Maybe She Could Get Her Old Job Back

On Thursday, before being allowed to interview Mitt Romney, Denver TV reporter Shaun Boyd had to agree to one stipulation - that she not ask Romney any questions regarding Todd Akin and the whole abortion controversy.

This stipulation in itself became a source for controversy.

In response to that, Romney demoted the staffer that was responsible for this latest incident of implosion for Team Romney. It turns out the now demoted staffer is a familiar face in Fitzwalkerstan:

The Romney campaign staffer responsible for requiring a Colorado reporter to agree not to ask any questions about Todd Akin or abortion during a Romney interview is no longer working with the press, reports Politico.

"Ciara Matthews, the Romney campaign's Colorado communications director, has been asked not to speak to the media," the site reports. Matthews is "a former spokesperson to both Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and one-time Senate candidate Sharron Angle" and "will remain on staff with the campaign but will no longer deal directly with reporters."

Yup, you read that correctly. Said staffer is former Walker spokeswoman and former Hooters girl Ciara Matthews.

My guess is that it's only a matter of time before we find that Matthews is now working somewhere else, some place even more degrading than working for Romney. Maybe for the Akin campaign or back at some Hooters restaurant.

The only thing I can't figure out is whether one would say that Romney threw her under the bus or put her on top of it.

Republican Women for Obama!

Can I Have A 48" Riding MRI Please?

The most amazing thing about Republicans is that they let each other speak. Here's Sean Duffy's idiotic comment of the day:

In a radio interview with WIXK host Jeff Patterson on Wednesday, Duffy equated lawnmower shopping with getting a colonoscopy. His argument was that Americans have "no clue" how much the medical procedure costs, but the lawnmower's price is obvious at checkout.

"You're talking about cost controls," Duffy said. "First of all, do we have cost controls on lawnmowers?"

Patterson noted that a lawnmower is different from heart surgery, for example.

"Because you have competition," replied Duffy. "And so if you have competition within the plans, you have a right to purchase in the exchange of Medicare, we believe that that competition drives prices down. And when we see markets work in competition in any sector of the economy, we see higher quality and lower prices. And that’s what we’re advocating for within health care."

Of course, purchasing a lawnmower is not as easy as navigating the complex marketplace of health care options. If a consumer cannot find a lawnmower in their price range, they can shop around or simply wait. The worse things that could happen are an unsightly yard and the eventual ire of their neighbors.

Cancer patients, however, cannot afford to wait, and even if they opt for the cheapest treatment, it may not be the best product available on the health care market -- and they might not be able to sort through the complex intricacies of insurance to find that out.

I Can Quit Blogging Now...

I have seen the most ironic thing that ever could be:

There’s a simple message that can propel a Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan victory in Michigan, according to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker.

The truth, Walker said while campaigning for the Republicans in Grand Rapids Thursday.

“If you have the truth and enough people are willing to spread the truth, you’ll win,” Walker said. “The truth is on our side.”

You can't even write a parody of a human parody like that.

Tell Abele That Our Democracy Is Not For Sale

When the United Supreme Court issued their decision in Citizens United v Federal Election Commission, many people were outraged on this assault on one of this country's most basic tenets - democracy.  The decision, in a nutshell, opened the flood gates for special interests to spend unlimited funding in political races.  In essence, it allows corporations to buy elections.

Large numbers of people from across the nation started to organize to work together to restore democracy by putting a stop to the corporate takeover of our county.  One of the organizations fighting for our rights is a group called Move to Amend.  This organization has chapters throughout the nation, including one right here in Milwaukee County.

It is this group that was successfully able to get Milwaukee County Supervisors John Weishan, Gerry Broderick, Nikiya Harris and Willie Johnson, Jr. to sponsor a "Move to Amend" resolution which would but a referendum on the November ballot which would be "on whether the U.S. Constitution should be amended to establish that only human beings, not corporations, are entitled to Constitutional rights, and money is not speech, and therefore regulating political contributions and spending is not equivalent to limiting political speech."

