Thursday, March 31, 2011

More On Sean Duffy Singing The Finacial Blues

Here's a rundown of Duffy's debt.  That little vacation home in Iron River, Wisco, must  be quite the little cabin.
They also own a 2-bedroom cabin in Iron River. That house is valued at $229,000.
A $229,000 cabin!  See what I mean.  I don't think the debt load Mr. &  Mrs.Sean have racked up is a very good example to his constituents, plus think of his children, what must they think.  The main point, of course, is that Duffy makes 3 to 4 times the average income of a Wiscoite, while supporting policies that would make his constituents even poorer.  What a Dick.  You also get a bonus video of Mrs. Duffy, you know, the stay at home mom, talking about flying food into Wisco since, well, she lives in Wisco.

VOTE FOR JOANNE KLOPPENBURG FOR WISCO'S SUPREME COURT

VOTE FOR & ELECT

JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg
JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg
JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg
JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg
JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg JoAnne Kloppenburg

VOTE FOR & ELECT

FitzWalkerstan In Action

I laughed when I read that Walker claimed that the peaceful protesters had done $7.5 million in damage to the capital.  Just what you would expect from morons like the ReThugs who are in power.  It turns out that Walker/Fitzgerald/Fitzgerald did do in depth research in coming up with that figure, well, as deep as one, handwritten piece of paper can go. Fooking idiots.

Sean Duffy, It's A Sean Duffy Fucking Marathon, A Nanny(!) & A Summer Home In Iron River, Wisco

Who'd a thunk a small county DA & now a poorly paid Congressman could afford a summer home?  Poor guy.
Duffy's salary is indeed about three times Wisconsin s (and the national) median income. What s more, Wisconsin s unemployment rate is 7.4 percent statewide and 8.2 percent in Wausau, a city Duffy represents. But if Duffy wants to start getting real and relieve some of that  financial burden, he could sell that second home in Iron River, WI he owns.

Poor Poor Pitiable Sean Duffy - Part Un

Yes, I know this is out of sync, but I lost the post where I had this info, or should I say song.  Hopefully, any ReThugs viewing this will have something happen to their heads since the first people seen are Bill & Hilary Clinton - yikes.

Poor Poor Pitiable Sean Duffy - Part Deux

This story, you know, the one where the ReThug Congressman complains about living on $174,000 of taxpayer money plus benefits plus a nanny(!) is getting some righteous coverage.  & Sean Duffy deserves every minute of this coverage, after all, he's a dick & I still wonder whether he inhaled on that Ferris Wheel up in Winnipeg, he won't answer my question & I've asked it several times.  I suppose I'm just trying to make cheap, political points.  & the coverage gets better.

Take this, Sean Duffy, you liar, but a poor, poor liar.
Hey all you Starbucks Baristas! You burger flippers! You cleaning ladies!

Back when my life didn't totally suck.
Things could be worse.
You could be me, Sean Duffy of Wisconsin, and have the shittiest, lowest paying McJob with benefits that suck.
You could be a member of Congress, like me.
So my life totally rocks, right? I’m a big deal TV star from Real World: Boston and a champion lumberjack and everyone loves me. I get to keep coming back on Real World and getting more famous, and I landed that really hot Rachel babe from Real World: LA, and we settled down and started making babies like a motherfucker. Hey, don’t get me wrong, I love big families. I have ten brothers and sisters myself and everyone has to wear name-tags at Thanksgiving.
  
So then this old dude in Wisconsin gets appointed to the state Supreme Court and the Governor appoints me to this sweet gig as a DA in Ashland County. Pay’s good, benefits are great, and Rachel keeps popping out babies. And get this: no one even bothers running against me and I cruise to re-election four times!

Go read the rest, it's great.

Sean Duffy - What A Poor Excuse For A Human Being

Sean complains about not being able to live on $174,000, plus pretty much free government sponsored health care, plus a "stay at home" wife, plus a nanny!  Poor, poor Sean.  If it's so hard, Sean, do what my father told me before I got married:  "Keep it zipped."  Heh, heh. Hard/zipped - hahahahaha, I made a joke.

I'm a bit late with this, but I had an out-of-town appointment yesterday.  Big hat tip to Shutterwi.
I can guarantee you, or most of you, I guarantee that I have more debt than all of you. With 6 kids, I still pay off my student loans. I still pay my mortgage. I drive a used minivan. If you think I'm living high on the hog, I've got one paycheck. So I struggle to meet my bills right now. Would it be easier for me if I get more paychecks? Maybe, but at this point I'm not living high on the hog.

IMMEDIATE UPDATE:
Stupid ReThugs try to bury Sean's whining about how hard it is to live on $174,000 a year plus benefits & a nanny. The link has a short video of Sean complaining about his salary.  

Tuesday, March 29, 2011

Monday, March 28, 2011

The Koch Reach

Our friends to the north have their own Koch problem.  Seems like addiction & Koch & oil is the menage a trois we really don't  need.

 

Sunday, March 27, 2011

We Could Use This Technology Here, After All, There Have Been A Lot Of Pro-Democracy Protests In Wisco Lately

Interesting plan.  Hmmm.  Hat tip to Shutterwi.

