I heard this incredible report on NPR's All Things Considered about Wisconsin's gerrymandering case in front of the Supreme Court on Tuesday. I didn't want it to just fade away without highlighting it here.
The piece starts with the reelection of the not so popular Van Wanggaard, who's district suddenly...again, liked him:
Journal Times: Van Wanggaard, 62, was elected to the 21st Senate District seat in 2010 but held the position for less than two years; he was recalled in 2012. The recall was largely driven by Wanggaard’s vote for Act 10, the controversial legislation that effectively ended collective bargaining for public employees. Wanggaard was defeated in the 2012 recall by John Lehman, D-Racine, who opted not to seek re-election and instead ran for lieutenant governor.
Career politician Paul Ryan can't stop drooling over the possibility that his draconian style plan for trickle down economics may soon become a reality. He's even willing to sell his soul to the devil, you know, Trump. You can't make this stuff up.
Let's start here. It's still hard for me to comprehend how Trump reacted to the plea from the mayor of San Juan Carmen Yulín Cruz, when she said, "We are dying, and you are killing us with the inefficiency and the bureaucracy." No, really, actual Republican style Rube Goldberg bureaucratic bumbling?
Of course Trump would make himself look good, even after Cruz's comments, and Trump's on the ground incompetence...it's the best anyone's ever seen:
Trump: "It's been an incredible...the results that we've had with respects to loss of life. People can't believe how successful that has been, relatively speaking."
Heck, he even topped that with this...
So with that setup, imagine how you would feel if you said what Ryan said a few days earlier, as noted by Ryan challenger Randy Bryce:
Notice the ironic onscreen "one-on-one" with Ryan, who has stayed clear of those one-on-one constituent town hall conversations. Too many tough questions Paul? Still, he's saving people from rude interruptions and disorder. Gee thanks. Here's the latest cartoon from Brian Strassberg:
Like the First Amendment says, there's a time a place for free speech...
Trump on Friday said NFL players who kneel during the national anthem to protest racial justice should be fired.
"Wouldn't you love to see one of these NFL owners, when somebody disrespects our flag, to say, 'Get that son of a bitch off the field right now. He is fired".
And there are preferred ways to protest now during an NFL game...thanks to a little guidance from Trump....
Is our sociopathic narcissist playing his base for suckers, or did he just forget this....
Or that players standing for the National Anthem was strictly for propaganda purposes in the first place...never gets mentioned enough-"paid patriotism:"
Still, my conservative friend in Milwaukee just played the Christian victim card with poor guy Tim Tebow, without ever knowing anything about Colin Kaepernick:
They’re both Christian football players, and they’re
both known for kneeling on the field, although for very different reasons. One grew up the son of Baptist missionaries to the
Philippines. The other was baptized Methodist, confirmed Lutheran, and attended
a Baptist church during college. Tebow was home-schooled by his Christian parents, and spent
his summers in the Philippines, helping with his father’s orphanage and
missionary work. Kaepernick was born to a 19-year-old, single, white woman (who) was destitute and gave him up for adoption. He was raised by the Kaepernicks, a white couple from Milwaukee. His body is festooned with religious tattoos, including depictions of scrolls, a cross, praying hands, angels defeating demons, terms like “To God be the Glory,” “Heaven Sent,” “God will guide me,” Psalm 18:39 and Psalm 27:3.
But Trump would have that son of a bitch Kaepernick fired...
He's an activist and philanthropist ... the offseason Kaepernick launched a GoFundMe page to fly food and water into suffering Somalia ... He had already pledged to donate $1 million (and) proceeds of his jersey sales to charitable work. This year, Meals on Wheels announced it had received $50,000 from Kaepernick. He joined with the charitable organization 100 Suits, to pass out free suits in front of the New York State Parole office for people who have been released from prison and are looking for jobs.
But then Kaepernick began sitting/taking a knee back in 2016, protesting officer shootings of innocent black people.
Kaepernick decided to either remain seated or kneel ... in support of Black Lives Matter and to
protest police violence against black people. “I am not going to stand up to
show pride in a flag for a country that oppresses black people and people of
color. To me, this is bigger than football and it would be selfish on my part
to look the other way. There are bodies in the street and people getting paid
leave and getting away with murder.” You know what happened next, right? Kaepernick was
voted the “most disliked” player in the NFL. People posted videos of them
burning his jerseys. He was called “an embarrassment” and “a traitor.” He was
blamed for a significant drop in NFL television ratings, with fans boycotting
the NFL because of his protest. He received death threats.
