Walker Tries To Explain Away Boy Scouts Comment

Just yesterday, we discussed Scott Walker's bigoted comment about the Boy Scouts waiving their ban against gays becoming leaders. Walker had this to say about it:

“I was an Eagle Scout, my kids have been involved, Tonette (Walker) was a den mother.

“I have had a lifelong commitment to the Scouts and support the previous membership policy because it protected children and advanced Scout values.”

Walker sought to clarify what he said by saying that his comment wasn't anti-gay. He was worried about the kids being exposed to (gasp!) politics:

But during a Wednesday press conference in South Carolina, according to the New York Times, Walker said his comments had been misunderstood.

“The protection was not a physical protection,” he said, according to the Times. Instead, it was about “protecting them from being involved in the very thing you’re talking about right now, the political and media discussion about it, instead of just focusing on what Scouts is about, which is about camping and citizenship and things of that nature.”

Wow! That just clears everything up!

But in his rationalization for his bigoted comment, he ends up burying himself deeper in the hole he dug for himself.

The Boy Scouts do have a merit badge for American Heritage, which Walker said that the kids should focus on. However, the description for said badge includes - you guessed it! - politics:

Do the following:

Select a topic that is currently in the news. Describe to your counselor what is happening. Explain how today's events are related to or affected by the events and values of America's past.

Y'know, I think that maybe, just maybe, the historic decision by the Supreme Court to uphold the Constitution and allow gays to have rights would fit that requirement.

Even better, there is a badge for Citizenship in the Nation, to which Walker referred. This badge includes requirements such as:


Watch the national evening news five days in a row OR read the front page of a major daily newspaper five days in a row. Discuss the national issues you learned about with your counselor. Choose one of the issues and explain how it affects you and your family.

Discuss each of the following documents with your counselor. Tell your counselor how you feel life in the United States might be different without each one.

1. Declaration of Independence
2. Preamble to the Constitution
3. The Constitution
4. Bill of Rights
5. Amendments to the Constitution

So does this mean that Walker wants to protect the kids from earning these merit badges? Or could it be that Walker simply coasted his way through the Boy Scouts and didn't really grasp what they were trying to teach him?

It is also odd that Walker would want to spare kids from politics, since he has no problem using them as political pawns, such as his push to privatize education and cut kids off of publicly funded health care.

Hmmm, I wonder if the Boy Scouts gave Walker merit badges in bigotry, waffling and hypocrisy. If not, they should have, He sure has earned them.

Another Day, Another Hypocritical Republican

Why does this not surprise me?

...So North Dakota State Representative Randy Boehning (R) should have seriously thought twice before 1) being vocally anti-gay rights, and 2) sending an image of his penis to some random person on Grindr.

But he didn’t, and here we are.

After Rep. Boehning had voted against a bill that would have expanded anti-discrimination rights for LGBT citizens, the Fargo Forum published a splashy front page featuring his photo, as well as the photos of every representative who also voted against the bill. 21-year-old Dustin Smith, a Bismarck resident, soon recognized Boehning as a Grindr user named “Top Man!” who’d been flirting with him for the past year and sending him many a pic, some with his face, and at least one dick pic during the time frame of the contentious discrimination bill vote.

“How can you discriminate against the person you’re trying to pick up?” Smith rhetorically asked The Forum.

When confronted with the graphic evidence, Bohening initially remained silent, but eventually admitted that yes, he was gay, and that a few people had known, including some legislators who he alleged had attempted to blackmail him. “The 1,000-pound gorilla has been lifted,” he said, apparently relieved that he’d been outed. “I have to confront it at some point.”

Republicans really hate themselves, but why do they have to take that hate out on the rest of us?

H/T Alan Colmes

LGBT Ally Chris Abele: Not All Loves Are Equal

In the aftermath of Indiana Governor Mike Pence signing the Right To Bigotry law, scores of companies, groups and governmental bodies have pulled out investments, cancelled events and enacted travel bans to the state in protest. Milwaukee County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic has proposed that Milwaukee County do the same:

Milwaukee County would join other state and local governments, including Dane County, in boycotting travel to Indiana due to a recently passed “religious freedom” law that uses religion as an excuse to discriminate. County Board Chairwoman Marina Dimitrijevic is simultaneously requesting action along with Dane County Supervisors.

