A Sure Sign That The Wisconsin Supreme Court Is In Trouble!

Illy-T returns to point out the absurdity of L'Affaire de Prosser.

Parting Words To Live By

Tom Foley, aka Illusory Tenant, has gone offline.

But before he left, he did send one last message, words which we should abide by:

Thanks again everybody. Okay, I'm off the grid. Impeach the scofflaws!

#wirecall Goes International!

And #wirecall got a very nice summation from the Guardian with this classic ending:

As attention remains fixed on the fervent, fierce conservative-dominated contest in South Carolina, careful observers of American politics should be keeping an eye on events elsewhere. They are showing the American left – so often derided and so often ineffective – can sometimes throw a pretty mean tea party of its own.

But it is a sad commentary that we have to go overseas to get find a media source that gets it and is willing to tell it as it is.

H/T to the great, but not late, Illy-T

Pot Demands Kettle To Apologize

This is worth a giggle:

“At best the wording of his letter was cumbersome and sloppy. At worst it was written with the purposeful intent to lead the readers of the letter (including journalists and the general public) into believing that Mr. Osmulski consulted and coordinated with Mr. Sikma and then provided the DA with the name of Media Trackers’ source.

“We can see how the wording of the Landgraf letter could lead some to question the vigor and professionalism of the entire investigation conducted by the Milwaukee County District Attorney’s office.

“We are calling on Assistant District Attorney Bruce Landgraf to issue a clarification forthwith and respectfully request that media outlets who reported incorrect information based on Landgraf’s letter issue a correction.”

Aw, that's OK MacGuyver - I'm still waiting for my correction as well.

Also see, Illy-T's take.

Scott Walker Is Such A Bad Governor...

Let's make this an interactive post:

I say, "Scott Walker is such a bad governor..."

You, gentle reader, say, "How bad is he?"

And then I say, "He's so bad, he won't even attend his own support rally!"

Then we all laugh at him.

H/T Illy-T

Quote Of The Day

This comment, lifted from Illy-T's blog, really hit home in light of a couple of pieces from Rick Esenberg which I  had to correct:

The trend seems to be for an "expert" to make public statements about the content of the law that are inaccurate. The purpose of the statement is not accuracy, however, but rather to influence public opinion.

Most news readers tend to react to new information and arrive at an opinion about that information rather quickly. These first impressions in the minds of readers are "sticky," and readers will rarely revise their initial opinion even if later legal proceedings (or the lack thereof) demonstrate that the original source of the information was wrong. The latest political science research on the way that our minds form opinions demonstrates that it is first impressions that counts.

It is not surprising that those who wish to influence public opinion might adopt these "quick hit" tactics. What is surprising is that a major media corporation is apparently either ignorant of these tactics or else views itself as under no obligation to push back.

Perhaps one response (admittedly imperfect) might be if the State Bar were to discipline or rebuke any lawyers who make obviously reckless mistatements about what is or isn't fraud, or about what the law is generally. In paragraph 6, the preamble to Chapter SCR 20 states that all lawyers "should further the public's understanding of and confidence in the rule of law." Playing games designed to influence public opinion would seem to be inconsistent with the obligation of furthering the public's understanding of the law.

Apparently the prospect of shame or ridicule is not sufficient to deter some people.

'Nuff said.

And The Booby Prize Goes To...

An eighth grade girl has filed a federal lawsuit against her school.  The issue at hand is that the principal has banned bracelets that read "I [heart] boobies (keep a breast),"  and is meant to raise awareness of breast cancer. The girl and her mother contend that it's a violation of her free speech rights.  The principal is threatening anyone wearing one of these bracelets could get detention, suspension or other punishment.

Some right wingers have already responded to this.

Kevin Binversie feels that it is a frivolous lawsuit and goes on to mock the girl, her parents and the courts.

Owen Robinson echoes the sentiment and adds that it should fail.

Dad29, a known misogynist, adds his two cents worth in a comment at Owen's site when he quips this:

Some people who comment here still don’t understand why the TEA party exists—-nor why the law is an ass. Nor do they understand why we don’t want kids playing in gutters.

Now for some facts.

Breast cancer is still a serious disease that affects too many women, and yes, it can strike teenage girls.

Secondly, per my Royal Barrister and others, the law and precedents appear to be in the favor of the girl.

Odds are that almost every thirteen year old child has already heard the word "boobies," and worse, and knows what these words mean.

So, given all the facts, the question, dear reader, is this: Who's the biggest boob?

