The Pope Unmasks Political Leaders

By Jeff Simpson 

We all know the Pope was in Washington DC yesterday.  

The start of a very interesting visit from a Great Man.   It even got started as cool as possible, when the Pope, who left his Popemobile at home and arrived in a Fiat.

Quite possibly though, the coolest thing the Pope did yesterday was snub a bipartisan coalition of politicians.

We now know why the United States Congress absolutely did not want Pope Francis to come to America. He makes them look like the complete as*holes they are. Obviously, Congress thought Pope Francis would be honored to dine with them, and all their pomp and prestige. They were wrong.

Pope Francis says he didn’t have the time because he already had a date eating with the homeless. In fact, he is not only going to be eating with them, but serving them. The meal will take place at St. Patrick’s Church in Washington, D.C.

Rather than try to write some great prose about this situation, Ring of Fire will simply quote Eric March from the website Upworthy, because he nailed it:

Unlike some of his predecessors, Francis has reminded journalists and world leaders time and time again that the church is for the poor, blasted the global financial system which causes so much poverty in the first place, and called on Catholics across the globe to take action and start lifting up the most vulnerable among them.

He’s also spoken out forcefully against economic inequality.

Including some of the worst, most exploitative labor practices in the world, which create conditions that allow hardship and desperation to thrive.

Blowing off John Boehner and Nancy Pelosi to serve the homeless is pretty much the kind of badassery we’ve come to expect from this pope when it comes to speaking up for the world’s most hard-up.

One noticeable thing that seems to have gotten lost in the shuffle is that none of the politicians offered to join Pope Francis and help serve the homeless.   Apparently helping them become homeless is all our politicians can handle.  

Luckily, we at CogDis were able to check the calendars and realize why the leaders in Congress were too busy to join the Pope yesterday for lunch.

*  Nancy Pelosi was to busy trying to get the Trans Pacific Partnership fast tracked.  
*  Harry Reid had to work on making sure we do not raise the minimum wage.
*  John Boehner was going to spend the day trying to figure out how to end the peace treaty with Iran.
*  Mitch McConnell was too embarrassed since he has blocked to many jobs bills and helped add to our homeless veteran problem throughout his career.  

* Bonus Calendar Check:  Wisconsin's own Super Catholic, Paul Ryan would have been there to help but he is not running for Vice President anymore and he is way too busy planning his anti poverty conference to worry about the homeless.  

I imagine the conversation going like this:

McConell;  Your Holiness would you like us to take you to lunch?  We have an expense account. 
Boehner:  As long as you don'd mind if I smoke.
Pope Francis:   Sorry I have plans to head to the church and feed the homeless. We could use some help.  
Pelosi:  Yea, ummm, well, ummm, I have to wash my hair.
Reid;  O sorry I have to take this call(exits left). 
Boehner/McConell:  Dont look at us.  

Pop Goes The Weasel!

As the gentle reader knows, unless they just woke up from a coma, Scott Walker has ended his campaign. On Monday evening, he boldly gave his preemptive concession speech. (BTW, am I the only one that just died laughing when someone broke out in applause when he said he was quitting?)

When Walker formally announced his campaign a scant ten weeks ago, he said that God told him to run. Now he is saying God is telling him to quit in order to lead the other Republican candidates to also quit so that they can unite behind one "positive" Republican who isn't Donald Trump:

"I was sitting in church yesterday, the pastor's words reminded me that the Bible is full of stories about people who were called to be leaders in unusual ways. Today, I believe that I am being called to lead by helping to clear the field so that a positive conservative message can rise to the top of the field. With this in mind, I will suspend my campaign immediately.

"I encourage other Republican presidential candidates to consider doing the same, so that the voters can focus on a limited number of candidates who can offer a positive conservative alternative to the current front-runner.

"This is fundamentally important to the future of the party, and more importantly to the future of our country.

And yes, the crazies and the postmortem analyses are already coming out of the woodwork.

Some of Walker's cult-like followers are suggesting that Walker is playing rope-a-dope, either angling for a brokered convention or just to come back into the field of play after enough people dropped out.

Liz Mair, who worked for Walker for less than 24 hours, came out firing even before he made the formal announcement, blaming Walker's advisors and a poor campaign strategy. She also alluded to a "big story" that Walker would be tied to that was about to break. One can only guess what this "big story" is, but a good guess would be that rumor about Walker's campaign manager, Rick Wiley, and allegations of his lewd and lascivious behavior.

While all of this is going on, the Koch Boyz have got to be wondering how do they go about getting back all of the money they had invested in Walker. They must be feeling really bitter that all of the Kochs' money and the Kochs' men couldn't put the weaselly Walker campaign back together again.

Now, like the gentle reader, I'm as happy as can be to see Walker fall flat on his weasel face. But I have to keep my joy tempered for a couple of reasons.

