The Baraboo Reflection

By Jeff Simpson

By now, you have probably heard that the children of Baraboo High school are public enemy #1, because of a picture they took at least Spring's prom.

Yes it appears, that most of the boys from the class of 2019 were giving the Nazi salute.  The photographer swears that he was telling the boys to say good bye to their parents, the camera, Scott Walker, their anonymity, or whatever the story is he is telling at the time.

One of the students who was there, and did not Heil to the camera, was Jordan Blue, whose memory is different from the photographers.

  "As soon as I heard the photographer say, 'Raise your hand,' I knew what was going to happen," senior Jordan Blue told CBS News correspondent Adriana Diaz. Blue, who is in the photo, refused to participate.
"Did he say anything to make it clear that it was raise your hand in this way as in this Nazi symbol?" Diaz asked.
"He did not say raise your hand in a Nazi symbol way. And I'm pretty sure my classmates just interpreted as raise your hand, let's do this as a joke," Blue said, adding that he thinks the others knew what the symbol represented.

The command to raise your hand, is almost automatically turned into a Nazi salute?  I wonder why that could possibly be,....

Maybe they watched the Republican National Convention, where one of the main speakers, Laura Ingraham spoke of nationalism....

Of course Ingraham has the highest rated show on Fox.  Ever since she came back from her suspension vacation after making fun of the parkland shooting survivors.     (Quick note - the Parkland Shooter - Nikolas Cruz - recently registered as a Republican.  I guess his long ties with the NRA makes this the logical next step. )

Maybe they attended a rally for the Donald in West Bend and one of their parents bought a Nazi flag as a Souvenir.

or ran across these guys there:

Or possibly worked for the Republican Paul Nehlen Campaign.  Yes, Nehlen did not come close to winning, but he was praised by The Donald for his "kind words". 

Or Maybe they caught Richard Spencer's speech:

What does the head of the Alt-Right movement Richard Spencer have to do with Wisconsin?  Well a student at UW-Madison wanted to start an alt-right movement on campus and was forced to go through many road blocks, which then led to Republicans Jesse Kremer and Robin Vos to pass a law that says if you disrupt a speaker at the University System you can be expelled. 

The student that Vos and Kremer were writing legislation for, was convicted of arson on black churches, which definitely led to his appeal with the WISGOP. 

What has the Alt-Right Movement really done, since they were also praised by the Donald as "having some really fine people " as part of their movement.    I mean we can overlook the Alt-Rights role in this, all they have done is hold a White Power rally in Charlottesville, NC and shoot up a synagogue in Pittsburgh.

FYI: the guy who keeps praising the Alt-Right movement, he won Wisconsin in the last Presidential vote.   Plus Wisconsin's Governor ,was the only elected official, to be a featured speaker at a White power rally in Florida and it barely made the Wisconsin Media blink.(Stormy Daniels was more exciting to cover).

Then there is far right hate radio that made fun of the whole topic:

Whew! It had been almost four days since the left had a good hand-wringing, virtue-signaling moral panic. Thank you, Baraboo High School kids, for bringing meaning to the lives of thousands of online social justice warriors!

— Dan O'Donnell (@DanODonnellShow) November 13, 2018

The list goes on and on.....

Did the photographer say raise your hand in a Nazi salute....I personally do not think so. 

Did the Photographer ask the kids to put their hand in the air and most of them used the Nazi salute for fun....I believe so.   

However, before we run to Baraboo with our Pitchforks in hand, maybe we should stop and look in the mirror first and realize all these kids are doing is modeling our behavior. 

Next time you look at that picture of the Baraboo Boys with the Nazi salute,  take a second look and you will see that it is just a reflection of our current society. 

The NRA's St. Valentines Day Massacre

By Jeff Simpson

We know(for now) that there was yet another school shooting, this time in Parkland Florida, where 17 people died and many more were injured.    This shooting happened on Valentine's Day!

