the fiscal cliff). Moreau said customers are not necessarily waiting to see who wins; they just want it to be over. "A conclusion to the election would help," he said. "Having it completed, and having some decisions made by Congress."

So how has President Obama’s policies affected business in general, especially Aarrowcast’s?

Aarrowcast was first hit by the economic downturn in 2009. The company's workforce was a little over 300 people when layoffs reduced that number to about 230. By January 2010, the company was able to start hiring again and gradually boosted its workforce well above pre-recession levels. In June, Aarrowcast began a major expansion that will add to the foundry's melting and blasting operations … increase productive capacity by more than 20 percent.

So Obama’s been bad for business…?

Republicans Throw Everything against wall hoping something sticks, like this against Rep. Mark Pocan.

Rep. Mark Pocan's campaign for congress collided with the fabricated assault of a volunteer for the Chad Lee campaign. The Chad Lee volunteer, Kyle Wood, tried to smear Pocan (who is openly gay), saying the assault was motivated by the fact that he too was gay. Just yesterday, Media Trackers claimed Kyle Wood was harassed via text messaging by Pocan's partner.

This is a conservative media campaign portraying liberals as thugs, who in desperation, have turned to violence.

Eight days before the election, a campaign volunteer has recanted a report that he was the victim of a politically motivated assault. Kyle Wood, a volunteer with Chad Lee's congressional campaign, could possibly face criminal charges. On Monday, police said the report, at least partly, was fabricated.

Wood, 29, said his face was smashed into a mirror and he was choked with something around his neck. Wood said he is an openly gay Republican, volunteering with a Republican campaign, and that his attacker made comments to the effect that he was a political traitor. Lee's opponent in the congressional race is Democrat Mark Pocan, who is openly gay

Channel3000's Marc Lovicott pieced this mess together:

Health Savings Accounts another bad Health Care Plan pushed by Republicans. And you wonder why you’re broke…

I’ve had Health Savings Accounts for years, and each year, I had to shop for another plan because the rates went up about 20 to 30 percent. A person can "slow" slightly the increases in premiums by accepting much larger deductibles, but who wants to pay over $10,000 a year before your insurer forks over penny one?

Studies show people on these plans are three times more likely to delay or skip care than people on traditional plans.

Republicans call this “skin in the game.” That should make every American feel free at last, and independent of government handouts. Who wants a cheaper single payer system anyway? Socialists.

Obamacare will only speeding up the adoption of HSA’s, the plan of choice by Republicans. And the new reality? You’ll be spending every waking hour shopping, researching, diagnosing, bothering your doctor and still feeling ripped off seeking treatment. Ah, freedom and liberty, don’t you just love it?

Reuters: (Example) Visit to New York City orthopedist: $223. One X-ray: $50. One follow-up magnetic resonance imaging test: $766. Total bill for checking out that aching shoulder: $1,039 - all to be paid by the patient, rather than the insurer.

Healthcare has gone retail. Over the next 18 months, between one quarter and one half of Americans who get insurance coverage through their employers will pay more of their doctor bills themselves as companies roll out healthcare plans with higher deductibles, benefits consultants say. The result: sticker shock.

"They have huge out-of-pocket costs before they get any insurance coverage, it's a real slap in the face," said Ron Pollack, the executive director of Families USA, a healthcare advocacy group. High-deductible plans set a threshold for medical expenses that an individual must pay for, often in the thousands of dollars, before insurance kicks in. 

I love this down-the-rabbit-hole thinking:

“…industry experts who believe that consumers with "skin in the game" will drive demand for better quality care at a lower cost.”

But you’ll be paying more out of pocket because of higher deductibles and coinsurance, where you always pay 20 or 30 percent of any cost beyond the deductible. Yeah American free market health care? Who wants to wait for competition to "maybe" lower prices?

Our system despite reform, is still consumer driven, and treats health care like a product. And that’s the problem.

The shift means consumers will have to spend many more hours researching their treatment options and managing costs on websites like Healthcarebluebook.com, which helped budget the cost of examining the shoulder pain mentioned above. It could also spur lawsuits against doctors whom patients may blame for not making clear whether a test or procedure would spare them future harm, legal experts say.

It’s not Obamacare, it’s the private sector, because they’re calling the shots and adapting in ways that maximize profits.

