Walker to Discipline Dane County Voters for Voting out his Judge Appointment.

Scott Walker inadvertently trashed voters for picking a judge they liked more than his appointee.

You know Scott, that's why we have elections.

WSJ: Walker told reporters it was "unfortunate" that Dane County Circuit Judge Rebecca St. John lost Tuesday's election (to) attorney Rhonda Lanford, who used the Walker connection to attack St. John during the campaign. Walker said, "Unfortunately I think that politics has trumped that."

The Republican governor said he may just allow judicial positions in heavily Democratic Dane County to remain vacant until there's an election. "In the future it probably doesn't make a lot of sense to try and go through that appointment process and make someone who's a good judge — or a good lawyer — be in a position like that," Walker said. "It just doesn't make any sense to drag people through that."

Under state law, judicial appointees must run to retain their seats in the following spring election.

Could someone tell Walker how elections work. Conversely, you could say Justice Roggensack won because of her support of Walker, but that's okay. Channel 3000:



Revenge by this petty dictator is also being doled out in predominantly Democratic Milwaukee as well, as explained by Police Chief Ed Flynn:

WISN: Gov. Scott Walker has proposed lifting the residency rules statewide in his budget. Chief Ed Flynn said the measure has nothing to do with the budget and everything to do with the last election.

"This has nothing to do with state budget. It is not a budgetary issue. It's a local governance issue. There is no compelling state interest at stake. It's foolish to impose this on," Flynn said. "There are other ways to pay back the mayor for having the temerity to run for governor. You don't have to attack the viability of your central city."

Pridemore gets amazing 39 percent of vote.

This is what John Nichols wrote about the final vote tally in the race for State Schools Superintendent:

Voters responded by giving State Superintendent Tony Evers a 61-39 victory statewide.

But think about it, who were the 39 percent of voters who thought the wacky and frightening idea's put out there by Republican State Rep. Don Pridemore qualified him to oversee our kids education?

Who knew common core was a European plot to dumb down America, backed by the UN, and endorsed by Bill Ayers? WKOW:

National Review's Wisconsin Hack Defends Walker's Failed Jobs and Economic Record.

One of the most over rated columnists and conservative voices in the state, Christian Scnheider, has got the connections and format to spread what is basically word of mouth BS. On the right, it doesn’t take much to get a major platform. My mind went numb listening to him recently on WPR’s morning show. He’s got nothing, and here’s more of it.

Excuses, excuses, excuses!!!

According to Schneider, heck, most conservative whiners, Scott Walker’s failure to create jobs is much too complex an issue for you and me to understand. How hard is it to understand that in Gov. Doyle’s last year, Wisconsin ranked 11 in job creation, and Walker’s latest ranking put us at 44^th.  Is that so confusing?

National Review: When Scott Walker ran for Wisconsin governor in 2010, he vowed to create 250,000 jobs during his first term. The political cognoscenti rolled their eyes … These numbers have caught the attention of the folks at websites such as The National Memo, and they’re gleefully celebrating the slow jobs growth under Walker’s reign. Those looking to criticize Walker are happy to pretend job creation is something entirely under the governor’s control, as if Walker sits around his office muttering “now where did I put that ‘create jobs’ button again?” But obviously, a state’s economy is much more complex than that.

Yeah, now it’s complex, too hard for the hard working rabble to understand. After two and a half years, the guy is in big trouble, so here comes the conservative echo chamber with ready-made excuses. The National Review to the rescue.

Despite his attempts to trim business taxes while also closing a $3.6 billion deficit in 2011, business taxes in Wisconsin remain high … So if anything, it seems Wisconsin’s slow growth is attributable to its suffocating taxes and regulations, not because Walker has been handing out tax breaks to big-business cronies. It’s unclear whether Wisconsin will gain enough jobs in the next two years for the voters to give Walker a pass, since it seems almost impossible that he’ll meet his goal. 

