Retiring Guy's Digest: 2017-01-29

Saturday, February 4, 2017

Trump's America: McHenry County, Illinois

Source: U.S. Census Bureau QuickFacts

Source: Wikipedia

Source: CNN

Trump Supporters Cheer Quick Starts On Campaign Promises In His First Weeks. (NPR, 2/2/2017)

The coffee-shop wisdom of Trump voters. At Short Stacks, a small diner on Main Street, Ginger Underwood sits at a table with her two adult daughters. She voted for Donald Trump and says that, so far, she is glad she did. "I think Trump is doing exactly what he said he was going to do when he ran for office," she says. "So that's fine with me, that he's doing what he's doing."

Meet the professional anarchists, thugs and paid protesters who flooded State Street and the Capitol Square in Madison WI

@realDonaldTrump

[Yawn] Guess somebody was tired when they added this link to the Wheeler Report

Among Wheeler Report listings for 2/3/2017 (highlight added)

Reuters, 2/3/2017

...wages barely rose.....increased by only three cents, suggesting that there was still some slack in the labor market.

As the Brotherhood of Man once sang with heartfelt intensity, united we stand, divided we fall

Source used for all 3 graphs: CNN/ORC poll

A successful British pop group at home, this U.S. one-hit wonder made their first of 4 appearances on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending April 18, 1970. "United We Stand" debuted at #93 and spent 15 weeks on the chart, peaking at #13.

Related post:
Apparently, for some folks, foreign affairs, immigration, and terrorism have little to do with national security. (2/4/2017)
UPDATE. Fake news: Rasmussen continues to prop up Trump's approval rating. (2/3/2017)

Apparently, for some folks, foreign affairs, immigration, and terrorism have little to do with national security

CNN poll (January 31-February 2)

First Trump approval ratings lag behind past presidents. (CNN, 2/3/2017)

That would be CNN's first post-inauguration poll, conducted in association with ORC International.

Meanwhile, Trump continues to go off the rails on Twitter.

Montana legislator wants to clear up confusion among state's judges

Photo credit: Montana Cowgirl Blog

Reported in Montana Senate endorses anti-Sharia law bill. (Great Fall Tribune, 2.2.2017)

The bill prevents state judges from applying foreign laws in their courtrooms. The bill by Republican Sen. Keith Regier of Kalispell does not mention Sharia law, which is used in some parts of the Islamic world, but that has been the main topic in debate over the measure.

Democratic Sen. Diane Sands of Missoula said earlier this week the bill addresses a problem that doesn’t exist in Montana, and it only creates dissension among citizens.

Jennifer, perhaps clarity can be better achieved by strengthening the state's Judicial Education requirements.

Friday, February 3, 2017

Donald Trump and our amazing, tremendous, terrific Constitution

From 2/2/2017 email blast

As originally counting enslaved blacks as three-fifths of the number of white inhabitants of a state for the purpose of representation in Congress. (13th Amendment, 1865; 14th Amendment,
1868; 15th Amendment, 1870)

As originally having Senators chosen by state legislatures, not by a vote of the people. (17th Amendment, 1913)

As originally prohibiting women to vote. (19th Amendment, 1920)

Previous servings of pablum:
Believe me! (1/31/2017)
A staggering display of incompetence. (1/28/2017)

Wisconsin is open for pay to play

Michigan Donors Get State Contract. (Urban Milwaukee, 1/31/2017)

Search skills trump legislative action to hide data. Thank you, Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. Walker’s campaign report, which covered the last four months of 2016, did not identify any of the five contributors as being with J & B Medical Supply because campaign finance laws were changed in 2015 to provide less information to the public about big campaign donors. Previous state law required candidates to identify the employers and occupations of individuals who contributed more than $100 annually. Now, candidates only have to identify a large contributor’s occupation.

UPDATE: Snubbed GOP Assembly rep wants to punish sanctuary cities

Reported in State Republicans reintroduce proposal to penalize sanctuary cities. (Madison.com, 2/3/2017)

Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director of immigrant rights group Voces de la Frontera, said Brandtjen’s bill is “a way to put the machinery in place for mass deportations and profiling.”

She said it doesn’t promote safety, because it makes immigrants afraid to contact police to report crimes, and it also infringes on a local government’s constitutional right under the 10th Amendment not to enforce federal law.

Other Janel posts:
Planned Parenthood defunding queen Janel Brandtjen peddles patently false information. (9/8/2016)
State Assembly races: 3 suburban Milwaukee Republicans running unopposed. (7/19/2016)
UPDATE: Gasket-blowin' Bob Gannon brings his own stir stick to cauldron of fear. (6/9/2016)
Dear Janel Brandtjen, the American Academy of Pediatrics has 64,000 members. (9/15/2015)

Original 12/9/2016 post, "Thank you, Robin Vos, for snubbing these 3 nutburgers for committee chair assignments", starts here.

