A Tale Of Two Gubernatorial Races

It was the best of gubernatorial races; it was the worst of gubernatorial races.  

The nice thing about this year's gubernatorial race is that it was really easy to see the bad choices. Heck, they even sometimes took themselves out of the race. And now we have a zombie campaign of a guy who can't decide if he's in or out - or even who he really is.  

But it is also a very difficult choice because we are fortunate enough to have not one, but two, great candidates in Mandela Barnes and Francesca Hong.  They are both wonderfully progressive.  They both have very similar platforms, including making the rich finally pay their fair share of taxes; fully funding schools; universal childcare; making healthcare more affordable; and workers' rights.

There are only a few subtle differences between the two, and that is probably due more to semantics than to actual differences.  Hong is stronger on AI data centers, whereas Barnes is more focused on affordability issues and workers' rights.  

Before I go further, let me state this as clearly as I can: if either Hong or Barnes wins the primary, they will have my full support in the general election. I would be happy and eager to vote for either one. In fact, it would have been ideal if one of them ran for Lt. Governor. That would be the dream ticket of a lifetime.

But who to vote for in the primary?  I've thought about this long and hard, going back and forth between the two of them.  

I have finally decided to cast my ballot for Mandela Barnes.

Let me explain why. The only real difference between the two of them is experience. They are both fearless. They both are strong on their positions and can go toe to toe with Tom Trumpfany.

But the thing is, based on what I've seen, I think Hong will be able to stand her ground. However, I know that Barnes can do it.  Barnes has shown that time and again by standing up to Scott Walker and taking on Ron Johnson, coming within a breath of beating RoJo. Even Ben Wikler said that the DNC dropped the ball by not showing up for Barnes.

Furthermore, Barnes has shown he is unafraid of the establishment. He became a state rep by beating Jason Fields, who was known as Robin Vos's favorite Democrat. He also stepped up and ran against then State Senator Lena Taylor, who had sold out her constituents more times than I can count.  And he's had to deal with attacks from the Democratic establishment during this election cycle, even before he formally announced his campaign.

So, while I am voting for Mandela Barnes in the primary, I am ready to support either of these wonderful people in the general.

You can visit Hong's website here.

You can visit Barnes' website here.

PS: Both candidates are to be commended for running clean campaigns and not sniping at each other, which is more than can be said for the also-rans.

Wisconsin's Foremost Poltiical Loony Is About To Have Real Power In The Senate.

 Yes, Wisconsin's senior senator, Ron Johnson, king of conspiracies and conveyor of fake electoral college ballots is about to take over the chairmanship of the Senate Budget Committee. Normally this would be something to be a bit proud of since Wisconsin pols seldom achieve any real power in Washington.

But given that Rojo has done nothing but bring shame upon the state and would be the biggest idiot in the city if it weren't for Trump's presence in D.C., this doesn't bode well for the nation. Despite his supposed tendency to buck the GOP, rest assured, he will support the MAGA agenda to the max. 

BTW: looks like the heat is starting to get to him.

P.S. If only the Senate Dems had supported Mandela Barnes a few years ago...

Donald Trump Caused The Death of Two American Service Members Today,

Under the circumstances I am saying it is murder.

OK America, when is enough going to be enough?How many of your sons and daughters are you willing to sacrifice to this megalomaniac? 

And I haven't seen any of his kids enlisting, aina? They've got their own arsenal at their ready.

New York Times today:

Iran War Live Updates: 2 U.S. Soldiers Killed and 1 Service Member Missing in Iranian Attack on Jordan

 

The Reflecting Pool Has Been Drained For Repairs and It Wasn't Vandals The Did The Damage

 Apparently it was the Goths and Visigoths. Go figure.

Sorry, it's hot, that's all I got right now.

The Rodriguez Campaign Is In A Shambles

By now, the gentle reader has surely heard about the latest self-inflicted wound to the Sara Rodriguez campaign.  It turns out that her campaign finances are nowhere near as rosy as she wanted to believe, and that it hasn't been for months. Due to multiple double entries and missed expense reports, Rodriguez thought her campaign had $1.5 million, but in reality, it was just about $200,000. That's quite an error.

Late on Sunday, Rodriguez sent out a press release saying that she had fired her campaign manager with just under a month to go until the primary. Then, on Monday, she held a press conference to show her complete transparency and leadership skills by repeatedly throwing her former campaign manager under the campaign bus. 

