Limbaugh Hospitalized: Admits Taking Pain Pills Again

I'm surprised, but not shocked:

Limbaugh, 58, suffered from chest pains, sources said. Limbaugh was sitting in a chair in his ninth-floor hotel room at the Kahala when emergency crews arrived, sources said. He told medical crews that he was taking medication for a back problem, sources said.Paramedics treated him and took him to Queen's Medical Center in serious condition. He will not be released from the hospital on Wednesday night, sources said.

Again, surprised, but not shocked.

What's Playing On Paddy's iPod

After reading this, I can only imagine that this is PaddyMac's theme song:




The thing I don't understand is why Paddy keeps rooting for the people that won't let him join their group. Is it wishful thinking or just some bizarre money-related masochistic tendency?

Illy-T (who really needs to start writing here) has more on "Li'l Milton" McIlheran.

The Hip Bemusings of James T. Harris

Take one faked photo.

Add one gullible right wing squawker.

End up with one big sucker.

He Seems More Like Number Two

Scott Walker sent this tweet out the other day:

Really, is that what he wants to brag about? Being named number one by a failed attorney general candidate and an lecherous, adulterous liar?

Well, he probably does, since he is playing for the extremist vote and totally blowing off the moderate right and the independent voters.

This approach would help explain why he is tanking in the popularity department.

Another Right Wing Meme Disproved

Charlie Sykes, Patrick McIlheran, and the entire echo chamber of the right wing tells us that people are leaving Wisconsin in droves due to the high taxes, business unfriendly regulations, etc., etc., etc.

Yeah, things must be real bad here:

Wisconsin's population has grown to more than 5.65 million, according to new state-by-state estimates for 2009 released Wednesday by the U.S. Census Bureau.

The state’s population grew 0.5 percent, adding more than 27,000 residents, between July 1, 2008, and July 1, 2009, the bureau reported. Its population is now 5,654,774, up from 5,627,610 in 2008 and 5,601,571 in 2007.

PaddyMac Prefers Profits Over People

Predictably, PaddyMac bemoans the fact that the Senate passed their version of health care benefits. It's not that he is necessarily against people getting health care benefits, since he doesn't even mention that. It is that the insurance companies won't get to gouge:

Only might I add:

While sensible, ordinary people might see this and quake – because it’s disruptive when key industries are destroyed and, worse, it signals that we think it A-OK for government to go around destroying legal industries – those committed partisans of the left, those complaining that Obamacare doesn’t take us to single-payer, would see this destruction as a feature, not a bug.

Gee, who'd have thunk that maybe it's not nice to put gouge people and then deny their claims anyway, just to increase their own profit.

Nice to see him so full of the Christmas spirit.

You, Sir, Are No Grumps!

PaddyMac gets really precocious this morning in his piece in the morning's paper:

Look, if it's not the holidays without a Grinch, if Dickens had no carol without Scrooge, then it's no good putting off one's duty to say, "Bah! Humbug!" Besides, what's a conservative columnist for, since we're presumed to be grumps?

All I have to say to Paddy is this: I know grumps. I have blogged with grumps. And you, sir, are no grumps! Grumps is entertaining, insightful and honest. Those are three attributes you can only pretend to have.

Also let it be noted that it appears that in his mewlings, PaddyMac also goes on to be whining about the failure of not having mass transit, capitalism, and environmental issues. Although he would never admit it openly, it is nice to see him admit that the positions he is shilling for are flops.

MJS Now Going A La Carte

For those of you that, like me, still subscribe to the hard copy of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel already know that they tried to phase out the TV Cue section of the Sunday paper. First they pared it down from all the extras to just the TV guide. Then the paper made subscribers to call and tell them that they still wanted to receive the guide, even though they had already paid for it.

Now they have had a special fly attached to the TV Cue which shows that the paper is worth even less than ever before.

After a little bit of touting on how they restored the parts that they took away in the first place, they have this little bit of news:

Like what you see? Keep getting it in 2010 for only 25 cents per week.*

*This small increase will be reflected in your next billing statement.

The new and improved TV Cue will be provided free-of-charge to current TV Cue subscribers for the remainder of 2009. Beginning January 3, 2010, you will continue to receive TV Cue for just an additional 25 cents per week. No longer want TV Cue? Call (800) 759-NEWS (6397) or go online to www.jsonline/tvcue before December 28, 2009.

So, for a section that is only slightly less confusing and slightly less inaccurate than Patrick McIlheran on the subject of climate change, and something for which you've already paid, they now want to charge you extra.

I wonder how much they would charge for agenda-free investigative journalism, hold the PaddyMac.

Cross posted at Cognitive Dissidence.

Can You Dig It?

Look what Jay Bullock dug up as PaddyMac keeps digging himself deeper:

Now, I'm willing to cut McIlheran a little bit of slack, here, because one would like to think that Michaels knows his own biography well enough to, you know, write honestly about it. But here's Michaels, exaggerating his own role as Defender Of The True Discourse despite, of course, his own tainted past and his willingness now to play fast an loose with documented fact.

But that doesn't mean that McIlheran doesn't owe us another retraction and correction. Given that it took him two weeks, and an uncorrected-in-print-or-online op-ed in a Sunday paper, before he admitted he was wrong about one fundamental aspect of "climategate" (it was a "subtlety" that "slipped past" him), I expect this big fat error will go unmentioned, too.

My eyes! Aaaaah, My Eyes!!

PaddyMac Shorter

Love the teacher, just make sure they don't get paid or have any benefits.

Sykes' Poor Punctuation

It should be an exclamation point, not a question mark:



At least it made the Chief chuckle.

McIlheran's Painful Hypocrisy

In Sunday's article, Preview Paddy* writes about a sting operation at a Planned Parenthood in Appleton, and calls it great journalism. Whatever.

He ends his piece with this:

It's been a tough year for the press, so much that people worry about whether we'll have an informed public in the future. The worry's genuine, but against it we can count the fact that there still exists out there the drive to reveal sordid hidden truths, an instinct so on-target as to make defenders of the powerful snarl, "Why don't they just go away?"

It is more than ironic that Paddy would worry about the "informed public," considering that the vast majority of his work (think in the 90 percentile range) is nothing more than parroting the National Review or some other similar site and flat out lying to his readers.

What I am curious about is whether he really knows that he is lying and doesn't care or if he is really that deranged.

*Yes, he is still emailing out previews even though his boss said that it would be stopped.

Q: Why Charlie Sykes Loves Sarah Palin

A: They have so much in common - like being real good liars.

Whatever Happened To Conservative Belief In Indiviual Responsibility?

