Saturday, March 22, 2014

Badgers Adjust in Second Half




Giraffes: Two Different Worlds

 
 

Wisconsin Assembly Dems Who Need to Vote with the NRA to Protect Their Re-election Chances

Including Robb Kahl (D-Monona)??

 
Assembly passes bill on shooting ranges.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/18/2014)

Yes, folks, once again the Republicans, with an assist from 8 Democrats, uphold one of their most cherished principles:  local control.   The bill would allow any shooting range in operation as of July 16, 2013 to continue at its location regardless of any local ordinances.

The bill also makes the owners, board and employees of shooting ranges immune from lawsuits based on the negligence of a shooter at the range.

NRA news release.

Related posts:
Republican Hypocrisy: The "Hits" to Local Control Just Keep on Coming.  (2/28/2014)
Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorial board calls out Republican hypocrisy.  (2/17/2014)
And the hypocrisy just keeps on coming: Republicans can't even give lip service to their "Principles". (2/14/2014)
Yet another lesson in Republican hypocrisy.  (2/13/2014)
Another lesson in hypocrisy: Wisconsin Republicans disparage Mary Burke for her wealth.  (1/31/2014)
A lesson in hypocrisy, Waukesha County edition.  (1/29/2014)
Your Wisconsin Republican Assembly hard at work promoting Governor Walker's jobs agenda (and GOP principles).  (11/15/2013)

If I Were a Longview Resident, I'd Suggest That Arleen, Joel, Sara, and Greg Take Up a Collection Among Themselves

You can email them here.


Texas city to pay Ted Nugent $16,000 to stay away from their 4th of July celebration.  (The Raw Story, 3/21/2014)

But, obviously, it will have an impact Longview Public Information Officer Shawn Hara explained that the buy-out would not significantly impact the city’s ability to pay for the festival, but that having Nugent appear was, “not the right feel for this kind of community event.”


Retired Art Teacher Works With Mead Public Library to Save Murals



Left hanging: Former teacher seeks home for Washington School murals.  (Sheboygan Press, 3/21/2014)

Seven murals, some of the them created mostly by students, a project that dates back to the late 1970s.

A painting of a carnival scene, by the artist Susan Gardels, is now on display in the children's area of the Mead Library.

The Mead Public Library participated in a murals conservation project in the summer of 1996.

Edgar Cameron, Painter.  (Brush and Pencil, July 1901.)

Friday, March 21, 2014

The Naperville Public Library's Idea Lab


What's available?
  • 3-D scanner
  • Design software .
  • 3-D printer
  • Equipment to convert VHS tapes, DVD's, vinyl records and cassette tapes into digital files
  • Adobe Premiere Elements .
  • GarageBand.
  • Adobe Creative Suite
  • Wacom Bamboo tablet
  • ScanSnap
  • Equip to convert slides and negatives into digital format .
  • Adobe Photoshop Elements to organize, document, and enhance your photos. •Program in
  • Java, C++,
  • Visual Basic,
  • Scratch and more! •
  • Create podcasts .
  • Green Screen


Puffs for the Lamps of China

Bloomberg Hints at Curb On Articles on China.  (The New York Times, 3/20/2014)

Can you spell "corporate news"?  Bloomberg, the financial data and news company, relies on sales of its terminals, which are ubiquitous on bankers’ desks around the world, for about 82 percent of its $8.5 billion in revenue. But sales of those terminals in China declined after the company published an article in June 2012 on the family wealth of Xi Jinping, at that time the incoming Communist Party chief.

In 1983, 50 corporations controlled a majority of American media. Now [2013] that number is six.


Diverging Diamond Interchanges: Welcome to the Next Road Design Freakout



First roundabouts, now diverging diamonds: WisDOT's new design for Brown Deer Road/I-43 interchange. (Wisconsin Business Journal, 3/20/2014)

How does a 'diverging diamond' work?   It means drivers approaching the highway on Brown Deer Road would cross over the centerline and drive on what is traditionally the left, or wrong, side of the street while on the overpass bridge. At the opposite end of the bridge, they would be directed back onto the right side of the road. The crossover points would be regulated by intersections with stop lights.

