Wisconsin Radical Right Wing Rogue Republicans!

By Jeff Simpson

By now, anyone who follows Wisconsin politics at all knows that Assembly Leader(term used loosely), Robin Vos (R-Adulterer) called three of his fellow Republicans(Steve nASS, Duey Stroebel and Chris Kapenga) - terrorists:

State Assembly Speaker Robin Vos is still angry with last month's rocky resolution to the state budget debate, calling three Republican senators who struck a deal with Gov. Scott Walker to support the budget "terrorists."
"That's what they are," Vos said in a WISN-TV interview that aired Sunday morning. "You don't hold somebody hostage for your own personal needs."
Vos also said the budget might not have passed had the last-minute deal, which called for Walker to use his line-item veto authority to strip out parts of the budget, been public before lawmakers voted on it.
"Only three people made a backroom deal to be able to have something that could not be announced before the budget was enacted," Vos said. "Maybe the budget would've failed if we'd known some of those aspects were going to be vetoed, but we never had the chance to know."
Vos was addressing Sens. Chris Kapenga, Steve Nass and Duey Stroebel, three hard-line conservative GOP senators who withheld support for the budget until hours before the state Senate passed it last month. The two-year state budget was passed more than 10 weeks after the deadline, the longest such delay in a decade.

It is nice that all of the time Robin has been in Government, he finally speaks the truth but what he really meant to say was  - he was against illegal, secretive backroom deals that he was not involved in.   Vos complaining about transparency in government is like The Donald complaining about the poor treatment of women! 

As expected, the GOP turned into precious snowflakes who could not handle any criticism.  First Wiggy, in a cowardly unsigned post at Right Wisconsin really let Vos have it. 

It appeared to be premeditated slander. Vos repeated the charge of terrorism when challenged and had a ready (if outrageous) defense of it.
These three senators, Chris Kapenga of Delafield, Duey Stroebel of Saukville and Steve Nass of Whitewater, are all former members of the state Assembly, all former colleagues of Vos. Far from being a “terrorist,” Nass served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard for 33 years. Kapenga and Stroebel are businessmen and leaders in their communities. All three deserve more respect from Vos than being called terrorists.

 Premeditated slander is some serious stuff, no wonder Jimmy did not sign his name!   The problem of course is it is not slander when its a public official.    But I digress.... 

Apparently, WIggy thinks if you serve in the military you can not be a terrorist!  He never was one for research.

But Wait there is more:

Duey is hopping mad:

Brave men and women in uniform combat terrorists everyday. Terrorists use violence in an effort to destroy our American way-of-life.  To imply fellow Republican legislators are terrorists is the type of hyperbolic rhetoric Wisconsinites are tired of hearing. Wisconsinites expect more of their leaders than to make these kind of personal attacks.

Steve nASS was also upset, and wanted to let everyone know he was in the National Guard:

The senators didn't take kindly to the comments. One of them — Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) — noted that he had served in the Wisconsin Air National Guard.
"It is beyond outrageous for anyone, especially a person serving as speaker of the Wisconsin state Assembly, to label as a ‘terrorist’ another person for simple public policy disagreements," Nass said in a statement. "Worse yet, when given the opportunity in the interview to retract or recalibrate such a reprehensible statement, Speaker Vos firmly reiterated it."

Then the kicker came out....sit down for this one.  Scott Walker (well one of his spokesmen, he was too busy letting African American Athletes know how they should protest to be bothered with Vos) had to weigh in.

I have not heard this kind of outrage from the WISGOP since the last time someone compared a bunch of teachers, police, firemen, public servants, men woman and children Wisconsinites to ISIS: 

 O wait.....nevermind there was no outrage (or apology) then.   Hmmmmm curious!   

PS:  After The Koch Bros Org - AFP demanded an apology, and Scott Fitzgerald put his "leadership" counter part over his knee and spanked him - Robin Vos finally apologized (NO, not for breaking up his marriage, or breaking up Michelle Litjens marriage, or helping shield predator Bill Kramer from punishment, or for illegally and unethically spending millions to gerrymander our state or the attacks on education in Wisconsin, or the attacks on free speech, or... you get the idea) for calling the far right loons in the state terrorists.   

MADISON - The leader of the state Assembly apologized Monday for calling fellow Republican senators "terrorists" after they held up the state budget with veto demands. Assembly Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester) issued the apology after a chorus of criticism from other GOP leaders, but his statement continued to refer to the conservative senators as "rogue holdouts."

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!

Red Speech, Blue Speech, GOP Speech or No Speech!

By Jeff Simpson

The WisGop are once again doing what they do best.  Copying extreme far right legislation as if it was their own.  The latest version of lunacy is aimed at ending the First Amendment in college campuses across the state.  A quick refresher course on the 1st:

The amendment as adopted in 1791 reads as follows:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.^[1]

 There have been a few incidences of violence erupting during some speakers at college campuses lately(which we will address later).  To put it in perspective, there are 9048 colleges and universities in the United States, and a handful of high profile incidences and new legislation needs to be written that circumvents the Constitution to make sure that no matter how hateful, or ridiculous your viewpoint is allowed to present to a large audience unchallenged.  

