Time To Wake Up

By Jeff Simpson

 I remain just one thing, and one thing only, and that is a clown. It places me on a far higher plane than any politician.

Charlie Chaplin

There has been a distrubing trend lately in Wisconsin and national politics.  We have been holding every other position in society to a higher standard than politicians.   

Case in point, The highest ranking Republican in the Assembly,Robin Vos, recently pointed out that the Milwaukee Bucks will have a hard time getting any help legislatively because their owner, Marc Lasry, was seen greeting President Obama when he visited Milwaukee. Boss Vos has decided that the well being of Wisconsin, and especially 600,000 plus Milwaukeans, takes a back seat to filling his campaign coffers.    

The statement by Vos was borderline illegal, highly unethical, petty, childish and plain ignorant there will be no repercussions.   Except for some random columnists scolding Mr. Vos, there will be no suspensions, penalties, disorderly conduct, inquiries, investigations or even reprimands. For those scoring at home, this means that Mr. Lasry had better ante up.   

Former Republican Majority leader and current Representative of the 97th DIstrict(Waukesha) of Wisconsin, Bill Kramer was recently sentenced to five months in jail. Mr. Kramer was originally charged with two counts of sexual assault, was given a sweet plea deal by his good friend and our Republican Attorney General elect Brad Schimel's office, to be able to plead no contest to one charge of fourth degree sexual assault.  

Mr. Kramer was also apparently allowed to use his campaign funds to pay for his lawyers in this case despite that being against the law.  While the charges were ugly, the sentence was light. Mr. Kramer now will be paid handsomely by the taxpayers of Wisconsin, while he sits in jail and also will receive his Cadillac Benefits along with a full pension.  Look for Mr. Kramer to emerge from jail and join the ranks of "school choice" lobbyists in Madison.  

In yet another case of truth being stranger than fiction, the person that the Republicans chose to replace Mr. Kramer was Jim Steineke(R-Kaukana) to be the new Majority leader. While Mr. Steineke does not have sexual assault on his resume, it is about the only crime missing.   Steineke has a past filled with criminal trespass, obstructing police and too many driving citations to list.   To be fair, this former real estate agent and proponent of limited government, has not had multiple citations for breaking the law since 2010. However this resume has allowed him to be promoted to a position of leadership in the Republican party, and by his own words,  "he mentors new representatives and their staff". 

I guess if it works for Frank Abagnale, it can work for Jim Steineke.  

Even our very own Governor, who has not had a very good relationship with the truth, who leads all politicians in "false" politifact ratings,  telling us he was incredibly disappointed that Ryan Braun lied to his fans.  D'oh! 

Now contrast these stories to a Kindergarten teacher from Germantown.  At a county fair this summer, completely off the clock, destroyed a couple Scott Walker campaign signs.  This teacher was rightly charged with disorderly conduct and given a $169.00 ticket(which she has paid).   

This teacher, for the act of destroying a few cardboard signs, has been the subject ofnumerous stories a political witchhunt(For those scoring at home, number of stories said website did on this sign destroying incident - 7, number of stories about all incidences involving Vos, Kramer, Steineke listed above - 0)on Michael Grebe funded "investigative" websites since the incident happened.   By the way, the teacher involved is STILL SUSPENDED.   

Do we really think that Sexual asault or pay to play shakedowns by politicians are less important to the general populace than someone destroying political signs?  

As the late great Molly Ivins once wrote:

Oh, just that your life is at stake.

What stuns me most about contemporary politics is not even that the system has been so badly corrupted by money. It is that so few people get the connection between their lives and what the bozos do in Washington and our state capitols. "I'm just not interested in politics." "They're all crooks." "Nothing I can do about it, I'm just one person. I can't buy influence."

Politics is not a picture on a wall or a television sitcom you can decide you don't much care for. Is the person who prescribes your eyeglasses qualified to do so? How deep will you be buried when you die? What textbooks are your children learning from at school? What will happen if you become seriously ill? Is the meat you're eating tainted? Will you be able to afford to go to college or to send your kids? Would you like a vacation? Expect to retire before you die? Can you find a job? Drive a car? Afford insurance? Is your credit card company or your banker or your broker ripping you off? It's all politics, Bubba.

