Last Call

At what point does Scott Walker realize he's won the battle, but lost the war?

Yet another poll in Wisconsin, this time commissioned by a free-market think tank, the Wisconsin Policy Research Institute, shows voters disapproving of Gov. Scott Walker, and saying he should compromise on his budget proposal and its anti-public employee union provisions. Furthermore, the key groups with whom Walker is jousting -- Democrats in the state legislature, public employee unions in general, teachers' unions in particular -- all have significantly better favorable ratings than he does.

It should be noted that WPRI's polling, despite the organization's ideological bent, is often cited in Wisconsin's media as a reliable survey, and is conducted by UW-Madison political science professor Ken Goldstein. This demographically weighted poll of Wisconsin adults was conducted from February 27-March 1, and has a ±4% margin of error.

Walker's overall approval ratings and personal favorable numbers are identical, at 43% approval/favorable to 53% disapproval/unfavorable, with only some internal variation between the "strongly" and "somewhat" sub-categories in each.

By contrast, the favorable-unfavorable numbers for the Democrats in the legislature -- who are most famous now for the minority state Senate Dems, who have fled the state in order to block budget quorum on the proposals -- stand at 50%-42%. The public employee unions' favorables are 59%-34%, and teachers' unions are at 59%-36%.

Oops.

Walker is getting annihilated here.  He should really come to the table, but he refuses to do so.  He's gotten 90% of what he wants from the unions too:  salary cuts, benefit cuts, pension cuts.  But the coolective bargaining he refuses to budge on.

And that last mile is costing him everything.

In Which Zandar Answers Your Burning Questions

Commenter Shalimar at Balloon Juice asks the $200 million question about David Koch:

Why would he donate $200 million for cancer research when he knows he can give $100k to the Republican National Committee and get Republican congresspersons to increase funding by the same amount?

Because the Koch brothers would rather give $100k to get Republicans to reduce taxes on the Kochs and Koch Industries by a lot more than $200 million, frankly.  It's about power.

Turn On The Lights, Watch The Roaches Scatter Part 63

WaPo columnist Dana Milbank?  Meet Foreclosuregate, up close and personal-like.

The problem in the nation's housing market now isn't subprime lending. It's subpar lenders.

Last fall, my wife and I refinanced our mortgage with Citibank. Sixty days later, we received a "cancellation notice" from our homeowners insurance company "for non-payment of premium."

Turns out Citibank, which had been collecting hundreds of dollars a month from us to pay the insurer, hadn't made the payments. It was, I later learned, one of the usual tricks mortgage servicers use to squeeze more cash out of their customers. About a month later, I learned of another trick: Citibank informed us that it was increasing our monthly payment by nearly $300.

Along the way, a simple refi became a months-long odyssey: rates misquoted, interest charged on a phantom account, legal documents issued in wrong names, a mortgage officer who disappeared for days at a time (first it was his birthday, then his laptop was in the shop), a bounced check from Citibank's own title company, and the freezing of our bank accounts.

For me, this amounts to no more than the hassle of arguing with Citibank to fix its "mistakes." But consumer advocates tell me these are typical of the screw-ups by the big banks that service home mortgages. And these errors - accidental or otherwise - are driving large numbers of people into default and foreclosure when it otherwise would not have happened.

It's a bad situation - and the new majority in the House is poised to make it even worse. 

I'd laugh my ass off except for the fact that if Citibank can screw a Very Serious And Responsible Villager over, then nobody in America is safe on a mortgage re-fi.

That of course is because nobody in America is safe on a mortgage re-fi, and that's been true for years now since deregulation of the mortgage industry brought about by MERS pushed digital speed over accuracy.  The result:  the prolonged housing depression.  Nobody can fix the problem because nobody knows who owns some half the mortgages in the United States.

That's a problem with only one real solution.  And the longer it takes to implement it, the more damage will be done to our economy.

Looking Out For Grandma

More than 90 percent of nursing homes hired employees with criminal convictions according to a new government report obtained by CBS News.

Government investigators ran background checks on all workers who were employed on June 1, 2009 at 260 nursing homes across the country. The results showed 92 percent of the facilities hired at least one employee with a criminal conviction.

The report, by the Inspector General for Health and Human Services, also says that at nearly half of the nursing homes, "five or more individuals" with criminal backgrounds were hired.

Investigators found seven registered sex offenders employed in five different nursing homes. Overall 43 percent of the criminal convictions were for property crimes such as "burglary, shoplifting, writing bad checks."

The government is offering programs that will help a universal background check system.  Under some conditions, the government will cover the cost of the background checks.  Families who do not know what to ask or expect are putting their loved ones in situations that can lead to danger for their vulnerable elderly relatives.  I will follow up on this and continue to address this particular situation.  I worked in the health care industry for several years, and I have seen the best and worst of what our long-term care institutions have to offer.  Any comments or contributions are certainly welcome.

