Wednesday, April 29, 2009

Fischer's Freudian Slip

A Freudian slip is when someone does a faux pas, usually verbally, which some people believe to be caused by the subconscious mind.

Given Fischer's love of the Dionysian beverages, this comes as no surprise.

In a post in which he reports that a soccer game is canceled due to one of the school's being shut down by the health department because of the swine flu, Fischer writes this (emphasis mine):
Tonight’s high school varsity girl’s soccer game between Milwaukee Riverside and Milwaukee South was postponed after Riverside became one of four Milwaukee Public Schools to be closed indefinitely because of the wine flu outbreak.

Screencap proof:

Waterboarding For Walker

On his very first post at Heartland Hollar, Harris Kane nails it:
As you may know, Scott Walker is "officially" believing in himself as governor again (or did he ever stop) and he is going to need a lot of charity from people to survive his bloody primary against Mark Neumann.

Now it's one thing for Milwaukee's very own blowhard, Charlie Sykes, to post Walker e-mails on his blog and provide free radio airtime defending Walker's disastrous record and failed ideas, but it's quite another to show real support for Walker and the right-wing talking points.

That's why in our inaugural post at Heartland Hollar we would like to ask that you join our "Waterboarding for Walker" campaign.

Our first task is to have you pledge support for Sykes to follow Hannity's lead and agree to undergo waterboarding for charity- in this case, Walker's campaign for governor.

We can think of no better way for Charlie to use his Sunday Insight TV show to "stand up for what's right" and once and for all prove to everyone that waterboarding is not torture.
Read the rest here.

Twitterpated

That's a fun word, isn't it? Say it again, "Twitterpated." There. Don't you feel happier now?

It seems so familiar. Where did we learn the word? Bambi. That's right, Bambi. According to allwords.com it is a portmanteau word
from twitter + pated, i.e., having one's pate (head) in a twitter (confused). First seen in the Disney movie w:Bambi, Bambi
Who is the latest to become twitterpated? Who is the very latest to jump on the most up-to-date technology of 2008? According to the allpolitics blog from the JS
The tweets so far may be less than earth shattering, but Republican candidate for governor Scott Walker plans an abundance of tweets on Twitter in his Republican campaign for governor.
So there you have it. Walker has joined the tweeting class and he's knocking down the barriers between him and his fans.
From his first campaign stop of the day in Green Bay: "There was some incredible excitement in Green Bay. Keep it going to Wausau!"
That's the spirit. A good use of Twitter as a campaign tool. It was short and to the point. It conveyed a sense of building momentum and set a goal for his supporters at the next stop. How could he build on that? Let's look at an earlier post.
"Eating the ham and cheese I make at at home and bring in for lunch."
Okay. That's not a show-stopper but it will slow it down. The truth is that Twitter is nearing its 14th minute. Even hard core tweeters are figuring out that it's really a high tech version of the CB radio.

The biggest Twitter discussion of the past week was whether CNN's Breaking News feed or Ashton Kutcher would have the most subscribers. When your success ratio is being measured against the Punk'd guy there might be longevity issues.

But let's give Walker the benefit of the doubt (He could use an easy week before the Neumann Negativity Field starts to envelop him) and pretend that the tech isn't making a loop behind the tow boat and swerving towards the shark tank. Walker has 16 months of tweeting until the Primary election and, heaven forfend, another two to get to the General. If he tweets three times a day until then what will he be reduced to tweeting.

I'll open it to you all in a moment, but first, a few of my projections.
May 24, 2009 Excitement is building as we head for Bowler. My wife and children are looking forward to the parade.

June 15, 2009 We have to beat Jim Doyle. I don't know why Mark is saying these awful things about me.

July 4, 2009 Ha, I'll bet you won't see Jim Doyle at any TEA parties today.

July 26, 2009 Today I made a tuna on whitebread sandwich, just to be a little daring.

August 15, 2009 Does anybody know a good RV airconditioner repairman near Cascade?

September 7, 2009 Jim Doyle is Satan

October 31, 2009 I'll be you won't see Jim Doyle at any of the Hallowe'en TEA parties tonight.

January 29, 2010 Another ham and cheese? Another ham and cheese?

Feb 1, 2010 Mark Neumann is Satan

Feb 12, 2010 It's felt good to be speaking at the Dumptruck County Lincoln Day dinner. The 7 people who showed up were very enthusiastic.

