May 7, 2013

At the Tulip Café...

Untitled

... you can say what you want.

161 comments:

rhhardin said...

Neighbor works on garden.

Anonymous said...

Those are beautiful. Wish I could grow tulips here, but we have too many deer. Our backyard is basically Bambi's Salad Bar.

ndspinelli said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Methadras said...

Tulips... Ah yes, the first item to kick off the first instance of commodity trading in Holland. Antwerp to be specific. They are pretty.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

Obama is a low information voter...

Rush Limbaugh

edutcher said...

Finals must be over.

You're posting up a storm this week.

blackjellybean said...

Those are beautiful. Wish I could grow tulips here, but we have too many deer. Our backyard is basically Bambi's Salad Bar.

We have quite a few where we are (the pups are forever saying, "Hello, deer"), but our tulips are doing fine.

Maybe you need a couple of yappy Yorks.

MadisonMan said...

Finals must be over.

Semester ends on Friday. (Finally!)

Farmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Farmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Farmer said...

Just wondering what happened to all those jobs Walker promised.

But hey - at least there aren't any corrupt union hacks running things!

madAsHell said...

A headline in the local alternative paper...."Gay man comes out as NBA player".

edutcher said...

MadisonMan said...

Finals must be over.

Semester ends on Friday. (Finally!)


Yes, but she doesn't have to proctor her own exams.

That's for grad students.

Farmer said...

Just wondering what happened to all those jobs Walker promised.

They've gone to states 51 - 60, like all the rest of Choom's claims the economy is getting stronger.

But hey - at least there aren't any corrupt union hacks running things!

Yes, things are so much better here in NE OH where the Demos run everything and the unions run the Demos*.

* Cleveland is the poorest big city in the country.

(although it looks like it's about to have a lot of competition)

Farmer said...

edutcher said...

They've gone to states 51 - 60, like all the rest of Choom's claims the economy is getting stronger.


How is Texas managing to do so well in job creation? What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?

But hey - at least there aren't any corrupt union hacks running things!

Yes, things are so much better here in NE OH where the Demos run everything and the unions run the Demos*.


I'm sure it's a mess. All I'm saying is, meet the new boss, same as the old boss.

Or: Scott Walker is 20 pounds of horseshit in a 10 pound bag. Take your pick.

ken in tx said...

The smell of English Boxwood is supposed to repel deer. I like the smell because it reminds me of my grandmother's house. We have it both here and at our lakehouse. We have no problem with deer at either place. There is plenty of deer around both places.

edutcher said...

Farmer said...

They've gone to states 51 - 60, like all the rest of Choom's claims the economy is getting stronger.

How is Texas managing to do so well in job creation? What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?


How about a right to work state where they haven't been in love with tax and spend since the boys came home from Picardy?

Or: Scott Walker is 20 pounds of horseshit in a 10 pound bag. Take your pick.

If that link is your best shot, you're as lame as garage.

edutcher said...

Chalk up one for the Church - The Silver Haired Angel of Death is backing off the Mandate.

You do not mess with god's one true Church.

Evor.

traditionalguy said...

Happy Mother's day.

Farmer said...

edutcher said...

If that link is your best shot, you're as lame as garage.


No, I know YOU are but what am I? And putting that aside for a moment, do you really not have anything to say about this? it doesn't bother you?

I live in Wisconsin. Maybe that's why it bugs me.
Walker ran on a jobs-creation platform. I don't want whining, and pointing the finger at other people. I don't want excuses - I want the jobs he promised. I took, and continue to take the same exact attitude towards Obama and the economy.

Walker's jobs agency is mired in corruption and doing just about everything except creating jobs for the state. He's almost 2.5 years into his term and so far it's a big fat Zero. If you want to blame Obama, go for it, but he's just going to turn around and blame Bush. Maybe somebody will eventually man up and take responsibility, but I won't hold my breath.

KCFleming said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KCFleming said...

"What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?"

A stable and consistent state regime.

Wisconsin has had political instability for most of his years as governor.

Did you think the rest of the US weren't watching when the Democrats and State unions stormed the capitol repeatedly? And when judges went after each other?

What business will want to invest in a state where the rules might change tomorrow?

A long-term stable crony capitalist socialist state will beat out a wobbling nascent conservative one. hell, even California would be favorable to the batshit crazy lefties mucking things up in Madison.

But Texas will whup both of them.

Nonapod said...

Some scientists in Britain are saying that they've found evidence of a common precursor language that appeared toward the end of the last ice age in Eurasia that pretty much all the spoken languages today came from.

KCFleming said...

I feel bad for Walker. I do.

But the Wisconsin left has been suicidally stupid. Winning is far more important to them than the state's economic success.

Hell, they're gloating about the poor economic performance.

AllenS said...

Farmer said...
How is Texas managing to do so well in job creation? What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?

How about oil underneath the state?

garage mahal said...

My 4 yr old helped run a lemonade stand with the Ecuadorean neighbor girl last Sunday, along with another older neighbor girl. So the nice little Ecuadorean girl made the lemonade, and brought out a stand to put everything on. They didn't have any cups, so I ran to Walgreens and picked up the cups. So it winds down, and the older neighbor girl takes the money and the cups and started walking home with it. I asked her whether they would be splitting up the proceeds, and also asked where she was going with the cups. She said "I'll be back".

