Political Heat

Governor compares 2011 Wisconsin Uprising to militant, violent fundamentalists Earlier today, Gov. Scott Walker compared the citizens of Wisconsin , those who took to the streets to exercise their democratic rights to petition their government in 2011, to the Islamic State of Iraq and Syria (ISIS), an extremist organization of radical religious fundamentalists who engage in brutal acts of terror and murder. “If I can take on 100,000 protesters, I can do the same across the world,” Walker said confidently , closing a statement in which he described the need to go after ISIS directly. It’s unclear whether Walker understands what President Barack Obama is doing currently with ISIS. Last year the president outlined his plan for targeted airstrikes against the terrorist organization , and just this month sent a war authorization package to Congress . But whether Walker understands the president’s actions or not, one thing we can be certain on following these comments is that he ha...

From our friends at Cognitive Dissidence comes some upsetting news to report: contributor Jeff Simpson, a survivor of cancer, has had a recurrence. While Jeff is experiencing some anxiety, which is utterly understandable and perfectly normal, he is maintaining a very positive attitude and is confident that he will overcome this as he has every other obstacle. ... Jeff and his family also invite us to join them in lighting a candle at 9 pm tonight in a show of solidarity and well-wishing. You can also help Jeff and his family directly by donating funds to him at this difficult time. Go to Cognitive Dissidence to find out how, or go directly to the PayPal site here . Hang in there, Jeff! We’re rooting for you! #Solidarity Image via Cognitive Dissidence

Arguing on extremes in minimum wage debate makes no sense (or cents) In the debate over raising the minimum wage, invariably someone who opposes raising it will make an irrational point. It goes a little like this: “If raising the wage is SO GOOD for us, why should we stop at $10.10 an hour? Why not raise it to $20 an hour? Or $100 an hour? Huh??” I’ve been dumbfounded by this question on many occasions. Not because it’s too complex for my mind to comprehend (though that opinion has been offered many times) but rather because it’s too simplistic to warrant an answer. OF COURSE raising the minimum wage to outrageous levels would be a dumb idea. Admitting that point, however, seems to give these opponents a certain level of satisfaction. But the argument doesn’t stop there. There’s another side to the debate that these irrational naysayers are unconsciously making . In arguing over raising the wage to these unheard of levels, these individuals are choosing to use an extreme ...

Wisconsin continues to "slow down" on job creation under Walker's policies Probably sensing a day that the media would be focusing on protesters in the Capitol rotunda, the Department of Workforce Development released preliminary jobs numbers from its quarterly jobs report yesterday. The data was once considered the “gold standard” by the Walker administration, until people started getting wise and realized that the data showed Wisconsin was dead last in job creation in the Midwest . These days, it hardly warrants acknowledgement of any kind from the governor. The data released yesterday can’t yet be compared to other states because it's released early. The federal report, which comes out next month, will provide a detailed analysis on where Wisconsin stands with the rest of the country. For now, we can only look at Wisconsin’s year-by-year comparison. By that standard Wisconsin had yet another troubling year (PDF), its second-worst third quarter showing sinc...

If Walker can't handle media pressure, he shouldn't be running for president More nonsense from Gov. Scott Walker (emphasis in bold mine): Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker let out his frustration with the media this weekend over Twitter, an attempt to regain control of the narrative surrounding his refusal to comment on former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani’s remarks questioning whether Obama “loves” America. On Saturday, Walker decried the media’s “gotcha game,” and on Sunday he tweeted a selfie of himself and his son visiting the White House with the rest of the governors in town for the National Governors Association meeting. Wisconsinites across the state should take real offense to Walker characterizing the media as playing a “gotcha game.” This is legitimately disturbing stuff : the governor of our state can’t say for certain whether the president loves America or not. He won't even say whether Obama is a Christian or not , which the president has pointedly shown ...

Walker chooses to incite more ignorance and fear-mongering instead of leading on question of Obama's "love" for America After being joined by Rudy Giuliani this past week at an event where Giuliani questioned the love that President Obama has for the country, Gov. Scott Walker was asked today “Do you think the president loves America?” Walker answered : I assume most people in this country love America. And to me I don’t think it’s worth getting into the battle over whether he does or he doesn’t. He can handle that himself. I know I do. And I know there are great people in this country who love this country and who ... feel this country’s exceptional and it doesn’t necessarily align by party. I think there are Republicans and Democrats and plenty of people in between. I’ve never asked the President so I don’t really know what his opinions are on that one way or another. Here’s what he SHOULD have said: Yes . That’s the easy answer. And it’s the right answer. So ...

Walker turns questions about his degree into attacks on higher education Gov. Scott Walker doesn’t think that having a college degree should impede him on his quest to become president. I for one agree – it’s not necessary to have a degree in order to succeed in this life, though it does often help a great deal. Still, it shouldn't be the sole determination over whether someone is qualified to hold office. Much like religion, an individual’s level of education shouldn't restrict them one way or another when it comes to which office they want to shoot for . But Scott Walker makes many assumptions when he defends his not having a college diploma . Among the more absurd, he lists himself among notable non-degree holders such as Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, and Mark Zuckerberg. "I think there's a lot of Americans out there who scratch their head and say, we have people who helped found Microsoft, Apple, Facebook, plenty of other successful businesses, enterprises ...

