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Wednesday, December 27, 2017

#Trump #Mercer #Cruz #Pence #Parscale -> America First Policies, Inc ... Presidential Propaganda ... #GOP #GriftersOnParade

Still running mornings on MSNBC ... 12/29/2017

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
December 27th, 2017

Noticed MSNBC ad this morning ... probably been on the air for awhile already.  Decided to check out the group --

America First Policies is a non-profit organization created in January 2017

Oh! ... the webs we weave!

The Mercer family, Cambridge Analytica and Pence ... WOW

Formation[edit]

Trump donor Rebekah Mercer reportedly conflicted with Brad Parscale about the direction of the organization:
Rebekah wanted CA to be the data engine, which would essentially give her control of the group. And if the venture were successful, she would have an influence over the GOP that no donor had ever pulled off. Theoretically, if the president did something she didn't like, she could marshal his own supporters against him, since it would be her database and her money.
The organization was "founded by a group of Mr. Trump's loyalists — many of them with deep connections to Mr. Pence, including Nick Ayers, a Republican consultant who is regarded as the vice president's top political adviser". [7]

CA stands for Cambridge Analytica ...

Cambridge Analytica

Cambridge Analytica (CA) is a privately held company that combines data mining and data analysis with strategic communication for the electoral process. It was created in 2013 as an offshoot of its British parent company SCL Group to participate in American politics.[2] In 2014, CA was involved in 44 U.S. political races.[3] The company is partly owned by the family of Robert Mercer, an American hedge-fund manager who supports many politically conservative causes.[2][4] The firm maintains offices in New York CityWashington, D.C., and London.[5]
In 2015 it became known as the data analysis company working initially for Ted Cruz's presidential campaign.[4] In 2016, after Cruz's campaign had faltered, CA worked for Donald Trump's presidential campaign,[6] and on the Leave.EU-campaign for the United Kingdom's withdrawal from the European Union. CA's role and impact on those campaigns has been disputed and is the subject of ongoing criminal investigations in both countries.[7][8][9]
* Saw an interview (on YouTube) in which he said he never worked for Cruz!?

Brad Parscale (born January 3, 1976) is an American digital media and political strategist from Wikipedia

Trump Campaign[edit]

In 2011, Giles-Parscale began working for the Trump Organization, providing website development, design and digital media strategy for Trump International Realty.[1][8]Parscale continued his business relationship with the Trump Organization, providing digital media services to Trump Winery and the Eric Trump Foundation.[9] In early 2015, Giles-Parscale was hired to create a website for President Donald Trump's exploratory campaign, charging $1,500 for the site.[10] Through the entire election cycle, Giles-Parscale was paid $94 million by the Trump campaign.[11]
Parscale utilized social media advertisements with an experiment based strategy of different face expressions, font colors & slogans like "Basket of Deplorables." [12]Parscale's specific roles included heading the oversight of the digital advertising, TV advertising, small dollar fundraising, direct mail, political and advertising budget, and was also the RNC liaison working daily with Katie Walsh who was then the Republican National Committee's chief of staff. He was also the head of the data science and research, which included polling. Parscale claims that after realizing Virginia & Ohio were unable to be swayed, he decided to re-allocate the campaign resources to Michigan & Wisconsin. This shift included the decision to send Trump to Michigan & Wisconsin and focus efforts heavily on the two states. This decision was instrumental in winning the election as as Trump won both the historically democratic states. In terms of digital advertising, Parscale utilized Facebook heavily for the campaign advertisements & staffed Facebook employees to help them navigate the Facebook platform to utilize all of the platform's capabilities. Parscale did not have data scientists or any digital team during the Republican Primary and did much of the social media advertising from his home. [13] He would also stage competitions between tech companies to drive the lowest cost of buying on Facebook (programmatic) as well as other platforms.
Parscale was able to utilize Facebook advertising to directly target voters in swing states. Parscale cited the example on 60 Minutes that he was able to target specific universes (audiences) who care about infrastructure and promote Trump & his message to build back up the crumbling American infrastructure. Parscale utilized Facebook and social media to directly target voters in a much more extensive effort in comparison to the Clinton Campaign.[14]
The Trump campaign initially had solely Donald Trump's personal funding to back his campaign. Parscale set up a major grassroots campaign on Facebook that brought in funding quickly from across the U.S.[15] Parscale attributed the success of his vast social media presence to using the assistance offered by companies such as Facebook, Twitter, Snapchat and Google. He said that because the Trump campaign intended to spend $100 million on social media, companies in that area were prepared to assist the campaign in using that money effectively.[15]
The database of voter information that drove Parscale's social media advertising campaigns in the 2016 election was dubbed "Project Alamo", a name which eventually encompassed all of the associated fundraising and political advertising efforts.
On October 8, 2017, in an interview with Parscale conducted by Leslie Stahl was aired on 60 Minutes, Parscale stated that he was currently working on President Trump's 2020 re-election campaign.



