Althouse: At the Wisconsin Women Café...

July 13, 2011

At the Wisconsin Women Café...

... you can be whoever you want to be.

(Enlarge to read the signs.)

116 comments:

Triangle Man said...: Was this taken en route to Biddy's going away party? Free brats and Babcock ice cream!; 7/13/11, 10:43 AM
KCFleming said...: The tall lady in the blue shirt should get a chromosome analysis.

She's in for a surprise.
Although, apparently a very small one.; 7/13/11, 10:44 AM
Hagar said...: Have you got something in the water in Madison?; 7/13/11, 10:44 AM
traditionalguy said...: Maybe he is just a guy looking to pick up Wisconsin Women like Limo drivers holding signs up at the airport.

He needs to try a computer dating service.; 7/13/11, 10:45 AM
Freeman Hunt said...: She was a handsome woman.; 7/13/11, 10:48 AM
KCFleming said...: Illiteracy can sure cause embarrassing situations.; 7/13/11, 10:52 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: "Enlarge to read the signs"

Oh, I can read all the signs just fine, thank you, just fine.; 7/13/11, 10:52 AM
pm317 said...: I am really tired of these protesters and your photos of it, Ann. Give us something more inspiring. Also a suggestion if I may, on your flicker stream, can you separate out the two? Recently I was looking for a particular picture for which I only had visual memory and I had to go through your stack of all these protest photos. Don't these people have a life to live and who pays them while they are doing this?; 7/13/11, 10:52 AM
edutcher said...: The one in the OD shorts has nice proportions, if a bit small.
The one in the orange T-shirt might want to look into a few deep knee bends.; 7/13/11, 10:53 AM
pm317 said...: correction: 'photos of them'; 7/13/11, 10:53 AM
Henry said...: Here, hunny, hold this a minute, would you? Where's the bathroom around here?; 7/13/11, 10:54 AM
KCFleming said...: Whipped.
–adjective
1. subdued or defeated
2. see photo.; 7/13/11, 10:57 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/13/11, 11:00 AM
The Crack Emcee said...: pm317,

  I am really tired of these protesters and your photos of it, Ann. Give us something more inspiring.  

You don't find this inspiring? We're up against morons! True, it's like discovering you're beating up on "Special Ed" kids, but before - during the Bush years - they were about as scary as they come.   

But I told you they were nothing and this day would arrive. So, if you can't watch, then look somewhere else but don't you dare take my fun away by demanding we change the channel:  

Everything's fine just the way it is.; 7/13/11, 11:05 AM
Curious George said...: It's nice to see that Janet Reno is still active on the political/legal scene.; 7/13/11, 11:08 AM
pm317 said...: Crack (hope I can call you that), you crack me up..

come on, let us change the channel and look at more sunsets!; 7/13/11, 11:12 AM
Phil 314 said...: Initial thoughts on the shot:

-have we lost our sense of irony? (i.e. man holding sign stating "We Are Wisconsin Women")
-Museum in the background. Will this all be someday viewed as "quant" and museum-worthy?
-back of sign with picture of mouse with cheese. Yes, indeed "Who Stole my Cheese"; 7/13/11, 11:17 AM
Bruce Rheinstein said...: Stan: I want to have babies.
Reg: You want to have babies?!?!
Stan: It's every man's right to have babies if he wants them.
Reg: But ... you can't HAVE babies!
Stan: Don't you oppress me!
Reg: I'm not oppressing you, Stan. You haven't got a womb! Where's the fetus gonna gestate? You gonna keep it in a box?; 7/13/11, 11:21 AM
Fred4Pres said...: Confusion! I blame too much goose poop in the water in Madison.

Then again, maybe his wife cut off his "tail" with a paring knife!; 7/13/11, 11:23 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "Also a suggestion if I may, on your flicker stream, can you separate out the two? Recently I was looking for a particular picture for which I only had visual memory and I had to go through your stack of all these protest photos."

My Flickr stream is completely disorganized other than chronologically. I don't have time to put it in order, but I do wish it was all nicely titled, tagged, and sorted into groups. Sorry. It's just a place for me to host the files I use here on the blog. It would be nice if it were more, but it's not even near the top of the list of things I'd do if I had extra time.

Sha la la la la la la live for today.; 7/13/11, 11:24 AM
Wince said...: Mybe it's the guy who had his penis hilariously cut off by his wife?; 7/13/11, 11:29 AM
Rose said...: Why is it that all eyes are on Wisconsin, and so much effort is going into hammering you guys - when other states have made the same kinds of cuts with (virtually) no fanfare?

