Disgraceful Reporting Dishonors Victims Of The O'Donnell Park Tragedy

On June 24, 2010, tragedy struck Milwaukee County.

As people were streaming in to enjoy the first days of Summerfest, a 27,000 concrete facade fell off the O'Donnell Park parking garage and struck three people, killing fifteen year old Jared Kellner and injuring two others.

Kellner's parents have since filed a lawsuit which has been working its slow way through the courts. Recently, expert witness reports have been filed with the court. The reporting on this by Steve Schultze of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is absolutely disgraceful in its inaccuracy (emphasis ours):

Milwaukee County has long blamed faulty installation for the 13-ton concrete panel falling from O'Donnell Park two years ago, killing a 15-year-old Greenfield boy.

Implicit in that view was that the county had no blame in the tragedy, in which two others were injured.

New theories advanced in the accident shift the focus back on the county, alleging that improper maintenance may have played a role or that snow removal equipment bumped and loosened the panel that dropped from the O'Donnell ramp facade over the Lincoln Memorial Drive exit, according to expert witness reports filed in a lawsuit that is a year away from trial.

[...]

Advance raises a series of possible contributing factors to the panel collapse, including water infiltration weakening the connections, pressure on the panel connection caused by problems in the ramp construction and impact damage. Snow removal equipment and heavy trucks likely damaged the panel and it may have been slammed from inside the ramp by vehicles parked near the panel that fell, according to a Thornton Thomasetti report.

There is absolutely not one thing new about the concern regarding deferred maintenance and its role in the O'Donnell Park tragedy.

As Milwaukee County Executive, Scott Walker was infamous for his preference of kicking the can down the road by deferring maintenance and delaying repairs on many county buildings, especially those in the parks. In an audit done just six months before the tragedy, the county auditors presented a report listing almost $300,000 in deferred maintenance and delayed repairs just to the parks buildings.

Nor was it the first time that a county building fell apart from the poor care they received under Walker's watch. A piece of cornice fell off of the Milwaukee County Courthouse fell off just months before the tragedy.

Immediately after the tragedy, then Milwaukee Board Chairman Lee Holloway issued a statement of sympathy and ordered that the rest of the county buildings immediately undergo inspection.

Not only did Walker show deplorable behavior by condemning the statement, but his own actions showed exactly where his priorities were, and they weren't with the victims:

What makes Walker’s accusations even more egregious is that the first thing Walker did was to check in at the courthouse to see if there was any deferred maintenance. At the press conference that occurred shortly after the tragedy, after appropriately expressing his sympathy for the victims, Walker felt it necessary to keep repeating that there was no deferred maintenance that he was aware of. It was as if his first concern was that he didn’t get blamed for this catastrophe.

If one wanted further proof that deferred maintenance is not a new theory by any stretch of the imagination, one would not have to go further than the same paper. On July 6, the paper had a report that included this snippet (emphasis ours):

Though the connections are drawing the interest of investigators, including the sheriff’s department and district attorney’s office, it’s not yet clear whether a change in design would explain why the panel dislodged and fell.

Engineering experts caution that there is rarely one villain in such accidents, and unlikely suspects can play a surprising role.

“Usually the small details cause big problems,” said Al Ghorbanpoor, chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s civil engineering department.

Also to be explored is whether the county took steps over the years to block moisture from getting into the joints connecting the panels to the walls. Moisture could have corroded the connections, said Ghorbanpoor, who has investigated building failures.

And then on the very next day, they had another article which had this in it (again, emphasis ours):

Experts agree that the top of the slab, where the panel was connected to the parking garage wall, is the key weight-bearing point. They also say that hanging such panels – which are purely a decorative feature – is a straightforward job that doesn’t require sophisticated engineering.

“There could be 10 different ways of doing this,” said Al Ghorbanpoor, chairman of the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee’s civil engineering department. Investigators will want to check the design, the quality of construction and maintenance of the panel, he said.
Indeed, a review of the maintenance records from the 2009 audit shows that a lot of work needed to be done on the parking structure.

Walker and his apologists claimed that the repairs had been made in the six months between the audit and the tragedy.

However, an independent study of the building by Inspec revealed otherwise. It was so bad that engineer Dwight Benoy said that the parking garage was "one of the worst ones" of the hundreds of buildings he's ever seen. Their 66-page report verifies that the building was in horrendous condition with many needed repairs as a result of obviously very poor maintenance.

Perhaps the most egregious part of the whole story is why the maintenance was deferred and the repairs went undone.

In a article appearing in the BizTimes, Milwaukee County Supervisor John Weishan exposed the fact that in Walker's eight years as county executive, he raided the the capital fund, diverting $112 million in sales tax revenue, which was earmarked for maintenance and repairs and used it to fill gaps in his operating budgets.

