Ann Coulter, Fred Phelps: Two Peas in a Pod

PaddyMac found it noteworthy to post about Ann Coulter's reaction to Fred Phelps and his Westboro Baptist's Church's ongoing harassment of the families of fallen soldiers. Paddy, who is apparently in agreement with Coulter's take, writes:

What the rabble led by Fred Phelps with signs reading "God Loves Dead Soldiers," "You're Going to Hell" and "God Hates Fags" are doing, writes Coulter, is a well known legal concept: the intentional infliction of emotional distress. You can sue for that. "It means what it says: speech or conduct specifically intended to inflict emotional distress. The usual description of the tort of IIED is that a reasonable man viewing the conduct would react by saying, 'That's outrageous!'"

Makes one wonder what they would be saying if Ann Coulter was sued for the same infraction when Coulter attacked the 9/11 widows:

New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton accused commentator Ann Coulter of making a “vicious, mean-spirited attack” on outspoken 9/11 widows whom the television pundit described as “self-obsessed” and enjoying their husbands' deaths.

Coulter writes in a new book, “Godless: The Church of Liberalism,” that a group of New Jersey widows whose husbands perished in the World Trade Center act “as if the terrorist attacks happened only to them.”

She also wrote, “I've never seen people enjoying their husbands' deaths so much.”

I would say that that was specifically meant to cause emotional distress.

At least we have confirmation that, despite all their hysterical shrieks, it is really people like Paddy and Coulter who are the fascists that would take away the people's rights.

Get Bucky Off of WTMJ!

It was recently announced that the University of Wisconsin will be dropping all contractual relations with Nike due to Nike's ongoing problems with sweatshops and generally treating their employees like dirt.

Jake, at Jakes' Economic TA's Funhouse, wants UW take it even further with their spring cleaning. He suggests that UW end their relationship with WTMJ 620 AM as well:

In addition, WTMJ constantly denigrates this great unviersity on their airwaves. Daily shows hosted by people such as Charles Sykes and Jeff Wagner mock the unviersity's culture and academic a`cheivements. Those of us that love this university and all that it is associated with are insulted when we hear a Charles Sykes promo in the middle of our Badger games, and do not need to hear those loudmouths disrupt our enjoyment of listeneing to Badger games.

Sykes and Wagner also act as a favorable front group for politicans such as Scott Walker and Glenn Grothmann, who are in favor of drastically cutting state funding to the university, which drives up to tuition to unaffordable levels for many Wisconsinites and Badger fans. TMJ talk show hosts are also are heavily associated with the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI), an institution that threatened the UW's commitment to fair and quality research by signing a contract with faculty member Ken Goldstein. WPRI further sullied the UW's reputation when Goldstein had to back out of the contract because WPRI was manipulating the results of his research to fit their anti-UW and public services agenda. This great unviersity does not need to be associated with a station that uses itself as a platform to constantly knock down the UW.

And if they needed something to fill that missing airtime, we already gave them a fine suggestion that they could start on a part-time basis: Xoff on WTMJ!

Good News For Sykes' Incite

Breaking news: Sykes will now increase the viewership to one. That one person being Scot Ross from One Wisconsin Now:

Xoff, you are forgetting the convenience for Journal Communications because they are able feature (re: "synergize") all four of their media properties: the Journal Sentinel, 620 WTMJ-AM, WTMJ-TV, and the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute.

The fireworks are sure to fly!

Will Paddy Mac can display his "Americans for Prosperity/C. Montgomery Burns Award for Outstanding Achievement in the Field of Excellence Award" alongside Sykes' finalist trophy for the Pulitzer Prize.

Will Chuckles repeat his laughable "Now Neumann Has to Run Against Feingold Because It's What Barrett Fears Most" meme from Thursday?

Will Owen offer up some of his expansive and literate blog gems like "wow" and "good grief" and "lovely" and "No mercy for a woman like this"?

Oooo, I'm on the edge of my seat.

Tip of the crown to Illy-T, who has more observations of his own here.

Why Sykes Uses So Much Hair Products

I had the mischance to hear parts of Charlie Sykes' show a few times this week as I drove from one appointment to another.

For at least two days, Sykes mocked Tom Barrett's new use of new media with SayNow.

Sykes mocked Barrett for having people calling in which struck me as quite ironic and hypocritical.

