Facebook Ad Of The Damned

One would think that if one is going to spend money to advertise, even if on Facebook, one would want to be careful with imaging.

Not so with WISGOP, when they think it's a good idea to run this:

Wow! What a winner! Join the WISGOP and learn to give Nazi salutes!

Why The Packers Lost Today

The Green Bay Packers lost a heart breaker today, snatching defeat from the jaws of victories.

One might blame Aaron Rodgers' injured calf. One might blame Mike McCarthy's poor and ultra conservative play calling.  One might blame the defense imploding at the end.

But we know the real reason why the Packers lost today. They were jinxed:

Scott Walker can't touch anything without it turning to shit.

Scott Walker Ball

Caption This:

Shotgun Rider

Scott Walker Quote of the Day

By Jeff Simpson

Let us take a trip back to 2012 and we see Scott Walker on the Neil Cavuto show and Mr. Walker was asked who Mitt Romney should pick as his Vice Presidential candidate(emphasis mine).

In the midst of his recall election, Walker shot down speculation that he could be Mitt Romney's vice-presidential pick. Instead, he told FOX Business Network's Neil Cavuto in June 2012 that if Romney were to ask him who would be a good pick from Wisconsin, he would suggest Paul Ryan—who Romney did eventually choose as a running mate. "I am not going through a year and a half of this to then take off," Walker told Cavuto, according to The Huffington Post. "I have to fulfill my commitment to the voters of the state of Wisconsin."

Ummm?!?!?!?

AFSCME And The Janesville School Board

When Scott Walker dropped his bomb - Act 10 - on the unsuspecting people of Wisconsin, many
people figured that the public sector unions, especially AFSCME, were busted and done for.

They couldn't be more wrong.

Oh, there is no denying that Act 10, which is nothing more than the misnamed "Right to Work" legislation for public sector workers, had hurt the unions. But the unions are using this opportunity to learn how to fight smarter and harder.  But AFSCME is a long way from being busted.

There are a few people in Janesville that can vouch to this, however unwillingly.

The Janesville School Board has nine members, five of which are conservative and supporters of the corporate agenda for education in our state.  The board was poised to implement a number of draconian acts on the employees of the school district - both the teachers and the support staff.

As part of his duties, Dennis Hughes, staff representative with AFSCME District Council 40, was making routine inquiries into signature counts for the spring elections. When he learned that two candidates for the Janesville School  Board - David DiStefano and Diane Eyers - had only two or three signatures over the minimum, he went to follow up to make sure that the the nomination papers were legally sufficient.

What happened next quickly escalated into a bizarre and troubling series of events.  With his expressed permission, I am repeating Hughes' own words to describe what happened when he went to examine the nomination papers:

Dennis Hughes

On Friday, January 8, I arrived at the Janesville Education Services Center to examine
signatures for the April 7th School Board election. The Asst. School Board Clerk, Debra Blazer, was not available on Wednesday, January 6, or Thursday, January 7, so I only had one day to examine signatures and file a complaint before the Friday deadline.

Debra Blazer immediately gave me all candidates’ nomination papers, a map of the district, and space to examine signatures in the School Board conference room. I immediately noticed that candidate Diane Eyers did not have both a signature and printed name for her electors. I notified Debra Blazer and she stated that she needed to tell Dr. Karen Schulte, the Superintendent of the School District of Janesville.

I moved on to examine David DiStefano’s signatures. After examining his signatures for nearly two hours, I told Debra Blazer that DiStefano had an incorrect heading on all but one of his nomination papers. In the heading’s office, district, and jurisdiction boxes; DiStefano had written “School Board”, checked the box for “Seat” and left the rest of the district box blank, and wrote only “Janesville” in the jurisdiction box. By not identifying the “School District of Janesville,” DiStefano created a likelihood of confusion for those that signed his sheets because there are two different school districts in Janesville.

