A Few Under The Radar Items

By Jeff Simpson

So much is happening bad, crazy and unbelievable that it is hard to keep track of.  So let's take a quick run through some things we may have missed.  

* Alabama Congressman Mo Brooks, telling us that people who have pre-existing conditions deserve them:

"My understanding is that (the new proposal) will allow insurance companies to require people who have higher health care costs to contribute more to the insurance pool," Brooks said. "That helps offset all these costs, thereby reducing the cost to those people who lead good lives, they're healthy, they've done the things to keep their bodies healthy. And right now, those are the people--who've done things the right way--that are seeing their costs skyrocketing."

* Last week in Charlottesville, Virginia, the hometown of Thomas Jefferson had plans to remove a statue of the Confederate traitor general Robert E. Lee.   White Nationalist Robert Spencer, led a protest of a bunch of white people with torches marching on downtown.   Seriously, in 2017, a bunch of white people marched on downtown to try and keep a statue of a traitor to our country standing.  

*  When Paul Ryan, is not busy using teenage cancer survivors as props, he is busy running from his constituents.  Since Paul Ryan refuses to meet with his constituents, Congressman Mark Pocan held a town hall in Ryan's district:

"This Paul Ryan we have now — he seems to roll over and want his belly rubbed by the president ,” Pocan said. “That's not what we need from the Speaker of the House of Representatives. Paul Ryan has really been complicit in letting Donald Trump be Donald Trump.”

*  San Antonio Spurs Head Coach Greg Popovich, never one to shy away from speaking his mind, addressed the clown show n the White House the other day, after they dispensed the Houston Rockets:

“Usually things happen in the world, and you go to work and you’ve got your family and you’ve got your friends and you do what you do,” Popovich said.
“But I feel like there’s a cloud or a pall over the whole country. In a paranoid, surreal sort of way, that’s got nothing to do with the Democrats losing the election — it’s got to do with the way one individual conducts himself.
“That’s embarrassing. It’s dangerous to our institutions and what we all stand for and what we expect the country to be. But for this individual, he’s in a game show, and everything that happens begins and ends with him. Not our people or our country. Every time he talks about those things, it’s a ruse. It’s just disingenuous.”

*  Rocker Todd Rundgren, can not figure out how anyone would support The Donald and mentions that if you actually do, you wont enjoy his show very much:

Todd Rundgren has a warning for supporters of President Donald Trump: Keep away.
“Don’t come to my show,” Rundgren told Variety. “Because you won’t have a good time.”
Rundgren’s latest album features the anti-Trump song “Tin Foil Hat,” which he recorded with Donald Fagen of Steely Dan.
Variety’s Chris Willman said the new tune reminded him of seeing a couple walk out of a show last year after Rundgren criticized Trump from the stage. But the man behind hits such as “Hello It’s Me,” “I Saw The Light” and “Bang The Drum All Day,” said such a response doesn’t bother him.
Addressing Trump supporters, he said:
“I don’t understand your frickin’ values. Because I’m not singing about that. If you don’t understand that basic thing, you’re just fooling yourself. I guarantee that in this show, if you’re a Trump supporter, you will likely be offended. Let the buyer beware! I mean, if you can’t take a joke, or you can’t admit that you’ve made a mistake, you don’t belong with the rest of us.”
Rundgren laughed at the end of his comments, Willman noted.

The Real Paul Ryan

By Jeff Simpson

A few weeks ago, a group of childhood cancer survivors took their biannual trip to DC to lobby their congresspeople, and other politicians about their story and how we need more money for cancer research and cures.

One of the politicians that they specifically wanted to meet and tell their stories to was Paul Ryan, the Speaker of the House from Janesville, WI.   One of the campers even had a personal connection to the Speaker and so worked a meeting time with Mr. Ryan when they were in DC.

However, things changed drastically when the 50 children(from One Step Camp), who have endured pain and suffering most people can only imagine(trust me, there is nothing like being told by your doctor that you have cancer), were told that the Speaker would not be hearing their stories on this trip.

The group of teenage cancer survivors were told when they arrived in DC that only a handful of the campers would be allowed time with Paul Ryan and that they would have about 5 minutes.

Enough time to get pictures taken and see the view of Washington DC from his plush taxpayer supplied office.

Yes Paul Ryan really did say they shared their "powerful stories" with him. As our long time readers of CogDis know :  but wait there is more!  

Paul Ryan put out THIS press release(emphasis mine):
As he always does, Speaker Ryan took time this week to meet with fellow Wisconsinites. He was inspired by the message he heard from students who beat childhood cancer; a teacher who has gone above and beyond to close the achievement gap; a group of state legislators who are moving Wisconsin forward; and many others.  