#Trump #Mercer #Cruz #Pence -> America First Policies, Inc ... Presidential Propaganda #Parscale ... #GOP #GriftersOnParade - WI 1848 Forward

#Trump #Mercer #Cruz #Pence -> America First Policies, Inc ... Presidential Propaganda #Parscale 60 Minutes #Stahl... #GOP #GriftersOnParade - WI 1848 Forward




Saturday, December 16, 2017

Radical Rep. Paul (Ayn #Rand ) #Ryan wants to run for #President #2020 (at least)


If he sticks around he will definitely be tainted by the GOP/Trump tax bill disaster.  If that does not get him he still wants to be as far away from Trump as he can.  Since the GOP is likely in a disaster in 2018 he wants to be able to blame it on not going far enough.

Entitlement Reform is a euphemism for "Kill the SafetyNet" .

Who is Radical Representative PaulRyan? Maybe VP? 4/11/2011

Sunday, December 10, 2017

#Fox Faux News -> #FoxFauxNews - #GriftersOnParade <- #GOP


Mostly cherry picked out-of-context amnesiac faux narrative!  Harder to find what might be factual than what is slanted and exaggerated.

#Fox Faux News -> #FoxFauxNews  - WI 1848 Forward

#Fox Faux News -> #FoxFauxNews

#Fox Faux News -> #FoxFauxNews - GriftersOnParade <- #GOP

Grifter” is an American invention, dating back to the early 20th century, but appears to be based on the slightly older slang term “grafter,” also meaning “swindler,” “con man” or simply “thief.”

Monday, December 4, 2017

GOP Tax Bill: 2017 - Recession even Depression More Likely not Expansion - Tax Cuts and Jobs Act

Microeconomics, Macroeconomics, Behavioral Economics ... what do they tell us?

Somethings are reasonably understood.  Shock systems and they behave in unpredictable ways.  Politicians,  democratic political leaders and not so democratic leaders use the chaos they create to take even more unreasonable steps.

The deals that Senator McConnell had to accept to get a bill may moderate or lessen the shock but the impact on individuals and families is going to be very disruptive, remove any certainty about the future and severely restrict "personal consumption".

The latter will cause businesses to hesitate to expand -- that promised job growth will never happen.  Trickle down does not really work, businesses do not pass on "profits" to employees -- the very idea of competition makes businesses "hoarders" of cash unless they see spending as a way to achieve competitive advantage.  The cash will not be transferred to wages.

Returning for a moment to "personal consumption" -- just what is it?  A few possible components:

  • Disposable income
  • Discretionary income
  • Non-Discretionary income
  • Gross Income 
  • Net Income 
  • Adjusted gross income
  • Standard deduction
  • Itemized deductions
  • FICA tax
  • Tax Credit
If you were given a multiple choice test ... how many can you define or at least offer an explanation.


GOP politics  has been dominated by a philosophy of "disruption" to achieve their ideology still more rooted in "Ayn Rand" than anything else.
Rand advocated reason as the only means of acquiring knowledge and rejected faith and religion. She supported rational and ethical egoism and rejected altruism.

More later ... in the meantime ...

The 7 Myths of the GOP Tax Bill - The Atlantic Monthly 12/1/2017

It will supercharge growth, help the middle class, and boost workers’ pay. Or will it?
1. The tax bill will pay for itself.
2. It will supercharge growth.
3. Cutting the corporate tax rate will lead businesses to give raises to regular workers. 
4. Corporations will invest more.
         5. The rich are not going to benefit from the bill.  
5, cont. Trump himself would not benefit.
6. The plan is designed for the middle class.
7. It will help small businesses.

Naomi Klein - Shock Doctrine
In THE SHOCK DOCTRINE, Naomi Klein explodes the myth that the global free market triumphed democratically. Exposing the thinking, the money trail and the puppet strings behind the world-changing crises and wars of the last four decades, The Shock Doctrine is the gripping story of how America’s “free market” policies have come to dominate the world-- through the exploitation of disaster-shocked people and countries. 

More likely a pretext for cutting Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid in the near future.  More restriction of "personal consumption".


#GOP #Tax Bill: #2017 - #Recession More Likely not Expansion - #TaxCutsandJobsAct 12/2017 - #ShockDoctrine - Naomi #Klein



#GOP #Politics of Disruption #Tax Bill: #2017 - #Recession More Likely not Expansion - #TaxCutsandJobsAct 12/2017


#GOP #Tax Bill: #2017 - #Recession More Likely not Expansion - #TaxCutsandJobsAct 12/2017

Tuesday, November 21, 2017

Conservatives ( Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty - WILL ) try to bypass Wisconsin Constitution -- limit Constitutional Officer - DPI

Conservatives try to bypass Wisconsin Constitution

State Superintendent of Public Instruction chief Tony Evers ignores new law on rule making, lawsuit says Tom Daykin and Jason Stein, Milwaukee Published 8:45 a.m. CT Nov. 20, 2017

MADISON - A conservative law firm sued state schools Superintendent Tony Evers Monday, seeking to rein in his rule-making authority at a time when the Democratic official is running for governor. 
The Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty filed the lawsuit directly to the state Supreme Court, opening the latest skirmish in a more than two-decade long battle in which Republicans have sought to limit the power of the Department of Public Instruction. 
Only last year, a divided Supreme Court ruled in Evers' favor in a similar case, but Monday's lawsuit essentially asks Wisconsin's highest court to revisit the issues in that earlier ruling. 

