Sykes Beaten By A Girl

Last week, when Danica Patrick became the first woman to win in an IndyCar race, Sykes was mocking the other drivers with the childish taunt of "You got beaten by a GIRL!"

Well, now Sykes can hear people taunt him with the same jeer.

He put up a post, if you can call his copy and pasting as blogging, about the "need" to drill everywhere from Alaska to North Dakota to the Virginia Coast to your Aunt Millie's backyard.

Sykes is dead wrong, as usual. To show him the errors of his ways, I would refer the gentle reader to the wonderful Ms. Emily Mills:

What's important is that we increase the efficiency and safety standards for current production sites while also working hard to create and improve more sustainable, renewable sources of energy. These new sources, like any new market, will help to create a great number of new jobs, many of which aren't likely to require a great deal of retraining for workers already skilled at jobs in existing energy fields. The trick in all of this, of course, is doing our best to make the transition as smooth as possible. Kinks will be inevitable, but certainly human ingenuity can help to minimize their impact and maximize the positive results.

Plowing ahead with the same old methods without thinking through their long-term effects and consequences is what got us into our current mess. Why repeat the same old mistakes?

But to help ease Sykes' fragile ego, we will also point out that the HeraldBlogger gives us the numbers that belie Sykes' fantasy.

McIlheran: Buy Our Elephant Repellent

You know the old joke that goes something like this:

"Hey, mister, you better buy a bottle of my Elephant Repellent. If you don't buy it, the elephants will come into the neighborhood and trample you! My proof that this stuff really works is that there are no elephants around here."

Well, that is what McIlheran is telling us when he touts SCOTUS's ruling to uphold Indiana's Voter ID law, in his column in this morning's paper.

Unfortunately, there are too many that buy into this false argument. And this is unfortunate, since it has been proven to be a bogus talking point, time and time again, that there is not enough fraud to justify the disenfranchisement of more than a hundred thousand people in Wisconsin alone.

McIlheran tries to say that people wouldn't be disenfranchised because the state could provide free IDs to those who need it, or to use other forms of identification. But in the same breath, he advocates for the abolishment of same-day registration, which, ironically, uses the same forms of ID he says is OK. Go figure.

Not only does McIlheran, who claims to hate taxes, advocate for this unnecessary tax burden (and I thought he only did that for unnecessary freeway expansions), but fails to acknowledge that one of the problems is that the poor are often transient. So this may require multiple issuings of a picture ID to the same person, just to keep it current and accurate. How much you would want to bet he'd be blaming the ever increasing tax on the nearest Democrat?

Despite all of his posturing, McIlheran is not really sincere in his interest to stop the non-existent voter fraud. For if he was, his first concern would be to clean up the largest area of voter fraud, the absentee ballot. But he wouldn't dare do that. That's the Republicans' favorite way of committing their own fraud while throwing their red herrings at the poor, the minorities and the elderly to keep the public's attention from the real concern.

Ooh, Tres Tacky!

Apparently there was some sort of theme day at TMJ620 today. First Wagner, then Sykes really goes over the line, with this bad grouping:



Who do these guy's think they are, WISN?

Observations, Continued

Here is another installment:

Talk Show Hosts need to learn that over-talking is the last refuge of the incompetent.

Talk Show Hosts need to learn that nothing lowers the level of conversation more than raising the voice.

Talk Show Hosts prove it is easier to be critical than to be correct.

Talk Show Hosts should learn not to speak against anyone whose burden they have not weighed themselves.

Talk Show Hosts must learn there is little room for wisdom when one is full of judgment.

Wright-O-Rama

For those in the right wing who thought they had a horse to ride in the presidential election in first whipping up exaggerations about Rev. Wright and then looping over and over ad nausea his relationship with Sen. Barack Obama, the party's over and it's time to call it a day.

But buck up kids. You'll concoct another legend you'll attempt to hang around Obama's neck to avoid civil discourse which has that unfortunate aspect of talking about facts, which lately have not been kind to conservative policy fantasies.

Charlie Sykes of course is well aware that Obama has buried this problem. So in a flurry reminiscent of a man stuffing his face before the buffet closes up for the night, Charlie is letting loose with every snippet of the Wright stuff here, here, here, here and here he can lay his hands on before the lights are flicked out.

At least you have to give Charlie credit. He will have none of the charades of his right wing brethren who ten years ago were calling Hillary Clinton every disgusting name in the book and now want us to believe they are pushing her for president, thinking they are pushing the Democrats over the cliff.

At least you know which candidate his lacquered hairness really hates.

Ahh, Journamalism

What would be the reaction of Lucius Nieman if he saw what's become of his once-proud news organization?

Fischer's Next Job: Public Relations Specialist

The other day, Fischer puts up a post blasting away at anonymous commenters on the Internet. While the example he used does indeed show how mean people can be, one cannot help but wonder what his true intentions were when he wrote this.

In the comments thread of this post, we see a Mr. Zippy, who rightfully points out that some of the forefathers of this great country of ours wrote the Federalist Papers under the alias of Publius.

Fischer then does the only thing he apparently knows. He resorts to whining and name-calling. He bemoans how "mean" people have been to him. He seems to have forgotten that the reason he even came to our attention was because he was being a bully to a young blogger, and was doing this same sort of name-calling that he is complaining about, and then some. His attacks were of a personal nature. His misbehaviors are so egregious that he has even been called on it in Milwaukee Magazine, not just once, but twice.

Because of his boorish behaviors, he came under more and more scrutiny. Since then, we have found out that he is ethically-challenged and has bilked tax payers of their hard earned money.

But the real irony is in his complaints of people choosing to be anonymous, or using a pseudonym, like our founding fathers used the moniker of Publius. Many people have written about the right to remain anonymous and/or to use a pseudonym. Greater minds and writers, from the left's Jay Bullock to the right's Owen Robinson to a Great King have all written in support of this constitutional right. Needless to say, all of these people are better writers and deeper thinkers than Fischer could hope to be, which might explain his anger, his bitterness, and his petulance.

This is all just leading up to his hypocrisy on the issue, since his boss, state Senator Mary Lazich, has already told us that he does her writing for her blog. This means, dear reader, that he too writes under a pseudonym. Yet he complains about others who choose to do so.

But despite his misogynist tendencies, his ethical lapses, his megalomania, and his churlish and childish name-calling, Fischer does have one redeeming quality. He reads Whallah! You see, when he complains about having his writing skills unfavorably compared to those of a fetid mouse turd, it came from this here post.

McIlheran Appears On Jeopardy

McIlheran, always looking for some mug time on the telly, recently tried out for Jeopardy.

His answer was:

The question was: Why would a man want to tarnish his soul and his reputation by writing mean-spirited, hateful, and hypocritical things for a local newspaper?

You, Too, Can Own Belling

Hey kids, just think of the hours of fun you can have pretending that you are an executive with Clear Channel Radio, or a member of WMC. All you have to do is spend waaaaaay to much money and buy your own Mark Belling bobble head doll (not to be confused with Mike Gableman).

