Two Lives Lost at Kenosha Protest! Bucks Shut Down NBA, WI Republicans Do Nothing!!!

UPDATE 8/27: DEFENDING A KILLER: I worked one year as cohost with Vicki McKenna when she first began Upfront, and I quite because of just this. But WIBA loved it, even syndicated the show of this gun crazy screwball. Defending Kyle Rittenhouse? I don't say this ever, but someone needs to be removed:

JSOnline: McKenna came to the defense of Kyle Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, Illinois, who was charged in Lake County, Illinois, as a fugitive from justice. Rittenhouse faces a first-degree intentional homicide charge in Kenosha County. "Go watch the video of that kid," said McKenna, who airs on WISN-AM (1130) in Milwaukee and WIBA-AM (1310) in Madison. "I’d have done the same thing. But he’s being painted as a murderer!" 

"By the way, where are all the patriots who brag on Facebook, 'Hey, bring it, baby! Lock and load!' Where the hell were you last night?" McKenna asked. "Some showed up to defend other people’s property or their own. And one guy is now going to have to go on trial because, in defense of himself, two people are dead."

If Republican voters don't wake up to the following brutal incompetence of their own elected "leaders," now, than we're in truly deep shit. Here's today's NY Post cover:

It appears armed militia groups were allowed by law enforcement to help in Kenosha, which is now at the heart of this. More in the videos below. But first...

After doing nothing for the last 6 months of nationwide protests demanding police reform, Republican Rep. Robin Vos is now claiming Gov. Evers is taking political advantage using the Jacob Blake shooting to push reform: 

Vos accused Evers of “turning to politics” by calling the special session instead of working through the Speaker’s task force.

Then after scoffing at the thought of a special session, and a day later, Vos actually said this to his  heavy breathing base:

To be clear, Evers call for a special session, and bringing in National Guard troops, caused the two deaths? 

While Kenosha burns, the safely gerrymandered Republicans legislature, on vacation for the year, has decided to sit back taking pot shots at the Democratic Governor, doing nothing again, but lamenting the damage to property...not people:

Again, inaction by Republicans to help reform law enforcement, and letting this get out of control, is now being used as a weapon against Democrats like Gov. Evers. Their goal is to demonize the First Amendments right to protest and usher in a police state stopping future opposition. 

…and the inability of Republicans to lift a finger?

RIGHT-WING MILITIA GROUPS TO BLAME, NOT PROTESTERS: 

It looks like local law enforcement made a tactical mistake costing 2 protesters their lives. It's all documented. Here's the original call to action on Facebook:

Enter the Militias: Hard to believe, but law enforcement planned to push protesters toward militia group and then leave. They also offered up water to militia members and thanked them for their help. All caught on video: 

And yet the following statement seemed to try and put distance between the video clips above and what officials want you to believe. 

Sheriff David Beth said on Tuesday someone called him to ask why he didn't deputize armed citizens to patrol the city "and I’m like ‘Oh hell no.’  Deputized citizens would "fall under my guidance and my supervisors and they are a liability to me and the county and the state of Wisconsin. The incident that happened last night where two people lost their lives were part of this group that wanted me to deputize them. That would have been why I wouldn’t."

Not so oddly, there is nothing from Fitzgerald, Vos, and Steineke about the deadly involvement of an outside militia or a call for a special session.

But the Milwaukee Bucks stepped up instead, forgoing a playoff game and shutting down the NBA:

The last-minute decision set off a chain reaction, and all NBA games were subsequently canceled in solidarity with the Bucks.

Sports announcers had to pivot to analyzing the significance of the Bucks’ players making a stand in the wake of the police shooting Sunday of Jacob Blake in Kenosha and the Tuesday night shooting by at least one vigilante of three protesters, leaving two of them dead. A 17-year-old from Illinois was arrested Wednesday in connection with the attacks.

“This is personal for the Milwaukee Bucks,” said ESPN’s NBA host Rachel Nichols, quickly put on-air in place of their NFL program. “Sterling Brown himself was a victim of police brutality just two years ago.” Nichols’ sentiment was echoed by analyst and former player Kendrick Perkins. “It’s a message for Wisconsin that they will not stand for this. They want justice. They want justice for him [Jacob Blake],” he said.