The one thing she did not do was take ownership of her role in this disaster. But she did let it slip out inadvertently:

Rodriguez said her campaign manager had worked with her for several years and in compliance for her whole career.

“As we are trying to make sure we have a lean campaign, it made sense for her to do the compliance report since that was her expertise, and that was one thing I had full trust in,” Rodriguez said, adding that Spencer had given her reports on a regular basis about the finances, and everything looked fine until last week. 

In other words, she made her campaign manager her finance manager and her compliance officer, all to save a buck and run a "lean campaign."  Well, it's pretty lean now, isn't it?  Austerity never works out well and never really saves any money. Now she has no campaign manager, no finance manager, and no money.  

To make matters worse for Rodriguez, this is just the most recent problem she has had. She's had the gaffe about doing the budget behind a curtain (which is really ironic now), to saying we should be collaborators with the ICEtapo, to saying that she needed to study whether to raise the minimum wage for the first time in 17 years, to snubbing the Muslim community.

Despite all this, Rodriguez vows to see things through to the bitter end, which shows either an amazing amount of resilience or an incredible level of denial.

Rodriguez And Crowley Have Some Explaining To Do

Both Sara Rodriguez and David Crowley owe the public for their recent behavior.

All of the gubernatorial candidates were invited to a forum hosted by the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Alliance and the Wisconsin Muslim Civic Foundation.  Rodriguez and Crowley had originally accepted, but they backed out when they were provided the questions ahead of the forum. 

The questions included whether the attacks occurring in Gaza were a genocide and whether there should be a formal boycott of Israel.  

Both campaigns offered a mealy-mouth excuse on why they couldn't attend and offered to meet with the groups privately. 

That will not suffice. The public deserves to know why they were afraid to show up and answer those questions. 

If Rodriguez wants to serve the people in Wisconsin, how do we know she will serve all of the people in Wisconsin and not just certain groups?  Likewise, even though Crowley dropped out of the gubernatorial race, Milwaukee County has a Muslim population, as well. Is he representing them or not?

After all, Islamophobia is just as bad as antisemitism or any other form of bigotry, and we need to know if we are voting for bigots or not.  

At least there's no doubt about Tom Tiffany. All he does is blow his racist dog whistle.

The Democrats Have A Listening Problem

For years, people would say that the Democrats had a messaging problem, which is true. However, their messaging problem is secondary to a listening problem. 

For example, in 2014, as Wisconsin began to feel the real impact of Act 10, people wanted someone to take on Scott Walker and reverse the Republican attack on workers. Instead, Mike Tate and the Democrats forced Mary Burke, a millionaire who said she liked parts of Act 10, on us. They weren't listening, and Burke lost.

In 2016, we were calling for Hillary Clinton to come to Wisconsin. She didn't listen to us, never came to the state, lost the state, and the election to Donald Trump.

In 2024, people from all over the country said that they didn't want their tax money going to Benjamin Netanyahu's genocide against Palestine. But Kamala Harris told us she was talking, so she didn't listen, and then we got a Trump presidency again.  

Jeff Simpson and I would complain about this until we were blue in the face. And the establishment Democrats would only say, "Sit down, shut up, and vote the way we tell you to vote."  Needless to say, it rarely worked out well for them.

Unfortunately, this year isn't looking any better.  The people are calling for an end to the corruption. They are calling an end to the grift. And they are calling for an end to the rich not paying their fair share. 

So what does the Democratic establishment do?  They give us Sarah Rodriguez, who takes PAC money left and right, including from the power company after she voted their way.  They give us Sarah Godlewski, a millionaire who doesn't have to pay taxes. 

Unfortunately, Godlewski is a given because no one good is running. But if the establishment forces a Rodriguez-Godlewski ticket, there could be a serious enthusiasm gap, like there was in 2024.. And if they should lose, the Dems will just do what they always do. Blame the voters they didn't bother listening to.

Good job, guys.

The Next Time Some GOP Pundit Belittles Social Security By Calling It An Entitlement:

 It's been mildly amusing over the years as GOP politicians and operatives and pundits have tried to belittle Social Security benefits as 'entitlements'. Well, they are entitlements, I paid for them over my work life, and now in retirement, I am entitled to them.

