Walker’s Friends

I agree with Wigderson.

The longer this drags on, the more harm there is to Walker. It doesn’t help Walker that this investigation comes in the midst of a recall effort.

  Keeping a spokesman like Werwie that was directly involved in the alleged illegal activities just makes it more difficult for Walker’s administration to defend itself. The Walker administration needs to be able to explain what Walker knew about the activities in the county executive’s offices while he was there. Unless the governor breaks his personal silence on the investigation, there is nobody else that can speak for him.

  Then there’s the ethics question. Walker has the same information we all do about Rindfleisch’s fundraising activities on Davis’ behalf. What possible reason could Walker have for keeping Davis and Werwie?

  In the recall campaign, so far the Democrats have failed to put up a real challenger to Walker. But as the John Doe investigation drags on, the real challenge to Walker may be his own friends.

Aging Americans

Heh.

WASHINGTON—Recent side-by-side photographic comparisons of Americans before and after he assumed the presidency have confirmed the stress of Barack Obama’s time in the White House has taken a significant toll on the U.S. populace, dramatically accelerating the nation’s signs of aging.

“It’s striking, really, to see how, after just three years of being president, Barack Obama has markedly aged the country,” Beltway ob­server Andrew Soisson said Wednesday, adding that the stress of watching Obama deal with a stagnant economy, multiple wars, and other crises at home and abroad has left the country with more pronounced wrinkles and significantly grayer hair. “It’s a far cry from inauguration day, when a younger, healthier, and more vibrant populace watched Obama take the oath of office.”

“Remember Obama’s 2008 campaign?” Soisson added. “People were energized and full of spunk and vigor. But you look at pictures of Americans then compared to now and it’s like night and day.”

Scot Ross Lands

I wondered where he would end up when he took a leave from OWN. From David Blaska:

The “nasty” part was reinforced by the startling news that Kathleen Falk has taken on One Scot Ross as her campaign mouthpiece. One Scot runs (or ran) One Wisconsin Now, a truly nasty piece of business. Anything that Democrat Party spokesman Graeme Zeilinski was too embarrassed to say got farmed out to One Wisconsin Now.

This is good news for Walker. Ross is a wee bit unhinged. The fact that Falk is surrounding herself with people like that means that they will have absolutely no realistic perspective on how their message will play with anyone other than the fringe Left.

Conservationists Kill Rhino

Wanna get away?

A conservation group demonstrating an anti-poaching method for reporters in South Africa accidentally killed the rhinoceros they were using in the demonstration.

The rhino, nicknamed Spencer, went into convulsions and died after he was shot with a tranquilizer dart in front of a crush of TV cameras and photographers who had been invited to document an operation to insert a poison capsule into his horn.

New Nuclear Reactor Approved For First Time In 34 Years

Great. Let’s hope for more.

It’s been 34 years—and several nuclear accidents later—but a divided federal panel on Thursday licensed a utility to build nuclear reactors in the U.S. for the first time since 1978.

Obligated to Help?

This is an interesting story.

Coleman likely suffered a stroke and fell out of bed, then lay on the floor for two days, getting no help from her sister or nephew, a criminal complaint charged.

The Kings are scheduled to face a preliminary hearing in the case on Thursday before Dane County Circuit Judge Frank Remington.

But Veronica King’s lawyer, Marcus Berghahn, wrote in court papers filed Monday that the two charges against her that are related to Coleman’s death should be dismissed because they are based solely on a failure on Veronica King’s part to prevent Coleman’s death. State law only recognizes a failure to act as the basis for a crime under certain circumstances involving defined special relationships, he wrote.

In 2008, Berghahn wrote, King suffered a stroke that left her unable to care for herself and incompetent to make important decisions. Coleman was appointed as her guardian, a role she still had at the time of her death. As a ward of Coleman, he wrote, King had no legal duty to act on Coleman’s behalf.

Under Wisconsin law, Berghahn wrote, “there is no legal duty that compels the subject of a guardianship to act for the person who is charged with caring for her, even if ward and guardian are sisters. Acting may be a moral or ethical imperative, but all the same, it is not a legal duty.”

Clearly, as a human beings, Veronica King and her son are disgusting and immoral. They should have helped because that’s what decent people do. But as a matter of law, were they obligated to help? Let’s say you’re driving and see someone lying immobile on the side of the road, are you obligated to stop and help? I think the answer is “no” in both cases, even if you should as a decent human being. But the law isn’t generally set up to force people to be decent.

Unions Want to Own Next Governor

This is just stunning.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported Wednesday that Democratic candidate Kathleen Falk agreed to the veto promise. The other announced Democratic candidate, Kathleen Vinehout, said she would work to avoid the threat of a veto to restore bargaining rights.

Sen. Tim Cullen, who considered a run against Walker in a recall election, told the Journal Sentinel he was asked by leaders of public employee unions if he would veto any state budget that didn’t restore collective bargaining. “I said I could not make that promise and I did not think any serious candidate for governor could or should make that commitment,” he said of a veto of the state budget. “It’s a $60 billion document.”