I do not have the words for this, but so many others do, so I will let them do the talking!

Earlier this morning, @NRA re-tweeted a tweet from a gun maker encouraging people to buy their loved ones guns for #ValentinesDay
Since the #schoolshooting in Florida they've deleted that tweet and have gone silent.

Thankfully, I took a screenshot. pic.twitter.com/cC4A835n0a— igorvolsky (@igorvolsky) February 14, 2018   

 carly‏ @car_noveMorecarly Retweeted Tomi Lahren
I was hiding in a closet for 2 hours. It was about guns. You weren't there, you don't know how it felt. Guns give these disgusting people the ability to kill other human beings. This IS about guns and this is about all the people who had their life abruptly ended because of guns.
carly added,Tomi LahrenVerified account 
@TomiLahren
Can the Left let the families grieve for even 24 hours before they push their anti-gun and anti-gunowner agenda? My goodness. This isn't about a gun it's about another lunatic. #FloridaShooting
7:00 AM - 15 Feb 2018

The NRA owns Congress!  

The NRA also owns Scott Walker! 

The Survivors of the shooting get it!

The WISGOP do NOT!

As Steve Kerr says, there is a way to address School Shootings:

Jesse Kremer Isolated Statesman

By Jeff Simpson

One Wisconsin Now is suing a few State legislators for blocking them on social media while also using social media as a place for public debate.   It will be interesting to see where this lawsuit goes. 

I just wanted to weigh in on one particular aspect of the story:

Rep. Jesse Kremer @RepJesseKremer

Replying to @patrickdmarley and 3 others

Interestingly, I am probably one of the most accessible statesman in WI & carry on opposing viewpoint discussions regularly on social media

9:57 AM - Nov 1, 2017

Umm Jesse, I am not sure accessible means what you think it means!   

A Deeper Dive Into The Anthem Debate

By Jeff Simpson

Last week, after The Donald called out NFL Players who take a knee during the National Anthem as "Sons of bitches". the NFL players showed unity throughout the league by doing what they felt was best(kneeling, staying in the locker room, locking arms, standing, etc...) to be united during the anthem.

It sparked a national debate where the lines were drawn and people either showed support for their right to peacefully protest while others felt the need to threaten boycotts and change the subject:

The division was not even amongst party lines as the support was bipartisan on both sides.  As we see from this post by "good progressive" and owner of the Reefhouse Brewing Co:

Yes black athletes who decide to use the freedoms this country affords us, are garbage and need to die a horrible death.... There are many people who have tried to turn these protests from racial inequality to an affront on the military and our flag.







In Wisconsin, some of our lawmakers have decided it is a good idea to boycott businesses that you disagree with:

"This day forward I will not support the NFL! Period" - state Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, on Facebook

"Disgusted by the @packers & had it with the @NFL. I was in high school during the 90’s BB strike & never came back. Ready to shut them off.” - state Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, on Twitter

"Lack of respect for the NFL? What a joke! How about a total lack of respect for the country that gave them the opportunity to go to college and make a great living. I would love to hear your thoughts and see if you will utilize your rights to send a message to the NFL. I for one will be purchasing a lot more Badger attire." - state Rep. Rob Brooks, R-Saukville, on Facebook

"As a Veteran, and one who cherishes our history, and our flag, and our anthem....with respect and pride because of those who died to make sure our flag did not fall and that we did not fall to the British...otherwise who knows what life and freedom would be like today. Thank you to these brave Patriots..." - state Rep. John Spiros, R-Marshfield, on Facebook

Since the WISGOP approved of boycotting those you disagree with, here is a list of Scott Walker;s biggest supporters!  Granted, most of them are from out of state, here is a better list for local businesses to boycott.    Also, here is a list of Van Wanggaard's  contributors and Jesse Kremer's.   I am sure their contributors would love to know that you will not be patronizing their businesses anymore and why!

