Woodman's Angry Over Radio Jock's Remarks

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Earlier in the week, Woodman's Food Markets announced they will no longer co-sponsor a Fourth of July fireworks show in Madison because ...a radio talk show host, John "Sly" Sylvester WTDY-AM (1670), criticized and ridiculed them for dropping mental health care coverage for their employees. Woodman's coincidentally, dropped the mental health coverage soon after employees voted to de-commission union representation.

Wisconsin State Journal Excerpt:
Clint Woodman, vice president of the Janesville-based grocery company, on Wednesday said Mid-West erred in failing to rein in the talk show host.

We can expect plenty more of this kind of pressure from the business establishment to shut down honest opinion and dissent. Particularly against opposition towards the growing trend allowing businesses to extort tax revenue and credits from local and state governments for jobs creation.

To be fair, while on the air last year the radio talker made a personal poke about Phil Woodman's pants wearing style. Yesterday however, Sly stated on his show he will apologize for "Woodman's pants up too tight" comment if necessary, but not about his position or statements he made about Woodman's dropping the insurance coverage.

The feud threatened the fireworks show, but it came out later yesterday that Woodman's has agreed to stay on as a sponsor and that the show will go on.

LINKS

"Sly in the morning" original audio, Woodman's Christmas Gift to Their Employees

Wisconsin State Journal Fireworks Show Uncertain

Sly's Response To Woodman's Brinkmanship
with audio.

Capital Times, Is Woodman's feeling the heat over mental health coverage?

Newspaper: Policy Attacks Bad - Personal Attacks Good?

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Wednesday's (April 28th) Janesville Gazette contained a letter from a Walworth County resident claiming the health care reform bill is exactly what we should expect from a "slumlord enabler" and a former drug user. The letter writer, who actually began his diatribe by complaining that recent letters praising the health care reform bill were always short on details and perspective, proceeded to lay out a series of distortions based on irrelevant assumptions whose only intention was to demonize Obama and supporters of the health care reform bill, even aligning the Obama Administration with Adolph Hitler's views. The writer also covered for many of his attacks by constructing them as questions.

Letter Excerpt:
Will old people frightened into voting for Obama get to meet Terry Schiavo sooner rather than later?

No big deal really. Everyone is entitled to their opinion and I for one thought the author expressed his thoughts quite well, as imbalanced, mean-spirited and short on details as they were.

But last week, the Gazette opinion editor felt it was necessary to contradict a letter writer who thought Rep. Paul Ryan wanted to take Social Security checks and "invest" them with some of his banker friends on Wall Street. That particular letter did not devolve into a name-calling personal attack against Ryan. Yet, it was followed by an "editor's note" regurgitating one of 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."

Whatever.

Not to rehash this into something it's not, but the editor was apparently satisfied with the nasty name-calling trash talk letter against Obama. There was no "editor's note" to provide accurate information or balance.

In my view, the op-ed editor made poor judgment calls on both letters. Although both were strongly worded personal viewpoints, the Ryan/policy letter should have been left to stand on it's own accord without an editor's rebuttal, while the Obama/personal letter should have not been allowed to stand at all. It should have never been published.

Email Shows Van Hollen Linked With Party For Health Care Direction

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The Links.

The Smoking Gun - One Wisconsin

The Email. - One Wisconsin

The Collusion - Think Progress

More AG's involved - Crooks and Liars

The MSM Blog - JS Online

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A Tea Party Truther

Opinions Matter... Unless I Don't lIke Your Opinion

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Last week Wednesday, the Janesville Gazette posted a letter from a fellow in Edgerton who offered his perspective about the obvious and common hypocrisies held by Tea Party activists. Among them, the letter writer who I'll refer here to as R.T., felt that senior tea partiers should turn in their Medicare cards to Congressman Ryan's office and have him arrange a private insurance plan for $96.50 a month. Afterall, that would be the right thing to do if they intend to stand with their convictions. R.T. then followed suit with Ryan's Social Security plan as little more than a Wall street investment scheme, he wrote...

Letter Excerpt:
...he also wants to take your Social Security checks and "invest" them with some of his banker friends on Wall Street.

A fair if not conservative assessment I thought with just the right amount of crony capitalism tossed in for good measure. However, the opinion expressed in the letter didn't sit too well with the opinion editor at the Gazette because he followed the letter with an editor's note, it began...

Editor's Note:
Regarding Social Security, as Ryan explains in his "Roadmap" proposal: "Individuals 55 and older will remain in the current system and will not be effected by this proposal in any way...etc, etc..