Which is the definition of Big Government.

The current reasoning behind this bill, which isn't very reasonable:

University of Wisconsin System students who disrupt speeches on campus could face expulsion under a bill circulated Thursday by Republican lawmakers.
The bill would also require universities to stay neutral on public policy controversies. The intent of that provision is to bar universities from forcing faculty or students to take a particular viewpoint, an aide to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said.  

Or as Robin Vos explains:

 "I think we should have more speech on campus," Vos told reporters. "If they want to bring in very liberal activists to be able to tell their story of why they believe in what believe or they want to bring in conservative folks to do the exact same thing, we should allow them the opportunity to be heard, questioned, debated at the appropriate time — but not just having somebody stand up and try to shout them down or block access to the event."
The goal is to allow the "maximum amount of free speech that we possibly can" so students can "hear from all sides and make up their own minds," Vos said.

Ok first before we address the ridiculousness of this, we need to address Republican hypocrisy.

A quick walk down memory lane and we remember after 9/11 that there was a rebel professor from Colorado named Ward Churchill, who made some very controversial statements about the people who work at the WTC and our Government.  When he was booked to speak at the UW System, the GOP legislators stepped up, led by none other than steve nASS who wanted to punish anyone in the system who dared disagree with the WISGOP:

Explaining Nass' 2005 push to make faculty follow codes of conduct, including not making "anti-American" statements, Mikalsen says, "Part of the issue is we have foreign-born professors. Those professors say things."

While Robin Vos is busy telling us: 

 "I think we should have more speech on campus," Vos told reporters. "If they want to bring in very liberal activists to be able to tell their story of why they believe in what believe or they want to bring in conservative folks to do the exact same thing, we should allow them the opportunity to be heard, questioned, debated at the appropriate time — but not just having somebody stand up and try to shout them down or block access to the event."

The reality is,  they mean that anyone they agree with should be allowed to speak no questions asked., As Steve nASS pointed out:

In 2005, Nass wanted the Board of Regents to order UW-Whitewater to rescind a speaking invitation to Ward Churchill, a Colorado professor who had compared the World Trade Center victims to Nazi Adolf Eichmann. And last year, Nass pressured UW-Madison to fire Kevin Barrett, an instructor on Islam who believes the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. Nass even went on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show to vent his outrage over Barrett.When the university refused to purge Barrett, Nass responded by threatening to cut its budget. And this year, he came up with a slew of targeted budget cuts. These include eliminating funding for the Havens Center - which sponsored a talk by Barrett - and the UW's School for Workers, which educates union activists. 

Fast forward ten years and Steve nASS is still at it:

State Sen. Steve Nass blasted a UW-Madison economics professor in a scathing email ... calling the academic's report on right-to-work legislation and economic performance "partisan, garbage research."
The email, sent to Senate and Assembly Republicans and UW System officials with the subject line "UW-Madison Professor Steven Deller Uses State Resources to Trash Right to Work," cites a two-page fact sheet written by a Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics faculty member.

So publicly elected officials can shut down any speech that they disagree with and punish anyone who would attempt to want to have them speak.  

But wait there is more:

Robin Vos, Captain of free speech, skinny dipping and erotica, as head of the assembly, has set rules such as: 


1. Lean over or put any object over the balcony.
2. Use a laptop or other computer device.
3. Stand except for prayer or pledge of allegiance or as otherwise permitted by the presiding officer
4. Use recording devices of any kind 
5. Use cell phones or pagers.
6. Read newspapers or other printed materials.
7. Eat any food or drink any beverages.
8. Exhibit public displays or demonstrations.
9. Display signs or placards.
10. Possess bags or briefcases.
11. Wear hats.

Certain publicly funded buildings, run by publicly funded staff, is allowed to shut down any speech they desire.  

But Wait there is even more!  

After the massive hypocrisy of nASS and Vos, then we head to the kingpin of hypocrisy, our very own Governor - Scott Walker!

Scott Walker was given a forum on the Mike Gousha Show where he said this(with a straight face):

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

One more time just to make sure this was a real quote:

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

Scott Walker was the guy who had hundreds of people arrested for SINGING in the publicly funded state Capitol rotunda.  

A quick snapshot, of what the guy who thinks that shutting down speakers is wrong, has done:

Then never forget this, the perfect pictures from the Walker Era:

Ok! This really needs to be shared one more time.  Ladies and Gentlemen of Wisconsin, your Governor:'

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

By the way, it would not hurt someone from the Wisconsin Media to ask him about his blatant hypocrisy instead of let him mumble on about his love of free speech.

By the way, in case you forgot, what happened to the hundreds of Wisconsinites that Scott Walker had arrested for singing in the Capitol?   Not a thing, the arrests were UnConstitutional.  

