Today is

Friday, November 30, 2012

GOP House Committee Appointments Help Identify Party

This is what Americans voted for in November 2012.



This is who republicans think America voted for.


That's it fellas, double-down on your policies and power. Keep working to eliminate same-day voter registration. Make it as hard as possible for seniors and the disabled to vote, keep cutting into early voting, shut down free speech at every turn. Keep calling pro-choicers "baby killers" and referring to gay people as queers and deviates. Keep calling half of America "moochers," brown people illegals, black people freeloaders and women sluts while soaking the poor and giving tax breaks to the wealthy. Keep believing that 2012 was winnable for your party and that you simply fielded a few weak candidates.

Just consider the loss in 2012 as a necessary caveat for the courage of standing with those core principles. We understand.

Wednesday, November 28, 2012

Manhunt! Walker's Palace Guard Track Down Evil-Doers


Walker's Chalker Stalkers?

God forbid! Someone could trip over the writings left by these dangerous criminals, bang their head on a parking meter and then what?!

WCM COOP Capitol Police Hunt Down Sidewalk Chalkers
EXCERPT: Tuesday November 27 was a busy day for Capitol Police under the direction of Chief David Erwin. Officer Andrew Hyatt spent the afternoon tracking down recipients of citations for administrative code violations for chalking on the sidewalk outside the Wisconsin State Capitol eleven days earlier on Friday, November 16.
More>>>

Occupy WI Citations Issued At Homes
EXCERPT: At 6:27pm I received the first phone call, from an unrecognized number. I immediately received a second call from a “blocked” number. Assuming that the Capitol Police were attempting to track me using my phone, and possibly the GPS located within it, [...] Around 8pm, I turned on my phone to check for messages. These included a phone call from a Capitol Police officer, to my personal cell phone, stating that he had gone to my partner’s home to look for me, and could I please call him to arrange a meet-up so that he could serve me a citation.

Yes. A Capitol Police officer left me a voicemail asking where I would like to meet him to receive my citation.
More>>>



This Is What Democracy Sounds Like

Check this out! Single tunes or the entire CD by Wisconsin's Solidarity Singers are available for your listening enjoyment. Click here for samples and purchase.

Tuesday, November 27, 2012

Rally: We Want Sly

A Facebook page was created for organizing a rally in support of John "Sly" Sylvester after he and a supporting news crew were cut loose by Midwest Family Broadcasting (WTDY) just before Thanksgiving. This rally is for a guy who has come out in both public and voice support for nearly every working poor and middle-class American and issue facing us today. That's a switch, uh. It's now our turn to show support - Sly deserves a nice rally.

OK, I've heard some mixed reviews on Sly over the years and he wasn't perfect (who is really?). Some folks have said some of the things he did on his show were unforgivable. Those criticisms and views needed to be heard and addressed too, but I have to give Sly a ton of credit for sticking his neck out, his people passion and most of all knowing his heart was always in the right place. Yeah sure, he drifted away from policy at times and chose some words poorly and sometimes developed skits in poor taste, but what radio commentary using humor and satire as a backdrop hasn't made some gaffes? I hope this isn't news to anyone reading this blog, but politics is a big boys (and big girls) sport. It's brutal and it's not about to go soft anytime soon.

Sly, for the most, knew when he overstepped his bounds and in fact did issue apologies to those he may have offended. Some folks, particularly on the Right, would call that a sign of weakness. I grew up always thinking that apologies showed maturity and was a sign of strength and renewal. Yet, have you heard any genuine apologies from the many right-wing radio personalities who offend more than half of America on a daily basis? One a year ...maybe. I'm not apologizing for the dude. He gave apologies for himself and that to me sets the record straight.

So, I don't have any proof for this and this is only an opinion here, but I don't think Sly was cut loose for his radio show antics, personality or talent. I think he was cut loose for his politics and his off-hours activism and if that's true - that's a rotten shame.

When a friend sent me a write-up and some photos of Sly and small group of protesters greeting Sen. Ron Johnson and Paul Ryan on the Romney tour bus, I was astounded by Sly's use of the Chinese flag and how fitting that was to create an outsourcing narrative of the Republican party event being held at the rear of GOP county headquarters here in Janesville. Visuals of this event had to seem bizarre if not contradictory. Sly gave them their own Freudian Slip. I can only imagine the hate that was spewing from the GOP participants toward Sly and his group of protesters.

