Letter from the colonies

[Thanks to oldmoderate for the great post; I couldn't resist riffing.]

Colonialism, according to Wikipedia, is the establishment, maintenance, acquisition and expansion of colonies in one territory by people from another territory. They go on to call it (my emphasis):

". . . a set of unequal relationships between the metropole ['mother city'] and the colony and between the colonists and the indigenous population.

Here in Wisconsin, we're learning first-hand what it means to be "colonized" by a hostile power. Scott Walker is a colonial governor, placed in power by fascists running multinational corporations to control our fortunes to their best interest. We're getting the deluxe package:

• for-profit education fed by vouchers: taxpayer money going pretty much directly into the pockets of Walker's friends in the profit education business
• public employee unions busted, not only at the state level, but county, municipal and school district levels as well
• legislative chambers essentially closed to the public, silent protesters routinely arrested and hauled away for (couldn't make this shit up) holding a sign or shooting a cellphone video
• bills passed in the middle of the night, behind locked doors, with no scrutiny or input from constituents, those who, you know, might not agree with getting screwed repeatedly to profit the "job creators."
• speaking of, where the hell ARE the jobs?
• NRA and ALEC-driven concealed carry and castle doctrine legislation, one fatality so far
• one of the most draconian voter ID laws in the country, currently on a fast track to the Colonial supreme court, where it will be quickly freed of pesky injunctions by the court's ethics-impaired conservative majority and allowed to become law
• high-level civil service positions changed to gubernatorial appointments, often filled with the unqualified relatives of political donors and allies
• and then there's Walkergate . . .

Even though he's from 'Tosa, Scott Walker is a colonist. No, actually, he's a carpetbagger, as are Kleefisch,  the Fitzgeralds and the rest of this unholy train wreck of an administration, including 4 of 7 state supreme court justices. Walker's public motives are those of his handlers; he exhibits no loyalty to the state of Wisconsin, to its erstwhile reputation for open government, the quality of its air and water, or its people. While Walker has to "dance wit those whut brung him," for his political survival, his only real loyalty is to Scott Walker.

Olbermann is right: Walker is a fascist bastard. The things he's done to my state are anti-democracy and anti-American.

Here's your October Surprise ... a few months early

The latest ploy by the paleoconservative gang to throw Barack Obama out of the Whitehouse is ... (wait for it) ... WAR WITH IRAN!!!

A military strike on Iran, whether by the US or Israel or anybody, would pretty much destroy the global economy, particularly here in the land of the dollar bill, where every single aspect of our daily lives depends on what? Oil, boys & girls. If somebody bombs Iran, the price of a barrel of oil will likely go over $160 in a heartbeat when they close the Strait of Hormuz in response. If that happens, there will absolutely be a global great depression. Such a small price to pay for getting that black guy out of the Whitehouse, no?

From Thom Hartmann: 

"On Tuesday - International Monetary Fund chief Christine Lagarde warned that a military strike on Iran could disrupt oil supplies around the world - causing the price of oil to spike 30%. Lagarde said, 'Clearly it would be a shock to economies if there was a major shortage of exports of oil out of Iran...A sudden and brutal rise in the price of oil would have serious consequences on the global economy.' "

So if you've been puzzled by the constant yammering about Irani nukes, despite the fact that Mossad and all 18 US intelligence agencies (18? That in itself makes you wanna puke) are convinced that Iran has no nukes, puz no more. They'll have to bomb Iran to take out Obama because, face it, without crashing the economy they probably can't.

They've tried strangling the US economy with their damnable tinkle-down economics, they've tried to strangle the working class by killing unions both public and private, and they've tried to gut some of the country's most popular and successful programs (social security, Medicare, even the Post Office, because it comprises the biggest public sector union on the planet) in the interest of tanking the economy and disabling their opposition.

Why must we sacrifice necessities for poor, working class, and disabled people in order to provide more money and toys for rich legislators and their friends?

 

Because it is the fascist way, and we are being taken over by fascists. Look at what's happened in Wisconsin.

