Wednesday Mashup (11/2/11)

(I’ll try to get back to this blogging thing again…)

I know it’s hard to imagine, but it’s only been a year since the voters of Wisconsin elected Hosni Mubarak Walker as governor (here)…

As soon as Walker was elected on November 2, 2010 (his 43rd birthday), public-worker unions in Wisconsin began to Walker-proof their paychecks. Before the governor and the newly minted GOP legislature even took office in January, public-sector unions tried to rush through new contracts.

Assuming you buy the claim from Irrational Spew Online here that public sector unions tried to “rush” through their contracts (and I emphasize that I don’t), this tells us how the public sector employees ended up losing out on the deal regardless. Also, poster Christian Schneider claimed that Walker’s current approval rating is 42 percent, approximately where it was in March (interesting given that, as noted here, it was 37 percent in July). However, I have no recent polling data to challenge Schneider here.

So what exactly is Walker doing in response to the recall effort against him? Well, as noted here, he’s relying on “unlimited donations” (think ALEC and the Kochs) and making the recall process more difficult (here). And remember how eliminating public sector employee bargaining rights was supposedly about austerity because Wisconsin was “broke”? Well, he still managed to pony up about 60 grand for iPads, as noted here.

And in an effort to maintain the Walker mythology, Fix Noise propagandized as per usual about the “Wisconsin Miracle,” as noted here. On top of that, the Washington Examiner falsely claimed that Walker was doing what Badger State voters wanted him to do here (if anyone wants to revisit more Walker-related misery, click here).

Next, I give you more wingnut harrumphing here over a recent Florida appearance by Obama Labor Secretary Hilda Solis (she used the word “teabaggers” to describe the “racist sign and funny hat and Revolutionary War uniform in some cases” crowd – how impolite)…

Solis was speaking at the state Democratic convention, so some red meat is to be expected. But "teabaggers"? That's the level where the debate still resides? Cabinet secretaries resorting to vulgar insults?

Oh yes, how awful it is for “cabinet secretaries” to be “vulgar” and “insult(ing).”

And as proof, allow me to revisit the dark days of Bushco once more, in which former Defense Secretary Rummy himself basically questioned the worth of Vietnam War draftees here.

Also (under the heading of what I would consider to be “vulgar” behavior by cabinet secretaries), I give you the following from former Buscho Interior Sectary Gale Norton…

(In December 2003), (Norton) unveiled this proposal, which would change current regulations governing livestock grazing on more than 160 million acres of western public lands administered by (the Bureau of Land Management). The administration described its decision as an effort to "improve working relationships" between the BLM and ranchers, and to "protect the health of rangelands." But in fact the proposal would repeal a number of environmental standards, delay implementing others, and through bureaucratic manipulation render most of the remaining environmental standards unenforceable.

All in all, the regulations would remove opportunities for the public (other than ranchers) to provide input into management decisions, slant environmental analyses and appeals procedures to favor ranchers over environmentalists, and make it easier for ranchers convicted of environmental crimes to obtain grazing permits. The proposal would also allow ranchers to obtain ownership of water rights, fences, wells, and pipelines on public land, thus crippling the BLM's ability to manage the land in the greater public interest.

And when it comes to “vulgar” and “insulting” behavior from presidential cabinet secretaries, it would be difficult to top former Bushco Labor Secretary Elaine Chao here…

You could lose your job to a foreign worker—not because he’s cheaper but because he has better workplace skills and discipline. That’s the message (Chao) hears from U.S. executives who are worried about America’s competitive future. While losses are low thus far—one study estimates that only 280,000 jobs in the service industry out of 115 million are outsourced each year—that could change. Beyond the cheaper cost of labor, U.S. employers say that many workers abroad simply have a better attitude toward work.

“American employees must be punctual, dress appropriately and have good personal hygiene,” says Chao. “They need anger-management and conflict-resolution skills, and they have to be able to accept direction. Too many young people bristle when a supervisor asks them to do something.”

Besides, considering that the original post had to do with “vulgar” and “insult(ing)” behavior aimed at the Teahadists (Ooopsie! Didn’t mean to hurt their widdle feelins), I don’t think they have a leg to stand on in the umbrage department when you consider this.

Finally, it looks like Orange Man is losing what’s left of his mind again (here)…

It’s safe to say Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) does not agree with President Obama’s suggestion on Tuesday that Americans are better off now than they were when he took office.

“Are you kidding me?!” Boehner said loudly in response to a reporter’s question on the comment. “Why don’t you go ask the 14 million Americans who are out of work whether they’re better off today than they were four years ago?”

Here are a few items to consider in response:

Here is proof from last June that government spending has helped job creation, not hindered it.

Here, Boehner said that the weak jobs report in September was due to the threat of high taxes, or something (and, when given an opportunity to support the President’s jobs bill in response – well, this tells us what happened anyway).

Also, two days after opposing the Obama jobs bill, Boehner and his pals also blocked infrastructure investment (here).

Oh, and who can forget this little moment with the speaker when he tells us what he thinks of the prospect of federal job losses?

In addition, I give you this, in which an actual small business owner criticizes Repug John Kline (and, by association, Boehner) for claiming that those supposedly awful government regulation are “killing jobs.”

As noted here, though, Boehner’s latest outburst is just “part of the plan” - more here.

In addition, here is a recent comparison chart of the effects of the stimulus in this country on gross domestic product when compared to the U.K., which did not receive the benefit of a stimulus (I seriously hope that this forever kills the zombie lie that the stimulus “did not create a job,” but I know better, sadly).

I’m not optimistic, however, that there will be a change of heart here on the part of the House Speaker, particularly since it looks like “Achtung Baby!” Boehner has another metaphorical fire to put out, as noted here.

Update 11/3/11: Amazing his nose doesn't grow when he says this stuff, isn't it?

Update 11/6/11: Unsurprising which of the Beltway gasbags thinks public sector job losses are fine here (Note: it isn't Krauthammer for a change).