"We have a problem in this country."

Before I drop this post, let's have a moment of silence for Scott Walker........

Goodbye Scott, we hardly knew you. And to think that after all you did up in Wisconsin you still thought that you could one day become the president of this "great" nation. 

I wonder who will be next? At least six or seven of these candidates have to know that they have no shot at winning the republican primary let alone the presidency. At this point they are just all trying to raise how much they can get for their speaking fees in the future, and angle for a talk show on FOX VIEWS.

Of course Scott Walker dropping out now frees up the big donor money for the folks at the top, like Carly Fiorina, the Donald  (I take that back, Donald has his own money), and this election year's version of Herman Cain. 

Carly is now rising, and Donald Trump, as is to be expected, is attacking. Fortunately for him there is a lot there to attack.  I will give her credit, though, the way she doubles down on a lie is quite Nixonian. I am sure that there are a lot of folks in her party who appreciates that.

Raise your hand if you believe, like I do, that Donald Trump has peaked. At some point all the stupid stuff he could get away with as an entertainer is not going to cut it on the presidential trail. (Dude, what's with the Megyn Kelly obsession?) The way he handled that town hall meeting in New Hampshire was laughable. And no, I am not talking about him ignoring the birther question about the president. It was his response to the deranged winngut asking him about Muslims ("I will look into that") that was beyond pandering; it made him look like a complete moron. No different than the obvious loon who was asking him the question. The leader in the presidential field of a major political party will "look into" getting rid of Muslims?    

"We have a problem in this country. It's called Muslims. We know our current president is one," the man told Trump.

 

"You know he's not even an American. We have training camps growing where they want to kill us. That's my question. When can we get rid of them?"

Sir, we do have a problem in this country, but believe me when I tell you, it ain't Muslims.

*Pic from wonkette.com

The Koch brothers should consider John Kasich, and an old interview with the Field Negro.

The Field Negro education series continues.

I read this very interesting article, recently.

"The St. Croix River War has exploded into open hostilities. Hide the hotdish, mother!

 

For a couple of years now, Scott Walker, the goggle-eyed homunculus hired by Koch Industries to run their midwest subsidiary formerly known as the state of Wisconsin, has been embarrassed regularly by the economic performance of neighboring Minnesota, which is governed in a completely different fashion by a Democratic governor, Mark Dayton. So, on Thursday, as part of his campaign to sell himself as a possible president, which requires him to sell the rubes a State of Wisconsin wholly different from the actual one that he is selling off for parts, Walker dropped by Minnesota. A former mayor of Minneapolis was there to greet him.

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.

Then he gets harsh.

In Minnesota, Dayton has moved forward Democratic policies like increasing the minimum wage, expanding Medicaid and investing in the middle class, and now we are seeing one of the most business-friendly states in the country. Just this year, Forbes ranked Minnesota as the ninth best state for business, seventh in economic climate and second in quality of life. In Wisconsin, Walker opposed a minimum-wage increase and equal-pay legislation, rejected federal funds to expand Medicaid, and attacked Wisconsin workers with right-to-work and anti-collective-​bargaining policies. As a result, the cost of doing business in Wisconsin is higher than the national average, and median household income is thousands less than in Minnesota. The facts are clear: Walker and the Republican trickle-down economic policies have made it practically impossible for Wisconsin to recover from the recession, and the state consistently sits at the bottom of the region in private-sector job growth.

The Minnesota-Wisconsin comparison has dogged Walker ever since the press and the general public first noticed it. (This is partly because Dayton, while a fine governor, has a very eccentric attitude toward tooting his own political horn -- to wit: he won't do it. Drives political people up the wall.) And, judging by what he said to his carefully screened audience in the Twin Cities -- once again, Scott Walker bravely faces down his political opponents by avoiding them -- it's starting to get under Walker's skin more than a little.

Walker's closed-door session with legislators — and later gatherings with top business leaders and a conservative group — come as he nears an announcement on a White House campaign after taking several preliminary steps toward a bid, including hiring staff and taking repeated trips to states with early primaries. He said a formal decision would come once Wisconsin lawmakers set a new budget, probably in early June..."You've had the advantage of other than a two-year period of having Republicans in charge of at least one part of government for some time. Before we came into office for many years, there was a Democrat governor, a Democrat assembly and a Democrat Senate," Walker said, noting the state's peak 9.2 percent unemployment rate before his election in 2010 and its 4.6 percent standing now. Nationally, the unemployment rate was above 9 percent throughout 2010 and has fallen to 5.5 percent now.