Here is my take:

There are many ways to dishonor our country and the flag, like displaying a confederate flag, or asking Russia for help in an election, or hiding millions in the Cayman Islands to avoid paying taxes, or praising white supremacists, or suppressing the ability of people to vote, or arresting people for singing in a public building, or allowing big money to control our elections, or taking healthcare away from millions of our citizens, or making fun of people with disabilities, or building a wall to keep people who do not look like us out......etc....

However I do not think anything has disrespected the flag and our country more than this. ANyone who served in Vietnam went through hell and POWs even more so..... To be denigrated by this by a privileged white boy who used his daddys money to get out of the nightmare is unbelievable.

Let's get outraged over the right things please:

'Nuff Said!

Transgender Rights and The GOP

By Jeff Simpson

I know the transgender bathroom issue, has not been in the headlines lately but it is also still alive in the Capitol.

In Texas, the Governor called a special session, to pass a bill discriminating against transgender students and luckily could not get one passed.   He has yet however, to call a special session to deal with the devastation of Hurricane Harvey.

Republican priorities!

In Wisconsin, Rep Jesse Kremer, once he is done making sure no one can protest white supremacists on UW campus's, will bring back his "bathroom bill".

The folks in Kewaskum sure have not advanced much in 6000 years.

Raise your hand if you ever thought that Kentucky would be more progressive and care more about the rights of children than Wisconsin?





A couple quick take-aways to remember when the "bathroom bill" comes back.

1.  The kids DO NOT CARE!
2.  Check out the thick folder of hate mail that he has received from the hard core "conservative christians" in Kentucky!

Jesse Kremer Needs An Intervention

By Jeff Simpson 

Poor Jesse Kremer, he just keeps talking and talking and talking.   Kremer has spent his time in the Wisconsin Assembly on taxpayer dollars focusing on where kids in high school pee.  told us that there was no racism in the United States until President Obama was elected, and blamed Hollywood and the media for the shooting of a Congressman yesterday.  

Kremer continued his crazy recently, by telling us it is a fact that the earth is only 6000 years old.   As if those things were not all indicative of someone who needs an intervention, yesterday, Mr,. Kremer posted this on his Facebook page:

Jesse for Wisconsin: Mark Dawson God created the world, God will take it away, you and I will go to heaven or hell... yes, God can make a donkey talk.
June 9 at 7:57am

Umm Jesse you might want to sit down for this one.  

It was actually Eddie Murphy that made the Donkey talk and it was made possible by Dreamworks.   

Seriously I hope that Jesse Kremer's loved ones intervene and get him the help he so clearly needs!  

SafeSpace, Snowflakes and Water Slides!

By Jeff Simpson

The WISGOP held their annual convention this weekend at Chula Vista waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells.  As you can see from the picture on Madison.com: it was strongly attended by a handful of white people from each WI District.

As we reported earlier in the week, the WISGOP, led by Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer, are working up a bill to force people to listen to racist, homophobic and hate filled speakers on college campuses!

Astonishingly, while Robin Vos wants a debate on ideas amongst all sides, he just doesnt want anyone to hear what he really thinks.  These are tweets from yesterdays convention in about a hour or so time difference:

In Wisconsin, we get a yearly supply of irony every time a Republican speaks.  

In other items,  Brian Westrate, 3rd Congressional District party chairman. Summed up the Republican party in one quick sentence.  

“The Democrats don’t have a candidate for governor,” Westrate said. “There’s not much to talk about.”  

How rich, for one the Democrats DO have a candidate for Governor - Bob Harlow, secondly, isn't the party convention supposed to be about the party, Mr. Westrate lets us know that all they really have is an ability to smear their opponents with no real interest in policy or governing.

Governing is almost as hard as telling the truth!

One thing you can do at the WISGOP convention though is learn how the whole of society is out to get you, and to be very very afraid.

This was standard fare of items being passed out there:

I hope that the attendees were at least able to enjoy the water park of Chula Vista, but when your whole worldview is based on fear, I am guessing they never ventured beyond the lazy river.



