Racine School District clears library shelves of Bible, Dr. Seuss, Mark Twain and other classics.Em

Who the hell is on the Racine Unified School District, and why are they taking away our books?

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In what is a early look at a bizarre story out of Racine, the district is purging a massive quantity of books from school library's. Breathtaking and shocking in scope, let's hope there's a detail here that makes what is happening in Racine schools less surreal than the story below describes:

Racine County Eye-DENISE LOCKWOOD: Members of the Racine Education Association are calling on the Racine Unified School District to stop “weeding” school library books out of school libraries by the “tens of thousands,” Among the books being pulled are ones written by local authors David Kherdian and Kevin Henkes; books on the Holocaust, Hiroshima, the Bible, the Koran, and Beowulf.

Shel Silverstien poetry and many Dr. Seuss books are expected to be removed from some elementary schools.

At Case High School, 2,505 books were removed, including: Mark Twain’s Adventures of Huckleberry Finn, The Holy Bible, Pable Picasso: A Modern Master, and The Iliad & The Odyssey of Homer. “

Aaron Eick, vice president of the REA and teacher at Horlick High School, said the librarians are at a loss on how the books will be replaced. “There is not nearly enough money to buy enough books to replace what has been lost,” Eick said. The Racine Unified School District is purging “tens of thousands of books” copyrighted prior to the year 2000, according to a statement by the REA. 

From the Racine Journal Times: 

One of the hardest-hit schools was Mitchell Middle School, according to Gabrielle Sharrock, who has worked as a library media specialist in the district for five years and will start as the school’s librarian next academic year.

She said she was not consulted about books being removed and she visited the library two days after the school was “weeded” and found dozens of boxes full of books slated to be destroyed (see pic above), numerous shelves bare and most of the non-fiction section nearly cleared out.

“It was just devastating to see that,” she said. “If I had to replace all of those books with my budget it would take 16 years, and by then they would be outdated.”

Walker wants to focus on the horrors of Out Sourcing Overseas? Look in the mirror.

There's something fishing about Scott Walker's Hail Mary attack over offshoring jobs. He must know he's got a record a mile long supporting out sourcing and backing businesses that do. And yet, he seems confident none of that will stick to him.

It's also a case of "Swift boating" Mary Burke for her greatest strength, actual business experience at a very successful global company known for it's philanthropy and community involvement. It's a world most career politicians are completely unfamiliar with, like you know who, Scott Walker.

Just as surprisingly, the media is actually pointing out Walker's hypocrisy. Like WKOW's Greg Neumann:

WKOW: Gov. Scott Walker's most recent campaign finance report shows he received money, a total of $68,500 to Gov. Walker over the last six months, from at least 11 corporations that have outsourced jobs to other countries.

Here's a list of outsourcing companies Walker should be attacking next...yea, right:

WellPoint, one of the nation's largest health insurance companies, gave $15,000 to Gov. Walker's campaign.  Three other corporations gave $10,000 each, including Caterpillar, 3M - a multifaceted manufacturing company based in Minnesota, and Deloitte - a national tax consulting firm. Other corporations that donated to Gov. Walker through their PACs were Coca-Cola ($2,500), Pfizer ($5,000), PepsiCo ($2,000), J.P. Morgan Chase ($1,000), Hewlett-Packard ($3,000), General Motors ($6,000) and CenturyLink ($4,000).

U.S. Department of Labor records show those companies have had successful claims filed against them for Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) … awarded to workers who can prove they are unemployed because their jobs were outsourced overseas.

No Company Outsourcers from PAC's supporting Mary Burke: Really, not one?

The campaign finance report for Democratic Challenger Mary Burke shows she raked in over $351,000 in PAC donations, but none from corporations that outsourced jobs.  The majority of PAC donations to Burke came from national and state unions.

The Burke campaign has criticized Walker, because his Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) has awarded tax credits to at least two companies that have shipped Wisconsin jobs overseas.

It looks like Scott Walker set up Wisconsinites to lose Premium Subsidies on the Exchanges. Now that's moving forward.

It was a bizarre ruling today by a conservative activist court that called into question all the tax credits people on the ObamaCare government exchanges would be receiving.

While repeal crazy low information voters cheered the ruling, little do they realize that once the subsidies are gone, insurers will literally kill them with premium price increases and exclusions. But it's a victory for them none the less.