About a month later, I also wrote a story how the Romney campaign was attempting to silence Sly's citizen activism by threatening his associates and targeting his employer. The story was that after a month passed, republican operatives were still stewing in their bodily fluids over the Janesville rally and refused to allow a WTDY associate reporter an interview with Sen. Ron Johnson in Madison. They made a pretty big stink of the situation so you know there has to be some deep-seated hatred towards Sly.

Three months later after all is seemingly forgotten, the radio station now says they are going through a format change. That very well could be true, but I personally believe these recent interactions with Janesville's Paul Ryan empowered republicans were all related to his termination.

On another related note. I also believe Sly's radio commentary, without the raw personal interjections of course, along with Dylan Brogan and the rest of the staff were sitting on the cutting edge of a brave new media. This is where reporters and journalists aren't cowtowing to their paycheck masters and don't play up to carefully rehearsed politicians just to secure a future interview. This is where real reporters know they're being played by political stagecraft and instead of becoming supporting cast members - they expose the stage. This is what I think Americans really want. We want the plain truth and this is what they offered. Corporate politicians and their media sponsors spend millions to deliver a mirage, so this new media I'm referring to is the future and I think Sly carried it out extremely well at times and posed a direct threat to the corporate stranglehold on public opinion and power. For those reasons, Sly had to go. Again, this is opinion.

I also agree with John Nichols on the need for a strong progressive voice in Wisconsin and support Sly coming back to WTDY or another Madison or south-central radio station ASAP.

Below is the rally information. You can also find more information and participate in discussion by visiting the Facebook links below.

WHEN: Saturday, December 1, 2012
11:00am until 2:00pm

WHERE: Midwest Family Broadcasting
730 Rayovac Dr. Madison, WI

Bring back all the personnel you fired at WTDY last Wednesday! Sour grapes will get you nothing, but a RALLY in support of our friends at Midwest Family Broadcast would send a message. Let's stand in Solidarity for the best news-talk in Wisconsin!!! Even CJ is invited.

Facebook - We Want Sly Rally

Facebook - Sly In The Morning

Monday, November 26, 2012

Wisconsin State Journal Slams Walker, But It's Not As It Seems

As noted by several blogs including the Democurmudgeon, the conservative Wisconsin State Journal newspaper ripped into Gov. Scott Walker for his poor judgment and participation in campaign work on the taxpayer's dime. But I took their editorial criticism as sort of a tongue-in-cheek statement. They did not point to Walker directly for being the chief executive (doesn't the buck stop on his desk?) or kingpin of an illegal covert office operation. Instead, they slapped his hand for being sloppy.

WSJ Excerpt:
But at a minimum, the governor is guilty of being sloppy with his staff in disturbing ways that should have been avoided.

Guilty of being merely sloppy? Yeah, he left too many prints behind.

As chief executive of the Milwaukee county office, Walker had two choices to make when he sent out that email acknowledging he was in the loop to Tim Russell on May 14, 2010. He either had to fire them all and expose the entire operation as a sudden new discovery OR protect himself by becoming a witness to their trial and let the chips fall where they may. Perhaps even be "thee" John Doe. So far, we only know that he is protecting himself with a defense fund.

WSJ Excerpt:
Remember the caucus scandal? Clearly the lessons of that tumultuous time in state history haven’t been learned.

Sure, there’s some gray area. But Walker should have done a much better job of separating the duties of his private and public employees to avoid any suspicion or inquiry.

The John Doe investigation into Walker’s former staff is terribly disappointing and distracting. It’s history repeating itself with so many of the same dumb and offensive mistakes.

Walker was the chief executive. He's the head honcho. I'm sorry, but there's way too many wishy-washy words and misdirection to consider this editorial sincere. This isn't history repeating itself from the caucus scandal but just another chapter in the ongoing disaster we know as Scott Walker.

They imply that he should have done a better job covering up the potential criminality (suspicion or inquiry) resulting from mixing campaign politics with taxpayer paid public office - particularly in light of the previous caucus scandal. That's all they're saying.

It's almost an apology.

