Conseravative Talker and "superstar" McKenna doesn't know Madison Police Chief from Capitol Chief.

WISN Radio should have caught this, or at least insisted their radio talkers know what the hell they're talking about!!

Thank god one of her authoritista's in the Justice Department, gave her a heads up...one she never notice (see the date)...to this day.

Phil Dziki, Investigator at U. S. Department of Justice: Vicki, Please correct the title of Charles Tubbs. He is the Capitol Police Chief. He is not the Chief of the Madison Police, which is the Police Dept. for the City of Madison. Noble Wray is the Chief of the Madison Police. However, Wray also needs to be fired. They are both incompetent and have been derelict in their duties.

Will somebody tell Vicki and her Authoritista's: We're not the "hard left," we're the middle class.

WISN/WIBA radio's conservative cancer, Vicki McKenna, has the unfortunate fate of living in one of the more consistently top rated cities in the country. Liberal cities. Funny, you don't see the wealthy City of Waukesha in competition with Madison, where McKenna could lead her band of... authoritista's.

Irony is wasted on McKenna. Tea party disruptions, marches and belligerence is as American as apple pie. Laborers, liberals, teachers, firefighters, law enforcement and citizens defending their place in the middle class...they're a thuggish "fad" that everybody she knows is tired of seeing.

Having worked along side the chain smoking soda addict (me on the top left pic), I can see she is no longer supervised by adults in management. Just listen to her rambling nonsense in the audio below.

Her trip down memory lane is ridiculous. Since I'm old enough to have been up for the draft in the late 60's, Vicki's account of that time is pulled straight our of her ass.

If you want to know what conservatives are being told to think about the labor and middle class unrest sweeping the nation, this 10 minute rant couldn't be a more representative of the whiny anti-American authoritarian Republican Tea Party movement:

The Gun Control History of the NRA

Adam Winkler writes for The Huffington post

The NRA was founded by William Church and George Wingate after the Civil War. Wingate and Church -- the latter a former reporter for a newspaper not exactly known for its love of gun rights, the New York Times -- both fought in the War on the Union side. They were shocked by the poor marksmanship of Union soldiers and convinced that one reason the Confederacy was able to hold out so long before surrender was because their soldiers had more experience shooting. Church and Wingate's goal for the NRA was to improve the marksmanship of civilians who might one day be called to serve in the military, not to fight gun control.

The author goes on to explain how for most of the 20th century the NRA was actually involved in drafting gun control ligislation.  And during those decades they had very little to do with the 2nd Amendment.

All that changed in 1977. That year, the leadership of the NRA decided to retreat from political lobbying and refocus on recreational shooting and outdoors activities. This sparked a backlash among a group of hardline gun rights advocates who were upset that the NRA had endorsed the Gun Control Act of 1968 -- the first significant federal gun legislation since the 1930s. Motivated by the belief that guns weren't primarily for hunting but for personal protection in an era of rising crime rates, the hardliners staged a coup at the annual meeting of the membership, ousting the old leaders and committing the organization to political advocacy.

Shortly after that they picked up La Pierre. And the world has seldom seen anything like it.

What's your opinion?  We've often spoken about the evolving interpretation of the 2nd Amendment, but this article helps us see it from the perspective of the NRA.  Do you think that's helpful? Does the dynamic change in direction undertaken by the NRA lend credibility to the theory that the way we view the 2A has been bastardized over the last 5 decades?

What do you think?  Please leave a comment.
(cross posted at Mikeb302000)

Hank Williams Jr. Speaks the "truth," as portrayed in conservative media. And Fox News is Surprised.

If Monday Night Football reinstates the Williams theme, they'll have made a huge mistake.



Here's more from Ed Schultz...

Republican State Sen. Mary Lazich Proposes the Elimination of Comprehensive Reproductive Education.

Now that we've taken the teachers out of the equation when it comes to guiding education in our classrooms, politically influenced school boards and Republican legislators are now in charge of curriculum.