Big Picture - In the background diminishing DPI Chief would advance public money going to privates schools.

And now Walker wants Evers to get the worst possible legal representation before a partisan court!

11/23/17 

EDUCATION LAWSUIT | JUSTICES TO HEAR CASE Scott Walker blocks political opponent from finding own attorney in lawsuit -MOLLY BECK

Gov. Scott Walker is blocking political opponent State Schools Superintendent Tony Evers from choosing a lawyer to represent him in a lawsuit brought by a conservative law firm seeking to diminish Evers’ power.
Attorney General Brad Schimel and other Department of Justice attorneys notified the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Tuesday that they were replacing the state Department of Public Instruction’s attorney in the case.
The conservative Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty alleges Evers violated a new law that requires state department officials to ask Walker for permission to craft administrative rules. WILL is asking the state Supreme Court to take the case.

Wisconsin: 1890 – Mess with education at your risk! Capitol Times

Today the Republican politics may seem to be about teachers and public servants but I think it is a flanking attack on public education from kindergarten to college. Force school districts to lower their standards by reducing funding for teachers, increase class size, diminish special programs, sports, arts, music, libraries, etc. so that we all give up. Parents with the means will get their kids educated and the rest can fend for themselves. This is the real strategy … see it for what it really is!


#Conservatives ( Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty ) try to bypass #Wisconsin #Constitution -- limit Constitutional Officer - #DPI

#Walker rigs it! #Conservatives ( Wisconsin Institute for Law and Liberty - #WILL ) try to bypass #Wisconsin #Constitution -- limit Constitutional Officer - #DPI

Groper in Chief #TRUMP ignores Roy #Moore for days/weeks and calls out Al #Franken -- #AccessHollywood  hmmm! #Weinstein MO

Friday, November 17, 2017

Groper in Chief ignores Roy #Moore for days/weeks - Gropers On Parade - #GOP

The hypocrisy ... maybe he needs another bus trip on Access Hollywood !



Access Hollywood Transcript

2019 - new book 43 new allegations -

Groper In Chief: Donald #Trump Allegedly Hid Behind a Tapestry to #GropeWoman at #Mar-a-Lago



Groper in Chief #TheGenius #TRUMP  ignores Roy #Moore for days/weeks and calls out Al #Franken -- #AccessHollywood

Groper in Chief #TheGenius #Trump ignores Roy #Moore for days/weeks and calls out Al #Franken -- #AccessHollywood  - #GOP stands for #GropersOnParade

Sunday, October 22, 2017

Is Trump Twitter Politics compensation for simple anxiety coping or a pathology - both his own and his supporters?

7/23/2017 ... To The Best of Our Knowledge ... TTBOOK.org

The Psychology of Why You Can’t Stop Checking Your Phone

Perhaps this is a familiar scene: You’re standing in line at the coffee shop when suddenly you get the urge to check your phone. Perhaps it was a phantom vibration that prompted it, or a desire to see how many people liked your most recent Instagram post. Like an addict in need of a quick hit, the itch grows stronger and stronger the longer you delay. 
For those who compulsively check their phones, it can often feel like an addiction, but science writer Sharon Begley offers another explanation. She says it’s rooted in a desire to alleviate anxiety.


Is #Trump #Twitter #Politics compensation for anxiety coping - both his own and his supporters? WI 1848 Forward:

Wednesday, October 11, 2017

How the " #FakeNews " can deal with a " #PredictablyIrrational" President #Trump - #UnFairness


I doubt calling President Trump a liar is as effective as calling him an "untruth teller" or perhaps a "fake-truth teller".  I am probably wrong but maybe not.

I may not be doing it correctly but it is my feeble attempt to operationalize discoveries of two Nobel winners about us humans as "choice/decision makers", Thaler and Kahneman, and another man, George Lakoff.

Did you ever wonder how someone makes up their mind? Others and George Lakoff

Did you ever wonder how someone makes up their mind?  How they then become so resolute in what they "believe" to be the real truth or fact?

Over the past several years, especially since Scott Walker was elected governor of our state, I have been among the wandering wonderers.  Pragmatically people had beliefs, that although I felt were wrong, they held those beliefs nonetheless.  How does one go about affecting beliefs or changing a person's mind let alone a group?  So I kept the question in my mind and passively went about creating a record, in a blog, collecting facts over time to see if I could find "facts" that changed my mind or to say more accurately, refined my thoughts.