Real Americans like Trump, who tout the First Amendment...well, seems pretty empty now doesn't it. Here are the Trump Tweets that breathed life into this whole mindless wedge issue in the first place:
But wait, "real Americans" angry over disrespecting the flag better check their closets...wanna talk about disrespect? Click to enlarge the real flag rules...
Packer's quarterback Aaron Rodgers offered this generally accepted level headed perspective...
LeBron James....
National Anthem singer...
Drooling Trumpian American not happy about free speech after all...
Huh? Scott Walker now believes taking "uncertain federal funds from the government for Medicaid is A-okay? Anyone else got whiplash?
Scott Walker won't Depend on Unreliable Federal Medicaid Funding: Just to be clear, Walker turn down Medicaid expansion because it was supposedly an unreliable source for funding, so taking no money was the better than the Obama alternative.
The Walker administration contended that the federal government eventually will reduce the money available to states through the law because of persistent U.S. budget deficits. The federal government cannot meet its current Medicaid obligations, Laurel Patrick, a spokeswoman for Walker, said in an email ... "We maintain that states should not depend on the use of uncertain federal funds, which is why Governor Walker implemented unique reforms ..." Patrick said.
Scott Walker will Depend on Unreliable Federal Medicaid Funding: While Democrats and independents were screaming "Let's get our federal tax dollars back for Medicaid expansion, don't turn down getting our own money back..."
...Walker is now saying, "Let's get our federal tax dollars back!" He really doesn't remember his principled stand? Fox News:
Going Easy on Sexual Assaults on Campus vs Cracking down on Truck-stop Human Trafficking? Republicans are masters at having it both ways because they do it so often, their own voters can't keep track. So which is it, are Republicans for or against protecting women from sexual assault and/or exploitation? First, jaws dropped when Trump irresponsibly eased off the epidemic of campus sexual assaults. Not a whisper from outraged Republicans:
The action crystallized a pledge Education Secretary Betsy DeVos made on Sept. 7 to replace what she called a “failed system” of civil rights enforcement related to campus sexual assault. In her view, the government under President Barack Obama did not strike the right balance in protecting the rights of victims and the accused ... "institutions are going to need to look at their processes to make sure they’re not biased against the accused."
Yet, breathless Wisconsin Republicans are targeting human trafficking at truck-stops, without ever complaining or demanding Trump back off the tougher standards dealing with sexual assaults on campus. And thank you Rep. Kleefisch for saying "Wisconsin is a hub of human trafficking." What a way to promote the state. WISC TV:
Republican privilege has a couple of main points (at bottom of post), but overriding everything is their efforts to discredit facts and the people who use them. Especially with idiotic contradictory attacks. These tactics may work on low information Trumpian droolers, but for everyone else, they're just insulting.
I came across this tweet conversation that clearly shows you what we're up against. It's not like conservatives weren't using self-serving "facts" to align their own political interests:
Additionally, here are a few other important conservative characteristics I've been wrangling with: 1. They're not bound by any guiding principles, finding convenient exceptions so they can flip flop on an issue or platform; 2. And they like to play the role of the disciplinary daddy, to easily take control away from Americans who believe and count on government, claiming citizens cheat, need to be penalized, and can't be trusted with government. It's the elites, Republican elites. Father knows best.
Nothing sayslocallike "model legislation" cranked out by ALEC:
Through the corporate-funded American Legislative Exchange Council, global corporations and state politicians vote behind closed doors to try to rewrite state laws that govern your rights. These so-called "model bills" reach into almost every area of American life and often directly benefit huge corporations. In ALEC's own words, corporations have "a VOICE and a VOTE" on specific changes to the law that are then proposed in your state.
The biggest laugh? They're...:
...dedicated to the principles of limited government, free markets and federalism
Who's the national chairperson of ALEC? Our own Republicans Sen. Leah Vukmir.
Vukmir's Free Market Corporate Welfare? Vukmir doesn't think twice about taking on Sen. Tammy Baldwin, all the while maintaining her position as ALEC's national chairperson. First off, you've got to be some kinda crazy to be given the chairmanship. With her connections to the Koch brothers and other big monied interests,"local"isn't quite the word I'd use!
On Upfront with Mike Gousha, after Vukmir glows about the outrageous corporate handout to Foxconn, she then effortlessly pushes ALEC's mission for limited government and free markets:
Vukmir: "And then of course Act 10...to be a part of this historic reform, that quite frankly laid the groundwork for all of the other reforms that we've been able to do, leading up to Foxconn today...I'm proud of my association with an organization that believes in limited government, free markets and federalism. Anyone who knows me those are the principles that got me elected."
