John McCain said Monday that to win the White House he must convince a war-weary country that U.S. policy in Iraq is succeeding. If he can’t, “then I lose. I lose,” the Republican said.
He quickly backed off that remark.
“Let me not put it that stark,” the likely GOP nominee told reporters on his campaign bus. “Let me just put it this way: Americans will judge my candidacy first and foremost on how they believe I can lead the country both from our economy and for national security. Obviously, Iraq will play a role in their judgment of my ability to handle national security.”
“If I may, I’d like to retract ‘I’ll lose.’ But I don’t think there’s any doubt that how they judge Iraq will have a direct relation to their judgment of me, my support of the surge,” McCain added. “Clearly, I am tied to it to a large degree.”

Reported by Liz Sidoti AP Writer Rocky River, Ohio Feb. 25, 2008 speaking with reporters after a town hall meeting in Cleveland, Ohio

Flip-flop…

Yet earlier in that town hall-style meeting in Cleveland, in this same report, McCain accused Democrats of distorting his earlier comment when he said that he supported the U.S. staying in Iraq militarily for 100 years (this was after he was asked from a member of the audience if the U.S. might be staying in Iraq for 50 years.)

This time, he said “The war will be over soon, the war for all intents and purposes, although the insurgency will go on for years and years and years. But it will be handled by the Iraqis, not by us.”

Does any of that sound familiar? … perhaps an echo of comments made by Bush, Cheney, Wolfowitz and others in the Bush Administration?

“Mission Accomplished”, “The war will be over in weeks, not months”, “The insurgency is in its last throes”, “The war will cost less than $50 Billion and most of it will be paid for by Iraqi oil revenues.” “We’re only going to stay as long as it takes to train the Iraqi troops to take over.”

We’ve heard this fiction before.

These are the same lies that are being repackaged for a hopeful but naïve public who believe that because John McCain has a war record (having been shot down and held in a Vietnamese prison camp, and tortured for years until he signed statements repudiating the U.S. for our involvement in the war.)

Flip-flop…

This is the same John McCain who spoke out against water boarding as real torture, until he wanted to get Mitt Romney’s endorsement, and then changed his position on it, claiming it really wasn’t torture anymore. Now, I don’t blame McCain for giving in to the Vietnamese torture, it was understandable that he would finally break, but he broke on the issue of water boarding as torture far faster and easier in order to get Mitt Romney’s endorsement. There’s nothing showing him standing up for any principles here.

Flip-flop…

This is the same John McCain, who has repeatedly spoken out against the Bush Administration policies and tactics in the war in Iraq, but in March 2006, retooled his campaign, building it out with members of the Bush circle, (and in exchange, McCain has thrown his support behind Bush’s policies). In addition, this retooling is basing McCain’s pitch on the notion that he is the only sensible, elect-able and competent commander who can take control of the war on terror. (This is the same argument that Hillary is trying to make – that she is the only one with the experience, is elect-able and can be commander in chief on day one. Obama says that he was the only one among them with the judgment to say that we shouldn’t go into Iraq and that we were going into Iraq for all the wrong reasons. You can decide who is leading us in the right direction.)

But how is supporting and continuing a war which is fast approaching
• 4,000 dead U.S. Servicemen and women, along with
• almost 30,000 wounded U.S. Servicemen and women, and 600,000 dead Iraqis,
• with a price tag to the American Taxpayer fast approaching $1Trillion dollars,
• with about one and a half times that amount in costs for continued medical care for our wounded veterans in the years to come, and the cost to rebuild our army and National Guard, as well as to replace all of the equipment that was destroyed in Iraq….

….How does that qualify McCain to be commander in chief?

With all of the economic problems that we are having here at home, with an economic outlook that even Fed Chief Ben Bernanke calls “grim”. (Bush still doesn’t have a clue, and hadn’t even heard analyst predictions of $4.00 a gallon gasoline by this spring. And, Friday March 1st, the stock market took another dump, dropping 315 points, the second time this year that the stock market took such a large hit.)

With the stock market continuing to tank; and with a home mortgage crisis causing millions of families to lose their homes; with all the jobs that are continuing to be shipped overseas; and corporations going offshore so that they don’t have to pay any U.S. taxes…

….and with John McCain himself admitting that he doesn’t know anything about economics…..

….how does John McCain, as the self-proclaimed, “best candidate to be commander in chief”, propose to pay for all of his continued war time spending over the next 100 years, when the current commander in chief has not paid for any of his $750 Billion from the past five years? Yes, that’s right, while it has been budgeted for and approved by Congress, (not in the actual annual federal budget, but as separate appropriations, so that it doesn’t show you what we are really racking up in Federal DEBT), it has not been paid for. According to George W. Bush, that is for future presidents and future generations to figure out and pay for. And that is what John McCain is proposing. Just MORE OF THE SAME.

Yes – John McCain – More of the Same; Just Like Bush, Only Older.

Our government just racks up more debt and prints out more worthless greenbacks to pay for things they don’t have any assets to pay for, so the value of the dollar continues to drop and consumer prices continue to increase.

To get a better idea of how the Iraq War is actually being fought and how it puts hundreds of billions of dollars of profits from no-bid contracts into Bush and Republican Party donors’ pockets, voters need to see the evidence of rigged war profiteering scams.

They need to see that, rather than there being any real effort to actually win this war, the collusion between corrupt politicians and greedy CEOs have turned the Iraq War into a feeding trough for them to drain the U.S. Treasury and keep U.S. Taxpayers in debt for the next several generations.

