J.Divan Vance said that no one likes turkey. But considering the fact that he thinks roadkill possum is a delicacy, his opinion on this matter, as in many things, is completely irrelevant.
Perhaps he should try this recipe next time. It's guaranteed to blow the doors off the place.
Here is a Thanksgiving Turkey recipe that also includes the use of popcorn as a stuffing - imagine that.
When I found this recipe, I thought it was perfect for people like me, who just are not sure how to tell when poultry is thoroughly cooked, but not dried out. Give this a try.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Brush Turkey well with melted butter, salt, and pepper. Fill cavity with stuffing and popcorn. Place in baking pan with the neck end toward the back of the oven.Listen for the popping sounds. When the turkey's ass blows the oven door open and flies across the room, it's done.
Imagine the look on your loved ones' faces as you show off your culinary skills.
And J Divan, if you decide to try this recipe, make sure you keep your face real close to the oven door, so you can see the magic happen.
Twice this week I have gotten solicitations in the mail from local banks promising lower interest rates if I apply for a new credit card at their bank. Well of course that is pretty common practice except:
I already have credit cards with each of these banks. So why don't you just lower the damn interest rates on my current accounts and be done with it? I certainly don't need another credit card.
The rules around banking and credit cards have just gotten too wild west for anyone's good. And for that matter it's time to put reasonable caps on credit card interest fees.
Unless you are a MAGA moron, you've heard about the Republicans' scheme to give some of themselves a $500,000 reward because they had been investigated for breaking the law. Who says that crime doesn't pay?
Amazingly, most people, and definitely no one in the mainstream media, are willing to call it out as the corruption it is. But a professor at the University of Wisconsin - Madison is not afraid to say it out loud:
Ken Mayer, a professor of American politics at the University of Wisconsin-Madison, said in an email to WPR that the provision would probably lead to the federal government settling and paying Johnson and the other senators.
“It ought to be a career-ending scandal for everyone involved,” Mayer continued. “But it won’t because too many have become numbed to flagrant and obvious corruption and self-dealing that is occurring on a daily basis.”
He's absolutely correct. If we had a government that wasn't so damn dysfunctional, a lot of the things that are happening wouldn't be happening. To make matters even worse, we can't even count on half of the Democrats to do the right thing, either.
This is follow up on my post about the GOP candidates for governor wanting to eliminate tenure in the UW system.
Another point of contention of course, and I am sure this is bipartisan, is that tuition in the UW system is too high. Granted, it is insane. But our GOP candidates want to revert to a Walker era solution: freeze tuition. ?? Just like daily expenses for you and me, the basic costs of providing a college education continue to grow. So freezing tuition is just starving the system and not providing a real solution. And of course as revenues decline, the university has to take shortcuts to hold down costs. But what does that do to the quality of education provided.
Want to hold down tuition gentlemen? Have the State of Wisconsin fund the UW system in the 21st Century at the same levels (% wise) as they did in the post World War II era. It has gotten to the point that state support has dwindled to a minority source of revenues. At this point does the state even have the right for 'naming rights'?
One of their positions is to remove professorial tenure from the University of Wisconsin system. Tenure was originally designed to encourage talented professors to stay at the school offering them tenure and to protect them from political blow back and protect their rights to free speech and independent research. So of course GOP pols want to eliminate that so that they can continue their messing with UW and to implement Trump's intrusions into academia.
BUT, Josh Schoemann and Tom Tiffany. Let's take the lead here and before you start dictating to the university, lets set term limits on elected officials. You know, like Wisconsin Assembly members and State Senators, and Governor. Put your money where your mouth is and lead by example.
BTW: there are fewer and fewer tenured professors in the UW system. Not because the university doesn't like the idea anymore, but because guys like Tiffany have slashed the UW budgets so badly over the years, the UW prefers to use part time adjuncts to save money. And if I remember, back in the day, their were complaints about paying all that tuition money only to be taught by TAs and adjuncts. What happened to that line of thinking.
The last couple of weeks has been rather historical in the world of politics, especially for the Democrats. Not only did they win big in almost all of the elections, but the winners were very liberal - and a couple of socialists - and all were friends of Labor.
Sadly, that momentum and euphoria was short-lived when eight moderate to right Democratic Senators stupidly surrendered and let Trump and the Republicans off the hook.
So what does that have to do with Milwaukee County Dems? I'm glad you asked.
On Monday, the Democratic Party of Milwaukee County will be electing their new officers. While it will be damn difficult to find someone to step into the shoes of the outgoing chair, Christine Sinicki, I think Amy Donahue would be the best choice.