In addition to Dane County, several state and local governments, including Connecticut, New York and Washington along with the cities of Portland, Oregon, San Francisco and Seattle, have announced government-subsidized travel bans to Indiana after Gov. Mike Pence recently signed the measure, which bans all Indiana laws that “substantially burden” people’s ability to follow their religious beliefs when it comes to such matters as treatment of gays, lesbians, bisexual and transgender people.

“Even the Indianapolis Star and the Mayor of Indianapolis have denounced this law,” Dimitrijevic said.“I call on County Executive Chris Abele to issue an executive order banning all tax-subsidized travel to Indiana by Milwaukee County employees. If he does not act, then the County Board should take action through my resolution.”

Companies such as Accenture, Eli Lilly, Levi Strauss and Co. have also issued company bans on doing business in Indiana. Dimitrijevic invited companies in Indiana to re-locate to Milwaukee County.

“We value fairness and equality in Milwaukee County,” Dimitrijevic said. “We have been on the right side of history by adopting domestic partnership benefits and a nondiscrimination ordinance I authored.

“Our taxpayer dollars should not be used to support bigotry, and sitting idly by without action may aid this epidemic. We are the most diverse community in Wisconsin, and I’m sure Indiana companies would benefit from locating in an atmosphere of tolerance.”

One would think that this would be a slam dunk.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele is a strong advocate for gay rights. He's donated tens of thousands of dollars of his own money to fight for marriage equality in Wisconsin. When the gay marriage ban was struck down, he again reached into his own pocket to keep the Milwaukee County Courthouse open late and on the weekend so that people could get married.

Yet when he was asked by WTMJ-TV about this, Abele said he refused to impose the travel ban to Indiana.

Abele was not clear why he had this sudden change of heart, but it should be remembered that even though he claims to be a Democrat, he is far from being progressive. He has been known to support the most rabid of teahadists and has praised Scott Walker, especially for Act 10 and other anti-worker legislation. Abele could be just following the lead of Walker and refusing to get involved.

It could be that Abele is still having aspirations to run for US Senator against Ron Johnson and is vying for the conservative vote.

Or it could be that Abele has money invested in Indiana and is putting his love of money over the love shared between people.

Whatever his absurd reasoning might be, Abele needs to reconsider his decision and do the right thing and not the Right thing.

Supreme Sophistry

The Wisconsin Supreme Court issued their decisions on three major cases on Thursday morning.  The cases were about the same sex registry, voter ID and Act 10.  The results weren't anything that we didn't expect, but it did show just how much of a joke that the Supreme Court has become with four of the "justices" being nothing more than sock puppets held up by the dark money special interests.

The small victory that humanity won was that the Supreme Court upheld the same sex registry.  While it was nice to see one decision go according to the Constitution, it's small potatoes considering that the same sex marriage ban was found to be unconstitutional, not only in Wisconsin but in state after state across the country.  I look forward to the day when people realize that bigotry in general isn't a constitutional right.

The Supreme Court also chose to uphold the Voter ID law, even though it has been found to be

unconstitutional in federal court.  The rationale they offered was that it would help prevent the voter fraud that doesn't exist.  Justice Pat Roggensack even rolled out the old rigmarole about needing a picture ID to go traveling, at the bank, etc.  What she failed to understand is that none of the activities she cited are constitutional rights like voting is.  As Justice Shirley Abrahamson correctly pointed out, this is the modern day version of Jim Crow.

Fortunately, because of the federal case, which is under appeal, there is a stay on the law for now.  That said, soon to be former Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen has declared that he will use the Supreme Court ruling to try to get that stay lifted in time for November's election.  They must be really afraid that Mary Burke will bring a high turn out, which was supported in the most recent Marquette University poll numbers.

Last, but not least, the conservative faction of the Supreme Court followed their benefactors directions in supporting Act 10, even if they had to ignore entire sections of the case and the Constitution in order to do so.

As Justice Ann Walsh Bradley points out, Act 10 is a textbook case of unconstitutionality:

Bradley writes in the dissent that the majority ignores the plaintiffs’ claim that Act 10 infringes on the constitutional right to organize into a collective bargaining unit, and erroneously focuses on the right to bargain as a collective bargaining unit, and then determines no such right exists.