No!

He did not take the time to meet with Wisconsinites and he had no interest in hearing any one's story. He even made about 40 kids stay away from his taxpayer supplied office because he did not want to be bothered with their story, unless they came with a check in hand of course!

For the Record, James Sensenbrenner was also "too busy" to meet with any of these kids.  His district is so gerrymandered that he did not even have to pretend.  

Everyone knows, I am not a fan of Paul Ryan, and with good reason!  

This however, goes way beyond a policy or personality difference.

Who would use a group of teenage cancer survivors as a political prop?  I never thought the answer would be the Speaker of the House of the United States.

It's easy to do, because he has all of the power in the relationship.   They are young and came home incredibly disillusioned with politics and our country.  Yet Paul Ryan can claim to have listened to them, while using them, and no one would know better.

Luckily, some of these courageous survivors are sharing their story, and showing us who Paul Ryan truly is.

Let's as a community stand up for these courageous young people!  

Paul Ryan has refused a town hall meeting, he is too busy traveling the country fundraising, but lets call him up, tweet him and tell him to meet with these children and this time ACTUALLY listen to their stories, with no cameras.  

Let's show these children that We the People have the power and thank them and reward them for their courage!  

Let's also put an actual face on pre-existing conditions for the person who has voted to repeal Obamacare over 60 times!

Paul Ryan can be reached here:

Washington, DC Office  Office Location:
1233 Longworth HOB 
Washington, D.C. 20515
Phone:   (202) 225-3031  Fax:   (202) 225-3393 

Janesville Office Location:  
20 South Main Street, Suite 10 
Janesville, WI 53545
Phone:   (608) 752-4050  Fax:   (608) 752-4711  

Kenosha Office Location:  
5031 7th Avenue
Kenosha, WI 53140 
Phone: (262) 654-1901  Fax:   (262) 654-2156 

Racine Office Location:  
216 6th Street 
Racine, WI 53403 
 Phone:   (262) 637-0510  Fax:   (262) 637-5689 

Or Send a Letter/postcard to Paul Ryan at home:
PAUL RYAN
700 ST. LAWRENCE AVE.
JANESVILLE, WI 53545


Twitter:  @speakerryan @pryan 

Feel free to leave in the comments when you contacted him and what your response was!!  

RoJo: Trump Meant Comey Recorded Their Conversations

By now, the gentle reader is assuredly aware of the threat that Trump issued to former FBI director, James Comey, via Twitter:

James Comey better hope that there are no "tapes" of our conversations before he starts leaking to the press!

— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) May 12, 2017

Wisconsin's dumb senator, RoJo, shows that he is dumber than most when it comes that tweet. WKOW-TV caught up with RoJo during the Wisconsin GOP convention this past weekend and got an answer that no rational person would have expected:

When asked by 27 News if it would be troubling to find out the President secretly recorded conversations with a sitting FBI Director, Sen. Johnson replied - "That'd be troubling, sure."

27 News followed up by asking if he thought there should be an investigation into whether such tapes were made, Sen. Johnson seemed puzzled why such a question would be asked.

Sen. Johnson then explained he disagreed that President Trump was trying to suggest he may have recorded those conversations.

"No, he said that Comey had better not have recorded it," said Sen. Johnson.

Refusing to speculate on a hypothetical, Sen. Johnson refused further comment on whether the matter should be investigated - saying the important thing is that a credible FBI director be appointed to replace Comey and continue the investigation into Russian collusion.

You read that right.

RoJo thinks Comey had secretly had secretly recorded the conversations between he and Trump. Unfortunately, RoJo refused to explain how, if that were true, the tapes would be a threat to Comey.

Interestingly, we do know that Trump does have a history of recording conversations although Trump's staff won't come out and admit it.

I think I'm starting to see why RoJo is deathly afraid of holding any town hall meetings.

H/T Chris Walker from Political Heat

SafeSpace, Snowflakes and Water Slides!

By Jeff Simpson

The WISGOP held their annual convention this weekend at Chula Vista waterpark in the Wisconsin Dells.  As you can see from the picture on Madison.com: it was strongly attended by a handful of white people from each WI District.

As we reported earlier in the week, the WISGOP, led by Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer, are working up a bill to force people to listen to racist, homophobic and hate filled speakers on college campuses!

Astonishingly, while Robin Vos wants a debate on ideas amongst all sides, he just doesnt want anyone to hear what he really thinks.  These are tweets from yesterdays convention in about a hour or so time difference:

In Wisconsin, we get a yearly supply of irony every time a Republican speaks.  

In other items,  Brian Westrate, 3rd Congressional District party chairman. Summed up the Republican party in one quick sentence.  