I've got a few more reasons Christian: Walker’s tax breaks, Act 10 attack on public workers, tort reform, backroom lost WEDC loans, and mining giveaways apparently haven’t been enough to convince businesses that they won’t be stabbed in the back later on if negotiations soar. Talk to the people at Talgo, they've got quite a story. 

Do Republicans hate the Constitution or What? Big Problem for N. Carolina Conservatives.

I say big trouble because as N. Carolina’s Republican legislature claims the First Amendment doesn’t apply to states, you have to wonder if they thought about the Citizens United case, where money is free speech and corporations are people…my friend.

It’s just one more thing to add to our firearm free-for-all, Michigan’s emergency manager law, voter suppression, gerrymandering, politicizing the judicial branch with “fair” conservative judges, laws protecting businesses from “the people,” denying the right of health care but believing in the death penalty while protecting a fertilized egg,  and threatening an armed takeover of the U.S. government.

Talk about unpatriotic uncertainty, here's the latest as reported by legal scholar and professor Jonathan Turley:

Republican N. Carolina state legislators have proposed a bill that would allow the state to establish a state religion and further declares the state exempt from the Constitution and court rulings. What is astonishing is that eleven GOP members are pushing the law, which rejects not just the core principles of our country but would move the state closer to the model of government currently ripping Egypt and other nations apart in mixing religion and government. The main sponsors, state Reps. Carl Ford and Harry Warren, seem to have little more judgment than they do knowledge of our Constitutional system. Obviously, the law is facially unconstitutional but it is the contempt for our separation of church and state that is truly unnerving in these members.

This is part of a belief that the First Amendment only applies to the federal government. Under this theory, the rights of free speech, free press, assembly, and religion can be denied by states. Notably, North Carolina’s Constitution still prohibits people who do not believe in God from taking public office. The bill reads as follows:

SECTION 1. The North Carolina General Assembly asserts that the Constitution of the United States of America does not prohibit states or their subsidiaries from making laws respecting an establishment of religion. SECTION 2. The North Carolina General Assembly does not recognize federal court rulings which prohibit and otherwise regulate the State of North Carolina, its public schools, or any political subdivisions of the State from making laws respecting an establishment of religion.

Bitcoin: The End of Capitalism, and the Rise of Chaos?

My conservative friend in Milwaukee called this morning to rub in another conservative victory, Justice Roggensack's reelection. But he was also excited about a new kind of virtual "money" catching on globally that could threaten world markets. A bit ironic, when you consider how conservatives have denounced any kind of world currency. 

It's called bitcoin. What's that? Here's the quickest explanation I could dredge up.

Crunchbase: Bitcoin is a digital currency created in 2009 by Satoshi Nakamoto ...  

designed to make use of the currency and to the peer-to-peer network formed by running that software.

Bitcoin avoids central authorities and issuers ... uses digital signatures and proof-of-work to provide basic security functions, such as ensuring that bitcoins can be spent only once per owner and only by the person who owns them. Bitcoins, often abbreviated as BTC, can be saved on a personal computer in the form of a wallet file or kept with a third party wallet service, and in either case bitcoins can be sent over the Internet to anyone with a Bitcoin address. The peer-to-peer topology and lack of central administration are features that make it infeasible for any authority (governmental or otherwise) to manipulate the quantity of bitcoins in circulation, thereby mitigating inflation.

Better yet, this wonderfully entertaining clip shows John Stossel as "the moderate," believe it or not. This should tell you something about bitcoin's global implications.  Libertarian Reason Magazine's managing editor Katherine Mangu Ward casually welcomes utter chaos brought about by bitcoin. She happily accepts even the worst possible unintended consequence. Wacky fun.

If you can't watch the video, this Techcruch look should be enough to freak you out:

Techcrunch: Hang around in the tech industry long enough and you or someone you know will be heard saying, “that’s so crazy it just might work.” Today, Bitcoin officially became a crazy idea that’s actually working.  Today, all the Bitcoin in circulation — some 10.9 million of them — have collectively crossed the billion-dollar mark.

