Saturday, April 23, 2022

GET ME REWRITE: Wisconsin man with warped sense of humor looking for work

 
HeadlineMilwaukee Journal Sentinel, 4/22/2022
According to the criminal complaint: 
Reimer, who was on the school's buildings and grounds staff, made the comments while meeting with fellow maintenance staff on March 23. 
A witness told authorities Reimer said at that meeting that he had made a "two-week list," referring to a list of people to be killed if he were fired. The witness said Reimer had made similar comments in the past.

Friday, April 22, 2022

GET ME REWRITE: Beta Technologies supersizes the drone with The Alia

 

Headline:  New York Times, 4/16/2022
It is, essentially, a flying battery. And it represented a long-held aviation goal: an aircraft with no need for jet fuel and therefore no carbon emissions, a plane that could take off and land without a runway and quietly hop from recharging station to recharging station, like a large drone. 
The Alia was made by Beta Technologies, where Mr. Caputo is a flight instructor. A five-year-old start-up that is unusual in many respects, the company is the brainchild of Martine Rothblatt, the founder of Sirius XM and pharmaceutical company United Therapeutics, and Kyle Clark, a Harvard-trained engineer and former professional hockey player. It has a unique mission, focused on cargo rather than passengers. And despite raising a formidable treasure chest in capital, it is based in Burlington, Vt., population 45,000, roughly 2,500 miles from Silicon Valley.



Booksellers: Barnes & Noble goes from villain to hero

 

HeadlineNew York Times, 4/15/2022
Photos by Retiring Guy
In the past, the book-selling empire, with 600 outposts across all 50 states, was seen by many readers, writers and book lovers as strong-arming publishers and gobbling up independent stores in its quest for market share. 
Today, virtually the entire publishing industry is rooting for Barnes & Noble — including most independent booksellers. Its unique role in the book ecosystem, where it helps readers discover new titles and publishers stay invested in physical stores, makes it an essential anchor in a world upended by online sales and a much larger player: Amazon.



Original 10/23/2021 post, "Where is this book publishing seer today?, starts here.  


The Idea Logical Company (July 11, 2011)


Ebooks still hadn't caught six years later.

Pew Research, 9/1/2016

Retiring Guy does the math for GOP South Dakota governor Kristi Noem

 


What Krsiti tweeted (red box added)

What the facts are
Source:  Wikipedia

Since 1896, a Republican presidential candidate has won Brown County 17, a Democratic candidate 16 times.  In a rational person's political playbook, that's translates as purple.

Moreover, Trump received 963 more votes than he did in 2016, a 10% increase, in a county where the 2020 population of 38,801 has been treading water since 1970

Biden received 1.086 more votes than Clinton did in 2016, a 20% increase.

Trump's share of the vote increased by 0.7 percentage points.  Biden increased Clinton's share of the vote by 4.4 percentage points.



Original 5/2/2021 post, "Dear David, the only thing Kristi inspires on the left is mockery.  Best, Retiring Guy", starts here.

Her misdirected, overweening presidential ambitions make her a laughingstock.  There's nothing hateful about that.


New York Times, 5/2/2021
“It’s a contest about who can trigger the media and Democrats the most, and Noem is trying to get in that conversation,” said David Kochel, a Republican strategist and a veteran of presidential politics. “It’s, ‘Can I come up with something that’s going to inflame Rachel Maddow and raise awareness among conservatives because Fox will cover how much the left hates me?’”

MSNBC, 12/11/2020

Kochel is a Never Trumper.

Other Kristi posts:
GET ME REWRITE: Shameless South Dakota governor Kristi Noem takes another undeserved Covid victory lap

Wisconsin 2022 elections: Who will run in the 61st Assembly District now that Samantha Kerkman was elected Kenosha County Executive

 

Kerkman has served in the Wisconsin State Assembly since January 2001 in a solidly Republican district.


Sources:
  Ballotpedia

WisPolitics, 4/5/2022
Kerkman will take over the office later this month from Jim Kreuser, the longest-serving Kenosha County exec and a former Dem state lawmaker. He won the seat in a 2008 special election. 
Under state law, she will have 60 days from the time she takes office to resign from the Assembly. She will become the 16th member to resign or announce plans to retire after this term or run for another office.
 
