In today’s print edition of the Strib, former Eden Prairie school board member and current Eden Prairie math teacher AND parent of an Eden Prairie student Ann Haines has an Op/Ed: “Ousted Eden Prairie school leader charted the right course”. I happen to agree with some of it, disagree with some of it, and unequivocally agree with this:
“There have certainly been voices of opposition along the way, but, as a former school board member, I know that the vicious personal attacks and public vilification damaged and continue to diminish one of the district’s most valuable assets: its reputation.”
Especially the “vicious personal attacks” part.
Apparently, the this Op/Ed went on-line yesterday, as the predictable smears from the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability” kicked in. You’ll note the very first comment on Ms. Haines’ Op/Ed is from one of the ring leaders “moderators” of the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability” – and it’s posted, above.
Let’s look at the very first thing Debbie Finch Brandt says:
“Would someone, anyone, take responsibility for “the vicious personal attacks and public vilification” of parents by the district?”
Say, Debbie? Perhaps you – YOU – might want to take a little responsibility, perhaps?
After all, it’s that facebook page, where you’re one of the ring leaders “moderators” that inspired Jeff Strate to collect and publicly read exact and verbatim quotes in a piece called “Eden Prairie Political Poppycock”. Well, and to post the video, “They Live Among Us”. And, of course, my posts, “Braxton Bullies: We Can’t HEAR You!!!” and “Braxton Bullies: We Can’t HEAR You!!! Part 2″.
If Ms. Finch Brant wishes, she can come here and respond to this – an accommodation to her, that she won’t reciprocate.
Why, just yesterday, Debbie Finch Brandt posted, and I quote:
Now, I’m not going to call Debbie Finch Brant a “liar” – but make no mistake: she is not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. What’s the first line of Debbie Finch Brandt’s facebook post, on the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability” say?
“I’m now receiving personal e-mails through FB from Tommy Johnson…”
Let me be very clear: there have only been two facebook direct-messaging exchanges; with a grand total of ten messages in the two exchanges. In fact, the very first interaction I had with Debbie Finch Brandt via facebook direct messaging, was a message from her. Yes, Gentle Readers, she initiated messaging – to me. Here’s how it went down: she sent me a message, I responded. She responded; I responded. She responded; I responded. Total of 6 messages – 3 each.
The only other interaction via facebook direct messaging was just the other day, prior to posting “Braxton Bullies: We Can’t HEAR You!!! Part 2″. The way that went down, is I sent her a message, she responded – TWICE – and I responded to her second response. Total of 4 messages; 2 each.
The one – ONE – time I contacted Debbie Finch Brandt via facebook, was prior to a post. That contact, via facebook, was only only after she had contacted me via facebook first. But, what did Debbie claim, again?
“I’m now receiving personal e-mails through FB from Tommy Johnson…” (emphasis added)
Here’s another line:
“…if you keep contacting me personally.”
That simply is not the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. Actually, it’s complete BS – Debbie is implying something that simply is not there. What IS there, is the ol’ double-standard: it’s ok for HER to initiate contact, but dammit – don’t contact her back if she doesn’t like what you have to say.
Which shouldn’t surprise those paying attention to the double-standards and other cr@p spewed on the facebook page where Debbie is a ring leader “moderator.” What makes this even worse, is this little exchange during our first of only two facebook messaging exchanges:
Debbie: “…Honestly, and I am fully aware that this conversation might be made public by you….”
TPT: “…oh – and private conversations stay private by me. YMMV”
Bottom line? I told Debbie during our first of only two facebook messaging exchanges that I’d keep private what we discussed; I still will – for her, and for everyone else that wants to have a confidential exchange.
What I won’t do is allow her to essentially perpetrate a fraud – the implication that I’m some kind of stalkarazzi. And again: I’m not going to call Debbie Finch Brant a “liar” – but make no mistake: she is not telling the truth, the whole truth, and nothing but the truth. And if she’s not telling the truth about me, what else isn’t she telling the truth about?
I also won’t stand by while the “the vicious personal attacks and public vilification” Ms Haines talked about in her Op/Ed in the Strib continue on the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability” facebook page.
Again, if Ms. Finch Brant wishes, she can come here and respond to this – an accommodation to her that she won’t reciprocate.
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
I read a lot of smug, self-serving posts, comments, etc while blogging. Occasionally, one jumps out and demands attention – like the following, from one of the ring leaders “moderators” of the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability”:
Now, here’s the part that got me: “…our freedoms to do things like have this open forum, vote, disagree,…”
Yeah, “right.”
