Gov. Walker steals former Gov. Doyle's job creation thunder! But He's the states "#1 jobs cheerleader."

It goes without saying that corporate expansions and hirings at this early point in the year must surely have been started well before the actual announcements are made, yet it took the following article to  point that out, finally, in the newspaper that supported his run for governor. 

Unfortunately, Gov. Walker thought he could get away with taking full credit for all the jobs created under Democratic Gov. James Doyle. 

jsonline: Walker recently took credit in a widely reported press conference for creating 125 jobs at a state manufacturing plant, even though then-Gov. Jim Doyle announced the same new jobs back in December. 

Last week, Walker traveled to Curt Manufacturing near Eau Claire to award a $625,000 transportation grant to the second largest manufacturer of trailer hitches and towing products in the United States. "This project directly creates 125 new jobs and indirectly creates 129 jobs … Didn't Doyle announce the creation of 125 new jobs at the same business late last year? 

Indeed he did. 

In a Dec. 16 news release, the Department of Commerce announced the Doyle administration was awarding Curt Manufacturing $400,000 in tax credits and $11 million in tax-free bonds under a program created by the federal government's 2009 stimulus package. 

Asked if it was fair to use the transportation grant to recycle a five-month-old jobs announcement, Walker spokesman Cullen Werwie responded by calling the governor the state's "#1 jobs cheerleader."

Oh, that’s what Walker meant.

The Victim of Liberal Protesters? Sen. Kapanke Knew Cracked Windshield wasn't Vandalism, but still Canceled Appearances for his "Safety."

The poor picked on conservatives have lost another reason to complain today, after it was revealed they were played for fools by Sen. Dan Kapanke, over "liberal vandalism" to Kapanke's car.

There is no question Kapanke lied to gain sympathy and to promote an atmosphere of fear. 

Politifact: (When) Republican state senators approved Gov. Scott Walker's plan to strip most collective bargaining rights from public employees … Tensions were high, along with concern for lawmakers’ safety. A damaged windshield soon joined that list -- and quickly drew national attention. 

It came to light a week later when state Sen. Dan Kapanke (R-La Crosse) and an aide told several news outlets, including the Journal Sentinel, he was scaling back public appearances in his district out of concerns for his safety. In doing so, they cited vandalism to his car while it was parked at the Capitol.

This is where Kapanke's wheels came off. This isn't based on my own opinion, or anyone else's. That vandalism was determined to be the result of a stone chip while driving by professionals. 

According to the report, an officer and two state troopers, including an accident reconstruction specialist, looked over the windshield that day.  The Capital Times first reported April 5, 2011 on the police report. "I informed Kapanke after looking at the chip and the crack it looked to me like a stone chip and not someone hitting the windshield," Capitol police officer Chris Weiss wrote in the report. 

The troopers came to the same conclusion. The report also said police reviewed surveillance video of the parking area and saw no one damaging cars.

But from this point on, Kapanke shaped the story of protester vandalism, and a reason to lay low after his controversial vote.

The report says Kapanke, one of the GOP senators facing a potential recall, was informed of the findings and the case closed on the day it was reported -- March 16. But the public heard about the damage for the first time the following day, when the senator cited the damage while discussing plans to scale back his public schedule out of concerns for his safety.   

La Crosse Tribune reporter Chris Hubbuch inquired ... on March 16, 2011 … aide Rose Smyrski called him back and listed the broken windshield as among the matters that was causing concerns for the senator’s safety. "She said his window was broken," Hubbuch said.

If that were't bad enough, Kapanke's campaign of fear and victimhood went for all the apples:

Kapanke told a La Crosse TV station in a story that aired March 17 that he was concerned for his safety. He reminded viewers of the Jan. 8, 2011 shooting of Arizona Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords. 

The broken windshield story went national. Websites including the Drudge Report and The Weekly Standard picked up on the story using headlines such as "More Leftist Violence: Senator’s Property Damaged." Fox commentator Glenn Beck also weighed in.

Politifacts final conclusion:

Kapanke allowed the myth of the smashed windshield to run wild and uncorrected for almost three weeks after he knew it was not true. 

