House GOP Proposal is Painful - For Everyone!

Since I am on every e-mailing list, I got an email today from moveon.org, House GOP Proposes Cuts to Scores of Sacred Cows.

According to the article, written by Humberto Sanchez, the House Appropriations Committee proposed cuts that swept across the board. Mr. Sanchez states that the bill cuts into "sacred cows," such as NASA, the FBI and Amtrak.

I don't eat meat, but I still think that, as Kriegel and Brandt named their book, sacred cows make the best burgers.

 The National Journal article implies that in some way these cuts a draconian or unfair. Draconian? That is in the eye of the beholder. Unfair? Absolutely not.

The list of cuts in the article show that dozens of differnet departments are having their budgets cut. this is exactly what the GOP Representatives (and Senators) said they would. Here in Wisconsin, Governor Walker did a bait and switch, saying that unions would have to make sacrifices, but never saying that he would pull their collective bargaining powers. This action by the GOP Representatives is exactly what they said they were going to do.

Normally, I lean left on issues, but in this case, this article, which comes off as somewhat hysterical, is exactly that hysterical and not honest about the spread of the cuts. The subtitle, "Proposal includes cuts for NASA, local police, rural development and low-income women." All they forgot mention was the enslavement of bunnies and starving kittens.

I don't know the details of the cuts, but if cuts are going to spread throughout the budget, it is disingenuous to imply that somehow they are unfair.

April 5: Governor Walker's First Test - The Supreme Court Candidates

On April 5, Wisconsinites will go to the polls to elect a Supreme Court Justice. The two candidates, Judge David Prosser and Joanne Kloppenburg, represent two opposing views on the law and its application.

At the moment, conservative judges have a 4-3 majority, including Justice Prosser. The budget repair bill, the way it was passed and the Governor's proposed budget have lent new fire to the battle.

Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg's website starts telling her biography this way:

"Assistant Attorney General Kloppenburg has been a litigator and prosecutor at the Wisconsin Department of Justice since 1989, serving under Attorneys General from both parties: Don Hanaway, Jim Doyle, Peg Lautenschlager and JB Van Hollen."                                                                                          accessed March15 2011

"Justice Prosser was raised in Appleton, and received his bachelor's degree in political science from DePauw University in 1965, and his law degree from the University of Wisconsin Law School in 1968."                                                                                           accessed March 15, 2011

At the moment, Justice Prosser "judicial record" page is under construction. Mrs. Kloppenburg's page contains a half-page with not a lot of substance, talking about impartiality, etc.

The coalition that is attempting to unseat Governor Walker's allies will try to remove Justice Prosser from the bench. His political views are conservative, some say extreme. With the understanding that some of the Governor's initiatives will probably end up in the Supreme Court, moving the court to a more liberal stance will be a high priority for Scott Walker's opponents.

As the days go by  I will be looking for more information on both of these people.

The Dirtiest Photo Yet: Randy Hopper's 'Brett Favre' Moment

And you thought the Brett Favre and Jesse James photos were bad... here you can see Senator Randy Hopper (gulp!) wearing the shirt of the same union he just voted to destroy. Smile when you drop the ax!

Do you think he has knives in his hands twisting in the backs of these union members?

Governor Walker's Stimulus Bill - AP Report

Governor Walker's New Budget is more stimulus pork and unnecessary building projects

Wisconsin state building projects total $1.1B in Gov. Scott Walker's proposal

 An article from today's AP wire via the Green Bay Press Gazette

"Walker said in a statement that his proposal released Monday “aggressively uses the funds available to us to maintain state buildings, plan for growth, and most importantly create jobs.”

 "This plan will save or create over three million jobs -- almost all of them in the private sector." Barack Obama,  Feb. 9, 2009

 $900 million cuts from education and Governor Walker is spending millions on what?

• $76 million for a new sports and education center at UW Madison
• $44 million for a new education center at UW Eau Claire
• $5 million for a museum for the state historical society and the Department of Veterans Affairs

"to maintain state buildings"

Over 67% of the funds are for NEW construction and major renovations, not maintenance!