One, while the rest of the nation is off the hook for now, we still have to deal with Walker. And he's going to be extra ornery due to his national embarrassment.

Secondly, history has a tendency to repeat itself if we choose to ignore it.

I've mentioned before that Walker had made a run for governor in 2006 because God told him to. Walker pulled out early on in that race because he was getting no support and was getting no traction. Walker then continued to campaign for the next four years, making all his decision based not on what was good for Milwaukee County or anything else but on what would be the most politically advantageous for him. He then went on to win in 2010, with a little help from the Koch Boyz and a secret router.

So, celebrate for now, but hang on because we haven't yet seen the last of Richard Milhouse Walker to kick around any more.

Capitalist Killers

By Jeff Simpson

Daraprim, known generically as pyrimethamine, is used mainly to treat toxoplasmosis, a parasite infection that can cause serious or even life-threatening problems for babies born to women who become infected during pregnancy, and also for people with compromised immune systems, like AIDS patients and certain cancer patients. 

Great drug for children and other people who desperately need it, unfortunately many will no longer be able to take it.  See the prices raised from $1 a pll a few years ago to $750 now and the only thing that has changed is ownership in the drug company.  

The drug, called Daraprim, was acquired in August by Turing Pharmaceuticals, a start-up run by a former hedge fund manager. Turing immediately raised the price to $750 a tablet from $13.50, bringing the annual cost of treatment for some patients to hundreds of thousands of dollars.

Martin Shkreli is the hedge fund manager who also owns Turning Pharmaceuticals and is taking away time from shorting drug company stocks, to price this important drug out of the hands of most people in the US.

This is not the first time the 32-year-old Mr. Shkreli, who has a reputation for both brilliance and brashness, has been the center of controversy. He started MSMB Capital, a hedge fund company, in his 20s and drew attention for urging the Food and Drug Administration not to approve certain drugs made by companies whose stock he was shorting.In 2011, Mr. Shkreli started Retrophin, which also acquired old neglected drugs and sharply raised their prices.

Retrophin’s board fired Mr. Shkreli a year ago. Last month, it filed a complaint in Federal District Court in Manhattan, accusing him of using Retrophin as a personal piggy bank to pay back angry investors in his hedge fund.Mr. Shkreli has denied the accusations. He has filed for arbitration against his old company, which he says owes him at least $25 million in severance. “They are sort of concocting this wild and crazy and unlikely story to swindle me out of the money,” he said.

If you think that profits for Mr. Shkreli are more important than a child's life, then be happy your dreams are coming true.   This is NOT the only time this has happened.

 Cycloserine, a drug used to treat dangerous multidrug-resistant tuberculosis, was just increased in price to $10,800 for 30 pills from $500 after its acquisition by Rodelis Therapeutics. Scott Spencer, general manager of Rodelis, said the company needed to invest to make sure the supply of the drug remained reliable. He said the company provided the drug free to certain needy patients.

In August, two members of Congress investigating generic drug price increases wrote to Valeant Pharmaceuticals after that company acquired two heart drugs, Isuprel and Nitropress, from Marathon Pharmaceuticals and promptly raised their prices by 525 percent and 212 percent respectively. Marathon had acquired the drugs from another company in 2013 and had quintupled their prices, according to the lawmakers, Senator Bernie Sanders, the Vermont independent who is seeking the Democratic nomination for president, and Representative Elijah E. Cummings, Democrat of Maryland. Doxycycline, an antibiotic, went from $20 a bottle in October 2013 to $1,849 by April 2014, according to the two lawmakers.

If you find this abhorrent and immoral, call your local elected rep and support Bernie Sanders for President.  

One State Walker

By Jeff Simpson 

Remember this guy?

Madison — During the re-election race that he won on Nov. 4, Gov. Scott Walker told voters he intended to spend the next four years in the statehouse.
"My plan — if the voters approve — is to serve as governor for the next four years," Walker said in early October.

He has been replaced by this guy:

In an interview, Walker said he's planning to spend 10 days a month in Iowa, "maybe more." Other than "fundraising and visits to New Hampshire and South Carolina," his time will be spent in Iowa, he said.
It will be so much time, he said, that people might think he's running for governor of the state. "People are going to know us like they know their governor in this state, there's no doubt about it," he said.

In what is a rare moment of candor and honesty, Scott Walker lets us in on what a train wreck his campaign has become:

“We're not going to have a 50-state strategy right now.”
Scott Walker

 Instead of trying to win the Presidency, Walker has put his eggs in the Iowa basket and now is drawing massive crowds of 40 people at a Pizza Oven.

The signs of his precipitous fall were all too vivid Sunday afternoon inside Serena's Coffee Café in Amana, Iowa, where about 40 stoic supporters showed up for his first retail campaign event in the state since Wednesday's debate.
Gone were most of the network television cameras that had followed Walker much of the summer. Just one network was on hand, along with one reporter-photographer from a nearby station in Cedar Rapids. A second event at a Pizza Ranch in Vinton, Iowa, brought out another small crowd, along with one local TV camera.

