Lowell Holtz's Comedy of Errors

By Jeff Simpson

Molly Beck of the Wisconsin State Journal reported on the Superintendent of the Department of Public Instruction race after the primary but there are some holes that need to be filled in.

On the April 4 ballot will be two-term incumbent Tony Evers, a public school advocate backed mostly by liberals and teachers unions who has been at odds with Republicans for years over his adoption of the Common Core State Standards and his opposition to the expansion of private school vouchers in the state.

While it is true that Superintendent Evers has been a supporter of Common Core, it is not necessarily true that he has been at odds with Republicans for years over this.   It was just a few years ago that Governor Walker ws a supporter.  While Common Core is far from perfect, the biggest objection to it seems to be that President Obama supported it.

His challenger, Lowell Holtz, is backed mostly by conservatives and school voucher supporters. He is making his second run for the position and opposes the Common Core State Standards and favors expansion of educational options — including taxpayer-funded vouchers — other than public schools.

So teachers unions (the bogeyman) supports Superintendent Evers and Dr. Holz just has generic 'school voucher supporters" in his corner.   In case you need some clarification.  School voucher supporters are funded by this woman and enacted by this formerly convicted felon.  

Holtz got 23 percent of the vote Tuesday, and was dogged by allegations he sought to get out of the race in exchange for a guaranteed, taxpayer-funded $150,000 job that would let him oversee the state’s largest school districts, including Madison.

Its not allegedly! 

Evers is seeking a third term in the wake of massive membership losses for the state’s largest teachers union — a strong campaign contributor for Evers in the past— setting the stage for the potential of third-party groups spending on behalf of Holtz to ensure the election of a voucher supporter.

The states largest teachers union, has massive membership losses strictly because of the passage of ACT10, which was put in place to punish Scott Walkers "enemies".  

 “We have absolutely no control over whether that comes in or not,” Holtz said about outside spending. “It’s illegal for me to work with them. I’m supposed to run my own race. If they do get involved, I have no control over it.”

Cough  cough

A spokesman for Wisconsin’s arm of the pro-voucher group American Federation for Children did not respond to a request for comment. 

The whole point of outsider, dark money, and past history of moral failings by their spokesman, Scott Jensen shows us they are not always the most forthcoming.   However the money to attack Tony Evers will be forthcoming.    Count on it!

 “If it’s all in, it’ll be very difficult to compete with that amount of money. There’s just not that much in the state that’s available,” Evers said. “And we’re talking about Amway money and the money from the family that owns Walmart and I don’t know any of those people.”

While Superintendent Evers has never been the best campaigner, coming off his massive primary drubbing of his opponents, is very much in the drivers seat.  We do have to stay vigilant though! 

Holtz said he has not sought any money from outside groups.

Yo, Lowell!

  

 

Republican lobbyist and former state party official Brandon Scholz said the donors to outside groups that typically spend on behalf of conservative candidates in spring races are not necessarily going to spend in a state superintendent race, even if the candidate is aligned with their ideology.

 In other words, why throw money at this race, when they have already bought the legislature.  

Holtz is the latest conservative Republican and ALEC candidate for state superintendent to try to defeat an incumbent backed by Democrats and teachers.

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Holtz was recruited to run by a former Republican lawmaker. He was one of more than a dozen candidates interviewed by a nonprofit group headed by former Rep. Don Pridemore of Hartford called Wisconsin Needs Necessary Education Reform, or WINNER.
An email released Wednesday by the liberal advocacy group One Wisconsin Now written by Holtz when he was superintendent of Whitnall School District shows Holtz in January 2016 expected the group to do organizing and fundraising for him.  

Does anyone really think Don Pridemore is running the opposition?  He was the candidate last time, got destroyed and his candidacy was so bad that even GOP sycophant and gopher James Wigderson did not endorse him.   

The person who is running the show, which we were able to find out thanks to One Wisconsin Now obtaining these emails, is Billionaire widow, and high school diplomaed, Diane Hendricks.  

Holtz and Pridemore had these discussions, via school (ie Government funded ) email, which really upsets our friends on the right when a Democrat does it.    Also as a School district superintendent and former long time state Assembly Rep, both know better than to actually have those discussions via school email.  Yet did not care.   

 Between now and the April 4 general election the group will seek to “educate voters” about the race. “If we want any education reform, the only way to get it is through the DPI superintendent and (Evers) shows no sign of reforming anything,” Pridemore said. 

I hate to have to point out to former Assembly Rep Pridemore, that a true way to education reform would be through the assembly.    Of course Mr. Pridemore would not know that because the way our current Government works, people inside the GOP party are told what to do and how to think if they want to keep their job.     