What the fuck?

AllenS said...

You know what else that Texas doesn't have that Wisconsin does? Idiots showing up every day at the capital singing idiot songs.

KCFleming said...

" She said "I'll be back".
What the fuck?
"

Future Wisconsin Democrat.

garage mahal said...

Future Wisconsin Democrat.

Future Wisconsin Republican I'd say.

KCFleming said...

Of course you would.

Maybe you can bring some drums and vuvuzelas, and make a giant paper-mache head of the little girl next door, and chant and sing and carry on for days.

I'm pretty sure that's the next step, in Wisconsin.

KCFleming said...

Whatever, I'd protest the hell outta that kid.

Then the next lemonade sale will be great.

AllenS said...

There's been a lot of Wisconsin adults trying to open a mine in this state, only to have every liberal oppose the idea. That's why Texas is creating jobs and Wisconsin isn't. How's the farming in Dane County?

Farmer said...

AllenS said...
There's been a lot of Wisconsin adults trying to open a mine in this state, only to have every liberal oppose the idea. That's why Texas is creating jobs and Wisconsin isn't. How's the farming in Dane County?


So to be clear, Walker was going to create 250,000 mining jobs, but now he can't because hippies?

And this sort of thing simply doesn't happen in other states?

Farmer said...

Pogo said...
I feel bad for Walker. I do.


How ridiculous. He's a politician. He needs to do his job, not make excuses for not doing his job. See: Obama, Barack.

Or do you feel bad for him too?

Farmer said...

AllenS said...
You know what else that Texas doesn't have that Wisconsin does? Idiots showing up every day at the capital singing idiot songs.


And that's why we can't have mines.

garage mahal said...

So to be clear, Walker was going to create 250,000 mining jobs, but now he can't because hippies?

I assume they are arguing this with a straight face too. Amazing how much incompetence and outright thievery people will tolerate, if that someone has a R after their job title.

Farmer said...

Honestly, I can't believe you guys don't have the common sense to be embarrassed by this crap.

Walker drove unions out of the public sector except for firefighters and cops. He increased pay-ins for state employees benefits. He got re-elected in a recall election by a wide margin.

But after having resoundingly won every battle he's been in for the past 2.5 years, a few hippies banging on drums and drawing Hitler moustaches on photos of his face are preventing him from creating the hundreds of thousands of jobs he promised.

Amartel said...

"Some scientists in Britain are saying that they've found evidence of a common precursor language that appeared toward the end of the last ice age in Eurasia that pretty much all the spoken languages today came from."

There's a post about this earlier in the day. Is it a Eurasiatic language or ultra-conserved words?

edutcher said...

Whom do we support?

Hispanic suspect in attack on Gotham homosexuals.

AllenS said...

Farmer said...
So to be clear, Walker was going to create 250,000 mining jobs, but now he can't because hippies?

Where did you get that from? Can you provide a cite, or did you pull that number of mining jobs from your ass?

Methadras said...

Farmer said...

But after having resoundingly won every battle he's been in for the past 2.5 years, a few hippies banging on drums and drawing Hitler moustaches on photos of his face are preventing him from creating the hundreds of thousands of jobs he promised.


Wow, I guess you are a bigger dumbshit than I gave you credit for.

AllenS said...

Farmer said...
Walker drove unions out of the public sector except for firefighters and cops.

Once again, where did you get that bullshit? Teachers where I live can still belong to the union.

MadisonMan said...

Can you provide a cite, or did you pull that number of mining jobs from your ass?

Walked pledged to create 250K jobs. (As I noted back then, that's the normal amount of jobs created in Wisconsin when the economy goes from lousy to good, so it's not like Walker was promising anything noteworthy. But whatever. We can all blame Obama for the stalled economy).

ANYWAY, I think Farmer is ridiculing your notion that the mining would create 250K jobs. Even though you, I and he all know it wouldn't. You're just bringing up one example of how job creation might be stymied. And Walker somehow didn't know this when he ran for governor?

I agree that Walker's feet should be held to fire on this notion of Govt creating jobs somehow, especially when the Govt agencies he appoints to shepherd through the job-creating are apparently cronyism run amok.

Promises made by politicians should be kept.

garage mahal said...

Nothing was stopping the mining company from mining in Mellen, ever. What was stopping them from mining was their desire to eliminate any liability on themselves for the inevitable mess and contamination of wells the locals will be tasked with cleaning up when they leave. Now that the mining company got what they wanted [they wrote the mining bill that passed], Republicans are still blaming hippies for Walker's job fail and WEDC implosion.

AllenS said...

MadMan, I never said how many jobs a mine would create.

I think Farmer is ridiculing your notion that the mining would create 250K jobs

Not my notion, pal, your notion.

rhhardin said...

Armstrong and Getty today's opening: "Today's show is brought to you by the city of Cleveland -- come for the stupid music museum and stay for the missing women..."

Darrell said...

http://www.weeklystandard.com/blogs/dem-candidate-listed-twice-ballot-south-carolina-special-election_721806.html

Both sets of votes go for the Dem candidate when the totals are known.

KCFleming said...