Along the way I collected so many stories from different people and disciplines that were independently interesting.  As I collected those stories it seemed they were only related to some small part of my question.

Many things were mulled over and then I encountered the following which I posted in January, 2012. My interest stemmed from curiosity about "Behavioral Economics".  The use of the word "moral" in the title also intrigued me since the politics of many to the right seem to believe they have "a better moral compass" than others. (see the link for the full context)

Give credit to Kahneman, Thaler, Lakoff and I would add Dan Ariely and E.O. Wilson.

It seems we humans have a strong sense of "fairness" and we will penalize those that are "unfair".  We won't buy a needed umbrella in a rain storm if the merchant has jacked up the price.

So the premise of calling out the behavior is more important than calling out the act. President Trump is being "unfair".  He has so many advantages: command the world's attention, nuclear arsenal, executive orders, power of appointment, twitter,  an army of "untruth tellers".  President Trump is doing this himself - he is identifying "the media" as "unfair".

He is not being fair and portraying himself as the victim (rather viciously).  The media needs to emphasize this politely and perhaps turn the "fake-news" label into the label of being the "underdog" versus President Trump.

As an example of the narrative, "I know my voice won't be heard over the commander-in-chief''s voice but this is so unfair and untruthful."

It's worth a try ... isn't it?  I gather from what I have read that the phrase "predictably irrational" is an apt description of President Trump and every other human being.   He is taking severe advantage of our human foible to demonstrate how unfairly he is being treated and shouting it from the rooftops.  None of us can replicate his "power" but President Trump is using it radically to disparage people who are a lot smaller than him who have none of his power.

Thaler studies describes this as predictably irrational (the phrase may actually originate with Dan Ariely) ... almost seems like an oxymoron.
... Lakoff gave a talk recently at the Center for Right-Wing Studies and pointed out that students who become Democratic operatives tend to study political studies and statistics and demographics in college. “Students who lean Republican study marketing. “And that’s his point,” Rosenthal said. “It’s a very different way of thinking.”
We need to remember where President Trump consciously learned the skill he amplifies and exemplifies.  


How the " #FakeNews " can deal with a " #PredictablyIrrational" President #Trump - #UnFairness Practices #VictimHood #SinclairBroadcastGroup panders 


How the " #FakeNews " is really the " #Underdog ". #PredictablyIrrational" President #Trump - is #UnFair


A new Energy Koch Drink - Is this what the Koch Bros and others bought - #Frontline #PBS

War On EPA ...




#Trump mkts A new #Energy #EPA Drink >Is this what the #Koch Bros and others bought-WI 1848 Forward: #Frontline #PBS

Saturday, September 9, 2017

#Equifax and #SecurityFreeze - Corporate Accountability

The LAWS need to be changed ...


  • No fees should apply at all for freezing or lifting security freeze.  The fees are discriminatory and regressive. 
  • Outside auditors should certify corporate security measures and that auditor should be named by an independent panel unrelated to the company or its board.
  • All personal identifying information should by encrypted.
  • Damages and penalties need to be identified and specified in relation to depth of breach.
  • Penalties for delayed nondisclosure should be felonies.
It is a travesty that they collect information poorly/incorrectly and then don't report illicit access to it.


In Wisconsin ...

SECURITY FREEZE INFORMATION  ... Consumers Union

Any consumer in Wisconsin may place a security freeze on his or her credit report by requesting it in writing. The consumer reporting agency is not allowed to charge a fee to victims for placing, removing for a specific period or specific party, or removing a security freeze on a credit report. To prove victim status, you must include a copy of a report to a law enforcement agency regarding identity theft. For all other consumers, a charge of $10 will be applied for each placing, removing, or for each temporary lifting of a security freeze. A security freeze prohibits, with certain specific exceptions, the consumer reporting agency from releasing the consumer’s credit report or any information from it without the express authorization of the consumer. The freeze goes into effect five (5) business days from receipt of the consumer’s letter by the consumer reporting agency. 

How to Lock Down Your Money After the Equifax Breach -Consumer Reports

WI 1848 Forward: #Equifax and #SecurityFreeze - Corporate Accountability Not likely with EX-Gov - #Walker or #GOP ( #GriftersOnParade ) and #WMC

Thursday, August 24, 2017

#Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” are still at large after the biggest shark-smuggling #Galapagos history


"Ghost poachers” are still at large after the biggest shark-smuggling bust in Galapagos history