The GOP gerrymanders
61st Assembly District

Other Wisconsin 2022 races:
5th Assembly:  Jim Steineke.  (1/15.2022)
15th Assembly.  Joe Sanfelippo  (4/14/2022).  
27th Assembly.  Tyler Vorpagel.  (4/14/2022)
33rd Assembly.  Cody Horlacher.  (4/14/2022)
45th Assembly.  Mark Spreitzer.  (3/19/2022)
52nd Assembly:  Jeremy Thiefsfeldt.  (2/28/2022)
54th Assembly: Gordon Hintz.  (3/6/2022/
55th Assembly:  Rachael Cabral-Guevera.  (3/19/2022)
68th Assembly: Jesse James.  (1/28/2022)
73rd Assembly.  Nick Milroy.  (4/15/2022)
74th Assembly:  Beth Meyers.  (3/7/2022)
79th Assembly.  Dianne Hesselbein.  (3/18/2022)
80th Assembly.  Sondy Pope.  (4/15/2022)
84th Assembly: Mike Kuglitsch.  (3/1/2022)

5th Senate:  Dale Kooyenga.  (3/13/2022)
15th Senate:  Janis Ringhand.  (3/11/2022)
19th Senate:  Roger Roth.  (3/14/2022)
23rd Senate:  Kathy Bernier.  (3/15/2022)
25th Senate:  Janet Bewley.  (3/16/2022)
27th Senate:  Jon Erpenbach.  (3/17/2022)
29th Senate:  Jerry Petrowski.  (3/12/2022

Wednesday, April 20, 2022

Trump-endorsed carpetbagger for Tennessee's 5th congressional district booted from primary ballot by state GOP

 

Headline:  NBC News, 4/19/2022
The vote marked the culmination of months of effort by both GOP legislators and activists to boot Ortagus because she had only recently moved to the state. She was endorsed by former President Donald Trump. 
"I am deeply disappointed in the SEC’s decision," Ortagus said in a statement, referring to the party’s State Executive Committee. "I’m a bonafide Republican by their standards, and frankly, by any metric. I’m further disappointed that the party insiders at the Tennessee Republican Party do not seem to share my commitment to President Trump’s America First policies. 

 

4/2/2022 update, "Now you can create your own Trump endorsement", starts here.


CBS News, 3/30/2022
Trump's 2022 got off to a strong start in Texas' primaries, with his 33 endorsed candidates all winning or going into runoff races in strong positions. But a person familiar with Trump's thinking said that the poor performances and stumbles of some of his chosen candidates, and some bad advice he had received about them, are making him more cautious about throwing his weight behind contenders in some key upcoming primary races. 
In some cases, the performances have raised questions about the potency of Trump's endorsements and his power over Republican primary voters now that he is no longer in office. In places like Georgia, North Carolina and Alabama, he wasn't able to clear the field for his favored contender.

Related post:
Perdue plug puts Trump in a pickle.  (3/30/2022)
Eric Greitens confirms that he is 'only real' Trump candidate in Missouri GOP race for U.S. Senate.  (3/22/2022)


GET ME REWRITE: Three years into the pandemic, media remains utterly confused about masks


Apparently, confusion sells papers and attracts eyeballs in the news biz.

Photo by Retiring Guy

Sources:

Oh, the irony: Cadott Wisconsin school board responds to censorship demand by removing book on protest movements

 

WEAU, 3/28/2022
These books ranged in topic from sex education to gender identity and a few nonfiction books. 
A committee made up of community members and students weighed in earlier this year saying these books should stay. 
The board’s final decision was different. “ 
Much of the decisions in regards to our library has been around age appropriate content,” said Cory LaNou, one of the school board members. “This is a very difficult discussion because every student physically matures at a different age as well as mentally matures at a different age.” 
The board decided three of the books could stay: Melissa’s Story (aka George), The Deepest Breath and Hurricane Child. 
A fourth one, Pride: The Story of Harvey Milk and the Rainbow Flag would remain in the library but would only be available to fourth grade and above. 
One book, The Baby Tree, will no longer be available in any of the libraries. However, it will be available at the guidance counselor’s office. 
In a 4 to 3 vote, the board decided to remove the final title: Protest Movements: Then and Now.  [emphasis added]

Cadott, a Trumpy kinda place.