From Peter Patau, remarking on Vicki McKenna's whining about last week's snow storm:

But here was McKenna complaining about her drive on County M: "I was white-knuckling it all the way, even with 4-wheel drive." Oh, the poor thing. Public officials and their inadequate snowplowing was endangering her life. Whatever happened to the conservative belief in individual responsibility? How about slowing down if there's too much snow and ice? How about taking responsibility to maintain control of your vehicle yourself? Instead, McKenna and her callers were complaining that government wasn't doing enough to help them.

But now the secret is out. Conservatives believe in individual responsibility -- but only until it starts snowing. Then they want the government to bail them out.

Stay Classy, Charlie

Charlie Sykes, defender of women's rights (to be treated like meat).

It's not the first time either.

Real Irony Wisconsin

Irony: Fred Dooley complaining about someone making things up.

Tis The Season To Be Banned

A few months ago, someone or someones started doing some sock puppetry, using my name on Badger Blogger. Even though it was shown not to be me, I was blocked from their site. (Meh, no great loss for me.) (Even though they admit that they were having these problems, they have yet to apologize.)

The same thing has been going on around the blogosphere, including at this very site. The most recent victim is Fred Dooley, who accused Mike Mathias and I of doing things completely out of our character. Even when this was pointed out to Dooley, he claimed that "he checked" and confirmed it was us.

Lo and behold, Dooley finally figures he was duped, and apologizes to those whose names who had been used. However, he makes no mention of how he had "checked" and confirmed it was us, which should raise suspicion in anyone's eyes about what statements Dooley makes that might be true and which ones are false.

In all of the hoopla, Zach Wisniewski points out the hypocrisy that Dooley has shown over the years on what he tolerates from the right, but won't take a fraction of from the left. For his troubles, Zach joined a growing list of impressive people by getting banned himself.

And in related news, Charlie Sykes has just started using twitter. I am proud to say that I am one of the first, if not the first person he has blocked from following his account.
That said, I can still read it, so it is nothing more than a minor nuisance. Look for more fun with this.

Mr. Remarkable

Charlie Sykes thinks that James T. Harris is "remarkable."

I could, and have, made quite a few remarks about Harris, including how Harris thinks someone comparing President Obama to Hitler is OK or how Harris thinks he owns his daughter like a slave.

That's like when he thought the bigoted bumper sticker created by Tom McMahon was "pure genius" and "brilliant."

If this is the kind of thing that Charlie Sykes thinks of in a positive manner, it makes me feel even better that he doesn't like me.

It does reinforce the appropriateness that we can call Sykes award-winning now. Congratulations to Sykes for being the winner of the "Moronic Moron Award."

Fischer Gets An Early Christmas

Kevin Fischer got an early Christmas present this year, but he will have to wait until next year to enjoy it.

Cindy Kilkenny announced last night that she is going to retire from Fairly Conservative on January 12, 2010. She wants to move on to other projects.

Unfortunately, that means we can expect to deal with several drunken and obnoxious blog posts then.

Aw, who am I kidding? He's doing that now.

Best Prophylactic In The World

One of Kevin Fischer's blog posts. Or just a picture of Fischer would do to.

PaddyMac: Don't Let Them Undo Your Undoing

Predictably, PaddyMac has taken up the topic of whether judges running for office and taking donations from megarich and megagreedy groups like WMC should be also allowed to rule on cases involving those that helped pave their way to getting elected.

Most people would point out the obvious conflict of interest in that and would say of course not!

But not our Paddy. He is perfectly fine with people like Mike Gableman and Annette Ziegler taking big time money support for their campaigns, and then ruling on cases that benefit their benefactors.

Illy T, who is much wiser in ways of the law and of these races, has a much more detailed account of why Paddy has obviously been kissing the Blarney Stone.

And since we are pointing out PaddyMac's lack of even truthiness about him, Jay Bullock did a follow up on on his post correcting another one of Paddy's blunders.

PaddyMac's Global Non-Warming Conspiracy

Yes, the same Hadley Centre Patrick McIlheran just got done accusing of "hiding the decline in observed temperatures."

And yes, that is from McIlheran's own link to Der Spiegel. What's not so well hidden is the decline in the right-wing guy's credibility, which is less easy to measure,* but a constant amusement to observe.

* Pius or minus 1.5 micrometers from zero.

That is from Illy-T. Read the whole thing here.

ADDENDUM: Jay Bullock also takes a whack at PaddyMac:

Now check McIlheran's first link, the one to the email from Phil Jones at the CRU. Note the date: "Tue, 16 Nov 1999." That's right, ladies and gentleman, Patrick McIlheran, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's "Right Wing Guy," just accused Phil Jones of describing a method for "how to 'hide the decline' in observed temperatures" since 1999--in 1999. How does McIlheran explain this? Is Phil Jones a witch, maybe, and McIlheran would like to throw him in the lake to be sure? Or maybe Phil Jones got a fortune cookie in 1999 predicting flatlined temps. Magic eight ball? ESP? Time machine? What? I really want to know!

I realize that the Journal Sentinel is getting down to a bit of bare-bones staffing, but is there not one single person there responsible for checking facts? Surely someone clicked on the links McIlheran included in his own submitted op-ed and saw the absurdity of this. How does something that obvious get through?

There Oughta Be A Vaccine For This

Actually, the post in question is about the news article that Archbishop Weakland had shredded the reports he had received about his priests that were molesting children.

Paddy's main complaint is that this could open the door for the Church to get sued even more.

No sympathy for those that were molested, just for the Church's bank account.

Rack 'em Up.

PaddyMac continues his unedifying attack on global climate change, grasping on to whatever he can, even if he has to stretch for it, calling one set of numbers out of the tons of information as using "a magic eight ball."

Illy-T has already put him behind the eight ball.

Give Her A Scarlet Letter

Nothing like some good down home Puritan's anger.

Now McBride is really in for it. She has called down the wrath of Zeus.

Why Ask(ance) Why?

PaddyMac takes advantage of the exception to the rule by mentioning a story of a Wisconsin woman who held a knife to the throat of an anti-abortion protester who was getting in her face. He at the same time, besmirches Wisconsin:

And they do: As most Minnesotans are next to the parts of our state mainly inhabited by wildlife, lots of Minnesotans think Wisconsin is a kind of Appalachia-North (I write by personal, Minnesota-resident experience).

Then again, it could be the wild Wisconsinites. Note the Superior woman who got in trouble in Duluth for pulling a knife on a 21-year-old woman who was passing out pro-life literature outside an abortuary on the Minnesota side of the bay.

Considering that Minnesota is the home of Michele "The Mad Scientist" Bachmann, who not even the GOP can abide, I don't know if they have a reason to look down their noses at anyone.