On Aug. 13, Ecuadorian authorities intercepted a Chinese ship crossing the Galapagos Marine Reserve, one of the most heavily protected nature reserves in the world. In its freezers they discovered 300 tons (270 metric tons) of fish, of which more than half were sharks—mostly illegal hammerheads and threatened silky sharks.
Yet the Fu Yuan Yu Leng 999 was not a fishing boat. Its crew, who now face jail time in Ecuador for environmental crimes, were likely not the fishermen. To fish commercial quantities of shark, you need tens of thousands of meters of thick fishing line, big, motorized winches, and piles of hooks, each the size of an adult finger. That sort of gear was not on board.
Rather, the Chinese ship was a carrier vessel, whose job was to collect and deliver to port the illegal catch of other fishing boats. Its capture, likely one of the biggest seizures of illegal sharks in recent years, opens a rare window into the murky world of maritime poaching. And it has triggered an international hunt to piece together the puzzle: Where was it heading? Who was making money off of the smuggling? And, most of all, who were the fishermen and where did they catch the sharks? ... 

We all need to be concerned about preserving the Earth as we know it.  Some think that is irrelevant ... markets will solve the problems.  The question is for whom?  The middle-class American?  How is that working out for you?  The venture capitalists were interested in themselves not you.

A total disruption of the oceanic eco-system will lead us to where?

Fishermen Caught With 6,600 Sharks In Galápagos, Now Headed To Prison Colin Dwyer


WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #Galapagos

WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #Galapagos #FoxConn

WI 1848 Forward: #Sharks #EndangeredSpecies #Quartz #qz.com - "Ghost poachers” shark-smuggling #SOSGalapagos

Tuesday, August 8, 2017

FOXCONN $300M a year giveaway vs $137M Walker deficit in 2011

1/16/2018
A newly released memo projects the public cost for a planned Foxconn manufacturing project near Racine could near $4.5 billion -- nearly 50 percent more than the $3 billion cost initially cited by the project's chief proponent at the state Capitol, Gov. Scott Walker.
The figures were compiled by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau in a memo requested -- and released Tuesday -- by Assembly Democratic Leader Gordon Hintz. The individual cost figures are not new but had not previously been compiled in a single document.

10/18/17 Now what's the swindle?

WEDC delays vote on Foxconn contract after discovering problem

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

8/8/17

It would take 25 years for state taxpayers to see a return ... LFB 




Hold him accountable ...

"I did some research looking at their (Foxconn) California plant. Their assemblers are making $9.20 an hour," Representative Chris Sinicki notes at the public hearing on the Foxconn incentives bill. "Is it possible, Mr. Secretary, then, if they already said that they'd be starting at $20 an hour, can we get that in writing in a bill?" 


State would recoup Foxconn investment in 25 years, estimate shows ... Molly Beck

It would take 25 years for state taxpayers to see a return on the billions Gov. Scott Walker wants to invest in a project that would bring Taiwanese electronics giant Foxconn to Wisconsin, new state estimates show. 
Walker has proposed to give Foxconn nearly $3 billion in refundable tax credits as part of an incentive package state lawmakers are considering to convince the company to build its first U.S. plant in the southeastern part of the state -- a campus that is projected to employ 13,000 and create a supply chain that could employ more than 30,000 statewide.
A new analysis released Tuesday by the nonpartisan Legislative Fiscal Bureau shows taxpayers would pay about $1 billion more than the state received in revenues during the first 15 years of the project, and that the state will start to recoup those payments starting in 2043 -- or a quarter of a century after the project starts. 
That estimated break-even date assumes the workforce produced by Foxconn is 13,000 employees entirely composed of Wisconsin residents. The more out-of-state workers that commute to the plant, the farther away the break-even date will be, according to the analysis.

Foxconn deal goes from bad to bizarre Even the right-wing group Americans For Prosperity thinks proposed deal is stupid - DAVE CIESLEWICZ AUGUST 8, 2017

Let’s review. Even under Foxconn’s own analysis, depending on how many of the estimated 3,000 to 13,000 are actually created, Wisconsin taxpayers would subsidize each job to the tune of $230,000 to almost $1 million. And these jobs would pay about 31 percent of what it would take a family of four to live a normal middle-class lifestyle. (A family of four needs to earn $131,000 to maintain the equivalent of a 1970’s middle-class lifestyle.) It turns out that hourly workers would only make about $41,600 a year, not the $53,000 in initial reports. Apparently, that higher average amount includes all salaries, even high-paid managers. To add injury to insult, the deal would allow the company to move streams, fill wetlands and pollute water without so much as telling us what they might destroy through an environmental impact statement.

Agency estimates: Foxconn tax credits would max out at $312.4 million per year from 2023 to 2026

Those projections are based on the assumption that the company will create 13,000 jobs with an average salary of $53,875 by 2021. 
According to an analysis by the state Department of Transportation, the state would pay $408.3 million in interest from 2019 to 2042 to repay the $252.4 million in borrowing included in the bill for construction on Interstate 94 north-south. That borrowing is contingent on receiving a federal match. 

Walker's idea of bringing economic development to Wisconsin .... $76M from out of state for the elections ?!