April 14, 2010 I'd like to thank my supporters over the past 12 months. We put in a strong run but today I am announcing that I'll be putting my support into get
But you go ahead and add your own Walker tweets. It'll be fun

Tuesday, April 28, 2009

Stay Awake People -- Walker Is Running for Governor

In a not too brilliant PR move, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker announced his dead from day one race for Governor on Charlie Sykes program this morning at 8:30. Obviously Sykes couldn't wait to get this out of the way but hey, the shoulder is always there for the right wing to cry on when the rest of the population says means things.

If I were to advise his campaign, it could be pointed out that this venue was not a good idea. Admittedly Sykes' voice pours into ears throughout the state because many have welded their dials to pick up the Brewers. Can't beat the coverage.

But what doesn't work here is Scott Walker is running to be governor of all of the state of Wisconsin, and to kick this thing off on the program of one of the most polarizing, hard right personalities in all of the state doesn't say big tent to the 80% of the people who do not adhere to Americans for Prosperity notions. More like pup tent.

The AP story that warned us about the announcement called this one of the worst kept secrets in recent politics. So that makes the second worst kept secret that Walker stands no hope of winning the GOP nomination. Good news for Milwaukee, which for the past seven years had to be his warm act for this flight of the Hindenburg.

Monday, April 27, 2009

About Those Tea Parties...

From Matt Pommer of The Daily Reporter:

Earlier this year national radio host Rush Limbaugh attracted attention, saying he hopes Obama “fails” in his presidency. While that wasn’t repeated at the Capitol rally, a reporter for the Wisconsin State Journal captured something more ominous: One man, who said he owned a ceramic tile business, carried a sign that said “Obama is the anti-Christ.”

“He (Obama) needs to go. This is the first and last warning he’ll get,” the man said.

That kind of implied threat might worry the Secret Service, but will it concern the radio talk show hosts as they seek ever-higher ratings?

via WisOpinion.com

Sunday, April 26, 2009

The Squawker and The Tweeter

Charlie Sykes is fond of saying that any press releases issued by a politician late on a Friday is either bad news or something that they are not very proud of.

I can't wait to see how Chuckles spins that fact that Scott Walker, who announced that he would announce his gubernatorial campaign this Tuesday, actually announced it late Friday. To make it even more comical, Walker did via Twitter.

That must mean that it is really bad news and/or he is really ashamed of his candidacy.

I could agree to either or both of those.

Jessie Oakley

In her Waukesha Freeman column, our old friend Jessica McBride chimes in on the open carry controversy which was escalated by Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, who gave an advisory opinion on this matter. (Unfortunately, but not surprisingly, Van Hollen tastelessly made his announcement on the anniversary of the Columbine shootings.) McBride writes:
Some in the media and other anti-gun emotionalists are tearing apart Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen for his – somewhat belated, but very correct – advisory opinion on open carry.

What provoked the open carry hysteria? Van Hollen simply reminded people about a settled fact. He reiterated a point that Jim Doyle and the state Supreme Court once freely recognized. He repeated the state Constitution. That’s controversial?
One does have to wonder if Merton's little Annie Oakley would be so agreeable if the person who wanted a gun looked like this:



Crown tip: Spring City Chronicle

Wednesday, April 22, 2009

We're Saved!

Well, sort of, in a small way.

But thanks is owed to CommunityNOW websites for their decision to change their format. Why?

My friend Greg explains in the comment thread of his post:

No hit counting? That’s terrible, in my opinion. So one doesn’t really know how well (or popular) their content is among NOW readers.

I mean, how can Franklin’s very own legislative aide do a “most popular blogs of the week” w/o hits being counted!?

Double Ouch!

Recess Supervisor did a post about the Neumann/Walker race that appears to be forming up. One of his anonymous commenters left the perfect double ouch in the comment thread:
i remember whenever he filled in for belling he mentioned he was building homes! he was so much better than kevin fischer...oh well at least belling never let fraley back on after his one appearance!

Tuesday, April 21, 2009

When you see this:


Doesn't it make you think of this?


Sunday, April 19, 2009

Obama The Fascist

One of my new favorite blogsites is Griper Blade. This site, along with that of Emily Mills, is the kind of writing that I could only hope to mimic.