There is a documentary by Robert Greenwald, titled, “Iraq For Sale: The War Profiteers”, which documents with interviews of former employees of Halliburton, KBR, Titan, CACI, Blackwater, and other right wing businesses who have profited by their sweetheart, no-bid contracts with the Bush Administration. These were people who were staunch Republicans, who supported the war and supported Republicans, until they saw what was really going on in Iraq. It also interviews soldiers who have witnessed fraudulent billing going on by companies who are ripping off U.S. taxpayers, and putting the lives of civilian contractors and our U.S. military at risk all in the name of the almighty dollar.

http://gobnf.org/i/ifs/ifs_quotes.jpg (Poster from Iraq for Sale with comments from movie reviewers.)

Not only does it document how a contractor billed the U.S. government for cleaning water to make it potable for use by our servicemen and women, but didn’t treat the water AT ALL, but it also showed how the rank and file servicemen and civilian contractors were repeatedly told to keep their mouths shut about it.

It also shows votes in the U.S. Congress where Democrats repeatedly attempted to hold military contractors accountable for their malfeasance, and fraudulent billing for services that they did not provide, but which Republicans in Congress REPEATEDLY BLOCKED. Even when Democrats reduced their demands to only prevent companies from being awarded contracts when they had been shown to over bill the U.S. Taxpayers by MORE THAN $100 Million Dollars, the Republican side VOTED AGAINST IT.

The war has been going on now for five years longer than what the Bush Administration told us it would take to “win” the war, and has cost 15 times more than what they told us it would cost, yet Republicans in Congress and even Bush supporters across the country refuse to question why?! They refuse to allow an investigation into the conduct of the war. They refuse to allow a proper investigation into the budget overages and the continued escalation in costs. They refuse to allow proper investigations into rampant fraud on the part of contractors and Pentagon officials and they refuse to allow proper investigations into whether or not contractors are actually supplying what they claim they are supplying.

If YOU were charged 15 times more than you were quoted, for a job that you asked to be done, and it took 5 years longer than what you were told it would take, wouldn’t you want to know why? Wouldn’t you want to know if there was a better way to do the job, so that it wouldn’t take so long, or cost so much? And wouldn’t you want to fire those responsible for their incompetence?

Obviously, the Republican members of Congress don’t want you to know, and are refusing to ask the questions.

Several of the Congressmen and Senators who were shown in the documentary, supporting the award of contracts to companies who massively over billed the U.S. Taxpayers, have since decided not to run for re-election.

You can see trailers from the film or buy the film online from:
store.bravenewfilms.org/ifsdvd06.php

I would encourage anyone who hasn’t see the film, particularly if you are a Republican who actually believes what the Bush Administration and McCain campaign are telling you, to see the film for yourself and then make up your own mind about what is happening.

Forget for once the differences between Democrats and Republicans. If you see this evidence – and it is damning, you should be furious as an AMERICAN.

Corporate lobbyists who control the quality and flow of goods and services which are vitally needed by our fighting men and women, are putting our military behind their profits, and clearly Republicans in Congress and in the Bush Administration are supporting the War Profiteers, not the troops.

Flip-flop…

Yet John McCain, this self-proclaimed “maverick”, who claims to be different and unaffected by lobbyists, has forty or fifty campaign staffers who are….lobbyists!

McCain has promised that he will continue this war in Iraq, and you can bet that with his new found appreciation for the Bush circle of friends who are supporting his campaign, that he and his lobbyist staffers will continue to show their appreciation, the way they always have, to their donors.

More information on the 5th CD DPW fundraiser and DVD distribution follows:

I would encourage activists to get as many copies of this film as possible into the hands of as many people as possible so that they can see for themselves what is happening.
Share this with your friends, neighbors and relatives. Organize large viewings and discussions of the film so that people can start to understand what is at stake and what they can do to take action.

The 5th Congressional District Democratic Party of Wisconsin Executive Committee is organizing a fundraising campaign, to purchase these DVDs in bulk lots and distribute them to anyone who wants them.

We will give them out to anyone for a minimum $12.00 donation or more, (plus shipping and handling if we have to mail it to you), and will have them available at:

the 5th Congressional District DPW Convention on April 13, (open only to delegates and alternates who have been elected at their County Delegate level to go on to the DPW State Convention.)

or 5th Congressional District DPW Delegate Caucuses on May 4, (open only to delegates and alternates who have been elected at their County Delegate Caucuses).

(If anyone is not going to attend either of these events, but knows someone who will and wants a copy, please tell them in advance, and have them contact us and send in checks or money orders with the number of DVDs requested, in advance so that we know how many units we’ll have to have available. If anyone is anticipating that they would like to order larger quantities please contact us and let us know in advance and we will provide you with directions on where to send checks or money orders to, and how you can get the DVDs if you won’t be able to attend either of the above events. For those who send checks, there will be a ten day wait for the check to clear before we can ship the DVD.

Or, if people won’t be able to attend these events but would still like to help in the fundraiser, or order copies of the DVDs:

Send inquiries to chair5thcddpw@gmail.com

You can also order them online directly from the link provided, or ask your County DPW Chair to organize bulk ordering so you can have them available for distribution and fundraising for your local events. Other organizations are welcome to do the same thing.)