• The principal who made a stink of a harmless bracelet.promoting breast cancer awareness,
• Binversie for mocking not only the lawsuit but the family as well.,
• Robinson for saying the girl shouldn't have free speech,
• Dad29 for his utterly inane comment comparing breast cancer awareness to playing in a gutter (not to mention his misunderstanding of the TEA Party)
• All of the above for trying to tell women that they're bodies and health are secondary to their concept of decency. (What's so decent about trying to keep children in the dark about health concerns and how to detect a problem early is something I won't pretend to understand.)

You Want Misconduct?

Everyone on the right, from Rep. Robin Vos to the echo chamber to the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, keep saying that recalls should only be done for misconduct in office or for malfeasance, all in a vain effort to protect their Dear Leader, Scott Walker.

Fine. Illy-T's gives you your misconduct.

Let the recalls roll!

Republican Lawyers' Gravy Train Keeps On Rolling

Over the weekend, we saw that the private law firms that Republicans like to use (here's a hint on why - follow the money) were not included in the unwashed masses that have to sacrifice equally under Walker's budget.

That train car full of gravy dealt with the union-busting bill even though it's been repeatedly proven that the unions were not the problem and this law was not only not needed, but is actually detrimental to our economy.

Today, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that the gravy train for these private law firms just added another car full of gravy.  Again, it's dealing with an unneeded law (the voter suppression law) that was rammed through to deal with a problem doesn't exist.

Also: See Illy-T's site, where he found the money quote.

The Devil Can Site Scripture For His Own Purpose!

Scott Walker must be feeling the pressure. His poll numbers are dropping faster than the average Wisconsin salary.  He can't go anywhere, except maybe his underground bunker, without having scores of protest workers in his face.  He is mocked not only in every corner of the state, but across the country.  He knows his days in office are numbered and people will only get angrier as the full impact of his malicious budget is felt in a few weeks.

Walker, like many people, doesn't respond well to pressure and he has resorted to quoting scripture for his tweets:

Being tied up with other things, I had missed most of the reaction, which, as the reader can imagine, was less than warm.

Fortunately for me, one of my readers caught it and did the leg work for me with this letter to Walker:

Gov. Walker:

This is verse 9 in its entirety:

"But, he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly of my weaknesses, so that the power of Christ may rest upon me."

Governor, do you feel as though the "spirit," has moved you to boast all the more gladly of your weaknesses?

The next time you talk to the Koch brothers, Mr. Grebe, and other wealthy campaign contributors, perhaps you could quote Matthew 25: 31-45:

“When the Son of Man comes in his glory, and all the angels with him, then he will sit on his glorious throne.32 Before him will be gathered all the nations, and he will separate people one from another as a shepherd separates the sheep from the goats. 33 And he will place the sheep on his right, but the goats on the left. 34 Then the King will say to those on his right, ‘Come, you who are blessed by my Father, inherit the kingdom prepared for you from the foundation of the world. 35 For I was hungry and you gave me food, I was thirsty and you gave me drink, I was a stranger and you welcomed me, 36 I was naked and you clothed me, I was sick and you visited me, I was in prison and you came to me.’ 37 Then the righteous will answer him, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry and feed you, or thirsty and give you drink? 38 And when did we see you a stranger and welcome you, or naked and clothe you?39 And when did we see you sick or in prison and visit you?’ 40 And the King will answer them, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did it to one of the least of these my brothers, you did it to me.’

41 “Then he will say to those on his left, ‘Depart from me, you cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. 42 For I was hungry and you gave me no food, I was thirsty and you gave me no drink, 43 I was a stranger and you did not welcome me, naked and you did not clothe me, sick and in prison and you did not visit me.’44 Then they also will answer, saying, ‘Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or naked or sick or in prison, and did not minister to you?’ 45 Then he will answer them, saying, ‘Truly, I say to you, as you did not do it to one of the least of these, you did not do it to me.’ 46 And these will go away into eternal punishment, but the righteous into eternal life.”

Sincerely,

[Name Redacted]

Illy-T also caught Walker's tweet and posted his own response to Walker's thorny issue.

I would remind the reader of the famous line from "The Merchant of Venice," by the Great Bard himself:

The Devil can site scripture for his own purpose! An evil soul producing evil witness is like a villain with a smiling cheek.

When Bloggers Foolishly Attack

I don't know, but I would think that if you were a right wing blogger and you felt like slandering someone, you might not want to take on someone who is fully capable of taking care of himself or herself in a court of law.

Just sayin'.