After notifying her of the problem, Debra Blazer left to speak with Dr. Schulte. She came back into the School Board conference room fifteen minutes later and I told her there was another problem because both Eyers and DiStefano had failed to include page numbers, which were necessary for my challenge. Rather than add the numbers, she asked to take the papers and said she would need extra time because she was eating lunch. Thinking nothing of it, I said it was not a problem.

Twenty minutes later, Debra Blazer entered the School Board conference room and presented me with DiStefano’s nomination papers. She pointed to the district field in the header and said, “isn’t this number enough to identify the district?” After examining the forms for nearly two hours, I can say with certainty that there were no numbers previously written in the district field, yet the forms now included the number “2695,” which is the District’s official district number. I immediately asked who wrote that number and Debra Blazer did not answer. I followed her back to her office, and she finally admitted that she had witnessed DiStefano fill in the headings of his nomination papers before submitting his collected signatures. Though she did not resolve the situation of fraudulently falsifying the nomination papers, I was satisfied because the information she provided was enough to remove the candidate from the ballot. I immediately asked her to sign an affidavit stating what she witnessed and she agreed to do so.

I left Debra Blazer’s office to return to the School Board conference room to finish my complaints and, fifteen minutes later, Dr. Karen Schulte entered the conference room followed by Dr. Steve Sperry, the Human Resources Director. Dr. Schulte asked what I was doing there and why I was wasting the time of “her clerk.” I said I would have been there Wednesday or Thursday, but the election clerk was unavailable, so I was forced to monopolize her time due to the election time constraints. She asked what I needed. I stated I only needed to print out, sign, and notarize my complaints. She asked what else I needed and I stated that Debra Blazer had agreed to sign an affidavit explaining the improper conduct she witnessed when DiStefano was submitting his nomination papers. Dr. Schulte stated that Debra Blazer would not be signing the affidavit until Dr. Schulte was able to speak to legal counsel. I stated that it was none of the District’s business, that there were no legal issues, and that the deadline was quickly approaching.

Dr. Schulte forced me to leave the conference room and would not let me get my complaints notarized by Debra Blazer. Therefore, I left the Education Services Center to print my documents. For the DiStefano complaint, I printed a version that stated Debra Blazer’s affidavit was enclosed and another version explaining that Dr. Schulte had blocked Debra Blazer from signing an affidavit. I went back to the Education Services Center and asked Dr. Schulte which version I should have notarized to give her one more chance to allow Debra Blazer to testify to what she witnessed. She did not change her mind. At the time, Dr. Schulte was in a meeting with Debra Blazer.

I left to get the documents notarized and returned to the Education Services Center an hour later, around 4pm. I went to Debra Blazer’s office to drop off my complaints and she was not there. I went to the front desk and the receptionist went directly to Dr. Schulte’s office. Dr. Schulte walked out of the office and asked to take the complaints. I refused to give them to her and requested to deliver them to Debra Blazer. Dr. Schulte escorted me to her office, where she was still meeting with Blazer, and I handed her the complaints. Debra Blazer looked to be in extreme distress. Dr. Schulte then stated that Debra Blazer had decided on her own not to sign the affidavit and I stated that a reasonable person would find that someone coerced her because she agreed to sign the affidavit and then decided not to do so ten minutes later after speaking to her boss. Especially considering the news was delivered by her boss. Debra Blazer never told me herself that she would not sign the documents.

Unfortunately, events became more bizarre after this.

The following Tuesday, Hughes went back to follow up on his complaints.

Dr. Karen Schulte

School district Clerk Karl Dommershausen and assistant board clerk Debra Blazer determined that Hughes' complaint was invalid since he did not live in the school district. This finding is in error, since state law says that the papers in any race can be challenged by an elector. The elector can live anywhere in Wisconsin. They mistakenly believed that it had to be an elector from that district.

Despite their incorrect finding that Hughes' complaint was invalid, they also determined that the nomination papers for DiStefano and Eyers were legally insufficient and their names were struck from the ballot. Both candidates have the right to appeal this decision to the Government Accountability Board (GAB). Both candidates also have the right to run as write in candidates.