Where would a person who makes his living by having a talk show asking people to call in and discuss politics come off mocking a politician who actually listens to the people, unlike his buddy, Walker, who only talks to people, not with them.

Which leads us to the question in the title. Sykes must need that much hair products to keep his head from imploding.

Those Classy Talk Radio Listeners

Last Friday, we brought to you the story that the Democrats were trying to reinvent the Whallah! by having volunteers listening to talk radio and report their findings, if they survived the mission that is.

Milwaukee NewsBuzz has picked up on the story and carried it farther. They interviewed Sachin Chheda, head of the Milwaukee County Democratic Party, who shared a lovely email from one of talk radio's listeners:

The party received a few e-mails of interest from suspected Republican moles after the broadcasts, according to Chheda, and at least one threatening e-mail:

“You useless scum-sucking liberal. How dare you start a movement to try to silence freedom of speech. Without talk radio you wack [sic] jobs would have this country in worse condition than that a-hole in the White House has it now.

“You people really need to get a life. If you consider talk radio damaging (to) your liberal views, you are nuts. If being a lefty (is) so great it would be stronger and scum like you wouldn’t have any problems. Freedom of speech, love it, live it. If you don’t like it MOVE THE F*** OUT OF THIS COUNRTY. There is planes leaving every hour on the hour I’ll buy the tickets to get communist [sic] like you out of this country.”

It was signed “Hitman 43.”

And then they wonder why they get marginalized.

Limbaugh's Afraid of Assassinating Own Character

I have to ask: What character?

The president is trying to trick Rush Limbaugh into talking about himself and would rather engage in "character assassination" than debate conservatives in the "Arena of Ideas," the conservative talker charges in an e-mail to POLITICO.

Two days after President Barack Obama labeled Limbaugh and conservative television host Glenn Beck "troublesome" in a CBS interview, Limbaugh says Obama is trying to get him off his game.

"I think the president is trying to distract me, to get me talking about ME on my show instead of talking about him and the regime's agenda. But it won't work. I'm wise to their tactics," he wrote. "I know that a majority of Americans are angry at the regime's (and the Democrats') constant attempts at character assassination of their opposition. They want no part of engaging us in the Arena of Ideas. They seek instead to discredit and marginalize us, and it has gotten old."

In other words, if Limbaugh starts talking about himself, it's character assassination.

Yup, sounds about right.

Talk Radio Vs. Rail

James Rowen gives us a history lesson on how Milwaukee's talk radio has been anti-Milwaukee by sabotaging rail and mass transit and has sabotaged mass transit every chance it gets. Here's a snippet from James' post:

Though, as always, the Right exempts road building and its tax-supported billions from the perils of Big Government.

But my point today is to provide reminder of the damaging role that talk radio has played in getting us to where we are today - - a one-dimensional, congested, rail-free zone, as I wrote about for Crossroads a couple of years ago - - even though local conservative talk radio hosts en masse hypocritically and predictably jumped on the Zoo Interchange problems and pointed fingers everywhere except at themselves.

And I'm not overstating conservative talk radio influence in SE Wisconsin when it comes to whipping up fears about light rail among core suburban listeners, and in downright panicking office-holders who might stray from the anti-rail template.

Walker 2016

From the inbox, slightly edited for grammatical purposes:

This morning Scott Walker announced, at his campaign headquarters, WGOP 620AM, that he will be running for President in 2016.He says he came to that conclusion when his POINT man, Charlie Rove Sykes, POINTED out to him that after studying that guy's background that in there now that he could do the same thing by playing the Community Organizer game. So here is his plan.

As soon as elected Governor he will get rid of DOT in its entirety. In its place he will the method the Amish use for barn raising. Every business in the area where highway/bridge work is needed the businesses in the area will furnish the materials and the people who live in the area will do the actual work. Community Action in action and at NO cost to the Taxpayer. On that alone he claims he will have the budget balanced by the end of his term with a trillion dollar surplus. Jeff Wagner then asked Scott if there are that many Amish that live in the area. Also, Jeff, pointing out that he is a law and order kind of person, questioned whether it is constitutional to make him get his hands dirty if his street needed repair and they used that Community thingy.

For the prison problems he would build 3 large barns, as those 8,000 cow dairy farms do and put all the prisoners in them which would cut the prison budget by at least 75% as they could get rid of at least 90% of those nasty State employees guarding the prisons. As that prisoners have no rights, they should be easy to herd. He would then put Jeff Wagner in charge of the Early Release Program.