Whether the recent article in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel is the result of sloppy reporting or part of the paper's ongoing history of under-reporting Walker's responsibility for many of the problems that Milwaukee County has and is still experiencing as a result of his poor leadership skills, it is utterly disgraceful and downright shameful for the way it dishonors the victims of this horrid tragedy.

It also is a gross disservice to the people who rely on them for factual and honest reporting.  They have the solemn responsibility to do better than that.

Cross posted at Milwaukee County First.

Wisconsin's Weather Reflects Its Economic Climate

The National Weather Service has issued a report saying that the bottom half of the state is in a "mild drought" and is currently about four inches of rain behind the norm.  It is so dry that Scott Walker has declared a drought emergency which will expedite the issuance of permits for farmers to tap into lakes and rivers to water their crops.

Meanwhile, the very top of the state has had too much rain and is suffering from severe flooding.  The flooding is bad enough that Walker has asked FEMA for help in dealing with all of the damage.

It struck me that the weather of Wisconsin is a surprisingly accurate reflection of the state's political climate.

The bottom tiers of Wisconsinites don't have enough money thanks to Walker's policies, like Act 10.  Meanwhile, the top 1% of the state has more money than they know what to do with thanks to Walker's generous tax breaks and giveaways to the ultra-rich.

And through all of it, Walker has consistently shown that he is clueless and needs help to fix the mess he's made.

I Don't Think The Common Person Is Getting It!

Says an anonymous donor of Mitt Romney's at a Koch brother's $75,000 a plate fundraiser at the Hampton's(generally regarded as one of the most wealthy and exclusive places in the country) in New York!

A New York City donor a few cars back, who also would not give her name, said Romney needed to do a better job connecting. "I don't think the common person is getting it," she said from the passenger seat of a Range Rover stamped with East Hampton beach permits. "Nobody understands why Obama is hurting them. "We've got the message," she added. "But my college kid, the baby sitters, the nails ladies -- everybody who's got the right to vote -- they don't understand what's going on. I just think if you're lower income -- one, you're not as educated, two, they don't understand how it works, they don't understand how the systems work, they don't understand the impact."

Let's take a look at exactly WHAT the "common person" is NOT getting. They are not getting that if you are cramped for space in your garage you should just have a car elevator installed.

311 Dunemere Drive, La Jolla, CA: Mitt Romney, GOP presidential candidate and former Massachusetts governor, Bought in 2008 for $12 million, Romney announced plans to tear down his current 3,000-square foot California beach house and rebuild an 11,000-square manse in its place -- but not until after the election season.

Of course things are getting a little tough in this economy for Romney, he had to sell his ski lodge!

3853 Rising Star Lane, Park City, UT: In addition to his beach house, Romney owns a Boston, MA-area townhouse and a $10 million Wolfeboro, NH summer home. In 2009 he sold two others: a Belmont, MA house for $3.5 million and this Deer Valley ski lodge for $5.25 million.

What else does the "common person" not understand? Why Horses of course!

Hey I get it you have to keep the wife happy, even if it ends up costing you a loss of $77000 in a year(way more than the average family makes in a year). When the stakes are so high in the dressage horse arena, you can see why Ann and Mitt Romney would sell a horse so heavily medicated that it was unable to perform. When your trying to support 5 million dollars plus houses and a dressage horse hobby, you can not afford to have horses dieing on you!

Ann Romney found herself briefly the subject of a lawsuit at whose core, according to court documents, was a heavily-medicated horse. Romney and her trainers sold the horse, Super Hit, in 2008 for $125,000. And Super Hit had what a prominent veterinarian described as a staggering quantity of drugs in its system at the time of its examination before being sold, according to a toxicology report that's part of the lawsuit over the horse's condition.

The lawsuit, which was mentioned in a New York Times story last month, was filed in 2010 by a woman in San Diego who had bought Super Hit from Romney and her trainers, Jan and Amy Ebeling. The woman, Catherine Norris, sued Romney for fraud after the horse allegedly proved physically incapable of performing as a dressage horse.

The case with Romney was settled last September and she is no longer involved in the lawsuit. According to a toxicology report provided to the horse's vet and testimony from a veterinarian, Dr. Steven Soule, included in the lawsuit, Super Hit had three sedative pain killers and one narcotic pain killer in her system when the horse was examined to check her condition pre-sale. The drugs were Butorphanol, Delomidine, Romifidine, and Xylatine. Soule, who has been the United States Equestrian Team veterinarian since 1978, writes, “In my 38 years of practice, I have never come across a drug screen such as this where the horse has been administered so many different medications at the same time.” The horse had a defect in its foot, and Norris's lawyers alleged that the Ebelings had drugged the horse in order to hide its condition.

Another thing the "common person" does not get is how to travel with your pet!

Back in 1983, Romney was struggling to cram the kids and their luggage into the family station wagon for the drive to the Lake Huron shores, where his family still owns a cottage at Beach O’ Pines, a mostly American enclave. “Before beginning the drive, Mitt Romney put Seamus, the family’s hulking Irish setter, in a dog carrier and attached it to the station wagon’s roof rack,” the Globe wrote of Romney, then a 36-year-old management consultant with Boston-based Bain and Company.

