The Patriotism of White Wisconsin

Every day, Milwaukee area radio squawker Charlie Sykes declares the White Wisconsin winner and loser of the day.  I'm pretty sure the gentle reader can accurately surmise what kind of people the Mouth of the Louts might deem to be a winner or loser.

Image courtesy of One Wisconsin Now

On Wednesday, the 12th anniversary of the 9/11 attacks, Sykes declared the winner of the day to be "the American resolve."  He invoked all of the jingoistic phrases that the conservatives love to spout on this date, regardless of how hypocritical they sound.  For example, he praised the brave first responders who risked and sacrificed their lives that day, even though he refers to them as union thugs the other 364 days of the year.

What is really odd about this super-patriotism is that just the other day, his White Wisconsin winner of the day communist Russian President Vladimir Putin.  He didn't chose Putin for offering a viable way to avoid military strikes against Syria.  Rather, his reason for picking Putin was because Sykes claimed that Putin "embarrassed" President Barack Obama on a national stage.

Think about that for a minute.

One day, he's crowing about how our president was tweaked by the communist Russian president, the next he is praising how the country had pulled together to stand as one against the terrorists.  It's amazing that his head doesn't explode from the cognitive dissonance he must experience on a daily basis.

And as one might presume, not once did Sykes even acknowledge that it was President Obama who was finally able to find Osama bin Ladin, the mastermind behind the terrorist attacks twelve years ago, and bring him to the ultimate justice.

Is it any wonder why WTMJ-AM (commonly referred to by their true call letters WGOP) isn't even in the top three stations?  If it wasn't for the fact that WTMJ carries the Packers, the Badgers, the Brewers and the Bucks games, they probably wouldn't be in the top ten.

Politics Matter!

By Jeff Simpson

Just ask New York Fire Fighter Lieutenant Martin Fullam, except for one of the heroes of 911 passed away recently!  No I am not talking about the massive incompetence of the Bush administration that led to 9/11 happening to begin with:

That has been already well documented.  I am talking about something that has not gotten the publicity it needs to get.  

What has happened since!  

Let's look at Lt. Fullam:

H/T Reuters : First responders: Lt Fullam, far left, was one of the rescue workers carrying fatally-injured FDNY Chaplain, Father Mychal Judge, from one of the World Trade Center on September 11, 2001

 Let's look at the cause of death for Lt. Fullam:

A hero firefighter who bravely served on September 11th alongside hundreds of other first responders has died of a rare lung condition, and was laid to rest yesterday.
FDNY Lt Martin Fullam contracted polymyositis in 2005, and had also suffered from pulmonary fibrosis, which left him breathless and exhausted after the simplest of tasks.
The late firefighter, 56, was one of the men carrying fatally wounded FDNY Chaplain Mychal Judge through the still-smoking rubble on 9/11. 
The image of Lt Fullam and four others carrying the chaplain has remained one of the most poignant and haunting pictures from that horrific day.

 A true American hero was forced to die a slow painful death from a rare disease and it did not have to be that way.   The Bush administration knowingly lied to the heroes of that time.  

In the aftermath of the Sept. 11, 2001, attack on the World Trade Center, the White House instructed the Environmental Protection Agency to give the public misleading information, telling New Yorkers it was safe to breathe when reliable information on air quality was not available.
That finding is included in a report released Friday by the Office of the Inspector General of the EPA. It noted that some of the agency's news releases in the weeks after the attack were softened before being released to the public: Reassuring information was added, while cautionary information was deleted.
"When the EPA made a September 18 announcement that the air was 'safe' to breathe, it did not have sufficient data and analyses to make such a blanket statement," the report says. "Furthermore, the White House Council on Environmental Quality influenced . . . the information that EPA communicated to the public through its early press releases when it convinced EPA to add reassuring statements and delete cautionary ones."

BUSH ADMINISTRATION: NYC AIR 'SAFE TO BREATHE' The Statue of Liberty stands in the foreground as New York is shrouded in smoke and pollution in New York image made from television, Tuesday Sept. 11, 2001. (ABC via APTN)

On the morning of Sept. 12, according to the report, the office of then-EPA Administrator Christie Whitman issued a memo: "All statements to the media should be cleared through the NSC (National Security Council in the White House) before they are released."

 

So the Bush Administration lied to the heroes of 9/11, who instead of taking simple steps to protect themselves, went about their business helping others, while unknowingly to them, sealing their own fate.    At the very least, we will at least help these people be comfortable and extend their life as much as possible right?

