Brew City Brawler

Nazi bloggers f*** off

Ah, brothers and sisters, racist idiots troll through the cheddarsphere.

The bulk of Brawler's visitors over the past few weeks have been souls in search of Gary Gygax pictures. But the Brawler noticed a few visitors coming  from a site id'd as wi-compact.com.

And what is wi-compact.com? That'd be the virtual home of the Wisconsin Nationalist Compact, a neo-Nazi outfit (despite looking around, wasn't able to find the link to the Brawler).

What are the membership requirements?

1.    A White person exclusively of European descent (i.e. from Europe).

2.    A citizen of the United States and resident of the State of Wisconsin.

3.    A heterosexual of good moral character who does not miscegenate.

4.    A person ready to commit to the Compact and frequent its activities.

Sounds like a great bunch.

Now some of em will tell you they're not racists...they're just racialists, folks who think the "races" should stick to their own selves! That's why you get brilliant repartee like this re: Barack Obama (Or as they call him Barack "Bootlip" Obama):

We can not afford to have this halfbreed mutt elected into office. We all need to stand up and put this raghead nigger in his place or we are going to bee fucked. VOTE RON PAUL. Redneck F.L.W.L.W.F. (Yes, they loves them some Ron Paul (scroll down) -- Brawler)

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That will be PRESIDENT Bootlip, thanks to the white race traitor sheep who will vote for him.

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If he gets in office i have a feeling RaHoWa (that'd be the racial holy war -- Brawler)isn't far behind.

Totally not racist! Here's a thoughtful review of Iron Man:

It was the typical hollywood movie. They had to throw some jungle bunnies in there so the NAACP doesn't cry. Nick Fury of S.H.I.E.L.D. is going to be black in the future movies, instead of white like he was in the comics. But other than that it followed the comics well.

Or this instance of people you meet in the neighborhood:

Something interesting happened to me last week. I was walking downtown middle of last week, & i walked past the bar i normally goto. Some guy was out front we talked for a sec and then he shows me a huge swazi (that'd be a swastika kids -- Brawler) on his chest and rendered a roman salute. I was hoping see him around again, but unfortunately i haven't been downtown walkin around lately.

You get the point. Call the Brawler a race traitor, but these guys are the lowest of the low. And, word up, cheddarsphere, they're trolling through your sites. Indeed, Stephen Chadwick, the leader of this band of pathetic losers, has commented on Boots & Sabers at least twice (once uttering racist tripe). The Brawler knows that the proprietors of Boots & Sabers finds the positions of the WNC to be repugnant. The Brawler assumes they will ban Herr Chadwick from their site. Civility and whatnot.

The symbol of racist dumbassery:

Mr. Jello Biafra...take it away!

Journal Sentinel rolled by the straight talk express

Sunday's issue of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel raises the question of whether Barack Obama will take public financing in the campaign.

From the story:

But while opting out of the public system would likely be a financial boon to Obama - he has proven far better than McCain at raising money - it would open him to sharp criticism.

At the same time that he's running against the influence of money in politics, he would be the first nominee ever to reject public funds and spending limits in the fall election since that system was created more than 30 years ago.

Rival Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton also has left open the possibility of rejecting public financing in the fall. But Clinton has made no prior promises on the issue.

Obama would be going back on a declaration he made in writing last year to a Midwestern campaign reform group that he would accept public financing, provided his GOP opponent did the same.

It's a legitimate point to raise, obviously. But then we get this:

"His word was he'd accept public financing if the Republican candidate did," Republican John McCain said in an interview Monday with the Journal Sentinel. "Obviously, he is now not keeping his word to the American people. I'll keep my word."

Straight-talking John McCain! Thing is, you wouldn't realize from the story that McCain has issues with complying with limits on money. Indeed, it's not unfair to ask to what extent McCain has complied with the election laws -- and to what extent he can be trusted to "keep his word." Did the JS ask him about that? (An election season with a defanged FEC will truly be a thing to behold.) That might complicate the Journal-Sentinel's "Here's a big problem for Obama" narrative arc. And, hey, why not give McCain a free shot?

And for what it's worth, the Brawler sees no reason that Obama (assuming he gets the nom, etc.) should agree to handcuff himself against a guy whose campaign (not a third-party group) has described him as Hamas' candidate. But that's just me.

Now, back to hiatus.

Patrick McIlheran gets one right

The Brawler will be voting for Lena Taylor. But he agrees with Patrick McIlheran that there's no need for remarks like this.

And given that I'm now agreeing with Patrick McIlheran, what better time than now to announce the Brawler will be taking a hiatus of indeterminate length. He expects to return -- and may drop by for an intermittent post here and there -- but there's a lot happening and some projects delayed that he wants to take on. Also, the Brawler leaves for vaca in a few days so why not a clean break (and why not enjoy a vaca without thinking about blogging).