As noted in Braxton Bullies: “We can’t HEAR you!!!” a couple of weeks ago:
I hadn’t gone back to that Facebook page, for months and Months and MONTHS – until just the other day, when I got a phone call that said they were trashing me on it. So I went and looked – and to be quite honest, it was pretty tame ‘n lame – local GOPers have done and said MUCH worse. But what got me very quickly was how quickly I noticed that in that barnyard, some animals were more equal than others. Some folk there think is just swell to rip other people and candidates, but – BUT – they turned out to have a real thin-skin when the ol’ TwoPutter took issue with what they wrote and commenced to ripping them.
Which, by the way, is the classic definition of a bully – can dish it, but slinks and whines when what they done did, is done unto them.
So, how did they handle ol’ TwoPutter pointing out the hypcrisy, in addition to encouraging blatant lawless electioneering for their favored candidates?
Yep – that’s a screen shot of their Facebook page; you’ll note that the ol’ TwoPutter has done been kicked out.
The Braxton Bullies, in a nutshell? “We can’t HEAR you!!!”
Seriously, you can’t make this up – a moderator, patting herself on the back for “openness.” OK, it’s clear that they do allow disagreement (except when they don’t). Remember what I wrote back then? “Some folk there think is just swell to rip other people and candidates, …”
Let’s take a look at a recent comment by someone (really, “someone”) the moderator apparently approves of – the anonymous (how’s THAT for “open”?) commentator that goes by the pseudonym “William Felt” (those familiar with Nixon might get the connection) on a recent Katherine Kersten rant:
Really? REALLY??!?
These GroupThinkers actually believe what they write.
Of course, it’s a whole-lot easier when you’re so open that you don’t allow those that pop balloons, pop yours; you don’t allow people that disagree with you, disagree with you – in your “open” forum.
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
Last Sunday, after reading noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis’ latest rant in the Star Tribune, I posted “Who Is The Whiny 9 Year Old Here?” In it, I wrote: “I’d fact-check Jason, but what’s the point? It’s not like pointing out (once again) that Reagan said “facts are stupid things” and GOPers live it will really change their deceitful ways.”
Well, yesterday – over at MinnPost – Eric Black took a look at Lewis’ rant, too – in a post entitled “Jason Lewis’ wrong and exaggerated arguments about freedom”. And it’s well worth the read — so go read it! Here’s a teaser:
Everything the right likes can be phrased as a form of “freedom,” as in freedom of the rich from paying higher taxes, freedom of corporations from government regulation, freedom to pollute, freedom of those with almost unlimited resources to use those resources to influence elections, freedom of the wealthiest 1 percent to accumulate any damn portion of the society’s wealth and income without shame, freedom to overthrow foreign governments (but only in order to bring freedom to the oppressed of those nations) and a few other important freedoms that you can think of on your own.
(more, here)
One area Eric Black pokes a big hole in Lewis’ rant is the wingnut right’s fixation on “the Founders” and their alleged anti-tax views. Again, Reagan said “Facts are stupid things” and wingnuts like Lewis prove it on a regular basis. That’s why I stuck that picture of ol’ Ben Franklin and that quote up there – ripping “money manipulators”. OK, that quote was probably misattributed to ol’ Ben. Be that as it may, Ben was a wise man indeed and – IMNSHO – would be standing with today’s Occupy Wall Street protestors; protesting today’s dishonest monetary system.
Eric blows a hole in Lewis’ misuse of Federalist #21. I like the following quote from the second paragraph of Federalist #2:
“Nothing is more certain than the indispensable necessity of government, and it is equally undeniable, that whenever and however it is instituted, the people must cede to it some of their natural rights in order to vest it with requisite powers.” — Publius (John Jay), October 31st, 1787
I’ve said it before, and I’ll say it again: Only a fool would believe what GOPers say – and what their apologists, like Jason Lewis and Katherine Kersten, write.
Noted GOPer apologist Jason Lewis is simply an example of: “You Couldn’t Trust The GOP Then, You Still Can’t Now, And Tomorrow Won’t Be Any Different.”