Brown's ascension the latest step forward for LGBT rights The state of Oregon is set to have the first openly serving LGBT governor in America’s history . After being embroiled in controversy, current Gov. John Kitzhaber has announced he will step down from office . He will be replaced by Secretary of State Kate Brown, a Democratic official who identifies as bisexual. Brown was outed in the early 1990s under circumstances she described as “a forced coming out.” “It was probably good that it happened,” Brown said of the incident, “but it wasn't sort of in my own terms and in my own timeline.” First elected Secretary of State in 2008, Brown will assume the office of governor on Wednesday when Kitzhaber will officially resign. Many are already praising Brown’s ascension to the state’s executive office. Human Rights Campaign had the following to say : Few are better prepared to lead the great state of Oregon than Kate Brown. She's a known commodity to Oregonia...

When it comes to science, Gov. Walker leaves it to the "experts" -- his donor base Though he had taken great pains to prevent unwanted questions from the foreign press, Scott Walker couldn’t prevent questions in at least one forum: the Q&A section from the event he was scheduled to speak at. Walker was asked a question about the issue of evolution , and whether he himself was “comfortable” with the idea: "I'm going to punt on that one as well," Walker responded. The likely 2016 presidential candidate said he didn't think it was an appropriate question to answer during a trade mission to the United Kingdom, adding, "that's a question a politician shouldn't be involved in one way or another." Maybe the question wasn’t relevant to the topics being discussed in the forum. But Walker is purposely dodging controversy, an action that doesn’t coincide with his supposed “leadership” mantra. Later on, Walker tried to clear up his stat...

In seeking to avoid Christie-like performance with the press, Walker simply won't talk to London media During his trip to London this week, Gov. Scott Walker will speak privately with UK Prime Minister David Cameron. He’ll represent Wisconsin in a “trade mission.” But he won’t talk to any press. Citing an “extremely tight” schedule while overseas, Walker’s Press Secretary Laurel Patrick denied any requests for the governor to speak to the press . “This is an official trip and the purpose of the trade mission is to promote foreign direct investment in Wisconsin,” Patrick added, “so it is vital that we keep the Governor's planned schedule.” This shouldn’t come as a surprise to anyone. Fresh off his own stint in the UK, Gov. Chris Christie, another presidential prospect for the GOP, embarrassed himself with a slew of answers pertaining to vaccination. Walker, ever the right-wing-media-darling in Wisconsin, knows he can’t control the foreign press message the w...

Removal of Wisconsin Idea exposes the true light of Walker’s intentions UPDATE: Records now indicate that there never was a "drafting error," and that Walker's budget team had indeed purposefully struck the Wisconsin Idea language out . Original post below. --- In the proposed budget that was drafted by Gov. Scott Walker’s office, an unusual item caught the eye of University of Wisconsin System officials. It was the removal of core tenets of the Wisconsin Idea , a philosophical belief that the purpose of the System was to “extend knowledge and its application beyond the boundaries of its campuses.” That line, in fact, was crossed out. So were others, including “to serve and stimulate society” and “Basic to every purpose of the system is the search for truth.” Put in place of these omitted sections was a simple line: “The mission of the system is to meet the state’s workforce needs ” (words in bold added). Universities and colleges serve a grander purpose ...

Gov. Walker's attacks on education continues UPDATE: Walker backs off, won't remove/change Wisconsin Idea . Original post below. --- Budgets are moral documents. That’s a sentiment I strongly believe in. On paper, sure, it’s a lot of dollar signs and convoluted numbers, but the nuts and bolts of any budget tells us where our priorities are at. It’s true for any budget. A family’s budget might say we’re going to allocate some money towards saving a car, but we’re also going to put money away to save for our child’s education. The priority of that budget looks towards the future, of leaving open the possibilities of a better life for the next generation. It’s clear that the same set of priorities isn’t on the mind of Gov. Scott Walker. When discussing his budget in previous days, Walker made it known that he was shifting priorities away from the University of Wisconsin System in order to help pay for a $287 million budget deficit . Last night Walker finally unveile...

On immunization, the public’s general health, and Scott Walker’s choice to do what’s right Click to enlarge It’s important that every child get vaccinated. The health risks are far too great to ignore the medical necessity of prevention for your son or daughter. It goes beyond that: the health of your child is of utmost important to you, but what about the health of the children your kid interacts with? Parents who are questioning immunizing their children need to consider the health of their own family, but they also need to empathize a little, to consider the health of other families that their choices may affect. We’re currently in the midst of an outbreak of measles across the country. At present, more than 100 cases of measles have been reported in 14 states. Officials at the CDC expect more cases to be reported in the coming days. Measles is no laughing matter. More than a quarter of children who got the disease in the last decade had to be hospitalized. Measles ca...