Right Wing Myth #45634283

By Jeff Simpson

Time to debunk another right wing myth.  We know from experience that the Right Wing Noise Machine is void of facts, and this one is rolling around the internets as we speak.  


Its time to put an end to it!

RWNM Talking Point:   Adam Lanza did not use the AR -15 assault rifle in the Sandyhook shooting.


The Truth:  Everyone who claims Adam Lanza didn't use an AR-15-style rifle is wrong, wrong, wrong!

 Ever since the shooting, there’s been a persistent rumor that Lanza actually used two handguns to kill his victims—not the Bushmaster. I get a lot of emails to this effect, and so I thought it would be worth my while to lay out some facts. Adam Lanza did use the Bushmaster in the Sandy Hook shootings, and anyone who says otherwise is wrong, wrong, wrong.
My source for this is the Connecticut State Police, who apparently were also tired of fielding questions about Lanza’s choice of weapons. In January, they issued a news release to set things straight. Here’s the relevant part:

The shooter used the Bushmaster .223 to murder 20 children and six adults inside the school; he used a handgun to take his own life inside the school. No other weapons were used in this crime. This case remains under investigation.

They have no shame!

 

 

Brother Ali

Brilliant work here by Brother Ali - Work everyday!  

Buy this man's Music!

Coming To The Fiction Section Of A Bookstore Near You

So, Scott Walker wants to write a book.

No, really.

Yes, yes, one would think that before one wrote a book, one would have at least
read one at some point.

Well, actually, he's not writing it.  It's being written by Marc Thiessen, a former apologist for George W. Bush, who actually tried to justify the use of torture.

It makes sense that Walker chose Thiessen to write his memoirs.  Thiessen is already experienced at trying to justify crimes against humanity.

In addition to this, Walker is completely incapable of writing anything comprehensible by himself, as evidenced by the one time he tried to write about Abraham Lincoln:

Walker the historian gives us a comment on Lincoln's most famous speech, and misspells a great man's name twice in the process:

"At (sic) his Gettysburg Address, Lincoln famously said, 'Four score and seven years ago our fathers brought forth on this continent, a new nation, conceived in Liberty, and dedicated to the proposition that all men are created equal' This was not just lip service, as evidenced from the words of contemporaries like Frederick Douglas (sic), former slave and early civil rights leader. Douglas (sic) said Lincoln was 'the first great man that I talked with in the United States freely who in no single instance reminded me of the difference between himself and myself, of the difference of color.'"

BUT WAIT, THERE'S MORE!

Walker's screed against the Democrats, disguised as a tribute to Lincoln, goes on to say, "This sediment (sic) that all men are is equal is evidenced in the Republican Party's current platform of equal taxes on all, and opportunity for all regardless of race, gender, or age ... Contrast that with the tenants (sic) of the (sic) Barack Obama and the Democrat (sic) party ...

The third reason that Walker chose Thiessen was because that is who David Koch sent to him.

But it keeps getting better!

Walker is naming his book "Unintimidated."

Boy, doesn't that just roll of the tongue?

Actually, this was probably just another misspelling by Walker. He actually meant to call it "Unmitigated," as in Unmitigated Bullsh*t.

Anyway, some of the chapter titles will include:

• Fifty Types of Grey - And Matter Ain't One of Them
• Hypocrisy - Not a Choice, But a Lifestyle
• A Big Bank Account Means Not Being Held Accountable
• A Fool and His Hair Are Soon Parted
• Koch - It's the Real Thing
• The 250,000 Job Pledge - The World's Longest Running Gag
• WEDC - The World's Second Longest Running Gag
• No, This Time I Really, Really Mean It
• Secret Routers - No Republican Should Be In Office Without One
• My Budgets Are As Balanced As I Am
• You Only Have to Fool the Teapublicans Some of the Time
• Who Needs The Truth When You Have Corporate Media?
• Why I Really Wanted Brett Davis as My Lieutenant Governor
• The Audacity of Hopelessness
• Austerity Is Our Friend
• Education, Schmeducation: Don't Waste The Corporate Tax Breaks Of Today On The Corporate Serfs Of Tomorrow
• The First Amendment: The Most Overrated One

The book almost never got off the ground because he couldn't decide if he wanted it to be a picture book, a pop up book or a coloring book.

