Eighteen Years

 

Eighteen years ago, I used to like to read the blogs that were around then.  Then I started commenting nn some of them.  Before I knew it, I got an email from a guy named Jay, who ran the folkbum blogsite.  He told me he collected writers like he collected campaign buttons and invited me to join his site.  (Yes, Jay, I remember. That's how much impact you had on me with that simple gesture.)  

Well, I accepted Jay's offer.  And people actually like me! 

One thing led to another and before I knew it, I joined Whallah!, which was aimed at conservative squawkers like Chuckles the Clown Sykes and Jessica McBride, the Lauren Boebert of journalism.

Then I took over Whallah!

Then, seventeen years ago, this here blog was born

In the ensuing years, people have come, and people have gone.  Sometimes to bigger and better things.  Sometimes because they got burned out.  Sometimes because it turned out that this wasn't what they wanted to do.

The hardest loss to take was when cancer stole my blogging partner and dear friend, Jeff Simpson.  I lost a part of myself when I lost my friend.  

But after a longer than intended hiatus, I'm coming back. Well, I was always around, just spending it all with my other family at Crooks and Liars. It's a cool enough place, even though they don't really appreciate cheese the way they should.

I can't thank you enough for your patience.

But now, if you haven't noticed, gentle reader, the wolves are at the door again. It's time to take it to them.  I hope that you will join Ed and I and whoever else may join us in the future, as we do what we do best.

Because, as always, this site destroys fascism.

PS: As always, all complaints about me being the Cheddarsphere should be directed to Jay.

One Door Closed, Another Door Opens

 At the end of last year, sad news hit the Cheddarsphere with the demise of Blogging Blue:

Sadly, with Blogging Blue's end also meant another voice lost, just when we need as many voices as we can get to fight the tyranny in Washington, D.C. as well as prevent the tyranny from returning to Wisconsin.  

After seeing the news, I reached out to Ed Heinzelman, who was the chief cook and bottle washer over at Blogging Blue.  I am pleased to announce that Ed's voice won't be lost after all as that he has agreed to add it to this here blog, along with little old me.

Now, if only I can get the rest of the gang back together too...  

Paging folkbum, Illy-T and grumps.  It's time to get back to work.

Everything Old Is New Again

 In breaking news, The Onion has just been sold and will be soon returning to its former glory.  

It's just another example of how things come around to a full circle.

Another example is that I am back home, at long last. 

I started this blog some 15 or so years ago.  Then I got invited to write for Crooks and Liars, an opportunity I eagerly accepted.  I thought I could manage both blogs, but with me retiring, Jeff passing away and other parts of life getting in the way, it turned out to be too much. 

But things change, life moves on and, well, Whallah!, I am back.  Oh, I'll still be writing at C&L as long as they will let me, but I will be able to spend more time here as well.  

Anyway, while I've been gone, there as been some marked improvements in the state, with the most notable being the election of Justice Janet Protasiewicz and justice finally returning to Wisconsin after all these years.

However, there is still a lot more work to do and it's not going to do itself.  Yes, there's more.  There's always more.

So, what do you say, gentle reader?  Shall we roll up our sleeves and get to it?  

Blogging News and Notes

 I am painfully aware that I've been really slacking off for a long time now. I feel like I've let myself down, I've let the late Jeff Simpson down and, worst of all, I've been letting you, gentle reader, down.

Well, that is not only going to change, but it's going to get better than before.

I have taken up a slot at Crooks & Liars as a contributor for several years.  I have been fortunate enough to become part of the regular staff, which I have gratefully and gleefully accepted.  So, the bulk of my writing will be there now.  On top of that, as part of that gig, I will be leaving my comfort zone of Wisconsin-centered stories and taking on the bad boys all over the country.  Can world domination be far after?  

Oh, don't worry, I'll still be writing here, especially the Wisconsin based stories.  So keep this site bookmarked.  But also, please bookmark Crooks & Liars as well.

And finally, from the bottom of my heart, thank you to my 4.3 readers who've stuck it out and waited for me.  Just make sure you let your most hated Republicans and other no-gooders that capper is back and there's going to be trouble. 

Happy Tenth Blogbirthday To Us!

Eleven years ago on this date, my friend and mentor, Jay "Folkbum" Bullock gave me a chance to learn how to use my voice in the cyberworld by inviting me to join his posse of writers.  The Cheddarshpere hasn't been the same ever since.

After a short stint at Whallah!, and with the patience and help of Illy-T, Cognitive Dissidence came to be ten years ago on this date.