 Now my take on the subject:

Yes as a blogger, elected official and lover of free speech, I think everyone should be allowed to speak anytime anywhere.  The First Amendment allows for you to have free speech, it does not allow for you to be free of consequences from your speech and it also does not mean that you have to be allowed a public, huge, forum to speak.  

As I pointed out early there are 9048 universities and colleges and there have been a handful of incidences around the country.   In each instance, it was a hate filled racist speaker that students shut down from speaking at their university.    It is the ultimate form of form of self policing and local control.
If you feel that someone outting a transgender student publicly, or lecturing that African Americans are inferior, or someone who is an avowed racist, should not be allowed a prime spot speaking at your university, no matter how much money he has backing him, then it is your responsibility to speak up and speak out!

Besides the law as they are trying to pass, is so vague that it is meant to punish anyone who would dare speak up at a public platform.  

a section of the bill that listed types of speech that would be prohibited. The legislation bars “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, obscene, unreasonably loud or other disorderly conduct that interferes with the free expression of others.”
Cohn said profane and boisterous speech are protected under the First Amendment, and that the description of “abusive” speech is too broad.

Can you get suspended for speaking up in class, yelling at the Ohio State Football Team, Tom Izzo, a disagreement at Babcock Ice Cream over a flavor, complaints about poor service at the Memorial union, or is it being written to make sure that all Professors stay in line and make sure to know that they can are being watched and will be punished?

Either way, there can be no greater example of Big Government that you could find, and they are just now getting empowered.  

WISGOP Stands Up For Free Speech (Sometimes)!

 By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker, took the time out of his busy RGA campaign travel schedule recently, to let us have a peek at the budget ALEC wrote for him, that he plans on introducing.    While there were many interesting things in there, one thing I want to call attention to is something that has been called the Milo law.  

Milo Yiannopoulos, is the latest exhibit of the far right to show off "liberals intolerance",  The bigoted racist ignorant Milo, has caused a stir by speaking at college campuses, and where he speaks there are protests trying to keep him from speaking.   Milo gave a speech at Marquette recently, where he singled out a transgendered student, by name and photo, to give a wink wink to his far right supporters on who to target.  

This did not sit well with the sane among us, and so he has not been welcome by a majority of college students throughout the country.   Most people do not want their college littered with such hate and ignorance.  

This, right on cue, stirs up the faux outrage and unwarranted arrogance of the right.   Scott Walker, championing himself a defender of free speech(if you pretend the whole failed debacle of arresting people for singing in the State Capitol never existed), wants to write into law protecting free speech on campus.

The proposed companion budget bill elaborates, stating among other things, that:

• The UW Board of Regents and each college campus “shall guarantee all members of the system's community the broadest possible latitude to speak, write, listen, challenge and learn.”

• “It is not the proper role of the board or any institution or college campus to attempt to shield individuals from ideas and opinions they find unwelcome, disagreeable, or even deeply offensive.”

• Members of the system’s community are free to criticize and contest views expressed on campus and "speakers who are invited to express their views, (but) they may not obstruct or otherwise interfere with the freedom of others to express views they reject or even loathe.”

• “The board and each institution and college campus has a responsibility not only to promote a lively and fearless freedom of debate and deliberation, but also to protect that freedom when others attempt to restrict it.”

To prove that Scott Walker "means what he says and says what he means", Milo is headlining the far right extreme CPAC conference this upcoming weekend.   Who will share the stage with the hateful Mr. Yiannopoulos?  Why Wisconsin's very own Scott Walker and Milwaukee's "Democratic" Sheriff David Clarke.  

Who cares if Milo advocates for pedophilia(he is so good at oral sex because of the Father who preyed on him when he was a teen), its all about "free speech" and besides if he pisses liberals off, then its worth promoting pedophilia,.

I admire Scott Walker for being unintimidated (plenty of books still available) and sticking to his guns and sharing a stage with Milo!   It is not like hanging out with adults who prey ion teenage boys is new to him.   Scott just needs to make sure to keep Alex away from the Twitter!

Anyway, this new found "love of free speech" is refreshing, it is just too bad it took a group of white power bigots to bring it out of the WISGOP.  

For those with a longer memory(since the WI Media seem to forget this), but in 2005, the University of Wisconsin -Eau Claire tried to bring Ward Churchill to campus to speak.  Churchill, a college professor,  was widely known as saying that the September 11th attacks on the US, were a result of  our foreign policy and calling the people who worked in the World Trade Centers "Little Eichmanns".  

This upset our friends on the left and the always good for a lunatic quote, Steve nASSelson had this to say at the time(H/T Oshkosh Independent for the best story on this written):

Much to the surprise of the Eau Claire students, the Wisconsin State Legislature tried hard to pressure Eau Claire into canceling the event, including the passage of a joint resolution. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), in 2005 a member of the state assembly representing Whitewater, led the charge to prevent Churchill from speaking. He said “the university wants to hide behind free speech.”  He further told the Badger Herald, “This is not a question of free speech; this is stopping a person who uses hateful, disgusting speech.”

