Root River Siren

The Watergate/Walkergate Mashup

2012-02-28T07:18:00.000-08:00

The first ad out the gate from Wisconsin Democrats is a zinger and in the Siren's opinion, just the right message...the political corruption that leads to the office door of Scott Walker.

The Walkergate message is one that plays on the public's mind over the long haul. As the John Doe case wears on and the indictments continue, independent voters start to feel increasingly uneasy about Scott Walker's ability to lead and his integrity as an elected official.

The vote they cast in 2010 for Walker starts to look like a big mistake...one they won't make again.

It's a bulls-eye for Democrats.

Walker Concedes A Million Signatures

2012-02-28T07:01:00.000-08:00

In a totally lame and lazy move, Scott Walker decided not to challenge ANY of the the recall petition signatures submitted against him...a sharp kick to the nads of all the teabillies around the state (and Tennessee and Texas) who have been pouring through the sheets looking for signatures to toss.

Saying it was impossible to verify that many signatures in the amount of time given (which by the way was 3 times the amount of time allowed by law) Walker's campaign complained the process was beyond the capabilities of their $15 million dollar war chest and 11,000 volunteers they claimed were standing ready.

What a loser.

With a million signatures and 11,000 volunteers, each volunteer would have to review 90 signatures each over 30 days - which is a taxing 3 signatures per day. Tiny violins fellas.

See, this is why a recall is a serious process. It takes thousands of people to gather the signatures and thousands more to challenge them - a job which falls by law to the recalled politician. It all happens in an incredibly short amount of time, but the reward is you get to raise unlimited amounts of money to hire lawyers and services to assist in the process.

Democrats could have hired people to gather, organize and verify signatures to submit. They could pay people to assist in data entry of all that information - but they didn't have to because volunteers flooded recall offices. Thousands and thousands of them.

Walker could be doing the same...and he's got a shitload more money. Instead he sits on his millions and whines that it was too hard.

So all those teabillies who claim the recall against Walker didn't really collect a million signatures, your boy Scooter just conceded they did. You had your chance to prove it and you plotzed.

Van Wanggaard Should Really Never Speak

2012-02-27T08:58:00.001-08:00

Van Wanggaard has not held a listening session since he was elected 16 months ago and it's probably safe to say he won't be having any more for quite a while...his recent round was not a rousing success.

Van got badgered about mining, collective bargaining and pay equality and it was clear - when he wasn't madly tossing out talking points - he got knocked back on his heels. Even the photo of him in the JT had him looking a little defensive.

The issues were one thing, but the other under-reported and interesting part of Van's listening sessions were the odd and really politically incorrect things Van said.

In his first listening session Van was asked about the mining bill and whether the native tribes who have environmental and treaty interests in the proposed mine were consulted. The questioner asked if Van worked with the "sovereign nations" in drafting the bill. The term seemed to confuse Van since they weren't referring to a bunch of white, pot-smoking, gun nuts plotting against the IRS.

Van asks: "you mean the Indians?" Very Senatorial.

He then tries to remember the name...bad land...bad water...until finally someone says "Bad River." Oh yeah, now he remembers..."There you go, the Bad River tribe actually had a chat with me about it."

Now, we know Van doesn't read the bills unless his Chief of Staff (not a member of the Bad River Nation), Scott Kelly reads them aloud to him, but it's good to at least mouth some form of respect towards people and the land they consider sacred. Wanna guess what the Bad River Nation said to Van in their "chat?"

In his Ives Grove listening session, Van was largely irritated that John Lehman showed up and asked him to debate. He was laughably defensive, trying out his Whopper Lie #1: We Balanced the Budget. Van says, "we balanced the budget...bringing it down to a more manageable level" Um, a more manageable level of deficit Van?

Listen carefully, he just admitted they did NOT balance the budget...because they didn't and he knows it.

He then segues to Whopper Lie #2: We Did It Without Raising Taxes. No one but Van and the diehards actually believe this anymore. This should have been John's cue to challenge him on this, but there is plenty of time.

But the weird comment came when Van was talking about students (boys) who drop out of school and knock up their girlfriends? Huh? Now we know this kind of stereotyping is perfectly acceptable in the Republican bubble but as a Senator this is incredibly tacky.

Van (or a member of his staff) should know the teen pregnancy rate in Wisconsin has dropped consistently and the rate of pregnancy among women 18 or younger is 2% of all pregnancies...and 67% of that 2% are in women aged between 18 to 19 years old. In other words, while everyone believes teen pregnancy is a barrier to future to success, because of comprehensive sex education and access to birth control - teen pregnancies have dropped.

Van's time-saving stereotypes assist him in supporting his goofball point of view but don't actually reflect reality and young people in general.

Then in his listening session in Racine, while Van was fielding a question from Special Education advocates about the upcoming bill that will offer school vouchers in Racine to private schools for special education without ANY requirements or regulations in those schools...Van told a heartwarming story about young family member who required special education who was a "mongoloid."

Mongoloid. He said that word!

The Siren is fairly sure Van's young relative is not from Mongolia. The word "Mongoloid" is an offensive and racist term along the lines of "chink" or "retard"- in fact the history of the word "mongoloid" rolls them both into one handy, nasty and racist word.

"Mongoloid" was originally used to describe people of Asian descent and their facial features...like Negro or specifically - Negroid. It later spread in it's use to describe people who were physically considered unattractive, not Caucasian, mentally retarded and even people characterized as inbred were called "Mongoloids."

The word "Mongoloid" - as Van used it - is a pejorative word used to demean people with Downs Syndrome and was coined to describe the faces of those people which were considered to be Asian "like"...flat, angled eyes and low-profile noses. It is an insult to his relative and a racist insult to Asians who actually know the origin of the word.

No one says that word anymore and frankly, an apology is in order.

In two days alone, Van carelessly and arrogantly fudges the name of the Bad River Nation, tried to sell a lie about Wisconsin youth at risk knocking up their girlfriends (do you really wonder what skin color he was picturing those kids) and called his young relative a "Mongoloid" because he is mentally challenged.

Can there be any question now that it was Van Wanggaard who made the motion to open the search for Police Chief again after the "Caucasian" guy stepped down leaving the commission with two men of color to choose from?

Van Wanggaard should really never speak.

Van's Shiny New District Moved 18% Of Voters

2012-02-26T08:40:00.001-08:00

Let's face it, a lot of people in the city of Racine really hate Van Wanggaard. They could not wait to sign those recall papers.

Why? Well in an unscientific survey of petition circulators the reasons varied from public workers who are educated enough to understand the definition of the word "hypocrite" - a guy who used to be a union rep. and has now sold them out in his aspiration to belong to the Wisconsin 1%. They understand his protestations that he strengthened Act 10 to make it not so bad for them is a bunch of horseshit.

If they were a union member - public or private - or they knew someone who was, they came with pens clutched in their fingers ready to sign...often muttering vague obscenities.

Others view Van as the rubber stamp that made everything Scott Walker wanted a reality. He voted 100% of the time with Walker and they know it. Voter ID, deregulation of environmental protections, the Castle doctrine and conceal & carry, the repeal of pay equity for women, school vouchers for Racine and Racine only...the list is really long.

Plenty of poor and working people in Racine saw their Earned Income Tax Credit disappear - and it hurt. Older folks on fixed incomes know the freeze on their Homestead Tax Credit means they are going to be paying higher and higher property taxes. Van voted for all these things - they may be older or poorer, but they aren't stupid.

A lot of these people live in the city of Racine proper...and like that really ugly girl you hit on once when you were very, very drunk...it's best to avoid that bar in the future if you can.

So in the tale that must not be told in local press about redistricting (lord knows the Journal Times won't make much of it - it contains numbers) an interesting exchange took place in testimony on Friday in the federal lawsuit against the maps state Republicans drew.

(By this we mean mainly Robin Vos who: created them in secret, signing secret oaths and showing the maps only to convicted felons, the state Republican party and various campaign supporters before they showed them to their colleagues in the state house and naturally the people of Wisconsin.)

When district maps are drawn - they are supposed to take in to account changes in population. That's why they take place after the census every 10 years. Districts expand or contract based on population numbers. In creating Senate or Assembly lines they are not supposed to move more people than necessary. Why? Well because of staggered election cycles - voters can get shut out of voting. The courts don't like that...and the people think it's kinda shitty too.

So not only did Van Wanggaard get an extreme makeover of a new Senate District 21 that now leans so Republican - if the 2010 Governors race was run there now - Scott Walker would win the 21st Senate District by 23 points. 20 fucking 3 points.

In creating this new miracle district they had to shift around a lot of people - A LOT OF PEOPLE. The first to go had to be that ugly girl named Racine who he used once and now can't stand the sight of him.

In testimony on Friday, Kenneth Mayer a political science professor and redistricting guru said the GOP maps moved around 50 times more people than was necessary and Senate Districts 21 and 22 were standouts. Van's new "Republican Forever" district moved 18% of all voters in the massive gerrymandering makeover.

That means the people of Kenosha County who would normally be getting to vote for their Senator (Wirch) this fall have to wait until 2014 to vote for their new district Senator (Wanggaard) - a span of six years. The courts don't like it and generally refer to it as "voter disenfranchisement."

Republicans are justifying their scheme by saying because of the recall elections everyone is getting to vote all the time. An explanation no one is buying since they've done everything possible to stop the recall elections.

It's a little like saying: "You now have those beautiful, white capped teeth you always wanted because I punched you in the mouth and knocked them out. See? I did you a favor."

18% of the population needlessly moved to give Wanny a magic district. No wonder he signed a secrecy agreement - how could he possibly explain it with a straight face?

All Koch'd Up

2012-02-25T07:06:00.000-08:00

An interesting twist on the money flowing into Wisconsin from the Koch Bros have been pouring into individual campaigns, PACS and their shill "non-partisan" organizations, MacIver Institute, Wisconsin Reporter and Americans for Prosperity played out this week...

On February 19th, David Koch gave an interview to the Palm Beach Post (lol - as opposed to the East Brunswick Sentinel) and said a few things about Scott Walker and the recalls that has generated a request for an investigation in to how Mr. Koch spends his money through groups which by law are not supposed to be campaigning.

Koch said in regard to the "It's Working" ads costing $700,000 and sponsored by AFP:

"We're helping him, as we should. We've gotten pretty good at this over the years," David Koch is quoted as saying about Walker. "We've spent a lot of money in Wisconsin. We're going to spend more."

Yeah, that may have been a little too revealing. Dems filed a complaint on Thursday with the GAB with a copy forwarded to the IRS which claims Koch is using tax exempt dollars to fund organizations which are participating in campaigning on behalf of certain candidates. It's against the law.

Now the Siren knows dear reader what your response may be: Duh! But this marks the first time anyone has actually gone after big poppa himself. It is also true that Wisconsin laws in this area are not ironclad, but the more important aspect of the complaint is that many states who also are being bought with Koch dollars do have better laws on the books about campaign collusion. Perhaps they are a sick as Wisconsinites in having their democracy bought by a handful of billionaires who are gaming the system.

What Wisconsin has done so effectively for the last year is the lead the nation - this is hopefully another lead for others to follow. Good.

The Planet Kleefisch Makes Olbermann World's Worst Person

2012-02-24T12:47:00.000-08:00

Van Ticks A Lock On Police Chief Switcharoo

2012-02-24T05:51:00.001-08:00

Yesterday, recalled and increasingly desperate Senator, Van Wanggaard held two of four "I'm Not Listening Sessions" around Racine County. Wanny refused (and we mean REFUSED) to comment on his participation in motioning to open back up the Racine Police Chief search after his preferred finalist stepped down when asked by recall opponent, John Lehman. (See previous post for background.)

Van probably thought he was entitled to attorney/client privilege.

Van's staff prescreened his questions which had to be submitted in writing ahead of time...nothing to hide here. The Senator orated in rambling stream of conscience answers veering madly from subject to subject in a talking point Tourettes episode.

Dude also needs to take it easy on the donuts.

GOP Says: Limit NOT Expand Voter ID List

2012-02-23T06:44:00.000-08:00

But you can stick your Vet ID up your ass, love Wisconsin GOP.

The Mt. Pleasant gentleman and veteran, Gil Paar made the news this week when he was refused a voter ballot for trying to use his official VA picture photo ID at the polls.

See the list of acceptable IDs approved to vote in Wisconsin does not include a valid United States VA photo ID. Paar, who risked his life for his country as an Air Force officer told 'em to get bent.

Rep. Bob Turner heard about the story and is planning to write a bill making a VA ID eligible for voting purposes...Turner doesn't write a lot of bills, but if it has to do with Vets - he's always on the right side of the issue and leads the way.

So all that is great, and citizens can make a difference in shifting some of the dreadful bullshit this administration has heaped upon us all...but the most interesting thing about this incident is the remarks made to the press by the legislative aide to Voter ID bill sponsor, Jeff Stone.

Aide, Michael Pyritz said Stone didn't include VA IDs because he didn't hear from people who wanted the cards included. He said "clerks" told them they preferred a "smaller list" of IDs and “When the bill was being drafted we were trying to limit the number, not expand it.” Which may be the one truthful thing he did say.

It was ALL about the voter fraud y'all.

If It Looks Like A Duck And It Walks Like A...

2012-02-23T06:04:00.000-08:00

Van and Marie Black at Hispanics for School Choice Fete

It was such a simple thing...hire a police chief. There were some good candidates around town to take a look at, there was a $23,000 dollar blank check and the blessing of the Mayor to take the search nationwide - with a cautionary bit of advice - folks around town like their hometown guys...so if you find someone outside of town, he or she better be fucking golden.

Who woulda thunk that that a Police and Fire Commission with Van Wanggaard would screw the pooch?

And so they did. The commission narrowed their candidates down to three - Racine fellas Art Howell and Carlos Lopez and former New Bedford, Mass Police Chief, Ronald Teachman who happens to be chumly with former and then returned Chief, Kurt Whalen.

So far so good, only slightly suspicious with the whole Teachman & Whalen know each other business.

Well damn if if wasn't discovered that Teachman left over 50 internal investigations open when he retired leaving his replacement with a few cranky things to say about him to local New Bedford press. Within days Teachman declined his finalist status and stepped down.

Awkward. Well the consolation is two remaining candidates that people in Racine actually like. Then the Police and Fire Commission decided to open the search back up again...and the shit hit the fan. If it sounds to you like maybe the Commission wasn't ever very keen on the hometown boys and was just putting on a show - announcing they were going back to find a new third certainly struck a lot of people as very, very fishy.

The Mayor, the NAACP and the Police Union all weighed in on the strange reversal and by the end of the day after a closed meeting with John Dickert, they announced they would go with one of the two remaining finalists - Howell or Lopez...thus avoiding what could be the mother of all discrimination lawsuits.

So what happened? The word is Wanggaard suggested reopening the search, an idea supported by Commission member, Marie Black and Commission President, Charles Johnson.

Charles Johnson is a big contributor to Wanggaard's campaign and just wrote him a check for $5000 last November. Johnson is an area philanthropist and not just to Republicans...Johnson has his Koch connection of course and serves on the Koch Institute Leadership Council.

With that kind of money and influence is it possible Wanggaard is going to do anything other than what Johnson wants?

Marie Black, is a Wanggaard supporter who just attended Van's $250 per person luncheon with Paul Ryan just a few days ago. Black doesn't have the cash of guys like Johnson...she's had a few public financial struggles.

Black has recreated herself with a new Hispanic Center in Racine that doesn't seem to do anything for anyone except promote "Hispanics for School Choice," a group who is headed by none other than Zeus Rodriguez - of the the secret email Milwaukee gerrymandering scheme. Rodriguez' job was to put a Hispanic face on support for the GOP redistricting maps. A job he took seriously...and illegally in private emails to legislative aides and attorney, Eric McLoud who represents Wanggaard in the recall.

These are all Republican operatives at a high level in Wisconsin politics - players with very specific agendas. Choosing the "right" police chief is part of the plan, that it became a racist and cynical endeavor is just icing on the cake.

This whole incident IS about discrimination, Republican discrimination.

Finally! Real Evidence Of Voter Fraud

2012-02-22T05:08:00.000-08:00

Wow. No wonder they don't want people with cameras in the chamber.

WTF Is Wrong With The Racine Journal Times?!

2012-02-21T08:20:00.000-08:00

Steve Lovejoy

It was bad enough the JT gave three quarters of the local page to ~~100~~ 40 ~~Tea Party~~ Republicans out at the corner of Hwy 20 and 31, when they know full well teachers, firefighters, corrections officers and just regular people stood out at the same corner every Friday for weeks.

Did they show? Never.

However, this morning's editorial page manages to go beyond their normal numb-skull regimen of tone-deaf meets dumb-ass exposition.

First we have a staff editorial pleading not to "abandon accountability of (school) vouchers." Great, good point...about eight months too late. A laser like focus for your subscription dollars ladies and gentlemen.

Second is something the Siren thinks she has never even seen before. The JT editorial staff has printed a letter to the editor from a candidate for office in support of himself - ON ELECTION DAY!

Yes, Roger Pfost, candidate for RUSD school board (and we know that because there is an article about the school board election on the front page) authored a letter condemning his incumbent opponents in the race, his reasons and a reminder to vote on February 21st. TODAY.

For a newspaper who refuses to endorse candidates, this is an action that flirts very aggressively with electioneering on the part of the JT. Giving free space to a candidate who is naturally supporting himself and asking others to vote on the day of the election - without giving the same benefit to the other candidates seems highly, HIGHLY unethical.

Look for an apology around October.

Call the Journal Times to complain: 262/634-3322
Call Mike McCabe at the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign: 608/255-4260

O' That Wild Gerry Mander

2012-02-21T07:06:00.000-08:00

If you are wondering what kind of maps $400,000 buys a Wisconsin taxpayer...here is a great one to peruse. Below in red is the 79th Assembly District under the new Republican maps.

See those little islands of red inside those blue areas? Those are 79th Assembly voters as well. Notice the crazy lines that border the blue and red? Try putting polling locations people can figure out around that.

What a complete bunch of losers. BTW the lawsuit court proceedings begin to today...don't look for it to be a cake walk.

It's No Surprise Walker's "Tool" Isn't All That Great

2012-02-20T07:18:00.000-08:00

Like a modern day Emperor wearing only his bald-spot, Scott Walker walked the land espousing his "tools" which would free municipalities and schools to run their own affairs without fear of tyranny...and apparently state aide.

Unburdened by oppressive public worker compensation packages - our Emperor slayed the public worker beast - cities, towns and hamlets of Wisconsin would forever bask in the golden ray of cash and heavenly manna.

The Emperor's followers nodded their heads in agreement, remarking on his healthy, full head of hair and his massive "tools."

Of course it didn't fucking work.

The Eau Claire Leader-Telegram did a little research in to Scott Walker's "tools" for state municipalities and schools which included added benefit contributions (and less disposable income spent on Main Street) and a lot less state aid. With the added bonus "tool" which prohibits raising any kind of revenue - leaving all those schools and towns deep in the hole - making administrators looking like bad guys for having to cut services people rely on and increase class sizes.

Which is exactly what it was designed to do. Let's take a look:

Eau Claire School District
-$902,000
City of Eau Claire
-$705,000
UW Eau Claire
-$4.05 million

Scott Walker said his "tools" would cover all the cuts the state imposed in ACT 10, but just like his bald spot - he didn't cover it at all.

Mining For Votes

2012-02-20T06:32:00.000-08:00

There are bills state Republicans have passed this last year Democrats are never going to agree with. Never.

Killing collective bargaining, making it harder for people to sue companies and corporations when they cheat, hurt or kill them, the mess of a voter ID bill they jammed through are just a couple.

Then are are bills that Democrats don't totally hate but would have worked with Republicans to try and make better or more reasonable - concealed and carry is one.