You don't get to opt out for lack of interest.

Maybe if we could see who these people truly are during non-election season, we would be in a hurry to make bacon out of the politicians and not be swayed by the millions of dollars of ads that the outside groups spend putting lipstick on their pigs!  

Nothing would scare the politicians and lobbyists in Madison more, than all of us paying attention.    

Cross posted @ Purple Wisconsin. 

George WIll Say Anything

 George Will recently attempted to come to the rescue of W.I.L.L.(Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty)with his syndicated column.

The Justice Department’s perverse but impeccably progressive theory can be called “osmotic transfer.” It is called this by the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL), which is defending Wisconsin children against Washington’s aggression. 

  I know most people think that W.I.L.L. is just a tool, used by Michael Grebe, to help advance Scott Walker's career and file frivolous lawsuits.  They also serve another purpose - desperately trying to privatize our public schools.      Which leads us to the question, of who in Wisconsin's, children are they defending exactly?   

Not mine.  My children attend a public school that routinely outperforms private/voucher schools in WI.  

Nor are they defending the casual observer, who is a parent of a special needs child either.  If  they were to rely on the President and General Counsel of W.I.L.L., to help them make an informed decision on what is the best option for their child.   

Fellow Purple WIsconsin blogger Rick Esenberg, wrote a blog recently complaining that the voucher/private school(he mislabled it school choice)for-profit business was being unfairly scrutinized. 

  Mr. Esenberg told us that schools have to, by law, have to "take all comers"(with an exception for space.  While that is true, what Mr. Esenberg left out was that private/vouchers schools are currently being sued for "actively counseling students with disabilities out of their programs".  

For those of you who would ask - Why would they recruit these students and the counsel them out, it is because of something we have in WI called the "third Friday count".  School and district budgets are determined by the number of students in attendance on this date.  If the privat/voucher school can just keep these children enrolled long enough to reach this important date, they can then keep the money the state designates per student.   They can also then send the special needs child back to public school, the money per pupil stays behind but the costs for educating that child does not. 

Despite the hurdles, public schools welcome these children back, with open arms.  Not because of the money, which for a while is nonexistant, but because it is the right thing to do.  

Secondly, Mr. Esenberg misses the story again as he says these students  "may not get the same services or accommodations in a private school that they will get in a public school."   The reality is they will NOT get the same services, because by law the private/voucher schools do not have to provide them.    A voucher school is required to offer only those services to assist students with special needs that it can provide with minor adjustments.    There are not many special needs students that just need "minor adjustments" especially when you are a school not prepared for them run by unlicensed teachers. 

Then the closing argument that Mr, Esenberg makes is so incredibly mindboggling, that it makes me give thanks that it's not my money on retainer:

*  Public schools get funding to provide these services that is largely unavailable to choice schools.

Public schools do get funding(albeit it nowhere near enough for most of these students) hence the "public" in the title,  Private schools, hence the private used as an adjective, are private and do NOT get tax money to provide these services.  

* Just as importantly, federal standards for accommodating students with disabilities do not - and ought not - apply wholesale to private schools. The value of school choice is to encourage a multiplicity of approaches

Democratically elected(well semi-democratically elected anyway) legislatures, who after much study (hopefully), have put together best practice,  for the way to treat special needs children in the schools,  that public schools have to comply 100% with,  are fine but if a school run by a profiteer, wants to send unlicensed teachers into a classroom of special needs children and use proven ineffective ways to teach them.   That is the way the cookie crumbles I guess. 

*  Not all behavioral disabilities should be medicalized in the way typically encouraged by federal standards. Parents ought to be able to choose between alternative approaches for their children.

Seriously?  If Mr. Esenberg does not understand that every special needs child in a public school will have what we call an INDVIDUALIZED education program(IEP).  INDIVIDUALIZED being the key word there.   

For those like the President of WILL who do not know what an IEP is:

Each public school child who receives special education and related services must have anIndividualized Education Program (IEP). Each IEP must be designed for one student and must be a truly individualized document. The IEP creates an opportunity for teachers, parents, school administrators, related services personnel and students (when appropriate) to work together to improve educational results for children with disabilities. The IEP is the cornerstone of a quality education for each child with a disability. 

