Republican Politburo

By Jeff Simpson


Robin Vos (R-adulterer) has decided that his version of small government is to tell the University of Wisconsin system that they are allowed to have any speaker they want, as long as he agrees with their message.

"Perhaps what could be most worrisome about going to college these days is the plague of political correctness that creates an environment that ends up stifling free speech," Vos wrote. "I challenge the UW System this school year to find more ways, beyond a two-page policy statement, to ensure that all perspectives, including conservative ones, are present in the classroom."

Vos spokesman Kit Beyer told the Wisconsin State Journal that Vos directly expressed his concerns to UW System President Ray Cross in a meeting Tuesday.

Mr Vos did an open records request(which he expects fulfilled, unlike the same requests that have been asked of GOP legislators) and found out that the top two highest paid speakers were:

The largest amount paid for a single speaker was at UW-Platteville, Vos said. The speaker was Kathy Ober, a former professor at University of Massachusetts-Amherst and co-founder of the Social Justice Training Institute -- who reportedly spoke three times for a total of $45,000.Michael Sam, the first openly gay player in the NFL, spoke at UW-La Crosse in December and also was one of the highest paid speakers, according to Vos.

Mr. Vos admits that he has no interest in Social Justice and listening to what someone from the LGBTQ community has to say.  Who knew that those two issues are partisan?  

Of course Mr. Vos has a history of being inherently lazy and did not offer up any suggestions, so that is where we are going to come in,  

We at CogDis are nothing if not here to help our friends on the right.  

Let's give some suggestions on who the UW System should bring in to speak to our college kids!

Let me start with a few:

1.   Number one on my list is Jonah Goldberg, of the National Review.  Jonah Goldberg is such a prolific writer, that he gave himself two Pulitzer nominations.   That takes skill!   What aspiring writer would not want to find out how to nominate yourself for the most prestigious awards there are?

2.  Everyones favorite right wing political pundit, Captain 9/12 Glenn Beck.   I would recommend that Mr. Beck be paid to speak to the school of social work so they can better learn how to deal with grief!

“When I see a 9/11 victim family on television, or whatever, I’m just like, ‘Oh shut up!’ I’m so sick of them because they’re always complaining.” ~ Glenn Beck

3.  The Scientists in the UW System will surely want to hear from Michelle Bachmann, since I am sure none of their professors taught them this!

“Carbon dioxide is portrayed as harmful. But there isn’t even one study that can be produced that shows that carbon dioxide is a harmful gas.” ~ Rep. Michele Bachmann

3. Best Selling "conservative" author and pundit Ann Coulter could be another that the UW System brings in.  The tall blonde has been preaching about liberal indoctrination for years.  

"If you wanted to teach people about the great things about America, a college campus is the last place you’d send them. Even fanatical Muslim terrorists don’t hate America like liberals do." Ann Coulter -- CPAC conference, 2002

Preach Ann, Preach!!   

4.  I would also recommend that Assembly Rep. Bob Gannon (R-White Hood) be allowed to speak also  He can speak to history classes about the Good ole days of the 1920's!

5. I also highly recommend that they have our Governor speak to the Engineering schools about how to build massive walls!

Finally #6, I would recommend they bring in Republican nominee for President, The Donald, who speak on numerous issues, from how to look presidential, to the plight of the disabled!

There are 6 different suggestions from us to Mr. Vos and University President Ray Cross to consider bringing in to speak this year on the UW System campuses.  

Help us out and give us some more suggestions, and I will make sure that Mr. Vos and Mr. Cross get this information!

The Right Wing Fear Machine

By Jeff Simpson

The horrendous and cowardly acts of the bombing of the Boston Marathon have claimed many victims and shown us many heroes! 

Unfortunately for one person, a Saudi man, he was victimized twice.  Once by the bomber and then again by the right wing fear machine.  The NY Post, with the help of Fox news, Vicki Mckenna, various right wing bloggers, "tea party" hero Congressman Steve King, Glenn Beck, Senator Susan Collins, and various other right wing conspiracy theory "news" websites. 