[...]

A constitutional right to organize as a collective bargaining unit is a well-established premise, the “sacredness” of which was stressed by the Wisconsin Supreme Court as early as 1902 and which the U.S. Supreme Court has declared a fundamental right, Bradley writes.

The First Amendment protects not just against prohibition of the right of association, but also from discouraging union membership or association, Bradley writes.

Act 10 discourages organizing by increasing its cost through the added expenses involved in preparing for annual elections and paying a certification fee, Bradley writes. In addition, revenues are reduced by the elimination of fair share agreements requiring members to pay a proportionate share of union costs, and by prohibiting municipalities from taking union dues out of workers’ pay checks, she adds.

“There is no doubt that these provisions act to discourage membership,” Bradley concludes.

Act 10 also creates unconstitutional conditions by barring workers organized under a collective bargaining agreement from negotiating anything other than an increase in base wages up to the amount of inflation, Bradley writes.

“This is the textbook definition of an unconstitutional condition,” she concludes. “By permitting such a statute to stand, the majority greatly dilutes the First Amendment on the right to freedom of association.”

The right wing has been making a big deal out of this, saying that taking billions of dollars out of the economy, losing thousands of experienced workers and a decrease in services is somehow a good thing.

They are also saying that this is the death knell for the unions, which is as fallacious as the the rationale for the Supreme Court's decision.  If I may remind the gentle reader, Wisconsin saw the seventh highest gain in union membership in the nation in 2013.

So while the rulings might be disappointing, they are not surprising.  Now is the time to roll up our sleeves and get back to work in fighting to restore our state to the greatness it once had and to return to the progressive standards that we have been known for.

Walker & Colbert in Solidarity

When one of the top comedians in the country takes on one of the biggest jokes of a politician in the country, hilarity ensues!     Scott Walker has said so many almost laughable things in his career about gay rights that he finally was parodied on the national stage! 

“I believe we must all respect Walker’s privacy in this difficult time to be against gay marriage,” Colbert said. “It is a personal matter between him and his pollster. It is none of the public’s business what Walker decides in the privacy of his own governor’s mansion.”

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Charlie Sykes Wants Extra Rights

By now, the gentle reader has surely heard the news accounts about Michael Sam, a young man who was drafted in this past weekend's NFL draft.  Not only was it news worthy because Sam was one of the few elite college football players with enough talent to make it to the big times, but because Sam is openly gay.

A gay football player in itself isn't anything new. Vince Lombardi had gay players playing for him when he coached the Green Bay Packers fifty years ago..

However, when Sam got the call that he made the draft, he celebrated like most people would - he kissed his loved one in a moment of celebration.  However, this one innocent act has gotten the right wing acting like it was the end times.

Which brings us to Charlie Sykes, main squawker at WTMJ-AM (who is waiting to change their call letters to WGOP).  Sykes laments that a player for the Dolphins had called the kiss as "horrible" and then was fined for his bigotry:

Now we know that the only acceptable reaction to this man-on-man lip lock was celebration or silence. Or perhaps gratitude that the display of affection was not more graphic.

Dissent or objection was, apparently, not permitted. But the Dolphins’ Don Jones had not gotten the memo. He tweeted out a single word: "horrible."

To be sure, Sam’s reaction was spontaneous, emotional and probably quite genuine. But here’s the thing: so was Jones’s. One was acceptable and celebrated. The other was not.

In the rest of his article, Sykes shows us that he is truly turning a new leaf. Not only is he still the same old race baiter that he always has been, but now he has a stronger sense of homophobia.

Sykes demonstrates this by saying that the blow back that the right is getting for their bigotry is a vast left wing conspiracy to give gays extra rights.

The thing that Sykes and his fellow bigots won't admit is that they would never have said a word if Sam was straight and kissed his girlfriend. (Unless she was white, of course. But that's a whole other issue.)
So it's not that the gays want to have any extra rights. They just want to have the same rights.

If anything, it's people like Sykes that want extra rights.  They want to spout their hatred and not take any responsibility or accept any consequences for it.

Cucciker? Walkinelli?

 

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker this weekend is doing the one thing he has mastered since becoming Governor of Wisconsin - leaving the state to campaign.   This time, its for one of the more extreme right wing people you have ever seen - Ken Cuccinelli.  