The dilemma was resolved when they decided to make it a connect the dots book where the dots don't connect. Ever. 

Actually, truth be told, there is no point to the book.

But it will include one special insert section for Walker's favorite pastime - Paper dolls:

Think Ed Fallone Now

Vote for Ed Fallone on April 2.

Stats! Boom! Baa!

Thanks to a tip by our own Jeff Simpson, we see some site called the Tea Party Perspective* which, with no sense of irony, cites an article by the Koch/Bradley MacIver (Anything But A) News Service about Scott Walker's jobs numbers:

The Senate Committee on Economic Development and Local

Government held a joint hearing with the Assembly Committee on Jobs, Economy and Mining on Tuesday to discuss economic indicators in Wisconsin.

Secretary Reggie Newson, Department of Workforce Development, and John Koskinen, Chief Economist for the Department of Revenue, both gave testimony that Wisconsin is heading in the right direction.

This is in contrast to two years ago where Wisconsin had lost over 150,000 jobs, Newson explained. “Based on all the indicators we look at, the state is moving in the right direction. We are adding jobs here in the state of Wisconsin.”

Yeah, because two Walker acolytes who jobs depend on trying to sell Walker's false bill of goods is sooooo reliable.

But the funnies start later in this piece of propaganda:

Secretary Newson explained that the numbers should be accurate and not be politicized. “That’s why we are here today, to make sure we provide accurate jobs information.” Newson was part of a group that urged BLS to revise the numbers to a third quarter benchmark because the original statistics were found to be inaccurate.

In January, BLS ranked Wisconsin 44th in private sector job growth, a statistic that Democrats like to bring up in opposition of Governor Walker’s policies. Representative Mary Williams (R-Medford) asked Koskinen if this ranking was still accurate with the revised numbers. Koskinen stated that, “I would no longer conclude it would be 44.”

Though Koskinen could not give an exact ranking based on the revised numbers, he explained the Wisconsin had some of the largest gains in the country over the previously reported numbers. The improvement in the revised data was better than all of Wisconsin’s neighboring states.

OK, just try to ignore the fact that Walker's people are saying that the jobs numbers shouldn't be politicized even as they are politicizing them. Go ahead. Just try.

They also failed to mention that all the other states were moved up by the same ratio, despite Koskinen's claims to the contrary, meaning we're still dead last in the Midwest.

I won't go into how even PolitiFact, which often tries to stretch all credibility to support Walker, isn't buying this bunch of malarkey that Walker's jobs are anything but pitiful.

But, c'mon people! We live in Fitzwalkerstan. We know the truth.

We know that Walker's agenda is not working and will never work. Despite what Walker's lackeys might say, the simple fact is that when it comes to job creation, Wisconsin is lagging behind the nation, every other state in the Midwest. Hell, we are worse than all but six other states in the nation.

To further exemplify just how bad things are here in Fitzwalkerstan, look at what Walker and his corporate media backers don't want you to see. Things like the January 2013 State Coincident Indexes, which shows the economic changes for three months:

As you can plainly see, the only states doing worse that Wisconsin is Maine and Alaska.

I do agree with Walker's puppet Koskinen on one thing - we're probably not still 44th.  We've probably dropped below that or soon will.

And Walker thinks he's got a snowball's chance in hell of being president with a record like this?


*I think we all can just imagine what the perspective of someone being teabagged would be.

That Crazy Bloomberg!

From the incomparable Stuart Carlson:

The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLXIX

(Cross-posted at Wisconsin Soapbox)

While Capper is gone, I suppose I will have to pick up the mantle. Back in September of 2012, Capper wrote a post titled "The Walker Budget Keeps Working! Part CXLV" about Brillion Iron Works laying off almost 200 workers. As noted then, with just two days warning, nearly 200 people's lives were thrown into turmoil.