Les Nakamoto

Chair 5th Congressional District Democratic Party of Wisconsin

Let’s check in on some of the recent high profile searches for the truth. Barry Bonds is currently headlining the news and the truth about his possible use of steroids seems to be elusive at best. Our last two American President’s legacies will include major doses of “truths” involving either the existence of weapons of mass destruction or non-existence of relations with that woman. Oh, and let’s not forget, that your retirement account at Enron is not in danger.

In the end most of us rely on our court system to sort out the truth and dispense appropriate justice. The sad thing is that even the great American justice system is not immune from the lies. With the constant claims that frivolous lawsuits are jamming up the court system, you would think that our court system would be clogged with fraudulent claims of injury by insurance scam artists, but you would be wrong.

Ever wonder what kind of cases our court system spends most of its time handling? In a review of 2006 Wisconsin Court Filings divorce (21,072), foreclosures of mortgages (16,489), money judgments (14,245) and paternity cases (13,865) were the leaders. I doubt many of us would consider divorce a “frivolous” lawsuit, more likely that a few were the result of frivolous marriages.

To be fair there were 4,560 filings related to personal injury in automobile cases. The vast majority of these cases, however, involved legitimate claims of injury placed into suit because of an insurance carrier’s refusal to offer a fair settlement prior to litigation. And the supposed “devil of all lawsuits,” the dreaded medical malpractice case, resulted in only 13 trials in Wisconsin in 2006. Not exactly the epidemic of frivolous lawsuits some would have you believe.

So why is it you are constantly hearing about greedy trial lawyers and frivolous lawsuits wrecking our civil justice system? Enter nice sounding organizations like the (fill in the name of the state here) for Lawsuit Reform, that tell the public the sky is falling and it is the fault of lawyers who represent injured consumers against powerful corporate interests. These same groups, by the way, are funded by large corporate interests (like insurance companies.) Coincidence?

Whether you talk to trial lawyers like me, who represent injured consumers, the defense lawyers who represent insurance companies, or the trial judges who occupy the courtrooms throughout the State of Wisconsin, you will hear the same story: lawsuits are not jamming our court system and the sky is not falling. I suggest that, just as common sense will guide you to the truth about Barry Bonds, you might think twice about whether those crying over holding corporations accountable might just be the wolf in sheep’s clothing. And if you need just a little more convincing, consider that it was Enron’s own Ken Lay who formed Texans for Lawsuit Reform – and we all know that he was looking out for the little guy.

This column was written by Rob Jaskulski who is the President of the Wisconsin Academy of Trial Lawyers, the state’s largest voluntary organization defending the civil justice system.

The City of Milwaukee is being forced to pay $474,970.24 in pay and fringe benefits for the three officers convicted even though they were fired.

How did this happen?

Republican politicians. Damn lying politicians. Sucking up, anti-Milwaukee, campaign finance hungry, greedy, slimy Republican politicians.

The GOP went over the top crazy when Tommy Thompson ran the show in Wisconsin. The State Senate, State Assembly and the Governors mansion were all held by Republicans and when it came to Milwaukee, they were itching for a way to screw the citizens of the largest city in the state — Milwaukee. And they did. Boy did they. If someone was against the city of Milwaukee, the GOP was for them. It was a case where the Milwaukee Police Association asked for many benefits and since the city said no, the MPA decided to go over their heads and to these state Republican politicians who were happy to stick it to Milwaukee.

They lined up at the trough. Republicans from all parts of the state got PAC money from the MPA because they handed over their votes for campaign cash. The MPA got the legislation they wanted through. It’s a bit ironic that it is Republicans who usually complain about unions when it was those same Republicans who were benefiting from the MPA (union) dollars.

It’s time to reform the system. It’s time to strip away the benefit that forces the City of Milwaukee to continue to pay benefits even when officers have been fired and are awaiting trial on felony charges. If the are acquitted, they should not be penalized. After all, it is only fair that police officers receive the same protection that all citizens are given. At the same time, it is only fair that the city not be penalized by continuing to pay for scofflaws within their own ranks.

Barrett is right. Once an officer is fired, their pay and their benefits should cease.

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.

Meg: Father, that man’s bad!

More: There’s no law against that!

Roper: There is, God’s law!

More: Then let God arrest him!

Alice: While you talk he’s gone!

More: And go he should, if he were the Devil himself, until he broke the law!

Roper: So now you give the Devil the benefit of law!

More: Yes! What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get after the Devil?

Roper: Yes, I’d cut down every law in England to do that!

More: Oh? And when the last law was down, and the Devil turned ’round on you, where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat?

This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, Man’s laws, not God’s! And if you cut them down (and you’re just the man to do it!), do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then?

Yes, I’d give the Devil benefit of law, for my own safety’s sake!

Yes, Michael Monyelle, on parole for a sexual offense, is to be tried as a sexual predator, with the possible result of lifetime commitment, because of the deviant fantasies he confessed to his parole agent.

Before anybody jumps in and accuses me of defending child molesters: I’m not. I’m as disgusted and alarmed by the fantasies attributed to Monyelle in the Journal-Sentinel article as any non-pedophile would be. I don’t want him ever to hurt a child.

But there are a couple of things to note here. Monyelle was in prison not for molesting young children, but for having consensual sexual contact with two girls, one 16 and one 14, when he was 19 and 20. Illegal, yes, but not in the same category as pedophilia. Also, the J-S reports that in 2005 he was taken into custody for parole violations three times for not reporting deviant thoughts to his treatment group and delaying reporting them to his parole agent. Sounds like a fine Catch-22 the state has created.