Cuccinelli is sort of a combination, if you took all of the bad from Steve nASS, Andre JAcque and Glenn Grothman and then took a step to the right!

Let's take a quick peek at Cuccinelli(since that is about all anyone can handle):

He is amazed that God has not punished America more for allowing abortion:

But in his speech to the Christian Life Summit last year -- unearthed Monday night by NBC12 -- Cuccinelli said he is surprised that God has not yet "imposed" more judgment on America for allowing abortion to be legal.
"Really, given that God does judge nations, it's amazing that abortion has run as far and foully as it has, without what I would consider to be a greater imposition of judgment on this country," Cuccinelli said. "Who knows what the future holds?"
Cuccinelli also criticized the Catholic church for its "soft and weak" leadership on social issues.

Has declared war on oral sex:

 Ken Cuccinelli wants to keep kids safe from sexual predators by banning oral and anal sex—between consenting adults. On a website his campaign just launched, Cuccinelli, the Republican candidate for governor in Virginia, paints himself as the only real protector of children, because of his efforts as Virginia attorney general to reinstate a law banning all naked fun-time acts besides vaginal intercourse

And Hates the LGBT community:

 Politico reports on how Cuccinelli responded to a question by moderator Judy Woodruff in which she asked if he still agreed that homosexuality was “against nature and harmful to society":

“My personal beliefs about the personal challenges of homosexuality haven’t changed,” he said at one point. “What I want to do as governor is create an environment, including an economic environment, where every Virginian has the opportunity to succeed.”

“The notion that because I believe marriage ought to be protected, because I believe life begins at conception — just like hundreds of thousands of independents and Democrats — this isn’t just me, it isn’t just Republicans,” he said. “There are lots of Virginians, millions, perhaps, of Virginians, who share my sincerely held beliefs.”

With a guy this far to the right, no wonder Scott Walker is spending our taxpayer money and heading out of town to campaign for him.  When you align in goals so closely, why not help his good friend win?

There is only one problem though!   The Virginia republican party worries that Scott Walker will make Cuccinelli look bad because he is so extreme and divisive! 

Walker, the Wisconsin governor, will make two stops with Cuccinelli on Saturday. He is popular on the right for taking on unions in a blue state and then beating back a recall, but his trip risks giving Democrats an opening to argue that Cuccinelli will govern in a similarly divisive way. McAuliffe promises a bipartisan cabinet and a knack for deal-making.

 

 

Leroy Butler: Leap of Class

When Jason Collins came out the other day, right wingers went apoplectic because of all the positive attention and support he received.


One example of this involves Packer Nation hero Leroy Butler:

Shortly after sending a four-word message on Twitter - "Congrats to Jason Collins" - Butler got a call from a member of a church where he was scheduled to give an anti-bullying presentation this summer, he told the Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. Butler confirmed the church is in Wisconsin, but declined to share its name or approximate location.

He assumed the call was to discuss details of the upcoming event. He said he speaks to several churches every year and that sponsors usually help the church raise money to cover his fee - in this case $8,500 - and in turn, donations are collected during the event to benefit the church. He assumed the call was to discuss event details.

Instead, Butler was told the church would cancel his presentation unless he removed the tweet, apologized and asked for God's forgiveness.

"This is what bothers me the most. They said, 'If you ask for forgiveness and remove the tweet and you say something to the effect that you don't congratulate (Collins), then we'll let you do the engagement and get the speaker's fee, and I said I'm not doing that," Butler said Wednesday. "Every gay and lesbian person will say 'You know, LeRoy doesn't speak up for the weak or the silenced. He doesn't stand for anything as a man and he did it for money.' Why would you ask me to reduce my integrity like that?"

Butler went on to take the bigoted pastor to task and pointed out that the pastor's behavior was out of line:

Butler said he pointed out to the church's pastor that the church's attempt to force him to back down was an example of the kind of treatment he had planned to talk about at the church.

"This is a form of bullying, what you're doing. You're trying to get me to do something I don't want to do," Butler said. "He disagreed, and I said, 'We agree to disagree,' and he said 'No, I'm right and you're wrong.' "

Butler then took his second leap of class.

He said that he would never work with that church again.

My faith in humanity has been restored a little bit by Butler.

