Saturday, January 12, 2019

Scott Walker's toxic legacy: Addiction to political slogans



Other Scott Walker toxic legacy posts:
The first 3 chapters:  environment, transportation, corrections.
Chapter 4:  Wisconsin families can't afford basic necessities edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 5. Scott Walker's shameful legacy: The black-white high-school graduation gap edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 6. Scott Walker's shameful legacy (the higher education edition).  (12/13/2018)
Taking credit where no credit is due.  (1/7/2019)
Not telling the whole story.  (1/7/2019)
Gliding over the disparities.  (1/7/2019)
Voter suppression.  (1/7/2019)
Teacher bashing compounded by cuts to education.  (1/8/2019)
Just fine and dandy with treading water over high school graduation rates.  (1/8/2019)
And then, to make matters worse, he apparently hacks his son's Twitter account.  (1/9/2019)
Dear Scott Walker, You forgot to mention this part of "OUR LEGACY".  Best, Retiring Guy.  (1/12/2019)
Scott Walker's toxic legacy: "Power to the people" hypocrisy" (Taking away local control).  (1/12/2019)
Pay to play the groundwater contamination way.  (1/12/2019)


5/9/2018 #WInotworking UPDATE, "Our sloganeering governor takes credit for tackling opioid epidemic, ignores fact that opioid deaths have doubled during his 7 years in office", starts here.


With another record year of opioid overdose deaths, Wisconsin eyes fixes.  (Wisconsin State Journal.
5/9/2018)

Is that a pun?


Original 3/11/2018 post, "#WInotworking:  Our sloganeering governor trumpets drop in opioid prescriptions, ignores huge spike in ER visits", starts here.

In other words, he focuses on what is essentially meaningless.

@ScottWalker (highlight added)


If this is 'reform', then it's definitely #8isenough time.

Emergency room visits for suspected opioid overdoses increased 109 percent in Wisconsin from July 2016 to September 2017, the highest spike among 16 states closely tracked, federal health officials said Tuesday. 
The ER data show trends in the opioid abuse epidemic before deaths do, said Dr. Anne Schuchat, acting director of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which conducted the study.

Scott Walker's toxic legacy: Pay to play the groundwater contamination way


A company fighting for more than six years to build a mega-dairy near Wisconsin Rapids is in a new legal battle over nitrates that contaminated water supplies near another of its operations.  
[snip]
The Wysocki company has been battling Saratoga residents and town officials since announcing in June 2012 that it planned to build a concentrated animal feeding operation or CAFO, in Saratoga. The proposed Golden Sands Dairy, which would hold about 4,000 cows and have about 6,000 acres of crops where the company will spread the manure from the cows, has been the subject of controversy since it was proposed.

They also enriched Scott Walker's "campaign fund" by $31,126.86 over a period of 5+ years.


Other Scott Walker toxic legacy posts:
The first 3 chapters:  environment, transportation, corrections.
Chapter 4:  Wisconsin families can't afford basic necessities edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 5. Scott Walker's shameful legacy: The black-white high-school graduation gap edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 6. Scott Walker's shameful legacy (the higher education edition).  (12/13/2018)
Taking credit where no credit is due.  (1/7/2019)
Not telling the whole story.  (1/7/2019)
Gliding over the disparities.  (1/7/2019)
Voter suppression.  (1/7/2019)
Teacher bashing compounded by cuts to education.  (1/8/2019)
Just fine and dandy with treading water over high school graduation rates.  (1/8/2019)
And then, to make matters worse, he apparently hacks his son's Twitter account.  (1/9/2019)
Dear Scott Walker, You forgot to mention this part of "OUR LEGACY".  Best, Retiring Guy.  (1/12/2019)
Scott Walker's toxic legacy: "Power to the people" hypocrisy" (Taking away local control).  (1/12/2019)

Dear Scott Walker, You forgot to mention this part of "OUR LEGACY". Best, Retiring Guy



Especially now that he plans to chair Trump's Wisconsin re-election campaign!

