Compare/Contrast - Presidential Spirituality

by Jeff Simpson

"I pray that our leaders will always act with humility and generosity. I pray that my failings are forgiven. I pray that we will uphold our obligation to be good stewards of God’s creation — this beautiful planet. I pray that we will see every single child as our own, each worthy of our love and of our compassion. And I pray we answer Scripture’s call to lift up the vulnerable, and to stand up for justice, and ensure that every human being lives in dignity.”

President Barack Obama
National Prayer Breakfast remarks, 2016

”We had tremendous success on The Apprentice. And when I ran for president, I had to leave the show. That's when I knew for sure that I was doing it. And they hired a big, big movie star, Arnold Schwarzenegger, to take my place. And we know how that turned out. The ratings went down the tubes. It's been a total disaster and Mark will never, ever bet against Trump again. And I want to just pray for Arnold if we can, for those ratings, OK?”

President The Donald 
National Prayer Breakfast remarks, 2017

Ask your ultra "religious" aunt to explain that one to you please and let me know what she says!  

Grothman Blames Race Problems On Obama Meeting With Sharpton

Now, pay attention, because there will be a quiz at the end.

US Representative Glenn Grothman was on the radio with squawk show host Chuckles Sykes when the conversation went to the tragic shooting in Dallas. Grothman was quick to point out that race relations in general were worse since Barack Obama came into office and knew exactly why.

From Miranda Blue at Right Wing Watch:

Wisconsin talk radio host Charlie Sykes asked Grothman to discuss the assassination of five police officers in Dallas and why the nation is “as divided and on edge as it has been in a long time.”

“I don’t think it’s surprising given the leadership we have in this country,” Grothman said. “You know, a lot of people felt, not me, but a lot of people felt that it was a good thing to elect Barack Obama, I think race relations were pretty good when he took office, but [those people were] saying, well, if there were any problems left, Barack Obama would solve these problems.”

“Instead,” he said, “we have a president who’s met with Al Sharpton over 100 times. And if he met with Al Sharpton 100 times, what does that tell you about how Barack Obama views race relations or how he should weigh in? And there’s your problem. Hillary Clinton has tried to get Al Sharpton’s endorsement; Barack Obama has praised Black Lives Matter.”

“See, the situation with race relations were very good eight years ago,” he continued, “but it seems as though both Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton — I mean, would you even be caught on stage with Al Sharpton?”

Grothman then said Obama needed to take a "moral stand" with Sharpton and should warn blacks to stay away from Black Lives Matters.

Of course, Grothman probably considers himself an expert on race relations. After all, it was Grothman who said that honoring Martin Luther King, Jr. was an insult to taxpayers and that Kwanzaa was a fake holiday that only white liberals cared about.

OK, now here is your pop quiz: What is the color of Glenn Grothman's white robe and hood?

Obama Advises Walker to "Bone Up" On Foreign Policy

Last week, Scott Walker once again showed himself not to be ready for prime time when he gleefully announced that if he were to become president, his first job would be to cause war in the Middle East, by undoing any pacts with Iran.

When asked about Walker's grandiose statements of bravado, President Barack Obama wiped the stupid smirk off of Walker's face:



As my friend karoli at Crooks and Liars reported:

President Obama is a master of the subtle takedown, but this one wasn't even that subtle.

Speaking to NPR News' Steve Inskeep, Obama was asked about Scott Walker's remarks that he'd undo the Iran deal on Day One of his mythical presidency.

"It would be a foolish approach to take and perhaps Mr. Walker — after he's taken some time to bone up on foreign policy — will feel the same way," Obama said.

Obama goes on to point out that Walker's inanity could prove to be dangerous as it undermines the office of the president and could embolden our enemies.

We in Wisconsin can vouch that while Walker talks a good game, in reality he is a coward, as is common among bullies.

We at Cog Dis managed to get this candid shot of Walker when he first saw the video and heard the smack down by Obama:

Walker: I Don't Know If Obama Is Christian

Scott Walker can't seem to stop putting his foot in his mouth, especially when he is confronted with those hard hitting questions like if he believes in evolution or if he thinks Obama loves our country.

One might think that Walker would have learned by now, but one would be sadly mistaken. Walker ended up sounding like a damn fool again when he questioned Obama's faith:

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker, a prospective Republican presidential contender, said Saturday he does not know whether President Obama is a Christian.

“I don’t know,” Walker said in an interview at the JW Marriott hotel in Washington, where he was attending the winter meeting of the National Governors Association.

Told that Obama has frequently spoken publicly about his Christian faith, Walker maintained that he was not aware of the president’s religion.