Just when the right wing nut jobs thought it couldn't get any worse for them, it did.

Of course, it couldn't have all happened without the help of my coauthors, including first and foremost, my brother-in-blog, Jeff Simpson.  There is also Keith Schmitz, Shane Bakken, Meg Gorski and a whole community of others.

The most important part of our continued and growing success is due solely to you, our gentle readers.  Without your readership and sharing our posts, we wouldn't have been able to make the world see what a pathetic weasel Scott Walker really is.  Most notably is how you helped get the word out worldwide about Walker's infamous Grinch fundraising email, in which he told people to forego Christmas presents for their children and to give him the money instead.

Likewise, this blog wouldn't even be here anymore if it wasn't for your generosity in helping get The People's Computer as my family was reeling from the devastation of Act 10.

Yes, it's been a fabulous and amazing ten years.

But, gentle readers, I need to ask for your help again.  If you can find a few bucks to spare, we would appreciate your donations.  There are costs to running a stand alone blog, especially in these days with the loss of net neutrality and tighter privacy for our readers.

However, your donation could also help you, gentle reader.  I vow that if we raise enough money, I will buy Jeff Simpson a spellcheck and get him some html lessons to help make his posts even better.

Regardless if you can give or not, thank you again, gentle readers, for this amazing trip.  I'm looking forward to the next ten years together, especially as we take our state and our country back from the current regime of fascists and their dark money overlords.

Cog Dis Has Moved!

Just like a young adult leaving their parents' home to spread their wings and soar with the eagles, Cog Dis has moved on.

We have taken our little old blog here and left the comfy environment of blogspot where we didn't pay rent but we also didn't know what are full potential is either, due to the way search engines and the such work.  We moved over to our own doman - cogdis.me.

Don't worry, our old address still works, but will only direct you to the new one.  At least for now.

So make sure that when you do your links of love or you're just looking for a fun, educational and informative blog, it's cogdis.me.

We also have a new tip line email at capper@cogdis.me.  So feel free to drop us a line, even if it's just to tell us how great we are.

The downside to the move is that we now have to pay rent.  Please feel free to cast whatever money you can spare our way to help us keep growing and help me pay all these hungry mouths that I've got working here.  If you can just slip a few bucks in our tip jar, it would be much appreciated.

See ya around!

Blogging Blue Under New Management And The Blogging Scoop

In case you missed it, Zachary Wisnewski at Blogging Blue hung up his keyboard and turned the keys of the place over to Ed Heinzelman:

I’ll admit – I thought this post would be easier to write, but as I’m sitting here at my keyboard, I’m finding it difficult to come up with the right words.

So I’ll just come out with it – I’m handing over control of Blogging Blue to Ed Heinzelman effective February 1st. Ed’s a great blogger, but more importantly he’s a great friend, and there’s no one I trust more than him to lead this community moving forward.

I’ve thoroughly enjoyed my time here, and while I’m ceding control I hope to be a sporadic contributor as the mood strikes me, and before I sign off, I’d like to thank each and every one of you for your contributions to this community, whether as a contributor, commentor, or critic, because each of you have made this into the close-knit community it is. I’ll always be thankful to have been a part of this community and for the friendships and experiences that I’ve gained because of this community, so thank you all again from the bottom of my heart.

No, I have been unable to confirm that Zach for Governor 2018 is in the offing.

I know as well as Zach that this can be a thankless job and at times becomes more of a tedious chore than something fun to do. We at Cog Dis thank Zach for his years of dedication at advocating for progressive causes and getting the truth out there. We also wish Ed the best of luck and look forward to his continuing the proud Blogging Blue tradition.

And speaking of Cog Dis, I am proud to announce that our little family is growing.

No, I am not talking about Lou, our second rescue from the Wisconsin Human Society.

If the gentle reader might remember, at the time that Scott Walker and his fellow Republican syndicate members were dropping not just a bomb, but carpet bombing the entire state, there was a blog by the name of Politiscoop. While the site is no more, you can still see some of their work that I, ahem, borrowed from them and some of the work that Politiscoop and I collaborated on.

Well, making a triumphant return from a successful four year gig on the Vegas strip, he's back and he's agreed to join our happy little family right here in Cog Dis.  I'd expect he might be posting something real soon so make sure you keep your eyes open for it.

Happy Blogbirthversary To Us!

It was nine years ago that there was a rip in the time/space continuum of the cheddarsphere when my friend and mentor, Jay Bullock, gave me a key to his domain, folkbum's rambles and rants. Jay taught me a lot, including how to temper my rhetoric and how to verify everything I'm told, even if it comes from "a friend."