Let me show you what I mean. From Griper Blade, a post titled "The Hitler Hypocrisy":
No, Barack Obama is exactly like Adolf Hitler because people say so. You don't need an analogy or parallel, it's just true. So shut up, turn off your damned brain, and listen to the nice shrieking voices from conservative media. Obama's Hitler because Glenn Beck says so, Ann Coulter says so, and Sean Hannity says so. Obama's a fascist, until he's a socialist. That these are polar opposites (fascism was founded to counter leftism) and constitute a political oxymoron is beside the point. Socialist fascism makes as much sense as pro-slavery abolitionism. But conservative media carefully guards their audience's ignorance, so there's no way the people being told about President Obama's socialist fascism know any of that. Not that they'd want to know anyway. Wingnuts tune in to wingnut media precisely because it preserves their ignorance. Knowledge is for liberal elitists; the real "folks," as Bill O'Reilly refers to them, believe what they're told to believe, because that's what real Americans do. That O'Reilly's constant references to "the folks" would be a literal translation of Hitler's term der volk is certainly lost on his audience. They don't know things like that because they don't want to know. What they know is only what they want to know and it doesn't make any difference whether or not it's true. "The folks" get to decide for themselves what's true. And what's true is that Barack Obama is exactly like Hitler.
And to demonstrate the truth of that passage, this video:




Video brought to us, courtesy of the Brawler, who has more to say on the subject here.

It's True For Right Wing Squawkers, Too

Our own grumps, reflecting on the dilemma faced by teabagging right wingers:
You've got to believe that it's evil enough to give taxpayer dollars to private businesses that you're willing to march on the Capitol and at the same time believe that the state is evil for not getting in a bidding war and cutting huge incentive checks to private businesses.

Saturday, April 18, 2009

Joint Finance Committee Asked to Include 1% Sales Tax For Milwaukee County in Budget

As previously posted by Dan Cody and Jason Haas, the Quality of Life Alliance, another group I have ties to, have released the following press release:

The Quality of Life Alliance, a group I’m a part of, released the following press release today asking for the Joint Finance Committee to include the voter approved 1% sales tax for Milwaukee County in the upcoming budget.

For the sake of our Park System, Transit, and Emergency Medical Systems, we are asking the Joint Finance Committee to include in the next State budget what the citizens of Milwaukee County have already approved: a one percent sales tax increase that will provide sustainable, dedicated funding for Parks, Transit and EMS.

“Please don?t continue to allow the voices of the 400,000 people who voted in November?s referendum to be ignored”, remarked Cheri Briscoe of Sierra Club-Great Waters Group and Quality of Life Alliance member. The referendum was advisory and requires action from the state to be enacted.

“Our Milwaukee County Park System, once proud and strong, is now limping along with an ever decreasing staff to perform daily maintenance and a log of deferred maintenance for its facilities of nearly $275 million,” added Jim Goulee, a QLA member who is also on the Board of Directors for Preserve our Parks.

This group’s attempt to gain local legislative support for enabling legislation from our state legislators was unfortunately, a tough sell. The Governor instead inserted the creation of RTA for Milwaukee, Kenosha, and Racine and funded by a sales and use tax in his proposed budget, leaving out any support for Milwaukee County Parks.

It is now becoming apparent that the proposal for the creation of the Southeastern Wisconsin RTA is not finding the necessary support from the Joint Finance Committee and may not be included in their version of the state budget. Instituting the sales tax increase in Milwaukee County would, in fact, provide the source of funding needed for a Milwaukee County RTA and could easily accommodate a broader RTA if and when it is created.

“Milwaukee County needs property tax relief and we need a solution to our looming transit and parks crisis,” commented County Supervisor Chris Larson, Quality of Life Alliance spokesperson. “Milwaukee County needs the 1% sales tax that was passed in referendum nearly months ago. Property tax payers can?t wait any longer, transit riders can?t wait, any longer, and all our neighbors who love our parks shouldn?t have to wait any longer to see these problems fixed.”

Quality of Life Alliance (QLA) is a grassroots organization made up of representing a wide swatch of Milwaukee County?s concerned citizens set out to improve our community for a stronger future. Members of the Quality of Life Alliance include transit riders, union leaders, parks supporters, and business men and women, and everyday citizens who are deeply concerned about the future of Milwaukee County and all of Southeastern Wisconsin. Quality of Life Alliance provided the advocacy effort that led to the passage of the sales tax/property tax relief referendum last November. The Quality of Life Alliance is a registered political action committee based in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.

It’s important the members of the Joint Finance Committee understand the importance of this dedicated funding source to the regions well being for decades to come. All we’re asking is to let the voices of the people of Milwaukee County be heard on this issue.

If you know any of the members of the JFC from the Milwaukee area like Rep. Tamara Grigsby, Rep. Pedro Colon, Sen. Lena Taylor or Sen. Alberta Darling, please contact them to voice your support.

Crossposted at Cog Dis, folkbums, and Uppity Wisconsin.