Companies with high-deductible plans in 2012 include General Electric Co, Wells Fargo & Co, Whole Foods Market Inc, Chrysler Group and American Express Co. Bank of America Corp. Deductibles on high-deductible plans start at $1,250 for singles and run up to $12,500 for families. 

"The other thing is, and this is really hard, is to figure out what stuff is necessary and what stuff isn't," said Nancy Metcalf, senior program editor at Consumer Reports. Critics of this shift say it leaves consumers at the mercy of providers when it comes to medical costs. While insurers have been able to leverage their scale to negotiate rates down, ordinary individuals do not have that clout.

Can you imagine what would happen if health care had no boundaries, rules or regulations, leaving the risk in your own inexperienced hands? Isn't it fun playing doctor with your children's lives?

Rasmussen has Thompson slightly ahead, as Tommy exploits 9/11. Sleazy.

Gee, who couldn't see this coming a mile away?

The fierce election fight between Tommy Thompson and Tammy Baldwin may be destined to go down as one of the most negative US Senate races in recent political history.

In a 30-day period ending Friday, 99% of the ads aired on broadcast television were negative, the highest percentage of any Senate contest in the nation, according to data provided by Kantar Media CMAG, which tracks campaign advertising.

While I’ve heard pundits lament the horrors of negative campaigning, it been working wonderfully for Republicans for years, at the expense of weak kneed Democrats.

Not anymore. In fact, what the Republicans have been doing is "defining their opposition first.” It’s an old advertising ploy the Democrats never picked up on, until now.

That’s what Rep. Tammy Baldwin did in her campaign. It worked! According to Craig Gilbert of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, that means Tammy's playing dirty?:

But Thompson has been coming up with every pathetic way to use the tragedy of 9/11 to vilify Baldwin. I know what you're thinking...still? But Republicans are throwing everything against the wall hoping something sticks or people just give up on Tammy.

Dan Bice: Four times in the past, Baldwin was listed as a co-sponsor for legislation that would allow peace-loving taxpayers to get a conscientious objector exemption from the Internal Revenue Service to stipulate that their income taxes wouldn't be used for war. Their taxes would go into a "peace tax fund," with the money being divvied out for non-military items. Baldwin most recently backed the bill three years ago.

 Media Trackers - a conservative group that digs up dirt on Democrats - was the first to suggest that Baldwin's support for this measure meant she favored "denying body armor and medical supplies to U.S. military personnel" fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan. From there, the story took off. It was picked up by Breitbart, a conservative online news site, and plugged by talk show hosts Jerry Bader and Charlie Sykes.
 

Zombie Apocalypse possible under President Romney....

It's back; talk of the zombie apocalypse. Here's a Romney supporter I can agree with:

ABC: The man behind “The Avengers,” “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” and “Firefly” released a satirical video endorsing Mitt Romney this Halloween weekend, saying the Republican candidate has some unique qualifications. Romney has “the vision and determination to cut through business as usual politics and finally put this country back on the path to a zombie apocalypse,” writer and director Joss Whedon says in the joke video . Users watched the parody more than 800,000 times during its first 24 hours on the Internet.

Romney's Campaign of Lies, claiming Jeep outsourcing Jobs Last Straw? Obama Responds.

Here's Obama's latest ad taking on the massively denounced lie by the Romney campaign about Jeeps  plans to outsource. Yes even the major media isn't letting this one get by.

New Republic: As Chrysler made clear the very next day, in a tartly worded blog post on the company website, officials have discussed opening plants in China in order to meet rising demand for vehicles there. They have no plans to downsize or shutter plants in the U.S. On the contrary, Fiat, the Italian company that acquired Chrysler during the rescue, just spent $1.7 billion to expand Jeep production in the U.S. That includes $500 million to renovate and expand the Toledo facilities, with 1,000 new factory jobs likely to follow. On Monday, about the same number of people will report for their first day of work in Detroit, when Chrysler adds a third shift to a Jeep plant it operates there.

Seminars on Employer voter intimidation!