Tuesday, November 20, 2012

After Losses, Ryan Targets Form Of Voters. Walker Targets Function

Gov. Scott Walker wasted no time in laying down the second leg of the GOP's voter suppression laws that they expect will catapult their bad candidates and even worse ideas into the win column in the next presidential election. Walker's recent remarks suggesting that "states that have same-day registration have real problems" came a week after Rep. Paul Ryan stated how surprised he was by some of the turnout especially in urban areas, which Ryan claimed gave President Obama the big margin to win the race.

Of course there was no way Walker would chance repeating Ryan's racist "urban" mistake, but there is also no mistake knowing Ryan's surprise centered not only on the form of urban voters, but also on their function of same-day registration.

Judging by Ryan's post-election loss remarks, it becomes obvious that team Romney really believed they would win based on surveys taken of registered voters. But they lost, so the only problem in their eyes must be votes cast by those same-day registrations. They'll double-down on that function, but not on anything to do with their lousy candidates or that their policies suck. Nah, can't be. Hence Walker's coded "states that have same-day registration have real problems" remark.

These two guys, Scott Walker and Paul Ryan, are joined at the hip. That makes it easy for them to watch each other's back.

ADDITIONAL:

Democurmudgeon - Walker says same day registration "difficult" for retirees "to handle." "Easier for our clerks to handle." w/video

Purple Wisconsin - Stung by Obama's Wisconsin win, Scott Walker wants more voting suppression

Monday, November 19, 2012

After 160 Years Of Republican Publishing, Isn't It Time For a Change?

In case you may have missed it two weeks ago or simply just don't care, the Janesville Gazette endorsed republican Joe Knilans for Janesville's state assembly seat. They also endorsed Paul Ryan for re-election to our house seat, Tommy Thompson over Tammy Baldwin for Senate and Ryan again with Mitt Romney for the White House. Their editorial endorsement titled, After four years it's time for a change offered mostly canned GOP talking points in favor of the deceptive duo. They even suggested that Romney's waffling around and inability to articulate positions on almost everything were likely moderate tendencies that will prove pragmatic. Given their heaping praise and unforgivable defenses for the Romney/Ryan ticket, their opposition to Barack Obama however was mainly built around a rather rigid and seemingly impatient excuse - that after four years, it was time for change.

OK, that's all behind us now. But what I thought was most interesting was a second Gazette editorial published the same day with the Romney/Ryan endorsement that attempted to explain how and why they endorse mostly republicans. Titled, "Miffed about our Romney endorsement? Read this," the chief editor of the Gazette tries to head off the expected wave of subscription cancellations by writing that no one should be surprised by their political endorsements. He's right on that point. If you've had a chance to read this blog or any of the featured articles in the right sidebar pertaining to the Janesville newspaper, you would know that the Gazette is a major media sponsor of the republican party, its legislative agenda and candidates. The fact is, your subscriptions and ad purchases help fund their political model whether you like it or not. But that's the plot for a different story.

The editor went on to explain how their endorsement process works.

JG Editorial Excerpt:
How can we justify such unwavering support for the GOP over the years, regardless of the candidates and their strengths and weaknesses? First you have to understand how the process works.

There's a "process" at work alright behind the Janesville Gazette's endorsements of presidential candidates. It's called the Republican Party. You see, the last time the newspaper did not back a republican candidate for president, they endorsed a Whig. That's right. So all the way back dating to 18-freaking-52, through the different generations of newspaper editors and members of the Bliss owning family of the Janesville Gazette, they could not stand to endorse even one democrat for president. Not one of FDR's terms, not Truman, Kennedy or Clinton.

But the Gazette editor goes through the motions in his editorial explaining the political make-up of the editorial board and how they toil over the candidates and the issues and offers a final caveat: Half of America agrees!

The irony between the newspaper's tandem editorials should be obvious even to the casual reader. If after 4 years with Barack Obama deserves immediate change, what are we to make of 160 years of the constant stream of republican editorials and endorsements from our local newspaper?

Note: Gazette editorial titled, "Miffed about our Romney endorsement? Read this" is not available on the Web.

Friday, November 16, 2012

Walker's Rejection of State-Run Exchanges Comes With a Silver Lining

I'm really torn on the decision made today by our hapless governor on health care exchanges. Scott Walker hasn't done much well in the state and his management style, if what he does can be described as management, tends to be limited by his gridlocked zero sum thinking usually resulting in a hollowed out government agency run by political operatives whose failures are rewarded with indictments. So, I wouldn't want him in charge of a state-run health care exchange. Period.

