Thursday, August 25, 2011

Saving PolitiFact The Trouble

It's been a while since PolitFact has taken a look at Charlie Sykes' outrageous statements and lit his arse on fire, so we'll just have to do it for them.

Thursday morning, Sykes was ranting and raving about this article in the paper which told of how hundreds of people came out to Milwaukee County Executive Chris Abele's budget hearing to speak passionately about saving paratransit.

I only caught parts of Sykes' steaming pantful, but there were two glaring lies he was telling his audience.

One, he said that the advocates for the disabled were saying that the paratransit fees were going to more than triple.  All this proves is that Sykes is illiterate.  The article actually reported this (emphasis mine):

The cuts proposed by the Milwaukee County Transit System also include elimination of service on six regular routes, ending Freeway Flyer service and shortening routes or cutting bus frequency on 28 other routes. The transit system also is proposing to raise paratransit fares for riders with disabilities by $1.25, to $4.50.

Again, it only shows that Sykes can't read.

But where Sykes really got it wrong, and thereby set his own trousers ablaze, was when he claimed that no one has ever threatened to cut paratransit services before and that he was outraged about it.

The only thing is that paratransit services have been threatened before, even as recently as last year when then Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker threatened to cut that service to the bare minimum required by federal law.

Secondly, per county records, now Governor Walker and his Republican allies in the legislature have decided to cut transit and paratransit funding by $5.5 million in the recently passed budget.

Don't expect Sykes to admit to that any time soon, though. He's too busy trying to keep the flames from his pantaloons from reaching all that hairspray in his helmet-hair.

2 comments:

  1. Actually capper, you are wrong. The cut to MCTS in regular transit aids is $6.8 million, with only $1.45 million made up for in paratransit assistance, and other programs MCTS relies on are also reduced. It also doesn't include the federal cuts that the D.C. baggers want, which are coming as well, nor does it include any help for increased gas prices (about another $1.7 million hit).

    Oh wait, they can always just pass a sales tax and use RTA money to make up for these cuts- OH, NO RTA! Or maybe they can use extra shared revenues....NOPE that's cut as well. But tey'll get savings from the health benefits..OH, already was in the Milw. Co contracts and they weren't given an exception for already "using the tools."

    Pathetic, cynical game the Walkershaw types are playing here. And Sykes knows the truth but refuses to tell his audience it.

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  2. I got the numbers from Abele's listening session. Sorry.

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