Remember the anecdote about the college drop-out, DUI-collecting, son of a lobbyist and big donor who was appointed by Gov. Scott Walker (R-WI) to head environmental and regulatory affairs in the state Department of Commerce for $81,500 a year?
He has been given a demotion in response to a “public uproar.”
But the Journal Sentinel gives the qualifications on the two other people who applied for the position that supervises 76 employees and oversees storage tank regulations and environmental cleanups:
The first, Oscar Herrera, is a former state cabinet secretary under Republican Gov. Scott McCallum with a doctoral degree and eight years’ experience overseeing the cleanup of petroleum-contaminated sites.
The second, Bernice Mattsson, is a professional engineer who served since 2003 in the post to which Deschane was appointed.
By contrast, Deschane has no college degree, little management experience and a couple of drunken-driving convictions. His father represents a trade group that gave more than $121,000 to Walker and his running mate.
Herrera and Mattsson didn’t get far in the process.
“Neither candidate was interviewed,” said agency spokesman Tony Hozeny.
Clearly, the last thing you need in such a position is someone with qualifications and experience.
And clearly, Walker considered that the single best qualification for the job was having a generous father who is a lobbyist for the Wisconsin Builders Association.
Nothing stinky here, folks. Just move along!
Okay…maybe there was some political payback, and maybe there was some conflict of interest in having the son of a Wisconsin Builders Association lobbyist overseeing regulators of storage tanks. But, whatever…I mean, demotion accomplished!
And by “demotion” we learn he will go…
…back to the Department of Regulation and Licensing and his $64,728-a-year job as bureau director of board services.
(*Sigh*)
$64,728 a year is way more than I ever made working for the State of Washington with my 9 years of college education and multiple degrees (I started out, with a law degree, at $1,100 a month); but then, I didn’t have a politically-connected father, and I was just one of those state flunkies in a cushy, overpaid, lifetime job with fabulous retirement benefits — so fabulous that I pay the full cost of my own medical insurance and the premiums and copays together eat up slightly over half of my before-tax retirement income. My problem was that we didn’t have a good enough union in this state.
A $120,000 investment that doubles your money in 4 years is a pretty damn good deal. Even if your “son” is doing the work.
Keep an eye on this guy. I’m betting that his job as “Director of Board Services” (the demotion) is going to show up as “executive experience” used to justify his next gig.
They won’t keep him in that job more than a couple of years, just long enough to put some “initiatives” he conceived and implemented on his resume (i.e., don’t enforce regulations, then lay off regulators, outsource, or just give them too much work to handle). On his resume he will claim some sort of “effiency goal” was achieved. But before the detrimental effect of his leadership comes back and smacks him in the face, move him on to another job with an another important title.
Then, the next time a Republican becomes president, appoint him to a federal position. Hey, if “Brownie” could get away with taking an entry-level intern at a small city and turn it into a claim that the headed up first responder operations, why couldn’t this guy do even better at landing a big appointment?
If they want to fluff out his resume further, his daddy can buy him a degree from one of the “executive learning programs” at some private universities, which take into account your “experience” in leiu of actual classwork or studies. Usually they require some work to document that classwork, but isn’t that what executive secretaries are for? By the time he ends his job at the Dept. of Regulation and Licensing is over, he could have an undergraduate degree and be working toward his “Applied Executive MBA” from the same type of college. By then, elected office may be an even better (more financially rewarding) option!
After all, George W. Bush established the template for how to get your screw-up son elected as President, despite every effort he made to screw things up beforehand. Every Republican Dad was taking notes.
But George W. Bush skipped an important step. He should never have run for re-election. The trick is to get out of town before the house of card collapses on top of you. If he had left in Jan. 2005, he would have claimed to be among the more successful presidents as a “wartime leader”, etc. But instead he got re-elected, then bogged down by exposure of his own lies with respect to Iraq, the re-emerging problem of Afganistan, the failure of out-sourcing to deliver services with respect to Katrina, and ultimately the collapse of the U.S. financial markets.
Speaking of a “paternal” prodigy:
Everyone has noted that Glen Beck’s ratings have kept dropping month-over-month. TV and radio gossips have predicted that he was going to lose his daily talk show on Fox.