Right wing partisan groups like the National Federation of Independent Business, are easy to spot if you've been in business yourself, because their policies have never made any sense. Example; while other countries businesses don't have to worry about the expense of health care, companies here have to, and whine about the disadvantage all the time. Yet the NFIB opposes the idea. It never ends with these guys, so it should come as no surprise that they would love to commit legalized election fraud by forcing employees to vote for their endorsed candidates. Thank you Citizens United:

Think Progress: The National Federation of Independent Business is offering a seminar next week called “How to Speak With Your Employees About The Importance of the 2012 Elections,” for business owners who haven’talready tried to pressure employees into voting for their preferred candidate. The NFIB, officially nonpartisan, is a notoriously conservative organization that has donated millions to Karl Rove’s American Crossroads GPS Super PAC.

The Supreme Court greatly expanded corporations’ and unions’ flexibility in political speech, setting the groundwork thatallowed employers to compel employees to participate in political campaigns.

The NFIB denies that the seminar is meant to show employers how to pressure their employees..."we really want our members to engage their employees in conversation.”

Of course, the idea that Obama has an “anti-business” record is mythology; since he took office, corporate profits have soared, the Dow Jones industrial average has gained 67.9 percent, and small businesses have received several tax cuts.

Here are a few of the "Children" we hear Republicans talk so much about....

I don't usually get into politically driven cutesy songs aimed at any particular candidate, unless it is uniquely funny or point blank honest. The following is point blank honest, and the target of Fox News. Here's what they wrote:

The web video was produced by the firm Goodby Silverstein and Partners -- known for the “Got milk?” advertising campaign and a client base that includes Cheetos and Nintendo, according to The San Francisco Chronicle. The children sing about blaming “mom and dad” for the Romney vote.

Conservatives will probably make some Nazi comparison to vilify these children, but they only have themselves to blame for a few of the truthful lyrics posted here:

Imagine an America
Where strip mines are fun and free
Where gays can be fixed
And sick people just die
And oil fills the sea

We don't have to pay for freeways!
Our schools are good enough
Give us endless wars
On foreign shores
And lots of Chinese stuff

We're the children of the future
American through and through
But something happened to our country
And we're kinda blaming you

Congress went home early
They did their best we know
You can't cut spending
With elections pending
Unless it's welfare dough

You did your best
You failed the test
Mom and Dad
We're blaming you!

Walker, Republicans, Don't Know How to Govern.

Under Scott Walker, but really under any kind of Republican politician, mismanagement and incompetence is all you'll ever see. The sad fact is, conservative voters care more about one party control than good government and their own self interest.

Check out the horrible way Republicans manage assistance to the desperately unemployed. I know they don't like the 47 percenters, but this is ridiculous. And yet, voters who support Republicans won't even be outraged about this:

jsonline: More than 9,000 Wisconsin residents have not received any unemployment benefits for several weeks because of a backlog at the state Department of Workforce Development.

The department's backlog consists of 9,357 claims dating to late July. It could take as long as March to clear it up ... That's creating a hardship for people like Robert Burt of Milwaukee. He was laid off from a construction company in Brookfield this summer and erroneously received one unemployment payment in August, but hasn't received any since then.

Georgia Maxwell, executive secretary of the Department of Workforce Development, called the backlog inexcusable. 

Ya think? Of course, our "small business" manager and governor Scott Walker continues to watch from the sidelines.

Cullen Werwie, a spokesman for Gov. Scott Walker, said the governor will continue to monitor the situation to ensure the department eliminates the backlog. According to the Department of Workforce Development's website, the state generally determines whether people are entitled to unemployment benefits within seven days of a claim being filed, and pays within a week or two. 

Illinois Democrats Medicare Ad Most Effective Way to Defend the Program.

I was in Chicago over the weekend, and came across this ad on one of the local channels for Democratic congressional candidate Brad Schneider.

The ad features a clip of President Lyndon Johnson describing the reason why he pushed so hard for Medicare. This ad should have been from the Obama campaign. Incredibly effective, it shows Medicare was created to solve a problem, not spread socialism.

Voting an implied Right!!

This should make you wonder why something was never written into the constitution guaranteeing your right to vote. Lawrence O'Donnell talks to Mo Rocca about his film, "Electoral Dysfunction":

The Empty-Lying Romney/Ryan Campaign Hides untill Election Day.

Will conservative voters reward Mitt and Paul for offering nothing but grandiose platitudes? No detailed agenda, no straight answers, ducking the tough issues...this is the future expectation level of conservative low information voters. (R) is all they need now.

