Rob Zerban 'Ask Me Anything' Session at Reddit

Tweet

Check this page out. It's two days old, but there are over 2,000 comments posted during the open discussion with Rob Zerban, challenger to Rep. Paul Ryan (R-WI) in 2012. Thumbs Up!!

Reddit Excerpt:
Twoodeep: So can you state a few of your positions on these for us now?

Rob Zerban: Here are some core issues for me: Ending the money in politics by supporting the Move to Amend, publicly financed elections, and any other vehicle to end the corrupting influence of money. Enhancing health care reform with a public option or Medicare for all. Job creation by investing in infrastructure and any other programs to employ the unemployed, and ending free trade deals and replacing them with fair trade deals that will protect manufacturing jobs in the district. Investing in education and research to create innovation for the future. Shifting our tax code to benefit small and medium-size businesses, not large corporations with large lobbying firms. Enhancing financial reform and protecting consumers. Finally, protecting Social Security and Medicare from Republican attempts at privatization.

I think any and all of these ideas would help Wisconsin and this district, but my focus in the campaign will be on the more generally popular issues including manufacturing jobs and economic recovery, Paul Ryan's corrupt funding sources, stopping the wasteful tax breaks for millionaires and billionaires, and the need to defend seniors programs. These are the issues I think the electorate will be most responsive to.

Twoodeep: I wasn't expecting such a thorough and honest answer. I'm not in Wisconsin, so the best vote I can give you is up.

Additional:

Democurmudgeon - Ryan Challenger Rob Zerban gets Noticed ...Big Time!!!

Walker Chums For Support By Throwing Family Care To The Sharks

Tweet

There's a lot of meat to Walker's announcement to lift the cap from Family Care. Of course the most suspicious was his bold-faced grandstanding of the decision as his own without mentioning that federal authorities two weeks ago told his administration it had to take that step. The announcement to lift the cap was met with general approval from democrats and advocates for the elderly and disabled who contend that Family Care is less costly than nursing homes.

But the story doesn't end there. Walker's supporters claim he intended on lifting the cap at some point in time. That's true, the day after Walker imposed the cap when he signed Act 10 into law, he spoke to the Journal Sentinel about possibly raising the cap or modifying it later in the year, but that means he was willing to punish elder folks simply because he was supposedly looking for efficiencies in the system to find extra money. In defense of Walker, his spokesman on Thursday said the governor had been planning to lift the cap for months, but that only adds to the callous nature and questionable intentions when he imposed the cap in the first place considering many on the waiting list are in their late 80s, 90s and even 100's. None of this of course changes the fact that Walker held a news conference announcing he's lifting the cap on Family Care while making no mention of the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services' ordering him to do so.

But now we get to the gristle. In order for Walker to take credit for lifting the cap from Family Care, he would have had to never propose $554 million in service cuts over the next year and a half in other Medicaid health care programs. It doesn't jibe with that. It also doesn't jibe because the announcement came less than a week after his administration announced separate planned cuts across state agencies totaling $123 million. Expanding the state’s long term care program sounds too good to be true, particularly coming from a governor who views long term care as an expensive entitlement.

For Walker to impose a cap with the full intention of eventually lifting it or expanding it also has the appearance of "stick and carrot" politics. This is where politicians take a strong position to wield as a stick, usually counter to popular demand, in order to drum up the old guard support base for a much larger ideologically driven agenda, like his class war budget Act 10. Later on, when needed either as a legislative bargaining chip or to shift public opinion, he presents the carrot - lifting the cap on Family Care. I would contend Walker might not have planned it this way from the beginning, but that he saw the carrot opportunity and used it to his advantage.

This scenario meshes well with the Democurmudgeon's angle where Walker has cornered the extremist fringe base in Robin Vos, who is now playing the worser to Scott Walker's worse - if anyone thought that was possible.

No matter what happens now, if the old "heart of stone" republican guard does not pass Walker's newly adopted Family Care plan, it would force a showdown with CMS. At that stage, even if Family Care was fully dismantled, Walker would still come out looking like the nice guy.

He's banking on it.

Paul Ryan Picks Up Coveted Award

Tweet

Madison Cap Times bestows Ryan with "Scam Artist of the Year!" Not much room to add to this one...

Cap Times Excerpt:

Paul Ryan is a hustler. The Republican congressman from Janesville has gotten very good at fooling political and media elites into thinking that his schemes to steer federal money into the accounts of Wall Street speculators (by taking steps to privatize Social Security) and for-profit insurance companies (by turning Medicare and Medicaid into voucher programs) would balance budgets or in some other way improve the circumstances of working families.

But Ryan’s having a harder time fooling Americans who take fiscal matters and the future of the republic seriously.

...The fact is that millions of Americans are actively protesting against the political corruption that floods corporate cash into the campaign accounts of pliable congressmen like Paul Ryan. The American people are furious with the pay-to-play politics that has tipped the balance in Washington away from the best interests of people in communities such as Janesville and toward the special interests on Wall Street.

Get more here>>>

Newspaper Editor Defends Politifact Lie Against False Balance Accusation

Tweet

The editor of the Janesville Gazette recently wrote about his take on Politifact's outrageously wrong choice for "Lie of the Year" when they chose democrat's correct portrayal characterizing Paul Ryan's proposals as ending Medicare, for the award.

Although the editor played it safe by refusing to state his position on the choice, he seemed offended by PolitiFact's critics and wrote that he found Politifact's original position convincing and sided against those who surmised that the fact-checking outfit was playing a game of false balance. One of the leading critics accusing the outfit of false balance is economist Paul Krugman.

Janesville Gazette Editor's View: (Dec. 25, 2011)
(Titled: Fact is, Politifact plays Important Role)

I won't get into the argument of for or against the choice. I did, however, find Politifact's original position convincing and it's subsequent defense more so. Here is a telling passage from that response...
"Others portrayed it as a case of false balance where we put our thumb on the scale for a Democratic falsehood. This too, is a sad byproduct of our polarized discourse, from people who are sure their side is always right."

I immediately thought, how is it that the editor of the Janesville Gazette would relate to a statement about false balance, and yet seem so indifferent to it? Why does that sound so familiar? Or, where in the world would anybody get the idea that editors and journalists are bias sensitive and consciously work to balance coverage and rebalance negative perceptions (about a group or issue) with positive stories in a deliberate effort to provide a perception of fairness?

Well, look no further than the editor's own words when he wrote this two years ago...

