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There's a reason some people are anonymous

It's usually very revealing when we find out the names of the people who hide behind anonymity to call women C---s and bitches (when they aren't meeting their wives online). The more revealing thing is that such people are taken seriously by liberal pundits and politicians and a gushing, laughing host for a state university-operated radio station.

People ask me why I don't blog much anymore. There are a lot of really good bloggers out there. However, it's sad what the blogosphere has degenerated to in other corners, and I don't want to be a part of it. At least not with as much frequency as I did before.

To be blunt: I have more important things to do than debate repeat drunk drivers (3x) on the Internet who, just over two years ago, were in the House of Correction.

(Note: The individual in question was once a criminal defendant who appeared before Louis Butler himself. No wonder he has so much empathy for criminal defendants in front of Louis Butler).

This is just wrong

Local news outlets are reporting that smear pamphlets against Angel Sanchez are being placed around the aldermanic district he's running in. They are repeating the salacious allegations in the stories (I won't do that here).

That's just wrong. I think it's irresponsible of news organizations to repeat the anonymous smears, thus furthering them, in stories about whether the pamphlets are wrong/defamatory/unfair, etc.

Show some restraint.

Was Nan Hegerty discriminated against?

Milwaukee's former police chief claims she was discriminated against because Chief Ed Flynn makes more money.

That's how it usually works. People from the outside often get paid more to lure than to jobs than people on the inside.

Gender? If she's so discriminated against, why did they pick her to be chief?

Questions remain

As a reporter, I covered this inquest and read all of the files and... this shooting was always very sketchy. I am a person who believes the vast majority of the cops are the good guys. That doesn't mean the cops are always right.

By the way, when are the media going to notice that new DA John Chisholm has stopped holding inquests, for all practical purposes. Newsflash! Change in policy.

He's doing the right thing. McCann's approach of calling an inquest in every police shooting where the family requested it was grossly unfair to the cops who had unquestionably done nothing wrong, and it didn't appease the families anyway. When you try to please all of the people all of the time...

The New York Times goes after Obama

Cliff Notes version: Obama did nothing in the Senate.

But what did Hillary do?

188 previously deported felons cycled through the Milwaukee jail

Some of my investigative reporting students at Frontpage Milwaukee have done a fine piece of investigative work revealing that 188 previously deported felons reoffended and ended up in the Milwaukee jail in the last few years. Some have...already reoffended. Again.

Read it here.

Incidentally, congrats to the 5 Frontpage Milwaukee students and reporting teams who just won regional journalism awards from the Society of Professional Journalists. They won for: Edgar Mendez columns, Rebecca Kontowicz columns, an in-depth investigation into Milwaukee police officers with criminal records, an in-depth investigation into mall crime, and an in-depth investigation into criminal background checks of caregivers. It was a four-state contest.

Check out FPM every week. The students are doing cutting-edge investigative work.

Prediction

Number of days before Eugene Kane compares Michael McGee Jr. being held without bail to Dennis Troha getting probation: Less than 5.

Photo of the day

You've got to admit.... this picture is pretty funny. (WKOW)

This is news?

I laughed at this news headline in the JS today:

Obama promise (sic) hope, change

This is news? You could write the same headline after every Obama speech. But what, pray tell, does it mean???? Vague platitudes do not an agenda make.

Truth or fiction

This could be a fascinating story... or not. The lack of response from Ted Kennedy's office is interesting.

Miller's last days?

I was a speaker at a Milwaukee event yesterday with a bunch of ideologically and ethnically mixed movers and shakers. I can't say more because "what's said in the room, stays in the room." But it's an event that Miller used to sponsor for years. This year, it didn't. It made me wonder: Is Miller pulling up stakes in other areas around town? Something for the reporters to check out...

I was also told Miller sent severance packages to mid-level Milwaukee execs in roughly November...

And now there's the Pete Coors interview saying Milwaukee's unlikely to retain the HQ...

Ouch

Journal Communications Inc. (JRN) today reported a nearly 60%
drop in net income, as a downturn in the auto industry and real estate market
cut into ad revenue.

This is bad news. Although the advent of the Internet has led to a multiplicity of opinion voices, there aren't many people doing investigative reporting outside of reporters at newspapers (and online newspapers like Frontpage Milwaukee!). Then again, there aren't many reporters at newspapers doing influential investigative reporting, either, but at least there are some.

A picture is worth a thousand words

P.S. No, this doen't mean I'm voting for Huckabee. I just decided to check him out in Waukesha tonight. Wrote a column on it for the Freeman. I'll post a link when it runs.

ICE grants privacy protections to illegal immigrants

I asked ICE's regional spokesperson whether a man who appeared in a court hearing was an illegal immigrant and was told that ICE will no longer release such information - even if the person IS an illegal immigrant - because of federal privacy rules. They used to release the information. You could ask them about the immigration status of, say, a violent criminal or other offender, and they would tell you.

Now, they cite this document.

Jessica:

Without having an Alien # (which is how ICE tracks those we have encountered) and a nationality, it would be difficult to determine this individual's status. In addition, DHS has a new privacy policy that prevents me from releasing such information.

Thank you.

Gail Montenegro, Spokesperson
U.S Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE)

Defending the Clintons

I'd never vote for Hillary Clinton. I disagree with her on too many policy questions. But the media template that the Clintons have somehow gone too negative on Barack Obama, using the race card, is ridiculous.

Obama is not above criticism. Have the Clintons "distorted" his record? Sure. No worse than he's distorted theirs (or McCain's distorted Romney's, etc. etc.) Bill said Obama's anti-war stance was a fairytale. Big deal. I could cite a dozen tougher statements from various other presidential candidates. Why is Obama somehow off limits? Why is he supposed to be treated with kid gloves? Isn't that patronizing? Even racist? If he can't handle someone calling his anti-war stance a fairytale, maybe he doesn't belong in the political arena.

Have the Clintons injected race into the race? I suppose. But so has Obama. He knew exactly what he was doing when he "distorted" Hillary's LBJ comment as a slam on MLK Jr. Was it wrong for Hillary to say Obama was praising Republican ideas? I suppose, but he meant that statement as a slam on the Bill Clinton era. They're not supposed to respond?

The template is ridiculous.

And as for Bill's comparison of Obama to Jesse Jackson, if that's so bad, what does it say about Jesse Jackson? If Bill was just theorizing that Obama's appeal will be limited ethnically, how is that any more offensive than the typical Democratic/media analysis that only whites (especially white males) vote Republican or that Mike Huckabee's support is limited to evangelicals?

Kennedy accused of betraying women

So, what happened to Mary Jo Kopechne doesn't count as betrayal, but Ted Kennedy's decision not to endorse the woman running for president earns him the New York NOW's scorn?

Who "lied" about WMD?

Saddam, not Bush. Bush was deceived, not the deceiver.

Giuliani's campaign

Was his Florida strategy one of the biggest campaign blunders in presidential political history?

Time will tell, but it's not looking good. His advisers clearly didn't calculate the value of momentum and the state-by-state horse-race style reporting that would produce a "winner" and "frontrunner" after each state, giving them a bump into the polls.

Rudy needs to hit the tax-cut issue hard. He's got credibility on it. I know he's been starting to do that. He needs to do more of it.

Disrespecting social conservatives

Enough with the Mike Huckabee bashing. I know it's a bit late to speak out about this now; he's probably done after Florida. But I've been growing sick of the anti-Huckabee vitriol coming from some conservative talk show hosts and bloggers nationally and locally.

I agree that Huckabee has a weak record on taxes and ethics. Clearly, that's fair game for discussion. But the vitriol has gotten tiresome.

Inherent within it seems to be subtle disrespect for social conservatives on some programs. I don't mean all the time; I mean in the presidential election. There's an implication that it's not "OK" for conservative voters to put, say, abortion first by choosing Huckabee.

None of the candidates is "perfect" on the issues. It seems many conservative talk radio hosts have decided that candidates who "fail" the social conservative litmus test - Rudy Giuliani comes to mind - are OK, but people are "fools" to vote for the candidates who "fail" the economic and immigration litmus tests (like Huckabee). I don't mean all hosts, either. I mean some of them.

Every voter has to prioritize the issues in this election. Some social conservatives care mostly about abortion, gay marriage, religious values, and the like. They have a right to do so without condemnation.

Other conservatives - call them tax-and-terror conservatives - prefer a candidate who is strong on those questions (I'd add immigration in there), even if they are weak on social matters.

What we are seeing is a growing rift in the movement between social conservatives and tax-and-terror conservatives, who aren't always comfortable with the social issues, or, at least, aren't as passionate about them as they are about fiscal and national security concerns. This might be a faux rift. It's probably exaggerated by the fact we've got a presidential field filled with candidates who are really strong in one area, but not the other, in different ways, requiring people to stake out what matters most to them. After all, I think most of the talk radio hosts are pro-life too. It's just that they've decided it's not the issue voters should care most about if forced to choose by such a fragmented field.

Personally, I am more of a tax-and-terror conservative. I care about social issues like abortion (I am pro-life) but, perhaps because it's a time of war, I place them secondary in this presidential election. I wish there was a candidate who was strong on all the issues, but there's not (except maybe Mitt Romney, and I don't trust him). I've always leaned toward Rudy Giuliani.

However, enough with the Huckabee bashing. And, for that matter, can we lay off the John McCain bashing too? It's not the criticism per se. He deserves it, too, on a lot of issues. It's just the tone of it.

Wow - that was quite a Democratic debate

In case you missed it, Hillary and Obama really went at it tonight. I like debates like this one, rather than the stiff version where the candidates are timed with bells and blinking red lights and are not allowed to actually engage one another.

This Democratic primary is getting ugly. It was like watching a prison fight, with Hillary and Barack sticking verbal shivs in each other's ribs, and Edwards sitting there like a cheshire cat, reaping the benefits of the bickering.

• Hillary even played the Rezko card! She didn't do it very deftly, either. You could tell she's been keeping that Rezko card in her back pocket and pulled it out before she intended to do so.
• She was very weak on Edwards' challenge about why she takes lobbyist money. At the tail end of her response, it was difficult to tell what she was talking about. For all her rhetoric, she's really not that good under sustained attack.
• Obama isn't Mr. Nice Guy anymore. He showed an essential toughness and even nastiness. At one point, he went after Hillary with a snarky attack about being a corporate board member for Wal-Mart. I thought it was pretty funny. I still, think, though, that Obama is a great speaker and a politician with immense rhetorical skill, although I disagree with him on almost every policy question.
• At one point, Obama brought up a comment Bill Clinton had made about Ronald Reagan. Hillary responded that she was campaigning against him, not her husband. Obama nastily responded that it was getting hard to tell.
• Obama was great when he went after Hillary for her campaign's twisting of his various comments and votes. I like that he's decided to call the Clintons out on it.
• The media are obsessed with race. The Democrats are obsessed with race. Obama is the only one who doesn't seem obsessed with race at these affairs. Edwards had a funny line where Obama was asked something about whether blacks should vote for him because he's black, and Edwards said something about not expecting white men to vote for him. Good point! (They'll be voting for McCain).
• Speaking of McCain, the Democrats clearly think he's going to be the nominee. That throws them off because they agree with a lot of his positions.
• I would have wanted to ask John Edwards, the token white guy on the stage, if he still believes in affirmative action. If he does, then shouldn't he concede the presidency to either Hillary or Obama?
• I wanted to ask Hillary if she's the one campaigning, not Bill, then why does she keep claiming Bill's accomplishments as President as her own? She can't have it both ways.
• When Obama was asked if he thought Bill Clinton was the first black president, I think he should have simply responded, "No, I'll be."
• Edwards could have turned into a potted plant or the dateless third wheel at a dinner party, but I thought he had a great debate and was boosted by the Democratic bickering over "present votes" and Ronald Reagan. He's clearly hoping Obama and Hillary will go the way of Checota-Moody. I don't think he helped himself enough to win, but he might hurt Hillary more than she expects with white voters in South Carolina.
• The candidates climbed over one another to claim they each want to withdraw the troops as soon as they can, in response to a question that outlined the successes of the surge (revealing). Hillary refused to say she wants us to win when asked the question. She responded that she wants to bring the troops home. Apparently, saying she wants us to win would be a controversial statement on the Left.

Layered like lasagna

I actually heard the Channel 6 anchorwoman say on the air tonight that Packers' fans were "layered like lasagna" in the stands.

Layered like lasagna????

The public investigator team responds

The public investigator team for the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel responds to the Darshan Dhaliwal criticism. Two paragraphs are particularly revealing:

My story in today's paper about BP gas and gas station baron Darshan Dhaliwal in no way meant to imply that Dhaliwal only supports Republicans.

But that's exactly what the story did imply by only mentioning Dhaliwal's ties to a Republican.

As difficult as it might be to accept for those who thrive on stoking division in the community, I sincerely hope the explanation quells any concerns or confusion about bias and motivation on my part or the part of the Journal Sentinel.

Actually, the opening of this paragraph pretty much confirms it. So, those who think that the original story should have mentioned Dhaliwal's donations to the current governor as well as the former one are just stoking division in the community?

Guess the editors didn't think so. I do give them credit for correcting the record (and for tallying the donations from the entire company, not just Dhaliwal and his family personally):

Correction: An article Friday about BP gas and Mequon gasoline station baron Darshan Dhaliwal mentioned Dhaliwal's close ties to former Gov. Tommy Thompson but failed to mention that he also is a big supporter of Gov. Jim Doyle and other Democrats as well as Republicans. Dhaliwal's company, Bulk Petroleum, has given Doyle $42,000 in the last 10 years and a total of more than $110,000 to politicians on both sides of the aisle, according to the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign.

Darshan Dhaliwal, major Jim Doyle donor

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's "public investigator team" writes about a federal suit against gas station magnate Darshan Dhaliwal and stresses his "deep political ties." The article, which seems slanted against Dhaliwal, mentions his ties to Tommy Thompson numerous times - calling him a longtime friend of Tommy near the top of the story - and also mentions that he visited with President Bush.

But the public investigator team doesn't bother to mention that Dhaliwal's donations aren't only to Republicans. They didn't mention his donations to:

$17,000 to Jim Doyle (Doyle's received another $9,500 from other Dhaliwals affiliated with Bulk Petroleum too).
Assembly Democratic Campaign Committee
Brian Burke
Chuck Chvala
Dave Hansen
David Cullen
Gwen Moore
Kathleen Falk
Kathleen Vinehout
Gary George
Louis Butler
And many, many others.

I don't deny he's been a Republican donor or that he has strong ties to Tommy as well. (He gave my husband $1,000 during the AG race).

However, now that he's caught up in a scandal, it's interesting that the media only mention the ties to the GOP.

The story could easily have described him as a major Jim Doyle campaign donor.

Thoughts on Michigan

• Is Romney now the "Comeback Kid"? How many candidates can get that label?
• Romney can make a case for being the frontrunner. He's won two states (Michigan, Wyoming) and placed second in two others (Iowa, New Hampshire)
• There were fewer independents voting in the GOP primary in Michigan than voted in New Hampshire. McCain has yet to show he can appeal to enough Republicans to win the primary. Then, again, he's showing he can appeal to enough independents to win the presidency.
• Giuliani's Florida strategy is risky to say the least. Polls show him losing strength there. Didn't his strategists calculate the power of momentum?
• It was poor form for Romney to start his speech at the same time as McCain. I know, I know: He's playing for keeps. But still... It made me like him a little less.
• Economics as an issue is starting to overshadow foreign policy on the GOP side. I've said it before, and I'll say it again: The progress in Iraq and the Iranian intelligence assessment undercut somewhat the rationale for Giuliani's previously rather singularly focused candidacy by putting other issues on the frontburner. No wonder Rudy's starting to talk taxes all the time. An economic focus boosts Romney due to his success as a businessman.
• What if Thompson somehow takes South Carolina and Giuliani gets Florida? Now, that would be fun.

Interesting theory

Did "You're likeable enough" doom Obama in New Hampshire?

Social security fraud

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports on a massive indictment for social security fraud. The individuals were allegedly cashing their checks and then requesting replacement checks, saying the first checks were lost. This went on for years.

Two paragraphs stood out to me in the story:

If recipients are convicted, they are allowed to stay on Social Security -
assuming they qualify - but they must open up a bank account for direct deposit,
Cotter said.

WHAT? They defrauded social security, and they get to still get social security?

The agency tried to stop double-check fraud by requiring recipients to get
bank accounts and receive their money by direct deposit. Recipients filed a
class-action lawsuit saying the move was illegal, and the government relented,
officials said.

Unbelievable. But: Couldn't the government tell the first checks were cashed without the direct deposit?

He'd have to be from Wisconsin...

Michelle Malkin gets a vicious email from a writer who hopes she chokes to death, and the writer is a man named Joe Roppe from Stevens Point, who recently wrote a letter-to-the-editor saying how appalled he was by cyber bullying.

Why McCain has trouble with conservatives

Now that John McCain won New Hampshire, the media are in overdrive trying to analyze why conservatives have been cold to him. The MSM reporters/pundits keep saying it's because of McCain's steadfast support for the war. I heard the pundits on cable news say that last night, and Craig Gilbert in the MJS floated the same theory today in the newspaper. The AP did it too, before New Hampshire's vote, stating:

MILFORD, N.H. --Sen. John McCain and his "Straight Talk Express" returned
to New Hampshire highways Saturday, dragging with them questions about whether the Arizona Republican could repeat his 2000 primary win, despite his support for unpopular war in Iraq.

Granted, there are many independents in New Hampshire. But McCain is running as a Republican.
McCain's support for the war has always been pretty much THE ONLY reason conservatives like him (along with his pro-life views). Maybe the reporters just don't know anyone who supports the war, so they can't fathom that it might be a positive in some corners. But it is.

McCain's support for the war has never harmed him with most conservatives. Conservatives largely don't like McCain's positions on illegal immigration, campaign finance "reform", and his speech that called the religious right "agents of intolerance."

Furthermore, the media's handicapping of this race is getting a little silly.

Mike Huckabee, a preacher, won in a caucus populated with evangelicals.

"Maverick" independent-type John McCain won in a primary filled with independents, in a state where he's enjoyed enormous success in the past, winning New Hampshire by 19 points in 2000.

Neither makes a national candidacy nor a "comeback kid" - or a frontrunner. It's not even a surprise.

Painful but true

Interesting lead in the New York Times on Bill Clinton in New Hampshire:

DURHAM, N.H. — Is this what it would have been like had Elvis
been reduced to playing Reno?

Ouch.

Thoughts on Iowa

40 percent of Iowa caucus voters are evangelicals.

They voted for the pastor and didn't coalesce around the Mormon. This is a surprise?

They care more about social issues than economics. They're evangelicals... this is a surprise?

Other thoughts:

• Never count out the appeal of optimism. The two candidates who won the caucus, Barack Obama and Mike Huckabee, play to optimism in personality, not to fear. Rudy Giuliani's new apocalypse advertisement could backfire, especially now that Iran's nuclear program has moved off center stage as an issue. Don't underestimate how much that recent intelligence estimate on Iran and progress in Iraq have hurt Giuliani's central argument for electability. People want to turn the page. They don't want to think about 9/11 anymore than they want to revisit the Clinton era's scandals.
• People want someone who makes them feel safe, yes, but they also want to feel good about their country. Reagan did both. Neither Obama nor Huckabee makes me feel safe. But they've got the optimism part down. Don't underestimate how tired people are of thinking of terrorists, even though it's legitimate fear.
• Note to the MSM: When you trash a Republican candidate, Republican voters like that person more. While you were laughing at Huckabee for playing a negative ad to reporters, he was thinking: "Please keep laughing at me. Thanks!"
• Note to Hillary: You're stuck. Your instinct, as always, will be to nuke Obama with negativity. But he may very well be the one candidate you can't go negative on. When you do go negative on Obama, it just reinforces why people don't like you. If you are going to take the shot, you better have more than his kindergarten essays or middle name.
• Note to MSM: You played up what you thought was a Huckabee gaffe right before the caucus vote, while largely ignoring the real last-minute gaffe - Hillary's outright ignorance on Pakistan. And you think you don't have a double standard? Can you imagine if Bush had said this? You'd all be talking about how dumb he was for days.
• In the last two presidential elections, people voted for the guy they'd want to have a beer with. No one wants to have a beer with Hillary. Mitt Romney doesn't even drink beer. In all seriousness, likability matters.
• Don't count Giuliani out. I think he could see a resurgence. I'm not convinced that Huckabee can play as well elsewhere (the 40% evangelical thing again), especially as more details come out about his ethics and tax issues on the national stage. Then again, are voters concerned about ethics really going to turn to Giuliani? Still, Giuliani-Obama: Quite an experience differential there. Even Huckabee-Obama? One looks like the Dad. The other looks like the Kid. Obama looks REALLY young compared to any of the Republicans. I suppose that might be a plus in some corners, but it highlights the experience gap. McCain-Obama? Grandpa.
• The Huckabee candidacy is all wrong for the general election. He's right on all of the issues that won't play to independents and conservative Democrats (the social ones), and he's wrong on all of the issues that do. The opposite is true of Giuliani.
• Some people think Edwards is a loser because he didn't come in second by much. I disagree. He's a winner because Hillary Clinton was a VERY big loser who came in third. As Obama comes under increasing scrutiny, people may start to increasingly question his toughness and electability. Who does that leave?.
• Hillary's completely lost the aura of invincibility. The defining moment: The drivers' licenses for illegal aliens debate pandering. It wasn't solely the power of the immigration issue that mattered there. It was that her pandering highlighted people's central fear of her: That she stands for nothing. What does she stand for again? It used to be: I'm the one who can get elected. Without that, what then?
• The candidates who seem to believe in something, even if many people disagree with them, did well.
• I also think people have Clinton fatigue. Think about the Clinton era, quickly. What do you feel? I feel exhausted. Who wants to revisit that feeling? The Bush presidency has been exhausting too. People are really tired of the negativity. And so I return to the Optimism Factor.
• Somewhere Tommy Thompson is still muttering, This Was Supposed To Be Me.
• In 5 of the last 8 Iowa caucus votes, the Democratic victor was the Democratic nominee. The exceptions: Bill Clinton in 1992 (he'll try to draw the parallel to his wife but since she's running with the aura of an incumbent and as a well-known political figure, it doesn't really apply); Dukakis in 1988; and Carter in 1976.
• In 6 of the last 8 Iowa caucus votes, the Republican victor was the Republican nominee. The exceptions: George H. W. Bush in 1988 and Ronald Reagan in 1980.

Thanks for telling everyone now

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel has a comprehensive rundown of all of the transportation-related fee hikes in the state. The reporter starts out the story by writing:

Madison - Driving a vehicle just got a lot more expensive.

Thanks for telling everyone now. The information, presented in this detailed of a fashion, would have been particularly valuable to the public during the height of the state budget showdown. Back then, though, the media template wasn't focused on rising fees or escalating taxes. The narrative seemed to focus on the ramifications of a budget stalemate (read: obstructionist Republicans).

Twisted logic

It looks like Al-Qaida might have murdered Benazir Bhutto, and the Democratic candidates go after.... not, Al-Qaida, but Pervez Musharraf, the pro-American strongman who is trying to crack down on... Al-Qaida. Worse, Barack Obama argues that aid should be cut off to Musharraf at the exact moment his government is at its greatest peril, without any thought to what would replace him, especially now that Bhutto is gone. Mitt Romney went after Musharraf too.

Brilliant.

Time's top stories

Time magazine's top 10 news stories of 2007 mention David Petraeus. Guess in what light? Remember, this is the magazine that just named Vladimir Putin "man of the year." Petraeus is story 5:

#5. Petraeus Under Fire

Not: #5. Petraeus Engineers Iraq Progress

Then again, Time magazine was correct to list the story the way it did.

After all, the mainstream media story this year WASN'T that Petraeus' strategy was improving the situation in Iraq. Sure, the media devoted some coverage to that, but it wasn't the primary narrative. The media's primary story was "Petraeus Under Fire" (from the media and political left). At least Time magazine's honest about that. It's pretty revealing, though, that Petraeus being under fire that proved to be shortsighted is deemed more important than Petraeus' strategy starting to work on the ground.

Media myth

Everyone loves Oprah.

Actually, one-third of people polled can't stand her.

How can anyone not like Oprah? Granted, she's gotten a bit sanctimonious. But, still...

On the other hand, you could take a poll about anyone and 30 percent wouldn't like them.

Do these people want subscribers, or what?

Even though I increasingly just read the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel online, I'm still one of those types who favors the hard copy newspaper, displayed on my kitchen counter in the morning, while I drink a cup of coffee.

But I increasingly read it online. So, when my subscription expired recently, I didn't do anything about it for a couple weeks. Inevitably, I decided I missed having something to read with my coffee. So, I called the paper's circulation division and stated that I wanted to reorder the paper. I gave them my checking account information as payment. I still use their own credit union. Well, actually it just got bought out. But still. My checks still say 'Journal Credit Union.'

A week went by. Every morning, I would trudge up the icy steps to the mailbox. But no paper.

Annoyed when the Sunday paper wasn't there, either, I called them back a second time. They looked up my account and stated that they didn't know what I was talking about. No one had taken my order, the guy claimed!

Perturbed, and having to do something else at that moment, I told the guy to figure out what happened and call me back if they decided they wanted my business.

They never called back. So I've decided to forget them. I don't need the paper on my kitchen counter THAT badly. And by now I've gotten pretty used to not having it. I'll tell you what I won't do. Beg to get the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

These people really must be upset by their circulation declining.

30 years for a triple murder in Milwaukee

10 years per life.

McGee jailhouse interview; says father "implicated" on a tape

Michael McGee Jr. calls himself a "political prisoner". Channel 4 has the interview and, yes, the video.

He also says in the interview that his father was "implicated" on one of the federal tapes involving an alleged vote buying scheme. (This is new information. It comes right at the end of tape one)

McGee thinks there's too much secrecy shrouding his case. But his attorney asked the court to suppress evidence! Furthermore, DA John Chisholm has said in the past that he wanted the evidence released, but McGee's own attorney blocked it.

My take of the interview: No tough questions. The reporter pretty much just gave him open-ended softballs. "How do you feel about X, Y, and X..."

He claims he's being treated like a "Mafioso." Calls himself the "poster child for injustice" and compares himself to Michael Vick and Barry Bonds. He claims he's not going to enter a plea bargain.

You need a photo ID to write a letter from Santa...

... but not to vote?

Under Operation Santa, volunteers, or representatives of groups volunteering, such as a company, need to fill out an application and present government-issued picture identification such as a driver's license, to the postmaster, who will verify that the application and the ID match. (Source: Lake Country Reporter)

It's a strange world we live in.

Belling scoop

I hope other media outlets aggressively follow up on this Mark Belling scoop. A teacher at Hartland Arrowhead High School was chosen to do a federally funded "externship" - where teachers work at outside businesses - at the Waukesha County Democratic party. (after Belling found out about this, the district said the teacher's work won't be paid)

Here's the newsletter Belling refers to. Go to page 8. The teacher states the experience allowed her make contacts for potential class speakers. Great! Let's bring a few more Democrats into the classroom. There aren't enough of them in there already, right?

Terrorist inspirations?

Tim McVeigh, Oklahoma City bomber, had a copy of the Turner Diaries in his possession. Turner Diaries....

Profit Motive 101. According to the book Rads, Madison terrorist killer and bomber Karl Armstrong's "attention was focused on the MRC (bombed Army math research center) by a series of articles (Profit Motive 101) by Jim Rowen."

(Note: Jim Rowen is a Wisconsin liberal blogger and occasional columnist, former Milwaukee Journal reporter, and a former strategist for both then Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist and then Madison Mayor Paul Soglin.)

Yes, I know Profit Motive 101 didn't have the racist elements of Turner Diaries. I'm not alleging that. I'm also not alleging that Profit Motive 101 was a call for violence or advocated violence (it wasn't/didn't), although Rowen allegedly advocated militancy in a speech around the same time, and the college paper he wrote for did so as well. That's not my point.

Here's the similarity and reason for the comparison: Both were allegedly an anti-government inspiration for an anti-government terrorist attack that resulted in the loss of life.

At least a bomber wasn't released into the Turner Diaries' author's custody. That author didn't know bombers he influenced.

That's an honor reserved for Mr. Rowen.

Hmmm.

The missing Edwards' videos

I'm not going to comment on the John Edwards' allegations unless there's evidence they're true, and there's not evidence of that. It's grossly unfair for anyone to report damaging allegations of a candidate absent proof. If you don't know what I'm talking about, too bad.

But I do think the mysterious John Edwards' webepisodes, which reappeared on You Tube, are interesting. I find it interesting to see a somewhat more unfiltered view of the candidate. See the first episode below and the others here:

JB's right

Journal Sentinel:

Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said that he hopes a plea deal can be negotiated that will avoid the retrial of former Assembly Speaker Scott Jensen, whose three felony convictions for misconduct were overturned in November.

It's good to see Van Hollen taking a leadership role on this by putting some public pressure on DA Brian Blanchard. Let Jensen plead to a series of additional misdemeanors and be done with it. He'll be punished far more severely that way than any of the other legislators over the years who did the same thing and skated.

And, if DA Blanchard won't go along, I hope JB does pull Assistant AG Roy Korte from the case. Why put office resources into a retrial you don't agree should occur?

Britney's 16-year-old sister is pregnant

Good grief.

Rowen, Soglin, and the ghost of Leo Burt

On Dec. 3, I resurrected the ghost of accused Madison terrorist bomber and murderer Leo Burt in a posting entitled "Calcified radicals?" I noted:

Here's a truth about the Wisconsin Liberal blogosphere. With a few notable exceptions (Folkbum), I feel like I'm debating old '60s lefties who are stuck in the Sterling Hall era or criminal defense attorneys from Milwaukee. (The others are anonymous.)...Next thing you know, Leo Burt will have a blog.

Little did I know that the long missing Leo Burt would soon be back in the news after federal prosecutors revealed that they had asked for a person's fingerprints after a story about Burt appeared on America's Most Wanted.

This prompted at least one liberal blogger to outrageously call for the pardon of the indicted, accused terrorist murderer Leo Burt and other Vietnam era radicals (hat tip, Pat McIlheran). Why am I not surprised?

By the end of the day, prosecutors announced that the fingerprints didn't match Leo Burt after all.

Too bad. Leo Burt needs to be brought to justice and severely punished, if convicted. Furthermore, the trial of Leo Burt would have been a revealing spectacle, in part because of the bright light it would have cast on the Sterling Hall-era activities of some influential liberal Wisconsin bloggers, Jim Rowen and Paul Soglin. Especially Rowen.

One of the convicted bombers was released into Rowen's custody (while Rowen was in Soglin's employ), and Rowen's writings are widely believed to have influenced several members of the plot. Furthermore, he was part of a cabal of radicalized writers at the Daily Cardinal student newspaper who openly agitated for militancy leading up the bombing. Their co-workers at the paper? Paul Soglin, Leo Burt and a man convicted in the bombing, David Fine. And that's just scraping the surface.

Calling for the pardon of Leo Burt is the equivalent of calling for the pardon of Eric Rudolph or Tim McVeigh (a Madison newspaper article said the bomb used to demolish Sterling Hall and its Army Mathematics Research Center was similar to that used in Oklahoma City. Yes, the death toll was far smaller, yet the anti-government cause and tactic bear similarity) .

The Sterling Hall bombing in which Burt stands charged (and other bombers were convicted of perpetrating) killed a 33-year-old man by the name of Robert Fassnacht. Disturbingly, I haven't been able to find a picture of Mr. Fassnacht on the Web.

A few details about Robert Fassnacht from news articles at the time: He was a married father of three. He was a graduate student doing work in the building when the blast killed him. His son, Christopher, was three when his father died. Christopher went on to win a National Merit scholarship and was accepted into Harvard. Fassnacht also had twin daughters, Heidi and Karin. The blast also caused $2.5 million in damage and destroyed important research. It disgracefully took until last May for a memorial to be erected on behalf of the victim.

Back to Rowen and Soglin. Their UW-Madison campus radicalism is not breaking news. In fact, they've spoken about it freely, and they've even been featured in a documentary about it.

Still, I suspect that many have forgotten, or never knew, these details, so it's worth an educational tour back into radical history, if for no other reason but to remind you who makes up the liberal blogosphere in this state, especially when the bloggers start ranting about government, the war, President Bush, and terrorism.

Not all liberal bloggers are worth exposing, of course. For example, someone just emailed me the latest liberal blog attack on me. An anonymous liberal hate blog is now libelously claiming that I'm misrepresenting myself by terming myself a university "faculty member", which is a title the JMC department's chairman specifically told me that I was authorized to use before I used it. In fact, if these rocket scientists had bothered going on the department website, they'd see JMC labels all instructional staff part of faculty, including ad hocs, who are working journalists who teach 1 class. These guys might also remember that I am married to a lawyer. If they keep defaming me, there might come a day I decide enough's enough. For now, I don't find them relevant enough to take such a stance, and I only find out about their libel piecemeal from others.

So, I don't mean to overemphasize the influence of the liberal blogosphere. Frankly, most liberal bloggers fall into the above category. They aren't very good, they're silly, and they aren't widely read.

Soglin and Rowen are different. They are influential members of the liberal political intelligentsia in this state, perhaps in the top 5. They help frame public opinion both on the left and in the media.

Thus, it's important to explore who these men are, and the forces they have shaped. So, I've decided to spend some time on it. They've been elected to public office (Soglin) or worked for politicians (Rowen). Rowen was a Milwaukee Journal reporter and strategist for former Milwaukee Mayor John Norquist. Soglin's name was floated (not seriously) recently for UW Chancellor.

There is no evidence that either man knew anything about the Sterling Hall bombing plot in advance. I'm not alleging that.

However, if a conservative pundit or political strategist had influenced or been tied to, say, terrorist Eric Rudolph, do you think they would be treated as a "mainstream" influential pundit in this state? No. Do you think they'd be working at the Milwaukee Journal? No. Do you think they'd find jobs at City Hall? No. No. And No. They'd be political poison. Ties to liberal terrorists are apparently less shocking to the MSM and Democratic political establishment than ties to Tom DeLay and Jack Abramoff.

A book excerpt on the era describes Rowen's influence over the movement. A series of articles he penned called "Profit Motive 101" fueled the campus radicalism and its focus on the Sterling Hall Army Math Research Center.

When Cardinal reporter Jim Rowen wrote, in 1969, about secret research at the university which directly impacted the course of the Vietnam War, his revelations echoed across the country, inflaming an anti-war movement already engulfing college campuses. His stories were accounts of greedy university regents using public money for personal gain, funnelling thousands of dollars in business into their banks and secretly backing military research. Profit Motive 101's tales of abuse of power became the shame of the campus. The year after Rowen's stories were published, a group of radical young men — some of them members of the Cardinal staff — bombed the building where the Army research took place, killing a university researcher.

Another book, Rads, documented the specific influence of Rowen on Sterling Hall bomber Karl Armstrong:

Karl matriculated at Wisconsin in 1964 as an apolitical conservative, hoping to
major in nuclear engineering. Already at that time, the university community was
in social ferment. It was known as the "third coast" of social activism...A self-proclaimed pacifist, he came to conclude that only violence would make the country peaceful. His attention was focused on the MRC by a series of articles by Jim
Rowen (George McGovern's son-in-law) in the Daily Cardinal, the (radical) campus paper, abetted by an English instructor, David Siff, soon to be fired. These articles laid out the MRC's association with the Army. Founded in the mid-1950s, the MRC was the Army's think tank, allowing it to tap the expertise of academic mathematicians. Ironically, aside from political factors, Wisconsin had been chosen as the site because the Army felt it would more immune to attack.

(Soglin wrote for the Daily Cardinal too; he's been described as a self-styled radical columnist who was becoming increasingly prominent in the campus anti-war movement). The accused bombers/terrorists were not merely passive readers of the paper.

Leo Burt and David Sylvan Fine (more on his Rowen ties in a minute), who was later convicted in the terrorist bombing, also wrote for the Cardinal during that time. According to a decision from the Oregon State Bar later denying Fine admission years after he'd been released from prison:

Applicant (Fine) was admitted to the University of Wisconsin at Madison, Wisconsin, in the fall of 1969. Applicant chose the school because of the journalism program
and because there was an active anti-war movement at the school...His outside
activities involved becoming a reporter on the university's daily newspaper, The
Daily Cardinal. In the spring of 1970 he became a night editor for the paper. As
a member of the editorial staff, applicant supported editorial opinions which
condoned the use of violence. He wrote an editorial in or about April 1970 in
The Daily Cardinal, entitled "By Any Means Necessary," which condoned various
forms of violence by "revolutionaries," including kidnapping and murder....
During this time applicant became acquainted with a Leo Burt, another writer for The Daily Cardinal. In early August 1970, applicant was approached by Mr. Burt and asked to become a participant in the bombing of the United States Army Math Research Center (Math Center), which was located on the University of Wisconsin campus.

Fine's role in the terrorist act, according to the document, which also says he wrote articles taking responsibility for it and defending it:

At 3:41 a.m., applicant called the Madison Police Department and made the following statement: Okay, Pig, listen good. There is a bomb at the Army Math Research Center, University, and it is going up in five minutes. Get everyone out of there and clear the area, warn [***10] the hospital. I am not bull-shitting, get everyone out of there now."

Like Burt and Armstrong, Fine became a fugitive. However, he was captured, convicted, and imprisoned several years later. According to a document in the University of Wisconsin collection, Fine was released into the custody of one Jim Rowen, assistant to then Mayor Paul Soglin. The act was criticized by the Milwaukee Sentinel.

... after five years under- ground, David Sylvan Fine was arrested in San Rafael, California for alleged involvement in the 1970 bombing of the campus Army Math Research Center in Sterling Hall. Federal charges against him are: destruction of government property, sabotage, conspiracy, possession and the use of a destructive device, and unlawful flight to avoid prosecution. The State of Wisconsin charges him with murder (a graduate student was killed in the explosion), damage to property by explosives, possession of explosives, and arson. Fine was placed under $1-million bail by a federal judge in California and brought back to Madison. Here the bail was reduced to $50,000 by Federal Magistrate Barbara Brandriff Crabb '60, and Fine was released to the custody of James E. Rowen '67. The fact that Rowen is an administrative assistant to Mayor Paul Soglin' 66 caused a spate of controversy in letters-to-editors. Both Rowen and Soglin were noticeably left of center during their student days, and opposition to their entrance into the case was focalized in a Milwaukee Sentinel editorial: ". . . Reducing bail to the point where it is no longer commensurate with the magnitude of the crime charged, and then creating the opportunity for Fine to be placed in the custody of a former colleague-whose boss also happens to have been active in the antiwar movement-smacks of excessive leniency." On the campus, disputes arose when The Daily Cardinal announced that its board had voted to give $5000 toward Fine's defense fund, because"(He) is being tried by the government against which his antiwar activities were directed. . . . Only with the strong monetary and political support of the community can his efforts to secure a fair trial succeed."

Can you imagine Eric Rudolph being released into the custody of a mayor's assistant when both the mayor and assistant had been heavily involved in the underlying cause?

In 1973, just three years after the bombing of the Army Mathematics Research Center, Mayor Soglin took a public stand against.... big surprise... the Army Mathematics Research Center.

At a news conference he hosted to announce an anti AMRC book, Soglin was asked about the connection between the news conference and the then upcoming trial of bomber Karleton Armstrong, who also had since been apprehended. Soglin replied,

"I think we're just going to keep the answers to AMRC. I had a legal relationship with his counselor. (Atty. Melvin Greenberg, formerly Soglin's law partner). The information I have is obviously privileged, and I'm not going to discuss the matter at all.

Soglin's assistant at the time was Jim Rowen. Rowen, the news article noted, had written anti-AMRC papers.

To say the least.

A history of the UW System documents in great detail the violent advocacy of the Daily Cardinal radical writers.

At great length, it also discusses a campus radical group, SDS, identifying Rowen as a member. Some of the SDS members were becoming increasingly radicalized and embraced the violent tactics of the national SDS-affiliated Weathermen group, according to the historical account. This faction started being responsible for "window-smashing and trashing" and, notes the history, the editors of the Daily Cardinal increasingly began to accept these tactics as "legitimate weapons."

The book notes that the Madison protests in the year leading up to the Sterling Hall bombing were distinguished by their "violent and disruptive character, and the justification, if not active participation by many students and by the increasingly radical Daily Cardinal." Around that time, Rowen published what the history calls his "series of polemical articles" attacking the AMRC and the military industrial complex (Profit Motive 101). The research was published in a pamphlet distributed at SDS rallies, according to the book.

At a packed rally on the war, Jim Rowen spoke to thousands, stating,

"It is up to you - the people - in this community, primarily the students and
faculty, each and every day to militantly confront the warmakers and their cohorts on this campus."

The Cardinal editors agreed, saying the Army research centers were "intolerable". Leo Burt penned an article for the paper decrying Vietnam and demanding an "end to the empire."

Karl Armstrong, later convicted in the Sterling Hall terrorist attack, was becoming increasingly radicalized at this same time on campus, and he perpetrated several firebombings, including the tossing of a burning gasoline-filled jar into a building used by ROTC.

The Daily Cardinal editorialized its support, applauding the action, and stating that "the immobile and repressive position taken by this nation can only be countered head on in the streets with bombs and guns." The book says this was the first "endorsement of terrorism" by a college student newspaper, and it received national attention. SDS also endorsed the bombings.

The next protest was against GE, supported by the Cardinal and organized by SDS. The protesters smashed windows and sprayed graffiti, some of it with the name of Armstrong's supposed gang.

Cardinal columnist Rowen, notes the history, "exulted" over this, writing: "Combining understanding and action, students hit their precisely defined oppressors harder and longer than ever before in this city - and that is revolutionary."

The GE violence also "inspired" Karl Armstrong further. He decided to strike a gunpowder plant.

A woman who was a member of the Communist Party became the editor of the Cardinal shortly before Sterling Hall was bombed. The history states that she had "allied herself with Jim Rowen" at the paper. On April 17, 1970 the Cardinal urged "students to the streets." They rampaged down state street, actions praised in part by the Cardinal, which noted, "The moment must be chosen carefully."

One of the reporters covering the "protest"? Leo Burt. He was the paper's "SDS expert."

Students started firebombing the homes of faculty and buildings around campus. The Daily Cardinal "applauded" the firebombings. A regent called the Cardinal a "revolutionary instruction sheet."

The militancy escalated. Another campus newspaper, an underground paper, starting printing directions for making bombs. Armstrong recruited Burt for the Sterling Hall plot, and Burt allegedly recruited fellow reporter David Fine, described by the book as "a young Cardinal reporter whose role model at the paper was the fiery activist Jim Rowen."

After the bombing, the Cardinal "declined to judge" Burt and Fine, its staffers, writing, "we are with Leo and David now because they are people we care for very deeply and know very well..." But the bombing gutted the anti-war militancy on campus.

I found all of this in a relatively quick search.Thus, I am sure it only scrapes the surface. The fact it's so well known and so uncontroversial says something by itself. Wisconsin: Meet your liberal blogosphere. Meet the Democratic intellectual elite. And we wonder why they are so hateful of government and authority and are so weak on terrorists? It's all in the history.

So, yes, Leo Burt, come out wherever you are. We'd love to know what you have to add.

Imagine this in reverse

Just imagine: A class project encouraging students to role play being Minutemen. They could go to a hardware store and purchase bricks. They could apply for jobs, only to realize they've lost the jobs to cheaper illegal immigrant labor. That would be educational. (Note: Don't phony soldier me. I'm being sarcastic, not serious.)

POWELL -- The students had a role-play project: assume a Latino identity, build an imaginary life in your home country and develop a workable plan to immigrate to the United States. Try it legally, Erica Vieyra told her 40 senior Spanish students at Olentangy Liberty High School. Fill out the correct documents, follow the proper steps. And then, after they spent days completing the actual paperwork from the U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services, she took out her red ink pad and stamped a big, fat DENIED across every request.

Now, she told the students, come illegally. Forge your documents, find a way across the border. Then, research real ads and find a place to live in Columbus. Figure out what it would cost, how to get food. Plan how to survive.The students had to go to real businesses and ask for Spanish-language job applications. They had to visit a bank and ask for new-account documents written in Spanish.Vieyra promised them that the process -- even in make-believe -- would frustrate them.

Hat tip, Michelle Malkin.

Did she encourage them to get false social security numbers too? By the way, being in this country in violation of our laws SHOULD be frustrating or our laws are meaningless. See how "frustrating" it is trying to move to any other country in violation of THEIR laws.

Can you imagine any other class in which a teacher would instruct her students to role play illegal behavior, and the MSM would write a puffy feature story about it? Maybe they can role play being drug dealers next. Or shoplifters. See how frustrating that is.

Whitnall owes the public an answer

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that the Whitnall School Board has "tabled" the superintendent's early retirement and extra cash request. They added:

The board and superintendent also refused to address the reported security
concern that has prompted Petric's decision to retire. In a document provided to
the board last week, Petric cited as her reason for departure "a serious safety
and security issue in the District that impacts all students and staff and
particularly the Superintendent."

If it "impacts all students and staff," then they have an obligation to address it. If it doesn't impact all students and staff, then why did the superintendent tell the board it does in her attempt to get more money?

At least the police are talking:

Greenfield Police reported today that students and staff at Whitnall Schools face no security threat, despite the superintendent's recent disclosure that a "serious safety and security issue" prompted her decision to seek early retirement.

So maybe the board and superintendent now need to address whether she exaggerated to get money out of the taxpayers.

Non-chickens in the liberal blogosphere

Well, Folkbum and Soglin declined my invite and said they can't do an end-of-the-year show because of their holiday schedules. I take that at face value. Jay will be on a plane, for example. In fact the invites stand for future occasion. I would sincerely like to make this happen. I think it would be interesting. Unlike "Tim Rock" and Xoff, both were very respectful in their communication, which doesn't surprise me. That's why I invited them in the first place. That's how they are.

I will be inviting conservatives on instead, but I won't be playing chickens for Soglin or Folkbum. That honor is reserved for Xoff alone. Although, frankly, he's not worth the energy it would take to find the soundbite, so forget him.

I'll keep you updated on the conservative roundtable.

Update: I might postpone this until after Christmas.

Hillary's looks

Both Drudge and Limbaugh (in the guise of criticizing American "culture") are going after Hillary's appearance.

This is out of line. Why doesn't Drudge post pictures of a haggard looking John McCain? You could find a bad picture of any of the candidates if you look hard and long enough.

I don't support Hillary philosophically, but I believe such commentary is over the top, irrelevant, and arguably sexist. Move on.

Dexter finale

Season finale tonight - great ending. Can't wait until next season.

Any other fans out there?