All of the fear that these crazies keep projecting on the impressionable base that they have led to more hell than deserved for this poor person.    As described in this brilliant piece in the New Yorker by Amy Davidson. 

A twenty-year-old man who had been watching the Boston Marathon had his body torn into by the force of a bomb. He wasn’t alone; a hundred and seventy-six people were injured and three were killed. But he was the only one who, while in the hospital being treated for his wounds, had his apartment searched in “a startling show of force,” as his fellow-tenants described it to the Boston Herald, with a “phalanx” of officers and agents and two K9 units. He was the one whose belongings were carried out in paper bags as his neighbors watched; whose roommate, also a student, was questioned for five hours (“I was scared”) before coming out to say that he didn’t think his friend was someone who’d plant a bomb—that he was a nice guy who liked sports. “Let me go to school, dude,” the roommate said later in the day, covering his face with his hands and almost crying, as a Fox News producer followed him and asked him, again and again, if he was sure he hadn’t been living with a killer.

Why the search, the interrogation, the dogs, the bomb squad, and the injured man’s name tweeted out, attached to the word “suspect”? After the bombs went off, people were running in every direction—so was the young man. Many, like him, were hurt badly; many of them were saved by the unflinching kindness of strangers, who carried them or stopped the bleeding with their own hands and improvised tourniquets. “Exhausted runners who kept running to the nearest hospital to give blood,” President Obama said. “They helped one another, consoled one another,” Carmen Ortiz, the U.S. Attorney for Massachusetts, said

When this particular injured person was running away from the bomb and looking for help with his injuries he was treated differently:

 In the midst of that, according to a CBS News report, a bystander saw the young man running, badly hurt, rushed to him, and then “tackled” him, bringing him down. People thought he looked suspicious.

 What made them suspect him? He was running—so was everyone. The police reportedly thought he smelled like explosives; his wounds might have suggested why. He said something about thinking there would be a second bomb—as there was, and often is, to target responders. If that was the reason he gave for running, it was a sensible one. He asked if anyone was dead—a question people were screaming. And he was from Saudi Arabia, which is around where the logic stops. Was it just the way he looked, or did he, in the chaos, maybe call for God with a name that someone found strange?

 At this point is when the true piling on began, some lunatic Ayn Randian blogger practically had this kid tried and convicted.   Then Fox news did what they do best....start talking bullshit and stirring up the fears of their loyal followers:

 “There must be enough evidence to keep him there,” Andrew Napolitano said on “Fox and Friends”—“there” being the hospital. “They must be learning information which is of a suspicious nature,” Steve Doocy interjected. “If he was clearly innocent, would they have been able to search his house?” Napolitano thought that a judge would take any reason at a moment like this, but there had to be “something”—maybe he appeared “deceitful.” As Mediaite pointed out, Megyn Kelly put a slight break on it (as she has been known to do) by asking if there might have been some “racial profiling,” but then, after a round of speculation about his visa (Napolitano: “Was he a real student, or was that a front?”), she asked, “What’s the story on his ability to lawyer up?”

These people are just disgusting, but I digress.  There is a reason that David Sirota wrote a piece on how he hopes that the bombing was done by a white American.   After we see the way the right wing in this country tried and convicted an innocent and injured kid in less than a few hours, with absolutely no evidence but his skin color, I can only imagine the fear and hatred they will show towards all people of the same(or close) nationality of the person who actually did the bombing.  Unless of course he is a right wing Christian warrior, then he will get a pass and anyone who brings it up will be attacked! 

On a personal note, I hope that Paul Fischer sues and gets a restraining order against Brian Sikma.  The way that he is stalking and harrassing him is very creepy.   Also I know Brian Sikma isn't the brightest bulb on the tree, but if he spent a couple minutes on google, he would find out that Patriot's Day IS an important day for the right wing militia movements AND that the right wing militia movements and hate groups have risen 813% since President Obama took office. 

Michele Bachmann

By Jeff Simpson

You might say how is Michele Bachmann relevant, she is just a congresswoman from MN, who was soundly beaten when she ran for President.   Yet Bachmann is in the top 5 of money raised in all of Congress! People from all over the country are taking their hard earned dollars and deciding that Michele Bachmann represents their values better than anyone else and sending it to her. 