Well, the axe did fall, and Beck will no longer have a daily talk show on Fox. But that doesn’t mean that Roger Ailes, Glen’s substitute father-figure, is going to leave him adrift. After all, they’ve got to pay him for services rendered to dat.
So Fox News re-signed Beck to a contract to do something or other for Fox, but without the daily TV show.
What’s interesting is the language used by Roger Ailes and Beck:
Glenn Beck signs new deal with Fox, but daily show will end
In other words, even by TV standards, it’s a bit more than the usual platitudes issued when a media company and it’s talent try to sugar-coat a parting of the ways. Instead, it’s a recognition of what has been painfully obvious for quite some time: Roger Ailes, the former voice of the Republican Party under several Republican administrations, and now the head of Robert Murdoch’s Fox News, continues to use what claims to be a “Fair and Balanced” news organization as the voice of the far-right wing of the Republican Party. He knows a good lap-dog who will loyally carry the water for the party when he sees one, and he’s unprepared to jettison him just because even the wingnuts who consume Fox News daily have come to believe he’s crazy.
I’m not sure what other projects Ailes has in mind for Beck in furtherence of their “partnership”, but it’s fair to say that it will be whatever Ailles decides is in the best interest of the Republican party.
Yeah let’s pretend Democrats NEVER engage in crony-politics. Yah right.
The most important thing for a politician is to get himself or herself re-elected. If we really wanted to stop this re-election fever, we’d amend the Constitution to establish term limits for members of the House and Senate.
I suggest no more than 6 terms for a member of the House and no more than 2 terms for a Senator. That amounts to 12 years for each version of “congress-critter.” That’s long enough for a person, no matter what his or her party is, to be in a leadership position at the national level.
@6
I agree with you..no only do we need term limits, but we also need a limit on the total number of years someone can serve in elected politics, period…these lifetime career politicans have got to go.
@6,7
Yep!
We should change Reps and Congressmen to 4 year terms so they don’t have to be in perpetual re-election mode and cap them at 8 years. 12 years in the senate (state or federal) is plenty and 16 years for a life time cap for everything except president and governor.
While I support term limits for elected officials such as members of the House and Senate, I’m not sure how we should address the issue of civil servants. After all, people can rise to positions of high power by simply working in a governemnt agency. Take J. Edgar Hoover, for example. He amassed quite a lot of personal political power over his tenure at the FBI. If we have term limits for our elected officials, we should have some sort of similar arrangement for bureaucrats who rise to high positions of power in civil service. I believe that these individuals can be just as dangerous to our country and liberty as an entrenched politicians. Any suggestions on how to eliminate the civil service “careerists?”
@6,7: Because what we need is more uneducated, inexperienced, slightly nuts legislators who want to complain about the Senate not proposing a budget bill (though revenue bills have to start in the House), who don’t understand that the first amendment supports a seperation of church and state at the federal level, and who believe that the budget can be balanced by cutting foreign aid. Of course, even some of the experienced ones say the best way to balance the budget is to cut taxes for the wealthy despite decades of evidence to the contrary, but at least we know they’re just pandering and aren’t actually uneducated enough to believe it.
If that’s a demotion, chain me to the wall.
@10
ya, because those lifers that are there now have done such a great job. NOT
they rely on the lemmings – and there seem to be plenty of those running around..
@10 & 12
Only in civil service and teaching is it argued that career service doesn’t amount to experience and a better ability to do quality work.
There are no “crafty veterens” or “revered mentors” in say, the State Department or CDC?
@9
I think there are plenty of safeguards in place to deal with the occasional “J.E. Hoover” that shows up.
@13
you will notice I mentioned elected officials(elected politics)….or maybe you didnt notice.
Last I checked, teachers arent politicians.
dont be obtuse…its quite obvious the point I was making – or at least it should be.
6,7,8 — So you guys want amateurs making decisions about defense procurements, multi-trillion-dollar budgets, health care, and so on? I’m sorry, guys, but given the importance and complexity of what Congress does, I want experienced professional politicians in those jobs. Congress is not a hobby or an entry-level position.
@9 Yeah, fire all the managers every 2 years. That would get rid of incompetence and deadwood, and create promotional opportunities for hard-working line employees and first-level supervisors.