Romney constructed a special windshield for the carrier, “to make the ride more comfortable for the dog.” The contraption apparently wasn’t much of a success, however, as Seamus soon began to suffer gastric issues from his windy perch atop the car.

Romney’s oldest boy, Tagg, noticed the first sign of trouble, according to the Globe piece. “Dad!” he yelled. “Gross!” A brown liquid was dripping down the back window of the station wagon. Romney calmly dealt with the problem amid his boys’ howls of disgust, pulling into a service station to hose down Seamus and the car.

He put the dog back in the crate and continued the drive to Ontario

Another thing the "common person" has a problem getting how to spontaneously rap!  

The "common person" also needs to know how to drive a jet ski!

The "common person" could also use a lesson in pay to play politics!

Oklahoma oil billionaire Harold Hamm didn't wait long to make a nearly $1 million donation to a group supporting Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney after he became one of Romney's top energy advisers in March. Just weeks after Hamm joined the Romney campaign, he gave $985,000 to a pro-Romney super PAC, according to campaign reports.

The "common person" also needs to learn that teachers, fire fighters and police officers are a drag on society!

Romney made the comments in response to Obama’s presser today, at which the president claimed the “private sector is doing fine.” Per CNN: Romney said of Obama, “he wants another stimulus, he wants to hire more government workers. He says we need more fireman, more policeman, more teachers. Did he not get the message of Wisconsin? The American people did. It’s time for us to cut back on government and help the American people.”

 

Finally, the last and most important thing that the "common people" need to get. Forget the US bank and taxes...move your money offshore and never tell the truth about what your doing!

More than three dec­ades later, as he tried to nail down the Republican nomination for president of the United States, Romney’s gray areas were again an issue when he repeatedly resisted calls to release more details of his net worth, his tax returns, and the large investments and assets held by him and his wife, Ann. Finally the other Republican candidates forced him to do so, but only highly selective disclosures were forthcoming.

Even so, these provided a lavish smorgasbord for Romney’s critics. Particularly jarring were the Romneys’ many offshore accounts. As Newt Gingrich put it during the primary season, “I don’t know of any American president who has had a Swiss bank account.” But Romney has, as well as other interests in such tax havens as Bermuda and the Cayman Islands.

To give but one example, there is a Bermuda-based entity called Sankaty High Yield Asset Investors Ltd., which has been described in securities filings as “a Bermuda corporation wholly owned by W. Mitt Romney.” It could be that Sankaty is an old vehicle with little importance, but Romney appears to have treated it rather carefully. He set it up in 1997, then transferred it to his wife’s newly created blind trust on January 1, 2003, the day before he was inaugurated as Massachusetts’s governor. The director and president of this entity is R. Bradford Malt, the trustee of the blind trust and Romney’s personal lawyer. Romney failed to list this entity on several financial disclosures, even though such a closely held entity would not qualify as an “excepted investment fund” that would not need to be on his disclosure forms. He finally included it on his 2010 tax return. Even after examining that return, we have no idea what is in this company, but it could be valuable, meaning that it is possible Romney’s wealth is even greater than previous estimates. While the Romneys’ spokespeople insist that the couple has paid all the taxes required by law, investments in tax havens such as Bermuda raise many questions, because they are in “jurisdictions where there is virtually no tax and virtually no compliance,” as one Miami-based offshore lawyer put it.

Yes the "common person" needs to understand that there is no one more common than Mitt Romney!

Paul Ryan Budgets Himself Millions!

 H/T Badger Democracy! Go here and read the whole story, but here is a highlight!

Statements of Economic Interest (SEI) recently released by Congressman Paul Ryan (R-Janesville), when compared to previous years’ SEI show a clear pattern – the more influence he has on the Congressional Budget process, the more stake he (through his wife Janna (nee Little)) has gained in Oklahoma mining interests. This family interest is led by Ryan’s father-in-law, Dan Little; and is currently making millions leasing rights to energy giants engaging in extensive natural gas shale fracking.

The financial conflicts at work here are direct. Ryan’s budget gives $43 Billion in tax breaks to the companies and processes the Little family (and Ryan) profit from. The policy conflict is the expansion of fracking, which the American Legislative Exchange Council (ALEC) is promoting through powerful Legislators like Ryan.

You might ask yourself how could someone who is making a very decent wage of $174/k yr, turn that into becoming a millionaire in a matter of ten years!  The answer is simple, control the budget of the United States!

 Ryan is getting away with clear financial conflicts of interest. The worse crime is complete rejection of potential social, safety and environmental impact to pursue profit at any cost. Ryan is using his powerful position to forward a fiscal and regulatory agenda from which he personally has, and will continue to reap enormous profit. In 1998, none of this interest was reported by Ryan – now, the value is nearly $1 Million and growing…thanks to Ryan’s inside operations.