What a sad commentary on America.  Can't we do better than that?   Are we doomed to keep rewarding ignorance and fear based campaigns? 

Gun Nuts

By Jeff Simpson

If someone ever asks you what "Gun nuts" look like.  Here are two examples!

1.  The Obama Victory in November(2008), so enraged a "responsible" gun owner, they he had his son pose for pictures with his rifle.  Then the fun began:

"While we were waiting, Julie(shawns wife) stood and spoke to us stating, Shawn has not been the same person since President Obama was elected. She stated he is obsessed with gun control, owning weapons and his right to bear arms," an officer wrote in the police report, obtained Tuesday by the Daily News. "Julie seemed embarrassed at her husband's behavior, however, she did not seem surprised."
Moore made national headlines last week after it was reported that someone saw a picture on Facebook of his son holding the military-looking .22-caliber rifle he received for his 11th birthday and called both police and New Jersey's Division of Children and Families. Moore wrote about the incident on an online firearms forum afterward, and the story went national after Glenn Beck's conservative news site, The Blaze, picked it up.
The police report said the anonymous caller had expressed other concerns as well, claiming that Julie Moore instructed her son to shoot "anyone who breaks in to their home" and that Shawn Moore had "issues with alcohol" and multiple DUI offenses.
When Moore got home, police said he smelled of alcohol and he definitely had an issue with officers and DCF workers being there. Moore had spoken with noted firearms attorney Evan Nappen on the phone before he arrived and immediately asked the officers and DCF workers to leave.

Who knew that Glenn beck would lead someone astray?  

2.  In Indianapolis, IN, a local peaceful chapter of Moms Demand Action(in favor of limiting theaccess to military assault rifles and requiring background checks) had a rally.  Guess who showed up(hint rhymes with fun buts):

Several men with assault rifles and hand guns crashed a Mayor’s Against Illegal Guns National Day to Demand Action event in Indianapolis, Indiana on Thursday and stood silently as the state chapter of Moms Demand Action held a rally in favor of limiting the availability of military style weapons and universal background checks.
At least two or three men showed up at the rally site before the event began and engaged in a discussion about gun regulations with the group, two participants in the action told ThinkProgress. The armed men — who were later joined by another man carrying a hand gun and a woman who runs Indiana Moms Against Gun Control — insisted that they had a right to carry the loaded weapons:

There Are Consequences!

By Jeff Simpson 

Some people like to think that politics is just that and there are no real life consequences.   Many people are duped into thinking that both sides are equally bad so I might as well try and save my pocketbook by voting in the "conservatives".  Well we showed you yesterday that the former is a myth and it doesn't take much to realize that he latter is also a myth! 

The right wing is out claiming victims again.  The right wing hate cabal of talk radio sqwaukers from the national guys like Beck, Limbaugh and a bunch of C - list screamers, to the local haters Sykes, Belling ,McKenna.   All of the gaggle of goons, preaching their hate and fear, are finally getting their listeners to pay attention.   

As the New York Times noted, there is a big(well relatively big)"prepper" movement sweeping the US. 

Whats a "prepper":

NYC Preppers Network is an Emergency Preparedness group for city dwellers that are concerned with preparing for disasters.  Some of us don’t live in a home, have garages, wells, basements or attics to store our survival gear in. Most of us live in apartments. City occupants face a different set of challenges.  Space, Food Storage, Water, Security, Sanitation, Evacuation Routes & many other issues are of a great concern for city dwellers.  NYC Preppers Network will work to solve these issues by teaching, sharing, & learning. The group is also the NYC affiliate of American Preppers Network (APN) on the national level.

Yes they are prepared for "anything", but what is their motivation to devote their life to this anyway?

That's easy enough - the Barackalypse! 