Absolutely no self awareness at all. Vukmir supporters, are you catching on?
Here's Vukmir's press release that will blow your mind. This is what getting government out of the way means?
So do you want to elect ALEC Chairperson Vukmir to continue our slow decline, peppered with poisonous Republican solutions?
It's not just me trashing supply side ALEC garbage, conservative columnist Tom Still did too:
Wisconsin business columnist and conservative Tom Still took a look at ALEC's new state by state report "The 2016 ALEC-Laffer State Competiveness Index, named in part for supply-side economist Arthur Laffer," and courageously told the truth; the more we're like ALEC, the worse our state output becomes.
The results of a 50-state index ... put Wisconsin in a positive light for selected economic inputs. The economic output picture painted by ALEC, however, was a bit more restrained.
ALEC's Miserable OUTPUT - Cause and Effect: Proof is in the ALEC report, as Tom Still explains:
When it came to measuring economic performance, however, ALEC looked at “outputs” that placed Wisconsin where other rankings often do – toward the bottom of the 50-state class. Wisconsin’s overall economic performance rank of 41st included a ranking of 35th for growth in state domestic product for the 10 years ending in 2014; 40th for non-farm payroll employment during the same cycle; and 38th in absolute domestic migration ... (which) measures how many people are leaving or entering the state, the so-called “brain drain” phenomenon. It showed a net loss ofnearly 67,000 people over 10 years, with the peak coming in the recession year of 2010. Economists on the political right and left ... generally believe there is a correlation between migration and economic prosperity.
______________________________________________________________________________________ I couldn't pass this up...
A recent story in Milwaukee Magazine by Matt Hrodey reports, fellow Republicans “sometimes called Vukmir ‘Nurse Ratchet’ … The Shepherd Express did a 2009 story entitled “Why Republicans Dislike Leah Vukmir,” complete with a cruel caricature that managed to make the attractive legislator look like a gorgon. Earlier that year Marc Eisen interviewed a range of Capitol insiders to pick the state’s best and worst legislators for Milwaukee Magazine and Vukmir made the list of the ten worst.
ALEC's Free Speech Legislation: This is perhaps the funniest and most revealing down-the-rabbit-hole double-speak yet:
The FORUM Act does not punish students for expressing themselves on campus—in fact, discipline is not even part of the model policy. The only “punishment” in the FORUM Act is in Section 9 that allows victims whose free speech rights have been violated to bring suit ... The FORUM Act protects speech. It does not punish speech. Representative Taylor is wrong about the FORUM Act when she says it “punish[es] political speech and protesting on campus.”
Jimmy Kimmel is an American success story who came from humble beginnings. Kimmel stuck with entertainment, even after getting fired from a number of radio stations before working his way into television. Through hard work, is now hosting his own highly successful late night comedy show on a major network.
And yet, he's a Hollywood elitist, just a comedian, who couldn't possibly understand health care.
Tell me if career politician Paul Ryan even comes close to understanding how health care insurance really works. I recorded video with the original tweet that points out the obvious:
So Kimmel unqualified and is overstepping his free speech rights by criticizing truthfully the lie that Ryan and the Graham-Cassidy bill represent. Amazing. Yea but Republican free market-like posers would use taxpayer dollars to pay for the sick so insurers wouldn't have to, no hypocrisy there.
Plus Republicans criticize poor Americans who use our social safety nets because they didn't work hard enough, then turn around and bash hard work and success when its against those who criticize them. Sweet.
Jimmy Kimmel is such a good messenger on health care, that I'm posting a few of his late night rants against the Graham-Cassidy bill:
One more thing: This whole no debate/pass something now thing seemed oddly fast. All in with Chris Hayes I think hit on the reason why; billionaire campaign funding demands:
It easy for Republicans to think they are the default real American party, since they won elections thanks to gerrymandering and voter suppression, dominate 92 percent of talk radio, watch conservative TV and news outlets, and have a network of conservative think tanks that by itself, has been a major job creator for social rejects and politicians.
They are the conservative elite, the know-it-all's! And despite huge deficits, job losses and a Great Recession thanks to trickle down economics, they believe in a world that can't exist unless they have an evil liberal counterpart that victimizes them at every turn.
What does Kimmel...or any of us really know? Founder John Adams would be horrified today:
Adams maintained that an elite of wealth, birth, and beauty retained overwhelming power ... Adams’s principal fear was of aristocratic tyranny - specifically, the tendency of the elite few to undermine both popular representation and effective government.
Welcome to the Trump age.