But this past week this got a bit more interesting. Social Security Commissioner Frank J. Bisignano sent out an email to millions of Americans touting Donald Trump's support and protection of Social Security benefits and their importance to retired Americans. He didn't use the word entitlements once...but instead used some very surprisingly factual wording to describe SS benefits. From his email.

"This weekend, America celebrates its 250^th birthday. For over 90 of those years, Social Security has provided financial freedom for America's seniors. President Donald J. Trump and the Trump Administration are not only protecting Social Security, but we are providing meaningful and immediate relief to older Americans who have spent decades contributing to our nation's economy.

Just last year, on July 4, 2025, President Trump signed into law the Working Families Tax Cuts Act. This historic legislation included a tax cut that allows Americans 65 and older to keep more of their hard-earned Social Security benefits" 

Their hard-earned benefits. Put that in the back of your memory banks and pull it out when needed in the future. Quite frankly I was shocked that this came out of the Trump administration, since they have no desire to fix or save Social Security. But there it was in black and white. 

A bit more:

"Under the leadership of President Trump, we are protecting and strengthening Social Security while providing world-class customer service... Put simply, America's seniors are winning!"

Having to deal with Social Security as part of being the executor of my brother's estate, they haven't fixed customer service issues in the least. Call times still suck and getting an appointment takes too much time and those appointments of course are weeks out. Winning??? This don't feel like winning.

 Recent news has stated that the SSA trust fund will run out even sooner than expected and benefits may need to be reduced by 22%. There are some simple fixes. But I am not holding my breath to see if Trump or Bisignano takes the lead. That's for another time.

It's just smoke up our butts before the mid-terms.

Nineteen Years Is A Long Time

 

Nineteen years ago today, I was given a glorious opportunity from my friend, Jay Bullock, aka folkbum, to enter the Cheddarsphere. I never looked back.

Over the course of the next year, I gained more confidence, if not skill. I was also given the keys to another site, Whallah.

One thing led to another, and 18 years ago, this site was born.  Since it started, a lot of things have happened.

We saw the rise and fall of Scott Walker. We have seen the rise, the fall, and the rise again of Trump, the Pedo President.

Many writers have come and gone. Keith Schmitz. My blog daughter Meg. And, of course, the late but still great Jeff Simpson.

But there is more to come. I am very proud to announce that my prodigal daughter-in-blog, Meg, is returning to the fold. Word has it that Drunken Van Orden is in deep trouble now.

I could keep prattling, but you will have to excuse me. I have a county, a state, and a country that need my help.

And just remember, it's all Jay's fault!!

Has The Trump Administration Offered Any Earthquake Help To Venezuela?

 In the past, isn't that what we would do? 

This might be a time to ask Vance: WWJD?

WWTD? What Would Trump Do? Yale, I am talking to you!

 Donald Trump's Dept of Justice began investigating Yale University for racial bias in their admissions to the medical school. Apparently DOJ has now expanded that into investigating the same 'issues' with their law school and undergraduate programs. 

Of course DOJ has presented no evidence and Yale is certain that it is meeting the letter of the 'law'. But reportedly Yale is seeking a settlement with the Feds to avoid a long drawn out, read expensive, court case. 

Well, Yale. Take a page from Donnie's play book. Revoke the diplomas of every Trump administration member who graduated from Yale. I am sure there are a few of them...and when they complain..smirk and shrug and move on. 

A Timely Reminder About Donald Trump's Legacy (stolen from Social Media)

 

Now would be a good time to remind everyone of these Trump facts.

7 Times flew on Epstein's Plane.

97 Times Pleaded The Fifth.

34 Felony Convictions.

91 Criminal Charges.

26 Sexual Assault Allegations.

6 Bankruptcies.

5 Draft Deferments.

4 Indictments.

2 Impeachments.

2 Convicted Companies.

1 Fake University Shut Down.

1 Fake Charity Shut Down.

$25 Million Fraud Settlement.

$5 Million Sexual Abuse Verdict.

$2 Million Fake Charity Abuse Judgment.

$93 Million Sexual Abuse Judgements.

$400+ Million Fraud Judgment.

First President in history to serve a full term increase the deficit every year he was in office.

First President in history to maintain a debt to GDP ratio over 100% for his entire term.

Highest annual budget deficit.

Most added to the national debt in a single term.