Got a feelin' that, at a minimum, the "wrong side of the road" flow might be too much for some people to handle.

"The diverging diamond interchange" even has an official website.

And at least one vociferous critic.

The 'Diverging Diamond' Interchange Is an Abomination.  (The Atlantic, 11/8/2011)

The song has nothing to do with any of this; it's just one that I've always like and haven't heard in years.

What's in Their Wallets? Wisconsin Legislative Campaign Cash Balances

(Highlights added)
Rep. Penny Bernard Schaber (D-Appleton) is challenging Sen. Mike Ellis, who was first elected to the Wisconsin State Assembly in 1970 and to the State Senate in 1982.

Highlighted in the candidate column:
  • Legislative campaign committee with largest balance.
  • Scott Fitzgerald, Senate Majority Leader
  • Robin Voss, Assembly Speaker
  • Chris Larson, Minority Leader

The Tentacles of Charles and David Koch

Photos source:  Wikipedia

Koch Group, Spending Freely, Hones Attack on Government.  (The New York Times, 3/20/2014)

With a combined net worth of $72 billion, the Koch Brothers want to speak for all of us. Americans for Prosperity — the group backed by David H. and Charles G. Koch that has been pouring millions of dollars into competitive Senate races to the rising alarm of Democrats — was also among the politically active groups on the ground in this month’s special House election on Florida’s Gulf Coast. 

But its agenda had little to do with the fate of David Jolly, the Republican candidate who won that race.

Their agenda:  A return to America's Gilded Age.
Created by Udo J. Keppler (1904)
Source:  Wikipedia


Source:  Wikipedia

Their tentacles -- and their money -- is reaching into northern Wisconsin.

Koch brothers group pushes mine issue in Iron County election.  (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/20/2014)

Ideology at all cost. The campaign — launched this week by Americans for Prosperity, a group founded by billionaire conservative businessmen Charles and David Koch — isn’t the first time an advocacy group from the right or the left has waded into small-town politics. 

But in a county where candidates seldom bother to campaign because there are almost never any challengers, people took note when they found, among the bills and junk mail, glossy, full-color flyers warning of “radicals” who were about to shut down businesses and put families on welfare. 

This type of outside attack was repelled in Coralville, Iowa, last November.  You can do it, too, voters of Iron County.

Related posts:
Shocker: Wall Street willful ignorance on editorial page.  (3/9/2014)
People like us, sez Charles and David Koch.  (2/22/2014)
Americans for Prosperity (of Koch Brothers) already pumping big bucks into 2014 election attack ads.  (1/15/2014)
They pledge allegiance to the Koch Brothers.  (7/3/2013)
Scott Walker does his masters' bidding.  (2/14/2013)

Thursday, March 20, 2014

The Next Time Anyone Sez the Wisconsin Badgers are a One-Dimentional Team, Show Them This Table

Wisconsin Badgers

Freak Out Much?



Blowing this hire all out of proportion.


Headline makes it sound as though Kathy is Wisconsin's new election czar.  Her responsibilities are limited to the Town of Waukesha, Anomaly.  (Population:  9133)

Yeah, Right!



Rush Limbaugh's Demographics: Women Are Not in His Orbit

But older, white, and childless men. In abundance.  (Arrows added.)


Maybe we should ask how many are divorced or never married.  (Media Matters for America)


I Suppose Scott Walker Has His Own Method of Counting

Office of the Governor

I think we need a dose of reality.

Source (excluding highlight):  Milwaukee Journal Sentinel

From September 2012 to September 2013, Wisconsin lost a net total of 748 manufacturing jobs.    

Did companies hire 13,838 employees during the last 3 months of 2013?