I have two examples that coincidentally came up today. From the "elitist" National Review, elitist Theodore Kupfer, who trashed common man Jimmy Kimmel as a clueless Hollywood elitist. What does he know about the world, or for that matter, health care. Well, when Paul Ryan whines about how the majority of insured healthy Americans have to pay for treating the sick, we can assume he doesn't know how actual insurance works. Just saying.
Here's the condescending highlights of Kupfer's article, where he suggests doing the same thing Republicans are always whining about, being censored. Here's everyman Kimmel's statement:
Jimmy Kimmel, Policy-Wonk Wannabe: Comedians have become public intellectuals in the popular
imagination, so maybe some charity is in order. What to do about the
health-care system is a complicated question. Kimmel has elected to probe the
empirical matter of whether this bill does quite enough to erect a safety net
for people with pre-existing conditions ... The collective decision to
elevate Kimmel to status as a leading bioethicist and policy wonk reduces a
tricky debate to a single talking point ... But policy expertise is hard-won
and not likely to dawn suddenly during crises. It’s also not something that
resides in people who make jokes for a living. Does Kimmel want a career
change? Or does Hollywood simply want to feel better about its propensity to
wax earnest about complicated public-policy questions? Such sanctimony degrades
comedy.
Amazingly, conservatives don't find the following funny, but racist jokes...that's another story?
Who really laughs at The Daily Show, Full Frontal, or Last
Week Tonight? But more importantly, swapping two unrelated discursive forms
corrodes public discourse. Policy isn’t funny, and comedy isn’t policy ... It’s irresponsible to pontificate on subjects one
knows little about, but that didn’t stop him from calling Cassidy a liar. Once we substitute even sincere feelings for policy
expertise, the results are unlikely to please anyone. Jimmy Kimmel can be
funny, and he loves his son. Well and good. But Jimmy Kimmel knows policy? To
paraphrase another comedian, comedians are not public intellectuals.
Anecdotal Governing: Elitist Republican Bill Cassidy trashes Kimmel, saying "He's only heard from those on the left..." I keep getting the feeling this is how Republicans get their information, through anecdotal word of mouth, hearing it from "the right." No research. Watch Kimmel admit to doing his own extensive research...
Adequate and affordable, whatever that means: What does adequate and affordable really mean? Well according to Bill Cassidy, it means adequate and affordable...dummy.
We are in Control, not the people?Tucker Carlson made it very clear below that the people don't own the public square, the elite authorities do. We're not in charge of "the public." The video and Issacson says it all:
John Jay College professor Michael Issacson, and avowed Antifa leader appeared on Fox News’ “Tucker Carlson Tonight” show Thursday night...
Awhile back, we were warned about Dumb Ron Johnson:
Behold, the big talker is back, this time offering no guarantees, rambling on and on about GOP constructed ObamaCare nightmares, all the while ignoring the disastrous unaffordable insurance system we had pre-ACA, when nearly 45 million Americans lacked coverage and were indiscriminately dropped for preexisting conditions or clerical errors.
On Morning Joe, Johnson made up this ridiculous lie:
A lie of course. Johnson did the old switcheroo on "preexisting conditions," an Affordable Care Act guaranteed, and instead equated that with getting insurance. I'd say he was smarter than that...but...
Targeting Liberal States: I've heard Republicans admit the Graham-Cassidy plan intentionally shifts Medicaid money away from liberal expansion states like California, Massachusetts and New York so conservative states that refused on ideological principles could get the cash. But Republican states didn't want to depend on the federal government.
Forget all that, now they're being portrayed as shortchanged victims who never got equitable funding for something they didn't want in the first place? My head is hurting!
Watch our rambling egotist bully his way past tough questions he'd be a fool to answer honestly. The Morning Joe crew was having none of it...:
Every Republican plan to replace the ACA seems to make our health care system even worse than before ObamaCare. You would have thought after finding out every Republican plan would end up dropping 23 million people from insurance coverage, they would stepped back from their promise and rethink their approach.
Heck, when the insurance industry thinks it'll be too costly and lose too many customers, you've got a problem:
The health insurance industry came out forcefully on Wednesday against the Senate’s latest bill to repeal the Affordable Care Act, suggesting that its state-by-state block grants could create health care chaos in the short term and a Balkanized, uncertain insurance market. America’s Health Insurance Plans was even more pointed. The legislation could hurt patients by “further destabilizing the individual market” and could potentially allow “government-controlled single payer health care to grow.” Without controls, some states could simply eliminate private insurance, she warned.
The most incredible part of the Republican style of health care plan...?