Just had a relative out from Jersey (we're in CA) and they were talking about the HUGE cuts to the education system there (she mentioned 75 teachers fired in what I assume is one district - could not go into it because political discussions can no longer take place at our family gatherings) - she hated Chris Christie, and hates Wisconsin even more.

I wanted to bring up the amazing cost savings that school districts are realizing with Wisconsin's new law - like the one where they "switched to Geico" and save a ton of money - but - alas, it's on the do not discuss list.

What's the real story?; 7/13/11, 11:32 AM
Wince said...: ...before she threw it in the garbage disposal.

Maybe.; 7/13/11, 11:32 AM
KCFleming said...: Hey Althouse, I want more free ice cream, and I want it nicely displayed and organized.

Thx!; 7/13/11, 11:41 AM
Ann Althouse said...: "-back of sign with picture of mouse with cheese. Yes, indeed "Who Stole my Cheese"..."

It's actually a nicely done sign. The "cheese" is the state of Wisconsin. So the question isn't "who moved my cheese?" but "who is the rat?" It's a matter of interpretation, and a lot of people would picture the public employee unions as the rat.; 7/13/11, 11:46 AM
coketown said...: Uh, e'scuse me. I prefer Wisconsyn Womyn Cafe. Much obliged.; 7/13/11, 11:48 AM
A. Shmendrik said...: That dweebus is now famous! Congratulations!; 7/13/11, 11:55 AM
A. Shmendrik said...: The rat may be protected intellectual property of the Wisconsin House of Cheese. Formerly on the Square. Where in the hell they are now, I dunno.; 7/13/11, 11:58 AM
pm317 said...: Thanks for considering. Sorry, I didn't mean to sound so demanding. Yeah, why should you separate them out.

FYI, I tried to use the tag 'photography' to search for the picture on the blog but that only took me up to a date last year (I think) and not beyond that. Maybe something to do with the archival issue you're having with google.

Live for today, yes, but I want to paint today that picture you had two+ years ago. :); 7/13/11, 11:58 AM
traditionalguy said...: The Wisconsin union has never accepted that their powers over their their teachers and their docile voters could ever escape them.

The Senate Dems hid out to denied a vote in the Assembly.

The Dane county Judge denied that the Assembly had voted in a new law.

The Kloppenberg denied that she lost the election.

The Supreme Court Chief Justice denied that the reversal decision on Sumi's farce could be published.

The crowds denied that any others are entitled to speak freely.

They refuse to accept losing powers that they lost.; 7/13/11, 12:05 PM
Calypso Facto said...: The rat may be protected intellectual property of the Wisconsin House of Cheese. Formerly on the Square. Where in the hell they are now, I dunno.

The anti-business Party leaders in Madison ran them out of town with cries of "shame" too.

From their Website:
The store was moved to
107 State Street in Madison in 1989. City elders deemed the mouse "not in keeping with the ambience of State Street", and sadly it was retired. In 2010 the store went exclusively online.; 7/13/11, 12:06 PM
Sal said...: He also shows solidarity with women by sitting when he pees.; 7/13/11, 12:08 PM
reader_iam said...: pm317:

I know it might be a long shot, but can you describe the photo you're seeking? Perhaps it would jog someone else'smemory--althouse's or another commenter's--of the post to which it was attached, and then you could search that way.

Also, you could try searching Althouse+[keyword or keywords] via Google Images. I realize that's not a fine filter and thus not the most efficient thing, but it would narrow the search at least. As a test, I just did three different searches using three different keywords, just to see what would come up. (The ones I used happened to be "garlic," "onion rings" and "flower.") This might at least narrow your search. And if the picture you seek happened to be attached to a fairly popular post related to your keyword, you might even hit pay dirt more quickly than you'd expect!

Anyway, just a couple of suggestions to help you with your painting desire...; 7/13/11, 12:14 PM
reader_iam said...: Heh. I just did a similar image search via Google to see if a picture of mine (from the Iowa Caucuses in 2008) that Althouse posted on this blog would turn up. Sure enough, pay dirt in one try (though I did have to click scroll down one whole time!).

So, it might be worth a try... .; 7/13/11, 12:17 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: pm317,

Crack (hope I can call you that), you crack me up..

come on, let us change the channel and look at more sunsets!

You're just trying to touch my fucking leg, aren't you? You're trying to touch my fucking leg!

Go on - touch it.; 7/13/11, 12:21 PM
reader_iam said...: Hey! Also found my snapshot of Hillary Clinton that was posted here in 2007. In neither search for my images did I use "reader_iam" as a key word, by the way.

Great. Just what I need. Another distraction from what I ACTUALLY should be doing today.