Headline from Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 1/11/2019)

It got worse during Walker's last two years in office.  
The $50.6 million spent on overtime last year at adult prisons is 17 percent higher than the $43.1 million spent in 2016, according to a Department of Corrections report to the Legislature's budget committee.
[snip]
Starting wages for officers will increase from $16 an hour to $16.65 an hour this month — a 9.5 percent increase since 2016.  [Annual salary range:  $33,280-34,632]

Related reading:
GOP leaders say wage increases not on table despite Wisconsin prison overtime costs, staffing shortage.  (Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 7/12/2018)
Help wanted at maximum security prisons: Low pay, high stress, dangerous conditions.  (Capital Times, 8/12/2018)

Other legacy posts:
The first 3 chapters:  environment, transportation, corrections.
Chapter 4:  Wisconsin families can't afford basic necessities edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 5. Scott Walker's shameful legacy: The black-white high-school graduation gap edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 6. Scott Walker's shameful legacy (the higher education edition).  (12/13/2018)
Taking credit where no credit is due.  (1/7/2019)
Not telling the whole story.  (1/7/2019)
Gliding over the disparities.  (1/7/2019)
Voter suppression.  (1/7/2019)
Teacher bashing compounded by cuts to education.  (1/8/2019)
Just fine and dandy with treading water over high school graduation rates.  (1/8/2019)
And then, to make matters worse, he apparently hacks his son's Twitter account.  (1/9/2019)

The GOP Wisconsin State Senator from Appleton is a bald-faced liar. Period.


As confirmed by Wisconsin PolitiFact


Roger Roth at Wisconsin State Legislature

Related lame-duck, extraordinary session, power grab posts:
Scott Walker appoints GOP contributor to UW Board of Regents. (12/4/2018)
Scott Walker gives campaign contributor her old job back at the PSC.  (12/4/2018)
All of a sudden, Scott Walker is in a big hurry to fill nontraditional student regent position that was vacant for nearly a year.  (12/5/2018)
UPDATE: Robin Vos continues to show signs of severe delirium.  (12/5/2018)
From library champion to "hot mess" chump.  (12/6/2018)
Rick Gundrum between a rock and a hard place. (12/6/2018)
The Dave Murphy, "Ain't It Funny How Time Slips Away" edition.  (12/6/2018)
UPDATE. Thank you for your response, John Macco.  (12/13/2018)

Friday, January 11, 2019

'Games People Play' by Joe South debuts on the Billboard Hot 100 for the week ending January 11, 1969


A slow week.   Joe South makes his first of 8 appearance on the Hot 100 with "Games People Play", which spent 12 weeks on the chart and peaked at #12, a position he reached the following year with "Walk a Mile in My Shoes."   South made his first two appearance on the chart in 1958 and 1961.





Related article:
The return of Joe South.  (Christian Science Monitor, 9/12/1990)
JOE SOUTH. You say the name doesn't quite ring a bell? Well, how about ``Games People Play''? That song was the anthem of 1969 - the double Grammy Award winner from South's groundbreaking album ``Introspect.'' With a guitar, a sympathetic band (The Believers), a great warm, rich voice, some memorable melodies, and lyrics that zeroed right in on every personal and universal foible you could think of, Joe South's music became a kind of mental blueprint for a lot of soul-searchers in the late '60s and early '70s. Then he virtually disappeared. 

Related posts:
August 1968
"I Say a Little Prayer" by Aretha Franklin
"In-a-gadda-da-vida: by Iron Butterfly
"Piece of My Heart" by Brother and the Holding Company 

September 1968
"Fire!" by The Crazy World of Arthur Brown
"Hey Jude" by the Beatles
"All Along the Watchtower" by the Jimi Hendrix Experience
"Bang-shang-a-lang" by the Archies

October 1968
"White Room" by Cream 
"Ride My See-Saw" by the Moody Blues
"Love Child" by Diana Ross and the Supremes
"Abraham, Martin & John" by Dion

November 1968
"For Once in my Life" by Stevie Wonder 
"Hang 'em High" by Booker T. & the MG's
"Hooked on a Feeling" by B. J. Thomas 
"I Heard It Through the Grapevine" by Marvin Gaye
"Everyday People" by Sly and the Family Stone