Yes, it's true. As reported by Tim Cuprisin of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, you can go to eBay and get your own doll. No need to rush, there hasn't been a single bid yet.

The best part of the eBay ad is the leader:

"HEY PAUL! WHAT PERCENTAGE OF MILWAUKEE AREA RESIDENTS DO YOU THINK WOULD GIVE THEIR LEFT ARM FOR A BOBBLEHEAD OF ME? 98???? IT'S TRUE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! 98% OF MILWAUKEE RESIDENTS WOULD GIVE THEIR LEFT ARM FOR A BOBBLEHEAD OF YOURS TRULY!!!!!!!!!!!!!"

Here it is. The wait is finally over. Here's your chance to own for yourself the ever elusive Mark Belling bobblehead doll. These beauties are a rare sight around these parts. I won this five or six years ago on Mark's show by answering a trivia question. Luckily I didn't have to risk being berated for stating my opinion on whatever topic it was that he was pontificating about at the time. Although I was mildly browbeaten because I admitted to finding the answer to the question on the World Wide Web. So bid early and bid often. I really need the money- for a ticket to a NASCAR race or a Toby Keith concert or a subscription to the National Review or an autographed picture of George Will or something equally as splendid and fantastic.

Who wouldn't want their own Belling the bobblehead doll to complete their collection. It would fit perfectly between the Chucky and Mr. Potato Head dolls.

H/T to the Green Knight

Ethics Matter

As demonstrated by yours truly and capper earlier this week, Kevin Fischer is no fan of ethics. Cindy Kilkenny over at Fairly Conservative has also done a great job of detailing all Kevin Fischer's foibles and ethical lapses, but today I want to take a trip in the Wayback Machine...destination 1996 (emphasis mine):

October 15, 1996, Tim Cuprison in Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"Quit all the speculating out there about why reporter/ conservative commentator Kevin Fischer got fired last week by WTMJ-AM (620). Despite reading here that it had nothing to do with his political views, folks who saw conspiracies out there inundated my voice mail.

Well, as is the case with most companies, the Journal Broadcast Group won't talk about why Fischer was axed, except to say that it wasn't for anything he did on the air.

But nosing behind the scenes, it's clear that WTMJ management was concerned about a possible violation of the company's ethics code. While away on vacation, it seems, Fischer took a freebie to Walt Disney World's 25th anniversary celebration in Orlando, Fla., a huge media event. Fischer didn't file any reports from the bash. The next week, he lost his job. Word is that after Fischer was fired, WTMJ's radio news folks were called into a meeting and the ethics policy was restated to prevent a repeat of the situation. Fischer, by the way, won't talk about it. In fact, he angrily told me to stop typing what he said when I called him Monday afternoon, because he wouldn't talk to me on the record. He wouldn't talk off the record, for that matter. KUDOS FOR KEVIN: Meanwhile, big bucks consultant and conservative policy wonk George Mitchell wrote to Fischer's bosses praising his reporting style: "Kevin did not cloak his reporting or commentary with phony objectivity which characterizes so much of the print and broadcast journalism today. With Kevin, listeners got a clear and open expression of news and opinion. "They knew just where he was coming from, not unlike listeners to Paul Harvey, for example," Mitchell wrote. For the record, Paul Harvey isn't a reporter. He's a commentator."

So let's recap...

• Allegedly fired for violating ethics code at WTMJ? CHECK!
  
• Used more vacation time in 2006 than what he was alloted as a state employee? CHECK!
  
• Used more vacation time in 2007 - at least 46 hours worth - than what he was alloted? CHECK!

It's no wonder why Kevin Fischer says "Ethics Schmethics."

Disgusting

Here's John Gard's pic from the front page of his new campaign website. Notice what's missing?

That's right. The pinko isn't wearing a flag pin. I suggest that everyone make it a point to ask him why he hates America so much at every rally from now until he goes back into private life in November.

He's A Pulitzer Prize Nominee, Ya Know

This comes from Charlie Sykes, renowned author, Pulitzer Prize nominee, radio show host, and so-called "Blogfather":

One would think with all those accolades, he'd be able to do a simple copy and paste.

If McIlheran Ruled The World

On his blog, McIlheran writes a rather long and convoluted post in a feeble effort to defend the illegal actions taken by Neil Noesen. Noesen was the pharmacist that refused to provide medication, in this case, birth control pills, to a client, and was subsequently fired for this. He is now trying to take the case to the Wisconsin Supreme Court.

Basically, McIlheran's arguments boils down to is that the pharmacist should have the right to refuse service, if he is ethically opposed to giving the medication to a client, based on his religious beliefs.

Ironically, McIlheran, who is all for sending our young men and women into harm's way to fight a theocracy, wishes that this country was a theocracy. Unfortunately for McIlheran, and fortunately for us, this isn't a theocracy, but it is a land of laws. The law states that the young women has a right to receive the medical treatment that her doctor has prescribed for her, whether Noesen agrees with the morality of it or not.

We all have had jobs that required us to do something unpleasant or that we disagreed with. But we all found either a way to suck it up and get it done, a workable way around the issue, or got the heck out of their and pursued a different career path. One can only speculate why McIlheran finds this concept so hard to grasp.

For a more learned look at the legal aspects of this case, I would refer the gentle reader to either that Rick Esenberg fella, or own fave legal eagle, the Illusory One.

I Knew His Work Stunk, But...

...I didn't think it would cause death on a mass scale.

Fischer Explains His Vacation Lapse

As was duly noted, Cindy Kilkenny resolved the issue and was able to attain proof that Kevin Fischer has been indeed bilking the Wisconsin taxpayers and playing around with his vacation time, for at least two straight years.

Today, Fischer reponds to why he did this:

Zachary, the Blue Knight, has more on this breaking issue. (Don't you just love his work?)

H/T to Cindy for the story. H/T to Zach for the graphic.

Because Sometimes You Just Want Even More Of More Of The Same

Just as a lagniappe for those of you who aren't sure if Candidate McCain hugging the current resident is creepy enough I just want to make sure you all remember who supports who in this state.

Happy Belated Birthday To Us

I just realized that it was one year ago the Saturday before last, on April 19th, that the intrepid and wise Template gave birth to Whallah!

So, a big Thank You to Template, whoever and wherever you are, for your wisdom and giving voice to all of us.

And an even bigger thank you to you, dear reader, for without you, we wouldn't have made it this far.

And, of course, Happy Belated Birthday, Whallah!

ROYAL DECREE: In honor of Whallah!'s birthday, all loyal citizens are hereby directed to enjoy themselves. Cake is optional.

The King has spoken. So shall it be.

A Wagnerian Twofer

Wagner first shares his new personal motto with us:




Then he explains...




...this photo.

McIlheran Is Unfit To Be On MSJ's Editorial Board

Seeing that McIlheran has enlightened us that Senator Barack Obama shouldn't be the President of the United States because of such egregious violations such as knowing someone once who said something that someone found offensive and not even wearing a flag pin on his lapel, one would presume that McIlheran would hold himself to some basic levels of decency, right? Wrong!