Rock Netroots (Dec. 2009)
Gazette Editorial Excerpt:
We are frequently criticized for singling out these groups, and we are sensitive to the perception that we are unfair to them. While we're comfortable with our decision making, we consciously work to balance our coverage by providing positive stories about GM workers, teachers and police officers.

No wonder why it struck a chord.

If you like analogies, you might enjoy this one comparing reality to a wheel, with the media spin balancing reality by applying weights to change its speed, shape and momentum to fit their political model.

Newspaper Injects Partisan Politics into Local Non-Partisan Elections

Tweet

Today, much like over the past 10 years or so, the only party politics openly exhibited in local non-partisan races in Janesville and Rock County has been created and disseminated by one source ...the Janesville Gazette. No doubt they think of themselves as the innocent messengers, but I believe it's important not to confuse the Janesville Gazette and their anonymous publishing "Sound Off" column gimmick with innocent bystanders who are merely reporting on local partisanship.

On the other hand, in no way am I trying to prove that political partisanship does not exist between candidates or in non-partisan offices. That is not the case here. My main point is it's the newspaper that is the guilty party for projecting accusations of partisanship on candidates simply for their friendships and affiliations, and then pushing an attack campaign against them for being transparent.

Predictably, the very first partisan attacks on local candidates this season did not come from political parties, special interests or from the candidates themselves. Not at all. Instead, they came in the form of anonymous comments published by the Janesville Gazette.

Janesville Gazette "Sound Off"
(anonymous column, Dec. 21)
On city council:
Check out the candidates. It appears there are a couple of hard-core political activists running. We don't need more politicians running for a nonpartisan council.

Janesville Gazette "Sound Off"
(anonymous column, Dec. 18)
On Democrats:
Regarding Democrats elect officers, Page 10A Wednesday, people of Janesville and Rock County beware. If you want the city and county to be the same financial mess that Gov. Doyle and President Obama have led us into, allow all of these people running for council and Rock County Board to get elected. Educate yourselves.

Of course the above flame-throwing comments were not posted where they could be challenged, like on a political blog or called into a radio show. Instead, they were published "anonymously" in the print edition of the Janesville Gazette! This is outrageous stuff.

Just for comparison, the Gazette editors recently refused to print a signed letter sourced from a Janesville resident because they claimed the core premise of the writer's letter was deemed false by Politifact. Unbelievable. But the newspaper prints this other unsourced cockamamie bullshit?

Yet, the editor claims to publish the best or most representative comments (in their view) of the community in their "Sound Off" anonymous column. So do they really believe the basis on what those comments are founded on to be true? Were they Politifact vetted?

If you happen not to like the comments published in their anonymous column, the editor laments, "well, they're not pretty." Which tends to say that the published anonymous comments really are more representative of what the editors think, without them actually saying it, OR what they want you to believe are representative of the community. At the same time, they admit to eliminating comments that are out of bounds or in bad taste, comments that actually could be representative of the community. But we'll never know. The question to ask is why in the world are they publishing an anonymous column at all?

Make no mistake. It is a powerful publishing tool and a political weapon to help shape public opinion.

So, after the above false and bigoted statements were published in print, the newspaper then does their usual "follow-up" a few days later by conjuring up a faux news article with statements from unassuming candidates that the newspaper purposely reframes against their newly invented partisan backdrop. The paper even digs into certain candidate's backgrounds further by pointing out their friendships and where their mom's have worked. They are way out of bounds, but we can expect a supporting editorial blasting away at the candidate's partisanship and the sad state of politics within the next week or so.

Since I began blogging here in 2006, all of the candidates and incumbents running for local non-partisan offices in Rock County, whether they referred to themselves as Democrats, Republicans, Independents or whatever have done a good job of keeping partisan politics out of their campaigns. They rarely if ever used true partisan differences against one another. The truth is, it's only the Janesville Gazette that feeds on the partisan distinctions and reshapes them into ad hominem attacks against targeted candidates.

As typical of the Gazette, the newspaper frames Democrats and unions as the subject partisans throughout the article and then attempts to "balance" their hit job with a few statements from a counter source, this time the local Republican party, but not until they limit and reconstruct the Republican position as a concluding response to the democrats "obvious" partisan infractions. They've been doing this for years.

Older Posts Related To Gazette's Partisan Attacks On Local Candidates:

Anti-Partisan Crusader's Selective Rage Targets Labor Unions (April, 2011)

When Phony Non-partisans Come Home (May, 2008)

Phony Non-Partisans Complaining About Open Advocacy (April, 2008)

Non-Partisan Elections Like Throwing Darts (March, 2007)

Video: Walker Blames His War On Unions On Unions

Tweet

In this interview with Greg Neumann of WKOW, Scott Walker reinforces statements made by the Fitzgerald brothers earlier in the year that everything he's doing is to defund and dismantle unions. Asked if he's personally responsible for the differences and division in the state. Walker obliviously says, "no."

Story

Sensenbrenner Is All Crass

Tweet

Cap Times Excerpt:
During a Christmas event at St. Aiden’s Episcopal Church in Hartford, Sensenbrenner announced to the assembled celebrants, “And Michelle Obama, her project is obesity. And look at her big butt.”

This is apparently a constant fascination for the congressman. He was reportedly heard ranting and raving at Washington’s Reagan National Airport about how the first lady “lectures us on eating right while she has a large posterior herself.”

All Wisconsin Republicans Voted To Raise Taxes On Middle Class

Tweet

In the House, all Wisconsin Republicans voted to reject extending unemployment benefits and a payroll tax cut for the working poor and middle class. Duffy, Petri, Ribble, Ryan and Sensenbrenner all voted to raise taxes on middle class families by an average of $1,000. Soon afterwards they then voted to take a vacation.

The Senate however, overwhelmingly voted to extend the tax cut by a margin of 89 - 10, with Ron Johnson among the rotten ten voting to increase taxes.

We've seen Republicans take a stand against working poor and middle-class Americans hundreds of times during the past decade and people still vote for them. For some reason, I don't see how this one will be much different.

* UPDATE *

House Republicans cave. They're angry taxes won't be going up on the middle-class.

NY Times Excerpt:
“It may not have been politically the smartest thing in the world,’’ Mr. Boehner said. “But let me tell you what: I think our members waged a good fight.Though the agreement extricated House Republicans from a political box, Mr. Boehner said: “I don’t think it’s any time for celebration."