Will You Marry Me!

By Jeff Simpson 


We just came out of what Scott Walker officially recognized as "National Marriage Week".   This made Wisconsin Family Council Giddy with excitement.    Fresh off their (not)surprising endorsement of election loser, Roger "some girls rape so easy" Rivard, the organization  "advancing Judeo-Christian principles and values" jumped all in on National Marriage week.  

Julaine Appling, president of Wisconsin Family Council says, “Governor Walker’s proclamation rightly identifies the benefits of marriage and the costs of marital breakdown, not only for the men, women and children directly involved, but also for the entire state.” The proclamation reads in part, “Marriage breakdown takes a toll on the emotional, physical and financial well-being of the entire family, and increases the public cost for human service programs.”  

So says the unwed, living with her female friend Julaine Appling, who has spurned numerous offers to help her find true love!  

I wonder if she discussed this at a forum featuring Glenn Grothman, Robin Vos, Michelle Litjens, Jeanne Tarantino and Charlie Sykes?   

Gay Rights Speech

If you have not seen this yet, you should!

Mitt & Paul Need Some Help!

Posted on ThePaulRyanWatch: Paul Ryan visits a hate group and vows to "fiercely oppose gay rights".

During an interview with Focus on the Family president Jim Daly, Paul Ryan reassured the anti-gay group that a Romney-Ryan administration will fiercely oppose gay rights. Focus on the Family and its founder James Dobson have a long history of promoting anti-gay policies and ex-gay therapy, and earned a shout-out from Romney earlier this week while campaigning in Colorado, where it is headquartered.

We know that Paul Ryan does not have time to explain how they will govern and he really doesn't have time(IE too scared) to debate Rob Zerban,

Since Ryan is so busy, and will "fiercely oppose" equal rights for the LGBT community, then we know they will have a very "manly" administration!  

To help ease the burden on the Ryan/Romney administration, I thought we could help pick his cabinet.   Maybe helping with this burden, Paul Ryan will be free to actually answer some questions for a change!


Here are a couple of my suggestions.  

1.  Marcus Bachmann for Secretary of the Interior:

2.  Republican state senate candidate John Macco, who will be looking for something to do when he loses too incumbent Senator Dave Hansen:  Macco would be a great candidate for Secretary of Health & Human Services. 

Who would be your suggestions?  

Mitt's Toughest Question

Typical Mitt Romney, he thinks he is cozying up to a war hero who will tell him how great the republican party is, instead he gets put in a situation that he despises.

You just know by his facial expressions that was the worst 3 minutes of his life and his suit was burned after!

  

I wonder if this is why Mitt left the troops out of his convention speech? 

Bigotry On The Board

There is an ongoing national controversy regarding Dan Cathy, the owner of  the Chick Fil A restaurant chain.  Mr. Cathy has been outspoken against gay marriage and has supported causes which have fought against allowing gay marriage.

This caused a boycott of his restaurants by people seeking equality in marriage.  The boycott in turn caused a "Chick Fil A Appreciation Day," headed up by Mike Huckabee.  This "buy-cott" was held on August 1.

Unfortunately, Milwaukee County Supervisor Deanna Alexander chose to support Mr. Cathy's homophobia and bigotry by participating in this event:

When contacted about this, Supervisor Alexander responded:

First, it is unfortunate that many individuals that supported Chick fil a appreciation day made it solely about traditional marriage, and that much of the media reported it as being a negative event.

I join the ACLU in being appalled that some government officials are seeking to prevent the lawful operation of businesses, like Chick fil a, based solely on the religious beliefs of the owner, in the absence of any evidence of actual discrimination. I have close ties to the LGBT community and have not done anything hateful. I have read one of S. Truett Cathy’s books describing the Christian foundation that Chick fil a is based on, I respect Chick fil a’s business practices, and I attended this event to support Dan Cathy’s right to free speech. Had government officials treated Amazon, Target, or Starbucks the same way based solely on owners’ or management’s free speech support for gay marriage, I would have been happy to attend a similar BUY-cott.

The excuse that Alexander offers is one which came up as an afterthought in order to defer any backlash against the supporters of Cathy's narrow-minded and bigoted stance.