Related posts:
For Scott Walker and his jobs promotion message, it's deja vu all over again.  (3/20/2014)
I suppose this isn't on Scott Walker's radar either:  Wisconsin ranks 35th in job creation.  (3/20/2014)
Wisconsin jobs deficit.  (9/27/2013)
Putting Wisconsin's jobs creation picture in perspective.  (9/27/2013)
The Walker way:  Whatever.  (9/24/2013)
The Blue and the Gold: Wisconsin's Jobs Deficit.  (9/3/2013)
Scott Walker's mantra.  (8/2/2013)
Less than zero.  (6/17/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 49th in Federal Reserve Bank's "imperfect" index.  (6/6/2013)
Wishful thinking at WEDC.  (5/23/2013)
And what alternative universe do these employers inhabit?  (5/21/2013)
Wisconsin added 19,000 jobs in 2012.  (5/18/2013)
Scott Walker all a-tingle over yesterday's news.  (5/18/2013)
From the looks of it, Wisconsin's jobs loss is in free fall.  (5/18/2013)
Spin Cycle: The Walker Administration Diverts Our Attention from the Latest (Disturbing) Jobs Numbers. (5/17/2013)
Bringing up the rear in job growth.  (3/8/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 43rd in job growth during the past year.  (11/23/2012)

For Scott Walker and his Jobs Promotion Message, It's Deja Vu All Over Again

wearegreenbay.com

One year later......

Wisconsin ninth among 10 Midwestern states in job growth under Walker. (Capital Times, 3/20/2014)

Not the kind of news you want to brag about.   According to the CEW, Wisconsin was trailing all neighboring states in job growth except for Illinois, which saw a 0.7 percent increase in jobs over the period. 

In terms of just private sector jobs, Wisconsin added 28,351 for the one-year period, a gain of 1.2 percent vs. 2.0 for the nation as a whole. That ranked the state 35th.

Rallying the team, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development is already in furious spin mode.


Actually, I thought it was against the law to campaign on state time.

Related posts:
I suppose this isn't on Scott Walker's radar either:  Wisconsin ranks 35th in job creation.  (3/20/2014)
Wisconsin jobs deficit.  (9/27/2013)
Putting Wisconsin's jobs creation picture in perspective.  (9/27/2013)
The Walker way:  Whatever.  (9/24/2013)
The Blue and the Gold: Wisconsin's Jobs Deficit.  (9/3/2013)
Scott Walker's mantra.  (8/2/2013)
Less than zero.  (6/17/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 49th in Federal Reserve Bank's "imperfect" index.  (6/6/2013)
Wishful thinking at WEDC.  (5/23/2013)
And what alternative universe do these employers inhabit?  (5/21/2013)
Wisconsin added 19,000 jobs in 2012.  (5/18/2013)
Scott Walker all a-tingle over yesterday's news.  (5/18/2013)
From the looks of it, Wisconsin's jobs loss is in free fall.  (5/18/2013)
Spin Cycle: The Walker Administration Diverts Our Attention from the Latest (Disturbing) Jobs Numbers. (5/17/2013)
Bringing up the rear in job growth.  (3/8/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 43rd in job growth during the past year.  (11/23/2012)

I Suppose This Isn't on Scott Walker's Radar Either: Wisconsin Ranks 35th in Private-Sector Job Creation

Wisconsin adds 28,351 private-sector jobs over 12 months. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/19/2014)

DWD has already put a Pollyanna spin on this.   According to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, Wisconsin gained 28,351 private-sector jobs in the 12 months from September 2012 through September 2013 — a 1.2% increase that ranked the state 35th among the 50 states in the pace of job creation during that period.

Gain/loss by employment sector

According to this Capital Times bar graph, Wisconsin ranks 32nd since Scott Walker took office as Governor.