BTW, the slanderer chose not to remove the offense, but highlight it with an apology of sorts, if you are in a liberal, forgiving mood.

Still, the most appropriate way to describe comic book guy's post:

Republican Panic Button Is Taking More Hits Than Charlie Sheen

The way that Scott Walker and the Fitzgerald boys are totally screwing up their own schemes would be hilarious if the consequences weren't so severe.

After the Dane County District Attorney successfully pursued a Temporary Restraining Order preventing the publication of the Union Busting Bill, the Republicans decided to pursue it to a higher court in order to have it overturned.

This decision caused a bit of disconcertion among the right, who, like Cindy Kilkenny, were left to speculate why the Republicans just didn't concede the court fight and take a second vote on the bill. I answered Cindy's puzzlement by pointing out that if they voted a second time, it might not pass, but she didn't believe me.

Well, if she won't believe me, maybe she'll believe Senator Scott Fitzgerald, who said pretty much the same thing.

So, if taking a vote was too risky, their only other option appeared to be in court.  But this wasn't going swimmingly for them either.

This resorted to what Republicans do best: Turning an end around run into running into their own rounded rear ends.

In a bit of classic Walkeresque overreach, Scott Fitzgerald pushed the Legislative Reference Bureau into "publishing" the law that they had illegally passed.  He and Walker claimed the law published and said that they would be putting it into effect tomorrow.  Their rationale was because it was on the legislative web site, so that made it law.

Needless to say, many right wingers broke open the proverbial bubbly in what turned out to be premature acclamation.

As it turns out, and I need to point out that Illy-T led the way locally on this, the "publication" that Fitzgerald ordered was actually more of a printing of the law.  In other words, Hissy Fits Fitz drove the LRB to the local Kinko's and had them print the law.  Word is that Fitzgerald even had them attach a shiny gold ribbon to it so he could show it off.

But according to the Legislative Review Board itself, the law isn't a law until the Secretary of State actually publishes the bill.  And, of course, Secretary Doug La Follette is under the Temporary Restraining Order which is preventing him from publishing it.  Ergo, the job destruction that Walker and the Fitzgerald boys want to do will have to wait for another time,  Of course, I would hope that they aware of the fact that if it ever does get successfully passed, then it will only be immediately stalled again as lawsuit after lawsuit is filed against it.

But one thing that hasn't been talked about a lot is the fact that the LRB is traditionally a strictly non-partisan entity which is highly respected by both Republicans and Democrats.  Fitzgerald expended a lot of political capital in pushing this non-partisan board into printing a very partisan law.  The ramifications from that could be rather interesting to watch.  And Fitzgerald didn't even get a T-shirt for his troubles.

Frugality And Transparency!

As most people already know and more and more are figuring out, Scott Walker sold the voting public a bill of goods, saying he was the epitome of frugality and was as transparent as cellophane.

But lo and behold, just three days after the election, Mr. Frugality goes out and, using tax payers dollars, rents a 2011 GM Yukon XL. The car was driven for over 5000 miles and pinched the tax payers for more than $2000 in just the first month.

Not quite the Saturn he led people into believing he drove.

In all honesty, it's not that much of an upgrade, since as county executive, he was riding around in two or three SUVs, all on the tax payers dime. It's often been suspected that he was also using them for campaign events, but that's another story.

The alarming part is when The Daily Page called his office on it, they were first ignored, then given the run around, by Walker's new mouthpiece, Cullen Werwie. The paper had asked only two questions - how did Walker rack up so many miles in one month and whether he was a passenger in the SUV for all of those miles - yet Walker's office couldn't answer those directly.

Here's a hint: When they stall like that, there's a good chance that they're going to tell a lie.

Also: It's special equipped with an extra air bag and lots of bag lunches.

I just wonder if it came with its own manure spreader or is the superfluous airbag doing double duty.

Get Your New And Improved RoJo's T-Shirt Today

Reviews of the new shirt are coming in already:

• "These are perfect for small people" - Carl-Henric Svanberg
• "They are really slick" - Tony Hayward
• "Always the white size and the white color" - Charles Murray
• "Simply will be the squawk of the town. I'm getting one for each of my wives" - Charlie Sykes
• "It'll be the rage among the screaming twenty-somethings." - Kevin Binversie
  

H/T Illy-T

Now Where Will I Get My DC Comics Updates?

The screaming has been muffled:


I blame Illy-T.

Obviously, it's to focus on crack research, like "What state are we in again?"