The complete findings and evidence can be seen here.

But as I said, it gets even more bizarre.

While Hughes was waiting for the results of  his complaints, he was in the lobby area, reading a book.  Apparently, someone reading in the school district's main office was enough to put Dr. Schulte in a panic. She called the police and had not only removed from the building but had him temporarily banned from the building.  The ban has since been lifted.

Complaints have been filed with GAB regarding Dr. Schulte's interference with the election process and the concern that some of the nomination papers have been falsified.

As mentioned above, the Janesville School Board had a 5-4 majority of conservative members.  Because AFSCME provided due and diligent service to make sure things were legal, there is a chance for the majority to be pro-education, helping to protect all the workers in the school district, whether they are members of AFSCME or not.

Is it any wonder why that the dark money special interests are pouring money into trying to destroy unions?  Without the unions, they would be able to run rampant in their attacks on workers and trying to profiteer off of public services, such as education.

Joe Wineke

Yesterday we brought you the story of Mike Tate's long overdue and ungraceful eventual exit from the Democratic Party chairmanship.  Today Joe Wineke declares his candidacy for the post!  

January 16, 2015

Dear Fellow Democrat

I am writing to let you know that I have decided to run again for Chair of the Democratic Party of Wisconsin.

When I chose not to seek a third term as Chairman in 2009, I left feeling that things in our State were in pretty good shape.  During my tenure, we had retaken both Houses' of Legislature, added a 5th Congressional Seat, held the Governor's Office, and had both U.S. Senators.

Six years later, we have lost the Governor's Office, one of our Senate Seats, and both Houses' of Legislature.  We can...and must...do better.

I am not running for Chair to point fingers at others.  I am running because I truly believe we have an opportunity to lead an effort that will create positive change for the people of Wisconsin, beginning right now.

Here's how:

First...let's quit playing defense all the time.

The public agrees with us on the issues, but we are constantly letting Republicans define the message, and by definition, defining us.  We do that by playing offense.

Second...we do that through messaging.

Message matters.  We need to create an "Opportunity Agenda" based on putting people first.  Our "Opportunity Agenda" will be based on economic, educational, and equal opportunity for all.  In musical terms, we must create a symphonic message based on these themes.  Variations to our symphonic theme will be based on:

·         Economic Security:  People know they are falling behind.  We, as Democrats, have not given enough people the belief that we will help them succeed.  Supporting the working class is paramount to their security.  Better wages, reducing student loan debt, support for the right to collectively bargain, making housing more affordable and attainable need to be key to that effort.

·         Educational Opportunity:  Democrats need to stand behind public schools.  Let the Republicans side with the rich and powerful on this issue.  We need to remind people that public dollars should go to public schools...period.  Rural schools in Wisconsin have reached a crisis point.  If we quit playing on the edges and show the public whose side we are on, we can win this issue.  We are currently losing it.  I believe that the Democratic Party renaissance will begin in rural Wisconsin and the issue is education.

·         Equal Opportunity:  Political parties must stand powerfully behind core issues.  Equal opportunity for all, whether one is straight, gay, black, white, Native American, or anything else must be defined by Democrats.  Republicans have been allowed to pander to prejudice for too long.  Let it define them and define us.

If handled properly, the core issues of the "Opportunity Agenda" will rise to a message crescendo that will help lead us to victory in 2016 and beyond.  Of course, there will be other issues that will matter in our fight to reclaim Wisconsin, but it is far better to stick to a handful of powerful issues than to get bogged down in a hundred battles at once.

Third...we need to rebuild our Party from the bottom up.

Neither a "top down" Party, nor a "top down" message, resonates with average people.  We need to create a better message, more effectively using modern communication mediums on social media, like Facebook and Twitter.  I propose the creation of a Social Media Advisory Council within the Party to create a daily message based on our "Opportunity Agenda".