Gas is expensive because of speculation!!! Is anyone listening?

Again, we have an over supply of oil right now, but rising gas prices. What does that mean? We've got a Wall Street speculation problem, plain and simple. Even OPEC is bugged by everyone cutting back on usage, driving supply up, while speculators are taking much of their thunder away.

The maddening cry by Republicans to drill more, which would just add more oil to the WORLD MARKET and not to U.S. supplies, is frustrating and wrong. Not only that, the GOP is holding up the Dodd-Frank Act that regulates these same speculators. Which means, Republicans are making the gas price crisis worse by preventing their regulation.

Tyson Slocum from Public Citizens Energy Program lays it on the line in the clip below. A must see.

This is what really rankled me:

The Hill: An aide to House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) warned Friday that Democrats are using the federal probe of potential energy market abuses to sap focus from expanding domestic energy production. “We all want to ensure that such manipulation or fraud is not going on, but the concern is that the Democrats who run Washington are using this to distract from the real issue: the need to increase the supply of American energy to lower costs, reduce our dependence on foreign oil, and create American jobs,” Michael Steel, Boehner’s spokesman, said in a statement.

It won’t make a difference. NONE!!

A Democratic member of the Commodity Futures Trading Commission, one of the agencies that will participate … Bart Chilton … in applauding the effort, also made clear what he thinks a major focus should be. “I remain convinced that excessive speculation is a part of the problem and should be part of the group’s focus, too. 

The Electric Car is Back...and it wants Revenge!!

Dylan Ratigan interviews Chris Paine, director of "Who Killed the Electric Car" and now "Revenge of the Electric Car." The EV1 is back, kind of...

Going through the "Listening Session" motions. Americans are catching onto the scam (can't say the same for the tea party)

MSNBC's Cenk Uygur reviews a number of disastrous Republican "listening sessions" over Paul Ryan's elitist attack on the poor and middle class. He also takes aim one of the most ridiculous tea party talking points; "those 55 and older will be completely unaffected." It still blows my mind that the media didn't pounce all over such a bizarre statement of cruelty. Like anyone younger than 55 will somehow not need the same kind of medical assistance, maybe even more so, when you consider the rising cost of health care? 

Walker says we’ll forget all of this someday, and just be glad we have a job! Now that's disaster capitalism!

The party of sociopathic politics is still trying to convince the rabble, us, that this austere vision of the future is really the norm, and not that over promised liberal "utopia."  

For Gov. Scott Walker, labor that organizes into a union, or any other kind of group, is somehow unfair and unjust to business fiefdoms. What else would explain the following bizarre behavior: 

WSJ: Walker blames labor unions for the polarization — for saying that he is attacking public workers.

“They’ve (unions) overplayed their hand to the point that as time goes by and people realize you know what, the world didn’t come to an end,” 

Nice misdirection play. It’s not the end of the world people are worried about; it’s the eventual lowering of wages, benefits and employee freedoms we know are next. The slow imperceptible whittling away of incomes and benefits won’t be blamed on Walker’s policies, even though those policies will have started the decline of the middle class in Wisconsin.

Walker is even counting on no one noticing.

Walker said he believes things will settle down when the public sector cuts are put “in the right context” with private sector job losses and benefit cuts that have already taken place — “when people start to realize talking to others outside of government how much more people pay (for benefits) and how it’s not viewed as being outrageous and they’re just glad to have a job.”

This is twisted down the rabbit hole logic, where bringing everybody down to the private sector job losses and benefit cuts is "in the right context.” It's a state of mind where paying more for benefits is not outrageous, and after all is said and done, you’re “just glad to have a job.”

Now that’s disaster capitalism.

At a Closed Democratic Event, Sauk County Republican Party Chair Tim McCumber is unapologetic about the coincidental disturbance; Liberals caused it! To quote Maxwell Smart: “Would you believe…?”

The latest Republican tactic to disrupt listening sessions and private Democratic events plays on the parties biggest strength of all, lie like hell. Their alternative universe is littered with lies like death panels, Obama’s a Muslim, government takeover of health care (lie of the year), saving Medicare and Social Security, small government, Sharia law…you get the idea.