“So far, he’s shown us an abysmal lack of ethics and commitment to public service in pursuit of his personal political ambitions and enrichment,” OWN research director Jenni Dye said. “Now we find out he never even intended to do work on his own campaign, claiming that outside groups were going to do the organizing and fundraising for him.”

Yes Jenni is correct he never intended to do any of his own real work, because we know from experience, like Dave Blaska, Holtz is just a figurehead for the right in their bid to buy Wisconsin,    They want people who will do what their told, no matter how much heat they get.   Hoping to get rewarded with some of the wing nut welfare money they hand out.  

The Holtz-Humphries controversy in the last week of the race, contested school board races in Madison and a burst of political interest following the election of Donald Trump as president may have contributed to a larger turnout than usual in spring primaries. And unusually warm February weather might have helped get people to the polls, too, observers say.

Mentioning some of the most ridiculous slimy people in Wisconsin(Coward Clarke, Orv Seymer, etc...) and the one person they want to distance themselves(even in private) from is Robin Vos.  

 In the end we had about an 8% voter turnout for the primary which is hardly something to rave about.   However with the people that turned out,. like communities all over Wisconsin, have shown that they overwhelmingly support our public schools.    

We see the lengths that our friends on the right will go to to tap into public education money.   Ethics, law and logic get thrown out the window when there is an opportunity to make a buck! 

Finally, a few interesting observations that have surfaced during this race.  

*  John Humphries garnered a whopping 6% of 8% of the electorate.  That translates into about family members only.  Humphries tried a new "bipartsian" approach by having Jeremy Thiesfeldt( R- far far right) and Jason Fields (D- AFC) as his campaign co-chairs.    Apparently Mr. Thiesfeldt and Mr. Fields are not as popular or as respected as they think they are.  Lucky for them they were drawn very safe seats.   

*  In their email correspondence, they gushed over how much they like Orville Seymer and CFG.   Anyone who has followed CogDis, knows that Mr. Seymer is the true definition of slime.   He makes used car salesmen seem like the Pope.    

*  Another interesting topic, which our friends at Democurmudgeon pointed out :

In the email, Holtz describes being supported conservative Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, Republican Assembly Speaker Robin Vos and Republican state Rep. Jim Ott. Holtz's wife wrote back and suggested not mentioning Vos: "Fitzgerald seems to be more well liked in the republican camp," she said.

Koch Brothers Protection Plan

By Jeff Simpson

H/T Steven Elbow from The Cap Times:

Many of your politicians have pledged allegiance to serve.  The problem is, they have pledged allegiance NOT to the people of Wisconsin but to their out of state billionaire "daddies"!

Scott Walker and a host of other Wisconsin politicians have pledged their undying loyalty to the Koch Brothers irregardless of the people of WI!

 The pledge was devised by Americans for Prosperity, a tea party group founded by the Koch brothers and Koch Industries board member Richard Fink.

Who signed in WI:

 

 

Those newly elected Republicans helped push through funding cuts for the Environmental Protection Agency and tried to roll back the agency's regulatory powers, as well as being obstacles to enactment of laws to address climate change, the report says.

In addition to Walker and Kleefisch, Wisconsin signers of the pledge, all Republicans, are U.S. Sen. Ron Johnson, U.S. Reps. Jim Sensenbrenner, Sean Duffy and Reid Ribble, state Sens. Leah Vukmir, Alberta Darling, Glenn Grothman and Mary Lazich, and state Reps. Dale Kooyenga, Don Pridemore, Jim Ott and Bill Kramer.

Want some context?

 Since we're all fond of comparing Wisconsin with Minnesota, a demographically similar state that outperforms Wisconsin on several economic fronts, it merits noting that the only politicians from that state to sign the pledge are retiring U.S. Rep. Michelle Bachmann and Minnesota state Rep. Glenn Gruenhagen.

 

 

Invest!

Tony Evers for State Superintendent!

Bullying Bailey!

Earlier, we brought you the coverage of the debate between Don Pridemore and Tony Evers.  The two candidates for the position of State Superintendent Schools have some very stark contrasts. 

Don Pridemore is a well entrenched republican legislator who is looking for better pay from the taxpayers of WI and so he is running for yet another government job.   

In his debate, Pridemore  had this to say about Bullying:

“Bullying is going to be with us,” Pridemore said. “We have to deal with it, and the most effective way of dealing with it is allowing teachers to react and respond to situations … and not necessarily create a set of rules that be followed for every kid.”

 Tonight on the facebook page of Baltimore Ravens running back, Ray Rice, he had this to say:

 I wrote this earlier today but waited to post until I had permission from the family. This is going to be a long post so please bear with me.