Many within the industry are worried that the next two years will be chaotic, with little support for the current market while states scramble to come up with a new way for individuals to buy policies. “It’s just basically injecting chaos in 50 state capitals for the next two years,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University.
The CBO doesn't have time to do a complete score, and debate before the bill is voted on will be just 2 minutes long...that's right, just 2 minutes maximum. What was that about "ramming" ObamaCare down our throats after about 8 months of give and take debates and amendments? They are the party of "principles" alright.
Many within the industry are worried that the next two years will be chaotic, with little support for the current market while states scramble to come up with a new way for individuals to buy policies.“It’s just basically injecting chaos in 50 state capitals for the next two years,” said Sabrina Corlette, a research professor at Georgetown University.
Read The Graham Cassidy plan for real Americans: I also just found out, oddly not listed below, that the bill eliminates the employer mandate...WOW: The new Senate Republican bill could reduce funding, coverage and consumer protections even more sharply than the GOP's previous repeal bill, the Better Care Reconciliation Act.
1. Establishes fixed state block grants that cap federal subsidies for coverage. The BCRA would have continued Obamacare's guaranteed subsidies to qualifying individuals.
2. Ends all federal subsidies in 2026, compared with no subsidy cutoff under the BCRA.
3. Ends Medicaid expansion entirely in 2020. The BCRA would have phased out enhanced funding in 2024 and let states continue expansion using standard federal match funds.
4. States could give insurers unlimited ability to consider pre-existing conditions to set premiums. The BCRA didn't allow that.
5. Eliminates the federal insurance exchange, which states could keep under the BCRA.
6. Offers $25 billion for two-year state reinsurance program. The BCRA offered $182 billion over a decade.
7. No dedicated funding for substance abuse treatment. The BCRA granted $44 billion to states for addiction and recovery care.
8. Doesn't require states to use federal block grant money to help lower-income people buy coverage, unlike the BCRA requirement that subsidies go to lower-income groups.
9. Allows states to waive coverage for preventive services. The BCRA continued ACA's first-dollar coverage for preventive care.
10. Redistributes federal subsidies from Medicaid expansion to non-expansion states—with 20 states receiving about 35% to 60% less than under Obamacare—versus smaller redistributions between the states under the BCRA.
I drive around Dane County all the time as part of my other job, and recently noticed a major uptick in almost completely decomposed deer carcasses along our highways, like I-90 and Hwy 73 (pictured here). That's flat out neglect.
These aren't fresh kills either, since the carcass is sun baked and flat. A similarly unsightly decomposed deer was on the side of I-90, visible to everyone, when I came back to Madison.
Governor Scott Walker doesn't want the state to pay to remove deer carcasses along state highways, which means counties could have to foot the bill. Last year the DNR removed nearly 24,000 deer carcasses from state highways across Wisconsin. The Governor's proposed budget eliminates$700,000 a year for the DNR to remove the carcasses statewide. Under the proposal, responsibility for clearing the deer would fall to whatever government agency is in charge of the roadway. Or they may be left uncollected. The nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau cautions, "dead and decaying deer on the roadside are unsightly ad can dampen Wisconsin's reputation as a tourist destination."
Walker just posted the following budget veto, because thanks to tax cuts, we don't have enough money to fund removal of these disease spreading carcasses:
It was supposed to be a secret, and the Republican Governors Association Chairman Scott Walker did what could to make it untraceable. Why would he do that?
AP: The website was registered July 7 through Domains By Proxy, a company that allows the originators of a website to shield their identities. An AP search did not find any corporate, Federal Election Commission or IRS filings establishing The Free Telegraph as an independent entity. As of early Monday afternoon, The Free Telegraph’s Twitter account and Facebook page still had no obvious identifiers tying the site to RGA.
“It’s propaganda for sure, even if they have objective standards and all the reporting is 100 percent accurate,” said Republican communications veteran Rick Tyler, whose resume includes Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential campaign. Democrats say Republicans are laying the groundwork with headlines that will appear in future digital and television ads, while also providing individual voters with fodder to distribute across social media.
See the GIF below, it says right there it's a Media/News Company. Not one bit deceptive. Think about this too:
Political communications expert Kathleen Hall Jamieson, a University of Pennsylvania professor who has studied political advertising for four decades, said The Free Telegraph commits a form of “identity theft” by “appropriating the integrity of news” because “the form of news carries credibility” that blatantly partisan sites do not. Jamieson was particularly critical of RGA’s initial failure to disclosure its involvement. “What we know about audiences is they factor in the source of information when judging that information,” she said. “If you are denying the reader, the listener or the viewer information you know the reader uses, the question is why do you feel the need to do this?”