Not with Paul Ryan on the job!  Paul Ryan actually voted against the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act, THREE TIMES, which luckily President Obama signed into law in 2010.   

 Let's let Paul Ryan(R- Ayn Rand) himself explain why he voted to leave Lt Fullam stranded: 

 Paul Ryan's Floor statement "A deeply Flawed Bill"
Mr. RYAN of Wisconsin.
      Madam Speaker, I was absent for legislative business and missed rollcall vote 663 on December 21, 2010, and rollcall vote 664 on December 22, 2010. Had I been present, I would have voted ``yes'' on H.R. 6547, the Protecting Students from Sexual and Violent Predators Act, and ``no'' on rollcall vote 664 (H.R. 847).
   The vote I wish to discuss is the bill H.R. 847, the James Zadroga 9/11 Health and Compensation Act. Without a doubt, Republicans and Democrats can agree that both the victims of the attacks on September 11, 2001, and the first responders who bravely served following the attacks deserve to be fairly treated and compensated. However, this bill would create a new health care entitlement, the World Trade Center Health Program, while also extending eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001. As a result, had I been present, I would have voted against passage of the bill.
   Since the terrorist attacks occurred nearly nine years ago, I have supported legislation to ensure that these individuals are cared for and receive access to the services they deserve. However, rather than working with Republicans to craft a bill which truly addressed the shortcomings in care provided to those directly impacted by the September 11th terrorist attacks, the Majority instead rushed this bill to the floor in the waning hours of the 111th Congress, refusing to allow an open debate or consider amendments.
   The result is a deeply flawed bill. H.R. 847 creates yet another mandatory spending program--increasing spending by $4.2 billion dollars over 10 years--and paying for it by an Excise Tax on Foreign Manufacturers, an extension of Travel Promotion Act fees, and the extension of HI-B visa fees.
   There is no doubt that we owe a debt of gratitude to those who came to the rescue of countless individuals following the attacks on September 11, 2001, but these provisions distort that noble goal. At a time when our budget deficit is $1.3 trillion and our national debt stands at $13.8 trillion, we must accurately account for those programs that take priority. I remain hopeful that as the 112th Congress convenes, my colleagues and I can work together to reform some of my concerns with this proposal and truly provide the services these first responders deserve.

So Paul Ryan played politics, tried to stop our heroes from getting the healthcare they so rightly deserved and needed and offered up ZERO alternatives to this "flawed bill".  

I wish they had made all of the republicans who played silly partisan games, show up at Lt. Fullams funeral. 

They could have then explained to his family and friends, why Lt Fullan, after a life of public service, had to fight his own government for help!  

 Hero's welcome: Lt. Martin Fullam is cheered by firefighters from across the city while leaving New York Presbyterian Hospital after receiving a lung transplant

Paul Ryan's 9/11 Hypocrisy

"Dammit! Caught in another lie!"

Today, as the entire nation is fully aware of, is the eleventh anniversary of the attack on New York City, where 3,000 people lost their lives. Many of those who perished in that horrific nightmare come true were the first responders: police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel. All of them selflessly put any concerns for their own safety to the side as they charged up the stairs of the twin towers in an effort to save the lives of the innocent.

They, as much as any group of people ever has, deserves are continuous thoughts, prayers and eternal gratitude.

As happens every year on this date, people gathered to remember and honor the victims and their families. Likewise, politicians feel compelled to issue statements regarding the occasion. This is especially true during election years.

In that light, here comes Paul Ryan, who can't make up his mind what job he wants to run for, offering his PR stunt with the first responders from Oak Creek, who had to deal with another act of terrorism when a right wing, racist nut job attacked the Sikh temple there last month:

Ryan said, "I just wanted to come on the anniversary of 9-11 to say thank you to all of you who are the first responders and what you do for us every day.

"This is a day where we as Americans think and remember people who lost their lives. We are thankful for those of you who put their lives on the line for us every day. So we are here simply to bring notoriety and a gift of thanks for what you do for us on a daily basis. We just really appreciate it."

But just like Tommy Thompson (where I plagiarized myself on the intro), Lyin' Ryan is, well, lying. All you have to do is look at how the real Ryan felt about the 9/11 first responders and the ills they suffered from that:

You also might remember that Paul Ryan was among those Republicans voting against providing coverage to the 9/11 heroes. He voted against it in July 2010. He voted against it in September 2010. He didn't vote against final passage in December 2010 because he's already skipped town for the holiday break. But when Congress reconvened in January, he gave a floor statement saying that he would have voted against it, again.