Either way, state Republicans didn't give a shit and pushed ahead - full steam as if there weren't other people in the room. Many of those decisions have led directly to the court rooms - not just because Republicans did things illegally - they did - but also because their legislation is so poorly written and at odds with the State Constitution there is no other venue to straighten out the mess.

Republicans didn't take the time in writing the bills, hosting hearings or even considering one Democratic amendment to any of their bills. Oops, the Siren takes that back, of the hundreds of amendments Democrats have proposed on their bills in the last year - they did consider one.

The redistricting maps are going to court this week - a jumbo mess of lies, secrets and fraud. It's their own fault. A half-million in tax payer money wasted to pay for Republican hubris. The Voter ID law is headed to court. Just wait until people actually try to vote - it's going to be a disaster - it wouldn't be a surprise if municipal clerks don't sue them before it's over.

The current mining bill being super charged through the legislature is another case of a badly written bill - written almost as if was designed for a court hearing not legislation. When Scott Fitzgerald dissolved the Senate mining committee last week, he tipped his hand as to how desperate they are to pass it no matter what.

No matter what the Army Corps of Engineers say, no matter what the Native Americans say and no matter what the townspeople around the proposed mine have to say. No one is listening.

But the truth is...and the shame is...not everybody is against the mine. What they are against is a bad piece of legislation that undermines the residents and environment and gives preference to the mining corporation. That is what this bill does.

After the Senate Committee was dissolved the Joint Finance Committee whipped up a hearing with a few hours notice - and some very interesting information came out in testimony by some pretty smart people.

People who know about stuff like geology as opposed to popcorn.

Jason Huberty, a Wisconsin geologist, was given a whopping two minutes to explain the chemistry of iron ore and all the other crap rock that is attached to it that winds up as trash. Amazingly he managed to do pretty good job in such a short time. Did Robin Vos ask him any questions or exhibit any curiosity in his testimony? Of course not.

There is a great article at Wisconsin Citizen Media Cooperative that explains Huberty's testimony along with his colleage, Joseph Skulan. Read it here.

Besides the free-ride mining corporations would get at the expense of environmental regulations, is a provision that excepts certain mining structures from flood plane zoning guidelines. FEMA has weighed in to say that unless the exemption is removed - it will suspend the state from the National Flood Insurance Program - the whole state.

Now this is a little more in the Siren's wheelhouse...So if you are a homeowner or a farmer or a business and you live near a flood plane or a body of water like the mighty Root, you have - or should have flood insurance. If you do, you don't get it at AllState, you get it from FEMA. No insurance company wants to carry such a loser of a deal, so the government does it.

If FEMA suspends the Flood Insurance Program in Wisconsin, people all over the state are going to be at risk with no insurance. This is enough for the editorial board at the LaCrosse Tribune to say enough is enough.

It's going to be a showdown. Democrats have proposed an amendment to the flood plane excemption, but given their past success at getting them through this administration, it's not a good bet.

Players Gonna Play - The Maps Edition

2012-02-18T07:43:00.000-08:00

Scott Jensen

If you are basically running a criminal enterprise you need the advice of other criminals from time to time. Even cons need a consultant.

Revealed in the 84 redistricting related emails released on Thursday afternoon was evidence that Republicans shared the maps with convicted former Assembly Leader, Scott Jensen before they were shared with Democrats or the public.

Jensen was convicted of 3 felonies before he got the venue changed to a Walkersha County judge where the felonies were overturned and he took a plea. What kind of felonies? Jensen was convicted of paying a legislative staffer $60,000 per year to raise campaign funds for himself and other Republicans as her full-time job.

It's like a scene from "Inception" only with layers of unattractive staffers dialing for campaign dollars.

What was Jensen's function in the new crime plot? Jensen apparently played pimp to Milwaukee Hispanic conservatives for their approval of the maps...which actually minimize the Latino vote instead of expand it...read about that HERE at Badger Democracy.

There is going to be a lot of explaining come Tuesday...we wonder if the Journal Times will even cover it?

This Is What Scapegoating Looks Like

2012-02-18T06:39:00.000-08:00

More than a few people who supported the recall efforts had some reservations about having their name appear on a public database...teachers, employees with conservative bosses. It's not that they were ashamed, it's not that wanted to keep the process shrouded in secrecy, it was the possibility of opening the door to hatred and intimidation that not signing would have avoided.

The Siren has heard of plenty of stories about those kind of incidents since the signatures went online - especially with the handy alphabetized version Van Wanggaard made available and super convenient for individuals with nothing but time and some spare hate - where they could fixate on finding neighbors and coworkers to confront and intimidate.

It didn't take long either. A woman we know of was confronted loudly and inappropriately as church services ended. Her confronter screamed at her in front of parishioners and her minister that she had seen her name on Van's list. Mortified, this bully went on to tell her she wished she had not prayed for her in the past...all because she signed a recall petition.

Teachers have found threatening messages on their cars in school parking lots claiming knowledge from public recall databases. A reader had a letter sent to his home that contained a photocopy of the petition his wife had signed and a copy of a pro-Walker speech. They took the time to include the message in all caps: "IT IS THE STATE VERSUS YOU."

Yeah, that's not scary or intimidating at all.

Yesterday brought another story from the "we know what you did" haters playbook...

Racinians all know Wilson's Coffee Shop. It is an institution in West Racine, headed by Robin Wilson and his family. If you are looking for great coffee, the Wilson's roast it. They quite literally have traveled the earth not just for good coffee, but for organic and fair trade coffee that supports sustainability for both farmers and the environment.

Any day Wilson's is open, you will find friends and neighbors gathered, book clubs and students and the kind of foot traffic that makes folks on Main Street jealous. Robin Wilson has opened his doors for fundraisers of all kinds - Mayaworks, Racine County Food Bank, HALO and many a politician both Democratic and Republican (Van Wanggaard himself) have held press conferences and meetings there.

It's safe to say Robin personally leans to the liberal side - a quality he neither hides nor flaunts. He just just a good and decent man who runs a valuable and vibrant business in which all are welcome.

Robin Wilson signed a petition to recall Van Wanggaard - a right he is entitled to under the Wisconsin State Constitution. Robin Wilson is also one of 24,000 people who signed a petition to recall Van Wanggaard in Racine County, but because he owns a business and people know him, he was singled out for intimidation by the author of the letter below: (Click on the image for a larger version)

There is a whole discussion we could have about the content of the letter and how it's author assigns his anger and venom all on what he imagines Wilson may believe - something he has no way of knowing from seeing Wilson's name on a petition.

But there is actually a clinical definition for this kind of behavior - it's called "scapegoating." The medical description of scapegoating is:

"Process in which the mechanisms of psychological projection or displacement are utilized in focusing feelings of aggression, hostility, frustration etc. upon another individual or group; the amount of blame being unwarranted."

We each know the factual fallacies the author commits, the gross hyperbole and thinly veiled aggression all pointing not to person who simply disagrees with Wilson, but a person with - at best a complete lack of judgement and perspective to - at worst a real manifestation of personality disorder.

It is these individuals that made people very nervous about having their names appear online...in alphabetical order. It is these individuals that should prompt Van Wanggaard to pick up up the phone and give his neighbor, Robin Wilson a call to say he does not condone this kind of behavior.

Naturally it was Wilson - always classy and decent - who put the whole thing in to perspective by saying:

"I long ago was able to take an Oath of Enlistment, pledging to protect and defend the Constitution of the United States of America. Since that time I have always felt free to form and express my beliefs. I have also felt free to stand up for them, and acknowledge them as my own... If we don’t use our freedoms, we increase the risk of losing them, so I choose to be free to publicly own my expressions of my beliefs. I hope for the day when everyone can feel so free."

Please stop by Wilson's today or tomorrow and enjoy a great cup of coffee prepared by a great American.

84 Emails That Should Kill The Maps

2012-02-17T12:54:00.000-08:00

Yesterday, U.S. District Judge, JP Stadmeuller wrote a another scathing statement regarding Republican legislators attempts to hide the secretive and illegal dealings they orchestrated in redrawing Wisconsin legislative maps. Stadmueller also released the 84 emails Republicans tried to suppress and now we know why.

In his statement, Stadmueller said:

"Without a doubt, the Legislature made a conscious choice to involve private lawyers in what gives every appearance of an attempt—albeit poorly disguised—to cloak the private machinations of Wisconsin’s Republican legislators in the shroud of attorney-client privilege. What could have—indeed should have—been accomplished publicly instead took place in private, in an all but shameful attempt to hide the redistricting process from public scrutiny."

Reading through the emails has left pretty much everyone stunned. The first thing to notice is that all of emails exchanged between legislative aides Tad Ottman and Adam Foltz to Van Wanggaard's recall attorney, Eric McLeod and others take place illegally through their Gmail accounts.

Attorney's brazen admission of "wildly gerrymandering" districts in Milwaukee and expert witnesses scheduled to give supportive testimony - who haven't seen the maps. All should be enough to throw the maps out next week in court. But this is Fitzwalkerstan...so anything can happen.

As smarter people than the Siren sift through the emails for further revelations of criminal behavior by the Fitzgerald brothers, Robin Vos and the lawyers at Michael Best & Friedrich the Journal Times remains silent and refrains from revealing to the public all of the misdeeds local legislators have participated in.

Not One Legislator Can Remember Signing Secret Contract

2012-02-17T07:17:00.000-08:00

A very interesting thing happened last night in the State Assembly chambers. When asked - several times - not one Republican State Representative can remember signing the confidentiality agreement with lawyers from Michael Best & Friedrich...even though copies of the contract with their signatures exist.

Perhaps they were shy with Wisconsin Eye cameras rolling. Mark Pocan gave great political theater on the subject last night.

The Siren imagines Vos signed his secret contract with a quill after opening one of his own veins.

Michael Best & Friedrich Is Wanggaard's Recall Lawyer

2012-02-17T06:38:00.000-08:00

Can it be a coincidence or even a surprise the lawyers who were retained to re-draw the district maps, conspired with Republican legislators to sign secrecy agreements to keep their actions and plans quiet, got fined by by federal judges for being annoying dumbasses for trying to stall and hide public documents and emails (a new crop dumped last night) and are housing two publicly paid legislative aides in their offices instead of the state house is also...

Van Wanggaard's attorney in the recall challenges. Wanggaard is up to his eyeballs in the whole despicable mess.

Jon Erpenbach Please Marry Me

2012-02-16T11:29:00.000-08:00

Wisconsin State Senator, Jon Erpenbach is a dreamboat, he is a hunk and a god in the pantheon of lesser men. Jon Erpenbach is a stone cold fox, he is lady killer, a hottie, a babe and a heartthrob. Jon Erpenbach is a political baller and a fly playa that must be cloned for all to cherish.

If the Siren were to compare JP to Scott Fitzgerald, Fitzy is a butt boil, a loser and red faced baby man.

Jon Erpenbach is just da bomb baby - all day, everyday.

Oh, this is not a new admiration, far from it. We have loved JP for years and spent our days exercising, fasting, exfoliating and reading obscure case law just in the slim hope of making ourselves worthy. However, JP has rendered himself so very hubba, hubba we must declare our love - ready or not - for all to behold.

Why? Well our future husband has entered in to a war of words recently with attorney's at Michael Best & Friedrich and has requested they provide him with their correspondence with GOP (specifically, the butt boil himself, Scott Fitzgerald) lawmakers regarding their secret redistricting retainer agreement.

Naturally, MB&F don't want to hand anything over to anyone let alone the god of gods, Jon Erpenbach. So our hero has penned what is perhaps the sexiest letter regarding client-attorney privilege ever put to paper:

Eric M. McLeod
Michael Best & Friedrich
One South Pinckney St
Suite 700
Madison, WI 53703

Dear Mr McLeod,

I am in receipt of your letter of February 13. I am disappointed to learn that, rather than respond promptly to my request for the entire file on redistricting; you have referred my request to Senator Fitzgerald.

Upon what legal authority do you rely for the proposition that you need not respond to requests for information and work product from other State Senators? If that’s part of the retainer agreement your firm has with the Wisconsin State Senate, then I’d like to see that retainer agreement, as well.

I understand that in certain instances a legislative body may seek legal advice and counsel through its majority political leadership. But each State Senator possesses equivalent authority under Wisconsin law to represent his or her constituents and conduct the state’s business. In other words, Senator Fitzgerald is first among equals by virtue of his membership in the majority party. That is all.

In this particular situation, as stated in your letter dated February 13, you freely admit that “our client is the Wisconsin State Senate” The qualifying phrase you added (“acting by its Majority Leader Scott L. Fitzgerald”) is not relevant to my request for the redistricting file. Senator Fitzgerald is the Majority Leader, but he is not the leader of the Senate Democrats, who happen to be 16 members of the 33-member body you represent.

You and your firm represent the entire Wisconsin State Senate, of which I am an equal member. We (the entire Wisconsin State Senate) are being sued. Your firm is seeking to suppress, I believe the number to be 84, email correspondences between the majority party and your firm. In that motion, you are claiming attorney client privilege. Really? I’m a client and have yet to see one single thing from you or your firm, let alone any of the documents you are seeking to suppress.

As a client I want to know why you are claiming attorney-client privilege when 16 of your clients have no idea what’s in those emails.

I believe you are obligated to answer these and any other questions I might ask you as your client. Therefore, I am writing for the last time to request that you immediately provide me with the entire redistricting file, including all files, memos, talking points and any and all communications regarding your work on redistricting as an attorney retained by the Wisconsin State Senate to represent, by definition, ALL members of the Wisconsin State Senate.

Sincerely,
Jon Erpenbach
State Senator

Readers can find all the necessary links on Jeff Simpson's article at Blogging Blue...we shall not join you...Jeff didn't post a picture of our one true love to gaze upon...so we shall stay here.

JT Lies About Redistricting Maps Whilst Attempting To Look Fair

2012-02-16T09:39:00.000-08:00

So the Journal Times comes out with an editorial today condemning the secrecy agreements Republican legislators signed to keep discussions and plans to redistrict the state secret not just from each other but from the people.

An act that is a violation of Wisconsin open meeting laws and a failure to uphold their oath of office. Seriously, they should all be in the unemployment line and other newspapers have called for investigations into the whole criminal mess.

The JT was looking a little too much like the shills many believe they are by not reporting much about it...even the Patch got quotes from area legislators while the JT sat on their hands waiting for the whole thing to blow over. Their subscribers out in Caledonia are a valuable demographic in these hard times - best not to piss them off.

Well it didn't blow over and more documents have been submitted to the courts and no doubt they'll be equally as galling.

So the JT scolds Republican legislators - of course not by name. Why would a local newspaper want to remind anyone the secrecy agreements they are condemning were signed by local legislators,Van Wanggaard and Robin Vos? That's a little too investigative-ish - you know with facts and shizz. We give them credit for speaking out albeit with pale and thin vigor, but it was better than no statement. (Ahem, John Lehman - when the JT beats you to the punch, you may want to step up the pace sir.)

However, the JT begins their finger-waving with one of their "we're fair" type of statements that is based on a right-wing talking point that is a total lie:

"When Democratic legislators were in charge of the redistricting, they, too, drew the lines quietly and off-camera to suit their partisan purposes."

That would be a good point/counterpoint factoid...if it were true. It's not and it's the kind of bullshit reporting that has saddled the JT with dropping subscriptions and a company in bankruptcy.

But back to the maps...In 2001when the maps were last drawn, Wisconsin had a Republican Governor, Scott McCallum. We had a Republican controlled Assembly and a Democratically controlled Senate. BOTH houses created maps that ultimately were never going to be agreed upon, so a non-partisan court drew the maps.

That's not the same thing. NOT AT ALL. Giving the false impression that Democrats behaved in the same manner as Republicans is not only false, but it is a play straight out of the Republican talking-point handbook widely circulated to local press by groups like the well-funded Heartland Institute.

The truth is the secrecy agreements signed by Wanggaard and Vos are unprecedented in the history of the Wisconsin legislature. Further, a Republican Assembly member has come forward to say not only were legislators required to sign secrecy agreements, they were shown two different maps: one with an electoral advantage for them if they vote for the maps and another map without political advantage for them if they didn't vote for the maps.

This is referred to as "logrolling" and it's illegal under Wisconsin law...in fact it's a felony. Robin Vos would be one of the legislators to have engaged in this activity...but you won't hear that from the Journal Times.

Walker Flakes On Obama

2012-02-15T09:19:00.000-08:00

Having zero intestinal fortitude, Scott Walker has cancelled his visit to Masterlock with President Obama...because he has the flu.

Masterlock - a union shop - may not be the only reason Walker has flaked. In addition to pad locks, Masterlock makes a great line of handcuffs.

If I were Walker, I'd poop my pants too.

Cory Mason Takes On Walker...And More?

2012-02-15T08:41:00.000-08:00

Our hero, Cory Mason has had it and he's gonna take it out on greedy motherfucker, Scott Walker.

Because it is nearly impossible for one gal to keep up with daily indictments and scandal of the Walker administration (unless you've got bullpen of contributors like those guys over at Blogging Blue - showoffs!) the Siren hasn't even posted about the Federal Mortgage Settlement cash that Walker is hijacking to cover the hole in his budget.

No doubt you have heard about this...it made national news. Not just because it was such dick move, but how quickly Walker announced his plan to use more than $30 million of cash which is supposed to help homeowners to address a $144 million budget shortfall that was discovered just days before.

Walker apparently not only a douche bag, but a d-bag with a trigger finger.

So the wonderful, totally delightful Mason is offering a bill to prohibit Walker from using the funds in this way. Mason said:

“The middle class families in Wisconsin who are dealing with the foreclosure crisis have already been ripped off once by Wall Street,” Mason said in a press release. “I will not stand by and let them be ripped off again by Scott Walker.”

Yea! Good for him. Even better, Mason is co-sponsoring the bill with Tamara Grigsby, who has been very ill as of late. What a wonderful return to action.

Now all this is great, but the real news is Mason may have something more to announce...perhaps this week. The Siren hears Mason may announce a plan to run for higher office. We are hoping (because we truly don't know) that Mason will announce his intention to run for Lt. Governor.

Joy! Joy! Joy! Let this be true. Mason would make a great addition to what has been a ho hum candidate process.

Mason is schedule to be on Sly's Office radio show tomorrow morning...and we'll be listening!

The Dumb and Lazy Wanggaard Recall Challenge

2012-02-15T07:51:00.000-08:00

It's an interesting thing, this recall process. Recall volunteers were abused verbally (and in some cases physically) day in and day out throughout the recall 60 day window. People were threatened, followed and treated really terribly. Nice people too, nurses, teachers and retired folks.

Police squads were called daily by volunteers who were being intimidated and harrassed. MSM media barely noticed. When they did, they tried their best to make it look as if recall volunteers must have been doing something wrong to have been subjected to that kind of treatment.

The story changed when Republicans and their teabag surrogates began spinning tales of Hitlers and felons signing petitions. The press ran with it non-stop all without proof. They couldn't get enough of the fraud angle.

The petitions were turned in with the media standing by ready to report the fraud and abuse the GOP said they would find. Volunteers reported "hundreds" of flagged signatures in the first few hours. Felons were signing, children were signing, repeated names and fake addresses! OMG this is it! The recall will go down in flames because of the callous disregard recall petitioners have for the law and our country!

So Wanggaard turns in his challenges to petition signatures to the GAB after 20 days of sweaty examination... and what happens? Nuthin. Not enough challenges to even get in the ball park.

Yesterday, the Democrats released their response to his challenges. Wanggaard got skooled.

Fake names? Not one. NOT ONE. If you Google "Hitler" and "Walker Recall" the Siren stopped counting hits of articles at 40. None of the four Senators challenged found a fake name...the one Fitzy said he found turned out to be real.

Fake addresses? Wanggaard claimed 1217 signers failed to provide an address or municipality and should be thrown out. When lawyers representing the recall looked at those specific signatures - 1125 of did in fact have the required address and municipality. Those 92 signatures left are mistakes - not fraud. Of the 27 he said he found with his postcard fishing expedition - he didn't even bother to turn in the postcards as proof.