It now looks like Scott Walker's decision to abandon our nearly completed state exchanges for political reasons will jeopardize all 130,000 ObamaCare customers in the state. Add to that the 35,000 families once covered by BadgerCare (Medicaid), who no longer have anything.

Channel3000's Jessica Arp reported this:




It was Walker's completely disconnected response pictured here, that should concern Wisconsinites; it had nothing to do with today's ruling about the exchanges, but only referred to expanding Medicaid. Another words, Walker's got nothing, no solutions, no concern over those he pushed into the exchanges and a convenient way to avoid responsibility.

The Wisconsin Budget Project: Why did Wisconsin cut BadgerCare eligibility in half for parents, based on reliance on federal funding to subsidize the federal health insurance Marketplace? 

Thanks to a ruling today by a subset of the DC Circuit Court of Appeals … two of the three judges participating in that ruling concluded that federal subsidies for the health insurance Marketplace can only go to people in states that set up their own Marketplaces … considering that 90% of the Wisconsinites who have purchased plans from the federal Marketplace are receiving federal subsidies, and those subsidies cover 74% of the cost of Marketplace premiums … The stakes are even higher in Wisconsin because Wisconsin lawmakers decided to cut in half the BadgerCare income ceiling for parents. About 70,000 fewer parents are now enrolled in BadgerCare and it was assumed by state policymakers that most of those adults would move into subsidized Marketplace plans.

Wisconsin policymakers express concerns about taking federal funding to expand BadgerCare … Ironically, those policymakers pushed through an alternative plan that costs state taxpayers more, covers fewer people in BadgerCare, and relies on federal Marketplace subsidies that might be at greater risk than Medicaid funding.

Free Market Offshoring by Global Businesses is now Bad, says clueless Scott Walker.

Boy, if you're a global corporation, with manufacturing all over the world, you might want to steer clear of Wisconsin as a place to locate your business.

Scott Walker doesn't like you,  and will go out of his way to vilify your very existence.

It's not enough for Trek Bicycle to manufacture their product here in Wisconsin as well as in the other foreign markets they serve (business 101), after all, its a global company now.

As a career politician, living and raising a family on the government dole, running an international business is not a Scott Walker strength after all.

Remember, Walker says he's is not actually attacking a successful business in our state, he's just pointing out how bad they are because the owners sister is trying to take his job.

The worst part of the ad below is how ignorant Scott Walker looks regarding the function of global businesses setting up shop in the markets they serve. Oddly, this "terrible" policy is something Republicans love and have been pushing for the last 30 years. Chairman Walker's own WEDC gave money to companies that fired Wisconsin workers for offshoring as well. Is all this just a distraction?



What I like about this is the free press and media coverage Walker is giving Burke, all the while bashing Wisconsin business. It's a twofer and I hope a game changer for this little man.

Trek, the world's second-largest bicycle maker, does not employ children at its overseas plants, John Burke said. Trek's manufacturing plants in China, Germany and Holland all follow local labor laws and pay prevailing wages, he said.

Scott Walker, the out-of-state Governor? Outside Special Interests say yes, want Walker!!!

Isn't it time Wisconsin had it's own in-state governor? It seems our state elections and interests are now in the control of out-of-state big money donors. jsonline:

Gov. Scott Walker raised more than half his sizable haul of campaign cash from outside Wisconsin this year, while his challenger Mary Burke raised two-thirds of her donations inside the state.

Breaking it down:

Of the $8.3 million raised by the Republican governor in the first half of 2014, $4.6 million, or 55.4%, came from out of state donors while $3.7 million, or 44.7%, came from within the state, according to a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel analysis.

Wisconsinites have a different candidate in mind: Mary Burke:

Of the $3.6 million brought in by Burke, a Democrat and former Trek bicycle executive, donors living outside Wisconsin gave $1.2 million, or 34%, and in-state donors gave $2.4 million, or 66%, the newspaper's analysis of state campaign filings found Tuesday.

WISGOP attacks Trek Bike's free speech rights to defend itself against Walker's political Smear Campaign

Warning to out-of-state businesses, don't get on the bad side of Gov. Scott Walker. 

For a party that hates frivolous lawsuits, using courts, and supports Citizens United, they sure hate it when the tables are turned.

Trek CEO John Burke featured a full page ad in local newspapers defending his company from political attacks by Mr. “Open for Business” Scott Walker. Apparently, free speech and the money that pays for newspaper ads is now illegal for businesses that have a blood tie to a political candidate.