Friday, April 17, 2009

The Hypocrisy Of Dope

My good buddy Scott Walker, unable to find a reputable place to have his views expressed, had an aide write an press release emailed to Charlie Sykes. You can tell someone other than Walker wrote it because there aren't the usual number of spelling errors.

In said email, Walker keeps his perpetual run for governor going by attacking Governor Jim Doyle.
The hypocrisy is so thick that you could cut it with a knife.

Walker attacks Doyle for taking stimulus dollars, on the very same day that Dan Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel points out that he boldly lied to potential campaign donors by saying he didn't apply for them even though he did.

Walker also attack Doyle on the loss of jobs in the state. I seem to remember that about a little more than a year ago, Walker was bragging about how his tax freeze approach would save jobs, and then Miller Brewing left town. Miller officials stated point blank that taxes were not an issue.

In Walker's final triumph of hypocrisy, he bemoans Doyle not doing enough to help keep business here and keeping jobs in the community. Perhaps if Walker wasn't so busy campaigning, and had someone to help explain the big words to him, he would have noticed this piece by Tim Sullivan, the president of Bucyrus International asking for KRM and an efficient local mass transit system, something which Walker has vowed himself to be against.

Anyone that has read me here, at Cog Dis or at folkbum's, knows that I am well versed in all of Walker's hypocrisies. But the part that scares me are the twits in the comment thread that are accepting these lies without hesitation.

Cross posted at Cog Dis.

It Wasn't; But It Is

Please reconcile this from early in Fred's post;
The response from the left was typical -- they didn't understand. They squawked in unison about the top 1% of wage earners and waved signs proclaiming tax cuts for the rich.

Their narrow focus missed the mark.

This protest was not about income taxes, this protest was about spending and the sudden rapid growth of government presented as the only solution to our current economic malaise.

With this much later conclusion;
They've taken power in Wisconsin and across the country and if they keep their present course, in my view, they will tax themselves right out of power.

A noun, a verb and "taxes." It seems the motivation for the tea parties was less slippery than the justification for invading Iraq.

Wednesday, April 15, 2009

Meet the silent majority

Just a couple of regular guys, fed-up taxpayers taking part in a mainstream, grassroots revolt in Madison WI: 

WisPolitics photos.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Know Them By The Company They Keep

Who is excited by the upcoming Tea Parties?

The Storm Front folks are optimistic.
...estimates are there could be 100's across the country. What's so encouraging is that the organizers and participants are pre-dominantly whites. The remnants of traditional 1950's. Old white America. The historical, traditional population.

Might prove to be signifigant. Might be a meaningless last gasp. Have to see how it plays out. I'm going to take the day off and attend the local one, carrying my Gadsden flag. Encourage others to do the same. Hopefully the beginning of a sense of ethno-centrism.

This guy too. Note that the comment was edited by him for spelling.
Hope to be attending one in Effingham, IL

If your going to be there, let me know
__________________
1488
Red an yellow, black ain't right, you are only loved if you're white...
Nothing is as simple as it seems, if you must ask, your already lost.
Everything you post here can and will be sifted through to use against you.... :(
Last edited by billd73; 04-07-2009 at 07:40 PM. Reason:
Spelling


These guys see the tea parties as a logical first step to secession.
Starting a civil war at this time would just defeat everything we are doing. Obama has only been in office a few months. There is already a change going on in that small amount of time. You might not think the tea parties are doing any good, but you will notice they are getting bigger and bigger.

Truth is that the tea parties have become a dumping ground for all sorts of free-floating angst amongst the losers from the last elections. The tax dodge is silly on its surface given that the current administration is looking for a return to tax rates lower than Reagan's.

These GOP influenced, astroturf financed convocations are meant to stir the masses. Nothing more. By this time tomorrow the silliness will have passed and Reince Preibus can go back to preparing for the next GOP soiree in Pewaukee. Paul Ryan can go back to being a footnote to the governance process in Washington and Vicki McKenna can go back to making lame jokes on AM Radio.

Much self-congratulation will be undertaken. Little will have changed. WIN still won't have their ducks in a row. Barack Obama will carry on undoing the travesty of the Bush II presidency. Malkin will declare victory and Beck will still be nuts. Ain't Democracy grand?

Billing Tells The Tale


It seems like just a month ago Pompador Paulie Ryan was a "rising star" in the GOP. This week he's just the second banana to a third rate radio squawker at a street rally in Madison.
And could someone tell me what Julaine Appling has to do with taxes?
The Chief has more.


Monday, April 13, 2009

In Which Kevin Contemplates His Future...