A few weeks ago i shared a link to an article that a fan sent to me. It was about an 11 year old boy named Bailey who had been bullied at school. In the latest incident, Bailey was beat up on the school playground. Hit in the face and pushed to the ground, Bailey began to have severe seizures which required him to be placed into a medically induced coma.

After learning last Thursday that doctors said Bailey had no longer had any brain activity, I reached out to the family and was able to spend about 45 minutes on the phone with them. I could hear their sadness, worry, frustration and grief. They would be faced with removing their son, cousin, nephew, and best friend from life support.

Bailey passed away this morning, one day after his 12th birthday.

I don't think I will ever be able to understand why kids bully each other and how we are all sitting here after yet another "bully death" getting ready to go through this difficult task of picking up the pieces and the even more difficult task of forgiving so we can heal.

I don't know if we will ever get to a point where bullying is actually considered a CRIME, rather than "kids being kids" or a "playground incident."

I don't know if the kid that did this to Bailey will be punished severely enough or if he will receive the help I know he truly needs. Bullying doesn't happen for no reason...we have to figure out what the underlying cause it and treat it like the illness it is.

I don't know when parents, teachers, elected officials and administrators will sit up and take notice...and ACT.

But, I DO KNOW THIS: I will NOT give up my fight. Everyday I will continue to fight AGAINST bullying and fight FOR kindness.

Bailey - my little buddy, I will not let you become just another bully statistic...you are my inspiration and one more angel that will help me continue the fight for kids everywhere. You are going to help me save lives. RIP my little friend.

Well Mr. Pridemore can call up the Bailey's family and tell them to "Just deal with it".    I would also like to point out to Mr. Pridemore(who is truly unfit to serve in public office), that Baileys family will now be able to "react" to the bullying - by planning his funeral.     

If you want to join Ray Rice in the fight against Bullying, here is the link to his charity - Athletes 4 Kids!

 

Deal With It!!!

Don Pridemore, is still running for State Superintendent of Schools, against incumbent Tony Evers.   Pridemore has a long list of accomplishments, as our new contributor Steve Carlson pointed out yesterday, unfortunately for the state of Wisconsin, none of his accomplishments are good. 

Pridemore decided to take his career of failure and roll it out to a statewide audience.  Predictably Pridemore's campaign tour, has shown to be less popular than a Kevin Federline concert tour.  Being in a party of an unlimited spigot of money, Pridemore has raised a whopping $2,412.   Barely enough to put flyers in West Bend, where he is thought of as too moderate.   Heck, right wing stooge Jimmy Wigderson isn't even on board, and he will defend pedophilia, as long as its done in the name of the republican party! As much as they disdain public education, they even know better than to put the monkeys in charge of the zoo! 

 

Recently Pridemore and Evers got together for a debate and Pridemore was able to give us a few gems.

In terms of turning our schools into a battleground:

Pridemore said it’s an issue of local control, and different school districts face different security issues. He said the same policy might not work for a rural district as an urban district, and local school boards and administrations should be allowed to set their own standards.

“If they want to hire an off-duty or retired officer or anyone else in the school that has training to deal with school security situations, I believe it’s their right and their duty to hire that volunteer in their school system and use them as they see fit,” Pridemore said “Arming every teacher or administrator in school is not my policy. It’s really the policy of the local community to set their own standards and not let DPI get in the way with some across-the-board, one-size-fits-all program.”

Pridemore is in favor of local control in temrs of how many guns you want in your schools, but he is against local control if you decide you would like to negotiate contracts with a union.   Memo to Bill Savage,  a bumper sticker stating : Unions Bad - Guns Good, will help you win the vote in Oostburg for sure!  However a tip from an admirer, I recommend using spell check before you go to print!  

Finally, as we all know, Bullying is a serious issue in America.   The effects of it have been felt all over the country, from suicide to mass murder.  It is something that many people have come together to address.  many people that is but Don Pridemore:

“Bullying is going to be with us,” Pridemore said. “We have to deal with it, and the most effective way of dealing with it is allowing teachers to react and respond to situations … and not necessarily create a set of rules that be followed for every kid.”

Just deal with it, is brilliant advice. However it does sound vaguely familiar.

Tony Evers on April 2nd!   

Vote like our public schools depend on it, because they do!  

 

Fewer Lies Please!

For some reason, unbeknownst to any logical thinking person, Jim Wigderson writes a column for an actual newspaper.  The problem is Wigderson is just a paid hack for the Mcgyver Institute, a right wing shadow organization based in WI, that has deep ties with some not very good people!  

