Yay! Scott Walker solving school safety problem he created!

Well, Scott Walker wasn't exactly rushing to protect Wisconsin schools from the next lunatic exercising his 2nd Amendment right to high-velocity high capacity weapons:

CapTimes: Walker said he has had several conversations with lawmakers who are drafting a comprehensive school safety legislative package. Walker could call a special session to bring lawmakers back to the Capitol. 

NRA Money? Lot's of it? Walker not Influenced? Like the Supreme Court said in Citizens United, money does not corrupt:

Walker, who received about $3.5 million from the National Rifle Association for elections in 2010, 2012 and 2014, disputed the argument that contributions from gun rights groups influence policy. He noted that he differs with the group on whether to give firearms to teachers.

Opposing that obviously crazy idea to arm teachers now qualifies as a brilliant decision by our governor? The bar is that low now? 

Walker will Solve Mental Health Failure He Created with Funding/Job Cuts: Maybe we should crack down on the mentally ill?

Yet the party deemed not responsible enough to govern had a few suggestions...

An effort by Senate Democrats to allow schools to exceed their revenue limits to implement school safety plans was blocked by the Republican majority last week. Democrats have also proposed reinstating a 48-hour waiting period for handgun purchases, banning the sale of bump stocks and banning anyone with a domestic violence misdemeanor conviction from owning a firearm.

Nutty right? Next thing you know they'll want to spend hard-earned taxpayers money protecting kids. Dane County Executive Joe Parisi appeared on WKOW's Capitol City Sunday and reminded us what might be keeping many school districts from acting:

Parisi: "It used to be, that there was an exception in the levy limits that would allow schools to spend more money for safety enhancements like that. Gov. Walker also eliminated that exemption to the levy limit, making it more difficult for schools to do that."

Make no mistake, Scott Walker and the Republicans own these mass shootings and the civil decay gun madness brought with it. In fact, Republicans are now trying to blame the gun carnage on gay marriage, liberalism, socialism, the pill, video games, movies, and racial equality...not guns.

Sure, let's change human nature first, got it.

Yet guns keep killing people and Republicans keep pushing myth after insulting myth. Dare we even look at the evidence?

Walker "Punts!!!" No way to stop gun violence and mass shootings!!!

Scott Walker isn't going to do anything about preventing mass shootings, or any other kind of gun violence. A definite sign of sociopathic behavior? You bet. But what could Walker say that would please the "freedom and liberty" loving base of low information voters packin' heat in public?

Blame the public for not being vigilant enough, but then reassure everyone that whatever we are doing now, IS working. Walker must have missed the GOP memo where the U.S. must defeat ISIS first. That won't take long, will it?

Scott Walker’s contradictory throwback reasons for doing absolutely nothing about the gun carnage and mass shootings in the U.S. is short of insulting. Surprisingly, he didn’t include locking up mentally ill Americans, since we now know they’re not actually a noticeable part of the problem:

Gov. Scott Walker says increased public vigilance is key to stopping terrorists like the shooter who killed 49 people in an Orlando gay club on Sunday. 

“The biggest issue for us is just trying to figure out how do we work together? How does the federal, state, local officials work together with the public as a whole to try and identify concerns in advance and prevent them from happening."

Wow, why didn't law enforcement think of that?

Repeating the most incredibly irritating, irresponsible, and hopeless position ever uttered by a freeloading career politician:

Walker said he thinks tougher gun laws won't deter people who are willing to commit terrorism.

Lawsuit Crazy Scott Walker and Republican Party use Courts to Govern: Gun Laws next.

For years Republicans bashed Democrats for challenging their agenda in the courts, calling them lawsuit crazy. With tort reform, they were going to change our litigious society.

Amazing what a whole lotta power will do....

JS: The governor said he has asked fellow Republican and state Attorney General Brad Schimel to look into Obama's attempt to bypass Congress and use his executive authority to try to require more criminal background checks on gun sales.

"President Obama is again disregarding the constitutional principles of separation of powers and exceeding his authority as chief executive."