So Republican Chair Tim McCumber must be telling the truth…this time?

McCumber said:

"This gang is very good at instigating events and then pointing fingers the other way,"

But in the reality based world, the closed private event saw something different:

McCumber and other conservatives entered the room - some of them forcefully. They held signs and shouted statements at Clark as he addressed his supporters.

McCumber said:

He didn't hear any of that. "I didn't hear what they said," McCumber said. "I was in the back of the room."

“Would you believe…?” But what were the Sauk County Republicans doing there in the first place, since it was a private event?

Sauk County Democratic Party Chair Judy Spring said the press conference inside the Civic Center was not a public meeting. The Sauk County Democratic Party paid for the room, which has a capacity limit … She didn't observe any of the events McCumber described in the email.

One more note:  McCumber "alleged that an incident in which an Olsen supporter broke the lens of a Clark supporter was instigated by the Clark supporter, because he was getting too close with his camera."

Too close with his camera? Is he kidding?

Walker Opposes Insurance Readability? Really? No kidding? Seriously? Come on…?

In what would be a no brainer win for customer service, a friendly readable health insurance policy, the insurance lobby won support from the “open for big business” governor’s commissioner, for a more confusing, ambiguous set of policy rules.  

It’s an well-known ploy by insurers to mislead consumers with pages of legalese even an agent can’t explain. I know, I’ve used agents in the past who have warned me of the actual anti-consumer intent of indecipherable small print mumbo jumbo.

WSJ: Wisconsin's new insurance commissioner wants to end a rule that required health insurers to make their policies more understandable. Commissioner Ted Nickel adopted an "emergency rule" in February.

Yes, it was an insurance industry “emergency.” But really, who would not want policies to be understandable? My head is hurting. 

Removing the measures will "ease financial constraints for the insurance industry," Nickel's office wrote … (where a) “rewrite(ing) language becomes a pretty difficult undertaking." Eileen Mallow, assistant deputy insurance commissioner, said "Difficult equals expensive. They do pass that cost along to their policy holders."

Wow, they’re doing it for us! And that means we get to save…an undeterminable amount of money and…“lower premiums?” Absolute BS.

Legalese filled contracts with escape clauses and loopholes.

This, what would essentially be a one time rewrite, was described as “difficult,” as opposed to writing purposely “difficult” language that would include loopholes you could drive a Mack truck through.

No matter how strongly you believe in reducing the size of government, your corporate buddies in the fight to privatize everything are playing you for a willing sucker, a dupe who’ll cede the public’s collective power to their singular bottom line goals.

    

James Sykes, a member of the an advisory group appointed by former commissioner Sean Dilweg, said;

"The office of the commissioner has a responsibility to make sure citizens are protected and enhanced in their efforts to be smart consumers." Sykes, former chairman of the Wisconsin Board on Aging said, "Any efforts to detract from that are regrettable."

Not regrettable, but criminal.

Ryan town hall supporters soon will receive their fist full of Heritage Foundation talking points, and the end of a civil debate.

After attendees registered their terrified  responses over the Paul Ryan plan at various Republican "listening sessions," big money is about to step in and try to control the debate. For instance, the faux senior group '60 Plus Association' loves this lie:

WP: ...pro-GOP group, the 60 Plus Association, is placing calls and sending mail thanking Republicans for backing a plan that “strengthens and preserves Medicare,” according to the group’s Web site.

Here's Lawrence O'Donnell on the 60 Plus ad, which he plays:



But it gets more blatant, and worse:

The tea party group FreedomWorks has introduced a new social networking tool to connect activists for a budget debate that the organization’s president, Matt Kibbe, describes as a pivotal moment for the movement.

And like the tea party disruptions at town hall meeting during the health care reform debate, supporters of the Republican plan to end Medicare will be holding their talking point sheets of paper in their hands: 

And Heritage Action for America, a newly formed advocacy group affiliated with the Heritage Foundation, is distributing budget talking points for volunteers to use at lawmakers’ town hall meetings.

Peoples Budget!! Why aren't we talking about the Congressional Progressive Caucus plan to balance the federal budget?

