Friday, May 30, 2014

Jonathan Steitz Fits In On The Right

By Jeff Simpson

From Jonathan Steitz for Senate facebook page:


I ran into these Mahone Middle School students while knocking on doors in Pleasant Prairie. They're raising money for a choir trip to NY. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America!

Photo: I ran into these Mahone Middle School students while knocking on doors in Pleasant Prairie. They're raising money for a choir trip to NY. The entrepreneurial spirit is alive and well in America! 


Seriously, what is wrong with these people?   Is this what Wisconsin has come to that someone this clueless, would be considered qualified to actually be a State Senator?



Ummm Jonny:


en·tre·pre·neur

[ahn-truh-pruh-nur, -noor; French ahn-truh-pruh-nœr] Show IPA
noun, plural en·tre·pre·neurs [ahn-truh-pruh-nurz, -noorz; French ahn-truh-pruh-nœr] Show IPA .
1.
a person who organizes and manages any enterprise, especially a business, usually with considerable initiative and risk.

Is there considerable initiative and risk by three friends selling cups of lemonade?   Its not like they are doing it to eat like over half of the children in our schools since Scott Walker has become Governor!   Besides the first clue Scooby, is that they TOLD you they are doing it for a fundraiser for their SCHOOL!

fund–rais·er

noun \ˈfənd-ˌrā-zər\
: a person who collects money for a political party, charity, school, etc.
: a social event held to collect money for a political party, charity, school, etc.

They are having a fundraiser to make money to be able to take a choir trip.    They can not afford to go without fundraising.   I hate to break it to you, but ever since Scott Walker enacted the biggest cuts to public education in our states history, schools are fundraising CONTINUOUSLY! 

Seriously though Mr. Seitz, if we have to explain the simple words, no wonder ALEC is such a tempting option for our friends on the right!  

By the way what happens to anti-intellectuals in the Wisconsin republican party? 

Scott Walker LOVES you.

 Photo: Spoke with Governor Scott Walker today as he brings jobs to Wisconsin. As a State Senator I will help him bring in more.



Thursday, May 29, 2014

Hey Shopko Employees

By Jeff Simpson


I know that corporate Shopko just announced a store closing in Madison, WI.

Green Bay-based retailer Shopko plans to close its store at 2602 Shopko Drive, eliminating 66 full- and part-time jobs.
Shopko notified the state Department of Workforce Development in a letter dated May 29.
The first layoffs are expected within 60 days and will last until the end of August.
Shopko has three other Madison stores, according to the company's website.

There is no need to fear though, because Americans for Prosperity - Wisconsin is spending $1,000,0000 in ads to tell us that "it's working.", we have "bold leadership", and as the economy grows strong, Wisconsin is getting back to work too(says the guy in the messy house that represents something).

Since AFP-WI has a million dollars to blow, on bad ads, worse acting and silly platitudes, it MUST be working, our economy has to be stronger.  Which means you did not really lose your job and your store did not close.

If you have any questions, or need a refresher course in the faith and another drink of Kool-aid, contact
Contact AFP-Wisconsin
10 East Doty Street
Suite 800
Madison, WI 53703
608-204-5915 ext 4120
Email: infoWI@afphq.org
State Director – David Fladeboe
David will gladly guide you to where it IS working and where the economy is strong(just be prepared to move to MN)

PS: I would guide you to contact Scott Walker, but he is never in WI!






An Anthem To Healthcare Death Panels


 

By Jeff Simpson

An ex-republican candidate for vice-president, whom I refuse to name ever again in hopes that she disappears from the public spotlight, likes to tell people that Obamacare mandates "death panels".   Unfortunately for America(and Wisconsin), others like Paul Ryan (R-Wall St.) have repeated that flat out lie.  

The problem is, we actually DO have death panels, but they come courtesy of the people who Paul Ryan represents.

Big Pharma!

