>>>>>http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20110620/ap_on_re_us/us_supreme_court_wal_mart_discrimination
>>>>
>>>>The five most influential Republicans in the U.S.
>>>
>>>
>>>LOL.. You take the cake.... they didn't say there was no merit in the sex discrimination allegations only htat they couldn't file them as class action, the individual suits can still go forward...
>>
>>It's dead in the water. Yes, they can file individual suits, as though many of them could afford to. Class action was their best bet and in fact they won at the circuit court level. Justice Scalia and his four disciples filled them with lead.
>>
>>Some say the second President Bush left no legacy. That is not true.
>>
>>The one who really gets under my skin is Clarence Thomas. He lied his a** off to be confirmed and has voted in lockstep with Scalia ever since. It has now been over five years since he has even spoken during oral arguments before the court.
>
>I found his 5 year silence in supreme court oral arguments shocking. But the Thomas' have made the news for a few other reasons. His wife founded a Tea Party group that opposes what the group calls President Obama's "tyranny". The Thomas' did not report his wife's $700k income from the Heritage Foundation, and the Judge has been known to drop by some secret fundraisers sponsored by the Koch bros. And of course she calls Anita Hill 20 years later. Strange stuff.

She is even further out there than he is, which is saying something. I had not heard about the 700K in unreported income. Isn't that supposed to be a serious crime?

Last weekend I dug myself a little hole with my girlfriend's mom after making one of my "clever" jokes. Cindi and I have been seeing each again for over four months, after a 30 year hiatus, and she decided it was time to reintroduce me to her parents. (Technically her mom and Fred, her second husband, who have been married for nearly 40 years and who Cindi routinely calls "my parents"). Judi was the first president of the Madison teachers' union, and is a Madisonian to boot, so you can imagine what she thinks of Gov. Walker. So we were chatting, catching up a bit, when the gov was mentioned. Judi asked me what I thought of him. I put on my best innocent look and said I think he's getting kind of a bad rap. Whoa! She took it hook, line, and sinker and gave me a look that would have frozen a penguin. All three of us -- including Fred, who remembered and shares my mordant humor -- spent a good 10 minutes convincing her it was a joke. She finally said OK, you got me. But I bet I'm still on the Watch List.

When all hell broke loose in Mad Town in February Judi and Fred were in Hawaii on vacation. Fred emailed Cindi that your mother is beside herself, she's hardly even sleeping.

Like mother, like daughter. My joking nickname for Cindi is Red, referring both to her hair and her politics. (She knows I'm kidding). Some here think I am a flaming liberal. Not in her league at all. You probably know Madison is one of the most liberal cities in the country and she has lived there her whole life. The latest is she will no longer buy Johnsonville bratwurst since she found out the company contributed to Walker's campaign. Along with those charming Koch brothers. I should find out exactly what they own so she has a whole new list of things to boycott.

UPDATE: Most of their money is in the oil bidness. Here are some consumer products they control:

Brawny paper towels
Dixie Cups
Georgia-Pacific lumber
Lycra fibers
Stainmaster carpets