Run, Scotty, Run

I couldn’t have said it better than Wonkette. Here is the linky thing to the entire article about our illustrious college dropout governor, Scott Walker. But for your entertainment, here’s some of the funstuff about his magical tour as asshat-in-chief.

Man, anti-union free market capitalism ain’t what it used to be. A few years ago, rightwing hero and prolific union-h8r Scott Walker soared into the governorship of Wisconsin with the slogan, “Wisconsin Is Open for Business.” Within a few months, he was wiping corporate jizz off his chin after ramming through right-to-work legislation and sticking it to the unions. After surviving a recall election, just how is business doing in Wisconsin?< br />

Since he [Walker] took office, his state has fallen from 11th to 44th in job creation.

[...]

[However] Surely there is some good news, right? With unions all busted, the free market is jumping in, and the invisible hand is enticing workers with high wages, stellar benefits, and all kinds of goodness, right?

Wisconsin’s wages are also declining at twice the national level.

[...]

Oh, and Walker’s BadgerCare cuts will also cost Wisconsin employers some $36 million dollars, but that’s probably good for freedom, too.

Run, Scotty, run. Then you better run faster because you won’t be able to run away from your record.

My brother Kevin Rock, February 11, 1962 - May 26, 2013

Our sweet, giving brother, Kevin Patrick Rock, passed away suddenly Sunday, May 26, 2013.  A resident of Franklin, WI the past three years, Kevin’s life was a series of musical comedies with happy endings for everyone he touched.  For him, life was a song and dance number that needed to be performed loudly, usually with brilliantly naughty lyrics.

No one could make you feel good about yourself as could Kevin … and believe in yourself.  His was a unique talent, fueled by love.

Kevin grew up in various cities, but West Bend is where he spent most of his younger years.  He had a special childhood friend in Ron Reichert, whom he’d known since they were five-years old.  After a brief foray to Florida, where he came out as an openly gay man, Kevin settled in the Milwaukee area where he spent the rest of his life.

In Milwaukee he made a decision that defined his life by attending school and becoming a fabulous hairstylist.  Working first at Malcolm of London, then at Beauty, and finally owning his own successful business at Salon Divine, Kevin’s client list was impressive.  Everyone wanted their hair done by Kevin.  He not only made his clients more beautiful, he was their confidant; he was their friend ... they became family.  He could make them laugh until they wet their pants.

Another defining moment for Kevin was his acceptance of his addictions and his decision to remain sober.  Kevin really worked the AA program as a regular member of the Alano Club and other AA clubs.  He offered help, a shoulder to cry on and even a place to stay.  It just didn’t matter what you needed, Kevin would be there.

Kevin was a showman.  He danced with his mother, Marjorie Rock, in numerous productions, appeared in musicals, sang in show choir, collaborated with another special friend, Diane Bloom, and entertained everyone at the drop of a hat.

Most importantly, Kevin loved his family; and was selfless with his time.  He was dedicated to caring for his parents, was always available to offer sage advice and encouraged everyone.  Kevin never had his own children.  His nieces and nephews were his children and he was there for their birthdays and holidays with his arms full of presents.   Kevin was the glue that kept his siblings connected.  He was never happier than when all five were together.

Kevin is survived by his father John (Bill) Rock – a veteran, with whom Kevin accompanied on the Badger Honor Flight – and his wife Verdeen (Duffy), his siblings Timothy, Kelly (Bruce) Atwell, Thomas (Tammy), Kathryn (Blaine Schultz), Janet Howard, and the Duffy children:  David (Gayle), Jerry (Kathy), Mark, Dan (Kristin), Patricia (John Sternad), and Jackie (Kevin Bacon).  He is further survived by his beloved nieces and nephews:  Benjamin, Haley, Patrick, Brandon, Emily, Andrew, Sammie, Ian, Kiefer, Taylor, Keaton, Abby, the Mighty Quin and Katelyn.  Kevin was preceded in death by his mother, Marjorie, stepfather Don Howard, grandparents Rodney and Janet Kiefer, and A.P. and Helen Rock, and a special friend, Steve Reynolds.