@12 Hey fuckstick, I wanna remind you we got into the mess we’re in because of REPUBLICAN stupidity. Recently, we’ve made a lot of progress toward (a) saving the banking system, (b) averting another Great Depression, (c) saving the domestic auto industry, and (d) bringing down unemployment under DEMOCRATIC management. The problem isn’t inexperience, it’s the idiocy of Republican ideology, not to mention the Republican penchant for corruption, mismanagement, rampant spending, and sodomizing pages. Clean the Republicans out of Congress and you’re a long way toward making things better.
With all Wisconsin precincts reporting, Kloppenburg has unseated wingnut judge David Prosser from the state supreme court by a margin of 204 votes, subject to official certification and any recount. In Wisconsin, a recount isn’t automatic, but probably will be requested by Prosser. Certification occurs on April 15 and Prosser has to request a recount by April 20. I’m not sure what type of voting equipment Wisconsin uses, but if they’re using electronic voting machines, the recount is nothing more than running the adding machine tape again and is unlikely to change the result.
Kloppenburg, in her victory speech, graciously thanked Prosser for his service. Look to see him filling out forms at the state pension office on about April 25 or thereabouts.
@16
Seen who we have representing us in the 3rd, 4th, & 5th CD’s?
I’d let people stay in the house 8 years and free them up from spending their time campaigning by allowing them to serve for 4 years between elections. 2 terms in the senate is plenty.
That work is actually done by professional staffers, who are really smart, not the elected folks. The electeds just sign off on it.
I think we’ve gotten to a point of diminishing returns when it comes to the complexity of what congress does.
“MADISON, Wis. — Wisconsin voters sent Republican Gov. Scott Walker a clear message about their unhappiness with his muscling an anti-union rights bill through the state Legislature by sending a once runaway state Supreme Court race toward a near-certain recount and filling the governor’s former post with a Democrat.
“While Walker downplayed the significance of Tuesday’s elections on Wednesday, saying they were skewed by exceptional turnout in the liberal cities of Madison and Milwaukee, Democrats warned they were only a sign of what’s to come.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42....._politics/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: Looks like Walker hasn’t gotten the message yet. Don’t worry, he will.
Lying Bastards Dep’t
Remember how Republicans stirred up the townhall mobs by telling seniors that Obama’s health care reform would cut Medicare?
Well, guess what, the GOPers’ budget scheme sticks it to seniors:
“WASHINGTON — Partisan divisions hardened Wednesday around the new House GOP budget, hailed by backers as a sobering correction for the nation’s spending binge, and denounced by critics as an attack on health programs for middle-class retirees and the poor.
“A report from the Congressional Budget Office provided added fodder for critics, after nonpartisan experts concluded most future retirees would pay considerably more for health care under the GOP approach — which turns Medicare into a voucher-like plan for those now 54 and younger.”
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/42.....itol_hill/
Roger Rabbit Commentary: I like the Democratic plan — raising taxes on the filthy rich — better.
Republicans campaigned on a platform of protecting senior citizens from Medicare cuts, and now they’re gonna balance the budget on the backs of senior citizens.
This looks awfully familiar; I think we’ve seen this movie several times before.
Moral: Never trust a Republican.
thank god for the scroll button…
@25…
Whatsamatter maxie…yer boys embarrassing you?
@15. you’re right. That should have been 9. My point was career civl servants and tenured teachers are usually discussed as inherently wasteful.
(I know he’s nit here much but see Pusdy. It is possible to man up and admit you screwed up
Mike Rogers.)
@26
still working on that puberty thing rujaxoff?
just think, someday you might actually get to pay taxes and own a home and stuff…
Michael,
I must disagree with you, and agree with the Rabbit, on the issue of term limits. I believe in democracy. People should get to elect who they want to elect. Term limits interferes with that principle. I also (as an aging lawyer) believe that experience counts. In the private sector, where do we kick out those who might know the most? The primary problem is getting money out of politics. At the moment, that problem appears insurmountable.
@21 The problem there isn’t professional politicians, it’s amateur voters.
@28 What would a juvenile like you know about owning a home, paying taxes, and that stuff?