Amy is most definitely a progressive and a liberal. Scrolling through her timeline shows that she's taking all the right positions, espeically when it comes to Labor. Having back to back chairs that are friendly with Labor is almost too much to hope for.
Donahue's opponent is Brett Timmerman. While Timmerman seems to be a nice enough fellow, he has taken an unusual approach of aligning up with candidates for the other positions. Apparently, their motto is: Why buy one when you can buy the whole set.
That concept is rather disconcerting. It reeks of establishment candidates. Furthermore, like a group project, you always run a strong chance of having a real stinker in the gorup. In this case, the stinker is Brady Coulthard.
Coulthard ran for the state assembly last year to represent the district I live in. At the time, I noticed something very disturbing and wrong:
Coulthard has struck me as a bit of a disappointment. While he touts being pro-labor, it appears that is solely because he was on the Labor Caucus of the Democratic Party. In other words, he is a politician but not union, per se. He has also been misleading by showing a picture of him standing with CWA members, giving the impression that he was endorsed by them, which he admitted was not the case.
And Coulthard is the only one to even mention unions in their bio.
The choice is pretty simple to me. They could go along with the blue wave and elect Donahue or they can get swamped with the establishment set.
plain as day and photographed by several news agencies. The Secret Service is being tight lipped about the reason but says the motorcade was not impacted by the fact. One media outlet reported this quote : "The president's protectors excused the mistake as no harm, no foul."
Well I am not seeing it that way. It would have to be wholly intentional in order to have occurred. So there is a reason and someone is hiding the reason and that's not a good look for POTUS.
Now if it wasn't intentional, then we have a whole other problem of the Secret Service ignoring an issue with the president's limo. And that too is problematic. Everything around the movement of the president is carefully orchestrated and controlled...so if there is something amiss...why isn't it being attended to immediately? ?? and why the hush hush? Just admit the Trump wheel chair won't fit in the trunk?
"Trump pardoned most of the Republicans who signed paperwork falsely
claiming to be electors for Trump when former President Joe Biden, a
Democrat, was elected in Wisconsin instead.
The list posted by Trump's pardon attorney late Sunday night, includes:
Carol Brunner, Mary Buestrin, Darryl Carlson, Andrew Hitt, Kelly Ruh,
Bob Spindell and Pam Travis.
Also pardoned were attorneys Kenneth Chesebro and Jim Troupis...
Four more Republicans who signed the false paperwork are not on the list
but the proclamation notes the list is not comprehensive of those who
were pardoned."
Well, boot licker and bag man, Sen. Ron Johnson (R - WI) was not on the list. But never fear, he apparently is still hoping for one:
"U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, who was involved in the effort to get the slate
of Wisconsin Trump electors to Pence on Jan. 6, 2021, praised the
pardons."
As the Orange Sphincter goes on his retaliation tour, he has sent Sen Chuck Grassley and Rep Gym Jordan to go after Jack Smith, the former special counsel who was breathing down Trump's neck. That's like sending Colonel Klink and Sargeant Schultz after Captain Amerca.
Grassley and Jordan want Smith to testify behind closed doors, so that they can say whatever they want afterwards. Smith, who was not born yesterday or even the day before that, has said that he is more than willing to testify, but only publicy.
Trump, upset that people just aren't doing what he wants, has been trying to "influence" things. Smith sent a well-aimed warning shot over the bow:
In a new letter sent Friday to Senate Judiciary Chair Chuck Grassley (R-Iowa), obtained by POLITICO, lawyers for Smith argue that politics had no influence over their client’s investigations into Trump and agreed it would be unacceptable for any occupant of the White House to leverage law enforcement against a perceived enemy
“Such political meddling in prosecutorial decision making undermines the credibility of the Justice Department and the integrity of any subsequent enforcement actions,” Lanny Breuer and Peter Koski, lawyers at the firm Covington & Burling, wrote to Grassley. “Political meddling in prosecutorial actions also risks turning impartial law enforcement agencies into partisan tools to protect the President’s allies and punish his perceived adversaries.”
It's a pretty safe bet that this isn't going anywhere The Republicans know damn well that Smith has the goods on Trump and definitely don't want that to get out at all.
Has it occurred to anyone else that all of the Republicans' focus on Former President Joe Biden's alleged use of an autopen is to distract from the fact that Trump is President Stephen Miller's autopen?