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
Yesterday, I ran a post entitled “Braxton Bullies: “We can’t HEAR you!!!”. One point of that post was the hypocrisy of a group complaining the Eden Prairie School Administration shuts them out and won’t listen to them, doing the same dam thing to THEIR critics. GOP Actvist Sheila Kihne best exemplifies this; she commented on that post – here, on MPP. The funny thing about that is Sheila banned me from her blog, a couple of years ago. Why? Because the ol’ TwoPutter took to poking holes in her tripe. Well, she also didn’t like how I was quoting Bush The Lesser, back when I was doing the “Countdown To The End Of An Error” series. Hmmm… Sheila objecting to using exact quotes… Hmmm… Sheila objecting, to using exact quotes….
Hey – just like some on the so-called “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability” objected because Jeff Strate was going to use exact quotes!
Here’s a quote from the Facebook page, read, that goes to that point:
Michelle Fourre If anyone would like to send their thoughts about this to the Dunn Bros Smith Douglas More location, their email is dunnbros30@dunnbros.com
Friday at 12:06am
OK, if you’ll note on the poster, above, the reading was held (and will be held again this Sunday!) at Camp Eden Wood. Why? Because there are people that pressured Dunn Bros Coffee to cancel Jeff ‘n Doug out; apparently, they didn’t want what they had written to be reread in public.
How’s THAT for “accountability”?
Here’s some more quotes. This by someone going by the nom de plume o’ “William Felt”:
William Felt, Facebook page – Oct 26, 2011
Compared to the last couple years, tonight [school] Board meeting was boring. For a change Patricia Magnuson didn’t lie, mislead, and misdirect the Board – as she didn’t attend.
Character assassination, by an anonymous poster – standard operating procedure on that Facebook page — as long as you’re ripping the proper person, of course….
Dunno if this is a real name or not, but here’s a beauty that was posted on the on-line Eden Prairie News:
« jkester wrote on Wednesday, Sep 21, 2011 at 01:39 PM » Eden Prairie News
You overpay some crazy liberal superintendant for years who develops an entitlement royalty personality, redistricts what was a nice place into some bizarre integrated social experiment, people are bailing out in droves, the superintendant packs her suitcase full of OUR TAX MONEY and leaves town. Then you sit around, look at each other and wonder, with that innocent passive aggressive Minnesota attitude “Why did this happen to me?” You get what you deserve, liberals, and if you want a social experiment, it can be FUN for you, BUT AS YOU ARE LEARNING ITS VERY EXPENSIVE…think what your beloved neighborhood will look like in 10 years …exactly..THE HOOD…
It’s too bad that guy didn’t say how he really feels….
OK, another!
ruphina Sep. 29, 1111:32 PM StarTribune
The improvements came as the schools got less integrated, by natural selection. That should suggest that segregating the schools by income level would increase results even more! But the God of Diversity demands that all “professional” education “leaders” bow down and chant the hallowed mantra of “We will balance each school, class, team, work group and play group by counting noses by skin color.” What a complete joke! Bill G.
It should be noted that when the School administration came up with the “controversial” school boundry changes, the rallying cry for those against was: “it’s NOT about race!!!”
Yeah, “right.”
Maybe that guy didn’t get the memo…
Another rallying cry is that the upcoming election isn’t about party affiliation. Some folk seem to feel differently:
dflleft Oct. 15, 11 9:59 PM Star Tribune
DFL LEFT THEORY is pretty much all this plan is; Krull is now gone and this election will do away with the plan. tip your hat to residents of EP who took back their school district. If you want to see what a DFL infested district looks like, Minneapolis and St Paul are 2 good examples; and who would want that?
And what’s the local GOP have to say, about the candidates running for election?
Disclaimer: The links above are provided for information purposes only. The Senate District 42 Republican Party has not officially endorsed any candidate or campaign.
Really? Go look for yourself.
For a comparison/contrast between the parties, good luck finding anything out about the candidates on the SD42 DFL webpage…
Back to the readings!
posted by MuffyAl on Oct. 14, 10 at 8:11 AM Star Tribune
I moved there 20 years ago because of the class of people who lived there, the schools and the ammenities. The integrity of the city and the school district has gone down dramatically because of the increases in section 8 housing and open enrollment. Hey EP, how you going to get tax money out of the working poor that now flood the city?
wwallace67, Oct. 18, 10, 8:09 AM Star Tribune
Another consideration, in the minds of left wing social engineers, is to Americanize the children from a certain African nation. Disperse them to the winds, allow them to make friends with their iphone toting American counterparts. Destroy their culture.
Well, enough with the Strib, even though there was more read – AND UNREAD.