Give Scott @ BD credit for reaching out and getting a response from Ryan's office(I have tried on numerous occassions and have never received even a response).   By the way, Ryan's response when asked about this:

He would rather not talk about it:

"Our office doesn’t comment on the financial disclosures any further than what is available publicly. Appreciate your reaching out."
Smythe Anderson

 Maybe a REPORTER who has access to Ryan on a regular basis could get this explained and maybe while they were at it, they could get an explanation on WHY this is even legal! 

One last thing to remember, Ryan (from economically devastated Janesville, WI) is the one who wanted to end unemployment benefits!

Yes what a stand-up Catholic paul ryan is!  

Cross Posted @ The Paul Ryan Watch, where there is everything you wanted to know about Paul Ryan and the Janesville Gazette was scared to tell you!   

They Call It The Fitzwalkerstan Special

What you don't get with each purchase is a vac, since the state's Republicans already suck.

Of Tax Breaks And TB Outbreaks

The State of Florida is learning, the really hard and dangerous way, that tax breaks and spending cuts don't come cheap:

The CDC officer had a serious warning for Florida health officials in April: A tuberculosis outbreak in Jacksonville was one of the worst his group had investigated in 20 years. Linked to 13 deaths and 99 illnesses, including six children, it would require concerted action to stop.

That report had been penned on April 5, exactly nine days after Florida Gov. Rick Scott signed the bill that shrank the Department of Health and required the closure of the A.G. Holley State Hospital in Lantana, where tough tuberculosis cases have been treated for more than 60 years.

As health officials in Tallahassee turned their focus to restructuring, Dr. Robert Luo’s 25-page report describing Jacksonville’s outbreak — and the measures needed to contain it – went unseen by key decision makers around the state. At the health agency, an order went out that the TB hospital must be closed six months ahead of schedule.

Had they seen the letter, decision makers would have learned that 3,000 people in the past two years may have had close contact with contagious people at Jacksonville’s homeless shelters, an outpatient mental health clinic and area jails. Yet only 253 people had been found and evaluated for TB infection, meaning Florida’s outbreak was, and is, far from contained.

The public was not to learn anything until early June, even though the same strain was appearing in other parts of the state, including Miami.

The article goes on to discuss how a man with TB had been transferred to hospitals, group homes, prison and other facilities without being treated for eight months.

If that means nothing to you, think about how many people you've been in contact with in the past eight months. The list would, of course, include your family, coworkers and neighbors. But it would also be the cashier at the grocery store, the gas station and anywhere else you went shopping. It would include your friends. It would include the bartender at your favorite bar - and everyone else that was in the pub while you were there, each time you were there. You've got quite a long list there, don't you? Now imagine all the people those people have been in contact with since they were exposed to TB by you.

See how quickly things can get out of control? This was made even worse by the secrecy and keeping the reports away from not only the public, but from other government officials.

The report also says that the average cost of treating one person with TB is $275,000. That's per person. Now think again about all the people that have been in contact with you or someone you've been in contact with someone who was in contact with you?

Not only did almost a score of people die already, I bet that Governor Scott, like our governor, isn't really saving anyone any money for the taxpayers.

No wonder they are afraid of getting exposed.

The GOP's Greatest Fear

Three months ago, I wrote an article for the Shepherd Express which took a look at the right wing "news media sources" like MacIver Institute, Wisconsin Reporter and Media Trackers and whether these groups have violated the law. I also pointed out to a complaint that had been filed against them for violating their tax exempt status by actively advocating for politicians like Scott Walker:

These connections raise questions about potential coordination between Walker's campaign and these third party groups, which is illegal. Even the controversial Citizens United ruling does not provide coverage for this sort of activity, according to the Alliance for Justice:

"The decision does not change the electoral activities permitted by 501(c)(3)s. Regardless of the changes Citizens United made to election law, federal tax law still absolutely prohibits 501(c)(3)s from supporting or opposing candidates for public office. 501(c)(3)s cannot endorse candidates or make independent expenditures suggesting who is the 'better' candidate without jeopardizing their tax-exempt status."

In March, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign (WDC) announced that it had filed a complaint with the U.S. Internal Revenue Service against the MacIver Institute, the Heartland Institute and Americans for Prosperity (AFP), another group that has received funding from the Koch brothers and the Bradley Foundation. In its complaint, WDC accuses AFP and MacIver of violating their 501(c)(3) status by creating their "It's Working Wisconsin" project, which spent $1.2 million on advertising alone, urging people not to sign the recall petitions. In addition, WDC accused these groups of holding public meetings and other activities to try to influence the outcome of the recalls. WDC also alleged that the Chicago-based Heartland Institute's planned "Operation Angry Badger"—a public relations effort to support Walker in the recall—would violate the group's tax-exempt status.