Yep! Republicans fought to raise our taxes and lost. Boehner actually sounds genuinely sad. Never forget.

Old Batch Of Youtube Videos On Forward Janesville/Walker Dinner Protest

Tweet

Here's a batch of hardly viewed short-length videos from the Forward Janesville Dinner protest event held outside the Holiday Inn way back on March 29th. I found these recently while surfing Youtube and was surprised to see most them have less than 10 views. One is posted below and you can view more on the FJ protest from this videographer here



The owner of this channel has over 400 videos posted, with mostly Janesville-only content. Youtube Augmuse Video Channel

Too Much Computer Leads To Bad Computer

Tweet

Too much government inherently leads to bad government because there’s more of it to exploit and corrupt, according to Paul Ryan.

I've heard Ryan's big bad government speech several times before. It's the same old story and projections about how government naturally corrupts because crony capitalists always gravitate to where power is concentrated, etc., etc. But Ryan doesn’t see the obvious paradox, that by shrinking government for no other reason than to make it smaller, he would concentrate power in even fewer hands. We’re seeing this on a local scale in Wisconsin with county boards being whittled down from 30 supervisors to 7, 9 or 11. Fewer supervisors to influence makes it easier for those who naturally gravitate to power, but it also means more duties and more power in fewer hands.

I get a better understanding of his delinquent logic through my computer analogy. If Paul Ryan had a powerful 1000 trigabyte computer that became unstable after it was infected by a nasty virus, he'd scrap the entire computer and replace it with a much smaller one because there would be fewer trigabytes and registry keys to exploit and corrupt next time the system got infected, rather than legislate a remedy to remove and destroy the infection in order to restore the efficient 1000 trigabyte system. So, according to Paul Ryan and Tea Party ideologues - It's the size of government, not the alien corruption wreaking havoc inside that's the destabilizing problem.

That's a scary concept.

Watch Paul Ryan in his own words talk about the size of government and then make untrue and presumptuously skewed statements toward Barney Frank about the function of military. After being dismantled by Frank and Reich, Ryan then scrambles for the class war strawman saying how dangerous it is to talk about class division. He clearly does not play well with others:

"I never heard a poor person complain that it was dangerous to talk about economic equality" -- Rep. Barney Frank

Also, more pespective and videos on this story over the size of government at the Democurmudgeon.

Walker Cuts Off Women's Cancer Screening Program For Political Gain

Tweet

Forbes Excerpt:
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker has set his sights on ending the availability of cervical and breast cancer screening — along with multiple sclerosis detection — for Wisconsin women who have insufficient health insurance to pay for these critical procedures.

It’s not about money or budgets or unions or any of the usual ideologically driven nonsense we’ve come to expect from Scott Walker. This time, it’s just all about politics. More>>>

Having Some Fun With Time and Their "Prophet"

Tweet

After I read the first page of Time Magazine's The Prophet, I had to scroll back up to make sure it was Time magazine and not some beta version of a Web based Mad magazine, in no disrespect to Mad magazine.

First thing I thought was, where in the world did they get their information from? The editorial staff of Ryan's hometown Janesville Gazette? The rest of the fluff and fill appears to be regurgitated generalizations from Ryan's public resume and GOP party talking points. God help us. There was no mention of Ryan's rubber stamping of $6 trillion in national deficits during the Bush era. No mention of spending billions on wars without paying for them. No mention of Ryan wanting tax cuts to lessen projected surpluses and no mention of wanting tax cuts to lessen projected deficits. And, the big kahuna of them all, no mention of Ryan's inspiration and reason to enter public office in the first place - Ayn Rand. I guess that's all too negative. His history that is.

Before reading Time's article, I left open the chance that there might be some redeeming quality about Paul Ryan. You know, that somehow they could articulate that possibility in their summary when choosing him among runner-ups in their highly pretentious "Person of the Year" gimmick. But after reading their summary, I now have to wonder whether they were paid a commission to rank him and write the profile because afterall, we are now in an era of corporate media and Ryan does have some big name billionaires in his contribution corner who will do anything to protect their interests.

So lets get this off the ground, it begins...

Time Excerpt:
Here's a curious fact: in a year of political gridlock, when Congress could get nothing done — not even pass a budget — the most influential American politician was House Budget Committee chairman Paul Ryan.

Let's revisit that curious fact. That during a time of political gridlock when Congress could get nothing done, Paul Ryan was the most influential politician. See any correlation there? You think by chance he had something to do with it all? By chance? Hey, no argument here but, why not give him the "gridlocker" of the year award instead?

Time then brings up when Newt Gingrich denounced Ryan's proposal as "right-wing social engineering."

But it was Ryan who watched with satisfaction as his fellow Republicans forced Gingrich to eat his words...

Is that how Ryan felt? A very strange statement indeed.

But this is a hot topic right now. We all know what happened after they made Gingrich eat his words. Soon afterwards, Gingrich's popularity began to steadily climb and looked almost unbeatable ...until they all caught on and ditched Ryan from the topics of the GOP presidential debates.

I might be the only political blogger (forgive me if I'm wrong) who linked Newt Gingrich's ascent to GOP presidential front-runner status when GOP skeletons like bluster-pus John Sununu (former New Hampshire Gov) came out of the crypt defending Ryan against Gingrich over the "Right-wing social engineering" comment. I surmised that if they continue to use Ryan's toxic proposals on the national stage to draw a contrast against Gingrich, Newtie would probably capture 50% of the GOP support base and become unstoppable in the GOP primary. I was right, but they also caught on.

Some bloggers on the Left and Right confidently insisted Romney didn’t make Gingrich’s "mistake." Instead, Romney wholeheartedly embraced Ryan’s plan ...only to find his polling numbers plummet. The fact is, Paul Ryan and his proposals are so politically toxic that they had to eventually ditch him to defend him. Ryan too saw the handwriting on the wall and found himself cravenly scrambling to "Newter" his Kill Medicare proposal to provide political cover for himself and his duped party members.

Soon after the republican party dropped Ryan and his Kill Medicare proposal from the national GOP debates, the obvious happened next. Establishment webloids like Politico giddily started writing Gingrich's obituary. Hey, it's the end of Newt-mentum! Other GOP presidential contenders caught on quickly about the negative effects of the Ryan factor and went through detox immediately. Suddenly, they all want to focus on their one common enemy - Barack Obama. I couldn't make this stuff up if I tried.