As to the upcoming election. The Brawler won't be surprised if he gets a goose egg. He would be happy if one of his candidates win. He would be delighted if both win. But then it's on to November.

As long as the Brawler's in a magnanimous mood, he realizes he's been remiss in saying that while Owen Robinson is wrong about many things, the Brawler shares his appreciation for Wim Wenders' film Wings of Desire.

Also, the Brawler was pulling for Patrick to win that candlestick award for conservative columnists last year and was sorry he didn't get it. There's always next year.

Now go out and vote April 1.

How does John McCain spell success in Iraq?

Like this?

Iraq's Prime Minister was staring into the abyss today after his operation to crush militia strongholds in Basra stalled, members of his own security forces defected and district after district of his own capital fell to Shia militia gunmen. With the threat of a civil war looming in the south, Nouri al-Maliki's police chief in Basra narrowly escaped assassination in the crucial port city, while in Baghdad, the spokesman for the Iraqi side of the US military surge was kidnapped by gunmen and his house burnt to the ground.

Saboteurs also blew up one of Iraq's two main oil pipelines from Basra, cutting at least a third of the exports from the city which provides 80 per cent of government revenue, a clear sign that the militias -- who siphon significant sums off the oil smuggling trade -- would not stop at mere insurrection.

In Baghdad, thick black smoke hung over the city centre tonight and gunfire echoed across the city. The most secure area of the capital, Karrada, was placed under curfew amid fears the Mahdi Army of Hojetoleslam Moqtada al-Sadr could launch an assault on the residence of Abdelaziz al-Hakim, the head of a powerful rival Shia governing party. While the Mahdi Army has not officially renounced its six-month ceasefire, which has been a key component in the recent security gains, on the ground its fighters were chasing police and soldiers from their positions across Baghdad. Rockets from Sadr City slammed into the governmental Green Zone compound in the city centre, killing one person and wounding several more.

Mr al-Maliki has gambled everything on the success of Operation Saulat al-Fursan, or Charge of the Knights, to sweep illegal militias out of Basra. It has targeted neighbourhoods where the Mahdi Army dominates, prompting intense fighting with mortars, rocket-grenades and machineguns in the narrow, fetid alleyways of Basra. In Baghdad, the Mahdi Army took over neighbourhood after neighbourhood, some amid heavy fighting, others without firing a shot. In New Baghdad, militiamen simply ordered the police to leave their checkpoints: the officers complied en masse and the guerrillas stepped out of the shadows to take over their checkpoints.

In Jihad, a mixed Sunni and Shia area of west Baghdad that had been one of the worst battlefields of Iraq’s dirty sectarian war in 2006, Mahdi units moved in and residents started moving out to avoid the lethal crossfire that erupted. One witness saw Iraqi Shia policemen rip off their uniform shirts and run for shelter with local Sunni neighbourhood patrols, most of them made up of former insurgents wooed by the US military into fighting al-Qaeda. In Baghdad, thousands of people marched in demonstrations in Shia areas demanding an end to the Basra operation, burning effigies of Mr al-Maliki, whom they branded a new dictator, and carrying coffins with his image on it.

From his field headquarters inside Basra city, the Prime Minister vowed to press on with his attack, which he said was not targeting the Mahdi Army in particular but all lawless gangs. "We have come to Basra at the invitation of the civilians to do our national duty and protect them from the gangs who have terrified them and stolen the national wealth," he said. "We promise to face the criminals and gunmen and we will never back off from our promise." Supporters of Hojetoleslam al-Sadr, the rebellious cleric who formed the sprawling, 60,000-strong militia five years ago, have accused the Prime Minister of trying to wipe out the powerful Sadrists as a political force before provincial elections in October.

Why do white people get so uppity about race?

The Recess Supervisor is arguably the most incisive observer of state politics on the scene. That's why it's disappointing to see that when it comes to discussing race in America he sinks to Republican cant.

In a comment string following his post blasting Obama's A More Perfect Union speech, RS says:

Race is a much bigger issue among blacks than whites. The average white person on the street could give a flip about someone's skin color. It will be so until blacks are willing to accept that much of what has occurred within their communities in the last 30 years is almost exclusive their own fault. It is the way in which inner-city culture (blacks and whites both) celebrates violence, misogyny, drugs, and crime, the way in which it discourages responsibility, encourages dependence and victimization, that holds people in those communities back.

Black leaders embrace race as an issue because without it, they can't use victimization as an excuse for the many perils that affect poor, mostly black communities.

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We would all like to get to a race-neutral society. In all honesty, I think whites are much closer to that target than blacks (though there are obvious exceptions on both sides, including the emerging black middle class). To get there also means that black leaders will have to embrace personal responsibility and accountability instead of excusing the history of negative behavior displayed by economically-disadvantaged black communities and encouraging them to use whites and government as an excuse for their lot in life.