It's amateur hour at the United States District Court Middle District of Florida

 

Headline:  Forbes, 4/18/2022
The ABA stated that their reasons for giving Mizelle a “not qualified” rating include that "since her admission to the bar Ms. Mizelle has not tried a case, civil or criminal, as lead or co-counsel." 
Mizelle was admitted to the Florida Bar on September 12, 2012. When she became a judge, she had been an attorney for eight years. The ABA’s Standing Committee on the Federal Judiciary states that appointees should have practiced for a minimum of 12 years. Mizelle had five years of experience in the trial courts. The ABA noted that Mizelle’s lack of experience was “a rather marked departure from the 12 [sic] year minimum.” 
In 2017, the Trump administration notified the ABA that they would no longer have access to background information on judicial candidates before their nominations. The last presidential administration to do this was under George W. Bush.

Don't you just love GOP transparency?

Mizelle confirms her 'not qualified' status.

The administration argued that masks qualified as "sanitation" under the law, but Mizelle disagreed, opting for a much narrower definition of the term that would exclude measures like face coverings. Legal experts say her interpretation missed the mark. 
"If one of my students turned in this opinion as their final exam, I don't know if I would agree that they had gotten the analysis correct," said Erin Fuse Brown, a law professor at Georgia State University. 
"It reads like someone who had decided the case and then tried to dress it up as legal reasoning without actually doing the legal reasoning," she added.

Tuesday, April 19, 2022

GET ME REWRITE: Meet Tina Descovich, co-founder of the racist, homophobic Looney Tunes clown show otherwise known as Moms for Liberty

 

HeadlineFox News, 4/19/2022

This crazy lady has been spoon-fed a load of pablum.  
"Textbook companies for a very long time have been producing nothing more than heavy bricks in our kids' backpacks that they're lugging around," Descovich told co-host Todd Piro. "And so I'm so glad that we have leaders in the state of Florida, like our Commissioner of Education Richard Corcoran and our governor, DeSantis, who have stepped up and said no more, we are not giving $7 billion of taxpayer money to a brick in a kid's backpack."
 

Original 4/17/2022 post, "You want Looney Tunes?  Well, Florida wants you!", starts here.

Top headlineSalon, 3/14/2022

Salon excerpt:
However, as we know, Trump isn't really serious about governing and wouldn't know how to do it efficiently even if he were. It doesn't make him any less dangerous, of course. His chaotic narcissism can do as much damage as a serious ideological authoritarian could. But he's laid out a style template for someone who is serious, showing them exactly the attitude that appeals to the MAGA base. And nobody in GOP politics is as ready to seize the mantle as Florida Governor Ron DeSantis, Trump 2.0.
Newsweek excerpt:
A total of 54 out of 132 math books recently submitted for state review were found to be "impermissible with either Florida's new standards or contained prohibited topics," the Florida Department of Education (DOE) said in a press release. That marks the highest number of rejected textbooks in the state's history, the agency added. [emphasis added]

Related posts:
Ron DeSantis fiddles while Florida burns with the omicron variant. (series)
Florida as GOP wasteland.  (12/26/2021)
In 2nd year of pandemic, Greg Abbott and Ron DeSantis duke it out for COVIDIOT of the Year honors.  (sreies)

Meet Russian agent Tucker Carlson


HeadlineNew York Times, 4/152022
As Western leaders introduced sanctions against Russia for the invasion of Ukraine, Tucker Carlson, the Fox News host, said seizing personal property from Russian oligarchs went too far. 
“No American government had ever done anything like that before,” he said. 
While the segment was aimed at Fox News’s conservative audience, it found another audience in Russia. The argument was parroted beat by beat by RIA Novosti, a Russian state news agency, which wrote that “the average U.S. citizen is simply horrified by what is happening.”