As for MPS, Walker said he would appoint Charlie Rove Sykes to head up the entire system. He says he can think of no one more qualified to work with the Union and take away any benefits that they have earned and, if necessary, replace the teachers with prisoners to teach. Another 95% savings. Then Jeff Wagner wondered why he couldn't have the job. Even though he doesn't have any children he could teach those brats as well as anybody. Remember he has a niece and nephew.

With a plan like that how could he not be elected President? He finally did give Jeff Wagner a job. He appointed hims "Official Finger Pointer" and "Questioner of Anything That Anyone Does Even If He Knows Nothing About It." In other words, it's the same job he has now.

He said he had already measured for drapes in the mansion and checked the concrete on the dome of the Capitol so none would fall on the sidewalk. Safety for public has always been high on his list.

Finally, so Charlie Rove Sykes would be able to do his new job better, he will be moving to the Central City so he will better understand their perceived problems. Rove Sykes had no comment about that statement.

See you in Washington.

Reinventing The Whallah!

While I was running around trying to make the best of a bad furlough day, I caught a blurb by Charlie Sykes mentioning something about a group trying to recruit people to monitor the talk radio.

When I was finally able to sit down at my computer tonight, I found this post on Syke's blog with this snippet:

As of this month, the Dem Party’s Communications Committee is kicking off two media initiatives that could have a powerful effect on our success in the upcoming elections, from the local level all the way to the Governor’s office and the U.S. Senate: a Radio Monitoring Team and a Rapid Messaging Team.

The Radio Monitoring Team will be charged with listening to Mark Belling, Charlie Sykes and Jeff Wagner, the trifecta of radical right wing radio in Milwaukee. Each team member will take several listening shifts each week, and will make a brief report on each broadcast. We don’t expect you to call in to these shows. You’ll simply listen and report back so that we and our candidates can stay on top of the latest right wing talking points. Since the times of these shows range from 8:30 a.m. to 6:00 p.m. weekdays, this would be an ideal activity for students, retirees, third shift workers and people who are able to make their own schedules.

Uh, what?

I have two comments regarding the Dems' plan.

One, after three years of doing this, you don't want just anyone doing it. It takes a trained ear and a strong fortitude for people to be able to stomach more than a few minutes of Sykes or the others.

Secondly, Duh! Didn't they ever year of Whallah!

Anywho, at least the link that Sykes provides has been broken, and there is a new thing to greet Sykes' readers, and I must say, they did well on it:

Hey Sykes and Belling Fans

Welcome to the Grassroots Northshore site.

The page you’re looking for is gone.

But now that you are here, you are among your real friends, the people who represent the interests of yourself and your family.

No doubt over the time you have been listening to Mark and Charlie, you have had your emotions needlessly stroked and have been steered in the wrong direction in favor of corporate friendly policies.

As the Boca Rattan GOP memo and Chairman Steele’s little romp at the Los Angeles strip club prove, the GOP cares nothing about your values and you.

Sure, you might not like our latte drinking, New York Times reading, high falutin’ ways, but all of us want what you want — a decent job, a nice house to live in, roads that don’t crumble, and health insurance that doesn’t cut you off just when you need it.

All the GOP, Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling want is for you to look the other way when your jobs are being sent overseas, taxes on the obscenely wealthy are cut so our school and infrastructure goes to hell, we have health coverage that busts our health and our incomes.

Just talk to us, we’d be happy to listen. You know we will be listening to them.

Too bad that this will probably go past most of their heads.

Things Aren't Looking Good For Sykes' Pals

It is no secret that Charlie Sykes holds a special place in his hear, or more likely his wallet, for Scott Walker and Rebecca Kleefisch in the upcoming autumnal elections.

But unfortunately for him, and fortunately for the state, they don't appear to be doing too well.

Walker is losing face this week and is continuing his inevitable slide down the polls.

But Kleefisch is actually having a worst time of it. And I don't mean from liberals. Look at what the very conservative Little Miss Sunshine had to say about her and a Facebook/Twitter survey Kleefisch held for herself:

Translation:
"I can't get no love in the district I live in. People are voting for someone else. Wah wah wah. Oh, I know, I'll make up a poll!"

