Brew City Brawler

Thought provoking comments at McBride's Media Matters

Earlier this summer Jessica McBride opened her site to comments. While comments originally were unmoderated, she soon changed that policy due to purported abuse. The Brawler suspects the real reason is that she couldn't stand seeing her "insights" getting flayed by people unfairly invoking reality or facts.

Given her concern about abusive discussion -- and her scorn for those who operate behind the veil of anonymity -- the Brawler was amused to find this piece of sterling insight from one "John" who attacks the tireless john williams. Remember, Jessica approved this comment, which has something to do with Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad (the "madman of Iran" in Jessica's parlance)speaking at Columbia University:

john said...

Jeff, libs, live in a theorhetical world of "rights". Most libs like Johnny Williams are sissy boys, who love their rights, and masturbate to the freedoms that they have not, would not, will not nor cannot fight for nor win for themselves.
Johnny Williams has no clue what enemies of America would and will do to him, if given the oppurtunity.
Johnny Williams lives in a FREEDOM VACCUM, in which he is a spoiled PRICK, because SOMEONE ELSE made the ULTIMATE SACRIFICE, AND, Little Johnny DimWad, USES the FREEDOMS afforded him AND HIS 2 DADDIES BY OTHERS, to SPOUT ABOUT America being FREE, and HIS OWN FREEDOM to be a COMPLETE FUKJOB and LOSER.
Theorhetically, JOHHNY was GIVEN the RIGHT to WIPE HIS LAZY FAT AZZ with OLD GLORY. Johnny loves that, because it illustrates the GREATNESS of AMERICAN TOLERANCE, that SOMEONE ELSE'S DAD, UNCLE, GRANDFATHER or BROTHER earned for JOHNNY. MY 24 YEAR OLD PURPLE HEART MARINE SOON TO BE GOING BACK NEPHEW EARNED.
Johnny THEORHETICALLY is the EXACT situation that our MADISONIAL FRAMERS were thinking about!!!!
Yes, a FLABBY ASS-HAT liberal, hooked on Mountain Dew RUSH!!!
And The Adams, James Madison, John Hancock, Alexander Hamilton ET AL, had struggled to FREE, Johnny Williams to WELCOME SWORN ENEMIES of the U.S. to speak.
Yes Johnny dimwit,We could LET MAHMOUD speak. But don't INVITE him?
The Invitation by Columbia, merely EMPOWERED the IVORY TOWER pricks to POSTURE as morally superior.

DESPITE THE USE OF THE PLATFORM FOR PROPAGANDA AGAINST US/U.S.
These bastards take themselves, way way too seriously, and the damage they do, is REAL.

September 25, 2007 1:23 AM

It's stuff like this that reminds the Brawler why the GOP is the party of ideas.

Recall that in July, Jessica said this: "I will not allow anonymous trash comment postings on my blog. If people don't have the guts to say who they are, they are not welcome to comment on my blog."

Jessica, how do you define "trash"?

And yes, the Brawler moderates comments, due entirely to a nasty comment someone posted here about ... Jessica McBride.

Jessica McBride forgets the 9/11 victims -- quickly!

On September 11, Jessica McBride threw up this post:

Sept. 11, 2001: Never forget

I can't write anything more powerful than the video/audio I posted at right of a woman named Melissa Doi. So, I won't even try. Listen to it, and get ready to cry. Get ready for goosebumps.

We owe it to the Melissa Dois to win this fight and to not shrink away in defeat. We owe it to the Melissa Dois to remember who our real enemy is.

It's not George Bush.

How sad and tear-inducing was it?

So sad and tear inducing that by the evening of September 13 she replaced it with a video of  Roseanne Barr "hitting on"  Fred Thompson  Fred Thompson "hitting on" Roseanne Barr.

If Melissa Dois' story was so "powerful" to McBride, how could she switch it out for a fricking Roseanne clip?

Or was Melissa Dois, whose killers had nothing to do with Iraq and whose killers' allies never would have been able to obtain WMD from Iraq (imagined or otherwise), just convenient 9/11 filler for McBride?

The Brawler struggles for words.