Now, it seems as though the WISGOP and Steve nASSelson has evolved.  Wait we do not believe in evolution, so I should say they "created" a completely new viewpoint.  Recently, there was a UW student, Dan Dropik, who tried to set up a White Nationalist group on the UW-Madison Campus(and who is a non traditional student, because he spent his college years in prison for setting fire to black churches).   Seems Dropik's idea was not very popular amongst the other students at UW and there was major pushback.  

Surprisingly (well not really), Dropik found a defender in the nASSelson combo:

Remember Steve Nass? In 2017 he is a Senator in the Wisconsin State Legislature. He has not yet made any in-depth comments about the governor’s “Milo Law” provisions, but he has threatened to push for reductions in UW funding based on the fact that courses are offered that he finds objectionable. So much for academic freedom. Worse, when non-traditional student at UW Madison Daniel Dropik–who it turns out had in the past been convicted of setting fire to African-American churches–tried to set up a White Nationalist group on campus, Nass somehow found a way to defend him. According to the Associated Press, “Nass spokesman Mike Mikalsen said while Nass disagrees with many of Dropik’s views, the university community unfairly targeted Dropik. ‘Individuals who have alternative viewpoints have a right to express themselves in a university,’ Mikalsen said. ‘That did not happen here.'”

If we could mine irony in WI we could pay off Scott Walker's massive credit card debt.

By the way, why didn't anyone ask Mikelson, since he "disagrees with many" of the views of the church burning white nationalist, which of his views does he agree with?

There is a short history of the love of free speech by the WISGOP in Wisconsin!

Editor note, while I was writing this blog, it seems CPAC has uninvited Mr. Milo to be their keynote speaker.  

"@ACUConservative has decided to rescind the invitation of Milo Yiannopoulos to speak at #CPAC2017." pic.twitter.com/sVWGnPCW7C

— Matt Schlapp (@mschlapp) February 20, 2017

Instead of the guy that advocates pedophilia they will have to listen to the arrested wife beater and the serial sexual assaulter. 

 I guess the people at the CPAC conference are just a bunch of snowflakes who need a safe space.  

The Marketplace of One Idea

By Jeff Simpson

By now, most people that follow politics, know that the WISGOP are setting the stage to seriously cut UW System funding, or at the very least make them pay for educating Wisconsinites.

It started a few weeks ago when Sen, nASS complained about a class on the Problem with Whiteness, apparently no one had cleared the syllabus with Big Government Steve.

Then he saw that there was a class on masculinity.   In this current rape culture we have created, and with a testosterone deficiency of his own, nAss through another hissy fit and really let them have it.  While nASS is great for a lunatic quote and good press, most people in Wisconsin tend to just ignore him.

nASS has long been at war with UW System, and higher education.

Then as if trying to control every class on every campus isn't enough, then the Republicans let it be known that if they do not start booking more right wing speakers then they would be punished.

This time, Robin Vos (R-Adulterer) jumped on the crazy train.   

"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."

Apparently too much beer has went to Robin Vos (R- Birth control is as important as water) head and he forgets that in 2013, Robin Vos did something completely unprecedented.   Robin Vos (R-petty, spiteful, little man), went to the closed Democratic caucus, told them that there was no chance of them getting any budget amendment even heard on the floor so do not even try.  The Democrats then did not offer any amendments, which led to Robin Vos being in complete disbelief.

"I'm disappointed, but I can tell you I'm not surprised," said Speaker Robin Vos (R-Rochester), who says he believes the Democrats strategy will be seen as a failure.
Rep. Vos says he has never seen such a tactic employed during his entire political career, but Democrats say it was Vos who prompted their actions. 

 Like the aronists who burned down his workplace and can't believe that there is no need for him to show up to work the next day, Robin Vos (R- Hingst) now tells us he wants "all perspectives" are present.

Yet nothing in his career, past or present, has shown anything but a lust for power and doing what he is told by the masters at ALEC.  Even now saying he wants to make sure he gets more broad support for bills before he brings them to the floor.

 You will hear lots of faux outrage the next few weeks about the WISGOP wanting a "marketplace of ideas" and yet the reality is they want to make sure you hear their message, and no other.  

Nass Feels Manhood Threatened By UW Course On Masculinity

Republican Wisconsin State Representative Steve Nass, aka N. Ass, has a long history of being perpetually offended by the University of Wisconsin and has been a main proponent in slashing its budget over the past several years.

Nass' latest bit of faux outrage stems from feeling his manhood is being threatened by a six-week course on masculinity:

A University of Wisconsin-Madison program that explores masculinity amounts to a declaration of war on men and the university should be punished in upcoming budget deliberations, a Republican legislator said Wednesday.

UW-Madison offers a six-week program for undergraduate and graduate students called the Men's Project. It's open only to students who identify as male. Participants examine their masculinity and how it plays into pop culture, sexuality and "hook up culture," according to the program website.