Wisconsin State Rep Amanda Nedweski and State Senator Jesse James sent out a press release boasting of a anti-grooming bill they introduced on Monday. If passed, the bill will:
Under LRB-5392/LRB-5397, grooming is defined as a “course of conduct, pattern of behavior, or series of acts intended to condition, seduce, or entice a child for the purpose of sexual activity or exploitation.” Examples include sexualized conversations, inappropriate physical contact, digital communications designed to lure a child, and efforts to isolate a child from family or peers.
The bill establishes a Class G felony as the base penalty for offenders convicted of grooming a child for sexual activity. Penalties increase if the offender holds a position of trust or authority over the child, if the victim has a disability, or if the offense involves multiple children. Those convicted would also be required to register as sex offenders under 301.45, Wis. Stats.
As a former child welfare worker, I can tell you that there are already state statutes with more severe penalities already in the books. But it's an election year and the Republicans have to look like they are doing something.
My only question about their proposed law is will that allow the authorities to finally arrest President Pedo?
Donald Trump is scouring the world for nations that he can brow beat into giving up their rare earth resources, while China plays their rare earth cards in the face of US tariffs on Chinese exports to the US.
But somewhere in the back of my mind, I remember some discussion about developing a rare earth industry in....Afghanistan. Yes, that's right. The US could be mining rare earths there while providing stable jobs and providing a stable cultural and economic country. hmmmm.....
There is great consternation and hair pulling and finger pointing as the federal government shutdown puts a hold on food stamps or SNAP or food-share or whatever your state calls it. It's a calamity and shouldn't even be considered.
But the real question should be: in a nation as rich as the United States, why are there people who don't have enough to eat in the first place? Why is that? And that should be the question that the Senate and the House should be considering at this very moment.
Gwen Moore has been very popular member of the House of Representatives from Wisconsin's 4th Congressional District since 2005. But twenty years is enough!!
Here in the 4th, we have dozens of qualified and skilled and eager young Democrats who deserve a promotion. And it is time that the Boomers step aside and let the younger generations bring their ideas and energy to Washington. And if the silence around the current federal government shutdown isn't enough proof that nothing worthwhile is getting done, I don't know what more you are looking for.
The 2026 mid-term elections are just about to get underway. It is time for Rep. Moore to step aside and let someone new take up the banner. She has earned a happy and quiet retirement!
Yesterday I called out the so-called Pro-life party, the Republicans, for not feeding the hungry. Now I am calling them out for not wanting to care for the sick.
The supposed reason for the federal government shutdown is the Democrats insistence that subsidies for health care premiums be re-instated as part of the continuing resolution and the Republicans insistence that the CR be passed and then they would be willing to negotiate on the ACA subsidies.
Now I don't understand why if the Repubs are willing to negotiate later, that they won't negotiate now. Right? If they could be trusted to keep their word I could find it in me to urge the Dems to vote and then demand that the GOP step up and do their thing. But we know that the Republicans won't do that.
But let me remind these Christian crusaders...healing the sick and feeding the hungry are direct mandates from their Lord and Savior, Jesus Christ.
As food stamp benefits come to a grinding halt under the federal government shut down, Republicans refuse to make adjustments to make sure the poor and hungry in America have enough money to buy the ever more expensive food available in America. Pro-life party? Bulloney!
Robert Kennedy JR and the CDC and whatever other federal agencies have cut back on the recommendations for Covid-19 and flu vaccines...but on his recent visit to Walter Reed for a health 'checkup', Donald Trump got his vaccines. ??? So they are apparently safe and effective...oui, si, ya, da, yes? So get yours.
Aren't these two institutions in business to help people manage their finances with a minimum of risk and expense? So why are they buying naming rights to public arenas and music venues? Couldn't they use that money to lower insurance rates and bank fees instead?
After all the hubbub by President Pedo and Secretary Brain Worms about hos unsafe vaccines are, Trump took off for his second annual physical in less than six months, the Orange Sphincter got both a flu shot and a COVID vaccine.
But like all Republicans, this regime is nothing if not hypocritical.
In related news, Trump also had a brain scan which came back negative, meaning they couldn't even find his final brain cell.
The Orange Sphincter had always wanted to do away with WIC, the program that helps provide food for families in need. And his shut down of the government gave him the opportunity to do so for good. But when enough people clamored enough to get through his dementia-addled brain, Orange promised to fund WIC through his tariffs.