Just an FYI to Scott Walker, its a long way from 40 people at a coffee house in Iowa(6 electoral votes) to 66 Million votes(and 270 electoral votes) to win the Presidency!


No wonder Scott Walker drinks so much!

GOP Brings HIV To IN, WI Next!

By Jeff Simpson 

Republican test kitchen, Indiana has already been working to defund Planned Parenthood.   They passed a law that defunded Planned Parenthood, because some of them offered abortion services.

Luckily for some women in Indiana, a judge blocked this law from taking effect,  However, the Republicans in Indiana were able to slash funding, which with rising health care costs, has caused a few rural Planned Parenthood offices to close.

In 2005, Planned Parenthood of Indiana received a total of $3.3 million in funding from government contracts and grants. By 2014, that funding had dropped to $1.9 million. Five of Planned Parenthood’s smaller clinics in the state -- the health centers in Scottsburg, Madison, Richmond, Bedford and Warsaw -- were unable to keep up with the growing technology costs that were necessary to remain competitive as a medical provider. All five clinics that were forced to close had offered HIV testing. None had offered abortions.

What happens when we mix Hard Right Republican policies with the real world?   It usually turns into trouble for the people of America:

 Scott County, Indiana, the center of an exploding HIV outbreak, has been without an HIV testing center since early 2013, when the sole provider -- a Planned Parenthood clinic -- was forced to close its doors. The clinic did not offer abortion services.The Scott County clinic and four other Planned Parenthood facilities in the state, all of which provided HIV testing and information, have shuttered since 2011, in large part due to funding cuts to the state's public health infrastructure. Those cuts came amid a national and local political campaign to demonize the health care provider. Now, the state is scrambling to erect pop-up clinics to combat an unprecedented HIV epidemic caused by intravenous drug use.
The fact that Scott County was "without a testing facility until a few weeks ago is a glaring example of the kind of public health crisis that results when prevention and testing are left unfunded," said Patti Stauffer, Planned Parenthood of Indiana and Kentucky's vice president for public policy

But wait there is more:

In 2011, Planned Parenthood ran five rural clinics in Indiana. They tested for HIV and offered prevention, intervention and counseling for better health. The one in Scott County performed no abortions.
Mothers-to-be in Scott County must drive 50 miles to visit a gynecologist or an obstetrician. That's not an isolated insight. Of Indiana's 92 counties, Scott County has ranked 92nd in unhealthiness for five straight years.
Fewer high school kids there go to college than anywhere else in the state. There is one mental health provider for every 3,500 residents.
There is one physician in town. He saw the HIV outbreak coming and begged the state for help. None came.

How exactly is it "pro-life" to make a pregnant woman living in poverty drive over 50 miles to see a gynecologist?  

While the Republicans, due to long debunked videos,  are fighting each other to decide who can punish Planned Parenthood the most,   What better way to play to their hardcore pseudo Christian base?

While they do that, women are suffering and dying.



Are you ready for this story to come to Wisconsin? Where will it hit first?  Rusk County?  Monroe County?  Sawyer County?  or maybe Washington County!

How long do we have?

The Legislature was too preoccupied before 2013 trying to defund Planned Parenthood and finally succeeded despite court objections.
Scott County has been without an HIV testing center for two years. That's how long it took the epidemic to flourish.

Instead of naming the outbreak(when it gets here) the WI HIV outbreak of 2017, maybe we can name it the "Common Sense Pro-Life Conservative Values" outbreak,  

Sorry Wisconsin women, you get sick, or pregnant you are on your own!

Subprime King + Milwaukee Bucks = Sucker's Bet

Just the other day I was thinking that I should hit up a state with a struggling economy for a large cash infusion to my net worth, valued at a meager $2-3 billion. I hoped I could find a city that was willing to overlook my wealth and the way I acquired it, a city or state where my business was responsible for lots of abandoned homes that I now failed to maintain, a city or state so poor at negotiation that they would promise me $250,000,000 to make my dream of owning an NBA team a reality. Sadly, Wes Edens and Mark Lasry beat me to it.

Wes Edens is really the more interesting of the two, co-founder and co-owner of Fortress Investment Group, Inc., recently valued at nearly $70 billion. People in Milwaukee want to talk about Nationstar and its responsibilities for the houses it now owns and fails to maintain in the city, but there are dozens of other companies in the Fortress portfolio. The same week Fortress/Edens purchased the Milwaukee Bucks, they purchased three other companies WITH CASH. The value of the companies purchased was over $10 billion. Again, this was three companies in one week. (cash)

Meanwhile, Wisconsin is stuck holding the bag while the billionaires count their money. Well, mostly Milwaukee County and the City of Milwaukee are stuck doing this. All Fortress/Edens and Lasry have given up so far is sending some of their lackeys to have “discussions” about who they will hire, and how much they will pay them in the arena taxpayers built them. Everybody who backs this deal asks us to “wait until the ink dries." Where is this ink, and when in the hell is it supposed to dry? Fortress/Edens have built an empire almost entirely from sub-prime mortgage lending practices, profiting from Milwaukeeans who wanted their shot at the American dream of home ownership, but ended up in foreclosure largely due to lender practices. Believe me: they do not care about YOU. They care about MONEY.