A team of individuals get together, and decide what is individually best,  for each individual student.   Parents already get to choose what is best for their own children.  

If you are truly defending "Wisconsin's children" shouldn't you know what options are available to them currently?  Trying so hard to divert our desperately needed resources from public to private schools, It seems like you and your organization, are the one they need defending FROM!


cross posted at Purple Wisconsin

James Wigderson - Theater Critic

By Jeff Simpson

One of Madison's (you know the Wisconsin city perpetually voted as "Best Place to Live" in the US lists) gems is Broom Street Theater.   It is an actual non-profit theater that allows artistic freedom and their mission statement reads:

Broom Street Theater (BST) is a non-profit, member-controlled theater located in Wisconsin. BST volunteers and staff foster artistic freedom, growth, and expression through non-traditional experimental and/or original artistic forms.

Our goals include creating high quality and unique theater through

• promoting communication, education, and entertainment;
• challenging the cultural and intellectual assumptions of our audiences through unique and diverse productions;
• producing world premiere adaptations or original concepts of extant works;
• promoting and defending freedom of expression; and
• supporting writer/directors’ visions of their own work without censorship.

BST respects and facilitates community access by maintaining reasonable ticket prices and by welcoming community members to become active in the theater, rewarding hard work with rights accompanied by responsibilities.

A future play is entitled “Greetings from Fitzwalkerstan”,         ! 

Artistic freedom, growth, and expression are foreign to right wing lapdogs like Jimmy Wigderson so when someone comes up with a play mocking our right wing extremist leaders, Jim does the only thing he can do.  Make fun from a distance.  

The plot is set against the chaos and protests surrounding the passage of Act 10. In case you were hoping for any subtlety, the Republican characters actually sing,

We’re deductive, reductive, Michele Bachmann-SeductiveDraconian, Nixonian, Not at all LincolnianEmpirical and spherical, as villains ShakespearicalWe’re the modern GOP pissing down on all you see

We all know that there is no one to parody in our modern day Republican party at all!

Wiggy thinks that gerrymandered districts and millions of dollars worth of negative ads and campaigning on false agenda's means that the state has taken a right word turn.  When you can only be entertained by right wing entertainers(which I believe, consists of Rob Schneider, Victoria Jackson and Fox News) that explains how dull and uncreative wiggy's blog can be.

 
Photo from public blog of Owen Robinson, Jimmy Wigderson, Freddy Dooley and Mikey Gableman apparently attending ethics fest. 

However there is good news, the write of Greetings from Fitzwalkerstan, has said that if the play is a success he will write a sequel and JWigs will get a part.    The tentative name to his character is called Noah Deas.

For those in the Madison area who have not been to Broom Street Theater before, its great inexpensive entertainment!   The current production is Gingerbreadcrumbs!

God's Li"l Voucher School

WISGOP: John Doe Must Die!

As we all know, Scott Walker has been the subject of not just one, but two, John Doe investigations.

The first John Doe, commonly known as Walkergate, was brought on by Walker's stonewalling of an investigation that his office had asked for.  This investigation ended up with the convictions of six of Walker's top aides and allies.  What is often overlooked is that there were also more than a score of people that were granted immunity in exchange for their cooperation.

Another thing that came out of the first investigation was the fact that even greater crimes were being committed by Walker and his associates, leading to the second John Doe investigation.  We could see by the documents released by the courts as the right wing have fought for the past year to kill John Doe that Walker and his campaign were not only running another caucus-like scandal, but were collaborating with third parties funded by dark money special interests.

Now Republican legislators - undoubtedly at the bidding of Walker and the dark money special interests - want to eviscerate the John Doe process:

[State Rep. David] Craig [R-Town of Vernon] said he does not have any specific changes in mind yet, but he wants more safeguards to ensure that targets’ identities are protected until and unless they’re charged. At the same time, Craig said lawmakers and the public should be able to find out how much such investigations cost.

“I think we are talking about a serious reform of the statute but maintaining it as a serious tool for district attorneys and law enforcement in general,” he said. “I think that there’s a way to protect people’s identities while it’s going on while also protecting prosecutors’ tools but also have a level of transparency.”