What A Tangled Web We Weave

There have been new safety violations with the Spider-Man play on Broadway. OSHA has contributed findings that indicate harnesses and other safety equipment were not set properly. A spokesman for the production company states that they are in compliance with regulations.

OSHA said it issues a serious citation "when there is substantial probability that death or serious physical harm could result from a hazard about which the employer knew or should have known."

It's time to cut losses before someone gets hurt.  This has been a bust from the very beginning, and the injuries and problems are just piling up.

Zandar's Thought Of The Day

Technically, the "end of the world is coming on this date!" people only have to be right once.

They walked away from work, families and communities in places as far-flung as California, Kansas, Utah and New Jersey. Among them are an electrician, a TV satellite dish installer, a former chef, an international IT consultant and a man who had worked with the developmentally disabled.

They gave away cars, pets, music collections and more to relatives, friends and neighbors. Some items they kicked to the curb. In homes that weren't emptied, clothes are still hanging in closets, and dishes, books and furniture -- including one man's antique collection -- are gathering dust. Unless, of course, they've been claimed by others. If you believe it's all going to be over soon, why would it matter if you close the front door, much less lock it, when you walk away?

It's a mid-winter morning in Jacksonville, Florida, when CNN joins this faithful caravan. The "ambassadors," as they call themselves, are easy to spot. They are the 10 people milling about in an RV park drawing stares, eye rolls, under-the-breath mutters and, at times, words of support.

They're wearing sweatshirts and other clothing announcing the "Awesome News," that Judgment Day is coming on May 21. On that day, people who will be saved will be raptured up to heaven. The rest will endure exactly 153 days of death and horror before the world ends on October 21. That message is splashed across their five sleek, vinyl-wrapped RVs, bearing this promise: "The Bible guarantees it!"

I should probably return those Netflix DVDs.  On the other hand, expect a lot of birthdays this time next year.

We Gotta Clean Up Tea On Aisle Five

Steve M. completely called shenanigans on this story on Friday morning about those Dirty F'ckin Hippies wrecking Wisconsin's capitol with their protests.

State officials said Thursday that damage to the marble inside and out the State Capitol would cost an estimated $7.5 million.

Cari Anne Renlund, chief legal counsel for the state Department of Administration, said in Dane County court that estimates of damage to marble includes $6 million to repair damaged marble inside the Capitol, $1 million for damage outside and $500,000 for costs to supervise the damage.

Much of the damage apparently has come from tape used to put up signs and placards at the Capitol.

It was not immediately clear how the estimates were made....

Hurr, the Dirty F'ckin Hippies hate the environment and God and Wisconsin and you and me and they are so immoral and they are costing you millions and don't you just want to do something to them?

But quelle surprise!  The story was bovine fecal matter.

It's not stopping the Tea Party folks from leaking stigmata and leaving heavy cross splinters everywhere as they don their horsehair shirts for "clean-up duty".

It is time to take out the trash… literally. In true Flash Mob fashion, on Sunday at exactly 1300 hours (1:00 pm for you non-military types) we will do an extensive police call (pick up the trash) around the capitol square. Regardless of the state the grounds are in, we will do this as both a literal and symbolic way to show our respect for our home.

TEA Partiers know how this is done. It is time to show OUR pride for OUR state OUR way and be the example.

Yeah, "OUR" example is lie, get sympathy, and then blame the evil teachers for it.   This story has been a fabrication all weekend, but facts never stop them.

[UPDATE]  Corrected the estimate of the damage being $100,000 and not the total cost of the damage.

Last Call

I don't normally disagree with Dave Neiwert, but I think he's pretty much dead wrong about this FOX News spat between BillO and Moose Lady.

It's hard to say why it happened, but all of a sudden Bill O'Reilly decided last night to stop tossing Sarah Palin the usual softball questions and Hannity Jobs she's become accustomed to during her tenure at Fox News. He asked her to finally get specific instead of bloviating in vague generalities about where and how she's achieve the budget cuts she's calling for.

It's not hard to say why it happened at all.  FOX controlled all the variables here and while at first blush it does look like Sister Sarah is being prepared for Under-Bus Throwage, it seems unusually ham-handed for Roger Ailes's outfit.

What this smells like is a setup, to give FOX supporters and Palin supporters something to point to when the accusations of hand-holding by the network come roaring out the minute Palin announces her 2012 run.  Everyone agrees that Palin isn't ready right now.  I think this is part of Roger Ailes's plan to remedy that.