The game continues, but now on a national level. The Koch Brothers, founders and financiers of the above-named propagandist groups, have pledged $100 million to buy the White House. Likewise, billionaire Sheldon Adelson and his wife have pledged unlimited millions of dollars to defeat President Obama. Likewise, thanks to Citizens United, there are countless businesses that are willing to put their money into the pool to help buy the White House.

But businesses don't like to do this openly, so they use front groups like Americans for Prosperity, Franklin Center for Government and Public Integrity and all their subsidiary groups. And now there are also groups like Karl Rove's Crossroads GPS, that allow all these businesses and uber-wealthy donate without fear of repercussions since they can do so anonymously.

To put some balance back into the electoral system, the Disclose Act was introduced. The Disclose Act would close this loophole and require that these donations, which are used for political purposes, be made public information.

And this has the Republicans and their corporate overlords scared as hell. Like cockroaches and earwigs, they hate to have their activities exposed in the light of day and go scurrying for cover whenever anyone shines a light in their direction.

US Senator Mitch McConnell (R-Kentucky) has resorted to the fear and smear tactics favored by Republicans and their sponsors by penning a piece with the hyperbolic, histrionic and utterly false accusations that Obama would use this information to "punish" his critics and those who support his opponent. (News flash for McConnell, it's the Republicans like Scott Walker who does that kind of crap.)

The New York Times calls McConnell out on his selective outrage and points out that McConnell has also added to his enemies list, including bloggers of all people:

In a related speech last month, Mr. McConnell said disclosure was an enormous price. Bloggers and cable television hosts have said terrible things about the president’s critics, he said, as if revealing a crime. The Koch brothers, who have pledged $60 million to defeat President Obama, have received some obscene messages, and have even been criticized directly by the president. The obscenity was unfortunate, but did the Kochs really believe they could use their money to dominate the political system and not receive some push-back?

Mr. McConnell’s charge that the president has loosed the Internal Revenue Service on his enemies is breathtaking. After several years of indifference, the I.R.S. is finally examining whether these “social welfare” groups are abusing their tax-exempt status by spending anonymous donations on political attack ads. The senator compares them to the N.A.A.C.P., but Crossroads GPS and the like exist for no other purpose than to run political ads.

That is a clear violation of the tax code, which says political activity cannot be their primary purpose. The I.R.S. is doing its job, at long last, and that’s what has Republican leaders like Mr. McConnell so worried.

What is really remarkable to me is this: If the Republicans' agenda was so good for the country and for the people, why do they have to resort to such dishonest and secretive tactics?  You think they would want to proudly show that they support something that is supposed to be so good for the people.

I mean, just look at Scott Walker's accomplishments.  In just eighteen months, he's put their plan into place and we now have less jobs than when he took over, our taxes are going up, our public safety is going down, our environment is in danger and we have lost more rights than I care to think about right now.

So why are his corporate backers afraid to go in front of the people and accept full responsibility for the results of their buying the governorship for Walker?  Why are they afraid to openly support buying the White House for Mitt Romney?

Do you suppose they might be lying about exactly who benefits from their agenda and what those benefits will cost the rest of us?

Regardless of their reason or reasons, it's time we turn the lights on them and keep them on.

RIP Ernest Borgnine

Today brings sad news to the world, but especially for Milwaukee, with the passing of Ernest Borgnine:

Ernest Borgnine, the beefy screen star known for blustery, often villainous roles, but who won the best-actor Oscar for playing against type as a lovesick butcher in "Marty" in 1955, died Sunday. He was 95.

His longtime spokesman, Harry Flynn, told The Associated Press that Borgnine died at Cedars-Sinai Medical Center with his family by his side.

Television fans loved Borgnine as the scheming Navy officer in the sitcom "McHale's Navy." Borgnine was also known as the heavy who beats up Frank Sinatra in "From Here to Eternity" and one of the thugs who menaces Spencer Tracy in "Bad Day at Block Rock."

Those of in Milwaukee know Borgnine best from his involvement in the Great Circus Parade, in which he got to play a clown for the first time in his life in 1995. Every year since then, when the parade was held, Borgnine and his wife, Tova, were there to lead the way.

Here is a 15 minute clip of various outtakes from his first time at the circus parade:

Wiggy Needs an Editor!

We all know that the blog Wigderson's Pub is written with no regards for the facts and is appropriately named because it is written with the same fantasy aspects as a drunk in the bar telling a story.   One piece was particularly laughable, his "interview" with Eric Hovde.   It appears with the glowing recommendation and lack of reality that Wiggy is applying for a job with Eric Hovde, instead of reporting reality.  

Let's take look at a few highlights:

Hovde is running for the Republican nomination to replace retiring Sen. Herb Kohl. There are three other strong candidates in the race: former Gov. Tommy Thompson, Speaker of the Assembly Jeff Fitzgerald, and former congressman Mark Neumann.