(Yes, the Brawler realizes he's supposed to be on hiatus and has sworn off the all-too-easy task of taking shots at McBride. But given McBride's incessant calls to recall the victims of 9/11 or the Americans killed in Iraq to justify an endless occupation of Iraq that will lead only to more dead Americans (but prevent George W. Bush from losing a war), the Brawler felt morally obligated to point out McBride's pathetic display here. A victim of 9/11 ... bumped after two days for a clip of Roseanne Barr "hitting on" Fred Thompson Fred Thompson "hitting on" Roseanne Barr. Sweet Jesus.)

Oh, yeah: Why is Jessica McBride teaching journalism?

Should we expect a voter suppression effort in County Supervisor race?

Will Lena Taylor run for County Executive?

It seems so.

Will Scott Walker and his allies seek to suppress the city vote if that happens?

Almost certainly.

As In Effect points out, if Lena Taylor can net 70 percent of the city vote and win the suburban votes that Riemer took in 2004, she wins in a walk.

The Brawler suspects that 70 percent is achievable. Can she match Riemer's performance in the 'burbs? The Brawler thinks she could. That said -- and the Brawler hates to say it -- he sometimes suspects the color of her skin cuts against her in some suburban (hell, urban) corners.

(The Brawler notes, without comment, that Jessica McBride thinks a Taylor candidacy "would help the conservative in the state supreme court race by mobilizing pro-Walker turnout. (No explanation as to why, though the Brawler has his own theories) Of course, it would also require Scott to spend down that warchest for governor. But we'll be treated to months of histrionic, nonsensical quotes." Whallah! points out who will be spewing such quotes. Also, McBride charmingly calls Taylor "Gwen Moore Lite." The color of their skin has nothing to do with that piece of McBridean wit, The Brawler is certain.)

Either way, a Walker-Taylor matchup will be down to the city. And the Brawler has no doubt we'll see a repeat of previous GOP efforts to suppress the vote -- possibly with new wrinkles.

Walker's people -- and Sykes et al -- will raise the specter of "phantom voters" and pandemic fraud. (Even though St. Steven M. Biskupic, who pressed plenty of dubious cases in his time, conceded he could find no evidence of fraud in the 04 election, dashing the fantasies of many conservatives). This is an easy way to possibly get names struck from the rolls, throw the bureaucracy into a tizzy and also drive turnout for your guy who are outraged at what Charlie Sykes is saying is happening in the city.

And on election day expect plenty of belligerent poll watchers challenging city voters on specious grounds and creating long lines that may turn away folks who, you know, have to get back to work.

And one can only guess at Walker's other machinations to suppress the vote in the city. Because keeping down the city vote is going to be critical to his reelection strategy. After all, if he loses, he's gotta go into the private sector.

Yes, folks, the Brawler expects another ugly one.

(Click here for my previous odes to voter suppression and election fraud.)

UPDATE: The Brawler expects James "Hip Musings" Harris will be the right's "black friend" in attacking Taylor.

Brawler's top 25 closing lyrics

A ridiculously long time ago Jagler & Mueller on WTMJ were talking about this best opening lyrics list (Jeff Wagner didn't like it much, I recall). In possibly his least slippery post ever, Rick Esenberg got in on the fun.  Indeed, the Brawler was shocked at how often he agreed with the Shark's assessments.

So without further ado, the Brawler presents his own list --  The Brawler's top 25 closing lyrics. It's too late to jump on the best opening bandwagon. And besides, it's pretty easy to pick great opening lines. There's lots of good ones out there -- as Owen Robinson at Boots and Sabers demonstrates daily, anybody can write anopening line even if it's only "Huh." The pop song form (broadly defined) demands great opening lines to grab the listener. But great closing lines? Far fewer, the Brawler would argue.

A great opening line can stand on its own. With a great closing line it's difficult to separate  the dancer from the dance, to mix metaphors (and isn't that what writing about pop music is all about?)A great closing line needs to drive the song, everything that came before it, home. No. 23 may seem no great shakes on its own, but in the context of the song it's perfect. No. 13 seems like a joke on the printed (or virtual page); in the context of the performance, it's all.

Without further ado, and in no particular order save for No. 1, the Brawler's Top 25 closing lyrics.

25. So I walked/As day was dawning/while small bird sang/and leaves were falling/to where we once watched/the rowboats landing/on the broad, majestic Shannon -- The Pogues, "The Broad Majestic Shannon"

24. Do you think that you could make it with Frankenstein? -- New York Dolls, "Frankenstein (Original Version)"

23. And I guess I just don't know -- The Velvet Underground, "Heroin"

22. Every junkie's like a setting sun -- Neil Young, "Needle and the Damage Done"

21. I know you're dying baby/And I know you know it too/Every time I see you/I just don't know what to do -- Van Morrison, "Slim Slow Slider"

20. There is no future and England's dreaming/No future...The SexPistols, "God Save the Queen"

19. You're a wasted face/you're a sad-eyed lie/you're a holocaust -- Big Star, "Holocaust"

18. I remember you well/in Chelsea Hotel/that's all/I don't even think of you that often" -- Leonard Cohen, "Chelsea Hotel No. 2"

17. There's never been a man/that's ever shook this can/but I know a man who tried/the newspapers called it a jailbreak plan/but I know it was suicide/I know it was suicide-- Johnny Cash, "The Wall"

16. All the little fillies at the Yukon Club/Are gunning for the Gold Rush/They just can't get enough -- The Hold Steady, "Payne Avenue"

15. Millions of people/swarming like flies/round Waterloo Undergound/But Terry and Julie cross over the river/where they feel safe and sound -- The Kinks, "Waterloo Sunset"

14. When I woke up/mom and dad are rolling on the couch/rolling numbers/rocking and rolling/got my Kiss records out -- Cheap Trick, "Surrender"

13. A denial -- Nirvana, "Smells Like Teen Spirit"

12. Houses of crack, I've seen too much/I go ready, aim, fire then I'll blow 'em up -- Public Enemy, "Raise the Roof"

11. I never felt so much alike alike alike -- The Clash, "London Calling"

10. Bitch, rant down to the practice room/attention and fame/so career career career -- Pavement, "Cut your hair"

9. Life passes slow in slippers and robe/but my ghost still bangs on the roof/like John the Baptist in the rain/While the nurses play Crazy Eights -- The Handsome Family, "My Ghost"

8. And I wondered how that same moon outside/over this Chinatown fair/could look down on Illinois/and find you there/you know I love you baby" -- Tom Waits, "Shore Leave"

7. And the iceberg broke/and the Okies fled/and the Great Emancipator/took a bullet in the back of the head" -- Gillian Welch, April the 14th Part 1

6. And it feels like 1974/digging Led Zeppelin in Grimsby/Oh, Christ -- Robyn Hitchcock, "1974"

5. Honey last night I met this guy/and I'm gonna do a little favor for him -- Bruce Springsteen, "Atlantic City"

4. The harmonicas play the skeleton keys and the rain/and these visions of Johanna are all that remain -- Bob Dylan, "Visions of Johanna"

3. Child in the backseat, about four or five years/Lookin' out the window/Little bit of dirt mixed with tears/Car wheels on a gravel road -- Lucinda Williams. "Car wheels on a gravel road"

2. We could stand for a century/starin'/with our heads cocked/in the broad daylight at this thing/joy/landlocked/in bodies that don't keep/don't keep!/dumbstruck with the sweetness of being/till we don't be/told; take this/and eat this -- Joanna Newsom, "Emily"

1. And in the end/the love you take/is equal to the love you make -- The Beatles, "The End"

Yes, No. 1 is a cliche -- but who can argue with it. And with this, the Brawler is going to go into a hiatus relapse. Back in a month or so.

Big lies about consumer-driven health care: The John Torinus and KI edition

John Torinus -- WMC board member, Serigraph chairman, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel business columnist -- and other "free market" health care reformers like Leah Vukmir loves them that word "consumer" when it comes to health care.

Consumer-driven.

Consumer-empowered.

Consumerism.