Fourth...there is an old saying that states, "You can't beat somebody, with nobody".

When I was Chair, we fielded a variety of candidates in every legislative and local race we could, not just competing in the "so called" competitive seats.  Not to mention, we were pretty darn successful in doing it, filling the vast majority of seats for the Assembly and Senate.  In 2014, we left 31 of 60 Assembly Republicans off with "free rides".  If I am elected Chair, those days are over.  We won't win a lot of those seats, but we might just steal a few.  In addition, it is a smart way to build a local party base that will likely increase our percentages in GOP counties enough to get a few more percentage points at the top of the ticket.

2016 has the potential to be a very good year for Democrats in Wisconsin.  Republican control in Washington and Madison will expose the stark difference between the two parties.  We can win Wisconsin in the Presidential election and retake the Senate seat Ron Johnson currently holds.  We can also gain seats in the Legislature and add seats in city, county, and school board elections.

I want to lead that effort.  I strongly believe that if we follow the plan I have laid out in this letter, we can become a majority party again....and I will put my money where my mouth is...if we don't add seats to what we already hold electorally, I will not seek re-election as Chair.  Promises that are made, must be kept.  I will do just that.

I intend to be a full-time chair if elected in June, 2015.  I will run an aggressive campaign aimed at meeting as many of you as I can during the course of the next six months.  I ask for your support and guidance.  I have been around politics long enough to know that I don't have all the answers, and will make some mistakes.  We all do.  But, I will work as hard as I can to make a better and stronger Democratic Party in this State.

If you have any questions, comments, or concerns, don't hesitate to contact me.

Sincerely

Joseph Wineke

Time For A Closer

By Jeff Simpson

Mike Tate is going out, the way he came in and ran the party - selfishly, condescending, and self delusional.

According to Dan Bice, which shows Tate's selfishness that he told Bice this and not any long time liberal bloggers or party members, Mike Tate is "stepping down".

“Accordingly, today I am announcing that I will not seek another term as chair at our convention in June.”
Tate, whose combative style made him a lightning rod to Republicans, leaves behind a decidedly mixed record as head of the Wisconsin Democrats. The 35-year-old party boss could not be reached for comment on Thursday morning.
A little more than two months ago, Tate’s team suffered major losses up and down the ballot, failing for the third time to defeat Republican Gov. Scott Walker, who is now considering a presidential bid in 2016.
All three branches of state government are now firmly in GOP control.

Technically Mike Tate is not "stepping down" he is not running for re-election.  He is going to keep his cushy, well paying job until the very last day he can.  Besides he has one more spring election to lose.

Mike Tate relinquishing his role as head of the ole boys club, will now set  in motion a bunch of people trying to take over his seat at head of the Ole Boys table.  Hopefully whoever ends up taking his place has a firmer grip on reality.

"I have had a front row seat to all of the historic highs and lows Wisconsin has seen in the last six years. It has been a period of great upheaval and change; we have experienced heartbreaking setbacks and incredible triumphs," he wrote. He makes only a brief mention to "the lows of Scott Walker's electoral success."

 Considering when Mike Tate took over the reigns, the Democrats were in charge of all three branches of Government and now are an irrelevant minority, and lost to the most extreme Governor in our history(and one who is under a huge cloud of ethics investigations) three times, leaves one flabbergasted.



 It is interesting though that Jason Rae from Nation Consulting, wants to take his place.   Since Nation Consulting is the group that is responsible for Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, it seems like a natural thing for Tate and Rae to switch positions.  That way we can continue losing elections and not skip a beat!

Hiring lobbyist to run the party, has worked so well for us, why stop now?

No more steak knives!   

Republicans Launch Two Prong Attack Against Chief Justice Abrahamson

Scott Walker and Wisconsin Republicans have launched a two prong attack against Wisconsin Supreme Court Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson in an effort to remove her authority and to remove her from the bench altogether.