@29 Money in politics, like guns in politics, is overrated. When things get bad enough, street riots can accomplish miracles. See, e.g., Egypt, Tunisia, Libya, and Yemen. Things just aren’t bad enough here yet, but we’re rapidly getting there. When the Oligarchy Party overreaches too much, they’ll get overthrown by the angry mob. See, e.g., Wisconsin. So there is hope. Money can buy lots of things, but ultimately, elitist regimes serving a tiny group of uber-rich have never survived. See, e.g., Marie Antoinette, etc.
[Deleted — see HA Comment Policy]
Rabbit @ 32,
I agree, to a large extent. Money in politics buys time. The Koch brothers have bought time. In the long run, they won’t win. They can’t. Progressives, sooner or later, win. We are in a period of history in which fundamentalists (Orthodox Jews, radical Islam, and anti-Christ Christians) have taken the political lead. These times pass.
@6-Libertarian says:
That doesn’t sound all that libertarian to me. Why should the government keep the majority from electing whom is pleases? Does it know better than we do?
People are missing the main point here:
Republicans have a record of fiscal irresponsiblity, cronyism, lying and hypocrisy that is simply unmatched. Bush was the true example of this incompetence at the Presidential level and Walker is the epitomy of this at the gubinatorial level. The idea that less qualified candiates would be turned down in favor of clearly unqualified (but idealogically driven sycophants or cronies) is not new – look at the AG scandal, the hiring of Liberty University graduates, people to run/advise Iraq after the war and (Heckuva job) Brownie by the Bush adminsitration.
This is a republican trend – a trend away from science, away from competence, away from objectivity and towards ideological purity…
I’m thinking that Paul Rand’s budget proposal isn’t much more than a sop to the Tea Party. Even Paul Rand has to know it’s not even a serious starting point for negotiations.
But what it does is provide a diversion. The Republican strategy has changed, and it’s not just the Tea Party driving the change. They want to get a government shut-down, except that this time they think they can do a media campaign which will cause enough confusion that they can effectively make the public blame the White House for the confusion. It’s not about the 2011 budget at all, or even privitized Medicare (even though they would love to get that). It’s about the 2012 elections.
In the strategy of the Republican Party, truth doesn’t matter, only perceptions matter.
They know that Obama was born in Hawaii, they know that the GOP caused the current deficits and federal debt due to their tax cuts for the rich, their war in Iraq, sloppy no-bid contracting, and deregulation leading to the current financial crisis. They also know that a “voucher system” for Medicare is essentially privitazation, and it will cost us a lot more than the current system. But they will continue to claim otherwise, looking straight into the camera with a dead-pan face and tell bald-faced lies.
@36 Republicans put stupidity on a pedestal and worship it because that works with a large coterie of voters. If we want better politics, we need to get ourselves some better voters.
@37 As I posted yesterday, and again this morning, Rand’s budget doesn’t balance the budget until 2030. All it does is target programs that Republican have long opposed ideologically. If Rand was serious about deficits he would cut defense spending. In fact, the Rand budget doesn’t cut one cent from the Defense Department or war spending.
Rand is nothing more than another empty-suit Republican demagogue.
@6,
Don’t forget Supreme Court judges. I suggest a 20-year term, max, for judges on the Supreme Court. When they were given life appointments, life expectancy was much lower. It’s asinine to have a guy or gal on the Supreme Court for 40 or 50 years!
Also, let’s change the name to “Final Court.” This “Supreme Court” moniker has gone to their heads: they actually think of themselves as little gods and goddesses! What crap!!
Awwwwww…poor maxie’s sore because none of his dumbfuck ideas are working. His candidates suck, his little tea-baggy/BIAW fantasy is destroying the middle class and pretty soon…unless he’s selling goods and services to the top 2%…he’ll be out of business like the rest of the country. Good goin’ jackass.
@42
I’m in the rental market(its a side biz – on top of the usual 9-5)…rental market is booming..I dont see going out of biz anytime soon – in fact, we are planning on acquiring some more property soon.
I could rent you one of the houses, but dont think you have good enough credit to pass muster.
you will have to stick mom and dads basement..unless maybe tenderhands wants to rent you a room.
@43…
You’re sooooo special.