Well, consider today's announcement that the same company in the small Northeast Wisconsin community of Brillion is laying off another 46 workers as an addendum to that posting. Some in the media are trying to sugar coat this story, talking about how the jobs seem to always "come back." Don't buy it! (Media bias is fake, right?) Actually read quotes from the company's Director of Public Affairs:

"We still have not brought those employees back. Orders are still fairly weak,” said Weir. 

You can view a report from Green Bay TV Channel Fox 11 about the closing:

Cold Dead Hands!

Jim Carrey ...... Nuff Said!

H/T  Funny or Die! 

We're Not Living in the Union of American Socialist Republics

I truly believe that the right-wing is nothing but a hotbed of willing ignorance, stupidity and sheer assery. While reading through the news this morning, a particular story caught my eye. A teacher in Marietta, GA thought it was a great idea to have their students write a paper noting the "comparisons" between President Obama and Vladimir Lenin/Josef Stalin (who aren't even comparable to each other) and how President Obama is apparently turning us all into freedom hating commies. Not wanting to leave students without the proper sources to research, the teacher also provided a list of places the students could go to "find" these comparisons. Not incidentally, all these ''sources'' were right-wing hack websites i.e. Fox News and the Drudge Report to name a few. After enough complaints, the teacher was given a tap on the wrist and the assignment rescinded.

The faux issue of President Obama 'being' a socialist is nothing new. Sarah Palin tried her best to use that as a wedge issue to send her and McCain to the White House in 2008, and, like everything Sarah Palin does, it failed. Why won't this issue go away? Why hasn't it been made blazingly apparent that in fact, the president isn't a communist/fascist/nazi/socialist yadda yadda? Because fear and manipulation are the favorite tools of the right-wing election puppet masters.

I think it's important that Americans finally crack open a book and took a peek at this whole socialism thing. If those on the other side of the aisle would educate themselves for 5 minutes, they'd see how President Obama is most certainly not a socialist, not even close. Oh, but he cares for the poor! And wants everyone to have health care! And wants corporations to pay their fair share! And people to have affordable housing! And CIVIL RIGHTS! Oh god, what ever will we do! I mean, honestly, if that's the right-wing's definition of a socialist, then hell, count me in. And honestly, if trying to portray the president as something he isn't is more important than feeding and clothing poor families, than your priorities suck and that's why you're losing elections and support.

A Venti Stand

By Jeff Simpson

H/T Forbes:

Starbucks CEO Howard Schultz recently voiced his support Washington’s state’s referendum backing gay marriage.  Due to Starbucks support of equal rights for all, the right wing went into their typical boycott mode!   However Schultz did not back down, instead gave the right wing founder of "Corporate Morality Action Center" a lesson in morality: AND economics:

Last year Starbucks announced its support for Washington’s state’s referendum backing gay marriage, and in response the National Organization for Marriage launched a boycott of the coffee chain.
“In the first full quarter after this boycott was announced, our sales and our earnings, shall we say politely, were a bit disappointing,” said the shareholder, Tom Strobhar, whom the Huffington Post identifies at the founder of the anti-gay marriage Corporate Morality Action Center.

Was Schultz taken aback? Not in the least. He responded, “Not every decision is an economic decision. Despite the fact that you recite statistics that are narrow in time, we did provide a 38% shareholder return over the last year. I don’t know how many things you invest in, but I would suspect not many things, companies, products, investments have returned 38% over the last 12 months. Having said that, it is not an economic decision to me. The lens in which we are making that decision is through the lens of our people. We employ over 200,000 people in this company, and we want to embrace diversity. Of all kinds.”

 Wow a right wing hypocrite being exposed for citing misleading statistics and proving his right wing view of the world is bad for business!   Schultz was not done with just delivering that message though, he went for the close:

Schultz replied bluntly that Starbucks's endorsement of marriage equality wasn't about making money, but about the principle of diversity.