Related posts:
Wisconsin jobs deficit.  (9/27/2013)
Putting Wisconsin's jobs creation picture in perspective.  (9/27/2013)
The Walker way:  Whatever.  (9/24/2013)
The Blue and the Gold: Wisconsin's Jobs Deficit.  (9/3/2013)
Scott Walker's mantra.  (8/2/2013)
Less than zero.  (6/17/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 49th in Federal Reserve Bank's "imperfect" index.  (6/6/2013)
Wishful thinking at WEDC.  (5/23/2013)
And what alternative universe do these employers inhabit?  (5/21/2013)
Wisconsin added 19,000 jobs in 2012.  (5/18/2013)
Scott Walker all a-tingle over yesterday's news.  (5/18/2013)
From the looks of it, Wisconsin's jobs loss is in free fall.  (5/18/2013)
Spin Cycle: The Walker Administration Diverts Our Attention from the Latest (Disturbing) Jobs Numbers. (5/17/2013)
Bringing up the rear in job growth.  (3/8/2013)
Wisconsin ranks 43rd in job growth during the past year.  (11/23/2012)

Wednesday, March 19, 2014

Yikes! One Man is Partiallly Responsible for 3 of the Worst Songs of the 70s

Sadly, all 3 reached the top 10.  Two of them made it to #1.

Peter Callander, Lyricist of Pop Hits in ’60s and ’70s, Dies at 74. (The New York Times, 3/18/2014)






IMLS Public Libraries in the United States Survey (Fiscal Year 2011) Library Staffing

Public Libraries in the United States Survey 2011



Increases and decreases:
  • 8.4% increase in FTE total library staff from 2001-2008.
  • 5.2% decrease in FTE total library staff from 2008-2011.
  • 9.6% increase in FTE ALA-MLS staff from 2001-2009.
  • 4.5% decrease in FTE ALA-MLS staff from 2009-2011.

Payday Lenders Already Got the Attention of Wisconsin State Legislators (and You Can Imagine How That Turned Out)


On May 20, 2013, Scott Walker received two $500 contributions from employees of PLS Financial Services.

And just look at all these $500 LoanMax contributions to Wisconsin Republican legislators and candidates in 2012 and 2013.   (A quote from the 2nd linked article in this paragraph.  But Vos said he didn't push the measure with the expectation that LoanMax and others might start contributing to his GOP candidates. "Of course not," he said. )


It didn't used to be this way, but apparently, enough Democrats listened to their consciences.

Meanwhile, just to our south......

Costly Loans Are Drawing Attention From States.  (The New York Times, 3/18/2014)

I guess she can't be bought.   The crackdown gained momentum on Tuesday when the Illinois attorney general, Lisa Madigan, accused All Credit Lenders of misleading borrowers into taking out expensive loans that come with insurance products that they do not need or cannot use.

Consultants Recommend 3 Sites for New Downtown Appleton Public Library


Appleton library consultant recommends 3 sites for new downtown home. Appleton Post-Crescent, 3/18/2014)

The top 3 sites of the 12 considered:
  1. A swath of land south of the Soldier Square parking ramp near the riverfront scored highest in the study. The site has three variations including land occupied by Trinity Lutheran Church, the University of Wisconsin Health clinic and Fox Banquets & Rivertyme Catering.
  2. .....block occupied by Post-Crescent Media, 222 Building LLC’s parking lot, Hoersch Home Appliance and a vacant commercial plot.
  3. Current library location.

City of Appleton capital improvement budget has
2015:  $1,500,000 for site preparation and $16 million in
2016-17:   $16,000,000 for construction of a new 120,688-square-foot library.


