The guards had made us dump all liquids, just like at the airport (though it was even more ludicrous in this situation). After sitting in the heat for a while, I reluctantly got in line to pay $3.00 for a bottle of water, which the vendor insisted on pouring into a cup.

Then I asked for some ice. “No,” I was told. “Security reasons.”

Security reasons?!? What possible threat could crushed ice in the water they’d just poured me pose to Obama? Even with C. C. Sabathia‘s arm, I don’t think I could have hit him with a fragment. Were they afraid I’d lurk in waiting and stuff ice down his shirt?

We’ve become sheep. People tell us something is for security and we passively accept it. Maybe that’s why there’s been next to no MSM coverage of the police-state repression tactics being used in Minneapolis/St. Paul.

This isn’t the first time Intel has taken liberties. Recently they decided to settle out of court with Transmeta, a small players in the chip business. Transmeta, which trailblazed a microchip that runs faster at a cooler temperature, saw its stock tumble as it waged its David vs Goliath battle. $250 Million, the settlement amount, is a pittance compared to the profits Intel raked in and will now continue to rake in from the Transmeta technlogy.

But the case with UW is much different. That’s a case where Wisconsin taxpayers are ending up getting the shaft from Intel. Wisconsin taxpayers supplement the UW system and when breakthroughs are made that can make much needed money, those funds can offset what taxpayers have to put into the system.

Taxpayers should be enraged.

###
This is a story we fully expect to be buried by the media.

Somehow,this news wasn’t released via ‘press release’ from the sheriff’s office. This is just another example of how Sheriff David Clarke protects his correctional officers. Unfortunately he treats his deputies as scapegoats.

The CO is being held in Waukesha’s county jail on ten thousand dollars cash bail.

Case 1: off duty deputy solicits an undercover MPD officer for sex, gets arrested. This is a misdemeanor violation of the law.

Case 2: Deputies confiscate a ‘ton’ of drugs from a car on the freeway (Clarke makes a great press conference out of it) Same officers illegally enter and search a home related to the drug bust (their sergeant knows about it). Officers then write less than honest reports about incident.
This is a clear cut violation of Civil Rights and it tainted the whole case. Officers were not allowed to testify in court and the bad guys got off.

Case 3: Deputy does not notify supervisor about a packet of paperwork that needs verification of terms from a court that is closed for the weekend. (Note, it is not departmental policy to notify the supervisor.) However, the deputy did notify the next shift during debriefing (which IS policy). Paperwork is about an inmates release date and only the court can verify the terms…court opens Monday. No policies were violated.

Case 4- A Deputy calls in sick three times in one year. Although CONTRACTUAL agreement states a deputy is allowed 3 sick occurrences, Clarke has taken it upon himself to CHANGE the contract to making the 2nd sick day a write up and the third an internal affairs case. While this is not a violation of the deputy contract, it is now Clarke’s new policy

Now the fun part, the interactive portion of my story.. you get to pick the discipline each case received. Remember two of these people violated the LAW, one violated a new policy that violates the deputies contract with the county and the fourth didn’t actually violate any policy.

Discipline issued to the four cases:

A- a three (3) day suspension (stays in personnel file)
B- a one (1-5) day(s) suspension (stays in personnel file)
C- a seven (10) day suspension and transfer to the jail (although not for discipline because Clarke says the jail isn’t for disciplining deputies!?) and stays in personnel file
D- a six (6) month probation period/ written reprimand and transfer to the jail( see above comment) to include removal of the reprimand after the 6 month probation period.

Scroll down a bit for the answers.

Here was the discipline that Clarke handed out.
Case 1-C
case 2-D
case 3 A
case 4-B

Is there logic here? Deputies are sworn to uphold the law and yet under Clarke, if you violate state law and disregard the civil rights of the citizens you’re going to get a hand slapping. However, if you violate a precious departmental policy and “Hell hath no fury like a David Clarke scorned.”

The saddest part about this whole story is that internal affairs doesn’t even have to have proof you did anything wrong… that’s right… all they need is a suspicion. Numerous cases have been given discipline WITHOUT proving guilt. Isn’t that the craziest thing you’ve heard coming from a law enforcement agency?