December 1968
"Going Up The Country" by Canned Heat
"Crimson and Clover" by Tommy James and the Shondells
"Ramblin' Gamblin' Man" by Bob Seger
"Touch Me" by the Doors

January 1969
"Build Me Up Buttercup" by the Foundations

Apparently, Blacks still don't feel all that welcome in Levittown, Pennsylvania


Levittown population:  52,983


Samuel Snipes, 99, Dies; Lawyer for First Black Family in Levittown, Pa.  (The New York Times, 1/10/2019)
Mr. Snipes represented Daisy and Bill Myers when they and their three young children moved into Levittown in 1957. He handled the closing on the home purchase and informed the police that an African-American family would be moving into the development, knowing that controversy would follow, said David Kushner, the author of the 2009 book “Levittown,” which explored the family’s ordeal. 
“He felt they had every right to live there,” 
Mr. Kushner said. The Myers family’s arrival on Aug. 13, 1957, sparked weeks of unrest, harassment and cross burnings. Threats were made by phone, by mail and by screaming, spitting protesters outside the family’s home. At one point, Mr. Snipes held off a mob until the police arrived.

Presidential historian gives Donald Trump worst grades ever


Photo source:  Doris Kearns Goodwin

Reported in  Why Trump’s Unusual Leadership Style Isn’t Working in the White House.  (The New York Times, 1/10/2019)

Unusual??  

Merriam-Webster offer any number of more appropriately descriptive adjectives:  bizarre, eccentric, oddball, aberrant, abnormal, freaky,

The cost of Donald Trump's border wall has ballooned from $10-$12 million in 2016 to $5 billion today



This bit of nonsense begins at 1:03.




Related post:
The continuing Niagara of lies from a president with the emotional development of a 6 year old.  (1/11/2019)

The continuing Niagara of lies from a president with the emotional development of a 6 year old


‘The story keeps changing’: Trump falsely asserts he never promised Mexico would directly pay for the border wall.  (Washington Post, 1/10/2019)



Choice cuts:
February 26, 2016 on CNN debate.  (starts at 0:20)
Wolf Blitzer:  How are you going to make them pay for the wall?
Trump:  "I will, and the wall just got ten feet taller."

Trump:  "We're going to make them pay for that wall."  (1:01)


May 30, 2018 in Nashville
Trump:  "But in the end, Mexico is going to pay for the wall."  (0:01)

Trump:  "They're going to pay for the wall, and they're going to enjoy it., OK.  They're going to pay for the wall"  (0:19)

Related posts:
2018
Get me rewrite. Donald Trump, the president with the emotional development of a 6 year old, will most assuredly cast blame elsewhere.  (121/5/2018) 
"Two maniacs" rain on the parade of president with the emotional development of a 6 year old.  (11/3/2018)
President with the emotional development of a 6 year old loves to shred his own documents.  (6/11/2018)
The Mouth That Roars: President with emotional development of a 6 year old never takes responsibility for his inaction.  (1/30/2018)
 
2017
President with emotional development of a 6 year old visits Mississippi Civil Rights Museum.  (12/9/2017)
Yet another inane quote from the president with the emotional development of a 6 year old. (2/18/2017)
President with emotional development of 6 year old attends National Prayer Breakfast, settles scores.  (2/2/2017)

May-December 2016
Donald Trump: Stuck in the middle of 1952.  (8/23/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 6 year old promotes gun nonsense.  (8/9/2016)
Dear Donald Trump, I was wrong; you don't have the emotional development of a 12 year old. My apologies. (6/23/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old cruising on inheritance.  (6/20/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old tweets more nonsense.  (5/14/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old resorts to name-calling when zinged.  (5/11/2016)