"a few hippies banging on drums"

From the outside it looks like Wisconsin is chock full of lefty obstructionists, working 24/7 to stop everything from operating.

From your end, maybe things looked stable.

Regime stability is a big fucking deal. Uncertainty scares people, and Wisconsin is rife with uncertainty, as to state policy.

But Farmer and garage are thrilled about it, so you have that going for you.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

"Both sets of votes go for the Dem candidate when the totals are known."

This is nothing new, they pull this shit in Connecticut as well. I first noticed it during the McMahon/Blumenthal race.

Surprised some conservative group hasn't made a push for a similar second bite at the apple. Pretty much everybody knows that its just a democrat frontgroup, even more left wing.

furious_a said...

How is Texas managing to do so well in job creation? What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?

A part-time legislature...and Houston.

KCFleming said...

I do not believe you were so foolish as to think that the recall election would have no effect on jobs, win or lose.

A business would have to have its head up its ass to invest in a state so hell-bent on being fucked up.

furious_a said...

Scott Walker is 20 pounds of horseshit in a 10 pound bag. Take your pick.

Unlike BHO's venture socialism, horse manure promotes growth.

KCFleming said...

And Wisconsin's treatment of the Koch brothers had no effect on business recruiting at all, none at all.

Darrell said...

If the Dems defeated Walker, there would be a high-speed handcart running by now from one tip of the State to the other.

Darrell said...

If the Dems defeated Walker, North Koreans would be sending food by now.

furious_a said...

What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?

The Three-Point Plan:

1. low taxes.
2. light regulation
3. Uh...just a minute...oops.

garage mahal said...

From the outside it looks like Wisconsin is chock full of lefty obstructionists, working 24/7 to stop everything from operating.

Republicans are in charge of EVERYTHING in Wisconsin. The Assembly, the Senate, the Governorship, and the Supreme Court. They've passed every piece of legislation they felt like passing.

A small group of singers show up at the Capitol on Fridays to sing for an hour. Seriously, they're the cause of Walker's failures?

You must be smoking some real good shit to come up with that excuse.

MadisonMan said...

AllenS, the implication is there. Farmer says the 250K jobs aren't showing up. You ask What about the mine? Sure, it's part of a whole spectrum of things -- predictable things -- that might slow progress here.

A good question for Walker: Why didn't you know how strong opposition would be to you?

Nonapod said...

At least there's been some honest attempts by your governor at making Wisconsin more business friendly. My states dumb governor would rather spend $140 million in tax payer money on moronic ads about how awesome it is to start a business in New York State rather than, you know, actually doing something practical to reduce our states status as the most business unfriendly state in the nation.

Anonymous said...

Walker for President! Better to be an ignorant college dropout than to be a fatty, like Christie.

Anonymous said...

Sarcasm at 2:35.

AllenS said...

Bull fucking shit, MadMan, you're the one using the words ANYWAY, I think Farmer is ridiculing your notion that the mining would create 250K jobs

Not me. Any implication that you see, is from you and you alone.

KCFleming said...

"A small group of singers show up at the Capitol on Fridays"

That's hilarious. Althouse has fully documented the Democrat lunacy. The recall was the worst of it. What utter useless bullshit.

You seem unable to recognize how crazy you all look to outsiders.

Who would invest in a state with constipated statist wrist-flappers everywhere?

KCFleming said...

"A good question for Walker: Why didn't you know how strong opposition would be to you?"

Better question question for Walker: Why didn't you know how fucking insane the opposition would be to you?

KCFleming said...

I mean, hell, I hate Governor Dayton, and I think he has an IQ less than 90 (seriously), but I don't spend every living day thinking how to fuck things up in MN.

That's liberals in WI for you.

AllenS said...

Another good question for Walker, I guess, would be why do people think you were going to create 250,000 mining jobs?

Anonymous said...

These Republican state governments are blessings in disguise actually. Gives a nice heads up as to what their agenda is and displays their ineptitude quite nicely. Can not wait for 2014.

Amartel said...

Re: Shitstirrer and his Scott Walker Jobs Accountability Campaign

Shenanigans? In a government bureaucracy? Well, I never.
I'm not from WI and know nothing about WI job creation promises, bureaus etc. A Google search indicates Walker promised 250k jobs by 2015. Last I checked we are currently still in 2013. Whatever. I'm sure there's some explanation for your outrage, other than getting all greased up and believing everything you read the Huffington Post/Democtratic Talking Points Gazette.

Here's what I do know: It's easy and fun to fault a Republican. This is especially the case when a Democrat, especially a high level one (or, say, an entire Administration that has repeatedly and for years said that Jobs are Job #1 or some such drivel) is in the cross-hairs on the exact same issue. (See, e.g., Hurricane Katrina.) Is it mere coincidence that there is, suddenly, unexpectedly, tons of fuel available in the media and all over the web to fuel that fire?
Hmmmmm.
Ponder.
Ponder.

P.S. The OFA called. Your free milk is in the mail.

garage mahal said...

You seem unable to recognize how crazy you all look to outsiders.

You didn't seem to have any problems with the Tea Party exercising their constitutional rights in 2009-2010. Remember that? Protests, Town Hells.

garage mahal said...

Also remember, Scott Walker and Republicans were real big on recalls, when they wanted to oust Democrats. Walker got his county executive job on a recall.

pdug said...