In February 2011, WRN reported ...

Wisconsin’s current deficit at $137M

Itemizing the shortfall in the current budget.
The deficit for the state of Wisconsin is $136.7 million for the current biennial budget, according to new figures from the State Budget Office. River Hills Republican Senator Alberta Darling co-chairs the Legislature’s budget committee. “We are looking at a real challenge and the governor has been very clear … we are not going to raise taxes, so this leaves making some really tough decisions based on some really difficult priorities.”

Governor Scott Walker released a breakdown of the numbers, which includes $58.7 million that’s owed to Minnesota for the terminated tax reciprocity agreement, a $153.2 million deficit in Medical Assistance Programs, and $21.7 million deficit in the Department of Corrections.

Today, WSJ, July 26th, 2012

More than $137 million spent in recalls, nearly $81M in Walker race


Candidates, special interest groups and political committees spent more than $137 million on the historic wave of 15 recalls over the last two years, the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign said Wednesday.
Of that amount, nearly $81 million targeted the failed attempt to recall Republican Gov. Scott Walker. It more than doubled the record-setting $37.4 million spent for a statewide office in the 2010 governor's race. And Walker more than tripled his previous spending record, doling out about $36 million leading up to his June 5 recall victory. ...
For all 15 of the recalls in 2011 and 2012, Republican candidates, groups and committees outspent their Democratic opponents $84.5 million to $52.6 million, according to WDC.
And outside special interest groups spent nearly $76 million in the 15 recalls, including $39.8 million by groups that supported the GOP and $36 million by those that backed Democrats.

TUESDAY, MAY 1, 2018 Foxconn won't add 13,000 jobs, and showcases a backwards, failing Walker strategy 

JAKE'S WISCONSIN FUNHOUSE


What kind of company is going to locate in a state with a declining quality of life where the talent leaves, population growth is low, and no revenues available to invest in public goods like infrastructure and education? Medicore, regressive ones who don’t want to improve.(aka, the WMC Crowd).

Can someone explain to me why Wisconsin government and corporations shouldn’t be raising their game and competing for the best employees and people to want to come here? Instead, the Fitzwalkerstanis cater their whole economic development strategy to the worst businessMEN that are looking to coast on their current position, a bunch of rent-seekers whose only goal is to hoard more in a zero-sum game.

It’s time to get people in power in this state who want us to excel, and want people other than campaign contributors to be the ones who get the benefits of growth in Wisconsin. And the only way it happens is if we sweep lifetime grifter Scott Walker and the rest of the GOP out office this November.


$9.20/hr  - Costs to #Taxpayers keep Climbing  #FOXCONN $300M a year giveaway vs $137M Ex-Gov #Walker #deficit in 2011 - You wonder why the #47% need #wiVote #WiUnion ! WI 1848 Forward

Saturday, July 29, 2017

FOXConn - Is It A Financial Con ? What does LFB say - Legislative Fiscal Bureau

7/7/2018

"Trump and Walker are grifters." So are they the suckers on Foxconn? Or do they think we are?

While Scott Walker and Donald Trump had their press event last week at the site of the Foxconn factory in the SE corner of Wisconsin, we found out that what was being made at the factory wasn't what was promised when the Fox-con was passed into law less than a year ago. In particular, the large screens that Foxconn and Wisconsin GOP claimed would be made at the facility isn't going to be so large.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

9/17/2017 ... Lets be sure to keep Walker and GOP accountable:  0 jobs and counting plus taxes given to corporations and other impositions on environment


~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

LFB says 25 years but a simple analysis says:


  • What's the annual payroll going to be?  My guess $90M for 3000 jobs ... these are only going to be well paying for a few ... even $30000 a year is probably as an average pay ... kind of high.  After all this is to be a manufacturing facility ... mostly robots?
  • An economic multiplier of 3 would boost indirect economic benefit to $270M.
Waving all kinds of safeguards shifts external costs to those proverbial "grandchildren". What will cleanup or even current hazards cost.

The fact that this has to be "fast-tracked" in the legislature means the deal is really not done.  So let's change it and really analyze costs short and long and see how the "grandchildren" are really going to do!  Is the LFB going to really be able to do their job.

BTW - How does Walker and this help the imbalance faced by rural counties?  Last time I checked Kenosha-Racine counties were semi-urban



8/1/2017

No surprise- LFB indicates Fox-con could surpass $3 Billion
Gee, with all of the environmental damage and the massive write-offs and costs that your property taxes will make up the difference for, wouldn’t it be swell to live in the communities around this development over the next few years? UGH!

Can you believe the Ernst & Young study? 

I'm a little skeptical ... this might better be called a"Public Relations" promo piece.  You would think FOXCONN would know their "own facts" ... why does Ernst & Young have to tell them to all of us, including FOXCONN.  It still does not include what is being promised to them and what "skin" they have in the game!

