How Can This Possibly Go Wrong: GOP Fox in the Hen House

After passing legislation to gut the Government Accountability Board, the non-partisan board of retired judges tasked with overseeing elections and ethics in Wisconsin, Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald made the first appointment to the new ethics commission. A retired judge? A retired elder statesman? Nah: The first announced appointee to…

Continue Reading

GAB replacement won’t fix anything — but the “fix” will be in

How will the GAB replacement improve elections and ethics monitoring in Wisconsin? Answer: It won’t. In another blog post [Author’s note: this blog post has been removed, as I misread the legislation. As it stands, however, the replacement is bad enough!], I suggest that the GAB replacement will be partisan…

Continue Reading

Yes, Scott Walker Stonewalled, According to Indicted Walker Crony Tim Russell

The news today is from the courtroom, where the judge in the John Doe squeezed the information out of Tim Russell’s lawyer.  I’m going to get in trouble for copying this, but I’ll do it almost in its entirety nonetheless.  From Esquire:  Lon Robinson sat down at the defendant’s table…

Continue Reading

All Your Economists Are Belong To Us!

It’s no wonder they need to set new ethical guidelines for academic economists who want to publish.  They’ve been captured by business interests.

Continue Reading

Wis. Dems Inadequate Response to JB Van Hollen

The Wisconsin Democratic Party today responded to reports that Attorney General JB Van Hollen stood down and did not join the John Doe investigation into Scott Walker appointees from his tenure as Milwaukee County Executive.  Here’s the Wisconsin Democratic Party line:  Following is the statement of Democratic Party of Wisconsin…

Continue Reading

About that FBI Raid in Madison

On the surface, the FBI raid on the home of Cynthia Archer, former Scott Walker Aide when he ran Milwaukee County, and current Scott Walker appointee in Madison, seem to be small potatos.  Sure, the FBI seized some files from Archer’s home, and  one source is claiming this investigation to be…

Continue Reading

That is NOT Jack Abramoff in Madison, WI

Well, I don’t think that’s the Republican poster boy for corruption trying to keep from being usurped by Scott Walker and the Fitzgerald brothers, but it sure looks like him.  Nick Nice, an activist in Madison, claims to have seen the guy in situations that indicate he is Scott Walker’s…

Continue Reading