Til FAFO Do Us Part

It could have been a Hallmark movie. 

A man in a small Wisconsin town meets a beautiful Peruvian woman, they fall in love and get married. 

Except for Bradley Bartell and Camila Muñoz, it turned into a horror flick real quick, thanks to the Orange Felon and a face-eating leopard. On the way back from honeymooning in Puerto Rico, ICE stormtroopers pulled Muñoz out of line and detained her. 

She was shipped off to a privately run prison in Louisiana and is being held in a dorm room with 80 other women. Bartell said that the money they were saving to buy a house is gone in legal bills and that they haven't seen each other in weeks. But it's hard to feel sorry for Bartell, since he voted for this shit:

Both of them have been thinking a lot about Bartell's vote for Trump. 

"I knew they were cracking down," he said. "I guess I didn’t know how it was going down." 

He imagined the administration would target people who snuck over the border and weren't vetted. But his wife, "they know who she is and where she came from," he said. "They need to get the vetting done and not keep these people locked up. It doesn’t make any sense."

Unfortunately, the article never asked Bartell why he voted for the Orange Felon. Did he sell out his wife for the false promises of cheaper eggs, less expensive gas, and tax cuts, none of which he will ever see? Or did he not listen to MAGA Moron Cult that they were going to go after everyone with brown skin or a Spanish sounding name? I wouldn't blame Muñoz for having second thoughts about their marriage either. 

I know that I would have trust issues with a person who offered my face to the leopards for such a low price.

Gableman Allowed To Waste More Taxpayer Time And Money

 

MAGA Maniac Michael Gableman wasted millions of taxpayers dollars and a couple of years "investigating" the alleged voter fraud. All he had to show for all that time and money were hundreds of dollars in receipts from restaurants and huge grocery bills from the local Pick'N'Save.

When open records requests were filed, he ignored those.  When he was sued for not complying  with open records laws, he fought tooth and nail to the point of being found in contempt of court.  But still, there was nothing to show what he did with all that money.

Eventually, the mattered ended in front of the Office of Lawyer Regulation, where he was ordered to do a deposition, but yet he refused to cooperate.

Now a referee in the case is allowing him to waste even more time and money:

A referee told former Supreme Court Justice Michael Gableman he’s getting “one more chance” to properly appear and give a deposition in his discipline case, rejecting Gableman’s attempts to avoid doing so. 

Gableman’s attorney, Peyton Engel, argued that Gableman does not have to appear because he will just plead the Fifth Amendment to every question. 

The Office of Lawyer Regulation on Feb. 28 filed a motion to compel Gableman to sit for a deposition. The accompanying documents showed in addition to concerns about possible criminal charges, Gableman had sought to put off the deposition while he tries to raise funds for his legal defense and to reach a stipulation that could resolve the case.

Referee James Winiarski said Thursday the Fifth Amendment is applied only on a question-by-question basis, and cannot be used as justification to not make an appearance. 

“You don’t fail to appear for a hearing because you might get asked questions where you’re going to claim the Fifth Amendment as a claim to not answer a question,” Winiarski. “I don’t agree that you cannot appear for a deposition on that basis.” 

If Gableman hasn't cooperated at all through all these procedures, he's not about to cooperate now.  It's time that someone holds him accountable for all this, and with more than a slap on the wrist.  

Then, while they are at it, they can call Robbin' Vos onto the carpet, since he's the clown that authorized Gableman to waste all that money without any supervision.  He's just as culpable.

Why Isn't Marco Rubio In Moscow?

 CBS News and other news organizations are reporting:

Steve Witkoff, President Trump's special envoy for Russia and Ukraine, has arrived in Moscow to discuss a proposed 30-day ceasefire between Russia and Ukraine.

Given that this is a high profile negotiation and one that Pres. Trump assured us wouldn't take but 24 hours to resolve, why isn't Secretary of State Marco Rubio in Moscow as the head of our negotiating team?

After all, he was the lead diplomat in Saudi Arabia when meeting with the Ukrainians last week. So he of course has first hand knowledge of the agreements and discussions and to my mind would have more cachet with the Russians than Mr. Witkoff.

And, since the Saudis were the actual parties mediating the negotiations between the Ukraine and the United States, why aren't they in a similar role here? It might not be that bad an idea to have a third party nation involved given the rumors around Trump's affection/admiration for Putin.

 

The Perfect Question For Every Trump News Conference or Oval Office 'diatribe'.

 This little ditty was of course stolen from the internet but not on X or that other one where Donold holds sway. 

and of course it is a line that I heard innumerable times as a youngster from any number of adults or on TV shows.