Congressman Derrick Van Orden (WI-03) released the following statement after President Donald J. Trump took action to ensure the Women, Infants, and Children (WIC) nutrition program remains funded during the ongoing government shutdown
“When I was serving overseas as an active-duty Navy SEAL, my wife, Sara Jane, and I used WIC to help feed our kids. We know exactly how much that support means to working families
“Democrats shut down the government to protect healthcare for illegal aliens, leaving American families to bear the cost. President Trump is once again leading where Democrats have failed. I thank President Trump for his leadership and for always putting America first. It’s time for Democrats to stop holding the American people hostage to their radical agenda and do the same.”
Ah, how wonderful, if only Trump could do that, but he can't. He doesn't have the authority to do that: As Chris Walker - yes, THAT Chris Walker - points out, Trump is blowing smoke up everyone's ass:
At issue, too, is whether the administration has the legal authority to send tariff-derived funds to WIC at all. As outlined by the Constitution, Congress, not the president, is empowered to determine where taxes may go, with other branches of government forbidden from doing so.
Presidents are allowed to disburse some executive branch funds through the use of executive orders, but those, too, require some level of congressional authorization. The tariffs enacted by Trump — which are viewed by many economists to be a tax on consumers — have not explicitly been directed to help pay for WIC.
Now, I have little doubt that Trump doesn't know what's going on. He's just doing what Stephen Miller tells him to do.
Sadly, DVO doesn't have a clue either. Even if he wasn't drunk so much of the time, he isn't exactly the smartest man in the room, even if he was the only person in said room.
Seriously. There are distinct rules around who has to work and who gets paid during a federal government shutdown.
Those federal employees deemed non-essential are laid off and don't get any compensation for the time that they don't work.
Essential federal employees are furloughed...meaning they still have to work but don't get paid until the shutdown is over. At that point, they get back pay for the time worked during the shutdown. These would include TSA, air traffic controllers, the FBI and such.
BUT Congress and the President still get paid.. WTF? considering that they are the actual cause of the shutdown. They are the ones who aren't doing their jobs. It isn't the federal employees who are at fault here. They are just pawns in the game. So why is Congress and the President still getting paid? And they are the ones who need the money least, right??
So first, vote ALL of the a**holes out and then demand that the new Congress vote to deny themselves pay or even back pay for a federal government shutdown in the future.
Paul Blount, head of Palmyra's public safety department, wants to collaborate with the ICEtapo and turn the city's police into stormtroopers:
It goes beyond other local law enforcement agencies' cooperation agreements with ICE, which deal with people already in jail. The other models generally allow jails to hold inmates for 72 hours beyond the time state law would require them to be released to give ICE time to pick them up. Fourteen Wisconsin county sheriff's offices have a version of those jail agreements in place.
The task force model was previously in place but came under fire for racial profiling concerns and civil rights violations. In 2012, the Obama administration suspended the task force model after, among other incidents, an investigation found that Maricopa County Sheriff's Office deputies in Arizona were four to nine times more likely to pull over Latino drivers than non-Latino drivers.
In reality, Palmyra is a hodunk town with only 1,700 people, which means they probably have one diner, a couple of gas stations and ten bars. There's no reason to go there, much less spend money there. And that last thing a good, patriotic American would want to do his support a bunch of Nazi wannabes.
The plaint from the right has been that our universities indoctrinate our students with liberal left wing woke ideology. If college professors were that skilled at indoctrination the first thing they'd enforce is showing up for class everyday and then putting down phones during lectures. But I digress.
And the lead hecklers are: and why aren't THEY flaming liberals
Donald Trump : University of Pennsylvania
Donald Trump Jr. : University of Pennsylvania
JD Vance : Ohio State University
Pam Bondi : University of Florida
Pete Hegseth : Princeton University
Marco Rubio : University of Miami
Scott Bessent : Yale University
Kristi Noem : South Dakota State University
Linda McMahon : East Carolina University
Ted Cruz : Harvard Law School
Mike Johnson : Louisiana State University
John Thune : University of South Dakota
You get the picture? Yes, we see!
By the way, if this is such a nefarious controversy, why is Barron Trump attending a branch of New York University?
President Pedo lousy, miserable, no damn good term just got worse. Despite all his witness tampering, his con games, his threatening congressmen and congresswomen in his effort to keep the Epstein list from becoming public, there was one major factor he forgot - the vicitms:
"Epstein's reach went to the very top of fashion, arts and entertainment," Phillips said. "This did not just happen to underage girls in Florida, in New York City, hundreds of young, ambitious women were abused by him. Epstein was not just a serial predator, he was an international human trafficker, and many around him knew. Many participated and many profited and yet he was protected, so I stand here today for every woman who has been silenced, exploited and dismissed. We are not asking for pity, we are here demanding accountability, and I'm demanding justice. Congress must choose: Will you continue to protect predators or will you finally protect survivors."