The editor essentially cut and paste an excerpt from Ryan's roadmap in rebuttal to the letter writer...to better explain Ryan's idea.

It's no secret Paul Ryan was handpicked by George W to write up a plan to initiate the phasing out of Social Security through privatization. Over the course of recent years however, Wall Street nearly collapsed from their own greed and the Big Banks were found to be little more than a legalized criminal operation. That didn't faze Ryan. His roadmap throws out a poisoned T-Bone for workers to bite on under the guise of false "choice" and creates another layer of government bureaucracy to manage private capital investments. Instead of writing up preventive maintenance legislation to regulate and oversee the capital markets, Ryan plods on and merely re-adjusts his Wall Street investment trap he's set up for Social Security. After the crash, he now refers to his novel as the Roadmap - 2.0. So whose friend is he anyways?

But back to the editor's note. This wasn't the first time the Gazette defended Ryan's position against a letter writing citizen. They did so previously to "correct" another writer's criticism of free trade agreements and the adverse effects they can have on the Janesville GM Plant. Again the editor posted a note in what amounted to an opinion from Ryan's office to contradict the writer's position. Of course the rest is history.

Yesterday, the Gazette's opinion editor blogged about meeting a person at a Janesville store who verbally expressed his opinion about the editor's note on R.T.s' letter, calling it "totally inappropriate." A very astute observation respectfully verbalized. But from the editor's blog entry, it sounds like he thinks it was rude to be confronted "off the clock" and not being given a chance to explain. Apparently, after making his statement, the person just turned and walked away.

From all accounts it didn't look like the person cared for an explanation. Anyways, what would be the point? But if he did, should've he called the editor before or after publication? Ironically, the editor's blog is named "Opinions Matter."

Note: This posting is the sole opinion and perspective of its' writer and is in no way associated with any of the persons described.

Why Did Glenn Beck Gasp "Holy Cow" At Janesville?

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After thinking about the Paul Ryan/Glenn Beck "progressivism is a cancer" radio interview from last week, I couldn't help but return to an old post I wrote in 2007 on why there continues to be a common misconception that Janesville city government is progressive or by extension, its demographic majority. Clearly, it's not.

Rock Netroots Excerpt:
However, none of this should be confused with whatever Janesville city government happens to be based on today because in retrospect, they never "progressed" past the first movement. The establishment right-wing refused to accept the second movement and abandoned the movement altogether but not before using it to disempower the growing political influence of the GM labor worker in the city. Progressivism became the perfect foil for the establishment to keep control of the city's leadership while simultaneously politically neuter and malign any action by the working majority as a power grab. In my view, Janesville became sort of a "safe haven" for those renegade republicans. This is why many progressives today feel it is important to describe themselves as "modern" or "contemporary" progressives, to distinguish themselves from the "ancient" progressives (actually, regressives) that still roam today.

During Beck's radio interview, the rodeo clown gasped "Holy Cow" after Ryan merely stated that he's calling from his hometown Janesville - as if Janesville is Progressive Central.

It's also doubly interesting how several right-wing blogs including Beck felt Ryan spoke too kindly about the early days of progressivism.

Capital Times Excerpt:
Early progressives wanted to empower and engage the people. They fought for populist reforms like initiative and referendum, recalls, judicial elections, the breakup of monopoly corporations, and the elimination of vote buying and urban patronage. -- Paul Ryan

So who could blame the regressive Beck for thinking that Ryan might be a bleeding heart and remorseful progressive? But Ryan continued on to say progressivism turned away from popular control toward central government planning and that it lost most Americans and consumed itself in paternalism, arrogance and snobbish condescension. Actually it was quite the opposite. Progressivism turned to decentralization often enough to be abandoned by the arrogant and snobbish right-wing establishment. Progressivism was evolving by not allowing itself to be used as a tool by wealthy authoritarians.

Clearly, this is one subject about Janesville that deserves far more attention and circumspection than I have given it. Particularly how Janesville's organized business base continue to hold the reins of power by riding on the coattails of early progressivism while never allowing it to evolve, and how Ryan's self-described "classic liberalism" and early environment may have imprinted him as a typical Janesville abuser of the early progressive movement and a misguided rejectionist of the modern progressive movement - a true regressive.

Highly Recommended John Nichols on Ryan's history of Progressivism.

Beck/Ryan Cancer Interview

Leinenkugel Owned By Local Corporatists?