In the latter prong, which the Republicans started at the end of last year, they plan on setting a mandatory retirement age which would force Abrahamson to retire almost immediately:

State Rep. Dean Knudson, R-Hudson, said he plans to introduce a bill in the upcoming legislative session setting the mandatory retirement age at 75.

If passed by the Republican-run Legislature next year, all judges — except reserve or temporary judges — who are over 75 years old would have to retire immediately or within a matter of months.

Among them are three state Supreme Court justices: Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, 81, Justice Pat Roggensack, 74, and Justice N. Patrick Crooks, 76.
If Rock County Circuit Judge James Daley, 67, were to win election to the high court in April, his 10-year term would be cut short by the requirement. If Justice Ann Walsh Bradley, 64, defeats Daley, her third term would be shortened by one day.

Justice David Prosser, who turned 72 this month, also would be unable to serve his full term. It ends in 2021; Prosser would be 79.

Such legislation would give Republican Gov. Scott Walker numerous opportunities to appoint judges to his liking to fill unexpired terms of judges and justices hitting the mandatory retirement age.

Ah, but taking over the Chief Justice position and loading the Supreme Court against the people isn't enough for Scott Walker and his Republican cohorts.

Because as with all things Walker, there's more. There's always more.

Walker and his corporate cohorts also want to politicize the Chief Justice position, as John Nichols explains:

The Assembly Judiciary Committee on Thursday held a rushed hearing on a proposed constitutional amendment that could create an avenue for ending Abrahamson's tenure as the chief justice. Historically, the chief justice has been the court's senior member. This has insulated the chief from disputes on the court and from outside political pressure. Under the plan advanced by conservative legislators and passed once by the Legislature, the selection of the chief justice would be politicized — with the seven justices choosing and replacing chief justices.

Backers of the measure hope to place it on the April 7 ballot. If it is passed, after a campaign that could well be influenced by significant spending from out-of-state interests seeking to undermine Wisconsin’s historic commitment to an independent judiciary, critics fear that Wisconsin could see an attempt to remove Abrahamson as chief justice before the completion of the court term to which she was elected.

Understand what this means: Currently, when an individual chosen by the voters becomes the longest-serving justice, he or she becomes the chief justice. That chief justice is not subject to the ideological whims and political twists and turns of the court; rather, he or she is accountable to the voters. If the voters do not like a chief justice, they can remove that justice at the next election. If the voters want to keep a chief justice on the job, they can re-elect that jurist.

Abrahamson respected the process. She sought re-election as the chief justice and the voters gave her a mandate to serve a new term on the court. Now, politicians are seeking to undo the process that Abrahamson and the voters respected.

I have been notified that the Republicans are holding a hearing on this bill on Thursday, January 15th, at 1:30 pm in 330 Southwest in the Capitol Building.

Given their interference with a woman's right to choose, pay equity and rape culture statements, the Republicans' misogyny is not a surprise.

Attacking Chief Justice Abrahamson and Lady Justice only takes their depravity to new depths.

Rep. Reid Ribble's Destruction of Wisconsin's Wildlife

This isn't the first time I've written about the danger Wisconsin's gray wolf population faces from Republicans and their rabid gun loving supporters, but now, their protection has come under fire once again from congressman Reid Ribble.

Back in December, when a federal judge ruled against wolf hunting and restored the gray wolf's place on federal protection lists, myself and others were completely ecstatic. There is NO good reason to hunt wolves, and there's absolutely no reason to push that back to the brink of extinction. Fast forward to today - here I am at home reading the Lacrosse Tribune when I noticed a small article at the bottom corner of the front page. It seems one of Wisconsin's loony tea party members, Rep. Reid Ribble, has decided that one of his first pushes of this new congress is to keep wolves off protection lists. Yup, because with all the challenges currently facing our nation, allowing the destruction of wolves is really high up on the priority list for republicans. Not that that's surprising, as the tea party is very good at evading real issues in favor of frivolous and arbitrary issues that should be left alone.