Funny how a black president is consistently challenged for things other white presidents did with even more vigor. One pundit suggested a Republican president should repeal all past executive orders if they're so unconstitutional. All of them!!!! See the chart ----->

It’s hard to understand how a simple expansion of background checks is going to “create” “uncertainty” about owning a gun. Why would a law-abiding citizen “fear prosecution.”

Walker: "The Obama administration issued guidance creating uncertainty and fear of prosecution for law-abiding citizens who wish to exercise their right to sell firearms lawfully. Forthcoming federal rules could also deprive millions of Americans of their Second Amendment rights without any indication of imminent danger. I have asked the attorney general to review this proposed rule language as soon as it is made available and, if issued as reported, to take any and all legal measures available to challenge this illegal act."

Walker's laughably obedient lapdog Attorney General Brad Schimel continues to embarrass his elected office, with this grotesquely outlandish accusation and criticism of Obama:

Schimel: "It appears that President Obama once again intends to act unilaterally to restrict the 2nd Amendment and subvert the legislative process by issuing yet another executive order." 

A lack of respect with racial overtones have a lot to do with it, along with an unhealthy passion for guns.

But what's got Walker so enraged besides race and a few executive orders? Check out this 2nd Amendment right for corporations and those who've created "gun trusts," and not everyday Americans. Yes, in this case corporations aren't people, and they can buy (and use) machine guns and automatic weapons without background checks or anything. Walker wants that back too:

Shocker!!! Democrats fight Campus Carry with No Guns on Campus bill. Mass shootings not about mental health, it's about Anger.

This is what I think every Democratic voter has been waiting for for years, taking it to Republicans, putting on an offensive that clearly defines where their party stands.

A bill circulated by three Madison Democrats in the state Assembly— Chris Taylor, Terese Berceau, Melissa Sargent, would make carrying a dangerous weapon on public college campuses a felony.

The "college campus dangerous weapon ban" bill proposed Wednesday by three Madison Democrats — Rep. Chris Taylor, Rep. Melissa Sargent and Rep. Terese Berceau — would make carrying a dangerous weapon on campus a Class I felony. It would codify existing Administrative Code provisions and practices of public and private colleges and universities in state statute. 

There is a clear choice. As a parent with a son heading off to Madison in a couple of years, there's no way I want him in a class filled with firearms...even one. Because it's not really about mental illness. Wouldn't you know it, Republicans have us chasing down another rabbit hole to nowhere.  

The real problem is out of control anger, or "Intermittent explosive disorder" (IED). 

That's why Democratic legislators are pushing to reinstate the 48 hour cooling off period.  WISC/WKOW:

Families of victims of gun violence argued that repealing the waiting period should not have been about the time it takes to do a background check, which is what Republican authors argued earlier in the year. The groups said a "cooling-off period" was needed, especially in cases of suicide.

Slate:

Violence is not a product of mental illness. Nor is violence generally the action of ordinary, stable individuals who suddenly “break” and commit crimes of passion. Violent crimes are committed by violent people, those who do not have the skills to manage their anger. Most homicides are committed by people with a history of violence. Murderers are rarely ordinary, law-abiding citizens, and they are also rarely mentally ill. Violence is a product of compromised anger management skills. 

In a summary of studies on murder and prior record of violence, Don Kates and Gary Mauser found that 80 to 90 percent of murderers had prior police records, in contrast to 15 percent of American adults overall. In a study of domestic murderers, 46 percent of the perpetrators had had a restraining order against them at some time. Family murders are preceded by prior domestic violence more than 90 percent of the time. Violent crimes are committed by people who lack the skills to modulate anger, express it constructively, and move beyond it. 