Allowing Wiggy column space really diminishes the quality of the overall product, and I would highly recommend NOT being a subscriber to that paper.   Jimmy's latest column was one that if you have come to expect lies propaganda and deceit, you would not be disappointed.

Wigderson attempts to try and diminish the craziness of the right of people like Republican elected officials Kapenga and Pridemore!     Of course whenever someone on the right pretends to object to republican insanity, they perpetually do it using false equivalency. 

in recent years, the theories have had a poisoning effect on politics. Many on the Democratic left and in the Libertarian Party believe that the Sept. 11 attacks on the World Trade Center were really controlled detonations by agents of the Bush administration.

Quick question, how many of your left leaning friends, family or acquaintances think that the Bush administration were behind 911?   Im guessing your number is the same as mine  - 0!  (FYI - for our friends on the right who are mathematically challenged, zero would NOT be many). 

Part of it is denial. If someone believes that Obama stole the election through fraud, they don’t have to believe that millions of Americans chose to re-elect the creator of Obamacare who presided over $6 trillion in new debt.

Some on the right, including a state legislator from Idaho, are even suggesting boycotting the Electoral College vote to force the election into the House of Representatives. It is a strange misreading of the Constitution by people who claim to be strict Constitutionalists.

Then there is the response. If Obama is somehow illegitimate, then his laws should have no force. So we have nine(republican) members of the Legislature who bizarrely believe that Wisconsin law enforcement should arrest any federal agent that attempts to implement Obamacare here.

Among the nine are local state Reps. Chris Kapenga and Rob Hutton, and state Sen. Mary Lazich.
They believe that states have the right to declare federal laws null and void (nullification) if the laws are unconstitutional. It was last tried in Wisconsin before the Civil War to thwart the federal fugitive slave law. However, even the supporters of nullification from that era did not arrest federal officials trying to enforce the law.

Wisconsin’s Supreme Court was overruled by the U.S. Supreme Court, and nullification has not been a credible idea in our state since.

If the failed idea of nullification isn’t strong enough, there is always secession. There are now secession petitions started in each of the 50 states.

Last I checked my history books, secession was effectively dealt with 1865. Some of you may have learned this at the movie theaters recently.

 Another point for our mathematically challenged friends on the right,  9 ELECTED republicans craziness does not equal ZERO democrats who supposedly believe the Bush Administration was behind 9/11.  

The rest of the article was so poorly written I dont have the time or inclination to correct, just say that I do NOT recommend reading it.  Wiggy REALLY needs and editor and a fact checker! 

This is the kind of BS yo u get from our friends on the right and also shows that our "media" is anything but liberal.   

I recommend contacting the Freeman and asking them for a higher quality product, one that is free of MacIver flunkies.  

 Phil Paige - Group Publisher  262-387-4830  ppaige@conleynet.com

 Bill Yorth - Editor-In-Chief  262-513-2671  byorth@conleynet.com

Patricia Scheel - Prepress Manager  262-513-2690  pscheel@conleynet.com

For the record regarding my thoughts on 911 truthers:

As anyone who paid attention during the 8 years of the Bush Administration knows, that their unbelievable level of incompetence, would make them incapable of performing something like 9/11.   If  Bush/Cheney had planned 9/11, instead of  planes flying into buildings, it would have resulted in a couple guys running their ten speeds into a Dairy Queen in New Mexico.  

Don Pridemore - Part 2

We brought you yesterday the story of Don Pridemore who thinks he is qualified to be State Superintendent of Public Instruction(honestly this is Not satire).

There is more to the story of Don Pridemore then we brought yesterday, so wanted to get this one record also.  

Don Pridemore was a proud sponsor to Glenn Grothman's single parent act, and he was not scared to outcrazy Grothman(yes I did not know it was possible either):

Remember earlier this month when another Wisconsin lawmaker thoughtfully suggested that maybe single parenthood should be considered a factor that may be indicative of child abuse? Pridemore was a co-sponsor of the bill that would've made it a crime for a person to dare try to raise a child on their own outside of the pillowy soft Magic Zone of marriage. But what about women who are being abused by their husbands? Shouldn't they have the option to extract themselves from an unhealthy situation? Nope, says Pridemore. And he's got some expert abused spouse marital advice as well: "If they can refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help."

So, the solution to divorce and spousal abuse is just remembering why you love your abuser? Did he learn about love, relationships, and psychology from tragic early country songs?

In addition to being a ladyhating idiot, Pridemore ignores the fact that men can be victims of physical or emotional abuse as well — and the fact that a poor quality marriage can be a contributing factor to child abuse. Let's get those bitches married, the way God intended! Come hell or high water or emergency room visits or a life lived in a state of utter terror!