In lieu of flowers, memorials will be accepted to be distributed to the Alano Club.

Celibate Pedophiles Against Equal Marriage Rights

U.S. Conference of Catholic Bishops orders Catholics in a bulletin to oppose LGBT equal marriage rights and calls for prayer, fasting and personal sacrifice. Maybe they could start by not fucking little boys.

Death to religion.

Whose Sharia Law?

Since being gay is a sin according to Sharia Law, does that mean all the wingnuts who are opposed to homosexuality are trying to impose Sharia Law?

More Screw the Poor and Public Schools

Over the protests of educators and citizens, Chicago, right-wing billionaires opposed to public education and teacher unions and Mayor Rahm Emanuel went ahead and closed 50 schools. Never mind that the kids in these poverty-laden areas now will be forced to travel to schools across gang lines, further disrupting their lives and the community. Screw the kids and screw the teachers who had the audacity to stand up for their rights and strike for better working conditions and pay. This is simply revenge. This from the article at Crooks and Liars is so true.

Those teachers the wingers call socialist thugs are the very same teachers who used themselves as human shields to protect kids during the tornado in Oklahoma, and the Newtown shootings. They're always heroes until it comes to things like paying them or improving the schools where they work. Then they're thugs, and the kids they protect are 'takers'.

The continuing effort to privatize our schools is cynical. It has nothing to do with helping children and everything to do with filling greedy pockets and fucking the poors.

The Face of Modern Conservatism, Part 5

Rightwing Watch does a yeoman's job keeping up with the nastiness of the conservative side of the political spectrum.  This individual, highlighted at this link, is particularly reprehensible.

On his show last week, [Pete] Santilli went on a disgusting, violent rant in which he called for the entire Bush family and President Obama to be “tried, convicted and shot” for “treason” (and in George H.W. Bush’s case “involvement with his cronies in the John F. Kennedy assassination”) and for Hillary Clinton to be “tried, convicted and shot in the vagina.”

I’m wondering if my friend, James Wigderson, who has previously expressed his dismay that bi-partisan support for a stance he took wasn’t forthcoming will offer his bi-partisan support here and condemn Santelli for his statements ... and others.

Probably not.  He'd be apologizing 24/7.

Whining for an Apology

President Obama is rightly outraged over allegations of IRS flagging of tea party groups, as should be both liberals and conservatives. But to insist that the president apologize for this as suggested by Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine) is ludicrous.

Tell you what, in the spirit of bi-partisanship, how about the GOP apologize for the targeting by the IRS of liberal churches during the Bush Jr. years? How about the GOP apologizing for IRS targeting of enemies of Richard Nixon? Heck, why not apologize for Richard Nixon.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. I think a bi-partisan look into using the IRS by both parties to investigate those you don’t agree with is a great idea. Just get over the faux-outrage as though your side never did it.

I'd Be Pissed Off Too

From Kevin Drum at Mother Jones regarding the IRS flagging tea party groups:

Conservative groups are as outraged as liberals would be if the Bush-era IRS were flagging groups with "environment" or "progressive" in their names. So even if, as seems likely, this whole thing turns out to have been mostly a misguided scheme cooked up by some too-clever IRS drones, it doesn't matter. Conservatives are right to be outraged and right to demand a full investigation. They suspect there might be more to it, and so would I if the shoe were on the other foot. We need to find out for sure whether this episode was just moronic, or if it had some kind of partisan motivation.

Absolutely right. I don't care (well, I do) that conservatives ignored our pleas for justice when the Bush administration was sending the IRS after groups opposed to his agenda (and they did), it's wrong to use the IRS as a tool for partisan reasons.

