Today is

Friday, February 29, 2008

McCain's Hit Song "Bomb Iran"



McCAIN FUN FACTS

McCain Loan Could Violate Donor Privacy

McLame's Immigration Insanity

Tom DeLay Disses McCain

John McCain and Our Second Amendment

John McCain's Skeleton Closet

The Conservative Case Against McCain

John McCain's Temper Preceded Vietnam

John McCain's Record of Economic Issues

The Conservative Case Against Huckabee And McCain

McCain Walks Into Conservative Clothesline

John McCain Is No Hero
Hello John Kerry.

U.S. Senator John McCain Is No War Hero

Flashback: The Real John McCain

Why Vietnam Vets Split on McCain

Luck Of The Admiral's Son Not For "Grunts"

ARIZONA'S JOHN McCAIN: A Fraud, "Rhinestone Hero," and National Security Risk

MSNBC questions McCain's temper; Reporter says McCain vexes Senate colleagues

Wednesday, February 27, 2008

Gazette Kicks Off Towns Campaign With Snow Daze

Wednesday’s Janesville Gazette had a story titled, “Could bill have saved snow days?” on their hard-copy front page, which amounted to a GOP campaign kick-off article for former Wisconsin State Rep. Debi Towns (R).

Here the newspaper slyly interjected Towns, who is now a regular citizen, into the current public school snow days make-up discussion simply because Gov. Jim Doyle vetoed a bill sponsored by Towns TWO YEARS AGO, which could have possibly made making up time easier harder (matter of opinion). For whatever reasons two years ago, the newspaper did not seem to make an issue of the bill or the veto, and in this latest article, did not include a response from the Governor. Neither did they re-affirm the reality that if Towns had been able to keep her seat, she would not have been able to over-ride the governor’s veto and in truth, would have made no difference in today’s snow make-up day schedule.

Instead the newspaper brought in Towns and glossed over her position on the subject and spun the story in her favor against some non-existent opposition on the issue.

Last month Towns announced she will attempt to regain the legislative post she lost to Kim Hixson (D) in 2006. So the Gazette, at the conclusion of this article eventually ties in Hixson, assuming he is in opposition to citizen Towns position on this issue, and reminds the reader that Towns wants to regain her seat.

When it comes to political propaganda masquerading as a unbiased news story, it doesn’t get any better than this.

And it does raise a question whether the newspaper will offer uncritical front-page ink and equal time on this subject or any subject to Kim Hixson or any other candidate running for the district seat.

Note: Unfortunately, you must have an on-line subscription to link to the Gazette article.

Tuesday, February 26, 2008

Local Anonymous Column Out Of Tune

........but running just fine.
Sunday’s Janesville Gazette Sound Off column contained 17 anonymous comments, typical for this popular newspaper forum. Of those 17, one was a disparaging remark against community activist Andreah K. Briarmoon. Another one went negative on union Rep. Mike Sheridan (D) and his support and phone-call campaign for Janesville city council candidate Kevin Bishop. One thought Rep. Paul Ryan should focus on running for governor. Another one recommended a book written by Texe Marrs about the evil Clintons. Another commenter thought the media should be investigating Bill Clinton’s post-presidential business life and background instead of fooling around with McCain. This next one was my favorite.
JG Sound Off:
On presidential politics:
I was thinking of running for president on a platform of health care for everybody, free college education for everybody, no more property taxes but we’ll have a flat tax of 75 percent for everybody. Sounds good, doesn’t it?-- anonymous
I thought, promising more than you can deliver sounds like average election year rhetoric to me. But charging taxpayers more than double than what it costs, clinches it. The commenter must be a Republican.

The Sunday column was capped by two more negative remarks against the teachers union and the fight to protect their health care insurance.

If we go back to this past Wednesday’s Sound Off column, the anti-left rhetoric was about the same.

It started with a comment suggesting local town positions such as clerk and treasurer should no longer be elected offices. Followed by four consecutive negative comments against teachers, which was followed by two negative comments against Barack Obama. Another one criticized Gov. Doyle. One comment praised Gazette affiliate Stan Milam’s Show on WCLO. Finally the last politically driven rant was more sarcasm about the supposed hypocrisy of those against the Bush tax cuts while seemingly supporting the Dem-led economic stimulus plan. Aside from a couple of anti-corporate greed comments, the rest were mainly the local fare about rude drivers, newspaper carriers and everyday complaints. The point here is that the two most recent Sound Off anonymous columns were majority anti-democrat, anti-Clinton and Obama, anti-teachers and unions while a small minority were pro-Republican, Ryan and pro-self interests. Neither Wednesday’s or Sunday’s columns had pro-democrat or pro-dem issue’s comments.

