That set of people who would rather obsess about their pronouns than defend their civil rights.
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Are you a Democrat? What have you done? Do you think it was enough? Are you doing more (than complaining here)?
WAD, organized crime became quite sophisticated in the years since LBJ occupied the White House. Now it exerts strong control of certain parts of mass media as well as complete control of the Republican Party. Upon the rise of Joe McCarthy, H.L. ‘Bucky’ Hunt declared that the U.S. is not a democracy, that is is a republic. And he said that democracy is the same as communism… A few supreme court justices are such believers.
Alot of the silence comes down to media. When I was a kid (‘70s/‘80s), Milwaukee had a lefty paper, the Journal, and a righty paper, the Sentinel (I might be mixing them up, IDK – I was a kid!). Then the Sentinel bought the Journal and fired the lefties. Smaller city newspapers died or withered with as the Internet destroyed their commercial models. Rush Limbaugh and his mini-mes (like somewhat repentant never-trumper Charlie Sykes) activated and radicalized many of our old white folks even before they got hooked up to Fox News’ drip feed of fear and loathing. The once-mighty organized labor presence in the state was on its last gasp even before The Kochs’ sock puppet Scott Walker put the final nail in the coffin, and with it went the labor press.
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You could say the thing about Texas too. The Democratic Party headquarters in many counties don’t even bother to answer their phones anymore. So by some odd chance that one might want to run for office and get their name on the ballot as a Democrat, forget it. With the exception of Governor, Lt Governor and Attorney General, it is manifest that there be but one name on the ballot for every other elected state/local office and that name better have an R next to it.
In fact, I wouldn’t put past Republicans if they’ve taken over all the Democratic Party headquarter offices in Texas which would explain why Democrats are literally non existent. Yeah sure Beto’s running. But no other Democrats are getting any local help. Because the local offices won’t even answer their bloody phones much less have Democrats actually show up to work.
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You have it right, mostly. The Milwaukeee Journal was good, one of the best in its day.-- I read the Green Sheet starting when I was three. Loved it. And then read the rest of the newspaper when I was a little older, say 6 tthrough 15, when I left high school. Then I went to Madison, and I read the NYT. The “Urinal Sentinel” was always crap. Here’s a little history, from WIKI (not that they are authoritative, just that it’s an introduction):
The Journal was started in 1882, in competition with four other English-language, four German- and two Polish-language dailies. Its first editor was Lucius Nieman, who wanted to steer the paper away from the political biases and yellow journalism common at the time. Nieman was an innovative and crusading editor. The Pulitzer Prize for Public Service was awarded to The Milwaukee Journal in 1919 “for its strong campaign for Americanism in a constituency where foreign elements made such a policy hazardous from a business point of view”.[ citation needed ]
The Journal followed the Sentinel into broadcasting. The Journal purchased radio station WKAF in 1927, changing its call letters to WTMJ. It later launched an FM station, W9XAO, in 1940; it was later called W55M, WMFM, WTMJ-FM, WKTI-FM, WLWK-FM, and, now, WKTI. WTMJ-TV, Milwaukee’s first television station, went on the air in 1947.[ citation needed ]
Nieman’s successor, Harry J. Grant, introduced an employee stock purchase plan in 1937 and, as a result, 98% of Journal stock was held by its employees. A small bloc of Journal stock was given to Harvard College, and funded the Nieman Fellowship program for promising journalists.[ citation needed ]
Competing with two raucous Hearst papers filled with gossip, features and comic strips, Harry Grant took a more sober approach to news presentation, emphasizing local news. During his years as editor and publisher, the Journal received several Pulitzers and other awards from its peers; it was under Grant that the Journal gained a reputation as a leading voice of moderate midwestern liberalism. During the 1950s, the Journal was outspoken in its opposition to Wisconsin Senator Joseph McCarthy and his search for communist influence in government, which perhaps inflated the Journal 's reputation for liberalism.[ citation needed ]
At its circulation peak in the early 1960s, the Journal sold about 400,000 copies daily and 600,000 on Sunday. The Journal was a Monday-through-Saturday afternoon broadsheet, containing its distinctive Green Sheet, also publishing Sunday mornings. Though circulation had declined from its peak, it still held a rare position for an afternoon paper, dominating its market up until 1995, when the Journal and Sentinel were consolidated.