PS:  What could you find at the WISGOP convention?  Scott Walker selling his soul crap at a clearance price!

The Lilliputian Mind of Robin Vos

By Jeff Simpson

We discussed the unconstitutional bill that was written by the taxpayer funded right wing Goldwater Institute and pushed forward by Rep. Jesse Kremer and Rep. Robin Vos, in terms of the neverending supply of irony and hypocrisy that the WISGOP keep mining.  

As if we did not have a lifetime supply already, Jesse Kremer and Robin Vos gave testimony today on the bill.  One of the unintended consequences of a bill written to whine legislate the false perceptions that only liberals are allowed public forums, is to make sure the reporters covering your event, would never paint you as the fool you are.  


Vos, Kremer: Bill to protect speech on campuses necessary after recent incidents

Lets look at some of the things that Robin Vos said(some reported on and some not):

“Intolerance and physical aggression have replaced healthy debates and a free marketplace of ideas” at universities, Vos said. “We cannot have a debate if only one side is allowed to show up.”

Which brings to mind this: 

Can we please get someone in the mainstream media to ask Mr. Vos why he wants different standards in the partially funded UW University system than in the 100% taxpayer funded State Capitol?

Next they listed three incidences as "justification" for ending free speech as we know it on Campus:

Speakers cited well-publicized, disruptive protests against controversial speakers at the University of California-Berkeley and Middlebury College in Vermont, as well as a demonstration that interrupted part of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s talk at UW-Madison last fall.

Lets look at each one a bit more in depth: 

!.  University of California-Berkeley:  A right wing institute, funded by Betsy DeVos(yes that Betsy), has come up with a plan to send some of the most despicable people in America on speaking tours of college campuses to get this reaction to show how "intolerant the left is".    They tried to bring Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on campus and the students were not very excited about that.    If the name Milo rings a bell, that is because he was at Marquette speaking recently and he outted a transgender student by name and picture, putting their safety in danger.  

There was a protest of Milo from local students and a counter -protest of Trumpers which resulted in some violence and 20 people arrested.   While it is handy to blame "the liberals" for that, let us not forget that half of the protesters are staunch followers of this guy: 

Hard to believe where the violence comes from.  

2.  Middlebury College in Vermont:   Robin Vos made a point over and over that since the University system is publicly funded, we have a responsibility to pass this bill.    Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont. The college was founded in 1800 by Congregationalists making it the first operating college or university in Vermont.    Private college, so its apples and oranges and a noncomparison.  

3.  Ben Shapiro's talk at UW - Madison.   Shapiro, a young hate filled Breitbardt writer, was interrupted by protesters for a full ten minutes, before he was allowed to finish preaching his hate and ignorance.   It takes a serious big government Republican to make a new overreaching law because a protester had to deal with a ten minute delay.   In case your wondering, this is Shapiro in Madison:  

 He seems nice.   

But wait there is more.  More ridiculous things said by Robin Vos.  This for instance: 

Greg Neumann‏ @gneumann_wkow

.@SpeakerVos says liberals want to control so much, what people eat, etc - can't believe they're saying legislators shouldn't control this.

I guess Robin Vos has authored so much poor legislation that he forgot all about this!

Assembly Bill 177 would limit the types of food that could be purchased with Wisconsin’s food stamp program, FoodShare.
In addition to banning the purchase of foods such as lobster with the publicly-funded program, the legislation would also require that just over two-thirds of the benefits be used to purchase healthy foods:
“A lot of people, an awful lot of people who are on FoodShare are also on BadgerCare, so there is a direct financial benefit not just to the individual, which of course is obvious to have better health, but also to state taxpayers and society as a whole,” Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told the Associated Press.  

Robin, passes bills that actually tell people what they can eat and blames it on the liberals.  Is that ignorance, or just an extraordinary ability to lie?