Remember when Republicans freaked out over the presidents message to kids in school. They're less worried about their own conservative agenda being taught as truth, or, that it would wipe out courses that don't agree with their ideology. Prudish to an extreme, this bit of social engineering was proposed on Friday, when the media was least likely to notice:

On Friday, September 30, at 5:00 pm, State Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin) introduced a bill that would eliminate comprehensive reproductive education from Wisconsin's public high schools. The Young Progressives, regarding this proposal: 

Sen. Lazich's bill is an attack on scientifically proven reproductive educational requirements, which are supported by the vast majority of parents in Wisconsin.  Far from giving district school boards "tools‟ and "local control,‟ Sen. Lazich continues to attack public education and students "rights."  Beginning with the largest budget cuts to public education in the history of the state of Wisconsin, Lazich continues to abridge freedom in school by advocating for the presence of a regressive social agenda in Wisconsin‟s classrooms.

The Daily Cardinal reported this quote from "prude" Lazich:

State Sen. Mary Lazich recommends school districts teach abstinence as "the only reliable method for avoiding pregnancy and sexually transmitted diseases." It would also remove information about contraception from the curriculum and emphasize "the positive connection between marriage and parenting." Lazich said the bill "fosters a partnership between parents and the school district … that is in the best interest of the student's health and well-being."  

Toll Roads in Wisconsin...Finally!

I've got a few things to say about toll roads coming up, but just as a tip of the hand, I'm all for it.

My preference would be to toll everyone coming into and leaving Wisconsin, unless they have a Wisconsin plate on their car or a state provided pass. I'm flexible. This outrage we have over the toll system in Illinois is something we need to get over. We need money, and the easiest way to get it is to toll vehicles coming into our state, that use our roads. Simple?

With more fuel efficient cars, electric cars, gas taxes won't pay for the roads. I don't want to see toll booths dotting the highways every 10 or 30 miles, just on the state borders. It's not popular, but how else will we find the money to commerce up and running?

Upfront with Mike Gousha: 

Democrats Propose Income Equity Act to Republican Corporate Whores.

I don't know how big a laugh the Democrats will get for their new proposal, but presenting a strong alternative to selling government out to the biggest business can only help stop this slide into creeping fascism: 

State Representative Mark Pocan and State Senator Fred Risser today circulated a bill that would limit government tax deductions to corporations with inflated chief executive officer pay. Pocan said, “I believe that if a corporation wants to get a $1 million tax deduction from our state, they should have to earn it by paying a fair wage.”

Current law allows a corporation to deduct up to $1 million from its income tax for its executive officer. The Income Equity Act would link the government tax deduction to the salary of the company’s lowest paid full-time employee. Corporations would be allowed to qualify for a deduction up to 25 times its lowest paid full-time employee. Thus, if the lowest paid employee earned $15,000 per year, the corporations would be allowed to claim a $375,000 deduction. Pocan and Risser first introduced the bill in 1999 when Pocan was a freshman.  

Reagan a lot like Obama on Taxing the Rich.

Think Progress did a nice job of editing Reagan and Obama together to make their point; tax cuts for the wealthy are fair. This video is easy enough for even a tea party knuckle head to understand.



Here's another set of clips with the same message:

Chicago Tea Party's Steve Stevlic gets heat for year old solicitation of a Prostitute.

Social issues are huge for the Tea Party movement. They've embraced the religious rights agenda and are attempting to slip radical change past everyone while they're off defending against the attack on their labor rights.

So imagine the anger from tea party participants at their Schaumburg convention when they found out one of their big name backers solicited a prostitute...last year and didn't know.

Caledonia Patch: Chicago Tea Party activist Steve Stevlic’s arrest for soliciting a hooker over a year ago was the talk of TeaCon 2011 that is being held this weekend in Schaumburg, IL. Gawker.com confronted Stevlic about his June 2010 arrest on opening day of the Midwest tea party’s confab. Stevlic is one of the top organizers of TeaCon 2011. Gawker chided Stevlic for his attacks against Congressman Jesse Jackson Jr.’s revelations of his extra-marital affair just months after Stevlic’s own prostitution arrest.

Charges against Stevlic, who resides in Berwyn, IL, were ultimately dropped after he completed a rehab program “Unhooked Johns,” Gawker reports.

