Grab bag of blogging: Retire in Wisconsin? |Healthcare law unconstitutional, maybe |Groups “in” with Bernie? |Williamson Street Old-School |Mayor race & Thuy Pham-Remmele

Wisconsin is the 7th worst state to retire to.

If you can trust TopRetirements.com, Wisconsin is the 7th worst state to retire to due to “A high tax state (9th highest tax burden) cold weather, and high property taxes.”

Scott Walker plans to lure retirees, and their money, back to Wisconsin with parties and lowered tax rates.

He kept on saying “this train is dead”. Will he also proclaim “this Winter is dead”?

Lefties are appalled at the Right Wing ties of judge Henry Hudson who struck down Obama’s healthcare law [although implementation of the law will continue].   illusary tenant contends the judge does have a leg to stand on, whether it be left or right. The problem is, most of us can’t understand legalese. The White House says its bill is legal in a plain-spoken write-up.

Meanwhile, last we knew,  nearly 17% of America had zero health insurance. Fear no more! Look at this low-cost online HMO with virtual doctor visits. Lame. I am considering a move to an industrialized country with a stronger safety net. I think reddit is as good a place to start my research as any.

Looks like that tax plan Bernie Sanders yelled at on Friday just can’t be stopped. The test vote got 83 in favor, 14 against. I wondered who else is fighting it?  These are 2 groups:

Moveon.org & a feisty and expanding Progressive Change Campaign Committee

Madison, Wisconsin Stuff

Williamson Street is a quirky gem. But from 3pm – 7pm it’s a collision course mix of pedestrians, drivers hot to go home, and hip bikers. Looks like it will get narrower and slower. Good. It’s best as a place to stop and smell the roses. When it’s busy, it really harshes my mellow.

Madison’s spring mayoral race has been looking dull. Thank goodness Sconz came out with the news –  Thuy Pham-Remmele is mulling her own bid.  @thesconz laughs at her, Brenda Konkel says don’t underestimate her- she has an actual crime plan [while Mayor Dave has none].  Dave Blaska sure likes her. He says she is both “a nuisance” and “a lonely voice of reason, courageously fighting for the besieged taxpayer on a get-along to go-along Madison Common Council dominated by liberal free spenders”.

Here’s her latest newsletter.

Sweet Tweet: Cryptic, but I get the gyst …

@Leftpalm 6:54am via web Obama to cave on Social Security.Using deficit commission=plus tax-cut deal=which increases the deficit=adding myth Social Security is broke

Millions yanked away from a Wisconsin fool by a man with a spine: Ray LaHood

Image from lupinoduck of flickr

High-speed rail money “taken”? Removed as an act of “political retribution”?  Some say tomato and others, tomaaato. I offer one more verb: “yanked”. Progressives, it is a different day, same shit. Your opposition makes things up. Thusly, why not “yanked”? And yanked by a man showing some spine. My tweet last Friday:

@bluecheddar1 Note to the Obama Administration: pay attention to the spine implant over at the DOT @RayLaHood http://ow.ly/3mQmt #hsr

Let’s recap quickly: Mr. Walker campaigned trash-talking the high-speed rail project. He rolled out of bed every day muttering “boondoggle”.  And he believed – or lied – that he was an alchemist who could turn a federal grant for a train into 1 for roads.

Showing diplomatic flare, Walker gave the I-kill-trains press conference 1 day after election. Moderates figured out this guy is 100% bat-smack f’real (I guess that’s what Doyle saw, too) and a “Save the Train” movement kicked up.

In November, Madison’s Mayor Dave waited for Mr. Walker’s schedule to open up. Seeing Mr. Walker too busy to call back, by December 7th, Mayor Dave got in front of his own cameras to tell Walker to serve the entire state, not just talk radio buddies. Over 650 people stopped by, too! [Not all but most showing support for the train.] We also saw the biz  community shuffle forward and everrrr so slowly break out into a full run to catch that train money. But too late. Trains run on time[federal grants have deadlines.] During this time, Walker stuck to his talking point: The train is dead.

You may recall that unemployment in America is close to 9.8% officially, 17% unofficially.

That $810 million in recovery money was getting dusty while people need jobs. Why not give people the gift of jobs somewhere else in America? Maybe somewhere where they’ll just use it for its intended purpose without argument!

Thus the money was prudently “yanked” by Secretary of Transportation Ray LaHood.

And as for Republican voters in Wisconsin? You’ve been bamboozled by Walker. And sadly, the whole population got screwed.

[Don’t like my verbs? Comment. ]