Paul Ryan is now even ducking the Faith and Freedom Coalition's townhall. Ryan's campaign said the announcement was an erroneous report. Ouch!

Sununu big fat racist!!?

Take a look at this blatant racism:

Rep. Reid Ribble turns his back Kewaunee when Power Plant Shut down, losing 655 jobs.

Hand  it to the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for noticing.

I said over and over here that Republicans are the biggest freeloaders, lifting pre-written policies from conservative think tanks and ALEC and passing them off as their own, collecting  a government paycheck and health care coverage. All for doing nothing. So it should come as no surprise Rep. Reid Ribble just plain forgot to talk to his constituents about the loss of 655 good paying jobs. 655 lost jobs and not a word. Maybe he doesn't want to be associated with the about to be unemployed:

WisDems: Reid Ribble's Shameful Silence on Kewaunee Plant Closing: Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin Chair Mike Tate in response to Reid Ribble's utter silence on the devastating news that the Kewaunee Power Station would be closing. Ribble has received $4,000 in campaign contributions from the Dominion Political Action Committee. "The Kewaunee Power Station closing is devastating to the community and is comparable to the closing of the General Motors plant in Janesville.  At least with the GM plant, Paul Ryan PRETENDED to be concerned. In this case, Reid Ribble can't even go through the motions of caring about the people he is supposed to serve. His silence and inaction are shameful."

Milwaukee's Voucher Program Disaster; 90.1% not proficient in Reading and 88% not proficient in Math.

In Scott Walker's latest weekly address, he listed "Transforming Education" as one of his top priorities. What does that mean? What else could he do? Would he expand vouchers where no ones wants school "choice?" Sure.

But Walker will now have a more difficult job pushing his privatization plans after the horrific results of the countries longest running voucher program:

jsonline: Based on a new and tougher yardstick for academic competency in Wisconsin, about 90% of the students in Milwaukee's private-school voucher program are not proficient in reading and math, according to recalibrated fall 2011 state test results released this week.

Milwaukee Public Schools' latest Wisconsin Knowledge and Concept Examinations scores show that about 85% of the district's students score below proficient in reading, and about 80% score below proficient in math.

For the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program in reading, 9.9% of voucher students tested proficient or advanced, while MPS had 14% of students scored proficient or advanced In reading.

For the program in math, 12% of voucher students scored proficient or advanced, while 19.7% of MPS students scored proficient or advanced in Math.

Students in MPS as a whole outperformed students in voucher schools in the recalibration of the scores - outpacing them by about 4 percentage points in reading and an even larger margin in math.

Job Uncertainty resulting in Burn Out, Slow Economic Recovery.

“Uncertainty” is now commonly associated our admired “job creators,” corporate CEO’s who can’t take the heat of the free market. They need certainty in a market place that has none.

 

But that was a distraction designed to convince the real job creators, consumers, from realizing that they were the ones feeling uncertain.

The slow economy is the result of this job and consumer uncertainty. Check out this recent study:

The slow-to-recover economy is taking a new toll on U.S. workers: Not only are they stressed out from job uncertainties and stagnant pay, the stress has lasted so long that now they’re burned out too, a new survey finds. “A significant portion of the American workforce is burned out, and my concern is, that’s rising,” said neuropsychologist Richard Chaifetz, CEO of ComPsych Corp., a Chicago-based provider of employee-assistance programs to more than 17,000 organizations and 45 million employees worldwide.

ComPsych’s survey finds that just showing up for work, rather than accomplishing basic responsibilities or improving performance, was the top priority cited by 22 percent of workers — a 47 percent increase since the survey began in 2003. “In an environment where unemployment is high, showing up is the first thing. The importance of performance is second,” Chaifetz said. “It correlates with burnout, stress, fatique, overwork and an obsession with and distraction by personal issues.”

A study on job satisfaction out this summer from the Conference Board, a non-profit think tank in New York, found “the majority of Americans continue to be unhappy at work.”

Psychologist Ben Palmer said the current state of global competition means that Western nations in particular are unsuccessfully trying to compete with cheap labor in countries such as China and India. “The more you adopt the ‘do more with less’ mentality, the greater you drive innovation down in the organization because high work loads and stress are the antithesis of innovation,” Palmer said.

