More Conservative Discrimination in WI

Everywhere you go in WI, there are people displaying their approval or disapproval of Governor Scott Walker. This can take the form of anything from a t-shirt to a sneer reacting to that t-shirt.  Great!  Political discussion is good.  Ideological expression and diversity of opinions are great.  The key, of course, is often displayed on liberal bumper stickers.  We must COEXIST.

Apparently the liberals in Madison have some trouble with that.

The newest story:  A Wisconsin woman was fired for having a pro-Walker sign on her car.  Her frickin car in the frickin parking lot.  Does her car even have anything to do with her job?  Nope, she's a custodian.

The story, as it was originally reported, was that Mary Taylor was not told to remove the sign from her car.  Radio personality Mark Belling has uncovered evidence that shows she WAS ordered to remove it.

My question: Why aren't the Wisconsin MSM sources doing their jobs and looking in the same areas as Mark Belling?  If the information was available to Belling, surely it would be available to at least ONE of the state's seasoned reporters.  Did the WI MSM find this information and suppress it, or did they not even bother doing their jobs and searching for all available evidence?

h/t Breitbart.com

Rox Bar Apologizes... Sort of.

More on Roxgate!  The Rox Bar and Grille has chosen not to contact anyone in our party.  Our emails and phone calls have been left unanswered.  They did, however, post this on their Facebook page today.

"Dear Patrons of the Rox Bar and Grille, We are sorry. To anyone that we have offended, we ask that you please accept our sincere apologies. I promise you though, this was a big misunderstanding that is missing many of the facts. At Rox Bar and Grille, we take pride in ensuring our customer’s satisfaction. Unfortunately, we have had to deal with heated debates in our establishment, that could have potentially threatened the safety of our staff, as well as our patrons. We are a small, family owned business and when you walk through our doors, we feel a great responsibility to enforce a safe, family-friendly atmosphere. We truly do open our doors as if it were our home, and welcome anyone and everyone to spend time here with us. We DO NOT condone any type of discriminatory behavior in our establishment. We are in constant pursuit of perfection and are already working on solutions that will prevent similar problems from occurring in the future.We deeply value our relationship with our customers. Without all of you, we do not exist. Yours in service, Dennis Hronis and Peter Hronis - Owners"

I'm confused why they are supporting a "family friendly atmosphere" when you must be 21 to enter.  But I don't really care why they have their alleged policy and see no need for them to justify it by alleging previous violence; the alleged policy should have been made clear to us before we entered.  And I disagree with their claim that they "DO NOT condone any type of discriminatory behavior in our establishment."  They are judging people based on what they choose to wear.  They are judging people based on their appearance.

If the Rox Bar wants to discriminate against people who wear their political hearts on their sleeves, so be it.  But don't lie about it -- and don't let us waste our money there before saying we're not welcome back.

Jerry Bader Show, part two

Transcript of part two of the Jerry Bader Show, with Jerry talking about Roxgate.  This includes a call-in from another member of our group of six who was there that night.

Jerry: I find this story nothing short of fascinating, and even though it happened in Pewaukee, in Waukesha County in suburban Milwaukee, I think it has implications statewide.  Because there is this mindset that rules in Wisconsin that you actually don't have the right to express your opinion about Scott Walker -- if you support him.  Now, understand, a private business has a right to do whatever they want to do.  In fact, if they want to tell you, "You know what, we don't like Scott Walker, get out of here" -- not smart -- but they do have the right to do that.  They have the right to have a policy.

Jerry Bader Show, part one

Here's part one of the podcast of Jerry Bader on The Jerry Bader Show talking about the Rox Bar Incident:

Part one: Scott Walker T-Shirt wearing man shares his story


Jerry, introducing "the person directly involved with" Roxgate: Santo joins us now on the phone. Santo, good morning.

Santo: Good morning, Jerry. How are you doing?

Jerry: Good, and I really appreciate you taking the time to come on.  Now.  What we're talking about is Rox Bar and Grille in Waukesha. Santo, in your own words -- and, you know, talk a little bit about the day and the events that led up to you folks being there, and tell us exactly what happened there.

WI Bar Discriminates Against Conservatives

Last night I went to the Rox Bar and Grille in Pewaukee, WI with five conservative friends.  On our way out -- after spending money in their establishment -- the doorman said to never come back, due to wearing gear promoting Governor Scott Walker.

Walker supporters and former Rox Bar patrons have swarmed the Rox Bar's Facebook page to express their outrage.  We await comment from the bar's owner.