Then of course, there is ALWAYS more:

 . A new wrinkle has surfaced as the bills’ co-sponsor, Representative Don Pridemore (R-Heartless Scumbag) has gone on the record as opposing divorce even in the event of a abusive spouse.

So if you are a woman regularly being beaten by your husband, you are a bad mother if you seek a divorce.
“If they can refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help,” said Representative Don Pridemore.


This attitude represents a profound misunderstanding of the realities of spousal abuse. Once the real abuse begins it doesn’t just go away. Power taken is not easily relinquished and that’s what abuse is about: power. Such a dynamic is extremely unhealthy for a child. A boy watching abuse can grow up to be an abuser, his view of women distorted. A girl can grow to be a victim, her sense of self worth destroyed. That’s abuse, not the fantasy of single parenthood being damaging to a child.
And health experts agree. TodaysTMJ4.com reports:

Dr. Geoffrey Swain of the Milwaukee Health Department is also a professor at the UW-Madison.  He says surrounding a child with an unhealthy marriage can lead to not only abuse, but depression and anxiety.

“To the contrary one of the risk factors for child abuse and neglect is poor quality of marriage,” said Dr. Geoffrey Swain.  “Marriage actually has nothing to do with it, it’s the quality of the relationship that matters in terms of the child’s health.”

How does Scott Walker feel about the big government republicans telling people how they should run their lives and women to suck it up and remember "the good times" while being beaten and abused?

How do women who have been in this situation before, and most sane people who want to live their lives without BIG republican Government interference feel?  

Not sure what job Don Pridemore is ACTUALLY qualified for, but State Superintendent of Public Instruction sure is not one of them(of course neither is assemblyman).  

Good God! Maybe There is Hope After All.

We have been bringing you tales of republican craziness, almost too many to count.   It has been brought on by the rise of the "tea party" and way to many legislators come from this movement. 

 Despite the fact that they took a resounding defeat in the most recent election, the "tea party" groups have doubled down on crazy, even going so far as to want to nullify federal law and arrest anyone who tries to implement it!

These extremists groups have gone so far as to want to secede from the United States, heck here in Wisconsin, despite being laughed at statewide, one of their own crazies thinks he should be State Superintendent of our Schools. 

Fixing this craziness is not something the democrats can do, it has to come from within the republican party.  Luckily there are signs that this is happening.   An open records review of the emails that the "loony party of six republican's, who want to arrest federal officials, for implementing Obamacare show that the craziness might just be confined to elected officials and a few others!  

For the six lawmakers, most of the email came from citizens giving their views on the issue.
“As a soon to be constituent, a life long republican, and a firm opponent of Obamacare, I am nonetheless embarrassed by your absurd nullification comments. Good god!” one man wrote to Rep. Chris Kapenga (R-Delafield).

“I worked for you. You are a reasonable and good person and I am genuinely surprised at this,” another man posted a message to Rep. Erik  Severson (R-Star Prairie) on Facebook. “Instead of focusing on how to make the best out of a bad situation, you think (it’s) better to arrest implementors of a federal policy upheld by the US Supreme Court. … It may suck, but as Americans, we accept the results of elections and move forward. This is disgraceful.”

Most of the emails opposed the lawmakers’ stances, but some backed them.

They still have to overcome the right wing hate cabal on the radio and the incredibly disingenious, illogical and ridiculous echo chamber on the right, but at least you can see that there are some signs of hope!  

Don Pridemore

Don Pridemore has filed papers to run against Tony Evers for the position of Superintendent of Wisconsin State Schools.  

Don Pridemore bring an interesting resume to the statewide office leading education.   Let's take a peek!

Pridemore is one of the more conservative members of the state Assembly. Last year, he proposed legislation that would require those arrested or charged with a crime to show proof of citizenship if the police officer who stops them has reasonable suspicion to believe they are not here legally.

In Deep RED State Arizona, Russell Pearce, the author of the immigration bill that Pridemore modeled his after,  who has strong ties to Neo Nazis, actually LOST his seat in a recall election(the first in Arizona's history).      But wait there is more:

 Pridemore also has supported the "constitutional carry" concept, based on the belief that the 2nd Amendment allows people to guns without regulation. He says that means people should be able to carry concealed weapons without getting a permit.

Of course, "constitutional carry" is just bowing to the NRA and has absolutely NOTHING to do with the US Constitution.    It is just really bad policy..  In case you forgot or havent read it, here is the actual 2nd amendment:

A well regulated militia being necessary to the security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.