We Are No Longer What We Claim We Are & Everyone Knows It

So why are we bombing sand & not doing what needs to be done in America?  Oil profits for one. Here are the sad realities. 

the highest poverty rate, both generally and for children

the greatest inequality of incomes;

the smallest amount of government spending (as a percentage of GDP) on social programs for the disadvantaged;

the lowest number of paid holidays, annual leave days and maternity leave days;
 

the lowest score on the UN's index of material well-being of children;

the worst score on the UN's gender inequality index;

the lowest social mobility (i.e. in America, more members of the lower and middle class remain stuck in that class than ever before);

the highest public and private expenditure on health care (as a portion of GDP), and yet accompanied by:

-the highest infant mortality rate

-the greatest prevalence of mental health problems

-the highest obesity rate


-the largest percentage of people going without health care due to cost

-the greatest number of low birth weight children per capita

-the greatest consumption of anti-depressants per capita

-the shortest life expectancy at birth (except for Portugal)

My emphases. These facts make it difficult to be proud of America.

Saturday, March 26, 2011

Leonard Weinglass, R.I.P.

We need a lot more lawyers like Mr. Weinglass.  He helped keep the forces of fascism at bay, at least for awhile.  It's sad to see him leave.  Hopefully, there are a lot more like him ready to take up the fight. 

Our Friends To The North Do The Right Thing

Harper, described Bush mini-me, is taken down again.  Let's hope the good people of Canada will deliver Mr. Harper to the ash heap of history.  The whole mini-me concept really don't have much of a future, we all know that.

I, For One Will Miss Bob Herbert & With The Departure Of Frank Rich The Outrageous Online Fee To Read The Times Is Even Less Attractive, & It Wasn't Attractive In The First Place

Great column by Bob Herbert.  Too bad it is his last for the NYT.  Here are a few good lines, go read the all the lines.  I can't promise you that reading the column will cure your heartburn, but it tells the truth in a clear, easy manner.  I will miss his work.
So here we are pouring shiploads of cash into yet another war, this time in Libya, while simultaneously demolishing school budgets, closing libraries, laying off teachers and police officers, and generally letting the bottom fall out of the quality of life here at home.
*****
The U.S. has not just misplaced its priorities. When the most powerful country ever to inhabit the earth finds it so easy to plunge into the horror of warfare but almost impossible to find adequate work for its people or to properly educate its young, it has lost its way entirely.
There is plenty of economic activity in the U.S., and plenty of wealth. But like greedy children, the folks at the top are seizing virtually all the marbles. Income and wealth inequality in the U.S. have reached stages that would make the third world blush. As the Economic Policy Institute has reported, the richest 10 percent of Americans received an unconscionable 100 percent of the average income growth in the years 2000 to 2007, the most recent extended period of economic expansion.
 Americans behave as if this is somehow normal or acceptable.*
*****
The current maldistribution of wealth is also scandalous. In 2009, the richest 5 percent claimed 63.5 percent of the nation’s wealth. The overwhelming majority, the bottom 80 percent, collectively held just 12.8 percent.
*****
A stark example of the fundamental unfairness that is now so widespread was in The New York Times on Friday under the headline: “G.E.’s Strategies Let It Avoid Taxes Altogether.” Despite profits of $14.2 billion — $5.1 billion from its operations in the United States — General Electric did not have to pay any U.S. taxes last year.
My emphases.
*This sad acquiescence is the result of 30 years of Alzheimer Ronnie's vision of America, where trees cause pollution, nuclear waste can be stored under a 3rd grader's desk, & going to college is just an excuse for playing football for four more years.  Reagan's effect on the people of America was one of finding out that what they, the people, thought didn't matter a bit to the power of the ReThug cabal.  Ronald Reagan's policies let to lousy voting percentages, just about the worst in the world.

Friday, March 25, 2011

FitzWalkerStan, FitzWalkerStan, I Hardly Know What To Say, But FitzWalkerStan

Lousy ReThugs "publish" the odious worker destruction bill.  I'm no lawyer, but it seems to me that a judge issued a restraining order against the publication of the bill by the Wisco government.  But of course, I forget, IOKIYAR.  The utter arrogance & anti-democratic behavior of the Fitzgeralds (that would be the senate leader, the assembly leader, & the head of the Wisco State Patrol, aka, Walker's Palace Guards, aka, Walker's standing militia) & Walker is so unWisco-like, so, frankly, unAmerican, that I wonder how their wives allow them into bed at night?
Banana republic is a pejorative term that refers to a politically unstable country dependent upon limited agriculture (e.g. bananas), and ruled by a small, self-elected, wealthy, corrupt politico-economic plutocracy or oligarchy.
Or maybe I'm wrong, maybe it should be called Absurdistan.
Absurdistan is a term sometimes used to satirically describe a country in which absurdity is the norm, especially in its public authorities and government.

http://people.ffii.org/~zoobab/bh.udev.org/filez/swpat/banana/banana-republic-flag.png

http://encontrarte.aporrea.org/imagenes/Efemerides/marzo/3/unitedfruit.jpg


100 Years Ago - Why We Need Unions

The Triangle Fire.

 

Via The Progressive.  This link takes you to a page with info on subscribing to The Progressive.  You should do it, OK?