But if they want to be that way, would someone kindly point me to the exchange window? I would more than gladly return PaddyMac for Brett Favre. Heck, I'd throw in Sykes, Wagner, Belling and McBride if the Norsemen to our west would also return Ryan Longwell.

Because The First Foot Tasted So Good

Last week, Jessica McBride wrote an ill-advised piece trying to defend her infidelity by acting offended that the media would even cover the story, trying to ignore the fact that her paramour was the Milwaukee Chief of Police.

Apparently liking the taste of her foot, this weekend McBride chose to put her second foot in her mouth as well.

She starts out complaining about the comments allowed to stand at the JSOnline blogpost about the affair, which I pointed out last week. This quickly degenerates into a rambling rant about bloggers in general. This ends up in her again playing the victim and that the whole internet is misogynistic.

To show how disjointed and ironic her ramblings are, here are a few puzzling excerpts:

The Internet is, in many ways, a sexist environment. Most of the citizen blog sites are run by older men without journalistic training or standards and, when a woman crashes into the parlor to join the political talk over the brandy, watch out – you’ll get harassed until you voluntarily leave the room. But I expect more of sites like jsonline.

Should she really be calling anyone out about journalistic training or standards?

Granted the name calling and vitriol isn’t limited to women, either. It’s part of a coarsening of discourse in general. Just ask Charlie Sykes. There are bloggers who basically spend all of their energy calling him names and attacking his personal life rather than challenging his ideas. They are small minds.

This is not a hearty, strong intellectual clash on the issues (I love those sorts of debates). These are playground antics. If people said to my face what some bloggers (or Journal Sentinel comment posters) have written about me (and others) on the Web, I’d get a temporary retraining order against them. It’s abuse.

Oh, the hypocrisy is enough to give me a headache. Was she serious when she typed that? Has she ever reviewed her own stuff, much less Sykes'. It is nothing but abuse to the subject of the post, as well as the poor souls that read the tripe.

But the most alarming thing is the last line:

Oh, one other thing: I might reactivate my blog soon. As anyone who knows me knows, I don’t silence easily, and certainly not through intimidation from Internet bullies.

Oh, the humanity!!

With a tip of the crown, go to Boots and Sabers (yeah, I know, one of the signs of the apocalypse when Owen and I agree), for more on the matter.

"Characteristically uninformed and credulous"

From Illy-T:

D'you think our local denialist will make note of that? Me neither.

Mr. McIlheran's latest missive on the subject, incidentally, is characteristically uninformed and credulous. Beneath the headline, Climate 'science' was rigged from the start, the local paper's "right-wing guy" and ace environmental reporter finds soothing words at the Wall Street Journal and endorses the red herring of a Detroit News editorialist who declares: "Science should never be settled."

Obviously, all scientists knows this, and concur. It's a question of degree: some science is "more settled" than other. Yet there are still Young Earth Creationists and people who believe diseases are caused by Hell-dwelling pixies. Likewise, there is still Patrick McIlheran.

Sykes: Let The Bastards Starve

Unbelievably, in today's economy, when so many people are out of work and in danger of losing their homes or not being able to put food on their plates, Sykes thinks it's a bad thing that people are allowed to collect unemployment.

Of course, we all know that if WTMJ decided to start acting ethically, and put Sykes out on the streets, he'd be crying at the top of his voice how he thinks his unemployment compensation is insufficient.

Fortunately for us, I don't think his voice would make it here from Mequon.

Another Reason Not To Watch Faux News

They promote child exploitation:

Is God Delegating His Duties?

From the inbox:

After hearing Sykes this AM telling people how Cong Kennedy should act when the Bishop told him how to live. I have this concern:

Dear God,

What are you doing with yourself these days as it sounds that you have turned over running the Church to Sykes? With Jeff Wagner passing judgment on all other wrong doings that doesn't leave much for you to do?

The Best Defense Is To Be Offended

The Jessica speaks!

However, the saga of my relationship with Milwaukee Police Chief Edward Flynn has hit the headlines again, so I suppose it’s time I say something about it. I’m a little sick of seeing my face on the TV news, and reading stuff about matters of profound privacy from people who know so little about it. In this column, I will confine myself to commenting on the media frenzy of last June, even though I suppose what everyone wants to know now is my take on the recent coverage. I’ve never written anything about this at all beyond a statement clearing up the media’s false timeline inferences.

I acknowledge that I am an imperfect human being. After the story broke in June, some people trashed me for not apologizing. Any apologies that I made (and I did make them) were made in private. I am not a public official; thus, I don’t see why I owed the public access to my apologies. The entire story felt like an invasion of privacy, and still does, right down to the “love letters” that were stolen and mailed anonymously to a newspaper which published excerpts without ever authenticating them.

McBride goes on to question why this is even a story. She points out that she is not a public official, and even though her paramour Flynn is a public official, he should be allowed a zone of privacy.

Well, it is a story because Flynn is a public official, and that he agreed to take on a job that requires him to be a pillar of the community. Adulterous affairs don't quite qualify. Neither does dishonesty, and there are some that question whether the allegations brought forth by Paul Bucher, McBride's current husband, could affect Flynn's ability to lead and to be used as a witness.

Secondly, if one wanted to be nit-picky about it, McBride is a public employee, who is being paid with tax dollars to teach journalism. If she doesn't follow the basic principles of journalistic ethics, are the taxpayers getting their money's worth?

But I do agree with McBride that any apologies she owes are private matters. She is only in the news because of who she had the affair with. If she had an affair with the plumber or someone else of less prominence, it probably would have stayed under the radar, or at worst, be the subject of some short lived giggles among her detractors.

But considering that she has been more than willing to publish personal, and even false, information about people, should she be complaining now?

Dan Bice has his coverage of it here. What is remarkable about it are some of the comments that they are allowing to stand. I wouldn't even allow them to stay up.

But the best line of McBride's column is this (emphasis mine):

Aren’t public officials entitled to a zone of privacy, especially appointed cops who are hired solely to reduce crime? Chief Flynn wasn’t the archbishop standing on a soap box spouting off about personal morality; as for me, I wrote a column supporting gay marriage.

What does gay marriage have to do with infidelity? Or is that just more evidence of the conservative mindset that all homosexual relations are nothing more than short-lived flings?

Sykes Fails To Bridge The Gap

Chuckles thinks he is hard hitting by copy-and-pasting a release from Kanavas (R-Who?) trying to blame future Governor "Battling" Tom Barret for the problems at the zoo interchange.

What Chuckles forgets to mention is that his boy Walker is in the same boat.

Well, let me correct that, Walker's boat is going in circles as he was against it before he was for it, just like he was with stimulus dollars.