News of Stevlic’s past arrest also seemed to catch many of Chicago’s elite conservative bloggers live blogging from TeaCon 2011 unaware. “The sex issue isn’t the bad part for Tea Party supporters, though, Warner Todd Huston wrote on his Publius' Forum blog. "The sad thing is that Steve knew of his troubles but all these revelations have hit his supporters and followers completely unawares. He did not reveal his troubles even to the higher members of the Chicago Tea Party.”

Huston also hinted at improprieties with the Chicago Tea Party organization’s funds on his Publius' Forum blog. According to Huston’s unnamed sources from the Chicago Tea Party’s upper echelon, party members don’t know where the funds have gone or who’s handling the accounts.

Authoritarian State Sen. Grothman Loves Education Reform, Dress Code for Grownup Teachers.

That's right, school boards have gone as far as demanding a dress code for adult professionals. That's why Johnny can't read? Did you buy into all the empty talk about "freedom and liberty" under a one party authoritarian Republican government? Looks like it was opposites day...year, again....

Sly in the Morning:

Lawless Republican Sen. Glenn Grothman Calls Sheriff Dave Mahoney a Liar.

What does it mean when a state lawmaker, like State Sen. Glenn Grothman, calls the county sheriff a liar?

That's what happened today on WTDY's Sly in the Morning radio program.

Background: Dane County Sheriff Dave Mahoney explained awhile back to Sly that when Sen. Grothman's took a surprise walk to the Capitol during the demonstrations, that turned into an inflammatory and angry conversation with protesters, deputies helped get Grothman back into the building as quickly as possible before things "started heating up."

Showing all of the same disrespect for law his fellow lawmakers have shown in the past, Sen. Glenn Grothman called Mahoney's report a lie. What an example for our children.

  

Republican Free Market Phony’s: Business "Certainty" Trumps Consumer Rights.

This is one of the most amazing stories I’ve read this year, and a blatant admission by Republicans that they represent business, not you and me. Here’s the prevailing Humpty Dumptyism:         

Deregulation means just what the Republicans say deregulation means! Even if it means more regulation.

The free market equation has changed. Markets=sellers + consumers. 

Problem: When a consumer wins a lawsuit, if that settlement isn’t paid right away, it’s subject to 12% interest, the same rate banks, credit card companies and landlords get when they win a lawsuit. But…

People who successfully sue for injuries would earn a lower interest rate on their judgments than banks and credit card companies who take their customers to court, under a bill Gov. Scott Walker included in the upcoming special legislative session on jobs (and) according to a draft of the bill by Republican Sen. Rich Zipperer ...  (it also) would limit the amount plaintiffs' attorneys can charge in some cases.

But wouldn’t a functioning free market permit consumers the ability to sue the pants off a company for injuries, or allow attorneys and their clients the freedom to negotiate any compensation percentage they think is fair? Attorneys are private sector business people too. Free markets depend on checks & balances.

"It's such a transparent anti-consumer bill," said Dan Rottier, a personal injury attorney. "It's just ridiculous."

A "certainty" Issue? In a free market nothing is certain. You take your chances. That’s why it’s been so bizarre to follow the free market Republicans pushing “certainty” in an uncertain free market. Remember the checks and balances that make up the free market? They're being taken out. Humpty Dumpty himself, Sen. Zipperer, sums it up perfectly:

Zipperer said the bills would give businesses more “certainty…” he was focusing on just a narrow set of claims because he believed those affected job creation, though he did not say how … Zipperer's proposal; people who successfully bring a personal injury case or sue under the state's consumer credit law would instead earn the prime rate plus 1%, or 4.25% currently. But banks, landlords and credit card companies that successfully sue people would still get the full 12%.

"It's the most unbelievably discriminatory bill I've ever seen," said Mike End, president of the Wisconsin Association for Justice. "I can't believe someone even has the nerve to actually put that together."

Walker in January signed a sweeping bill out of that earlier special session that makes it more difficult to win damage awards in civil suits. Werwie (believes) the governor backed changing the rules for lawsuits because he believed they would help the economy grow.