But wait, there is more, boy is there more:

 Pridemore was one of nine Republican state lawmakers who said they agreed with the positions of the tea party-aligned group Campaign for Liberty which advocates for arresting any federal officials who try to implement the health care law, passing a "right-to-work" law and legalizing the sale of raw milk.

One would think taking the FAR Right Extreme  "tea party" group Campaign for Liberty seriously would be enough to disqualify him, much less wanting to ARREST any government official who tried to implement a national law(Obamacare). 

Then there is the fact that Senator Ron Johnson points out WHY Don Pridemore is NOT qualified to be in our Government.

"You can really gauge a man's character by who he surrounds himself with and who supports him" said US Senator Ron Johnson who was ironically showing his support! 

However, the ONE reason that really disqualifies Don Pridemore from being taken seriously to run our schools, is his propensity for Grammatical errors in a simple 111 word press release announcing his run!

Obviously we are broke and can not afford spell check, so allow me to help!  

For more information contact:
Bill Savage – 414 218 0959
November 28, 2012

Madison- State Representative Don pridemore Pridemore(R-Erin) has filed papers to form a committee to explore to the possibility of running for the position of DPI Superintendant Superintendent this coming spring.

“The status quo is simply not working. After spending billions of dollars on education in Wisconsin, we have not moved the needle a bit. I believe it’s time for a fresh set of ideas”,  ideas," Pridemore said. “Our children’s education has suffered as a result and I believe it’s time to change that.” that," Pridemore added.

Pridemore went on to say that he expects to reach a decision on the race very soon. (Pridemore went on what?  where? what kind of race? what kind of decision? in only 111 words dealing with one subject can we please be a little more specific?) 

Finally, why or why, would Don Pridemore not put in the press release that he is an "Amateur Judge, ABATE Chili"?

Hey run with your strengths!  

Lisa @ BB has her own take on this!  


H/T Bill Savage also, his incredible incompetence here has left an opening for the whole state to make fun of his boss.  Brilliant way to start a campaign.  That will look good on your resume!

Well, I Don't Trust Them Either

Wisconsin State Representative Don Pridemore, from one of the reddest areas of the state, issued the following press release on the status of voter suppression laws:

“I have personally spoken to thousands of my constituents over the last three months in the new 22nd Assembly District, and they have spoken in a loud and clear voice that they want their vote protected by requiring a Photo ID to vote in the state of Wisconsin. The Wisconsin Supreme Court now has another opportunity to rule on law passed by the legislature and we expect, at the very least, the injunction currently in place be reviewed and lifted. The citizens of this state deserve action in a timely manner to assure confidence in the upcoming November elections. After all, we are electing people to the highest offices in the land which will determine the future direction of our Nation.”

Y'know, the way the Republicans have been cheating and trying to tamper elections for the past couple of years, I don't trust them either.

But even Republicans should have their right to vote continue unimpeded by voter suppression laws.

This IS What Hypocrisy Looks Like.....

My old friend Julaine Appling was profiled in the Capital Times today.  The UNMARRIED and childless Julaine Appling is ahead of the anti-gay group Wisconsin Family Action,and also has "lived" with a female colleague for "many years".  There is obviously nothing wrong with that, unless of course you ask the Wisconsin Family Action hate group.  

In lieu of President Obama's recent announcement of support for gay marriage, the anti gay rhetoric has been ramped up, so the CT thought they would give Ms. Appling a forum to do so.  She did not disappoint!

I would submit that (Obama’s announcement) was the culmination of decades of the media and education sending a message that “marriage is whatever I want it to be, marriage is about my personal happiness, it’s about me!”

It’s not about me. It’s about children. Now, there are couples who choose not to have children and that’s their right, but the bulk of them do have children. What we know (is) the way we prepare the next generation to become the workforce, the taxpayers, the geniuses, the entrepreneurs … is for them to be brought up by a married mom and dad.

Then she talked about where her views come from:

CT: A poll recently showed that the vast majority of people — even those born during the 1940s — have had pre-marital sex.
Appling: No polls and no societal drift will ever make right wrong and wrong right. I come at life from a core set of beliefs. My worldview is fixed firmly in one source, and that is Scripture. That is my external, objective, forever-settled truth.

Unfortunately, they did not ask her what Scripture she is referring too.   But wait there's more.

CT: What do you say to somebody who says he or she wants to follow Christian guidelines but is attracted to members of the same sex?
Appling: I can understand that. You have to make a decision and you may need help to make this decision. People have left gay lifestyles by the droves successfully. I believe they need to talk to people, maybe they need to speak to both sides but they at least need to speak to the side that says you can go in another direction.
Same-sex attraction is real. The question is do you have to act on it? I would submit you don’t have to act on it.