This coming from a newspaper sitting in the middle of a county that recently voted 30,600 for democratic presidential candidates and 7,600 for republican candidates in the primary.

For clarification, I’m writing this not to complain, but to just make an observation.

Monday, February 25, 2008

Curious Editorial Cartoon




Who is this meant to target, and what reaction is it supposed to provoke? I am aware of the movie and the plot. Perhaps it's only me that doesn't get it?

Sunday, February 24, 2008

Rip Rap

Clinton booed for change you can xerox line.

NOW? we start getting sensitive?
Question: What do they mean when Obama supporters answer back,"Yes we can" at his rallies?
Yes we can what?

Change!! That’s what they mean! You know, Obama IS the agent for change. Last year, Obama thought Democrats needed to get closer to God. This year, he drew parallels between himself and the upward trajectory of America during the Reagan presidency. If you disagree, your partisanship is part of the problem. That’ll have to change too. He also wants everyone to come together. He’s literally asking people to “change,” but not necessarily including himself. The change Obama apparently wants is for everyone to change into something HE can identify with. People are complying "Yes We Can!"

After I had this epiphany, I immediately voted for HRC in the Wisconsin primary.

Regardless, Obama and Clinton have their differences but it's not so much on the issues. That makes it look like the harsh criticism and media negativity against Hillary is more personal than anything else. Republicans HATE her guts because she's a Clinton. No matter, I will strongly support whoever wins the Democratic nomination.
McCain Runs Away From Challenging Story

The NY Times article that got McCain's underwear all bunched up had less to do with a romantic affair and more to do with exposing McCain as a fraudulent crusader against corporate lobbyists. The Times themselves never really suggested McCain had a affair and actually spent little time on it in the story. They only reported on allegations of the potential of one from McCain’s own campaign advisers. What the article did achieve through a loosely contrived history of his exploits was that McCain had a cycle of dabbling in corporate cronyism and somehow attempted to balance it with a cycle of half-hearted lobbyist reforms.

The worst part of this is perhaps the usual sexist overtones we’ve come to expect from the traditional right-wing. That is, a female lobbyist can only be good for one thing. Right? Would McCain’s campaign team have warned this lobbyist away if a man? I doubt it.

I’m convinced that the phony conservatives base want to dump McCain now, while there's still time. Unless something unforeseen happens, they probably sense McCain is going to get whomped in the general by either Clinton or Obama and must figure there is still time to change the course. If the NY Times story was truly a (L)iberal plot, they would have held onto this for an October surprise, it would seem.

And I was surprised to see the credible NY Times use anonymous sources for such a story of high importance. We see plenty of that kind of journalism here in Wisconsin. Unfortunately, the potential is that McCain's documented history of corporate cronyism will be judged false by association with the more dubious affair. Nevertheless, it was interesting the way McCain reacted to it. He’s done answering questions, so drop it, will ya'?

Read the controversial New York Times McCain Article here
Wisconsin Republicans Wash Hands Clean Of Budget Deficit

Kanavas: Now What?

Kedzie: Blame Democrats

Both Wisconsin legislators seemed to have conveniently forgot they were part of the state budget negotiated by their Assembly Leader Mike Huebsch.
In the face of a projected $650 million state deficit, Kanavas asks, "What is the governor going to do now? These two wise men should put their words into actions with the cuts they propose. Nobody is stopping them from walking into County buildings, city halls, town centers and school boardrooms within their districts and ask for pledges. You know, they can ask the local officials how many jobs they are willing to cut and how many senior programs they can do without. They can ask the agency heads how many will sacrifice their state health care insurance and pension plans, and which school programs they can cut for their version of prosperity. They could ask which roads they will no longer plow, and which teachers will be cut, which school lunch programs and social services to cut and on, and on and on. The list is nearly endless.

When they're done, they can hand the list of job cuts and money pledged from their districts over to the governor to help shore up the the state budget. After all, most of these are the cuts they held out for in the first place, and besides...it's their job.
Hysterical Trade Talk

“We don’t have much. What we have in excess is women. So if you want them we can give a few of those to you, some tens of thousands.” – Mao Zedong, Chinese leader attempting to barter the country’s women during trade discussions with the U.S in 1973, according to a document released Thursday by the State Department historian office.