Senator Cullen is right, of course, but Falk isn’t a serious candidate. This goes far beyond promising to work to restore collective bargaining priveleges. This is a promise to employ a specific tactic to go about doing it. As for the tactic of vetoing the entire state budget to attempt to force the legislature to bend to Falk’s will, just think of the priorities there. Falk is saying that she is willing to sacrifice every single priority for every citizen of Wisconsin for the benefit of the small minority of people who are members of the public eployee unions. Wow. Education? Nope, public employee unions come first. Law enforcement? Not unless the public employee unions get theirs. BadgerCare? You get the idea. Falk is pledging to ignore every single priority from every single Wisconsinite until 5% of the population who are in the public unions get their way.

Stunning.

On the bright side, this actually plays for conservatives quite well. Under Wisconsin law, if they don’t pass a budget, then everything continues to operate under the old budget. That means no tax increases. No spending increases. I’d prefer spending cuts, but I’lltake a spending freeze over whatever budget a Governor Falk would be willing to sign.

WEAC Backs Falk

Well, that was quick.

Former Dane County Executive Kathleen Falk has won the endorsement of one of the state’s most powerful labor unions.

Two sources said the Wisconsin Education Association Council, the state’s largest teachers union, will announce soon that it is backing Falk in the likely recall election against Gov. Scott Walker.

Looks like WEAC is backing their horse early and trying to discourage any other candidates - particularly Mayor Barrett - from stepping forward.

Vinehout Jumps In

Woohoo!

State Sen. Kathleen Vinehout, who last week filed to run for the office, formally announced today her campaign for guv.

Vinehout joints former Dane County Exec Kathleen Falk as the only two formally announced Dem candidates in the field to take on Gov. Scott Walker in an expected recall election.

She said in a statement the state needs “a fresh start and a new attitude in Wisconsin politics and government.”

“We need a governor who will lead with self restraint; who will be clear and open about her intentions; who will respect Wisconsin’s traditions of good government; who supports and takes pride in our schools; who values the skills workers bring to their jobs. We need a governor who wants to solve problems, not score political points,” she said. “I pledge to be that kind of governor.”

Vinehout has had an eventful, if short, time in Wisconsin politics. Remember the rambling poem she wrote about her opponent in 2006? Or her complaining that she couldn’t afford health insurance while loaning $9,000 to her campaign?

Ahhhh… good times.

Wisconsin Dead Last in Donating to GOP Presidential Candidates

Shocking?

Not only did Democrat President Barack Obama outraise the entire 2012 Republican presidential field through Dec. 31, 2011, $582,000 to $529,000, but a Smart Politics analysis also found Wisconsin to be dead last nationally in per capita donations of $200 or more to GOP candidates.

Not at all. I suspect that I am like most people in that there’s only so much time and money I’m willing and able to fork over to support political campaigns. With the 2010 election, the 2011 recalls, the 2012 recalls, and all of the other local races in the past two years, we’ve been in campaign mode in Wisconsin 100% of the time for over a year now. For most Republicans in Wisconsin, keeping Walker in office is just more important now than worrying about the presidential primary,

Cone of Silence

This is crappy.

Nearly all of Wisconsin’s Republican state lawmakers signed an agreement not to comment publicly about redistricting discussions while new G.O.P.-friendly maps were being drafted. The pact was included in documents released in a lawsuit challenging the maps’ constitutionality.

Redistricting is an overtly politcal act. While I think it acceptable for the party in power to craft constitutional districts that may favor them, it is deplorable that such a veil of secrecy should be employed.

GAB Limits Challenges

Ummm...

Wisconsin’s elections agency ruled on Tuesday that it would not accept help checking recall petitions from groups including the tea party organizations GrandSons of Liberty and We the People of the Republic.

Government Accountability Board Director Kevin Kennedy said the board would not change its methods in the middle of the process and could not accept such information from sources other than the targets of recalls.

So let me get this straight… if I find my name fraudently signed to a petition, I don’t have any grounds to challenge it? I have absolutely no recourse to prevent the theft of my identity? That ain’t right.

One would take note that the GAB, in every circumstance, has taken the position most in favor of fraud and not in securing the integrity of our electoral process. If one is to err, one would hope that it’s usually on the side of integrity.

Fitzgerald to Challenge Enough Signatures to Stop Recall

Now we’ll see what the GAB does...

Republican Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald says he plans on challenging enough signatures on recall petitions to stop any election.

Fitzgerald said Tuesday he will also make a number of other challenges, including arguing that newly drawn legislative boundaries should have been in play for the collection of the signatures.

Entire School Staff Replaced

Wow. Now that’s a response.

Updated at 10:25 p.m. ET: The Los Angeles Unified School District is replacing the entire staff of Miramonte Elementary School following the arrest of two teachers on lewd conduct charges last week, Superintendent John Deasy told parents at a meeting Monday night, the Los Angeles Times reported.

Positions will be filled by qualified teachers and other workers already on a placement or rehiring list, the Times report stated. But the displacement of the current staff could be temporary, according to the report.

I didn’t say it was a good response, but it certainly got everyone’s attention.

70,000 Approved

It seems that the DOJ is catching up with demand.

WAUSAU (WAOW)—The Wisconsin Department of Justice has been swamped with requests for concealed carry permits. Since the law went into effect in November, the DOJ reports it received over 80-thousand permit requests and approved nearly 70,000.