Original 3/14/2022 post starts here

New York Times, 3/13/2022
Just a few weeks ago many influential figures on the U.S. right loved, just loved Vladimir Putin. In fact, some of them still can’t quit him. For example, Tucker Carlson, while he has grudgingly backed off from full-on Putin support, is still blaming America for the war and promoting Russian disinformation about U.S.-funded bioweapons labs.  [emphasis added]

GET ME REWRITE: These 4 Dane County Board ghost candidates lost their races by big margins

 

HeadlineCapital Times, 4/19/2022
“There weren't meaningful choices in a lot of cases. There also just isn't a lot of visibility of candidates in spring elections,” said Barry Burden, a political science professor at the University of Wisconsin-Madison. “The lack of contested races affected voters directly because many of them, I think, said to themselves, there just wasn't a reason to participate.” 
Because of that, some competitive local seats were decided by tighter margins — even with candidates who didn’t campaign at all.



This week in the cereal aisle: Living dangerously

 

Photo by Retiring Guy
Headline:  NPR, 4/17/2022
General Mills Inc., the Minneapolis-based company that makes Lucky Charms, Cheerios and other cereals, said it's aware of those reports and takes them seriously. But the company said its own investigation has not found any evidence of consumer illness linked to Lucky Charms. 
General Mills said it encourages consumers to share their concerns directly with the company.

And not with the media, in other words.


Other cereal aisle posts:
2021
Limited Edition Kellogg's Frosted Flakes Apple Jacks Mashup,  (10/3)

2019
This box wants to party with you.  (6/4)
Blueberry Cheerios.  (5/16)
Snap, crackle and redpop.  (2/26)
Kellogg's Honey Oat Frosted Flakes.  (2/19)
Kellogg's All Bran fights for shelf space.  (1/22)
 
2018
Cheerios adds to its long list of flavors. (12/31)
General Mills offers two flavors of Dippin' Dots.  (11/28)
Kellogg's vanilla latte Frosted Mini-Wheats.  (10/1)
Nutter Butter.  (6/24)
Still a little bit of shelf space provided for boxes of Big Biscuit Shredded Wheat.  (4/3)
Chocolate Frosted Flakes.  (3/30)
It's just peachy, part 2 (with probiotics).  (3/26)
It's just peachy (Cheerios).  (3/25)
Snap, Crackle and Pop shrug off competition from Fancy Friends Cereal Treats.  (2/23)
Lucky Charms wants you to have a daily dose of yellow 5 and blue 1.  (3/9)
The takeover of Mom.  (3/1)
Hoopla over rainbow marshmallows added to Lucky Charms.  (2/22)
Kellogg's Donut Shop in your choice of flavors.  (2/14)
Just a spoonful of sugar helps the shredded wheat go down.  (2/6)
General Mills offers yet another flavor of Cheerios -- chocolate and peanut butter.  (1/30)
I suspect this special edition Cocoa Puffs isn't exactly flying off the shelves.  (1/16)
What's really going on with this General Mills blend.  (1/10)
Giant size bargains to kick off the new year.  (1/3)

2017
Satisfy your craving for chocolate.  (12/22)
Pumpkin Spice runs amok.  (11/7)
Danger lurks.  (11/2)
Dan G. wets himself over Special K Blueberry with Lemon Clusters.  (9/20)
Limited Edition Mocha Crunch.  (7/16)
Kellogg's Frosted Flakes with Marshmallows.  (2/1)
A marriage between General Mills and Girls Scouts of America.  (1/19)

Tiny Toast.  (6/21)



Let's take a visit to Iowa's whitest counties

 


The committee has said it will focus on applicants that can show their state is racially, economically and geographically diverse; that they can contribute to the party's ability to win the White House in a general election; and the feasibility of holding an early contest. Feasibility includes a state's ability to run a fair, transparent and inclusive nominating process as well as the cost and logistical requirements of campaigning in the state, the committee said.

Davis County:  the whitest of the white

SourceIndex Mundi

Related posts:
Presidential candidates love to talk to white people on the campaign trail.  (4/15/2022)
Tough for Iowa and New Hampshire to make a case with these demographics.  (4/14/2022)


UPDATE. Homophobe and transphobe Vicky Hartzler (i.e., fake Christian) wants to be Missouri's U.S. Senator



Kansas City Star "Morning Rush" email news update
Over more than 11 years in the U.S. House of Representatives and six before that in the Missouri House, Hartzler has always attempted to run God’s way. \ 
Supporters say faith is her political north star, a guide for the decisions politicians are forced to confront in an institution often speckled with immorality. Opponents say her frequent references to her faith are in the service of a political agenda, one that has specifically brought harm to the LGBTQ community. 
Hartzler is not so much at the forefront of the modern religious right as she is a loyal Christian soldier in their larger battle for the soul of America. She’s ridden the wave of the movement, gaining power as the Republican Party has grown more heavily dependent on its conservative Christian base.  [emphasis added]

9/8/2017 update, "Vicky Hartzler (R-Missouri) doubles down on her support of LBGT discrimination", starts here.