For another family in California, the Big Pharma, for profit, healthcare companies struck again

 As if this isn’t hard enough
On May 13 an MRI found 20 tumors in my husbands brain. On May 15 he could barely breathe and was in a lot of pain. A CT scan that day revealed he had a softball-sized tumor in his lung, tumors in his other lung, his liver and possibly his bones. On our way home from the imaging center our primary care doc called and told us to turn around and get to the hospital right away. My husband was admitted and they promptly removed more than a pint of fluid from his lungs, which helped him breathe better. We were there for 6 days while they performed a bronchoscopy, did more scans, gave him drugs to stop his brain from swelling and administered emergency chemo.
Today I got a letter from Anthem Blue Cross regarding his hospital stay:
"Coverage for the requested service is denied because the service does not meet the criteria for “medical necessity” under your description of benefits. To assist our Medical Director in making this decision, we have put a process in place to send all information about the service to a clinical reviewer with appropriate credentials. Based on their opinion, we have determined that covered for the requested service is denied. Our Medical Reviewer Layma Jarjour MD has determined we cannot approve your hospital stay for cancer. We do not have enough facts to show that it was medically necessary. "
Anthem is owned by WellPoint. Did you know Wellpoint CEO Joseph Swedish earned almost $17 million during his first year on the job? Now you know how they can afford to pay him.

Thank goodness, Ms. Keating struck back via shining light on this horrendous situation.   You will not find Big Pharma horror stories on any AFP website, because these stories actually happen!   

Luckily the local news picked up on this Anthem death panel story and we are able to share it with all of you. 

CAMP MEEKER (CBS SF) — A Sonoma County man battling more than a dozen tumors in his body is fighting a new battle with his insurance carrier, who has denied coverage for his treatments.
Jeffrey Rusch of Camp Meeker knew the news was bad when an MRI found 20 tumors in his brain. Two days later, a C-T scan at Sutter medical center in Santa Rosa brought another devastating blow, discovering a large tumor in his lungs, and more in his liver and bones.
Doctors told Jeffrey he would need to be hospitalized immediately.


 Our prayers are with Zoe and her husband!   Cancer is hard enough to fight without having to fight the profiteers.  


Walkergate: John Doe's Roller Coaster

Now that the unofficial start of summer is here, amusement parks are advertising their latest attractions, including the latest in roller coasters.  But no matter how many twists, turns, loops or steep drops the roller coaster might have, it pales in comparison to the events of the John Doe investigations into Scott Walker and his campaign, known as Walkergate.

There was the initial short climb of hope as Walker's cronies and lackeys, such as Darlene Wink, Kelly
Rindfleisch and Tim Russell were arrested and charged.  There were small spins and dips as, one by one, each of Walker's cronies took a plea deal, hoping that this was the one that make that big turn on Walker and rat him out.

But it appeared that this particular ride was not going to live up to expectation when the cases ended and it looked like Walker was going to walk.

In the first major corkscrew, just when it looked like the ride was over, we learned of a new John Doe - or more accurate, the Sons of Doe, which was spread over five counties and could be targeting as many as 30 separate conservative front groups, campaigns and individuals.

Whee!

Oh, but there's more.

The conservatives at the heart of the investigation tried to turn the tables on the good guys.  They through everything but the kitchen sink at the prosecutors.  They tried to stop the investigation, they sued the prosecutors, they took their case to the court of public opinion.

It looked like the bottom fell off the ride and it was over again.

But then the prosecutors added a few more twists and turns to the ride, turning the tables on Walker and company.  They said OK, let's put all the cards on the table.  In a surprise twist, they even put the original emails and other documents out as public documents, if Chris Abele ever decides to stop providing cover for his hero and mentor, Scott Walker.

Now, the Koch front groups seem to have the upper hand again.

Eric O'Keefe, head of the misnamed Wisconsin Club for Growth, filed a federal civil rights lawsuit against the prosecutors.  Federal Judge Rudolph Randa, who had gotten slapped around by the appellate court for overreaching his authority, is still trying to wreak havoc on the investigation.

I would advise the gentle reader not to fret too much.  Keep in mind that O'Keefe's complaint is so riddled with falsehoods and irrelevancies that it wouldn't hold up in any other court.  Also keep in mind that Randa is looking to be as corrupt as the rest of them, having heard the case even though the wife of Scott Walker's attorney works for him, or that Randa's wife is a big time donor to Scott Walker or that Randa himself has gone on junkets paid for by the same people that pay O'Keefe and these other front groups.