The Walker Effect; Public Schools see big changes ahead for kids, parents and quality.

I’m reposting this revealing look at what one teacher is experiencing now that Act 10 is in place, because as they indicated in the post, the blog MisleadingWisconsin might be forced to end. I’ve always focused on education here and will continue to point out the destructive effects of the right wings ultimate goal of turning the education our kids into another profit center for big business. The following was accomplished by our Republican legislature in just 6 months:

Real-life effects of WIS GOP on education

Now that the rhetoric has died down regarding Walker's union-busting here in Wisconsin, here's how it has affected me--a teacher--my students, and my school.

The moment Walker's Act 10 took effect, my school board froze salaries, changed the upcoming school calendar (which had been agreed upon with the union a couple months earlier), canceled already scheduled, out-of-school-day continuing education for its staff, created a grievance procedure that is, in effect, settled by the district superintendent or a district-selected third party, instituted health care changes without real input from the insured, and, as of yet, six weeks into the school year, has not provided a handbook with conditions of employment to its teachers.

Despite Walker's declarations that districts will save money (despite state funding cuts), our district has eliminated some aide positions, sacrificed some curriculum updating, and reduced staff development opportunities.

As a result of district changes, my teaching time has increased, my prep time has decreased, and there are new policies to provide more and daily information on student progress and lessons (the added "transparency" will take me an estimated 30+ minutes per day, with no apparent link to improving student learning).  There are less services for students requiring additional reading help, and no specific plans or staff for students demonstrating severe behavioral problems.

My salary, including new health care deductibles as well as pension and health care payments, is down about 10%, while new state mandates require more actual work in the classroom including more identification, specific work with, and documentation for students who are below level.

Some parents, now that our state government has led the way in calling teachers (or their representatives) greedy, slobs, and thugs, voice similar opinions.  I documented in an earlier post parents cursing and hurling insults at teachers as we walked down the street in our town in a show of non-confrontational solidarity. When the local parent-teacher group's budget revealed a thank you gift for teachers at Christmastime, one parent rolled her eyes and said, "You've got to be kidding me."

And upcoming changes (should we ever be provided a handbook), will very possibly include a "pool of money" for teacher salaries, from which the subjectively determined "better" teachers will score more than their subjectively-judged "lesser" peers.  For all the district initiatives and admonitions to promote collaboration, pitting colleague against colleague for their wages certainly doesn't seem like a very collaborative or efficient or wise thing to do.

Lastly, I have been advised by a third party consultant that continuing a blog reporting my district's policies or providing criticism of state government policies so ardently backed by the locals--and identifying myself with my real name, background, or photo--could actually come back to haunt me in terms of disciplinary action (now that I may no longer have a union).

And all these individual concerns don't even include the low-income families here that are affected by cuts to programs they may utilize, or those that may not be able/willing to vote because of new voter ID laws, or a government that changes laws to suit personal agendas or kowtow to businesses at the expense of those in need, or changes in environmental policies that affect everyone's quality of life, or the deep and abiding breach of trust between a people and its elected government.

I'm unsure whether I will continue this blog.  If so, it will be under an assumed name (as advised by the previously mentioned consultant).  There are many wonderful blogs out there fighting this good fight, and I have yet to determine, with the added responsibilities and scrutiny of my job, if I have the ability to do this justice.  Until then, my state senator Grothman is still (as I have termed him before) a major d-bag, and my governor is still a liar.

Thanks for visiting over the last year.

A Few Private Health Care Problems not often talked about.

These few ideas sound like area's that have as much to do with rising costs as any other, but are never mentioned.

azdailysun: Twenty-eight percent of physicians polled said they personally were practicing more aggressively than they would like … 40 percent of primary-care doctors said they erred on the side of too much care because they didn't have adequate time to spend with their patients, according to a survey of 627 family-practice and internal-medicine doctors published in the Sept. 26 edition of the Archives of Internal Medicine.

Doctors also acknowledged that financial incentives from the fee-for-service payment model encouraged them to do more rather than less. Thirty-nine percent said other primary-care doctors would order fewer diagnostic tests if those tests didn't generate extra revenue for them, and 62 percent said medical subspecialists would cut back if the tests didn't come with financial incentives.