Steve Nass: If I don't like it, you can't see it

This one really pisses me off: Steve Nasshole (R-La Grange) has threatened the UW-Extension School for Workers into cancelling an art exhibition displaying the images and written works that sprang from the historic protests in Madison last spring. Nass claims that " . . . there are lots of Republicans and conservatives around the state who are still very angry about that whole thing. We just suggested that now, with all the tensions that still exist, this may not be the appropriate time for this arts festival."

Why should I give a damn if "republicans and conservatives around the state" are pretty angry about the protests? If these pudlickers want to help out the 1% by giving public property and tax money to assholes like David Koch, then they can damn well expect the rest of us to get pissed. There are a lot of "democrats and liberals" in this state who are pretty angry, too, except Nazis like Nass don't believe in our right to express anything but agreement with his corporatist bullshit agenda.

Short and sweet: To hell with Steve Nass and his censorship, and to hell with the School of Workers for caving in to it. Their pussy excuse is a response to Nass' threat to defund the School, a shit trick he has pulled before. AND THEY SIMPLY LET HIM GET AWAY WITH IT.

Walker on foreclosure settlement: I coulda used it all

Okay, nobody actually said that, but Wisconsin will receive $141 million as part of a foreclosure fraud settlement with five of the country's biggest banks, of which $31.6 million is to go directly to the state. Good thing it wasn't the whole $141 million: Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, whose office has control of the money, has made the decision, in consultation with Governor Scott Walker, that exactly none of that $31.6 million will go to actually compensate homeowners. The plan is that most of the money - $25.6 million - will be used to finger the gushing dike of the Walker "budget" (currently in arrears about $143 million, $208 million by the end of the biennium in 2013, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau).  The remaining $6 million will be "retained by the Department of Justice to be allocated at a later date."

What can you even say about douche-baggery of this magnitude? Here's Scooter's take:

“Just like communities and individuals have been affected, the foreclosure crisis has had an effect on the state of Wisconsin, in terms of unemployment. … This will offset that damage done to the state of Wisconsin,” Walker said [jsonline].

Leaves you gasping for breath, doesn't it?

Credit: Pokeracademy.co.uk

Boy Scouts court martial Scott Walker

MADISON — In a surprise move yesterday, the Boy Scouts of America announced they will begin court martial proceedings against Governor Scott Walker of Wisconsin.The ultimate goal of the court martial, according to a Boy Scout press release, is to strip Walker of his Eagle Scout rank and "bust him all the way back to cleaning latrines. Really nasty latrines." The Scouts went on to say that the charges against Walker stem from his basic dishonesty, a callous disregard for "those of us who most need a helping hand," and generally giving a potful of public money to private individuals who don't need it.

"Scott Walker no longer personifies the Boy Scout ideal," the release concluded. "He will be stripped of his insignia, rank, and uniform, then marched to the nearest public toilet to begin his new Scouting assignment."

Walker spokesperson Cullen Werwie declined comment on the matter, claiming he was on his way to a singing engagement at the Federal Building in Milwaukee and had to save his voice. (Werwie has been granted immunity in a John Doe investigation into irregularities during Walker's recent campaign for the Governor's post. The probe is being conducted by Milwaukee County DA John Chisolm.)

Wisconsin State Assembly to debate whether they should govern at all

Photo: TPM

In a stunning and courageous move, Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald introduced legislation, bill number AB-000a, nicknamed "Government: So Over" today. In a press release this afternoon, Fitzgerald urged Wisconsinites to pay no attention, go shopping or something.

While little is known of the actual language in the bill, sources close to the Speaker confirm that the bill would essentially repeal Wisconsin's constitutional government and create a quasi-public-private-amorphous entity called WisProfit to run the state as a for-profit corporation in its place.

"It's my dream," Fitzgerald said at a presser in the Assembly chamber late today. "I want to repeal my own job, then go to work for WisProfit. Sweet."

Jobsturbation

jobs·tur·ba·tion
noun, "jōbs-tər-bā-shən"

stroking of the 1% believing they'll pop for a few jobs, pastime of Republican legislators and tea party governors.