JoAnn Kloppenburg For Wisco Supreme Court

Prosser must go. He's nothing but a FitzWalkerStan buttboy. If you live in Ashland County, Wisco, & need a ride to the polls April 5, send me an email & I'll try my damnedest to get you to the voting booth. If you want to help Ms. Kloppenburg defeat the man who called the Chief Justice a "total bitch", you can click here. Do your best people, we need to get back the state we grew up in, caught fish in, shot deer in, & the state that grew the notion of good government for all America to admire.

Thursday, March 24, 2011

Randy "Randy" Hopper's Story Just Keeps Getting Better & Better - i.e., He May Have To Resign

Some questions:  Did Hopper blackmail the moron Walker?  A quid pro quo - my vote, my girlfriend gets a job. Did the young woman blackmail Hopper?  A better job or I talk to the press 

I wonder if he had the balls & if she had the ovaries to do either thing?

Tuesday, March 22, 2011

Prosser Is Walker - Vote Kloppenburg

Good information at this website.  Prosser is much worse than most people realize.  He must be defeated.  Vote Kloppenburg.
Even though judges should be impartial, a Prosser press release promised that he would act as a "complement" to Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and the Republican legislature. When his top aide was asked to explain his statement since judges are supposed to be independent, he said Prosser's ideology "closely mirrors" Walker's. Not surprisingly, when Prosser and Walker served in the state legislature together, David Prosser and Scott Walker voted the same way 95% of the time.
*****
Prosser refused to prosecute a Wisconsin priest even though he had evidence that the priest had sexually assaulted three boys. As a local DA, Prosser didn't interview the priest or have the police investigate. Instead, Prosser met with the local bishop and they agreed to send the priest to another parish to prevent the church embarrassment. Prosser even told the victims' mother that he didn't want to prosecute the case because the priest's brother was a "celebrity" because he appeared on the Lawrence Welk TV show. The priest abused more victims for years, but was eventually convicted in the original case that Prosser refused to prosecute.
What a guy, eh?  My emphases.  Lawrence fucking Welk?  That's grounds for imprisonment in my book, eh?

Scott Walker's World Includes Lawyers Who File Appeals For Clients That They Haven't Even Talked With

J.B. Van Hollen is another right-wing tool.  I'm sure he thinks Walker is just one great governor, but he still should act like he represents all the citizens of Wisco. 
But when Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen's Department of Justice launched an effort to appeal Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi's order blocking publication of Gov. Scott Walker's anti-union law, the state lawyers did not even discuss the matter with the supposed "petitioner" in their action.
Van Hollen's lawyers claimed in their filings to be representing Secretary of State Doug La Follette. The "Petition for Leave to Appeal" filed by the Department of Justice lawyers concludes with the words "Secretary La Follette respectfully requests ... an ex parte order granting temporary relief from the TRO entered by Judge Sumi on March 18, 2011."
*****
The attorney general and his minions are acting as politicians, not lawyers.
Well, yeah.  J.B. Van Hollen is a disgrace.  He did not win the four northernmost counties in Wisco, the county he is from, Bayfield, the county where he was the D.A., Ashland & Iron & Douglas counties.  I wish the rest of the state would actually know him like we know him.  They wouldn't vote for him either. My emphasis.

Gogebic Taconite - Lousy News, Lousy Plan

Given that we now live in FitzWalkerStan, I doubt the state will actually deny this application.  Maybe with a bit of hoodoo, we can move that ore body a couple miles deeper & a thousand miles north.
That permit - and a second one by a company two weeks ago that is interested in gold mining in Marathon County - represent the first such approvals in about a dozen years, the DNR said.
See what I mean? Walker's DNR stands for Department of Nullifying Resources. My emphasis.

JoAnne Kloppenburg For Supreme Court

David Prosser is an idiot & doesn't deserve to be on Wisco's Supreme Court.  Calling the Chief Justice a "total bitch" & threatening to "destroy" her are more than enough to disqualify Prosser.  But now we have this bit of dumbassness:
In a further sign of acrimony on the state's highest court, Supreme Court Justice David Prosser said Monday that discord among the seven justices would dissipate with his election next month because some of his fellow jurists don't want him re-elected.
I don't claim to be the brightest bulb in the ceiling fan array, but this seems completely illogical.  What say you, loyal 5 (yes, five!) loyal readers? My emphasis.

Monday, March 21, 2011

Pine Top Perkins, R.I.P.



More here.

Crap, Spring Is Here, Yeah, Right

I'll blame this weather on Scott Walker, why not?  He's probably punishing us up here in northern Wisco - see, we did not vote for the dickwad, or for Sean Fluffy, either.  We're smart up here, well, that may be overstating it a little.  We just vote correctly.
.......WINTER STORM WARNING IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TUESDAY TO 7 PM CDT
WEDNESDAY...

THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE IN DULUTH HAS ISSUED A WINTER STORM
WARNING FOR HEAVY SNOW...WHICH IS IN EFFECT FROM 1 PM TUESDAY TO
7 PM CDT WEDNESDAY. THE WINTER STORM WATCH IS NO LONGER IN EFFECT.

* TIMING AND LOCATION: AN INTENSE SNOWSTORM WILL AFFECT
  BAYFIELD...ASHLAND AND IRON COUNTIES TUESDAY THROUGH WEDNESDAY
  WITH STRONG WINDS AND HEAVY SNOW.

* SNOW ACCUMULATION: 12 TO 16 INCHES OF SNOWFALL IS EXPECTED BY
  LATE WEDNESDAY AFTERNOON.