It's called the Budget of the Congressional Progressive Caucus Fiscal Year 2012!! It should be the topic of discussion and the meat of the debate. What is it?

It's the House Democrats balanced budget plan. You know, the one that's not the Obama or Ryan budget proposal. The press has ignored the one plan that balances the budget in ten years, raises taxes on the wealthy, cuts big oil spending, saves our safety net....

I'll let Rachel Maddow fill you in, but only after she trips down memory lane and looks fondly back on those days when the press stumbled all over themselves, to show tea party protesters disrupting town halls with scripts in hand. Oooh if only they would that now. This is part one, and part two dissects the plan:



This is part two featuring Matt Miller, columnist from the Washington Post, who knows his stuff about the mysterious Congressional Progressive Caucus budget plan:

Someone actually came out with "School Shooter: North American Tour 2012"

This story is unsettling. The good news is the video game is not around anymore, at least I wasn’t able to find it, but it was never the less, a sad testament to our times. And our love of guns.

Ed Week: (email story, no link) (Critics Target 'School Shooter' Video Game: A new video game in which the player stalks and shoots fellow students and teachers in school settings is drawing fire from school district officials. 

“School Shooter: North American Tour 2012” is a first-person game that allows the player to move around a school and collect points by killing defenseless students and teachers. 

The game, developed by Checkerboarded Studios, is actually a modification, or mod, of a popular first-person shooter game called "Half-Life 2." Checkerboarded’s website, checkerboarded.com  !!!

Firefighter Garrett Lamp and former police officer Michael Weinman stunned by GOP attack on them, middle class.

Big Ed Schultz brought in two former Republicans, a firefighter and a now retired police officer, to talk about why they switched allegiance. Unafraid and on the spot, former RNC chair Michael Steele backed himself into a corner multiple times, unable to answer their questions or give them a reasonable explanation for the GOP's attack on the middle class. This was a great moment of clarity.

Tea party voters not afraid to say what's on their minds. I hope you'r sitting down.

The tea party movement is mostly an electoral tool for Republicans and the corporate elite. But that doesn't mean they're not real, down home low information voters, easily manipulated with talking points and fear. Having said that, nothing could prepare me for the following video. 

Here's another reason why Democrats should never, ever, give in to the Tea Party agenda. Amazing...jaw droppingly amazing:

Raw Story: Democratic consultant Tyler Jones showed up at a South Carolina Tea Party rally on Monday, camera in hand. As reported by Dave Weigel at Slate, Jones “interviewed around 25 people total and probably 75 percent of them said they were supporting Donald Trump, and just about every single person is a birther.”...six minutes of pure Tea Party delerium.

Sen. Hopper's 800 number Mistake, or was it?

It's taken me a little time to get to this story, but what the heck, since it's so timely, here it is.

Political talk gets even dirtier in Wisconsin. 

In a quarterly letter to constituetns, embattled Wisconsin State Senator Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) lists his office number as 1-888-736-8729, which leads to a recording telling callers to dial 1-800-475-TALK, 'the country's favorite live talk', The Raw Story reports. 

Those tho dial that number are said to hear the greeting, 'Hey there, sexy guy...'
Mrs Hopper told reporters that her husband moved out of their house and has been living with a much younger mistress, said to be Valerie Cass, now 26.

When is ‘I Dream of Jeannie,’ ‘Get Smart’ and ‘Lost in Space’ similar to a lifesaving program like Medicaid? When Scott Walker makes that inhumane, pathetic comparison.

I’m not even sure I know how to even begin to discuss this brutal back hand to Medicaid by Scott Walker. But here goes…:

Jsonline: In an opinion piece in Friday's New York Times, Gov. Scott Walker endorses fellow Republican U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's proposal of revamping Medicaid. 

"What does Medicaid have in common with 'I Dream of Jeannie,' 'Lost in Space' and 'Get Smart'? They all made their debut in 1965," Walker writes. "Although we enjoy watching reruns of these classics, the television networks have updated their programming. The federal government should do the same.'

Guess Walker doesn't take the state health care program for the poor and struggling middle class seriously.