Sen. Steve Nass, a frequent UW System critic, sent an email to his fellow lawmakers on Wednesday entitled "UW-Madison Declares War on Men and their Masculinity — Not a Joke." The email accuses UW-Madison of being part of a national liberal effort to rid male students of their "toxic masculinity."

The email comes less than three weeks after Nass and Republican Rep. Dave Murphy ripped the school for offering a course entitled "The Problem of Whiteness." They demanded legislators cut the UW System budget if UW-Madison didn't drop the class.

"Our friends at UW-Madison, not happy enough with labeling 'whiteness' as a societal problem, now are attacking another social ill ..., Men and their masculinity," the email says.

"The supposedly underfunded and overworked administrators at our flagship campus have scrapped (sic) together enough dollars to offer a six-week program open only to 'men-identified students," the email goes on. "In short, the highly paid leaders at UW-Madison now believe that Wisconsin mothers and fathers have done a poor job of raising their boys by trying to instill in them the values and characteristics necessary in becoming a Man."

As a result, Nass wants his fellow Republicans to attack the system again through the upcoming state budget. In other words, he wants to hit them with his purse.

The only thing I can't figure out is Nass is upset because his male ego is really just that fragile or if it is an extension of his hatred of anyone smarter than him, which is just about the entire state, with the possible exception of the fools that keep voting for him.

The Noose Is Loose

By Jeff Simpson

The Trump effect is in full effect in Wisconsin.  At the Wisconsin Badgers football game on Saturday night, someone snuck a costume in to the game of President Obama in a jail uniform and a noose.

At the @UWBadgers game and there is a man with a mask of President Obama and a noose. This is racism, why was this allowed into the stadium? pic.twitter.com/zKEqhdDYny

— 😏 (@woahohkatie) October 29, 2016

 Apparently when they saw these lunatics in the crowd, they went and asked them nicely toremove the noose.  The men agreed, and removed the noose but kept everything else the same.

That is not ok, nor is it covered by the first amendment.   The response should have been stronger and more sever, and many people let them know that.

.@UWMadison

"...must be of an appropriate nature."

Noose around neck of the image of our black president in a jail suit is appropriate? pic.twitter.com/zfd5C1zr0f

— Nigel Hayes (@NIGEL_HAYES) October 30, 2016

The Reverend Alex Gee penned an open letter to the UW:

Free speech?! Ok, then allow me to speak freely...
I find it difficult to express the depth of my disappointment with the University of Wisconsin-Madison. If this is not hate speech ... a costume of a black president in a noose, then what is?!
Do I need to remind UW of what the noose represents? But wait, the UW has noted departments and courses in Afro-American studies (this was my department), history, sociology, ethnic studies, ethics, social work, law, religious studies, etc., which are able to explain the horrors of the noose.

           -------------

This speech isn’t free by a long shot. I witnessed the community of families of color, local and out-of-state, refuse to send their kids to Madison because of the mock slave auction. I was there! That snub is one from which the UW has not yet fully recovered.
Take it from a veteran UW promoter, the nation is watching to see if this is a place where diversity is celebrated, or where racist acts are allowed without serious consequences. This issue is no longer merely about the comfort of students of color, it is now about the comfort of white families wanting their students to attend college where diversity is breathed like fresh air and young minds are trained for world-class leadership.
Are we really going to hide behind the free-speech rhetoric?
As a proud alumnus, it had been my hope that the Wisconsin Idea would provoke old-fashioned Wisconsin ingenuity in the area of race relations and diversity much as it has in social policy, patents and life-enhancing innovation.
........
Please, do not call your black friends to commiserate in private. If you really value diversity and the souls of people of color — do something. If you think this is appalling, say so — to someone at UW. This is a time where white people need to talk to white people about what’s really going on here. You can email Chancellor Rebecca Blank at: chancellor@news.wisc.edu, and email Athletic Director Barry Alvarez at wjd@athletics.wisc.edu.
The ball is in your court. I am not interested in more panel discussions, photo-ops or quick-and-dirty community forums in South Madison where you listen to heartfelt concerns and do very little in return.
This issue cannot be delegated to a few staff of color. It is not fair to hold them responsible for the campus when the entire campus is not yet committed to the ideals of diversity and inclusion. The community needs to know that this issue is being handled by the UW at the highest executive level and that resources of time and money are being put towards changing the toxic climate on campus.
Your action will determine how we tell our story about you. This is a perfect opportunity for a great Wisconsin Idea that will once again inspire the world. And if you choose to not make significant change at a very deep level, you will not only have angered a black man, you will have lost a fan.

