Walker Goes To Minnesota, Gets Burned, Blames Democrats

On Thursday, Scott Walker went for another one of his taxpayer-funded non-campaign campaign jaunts. This time he went to Minnesota.

Now, keep in mind that for the past 4+ years - with the exception of professional and college football - Minnesota has been kicking Wisconsin's butt on just about every economic measure. The reasons are myriad, but the biggest four reasons are health care, minimum wage, unions and pay equality.
As one might expect, Walker was welcomed with a fair amount of taunting. However, it was R.T. Rybak, former mayor of Minneapolis, who gave Walker third-degree political burns:

In 2010, both Wisconsin and Minnesota faced similar budget woes and a worrisome economic future amid a national recession. Both are also Midwest states, deeply invested in manufacturing and agricultural economic drivers. The only difference was that Minnesotans elected DFL Gov. Mark Dayton to turn Minnesota around, while Wisconsinites chose Scott Walker to lead their state’s recovery.

Only one governor was successful.   READ MORE

Explosive 2009 report from Tulsa reveals deep corruption concerning Deputy Bob Bates

This is a smoking gun concerning the millionaire Tulsa Reserve Deputy Bob Bates who shot and killed Eric Harris in March:

CBS News learned that in 2009, the Tulsa Sheriff's Office launched an internal investigation to find out if Bates received special treatment during training and while working as a reserve deputy. They also investigated whether supervisors pressured training officers on Bates' behalf.

The investigation concluded Bates' training was questionable and that he was given preferential treatment.

The investigation found that deputies voiced concerns about Bates' behavior in the field, almost from the very beginning. Bates reportedly used his personal car while on duty and made unauthorized vehicle stops. When confronted Bates said that he could do what he wanted, and that anyone who had a problem with him should go see the sheriff.

See the CBS News video on the newly revealed report below. It's clearly no longer speculation about whether or not Bob Bates and the Tulsa Sheriff's Department were abusing the system. Now it's a proven fact. READ MORE

$70,000 minimum pay turns out to be good for business

Remember Dan Price, the CEO who cut his own pay to raise the minimum annual pay at his company to $70,000? Turns out, that wasn't just a morally good thing to do, and Price doesn't have to wait for the longer-term payoff of increased productivity and reduced staff turnover—he's seeing an immediate payoff for Gravity Systems, his credit card processing company:

Price said the news has brought in dozens of new clients, making it the best week for new business in the company's 11-year history. The firm has about 15,000 clients and handles about $10 billion in payments every year.

If the burst of new clients continues, it could create new jobs—new good jobs—and let other businesses know that treating workers well can pay off. But it's important to remember that workers shouldn't have to get lucky with an amazingly good boss to make a decent living and be treated well. Good bosses go viral, but for more workers, this is the reality:  READ MORE

Sheriff Arpaio's attorney quits during contempt hearing, former staff turn on the sheriff. UPDATE!

Sheriff Joe "pink underwear" Arpaio

Tuesday in Phoenix, Maricopa County Sheriff Joe Arpaio's civil contempt hearing began, and the first day was a doozie. US District Judge Murray Snow ordered Sheriff Arpaio to appear at the hearing because the bigoted blowhard had arrogantly defied the judge's orders following Melendres v. Arpaio. In that 2007 incident, argued by the ACLU, the court found that the sheriff's office did indeed use race as a determining factor in traffic stops and other detainments, the very definition of racial profiling.
Following the Melendres verdict in 2011, which was upheld by the 9th Circuit Court a year later, in 2013 Judge Snow ordered three major reforms: Arpaio must end his infamous immigration roundups (neighborhood "sweeps"), turn over video evidence from traffic stops, and install a court-appointed monitor to oversee compliance. Arpaio did none of this; in fact, he destroyed video evidence and continued his sweeps. Having run out of patience, last month Judge Snow, a George W. Bush appointee, ordered Arpaio and several key deputies to appear at this week's four-day contempt hearing.

Immediately after the judge announced the hearing, Sheriff Arpaio tried to buy his way out of the mess—admitting his guilt and promising to donate $100,000 to a civil rights organization if the judge would cancel the contempt hearing. Judge Snow said no and the proceedings began yesterday; he will decide if Arpaio and four key deputies are guilty of civil contempt or perhaps whether the case should move to a criminal phase.  

The hearing's first day was explosive, and not in a good way for the sheriff. First, his lead attorney resigned, stating a conflict of interest since he also works for Maricopa County.

Tom Liddy, one of Arpaio's attorneys, abruptly quit, citing a conflict of interest and saying he was "filing an application to withdraw from the case."

Another long-time Arpaio attorney, Tim Casey, had jumped ship back in November, leaving only one of the original three-person legal team. The worst turn for Sheriff Arpaio, however, was the testimony of two former deputies, who essentially said the sheriff willfully ignored Judge Snow's orders. "Willful" is key here, since it would lead to a criminal trial.  READ MORE

Kansas Poor May Fund Even More Tax Breaks For The Rich

This goes back to my Frat-Boy Sex Theory of Economics: If trickle-down economics doesn't get the desired results the first time, you have to do it Harder! Faster! Longer! Via the Washington Post:

Wealthier Kansans are paying much less in taxes after Republican Gov. Sam Brownback overhauled the state's income tax a few years ago. Brownback and other Republican officials hoped that more generous policies would stimulate the economy, bringing more revenue into the state's coffers and making up the difference on the bottom line.

It didn't work. Kansas's economy has kept expanding at more or less same plodding pace as the rest of the country. And now, according to official estimates released Monday, the state will have at least a $143 million budget shortfall in 2016, and likely more. Lawmakers are looking for a way to plug the hole.

One thing they're not considering: asking the wealthy to chip in.  READ MORE

Governor Roadkill Celebrates Earth Day By Firing 57 Environmental Employees

Leading up to today, Earth Day, Scott Walker and his cronies already tried to deny climate change by denying staff - including the daughter of Gaylord Nelson, the founder of Earth Day - from even using the words "climate change."

Yesterday, Walker thought he'd honor Mother Earth by leaving carrion all over the countryside:
Spot a dead deer on the side of the road? Gov. Scott Walker doesn't want the state Department of Natural Resources paying to clean it up.

Walker's budget would delete $700,000 in funding a year for DNR to pay for disposal of deer carcasses along Wisconsin's roadways.

Instead, responsibility for paying to cart off the dead deer would fall to whatever other government agency is in charge of the road. Or they may be left uncollected.  READ MORE

Senate Cafeteria Cook Goes On Strike To Shine Light On Miserable Pay

Bertrand Olotara is a cook for the
United States Senate. And he's on strike.

This is really a travesty. This guy cooks for Senators every day and still has to have a second job. Even with that, he can't buy food without SNAP assistance.

Bertrand Olotara is a cook for the United States Senate. And he's on strike.
Every day, I serve food to some of the most powerful people on earth, including many of the senators who are running for president: I’m a cook for the federal contractor that runs the US Senate cafeteria. But today, they’ll have to get their meals from someone else’s hands, because I’m on strike.

I am walking off my job because I want the presidential hopefuls to know that I live in poverty. Many senators canvas the country giving speeches about creating “opportunity” for workers and helping our kids achieve the “American dream” – most don’t seem to notice or care that workers in their own building are struggling to survive.

I’m a single father and I only make $12 an hour; I had to take a second job at a grocery store to make ends meet. But even though I work seven days a week – putting in 70 hours between my two jobs – I can’t manage to pay the rent, buy school supplies for my kids or even put food on the table. I hate to admit it, but I have to use food stamps so that my kids don’t go to bed hungry.  READ MORE