The original purpose of the event was very clear, as Huckabee wrote on the Facebook page promoting the event:

“Let’s affirm a business that operates on Christian principles and whose executives are willing to take a stand for the Godly values we espouse by simply showing up and eating at Chick Fil-A on Wednesday, August 1.”

Huckabee continued: “Too often, those on the left make corporate statements to show support for same sex marriage, abortion, or profanity, but if Christians affirm traditional values, we’re considered homophobic, fundamentalists, hate-mongers, and intolerant.”

From Huckabee's statement, it's very clear that the event wasn't an issue of Free Speech but a show of support for Cathy's anti-homosexual agenda.

Further confirming this fact, Fair Wisconsin Executive Director Katie Belanger made the following statement regarding the event:

"Millions of dollars in Chick-fil-A profits have been contributed to organizations that work to perpetuate the second class status of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender people worldwide.  This money comes from customers who eat at Chick-fil-A restaurants.  It's important for people to know that when they support businesses like Chick-fil-A, they are also supporting these organizations."

Even if one were to give Supervisor Alexander the benefit of the doubt and take her rationale at face value, she should still have been very conscious of the message she was sending, whether it was intentional or not.  She is an elected representative of Milwaukee County and this was entirely the wrong message for her to be sending.

She should also recall that it took an overly long amount of time for Milwaukee County to catch up to much of the rest of the county in just establishing domestic partner benefits.

Her attendance at this event is a slap in the face of not only the LGBT community, but is also an insult to her constituents, county employees, County Executive Chris Abele and her colleagues on the Milwaukee County Board.

Supervisor Alexander needs to make a public apology to the citizens and workers of Milwaukee County, especially to those in the LGBT community, for her inappropriate display of bigotry.

Cross posted from Milwaukee County First

What Greasy Fast Food Would Jesus Eat?

The faux outrage over Chick-Fil-A rages on.

In case the gentle reader was in a coma for the last few days, there has been a big brouhaha about the fast food pit called Chick-Fil-A. The owner of the compnay, Dan Cathy, is a raging homophobe and has contributed a lot of money and energy into anti-homosexual agendas. Maybe he's so freaked out about homosexuals from some long ago emotional trauma of having been teased for having a girl's name as his last name. Who knows? Who cares?

Because of his rampant homophobia and hate, people had begun a boycott of his business. Furthermore, mayors from around the country are condemning Cathy's hateful message and are considering denying him from opening stores in their cities.

This got the right wingers, who cannot pass up a good old fashioned snit, from raging their faux, selective outrage by gathering all the homophobes up for a good old hate chicken dinner.

Mary of Freedom Eden thinks this is great. In her opinion, it's about free speech and not about gay rights:

Americans are showing their support for the Bill of Rights and our basic freedoms by going to Chick-fil-A.

That has to really tick off the Leftists who believe in free speech only if it aligns with their own beliefs.

That's a rather ironic statement to make since she is condemning liberals for exercising their free speech.

The fact is both sides have a right to free speech.

Cathy can make all the homophobic and hateful comments he wants. Those that support his message of hate, bigotry and intolerance are free to eat at his restaurants.

And the sane people have a right to condemn him for his irrational hatred and to boycott his business in protest.

Heck, I'd boycott Chick-Fil-A too, but that would mean that I'd have to start eating their in the first place, and I'm just not into masochism.

But for pure hypocrisy, one has to see this post by "Lou" at the utterly misnamed Real Debate Wisconsin (emphasis mine):

Mayor Rahm Emmanuel of Chicago, and Mayor Tom Menino of Boston have both made threats to block expansion of the chain into their cities, based upon the CEO's opposition to gay marriage. No matter what your opinion of that particular issue, the idea that a government official could make your property rights conditional upon passing an ideological litmus test should scare the hell out of you.

Really?

Off the top of my head, I could think of three examples that the right wing nut jobs might try to use their ideology as a litmus test as conditions for property rights, where even old Lou might protest:

• Building a mosque
• Opening an adult entertainment store
• Opening a group home for the disabled and/or mentally ill

Like I said, that was just off the top of my head.

What I find sickening and sad is that while these right wing nut jobs are moaning and groaning about people condemning Cathy's hateful attitude, they are complaining that this is somehow an infringement on his First Amendment right of Free Speech. The fact is that Cathy and his supporters are still free to say what they want, no matter how wrong it is.