Shortly after I started making my presence known, I became a contributor and eventually administrator at Whallah!, a site dedicated to exposing the lies of the right wing media.

Then eight years ago this day, with the help of many friends, I launched this here blog that we affectionately call Cog Dis.

Since then, I've seen a lot of things, both in my personal and in my blogger life.

I've had to deal with the death of my father and cleaning his hoarder house and then finally moving back into my childhood home.  I've had been through the political retaliation that Walker had pulled on me.  I gained my 15 minutes of international fame when I busted him on his infamous Black Friday fundraiser email.

I've also had many great contributors join me here.  A special salute to my brother-in-blog, Jeff Simpson, who's been a great partner in causing havoc and mayhem among Teapublicans and Republicrats alike.

Not only has the blog grown by leaps and bounds, but so have I.  It's been nearly two years now that I became a contributor to the nationally renowned site, Crooks and Liars, giving me a national platform to expose Scott Walker's lies and corruption.

But most important of all, gentle reader, is you and your patronage.  Whether you're a long time reader, new to the bog or just an occasional visitor, it is you that keep us going.  Without you, we'd be just spitting into the wind of our own little echo chamber.  You are the thing that keeps us going and getting up everyday to resume the fight for all that is good.

So, thank you most of all!

Now, if you'll excuse me, have some cake and let's see what kind of hell we can raise next.

After all - say it with me! - there's more.  There's always more.

Happy (Belated) Blogbirthversary To Us!

I didn't choose the blog life, the blog life chose me.

Between dealing with the aftermath of my father's death, a broken arm and all of the atrocities being committed by Scott Walker and Chris Abele, it again has slipped past me that two days ago marked the eighth anniversary that my friend Jay Bullock opened a Pandora's Box by giving me writing privileges at his blog, Folkbum's Rambles and Rants.

That led to my taking over Whallah! and then seven years ago, opening up this here blog that we affectionately call Cog Dis.

Since then, I have been joined with great writers and great friends like Jeff Simpson, Meg, Keith, DFL and so many others.

Along with other great blogs like Blogging Blue (which just had their own blogbirthversary too!), Uppity Wisconsin, blue cheddar and Jake's Funhouse, we have been doing what the mainstream media has failed to do, which is to hold these miscreants accountable.

While we have had our ups an downs throughout the year, two things I will remember with great happiness.

First and foremost is Jeff again kicking cancer's ass around the block.

The other great thing is getting to join the esteemed crew at Crooks & Liars.  I would be a liar myself if I did not say I take great pride in that.  And I must be doing OK, since they haven't cut me off after about nine months or so.

But the best thing of all about doing this is you, gentle reader.  Without you, we would be just spitting into the wind.  But with your support and readership, we are able to join our voices together to fight the evils that surround us.

Now, if you'll excuse me, there is something wrong on the Internet that I need to address.

Happy Belated Blogbirthversary To Us!

I didn't choose the blog life, the blog life chose me.

I didn't realize it until today, but yesterday was the sixth birthday for old Cog Dis and my seventh year of
shining the light on the evil doers and standing up for the rights of the people.

What I wrote last year at this time still holds as true today as it did then - maybe even more so:

Since then I have, along with Jeff, Meg, Keith and the rest of the gang - and of course the gentle reader - fought the good fight, day after day, week after week.  We have held politicians of all stripes on all levels responsible for their decisions, their votes and their behaviors.

We are proud of the work we have done, the integrity we have shown and the progress we have made.  We are proud of being one of the true progressive blogs coming out of Southeast Wisconsin.

We are eager to continue to fight until we take our county, our state and our country back from the sheeples and Teapublicans

But most of all, we are thankful and proud to have you, gentle reader, among our friends.

And without further ado, it is time to get back to work.

PS: Jeff is supposed to be bringing the cake!

PPS: Jeff, we're still waiting on that cake, brother!

The Grinch Bounce

Not that anyone but I would really be interested in this, but this is the kind of spike that the site got when the Walker Grinch Black Friday email story took off on the national and international levels:

Just a little bit of a pick up.  Is it any wonder why the Walker Grinch threw that staffer under the bus?

I'm wondering if he's this sloppy now, how long until he has a moment like Romney's 47% comment?

It's A Blog Eat Blog World

In the news of the trivial, we have this:

UrbanMilwaukee.com, an online news daily, will purchase ThirdCoastDaily.com, an online arts and entertainment publication, representatives of the publications announced Monday.

The sale will become effective Dec. 1, according to a news release from Urban Milwaukee.