WISGOP’s Joe Fadness continues to highlight the party’s hypocrisy and willingness to flip flop at a moments notice to maintain power. The ends do justify the means for these pirates, even if it means bashing successful state businesses. LaCrosse Tribune:

The Wisconsin Republican Party has filed a complaint with the state elections board over a full-page newspaper ad by Trek Bicycle Corp., saying it amounts to an illegal contribution to Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke. She is the sister of Trek president John Burke. 

That wasn't all:

The company had broken the law by responding to criticism from the Walker campaign about outsourcing by Trek. "Trek's advertisement uses corporate funds to aid the campaign of Mary Burke and uses language mirroring Mary Burke's talking points," the complaint reads.

Trek spokeswoman Marina Marich said in a statement: "The governor's television ad clearly attacked Trek, and Trek is entitled to defend itself under the First Amendment by running its own advertisements containing the true facts. We are confident that our letter published in newspaper advertisements is constitutionally protected free speech that fully complies with Wisconsin law."  

For those who don't check the comments, here one that nailed it:

Anonymous said...Sounds like the Republican Party is alleging coordination between Trek and Mary Burke's campaign. Haven't they been claiming (incorrectly) that coordination is allowed under Wisconsin law -- or at least should be following the latest US Supreme Court rulings favoring "corporate free speech"? So what's their position? That collaboration is legal for Scott Walker, but illegal for Mary Burke's campaign?

Mark Belling accused poor defenseless Mary Burke of recruiting her Brother to Fight her campaign battles.

My conservative friend in Milwaukee called to tell me how WISN's Mark Belling was about to trash Mary Burke for offshoring jobs at Trek. He even held the phone up to the radio so I hear Belling's commentary. He accused Burke of being a weak defenseless woman for getting her brother John to bash Walker for lying.

Belling: Says women like Burke are weak,
need men to defend them.

Belling accused Burke of not having the leadership to responded to Scott Walker's accusations that she ordered Trek to out source jobs to China.

Burke didn't respond? Even after running ads that RESPONDED to Walker's clueless misguided claims about offshoring jobs. Even the papers covered this one. Like this supposed "non-response" in the Journal Sentinel:

Mary Burke said that if Walker knew more about business he would understand that Wisconsin companies such as Trek, Kohler or Harley-Davidson need to manufacture around the world.

"That ad says more about him than it does about me, or for Trek," Burke said during an interview with the Journal Sentinel. "It shows that he puts politics in front of what's good for the state, and for the people. For him to drag a great Wisconsin company through the mud is bad for business. It's all about politics with him."

Burke is right, Walker is a career politician who thinks of himself as a "small businessman" managing the states economy. The state is "small?" Walker made that claim after becoming governor.

War on Women continued...: Belling then accused Burke of enlisting her brother to fight her battles for her, because you know, women are weak and depend on men for everything. Belling knew what he was doing, getting as much mileage out of his misogynistic, demeaning and completely fabricated attack on Burke.

Check out the audio clip below, which features Belling reading from John Burke's newspaper ad that offered up a few things you may not have known, like the fact that Trek helped fund the Madison bike sharing service. Gee, a business that cares about, and funds, social services. Walker can't have that:

Belling: "Mary Burke doesn't have guts to respond to a political attack ad on her by responding herself. She's got to trot out her brother...do the responding for her. Just in and of itself, it gives you an indication of her leadership skills, or lack there of."

What's just as strange is Belling's willingness to support Walker's deceptive twisting of the facts to make his case for reelection. Twisting the truth upside down is apparently fair game.

Unrelated but important: Walker's claim Trek didn't pay any corporate income tax is another fine example of lying while still telling the "truth." This factoid goes out to the guy who Tweeted he still trusts Walker more than Burke or any Democrat. Walkerites love being duped?

jsonline: Gov. Scott Walker stepped up his attack on Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke and her family's bicycle business Monday by accusing the company of not paying state corporate income tax.

Burke's campaign fired back and said Walker is either "ignorant or outright lying" about how Trek Bicycle pays taxes in Wisconsin. Like many other businesses, Trek's owners pay taxes on the company's profits as individuals rather than through corporate taxes. Trek files taxes under "Subchapter S" of the Internal Revenue Service Code. In an S-corporation, the tax obligation is passed on to a company's shareholders.

Oddly, Walker doesn't have a problem with his blatant misdirection play to his supporters. Not much to brag about Scott?