[Because] some of our country's good-for-nothing bums are too chicken to rob
us at gunpoint. That would be members of Congress and the executive branch. How come we keep electing politicians who will tax the bejeezus out of us?
Especially Democrats? At least Republicans are smart enough to lie about
it.
"
How does Lazich keep getting re-elected if she does all of that?

Teabagging Is A Lifestyle Choice

All agree that David Vitter is the perfect spokesman for GOP tea-bagging.


Sunday, April 12, 2009

Yakety Sax, Yakety Yak

This morning, on Charlie Syke's Incite show, as was promised, DPW ran the commercial slamming Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker for his flip-flops and outright lies regarding the stimulus money.

Sykes led a counter charge by devoting a segment to the commercial, in which they ran the commercial again. I'm sure that the DPW is very glad for the free plug. The main points of Charlie's attack was that it was all Governor Jim Doyle's doing, that Doyle was really scared of Walker and that this was some kind of record for launching an attack that hasn't even announced their candidacy yet (he kept repeating that it was nineteen months before the election.

Not once did Sykes or his panel address the charges in the commercial, which is rather telling in themselves. Apparently they were hoping to distract their viewers from the truth of that matter.

And considering that Doyle has little to be afraid of from Walker. Doyle has already four times the amount of money that Walker has, and a recent poll from a right wing group shows that Walker, despite six years of campaigning, still seven points behind Doyle, and in a virtual tie with Mark Neumann, who hasn't done much publicly in a decade.

And as the DPW's commercial setting a record, hardly. Nor is the DPW the only ones attacking a non-announced candidate.

Via Bruce at Badger Blogger, we find that even the Chicago Tribune covered this story. They had some very interesting facts that one would never find in the local newspaper, much less the radio station owned by the same parent company.

The Trib covers some of the common knowledge that regular readers of this site already know. Things like Walker's inconsistency regarding stimulus dollars or that he has been campaigning for months:
Walker, the Milwaukee County executive, is expected to seek the Republican nomination for governor next year. Democratic Gov. Jim Doyle is widely expected to seek a third term.

Walker has spent months attacking Doyle's budget proposal and the federal stimulus package.

[...]

Walker said in January he wasn't going to seek federal stimulus money and didn't submit a list of potential projects to Doyle. In February, he wrote a column published in the Wall Street Journal that ran under the headline "Why I'm Not Lining Up for Stimulus Handouts."

But last month, Walker released a list of $130 million worth of potential stimulus projects in Milwaukee County that he said meets his criteria for accepting the money. Walker said he'll only accept the money if there is no long-term financial commitment, no required local match and no requirement for new operating or maintenance costs.

Walker said Thursday that has always been his position.

At the same time he released his list last month, Walker vetoed a county board resolution calling for aggressive pursuit of the stimulus money, calling the policy reckless and not in the best interest of taxpayers. A day later, the board overrode the veto and accused him of grandstanding as part of his expected gubernatorial run.
But then the Trib covers things that might not have been as commonly known among the public:
In a strongly worded November fundraising letter, obtained Thursday by The Associated Press, Walker said Doyle and President Barack Obama "rolled out the red carpet for a cabal of militant activist thugs" who registered voters last year.

Walker accused Doyle of negligence, resulting in an election system "more akin to Hugo Chavez's rigged polls in Venezuela than the proud Wisconsin tradition."

Walker has also criticized tax increases in Doyle's budget and called for using some of Wisconsin's share of the federal stimulus money to cut taxes. He has called for eliminating sales taxes for the rest of the year and using stimulus money to fill that hole, instead of spending it on infrastructure or programs.

That idea has roundly been discounted as nearly impossible without an act of Congress.

If Doyle championed the idea, the sales tax cut could be a reality, Walker said.
So, Walker's been attacking Doyle, who hasn't announced whether he will seek re-election, at least 24 months before the election. That's a bit different than Sykes' assertions. But then again, Sykes, like Walker, has never been a strong one for being truthful or accurate.

I also get a kick out Walker comparing Wisconsin to Venezuela. If that is the case, what would one compare Milwaukee County to? Given its dying transit system, its decaying parks, and its recent history of not being able to deliver services as required by law, due to excessive staff shortages, I'd have to guess that it would have to be someplace in outer Mongolia or something.

I also like the last line. "If Doyle championed the idea, the sales tax could be a reality."

I know that Walker dropped out of college, but does he really not know that a governor of a state does not have authority over the federal government? Shouldn't there be some kind of basic aptitude test before one is allowed to run for office? (Well, maybe not, then there wouldn't be enough politicians to go around. Then again, would that be so bad?)