This study will get zero notice, resulting in policy that will do just the opposite, only making things worse.

Milwaukee Company Threatens Employees to vote Romney.

More corporate bullies are joining on to threaten your freedom to vote. The “will of the people” may soon become an anachronistic phrase laugh at by the oligarch’s.

Just after Bain Capital told Sensata employees to stop their protest, or see the plant closed down a month early, this news broke out of Milwaukee:

jsonline: Mike White, the chairman and owner of Rite-Hite, a major Milwaukee manufacturer of industrial equipment, told employees in an email this week that all employees "should understand the personal consequences to them of having our tax rates increase dramatically if President Obama is re-elected, forcing taxpayers to fund President Obama's future deficits and social programs (including Obamacare), which require bigger government."

With so many large corporate bosses sending out these not so veiled threats to their employees, is anyone in Washington paying attention? Those who have not followed this quickly developing story are completely outraged, conservatives and liberals alike:

The email stunned some employees. One employee said he felt threatened by the email. "It's a good company, but for this to come out, it's absurd," the employee said. The employee said even supervisors were surprised by the tone of the email.

White, a Summerfest board member and village trustee in the Village of River Hills, did not return several calls requesting comment. The firm employs an estimated 1,400 people worldwide.

I can’t help wondering if the following language will hold harmless the company’s involved. I doubt it. With big puppy dog eye’s they’re claiming they don’t want to “prejudice any employee for their political views and totally respect your right to vote as you choose. I am simply trying to present the facts as I know them and to protect the business you have helped build! Please think carefully about your vote on Nov. 6.”

In his email, White said the firm's retirement savings program contributions were based on after-tax profits. "The tax rate we pay is not 17%, as Warren Buffett would have you believe; with state taxes it is roughly 45%. President Obama has announced that our planned tax rate would increase to roughly 65%, reducing our after tax income by 36% and dramatically reducing, if not eliminating, your and my RSP contributions … White also wrote that Obama's re-election means there is a "good chance of losing Rite-Hite insurance and being put into Obamacare."

You have to wonder how companies grew and prospered in the 50’s and 60’s when taxes were dramatically higher. This is all a pretext to freeloading off Obamacare:

White explained that employers can continue their existing insurance plans or “pay a penalty and have employees go into the Government Plan. Our plan costs much more per family than the penalty and hence the possible competitive need to drop the Rite-Hite Health Plan. Every opportunity to make up for lost profits to taxes will have to be re-evaluated.”

Here's Ed Schultz with the story:



Not only that, White doesn't pay taxes on anything until he takes all his business right-offs first. But

White is also a hypocrite:

jsonline: John Vitek, a Milwaukee tax lawyer, said it was possible that the company's combined tax rate would be near 45%. "But I don't know where the 65% is coming from," he said.

And while White was critical of President Barack Obama's tax policies, government records indicate his firm was awarded a grant of $26,471 in economic stimulus money under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009.

From WTDY: 

But according to Wisconsin law, it's illegal for an employer to threaten workers in order to influence their political opinions: Statute 12.07 (3)

No employer or agent of an employer may distribute to any employee printed matter containing any threat, notice or information that if a particular ticket of a political party or organization or candidate is elected or any referendum question is adopted or rejected, work in the employer's place or establishment will cease, in whole or in part, or the place or establishment will be closed, or the salaries or wages of the employees will be reduced, or other threats intended to influence the political opinions or actions of the employees.The email went on to tell employees that Obama's policies would threaten their pensions and healthcare.

Professor Gordon Lafer, with the Labor Education and Research Center at the University of Oregon, says laws like Wisconsin's were enacted to protect employees from feeling threatened.

"It seems to me that what this manufacturer has done is quite likely a violation of that law, maybe unknowingly, but there'e a good reason for the law," Lafer said. "What we want is that everybody who votes is maximally free to think whatever they want , to say whatever they want, to shout whatever they want, and to speak up in public. That's how democracy is supposed to work."

Lafer insists there is an implied threat in these kinds of emails.

"My boss is essentially telling me 'I'd better not see you wearing an Obama button or all those little perks that you need from me or your job security is going to be on the line,'" Lafer said. "Because that's what every normal person reads between the lines of that kind of language."