Federal Judge Rules Dumb Ron Johnson...Dumb, over ObamaCare Lawsuit.

It was a ridiculous lawsuit, but Dumb Ron Johnson had time on his side to get as much traction out of his ObamaCare attack as he possibly could, and he got it. Tea party low information voters were impressed with Johnson's suit and challenge to the imperial president.

Wisconsin's political Embarrassment: The Federal Judge pretty much laughed in Dumb Ron Johnson's face:

A federal judge Monday dismissed U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson's suit over an Obama administration ruling on the Affordable Care Act, finding he had failed to demonstrate any true harm he faced from the decision. 

In what is the dumbest reason yet to impress the judge:

WisPolitics: Johnson argued the ruling hurts his reputation with his constituents by requiring him to participate in an "illegal" scheme, Judge William Griesbach ruled Johnson and his aide lacked standing to file the suit, finding much of the injuries the lawmaker claimed were speculative. 

Illegal Scheme? Who said? The judges statement could also be applied party wide:

The judge also rejected Johnson's argument that he was being required to participate in something he found illegal. Griesbach noted no court had yet found the administration's rule illegal and the provision does not require any member of Congress to act. Simply believing the provision is illegal was not "enough to create standing because that would open the door to any uninjured party who had a generalized grievance with a government regulation. Under such an approach, there would be no principled limit on standing because a plaintiff need only allege a belief that the challenged regulation is illegal," the judge wrote. 

Corporate Welfare State: Taxpayers now on the hook for Job Training, while state pushes importing cheaper "Skills Gap" labor!

Taxpayers are now on the hook, subsidizing private business so they can train workers to fill the “skills gap.” But wait, the “skills gap” is a myth, created by business to keep wages low and import temporary foreign workers. If taxpayers really want to cuts government spending, try cutting this area of corporate welfare first.

Institutionalized Corporate Welfare: Even worse, Scott Walker has now officially institutionalized corporate welfare with taxpayer subsidized job training. It’s all a noble cause, and I feel lousy coming out against this...

…but business created the “skills gap” to import cheap labor, lower wages, and get taxpayers to foot the bill…or at least pay for part of the bill. As so many economists have stated, if there’s a shortage of workers, wages would have gone up. That didn't happen.

Walker’s WEDC gift of taxpayer money to job train is just the beginning:  

jsonline: (It’s an) initiative to train welders in four areas of the state … being funded by the state and the welding industry. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has committed $400,000 to fund the customized technical skill development for the first year, with $100,000 going to each of the four regional sites … In addition, Illinois Tools Works Inc. — the parent company of Miller — is providing $400,000 in matching funds. The American Welding Society has committed $200,000.

Appearing on WPT's Here and Now, the President of the Wisconsin Technology Council Tom Still made a few amazing statements. Not only did he defend importing cheap foreign labor to fill that mythical "skills gap," but he also bragged those same workers have a "propensity" to start their own businesses. If we lag in jobs created, Still said, it's because we don't have enough foreign workers in Wisconsin. Would I kid you?

  

The official sounding “Sullivan Report” Tom Still mentions above is all CEO bluster pushing the “skills gap” myth. Here’s a sample of "Sullivan's" recommendations, including importing temp workers and institutionalizing corporate welfare:

The report by former Bucyrus International Chairman Tim Sullivan offers a series of recommendations to fill that gap … The skills gap "is hurting economic competitiveness in Wisconsin," Sullivan said. Giving the state Department of Workforce Development responsibility for coordinating job training programs … expanding funding for part-time technical college students to keep them enrolled while increasing tuition for technical college students who already have four-year degrees … and welcoming legal immigrants to the state. 

I found the comment below, to the story above, the appropriate less profane response:

Ace Rothstein: If I were to go knocking on doors on Lake Drive how many welders do you think I would come across? Yeah, its a wage problem. If you need more welders then start paying them more. Don't whine to the governor. Don't whine to the Jounal-Sentinel. Bust out your checkbook or go out of business.

Democrat Mary Burke goes after Big Government Republican policies. Wants a return to Local Government Control.

What is rarely debated is now getting traction by the Mary Burke campaign, and couldn't be more surprised.

Republicans are often heard talking about downsizing government. What they intentionally left out, before the word government, is "liberal." They're all about BIG government conservatism.

Under Scott Walker, local control went out the window. It could have been worse too, had it not been for the overreach written into some bills that even a few Republicans couldn't sign on to. WSJ:

Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke pushed back Friday against state laws that strip away local decision-making, suggesting such provisions should be eliminated from future state budgets … in a 27-page document laying out her position on rural issues.