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Lienenkugel's campaign flyer for his announcement to challenge Russ Feingold carries the notation, "A Helgesen Development Corp Property."

What better time to plug for corporation than on a campaign flyer for high government office? Right out of the "never let a good crisis go to waste when a dollar can be turned" corporate hack's political playbook. At least they're unabashed about it.

So far, the folks with the heaviest financial support challenging Feingold for the "peoples" senate seat are representatives of corporate interests. They want their country back.

It truly is a testament to Feingold's integrity and public service when he can wear his opponents as a badge of honor.

Ryan Protege Will Challenge Sheridan

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GOP Excerpt:
JANESVILLE, WI – Ken Brotheridge announced his candidacy today for Wisconsin’s 44th State Assembly District, which represents a majority of the city of Janesville. Brotheridge is challenging incumbent Mike Sheridan.

Brotheridge, a self acclaimed staunch fiscal conservative, says that one of his top priorities will be to lower income and capital gains taxes because current state law on capital gains cause families to fall victim...

Of course he has to win in the primary first, but the little fairy sitting on my shoulder tells me that Ken Brotheridge, as predictably generic and self-ingratiating as his press release reads, is the anointed Republican candidate.

Up to this point in time, the local GOP has been coming on strong winning non-partisan offices rather handily without barely a whimper of a response from local Democrats. Of course the GOP has a huge media and messaging advantage in Rock County with Bliss Communications and the largest locally organized political machine in Forward Janesville. They also have some of the area's wealthiest special interests in their corner to buy a viable campaign. Just look at all the damage Paul Ryan has done and he continues to be re-elected. So, I wouldn't take Brotheridge's challenge too lightly here.

While local Dems have either been licking their wounds or walking through smear gauntlets, Republicans seem to be already grooming Ryan's heir to the House when he abandons his throne to run for a vacant senate seat sometime in the not too distant future. His name might be Ken Brotheridge. Again this is all quarter-full political speculation on my part. Just remember you heard it here first.

Ryan Voted "Nay" On Extending Unemployment Comp

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Last week, the House passed an emergency bill extending unemployment compensation to June 2nd for 102,000 jobless Wisconsin workers, about 3,000 residing in Rock County alone. As was expected, Reps' Ryan and Sensenbrenner voted against the u-comp extension.

EXTENDED JOBLESS BENEFITS:
Voting 289 for and 112 against, the House on April 15 sent President Obama a bill (HR 4851) providing about $12 billion to pay for an extension until June 2 of jobless checks for hundreds of thousands of persons whose benefits expired after April 4.

How fitting that just a few days after, the Bliss-owned Janesville Gazette affiliate CSI Walworth County newspaper reeled off an editorial the way they see it titled, The Rise of Moocher Nation.

The next morning, the CSI Walworth County editorial board interviewed Paul Ryan for 28 minutes. If no one knew any better, the folks posing the questions to Ryan could have easily been mistaken for Glenn Beck interns or a vetting panel from the RNC. They lobbed right-wing water-logged softball question after question about his opinion on health care reform, partisanship, President Obama and oh, about whether he will run for president. At this point in time, all useless gobble-dee-gook.

Most noticeably absent, the newspaper's editorial board did not ask Ryan one single question about the state of the 1st congressional district of Wisconsin. Not one. Remember, this is a local newspaper within the district. Most pressing of course are solutions to ease the district's high unemployment. They didn't ask. Ryan didn't offer. Frankly, he has no answers for those problems, but o'boy does he have answers for everything else.

Nor did they inquire about Ryan's position on the local business establishment's push to expand Interstate 39/90 or to explain his recent "Nay" vote on unemployment compensation.

Ryan could have explained not only how proudly he stood against his constituents unemployment compensation as a tough love stand against a "moocher nation," but also how he could use it as a wedge against those unprincipled Democrats who ditched their own PAYGO rules to help a nation of freeloaders. Yep, Ryan wasn't about to abandon his right-wing corporate principles and Randian ideology. For who? His constituents? For Main Street? No way! Didn't you know? Ryan's trying to balance a budget.

If unemployment is one of your concerns, I hope you print this list and save it. Next time your Senator or Representatives are up for re-election, you can refer back to this list and vote appropriately.

Side note: Ryan's responses to the so-called editorial board were a good example demonstrating the growing role reversal and misplaced responsibilities many members of congress have with their constituency. Instead of representing their district's wants and needs in Congress, they are representing their own ideology and the controlling interests in Congress back to their constituency at home.