Urban Milwaukee publisher Dave Reid said the publication's editor, Bruce Murphy, will also be the editor of Third Coast.

I didn't even know one blog could buy another one.

Maybe Jeff and Meg and I need to sit down and consider this. We could take on a blog or three. Maybe start with Wisconsin Soapbox. After all, he already has writing privileges here.

On a serious note, I wonder about what kind of coverage the Milwaukee Independent Film Festival is going to get. The folks at Urban Milwaukee are awfully fond of Chris Abele, who stole bought the festival.  Given Murphy's track record regarding Abele, I'm sure their coverage will be "objective."

The Newest Conservative Blogger

Well, well.  There appears to be a new conservative blogger out there that has promise to bring to blogging what Vicki McKenna does to talk radio.

See what I mean?

Click to embiggen

Let me blow up the important part for you:

Yup, the secret to Scott Walker's reelection apparently lies in the blogging skills of Becky Kleefisch.

If her blogging is anywhere near as effective as their job creation skills, this could be fun.

Gregory Humphrey, Author Of Caffeinated Politics, Wrote A Book. You Should Buy It.

Gregory Humphrey, the blogger of Caffeinated Politics, has written a book, Walking Up The Ramp.  Here is an excerpt from his announcement:

While writing Walking Up The Ramp Gregory Humphrey often reflected on the words President Nixon said upon leaving the White House in 1974.  “Nobody will ever write a book, probably, about my Mother.”  Nixon could have said the same about his Dad.

Humphrey has constructed homage to his parents, a moving and sentimental journey in book form not meant to provide a detailed genealogical history but rather the story of their lives.  The book underscores how Royce and Geneva Humphrey provided a solid foundation on how to live life, and instilled bedrock values aimed to last a lifetime for their son.

As Humphrey turned fifty he decided to write on various aspects of life and synthesize them into a narrative that combines stories of laughter and also heartache.

“When I was a kid Dad would drive me every Friday night to the local library, where I found so much comfort in the books,” Humphrey said.  “Books were a real refuge for me.  After I left home Mom said given what I enjoyed I should write a book someday.”

Gregory's book is available on Amazon.com.

I'm Trying Ringo

This looks like it's going to be a promising site:

Again, what the hell do Pulp Fiction and Ringo have to do with education? See ending scene where Jules, a man who has killed many men for their wrong doings (usually screwing over his boss), has an epiphany of sorts. Throughout the film, Jules recites from the bible Ezekiel 25:17, to each victim while they’re looking down the barrel of his 9-millimeter just prior to him killing them. However, towards the end of the movie one of the men they go to kill unloads six rounds on him and his partner. All six bullets manage to miss both of them, how I have no idea. This “miracle” shakes Jules to his core and he decides to quit cold turkey his murderous line of work. After the killing spree, otherwise known as the whole movie, the two go to a diner for some breakfast. While enjoying pancakes and hot coffee, although not as good as Jimmy’s gourmet coffee, a random armed robbery unfolds at the diner. Remember, the righteous Jules would normally take matters into his own hands and kill the evildoers. But this time it is different. Jules lets Ringo live thanks to his new revelation of clarity and mercy. Essentially, Pulp Fiction is the murderous journey of a man’s evolution in life and faith. It’s about openness to thinking differently, leaving righteousness behind, and shepherding Ringo out of the valley shadowed by death.

This blog is an evolution of my thinking. I’m making a professional commitment to continue learning first-hand about all systems of education, and leaving both sides of righteousness behind. I’m making an effort to ‘shepherd’ others.

And don't worry, it's been added to the blogroll so you can go check him out whenever you want.

Happy Blogbirthversary To Us

I did not choose the blog life, the blog life chose me.

Six years ago this date, I was unleashed on the Cheddarspher.

Five years ago this date, Cog Dis was unleashed on the world (much to the chagrin of the evil doers.)

Since then I have, along with Jeff, Meg, Keith and the rest of the gang - and of course the gentle reader - fought the good fight, day after day, week after week.  We have held politicians of all stripes on all levels responsible for their decisions, their votes and their behaviors.

We are proud of the work we have done, the integrity we have shown and the progress we have made.  We are proud of being one of the true progressive blogs coming out of Southeast Wisconsin.

We are eager to continue to fight until we take our county, our state and our country back from the sheeples and Teapublicans

But most of all, we are thankful and proud to have you, gentle reader, among our friends.

And without further ado, it is time to get back to work.

PS: Jeff is supposed to be bringing the cake!