“We have laws on the books that prevent local governments from providing needed services to their citizens, in order to protect the interests of big business … one potential solution may be to prohibit use of the state budget as a vehicle for new laws that would strip existing authority from local governments.”

Since 2011, Gov. Scott Walker and Republican lawmakers have wrested from local governments control of cellphone tower siting, shoreland zoning restrictions, landlord-tenant regulations, public employee residency requirements, family medical leave rules for private companies and large soft drink bans, among other things. Other proposals, such as limiting a local government’s ability to regulate frac sand mining, didn’t pass.

The Republican response made my list of Humpty Dumptyisms:

Republican leaders have defended the measures as striking the right balance between protecting local control and taxpayers…

…by taking it away? The frightening thing is, they really don’t see a problem, as exemplified by this Walker campaign statement:

Walker campaign spokeswoman Alleigh Marre responded that the governor “has taken significant action over the last three-and-a-half years to support and strengthen Wisconsin’s rural communities.”

Then what about the Burke list of proposed changes giving control back to local governments? Did she just make it up? Yikes. I also like Burke's push for community internet services:

Burke also laid out proposals for expanding broadband Internet access, such as repealing a 2003 law that restricts municipalities from providing high-speed Internet service.

Walker was for Common Core, before he was Against It!!!

Scott Walker may regret he ever brought it up: Repealing Common Core.

First off, if you want to know what's happening in our public schools, check out WisSoapBox. It was there I found out Walker didn't just supported Common Core, he put it in writing (in red below).

Think about it: When Scott Walker announced he wanted to repeal the Common Core standards, he was essentially turning our educational system over to those low information, conspiracy laden tea party voters who have a penchant for misspelling the simplest protest signs. That's Scott Walker:

Whoopsie-doodle... Governor Walker stepped in it.

jsonline: Walker's statement calling for dumping Common Core comes after he has worked with the state DPI for the past several years on education reform issues that all hinge on successful implementation of the standards.

But, but what?! Oh, so Gov. Walker was for it before he was against it? (Oh 2004 Kerry campaign.) Seriously, if anyone wanted to know why he wasn't saying much about Common Core before now, this is why - He actually worked with them and utilized them in a lot of what he did with respect to school accountability.

In his 2011-'13 budget veto message to the Assembly, Walker wrote that his budget supported greater accountability and performance in K-12 education by "investing $15 million in the development of a statewide student information system and requiring the Department of Public Instruction to implement new pupil assessment based on mastery of Common Core Standards by 2014-15."

Will Mary Burke or the media run with this? 

GOP tantrum over phony IRS Scandal seeks to help tax dodgers by using programs for seniors.

The supposed IRS scandal targeting both liberal and conservative groups seeking tax exempt status for essentially helping candidates advertise and reach voters, has allowed Republicans a way to encourage tax dodging and defunding the much hated IRS. That in turn starves government of its much needed revenue stream. 

It’s so easy to tear things down, isn't it? When it’s your own country…well, that’s saying a lot.

Wisconsin’s House Republicans want to do just that, by cutting the IRS budget by 3%. But that’s not the ugly and devious part: They want to help tax dodgers by taking those IRS cuts...to fund programs for seniors. You can’t make this stuff up. Roll Call:

IRS Enforcement Cuts: The House voted to shift $10 million from Internal Revenue Service enforcement activities to programs that help seniors and other taxpayers. Overall, the bill cuts enforcement spending by 25 percent, from 2014 in response to the agency’s targeting of certain conservative groups seeking tax-exempt status. A yes vote was to reduce the IRS budget for catching tax cheats.

Voting yes, and pitting seniors against catching tax dodgers (I’m still trying to wrap my mind around this one): Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble. Who comes up with this stuff?

Voting an obvious no, Mark Pocan, Ron Kind and Gwen Moore. Sadly, it's important votes like this that don't get any media attention. Party differences are dramatic. 

Not able to Lower Corporate Taxes, GOP tantrum seeks to expand off shore tax havens for Business.

At first I thought, “Why would Democrats vote against a tax deduction for corporations who donate food to charities?”

Here’s why: Rep.’s Paul Ryan, James Sensenbrenner, Tom Petri, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble, angry they can’t reduce corporate tax rates, want corporations to reincorporate overseas to avoid paying taxes. You read that right. 