And here we thought American businessmen scampered off to China so they can manufacture more affordable goods to save us money. HAH!
Ever wonder why the corporate controlled GOP (l)iberal media has been relatively soft on Obama?
Spending 5 times as much on advertising couldn’t possibly have anything to do with it.

Friday, February 22, 2008

Loose Fed Priorities Over-Taxing Locals

The problem with our state budget shortfalls is loose fiscal policy, not insufficient revenue according to the Beloit Daily News. This idea must come from the voodoo economics class of the GOP Club for Growth College.
BDN Editorial Excerpt:
AND SO IT continues. Just as Wisconsin is faced by a budget challenge - estimated as a $650 million gap between revenues and spending next year - so it is with Illinois, impacted by an even larger gap of $750 million or more in its state budget.
AND SO IT GOES. The $500 billion wasted in the War on Iraq would have covered the budget shortfall for a state like Wisconsin for the next 769 years!!! Some might say I’m off topic or confusing the issues. But I see a direct correlation between Fed tax-cuts and the shifting of Federal dollars away from domestic venues to our declining economy. The double-whammy economic booster the tax-cuts ushered in after 9/11 was only a short-term patch. They’re still in effect now and of completely no use. That is why the tax cuts given to the wealthiest must be rolled-back and additional tax cuts and breaks must begin from the bottom up. The locals cannot cover for the shortfalls.
BDN Editorial Excerpt:
Only by engaging in fund-shifting and disreputable accounting practices can the politicians claim to have reached balance.
Yeah, we can say that and it doesn't sound too good but the funny thing here is, states have to balance, and without owning a money printing machine.

Universally the economy has tanked, not just in Illinois or Wisconsin, but the all encompassing Federal economy. Why else would some form of a stimulus plan come from Washington? The Fed tax cuts, the Fed stimulus plan, the Fed dollars shifted away from the domestic side and the Fed interest rates are all intertwined. It's Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed, Fed.

It does not matter who says it, when or why, but when Washington politicians (Federal) pass another tax cut, they automatically increase our local tax burden. Their promised tax cut policy to get elected becomes our local, state and property tax hikes to make up the difference. Guaranteed - with a democratic governor or not.

Wednesday, February 20, 2008

In Janesville, Less Leadership Is More


This was originally a draft I wrote after last year’s city council election and slightly updated for today.

JG Excerpt:
JANESVILLE — The top vote-getters in the Janesville City Council primary Tuesday said they look forward to getting their views out now that the field is whittled to six.

The best advice I could give to all six candidates is “don’t.” That is, don’t get your views out there too much, otherwise you could be viewed as an “extremist,” as somebody with an agenda or with axes to grind. Do play up to the media and hint around to high value and low taxes, that’s always a winner.

Volunteer community service with a college education fits the mold the establishment status quo voters are looking for, so long as you don’t try to make it look like you can think on your own. Remember you’re merely a token representative of the entire city, not an agent for change.

The style and make-up of most (not all) of the remaining six candidates are proof that the Janesville City Council elections are nothing more than a personality contest and have little to do with actual governance, guiding principles or politics. The system is set up this way.

When I hear council candidates talk about how it would be nice to have someone from the Look West, 4th Ward or south side neighborhoods of Janesville to represent them in council, I cringe. When I hear a candidate talk how they strongly support business interests, I nod my head side-to-side. The same goes for the candidates who talk about standing up for the “little people,” OR others who say the city is run just fine as it is. I did not vote for any of these because these candidates simply don’t understand what their role would be as a Janesville city council member.

It's important to understand the concept of an "at-large" system. That means each and every council member must represent the entire city, not just your special interest group or your ethnicity, no matter how under-represented you think they might be. It is a laughably impossible task to accomplish with any real forward results. But they have been doing this for 90 years in Janesville and the power players and insiders of the town just absolutely love it.

Just consider the waffling on the sidewalk program or the indecisiveness about the aquatics facilities (2007) for more proof. Each sitting council just keeps putting the tough choices that have to be made onto the next. And because previous councils have expectedly failed under the weight of this process, future actions just keep snowballing. Solutions and corrections just keep getting tougher. It doesn’t matter whether you have 7 council members or 99, when it’s an at-large system, you may as well have just one council member. Nearly all council actions and decisions are arrived in unison. Those that disagree are reminded of the city's (Forward Janesville) directives.

But we can go back even further in time to see what damage this form of government has done to the city. They put a dump in the middle of the city irresponsibly close to ground water resources and then create a competitive economic policy to fill it. Justifying the current location of the dump by claiming the city grew around it doesn't help. It just highlights the poor planning even more.