Wait there is even more, some gems from Robin Vos that never were reported on:

*  "We believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant for reprehensible speech".   Robin Vos.    

I am curious if that means, with reprehensible members like Bob Gannon, that Robin Vos will be ending the incredulous practice of closed partisan caucuses.   I am pretty sure that sunshine shared  the inner thoughts of some of the members of the WISGOP caucus and the only place that would hire  some of the members hate filled, ignorance would be rightwisconsin.    

*  "We checked and almost all speakers were liberal. It makes no sense to not invite their opposition."  Robin Vos.    

Is Robin Vos that small minded that he believes there are only two sides to every issue?   For instance, Steven Levitan will speak at the commencement this spring, who exactly is the "conservative opposition" to him?  I guess they could have who ever came up with the "half hour news hour" comedy/news show on Fox as opposition to one of the smartest, funniest longest lasting sit coms in history.    Not sure who would be interested in hearing them, though.   

Another instance, Michael Sam, the first openly gay player who was on an NFL Roster gave a speech at UW-LaCrosse.  IS he considered liberal?   Who would be "the conservative opposition" to his speech?  Darren Sharper?  

Looking at the other end, one of the heroes of the right(and the reason behind the Middlebury College protests) is Professor Charles Murray.  According to Murray, disadvantaged groups are disadvantaged because, on average, they cannot compete with white men, who are intellectually, psychologically and morally superior.   Who exactly would "the opposition" be to Mr. Murray on the left?  Neil de grasse Tyson?   

We need bigger thinkers running our Government then such closed minded people as Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer.   

*  Finally, Robin Vos in trying desperately to make his point, brought up Global Climate Change.  "Global warming is one of the biggest debates right now.  There are a whole bunch of people on one side who believe it is real and there is a whole bunch of people on the other side who believe it isn't."  Robin Vos.    
Actually no Robin there is not a bunch of people on each side.   There are an almost near unanimity of peer reviewed scientists on one side and a whole bunch of people who make money on polluting the environment and the politicians they have purchased on the other side.   97% of scientists know it is man made and a major problem.    Should there be 50/50 speakers when the topic is 97/3?    

This is not even a solution in search of a problem, it is more a desperate group of people who know their grip on society is loosening by the second and they will do anything to not give up power.    This anti free speech bill, needs to be killed in committee and never heard from again.  

The first amendment does not guarantee you a chance to speak, it does not give you a public forum, nor does it mean people have to listen to you.  The First Amendment specifically says that our Government can not legislate speech, which is exactly what Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer are attempting to do here.   

Its ironic that while the WISGOP legislators are trying to figure out how to force their views on more people, the graduating seniors of Bethune Cookman, exercised their right to free speech as the Founders envisioned and showed us why the old oligarchy is scared and why the future of our country is in good hands, as long as our country and world is still around to pass on to them!  

Boss Vos

By Jeff Simpson

Today. the assembly Republicans met and Boss Robin Vos handed out committee assignments.   With the epic meltdown of the Democratic Party the Republicans have record numbers of representatives.  That means there are too many reps for chairmanships, which is fine.

However what is telling, is the people that Robin Vos (R-Adulterer) the Boss, left out!

In the latest show of discord between statehouse Republicans, three of the state Assembly’s most conservative extremist members have publicly upbraided their leader, Speaker Robin Vos, for snubbing them for committee leadership posts in 2017. 

The interesting thing is who Boss Vos Snubbed.   The ALEC employee, who has gerrymandered his district to be the arrogant unethical ass he is without consequences,   Robin Vos purposefully left the true believers in the cold.    The Glenn Grothman caucus of Jesse Kremer and Andre Jacque, on the people coldest day of the year were both left out in the cold.

While the GOP are notorious for falling into line, they do need to be conjoled, talked to,  flirted with and even actually bought(even if they go cheap).   That being said,  There are a few true believers (who are too extreme for the rest of the crew ) that the leadership knows if they were to be introduced to these reps in force, no amount of gerrymandering could save them.    