Remember that Monyelle has not been accused of acting on any of his evil thoughts, merely of having them. Then the state’s psychologists come in with their Minority Report-esque predictions of the likelihood that Monyelle will engage in sexually violent behavior, and before you know it we are actually locking someone up, possibly for life, because of his thoughts.

It’s hard to look at Monyelle, to read about his fantasies, and not to think, “Yes, please lock him up and never let him out!” But we need to keep in mind the precedent that’s being set.

If we could really predict, with 100% certainty, who would commit a crime and who would not, we’d be living in a very different world. But we’re humans, with a limited understanding of our own minds, and we have no business imprisoning people for theoretical crimes we think they’re likely to commit when they’ve done nothing else to warrant punishment.

Well Thompson is out, having had her conviction overturned and Biskupic got a reprieve from the spate of US Attorney firings. We’ll note that it appears that the mass firings of US Attorney’s were due to them not injecting enough partisanship into their job by prosecuting democrats at times which would have benefitted Republicans. Since Biskupic prosecuted Thompson and attempted to connect her trumped up improprieties to Democratic Governor Jim Doyle in an election year, it’s no surprise that Biskupic’s name was removed from the “must fire” list.

All the same, Thompson is out a boatload of cash — what would be a life savings for most people. Patrick Marley of the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel sums it up like this:

Thompson asked the state Claims Board to reimburse her $359,048. About $206,000 of that is for legal fees, and about $130,000 would cover taxes if she were to be reimbursed by the state. The remainder includes $4,200 in criminal fines and miscellaneous expenses.

So should Thompson be reimbursed? Of course. Thompson claims no partisan connections but whether she favors republicans or democrats, she was the pawn that was used in what very nearly can be called a “plot” to discredit a member of the opposite party of Biskupic.

Yes, it has the same ring to it that the (Senator Joseph) McCarthy trials had during the time of the red scare but this incident wasn’t motivated by a fear of communism — this appears to be pure politics and Biskupic’s overzealousness cost Thompson many months in jail, undue stress and the loss of her good reputation. Someone needs to ask Biskupic, ‘have you no sense of decency sir, at long last? Have you left no sense of decency?’

This may come as a surprise to remember that it was not that long ago that another high profile case was overturned. State Assemblyman Mark Gundrum (R-New Berlin) came to the rescue and asked for that person to receive compensation. Where is Gundrum now?

A Deputy Sheriff who has asked me to respect his anonymity for this story, shared the scoop:

Due to severe staff shortages in the Courts and upcoming special events, Clarke has ordered that a department wide seniority list be developed and used to fill overtime spots throughout the summer. This is the first time in over 12 years the department has planned to force staff to work overtime. A directive from (Inspector) Carr just came out lifting the 40 hour overtime cap for any one officer in an 80 hr period.

Is it possible that those in command of this department overestimated the effectiveness of not NOT hiring a new recruit in over 4 years? How effective is the officer that works 80 hrs of overtime in an 80 hr period? How could Clarke, Carr and (Inspector) Schmidt not see this coming? The most upsetting fact of all this is Schmidt runs the jail so low on staff that the upcoming forced overtime costs will be hidden as normal operational costs. Therefore any complaints about costs and staffing made by deputies will be washed over.

Clarke may mask the high costs of overtime as “normal operational costs” but taxpayers are still paying time 150% more than they would need to had Clarke simply staffed to appropriate levels. Most politicians, Clarke included, like the reputation of being a tax cutter but when rhetoric trumps policy, in this case and in others, it is the taxpayer who usually loses.

When MPD Chief Nan Hegerty threw the hooker bomb at a news conference Thursday, the obvious implication was that Sheriff David Clarke is mismanaging the jail (the Watchdog faithful will be familiar with Gretchen Schuldt‘s reporting last year on some of the problems at the jail.)

But yesterday’s big story said more about Chief Hegerty than it did about Sheriff Dave: By blaming Clarke for preventing her business-as-usual policing strategies, Hegerty managed to show again that she has never had a plan to help make Milwaukee a safer place. The stated purpose of Hegerty’s press conference, by the way, was to tell the media how she intended to use all of those new police officers city taxpayers anted up for in the last city budget. Here’s the so-called plan to fight violent crime, folks, as we see it:

“More patrols. That’s right, more patrols in violent crime areas. Oh, and by the way, we tried to lock up a hundred or so nonviolent prostitutes the other day … but we were unable to make reservations at the jail.” (Apparently, the chief called ahead.)

Shift camera to Sheriff Dave, who explained that there was a backlog in the booking area (the source of many a jail management problem) for a couple of hours on the day in question, but that everyone who needed a room eventually managed to find an available bed in a pod. His operative metaphor is long lines at the grocery store.

Clarke then correctly pointed out that the chief (and by proxy Mayor Tom Barrett) were taking a political jab at his highness for backing, if not instigating, south side Ald. Bob Donovan’s whacky crime-stopping plan, which included Clarke’s pet idea to take sheriff’s deputies off the freeways and put them on street patrol in Milwaukee.

Nobody mentioned that one of Hegerty’s first big ideas as police chief was to round up all the prostitutes she could find. It cost county taxpayers $45,000-plus to pay for their room and board. Most were released within a day or two and went right back to doing what they were doing before they were swept up by Hegerty’s gendarmes.