Comment on Gatsby from Peter Leithart

"Zachary Seward thinks people miss the point of The Great Gatsby: “many people seem enchanted enough by the decadence described in Fitzgerald’s book to ignore its fairly obvious message of condemnation. Gatsby parties can be found all over town. They are staples of spring on many Ivy League campuses and a frequent theme of galas in Manhattan. Just the other day, vacation rental startup Airbnb sent out invitations to a ‘Gatsby-inspired soiree’ at a multi-million-dollar home on Long Island, seemingly oblivious to the novel’s undertones.” Seward comments that “It’s like throwing a Lolita-themed children’s birthday party.”

True enough, but it misses a crucial point, especially with regard to the Baz Luhrmann movie. On film, you have to show the glitz and glamour, and it always looks, especially in Luhrmann’s hands, glitzy and glamorous. How can you capture condemnation with a camera? It’s nearly as impossible to translate Fitzgerald’s tone as it is to capture Austen’s piercing ironies. As one critic commented, nearly every Austen film looks as if Mr. Collins were holding the camera."

http://www.firstthings.com/blogs/leithart/2013/05/07/filming-satire/

AllenS said...

garage mahal said...
Walker got his county executive job on a recall.

From wiki:
Walker became Milwaukee County executive in a special election called in April 2002, after the former county executive, Tom Ament, resigned in the wake of a county pension fund scandal.[15][19] He was elected to a four-year term in 2004, winning 57% of the vote to defeat former state budget director, David Riemer.[20][21] He won another four-year term in 2008, defeating State Senator Lena Taylor with 59% of the vote.[22]

What recall for county executive are you talking about?

garage mahal said...

From Walker's website:

In 2002, Scott answered the call to lead the reform movement after the pension scandal in Milwaukee County was uncovered. He was the first person to rise and commit to challenging former County Executive Tom Ament when Ament attempted to legally challenge the recall petition signatures against him.

Within a month, more than 150,000 people signed recall petitions demanding their government back. Scott felt that a leader needed to emerge to lead the movement. He was inspired by the hope of the people involved in the recall effort that they could change the government – for the better.
Link

timeline:

Jan. 6, 2002: Citizens for Responsible Government launches recall campaign against [Milwaukee County Executive Tom] Ament.
Feb. 26, 2002: Ament resigns.
April 30, 2002: Scott Walker is elected county executive on a reform platform.
2002-2003: Seven county supervisors who voted for pension deal lose recall elections.

lemondog said...

re: the Pig-Goat Personality Test, here is a Dog in Wools clothing

X said...

loling at garage losing his money in in his robber baron attempt at a fly by night back alley unregulated uninspected sales and income tax avoiding union busting child labor lemonade scheme.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Endless butt-hurt about the democrat's failed recall election against Walker, I see.

Tom Ament resigned without actually being re-called. Things that make you go hmmm...

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

I want to learn more about the Tom Ament(D) pension scandal.

I suspect Scott Pelly, CNN, MSDNC, Diane Sawyer and Brian Williams never touched on it.

KJE said...

I've got a second date tonight and I'm nervous. I know I'm not getting laid, and most of my friends are telling me that I should dump her for this.

Even female friends are mocking this woman.

It's pretty fucking hard to get back into the dating market after a divorce. My *friends* aren't helping me here.

This is sounding like a postsecret confession. I suppose it is, of sorts.

bagoh20 said...

Governors don't create jobs other than public service ones which are a net drain, so expecting any governor to create jobs is gonna be a disappointment. All a governor can do is improve the environment so that employers want to come and invest. Walker is not the reason employers aren't coming to Wisconsin, and even if the environment was improved, it's not in a vacuum. The jobs are going elsewhere where the environment is still better.

bagoh20 said...

KJE, Go for the easy score. That's your job. If you do it right, they will both want to bed you more for it.

bagoh20 said...

If Wisconsin wants jobs, fix the damned weather. Call Al Gore; he has a plan.

Ann Althouse said...

Law school classes ended last Wednesday. One class has had its final, but the other one will not have a final until next Monday.

If I'm posting a lot, it's mostly because the open windows and the birds singing before dawn get me out of bed early.

President-Mom-Jeans said...

Will there be a south caroline special election results thread?

My prediction is Sanford 52, Colbert-busch 47 Green 1

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

JKE - Please regard the 3rd date sex expectation calculation.
Give her one more try. But seriously - are you just needing to get laid, or do you really like her?

Patrick said...

Best of luck, KJE. I hope never to be in your position. I've only been married for 13 years, but I cannot imagine going back to dating.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

(KJE)

furious_a said...

You didn't seem to have any problems with the Tea Party exercising their constitutional rights in 2009-2010. Remember that?

I recall no arrests (except at Occupy rallies), and protest sites being left cleaner than they found them...unlike the Occutards...or the Badgertards.

"Like, uh, you know, we have to be somewhere." You stay classy, Madison!

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

The pot-tards in Denver left a HUGE mess behind.

Lem the artificially intelligent said...

But wait... there's more

furious_a said...

The pot-tards in Denver left a HUGE mess behind.

Mostly Cheetos bags, I hear.