By the numbers: Economic impact study of Wisconsin's Foxconn deal


"The Politics of Resentment" = Scott Walker's political rise == rural resentment against the "liberal elite"


In a real hurry! 8/1/2017



Foxconn's Complex Path From And Back To Lake Michigan Water Needs Of LCD Factory Require Extensive Infrastructure In Racine County - Scott Gordon - WisContext Oct. 11, 2017

Foxconn's proposed LCD manufacturing complex in Wisconsin will need a great deal of water to operate — millions of gallons per day — and the Taiwan-based company has positioned itself to get it from Lake Michigan. It's likely that Foxconn planners thought ahead about the complex legal structure governing municipal use of Great Lakes water. Once the company can legally access this water, it has to actually get it to and from the complex. That infrastructure will be a major engineering and construction project in its own right. ...
Put this on your timeline ... 2020 or 2022 before even begins to operate significantly
Waukesha anticipates beginning construction in 2019 and completing it by about 2022. The project even has its own public-relations campaign dubbed the Great Water Alliance. 
Foxconn hasn't said exactly how much water it will need for a factory in Mount Pleasant. But one electronics manufacturing analyst estimated that it could be as much as 15 million gallons per day — almost double what Waukesha proposes to use at its thirstiest. If Foxconn's needs are anywhere close to that figure, it will take capacious pipes and a fair amount of energy to pump all that water.
11/10/2017


#Walker #Vos WI 1848 Forward: #FOXConn - Is It A Financial Con ? What does #LFB say - Legislative Fiscal Bureau

ExGov #Walker #Vos WI 1848 Forward: #FOXConn - Is It A Financial Con ? Do they have any skin in the game?

#Walker #Vos WI 1848 Forward: #FOXConn - Is It A Financial Con ? What does #LFB say : Timeline update video

#Walker #Vos WI 1848 Forward: #FOXConn - Is It A Financial Con ? No real infrastructure until 2022

Sunday, July 16, 2017

Senator McCain ... a walking, talking pre-existing condition, deserves every health benefit he has ... we deserve them too!

Is that clear enough!

Too bad, 12/2/2017 GOP Tax Bill, he appears to have abandoned, "regular order" and Medicare and Medicaid, ACA for others.

WI 1848 Forward: Senator #McCain ... a walking, talking #pre-existingcondition, deserves his health benefits-us too! #Medicare #Medicaid #ACA

Sunday, July 2, 2017

Pence / Kobach Voting Commission to Build List of "Enemies" :) Trump ... it will be HUGE #VoterSuppression

Anytime huge lists are created you need to wonder and worry about ... "What for!"  I once found out that my name appeared at least 23 times in United Airlines "Frequent Flyer" list, and we were all different individuals by United's criteria.  It is easy to use them as unsubstantiated evidence for blocking you or inconveniencing you because you are on the list ... and have been marked as suspicious. Homeland Security did (probably still does) this kind of thing with no-fly lists.

There is frequently no review and no accountability of someone who may have the authority to "mark" you as "detain and interview".

When you cross this with data from the U.S. Census and/or the IRS ... data which is suppose to be confidential ... it is ripe for abuse.  Potential intimidation by radical GOP directed bureaucrats should make libertarians, conservatives and those most interested in preserving individual and collective freedoms cringe.



The Real Purpose: Voter Suppression - it worked so well for the GOP in 2016


Wisconsin’s Voter-ID Law Suppressed 200,000 Votes in 2016 (Trump Won by 22,748) A new study shows how voter-ID laws decreased turnout among African-American and Democratic voters. - Ari Berman - The Nation


WAPO: Trump’s voting commission asked states to hand over election data. Some are pushing back.

...  “This entire commission is based on the specious and false notion that there was widespread voter fraud last November,” Virginia Gov. Terry McAuliffe (D) said in a statement. “At best this commission was set up as a pretext to validate Donald Trump’s alternative election facts, and at worst is a tool to commit large-scale voter suppression.”
 California, a state Trump singled out for “serious voter fraud,” also refused to participate. Alex Padilla, the California secretary of state, said providing data “would only serve to legitimize the false and already debunked claims of massive voter fraud.” ...
Vice President Pence, who is chairman of the commission, hosted a conference call with the group’s members Wednesday morning, three weeks before they are scheduled to have their first meeting in Washington. During the call, Kansas Secretary of State Kris Kobach (R), the vice chairman, told the other members about the letters. 
A spokesman for Pence defended the letters, noting they seek information that is available publicly under state laws. ...
... “It looks like they’re putting together a database of who people voted for,” said Jason Kander, a former Missouri secretary of state who runs the nonprofit group Let America Vote. “Democrat, Republican, independent, everybody should be outraged by that. This is from the same people, from Kris Kobach to Donald Trump, who’ve tried to make it harder for people to vote, and this seems like a step in the process. If the Obama administration had asked for this, Kris Kobach would be holding a press conference outside the Capitol to denounce it.”...
... Other states have said that they do plan to hand over information, albeit less than the broad sweep outlined in the letters. Wisconsin’s elections commission administrator said that the state would give the public information for the standard $12,500 fee, but was not allowed to release other details such as dates of birth. Ohio Secretary of State Jon A. Husted, a Republican, said his state would be handing over most of the requested information — noting that it is publicly available — though he said they would not provide portions of Social Security numbers and driver’s license numbers because those are not. 
Husted said in an interview Friday that his office had conducted reviews after previous elections, saying that these investigations have determined that “voter fraud exists, it’s rare and we hold people accountable when we catch them.” 
Earlier this year, Husted announced that his office found 82 noncitizens of the United States who illegally voted in a recent Ohio election. According to his office, more than 5.6 million people cast ballots in last November’s general election. 