Wanggaard claims 79 signers were not of legal age - a challenge in which he again offers no proof. Recall lawyers took a cursory look at those signatures through the Voter Registration listing and found many were of legal age. You'd think all those fraud hungry volunteers might have checked first.

Wanggaard claimed there were 137 duplicate signatures and they all should be thrown out. Well, 35 were unique people with the same name and the remaining 102 would not be tossed, only extra signatures would be eliminated with the earliest date counting. It is neither illegal nor reason to disqualify to have signed twice - a small distinction which betrays Wanggaard's misunderstanding of the law.

Wanggaard challenged dates of signatures where the petition copy had cropped the signer's date - when the actual petition was reviewed the date was clearly visible. Wanggaard challenged signatures he said were outside his district - when many were actually in his district. Wanggaard challenged 40 signatures he said had misc. deficiencies - 38 turned out to contain all the required information. Wanggaard challenges 2400 signatures because they were outside the dates of circulation - a laughable challenge in which the recall committee recall filing is easily available online.

Reading the response to Wanggaard's challenge, the Siren wonders how all his volunteers feel after seeing his lame and lazy Wanggaard's challenge. He didn't provide the proof, he didn't read the paperwork and he certainly didn't organize his challenge as if he expected to prevail. All that work and the Democrats knocked out thousands of challenges based on lazy evidence and an nonfactual understanding of the recall process.

The Siren would be pissed.

So the JT came out and said Wanggaard pretty much didn't have a hope in hell of avoided a recall. Almost no one has reported what a mess the Senator's signature challenges were...although there is hope. The hype of fraud and chaos Wanggaard and his colleagues built up before the challenges has fallen embarrassingly flat.

Funny that story is not so breathlessly interesting to local press isn't it?

Wanggaard & Ryan: Toxic Twins

2012-02-14T03:42:00.000-08:00

The JT took exception to their photo being used
and said so to us by email which threatened legal action.
The Siren lifted it from Facebook -with no knowledge of who
took the photo. We could link to it so you could see it, but that creates
hits for the JT. We'll pass. If you'd like to see it go here: http://www.facebook.com/wisconsinjobsnow

Oy what mess. Van Wanggaard held his $250 per person soiree over the lunch hour on Monday and as many protesters as paying guests showed up.

20 to 30 people lined the street to oppose Van and his guest host, Paul Ryan. 20 to 30 paid to attend the event...although no one can be exactly sure since Wanny barred the press from the event - it may have been less when one factors in staff and family. Tens of dollars were raised.

Robin Vos slimed his way inside...comped naturally - wearing make-up for some unknown reason. (Seriously, people there said he was wearing makeup.)

Then, the host and big name money draw, Paul Ryan came in to the event through the back door...and not just a back door but between the nasty dumpsters weaving his way from the bowels of the building that the public never sees. Classy.

Did Ryan take the time to stroll the street, talk to constituents, meet the real people? Fuck no. He left like he came - squeezing himself past the gross garbage cans in the alley where the homeless like to urinate.

Epic fail.

Paul Ryan Please Remove Yourself From My Uterus

2012-02-13T08:06:00.000-08:00

The GOP got their marquee Catholic, Paul Ryan to go on the Sunday talk shows to talk birth control yesterday.

If you don't know what the hub bub is all about, let the Siren break it down: Religious institutions (primarily Catholic, but not all) like hospitals or universities take boat loads of federal dollars, some (but not all) of these institutions do not offer contraceptives to their women employees as part of their health care compensation package because these religious organizations believe using contraceptives is a sin.

The President and a whole lot of other people think religious institutions who are funded by public money should not get to use religious doctrine to discriminate against employees while embracing taxpayer dollars.

The Siren thinks religious schools and hospitals and community organizations can say or do anything they want - as long as they don't use my money to say and do it. Don't like it? Don't take the money.

So, Paul Ryan took his smirky face to the airwaves to say that the President's compromise - health insurers not the religious entity must offer contraceptives to women as part of the prescription programs - is wrong. Imagine one of the biggest benefactors of health insurance campaign dollars in the history of Congress takes the side of insurance companies and not women.

We are shocked, shocked!

Paul Ryan loooves to talk about "limited government". You know the kind of government small enough to drown in bathtub as they say. The Siren now imagines a Paul Ryan government that is in fact small enough to crawl right up inside our uterus and determines what we can and cannot do with it.

Sir, please remove yourself immediately.

Flaccid JT Plays Possum On Vos

2012-02-12T08:33:00.000-08:00

On Thursday morning, the Capital Times editorial board came forward with a blistering indictment of Robin Vos' behavior as Joint Finance Co-Chair and as one of the main architects in the creation of Wisconsin's redistricting maps. His responsibility in orchestrating the signing of confidentiality agreements by all GOP legislators - save one - and the admission that released talking points memos direct him and others to ignore public comments outside the private office of attorney paid with public funds seems clear and worthy of some answers.

His actions are unprecedented in Wisconsin legislative history.

The Cap Times rightly asks for an investigation in Vos' activities to shield redrawn maps not only from Democratic legislators but also from the public. Vos maintained the designs were not political in nature - the documents revealed by force of a Federal panel of judges indicate otherwise.

Having intentionally skirted open meetings laws, public notices requirements and by imposing secrecy agreements upon Republican colleagues, Vos very well may have violated his oath of office and broken a few laws along the way.

The Capital Times was correct in calling for further investigation and castigating Vos in what looks like a conspiracy rather than responsible governing.

On Friday, the Journal Sentinel revealed that two publicly paid legislative aides are still working out of attorney's offices - 6 months after the redistricting maps were passed by the legislature. Instead of working in the state house - they remain at Michael Best & Friedrich offices - paid with public funds.

These legislative aides are considered to have drawn the maps with Vos and Michael Best attorneys - which are now part of a lawsuit.

One of the aides, Adam Foltz is the staffer who wrote the reports given to state Republicans which outlined the political advantages of their new districts and prepared the talking points Vos claims were meant for him.

In response to these damning actions, the Journal Times cut and pasted a story from the AP about the secret agreements signed by both Robin Vos and Van Wanggaard and has since gone back to sleep. The utter failure to investigate or ask meaningful question on behalf of the community they represent would be shocking - if it wasn't the JT.

The Dane County District attorney has been asked to open an investigation in this matter and specifically in Robin Vos' activities...hardly the kind of news anyone in Racine County should know about right?

Adolf Hitler Loves Van Wanggaard

2012-02-10T07:52:00.000-08:00

Who knew Adolf Hitler didn't want to sign a recall petition against Van? Donald Duck and Mickey Mouse declined to sign a petition too. Everyone thought they were Democrats.

Not one fake name was challenged by Van's Victory Mis-Information Center. Not one fake name was challenged by any of the four recalled Senators.

Adolf Hitler must be a Republican.

Since they didn't find the rampant fraud they claimed they would find, Van's desperate attempt to challenge enough signatures hinges on throwing out nearly 13,000 signatures outside his "new" district.

(Republicans wrote the law which said any recalls that take place before November 2012 happen in the old district, so now they want it changed. Not likely.)

Van is also saying that all signatures collected against him on the first day should be thrown out because there is no way to prove they weren't collected before the GAB office opened...this is so dumb, it's hard to explain.

Recall committees filed at 12:01am on November 15th - we know this because it was done electronically and were provided a confirmation. All four Senators made this claim, only Van's was dumber because his says November 16th not the 15th.

Note: If you make a totally specious claim based on a legal objection - look for typos first.

The Siren's favorite flop-sweat move by Van is the bad address hunt. You'll recall they sent out 5000 postcards to see how many undeliverable addresses came back. Looks like they got 27. Wow.

Garvey Get's It Right On WEAC Pledge

2012-02-09T09:24:00.000-08:00

Bob LaFollette

Ed Garvey has been around. He has seen a lot of politicians and campaigns go by his personal parade marshall's box.

When Garvey weighs in on a subject, more often than not he is right. Even when the Siren disagrees with him, we give him credit for knowing a ton more than we ever will.

This morning, Garvey posted his thoughts on the news from yesterday that WEAC has opted to "endorse" Kathleen Falk for Governor - stemming from her agreement to pledge to veto any budget that does not include a collective bargaining reversal.

The title of his column is appropriately: "You Can't Be Serious"

Now, the Siren feels Kathleen Falk is a fine candidate. This isn't about preferring another choice. But we follow these things fairly close and we are under the impression the field of candidates is not set.

Who endorses a candidate before they know who all the contenders are? It's weird and premature and lessens any possible impact endorsements are supposed to have.

Then there is the "pledge" - an agreement to veto as Governor the next budget if it does not include a reversal of collective bargaining. Wasn't one of the most heated and repeated contentions in those chilly days last February that collective bargaining had nothing to do with the budget?

WEAC President, Mary Bell kinda just killed that argument didn't she?

It is unlikely Democrats will have control over the Assembly any time in the near or distant future. How does a budget even get to a Governor's desk with that in it? So we'd have a contested budget which gets held up, taken hostage and only hurts the people...all for a pledge.

The Siren doesn't want another Governor who makes deals to any special interest for support...even if they are special interests we like. We have had enough of intransigence and partisan agendas and that goes for Democrats as well.

WEAC has stepped in it. They have endorsed too early and for reasons recall volunteers and signers do not support overall. Their actions have already divided recall supporters (read the comments or Facebook) in a way that was not necessary and may have been damaging, perhaps to Falk herself.

There will be no Democratic candidate for Governor who will not support a reversal of the policies we have been subjected to this past year. WEAC has made every nasty thing Republicans have said about "Union Bosses" seem true.

Stupid.

Ooh, Ooh That Smell, Vossy Smells that Smell

2012-02-09T08:07:00.000-08:00

Robin Vos has got a monkey on his back. It's a rotting redistricting plan, a lawsuit he just can't kick and whole pile of secrecy agreements signed by Republicans that look and smell like shit.

The vultures are circling and his GOP colleagues can't make a public comment on the entire circus without sounding like they just succumbed to a full frontal lobotomy. (Wanggaard)

And that Christine Neumann Ortiz from Voces de la Frontera. Holy crap, she's relentless. CNO is like Linda Hamilton from the Terminator...not the first one. She's Sarah Connor from the second one and she's been training for this for years. She doesn't feel pity or remorse or fear, and she absolutely will not stop, ever, until you are dead.

Vossy emerges from the panic room to say:

"This is another example of the loony left trying to present misinformation through innuendo,"

He fires and misses. It just pisses off Sarah Connor even more.

Blam! She releases a copy of the entire contract from Michael Best & Friedrich which lists idiot Scott Fitzgerald as the "client" and outlines the payment terms the lawyers expect to receive with public money. Damn.

Vos cowers in the corner wearing one of those silky Japanese robes the villain always wears when they get caught in their own lair. Empty bottles, bongs and public cash litter the floor, hookers and body guards scramble out the doors. It's just Vos and ~~Linda Hamilton~~ Christine Neumann Ortiz...

Too much coke and too much smoke...can't you smell that smell?

The Utter Stupidity Of Van Wanggaard

2012-02-08T10:16:00.000-08:00

Wanggaard made a statement yesterday on his decision to sign a secret confidentiality agreement with publicly paid attorneys to not reveal legislative plans and discussions with those attorneys to the public.

WARNING! Reading and attempting to comprehend Wanggaard's statement may cause nausea and/or brain damage. If you feel sick or sudden dizziness please consult your physician or dial 911.

"I understand the agreement was to protect the attorney-client privilege because drawing the maps did not have to be done in open session," he (Wanggaard) told Patch on Tues., Feb. 7. "I think we would have violated open meetings law to have public discussions and possibly, even if we didn't mean to, actually have a quorum if there were enough of us there talking."

This man is a functional idiot and we're not sure he's functional. It is perhaps the stupidest, moronic, and most dumbass thing ever said about anything...ever.

The Siren can't even translate what Wanggaard is trying to say because:
1. We aren't that high.
2. We aren't that dumb.

A Federal Court decided 3 times that no attorney-client privilege existed. On the 3rd try the judges got so pissed they fined the attorney's for being such assholes.

Why would ANYONE believe the maps could (or should) be drawn in secret and sign a contract to keep them secret.

Wanggaard says he signed a secret contract because their secret meetings could have resulted in being charged with violating the open meetings law (which they are) so they pinkie swore to never talk about it so it would not be a violation of open meetings laws...? Dialing 911.

What a completely stoopid thing to say. Worse, he signed his name - making him party to the whole conspiracy. Never before in Wisconsin history has a public official signed a secrecy agreement to shield his activities from the public. Never.

We credit Heather Asiyanbi for getting a real comment from Wanggaard instead of just pasting in a prefab statement from a staffer in Vos' office.

JT Gets Spoon Fed By Vos...Without Question...Again

2012-02-08T06:55:00.000-08:00

“I signed the agreement under the assumption that there may be court cases and attorney-client privilege may be needed.”

Robin Vos

Question: Hey asshole, who's the client?

Answer: The people are the client you arrogant puke.

One can imagine Van Wanggaard's eventual statement will be a carbon copy of Vos' ridiculous statement.

Here's the thing: ELECTED OFFICIALS DON'T GET TO SIGN NON-DISCLOSURE STATEMENTS TO KEEP LEGISLATION PLANS A SECRET FROM THE PEOPLE.

Not only was this secret contract an attempt to prevent having to testify about redistricting legislation plans, it attempted to cover up the lies between what they were doing and what they were telling the public, the press and Democratic legislators.

This is called obstruction of justice.

This morning's JT reported it as an odd little story mostly cribbed from the AP, reprinting Vos' bullshit statement totally ignoring Peter Barca's explosive press release:

"Today’s news that Republican lawyers took this oath with their attorneys - who have cost the taxpayers at least $400,000 - not to talk to the public paying those bills raises questions about which is more important: secret oaths meant to preserve their power or the public oath of office we all take as lawmakers to serve our constituents and our Wisconsin Constitution."

One day the Journal Times will decide to stop being spoon fed by the likes of Vos and Wanggaard...and pigs will fly out of the Siren's ass.

Ignore Public Comments...Now In Blue Ray

2012-02-07T15:34:00.000-08:00

So the expanded version of the redistricting "Cone of Silence" cabal now includes a couple pdf's of the talking points and memorandum Republican legislators got from the lawyers they hired with our money...

We also know more about the "ignore the public comments" phrase.

Let us use our own Senator Van Wanggaard as an example:

Wanggaard received a memo very much like the one on the right - giving a breakdown of his district's population changes and a comparison and contrast of Republican candidates between the new and old district in previous elections...'cause this wasn't about political parties right?

Wanggaard's memo would have stated this information...compiled with taxpayer dollars declaring it was all "privileged and confidential" as if that was legal in any sense of the word.

Along with his handy Republican scorecard he got some talking points (on the left) to memorize about the redistricting plans...yadda yadda population, yadda yadda minorities...this is when we're gonna pass this piece of shit etc.

Then it says this: "Public comments on this map may be different than what you hear in this room. Ignore the public comments."

What a weird thing to say.

They knew they were going to lie about the redistricting (and they did) and legislators should just ignore whatever bullshit story they told the press or the public.

In fact they were ordered to ignore what was said to the public.

The last two bullet talking points go on to say: "Previously signed agreement applies to this meeting" and "Public comment will lead to depositions and being called to the witness stand." Meaning the secrecy agreement Wanggaard already had signed was still valid and if he were to speak publicly about it he might find himself in a witness box. Sounds totally kosher.

Too bad they were wrong - their conversations about the maps were not confidential and privileged. Wanggaard's secret contract is not secret anymore and now he has a lot of explaining to do.

Here is Van's secret contract:

Democrats were not given the maps, the public was not given the maps. No hearings were held and no input was gathered or wanted from anyone beside Republican leadership and their attorneys.

Legislators don't get to sign confidentiality agreements against the people they represent about legislation in the public interest. That is unless they have something to hide.

Back in February of 2011, Wanggaard wrote about his solemn oath of office...you know the one that says you will uphold the Constitution of the United States and of the State of Wisconsin - which has a wonderful section about the legislature and how it is to conduct business that is brief but specific:

Journals; open doors; adjournments. SECTION 10.
Each house shall keep a journal of its proceedings and publish the same, except such parts as require secrecy. The doors of each house shall be kept open except when the public welfare shall require secrecy.

If that passage doesn't move you, try a reading of the Open Meetings Law.

The people of Wisconsin had to force Republicans to court three times before they finally released these secret memos and contracts. Their documents reveal a strategy to lie to the public about their work and their intentions. Wanggaard signed a confidentiality agreement to keep his activities on behalf of the people - hidden and secret from the people he is paid to represent.

He should be removed from office.

Did Wanggaard Pledge To GOP Secrecy?

2012-02-07T08:09:00.000-08:00

Last night, the Journal Sentinel posted a story that is this morning's bombshell: Republican lawmakers in Madison signed an agreement to not discuss redistricting plans with the public and were told to "ignore the public comments."

Using $400,000 of public money, attorney's from Michael Best & Friedrich (the same guys who gave free legal work to Supreme Court Justice, Gableman and are now representing cases before him) designed talking points and a pledge to be signed to keep quiet to other lawmakers as well as the public about redistricting plans.

Let the Siren repeat it for you so that it may truly sink in: Republican lawmakers signed a pledge to keep the maps a secret and vowed to ignore the public about redistricting issues and input.

If it seems odd we are just hearing about this now, it is because this is part of the evidence that Republicans (Robin Vos and the Fitzies) tried so hard to keep out of redistricting lawsuits pending in court. Remember when they said their documents with attorney's drafting the redistricting maps were privileged? Yeah, this is them.

We already knew they had kept the redistricting a secret from Democrats and we suspected they designed the maps for electoral advantage. What these documents reveal is a wholesale and brazen attempt to hide their (possibly illegal) actions from the people who pay them and cloak a conspiracy of secrecy that should cost all of them their jobs.

Of course, this is Wisconsin so we just call it Tuesday.

One of the Senators who got the biggest advantage under the redistricted maps is Van Wanggaard. (Only Vos' girly friend Alberta Darling got a map with more of a GOP voter advantage.) The JS article makes clear that lawmakers were given previews of their new districts with a before and after analysis of Republican voters - in addition to their talking points cheat sheet and secrecy pledge. Handy.

Wanggaard's district went from a swing district to a solid Republican district that Walker would have won by 23 points in 2010 instead of 9. TWENTY THREE points. In the new redistricting plan all of the city of Kenosha and all of the city of Racine are awarded to the 22nd District - presently Senator Bob Wirch. All of Racine except for a tiny part of west Racine that is the neighborhood where Wanggaard lives.

A funny coincidence don't you think?

The actual documents have not been released yet and we are sure looking forward to seeing them soon. In the mean time the Siren wants to know:

DID VAN WANGGAARD SIGN A SECRET PLEDGE TO IGNORE THE PUBLIC?

We know the JT and the Patch won't ask, they've gone down the recall fraud rabbit-hole. Perhaps someone who would like to challenge Wanggaard's Senate seat will ask...loudly...before lunch. Because we'd love to hear the answer.

Wanny Ain't Gonna Debate

2012-02-06T09:47:00.000-08:00

Would you? Donut boy says he isn't going to debate John Lehman in the recall election...like that's a new thing.

Wanny says he's going to run on his record:

Cutting Spending: He increased spending 5.8%.

No Tax Increases: He increased taxes for the poor and seniors.

Balancing the Budget: He didn't - and admitted it to HHS Kathleen Sebelius.

The Siren wouldn't want to debate that record either.

Chrysler, Clint & Madison

2012-02-06T09:24:00.000-08:00

Union workers from Wisconsin were not the only bit of Madison protests to appear at yesterday's Super Bowl. The mucho discussed Chrysler's "Half Time in America" ad featuring husky voiced Clint Eastwood and a surprise shot from one of Matt Wisniewski's beloved videos of the Capitol protests made the scene and got a lot of people talking.