This is why I mostly avoid cafes--real and virtual--these days.

Sigh.

; ); 7/13/11, 12:22 PM
reader_iam said...: I mean, I end up chasing the most worthless tangents. It's a bad habit.; 7/13/11, 12:23 PM
Carol_Herman said...: It appears to be a pretty lady. With her back to the camera. Holding up a black-paper'ed sign. Showing a mouse. Eating a piece of Wisconsin shaped cheese. And, I thought to myself that's a very spiffy piece of artwork. If she was selling it at the art fair. And, I saw it. I'd have bought this one for my wall.

Now, don't go ruin it for me, and tell me, it's not Wisconsin.; 7/13/11, 12:25 PM
pm317 said...: reader_iam,

thanks for all the suggestions. I tried several ways but it was difficult since I could not remember any keywords. All I had was how I remembered the visual and that was not descriptive. Good news though I found it after scouring through her flicker stream (you can skip through five at a time if you use the thumbnail.)
Anyway, this is it!; 7/13/11, 12:25 PM
Irene said...: "The 'cheese' is the state of Wisconsin."

And the cheese is red. Commies.; 7/13/11, 12:26 PM
Anonymous said...: If that guy's wife were to let him hang out with any male friends, those guys would never let him live this down.; 7/13/11, 12:37 PM
pm317 said...: Crack,..LOL ..sometimes changing channel means just that and watching sunset, well, Althouse has a lot of those..

besides, I am a non-native English speaker/writer and not quite as fast as you guys are with it..;); 7/13/11, 12:41 PM
LordSomber said...: "She's a man, baby."

/austin powers; 7/13/11, 12:51 PM
Almost Ali said...: Okay, what's going on in here?; 7/13/11, 12:55 PM
Anonymous said...: pm317, that will make a beautiful painting! I hope that you'll share a picture of it when you finish (a picture of the painting of the picture . . .); 7/13/11, 1:17 PM
Peter said...: But I thought that in our Brave New World we could be whatever we want to be? Gender is just a social construct ...; 7/13/11, 1:28 PM
Big Mike said...: The far leftie on the far right is pretty flat-chested, and needs a better hairdo.; 7/13/11, 1:32 PM
garage mahal said...: More unhappy Wisconsinites in this latest poll. You can see why they crammed through photo ID and working on cramming down gerrymandering so soon.

37% approve, 59% disapprove of Walker.
78% think recall option is a good thing.
Nearly two-thirds think state government works to benefit a few big interests, while only 28% said state government is working to benefit all the people of Wisconsin.; 7/13/11, 1:35 PM
pm317 said...: lyssalovelyredhead said...
------

Thanks for the encouragement. I have the canvass ready. I just have to start mixing the colors. :); 7/13/11, 1:43 PM
Anonymous said...: And Kloppenberg is going to crush Prosser ....; 7/13/11, 1:43 PM
Anonymous said...: Kloppenburg, sorry. (She just looks so cold, I thought it was -berg.); 7/13/11, 1:44 PM
Fen said...: More unhappy Wisconsinites in this latest poll.

Wah!; 7/13/11, 1:46 PM
Wince said...: but "who is the rat?" It's a matter of interpretation, and a lot of people would picture the public employee unions as the rat.

"I got this rat, this gnawing, cheese eating fuckin' rat. And it brings up questions."; 7/13/11, 1:55 PM
Phil 314 said...: A more profound "Who Stole my Cheese"

In a nutshell. And I thought to myself, "a little fermented curd will do the trick," so, I curtailed my Walpoling activites, sallied forth, and infiltrated your place of purveyance to negotiate the vending of some cheesy comestibles!; 7/13/11, 1:58 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I am woman watch me grow
See me standing toe to toe
As I spread my lovin' arms across the land
But I'm still an embryo
With a long, long way to go
Until I make my brother understand

Oh, yes, I am wise
But it's wisdom born of pain
Yes, I've paid the price
But look how much I gained
If I have to
I can face anything
I am strong (strong)
I am invincible (invincible)
I am woman

I always found the embryo reference curious in this son.; 7/13/11, 2:00 PM
traditionalguy said...: This comment has been removed by the author.; 7/13/11, 2:07 PM
Carol_Herman said...: What if the guy carrying the sign that says he's a Wisconsin woman ... is the fact that he's part of a gay couple alliance? Why do people assume a woman would have cut his cock off, for him to hold up that sign?

I don't get it. Wouldn't Elton John's mate brag that he was the wife?

They got a kid,ya know. And, they're part of a union.