The world’s most popular controversial crypto-currency, mind you. The black market marketplace known as Silk Road, which allows pretty much anyone to anonymously sell “alternative products” (i.e. large quantities of one’s drug of choice), uses Bitcoin for its currency. Something which hasn’t exactly helped Bitcoin’s “cross over” appeal.

What’s more, the government has finally realized that it needs to start taking virtual currency seriously and develop a strategy for dealing with these types of currencies.

Of course, the other side of the Bitcoin argument is that the confluence of unsteady financial markets, and skyrocketing growth of virtual currency (plus hype), is creating a perfect storm that equates to Bitcoin just being one giant bubble waiting to pop. There’s a good chance that a decentralized, unregulated market is going to scare the pants off the government once it’s fully cognizant that Bitcoin is a billion-dollar market — and growing. “It’s the easiest ‘this funds terrorism’ scare argument the government will ever try to make.

Either way, feel free to marvel at how a virtual currency that appeared practically out of the ether (created by some phantom mathematician/economist) just pulled a billion-dollar market out of its hat.

Insurers Delay Small Business Obamacare Options in Marketplace.

You're going to hear Republicans crow about the failure of Obamacare to be ready to offer small businesses a range of health care options.

It's not the administrations fault though. You can blame insurers for dragging their feet, and not offering choices within a chosen employer plan.

NPR: The Obama administration is delaying the start of a key piece of the Affordable Care Act. Workers in small businesses will have to wait an additional year to be able to choose from more than one plan in the marketplaces that start next January. Individuals will have a choice of plans from the start. But insurers complained about not having enough time to set up competing plans for the small business exchange, formally known as the Small Business Health Options Program, or SHOP. That's basically the way most small business health insurance works now — the boss chooses a health plan for all the employees. 

Democrats squeal “Uncle” as they throw Wisconsin workers under Republican Bus!!!

I’m not just angry with the state’s Democrats, I’m ready to tell what passes for the Democratic Party, to go to hell. ABC Supply’s Diane Hendricks’ "red state" wish to Scott Walker…came true today.

Blame the Worker: The Great Recession destroyed millions of American jobs, through no fault of the labor force. Now, Republicans and Democrats want to cut unemployment benefits to save money.
 

The Limp, Pathetic, Out-to-Lunch Democratic response: A spokeswoman for Assembly Minority Leader Peter Barca, D-Kenosha, referred questions to Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, (who) issued a statement saying … She didn't offer any evaluation of the Republicans' proposals.

The Republican Plan our wayward Democrats couldn't muster even a little outrage over?

WSJ: Republican legislators (are looking at) a package of changes to Wisconsin's unemployment benefit rules, including linking eligibility to the state's unemployment rate (more below)… and scaling back (no, dropping) benefits during training in an effort to help the state recover from a surge of unemployment claims during the recession.

The Great Recession's massive job losses should be countered with scaled back benefits?

Rep. Dan Knodl, R-Germantown, said the reforms could save as much as $60 million a year and help bring the state's unemployment benefit trust fund back into solvency.

Sorry, did I miss the part about our unemployed workers, who still have to pay for shelter, buy food…support a family?

Rep. Christine Sinicki, D-Milwaukee, who sits on the labor committee issued a statement saying she believes using the council assures the best outcome. She didn't offer any evaluation…blah, blah, blah.

Unemployment benefit=Unemployment rate-another bad idea that saves money:

If the state's overall unemployment rate hits or surpasses 8 percent, the unemployed would be eligible for up to the current maximum 26 weeks of state benefits. The length of eligibility would drop two weeks for roughly every half-percent rate drop. For example; between 7.5 percent and 7.99 percent= 24 weeks ... 7 percent and 7.49 percent= 22 weeks. 6 percent=18 weeks. 

As little as 12 weeks!!! That's right, squeeze the unemployed and lighten the employer load. Of course this plan doesn't account for industry changes that make it difficult for certain professionals and specifically trained labor to find similar jobs, which still might be just as time consuming and justify 26 weeks. It saves money, remember?