But beyond his incompetence, I think Walker's decision to reject the exchanges and place full control back to the federal government was expected and will help attract and solidify future support for the reasoning for nationalized control of health care commerce between the states. This should be just another baby-step towards nationalized universal health care in my view. Unfortunately, only time will tell.

Thursday, November 15, 2012

Janesville Is On The Edge With Low Wages

If you consider yourself a middle-class wage worker in America and haven't seen the documentary "As Goes Janesville" yet, I recommend you see it. You don't have to live in Janesville or Rock County Wisconsin to get a feel for the workers who were effected by the closing of the giant GM factory or to get a better picture of the mentality at play plotting to create jobs in its aftermath. Regardless of the size of your town or city, chances are great this is all coming your way.

In a short segment from the documentary, you'll hear the president of our local economic development group, Forward Janesville, nearly cackle over the thought that the loss of middle-class paying unionized factory jobs will compel the remaining local workforce to accept lower pay. He suggests this new norm will work in the "plus column" for their purposes. Leaders of the notorious "Divide and Conquer" Rock County 5.0 group nod in agreement.

Janesville is right on the edge with lower wages. But on the edge of what? Watch it:

Wednesday, November 14, 2012

Paul Ryan Settles Back In His Hammock - Our House Seat



“But we don’t want to turn the safety net into a hammock that lulls able-bodied people to lives of dependency and complacency, that drains them of their will and their incentive to make the most of their lives.” -- Paul Ryan

According to a Janesville Gazette article, Rep. Paul Ryan claims it was the national campaign that changed his image. It's not like he tried to do a complete remake of his own by denying his affinity for Ayn Rand, requested stimulus money and then denying that too, or coming across like a desperate opportunist. The campaign made him do it. He then explains, in ways only a shady used car salesman can, why his hometown supported the other guys. He implies the loss had little to do with him personally, including the hometown rejection in the separate race for congress.

JG Excerpt:
"Rock County and Janesville are Democratic, yet I was successful in past campaigns because I was viewed less as a Republican and more as a Janesville guy," Ryan said. "Being on the Republican ticket, my image was more tied to the Republican Party, and people viewed me more as a Republican than as from Janesville."

So according to Paul Ryan, it doesn’t matter who Paul Ryan is in relation to Janesville, Rock County or the State of Wisconsin. He’s saying then that it’s the people who are the partisans since Janesville, Rock County and Wisconsin voted Democratic for the top ticket in the past and only now after 14 years, suddenly noticed he's a republican. So it doesn't matter who's on the ticket because only partisans vote the party mandate. Got that? Again, never mind that while in Congress he votes with the Republican party more than 90% of the time or that he is the author of the GOP house budget or one of the authors of the GOP hyper-partisan recruitment book “Young Guns.” It's the voters who are the partisans. Paul Ryan is simply a person.

The busted rhetoric from the congressman never ends. In an ABC News interview, Ryan also said Obama has no mandate because voters left republicans as the majority in the House. However, Obama/Biden did carry a mandate during their campaign and so did Romney/Ryan. Their campaigns ran on two different, even opposing directions. The people chose the direction mandated by Obama. Yet if we tie in Ryan's party explanation for his hometown losses, the people voted against whatever the House republicans have been offering. Whether they as individuals won or lost.

But exactly what is the House majority mandate? Ryan should explain what it is. Divided government? Obstruction? Economic chaos? Ryan's budget plan? Tax cuts for the rich? Oh, you mean everything Obama ran against and voters rejected? What about making Obama a one term president? Again, Ryan is saying that the American people calculated their vote for the sum of all of that when they voted for their district house representative. I certainly don't believe it and anybody in their right mind shouldn't either.

ADDITIONAL:

The Political Environment - Ryan Blames Loss on Urban Voters; Does he mean in that megalopolis – Janesville?

The Progressive - Numbers Guy Paul Ryan Still Misleading His Party

Tuesday, November 13, 2012

After Betrayals In Janesville, It's Time For Reformation

Regardless of the outcomes from the election of 2012, there can be no doubt that the people of Janesville and Rock County have suffered through a series of betrayals and are living a new reality that differs from the changes expected for the rest of the state and the country.