With Ryan, we're closer than ever to health care bankruptcy...all of us.

Rep. Paul Ryan's newest scheme to turn a profit from peoples ill health is sketchy right now. But like most of his plans, they're grandiose and cruel. Here are a few reports that give some idea of how Ryan intends to attack what should be a right and hand us over to nameless bureaucrats.

Liveinsurance news: Paul Ryan gave a significant speech at the Hoover Institution about health reform. Ryan has proposed an approach geared more toward the free market. It would mean a more “patient-centered” system and would allow an employee to bring a portable, refundable tax credit with them from one job to another.

Here's the old line about health care consumerism, which doesn't really exist:

Townhall: If Ryan's plan becomes law, it's likely that most companies would drop their plans. Why provide coverage when employees now pay tax on the benefit but get a tax credit if they buy their own plans? The advantage is that employees would no longer lose their coverage if they lose their jobs. The policies would belong to them and be fully portable to the next job. It would also turn workers into consumers, giving them an incentive to shop for the lowest cost plans with their own money. 

Here's a look at the obvious downside to Ryan's plan:

Ebn: "Giving patients and consumers control over health care resources would make all Americans less dependent on big business and big government for our health security; give us more control over the care we get; and force health care providers to compete for our business," Ryan said. The proposed change could encourage people to drop their employer-sponsored plans and shift to the individual market where policies can be expensive. "When you break everyone off individually, you diffuse the bargaining power and you have to go and buy insurance on your own," said JoAnn Volk of Georgetown University's Health Policy Institute. "Republicans voted to stick it to seniors by ending Medicare, increasing costs and putting insurance companies in charge, and now they're trying to stick it to the middle class by putting millions of Americans at the mercy of insurance companies," said Nadeam Elshami, a spokesman for House Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi. 

Here an insightful comment with the biggest downside, and a costly one:

...fails to acknowledge one factor in the price of health care; the larger the pool of workers from one employer, the lower the cost of the premium. Buying individual health insurance is a lot more expensive than buying it through a pool of workers or individuals.

There are payroll companies that cater to small business for this very purpose. Even if workers are required to purchase 100 percent of their health insurance they can get a better rate if the employees are lumped into one group.

Another comment:

Sorry to burst your bubble, but Paul Ryan’s plan benefits the health insurance industry by driving everyone into more expensive individual plans. As always, follow the money on any plan put forth by any politician to see who actually benefits.

Like a rabid dog backed into a corner, the Republicans bite back against Elizabeth Warren.

If you’ve ever read the condescending comments of conservatives at any web site, you would think they were the adults in the room, begging for an intellectual conversation. That would be another lie.

Let's start with this quote by Elizabeth Warren:

Warren: “You moved your goods to market on the roads the rest of us paid for.  You hired workers the rest of us paid to educate.  You were safe in your factory because of police forces and fire forces that the rest of us paid for.”

Here's what Michael Laprarie posted in response:

He went on to write this:

Huh?  By making an obviously spurious claim that “the rest of us” (i.e. everyone but the wealthy) were the ones who paid for our public services, is Prof. Warren trying to claim that wealthy Americans are resentful about paying for roads, schools, and emergency services, things that virtually all of us have depended on — and supported — for well over a century?  I think so. 

No, she wasn’t imply the wealthy are resentful of paying for roads etc., just that they can afford to help even more. So strike one. Here's strike two:

And she is doing it because she is trying to manipulate her audience into being angry at “the rich” because they don’t appear to feel guilty, when they damn well should be. 

Gulp! I didn’t detect any “guilt” from “the rich” that time either. Which shows the writer, ironically, is not getting it again. And strike three:

Her manipulation cleverly avoids the real reason why many Americans are truly concerned about the taxes we pay. As the size and cost of the Federal government increases beyond what was originally outlined in our national social contract (The Constitution), the mutual consent of the people diminishes proportionately.

Dumb line, not in the constitution. We can debate the size of government, but we have a choice. That choice was left up to the states and to the people.

Grothman wants to provide cover for Republican Campaign Donors!!