Being true believers though, the Grothman caucus members can only see the world in a deep right red with no room for other colors, so they fought back and made themselves martyrs!

Andre Jacque had his staff put out a press release he was so upset!

Rep. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, was the most prominent of those snubs. The fourth-term Jacque told the Wisconsin State Journal the appointments are a warning from Vos, R-Rochester, to GOP members that “conservative dissent will not be tolerated and is likely to be dealt with harshly and swiftly.”
“I am proud to continue fighting for Wisconsin taxpayers and the pro-life cause,” Jacque said in a statement. “To the extent I have been and will be ‘punished’ for my efforts on their behalf, I will wear it as a badge of honor.”

According to Andre, fighting for the Wisconsin taxpayers puts him on the outs with Robin And the rest of the WISGOP leadership(term used loosely).

But, wait!!  There is more:

Captain of the bathroom police, Jesse Kremer (R-Julaine Appling), who once told me that to seek the truth I should go visit the Creation Museum.  Like the WISGOP caucus, the creation museum is where science and common sense go to die, but that is another blog.   Jesse  Kremer took to social media to whine.  

So here's the deal. 64 members of the Republican Party Assembly Caucus in Wisconsin. All but a few returning members received a committee chairmanship today. Janel Brandtjen, André Jacque and I were three that had lobbied for a committee, but were promptly slapped down by the leadership team.
I have mixed emotions...
1. Yes, it is a slap in the face. I felt that I had a good working relationship with the Speaker's office and kept them apprised of every policy that was being researched in my office. But... I have stood my ground and remained principled even while being pragmatic with my constituent's concerns.I do not work for Madison... I work for all of YOU!
2. It is refreshing to know that I have not become part of "Madison politics" and will not be tethered while working on policy issues during the next term.

I know your first thought is - Jesse Kremer's office does research?  That was mine also. However the overarching point here is that Boss Vos runs a tight ship, and has to have his hand on everything that happens.  

That means he knows that his hold on govt, is fleeting and hanging by a thread.  A loss of the redistricting lawsuit, of if people really knew of his private life, would force him to be a slumlord full time.   As one of ALEC's favorite conduits, needs to be in power, to allow them to speak through him.  

There is not a Jesse Kremer or Andre Jacque that is going to derail that!

But wait there is more!  Janet Brandtjen (R-eagle eyes) who can diagnose Milwaukee's problems from afar, also was shut out.

Brandtjen said she saw common threads between herself, Kremer and Jacque. “All three of us are conservative and all three of us are pro-life,” Brandtjen said.

Hey Julainne Appling, in case you missed the memo there, Boss Vos has no interest whatsoever in abortion or stopping it.   As someone who has went through numerous marriages, and loves married women, there is no way he is going to give up that Ace up his sleeve.  The minute he outlaws abortion, Mrs. Jones(generic name of whatever married woman Robin is currently dating), will get pregnant with his baby and he will be forced to fly her to a less regressive state or else actually take responsibility in his life.  

This war between the extremely far right, and the far right Alec Shills, will produce what all wars do - Innocent casualties.  

Jesse Kremer is firing the first shot (literally) with a bill where he wants to make sure everyone on campuses throughout the state are armed.  As if we did not have enough problems with luring top people to our colleges anymore, or keeping them, Kremer wants to make sure we keep our campuses very white!   In a perfect world, the scared white kids from rural Wisconsin's first experience with a minority can be while they are looking down a barrel of a gun.  

Look for Kremer to continue to push the bar way to the right to piss Boss Vos off.   I would also recommend attending any of the arts that you want too soon, because when Kremer passes his I'm scared the person in the next stall might be a girl bill, look for our favorite entertainers to boycott us and our tourism dollars to dry up!

It will be an interesting next two years, let us hope that the Democratic party will come out of hiding and provide actual opposition or else the mass casualties of this war will be our public schools, roads, and economy!