Typically, our friends on the right, such as racist joke telling, old white guy in Green Bay Jerry Bader writes,

As offensive as this costume was, I believe our university must resist the desire to outlaw forms of speech and political dissent with which we disagree. We strive to build a campus community in which ideas and expression are exchanged freely, but also constructively, respectfully and in a manner that advances educational opportunities for our students.
Almost immediately social media lit up with the type of political polarity we’d expect from such an episode. Many posters felt the image of an African-American in a noose, let alone the President of the United States, should have meant outright ejection from the stadium. Others felt it was a violation of free speech rights to even take the noose. Here are words you won’t read or hear from me very often: I think the university got this exactly right.

 As has been correctly pointed out, prospective UW Students are closely watching to see how we handle this situation.  It has not been handled correctly yet, but it is not the least bit surprising that the right wing that has spent the last six years criticizing the UW System would be on board with something that cause our University system to bring in less students of color.  

Now is a good time to point out that prominent Republican Senator Steve nASS(R-refuses to pay child support), blasted UW's attempt to increase their diversity programs.

A Republican state senator says a new diversity outreach program at the UW-Madison is “sinister.”
Sen. Steve Nass made the comment in reaction to UW-Madison announcing its plans to improve the experiences of minorities on the flagship campus. The plan calls for having new students discuss social differences, a new cultural center for black students and increased opportunities to take ethnic studies courses.
Nass is vice-chair of the Senate’s committee on universities.
Nass said university leaders “constantly complain about lacking money” but “they never lack money for advancing new and more sinister ways of liberal indoctrination of students.”
He said the initiative isn’t about advancing critical thinking, but about “telling students to think and act in ways approved by the liberal leadership of our universities.”

Still trying to confirm if that is Steve nASS in the Trump Costume, but we need to find out the person who we can see identities first.  If you know who this is and how to contact him, please let us know(anonymously if need be) - jeff_simpson7@yahoo.com.

The Alt-Right Is Not So Alt

By Jeff Simpson 

For some reason, someone felt it was a good idea to talk to Senator Steve nASS(R-Doesnt pay child support) about a new diversity outreach program at UW-Madison.  

MADISON, Wis. (AP) — A Republican state senator says a new diversity outreach program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison is "sinister."
Sen. Steve Nass made the comments Thursday in reaction to UW announcing its plans to improve the experiences of minorities. The plan calls for having new students discuss social differences, a new cultural center for black students and increased opportunities to take ethnic studies courses.
Nass says university leaders "constantly complain about lacking money" but "they never lack money for advancing new and more sinister ways of liberal indoctrination of students.

Of course what is more sinister of liberals, than trying to reach out to people of different races, religions and backgrounds?  Especially when, as our friends at Political Heat point out, there are dire consequences for not reaching out:

Years ago,business leaders DID want a more diverse-friendly college campus in Madison. And when it was evident that was not what they were getting at UW, recruiters from major American companies were pulled from the university. From Pat Schneider of the Cap Times (Emphasis in bold added by me): 

 Diversity is good for business, which makes it an imperative for U.S. business schools, say Wisconsin School of Business administrators. 

If the business school community does not have a mix of students, faculty and staff that can prepare students for a global economy, students will go somewhere else and so will business recruiters. 
That has already happened at UW-Madison. A decade ago, big corporations like Procter & Gamble, General Motors and Alcoa stopped recruiting in Madison because of a lack of diversity among business school students.

 That is one way to stop the brain drain of Wisconsin students, make sure no one outside of Wisconsin will want to hire them.   

Of course since Wisconsin is already the worst state in the nation for African Americans, there is no incentive for us to have a diverse workforce or college student body.   

Let's not forget, it was career politician Steve nASS who famously said:



It is always entertaining when people who do not understand business, lecture the rest of us who do on what needs to be done.  

Steve nASS is also a career politician, whose one signature bill that earned him a promotion within the WISGOP, was to make sure that communities could discriminate against Native Americans. 

Now Charlie Sykes is going to pretend he has no idea that racism is running rampant on the right?  From the recent puff piece written in Politico about him:

“No, I’m saying, they’re talking about phasing out the breed because so many are bad. No one wants to phase out poodles! I mean, there’s no Lutherans doing this! We never know when one of these people are going to be radicalized.”

“One of these people,” says Sykes.

Sykes ends the call. He’s silent, broadcasting dead air. He looks upset, like he’s stopped breathing. He goes to a commercial break.

“OK, that doesn’t happen very often,” he says off-air. “I’m not usually absolutely speechless.” He says his listeners never talked like this until recently.

“Were these people that we actually thought were our allies?” he asks.

Is Senator nASS and Ally?  

On Tuesday, (Paul)Ryan rolled out endorsements from all 16 Republican state legislators who represent portions of the 1st Congressional District.

The endorsers include Assembly Speaker Robin Vos of Rochester and four state senators, Steve Nass of Whitewater, Chris Kapenga of Delafield, Mary Lazich of New Berlin and Van Wanggard of Racine.

In a statement, Nass said that he has known Ryan since the early 1990s and during that time the Janesville native's values, principles and integrity 'have not changed and they never will.'