The details on yet another one in a long, long line of Walker's flip-flops can be found at Eye on Wisconsin.

Um, About Those Taxes

What! Sykes And Walker would lie to people? Color me shocked!

That last item is an important point to make, as the Charles Sykes and Scott Walkers of the world conveniently leave out that higher-income people are much more likely to itemize their taxes on their federal return, which allows them to get back some of their state and local taxes. I've never had any reason to itemize, and have taken the standard deduction in my previous tax years because it was the bigger deduction, and I bet many of you do the same. But you can bet Charlie and Scotty don't, the WMC types that back them don't, and they're counting that the dopes who listen to them don't know that. It's a lot like how national angry-man radio hosts leave out that the "overtaxed" rich pay a much lower % of their income on Social Security and Medicare taxes due to the income cap (by comparison, we pay the full 7.65%)

The state reoport also shows that from a pure % of income standpoint, it's doubly stupid for the WMC crowd to be against higher sales taxes to pay for transit and parks, as opposed to either increased property taxes or cuts that hinder people's ability to take advantage of these needed public goods. Unless you have NPD and think government exists solely for you and your needs, of course.

From Jake's Economic TA Funhouse. Read the rest.

Where's Sykes' Morality Now?

Charlie Sykes, who, despite his own checkered past, likes to fashion himself as Mr. Morality, and isn't afraid to call out a liberal for sexism, even when it isn't there.

So why hasn't Mr. Morality called out his buddy, James T. for this post?

And where was Mr. Morality when the "brilliant" Tom McMahon posted this or this?

Can you say hypocrisy?

Works For Sykes' Books, Too

You Can Add MJS To That As Well

I know the GOP owns WTMJ and WISN, but people do get their sources from people who aren't getting paid to lie. They do know that, don't they? It must suck to live your life in a bubble like that.

The Bubble Boys of Talk Radio...it's got a ring to it.

Source: Jake's Economic TA Funhouse

Because He Makes Such Nice Hats With It

Finally, A Squawker Speaks The Truth

Unfortunately, I don't think we should expect truth telling to become a habit for Old Kevin. You know he doesn't like things that are foreign to him.

There Are Taxes, Then There Are Taxes

PaddyMac got a memo from Steve Smith that he needed to support Scott Walker from those that correctly point out that Walker isn't really the tax hawk he likes to pretend that he is. So he tried to do so.

Apparently Paddy no longer thinks that fees equate to taxes, since he doesn't mention Walker's desire to raise taxes on toddlers last summer, even though he didn't even have the authority to do so. Nor does he mention Walker's desire to have parking meters at the lakefront, which would end up double-taxing UWM students, even the ones there to learn journalistic ethics from Jessica Bucher McBride.

But the biggest thing that Paddy misses in his snide sniping at Mayor Barrett. At least Barrett was able to balance his budgets. We are still waiting for Walker to be able to balance his first one.

Equal treatment for lovebirds

Whether Jess and Eddie are still carrying on or not (and who cares, except Paul Bucher and Susan Flynn?), it's good to see that both are being treated fairly by their employers.

Ed Flynn is Milwaukee's chief of police, and his bosses, the mayor and the Fire and Police Commission, say they're sticking with him, affair or no affair, because he has been reducing crime in Milwaukee. Fair enough.

Meanwhile, Jessica McBride is a lecturer on journalism ethics and other matters at UW-Milwaukee's journalism department, whose executive committee recently voted 3-2 to give her what amounts to permanent status there. Presumably, that's because she has been reducing journalism ethics in Milwaukee. Fair's fair.

An Embarrassment To The Bradley Foundation

I must admit, I am a bit perplexed.

While reviewing the previous post, I was reading the JSOnline blog post about the subject and found this comment:

On top of everything else, Flynn has really embarrassed the Bradley Foundation.

Bad strategy.

I'm just wondering if the commenter meant Flynn, or if they really meant Charlie Sykes.

Deja Vu, All Over Again

He said, he said, and she's not saying.

Earlier: The Cookie Crumbled (although it appears that Flynn might not be the upright citizen I believed him to be then.)

Methinks that when this is said and done, they will all be covered in mud, instead of just two of them.

More Painkillers, I Presume.

Now those scamps at RDW are praying for the Pres. Of course they're doing it in their own inimitable style.

If you look up Fred's reference you get to this uplifting verse.

8 May his days be few;
may another take his place of leadership.

9 May his children be fatherless
and his wife a widow.

10 May his children be wandering beggars;
may they be driven [d] from their ruined homes.

11 May a creditor seize all he has;
may strangers plunder the fruits of his labor.

12 May no one extend kindness to him
or take pity on his fatherless children.

13 May his descendants be cut off,
their names blotted out from the next generation.

It's not really one of the "feel-good" psalms.

Charlie Sykes Thinks I'm Number One!

Charlie Sykes just named me as the winner of his "Deep Tunnel" award for the week.

I give it as much credit as he gives the Shepherd Express when they name him Jerk of the Week. He is probably just upset because I called him out on being such a puppet.

But Charlie thinks I should apologize. So I will.

Charlie, I am so very sorry that you are a liar, a hypocrite and have poor reading comprehension skills.

Now I hope you feel better.

Charlie Sykes: Scott Walker's Attack Dog

Well, well, well. The day that I've been expecting for five months has finally arrived.

Charlie Sykes decided to launch a full attack on me. He's already sniped at me by using libel and untruths (which reminds me, gotta follow up with the lawyer tomorrow).

His attack was based on this post that I wrote over the weekend. Of course, he misconstrued by intent, but that is the norm for him as mentioned by a former WTMJ staffer, Dan Shelley, who had worked a lot with him, and knows of which he speaks.

But it got me wondering why Sykes waited a full 72 hours to attack me on that post. After all, it was not the first time I wrote something critical about Sarah Palin. So why this now? And Sykes isn't the master of chivalry himself.

UPDATE: Apparently, while Sykes has an issue with my Palin post, he has no problem if someone mocks the Palin family be saying they are incestuous. Can you say hypocrisy?

When I had a chance to listen to his podcast* this evening, it all became clear in five minutes.

Sykes started out his show building up the audience into a fervor. In doing so, he repeatedly emphasized that I am the Chair of Milwaukee County First, as well as that I hold a position with my union's local.

But then Sykes overplayed his hand. He also included snipes at my friend and fellow MCF board member, Keith Schmitz, and his involvement of MCF and Open Book, trying to allege some impropriety when there is none.

It was then that I realized that this had nothing to do with the Palin post I wrote. He was merely trying to discredit me and Keith in order to discredit MCF.