As I said, it looks like the conservatives have the upper hand.  Appearances can be deceiving.

In a bit of block buster news, providing a blind turn on this roller coaster, the conservatives have leaked that it appears that Walker has been working behind the scenes to reach a plea deal with the prosecutors per accusations made in a Wall Street Journal editorial:
Until now, the newspaper's editorial page has defended Walker against what it says is an unconstitutional violation by prosecutors of his campaign's free speech rights. In Wednesday's editorial, the newspaper attacked Walker, alleging that his attorney was negotiating with prosecutors at a time when they are facing legal setbacks.

"Sounds like Mr. Walker has to decide whose side he's on — his own, or the larger principles he claims to represent," the editorial reads.

A source with knowledge of the probe confirmed to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday that other conservatives caught up in the probe are worried that the attorney for the Walker campaign, Steven Biskupic, is not being aggressive enough with prosecutors and not acting in their best interests.

[...]

"While the Club fights for its First Amendment rights to speak out on the issue, the Walker campaign apparently seeks to negotiate a settlement with the prosecutors that will keep the issue out of the spotlight," Rivkin said. "This shouldn't be surprising: The business of political campaigns is to elect candidates, but the business of issue advocacy groups is to advance policy beliefs, plain and simple. The John Doe prosecutors still don't understand this fact, even when proof of it is staring them in the face from across the negotiating table."

[...]

The Wall Street Journal urged Walker not to engage in any possible settlement talks with prosecutors who "need a face-saving legal exit."

"Mr. Walker is facing a rough re-election fight this year, and perhaps he and his lawyers want to remove any chance of a September or October legal surprise," the editorial reads. "Mr. Walker might think he can help himself with a settlement, but he'd be letting down his allies if he did so in a way that lets the bogus theory of illegal coordination survive....Mr. Walker is a hero to many for his fight against public unions, but he will tarnish that image if he sells out the cause for some short-term re-election reassurance."
I hope that the gentle reader is susceptible to motion sickness.  This is one helluva ride!

Now, there is no saying whether Walker is or isn't involved in a plea deal.  But it would fit his modus operandi.  Remember how he was more than willing to throw Tim Russell under the bus when he became more of a liability than an asset to his political aspirations.

Undoubtedly, Walker is feeling a lot of pressure right now.  He's tied with a relatively unknown candidate, despite all of the political stunts he's pulled and the millions of dark money that's already pouring into the state to support him.  On top of that, he's facing the potential release of the original Walkergate emails and documents.  No amount of spin is going to put lipstick on that pig for Walker.

This could not only blow his gubernatorial reelection but shatter his hope for any kind of presidential bid.  And judging by his pathetic book sales numbers, it's not very likely he could successfully emulate his friend Sarah Palin by doing book tours through Teapublican states.

But the one thing that is crystal clear is that the big money groups behind dark money groups like Wisconsin Club for Growth is that they will not tolerate any backstabbing or double dealing from Walker.  The implied threat is undeniable.  Apparently they felt a horse head in Walker's bed might have been too subtle.

But the dark money groups should not be surprised that Walker would be capable of doing what he felt necessary and his own best interest.  We on the left has known Walker was a weasel for years.

It's pretty safe to say that the gentle reader should stock up on popcorn. There is surely more to come.  There is always more.

And keep your hands and feet inside the car at all times.

ADDENDUM: Walker came back firing from the him with this succinct press release:
The Friends of Scott Walker campaign today released the following statement:

Neither Governor Walker nor his campaign committee are parties to the federal lawsuit. This means they have no legal standing to reach a settlement or deal in their lawsuit.
What a very typical non-answer from Walker. But it does mean he's going to try to sell his benefactors out to save his own pelt.

In other words, the weasel wants to become a rat!

Is It Working?