But they don't bat an eye at Cathy using his wealth from his restaurants to try to actually squash the rights of homosexuals to live freely and as equals.

I'm sure they believe that all people are created equal, but in their hate-filled, bigoted eyes, some people are more equal than others.

Journal Broadcasting's PR Problem

In Wisconsin, Memorial Day weekend is traditionally considered to be the start of summer.  People start looking forward to camping, fishing, picnics, cookouts and all the assorted fun associated with summer.

In Milwaukee, people also look forward to all of the wonderful festivals and events that fill the short months of summer.

This morning, WTMJ 620 AM had kept saying in their newscasts that this was Milwaukee's official start to summer because this weekend is the time for Polishfest and the Festival of the Arts, both at our beautiful lakefront.

But if they are using the kick off of the festival season as the official start of summer, why didn't they say it was last weekend, when the first festival of the season was held.  Or is the corporate media so biased and homophobic that they don't consider the 25th anniversary of Pridefest to be a real celebration?

George Takei vs The Douchebags of the World

George Takei knows how to call the idiots out:



Sadly, it takes strong words like that to just get their attention. Just don't hold your breath that they're actually going to figure out how to behave like humans.

H/T digby

More Anti-Gay Rhetoric From Walker's Administration

While running for Lieutenant Governor, Rebecca "I don't like the way that table is looking at me" Kleefisch compared homosexual couples to dogs.  People were rightfully outraged at her mean-spirited, hate-filled comments.

Now comes another one of Scott Walker's cronies, the politically connected Laurie McCallum, wife of former governor Scott McCallum, who takes a stance that homosexual people should be treated worse than dogs:

Laurie McCallum, who was recently appointed by Gov. Scott Walker to a six-year term on the state’s Labor and Industry Review Commission, wrote that the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act applies only to sexual harassment. That contention was the basis for her dissenting opinion in a case involving Milwaukeean Chris Bowen, a machine operator who was subjected to years of anti-gay harassment as an employee of Stroh Precision Die Casting.

In a 2-1 decision, commissioners Robert Glaser and Ann L. Crump found that Stroh was responsible for fostering a workplace environment hostile to Bowen because of his sexual orientation. Stroh did not deny that the harassment occurred; nor did the company argue that anti-gay harassment is allowed under state law during the eight years that the case bounced around the court system.

But McCallum, the politically connected wife of former GOP Gov. Scott McCallum, defied nearly 30 years of precedent in state law by asserting that sexual “preference,” as she put it, is not a protected category in workplace discrimination cases.

McCallum’s stance alarmed civil rights advocates as well as her fellow commissioners, who warned that her view could upend legal tradition and “make it permissible to harass an employee based upon race, national origin, religion, age or disability,” as well as sexual orientation.

Scott Walker needs to condemn the vote by his political appointee and state that strongly opposes that decision. If he chooses not to do so, one can only presume that he is in agreement with it.

Then again, by not refuting that hateful stance, he only helps the recall movement. Perhaps he shouldn't say anything after all.

Chairman Bob Gets A Black Eye

In a story from the Business Journal, it is reported that a manager of a Rainbow Foods store in St. Paul, Minnesota was stabbed in the chest by an irate customer.  The manager testified against his assailant, who was given a sentence of three years in prison.  A week after the sentencing, Rainbow Foods, a subsidiary of Roundy's Supermarkets fired the manager.  Their reason was because he had to take breaks from work to deal with PTSD he is suffering as a consequence of being assaulted.  The manager also is stating that he asked for a transfer to a different store, but was denied.

So egregious is their firing of the manager who was injured in the line of duty, that the county attorney is going to write a letter to "Chairman Bob" to ask him to reconsider the firing.

Now, I don't think for a minute that Bob Mariano had anything to do with the firing.  That was probably done by an overly zealous and bureaucratic regional manager.  But it is still the Roundy's company and as its head, Mariano, who gets the black eye from this PR nightmare.

Will Mariano override the firing? Who knows? But he should, if nothing else than for the image of his company.

But this story is also a strong example of what is wrong in our olegarchal society today.  Only in an oversized megacompany like Roundy's would the human factor be so lost as they would do something like firing an employee for being injured on the job.  If anything, the manager should be given a commendation of some sort.