Wisconsin has trailed the national average in private-sector job growth since six months after Walker took office. He fell short of a signature campaign promise to create 250,000 private-sector jobs, although 145,000 new positions appeared, and Wisconsin ranked 40th nationwide in private-sector job growth in the 12-month period ending in September. As he tours the country, Walker has boasted that new businesses are starting up in Wisconsin at a higher rate than the rest of the country and that income growth for residents exceeds the national average.

To which Dayton replied.

Dayton, a supporter of former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, offered a polite "Welcome to Minnesota" to Walker and said he should come back as often as he likes. "I'm not going to engage in presidential politics at this point," Dayton said.

Like I said. The guy is a real fireworks display.

It is becoming part of the general campaign narrative that we have at least three potential Republican candidates -- Walker, Chris Christie, and the increasingly ludicrous "Bobby" Jindal -- who are running on their interpretations of how well they've done in office. All three currently have approval ratings in their own states that are headed toward the root cellar. All three of their states are a complete mess in one way or another. Yet all three of them are out there, pitching fantastical visions of states that have nothing to do with actual reality. It's campaign by karaoke.

Now, the idea that governors make the best presidents is largely shibboleth, as has been noted elsewhere. But, if the Republicans are looking for someone to make that case in actual reality, then John Kasich is their only choice. (I am not in any way endorsing this proposition, because Kasich is running his campaign based on The Worst Idea In American Politics.) He's relatively popular. When he tried to Walkerize his state workforce, the voters beat him over the head with a hammer and he backed off, and he hasn't tried again. He took the Affordable Care Act's FREE MONEY (!) He's got Green Room cred that the others -- except possibly Christie -- don't have. Unlike Christie, Walker, and Rick Perry, he's under neither indictment nor investigation, always a plus.

Economically, the man's ideas are from Jupiter, but that's to be expected. He is a Reagan cultist, after all, But, compared to, say, Jindal, whose state university is preparing for the possibility of bankruptcy, Kasich looks like Pericles. Yet, when it comes down to it, the basic problems for Kasich in a Republican primary process are that: A) he can't raise money, and B) he has made the barest modicum of sense on too many occasions. That bespeaks a deeper problem, I'd say." [Source]

And then there is Lady Hillary with all her...ahem, ahem, money problems.

2016 should be really interesting.

Finally, someone just sent me this interview I did with another blog a few years back.

Thought I would share.

"Interview With Wayne Bennett, Author of The Field Negro

       P   O   S   T   E   D       B   Y       A   L   B   E   R  T

Wayne Bennett’s blog, The Field Negro, explores race in America in an unexpected way. His writing mixes cultural polemics with humor to provoke conversation and insight about one of our country’s most fraught subjects. He’s always a good read. The following interview was conducted by e-mail …
1. You write a blog called “The Field Negro.” That’s a provocative name for a blog. Why did you choose it?

I chose it because of one of my favorite speeches of all time: The Malcolm X speech to the SNCC workers in Alabama in 1965. This is where he outlined the dichotomy between the house and field Negroes in America, and why, as a result, it is hard for black folks to unify around particular causes.

I wanted to identify with the field Negroes in my writing because that’s how I view myself in the ongoing debate. Someone who works hard and represents the masses.
Besides, I wanted a title that makes people uncomfortable.

2. Do you ever get called out for what you write on your blog? What’s the one thing that, in retrospect, you most regret having written? What was the post that generated the most controversy?

I get called out all the time. I get more nasty e-mails than you could ever imagine.
I rarely regret anything I write, but if you put a gun to my head I would have to say calling Condy Rice “the bad perm lady.” After the Don Imus incident where he called the Rutgers basketball players “nappy headed hoes” and I ripped him for it, I realized what a hypocrite I was, because I was in essence doing the same thing to Secretary Rice.

It’s hard to say which post generated the most controversy. I have had a few. My post about white people and their pets pissed off a lot of white folks. And my post about the 12% rule for black folks pissed off a lot of black people. I always get a lot of heat for supporting the Jewish people on various issues as well.