“The Democrats don’t have a candidate for governor,” Westrate said. “There’s not much to talk about.”  

How rich, for one the Democrats DO have a candidate for Governor - Bob Harlow, secondly, isn't the party convention supposed to be about the party, Mr. Westrate lets us know that all they really have is an ability to smear their opponents with no real interest in policy or governing.

Governing is almost as hard as telling the truth!

One thing you can do at the WISGOP convention though is learn how the whole of society is out to get you, and to be very very afraid.

This was standard fare of items being passed out there:

I hope that the attendees were at least able to enjoy the water park of Chula Vista, but when your whole worldview is based on fear, I am guessing they never ventured beyond the lazy river.



PS:  What could you find at the WISGOP convention?  Scott Walker selling his soul crap at a clearance price!

Biggest Paper In State Fails To Report On Biggest Slumlord

Last fall, 17 people were poisoned by carbon monoxide in Mantiwoc, Wisconsin. The three buildings in which the people were poisoned are owned by Republican State Representative Paul Tittl:

The incident took place Oct. 31, 2016, and affected Susie Kay’s Café at 1110 Washington St., the Republican Headquarters office at 1112 Washington St. and the five apartments at 1112 Washington St., all owned by Tittl.

Ten people from the apartments and seven from Susie Kay’s Café were taken to the hospital to be treated for carbon monoxide poisoning. Four of those people were taken to Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center in Milwaukee to be treated with a hyperbaric chamber. Another one was in serious condition and had to be flown to Milwaukee by helicopter.

Susie Kay’s Café was reopened and the families returned to their apartments after Nov. 8, 2016.

During the police investigation into the incident, a detailed examination of the boiler servicing the apartments and the café was performed. According to the police report, a couple pipes coming from the boiler had been blocked with various materials, including insulation, which could have affected the combustion in the boiler. Another possible cause for the carbon monoxide buildup was a cracked heat exchanger or having no water in the boiler tank.

When the boiler was checked for carbon monoxide after everyone had been evacuated from the buildings, it was giving off 700-800 ppm (parts per million) when it should have been giving off zero ppm.

The boiler was later confiscated by Manitowoc police as evidence.

Not reported is that at least one person suffered severe brain damage and is still in a nursing home.

To make the story even worse, Tittle barely got a slap on the wrist for endangering all these lives, having to face three minor citations.

One would think that the biggest newspaper in the state, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, would have covered the story.

One would be sorely mistaken. At the time of this writing, the paper has not even mentioned it once.

It would have undoubtedly been a different matter if Tittl had been a Democrat, African-American and/or a woman. If they had done what Tittl was done, they would have hounded the person until they resigned or were charged.

For example, let's look at what the paper breathlessly covered, getting the story out before they got all the facts straight.

Democratic State Representative Christine Sinicki got into a financial bind when she had to help her in-laws get and stay in an assisted living center, something that many people, including myself, can relate to from personal experience. I'm sorry, but I just don't see any shame in getting into a hole in taking care of one's family because the state wasn't willing to help. The reporter, Dan Bice, tried to make it seem that way.

Bice went after Sinicki another time because she got mileage reimbursement for driving from Milwaukee to Madison and back while her license was suspended. She didn't even know her license was suspended until it was brought to her attention and she paid her fine immediately and got the licensed reinstated.

The kicker to this attack was that Bice's source was Media Trackers, a right wing propagandist group with a horrible track record for hyping false narratives and getting their facts wrong. But that never slowed Bice down for a minute.

And the Journal Sentinel wonders why their circulation has dropped to a mere fraction of what it used to be.

Remind me again, how is the corporate media liberal? By only slamming Democrats, women and African Americans while letting Republicans get away with almost killing people?

The Perfect GOP Mothers Day Gift!

By Jeff Simpson

Its Mothers Day weekend and if you have been procrastinating, buying her the perfect gift, then you are in luck.  

Clearance sale at the WISGOP website.

Mad at your mom?  Has She grounded you?  Abandoned you?  Treat your siblings better?  Then we have the perfect gift for you:

“Revenge, the sweetest morsel to the mouth that ever was cooked in hell.” 
― Walter Scott, The Heart of Mid-Lothian

Yes make your mother wake up to that mug everyday and she will pay a price that beats any corporal or punitive punishment in the land - only $5.99!

If you are looking for a little more volume , or your mother does not drink coffee, do not fret, we have the perfect gift there also:

The Ron Johnson signed cup, complete with a graph showing how much money we are paying for The Donald's weekly golf trips!

Once the Republic falls, this will be a collectors item.  You will be able to put it outside to fll up when it rains, so you then can drink water with only acid in it and no lead!  Just a measly $7.00.