In the Torinus world, consumers -- who will know how the cost of their desired medical procedures and who will have the freedom (and time! and savvy!) to comparison shop among different providers -- are the ones who will lead us into a New Jerusalem of lower cost health care.

In a July column, Torinus looked to KI, a Green Bay manufacturer, to offer us a glimpse of this utopia:

KI in Green Bay is one more data point in why the top-down state Senate plan for universal health care in Wisconsin does not compute.

KI is arguably the place to benchmark in the private sector for best practices on simultaneously delivering health care and controlling health costs. Its self-insured plan offers a full set of benefits, stresses wellness, prevention and fitness and brings it in for less than $6,000 per employee....

As a KI director, I have had the chance to see its results from installing a consumer-empowerment plan. Its incentives prompt judicious behavior by its workers in how they use and purchase medical treatments, in their lifestyles and in following disease regimens.

KI's benefit plan is well regarded by its 1,429 covered people, and its price to employer and employee is near the lowest in the state for a full plan. The price tag for KI and its workers came to $8.8 million in 2006.

Weirdly, his column in the Journal Sentinel left out some information that Torinus shared with executives gathered at an April 2005 breakfast in Pewaukee sponsored by the Advanced Manufacturing Network Southeast, Waukesha County Technical College and the Waukesha County Economic Development Corporation. From a topline overview of his presentation:

K.I. in Green Bay has a similar plan to Serigraph’s and it rates its employees’ health A-D through the health risk assessments.

• The A-rated employees (best health) are going to pay a very low premium.
• The D-rated employee  (poor health) will pay an increased premium.

Here's a tip: When you want to learn the real deal about a business initiative, don't pay attention to what executives tell the hoi polloi. Pay attention to what executives tell each other.

And the Brawler would suggest that there is nothing, absolutely nothing, "empowering" about being an employee with a D rating.

Not only are the less healthy getting hit up for the extra services they actually use through the high deductible and other cost sharing --  they're also getting hit for the extra services the insurance company assumes they'll use due to their risk level.

Feel that consumer power!

(And yes, the argument that "consumerism" will lead to lower prices is laughable. For some procedures, such as lasic eye surgery, sure. But the big ticket items, such as chronic care and major or emergency surgeries, don't lend themselves to comparison shopping. And someone please explain how a hospital can go about establishing itself as the low-cost provider for triple bypass surgeries.)

John -- just call it employer-driven health care and try to sell it that way!

Why does the Journal Sentinel let John Torinus write about Healthy Wisconsin or: John Torinus, meet Elizabeth McCaughey

Not once, not twice, not thrice but four times, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has published columns by John Torinus that enlist bogus facts -- or no facts at all! -- to attack the Senate Democrats' Healthy Wisconsin proposal.

Torinus' resume includes posts as chairman of Serigraph, board member of the WMC and a former business editor of the right-wing Milwaukee Sentinel. But his performance at the Journal Sentinel calls to mind Elizabeth McCaughey, the right wing hack who distorted and misrepresented, to no small effect, the Clinton Health Security plan in the pages of The New Republic in 1994.

From Theda Skocpol's "Boomerang: Health Care Reform and the Turn Against Government" (p. 153):

McCaughey included outright lies about the Health Security bill, for example, falsely stating that it would prevent patients and doctors from dealing with one another outside of officially approved insurance plans. Her accusations about bureaucratic regulations forcing middle class people into low-cost managed-care plans were in fact much more true of the Cooper bill than Clinton's Health Security. But the editors of the New Republic favored the Cooper plan and were happy to use McCaughey's smear piece to sully public perceptions of Clinton's proposals.

Hey JS editors: if a news reporter blew facts as often as Torinus he or she would be (hopefully) pulled from the beat or given a good talking to. And while Torinus may be an opinion columnist, that does not give him a license to make shit up -- as he has been doing all summer long when it comes to Healthy Wisconsin.

The Brawler would suggest that Torinus' intellectually dishonest attacks are intended more to advance the interests of the WMC than to enlighten the readers of the JS.

The Brawler would like to think that the JS would resent being so used. But if it's not, the least the paper could do is make explicit that it's a conduit for WMC talking points.