* MAIN IMPACT: HEAVY WET SNOW AND NORTHEAST WINDS OF 15 TO 30 MPH
  COULD CAUSE POWER OUTAGES DUE TO DOWNED TREES AND POWER LINES.
My emphases..

Update; Sen,. Randy "Randy!" Hopper & His Girl Friend

hopper.png




Thanks to OneWisconsinNow for the photos.  You should go there & enjoy their work.  & support them as well.  I believe my loyal five (yes,5!) readers will be able to discern just who is the old guy & who is the young woman. 

British Columbia

Good article about Wisco's name change to FitzWalkerStan.

No, the real problem is not the public sector. It's about growing income inequality between the richest and poorest in our province, and about tax fairness -- or rather lack thereof.

Carlton County, MN, Central Labor Body Passed A Great Resolution

Here it is in its entirety. They are all my emphases.

Carlton County Labor Body resolution on Wisconsin:
March 7, 2011

Whereas: Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin has proposed a “budget repair” bill that will cut the wages and benefits of public employees, and restrict the right of collective bargaining for certain public employee bargaining units.

Whereas: Wisconsin public employee union leaders have consistently conceded to the monetary demands of the bill, but insist they must be permitted to retain the right of collective bargaining. Governor Walker has refused to negotiate, leading any reasonable human being to conclude that the budget repair bill has absolutely nothing to do with the financial shape of the State Of Wisconsin, and is rather, designed to cripple in numerous ways, the efforts of regular working people to retain a living wage and a just standard of living.

Whereas: Section 44 of the bill, also provides for public assets such as power plants to be sold off in secret “no-bid” contracts, potentially rewarding corporate contributors to the political party in power.

Whereas: Section 49 of the bill provides for the removal of people from the medical assistance program and would give the Secretary of the Department of Health Services emergency rulemaking authority to circumvent existing state laws on BadgerCare;

Whereas: The only successful strategy in delaying a vote on this bill has been for 14 Wisconsin State Senators to flee the senate, denying the necessary quorum.

If only one of these Senators returns, a vote on this devastating bill will be held.

Whereas: Regardless of union affiliation, tens of thousands of Wisconsinites, their families, and supporters have converged daily for three weeks on the Wisconsin State Capitol to protest the bill. These demonstrations have largely been ignored, trivialized, and even demonized by the corporate “for profit” news media.

Whereas: Governor Walker, frustrated with his own losing strategy and inability to force a vote on this issue has resorted to childlike and improper schemes to lure the 14 Senators back, has finally crossed the line with a plan to layoff thousands of public employees. In response to all of the abuses and threats, the South Central Federation of Labor has urged for preparations for a public employee general strike!

Therefore, let it be resolved: The Carlton County Central Labor Body, of Minnesota, with jurisdiction in two MN counties bordering Wisconsin, comprised of men and women with a proud tradition of Solidarity and resisting social injustice do hereby:

Condemn the Wisconsin “budget repair” bill as a fascist tool to increase the severity of wealth disparity between the economic classes. (make the rich richer, and the poor poorer)

Proclaim Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker and his majority party leadership to be union busting stooges of the financial elite.

Urge Wisconsin voters to recall Governor Walker, recall WI State Senators Sheila Harsdorf, Randy Hopper, Mary Lazich, Alberta Darling, Luther Olsen, Glenn Grothman, Dan Kapanke, and Robert Cowles.

Advise every working family in the upper Midwest that if this bill passes it will have a negative impact on their standard of living, regardless of union affiliation or the state they reside in. The passage of this bill in Wisconsin will encourage similar philosophy and legislation in neighboring states.

Proclaim the 14 Wisconsin State Senators who have now been away from their homes for almost 3 weeks to be American Working Class Heroes.

Urge that every poor and middle class person, and every union local, prepare to come to the aid of striking workers with any or all material and or moral support they can garner, should a general strike in Wisconsin occur.

Resistance is not futile !

In Solidarity,

Mike Kuitu, President
Carlton County (MN) Central Labor Body

Why I Don't Read Conservative Blogs

Because they are heartless assholes.

More Sports: Wisco Women Win NCAA Championship

I know this just infuriates the Golden Chipmunks, but the hockey trophy is where it should be, Wisco!  Notice that the good news has nothing to do with the idiotic FitzWalkerStan outfit.

FitzWalkerStan Gives People Jobs

If you're a 26-year old woman, apparently living with a 45-year old Wisco State Senator who voted for the awful Governor's awful bill, you get a job, even if you're not on the original list of job seekers.  Time to retire Sen. Randy (!) Hopper.  Yep, it's hard to believe he actually has that first name, or the last if you know what I mean.
But who exactly recommended her for the post?
Cullen Werwie, spokesman for the governor, confirmed that it was Keith Gilkes, Walker's chief of staff.

This Is Weird

One-eighth of the best basketball teams in America are from Wisco.  Who'd a thunk?

Sunday, March 20, 2011

OK

This thing in Lybia sucks.  There I said it.