What a refreshing change!

if you are middle and upper class, there is a gift your you also!  For those who will actually be able to afford a beer or soda, there are cooziies - for the low, low price of $4.99!

* For those who have attended online high school, actual drink NOT included.  

Take advantage of the GOP's generous offers today and order your Scott Walker swag this instant!   

Faux News:Trump Not As Bad As Civil War

Faux News tried to downplay the disaster of the Toupee Dynasty in Washinton, D.C.  To do so, they had to go back almost 170 years to say that Trump's misadministration isn't as bad as the Civil War:

They almost got that one right!

Almost being the operative word:

The Lilliputian Mind of Robin Vos

By Jeff Simpson

We discussed the unconstitutional bill that was written by the taxpayer funded right wing Goldwater Institute and pushed forward by Rep. Jesse Kremer and Rep. Robin Vos, in terms of the neverending supply of irony and hypocrisy that the WISGOP keep mining.  

As if we did not have a lifetime supply already, Jesse Kremer and Robin Vos gave testimony today on the bill.  One of the unintended consequences of a bill written to whine legislate the false perceptions that only liberals are allowed public forums, is to make sure the reporters covering your event, would never paint you as the fool you are.  


Vos, Kremer: Bill to protect speech on campuses necessary after recent incidents

Lets look at some of the things that Robin Vos said(some reported on and some not):

“Intolerance and physical aggression have replaced healthy debates and a free marketplace of ideas” at universities, Vos said. “We cannot have a debate if only one side is allowed to show up.”

Which brings to mind this: 

Can we please get someone in the mainstream media to ask Mr. Vos why he wants different standards in the partially funded UW University system than in the 100% taxpayer funded State Capitol?

Next they listed three incidences as "justification" for ending free speech as we know it on Campus:

Speakers cited well-publicized, disruptive protests against controversial speakers at the University of California-Berkeley and Middlebury College in Vermont, as well as a demonstration that interrupted part of conservative commentator Ben Shapiro’s talk at UW-Madison last fall.

Lets look at each one a bit more in depth: 

!.  University of California-Berkeley:  A right wing institute, funded by Betsy DeVos(yes that Betsy), has come up with a plan to send some of the most despicable people in America on speaking tours of college campuses to get this reaction to show how "intolerant the left is".    They tried to bring Milo Yiannopoulos to speak on campus and the students were not very excited about that.    If the name Milo rings a bell, that is because he was at Marquette speaking recently and he outted a transgender student by name and picture, putting their safety in danger.  

There was a protest of Milo from local students and a counter -protest of Trumpers which resulted in some violence and 20 people arrested.   While it is handy to blame "the liberals" for that, let us not forget that half of the protesters are staunch followers of this guy: 

Hard to believe where the violence comes from.  

2.  Middlebury College in Vermont:   Robin Vos made a point over and over that since the University system is publicly funded, we have a responsibility to pass this bill.    Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont. The college was founded in 1800 by Congregationalists making it the first operating college or university in Vermont.    Private college, so its apples and oranges and a noncomparison.  

3.  Ben Shapiro's talk at UW - Madison.   Shapiro, a young hate filled Breitbardt writer, was interrupted by protesters for a full ten minutes, before he was allowed to finish preaching his hate and ignorance.   It takes a serious big government Republican to make a new overreaching law because a protester had to deal with a ten minute delay.   In case your wondering, this is Shapiro in Madison:  

 He seems nice.   

But wait there is more.  More ridiculous things said by Robin Vos.  This for instance: 

Greg Neumann‏ @gneumann_wkow

.@SpeakerVos says liberals want to control so much, what people eat, etc - can't believe they're saying legislators shouldn't control this.

I guess Robin Vos has authored so much poor legislation that he forgot all about this!

Assembly Bill 177 would limit the types of food that could be purchased with Wisconsin’s food stamp program, FoodShare.
In addition to banning the purchase of foods such as lobster with the publicly-funded program, the legislation would also require that just over two-thirds of the benefits be used to purchase healthy foods:
“A lot of people, an awful lot of people who are on FoodShare are also on BadgerCare, so there is a direct financial benefit not just to the individual, which of course is obvious to have better health, but also to state taxpayers and society as a whole,” Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, told the Associated Press.  

Robin, passes bills that actually tell people what they can eat and blames it on the liberals.  Is that ignorance, or just an extraordinary ability to lie?

Wait there is even more, some gems from Robin Vos that never were reported on:

*  "We believe that sunshine is the best disinfectant for reprehensible speech".   Robin Vos.    