Barrett announced last month that the city will embark on a study to provide some direction into better law enforcement strategies. Barrett now has a chance to renew the task force work of the late 1990′s, which was blinded by the Norquist administration nearly seven years ago. The task force stemmed from criminal justice summits held by Judge Patrick Sheedy, was led by District Attorney E. Michael McCann and included metro police and the Sheriff’s Department, Dept. of Corrections officials, criminal justice reform and community advocates. It was an attempt to bring together the disparate players of the criminal justice and law enforcement communities to find some effective, cooperative community corrections/policing strategies — in the face of the city of Milwaukee’s resistance to community policing strategies.

The differences this time are: 1) Barrett is mayor; 2) This study group will ostensibly look more specifically at policing strategies; and 3) Barrett is preparing to hire a new police chief. In any case, cooperation from all of the players in law enforcement and criminal justice will be necessary for any effective strategies to emerge.

Hegerty exploited the serious and troubling rise of violent crime in the city this week to point the finger at Clarke, to imply, “manage your jail and I might be able to do my job.” This is counterproductive, obviously. Clarke is known more for grandstanding and pointing fingers than working with others, but he did no real harm in backing some ideas from a city alderman (Bob Donovan). Hegerty only gave Clarke an opportunity to show that he’s, at very least, a better politician than she is.

It’s not as though Hegerty has any better ideas. But let’s hope Barrett eventually does. They are long overdue. So is some cooperation from our local law enforcement agencies.

Note: For more on MPD prostitution stings and their (negative) impact, see the Benedict Center web site. The Benedict Center is a local nonprofit criminal justice reform agency that runs a nationally-reknowned Womens Harm Reduction program.

The big question Ziegler needs to answer is “how could you have given a man convicted of molesting his 10 year old step-daughter just one year in prison”?

The website Progressive Majority resurrected the story (written by Mike Nichols of the Journal-Sentinel) recently, pointing out “the pre-sentence report recommended 15 years — five less than the prosecutor demanded. The defendant’s own attorney suggested five to seven years. But Washington County Circuit Judge Ziegler stayed a 25 year sentence — meaning it wouldn’t apply unless the man failed to go through with treatment. Ziegler also gave him 20 years of probation and one year on work release in the county jail.”

As a father I’m utterly disgusted. What kind of cretin gains pleasure from violating a child? This sicko even molested his step daughter as she watched the killer whale movie “Free Willy“.

What was Ziegler thinking? Could she have sleeping through the trial?

It will be curious to see how republicans defend her. It will be interesting to see how they manage to play their “family values” angle while supporting a candidate who let a pedophile walk after just a year.

Judicial candidates are supposed to be impartial and non-partisan but in reality it's not possible to be completely impartial.  You're a product of your surroundings and your collective experiences.  Unfortunately for Ziegler, that means that she's part of a family who has donated to GOP candidates like convicted felon Scott Jensen as well as former Guv Tommy Thompson.

Does this mean she's unqualified?  Of course not.  But if you look at judicial activism in the courts over the past decade or so, it has all been conservative (read republican) activism.  That activism is dangerous to those of us who value constitutional freedoms.

But do we know how Ziegler would vote on issues of constitutional freedom?  No. 

What we do know is that Ziegler's family contributed $5800 to then-GOP Governor Tommy Thompson's campaign before her judicial appointment.  We do know that an additional $7250 was sent to Thompson after he made good on the appointment.  We do know that after her swearing in ceremony, that Ziegler's father in law sent in a check for $500 to the Guv.  We also know that from 2000 to 2006 the Ziegler family sent nearly $120,000 to Republican candidates for office.

So do we know which way she leans on issues important to people who value constitutional protections?  It's a pretty safe bet that she's not with them.

###

Thanks to One Wisconsin Now for tipping us off to this story. 

Now Van Hollen says he's 20 months behind and that the task for eliminating the backlog, a campaign promise of his, might be more difficult than previously thought.

Whoops.

So does this mean that Launtenschlager was right all along?  After all, it was Lautenschlager who dramatically increased the size of the crime lab staff.  It was Launtenschlager who started the process of farming out some of the tests but it was also Launtenschlager who said she would prefer to do them in-house because it was so much cheaper.

Well low and behold, Lautenschlager was right all along.

It sure sounds like Van Hollen owes Lautenschlager an apology. 

Of course, this isn't the right-wing's culture war after all; it's the "War on Drugs." Just another unwinnable war, being fought at great cost in money, lives, and civil liberties, which only makes the situation worse.

I sometimes wonder what I'd do if a cop asked to search me and my car (assuming I was clean). On one hand, he has absolutely no right to search (nor, in my opinion, the right even to ask without probable cause). On the other hand, if I say no, he can make my life hell — which is why all those "consent searches" you see on the police blotter are bogus.

Those Franklin kids are lucky they're not the wrong color, or they probably would have ended up with at least "resisting arrest" or "disorderly conduct" charges. The scope the drug laws present for police abuse is appalling.

I want it to be clear that I am not attacking the particular officer involved; he was just doing the job he's been trained to do. He's not responsible for our FUBAR legal system. Where is the local politician brave enough to take it on?

Things are not going well on the North Side, where income shrunk in the last year or two or three, but if anyone needed an economic indicator to tell them this, they were fooling themselves. The North Side of Milwaukee is imploding fast.

