Sore Loser Of The Day

Randy Bryce told me that when Cathy Myers called him last night to concede the election, she was actually pleasant.  I thought that was a nice surprise, especially after the highly negative and vitriol-filled campaign she ran.  I naively thought that that was at least over and we could just move on to take out Lyin' Bryan Steil, Ryan clone.

Then when I got home tonight, I saw this:

Man, that is just sad.  I just hope that Myers keeps her word and endorses Randy for the general election.  

capper's Recommendations For Wisconsin's August 14 Primary

The following are people that I will either be voting for or would be voting for if I lived in those districts:

STATEWIDE

GOVERNOR:

Mahlon Mitchell  - I struggled with this decision until just a few days ago. I was torn between Mitchell and Kelda Roys.  I was actually leaning towards Roys, but when I heard about her ties to Boss Abele, that killed the deal. I want to be sure that my vote went to someone who would represent us and not the plutocrats.  Also Mitchell is stronger on workers' rights, being a union man himself. 

LIEUTENANT GOVERNOR:

Mandela Barnes - This was one of the easiest choices to make. I've known Mandela for years and know him to be pro-worker, unafraid to stand up to the Republicans, energetic and smart. 

STATE TREASURER:

Sarah Godlewski  - I've been very impressed with her campaign and her strong passion and will.

SECRETARY OF STATE:

Doug LaFollette  You can't beat decades of experience.  His office has taken a beating from the Republicans for the last several years and would have been abolished if not for LaFollette's institutional knowledge and political savvy. 

US CONGRESS

District 1:

Randy Bryce - My least surprising pick of the day.  Like Mandela, I've known Randy for years. I know that he is the kind of person who will stand by your side through thick and thin and is tireless in his work to lift everyone up.  He's the only union-backed candidate for the district and has run a very sharp and positive campaign, despite all the mud flinging his opponent has done.

District 4:

Gwen Moore  - Gwen is a tried and true champion for Milwaukee and for the state. She is very strong on labor issues and is absolutely fearless and tireless.  Besides, her opponent is a convicted felon. No, really.

STATE ASSEMBLY

DISTRICT 16

Supreme Moore Omokunde

STATE SENATE

DISTRICT 19

Lee Snodgrass


MILWAUKEE COUNTY SHERIFF

Earnell Lucas

Don't Let The Fox In The Treasurer's Office

By Jeff Simpson

In the 2018 primary, one of the major positions we are voting for is State Treasurer.

If you recall,  the Fitzwalkerstan crew tried to get rid of the Treasurers office and even put it on the ballot.   The people of Wisconsin soundly said they wanted to keep the office.

Now it is time to put it in competent, adult hands.

While I believe that Dawn Marie Sass is the person that needs to be put back in that position, I am just as certain that Sarah Godlewski is not the one.

Godlewski, just moved back to Eau Claire, WI, where her and her husband Maxim Duckworth started a company together - MaSa Partners. 

MaSa Partners is a boutique social impact venture that invests in early-stage companies seeking to shape a better future.

The happy couple moved here from DC, where Maxim was kindly shown the door(along with the last remaining Fortune 500 Company in Baltimore) from the city where Maxim was the managing director of portfolio management and trading for Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group.   

Well he used to be until the Federal Energy Regulatory Committee had other ideas. 

In case you think you may have heard of Constellation before it is because they agreed to the largest settlement in history - $245 Million dollars. 

The $245 million settlement that Baltimore's Constellation Energy Group agreed to pay is the largest of its kind to resolve allegations of market manipulation with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission.
Details of the settlement emerged Monday, the same day Chicago-based Exelon Corp. closed on its $7.9 billion takeover of Constellation. The sale creating the largest non-utility energy provider in the United States ushers Baltimore's last Fortune 500 company out of town. The New York Stock Exchange will de-list Constellation shares Tuesday.
Federal energy regulators approved both the sale and the settlement late Friday.
The settlement between Constellation and FERC resolves allegations that the company intended to manipulate New York wholesale energy markets by making trades to influence certain energy prices from September 2007 to December 2008. Those transactions, in turn, benefited other holdings in the company's energy-trade portfolio, FERC alleged.
While Constellation disagreed with FERC's findings and admitted no wrongdoing, the company said it was in its best interest to settle and move ahead with the merger.
Standard & Poor's described the settlement Monday as a "record-setting fine."

What does this have to do with Max and Sarah?

Under the settlement, each of the four employees may not hold any position involving physical and financial energy trading at Constellation, a successor company or affiliate. The men are Michael Pavo and Jason Hughes, who were traders; their supervisor, Joseph Kirkpatrick; and Maxim Duckworth, the trading group's managing director of portfolio management and trading.

Pavo, Hughes and Duckworth remain with the company, while Kirkpatrick left on his own, Constellation said.

They manipulated the New York energy market, causing untold problems on thousands and thousands of people, pay a quick $243 million fine and walk away with your money and pensions intact!

They brought their millions back to WI so they could then buy a State Treasurers seat. 

Do we trust someone who, knowing the damage he caused, would then go into business with someone who was banned by the Government from doing his job ever again, now wants to be the Treasurer of Wisconsin?

I sure do not! 

How Much Would Cathy Myers In Congress Cost Us?

Think about these two things:

Cathy Myers cost Illinois taxpayers thousands and thousands of dollars when she cheated on her taxes.

Myers cost the taxpayers of Janesville School District $15,000 when Myers broke confidentiality and acted unethically to get her campaign manager a generous lawsuit settlement.

Now ask yourself, how much money would Myers screw the taxpayers if she got near the trillions of dollars that the US Government has?