By Jeff Simpson

On the same day that Scott Walker was able to get his bosses to pony up $1,000,000, to tell everyone in WI that "it's working", in a silly, poorly produced ad



Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction came out with updated numbers on childhood poverty in Wisconsin

For the 2013-14 school year, Wisconsin has 359,400 public school district students who are eligible for free and reduced-price school meals out of enrollment of 829,394 in the 413 school districts that participate in the National School Lunch Program. There are now 117 school districts that have 50 percent or more of their students eligible for free and reduced-price school meals, including the state’s five largest districts: Milwaukee Public Schools (82%), Madison Metropolitan (54%), Kenosha
Unified (55%), Green Bay Area Public (58%), and Racine Unified (63%).

I guess, AFP-WI feels that the increase of childhood poverty and hungry children in WI was an endgame, then it is working perfectly.  

I personally think "Its working!" would mean that those numbers decreased, not increased.  But that's the crazy progressive in me.  

Wednesday, May 28, 2014

Wisconsin's Miscarriage of Marriage Laws

Like Wisconsin, many other corporate-controlled states have passed laws banning same-sex marriages, because it would tear the fabric of society apart.  Unlike Wisconsin, many of these other corporate-controlled states still have Supreme Courts that follow the Constitution and have struck down these unconstitutional discrimination laws.

Here in Wisconsin, where the corporate special interests do have a majority hold on the Supreme Court, they don't need no stinking Constitution.  And since these bigoted laws obviously cannot be defended in a court of law, our Wisconsin Supreme Corporate Court just won't let the case be heard, so that it doesn't have to be defended:
But according to online court records, the court denied the "petition for original action" on Thursday, with Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson and Justice Ann Walsh Bradley dissenting. No written opinions were issued.

In a written statement, the plaintiffs called the decision frustrating.

"In the last few weeks, throughout the nation, there has been great momentum in providing same-sex couples the right to marry. We were very hopeful the Wisconsin Supreme Court would at least hear our case. We think today is also a sad day for the State of Wisconsin."

They said they hope similar challenges on the Wisconsin ban will succeed and thanked people for the support they received.
Obviously, these same sex marriages are a threat to the sanctity of marriage. And if you don't believe that, just ask people like Robin Vos or Charlie Sykes, who have celebrated the sanctity of marriage several times each.  In fact, they find marriage so sanctified that they couldn't even wait to celebrate before they were married to their next wives.

School Choice Wisconsin Shows Their Hand



By Jeff Simpson

There has been much discussion lately about the poorly named 'School Choice" debate, and no matter how they run the numbers, charter schools under perform public schools every time. 

Even Luther Olsen, has had enough of the BS.


State Sen. Luther Olsen (R-Ripon), chair of the Senate Education Committee, looks at the program differently than Vukmir. He said it's not about kids on the outside looking in to private schools; it's about kids on the inside looking out for a check.
"The question is, what is this purpose of this program? Is it a program to help poor kids get out of public schools, or is it a program to pay for the tuition of kids who are already in private schools?" Olsen said. "It's pretty obvious from the last two go-rounds (of applications) that it's the latter."
Olsen said the Legislature and governor will have to decide if the program is going to be a new entitlement program, and if so, how the state would pay for every child in a private school.
Its so rare to hear a republican in WI talk sense so make sure and read that quote again.

However the telling quote of this debate came from Terry Brown, vice president of voucher-advocacy group School Choice Wisconsin(emphasis mine):  

Terry Brown, vice president of voucher-advocacy group School Choice Wisconsin, said there's a "natural suppression" in the number of overall applications because many parents and private schools didn't want to roll the dice on applying to participate with so few seats available under the enrollment cap.

Terry Brown is pointing out that if the odds are not stacked in their favor they are not interested.    School Choice Wisconsin,does not want to play if they can't guarantee a win.  

Another subpar lesson that the voucher schools teach their children, along with a nice tell on what his interests are* for the future of WI!   

*hint they are not in your best interest!  

How bad are things for the School Choice movement now?  So bad that they have enlisted their gopher Christian Schneider to regurgitate a bunch of silly BS

You know you are desperate when Michael Grebe loans his coffee boy out to your cause!  