Taking closer look at Nationstar, one of the dozens of companies Fortress/Edens own, just how are they doing with the average borrower? If you are familiar with Yelp!, Nationstar gets ONE STAR. That’s an AVERAGE, spread out over hundreds of scathing reviews. A quick scan of recent postings tells a painful story of company owners who would not piss on you if you were on fire. And your home mortgage? They make money whether you keep it or lose it. Users of Nationstar services in the past two months said:

“Unbelievable. I cannot describe how painful it is to do business with this company. I would pay $500 to get a different servicer on my loan. Seriously. I would pay $500 just to not have to deal with this company again. What a disgrace.”

“Run; don't walk away from these people or you'll regret it!”

“Everything about Nationstar is unappealing. I have no idea how they remain in business and their customer service is horrible. Well, they have none! No reply to emails, no way to reach them by phone.... it's nonexistent! Plain and simple, this is by far the worst mortgage company I have worked with and I've worked with many over the years buying and selling homes.”

“OMG... just read all the other reviews. Tell me... anyone... please tell me how this company is still in business??? Whomever regulates these types of poorly run companies should be ashamed of themselves as well! My problem was nothing compared to what some of these people have gone through. Again... shame on YOU Nationstar!”

“I can't give them zero stars, or I would. Requested basic information to be sent and it has been 2 months and still no documents. In my opinion, these guys are nothing but trouble and I feel they are going to mess my loan up. I will be switching lenders as soon as possible.”

Are we just being too hard on Nationstar, or on Milwaukee for doing business with these shysters? Of course not. One J-S commenter put it so very well:

“Nationstar isn’t giving anything away. They are simply making less on a whole bunch of subprime mortgages in a city who just helped them land $250 million in public financing. This is cheap damage control in a city where this owner plans on conducting business. Pretty cheap grease for this squeaky wheel...”

More recently, Fortress/Edens have expanded into payday loans, car title loans, and casinos, all of which disproportionately target the poor. Businesses like the ones they acquire borrow from banks for just over 6% and reap more than 500% interest from almost exclusively low-income borrowers. Heck, even the Wall Street Journal calls Edens the “Subprime Lending King”, a dubious honor if there ever was one. Edens and associates appear hell-bent on robbing the working poor not only of their dreams of home ownership, but their dreams of being able to make their car payments or even the rent on the apartment they now live in after losing their homes due to the same unscrupulous business practices. If you believe these guys care at all about anyone in Milwaukee—from the security guards who might someday work at the new Arena for Billionaires to the people who will staff the parking ramp on the land sold to them for $1 across from Chris Abele’s place—you might be on the “negotiating” team (shout out to corporate Dems, y'all!).

Lest you think the online reviews and the media chatter are just biased, and these investors are whip-smart business people by day and huge charitable donors by night, an article (Subprime King) trying to tout Fortress’s “generosity” with charities offers this line: “Fortress is committed to giving back to local communities and has supported many charitable organizations while encouraging employees to do the same even offering a one-week gift matching program netting nearly $3.8 million to more than 700 charities on a global scale including charities like: Oxfam International, Partners in Health, City Harvest, Sanctuary for Families, Food Bank for New York City, Toys for Tots, and Smile Train.” Fortress was established in 1989. It’s worth about $70 billion. At 700 charities and $3.8 million, that’s $5,429 apiece. Taking that and spread it out over 26 years (Fortress was established in 1989), and that’s $209 apiece. Lowballing Edens’ net worth at $2 billion (Lasry is just under $2 billion), that’s less than one ten-millionth of his net worth per year to charity. The $30 million (over three years) that is supposed to be dedicated to maintaining and repairing distressed Milwaukee Nationstar and other properties, is 1.25% or less of each man's net worth per year. And when they sell these Nationstar-maintained homes they’ve decided to finally maintain? More profit!

It’s hard to imagine a deal worse for Milwaukee than this one, or worse people with whom we could do business. These billionaires are laughing all the way to the bank—at you (probably hardest at the "negotiating" team). They are probably driving past the house you used to own, by the lot full of cars they repossessed, while they breeze by.

Scott Walker*

As the gentle reader already knew, Scott Walker turned in another unimpressive performance at last week's GOP debate on CNN.

That poor showing, combined with all of his gaffes, blunders and boneheaded comments has led Walker to drop drastically in the polls. Walker was the driver of the GOP clown car just two months ago with a poll rating of 29 percent. Now, in the first poll since last week's debate, Walker has dropped all the way to less than one half of one percent:



Go ahead and savor that for a moment. I definitely am.

Even though Walker is somehow trying to claim that he actually won the debate, he had already scheduled a meeting with his major fundraisers and donors to calm their fears and try to get them to give even more.

Apparently the meeting didn't go very well. Walker's donors have decided to take matters in their own hands and are trying to push Walker's campaign manager, Rick Wiley, out the door:

Well, it appears as though Walker’s donors are unwilling to wait-and-see from the sidelines and have taken matters into their own hands in an effort to rescue the campaign from ending like one-time competitor Rick Perry’s.

According to Buzzfeed, “a number of Walker’s donors and supporters have been circulating a rumor about Wiley in recent days, apparently aimed at discrediting him and bringing about a shakeup in the organization … They also said an anonymous letter about Wiley is circulating in political and donor circles, though it is unclear where it originated.”

Walker spokesperson Kirsten Kukowski acknowledged the rumors but would not confirm any details. Kukowski said the rumor was false and insisted that the campaign would not be distracted by what she called a “sideshow.”

It is said that the rumor being spread involves some sort of lewd and lascivious behavior from Wiley. What has been confirmed is that Walker's donors and supporters are concerned that Wiley has been expanding the campaign faster than they have been bringing in money. Sources have said that there has been massive layoffs of Walker's campaign staff across the country because their money flow has dried up to a trickle.

Likewise, Walker continues to cancel events around the nation as he focuses on just Iowa and South Carolina, like that will help him in the long run.

All of this has left Walker with a nasty problem.

If he keeps Wiley on staff, he will lose a lot of his donors, some of whom are said to already been looking at other candidates to donate to, in order to hedge their bets.

If Walker gets rid of Wiley, or if Wiley "resigns," Walker's campaign will be viewed as being in disarray and he will lose donors and the confidence - and money - of the few supporters he still has.

Personally, I can't think of a better person for this to happen to.

Do not be surprised if Walker soon has a similar experience as when he pulled out of the 2006 gubernatorial race, when God spoke to him and told him to pull out of the race. God being, of course, the dark money backers that had been supporting him up to now.

Jeb! Gets Punk'd!

Remember, Jeb Bush is supposed to be the smart one:

Abele Endangers Safety For A Photo Op

For the past three years, Milwaukee County Emperor Abele has been pulling this stunt that he calls the "Annual House of Correction Employee Appreciation BBQ."  Abele would make a guest appearance to make it seem like he actually cared about and appreciated his employees.  From his Facebook page:

Had a enjoyable time at the the 3rd Annual House of Correction Employee Appreciation BBQ today! Thank you to all the leadership and staff of the Milwaukee County House of Correction for the work you do daily.

This year's event was a little different, however.

Because of the fact that the employees can see right through his bullshit, not many people would show up for Abele's little shindig.  But because he is up for reelection in the spring and could be facing a formidable and popular opponent in State Senator Chris Larson, Abele wanted to make it seem like a bigger deal than it was.

So when it came time for the event, he made it mandatory that every correction officer that was not stationed in a dorm to come to his show of appreciation.  That meant every visiting officer, the health clinic officer, the break officers, the mental health officer, everyone not in a dorm was at this thing, pretending to be happy employees.

It also meant that inmates were missing professional visits (with their lawyers), inmates were not seeing the nurse or the doctor or the psychiatrist.  Officers were alone in the dorms with no back up and no potty breaks (just like the bus drivers!).

To restate it, Abele endangered the safety of the correction officers and the inmates and delayed the legal rights of the inmates, just so he could have a little photo op to pretend that the workers love him.

Sounds like something Walker would have done.

If Abele really appreciated the employees, he might want to compensate them appropriately.  A senior correction officer at the House of Correction, at the top of the pay scale, could leave today and start with Waukesha County tomorrow, doing the exact same job, at the bottom of their pay scale and still get a 89 cent an hour raise.

Oh sure, Abele has this scheme that he is trying to ram through that would lift the pay for the newest officers by a whole $1.05, which is still nowhere enough to be comparable to other counties.  And at the same time, Abele would cut short the more senior employees, bringing their pay even more out of whack than it already is.

Abele simply has got to go before more people get hurt.

Chris Abele Won't Run For Governor? Sure, He Won't!

A couple of weeks ago, Milwaukee County Emperor swore up and down and sideways that he was not going to run for governor in 2018:

Democratic Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele says he “definitely” will not be running for governor in 2018.

Abele told The Associated Press on Thursday that he felt compelled to deny speculation he might run so it wouldn’t impair his ability to work with both Democrats and Republicans in Milwaukee.

He says, “I am definitely not running for governor. Not that I ever made any noise about it, but others have.”

Talk of Abele possibly preparing for a gubernatorial run has spiked since he hired former state Democratic Party chairman Mike Tate and the party’s communications director Melissa Baldauff in recent weeks.

Abele was first elected in 2011 and is up for re-election next year.

Abele jokes that he might consider running for governor “if the capital is moved to Milwaukee.”

Gee, really?!

Then maybe Emperor Abele might want to explain this website:
http://abeleforwisconsin.com
Now, I know when you click on the link, it leads to a blank page.

But a couple of minutes of research leads us to this bit of information:

Click on image to embiggen

The gentle reader will note that the website is registered to Cynthia Torhorst, aka Tia Torhorst.  It also includes the name of Jeff Peelen, his campaign treasurer.

Torhorst is the former aide to Emperor Abele who became his campaign manager and puppet candidate for the state assembly.

Now, it might be just me, but I do believe that Abele has some clarifying to do about whether he is planning on running for governor.

And while he's at it, he might want to rethink his explanation for why he hired disgraced former Democratic Party Chair Mike Tate.

And while I know it would be very difficult and a foreign concept to Abele, he might just want to try telling the truth for a change.

Yet Another Long Time Walker Crony Implicated In John Doe

Just when Scott Walker thought his no good, rotten, absolutely horrible, miserable week couldn't get any worse, it does.

In a Friday afternoon news drop, it was revealed that another one of Walker's long time political/governmental aides and crony was being investigated in the John Doe investigation commonly referred to as Walkergate:

No charges were filed against Jim Villa, the UW System’s vice president of university relations. But sworn statements released this week show investigators sought a search warrant for Villa’s home and office. At the time, he was president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin, and he was previously Walker’s chief of staff.

To justify the warrants, investigators wrote that they suspected Villa had broken several laws, including misconduct in public office and solicitation of public employees to commit misconduct. They presented evidence of Villa’s involvement in both an alleged bid-rigging scheme and a political action committee that Walker aide Tim Russell was suspected of doing work for while on county time.

Russell was convicted of embezzling money from a veterans fund. Kelly Rindfleisch, a Walker aide convicted of campaigning on taxpayer time, was staying at Villa’s home and previously disclosed that it had been searched. The records released don’t include warrants or the results of any search that was conducted of Villa’s property.

The September 2011 affidavit were previously sealed under a John Doe secrecy order but were released with the permission of John Doe Judge Neal Nettesheim by the defendants in a lawsuit brought by Cindy Archer, another former Walker aide who was also under investigation but never charged.

The alleged bid-rigging that the article refers to involves an incident that happened while Walker was still Milwaukee County Executive. There were some shenanigans going on between Villa, then Walker campaign treasurer John Hiller and Walker regarding a bidding process for where the county's Department of Aging was going to be housed (emphasis mine):

The Reuss building had been taken over in late 2004 by its lender, Philadelphia-based RAIT Investment Trust, which hired Boerke Co. as the local leasing agent.

Walker campaign adviser Hiller lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik, who said at the time he viewed Hiller as speaking for Boerke.

Hiller, one of Walker's closest confidantes, served as treasurer of Walker's county and gubernatorial campaigns, a position he left in May 2011. He also led Walker's transition team after his 2010 election. He was familiar with Dennik, who had served as director of Walker's 2002 campaign for county executive.

Hiller, himself a real estate broker and developer, said he "probably" pointed the Reuss owners to the county opportunity, and discussed the situation with Dennik. Hiller told the newspaper in 2005 he was hired by the Reuss owners to develop strategies to fill empty offices there.

Hiller at the time downplayed his own role, but said he advised Boerke Co. on which county supervisors to approach to prompt a rebidding of the deal. Hiller said he called Rice, another of Walker's close allies, to urge him to talk to Boerke Co. about doing a "best and final offer" round.

Records show Jensen wrote a letter to key supervisors, including Rice, who later made the motion to reopen the bidding, citing potential savings.

Meanwhile, the Markesan Group - a lobbying firm set up by former Walker chief of staff Jim Villa - lobbied on the 2005 deal, according to Dennik. It couldn't be determined if Villa personally lobbied for it.

Villa left the firm in December 2003 to do Walker campaign work, but in August 2005 - in the midst of the Aging Department bid process - returned to the county executive's office.

Hiller said he did not talk to Villa about the process at that point; Villa felt that ethically he should stay out of it, Hiller said. Villa declined to comment for this story.

The Markesan Group was the main consultant behind Walker's 2004 county re-election effort and helped him launch his 2006 gubernatorial bid. Records show it was paid $126,000 in 2005 by Walker's campaign fund. Hiller said he used to work for Markesan Group, but not in this case.

And if the gentle reader was wondering, Walker has continued to be good friends and tight cronies with Villa, making sure Villa was rewarded for his loyalty to Walker by giving him a cushy, good paying job - at taxpayers' expense of course:

Jim Villa is leaving his post as president of the Commercial Association of Realtors Wisconsin after landing a job as vice president for university relations at the University of Wisconsin System.

Villa will earn $178,000 in his new position and will start May 5, according to a UW announcement.

They say crime doesn't pay but that's not necessarily true in Walker's Wisconsin.

Why Scott Walker Is Not Fit To Govern - In One Sentence!

By Jeff Simpson

Scott Walker, in his never ending quest to associate himself as Ronald Reagan, gave a speech at Reagan's alma mater(he actually graduated) Eureka College in Illinois.  He delivered a speech where he once again made himself out to be the hero in his fantasy world, but he delivered a line that no reporter seemed to pick up on:

Somewhere around the 7;00 minute mark he delivers this line:

"When they went after a Supreme Court Justice, in what otherwise would have been an inconsequential election, we didn't back down." Scott Walker 

 How are you fit to be the President of the United States, the most powerful position in the world and head of the Democratic Republic that we call home, and think that an election for a Justice (one of 7) of the Wisconsin State Supreme Court is "inconsequential"?  

A quick refresher and we see in this "inconsequential" race, approximately $3.5 million dollars was spent, about 1.5 million Wisconsinites voted, and David  "Ike Turner" Prosser won by approximately 7300 votes.

That is inconsequential in Scott Walker's world?














FYI to the Walker campaign:



in·con·se·quen·tial

ˌinkänsəˈkwen(t)SHəl/

adjective

1. not important or significant.

   "they talked about inconsequential things"

   synonyms:

   insignificant, unimportant, of little/no consequence, neither here nor there,incidental, inessential, nonessential, immaterial, irrelevant;

$27 Billion Dollars, 106,000 Jobs and 1600 Companies

By Jeff Simpson 

That is a conservative estimate, of what the state of Wisconsin will lose if the Joel Kleefisch (R-Cancer) anti-research bill becomes law.

Wisconsin’s bioscience industry includes more than 1,600 companies that provide jobs for nearly 36,000 people and pay a salary well above that of the average employee in the state, a new study shows.
Bioscience workers, on average, make $73,241 — more than $30,000 above the average pay of Wisconsin private-sector employees, according to the 2015 Wisconsin Bioscience Economic Development Report, released Wednesday.
The report, by the Ernst and Young consultant firm, is based on 2013 statistics. It was presented to the Bioscience Summit, a daylong conference for the biotechnology industry on Wednesday at Monona Terrace.
It says in addition to the 36,000 jobs within bioscience statewide, the industry is an indirect factor in nearly 70,000 other jobs in Wisconsin, creating a total economic impact of $27 billion.

Shame on us, if ANYONE who votes "yes" on this bill ever wins another election.

 

Superintendent of PUBLIC Instruction - Tony Evers

By Jeff Simpson

Milwaukee County Board member, turned far right assembly Rep. Joe Sanfelippo, has come up with another really bad idea, in a long list of Wisconsin Republican bad ideas.

Sanfelippo, mad that the people in WI keep overwhelmingly electing someone to be the Superintendent of Public Instriction who actually cares about our schools, has decided he has had enough of democracy and it is time for more crony capitalism in the public schools.

Joe has taken over the stupid quote of the year by a politician(and the competition is heavy) Sanfelippo embarrased himself and his ancestors with this one:

Sanfelippo said the state's students should not be "held hostage" for four years based on the winner of a "popularity contest."

Says the person who claims a mandate because he gets elected in a gerrymandered district.   I will pause and let you bang your head against the wall a few times.

(Pause)

A quick look at the Superintendent's duties and how we got here:

Duties[edit]The superintendent's responsibilities include providing leadership for Wisconsin's public school districts; provide the public with information about school management, attendance, and performance; licensing the state's teachers; and receive and disburse federal aid for schools.^[4]In the case Thompson v. Craney, 199 Wis. 2d 674, 546 N.W.2d 123 (1996), the Supreme Court of Wisconsin declared that theGovernor of Wisconsin could not reallocate or diminish the powers of the state Superintendent of Public Instruction by appointing a new Secretary of Education in charge of a Department of Education.^[5][6]

The Superintendent of Public Instruction, sometimes referred to as the State Superintendent of Schools, is a constitutional office^[1] within the executive branch of the Wisconsin state government, and acts as the executive head of the Department of Public Instruction. The superintendent is elected by the people of Wisconsin in a nonpartisan statewide ballot during the Spring primary of the same odd-numbered years that voters select members of the Supreme Court of Wisconsin. The superintendent serves a term of office of four years. The incumbent is Tony Evers.^[2] Superintendents have been elected in non-partisan elections since 1902; before that, superintendents were elected by party like other state executive officers.^[3]

For those of you scoring at home, it is a nonpartisan position, it has been an elected position since 1902 and it has been affirmed in the pre corrupted Wisconsin Supreme Court that the Governor can NOT diminish the superintendent's duties.

Case closed for some, but not for the power hungry extremists running our state.

They must have had this in mind for sometime, because as soon as Mr Sanfelippo introduced the bill, right on cue, Michael Grebe employee Rick Esenberg was out defending it with his "expert legal opinion":

The Wisconsin Supreme Court held in Thompson v. Craney (1996) that because this duty of supervision is vested in the superintendent it cannot be given to another “superior.” More specifically, the Thompson decision held that it was unconstitutional for the Legislature to create a Department of Education – with its own Secretary of Education to be appointed by the governor – and to take away the superintendent’s duty of supervision. However, a broad reading of Thompson suggests the view of the superintendent as the “governor” of education is equally unwarranted. 

Of course Esenberg makes "broad interpretation" of a false narrative and that justifies ending democracy for cronyism? Find me anywhere that Mr. Evers has said he was "Governor of education". I wont wait because it is not there.  

Tony Evers is simply ELECTED to lead the Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction (DPI).   I know many of our friends on the right have no idea what the DPI is or stands for, so let me help:

The Department of Public Instruction is the state agency that advances public education and libraries in Wisconsin.It is headed by the state superintendent of public instruction, a nonpartisan, constitutional officer elected every four years. State Superintendent Tony Evers, elected in 2009 and again in 2013, is working for a Wisconsin with Every Child a Graduate, College and Career Ready. Evers is the 26th person to hold the office.The agency was created in 1848, the year Wisconsin attained statehood, when the state constitution provided for the establishment of local school districts and a free education for all children in the state.

One of the most hilarious "perspectives" came from our old friend Kevin Binversie. In it, he listed a few reasons why Mr. Evers needs to be appointed by the Governor:

While WILL is correct in its reading that the superintendent is not “governor” of education,” DPI under Evers has clearly acted as if that were the case. As head of DPI, Evers has opposed Act 10, sued over the governor’s ability to rewrite DPI’s administrative rules, called the voucher program’s expansion “morally wrong,” and established a kangaroo court to punish schools with Native American mascots they deemed offensive.  

 Obviously, Kevin has no idea what the "PUBLIC", in Department of PUBLIC Instruction stands for.  Anyone who cares about our public schools, and understands whta is happening in them on a daily basis also adamantly opposed all of these other Walker power grabs.  

To be part of public instruction leadership and NOT oppose these things would be a serious dereliction of duty.   

Tony Evers was elected by the people to make sure that our children have the best education possible, not to line Scott Jensen and Jim Bender's bank account.  

The problem in Wisconsin, is that the Republicans in charge do not look to Democrats as someone to work with, they look at them as someone to punish for opposing them.  

One last funny line of his article, proving why he is mostly behind the scenes:

 If anything, the amendment is needed just so the state has one clear, concise voice on education policy; not one where bureaucratic back-stabbing is the norm.  

Yes this is the absolute clear concise voice we need speaking up for our children:

Maybe we can find a way to build a wall around DPI so no one can get out.  #Canadawall

Jim Bender: Come Out, Come Out, Wherever You Are!

By Jeff Simpson

Milwaukee Voucher School Daughters of the Father Christian Academy, has already closed their doors this year, leaving about 150 students stranded.  

Being a "Christian"School, you would think they would have owned up to closingt the doors so that DPI could help the kids find a new school, etc...  Unfortunately no, it took a tip from someone phoned into Fox6.

When the School Choice movement in Wisconsin is run by Scott Jensen, you do not expect honesty but the Founder of this school, Bishop Doris Pinkney takes the cake:

On Friday, FOX6 News got a tip call from someone who works closely with the school. The caller said the school was closed, and that students had been sent to another choice school, Travis Academy.

Bishop Doris Pinkney

That's where we found Bishop Doris Pinkney, the founder of Daughters of the Father Christian Academy. She insisted her school was still open and kids were in the classroom on Friday, even though doors were locked and nobody came to the door.

With flat out lies like that, Bishop Doris, is angling for a spot on the American Federation For Choice campaign team in 2016.  

It is no big deal though, because all that Scott Walker and the Republicans sent her in Wisconsin taxpayer dollars was $5.4 MILLION!   What's a few million dollars between friends, of course when Robin Vos and his crew start sending more and more of our public education money to schools like this there will be less for your children, but that is just a minor detail.   Besides Robin Vos does not have kids anyway!  

The question I have is where is Scott Walker, Robin Vos and Scott Fitzgerald at times like this?  DO they not care that they just threw $5,400,000 of our taxpayer dollars down the drain?

Finally, where is Jim Bender on this? Why does he never seem to comment when these stories keep hitting the news over and over and over?  Isn't it about the children?  





If you see this man, notify the authorities immediately, he appears to be missing.  Approach with care, but he appears to only be dangerous to our children's future.  

Or else tweet them and ask them for our children's $5.4 Million dollars back! 

@SchoolChoiceWI

@JBenderWI