You won't even believe these proposals:

Eliminate 11 instances in which a worker can quit a job and still claim benefits. For instance, workers can claim unemployment benefits if they quit a job because management assigns them to a new shift and they do not have child care during that shift. The GOP plan would end those workers' ability to receive benefits in that case. The council has rejected most of these proposed changes.

But just as jaw dropping, with no Democratic "evaluation" whatsoever: 

The package also would repeal a program that lays out 26 additional weeks of state benefits for claimants who have exhausted the regular benefits but are enrolled in approved training. The Republicans said federal stimulus dollars that funded the program have stopped, shifting the costs to the state.

What-a-ya-say we add a few Democrats to the unemployment line, starting with Barca and Sinicki?

Colbert exposes Health Care in America.

Don't forget the car washes for your neighbors kid:

The Colbert Report
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"Freedom is Risky" says Arizona Gun Protector. Ah, What a great place to raise a kid.

The gun mentality is on full display in this piece from the Daily Show, and paints an unlikable picture of a group of guys that value guns over lives. "Freedom is risky!" That's their attitude. That doesn't fit into my concept of a family value or a world safe for them to play.

The Daily Show with Jon Stewart
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Caterpillar to lay off 300 workers, all the while asking for H-1B work visas.

Even though Caterpillar is planning on laying off 300 workers, it's also trying to import cheaper workers on H-1B visas. 

jsonline: The chief executive at Caterpillar Inc. says he wants more visas for foreign engineers and a path to legal status for undocumented immigrants, even as the company plans temporary layoffs of up to 300 employees in South Milwaukee.

"Today, we (employers) have gaps in our workforce. We have trouble filling highly skilled positions like engineers and scientists. We also have trouble filling many lower-skilled positions," Doug Oberhelman, chairman and CEO of Peoria, Ill.-based Caterpilla.

Confirmed, Walker in back pocket of Industry. Corporate Polluter Bypasses Legislature.

It’s really something when a corporation in trouble over pollution bypasses the legislature to seek favors from the governor. So let’s stop pretending. I hope Walker’s opponent in 2014 will use this tidbit as a major issue in their campaign.

WSJ-Mary Spicuzza: Madison-Kipp Corp. asked Gov. Scott Walker’s office to intervene in an ongoing investigation at the company’s plant on the East Side of Madison, and to interfere with a lawsuit filed by its neighbors, according to testimony from a state official in a federal lawsuit.

The Wisconsin DNR official charged with overseeing testing and cleanup at the Madison-Kipp site said that in 30 years of working at the DNR he “could recall no instance where a company went to the governor’s office complaining” about his decisions, according to court documents filed last week in a lawsuit filed by neighbors of the site.

Michael Schmoller, DNR project manager at the Madison-Kipp facility, testified that he had never before heard of a DNR-regulated company asking the state to sue it in order to block a citizens’ lawsuit. The state Department of Justice, on behalf of the DNR, ultimately sued Madison-Kipp. But it’s unclear if it did so because of the company’s request.

Yeah, it's "unclear." Are you kidding?

State Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, who represents the area, said she is concerned about Madison-Kipp cleanup efforts and Michael Best & Friedrich attorney Ray Taffora approached Walker’s chief legal counsel, Brian Hagedorn, and asked for the state to take legal action that would pre-empt or prevent neighboring families from pursuing a claim against Madison-Kipp under the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.

“MKC would prefer to spend its resources defending allegations against the state of Wisconsin and restoring the environment than paying out-of-state plaintiffs’ counsel given that the federal statute provides for the plaintiffs’ attempted recovery of their fees and costs,” Taffora wrote in an email

State Rep. Chris Taylor, D-Madison, who represents the area, said she is concerned about Madison-Kipp cleanup efforts and Taffora’s contact with the governor’s office.

“It certainly looks like he may be using his influence to get preferential treatment for his clients,” Taylor said. “That’s unconscionable.”