It also shows why the Citizens United ruling was so wrong.  Companies are not people, and should never have been given the same status or voice as a real person.  As a society, by definition, our laws should reflect our values and our humanity.  And that is something that a company or corporation could ever do. 

It is also pretty said when you have people that believe corporations should be given more consideration than a person who happens to be gay and in love with that special someone.

DADT's Ending Is Just The Beginning

The poorly thought out Don't Ask Don't Tell policy of the army is finally officially over.

This is good.

But it is not enough.

We still need to go out into the communities and get them to realize that any prejudice against the LGBT community is just that, prejudice.

And for the haters in West Bend, who basically had to have the courts come in and tell them that hate is wrong, your ignorance is not excusable.

Or do you want on of the kids in your community to be the next Jamey Rodemeyer

Great Leaps Of Illogic, or Stop Trying To Revictimize The Victims

This morning, I told you about how the Wausau union leaders are taking their pledges seriously by keeping the extremist, anti-union Republicans like Sean Duffy out of their Labor Day parade.  It boggles the mind that Duffy or any other Republican in this state even thinks they should have the right to participate in any Labor Day activities, considering how they set back almost every right of the people of Wisconsin in their insatiable power grab.

Most conservatives had enough sense to leave it alone. Those that lacked that sense mostly mewed about how they had to deal with the consequences of their behaviors.

But Kevin Binversie, proud employee of Koch Industries, would not settle for mere mewling when he could open his mouth and insert both feet up to his knees.  Instead of the usual complaining, he goes for trying to somehow compare holding the Republicans responsible for their behaviors to the bigotry showed by New York Catholics to the LGBT groups:

I say fascinating since it makes the Marathon Co. Labor Council sound remarkably like the New York Catholic Diocese when it explains why they keep gay and lesbian groups out of the diocese-sponsored St. Patrick's Day Parade. And over that time -- now going on two decades I believe -- groups like the ACLU, civil rights groups, labor groups, and other so-called progressive groups have hammered the NYC diocese for what they call a bigoted and backwards-thinking move like barring LGBT groups from the parade.

This so wrong on so many levels, one doesn't even know where to begin. But let's break it down so that even someone like Kevin can understand.

Wisconsin Republicans committed egregious harm to the working people of Wisconsin by taking away their rights to be treated with respect, work in safe conditions and be paid a living wage.  They further exasperated their misdoings by also attacking the rights of women, the rights of voters and every other thing that is good about Wisconsin.  And if that wasn't enough to earn them the scorn of every good Wisconsinite, in order to commit their heinous acts, they violated a slew of ethical codes as well as the law itself.

They did all this for none other than the simple reasons of greed and lust for power.

Is it really any wonder why the unions would not want these people tainting their parade with their mere presence?

Now let's compare this to the situation in New York.  The Catholic Church has banned the LGBT community from their parade not for anything they did but for who they are.  That is the definition of bigotry, my friends. (And not that sexual orientation is a sin, but whatever happened to the Church's dogma of hating the sin but loving the sinner?)

The LGBT community did not suppress the Catholics' right to practice their religion or to live their private lives they way they want.  The LGBT community did not attack any of the friends of Catholics out of spite.  The LGBT community is only asking for respect, and haven't taken anything from them by force.

In summary, in Wausau, it's the victims of the Republicans' transgressions that are saying they don't belong with the people they hurt.  Or to put in other words, the unions are holding the Republicans responsible for the consequences of their actions, which is something that the Republicans absolutely cannot stand.

However, in New York, it's the people in power, the Catholic religious leaders, that are transgressing against the LGBT simply because they don't like that group of people, not for any real or even perceived wrong done by the LBGT community to the Church.

Binversie's comparison would only make sense if the LGBT community was denying the Catholics a spot in their Pride parade.

For the Republicans to complain about being barred from Labor Day activities is like a rapist or a thief complaining about not being invited to their victims' family reunions.

I again commend Wausau's unions for their actions and iterate that this is something that should happen in every community in the state and in the country.  Furthermore, if there were to be true justice, the Republicans that caused this or support these reprobates should have to work the holiday, since it's not one they honor anyway. Heck, they should also give up their other benefits they wouldn't have without unions, like weekends, vacations, paid sick time and a sustainable wage.