Most new unemployment claims.

Largest single day point drop in the history of the Dow.

First major party candidate in half a century to lose the popular vote twice.

Longest government shutdown in history (and he did that while his own party controlled both chambers of Congress).

First President in the history of approval ratings to maintain a net negative approval rating for his entire term.

First President to be impeached twice.

First President to have bipartisan support for his conviction after impeachment (which happened both times).

Most indictments, guilty pleas, and criminal convictions of members of an administration.

First president to have a mugshot.

Guest Bloggers Endorse Sen Melissa Ratcliff

Wisconsin State Senator Melissa Ratcliff took time out of her busy schedule to celebrate Take Your Dog To Work Day. She posted this on her Facebook page:

Happy National Take Your Dog to Work Day! 🐾

Today, our four-legged staff members are hard at work overseeing office operations, supervising

 snack breaks, and conducting important meetings about belly rubs and tennis ball procurement.

While they haven’t mastered constituent casework just yet, they have excelled at boosting morale, encouraging walks, and reminding us to take a break every now and then.

A special thank you to our canine colleagues for their dedication to public service (and their willingness to accept payment in treats).

Share a photo of your favorite furry coworker in the comments! 🐶❤️

#TakeYourDogToWorkDay #OfficePup

As working dogs, we thank Senator Ratcliff for honoring this important part of our workforce and our society. Senator Ratcliff is not up for reelection this year, but we officially endorse her anyway.

Today's guest bloggers are Beau and Bandit, the blog dogs. Their opinions are their own, but shared by this blog.

False Flag?!? Reported Plot To Attack White House UFC Event

 And another example of a high level Trump administration appointee who can't keep his mouth shut: 

Kash Patel on X on the morning of June 16, 2026: “On June 10, FBI and our law enforcement partners became aware of a potential threat to the UFC America 250 event in Washington, D.C. involving individuals outside of the National Capital Region — and thanks to the rapid action of this FBI, our partners, and the Department of Justice in a multi-state operation, multiple individuals are now in custody and allegedly planned attacks were stopped cold”.

AND: "FBI Director Kash Patel prematurely announced details of an investigation into an alleged terror plot targeting last weekend’s White House UFC event, sources told MS NOW on Tuesday.

Ken Dilanian, the network’s justice and intelligence correspondent, wrote on X that Patel’s disclosure on social media compromised the sealed investigation because it came before another 10 suspects or so could be apprehended."

So another law enforcement investigation put at risk by Patel. Why is he still at the FBI?

But next, it has now been another week and all we hear out of the White House is the vandalism of the reflecting pool. Was this purported attack a False Flag event? See? There...I can do conspiracy stuff as well as they can.

BTW: where is the suspected golf course assassin?

Why Is This Being Made Public and WORSE: Why Is This A Surprise?

 Downed Pilots Account Of Iran's "jellyfish" Drone Formation Alarms U.S. Intel Officials.

From this story: "A US fighter jet pilot rescued by special forces after being shot down over Iran in April described a shocking sight before ejecting from his aircraft: multiple Iranian drones hovering in the air, moving as one, in a formation that resembled a jellyfish.... It immediately set off a firestorm of debate within the US intelligence community that has yet to be resolved."

First: if this is a national security issue how/why is it being discussed in the media? Can no one in the Trump administration ever keep their mouth shut?

Second: Why is this a surprise? Well of course their military is totally destroyed but that's another point...but the best intelligence in the world had missed this strategy and ability up until this point?

Instead of worrying about flaking paint, the 2020 election, and COVID distracta, can someone in Washington actually pay attention to the Trump - Iran War?  Both of these lapses need to be investigated...by Congress!

We look feeble and stupid and now inept. Even if this war ends with any type of reasonable peace agreement, we have lost this war on the world stage. But let's not ignore what's going on until then and lets not continue to put our troops at risk.  

Also from the article" "If it can coordinate itself into a recognizable shape and maintain that shape, and if it's got explosives on board, and if it is holding resources in reserve to attack whatever the first volley didn't destroy – that's a very capable approach," Bates said. (Emma Bates, a drone warfare and defense modernization expert)

So this statement is suspect too. Anyone who doubts that drones can be coordinated into recognizable shapes can see exactly that demonstrated at the Lake Front for the drone show that has replaced the July 4th fireworks display. Aina?