AllenS said...

garage mahal said...
Also remember, Scott Walker and Republicans were real big on recalls

Citizens for Responsible Government launched the recall, it doesn't say Walker or Republicans. 150,000 people signed recall petitions because of Anent's involvement in a county pension fund scandal.

Anent retired. There was an open election between Walker and David Riemer.

test said...

bagoh20 said...
The jobs are going elsewhere where the environment is still better.


When assessing Wisconsin you have to factor in the likelihood that in a few years the nuts are back in charge expecting you to fund whatever spending they can think of.

garage mahal said...

pot-tards occu-tards and badger- tards!

LOL, is this 3rd grade?

AllenS said...

Is this the 3rd grade? I don't know, but who uses words like "occu-tards and badger- tards"?

Æthelflæd said...

Pogo said...
"'What does Rick Perry have that Scott Walker doesn't?'

A stable and consistent state regime.

Wisconsin has had political instability for most of his years as governor."

Texas is also a right-to-work state.

garage mahal said...

Is this the 3rd grade? I don't know, but who uses words like "occu-tards and badger- tards"?

@ 4:10

Methadras said...

garage mahal said...

pot-tards occu-tards and badger- tards!

LOL, is this 3rd grade?


Why? You looking for a promotion, Bitch Tits?

Methadras said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
KCFleming said...

"When assessing Wisconsin you have to factor in the likelihood that in a few years the nuts are back in charge expecting you to fund whatever spending they can think of."

Exactly what I was getting at.

Regime uncertainty/instability is always a profound negative for investment.

AllenS said...

AT 4:10 I see "pot-tards"

At 4:24 I see "occu-tards and badger- tards."

ricpic said...

KJE, play it like you could care less and you're in. Maybe even on the second date. ;^)

garage mahal said...

Regime uncertainty/instability is always a profound negative for investment.

So "dropping the bomb" on Wisconsin and installing Tea Party austerity on the state probably wasn't the best idea? Wisconsin went from 11th to 44th in job creation under Walker. Dead last in short term job growth.

test said...

So Garage can't figure out that two generations of fiscal deterioration cannot be reversed in two years? No wonder he votes left.

AllenS said...

Where are you getting your info from garage?

I found this, for whatever it's worth.

KCFleming said...

I said "uncertainty", not "any change at all."

Dante said...

Farmer:

Honestly, I can't believe you guys don't have the common sense to be embarrassed by this crap.

Forget for a moment about the precise number of jobs and the promises. Do you think WI would be better or worse off but for Walker? And he still has till 2015 to make the 250K jobs. Or do you think there is something walker is dong to impeded job creation?

Also, here in CA, we have Jerry Brown. Now, it turns out there is 14B bbl of oil recoverable by fracking here in Monterey County. But the greenies are trying to stop it. That's at least 2 years of oil for the entire US, plus natural gas to boot, and others think it's more like 3 years of oil for the entire US. CA has an unemployment rate of 9.4%, and millions of illegals who aren't counted.

I'd be happy to trade Jerry Brown with Scott Walker. Maybe WI would be in better shape with Jerry Brown?

Methadras said...

Dante said...

Farmer:

Honestly, I can't believe you guys don't have the common sense to be embarrassed by this crap.

Forget for a moment about the precise number of jobs and the promises. Do you think WI would be better or worse off but for Walker? And he still has till 2015 to make the 250K jobs. Or do you think there is something walker is dong to impeded job creation?

Also, here in CA, we have Jerry Brown. Now, it turns out there is 14B bbl of oil recoverable by fracking here in Monterey County. But the greenies are trying to stop it. That's at least 2 years of oil for the entire US, plus natural gas to boot, and others think it's more like 3 years of oil for the entire US. CA has an unemployment rate of 9.4%, and millions of illegals who aren't counted.

I'd be happy to trade Jerry Brown with Scott Walker. Maybe WI would be in better shape with Jerry Brown?


Are you fucking kidding? I'd buy Walker a house in San Diego just so he could set up residency here so he could run for governor.

Chip S. said...

LOL, is this 3rd grade?

Says the guy whose initial comment was a sad tale about losing his entire investment in a lemonade stand to some grade-school scam artist.

AllenS said...

jsonline says 44th.

Mike (MJB Wolf) said...

So, Allen S, your saying that chart, when sorted for jobs added in March 2013 and shows WI in solid 10th place, disproves the BS Garage is shoveling about being 44th in job creation? That will keep him out of here for the rest of the night.

By the way, those auto assembly plants Obama promised would reopen under his watch never came back. And it must be Walker's fault too.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Wait, you're supposed to have sex on the second date?

Thank God I'm married and never have to navigate those waters again.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Pot-tards, baby. Pot-tards.

garage mahal said...

So, Allen S, your saying that chart, when sorted for jobs added in March 2013 and shows WI in solid 10th place, disproves the BS Garage is shoveling about being 44th in job creation? .

Ah, no.

test said...

Are you fucking kidding? I'd buy Walker a house in San Diego just so he could set up residency here so he could run for governor.

There's a fantasy. At this point the best thing California can do for the rest of the country is implement the leftist agenda full bore so we can watch the implosion and resulting flight. Illinois might beat them to it though.

Chip S. said...

Wasn't there an extended discussion here of the differences in the job numbers from the Employer Survey and the Household Survey some time ago?