@44
first thing you have gotten right in a long time.
@43 You’re a slumlord? Why doesn’t that surprise me?
LMFAO….no, the slums are public housing- you know, the type of housing you and your kind support.
Ever been to a public housing complex? eek, talk about a 3rd world horror show full of the biggest POS’s in our society.
money thrown down the drain again…
its ok to be jealous rabbit…really it is.
must be a real shame to look back on your life and just sigh…
@47 Actually, the public housing owned and operated by the city of Seattle is pretty decent and provides shelter for a lot of elderly and disabled people who otherwise might be the burden of relatives or living on the streets — so don’t knock it. Of course, you have no conscience, and don’t give a rap about whether vulnerable people become homeless; all you care about is your profits. So, I think I like public housing better than your housing.
Owning rental property is a tax dodge, not a real job. Been there, done that, myself.
decent compared to what? A tent in Libya?
Oh, and by the way, as a government employee I never got to work “9-to-5”. It was more like 7 a.m. to 7 p.m., six days a week, although I got paid only for the first 40 hours a week. Yep, that’s right, I was another one of those overpaid public workers with a cushy job.
@50 Why don’t you call the Seattle Housing Authority and ask for a guided tour of their facilities before you shoot off your lip about something you clearly know absolutely nothing about.
NPR is typical of the Republican scum we get for trolls in this forum. HA’s greatest weakness has always been the poor quality of its trolls. They come here from garbage piles in dark alleys and rank stinking sewers, the cockroaches and rats of the Republican night patrol. Slumlords, BIAW types, telemarketers, online Viagra salesmen, pimps … you get my drift. What’s it gonna take to get some half-assed trolls on this board?
@52
I already have experience doing construction work in their facilities – along with King County’s and about 4 other organizations as well.
I know what they are all about: spend millions building and remodeling the facilities – and they are torn to shit within 3 months because the people dont give a damn about them…
with that said, not everyone treats the property badly, but many do, because they dont own it, most of the cost is subsidized, and frankly they just dont care – so long as we keep paying for them to be lazy and disrespectful.
trust me, I know more about those facilities than you will ever know.
run along now – dont you have some stocks to check on…
poor roger is just jealous….
kinda hard to rent a slum when most of my clients are corporations that are sending people in on short to mid length assignments from out of state.
they pay top dollar for nice places…
keep flailing roger.
@54
About the time anyone says “Trust me” in a comment thread, that’s when you know they’re full of shit.
lol
you guys continue with the circle jerk….
NPR=a bad BIAW shill.
Emily @35,
Actually, there were people who wanted to vote for Reagan for a third term and Clinton for a third term. The Constitution was amended some time ago to limit the President to two terms.
If we were to establish term limits for House members and Senators, it would require the Constitution to be amended. Thus, term limits would then be part of the Constitution just as term limits for Presidents are now.
While Libertarians want maximum personal freedom and maximum personal responsibility, limiting House and Senate terms helps stop the “cult of personality” that has permeated our government for so long. Twelve years in the House or Senate is quite enough for any individual to have power at those levels. Let’s have more diversity of personality when it comes to of government representatives.
Politically Incorrect @ 41,
Not a bad idea! Limiting the terms of SCOTUS judges sounds like it should be part of the term limit movement.
Roger Rabbit @ 49,
Other fine tax dodges include llama farming and other “farm” subsidies. I’d like to figure out how to get paid to not grow wheat! What a scam!!
@59
good post. spot on.
Heh. My in-laws managed apartments for years. The owner borrowed on the equity to live high on the hog, raised the rents every time he could get away with it, screwed over my in-laws, just behaved like an asshole.
Wow what a calling – being a a landlord. Sure
some are good people. But many are so, so bad.
I can only imagine what tehchickenshit troll is like.
YLB @ 63,
Is the solution government seizure of the apratment buildings and having the government now be the landlord? Do think that government should seize private property if the real owners are “acting badly” in their dealings with employees and tenants? Or maybe those people who are landlords should just convert their properties for retail and light industrial use and get out of the business of renting living space to those who need it.
Try as we might, we cannot stop people from behaving like jerks, be they landlords or people who while away their time on blogs like this one.