I am curious if that means, with reprehensible members like Bob Gannon, that Robin Vos will be ending the incredulous practice of closed partisan caucuses.   I am pretty sure that sunshine shared  the inner thoughts of some of the members of the WISGOP caucus and the only place that would hire  some of the members hate filled, ignorance would be rightwisconsin.    

*  "We checked and almost all speakers were liberal. It makes no sense to not invite their opposition."  Robin Vos.    

Is Robin Vos that small minded that he believes there are only two sides to every issue?   For instance, Steven Levitan will speak at the commencement this spring, who exactly is the "conservative opposition" to him?  I guess they could have who ever came up with the "half hour news hour" comedy/news show on Fox as opposition to one of the smartest, funniest longest lasting sit coms in history.    Not sure who would be interested in hearing them, though.   

Another instance, Michael Sam, the first openly gay player who was on an NFL Roster gave a speech at UW-LaCrosse.  IS he considered liberal?   Who would be "the conservative opposition" to his speech?  Darren Sharper?  

Looking at the other end, one of the heroes of the right(and the reason behind the Middlebury College protests) is Professor Charles Murray.  According to Murray, disadvantaged groups are disadvantaged because, on average, they cannot compete with white men, who are intellectually, psychologically and morally superior.   Who exactly would "the opposition" be to Mr. Murray on the left?  Neil de grasse Tyson?   

We need bigger thinkers running our Government then such closed minded people as Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer.   

*  Finally, Robin Vos in trying desperately to make his point, brought up Global Climate Change.  "Global warming is one of the biggest debates right now.  There are a whole bunch of people on one side who believe it is real and there is a whole bunch of people on the other side who believe it isn't."  Robin Vos.    
Actually no Robin there is not a bunch of people on each side.   There are an almost near unanimity of peer reviewed scientists on one side and a whole bunch of people who make money on polluting the environment and the politicians they have purchased on the other side.   97% of scientists know it is man made and a major problem.    Should there be 50/50 speakers when the topic is 97/3?    

This is not even a solution in search of a problem, it is more a desperate group of people who know their grip on society is loosening by the second and they will do anything to not give up power.    This anti free speech bill, needs to be killed in committee and never heard from again.  

The first amendment does not guarantee you a chance to speak, it does not give you a public forum, nor does it mean people have to listen to you.  The First Amendment specifically says that our Government can not legislate speech, which is exactly what Robin Vos and Jesse Kremer are attempting to do here.   

Its ironic that while the WISGOP legislators are trying to figure out how to force their views on more people, the graduating seniors of Bethune Cookman, exercised their right to free speech as the Founders envisioned and showed us why the old oligarchy is scared and why the future of our country is in good hands, as long as our country and world is still around to pass on to them!  

Watch As Walker Has A Meltdown About Ryancare

On Friday morning, Scott Walker said he would give strong consideration to allowing the Big Insurance vultures to feed on Wisconsinites who have pre-existing conditions. He later flip flopped, or at least pretended to, due to "public outcry."

We now know what that public outcry looked like. Later on Friday, Walker jetted up to Appleton, Wisconsin, for a campaign stop to talk about tourism (because polluted water, toxic soil and roadkills as far as the eye can see are real tourism draws!)

While there, Outagamie County Executive Tom Nelson approached him and started to speak quietly to him about that statement. Walker, obviously caught off guard, had a major meltdown, throwing a tantrum that would make any two year old jealous:

Video shows Nelson raised the issue while shaking hands with the governor, and began by speaking into the governor's ear.

The governor replies, "If you want to have a press conference, go ahead. He'll have a press conference. No, no. If the county executive wants to have a press conference on something else, you can talk to him later, but if you want to steal away from tourism you can do that."

Nelson interjects, "No, no. This is a big deal. Three-hundred thousand people in Northeast Wisconsin."

Wow! That escalated quickly!

Unable to defend his indefensible stance, Walker went on the offensive, trying to bully and bluster Nelson into submission:

"If you want to run for Congress, you had your chance," the governor replies, repeating it seven times during their exchange.

Nelson ran unsuccessfully for Congress last year. He lost to Republican Mike Gallagher.

Rep. Gallagher voted in favor of the American Health Care Act, which passed by four votes Thursday, 217-213.

Talk about going off topic! I suppose Republicans do consider personal attacks to be a sign of strength instead of immaturity, like most adults do.

Walker then keeps the blustering and bloviating going on by trying to change subjects and flat out lying:

Nelson continues, "Just to be clear, 300,000."

"Just so we're clear folks," the governor says to the surrounding media, "just to be clear, the county executive wants to take away from tourism right now and play a political stunt."

"No."