 Let's see we have ancient Tommy Thompson, who can not even remember the date of 9/11,  homophobe, bigot professional jobber Mark Neumann, and former assemblyman Jeff Fitzgerald, of the suck off the taxpayer teat Fitzgerald Family, who has also raised a total of .36 cents for his campaign.  If this is a strong field, I would be interested to see what a weak field looks like. Wait I found a perfect example! 

 Thompson is the favorite in the race

Tommy G Thompson finished a very distant fourth in the endorsement vote at the Wisconsin state republican convention.    This beats last year's when he was not allowed to attend.  

 Hovde says that what separates him out from the other candidates is his private-sector background. Unlike the other candidates, Hovde says, he is not a career politician.

Unlike the other candidates, Hovde does not live in Wisconsin.  

 “We’re dealing with an economic crisis. As I say to people, when you get a brain tumor you’re going to want the best brain surgeon you can find. If you’ve got a heart ailment, you’re going to want the best heart doctor you can find.

 So Hovde Supports Obamacare!!!!! 

 “If you’re having an economic crisis, you’re going to want (someone) that can understand the economy inside and out, and how to deal with these issues.”

 Oops, Hovde just pointed out why he is immensely unqualifed to be the next WI senator.

Lack of ethics. Lack of morals. The culture turns bad.

 Interesting Hovde, can't stand Robin Vos either.  

A lot of Republican establishment guys complain about the tea party movement,” he said. “It saved the Republican Party, because it pulled (the party) back to what it’s supposed to be about.”

Now it is just getting weird, according to Hovde, if the "tea party" is what the republican party is supposed to be about, then that means the republican party stands for HATE, badly misspelled signs and really ugly American flag shirts!

This is not a replay of 2010, when businessman Ron Johnson filled a vacuum. This time around, Republicans have a choice between some very substantial candidates.

Umm Ron Johnson is as smart as a vacuum and Wiggy just spit on the memory and hard work of Dave Westlake!   









 

Walker Puts A Chokehold On Lady Justice

A lot of times, when a shady deal involving a politician is revealed, it's a matter of quid pro quo, or in more vernacular terms, one hand washing another. However, in Fitzwalkerstan, the ruling class' hands are so filthy that they will never be washed clean.

And as it seems to be the trend in Fitzwalkerstan, another new day exposes another new scandal.Or at least a new turn in an old one.

In 2011, David "Chokehold" Prosser made a statement that he would be "a complement" to Scott Walker's administration.

And by complement, he meant rubber stamp.

Shortly after his seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court was securely bought and paid for, with the help of thousands of suddenly found votes, Prosser made good on his words.  He rubber stamped Act 10 into law. As I wrote at the time:

Now word as come out that the "Supreme Court" of Wisconsin has, without apparent deliberation or research of the law, has ruled the open meetings laws to be invalid and that our elected officials (or at least the Republican ones) are above the law and don't need to adhere to the laws that they themselves had passed. Needless to say, WMC spent tons of money in making sure that Annette Ziegler, Michael Gableman and David Prosser were on the bench, just so that they could shred the Constitution and the law books and make irresponsible decisions like this one.

And if you don't want to listen to me, Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson said pretty much the same thing:

Justice Shirley Abrahamson accused the majority of reaching a hasty decision that’s light on legal analysis, opening them up to the unnecessary charge that they “reached a pre-determined conclusion not based on the facts and the law, which undermines the majority's ultimate decision.”

Abrahamson agreed in her opinion that the the challenge to the legislation raises fundamental constitutional questions. But she did not join the majority opinion because she believes the court should follow its own rules and the constitution in such a case. Thus, she believes the case should have followed the normal appeal route rather than the court taking original jurisdiction and issuing a decision that gives the case “short shrift.”

Now, Prosser's poor judgment, or utter lack of any judgment, is also in hot water. No matter how much the Bradley Center's Christian Schneider might try to obfuscate the issue, if not just fabricate things out of thin air, Prosser is still facing an investigation into the allegations that he put a chokehold on Justice Ann Walsh Bradley.

Well, Scott Walker wasn't going to just idly stand by and let Prosser fall victim to his own intemperate temper. No sirree, Bob! A tool like Prosser's rubber stamp was too valuable to let go that easy. After all, without Prosser on the bench, who knows what could happen? Walker might actually have to start following the law and the people might actually have their constitutional rights upheld. Walker couldn't have any of that!

In a shocking article* by Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, we learn that Walker consulted with former state legislator and former Prosser aide, John "Hand me another brewski" Gard for names to be appointed to the commission investigating Prosser's assault on Justice Bradley.

Walker made his appointments within days of getting the names from Gard, without even the formality of an interview.

So who are these legal scholars that Walker appointed to the commission to investigate Prosser? Well, they're not exactly legal scholars. Walker appointed an anesthesiologist, a dentist and a housewife. Previously, Walker had appointed a Spanish translator and a dean from Marquette University.