Do we really have to rehash all that?

furious_a said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
furious_a said...

Yes, just think how good WI's employment would be now if the then-60% owner of GM had kept the Janesvile plant like Obama promised when he was playing the UAW audience for votes.

Parse this:
And I believe that if our government is there to support you, and give you the assistance you need to re-tool and make this transition, that this plant will be here for another hundred years. The question is not whether a clean energy economy is in our future, it’s where it will thrive. I want it to thrive right here in the United States of America; right here in Wisconsin...

edutcher said...

Ann Althouse said...

Law school classes ended last Wednesday. One class has had its final, but the other one will not have a final until next Monday.

If I'm posting a lot, it's mostly because the open windows and the birds singing before dawn get me out of bed early.


Good for you. When it's warm here (is it that warm there?) and the birds wake The Blonde at the crack of dawn or earlier, she gets grumpy.

Have fun.

Farmer said...

Dante said...
Forget for a moment about the precise number of jobs and the promises.


I'm afraid not! That was the centerpiece of his campaign. He handed out 117 million in corporate tax breaks to bring jobs to the state. So far we have nothing to show for it in actual jobs!

And it's not just Wisconsin. "Lower corporate taxes = jobs" is the GOP's mantra. So where's the beef?

I'd be happy to trade Jerry Brown with Scott Walker. Maybe WI would be in better shape with Jerry Brown?

Thankfully we don't have to choose. How about we trade both of them for two governors who don't promote goofy policies at the expense of the taxpayer?

Pogo said...
Regime uncertainty/instability is always a profound negative for investment.


Yeah, that's been the Walker camp's main talking point so far. The GOP controls the legislature and the governor's office, they've given out 117 million in corporate tax breaks, but hey, business owners were skittish because of the recall.

Except the recall election was almost a year ago and still no jobs.






Farmer said...

Chip S. said...
Wasn't there an extended discussion here of the differences in the job numbers from the Employer Survey and the Household Survey some time ago?

Do we really have to rehash all that?


I must've missed it. But you might want to call Walker's office about it because he keeps acknowledging that the jobs numbers suck, and promising things will get better, while blaming everybody but himself for the lack of jobs thus far.

For what it's worth, I agree with the GOP notion that government doesn't create jobs. Which is one of the reasons it was so ludicrous for Walker to peddle that line.

garage mahal said...

Do we really have to rehash all that?

What is there to rehash? Wisconsin jobs rank is using CES figures, compared to other states using CES figures. The figures Walker said he wants to be judged on. The Chamber of Commerce ranked Wisconsin 50th in short term job growth. But 17th in talent pipeline rank.

Face it, Walker is flailing. It's possible he can turn it around enough before he's up for reelection, but not when they're concentrating on nutty stuff like food stamp trafficking bills and what foods people can eat while on food stamps.

Chip S. said...

Farmer, the last time the J-S played up the ES numbers, the HS numbers were much better. This appears to be the case again now. The J-S never seems to mention that disparity when it reports the worse numbers.

Apparently, by the ES numbers, WI is 44th and has lost jobs. By the HS numbers, it's 11th and has gained jobs.

There can be several reasons for a discrepancy b/w the two series. One of them is that the Employer Survey excludes farms, which seems like it might be important in Cheeseland.

Of course it's folly to believe any politician's claims about the number of jobs he's going to "create". The only thing the gov can "create" is a climate that induces old businesses to expand and new businesses to enter. But to argue that businesses would've expanded more if Walker hadn't reduced the scope of collective bargaining among public employees ranks as one of the craziest arguments I've ever seen.

rcommal said...

OK. Now that I actually an in the open thread: Althouse, as of today same-sex marriage is legal in your native state of Delaware. (And again, sorry to have accidentally originally posted this in a non-cafe thread. Will fix when I can. Don't appear to be able to delete from mobile.)

Farmer said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Farmer said...

Chip S. said...
But to argue that businesses would've expanded more if Walker hadn't reduced the scope of collective bargaining among public employees ranks as one of the craziest arguments I've ever seen.


But I'm not arguing that! I'm arguing that the steps Walker has taken to create jobs, at terrific expense, have thus far been an abject failure. I'm not arguing for any particular alternative, much less a return to Doyle. I'm arguing that the GOP mantra that lower corporate taxes = job growth is absolute baloney, and that if you make job creation the central point of your campaign, you'll rightly be judged a failure if you don't deliver. Yeah, maybe the other guy would've been worse, but the other guy wasn't elected so who cares?

Walker has two more years. I hope he rights the ship. I want the state to succeed regardless of who's in office. But so far it looks like Wisconsin went through a whole lot of unnecessary upheaval for absolutely nothing. During the protests and recall all we heard from the right was that we had to give Walker a chance to do his job. He's halfway through his term and so far his batting average sucks dog balls. He can't blame the legislature - he controls it. He can't blame the courts - his side runs the Supreme Court. So instead he blames a recall election that happened almost a year ago. Come on. Do you buy that?

Anyway, look - at the end of the day you have a kick-ass moustache and I am the handsomest gent to ever step foot on the shores of Lake Waubesa, so at least there's some kind of net gain in this thread.

Matt said...