Illy-T shows us that McIlheran, who is on the editorial board of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, and thereby has some say on who gets into the "Best of the Blogs" section each Sunday, has picked Peter DiGaudio of Texas Hold'Em Blogger to be in this week's edition. Illy-T writes:

The Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel runs a feature every weekend called the Best of the Wisconsin Blogs. It's in the hard copy paper too. This week the Best of the Blogs is represented by an incoherent two-paragraph diatribe inspired by the "genius" of Rush Limbaugh, some nonsense about "the Hildabeast" and "Shrillary" and Republicans disingenuously masquerading as registered Democrats.

High calibre stuff, clearly.

Jay Bullock also points out that Peter is able to call people "limp-wristed girlie men, weenies, pansies and sissies."

None of this should come as a surprise to McIlheran, who was already confronted on this person, who likes to refer to Hispanic people as "chattering chihuahuas." Not only did McIlheran not distance himself from this person, he defended these offensive behaviors.

Nor has anyone shown any accomplishments by McIlheran that shows he is worthy of this position at the paper.

And after being prompted by Jay's comment at this post, I searched the Web, but could not find one picture of McIlheran sporting an American flag pin on his lapel.

Clearly, McIlheran is not qualified to be on the editorial board of the paper, and by having him there, it endangers all the people in Wisconsin and society as a whole. I strongly urge the powers that be at MSJ to remove him from the board immediately.

Clearly, this anti-social, America-hating, hypocrite is not worthy to be on the editorial board of the the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

As a replacement, I would recommend Tim Rock, but we still have been unable to locate him at this time.

Even More Observations

To continue...

The wise person questions himself, the Talk Show Host others.

Talk Show Host's maturity begins when they are content to feel what's right about something without feeling the necessity to prove someone else wrong.

Talk Show Host can criticize, condemn, second guess and complain - and they do. Constantly.

A Talk Show Host is someone who can't change his mind and won't change the subject.

A Talk Show Host is someone who persists in holding his own views after we have enlightened him with ours.

Vanity Fair

Common knowledge tells us that if someone is really good at whatever they do, people will notice, and tell you about it. If you have to tell people that you are good, then you're probably not good at it at all.

Like some sort of freak show at the vanity fair, the local right wing squawkers have to tell people that they are good, meaning they're not.

On his blog, Sykes "Hot Read" of the day is someone named Marvin Olasky who is recommending his 50 Rules book as a graduation gift. The funny thing is that if you read Mr. Olasky's recommendation, it looks like a copy and paste of the books inside cover, and not really a review or recommendation.

An even better example is shown to us by Cindy Kilkenny*. She notes that Fischer likes to have a weekly "Best of the Blog" post in which he highlights the five most popular posts from his blog during the previous week.

She points out the most popular post is written by his wife. Cindy continues:

Of course, the second most popular was whipping on another blogger for daring to take a job with a private not-for-profit organization. The third was about food. Any real news came in at 4th and 5th.

Cindy is much too fair to Fischer though. His fourth post is saying that the citizens of Franklin don't deserve to have a tornado warning system, because saving people's lives is just too dang expensive, in his opinion. His fifth post is a YouTube of the presidential candidates making fools of themselves at WWE.

Like I said, if you have to tell people how good you are, you aren't.

*Can a conservative be part of Whallah!? Or is that one of the signs of the apocalypse?

Fischer Is All For Violating The Constitution

Fischer is in full support of a bill that is currently going through the Florida state legislature. The bill would allow drivers to have yet one more specialized plate to put on their cars. This time it is one that promotes Christianity:


Now, I fully believe in the Constitution. This includes the first amendment. This amendment allows people the right to freedom of religion, meaning they can worship, or not worship, as they see fit. It also means that the state would not endorse any specific religion.

So, unless Fischer is so unpatriotic and unAmerican as to want to willfully violate the Constitution (even though he probably is), I am sure he won't mind a license plate for those that practice Islam:

or for those Devil Worshipping Atheists:

Mixter has other suggestions for license plates over yonder.

What Is That? A PLEDGE PIN! On Your Uniform?

Everytime the right wingers bring up the whole "Obama doesn't wear a flag pin on his lapel" garbage, I can't help but think of Doug Neidermeyer from Animal House.

Now, we have Milwaukee's own Neidermeyer, McIlheran, linking to Tom McMahon (the same guy who gave us the COEXIST issue) being all upset when there is no flag pin on Obama's lapel.

What's next? Counting how many "Support Our Troops" magnets on the back of each candidate's car to see how they will do with national defense.

But in an effort to try to keep up with the times, Whallah! proudly introduces a button that all of the members of the local right wing media can proudly pin on all of their lapels:

Sykes Explains Obama

If you don't get his explanation, you obviously don't have the implant yet. (Neither do I, thankfully.)

This Says A Lot

Fischer wrote a post the other day, mocking those that are upset about the Franklin and Oak Creek Common Councils who approved some silly name for S. 27th St. (Why they just don't call it S. 27th St., I'll never understand, but then again, I'm not that pretentious. And don't tell me it's for attracting people. Hwy. 100 and Bluemound Ave. both do great without such silliness.)

Fischer apparently feels that this whole thing is rather silly, worrying about how the government is handling its business. Of course he would. I don't think he likes it when people pay attention too closely.

Even some of his four readers (I think they're doing some sort of penance) have to point out how he is still stepping over the line:

More Observations

Following up from a post the other day, here are more observations regarding the local right wing media:

Talk Show Hosts would rather defend to the death their right to freedom of speech rather than listen to it.

Talk Show Hosts need to realize that Democracy's real test lies in its respect for other's opinion.

Talk Show Hosts have a tendency to change jobs, friends and spouses instead of themselves.

No Reason For Bitterness

The right wingers love to ridicule Obama's statement about people feeling bitter. Yeah, like there's just no reason at all anyone would feel upset.



Cartoon is by Joe Heller of the Green Bay Press Gazette.

Friday Night Fischer Fry, Reheated

Cindy Kilkenny wraps up the ongoing saga of Fischer and his curious use of vacation time (emphasis mine):

I was right. Kevin Fischer used more vacation time in 2007 than he was allotted. Today I learned the state took a deduction from his January 2008 paycheck to true up the balance overused on 2007. Fischer had gone negative on vacation hours in 2006, too. That was 46 hours that had to be returned in 2007.

Kevin Fischer likes his vacation time. Let’s hope 2008 is a little more true to what he earns. The Senate administrator that just gave me a call indicates they are doing their best to tighten up these policies. He also indicates that there are very few employees that have this much trouble keeping their vacation resources in check.

You can read her entire post here.

No wonder the state budget is always in trouble if people like Fischer are involved. If he can't handle first grade math, how would he be able to handle big numbers. He just doesn't have that many fingers and toes.

I don't know what state policy is regarding this sort of behavior, or if it is different for someone in Fischer's position. Most jobs I have had would have considered this a cause for disciplinary action, including termination.