Still image from Chrysler commercial

The discussions online about the commercial have been interesting - people seem to either love the "we're down but not out" meme or hate the flag waving emotional manipulation Chrysler is trying to sell. The Siren appreciated the admission that America is in trouble and only together we will make it better - that's a pretty big concept for two minutes and try and sell your cars.

(Of course there is Danica Patrick shaking her ass for those who want a "clear" message.)

What's more interesting is that the Chrysler commercial creators used footage of Madison at all. These kind of decisions are not accidental and if you watch the commercial a few times you see how Chrysler uses the images to support the exact words of the narration. Wisniewski's footage comes as Clint is speaking about national division and lack of understanding. It appears during the sentence: "the fog of division, discord and blame". (At the 50 sec. mark)

Some of the Siren's blogger friends and folks online have very specific complaints about the commercial: like Chrysler's decision to Photoshop the protest signs and change the wording to something non-specific - as if it is a slap in the face to protesters.

Please.

It's a commercial! The idea is to present a broad theme of ideas that are individually manifested by each viewer. It's a concept - not an endorsement for the MTI. On that level the Siren thinks it worked. The commercial is pro-worker, pro-union (lot's of firemen and teachers) and pro-American.

Some complain that Wisniewski sold out to corporate interests and Chrysler - being the problem - is cashing in on a populist uprising just to sell cars. We imagine some of those complaints are being posted by people using HP and Apple computers from the bowels of a Starbucks who will never get the irony.

There is no place in Wisconsin who has more conflicted and raw feelings about Chrysler than SE Wisconsin. Did Chrysler leave Kenosha because they hate Wisconsin workers or did they leave because assholes like Paul Ryan voted for loophole after loophole that allows companies to leave the U.S. with no penalty and cheap labor?

If you wanna have a discussion about corporate sell-outs, come down to the 1st Congressional District.

Lastly, some have taken umbrage with the narration that accompanies the Madison video: "the fog of division, discord and blame" as if that undermines the spirit and intent of the protests themselves. WTF?

The Madison protests were not some happy sleepover, a festival of love and peace. While many of us had a bit if fun, it was an uprising of anger and protest. Own it.

If the last year has not been about the division in our state, the demonization of progressive ideals and the uprooting of a century of labor peace, then the Siren doesn't know what it was about.

There is massive discord and there is pointed, specific blame and if you spent any time out collecting recall signatures you know first hand how much division is out there. The question is...and the commercial asks...are we going to move forward or not?

Last year Chrysler paid Eminem a million bucks for their 200 commercial - it was a good commercial. This one was better.

Here is Matt's original video from which the footage was taken...it's a good one.

Voter Caging - Recall Style

2012-02-05T10:17:00.000-08:00

Did you get your postcard? No? What postcard?

Didn't you hear that Wan Vanggaard and his Republican colleagues on the recall hot seat are sending out postcards asking folks if they signed a recall petition against him.

Contentious? Thoughtful? Not really. In fact, Van doesn't even really want to hear from you at all.

Wanggaard has sent out 5000 postcards to people who signed recall petitions against him. That's a very specific number considering the committee to recall him turned in 24,000 signatures. How'd he get that number?

Well it's just a guess (and lord knows they'll never admit to it) but the Siren imagines those 5000 addresses are located within a certain boundary of Racine County - that isn't in Caledonia. We would even hazard a guess those postcards went to folks not just in the city of Racine, but in high density populated areas of the inner-city.

Why? To find addresses that bounce back to them from the post office as undeliverable and then challenge those signatures in court.

If this sounds familiar to you, it is because this is a new twist on voter caging. Voter caging is when a campaign or organization sends out a piece of mail to registered voters in a "certain" area. If the mail comes back to the campaign - either the addressee has moved and not filed a change of address, the address is wrong or the post office makes a mistake - the campaign challenges the voter registration of that person and has them kicked off the voter rolls. Another tactic is they wait at the polls and challenge that voter in person forcing them to cast a provisional ballot - which won't count unless the voter provides proof within 24 hours at the clerk's office.

Voter caging by Republicans, Americans for Prosperity and various tea-bag groups has a colorful history in Wisconsin - a history that creeps all around Racine County. It's no surprise they're at it again.

In this case, recalled Senators like Wanny are sending out postcards to see what they get back - and they will use those undelivered postcards to say the signatures of those people are insufficient and should not be counted. How will those people know their signatures are being challenged? They probably won't.

Here is the bigger problem. People are getting postcards with the wrong name listed at their address -lot's of people. Further, signers who have checked Van's handy alphabetical database are finding they are missing from the list when their friends and family signed on the same petition - they can see their signature on the petition but not on the list. They are finding wrong addresses attributed to them on the database even though the petition clearly states the right address. They have found data entry misspellings and a host of mistakes on the list.

It would just be a human error issue if a lot of these recall signers didn't realize Wan was going to use this information to try and toss legitimate signature off recall petitions.

While local news media chases down a single report of alleged fraud by some sad-sack schlub of a guy (if substantiated should be charged) and breathlessly report that someone knows someone else who said a signer might be a felon...they are missing the point.

Which was the plan all along - discredit the recall while they distract from what they are really up to.

The Siren suggests if you find that Wanggaard's alphabetical list has listed you incorrectly or not at all you should report it. If you or someone you know receives a postcard with incorrect information - you should report it - not just to Wanggaard's office, but to Stephanie Jones at the Journal Times as well. Since she doesn't have a clue - why not illuminate her?

Victory Mis-Information Center: 260-8099
Stephanie Jones: 631-1717

Hello Robin Vos? This Is Green Bay Calling

2012-02-03T08:29:00.000-08:00

Hello Mr. Vos? This is Green Bay. We're sorry to bother you, you must be out the door on your way to a bar or tavern. Every time we hear something about you it seems like it happens over drinks.

Anyway...

Remember when you passed that big budget that made everyone so upset? Remember you added the school voucher provision for low performing schools so you could finally stick it to Racine? That provision dared to include us too.

Our legislators didn't like it, our school district didn't like it and the people of Green Bay didn't like it.

So you promised us that once it was passed, you'd change the language so we wouldn't become another experiment for your pals at the American Federation of Children - Betsy DeVos and Alice Walton. Remember?

Dude? What are you waiting for? We wrote you letters, we called you. Didn't you see our editorial in the Sheboygan Press? The Senate passed the change without any debate!

We saw that video of you (in a bar) with Mike Ellis and Glen Grothmann when Ellis said one of our high schools was a "sewer". Uncool man. We saw you laughing about how you can "find" $200 million like it was your own money.

You made us a promise and now you don't return our phone calls. You say you don't have the votes, but we know you are just stalling. Sheesh, we can see why they hate you so much in Racine.

Goodbye.

Rebecca Kleefisch: A Tweet Fell Out Of Your Ass

2012-02-03T07:31:00.000-08:00

UPDATE: The Komen Foundation reversed it's decision to defund Planned Parenthood and pledges to continue donations. Not only did Becky drek herself - she revealed once again what a total piece of crap she is. We won't forget Becky...

Yes this is "for real." Our Lt. Spokesmodel tweeted her congratulations to the Komen Foundation for their decison to withdraw funding to Planned Parenthood which would have provided breast cancer screenings for more than 170,000 women.

Isn't she adorable?

Her comment is despicable for a couple of reasons. As a cancer survivor she knows the importance of early detection, she knows Planned Parenthood provides those kind of screenings for thousands of women in Wisconsin. The medical assistance she got when her cancer was discovered was paid for by the people of Wisconsin - she owes the people of Wisconsin her health and survival.

Had she been a low income woman or student who relies on the dwindling services of Planned Parenthood - would her outcome be the same?

If you look at the time stamp, she wrote this little nugget during the work day. What an odd use the Lt. Governor's time - not that anyone is convinced she actually does anything besides Spraynet her hair.

If she wanted to take a giant shit on the women of Wisconsin, she could have at least done it on her own time.

The good news is that because of the backlash against Komen's outrageous attack on women's health, Planned Parenthood has received a public outpouring of donations - an amount that rivals Komen's contribution. Give to Planned Parenthood HERE, we did.

Wanggaard Should Just Never Speak...with Notes

2012-02-02T10:32:00.000-08:00

Yeah, yeah the Siren understands she is late providing notes for Wan's 3rd installment of a series on Patch titled "Please Don't Recall Me."

Chocolate Boy submitted this gem on January 21st, but since he's saying all the same crap...what's the hurry?

Like always our "notes" are in red.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard: Improving the Quality of Education in Wisconsin Through Massive Cuts, Privatization and Lies

This week marks the third installment of my “Year in Review” series. So we know Van can count to three. Last week I reviewed how I helped improve public safety in 2011. I'm a cowboy, on a steel horse I ride..." In this edition, I will continue to recap the busy legislative year we had in 2011 by reviewing what we did to improve education in Wisconsin last year. Saltines will help control the queasy feelings you may suddenly experience. When I became a State Senator I wanted to make sure that all our children receive a quality education. I am happy to say that as a Legislature we were able to balance Wisconsin’s budget, as well as improve the quality of education in our state last year. Here is a look back at what we accomplished in 2011, and what we can look forward to in 2012. I know what you are saying..."Siren you let three whole ridiculous sentences go by without comment." Yes, here's why...Van has built you a little sandwich using three statements that are meant to be read as one whole thought. Read it again. There's a lot packed in there.

Let's break it down: 1. I like schools. 2. We balanced the budget and improved education. 3. This is what we did.

If you can accept that Van appreciates education as true, it makes the next sentence (which is a total lie) SO much easier to swallow. It's like a turd sandwich with some tasty bread on the outside - but beware there's shit inside!

Without a quality education, you cannot have a quality workforce. True. Slice of bread. That is why as a state, we invest almost $13 billion dollars, or 44% of the entire state budget, in educating Wisconsin students. Turd - a totally bullshit statement - compared to previous budgets they spent much less. As you may expect, this is the biggest expenditure in the state budget. Bread.

See how he (or his staff) does that? Shit sandwich.

As you know, last year we inherited a $3.6 billion budget deficit from the Doyle Administration, which required cuts in almost every state spending area, including the largest spending area which is education. Change of tactics. Budget deficit is true. Their "required cuts" is very debatable point. This resulted in school aids being reduced statewide, including aid to Racine area schools. The largest education budget cut in the history of Wisconsin. This is the reason the Act 10 collective bargaining reforms were so important. Weasel. Teachers had agreed to higher compensation contributions all along - they objected to crushing their right to bargain. Two completely different issues Van lumps into one. Collective bargaining had no impact on the budget - something Walker admitted to before Congress, remember? For example, the contract that Racine teachers signed with Unified Schools, based on Act 10 reforms, saved the district between $17-$19 million. Proving that teachers were in fact willing to pay more - RUSD teachers actually agreed to a higher level of contribution than Act 10 required - before Act 10 was passed. These savings were in excess of the $13 million in General School Aid reductions received by Unified. Van is taking credit for something Racine teachers did. Dick. In spite of the teachers good will, Racine gets left with a $7 million budget shortfall and $25 million less in funding.

Throughout the budget process I was in near-daily contact with local school officials, determining the best use of our scarce tax dollars. Because they were in my office and refused to leave. It was clear from my conversations with Unified that their top priority was maintaining Unified’s charter school funding, which had been scheduled to be cut. Right, that was the only thing they were concerned about. Racine is the only school district in the state that receives this funding, which made this a difficult sell in the Legislature. Harder to sell to Racine residents who have to swallow Vos's school voucher wet-dream. That is why I worked so hard with Governor Walker, Representative Vos and others to successfully restore $1.75 million of this funding to Racine Unified. Okay this is a good one. Tony Evers requested the restoration of Charter School Funds in the DPW alternative budget - not Van. Joint Finance gave Racine $1 million for 2011-2012, $750,00 for 2012 - 2013 and then it DISAPPEARS COMPLETELY in 2013-2014. Van the Savior.

Another issue that has garnered a lot of attention is the introduction of school choice to Racine.Which we passed during the night with no hearings and no public input. Throughout my campaign for Senate in 2010, I publicly supported adding school choice as an option for Racine parents. Which is why I was the recipient of the most amount of campaign cash in the state from the Walton (Wal-Mart) family - the biggest donors to pro-voucher programs in the country. Cha-ching! Despite the hyperbole to the contrary, Racine School Choice actually costs less in property taxes per pupil to educate a child than a student of Racine Unified ($2,474 vs. $3,527). The Fiscal Bureau estimates the Milwaukee/Racine voucher programs will result in a $17 million net spending hike over the next two years...sorta makes that per pupil rate for sub-par teachers kinda look like chump change. However, I was very concerned that the addition of school choice could result in a mass exodus from Racine Unified. It will.

That is why I insisted on a cap on the number of students for the program for the next couple of years. This school year, 250 spots are available for Racine School choice, and only 500 spots will be available next school year. The following year there is no cap at all...funny he left that out. This phase-in will help level out the impact on Unified’s budget. A $25 million dollar funding cut - really Van? Enrollment is limited to those parents who earn up to 300% of the federal poverty level, which is the same threshold as BadgerCare for kids. Like the enrollment cap, the income cap also goes up over the next three years. In the third year a family making $70k will qualify for a voucher - three times the level of poverty. I’m pleased to say this program is off to a roaring start, and there were over 400 applicants for the 250 available spots this school year. Racine's new private high school - hasn't paid their staff for months and their building is being foreclosed - a roaring start for sure. That's the kind of solid learning institution we should be funneling public money.

2012 promises to bring exciting things for education as well. Exciting is one way to put it. Across the state staff cuts are double the last two years combined and will only increase - like class sizes will. One example, which I’ve written previously about, is my technical education high school diploma legislation that I authored with Rep. Mark Radcliffe (D-Black River Falls). The bill, Senate Bill 335, allows school districts to partner with local business groups to offer a “Tech Ed” high school diploma in a skilled trade, such as welding. SB 335 received a unanimous 7-0 vote in committee last week, and I am hopeful for action before the full Senate as soon as next week. First, Van's bill does not have to be accepted or implemented by any school district in the state. It's a ceremonial bill designed to make him look like he hasn't fucked over RUSD as he makes his exit out to the county.

Second, vocational diploma's are not new and they have never worked. There is not one study over the last 50 years which has proven that vocational diplomas prevent school drop outs. What they do is create 2nd class diplomas which are frowned on by colleges as well as employers. A vocational diploma says "bad student" louder than anything one could put on a job or college application.

If Van actually DID want to do something about helping people pursue a skilled trade - he would have fought to stop the 33% cut in funding Gateway Technical College had to eat. I also look forward to reviewing Governor Walker’s education reform legislation, targeting comprehension, educator reform, and school accountability. Here comes more means testing and educator vilification so they can give public money to jesus freaks.

To create jobs, we not only need well-educated students, but students that are prepared for college or a career. Bread. We’ve made progress on this in 2011, but there is definitely more work to be done. Turd. As I always have, I look forward to continuing to work with everyone, Democrats and Republicans, to get this done in 2012. Bread.

How was your sandwich? Have a saltine.

Kill Baby Kill - It's A Crane Castle Doctrine

2012-02-02T07:09:00.000-08:00

WTF? How many jobs is this gonna create?

State Rep. Joel Kleefisch (husband of State Spokesmodel, Rebecca. Joel is currently under consideration as Pluto's replacement as our 9th planet) introduced a bill to open up a hunting season on Sandhill cranes.

Killing cranes. What does Joel "the planet" have against cranes?

Cranes eat seedlings, they love 'em. But since cranes have failed to respect the sanctity of privately owned property - Kleefisch has engineered his own "Crane Castle Doctrine."

Now even peaceniks like the Siren understand that bulimic wildlife can binge a bit too much on a farmer's crop. It can be a headache. Organizations that value wildlife like the International Crane Foundation in Baraboo have conducted a lot of research over the last twenty years to find reasonable ways to deter cranes from their piggish ways...they even found some good ones that work.

But what fun is that when you can just blow their fucking bird brains out?! Kablooey dawg!

So on a day when Sub-Zero announced it's leaving Wisconsin, when Wisconsin manufacturing growth statistics have remained flat for another month (and manufacturing growth in the rest of the country improves) and thousands are worried they won't have any Badgercare in a couple of weeks...Joel Kleefisch spent his per diem to come to Madison to propose legislation to kill some pretty birds.

Great. Still no jobs.

Lehman It Is

2012-02-01T09:52:00.000-08:00

John Lehman announced yesterday his intention to run against Wan Vanggaard in the recall Wisconsin Senate race.

No surprises here. Word had been floating around for weeks that Lehman might take him on in a rematch. Joining him across the state will be Assistant Minority Leader, Rep. Donna Seidel and former Rep. Kristen Dexter.

It appears Madison Dems have offered up a recall election plan similar to last summer's - call up sitting elected or previously elected Democrats as candidates.

Observers grumble this strategy is "party politics" and not grassrooty enough for their tastes. To this the Siren has three words: Steitz, Simac and Vanderleest. Oh, and one other thing - grow up.

Grassroots candidates more often than not translate into unvetted, untested and no money - which do not help in an election cycle which is very, very brief - even with a primary - that only helps Republicans like Wanggaard.

We were surprised that Lehman doesn't have much money - a mere $2000 - compared to Wanny's boffo $100k which is growing everyday, but Lehman has the connections to raise some bucks pretty quick. He has campaign support and staff ready to go on day one, he has lists of volunteers and donors and he has the support of state Democrats who will campaign for him. These are the tools required to win, which the Siren imagines is the point right?

So why the plan to call up politicians who may have lost in heartbreaking - I still have nightmares - races?

Because it gives voters the chance to correct a gigantic wrong and like it or not it works. Lehman, Dexter and Seidel have name recognition, they have won before and they remind voters of a time that wasn't so fucked up.

It's an electoral mulligan...which people in Wisconsin desperately want.

Lehman has the opportunity to say that everything Van said he would do - he failed. Lehman can say everything Vans says he accomplished - is a lie...and know one knows it better than the guy he ran against.

Lehman has sat where Wan sits and knows how much he has botched it. People will believe him and people will vote for him.

Lehman also has a track record on issues that matter to Democrats (and even the grassroots).

2010 League of Conservation Voters Legislative Scorecard
Lehman : 100%
(For comparison and lack of an exact parallel)
Vos: 11%

2010 Planned Parenthood Associates Legislative Scorecard
Lehman : 100%
Vos: 0%

2010 Wisconsin SEIU Legislative Scorecard
Lehman : 100%
Vos: 0%

2010 Wisconsin AFL-CIO Legislative Scorecard
Lehman : 100%
Vos: 0%

2010 John Muir Society Legislative Scorecard
Lehman : 100%
Vos: 13%

Wanggaard won in 2010 with 52% of the vote - hardly a mandate. It is hard to imagine his activities have resulted in an increase in support. We'd be willing to bet quite the opposite has occurred. Those who were asleep or uninspired in 2010 are wide awake now and ready to score a win.

For more info on Lehman's campaign, go to his Facebook page.

Doh Journal Times!

2012-01-31T06:59:00.000-08:00

The Siren is going to begin by giving you credit for making the right call on Glen Grothmann's idiot bill to eliminate the employer provision from campaign contribution reports. It is wrong and there are underlying political reasons Grothmann is pushing the bill...it is those reasons you just happened to get totally wrong.

Grothmann didn't sponsored the bill because people said they were going to boycott businesses that supported Scott Walker. That happens all the time and it never lasts.

The reason Grothmann is sponsoring the bill is because employer listings is how the GAB and DA caught Scott Walker supporter, railroad owner and convicted illegal campaign contibutor, Bill Gardner.

Gardner used his employees to funnel illegal contributions to Walker and Kleefisch...money they had to return and cost Gardner him $166,000 in fines and two years probation.

Remove the employer listing and no one will be able to catch illegal donation schemes like this again.