We can't afford Myers anymore than we could afford Lyin' Paul Ryan.

Vote Randy Bryce on August 14th!

Myers' Scandal Is Simply Stunning

For the past fifteen months, Cathy Myers and her staff have spent the majority of their time attacking Randy "IronStache" Bryce.  They have falsely accused Randy of misogyny, have poor-shamed him and dredged up 20 year old traffic tickets in an order to paint him as the new Antichrist or something.

At first, I thought she might have gone so far negative because she couldn't get any traction on her own.  While that probably did play a large part of it, the real reason turns out to be that she was trying to keep everyone's attention diverted from her own major scandal.  This scandal sounds like something that is the cross between a Jerry Springer show and Judge Judy.

Even though it's been going on for several months, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Mary Spicuzza and Dan Bice finally got around to covering a lawsuit filed against Dennis Hughes, Myers' live in campaign manager.  The lawsuit was filed by Myers' then boyfriend and Hughes' former lawyer, Roger Merry.

The gist of the lawsuit is that Hughes did not pay Merry for legal fees from Merry representing him in a lawsuit against the Janesville School Board, which Myers sits on.  But as I am prone to point out, there's more.  There's always more (emphasis mine):

Starting in 2015, the messy legal battle involved Myers' now-campaign manager, Dennis Hughes, and her then-boyfriend, Roger Merry.

Critics say the case presented a clear conflict for Myers. They suggest Myers was improperly forwarding school board information to Merry and siding with Hughes in his open records dispute.

"This is a disgrace to the school board and is deeply concerning to me as a former elected official in the First Congressional District," said former Kenosha County Supervisor Leah Blough, a Bryce supporter.

In 2015, Hughes was a union representative for AFSCME who sued the district over its refusal to release records. Merry, an attorney, agreed to represent Hughes in the lawsuit. And Myers was living with Merry in his Janesville home.

Hughes was also a friend of both Merry and Myers, and had lived with them in their large Janesville home.

Before he went to court, the school district took the unusual step of getting a temporary restraining order against Hughes. It was later dismissed.

Hughes eventually won the records lawsuit and got a $15,000 settlement agreement from the district.

But the money still sits in a trust account overseen by Merry, who has declined to turn over the cash to Hughes. Merry has sued Hughes, saying the money is owed to him for legal fees, even though there was no written contract. He and Myers are no longer together.

So we have Myers who sent emails from the board, including closed meeting items, to her live in boyfriend. Said boyfriend became the lawyer for Hughes, who was living with both Myers and Merry at the time. Eventually, Merry was able to use the information in these emails to get Hughes a $15,000 settlement.

As for the restraining order, Hughes said that it was completely unjustified. This is not true. Hughes has already a record of being convicted for disorderly conduct.

And Myers does not deny sending the emails, despite the glaring conflict of interest:

Myers agreed, saying she felt that the former Janesville administration was hiding things from the public. She offered a succinct explanation as to why she forwarded a note about the order to Merry from her public account. Merry was not representing Hughes at the time.

"I thought it was bullshit," Myers said. "I felt an injustice was happening.

"There was an injustice going on, and there were attempts that were being made by the administration to cover it up and conceal things that shouldn't be concealed," she said. "They were using a harassment restraining order in order to do that, and I thought it was wrong."

Myers tried to further justify her unjustifiable behavior by saying she wouldn't personally benefit from the $15,000 settlement pay out:

A Janesville constituent first raised concerns about Myers' conduct in the case several years ago.

"I want to know why it would not be a conflict of interest for you to have inside information on all school board matters, including closed-door meetings. And then be in a position to tell your live-in boyfriend, Roger Merry, all of that information," Barbara Cullen wrote in a September 2015 email. "This seems wrong. Can you inform me as to why this is OK with your ethics?"

At the time, Myers defended herself by insisting she would have to "have substantial financial benefit in order for it to be a conflict of interest," citing the district's attorney and the Wisconsin Association of School Boards. Myers forwarded the email exchange to Merry.

"I will not profit by this at all. Roger and I are not married," she wrote back to Cullen. "We do not have a shared bank account."

Cullen responded by calling her a woman "lacking integrity."

While she might not have benefited directly from helping to push the settlement through by sharing the confidential information, it would benefit her campaign manager. This is still against every ethics code ever written. Why she has not been brought up on charges yet is beyond me.

It also should give one pause to wonder what she would do if she were elected to Congress. If they passed a bill or policy that she disagreed with, or if she wanted to benefit herself or someone close to her, would she again think she is above the law and do whatever she felt like, despite however unethical or illegal it might be? That strong possibility alone should make any rationally thinking person reconsider any support for her, either in this race or any future races.

Clearly, Myers is not fit for any office, including the one she holds now.

Chris Abele Suspending Values Tour

By Jeff Simpson

Capper has well documented, the exploits of current Milwaukee County Exec Chris Abele.  Anything that happens with him should come as no surprise. 

We pointed out recently how Leadership MKE, the political arm of Abele, is working hard to temper the coming blue wave. 

The fake Democrat Abele's group, led by GOP allies George Aldrich(Abele's Chief of Staff) and Andy Suchorski(Abele's Political director), have been attacking progressives in Milwaukee.

Now "Leadership MKE" (who the hell named that), has jumped in the Sheriff's race by strongly backing Richard Schmidt.  Yes, we live in a Democratic Republic and you can back who you want to back, but when the person you are backing believes this:

The criticism surfaced Monday about comments Schmidt made last year during a podcast interview. Schmidt told domestic violence victims who are Christians to submit themselves to the Holy Spirit, adding that God would restore their relationships.
Schmidt also failed to criticize the podcast host, a minister who said the victim should change, not the abuser. 