Badger Ammo lost to history forever....

I still don't get why the Badger Ammo Plant had to be leveled. Unfortunately, I pretty much got a chance to drive through a barren land where building used to be. Why, why not make it a tourist attraction?

WISC: The gates were opened to the Badger Army Ammunition Plant site Saturday, giving people a chance to tour the property and once again voice long-standing concerns.

I bristled when the reporter said about losing the ammo plant, "It's all for the best."

Rep. Sean Duffy...the excitable boy needs an adult like Challenger Pat Kreitlow.

Former state senator Pat Kreitlow looked like the adult in the room of 200 during his debate with talking point rookie tea party fav Sean Duffy. Nothing Duffy said works in the "real world," and Kreitlow pointed that out a number of times:

WSAW: "In the House, I voted for 30 or more jobs bills that looked to the private sector to create jobs," said Republican incumbent Rep. Sean Duffy.

"No they weren't, they were 30 more bills that would cut taxes at the top, not the thing that's going to add jobs," said Democratic challenger Pat Kreitlow, a former state senator.

Duffy seemed to think the crowd would be appalled citizens would actually save money by cutting payments over payments in Medicare to doctors, hospitals and clinics.

Duffy said, "Sen. Kreitlow supports a plan that will quote save money in Medicare, and they do that by cutting payments to doctors, hospitals and clinics."

"It takes a lot of brass to criticize somebody for something you voted for," Kreitlow said. "It was Congressman Duffy who voted for the budget that included that same $18 billion in savings. He went on to do essentially the ending of Medicare as we know by turning it into coupon program."

War Savings Real Savings, not Obama Accounting Gimmick!

Deception is their middle name. Republicans have been saying this for months, and getting away with it, but no more. You may have heard:

“the administration is also counting $848 billion in phantom savings from winding down the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, even though the administration had long made clear those wars would end.” 

That makes sense…but doesn’t really. It’s not phantom savings. It’s real:

WaPo: In the Congressional Budget Office’s projections of future spending, that money is in the deficit projection. 

So when you hear people in Washington say that we’re facing large deficits over the next decade, they’re including those war costs. 

So you can say that cutting that spending — which makes expected savings into law — is a spending cut, or you can say the deficit projection was inflated by the war costs, and as such, we need less deficit reduction than we thought. 

Unemployment Numbers: Walker-7.3%, Obama-7.8%.

Let me get this right, Scott Walker is a roaring success and a Republican superstar because Wisconsin's unemployment rate is 7.3% and job creation numbers are lousy, yet President Obama should be fired for continued job creation and an unemployment rate of 7.8%. And that’s after Republican governors purged huge numbers of public employees.

Who should be fired? 

Mitt will greatly expand Deficits! How easy is that?

Hand it to Rachel Maddow, she did everything she could to get Robert Gibbs to realize that they have a major messaging problem. It's not critical to their campaign, don't get me wrong, but it strikes at the heart of why Democrats are so bad at marketing their brand of ideology.

Rachel's simple observation would have made it so easy for Obama to connect to conservative voters. Not this time...

Democurmudgeon fills in again for Sly in the Morning

I'll be filling in again Thursday, and I will be talking to John Nichols at 8 a.m. about a few bigger issues missed by the media.

My guest at 9 a.m. will be actor Jane Wilson, featured in the film "Jeneane from Des Moines," an important  revealing look at the empty answers provided by the Republican candidates for president.

Here's Lawrence O'Donnell's interview:

Mourdock blames God for Rape Victims Babies.

This should finally put an end to the fiction the tea party cares more about the economy than wedge issues. Keep in mind, Republican senate candidate Richard Mourdock is just a reflection of what is discussed behind closed doors. No apology, no retraction or clarification, can change how conservatives really feel about rape, abortion, and women's rights.

Huffington Post: "I struggled with it myself for a long time, but I came to realize that life is that gift from God. And, I think, even when life begins in that horrible situation of rape, that it is something that God intended to happen," Mourdock said.

Mourdock further explained Tuesday night after the debate that he did not believe God intended the rape, but that God is the only one who can create life. 

It was pretty clear what Mourdock meant and said:



Proving he's a good judge of character and a supporter of the "pro-life movement", here's Mitt Romney's endorsement:

Thompson Voters willing to Exploit 9/11 to win Senate Seat.