Publishers Note: It is not the policy of Watchdog Milwaukee to permit anonymous postings. However, when there is clearly a likelihood that there will be personal ramifications, we will protect the identity of our contributing writers. Since Sheriff David Clarke has shown a clear pattern of vindictive behavior against those who do not subscribe to his political philosophies and motivations, we are sure that Clarke would take action against any deputy or member of a deputy’s family should their identity be compromised. That being said, several sources have come forward to us now and in the past to request we expose some of these problems within the department. Since the corporate media has chosen to give Clarke a pass on his egregious behavior and thereby failed in their duties as a watchdog, we are taking the opportunity to do what they should have done in the first place — bring to light a story which has long been kept from the public. The man who inspired Watchdog Milwaukee, legendary news man Edward R. Murrow, would have wanted nothing less.

The poll, conducted for OWN by Abacus Associates, a national survey research firm, asked 718 likely Wisconsin voters to list the top two issues demanding action from government. Nearly half (45%) ranked health care as number one or two, with health care the top priority for most.

The poll found taxes to be the second-most cited concern (34%), followed by the economy and jobs (34%) and education (31%).

“Health Care reform is on the ballot this November,” said OWN Director John Kraus in a press release. “This survey of public opinion shows that health care reform is a top priority for voters, and they want it to be a top priority for state government.”

But do the campaigns get it? The OWN poll found that more than half of likely voters (53%) are "dissatisfied" with how much they are hearing in these elections about health care reform. Only 35% said they thought they had "the right amount" of information.

Wisconsin health care costs have hyper-inflated 75 percent since 2000, making the state one of the most expensive in the nation to buy health insurance. Yet the race for governor has focused on sleaze and scandal — fair play in campaign funding, corruption, pay-to-play contracting and special interests. This week, jobs and the economy took center stage.

Rather than blame the campaigns, OWN pins the responsibility on the media.

“When a majority of voters say that their top issue has received too little attention, it brings into question the media’s focus and coverage of the election,” Kraus said.

Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is also criticizing state TV news and its vaccum of political coverage even as news programming is framed by negative political ads. Media, in turn, blames the mudslinging machines set to full throttle by the campaigns.

OWN's health care/blame-the-media press release was largely ignored by media Tuesday (Journal Sentinel posted a brief on its All Politics Watch minus the blame angle). When OWN repackaged its media release the next day to reveal that their poll put Doyle in front of Green 47% to 41%, they fared no better in Milwaukee. Another All Politics brief.

On the streets today, the Journal Sentinel main does feature a story on polling, but talks about the new Wisconsin Public Radio/St. Norbert's College poll, which puts Doyle up 51% – 38%. That poll is contrasted with the Wall Street Journal/Zogby online poll, which has Doyle in the lead 47.4% – 45.6%. There is no mention of the OWN poll.

One Wisconsin Now is a relatively new organization, formed in the last year to rebuild Wisconsin's progressive traditions, its mission to help connect the state's progressive nonprofit groups and their goals to issues and policy, to candidates and the voting public. OWN's conclusion on media may be misguided, but in its first major poll, they've proven much more compelling than the usual polling suspects that media turns to: the notoriously Left Public Radio/St. Norbert's or the notoriously Right Wisconsin Policy Research Institute (WPRI). OWN's polling is scientific, comprehensive and well worth a look.

Did you know that voters in the Milwaukee media market are much tougher on Gov. Jim Doyle than voters in markets in the rest of the state (jobs and the economy and media)? Or that nearly 60 percent of undecided voters in the state think health care is receiving short shrift in the governor's race?

Interesting stuff. And, with election day less than three weeks away, a potential wake up call for the Doyle and Green campaigns.

Also conspicuously absent from the ads running for Republican J.B. Van Hollen and Democrats Kathleen Falk and Peg Lautenschlager is any mention of the methamphetamine epidemic that has swept Wisconsin in the last few years.  Western counties have been hardest hit, and meth has run rampant in the Fon du Lac area and other corners of the state.  AG Lautenschlager has focused law enforcement resources on the epidemic, yet, still, meth use continues to rise.

So why is AG Lautenschlager boasting an decrease in meth lab busts this year, after those busts soared in the previous three years? And with meth on the rise, she touts a 30 percent decrease in meth cases.