But why would he do that now? Simple. Yesterday, I spent the entire day and night at the courthouse, watching the County Board trying to fix Scott Walker's faulty budget. As other union members, I was wearing my "No More Cuts" shirt, but for some unknown reason, the media chose to focus on me, including an interview with Channel 12 and shots from the other stations' news shows. I was also featured, rather prominently, in this morning's edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

All of a sudden, my name was all over the place, and I was getting attention. (Although this wasn't the first time I was on TV. WTMJ - TV interviewed me on Labor Day while I was manning the MCF table at Laborfest.)

Apparently, this was seen by a threat by Team Walker.

As I pointed out last summer, some of Team Walker's key players include Michael Grebe and Steve Smith. Grebe is the chair of Walker's campaign, as well as CEO of Bradley Foundation. As the Foundation's CEO, he is the boss of Janet Riordan aka Liz Woodhouse aka Mrs. Sykes III.

On top of that, Smith is Sykes' boss. Between pressures from both his boss and his wife's boss, as well as just being the unofficial mouthpiece for Walker, it is only logical that Sykes would be Walker's attack dog, trying to discredit us.

I guess I shouldn't complain though. At least he didn't try to waterboard me.

But it does raise a couple of interesting questions. Why does Team Walker and Sykes see a small grassroots group that advocates for Milwaukee County, and has criticized various County Supervisors and Governor Doyle, as a threat? Is this there subconscious way of admitting Walker is not good for Milwaukee County?

*The podcast is fun to listen to. Two of his earlier callers actually point out that I was correct, even if I might have chosen my words more carefully. Of course, he trashed them too, as his norm, per Dan Shelley.

Cross posted at Cognitive Dissidence.

Imagine

Charlie Sykes put a post saying how rough he's got it being a talk show host.

Just imagine how rough it would be for him if he had to be honest and tell the truth while he was doing it.

Before You Complain, Paddy

Make sure the mud you're whining about isn't coming from your own hands.

It's Lonely Out On The Fringe

You gotta feel bad for Jerry Bader. Even if he's not completely wrong you'd think somebody would march out there with him on the Lawton rumors. Even Vicki McKenna won't repeat his story.

Of course, she hasn't acknowledged that Lawton is a story yet, 20 hours after the fact. So much for breaking news.

Updated: Bader walks it back. 10/27/09

11:23 AM STATEMENT FROM JERRY BADER CONCERNING THE BARBARA LAWTON STORY:

I HAVE LOST CONFIDENCE IN THE SOURCES THAT PROVIDED INFORMATION YESTERDAY REGARDING LT. GOV BARBARA LAWTON. THEREFORE I CANNOT STAND BY THE STORY POSTED YESTERDAY.

Notice it's not about him accepting responsibility for running with a story he couldn't back up. Bader blames his sources.

On the other hand, Binversie just drops the story down the memory hole.

I have also removed my later post on this matter.

Updated 10/28: The sleazebucket Bader is still at it. He still has his original link up with the same title but now there's a different soundbite behind it that speculates (He stresses three times that he's speculating. That's the same number of times he saud he was "Reporting factually," on Monday.) that "someone" applied leverage to get Lawton to step aside.

First, he drops his first story down the memory hole and says that there has been "talk" about the reasons she left the race.

Second, he pretends that he's not a part of the story.

Third, he's pimping it from the same link as if he was right all along.

It's no wonder you hear him referred to as a cut-rate Sykes, Even Chuck had better sense than to bite into the turd that Bader swore by.

Sykes Is A Cobag?

The Brawler takes the gloves off for this one:

Charlie Sykes was never a particularly coherent thinker/propagandist -- it's difficult to reconcile being a moralizer with being married three times -- but the cognitive dissonance has been to 11 ever since Obama was elected. Sykes will say on his show he thinks Sarah Palin is over (yet continue to shill for Sarah Palin because that's the goddess of his herd) and he'll say he opposed TARP (even though he adocated it).

In short, Charlie Sykes is a cobag -- he's full of shit and he floods the airwaves with it. A rude comparison, to be sure, but Sykes deserves nothing more.

Ouch.

McIlheran: Milwaukee's Own Baby Rush

From Illy-T:

Last week medium-wave radio squawker and laissez-faire martyr Rush Limbaugh told a New York Times reporter to go kill himself.

This evening the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel's "right-wing guy" Patrick McIlheran likens a Madison, WI film festival to Jonestown, where more than 900 people dosed themselves fatally with cyanide at the behest of a fanatical Christian preacher, whose followers also shot a Democratic Congressman and several others to death.

I guess that makes Charlie Sykes our own Glenn Beck

Like The Tick On A Rat

The title is the picturesque, and accurate, description of Charlie Sykes used by my friend, Bert, at folkbum's.

Read the entire post to see why Faux News, WISN and WTMJ are the charlatan news stations that we know them to be.

Hip Halloween Musings?

Next Saturday, the special interests are again sponsoring a teabagging event at a publicly funded site.

One of their speakers is going to be none other than James Harris, who is sure to share some of his hip musings like this one:

Message of Hate?

Naaaah!

I say it's a message of Hope! Finally! Signs that there is intelligent life on other planets! The aliens are trying to communicate with us! They are trying to send us a message!

I... swastika.... Obama....

And they wonder why people have a hard time taking them seriously.

Rush Gets Punk'd

Once again, Limbaugh's prejudice gets the better of him:

It must have seemed so perfect. An obscure blogger unearths some pages of President Obama's college thesis. The report supposedly comes from big-time journalist Joe Klein of Time magazine. And the thesis has some real gems: like Obama's disdain for the Constitution.

The whole thing was nothing more than a satirical post on a humor blog. But Rush Limbaugh, who quoted from the supposed thesis on his radio show, sure wasn't laughing. Here's how it went down.

An unknown blogger picked up on a made-up post meant as a joke, which claimed that Joe Klein had gotten his hands on 10 pages of student Obama's college thesis. Rush Limbaugh jumped on it, which immediately sparked Web searches on "obama thesis."

Supposedly titled "Aristocracy Revisited," the excerpt revealed the president had "doubts" about the "so-called founders." Juicy. Except not true. Limbaugh discovered halfway through his show that he'd been had, but defended himself by saying basically the thesis felt true. Listen in to Rush's mea sorta culpa.

The sad part is that even though Rush was again thoroughly proven to me a schmuck, there are still people that will believe it with all their heart. You know the ones, the birthers and the teabaggers.

ADDENDUM: Illy-T has more.

H/T to Blogging Blue

Is It Any Surprise?

Needed: Some Top Shelf Fireworks

I've heard of the blind leading the blind, but this is an example of the lying introducing the lying (emphasis mine):

Former Alaska governor Sarah Palin will visit Milwaukee next month for a speech at State Fair Park.