Walker show off his lack of knowledge about health care reform, by not recognizing that in the following list he provides in his editorial, all were developments spurred on by Obama’s plan:

NY Times: Time and again states like Wisconsin have blazed the path in Medicaid … Just now Washington is discovering accountable care organizations (networks of doctors and hospitals that share responsibility for caring for patients and receive incentives to keep costs down) and “medical homes” (a model in which one primary-care doctor takes the main responsibility for a patient).

Finally, instead of recognizing how many employers are now dropping health care coverage, and how many people don’t make enough at their job or don’t have jobs at all to pay for insurance, he thinks Medicaid is growing because states love sucking in more federal dollars for the heck of it.

Amazingly, the program is now viewed by some states as a form of economic development because each state can at least double its money for each dollar spent. That matching feature penalizes efficiency and thrift, since a reduction of $1 in state spending also means forfeiting at least one federal dollar, often more. Finally, some state officials oppose block grants because capped financing would bring the fiscal discipline they try desperately to avoid. But this discipline is precisely what is necessary to slow the rate of growth in health care costs.  

That’s right, not covering as many people is one way to slow the growth of health care costs. I really liked this recent comment:

The Flying Nun, Mannix and The High Chaparral all made their debut with Scott Walker back in 1967. The television networks were smart enough to update their programming since then. Wisconsin should do the same. 

Walker was against voter bribery, before he was silent about it. Can shots for recall signatures be illegal?

I’m not sure how election law applies to gathering recall signatures, but it does raise a few important questions about the legality of compensating anyone for a recall signature.

According to One Wisconsin Now:

Gov. Scott Walker, who filed the complaint with the Milwaukee County District Attorney in 2000 over charges cigarettes were provided to a handful of potential voters, has remained uncharacteristically silent on evidence released this week that people were being promised liquor to sign recall signatures against a Democratic State Senator. 

“In 2000, Scott Walker personally filed the complaint with the Milwaukee County district attorney calling for an investigation into what he called bribery, but ‘shots for signatures’ appears to be fine with him now,” said Scot Ross, One Wisconsin Now Executive Director. 

“When will Gov. Walker file a complaint with the District Attorney?”

Here are a few past statements from Scott Walker:

“Let me qualify that since we brought the original episode of the cigarettes-for-votes issues to the attention of the district attorney's office on Monday, they have been aggressive in seeking to follow up on that…” [Walker Press Conference, 11/10/00] 

The trading off of anything, something of worth, in exchange for someone's vote -- not only is it ethically questionable, we believe it's a violation of the law.” [Walker, WISN-TV 11/5/00] 

Sen. Randy Hopper gets a taste of public anger in Oshkosh.

Sen. Randy Hopper’s getting recalled, and was reminded about why he is being challenged at a “listening session” Thursday night in Oshkosh. These town hall meetings are anything but a time for these on-the-outs Republicans to listen:

Northwestern: There was anger, frustration, shouted accusations and pleas for working together from the crowd of about 100 at the University of Wisconsin Oshkosh.
Marla Krueger … “I hate seeing all this going on. I really do. But we’ve got to fight back. We have to,” Krueger told Hopper. “Education is suffering. Child care is suffering. Seniors, whether they know it or not, will be suffering. This school voucher program is a farce.”

Most speakers spoke out against Hopper’s support for the budget repair bill and expressed particular concern over educational funding cuts for everything from local school districts and a proposal to split up the University of Wisconsin System to cuts to the technical college system. 

“We cannot balance the budget on the backs of our childrens’ future. If Wisconsin is to remain competitive, we need all children to be ready for college and work,” Marge Rubin said. “From a purely capitalistic viewpoint, why would our legislators cut education when it is such a critical component of economic development and stability?” 

And while most of the nearly three-hour listening session was tense and angry, some like Orlee Hauser’s testimony silenced even the most bitter political opponents. 

Hauser’s 3-year-old son has autism and her family hopes a Medicaid slot will still be available this fall to help fund his treatment. Hauser, a public employee, said she’s about to lose salary, see an increase in medical co-payments for very frequent doctor visits and fears the Medicaid assistance slot could be frozen, costing her a total of $40,000 in assistance. “We understand we have to pay our fair share. OK. But how is that our fair share? And I’m not the only one,” Hauser said. “Why are we taking money from the most vulnerable people in our society and giving it to the most beneficial? How is that fair?” 