Craig said he also is exploring whether there should be limits to the duration and scope of John Does. The investigation targeting Walker’s campaign and associates when he was the executive of Milwaukee County was launched by Democratic Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm in 2010 and did not conclude until 2013.

The fact that WISGOP wants to stop John Doe should surprise no one. They've been talking about it for as long as they have been fighting it in court.

Besides, it makes intuitive sense that they would want to do this - all criminals wish that law enforcement would be greatly limited if not ended altogether.

Snake Oil Salesmen Gone Wild!

 The term snake oil has evolved in meaning:

(the term)comes from the 19th-century American practice of selling cure-all elixirs in traveling medicine shows. Snake oil salesmen would falsely claim that the potions would cure any ailments. now-a-days it refers to fake products.

In reality, when snake oil was first introduced in America in the 1800's, it actually worked:

Among the items the Chinese railroad workers brought with them to the States were various medicines —including snake oil. Made from the oil of the Chinese water snake, which is rich in the omega-3 acids that help reduce inflammation, snake oil in its original form really was effective, especially when used to treat arthritis and bursitis. The workers would rub the oil, used for centuries in China, on their joints after a long hard day at work. The story goes that the Chinese workers began sharing the oil with some American counterparts, who marveled at the effects.

In our capitalistic system, when something is popular, others try and replicate it.  The problem often is they can not do it as well or with the same effects.  Snake oil was no different as they did not have any Chinese water snake's handy so they used American rattlers.   The main person who did this was entreprenuer Clark Stanley, aka The Rattlesnake king:

This set the stage for entrepreneur Clark Stanley, aka The Rattlesnake King. In an 1897 pamphlet about Stanley's life and exploits, the former cowboy claimed he had learned about the healing power of rattlesnake oil from Hopi medicine men. He never publicly mentioned Chinese snake oil at all. Stanley created a huge stir at the 1893 World's Exposition in Chicago when he took a live snake and sliced it open before a crowd of onlookers.

Stanley's version of snake oil was so popular he opened up two seperate production facilities(a true "job creator").   As so often happens in our Capitalist society, short term profits trump people, and it turns out that the one ingredient that Stanley's snake oil did not have was - snake oil.   

As the saying goes, "Those who do not know history are doomed to repeat it". 

In Wisconsin, we have our very own Clark Stanley's.   I recently chronicled some major changes that happened shortly after the election that were never discussed during the election cycle. 

Now we have a major issue that was actually discussed during the election, but not discussed very well.   

In September, the Legislative Fiscal Bureau told us to expect a $1,800,000,000 deficit when we start the new budget.   Mary Burke and the democrats seized on this of course:

“I agree, contributions are needed, what worries me is we are back to 1.8 billion dollar deficit,” said Burke.

Scott Walker flatly denied it:

“Again this is based on no growth, no change in expenditures. Our record has been every year we’ve been in office, we finished the year with a surplus. Going forward, every year I’m in office we’ll finish with a surplus,” Governor Walker said.

The Walker amen chorus even weighed in on this in this very paper:

From Law Professor Rick Esenberg, in a column ironically complaining about dishonest ads:

We don't have a budget deficit.

Christian Schneider even dedicated a whole column to it entitled "Mary Burke's Bogus Budget Deficit Snapshot". 

Upon release of the numbers, Walker immediately boasted, that over the course of the year, that three-month $55 million number would become $220 million, which would come close to wiping out Burke's "$1.8 billion deficit" claim. This is also tenuous math, as it again assumes the economy will be cryogenically frozen for four years. But as long as Democrats are able to get away with such a bogus figure, why not use their own formula to defend yourself? The $1.8 billion figure was widely reported around the state; stories pointing out that the number almost has been eliminated have been harder to find than Kim Jong Un.

State Senator Alberta Darling and representative John Nygren(and they are co-chairs of the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee) :

"Wisconsin does not have a deficit," Darling said in a news release, which was issued with GOP Rep. John Nygren of Marinette. "Thanks to Republican reforms, the 2014 budget will begin with a $443 million surplus."