Illustration:  Talking Philosophy

Lawmakers Defend Christian Baker in Gay Wedding Case: The Government's Actions are 'Frightening'.  (CBN News, 9/7/2017)


Original 4/25/2017 post, "51 U.S. House members implore Trump to legalize LGBT discrimination: The Vicky Hartzler edition", starts here.

50 men, 1 woman, all conservative Republicans.

Full text of letter is found at Scribd.
Photo credit:  The AIM Network

Source:  Vicky for Congress

Banks was elected to a 4th term in the U.S. House in Missouri's 4th Congressional District with 67.8% of the vote.

Republicans in Congress push for religious liberty executive order.  (USA Today, 4/24/2017)

Other posts in series.
Warren Davidson.  (4/25/2017)
Jim Banks.  (4/25/2017)
Vicky Hartzler.  (4/25/2017)
Trent Franks.  (4/25/2017)
Gary Palmer.  (4/25/2017)
Jeff Duncan.  (4/26/2017)
Bob Gibbs.  (4/26/2017)
Robert Aderholt.  (4/26/2017)
Mark Meadows.  (4/26/2017)
Thomass Massie.  (4/26/2017)
Glenn Grothman.  (4/27/2017)
Barry Loudermilk.  (4/27/2017)
Mike Johnson.  (4/27/2017)
Steve Russell.  (4/27/2017)
Randy Hultgren.  (4/27/2017)
Doug Lambert.  (4/27/2017)
Brian Babin.  (4/27/2017)
David Rouzer.  (4/28/2017)
Jim Jordan.  (4/28/2017)
Dave Brat. (4/28/2017)
Blaine Luetkemeyer.  (4/29/2017)
Jack Bergman.  (4/29/2017)
Tim Walberg.  (4/29/2017)
Doug LaMalfa.  (4/30/2017)
Jody Hice.  (4/30/2017)
Keith Rothfus.  (4/30/2017)
Ted Budd.  (5/1/2017)
Andy Harris.  (5/1/2017)
Steve King.  (5/1/217)
Raul Labrador.  (5/2/2017)
Jeff Fortenberry.  (5/2/2017)
Louie Gohmert.  (5/2/2017)
Jodey Arrington.  (5/3/2017)
Randy Weber.  (5/3/2017)
Kevin Cramer.   (5/3/2017)
John Carter.  (5/4/2017)
John Duncan Jr.  (5/4/2017)
Walter Jones.  (5/5/2017)
James Comer.  (5/5/2017)
Don Bacon.  (5/5/2017)
Mark Walker.  (5/6/2017)
Joe Wilson.  (5/6/2017)
Joe Gibbs.  (5/7/2017)
Darrell Issa.  (5/7/2017)
Joe Barton.  (5/8/2017)
Michael Conaway.  (5/8/2017)
Darin LaHood.  (5/9/2017)
Rick Allen.  (5/9/2017)
Bill Flores.  (5/10/2017)
Bill Posey.  (5/10/2017)

Tommy Thompson keeps his distance, declines to join GOP gubernatorial clown show

 
He reads the polls, too.
 
Headline: Wisconsin State Journal, 4/18/2022
Thompson contemplated seeking yet another comeback in his unparalleled career in Wisconsin politics that spans more than half a century, even meeting last month with former President Donald Trump at Trump’s Mar-a-Lago resort to discuss it. 
Thompson told The Associated Press that Trump encouraged him to run, but Thompson’s family was against it. Thompson said Trump didn’t disparage any of the other Republicans who are running, and Thompson held out the possibility of endorsing one of them.

Related series of posts:
Waiting for Rebecca Kleefisch and Kevin Nicholson to tell us if they stand with Donald Trump
 (3/19/2022)
Plutocrats for Wisconsin: Ultra-conservative billionaire Liz Uihlein underwrites Rebecca Kleefisch Clown Show.  (1/19/2022)