3. [The foundation I work at] administered a poll to [the members of a] giving circle …, and one of their questions was this:

In the long run, the most effective way to address a region’s racial inequities is to (choose only one):

1. engage the entire community in discussions about race and white privilege
2. address systemic issues (e.g., laws, policies, etc.) that lead to unequal outcomes
3. empower low-income communities politically (through voter registration drives, etc.)
4. bring more low-income people into the middle class through literacy and skills training, small business development programs, and improving public education
5. just wait another 50 years until younger, less bigoted generations assume positions of responsibility and power

How would you answer this question and why?

I love numbers 3 & 4. Education. Education. Education. It is the greatest equalizer in America. I would also push for more political involvement among underserved communities—if it’s one thing a politician fears is numbers at the ballot box—and financial education for poor people. It is very important that we learn how to save and manage our money.

4. As regards conversations (and actions) in the public sphere touching on matters of race and ethnicity, what trends have you seen over the past ten years?

It’s getting better, but folks in the majority are still afraid to talk openly about race and ethnicity. The mainstream media won’t touch it because they know that it makes most folks in America uncomfortable. The only time we talk about it (race) is when we have to. (See the Henry Louis Gates incident at Harvard which led to Obama’s “teachable moment.”) And when it infringes on the political debate such as the case with immigration reform.

5. What do you regard as the most definitive work (book or article) for anybody wishing to understand race in America?

Oh my, where do I start? There are so many great ones … I have a couple: Why Black People Tend To Shout by Ralph Wiley. The Racial Contract by Charles Mills. The Arrogance Of Race by George Fredrickson. The Mis-Education Of The Negro by [Carter G.] Woodson, and All God’s Children by Fox Butterfield. From the conservative side I would recommend Shelby Steele’s The Content Of Our Character. There are more, but those jump out at me.
Oh, and how could I forget? You have to read The Field Negro.

6. In your view, how important a force has Hip Hop been in bridging racial divides? What are the cultural and other forces that you believe have the most promise in helping to unite us?

Hip Hop, in a way, has helped to bridge the racial divide. Especially among young people. They are our future, and young white kids from the burbs are trying to relate to young black kids from urban areas. Which, to me, is a good thing. Music and the arts is probably the best way to bridge the racial divide without actually getting down and talking to each other. But this comes with a caveat from me. Unfortunately these kumbaya moments can be somewhat superficial. We still have to explore our differences and try to understand each other on a deeper level and in more meaningful ways to have true racial harmony in America.

7. What can we look for in The Field Negro in the coming months? What other blogs would you recommend to our [readers]?

I am just going to keep writing about what I see every day and how I feel regardless of who it offends. I hate to say it, but I really don't have time to read a lot of other blogs. Still, there are other bloggers who I admire. Rippa from the Intersection Of Madness & Reality comes to mind, and I love all the bloggers in the Afrosphere. They all work so hard and put so much energy into their blogs" [Source]

I don't think the blog responsible for this interview is with us anymore. Like so many others before them, I think that they fell victim to blog burnout.

Sadly, I am starting to relate.

 

  

"Et tu" Scott Walker ?

The next presidential election is a couple of years away, and, as of now, the two most attractive republican candidates probably wish that it was further away than that.


Not to be outdone by Chris Christie, Scott Walker has also entered the world of political scandal and intrigue.

"When it comes to political corruption, New Jersey and Wisconsin are rarely mentioned in the same sentence. But a raft of emails released by a state appeals court judge Wednesday have Badger State governor Scott Walker facing some of the same questions as his embattled Garden State counterpart, Chris Christie.

Even if Walker is not eventually implicated of any wrongdoing, the documents released Wednesday, as well as other information arising from a pair of criminal cases related to his rise from Milwaukee County Executive to Governor of Wisconsin raise some troubling questions about his choice of personnel and his awareness  -- or lack thereof -- of what was going on in his own office.

Much has been written and said about Walker as the Republican reformer who successfully beat back labor unions over collective bargaining in a blue state and handily survived a recall election that positioned him for a possible run for president in 2016.  Until now, however, there has been relatively little attention paid – outside Wisconsin – to the criminal conduct of many who surrounded him.