The resolution was approved by the Board on July 26, 2012 by a veto-proof 14-4 margin.  Along with the resolution the Board approved $25,000 to be used to pay for the extra costs related to printing and the fact that more ballots would be needed since it was a presidential election as well.

And thus the resolution was sent to Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele to sign.

To the time of this writing, Abele has yet to sign the resolution, Legislative File #12-544.  If Abele does not sign this by the end of the day Tuesday, August 28, 2012, it will be too late to have the referendum on the November ballot.

But that is not all.

On August 3, Mary Laan and Jim Ito of the local "Move to Amend" chapter met with Abele.  He told them that his concern and reason for not signing the resolution into law was the $19,000 price tag that went with it.

Now keep in mind that the County Board had already authorized $25,000 which was vetted and OKed by the comptroller.  Also keep in mind that Abele is worrying about $19,000 out of a $1.5 billion dollar budget.  Furthermore, just two months ago, Abele was bragging about an $11.5 million surplus.  The amount that Abele is sweating is less than the $21,000 raise he gave to Sue Black before he fired her.

To make matters worse, Abele told the MTA folks that if they paid for the cost, he would sign it.  He originally said it would cost them $19,000 but then put down the wrong date, which would have been too late.  Since then, Abele has corrected the date but has also more than doubled the price on his signature to $39,000.

The irony and absurdity of this is almost too much to comprehend.  Abele is wanting these private citizens to pay tens of thousands of dollars to have him sign a resolution for a referendum arguing that money doesn't belong in politics.

What's next? Allowing corporations to pay for ballots as long as they can chose what and who goes on them?

While Abele's position is extremely disappointing, it is not surprising.  Abele is part of the Greater Milwaukee Committee which is nothing more than a large country club for the region's special interests.  He also came down on the wrong side of the struggle for workers rights happening at Palermo's.

Someone needs to inform Mr. Abele that democracy is not for sale.  After all, isn't that the whole point of the referendum?

And that someone is you.

MTA has been joined by United Wisconsin in the call for Abele to do the right thing by signing the resolution before the end of the day Tuesday.  They have started an online petition to tell Abele to sign Legislative File #12-544 into law.

You can also do it the old school way, which will have more impact, by calling is office at 414-278-4211 or even better yet, emailing him at countyexec@milwcnty.com.

There has been one rally this past Monday, and there is another one being planned for this coming Monday.  Stay tuned to MCF or MTA for further details on exactly when it will be.  We will be posting that information as soon as we get it.

But if you can't do anything else, remember to sign the online petition.

Abele's actions on this resolution is a glaring example on why we need it so much!

Cross posted from Milwaukee County First.

Mutt Romney Blues

Seamus is gone but not forgotten!

H/T Ry Cooder!

Paul Ryan & the GOP - Disastrous for Women

Almost all Republicans (unless you are Mike Huckabee) have been trying to distance themselves from Todd Akin and the ungodly moronic claim he made the other day about "forcible rape" and how a woman's body just knows to "shut down" their biological functions when they have been raped. So no baby, right? Yeah, not even close. That's not how babies are or aren't made. Our bodies don't just say, "Oh, was that rape? Okay, baby factory shut down ENGAGE."

       

I know this picture has been floating around the internet the past few days, but it's so incredibly true.

Now Mr. Ryan, as is the rest of the GOP, is trying to pull the wool down further over the voter's eyes. He's doing interviews and suggesting his anti-choice stance isn't as god awful as it is. As he said, "Rape is rape. Rape is rape period. End of story." But a perfect voting record from the house Pro-Life caucus really tends to make one believe otherwise, don't you think? Y'know, it's situations like this that truly put the C-O-N in the word conservative.