Hopper paused for a moment. “It doesn’t sound fair to me,” he said. “I don’t know that it is fair.”

And yet....

PA Rep. Barletta Listening Session turns Hostile over Paul Ryan Plan.

Listen for the authoritarian grump in the audience tell the speaker to SIT DOWN! You know, some people don't have the right to a different opinion.

Think Progress: Rep. Lou Barletta (R-PA) received a similarly hostile reception from constituents during a public forum in Carbon County, as he tried to (incorrectly) reassure the group that Ryan’s budget would not affect the Medicare benefits of those over the age of 55.“This plan does not do nothing to affect anyone 55 years or older,” he said.  

But before Barletta could continue, 64-year-old Linda Christman raised her hand and argued that those under 55 would see an erosion of benefits. The exchange became heated as other constituents began yelling for the woman to “sit down“:

CHRISTMAN: Excuse me, I’d like to get something off my chest. And that is, you seem to think that because I’m not affected, I won’t care if my niece, my grandson, my child is affected. I do care. And what you’re doing with this Ryan budget is you’re taking Medicare and you’re changing it from a guaranteed health care system to one that is a voucher system where you throw seniors on the mercy of for-profit insurance companies. [...] 

BARLETTA: Well, I won’t destroy Medicare, Medicare is going to be destroyed by itself. You’re…. 

CHRISTMAN: I have a great way for you… 

CROWD: Let him talk….Sit down!…Let him talk! SIT DOWN! 

MAN: I agree with her. And you know what? Why don’t you tell me to sit down?! 

CROWD: SIT DOWN! 

MAN: She’s an American citizen. … Why don’t you show some manners and shut your mouth and let her talk. … Why don’t you grow up and stop acting like a bunch of little boys?

Jobs First Coalition Mailer Lie tied to Brookfield Republican Alderman, and former convicted Rep. Scott Jensen. Brookfield again?

When you’ve got nothing else to say, lie.

LaCrosse Tribune: Democrats have requested a criminal investigation into the Milwaukee-area group behind mailings that claim 94th District Assembly candidate Steve Doyle paid his property taxes late. The mailings financed by the Jobs First Coalition repeatedly make the claim and include a doctored photograph of Doyle with "You pay on time, I don't" written on his palms. 

Doyle, who is also chairman of the La Crosse County Board, fired back with a press conference Thursday morning that offered two La Crosse County officials and the recently retired town of Onalaska clerk to vouch that he always paid his taxes on time. 

Attorneys for Maggie Brick, executive director of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin, filed a complaint Thursday afternoon that the mailings violate state law against false representations affecting elections "in an attempt to mislead the public to influence the upcoming 94th Assembly race." 

The Jobs First Coalition website lists a post office box address in Brookfield, Wis., but no telephone number for contact. The legal complaint lists the coalition's registered agent as Bob Reddin, a Brookfield city alderman. The Jobs First Coalition has been associated with Scott Jensen, the former Republican state Assembly speaker who left office in 2002 after being convicted of misconduct, later overturned in appeals court.

Conservative talk host Vicki McKenna called the Brookfield area the “conscience of Wisconsin.” 

GOP Lackey and Talk Host Charlie Sykes argues for Ryan Tax Cut on Wealthy, Loses Argument with Conservative Listeners.

One of the more sane conservative talk hosts on the radio today, Charlie Sykes, tried desperately to make his case to his loyal listeners, by defending Paul Ryan's plan to lower the top tax rate from 35 to 25 percent. He failed. Not only did his first two callers argue for a logical tax increase for the top 1 percent, but they also understood they were unfairly being asked to bear the financial burden, which didn't sit well with Sykes. You can fool some of the people....




One important note to Sykes: It's time to do away with the old argument that if you like paying taxes, you should send the IRS more than you owe. In the fact based universe, everybody knows that the overpayment would either be sent back, or credited to your next years tax obligation.