We criticize the Journal Sentinel during elections, but in the last week, the daily newspaper has given us pause to think about what’s really going down on the North Side by reporting, basically and honestly, how badly things are devolving.  The stories began in the middle of last week with the private school voucher bus crash and continued through Sunday, when the daily reported that, yes, even state certified day care centers had succumbed to the drug dealing that is financially propping up the community.

Milwaukee is now #2 in violent crime spike, following Minneapolis at #1.  This was reported in the Twin Cities last summer.  Why it was left until now in Milwaukee is anybody’s guess.  (If reading the JS article linked above, please note that the daily’s reported definition of “The Boston Miracle” is plain wrong, a fundamental flaw in criminal justice and civics reporting that requires a post of its own.)

W-2 is a failure in progress.  Please note that any excuses given by the state in this JS article are far from valid.  It's time for Gov. Doyle and state Legislators such as Lena Taylor, Barbara Toles and Alberta Darling to reform welfare reform.

Another meltdown in the private school voucher program.  In the Milwaukee education market, the "choice" program offers the very poor some very bad consumer choices, at the expense of the good ones. Another state-created problem on the North Side.

Faces of rage in the inner city.

Can I get a witness? 

I am a witness.

“I think we can cooperate better as law enforcement agencies,” Holt said in a telephone interview days before the Nov. 7 election. “That’s what I mean when I say I’m a uniter not a divider. I don’t believe in pointing fingers. I believe in taking care of what my responsibilities are.”

That kind of talk leads us to enthusiastically endorse Holt against incumbent Sheriff David Clarke, and to encourage county Democrats to cross party lines and cast their votes for the candidate with the “R” next to his name.  Holt, 66, a retired State Patrol district commander, has the experience, qualifications and mature management style to transform Clarke’s helter skelter department into the competent law enforcement agency it once was.

Holt, a 30-year Milwaukee County resident, served five years on the city of Greenfield fire and police commission after retiring from the state patrol in 1996. Now in real estate, Holt was appointed to the city of Greenfield Board of Review in 2005. He is an active member of the Milwaukee County Law Enforcement Executive’s Association.

As commander of state patrol District 2 (Wisconsin’s six southeastern Wisconsin counties), Holt gained over a decade of experience coordinating efforts with local law enforcement, a key part of the sheriff's job. Under Clarke, sheriff’s deputies have been removed from their traditional parks and freeway jurisdictions as Clarke has tried unsuccessfully to assert gun control and tactical units in the city of Milwaukee.

Some of the fixes for the department are just plain common sense.

“Just to cite one example,” Holt says, “(Clarke) had people trained in motor carrier enforcement (regulations against large vehicles). Without regard for their training he has reassigned them to the jail. It’s a total waste.”

Other Clarke initiatives, such as the effort to hand freeway patrol duties over to the state patrol and the mobile jail unit leave Holt scratching his head. He calls the state patrol proposal “a political wish list” that will require the county board and state Legislature to change the law in the face of staunch opposition. He doesn’t offer a comment on the mobile jail, which has been parked in Ozaukee County for more than three months, according to sheriff’s deputies.

Under the watch of Clarke and County Executive Scott Walker, few functions of the sheriff’s department are running smoothly. The courts are dangerously understaffed; 16,000 violations were cited in the county jail; and the morale of deputies has hit bottom due to Clarke’s knee-jerk management style. Clarke is at war with the sheriff’s deputies union.

Holt sees a pattern of “bad judgment” that has marked Clarke throughout his career, from his firing in 1983 when he was a Milwaukee cop (Clarke was reinstated), to his decision to pour beers in uniform this year at a fundraiser (a potential liability issue), to the time he strolled into the jail holstering a loaded gun (an extremely dangerous regulations violation).

“It’s important to have someone who has the maturity and judgment to run the department, and the ability to work with people, not only within the department but with the chiefs of police and other law enforcement agencies,” Holt says.

We think so too. Vote Donald Holt on Tuesday Nov. 7.

Congressman Mark Green

The Doyle campaign fired back yesterday with an unusually long email highlighting Doyle's crimefighting record. A response TV ad from Doyle that will play like a mantra between now and Tuesday is sure to follow.  Effectively, this ends whatever chance Green had of winning the governor's race.  He has foolishly picked the one fight with Doyle he cannot hope to win, much less land a blow.

It's a fatal mistake by Green and his handlers, and it's more than that. It's yet another display of evidence that the Green campaign has no respect for issues or voters, and apparently believes they can say anything and still eke out an election win.  Down in the polls just days before the election, this foolish and desperate attack against Doyle looks a lot like campaign suicide.

Below is the release from the Doyle campaign, dated Wednesday.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:  "Doyle is Both Tougher and Smarter than Green on Crime" — Dishonest Green Ad Uses Data from McCallum Years to Try and Smear Doyle

MADISON – A day after the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel editorialized that Governor Jim Doyle “is both tougher and smarter than Green on crime,” Congressman Mark Green has launched another attack ad designed to distort the Governor’s crime record.  [Source: Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, 10/31/06]

Like most of his ads, it’s filled with lies.  This one even uses data from the McCallum years to try and smear Governor Doyle.

Of course, as a prosecutor and Attorney General, and now as Governor, no one’s been tougher on violent criminals and sex offenders than Jim Doyle.

“While Congressman Green was sitting behind a desk in Washington, Jim Doyle, as a District Attorney and Wisconsin’s Attorney General, was prosecuting hardened criminals, and putting them behind bars –sometimes for life,” said Anson Kaye, Communications Director for the Doyle campaign.  “Governor Doyle opposes parole – he led the fight to end it – and no one’s been tougher on sex offenders.  When it comes to law enforcement, Governor Doyle has walked the walk, while Congressman Green’s been little more than a wannabe.”