Wisconsin's 20th District voters are an embarrassment. First they voted for Glenn Grothman over and over and over again, and then replaced him with the mentally challenged Duey Stroebel. What in gods name were they thinking...maybe "thinking" is to strong a word here.
Duey's Humpty Dumptyisms: Defined as "The act of misusing or misinterpreting a word, phrase, or article of text to suit one's own meaning or purpose." And oh boy to we have a few Stroebel Dumptyisms today.
Duey says Local Control isn't Really ever Local Control: Asked by a morning caller on WPR about Republicans taking away local control, Duey said he thought getting rid of a state moratorium on metallic mining (all the while not giving local communities a say over where a mine is located) was giving back local...wait, no it isn't. Also, Duey believes that if even a little state money is spent locally, Big Government Republicans can step in and call all the shots.
Taxing Hybrids a better idea 15 years ago: Wow, kinda late on this one guys, by 10 to 15 years. Since hybrids were introduced, regular non-hybrid vehicles (41 in headline below) have improved their mileage substantially to 40 plus mpg, bringing near "equity" to all vehicles.
Here's a pretty big list of hybrid/electric cars many Wisconsinites will be force to pay...hey, they're mostly liberal anyway so who cares.
Stroebel makes the ridiculous claim hybrids don't pay a "road tax" like all other vehicles, a total fabrication. Cars and light trucks pay the same fees...hybrids are not exempt from anything.
NOTE: Walker and his band of plundering Republican pirates are perfectly fine penalizing loyal Wisconsinites with a higher fee, making us fix the roads for out of state cars and trucks driving through. This is fair? Democrats...anyone pointing this out?
ALERT: Stroebel Shamelessly protects White Privilege. It's Political Correctness's Fault: Our Voldemort lookalike Senator thinks political correctness is unfairly picking on guys like him benefiting from white privilege. So what's wrong with Republican politicians telling the University of Wisconsin what they can or cannot teach, especially when the truth makes them look bad?
I'm not trying to be partisan here, but when big energy has to tell the decidedly radical Republican Party that they want to keep some climate regulation in place, we've got a huge problem.
Politico: The Trump administration is opening the door to offering its own replacement for former President Barack Obama's landmark climate regulation — rather than just erasing it altogether. A mend-it-don't-end-it approach on Obama's 2015 rule could appease power companies that say the EPA needs to impose some kind of climate regulation — even if it’s much weaker — to avoid triggering courtroom challenges that would cloud the industry in years of uncertainty. But it would run afoul of demands from some conservative activists, who have pressured EPA Administrator Scott Pruitt to reject the idea that climate change is a problem requiring federal action.
Kevin Poloncarz, a lawyer with the firm Paul Hastings who represents energy companies supporting the Clean Power Plan, said if EPA simply rescinded the Clean Power Plan without announcing plans to consider a replacement, power companies could face nuisance lawsuits, so issuing the notice could be a compromise position. While it's in place, "the industry should feel some degree of comfort that they're insulated from those lawsuits."
But where do the coal companies stand on all of this?
Even coal-heavy power companies have said they support EPA issuing a replacement rule. American Electric Power, a Midwestern power company that gets slightly less than half of its electricity from coal, would back a new proposal "consistent with the EPA's authority under the Clean Air Act," spokeswoman Tammy Ridout said.
If you want to know just how out of touch Trump's education secretary Betsy DeVos is, and you'll know what I mean if you've ever met your kids teachers, this comment makes it very clear. EdWeek:
Let's face it, there's so much Republican sh** that hitting the fan that it's almost impossible to cover it all. Much of it has to do with administrative regulations created and enforced by big bad government agencies. Republicans hate regulations so much they decided to replace almost all of them with their own set of convoluted, Rube Goldberg-like bureaucracies. Here are the headlines and links of stories that will affect and complicate our lives for decades to come under the guise of "small government."
It started with Scott Walker's book, "Unintimidated," where he portrayed protesters as ISIS like thugs trying to "intimidate" him. To anyone else, it looked like a First Amendment right to redress our government.
Walker's mischaracterization continues to fester and swell, portraying American protesters as anti-American. Oh my, that troublesome First Amendment.
Tell me if you think the woman in the video below should be charged with obstruction after being pushed to the ground by police, remaining on the ground until those same policeman cuff her and charge her with "interfering." Lesson: Protesting is now illegal in this country:
The St. Louis Metrololitan Police Department Department tweets, "Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in FOX 2's video failed to obey officers' orders and was charged with 'Interfering.'
