In Gov. Scott Walker's world, it's not what you know but who you know.

Just in his mid-20s, Brian Deschane has no college degree, very little management experience and two drunken-driving convictions.

Yet he has landed an $81,500-per-year job in Gov. Scott Walker's administration overseeing environmental and regulatory matters and dozens of employees at the Department of Commerce. Even though Walker says the state is broke and public employees are overpaid, Deschane already has earned a promotion and a 26% pay raise in just two months with the state.

How did Deschane score his plum assignment with the Walker team?

It's all in the family.

His father is Jerry Deschane, executive vice president and longtime lobbyist for the Madison-based Wisconsin Builders Association, which bet big on Walker during last year's governor's race.

The group's political action committee gave $29,000 to Walker and his running mate, Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, last year, making it one of the top five PAC donors to the governor's successful campaign. Even more impressive, members of the trade group funneled more than $92,000 through its conduit to Walker's campaign over the past two years.

The full story here.

With the economy humming along so well and with so few people looking for jobs, they're lucky they were able to find such a capable candidate for such a low salary. That must really cheer up those Wisconsin schoolteachers who need at least an undergraduate college degree and years of teaching before starting out with a salary of $25,222 and a 21.5% raise over the next 10 years.

In Scott Walker's world it's the teachers wbo are the greedy, lazy ones while this drunken lout who hasn't held a job other than Political patronage is a fine upstanding citizen, no doubt worthy of holding a high paying job with little experience and I'm sure sweet fuck-all knowledge of environmental and regulatory matters.

One more reason to run this arrogant tone-deaf sleazeball out of the Governor's residence.

Florence + The Machine - Cosmic Love

Bonus double music for a Sunday Morning.

Shows how out of touch I am with music these days. They're huge and I hadn't heard about them until couple of days ago. They're also pretty damn good. Check out their other videos on You-Tube. Many millions of views.

The Spinto Bank - Summer Grof

Never heard of them but I like them.

Just how out of touch are the Republicans - Brit Hume is left speechless.

Brit Hume was left literally speechless on Fox this morning when Juan Williams raises the issue of Ge paying no taxes after Hume claims that taxes are not the way to raise federal revenue, growing the economy is the only way. Is Hume that ensconced in the bubble of GOP economic theology that he doesn't get that no matter how much money GE makes they've gamed the system to such an extent that they will never pay taxes, no matter how much the company earns? The answer is yes.

The discontent with current GOP policy, particularly with Unions and the assault on the middle class is resonating with a majority of Americans. If the Democrats could only get their shit together and put out a coherent message that Republicans are more than content to let large corporations game the system while going after Unions and the like they can put some serious hurt on the Republicans. When Obama appointed Jeff Immelt, the former CEO of GE to head his outside Counsel of Economic Advisers he sent the wrong message.

As this battle heats up and it will, whether the Democrats are on message or not, GE is going to become the poster boy for out of control corporate welfare. Here's the video.

Republicans lose support of police and firefighter unions

Just how oblivious are the Republicans? We knew there would be a wholesale attack on programs that help the less fortunate but I'm surprised at their onslaught on the middle class If they thought they could somehow separate their attack on Unions wouldn't resonate they have completely miscalculated. There were few, if any signs that they would leading up to the 2010 elections. Scott Walker in Wisconsin John Kasich in Ohio and Rick Snyder in Michigan never suggested it in their campaigns.

I can't recall such an instant level of 'buyer's remorse' about an election, at least in some states so soon after an election. Polls show all these governors plus a couple of others would lose their elections today by considerable margins. Their tone deafness is quite stunning, even for Republicans. Instead of backing down, they're doubling down. They won't lose the Tea Party morons, but a lot of people Republicans and Independents who voted them in are seeing this as an assault against the middle class, and it's not just Union members.

Coupled with that, they see that the wealthy and large corporations have remained unscathed, and in some cases, been showered with even more benefits. The average American is not that stupid. The result is that if the Republicans continue down this path they will pay for it, If you need any proof watch Rachel Maddow interviewing the head of the police union in the video below. The police union has backed the GOP Presidential candidate every election. They have already lost them and the firefighters, the two unions that tended to lean Republican.

Demonizing unions to that extent has resonated with a large majority of the population. While only 17% of American workers are unionized the average person sees two things. One is many millions more have family who are unionized and they understand that without unions even non unionized workers will be hurt. Unions fight for decent wages, decent benefits and decent working conditions. If they go, there will be less pressure on on non-union companies to adhere to similar benefits. The entire middle class will end up getting hurt.

Losing the support of the police union, over 350,000 strong will hurt the GOP and nothing in their mindset and actions suggest they get it.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

DJ Tiesto - Power Mix

There's a new world out there in music that most are oblivious to. Last week in Miami the Ultra Music Festival attracted 150,000 fans each day for 3 days. Tiesto, a Dutch DJ was the star attraction. My 17 year old daughter and some of her friends flew there for the concert.

Tiesto doesn't sell many records but earns an estimated $20 million a year flying around the world, performing on a frenetic schedule.

It's a new world out there as the old world of pop/rock music is slowly dying.