…and this was their demand, are you now listening Republicans?:

"Despite the overwhelming plea for change, there has been no action, so our focus today cannot be on basketball. When we take the court and represent Milwaukee and Wisconsin, we are expected to play at a high level, give maximum effort and hold each other accountable. We hold ourselves to that standard, and in this moment, we are demanding the same from our lawmakers and law enforcement.

Warning: Graphic Content: This is what happened. 

Here are protesters trying to help the shooting victim in the video above, but it was too late:

 

Good-bye Kellyanne!

 

QConvention tips for the rest of us...

 

Dumb Ron Johnson's world...

Just a few more months of this...

 

Trump using our own government to destroy the Postal Service and the right to vote...

Taking a little summer vacation is so difficult to do under Trump, and it's exhausting. 

The idea the Republicans would ever actually take out the U.S. Postal Service, a constitutionally named service, to privatize and profit from was ridiculous...until Trump, who'll try anything. 

Here's one of the most outrageous statements ever, but also a refreshingly open admission by Trump that he was using our own government to suppress voting in Democratic states.  

Even this seemed surreal and so over the top that it completely blew my mind: 

Rural Republicans true Trump Cultists now, forgot to complain: 

Conservative rural voters weren't always so willing to cut their own throats when it comes to mail delivery, their most reliable connection to the outside world, even after all the failed GOP promises to bring high speed broadband connections to their farms and communities. 

From December 2014, rural folks blew a gasket when postal service tried to close down mail distribution centers, slowing service down to a crawl. Remember? (Check out all the following stories relating to this, included with this link)

After continuing to lose billions of dollars in fiscal 2013, the U.S. Postal Service will move forward with plans to close four processing centers in Wisconsin in 2015. The centers to be shuttered are in Madison, La Crosse, Eau Claire and the Wausau area. 

  

Funny, I remember back in 2009 when Republican Representatives James Sensenbrenner and Paul Ryan bravely came to the rescue from a problem they actually created, after rural communities and farmers bitterly complained about distribution center closings and the resulting delays of their business mail; products, payments and shipping.  

Milwaukee Journal: As the U.S. Postal Service searches for $2 billion in spending cuts, residents in several Wisconsin communities are objecting to changes at their post offices. Consolidation of mail carriers in Oconomowoc, West Bend, Oak Creek and elsewhere has stirred complaints that mail is being delivered late and that residents feel neglected. In Waukesha, business owners fear that cutbacks in mail collection hours will undermine their ability to conduct business.

Some have found a sympathetic ear in an influential place: their (Republican) congressman. U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner and Paul Ryan both have intervened successfully on behalf of constituents who were unhappy with planned belt-tightening measures at their post office. In both cases, the Postal Service shelved its plans and re-examined its cost-cutting strategies.

Sensenbrenner ... found the cuts being imposed in southeastern Wisconsin to be too disruptive to customers. "You've got to remind the Postal Service repeatedly that their last name is service," he said.

Republicans of course caused all of this to happen, eventually giving us Trump's final assault on the post office. Here's how it happened, from the late Ed Schultz:

Virtual Brats, Beer, and Polka?

 

Trump's postal warning to kids...

 

Friday's Larry David and the Founding Fathers debate 2nd Amendment

 

Trump reveals another untold moment of genius...

 

From the "White House"...

 

Dumb Ron Johnson hard at work...

Republicans Crazy argument "You have an individual right to make your own medical decisions"...yea, for other people?

Sen. Alberta Darling and dozens of local sheriffs are refusing to protect the lives of Wisconsinites all across the state, based on a provably wrong and ridiculously dangerous anti-mask talking point. For example:

Darling: "...the masks are important but that should be up to the individuals and local communities to decide what they want to do.”

Sheriff Dennis Stuart said in a statement; "You have an individual right to make your own medical decisions. We as government officials shall not intrude. The Constitution can't be suspended, whether people get sick or not," 

False-"fact:" Anti-maskers are making their own medical decisions about other peoples health...