Look for more of these "not-so-softball" interviews ahead.  It's not like the bar has to be set high for what qualifies as a "tougher" interview for Palin.  As long as she doesn't trip over said bar when she's making a big production of gingerly stepping over it and doesn't burst into flame while doing so, she advances her narrative.

Eliza Doolittle, meet Henry Higgins.

I'll Have Crazy, Hold The Mustard, And A Koch

I'm not sure what's more frightening on this whole David Koch/Scott Walker/Buffalo Beast prank call "identity theft" story, the theory that billionaire David Koch can't find any better lawyers than Col. Mustard and is actually soliciting his legal advice, or the theory that billionaire David Koch has hundreds of better lawyers at his disposal and he's still running with this.

Conservative billionaire David Koch says the Gonzo journalist who impersonated him in a recent prank call heard across the nation may be guilty of identity theft.

"It's a case of identity theft," Koch told the New York Times in a rare interview Friday. "I didn’t even know his name before this brouhaha erupted."

Identity theft is a serious crime, but it's unclear whether a prank call falls under the category -- the concept typically refers to assuming someone's identity to make purchases or commit crimes, according to the Justice Department.

In the widely-publicized call whose audio was published, Buffalo Beast editor Ian Murphy spoke to Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker (R) for 20 minutes while pretending to be Koch, discussing the high-profile clash with public employee unions and offering to help the governor.

The real Koch joked to the paper he was surprised Walker took even took the call.

"I was thinking to myself, 'My God, if I called up a senator or a congressman to discuss something with them, and they heard 'David Koch is on the line,' they’d immediately say, 'That’s that fraud again — tell him to get lost!'" he said.

Nice, he throws Walker under the bus to boot.  The Koch Brothers have the whole Lex Luthor thing down cold.  Really hard to dislike a guy when he's throwing a cancer research center at you.

Seriously, we're going to go with identity theft here?  Fire your legal team, Koch.  Buy a new one.  Trust me.

Brewer-ing Up Her Own Army

Yeah, see, I'm wondering what the reaction would be by Tea Party "patriots" if a Democrat-controlled state legislature was pushing a bill to create a Governor's own army, separate from the National Guard, taxpayer-funded, and beholden only to the state's Chief Executive.

But that's exactly what Arizona Republicans are doing.

Arizona’s GOP-run legislature has taken to marginalizing and villainizing the immigrant population with zeal — be it through SB 1070, HB 2191, or SB 1070 “on steroids.” Now, the Pheonix New Times reports that state Sen. Sylvia Allen (R-AZ) is pushing a bill to give Gov. Jan Brewer (R-AZ) a “blank check to establish a ‘state guard’ that would do her bidding, whatever that bidding might be.”


Allen’s SB 1495 not only establishes a “state guard” independent of the national guard and finances that guard with national guard funding, but it allows Brewer to created this “Armed force” for “any [] reason the governor considers to be necessary”:

Section 1. Section 26-174, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:

Arizona state guard; establishment; purpose; appropriations
A. If the national guard of Arizona or a major portion thereof is called into active federal service, or if the national guard or a major portion thereof is alerted for federal service or for any other reason the governor considers to be necessary, the governor may establish an armed force for the safety and protection of the lives and property of the citizens of the state which shall be known as the Arizona state guard.

B. The Arizona state guard shall insofar as practicable be governed by and subject to the laws of the state pertaining to the national guard. The governor shall issue or cause to be issued rules and regulations to govern administration and organization of the state guard.

C. Appropriations made to the national guard shall be deemed appropriated to both the national guard and the Arizona state guard, if and when the latter organization is established, and any funds which that are unexpended from appropriations to the national guard may be used for establishment and maintenance of the Arizona state guard.

I seem to recall scary claims from fringe groups that Obama and Democrats were supposedly creating private armies to come round up dissident, take their guns, and put them in concentration camps.  Apparently Arizona Republicans became so obsessed with that, they're deciding they need to do it first.

To recap, this is a taxpayer funded state militia that answers only to the Governor, can be used for whatever reason the Governor sees fit, and the Governor gets to make the rules and laws regarding the state guard.  Our own domestic terrorist problem is thrilled with this and are eager to join up, as the day is coming closer where states will apparently sanction their violent views.

You can bet these guys are itching to use deadly force to "defend the border" and to use taxpayer funds and national guard equipment to do it with.

What could possibly go wrong?

Never Give Up

"He said a guy had fallen on the sidewalk," Al Lodermeier says. At that moment, Don Shulte, owner of the grocery store, walked in. The three ran back to where Snitzer lay on the sidewalk. He wasn't breathing. He had no pulse. If he didn't get help soon, he would die.