Just two days ago, this USA Today article described how GOP criticism of Gingrich continues to mount. However, it's also very telling that in their attacks against him, Ryan's name and his GOP cornerstone proposals are not mentioned even once.

But now, Paul "progressives are a cancer" Ryan has enlisted Democratic Senator Ron Wyden among his victims in an effort to stop the free fall. Think. If Ryan's original budget plan is so good and the cornerstone of Republican policy, why would he suddenly want to change it? Why hide all that award winning success? It's the Holy Grail, right? But why wasn't Romney the front-runner soon after embracing it? My other point here is these establishment politicos and MSM outlets (phony non-partisans) seriously believe Ryan's ideological class war budget proposal will be the political conversation of the 2012 presidential debates. It's still possible, but NOT if Paul Ryan can help it.

Ryan's strange pariah-like popularity is now in free fall, and with a serious democratic contender challenging him on the district home front, he is running in fear and twisting in the winds to remain on the government dole. Don't forget that he's got billionaires seeking their salvation behind him, so the only thing left for him to do is draw in sympathetic democratic dupes to help form a bi-partisan support group for the GOP's cornerstone legislation, proposals that even top GOP presidential candidates had to ditch in order to save. Sen. Ron Wyden should be ashamed of himself for participating in Ryan's senior baiting Medicare killing phony make-over.

Time Excerpt:
What Ryan had this year was the courage to look the future in the eye. It is a seer's work to glimpse around the corner and sound an alarm. And in a democratic republic, it is the job of voters to choose a path away from danger. Ryan would say that all he has done is sound the alarm.

Did Ryan sound the alarm? Let's turn to 2008 when he first introduced his right-wing engineered class war proposal "Roadmap for America's Future." In August of that year, Ryan took questions at an African American Community forum held in Racine, Wisconsin, and in the middle of the forum, he was asked about Racine’s economy. The congressman said he thought the economy will remain in trouble, but that the answer goes back to fuel. He suggested lowering gas prices and reducing inflation as ways to fix the country’s apparent recession. Again, this forecast from The Prophet Paul came just one month before the housing market crashed and Wall Street imploded. He was clueless, partisan and pandering, just like he is today.

Time Excerpt:
He brought an ugly issue out of the foggy realm of think tanks and blue-ribbon panels and dropped it into the middle of the national debate in time to define the next presidential election.

Great. So it was Ryan who courageously brought it out, ...to define the next presidential election. Are you sure?

"I don't think there's anything courageous," Obama charged, "about asking for sacrifice from those who can least afford it." It was at about that moment, Ryan realized, that he and his plan had become a central issue in the 2012 elections. "That's when the lightbulb went off," Ryan explains. "They were constructing a political plan."

Of course! When Obama speaks the truth in one quick and easy to understand sentence, Ryan builds a conspiracy, "they were constructing a political plan" to make his plan a central issue in the 2012 elections. But we thought Ryan already made his plan the central theme for 2012...courageously I should add.

But I'm confused now. If a Democrat brings an ugly issue out from the foggy realm of our political landscape and drops it into the middle of the national debate, it's a political plot - a conspiracy. But when Ryan does it, it's courage? So, tell me. Was making Ryan's budget proposal a central issue in the 2012 elections Ryan's idea or Obama's? Is it an act of demagoguery and a conspiracy, or an act of courage? Does any of this matter? You bet it does ...for one, Ryan's recent announcement with Wyden gutted the establishment media who have been fawning over Ryan's "courage." They are now left with egg on their faces.

Time Excerpt:
And in a democratic republic, it is the job of voters to choose a path away from danger. Ryan would say that all he has done is sound the alarm.

No doubt, that is what the humble prophet would say. Of course he wouldn't want you to know that he was also the arsonist before he sounded the alarm. That's frivolous non-relevant information and we certainly don't want to confuse the voters when they try to pick the arsonist out from a group of suspects dripping in petrol and sulfur. But that Paul Ryan, "he's the guy," is how Adrian Monk would put it.

The Prophet Paul Ryan. Youze guys are a real hoot. But what could possibly be the sequel to that? The Catholic Church issuing him a "Compassion in Christ" award for his social legislation defending the poor and the weak? That would not surprise me all now.

If Only Scott Walker Did Nothing

Tweet

One year ago ...

Channel 3000 Excerpt:
One forecast shows that even if Walker does nothing the state will add 190,000 jobs over the next four years. Another forecast shows there will be nearly 290,000 new jobs.

Today ...

Video: Trickle-Down Economics Is a Vicious Fraud

Tweet

By Robert Reich, watch it:

Rip Rap

Tweet

Census shows 1 in 2 people are poor or low-income

Excerpt:
The latest census data depict a middle class that's shrinking as unemployment stays high and the government's safety net frays. "The reality is that prospects for the poor and the near poor are dismal," he said. "If Congress and the states make further cuts, we can expect the number of poor and low-income families to rise for the next several years."

---

Fierce Critic Of Obama Apologizes Now That She Has Cancer

Care2 Excerpt:
“If you are fortunate enough to still be employed and have insurance through your employers, you may feel insulated from the sufferings of people like me right now,” Ward wrote. “But things can change abruptly. If you still have a good job with insurance, that doesn’t mean that you’re better than me, more deserving than me or smarter than me. It just means that you are luckier. And access to healthcare shouldn’t depend on luck.”

---

If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're mis-informed. -- Mark Twain

---

Paul Ryan Stuffing Ballots on PolitiFact's Big Lie

Politifact, the quasi-non-partisan opinion editorial outfit masquerading as the all-seeing-eye-wizard-of-Oz, recently listed Democrat's claim that "Paul Ryan wants to end Medicare" among their finalists in it's "Lie of the Year" gimmick, even though the claim is absolutely 100% true. After hearing that Paul Ryan is attempting to stuff PolitiFact's online ballot box, Xoff from Uppity Wisconsin offers, "You'd think he would have better things to do..."

---

The Crisis Of Capitalism

---

Take this 13 Question News IQ Test - Pews Research

No tricks here - just a simple test to see if you are current on your information, then be ready to shudder when you see how others did!

---

Remember When Wisconsin Republicans bragged About How they turned the State Red?

Click the above map To find out what that means.