 At the Self Reliance Expo, the prospect of a second Obama term is seen as both a catastrophe and an opportunity. "There's a lot of people I talk to who say, 'Depending on what happens in the election, I'm going to buy some body armor,'" says Derek Williams, president of the Salt Lake City-based company Amendment II. Its Centurian children's tactical vest costs $499. "If the economy falls apart, people don't have food. People who are looking for food, they're gonna have their guns with them. People want body armor so they can protect themselves."

Ever wonder where they get such ideas?  

Tony Tangalos, the Phoenix-based host of The Prepper Patch,, believes Obama is expediting the arrival of the Islamic Antichrist. He's planning on establishing "Christian Transition Villages" in western Arizona "for people who believe that we may be close to experiencing some dramatic man-made or naturally occurring changes in our world."

Paranoid "Preppers" have to be proud though, one of their  own recently made the news! 

The mother of Adam Lanza, the gunman who killed 20 children and six adults in one of America’s worst ever school massacres, was a “survivalist” preparing for economic and social collapse, it has emerged.

According to reports, Nancy Lanza was a so-called 'prepper', a part of the survivalist movement which urges individuals to prepare for the breakdown of society by training with weapons and hoarding food and other supplies.
“She prepared for the worst,” her sister-in-law Marsha Lanza told the Chicago Sun-Times.
“Last time we visited her in person, we talked about prepping – are you ready for what could happen down the line, when the economy collapses?”

 No wonder Owen liked her.  However we will never know the how much of an effect her paranoid delusional   thinking had on her son.   

Case study # 2 takes us to Alabama....Where Jimmy Lee Dykes recently shot a school bus driver and took a 5 year old hostage.  The thing is he didn't just take the 5 year old boy hostage, he really took him hostage:

 The bunker in which Dykes holed up was four feet underground. He equipped it with electricity and was said to possibly have weeks of supplies stored. Negotiators communicated to him through a ventilation pipe. Because of the risk of tornadoes in this part of Alabama, bunkers are a relative fixture on the landscape.

  Today after a 5 day standoff, the FBI raided the bunker and killed Dykes and saved the child.  Thank Goodness for that, but what would motivate a Vietnam Veteran from the Navy to do such a horrible thing?

He was a loner who allegedly lost contact with an adult daughter years ago, according to people who lived near him. The sounds of conservative talk radio filled his home and fed his anti-government attitudes, locals said.

The codewords and dog whistles worked into the speeches and radio shows worked perfectly, get the base riled up then when you cross the line, wash your hands! 

Until we can break this vicious cycle, these problems are going to get worse!   

Here in Wisconsin, what are we doing to fix this problem.

Actually exacerbating the problem....and badly! 

By the way in case you are wondering where these crazies are getting their< obamaisgoingtotakeyourgunsandeverythingyouownandputyouinjailforworkinghard info?  

 

 It is time to start holding these people accountable for their hate speech and paranoia preaching!    

Which Side Are You On?

We all know what happened on Friday, and instead of rehashing all of the events, lets put it into a little perspective using the current Wisconsin climate.  Capper wrote a great post about this issue, but I wanted to expand

Scott Walker was elected in 2010 and took office in 2011, after a month of tax cuts and giveaways to his friends and donors, phase two of his agenda kicked in.  Scott Walker's goal was to "divide and conquer" the state.   His first target was Wisconsin public workers which largely included the state's educators. 

“Well, we're going to start in a couple weeks with our budget adjustment bill. The first step is, we're going to deal with collective bargaining for all public employee unions, because you use divide and conquer.” Scott Walker to Diane Hendricks. 

After the tragedy, we are now starting to hear tales of courage in the school by, wait for it, the teachers(public employees) of Sandy Hook Elementary school(all members of AFT - American Federation of Teachers).

Luckily for the survivors of the Sandy Hook massacre,  the educators/public employees on staff had more character than our Governor and did not subscribe to the same disgusting philosophy.  

Out of the chaos and horror emerged an incredible act of selflessness and bravery by one teacher who spent her final moments trying to protect her young students from harm.

Victoria Soto, 27, a first-grade teacher at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn., ushered her students into a closet, and in so doing placed her body between them and the assailant.