GOVERNOR DOYLE: NO ONE’S BEEN TOUGHER ON CRIME

• Governor Doyle, a former prosecutor and Attorney General, opposes parole and led the fight for truth in sentencing which ended parole in 1999.

• Governor Doyle appointed a former Milwaukee cop to head the Parole Board, and when he stepped aside, the Governor appointed another former Milwaukee cop to take his place.

• As Governor, Jim Doyle has signed some of the toughest sex offender laws in the nation, earning one of only two “A grades” in a survey of all 50 states by a leading community and victims’ rights advocacy group, Parents for Megan’s Law. [Source:  Parents for Megan’s Law 2006 Report Card] …

I think you get the idea.  It goes on from there, 11 bullet points in all and a Fact Check on the blatant smears in Green's ad.  To read the full release, click here.

The very definition of state attorney general is at stake as Democrat Kathleen Falk, in her third term as Dane County Executive, and Republican J.B. Van Hollen, former U.S. Attorney for the Western District of Wisconsin, crisscross the state for votes.

Based on how the two candidates say they view the job, the Watchdog Milwaukee endorsement goes to the former Assistant Attorney General, Kathleen Falk.  She understands that the AG’s job requires a big picture vision of law enforcement needs across the state and has the executive experience to identify and deliver effective support strategies.  Falk, 55, has successfully managed Dane County for a decade and, prior to being elected, worked for 14 years as the state Public Intervenor, the assistant AG watchdogging corporate compliance of state environmental laws, protecting the public interest.

Not suprisingly, Falk is the candidate in this race who vows to fight for consumers and to aggressively prosecute corporate scofflaws and white collar crime, the type of crime that county prosecutors often say is beyond their resources.  She understands that looking out for the little guy is what the people want from an Attorney General.  That's the job. 

Van Hollen, 40, is a prosecutor who views the AG role as an opportunity to promote an activist agenda.  As a prosecutor he has a weak record with over 69% of the felony charges before him being dismissed or pled out.  As U.S. Attorney, Van Hollen has never taken even one case to trial himself and his numbers for prosecution are among the worst in the country, ranking the second-to-lowest prosecution rate in the entire country in 2002 and the lowest in 2003.  If ever there was a US Attorney who was weak on crime, it is Van Hollen.

Van Hollen, a Bush appointee, is telling voters otherwise in hopes of deflecting attention from his far right political leanings. Will he look out for the little guy against an irresponsible corporation, or will he look the other way?  He's endorsed by corporate Wisconsin's political action machine, the Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, which ran a string of TV ads falsely accusing Falk of "harassing" businesses and filing frivolous suits as public intervenor.  Van Hollen's friends clearly want him to look the other way if elected.

The state crime lab, pedofiles and the meth epidemic

Much has been made of the backlog in the state crime lab in the state, and both Falk and Van Hollen say they will bring it up to speed.  The crime lab is primarily a support service to local law enforcement that requires the AG to lobby the state for budget funds and to effectively staff and manage it.  Falk is easily more qualified to work politically to secure the funds and to oversee management of the lab.  Her Dane County budget is $450 million, many times bigger than the AG's budget, and she oversees a full array of departments and services.  In stark contrast to depleted Milwaukee County, Falk beefed up the sheriff's department in Dane County, adding 87 new positions.  She also added a gang unit and expanded white collar crime investigations.

Tracking sexual predators and internet pedofiles, and fighting the methamphetamine epidemic are key areas in which the AG has extended support to local law enforcement.  On the predator issues, Wisconsin has model systems already in place. The new AG would be wise to continue those.

On meth, which we've written about on this site, use of the drug is rising in the face of reduced arrests and a change in drug distribution patterns.  Falk's plan combines tough law enforcement and federal assistance with a public health approach to addiction, a both-arms-working strategy that could revolutionize how we fight the drug war in the state.

Van Hollen basically proposes a continuation of AG Peg Lautenschlager's current strategy, recognizing that most of the meth in state is imported.  This has already happened, although Lautenschlager, inexplicably, has instead promoted the resulting reduced meth arrest numbers in the state.

In western Wisconsin, where meth has hit the hardest from over the Minnesota border, Polk County DA Karen Olsen and Iowa County DA Larry Nelson have endorsed Falk.

Politicizing the AG:  J.B. Van Hollen, legislative activist

Then there are the legislative proposals not yet on the books that Van Hollen says would indicate a political agenda and are not part of the AG's job.  He supports the death penalty as "an option."  Falk is morally opposed to the death penalty and wants to keep it off the books.  We're morally opposed to Van Hollen's stance, and his position does not support his apolitical rhetoric.

Falk would protect a woman's right to make her own health decisions under current law.  Van Hollen's position is strictly anti-choice, and he's supported by Right to Life.  He also backs the Republican "Defense of Marriage" Amendment that would mark the first time the Wisconsin Constitution is used to infringe upon basic citizenry rights, impacting gay and unmarried couples.  Falk is staunchly opposed to the amendment, saying it would "seriously endanger existing legal protections for all unmarried couples."

Van Hollen also supports the National Rifle Association's concealed carry law that would allow gun owners to supercede the rights of everybody else by carrying concealed weapons in public — a position almost universally opposed by law enforcement officers.  Falk wants to take guns off the street. The NRA supports Van Hollen.  Again and again, Van Hollen's position does not support his rhetoric.