But if they're not legal scholars, what are their qualifications to set on a commission investigating a Supreme Court Justice? Gard explained it this way in an email he sent to Walker:

"These are not people who require any hand holding - they are fiercely conservative and will never wimp out," Gard wrote. "There will be no surprises."

Of Barrette, Gard wrote: "I laid out what we were looking for and (he) said he would do it if needed."

Obviously, Walker's goal was not to have a qualified commission, but to stack the deck so that the commission could rubber stamp the human rubber stamp as being innocent. Given Prosser's impulsiveness and lack of forethought, Prosser could easily prove to be his his own worst enemy in an honest investigation.

With these appointees, Walker's hand-picked, "fiercely conservative" minions who "will never wimp out" have a 5-4 majority on the commission.

I think the gentle reader can deduce what kind of outcome Walker expects from his appointees to the commission, and it doesn't necessarily have to do with upholding the law and or delivering justice.

The gentle reader should also not be surprised at the level of corruption coming from Walker and his administration.  The revelations so far from the Walkergate investigation are ample indication that Walker has no concern or regard for the law or for ethics.

But these furthering shenanigans could go to explain why the federal investigators are taking so long to issue any indictments or bring Walker in for arraignment.  There's already so much criminal activity that it boggles the mind, and as I always say, when it comes to Scott Walker, there's more.  There's always more.

*The article is not shocking that Walker would be this corrupt. What is shocking is that the corporate media would allow it to be published.

I Am Not The Enemy

True dat:

Every Rodeo Has A Clown

As the conservatives continue to try to conflate and obfuscate and tantrum in the hopes to change the fact that Van Wanggaard lost his state senate seat, the reach new and even deeper lows.

Appearing through the dust that the Republicans are kicking up in their tantrums comes the Red Fox, aka A-Rod, aka The Hispanic Conservative, aka Aaron Rodriguez. On his corporate media blogsite, Rodriguez comes up with this bit of rodeo clown antics, making some rather presumptive and unsubstantiated accusations:

Following a tip from a Racine student, we did some canvassing of our own.

A student reported that when he was approached to sign a petition, he told the man he wasn’t yet 18 years old. The petitioner said this wouldn’t be an issue since nobody would verify their ages, the student said. Unsettled by what he had heard, the boy said he went home and began cross-checking names in the Racine Horlick, Case, and Washington Park yearbooks with the names listed on Wanggaard’s online recall petition. After two weeks of meticulous work, he claimed to have found more than 300 name matches.

I sat down with the student - including several of his friends - and we went through Racine Horlick’s yearbook for three hours canvassing all the freshmen, sophomores, and juniors in the school. We found that more than 120 names that matched the names on Wanggaard’s recall petition. We excluded high school seniors since some might have been 18 at the time they had signed. It’s possible, of course, that some of the students have the same names as their parents. But what we found should raise questions about the petition drive.

In a rather precocious op-ed by Voces intern Kennia Coronado, she said that youths in Racine have a history and pride in fighting against injustices. “If there is any manipulation taking place,” Coronado explained, “It is being done by those who are painting our efforts as partisan and somehow shady.”

We cross-checked known underage YES members who attend Racine Horlick, Case, and Park high schools and found a few of their names on Wanggaard’s recall petition as well. Due to the relative unavailability of their names, our search was restricted. I called Voces de la Frontera to see if I could get a full list of YES members in Racine, but nobody was available to speak with me at the time of the call.

Let me summarize this: Rodriguez got "a tip" from an unnamed student that said hundreds of other unnamed students signed the recall petition from months and months ago, but is only mentioning it now. He joined forced with the first unnamed student and some of his unnamed friends and confirmed that at least 100 unnamed students signed the petition. This proves everything is illegal and Wanggaard should be state senator until he dies, and then some.

Or something like that.

Oh, and the fact that Rodriguez is still pissed at Voces de la Frontera because they won their suit regarding the illegal and secretive gerrymandering has nothing to do with his post.

My first reaction is that Rodriguez has managed to combine the worst aspects of Media Trackers into one post.

Media Trackers is known for making false allegations of underage youths signing recall petitions in exchange for cigarettes. Of course, this was an absolute fabrication, but they still ran with it.

Media Trackers also helped launch the most disgusting round of McCarthyism we've seen in decades.

Rodriguez manages to do both, using the McCarthy-like checking of lists to see who's the commie as well as throwing out unsubstantiated allegations without a stitch of proof except for the hordes of unnamed teens that seem to plague Racine.

Then again, it shouldn't come as a surprise that Rodriguez would show this lack of journalistic ethics, since he is not afraid of committing libel, such as accusing me of violating federal laws based on nothing. Yeah, this is also the same guy who said that nothing illegal was going on in Scott Walker's county executive office. (How's that working out for you, Aaron?)