As you know here, there is more, there is always more:

Scott Walker has attacked teachers, saying they are "failing our children" and when a rightwing shock-jock said "most of them are not nice people," Walker refused to condemn the remark and instead brought the radio host an on-air Christmas gift of glazed nuts.

"Most Wisconsin public school teachers are absolute lunatics. People at least now are beginning to say this. I've been talking about this for years. Most of them are not good people. Most are not fair minded. Most of them do not care about the children. Most of them are sickening union thug money jerks who couldn't care less about the public good." Mark Belling.  

  When the shots rang out, School Psychologist  Mary Sherlach threw herself into the danger.

          Janet Robinson, the superintendent of Newtown Public Schools, said       Sherlach  and the school's principal ran toward the shooter. They lost their own    lives, rushing toward him.

Even as Sherlach neared retirement, her job at Sandy Hook was one she loved. Those who knew her called her a wonderful neighbor, a beautiful person, a dedicated educator.

Fox Nation: "Warning, Frothing Radicals Running Wild." On its Twitter page, Fox Nation promoted its March 9 post calling protesters "Rabid Leftists" by stating, "Warning, Frothing Radicals Running Wild." [Media Matters, 3/9/11]

Glenn Beck: "Some Of The Teachers" Protesting In Wisconsin "Are Just Useful Idiots." On the February 28 broadcast his radio show, Glenn Beck stated: "Some of the teachers, some of the people who are there, really are just useful idiots. They don't know what's really going on. They don't know that this is a coordinated effort." [Premiere Radio Networks' The Glenn Beck Program, 2/28/11]

 Michelle Malkin: Protesters "Stormed" Capitol For Demonstration; Teachers Used Students As "Kiddie Human Shields." In a February 16 post about protests in Wisconsin, Malkin wrote that the SEIU "and its allies stormed in for a sleepover protest" at the state Capitol building. She later wrote of teachers staging a protest: "Kiddie human shields become kiddie sacrificial lambs." In a later post, Malkin called the protesters "union thugs." [MichelleMalkin.com, 2/16/11, 2/16/11]

  

Judge Napolitano Attacks Public School Teachers: "What Incentive Is There For Them To Do A Good Job?"

Jay Severin: "A lot of" teachers are "losers" and "little Napoleons." On the June 25 edition of his WTKK show, Jay Severin said of teachers: "These little Napoleons -- think about these teachers and how they act, a lot of them. This is their little, tiny kingdom. A lot of them are losers, and they're little, tiny Napoleons, and you go into the school and this is their only chance in life, is to boss around parents."

Bill O'Reilly claims studies indicate that "most" high school and college teachers "bring in a anti-American viewpoint." On the October 24, 2007, edition of Fox News' The O'Reilly Factor, host Bill O'Reilly asserted: "[I]t seems to me, and the studies indicate, that most teachers -- high school and college in the United States -- are left-wingers. That they bring in a anti-American viewpoint to the sense that they don't preach about the nobility of America, they teach about the deficits. Now, I think you have to teach both." O'Reilly introduced the segment by saying, "[W]ith many public schools teaching diversity, tolerance, and self-esteem rather than history, civics, and geography, lots of American kids know little or nothing about their country, including what they owe their country." O'Reilly did not indicate which studies show that most teachers "are left-wingers."

Jim Quinn insists the public school system is filled with feminists who would "make male behavior illegal." On the November 6, 2008, edition of Clear Channel's The War Room with Quinn & Rose, co-host Jim Quinn read from a blog post describing a Georgia teacher who reported to her principal and campus police that one student's artwork might contain gang symbols. Quinn called the incident evidence of "the chickification of schools, the feminization of society, and the war on masculinity." He then stated that "the goal of the public school system -- the feminists in the public school system -- is to make male behavior illegal, a crime." (editors note, all educators who died in the horrible massacre were female).