The one relevant diagnosis is intermittent explosive disorder, a disorder of anger management. Violent crimes committed by people with severe mental illnesses get a lot of attention, but such attacks are relatively rare. Paolo del Vecchio of the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration has said, “Violence by those with mental illness is so small that even if you could somehow cure it all, 95 percent of violent crime would still exist” ... with significant encouragement from the gun lobby, the public has begun to seize on the wrong explanation for tragic, violent events. They focus not on the IED-diagnosed patients but on those with other diagnoses, schizophrenia in particular, ignoring the fact that what the perpetrators have in common in every single one of these cases is a loss of control of their anger. No effort is being made to address the much broader cultural problem of anger management. This broader problem encompasses not just mass murders but violence toward children and spouses, rape, road rage, assault, and violent robberies. We are a culture awash in anger. Uncontrolled anger has become our No. 1 mental health issue. We have sought scapegoats in minority cultures, racial groups, and now the mentally ill. 

 The "college campus dangerous weapon ban" bill is similar to laws in 9 other states. While Republicans have taken the hopeless position that "there's nothing anybody can do, good luck," Democrats are trying to solve a problem no other industrialized country has. jsonline: 

(It's) in response to one proposed earlier this week by Rep. Jesse Kremer (R-Kewaskum) says current law is not stopping those who want to cause mayhem from doing so on and around campus.

The co-sponsorship memo the three Democrats sent to lawmakers Wednesday referred to a recent Stanford study that concluded more guns lead to higher rates of aggravated assault, robbery, rape and murder. Having a firearm present in a domestic violence situation also increases a woman's risk of dying by homicide by 500%, the memo said.

Blame Obama Syndrome: GOP Gov's failure to treat their mentally ill/enforce gun laws on the books reason for rise in attacks on Police?

The current crop of infallible “almighty Republican governors” is now blaming President Obama for the highly publicized attacks on police officers. 

It’s not about better treatment for the mentally ill, an excuse they always give when kids in school or people in theaters are massacred. 

And it’s not about their great leadership enforcing the laws that have now made it easier anyone to get guns. 

It’s certainly not about showing Obama how their state doesn’t need him or the federal governments intrusive mandates. No, it’s all about Obama effecting a select number of GOP states!

It's also all about race baiting:  

Recent violence against law enforcement is President Barack Obama's problem, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie said Tuesday, blasting the president for failing to lead and uphold the rule of law.

"This is the president's problem, because he has not allowed law and order to be the rule of the day in the United States. Lawlessness has been the rule of the day. And now the president says little or nothing about these police officers that are being hunted."

So how has the other 3 GOP governors tough talk and leadership prevented the "killings of police officers in Illinois and Texas, and another shooting in Nevada?" 

Sheriff Clarke challenges Obama to protect himself, give up Secret Service Protections...but forgets to ask Walker to do the same thing.

Awhile back Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke decided to lighten up on the security detail for President Obama's visit to Milwaukee, because he was having a tantrum over budget cuts he disagreed with.

Fox 6: Sheriff Clarke said the protection of the President of the United States is the responsibility of the Secret Service, and local law enforcement provides a supporting role. Sheriff Clarke ... saying budget limitation forced the department to scale back its involvement. Clarke said the sheriff’s office used to set aside money to protect presidents in years past, but the County Board and Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele eliminated that funding.

Fast forward to yesterday, when Clarke went further, suggesting Obama give up his security guards altogether to see how he likes risking his life daily, like every Joe average citizen supposedly does.

The sheriff accuses Democrats of "exploiting misery and tragedy" to pursue a political, anti-gun agenda.

"But here's my challenge to the president of the United States, you think this is so easy. Forego your Secret Service protection, for you, for the first lady, and your children, and see what it is like to have to fend yourself. And then we'll sit down and have a conversation so you know what we here at ground level have to deal with on a daily base in terms of self-defense."

Big talk from a guy in a uniform carrying a gun.

But he should offer the same challenge to Scott Walker. Let's see if Walker will feel safe and secure carrying his own firearm, ready to protect himself and his family.

For Clarke, the carnage is an acceptable price we all have to pay for his misreading the 2nd Amendment. Shit happens, die for it. Credit Clarke for being honest and admitting there's nothing he do to improve public safety, except give more people guns:

Clarke said the Constitution does not prevent terrible things, such as this week's horrific murders near Roanoke, from happening. "Well, look, Sean, as you know, terrible things happen in this world from time to time. We have to be a little more humble about our ability to prevent every horrific situation from happening. 