It turns out now that everyone was wrong, and they were not really close with the $1.8 BILLION dollar deficit.   The reality is the deficit is $2,200,000,000 dollars.  

It was actually legislation, The Pure Food and Drug Act of 1906, not the free market,  that ended the masive fraud that Clark Stanley was pulling on the American people.  

Stanley's punishment:

As for what happened to Clark Stanley after it was found that his whole empire was based on a lie? He was fined $20 (that's about $429 in today's dollars) for violating the food and drug act and for "misbranding" his product by "falsely and fraudulently represent[ing] it as a remedy for all pain."

Stanley did not dispute the charges.

It appears there are quite a few people in Wisconsin, starting with the Governor who owes us $20.   I fear though, like Scott Walker's last budget, that it will be you and I paying the price instead.

Cross posted @ Purple Wisconsin. 

Candidate For Worst 2016 POTUS Campaign Video

We're not even done with 2014 and the folks at Stand With Hillary PAC have already come out with a video that is will be a contender for worst video in the campaign for the 2016 POTUS race:



I'm not a big fan of Corporate Democrats and thus I am not excited about Clinton running. Nor am I a fan of country music. That gives this video two strikes in my book.

But is a guy running out of gas the symbolism that the are looking for?

There Will Be No Bradley Versus Bradley In The Spring

A couple of weeks ago, I warned that the special interests were pushing Scott Walker's hand-picked choice, Judge Rebecca Bradley, to get into the spring race for the Wisconsin Supreme Court.  Bradley resisted this push and chose not to run...yet:

Judge Rebecca Bradley released the following statement today regarding the 2015 Supreme Court Race:

I want to take this opportunity to thank the many supporters who have urged me over the past months to enter the 2015 race for Supreme Court.

The support and encouragement I have received has been humbling, and I am grateful for the confidence expressed in me. I am also proud and heartened to know that so many people in Wisconsin are truly invested in electing justices to our state's high court who are committed to upholding the rule of law.

After much thought, I have decided not to enter the 2015 race. It is my privilege and honor to continue serving my community and protecting children in need, as a Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge.

For more information about Judge Rebecca Bradley, please visit www.judgerebeccabradley.com

It is rather nuanced, but Bradley is only saying that she is not running in this race. She might be waiting to be appointed when the Teapublicans force Justice Shirley Abrahamson to retire.

A Conflict of Wills

Years ago, the Bradley Foundation, the ultra-conservative dark money pool, gave hundreds of thousands of dollars to a Wisconsin-based legal hack named Rick Esenberg to start up a lawyerly front group for them. The group was ironically and inaccurately called Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty (WILL).

WILL's main purpose is to harass law makers and school boards and unions in order to advance their agenda of plantation economics. Their other purpose is to regurgitate the Bradley Foundation's talking points in order to give it the illusion of credibility.

Calumnist* George Will had recently wrote glowingly about this front group as they try to push the agenda to privatize the state's education system.

However, as Erik Wemple of the Washington Post points out, Will forgot to mention that he has a vested interest in WILL:

In George Will tradition, the column is tight and eloquently argued, but it features one omission: Will’s connection to WILL. Since 2008, Will has been a member of the board of directors at the Milwaukee-based Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation, which dedicates itself to “preserving and defending the tradition of free representative government and private enterprise” in the United States. That mission entails issuing grants to organizations across the country that support the foundation’s objectives.

The foundation’s 2011 annual report includes a record of a $500,000 grant to WILL, to “support general operations.” WILL’s Form 990 for 2011, which appears to be its first year in operation, shows a contribution total of $505,000, meaning that the Bradley Foundation gave critical seed money to the outfit. Its 2012 and 2013 reports also detail grants of $500,000 to WILL.

As a member of the Bradley Foundation board of directors, how much influence does Will have over the foundation’s funding decisions? Plenty, at least according to the group’s annual report: “The programs and funding decisions of the Bradley Foundation are the responsibility of the Board of Directors,” according to a section on grantmaking policies.