But given the current political climate and the lies and side steps and misdirections coming out of the mouths of the GOP and DOGE minions, it seems the perfect follow on question for every occasion:

WHAT DOES THAT HAVE TO DO WITH THE PRICE OF EGGS?    

Schimel Disqualifies Himself With The Big Lie Answers

 

Reporter Vanessa Kjelden caught up with Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Brad Schimel and asked him about election integrity and whether he thought there was voter fraud in the 2020 ekection:

KJELDSEN: So to clarify, do you think that there were any issues with voter fraud in 2020? 

SCHIMEL: I saw the news reports that anybody saw where we saw where we heard that year that there were people who were in nursing homes who had been incompetent, ruled incompetent for voting for years who suddenly voted in that election. And we didn't have the special voting deputies in to the sworn voting deputies in to make sure that this is on the up and up. Absolutely. There is some fraud like that. Sure. 

Um, no, Brad. What you saw were debunked videos made by the disgraced Michael Gableman, using an investigator who was not even allowed to work in Wisconsin.  

And if you were a competent lawyer or judge, you would have known that the rulings made in probate court regarding a person's competency are sealed.  In fact, one of your buddies tried to sue to get those records released and lost.  

Furthermore, if a person is found to need a guardian due to their level of competency, they might still be able to vote. That issue is decided by the judge and that it also sealed.  

So there is no way in hell for you to "know" that people who had been found incompetent and lost their right to vote had actually voted.

Ergo, you are either a liar or grossly incompetent yourself or both.  But whatever the reason, it means you are not qualified to serve on SCOWIS by any stretch of the imagination.

Trump: I Should Be Impeached Immediately

Image from DonkeyHotey

Back in the day, when the Orange Felon was getting ready to run for president, he had this to say:

Well, guess what! When Diaper Donny was making his second failed attempt at tariffs, the Dow dropped 1,300 points in two days.

So, when does the impeachment start?  Or, since the Felon is supposedly so into efficiency, he could save everyone a lot of time, money and grief by just resigning now.

Of course, that would require honesty and integrity, both of which are in short supply at the White House these days.

How Can Mexico and Canada Quietly But Effectively Get Back At The Trump Tariffs?

 Back in 2016, Donold Trump ran on opposition to  NAFTA (his quote: “worst trade deal ever made”) and how America and Americans were getting screwed. And he coerced Mexico and Canada into negotiating a new agreement...the high point of his administration if you listened to Trump at the time: the U.S.-Mexico-Canada Agreement.

And Trump wants to renegotiate it to make it even better for American business. But in the meantime, he has already violated it with his unilateral impositions of 25% tariffs on both of our neighbors.

So my note to Canada and Mexico. Make a big deal of kicking the US out of the deal...it's broken anyway...but stick pins in Donold's massive ego in the meantime.

Clothes Does Not Make The Man

By now, the gentle reader has seen and heard about the shitshow that The Orange Felon and his crime syndicate put on in the Oval Office during a visit by Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy.  

They spent the entire time, both on and off camera, berating Zelenskyy, taunting him and trying to ridicule him like a bunch of playground bullies.  The fact that Zelenskyy held his own and dished it back only infuriated them even more.

One of their favorite lines of bullshit had to do with the fact that Zelenskyy wore his usual fatigues instead of putting on a suit.  They claimed it was disrespectful even though they are quite fine with President Elmo prancing around looking like a coked up street person.

This exchanged showed how low they were willing to go by allowing Rep. Sporkfoot's boy toy to jump in on the taunting:

In a video posted to Bluesky, Brian Glenn, who reports for fringe conservative site Real America's Voice, demanded of the Ukrainian leader, "Do you — why don't you wear a suit?"

"Why don't you wear a suit? You're the highest level in this country's office, and you refuse to wear a suit," he pressed, while J.D. Vance could be seen laughing, before adding, "Do you own a suit?"

"I will wear a suit after this war is over," Zelensky politely replied. "Maybe something like yours. Maybe better."

I, for one, saw nothing wrong with what Zelenskyy was wearing. This is a man who is literally defending his country from the Russian invasion. He has actually taken up weapons and has been in combat.  Quite a bit of a difference from Space Cadet Bone Spurs who paid off a podiatrist to write a doctor's excuse for him.

Furthermore, as a combat veteran, Zelenskyy had to know he was walking into a trap behind enemy lines, so actually, his choise of clothing was more than appropriate.

But before the MAGA syndicate started throwing stones, they should have stepped out of their glass house first.  Trump was there with his trademark off the rack suit and too long tie.  Even more hilarious was Couch Boy Vance, who looked like a Trump mini-me with an identical suit and too long tie.   

As usual, the whole set up has totally backfired on the Orange Shitgibbon and his handlers.  Most Americans saw right through the bullshit and were embarassed and appalled by their immature behavior.  On an international front, there's been a platonic shift as the United States abandoned the Allies and joined the Axis of Evil.  

Almost every single country made a point of expressing their support for Ukraine regardless of Trump's temper tantrums.  Even Norway's petroleum giant has cut off all fuel for American forces because of Trump's idiocy.

In summary, what we saw that day was a meeting between a man who wasn't wearing a suit and a bunch of suits without men in them.  

An Actual Photo Of The Immigrant Who Is Stealing Your Job(s):

 

and no, I didn't 'think' this up. It's based on a meme running around the internet. I haven't seen the actual meme but a friend told me about it yesterday.

So We Need To Start Doing This Again?

 

While Elon Musk Is Rummaging Around In The IRS Sub-basement, Maybe He Could?

publish Donold Trump's tax filings from 2016 through 2024. Trump promised to publish them on many occasions but with his challenging PGA schedule, he obviously hasn't gotten around to it. 

Inquiring minds do want to know.

A Sad Day For Milwaukee and Journalism, As One Of My Favorite Curmugeons Passes Away

 I wasn't close friend of Joel's but we did travel in the same circles and it was always a pleasure to see him! So this is sad news for me, and as I said, Milwaukee and Journalism as well::

'Voice of resistance,' longtime Milwaukee columnist Joel McNally dies at age 80

Time To Restate My Proposed Campaign Finance Reform Position

 I posted a number of different versions of this over the years at Blogging Blue. Hopefully I remember it but it shouldn't be too much of a problem given it is fairly straight forward. But with all of the hand wringing and gnashing of teeth from both sides of the aisle around multi-millionaire's contributions to political parties that are then passed on to candidate's campaign funds for the current Wisconsin State Supreme Court race, it is time to bring it up again.

So here goes:

Only eligible voters may make contributions directly to the campaigns of candidates that they are able to vote for, without limit.

So what does that mean? Well Soros and Musk couldn't contribute to campaigns outside of their home districts/states. Contributions must go directly to the campaigns so any and all contributions would be recorded and published. No PACs. No Unions. No businesses. No political parties. (Political parties can still provide infrastructure for party candidates but not direct contributions any more).

So I can contribute to the campaign for a Wisconsin gubernatorial candidate but not for one in California or Illinois. I can contribute to a Milwaukee mayoral campaign but not Madison. I can contribute to my local alderperson but not one across town. 

The without limit part? Well, why not? Since all contributions will be public information it would be easy to identify the rich folks trying to buy influence in the government. But overall it should reduce the amount of spending on campaigns and hopefully reduce the lies and misinformation created during the typical campaign. But I am just trying to head off a complaint here.

Does this need a little more definition? Probably, but the intent should be fairly apparent to most everyone. 

From The You Can't Make This Stuff UP Department: Visions of Trump Gaza or Riviera Gaza.

 You may have seen these photos elsewhere because they have gone viral and since I haven't been vaccinated against Trump Gaza, I guess I caught this virus too. 

But these photos were posted by Donold Trump's Truth Social account as part of a video and are being described as his vision for the future of Gaza under American control and Trump dementia. But they look rather odd and boy or boy, AI might be having some fun with Donold!

Do these belly dancers currently perform at Mar a Lago?

Nothing like a cool drink with your bestie!

Doesn't anyone in Trumpland ever look at this stuff before they push it out there? Looks kinda 'woke' to me!  LOL!!!

And in case you were wondering why Elon and Donold are worrying about how much gold is in Fort Knox...this might be a hint:

Trump White House Puts Another Nail In The Coffin Of A Free Press

 Today, the White House announced that the White House gets to select which members of the press get to participate in the press pool instead of the White House Correspondents Association which has handled that responsibility in the past...for decades. 

“This move tears at the independence of a free press in the United States,” Eugene Daniels, the president of the association, wrote. “It suggests the government will choose the journalists who cover the president. In a free country, leaders must not be able to choose their own press corps.”

This smacks of censorship and limiting the public's access to the news and is clearly a violation of the Constitutional right to a free press.  But of course that's not the spin from the White House press secretary, Karoline Leavitt.

"Ms. Leavitt did not provide specific details of how the plan might work, but it would allow President Trump and his aides to handpick which reporters and media personalities were granted the ability to ask him questions and observe his behavior at specific events.

Ms. Leavitt put a different spin on it. “By deciding which outlets make up the limited press pool on a day-to-day basis, the White House will be restoring power back to the American people,” she said."

And of courses this announcement was made by Ms. Leavitt without any warning to the press corps or any discussion with the WHCA. I guess this should come as no surprise to those of us paying attention.