So if we're trying to make this absolute, that none of these things will ever happen again, we're working on the wrong thing, because unfortunately the world we live in, with the evil that exists, it's going to happen."

Aren't you proud Milwaukee County voters?

Scott Walker's Gun Killings solution: Let's find and treat everyone with mental illness.

MSNBC's Lawrence O'Donnell summed it well when he described the Republican response to the out-of-control gun death toll in the U.S..

"It's not like the Republicans have found something they actually want to do about this, it sounds like they want to use the phrase "mental health" to suggest there's no government responsibility." 

Scott Walker stands out as the most hypocritical of them all on mental health solutions. See the contrasting actions picture to the right. And it's not just Walker, it's every Republican trying to shred our social safety nets that include money for treating mental health.

In taking a political cheap shot at Hillary Clinton, Walker was also taking an insensitive slap at the father of the reporter killed in Virginia. After all, what does he know:

"It's unfortunate that all too often we've seen from people like Hillary Clinton a political reaction to something that's much more sophisticated and challenging than that. The common thread we see in many of these cases is a failure in the system to help someone who is suffering from mental illness." 

Big talk and empty excuses. Like everything else, Walker believes a little positive spin and rhetoric will result in positive, happy, rainbow filled outcomes for all.

"One, I think in general if anyone focuses on racial discord we’re going to get more. If we focus on unity we’re going to get more of that.

Just as ridiculous are those politicians who want to change human nature first. Yes, that's really their solution. I thought they didn't believe in evolution?

The video below doesn't just show Walker's forgettable "mental health" solution that will fade after a few days, but similar statements by the other GOP presidential candidates who just want to get this behind them.

Clinton said that if guns weren't so readily available, perhaps carnage like the killings of WDBJ-TV reporter Alison Parker and cameraman Adam Ward by a disgruntled former employee could be prevented.

Naw, let's talk about mental health for a few days. Next up, a talking point solution for those shooters who don't have mental issues. That might take some time...

Walker's Anecdotal Driven Vision of America; Fiction turns into state and U.S. policy.

Tone deaf much?  Scott Walker and his plundering legislative pirates didn't seem to care how bad it looked when they passed a deplorable gun law that specifically protects irresponsible and impatient owners, especially at a time when the nation mourned the victims in Charleston. Heck, back in 2013 "Assembly Republicans refused to consider a resolution honoring the 26 victims of the Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting." Yet time after time, I'm still surprised.

But the repealed 48-hour waiting period Republicans claimed had something to do with quicker background checks, was actually a distraction from the real reason; repealing the cooling off period based on an anecdotal lie.

And just in case Republicans were confronted with the issue of preventing impulsive heat of the moment gun purchases, they were ready with the NRA anecdotal story of Bonnie Elmasri. These GOP ghouls, even after being told the story was a lie, were unrepentant:

Cooling off  period ends proudly,
based on an NRA lie.

Daily Beast:  Scott Walker’s Gun Bill Is Based on a Lie ... the falsehood at its heart is even worse ... a decades-old fiction concerning another gun horror, this the 1991 killings of a Wisconsin woman named Bonnie Elmasri and her two children. In the aftermath of that triple homicide, pro-gun advocate James Fendry offered a remarkable tale. Fendry—who reportedly founded his Wisconsin Pro-Gun Movement in 1981 at the urging of the NRA’s Institute for Legislative Action—announced that a woman named Bonnie had called him a day or two before the tragedy, saying she was desperate to get a gun to protect herself from her estranged and abusive husband ... he had explained to the woman that Wisconsin had a waiting period. 

The local police were forthrightly dubious that Bonnie Elmasri had ever contacted Fendry or sought to obtain a gun. Her brother, Gary Greenberg ... denounce the tale as a fabrication ... “My sister would never buy a weapon ... Never ... I believe he (Fendry) is either making it up entirely or that somebody named Bonnie called him but that was not my sister.”