---

Ryan and Obama like water and oil when it comes to reasons why they entered public office

A couple weeks ago, President Obama Got Mic Checked. The crowd quickly drowned the protesters out with chants of “Obama,” but a few minutes later, Obama said “families like yours, young people like the ones here today — including the ones who were just chanting at me — you’re the reason that I ran for office in the first place.” Watch it:



Compare Obama's reason to our Congressman Paul Ryan who claimed Ayn Rand is the reason why he entered politics and came to Washington.

Thanks To Walker, Janesville Schools Face Huge Budget Shortfall

Tweet

By John Peterson

The sad thing is many in Wisconsin will not be exposed to these random local news pieces, sad stories that expose "It's Working" as nothing more than a campaign marketing gimmick and lie.

Like all the school stories I've blogged here, class sizes have increased and district budgets will be dramatically short next year. In fact, under Scott Walker's plan, school funding will continue to ratchet down. By the summer of next year, Walker will be facing more than recall ads ripping him a new one. He will be exposed as a fraud. This story from Janesville is even more outrageous when you consider the state just gave Spectrum Brands $4 million to do absolutely nothing...

....classrooms could be filled to capacity in the 2012-2013 school year as the district looks for ways to plug a projected $8 million to $10 million budget shortfall.

Channel3000:

---

Added Note: One important aspect to add is the fact that Janesville recently completed a school expansion that included new classroom additions and gymnasiums to give students more elbow room. The $70.8 million school expansion referendum passed during a media blackout of projected enrollment decline.

Enthusiasm High - New Goal Set For Recall

Tweet

From United Wisconsin:

Over 507,000 signatures in the first 28 days!

We have two new numbers to share and celebrate with you:

507,533 and 720,277

We are proud to announce that just four weeks into the recall campaign, 507,533 people have signed a petition to recall Scott Walker! And because of the overwhelming support for the movement to recall Walker, and your amazing drive and dedication, we are also setting a new signature collection goal of 720,277 – nearly 200,000 more than needed to trigger a recall.

Reminder: On Saturday, December 17th, volunteers across the state will be hosting a massive petition drive to collect recall signatures. Click here to find a Total Recall Event near you. Counties are organized into six regions. Recall Offices will be open throughout the state for petition signing as well.

This was an amazing start, but our work is far from over.

We Have Been Named Time's Person Of the Year!!

Tweet

That's right! Time's Person of the Year is The Protester.

Coming in second place was Admiral William McRaven, head of U.S. Special Operations Command and overall commander of the secret U.S. mission that killed al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, followed by Chinese dissident artist Ai Weiwei, whose 81 day secret detention by authorities earlier this year sparked an international outcry.

Coming in fourth believe it or not, was the person most likely to be protested. Paul Ryan!! Although in Wisconsin, Scott Walker has claimed that mantle for the time being.

But Ryan is considered one of the most influential politicians of the year for his ridiculous pseudo-intellectual class war budget that also includes the end of Medicare as we know it, his willingness to kick the can down the road, to destabilize government, drive up the debt, and of course punish the poor in the name of "upward mobility" for not being rich. If you're a member of the One Percent, Paul Ryan is your guy.

Time maintains that the designation is "not an honor" but rather a way to recognize "the most powerful individuals and forces shaping the world." In that case, perhaps Ayn Rand should have been runner-up instead of her loyal subject and worldly messenger Ryan. Ahh well, Paul Ryan ... Ayn Rand. What's the difference?

Recall Patriots: Beware Of Hostile, Delusional Walker Supporters

Tweet

I know, I know. "Hostile delusional Walker supporters" really doesn't help to draw much of a distinction from other Walker supporters.

Now yet another Waukesha man lost his hinge pins and went crazy train on a couple of diligent, peaceful recall petition patriots. This time the incident ocurred at the Brookfield Fashion center this past Saturday morning where a man identified as 59 year-old Fred Frisby of Brookfield got out of his pick-up truck and went on the attack.

Watch uncut video:



Remember, no hugs for these clowns when they become this combative.

Additional Stories:

Democurmudgeon - Another Walker Thug Attacks Recall Petitioners with Cliche's and Physical Force

Brookfield Patch - Man cited for disorderly conduct

How to Annoy Your Neighbors ...Or Best Christmas Light Display Ever!

Tweet

A friend sent me a shortened version of this video. It's an amazing set-up and sequence of "Holiday" lights dancing to music.

Watch it:

Walker Supporter Verifies Recall Signature With Creepy Phone Call

Tweet

Wow. It seems Walker's supporters lay awake at night thinking of new ways to stalk, frighten and intimidate the good people of Wisconsin. One of them, Kevin Stoll from Waukesha County (no surprise), went so far as to extract a phone number from a recall petition making a cameo appearance on a news program, and then made it his business to give the person a call.

Democurmudgeon Excerpt:
Take Kevin Stoll in Hartland, who decided to ask a few petition signers why they wanted to recall Scott Walker...at 10:30 at night to complete strangers. He tried to come across "undecided," but cliche'd talking points are hard to ignore. WKOW 27's Tony Galli has this stunning story of what could be illegal political intimidation.

According to Galli, Stoll later offered that he will be involved in the Verify Recall campaign which would now, thanks to Stoll's admission, appear to be little more than a phone number and ID collection data base for Tea Party and GOP operatives to mull over and target for harassment. These creeps are hoping they can creep us out.

Watch it:



Related Stories:

Cognitive Dissidence - Was Stalker Inspired By Media Trackers?

WQOW - Petition Stalker Cited In Madison

Blogging Blue - Unhinged I tell you ...they're coming unhinged!

After Criticizing Ryan's Proposals - Gingrich Surges In Polls

Tweet

Remember when Newt Gingrich let his guard down and called Paul Ryan’s budget proposal and plan to end Medicare exactly what it is - "right-wing social engineering?"

Union Leader Excerpt:
Sununu told reporters that when Gingrich earlier this year called U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan's entitlement reform provisions of the Republican budget plan “right-wing social engineering,” it was “an effort of self-aggrandizement” that undercut Ryan and was “the most self-serving, anti-conservative thing one can imagine.”

That's funny. Against all odds since then, Gingrich has been slowly gaining on the other so-called conservatives running for the gold in the GOP presidential primary. Actually, Gingrich is now considered the front-running candidate among the pack of ghouls that speak in favor of Ryan's backdoor attack on seniors, even pulling way ahead of Mitt Romney.

Union Leader Excerpt:
Sununu said, “What he did to Paul Ryan is just the latest in a pattern of anti-principled actions that really irritated his own leadership and produced 88 percent of the Republicans voting for his reprimand” in 1997.