Mrs. Kleefisch, I implore you. Wisconsin voters are looking for genuine. They are looking for a candidate who doesn't have to fabricate news or support from made-up polls. They are looking for a lieutenant governor candidate who isn't desperate to attach him or herself to the current candidate for governor. What's next, a hello-kitty lunch box from days past that you take to work to save on littering with your brown bag?

Charts of Facebook fans don't equal votes. These other candidates also have "Friends" over fan pages. Brett Davis, for example, has 1,150 "Fans" and 925 personal friends. That's 2075. Sure there's duplicates... but come on, at least do the math. And , were these people even contacted about your poll?

It just seems a little shady to me.

Ouch!

If things keep going so sour for Sykes' people, pretty soon he will have to change his nickname of "the Blogfather" to "the Blog Fodder."

PaddyMac Points The Way. The Wrong Way, That Is.

Paddy doesn't hold back any of his tricks in this post, in which he tries to keep up the Scott Walker talking points about the zoo interchange, even though Walker's bluster and grandstanding is crumbling and falling faster than a block of concrete of the county courthouse.

McIlheran uses the old faux concern, the hypocrisy and the circular logic that has made people like Dad29 and Charlie Sykes think that he is something more than he is, which is nothing more than a puppet.

Even while he makes snide innuendos of blaming Jim Doyle and Tom Barrett, he keeps calling for the end of the "blame game."

Perhaps he is hoping that it ends before too many people find out that Walker is just as culpable as anyone. Maybe even more so, since he took no action whatsoever, good or ill, to fix the interchange:



Is anyone else starting to think that Eddie Haskell was Patrick's hero while growing up?

Rowen On Belling: One Out Of Three Ain't Good

James Rowen did the superhuman task of listening to Mark Belling last Friday.

His take on it can be found here.

Now What Will The Right Wing Do For Inspiration?

The right wing echo chamber is sure to be in a quandary when they take Jack Bauer off the air:

"In a joint decision made by 24's star and executive producer Kiefer Sutherland, executive producer and showrunner Howard Gordon, Twentieth Century Fox Television, Imagine Entertainment and Fox Broadcasting Company, it was determined that the acclaimed series will end its remarkable eight-season run.

"Jack Bauer's last day on FOX will conclude when the final two hours of "Day Eight" air Monday, May 24 (7:00-9:00 PM CDT). As the countdown to the series' climactic conclusion races on, the final 11 hours will air uninterrupted Mondays (8:00-9:00 PM CDT) on Fox."

I can just hear their heads exploding when they realize that they now have to deal with reality.

School Choice Is Not The Answer

Charlie Sykes, PaddyMac and all the others like WPRI (Weasels Promoting Republican Ideology) too a hit when one of their own broke ranks and decided to speak the truth:

Milwaukee, in the strongly revised opinion of Diane Ravitch, is almost a textbook example for showing that the prediction that the tide of school choice will lift all educational boats is wrong.

"One might wonder about how much (Milwaukee Public Schools) is coming apart at the seams because of the competition," Ravitch said in a telephone conversation. "The competition was supposed to make things better."

A few years ago, Ravitch was a prominent voice for that latter sentiment. But in a way that has caused a stir in education circles nationwide, she now has come down emphatically in the opposite camp when it comes to private school vouchers, charter schools and the testing-based accountability regimen that is at the heart of the No Child Left Behind education law.

Those ideas just haven't worked, she argues in "The Death and Life of the Great American School System: How Testing and Choice Are Undermining Education." It is time to return to emphasizing better curriculum and instruction as the key to better success, she says, and it is time for emphasizing the needs of the mainstream of public school students.

The article goes on to point out the instability of the entire charter school system with the constant revolving door of new schools opening and others being closed.

It seems to be that is part of the problem with today's society as a whole. There is no loyalty between employer or employee anymore. The days of having a lifelong career somewhere is over as employers continue to seek out more ways to make the most profit at the employees' expense. This, of course, can be directly tied to the ever decreasing number of unions and unionized jobs.

Which also explains why the right is so set against unions. They get in the way of the wealthy becoming even wealthier and the poor getting poorer.

The Zoo Interchange Problem Is A Right Wing Conspiracy

Illy-T points us to the truth:

Knowledgeable sources suggested county exec and GOP candidate for governor Scott K. Walker engineered the rerouting to guarantee commuters five additional minutes of Charlie Sykes drive time.

Oh, the humanity!