"Also, I would like to announce here today, us Epstein survivors have been discussing creating our own list," she added. "We know the names. Many of us were abused by them. Now, together as survivors, we will confidentially compile the names we all know who regularly and who were regularly in the Epstein world, and it will be done by survivors and for survivors. No one else is involved. Stay tuned for more details."
It's already pretty obvious that Trump is in poor health, from the cankles to the bruises on his hands to his prolonged abscences. I'm sure that all this stress can't be helping him.
Then again, his victims are struggling, too. I feel as bad for him as he feels for them.
The Wisconsin version of the pre-holiday weekend news dump came in the form of soon to be former Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Becky Bradley giving her concession screech 14 months early. Showing as much class as Dan Kelly when he lost to Justice Janet Protasiewicz, Bradley moped about partisan politics:
"The conservative movement needs to take stock of its failures, identify the problem, and fix it," Bradley said in an Aug. 29 statement. "I will not seek reelection to the Wisconsin Supreme Court because I believe the best path for me to rebuild the conservative movement and fight for liberty is not as a minority member of the Court."
[...]
"For years I have warned that under the control of judicial activists, the court will make itself more powerful than the legislature, more powerful than the governor," she wrote. "That warning went unheeded."
Bradley's statement mentioned concerns about "bitter partisanship, personal attacks and political gamesmanship."
That's pretty high hypocrisy coming from a Federalist who was politically appointed by former governor Scott Walker to every single judicial seat she's been in to serve as a rubber stamp for the Republicans and their deep-pocket, dark-money, special-interest owners, like the Bradley Foundation and the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce.
Bradley's concession comes as no big surprise since Bradley's campaign plan was to get appointed by the Orange Sphincter to the 7th Appellate Court. When she got snubbed by TACO Don, she had no where to turn. She had raised no money because she knew it was a lost cause. People were turning on fascists like her and she had a whole shit ton of fascist luggage she was toting.
I just hope that if Bradley gets an offer from somewhere in the right wing welfare system, that she doesn't hesitate to take it. Nobody, and I mean nobody, needs her kind of negativity, hostility and toxicity in the workplace.
Just as they did in 2017, the Republicans pulled off another big tax scam with the OBBB. For example, this false "No Tax On Tips" gimmick makes a lot of promises it doesn't keep, or can't even keep.
Of the more than 2 million food servers across the country, half earn less than $37,000 a year, according to the Bureau of Labor and Statistics. Those workers can largely claim the standard deduction, reducing their tax burden, Crandall-Hollick said. But they also likely can claim other forms of tax relief, such as the Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) and the Child Tax Credit (CTC).
More than a third of tipped workers didn’t make enough money to pay federal income taxes last year, Yale Budget Lab found, even before tax credits like the EITC or the CTC.
“You can’t go negative with taxable income. Exempting any more income from taxation is not going to help those individuals,” Crandall-Hollick said.
And even those very few who will see a modicum of benefit from it better not get too used to it, because it sunsets at the end of President Pedo's term in 2028.
Unfortunately, Wisconsin Republicans think that people are stupid enough to fall for the same tax scam twice.
Spearheaded by State Rep Ron Tusler, a guy who's never had a critical thought, he really insulted the intelligence of every working man and woman in the state with this load of crap:
Tips "never should have been taxed" in the first place, state Rep. Ron Tusler, R-Harrison, said during the Aug. 21 hearing.
"The folks that receive tips are not wealthy people, they're not usually middle-class people. Usually, they’re working-class people that are trying to get themselves to that middle-class level, to get themselves their American dream," Tusler said. "As representatives, these are great folks for us to target, and as Christians, we should always be trying to help the poor."
If Tusler really wanted to help the poor, how about doing away with subminimum wages and raise the actual minimum wage. The last time the minimum wage was raised, Tusler probably still had hair. But doing a gimmick that won't help the majority of hospitality workers isn't going to help them or the state financial situation. In fact, it will do more harm than good.
And then Tusler's good pal, State Senator and COVID poster child, Andre Jacque, wanted to demonstrate his lack of critical thought with this:
"This is something to help retain those workers that we already have in that sector of the economy, to recruit others … but fundamentally, tips are supposed to be something that are freely given … something in exchange for excellent service," said Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere.