“If you feel, respectfully, that you can get a higher return than the 38 percent you got last year, it’s a free country. You can sell your shares of Starbucks and buy shares in another company. Thank you very much," Schultz said, to applause from the audience.

Lesson delivered and even for less than it costs to buy a Peppermint Mocha!  Of course the unhinged right is now trying to boycott Starbucks, not understanding where the "All men are created equal" comes from! 

As for Howard Schulz, I kinda like the guy!  

Tourism Ad Is Perfect Example Of Waste And Fraud

Scott Walker's DNR paid an exorbitant amount of money to have David Zucker and Robert Hays make a series of commercials that are supposed to be promoting tourism in Wisconsin.

The business community and Walker's propagandists have been hyping it beyond belief, and to be honest, undeservedly so.

Here is the latest ad:



While the ad is slightly humorous, it is far from being memorable. Furthermore, it really doesn't do anything to make it uniquely Wisconsin. Change the wording at the end and it could be for any state with lakes, such as Minnesota which as more lakes (and jobs) than Wisconsin.

But not only is it a waste of time, money and talent, it is also fraudulent.

First of all, Walker and his Republican cohorts in crime against the environment just rammed through the mining law that will allow the mining companies to pump poison into a number of the lakes in Northern Wisconsin, despite the overwhelming opposition to this ceding of our land to out of state special interests.

If this law isn't defeated in court - as it probably will be - the fish in these lakes will be inedible due to the poison.

Then there is the fact that there won't be much in the way of walleye fishing this year at least:

The tribes Friday submitted their declaration to spear 59,399 walleyes in off-reservation lakes. The declarations by band were Bad River 5,609 walleyes; Lac Courte Oreilles 5,879; Lac du Flambeau 24,283; Mole Lake 15,060; Red Cliff 2,194; and St. Croix 6,374.

After calculating the potential impact to the lakes' walleye populations, the Department of Natural Resources on Monday announced the sport bag limits would be reduced to one fish on 197 lakes, two fish on 331 lakes and three fish on seven lakes.

The tribes are well within their legal rights to do this. The reasoning for these high declarations is also pretty clear, as blue cheddar succinctly points out:

Officially, the expanded spearing has nothing to do with mining next to somebody’s sacred rice beds.

Officially the expanded spearing has nothing to do with the law to allow hunting of Wisconsin wolves with dog packs (the only bloodsport wolf hunt of that nature in the U.S.)

Officially the spearfishing has zero to do with disrespectful treatment of native tribes by a certain bullheaded Governor.

Unofficially we know it has everything to do with those things.

Listening to talk radio, you could hear them already ripping out a page from Tommy Thompson's playbook, stirring up the racism that is innate to their base. They already had callers ranting about those "Damn Injuns."

I have also heard reports from my friends in Northern Wisconsin that the usual suspects up there are really starting to grumble about the fact that their white supremacy isn't being observed.

Not once have I heard a conservative make the connection between their own actions and these consequences for their poor behaviors. And no, that doesn't surprise me one bit.

If they had really wanted to make a commercial about tourism in Northern Wisconsin, they would have to show white supremacists fighting against the native tribes over fishing rights, by a lake with corporate special interests preparing to dump toxins into the lake, making the whole fishing argument moot anyway.

That would properly represent what people would find when they come to Fitzwalkerstan.

But we know that Walker and his ilk have such a strong abhorrence of honesty and reality that we won't be seeing that commercial coming any time soon.

Corporate Special Interests Step Into Local Court Race

Wisconsin Club for Growth has dropped $167,000 to buy ad time for their candidate of choice, Rebecca Bradley. The ads call Bradley "thoughtful, compassionate, fair."

Janet Protasiewicz

It's not surprising that this group, funded by the Koch Brothers and the Bradley Foundation would back Bradley, since their definition of "thoughtful, compassionate, fair" matches hers, in that they both support voter suppression and anti-minority right stances.