Given that RS prides himself on independent thinking, it's odd to see him regurgitate GOP talking points wholesale.

The contention that "the average white person on the street could give a flip about someone's skin color" is dubious at best. Joe Whiteboy might think he doesn't give a flip about someone's skin color. But there are plenty of examples of differential treatment based on skin color that suggest otherwise.

Indeed, blacks and whites have different perspectives on how blacks are treated compared to whites. According to a 2000 survey by the New York Times, 45% of blacks said they were treated less fairly than whites in restaurants, bars, theaters or other entertainment places. Only 10% of whites saw that. And 66% of blacks said they were treated less fairly than whites in dealings with police, such as traffic accidents. Only 25% of whites saw that to be the case. Also, 58% of whites say white and black people have equal chances of getting ahead; 39% of blacks agreed.

Do whites have superior line of sight as to how blacks are treated? Are blacks just making this up?

The statement that "much of whas has occurred within their communities in the last 30 years is almost exclusive(ly) their own fault"  ignores too many other factors -- shrinking taxbase, deindustrialization, white flight, etc. -- to be taken seriously. Consider this: In 1970, median African-American family income in Milwaukee was 19 percent above the national black average, according to U.S. Census Bureau. In 2000 it was 23 percent below. What accounted for that? Did Milwaukee blacks get disproportionately shiftless? Was it hip hop's fault? The Brawler would suggest the more likely culprit was the hollowing out of the city's industrial base.

Economics isn't everything, a point made by William Julius Wilson, Cornel West and others. But saying "culture" is the underlying cause of the state of the inner city is a major stretch.

Indeed, William Julius Wilson demonstrated in "When Work Disappears" that even  in "poverty tracts" in Chicago, that the vast majority of poor urban blacks shared the "work ethic" that many white onlookers are quick to say they lack (and instead trot out the "dependency" and "victimization" cards). Fully 70.5% percent said hard work was important to getting ahead. If money and benefits were the same, 80.8% said they would want to work vs. the 16.3% that said they would prefer aid (for whites the split was 87.7% to 10.7%). (Note: The relevant polling was conducted in 1987. The numbers likely have moved since then. But even if they moved down, the Brawler would suspect that a majority of the group would share the attitudes expressed.)

Real quickly, I am not sure on what he bases his contention that whites are closer to some ideal of race neutrality than blacks. As far as his reductionist analysis of unnamed black leaders, their motivation and their seemingly awesome grip over their flock: plenty talk about personal responsibility, getting a job, etc. I'm quite sure Jeremiah Wright did so. And if RS would look, I'm sure he'd find cases of them attacking some of the manifestations of the "culture" that concern him (Al Sharpton going after hip-hop lyrics, for instance).

Long story short: I think placing the onus for ongoing racial strife in the U.S. on blacks is misplaced, if not bizarre. Fault lies on both "sides" and I think it's a bit early for whites to pat themselves on the back.

All that said, the Brawler would want to note that the aforementioned NYT survey found 58% of whites and 51% of blacks said race relations were generally good in 2000. Ten years earlier those numbers were 43% and 33%. In 2000, 78% of whites and 58% of blacks said there was progress in getting rid of racial discrimination; in 1992 those numbers were 53% and 29%. For all the Brawler's liberal handwringing, he agrees with the people seeing things improving. But that doesn't mean complacency is an option.

Scott Walker's right:Milwaukee County should follow Indianapolis' lead

At least when it comes to electing politicians.

What does the Brawler mean? Go ask Alice (from comments below):

I would be careful if I was Walker throwing Indy around as a model. The mayor there is the equivalent of the county exec here. Despite these impressive stats, the two term mayor who everyone thought was unbeatable just lost to an underfunded challenger that no one gave a chance to win.

Here's a story. (Obviously political allegiances have to be switched to make the analogy hold, etc.)

Can we be that lucky? God, if you can make this happen ... I'll totally buy a Chris Hinton jersey!

Scott Walker is running on competence? Seriously?

Scott Walker was elected by a public irate over the pension scandal.

And yet, six years later, we're still hearing tales of lack of oversight. From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Milwaukee County pension officials say they mistakenly overpaid former House of Correction superintendent Richard Cox and will seek a refund of more than $100,000 - one of 115 newly discovered pension payout errors.

The disclosure comes in a new filing with the IRS that admits numerous systemic mistakes caused pension overpayments and underpayments from 1994 through the present. The county is seeking refunds in some cases.

Necessary reviews of payouts were left undone and the county's own pension laws were not followed in the various cases, says the IRS "voluntary correction" filing. It comes nine months after a Journal Sentinel investigation of county "buyback" pension benefits prompted a similar admission to the IRS.