"About a topic that has nothing to do with what we're talking about today. It's on an issue that was voted on in front of the House of Representatives, but is not even going forward in the Senate right now. We'll take a look at it when it goes through the United States Senate. We're going to lobby in a way that allows us to do the things we've done here in the state of Wisconsin for the first time in the history of the state we cover everyone I think in Medicaid. It's something we didn't do Tom when you served in the Legislature."

"Nope, nope. So you don't support the legislation?" Nelson asks.

"There was a waiting list -- a waiting list for people living in poverty when you served in the state Legislature. I removed that waiting list so that no one living -- you can make up the facts," the governor says.

"You have sent to other states hundreds of millions of dollars for the Medicaid expansion, taking care of everything from the opioid crisis you're dealing with, for health insurance for those individuals. We're not," Nelson said.

Ah, so the campaign stop telling Appleton residents to tour Appleton is much more important that the lives of hundreds of thousands of people. Gotcha.

But about Walker's claim. It is true that he added everyone under the poverty threshold to Badgercare. What he doesn't include is that he also kicked nearly 100,000 people out of the program at the same time. Only about a third of those people were able to get on Obamacare, which leaves about 66,000 people without coverage at all. I'm sure that number is even higher now as Walker continues to tank the state economy.

Overall, it's a sad display from Walker but an important lesson for Democrats. If they are able to find a halfway decent candidate who can keep Walker off his speaking points and off balance, he will continue to have these meltdowns and will continue to look more like the fool he really is.

Paul Ryan Gets Trolled In Epic Fashion

Gotta love it!

And remember folks, Ryan is supposed to be the smart one of the GOP!

Walker Flip Flops On Ryancare

On Friday morning, it looked like Ryancare had found its first fan., Scott Walker said that he would consider allowing insurance company vultures to feed on those with preexisting conditions:

The House on Thursday approved a bill to repeal and replace the Affordable Care Act, also known as Obamacare, and allow states to opt out of requirements for insurers on how they cover people with pre-existing conditions.

"That's something we certainly would consider," Walker said to reporters at a morning event promoting tourism. "It depends on the conditions, and again, what's in the House bill could be very different than what's in the Senate bill and what finally comes to the president. So I'm going to wait till I see what's in the final version."

In other words, he was letting insurance companies and dark money groups he was now accepting "campaign gifts."

After getting a lot of backlash and fearing another protest like 2011, Walker indicated he had flip flopped and now was against allowing the exemptions:

Soon after his comments took off online, Walker spokesman Jack Jablonski said people with pre-existing conditions would continue to have insurance coverage under any approach the administration might take.

In the afternoon, Walker posted a message on Twitter saying, "It is a given that WI will ensure coverage for people with pre-existing conditions." And in the evening, he told the Journal Sentinel he was "not looking to change" policies for those with pre-existing conditions.

Here's some free advice: Don't believe a word that comes from that weasel's mouth.

Four years ago, while campaigning for reelection as governor, he swore up and down that Right to Work laws would never happen in Wisconsin. Guess what? He was lying his ass off.

One of the first things Walker did after being sworn in for another term was to sign the legislation eliminating workers' rights.

So when it comes to Walker saying he'll protect those with pre-existing conditions...well, they might want to move to a friendlier state or get ready to make sure Walker isn't reelected next year.

Clarke Should Be Charged In Jail Death

A year ago, Terill Thomas, a man with a chronic mental illness as well as diabetes and a bad heart, died while in the custody of David Clarke's county jail. Investigations revealed that Clarke's staff had turned off the water to Thomas' cell for seven days and denied him medical care before he died. It was later learned that even after Terill's death, jail staff did this same act of cruelty to two other inmates, one only a week after Terill's death.

For the past week, an inquest jury has been hearing evidence regarding the case to determine whether criminal charges should be brought against the jail staff. It took them only 90 minutes to come back with a ruling that all seven people that were subjects of the inquest should be charged.

Those staff members include:Jail Commander Maj. Nancy Evans, Lt. Kashka Meadors and Corrections Officers Jordon Johnson, Thomas Laine, James Ramsey-Guy, John Weber and Dominique Smith.

An eight staff member, Captain George Gold, who was investigated but not part of the inquest, abruptly resigned.

Noticeably absent from the conversation was the guy in charge of the jail, Sheriff David Clarke. When asked about that, District Attorney John Chisholm said this:

Chisholm told reporters he would give a lot of weight to the inquest verdict but is not bound by it or limited by it. He could charge more than seven people, none or any number in between.

He said he tried to limit the number of individuals to those directly involved in Thomas’ care or jail leaders who knew or should have known of problems.

[...]

Asked why he did not ask jurors to consider if Clarke may have been liable, Chisholm said he would not comment on whether the sheriff or any other individual would likely face charges.

