Uppity Wisconsin

Ninety percent (90%) of the opinion in the Wisconsin Center for Investigative Journalism (WCIJ) report on high speed rail is status quo, anti-public investment, and emphatically Cato Institute doctrine.

This essay presents eleven (11) charges that WCIJ failed their ethical principles. And twelve (12) characteristics of sloppy writing that denigrate journalism as a profession.

This blog^! is the fourth in a series about a WCIJ Report High Speed Rail broadcast on Wisconsin Public Radio July 22, 2009:

Part 1. The WCIJ Fraud. WCIJ falsified the conclusion in a US Government Accountability Office report.

Part 2. The WCIJ Virus - the Fraud over the GAO text has spread far and wide in the media.

When I asked last week whether AirTran would get naming rights for the Scott Walker for Governor Harley ride, in return for its corporate sponsorship, I thought I was being facetious.

Sometimes a person's imagination doesn't stretch far enough. The Journal Sentinel reports:

 For this year's trip, AirTran will pick up the estimated $2,800 gas, hotel and meal tab. In exchange, the AirTran logo will be prominent on flags that can be mounted on participants' motorcycles, signs on support vehicles and on the headscarves some cyclists wear.

And you know what? The odds are overwhelming that the Milwaukee County Ethics Board, which has always rubber-stamped whatever Walker did, will say that's just fine.

This is my favorite part of the story, though:

He'll strictly avoid any talk about the governor's race or politics during the dozens of news interviews his staff has arranged for him on the trip, Walker said.

If there is one story that does not mention he's running for governor, I'll be anxious to see it.

What a load of crappity crap, crap, as that old poophead Charlie Sykes would say.

K Street Washington lobbyist, GOP corruption king, and all-around sleezy guy, Jack Abramoff was sentenced to four more years in prison today.

He was shown some leniency for cooperating with the FBI to take down other corrupt GOPers like former Rep. Bob Ney, R-Ohio, former Deputy Interior Secretary J. Steven Griles and many top Capitol Hill assistants.

And like a good jailbird, he's gonna sing! Jackie boy's forthcoming book is due for publication later this month.

The title?

"The Perfect Villain: John McCain and the Demonization of Lobbyist Jack Abramoff."

My, oh my.

UPDATE: A warning, the book could be written to make McCain look like a savior, a fighter of lobbyist corruption. That would make Rovian sense. I have written the publisher to request an advance copy for reporting purposes. Stay tuned!

UPDATE: Author Gary Chafetz's response to a request for an advance copy of his book:

Annette Ziegler has reached a settlement with the state Ethics Board in which she admits to having violated ethics rules, and will pay a $17,000 fine. This is an unusual settlement because unilke in most cases, Zeigler had argued that the ethics board had no jurisdiction over judicial ethics, and had asked the Supreme Court to rule, which it did recently. Normally ethics violators just pay up. By agreeing to the settlement, Ziegler avoids the hearing today which would have required her to testify.

However, it's fairly clear that Ziegler still doesn't "get it". The ethics board ruled that although she had violated the ethics rules, she never profited directly from the rulings. This was fairly clear all along, and nobody ever accused her of profiting - that's really not the point of the ethics rules. She had created an impression of impropriety by not recusing herself.  This should have been clear to a judge with the "experience" that Ziegler continually touted during the election.