The following direct twitter message was sent to me 9/28/2017 ... I'm not sure which of my posts it related to because I have quite a few where the phrase "voter suppression" is used.  There may be a more appropriate place to include this information.  If you disagree with me or this individual do not harass us but do present your facts.




Well we don't have 100% turnout.


WI 1848 Forward: #Pence / #Kobach #Voting Commission to Build List of "Enemies" :) #Trump ... it will be HUGE!  #VoteSuppression #VoterID

#Pence / #Kobach #Voting Commission on #VoteSuppression w/o it #Trump would have lost #WI -
 WI 1848 Forward

#Trump practices #Victimhood > #Pence / #Kobach #Voting Commission on #VoteSuppression
WI 1848 Forward - Shutdown but the mission of intimidation was accomplished !


Friday, June 16, 2017

Bad Choice > Michael Screnock Sauk County judge, Act 10 defender to seek Supreme Court seat

February 2018

Michael Screnock ... ACT10 < -Walker Crony appointee, WMC secret favorite ... WI Supreme Court bias

Right Wing Hits Panic Button as Their Spending on Michael Screnock Skyrockets: Republican Party of Wisconsin and Right-Wing Cabal at Nearly $670,000 in Spending With a Week to Go Before Primary Election 20180213

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Just another Gableman ...

Remember ... PRWatch - Club for Growth - Big Spender in WI Supreme Court Race - 2013

Wisconsin  State Journal -

Sauk County judge, Act 10 defender to seek Supreme Court seat

Sauk County Circuit Court judge Michael Screnock, who once worked on a team of lawyers to defend Gov. Scott Walker's collective bargaining law against lawsuits, is joining the 2018 race for a seat on the state Supreme Court.
Screnock, who was appointed to his judgeship in 2015 by Walker, announced his bid for the state's highest court Friday — a day after Justice Michael Gableman, whose first term on the court expires in 2018, said he would not be seeking re-election.

Walker Appoints Collective Bargaining, Redistricting Lawyers to Judgeships  Wisconsin Democracy Campaign

June 2, 2015
Republican Gov. Scott Walker has appointed two attorneys to circuit court judgeships who helped the Walker administration and legislative Republicans consolidate power. They defended laws that slashed public employee collective bargaining rights, redrew legislative districts that enabled Republicans to increase their control of the legislature, and require citizens to present a photo ID to vote.
Walker’s appointees are Middleton attorney James Troupis, who will replace a retiring judge on the Dane County bench, and Michael Screnock, a former Michael Best and Friedrich attorney, who will replace a retiring judge on the Sauk County bench.
Screnock has not made campaign contributions to any legislative or statewide candidates, including Walker. Troupis contributed about $27,000 between January 2000 and Oct. 20, 2014, to numerous Republican legislative and statewide candidates and officeholders, but not to Walker.
Both Troupis and Screnock were on a team of lawyers that successfully defended the governor’s effort to sharply cut public employee union bargaining rights before a state appeals court and the Wisconsin Supreme Court. They were also among the lawyers hired in 2011 by majority Republican lawmakers to successfully defend a plan that redrew legislative district boundaries to generally favor Republicans in elections through at least 2020. Troupis also helped successfully defend the state’s voter identification law sought by Walker and legislative Republicans.
A judge?! ... One of the "gerrymanderists" ... becomes a judge and now wants on our Supreme Court ..



WI 1848 Forward: Bad Choice > Michael #Screnock == #Gablemen #Sauk County judge, Act 10 defender Supreme Court seat - #Walker crony

WI 1848 Forward: Bad Choice > Michael " #Gerrymander " #Screnock #SaukCo judge, #Act10 defender Supreme Court seat = #Walker crony

A Bad Idea: To Limit the National #Debt ... Better to Limit Individual #Wealth

What these Wisconsin Legislators want to do for a Constitutional Amendment to limit the national debt is just absurd ...


Imagine emergency spending for disasters ... one part of the country will be pitted against another.

WI 1848 Forward: A Bad Idea: To Limit the National #Debt ... Better to Limit Individual #Wealth