Amur Tiger Time

Nice Photos Of Florida Panthers, NOT

You know, all the anonymous bullshit I received for posting some pictures is, well, just bullshit. The accusations that I Photoshopped watermarks is also just bullshit. It's bullshit how someone can make your life temporarily unhappy by filing a "complaint" with Blogger over some post put up a long time ago, send you a bunch of anonymous comments with such nice words as "thief", "low life", you get the picture. In my defense I will say that I posted the photos to encourage people to carry their cameras, to encourage people to think about the Florida panther, & to encourage people to have a brain. Well, big whoop. So, the "offending" photographs have been replaced with this rant. Hope everybody is happy now.

Give Peace A Chance?

Not so much at the U.S. Institute of Peace. 
The chairman of the 10-member bipartisan board for the past seven years is J. Robinson West, a Bush appointee who served in the Reagan administration as an assistant secretary of the interior in charge of offshore oil policies and before that as a deputy assistant secretary of defense for international economic affairs. In 1984, he founded the PFC Energy company. Little in his professional background suggests either a competency in peacemaking or ties to the American peace movement. The vice chairman is George Moose, a former ambassador posted by the Reagan administration to Benin and Senegal.
With occasional exceptions — I have in mind Kerry Kennedy — presidential appointments to the institute’s board serve as a homogenized dumping ground for academics, corporate executives, Republican or Democratic party loyalists, and others of the well-paid and seemly mannered with no reputations as boundary-pushers. They have little hands-on experience in peace education or peace training, much less sweaty antiwar activism. They are more suited for patronage appointments to harmless presidential commissions, if their yens to be seen as players can’t be controlled.
Over the years, I can’t recall any pacifists from the War Resisters League, the Catholic Worker, the Washington Peace Center or — horrors! — the National War Tax Resistance Coordinating Committee being given a seat on the board.
My emphasis.

As California Goes, So Goes The Country?

Let's hope not.

On Thursday, as the notices were being handed out, one maintenance worker committed suicide by jumping from the city hall roof.

Sweet Sixteen (Remember, It's March)

I'm wondering if this is my first post ever concerning college basketball?  It's not my favorite sport, but I suppose I should recognize it when Wisco does something well.  Scott Walker had nothing to do with this victory, although he may have something to do with the demise of the UW_Madison if he gets his way.  OK, go Badgers!

Elect JoAnn Kloppenburg

David Prosser is not the kind of person we need on Wisco's Supreme Court.  Here's what he said about Chief Justice Abrahamson:
"In the context of this, I said, 'You are a total bitch,' " Prosser said.
******
"In a fit of temper, you were screaming at the chief; calling her a 'bitch,' threatening her with '. . . I will destroy you'; and describing the means of destruction as a war against her 'and it won't be a ground war,' " Bradley wrote in a Feb. 18, 2010, e-mail to Prosser and others
"In my view, a necessary step to address the dysfunction is to end these abusive temper tantrums. No one brought in from the outside is going to cure this aspect of the dysfunction."
My emphasis. David Prosser is pretty much an ass, eh? Certainly not a quality person, but a typical ReThug.

Friday, March 18, 2011

Good News In FitzWalkerStan

Judge Maryann Sumi issued a temporary restraining order that stops the publication of the odious law signed by the moron Walker that basically destroys most of the great things about Wisco.  Good for her.  I would like to know, however, just what the last paragraph of this story has to do with the story?  Here it is: 

Judge Sumi was first appointed to the court in 1998 by Tommy Thompson, a Republican former governor, then elected in 1999 and 2005. Judicial elections are nonpartisan in Wisconsin.

If anyone can explain this to me, I'd really appreciate it.

BOYCOTT WALKER'S STUPID JOCK STRAPS

Here's the Facebook page.   I'm going to put the list below. It's a long list, but I'd appreciate it if you would look it over.  I've highlighted a few & made pithy comments.  Hopefully pithy or pissy, whatever lights your candle.
-------------------------------------
PACs, $5000 or more:
-------------------------------------
ABCPAC-WIS
AT&T Wisconsin Employee PAC (formerly SBC)
Building a Better WI/Wisconsin Builders Association
Concerned Realtors Committee
Deere & Company PAC - WI
Eli Lilly and Company PAC
FONEPAC Telecommunications & Computers
Friends of Alberta Darling
Friends & Neighbors of Robin Vos
HNTB Holdings Ltd PAC
KochPAC Natural Resources
Managed Health Services/Centene PAC
Northwestern Mutual Life Insurance
People for Rebecca Kleefisch
Realtors PAC
Republican Party Milwaukee Co
Republican Party of Wisconsin
Tavern Industry PAC (Drink at home, make your own beer, wine, root beer, ed.)
TDS Telecom
Wal-Mart Stores/WAL-PAC  (Well, you know what to do here, ed.)
WellPAC Wellpoint Inc
WI Credit Union League Action Fund (WCULAF) (Very disappointing.  Very disappointing, ed.)
WI Dental PAC (WIDPAC)  (I'm going to let my dentist know what I think of this, so should you.  Hopefully they won't poke you "inadvertently" while pulling the wrong tooth, ed.)
WI Insurance Alliance PAC
WI Pipe Trades PAC

-----------------------------------------------------
Employers of Contributors of $5000 or more
-----------------------------------------------------
ABC Supply Co
Agrecol Corp
Allen Edmonds Shoes
AMK Concepts & Services
Anew Health Care Services Inc
AO Smith Corp
Apache Stainless Steel
Artisan Partners
Atlantic DQ
Audio Implements/GKC

Badger Meter
Baraboo Growth
Bevco Ergonomic Seating
Blomquist Benefits Consulting
Boerke Co Inc
Bradley Foundation
Brian Retzlaff Trucking
Briggs & Stratton
Burke Properties
Burlington Northern Santa Fe...