Gun Thugs easily convinced to oppose background checks, bring guns to threaten Moms Demand Action's control rally.

Men showed up with guns at a Moms Demand Action gun regulation rally. Amazing.

Want to see what it’s like to have armed citizens just standing around in public? Check out the TV news coverage of “guys with their guns” missing the point of background checks and sensible regulations.

I guess these losers don’t have that much to worry about, they've got the guns, but for the majority of citizens who choose not to carry…well they’re shit-out-of-luck. The constitution insure’s “domestic Tranquility” and promote’s “the general Welfare” for everyone, especially those who don’t carry, but that doesn't matter to these Neanderthal “strangers” with their toys. They don't mind allowing the legal purchase of guns by criminals. You could say they've surrendered, given up to the criminals.

Welcome to the tea party third world nation. Watch in amazement this clip of the TV coverage, and just what kind of thugs we're talking about:

Several armed men showed up uninvited at the Moms Demand Action gun control rally at the statehouse in Indianapolis, Indiana, reports ThinkProgress.org. The unidentified men, who claimed to be part of Indiana Moms Against Gun Control, carried assault weapons and pistols. They stood silently as Moms Demand Action held a rally against military style weapons and for background checks.

Job Killer/Republican State Sen. Frank Lasee, Picks Winners (Big Oil) and Losers (Wind Energy).

It’s funny how Republican hypocrites are so nonchalant about their own flip-flopped positions.

How many times have we heard, "Regulations kill jobs. Frivolous lawsuits kill jobs."

Shamelessly, Sen. Frank Lasee has decided to flip-flop on the issue and use regulation and lawsuits to discourage wind development in Wisconsin. “Open for Business…If We Like You!” could be our new slogan. Can’t you just feel the uncertainty?

WPR: People who claim that wind turbines make them sick would be able to sue wind developers under a proposal introduced by a Republican state senator. Senator Frank Lasee's (la'-say) bill would allow families that claim to be physically or economically affected by wind turbines to sue the companies that own them and property owners hosting them.

I love the way Lasee tries so hard to defuse the pathetic turnaround he'd like no one to notice: 

"This is, unfortunately, a partisan issue. The Democrats don't seem to care because it's wind about any people they're harming, and we have some of the Republicans who support business at the cost of people and I think that's wrong."

Thank you Frank for admitting what your party is all about. Honesty is so refreshing, and so unexpected. Trying to kill wind energy is nothing new for Lasee, who seems hell bent on telling businesses nationwide they can't be certain of anything here:

Chris Kunkle represents the American Wind Energy Association in Wisconsin. He says Lasee's bill is par for the course.

"This is just another attempt from Senator Lasee to install a level of uncertainty across the industry. It's another piece of his ongoing hostility towards an industry that creates manufacturing, construction, operation and maintenance jobs all around the state."

Could it be that businesses aren't enamored with Walker’s ambiguous offer to help?  

Walker cuts Wisconsin's Court System Funding Again, by Mistake or in another Power Grab?

Slashing and cutting their way to reduce the size of government, Scott Walker and state Republicans apparently forgot about the last slashed budget. Is anyone in the Capitol paying attention?

Thanks to Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, these nincompoops were kindly informed of their mistake. Here's the audio:

WPR: As Republican state lawmakers review Governor Scott Walker's proposed budget, they are considering reducing the amount Walker would cut from Wisconsin's court system. Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson told lawmakers it amounts to the largest cuts in the history of the court system. What has some legislators worried is that the governor's budget may include what they consider to be a “double cut” of what the state spends on its court system. That is partly because the last budget required temporary cuts to the courts in both the last two years and in the next two. Add to that the new cuts proposed in this budget.

Doh!

Abrahamson got some attention from legislators. Republican Assembly Joint Finance Committee Co-Chair John Nygren says, “We need to figure out what's really going on there and I don't think that's the legislature's intent — to make a double cut to the courts.”