For more than a decade, area voters have been sleepwalking to the polls under the influence of the kool-aid delivered by the local right-wing Gazette media monopoly. I think my side, if I may call them that, and folks wanting the hard truth and unfiltered information, are past an informational firewall and finally on the way to a social re-alignment that could be and should be fresh and exciting. For the past several months, thanks in large part to media outsiders, we have identified and isolated a problem that some thought did not exist. The next step involves not just putting those betrayals behind us, but adjusting to those new realities to create a new paradigm. Simply saying forward won't be enough.

So, let me explain what I'm referring to here. When I began blogging in July of 2006 by drawing the partisan outlines of our local newspaper's agenda, its affiliates and the local economic development organization, Forward Janesville, all I got back from their supporters were swarmy denials or personal attacks. Some suggested that everyone should just ignore the guy at Rock Netroots and he'll eventually go away. I've held my pen back a few times with folks who identified themselves as union supporters or democrats who were defending the Gazette, Forward Janesville or Paul Ryan. They'd say, "we don't vote for the party, but only the best person for the job" or "Forward Janesville isn't as partisan as you think and only a partisan would think they are" or "we're professionals at the Gazette, we leave our politics at the door." No kidding.

I'll also never forget the time about two years ago I saw a man dressed in firefighter labeled casuals speak out at a small protest here in Janesville and defend Paul Ryan as a supporter of unions. That's right, he claimed Ryan supports unions. The small crowd became quiet, possibly out of respect for the man's public service, and did not challenge his statements. That event however told me that despite the internet, social media, my little blog or the efforts from local groups like the Rock County Progressives, there was still a severe information gap that must somehow be overcome. Remember, although Janesville was considered a union town, they (we) always still voted for Paul Ryan - until now. Before, I never ever could understand why.

Thankfully, that's all changed and I do credit both the national media spotlight during Ryan's VP candidacy and the documentary "As Goes Janesville," for shedding light on the dark omissions of truth that still prevails under our current local informational sources. The fact is that for years, the Rock County population has been fed a different story. Once folks started hearing Paul Ryan and officials from the FJ affiliate Rock County 5.0 talk frankly and ungazetted in their own words, there had to be a deep sense of betrayal felt throughout the local community. Sort of a triple-play of betrayal that the national audience could not or did not experience or understand.

None of this surprised me because it only confirmed what I have been writing here all along and this is no time to gloat because ironically, for our community, this is still a severe loss. Why is this a loss you might ask? Afterall, Barack Obama, Tammy Baldwin and local favorite Deb Kolste won their elections and Ryan was finally rejected in his own backyard. For one, I think because so many people had so much trust in the Janesville Gazette to deliver the straight stories about Paul Ryan and the people running our local economic development groups. Many folks gave years of their lives to defend their causes and support their efforts only to now feel tricked and used. It becomes like the shocking discovery after the death of a close friend that he was actually one of your bitter enemies. This loss I'm trying to describe isn't about losing Paul Ryan or elections, it's about the void created by betrayal when trust is gone.

So yes, President Obama, Baldwin and Kolste winning their elections is something to celebrate since they are better aligned with our local identity and aspirations. Knowing finally who Paul Ryan really is, is a good thing too, but again the national audience doesn't own the same sense of betrayal we feel. Yet, the people of Janesville and Rock County still have to contend with two-faced establishment organizations who are not only in complete denial but operate a socio-political agenda that runs counter to the community at-large. That's not an entirely bad thing because in order to move forward we do need alternative ideas and we're all in this together, but the real problem is they are out to defeat us by way of disinformation and through lobbied legislation. They are organized to develop solutions with zero sum outcomes or even some shrinkage. Where they believe gains can only come after losses or at somebody else's expense. We now know this to be true. That is the new discovery.

However, we would be fools to tolerate the intolerant. I'm not saying these folks need to be just like us. Imagine how boring that would be? I'm saying these folks should be working with us and not turning back the clock to defeat us for their own gains. That's where it stands right now and to be honest, they're not listening or they just don't care what we think.

We should want the unfettered truth from our local media and not paid commercials or political propaganda masquerading as news. We should feel that when we buy a subscription or an ad from a newspaper, or submit a letter, blog post or column, that we are supporting a local business in a mutual quest for progress and not a political institution that is purposed for our defeat. In that case, we shouldn't help them make their product more attractive and profitable with our creativity, content or purchases. It's simply not in the community's best interests.