But wait there is more - like an exact quote:

“If someone is struggling, and their marriage is just a disaster ... get off God’s throne, submit yourself to that person and love that person,” Schmidt said. “If we’re Christian we submit ourselves to the Holy Spirit ... get off the prideful ladder, [and] God can bless that marriage and restore those relationships.”

Yes, if your spouse is beating you, you need to be a better person.   As the saying goes in right wing wacko land

Q. What do one million battered women have in common?
A.  They just don't listen! 

What does the Milwaukee County Exec Chris Abele. the guy who paid to keep the courthouse open so our LGBTQ friends could get married, one of the main funders of Emerge, do about this revelation? 

Doubles down to support Schmidt!

Abele has sicced his political hit team after Lucas and supporting Schmidt.

There is a saying that you reflect your values in how you spend your money.  Abele has shown his by going all in with Schmidt.   Which means the next move is Emerge's.

Abele is a huge funder of Emerge, and everyone needs money:

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele, $900,200. Abele, who was first elected county executive in 2011, is also a businessman and philanthropist who traditionally supports Democratic candidates and groups. Abele’s 527 contributions went to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund, which backs lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender candidates nationwide, and Emerge Wisconsin, which helps elect women Democratic candidates.

EmergeWI has the following vision and mission:

Our Mission: To increase the number of Democratic women leaders from diverse backgrounds in public office through recruitment, training, and providing a powerful network.
Our Vision: To change the face of power, politics, and leadership in this country in order to have policies that are responsive to all Americans.

A great organization, dedicated to a great cause surely would publicly let everyone know that this was a bridge too far for them. 

Unfortunately no.   

When I contacted Emerge about it, I was told that he is just a donor and not on the board and that the money does not come with strings, so while they were disappointed they have no control over it.

Money ALWAYS comes with strings. 

Readers of CogDis, will remember, that when Diane Hendricks became chief fundraiser for the Donald, that I asked that my alma mater Beloit College remove her from the Board of Trustees(Here, here, here and here). 

I was given the same basic response from Beloit College, which can be interpreted as Money Changes Everything. 

But wait there is more.  Another person who has not weighed in on this horrible controversy is Kelda Roys, candidate for Governor? 

Why is this issue relevant to Kelda?  Because as a small business owner, she relied on investments.   One of her biggest investors?

Chris Abele! 

Research suggest that police officers have a much higher rate of domestic violence than the general population and since it is already very hard to get away and get help, what is the message you are sending to the community when the head acting law enforcement officer believes such incredible things?

While I admire Emerge WI and Kelda Roys for the positive difference they have made and are making in our state, their failure to publicly admonish Chris Abele in this instance, because he writes big checks, is very disappointing.

As Margaret Atwood says:

“Better never means better for everyone... It always means worse, for some.”

White Privilege Amongst Team Myers

"Democratic" candidate Cathy Myers, who acts more and more every day like a plant by the Republicans, sure can draw some super staff members and supporters..

Today's example is one Samantha Hanahentzen, one of Myers' paid staffers..  She got into a twitter fight with a supporter of Randy "IronStache" Bryce, arguing that Myers would be the better candidate because she has ovaries.  She doesn't explain how that's a qualifier, but whatever.

But then she questions Bryce's heritage.  Bryce is half Mexican, but Hanahentzen refutes that with what I'm sure passes as impeccable logic for her:

Brilliant! Because he doesn't speak Spanish or have a Spanish sounding last name, obviously he can't be of Latino heritage.

The saddest part is that Hanahentzen most likely got this rationale straight from Myers' campaign, which is so toxic now that they will poison everything and everyone around them with their lies and smears.

I can't wait until August 15th when Myers and all her little trolls crawl back under the rocks they came from.

ADDENDUM: I would strongly advise that Hanahentzen and anyone else that thinks the same way read this article.

Beware of Trackers

By Jeff Simpson

For those who do not pay that close attention to politics and hardly know the inside workings of campaigns.  There is a fairly consistent phenomena of campaigns sending a kid to video their opponents hoping to film them doing or saying something dumb so that they can make an ad/issue out of a misstep during the election. 

It is so much easier to use millions to smear your opponent for a misstep, than it is to let everyone judge you on your policy positions.

Mahlon, had a "tracker" following him around with a camera and decided to turn it around and film the tracker(Video here). 

Mitchell started filming Republican operative Ben Stelter, and asking him a couple questions:

The video shows Stelter videotaping Mitchell. Mitchell starts asking him who he works for and how much he’s paid. Stelter responds that he doesn’t make as much as Mitchell makes as a firefighter and president of the state firefighter union.
Stelter then climbs into his car and drives off as Mitchell asks why he follows him around.

 You can say that it is just the way politics works, but I would submit that I am curious why it took Mitchell so long to confront him and that allowing these guys to follow you around is downright dangerous. 

In the era of concealed carry, if the "tracker" does not have to identify themselves, how would you know who he was?

Do you just assume that he is assigned by the opposition.  What if he is someone that has believe the hype and believes that Democrats are the enemy of the people and is there on his own?  What if something Mitchell says while having conversations at the doors triggers him?  Has anyone done a background check on Ben?  How much does he agree with Ted Nugent?  Gabby Giffords showed us that it is dangerous to be a Democrat in public.  

We also were witness recently to the Stand Your Ground/Castle Doctrine GOP law in action.  