Either way, Sykes is as misleading in the truth of who did what as Walker is about where he stands, or doesn't stand, regarding stimulus money. It does make one stop and wonder why either of them even hold the jobs they have now.

Cross posted at Cog Dis.

If A Squawker Squawks In The Woods...

... and no one's around to listen, do they make a sound?

Apparently not.

The sagacious Paul Soglin on the matter of squawk radio:
Just as the national talk radio pundits marginalized themselves, so have Milwaukee's drive time extremists. The only audience they influence is the one that agrees with them. They have little opportunity for growth, and it is clear that when the undecided public is provided an alternative viewpoint Belling and Sykes are ineffectual.

Saturday, April 11, 2009

Changing Times

One year ago this weekend the right side of the Quesosphere had their dinkies in a twist about an advertisement for a show about a couple of guys with their dinkies in a twist. There was thoughtful discussion about respect and appropriateness.

What is the big story for our conservative friends this year on Good Friday?

here and here

Friday, April 10, 2009

As They Cowered In Their Cave

Famous last words.
"That bear is more afraid of you than you are of it."

(Flip) Flop Sweat

The DPW is set to air this ad on TV:



The sweet part is that the first airing will be on Sunday morning, during Sykes' Incite show.

Reince Priebus, taking a break from doing damage control for Michael Steele, says that it is outrageous that this add will appear on Easter Sunday. I concur.

After all, Easter is one of the two days that Sykesian Christians make it to church. They should have waited another week when Sykes would have had his usual audience.

Also as funny is Preview Paddy's desperate spin, trying to paint as Governor Jim Doyle showing nervousness. The truth is that it is just more of Walker's self-inflicted bad luck.

Thursday, April 9, 2009

Paddy Is Anti-Business

Preview Paddy writes one of his long, drawn out, verbose essays trying to rationalize why we would need to expand I-94, even though all of the experts agree that there is no reason for it.

But his own paper, just a few days before, reported on the fact that it is already affecting businesses:
A mom and pop cheese castle is moving, and a neighboring cheese shop is closing, at Wisconsin's most visible cheese interchange to make room for a $1.9 billion freeway-widening project.

The Merkt family, of cheese spread fame, on Friday will close its Tim & Tom's Cheese Shop at the state Highway 142 exit of I-94 in Kenosha County.

They will liquidate more than 1,000 pounds of Wisconsin cheese and sausage - selling everything at half price - on the same day throngs of Chicago Cubs fans whiz past for the Brewers baseball home opener at Miller Park.

Why does Preview Paddy hate capitalism so much that he would rather see business go through the expense of an unnecessary move, if not out right be forced out of business?

In a related matter, go see Jay's post in which he risks his own sanity by trying to channel his inner McIlerhan, showing how weird Paddy's arguments can be:

It's interesting how it sounds so natural for him to defend an expansion of a highway that the DOT's own studies suggest will have no impact on congestion (but great impact on neighbors and the environment), but it sounds so weird for him to support the actual men and women doing the hard work of educating Wisconsin's neediest children.

If That's What It Takes

Now we know how Paddy Mac analyzes elections, courtesy of Charlie.

Wednesday, April 8, 2009

Sigmund McIlheran

Preview McIlheran notes that Marquette's nutty professor and occasional crusader, John McAdams, was able to twist a story of a young woman getting fired from an university-operated counseling center for refusing to treat a patient into a fantasy tale of religious persecution.

MJS's own Sigmund has a Freudian slip when he writes:
As it happens, she thinks engaging in homosexual thrills is destructive to individuals – that is, it is greatly immoral and, presumably, has eternal consequences.
If nothing else, this is a great argument for nationalized health care. After all, who wants a person like McIlheran, McAdams or the young woman deciding if you are worthy of being treated? I'd go with the equality every time, thank you very much.

As for the rest of their argument, a certain blogger who is devilishly witty and devastatingly handsome, and knows more about providing mental health services than all three of these people combined has more to say on the subject here.

It's A Comprehension Problem

Fischer sez,
"The state obviously hasn't taken into consideration situations like
this."

In relation to an article that says this,
"Those are the kinds of objections the DOT is soliciting for a public
information meeting at 5:30 p.m. Thursday at Hemlock Elementary School, 1900
Williams Grant Drive, in Lawrence."

It's as if the facts make no difference to him. Either that or circles confuse him horribly.

How To Talk To A Bloviator

Roger Ebert takes Falafel Boy to Catholic school.
I understand you believe one of the Sun-Times misdemeanors was dropping your
syndicated column. My editor informs me that "very few" readers complained about the disappearance of your column, adding, "many more complained about Nancy." I know I did. That was the famous Ernie Bushmiller comic strip in which Sluggo explained that "wow" was "mom" spelled upside-down.