Janet Proasiewicz' campaign has rightfully called foul on the corporate special interests trying to buy the election for Milwaukee Circuit Court Branch 45. From their press release:

Today, the right-wing extreme group Wisconsin Club for Growth entered the Milwaukee County Circuit Court race with a $167,000 television ad buy, attempting to buy the seat for the right-wing darling and hand-picked Governor Walker appointee Rebecca Bradley.

“Outside special interest groups have no place in our courtrooms or judicial campaigns,” said campaign manager Marshall Cohen. “The Wisconsin Club for Growth is a shady, right-wing group supported by secretive money that is trying to buy a judicial seat in Milwaukee County. It’s no wonder extreme political groups are supporting their political darling Rebecca Bradley after her track record working with organizations who make it harder to vote and giving large donations to help elect Scott Walker. The question is: what are these groups expecting in return? Instead of putting the campaign-funding special interests first, Janet Protasiewicz will always put the law first and protect Milwaukee families.”

Worth noting is Bradley's reaction to the support from the corporate special interests:

The group purchased radio spots supporting Bradley prior to the the primary election in Februay. At a candidates' forum earlier this month, Bradley said she had no knowledge of the ads or control or influence over how outside groups speak out about the election.

Her campaign did not immediately return email seeking comment on the latest ad or the Protasiewicz campaign's characterizations. The Wisconsin Club for Growth had no comment.

You know, if she was true to her campaign statements of leaving politics out of the courtroom and adhering to the law and not her own political viewpoints, she would have come out immediately denouncing this involvement by the special interests and asking them to stop.

The fact that she hasn't shows where her true intent is, which is not with the law or the people.

Besides the fact that Protasiewicz is simply the much more experienced and qualified candidate, this is just another reason that I will be voting for her on April 2 and I urge you to do the same.

Learn more about Protasiewicz and how to support her from her website and her Facebook page.

Wisconsin Job Growth Rankings

It's not working.

Any questions?

Solidarity Fish Fry, Week 24: Friends

As advertised, this was Week 24 of the world famous Solidarity Fish Fry.

The evening, as usual, was filled with friends, both old and new.

I was finally able to meet a Facebook friend in real life:

Rachel and Robin Schlueter

And again I was fortunate enough to enjoy the company of Kelley Albrecht, a long time Solidarity Fish Fry goer:

The talk of the evening was the way that the Solidarity Fish Fry has changed over the months.  At the beginning, the crowds were big, the people were boisterous.  It was something new, something fun and we had a better turn out than I had expected.

Over the weeks, the crowd would fluctuate in size, but there was always a steady presence, for with the Serb Hall union members remain grateful.  We discussed how the Solidarity Fish Fry might not have the flashiness of when it was new, but it has developed the comfort of being another type of union, a family.

Oh, we have new people coming every week, which shows not only does the movement still has legs, it still is having a positive impact on the relationship between management and the union.  I would expect that impact will be even more noticeable after the Lenten season ends.

But while the evening was pleasant, there was one thing that was wrong. Very wrong.

Randy Bryce, the Tsar of Tartar, was not there.  It was not like him to miss a drop of tartar sauce.  What could have happened?

Last week, he did have another one of his episodes where he got a wee bit carried away:

Did the authorities catch up with him and put him in a de-tartar-tox center?

Or did he become enough of a threat to the corporate overlords that Scott Walker declared him an enemy of the corporate state and sent David Erwin after him?

Or did he hear of the mythical land of Tartarvania, where the rivers flow with tartar sauce and went out in search of it?

No one knows.

But trust me when I say that I will be out searching for him until I find him, or next Friday, Solidarity Fish Fry's Week 25 occurs, whichever comes first.

Downsizing The Board Is Not The Answer

On Thursday, the Milwaukee County Board passed a resolution to ask the state legislature for the authority to downsize their number from 18 to 13.  The vote was 9-7 in favor of the resolution.