So much for the Alt-right... As John Nichols has pointed out:

                                    

In Paul Ryan's WI district, the Trump-Ryan message is amplified by local Republicans. No degrees of separation. pic.twitter.com/UumlZ7dQqC

— John Nichols (@NicholsUprising) September 3, 2016

So when you hear talk of the "alt-right" just remember there is no difference between them and the regular WISGOP, except they have been empowered to speak their mind in public instead of in private.  The Ironic thing is the same people who are trying to run away and wash their hands of them, are the people who were the ones who empowered them!

Kremer's Army

By Jeff Simpson

We have written many stories on how Jesse Kremer (R-Westboro Baptist Church), has been attacking the poorest and weakest in society in the name of Jesus.  

We know now, that Jesse does not stand alone.   I mean more than his second in command Republican Steve nASS (R-Big Brother).  

Kremer has found his chaplain for the war he is trying to start!

So this bloodthirsty asshole has a solution to the problem: Fathers should take the matter into their own hands and begin shooting any trans person they happen to see. James Dobson writes:
“If you are a dad, I pray you will protect your little girls from men who walk in unannounced, unzip their pants and urinate in front of them. If this had happened 100 years ago, someone might have been shot. Where is today’s manhood? God help us!”Y“Obama, acting like a king, is wielding dictatorial powers never envisioned in the law. He is determined to change the way males and females relate to one another, and worse, how children perceive themselves. If you are a married man with any gumption, surely you will defend your wife’s privacy and security in restroom facilities. Would you remain passive after knowing that a strange-looking man, dressed like a woman, has been peering over toilet cubicles to watch your wife in a private moment? What should be done to the pervert who was using mirrors to watch women and girls in their stalls?”

Shooting our friends in the LGBTQ community is exactly what Jesus would have wanted!

But wait there's more:

Kremer has found a great American to stand with Steve nASS and himself in this war! 

 Esten Ciboro was recently in the news for protesting Target’s new policy of allowing transgender people to use the restroom of their choice. Now it turns out that he has been arrested for keeping a 13-year-old girl chained inside his basement. The girl, who has not been identified, was forced to use the restroom in a bucket and was fed scraps of spoiled food.
The girl said her captivity was punishment for wetting the bed and that she escaped using a spare key she stole from her captors after they went jogging. According to the police, Ciboro and his father, Timothy, were trying to flee when law-enforcement officials arrived on the scene. It’s unclear how long the girl was kept in captivity, though court documents report that it could have been as long as a year. Both the girl and two other children were placed in state custody and sent to a foster home. Timothy Ciboro made the following statement concerning the children:

Like a true "Conservative", he took personal responsibility for his actions  he had her chained in the basement in God's Name!  

‘I miss my babies with all my heart. I want them to do right. That’s the way they were raised. If they have any questions, all they have to do is open the Bible and they will have all the answers.’

Also like a true "Conservative", we will be paying for him for many years :

 Ciboro and his father were both arrested and are facing charges of kidnapping and child endangerment. Both are currently being held in jail awaiting bond and have sought a public defender, though no date has been set for the trial.

Jesse Kremer and Steve nASS should be very proud of the company they keep with such like minded individuals!  

Down Goes Kremer (and nASS)!

By Jeff Simpson


In Lieu of the recent hate filled so called "bathroom bill" recently passed in North Carolina, and talked about in WI.  Attorney General of the United States Loretta Lynch had this to say

While our bumbling WI AG, Republican party hack, Brad Schimel is busy making sure GOP donors can pollute our water, AG Lynch is busy standing up for the American Dream and understanding exactly what the Declaration of Independence said.   .  

The buck does not just stop with AG Lynch, she has the full backing of President Obama.  President Obama plans on sweeping directive telling every public school district in the country to allow transgender students to use the bathrooms that match their gender identity.

Courts have not settled the question of whether the nation’s sex discrimination laws apply in matters of gender identity. But administration officials, emboldened by a federal appeals court ruling in Virginia last month, think they have the upper hand. This week, the Justice Department and North Carolina sued each other over a state law that restricts access to bathrooms, locker rooms and changing rooms. The letter to school districts had been in the works for months, Justice Department officials said.

“A school may not require transgender students to use facilities inconsistent with their gender identity or to use individual-user facilities when other students are not required to do so,” according to the letter, a copy of which was provided to The New York Times.

A school’s obligation under federal law “to ensure nondiscrimination on the basis of sex requires schools to provide transgender students equal access to educational programs and activities even in circumstances in which other students, parents, or community members raise objections or concerns,” the letter states. “As is consistently recognized in civil rights cases, the desire to accommodate others’ discomfort cannot justify a policy that singles out and disadvantages a particular class of students.”

As soon as a child’s parent or legal guardian asserts a gender identity for the student that “differs from previous representations or records,” the letter says, the child is to be treated accordingly — without any requirement for a medical diagnosis or birth certificate to be produced. It says that schools may — but are not required to — provide other restroom and locker room options to students who seek “additional privacy” for whatever reason.