Upon learning of the renewed effort to use this twisted tale in violation of the victims’ right to the truth, Bonnie Elmasri’s brother had much the same reaction he had when it was used back in 1991. “That is a made-up story,” Greenberg told The Daily Beast. “That is a total fabrication.” 

Almost everything steering the Republican agenda is anecdotal, which makes it easy to never take responsibility for their actions once the truth comes out:

When Wanggaard’s office was informed ... a spokesman said the senator had gotten it “from the Congressional Record”—which in this instance is to say from the NRA and Fendry. The senator had not bothered to verify its authenticity. The bill passed and landed before Walker ... He may very well not be aware of the falsehood at the heart of the measure. The fact remains that he signed into law a gun de-control measure with that shameful falsehood at its core. Walker did it even as the families down in Charleston were preparing to bury their dead, even as most of us were despairing over the never ending gun violence.

Walker's gun regulation dodge focusing on mental illness just means we'll see a bloody trail of more victims.

Instead of seriously debating the use of sensible gun laws in Wisconsin, that may make it harder for walking time bombs from getting guns, Scott Walker wants to treat mental illness. He knows that's BS, because I know it's BS.

Since latching onto the do nothing excuse to treat mental illness, Republicans have pretty much gotten most of their constituents off their back (I'm hoping to be wrong).

But reality stepped in; what happens when the most conservative county in the state, filled with officials dead set on getting government out of the way, fail to detain a guy who's parents believe is dangerous? He went on to kill three retired farmers.

Walker's complete lack of empathy and the inability to identify a major public safety problem, means his promise to get serious about treating mental illness is yet another deadly dodge.

Mental illness laws are difficult to impose, because they can easily infringe on a person rights. That's why the Republican promise to crack down on mental illness is an empty gesture. Even when someones parents were desperate for help. This story is just scary:

WSJ: The parents of a man accused of killing three retired farmers in southwestern Wisconsin warned Waukesha County officials just before the murders that their son was delusional and potentially dangerous, but county mental health professionals disagreed and did not detain him ... his parents are saying the tragedy uncovered April 28 never would have happened if Kuester had been hospitalized as they asked. “Our son is going to spend the rest of his life behind bars because they wouldn’t help him even though we repeatedly asked,” said his mother, Kathleen Kuester of Waukesha.

The head of the Waukesha County mental health system stands by the April 25 assessment from one of its most experienced crisis managers that Kuester didn’t meet any of the criteria defined by state law that would have allowed the county to detain him against his wishes. “We felt we responded in the ways we could,” said Peter Schuler, director of Waukesha County Health and Human Services.

Schuler doesn't appear to think a review of this evaluation failure is even necessary. Even with the following history?

Besides the Waukesha County mental health crisis worker, employees at the Waukesha Police Department and Waukesha County jail, where he was detained briefly on April 26, also declined requests to admit his son to a mental hospital, Jim Kuester said.

Four years ago, Kuester, under a delusion that a high school classmate had been killed, ventured aimlessly for 16 hours through a wooded marsh … Kuester showed signs of paranoia and told them somebody was trying to kill him, Kathleen Kuester said … he eventually wound up at Waukesha County Mental Health Center, she said. “It’s been like this ever since,” said Kathleen Kuester,

“He would come to his brother’s place that is across the hall from my apartment and spend hours talking about the demons all around him. He said they were following him everywhere.” The Kuesters became alarmed and sought help, Kathleen Kuester said.

Jim Kuester asked Robert Walker, a clinical social worker and crisis manager for the Waukesha County Mental Health Clinic, to admit his son to a mental hospital … The Kuesters thought the sum of his erratic behavior that week would be convincing evidence to have their son hospitalized. “He was talking about getting his dead dog back, he was talking about Satan, he’s talking about demons, he’s talking about people following him trying to kill him, he’s talking about messages God was giving him,” Kathleen Kuester said. “I can’t help but feel that Jaren was a victim, too, and that he was let down by Waukesha County Mental Health, the Waukesha city police department and the Waukesha County jail.”