The above statements from the bombastic Sununu says it all. Why should Newt Gingrich or any presidential candidate care a rat's ass about Paul Ryan? Think about it. Who is Ryan? Second and even more telling, how could criticizing Ryan's proposal be self-aggrandizement if it's so good?

The truth is, they all know Ryan's budget proposals are fictional, unworkable, radical and vicious - you have to be a goose-stepping single-file Randroid to believe in them. You have to be trained and "principled." They're sympathetic to Ryan and defend him because he was the only one evil enough to propose such a dastardly plan. They wouldn't dare propose the same so they translate Ryan's ideologically engineered insanity as courage. I'm guessing here that Gingrich isn't one of them.

Union LeaderExcerpt:
He said Gingrich's occasional “off-the-cuff” comments are “a reflection of the off-the-cuff thinking that he goes through to deal with the issues and that is not what you want in the commander-in-chief.”

People want to hear the truth and they know the truth when they hear it. Gingrich spoke the truth when he called Ryan's proposals "right-wing social engineering." Everyone knows that. When a politician like Sununu thinks telling the truth is not what people want in a commander-in-chief, I highly doubt it. But that statement should give pause and further thought about the truthfulness of the GOP candidates Sununu did not direct that statement at. Sununu should back-fire in their faces.

The best part is Romney, Sununu and rest of the cast of Ryan defenders don't know what to do next. They were going to bombard Gingrich with more garbage and venom aimed at drawing a greater contrast between themselves and the former House Speaker. But the
latest report out of Politico shows somebody may have connected Newt's surge to his criticism of Ryan so Romney skipped several chances to attack Newt Gingrich on Friday — an abrupt change to his campaign’s aggressive approach to draw that contrast.

But this is funny. They’re trying to undermine Newt Gingrich, not that I care, but the fact that Gingrich has surged past Romney seems to have gotten their underwear all bunched up. THEY were the ones preparing to aggrandize themselves by resurrecting Paul Ryan's proposals, but now they're not so sure. Yet, they accuse Newt of self-aggrandizement because he derided Ryan's proposals.

In the meantime, Gingrich surges ahead. Beauuutiful.

Sidenote: The Janesville Gazette, Ryan's hometown newspaper, published a mainstream media version of this story in the local section of the print copy. As of this posting, they have not opened the article to the Web for open commenting. Are they worried about self-aggrandizing constituents or protecting their political endorsement?

Voting Since 1948, Senior Faces Major Hurdles Under Walker Voter ID

Tweet

In the video below, Keith Olbermann describes the major difficulties one senior in Wisconsin is facing in order for her to acquire the mandatory voter State ID card. Olbermann also reports that over 177,000 seniors in Wisconsin do not have the required Walker state ID to vote.

Watch it:

Walker Pledge To Norquist Combined With Class War Budget Will Devastate Wisconsin

Tweet

This has been on my radar for a few weeks since I developed a Reaffirmation Pledge to the Constitution for members of Congress to sign. I'm now working on a similar page for state governors and legislators to consider.

On the federal budget side, Norquist's ominous taxpayer pledge acts as a catalyst forcing Republicans in Congress to borrow for budget and spending needs instead of laying taxes to raise the revenue as prescribed in the U.S. Constitution. This has resulted in a long string of annual deficits eventually accumulating into a massive $15 trillion mountain of debt.

The Pledge to Norquist however has a slightly different effect on governors and state legislators since states cannot print money or operate continuously on borrowed debt. Instead, it forces those governors to raid any source of revenue under governor or state control.

An astute letter writer to the Leader Telegram recently picked up on Gov. Scott Walker's "we're broke" mantra and tied it into his pledge to Grover Norquist to justify decimating public services and public education.

Leader Telegram Letter Excerpt:
The beauty of this strategy is that it works. When public services are underfunded, the public is angry that services aren't provided and they demand further cuts or privatization. When public schools are underfunded, quality of education suffers and parents put their kids in private schools, which are now receiving taxpayer assistance through vouchers.

Meanwhile, Walker flies, at taxpayer expense, around the state touting his budget cuts while receiving his health care and pension on the taxpayers' dime. Occasionally, he lands in the state Capitol and signs into law legislation that funnels more government giveaways to his corporate cronies, while the poor schmucks teaching our kids and the snowplow driver clearing our streets are one budget cut away from losing their jobs. It's time to close the Norquistian bathroom door by recalling Walker.

E.W. from Eau Claire

So, what the Norquist Pledge means to Wisconsin to put it another way, is that any time Walker needs additional revenue for his WEDC slush fund, campaign contributors, ideological projects or any additional state spending, whether legitimate, emergency or otherwise, is that he will never have to raise that revenue the old-fashioned way by raising taxes. Norquist forbids it. Instead, he will loot education treasuries, anti-poverty programs and public employee's pensions and benefits just like he did the first time with his class war budget act, cut state aid to communities and then tell them they could fill their budget hole with unnegotiated-for (stolen) employee capital compensation (tools). This is also another reason why Walker applies for every dime from the federal government the state is eligible for - the federal government is just another source of revenue to raid in his view.

State budget dollar amounts will likely never be cut, instead they will grow from inflation and increased costs and made to balance using government service's funds and public employee wage and benefit compensation to refill the kitty. This means no program or employee is sacred unless deemed absolutely necessary to fulfill their ideological mission.

Locally, we will be be paying more because local school boards and municipalities wanting to maintain the same level of service will have to find the revenue Walker extracted from them OR make the choice for a controlled decline. Either way, the public will only grow angrier and local officials will be the bogeyman. This is the scheme in a nutshell.

The ramifications of Act 10 combined with Norquist's irresponsible and anti-constitutional pledge makes for a devastating weapon for unprincipled opponents to defeat. This I believe is the right-wing's ideological calculator designed to mismanage and destabilize government enough to drown it in a bath tub. While this is happening, an uninformed public will only grow angrier demanding more tax cuts, government vouchers and privatization.

This I believe could feed onto itself and bring the entire U.S. government down ushering in a long era of single-class serfdom and fascist-run capitalism.

Video: The Truth About Paul Ryan

Tweet

I consider this short video about Paul Ryan near the top for explaining how he wants the potential and future of the wage earning class to pay for all the spending and debt he borrowed for during his time in Congress. Simpy put, Ryan wants to punish the poor in the name of “upward mobility” for not being rich. Dick Cheney, who worships the ground Ryan walks on, once said, "deficits don't matter." The best part of course is there is a clear and solid alternative to this scourge. His name is Rob Zerban.