Tuesday, May 27, 2014

How We Talk About Health

This pretty much sums up the stigma related to mental health issues:


It really is time we need to change this.  Mental health is still a health issue.

Abele's "Best Practices" Are The Absolute Worst

As I've reported before, Milwaukee County Emperor Chris Abele is on a mission to abandon the mentally ill.  Even though there is a shortage of psychiatric beds in Milwaukee, Abele is bound and determined to make the matter worse by evicting patients at the Behavioral Health Complex into the community even though there isn't a sufficient safety net for them.

Of course, Abele tries to rationalize his inhumane treatment of these vulnerable citizens by calling it "best practices."

As part of Abele's agenda, he hired Kathy Eilers to come in and close the complex down.  When the Milwaukee County Board rejected her nomination, Abele felt so strongly about it that he again hired Eilers through a contract basis, a privilege allowed to him via Act 14, the law that allowed him to usurp power in Milwaukee County.

As far as anyone can tell, Eilers only contribution has been to have a town hall meeting with the workers at the complex where she gleefully told them that they all would be gone in a few years.  This has the predictable outcome of workers looking for new jobs and taking them when they could find them.

This only worsened the already chronic staffing shortage that was happening during the time Scott Walker was county executive and got more severe under Abele's watch.

Now it has reached the boiling point.

The nurses union went to the courthouse last Wednesday to deliver a petition signed by more than a hundred workers, listing ten items that Abele needed to do immediately to relieve this crisis.  They also issued the following press release:
At 1pm today, on the front steps of the Courthouse, dozens of Milwaukee County Mental Health nurses and frontline staff will stand up for their patients speaking out to protest unsafe staffing. The nurses will demand that County Executive Abele take immediate action to fill the dozens of RN and Nursing Assistant vacancies, and put an end to the dangerous and widespread practice of forcing nursing staff to work massive amounts of involuntary overtime. The nurses will also present the County Executive with a petition, signed by over a hundred workers, which includes a list of 10 corrective actions; and, demand he take immediate action to correct the unsafe staffing, including reducing the hospital census until such time adequate staff is hired and trained to care for patients with severe mental illness.

The nurses met with Abele on April 10th to tell him how unsafe the hospital had become and presented him with a list of actions that needed to be taken to ensure the safety of the staff and the patients. On May 1st Abele also received written communication from Local 5001 President, Jeff Weber, R.N., which listed eight specific actions that would improve the dangerous conditions; but, as of today, no response has been received, either to the meeting or the letter. “Each and every day the staff at BHD do amazing work under dangerous and unsafe conditions. As the frontline caregivers, we are calling upon the County Executive to take immediate action to ensure the safety of the patients and staff,” said Jeff Weber, R.N.

Weber explained, “The number of nurses and nursing assistants leaving the mental health center has reached epidemic numbers, made significantly worse by grossly inadequate recruiting practices. A simple retention bonus is not the answer, as we see nurses quitting before they even begin.”

Forced overtime has also reached epidemic levels with hundreds of RNs and nursing assistants forced to work a second eight-hour shift after they finish their scheduled shift. Mandatory overtime has been outlawed in many hospitals because it has been linked with medical errors, hospital infections and patient falls—all things that cost lives. Jeff Weber, RN, went on to say, “It’s unconscionable that the County Executive has done nothing to prevent this staffing problem from reaching this crisis level.”
As one would expect, Abele was conveniently "unavailable" (read "too scared to meet with the nurses"). Then again, since it was in the afternoon, Abele was probably at the University Club unwinding with Julia Taylor, Sheldon Lubar and Joe Sanfelippo.

Even though Abele was on the run, the media was there to cover the story, with a very good report done by WITI-TV.

One thing that the media didn't address is the fact that even though the county is utilizing pools and staffing agencies, the shortage is so great that shifts are going unfilled, increasing the danger for patients and staff alike. There is somewhere in the area of 45-50 openings for certified nursing assistants alone.

I'm sorry, but there is no way that anyone who allowed this crisis to happen in the first place, much less go on for this long without even trying to seriously address it, should be bantering around terms like "best practice" without specifying who they are best for.