Today In Walkergate

2012-01-30T11:36:00.000-08:00

Tim Russel aka the guy who stole money from Veterans and their families, who set up a secret router and wireless system in Scott Walker's County Exec office to assist in fundraising efforts on county time, who trolled for boys with his de-facto husband and who was hired and promoted repeatedly by Scott Walker over the course of many years...was fired by the state in 1993 for "gross misconduct" and stealing money.

How do we know?

It was in his personnel file - a file readily available to Scott Walker. The information could only have been disregarded or ignored as Scott Walker promoted him over the years.

Fox News, Paul Ryan And A Birthday Cake

2012-01-30T10:26:00.000-08:00

Yesterday was Paul Ryan's 42nd birthday. He celebrated by appearing on Fox with GOP BJ King, Chris Wallace. In a moment of supreme irony, Wallace presented Ryan with a birthday cake with a giant "$" sign emblazoned on it.

The look on Ryan's face was a symphony of queasy discomfort and anorexic panic.

Seriously, you can see the moment he realizes - as he holds the cake - this is going to be his "Mission Accomplished" moment. It will be the picture critics use for the rest of his career to describe him and his devotion to corporatist power over public interest.

He is literally dying inside...all by the hand of Fox New. Et tu Wallace? Et tu?

It is a spendiferous collision of a guy who represents the biggest of corporate money and a cake which is meant to pay homage but instead strangles him - watch his response as Wallace encourages him to have a taste.

Ryan would rather lick Wallace's balls than eat his own birthday cake.