Related posts:
Appleton Public Library hires Godfrey's Associates to gather data and public input on future of library.  (8/19/2012)
Appleton Public Library Colleen Rortvedt interviews on Post-Crescent's newsmakers.  (4/19/2012)
Community conversations bbout the Appleton Public Library.  (4/18/2012)
"Quirky" Geenan favors new Appleton library over downtown exhibition center.  (2/14/2012)
Post-Crescent editorial board agrees with decision to wait on library building project.  (7/18/2011)
Appleton Public Library Director Colleen Rortvedt provides context to Post-Crescent article on library expansion.  (7/7/2011)
New library placed on indefinite hold.  (7/6/2011)
On the need for a new library.  (2/4/2011)
Director responds to 'frequently observed misconceptions'. (12/4/2009)
Readers weigh in on new library. (11/9/2009)
Mayor provides his perspective on library planning process.  (10/7/2009)
Post-Crescent supports next step in library facilities planning process.  (10/6/2009)
Financing options for Appleton's library project.  (10/6/2009)
Potential sites for new library under discussion.  (10/4/2009)
Membership of capital facilities committee for library project approved.  (8/7/2009)
Terry Dawson's discusses Appleton library building project.  (7/16/2009)
Library building project update.  (6/18/2009)
Appleton's library planning escapes budget cuts.  (11/13/2008)
Post-Crescent endorses library design study.  (11/11/2008)
Study:  New library should be built downtown.  (7/10/2008)

Tuesday, March 18, 2014

How Robin Vos Views People


Assembly to consider cancer drug bill after Senate passes it 30-2. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/18/2014)

I think he meant to say, "People are supposed to work for me!"  Before the session had even gotten fully started, Vos interrupted a discussion on the floor between Strachota and another Republican. 

"Stop talking about it!" Vos told Strachota. 

Vos said later that he had lost his cool — unusual for Vos, particularly with a fellow Republican — because he expected lawmakers of his party to stay together. 

"People are supposed to work with you," he said.


When Speaker Vos Sez Jump, His Minions in the Assembly ask "How high?"

State Senate overwhelmingly passes cancer drug bill, but it faces murky future in Assembly. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/18/2014)

And what does Ms. Window-dressing have to say? Majority Leader Pat Strachota, R-West Bend, the lead sponsor of the bill in the Assembly, told Barca that she was "working diligently" on behalf of the bill. But Strachota added that she needs to discuss the issue with her fellow Republicans to make sure the majority of the caucus supports the bill.

And what does she have to show for her "diligence"?

All of the Repubs in the Assembly, including Strachota, vote "no".





Library Weeding Alert


Kevin Trudeau Sentenced to 10 Years Over Claims in Diet Book.  (The Guardian, 3/18/2014)

The word you're thinking of is "incorrigible".  Best-selling American author Kevin Trudeau, whose name became synonymous with late-night TV pitches, has been sentenced to 10 years in prison for swindling consumers through infomercials for his book about weight loss.

As he imposed the sentence prosecutors had requested, district judge Ronald Guzman portrayed 50-year-old Trudeau as a habitual fraudster from early adulthood. So brazen was Trudeau, the judge said, he once even used his own mother's social security number during a scam.

Heroin at the Ann Arbor District Library

And from the sound of it, head-in-the-sand denial on the part of some members of the Ann Arbor City Council.

Photo source:   Concentrate 

Library director sounds alarm on heroin use in downtown Ann Arbor library. (mlive, 3/18/2014)

What's been happening at the downtown library:
  • Police visits every 3 days
  • 5 overdoses in the library during the past 3 1/2 years
  • Ceiling tiles removed from men's restroom to prevent the stashing of drugs
  • $250,000 in annual security personnel costs

The Odyssey of Flight 370: Has CNN Considered This Possibility?



CNN's Ratings Surge With Coverage of the Mystery of the Missing Airliner.    (The New York Times, 3/17/2014)

This can probably be taken as a "yes".  At one point the anchor Don Lemon used a toy model of the plane to illustrate a point being made by one of CNN’s aviation experts. During another interview, Mr. Lemon raised the question of whether something otherworldly happened to the plane. 

“Especially today, on a day when we deal with the supernatural, we go to church, the supernatural power of God,” Mr. Lemon said. “People are saying to me, why aren’t you talking about the possibility — and I’m just putting it out there — that something odd happened to this plane, something beyond our understanding?”


The 25 Best Twilight Zone Episodes...#2 - "The Odyssey of Flight 33".  (Yahoo, 12/10/2009)

Not to mention no CNN "visual pizzaz".  There is no resolution in The Odyssey of Flight 33. No happy ending. No explanation of events. We are left to wonder what happened to this wayward flight as Captain Farver tries again to return home.