Some large overpayments were made in several disability cases in which recipients' pensions were not reduced by significant other income they earned in non-county jobs, the county says in its latest filing.

Most of the errors involve the county's failure to track down certain retirees who left county employment years earlier and are owed pensions.

In addition, County Executive Scott Walker has been notified that the IRS is now auditing a county pension program that covers certain temporary employees not enrolled in the regular county retirement system. The audit's scope is secret, but pension officials previously said that separate program had not made payments to several thousand former workers typically owed $100 or less.

The total price tag on the mistakes has not been determined, but could approach $1 million including pensioners' and the county's liability, according to estimates based on the county's filing.

Walker declined to comment Wednesday, saying county pension lawyers had advised him and Pension Board officials to remain silent.

Being county executive is hard work!

Besides not maintaining the baseball diamond at Washington Park or repairing the rutted roads of countless other parks, besides not developing a comprehensive transportation system for the county, besides not managing HOC -- what the hell has Scott Walker been doing?

115 new pension payout errors. What secretary will Walker fire now?

Local boards of directors -- imagine what Scott Walker could do for your company!

M.I.A. coming to Milwaukee May 12

Turner Hall. Be there.

Jason Isbell (formerly of Drive By Truckers) -- Danko/Manuel

Let the night air cool you off.
Tilt your head back and try to cough.
Don't say nothing 'bout the things you never saw.
Let the night air cool you off.

I ain't living like I should.
A little rest might do me good.
Got to sinking in the place where I once stood.
Now I ain't living like I should.

Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold.
Maybe I can only hear it in my head.
Fifteen years ago we owned that road
now it's rolling over us instead.

Richard Manuel is dead.

God forbid you call their bluff.
Like the nightmares ain't enough.
Remember when we used to think that we were tough?
God forbid you call their bluff.

First they make you out to be
the only pirate on the sea.
Then they say Danko would have sounded just like me.
"Is that the man you want to be?"

Can you hear that song? It sounds like gold.
Maybe I could make it bigger overseas.
Fifteen years ago we owned this road
now it only gives us somewhere else to leave.

Something else you can't believe.

Can you hear that singing? Sounds like gold.
Maybe I can hear poor Richard from the grave
singin' where to reap and when to sow
when you've found another home you have to leave.

Something else you can't believe.

Perhaps Scott Walker should seek private-sector opportunities in Indianapolis

A lowlight from yesterday's JSOnline chat with hopefully soon to be outgoing Milwaukee County executive Scott Walker:

Q: Andrew of Milwaukee - Scott, Can you name a single prosperous, booming, world class city in the world that does not have a modern rail transit system? (Don't say Milwaukee, it is not prosperous, booming or world class). Why don't you understand how rail systems are necessary to build dense and prosperous cities?

A: Scott Walker - Andrew, Indianapolis does not have a rail system. Here are some interesting facts from their website: • Indianapolis is 10th in the nation when it comes to the production of fast-growth, super-achieving companies. (Inc. Magazine, August 2006) • Indianapolis has exceeded job growth expectations and outperformed other cities in the wake of the 2001 recession. In addition, the Indianapolis metropolitan area was the only large city tracked by the Chicago Fed's region to experience job growth between 2000 and 2005. (Federal Reserve Bank, June 2006) • Indianapolis is the 8th best logistics metro in the Midwest. (Expansion Management, June 2006) • Indianapolis is the 10th best place for business and careers in a ranking of the 200 largest metropolitan areas. (Forbes, May 2006) • Indianapolis ranks as the #3 least-costly large city to do business. (KMPG Competitive Alternatives Study, 2006) They are, however, discussing a Bus Rapid Transit (like the system we are promoting). BRT is the wave of the future with nearly 20 major urban areas moving in that direction. It has many of the same benefits as rail at a fraction of the cost.

Rather than making the case for why Milwaukee doesn't need a modern rail system, Scott Walker flaks for the Indianapolis tourist board. WIthout even going into whether it makes sense to compare the two cities. Yes, Walker "answers" the question but does so in a way that reinforces ma Brawler's verdict of him: weasel. (Also, Walker has been in office six years and the best he can say is he is "promoting" a system like BRT?)

A modern rail system would spur development in the city -- the major economic engine in the county. And improving the transportation system would makes the region more competitive. And it would facilitate better connection with Chicago. One big difference between the two cities is that Milwaukee benefits -- or stands to benefit -- from being in the orbit of one of the true global cities in the U.S.: the great beast Chicago. Improving Improving our connectitivity to the greater Chicago metropole -- as a modern rail system would -- improves Milwaukee's chances of being relevant in a globalizing economy.

Meanwhile, Capper points out another howler from the chat: Walker's claim that he is neither pro nor anti-transit.

And did Walker seriously not get a question about his recent ad featuring actors standing in for Milwaukee County residents?