Watch it:



Please go to Rob Zerban for Congress to contribute and volunteer.

Former Janesville School Board Member Running For 44th State Assembly

Tweet

A former Janesville School Board member, Deb Kolste, announced her candidacy for the 44th District Assembly. This brings the number to three of locally well known and qualified candidates stepping up to challenge Republican Joe Knilans, the Walker rubber stamp currently occupying the district seat.

A current member of Janesville's School Board, Kevin Murray, was the first to throw his hat in the ring followed by Janesville City Council Member Yuri Rashkin. They are the other two democratic candidates now joined by Kolste.

Wisconsin Act 43 Assembly Redistricting Map.

Yuri Rashkin's State Assembly Facebook here.

Kevin Murray's Election Webpage unavailable.

Deb Kolste's Election Webpage unavailable.

Video: Obama, "Trickle-Down Hasn't Worked, Never Worked"

Tweet

Signature Collection in Janesville

Tweet

*SIGNATURE COLLECTION: Inside at Basics Food Co-op in the Community Room.
Tuesday 12/06: 4-8pm, 1711 Lodge Drive, Janesville (Behind Ground Round)

*ROCK FORWARD: EAT, DRINK, AND LIBERAL CONVERSATION for ALL of ROCK CO!
Wednesday 12/08: 6:30 Ground Round, 2753 Milton Avenue Janesville
No speakers. No agenda. Just fun! Come with your best Recall signing story!
AND...VOLUNTEER TO RECALL!

Janesville Gazette Checks Readers Letters With Politifact

Tweet

I really haven't been paying as much attention as I'd like to our area's local media monopoly, the Janesville Gazette. They were one of several reasons why I started this blog in the first place, but because of the serious threats our state and nation faces from the likes of Rep. Paul Ryan and Scott Walker, I've taken my eyes off of their little game. Besides, I thought I've seen it all about the Gazette and posted what needed to be posted here on my blog over the years. Well I was wrong.

Sunday, the Gazette posted an editorial titled, "Let's Pause Political Rhetoric For Civil Debate" where the the editor writes a story about the National Conference of Editorial Writers starting a Civility Project in an effort to raise the bar on political conversations.

The newspaper (editorial) eventually moves on to explain they're trying to do their part. For example...

Gazette Editorial:
... we won't run a letter from a Janesville woman who compared union protesters to murderous Mexican drug cartels.

If it was a signed letter from a genuine citizen entity in Janesville and did not contain obviously explicit language - why not publish it? That's her opinion. Besides, labor unions have heard it all so letters to newspaper editors won't change the temperature a whole lot.

I'm sure there was nothing new in the letter but the same old lies and smears anyways. But how about the time when their own endorsed Congressman Paul Ryan likened labor unions to Saddam's Hussein's strong-arm Ba'ath Party? Where was the Gazette's quest for civility then? What about the time during a radio interview when the toxic Ryan agreed with Glenn Beck's outrageous statement that "Progressives are a cancer?" How's that for poisoning the well of civil discourse? Or when the ever alarmist Ryan called the protest events in Madison, riots. Oh well, that's different I suppose, why he's a rising star.

But it gets better.

Gazette Editorial:
We wouldn't let another writer suggest Walker accepted a raise.

As we all know, Scott Walker's salary as governor is $7,000 more than the previous governor. Was it technically a raise? Well no, but it was an increase in the governor's annual salary at a time when Walker was cutting compensation for public employees and asked everyone to join him in his "Brown Bag" campaign. It's box wine for everyone!! Except himself of course.

The point is, Walker could have easily rejected the increase in salary by saying the state cannot afford it and that there is nothing to negotiate about it. You know, like he did with public employees. We're broke! Remember? But the fact that the editor rejected a signed letter from someone expressing their opinion without any apparent vulgarity or personal attack is an outrage. This is pure partisan censorship.

But it gets even better about why they rejected that particular citizen's letter.

Gazette Editorial:
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel Politifact project debunked that argument, saying it's only a "raise" if you start at one rate and increase to another.

That's why!?? So the editor qualifies readers signed letters, statements and opinions with Politifact. Unbelievable!! But using their logic, I suppose when Walker increased state spending by $1.1 billion, it really wasn't an increase because Walker was not the governor of the previous budget. Walker's starting from a neutral baseline, huh?

Many of the Journal's Politifact editorials have been debunked by several different opinion sources enough times to change their name to PolitiFarce. Plus, they are little more than an opinion editorial themselves. But oh well, if Politifact says so, it must be true or whatever. Sunday funnies!

In the past, the Gazette rebutted reader's letters criticizing Paul Ryan's ideological budget manifestos by issuing an "editor's note" regurgitating Ryan's talking points from his roadmap plan. In a later blog post, the editor explained he thought it was appropriate to post Ryan’s policy statements "to balance the letter writer's right to express himself with our desire to provide accurate information and perspective." No kidding.

The "Civility" editorial continued on about two other PolitiFact statements as if those opinions were the ultimate and irrefutable truth. But the fact that Janesville Gazette editors reject signed letters from local readers by vetting the letter writer's opinions through Politifact is just too bizarre and downright funny. How do we write in cyberspeak? LOL!!

BUT, BUT while the newspaper is now doing Politifact vetting of signed letters from their readers, they have for over the past decade fueled up for twice-a-week bombing raids of random rants, slurs and anonymous hit jobs on public officials, Democrats, school teachers and labor unions and have recently ramped it up during the recall petition drive.

In the past two weeks alone, the Gazette published dozens of dubious individual statements in their anonymous "Sound Off" column about the Walker Recall. These called-in comments were running 5 to 1 against the Recall and were loaded with attacks of mindless, worthless grunts and gurgles against Democrats, Recall petitioners, protesters and anyone opposed to Scott Walker. You'd read worn-out garbage such as, "malcontents demand recalls," "greedy and selfish teachers, "Do these fanatics know," "Democrats belong to unions and they are bought and paid for by Socialist agendas," "don't let the unions intimidate you," "recall Walker means putting unions back in charge," and of course "Unions are not your friend," just to mention a few. The main point is, the Gazette has been running an anti-union marketing agenda and social incivility messaging campaign for years under the guise of anonymity and with zero PolitiFact vetting. The editors have also pompously claimed their newspaper product best reflects the area's political persuasion, when in truth it is exactly the opposite. But they're proud of it. They're professionals.