Cog Dis: Now A Featured Blog on WisOpinion.com

Mike Schramm, the editor of WisOpinion.com, decided to update their featured blogs and the way they are presented:

Hi,

First off, thanks for reading WisOpinion.com.

I just wanted to post a quick explanation of recent changes to the featured blog listing on the WisOpinion.com front page because it appears they've caused a little confusion.

This week we added about a dozen additional blogs to the list, but that means there's not room to show all the blogs on the front page at once.

Instead, the front page shows the 10 most recent posts from those blogs. This system allows us to feature more blogs, while also ensuring that we get fresher content on the front page.

If you want to see the full list of featured blogs, it now appears at the top of the blog index page:
http://wisopinion.com/index.iml?mdl=feature.mdl&feature=10

Please email me at wisopinion@wispolitics.com if you ever have any questions or concerns about the site.

Thanks for your interest in the site.

Mike Schramm
WisOpinion.com editor
wisopinion@wispolitics.com

I am very proud to announce that Cognitive Dissidence is now one of the featured blogs on WisOpinion.com.  I thank Mr. Schramm for including us.

We are featured with other great lefty blogs like Lisa Muxworthy's Waukesha Wonk, Cory Liebmann's Eye on Wisconsin, the venerable James Rowen and The Political Environment, the gang at Fighting Bob and The Progressive.

I do note that we liberals are rather outnumbered in that list, which I find rather unfair.  Schramm should put more conservatives on their to make the fight more balanced.

Sadly, it looks like Schramm's hard work is already obsolete.

Conservative blarghers Cindy Kilkenny has hung up her keyboard again (for the fourth or fifth time) and Owen Robinson of Loots and Slobbers has also fled the field of battle.  Good luck to both of them and may they find peace in their underground bunkers with their tinfoil helmets.

I Was A Lakefly

As advertised, I attended the Lakefly Literary Conference this past weekend.

Image courtesy of
Lisa Muxworthy.

I had the distinct pleasure of being co-panelists with the ever charming Lisa Muxworthy, world famous blogger at  Waukesha Wonk, and John DeDakis, CNN writer turned novelist.

I won't bore the gentle reader with all the details.  But I will say that it's a hard act to follow when DeDakis does his introduction by discussing how he interviewed Alfred Hitchcock as a young man in his early 20s.

The discussion was mainly regarding the relationship between the mainstream media and citizen journalists.  But as inevitable, the discussion would dip into politics, but it all remained fairly civil.

Some of the more interesting questions were:

• Is mainstream media dead? (Not dead, but the hard copy version is probably on its way out.)
• Have you ever made a mistake in your reporting? (Hell yes, but I've always corrected them and learned from them.)
• How do I attract readers? (Get established sites to add you to their blogrolls, use social media to promote your site.)

One of the more interesting people in the audience was former Republican State Representative Gregg Underheim.  I didn't know if I should have felt sorry for him or just laughed at him.  He tried to claim that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Editorial page never posted a conservative point of view.  He must not have known that Christian Schneider, Mike Nichols, Aaron Rodriguez and Rick Esenberg are nothing more than paid shills for the corporate special interests.  He also took great umbrage that a statement was made that there was a dearth of independent conservative voices in Wisconsin.

Interestingly, he took great efforts to avoid me but would go after Lisa constantly.  I don't know if it was that he mistook her kindness for weakness or if he's just a misogynist or both.  

As is the case for me in these type of events, the best part was not the panel discussion, which was lively and entertaining, but the stuff outside of the formal discussions.

I got to see some old friends, meet some cyberfriends in real life for the first time and make some new friends.  One of the new friends that stands out the most is Lisa's sister.  She has the same kindness and charm as Lisa, but with a cynical streak that rivals mine.  But the poor kid doesn't know the difference between asparagus and green beans. (Yes, that's an inside joke.)

If one wants to see more images from the event, please visit the Lakefly Literary Conferences Facebook page.

More Than One Million Served

When I first started this here blog, I used the slogan of "A man and his blog...it's a beautiful thing."

When I started taking in wayward bloggers, I realized this was becoming a community of sorts, so I changed the slogan to it's current one, "A blog of the people, for the people and by the people."

Maybe now I need to change it again - to something like "More than one million served."

Yup, sometime late Saturday night, we broke the million visitor mark.

I am humbled and honored that so many of you have come to our little old blog to catch up on the news and learn what the corporate media doesn't want you to know.

On behalf of all my co-authors and myself, I thank you, gentle readers for your continued patronage.

I Was Thinking Of Retiring From Blogging...

...but Gandhi told me not to: