Paul Ryan Knows Nothing

Paul ryan recently went public with his opposition to Obamacare, he even went so far as to argue it with Ted Kennedy's widow - Victoria on ABC's This Week. 

During an interview on ABC, former Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy’s widow, Victoria Kennedy, told host George Stephanopoulos that the Supreme Court had made the right decision by upholding the Affordable Care Act.

“This health care reform was the cause of my husband’s life,” she explained. “He believed that it was a moral issue, that it defined the character of who we were as a society, who we were as a country, and that decent quality, affordable health care should be fundamental right and not a privilege.”

But Ryan rejected Kennedy’s assertion and promised to completely undo the law.

“We’re going to repeal the entire law and then we’re going to advance patient-centered reforms that address these kinds of issues,” the Wisconsin Republican said.

“I think this at the end of the day is a big philosophy difference,” he continued. “What Ms. Kennedy and others were saying is that this is a new government-granted right. We disagree with the notion that our rights come from government, that the government can now grant us and define our rights. Those are ours, they come from nature and God, according to the Declaration of Independence — a huge difference in philosophy.”

To paraphrase Jesus - Forgive him Father for he knows not how dumb he is. Lets take a quick look at paul ryan's premise. The Treaty of Tripoli was signed on June 10th, 1797 by our first conservative President John Adams.

As the Government of the United States of America is not, in any sense, founded on the Christian religion,—as it has in itself no character of enmity against the laws, religion, or tranquility, of Mussulmen [Muslims],—and as the said States never entered into any war or act of hostility against any Mahometan [Muslim] nation, it is declared by the parties that no pretext arising from religious opinions shall ever produce an interruption of the harmony existing between the two countries.

Sorry Paulie, the United States is not in any sense a Christian nation! You obviously have never had a grasp on the Constitution, now it looks like you have even less of a sense of religion.

Well digging into what Paul Ryan (R- Wall St.), actually does and says, we know that he really is not the person to be interpreting what God tells us either. Ryan, the ayn rand disciple and worshiper, now pretends to interpret what God tells us.

Paul Is definitely NOT one of the Apostles!

Just ask the Nuns on the Bus!

 If you want to the end the reign of incompetence that Paul ryan brings to Wisconsin, throw some support to his opponent - Rob Zerban!!

Republican Thugs - Attack the Kid!

As we posted here the other day, former republican wonderkid and Author Johnathan Krohn came out and let everyone know, that he was no longer the 13 year old kid who the republicans threw up on the mantle as the answer to all political questions.  


Krohn pointed out that he grew up, opened his mind and matured and was no longer a "social conservative" in fact he supports President Obama. Next comes the part of the story that EVERYONE knew was coming. The anger and hatred on the right could not let this go, they had to attack the 17 year old and they used their favorite misleading vessel, Fox "News", to do so!

"Well, I am in favor of Obamacare," he said. "I mean Obamacare and gay marriage, and I am pro-choice now. You know, it was social conservatism that was really the first thing to go."

Reflecting on his encounters at social conservative gatherings, he continued, "It's very much a very fundamentalist, strong Evangelical core that you have there. And, if you stray from that, a lot of the people in that area of conservatism have a problem with that, if you reach out a little bit and don't agree with them on one issue. They're very restrictive."

Asked about blowback he's experienced from conservatives in response to his political shift, Krohn acknowledged that some of the reaction has been critical, but stressed, "I changed my mind." Referring to coverage on Fox News he said, "They started making fun of me. I think one of the guys said if it was up to him he would have left me in the woods as a baby.

On the Daily Caller, they have written three articles about me, all of which called me names I can't repeat on television in 5:00 in the afternoon." One Daily Caller article published earlier in the day quoted an anonymous source who attended the Conservative Political Action Conference in 2009, who called Krohn "smug, condescending, and obviously completely ignorant of what he was saying." The source added, "To be clear, the fact that he was being used did not make the kid any less of a douche.”

What does it say about your network when the 17 year old your constantly attacking is more mature than anyone employed there?

It's real classy the way the right attacks people like this, yet everyone knew it was coming. One word of advice to Mr. Krohn, its going to get worse, their hatred and anger is bottled up and ready to explode!

The Cap Times Tells A Joke

The impeccable Emily Mills brought to my attention that the Cap Times issued a mild reprimand to Charlie Sykes and the way he is still trying to besmirch the ongoing Walkergate investigation. Sykes has been after the investigation in earnest since he was outed as falsely claiming there were leaks coming from the Milwaukee District Attorney's Office when he damn well knew that the "leaks" were the defendants and their attorneys, since he's been the recipient of some of these leaks. In said reprimand, they slipped in a little joke (emphasis mine):

What we hope is that Sykes, whom we have respected as a serious and important commentator (even if we do not always agree with him) will be a bit more respectful of Chisholm and his investigators.

What an odd line to throw in there.

First, there is the fact that Sykes often has Brian Fraley on as a guest to his radio and TV shows, and uses the effluence spewed from the propagandist group MacIver Institute as "proof" of whatever point he is trying to make. Yet the Cap Times doesn't think that the MacIverites are necessarily serious or important commentators.

And Sykes is the same squawker who thinks making inferences that the Milwaukee County Executive, Chris Abele, is a pedophile is hilarious.

And who could possibly seriously take Sykes who openly admits to making stuff up without a stitch of evidence.

Calling Sykes a serious and important commentator is almost as big as a joke as Sykes is.

Cross posted at Whallah!

David Prosser - Rule of Necessity!

David Prosser was recently in the news when his documents were released, showing him to be a complete immoral unethical ass. His latest escapade was to ask all of his colleagues to recuse themselves from reviewing his horrible judicial conduct. 

If Prosser can get two others to recuse themselves, Patience Roggensack already has(and Prosser will also) then the review of his conduct that is so desperately needed, will never happen.  While Prosser is unethical he is not dumb.  He knows that his conduct will not stand up to review so he works to make sure he is never held accountable. 

Luckily for the people of Wisconsin and our Justice system, Justice Crooks will NOT recuse himself and is ready to hear the case.  

I have given careful consideration to Justice David T. Prosser's motion for my recusal from participation in the judicial disciplinary proceedings against him, Case No. 2012AP566-J. Initially, I concluded that this recusal motion was premature because the judicial discipline statutes, Wis. Stat. § 757.81 through § 757.99 (2009-10), do not require this court to act at this stage in the proceedings. Nevertheless, I have decided that I now want to issue my decision on Justice Prosser's recusal motion.

I conclude that the legal rule known as the "Rule of Necessity," as well as the duty to sit on cases, requires me to remain on this case. After considering all of the arguments raised by Justice Prosser's recusal motion, I further conclude that Wis. Stat. § 757.19(2)(b) and (g), and SCR 60.04(4) do not require me to recuse in this matter.

The Wisconsin Judicial Commission filed the complaint against Justice Prosser in this court pursuant to Wis. Stat. § 757.85(5) and did not request a jury. At this point, the statutes direct the chief judge of the court of appeals to select a judicial conduct panel. Wis. Stat. § 757.87(1), (3) (providing that "[t]he chief judge of the court of appeals shall select the judges and designate which shall be presiding judge"). Despite the statute's requirement, no panel has been selected. The Judicial Commission has now filed a motion titled "motion for designation to panel." (Capitalization omitted.) It asks this court to initiate the selection of a three-judge panel and to designate this matter to such a panel to make findings of fact, conclusions of law and a recommendation regarding the appropriate discipline in response to the complaint.

The complaint against Justice Prosser appears to allege ethical violations based on two incidents: (1) that Justice Prosser put his hands around the neck of Justice Ann Walsh Bradley on June 13, 2011, in Justice Bradley's chambers, and (2) a prior incident in which Justice Prosser said to Chief Justice Shirley S. Abrahamson after a closed conference, "You are a total bitch." I was not present during the first incident. I was present during the second. The complaint is against a member of the court, and both incidents directly involved other members of the court. Justice Prosser has requested by letter that Justice Roggensack, Justice Ziegler and Justice Gableman recuse themselves and has filed motions for recusal against Chief Justice Abrahamson and Justice Bradley. Justice Roggensack has decided to recuse herself in this matter. If I were to grant Justice Prosser's motion for recusal, it is possible that this court would lack a quorum to act on the judicial disciplinary proceedings against Justice Prosser. Wis. Const. art. VII, § 4(1) ("Any 4 justices shall constitute a quorum for the conduct of the court's business.").⁽¹⁾  

Justice Crooks is ready to roll in terms of hearing SWORN testimony in the Prosser case, under the "Rule of Necessity".  I can not think of anything more necessary than hearing this case and doling out the appropriate punishment to allow the people of Wisconsin to have faith in their government again

Our friend Illy T has much more here!   

Today's Chuckle, Sad But True

Swiped from Facebook:

Coggs Building Update

If the gentle reader will remember, the Coggs Building, the social service center for Milwaukee County, was having a really rough week a couple weeks ago.  First it suffered severe water damage due to an improperly sealed roof and a severe thunderstorm.  Then it suffered severe soot and smoke damage from a five alarm fire which happened directly across the street.

All of this was enough that it closed the building for three days while water and smoke damage specialists did their magic.

When we returned to work, I was very impressed.  They did a thorough cleaning of the entire building, top to bottom, including workers' personal effects, ceiling tiles, chairs, carpeting, and just about everything.  I think it's been the cleanest that I've seen in the time I've worked there.  Kudos to the hardworking crews that put in 10 to 12 hour days to get us up and running.

However, when we reopened, not everything was perfect.  The smoke had caused a lot of the electronics to go haywire and the IT folks were kept busy getting systems and individual work stations up and running again. Kudos to these folks too.

The building that was on fire burned to the ground.  TMJ4 is reporting that the fire might have been arson.

Here's a couple photos of the remnants and the clean up effort which was closely followed by investigators:

What was left after a five alarm fire

But at least the pay phone survived - what the
heck are they made of? Even the handpiece didn't melt!

The clean up starts. The operator was very skilled and
avoided mishap although there were a couple
of scary moments where it looked like he'd tip over.

What I have yet to see reported anywhere but here is the water damage which the building suffered days before the fire.  I even saw one news report on Fox6Milwaukee where the reporter is walking past the dehumidifiers and not mentioning them once.  But the evidence of the damage remains with stripped down walls, plastic covering the holes they cut into the walls, parts of the artificial ceiling missing and the employee stairwell and entrance still out of commission.  Here are just a couple of photos to show some of the ceiling fixtures which were damaged:

I have the name of the roofing company that left the roof improperly sealed and am looking into them.  If there is anything of note, I'll report on it when I find out.

Walker's Hypocritical Email In Picture Form

For some reason, this image reminded me so much of Scott Walker's hypocritical email and vice-versa:

Source

Scott Walker's Ironic Independence Day Email Is Ironic

Walker's campaign sent out an Independence Day email which was stunning for its irony and a classic example of Walker's hypocrisy and lack of insight. It reads as follows, with the italicized part his, the bold section is mine:

Not too long ago, I visited Independence Hall in Philadelphia and was struck by the great presence imposed on me by that historic site. When I was young, I always imagined our Founders to be larger-than-life figures, almost superhero-like in stature. But only when I stepped into the small, humble Assembly Room, did I truly realize that these were ordinary men who exhibited extraordinary courage. They were willing to sacrifice their lives in order to advance the cause of human freedom and self-governance.

July 4, 2012 marks the 236th Anniversary of our nation’s inception as a free and constitutional republic, and I am reminded of this passage from Thomas Jefferson’s exceptionally eloquent Declaration of Independence:

We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. — That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed.

Those words give us the great lesson of our republic. We must always remember that we the people have the power over our government and that the will of the people is the law of the land.

Today, we celebrate another year of freedom and remember the lives of those lost who fought to protect that freedom. We must never forget the ultimate sacrifice so many Americans made to protect our way of life. Today, as we gather around our barbecues and watch outstanding fireworks displays, we pay homage to those heroes who are no longer with us. We must honor them not only today, but everyday that freedom prevails over tyranny.

Tonette, Matt, Alex, and I wish you and your family a blessed and happy Independence Day!

Sincerely,

Scott Walker
45th Governor of Wisconsin

A few things pop out at me immediately.

He obviously didn't write this himself since there aren't nearly as many spelling and grammatical errors as we have come to expect when he tries to write something.

It absolutely sickens and enrages me that this man, who is at the beck and call of the corporations, and whose every action is to benefit the corporate interests that bought the governor's seat for him - twice - regardless of how many real people might get hurt, should now try to utter such hypocrisy that he gives a damn about what the real people have to say or what their desires are.

And it's particularly disturbing that a man who has assailed just about every single right we have* should even speak of freedom much less it prevailing over tyranny.

Telling women what they can and cannot do with their bodies or their health is not freedom, it's tyranny.  Teaching kids only the things you want them to know is not freedom, it's tyranny.  Telling workers they don't have the civil rights they've fought so long for and which has made the state the success it was until a year and a half ago is not freedom, it's tyranny.  Telling people they do not have the right to the Freedom of Speech and cannot hold up a sign of protest is not freedom, it's tyranny.  Sending state troopers to arrest political opponents is not freedom, it's tyranny.  Denying or hindering people from exercising their right to vote is not freedom, it's tyranny.

And the list goes on and on.

Yes, what Walker is foisting upon us isn't freedom. It isn't the will of the people. It's a corporate-backed tyranny.  And Walker is a puppet tyrant.  Or a dictator if you'd rather.

*I can just hear the pro-Walker acolytes and apologists denying that their rights have been impacted or diminished, but this is only symptomatic of their cognitive dissonance and how deeply in denial they truly are. Sadly, when they do realize that they've screwed themselves by supporting Walker, they'll form some sort of twisted rationale that it's really the Democrat's fault somehow.

Happy Independence Day!

Happy Independence Day! Thanks to everyone for welcoming me here!

"These are the times that try mens’ souls. The summer soldier and the sunshine patriot will, in this crisis, shrink from the service of his country; but he that stands it now, deserves the love and thanks of man and woman." Thomas Paine.

This Independence Day

A-focking-men!

Zerban Statement on Ryan’s Faux Fiscal Credentials

Rob Zerban has done taken the gloves off with this press release:

“Congressman Ryan had 10 years in Congress – almost all with a House Republican majority – to reduce the deficit, prior to President Obama’s election. He did nothing.”

KENOSHA, Wis. – Today, prior to hosting his small business roundtable on Thursday, Rob Zerban, the small-businessman challenging Congressman Paul Ryan, released the following statement regarding Paul Ryan’s faux fiscal credentials.

“Congressman Paul Ryan can grandstand about the debt all he wants, but at the end of the day, Ryan is a root cause of many of the financial issues our country faces today,” said Rob Zerban.

“From supporting two unfunded wars, to dumping millions of senior citizens into the Medicare Part D “donut hole” while tying the hands of the government to negotiate prescription drug prices, and from fighting for subsidies for Big Oil that his family personally benefits from, to supporting the unfunded Bush tax cuts for his wealthiest campaign contributors, Paul Ryan’s hypocrisy is astounding.

“Congressman Ryan fell down on the job, and is now trying to push the blame for his bad policy decisions onto President Obama.

“Congressman Ryan had 10 years in Congress – almost all with a House Republican majority – to reduce the deficit, prior to President Obama’s election. He did nothing.”

That's gotta smart.

Fact Checkers Come And Go And Sometimes Are Far Gone

President Barack Obama's campaign is running this ad highlighting his opponent's track record at Bain in which he would push jobs overseas and reap the profits.



One of these truthier-than-thou fact check group, with the unoriginal name of FactCheckers, took umbrage with Obama's ads and described them as making unsubstantiated claims.

Team Obama sent them a courteous six-page letter explaining why their complaints were what truly was unsubstantiated.

Well, just like PolitiFact, FactCheckers doesn't like being second guessed or corrected, so they came out with a second article, but were now not calling Obama's claims as unsubstantiated, but outright false.

The basis for their claim to having more truthiness is their claim that Romney wasn't really in charge of Bain in 1999, before the time the events in Obama's commercial occurred. They said he was at first an absentee executive and then a silent investor. Their basis for this claim? Romney said so.

Well. that clears that up! Romney wouldn't lie about something like this would he?

Here's what the Fact Checkers are using as their "proof":

Here’s what Romney has said:

Mitt Romney Public Financial Disclosure Report, Aug. 11, 2011: Mr. Romney retired from Bain Capital on February 11, 1999 to head the Salt Lake Organizing Committee. Since February 11, 1999, Mr. Romney has not had any active role with any Bain Capital entity and has not been involved in the operations of any Bain Capital entity in any way.

Romney’s signature appears on the line that states: “I certify that statements I have made on this form and all attached schedules are true, complete and correct to the best of my knowledge.”

They follow this up with a Bain spokesman iterating the claim.

But then there is this from BizJournals (note the date of the article, August 23, 2001):

W. Mitt Romney is quitting Boston-based Bain Capital, the $13 billion investment firm he started with $35 million in 1984. The son of a former governor and himself a presidential candidate is going into politics in either Massachusetts or Utah after he completes work helping organize next year's Salt Lake City Winter Olympics.

Romney, 54, is giving up his 100 percent control of Bain Capital to 26 managing directors. The firm has made 170 venture and buyout investments in companies like pizza delivery chain Domino's Pizza Inc., brokerage Datek Online Holdings Corp. and retailers Staples Inc. and the Sports Authority Inc.

Both of these claims cannot be true, since they directly contradict each other. So was Romney lying in 1999 or was he lying in 2001?

For Romney's sake, he'd better have been lying in 2001. For if he was lying in 1999, on official government forms, he would be in deep trouble, per the same Fact Checkers who are defending him:

Making false statements to the federal government is a serious crime (under 18 USC 1001) carrying possible fines and up to five years in federal prison....

Hmmm, maybe we won't need Scott Walker to take Romney down when he gets perpwalked later this year. It looks like Romney should be doing his own perpwalk.

For a full debunking of FactCheckers bunk, I would refer the gentle reader to karoli's article, for which I give her a tip of the crown, for my article.

Scott Walker: Hero of Independence

From Lipstick Liberal:



Heh!

Republican crazies - part 2!

After writing about three republican crazies, this is a whole new brand of crazies that were too insane not too share!

1. Illinois republican congressman and deadbeat dad Joe Walsh.Joe Walsh has a democratic opponent in the November elections  Tammy Duckworth who is a military hero who was severely wounded in service to our country.   Most people would say thank you for your service and sorry for your injuries.  Joe Walsh is just annoyed by them.   

 Walsh has apparently had enough of her histrionics. He told an Elk Grove town hall on Friday that Sen. John McCain was a “noble hero” because he didn’t often talk about his military service. “Now I’m running against a woman who, my God, that’s all she talks about,” Walsh said.

 “I have so much respect for what she did in the fact that she sacrificed her body for this country,” said Walsh. Then, according to Politico, he paused for dramatic effect: “Ehhh. Now let’s move on.”

 Though he never joined the military himself, Rep. Joe Walsh (R-IL) disparaged his Democratic opponent’s military service at a town hall on Sunday, saying that she’s not a “true hero.”

 2. A Republican running for Congress in one of the nation’s most competitive districts claimed that Americans “don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer”in order to justify his opposition to health care reform: 

“People now don’t die from prostate cancer, breast cancer and some of the other things,” Collins said. “The fact of the matter is, our healthcare today is so much better, we’re living so much longer, because of innovations in drug development, surgical procedures, stents, implantable cardiac defibrillators, neural stimulators—they didn’t exist 10 years ago. The increase in cost is not because doctors are making a lot more money. It’s what you can get for healthcare, extending your life and curing diseases.”

In reality, 28,000 men die from prostate cancer and 40,000 women die from breast cancer every year! Of course people dieing of cancer mean nothing to the republican party.

3.  ladies if you are not busy on July 24th, I recommend flying to New York where republican male state senator Marty Golden will teach you how to act like a proper lady: 

As part of a summer series on career development directed at his female constituents, Golden is hosting a taxpayer-funded event called “Posture, Deportment and the Feminine Presence” on July 24. Golden promises to teach Bay Ridge women “the art of feminine presence,” which includes tips on how to “sit, stand and walk like a model” and “walk up and down a stair elegantly”:

Dr. Tim's Comedy Tour

local "tea party" speaker and comedian, Dr, Tim Nerenz, is at it again.  Earlier this year, he had a routine where he completely misconstrued and lied about the protests and the recalls.   While his blog is one of the funniest around(although I am not sure that comedy is what he is shooting for), he occasionally comes up with some that stand out.

He did it again. This time trying to attack the Wisconsin Pension system.  

If government securities will return only 3%, then corporate investments must return 10, 12 or even 15% to bring the average returns up to the 7% needed to pay out their pension liabilities.  The YTD return on the S&P 500 is only 7.6%, so corporate profits must roughly double in order to rescue the public pension systems.  

That cracks the room up! 

As Capper shared with us, the Wisconsin Pensions System is strong but the righties still want to get their hands on it! 

But the sad fact is that it's not only the public sector workers' money that would go to feed the monsters of Wall Street, but the taxpayers' money as well. After all, defined benefits plans like the one the state has right now is almost twice as cost effective as the defined contribution plans they want to force on us.

 The reality is that no matter what the Dr. Tim's of the state or the Magyver Institute tries to throw at us, they are lying to you and their one goal is to cash in on YOUR pension system, not to save it!   The Wisconsin Pension system is doing just great without their help! 

A highly anticipated report ordered by Gov. Scott Walker and the Republican-controlled Legislature and released on Monday recommended no changes to Wisconsin’s $77 billion pension system.

But the report’s findings that Wisconsin’s system is strong and should not be changed are not a surprise, Holden said.

“This is a very well-managed system, and I think the report came to that judgment with very good data,” she said.

The report, written by the Department of Administration, the Department of Employee Trust Funds and the Office of State Employment Relations, cited numerous problems that could occur if the state instigated changes.

Defined contribution plans, like a 401(k), are common in private businesses and have no guaranteed payout to retirees. Benefits are guaranteed to workers in a defined benefit plan, as Wisconsin offers its employees. While a defined contribution plan would provide no risk to taxpayers, the report said the professional management of all pooled assets under the current system increases the performance of the defined benefit plan.

Employers and employees would have to pay more to get the same level of benefit they have now if the state would move to a defined contribution system, the report said. It also said such plans typically have higher administrative costs.

The study also raised concerns about allowing workers to opt out of making required payments to the system. Doing that could negatively affect contribution rates for those already in the system and present tax qualification issues with the Internal Revenue Service for the current plan, the report said.

So we see with the report that was written by the Governor's own departments that the best thing to do with our pension system is to leave it alone.   We all know that will not stop Dr. Tim and the rest of the red meaters, from trying to write and talk about how we must change it!   

You can not blame them though, Dr. Tim, Brian Fraley, Christian Schneider , Jimmy Wigderson, are all just political hacks who are unemployable in the real world.  Their best bet is to keep doing, writing and saying what they are told by their corporate masters so they can continue to collect the paychecks. 

 

Of course if college was affordable, maybe they could go back and get an education and realize how silly they actually are!