In congress, Paul Ryan and Todd Akin are pretty close anti-choice buddies. They sponsor stupid anti-choice bills together, they talk about stupid anti-choice bills together, they vote on stupid anti-choice bills together, so it's pretty safe to assume that at least some of the rape beliefs Akin holds, Paul Ryan also holds. And as it turns out, that's an incredibly safe assumption. We all know about the plethora of idiotic bills Ryan has introduced on behalf of anti-woman advocates (But let's not forget, of the entire time we've been paying him to be in congress, only 2 of his bills have ever passed) but none are as alarming as Personhood bills (which would ban contraception and abortion) and redefinitions of rape bills.

Let's make a connection! Todd Akin and Paul Ryan serve together in congress. Paul Ryan is now Mitt Romney's running mate. They're running on the GOP ticket. Republicans want to add to their convention platform this year a constitutional abortion ban, leaving no exceptions, so it's pathetically disingenuous that the GOP immediately left Akin in the mud and started backtracking on their stances. Guess what Republican party? no American is falling for it. You must think we are REALLY stupid. There's nothing in your anti-choice history that will ever be able to redeem you. Romeny and Ryan, and slew of Tea Party congress and senate candidates, want to come into power, and control a woman's body. Plain and simple. They're salivating at the idea.

Please be diligent about your reproductive health, regardless of your gender. There's only one president and vice president who are working so hard, despise GOP roadblocks, to protect your health and that's President Obama and Vice President Biden! Vote in November for those who have your interests in mind!

Obama/Biden 2012!

The Walker Budget Keeps On Working! Part CXLII

Oh, look! Scott Walker has trained his laser-like focus on job creation on Chippewa Falls! Those poor people!

The closing of longtime plastics manufacturer Pactiv and the resulting layoff of 170 workers in January will deal a major blow to the Chippewa Falls economy, city economic development officials say.

On Tuesday the company announced it will close its Chippewa Falls plant at 1500 W. River St. at the beginning of next year.

The plant's workforce had dropped from about 300 to 170 in recent years, and Tuesday's announcement is dire news for Pactiv's remaining employees, said Charlie Walker, director of the Chippewa County Economic Development Corp.

"That's a major hit for us," Walker said of the company's closure.

Chippewa Falls Mayor Greg Hoffman echoed that sentiment, saying losing a manufacturer of that size will be difficult to absorb.

"Anytime you have a manufacturing plant close down, it has a huge impact on the community," Hoffman said.

Tell us again, Mr. Walker, how it's working.

What Will Sheriff Clarke Do?

On Thursday, First Lady Michelle Obama will be coming to Milwaukee to visit the families of the victims of the horrific shooting at a Sikh temple two weeks ago.  The visit is a very important gesture to reassure the Sikh's that the Obama administration isn't ignoring or dismissing the inexcusable way people have treated them for the past ten years:

Rajwant Singh, the chairman of the Sikh Council on Religion and Education, based in Washington, said it was critical that U.S. leaders reach out to the Sikh families in Wisconsin and to the Sikh community.

"A visit by the first lady will be reassuring and heartening and it will be a powerful symbol of President Obama embracing the Sikhs at this serious juncture," he said in an emailed statement.

Needless to say, the eyes of the world has been upon us since the shooting and they definitely will be watching on Thursday for this important occasion.

The question is what will Sheriff David Clarke do on Thursday.

Will he do as he did when Mitt Romney and Paul Ryan were campaigning and assign several deputies and squads to provide security for them even though their campaign event was in Waukesha County?

Or will he embarrass the county, and this time the country, by being a petty partisan hack and refusing to do his job in order to "make a statement."

We hope that Clarke will do the right thing and represent the county and his office in good showing. But given Clarke's recent track record, we hope that Milwaukee Police Chief Ed Flynn is ready to have some of his officers perform this important duty detail, like he's done to make up for Clarke's shortcomings time and time again.

Cross posted from Milwaukee County First.

They Built This!