Markeis McGlockton was shot and killed July 19 outside a convenience store in Clearwater by Michael Drejka, sheriff's detectives say, after McGlockton shoved Drejka to the ground for confronting McGlockton's girlfriend over a parking space.Drejka was not arrested, with the Pinellas County sheriff saying the "stand your ground" law appears to give him immunity because he feared a further attack.
Sheriff's detectives said Drejka, 47, approached Jacobs while McGlockton and the couple's 5-year-old son went into the store. Drejka and Jacobs began arguing about her parking in a handicapped parking space.Jacobs concedes she parked in a handicapped spot outside the Circle A Food Store in Clearwater, and told "Good Morning America" this week that Drejka pulled up in a silver SUV and began yelling and cursing at her."(McGlockton) comes out and sees a guy yelling at me and I'm sitting in the car. So, by this time, my man is defending me and defending his children so he pushes the guy down," she told the ABC show.Jacobs said her two younger children were in the car with her.

We see in the video that Mahlon Mitchell took, when he asked Stelter, who he was working for, Stelter cowered in fear and ran to his car and drove away.  

How long until they send a kid who when he gets acknowledged, or asked a question, feels his life is threatened and takes steps to "defend himself"?  How long until a crowd gathers around the tracker and he slips and pulls his gun?   A privileged white boy introvert, following a Democrat of color who he has learned to fear and conditioned to think of as the enemy, in a diverse or less affluent neighborhood. while concealed carrying could lead to disaster.

While I personally believe that its a lowlife, TMZ thing to do by following someone around perpetually with a camera, I also realize that politics is a unique sport and logic and common sense is not allowed.

My suggestion would be that if a political party, or politician, sends someone to be a "tracker" they should be vetted and have to wear ID that is out in the open.  Or we will end up with this soon:  

When you have this happen at a rally for the GOP Presidential nominee and his response is he promises to pay the legal bills of anyone else who does so, you can not be to careful. 

Hopefully we look back upon Mahlon Mitchell confronting his tracker as a break water point in making candidates safer as they run for office.


Edit note: How could a guy who feels he needs security with him at all time send some young introverted possible psycho to follow Democratic Candidates wherever they go? 

Scott Walker the UNeducation Governor

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker is desperate and informed.  The numbers are in and public education is going to be the determining factor in the gubernatorial race this year.

Walker also knows that if that is the case he is sunk, which is why he is desperately trying to rewrite history and change the narrative!  He has even taken to trying to give himself a nickname - The Education Governor. 

Setting aside the fact that only porn stars and four year olds give themselves their own nicknames, Walker (the fiscal conservative with money to burn) has just produced his third ad "proving" he is the education Governor.

The first ad:

The first Walker education ad features Anita D'Abbraccio, a special education teacher in the Racine Unified School District. D'Abbraccio praises Walker for giving schools "flexibility to put money where it matters most, in our classroom." The flexibility D'Abbraccio references is Walker's signature Act 10 legislation, which eliminated most public employees' collective bargaining rights and required them to pay more into their pensions and health insurance premiums.

  Act 10 was not an education bill it was a political retribution bill.  It was designed with one purpose in mind - to cut off the legs of one of the strongest groups who oppose Scott Walker - the public employee unions.   By virtually eliminating teachers unions, it kept an organizing and money backer of his opponent toothless. 

Conversely, by undermining teachers unions, it made schools less safe, the teaching profession less professional and greatly affected our children's ability to learn. 

Second ad:

A second education-focused ad focuses on a bill Walker signed into law in March increasing sparsity aid for small, rural schools. That legislation also allows districts that spend less than most others to raise their revenue limits without a vote from local property taxpayers. Similar provisions were added to the 2017-19 budget by lawmakers but vetoed by Walker. He then offered his support for the measures as separate legislation.
The budget Walker signed into law in September 2017 included a $639 million funding boost  to K-12 schools.
The ad features Jeanie Hatfield, a recently retired elementary school teacher also from Racine, praising Walker for putting "more resources in the classroom this year."
Hatfield, who spent about 30 years working in public schools before retiring and starting a business, said in an interview that she was pleased with Walker's $200-per-student funding boost in this year's budget, followed by a $204-per-student increase next year. 

Have to love this one.  Scott Walker is campaigning on allowing smaller school districts, the ability to raise taxes without taxpayer approval because, because he has so dramatically cut their aid that they are seriously struggling.

Yes, in his last budget, Scott walker allocated $639 million extra dollars towards education(but gave voucher schools more than their fair share) and likes to tout that as an accomplishment. Prior to this budget. he has cut public education over a Billion and a half dollars, more then any Governor in our history.   His new "investment" is an attempt that has fallen short of righting a wrong.

I would also like to point out, that when trying to find someone to advocate for his "sparsity aid" to rural schools, found someone from Racine (the fifth largest city in WI) who is no longer a teacher. 

Latest ad:

From @scottwalker tweet:
Scott Walker
‏
Verified account

@ScottWalker
Check out our new ad! It talks about how we’re supporting Fab Labs in public schools so our smaller communities, like Three Lakes, can keep more of their graduates close to home

As Homer Simpson would say - D'oh! 

 THREE LAKES (WAOW) -
The Three Lakes School district will stay open, after voters passed a nearly $15 million referendum Tuesday night.
750 people voted in favor of the referendum, while 294 votes opposed it.
The money will be divided over the next five years and will be used for operating costs to keep the school running. 

Nothing like begging for money to keep the doors open of your local public school.   Scott Walker forgot to brag about that part in his campaign ad. 

The logical next step for the folks in Fitswalkerstan is to assign their sycophants and Walker Go-fers to give him coordinated back up. 