Nice strategy, don’t you think. Of course that only increases our deficit by reducing revenues even at current spending levels. Ever get the feeling the GOP wants to make things worse? Now you know they do. Roll Call:

Corporate Tax Avoidance: The House defeated a bid by Democrats to deny benefits under HR 4719 (Charitable Deductions, National Debt bill) to businesses that reincorporate overseas to avoid U.S. taxation, a process known as “inversion” that is becoming increasingly prevalent.

Voting to discourage corporate tax dodging through “inversion,” were Democrats Mark Pocan, Ron Kind and Gwen Moore.

Voting to allow corporations to off shore their profits to avoid paying their fair share of taxes? Ryan, Sensenbrenner, Petri, Duffy and Ribble. Way to go guys, one way or another you'll bring this country down to its knees. 

Walker's Negative jobs numbers make 4 of first 6 months in 2014!!!

Finally, a Scott Walker jobs breakdown showing negative numbers for May and June. Cap Times:

Wisconsin experienced a second straight month of private-sector job losses in June, meaning the state has seen negative job growth in four of the first six months of the year.

The losses, according to estimates by the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, however, largely … have overcome the downturns for a net total of 8,500 jobs added in the first half of 2014.

In June, Wisconsin lost 1,200 private-sector jobs, with seven of 10 industry sectors experiencing negative growth over May. The state also had seasonally adjusted monthly job losses in January (200), February (5,300) and May (900). It posted gains of 7,300 jobs in March and 8,800 in April.

Here's the interactive graph for future reference: 

Learn About Tableau

Mary Burke ad takes on Business Bashing Gov. Walker, who has his own big Off Shoring Problem.

Here's the latest ad and response to our business bashing governor, Scott Walker, the guy who says he's open for businesses...willing to pay into his campaign chest. The "fairy tale" Walker told about off shored jobs at Trek ran into the wall of reality with the revelation WEDC Chairman Walker off shored business himself:

WKOW News: At least two companies that received financial awards from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) later outsourced jobs to foreign countries, with one of those companies receiving a second WEDC award after the fact.

Here's Mary Burke's ad:



WKOW's Greg Neumann detailed Walker's problem with Trek, and how he pulled the company from a WEDC ad campaign that touted Trek as one of five world class companies. Petty and small:

Common Core not a Law that can be Repealed, and some Republicans oppose Walker's election year antic.

In the following WKOW Greg Neumann report, our gallivanting governor and out-of-state billionaire favorite Gov. Scott Walker had the audacity to say this:

"I don't like the idea somebody from out of the state setting out standards."

And Walker's out-of-state campaign contributors meddling in out local county and school board elections? Who's in control? Common Core standards leaves local control in place, and he damn well knows it. And repeal would mean work, and Republicans have no intention of earning a paycheck now, says Sen. Scott Fitzgerald:

Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitgerald (R-Juneau), expressed caution Friday. "While there may be some support next session for repealing the current standards, developing the new standards that satisfy everyone's concerns will be much more difficult, especially with a superintendent of public instruction that adamantly opposes making any changes."

So what's all this talk about "standards set by people in Wisconsin.” What does it mean? What idea is frantically waiting in the wings that is so much better? At least one Republicans, not siding with the right wing authoritarians, has decided to tell the truth about their intentions. WSJ:

The Republican leader of the Assembly’s education committee Rep. Steve Kestell: “It’s election time and politicians’ No. 1 worry at election time is knocking down anything that might cost them a vote here and there.”

This Common Core issue is controversial, because the controversy has been created. It’s really a manufactured controversy if I’ve ever seen one, but it’s there nonetheless and politicians go crazy with fear if there is something they don’t understand and can’t respond to easily, so the easy way to respond at this point is to say we’re just going to get rid of it. No one has made a valid argument for (abandoning Common Core) based on rationale thought. That just hasn’t been done. There’s been a lot of rhetoric, there’s been a lot of hyperbole. Maybe the best thing to do is to get it out of the way and move on because people have become obsessed with it. And what it’ll amount to is renaming it and calling it something else.”

Kestell said he expects a bill to repeal Common Core will be successful, but only if it did not give authority to the Legislature to approve or turn down standards, like the previous bill did. He said it will be tough to find qualified experts to participate in drafting new standards based on how the issue has been “mishandled.”“Credible people are going to be very wary about getting involved in a phony process.”