January-April 2016
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old has a very important, major engagement.  (3/16/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old still makes case for his beautiful, powerful, large penis.  (3/6/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old brags he's the only one who can beat Clinton.  (3/3/2016)
Presidential candidate with the emotional development of a 12 year old disavows.  (3/1/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old wings it.  (2/29/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old weighs in on Rubio and last night's debate.  (2/26/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old tells us how he really feels.  (2/23/2016)
Yes, Donny, get angry, cuz we want a brave man, a cave man.  (2/22/2016)
Thin-skinned Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old fires volley at Pope.  (2/18/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old should go ahead and put it in the want ads.  (1/29/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old plans to skip debate.  (1/27/2016)
Presidential candidate with emotional development of 12 year old reacts to SOTU.  (1/13/2016)

2018: Hottest year ever for Australian state of New South Wales


Source:  thinglink

Heat records tumble across the Mid-Western Region.  (Mudgee Guardian, 1/11/2019)
2018 was the equal warmest on record for Mudgee for both mean temperature and mean maximum temperature with 16.4°C and 24.1°C respectively matching the highest set in 2017. 
While Gulgong’s annual mean daily maximum temperature of 25°C was a new record, eclipsing the old mark by 0.1 of a degree set in 2006. 
[snip]
2018 at the local sites were true of NSW as a whole, which was the warmest on record for the state. And it was Australia's third-warmest.

Other 2018 hot spots:
Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand hottest ever in 2018, further threatening marine life.  (1/11/2019)
GET ME REWRITE: Prague experiences hottest year on record for third time this decade.  (1/6/2019)
Climate change as a matter of fact: Red-hot summer of record heat in Europe.  (8/18/2018)
UPDATE: July 2018 is hottest month ever in California.  (8/18/2018)

2018: Hottest year ever in California's Coachella Valley

Source:  Wikipedia (arrow added)

2018 was the hottest year ever in Coachella Valley.  (Desert Sun, 1/10/2019) 

The Coachella Valley's average annual temperature last year was 76.1 degrees, up from averages of 72 to 73 degrees in the 1950’s. July 23 and 24 were the steamiest days, with the thermometer hitting 122 degrees. Month to month, the area experienced its highest overall heat since 1950, when record-keeping began. 
While it can be tough for humans to notice a few degrees difference in temperature, signs of the trend are evident, said longtime Coachella Valley ecologist James Cornett, of JWC Consultants. Until the 1970’s, it was common for there to be snow downtown about once a decade. But the last time snowflakes accumulated on Palm Canyon Drive was in January 1979, he said. 


Other 2018 hot spots:
Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand hottest ever in 2018, further threatening marine life.  (1/11/2019)
GET ME REWRITE: Prague experiences hottest year on record for third time this decade.  (1/6/2019)
Climate change as a matter of fact: Red-hot summer of record heat in Europe.  (8/18/2018)
UPDATE: July 2018 is hottest month ever in California.  (8/18/2018)

Sea surface temperatures around New Zealand hottest ever in 2018, further threatening marine life



New Zealand seas in 2018 hottest since records began, dire warning for marine life.  (New Zealand Herald, 1/11/2019)
Those scorching seas saw anomalies such as snapper in Fiordland, and Queensland groper around Northland. It also saw high mortality rates for both the salmon and mussel farming industries. 
It comes after Niwa announced this week 2018 was the country's second-hottest year on record.

Other 2018 hot spots:
Climate change as a matter of fact: Red-hot summer of record heat in Europe.  (8/18/2018)
UPDATE: July 2018 is hottest month ever in California.  (8/18/2018)

Thursday, January 10, 2019

The 9 longest serving state legislators


OK, Fred, you've made your point.

1.  62  years.  Fred Risser (D-Wisconsin). 1957-present. 
2 (tie).  56 years.  Hugh Gillis (D-Georgia).  1941-44, 1949-56, 1957-58, 1963-2004.
With fifty-six years in office, Hugh Gillis of Treutlen County was the longest-serving member of the Georgia General Assembly. Gillis held powerful committee positions during his long legislative career, including president pro tempore of the senate.
New Georgia Encyclopedia

2 (tie).  56 years.  Michael Kinney (D-Missouri).  1913-2018.     

4. 53 years.  Gene Stipe (D-Oklahoma).  1948-53, 1957-2003.