This one from the Facebook page, about the readings and before the readings were held:
Kenzie Carlson October 27 at 8:56pm Sick, just plain sick. Poking “fun” at our kids’ educational experience. Who could even THINK of doing such a thing?
Say, Kenzie? The “poking fun” was at the (alleged) adults….
I’m glad I went last night – and I wish there were more than the Baker’s Dozen that watched. If you get a chance, attend Sunday’s reading — time and place on the poster, above. I’m guessing Jeff ‘n Doug will go through some of the same, and some new ones. It’s not like there’s any shortage of unread material — like this one:
posted by mnmostlynice on Mar. 12, 11 at 8:45 PM Star Tribune
Whenever parents say it’s all about the kids…………it’s not about the kids.
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
As Jeff strate noted in his post “Eden Prairie Political Poppycock”, there’s a Facebook page set up by a group of Eden Prairie residents – and they actually have the cajones to call it “Eden Prairie School Board Accountability”. In Jeff’s video, Jeff refers to the “Braxton Bullies” – hence the title of this post.
A little background:
I went K through 12 in the Eden Prairie School District; one kid did the same – but one did not. We made the choice to put one in a private school. Eden Prairie, like so many other schools, has been under attack by “constitutional conservatives” that believe in the constitution (except when they don’t). The constitution referred to here, is Minnesota’s Constitution, which declares (and I quote):
Article 8
Section 1. The stability of a republican form of government depending mainly upon the intelligence of the people, it is the duty of the legislature to establish a general and uniform system of public schools. The legislature shall make such provisions by taxation or otherwise as will secure a thorough and efficient system of public schools throughout the state.
To make a long story short, it’s not a real “uniform” system in Eden Prairie – nor is it throughout the entire state, where nearly 1 in 3 school districts have a referendum on the ballot – they are going to the local taxpayers to pay for what the Republicans in St. Paul won’t. So we put a kid in private school, to meet her needs that public education in Eden Prairie couldn’t (because GOPers don’t want to PAY for what it takes for a constitutional educational system).
To be fair, the other kid excelled – I mean really, Really, REALLY excelled – in Eden Prairie. At her college’s “Parent Orientation/Freshman Class Registration” it literally went: “You took that class at EP, you don’t have to take this class here.” For several classes.
So I’ve been aware for a long time about the problems with a school system that tries to do the best it can with the limited resources it has. Resources, on the other hand, have nothing to do with the poor communications coming from the District’s administration; a district that threatened to trespass the local Sun newspaper. I could go on; suffice it to say the district’s communications guru – isn’t.
Anyway, back in January I read on that Facebook page that the Koch Brothers “American Majority” was holding a training session for City Council and School Board candidates. On that link, you’ll read a comment by Sheila Kihne, noted GOPer activist in CD3 and a resident in Eden Prairie:
Sheila Kihne said, I posted this up on the Eden Prairie School Board Accountability web page- we need conservative leadership here!
So I went. And they made no bones about it, this training was about getting conservatives elected at the local level so they could move ‘em up the political ladder.
There was one guy there from Eden Prairie that wanted to be a candidate; he’s not now on the ballot for November 8th. And another guy there for training as a staffer; not sure if he’s working on anyone on the ballot or not. But one has to wonder. And it kind of blows a hole in that Facebook’s claim that they want to keep politics out of the school board election.
I hadn’t gone back to that Facebook page, for months and Months and MONTHS – until just the other day, when I got a phone call that said they were trashing me on it. So I went and looked – and to be quite honest, it was pretty tame ‘n lame – local GOPers have done and said MUCH worse. But what got me very quickly was how quickly I noticed that in that barnyard, some animals were more equal than others. Some folk there think is just swell to rip other people and candidates, but – BUT – they turned out to have a real thin-skin when the ol’ TwoPutter took issue with what they wrote and commenced to ripping them.
Which, by the way, is the classic definition of a bully – can dish it, but slinks and whines when what they done did, is done unto them.
So, how did they handle ol’ TwoPutter pointing out the hypcrisy, in addition to encouraging blatant lawless electioneering for their favored candidates?
Let’s look!
Yep – that’s a screen shot of their Facebook page; you’ll note that the ol’ TwoPutter has done been kicked out.
The Braxton Bullies, in a nutshell? “We can’t HEAR you!!!”
Well, that’s ok – others will.