It doesn't add up, a problem for any AG who's asking for a second term — and it has not escaped notice.  The Kathleen Falk campaign issued in August a detailed, well-researched position statement on "Fighting Meth," presenting a comprehensive approach to the problem.  

The Falk plan involves bringing federal resources to bear by declaring western Wisconsin a High Intensity Drug Trafficking area, and treating the epidemic as a public health problem by setting up treatment systems through the courts. It's a revolutionary approach in Wisconsin still, despite years of proven success with Day Reporting Centers and other incarceration alternatives which have reduced criminal justice costs by reducing the recidivism that drives costs. The Falk plan deserves a serious look as both a law enforcement and public health plan.

Unfortunately, media didn't bite on the issue, and neither have the campaign handlers, loaded with ample arsenal to attack Lautenschlager without looking at her anti-meth program. As the Falk position piece points out, cracking down on meth labs doesn't address the fact that most of the meth is now being imported into the state.

AG Lautenschlager, it should be pointed out, is telling only half the meth story on her campaign website. While this may have escaped notice from most campaign watchers, it did not escape notice from law enforcement in western Wisconsin, where meth flows across the Minnesota border.  They're endorsing Kathleen Falk.

Polk County DA Karen Olsen and Iowa County DA Larry Nelson announced they were supporting Falk in early August, joining Kenosha County DA Bob Zapf and others who say they want a more serious approach from the AG.  Here's what Polk County DA Olsen said when endorsing Falk:

"Wisconsin is facing serious issues, and we need serious people to address them. I look forward to working closely with Kathleen on the issues that are important to me – and other district attorneys – fixing the rising meth problem, putting a stop to growing violence in our communities, and fixing the backlog at the crime lab."

And seriously now, this race may never have been as close as Lautenschlager's friends in Madison seemed to have thought it was.

This is the 3rd mailing I have (unfortunately) gotten at my house.  All three of them share one unique trait–lots of inspiring quotes, attributed to no one.   

Here is one of the more recent spouts:

In these times of excessive budgets, it's refreshing to have a sheriff who can stay within budget and still make substantial improvements.  Clarke is just such a guy.

Who said that??? 

Certainly no one who has heard of Clarke's $600,000 request to redecorate his office!  No one who has had an accident on the freeway system and had to wait and wait and wait for a deputy to arrive, because they have been redirected to duplicate MPD's efforts while leaving our freeways largely unpatrolled.  [On a side note, is it just me or are we seeing a LOT more Milwaukee County squads on the freeways in these last weeks before the election?  Coincidence? You decide.]

Here's another one: 

Let's not forget that David Clarke was a beat cop in Milwaukee for 11 years so he knows about crime in the neighborhoods.  I think that's why he put crime fighting back in the daily schedules of his deputies.

Again, who said that?? 

Yes, Clarke was a beat cop, and his motto was "I don't drive, I don't write and I don't get involved."  I am told he was fond of patrolling the former Northridge Mall with his head shaved into a Mohawk and wearing bright blue contact lenses.  While we're on the subject of not forgetting, let's not forget that Chief Harold Brier actually fired him in 1983, during those 11 years as a beat cop.  THAT'S something to be proud of!

How about this one: 

A leader for change.

According to whom??  He has changed a lot at the MCSO, most notably deputy morale.  Clarke's postcard states that he believes he has "respect.  Respect for the people I serve . . . "  What??  What about the deputies themselves?  A hallmark of good leadership is respecting your subordinates, and putting their needs first.  A true leader gives credit for success to his or her team and takes the blame for what goes wrong.  Without the respect for and of people you lead, any respect for any other group is meaningless.  Clarke has demonstrated again and again the lack of respect he has for the men and women of his department, calling them "headless nails" and blaming individual deputies for things that go wrong, sometimes even before having all the facts.  Yet whatever they do well, Clarke credits his own "leadership".  Heaven forbid Clarke could be responsible for any error, yet thanks to the mainstream media, we're lead to believe that he is the Savior of the County, riding his white horse into battle against crime every day. 

All I can think when I read these unattributed quotes is that these must be the voices in Clarke's head, telling him how great he is.  Then again, it could be the flunkies he has surrounded himself with, who are so in fear of losing their jobs that they will of course tell the Emperor how great his new clothes look, regardless of the reality.  But with no names on the quotes, and not one single name on the list of supporters that is recognizable, it's hard to tell where the line between reality and Clarke's fantasies begins.