To one right wing observer who said he "was there," tweeted that while she was being pushed back and stumbling uncontrollably...
Yea, that's the ticket. Obstruction lying the pavement behind the police line. This nation is in serious trouble:
The video stirred outcry online, where some accused the officers of assaulting the woman. “They could have broken her hip like that,” one Twitter user wrote. “Who is that evil?” The police department eventually responded to the backlash with a tweet, saying: “Woman knocked down during demonstration shown in @FOX2now's video failed to obey officers' orders & was charged w/ ‘Interfering’.”
So what are your average conservative talk radio hosts talking about these days, and why do we have a major problem with sexism? We have an answer to both.
CNN’s Brooke Baldwin ended a segment Friday after a panelist, Fox Sports Radio’s Clay Travis, expressed his love for the “First Amendment and boobs.”
“I’m a first amendment absolutist and believe in two things completely — the First Amendment and boobs.”
And despite former senior ESPN editor Keith Reed's spot on description of the juvenile misogyny of Clay Travis, host Brooke Baldwin had had enough:
“I’m not talking about that on television because it’s irrelevant to the topic. It shouldn’t be brought up here,” former ESPN editor Keith Reed responded. “Why not?” Travis asked.
I couldn't let this story fade into the ether. This is how conservatives drum up conspiracies and victimhood and make these issues seem real; they take a firm stand on fabricated controversies created by the paranoid right wing news entertainment sites.
What drives me crazy it the notion that Republican bigots, racists and anti-government zealots think their being "politically incorrect," when in fact, they're creating another version of "politically correct" speech but their perspective.
Nothing on the DQ sign is a real issue. What is true is the effort by Republicans to push an unconstitutional government endorsed of a national Christian religion:
CBS 58: A sign on the door of a Kewaskum Dairy Queen, calling the restaurant 'politically incorrect' is generating business and conversation. DQ owner Kevin Scheunemann said,"I felt the sign was appropriate to hang in terms of being transparent about the views of the owner and staff supporting God and country. It just seems that those kinds of values and principles are becoming controversial in society."
Controversial only because Scheunemann and his right wing party of whiny victims have made is so.
The sign reads: "This restaurant is politically incorrect." It warns potential customers that staff may say things like "Merry Christmas," "Happy Easter." It also says "In God We Trust." The sign was posted close to four years ago, after a customer was upset when he heard Christian music inside the restaurant. Scheunemann decided to post the warning, and said he hasn't had many problems since then.
Of course Scheunemann is expressing his paranoid, conjured up, victimhood, phony-wedge issue free speech thing. And if you don't like his sign, somehow you're against free speech, where Schunemann is victimized again. Got that liberals?
Other business owners in town say they support Scheunemann's right to run his business the way he sees fit. "He posted it on the door so you see it before you walk in," said April Serwe, who owns local bar PJ Magoos. "You don’t have to walk in if you don't agree with it."
Funny, that kind of logic never came up for anti-union conservatives applying for a job at a union shop. "You don't have to walk in..." right? But hey, it's a phony divisive values issue:
In fact, some people in town told us there isn't even a need for a sign like that -- because most residents in Kewaskum share the same values. "In this small community, I don't think it's a problem," said resident Liz Torrison. "We're all just liking each other and having fun."
It's fun targeting and trashing liberals in a completely phony cartoonish way.
Dairy Queen sent us this statement in response: "American Dairy Queen Corporation does not encourage our independently owned and operated franchisees to post non-business related messages in their locations or on their external reader boards. This sign expresses the views of this independent owner only and does not speak for ADQ Corporation or any of our other independent franchise owners. We expect our franchisees and employees to treat every person who walks through our doors with the utmost dignity and respect. Nothing less is acceptable."
Let's have a "conversation?" Boy, I can't tell you how tired I am of this new talking point, "let's have a conversation." It basically allows bigots, racist and religious zealots to make everyone have a conversation about their loathsome bigotry, racism and religious zealotry, without every changing anything.
But Scheunemann, who also happens to be the Kewaskum Village President, says he's happy to sit down and have a conversation with anyone to make them feel comfortable about what the sign says.
Republicans hate liberal big government policies. That doesn't mean they hate big government though. How would you like an overbearing, know-it-all, one party, dictatorial, authoritarian state? Coming right up.
Heck, why don't I let a Republican explain the concept:
Rep. Dale Kooyenga, R-Brookfield: “There are certain values that the state upholds. If the values aren’t consistent at the local level, there is an opportunity for the state to come in and say these are our principles and they are good.”