Suck Up Gentlemen!

Gotta love how once the right wing gets a dumbassed idea stuck in their heads, like the teleprompter bit they are attempting to do on Barack, they come down with lockjaw.

The reason why this doesn't work is everybody knows how inept their president was in front of crowd or a press conference. I doubt if there will be a daily desk calendar of Obama miss-speaking as there were for Bush, creating this niche of the publishing industry.

And then of course there was the celebrated receiver not-to-well hidden underneath W's suit jacket during his debate with Kerry.

But now that they have this chew toy, the right wing won't let go of it despite the bad taste it will eventually leave.

For an example of this syndrome, look at the catch-phrase commedy over at Sykes' site which stands in for creativity -- "Hot Read," "You Stay Classy (Name Here)," "Shut Up (He/She) Explained," ad nauseum.

Now we have the oh so clever Tea Party they will be holding across the country to protest the government we all elected.

Again, it doesn't work.

There is an aristocracy as in 1773. It's called corporate America. Unelected, though now more and more in the hands of government thanks to the ineptitude of these masters of the universe.

Don't get me wrong. There is a place for corporations, but they should be here for us, not the other way around as fancied by the right wing.

Stick these guys led by Americans for Selective Prosperity (ASP) in a time machine and send them back to pre-revolutionary Boston. No doubt with their perspectives, they wouldn't be dumping the tea. They'd be drirnking it.

Tuesday, April 7, 2009

Fisch Tracks

A while ago, our bud, Kevin Fischer was apparently complaining about the weather guy on TMJ, who said that we would get three inches of snow, but Kevin's measurement showed that it was only 2.98 inches, or something like that. To be honest, Fischer's stuff is the best cure for insomnia known to man.

Anywho, said weather guy tries to explain the facts of life and meteorology to the "crabby blog guy." Weather guy's problem was that he used big word's which Fischer doesn't understand too well, and he felt put out.

So, of course, Crabby Blog Guy complains about being called out, snarking that the weather man can't predict the track of storm seven days away.

Which is really ironic, since Crabby Blog Guy can't even keep track of his own vacation time.

Monday, April 6, 2009

Sykes Wrongs

This post by Illy-T is from last week, and I was going to let it slide for being too dated, but the title is too good, and he is learning the art of "fun with screencaps." From Illy-T, I present:

Sykes Wrongs

The Imperceptive Leading The Dyspeptic

Patrick "Preview" McIlheran thinks that some people should voluntarily give up their right to vote.

I guess he got bored of just trying to suppress their rights outright, and is now trying to use reverse psychology or something.

Besides just for being offensive, another reason to ignore Preview's advice is the source of it. It is rare to see such arrogance from people with the least cause to be arrogant.

Too Good To Pass Up

Friday, April 3, 2009

Charlie's Big Chance To Shine

For weeks, well, actually for years, Charlie Sykes has been blaming unions for all of the evils in the world.

He's blamed the auto workers unions for the downfall of the Big Three, even though it is the executives pulling in millions in just bonuses for a business design that did not keep up with the real world.

He's blamed the government workers unions for high taxes, while defending AIG and other big company executives for taking taxpayer monies to give themselves obscene raises and million dollar office renovations.

Charlie's blamed unions for just about everything from higher taxes to the recession to Adam and Eve getting kicked out of the Garden of Eden. Heck, I bet Charlie would acknowledge the reality of global climate change just so he could blame that on the unions too.

But now here is Charlie's big chance to put his money where his mouth his. His parent company, Journal Communications, is in financial straits, and they need his help (emphasis mine):
The pay cuts and time off affect executives, managers, market managers, supervisors, as well as corporate staff. The company is also asking on-air broadcast talent and most union employees to negotiate payroll reductions.
I fully expect Charlie to give up at least 25% of his salary so that his colleagues and coworkers can keep their jobs, so people can still afford to buy the paper, or a car to drive while they listen to his nonsensical bashing of the unions.

It shouldn't be so hard for Sykes to do. After all, he was just recently bragging about his big contract extension.

C'mon, Charlie! It's time to put up or shut up! Give up a big old chunk of your swollen salary and show us how it's done.

Or are you just an empty, hypocritical windbag?

Will Talk Radio Give Any Credit To Pres. Obama?

The following is a post by Dan Cody, author of Left on the Lake, as an open letter to the right wing talk radio hosts. It is reproduced her with full permission from Mr. Cody.