I wonder how exactly people have left the "gay lifestyle" in "droves", any documented cases?   Finally the kicker.  The one where she shows exactly who she is and why her opinion means nothing.

CT: And what if Walker wins and the GOP keeps its majorities? What’s the next step for your movement?
Appling: We’ll pick up where we left off to make sure that we get language to protect religious freedom. We’ll be working on divorce modification as it relates to couples with minor children. Things like changing the waiting period (required before a divorce is finalized).

I am sure she will have no problem working with multiply divorced Robin Vos to make sure divorce is harder to get.  She can always enlist the help of  Luther Olsen, Steve nASS, Scott Suder, Scott Krug, or Dan Knodl.  

She can also count on the help of two of her most important allies.    Her wonder twin, the unmarried childless Glenn Grothman, and also Rep. Don Pridemore who also thinks that women should stop complaining about their husbands and remember the time:

 By now, most people have heard of the Wisconsin GOP’s efforts to label single parenthood as a form of child abuse. There’s no basis in the claim, of course, and is simply another way to shame women (who comprise the majority of single parents) for not existing within a narrow and rigid social structure. A new wrinkle has surfaced as the bills’ co-sponsor, Representative Don Pridemore (R-Heartless Scumbag) has gone on the record as opposing divorce even in the event of a abusive spouse.
So if you are a woman regularly being beaten by your husband, you are a bad mother if you seek a divorce.
“If they can refind those reasons and get back to why they got married in the first place it might help,” said Representative Don Pridemore.

The Proprietorial Mindset Of Fitzwalkerstan

Like most Wisconsinites, the events of the past 15 months has set me aback, both financially and emotionally. As the unbelievably horrific events have unfolded, I have tried and tried to understand why and how people  could do this to other people. I have wondered what in the world could possess Scott Walker and Republicans in the state legislature to do the things they have done.

It's been all too obvious that their purported goals of creating jobs, improving the state's economy, lowering taxes and whatnot is so much hooey.  All of their actions have done anything but those stated goals.  So why are they doing what they are doing?

 A lot of people will banter about the terms greed and avarice, but they don't explain much more than the centralization of wealth that these malefactors have done.  Some have understandably accused the Republicans of being misogynistic, but again, that only explains one part of their misdeeds.  All the terms I've heard thrown about fit, but were not quite sufficient.

Then I was reminded of the old idiom of "What's yours is mine and what's mine is mine."  While it still doesn't cover everything, it does cover a lot.  The ruling class of Fitzwalkerstan has a proprietorial mindset in which they believe that everything belongs to them, or at least it should.

There have been three events, two recent and one that has gone on since the beginning of Fitzwalkerstan, which exemplify this very well.

What's yours is mine


The "bomb" that Scott Walker dropped on Wisconsin a year ago, the union busting law known as Act 10, is a prime example of the the proprietorial mindset.  Walker's lame excuse was that it gave the "tools" to governments, both state and local, to supposedly deal with the unconscionable cuts he was about to dole out with his cuts to school funding and shared revenue.

The common claim is that the legacy costs of pensions and health care were becoming unsustainable.  But was it?

Sadly, Walker was successfully able to portray public sector workers as the "haves" while the rest of the state were the "have nots."  But now that he has slashed the salaries of public sector workers - with the notable exception of his cronies who were each given tens of thousands of dollars in raises - we are all have nots.  The state's economy, which was actually starting to rebound before he took over, has been in a death spiral under his reign.  And projections for the future of our economy is bleak.

However, the public sector workers weren't even to blame for the mess he made. They had already been paying for their benefits in full.

On top of that, the pension system is fully funded.  There is no crisis to divert, except for allowing people like Walker in office, who only trash the economy.

And while health care costs are already exorbitantly high and  shooting up at astronomical rates, don't blame the public sector workers.  They don't control health care costs  Look more at the CEOs and board members of medical groups and insurance companies who are walking away with tens and even hundreds of millions of dollars each year.

All of Walker's manipulations were for two main goals.  One, to give workers a pay cut and give that money to his corporate friends and campaign donors.  The other was to give him an excuse to raid the pension fund - and don't think for one hot second that he's not drooling at the thought of getting his hands on that money - and again to give that money away to those who have given him so much already, like the Koch Brothers.

What's in the mine is mine

Another example of this proprietorial mindset is the recent imbroglio regarding Gogebic Taconite and the mining law changes the Republicans wanted to pass.

It was not, as the proponents of these changes claim, a simple streamlining of the permitting process.  It also included several exemptions to environmental laws that are in place to protect the waterways and wetlands from toxic pollution.  Gogebic Taconite, which Scott Fitzgerald recently admitted wrote the proposed law, wanted to get at the iron ore without having to cut into their profit margin with such pesky costs.