This case highlights Will’s intersecting lines of influence. He’s a director of the Bradley Foundation, an entity with more than $800 million in assets and 2013 grants totaling nearly $34 million to organizations in Wisconsin and across the country, including big-time Beltway entities like the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, the American Enterprise Institute and the Federalist Society. His column is syndicated to about 450 newspapers. Keeping those two worlds separate is quite a job, as the Nov. 19 column demonstrates: Here, Will touted an outlet funded generously by a group he helps to lead. And thanks to the columnist’s kind words, WILL may have an easier time finding funders outside of the Bradley Foundation. All very cozy, synergistic and, as media critics might say, an out-and-out conflict of interest — an offense of which Will has been accused before.

It should be noted, as the gentle reader could have guessed, that WILL has also had their own ethics issues, including illegally giving free legal advice to Republican "rising star" Deanna Alexander, who has gotten in trouble for using taxpayer money for voter suppression and illegally using her office to raise money.

*No, calumnist is not a misspelling.

Quote of the Day (And Bragging Rights)

I'm honored and excited that Charles Pierce of Esquire picked up my story about the deadbeat Orville Seymer, which I had posted on Crooks and Liars (as well as on here).

Pierce's take on Scott Walker, who keeps getting tied up with lowlifes like Seymer, was not only dead on but absolutely priceless:

Both capper and Daniel Bice point out that this deadbeat's organization was central to the political rise of Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed thrice-elected manager of said midwest subsidiary, and also that it has been central to Walker's defense against the stubborn charges that he regularly uses one office to help him get elected to the next one. I swear, I have never seen anyone whose rise to national prominence has been so thickly festooned with small-time, penny-ante grift. It's like nominating a squeegee-man to be Secretary of the Interior.

I would point out that the squeegee-man would have one distinct advantage over Walker - the squeegee-man would know which end of the squeegee is the business end.

Kristi Can't Buy Love!

By Jeff Simpson

Knotsie member and former teacher Kristi LaCroix, has left her teaching job and has become an anti union union boss.  Kristi is now an unelected boss of Association for American Educators(AAE). 

AAE is a place where you can pay dues to Kristi and get absolutely nothing in return.  What a bargain.   Now though, according to the spam email she sent out to educators in WI, you actually do get something back - a $10 gift card to Amazon. 

When you can not people to buy your snake oil, then you need to try a different way..what better than bribery? 

SPECIAL DEAL FOR WI TEACHERS JOIN TODAY!

Dear XXXX, We’re giving away $10 Amazon e-Gift cards to every new teacher in WI who joins AAE. Plus you'll be entered to win a $100 Amazon gift card just in time for the holidays.   Don't wait for this offer to expire! You've heard of the great professional protection and support that Association of American Educators (AAE) provides for a fraction of the cost of other organizations, right? Well don't wait to join any longer! AAE is offering a $10 Amazon e-gift card special to all new professional members in Wisconsin who sign up online between today and next Wednesday, December 10th, 2014. To get your free gift and to be entered to win our $100 raffle, enter the code TEACHER SAVINGS in the box that asks "How did you hear about AAE" Once you become an AAE member, you will receive a $10 Amazon e-gift card as part of your membership benefits!  It's like getting almost a whole month of membership FREE but more FUN because you get to go shopping on us! Join AAE today and don't forget to use the code TEACHER SAVINGS on your application!   Best of Luck! Kristi Lacroix Association of American Educators P.S. Find out if AAE Membership is right for you! Visit us at www.aaeteachers.org/membership Hey Kristi, If you cant beat 'em, buy "em!  Quite a product you have there, I would hate to be one of your vendors!

Irresponsible Citizens for Responsible Government

Milwaukee, Wisconsin is the home base for a right wing, small government group with the ironic Citizens for Responsible Government (CRG). CRG consists of two socially inept misfits named Orville Seymer and Chris Kleismet.
name of

Orville Seymer

CRG's usual modus operandi is to threaten liberal elected officials with a recall in an order to try to intimidate them. (This, by the way, is how Scott Walker got to be Milwaukee County Executive. CRG recalled the former executive and paved the way for Walker)

Their other activities include trying to interfere with John Doe investigations, using federal court to interfere with John Doe investigations, trying to intimidate teachers and other public sector workers by giving out their personal information and filing false criminal complaints against innocent bloggers in retaliation for writing unfavorably about Scott Walker.