Are "unions" bad? What about jumping to conclusions?; 7/13/11, 2:42 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Okay. The Wisconsin cheese in the poster is red. Isn't that better than being blue?

Do you know how blue cheese stinks up a refrigerator?; 7/13/11, 2:43 PM
Trooper York said...: Dude walks like a lady.; 7/13/11, 2:46 PM
Alex said...: More unhappy Wisconsinites in this latest poll.

Your latest bullshit, lying poll.; 7/13/11, 2:59 PM
PaulV said...: No men in shorts at this cafe

http://sports.yahoo.com/mlb/blog/big_league_stew/post/Not-again-Fan-almost-falls-from-stands-at-Home-?urn=mlb-wp12376; 7/13/11, 2:59 PM
garage mahal said...: Your latest bullshit, lying poll.

Hehe.; 7/13/11, 3:11 PM
jeff said...: "You can see why they crammed through photo ID and working on cramming down gerrymandering so soon."

a BIGGER concern would be why so many people do not have any i.d. How do they function? Think of all the government benefits they would be able to partake in if they could identify themselves. Or better yet, get jobs. Education. Place to live. Drive a car.

Unless you're talking about fraudulent voting. In which case, never mind.; 7/13/11, 3:25 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Dead ahead.

Is that a MUSEUM? Or is it just a storefront with a sign saying "Museum" on it? It doesn't look like it could hold much of a collection.; 7/13/11, 3:30 PM
Curious George said...: Madison Children's Museum IIRC; 7/13/11, 3:42 PM
Anonymous said...: In this article, by Walter Russell Mead, states that

The states with the highest unemployment rates for African Americans are staunchly blue: Wisconsin (25 percent), Michigan (23.9 percent), Minnesota (22 percent), Maine (21.4 percent) and Washington (21.4 percent).

According to the BLS, Wisconsin's overall unemployment rate is 7.7%, well under the national average of 9.2%. Why are blacks doing so poorly in "progressive Wisconsin"? The educational data discussed a few months ago showed that Wisconsin's education system resulted in worse performance for black students than Texas's system.

Why do progressives hate minorities?; 7/13/11, 3:46 PM
traditionalguy said...: Cafe time.

The Limbaugh lemmings were down right fierce this afternoon at Mitch McConnell's proposals.

They want to Obama's defeat now with unconditional surrender!

But Obama wants somebody to blame for the coming Great Financial Crash of 2011, and McConnell wont give him that scapegoat.

The crash is going to happen in a few weeks anyway. The GOP needs to hand the blame totally to its designer named Obama.

Until the Senate with 67 GOP Senate votes , or the Presidency, is added to GOP control, Obama will call all of the shots.

Why give Obama a scapegoat now???

Even Rush Limbaugh is afraid to tell his listeners that truth.; 7/13/11, 3:50 PM
Triangle Man said...: Madison Children's Museum IIRC

It is the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.; 7/13/11, 3:56 PM
coketown said...: @t-man: Another way of stating it, to really emphasize the point: While making up 7% of Wisconsin's population, blacks make up 22% of its unemployed.

The disparity may arise from most employers asking for some form of ID to be hired. Since, according to Garage Mahal, blacks are too stupid/incompetent/lazy to acquire an I.D., this puts them at a competitive advantage.; 7/13/11, 4:03 PM
mariner said...: traditionalguy,
Until the Senate with 67 GOP Senate votes , or the Presidency, is added to GOP control, Obama will call all of the shots.

I believe we only need 60 Senators.; 7/13/11, 4:04 PM
traditionalguy said...: Mariner...Thanks. 60 is correct unless an Amendment, or an Impeachment.

So we have 12 to go, plus 3 more to make up for the ladies from Maine and Massachusetts .; 7/13/11, 4:12 PM
Dustin said...: I think the constant drumbeat of organized protests is conveyed well here. Sure, it's old. But it's the reality in Madison. Don't shoot the messenger.

These people refuse to let the GOP run things for a while. They refuse to try to tolerate these changes, or hope for Walker to succeed. They refuse to wipe the scowl off their faces. Ever.; 7/13/11, 4:13 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Looks like Michelle Bachman has a "Pastor problem" or church problem. Think we'll see the feeding frenzy we saw from Whathisname?

From Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod's "Doctrinal Statement on the Antichrist":

Since Scripture teaches that the Antichrist would be revealed and gives the marks by which the Antichrist is to be recognized, and since this prophecy has been clearly fulfilled in the history and development of the Roman Papacy, it is Scripture which reveals that the Papacy is the Antichrist.

Is the Pope the AntiChrist? Discuss!