They deliberately directed retail business focus and planning away from its downtown by claiming the city shouldn't tinker with developers "free market" forces.

For decades, they turned away from the river and abandoned its most centralized and significant parks. Much of this would have never happened with a district representative screaming “not in my backyard” or “how dare you forget us” on behalf of their constituents, tax base and natural assets.

Now, just like this kind of leaderless system demands, the renegade Republicans who refused to accept and eventually abandoned the second Progressive movement predictably enlist the help of consultants and other academics to tell them this, but it might not matter now because if it’s not almost too late, Janesville does not have the kind of governance or willingness to do anything about it. Anything a council would try to do outside of Forward Janesville directives will be viewed as dictator-like or too expensive. Remember, Janesville was run on a shoe-string budget when the local economy was good, relatively speaking, but now what?

So voting for one candidate over another in an at-large system allows us to pretend our voices are heard and that we can make some difference. It doesn’t - but at least it’s something to occupy our time. That’s one of the lesser reasons why I started this blog. The power broking establishment along with their media enablers gaslight independent citizen activists and journalists as negative, malcontents, dividers, extremists and radicals, etc.

In truth, it really doesn't matter which person you vote for in city council, nothing will change to make any real difference until the process is changed and special interests are removed. Things would’ve been very different if Janesville had democratic district representation and I don’t expect it any time soon because……. they like it this way.

This posting like most on this blog is not an attack on any person. It is a blunt criticism of failed policies and of those who perpetrate and endorse those failed policies. It's a shame I even have to make this clarification.

Extremists Weeded Out In Janesville City Council Primary

If I would have had my way, the top three vote getters would be our new city council members. But when I look over this list it becomes clear that perhaps the most involved candidates with the greatest depth of experience and passion were resoundly (under 4,000 votes) beaten.

I refused to vote for replacement clones, so only one of my choices made the top three. It’s possible people seem to think they’re voting for a blank slate and a fresh start. That's the way it is. But the trends show that Janesvilleans continue to install replicas of previous and outgoing council members. Most residents should have nothing to complain about. Barack Obama has change and hope all to himself.

Top six vote getters enter the general election held in April. The top three vote getters will then become the new city council members.

Winners

McDonald, Tom 5777
Voskuil, Kathy 5036
Bishop, Kevin 4769
O’Brien, Kelly 4584
Rashkin, Yuri 3139
Mark, George 2959

Losers

Henke, David 2757
Ellingson, Richard 2553
Briarmoon, K. Andreah 2530
Dommershausen, Karl 2527
McCoy, Billy 1830

Tuesday, February 19, 2008

Bush Rubber Stamp For Vice-President?

Why not?

In our upside-down turned world of Orwellian politics, a presidential campaign ticket of John McCain and Paul Ryan could very well serve a good purpose.

But Ryan would be taking a step down because the last I heard, he wants to be president when he grows up. Other than having entertainment value high enough to be front-page news in his hometown Janesville Gazette newspaper, this is a none-story fabricated out from the hallucinations of the neo-con gasbag Robert Novak.

And to put it another way, the fast-talking un-inspiring Ryan is everything Barack Obama is not. To his credit though, he would accurately portray the audacity of the status quo and no one in the House of Representatives symbolizes the legacy of George W. Bush any better than Ryan. If you're happy with the direction the country has been headed in for the past 8 years, Ryan is definitely your guy.

Ryan would work well with a double-talking war-monger like McCain in a Jekyll and Hyde effort to continue the Bush Doctrine of defunding the Fed with tax cuts, while shifting the burden onto local jurisdictions. They could change McCain's “Straight-Talk Express” to “Class War Express,” sell out Social Security to private investment firms and turn all remaining public assets over to their corporate campaign cronies.

Regarding illegal immigrants, Ryan backs the corporate sponsored "you're good enough to work here, but not good enough for anything else" guest worker program. Let’s face it, millions of Americans want to break the country and these two would fire up that base. It's a movement that needs to be confronted once and for all, and the sooner the better. McCain should take Novak’s advice and go for it.

Monday, February 18, 2008

Obama's Brand Of Change

Obama Returning to Rock County

This time it's Beloit.

On one hand, Republicans and their supporters who tend to call themselves Conservatives have painted up Hillary Clinton and her policies as radical. Yet everyone else, particularly those democrats divided enough to throw their support to Obama in the democratic primary, have painted her up as the “establishment.” On top of all this, Obama is supposed to be “thee” agent for change. But change exactly from what? He just keeps telling us over and over that things are broken and if you stand up with him, change will automatically fix things. So in this regard, Obama seems like the radical candidate.