But in Fischer's defense, it is my understanding that he would, on the days he came in late to work, would make up for it by leaving early.

It's Not OK, Even If Done In The Name Of God

I'm going to go off on a slight tangent here, but this ticks me off to no end.

Dad29 had put up a post the other day regarding the stuff going on in Texas with the polygamist cult in Texas. His general gist is that what was going on in that complex was just OK, because they were Christians. He also laments about what he figures thus:

Yes. This is, without a doubt, the most egregious example of Statism since Waco, and although less deadly (so far), it's just as portentous.

Even more disturbing are the comments put up by readers "Amy" and "Dan". They actually defend the cultists, because, you know, they are religious. They complain that the cultists' rights are being violated, that they are not given the benefit of presumed innocence, and that the kids weren't really being abused in any way.

I'm sorry but that is the biggest pile of cow manure this side of any twenty dairy farms.

I will not pretend to be familiar with the specifics of the Children's Code in Texas, but I cannot imagine it all that different from Wisconsin's laws, which I am rather familiar with, from working in the child welfare system for seven years.

First of all, cases of this sort are not criminal cases. There is no guilt or innocence. There is just cause. These cases had to be investigated by social workers, and the allegations had to be found to be substantiated that the children have been maltreated, or at great risk of being maltreated. I am sure that a case of this magnitude was closely supervised by supervisors, department heads and all the way up the chain before action was taken. Then it had to be reviewed by the District Attorney's office and found to be up to snuff before they would file the petitions for the children's removal. Finally, the judge would have to determine that the facts presented were sufficient before any orders would have been issued.

All of this apparently has occurred, or events wouldn't have unfolded in the way that they have. This is not the final step, but just the first. Each case will be reviewed by the court individually, to determine if further action would be needed, like a full order keeping the children out of the parents' home until certain conditions are met, or in home services would suffice, or that the children can be returned without any further action.

Given the fact that it is abnormal for a teenage girl to feel romantic attraction to someone old enough to be their father or grandfather, one could logically conclude that there was grooming going on, such as a sexual predator would use. And much like a local case, it would not be surprising to find out excessive use of corporal punishment was used on the children as well.

Dad29 and company also argue that the original source of the allegation is unreliable. So what? The fact is, referrals can even be made anonymously. If social services and investigates and finds a reasonable cause for concern, the referral source is irrelevant. Remember, criminal court standards don't apply to these sorts of cases.

And it really doesn't matter if these people worship God, Allah, the Great Spirit, Buddha or the Flying Spaghetti Monster. Child abuse is child abuse, and there is never justification for it, no matter what religion, if any, the people might practice.

It is equally disgusting to use said religion to not only justify this horrendous and inexcusable behavior, but to rationalize one's own conspiracy theories and paranoia of black helicopters.

Observations

Back in the day, a group of wise and wonderful lefty bloggers got together to make a list. This list was the 50+ Things You Won't Learn From Talk Radio.

Recently, a faithful reader, identified as Talker Squawker Watcher sent me an email with a list of 25 things that he or she or they have observed to be truisms about the right wing squawkers of the local media, especially regarding Sykes and Wagner, although I find them universally true for all of them.

Over the course of the next few days, I will share these keen observations with you, gentle reader. Here are the first few:

Election year is that period when Talk Show Hosts get free speech mixed up with cheap talk.

Talk Show Hosting is perhaps the only Profession for which no preparations are thought necessary.

Talk Show Hosts are like ships: noisiest when lost in a fog.

The Growing Influence of Whallah!

You know you gotta be doing something right when you become a part of the everyday lexicon on both sides of the aisle.

From our own kr, who left a comment at folkbum's (emphasis mine):

Well, this is a by-product of this Democratic contest dragging on. If it were down to one Democrat and McCain, Wallah! The concern trolling, which is the usual cynicalness of these guys, would evaporate.

And from the conservative side, a posting from Cindy Kilkenny (again, emphasis mine):

On this blustery day with the “s” word in our extended forecast, it’s time to look for diversions. Try out this Japanese site that ages photographs online. Follow your instinct to upload a photo from your computer. Wait patiently, and whallah! (I know it’s a bit of an inside joke.) Before you know it you’ve a photo that looks like it came from Grandpa’s barn.

Today, the blogsophere. Tomorrow, the world!

National Patrick McIlheran Appreciation Day

I wasn't even aware of it until it was pointed out by the Illusory One, but today must be National Patrick McIlheran Appreciation Day, in which everyone gathers to celebrate the "wit and wisdon" of good, old PaddyMac.

Emily Mills and I got the festivities off to an early start yesterday.

Today the gala hits full pace with another post from the increasingly impressive Ms. Mills:

The equation is simple. There are only so many resources to go around, and they're not even particularly well distributed. We're talking the miracle of the loaves and fish times 1.2 million, something that would likely exhaust even the best efforts of the messiah himself (no offense, JC).

How someone can argue for the need of more people is beyond me. We're not anywhere near being in danger of extinction or even the downfall of society as we know it. At least, not for the reasons McIlheran and his ilk seem to think.

John Kaufmann continues the celebration with his observations:

McIlheran often is a defender of religion and religious values, but he has so far ignored any religious relationship to economics or ecology. Religion for McIlheran is reserved for people of the proper faith– cheap, convenient, polluting energy is a God-given, American right, like the right to vote or speak freely.

But a God that would sanction the abuse of the Creation to make Americans feel rich and powerful would be a very narrow-minded God, indeed.

And this is all nicely rounded off with an accounting by the Tenant himself, as he ties up some loose ends from the election earlier this month:

Even Patrick McIlheran should be able to see this, since he claims to have been "minimally sentient during some portion of Scalia's years on the bench." I beg to differ, but I'll give him the benefit of the doubt in this case. Of course McIlheran himself may be "minimally sentient," but the said minimal sentience has little to do with understanding comparative jurisprudence generally or in particular the close parallels between Justice Butler and Justice Scalia's reasoning pursuant to the meaning of the Confrontation Clause.

McIlheran's fatuous yet arrogant commentary is a perfect example of the mis- and disinformation spread by a number of undeservedly prominent and irresponsible Wisconsin media chumps and other alleged "journalists" during the State Supreme Court election campaign — not to mention by Mike Gableman and his direct handlers and enablers themselves — and we have them all to thank for that "stellar example of democracy in action" whereby roughly 9.6% of the State's registered voters rid the other 90.4% of one of the smartest appellate court judges in the country. As smart as the beatified (and not in the Jack Kerouac sense) Antonin Scalia, it would appear.

Bad, Cindy! Bad!

But when she's bad, she's pretty dang funny!

Well, He Must Be Good At Something

A Nation Still At Risk

Well, he's correct with the title, but he forgets to mention that it will get better on 1/20/09.

Taking Pro-Life To The Extreme

McIlheran, apparently so enamored with his bizarre column, decided to blog on it as well.

Not only does he have a position of wanting to forbid women of the right to choose what happens to their bodies, he wants to tell them that they should have children, whether they want to or not:

It's one of those moments in which humans' interests are seemingly at odds with those of the environment. It doesn't have to be this way; humans, of course, have an interest in the environment in which we live, and we have every motive to use the resource well.