Ryan explained in a floor statement that he would have opposed the final passage vote, too, calling the bill “deeply flawed.” He also complained that it “would create a new health care entitlement, the World Trade Center Health Program, while also extending eligibility for compensation under the September 11th Victim Compensation Fund of 2001.”

If Paul Ryan speaks today in remembrance of the heroes and the victims of 9/11, remember that Ryan doesn't think that those heroes and the people living through the prolonged horror of what happened at Ground Zero deserve anything from their government. Apparently, in Ryan's mind, they're just moochers, looking for an entitlement.

That alone should disqualify Ryan from holding any elected office.

And when he is loses both elections, maybe he can go climb all of the Himalayan Mountains, including Mount Everest fifteen times, in just under three hours. Or something like that.

Tommy Thompson's 9/11 Hypocrisy

Sad Tommy is sad.

Today, as the entire nation is fully aware of, is the eleventh anniversary of the attack on New York City, where 3,000 people lost their lives. Many of those who perished in that horrific nightmare come true were the first responders: police officers, fire fighters, emergency medical personnel. All of them selflessly put any concerns for their own safety to the side as they charged up the stairs of the twin towers in an effort to save the lives of the innocent.

They, as much as any group of people ever has, deserves are continuous thoughts, prayers and eternal gratitude.


As happens every year on this date, people gathered to remember and honor the victims and their families. Likewise, politicians feel compelled to issue statements regarding the occasion. This is especially true during election years.

In that light, here comes Tommy Thompson, Republican candidate to replace the retiring Herb Kohl, giving us his reflection on the events of that infamous day:

Tommy Thompson released the following statement reflecting on the tragic events of September 11, 2001. Thompson served as Health and Human Services Secretary at the time of the terrorist attacks. The next day, he was at Ground Zero orchestrating the largest activation of the national disaster medical system in our nation's history.

"Eleven years ago today, the resolve of our country was tested. Families across America witnessed as our nation came under attack. Although we were shaken, we did not falter. I will never forget the unwavering strength Americans, especially first responders, demonstrated at Ground Zero that day. As both individuals and as a nation, we came together to grieve for the loved ones we lost and to rally against unspeakable evil. Together, we showed the world that the American spirit could not be broken.

"As we reflect upon the events of September 11, 2001, we are reminded that freedom isn't free. We live in the greatest country in the world because our men and women in uniform bravely put their lives at risk to defend not only our nation, but those constitutional freedoms we enjoy each and every day. I encourage people in Wisconsin and across the nation to take a moment to reflect upon those we have lost and to honor those who are bravely fighting today."

Well, isn't that special!

Too bad that this is the Tommy that wants something from the voters. The real Tommy, has shown by David Dayen at FDL, isn't as compassionate towards the first responders when they were fighting to get cancer included as a 9/11 illness. At least not until he could make money off of their suffering, that is:

The issue could play a role in a key Senate race in Wisconsin. Tommy Thompson was President Bush’s Health and Human Services Secretary. The Bush Administration did not compensate victims of the environmental hazards at Ground Zero, and downplayed the consequences. When Thompson finally got around to helping workers suffering from illnesses from Ground Zero, it wasn’t as HHS Secretary (where he was criticized for not doing enough), but as a private entrepreneur. His company, Logistics Health Inc., won a CDC contract in 2008 for $11 million to track the health and treat some of the workers exposed to toxic environmental hazards. “It is ironic that former HHS Secretary Tommy Thompson’s firm won the contract to provide the services, given the history of delay from the Bush administration when he was secretary and now,” said Rep. Carolyn Maloney at the time.

Thompson also showed his acumen in issues of protecting innocent citizens from terror when he said in 2004, upon stepping down at HHS, “For the life of me, I cannot understand why the terrorists have not, you know, attacked our food supply. Because it is so easy to do.” Fortunately, nobody took him up on the tip.

Y'know, the right wing is very conscious of who does what regarding this day, only supporting the "true patriots." Well, it's pretty obvious that Thompson doesn't fit that bill. It's time for Thompson to take a retirement from politics and devote more attention to his farm.

Republican Extremists - Part 2

Following in the footsteps of Republican Extremists, comes even more extremism.  It seems like throughout the country, republican elected officials try to outcrazy each other.   In the latest installment of "he didnt really say that did he" or " people really vote for these guys?" comes Pennsylvania Republican Representative Mike Kelly:

“I know in your mind you can think of times when America was attacked. One is December 7th, that’s Pearl Harbor day.  The other is September 11th, and that’s the day of the terrorist attack,” Kelly said, according to NBC. “I want you to remember August the 1st, 2012, the attack on our religious freedom. That is a day that will live in infamy, along with those other dates.”