(Oh, we have tape now of Bachmann calling homosexuality "bondage." She doesn't seem outwardly kinky so we can count that as homophobia of the most insulting variety, Ann.; 7/13/11, 4:39 PM
Sigivald said...: Is garage seriously trying to tell me that Wisconsinites are incapable of having photo ID?

Got data on how many Wisconsinites lack it already?

I bet it's well under .5% of voting age residents who aren't already prohibited from voting (eg. felons on parole/probation).

To convince me it's some Horrible Nefarious Plan, you have to convince me at the same time that the notional disenfranchised in question are complete morons who never drive or drink or indeed do anything else for which a state-issued photo ID is mandatory.

Bullshit.; 7/13/11, 4:40 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Yes, there is data on the thousands of Wisconsinites who do not now have photo IDs.

Need a free photo ID to vote? Be prepared to wait

See, not everybody is like you in this world. Some people don't drive. Some retired seniors don't need IDs of the limited sort allowed by the Voter Suppression Act. Thousands of people will be blocked from voting -- and Repubclians don't give a shit. They are unAmerican.

The point is to depress the vote and use the powers of government to advantage the Republican Party.

Walker is at 59% disapproval today. Bitch is going down.; 7/13/11, 4:49 PM
Curious George said...: traditionalguy said...
Mariner...Thanks. 60 is correct unless an Amendment, or an Impeachment.

So we have 12 to go, plus 3 more to make up for the ladies from Maine and Massachusetts .

Nope 67 it is. 60 to get a bill out of the Senate, 2/3 to override a veto.; 7/13/11, 4:50 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Ailes called Zucker on his cellphone last summer, clearly agitated over a slam against him by MSNBC host Keith Olbermann. According to sources familiar with the conversation, Ailes warned that if Olbermann didn't stop such attacks against Fox, he would unleash O'Reilly against NBC and would use the New York Post as well.

Sounds like straight news reporting, eh, Fox News lemmings?

Yeah, Fair and Balanced, my ass:
A few months ago, Ailes called Chris Christie and encouraged him to jump into the race. Last summer, he’d invited Christie to dinner at his upstate compound along with Rush Limbaugh, and like much of the GOP Establishment, he fell hard for Christie, who nevertheless politely turned down Ailes’s calls to run.

Think Ailes would resist using the black ops of the Murdoch crime mob to go after his enemies? Oh, wouldn't that be great if Olbermann could sue them if he was tapped or his records rifled?

Juicy stuff.; 7/13/11, 4:53 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: Need a free photo ID to vote? Be prepared to wait

OMG....they have to WAIT. It isn't instantaneous. The free photo IDs aren't just sitting there ready anticipating the voter's arrival.

The inhumanity.

They have to ....gasp.....wait. Maybe even plan ahead.

Cry me a fucking river.; 7/13/11, 4:59 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Fox News, slanting the news for friends and enemies alike. Courtesy of Howard Kurtz, from Daily Beast:

“There were people you were not supposed to mess with,” says the former reporter for the gossipy Page Six, if they were “friends” of executives at the Post or its parent company, News Corp. At the same time, “word would come down through your editor, ‘This is someone we should get, should go after.’ The people high up had people they just didn’t like.”
[...]
“There was a kind of thuggishness,” says Jared Paul Stern, a former Page Six contributor at the center of the controversy. He says Murdoch was on the phone with Post Editor in Chief Col Allan “all the time. He was down in the newsroom. I can’t imagine anything of that scale could go on and him not know about it.” Allan and a Post spokesman have not responded to requests for comment.; 7/13/11, 5:00 PM
chickelit said...: It is the Wisconsin Veterans Museum.

Yes it is. It used to housed somewhere in an upper floor in the Capitol Building. I used to go there for grade school field trips back in the late 60's.

The building which houses it now (in the photo) was or was right next right door to Rennebohm's Rexall Drug store on the Square. Rennebohm's (we kids used to call them "rent-a-bombs" were all over Madison and in Middleton. I started my first hourly job with them when I was 16 as a fry cook (hey there's room to move as a fry cook). Precious good memories of those times and especially of the girls a met there from Waunakee.

Titus are you listening?; 7/13/11, 5:01 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: RE: Photo ID;

The point is to depress the vote and use the powers of government to advantage the Republican Party.

There you have it folks. Even Alpha Liberal is admitting that the Democrats are the party of stupid. Too stupid to have photo id.; 7/13/11, 5:01 PM
coketown said...: That's funny, AlphaLiberal. There isn't a single piece of data in that article you linked to on the number of people without ID's. Just two anecdotes about old shrews who are frustrated having to deal with the DMV--a fine government institution.