After the last debate, it was clear Tommy Thompson was getting the dumb Ron Johnson treatment; no withering criticism for outrageous behavior, misstatements or lying.

No criticism...none at all, except here. With no media accountability or public blowback, Thompson took the next logical step. Exploiting 9/11 with a lie and partial headline that completely misleads; the yellow highlighted print was not included in Thompson's ad:

Desperate and so typically Republican. Here's the ad:

The Thompson campaign stated: “Wisconsin voters need to know that Congresswoman Tammy Baldwin put her extreme views above honoring the men and women who were murdered by the terrorists in the Sept. 11 attacks on our nation.”

But this is what Tammy Baldwin said on the House floor when she cast her vote: “Rather than offering a bipartisan resolution that unites us on this solemn occasion, the Republican leadership converted the bill into an endorsement of the PATRIOT Act, punitive immigration bills, and other highly controversial measures, which many of my constituents oppose.”

According to Factcheck.org., who isn't prone to hyperbole, they found it "false and vicious."

Ed Schultz trashed Thompson:



The people in the ad deserver whatever comments their neighbors level off at them. 

With Candidates like Romney and Ryan, we're just a few votes closer to a return to the Gilded Age.

Over the last month, I've been pointing out how business is confidently readying itself to take over the reigns of our nation, with actual directives to employees to vote Republican.

All of those instances were summed up by Bill Moyers the other day, in this editorial proclaiming a return to the Gilded Age:



I thought this was an interesting detail from the Gilded Age, and Wikipedia:

Following Darwin’s idea of natural selection, English philosopher Herbert Spencer proposed the idea of social Darwinism. This new concept justified the stratification of the wealthy and poor and coined the term “survival of the fittest”. Joining Spencer was Yale University professor William Graham Sumner whose book What Social Classes Owe to Each Other (1884) argued that assistance to the poor actually weakens their ability to survive in society.

Dumb Ron Johnson...meet the facts.

In a rare moment of actual journalism, a number of reporters used research and facts to trash dumb Ron Johnson's breathlessly rabid rapid fire partisan tirade the other day on CNN.

Johnson has perfected the Republican ploy of drowning out the reporters facts with stuttering and baseless hyperbolic opinion. And like Paul Ryan, Johnson threw out numbers so quickly that no one could possibly respond fast enough to dispute them, all the while sounding wonkish in the most phony kind of way.

Anyone still think Roll Call was wrong?

Rep. Darrell Issa outs Libyan officials aiding U.S. in Doc Release.

Martin Bashir sounded the alarm yesterday after Rep. Darrell Issa released 166 pages of State Department documents on the Libyan attacks, that exposed the names of officials helping the American mission there. Issa apparently didn't care whether he put those who aided the U.S. lives in jeopardy. No one even vetted the material before the release.

Martin pointed out how Issa whined about releases by Wikileaks that did pretty much the same thing he did.  Rep. Elijah Cummings, the oversight committees ranking Democrat, backed up Bashir's comments, and Cummings is no sensationalist.

Bad-Weird Halloween Costumes 2012

My inbox has been filled with costume store ads that have done everything they can to lure me into their sites, and guess what, it worked. Here are a few of the more interesting offerings, some bad, some impossible to move around in, and my favorites the tree and toy soldier. But really, a black penis...?

Walker Uses Money from Medicaid Program for Padding Budget "Surplus"

While the states Medicaid program, Badgercare, is threatening to lose even more providers due to cuts in payments, Scott Walker is pocketing the bonus money the federal government awards states the increase child coverage.

WTDY: Walker uses federal Medicaid bonus money to pad surplus: Every year, the federal government awards states a CHIPRA performance bonus for increasing enrollment of uninsured children in the Medicaid program. Last year, Wisconsin received a bonus of more than $24.5 million. But according to Jon Peacock from the Wisconsin Council on Children and Families, the Walker Administration failed to put that money back into the state's Medicaid program, known as BadgerCare.

Instead, the money was shifted into the general fund and called a "surplus." Walker has been touting a two-year budget surplus of $342 million and a $109 million deposit to the state's rainy day fund, even as organizations that manage BadgerCare threaten to leave the program because the state has decreased its reimbursement rate. 