 No wonder the republican party of Pennsylvania is trying to purge as many voters as possible before November.    What was the horrendous event that happened on 8/1/12?   Women now have access to birth control! Seriously that's it! 

By the way, Hawaii Senator Daniel Inouye, who was actually at Pearl Harbor on that horrendous day, says Not so much!

  

"I witnessed the attack on Pearl Harbor and had the privilege of serving in the United States Army during World War II," Inouye, 87, who will celebrate 50 years as a senator in January, said in a statement.

"It is complete nonsense to suggest that a matter discussed, debated, and approved by the Congress and the President is akin to a surprise attack that killed nearly 2,500 people and launched our nation into the second World War.”

Bush Knew

Over 120 new documents were released by the CIA regarding 9/11 and they are not flattering to the Bush Administration. Here are some highlights (emphasis mine):

The material contains much new information about the hunt before and after 9/11 for bin Laden, the development of the drone campaign in AfPak, and al-Qaida’s relationship with America’s ally, Pakistan. Perhaps most damning are the documents showing that the CIA had bin Laden in its cross hairs a full year before 9/11 — but didn’t get the funding from the Bush administration White House to take him out or even continue monitoring him. The CIA materials directly contradict the many claims of Bush officials that it was aggressively pursuing al-Qaida prior to 9/11, and that nobody could have predicted the attacks.

The National Security Archive and the person who edited these documents points out this is not good for the Bush Legacy.  

 “I don’t think the Bush administration would want to see these released, because they paint a picture of the CIA knowing something would happen before 9/11, but they didn’t get the institutional support they needed,” says Barbara Elias-Sanborn, the NSA fellow who edited the materials.

Do not worry, it gets even worse for the Bush Administration:

 Many of the documents publicize for the first time what was first made clear in the 9/11 Commission: The White House received a truly remarkable amount of warnings that al-Qaida was trying to attack the United States. From June to September 2001, a full seven CIA Senior Intelligence Briefs detailed that attacks were imminent, an incredible amount of information from one intelligence agency. One from June called “Bin-Ladin and Associates Making Near-Term Threats” writes that “[redacted] expects Usama Bin Laden to launch multiple attacks over the coming days.” The famous August brief called “Bin Ladin Determined to Strike the US” is included. “Al-Qai’da members, including some US citizens, have resided in or travelled to the US for years, and the group apparently maintains a support structure here,” it says

 Of course know that clearing brush and taking pictures took priority over any attempt to keep Americans safe:

During the entire month of August, President Bush was on vacation at his ranch in Texas — which tied with one of Richard Nixon’s as the longest vacation ever taken by a president. CIA Director George Tenet has said he didn’t speak to Bush once that month, describing the president as being “on leave.” Bush did not hold a Principals’ meeting on terrorism until September 4, 2001, having downgraded the meetings to a deputies’ meeting, which then-counterterrorism czar Richard Clarke has repeatedly said slowed down anti-Bin Laden efforts “enormously, by months.”

3000 + innocent American Lives and trillions of dollars are gone because of the incompetence of the Bush Administration and now Karl Rove and his Anti-American group Crossroads GPS are trying to influence elections and bring us back to the days when terrorists ran unchecked.  

Are we going to let them?   

Today is 9/12

That means that the Republicans who spent the day yesterday expressing their pride in the United States and promising their everlasting loyalty and willingness to defend the country will now go back to their attempts to systematically destroy it.

On This Solemn Anniversary

Unless you're a hermit living in a cave for the last ten years, you know that this is the tenth anniversary of the terrorist attack on the United States of America.

Please commemorate the day in the fashion you see best.

As for me, I prefer to follow the words of Mother Jones (the historical figure, not the website):

Mourn the dead and fight like hell for the living.

What A May Day It's Been!

Sunday was a May Day that will go down in the history books.

In Milwaukee, tens of thousands of people marched and rallied to support all the workers of the world. Large numbers were also gathered in Madison to celebrate as well.

But all of this was washed under the waves of current events, when President Barack Obama, in an unusual late night press conference, announced the death of Public Enemy #1 - Osama bin Laden.