His supporters say we need an end to the partisan battles, so I can only assume here the change they want is something different from the past. They apparently want an already pliable and seemingly back-boneless Democratic Party to stand down and surrender.

Just last year, Obama thought Democrats needed to get closer to God. This year he thought Reagan set America on an upward trajectory. His brand of change seems to have handcuffed fellow democrats from standing up with the unity that is absolutely crucial for us to compete in the most partisan of arenas. We are finally near the end of a presidency that ironically ran on nearly the same kind of "uniter" rhetoric.

The more I hear about Obama’s brand of change, the more it sounds like he seriously means it’s the democrats that need "changin" into something he can identify with. The more he begins to pander towards the changeless center. The more he begins to sound like the same old – status quo.

Interesting Quote
JM Excerpt:
(McCain) can't be vague; he needs to pinpoint exactly what he intends to do to build bridges." -- Wis. State Sen. Neal Kedzie, R-Elkhorn
But when you're building bridges with tax cuts, who would want to risk using them?

Saturday, February 16, 2008

Why Clinton Is My Choice

I’ll start this off by saying that I’m a big fan of Barack Obama’s. I’ve been waiting and wanting to hear something that would finally drive home my total support for him in the Democratic Primary and unfortunately, it hasn’t happened.

I carefully listened to his speech at Janesville GM three times!! and thought his statements were short of the necessary fundamentals that needed to be said. He had no answers for the jobs going overseas except for shifting tax breaks from ex-patriot companies to those companies willing to stay. He ridiculed Bill Clinton’s approval for H.W. Bush’s NAFTA which was fine with me, but he made no promise to terminate the agreement. He spoke how American workers must be ready for changes in a global environment, almost insinuating the necessity of...you guessed it...... more trade agreements, but that was about as far as he went. You don’t have to listen to Obama to hear about jobs going overseas, CEO’s getting paid more money in one day than what workers get in a year or find out the War On Iraq was wrong. You can get that right here on this blog and many others. There were several other issues he “reported” on, and because I don’t want to bash the guy, I’ll just say there was a clear lack of depth to his design.

His past remark drawing optimistic parallels to the Reagan presidency was an over-extension and an unnecessary remark showing a strange comprehension of the political landscape. For obvious reasons I just can’t believe that the support he seems to be picking up from Republicans in the primary will be there for him in the general election in November. And I don't understand why labor unions endorse him over HRC, without giving an explanation as to the reasons. And I don’t believe the polls that have him doing better than Hillary Clinton against John McCain. His talk about ending the partisan battles and going along just to get along with republicans has little real value. No serious person who wants change can talk about being on hand-shaking terms with Republicans after the damage they’ve done over the past 15 years. It’s a nice thing to hope for, but it takes two to tango this dance.

Now, I could easily ignore all of this and allow myself to get caught up in the Obamamania, but that would be too easy. The flip side to this is, I believe Barack Obama holds a lot of promise for the future, but I need to know and see a lot more about him than just some great and inspiring speeches.

Like all senators and congressmen, Hillary Clinton has made some mistakes but we can’t lose sight of the fact that she represents a new direction from the Republicans and that she is a little more seasoned than Obama to carry out real solutions. We know what we're getting with HRC and this election is too important too lose because we refused to kick the tires. For these reasons among others, I will be voting for HRC in the Democratic primary.

Thursday, February 14, 2008

Hopelessness: The Audacity Of John McCain

In what may be a growing sense that Sen. Hillary Clinton is losing ground for the Democratic nomination to Sen. Barack Obama, McCain began mocking Obama's campaign theme of hope.
McCain Puts Focus on Hope Excerpt:
"To encourage a country with only rhetoric rather than sound and proven ideas that trust in the strength and courage of free people is not a promise of hope. It is a platitude," McCain said.

Tuesday, February 12, 2008

Obama Townhall Meeting Held At GM

Barack Obama has decided to visit corporate giant union buy-out GM Janesville on Wednesday instead of visiting the city. And what better timing?!!
GM Offers Union Buy-Out Excerpt:
NEW YORK (CNNMoney.com) -- In an effort to shave ongoing losses, General Motors offered lucrative buyouts Tuesday to 74,000 employees - its entire U.S. hourly workforce.
JG Excerpt:
"Sen. Obama will hold events in Janesville, Waukesha and Racine for town hall meetings focusing on the needs of Wisconsin’s middle class families," according to the news release.
If it's the middle-class Obama wants to court, he'd better hurry on this one.