Clarke really should be charged.

First and foremost, he is the top dog at the jail and everything that happens there is ultimately his responsibility.

Secondly, it was Clarke's own policy that led up to this happening. The jail used to have a special needs dorm which was staffed by the Special Management Team, correction officers trained to deal with inmates with chronic mental illness. Clarke, in his infinite lack of wisdom, decided to do away with this unit, thereby bringing these special needs inmates in with the general population. It was a recipe for disaster and often, these mentally ill inmates would not get along well with others and end up in isolation where they fare even worse.

Another odd thing is how did Nancy Evans end up being a jail commander? In 2011, Evans was the subject of an investigation which caused her to be demoted from her spot as third highest ranked official in the Sheriff's Office:

According to the report, Evans admitted she had a 10-year extra-marital relationship with a man she paid to do some remodeling in the administrative offices where she oversaw the Milwaukee County Jail.

Investigators said Evans paid her paramour "$5,852 of taxpayers' money for work that was not completed." Then "ordered her staff to have the inmate workers complete the work" while she attended a jail conference in Reno, accompanied by the remodeler.

So in just four years, Evans goes from almost losing her job and going to jail to being the jail commander? Something sure smells fishy.

Another thing that is very curious is that the loud-mouthed Clarke, who usually spews vitriol and hate everywhere, has been a long time proponent of standing up for officers around the country, whether they are guilty or innocent. But with his own officers, he's been suspiciously mum and only issued this brief statement after the verdict was read:

"This is part of a process. I respect the process. Jury recommendations are just that. The next step in the process is for DA Chisholm to decide if actual charges will be brought forth. There will be no speculation of what will happen until it happens," Clarke said in a statement.

Why, that's not very supportive at all! It's almost like he's afraid of saying something that might be used against him later.

Although to be honest, even if Clarke was charged in Terill's death, he could get off due to plausible deniability.

First, he's too stupid to understand what's going on without someone feeding him talking points. Secondly, he could honestly claim ignorance, since he was gone so much of the time, making appearances on Faux Newz and traveling around the country and to Russia for the NRA.,

Red Speech, Blue Speech, GOP Speech or No Speech!

By Jeff Simpson

The WisGop are once again doing what they do best.  Copying extreme far right legislation as if it was their own.  The latest version of lunacy is aimed at ending the First Amendment in college campuses across the state.  A quick refresher course on the 1st:

The amendment as adopted in 1791 reads as follows:
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.^[1]

 There have been a few incidences of violence erupting during some speakers at college campuses lately(which we will address later).  To put it in perspective, there are 9048 colleges and universities in the United States, and a handful of high profile incidences and new legislation needs to be written that circumvents the Constitution to make sure that no matter how hateful, or ridiculous your viewpoint is allowed to present to a large audience unchallenged.  

Which is the definition of Big Government.

The current reasoning behind this bill, which isn't very reasonable:

University of Wisconsin System students who disrupt speeches on campus could face expulsion under a bill circulated Thursday by Republican lawmakers.
The bill would also require universities to stay neutral on public policy controversies. The intent of that provision is to bar universities from forcing faculty or students to take a particular viewpoint, an aide to Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, said.  

Or as Robin Vos explains:

 "I think we should have more speech on campus," Vos told reporters. "If they want to bring in very liberal activists to be able to tell their story of why they believe in what believe or they want to bring in conservative folks to do the exact same thing, we should allow them the opportunity to be heard, questioned, debated at the appropriate time — but not just having somebody stand up and try to shout them down or block access to the event."
The goal is to allow the "maximum amount of free speech that we possibly can" so students can "hear from all sides and make up their own minds," Vos said.

Ok first before we address the ridiculousness of this, we need to address Republican hypocrisy.

A quick walk down memory lane and we remember after 9/11 that there was a rebel professor from Colorado named Ward Churchill, who made some very controversial statements about the people who work at the WTC and our Government.  When he was booked to speak at the UW System, the GOP legislators stepped up, led by none other than steve nASS who wanted to punish anyone in the system who dared disagree with the WISGOP:

Explaining Nass' 2005 push to make faculty follow codes of conduct, including not making "anti-American" statements, Mikalsen says, "Part of the issue is we have foreign-born professors. Those professors say things."

While Robin Vos is busy telling us: 

 "I think we should have more speech on campus," Vos told reporters. "If they want to bring in very liberal activists to be able to tell their story of why they believe in what believe or they want to bring in conservative folks to do the exact same thing, we should allow them the opportunity to be heard, questioned, debated at the appropriate time — but not just having somebody stand up and try to shout them down or block access to the event."