Call Solutions
Campbell Wrapper Corp
Carpenter
CD Smith Construction
Chambers & Owen
Charro Restaurante
Charter Manufacturing
Church Mutual Insurance
Cobalt Partners LLC
Commonwealth Development Corp...
Continental Properties Co Inc
County Concrete
Couri Insurance Agency
Custom Pak Products

EBY-Brown Co
Einhorn Associates
Emergency Medicine Specialists
Endeavors Group

Fabco Equipment Inc  (OK, loggers, let them know up in Superior. ed.)
Fashion Angels Enterprises
Feather Larson & Synhorst...
Fiduciary Management
First American Funding
Fisher Barton Inc

Glenora Co
GMR Marketing
Gogebic Taconite LLC  (All I can say about this is:  over my dead body, I know, it's easy for me to say since I'm a geezer, but what the hell, ed.)
Gold Leaf Development

Hal Leonard Publishing
Hammes Co
Harris Associates
Hay Creek Pallett
Heartland Advisors
Hexagon Investments
High Crossing Development Corp
Holton Brothers Construction
Horton Group
Hovde Financial
Hy Cite Corp

I-Robot
Iconica
Inpro Corp
Insight Industries
Irgens Development Partners

Johnson Controls
Johnsonville Foods  (No more of their awful brats. ed.)
JSD Professional Services Inc

Kapur & Associates
KBS Construction
Koss Corp
Krier Foods
Kwik Trip  (There are better gas stations, I think, & better coffee too, ed.)

Lorman Education Services
Lubar & Co

M&I Bank  (I wonder if their new Canadian owners will do the same stupid shit?  Find another bank to finance your car, a local bank if possible, ed.)
Meissner, Tierney, et al
Michels Corp
Midwest Neurosurgical
Milksource
MillerCoors (Lousy beer anyway.  Drink small, ed.)
Minnesota Wild  (If this is the hockey team, I'm really pissed, ed.)
MJ Construction Inc
Morrison Creek Cranberry

Nicholas Company Inc
Nova Surgical LLC

Orthopaedic Associates of...

PACUR
Panduit Corp
Paper Machinery Corp
Payne & Dolan
Pinstripe Inc
Plastic Surgery Group
Prent Corp
Promotions Unlimited

RCI FirstPathway Partners
Richardson Industries
Rite Hite Corp
Roehl Transport

Salomon Smith Barney
Sargento Inc  (No more snacks, people, ed.)
Schneider National
School choice
Sendik's Food Market (Balistreri-owned stores)
Shannon Sales Inc
SIG Financial Holdings
Specialty Underwriters
St John Properties Inc
Standard Process Laboratories
Stark Investments
Super Steel Products

Tamarack Petroleum Co
Tankcraft Corp
ThedaCare
Tries & Rice

Uihlein Wilson Architects
US Counseling Service
US Oil Co

V Duane Rath Foundation

Wausau Homes
Wausau Paper
West Allis Salvage
West Bend Clinic

Zenith Tech

----------------------------
WMC Board
----------------------------
Ariens Company, Brillion
Daniel T. Ariens, President & CEO

Aspirus Wausau Hospital, Wausau
Diane S. Postler-Slattery, Ph.D., President & COO; SVP of Quality and Extended Services

Ashley Furniture Industries, Inc., Arcadia
Todd Wanek, President & CEO

Baker Tilly Virchow Krause, LLP, Madison
Timothy L. Christen, Chairman & CEO

Belmark Inc., DePere
Karl A. Schmidt, President & CEO

Bliss Communications, Janesville
Sidney H. Bliss, President & CEO

Briggs & Stratton Corporation, Wauwatosa
Todd J. Teske, Chairman, President & CEO

C. G. Bretting Manufacturing Co., Inc., Ashland
David H. Bretting, President & CEO  (Not surprising, Ashland neanderthal, ed.)

Charter Manufacturing Company, Inc., Mequon
John A. Mellowes, Chairman & CEO

Citizens Community Federal, Eau Claire
Edward H. Schaefer, CEO

Columbia St. Mary’s Inc., Milwaukee
Leo P. Brideau, President & CEO

ConAgra Foods, Menomonie
William J. Butsic, Plant Manager

John Deere Horicon Works, Horicon
Curtis L. Hoppestad, Global Director, Riding Lawn Equipment

Georgia-Pacific, Green Bay
Kelly L. Wolff, Vice President Manufacturing, Green Bay

Gundersen Lutheran Health System, La Crosse
Jeff Thompson, M.D., CEO

Humana, Inc., Waukesha
Larry Rambo, Senior Executive for Strategic Partnerships

InSinkErator Division, Emerson Electric Co., Racine
Jerry G. Ryder, President

Integrys Energy Group, Green Bay
Charles A. Schrock, Chairman, President & CEO

Kohler Company, Kohler
Laura E. Kohler, Sr. Vice President/HR  (Find other bathrooms fixtures for christ's sake, ed.)