With his obsessive workout routine and obvious eating issues, it doesn't take much imagination to picture Ryan self-flagellating at night to a picture of Ayn Rand does it?

~~~

In other Paul Ryan news...The House expands it's list of co-sponsors in support of HR 1488, known as the STOCK Act. The bill seeks to make it illegal for members of Congress and the Senate (and their staff) to use information about the stock market they are privy to as legislators and parlay that information into savvy trades on the stock market. It seems that members of Congress are like 300% more successful in the stock market than the average person.

Lord knows they aren't 300% smarter, I mean have you met Sean Duffy?

This kind of maneuver is generally referred to as "insider trading" and while investment managers and bankers would - and do - go to jail for it, members of Congress are immune to these same laws. Handy.

With a public approval rating of less than 11% some lawmakers decided it was time to do something their constituents might applaud - like make insider trading rules apply to a bunch of millionaires.

So, there are 250 co-sponsors of the STOCK Act, more co-sponsors than it takes to PASS the bill, but because of dick-wad Eric Cantor - he sits on it.

Wanna know who isn't a co-sponsor? Someone who is a partner in not one, but two investment partnerships? Someone who has financial disclosure statements which indicate a comprehensive knowledge of the stock market climate?

Paul Ryan.

The GOP touts Ryan as their "financial wonk" (and his sheepskin in economics from the prestigious Miami of Ohio) and it sends a powerful message that their money guy won't co-sponsor a bill to make a law that applies to every one of his constituents apply to him as well.

A message even more powerful than a money birthday cake.

The Dark Lord Vos Speaks...With Notes

2012-01-30T09:20:00.000-08:00

Commentary: Wisconsin finally moving in the right direction "Finally?" Admitting everything we have done so far has moved us in the wrong direction.

As I listened to Gov. Walker’s State of the State address and thought about the past year, I’m proud of what we accomplished. I am proud of the political chaos, the felony arrests, the loss of legislative credibility I have personally caused. The stolen money from veterans and child porn indictments was a real highlight for me.

We balanced the state budget without raising taxes. Because only taxes on corporations matter to us, the taxes we raised on tens of thousands of working men and women do not count. We improved Wisconsin’s business climate and gained thousands of private sector jobs. More companies closed and moved away than the year before and we're last in the nation in job loss. Clearly, the state of the state is much better than a year ago. Clearly, Wisconsin can't take another month of GOP state improvement. We must now build upon those successes and move Wisconsin forward to a more prosperous future. When you're last in the nation, one can only improve right?

I’m proud that we tackled the state’s massive deficit head-on. By creating another massive deficit, only we created this one by attacking education and health care to pay for our massive tax breaks for corporation (who aren't creating any jobs). We paid off $800 million in unpaid bills, cut our long-term debt and eliminated a $3.6 billion dollar deficit. We actually refinanced our state debt which raises our debt to revenue ratio higher than Jim Doyle would have dared...since it'll take a year for you to realize the damage...we don't care. Plus, we passed the necessary reforms that will provide the foundation for future balanced budgets at the state and local levels. By foundation, I am talking about reforms that make it more difficult for women to get pap smears, making old people go to the DMV for a drivers license and lowering clean water regulations.

I know we set the right priorities for the state when we put job creation on top of our list. It's a list that has the words: "Bills ALEC Wants Us To Pass" at the top. We established tax incentives for businesses to grow. Like the $4 million "award" we gave to Rayovac to create 60 jobs -that's a tax payer cost of $67,000 per job. How could they not grow? The state is paying them more than the jobs pay the workers! We also provided real incentives for businesses to move to Wisconsin and for investors to reinvest in Wisconsin businesses. Too bad they are moving to Illinois instead.

One of the results is that Wisconsin’s business climate has greatly improved. Never mind the data and statistics that prove the opposite.

CEOs here and around the country are taking notice that Wisconsin is open for business. Those million recall signatures sure got their attention too. The Chief Executive Magazine placed Wisconsin 24th in the country for doing business, up from 41st in 2010. It was the biggest jump in the nation and in the history of the magazine. Yes, a pro-corporate vanity "magazine" with 42,000 worldwide subscribers (by contrast, TIME has 25 million subscribers) and publishes 6 times a year. Not exactly Forbes.

Business leaders from Wisconsin also are optimistic. Hmmm, not really. A recent Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce survey says 94 percent of business executives believe the state is moving in the right direction. Pick a cherry any cherry! 44% said they did not plan on hiring anyone in the next 6 months - lowering their expectations from 6 months ago.

Additionally, the jobs picture is improving. For the US as a whole, but not in Wisconsin.Wisconsin gained more than 20,000 jobs this past year. And we lost 35,000 jobs! That’s after 150,000 jobs were lost during the previous administration. True, while the entire country rebounds, Wisconsin lags behind. Remember those 250,000 we promised to create? You can tell how much we are sucking because we're still bringing up Doyle and the biggest recession in 3 generations.

Also, the state’s unemployment rate is back to the lowest it’s been since 2008, when Democrats took full control in Madison and Washington. As it is across the country when Barack Obama took office. More employers are planning on hiring workers. No they are not (maybe he's talking about Illinois). This includes a major expansion at Ruud Lighting in Sturtevant. Yes, because of a business merger...while RAMAC reports Racine County lost 1200 jobs in 2011 overall.

Hopefully, many small business owners will take Gov. Walker’s challenge of hiring an additional worker. Hopefully? OMFG we're begging you! As a small business owner myself, I embrace that challenge and hope to meet it. When I take a break from writing legislation that helps my friends and makes it harder for college students to sue me over rental properties.

I’m proud that we held the line on taxes so that citizens can keep more of their hard-earned money. Which is why we froze the Homestead Tax Credit and slashed the Earned Income Tax Credit to raise taxes for working people...more than $70 million worth of raised taxes. This year the state saw the smallest increase in property taxes in 15 years. See, I tied this sentence to the previous one so it didn't sound like a lie. However, most property owners did see their taxes go up a bit (even though we said not at all - remember?) but what was worse was the across the board lowering of property assessments. Houses are worth much less - and we're paying just a little more for it...don't you feel better? The school tax levy statewide declined for the first time in six years. And it's going to explode next year...they only passed the budget in June. Racine will lead the way as vouchers become unlimited in the two years that follow. However, we need to decrease that burden on the taxpayer even more so that individuals throughout Racine County can see a smaller tax bill this time next year. A stunning acknowledgement that they really aren't paying less.

Our focus in 2012 will continue to be jobs. We've got bills on repealing lawsuits for chemical companies who poison children - but contribute to our campaigns, when life begins so we can outlaw birth control pills and making sure teenagers don't waste precious school time learning about sex. it's JOBS, JOBS JOBS!

We’ll move forward on our aggressive pro-jobs agenda. Which we call it pro-corporate, pro-ALEC. We need to streamline government regulations, improve working training and help connect workers with employment opportunities. Which we actually don't do, we just bring it up in commentaries which sound like we are actually doing those things.

I’m also looking forward to passing some education reforms that will help improve the quality of our classrooms. Which is why I am totally fucking over Green Bay by forcing school vouchers on them that they and their legislators don't want. What we won’t do is raise taxes or grow government programs. We will just lie about it. We need less, not more government. Except if you are a woman or a voter.

Like Gov. Walker, I’m optimistic for this next year. Optimistic we can't make things worse. Hopefully no one else I know will get arrested - or worse - turns state witness for the John Doe investigation. We’ll continue to make sound fiscal decisions and continue to give the private sector opportunities to grow. Like spending millions of dollars to bribe companies to hire a few dozen people and making every concession our real boss - ALEC wants. Wisconsin will continue to move forward. With a guaranteed recall, there can be no doubt.

State Rep. Robin Vos, R-Rochester, is co-chairman of the Joint Finance Committee and represents David & Charles Koch, ALEC and the lobbyists at WMC and sometimes the 63rd Assembly District.

Wanggaard's Patriot Powerwashing Team As Reported By The JT

2012-01-29T08:58:00.000-08:00

So the kids over at Wan Vanggaard's "Victory Center" are combing through recall petition scans and they are shocked! Shocked at what they are seeing.

If only a compliant member of the press would wander in and ask them about it...

Shazam! Miss Stephanie Jones did just that last week and offered up a little story in the paper JT style - which means fast and brief - with details and research being very distant cousins.

According to her article, the patriot powerwashing team are pouring through the recall petitions available online and have "flagged" numerous mistakes:

"Tamra Varebrook, 43, of Racine, said she found recall petitions dated wrong, others not signed, and a few signed by out-of-state residents."

Oh my! Those nasty Democrats must be pulling some lowdown bullshit, but the patriot powerwashing team is ready to catch 'em at it. The article goes on to say:

"Marge Orth, 63, of Caledonia, also had a page filled with notes about flagged petitions. On some of petitions, she could tell the person that filled out the address was not the same as the person who dated the signature."

Thank heaven for Marge. She's no lawyer, but she's doing her part and Miss Jones is there to let the community know.

Here's the problem with the article and it's kind of an important detail:

The recall committees not only collected thousands of petition sheets that were turned in by volunteers, they also received thousands of petitions that were downloaded, filled out and mailed in. Some of those sheets had errors like the person who turned it in did not live in that district or filled it out incorrectly. The committees did what they could to contact the signers or circulators - but in just 60 days not every petition could be brought into compliance.

Okay, got that?

However, committees now in possession of flawed petitions must turn them in by law. (Remember those assholes out in Caledonia who said they were going to collect signatures and not turn them in? They changed their tune when they found out it was a felony didn't they?) Same thing applies here - the committee cannot disregard the legal intent of a signer just because he or she did not fill it out entirely or correctly.

So what the committees did with petitions that have flaws or errors that could not be amended before the deadline is attach an affidavit to the petition. It's stapled or paper-clipped to the petition sheet describing the errors and mistakes. The GAB doesn't scan the affidavit and so it doesn't appear online...but the errors in their un-amended glory make for a great story about how corrupt and brazen Racine County recallers were in submitting bad signatures.

Second, remember good ol' Marge who found signers and dates which did not match? Well, Miss Jones did a little more research and made a phone call to the GAB and spoke to Reid Magney their spokesman. Sadly, Reid appears to be the Cullen Werwie of their office and the information he gave Miss Jones is flat-out incorrect in a way that should cost him his job.

Reid is quoted as saying:

"...all signatures need to have dates including the year to be counted. Also, he said the person who signed the petition must have written in their own numerical address and the day of the month as well as their signature. The person circulating the petition could not have filled out that information, he said."

Like Marge, Reid is not a lawyer - but it doesn't take one to read the state statutes or the GAB handbook on recalls. Reid now claims his statement to the JT was based on something he was told by a lawyer at the GAB.

Nice CYA Magney.

He got one part right - all signatures must be dated. His statement that petitioners must have filled out their address and date in their own hand is categorically false. It has never been true and isn't now...a fact that will make the patriot powerwashers very disappointed.

In GAB Legislative Document 2.05 Treatment and Sufficiency of Nomination Papers it says:
(4) Any information which appears on a nomination paper is entitled to a presumption of validity. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, errors in information contained in a nomination paper, committed by either a signer or a circulator, may be corrected by an affidavit of the circulator, an affidavit of the candidate, or an affidavit of a person who signed the nomination paper. The person giving the correcting affidavit shall have personal knowledge of the correct information and the correcting affidavit shall be filed with the filing officer not later than three calendar days after the applicable statutory due date for the nomination papers.

And further:
(8) An elector shall sign his or her own name unless unable to do so because of physical disability. An elector unable to sign because of physical disability shall be present when another person signs on behalf of the disabled elector and shall specifically authorize the signing.

Also:
(12) A complete address, including municipality of residence for voting purposes, and the street and number, if any, of the residence, (or a postal address if it is located in the jurisdiction that the candidate seeks to represent), shall be listed for each signature on a nomination paper.

And finally:
(15) An individual signature on a nomination paper may not be counted when any of the following occur:
(a) The date of the signature is missing, unless the date can be determined by reference to the dates of other signatures on the paper.
(b) The signature is dated after the date of certification contained in the certificate of circulator.
(c) The address of the signer is missing or incomplete, unless residency can be determined by the information provided on the nomination paper.
(d) The signature is that of an individual who is not 18 years of age at the time the paper is signed. An individual who will not be 18 years of age until the subject election is not eligible to sign a nomination paper for that election.
(e) The signature is that of an individual who has been adjudicated not to be a qualified elector on the grounds of incompetency or limited competency as provided in s. 6.03 (3), Stats., or is that of an individual who was not, for any other reason, a qualified elector at the time of signing the nomination paper.

The law states the signature of the elector must his or her own, and even then there are extenuating circumstances. It says the address and date must be filled in, but nowhere does it say it must be in the hand of the elector. It also makes clear that circulators can amend or complete information on a petition or nomination sheet.

Not convinced? The GAB Handbook on appropriate recall petition compliance says:

Individual Signature Requirements
The specific requirements that apply to each signature on a petition to recall a local officeholder
are listed here and can also be found in El.Bd. 2.09, Wis. Adm.Code. • The signature listed must be that of a qualified elector of the jurisdiction or district represented by the officeholder.
• The full address, including municipality of residence, of each signer must be listed on the
petition and must be within the election district or jurisdiction of the officeholder.
• Each signature must be dated when it is affixed to the petition.
• The date of the signature must be within 60 days from the date the recall petitioner
registered with the filing officer.
• The date of the signature must not be later than the date of the circulator’s signature in
the Certification of Circulator.

If none of this legal information convinces the Siren's dear readers then know this...the Dems tried that argument last summer and lost. Yep, the GAB overruled it when Democrats tried saying signatures without dates written in by the electors and filled in by circulators were invalid.

Note to Stephanie Jones and Reid Magney: You may not know it, but Wisconsin Laws and Statutes are available online. The Siren highlighted the links above for your convenience.

Spring Time Is Tea Time

2012-01-28T13:36:00.000-08:00

Ah yes, elections are approaching and the requisite slate of tea party candidates have come forth to run for elected office.

It's a far more common occurrence in the spring - which is kinda like spring training. Everyone gets a chance to try out.

Partisan elections that happen in the fall are far more beholden to local and statewide GOP and their farm team of candidates. They hand feed these guys in preparation for office. They keep these players in the minor leagues until the right opportunity comes along to move them up to the big leagues...well big leagues Racine County wise.

Van Wanggaard played B-ball as a county supervisor until they tested him out first on Cory Mason for a State Assembly seat. He proved not quite ripe, but political fortunes changed in 2010 with an unhappy electorate and a win (perhaps more narrow than they might have wished) over John Lehman.

They fortified that squeaker of a race with a shiny new gerrymandered Senate district which would elect Joe McCarthy if given the chance.

Jim Ladwig also did his time before getting his call to County Exectutive and behind him Tyson Fettes a nobody from nowhere but who popped some corn for the Dark Lord Vos and stocked shelves for GOP funders. Fettes got the nod to take Ladwig's old job and now waits his turn in line.

Robin Vos' ascent was basically the same. On and on this goes, like a corrupt and unattractive dynasty.

Now, spring elections are a bit different and less structured. The GOP likes their judges races - cause they know if anyone should wind up in some deep shit - they need them some friendly judges to help things go their way. Very effective.

When Dennis Barry took his life, the GOP had a dilemma. The guy who really wanted the job - D.A. Mike Nieskes was not exactly in good favor in spite of his years of loyal GOP service. but this is a farm system remember, and eventually the Gov gave Nieskes the brief appointment making him the incumbent on the ballot in April against Mike Piontek.

(There are more than a few people who believe Nieskes has been set-up in this race - a move straight out of the Godfather. Nieskes is begrudgingly given the job over preferred attorney - Tim Boyle, a high school friend of Robin Vos. Since Nieskes is a guy who gives possibly the worst first impression in the history of interpersonal communication and is hated so universally - they figure he'll lose and they've done their part. Tough break Mike - see ya around.)

Boyle rebounds back with a run against Racine judge, Mark Nielsen - a race the GOP thinks is competitive.

When it comes to Racine Common Council and the Racine Unified School Board - the D-listers get their chance to run for stuff that isn't a nuisance to the GOP action plan. Let the teabillies play!

Last year's Aldermanic race brought out a few low level tea party types - Casey Rouse comes to mind. He lost to stealth teabagger - Jim Morganroth. (Morganroth was handpicked by outgoing Alderman, Jim Spangenburg and so everyone thought he was a reasonable guy - he's not. Word is he is so completely unlikable it makes even the most tumultuous Common Council conflicts seem like a love affair.)

County Supervisor races don't get much attention one way or another after possible candidates attend one or two County meetings. With the added risk of losing health care benefits - who wants to take a chance on untreated depression or thoughts of suicide that come with the job?

The last option for D-listed Republican/teabaggers is the school board:

Former school board member and chain smoker, Brian Dey is running again. Dey left the school board to go and try to get Caledonia citizens to secede from the school district. He failed after residents found out how much it would cost them. It's a strange platform for Dey - I hated the district so much I left and unsuccessfully tried to start my own and now I'm back - Vote For Me!

Anyway, Dey is a member of Libertea and Racine Taxpayers Association...he's probably a member of the Racine Tea Party - but they don't have a public Facebook page anymore. No matter, he's a teabagger and if you want to know what he thinks about anything, check out Caledonia Patch. If he's not blogging, he's commenting...on everything...in very long paragraphs.

Kevin Cronin, is a board member for the Racine County Republican Party (he also belongs to the Libertea group proving teabillies and Republicans are really the same thing). Cronin is interestingly the Racine County complainant in the lawsuit to have recall elections take place in the new redistricted districts even though those people didn't vote for or recall the politicians they would get to vote on now...if you think about it, he might be perfect for the school board.

Cronin is hooked into the local GOP and has a great head of hair which the Siren has been told will be cut for "Locks of Love" which is nice. (We got many cross comments when we mentioned his hair before - which is how we know so much about his hair plans...however, long or short, it's still nicer than Vicky McKenna's stringy hair.)

Other candidates for school board are:

Roger Pfost, is running again this year even though he's really old and thinks kids shouldn't get to take cooking class (?) In his JT interview last year, Pfost claimed reading scores hadn't improved even though they had and has a problem with K-3 preschool even though it works quite nicely.

The Siren suspects a deep rooted, perhaps repressed trauma involving cooking at a very young age.

The most moderate candidate of the non-incumbent school board class is Scott Brownell - a Senior pastor at Assembly of God Church in Racine. His wife is an Unified Assistant Principal at Gilmore and they have three children. Elation ensued that a reasonable candidate had emerged until we discovered that Assembly of God Churches are Pentecostal churches who believe you have only been truly baptized when you begin to speak in tongues.

Even if he did speak in tongues, Brownell would still be the most qualified.

Worse Than Nixon

2012-01-27T14:54:00.000-08:00

You know, it was curious when people associated with the Scott Walker campaign and administration started getting immunity from the DA in the John Doe investigation.

It looked bad when computers were seized and homes got raided by FBI agents and then administration officials began disappearing from lucrative administration jobs - the kind you get after you've been a loyal soldier.

A campaign contributor got arrested and then some realtor guy goes to jail for failing to cooperate with another investigation. Things were beginning to spin out of control.

Then, three men were arrested. One a high ranking Walker corporal and former chief of staff who as it turned out had been stealing tens of thousands of dollars from a veterans charity - a position Walker lobbied hard for him to get - against the wishes of others who knew he had sticky fingers.

Horrible! A complete disgrace! He stole from wounded veterans and their families, just so he could take vacations, meet Herman Cain and pay for Scott Walker's campaign websites.

Worse yet, his boyfriend - the 2nd man arrested - the actual treasurer of the veterans charity was trolling for boys and collecting child pornography. The 3rd man turns out to have also stolen money from the same charity - apparently a widely known activity - and for his efforts he gets promoted to a Veterans Affairs position just months back by none other than Scott Walker.

It can't get worse... and then it does.

Two Walker staff members were arrested yesterday. One faces 4 felony misconduct charges for illegal activities she performed on behalf of Scott Walker sitting just 25 feet from Walker's office door. The other, is clearly getting ready to accept a plea deal just so she can stay out of jail. Her career is over, her credibility gone.

The complaint is long, but worth reading and the Journal Sentinel is going to get a Pulitzer before everything else in this grimy tale is revealed. What we know today is that the guy who stole the money from the vets set up a private and separate router for internet service in Walker's County Exec offices when he was chief of staff. It was housed in it's own cabinet.

One must wonder if he paid for that with stolen charity funds a well?

The staff knew the access code, hid it's existence from the county IT department and used it to conduct campaign and fundraising activities while they were working (and paid) as public employees. How much time was spent performing these illegal activities? About half the time according to the lady with felony charges.

She sent almost 1400 emails.

After the lady who is copping a plea resigned, Scott Walker sent out an email saying they (the campaign) could not take another story about campaigning on public time. He sent the email out from his campaign website, not as their boss, but as their candidate.

The message was clear - don't get caught or the chuck wagon bound for Madison was gonna be over.

There are a lot of questions that remain. Perhaps the Governor's spokesperson could clarify some things for us all - but he can't because he is party to the investigation. The people of Wisconsin are paying Cullen Werwie a handsome salary to not do his job.

Luckily, the fabulous Cory Liebmann over at Eye on Wisconsin zeroed right in on the salient questions:

Key Questions for Scott Walker:

When Scott Walker emailed Tim Russell with the above listed message, why did he use his campaign email account? This was at the very least a county personnel issue and it was county business. Why would Walker use his campaign email to conduct what was clearly county business?
Scott Walker's email to Russell specifically mentions "no laptops", so that shows us that he knew that his top staff were busy using such laptops on county time. How and when did he find that out? It was obviously important to him so why didn't he follow up on that order? Remember that according to the complaint, Kelly Rindfleisch continued doing campaign work on county time after that incident.
Could someone please explain the employment dates of Kelly Rindfleisch because the timeline looks pretty damning? She had an extensive political and fundraising background including for the infamous Republican legislative caucus. She was hired at the beginning of a big election year to do what she described at least partially as "policy work for the campaign". Then she left the county job only weeks after Walker won the 2010 election. She was doing work for/with the Walker campaign until only days ago. Again, the timing of her employment stinks to high heaven. What is the story on that?
What is up with Walker's top past/present campaign staffers? What? Didn't a single one of them wonder why county employees were communicating with them on a regular basis during work hours? Reading the extensive communications, you certainly get the idea that it didn't bother them one single bit.
How many open records requests were thwarted by the existence of the Walker administration's secret network?

The taxpayers of Milwaukee County and the people of Wisconsin should demand some answers and it should be Scott Walker that directly gives them.

Here are links to further reading:
Journal Sentinel on the Arrests
Rindfleisch Complaint
Cap Times
Cognitive Dissidence

This afternoon, Walker denied knowing anything about the illegal activity...big surprise. He never saw the laptops or emails or the cabinet with a router all sitting just a few feet away from him. Apparently nearly every single person closely associated with him and his campaign was breaking the law one way or another...that is when they weren't soliciting boys and he had no idea.

Right.

Snake Oil

2012-01-27T05:14:00.000-08:00

Racine's own Representative Cory Mason brilliantly lays in on the line last night during debate over the mining bill which ultimately passed the Assembly on party lines.

A Tired Hooker Spoke In Madison Last Night

2012-01-26T07:26:00.000-08:00

After hustling for cash on both coasts and a special 3-way in Texas, our own Governor Street Walker returned to Madison having raised $4.5 MILLION in the last five weeks alone. Street Walker has banked a cool $12 Million.

That's a lot of jizz.

61 percent of her cash came from out of state as she boldly claims "OUTOFSTATEUNIONBOSSES" are gonna flood Wisconsin with money...she must be talking about that $400,000 raised to recall her tired ass. A bargain if there ever was one.

Street Walker's corner rival, Tommy Thompson gets a little more pissed everyday watching all that cash go to Walker and not to her...it doesn't look like it, but there is a limit to how much money is out there.

Sorry Tommy, you better get out there and strut your ass a little faster girl.

SOTS: Wanggaard Gets High

2012-01-26T06:23:00.000-08:00

Van was going to the State of the State Address until he got high. He wrote a press release about the event so he got high, he got high, he got so high...

Wanny issued a statement last night about Scott Walker's rollicking State of the State address:

“The State of the State is a time to come together and reflect where we’ve been and where we’re going as a people. I think Governor Walker did a great job laying out the progress we’ve made in growing jobs in Wisconsin. Last year, for the first time since 2008, we added jobs in this state, reversing 3 straight years of job losses. Everyone in Racine County recognizes that there is a lot more work to do, and I am glad Governor Walker reaffirmed his commitment to growing our economy.

I was also disappointed in the comments of some of my colleagues tonight. Job growth, eliminating fraud and waste and educating children should not be partisan issues, but it appears that some in this state are determined to make them so.”

On the heels of six months of job loss - the only state in the nation who can boast that distinction, 1200 jobs lost in Racine County in 2011, buddies stealing money from veteran's and their families and a billion cut from schools...Wan needs to go easy on the kind bud. Self medicating is not the way man.

Mark Pocan Is AWESOME!

2012-01-25T08:13:00.000-08:00

Mark Pocan posted this photo on his Facebook page this morning saying:

"In honor of the State of the State address, I rolled a giant banner out my Capitol window to welcome our visitors this evening. Wisconsin leads the nation in job loss, with 6 consecutive months in a row of loss , the only state in the nation to do so."

Fabulous.

I Me Mine...Gogebic Taconite Style

2012-01-25T04:52:00.000-08:00

There are a number of very good articles out today by Wisconsin authors about yesterday's committee hearing which passed the controversial mining bill. The Siren has linked them below. But all you really need to know about the bill is in the video below by the tenacious Arthur222.

If the Siren had written a bill which would bring hundreds of jobs to Wisconsin, increased revenue for the state and directed a great big company to move a big facility to Northern Wisconsin her name would be all over it. Flocks of legislators would sign on as co-sponsors and we'd host a public end-zone dance-off.

So it's more than weird that no one and we mean NO ONE wants to claim ownership of the massive Gogebic Taconite iron mine bill. Word is the bill is unlikely to pass the Assembly (not taking bets on that) and even less so in the Senate.

Read the excellent articles below:

Badger Democracy
The Progressive
Blogging Blue

Aldermen With Benefits

2012-01-24T07:54:00.000-08:00

Racine Aldermen, Bob Mozol and Melissa Kaprelian-Becker are seeking to create an ordinance to include in city employment benefit packages registered domestic partnerships and dependents.

The Siren wholeheartedly agrees.

The Wisconsin Domestic Partnership Registry was established in 2009. Since that time many Wisconsin municipalities and public employers have extended employee benefits to registered domestic partners: Madison, Milwaukee, Sun Prairie, Gateway Technical, Oshkosh School District...you can see a list here.

Naturally, a number of familiar companies also offer domestic partner benefits: American Girl, Gannett Newspapers - owner of 10 WI papers (not the JT), Marcus Theaters, Marquette University, MillerCoors, SC Johnson and WEAC.

This is not an issue about dollars - although councilmen not in favor will make it so - it is an issue of fairness. The police officer who brought this to the attention of Mozol and Kaprelian-Becker could have filed a grievance and carried it through to a court case in which she would have likely won and cost the city a fortune. She brought it to the council for consideration that all city employees be included - as they should be.

It is time Alderman, do the right thing.

Ryan To Host Fundraiser For Wanny...Wait For It...In A Wine Shop

2012-01-24T06:56:00.000-08:00

Ryan gets caught drinking $750 worth of wine while
dining with hedge-fund lobbyists in 2011.

Remember last year when Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan got caught being wined and dined by D.C. millionaires and was publicly shamed by a woman in the restaurant who realized he was enjoying bottles of wine that cost more than $350 a piece?

So ashamed, he was forced to pay for the wine with his own credit card - saying he didn't know it was so expensive. The two bottles consumed cost him $750.

Yeah, the folks in Racine with the state's highest unemployment thought it was a laugh riot.

So who better to host a luncheon fundraiser in a wine store than Paul Ryan? Ryan will be in Racine to raise money for dullard, recalled Senator, Van Wanggaard.

Yep, they are gonna be sweet smoochie Valentines on February 13th for a soiree with a minimum ticket price of $125.00...but for $250.00 you can be Van's Valentine Sponsor.

Mark you calendars and don't forget to register here. The Siren can't decide on the soundtrack: Days of Wine and Roses or Afternoon Delight.

The Balanced Budget Lie

2012-01-23T09:03:00.000-08:00

“Our balanced budget makes tough choices while providing a path to recovery and prosperity for our state and our people...Through honest budgeting, we are showing the way forward.”
Governor Scott Walker
June 26, 2011

"We balanced the budget without raising taxes..."
Senator Van Wanggaard
December 5, 2011

"We passed important reforms that allowed us to balance the state budget.."
State Representative Robin Vos
December 27, 2011

If you have the chance to engage one of the dwindling Walker supporters about why they like Scott Walker and if they opt to speak to you rather than threaten to kill you, follow you to your car, throw liquid on you or bloody your fingers trying to take your cell phone recording them act like animals...they will tell you the reason they support Scott Walker is because he "balanced the budget without raising taxes."

Why do they say that? Because Scott Walker and his henchmen keep saying it.

Over and over and over...they ALL say it. Wanggaard, Vos, Suder and idiot brothers Fitzgerald: WE BALANCED THE BUDGET WITHOUT RAISING TAXES.

Is it true? Of course it isn't. The Siren and many, many others have blown up the raising taxes lie - not that any Walker supporters believe it. They can't. They see their state on fire, the protests, the recalls - it must all be for something. If it turned out to be a lie, what do they have left?

What they have left is that Walker balanced the budget. He slayed a $3 billion deficit and he did it without accounting tricks.

It is perhaps the biggest lie of all.

This morning - finally - the Journal Sentinel began to wade into the balanced budget lie that bloggers (and even Politifact) have been talking about for months.