They’ve endorsed Karla Bratrud and Dave Espe and John Estall and Holly Parker – the so-called “B.E.E.P” ticket. If you’re eligible to vote on November 8th, a question you may want to ask is how they’re going to deal with these bullies if they get elected.
And bullies they are; they’ve already bullied one local establishment into cancelling a public reading Jeff Strate was going to do.
Why?
Because Jeff Strate (along with Doug Lind) has the audacity to do a public reading of the exact words these bullies have used in the past.
And Lord knows, there’s nothing a conservative and/or bully hates more, than being accurately quoted…..
(cross posted on MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
What’s an unpopular Strongman to do, when confronted with the prospect of losing his grip on power? Well, for Wisconsin Republican Governor Scott “Baseball Bat” Walker, rigging the rules seems to be the strategy!
Republicans try to rewrite recall rules
The goal: Give Gov. Walker a better chance at keeping his job
Ruth Conniff on Thursday 10/13/2011Now that state Republicans have weakened Wisconsin’s campaign finance and disclosure rules and made it harder for students, poor people and minorities to vote, they are turning their attention to another urgent matter: getting control over the recall process for Gov. Scott Walker.
,
,
As Sun Prairie Democrat Gary Hebl pointed out during the Thursday hearing, the Republicans are trying to turn the GAB from a watchdog into a lapdog. First, they proposed an “emergency rule change” to address the GAB’s decision. That’s handy for them, because while they can’t reverse GAB decisions, they can kill a rule.Also handy: They just rejiggered the rule-making process so every administrative rule change has to go through the governor’s office, and the governor has full veto power.
In other words, the governor himself would have final say over the process for recalling him.
(more, here)
Can’t you just see ol’ Milhous Nixon smiling over THAT one??!?
So, why would ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker need to rig the recall rules?
The Walker Recall: By The Numbers
Monday, October 24, 2011Just weeks before the official kickoff to the Recall Walker movement, things aren’t looking too good for the puppet governor of Corporate America. The Democrats have just released the numbers related to a survey of Wisconsinites regarding Walker and his job performance.
Walker must be reaching for the industrial-sized bottle of antacid whenever he sees these numbers.
And there’s little doubt ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker will – WILL – be recalled; Milwaulkee’s AM620 WTMJ reports Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk and former US Rep. David Obey were there and both names are being floated as possible candidates to depose GOPer Strongman Scott Walker – and end their report with this line: “Organizers plan to start heading door to door with recall petitions on November 15th.”
As well they should; GOPer Walker is but one example of why I always say “Republicans run on the platform ‘Government doesn’t work!’ – and once elected, they prove it.”
Oh – and be sure to link here For A Campaign Message From The Governor’s Office.
# # #
Here are the previous Strongman Reports:
(Strongman Report – 11 August 2011)
(Strongman Report – 14 April 2011)
(Strongman Report – 14 April 2011)
(Strongman Report – 30 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 20 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 08 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 05 March 2011)
If you were following my tweets yesterday (follow me on Twitter here), I posted a bunch of quotes concerning Iraq from Boy Blunder And The Plunderers.
To me, the lesson of 9-11 is what I always say:
Republicans run on the platform “Government doesn’t work!” – once in power, they prove it.
And the amazing thing is, GOPers co-opted the Teabaggers – and TeaBaggers aren’t smart enough to figure that out.
I went to a Teabagger Candidate Training last February; it was produced for Teabagger Wanna-Bees by AmericanMajority.org. None are as blind as those that refuse to see. As I look back at that terrible terrorist attack ten years ago, I see a Republican Party that turned a tragic event into something worse.
Below is what I wrote on September 11th, 2008 – and reposted on 9-11 last year. I said it before, I said it again, and I still stand by it.
****
From The Archives: “T-130 – It’s Hard”
by: TwoPuttTommy Sat Sep 11, 2010 at 08:58:48 AM CDT
(I said it before, and I stand by it now. This one is a post I made on September 11th, 2008 – and the T-130 was the countdown to The End Of An Error; the misAdministration of George orWell Bush. And BTW – where the (cheney) IS “Osama Been Forgotten”??!?)
“One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” — George orWell Bush, CBS News interview, September 6th, 2006
Looking back, I remember where I was 7 years ago, today, when I first saw the replay of the first plane hitting the tower.
And I watched the news about that attack, closely. For a long time. As in, “still.” But I didn’t hear about what Condoleeza Rice was scheduled to do, on this date 7 years ago, until April of 2004.