Kolbe & Kolbe Millwork Company, Inc., Wausau
Michael W. Salsieder, President & General Counsel  (There are better windows out there, ed.)

Lakeside Foods, Inc., Manitowoc
David Yanda, President & CEO

The Manitowoc Company, Inc., Manitowoc
Glen E. Tellock, Chairman, President & CEO

Marshall & Ilsley Corporation, Milwaukee
Mark F. Furlong, Chairman, President & CEO

Marshfield Clinic, Marshfield
Reed E. Hall, Executive Director (Retired) (Time to find a better place to take care of your heart, etc., ed.)

Mayville Engineering Company, Inc., Mayville
Robert D. Kamphuis, Chairman of the Board, President & CEO

Mead & Hunt, Inc., Madison
Rajan Sheth, Chairman, President & CEO

Menard, Inc., Eau Claire
J. R. Menard, Executive Vice President & Treasurer (The hell with Maynards, anyway, ed.)

Michael Best & Friedrich LLP, Madison
Tod B. Linstroth, Sr. Partner & Past Chair and Member of Management Committee

Middleton Chamber of Commerce, Middleton
Van W. Nutt, Executive Director

Modine Manufacturing Company, Racine
Thomas A. Burke, President & CEO

Northern States Power Company - Wisconsin
An Xcel Energy Company, Eau Claire
Michael L. Swenson, President & CEO

Oshkosh Chamber of Commerce, Oshkosh
John Casper, President & CEO

Palmer Johnson Enterprises, Inc., Sturgeon Bay
William C. Parsons, President

Prent Corporation, Janesville
Joseph T. Pregont, President & CEO

Quad/Graphics, Sussex
Joel Quadracci, Chairman, President & CEO

Quarles & Brady LLP, Milwaukee
James D. Friedman, Senior Partner

Seneca Foods Corporation, Janesville
Paul Palmby, Executive Vice President & COO

Sentry Insurance, Stevens Point
Pete McPartland, President & COO

Serigraph Inc., West Bend
John B. Torinus Jr., Chairman

Snap-on Incorporated, Kenosha
Nicholas T. Pinchuk, Chairman, President & CEO (There are probably better tools out there as well, time to tell the truck driver what you think, ed.)

Teel Plastics, Inc., Baraboo
Jay L. Smith, Chairman & CEO

University Research Park, Inc., Madison
Mark D. Bugher, Director

Wausau Paper Corp., Mosinee
Thomas J. Howatt, President & CEO

Wells Fargo Bank Wisconsin, Milwaukee
Michael Kogelis, Community Banking President

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, Madison
James S. Haney, President & CEO (read less)
Mission
To bring economic woe to companies that support Scott Walker, and therefore his anti-worker, anti-education and anti-progress politics.
Products

So Much For Scott Walker & His ReThug Minions Bullshit About How Unions Are Destroying Wisco

From the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.  & a big screw you to the ReThugs for lying & then continuing to lie about the union movement in Wisco & in America.

Business and Laobr Contributions 1999-2010

If you look real hard, you can see Labor way at the bottom, less than $10 million. 
Put another way, the ratio of business to labor union contributions for all candidates was $12 to $1.
*****
The ratio of business to organized labor contributions for Republican candidates was $104 to $1.

Table 3
Business And Labor Contributions
To Democratic Statewide And Legislative Candidates

Two-Year
Election Cycle
Business
Contributions
And % Of
Total Contributions
Labor
Contributions
And % Of
Total Contributions
Other Interest Group
Contributions
And % Of
Total Contributions
Business-
Labor
Contribution Ratio
2009-10*$7,456,418 (65%)$1,322,533 (12%)$2,666,985 (23%)$6 to $1
2007-08$5,747,665 (65%)$1,002,403 (12%)$2,036,995 (23%)$6 to $1
2005-06$8,443,918 (65%)$1,283,228 (10%)$3,214,059 (25%)$7 to $1
2003-04$4,598,154 (68%)$825,982 (12%)$1,338,993 (20%)$6 to $1
2001-02$7,498,631 (61%)$1,715,268 (14%)$3,140,598 (25%)$4 to $1
1999-00$2,309,205 (63%)$363,413 (10%)$969,212 (27%)$6 to $1
TOTALS$36,053,991
(64%)
$6,512,827
(12%)
$13,366,842
(24%)
$6 to $1

*Figures represent contributions through October 18, 2010 , not the entire year or campaign

Welcome Scotty, To Your Own Worst Nightmare

You're right about one thing, Scotty,  I am pissed off, pissed off at you, you weasly piece of cat vomit.



Nothing But Bad News From Japan

& it appears to be getting worse.  I just do not believe that we have the technology to build these "atom bombs" so that they can withstand big-time natural phenomena, like a 9.0 earthquake with the followup tsunami.  It's past the time to let the oil stay in the ground, to keep the coal on top of the mountains, & let the gas power our kitchen stoves.  It's been a long time since Jimmy Carter & his plea for more money & research into alternative energy sources.  The billionaire oilmen who met with Dick "Dick" Cheney* saw to it that alternative energy was something dirty, fucking hippies wanted & therefore it was beneath contempt.  Oil, baby, oil.  Drill, baby, drill.  Pollute, baby, pollute.  Kill, baby, kill.  Burn, baby, burn. 