The Janesville Gazette title's the GM union-crushing story as "GM Launches New Attrition Program." How's that for a positive spin?

Meet 1st District Democratic Candidates For Congress

The Walworth County Democrats invite the public to attend a debate featuring the candidates for Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District seat.
The candidates are Paulette Garin ( Kenosha ), Mike Herbert ( Kenosha ),
Marge Krupp (Pleasant Prairie), and Jeff Thomas ( Janesville ).

The purpose of this debate is to introduce these Democratic candidates to the voters in attendance and, through media reports of the highlights of the debate, to all 1st District voters so that they will be better able to decide which candidate to support in the September primary.

1st Congressional District Democratic Debate

WHEN: Saturday, Feb. 23, 2-4pm
WHERE: Sprague Theater, 15 Walworth Ave., Elkhorn

Mark your calendars!

Monday, February 11, 2008

Obama Set To Visit Janesville

Rumor has it Barack Obama will campaign in Janesville on Wednesday.

The location in Janesville has not been determined but it is expected to be held sometime between 10 and 11 A.M.

"Sen. Obama will hold events in Janesville, Waukesha and Racine for town hall meetings focusing on the needs of Wisconsin’s middle class families," according to the news release. "The events will be free and open to the public."

Sunday, February 10, 2008

Smart Ticket - Barack and Hillary

Looking for a clever way to call Hillary Clinton supporters dumb?
Chicago Tribune Excerpt:
Meanwhile, in one recent national poll, Obama won college-educated voters by more than 20 percentage points. And in Connecticut, where Obama won by a small margin, he dominated among those with college degrees, beating Clinton by 17 percentage points.
Just call Obama supporters.... smart. Cable News channels summarize this poll often. Yet hardly ever attempt to divide the GOP constituency with the same level of profiling for McCain or Huckabee supporters. They seem to be more concerned about who’s more conservative, a laughably backwards and phony label carrying less and less meaning and weight for American right-wing political philosophy.
Chicago Tribune Excerpt:
McDaniel is bothered by the fact that Clinton formerly sat on the board of Wal-Mart, which he and many other union members boycott because of what they see as unfair labor practices.
Fair enough. But when Obama drew optimistic parallels between himself and the trajectory of the union-busting Reagan presidency – that pretty much nullified any effect Clinton could have presented against unions by sitting on Wal-Marts board. I’m sorry but that comes out as a wash, if not a slight advantage for Hillary Clinton.
Chicago Tribune Excerpt:
"I think he's a little glib for my liking," said Fiaza H., a Montessori teacher in Fairfax, Va. "He's a little superior."
At the same time many think Hillary is cold and calculating.

When Barack Obama speaks, there are brief pauses separating most of his constructs, a parsing of frankness bordering on a stutter-step of language use and words oftentimes appearing to come together neatly by accident…..or by rehearsal. Next time, listen to him closely, he is very careful with his choice of words and direction. Obama is smart, but I would wager he is not as fluent or superior as he appears. Contrary to the high education levels polled by some of Obama's supporters, his game plan based on hope seems to restore a second-chance for the dreams and lives of Clinton's supporters - supposedly the less educated.

With the end of Edwards campaign, I am about equally torn between Hillary and Barack and would rather see these two unite for the Democratic party ticket against the greatest threat facing the nation's future. The threat posed by a continuation of the Bush doctrine under John McCain must be confronted and retired.

McCain: Stay 100 Years In Iraq


Friday, February 08, 2008

Romney Quits - Stock Market Up

After listening to the conservatives “conservative” announce the suspension of his campaign, Mitt Romney probably would have been better off running for president for a country like Afghanistan or Pakistan. Romney has maintained that he is not only a social and fiscal conservative, but also a foreign-policy conservative. But more important during this economic downturn, where did Romney stand on economics? Is he a conservative on economics? Or is he like most phony conservatives.

Romney said he’s suspending his campaign because he doesn’t want Obama to win. How’s that for negativity? For many people, Obama is the candidate of hope. Why does Mitt Romney want to kill hope?

Does anyone notice how rapidly Republicans shift focus away from the economy to the global war against Islamic Jihadists as the main issue confronting Americans? We can expect their radicalized (l)iberal media supporters to bring Al-Qaeda and their linked groups and exploits to the forefront for the next 10 months in an effort to campaign for the GOP candidates.
Romney Quits Excerpt:
You’re with me all the way to the convention. Fight on,’’ Romney said. “But there is an important difference…. Today, we are a nation at war, and Barack and Hillary have made their intentions clear on Iraq and the war in Iraq. They would retreat.
Fight on?? Have Mitt's sons enlisted into the War On Iraq to fight on? After all, Mitt said they were serving the country by campaigning to help get pop elected president. Will they cut and run from the radical Islamic Jihadists or will they get in line at the recruitment center now that it's over?