In fact, it has also come out that the company probably would not have been interested in opening up the mine anytime soon, due to the plunging value of iron ore.

And considering the mining business is doing pretty well in Wisconsin, at least according to their own association, it wasn't really going to destroy the mining industry in the state, so there's no need to go buy a new state flag, unless of course you wanted wanted one of those spiffy union flags. (As a point of interest, it was noted a few years ago that one of the best places to work was a mining company in Wisconsin that actually took care of its workers.  Rather a polar opposite of what Walker and friends are trying to do.)

Proving that they were never interested in doing environmentally-safe mining, or any mining in the near future, Gogebic Taconite went stomping off back to Florida, taking their bags of lucre with them.  Coincidentally, it is that last part - the leaving lucre - which has Walker and the Republicans pulling their hair and gnashing their teeth and hurling all sorts of curses and invective at Senator Dale Schultz and Democratic Senators.

In other words, even though the iron ore is an asset that belongs to the people of Wisconsin, Republicans were willing to give it away for next to nothing, just because some Florida-based company wanted it and had some love to spread around to the politicians who could make it happen.  It had nothing to do with jobs and if some people got sick or even died from the toxic pollution, well, meh, it's the price of being open for business.

What's yours is mine and you are mine

Perhaps the most egregious example of all is the maleficent actions taken by Walker and his Republican cohorts is the attack on women and the attempts to take away their rights, not only as women, but as humans.

First it was the defunding of Planned Parenthood.  Really, why would women need life-saving screenings anyway, right?  The right will literally scream murder and yell about the abortions services, which is just a small fraction of what they do.  But their holier-than-thou rantings are so much poppycock.  If they truly believed in the sanctity of life, they wouldn't abandon the child as soon as it was born.

Then it was the move to kill equal pay protection laws.  Why should women make the same pay for the same job? They're women!

Then we have Senator Glenn Grothman, who has never had a thought he thought was too stupid to utter, blaming single mothers for child abuse.  Just the sheer idiocy that could produce such a ridiculous and irresponsible left me speechless.  What in hell was he thinking?  Why not just say the act of giving birth leads to child abuse too?  I mean, is he really that sexually frustrated that he has to lash out at all the women who's had sex and none of it with him?

But just when I thought Grothman was the leader in stupidity, along comes Representative Pridemore.  This clown (no offense to clowns) thinks that women should stay in abusive relationships! How utterly clueless can a person be?!  Someone call the coroner, I think we can conclusively rule that Pridemore is brain dead.  Pridemore goes on to beat himself with the stupid stick by saying that women should stay with their abusive partners because the children need discipline and it's the man's job to be the disciplinarian.  (Yes, by now I'm spitting in rage!)

What this worm needs to understand is that if the ass is beating his wife/girlfriend, he's probably going to be beating the kids too!  And even if the father isn't abusing the child directly, being exposed to his parents' abusive relationship is just as damaging to the child's psyche as being abused directly.  This can lead to mental health issues (it can actually cause brain damage in a forming brain) and behavioral problems.

What he is suggesting would be akin to lighting the couch on fire to keep the couch from burning.

Obviously, the reasons behind all of these extraordinarily boorish moves can't all be explained by money or a purported believe in the sanctity of life.

What it does show is that they perceive women as something less than human and thus not deserving of the same consideration.  While the right is chock full of misogynists and sexist buttheads who objectify women and see them only as a means to meet their physical needs, it's actually a sign of considering them as property and not as people.  It might go back to the days where they thought women should only be barefoot and pregnant in the kitchen.  It might be just their own insecurity and subsequent need to bully someone they think is weaker.

I have news for them.  These are our wives, our sisters, our daughters, our girlfriends and our friends, who they are trying to control.  They are not chattel for them to push around and control.  They are as free as the rest of us to make their own decisions, especially in regards to what happens to their bodies.

In summary, too many people in positions of power in Fitzwalkerstan see our property as theirs for the taking, our natural assets as their own ticket to more money and the women of Wisconsin has so many possessions, as if they were pets and not people.

They act as if they feel, mistakenly so, that they have the right to these things and people just because they want them. If they haven't learned yet from the past year, the people are no longer intimidated by their titles or their personal wealth and that they don't own us or the state.

The People do understand these things and the People are reclaiming their state now.  And may we never let people like these regain control again.

Here's A Good Idea

Why doesn't Representative Don Pridemore move to Arizona.

Both Pridemore and the people of Wisconsin would be much happier that way.

The only downside would be that Arizona would probably want to declare war on us for that.