A breach in the pool would leave engineers with a problem that has no precedent or ready-made solution, said Edwin Lyman, a physicist with the Union of Concerned Scientists.

"My intuition is that this is a terrible situation and it is only going to get worse," he said. "There may not be any way to deal with it."

The struggle to cool down stricken nuclear reactors and spent fuel pools in northern Japan entered a second week Friday, with fluctuating radiation levels and blustery winds hampering efforts to douse the most damaged installations with water from military helicopters and firetrucks with high-powered hoses.

 

 

*I apologize for mentioning Deadeye Dick in two posts this morning.  Living in FitzWalkerStan has apparently put me in the past, or something.

Michael Gough, R.I.P.

Bye-bye Alfred.

Sargeant Was Probably Part Of Dick "Dick" Cheney's Private Energy Meetings

You remember, the meetings that supposedly set energy policy for us peons.  Nothing will happen to this billionaire bastard, however, because he's a billionaire.  That's what this country has become - a billionaire's paradise.  They have all the money, all the power, & zero responsibility for anything.   

More FitzWalkerStan News

Walker enhances his dictatorial powers to the detriment of the state of Wisco.  The fail keeps failing.  Thankfully, my daughter, son-in-law & The Babies don't live in this state.  Once we had great dreams, now, not so much.  Walter John Chilsen, Warren Knowles, or Bob Holmes where are you when we need you?

Tuesday, March 15, 2011

Red State Update - Not Safe For Work, As If Any Of My Loyal Five (Yes, 5) Readers Worries About Stuff Like Something Being Safe For Work, Heh




Via Crooks & Liars.

This Is One Area, Among Many, Where The New ReThug Party Will Have To Make A Choice

Keep up the stupid lemming-like run over the fake deficit problem, or actually give a crap about people.  The fact is that everyone in the country should have the same helath care benefits as veterans have, after all, we are all contributors to the country's greatness, right?  I do not begrudge the verterans their benefits, but they must also share the pain the ReThugs claim we all must share.  If the veterans are singled out as a protected class, well, a lot of dipstick conservative's heads will begin to explode, if you get my drift.

Yah Think?

I believe President Obama was elected to end this damn war.  How's that working out?

Monday, March 14, 2011

Just Great

Japan is facing a terrible disaster, as is the rest of the world. The only good that will come of this is the possible ending of nuclear power once & for all.
Japan faced the likelihood of a catastrophic nuclear accident Tuesday morning, as an explosion at the most crippled of three reactors at the Fukushima Daichi Nuclear Power Station damaged its crucial steel containment structure, emergency workers were withdrawn from the plant, and much larger emissions of radioactive materials appeared imminent, according to official statements and industry executives informed about the developments.

Owsley "Bear" Stanley, R.I.P.

He's dead.

He's right, he should have been rewarded.  Yes, it's true, what a long strange trip it's been. 

This Is Interesting & May Be An Easy Recall

This is exactly the sort of family values that the Rethug Party likes to promote.
Protesters who marched at the home of Wisconsin state senator Randy Hopper (R-Fond du Lac) were met with something of a surprise on Saturday. Mrs. Hopper appeared at the door and informed them that Sen. Hopper was no longer in residence at this address, but now lives in Madison, WI with his 25-year-old mistress.

FitzWalkerStan Indeed

Talk about not listening to the Wisco citizens.  Here's an email for the fooking Wisco Senate leader (I use the term loosely, of course) - 

Sen. Fitzgerald: Email re: Senate Democrat voting privileges in standing committees
3/14/2011

From: Sen.Fitzgerald
Sent: Monday, March 14, 2011 3:52 PM
To: *Legislative Senate Republicans
Subject: Senate Democrat voting privileges in standing committees

Dear Members,

With the return of the Senate Democrats this weekend, questions have arisen regarding Democrat members’ participation in Senate standing committee public hearings and executive sessions.

Please note that all 14 Democrat senators are still in contempt of the Senate. Therefore, when taking roll call votes on amendments and bills during executive sessions, Senate Democrats’ votes will not be reflected in the Records of Committee Proceedings or the Senate Journal. They are free to attend hearings, listen to testimony, debate legislation, introduce amendments, and cast votes to signal their support/opposition, but those votes will not count, and will not be recorded.

If you have any questions, feel free to contact my office.

Thank you,

Scott Fitzgerald
Senate Majority Leader
13th Senate District

I'd say the whole Fitzgerald family is in contempt of the citizens of Wisco.

Sunday, March 13, 2011

Whoops, I Forgot One, But Lucky For You, My Loyal Five (Yes, 5!) Readers, There Is A Link To Some Damn Fine Video

LINKY, LINKY, LINK.

Here's a photo I forgot to post in the previous post, or something like that.  We are climbing a public walking path to get to the lake side of the restaurant where the cowardly, shameful, ReThugs were listening to the liars Walker & Fluffy.  It was fun demanding that these two "tear down this curtain."  Although the chickenshits didn't do it.  Oh well.  The police guy, actually a game warden from the DNR was closest to us & he was awfully nice.  He talked about how he & his colleagues are in the same boat, i.e.,Walker doesn't much care about them either.  I wish I would have taken his photo.  It could have gone into the collection of public employees doing their job in spite of Walker's disdain. & the State Patrol, actually Walker's private police force/palace guard are true bottom feeders, what disgusting hypocrites.