Scott Walker ran for Governor on a promise that he would balance Wisconsin's budget (which by the way is a state law - not a lofty goal) and he would do it without the accounting tricks used by Jim Doyle and Tommy Thompson in the past.

Candidate Walker vilified Jim Doyle in 2006 for a budget which hid a $2.1 deficit and in 2009 for a budget that got a healthy - but one time - bump from Federal Stimulus dollars. He said he would do it differently and apply generally accepted accounting principles (GAAP). With a brown bag lunch in hand and a promise of honesty - Wisconsinites came out and voted for the guy.

As soon as economists got a good look at Walker's 2011 budget, they pointed out that Walker's budget used the exact same tricks - refinancing debt and raiding funds. But sadly, in disaster politics - a technique Madison legislators have perfected - so many extreme bills were forced through no one had a chance to really notice.

While health care, voting rights, public workers and progressive advocates were running around with their hair on fire - in commentary after commentary and town hall after town hall, Wisconsin Republicans were calmly repeating the great lie over and over again to their supporters: WE BALANCED THE BUDGET WITHOUT RAISING TAXES.

They memorized it like the stations of the cross and repeated it without reservation...or research.

So a few weeks ago, a letter written by Administration Secretary, Mike Huebsch to HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, surfaced and revealed in his own words that under GAAP guidelines, Wisconsin does indeed have budget deficit. An estimated $3 billion deficit.

Why did Huesch reveal such a damaging bit of information? Because Scott Walker wants to weasel out of complying with Obamacare and continue kicking poor people off of health care - 53,000 people.

The only states that can receive an exception from HHS are those that have a budget deficit and happy to take advantage of a loophole to fuck over more people in Wisconsin, Huebsch confirmed what we have known all along:

SCOTT WALKER DID NOT BALANCE THE BUDGET AND HE RAISED TAXES.

Rebecca Kleefisch is a Judgmental and Stupid D-Bag

2012-01-21T08:33:00.000-08:00

Big props to Uppity Wisconsin and Lounsburyjud over at YouTube for unearthing this video of idiot Lt. Governor, Rebecca Kleefisch to remind each of us why we worked so hard to recall her dumb ass.

Kleefisch recollects her days as a "journalist" in 2010. In the video she discusses the observations she made of "people" involved in lead abatement stories. Kleefisch states many of her colleagues saw squalid living conditions: filth, cockroaches and pealing lead paint and categorized these "people" as victims. While she, on the other hand saw a big tv, name brand gym shoes and concludes all journalist-like "they are not a victim."

Kleesfisch goes on to contrast herself against her colleagues by saying:

"While they saw a victim, they saw a government solution for this problem, as a Conservative, I saw someone who made a choice."

Yes, poor people make bad choices which includes having their children poisoned by lead. It's their own fault. This releases her and people like her any need or responsibility to address the cause.

Regardless of the fact that lead poisoning in Wisconsin is three times the national average and over 83% of lead poisoning happens in SE Wisconsin: Milwaukee, Kenosha, Racine - where poor people tend to live - the problem for her is clearly the victim.

This week we saw a hearing to reverse Wisconsin law regarding manufacturers liability which would also retroactively dismiss 173 cases of lead poisoning of Wisconsin children. The manufacturers who benefit from this bill (also some of the defendants in the cases brought by those 173 children) have signed on to lobby and submitted their campaign checks to the right politicians.

We also saw the Joint Legislative Council reject the recommendations of a special committee on infant mortality - which is so high in Racine among African American infants, a whole bunch of third world countries do a better job.

Why did they reject the committee's recommendations - an almost unprecedented measure? Because their recommendations to reduce the mortality rate of low income infants would have gone before the entire legislature where assholes like Wanggaard, Moulton, Galloway and Fitgerald would be forced to cast a vote that could look bad.

Even Wisconsin Republicans know not everybody believes poor people deserve to be poisoned and die...except maybe Rebecca Kleefisch.

Recall Cam Picked Up By HBO!

2012-01-20T08:08:00.000-08:00

Okay, that's not true. But there is a GAB livestream one can watch to see the nearly 2 MILLION signatures being scanned and filed by GAB temp staff.

It's not Dexter or True Blood unless the guy in the Dockers turns out to be a vampire. Which would be totally cool.

The popularity of the Recall Cam has grown to include it's own twitter hashtag - #recallcam of tweets and of course the @recallcam has it's own twitter account.

Awesome.

Another F*@&ing Month Of Job Loss

2012-01-20T07:35:00.000-08:00

While the nation adds 212,000 jobs, Wisconsin loses 3,900 jobs in December.

SIX straight months of job loss under the idiot.

LOLz

2012-01-19T10:29:00.000-08:00

Robin Vos Is Gonna Send Wisconsin A Lead Love Letter

2012-01-19T08:45:00.000-08:00

While everyone basks in the tide of history or spends their internet hours reading the intricacies of the mining bill, there is a new bill that popped up literally the other day and is being rushed through while no one notices.

Senate Bill 373, introduced by Glenn the Slob and Crybaby Fitzgerald on January 10th and is co-sponsored by the Dark Lord himself, Robbie Vos.

SB 373 is a bill to repeal the liability law against manufacturers of a product. Uppity Wisconsin has written the background of the bill and what the overall implications are...and it's worth reading especially if you want to understand the crap they are pulling.

SB 373 is designed to undo a Wisconsin Supreme Court decision that said citizens who have been harmed by exposure to chemicals produced by manufacturers are able to sue them for damages even if they cannot prove definitively it was that specific manufacturer. This is called "risk contribution"...

"The theory behind risk contribution is best illustrated by an analogy - consider a body of water which is negligently contaminated by a chemical produced by 5 or 6 factories bordering the water’s edge. Since the chemical is identical and therefore indistinguishable as to manufacturer, a person injured by the chemical would not be able to sue because he/she couldn’t identify who made the chemical that actually injured him/her. Since all manufacturers breached legal duties by their negligence and the negligence of each manufacturer contributed to the contamination, under risk contribution, the injured person can sue all of them and the burden is shifted to them to exculpate themselves if they can."

So why are Fitzgerald and Vos wading into undoing some law it the midst of a statewide shitstorm of recalls, John Doe investigations and a national job creation failure? Why have they fast-tracked the bill for a hearing today? Well, that's the interesting part...

The bill not only changes the law governing liability, but also does so retroactively. It would "coincidentally" retroactively repeal the claims of 173 Wisconsin children who were victims of lead poisoning - some of whom have been in litigation since 2006. Naturally the chemical manufacturers have appealed the cases to federal court where they had a set of oral arguments on January 9th which sadly for them, didn't go very well.

So it was sort of like a fucking miracle when Fitzerald, Grothman and Vos walked in THE NEXT DAY with a bill to undo the whole tangle for the defendants. Grothman asked that the bill be put on express and here we are today with a committee hearing.

The Committee of Judiciary, Utilities, Commerce, and Government Operations is made up of 3 Republicans and 2 Democrats - notably Jon Erpenbach. SB 373 was referred to committee on the 10th and on January 12th Abbott Labs and GlaxoSmithKline registered to lobby on the bill, followed on the 13th with Sherwin Williams and NL Industries. Just today Midwest Food Processors registered to have a go at getting it passed.

Wanna guess the PAC campaign contributions from the lobbyists already pocketed by Vos, Fitzgerald and Grothman?

Abbott Laboratories
Vos $1800.00
Fitzgerald $1000.00

GlaxoSmithKline
Vos $900.00

Midwest Food Processors
Grothman $150.00

(Sherwin Williams to their credit does not have a corporate PAC, so remember that when you go and buy paint.)

Jon Erpenbach has made a bit of a fuss over SB 373 in the last couple of days...you know small things like writing legislation to retroactively dismiss cases against your campaign contributors might be at a minimum unethical and also perhaps a bit unconstitutional. He put forth some questions saying as much.

The Legislative Council replied to Erpenbach's question with a letter saying that indeed, there is court precedent to support the unconstitutionality of what Fitz, Vos and Grubby Grothman are trying to do.

So it was sort of like a fucking miracle when Scott Walker produced a memo stating that "All Legislation is Presumed Constitutional." Wow, that was convenient.

What goes to the heart of all this maneuvering are 173 kids who were poisoned and damaged by lead paint made by companies who continued to produce their products after the knew they were poisoning people. These manufacturers have the money and influence to get the leaders of the Wisconsin Legislature to act in their interest and against the interest of children - which is stunning, but alas, not surprising. That Vos, Fitzgerald and Grothman are willing to undo a Supreme Court decision on behalf of their campaign contributors is criminal. Literally.

BTW: Wanna guess how much money Erpenbach has gotten from the same registered lobby PACs for SB373 that have contributed to Vos, Fitzgerald and Grothman?

None.

Thanks A Million Wisconsin

2012-01-18T07:42:00.000-08:00

A MILLION plus. That means Walker would have to disqualify almost one in two petitions signed to avoid a recall election.

Not. Gonna. Happen.

Scooter got just a little more than a million people to vote for him for Governor. RWNJ's are praying for an avalanche of Hitlers and Mickey Mouses on petitions sheets...they are wasting their time.

Who is going to run? "NOT Scott Walker" sounds like a great candidate to plenty of Wisconsinites.

Pwned. Wanggaard Recall Overwhelms

2012-01-18T07:16:00.000-08:00

15,353 was the number of signatures needed to recall Wan Vanggaard. Not a small number - 5000 more than they needed to recall Van's predecessor, George Petak a few years back.

Racine recall volunteers got more than the minimum number to trigger the recall - much more. 24,000 people signed petitions to recall Van. That's over 30% more signatures than required - making Wanggaard an assured candidate on a recall ballot.

Van's staff wrote a press release for him yesterday saying:

"As union bosses have threatened for a year, today they start the do-over of their loss in the November 2010 elections...union bosses are playing into the politics of negativity and fear of the unknown."

That reminds the Siren of something....hmmm...OH! Van weren't YOU a union boss? A minor detail as Van whistles past the graveyard. Van says he will run on his record:

Raising Taxes.
Increasing Spending
Making Racine #1 in Unemployment

Na na na na, na na na na, hey hey hey...

Happy Recall Day

2012-01-17T06:11:00.000-08:00

Well, today is the day. 3000 lbs. of petitions...what will the final number be? What ever it is, it will be the Siren's new favorite number.

Awkward King Day For Scooter

2012-01-16T20:00:00.000-08:00

Van Wanggaard: Midnight Cowboy

2012-01-15T14:23:00.000-08:00

This week's installment of Van Wanggaard's "Year in Review" on the Patch, Van paints himself as a man of law and order. As a cop, he was tough and serious and he carried a gun ya'll...until Dirty Harry got a disability and hung up his badge and spurs for good.

Yes, Van wants the folks of Mayberry to know he's still fight'n to keep ma & pa from harm and he ain't afraid to play the "keeping the loved ones safe" card.

So let's amp up the criminal danger kids, Van's not afraid to put the fear in overdrive to stay in office a little longer...

Shall we review?

State Sen. Van Wanggaard Reflects on 2011 Public Safety Legislation

As the New Year progresses, I continue to reflect on all that was accomplished in 2011. Last week, which marked the beginning of my new “Year in Review” segment, I recapped some of the ways I helped encourage job growth in 2011. Okay, it's mid January, can we stop with the "New Year" theme? Everyone knows you didn't suddenly start writing your 'I'm The Best Senator" series because it was your New Year's resolution. It's pretty clear your sudden interest in corresponding with your constituents has far more to do with your inevitable recall and the cheap price of newspaper commentaries. Geez.

For the second installment of the segment, I am reviewing how I helped protect southeastern Wisconsin’s most vulnerable citizens over the past year. From additional taxation? No, you raised taxes. From out of control government spending? No, you increased spending. By providing basic health care to the poorest children in the state? No, you kicked thousands off Badgercare. I understand the importance of keeping our communities safe, and over the last year I have authored multiple bills specifically designed to protect our citizens and give Wisconsinites peace of mind. Peace of mind. Do you mean the scarcity of jobs, the rise in taxes, deregulated pollution and crowded classrooms? As we look forward to the year ahead, here is a look back at what I’ve done over the past year to help keep you and your loved ones safe. Yes, Van singularly has been keeping you and your loved ones safe. Just him and his Suburban.

At the beginning of this legislative session, I was pleased to have been appointed Chairman of the Senate Public Safety Committee. With my 30 years of experience serving Racine as a police officer, I’ve been able to bring a much-needed law enforcement perspective to state government. My days spent as a traffic cop - sorry - a traffic investigator and high school security guard has made my input invaluable. Too bad your law enforcement perspective did not extend to the right to collectively bargain - a benefit which allowed you to retire early. Protecting our communities, and the most vulnerable members within them, is the number one priority of government. And have nothing to do with the campaign contributions I have personally received from the National Rifle Association or my support and sponsorship of bills written literally by ALEC lobbyists and corporations. As you may expect, given my background and committee chairmanship, I’ve offered multiple bills on public safety. I am pleased to say many of these bills have already become law. Like anyone could have stopped them right?

One of the first bills I introduced this session was “Maddie’s Law.” The idea for this bill was brought to my attention by a local mother whose daughter was sexually abused at a local school. After hearing about this extremely unfortunate incident, we discovered that only teachers and administrators were required to report suspected abuse – other school employees were not. Not true, social workers have also been mandated reporters. Simple facts should not be this difficult. To remedy this, I partnered with Representatives Robin Vos and Bob Turner to draft “Maddie’s Law.” The bill requires all public & private school employees to report suspected abuse, and provides necessary training in spotting abuse. I’m pleased to say that this bill received near-unanimous support in the Legislature and was signed into law last month. Let's spend a moment examining how Van is using this law and a very sad story as a human shield...oh, and to lie about it as well.

"Maddie's Law" SB 42 is almost everything the Senator says it is and did receive overwhelming support in the State Legislature. It should have. Wisconsin was one of only a few states left which did not have a mandatory abuse report procedure for all school staff - a failure of previous administrations to be sure.

"Maddie's Law" in spite of what Wanggaard (or his staff) has written does not cover private schools. This is either a huge mistake or a blatant lie. Van's bill to include mandated reporting for all school staff and abuse training is for public school districts specifically - not private or parochial schools.

Read it for yourself.

Under the guise of child safety and a sincere belief to close a loophole which resulted in a sad and criminal incident - Van excluded private schools in the bill but says he did not. The Siren understands that media outlets like the Patch have limited resources and budgets, but this kind of distortion presented unchecked is disturbing. Again, simple facts should not be this difficult.

Sexual abuse is a very serious subject and as adults we are all responsible to protect children from harm. No one can argue that point. "Maddie's Law" is a good start, but grossly incomplete. Try finding statistics on sexual abuse in children by educators without wading through dozens of results on sexual abuse by Catholic priests - you can't. In his crusade to protect the children, Van also left intact a provision in state law which exempts clergy from reporting sexual, physical and neglect if it was discovered through confession. Weird.

On the subject of child safety, partnered with "Maddie's Law" and signed in to law on the very same day was a bill that Van doesn't mention so much - but voted for - was SB 45.

Senate Bill 45 reduces the training for school nurses by half and also allows school staff,volunteers and even bus drivers to dispense OTC medication without any training at all. NO TRAINING AT ALL. The bill allows for medication to be brought to school in unmarked packaging without manufacturer instructions, advised medical dosage or ingredients.

Wanna guess the kind of pills kids have brought from home in baggies that smart and trained school nurses knew was incorrect?

Because of the possibility for medical mishap, not to mention tragedy, Van and his friends were careful to insert an immunity clause for staff members who accidentally harm or kill a student...cause he cares for the safety of our children that much.

Half of all nurses in a recent University of Iowa survey reported medication error in their schools. With a stunning increase in childhood asthma, food allergies and prescribed medications to treat learning and behavioral challenges (to name just a few) - all ingested while at school - Van supported and voted to erase the training and knowledge necessary to dispense prescription and non-prescription safely by properly trained nurses and turned back the clock on Wisconsin law by over 20 years according to one school nurse.

The Beaver Dam school district alone, dispenses over 14,000 oral medications year each not to mention the variety of illnesses and injuries that pass through a school nurses door each and every day - by all means, lets train them LESS.

Which law do you suppose has a greater effect on the safety and well-being of Wisconsin's children?

Another early success was the repeal of Governor Doyle’s misguided Early Release Program. The Early Release Program essentially repealed truth-in-sentencing, and allowed bureaucrats to release convicted felons from prison early. Why pass up the opportunity for the state to pay $2750 a year on parolees when it can spend $29,000 on a prisoner instead. Sadly, this included people convicted of reckless homicide, drunk driving, child abuse, and arson who often reoffended. In Racine alone, the initial recidivism rate of these offenders was more than 35% - twice the typical state average. Either false or a highly selectively used number - we could not find one supporting source of this number. However the PEW Center revealed a recidivism rate for early release prisoners in Wisconsin as 17% statewide compared to 28% for non early release - a pretty good result. Despite claims that the program would save the state money, little savings materialized. As it existed for an entire 15 months. While Wisconsin's prison budget grows to a stunning $1.3 BILLION - three times the cost of Minnesota's prison system. A bipartisan group of legislators opposed Early Release when it passed, 15 opposed and 18 for it. and an even larger group of bipartisan legislators agreed when we voted to repeal this dangerous program last spring. Overwhelmingly bi-partisan with 11 opposed and 22 for it. (Sarcasm intended.)

An important part of public safety is empowering individuals to protect themselves and their families. That’s why I authored the “Castle Doctrine” bill that passed in the fall. Also my new friends at ALEC and campaign contributors at the NRA PAC have been trying to pass this one for years. (Understand that Van did not first introduce this bill, he was just the latest. Van did not "author" the bill in the way he'd like you to think, that was done for him by ALEC.) This bill has a simple premise – people shouldn’t have to worry about defending themselves in their own home. And they haven't since the 1950's - the presumption of justified force has been around for decades. What Van's bill adds to an already adequate law is the presumption of mistaken justification. As in...I thought it was an intruder, but I mistakenly shot my cheating husband in the face. Oops, my bad. Can I go home now? My bill provides a presumption of self defense if you are attacked in your own home, car or business. Even if it comes out in trial that it may not have been a clear case of self-defense. It is important to note that this bill is about protecting life, not property. Or the poor schmuck who rings the wrong door bell.... and it is also about buying more guns, lots more guns You shouldn’t have to flee the sanctuary of your own home when threatened, and victims shouldn’t have to decide between the potential of being sued and protecting their loved ones. And you never really had to worry about it before. The Castle Doctrine is on the top 10 hit list for the billionaires at ALEC and since Wanggaard charged you - the taxpayer - for his membership to ALEC - he's just making sure you know he's all over it. This bill also passed both houses with strong bipartisan support, and was signed into law last month. Even though the Wisconsin State Bar's Criminal Law Section of 600 judges, prosecutors, criminal defense lawyers and academics all opposed the bill. What do they know anyway?

Finally, with personal safety in mind, And not my recall at all. I’ve taken the lead on several bills to address domestic violence in our state. Isn't it a shame that Van used the first nine months of his time voting lock step with Republicans instead of collaborating on some bills that actually help people. By the time he awoke to the fact that it is all those first votes that have turned voters against him - he decides now to try legislating. One of these bills helps victims of domestic abuse by simplifying the process to apply for and receive restraining orders to protect themselves from cyber-harassment or threats through social media in Wisconsin. Which sadly, law enforcement officers say they don't know how they will prove. The second bill strengthens the penalties for violating a 72-hour no contact order, and strengthens protections for domestic abuse witnesses. Van doesn't even mention the bill raises the fine for violating a restraining order from $1000 to $10,000...it makes you wonder if he even has read it. Both of these bills passed the Assembly with wide support, and were voted out of my Senate committee this past week. That I signed on to them this fall when my recall looked like a real proposition is a mere coincidence. There was no cynical motive to save my skin involved at all. January is “Stalking Awareness Month” which raises public awareness and reaffirms the need to strengthen protections for victims. So it seems appropriate I began with this month to stalk my constituents with free media space trying to prove I'm really not such a bad guy - a refrain used by many a stalker before me. I was pleased we could take action on this important issue, and I hope both of these bills will pass the Senate this spring.

Keeping our community safe requires constant vigilance. And maybe some corrections officers who's jobs you have cut. People have a right to feel safe in their homes, in their city and in their state. A high crime rate leads to economic decay and job loss – a trend I am working to reverse. The state crime rate is down cowboy. How about some jobs? That’s why I remain committed to public safety, and why it will continue to be one of my top priorities during 2012. Van's top priority in 2012 will be staying in office.

Sweet Justice: Kloppy Runs Unopposed

2012-01-14T09:40:00.000-08:00

As the Wisconsin Supreme Court wallows in it's own fetid filth of corruption, physical bullying and partisan payoffs...JoAnne Kloppenburg steps cleanly and might we say - supremely - onto the State Court of Appeals.

As she has no opposition, the spring election for the post is basically a formality.

Kloppy turned in three times the needed signatures for nomination to the ballot. You go girl!

Compas Catches Fitz

2012-01-14T09:09:00.000-08:00

Fort Atkinson resident and activist, Lori Compas didn't take no for an answer when the DPW declined to sponsor the recall of Senate Majority Leader, Scott Fitzgerald.

Why did the DPW (Democratic Party of Wisconsin) take a pass? Fitzgerald won in 2010 with 68% of the vote against his Democratic opponent, Dwayne Block. He's also got a mere $280,000 in campaign cash on hand.

What's longer than a long-shot?

Undeterred, she ran the recall out of her house with a tiny band of volunteers canvassing in a district with large swaths of rural and sparsely populated areas. No one gave her much of a chance even if they appreciated her determination and grit.

Two weeks ago, Compas announced she had collected 12,000 signatures and with wise use of social networking she managed to capture the imagination of #wiunion and #wirecall followers and Facebook friends who started spreading the news. With a bit of help, she might be able to pull it off actually getting the 16, 742 signatures needed to trigger the recall. Her call to arms was heard.

Yesterday morning, Lori Compas announced they had gotten the required signatures and would work the rest of today to add a cushion to their total - while Fitzy throws a great big tantrum about how unfair it is the GAB gave the proper the amount of time to a lady with no money or connections who dared to challenge him.

Fitzgerald will use his considerable resources to challenge his recall every way possible. He has filed one of what will surely be many complaints against the process. Compas has said all along that her signature vetting process has been superior, so Fitzgerald will play every dirty angle he can.

In a fitting end note, the DPW did finally come on board as Compas got within striking distance. Good for them and for the rest of us - recalling Fitzgerald was impractical and could have initially been seen as a waste of party resources no matter how much Democrats (and a lot of Republicans) have come to loathe Fitz. It's nice to know that one person...and a bunch of her friends can change the mind of party politics just by sticking to it and doing a good job.

Well done, Lori Compas.

"F!" Scott Fitzgerald

2012-01-13T06:50:00.000-08:00

What a d-bag. Once again, our state "leaders" work tirelessly to keep their lawyers rolling in our dough.

Desperate.

Walker Kickin' It Old Skool

2012-01-13T06:44:00.000-08:00

Everyone knows by now that during his brief and failed attempt as a college student at Marquette University, Scott Walker was found unfit to be a candidate for student body president due to his exceptional knack for illegal and unethical campaign practices.

Not much changed in the years that followed.

Our friend, Chris Liebenthal over at Cognitive Dissidence has written a detailed summary of Walker's history and his sociopathic need to cheat and break election law as a candidate. Rea.d it

Most recently a complaint filed this week by One Wisconsin Now alleges the Walker campaign failed to properly report nearly 1,100 individual campaign contributions totaling more than $500,000 has begun to gain national attention.

Now, a governor's race these days needs to raise a lot of money and it requires a lot of paperwork. That's why you hire capable staff - which of course Walker can't find because he only hires campaign groupies who might as well just voluntarily turn their computers over to the DA at the end of each campaign cycle.

So what do you do when your guy just won't follow the law and seems incapable of hiring anyone besides perverts and thieves? Get your friends to change the law, of course.

Back in late September, when the issue of Walker's campaign money surfaced with an initial complaint from OWN and after the felony arrest of William Gardner, a railroad executive who gave more than the legal limit to the Governor's campaign - Glenn Grothman, icky purveyor of the timeless bowl haircut introduced a bill to nix place of employment on contributions of over $100.

Bill Gardner would probably have gotten off undetected under a bill like Grothman's.

Campaigning on the public dime, embezzling from veteran's, breaking campaign finance law - a 1000 times - all while pocketing hundred's of thousands of dollars from out-of-state millionaires...just another day at the office for Scott Walker.

Ron Johnson Is A Perfect Kochsucker According To Koch Bros.

2012-01-12T06:41:00.000-08:00

US Senator Ron Johnson

Wow! Such an honor. Wisconsin Senator, Ron Johnson has been awarded a 100% designation from Americans for Prosperity making him a perfect Koch whore.

Well done, Ronnie.

Wisconsin honor roll:
Paul Ryan - B
Jim Sensenbrenner - B
Sean Duffy - B
Reid Ribble - A-

No surprise, Tammy Baldwin sucks no Koch, she got an F.

Walker's Janesville Billboard: Supreme Irony With A Side Of Schadenfreude

2012-01-12T06:15:00.000-08:00

Word got around yesterday morning about a pro-Walker billboard placed directly in front of the shuttered Janesville GM plant.

Who would do something that dumb? It must have been a photoshop job...it wasn't.

It didn't take long before a real-live photo and video started circulating as proof of perhaps the most ironic visual representation of everything wrong with Scott Walker and his administration...good thing since the billboard got taken down just after lunch.

To be fair, Scott Walker didn't have anything to do with the closing of the Janesville Assembly plant. People in Janesville tie that noose around the neck of Scott Walker booster, Congressman Paul Ryan. (Which is also why Paul Ryan doesn't even win the small area of Janesville - his hometown - he represents.)

The billboard and it's remarkable location does however display the stunning juxtaposition between staggering job loss and unemployment Wisconsin workers face and the slick, delusional marketing efforts by wealthy corporate donors who love them some Scott Walker.

Do you know how much a billboard costs these days?!

So who can afford thousands of dollars a month to put Walker's giant beady eyes on a billboard AND the water to get it removed within a matter of minutes after it was discovered? Not the Walker Campaign that's for sure, they can't even file their contributions correctly.

Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce of course. In the video below, the "paid for" disclaimer is clearly seen: Paid For By WMC Issues Mobilization Council.

The WMC IMC is just a group of dedicated businessmen who just want to deliver "the message to the public to help them understand what it takes to create jobs in Wisconsin."

The Siren thinks that in spite of the billboard's brief life, Wisconsin got the message loud and clear.

Good additional blogs articles at Daily Kos and DefendWisconsin

WI Economic Activity vs. US Economic Activity: A Color Picture!

2012-01-11T06:41:00.000-08:00

Much has been written about Scott Walker's "It's (NOT) Working" Campaign in which he is spending millions of dollars to sell to the people of Wisconsin. While he lies, cherry-picks numbers and holds his family hostage in campaign commercials (which is a great indicator of public confidence, right?) the graph below tells the real story of the direction Wisconsin is moving - compared to our Midwest neighbors and the country in general.

ECONOMIC ACTIVITY: MIDWEST & US

Figure 3: Log coincident index for Wisconsin (WI, bold blue), Illinois (IL, gold), Indiana (IN, chartreuse), Iowa (IA, purple), Michigan (MI, dark red), Minnesota (MN, green), and US (bold black), all rescaled to 2011M01=0. Vertical line at 2011M01. Source: Federal Reserve Bank of Philadelphia and author’s calculations.

Interesting that the only state to do worse than Wisconsin is Indiana...

H/T Econbrowser

Zerban Raises Serious Cabbage

2012-01-11T05:54:00.000-08:00

Paul Ryan's opponent for U.S. Congress, Rob Zerban has announced his financial report for the end of 2011 and it's pretty darn impressive. He raised over $500,000 through the end of the year and nearly tripled his contributions in the last quarter. The best description of this accomplishment comes from the Zerban himself:

"I am proud to have outraised all previous challengers against Paul Ryan combined."

Now, that's of course a fraction of the big, big money Ryan has on hand, but it certainly had to make Ryan's campaign staff take notice.

Zerban's success so far has had an impact. Two weeks ago, Zerban participated in an AMA (Ask Me Anything) session on Reddit which resulted in an in depth discussion on SOPA (Stop Online Piracy Act) and Zerban's strong stance against it - SOPA is in fact a Trojan horse for internet corporate advantage.

Until then, Ryan had been silent on his position - until "Operation Pull Ryan" got on his back forcing him to declare his voting position. (Ryan traditionally fudges around on hot issues by mumbling vague platitudes until the vote comes down and then he votes with his party, leaving folks who thought they were having a dialog with him feeling totally fooled and used.)

Zerban raised more that $15,000 in just hours from Reddit users...Ryan kind of money.

Coincidentally, Ryan came out days later saying he was against SOPA and the internet kids rejoiced. (A word of warning kittens: If you know Ryan the way we know Ryan, don't be surprised if the House doesn't add an amendment or two that suddenly makes it possible for Ryan to support the bill - because he's a stone cold corporate whore.)

Paul Ryan is the great white whale of great white hope in the Republican Party and taking him out will be a major uphill battle. But Ryan is on the radar like never before, combined with a serious candidate like Zerban the Siren will have fun watching him work for it this time around.

More Recall Antagonistas Who Think Laws Don't Apply To Them At All

2012-01-10T10:29:00.000-08:00

Meet Linda Lorino. Linda has been cited for putting her hands on a recall volunteer against his wishes. Linda doesn't know what the big deal is because she just wanted a picture with him like he was an goat at a fucking petting zoo.

When she approached him to get a picture, she discovered he was already video taping her and she hit him. Asshole.

Then Linda told him he could not legally video tape her because she got her law degree from the side of a Skinnygirl margarita bottle.

Linda is old enough to understand the law, but apparently she doesn't have time to be bothered since she was ticketed two different times in 2010. Once for improper parking and once for failing to wear her seat belt. The Siren guesses Linda thinks those laws are for the riff raff.

Linda apologized...the video of her hitting the volunteer and incorrectly citing the law was sure to make the rounds of the PTA board before long. Awkward. Both Linda and her husband appear to be employed at Miller Brewing according to their campaign contribution history. Awkward times deux.

So let's be clear here. People can video tape you pretty much whenever they want in a public setting. Don't like it? Don't get out of your car idiot.

Like our old friend Carl Sosnoski who made a death threat to a recall volunteer because he didn't want to be taped, Carl has a whole sheet of legal involvements that go back to 1992 and is now apologizing for his behavior.

These people believe recall volunteers are required to answer their dumb questions. They aren't. They are following the law while being intimidated by people who have already been caught breaking it.

It makesone wonder about all the incidents that didn't get videotaped.

The Chronicles Of Wanggaard: Chapter Two

2012-01-10T06:29:00.000-08:00

Once upon a time there was a small town cop who got his neck wrenched in a car accident while on the job. His public employee union made sure he got disability pay and an early retirement and so he became a State Senator and voted to crush collective bargaining rights for public employee union members.

He lied to his friends and neighbors by saying he tried really hard to make it less of an evil bill...just before he voted in favor of it.

Now his friends and neighbors are recalling the State Senator from his job.