The former Republican vice presidential candidate will speak Nov. 6 at the Wisconsin Exposition Center in West Allis. Tickets cost $30 each and can be purchased online only at www.SarahPalinEvent.com. No tickets will be sold at the door.

The program is scheduled from 7:30 to 9 p.m.

Palin's visit is sponsored by Wisconsin Right to Life and will feature Charlie Sykes of WTMJ-AM (620) as master of ceremonies. Palin was Sen. John McCain's running mate in the 2008 presidential election.

Liz Woodhouse better be keeping a close eye.

The best line about this comes from James Rowen:

The cost is $30, and if Palin isn't enough of a draw, Charlie Sykes is the MC.

No word yet if free tea will be provided, if Joe the Plumber will show up or if Balloon Family will handle the flyover.

But you can hope.

You've Got To Know The Territory

From the Sarah Palin Blog.

E-mails are currently going out to the favored faithful to help form a
coalition. She is primed, ready and now forming a national organization called
"Stand Up for Our Nation."

And now the Wall Street Journal has confirmed the story. Palin aide Tim
Crawford told The
Journal an announcement would be forthcoming, but he declined to
give details. Crawford is treasurer of Palin’s political action committee,
SarahPAC. The WSJ suggests that the launch of the new group will coincide with
the publication of Palin’s memoir “Going Rogue: An American Life” in November.

Palin backers told the Journal that last year’s GOP vice presidential
nominee is keen on staying in the spotlight and generating significant
personal income at the same time.

Emphasis is mine. It's not about doing good things or rebuilding America. It's about filling the pocketbook and hogging the spotlight.

You guys remember SarahPac, right? Good luck with all of that.

Talk Show Host Goes After Ovine Livestock

Two takes on the growing brewhaha of Rush Into Limbo trying to buy the St. Louis Rams:

One, a well thought out and strong argument by The Chief and the other is Illy-T thinking it's just another excuse to hate the Rams.

Always A Nominee, Never A Winner

Charlie Sykes has been relentless in his selective outrage regarding President Barack Obama winning the Nobel Peace Prize.

One would think that it is simply Charlie parroting the right wing talking points, as Illy-T alludes to in this post.

But for Charlie, the anger is seated a little deeper. He is just jealous, since he will always be just a nominee, never a winner.

The St. Louis Dittoheads

News Item: Rush Limbaugh may buy the St. Louis Rams:

Looking For A Pool Czar

Dan Cody also thinks that the proposed plan to save and improve the pools for half the price of one water park is a good idea.

Apparently, talk radio can't be bothered with the common good:

Meanwhile, the usual suspects on conservative talk radio are using the debate about public swimming pools to bring up “socialism”, and yes, their argument is about as ridiculous as you can imagine. While pundits like Jay Weber use their microphone to whine that “the elderly and poor little brown skinned children” should just go find a bathtub to cool off in because your personal ideology prevents you from supporting any tax funded program that you personally don’t use may endear you to the “kill off Government” crowd, the simple fact is that tens of thousands of people use things like public pools and most rational people understand the benefit they provide to the community.

Dr. Sykes

Weird ... so solid majorities of Americans support policies that are anathema to Sykes' benighted listeners. Will Sykes share that science with his listeners? The Brawler has his doubts, as Charlie's contempt for their intellect (i.e., his refusal to share facts that conflict with their worldview) is well-known.

See the rest at Brawler's place.

If PaddyMac Were To Do An Infomercial...

...I'd imagine it would look something like this:

"Small Men Behind The Curtain"

What an apt description of local talk radio.

Harris Kane has the whole thing here.

She's Not A Constitutional Scholar Either

In today's Waukesha Freeman, Jessica McBride again shows her lack of understanding of the law and of the Constitution. Being married, at least for now, to a lawyer, one would think that some of this might have rubbed off on her. Apparently not.

You can tell she's lost just from the title: "Not really the people's court after all - Butler nomination renders ballot box useless."

Really? Excuse me, Ms. McBride, but just when was the last time you voted for a federal judge?

Furthermore, should someone who battled continuously to defend a candidate that is facing trial for lying really be one to talk for the "people"?

Then again, maybe she can't help it. It appears to be common ailment among the entitled, elitist conservatives.

Just what we needed

My car radio has been a WTMJ free zone for more than two years, since I discovered a station that didn't believe the world was flat and actually let callers talk. I've been happily tuned to WMCS, 1290 AM, and stayed there even when a shakeup and change in station management resulted in Eric Von, the station's real pro, leaving his afternoon slot. I'd been more or less a Friday regular on his Man Show for a couple of years.

But today, host Earl Ingram opened his afternoon drive show with a surprise announcement -- Sheriff David Clarke, the conservative Republican teabagger who poses as a Democrat, will be the fill-in host when Ingram is absent.

I guess the new management thought it would be good to have at least one host who doesn't support Obama.

Can James T. Harris be far behind?

Aside from the question of whether an elected official -- and one who has run for mayor as well as sheriff, and likely has more ambitions -- is an appropriate host, there's the question of whether Milwaukee really needs one more right wing talker of any color.

The conservatives will no doubt say that some balance is good for WMCS. To which we might wonder, why isn't it good for WTMJ?

Lefty Joel McNally and Cassandra Cassandra still co-host the WMCS morning show, and Al Sharpton holds down the noon to 3 slot. Here's hoping Earl Ingram doesn't have many sick days or vacation coming.

Cancel That AG Run After All

There apparently will be no AG run for Paul Bucher after all.

Romance is back in Merton:

That was quick.

Less than a week after ex-Waukesha County District Attorney Paul Bucher filed for divorce from journalist Jessica McBride, the former prosecutor asked that the case be dismissed.

Talk Radio Loses To Reality. Again.

Once again, conservative talk show hosts are pushing an agenda and trying to create a perception that the public is on their side. And yet again, you have factual information flying smack in the face of the disinformation they’re trying to push.

That is from Dan Cody. Go see what the squawkers got wrong this time.

UWM Student Auditions To Be Next Talk Radio Host

From TMJ4:

In one blog entry dated August 6, 2006, Duerstein wrote, "I know that a lot of black kids growing up these days do work hard" and "Unfortunately, it as been my experience that those folks are in the minority of their race."

Another blog entry dated November 12, 2005 reads, "If mainstream black anglo-hating racists can't find a way to function in normal society and use the intelligence that God gave them, perhaps they ask to be held down and discriminated against, and placed back into slavery."

Seems to me that he'd fit right in right now. But then again, maybe it's the pain pills from his surgery talking.