5 (tie).  52 years.  Jack Kibbie (D-Iowa).  1961-2013.

5 (tie).  52 years.  Dan Healy (-New Hampshire).  

5 (tie).  52 years. Brynhild Haugland (R-North Dakota) 1938-90. 

5 (tie).  52 years.  Douglas Henry (D-Tennessee).  1955-62, 1961-2004

5 (tie).  52 years.  John O'Brien (Washington)  1939-46, 1949-92.

You remember this GOP shill, don't you? In 2014, he wrote Scott Walker's campaign biography.



Op-ed can be read here..

Related posts:
The wit and wisdom of Marc Thiessen, Scott Walker mouthpiece and cheerleader.  (3/18/2018)

Donald Trump's prescient 2004 advice to illegal immigrants




‘If there’s a concrete wall in front of you, go through it,’ Trump said in 2004 speech’.  (Washington Post, 1/10/2019)


Related posts:
GET ME REWRITE. Trump pleads with his base to help him save his stumbling, chaotic presidency.  (1/10/2019)
Scott Walker appeared on Fox and Friends today and, yes, a fence is a physical border.  (1/9/2019)
Glenn Grothman starts the 116th Congress where he left off in the 115th: Enhancing his clown bona fides.  (1/5/2019)
GET ME REWRITE! The Trump base is already malleable crazy.  (12/20/2018)
Dear border wall nuts in Florida, You'd be much better off putting your money towards your own state's infrastructure.  (12/20/2018)

GET ME REWRITE. Trump pleads with his base to help him save his stumbling, chaotic presidency


iPhone pic from Wisconsin State Journal, 1/92019

AP story found here.

Related posts:
Scott Walker appeared on Fox and Friends today and, yes, a fence is a physical border.  (1/9/2019)
Glenn Grothman starts the 116th Congress where he left off in the 115th: Enhancing his clown bona fides.  (1/5/2019)
GET ME REWRITE! The Trump base is already malleable crazy.  (12/20/2018)
Dear border wall nuts in Florida, You'd be much better off putting your money towards your own state's infrastructure.  (12/20/2018)

Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Scott Walker appeared on Fox and Friends today and, yes, a fence is a physical border


You can watch the tape here!!

Screenshot from @ScottWalker (emphasis added)

AP FACT CHECK: Trump and the disputed border crisis.  (AP, 1/9/2019)

In addition -- and this is quibbling, of course -- there were never 54 Senate Democrats in the 113th Congress.

Source:  Wikipedia

Scott Walker toxic legacy UPDATE. And then, to make matters worse, he apparently hacks his son's Twitter account



Insolvency?    No.

Prosperity?  Not for all.

Small business expansion?  Well below average.

Meaningful employment?  Too many people have fallen through the cracks.

As for manufacturing....


Original 1/8/2019 post, "On his last day as governor, Scott Walker spends nearly an hour on Twitter trying to elevate his toxic legacy", starts here.

@ScottWalker (1/6/2019)

Other legacy posts:
The first 3 chapters:  environment, transportation, corrections.
Chapter 4:  Wisconsin families can't afford basic necessities edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 5. Scott Walker's shameful legacy: The black-white high-school graduation gap edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 6. Scott Walker's shameful legacy (the higher education edition).  (12/13/2018)
Taking credit where no credit is due.  (1/7/2019)
Not telling the whole story.  (1/7/2019)
Gliding over the disparities.  (1/7/2019)
Voter suppression.  (1/7/2019)
Teacher bashing compounded by cuts to education.  (1/8/2019)
Just fine and dandy with treading water over high school graduation rates.  (1/8/2019)

Since 1992, liberals gain ground while conservatives tread water



U.S. Still Leans Conservative, but Liberals Keep Recent Gains.  (Gallup, 1/8/2019)
Since 1992, the percentage of Americans identifying as liberal has risen from 17% then to 26% today. This has been mostly offset by a shrinking percentage of moderates, from 43% to 35%. Meanwhile, from 1993 to 2016 the percentage conservative was consistently between 36% and 40%, before dipping to 35% in 2017 and holding at that level in 2018. 
These ideology figures are based on combined data from Gallup's monthly GPSS and other standalone surveys conducted each year. The 2018 aggregate includes 13 surveys totaling more than 13,000 national adults.