And yeah, bitch is going down--next January, when you recall him, or after his next election. You've still got at least six months with him.; 7/13/11, 5:02 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: I'll bet a lot of conservatives, immersed in their partisan cocoons, don't even know that their pied piper is rushing over a cliff:

Phone hacking: Rupert Murdoch faces inquiry into US companies

Rupert Murdoch was facing the prospect of an investigation into his American companies last night as powerful senators questioned whether News Corp had broken US laws and engaged in “criminal” activity.

and...

“I think they crossed the line. They’re trying to get messages from loved ones in the last moments of their lives. It’s horrible, and they should be held accountable. It’s despicable and unethical,” he told Politico, a US newspaper.

Let the excuses begin! I look forward to reading Ann's apologies for Rupert Murdoch's criminal behavior. She's all so ho hum about this worldwide political scandal.; 7/13/11, 5:03 PM
AlphaLiberal said...: Oh, I haven't read it for a couple weeks. Wrong article. This one is based on a reporter observing the DOT process for an ID for 4 hours.

Tell you what, you guys are all self-reliant, right? Go look it up.; 7/13/11, 5:05 PM
chickelit said...: @DBQ: I just took a better look at your avatar. That's a remarkable piece of fired-clay.

Did you make it?; 7/13/11, 5:08 PM
Dust Bunny Queen said...: @ Chickenlittle

I wish I made it. It is lovely isn't it.

I had copied it from the net some time ago while looking for inspiration and ideas for art deco and art nouveau tiles, thinking that in my retirement I might get back into making pottery and clay tiles.

I don't remember where I got the photo....sorry.; 7/13/11, 5:25 PM
Curious George said...: AlphaLiberal said...
Yes, there is data on the thousands of Wisconsinites who do not now have photo IDs.

From his link titled: "Need a free photo ID to vote? Be prepared to wait"

What...a week? Month? Year? What?

"Balthazor, who waited an hour and 51 minutes to get to a window, was not pleased with the process or the law."

HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Funnier yet is Balthazor is a "retired postal clerk from Madison".

First, now you know how we feel bitch. Second, the "proof" is a fucking retired governement worker from Madison.

AL...fail.; 7/13/11, 5:31 PM
garage mahal said...: To convince me it's some Horrible Nefarious Plan, you have to convince me at the same time that the notional disenfranchised in question are complete morons who never drive or drink or indeed do anything else for which a state-issued photo ID is mandatory.

Approx 175,000 seniors in Wisconsin do not have the required forms to vote. Some counties in Wisconsin do not even have a DMV center, many on a part time basis only, and only one open on weekends. Walker's own AG investigated voter fraud for two years and came up with 11 potential improper ballots cast out of 3 million. Walker says we're broke yet this bill will cost 6 million dollars. Nobody buys this most strict voter ID law in the country is to prevent voter fraud, I think most conservatives think not everybody should have the right to vote.; 7/13/11, 5:48 PM
Irene said...: Madison is wacky enough to have a *memorial service* for the flipping Canadian Geese.; 7/13/11, 5:55 PM
Simon said...: TP wants you to know that the left is for democracy. Unlike us evil rethuglicans, the left thinks the people should get to decide.

Yeah, you read that right.

TP is saying that it's the right that uses the Constitution (or their own self-styled variant of it) to shut out democratic control, that it's the left that's for letting the people make their own choices. The left is for the people making their own choices via the ballot box.* Yep.

*Does not include gay marriage, abortion, school vouchers, capital crimes, school prayer, non-coed schools, apportionment of state legislatures, flag burning, the pledge of allegiance, criminal procedure, speech codes, school conduct, regulation of violent video games...etc; 7/13/11, 6:10 PM
Chip Ahoy said...: This is a bit odd.

Traffic to one of my blogs has tripled the last couple of days. Visitors are looking at this post on a salmon, pasta salad. (It's not that great of a salad.)

An outfit I never heard of called whatscook.in picked up the photo and ran it in a slideshow with others for an article they wrote on coho salmon. This caused a large number of people to click over.

Technorati picked up on another post I made last night to another blog I keep for orphan pages. I hadn't intended to show these pop-up pages until the entire card is done, but I did want to write the pages and get them out of the way. I hit publish and BANG Technorati is driving traffic to the incomplete set of online pages. Wanna see? Chameleon attacking a caterpillar, and coiling snake on forest floor.; 7/13/11, 6:10 PM
Carol_Herman said...: Chips Ahoy. I hate it when a recipe calls for an ingredient I not only don't have in my house. I have no idea what it would taste like, if I did.