Still, it's a resource. Most people grasp that, but not always. Amy at Modern Commentaries helpfully noted a couple of Journal Sentinel letter writers who apparently didn't. A couple of chaps said -- and I'm quoting the money lines -- "All we have to do is make fewer babies," and "I rarely hear a discussion about how we have too many people!"

Actually, in much of the world, people are making fewer babies. Most of Europe, Japan, China, so on are already lining up for population plunges as fertility rates have fallen far below the replacement rate. Even the United Nations has been predicting a declining world population after 2050. This, by the by, isn't particularly good. Hard to have human societies without humans.

In other words, in McIlheran's mind, those among us who cannot or choose not to have children have doomed all of mankind. No wonder he considers those of us that love freedom as elitists. We're just so selfish to want to decide on how to live our lives.

I'm sure it won't be long before he proposes an auxiliary to the amendment banning gay marriage by demanding that people procreate or face prosecution.

The Lost McIlheran

McIlheran has a column in today's paper lamenting that the people just aren't given enough in the world today. He somehow, using some bizarre thought pattern, equates being ecologically-minded to being pro-starvation.

I was going to make some snarky comments about his need for instant gratification and and using artificial concern to cover his disdain for most of mankind.

But I won't.

Instead, I will let one of our new favorite bloggers, Emily Mills, cover the subject for me:

As for DDT, McIlheran is wrong when he claims that the pesticide is both safe and banned. While DDT has long been banned outright in most developed countries (with good reason), its use for "vector control" is still approved in many areas afflicted by malaria. When used carefully and in smaller amounts, it can be just as effective, but without the many environmental and health problems that result from widespread usage.

I'm also uncomfortable with his implication that "activists whose main concern is the environment have appropriated the moral high ground once used by those demanding racial equality." If someone were to actually do this, I'd be inclined to give 'em a good smack, but I've yet to meet someone dedicated to a greener way of life who also thought that one was more important than the other.

One should not overshadow the other. They're both extremely important, and frankly, I think they're also somewhat tied together. If we're talking about the rights of working class and poor communities, then the discussion must include the effects of pollution on their lives. Pollution often caused by large, poorly regulated corporations that feel they can get away with dumping on less wealthy, less empowered people. We can combat these situations with better regulation of industry, greener business practices, and by empowering these communities with ways to help themselves through sustainable means.

So yes, we need to care for our fellow human beings. But a major part of that is wrapped up in how we treat our environment. We should be thoughtful and careful about how we do this, but you cannot separate the two. After all, we can't survive without the Earth, but the Earth can survive without us. I'd rather it not come to that.

Another Stellar Moment For Bucher

An anonymous commenter left this link in the comment section from a money quote post from last night. The link is to a news story which highlights why Bucher is a "super lawyer" (emphasis mine):

Prior to his case being called, the former assistant varsity girls basketball coach was seated in the gallery of the courtroom holding a tissue to his mouth. Huth's case was delayed as his attorney, Paul Bucher, was at another court hearing. Shortly after Bucher arrived, Binn called the case and Huth seated himself at the defendant's table, still holding a tissue to his mouth.

Binn asked Bucher about his client and if he was on any medication.

"I believe he's competent," said Bucher.

After asking Bucher about Huth's change of address to Racine, Binn mentioned he could see blood on Huth's tissue.

Bucher said Huth was "just stressed out" and had "a bleeding ulcer and other medical issues."

"I can see blood coming out of his mouth onto his chin," said Binn. "The court is concerned about his health and safety…I can see the defendant bleeding from the mouth and I will have a bailiff call for an ambulance," Binn said.

"I can't get a response from him," Bucher said.

After setting another date for a preliminary hearing, May 16, Binn asked Huth, "Are you OK."

Huth sat apparently unresponsive.

"He says he's OK," Bucher said.

At that point Binn ordered the courtroom cleared as a bailiff was about to tend to Huth.

More proof that judges just aren't paid enough.

Lesson One: Don't Go Up Against The Pundit Nation

Harris, in an obvious moment of delerium, tries to paint Carter as the worst ex-president ever.

That's just more of the usual blather that comes from the right. The interesting part is when Harris gets schooled by a bunch of commenters, led by our own Mike Mathias, of Pundit Nation.

Read it for yourself.

Anyone But McCain

Even Sykes is starting to see the light:

Told Ya So

I wrote this before I even got to his site, then I saw this:

That's how good I am.

Money Quote Of The Day

From JSOnline:

"Simply touching the breast area" is not sexual assault, Bucher told Judge Ralph Ramirez.

The former Waukesha County district attorney said two elements are required before sexual assault charges can be filed: touching and sexual gratification.

Now, behave yourselves with the comments!

I'm Sure It's Only Coincidence

Did anyone else notice that on Sykes' first day back from vacation, the National Weather Service issues an air quality alert. For particle pollution, nonetheless. It adds a whole new meaning to when the fecal matter hits the fan.

I Have So Many Fans...

From all over the blogosphere, too!

Taking The Not-So-Swift Boat

After such a long hiatus, most people would have come back refreshed and ready for action. Not McIlheran. After a long absence, McIlheran is back, and fumbles out of the starting gate.

He warns his reader, that with the upcoming election, the term "swiftboating" will be used often. He defines swiftboating as:

It's useful, then, that Henry P. Wickham at American Thinker outlined just what the word meant as it emerged from the 2004 presidential campaign: "The word means, or should mean, the exposure of a fraudulent autobiography of one seeking political office or public influence. It is the correction of a personal and professional record that has been selectively and dishonestly compiled, as the Swift Vets did so effectively to that of John Kerry."

There are some things that PaddyMac is missing. One is that the term has already been used. Repeatedly. In fact, I'm not sure it ever went away.

Paddy also chooses to use a rather skewed view to argue his points. The common definition is rather different that what he would have us believe:

Swiftboating is American political jargon that is used (primarily) as a strong pejorative description of some kind of attack that the speaker considers unfair
or untrue—for example, an ad hominem attack or a smear campaign.

But, for the sake of argument, let us use McIlheran's definition for a moment, and see how it applies to his own bio, which appears at the top of his post. The bio reads:

Patrick McIlheran

Journal Sentinel editorial columnist, generally a right-wing guy, links to good reading on the Web and offers commentary besides

McIlheran technically fits the definition of a columnist, so that is OK, but I would consider him more to be a propagandist. But for him to claim that he is "generally a right-wing guy" is like saying the Iraq War is generally an expensive debacle. In other words, a gross understatement. Why is he ashamed to say what he really is?

And for the good links? Get real. I would hardly consider McBride, THEB, RDW, Sykes, or Harris to be good reading. You could find better writing on the back of a box of a kids' cereal.

Hey, swiftboating, McIlheran-style, can be fun!

Is Wiggy going Whallah!?