Thursday, February 07, 2008

Garin Receives Endorsement For Congress

On January 14th, Teamsters Local No. 43 Retirees from Kenosha and Racine voted unanimously at their regular monthly meeting to endorse Paulette Garin for Congress in the 1st Congressional District. The endorsement was designated by the presentation of a check to her campaign.

Wednesday, February 06, 2008

Janesville Teachers Association Starts Webpage

Well that was long overdue. After suffering repeated humiliation from the school administration and slanted portrayals from the local media, the Janesville teachers union started their own Website to set the record straight. This is good news.

I certainly appreciate that the association has taken the responsibility to get their message out in their own words. This should offer them a great way to correct the misinformation out there including some mispresentations on this blog. After all, my opinions have been based on information gleaned from the local press, and we all know how accurate, fair and balanced that is.

So far, the only shortcoming that I can see on their page is the lack of a contact/feedback link to the webmaster or association. Scratch that. They now have a discussion forum. Goood going - it looks great.

Monday, February 04, 2008

Who Owns The liberal Media?

O’Reilly Excerpt:
And then there is ideology. Traditionally, the so-called mainstream media has leaned left. Retired anchormen like Walter Cronkite and Tom Brokaw now openly discuss their liberal beliefs, and former CBS commentator Bill Moyers is a flat-out far-left zealot.
But what does Bill O’Reilly have to do with true and genuine journalism? Genuine journalists and news reporters like Cronkite waited for their retirement before openly discussing their personal beliefs. Not O’Reilly. Can you imagine Walter Cronkite interviewing some teenager and telling him to “shut up!!” then calling him a “pinhead?” The point here also is that Bill O'Reilly is a full-blown card-carrying member of the liberal media. Much like most of the media including all the shows and hosts of Fox News Channel, most newspapers, radio shows and yes, even bloggers.

I know, I know what you’re thinking, that this guy at Rock Netroots has finally lost his mind. But bear with me just a moment. I mean liberal media as the “liberal media” - not the “Liberal media” with the capital “L”. There’s a huge difference. I mean liberal as in liberal economics or deregulation and as in the non-ideological definition of the word. Free speech is the major driving force in the liberal media and when professionals ground it in profits, they take it to it's limits.

Take Fox News Channel for instance. They openly mock their guests, laugh and joke about otherwise serious news developments and slant their presentation to suit whatever their objective (ideology) happens to be. They will say the wildest things, oftentimes their “news” anchors are on the cutting edge of a no-holds-barred use of insulting language and visuals bordering on pornography. They do this liberally.

There is no bottom to the depths they will plunge to addict you for your news entertainment dollars. Then they say “You decide” and they’re right, they’re selling. They are the most-watched "news," the ultimate in “liberal media,” not to be confused with Liberals or Liberal politics or “reality-bias,” they will tell you anything – for a buck. And they are very, very good at it.

To add more localism to this theme the editor of the Janesville Gazette wrote about the newspaper's tradition of endorsing political candidates......
JG Editor's Views:
And people will think what they want, regardless. After all we are the liberal media in many people's eyes, but we're lockstep conservatives to others - thanks to our generally conservative views on the Opinion page. We just can't win that debate, so we plan to just keep plugging away.
The key here is using the the word "liberal" as an adjective yet describing themselves as "conservatives." When one considers the political endorsements of the Janesville Gazette, for some reason, conservative doesn't come to mind. They've endorsed the likes of George W. Bush (twice!!), Mark Green for governor and of course Paul Ryan. They've picked Magnum over Baldwin and Van Hollen over Falk and refused to endorse Judy Robson because in their view, she's too liberal. The conservatives they've endorsed are directly responsible for doubling the national debt over a period of just seven years, for what took nearly 200 years to accumulate before. Conservatives? Not! But they're not Liberals either. Not by a long shot.

The Janesville Gazette is part of the liberal media because their free speech is grounded in profits. Not run by Liberals or Conservatives but by what Bill O'Reilly calls an ideology, and I might add an ideology that trickles down from the top.

Sunday, February 03, 2008

Did Illegal Donations Buy Influence?