She was going to give a speech. Not about Osama Bin Laden; not about al Qaeda; not about Extremist Islamic Fundamentalism. No, Condoleeza Rice was going to talk about what this misAdministration felt was the most dangerous threat to America, long-range missiles, furthering the goals set out in 1997 by the neo-conservative goup, Project for the New American Century.
Fast forward to George orWell’s comment, on September 6th, 2006, above – “One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.”
Ladies and Gentlemen, this misAdministration has never been focused on the real threat to America; this misAdministration used the ol’ “bait ‘n switch” ruse to do what the Neo-Con Right Wing always wanted: topple Saddam and radically transform America’s military. From Project for the New American Century’s 76 page “Rebuilding America’s Defenses:
even if it brings revolutionary change, is
likely to be a long one, absent some
catastrophic and catalyzing event – like a
new Pearl Harbor.(page 51)
So, just who are the people that formed PNAC; the PNAC that thought that a “new Pearl Harbor” might speed up the transformation of the American Military in a way they thought beneficial? Let’s look:
Elliott Abrams, Gary Bauer, William J. Bennett, Jeb Bush,
Dick Cheney, Eliot A. Cohen, Midge Decter, Paula Dobriansky, Steve Forbes,
Aaron Friedberg, Francis Fukuyama, Frank Gaffney, Fred C. Ikle,
Donald Kagan, Zalmay Khalilzad, I. Lewis Libby, Norman Podhoretz,
Dan Quayle, Peter W. Rodman, Stephen P. Rosen, Henry S. Rowen,
Donald Rumsfeld, Vin Weber, George Weigel, Paul Wolfowitz
So, today, as we mourn those that fell as the towers fell; those that fell in the heroic struggle on United Airlines Flight 93 in Pennsylvania; those that fell on American Airlines Flight 77 that crashed into the Pentagon; those brave men and women that have fallen in Iraq, remember this:
“One of the hardest parts of my job is to connect Iraq to the war on terror.” — George orWell Bush, September 6th, 2006
Of course it’s hard; Iraq had nothing to do with 9-11 but everything to do with furthering neo-conservative goals.
In 130 days it will be January 20th, 2009 – The End Of An Error
Faux News asked Scott “Baseball Bat” Walker:
Steve Doocy asked the governor if he thought the recall vote was a referendum on him and his policies.
Walker responded saying,
“Well, there is no doubt voters last November wanted us to focus on jobs, and fixing our budget, and we’ve done that.”
He went on to say,
“I think they [voters] affirmed that on Tuesday, and they said along the way, they want us to figure out ways to work together to do even more for jobs because it’s not happening Washington.”
Here’s just one example of Walker’s idea of “focusing on jobs”…
“Senator’s girlfriend had help getting job”
Daniel Bice, Milwaulkee Jorunal-Sentinel, 20 March 2011Even though the state is supposedly broke, top officials in Gov. Scott Walker’s team were able to scrape together enough money to give a state job to the woman identified as Sen. Randy Hopper’s girlfriend.
Anything for a political ally.
Valerie Cass, a former Republican legislative staffer, was hired Feb. 7 as a communications specialist with the state Department of Regulation and Licensing. She is being paid $20.35 per hour. The job is considered a temporary post.
Cass previously had worked in the state Senate and for the GOP campaign consulting firm Persuasion Partners in Madison. She also was paid for campaign work for the state Republican Party and U.S. Rep. Jim Sensenbrenner before that.
(more, here)
The amazing thing, about that girl’s boytoy, GOPer State Senator, Randy Hopper?
GOPers voted for him in droves during last Tuesday’s recall election, and he dam near won.
Which just goes to show, once again: GOPers believe in the sanctity of marriage – by OTHERS.
Here are the previous Strongman Reports…
(Strongman Report – 14 April 2011)
(Strongman Report – 14 April 2011)
(Strongman Report – 30 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 20 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 08 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 05 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 01 March 2011)
( cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
While even a heart attack and hospitalization can’t keep Egyptian Investigators from looking into Mubarek’s alleged embezzlement of government funds and Nelly Furtado, Beyonce and even the London School of Economics are dumping tainted Gaddafi loot, PR Watch notes that ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker is still hanging on to $7k in tainted money from convicted felonBill Gardner – CEO of the Wisconsin & Southern Railroad (WSOR).
Just a little more than 100 days into office, ol’ “Baseball Bat” Walker’s scandals are proving Walker as corrupt a Strongman as, well, let’s just say even Milhous “I am not a crook” Nixon might approve.