Before you get to depressed, Superintendent Tony Evers had this calming reassurance:

State Superintendent Tony Evers said he believed most districts would carry on with Common Core, despite the governor's comments. "The superintendents in this state get it and the teachers in this state get it," Evers said. "They control this issue. The governor doesn't. The Legislature doesn't. They do. They just need to continue on."

But Kestell is not the lone Republican telling the truth. Sen. Luther Olsen said Common Core isn't anything that can be "repealed:"

Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), chairman of the Senate Education Committee and a vocal supporter of the standards, said there's actually nothing to "repeal" with Common Core. That's because the standards are not codified in state law ... "I think you're going to see districts stay the course on the path they're on, regardless of what's happening in Madison," Olsen said.

School districts can still use whatever curriculum they want. They could even adopt their own standards, but they will be tested on Common Core-aligned goals via the new state test. Wisconsin is expected to spend $23 million in state and federal money this fiscal year on testing associated with the Common Core, according to a memo last year from the non-partisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau. The bureau could not determine the costs of dropping the Common Core and adopting a different set of tests, the memo said.

Walker Repeal of Common Core puts GOP politics in our Public Schools and Statewide Control over Education.

Repealing Common Core after four years of taxpayer spending and implementation is Scott Walker's to those who cried the loudest; the tea party. Rampant conspiracy theories about Common Core are at the heart of their opposition. Here's a clip of Republican Rep. Don Pridemore, when he ran for State Schools Superintendent, spouting total Common Core tea party lunacy:



Since before vouchers were introduced in Milwaukee around 1992, Republicans have trashed public education. The GOP blamed those greedy union teachers for every problem. Under the banner of saving our failed public school systems, Republicans have been pushing privatization.

Great Public Schools, or Failing Public Schools? If you talk to WISN's conservative radio host Jay Weber, he'll tell you how we suddenly have the best schools in the country. The same goes for Sen. Paul Farrow. From audio of Weber's show this morning below;

-You'll hear how great our schools have been.

-You'll hear how those who read about the Common Core curriculum said that's not what we need in Wisconsin. Wrong, Common Core is NOT a curriculum. 

-Building big data bases. Wrong, even Bill Gates is pushing secure storage of all student information. 

-Political oversight by our legislature, the "voice of the people?" Farrow wrongly says states will teach the same exact thing, claiming again Common Core is a curriculum, which it isn't.

Local control is another way of having political fiction taught in our schools: This has already happened:

Farrow: "When you look at the level of manufacturing that we have in Wisconsin...we've got be able to teach those nuances by our state. But it's that other area that has to be flexible by state, so they can teach what the kids need in their region, for their state to be effective."

 You mean like this:

ABC News: Wyoming, the nation's top coal-producing state, is the first to reject new K-12 science standards proposed by national education groups mainly because of global warming components ... Board President Ron Micheli said the review will look into whether "we can't get some standards that are Wyoming standards and standards we all can be proud of." Gov. Matt Mead has called federal efforts to curtail greenhouse emissions a "war on coal." 

As for Jay Weber, he misses those days when our parents were able to do math in their heads. When did we stop doing that?

Walker Trashes Successful Wisconsin Company to get Reelected. Not Open for just any Business it seems!

Our incidental governor seemed surprised his recent campaign ad was being criticized for attacking a successful Wisconsin company that employs over 1000 people. Scott Walker would never do that:

Gov. Scott Walker told reporters on Thursday that he's not using his campaign to attack the Trek Bicycle Corporation, even though it began airing a 30-second commercial this week that blasts Democrat Mary Burke and her family business for outsourcing jobs. “I'm not attacking anything,” he said … “…she's taking credit for building that company into what it is today.”

So this is how Scott Walker talks up successful companies in Wisconsin, from his campaign site (NOTE to Out-of-State Businesses, just stay on Walker’s good side, if you know what I mean):

1. Burke fails to mention they have 800 employees overseas.

2. Officials at Millionaire Mary Burke's family company say that more than 99% of their bicycles are manufactured in other countries.

3. In 1995, the Department of Commerce awarded $875,000 in taxpayer money to Trek Bicycle to construct a facility in Walworth County. In 2000, the State of Wisconsin forgave a portion of that money ($392,300), and subsequently, while Trek still owed taxpayer dollars, Trek filed a plant closing and mass layoff notice with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development. 

4. The Trek CEO was well aware of low wages, dismal working conditions and poor environmental standards in China, yet the company shipped Wisconsin jobs there anyway, their concern being high taxes - not worker conditions. 