Farmer,

If you were Governor and your party controlled the legislature, what policies would you pursue to create private-sector jobs?

Chip S. said...

Farmer, you misconstrued my comment. I'm not disagreeing w/you.

Also, nice 'stache yourself. You've got that Harry Reems look going for you.

chickelit said...

Repealing or severely revamping Obamacare--the single greatest job-killer--before 2015 will most likely help Walker fulfill his promise.

chickelit said...

Also, nice 'stache yourself. You've got that Harry Reems look going for you.

I thought farmer looked like Bob Denver incognito.

NTTAWWT

Chip S. said...

Since this is an open thread, I'd like to say to El Pollo Raylan that his dudgeon in an earlier thread was fully justified.

chickelit said...

Thanks, Art.

Chip S. said...

I was trying to sound like Boyd, dammit.

chickelit said...

Why, so you could get Eva?

Chip S. said...

Exactly.

I always liked her better.

chickelit said...

Ava's handy with a man's gun.

Chip S. said...

I don't usually hang out in these cafe threads.

How blue can we work here?

Farmer said...

Matt said...
Farmer,

If you were Governor and your party controlled the legislature, what policies would you pursue to create private-sector jobs?


I'm not sure such a thing is possible!

I think in order to not be a particularly unattractive place for people to do business you have to strike a reasonable balance between protecting people through regulation and not hamstringing business with unnecessary or irrelevant regulations. And taxes can't be too high. But I'm not sure there's much government can do to attract businesses or help them grow short of massive deregulation, legislation radically slanted in favor of business over consumers, and rock bottom taxes, all of which will be terrible for a state long-term.

Farmer said...

Chip S. said...
Farmer, you misconstrued my comment. I'm not disagreeing w/you.

Also, nice 'stache yourself. You've got that Harry Reems look going for you.


I completely misunderstood! What a waste of a soap box speech!

I wish that facial hair was mine. I grow a beard every winter but I don't have the guts to walk around with a full on 70s pornstache. My hat is off to any man who proudly and non-ironically does.

bagoh20 said...

" I'm arguing that the GOP mantra that lower corporate taxes = job growth is absolute baloney."

Then your also arguing that it has no effect. That companies deciding to start up or relocate, don't take taxes into consideration?

I'm desperately looking to relocate my business, and high taxes are the number one reason I'm even considering it, and lower taxes is the first criteria of my new location. The biggest impediment to moving is the weather in So.Cal. which my employees love enough to accept a significantly lower standard of living to have. Wisconsin doesn't have that hole card.

If your house in on fire and a guy throws a bucket of water on it, but fails to put it out, it doesn't make sense to assume that water was the wrong approach.

bagoh20 said...

"I'm not sure there's much government can do to attract businesses or help them grow short of massive deregulation, legislation radically slanted in favor of business over consumers, and rock bottom taxes, all of which will be terrible for a state long-term. "

Places with better job growth than Wisconsin are not doing any of those things to that degree. Regulations don't all help consumers, and many are counter productive. Business owners don't want to live where there is no regulation either. As to taxes, how much of the tax that is taken from employers and employees is really unnecessary. How much is wasted? Taxes and regulation can both be reduced without blood in the streets. Just going back to levels of a few years ago would help enormously, and I don't remember living in a hell back then. If a neighboring state with much more business friendly policies doesn't need a Berlin Wall to keep it's people in, then maybe there is room to emulate them.

edutcher said...

This just in:

(more ways than one)

Sanford wins special election.

Can't wait to see how this gets spun:

Preview of '14?

Demos, beware?

Rednecks with no ethics (for the Lefties to go down that road considering all the excuses they've made for Choom, Willie, Hillary!, Edwards, etc., will be fun to watch)?

edutcher said...

How 'bout Harpootlian's Harpoon?

Chip S. said...

Looks like the "debate" w/ the cardboard Pelosi did the trick.

I think Alvin Greene would've been a stronger candidate, if he lives in that district.

bagoh20 said...

What to do?

First) Continue to court business and jobs with better tax and regulation policies. Just like if you meet a bear when hiking with friends, you don't have to be the fastest, but you need to be at the head of the pack.

Wisconsin has a lot going for it, but so does the competition, and some have better weather, or better infrastructure, or more diversity, etc, so you can't afford artificial points against you . When decision makers with money to invest and jobs to bring are looking around, you want to make sure they aren't eliminating Wisconsin in the first round. Think like they do. They need to compete too. They need every advantage they can get. Is Wisconsin offering that?

Second) There is no second, except maybe hide the crazy socialists. Wisconsin is lucky to not have a bunch of gang members walking the streets, but your alternative is not exactly business friendly.

edutcher said...

This from Breitbart by way of the sidebar:

Only C-in-C could have order Benghazi stand down.

Much has been made of the number of flag rank officers sacked right after - Petraeus, Ham, Mattis, and several others.

Farmer said...

bagoh20 said...
Then your also arguing that it has no effect. That companies deciding to start up or relocate, don't take taxes into consideration?


Of course they do. But it's only one of many factors. When I moved from Illinois to Wisconsin it didn't even occur to me to see what my business was going to be taxed. In my case, even if there had been a fairly sizable increase, the much, much lower cost of living would've offset it.