According to Ribble, "I am pursuing a bipartisan legislative fix that will allow the Great Lakes states to continue the effective work they are doing in managing wolf populations without tying the hands of the Fish and Wildlife Service or undermining the Endangered Species Act." Sure, he doesn't want to undermine the Endangered Species Act by undermining all the work it has done to keep our wildlife safe. Just another baseless attack on government under the guise of "oh no, scary big government."

According to Defenders of Wildlife, an environmental group dedicated to protecting the environment, there are roughly 3,500 gray wolves in the Great Lakes area. That number may seem high, but all things considered, it's still relatively small. Wolves are incredibly important animals to Wisconsin's ecosystem, and all ecosystems. They keep other animal populations in check, and messing with their packs has severe impacts on other wildlife. There's a system and food chain for a reason. One kink in that chain and it affects everything else around it. We can't allow the GOP to screw with it. And before everyone jumps on me about how they attack cows and other farm animals, please read this study and this National Geographic article that has concluded reducing wolf numbers will actually increase wolf attacks on livestock. So no more can that be an excuse to punish wild animals for doing wild animal activities.

But I think it's important that we look at the real push behind this steady stream of anti-wolf legislation. Does anyone really think Republicans care about the outdoors or keeping our environment safe or anything scientific? Does Reid Ribble really care about not undermining the Endangered Species Act? Hell no. If they did, they wouldn't have Ted Cruz on a space and science committee. So who stands to benefit most of these bills? Why, the GOP's NRA overlords of course! The NRA is almost always behind pro-hunt, anti-environmental bills introduced by Republicans in congress. For example, this past November, voters in Maine had an initiative on their ballot on humane bear hunting. Voting in favor of this initiative would have banned hunting practices like trapping bears in inhumane traps and shooting them point blank between the eyes. Because as everyone knows, that's the proper way to hunt right? I'll let you, the reader, google more on that because honestly, I can't bring myself to see pictures of it. It makes me want to vomit. Guess who had lies to spread about why this shouldn't be ended? Yup. You guessed it. The lovely NRA. Almost anywhere there's an anti-humane hunting law, or any law pertaining to animal protection, it's safe to assume the trail leading to those spending the big bucks to defeat it is almost always the NRA's doorstep. Oh, and for the record, Rep. Ribble received a nice big $4,000 contribution from the NRA during his 2012 run for congress, and $2,000 during last year's cycle.. Hmm! Makes you wonder, huh?

Too bad there isn't a law that keeps Republicans from having any say on anything related to the environment and protecting our natural resources. And even more I wish we could have a law that bans NRA money from influencing those people who have a say on our environment., but I can dream, right?

Please click here to support the Defenders of Wildlife's work in keeping gray wolves safe from people like Reid Ribble and the GOP.

And click here to email Ribble and tell him to stop hurting Wisconsin's gray wolves. Don't be dissuaded by his "I can't reply to non-constituents" message. He'll still receive what you have to say.

ICYMI - Russian Edition

There's been so much going on around the world in the last week that an incredibly important story to come out of Russia was pushed to the back burner, but it needs to be discussed. 

Everyone knows that it's the law in Russia to be imprisoned for simply being who you were born as. Anti-LGBT sentiment is rampant. But now, Russia has gone another step further in denying rights to a section of its population. Prime Minister Medvedev signed a law this week that makes it illegal for transgender Russians to obtain drivers licenses. Transgender Russians are considered by the government to have "sex disorders" and therefore, as too "dangerous" to drive (That kind of law is a Republicans dream, isn't it?) The law is focused on reducing the amount of traffic accidents that occur daily on Russian roadways. Instead of tightening driving laws, the government decided to push blame onto the LGBT community. Doctors are begging the government to rethink the law, but unfortunately, it's looking like their medical expertise won't do much to change anything. Religious extremism (you know, the kind no one talks about because it isn't Islam) is the big booster of bills like this, and it has a pretty strong hold on the Kremlin and with its current government. Don't look to this to come to an end anytime soon.