So, if I made the Coho Salmon sauce, I'd fake it with 3 or 4 bittersweet chocolate chips. Instead of the Tamarind. Who would know the difference?; 7/13/11, 6:32 PM
Curious George said...: garage mahal said...

Approx 175,000 seniors in Wisconsin do not have the required forms to vote. So what. Many more teenagers don't have the required forms to drive when they turn 16. They get 'em. So can seniors.

Some counties in Wisconsin do not even have a DMV center, many on a part time basis only, and only one open on weekends. Only three, and they have very few residents, which means they also have very few of the above.

Additionally, what percentage of the 175K live in these counties?

What percentage of the 175K have the mental capacity to vote. Lots of addled seniors in that mix.

Of those that do, what percentage of them have voted in the past?

The answer to all these questions is "you don't know".

There are very few seniors, if any at all, that will not be able to vote if they want to.; 7/13/11, 6:35 PM
Synova said...: "Is the Pope the AntiChrist? Discuss!"

Yawn.

What is it with you Alpha, and with other lefties, for that matter? Are you Catholic? Do you care? Should I get my panties in a wad because a whole lot of Catholics (and it may have been official at some point) figure that the only people who went straight to hell are Judas and Luther? They are *my* panties, Alpha.

Why do you care so much about wadding other people's panties?; 7/13/11, 6:36 PM
Fred4Pres said...: I am not sure what to think about this.

It is even weirder than Wisconsin!; 7/13/11, 6:46 PM
Synova said...: I feel sorry for anyone who lives in a state without privatized DMV options.

Also... I hear there are a whole mob of currently-on-summer-break liberal democrats in the state of Wisconsin that could organize an ID drive for seniors. Unfortunately it wouldn't involve drums and banging pans or shouting "shame."; 7/13/11, 6:46 PM
Anonymous said...: Alpha, Garage, the Antichrist, et al,

If the federal government can strip search a 95 year old leukemia patient and make her take off her Depends, why again is it unreasonable to ask voters, 95 or not, to produce a photo ID?; 7/13/11, 6:46 PM
The Crack Emcee said...: t-man,

Why do progressives hate minorities?

They don't hate minorities, they just don't know how to love us yet.; 7/13/11, 6:56 PM
Phil 314 said...: Alpha;
Please share with blog your "must annoy righties today" schedule. Given the number of your posts (most which have little to nothing to do with the subject matter) today, Wed. July 13, must be one of those days.

If I had your schedule I could avoid the blog so as not to read your enlightening commentary.

Sincerely; 7/13/11, 6:58 PM
garage mahal said...: Old Dad
So you approve the federal government strip searching a 95 yr old leukemia patient. Nice.

It's really not the year you want elderly masses showing up at the polls if you're a Republican anyway.; 7/13/11, 6:58 PM
Synova said...: And just to be clear on this...

I don't see any excuse for someone to go about deciding what other people are supposed to feel offended over. Rome as the whore of Babylon is old-school, not shocking to anyone, and an issue *between Christian denominations*, absolutely none of which need help sorting it out.

I also see no excuse, and find it offensive, when someone tries to hijack my vagina for their political cause. That this fellow holding the sign isn't female only illustrates what's wrong with it because it would be just as wrong if a woman was holding the sign. How dare you take the set "woman" (in this case "Wisconsin women") and pretend that it's a constituency group?

This sort of thing is done all the time, often with "moms" and often with "women". And all it does is prove who likes to tell other people what they are allowed to think.; 7/13/11, 6:59 PM
Curious George said...: "I also see no excuse, and find it offensive, when someone tries to hijack my vagina for their political cause."

NOW thinks all women have the same core beliefs as over the hill ugly lesbians. Because NOW is comprised of over the hill ugly lesbians.; 7/13/11, 7:15 PM
Anonymous said...: @Garage,

"So you approve the federal government strip searching a 95 yr old leukemia patient. Nice."

You got the reductio, but not the absurd. And who said teacher's unions ain't grand? Do you have to flash your CPUSA super secret decoder ring at meetings of Wisconsin 666 Union of Dumbass Democrat Election Riggers (UDDER)?; 7/13/11, 7:15 PM
David said...: I wanna be Barack Obama. I wanna get my way. I wanna, I wanna, I wanna. I wanna be able to say any silly thing I wanna and no one is to question me. Especially people from Congress. Not one. Not that Cantor one. Or reporters. Not one. I am the One. We won! I won! I the One who won!; 7/13/11, 7:59 PM
David said...: Obama is about to crack.; 7/13/11, 7:59 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: What happened to 'no drama Obama'?

This must be highly unusual, to a man used to getting his way.; 7/13/11, 8:22 PM
Anonymous said...: @ Curious George...