Rep. Chad Weininger Tired of Working Under Speaker Vos's Thumb?

State Rep. Weininger confirms interest in Brown County post. (Green Bay Press-Gazette, 3/17/2014)

Recruited, looking to bail, or somewhere in-between?  State Rep. Chad Weininger, R-Allouez, confirmed today he has applied for the position of director of administration under Brown County Executive Troy Streckenbach. 

Here's his resume as it appears on the Wisconsin State Assembly website:
  • Former city clerk of Green Bay
  • Foreign service, U.S. State Department
  • Chief of staff for mayor of Green Bay
  • Deputy chief of staff to Cong. Mark Green
  • Staff assistant to state senator Robert Cowles
  • Former small business owner

Seems to me he might prefer working closer to home, which, for now, puts it in the "somewhere in-between" category.

Weininger won his first Assembly race in 2010 with 57.6% of the vote.

He was re-elected in 2012 with 55.6% of the vote.

Source of previous 2 graphics:  Ballotpedia


Public libraries in the 4th Assembly District:
Brown County Public

State Senator Mary Lazich Shows Her True Colors

And, in the process, tells us what legislation like SB324 is all about.

Early voting popular in both Republican and Democratic strongholds. (Wisconsin State Journal, 3/17/2014)

Apparently, she gets her talking points from Rep. Paul Ryan.  Sen. Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, chairwoman of the Senate Committee on Elections and Urban Affairs, said voter drives like Souls to the Polls are examples of the types of abuse that a state law passed by Democrats in 1985 expressly warns against.

According to its Facebook page, Souls to the Polls is an ecumenical movement convened solely to empower people to exercise their right to vote by providing free transportation to and from the polls.

If you look at the photos here, you will see people of color.

As you will at these websites:

And yet.....the Wisconsin Council of Churches (WCC) provides voter resources, such as providing suggestions for ways to encourage voter registration.  (Highlight and arrows added.)


Members of the WCC
Member Denominational Units
  • African Methodist Episcopal Church 
  • American Baptist Churches of Wisconsin 
  • Armenian Church of America-Eastern Diocese 
  • Christian Church: Disciples of Christ 
  • Christian Methodist Episcopal 
  • Church Church of God in Christ (COGIC) 
  • Church of the Brethren, Illinois and Wisconsin District 
  • Episcopal Church 
  • Evangelical Lutheran Church in America 
  • Greek Orthodox Church, Diocese of Chicago 
  • Mennonite Church USA 
  • Moravian Church, Western District Orthodox Church in America 
  • Presbyterian Church (USA) 
  • Reformed Church in America 
  • United Church of Christ 
  • United Methodist Church 

Associate Member Judicatories 
  • Church Women United in Madison, WI., Inc. 
  • Interfaith Conference of Greater Milwaukee 
  • Madison-area Urban Ministry 
  • Benedictine Women of Madison 
  • The Leadership Council of Women Religious 

Official Observer Judicatories 
  • Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Milwaukee 
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of Green Bay 
  • Roman Catholic Diocese of LaCrosse

Tell us what's really on your mind, Mary.