The third person to be charged in an ongoing "illegal donations" case, Kenosha businessman Achille Infusino, has agreed to plead guilty to participating in a conspiracy to commit campaign finance violations.
Feb, 2008 Beloit Daily News Excerpt:
Some of the candidates supported legislation sought by Troha to relax restrictions on trucking by allowing 97-foot-long multi-truck combinations. Before it went into effect in 2005, states could impose 75-foot maximum lengths.
This should be the area of genuine concern.
September, 2007 Winona Daily News Excerpt:
Ryan had urged Young and Oberstar to support the new regulations. He received $58,000 from Troha and his family that he donated to the Kenosha Boys & Girls Club after Troha’s indictment.
March, 2007 JS Online Excerpt:
Ryan has defended his actions, saying he was performing a "routine and appropriate constituent service" by helping a business in his district. The Janesville Republican has said he had no idea that Troha would cash in if the provision became law.
Note: The Janesville Gazette placed the latest report on this story in their "Briefs" column on Page 7A of the local section yesterday, under the title "Third charged in illegal donations case." No reference was made to the trucking legislation promoted by Ryan.

Friday, February 01, 2008

Rip Rap

Headline: Planes, trains and bloggers threaten America.
Excerpt:
Imagined villains include hackers, bloggers and even reporters.
Reporters? Nooooo, not reporters. Professional, leave their personal opinion at the door type reporters? Villains? Whew!! Thank God this is all imagined.
Excerpt:
Other simulated reporters were duped into spreading “believable but misleading” information that worsened fallout by confusing the public and financial markets, according to the government’s files.
This sounds like the “mission statement” for the mainstream media – no need for simulation.
Bush Economy Silver Lining: Local Home Values Plummet Into Compliance?
JG Excerpt:
People unhappy with a 2002 assessment got enough residents to sign a petition to force the state to investigate. The state gave the city mostly high marks, saying it could improve its public relations. The city has not had an assessment since 2002, and soon could be in danger of being in non-compliance with the state.
Well, THERE IS a silver lining to the housing crash. If home prices continue to tumble, Janesville tax assessment values will probably be “in compliance” by the end of this year.

As housing markets tank, "trash-outs" are on the rise
AlterNet Excerpt:
Homeowners have crunched the numbers and decided their houses are worth less than their mortgages.

Queen Of Conservatism's Poisonous Recipe
Coulter.com Excerpt:
The bright side of the Florida debacle is that I no longer fear Hillary Clinton. (I mean in terms of her becoming president -- on a personal level, she's still a little creepy.) I'd rather deal with President Hillary than with President McCain. With Hillary, we'll get the same ruinous liberal policies with none of the responsibility.
Ann Coulter says a President McCain would completely ruin the country, which she is ok with. Coulter’s problem with McCain supposedly is……………..the Republican Party would be blamed, and Lord knows WE CAN"T HAVE THAT. Wreck the country but whatever you do…….save the party. But this is exactly what she wants us to believe. One has to wonder why someone who supposedly worships at the GOP altar would give us "stupid liberals" the kryptonite to kill them off. Of course what Coulter is really saying is that if you want to finally drown the GOP like all good blue-blooded democrats want to do.......vote for McCain! vote for McCain! vote for McCain! What a joke!
Passage from Bush's SOTU speech.
NY Times SOTU Excerpt
Let us create a new international clean technology fund, which will help developing nations like India and China make greater use of clean energy sources. And let us complete an international agreement that has the potential to slow, stop, and eventually reverse the growth of greenhouse gases. This agreement will be effective only if it includes commitments by every major economy and gives none a free ride.
Bush...conveniently forgetting that the U.S. is the only major industrialized nation getting a “free ride” on the international agreement to reduce greenhouse gases.
Wisconsin Republicans Want To Restrict citizen redress to only local issues. A page right out of the Third Reich.
Pro-Growth Endgame
Fortune Excerpt:
"Conceivably we could have just had recession, hard times, sliding dollar, inflation, etc., but I'm afraid it's going to be much worse," he says. "Bernanke is printing huge amounts of money. He's out of control and the Fed is out of control. We are probably going to have one of the worst recessions we've had since the Second World War. It's not a good scene."
Bernanke’s out of control because the president is out of control. The GOP-led "Contract with America" was the greatest political hoax and "get rich quick" scheme ever perpetrated. Economic policies built on the planned so-called pro-growth foundation eventually arrive at their final destination sooner or later - and we're it.
Headlines that need a story

1. Even if Mitt Romney was a Muslim, so what?

2. For many people, Barack Obama represents hope. Does John McCain want to kill hope?