From the Library and Pub:

Is Mary Lazich stealing Kevin Fischer's sandwich from the office 'fridge and this is his subtle way of telling her to knock it off? Fischer explains why lunches are stolen at the office and who are the likely culprits.

But who in their right mind would want to eat what Fischer eats?

That Must Be His Second Cousin Twice Removed

But, unfortunately, Wagner doesn't tell us what Brett Favre would think...

Today, An Alliance. Tomorrow, A Cabal?

State Rep Pridemore's press releases become more quixotic by the day. Today he has stepped back into the first person to chastise Owen and to accuse Owen of:

coming after me [Pridemore] which plays into the hands of the
Bucher/Wisconsin Right to Life alliance

It seems like just days ago that Bucher was a Liberal or a candidate or a non-candidate and now he's the leader of his own alliance.

It's a little early for paranoia to set in at Pridemore HQ. Isn't it?

Must've Been A Slow Weekend

As I surveyed the blogosphere to make sure all was well in the kingdom, I noticed a recurring theme.

To make a long story short, an officer with the Franklin Police Department, who is an Afghanistan War veteran, came back home and resumed his career as one of Franklin's finest. Said officer put up a magnet of an American flag on the outside of his locker. The FPD, like most law enforcement agencies have a broad rule stating that this is not allowed. The police chief apparently spoke to the officer, reminding him of the rule. The officer acknowledged understanding and put the magnet inside his locker, which is perfectly allowed. Story over, right?

Wrong. Wagner has to put his two cents in. He way overcharges for his opinions, by the way. Fischer also is so upset about the issue, he posts on it not just once, but twice. Again, talk about making a mountain out of a molehill.

Anyone who has served in the military, or who has worked in the law enforcement area, which in itself is operated in a paramilitary fashion, is well aware of the need for discipline and structure. A rule may seem silly to a lay person, but there is usually some reason for it to be in effect. That reason is usually to maintain order and discipline among the officers and to treat everyone equally.

Of course, maintaining a sense of order and treating everyone equally has never been a long suit for most conservatives, but that is besides the point.

I pondered on what would cause these two to get themselves in such a lather. I highly doubt it was the subject itself, since even the officer in the story was OK with the rule and had no problems with being a team player.

I thought maybe Fischer was all up in arms because John Michlig, of Sprawled Out, pointed out that it wasn't much of a news story, and how silly TMJ and FranklinNow made themselves look by trying to make it into one. Fischer has some issues with John. For one, John has held Fischer accountable for being honest in his self reporting. The other is that John is ten times the reporter and a hundred times the writer that Fischer would ever be. (Not to take away from John, but a fetid mouse turd could outwrite Fischer.)

But that doesn't explain Wagner's faux outrage, only Fischer's.

Then Sir Grumps, Knight of the Dolorous Countenance (his choice, not mine), points out that perhaps they might have been celebrating the 172nd anniversary of unnecessary whining.

Free Speech

Ah, is a King's work never done?

After returning from a lovely weekend in the countryside, I come back to find a plea for help. It seems that at issue is the issue of free speech, as protected by the First Amendment.

McBride, in her weekly space-filler at the Waukesha Freeman, takes state Representative Don Pridemore to task for suggesting a bill that would require third party groups running ads in elections to name the people that donate to their cause. As usual, McBride's argument is convoluted and circular. She tries to make a point, but offers no rationale behind her point. For a more clear and well written piece on this issue, I found Owen Robinson, in on of his rare posts of more than a few words, to be much clearer in presenting the issues.

Now, obviously, I don't have a problem with anonymity, as that neither capper, nor King of the Left Hate, are the names that my parents gave to me. Nor is my real name Liz Woodhouse. However, I am also a mere blogger. I am but a single voice among the thousands on the Internet. My influence on any given election is negligible, as evidenced by Walker's re-election. Oh sure, sometimes a blogger will strike gold and find a piece of information that could change an election drastically, but those times are rare.

The same can't be said for the third party ads. Their influence on elections are undeniable. Every election cycle, our TVs, our radios and even some web pages, like the JSOnline, are inundated in political ads. Many, if not most, of these ads are produced and paid for by these third parties. They have also become increasingly negative and vulgar, and often play very loosely with the facts. All one has to do is look at the latest kerfuffle regarding All Children Matter to see some of the problems with these groups.

In his post, Owen argues that naming the people that contribute to these organizations could have some real, and some very negative, impact on the people that donate, without really affecting the outcomes of the elections. I respectfully disagree with him.

While Owen's scenarios could hold true, that is only if the person continues to donate to these groups. The person also has a right to contribute to any group or movement that is more responsible on how they get their message out. There may still be repercussions, but that is much less likely if there are no slanderous statements made in the first place.

I don't know if there is a solution that everyone could be happy with, but I personally believe that there is some sort of compromise possible. Something to the effect that anyone donating less than a set amount, say $100 to a movement, can remain private. This way, most average individuals would have their privacy remain intact, but the people that would be more of an impact player would be named, so that people can see who's really behind a group. This way, the average citizen could still support whatever cause they wish to without fear of repercussion, but those with greater sway and swag would be identified, and their real intents may become clearer.

One other issue that demonstrates McBride's poor journalistic skill is her use of attributions, or lack thereof. McBride writes:

The speculation derived from a blogger who admits she was completely making it up. The best line came from Freeman columnist James Wigderson, who opined that he’d like to see my husband in the state Assembly because "after the first meeting he’d probably demand mandatory Breathalyzer checks for his colleagues."

Now, I am sure James is pleased to see his name in print again, being the publicity hound that he is. But why wouldn't she name the other blogger, who actually helped to inspire at least this paragraph, and several posts? Is it jealousy? Or is there some other reason, like maybe Paul is really toying with an idea of running?

Who knows? But for those of you who might have missed it, as I wrote last week, the blogger is Cindy Kilkenny, and this is her post.

And on an ending note, it is no wonder that McBride would be against this sort of bill. She is probably afraid that if it was noted that, say she or her husband, had donated to one of these sliming agencies, she might receive the same treatment that she gives to other people who chose to cast aside their cloak of anonymity.

Who's Clucking Now?

For any of those of you who may still be a little confused about the unofficial post and counterpost going on between McBride and the Illusory Tenant before the Supreme Court Election, Other Side has painstakingly, and very creatively, explained it for us, with the use of illustrations.

It's All Greek To Me

While enjoying my short time at the summer palace, I had chance to do some reading. One of the things that I found interesting was a quote, which was attributed to Euripides. The quote read:

A man's most valuable trait is a judicious sense of what not to believe.

Well, this piqued my curiosity, so upon return home, I did a quick search, and found some other quotes attributed to this great writer:

Talk sense to a fool and he calls you foolish.

and

Whom the gods would destroy, they first make mad.

and, lastly,

The company of just and righteous men is better than wealth and a rich estate.

It quickly dawned to me some obvious facts that historians have, before now, have either ignored, or simply just weren't aware of.

One is that they must have had a version of talk radio in ancient Greece.

The other is Euripides is obviously the Greek word for Whallah!