Christian Schneider is of course the first one to answer the call(forgive me Father, for clicking on Schneiders garble):

 Walker, on the other hand, has challenged the narrow meaning of the word “education.” During the Act 10 debate, he argued mere spending increases didn’t do kids any good if they were primarily used to prop up lavish health and pension benefits for public school teachers. His reforms both poured more money into classrooms and allowed school districts more flexibility in hiring younger, more dynamic teachers. No longer are districts hamstrung by turgid union rules meant to benefit the teaching establishment over kids.

Christian is of course, all foam and no beer. 

We have covered the ridiculousness of anyone thinking ACT10 was about education reform.    It did not "pour more money" into classrooms, nor did it give districts more flexibility in "hiring younger, more dynamic teachers".

Time out. 


What the hell does that even mean?  I know Schneider is an untouchable at the "dead tree", because of the Bradley Foundation money they so desperately need, but could someone at least fact check him once in a while?   Does he think that School districts were unable to hire younger teachers before?  Or maybe he thinks because of the union that districts could only hire younger teachers who were not dynamic?  Possibly he believes that at a certain point the elder teachers are no longer capable of teaching(however ACT10 did not eliminate complete age discrimination, maybe they can go after that next).   Now you see why Schneider is 24 cents short of a quarter. 

I digress....back to the story -

The common misperception amongst the group thinker, coffee getters of the right, is that unions only benefit the teaching establishment over the kids.   Schneider has probably not stepped foot in a public school in this century, and likes to make sure that facts and research are taboo in his writing should know that google is his friend.

In Seattle earlier in the year, the teachers went on strike and eventually settled on the following:

 • Recess: Guaranteed 30 minutes of recess for all elementary students.
• Reasonable testing: New policies to reduce the over-testing of our students.
• Professional pay: Base salary increases of 3 percent, 2 percent and 4.5 percent, plus the state COLA of 4.8 percent
• Fair teacher and staff evaluations: Test scores will no longer be tied to teacher evaluations, plus there is new contract language that supports teachers' professional growth.
• Educator workload relief: Additional staff to reduce workloads and provide student services.
• Student equity around discipline and the opportunity gap: Creating race and equity teams at 30 of the district’s schools.
• The administration’s proposal to lengthen the school day: Teachers will be compensated for additional work.

Teachers striking for more less testing, more recess and equity.  Last I saw it was the kids who benefited greatly from those concessions. 

Now on to my good friends at MacIver.   The ability to make Scott Walker an education Governor was a bridge to far for the regulars so the intern got handed that job.

Like Scott Walker's presidential run, she failed miserably. 

Facing falling revenues,On the heels of the Bush Great Recession, Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle’s 2009 budget hiked state taxes by $2 billion, property taxes by $1.5 billion, and cut state aids to K-12 education by $284 million. It’s interesting how often those on the left turn straight to Walker’s very first budget(Which cut education close to $1.6 Billion(PS: FYI Ola - 1.6 billion is much more than 284 million), ignoring what had happened just two years prior. Facing a manufactured crisis, Walker cut took a machete to state funding to schools – while also giving them the tools  forcing districts to dramatically cut teachers already low salaries,to make up the lost aid, including opening up healthcare plans to new bidding. Selective memory is a funny thing.      Bullshit Propaganda is not that funny.  

But wait there is more!

To mainstream Democrats, Act 10 has been a political pariah that very inconveniently helped out school budgets. 

Yes it has helped out school budgets so greatly that almost every district in Wisconsin, has had to go to an operating referendum in the last few years to keep the lights on and the doors open. 

I would suggest that Ola follow her owna advice and check out a school budget.   If she had an editor maybe he/she could have pointed out the blatant hypocrisy of her final points. 

The first was that thanks to Scott Walker, graduation rates are up in Wisconsin(all hail Hydra I mean Scott Walker) but in Milwaukee they are falling tremendously(not his fault).

The next is, thanks to Scott Walker, everyone is taking the same test (ACT). Now if we could only get the voucher schools to bring their test scores up to where the public schools are, then maybe Ola will actually luck into a point.

One of the most fitting stories this year in public education, is the story of the "Education Governor's" home school district - Delavan-Darien. 

 A failed referendum at Delavan-Darien schools has the district cutting 20 percent of its teaching staff.On Wednesday, the district told TODAY’S TMJ4 it is cutting several other positions district-wide to balance the budget...The district plans to cut 39 teachers, an undetermined number of non-teaching staff and close Darien Elementary at the end of the school year. 

The tools that Scott Walker gave his home town schools, was a wrecking ball! 

The reality is, according to the facts on the ground, state school funding has steadily declined under Scott Walker, and not just for teacher salaries but safety, security and special needs.  

How can a rural school meet critical needs when money for schools is less than adequate?
“A school board member went door-to-door asking for support,” Birchwood Superintendent Diane Johnson said to members of the Blue Ribbon Commission on School Funding. “He raised $3,000 to get the front doors locked.” The money raised was for purchase of a long-needed intercom system at the front door. “The doors were not locked during the day until this month,” Dr. Johnson told Commission members in May.
Dr. Johnson went on to say next would come an effort to buy key fobs for the staff and re-key the doors. The school didn’t lock the doors or change the locks for over 50 years. With a population of less than 500 in Birchwood, “everyone has a key to the school.”
School funding is not adequate for students in many communities across our state. Mounting mental health and school safety issues are just some of the problems facing superintendents, school boards and bookkeepers like Birchwood’s Bonita Basty.
Ten percent of Birchwood’s tight school budget must be transferred to cover required costs for students with special needs, Ms. Basty explained. In addition, the small district is depleting its reserve funds to cover increasing costs for students with special needs.