In his inaugural speech, Governor Walker quoted Article 1, Section 22 of the Wisconsin Constitution where it speaks to "fruglaity." Governor Walker's idea of frugality is borrowing $900 million of the $1.1 billion through new bonds!

"Other major projects include $38.5 million for expansion of the west campus and $67 million for the Institute for Medical Research both at UW-Madison, $8 million to help pay for expansion of the Marquette Dental School and $17 million to renovate Carlson Hall at UW-Whitewater"

"Walker has confirmed that he will propose cutting education aid by about $900 million..."                                            theroot.com, March 1, 2011

So the Universities, particularly UW Madison, receive the money taken from the K-12 school. Not really a lot of point in making the campuses nicer and newer when the incoming generations won't be educated well enough to be able to go to college. Or perhaps this is what Governor Walker meant when he said that Wisconsin was open for business. We won't educate our own kids, we'll educate everyone else's. That's a forwarding thinking Wisconsin-centered plan. Thanks, Scott.

Here is a specific list of the projects on this list:

$67 million for the University of Wisconsin-Madison Institute for Medical Research
$50 million for UW-Milwaukee
$44 million for an education building at UW-Eau Claire
$38.5 million for UW-Madison West Campus Expansion
$27.4 million to improve existing DHC and state prison facilities
$17 million to renovate Carlson Hall at UW-Whitewater
$8 million to support the expansion of the Marquette University Dental School 

That's $251.9 million for universities and prisons. Only one is where our uneducated students will end up.

Republicans and Dems Agree on Nuclear Power in the U.S. in Spite of Japan

The Obama Administration and the Republican Senate Leadership finally found something that they can agree on: both sides are not willing to pull nuclear power off the table because of events in Japan.

“The President believes that meeting our energy needs means relying on a diverse set of energy sources that includes renewables like wind and solar, natural gas, clean coal and nuclear power," White House spokesman Clark Stevens is quotes as saying at thehill.com.

Meanwhile on the other end of Pennsylvania Avenue, Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell said, on Fox News Sunday, "This discussion reminds me, somewhat, of the conversations that were going on after the BP oil spill last year,I don’t think right after a major environmental catastrophe is a very good time to be making American domestic policy.” wsj.com

The sad thing is that this same group couldn't get it together to make any decisions on what to during the Gulf spill. At that time, the Administration suspended drilling and the Republicans wanted to poke new holes in the ground.

As far as oil goes, the Administration has authorized more drilling and the completion of several wells in the Gulf that had been started before the BP oil spill. And, while the Republicans try to gain political capital with the "Obama is to blame for high gas prices" story, neither side thinks that tapping into the Strategic Oil Reserve is a good idea.

In an earlier posting, I already talked about what is really causing the rise in gas prices. The reluctance on the part of both the Democrats and the Republicans is acknowledgment of what I said then: the fuel crisis is not being caused by a lack of oil, but by speculators.

So, where will nuclear power end up in the future after Japan? Probably, right where it was, on a slow track to reentering the American power grid, allowing us to be less dependent on oil, natural gas and coal to fuel our lights.

Joe the Plumber? Seriously? - Conservatives Need the Past to Survive the Future

I think that Conservatives have some valid points. There is something to be said for some ideas, like controlling the size and scope of government, protecting our borders and maintaining financial solvency. The ideas aren't bad; I part with them on execution.

Here's the problem that I see with the Neo-Con/Tea Party/Republican movement as it exists now: it has become an American Idol pageant of misfits and 15-minute media hounds.

So, who is the Tea Party getting its information from:

1. Glenn Beck - A recovering alcoholic, coke addict DJ who was pro-life until he found a new life at Fox. After converting to Mormonism, apparently Beck found out that God is running the show and he needs to be a decent person. No Osmond, he has not let that stop him from using profanity and mercilessly attacking people, including children. (Click here) He also peppers his shows with an apocalyptic prophecy ascribed to Joseph Smith. (reference)  The next time he says that the US Constitution is "hanging by a thread," look up the prophecy.
2. Sara Palin... former beauty queen, mayor of a large town in Alaska, former Governor of Alaska, reality TV star. OK, she's pretty. She was the mayor of Wasila, Alaska, the town with the Bridge to Nowhere. She declined the bridge, but not the money. As Governor of Alaska, she resigned. For all the accusations of nepotism, cronyism and other shenanigans, she resigned, despite having already being on the campaign trail with John McCain for a year or more. Her biography, Going Rogue , is named for a joke from SNL!
3. Joe the Plumber - Samuel Joseph Wurzelbacher shot to fame after questioning then-candidate Obama about a small business tax for businesses making over $250,000 per year. Interestingly, he wasn't making $250,000! When asked by Diane Sawyer, he responded, "No, not even close." At the time, he was a plumber's assistant, not a business owner. Then he became a campaign issue. His political view suddenly becomes a touchstone for the New Right.
4. Mark Williams - Radio host and de facto Tea Party spokesman - Let him speak for himself. "Williams denounced those carrying blatantly racist signs against President Obama during the tea parties as "no more part of the mainstream of America than the hippies who wear nipple clips and feather boas in San Francisco streets during so-called peace demonstrations."* Really? What? Huh? 'Nuf said?
5. Rush Limbaugh- This one is harder. He is an entertainer, therefore not necessarily constrained by truth. That said, he has maintained his point of view for a very long time and his following is undeniable. A little more self-education of his listeners might help things, but at least he's not Mark Williams.

Conservatives who are needed to lend this new movement legitimacy:

1. Margaret Thatcher  - Although the PM of Britain, her philosophies had a huge influence here in the U.S.. Well thought out, articulate and applied with compromise and discretion, Maggie was a woman that no one messed with. She was respected around the world and left a lasting impression on those who grew up listening to her political views.
2. William F. Buckley, Jr. - Soft-spoken, polite and generally demure, his intellect was astounding. He was able to article Conservative philosophy while still sounding like a man off the set of Kathryn Hepburn film.
3. Ayn Rand - Not strictly a Conservative, she was a Capitalist who understood how wealthy and power could make the world a better place. Unfortunately, her ideas fall apart when humans touch them. Her novels in particular have influenced Conservatives since their publication.
4. Ronald Reagan - Father of the modern Conservative movement, the Tea Party doesn't actually listen to what he said and did. Instead, they listen to a myth of the man. Not without his foibles, he was a man of great compassion and vision. He was smart enough to hire the right people into the right places and leave them alone.
5. Barry Goldwater- Goldwater was a Constitutionalist. He wanted to the government to return to the original vision that had been laid out by the Founding Fathers in the Constitution. Again, the ideals never really met up with the ideal. Kennedy's assassination destroyed any possibility of Goldwater being elected.

There are many on both lists that could be added, but if the Conservative movement expects to survive, it needs to look back to its roots. The danger of the cult of personality, on both ends of the political spectrum is that all of these people can talk, few can lead and fewer still can understand what they are doing and why.

Look Out!: The Deer May Be Shooting Back!

A Recent Article in Journal of Biological Chemistry states that Chronic Wasting Disease may be Transmissible to Humans

In it's January 4 edition, the Journal of Biological Chemistry published an article that indicates the CWD (chronic wasting disease) may be transmissible to humans.

CWD is a form of Mad Cow Disease(bovine spongiform encephalopathy) disease that affects deer. These diseases are related to CJD (Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease).

Chronic wasting disease is the deer form. According to this article, transmission of this disease to humans appears possible!

Charlene (last name withheld), 1st known US case of BSE

HOW TO AVOID CWD IN YOUR FOOD:

Don't eat venison! (That's simple!)

Like AIDS, Mad Cow Disease and most of the other new diseases that have begun to show up in the human population and the populations of the animals that we are closest to the way to avoid the diseases is simple: No unprotected sex, no eating animals (particularly factory farmed animals, or animals whose populations are closely controlled by humans).

A little background:

Mad Cow Disease was first identified in England in 1986. Since then, BSE has been found on every continent, with several cases in the US.


For those who think that animal diseases should not be our concern should remember: AIDS started as a primate disease in Africa!

Mad Cow Disease, in humans Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease, is lethal.