Prolific, Too

One from the archive to hold you until Mr Offended gets back

Taking A Holiday

Seeing as that McBride has gone underground, Sykes has gone across the pond, McIlheran has been MIA since Beer Day (wonder if there's a coincidence there), and Fischer and Wagner are such lightweights, that your King will be going to tour his summer castle* for the weekend.

Hopefully, my cohorts, Zach, Other Side, Grumps, Xoff and the rest will keep you up to date.

Be safe and behave, my good people.

*I know it's small for a King like me, but it is only the summer place.

Pride Goeth Before A Fool

Fischer has found a group of young people of which he can take real pride.

It's not any group noted for scholarly achievements.

It's not a group that wants to end the debacle in Iraq.

It's not a group of youngsters that want to bring freedom to Tibet.

Nope, none of that. He takes his pride in a gang of thugs who want to make it easier for another Virginia Tech massacre.

Apparently for Fischer, and people like him, there just isn't such a thing as too much bloodshed.

UPDATE: For a more thoughtful and well-written piece on why this group is such a bad idea, please check out the wonderful Emily Mills.

This Should Be His Banner

Fischer, the megalomaniac, decided to issue a warning to his readers:

MyCommunityNOW has issued a Blog Blizzard warning for FranklinNOW.

A flurry of blog activity on Kevin Fischer’s This Just In is expected to hit within the hour. Numerous blogs on various subjects will be posted in rapid succession.

You are encouraged to stay indoors close to your computer with snacks and a favorite chilled beverage until the blog blizzard moves through later this evening.

Although, in the interest of conciseness, he should change it to simply:

WARNING: Snow job coming at ya!

It Must Be Something With The Water

The WISN radio station really ought to have their water supply tested. I think some of those pharmaceuticals have gotten into it and it is affecting their employees.

First we saw Fischer having delusions of grandeur. The same issue must be affecting Belling. From his column from this week, he is whining about the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Dave Umhoefer winning a Pulitzer. Mark, who isn't even a nominee, like Whallah! goes on this strange train of thought:

It probably hacks off the editors of this paper that the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel managed to win a Pulitzer Prize after a 31-year drought. I think it’s amusing. So unaccustomed is the Milwaukee paper to win awards for anything that they are plastering the Pulitzer designation on the paper’s masthead EVERY DAY. How long do you think it’ll be up there? One month? One year? Until the Rapture?

It’s kind of like the guy who never scores a touchdown. When he finally gets into the end zone, he dances and preens away. The most amusing thing of all is that the paper won the big award for a follow-up on the news story they most badly bungled - the Milwaukee County pension mess.

The original pension story - the one that led to the ouster of the county executive and recall of several board members - was broken by a Web site and ignored by the J-S for weeks. Better late than never, I guess.

As for the envious editors here who would love to win a Pulitzer, I have a suggestion.

Enter my column.

Apparently not only does Belling suffer from delusions of grandeur, he also has a bad case of Pulitzer envy.

A Spectacle of Speculations

Earlier this week, as some of you may have noticed, McBride closed her blogs to the public. Yesterday, Xoff informed us that McBride self-reported that she closed the blogs due to "being too busy."

All of this has led to a small wildfire of speculation as to why McBride deprived us of her witticism and biting insight (well, something about her insight really bit).

There's been speculation that it may be due to pressure from her husband, Paul Bucher, the super trial lawyer, and a big case he is active in.

Likewise, there's been some that wonder if it deals with a lawsuit the Buchers have filed.

Some have proposed that UWM had finally put pressure on her to knock it off.

Then there is some thought that this could stem from a possible actionable offense done during the lead up to the Supreme Court elections.

Cindy Kilkenny offered us a plausible theory that Paul is again planning to run for an office again.
This theory appears to have been debunked by Owen Robinson and James Wigderson.

Another theory is that she was just sick and tired of being bombarded with criticism in her messages and emails. (But why would anyone question her? She's a UWM School of Journalism "faculty member", dang it!)

As for yours truly, I have no idea why she did what she did. Nor do I really care. While it is true that I, and the others here at Whallah!, have watched her like a hawk, and was always happy to point out flaws to her logic and arguments, I personally hold no animosity towards McBride or Bucher. Just to their wrong-headed, mean-spirited stances.

If something comes out of this, of course we will notify you,, the reader, about it. In the mean time, we will enjoy the silence, and pick up where we left off with Sykes, Belling and the rest.

Doing Some Castle Cleaning

Last night was my first foray into the land of drinking liberals liberally drinking.

It was a pleasure to see Jay again, although I didn't get as much time to talk with him as I would have liked. Likewise, I was fortunate enough to meet much of the Royal Court, including Sir Zachary the Blue Knight (I just love his work!), Hermes, the illustrious Illusory One, and Jason Haas. And of course, the lovely Lady Kay, Lady Debra, and the Mixter. There was even a libertarian spy among us. It was a pleasant surprise, as he didn't foam at the mouth nearly as much as I would have expected. There were so many pleasant people there, I thoroughly enjoyed myself. But as with Jay, I only wish there was more time to speak with all of these lovely people.

I also met with Sam Sarver, aka Brazen Maverick. Sam requested a boon from his King, which was gladly granted. Mav is now the Royal Lord High Executioner. But don't let the title fool you. B.M. is really a good sh*t. (Ha, I bet he thought I wouldn't do that!)

And I would like to point the gentle reader to the homepage of a good friend and co-contributor, Keith Scmitz, who I have overly long neglected to add to the blogroll.

Talk Radio Explained

Another case of he said it, we didn't...

A readership of one

So, will we have Jessica McBride to kick around any more or not? WisPolitics reports:

In what may be a temporary move, conservative blogger and newspaper columnist JESSICA McBRIDE has closed off public access to her blogs -- McBride's Media Matters and Election Watch Wisconsin. Visitors are now greeted with a screen asking for a password to read the sites. "I have restricted access to only the blog author -- myself. It's not a situation where some can read it and others can't," McBride explained in an e-mail to WisPolitics. McBride said she doesn't have the time to blog right now, but wanted to leave herself the option of re-opening the blogs later: "I restricted access because I might blog again in the future when I get more time, and I didn't want to delete the blogs."

And what would have been wrong with just leaving them up? Afraid people would keep commenting?

But, But, But I Thought...

...that vacations were meant to have fun, not go into a coma.

But I Don't Even Play Baseball

But yet, some people want to put me on the DL anyway.

Tax Day Thoughts

Did you ever notice that with some people, taxes are the only times that they worry about the minority?

Well, How 'Bout Dem Apples?

It really is too early to tell what this might forebode, but on McBride's website, we now see this:


And on her new Election Warp Wisconsin, we find this:

As I said, it is really too soon to guess what this may mean, but we will keep you informed, if we find anything out.

Please stay tuned, Same Whallah! time. Same Whallah! channel.

It's The Culture, Part II

As mentioned in the previous post, Harris blames everything on "the culture." He also blasts the NAACP for inviting Reverend Wright to be a guest speaker. My question to Harris would be: Do you blame people for being angry and feeling oppressed when you see things like this?