For the sake of our children, and the future of our State...In November show up to vote and make sure that we show that we are educated enough to know that Scott Walker is as far from the "Education Governor"as Donald Trump is to a model husband!

Milwaukee's New Sheriff, Same As The Old Sheriff

It is no deep secret that when David Clarke was Milwaukee County Sheriff, he didn't do much but shoot off his mouth and acted like a bully. It was not unusual to see stories of Clarke abusing the powers of his office to harass, intimidate or retaliate against anyone - deputy or private citizen - who would defy him, show him up or embarrass him

So it should be no surprise that he filled his command staff with loyalists who behaved much the same way as he did.

Before Clarke fled to Washington DC to become a top acolyte to Trump, he spent most of his time gallivanting about, collecting hefty speaker fees, stumping for Trump and/or schmoozing up to Russian spies. During these times, he would leave his right hand man, then Inspector Richard Schmidt in charge. These times included when six inmates died in the county jail, including one that was denied water for a full week.

When Clarke did finally make his exit stage radical right, Scott Walker appointed Schmidt to be acting sheriff. Now, a year later, Schmidt is running in his first election bid. Just as Clarke did, Schmidt is running as a Democrat even though he is anything but one.

While no polls have been done on this race, campaign finance reports indicate that Schmidt is running a distant second to the front runner, Earnell Lucas. Schmidt knows this too as shown by him becoming increasingly negative and pandering to special interest dark money to bolster his failing and flailing campaign.

Unfortunately for Schmidt, his past will continue to haunt him going into these final weeks before the primary, which is actually the general election since no one is running as a Republican. This would include his above-mentioned deaths in the jail he was overseeing.

Recently, a letter from three years ago has surfaced. The letter is a complaint against Schmidt, accusing him of harassment, retaliation, sexist remarks and defamation of character. It was filed by a woman captain that was denied a promotion and punished after suing to protect her rights.

Schmidt Complaint by Chris Liebenthal on Scribd

Some Schmidt apologists have tried to defend him by saying he was just following Clarke's orders, but that is a lame excuse. First of all, any person, but especially a law enforcement officer, should always do the right thing, even if it might make them uncomfortable. Secondly, it is sincerely doubtful that even Clarke would have ordered Schmidt to tell a woman that she just "find a rich guy, get married and quit."

Schmidt, like Clarke, is obviously unfit for office and needs to be voted out. Hopefully, Milwaukee County voters won't keep making the same mistake this time around.

Lyin' Ryan, Cathy Myers Try To Slow Down Randy Bryce's Momentum

Every since Randy "Ironstache" Bryce ran his introduction video last year, his campaign has only continued to pick up momentum and energy. This led to Bryce repealing Ryan earlier this year and has continued as he steams towards replacing him.

What the reader might not be aware of is that Bryce has to get past a primary first. Bryce's democratic opponent is Cathy Myers, an Illinois school teacher who lives in Wisconsin, just north of the Wisconsin state line. She has been desperately trying for a year to gain any sort of traction, becoming increasingly desperate and increasingly negative.

After the first debate between Bryce and Myers a couple of weeks ago, Paul Ryan's super PAC, the Congressional Leadership Fund, came out with their results of a push poll they did. In their bogus poll, they showed that Bryce and Myers were in a statistical dead heat even though they provided no proof of how they reached their conclusion. Interestingly, it is the only time that Myers even registered on a poll.

Either unaware or not caring that it was a bogus poll put out by Ryan's group, Myers has been trying to run with it, using it as a talking point to raise funds:

Now that there is only a couple of weeks until the the primary on August 14th, there is evidence that Ryan and his super PAC are at it again. People are starting to ask about a push poll phone call they received which was heavily slanted towards Myers and paid for by Ryan's super PAC:

While it is not surprising that Ryan is trying to interfere with the Democratic primary for his old seat in order to help his hand-picked, would be successor, it is annoying. On the bright side, it is a clear sign of just how scared the Republicans are of Bryce and how desperate they are not to face him in November.

Win By Any Method and At Any Cost?

Cathy Myers, who is running against Randy "IronStache" Bryce, to be the Democratic nominee for Wisconsin's First Congressional District, has run a very negative campaign for almost the entire duration.  Now, with only a few weeks to go until the August 14th primary, she has increased her negativity to a scorched earth campaign, not caring about anything but winning.  She and her campaign staff will smear Randy any and every chance they get, even if they have to make crap up to do so.

And I'm not the only one who has noticed this and found it to be a strong reason not to vote for her.

The following is an essay written by Chester Todd, Jr., who makes his own observations about the race and the different campaign styles of the two candidates.  I find it to be very well written and very eloquently stated, and is reproduced her with Mr. Todd's permission:

I would think some type of party reprimand should be in store for the Democratic Congressional primary candidate, Cathy Myers!

I am referring to the recent one-sided attack of Myers against her primary opponent, Randy Bryce, who is also running for the Congressional seat presently held by Paul Ryan.

Apparently, someone in Myers campaign investigated and exposed to the media, some personal business from candidate Bryce’s past pertaining to his legal dealings with another person. It is understandable that Myers wants to win; however, by any means necessary or should I say, victory at any cost?

Is it any wonder that the party has a tough time winning significant seats when some of their candidates are allowed to engage in such negative, internal traitorous behavior? Is there not such a thing as, party loyalty or integrity? Oh, and just to be clear, as of this moment, I personally, have not heard Mr. Bryce publicly or otherwise, throw any negatives at Myers, if he has and I missed it, I stand corrected.

Is winning the primary that important to Myers that she would put herself ahead of the best interest of the party?