Likely nominee for one of the most misleading headlines of 2018

Big picture, please!

CES 2019: Hyundai creates a car with body parts


Please don't take me literally!





Hyundai promises walking, climbing 'car' concept for CES 2019.  (c|net, 1/2/2019)
Judging by the picture Hyundai sent with its release, the Elevate concept achieves this by adding a range of motion to the vehicle's "legs," on which rest its wheels. That should give it nigh unparalleled levels of articulation on rocky terrain. And, depending on how that motion looks to the human eye, it'll either look pretty awesome or super creepy (like oh so many Boston Dynamics robots).

 Other 2019 CES posts:
AVidea Group Safe Zone Gunfire Detector.  (12/5/2018)
FADES auto-darkening eyewear.  (12/7/2018)
Estelle Costanza does not approve of this car porn. (12/12/2018)
Smart smoke detectors.  (12/15/2018)
LG CineBeam Laser 4K projector.  (12/22/2018)
Poopy diaper alarm for harried parents.  (12/25/2018)
Twice breathlessly promotes the "Clash of the Robovacs".  (12/28/2018)
Don't worry, you won't have to throw away your stupid shoes.  (12/31/2018)
Samsung is building The Wall.  (1/6/2019)
Hypnbos smart sleep mask.  (1/8/2019)

Tuesday, January 8, 2019

Scott Walker's toxic legacy: Just fine and dandy with treading water over high school graduation rates



 Sources:  Wisconsin Department of Health Services (2000-2010), MacIver Institute (2011-2016, 2017)), 
When we narrow the range, the picture shows a steep drop in Walker's first year as governor.


Other legacy posts:
The first 3 chapters:  environment, transportation, corrections.
Chapter 4:  Wisconsin families can't afford basic necessities edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 5. Scott Walker's shameful legacy: The black-white high-school graduation gap edition.  (12/12/2018)
Chapter 6. Scott Walker's shameful legacy (the higher education edition).  (12/13/2018)
Scott Walker's legacy: Taking credit where no credit is due.  (1/7/2019)
Scott Walker's legacy:  Not telling the whole story.  (1/7/2019)
Scott Walker's legacy: Gliding over the disparities.  (1/7/2019)
Scott Walker's legacy:  Voter suppression.  (1/7/2019)
On his last day as governor, Scott Walker spends nearly an hour on Twitter trying to elevate his toxic legacy.  (1/8/2019)
Scott Walker's toxic legacy: teacher bashing compounded by cuts to education.  (1/8/2019)

Around Town Madison: Target drive up


Photo by Retiring Guy

Source:  Target



Haven't tried it. Don't plan to.

Related reading
Target’s Convenient, Time-Saving Drive Up Service Expands to Five More States.  (Target Bullseye View newsletter, 7/10/2018)

Other Around Town Madison posts:
Oh, Babe, what would you say?  (4/10/2018)
Is this considered legal parking?  (6/13/2018)

BREAKING NEWS: 2020 College Football National Championship game featuring Alabama and Clemson set for 2019 Labor Day weekend; rest of season to work backward from there


Neil Young to perform at halftime!





Compared to its neighboring states, Wisconsin lags in percentage of women in state legislature



Why Wasn't 2018 A Big Election For Women In The Wisconsin Legislature?  (WisContext, 1/7/2019)
Over the past three decades in Wisconsin, the number of women in each legislative class has been on average about one-quarter overall. The sessions with the most women were 1989-1990 and 2003-2004, each reaching 28 percent. The state's incoming 2019-2020 class fell just short of reaching that mark, with 27 percent women, according to an analysis by the Wisconsin Women's Council. A state agency aimed to promote and enhance the well-being of women, the 15-member council is appointed by the governor and the Legislature's leadership, and consists of both public and legislative members.

Democrats lead the way in Wisconsin.