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It’s the damned conservative party gone fascist. It’s cowards like Mitt Romney. And it’s the lack of understanding how all politics are all about morality, among the democrats. It’s the fucking Republicans who are ruthless, hateful, greedy and punishing anyone of decency, poverty, weak mindedness or the otherwise vulnerable. Demcrats are not racists, nihilists or out to get anyone. They are like the Neanderthals vs. the Cro Magnon, and guess who won that evolutionary battle?
The democrats, you and me, are being called on to get the story straight. The evidence for all the above is right out in the open. The US has become another 1930’s Germany. Many differences of course, but that’s the gist of it. Too many people, too much anger and self indulgence, too few ways to get the message out, cold war tactics going completely unimpeded by our failed systems, a neutered justice system, a broken system of play by humane rules having been trashed. This is happening NOW and HERE, and we are as democrats unable to steer clear of it. But we must. Pound on your reps ruthlessly to enact election protections. Pound on the justice system to fucking get its act together, not just saying we live by the rule of law and faking all their bullshit excuses. All the apologist lawyers, wake up and change. Then there’s the “media” gone mad and bought and sold by the rich.
Yeah, right, I know, I’m ranting and preaching to the choir. But we’d better sing a progressive tune because otherwise we are literally all gonna die sooner than anyone can imagine, if not literally then at least figuratively.
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The worst part is not being able to clean up the court until 2023 given how their terms work, but hopefully the voters will take Roggensack, Hagedorn, Ziegler and the Bradleys down and start winding back the evil that has permeated WI since 2011.
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That’s the plan. We voted a hack off the court in the middle of the pandemic when Vos said it was perfectly safe (in a hazmat suit) to come out and vote.
Well, the Dems took him up on it and sent the hack packing.
We know we have to do a couple more to get the court back into reality. Stay tuned.
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Beyond WI, Republicans are all in this together. They all support each other. So the antidemocratic, i.e., fascist, party needs to be destroyed before it succeeds in destroying our fragile and rather tattered democracy.
But the Republican party won’t be destroyed anytime soon. Quite the opposite.
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Charlie Sykes, as far as I know was a big deal in Milwaukee and Fox Valley Right-Wingification. He was very effective and widely listened to. At least that was the impression, I am not in that market and didn’t follow him, but he seemed to be a Kingmaker and able to eviscerate statewide Dem candidates. Lots of other forces were at play also, but he was very central to brainwashing the largest metro area and all it’s more affluent suburbs. Fairly well to do and dense belt of population.
@dominic
Seems Republicans have discovered continually blowing up the stadium is more effective than trying to field a competitive team.
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May this be so! I presume you are back in the Midwest? Ready to start the next gigs? I wish you the best, and stay warm!!!
Charlie is just another mediocre conservative talk-radio talking head. He’s no kingmaker, he’s no authority. His wife is the one who is politically connected. Wisconsin radio talk-show listeners are the same people that used to tune into (ah-one-and-a-two) Lawrence Welk TV, and Rush Limbaugh.
Charlie is a little schmeckle.
Lawrence Welk:
Thank you boys, thank you. And folks, now a word from Geritol. Folks, I think you should take Geritol because I think you should…
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Yep, all are well and the COVID scare at the farm is pretty much over with no one getting sick. I am back at it with a trip to Denver on Tuesday for three days for Bootcamp for the new gig. Then on the 18th back to the farm for eleven days.
Lots of frequent flyer miles coming.
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Stay safe and wear your armor!! I wish we could all wear invisible bubble helmets and gloves.
Oh, and bring them snow in Denver – they really want some 
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For what it’s worth, I started taking elderberry gummies on Friday. I did this when I had the go-live in Connecticut in August and managed to stay healthy even beyond the COVID.
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Yay for you! I bought a case (4 jars) of elderberry syrup that will get me through the cold season here.
It’s interesting that this omicron coronavirus variant likely acquired at least one of its mutations by picking up a snippet of genetic material from another virus, potentially one that causes the common cold.
By incorporating this particular snippet into itself, omicron might be making itself look “more human,” which would help it evade attack by the human immune system. Viruses are incredible machines, churning out mutations and changing themselves to just keep becoming more powerful and able to replicate.
If we all protect against getting a cold this fall/winter/spring, we might be also preventing this omicron virus to spread more. Two “bugs” killed with one “gummy.” 
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Is his bust still in the Appleton Post Office?
Internet tells me it was donated in 2001 to the History Museum.
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