Ya think? But even stranger is the bizarre comparison made by the Walker Authority;  

Governor Walker's budget director told lawmakers that as a percentage, the cuts to the court system were smaller than cuts to the Governor's office. But the size of the court budget in terms of dollars, people and buildings is much larger to begin with.

There’s no excuse for this level of bad state management, unless Walker wants to weaken our courts for more political power. 

Frac sand mining in Wisconsin avoids County Rules and Regulations!

While one state senator wants to make frivolous lawsuits easier by overregulating wind farms, there are no Republican legislators worried about frac sand mining companies avoiding rules that local residents need to control noise, dust and the mining hours.

While some will claim money from mining companies does not corrupt our politicians, or make them pick winners and losers, the evidence says otherwise…in a very convincing way.  Here's the audio:

WPR: Companies mining frac sand have begun using annexation as a way to get around regulations they dislike. Two mines have used the tactic in Trempealeau County, but the idea is spreading to other parts of the state. When a company wants to mine frac sand in an unzoned township, the rules they follow for things like reclamation and hours of operation are written by the county. But in 2012, the city of Arcadia Sands, which is located in the town of Arcadia, convinced the city leaders to annex its land, making Trempealeau County’s rules null and void. Because of this, the mine got lighter regulations and the city got new tax revenue. But town board chair Ron Tuschner says they got nothing: “So, the basic loser is the municipality of where this land is taken from and that, in this case, is the Town of Arcadia.”

Tuschner says now the mine can operate in his town all night long, but eventually they will stop getting the tax revenue. He says they tried to fight the annexation but legally there is nothing a town can do to block it.

Avoiding rules and regulations for corporate profits continues throughout the state, and will only get worse:

Another sand mine owned by Preferred Sands was annexed last year by the Town of Blair in Trempealeau County. Now, a sand processing plant in the Barron County Town of Dovre is in the process of being annexed by the Village of New Auburn.

Walker Borrowing Tops $2.1 billion, Kicks Can down the Road.

Bonding is another word for borrowing. Republicans have it down. Nonpartisan groups should not fall for this little trick. Let’s call it what it is.

Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance: Governor Walker (R) requests over $2.1 billion in borrowing in his 2013-15 state budget, according to a new report by the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance (WISTAX). "State budget sticking points (II): Debt and deficits."

The governor’s proposed 2013-15 budget contains $1.03 billion in new bonding, with virtually all for transportation ($0.99 billion). The capital budget asks for an additional $1.15 billion in borrowing, the largest part of which is for the University of Wisconsin System. Total requests of more than $2.1 billion represent about 16% of outstanding debt as of last summer.

The administration is also asking for $2.01 billion in additional bonding authority to refinance existing debt with the intent of cutting interest costs, WISTAX said.

In addition to rising state debt, the report also notes a return to rising deficits under generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). The GAAP deficit is projected to fall to $2.06 billion this June, down from $2.99 billion in 2011. However, under 2013-15 budget proposals, the deficit would increase to $2.36 billion next year and to $2.64 billion in 2015.

Colbert Tweets in Error, supports Obama....

State Superintendent Candidate and Republican Rep. Pridemore to save Kids from Dumb Down Plot by Europe, the UN and Bill Ayers.

Rep. Don Pridemore is really one of the more ridiculous legislators in the state. Just look at his farcical run for State Superintendent. He really believe the stuff he' saying, and it's embarrassing. I swear, if the national media saw this guy, he would be ridiculed by even Reince Priebus.

Starting slowly here, WKOW's Greg Neumann reminds Pridemore that using the old "blame the teachers union" excuse doesn't hold any weight now that Act 10 passed. Doesn't matter. Pridemore brags:

 "We've kind of unraveled some issues that need to be addressed. And some of the liberal thinking that's been going on at DPI over the years..."