Myers should consider, how could I or any solid liberal progressive, Black or otherwise, cast a vote in her direction knowing that she is this self-centered? If she will literally attempt to throw a fellow party member under the bus, then just think what she would do to a distant or dissatisfied constituent!

One of the main reasons Blacks do not vote in Mid-term elections is the matter of trust. Let there be no misunderstanding about what I am saying, up until now Blacks have never had anyone, running for an office of this magnitude, who has shown the amount of interest and empathy pertaining to issues affecting our life chances like Bryce, in fact, when compared to some candidates from either party, Randy is a rarity.

To be frank about what I am saying, I would be very reluctant to vote for someone who uses personal issues of this nature to go after their same party's primary opponent, especially in an election of this importance.

The way I see it, Democrats, poor, middle-class and beyond, need this seat and although I might have been misled on some of my choices in the past, of this I am sure, Randy Bryce is by far the best candidate in this primary and with all our help he will prevail and continue on to victory in the general election.

C.T. 7/20/18 Chester Todd’s One Black Man’s Opinion OBMO

Again, very well done, Mr. Todd. It's much better than I could or would have said. Thank you again for agreeing to share this with us.

If you live in this district, please give serious thought to voting for Randy Bryce.  And if you don't live in the district, or even if you do, please help support him so that we can gain this seat back for Wisconsin.

Bryce vs Myers: The Bernie Test

In advance of the upcoming primary, left leaning voters have been looking at the candidates, especially as to where they fall on certain issues.  One of those issues is where the candidate stood in the 2016 presidential election.  Were they standing with Bernie Sanders or did they support Hillary Clinton?

Randy Bryce has undoubtedly been a Bernie backer from the beginning.  In fact, Bernie asked Randy to speak at one of his rallies when he was running for president.  While Randy will readily admit that he voted for Clinton in the general election, that was only after Bernie dropped out and asked his supporters to support Clinton instead.

This year, Bernie has been here in Wisconsin for two separate rallies in support of Randy.  

But what about his opponent, Cathy Myers.  Myers also claims that she was a Bernie backer and denies repeated statements from people who were at the 2016 convention that she supporter Clinton.  However, there is no evidence of any pictures of Myers with Bernie or even at a Bernie rally.

But the thing that really blows holes in Myers' lies is the actual list from that convention on who was caucusing for Clinton.  If you look at the top of the list, you will see that Myers was one of the eight delegates from that district that were eligible to be a delegate for Clinton.

Click on image to embiggen it

It also blows her claim of being the more progressive candidate out of the water as well.

The sad part is that this far from the first time she's tried to mislead the voters and most assuredly won't be the last.

GOOD LORD We Need A New Health Commissioner!

Here are just the first ten reasons why Milwaukee needs a new Commissioner of Health.

1) Interim Commissioner Patricia McManus has released a draft plan to tackle the lead disaster only to the state. She won’t let the public see the plan. Simultaneously, she is saying she can’t get her work done (it took her six months to even issue even a draft plan), and that the city won’t give her files to get her work done. The best she could come up with in six months was that they need “very strict protocols?” They had those already.  They clearly didn’t follow them. Once the public can see this plan it had better contain a much more substantive process, given it’s the only tangible item she’s produced in six months. She applied for multiple extensions from the state. Our guess? The plan is pretty short on meaningful change.

2) McManus claimed in a Journal-Sentinel article on July 4 that “…It’s a matter of being uncomfortable with having people of color run things that they never have before” which is a strange comment. How can she have amnesia about who had that job before her for 13 years? Maybe somebody with connections at the health department can find out the vacancy rate under Baker vs. McManus?

3) How much of McManus’s plan to "clean up" the health department includes firing staff and replacing them with cronies with no health training? Why are there still no performance evaluations being done at MHD?  She’s clearly upset that she can’t just outright fire people with no due process. Watch this word salad and see if you can make sense of it. Is it the system? The managers? The dysfunction? Look between 2:03-2:05, give or take. http://milwaukee.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1681

4) The selection of the new Commissioner of Health IS NOT the mayor’s pick. The decision was made by Common Council members themselves (2:06, video above).  But McManus and local activists, in an attempt to keep her around in this role longer, will continue to paint this individual (who has a PhD and an MPH) as undesirable because “the mayor picked her.”  Thanks to Alderwoman Lewis’ explanation, it’s pretty clear to see this is not up to the mayor.

5) How badly do you have to be running a department to lose 12 managers in six months?  Somebody please start finding these people and ask them about their experiences. It will be enlightening.

6) Twice on McManus’s watch, and because of Tasha Jenkins’ decisions on the program, poor women have not been able to get cervical or breast cancer screenings.  McManus recently lied to the Journal Sentinel, saying seeing it in the newspaper is the first she’d ever heard of it.  Funny, because she was at the Finance and Personnel Committee on June 13 talking about it in detail before lying to the newspaper, saying she never heard a thing about it. Check her out at about 2:15 at the video link. See if you can make sense of this—it’s the state’s fault, it’s Kenosha’s fault—you get the routine.  The bottom line is that hundreds of poor women went without screenings TWICE on McManus’s watch.  http://milwaukee.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=1667 

7) Why have so many people had to retain lawyers under her leadership?  Many of these people will successfully sue the city for harassment, toxic work environment, and intimidation.  McManus will claim this is “reverse discrimination”, saying it’s about racism, but harassment and intimidation don’t have a reverse. All of these people worked for Commissioner Baker, so some of them likely outlasted their last Black boss who was there for 13 years. As long as the public somehow doesn’t know the Commissioner Baker was a black man, this works. But who doesn’t know that?