I'd complain about the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel giving pixels and ink to this hack, but I realize that corporate media types stick together and Journal Communications gave up any pretense of journalistic integrity a long, long time ago.  Meh, they get what they pay for.

The more desperate that the right becomes in trying to draw attention to Wanggaard's loss and their implications of some sort of fraud, the more I belief that it is an attempt to keep the public's focus off of the highly questionable electronic voting machines which were used in the counties of the Northwoods.  One may recall there was a sudden and unpredicted shift from blue to red.

It might also explain why Command Central, the company that supplied these machines for free, are in such an almighty hurry to get the cartridges and memory packs from those machines so they can override them with for the August primary, instead of simply supplying new ones.

By Jove, Wisconsin Really Is Open For Business!

Despite having listed over 125 businesses that have closed and/or laid people off, there is one business that has thrived in the economic climate that Scott Walker and the Republicans have created in Fitzwalkerstan - pawn shops:

They come with tools and trinkets in hand, with TV-fueled dreams of cashing in or the simple desire to get a few bucks for gas and groceries. Driven by the still-struggling economy and highly watched cable shows, people increasingly are stopping at the growing number of Eau Claire pawn shops.

[...]

The economy is playing a big role too, as the owners of Eau Claire's newest pawn shop, Crossroads Pawn and Gun, 2221 S. Hastings Way, noted.

"We're seeing people you wouldn't expect need to be in a pawn shop are coming into a pawn shop," co-owner Brian Zinn said.

He is seeing contractors pawn their tools for a quick loan so they can gas up their vehicles to drive to the next job.

"Places where they used to have a line of credit, it's all cashed," said David Zinn, Brian's brother and partner in the store.

The two also see businessmen stop at the store to browse the merchandise, not wanting to pay full retail prices.

David Zinn's own work background tells a bit about the economy. He worked for 28 years as a drywall contractor but got out when the construction industry went into decline in recent years.

[...]

While a pawn shop brings different challenges than a retail store or restaurant, Olson said he became a pawnbroker because he believes he can help people unable to get a loan from a financial institution.

"You can't bring your golf clubs to RCU and get a loan for the weekend," Olson said.
Brian Zinn echoed that sentiment, saying he is seeing more people and businesses living "hand-to-mouth" than before the Great Recession.

"It's nice to be able to help people get out of a bind," he said.

I find it rather telling that the only business thriving in Fitzwalkerstan is one designed to thrive off of people who aren't thriving.

Corporate Media Bias? What Corporate Media Bias?

From the esteemed Dominique Paul Noth of the Labor Press:

The principal was already in hot water for abusing children and other practices that shut his school down in May. And then in June came a search warrant, a 22 page criminal record and an investigation for child enticement and harmful materials. Testimony existed how the principal led two juveniles to his home to show off the hooks above his bed used to dominate female visitors (according to the complaint) and then offered to tie one boy up, which sent them running from the house.

You only knew about this June 22 if you watched WISN Channel 12 news – since the main newspaper hadn’t led with such details when it reported the school closing in May. That was curious. Sex scandals of any flavor sell newspapers and are prized, even exaggerated when police searches don’t immediately result in charges. So maybe the education reporter and the vice reporter hadn’t connected the dots.

But public educators read something darker and deeper, having long dealt with what they call the JS attitude to expose and attack the public education system at any turn and trumpet any hint of salaciousness or failure. Why else would JS recently report seven young deaths from fire, shootings, crashes and the like that had no connection with schooling over the last year -- with a headline that all were MPS students? Seemed quite a reach when you recall the public school responsibility to educate all who apply.

Had the child abusing school story – a K-12 filled with multiple reports of children being beaten, police called in more than 20 times, a principal accused of enticing juveniles to his home for lurid encounters – been about a Milwaukee public school, imagine how speedily reporters would have jumped to tell the tale in headlines three inches high across the top of the front page. Proof not needed. “Public school scandal” would be enough.

But this was a voucher school.

This is a must read which expands on the biases of the corporate media in regards to teachers and police and how the corporate media tries to control the public by limiting what information is released and manipulating how it's presented.

The Walker Budget Keeps On Working! Part CXXVI

Now it's even those that cater to the rich that are starting to feel the Fitzwalkerstan pinch in the economy, with another 58 jobs lost:

Stark & Roth LLC, the parent company of Stark Investments in St. Francis, notified state and local authorities today that it will eliminate 58 jobs at its posh lakefront headquarters.

The investment company said the layoffs will happen because of its decision to “wind-down its multi-strategy funds.”

In a notice filed with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, the company said the closure of the funds is happening because of “unforeseen business circumstances.”

The company said it will lay off 28 employees on July 17, and the remainder will lose their jobs later this year.

The affected employees will be offered a severance package that exceeds 60 days’ worth of their current base salaries.

The people losing their jobs include various analysts, directors, portfolio managers, traders and administrative staff.

Tell me again, you American for Prosperity fool, how it's working.