Kinda takes your breath away...or at least it should.
Former Republican State Sen. Mary Lazich redefined "local control" this amazing way:
Question of Balance? Totally destroying the idea of local control, Republican weasel Rep. Robin Vos resorted to the old standard, "it's just a question of balance," to do away with local control:
GOP Making Liberal Big Government Look Really Really small: This authoritarian one party vision has been rolling along for the last seven years. Take a look at the Republicans latest takeover bid that would kill the spread of those liberal-leaning walking/bike trails that takes cars off our now crumbling roads:
A provision added to the 2017-2019 state budget denies cities, villages and towns the ability to use condemnation — acquiring private property from unwilling sellers for public use — to expand or build new sidewalks, bicycle lanes and trails. An incensed Madison Mayor Paul Soglin blasted GOP lawmakers: "We happen to think it's important that children going to school not get run over. But obviously we've got legislators who just don't give a damn about issues of safety. This is driven by bitter people who hate the rest of the state. It's just one more example where with millions of people in this state there's one or two property owners upset about the ability to condemn for public safety. And now we've got a Legislature that disregards the safety of millions of people from one end of the state to the other." Soglin also labeled the lawmakers supporting the provision as "anti-economic development," noting that Amazon recently issued a request for proposals for cities interested in being home to a new $3.7 billion headquarters facility. The specs include bike accessibility. Not only would the provision put Wisconsin out of the running, he said, but "nobody would be able to put bicycle paths or sidewalks into the Foxconn deal."
The city intends to file an open records request to get any correspondence about the provision and “the special interest that’s going to be at work here,” Soglin said.“We really have not learned and had a good explanation from the perpetrators of this as to their motivation and what they’re trying to solve,” he said. Madison City Engineer Rob Phillips said the measure allows a single property owner who doesn't want to sell a right-of-way to kill several bike path projects, some in the works and some planned for the future. It's unclear who inserted the provision into a transportation budget amendment before last week's committee vote.
Mining Taking control of Local Governments: Right now, the legislative Republican environmental bulldozer Sen. Tom Tiffany is trying again to trash small local communities. Is it any wonder rural voters hate government:
• Limit public opportunities to contest DNR decisions, eliminate an automatic hearing with an administrative law judge and rolls back a judge's authority to halt mining activities if such a hearing was granted. • Ends DNR authority to require a mining company to provide evidence that its solid waste disposal process will protect ground water indefinitely. • Repeal a law requiring the DNR to deny a mine's request for a high-capacity well that would unreasonably harm the ability of others to have drinking water or enjoy lakes and streams. Instead require the mine to replace a dried-up water supply or temporarily shore up the water level in an affected lake or stream. • Eliminate rules that address the specific problems that a mining project can cause by disturbing the flow of water above and below the surface.
Here's something that ignored and affected a whole bunch of local communities:
WPR: Wisconsin residents can no longer challenge state Department of Natural Resources permits for a high-capacity well if state officials failed to look at what the well might do to overall groundwater in the area. Republican lawmakers and Gov. Scott Walker got rid of the cumulative impacts challenge when they passed the state budget a year ago.
Here's a great, but now outdated, list that was posted awhile back:
Wisconsin Republicans Consolidate Power, Erode Local Control Republicans Add to List of 100+ Measures that Harm Local Decision-Making; Republican legislators continue to propose even more bills that would tie the hands of local governments. “Republicans say they are the ‘Party of Local Control’ but their actions show the opposite,” Democratic Rep. Shankland said.
Since consolidating control of state government in 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican Legislature have enacted a series of laws that upend a bedrock of their party’s conservatism: the principle of local control. The GOP has wrested from local government’s control of cellphone tower siting, shoreland zoning restrictions, landlord-tenant regulations, public employee residency requirements, family medical leave rules for private companies and large soft drink bans, among other things. It instituted a statewide voucher program opposed by many school boards and has kept tight property tax caps on school districts and municipalities. The latest and perhaps most disconcerting example for many local officials is a bill introduced by Sen. Tom Tiffany, R-Hazelhurst, that would limit a municipality’s ability to regulate certain aspects of frac sand mining operations, such as blasting, damage to highways, and air and water quality. “Many (municipal leaders) will tell you how terrible it is and how it’s the worst they’ve ever seen,” said Dan Thompson, executive director of the League of Wisconsin Municipalities. UW-Madison political science professor emeritus Dennis Dresang. “But boy, recently, that’s really going out the door. What we see from the tea party types and the radical right types is, ‘I've got an idea, I've got an agenda, and it really ought to apply across the board."