For the next 96 minutes — more than an hour and a half — Al, his brother Roy, bystander Candace Koehn, who saw Snitzer fall, and more than two dozen other first responders took turns performing CPR on the fallen man. Their teamwork saved Snitzer's life, in what may be one of the longest, successful out-of-hospital resuscitations ever.

Besides being a good story, there's a couple of things to think about.  First, this is what we should do when someone collapses.  Second, CPR is an evolving practice.  For example, little pigtail Bonnie was watching cartoons when a public service message came on showing CPR basics.  "Hey Mom, wouldn't blowing into lungs full of water just make it worse?" Twenty years later, someone decided that same thing, and the guidelines have changed.  Mouth to mouth has also been removed from CPR in general.  We owe it as a public obligation to know the basics and stay up to date, and to use them whenever we can help.  And, of course, never give up.

Sometimes The Old Jokes Are The Best

(Reuters Legal) - A banana peel, the torment of many a cartoon character, has allegedly become the real-life downfall of a woman in California.

Feeling the store was unreasonable in refusing to accept a $44,000 settlement, and claims over $9,000 in medical bills, Ida Valentine has continued her suit for justice.

Oh.  Well, there's your joke.

Never Thought I'd Type These Words, But...

CNBC's Rick "Tea Party" Santelli actually has a point and it's even grounded in actual economic data as he discusses yesterday's jobless rate numbers dropping to 8.9%.

Upon closer scrutiny though, there is another factor contributing to the drop that is not necessarily good news: The official size of the U.S. labor force is shrinking.

The Bureau of Labor Statistics publishes the “Labor Force Participation Rate” each month, along with a litany of other metrics that are used to give us the headline jobs number and the unemployment rate. 

The government's definition of the labor force is all individuals 16 years of age and older, who are employed or seeking employment. It does not include students; retirees; anyone with unreported income, or "discouraged" workers. 

The participation rate is the comparison of the "labor force," those looking for work or employed, and everyone else. That ratio is currently 64.2 percent seasonally adjusted, and 63.9 percent non-seasonally adjusted, the same level as last month. Both of those percentages are currently running at 27-year lows, meaning the percentage of Americans not working or even trying to join the work force is at a near three-decade high. 

The last time the participation rate was above 66 percent — the 10-year average — was in August 2008. 

And he's right.  The reason the unemployment rate had dropped 1.1% in 3 months is pretty simple:  a couple million Americans went from "unemployed" to "no longer attached to the labor force".

In other words, millions of unemployed Americans are now classified as "no longer looking for work" so they don't count in the unemployment rate.  At the traditional average of 66% labor force participation, the unemployment rate in this country would be over 11%, folks.

We're still deep in the heart of this recession.  It's just that several million people are no longer playing the game.

StupidiNews, Weekend Edition!

• Tuscon shooting suspect Jared Lee Loughner has been formally charged with 49 new federal counts, including murder and attempted murder, connected to January's deadly rampage.
• Texas Republicans have signed into law a bill requiring any woman to get an ultrasound of the fetus before receiving an abortion.
• Pro-Qaddafi forces attacked and destroyed a key arms depot for rebel forces near the eastern Libyan city of Bengazi.
• As oil continues to climb, investors are being drawn to the Canadian dollar as a safe haven.
• Apple's iPad 2 has Samsung scrambling to fix "perceived inadequacies" in its Galaxy tablet competitor.

Last Call

South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint vows to save America from passing any legislation or anything.

A bloc of Senate conservatives, led by South Carolina's Jim DeMint, flexed their muscles Thursday, pledging to block any bill they alone deem wasteful or unconstitutional.


Seven other GOP senators joined DeMint's effort, including three freshman he helped elect in November, and veteran Sen. John McCain of Arizona, the 2008 Republican presidential nominee.

"I'm proud to stand with my fellow conservative Senate colleagues to require thorough review of bills to prevent secret passage of wasteful spending and unconstitutional legislation," DeMint said.

Beyond passing judgment on whether measures are constitutional, DeMint's new group wants any new spending to be offset by other funding cuts and for duplicative government programs to be consolidated or eliminated.

The group also demands that all government programs be reviewed periodically and that the cost of every bill be made public before the Senate votes on it, along with the full text.

Jon Summers, a spokesman for Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., said he's pleased that DeMint and his allies recognize "that we need to reduce the deficit and cut spending to make government leaner and more efficient."

But, Summers said, "it's a shame their austerity does not apply to the unpaid-for, budget-busting special interest tax breaks that they seem all too happy to hand out."

Naah, those are paid for by Laffer Curve Fairies.

Jim DeMint.  Because government shouldn't really do anything, it messes up the corporate takeover of the country.  Nice to see Maverick McCain has decided that since he can't be President, nobody else can either.

Seriously, folks.  These Republicans have no interest in governing, just wielding power.