I Agree: “Darn it, Let’s Raise Taxes”
By Ken Morris According to House Speaker John Boehner, “You can’t raise taxes in the middle of a weak economy.” Echoing that talking point, newly elected Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh (R-Illinois), in an interview with ABC, claimed, “Every time we’ve cut taxes, revenues have gone up, the economy has grown.” Sen. Orrin Hatch (R-Utah) attacked the president’s April tax speech by suggesting that everyone knows, “Raising taxes … will do little to reduce the deficits and debt that are, at their root, spending problems.” If I and many economists, including Paul Krugman (who wrote, “Darn It, Let’s Raise Taxes”),…
Wisconsin GOP Voter Fraud? You Decide.
By Patrick DePula Madison, WI. During election season in Wisconsin it is common for legislative staffers to take a leave of absence and work on campaigns around the state. For a couple of months they are assigned to a candidate who may not live in their home district, and in many cases, act as campaign managers. In November of 2010 a republican legislative staffer, who in the past has worked for Rep. Mike Huebsch(Now DOA Secretary) and currently works for Rep. Warren Petryk, was assigned to the Dennis Clinard campaign in LaCrosse, WI. This staffer owns a home in Madison…
Terror on the High Seas! Beware, Coastal Alaska!
Brace yourselves Ketchikan, Skagway, Juneau, and Seward. If you think hard and make your eyes go all blurry, you can just imagine two lanterns hanging in the church steeple warning you of the coming invasion. That’s right, a horseman is galloping by to remind you of the signal – one if by land, two if by sea. Well, it seems the dark forces have chosen the sea route, and they are coming. Intelligence tells us that they will enter Alaskan waters at the end of August making land in Ketchikan on the 28th, Juneau on the 30th, Skagway on the…
Open Thread: What a 9.0 Earthquake Sounded Like in Alaska plus a Friday Summary of Events
National Oceanic and Aeronautics Organization (NOAA) does regular scientific research all over Alaska but especially in the wildlife and Arctic areas. They frequently use sophisticated underwater recording equipment to gather information on marine mammals: However, on March 11, 2011 off of the coast of the Aleutian Islands, they happened to catch the sound of something very different…the 9.0 Japanese earthquake. The sound underwater was absolutely facinating while at the same time it gave me goosebumps. It’s amazing to me how clearly it can be heard, though I have occasionally heard a rumble or kind of rushing sound just preceding several…
Wisconsin Capitol Stormed – Occupied by Protesters (Updates)
“In 30 minutes, 18 state senators undid 50 years of civil rights in Wisconsin,” Democratic Sen. Mark Miller said in a statement. “Their disrespect for the people of Wisconsin and their rights is an outrage that will never be forgotten.” MADISON, WI. Thousands of angry citizens stormed the Wisconsin State Capitol this evening when the Republican Senate, after removing fiscal items from the original bill, passed legislation that will strip public unions of most of their collective bargaining rights and require employees to pay 8% more toward their health insurance and and a greater share of their pensions. Earlier today…
Boots on the Ground – Scott Walker Cuts the Cheese
Wisconsin’s Walker Cuts the Cheese A most powerful stench sponsored by Koch Industries, et al. By ‘Anonymous Cheesehead’ On Friday, February 11 an e-mail from Governor Scott was sent to me and 382,780* State of Wisconsin employees outlining Walker’s plan to address the state’s “very serious and undeniable financial challenges” including how Wisconsin “face[s] of budget deficit of $136.7 million” in the current fiscal year. (*Full and part-time employee data retrieved from the US Census Bureau.) Despite Wisconsin Club for Growth’s TV and radio ads depicting state employees as having an unfair advantage and gliding through the recession without sacrifice,…
Oyster Roundup! Fake Palin, Heckling Cheney & Dirty Valentines
Greetings from CPAC! Former Vice President Dick Cheney got a heck of a greeting at CPAC, the yearly Conservative Political Action Conference where conservatives of all stripes come together to wallow in varying degrees of narrow-mindedness, religious zeal, military might, fiscal conservatism, and social backwardness. There are usually some internal squabbles about things like LGBT rights, and how they do or don’t fit into the conservative platform. But back to Cheney’s greeting. It was spirited and passionate, but not what the former Veep expected. When Rumsfeld’s name was announced, and he took the stage to accept the conferences “Defenders of…
FEMA Called to Save Anchorage from Mayor Dan Sullivan
Yes, Mayor Dan Sullivan is so inept, and his priorities as the Chief Executive of Alaska’s largest city are so destructive and unsafe, yet another government agency has had to step in and save Alaskans from their elected leaders. Once, it was the FBI saving us from the legislature. Now, it’s FEMA saving us from the Mayor of Anchorage. The worst mayor in America is officially now a federal disaster. Anchorage Mayor Dan Sullivan said Thursday that the city has been awarded a $5 million federal grant to hire firefighters over the next two years. The grant will fund 15 to 26 firefighter…
Voices from the Flats – I Me Mine: The Unholy Trinity Of Ayn Rand
By Don Millard (@OTOOLEFAN) “Run for your life from any man who tells you that money is evil. That sentence is the leper’s bell of an approaching looter.” – Ayn Rand Ayn Rand was out of her Vulcan mind. This is a simple fact that can be verified by anyone with even minimal Google skills. She was the Albert Schweitzer of Selfishness and the Mother Theresa of Greed all rolled into one. This, naturally, makes her a hero to the Right and qualifies her for sainthood. Too bad she was an Atheist. Her philosophy, so she said, was one of…
New GOP House Majority Tries to Redefine "Rape" and "Incest"
Well, that didn’t take long. The new House GOP majority has stepped out with a bold new plan for the American people, specifically women. The limits on federal funding for abortion except for the cases of rape and incest, are now under assault by definition. For years, federal laws restricting the use of government funds to pay for abortions have included exemptions for pregnancies resulting from rape or incest. (Another exemption covers pregnancies that could endanger the life of the woman.) But the “No Taxpayer Funding for Abortion Act,” a bill with 173 mostly Republican co-sponsors that House Speaker John Boehner…