For those outside of the area: the bar is in Waukesha County, near the hometown of Governor Scott Walker.

the controversial -- & awesome -- shirt

The shirt, a favorite among Walker supporters, can be purchased online at B&D Embroidery.










UPDATE: The bar has posted an apology on Facebook. (Spoiler alert: It's lame.  Also, it's not an apology.)  Click (below) to read the non-apology apology and read updates about this developing incident.

Weathermen, Cops, Vietnam Vets, & the New New Left

Yesterday I started thinking about the old New Left, the new wave of old protests, and the tight rope between the two.  Here's the small nugget that I'm stuck on right now.

One of the differences between then and now: people have learned that when it comes to soldiers, one should love the sinner but hate the sin.  In other words, spitting on returning vets doesn't help anyone (except helping the establishment make the protesters look heartless).  So I've been thinking about what other things the protesters might have learned.

In the 60s, cops were pigs.  They were the house nigger who enforced the establishment's bogus rules.  Now, the protesters are quick to point out that the cops are on their side.  WTF?  Oh...

Is it possible -- possible -- that the protesters realized that if you want to break the rules, it's best to have the first line of rule-breaking-enforcers on your side... not wanting to enforce laws against you... doing whatever they can to secretly help you (or, at least, not mess you up)?...

But, how do you get the pigs on your side?  How do you get them to trust you?  Just telling them you're on their side is not enough.  You gotta make it seem like your actions benefit them.  You gotta make them feel torn, such that they must make a Sophie's choice between (A) doing their job and enforcing the law lest they lose their job and (B) not doing their job which somehow will help them keep their job.  In other words, if the protesters accomplish their goal, the cops benefit.

<b>Enter the new alliance of the New New Left, in which they support and promote the unions.</b>

Walker Wins?

Might Wisconsin be seeing the light at the end of the tunnel?

The first round of recall elections was clearly won by the Republicans.  
     * Of the six elections last week, Republicans won four while Democrats won six.
     * Democrats did not win enough seats to flip the senate majority from red to blue.'

Today Wisconsin votes in recall elections for Sens. Wirch and Holperin.  Holperin, in the vast and northern District 12, is most vulnerable of the two.  His challenger, Kim Simac, has no government experience but has been running a strong grassroots campaign.

And now... PPP is saying that Wisconsinites do not favor recalling Gov. Walker.

Chokegate or Whiner-gate?

More details emerge about the Prosser/Bradley WI SC debacle.

Long story short, Prosser was acting in self-defense, and other justices agree that no "choking" occurred. What is also becoming obvious is that Wisconsin's Supreme Court is embroiled with more dysfunction than Homer Simpson at a vegetarian picnic.

Perhaps that is the reason that this story broke at the same time that the press was announcing Walker's signing of the Budget Bill which curtailed public sector unions' ability to collectively bargain.  That way, when people read about Wisconsin, they will also read about the dysfunctional Supreme Court which is responsible* for pushing the law forward.

*Note.  The Supreme Court had nothing to do with the publication of the law.  The court case regarded the meetings rules in which the legislature voted to pass the bill.  The court had no authority at that point to make claims about the bill/law's legality, and they made that clear in their ruling.  Regardless, presumed conservative Justice Prosser wanted to wait to announce the ruling.  This would not only relate to partisan perceptions, as the article notes -- doing so would have meant the Wisconsin legislature would have put the bill back up for vote in the Senate and Assembly, essentially re-passing it and taking the Supreme Court entirely out of public perception regarding the law.  Honestly, of everything that's emerging about the WI SC, waiting to announce their decision would have been a good decision.  Even if its intention was solely to give the perception of non-partisan whatevers, it also would have given the protesters and Dems a second chance to get their representatives to rule against the law...

Walker signed the budget.

Whew.  Here's a list of additional budget vetoes.  

WI Supreme Court: playground shenanigans or serious business?

I have been trying to ignore this story, but I just can't seem to do it.  Apparently, A Situation occurred behind closed doors between Wisconsin Supreme Court Justices on the eve of announcing their ruling on the Act 10 case.

Who said it: Democrat or Republican?

A Wisconsin blogger has asked an important question regarding the celebrations -- the "glory" -- at the end of the road when questionable tactics wereused to achieve victory.  In other words, do the means justify the ends?  I've clipped some quotes from the blog.

How Will Wisconsin's Budget Cuts Affect YOU?