In my view, this is not the time to go-along-to-get-along in Janesville but a time for all those feeling betrayed to reflect upon their loss and re-energize to move forward. Turn it into a positive. Create a new mix. Do something - to organize personally and socially in serious consideration for a way to mobilize our community in good will under these awkward circumstances. Few communities are given a window for self-introspection that Janesville has apparently received. We must take advantage of it.

This could be the beginning of a new paradigm. Don't let it slip away.

Monday, November 12, 2012

Food Stamp Growth Follows Red State Right-To-Work Policies

Check these two maps:

Right-to-work states in turquoise.




Obviously, the maps are not an exact match but I think they clearly show the republican platform driving red state politics work hand-in-hand with right-to-work laws. Beyond the regular comparisons that show laborers and professionals in right-to-work states earn less wages than their counterparts in bargaining states comes another insidious marker for red state economies: Republican-Heavy Counties Eat Up Most Food-Stamp Growth.

All I can say is blue states with growing red county populations had better watch out as they may be the next dominoes to fall to RTW laws along with a growing dependency on food stamps.

ADDITIONAL:

Democurmudgeon - 70% of Counties with Fastest Growth of Food Stamps voted Republican.

Friday, November 09, 2012

Home Town Shocker For The Pride of Janesville


They say politics is local and if there's any truth to that, Paul Ryan lost big.

Yes, he was re-elected to serve another two-year term in congress. Yes, the billionaire-sponsored Wall Street congressman beat his opponent, democratic challenger Rob Zerban, by 12 points. Yes, in the final analysis, Ryan would have likely squeeked out a narrow victory even without the newly redrawn district boundaries. But in Paul Ryan's cozy hometown of Janesville in the county of Rock, he took a shellacking. Yes he did.

Paul Ryan failed, miserably I must add, to deliver the state of Wisconsin for the republican party and his running-mate Mitt Romney. Winning Wisconsin was the least they thought he would do and truth be known, Ryan could not even deliver his hometown much less his home county for the presidential ticket. He lost the debate.

But even more astounding is the fact that Ryan's hometown rejected him for the consolation prize he so carefully rigged for his own safety net, our congressional house seat. But it gets even worse when you consider that the closer Ryan gets to home, down to the very ward he lives in, the less support he received from the people who know him best.

The final numbers are in:


No doubt the republican party and Ryan's local media tool, the Janesville Gazette, will downplay this shocking revelation or frame the results as retribution from local progressives or union activists because that's what Ryan's enablers do. But these local results will leave an indelible hometown impression on Paul Ryan for years to come. There is no getting away from it.

Below: Overlay Map of 1st CD of Wisconsin


Dark green (and blue) area is old district map (2001)
Light green areas were added to create current district map
Blue areas were subtracted from old district - not included in new.

New areas include small portion west/northwest of Janesville. Area south of Janesville. Area east of Beloit and a large section of Waukesha County.

Final Election Results For Rock County.

Badger Democracy produced an excellent county-by-county review of the voting tallies from the Ryan/Zerban congressional house race. Check it out.

Also see: The New Republic - Paul Ryan Was Not the GOP’s Savior. He May Even Have Been its Albatross.

Wednesday, November 07, 2012

Paul Ryan's Hometown Janesville Voted For The Other Guy

Unfortunately, Rep. Paul Ryan won re-election to the House, thereby guaranteeing a broken Congress for at least another two years. But with 93% reporting as of 12AM, Paul Ryan's hometown Janesville cast 15,596 votes for democratic challenger Rob Zerban and 13,279 votes for Ryan. (numbers are approximate) According to my records, this is the first time Ryan lost his hometown in the race for the House seat.

In other election news, Rock County delivered handsomely for Democrats yet again for President Obama and VP Joe Biden, Sen. Tammy Baldwin and Rep. Mark Pocan and replaced Walker "tool" Joe Knilans with Democrat Deb Kolste for Janesville's state assembly seat. (44th)

Congrats to all.

View Rock County results here.

ADDITIONAL:

Rock Netroots - Janesville Is Not Paul Ryan's Kind Of Town
(Aug. 2012)

Monday, November 05, 2012

The Haters Have been Planning This For 4 Years. Don't Boo ...Vote!