Ironically, at least one of them, Seymer, doesn't feel responsibility should apply to him:

Long a local government watchdog and critic, conservative activist Orville Seymer is now asking the federal government to help him sort out his money troubles.

Seymer -- a top official with Citizens for Responsible Government -- filed for bankruptcy last month, listing $147,126 in assets and more than $1 million in liabilities. He is seeking Chapter 7 bankruptcy protection, which stops all legal actions and could allow him to write off many of his debts.

Seymer is pinning much of the blame for his financial woes on City Hall, saying he has been targeted by city building inspectors for speaking out against local officials.

[...]

In his federal petition, Seymer said he and his wife owe the city more than $50,000 for everything from property taxes to what he dubs "nuisance fees." The couple lives in Franklin.

He reported owing $742,000 to Waterstone Bank in Wauwatosa for mortgages on four properties and another $103,000 to Sunset Bank in Waukesha for two additional mortgages. He said six of his seven rental properties have no equity in them.

He listed his gross income from his real estate business at $13,776 a month, or roughly $165,000 a year. Of that, he said he pays more than $8,000 a month on his various mortgages.

In Chapter 7 bankruptcy, a court trustee liquidates some of a debtor's assets to pay off as many creditors as possible. Once this is done, most of a bankrupt individual's debts, including credit card and medical bills, are wiped from the books. Seymer hopes to exempt six of his rental properties from liquidation.

In sum, a guy who thinks that paying public sector workers $40,000 a year is being lavish can't make it on more than four times that. On top of that, Mr. Small Government wants Big Government to bail him out of the mess he made for himself.

Hypocrisy, thy name is Orville.

Departure Of Boss Abele's Mental Health Honcho Raises Ethics Concerns

As I have been reporting, Boss Abele has his cold heart set upon abandoning Milwaukee County's most vulnerable citizens to the corporate vultures. Despite repeated warnings by mental health professionals, Boss Abele has put profits before people and austerity before accountability in his push to close the county's mental health center so he can sell the land it sits on to his wealthy friends for a song.

Taking advantage of this, Rogers Memorial Hospital started a $12 million project to open up a 56 bed inpatient facility, which is scheduled to open in January - just in time to pick up the people that Boss Abele abandons.

On Monday, in what I'm sure is just a coincidence, the following email was sent out to all employees in the Milwaukee County Behavioral Health Division:

Sent: Monday, December 1, 2014 3:43 PM

To: DL BHD ALL

Subject: Transitions

From the Desk of Pat Schroeder:

Dear Team BHD,

It is bittersweet for me to announce that Jim Kubicek, Deputy Administrator for Crisis, Acute, and Long Term Care Services, will be leaving BHD to take on the role of Vice President-Operations of the Rogers Memorial Hospital opening in Brown Deer, Wisconsin.

Jim graduated from UWM as a social worker and has been a part of the BHD family since 1996, joining as a clinician on the Mobile Crisis Team. He has since served in the roles of Director of Acute Services, Director of Crisis Services, Deputy Administrator, and Interim Administrator. He has made significant contributions at BHD during his more than 20 years here.

We look forward to his continued collaboration and partnerships in the future at Rogers, which begin mid January, 2015.

Please join me in thanking Jim for his years of service, and congratulating him on his new leadership adventure.

Pat​

Not a bad gig, eh?

Kubicek helps overseeing the closing of the county's hospital and then just happens to take a job at one of the private agencies prepared to take advantage of the closing.

But there is one problem - it's against the law.

We saw this in 2011, when another former director of BHD had resigned and then tried to drum up business for the private agency he worked at (emphasis mine):

One month after resigning in disgrace, John Chianelli pitched his old Milwaukee County boss with a proposal to privatize more mental health services so his new firm could oversee them.

Records show Chianelli and Peg DuBord of Transitional Living Services urged a top county official to let their private agency - which already has several county contracts - provide services to patients with developmental disabilities or mental health problems if the 72-bed Hilltop unit at the Mental Health Complex is downsized. The firm also wants to begin caring for children with serious emotional issues.

The pair met with Geri Lyday, interim administrator of the county's Department of Health and Human Services, on March 10. Chianelli had submitted his resignation to Lyday on Feb. 11.