~~~

"The Chronicles of Wanggaard" is a periodic look at the issues and promises Van used to win his Senate seat and how well he has lived up to the hype.

Chapter Two: Van Increased Spending

Back in the day when Van Wanggaard was a County Supervisor with big dreams of making his mark in Madison, the crown jewel of his campaign was a solemn promise to reign in Madison spending. He said in one of his ads:

"As your State Senator, I'll stop the out of control spending."

But he didn't stop out of control spending - he increased it. Wanggaard lied.

According to the Wisconsin Taxpayers Alliance spending in Wisconsin rose 5.8% in 2011 and it is scheduled to rise another 4.4% in 2012. Even behemoth, California reduced their budget in 2011.

Wanggaard doesn't mention the spending issue very often anymore - because he can't.

~~~

Let's review:

1. Wanggaard Raised Taxes

2. Wanggaard Increased Spending

So far, chocolate boy is 0 for 2 of failed campaign promises.

Wanny Still Running At The Mouth...Still Not Telling The Truth

2012-01-09T09:10:00.000-08:00

Aided by a compliant press (looking at you, Journal Times) who behave as if there are no other elected officials who represent the people of Racine besides Van Wanggaard and Robin Vos (as Randolph Brandt so blisteringly reminded the public this morning that both gentlemen represent little and none of Racine - by design - any longer). Wanny got himself another 700 word spot in Sunday's JT.

The Siren has had a few laughs including Van's "notes" to each of his submissions to the press...it's fascinating to dissect the selective statistics, half-truth's and flat-out lies guys like Van tell. In yesterday's commentary, Wanny basically repeats his same dumb talking points as if repetition makes it all come true. So let's play a game of true, false or weasel (a statement that combines an element of truth used to make a false statement seem true)...

One year ago, I took office with one goal in mind — getting Racine back to work. True and False. True: One year ago Van did take office. False: He did not get Racine back to work. Racine remains #1 in unemployment in a state that ranks last in job creation.

I campaigned on that issue and, a year later, that is still the No. 1 issue in Racine County. That’s why I have authored or co-sponsored over two dozen bills designed to get our economy moving again, and get people back to work. Weasel and Weasel. Weasel: Wanny campaigned more specifically on not raising taxes and cutting spending overall...which he said would create jobs. It is still the #1 issue because it is still our #1 problem. Weasel: Van has co-sponsored a bunch of bills...but they were designed to give money, incentives and tax breaks for big business owners while he cut services and raised taxes on working class people and the poor who are still not back to work.

Wisconsin’s economy didn’t run aground overnight, and it won’t be fixed overnight. True.

Job creators must conclude that Wisconsin is a place they want to do business — and we’re making progress in that area. You’ve already heard about Wisconsin moving up 17 spots in CEO Magazine’s ranking of business-friendly states. You may have heard that this fall, 88 percent of business leaders say Wisconsin is on the right track (last year, it was only 10 percent). Weasel Deluxe! Wanny gets extra points here. Statements of truth: Businesses should want to do business here and the surveys he mentions are indeed true - but he hedges with the details and that's where the big fat weasels deluxe are found. Weasel: CEO Magazine did move Wisconsin up - great news - CEO Magazine is a vanity magazine for business CEO's that publishes their "magazine" 4 times a year. Not exactly Business Week. Deluxe: One of their main reason's for moving Wisconsin up in ranking was our highly educated and well trained workforce. Something Wanggaard spent a lot of time over the last year destroying and marginalized.

Now the second survey is a beautiful: Weasel: Did you hear in an unnamed survey of 88% business leaders said Wisconsin is on the right track? Wow! Deluxe: The survey was conducted by Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce - who spent nearly $1,000,000 to elect Walker and are the biggest recipients of Wanggaard's tax breaks...no wonder Wanny didn't mention them by name. WMC also said in the same survey business owners expect to add less jobs than in the previous survey and more expect to shed more jobs. Ouch.

A local Chambers of Commerce survey last month shows faith in Wisconsin’s economic future. In 2010, 74 percent of local Chambers of Commerce thought Wisconsin was on the wrong track. In 2011, 74 percent say Wisconsin is on the right track — a complete reversal. Progress is slow, but it is steady. Weasel Deluxe with a twist. Weasel: The "local" Chamber of Commerce is RAMAC. Now they don't go by the name "Chamber of Commerce" nor are they a part of the national Chamber of Commerce or Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce. Their 2011 survey saw moderate optimism in their future. Good. Deluxe: The reason Van misidentifies RAMAC is because the second statement that 74 percent of Chambers are once again from WMC...in fact he takes it almost word for word from their press release. Again, this is an organization in which nearly every member of their Board of Directors personally gave campaign contributions to Scott Walker - BIG contributions. Van wants you to believe that little town business groups like RAMAC are strongly behind him and his boss, so he juxtaposes two different results from two very different groups and tries to make readers believe they are connected. Bad form. Progress is just slow Van, very slow.

Slow, steady progress will eventually turn things around, but the 21st Senate District can’t wait for “eventually.” Our unemployment rate has been too high for too long. Very, very true. Which 21st Senate District do you suppose he is reffering to? His new one or his old one?

As I’ve met with job creators around the district, common themes have developed as obstacles to growth — burdensome Wisconsin-only laws and regulations, lack of capital and a lack of skilled workers. Who knows? A completely anecdotal statement. However, if Van had actually read the WMC survey he cherry-picked from he would have discovered that Wisconsin businesses are spending less time and money to train their own employees:

Perhaps that is a job best left to the technical college system? If so, then is was less than wise to cut their funding by more than 30% wasn't it Van?

We tackled regulatory reform in one of our first bills of 2011. My health care tax cut (2011 Act 49) is one example of fixing a situation that makes Wisconsin a difficult place to hire workers, and efforts to streamline Wisconsin’s mining laws are another. This is a doozy. True, false and wtf? True: Yes they did tackle regulation reform. "Reforming" the ability of independent government agencies to set their own standards and rules and placing them under the single veto power of the Governor. That is a "reform" but not in a good way.

False: This is a dumb false statement because this was one bill in which Van had general support. Act 49 allowed people who had older children - who were no longer dependents - on their health insurance plans (which became possible through evil Obamacare) to not have to pay income tax on the additional coverage their non-dependent children qualified for. Maybe because this bill was designed to compliment the new federal law, Van needs to lie about what it did. Weird. In a rare opportunity to boast, he buries it in cat litter.

WTF? After today's articles about how the new mining legislation will cost taxpayers millions because legislators like Van wrote in expense caps for mining companies, does anyone actually believe the mining law is streamlined for anyone's benefit beside the CEO's of the mine?

As other issues surface, we will confront them as well. As will we...

For the coming spring legislative session, I am focusing my efforts on the other two major impediments — lack of capital and skilled workers. Suggestion: Since you received thousands of campaign contribution dollars from the folks at M&I and Johnson Banks, you might want to start there. Also, since your job creators don't want to spring to actually train workers anymore howabout you give Gateway and the other state technical colleges back all the funding you guys took from them so people can actually afford to go and get trained.

A group of legislators is working on one area of this need — venture capital. In addition, I have authored a bill which offers a new model of capital investment. The Next Generation Jobs Bill takes the growth in the payroll tax from the bioscience industry and reinvests those funds in the bioscience industry. If this bill does what we think it will do, I’m confident we’ll copy this model for other sectors of the economy, too. Oh Van, this one again? Gambling with public revenue is more than risky...especially when those businesses get to keep the profits and don't even have to put up any of their own capital. Maybe you should put Tim Russell in charge of it...at least one taxpayer will get rich.

I’ve also offered a bill allowing tax credits to be transferred between companies. An unused tax credit doesn’t grow the economy, and prevents other credits from being used. What could possibly go wrong here? OMG.

Connecting skilled workers with job openings is a multipart problem. At times, there may be workers and employers, but they aren’t finding each other. Other times, a particular skill set is missing, causing job creators to look elsewhere. I’ve drafted two bills specifically addressing this need. My first bill offers voluntary training to unemployed individuals with prospective employers. In exchange for this training, workers receive an additional stipend. Employers benefit by reaching a pool of potential workers. This proposal is a win-win. Retread from previous commentaries. False, this is not a win-win. Temporary work with no benefits and no rights is not appropriate answer to chronic unemployment and is only a win for employers. Giving away more public revenue to corporations for a less than permatemp-indentured-servant program is a lousy idea.

Another proposal is the technical education high school diploma. Because a four-year college isn’t for everyone, this bill gives students the chance to earn a diploma in technical skill, such as nursing, welding or carpentry — areas of need in our economy. This diploma will provide students with needed skills, and get skilled workers into the workforce quickly. False. Vocational diplomas do not prevent high school drop-outs...they proved it 20 years ago when this idea was last trotted out. Vocational diplomas are championed by students who already know what they want to do. These students don't drop out in the first place. Vocational diplomas are also not generally accepted by colleges as they indicate a course of study that is not well rounded. They do however create a second-class of student workers limited by a life-decision they made when they were 15 years old.

I’ve said this before, and I’ll say it again — getting Wisconsin’s economy moving again isn’t a Democrat or Republican issue. It’s a Wisconsin issue. Political games and “gotcha” votes may get all the headlines from Madison, but I truly believe that people in both parties recognize this. True and true. People in both parties understand Van Wanggaard voted with his Republican friends 100% of the time.

Every bill I’ve authored this session has earned bipartisan support, including those mentioned here. In fact, despite the rhetoric and hyperbole you hear, 93 percent of all bills passed have had bipartisan support. And the reason is simple — getting Wisconsin’s economy back on track is going to take everyone working together. True, true and true. It is the other 7% that has compelled residents of the 21st Senate to insist on recalling Wanggaard from office. They are indeed working on it together.

State Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, represents the 21st Senate District.

Liberals in the Thunderdome

2012-01-08T08:47:00.000-08:00

Two men enter, NO man leave!

Two very brave liberal bloggers attended the AFP "It's Working" Caucasian jamboree in Waukesha yesterday.

It is a must read. Blessings to Phil and Lisa for such courage under fire.

Scooter's January 6th Homeboy E-Update...With Notes

2012-01-07T08:18:00.000-08:00

E-update from the Desk of Governor Scott Walker

One of the most important duties I have serving as your Governor is to provide you directly with updates related to the operation of our state government. While completely ignoring the uncomfortable fact that just yesterday three associates of mine were arrested for felony embezzlement and child enticement. In an effort to improve communication, periodically I will be sending out an e-update to provide you with more information about what is going on in state government. The Milwaukee District Attorney will fill in any gaps I may overlook. Please feel free to share this update with your family, friends, and others who may be interested in state government operations. Except the pornography, sexting and trolling for young boys. That's kinda gross...don't share that okay?

One Year on the Job Or as Voters Call it - Purgatory

Over the course of the first year serving as your Governor I made a number of promises aimed at improving our state. Yeah, that thing about the 250,000 jobs doesn't count, cause I said that before I was Governor...suckers. Unlike many office holders who often make promises that they do not keep, Check it, I just shit on like every other elected official I know...'cause that's how the Gubizzle rolls. I followed through on a number of important initiatives aimed at reforming government and leaving our kids and grandkids with a state better off than the one we received. Schools - whacked. Clean air - hammered. Health Care - pwned. Wait til those muthafuckas see the deficit I leave behind for them, they are gonna freak yo! Below is a listing of the major promises I took action on during my first year on the job.

I promised to balance Wisconsin’s $3.6 billion budget deficit without increasing taxes or requiring massive public employee layoffs. And I didn't dawg, I raised taxes and threatened to fire 6000 workers - to show I was down. But I'm gonna keep saying it anyway. On June 26th signed into law the 2011-13 budget. After a whole bunch of bullshit hippie posers tried to harsh my buzz. This balanced budget makes tough choices while providing a path to recovery and prosperity for our state and our people. My man Cullie wrote that for me. That guy can make any stone cold lie sound like a song. Through honest budgeting, we are providing an alternative to the reckless tricks and gimmicks of the past. We just raided the general and transportation fund, NBD. Just as any parent would dread leaving their kids in debt, it is the dream of every mother and father to leave their children a little better off, and that’s what our budget will do. I am going to die and go to heaven and you little shorties will go through my stuff and discover I liked to wear Tonette's panties. But only when I'm stressed.

I promised to call the Legislature into Special Session to pass pro-growth legislation aimed at helping employers create jobs. Especially those Koch dudes and that rich guy from New York, Roger Hertog who gave me 50k last month. Earlier this year I signed legislation into law improving Wisconsin’s litigation climate, improving the state’s regulatory process, creating the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation, creating a tax credit for employers that create jobs, and making health savings accounts tax deductible. Don't tell anyone, but we all have this list of shit we say. Me, Fitzy, Robo and that little Mexican guy, Suder. See we have a list and they told us at ALEX to just keep saying it over and over like it's a good thing. They got me a really cool hotel room comped with breakfast. In these challenging economic times while Illinois is raising taxes, we are lowering them. Yeah, they're adding jobs while we are losing them, what's your point? On my first day in office I called a Special Session of the legislature, not in order to raise taxes, but to open Wisconsin for business. And wrote a big fucking check to all my pals who gave me money, all legit tho. It's called job creator incentives! I am pleased to sign into law bills that provide tax relief to small businesses, create a job-friendly legal environment, lessen the regulations that stifle growth, and expand tax credits for companies that relocate here and grow here. Money for rich dudes, ballers gotta ball.

I promised to help the private sector create 250,000 new jobs by 2015. After 3 years of net private sector job losses totaling 150,000, in the first 11 months of 2011 Wisconsin had a net increase of thousands of new jobs. 16,000 which kept us basically flat, but chill - we're pacing ourselves. Because of the hard work done so far to improve Wisconsin’s business climate, employers are willing to grow and invest in our state. Yeah, there were more plant closings and layoffs this year than last, but those companies were punk losers anyway. That is good for middle class working families and it is good for Wisconsin. Except for those taxes we raised on 'em, the Badgercare crap they keep whining about. Pffft! We are on our way to creating 250,000 jobs by 2015, but there is more work to be done in order to meet and surpass that goal. Like a fuckin' miracle bro.

I promised to pay off the debts and fund raids of the past. And never tell you when I do it myself...psyche! Working with the Legislature we were able to pay off $800 million in unpaid bills, including $235 million to the Patient's Compensation Fund and $58 million owed to the state of Minnesota. 'Cause we had to dawg - don't even think we didn't try and get out of it. I thought we owned all them judges. These are huge steps toward restoring confidence in our state’s ability to manage its finances. Which is all you should care about right? Who gives a shit about the lawsuits, the arrests, seized computers and those creepy gay guys? The era of illegal fund raids, Now we have administrative office raids. job killing tax increases, Now we have family killing tax increases on poor people. one time money being used for ongoing operations, Now we just slash all operations like Planned Parenthood and good schools. and massive budget deficits has ended. Until 2013! ROTFLMAO! Paying off outstanding bills, operating under a balanced budget, and working on bipartisan, pro-growth initiatives sends a clear message to job creators that Wisconsin is open for business. Except all those bullshit hippie posers won't go home and Steve Kagan just measured drapes for my office. Asshole.

I promised to take politics out of the woods. Last year I appointed a Whitetail Deer Trustee and held a roundtable to listen to the concerns of hunters. I totally thought he was going to be a real motherfucking deer. What a rip! The Deer Trustee will provide an independent evaluation, study Wisconsin’s deer management practices, and make recommendations. Total bullshit since he's not really a deer. He's just some dude from Texas Cullie paid a shitload of money to. It is vitally important that hunters, sportsmen and women, and conservationists trust the state to be a partner in helping to effectively sustain our deer populations. The Deer Trustee will help ensure they have confidence in Wisconsin’s deer herd management practices. Who cares? Someone gave this to me to write down, I don't give a shit. I'm hungry.

I promised to freeze property taxes. I wanted to make it freeze with my concealed gun, but Cullie said it doesn't work that way. So I froze their Homestead Tax Credit instead and let the villages raise 'em for me. The budget signed into law and reforms are saving taxpayers hundreds of dollars. They are gonna need them when the school districts raise their levy's and they find out they got no earned income tax credit dude. For the first time in six years the school portion of the property tax levy went down one percent on average across the whole state. See it was too late for this year, but next year? Blam! Our reforms are protecting taxpayers while keeping our schools great. Next year - Blam! Taxpayers are seeing their levies go down for the first time in six years, while our schools continue to meet the needs of Wisconsin students. Blam! Blam! Blam! This shit is better than a taser man. I didn't need no fucking school and I'm the Gubizzle.

It has been a pleasure communicating with you. It is an honor to serve as your Governor and represent the residents of Wisconsin. And I'm gonna ride this bitch down into the ground until they bury me with it. Word.

Sincerely,

Governor Scott Walker

Son of a Preacherman