Because whoever this dereliction of duty is best for, it sure as hell aren't the patients or the staff or the taxpayers.

Monday, May 26, 2014

Scott Walker Returns To The Scene

By Jeff Simpson

Today, on Memorial Day 2014, Scott Walker attended a "wonderful ceremony at Wood National Cemetery":

Wonderful ceremony at Wood National Cemetery in Milwaukee.



 Roughly, one third of arsonists have to return to the scene of the crime and since Scott Walker was elected with the agenda being incendiary and of conquering this state, 


Despite it being a sacred place and final resting spot for many of our deceased veterans, Wood National Cemetery was collateral damage in Scott Walker's war on Wisconsin.  

Gov. Scott Walker's budget bill includes a provision that would repeal a law that prohibits a freeway rehabilitation project from adding vehicle lanes on I-94 adjacent to Wood National Cemetery.
Like other parts of the region's freeway system, the stretch of I-94 between N. 25th and N. 70th streets is deteriorating. But planning for that stretch of roadway, including plans for widening, was met with opposition from neighbors living in the Story Hill neighborhood.
Many grave sites in Wood are adjacent to the shoulder of the freeway. Widening the freeway in that stretch would require moving the graves.
 What's the problem with that?
 
Al Richburg, director of Wood National Cemetery, which is part of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, said the agency's longtime position is "that when a vet is interred, it is considered a final and lasting resting place. It's final to us."
Richburg said Wood has 38,886 graves for veterans and their families. He said he did not know how many grave sites were adjacent to the freeway.

It really is too bad that the graves of our veterans are in the way, but as Jared Kellner found out, NOTHING gets in the way of Scott Walker's political ambitions. 

As the saying (kind of) goes, dead men give no campaign contributions.  






Glenn Grothman's Non-Campaign Campaign Stunt

Last week, Senator Glenn Grothman, who is vying for 6th Congressional District, sent out the following press release regarding Memorial Day:
“On Monday, the nation will pause to honor the soldiers in the United States armed forces who have so bravely fought for freedom and liberty for our great nation.  We will pause to honor those who have served who are still with us and those who served and have since passed away. We will also pause to solemnly remember those who, in the course of defending our nation, gave the greatest sacrifice of all, their lives.

My campaign will also pause on Memorial Day.  I’m honored to be invited to walk in the Memorial Day parade in Belgium as their State Senator, but I won’t be walking in any others and I won’t be handing out campaign literature or walking with a throng of supporters.  The Memorial Day parades are to honor our veterans, not for campaigning.”
Excuse me if this is nitpicking, but isn't the fact that he sent this press release from his campaign stating he wasn't going to campaign on Memorial Day, including information about how he is running for higher office and all the information about the district, in fact a campaign stunt, thereby cheapening the meaning of the day.

Then again, what do you expect from a guy who helped Scott Walker do all he can to disrespect and harm our soldiers in Wisconsin?

Scott Walker Wishes You A Happy Memorial Day

Yesterday, I reported how Teapublicans like Ron Johnson and Sean Duffy are nothing more than flaming hypocrites on Memorial Day.  They pretend to support veterans and honor the dead when their voting records show that they do anything but that.

This morning, Jeff Simpson showed us that Scott Walker, Mr. Original Tea Party himself, is one of the most tactless oafs in state history, by thinking it  a nice thing that a mother visits her dead son at the cemetery. Methinks a nice thing would be for mother and son to be able to visit in person because he wasn't dead, but that's just me.

I would add that Walker has a long history of practicing hypocrisy so great that he makes RoJo and Duffy look like slackers.

I would point out how Walker has done so many sick things to the veterans, they could fill a book.  Such things that include, but in no way are limited to:

And, of course, no list of Walker's crimes against veterans would be complete without mention of how Walker set up a campaign stunt disguised as a veterans fun, named it Operation Freedom, and gave full control of it to long time friend and political operative, Tim Russell, to raid and use to help pay for his campaign website, among other things.