It's not just irresponsible losers making every place unsafe, it's a profound misinterpretation by law enforcements officials: 

Washington County Sheriff Martin Schulteis said: "I believe citizens have the expectation that your sheriff’s office should expend resources providing a safe and secure community by investigating real criminal acts."

Would an angry unmasked person getting in your face or spitting on you a criminal act? Yes, and it's intentional. But the following is the prevailing thinking of too many sheriffs deciding on what they will and won't enforce. Still don't think law enforcement needs reform?

Other sheriff’s offices that have said they will not enforce the order include those in Adams County, Oneida County, Vilas County, Forest County, Taylor County, Lincoln County, Iron County, Brown County, Fond du Lac County, Dodge County, Walworth County, Waukesha County, Washburn County, Waupaca County and Washington County.

Never Pro-Life but shockingly Pro-Death: With the mounting infection rate and climbing death toll, we're faced with the reality that no matter how bad it gets, Republicans will not change their rock solid position. This is a version of the Gilded Age, where worker deaths and lack of safety were the price of doing business and making massive profits. 

If someone could provide the names of Rep. Rob Brooks restaurants and businesses, it would be public service to warn people that Brooks is not requiring his workers to wear masks, which would say a lot about his concern about your health and possible transmission of a deadly disease:

Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, said he would not require employees or patrons of his two restaurants in Saukville to wear masks despite the order requiring them inside restaurants unless patrons are eating and drinking. "We understand that this is a controversial matter for some and we certainly understand and respect your decision to not dine in or visit us at this time," he said in a Facebook post. "We will respect your decision — please respect ours."

Yup, Facts, Charts, and Rates reported are just not believable or complete. It would be reckless to follow safety efforts? Unless each community is gated, it would be kind of hard to argue that each part of the state is different, the same BS Republicans have used to do nothing about national health care:

"To impose a statewide mask order based on incomplete data and game playing is reckless and negligent," Republican Rep. Jim Ott of Mequon said in a statement.

“The governor’s one-size-fits-all approach treats Milwaukee and Madison the same as Wautoma and Arpin. That's a misguided and heavy-handed approach that I simply don’t support," GOP Sen. Patrick Testin of Stevens Point said in a statement.

Let's look at the lunacy that Evers is wrong when he "...treats Milwaukee and Madison the same as Wautoma and Arpin. That's a misguided and heavy-handed approach..." Testin's politics of division and resentment between rural and urban people has been exposed. Poking her head out of the Trump rabbit hole, here's White House coronavirus task force coordinator Deborah Birx:

GOP voters say Evers hates Trump, liberals attacking "freedom:" Here are just a few examples that are deeply troubling from the cultists section of society: 

Bonnie Johnson and her husband, Wayne, said, "I'm 79, you know, I don't like to be ordered around. We live in the United States and we're not used to being ordered around. I think people are going to get sick from wearing the masks. I think it's all political. I would like to see Scott Walker back in office. I think he would be handling this much better."

Her husband agreed. "It's an abuse of power by the governor. The masks are absolutely useless in protecting me. It protects others from me, but I'm not sick."

Scary communism, "all these mandates" (a simple mask mandate), and me, me, me…

Judy Panyk, a 68-year-old from Mount Pleasant, said wearing one on the bus makes sense. However, she said, "All these mandates" were making the country "more like a communist country. I'm not concerned at all about getting the virus because I don't like crowds or being around a lot of people."

Anti-maskers will Keep Wisconsin Businesses Closed and Hurting: Remember, these people are  "supply siders" and are oblivious to the consumer side of the equation (70 percent). Without demand and consumer confidence that it's safe to go out again, nothing in Wisconsin is going to change for the better:

Tosha Womack, 47, of Menomonee Falls, said she supports having to wear a mask. "I'm in support of the masks if it's going to make the virus dissipate," she said. "I'm tired of being locked up, I want to go out."

For fun, I had to include this. What a place to get a quote for the story. Only in Wisconsin:

Some businesses have already started to have such problems with customers not complying with the mandate. Nutz Deep II, a bar and grill in Marshfield, said some customers have been refusing to wear masks while waiting for a table.