Clearly, you have gubernatorial aspirations.

Three Assembly conservatives hit back at Robin Vos for committee leadership snubs. (Madison.com, 12/9/2016)

Vos did not immediately respond to the criticism Thursday. Earlier in the week, top Republicans, including Vos and two GOP senators, Duey Stroebel and Chris Kapenga [2 of the top nutburgers in the State Senate], clashed on whether lawmakers should consider increasing gas taxes or vehicle registration fees in the next legislative session.

The chronciles of

Janel Brandtjen
Andre Jacque
Jesse Kremer, head nut, though I'm probably pissing off the gasket-blowin' Bob Gannon with this shout-out.

UPDATE. Wisconsin GOP play fast and loose with taxpayer dollars

Photo source: Twitter

Reported in GOP lawmakers to write blank check to hire lawyers. (Madison.com, 2/2/2017)

$800 an hour? $1300? Nobody is quite sure. Likely to be more than just 1 check. Maybe folks should contact these legislators and ask them to explain why they took this unconscionable action. The Assembly Republicans who approved hiring the law firms were Vos, Steineke, Knodl, Brooks and Speaker Pro Tem Tyler August of Lake Geneva. The Senate Republicans signing off on it were Fitzgerald, Senate President Roger Roth of Appleton and Leah Vukmir of Brookfield.

Original 2/2/2017 post, "Wisconsin redistricting: Foot-dragging Republicans take closed-door approach in fight against judge's ruling".

Reported in Wisconsin GOP to hire law firms to defend redistricting. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/1/2017)

No surprises here. Wisconsin GOP legislators have always preferred to keep a cloak of secrecy over the redistricting process, as they did to insure Van Wanggaard's return to the Senate.

The current 21st State Senate District no longer includes the city of Racine, with its 22.6% black and 20.7% Hispanic population. (The orange line represents I-94, i.e., a physically, socioeconomically, and politically significant line of demarcation.)

The previous 21st State Senate District included the city of Racine and didn't extend into Kenosha County.

Reported in Senator: No redistricting reform. (Racine Journal Times, 9/13/2015)

Related reading:
PolitiFact: Lehman says new state Senate district was drawn in secret for Wanggaard within half a block of his house. (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/26/2012)

Related posts:
Wisconsin redistricting: Judges saw evidence, reached obvious conclusion, part 1. (1/28/2017)
Part 2. (1/28/2017)
Part 3. (1/28/2017)

Thursday, February 2, 2017

Pat Buchanan airs the GOP's dirty little secret about immigration 'reform'

As opined (in italics) in What Trump's Wall Says to the World. (Patrick J. Buchanan, the Official Website)

Selectively. Very selectively. President Trump’s wall is a statement to the world: This is our country. We decide who comes here. And we will defend our borders.

Related post:
Expect no less from Pat Buchanan b/w Old white man freaks out about diversity. (2/2/2017)

Expect no less from Pat Buchanan b/w Old white man freaks out about diversity

Pat Buchanan served as White House adviser and speechwriter to President Richard Nixon. He is credited with coining the phrase "The Silent Majority".

Source: Wikipedia

As opined (in italics) in What Trump's Wall Says to the World. (Patrick J. Buchanan, the Official Website)

President with emotional development of 6 year old attends National Prayer Breakfast, settles scores

Sounds like Scott Walker is still yearning to be on bigger stage

Once again, Scott Walker thinks the future's so bright.....

Scott Walker spoke with White House about taking Act 10 to Washington. (Madison.com, 2/2/2017)

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 2/1/2017

Hello, Sean Duffy. I think you now have something else to consider.

1956 family vacation: From Montana to Massachusetts and back, by car

July 1956. Waiting our turn to board the ferry to cross the Straits of Mackinac. At this point on our family vacation, we have traveled nearly 1,500 miles. I remember the ear-splitting cacophony -- though I surely didn't use that word then -- of the seagulls, but not much else. For the most part, I have to re-enter this trip with the assistance of these photos in order to excavate any memories still inside my head. (From Great Falls, Montana.)

We still had nearly 1,000 miles to reach our next destination, Springfield, Massachusetts, Mom's hometown. That's about a 5,000-mile round trip, with a 6, 4, and 2 year old -- in the days before the interstate highway system, which President set in motion on June 29, 1956, with the signing of the Federal Aid Highway Act.

Construction started in 1954, and the bridge opened on November 1, 1957.

Barb and her brothers get their first look at an ocean.

Grandpa and Grandma Luthgren meet their granddaughter for the first time. (The other couple is my mom's younger sister's in-laws.)

Grandma reminds me a bit of Ethel Barrymore, without the imperiousness, and Grandpa of Tip O'Neill, without the Irishness. I come a long line of Swedes.)

Cooling off in Rockford, Illinois, Dad's hometown, before the long trip home. (It makes a nice caption, right? I have no idea on which of the 10 days in Rockford this photo was taken.)