Leave the Stupid to the Republicans

Because, while they're better at it, it doesn't help when our side is saying stupid things like this.

Sissy Boy LaPierre Steps in it Again

National Rifle Association Executive Vice President Wayne LaPierre (what do you want to bet that sissy last name led Wayne to be such a bully), had this to say recently: "How many Bostonians wished they had a gun two weeks ago?"

What an asshole.

He then ironically followed with this statement: “Boston proves it. When brave law enforcement officers did their job in that city so courageously, good guys with guns stopped terrorists with guns.”

Yep, well-trained professionals. If LaPierre had been there I’d bet two or three other innocents would have been visiting hospitals. STFU.

Looking for some bi-partisan love from my friend, James Wigderson.

Profiles in Teabaggery

You can't make this shit up.  A New Hampshire state legislator believes the government was behind the Boston bombings because one of the injured, who lost both legs, did not appear to be in pain in a picture taken just after the explosions.

I wonder if my friend, James Wigderson, will go all bi-partisan and denounce this nutcase.

R.I.P. Roger Ebert

I only knew Roger Ebert from his movie reviews.  What I have learned today is he was an unabashed, unafraid liberal.  He called out opponents of ObamaCare.  He called out the corporations and their political lackeys who prey on the sick and the poor for profit.  He said this about ObamaCare:

"My reasoning brings me back again and again to these truths: Health care is good. There comes a time in most lives when we will need it. Apart from the very richest sliver of people at the top, no one can afford to have a really major illness. Even with an excellent insurance plan, they'll find there is a limit to the costs that can be paid. If they are so sick they lose their jobs, chances are their job-connected insurance will be lost, too. If they are lucky and recover, they'll have a Pre-Existing Condition that makes them uninsurable. They can't risk getting sick again.

Every Western democracy except ours offers Universal Health Care. It is not always perfect, and we are told horror stories about this or that case in Canada or France. In America our horror stories are worse, because they're caused not by imperfections in a health care system, but by the complete absence of one. Many people know of at least one family that has been destroyed as a unit by the unavailability of affordable health care."

I always laughed at those "horror" stories the wingnuts would use as reasons not to pass ObamaCare.  Ebert was absolutely correct.  For every one "horror" story from Cananda, there are probably hundreds of real horror stories resulting from the crass neglect and indifference of corporate-run healthcare.

Rest in peace, Roger Ebert.

Why KFC is Switching to Boneless Chicken

Because they will be easier to catch.

Ba-dump.

The Face of Modern Conservatism, Part 4

North Carolina.

From Wonkette:

"So let’s sum up today in North Carolina news that you can use, shall we? Don’t move there if you’re any religion that isn’t Christianity. Don’t move there if you’re at all attached to the Constitution, except probably the Second Amendment. Don’t move there if you’re a parent that has a kid in college and needs the tax deduction for said child to continue, which it totally should because you’re paying for the little brat’s everything. Don’t move there if you’re a college kid that wants to vote where you go to college. Don’t move there if you need to vote at any “unusual” times. Don’t move there right before an election, because you won’t be able to register on election day. You know what? Just don’t move there."

The Face of Modern Conservatism, Part 3

Local attorney Rick Esenberg epitomizes the modern face of conservatism.  In the March 22 edition of the JournalSentinel he feeds the sheeple by asking seemingly reasonable questions of voter ID opponents in the wake of voting fraud charges recently being made.  He doesn’t mention (he does link) that only ten charges were filed and none of the alleged infractions would have been prevented by voter ID laws.  Ten charges out of how many millions of ballots cast in the last election?  It’s hardly the massive voter fraud imagined by the fevered minds on the right.

They’re dishonest questions.  The only purpose is to reinforce the idea that voter fraud is a problem in Wisconsin.  It’s a hack job.