I was about to type "Nice to see Janet Reno is still active" - but you beat me to it!; 7/13/11, 8:29 PM
Carol_Herman said...: When my mom was 80, she moved everything she had. Plus, her 3 cats. Leaving Brooklyn. And, coming here to LA. I took her to the DMV. And, she got a photo ID, immediately. And, no. No driving test. If she were inside a car, all you'd see outside was a tuft of grey/white hair. She wouldn't see pedestrians.

Then it became unnecssary. As long as you supply a valid ID. (And, yes, our home for a few years was a polling station. Because my mom volunteered "it" and herself on election days) ... I had no trouble to go on the permanent California's Absentee ballots coming in the mail.

Not sure what the "rule" says. Because I vote each and every time. But, believe it or not, it's only when you don't return the ballot a few times; they'll stop sending them.

There used to be a pin in the envelopes, so you could press out your circle. The "pin" looked like the back of a "button." Then, Florida 2000, happened ... and the pins were no more ... because some people never checked for hanging chads. Of all things. After going to the trouble to vote.

Now we have to fill in the circle. The whole circle. Using either a blue pen or a black one. It's like taking a test. But voting isn't a test! There are no right and wrong answers.

Sometimes, I pick a name out of a lot because it sounds Jewish. And, I've stopped voting for females. As is my wont.; 7/13/11, 8:50 PM
Carol_Herman said...: But I'd vote for Sarah Palin. This would be even more delicious if she runs as an independent.; 7/13/11, 8:50 PM
Carol_Herman said...: David @7:59 PM. You're saying we're watching obama throw a two-year old's tantrum. But if he were doing this, he'd have to be rolling around on the floor. Or he'd have to hold his breath, till he went from black to blue.

Today, somewhere, I saw someone describe obama as having gone from success to unsuccessful ... As someone going from arrogant to petulant.

But where would the GOP be, if he had sold like JFK?; 7/13/11, 8:55 PM
The Dude said...: Wait, this is way off topic, but did Obama really say "Don't call my bluff"? You have got to be kidding me.

WV: derater - will soon visit our bonds.; 7/13/11, 9:07 PM
Simon said...: Synova said...

And just to be clear on this...

I don't see any excuse for someone to go about deciding what other people are supposed to feel offended over. Rome as the whore of Babylon is old-school, not shocking to anyone, and an issue *between Christian denominations*, absolutely none of which need help sorting it out.

I also see no excuse, and find it offensive, when someone tries to hijack my vagina for their political cause. That this fellow holding the sign isn't female only illustrates what's wrong with it because it would be just as wrong if a woman was holding the sign. How dare you take the set "woman" (in this case "Wisconsin women") and pretend that it's a constituency group?

NPR had a simpering piece today whining about how few women were involved in the debt ceiling negotiation. But of course they don't mean "women" any more than liberals mean "laity" when they say they want more lay involvement in Church government. You know what would have produced greater female involvement in these negotiations? Vice President Sarah Palin. But I would bet cash-y money that not a single person involved in making or broadcasting that NPR segment voted for her. It's never about women or laymen, it's about I want to decide! Me! Me! Meeeeeeeeeeeee.; 7/13/11, 9:17 PM
Fen said...: Alpha is a fun study. Everytime the Lefties screw up, he's forced to parrot more propaganda about Emmanuel Goldstein.; 7/13/11, 9:35 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: Wait, this is way off topic..

No its not.. Whatever got Wisconsin where it is.. it has also got WDC.

Liberalism.; 7/13/11, 9:36 PM
Lem Vibe Bandit said...: In a meeting with a small group of reporters in his Capitol Hill office this morning, House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, criticized President Obama and White House officials for their lack of resolve in negotiations.

“Dealing with them the last couple months has been like dealing with Jell-o,” Boehner said. “Some days it’s firmer than others. Sometimes it’s like they’ve left it out over night.”

The Speaker Stand Up!

Even though it is very likely the republicans are going to crumble under the pressure.. I'm proud of them so far.; 7/13/11, 9:44 PM
David said...: From a letter to the editor in today's Door County Advocate from a guy named George Krall"

If you live in the inner-city of Milwaukee, for example, there is a good chance that you depend on public transportation, don't have a car or driver's license, don't know or care what DMV means or where a Division of Motor Vehicles office is, and you probably don't have a passport. Putting a roadblock to voting in the way of these people is all they would need to say, "Why bother to vote?"

You can see how highly he holds black people in esteem.

George Krall rhymes with Garage Mahal.

Could it be?; 7/13/11, 9:56 PM