A few thoughts and facts regarding this epic news:

• It was sixty years to the date that Americans had learned of the death of Adolph Hitler.
• It was eight years to the date that George W. Bush announced Mission Accomplished.
• After 9/11/01, America was united. On 5/01/11, the divisiveness remains, with many conservatives able to bring themselves to congratulate President Obama, and some getting down right petty.
• While, as in capital punishment, I don't celebrate bin Laden's death, but do take grim satisfaction that what needed to be done was done.
• I hope that this helps bring healing and closure to the the survivors and surviving loved ones of the victims of 9/11 and the two wars.
• Twitter is an awesome tool for getting news out fast, but it also has to be taken with a grain of salt, as a photo of the dead bin Laden has been circulating, but appears to be photoshopped.
• Obama could have handled the news release a little better, seeing the mass anxiety it was causing a lot of people, first with the odd hour of the release, then with being so darn late to it.
• I gave Obama the perfect excuse for his tardiness, tweeting that he was running late due to having to change after Biden dumped Gatorade on him as he was about to walk in the news conference.
• Thank you Gold Star Mothers.
• Congratulations and deepest gratitude to President Obama who pulled the proverbial trigger and the Navy Seals who pulled the actual one.
• I would hope that this means we could go back to being just Americans, but I am not that naive.
• If you cannot celebrate bin Laden's death, celebrate the lives of those spared from his evil ways.
• They say a picture is worth a thousand words. This one is worth that and so much more:

I cannot even begin to imagine what they are feeling right now. Whatever it is that they are feeling, judging from my own, must be absolutely overwhelming.

Scott Walker Owes The Nation An Apology

Scott Walker's campaign has been known for its tackiness. They have sent out racially-tinged tweets, more tweets disrespecting the victims of the O'Donnell Park tragedy and they did a commercial with the innuendo of beating Tom Barrett, who was the victim of a brutal attack outside of State Fair last year.

Today, Walker takes it beyond the pale with this tweet:

Can you imagine that!

On the ninth anniversary of 9/11, the day terrorists hijacked four planes killing thousands of people at the Twin Towers in New York, the Pentagon in Washington DC, and a field in rural Pennsylvania, Walker feels its fine to banter the word "hijack" around to make an inane campaign statement.

In attacking working men and women, he shows a complete disregard for the victims of 9/11, their families, and the entire nation which still grieves this horrible attack on our great nation.

Scott Walker needs to publicly apologize to the entire nation for his insensitivity and the complete inappropriateness of this vulgar campaign stunt.

Today, We Are All Americans

In Memoriam:

Perspectives of 9/11

On the morning of 9/11/01, a Tuesday morning, I did like so many other Americans were doing, getting up, eating breakfast and getting ready to go to work.

At that time, I was a foster care worker for Milwaukee County. It was a job that I loved and hated at the same time. The stress was unbelievable, taking on the responsibility of scores of young lives without the needed resources, trying to do the best you could, not just for the children, but out of fear that your name would be in the next day's headlines if you failed in your job. At the same time, I loved it, knowing I was making a difference in people's lives, giving the kids a chance at life they might never have otherwise had.

However, on the morning of that fateful day, I was way less enthusiastic to get to work. It was the last Tuesday that I would ever be a foster care worker. For all I knew, it was that last Tuesday that I'd ever be a social worker. Tommy Thompson and his cohorts in the legislature like Alberta Darling, Margaret Farrow and Scott Walker had already sold us out and privatized the foster care system. That coming Friday, September 14, 2001 was my last day on that job.

Needless to say, I was feeling awfully sorry for myself. I had a week off and then I was to report to the House of Correction. A job I didn't want, and a job I hated every single day. But it was a job, I kept trying to tell myself.

But then as I was putting on my shoes and getting my stuff together, I saw the news. I remember Katie Couric and the others on the Today show talking about the plane hitting the first tower. I called my dad, who was already at work, to tell him that something was going on. As I was talking to him, they showed the second plane hitting.

In shock, I hung up with him and called my wife to tell her what was going on, to reassure myself that she was OK, and to tell her that I love her.

I went to work after that. I don't remember much of what I got done that day, as most of us kept going to the conference room to watch the television set up in there. We saw the buildings fall, first one and then the other. We were quiet in our shock, our fear, and our pain.

In the days, the weeks, and the months to come, as more and more information became available, it put things in perspective for me.

How could I bitch about being forced out of my job and having to choose whether to work at a crappy one I hated, when people were forced to choose how they wanted to die, burning to death or jumping to their deaths.

How could I say I was nervous and even a little scared going to work in a room full of inmates, when I saw firefighters and policemen running into buildings that were about to collapse, hoping to save someone else's life at the cost of their own.

To look at what is happening today furthers that perspective. We have both sides of the political aisle accusing each other of preposterous allegations and participating in childish name-calling. Nazi, communist, fascist, socialist.

Did we learn nothing from that day?

Never Forget