This is killer stuff, and something that'll give you a chuckle when you head into the voting booth.
Here, Pridemore rips the new common core standards in our public schools, claiming they're part of a European plot to dumb down America for competitive reasons. Why would they do that? Pridemore says it's all coming from the UN, and guys like Bill Ayers. Would I kid you? You'll laugh, cry, and vote Tony Evers:

Pridemore: "So if you were any other country in the world, wouldn't you want to maybe knock America down a few pegs or two...to me, that's what's going on here, and we need to be aware of it..."

Neumann: "Where is this coming from though, in terms of you feeling like it is something that, I don't know if you want to call it a plot against America, where do you get that information?"

Pridemore: "Well it's coming from the UN. The UN I would argue has never been really a friend of America...you look at some of the left's ideas, even Bill Ayers has weighed in on education being one of the major factors in changing a country. If we can get the kids early and often with a change of ideas, America was founded on freedom, and all this detracts, ah, from that freedom."

He's nuts, and it's fun to watch the accident:

Are Republican Tea Party Politicians Hypocrites about Spending? Of course.

Tightwad fiscal conservatives, like a few tea party losers in out last election, couldn't wait to throw taxpayer cash out the window to show just how sincere they were about stopping all the spending.

This is all you need to know about their complete line of BS:

Huffington Post-Ryan Grim: After Todd Akin lost the Missouri Senate race to Democrat Claire McCaskill in November, he had one final piece of business to take care of as an outgoing member of the House of Representatives -- giving piles of government money to his staff. Akin nearly doubled the salaries of his House staffers in the quarter after his defeat, according to the website LegiStorm, which tracks congressional pay.

 Allen West, a Tea Party favorite from South Florida, was the fourth biggest giver of taxpayer bonuses after he lost reelection to Rep. Patrick Murphy (D-Fla.). Rep. Chip Cravaack (R-Minn.) was the third most generous, according to LegiStorm.

West and Akin routinely decried wasteful and out-of-control government spending, calling for major cuts to social programs. Of the top 10 members of Congress most generous with year-end bonuses, nine were Republicans, and 14 of the top 20 were, not coincidentally, on their way out of the House.

Freedom means Repealing Progress.

What makes us free?

Newsmax found a study where the lack of government was the true path to freedom. But is that a good test?

To me, freedom allows for more time do what I want to do, there are fewer problems to contend with, there’s a feeling of safety, with comfortable community standards and services, not to mention less stress. But who am I, just a liberal.

Rules, regulations and government services weren't created for the fun of it by socialist-Marxist-liberal-Democrats. They were a response to a public need. 

For example: taxes often determine quality of life, fewer labor protections might mean lower wages, tort reform might open the door for fewer product safeguards, health insurance freedom could mean instant bankruptcy for many, lack of no smoking laws increases costs and would harm others…etc.

But conservatives focus on the item itself, not the end result. The Study:

George Mason University's Mercatus Center conducted the study, Freedom in the 50 States: "We score all 50 states on over 200 policies … "We weight public policies according to the estimated costs that government restrictions on freedom impose on their victims."

Check out the list of categories that are the basic building blocks of a civilized society. Without “progress,” we might have fewer choices…and less freedom:

Fiscal policy includes tax burden, government employment, government spending, government debt, and fiscal decentralization.

Regulatory policy includes freedom from tort abuse, property rights protection, labor market freedom, health insurance freedom, and several other factors.

The personal freedom category focuses on victimless crime freedom, gun control freedom, civil liberties, and freedom relating to a variety of topics including tobacco, alcohol, marriage, and gambling.

Alaska scored the highest for personal freedom, South Dakota for economic freedom, Indiana for regulatory freedom, Texas for labor market freedom, and Nevada for civil liberties. California scored lowest in three of those categories.

The five states with the highest ranking for freedom are, in order, North Dakota, South Dakota, Tennessee, New Hampshire, and Oklahoma. Only New Hampshire voted for President Obama in the 2012 election.

Investor's Business Daily (IBD) points out in an article about the study. the study's findings "call into question" assertions Obama made during the 2012 campaign that tax cuts and deregulation won't produce growth and prosperity. IBD concludes: "If anything, the data show precisely the opposite."