Dear conservative radio talk show hosts,

What happened to you spending massive amounts of airtime talking about how this was “Obamas economy” as recently as a few weeks ago and lambasting him for not “keeping his mouth shut!” which in your opinion was causing the markets to tank?

Has something changed in the last several weeks that’s caused you to abandon your rants about how President Obama would kill this economy and that the markets were clearly expressing their opinions on our new President and his financial policies in a negative way?

Like I said back then, I thought that up or down, it was kind of silly you were choosing to rip into the new President a few weeks into his administration by using the fickle Dow Jones industrial average as your “proof” that Wall Street had expressed their opinion about the new President, and it was an overwhelming “NO!”.

Anyways, since you spent so much time a month ago trying to make the point that because the markets were down that Obama was a failure, I thought you’d probably want to spend just as much time talking about how Pres. Obama must be a success now that the markets are moving up.

Fair, accurate and balanced and all, you’re probably dying to get this story out there.

All my best,

Dan

Thursday, April 2, 2009

Wednesday, April 1, 2009

Someone Needs A Hug

Low self-esteem is an aggravatingly general term that gets confused between the psychological definition and the common, everyday definition, which is exploited by pop psychology. But also because of its generality, there are many things characteristics that are common in both definitions.

Just as there are many causes for low self-esteem, it is usually caused by an incident or series of incidents that occurred in one's childhood. These things could include, but are not limited to, getting picked on by other kids, not getting enough affection from one or both parents, or just a general sense of depression.

When a person with low self-esteem grows up, they tend to develop ways to cover up their feelings of inadequacy or insecurity that often mislead other people.

For example, some people might try to make themselves feel better by trying to intimidate others, say by using an expanded vocabulary, even if it means alienating those you are trying to communicate with. This gives the person a false sense of superiority.

Another problem with low self-esteem is the way to work through it. Say a person feels down about themselves because they are fat. Obviously, the solution would be a regimen of diet and exercise, but that requires self-discipline, self-motivation and dedication to the goal, which is something that most people with self-esteem lack. So instead of changing their lifestyle, and building themselves up in healthy ways, the turn to the easier, but unhealthy pattern of trying to tear other people down.

In the more extreme cases, they will do this to the point of being almost libelous, disregarding whether their attacks are even based on reality, which they often aren't.

Probably the most damaging is when the person with low self-esteem starts to use drugs, alcohol and/or food to try to alleviate their bad feelings. It only works for a short while and does nothing to alleviate the problem in the long run.

As it said in the article I linked to at the beginning of this post:
People with low self-esteem also have problems getting close to others. They are not comfortable with intimacy and create barriers to prevent people from coming close to them. They don't like to open up to people and to reveal their innermost thoughts. They may be nursing some old bad experience with someone who caused them a lot of pain or who let them down when they were most vulnerable. By forcing themselves to live in a world of self-denial they are doing a great damage to themselves. They fail to benefit from the company of others, and keep entrenching themselves deeper and deeper into their negative world. They may ultimately reach a stage where they may be declared beyond salvage.

But this is not good for society. People with low self-esteem must be helped. Their symptoms must be diagnosed, and help provided if they have to be turned into useful members of society. This help can be given by family members, friends, teachers or by trained psychologists.
If you feel that you have low self-esteem, or know someone who does, please seek help.

Found It!


In today's editorial column, Patrick "Preview*" McIlheran starts out with this line:
Anastasios Tsonis is not a lunatic, and no serious person says he is.
A friend of Whallah! pointed out in an email that if one does a Google search of the words "Tsonis" and "lunatic", one would find that the only person that did make that comparison is McIlheran. The others are just the echo chamber showing their lack of original thought.

The said friend of Whallah! pointed out that McIlheran was creating another strawman. Well, of course, this is the only type of entity that he has the intellectual capacity of beating.

*Yep, he previewed this one as well. And they wonder why the MSJ may be facing a third round of layoffs which they call euphemistically call "buyouts."

Charlie Can Now Remove the Hook from His Mouth

Ever the booster of the highly vapid Paul Ryan (R -- Brady Bunch), Charlie Sykes dutifully reproduces the chart Ryanl ran in the Wall Street Journal below.

One little problem. The chart is supposedly based on the Congressional Budget Office analysis. The only problem is that the CBO's analysis ends in 2019. Ryan's staff therefore has turned to making crap up.

Now that the GOP has put Ryan front and center is good for us back home. For too long the local media has fawned over Ryan's imagined innovation and gravitas. The national media will be doing the job that should have been done in the Milwaukee metro area a long time ago.