Looking through the list of names of "supporters" there are noticeable absences.  There is not one single law enforcement organization, not a single labor union, no associations, no public officials, and no groups of any kind endorsing Clarke for reelection.  The Democratic Party altered its own bylaws to endorse Bobot in the primary, something they have never done before.  Not too surprising, as Clarke is really a Republican wearing an ill-fitting "Democrat" mask.  It is really easy to see through, and fortunately the associations, the unions, the public officials, all have seen the truth.  Let's hope the voters do, too.

Too bad Clarke cannot put the truth on his campaign literature, because the truth WILL hurt.  As the late, great Johnny Cash sang, "Go tell that long-tongued liar . . . you can run on for a long time, but sooner or later God'll cut you down."  Let's pray that the voters do the cutting next week.

Clarke wants $600,000 to remodel his office.  Having just gotten a sticker shock quote of $25,000 to remodel my kitchen, I'm left wondering, is Clarke including gold doorknobs?  Will he be having a replica of DiVinci's fresco in the Sistine Chapel painted on his ceiling?  Is he jetting in the Fab 5 to give him a makeover?

There are actually a few things he's doing to the administrative area, including making one conference room into a smaller meeting room and convertng a locker room to storage space (as if stored boxes would be insulted by the smell of 20-year-old lockers).  All the same, the price tag is steep and Clarke already knows the county is strapped for cash.

With that in mind, you have to wonder why he would be so brazen as to put in a request for unnecessary spending so he can feel pretty.

Today we add a new category "Buried by the Media" which will highlight issues that the mainstream media specifically knew about but chose not to report on.  We're hopeful that they would begin to cover issues like this but due to some extreme bias in some of the news rooms, we're not going to hold our breath.

There was a time in this town when news was reported.  That time was when there was still both a Milwaukee Sentinel, which was published in the morning, and there was a Milwaukee Journal which was the afternoon daily.  With the merger of those two papers, some argued that it would be a better paper which informed people of more interesting issues. 

Sadly, the opposite has happened. 

This trend was in full swing even back in 1996 when I talked to former Supervisor, now Alderman Tony Zielinski.  Zielinski said that he found it nearly impossible to get coverage for some of the initiatives that he was working on but he was elected before the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel was just one paper and if he had a story, the two papers would compete to see who would get the scoop.  Now admittedly, Zielinski is a bit of a press hound but the fact is that even some of his more eccentric initiatives made it to print.  His constituents and the rest of the newspaper readers were better served because they were better informed of what Zielinski was doing.  Whether his efforts earned him praise or criticism was irrelevant — his constituents knew he was doing something versus todays climate where it seems that if you have a buddy in the new editing room, a criticism can be buried and praise can be pumped.  What has been passing for good news editing has been the low quality sludge that we've seen recently.  It is no more good editing than there was good advice coming from the pumpers in the movie Boiler Room.

As an example — have you heard criticism heaped upon Republican Mark Green for all of his multiple connections to the dirty money he pulled in from embattled Congressman Tom Delay or even the money Green has gotten from Republican lobbyist and convicted felon Jack Abramoff?  Clearly not.  Have you noticed how anytime a Republican alledges a scandal about Democratic Governor Jim Doyle, even if it's just made up and the claim has no merit, it makes the front page yet the news editors have bought into Green's bogus argument that he doesn't oppose stem cells despite a solid record of opposing stem cell research?  The MJS even had one of their own, Ken Lamke, go on the Republican shill Mark Belling show and say that it was Doyle, not Green, who was being dishonest about stem cells when Lamke knows full well that Green has split hairs by saying he only opposes embryonic stem cells while all the time he's been voting against stem cell research.

What about Sheriff David Clarke's decision to wear a gun while bartending, his $600,000 remodeling of his office (and they call this guy a conservative?) or his campaign signs that didn't even have a political disclaimer pointing out who paid for the advertising. 

Hard cutting stories which select scoundrels wouldn't want covered have gotten buried.  We're willing to unbury them. Now if we only had a fraction of the staff or even a fraction of the resources Milwaukee's mainstream media has, we could really clean up the near scandalous reporting, or more accurately, lack of reporting, that has been happening in our media market.