64 – You’re wrong. There is a solution of sorts to people who act like jerks on a blog. It’s employed all the time at (un)SP. Very rarely here.
As for the rest of your rant – I said NOTHING about taking property from owners. How you get from there to there is beyond me.
41: The use of the term “Supreme Court” has a long history, and it does make sense. It’s decision become the supreme law of the land – even if I don’t agree with them (which is pretty frequently these days).
Trivia: the court which we call the “Superior Court” in most states (the primary court of initial jurisdiction) is called the “Supreme Court” in New York, to distinguish it from other courts which have limited initial jurisdiction (district courts, small-claims courts, etc.) This, of course, causes no end of confusion to law students and others who are not familiar with the peculior New York nomenclature.
Gee, I’ve visited people in subsidized public housing in both King County and Snohomish County. It’s not extravagant by any means, but it’s hardly trashed every three months, as you describe. I call bullshit.
YLB @ 65,
You made comments about how evil landlords are, so, since this is a progressive blog and you’re a progressive, I can only infer that you approve as government as the solution to all problems.
A “logical” government solution is to seize the property from the “evil” landlords and run the properties for the benefit of the renters and employees. Hey, you guys are the ones who want government involved in all aspects of our lives. Why not just put those “evil” landlords out of business by seizing their properties?
rhp6033 @68,
I liked to get rid of the term “Supreme” because these jerks in the Supreme Court actually think themselves better than anyone else in the world. Let’s put these government employees in their place! They’re not little gods and goddesses running around farting lightning bolts, so let’s drop the divine titles.
You “infer” incorrectly. Look at the word:
P R O G R E S S I V E..
The root of the word is “progress”..
Right wingers think we should return to how things were for the robber barons and leave it that way. I’m for whatever gives any member of society a fairer shake. We’ve been moving farther and farther away from that ideal for at least 30 years.
I gave one example of a terrible landlord and said some landlords are ok people. I speculated that one asshole who spouts off here regularly might be a jerk of a landlord in keeping with his behavior here. NOWHERE did I say property should taken away from him or any other landlords.
You’re making shit up.
in other words, YLBleeder years for the politburo and daily public readings of pravda….
I’m for whatever gives any member of society a fairer shake
Shorter YLB: those who work hard and work smart should hand over the fruits of their labor to those who are lazy and stupid.
guess what happnens in 3 weeks ylb? RENTS DUE!
HAHAHHAHAHAHHHHAHHAHHAAHHAAHHA
This post is fucking classic:
20. Roger Rabbit spews:
Kloppenburg, in her victory speech, graciously thanked Prosser for his service. Look to see him filling out forms at the state pension office on about April 25 or thereabouts.
04/06/2011 AT 6:28 PM
where you at now rabbit turd? have a coronary yet?
@63
maybe your stupid ass in-laws should have worked a little harder so they could own, instead of renting a POS…apple doesnt fall far from the tree does it tenderhands.
What you forget reading, is that its strictly a side business – can you say thinking ahead, retirement, and college fund? I knew you could..too bad you will never experience any of those.
lazy fucks like you will never go anywhere or do anything…they just sit in their basement and complain abotu the “evil rich”….you fuckers are pathetic.
73 – Heh. My in-laws retired and they’ve bought two houses since then – they paid cash each time.
Let’s see what else? OH so you’re a jerk landlord – part-time I see..
Still a jerk!
as for the rest zzzzZZZZZzzzzzzzzz….
Hmmm.. Let’s compare and contrast:
my words:
with the words of our “side-biz landlord”:
Evidence remains strong that he’s a jerky “side biz” landlord. Evidence is overwhelming that he’s a STUPID “side-biz” landlord to boot.
“The problem there isn’t professional politicians, it’s amateur voters.”
That’s one of the finest observations I’ve read in a long time.
Keep living in that basement YLB – just sit there and pissed off and jealous that other people are doing better than you. You leftnuts and your obsession with being jealous about other people is pathetic. It is why you will always be the weak and never go anywhere.
rents due, bitch!
77 – Yawwwn. Wouldn’t know much about rent tehchickenshit – haven’t cut a rent check since ’92.
Keep being a name-calling dumbass tehchickenshit – it suits you to a tee.