Gov Rick Scott of Florida;s naked power grab

A House bill that would give the governor and Cabinet more power to repeal rules passed through a subcommittee with no discussion.

HB 993 would allow Cabinet members during their first six months in office to repeal rules if they are obsolete or if they conflict with policies they are trying to implement. The repeal could be challenged, but Cabinet members could individually override the challenge. An objection to the override could be filed with the 1st District Court of Appeal.

Gov. Rick Scott is currently reviewing more than 11,400 existing rules. He has targeted more than 1,400 for repeal and or revision, and more than 1,200 for revision. Most of those are in the departments of Business and Professional Regulation and Environmental Protection.
The measure passed the House government operations subcommittee with only one dissenting vote, Rep. Irv Slosberg, D-Boca Raton. Last stop is the Rules and Calendar committee.

Imagine the hysteria on Fox News if it was a Democratic governor doing this. I'm no constitutional lawyer but is this even constitutional? Will he repeal this rule right before he gets thrown out of office? Florida will rue the day they elected this clown - actually they already are. I saw a poll that shows Scott would lose the election by 20 points if it were held today.

The man was a fucking criminal who somehow wriggled out of being prosecuted. For those who aren't aware, his company paid a record $1.7 billion fine for systematically defrauding Medicare and Medicaid. And now he preaches austerity.

The Byrds - Mr. Tambourine Man

Tennessee votes to repeal Evolution

It not enough that they want to destroy public education, the Taliban wing of the GOP want to make sure kids graduating from high school are even more confused than when they started. And they're being quite sneaky about it. Without mentioning Evolution the law is designed to force teachers to consider the theory of creationism.

In the minds of these Christian Jihadists there is a book that suggests Evolution is wrong. Never mind that no fossil and no other scientific evidence ever found that contradicts the theory of evolution other than this book. The book was written countless generations ago in a simple time for simple people to help them understand how we can to be as well as to create a moral code using stories, some factual, others than have no basis in fact other than having been passed down orally from generation to generation.

There is no science in this book, no reference to science and precious little scientific that can be gleaned from it. Yet these retards think that it has validity in the scientific world but despite that, teachers will now have to consider it the scientific curriculum.

It says that the teachers must be helped “to find effective ways to present the science curriculum as it addresses scientific controversies.” It also says that teachers may not be prohibited from "helping students understand, analyze, critique and review in an objective manner the scientific strengths and scientific weaknesses of existing scientific theories covered in the course being taught."

The book in question, is naturally the Bible and the theory expounded by those who think it has scientific value is Creationism. If the law passes, and it looks as though it will, teachers will be forced to consider creationism because all it will take is for some little fundamentalist fucktard to run home and complain to his or her parents and the teacher will be out of a job. This law will also extend beyond Creationism to global warming and any other scientific theory that Republicans do not believe in for political or religious purposes.

If Creationism is the truth and evolution just a theory why did God allow fucking fleas to board Noah's ark or does God just have a really sick sense of humor.

Firefighters, Cops warn Republians

WASHINGTON -- Leaders from two unions known to support the Republican Party warned of serious repercussions for GOP candidates in the 2012 elections, saying the onslaught of anti-labor bills in state capitals has shifted their political allegiances.

“Our political principles are pretty straightforward. We’ll support those that support us,” Harold Schaitberger, general president of the International Association of Fire Fighters, told HuffPost. “We tend to stick with those who stick with us.”

“There is a distinct possibility that the pro-labor candidate in the next election will be looked at much more favorably than their overall record,” Chuck Canterbury, national president of the Fraternal Order of Police, told HuffPost. “The vast majority of our membership will put other issues aside.”

The full article here.

Republican, keep going after, and picking on the middle class. You're stsrting to piss off a lot of voters and there are a lot more cops and firefighters than CEOs.

Just another day in the Republican House

First the GOP passed an Aviation Bill that essentially guts pilot fatigue rules by requiring extensive tailoring to many different segments of the aviation industry, and exempting several others.

Hero pilot Chesley “Sully” Sullenberger blasted the amendment yesterday before it passed, saying “it creates a huge obstacle to new regulations,” and that, “at some point in the future, we don’t know when, it’s likely people will die unnecessarily.”

The good news is it will save the airlines some money.

Not done for the day they also voted Representatives voted to prohibit Clean Water Act limits on pesticide pollution of lakes, streams, and rivers. Sadly, enough Democrats voted for the bill to pass with a veto proof majority.

What the fuck is wrong with these people. The health and welfare of the people of the United States means nothing to them. Giving corporations everything they want means everything to them.

More potential plane crashes, more poison and carcinogens in our rivers doesn't bother hem a bit. I'm starting to think this is a back door way of saving Social Security. People will die sooner and Social Security won't have to pay out as much.

The good news is the House version of these bills will never make it through the Senate but that could change unless Americans wake the fuck up. Hopefully they will. It's already happening in more than a few states.

Question for the day

Why do Republicans hate teachers and public schools so much. There are problems with teaching standards, tenure and public schools but Republicans aren't interested in fixing it, they only want to destroy it through charter schools and vouchers which have a very mixed record at best.