Restaurants are already starting to close due to the failing economy caused by Tariff Man. They can't afford to pay the taxes Trump has put on food and other commodities. Not that it matters much because they aren't getting as many customers as Trump also made sure that people are going to have to choose between food, housing and medication.
As I said earlier, the Republicans think we are stupid. We can prove them wrong next year by voting them out.
Shortly after Governor Tony Evers announced that he was not running for reelection, Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez became the first Democrat out of the gates. And she is off to quite an impressive start.
She started with this introductory video:
In just two and a half minutes, she gives you her entire bio without losing your interest. She is also impressive with her focus and directness but keeping it homey and relatable at the same time. (Hi Sara's mom!)
And her last line about "earning" our votes was just the chef's kiss.
While Rodriguez was impressive in her introductory video, her first campaign event was something special.
Most candidates have big, flashy campaign kickoffs, with other politicians to show their support, lots of speechifying, and of course, their palms out. But Rodriguez did none of those things. Her first campaign event was to go to Milwuakee and hold a listening session with veterans. A listening session!
Many candidates kick off their campaigns with big launch parties where they do most of the talking.
Lt. Gov. Sara Rodriguez decided to listen instead.
Rodriguez, the first Wisconsin Democrat to announce a campaign for governor in the 2026 race, had a discussion with about a dozen veterans in Milwaukee on Aug. 14. It was her first public campaign event in the Milwaukee area since she announced in late July that she was running for the state's highest office.
In all the time I've been watching politics, I have not seen one candidate do this. How absolutely refreshing it is to have a politician actually listen to the people. Republicans don't even pretend to listen to people, dodging town halls and only doing very strictly controled events at companies that support them. And too many Democrats only pretend to listen until they tell you to shut up and vote the way they tell you.
The more I think about it, the more refreshing her campaign is.
And just because she was a nurse, a mother, says Hi to her mother, don't think for one second she is a pushover. Shortly after she started her campaign, some sleazebuckets went after her husband, questioning his immigration status. She not only fired point blank at them, she reloaded and fired again!
Click to embiggen
I'm not ready to make an endorsement quite yet because it's still early. But I will say that I would have no problem supporting Rodriguez. She's obviously very intelligent and she's repeatedly proven herself. She not afraid to speak plainly and directly without pulling punches (and she is correct about the maniac in the White House). But most impressive to me is that she listens. It's so unusual, it's hard to believe. It's almost too good to be true.
I sincerely hope she continues on the path she is on because so far, she is doing everythng picture perfect.
To learn more about Sara Rodriguez, including how to help her, please visit her website.
The Milwaukee Country Transit System is a hot mess right now. It is nearly $11 million in the hole right now. MCTS officials blame their deficit on unexpected overtime, lower ridership, people getting on board without paying their fare and private contractors not meeting their obligations.
To make matters worse, transit officials have known about this for months, but have only just now come clean on it. According to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the finger pointing game is already ridiculous:
"It's like they're way too reactionary. They're way too slow moving, and the fact it takes weeks to notify us that you're starting to see a problem, that is an issue," Supervisor Steve Taylor, the finance committee's vice-chair, told the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel after reviewing the timeline.
The report also shows on June 23, following the agency's release of its May financial report, the County Executive's Office shared concerns with MCTS that it had not communicated the "severity of the budget situation" with supervisors prior to notifying the public, and "acting independently regarding major implications of service changes."
Days later, county Comptroller Liz Sumner said she was "stunned to learn through the media" of MCTS' projected deficit for 2025, given the reports she had been receiving projected a "balanced budget" for the end of the year. Sumner called for an audit of the agency as well as an analysis of the agency's finances to be carried out by her own office.
On July 1, Donna Brown-Martin, executive director of the county transportation department since 2018, resigned. A week later, Interim President and CEO Julie Esch resigned from MCTS
OK, so the two top MCTS officials resigned. That's just a start though.
I need more answere from Summer on how she didn't know and only learned it through the media. Where was she for the past six months? Maybe we should do an audit on her office as well as MCTS.
The fact of the matter is that this has been a long time coming. There once was a time when this sort of thing would never have gotten this big or gone on for so long before the Milwaukee County Board would have caught it and taken action.
Their ability to do that ended about ten years ago, when then Milwaukee County Executive and Plutocrat Chris Abele colluded with Republican state legislators to pass Act 14, which gutted the county board and made them less than half-time employees. Act 14 also decimated the system of checks and balances that exists in functional governments.