 Neal Boortz says teachers unions are "the single most dangerous entity, group of people, in this country right now." On the April 16, 2008, broadcast of his radio show, Neal Boortz said, "I think the most dangerous -- the single most dangerous entity, group of people in this country right now are the teachers unions." He continued: "I think teachers unions do more damage to this country than the Los Angeles Lakers. They do more damage to this country than all the drug pushers together. ... If I had a button right now, two buttons -- push this button and it gets rid of all the drug dealers; push this button, it gets rid of the teachers unions -- I'm getting rid of the teachers unions."

Much more here!

Diane Day, a school therapist, told the Wall Street Journal that she and several other teachers were in a meeting with Mrs Dawn Hochsprung and Mrs Sherlach when the shooting began.
“We were there for about five minutes chatting and we heard, 'pop pop pop',” she said. “I went under the table.”
But the principal and the school psychologist ran toward the sound of the gunfire with complete disregard for their own safety.
“They didn’t think twice about confronting or seeing what was going on,” Ms Day said.
Rabbi Shaul Praver, who visited the scene, said that Mrs Hochsprung and Mrs Sherlach were killed in an "execution-style" shooting.

 Sen. Glenn Grothman said they are trying to shut people out because the place is "becoming a pigsty." He also called protesters staying overnight in the Wisconsin Capitol "slobs." When pressed to clarify he remarks, he insisted all those people were just a bunch of "college students having a fun party."

I suspect that the good people of New Berlin don't need a bunch of out-of-district union toadies to tell them how to run their school district.  I also suspect that the taxpayers of New Berlin don't need don't need the WEAC bosses of the world to tell them what's best for their community.  Nevertheless, the outside agitators will be there tonight - perhaps in force.
Maybe it's time for the taxpayers of New Berlin to arrange for some pest control.  The plague of locusts is definitely coming! - Jeff Wagner

 I’m curious how many of the teachers will actually show up at the Capitol to protest compared to how many of them will treat it as “a mental health day.” (And no, I don’t take seriously the threat of the doctor’s note requirement by the school district.) - Jimmy Wigderson

Lauren, after years of working as a substitute teacher, -- while working other jobs to earn a living -- landed a permanent substitute teaching job at Sandy Hook Elementary School in October.
"It was the best year of her life,'' said Teresa Rousseau, Lauren's mother and a copy editor at The News-Times.
Lauren grew up in Danbury, attending local schools before going to the University of Connecticut, then getting her master's degree in teaching from the University of Bridgeport. She lived in her family home in Danbury, with Teresa and her partner, William Leukhardt.
"She had so many interests --

Read more: http://www.newstimes.com/local/article/Lauren-Rousseau-The-best-year-of-her-life-4120850.php#ixzz2FHpXpave

 But above all of the despicable writing and quotes from above(believe me there is plenty more, feel free to share other quotes I have missed), the following sums it up, in terms of what the republicans/tea party  have wrought upon our nation}



Just a couple of weeks ago, the Newtown school board, like school boards all over this country, was considering cutting the school’s elementary music program and library program. It should be noted that both the school librarian and the school music teacher, whose jobs were on the line at the school board, stayed with the kids they were teaching when the attack began.

Yet in an attitude all too typical of many Americans’ thinking, one man, in a discussion section of the local paper, discussing the local School Board’s $1-million budget cutting plans last spring, wrote to a teacher last spring:

You, as a public sector employee, don’t generate ANY revenue. Every penny of the budget of your public sector enterprise is TAKEN from producers. It’s other people’s money versus money your organization EARNED. Your salary is not market based. Your salary, nor your benefits, nor your job, is in jeopardy during contracting economic times. If I want a raise I have to prove I have contributed more to the bottom line, and then it doesn’t matter unless the entire firm has grown the bottom line sufficiently to give me that raise. You are insulated from that reality. Your private (sic) sector salary only goes up. How is that fair? Especially in light of the fact that you don’t even generate the revenue that pays for your constantly rising salary?

Some of those “non-revenue-generating” unionized teachers, and the school’s non-revenue-generating principal, just died defending those kids.
I wonder if their tax-obsessed critics would have done the same?

Can you imagine such a vile LTE in one of our paper?  Me too!

The Red State Queen Attends A Mad Tea Party

From David Horsey, Seattle PI: