Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation Creates Ten Documented new Jobs with the Hiring of Mr. Duck

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) continues its job creation by hiring its fifth chief financial officer (CFO). Brandon Duck, who is currently the CFO at a Trinity Basin Charter School in Dallas, will start as the fifth CFO of Scott Walker's brainchild, WEDC later this month. So far WEDC can document at least ten new jobs created since it was established by Walker in 2011. These jobs are as follows; two chief executive officers (CEO) employed by WEDC, three Chief Operating Officers (COO) employed by WEDC and five Chief Financial Officers (CFO) employed by WEDC.

An interesting note to Mr. Duck's appointment is that the official announcement makes no specific mention of his current position at the Trinity Basin Charter School, but rather, notes that he is currently the CFO at a preparatory academy in Dallas. Walker is drawing from a very small network of like minded sycophants. Clearly, there are no charter school CFOs left in Wisconsin that would come within a mile of WEDC.

Dopamine Modulates Egalitarian Behavior in Humans

Highlights
•Dopamine is causally associated with human prosocial behavior
•Pharmacological dopamine enhancement led to prioritizing of egalitarian motives
•Computational modeling of inequity aversion captures drug-induced changes
•Results support involvement of dopamine in computing prosocial valuation signal

Summary
Egalitarian motives form a powerful force in promoting prosocial behavior and enabling large-scale cooperation in the human species [ 1 ]. At the neural level, there is substantial, albeit correlational, evidence suggesting a link between dopamine and such behavior [ 2, 3 ]. However, important questions remain about the specific role of dopamine in setting or modulating behavioral sensitivity to prosocial concerns. Here, using a combination of pharmacological tools and economic games, we provide critical evidence for a causal involvement of dopamine in human egalitarian tendencies. Specifically, using the brain penetrant catechol-O-methyl transferase (COMT) inhibitor tolcapone [ 4, 5 ], we investigated the causal relationship between dopaminergic mechanisms and two prosocial concerns at the core of a number of widely used economic games: (1) the extent to which individuals directly value the material payoffs of others, i.e., generosity, and (2) the extent to which they are averse to differences between their own payoffs and those of others, i.e., inequity. We found that dopaminergic augmentation via COMT inhibition increased egalitarian tendencies in participants who played an extended version of the dictator game [ 6 ]. Strikingly, computational modeling of choice behavior [ 7 ] revealed that tolcapone exerted selective effects on inequity aversion, and not on other computational components such as the extent to which individuals directly value the material payoffs of others. Together, these data shed light on the causal relationship between neurochemical systems and human prosocial behavior and have potential implications for our understanding of the complex array of social impairments accompanying neuropsychiatric disorders involving dopaminergic dysregulation.

A Lutheran pastor in La Crosse resigned on Tuesday, four days after a vulgar and virulent email threatening to gang rape a Milwaukee blogger who criticized police work was sent from his home email address, a spokesman for the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod said.

The Rev. David Wendt of First Evangelical Lutheran Church in La Crosse tendered his resignation to the church council, a day after blogger Claire Van Fossen posted the email on social media.

Synod spokesman Lee Hitter said he did not know whether Wendt admitted sending the email, and efforts to reach Wendt and church President Mick Schwedler were unsuccessful.

Hitter said Wendt told synod President Mark Schroeder earlier in the day that the email address in question was his, but he denied sending the threat. “Obviously, the email was completely unacceptable,” said Hitter.

Judge James Daley is running for a seat on the Wisconsin Supreme Court – in part – on his reputation for developing an OWI court in Rock County. But 27 News has learned Daley’s own daughter is wanted on an open arrest warrant for OWI charges that date back to 2008.

Judge Daley’s campaign told 27 News they have been aware of his daughter’s fugitive status from the beginning of his challenge to incumbent Justice Ann Walsh-Bradley, but chose not to disclose it.

Deputies for the Jefferson County Sheriff’s Office arrested Maureen E. Daley on two counts of third-offense OWI on April 14, 2008 after she allegedly ran her car into a ditch on Highway 12 in the Township of Koshkonong. She was 33 years-old at the time. A criminal complaint states that when asked if she had been drinking, Maureen Daley told deputies “it’s obvious.” A blood test later showed Daley had a blood alcohol level of 0.304 – nearly four times the legal limit.

But Daley never made her initial court appearance set for June 9, 2008, causing Jefferson County Court Commissioner Jennifer Weston to issue a bench warrant for her arrest. That warrant is still open.

MILWAUKEE -- Governor Walker's former deputy chief of staff will report to prison later today.

Kelly Rindfleisch worked for the governor while he was Milwaukee County Executive.

She was sentenced to six months for fundraising for a Lieutenant Governor candidate while on the clock for the county.

I love when true criminals get to pay their penance.

Social commentary: UW's Bo Ryan, Duke's Mike Krzyzewski, Michigan State's Tom Izzo and Kentucky's John Calipari combined Wednesday to formulate a statement regarding Indiana's controversial Religious Freedom Restoration Act.

The statement, released by the National Association of Basketball Coaches, reads:

"We are aware of the recent actions in Indiana and have made a point to talk about this sensitive and important issue among ourselves and with our teams. Each of us strongly supports the positions of the NCAA and our respective institutions on this matter — that discrimination of any kind should not be tolerated.

"As a part of America's higher education system, college basketball plays an important role in diversity, equality, fairness and inclusion, and will continue to do so in the future."

Critics of the bill argue it will allow business to discriminate against individuals based on their sexual orientation. NCAA officials, who do not support the bill, expect protests this week during the Final Four.

Washington — Two nonpartisan groups filed election complaints Tuesday against Gov. Scott Walker, Jeb Bush and two others, accusing them of ignoring the strict caps on contributions to politicians who are running for president or testing the waters for a White House bid.

Walker, for instance, has been raising unlimited donations for his political committee, Our American Revival, while traveling widely, hiring dozens of staff and laying the groundwork for a campaign. The complaints charge that this amounts to "testing the waters," which must be done within the strict contribution limits — $2,700 per donor per election — that apply to presidential candidates.

"These 2016 presidential contenders must take the American people for fools — flying repeatedly to Iowa and New Hampshire to meet with party leaders and voters, hiring campaign staff, and raising millions of dollars from deep-pocketed mega-donors, all the while denying that they are even 'testing the waters' of a presidential campaign," said Paul S. Ryan, senior counsel to the Campaign Legal Center, one of the groups that filed the complaint with the Federal Election Commission.

...

In their complaint against Walker, the groups say all the Wisconsin governor's political activities suggest he not only meets the legal definition of testing the waters but has for practical purposes become a candidate. The complaint says that Walker has in fact referred to himself as a candidate, citing his March 1 interview with Chris Wallace of Fox News. In declaring he had shifted his position on immigration, Walker told Wallace, "my view (on the issue) has changed. I'm flat out saying it.... Candidates can say that."