Now, That Is Some Real Sunday Insight

Charlie Sykes has his weekly TV propaganda show he calls "Sunday Insight" but should really just be called "Sunday Incite," since it is nothing more than Chuckles and some of his closest buddies, like James "I own my women" Harris and Preview Patrick McIlheran doing a political singalong.

For a while, Chuckles and Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane had a little spat. It was little since Kane mostly ignored Sykes, who just mostly bloviates any way. But Kane knew how to get his licks in as well.

I think Sykes' problem is one more of jealousy of Kane's skill with the written word than anything else.

Kane again shows his mastery and real insight with his column from today's paper. It deals with the subject of incest, spawned by the recent revelations of actress McKenzie Phillips. The insight, and mastery of the written word is shown at the end of Kane's column:

I've covered organizations that deal with these issues and have talked with counselors who described sexual abuse by a trusted relative or friend as a powerful dynamic that shatters lives. Given that, I probably shouldn't have been so quick to dismiss Phillips' claims.

If she were a man claiming to have been abused decades ago by a priest, I suspect people as a whole would have been more empathetic.

My lesson learned is that tolerance means more than just accepting the fact we are all different people in terms of race, age and gender. It also means giving the proper respect to someone else's experiences.

My initial response to the Phillips' story by saying "TMI" prevented me from realizing it really wasn't too much information for people who have managed to weather the storm but still need support. I still fail to see how talking about it on Oprah helps Phillips heal, but I really don't have to.

Her words may help others deal with the same darkness, which I suppose is the entire point.

Is Bucher Setting Up For Another Run At Attorney General?

I am sure you all have heard the news by now. Superlawyer Paul Bucher has filed for a divorce from Jessica McBride. This is the second marriage that McBride has broken up due to infidelity.

NOTE: In the interest of fairness, Cindy Kilkenny is the one that broke the story first.

Now there could be a lot of easy cracks and jokes that could be made about this situation, but seeing as that I'm not a talk radio host, I have some sense of decorum and only hope that the children are able to cope with their family being torn apart like this.

But this post by Harris Kane, in which he ponders whether Bucher was the one that first leaked the information about the affair, made me think things through a little farther. I would not be surprised if Paul Bucher makes another run at the Attorney General's office.

Consider these observations:

1) Bucher has been keeping his name in the news on regular occasions, usually due to some case or another that he has picked up as a cause.

2) The current Attorney General, J. B. Van Hollen, who beat Bucher in last elections primary, has not been doing a stellar job. Van Hollen has first bragged about not needing as much money to run the crime lab, but during budget time, asks for millions of tax payer money to run the crime lab. He has issued the irresponsible statement regarding open carry for guns. And most recently, it was revealed that there are thousands of DNA samples that were never recorded. All of this makes Van Hollen more vulnerable.

3) Many political pundits considered McBride to be a hindrance to Bucher's last campaign, due to her poorly thought out, crass and abrasive comments about any number of subjects including racial issues.

With repeated exposure, the current AG's failings, and losing some baggage, Bucher could be conceivably setting himself up for another run at the AG's office. It's a thought anyway.

I will leave off of this subject with a recommendation that everyone, right or left, read the Musings of a Thoughtful Conservative, especially this passage:

The last thing I want to do is engage in anything that comes close to schadenfreude, but maybe I already have. My hope is that maybe in the cacophony of faux outrage from the left (she has always been a lightning rod for the left in south east Wisconsin, probably because of her strong opinions) and silence or counter outrage on the right, my small voice will still be heard.

I ache for them both and I pray for them both. Divorce is messy, even if we think it’s unavoidable. And there’s a child involved which never makes it easier.

McIlheranJust Doesn't Want Us To Save Money

Preview McIlheran regularly tries to convince us that it makes more sense to spend billions on new and unnecessary highway expansions instead of on beneficial mass transit systems. No real money savings in his recommendations, but by golly, he's sticking to it.

Excuse me if I don't hold my breath waiting for him to mention that mass transit also saves people billions of dollars in gas money alone:

A new report says record-high public transit ridership in 2008 saved Illinois huge amounts of gasoline.

The report from the advocacy group Environment Illinois says overall ridership increased by more than six percent last year compared to 2007.

The report concludes that effectively saved nearly 260 million gallons of gasoline. It says that's equal to the amount of gas consumed by more than 450,000 cars in Illinois last year.

Nationally, Environment Illinois says transit ridership saved more than 4 billion gallons of gasoline. That's what more than 7 million cars burn in gasoline each year.

Brian Spranger of Environment Illinois cites the figures in arguing that more transportation funds should be spent on mass transit rather than on roads.

Do They Really Want Sykes To Be Their Spokesman?

Charlie Sykes has been constantly harping on DPW Chairman Mike Tate and his press releases calling the recent Teabaggerfest for what it was, a corporate sponsored anti-government rally. Tate also pointed out in another release that Walker is trying to pander to the lunatic fringe of the right wing by speaking at the event.

Sykes has been so upset by this that besides the many times a day harping on the radio, he has put up not one, not two, but three posts so far squawking about the truth-telling.

The question is really do Scott Walker and the Republican Party really want the thrice-married, adulterous, sexist and racist Sykes as their public mouthpiece?

Oh, wait, they probably do. He is perfect for them.

What Does Michelle Have Against Michelle?

Eugene Kane, of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, raises a good question:

Michelle Malkin was a featured speaker. She's pushing a new book that suggests President Obama is a corrupt politician bringing an atmosphere of corruption to politics in Washington D.C. She also seems to have an axe to grind against Michelle Obama, who she frequently singles out for criticism in her book and in her public comments.

It's pretty unusual for a political commentator to single out the First Lady of the United States for partisan attack, but it seems anything goes with this president. But it does beg the question:

What does Michelle have against Michelle?

I have two guesses.

One is envy of Michelle Obama's intellect, decorum, kindness and a good looking husband.

Michelle Malkin is just not a nice person, who would, let's say, spy on and belittle sick kids.

Charlie Sykes Is Wimpier Than Jimmy Carter

Sykes additionally likes to refer to Jimmy Carter as the worst president of the last 100 years although American fared better economically under the Carter years than they did under George W. bush, who, truly qualifies for the worst in the past 100 years if not EVAR. (Civil War was going to happen, don't Blame Buchanan!). Sykes also likes to call Carter a wimp, though Carter has the distinction, over Sykes, of having served in the military.

That is the tail end of a post by, who else, the Brawler. You can read the whole thing, and how he got here, by clicking here.

9/11 and Charlie Sykes

Last week, leading up to and during 9/11, Sykes was a little edgier than usual. I thought it was simply because of it being President Obama's first 9/11 and the fact that Sykes isn't above gratuitously using that tragic day to try to get some political traction.