This is the day the haters in America have been planning for more than 4 years. From the moment Barack Obama was elected president in November of 2008 to the eve of his inauguration, a radical minority have conspired to destroy his presidency by any means necessary short of assassination. Before he served even one day in the Oval Office, a select group of congressmen and right-wing media operators vowed to obstruct his every move even if it meant to hurt the economy and destroy lives to smear his name like none ever before him.

Very sadly, a congressman and governor including a majority of legislators from our own state of Wisconsin sit front and center at the core of this political ideology that wins not by unity but by division. Not through the strength of collaboration and community, but by disempowering and conquering others. They message forward movement not through means of their own mobility, but by preventing others from passing them and taking the lead. The more they obstruct and divide, the bolder they get. Their media enablers writes up their actions as courageous.

I’m putting this as mildly as I can. Those who are informed have seen state legislators from around the country proudly declare that their newly enacted laws sole purpose is to defeat Barack Obama, whether by defunding supporters or shutting down their voices and their vote. We have seen a cable news station devote their entire programming to the single-minded cause of destroying the president of the United States and his political party. Their candidate for the White House, Mitt Romney, is on the record saying that if he loses the election his party will avenge his loss by wrecking the U.S. economy – again. This is the Republican party.

In Wisconsin, we have heard the voices of over 100,000 people gather in Madison to oppose these classwar bills and their authors, only to fall on deaf ears. In truth, it doesn’t matter how many people show up at Obama’s or Romney’s rallies. They could have 500, 10,000 or 100,000 show up. All it does is make for a photo opportunity. What matters most is how many show up to vote.

One more time now. They have been planning Election Day 2012 every day relentlessly for four years beginning from the day of his inauguration. Obama could have discovered the cure for Alzheimers and cancer, invented a molecular human transporter or dropped the unemployment rate down to zero and none of it would have mattered. Once the lies and deception took hold, they never really cared or gave him the fair shot every president deserves. Yet despite their drive to demonize and destroy him, America has moved forward under his leadership.

So why would Americans want to reward their toxic mentality and behavior with high public office? It's not American and it doesn't make sense. We have to be better than that. We must be better.

ADDITIONAL:

Democurmudgeon - Who Votes For Romney. Be Afraid. w/videos

Saturday, November 03, 2012

President Obama and Springteen In Madison On Monday!

WMTV Excerpt:
MADISON-- On Monday, November 5, President Obama will deliver remarks at a grassroots event in Madison, Wisconsin with special guest Bruce Springsteen.

EVENT LOCATION:
Downtown Madison - the general admission entrance is at West Mifflin Street and State Street*

DOORS OPEN:
7:00 AM CDT Monday, November 5, 2012

more>>> on directions, parking and street closures.


The rally is free and open to the public, but an online RSVP is required to enter, the Obama campaign said Friday evening. Confirmation of each person's RSVP will be checked at the event.

Friday, November 02, 2012

Janesville Solidarity Sing Along

In Town Squares Throughout Wisconsin

Pre-celebration of the 500th Wisconsin Solidarity Sing Along

When: Noon til 1PM, Saturday, November 3, 2012

Where: Any and Every Town Square in Wisconsin

In Janesville: Lower Courthouse Park

Featuring….You!!

It's time to celebrate 500 consecutive daily Sing Along for Justice at the State Capitol. Share the songs — and the calls for justice—by convening a sing-along in your own community as part of the Statewide Town Square Sing Along 500, at noon on Saturday November 3, 2012.

Check out Event Facebook for discussion and updates.

Thursday, November 01, 2012

Ryan Only Sees Republicans Or Democrats Even On Halloween

Not a big story here at all, but I found this article in the Janesville Gazette somewhat amusing.

JG Excerpt:
Trick-or-treating is an important tradition for the Ryan family. “This is the route I took when I was a kid,” Ryan told the dozen media and campaign workers following him with excitement in his voice. At one house, he pointed to a resident dressed as a ghoul handing out candy. “He’s been doing this for a decade,” he said.

At Sheriff Robert Spoden’s house, Ryan joked: “He’s a Democrat, and we’re actually friends.”

Umm. What's the joke?

Why did he have to say one of his neighbors is a Democrat? While he's out there with his kids, why couldn't he leave the political stagecraft at home? It’s pretty sad that even during a “normal” family activity such as trick-or-treating, Paul Ryan can find an opportunity to politicize friends and neighbors for an advantage by identifying them by their politics.

It never ends for this guy.