Ol’ Baseball Bat’s only “problem” is Wisconsin’s Government Accountability Board doesn’t approve of criminal behavior.
And just the other day: Scandal in Fitzwalkerstan: Top Donor Pleads Guilty in Money-Laundering Scheme to Aid Governor Walker.
I’ve said it before, I’ll say it again, and ol” Baseball Bat – GOPer Governor Scott Walker demonstrates it: “Republicans run on the platform “Gov’t doesn’t work!” – once elected, they prove it.”
Previous Strongman Reports follow!
(Strongman Report – 14 April 2011)
(Strongman Report – 30 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 20 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 08 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 05 March 2011)
(Strongman Report – 01 March 2011)
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
OK, I saw two things – first, an excellent YouTube over at the Cucking Stool, “And yet, they call it slander”; the second, a Tweet from Mitch Berg:
Both of ‘em have one thing in common: Mitch Berg, whom I wrote about (well, more than once) back in Sept. o’ ’09 in a post entitled “Mitch Berg – The Poster Boy Of Why Reasonable People Cannot Reasonably Believe republiCons”.
In that post, I awarded a 
“Slimed by the MOB” (see right) to MnPP Contibutor BearBud, for – and I quote:
Since there are laws concerning public nudity, it’s safe to assume MNBearBud doesn’t run around “bare butt” – that Bootlicker Berg, once again, is simply making (stuff) up. What is fact is there is plenty more that clearly demonstrates Mitch Berg is completely unreasonable; has a history making stuff up; has and will continue to keep taking the cheap shots. IOW, that Berg is a complete (@rse)hole; he can’t help it – it’s simply who and what he is. And for his latest rant directed at MNBearBud, MNBearBud is hereby awared a badge of honor: “Slimed By The M.O.B.
I digress. In the latter tweet, Bootlicker Berg talks about a screenshot; we’ll talk about them.. In the first thing I saw, Spot’s Excellent Video shows TeaBaggers wearing, well, “tea bags.” And Bootlicker Berg has found referring to people that wear Tea Bags as “Tea Baggers” offensive. Like, say, Mitch does in the following tweet:
Say, Mitch? If ya didn’t wear Tea Bags, you wouldn’t be called “Tea Baggers.” Mitch, bein’ a bootlickin’ republiCon, doesn’t think his type should be held personally responsible for the things they personally did.
Which brings us back to the latter. Up there in Mitch’s Tweet, he talks about holding some guy responsible, via a “screenshot.” Well, Mitch can be held “responsible” via a “screenshot” too – let’s look!
Got that? “…balance checkbook…”?
Here’s another one, from Berg:
Got that? “…and I’ve raised income every year since 1993.”
See, Mitch is one o’ those ” gov’t can’t spend more money than it’s got!” kinda republiCons…. you know, like a “family does” (or, doesn’t)….
…and the proof is down at the ol’ Court House.
You see, on March 15th, 2004, Mitch was supposed to appear at the Court House, to answer a Summons And Complaint that he bounced a few checks (5, this time, to be exact) to a local small business around the corner from where he lives. Here’s the exact Plaintiff’s Statement Of Claim:
“The Defendant (Mitch Berg) owes me $216.48, plus filing fees and costs because he wrote out 5 checks to our small business. We allowed Mr. Berg to write checks to our establishment, even though he had bounced checks previously becuase he had made good on his debts. But to no avail has he responded to these last 5 checks. We called him and hand delivered letters of request for payment.”
Berg, of course, never showed up. The Small Business that Berg stiffed, in early 2004, received a Decision Of Judgement for Berg’s bounced checks.
So, when did Berg finally pay off his just debts (i.e., bounced checks, circa 2004), even though (in his words) Berg has had “raised income every year since 1993″?
The document states: “Satisfaction Filed – 25 Feb 2008.”
About FOUR YEARS later.
Not “bad” for a guy that, in his words, has had “raised income every year since 1993″?
So if and when Mitch Berg gets up on a TeaBagger stage this weekend and starts pontificating about how “Gov’t has to live within its means, like a family does!” – you’ll know what a complete fraud Mitch Berg is – as well as those “Get Your Gov’t Hands Off My Medicare!” Tea Baggers are, that allowed Bounced Checks Berg to get in front of their microphone.
(cross posted at MnProgressiveProject.com; comments welcome there)