8) She has let several large federal funding opportunities slip by on her watch. Millions of dollars that only health departments/programs would be eligible for, that she left on the table, and she didn’t even bother applying for. Milwaukee is one of the most poorly funded health departments in the country compared to need, and somehow it will be even worse off when she finally leaves. And that’s before the city has to settle the lawsuits.  All told, we aren’t going to get out of this for under $5 million, but considering the opportunity cost of the funding that we might have received, it’s probably higher.

9) McManus went from protesting the idea of being appointed, to being appointed but saying that she would only stay while they looked for someone else, to getting angry if people called her “interim”, to now insisting on staying to “finish her work”—again we ask—what work?  The lead plan nobody can see?

10) Anybody who is betting on McManus actually helping their case to oust Barrett is as delusional as the people who watched her more than a month ago saying she knew all about the Well Woman Program being discontinued and then saying she knew nothing about it a few weeks later. It's time to stop pretending you don't know what's going on, Milwaukee elected officials. 

It’s pretty certain that McManus will claim that any attempt to usher in a change in leadership is racism, but let’s take a look at who she replaced and who is the nominee to replace to her to check how accurate that is.  Come on, Common Council. Get it together. It’s time. Somebody, DO something.

Scott Walker's Sunday Drive

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker decided to borrow a Harley for the weekend and drive around WI.  We already know that the Harley Walker rides is an election year prop.  No one in the history of Harley Davidson has looked more awkward actually riding one.

Beyond that, the ever hip Walker, decided to tweet out various stops along his way, and instead of showing what a "regular Wisconsinite" he is, he actually was on a "why I should not be re-elected" tour and did not even know it. 

Let's take a look at some highlights.

First we should point out that while Scott, drives his rented Harley around the state, the Donald is constantly threatening Harley Davidson and Scott Walker does not have the courage to speak up and ask him to stop. 

First stop was a typical Walker hangout.  A crowd of people who are 100% on his side that is all white and older.  This time though, he has taken a page out of his good friend the Donald's book on marriage.  Scott is the star and Tonette is along for the ride and shoved to the side.   Nothing to take any attention away from the candidate. 

Next stop lunch and look what we see, the same crowd of older white walkers(extra credit for those who can find tonette in that crowd).  Still efforting to see if he gets his crowd of henchmen from the same place that the Joker gets his.

Then he made a quick stop 

Enjoyed attending the grand opening of the Farm Wisconsin Discovery Center. What a great opportunity to teach kids about the farming industry. pic.twitter.com/oHtQOKL6gC

— Scott Walker (@ScottWalker) July 16, 2018

Umm Scott, I know public education is not your thing, but there are no kids there. 

Ok it has been a long day in the sun, and I am guessing you ordered kids for photo shoot and Keith Gilkes dropped the ball.

So we move on.  Next stop a local technical college(Tonette was waiting on the car).

Scott Walker‏Verified account @ScottWalker 7h7 hours ago

Great to visit Nicolet Technical College to learn about their welding and IT programs – we’re working to help students get the skills needed to fill all the jobs from those “help wanted” signs around the state!

Did no one tell Scott that he actually cut over $60 million dollars from Wisconsin technical colleges during his reign?

The state’s investment in technical college education has actually plummeted during Gov. Walker’s time in power despite a looming skilled labor shortage.
In his first budget (2011-2012) Walker slashed Wisconsin Technical College funding by $71.6 million, a 30 percent cut, reducing state support (General Purpose Revenue) for all sixteen technical colleges to only $83.5 million. That was actually less total dollars than the state invested in the WTCS 23 years earlier in 1988/89.
Funding remained flat until 2015 when, during his re-election campaign, Walker restored a mere $5 million of the $71.6 million he had previously cut. That was only 6.9 percent of what Walker had cut just four years before!

Be careful guys, that is a knife Walker is sticking in your back! 

Next stop for "cold ice cream"  on National Ice cream day: 

Leave it to Scott Walker, in the dairy state, on National Ice Cream Day, to find a cheap soft serve cone.  While soft serve is technically ice cream(like Walker technically got an education) it is filled with chemicals, less actual milk and more air.   It is also served from a machine made in Illinois. 

Finally we stop eating and taking pictures with his motorcycle gang, and we head to the grand finale.  What should be the straw that breaks the Governor's campaign....this picture:

Scott Walker

‏@ScottWalker

 Jul 15

More

Enjoying the amazing views on our ride.

Once again, the Governor is clueless, I guess it is all of that time spent traveling out of state. What I, and most Wisconsinites see, is a nice stretch of country crumbling roads:

Gov. Pothole has allowed Wisconsin’s roads to decay to 2nd-worst in the country, costing motorists repair penalties reaching an estimated $700 annually in the Milwaukee area, data shows.

that take us past a bankrupt dairy farm.

Wisconsin lost 500 dairy farms in 2017, and about 150 have quit milking cows so far this year, putting the total number of milk-cow herds at around 7,600 — down 20% from five years ago. "Drive around Wisconsin and you will see empty barns all over," said Elizabeth Schlintz, a dairy farmer from Bangor, Wis., and a lender with a community bank.

 Federal court data shows western Wisconsin had the highest number of Chapter 12 farm bankruptcies in the nation in 2017. That's only a glimpse into the problem since Chapter 12 is a relatively rare tool used in bankruptcies.
Farmers say the downturn is worse than one they experienced in 2009 because it has lasted longer and their costs are higher now. Many dairy operations are drowning in debt. In some cases, they have a half-million dollars in unpaid bills. 

Not really much of an amazing view in my eyes.