Reported by Ben Smith at Politco.com (emphasis mine):

U.S. Rep. Geoff Davis, a Hebron Republican, compared Obama and his message for
change similar to a "snake oil salesman" [at a Northern Kentucky Lincoln Day dinner].

He said in his remarks at the GOP dinner that he also recently participated in a "highly classified, national security simulation" with Obama.

"I'm going to tell you something: That boy's finger does not need to be on the button," Davis said. "He could not make a decision in that simulation that related to a nuclear threat to this country."

An aide to Davis, Jeremy Hughes, declined to comment on the remark, and didn't dispute the accuracy of the quote.

Who's the fascist, Harris? Who's the racist?

And they wonder why this country is ready for a change. Amazing.

It's The Culture, Part I

One of Harris' favorite battle cries is "It's the culture!" He uses that whether he is talking about racism, gangs, teen pregnancy, the economy, disco, sardines, rabid aardvarks, or anything else you care to name. It's always the fault of "the culture."

So what culture does he blame for this picture that he posted?



To make matters worse, he starts calling Rev. Wright a fascist. Now, what the Reverend Wright said was irresponsible, but as a good friend pointed out, this was the same sort of philosophy that Dr. King espoused, but couched in much harsher terms that Dr. King would have used. My friend also pointed out that the Reverend has a right to express his feelings, as much as any one else. But Harris to points out what makes him believe that the Reverend is a fascist.

Furthermore, doesn't Harris wanting to quash the Reverend's right to speak, to condemn the NAACP for inviting the Reverend, and for being so irresponsible in his remarks, make Harris the fascist?

According to the dictionary, it would seem so. I think the vacationing Brawler would agree with me as well. And let us not forget that it is Harris that espouses that he owns his daughter. That would seem rather fascist as well.

Just one other thought. It strikes me that when Other Side put up a post with pictures of Scott Walker and Hitler, he was roundly criticized, by the left and right. This even continued when he explained the point he was trying to make with the first post.

Except for David Casper, who criticized both OS and Harris, there hasn't been a peep from the right. Does this mean that they are OK with this false comparison in some circumstances? Or is it that just not many people read Harris' hate-filled tripe?

SIDENOTE: Mr. Casper, leave a line with wherever you're writing now. I would like to add you to the Royal Blogroll.

Does Kevin Take Charlie's Advice?

Even Charlie can't help coming down on the self-absorbed Kevin Fischer. He left some advice for Kev before he bolted for vacation. (Just as an aside, do you suppose Charlie calls the Star Of The Blogs for advice on taking vacation time?)

Let's see what Charlie has to offer the Star of All Media.

You are not entitled.

Charlie probably just wants Kevin to stay humble.

Your navel is not that interesting. Don’t spend your life gazing at it.

Good advice in this case.

Looking like a slut does not empower you.

It's good to have friends to help with your image, then.

You’re offended, so what? No, really. So what?

Well, that just seems gratuitous Kevin. What could Charlie be thinking?

Your sex organs were not meant to engage in high order thinking or
decision-making

Or this, either.

Ah, well. Charlie? Do you have any last advice for Kevin? If there was one, most important thing you could say, what would it be?

No matter what your daddy says, you are not a princess.

I think that's mean, Charlie. Get real. What one thing should the Star of All Media know?

Being connected does not mean you aren’t clueless.

Maybe we'd just better go and leave these two alone.

Well Wishes To The Crown Prince

Ah, but it is a grievous thing to hear that Other Side, the Crown Prince of Progressives, had been feeling less than stellar in recent days:

Oddly enough, later that day about 1:00 pm I began feeling uncomfortable. I checked my heart rate and it felt irregular, and I was beginning to feel pressure in my chest and neck. After about twenty minutes I decided I should call my wife. I got up and nearly fell. Fortunately she was by the phone and left immediately, but not until after getting a promise I would dial 911 if I felt any worse.

She took me to Froedert where it was determined I was suffering from the same ailment as back in Sept. 2006 ... my heartbeat continued to be irregular, but more ominously, it had sped to 170 beats a minute. They considered dosing me with a drug that actually stops the heart momentarily. I was not in favor of this. They injected me with this drug in Sept. 2006 and it was extremely unpleasant. Imagine that all blood circulation has ceased. Beginning at the extremities, a feeling of approaching blackness occurs ... then it's gone. Back to normal. I imagine this is what death might feel like ... blackness overwhelms, a shudder, then you're gone.

Anyway, the idea is to restart the heart, kind of like pressing restart on a computer. Fortunately this time, my heart went back into rhythm after about an hour. I was allowed to go home, but now must contact a cardiologist. A younger brother has this and now has a pacemaker. Don't want that.

Rest easy, young Prince. Your friends and allies will be alright while you recuperate. And do what the doctors recommend. It's not just what you want. You have a family and friends that needs and wants you here. Don't make me issue a Royal Edict!

Image Is Everything

Almost every company, every movement and even many people, use images to help identify themselves.

Everyone is familiar with the Nike Swoop, Obama's campaign symbol, Superman's S, just to name a few examples.

It's just good marketing.

So, in light that Kevin Fischer feels a little persecuted lately, I, in an effort to help the man out, got my Royal Photoshop Technicians to use their mad photoshopping skillz, and create a logo for Fischer.

They got to work, and here is the results of their endeavors:

I hope he appreciates it.

NOTE: Original photo is from Milwaukee Magazine, as was identified here.

He Don't Know Much, Do He?

After Sir Zachary left a comment, which reflected this posting, on Fischer's ego trip post, (which incidentally was posted at 10:10 pm-any guesses on the volume of liquid courage he consumed to write such drivel?), Fischer posted a comment back. Said comment was an attack on Zach, and indirectly on Whallah! :

The lefty bloggers never have an original idea of their own. Every day they wait to see what Charlie or Patrick or Jessica or I write, and then they post nasty attacks.

Nasty? Tell us where we ever lied, ever told one falsehood. If it's nasty, then look at your own behavior.

Well, we got some more news for Fischer.

Every contributor at this site also has their own site, or a number of sites that they write on. How many does he have? Just that poorly written one. Oh, make that two, he also does Lazich's work for her as well. I certainly hope she is saving taxpayer money by paying him based on quality and not quantity.

And Fischer, you may want to read the banner on the top of the page, if you even have the testicular fortitude to come hither. Especially the part about:

Committed to the monitoring of the local right-wing media and exposing their lies, hypocrisies, and foibles, so that you don't have to.

This is what Whallah! is all about. To expose your lies, your misdeeds, your hypocrisies, and your foibles. (Boy, do I have a story about his foibles. Some people just don't know how to act in public.)

Did Fischer ever think that if he wasn't so malignant, so hypocritical, and such a fool, we wouldn't bother with him? And does Fischer even realize that he only came to our attention due directly to his vicious, adolescent behavior?

No, Fischer, we don't need you. We don't even want you. But as long as you act the fool, we will shine the light on your reprehensible behaviors and attitudes.