Even while Walker was Milwaukee County Executive, his disdain for veterans was evident.  He had refused stimulus funds that were to be used for building a residential center for homeless veterans.  Fortunately, the County Board had overrode him and got the funds.  Of course, as the gentle reader might suspect, when the building opened, Walker was right there for holy pictures and to take credit for the thing he didn't want.

Walker's latest of hypocrisy comes today, Memorial Day 2014.

Walker was at an event in the morning at Woods National Cemetery in Milwaukee.  This is the same cemetery that Walker is considering tearing up and disturbing the final resting place of hundreds of veterans who gave their all, just so he can appease the road builders, a big time, long time contributor to his campaigns.  He's already repealed the law that had protected the cemetery to expedite this.

The Teapublican hypocrisy, especially Walker's, towards are veterans is inexcusable and should not be tolerated.

We Need To Change The Debate On Global Climate Change

A new direction on the global climate change debate from "Tonight with John Oliver" with Bill Nye the Science Guy (NSFW):



"I can't hear you over the weight of the scientific evidence."

On Memorial Day

By Jeff Simpson


Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker, thinks it is "nice" that your son is dead:



What could be a nicer way to spend your day, then visiting your son's grave? 

I can think of about a billion or two.  

Unbelievable!  


Sunday, May 25, 2014

Wiggy Wobbles With The Truth

By Jeff Simpson

The Hypocrisy is Strong in this one*:     Embedded image permalink

August 12th 2013:

 Another day and another chance for the Solidarity Singers in Madison to get a permit. They won’t, and they will get arrested. Democratic legislators like State Senator Bob Jauch will lose all sense of perspective and compare the arrests to  various atrocities and the media will gloss over them.

But then this was never about free speech. This is about power. Notice the rhetoric of the Solidarity Singers and their supporters when another group takes out a permit. They allowed the permitted event to happen. They didn’t interfere with the wedding. They are allowing others to exercise their free speech rights.

That is not what democracy looks like. That’s fascism

fas·cism

noun \ˈfa-ˌshi-zəm also ˈfa-ˌsi-\
: a way of organizing a society in which a government ruled by a dictator controls the lives of the people and in which people are not allowed to disagree with the government
: very harsh control or authority

Full Definition of FASCISM

1
often capitalized :  a political philosophy, movement, or regime (as that of the Fascisti) that exalts nation and often race above the individual and that stands for a centralized autocratic government headed by a dictatorial leader, severe economic and social regimentation, and forcible suppression of opposition
2
:  a tendency toward or actual exercise of strong autocratic or dictatorial control <early instances of army fascism and brutality — J. W. Aldridge>
 May 8, 2014
 
 
The decision that will receive the most publicity is the one by Judge Rudy Randa, who shut down “John Doe 2.” It was an investigation into conservative organizations who spoke out during the recall elections, including Wisconsin Club for Growth.
Randa slapped down the investigators, even threatening them with contempt of court if they attempted to continue the investigation. Randa freed the organizations from any obligation to cooperate with the investigation and ordered the return of any property seized by the investigators.
Randa based his decision to end the John Doe probe on the effect it was having on the free speech rights of the investigated organizations. Because they were not engaged in express advocacy in the elections, their free speech was (and is) protected under the First Amendment and not subject to campaign finance laws.
Think what was happening. Organizations who were solely engaged in the practice of speaking about political issues were subject to police raids in the night, the seizure of computers and records, and then forbidden to speak publicly about it.
It is not an exaggeration to say what was happening in the John Doe investigation was just steps away from Solzhenitsyn’s description of the Black Marias of the state security police coming in the night.
Randa recognized that when he wrote, “It is a recognition that maximizing First Amendment freedom is a better way to deal with political corruption than allowing the seemingly corruptible to do so. As other histories tell us, attempts to purify the public square lead to places like the Guillotine and the Gulag.”
 

So first amendment rights do not apply to a handful of citizens who want to sing in a publicly held building but they are unlimited to billionaires who want to take a few million and work with the campaign of a politician to see the best way to spend their money?  

Dumb ass!  

*  picture from @jwigderson public twitter feed.