Related posts:
Wisconsin Headline? No, the Ohio Legislature Also Approved Model Voter Suppression Legislation from ALEC.  (3/14/2014)
And the hypocrisy just keeps on coming: Republicans can't even give lip service to their "principles".  (2/14/2014)
Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald sez "no" to 40 of his Assembly colleagues.  (12/30/2013)
Your Wisconsin Republican Assembly hard at work promoting Governor Walker's jobs agenda (and GOP principles).  (11/15/2013)
Mary Lazich: Caught in the act of undermining confidence in the voting process.  (11/4/2013) 
The Center for Information and Research on Civic Learning and Engagement asks a question about voter ID laws.  (11/28/2012)
Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) still drinking the Kool-Aid.  (11/12/2012)
Tennessee Supreme Court gives Memphis Public Library cards a thumbs up for voter ID.  (11/4/2012)
Tennessee Court of Appeals ruling pisses off Republicans.  (10/27/2012)
Early voting begins today (Monday, October 22) in Wisconsin.  (10/22/2012)
Judge finds at least one aspect of Tennessee voter ID law "nonsensical".  (8/1/2012)
Judge to weigh in on library cards in Memphis voter ID skirmish.  (7/30/2012)
Library card/voter ID fray in Memphis.  (7/10/2012)
I'd be careful making any long-term Voter ID assessments based on the February 21 primary election turnout.  (2/26/2012)
Hope you signed at least one recall petition, Ruthelle.  (12/5/2011)
True, but why not share a couple of examples with us, Deborah.  (11/11/2011)
Hoping that other state newspapers have similar local news to share.  (10/29/2011)
Walker sez "We're broke" but GAB could spend $600,000 on voter ID public education plan.  (10/12/2011)
ACLU of Wisconsin denounces photo ID policy reversal.  (10/7/2011)
Voter ID:  "A solution without a problem".  (9/25/2011)
Wisconsin State Bar's Civil Rights Section requests AG Holder to monitor Voter ID Bill.  (9/1/2011)
What's the matter with Wisconsin?  (7/27/2011)
Wisconsin Legislative Council information memorandum.  (7/15/2011)
Appleton Alderman Wants Pushback on State Voter ID Bill.  (2/7/2011)

Related reading:
ALEC Exposed:  Democracy, Voter Rights, and Federal Power.  (Center for Media and Democracy, 9/28/2012)
Right-Wing Operatives Take Up ALEC's Voter Suppression Agenda.  (Center for Media and Democracy's PR Watch, 4/19/2012)
Voter Suppression 101.  (Center for American Progress. 4/4/2012)

Scott Walker Finds a New Way to Say "It's not on my radar"

Robin Vos undercutting chemo pill bill despite bipartisan support.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/17/2014)

Fearless leader. Gov. Scott Walker won't say if he supports the bill, but he told reporters during stops Monday in Milwaukee and Janesville that he would not be surprised to see the Legislature vote on the bill this week.




Related posts:
Scott Walker looks into his crystal ball.  (3/17/2014)
Michael Eisenga is not on Scott Walker's radar.  (3/17/2014)
Scott Walker's defective radar.  (3/12/2014)

Monday, March 17, 2014

The Bucks and the Sixers Suck So Fans Are Staying Home

The two worst records in pro basketball.

The two teams with the lowest average attendance.

Recent Little Free Library Fundraisers on Kickstarter



Little Free Library

What Would Mitt Romney Say?

Income Gap, Meet the Longevity Gap.  (The New York Times, 3/15/2014)

Big safety net in McDowell County, West Virginia.  Government assistance accounts for half of the income of county residents.


And yet......

....Romney collected 64% of the vote in McDowell County in the 2012 Presidential election.


In fact, he won every county in West Virginia.

Related post:
It's More Than 350 Miles from Fairfax County Virginia to McDowell County, West Virginia.  (3/17/2014)

It's More Than 350 Miles from Fairfax County Virginia to McDowell County, West Virginia

Income Gap, Meet the Longevity Gap.  (The New York Times, 3/15/2014)

Miles and worlds away. Fairfax County, Va., and McDowell County, W.Va., are separated by 350 miles, about a half-day’s drive.





1950 population
  • Fairfax County: 98,557
  • McDowell County: 98,887


Why Do Poor White Folks Vote Republican? Dog-Whistle Politics Explained.

AP Top 25 NCAA Basketball Poll: Preseason vs. End-of-Regular Season


The "Surprises"

Probably Not a Big Resume Enhancer

Police chief calls open-carry supporter's gun law lesson 'senseless'. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 3/17/2014)

We all have our priorities.  The man, later identified as William Polster, told WTMJ-TV that he was trying to educate the public about Wisconsin's open-carry laws.


Polster in Small Claims Court.