The IWF has a "non-partisan" answer.  Since I'm currently not in Madison (and embrace the northwoods -- and any chance to pretend I actually live up here year-round), I checked out the stats for my current little town.  According to these stats, my town will have $9,127 less moneys.  The town's population is just under 1000, so that will affect each town member by about $9.

Sounds okay to me.

The website also notes

There are 1,943 public workers in Vilas County. Under the proposedstate budget, each will lose about $2,071 in take‐home pay.  This will reduce local buying andeconomic activity by $4 million leading to closed businesses and retail job losses. 

Facebook continues to piss me off...

This status update is polluting my Facebook wall.

Oops, wrong button!  I meant to say

Remember when teachers, public employees, Planned Parenthood, NPR and PBS crashed the stock market, wiped out half of our 401ks, took trillions in tax payer funded bailouts, spilled oil in the Gulf of Mexico, gave themselves billions in bonuses and paid no taxes? Yeah. Me neither. Pass it on.

Dear Democrabeepers: KNOCK IT OFF

What's a democrabeep?  It's a car horn honking to the protesters' beat of this-is-what-democracy-looks-like.  And for those living within honkin' ear shot of the WI Capitol for a month this winter/spring, it was the devil.  El Diablo.  Ned Flanders' "Howdily Doodily" hurt less to Homer Simpson's ears than those damn car horns did to people living nearby.

The battle is won.  I know.  So why am I bitching?  I follow all sorts of people on twitter, and tonight I noticed this in my feed.  A celebration of the democrabeep.

"Democracy for Demmies"

click to enlarge

What's next in Wisconsin? Unions make plans with maps.

"Making plans with maps" is a phrase I coined in a poem about a decade ago.  Surprisingly, it's not caught on.  (Heh.)  I use it to reference daydreaming or plotting for high-fallutin' or outlandish plans, in which the planning-for part is more complicated (and perhaps more emotionally fulfilling) than the actual execution (which rarely comes to pass anyways).  After one makes plans with maps, one might give up and just ask, Who is John Galt.

The WI unions are making plans with maps.  They are a wounded animal, licking their wounds, and they are an angered ex-girlfriend plotting revenge.  An angry ex-girlfriend with Borderline Personality Disorder will do something destructive to her ex-boyfriend to show him how much she loves him and how much she deserves to be taken back.  The stronger the emotion, the riskier the move.  I'm talking risky, like setting his car on fire.  (Emily Valentine in early 90210?  Classic BPD.  Just sayin'.)

The unions have lost the most recent collective bargaining battle.  They have retreated and amassed their army to fight on two fronts: recalls and federal courts.

This is What Democracy Looks Like, vol #38947203527

Here a Hitler, There a Hitler, Everywhere a Hitler Hitler

I have had it up to here with the union's Nazi rhetoric.  First thing the Nazis did, they took away the unions... it took WWII to get rid of Hitler... what will it take to get rid of ["union buster" du jour]...  

Y A W N


In Hitler's own words, unions were an essential part of his master plan.


Mein Kampf:

I am convinced that we cannot possibly dispense with the trades unions. On the contrary, they are among the most important institutions in the economic life of the nation. Not only are they important in the sphere of social policy but also, and even more so, in the national political sphere. For when the great masses of a nation see their vital needs satisfied through a just trade unionist movement the stamina of the whole nation in its struggle for existence will be enormously reinforced thereby.

Bing Bang Bam. And pbbbbb.

#YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester

In no particular order...

‎	ronnocomot‎ If you stood there and watched Gov. Walker get everything he wanted but still claim victory #YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester #wiunion #idiot

‎	gl33p‎ They say #YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester. Rest easy, you are. You just#mightnotrealizeityet

‎	annaironside‎ RT @wiartteacher: #YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester you know every product Koch makes.

‎	G0vSWalker‎ If you can look at a map and mentally fill in the reds and blues#youmightbeawisconsinprotester

‎	MollyMag‎ #YoumightbeaWisconsinprotester if you have ever thanked the cops "guarding" the Capitol or seen them carrying signs the next day

‎	BattiestGrrl‎ If your spouse has ever referred to him/herself as a #WalkervilleWidow/er, #YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester

‎	4SHCrane‎ #YouMightBeAWisconsinProtester if you sing #wiunion songs while mowing the lawn

‎	MollyMag‎ #YoumightbeaWisconsinprotester if you never used to vote a strict party ticket but refuse to ever vote Republican again. Ever. Ever

WI, you fucking son of a bitch

yoinked from althouse.  "have a heart" & "tax, tax, tax the rich/Walker you fucking son of a bitch"