But then a faithful reader reminded me that 9/11 held a more personal significance for Charlie.

I'm sure it was also very traumatic for him.

Happy Anniversary, Charlie.

Oh, The Irony

If anyone should be giving advice to bloggers, conservative or liberal, it sure as heck ain't his guy.

Yes, Racism Is Alive

And it lives in the hearts of conservative pundits apparently.

Michelle Malkin kicks things off with her usual brand of selective outrage when she goes off about an act of violence on a bus between a black kid and a white kid, claiming it was an act of racism.

Andrew Sullivan calls her on it when even the police backed off on the claim, and apologized.

Malkin, instead of taking the high road, shows her baseness by not only refusing to apologize, but keeps throwing gas on that fire:

Update: The police are backing off the racial motive claims. Given the explosive consequences of candor about such matters, this is not surprising.

Our own local famous loudmouth, Charlie Sykes does her one better. He puts up one of his usual one line copy and link posts regarding the incident:



But if even the least intellectual of his followers would have bothered to follow his link, they would have read this:

A student on a Belleville West High School bus was beaten for his choice of seat, not because he was white, according to a witness and police.

Sykes never bothers to clarify his error, much less apologize. And if you read the comments, the usual suspects that listen to his garbage show that they really are no better.

Perhaps after Malkin gets done with her appearance with the teabaggers, she and Sykes can go to the park to set off some fireworks. Or burn some crosses. Whichever.

Tip of the Crown to Illy T, who by the way, has the best put down of McIlheran that I've seen in a long time:

And, scroll down to John Foust's comment re: Willie Soon, who McIlheran identifies as an "astrophysicist" and who, McIlheran claims, "managed to offend climate alarmists with, of all things, data."

McIlheran only left out two words: "misuse of" before "data."

Journalists may obtain a .pdf copy of this article by request to Harvey Leifert [of the American Alarmists Geophysical Union].

No wonder Patrick McIlheran couldn't obtain a copy!

ADDENDUM: And Limbaugh makes it a trifecta.

Why Listen To Talk Radio?

James Rowen gives his answer to that question here.

As for us, it's all in the tag line:

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

Sykes Gets His Facts Wrong: The Prosecution Rests

In today's letters to the editor section of the local daily paper (emphasis mine):

Sykes got his facts wrong

Charlie Sykes, like many of his contemporaries in the talk radio business, has again ignored facts to promote his views.

During his broadcast Sept. 10, Sykes was discussing the tragic death of UWM student Nathan Potter, allegedly shot and killed by Seandell Jackson. He pointed out that Jackson was arrested in Sheboygan for carrying a concealed weapon and received a three-day jail sentence, which is true.

But he described that concealed weapon as an "illegal handgun" and implied that if Sheboygan knew what it was doing, Jackson would have gotten a longer sentence and might not have been free to commit the homicide.

The "concealed weapon" was a pocket folding knife, not a handgun, and I doubt that Jackson would have even been arrested in Milwaukee County, much less charged, convicted and sentenced to jail.

I guess the truth doesn't make for good talk show garbage. But we should all be used to that by now.

Joe DeCecco
District attorney
Sheboygan County

Well said, sir, well said.

McIlheran Wants To Raise Your Taxes

In Sunday morning's edition of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Patrick McIlheran takes on the issue of whether Mayor Tom Barrett whoudl take over MPS.

He is opposed to the take over, arguing that nothing will change, and that those dastardly union workers would only have to influence one person instead of several. I was just starting to wonder if I was reading one of those few pieces by PaddyMac that actually makes sense when I got near the bottom of his column and he wrote this:

Concentrating power hardly seems a solution. A more promising idea, as long as we're speculating, is breaking up the district into manageable pieces, each large enough to feed one high school, like most Wisconsin school districts. Whether this will work is unclear, but it may bring the decision-making closer to families that schools serve.

Ah, there's PaddyMac that we've all come to know and spoof. Instead of having one system, McIlheran offers the idea of creating several, thereby multiplying the numbers of administrations and creating even greater bureaucracy. This will do nothing but raise taxes.

But I'm sure that if one would speak with Paddy, he'd tell you otherwise. And then point out some "friend" of his, or more likely his boss, who would be more than glad to privatize it for you. For a more than nominal fee, of course.

With help like Paddy's, who needs enemies?

Sykes' Long Term Memory Loss

I was alerted by an observant reader that Sykes was apparently experiencing some memory loss issues this morning.

Either that, or he was being his usual hypocritical self.

In short, Chuckles was morally indignant and outraged that Fond du Lac County will be creating a half-cent sales tax to pay for saving all those jobs at Mercury Marine, and creating hundreds of new ones.

Apparently, Ol' Chuck forgot about how he used his bully pulpit for weeks and months in promoting the sales tax that we are paying to fund Miller Park.

As the reader points out:

He also said he would BET that this sales tax in Fond du lac would never go away. He should know. The sales tax he was in favor of for the Brewers will never go away.

Another (Two) Poor Decision(s) By WTMJ Radio

I saw this over the weekend, and I am still bitterly disappointed:

Veteran WTMJ-AM (620) personality Phil Cianciola confirms via Twitter this afternoon that he's been shown the door.

He tweets: "It's true. I was let go from my job today... Hope to talk to you on the radio again soon."

Cianciola is a long-time member of the afternoon "Green House" hosted by Jonathan Green. At the beginning of the year, WTMJ extended Green's contract, but didn't announce details.

Cianciola was the most entertaining personality on the entire radio station, which is probably why they felt compelled to give him the boot. To show how classy Cianciola really is, just read what he wrote on his own website:

But at this time and in this place all I really want to do is say a huge thank you to all the many, and I mean many kind emails and posts at various places that fans and friends have left for me. I DO care about you all. And as I have said in the past, just connecting with YOU and maybe making YOU laugh or smile is the best part of my job...er, ah, my former job.

I promise you that I am already working hard to get back on the radio in the city of Milwaukee to have that chance to again entertain, inform and maybe make you smile. You know I'm a Milwaukee guy, and if I can land a gig in Milwaukee then that would be my first choice.

More to come....stay tuned. Things happen for a reason. A door closes, another one opens....all that good stuff....Trying to stay positive. I know that many of you have and are going through the same thing.

I would love to know the reason why WTMJ would get rid of an entertaining, insightful and non-offensive person like Cianciola. But then again, maybe I just answered my own question.

We wish Mr. Cianciola the best of luck and look forward to hearing him on the radio again soon.

ADDENDUM: Bruce Redenz at Badger Blogger is reporting that Dick Alpert was also shown the door. Two big mistakes on TMJ's part.