This is just a preview of what would happen if Ryan gets his way and block grants Medicaid money to the states. That money will not make to the people.

 Amy Barrilleaux talks with Jon Peacock about the issue.  

Another OWI for former state Senator Randy Hopper!! Can he still blame the Democrats?

What a surprise!!!

Isn’t it interesting to see former Senator Randy Hopper, who beat one OWI rap by accusing everyone of being politically out to get him, cited again for another OWI…and more. But first...

...you might remember back in 2011, when he was acquitted of drunk driving by a jury of idiots:

Randy Hopper's new Sunday suit of orange

TMJ4: A jury found former state Senator Randy Hopper not guilty of drunk driving. The former state Senator beat a drunk driving case -- because his lawyer argued the charge was a conspiracy built on political revenge.

A couple of citizens tailed Hopper's SUV and called in a drunk driving tip to the Fond du Lac sheriff. Attorney Dennis Melowski argued those callers were driven by their politics. "Not only did they sign recall petitions, they circulated recall petitions," said Melowski.” Honestly, I don't know that I've ever been happier for a client.  What that man has had to endure in the last 12 months is sickening," said Hopper's attorney Dennis Melowski.

Today offers up a whole new problem for Hopper:  

WKOW: Officials say a former state Republican lawmaker was arrested Sunday evening for a domestic-related incident in the Township of Fond du Lac … Randy Hopper was cited for Operating While Intoxicated, 1st offense, and taken into custody for Disorderly Conduct –Domestic Abuse, Criminal Trespass to Dwelling and Unlawful use of Telephone. 

The Senate Republicans miss him so. Remember this?

In 2008 the Fond du Lac Reporter, highlighted that the wealthy senator had only paid Wisconsin personal and business taxes once since 1997.

Scott Walker takes no Right Wing Heat for Losing Track of Taxpayer Money. Go Figure.

WKOW did a great job digging into WEDC, the troubled privatization brainchild of Scott Walker. Job creation appears to be only an afterthought when it came to doling out taxpayer money to corporate welfare recipients.

The shocking revelation that no one was assigned to oversee the lending program, is an example of glaring incompetence, but it's exactly what small government Republicans envision. Regulation (oversight) would just get in the way.

Tony Galli and Greg Neumann expose how ideology replaced intelligence:

The Sensata Story.

I thought this broadcast from Freeport, Illinois' Sensata Technologies, by Ed Schultz, was an important moment on cable news. With the help of radio's Sly in the Morning, who did an entire show there, more people are seeing how American jobs are streaming out of this country. This is what we can expect from our "job creators." Profitable companies in this country want more, and can get it, with $1 an hour workers in China.

I wonder what would happen if Sensata employees actually offered to take a dollar an hour? Let's face it, that's the real goal here anyway.



Part 2; Ed compares workers wages at Sensata, and "wages and benefits" in China. It's kinda obvious which business model is preferred.

The Ryan Road Map Reminder...

Martin Bashir examines Paul Ryan's plan for Social Security, other safety nets and taxes. His devastating dissection is just a reminder.



Bashir doesn't stop there:

Hey Conservatives, take a look at what the Keystone XL Pipeline is doing to Texan's property rights!!

Freedom loving conservatives in Texas are now falling victim to money and power, as they see their  land rights disappear, thanks to TransCanada's Keystone XL Pipeline. 

Couldn't happen to a finer group of rugged secessionists. Like one land owner fighting big oil said:

"It's when one of those two, pulls out a club of some kind of strength, beats the other over the head. And that's what's happening right now." 

You don't say so...? From Market to Market:

Some landowners are sending Crawford money to help build a legal defense fund. Julia Trigg Crawford: "This is not about the money, this is not. This is about the right of a landowner to control what happens on their land for something that appears to be for someone else's private gain."

War on Women's next step, Prison time for Women who have Abortion.

Check out this crowd reaction to the war on women. Idea's like these are no longer uttered in back room conversations by partisan conservatives. The public is now finding the idea of prison time for women who have abortions acceptable.



The last guys question is a really good one: "I'd like to ask Governor Romney, if you believe that senior citizens should be able to choose between a private system and a public health care system, why shouldn't every American have the same choice?"