The reality is,  they mean that anyone they agree with should be allowed to speak no questions asked., As Steve nASS pointed out:

In 2005, Nass wanted the Board of Regents to order UW-Whitewater to rescind a speaking invitation to Ward Churchill, a Colorado professor who had compared the World Trade Center victims to Nazi Adolf Eichmann. And last year, Nass pressured UW-Madison to fire Kevin Barrett, an instructor on Islam who believes the U.S. government orchestrated the 9/11 attacks. Nass even went on Bill O'Reilly's Fox News show to vent his outrage over Barrett.When the university refused to purge Barrett, Nass responded by threatening to cut its budget. And this year, he came up with a slew of targeted budget cuts. These include eliminating funding for the Havens Center - which sponsored a talk by Barrett - and the UW's School for Workers, which educates union activists. 

Fast forward ten years and Steve nASS is still at it:

State Sen. Steve Nass blasted a UW-Madison economics professor in a scathing email ... calling the academic's report on right-to-work legislation and economic performance "partisan, garbage research."
The email, sent to Senate and Assembly Republicans and UW System officials with the subject line "UW-Madison Professor Steven Deller Uses State Resources to Trash Right to Work," cites a two-page fact sheet written by a Department of Agricultural and Applied Economics faculty member.

So publicly elected officials can shut down any speech that they disagree with and punish anyone who would attempt to want to have them speak.  

But wait there is more:

Robin Vos, Captain of free speech, skinny dipping and erotica, as head of the assembly, has set rules such as: 


1. Lean over or put any object over the balcony.
2. Use a laptop or other computer device.
3. Stand except for prayer or pledge of allegiance or as otherwise permitted by the presiding officer
4. Use recording devices of any kind 
5. Use cell phones or pagers.
6. Read newspapers or other printed materials.
7. Eat any food or drink any beverages.
8. Exhibit public displays or demonstrations.
9. Display signs or placards.
10. Possess bags or briefcases.
11. Wear hats.

Certain publicly funded buildings, run by publicly funded staff, is allowed to shut down any speech they desire.  

But Wait there is even more!  

After the massive hypocrisy of nASS and Vos, then we head to the kingpin of hypocrisy, our very own Governor - Scott Walker!

Scott Walker was given a forum on the Mike Gousha Show where he said this(with a straight face):

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

One more time just to make sure this was a real quote:

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

Scott Walker was the guy who had hundreds of people arrested for SINGING in the publicly funded state Capitol rotunda.  

A quick snapshot, of what the guy who thinks that shutting down speakers is wrong, has done:

Then never forget this, the perfect pictures from the Walker Era:

Ok! This really needs to be shared one more time.  Ladies and Gentlemen of Wisconsin, your Governor:'

"But the minute you shut down a speaker, no matter whether they are liberal or conservative or somewhere in between, I just think that's wrong,"  Scott Walker said.

By the way, it would not hurt someone from the Wisconsin Media to ask him about his blatant hypocrisy instead of let him mumble on about his love of free speech.

By the way, in case you forgot, what happened to the hundreds of Wisconsinites that Scott Walker had arrested for singing in the Capitol?   Not a thing, the arrests were UnConstitutional.  

 Now my take on the subject:

Yes as a blogger, elected official and lover of free speech, I think everyone should be allowed to speak anytime anywhere.  The First Amendment allows for you to have free speech, it does not allow for you to be free of consequences from your speech and it also does not mean that you have to be allowed a public, huge, forum to speak.  

As I pointed out early there are 9048 universities and colleges and there have been a handful of incidences around the country.   In each instance, it was a hate filled racist speaker that students shut down from speaking at their university.    It is the ultimate form of form of self policing and local control.
If you feel that someone outting a transgender student publicly, or lecturing that African Americans are inferior, or someone who is an avowed racist, should not be allowed a prime spot speaking at your university, no matter how much money he has backing him, then it is your responsibility to speak up and speak out!

Besides the law as they are trying to pass, is so vague that it is meant to punish anyone who would dare speak up at a public platform.  

a section of the bill that listed types of speech that would be prohibited. The legislation bars “violent, abusive, indecent, profane, boisterous, obscene, unreasonably loud or other disorderly conduct that interferes with the free expression of others.”
Cohn said profane and boisterous speech are protected under the First Amendment, and that the description of “abusive” speech is too broad.

Can you get suspended for speaking up in class, yelling at the Ohio State Football Team, Tom Izzo, a disagreement at Babcock Ice Cream over a flavor, complaints about poor service at the Memorial union, or is it being written to make sure that all Professors stay in line and make sure to know that they can are being watched and will be punished?

Either way, there can be no greater example of Big Government that you could find, and they are just now getting empowered.