Cody Oliphant, deputy research director of One Wisconsin Now,summed up what is happening in Wisconsin right now:

With all the Gov. Scott Walker power grabs, Republican incumbent protection measures and anti-democratic voter disenfranchisement acts being rammed through the Capitol these days… Republicans have made it harder for the public to inspect their personal statements of economic interests. They have also targeted the rights of Wisconsinites to hold them accountable through the recall process. Not to mention the unilateral end to the collective bargaining rights of 175,000 working Wisconsinites.

But the point of his commentary in the Wisconsin State Journal was this:

Under current state law, donors to political campaigns and committees are required to disclose basic employer information if a donation of $100 or more is made. This information is made readily available to all Wisconsin constituents and taxpayers, and is a necessary check on political candidates, elected officials and corporate interests. Of course, Sen. Glenn Grothman is proposing an end to all this. they don't want the public to know what is good business and what is a political payoff.

Nothing says outrage better than this coverage from WKOW 27 News:

In fact, One Wisconsin Now filed several complaints with the Government Accountability Board related to Walker's gubernatorial campaign, which failed to report the required employer information for over 1,100 contributions over $100, for a total of $500,000 donations in violation of the reporting laws.

The Republican's proposal — to eliminate employment disclosure on political campaign reports — threatens to make accountability for such shady deals nearly impossible to uncover.

There’s nothing more American than going out to the mailbox and getting a stack of letters.

But the feeling of getting mail every day, and sadness you feel when there isn’t any, is no longer a desired constitutional guarantee worth saving. And the fact that it’s an optional “guaranteed” service, has the Republicans salivating. That has the right wing anti-American government zealots clamoring to sell it off. Check out this first quote from Downsizinggovernment.org:

Article 1, Section 8 says: [The Congress shall have the power] to establish Post Offices and Post Roads. 

Thus, the Constitution allows the government to get involved in postal services, but that doesn’t mean that it has to. 

The website is part of the Cato “Institute.” Let’s be honest, these are propagandist think tanks pretending to be institutes. And like all good ideas carried out by the government, their obsession is to vilify and tear down these services. Cato and others want to return to a time when our god-like, all knowing founding fathers drew up the Constitution, and presumably banned future progress, changes or rights that weren’t enumerated. Of course we know that’s crazy, but that doesn’t matter to anti-American forces.

Note: The use of “anti-American” to describe limited government ideologues isn’t name-calling. These are people who want to tear down a government the people, over centuries of progress, have built up. They like that original small government that had only 13 states.  Those states also had vastly smaller populations too. How would that small 13 state government work for over 300 million Americans spanning 50 states?

Which brings me to the latest Postal service ads; they really don’t need to remind normal Americans how important the service is, we really appreciate them. But the minority forces who want to end another reliable government service will get what they want if we don’t push back. And we are:

The first ad, 'Hacked,' reminds viewers that snail mail is safer than virus-prone e-mail, while the second ad, "Face to Face," promotes the value of hand-delivered mail. (Courtesy of the U.S. Postal Service) 

Walker's Camp Randall Recall Reminder!!

One Wisconsin Now has a great idea...

We won't stand for Gov. Scott Walker's attacks on Wisconsin anymore.
We’re flying this message over Camp Randall this Saturday while Gov. Walker attends the Badgers-Cornhuskers football game. Please consider contributing to our effort to hold Governor Walker accountable.

From WEAU:

Republicans Complain History and Economics should be taught in schools, but guess what programs get funding cuts....

Like always, Republicans are having it both ways. But can anyone explain why American History and Economic Education are targets of a little defunding, not to mention Mathematics and Science.....? 

EdWeek: The $175 million Mathematics and Science Partnerships program at the U.S. Department of Education is among the casualties in a draft budget bill released today by the House Appropriations Committee.

Other curriculum-related programs targeted for elimination in the Republican plan for fiscal 2012, which begins Oct. 1, include:
• Arts in Education, $27 million;
• Foreign Language Assistance, $27 million;
• Teaching American History grants, $47 million;
• Excellence in Economic Education, $1.4 million; and
• Civic Education, $1.2 million.