Second) There is no second, except maybe hide the crazy socialists. Wisconsin is lucky to not have a bunch of gang members walking the streets, but your alternative is not exactly business friendly.

The radical left in Wisconsin is tiny and pretty much totally ineffectual as I'd've thought the events of the past couple of years would've made clear. Spend less time reading blogs and more time in Wisconsin and I guarantee you'll agree with me.

I mean, if you want to believe that businesses are fleeing, or ever have fled, the state because of a handful of ninnies, knock yourself out, but anybody who lives here would laugh at the idea. If you stroll into our state you're about five thousand times more likely to encounter an exuberant, friendly Packer fan who smells of walleye, Miller and bratwurst than a patchouli-scented drum circle leader on stilts.

edutcher said...

Chip S. said...

I don't usually hang out in these cafe threads.

How blue can we work here?


As blue as anywhere else on Althouse.

But the proprietress is watching.

Mark said...

South Carolina is the "pass the popcorn" state when it comes to politics.

What do they put in the water down there? (Freeman, I assume you drink only bottled....)

edutcher said...

I'm guessing Harpootlian wishes he'd gone dry.

bagoh20 said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
bagoh20 said...

The more employees a company has to bring, the more taxation will matter to them. It's probably the top issue along with regulation and labor force quality.

Although the protests didn't win the day, a big part of that fact was obscured by the optics. For a business interest, the fight is just as bad as losing the issue. Nobody wants to go and invest where they clearly aren't welcome, and will be seen as the enemy. It's not fair, but the protests are the face of Wisconsin outside of the state. It's a negative that has to be overcome, with some offsetting advantage.

People think they can explain away this stuff, but like all sales, it's as much emotional as factual. Wisconsin is selling a product: its business climate. I know plenty of Wisconsinites are pro free market and responsibility, but it's not clear there are enough of them to make it a reliable bet politically. Business needs reliability.

Fair or not, I'm just trying to inform how it looks to someone outside, and that's who matters if you want to import jobs. There are states out offering all kinds of deals right now to get us to move there. That may be why Wisconsin is struggling with jobs. It's a tough market, and some states are playing to win.

Freeman Hunt said...

"Wait, you're supposed to have sex on the second date?

Thank God I'm married and never have to navigate those waters again."

No kidding!

bagoh20 said...

"Wait, you're supposed to have sex on the second date?

Thank God I'm married and never have to navigate those waters again."


I know it's messy, but it's not worth getting married just to avoid sex.

Anonymous said...

I was eating a Pine Cone when the raspberry vine all a-tangled me. I tried to make myself a squirty Freedom but Tangled is Tangled and That's That.

So I unwound my Pinky from my Thumb but I still couldn't grip an Albino Hog: they are mighty thin and long. but the Thumb had Other Ideas, Grip-wise.

Dante said...

Farmer:

And it's not just Wisconsin. "Lower corporate taxes = jobs" is the GOP's mantra. So where's the beef?

Well, it can't hurt to lower corporate taxes as you compete better, but you have to give the guy until 2015 before you really piss on his word.

Meanwhile, I do like the very powerful way you put this. Yes, the guy promised, and I think we ought to hold officials to their promises. But this country has been living a lot of lies, hasn't it.

Transitional welfare.

Social Security.

Illegals are good for you.

Etc.

I fear we have dropped into a big valley. And how do you get out of the valley? I don't know. I suppose when everyone else is saying "Ride it down further to the valley of delight" you have to do something to go uphill and hope people wake up.

I don't know. I wish I had a philosophy that aligned with what our leaders are doing to our children, but I don't, and so I suppose I have to soldier it out.

So in that sense the only good question is a relative one. Given the circumstances, what's better for WI? If it isn't Walker, what?

Otherwise you are simply part of the problem.

Dante said...

I know it's messy, but it's not worth getting married just to avoid sex.

Sez the unmarried man.

Dante said...

That may be why Wisconsin is struggling with jobs. It's a tough market, and some states are playing to win.

Long live the republic. When the Democrats win, there will be no experimentation, not competition, just sameness, uniformity, and "good friends" like Al Gore.

Dante said...

It used to be:

"John Henry said to his Captain,
'A man ain't nothin' but a man
And before I'll let your steam drill beat me down,
I'll die with the hammer in my hand."

-Anonymous: The ballad of John Henry, the Steel-Driven' Man"

Today:

"My daddy was a slave, and so I don't have to pay taxes like everyone else."

Something changed.

Dante said...

Sez the unmarried man.

Don't forget Ann's recent post about how women shouldn't feel the need to put out for their men, even if it is therapeutic. Just men need to be sensitive to their women.

Mario said...

Very good and has many improvements and exciting new. Juegos Friv

Mario said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Mario said...

wow! is wonderful. it's the inventor or very good and keep trying possibility. FrivJuegos

rhhardin said...

The Benghazi flap doesn't make sense - nobody believes anything but that Obama wanted it to go away and thought ducking it would work.

Belmont club gets to the real problem:

"Perhaps the real objective of the Benghazi coverup was not to hide a particular act of incompetence or dereliction but to mask an entire failed policy process; one so epically shambolic, amateurish and bizarre it is a scandal in itself. What has protected the administration till now is the sheer implausible scale of their incompetence. Who would believe it?"