While most of the damage was done, the voters approved of this by large numbers, thanks to a strong advertising blitz by Abele, the Republicans, and people like Bruce Murphy, editor of Urban Milwaukee.
It should be noted that current leaders like the current county executive, David Crowley, hasn't lifted a finger to fix the problem, or even pretend to care.
Remember this when we go to vote next year. All levels of government needs a good cleaning and purging of thos that serve the wealthy and not the people.
I haven't had the energy to wade into all of the commentary coming out in the media about the Alaskan clam bake...but from the headlines and brief bits I am seeing, Putin totally owns Trump.
I don't know if I've written about this before or not, but it is worth bringing up again. Besides the obvious insanity of using the National Guard to handle police activities or cater to the blatant infantile proclivities of the sitting president, there are other negative factors in calling up the guard.
The National Guard is an organization of dedicated and brave citizen soldiers. They are an important force in the overall defensive strategy of our nation and a reliable resource in the face of disasters. But they should never never be the face of political theater.
And why is that? Because they are citizen soldiers and spend most of their days as civilians. So calling them up takes them out of their homes and away from their families and loved ones...and puts them in harm's way. Not only does that put stress and worry into their own day to day, but it also stresses out their families...which is a crime in itself when the guard is called out unnecessarily.
And? Because they primarily lead civilian lives, they have civilian jobs. And calling them up takes money out of their pockets and puts stress on the businesses that employ them...losing qualified and loyal employees for unknown lengths of time. In a defense call up or disaster recovery role, businesses understand and appreciate the sacrifices that their employees make and understand and accept the sacrifices that they too must make. But to lose their employees to frivolity?
Senseless use of the National Guard not only harms the areas where they are deployed but can do far reaching damage to other localities that lose their family members, employees, and community stability from political insanity.
I mean, he should have called out the National Guard on January 6, 2021 when actual criminals overran the Capitol and threatened the lives of real Americans, yes? Oh wait, wasn't there a question about the president's authority to call out the Guard in January 2021? But he can do it now, right?
Organizers of the summit soon came to believe the only city in the massive state with viable options for the summit would be Anchorage. And only Joint Base Elmendorf-Richardson, on the northern edge of the city, would meet the security requirements for the historic meeting, though the White House had hoped to avoid the optics of hosting the Russian leader and his entourage on a US military installation. So yes, Trump is hosting an enemy combatant on a US military base. WTAF?
Wisconsin Republican US Representative Tom Tiffany is right...the UW system is having issues filling high level faculty positions because of a shortage of qualified American candidates. And he is blaming the educational systems in the state of Wisconsin and the nation for doing a poor job in educating our youth.
Probably all true...but guess who the culprits are. Not Wisconsin's public school system and not the University of Wisconsin system. It is Tom Tiffany who, when a state legislator, joining the anti-education GOP cabal in Madison, intentionally underfunded education in Wisconsin at all levels. If education here is falling behind, it is Tom Tiffany's fault.
details from the link:
[The Republican congressman representing northwestern Wisconsin introduced a bill in Congress to
end an exception in the H-1B visa program that allows universities to
hire an unlimited number of specialized workers from other countries.
Local immigration attorneys said universities generally hire H-1B
workers as a last resort for specialized jobs they are unable to fill
with U.S. workers.
To Tiffany, though, universities feeling forced
to look overseas for qualified applicants is a red flag for higher
education as a whole.
"If we have to go to other countries to get
the best and brightest, that is a real indictment of our educational
system, both here in Wisconsin and in America," he told the Milwaukee
Journal Sentinel.]
Step up Tom and send us some dollars...before you run for governor.
Well not exactly but here's how it goes. Because India continues to buy cheap Russian Oil, Donald Trump doubled tariffs on India to 50%. And once again he's lying to you and me saying India is paying these tariffs. But as always, YOU and I will be paying for them in the end prices we pay for items imported from India.
So yes, India may suffer some hardships if the U.S reduces imports of Indian produced goods. But it's the American public who will actually be the ones paying the price.
If Trump actually wants to punish India for buying Russian oil, he would be better advised to use other financial incentives and sanctions instead. Things that aren't going to raid our wallets.
"The Trump Administration announced a new initiative on Wednesday
designed to allow Americans to share their medical records across a host
of apps and programs managed by private tech companies—a move that
proponents says will facilitate easier access to those records across
the country’s fragmented health care system, but that digital privacy
experts fear will risk making patients’ data less secure."