The Face of Modern Conservatism, Part 2

Former South Carolina GOP executive director, Todd Kincannon, likes the military so much that he wishes one member had come home dead. He tweeted this to Iraqi war veteran, Mike Prysner:

"You are an Iraq veteran? Shame you didn’t come home in a body bag."

It’s all about the compassion for our fearless modern conservative, who didn’t fight alongside Mr. Prysner … other priorities I’m sure.

The Face of Modern Conservatism, Part 1

Mop sink may be used to bathe Muslim feet.

According to the Associated Press, “Members of the state House and Senate contacted [Tennessee] state Senate Clerk Russell Humphrey to ask if the floor-level sink had been installed outside the House chamber men’s restroom to accommodate Muslims’ ritual of washing their feet before prayer.”

The hilarity never ends.

It's Republicans Who Have Destroyed Debate

My friend, James Wigderson, piled on yesterday in a post titled “Can Democrats be Taken Seriously.” It’s bad enough that he diminishes the crimes that were committed by Scott Walker associates, some of which were occurring just down the hall from Walker’s office. What’s even more ridiculous (aside from using Media Trackkers as a source ... really, James?) is the attempt, again, to resurrect the silly Dahmer/Walker tweet initiated by then Democratic spokesperson Graeme Zielinski to tarnish Dems as a whole.

As I stated previously at his site, the Zielinski tweets were inartful, and frankly, reprehensible. However, James, like his cohorts on the right, continues to imply the tweets were a direct comparison of the two when in fact Zielinski was comparing the legal teams employed by the two individuals. Walker’s defense fund and the legal representation he employed were unprecedented for a sitting governor who claimed he had nothing to fear. One can’t help but wonder if the lips of Tim Russell, Kathy Reindfleisch and the others weren’t sewn shut with golden thread.

You want to know what’s more reprehensible? It’s Scott Walker comparing himself as a wounded victim, because of the anti-Walker policy protests, to Gabby Giffords, the actually headshot-wounded representative from Arizona. Again frankly, Giffords is a hero, Walker is not. To even try to compare himself favorably to the grievously wounded Giffords is pathetic. For James to not see the difference is sad.

In reality it’s the Republicans who have lowered the quality of political debate and done their utmost to be as partisan as possible. It’s Republicans who have gone after citizens – actual citizens of this state – and attacked their means of employment, tried to suppress their voting rights, and illegally gerrymandered districts to ensure a Republican majority though the majority voted against Republicans in the last election.

The day your side stops directly assaulting the rights of Wisconsin citizens is the day we can talk.

It Ain't Hate I Regurgitate

I made it through about 30 seconds.  This is what homeschooling does to you, or being related to dad29, though there is no proof of the latter.

This Is So Fabulous

From the comment section over at Sadly, No! is this unveiling of the Homo Agenda ... For dad29, the most butt-sex obsessed individual I've ever had the distinct not-pleasure to encounter.  Now that their agenda is revealed, daddio can rest easier, without that uncomfortable chastity belt locked around his mid-section.

6:00 am -- Gym

8:00 am -- Breakfast (oatmeal and egg whites)

9:00 am -- Hair appointment

10:00 am -- Shopping (preferably at Marshall Fields’s, Macy’s or Nordstom’s)

12:00 pm -- Brunch

2:00 pm

1) Assume complete control of the U.S. Federal, State, and Local Governments, as well as all other national governments,

2) destroy all healthy marriages,

3) replace all school counselors in grades K-12 with agents of Colombian and Jamaican drug cartels,

4) bulldoze all houses of worship,

5) secure total control of the Internet and all mass media, and

6) be fabulous

2:30 pm -- Get forty winks of beauty rest to prevent facial wrinkles from the stress of world conquest

4:00 pm -- Cocktails

6:00 pm -- Light Dinner (soup, salad [with arugula and balsamic vinegar dressing], Chardonnay)

8:00 pm -- Theater

10.30 pm -- Cocktails in the ‘hood

12:00 am -- Bed (du jour)