How a group of people can hate others for being different defies logic, which is why I'm not a republican. I have friends who are from Russia and Ukraine, and they believe in the government fed propaganda about gay Russians no matter how much I tell them they're wrong. How do we turn that around? How do we change hearts and minds? If we're going to be outraged at religious extremists trying to limit our free speech, we also need to be outraged at them trying to limit the freedom to be who you are.

I feel this issue ties into what's currently going on in France, as the media and the whole world is on a freedom high. It feels incredibly disingenuous that we can come together in a united front against attacks on journalistic freedom, but haven't been loud enough in our dissent to Russia's hatred towards its LGBT community. Millions will voice their support for a racist, homophobic and sexist "satire" newspaper, but not a peep about this story. I'm looking forward to the unity marches in Red Square with Netanyahu and Hollande, but I won't hold my breath.

Please visit this site and donate.

Scotty GaGa

H/t Senator Chris Larson:

Scott Walker shared his State of the State speech ahead of time, applause breaks included:

Is anyone that petty, controlling and paranoid, really Presidential material? I thought it was pure power and ambition but it appears he is in it for the applause!

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CCXXXIX

Even as Scott Walker gave his presidential campaign kick off State of the State speech, telling us how wonderful things are under his regime, the truth keeps coming out that his agenda is not working:

Great American Cookies left Wausau Center mall this weekend, with little word to anyone, even its employees.

"Everything was there Saturday, then Sunday it was gone," said Samantha Cox, manager at Wausau Center's Biggby Coffee, located near the cookie shop. She said people throughout the day Sunday came to ask her what happened, and she learned from employees that they didn't expect the closure.

The grate is pulled across the store front and all the signs have been removed.

The abrupt closure of Great American Cookies comes on the heels of an announcement late last week that Deb Shops will soon close its doors in Wausau, along with the rest of the retailer's roughly 287 stores.

Mall officials are investigating the departure of Great American Cookies.

"He (the owner) closed, but we're not sure — we're trying to get in touch with (the owner)," said Wausau Center General Manager Kirk Kamke about Great American Cookies.

This store closing goes along with the closing of three other stores in the mall - Deb Shops, JCPenney and The Tea Shop.

These stores are just the latest victims of Walker's economy, in which he has taken billions of dollars out of the economy and directly into the pockets of companies and CEOs who have contributed to his campaign.

And with RTW (Rob The Workers) legislation pending, it's only going to get worse as more money is siphoned out of our economy and people are able to afford even less.

WI State Senators To Be Barred From Using Cameras

State Sen. Scott Fitzgerald and
Judi Rhodes Engels

The Wisconsin State Senate Republicans apparently have created all the jobs we need, balanced the budget and fixed all the other problems the state is facing, given the foolishness they are pursuing now:

Wisconsin state senators would not be allowed to take pictures with their cellphones or any other camera inside the Senate chamber under a proposed new rule.

That would stop lawmakers from taking pictures during debate. Some have taken pictures during debate and immediately posted them to social media sites, like Twitter and Facebook.

Members of the public observing debate are already precluded from taking pictures from the gallery. Now senators would be barred from doing it as well.

The new proposed rules were released Monday by Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald's office. They were scheduled to be voted on Tuesday.

While Wisconsin State Senators won't be able to take selfies anymore, they will still be able to carry their snub nosed pistols.

Spectators have been already been banned from having guns or cameras in the senate chambers. Heck, they're not even allowed to have signs, because Free Speech is no longer a constitutional right, but merely a suggestion.

No One Asked, But...

By Jeff Simpson

Paul Ryan is Not, I repeat NOT, running for President. I anxiously await his next press release answering another unasked question that no one cares about.   

The only thing I really need to know, is who will be washing the clean dishes now?