County ethics rules say former staffers must wait at least a year before contacting anyone in their former agency on behalf of a private business or individual.

"That's very disconcerting," said County Supervisor Lynne De Bruin. "He's not allowed to lobby her on any contract, period."

If it was wrong then, it's still wrong now.

Although I suppose one could argue that Kubicek didn't technically break the law if he did the lobbying before he left the county. Right?  After all, what's a little profiteering at the expense of the vulnerable and the taxpayers?

The corporate media keeps claiming that Boss Abele's scheme is a wonderful thing.  They just forget to mention for whom it's so wonderful.  

It sure isn't the patients.

Dusty Democrats

Guest Post By Dana Green:

The latest letter coming from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin's Chair, Mike Tate, has me scratching my head.  Sometimes folks see the writing on the wall, sometimes they don't, even when it's right in front of them.

 

 Thanks for your membership in the Democratic Party of Wisconsin and your work on behalf of Democratic candidates this fall. Even though the midterm elections were hard on Democrats in Wisconsin and around the country, we should all be proud of the work we put in. We fought hard and left it all out on the field.

Now that the dust has settled, I wanted to reach out for your feedback. I’m especially interested in hearing from members and activists like you - the backbone of this Party. Through constructive dialogue and analysis, I believe the Party will come out of this election stronger and more organized than ever before.

A committee has been formed to identify what worked well this campaign cycle and what can be improved for future elections. Our 2nd Vice Chair, Jeff Christensen, will head up this committee comprised of members, activists, county party leaders, and congressional district officers.

Jeff and the Election Review Committee would appreciate receiving feedback from as many people as possible. Please click here to complete a feedback form. All submissions will be sent to the committee for analysis.

Thank you for your continued support and dedication.

Forward,

Mike Tate
Chair, Democratic Party of Wisconsin

Here's my take:

"Now that the dust has settled"......

The dust has settled?  Are you and I living in the same Wisconsin, Mr. Tate?   Folks statewide are still in disbelief that the Democratic Party couldn't muster enough "oompf" to oust the most corrupt politician our State has ever seen.  If anything, the dust is flying fiercer than ever, now that our Governor has a stranglehold on the entire legislature.  I am anticipating more "dust" with the right to work and school voucher lobby agenda moving full speed ahead, aren't you, Mr. Tate? 

"I wanted to reach out for your feedback.  I'm especially interested in hearing from members and activists like you."

I almost had to read that line twice. ( I am not a member of the party. I do vote regularly, I am passionate about what's going on in the State. I pay attention, I love this State, does this make me an "activist"? )This sentence stuck me funny, cause, I don't think you are sincerely interested in my feedback.  I'm involved in a lot of online discussion and political groups, and have been throughout the years, and "activists" have been complaining about the lack of message and representation from the Democratic Party of Wisconsin for years. It's no secret that tons of us "activists" were not on board with Team Burke.  We wanted a primary.  Us "activists" were appalled about how the recall was handled.  We told you this.  Rural "activists" have felt ignored by the DPW for years.  We told you this.  Many "activists" have expressed their frustrations, the lack of leadership, and vision for the party.  We want a party that has our backs, and that fights the good fight, not a party that sends out lame attempts of an "olive branch" after the fact, claiming the dust has settled.  Again, we told you this, time and time again, in emails, facebook messages, blog posts, letters, and most recently, in a move-on petition I started asking for your resignation.  If you want a real perspective of how "activists" are feeling, Mr. Tate, you should read some of the comments folks have posted on the petition.  I'm not sure if these folks who signed it are "activists", I'm guessing they're voters, just like me. 

Sign the petition: Demand Mike Tate of the DPW Resign Immediately

				Sign the petition: Demand Mike Tate of the DPW Resign ... I just signed a petition to Mike Tate, Chair, of the DPW: Another election, another election lost.....Feeling frustrated in the lack of direction, creativity, and u...
				View on petitions.moveon.org	Preview by Yahoo

 

Maybe in your next letter Mr. Tate, you can send Joe Wineke an S.O.S for help with the "dust" problem?   Just a thought.