Lastly, the editor tries to smooth over their obvious authoritarian bias and partisanship by stating that no one, conservatives or liberals, has the fear and rhetoric market cornered. That's true, but why state the obvious unless you're looking for an excuse or equivalency to your own bias?

The truth is, the Janesville Gazette and the mainstream media at-large have had the incivility market cornered all to themselves and they are beginning to lose some of that control. Isn't it time their subscribers demand they practice what they preach? But you can bet they're going to keep their tools of incivility like the Gazette's anonymous "Sound Off" column no matter what, it's YOU who have to give up yours.

Related:

Bliss Com, True Colors

Janesville newspaper rips through Unions with anonymity

Newspaper's Anonymous Column: A place To Offend

---

If you haven't yet seen this, check out the latest episode of Civil Discourse Podomatic!

Think You're Just Another Pretty Face In a Big Crowd?

Tweet

Nice crowd. But do you think someone could get easily lost in it? Think Again.

Click the photo to load the gigapixal.com Web Page. Pick a face and zoom in. Make sure you have a back on your chair.

This photo was taken by Port Moody photographer Ronnie Miranda that appeared in Tri-City News (24-June).

Another Unholy Alliance With Paul Ryan. When Will Some Democrats Learn?

Tweet

Politico Excerpt:
It was a rare moment on Capitol Hill Wednesday afternoon when Reps. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) and Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) united to promote an initiative that they said proves that “we don’t always go at each other’s throats around here.”

In a joint TV interview, the odd couple on the House Budget Committee rallied support for the line-item veto legislation, which they had introduced earlier in the day.

President Obama on line-item veto, "I think there's not a President out there that wouldn't love to have it."

Of course! Heh, heh, heh.

This is eerily similar to the time when Russ Feingold teamed up with Paul "Progressives are a cancer" Ryan on the same legislation.

As far as I'm concerned, Paul Ryan was the kiss of death for Russ Feingold and given the heightened sensitivity to Wall Street sell-out politicians like Paul Ryan among the electorate, Chris Van Hollen sold out the 99% with this terrible, terrible move. We're watching.

Don't get me wrong here, I'm crazy about Feingold but that was one of two times in the past twelve years I was embarrassed by his position. Not a bad record, but if there's one thing about fundamental freedom-loving Wisconsinites and true blue Progressives, it's that we never blindly follow our champions when they steer off the path and we're not afraid to tell them that. The blog Down With Tyranny had harsh words for the Ryan/Van Hollen unholy alliance, I completely agree, and also noticed that Wisconsinites don't sell out our independence for a smile and a wink.

Down With tyranny Excerpt:
I always like a Democrat willing to stand up for the 99%-- even if that means standing up to the craven power structure inside of his own party. People in Wisconsin are pretty independent-minded.

Down With Tyranny was referring to Democratic candidate for the 1st congressional District of Wisconsin, Rob Zerban.

According to this article in the Janesville Gazette, Zerban doesn't feel comfortable with the line-item veto because he believes it is unconstitutional. That's good reason enough to oppose it.

But the political blogger at the newspaper poked and scolded Zerban on his position and suggested Zerban needs a refresher course in American Government & Politics.

The blogger implied Zerban's "unconstitutional" position was a poor reason to oppose the legislation since the bill must become law first and only afterwards then proceed through the judicial review process. But if I recall, the entire GOP caucus voted against Obama's Health Care Reform Act ...because ...they thought it to be unconstitutional. So, is Rob Zerban the only one not entitled to form an opinion against legislation because he thinks it might not pass constitutional muster? Is it okay for members of Congress to oppose legislation before it goes through the judicial process? You bet it's okay. Zerban was right to issue his opposition in that context. This attack on Zerban was totally uncalled for and without merit.

Rob Zerban is exactly the kind of thinking we need in Congress to stop the wholesale selling out of America. If you'd like to help Zerban's campaign, check out the Stop Paul Ryan ActBlue page - it's open 24/7.

I've written fairly extensively about the Janesville line-item veto in the past and, only with the assumption it is constitutional, find it to be an abhorrent expansion of executive powers that will politicize the pork barrel earmark process more than it already is - as if anyone thought THAT was more possible. Look no further than this legislation.

Older stuff on the line-item veto

March, 2009 - Line Item Veto a Trap For Obama

April, 2007 - If Bush Had The Janesville Veto

April, 2007 - Feingold/Ryan Veto Act Surrenders Purse

After Looting Communities, Walker Gives Away $4 Million Just for Asking

Tweet

Wisbusiness Excerpt:
Governor Scott Walker announced today that Spectrum Brands Holdings has received a $4,000,000 award from the Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) to maintain jobs at its corporate headquarters in the Madison area and make capital investments at its Wisconsin operations.

That's not quite exactly the real story here, at least not according to new media investigative sources.

The story about Spectrum Brands winning a $4 million dollar hand-out seems to revolve around the idea that Spectrum was gearing up to make about $40 million worth of capital investments in its Wisconsin operations and hire up to 60 persons to fill key positions at their Madison headquarters, all on their own. Which means that Scott Walker was either first left out of the "economic expansion" publicity loop, but was able to buy his way into "saving" jobs after the fact for a cool $4 million dollars OR handed out the money simply for the asking.

Blue Cheddar Excerpt:
When asked by a local radio reporter if the company had planned to leave, a Spectrum spokesman answered “No, not really.” They got the money because they asked for it. Jobs were not threatened. They were paid for promising to do what they had already planned to do. The WEDC press release gives details of the “award”: “This award has been provided to preserve jobs at Spectrum Brands headquarters as part of the company’s investment in its operations,” according to Paul Jadin, CEO of the WEDC. The terms of the award require Spectrum Brands to maintain up to 470 existing full-time [...]

At this point, that there are "conditions" to the forgivable loan award is irrelevant if not somewhat comical. But I don't blame Spectrum Brands at all for jumping at ridiculously easy money. This is the dawn of new era of reverse robin hood taxpayer funded ransom package entitlements where only the wealthiest "job creators" can qualify.

Audio: Sly Radio Show Excerpt



Sly in the Morning - Full Radio Show Audio

Democurmudgeon - Walker gives away $4 million for the heck of it

Blue Cheddar - 4 million? For what??