The more than 25,000 pages of e-mails released on Wednesday were gathered as part of a now-concluded investigation that led to conviction of Kelly Rindfleisch, a former Walker deputy chief of staff, on charges that she essentially worked as a campaign staffer for a Republican candidate for lieutenant governor while on the clock in Walker’s office." [Source]

I will give it to these republican governors; they sure know how to cover their tracks. Right now there is a lot of smoke but no fire. So, for now, Scott Walker and Chris Christie will live to see another political day. For now.


Let's see where these investigations take us. If they take us all the way to 2016, Jeb, Ted, and Rand will be cheering the loudest.


Finally, one of the two black jurors in the Dunn case has come forward to say that race was not a factor in the way that they deliberated and came up with a verdict.


"'I never once thought about, ‘Oh, this was a black kid, this was a white guy.’ Because that was – that wasn’t the case,' juror number 8, aged 21, told CNN reporter Alina Machado.


'So, for people who say, you know, here’s another white guy who got away with shooting and killing a black kid, what would you tell them?..' 


'I would tell them that they really should knowledge themselves on the law,' Miles replied.


“If this case wasn’t about race for you, what was it about?' the CNN reporter followed up.


'It was about justice,' juror number 8 responded" [Source]


Lord have mercy! Some of these Negroes really need a clue. Lady, you tell us that we need to "knowledge" ourselves about the law, but I dare say that maybe it's you who needs to get some knowledge about where you live and the people you live around.


You can't see what is in the hearts or minds of your fellow jurors, so you can't sit on national television and declare that race did not play a role in the verdict.


I mean did you honestly expect one of the white jurors to openly declare that there is no way that they can convict a white man of shooting a black teenager when they totally empathize with what he must have been feeling?


N****r please!


  


  

Governor, there is a billionaire on line one for you.

There is a sign over the free- weights in my gym that says, "If you can't put it down, don't pick it up." The good governor of Wisconsin has picked up some very heavy weights and now he has a problem. (I mean when the "Cheese Heads" start "bashing" you in Wisconsin, if you are that state's governor; that is not a good thing.)

Governor Scott Walker is looking worse ever day. He has dug himself in such a deep hole that it's hard to see him getting out of this one. He has exposed himself to be nothing more than a political ideologue and not a practical politician who cares about the well being of the people of Wisconsin. It's so bad that even his fellow wingnut governors are backing away from him.

The unions have offered to give a little, but Walker won't move. He has become the darling of the wingnut and FOX News crowd, and they are telling him to dig in and fight the good fight. He claims this is about balancing the state's budget, but who is he kidding? This is about cutting off a major source of money for the dumbocrats. Wisconsin is "Ground Zero".

The wingnuts hope to break unions one state at a time, and they were hoping that the dominoes would start falling with the Badger state. They haven't. Not yet. Of course getting punked by a left wing blogger and showing the country what a fraud you are doesn't help your cause.

"UPDATE, 11:54 a.m.: In a key detail, Walker reveals that he is, in effect, laying a trap for Wisconsin Dems. He says he is mulling inviting the Senate and Assembly Dem and GOP leaders to sit down and talk, but only if all the missing Senate Dems return to work. Then, tellingly, he reveals that the real game plan here is that if they do return, Republicans might be able to use a procedural move to move forward with their proposal. "If they're actually in session for that day and they take a recess, this 19 Senate Republicans could then go into action and they'd have a quorum because they started out that way," he says. "If you heard that I was going to talk to them that would be the only reason why." Then the fake Koch says this: "Bring a baseball bat. That's what I'd do." Walker doesn't bat an eye, and responds: "I have one in my office, you'd be happy with that. I've got a slugger with my name on it."

12:09 p.m.: Another key exchange: FAKE KOCH: What we were thinking about the crowds was, planting some troublemakers. WALKER: We thought about that. My only gut reaction to that would be, right now, the lawmakers I talk to have just completely had it with them. The public is not really fond of this.The teachers union did some polling and focus groups... It's unclear what Walker means when he says he "thought" about planting some troublemakers, but it seems fair to ask him for clarification."

Wow! So this wingnut governor takes (what he thinks is) a call from a fat- cat wingnut donor but won't negotiate with his fellow citizens from his own state? I guess money talks and all that other stuff walks in Wisconsin as well.