The republicans will embark next week to Tampa for their national convention!  While you will not see Sarah Palin there, you will see the Tampa Bay Times Forum Arena, which was built with 62% Government funds! You will also see the whole republican party run from Paul Ryan's record , a spike in business for local strip clubs and prostitutes, and ---- 

You will also see this billboard!

 

Melrose Place in Madison

Ever since the Walker administration took over, it is like Melrose place at the Capitol. Affairs, attempted murder, divorce, secret agreements, abuse of women, drinking, guns..... YEE HAW!!!!!

 If only someone there was serious about actually governing!

Does Anyone Recognize Tommy Anymore? NO!

Who is this guy? He is definitely NOT the same Tommy G. Thompson that was Governor of Wisconsin in the 1990's!


 


 Please help Tammy Baldwin, defeat this stranger!

Why won't Tommy release his tax returns? Because he is not smart enough to actually do them correctly!

Oh J.B. Van Hollen!

Oh my! It seems our fearless attorney general has decided he has waited long enough in temper tantrum mode and has now begun demanding that the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up our state's voter ID law. The same law that judges have been placing injunctions on for months now. One of those judges, Judge Flanagan, calls the law, "the single most restrictive voter eligibility law in the country." This law places unfair requirements on people seeking to exercise their constitutional rights. When it was implemented, I aquired a thick packet of information on how someone can obtain an ID and what documentation they need to prove who they are in getting an one. My favorite requirement for homeless voters was a property tax bill. I don't think I've ever facepalmed so hard in my life. That part of the law right there should be an indicator of how crooked it is.

So now Mr. Van Hollen has taken all he is going to of seeing people exercising their freedom. He's hoping that the court takes up the case before the November presidential election (obviously so Romney can take Wisconsin and Thompson will win over Tammy) With all the injunctions, what does he think the supreme court will do? Not much. Not that we don't know how a certain few judges would rule (looking at you Gableman and Prosser) but the law is so unpopular, they'd never win another election if they even dared uphold it.

Before the law passed and went into effect, Scott Walker and his ilk told us it was going to curb the MASSIVE AMOUNTS of voter fraud in the state. They tried convincing all of us that, dear lord, if we don't show our ID's while voting, it would bring down the entire process itself. It would be a clear attack on liberty! It would make George Washington cry if we didn't have this law! So, it passed. Now we had to show our ID's when we voted (might I add, I've never felt so bad showing my ID to anyone before) and it felt wrong. I also noticed that the lines to vote seemed to take forever, waiting for people to find their licenses and state ID's.

So, just how much fraud is there in a typical Wisconsin election? Well, if Scott Walker wanted to convince you, it would be 100% of all votes in elections! (but only the votes for Democrats, you see.) But....that's not even remotely the case.

According to the Brennan Center for Justice at NYU School of Law, the 2004 presidential election in Wisconsin saw 0.0002% voter fraud. Yes. 0.0002% out of 2,967,624 ballots cast. That is an incredibly small percentage. The same group also finds that any sort of voter ID would not have kept that 0.0002% of fraud from occurring. In the 2008 presidential election, there were 20 known cases of voter fraud in the state. 20! Would voter ID have kept those 20 from voting? No, and everyone in those 20 cases was charged and tried on voter fraud charges. I truly believe the GOP encourages voter fraud, because it just gives them more leverage to pass phony bills and enact more voter disenfranchisement. Republicans believe 20 illegal votes gives them the right to tell thousands and thousands of law abiding citizens here in Wisconsin that they aren't allowed to vote anymore.

What are these laws TRULY trying to do? Disenfranchise. Plain and simple. Not everyone has access to a car to go to a DMV (remember when Walker wanted to close a bunch of those oddly around the same time the law passed?) Some bus lines only route to the DMV ONCE per day. They drop you off, but they won't be back to pick you up. People who live in rural areas don't have adequate access to DMV's. And proof of residency to obtain this ID? Like I said above, one of the requirements for the homeless was a property tax bill. HUH...I guess they wouldn't be homeless if they have a property tax bill, now would they!?

 Oh, and the big thing? THE CONSTITUTION DOES NOT REQUIRE IDENTIFICATION FOR VOTING. For a group of people who espouse such love and adoration for it, their knowledge of the constitution could fit in a droplet of water. And it's not just happening here in our state, it's a nation-wide problem. Republican governors and legislators all over America are trying to do the same thing to their states (i.e. Ohio and Michigan.) It's a giant power grab. The elite keeping the "commoners" from exercising their rights. We need to continue to push back and let them know we will not accept their manipulation of our democracy. What would our founding mothers and fathers say?

Live In Fitzwalkerstan? No Rights For You!

Ah yes, good old Fitzwalkerstan, where the corrupt Scott Walker and his Republican cohorts simply cannot bear the thought that someone might be able to live freely or have constitutional rights.

Don't believe me? Well take a look at two stories that broke today.

In one story, Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen is again trying to circumvent the course of due justice by pleading for the second time in four months for the Supreme Court to bypass the appellate court and arbitrarily impose a restriction on the people's right to vote.

Keep in mind that there has not been one documented case of voter fraud in which the voter suppression law would have made a difference. In other words, the only "problem" that Van Hollen and the Republicans are trying to resolve is that they could lose elections if people are allowed to exercise their right to vote as guaranteed in the constitution.

Also keep in mind that this would throw the electoral system into chaos. In the most recent elections, there have been a multitude of stories of poll workers not being clear on the current status of voting laws and giving people incorrect information and wrongfully denying some people their right to vote.

Lastly, and maybe most significantly, Van Hollen has a direct conflict of interest since he is the campaign co-chairman of Tommy Thompson, who is running for the US Senate. Van Hollen cannot ethically file a lawsuit asking for the voting rights of people who are more likely to vote against his candidate during the height of the campaign season.

Then again, since when do the Republicans give two hoots about ethics?

In the other story, we see that Van Hollen is also sending his underlings to go after more political opponents.

Someone from Walker's administration or the legislature has asked the Attorney General's office to pursue a civil forfeiture case against Segway Jeremy Ryan, a well-known protester.

Now, anyone who has been following Fitzwalkerstan news for the past year and a half knows who Ryan is and that sometimes his behavior is over the top. But in the incident they have chosen to squander state funds on (remember - the state is broke!), Ryan's alleged crime is going into a legislative chamber with - gasp - a sign and a camera! Obviously, the fiend must be stopped at all costs! The barbarian was trying to exercise his right to Free Speech!

The article goes on to state that the brownshirts are very hush hush when asked if they are planning on going after the Solidarity Singers.

The Republicans like to compare Scott Walker and themselves to the honey badger, a particularly tough and vicious beast.

At the rate they're going though, it won't take them long to learn that the honey badger ain't shit compared to the Sconnie Badger!

Remember Mitt??

With all of the hoopla surrounding Paul Ryan (R - Ayn Rand) lately, we have kind of forgotten about Mitt Rmoney. 

I thought I would re-introduce you to Mr. Romney: in case you forgot, Mitt Romney is a very bad driver, has no problem abusing dogs, is not connecting very well with minorities and would LOVE to tell you about his energy program*.  

As we say here, "but wait there is more"...Mitt also does not like firefighters, police officers or teachers (even though he likes to impersonate police officers), was the father of "Obamacare", can really pack in the crowds, and has a hard time trying to say anything nice about Paul Ryan!




AND is also a VERY BAD singer/dancer:


O yeah! He also spends more money on Horses than you will ever see in your lifetime!



*as long as your a big donor and there are no reporters around to hear, we do not want the general public to hear about it BEFORE the election.  

There is your everyman Mitt Romney, who understands "your pain"!