It Really Was a Sermon She Needed to Hear

Last week, Krysta Sutterfield decided to go to the Unitarian church in Brookfield. However, unlike every other churchgoer that day, she decided to attend the service while having a loaded 9mm Glock on her side.

I wonder if that was her Sunday-going-to-church Glock.

Parishioners were understandably shook up by the stunt and called police. By the time the police arrived, she was already leaving, but police caught up to her and gave her a citation for illegally transporting the weapon.

There are more than a few oddities and ironies regarding the story:

• The article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel names the gun woman, but the TV report from the sister TV station, TMJ4, refused to name the woman.
• In the TV report, she said she simply wanted to hear the sermon, and maybe generate some discussion. In the paper, the woman referred the reporter to her lawyer, who would not comment on motive.
• The service was about "civil rights and civility." If there was ever a sermon she needed to hear, this was it. It's a shame that she apparently didn't internalize anything from that sermon.

H/T Illy-T

Wall Accuses RoJo of Being GOP $ugar Daddy

Multimillionaire Terrence Wall, former U.S. Senate candidate, has climbed out of his pumpkin patch and has accused fellow multimillionaire Ron Johnson of bribing his way into getting the GOP endorsement last month.

The premise is that Wall is saying the RoJo had paid for delegates hotel rooms for them if they stayed and voted for him at Republicanfest. Wall doesn't offer any proof except for hearsay from unnamed sources.

That said, Team Johnson has only offered milquetoast defenses, showing some invoices from the hotel, but not stating if those are the only invoices they have from the hotel or any other hotels. To further complicate RoJo's defense team is that fact that their candidate has yet to offer up any financial records, even though he was required by law to do so quite a while ago.

It's not like RoJo needs any help from outside sources to sabotage his campaign. He has already shown that he and his politics are not ready for prime time when he forgot to stick out his pinkie at the proper angle at a TEA Party meeting.

For more information on Johnson's faux pas, Team Blogging Blue has been on top of the Johnson campaign most effectively. Illy-T has also been laying the smack down on RoJo (Illy-T is the one I got the Johnson moniker from) has also been putting the spotlight on Johnson's foibles.

One of my favorite catches by Illy-T is the fact that RedState.com has less than flattering things to say about RoJo:

While there is not much known about the candidate for Senate on the Republican side in WI, Ron Johnson, there is ONE very shameful and disgusting thing that rises to the top of contemptible behavior for this Conservative. Ron Johnson in his gig as a part of the Green Bay Diocese’s Finance Council lobbied the legislature to stop a bill that would have allowed the length of time for a victim of sexual abuse to sue the Church and as well opened a three year window for older abuse cases. [...]

Illy-T also shoes that RoJo is completely out of step with the majority of Americans, but in sync with Big Oil tycoons by being a BP apologist.

Back to the Wall accusations, I just wonder how the voting conservatives are thinking of their party's candidate of the year and if he is going to survive through the primary, much less have a chance against Russ Feingold.

I would also be remiss if I didn't point out that the GOP, who is always calling for voter suppression, cannot even run an election themselves without it being called into question. Maybe they are onto something with their calls for Voter ID. They need to show their ID and when found to be Republican, they are disqualified from voting.

Sean Duffy's Fear of Public Toilets

With a tip of the hat to Illusory Tenant, who saw this gem from a Milwaukee Journal Sentinel love piece on former reality TV pretty boy, brawler and Republican congressional candidate Sean Duffy:

"I don't know what it is about gay people. I don't know if they're born gay or if they go out to L.A. or San Francisco and they catch a disease and they become gay. I'm not sure. They have so many free thoughts out there in L.A., that you can be whatever you want to be. ... Gay people encourage gayness."

As Illy-T points out, it could be satire. It could also be real, which would explain any irrational phobia regarding toilets, if he has one. You can never be too careful.

An Illusory Folkbum Production

If Jay Bullock and Tom Foley ever joined forces on a project, I think it would come out looking something like this:


Source

Cue The Bush Excuse in 3...2...1...

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is reporting that Scott Walker received a report warning of the dangers of not performing required maintenance on the Courthouse. Said report specifically mentioned the cornice which came crashing down last month because Walker ignored the report.

Full story at Milwaukee County First.

Illy-T notes that the County is not releasing the reports for fear of lawsuits. Isn't that against open records request laws?

James Rowen sees it as a perfect advertising opportunity for Tom Barrett's campaign.

I'm just waiting for Walker to copy his hero, President George W. Bush by saying, "There's no way anyone could have anticipated that happening."