“I’ve actually never talked about it or I haven’t read about that,” Walker said, his voice calm and firm. “I’ve never asked him that,” he added. “You’ve asked me to make statements about people that I haven’t had a conversation with about that. How [could] I say if I know either of you are a Christian?”

At least he didn't say he didn't know if Obama was American because he didn't see the birth certificate - not yet, anyway.

Ironically, people are starting to question whether Walker is actually a Christian, given that his policies are completely opposite of the teachings of the Bible, especially when it comes to the poor.

Walker went on to whine about all those mean reporters that ask such tough questions. He probably wishes that all reporters would be like his friends at Faux News or on squawk radio, who only ask him how wonderful he is. Walker even had his spokeswoman call to yell at the reporter:

After the interview was completed, Walker spokeswoman Jocelyn Webster telephoned The Washington Post to say the governor was trying to make a point of principle by not answering such kinds of questions, not trying to cast doubt on Obama’s faith.

“Of course the governor thinks the president is a Christian,” she said. “He thinks these kinds of gotcha questions distract from what he’s doing as governor of Wisconsin to make the state better and make life better for people in his state.”

Now, obviously, this is nothing more than dog whistle politics, which is one thing Walker can do very well.

But he is also ending up to seem more and more like Sarah Palin, who couldn't even answer the question about which papers and magazines she reads.

Then again, Walker does have a tendency to use selective knowledge. All throughout the two John Doe investigations into his illegal politicking, his favorite answer has been "I don't know," even though evidence - like spending nearly a million dollars on a legal defense fund - shows that he damn well did know what was going on.

I can't wait until the national media asks him another hardball question, like what the color of his white shirt is or if he thinks Obama is black.

H/T to the bestest blogress out there - Anomaly

WaPo: Walker Is Spineless

As the gentle reader is aware, Scott Walker was recently in New York for yet another fundraiser. Walker was there with Rudy Guliani, who did what he does best - putting his foot in his mouth by accusing President Barack Obama of not loving America.

When asked about it, Walker did what he does best - he punted. Walker tried to dodge the question by saying that Guliani can speak for himself, as could Obama.

On Friday, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel again asked Walker about Guliani's idiotic comment and again, Walker punted:

Walker was asked if Giuliani crossed a line by saying – at a Walker reception in New York – that “I do not believe that the President loves America.”

Walker said, “no” to that question.

“I’ve said repeatedly that (Giuliani) can speak for himself. The president can defend that,” Walker said.

Asked, “Do you think the President loves America?” Walker said the following:

“I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t. He can handle that himself. I know I do. And I know there are great people in this country who love this country and who ... feel this country’s exceptional and it doesn’t necessarily align by party. I think there are Republicans and Democrats and plenty of people in between. I’ve never asked the President so I don’t really know what his opinions are on that one way or another.”

The editorial board at the Washinton Post has had enough of Walker's wishy-washiness and called him out on it:

Mr. Giuliani has dived off the deep end before, so there was nothing all that surprising in his latest poison. But as Post columnist Dana Milbank points out, his remarks presented an early test of character for Mr. Walker, and Mr. Walker failed spectacularly. At the dinner, the governor said nothing. Even the next morning, having had a night to ponder, Mr. Walker chose not to lift himself out of the Giuliani sewer. “The mayor can speak for himself. I’m not going to comment on what the president thinks or not. He can speak for himself as well,” Mr. Walker said on CNBC. “I’ll tell you, I love America, and I think there are plenty of people — Democrat, Republican, independent, everyone in between — who love this country.”

Mr. Walker likes to present himself as a man of courage, based on his record in Wisconsin, but maybe facing down public-sector unions doesn’t tell you all that much about the bravery of a Republican governor. On two occasions in recent days, he has proved himself incapable of saying basic truths that might offend some of his potential voters: First, that evolution is real, and second, that an honorable politician criticizes his opponent’s policies, not his patriotism. Sen. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.) showed his understanding of that principle Friday when he said, “I believe the president loves America. His ideas are bad.”

Any reader of this page knows that we find plenty to criticize in Mr. Obama’s foreign policy. But the questions about his patriotism that emerge from a venomous stew of racism, xenophobia and echo-chamber cable television chatter are ludicrous and say a great deal more about the critics than about the object of their criticism. It was particularly pathetic to see Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal (R), another would-be president, scrambling to steal some of the spotlight of Mr. Walker’s cowardice by issuing a statement titled, “Gov. Jindal Refuses to Condemn Mayor Giuliani.” The only response to that can be, who cares?

I've said it before and I'll say it again. Walker has to maintain the facade of being an intelligent, respectable person with leadership skills for a long time. That is something he is simply incapable of doing.

Laborfest 2014 - Not Your Average Labor Day Celebration

Milwaukee's Laborfest 2014 is in the books.

And by no means was it your average, everyday celebration of labor.

Oh sure, there was the usual parades.  There was the usual politicians walking around glad-handing the people and showing their support for organized labor.  There was the usual good food, good beer and good music.

But this year was unique for a few reasons, both in general and personally.

After getting bumped off of the Summerfest grounds last year due to the Harley reunion, we came back to the Summerfest grounds.  Not only did we come back, we came back in force.

We also had a very special guest speaker in President Barack Obama.

You can see the entirety of Obama's speech, as well as the opening remarks by Milwaukee Area Labor Council Secretary/Treasurer Sheila Cochran here, via Wisconsin Eye.

It was also a special day for me personally.  I had the distinct privilege of joining several of my brothers and sisters on the stage with the president.  It gave me a chance to have a once in a lifetime experience and a new vantage point that I would not normally have.

A view of the crowd and the podium
from which Obama was to speak.

Courtesy of a friend, the view from the crowd.

Other pictures of the day's activities can be seen through the coverage by the Milwaukee Business Journal.

There were two other things of note about the day.

Besides the presence of President Obama, there were several local leaders, including Congresswoman Gwen Moore, Mayor Tom Barrett, State Senator Chris Larson, State Representatives Chris Sinicki and Mandela Barnes and Milwaukee County Supervisors Jason Haas and Khalif Rainey.  There were also several candidates, including Mary Burke, Susan Happ, David Bowen and Chris Rockwood.

Notably absent from the day's events was Boss Chris Abele.  It wasn't that he didn't want to be there, but because AFSCME and the Milwaukee Area Labor Council made it explicitly clear that he was not welcome because of his attacks on workers and workers' rights.

Also notable for their absence were Milwaukee County deputy sheriffs.  Again, it wasn't that they didn't want to be there helping to provide security for the President of the United States, but because Sheriff David Clarke was again politicizing his office by refusing to do his job in providing security for the the Democratic president.

President Obama's Labor Day Message

President Barack Obama is coming to Milwaukee today to say some words at Laborfest, but here is a message from him that probably gives a hint at what he will be saying while he's here:

As Long As It's Their Idea

Interesting:

While the public overwhelmingly supports background checks for gun buyers and a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, Americans largely retreat into their partisan camps when asked whether President Obama or Congressional Republicans will make the right decisions on those and other domestic issues facing the nation, according to the latest New York Times/CBS News Poll.

That disconnect could explain why Democrats and Mr. Obama are still struggling to translate public support into tangible political backing for their initiatives. Americans did not give Mr. Obama high marks for his handling of those issues — even though more than two-thirds of Americans over all, including a majority of Republicans, disapprove of the way Republicans in Congress are handling their job.

In other words, even though the vast majority of Americans favor background checks and a realistic way of addressing immigration, the Republicans would rather slit their own political throats than appear to be working in a bipartisan manner.

That is obviously the influence of the intolerant Teahadists who are still unable to accept the fact that an African American won the presidency, not to mention doing so twice. The Teahadists are showing that they would only accept these measures if it was proposed by a Teapublican, ignoring the fact that no Teapublican would even consider either of these if they were in power, no matter how loudly or clearly the public made their voices heard.

There is another part of the report that reignites a spark of hope that things might still get better some day (emphasis mine):

Though churning support for his agenda remains a problem for the president, according to the poll, Congress is struggling with overcoming its own unfavorable image. Three-quarters of Americans disapprove of the way Congress is handling its job, the poll found, and nearly 9 in 10 said most members of Congress were more concerned with serving special interest groups than helping the people they represent.

“It’s like the gladiator sports, where the emperor keeps the people entertained, even though we’re starving,” said Roberta Hughes, 61, of Elizabeth City, N.C. “But real people are losing out in real ways when they enact the drama.”

People are starting to wake up and recognize the truth of how things really are. The question is whether that knowledge will be enough to overcome their apathy in the next election.

We're Not Living in the Union of American Socialist Republics

I truly believe that the right-wing is nothing but a hotbed of willing ignorance, stupidity and sheer assery. While reading through the news this morning, a particular story caught my eye. A teacher in Marietta, GA thought it was a great idea to have their students write a paper noting the "comparisons" between President Obama and Vladimir Lenin/Josef Stalin (who aren't even comparable to each other) and how President Obama is apparently turning us all into freedom hating commies. Not wanting to leave students without the proper sources to research, the teacher also provided a list of places the students could go to "find" these comparisons. Not incidentally, all these ''sources'' were right-wing hack websites i.e. Fox News and the Drudge Report to name a few. After enough complaints, the teacher was given a tap on the wrist and the assignment rescinded.

The faux issue of President Obama 'being' a socialist is nothing new. Sarah Palin tried her best to use that as a wedge issue to send her and McCain to the White House in 2008, and, like everything Sarah Palin does, it failed. Why won't this issue go away? Why hasn't it been made blazingly apparent that in fact, the president isn't a communist/fascist/nazi/socialist yadda yadda? Because fear and manipulation are the favorite tools of the right-wing election puppet masters.

I think it's important that Americans finally crack open a book and took a peek at this whole socialism thing. If those on the other side of the aisle would educate themselves for 5 minutes, they'd see how President Obama is most certainly not a socialist, not even close. Oh, but he cares for the poor! And wants everyone to have health care! And wants corporations to pay their fair share! And people to have affordable housing! And CIVIL RIGHTS! Oh god, what ever will we do! I mean, honestly, if that's the right-wing's definition of a socialist, then hell, count me in. And honestly, if trying to portray the president as something he isn't is more important than feeding and clothing poor families, than your priorities suck and that's why you're losing elections and support.

Tragedy Restores, Destroys Faith In Humankind

I, like most Americans, have spent the weekend trying to cope with the nightmarish events of Friday morning, when a young man took his mother's guns, shot her in the face and then killed 26 children and their teachers.

Personally, one of things that helped me the most was spending time with Rusty the Wonder Beagle.  Even though he is very old, blind, deaf and diabetic, he is still full of love and life.  He seemed to just know that my wife and I were upset and was abnormally affectionate and just being around him and his unconditional love helped.

My wife and I actually discussed how, if Rusty was younger and able to make that long of a trip, we would have taken him to Connecticut to be a comfort to some of the people who have suffered so much.

It was with happiness that I saw that even if Rusty couldn't make the trip, other comfort dogs were on their way:

A team of golden retrievers made an 800-mile journey from the Chicago area to Newtown, Conn., over the weekend to comfort people affected by the shootings Friday at Sandy Hook Elementary School.

Lutheran Church Charities sent about 10 of the dogs for residents who want to pet them while they talk or pray with the dog’s handler, said Tim Hetzner, president of the Addison, Ill., organization.

“Dogs are nonjudgmental. They are loving. They are accepting of anyone,” Hetzner said. “It creates the atmosphere for people to share.”

The dogs often visit people in hospitals, nursing homes and parks. Each dog carries a business card with its name, Facebook page, Twitter account and email address.

“The dogs have become the bridge,” said Lynn Buhrke, 66, who is a dog handler for a female golden retriever named Chewie. “People just sit down and talk to you.”

I was also very pleased to see that those poor souls were not taken in vain and that even though it shouldn't have taken a tragedy like this, people finally coming to their senses and getting rid of their guns:

In the aftermath of the tragedy in Newtown, Connecticut, some Americans are turning in their guns as part of local government buy-backed programs.

Residents in New York City, New York, Camden, New Jersey, Baltimore, Maryland, and San Francisco, California, sold hundreds of weapons back to the government no-questions asked, with some attributing their decisions to the Connecticut tragedy.

“After the incident yesterday, it was time to get it out of the house,” Sonia White, a 65-year-old Baltimore County grandmother said. A man in San Francisco explained, “I’ve got kids, man.” “Kids are curious. Kids don’t know any better. I had it locked in a toolbox, so I don’t know. … I just know it had to go.”

Now only if we could get people to realize that such actions are also needed for the kids that are lost every day in the cities from guns.

President Barack Obama also struck the right chords in his speech in the Newtown vigil:

You can see the complete speech here, with thanks to MAL.

Sadly, even as the president was reaching out to the good people of Newtown, there was the base side of American who thought that the first quarter of a football game was more important and wanted NBC to "take that nigger off the air."

And then, just when you thought it couldn't get worse, it does.

As they tried to do in Colorado, the idiots at Westboro Baptist Church are planning on protesting the funerals of the innocents killed.

But then, out of the Intertubes comes a pair of unlikely cavalries.

Redditors are pledging to also converge on Newtown to form a human blockade and the group Anonymous has done a docs drop on them, as well as an enlightening video.

No matter what, there will always be jerks in the world. But it is reassuring to see so many people from so many walks of life finally pulling together again.

It's just so very sad that it took the life of so many innocents to make it happen. It's also so very sad that it doesn't go far enough. It never will until we address the same horrors happening every day in our own cities across the country with our black youth.

Damned If They Did Win, Double Damned That They Didn't

As I write this, they just called it that President Barack Obama has won reelection.

Just as delicious, Tammy Baldwin is giving her victory speech.

That is, obviously, the good news.

It's not that the Republicans and their fascist backers didn't try.

Oh, how they tried.

First, their were the propagandists, trying to cast doubt on the election. One such example is Kevin Binversie, employee of Koch Industries, who tried to say that the Black Panthers were out there intimidating voters. Fox News tried it too, but if you watch their video, it's as comical as their story with the palm trees in Madison:



Watch the whole video, especially at the end. Did you see the way that Black Panther intimidatingly opened the door for those women? The beast!

Brian Sikma, proven liar, and his colleagues tried to intimate that it was somehow wrong to take the elderly, the poor and the disabled to their polling places.

Then there were the actual problems at the polling places.

There was the usual broken machines and insufficient ballots, which oddly keeps happening in poor neighborhoods or neighborhoods with higher number of minorities.

There were the poll workers asking for a picture ID, here in Wisconsin and in other states where it's not required. Apparently poll workers are one of the few types of people with no social media, no radios, no TVs and no newspapers, so they weren't aware of that these aren't required.

Then there were the "poll watchers." digby really has covered this with a number of examples of states with more sense than ours, where they simply banned these fools. Even better, she points out how dumb their watchers are when they spill the beans:

Elections Director William A. Anthony Jr. said the group may be investigated for possibly falsifying documents after today's election. The forms themselves warn that elections falsification is a fifth-degree felony...

One person told the elections board that she attended True the Vote training sessions and the observers were instructed to use cameras to intimidate voters when they enter the polling place, record their names on tablet computers and send them to a central location, and attempt to stop questionably qualified voters before they could get to a voting machine.

Here in Wisconsin, we didn't protect our elections, or our tax money, as well, allowing them into the election areas, only to have to kick them out when they tried to interfere with voters and listen to them complain when they couldn't.

Then there is the story, if it's indeed true, of the corrupted electronic voting machines.

At least there was some comic relief when Team Romney went so far as to complain that a polling place was held at Barack Obama K-8 School.

But like I said, the victories by Obama and Baldwin is the good news.

The bad news is that the Republicans' unethical and blatantly corrupt gerrymandering paid off for them as they not only kept the state assembly but retook the state senate. Sadly, Dirty Duffy and Dribble Ribble also kept their ill-gotten seats because of the gerrymandering.

The really bad news is that Romney's defeat means that Scott Walker is going to double down on his bid for the presidency.

We'll have to be girded for the fight against oddly termed "right to work" legislation, further raping of our environment (including the mining in the Northwoods and fracking everywhere else) and further attempts at voter suppression, anti-women and anti-LGBT legislation.

Walker's going to have to show the American fascists why he is the right tool for them.

I know, I know. Not an exactly a rosy picture for us Wisconsinites, right.

But it's not all doom and gloom.

The Obama and Baldwin victories show us that the Republicans are paper weasels and only have a temporary hold on the state because of their corrupt and unethical stunts. It also shows that they are very vulnerable in state wide races. And Walker is going to have to try to keep things together for two years if he hopes to be reelected in 2014.

But we don't have to wait for two years to start setting things to right.

Justice Pat Roggensack is up for reelection in the spring. If we can retake the majority of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin, we can at least get some honest rulings on the unconstitutional laws coming out of the ALEC Walker administration.

And let us not forget Walkergate. John Doe just might be able to take care of the job for us.

So while the elections might make the future look dark for our state, we have also shown that we can fight through the dark and let the light back in.

Enjoy the victory for a few days. You've earned it. Then come back and we'll get back to work. We helped save the country, now we gotta save the state.

Yeah, I'm Still Not Convinced

OK, let me see if I got this clear.

Mitt Romney and his supporters are trying to tell us that after eight years of Bush/Cheney's economic ruination, Obama should be fired for not fixing everything in four years.

On top of that, we should hire Romney, who says he needs ten years for a plan he either doesn't have or won't share because it's so awful no one would vote for him if he did say it.

Yeah, I'm still not convinced. I'll stick with Obama, thanks anyway.

The Obligatory "Who I Am Voting For And Why You Should Too" Post

Before I start, I just want to make sure the gentle reader is aware that in Wisconsin, the gentle voter does NOT need to show a picture ID. Also, the gentle voter should be aware that there is no more straight party voting. One must go down the entire ballot and mark the ballot for each candidate separately.

Now, let's move on:

President/Vice President

As one might surmise, I am going to vote for Barack Obama and Joe Biden.

When one looks at the main topics, the choice is really a no-brainer. While Obama has made his fair share of mistakes and has routinely tried to placate to many people instead of sticking to his decisions, he far exceeds Romney on every level.

While most people wish that the economic recovery was proceeding faster and that the jobs were coming back at a better rate, the fact is that this country has had 31 (or is it 32 now?) straight months of job growth. Romney, on the other hand, whether as governor or private businessman, has done nothing but kill jobs. As governor, Romney drove his state's status of a job creator from the 30's to nearly the worst. And that was just in one term. And do I really need to point out his aptitude and attitude towards job creation by pointing out Bain?

As for Obamacare, it is also that simple to sort out. On one hand, we have Obamacare which will make healthcare much more affordable. The Republicans are correct in saying that some people's taxes will go up. What they don't mention is that you'll be saving the exponentially rising cost that we are currently paying, eliminating the fear of being insurance poor.

With Romney/Ryan care, costs go up by thousands of dollars per year per person- and that's if one is lucky enough to even be able to keep one's insurance and not have it turned into a voucher coupon. The money that you've paid into the system will be gone and put in the hands of Wall Street, never for you to see again. Basically, it would be legalized robbery.

One of my favorite things to do, when encountering a person who says that they want "change" and are going to vote for Romney, is to ask them which Romney they are going to vote for. He has flip flopped so much that I'm not even sure he knows where he stands on any given issue. The only thing that Romney has brought to the table is baseless innuendo and race-baiting smears.

While Obama won't go down as the greatest president this country ever had, Romney has proven himself to be utterly unqualified.

US Senate

This is probably the easiest race to make a decision.

Tammy Baldwin's slogan sums it up neatly and honestly: While Baldwin stood up to the special interest, Tommy Thompson stood up with them - usually as their lobbyist.

The only thing that the Team Thompson and his special interest backers have been able to throw at Baldwin is that she is the "most liberal" and "mot extreme" person in Congress. It's kind of funny how any time a Democrat runs for any office, they automatically most liberal and most extreme in that body of government, the world and the universe. I've lost count long ago, but by a very conservative estimate, there has been about 2,495,781 most liberal/extreme Democrats that came from Wisconsin alone. And that's just in the last couple of years.

Meanwhile, the misogynistic, racist Thompson has a heckuva long history of turning his political positions into a big pile of personal wealth and now has a bit of a legal problem to boot.

And for anyone that would try the tax argument on this race, may I simply remind you of Thompson's most infamous words: "Stick it to them!"?

US House of Representatives

District 1

I'm not in this district, but the nod would have to go to Rob Zerban. Zerban is a small businessman who understands what works and what will create jobs, something which has been absent for years from this district. In fact, representation at any level has been missing from this district as Paul Ryan has gotten caught up in the world of the rich and powerful who have bought him off.

Zerban has been busting butt connecting to people throughout the district, answering tough questions and listening to what the people have to say. Ryan, when he bothers even being in his district, tells people what they should think and has anyone not toeing the line arrested.

The choice is easy for the people of this district. If you want at least a fighting chance at success, or if you want a job, or if you just want to be heard. If you want to maintain the status quo of no job, no money and no future, by all means, vote for Paul Ryan.

District 4

If you have ever heard Dan Sebring's radio commercial, you would automatically know that he is utterly unfit for office. The only thing he has to run on, in his peabrain, is that he is a white man and the incumbent Gwen Moore, is a black woman. There is no place in our government, or anywhere else, for that kind of blatant racism.

Outside of the racist ad, Sebring also would never be able to come close to matching Moore's compassion for the people of Milwaukee, nor would he even think about bringing all the benefits to the city that Ms. Moore has.

The nod definitely goes to Moore.

State Legislature

The following are the official Cog Dis endorsements. When possible, I've included the link to our original post about them.

State Senate

District 14 - Margarete Worthington

District 18 - Jessica King

District 20 - Tanya Lohr

District 22 - Robert Wirch

District 24 - Julie Lassa

District 28 - Jim Ward

District 32 - Jennifer Shilling

State Assembly

District 7 - Daniel Riemer

District 13 - John Pokrandt

District 14 - Chris Rockwood

District 15 - Cindy Moore

District 20 - Christine Sinicki

District 23 - Cris Rogers

District 38 - Scott Michalak

District 46 - Gary Hebl

District 48 - Melissa Sargent

District 62 - Melissa Lemke

District 63 - Kelley Dee Albrecht

District 71 - Yeah, good luck up there, people. You don't have a progressive to choose. Better luck in 2014!

District 96 - Tom Johnson

District 97 - Marga Krumins

The Final Push

'Nuff said.

President Romney - Day 100

Even a Republican could follow this one:



There are no do overs and no what ifs. If you don't vote, you have no one to blame but yourself. And if you vote for Romney, and then get screwed, again, you have no one to blame but yourself.

So ask your self these questions:

• Romney or jobs?
• Romney or wealth?
• Romney or healthcare?
• Romney or lower taxes?
• Romney or rights and freedoms?

It's really that simple.

The Difference

'Nuff said!

Thoughts And Observations Regarding Frankenstorm

Frankenstorm, the perfect storm consisting of Hurricane Sandy, a nor'easter and high tide, hasn't even landed yet and it's having a significant impact on the East Coast and the rest of the nation.

Flooding, such as the pictured East River in New York City, is already happening. Flights in and out of the region are all but cancelled. The storm is even big enough that it has closed Wall Street for at least today and tomorrow.

The storm is so big and so strong that forecasters are warning that we will feel it's impact here in Wisconsin.

First and foremost, on behalf of myself and my co-authors, I want to say that our thoughts and prayers go out to everyone in the storms path. We hope everyone stays safe and doesn't unnecessarily put themselves in harm's way. (Especially you, Jenna Pope!)

The people in New Jersey should be especially cautious, since they have a governor that was so busy running away from a blizzard that he forgot to call a snow emergency.

As one might expect, President Barack Obama cancelled his political events, including an appearance in Green Bay on Tuesday:

Due to Hurricane Sandy, President Obama’s campaign event in Green Bay, Wisconsin on Tuesday has been cancelled. The President will remain in Washington, DC to closely monitor the impact of and response to the hurricane.

However, Mitt Romney was more in a Catch-22. If he held political events, such as his appearance scheduled for Monday night at State Fair - yeah, Mr. Teahadist was to hold his event decrying government spending at a government-funded place - he'd be labeled insensitive and compared to George W. Bush for more than his economic policy. If he canceled events, his side would wonder about his intelligence, his manliness and his American-ness.

Romney decided to cancel his events as well:

Out of sensitivity for the millions of Americans in the path of Hurricane Sandy, we are canceling tonight's events with Governor Romney in Wisconsin and Congressman Ryan in Melbourne and Lakeland, Florida. We are also canceling all events currently scheduled for both Governor Romney and Congressman Ryan on Tuesday. Governor Romney believes this is a time for the nation and its leaders to come together to focus on those Americans who are in harms way. We will provide additional details regarding Governor Romney's and Congressman Ryan's schedule when they are available

For what it's worth, I think Romney made the right call, but he'd be better served if he didn't put himself in the category of being a leader. All he's really going to be doing his ordering his servants to protect Ann's horse and his yacht. I would also be remiss if I did not point out that Romney said that FEMA should be shut down.

It should be noted that Romney's decision was not an immediate thing. In fact, this morning, they were first advertising that the turn out was going to be "so big" that they moved their event from the product pavilion to the State Fair Expo. (Part of me wonders if that's not what they rented in the first place and that they were pretending that they were going to use the other building to inflate his popularity.)

Scott Walker appeared on Charlie Sykes' show to commend Obama on cancelling his events, stating that he would do the same thing. He must have forgotten about two years ago, when Milwaukee County was hit with massive flooding and Walker left town to go campaigning and left all the work to his opponent, Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett.

And what would any natural disaster be without a Pat Robertson-like blaming of the LGBT community (emphasis theirs)?

A Christian religious leader has already claimed that Hurricane Sandy is further proof that “God is systematically destroying America” as political judgment for the “homosexual agenda.” John McTernan previously made similar allusions about Hurricanes Katrina (2005) and Isaac (2012), which he reiterated in his urgent call to prayer posted Sunday evening (via Gay Star News):

Just last August, Hurricane Isaac hit New Orleans seven years later, on the exact day of Hurricane Katrina. Both hit during the week of the homosexual event called Southern Decadence in New Orleans!

McTernan believes that it is noteworthy that Hurricane Sandy is hitting 21 years after the “Perfect Storm,” because 3 is a “significant number with God”:

Twenty-one years breaks down to 7 x 3, which is a significant number with God. Three is perfection as the Godhead is three in one while seven is perfection.
It appears that God gave America 21 years to repent of interfering with His prophetic plan for Israel; however, it has gotten worse under all the presidents and especially Obama. Obama is 100 percent behind the Muslim Brotherhood which has vowed to destroy Israel and take Jerusalem. Both candidates are pro-homosexual and are behind the homosexual agenda. America is under political judgment and the church does not know it!

And this is just the beginning, folks.

Team Obama Reads Cog Dis!

While I was away, Meg and Jeff did a grand job keeping the gentle reader informed of the sickening disdain Republicans hold for women.

Meg made a passionate plea for women to stand up for themselves by preventing Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan from having the chance to implement their misogynistic agenda.

Jeff followed up showing that Ryan and other Republicans, in their own words, have the same demented attitude that Richard Mourdock has regarding children resulting of rape is "a gift from God."

Then, Team Obama came out with this ad:



Yup, Cog Dis, shaping the world of tomorrow today. That's us alrighty.

Mitt Romney's Beliefs

Mitt Romney believes women belong in a binder, not the boardroom.

And, when did he suddenly believe in women being able to obtain contraception? Mitt Romney does not believe in abortion or birth control. He's been very vocal in cutting funding for Planned Parenthood. His running mate, Paul Ryan, wrote a "Personhood" bill that seeks to give rapists legal rights to take their victims to court to bar them from obtaining an abortion. Can we get more extreme than that? He does not trust women to make their own health care decisions. Romney does not believe in equal pay. He doesn't believe that women have equal rights in the workplace.

Mitt Romney does not believe in keeping jobs in America. His record as a businessman, which he loves to talk about, PROVES he is in China's best interest, not our own. He doesn't believe in American workers, American ingenuity or American integrity. He will sell us to the highest bidder.

Mitt Romney has some wild thoughts on gun control. Starting out by talking about having kids after you're married, doesn't address the problem. He was actively seeking the endorsement of the NRA and panders to their extreme gun agenda.

Mitt Romney does not believe in affordable education. He seeks to CUT Pell Grants, and double interest on student loans. He doesn't support teacher's unions and he seeks to cut federal funding for public education.

Mitt Romney's tax plan would add upwards of $5 trillion dollars to the deficit. Tax cuts are not free. Someone has to pay for them. Those handing over the credit card would be those most hurt by his economic policies - the 99%.

Mitt Romney says he's going to fight for the middle class, but we know that his true belief is that we are nothing but entitled moochers. 47% of Americans. You know, working class families, veterans, the disabled, the elderly, students. All whiny suckers of the government teat.

Mitt Romney says he would make it easier for immigrants to come here legally. We know this just is not true. He wants to make the situation for immigrants so awful that they "self deport" themselves back to their home countries. His immigration adviser wrote the racist Arizona bill that the GOP loves.

Mitt Romney thinks he's different from George. W. Bush. But in reality, Romney would be EXACTLY like Bush, if not even worse.

Mitt Romney believes Ronald Reagan was an economic demi-god. The truth is that Reagan was a terrible president. He raised taxes 6 out of the 8 years he was president. The economy was awful under his watch. And let's not forget he allowed terrorists to obtain weapons. He allowed men, women and children to get slaughtered in Columbia. He wanted to escalate the Cold War to a fever pitch. Star Wars anyone?

Mitt Romney believes in letting big oil companies run the show. He has no interest in investing in green energy. He wants to stick an oil well on every piece of land. He would never end corporate welfare for them. He would rather see the earth melt before letting any of his oil overlords lose any money.

But above everything, Mitt Romney is a rich oligarch who wants to keep the working class down, and the wealthy and elite up. He wants to sell America's soul to China. He looks at us with dollar signs in his eyes. He is everything America should never be. 1% of the people can't represent 99% of the people. President Obama is who America needs. A change of control of congress is what America needs. We need peace, freedom and equality. America can't survive under a Romney administration. Consider this on November 6th!

Mitt Loves Wars. Just Not Fighting In Them

Once upon a time, America entered into a war with Vietnam. The war was not popular. America began drafting young men to send to Vietnam. In enters Mitt Romney. A child of privilege. A strong supporter of the war. Thought it was wonderful. But young Mitt decided that, instead of joining the military to fight in the war he so much loved, he would run off to spread Mormonism to the French...yeah I know.

Now, I'm no supporter of the war in Vietnam. It was costly, both in money and lives. I am however, a supporter of the young men who had no choice in whether or not they were going to fight in it. They had to go. They didn't have the money to get out of it. They weren't lucky enough to have the right connections. And you know what happened to a lot of those young men when they came home? They never were able to recover. According to the National Coalition for the Homeless, Vietnam veterans comprise of 47% of all homeless veterans. That's a staggering number. What would a Romney/Ryan administration do for these people? Absolutely nothing. In fact, we know that Ryan's budget plan cuts so much from social programs, that it would increase the number of homeless veterans. President Obama and Vice President Biden are the only presidential ticket on November's ballot who have been putting veterans issues front and center. They don't just talk a good game - they put their ideas into motion. Michelle Obama and Jill Biden have been working tirelessly with members of the military and their families to help ease the transition from soldier to civilian a little bit easier.

Do you know what's nice about being a rich person? You get to support wars, sometimes you even get to make money off of them. You get to talk about how much you love the troops. You welcome them home from the wars you wanted, but you nor your children have to actually participate in them.You don't have to go off to distant lands far away from your family. What Mitt Romney did was cowardly. He talks about his support for veterans (except they weren't important enough to mention in his acceptance speech at the GOP clown show) but refused to become one. So, please don't be fooled by Mitt Romney. He couldn't care less about veterans or veteran's issues. He's put money and privilege above supporting our country and those who gave everything to defend her.