But Wait there is more(this time it is actually good)!  

Attached to the letter, the Obama administration will include a 25-page document describing “emerging practices” that are in place in many schools around the country. Those included installing privacy curtains or allowing students to change in bathroom stalls.

In a blog post accompanying the letter, senior officials at the Justice and Education Departments said they issued it in response to a growing chorus of inquiries from educators, parents and students across the country, including from the National Association of Secondary School Principals, to clarify their obligations and “best practices” for the treatment of transgender students.

“Schools want to do right by all of their students and have looked to us to provide clarity on steps they can take to ensure that every student is comfortable at their school, is in an environment free of discrimination, and has an opportunity to thrive,” wrote Catherine E. Lhamon, the assistant secretary of education for civil rights, and Vanita Gupta, the head of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division.

Continue reading the main story

 

Maybe now, the President can stop dealing with domestic terrorists and start working on improving our trade deals!   

The Republicans Are In The Can

By Jeff Simpson 

On 4/20 it is fitting to bring back an old comedy bit from Cheech & Chong.  It is also fitting that the character in the bit's last name is elephant.

The Transgender bathroom debate has been ramped up lately.   North Carolina has recently passed an Anti-LGBQT law and it has cost the state Millions of dollars of commerce.

 Everyone from PayPal, to Ringo Starr to Lionsgate films to Bruce Springsteen, to numerous municipalities banning non essential travel to NC.  

North Carolina’s anti-LGBT law is already costing the state’s tourism industry millions of dollars.The bill, signed by Gov. Pat McCrory (R) last month, prevents local municipalities from passing anti-discrimination protections for lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender individuals. The bill also requires transgender people to use public restrooms that correspond to the gender on their birth certificate.

Why would they pass a law that specifically targets a group of people who need our help and this could never happen in Wisconsin right?  

The answers are simple, the GOP is the part of big government and want to make sure that everyone in America behaves the way they tell you to.  

Not the way they act of course, as more GOP politicians have been arrested in bathrooms for sexual misconduct than trans people.  They did not even include "Bathroom" Bob Donovan who had his own run ins in public bathrooms of Milwaukee.     Many supporters of these anti- LGBQT laws rushed to the polls to vote for Bathroom Bob for Mayor of Milwaukee.  Luckily for all involved he lost.

As for could this happen here?  If the Republicans keep control of all three branches of Government after the November elections(they have adjourned for the year weeks ago) count on it.  See they have already proposed such a bill(except a little more extreme) that is currently sitting in committee.  Not only will they bully all transgender people in Wisconsin but they also will force the Justice Department to spend countless dollars defending all lawsuits will inevitably come.    

Transgender students would be barred from using school bathrooms or locker rooms assigned to the gender with which they identify, under a bill being proposed by two Republican lawmakers.Rep. Jesse Kremer, R-Kewaskum, and Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, are proposing to require school boards to designate bathrooms and locker rooms as being for one gender exclusively, and to require the state Department of Justice to defend  school districts in lawsuits alleging the policy is discriminatory.

Hard to be open for business when you pass bills that cost your state hundreds of millions of dollars of commerce.   Even Chris Abele gets it.

Abele says protecting transgender rights goes beyond moral responsibility.
"If people care about economic development, the largest demographic in the United States in U.S. history is millennials," he says. "And this issue is settled for millennials. What do we talk about all the time? How do we attract the best and brightest, young, creative talent? Well, you know how you don't do it? You show that you're a closed-minded, intolerant state."

Of course his support of Anti-LGBQT politicians says a different story but thats another blog.    

Now that we see Republican policies in action and working to destroy North Carolina, when asked for comments on if they still plan on pushing their anti commerce, anti business bully law, the authors Rep Kremer and Sen. nASS did exactly what you would think they would do.

Hide.

 We reached out to the Wisconsin lawmakers who introduced the bill regulating the use of school bathrooms, and other state leaders who said they'd support it. All were unable to do an interview.

Maybe next session we could introduce a bill that says GOP lawmakers are not allowed to be in a public restroom and we would all be a little safer!  

In the end, all our LGBQT friends want to so is "go to the can, man" so they will no longer be so afraid to use the bathroom.  

Until then, we need the electorate this November to

WWWWAAAAKKKKKKKEEEEEE UUUUUUUUUUUUUPPPPPPPPPPPPPP


 Editor Note;  If all of the hate preached by the GOP these days is getting to to you, check out this article and you can restore your faith in humanity.  

4) If said straight men could be trusted not to do bad things to women, we wouldn’t be having any of these conversations. As a Christian I’m disappointed that we aren’t talking about that in our churches and on campaign trails, or making bold public statements about that. I’m profoundly saddened that high-profile evangelists and pastors aren’t facing this real monster with the same sustained ferocity they attack an imagined one with.

Women are in exponentially higher danger of being sexually assaulted by a boyfriend or a classmate than a stranger in a bathroom and it isn’t even close.