Another boondoggle and another method to allow big tech access to your personal records. And as I said in my headline, a universal single payer plan would mean one data base of medical information available to only providers...in one place...and it wouldn't need to include Google,Amazon, Apple, etc, etc, etc.
"The Administration “secured commitments” from more than 60 tech and
health care companies—including Amazon, Apple, Google, and OpenAI—“to
begin laying the foundation for a next-generation digital health
ecosystem that will improve patient outcomes, reduce provider burden,
and drive value,” according to a press release from the U.S. Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services (CMS)."
"...a move that proponents says will facilitate easier access to those
records across the country’s fragmented health care system, but that digital privacy experts fear will risk making patients’ data less secure."
And of course the answer is right there in front of their face and actually coming out of their mouth. We have a fractured health care system...fix that and the issue resolves itself!
And 60 tech companies? Does that sound easier to you??
"The Trump administration will soon move forward with changes to the U.S. citizenship test, which the new head of U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services has called too easy.
Recently appointed USCIS Director Joseph Edlow told The New York Times the current test doesn’t have a high enough difficulty level."
Not difficult enough? I would like to see the whole Trump Administration cabinet take the test at their next meeting, including the president and vice-president, no devices, and properly proctored by someone from the State Dept. I am assuming they can all read and write English at an adult level. Let's see the grades before we decide what's hard enough. Aina?
Well, NO. It is generally accepted that the Allies would have prevailed over Germany and Italy in Europe without American intervention. But yes it would have taken longer, cost more money, and cost far more lives.
But now, let's consider our relationship with France. France is our oldest ally. It is also generally accepted that without French arms, money, and personnel, the Colonies very likely would have lost the Revolutionary War to the British and remained colonies. So what does that mean? Well, what comprises the portion of the United States east of the Mississippi would now be part of: CANADA! And we would be eating poutine instead of cheese curds. Lafayette, we are here!
And without the United States, there would have been no Louisiana Purchase. So that third of the current US, west of the Mississippi, would be Louisiana. And we would be drinking cognac instead of Old Mister Boston brandy and we would be speaking FRENCH!
And the great state of Texas, the beautiful southwest, and most of the west coast? Well, it would be a dream come true. There would be no border problem because the current border would be in the MIDDLE of MEXICO. There would be no taco trucks because every restaurant would be a Mexican restaurant. And Corona would be the beer of choice instead of Bud Lite. And we would all be speaking SPANISH!
And as long we are playing with history and you hold to Leavitt's incredulous statement, here's an idea on how it would have been in post-war England if the Germans had won: Len Deighton's SS-GB
Yes, if say Canada just simply closed the borders and stopped selling anything and everything that the US buys from them, the value of trade would be clearly apparent for all to see. But with modern trade, that wouldn't be possible and of course Trump would reciprocate.
And because trade is so complex, a one week hiatus wouldn't have much effect because so many items are already in the pipeline and the effects would only be apparent weeks later.
Maybe start small, like having the penguins do it first? If you don't know, Google it.
This was just posted on the Threads account of Wisconsin Lt. Governor Sara Rodriguez: I am posting the original as a screen grab and then the reply separately as a cut and paste because the type face gets too small to read otherwise. The complete post is posted below for accuracy.
[Yesterday, reporters got a ‘tip’ that my husband is undocumented. Spoiler: he’s a proud, naturalized U.S. citizen. We are five days into this race and my opponents are already resorting to racist, made-up attacks about my family. It’s pathetic, it’s ugly, and it sure as hell won’t lower a single grocery bill or fix a single school. If this is their best shot, they better pack a damn lunch.]
First, since we don't know who provided the tip, I hope that the news agency that received the supposed tip is going to look into the background of the liar and take whatever action they deem appropriate. But if this did come from a campaign, political party, or political activist it should be exposed and condemned.
Second, we don't know the media outlet involved. But after running a statewide campaign for Lt. Governor and winning, I would expect that the media would have fully vetted Rodriquez a hundred times over by now and wouldn't have given this an ounce of air. WTF you guys?
"Imagine going to a music festival and not coming home" Imagine indeed, and I imagine they made their point but I imagine that they missed the point here in America.
In a troubled nation desperately clinging to the Second Amendment, many Americans don't have to imagine...they don't come home, they haven't come home.
And not just music festivals, but schools, stores, holiday parties, work places, movie theaters, army bases, navy yards, peaceful protests, churches, Sikh temples, and SYNAGOGUES!
They missed the point, that unfortunately, the United States is no stranger to random violence.
But just like every one else, they offer no solutions.
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