This isn't the first time Walker trashed a company or industry not on his list of favorites. The irony of course is that everything they bash Trek for supposedly doing, are much touted major policy positions of the GOP. In fact they would love to loosen environmental standards, safety regulations and get rid of the minimum wage. Walker also chairs the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, that gave out taxpayer money to companies who've off shored jobs as well. But he forgot to mention that.

Here's Trek CEO John Burke's response:

WPR: Mary Burke's brother John Burke, who is Trek's current CEO, blasted the Walker for making what he said were false statements about the Wisconsin company. John Burke shot back accusing Walker of making false claims “to try to harm the company” that his family had worked hard to build. “Mary Burke did not make any manufacturing decisions; I did,” said Burke. “If I had not made the decision to source product globally, including from the United States, Germany, Holland and China, there would be no Trek and no 1,000 Wisconsin Trek jobs today.”

So does Scott Walker love Trek? You be the judge with your vote on election day.

Falling behind the other GOP “leaders,” Scott Walker decides to Repeal Common Core!!!

I'm beyond furious over the purely political gamesmanship of Scott Walker and his Republican pirates. As a parent of a 12 and 15 year old, I have seen the wonders and amazing progress my kids have made based on Common Core.

School districts are now being told the estimated $25 million local taxpayers paid in since 2010 will be tossed, so Walker can shore up his base of low information voters here and nationwide. I'm wondering how many parents like me are fuming over this partisan campaign tactic. Using our kids for his reelected is pathetic:

jsonline: Joe Zepecki, campaign spokesman for gubernatorial candidate Mary Burke, said Thursday's release "is a desperate election year move by a career politician to shore up his extreme right wing base. The transparency of the political nature of this move could not be clearer. The legislature isn't in session. He offers zero explanation for why wants to undermine efforts to improve our educational standards from 38th in the country and zero plan for moving forward. Why the sudden change of course after 3 years of DPI working on implementing these standards? "

For starters, Common Core doesn't take away local control. What would really take local control away is Walker's repeal of Common Core and the new set of standards crafted by big government politicians in Madison, instead of local and national educators.

The Beloit Daily News wrote this editorial today, even before Walker's announcement:

Some (governors) are even beginning to sing from the hymnal, suggesting it’s all some kind of federal plot to steal children’s brains. Nonsense.

Keep in mind the pump was primed by American concerns the country’s students were not keeping up globally, and that improving competitiveness would require more standards and more consistency. That’s why business came to the table, to push harder for economic primacy.

There’s an old saying in the private sector: What gets measured gets done. It is impossible to uphold standards without measuring progress and performance, a process that creates databases about children in school. This is a work in progress, and that’s a good thing.

What should raise hackles, though, is the constant negative drumbeat by radical politicians claiming Common Core is some kind of plot against America and its children. For Heaven’s sake, that’s ridiculous.

Ask yourself: A broad coalition of smart people set the Common Core process in motion. That doesn’t mean it is perfect. But would you rather your kids and the standards they learn by became the playground of politicians, subject to the wild ideological swings of that realm? Not us. Common Core is a good start, based on a reasonable goal. As Bill Clinton once said in a different context, “mend it, don’t end it.”

Minnesota GOP Governor Candidate hates jobs and business, promises to "Go all Scott Walker."

It would have to be a very dry, tongue-in-cheek joke from Republican gubernatorial candidate Jeff Johnson, to make sense out of his recent amazing comment:

"If we had a Republican Senate and Republican House, then we can go all Scott Walker."

A well-deserved quick correction from Democratic Farmer Labor Party Chairman Ken Martin hoped to set the record straight for those not following Wisconsin's dissent into a joblessness:

"I don't know why anyone in their right mind would want Minnesota to be like Wisconsin. For Jeff Johnson to insinuate that any way (or) stretch of the imagination that somehow being like Wisconsin is a good thing is absolutely the wrong thing to say if you are running for governor in Minnesota."

Yes, joblessness, as described by the Mary Burke campaign press release:

One day after career politician Scott Walker launched his latest attack on a great Wisconsin company (Trek), new jobs numbers reveal Walker's continued failure to create jobs. Following the latest release, which revised May private sector job creation down to a loss of 900, and showed for the first time a loss of 1,200 private sector jobs in Wisconsin in June, Burke for Wisconsin Communications Director Joe Zepecki said.