Supervisor Steve Taylor, the crackpot from Franklin that proposed this bit of folly was overjoyed with its passage, as he shows in his press release:

I have been a proponent of reforming the Milwaukee County Board since I was a candidate for the Board. I am glad to see that the majority of my colleagues are on the same page with respect to this resolution and its intent. It is important to note that in addition to creating a more efficient county government, this resolution aims to ensure appropriate minority representation on the County Board, reflective of the diversity we see throughout Milwaukee County. Its approval is a step in the right direction and should the State Legislature provide us with the tools to downsize, I hope that other members of the County Board who share my vision will not hesitate to proceed with appropriate steps towards meaningful reform.”

A more mature, more intelligent man, Supervisor Michael Mayo, felt otherwise. From his press release (emphasis mine):

Supv. Michael Mayo Sr. today criticized a resolution that passed the County Board by a 9-7 vote asking the state Legislature for permission to downsize, saying it is the wrong approach to County reform and that it would potentially hurt minority representation on the Board.

“I will fight hard for minority representation and make sure there is a balance in representation between the City of Milwaukee and the suburbs,” he said. “Downsizing is the wrong approach to reform. The resolution passed today was called a ‘tool’ for downsizing and reforming County governance. But this resolution is not a tool, it’s a mallet.”

Mayo, Chairman of the Transportation, Public Works and Transit Committee, said that downsizing the Board would actually mean that supervisors represented more people than members of the Legislature.
He said that even with 18 Board members, each Supervisor represented roughly 52,000. With a reduction of three Supervisors, that number would jump to about 67,000.

“How can you represent your constituents with a lack of resources and no staff?” he asked, referring to a bill before the state Legislature that would cut the salaries and the staff of the County Board. “The Legislature isn’t interested in reform, it’s interested in stripping power from the Board and giving it to the County Executive. That’s not reform, it’s a tremendous shift in power away from the Legislative branch.”

Mayo said that although he strongly opposes downsizing, he will work hard with his colleagues and his constituents to see that any reform such as downsizing will benefit the entire County.

“We might get lemons, but I’ll work to make sweet lemonade,” he said.

It's fairly obvious that the supervisors who voted for this resolution are hoping that it will be enough to stop AB 85, the Usurpation Bill.

If this is indeed their thinking, I think they just made a major blunder.

Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele and his cohorts at the Greater Milwaukee Committee (GMC), who are the ones that had written the Usurpation Bill aren't interested in democracy. They aren't interested in a balanced government. They aren't interested in a representative government. They aren't interested in integrity. They aren't interested in efficiency.  They aren't interested in the public good.

The only thing that they are interested in concentrating as much power in Abele's hands, just like Scott Walker did when he became governor.

They want this so that Abele can turn Milwaukee County into their own plutocratic playground.  He will sell off what they think they can profit on.  The rest he will privatize or simply abdicated his duties thereof.  He's shown this much in his two budgets and other policy decisions.

If and when AB 85 is passed and if the Board stays at its current 18 seats, Abele would only need to hold sway over five of the ten supervisors on the Finance and Personnel Committee to get whatever he wants passed.  It wouldn't even have to go in front of the whole board.

And with the money that Abele and GMC has at their disposal, it would be nothing for them to buy that many seats, much like the Bradley Foundation and Koch Brothers bought the governor's office for Walker.

If the Board gets downsized, it only becomes that much easier for him since he will only need to hold sway over three or four of the seats to get what he wants.

The really ironic part of all this is that if usurpers really wanted to make Milwaukee County Board "just like the other counties in Wisconsin" by cutting their pay to $24,000 and making them part time, they would actually have to almost double the size of the board.  The other counties pay their supervisors about a dollar per year for every person they represent.  At the present numbers, each supervisor represents 52,000 people, much like a state representative.

Funny thing is, I don't see Joe Sanfelippo, the state representative acting as the sock puppet for the GMC offering to cut his pay to a similar amount. I wonder why that is.

But they aren't about to increase the size of the board to make it just like the other counties, because that's not really their intent.