Ignore the rhetoric.  Kathleen Falk is a highly qualified lawyer and politician who understands that the people of Wisconsin want an AG to look out for the public interest and be a champion for the little guy. The Wisconsin job calls for an Elliot Spitzer (the celebrated New York AG, soon to be elected governor, who won big cases against Wall Street and drug companies, and protected clean air by backing down the Bush Administration and power companies) — not an AG with a right wing agenda who will look the other way on the environment, consumer protection, white collar crime and corporate irresponsibility.  

J.B. Van Hollen may be likeable, but he doesn't appear to understand the role of the state Attorney General.

###

Written by John-david Morgan.  Publisher Jim McGuigan contributed to this story. 

So the cops have two BIG billboards which show their support for Wauwatosa Alderman Jim Sullivan over Reynolds and they've chosen a somewhat clever way to show their preference by superimposing Sullivan's name over Reynolds'.

WPPA Assistant Executive Director Jim Palmer said in a matter of fact way, "when it became obvious that Tom Reynolds would have scored better (on WPPA's legislative scorecard) by simply staying home, we decided that we might as well do what we can to send him there for good."

Citing Reynolds track record for rhetoric over substance coupled with the senator's paranoia, Palmer added, “despite what Tom Reynolds will probably say, our decision to support Jim Sullivan wasn’t partisan, nor was it one made in a vacuum in Madison.  We are supporting quite a few Republicans …  In addition, our members in Wauwatosa and West Allis, and all throughout the 5th Senate District, just want a legislator who will work to protect and promote public safety, and someone in whom they can take some measurable degree of pride.  Jim Sullivan has demonstrated his support for law enforcement as a Wauwatosa alderman, and we are confident that he will be an outstanding legislator.” 

WPPA makes their endorsements for candidates based on the input of their members, candidate questionaires and voting records. 

The numbers for Sheriff David Clarke in the black community are overwhelming across the board, beginning on Holton Street in Riverwest and heading west and north out to the Granville area and beyond. 

In Aldermanic District 1 (bordered by Capital Drive on the south, the Milwaukee River parkway to the east, running north to W. Bradley Road and extending west as far 53rd Street at Hampton) Clarke crushed Bobot in every ward for a 1424-678 landslide — 68%. (District 1 is Marvin Pratt's old District, now represented by Ald. Ashanti Hamilton.)

It's staggering. Vince Bobot creamed Clarke in the two roughest wards of Riverwest (215-104 for 67%) but once the election crossed Holton Street into the Harambee wards bordering to the west (McGee-Jackson's district), it's all Clarke (121-47 for 72%). The Clarke trend in the black community continues all the way to the 'Tosa border on 60th Street, and turns north and west to the city limits.

Bobot took the East Side and downtown handily. He won convincingly in his campaign's home base, Bayview Ald. District 14 (56%), on his way to winning nearly every ward on the south side. He posted a solid victory on the west side. He captured the southwest side from a very competitive Clarke.

But Bobot's margins of victory on the south side were not big enough to swing the election. Clarke got more votes out of single wards at Vincent (194) and Rufus King (166) High Schools on the north side than Bobot got in any single ward south of the I.

Republicans crossing for Clarke?  There were some to be sure, as reported, giving Clarke a slight edge in the county suburbs. But the impact of cross-voting was buried under the avalanche for Clarke coming out of the city's black community. Clarke's city of Milwaukee edge (2,600 votes) was the bulk (69%) of his overall margin of victory.

Yet another racially polarized Milwaukee vote won the day.

In an pre-primary campaign mailer, Van Hollen sported the endorsement of the NRA.  Would they not expect something in return?  If Van Hollen didn't anticipate fighting for the NRA legislative agenda, why would he have sported to endorsement on a mailer?

He said "I favor passage of the personal protection act" which is another way of saying he favors the law that cops unanimously oppose — legislation that would legalize carrying a concealed weapon.

And if Van Hollen won't pursue an agenda, why did he come out in support of the death penalty?  Isn't that advocating an agenda?  Is somehow legitimizing the state to take a persons life not an agenda item?

This is another classic case of a Republican saying one thing, and doing and advocating another.  

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.

That irks one of his opponents — candidate Don Holt who has filed complaints against Clarke for ethics code violations.

Holt, the only Republican in the race, contends that Clarke has misused his office by wearing his (County paid for) uniform to political events and by using a county car acquired through drug seizure for parades.  Clarke has also used a County car to shuttle himself around from political event to political event.  "Who's paying for the gas and maintenance" questions Holt who points out that Clarke has attended multiple events wearing his Sheriff's digs including a visit to Our Lady of Sorrows Church, an NAACP forum, St. Francis Days Parade and a forum sponsored by MICAH (Milwaukee Inner City Alliance for Hope).  Holt is right to ask the tough questions.

Holt talks about personal responsibility.  That's not a shock looking at his background.  Holt was a State Trooper for 30 years and retired with the rank Commander.  He is also a member of the Milwaukee County Law Enforcement Executives Association.  His website mentions how Clarke has been divisive, how he doesn't see the big picture and how Clarke is a poor excuse for a leader.  In short, Holt gets it but he doesn't see any traces of personal responsibility in Clarke.

Holt is frosted that Clarke wore a gun and his Sheriff's uniform while bartending at a recent tailgate party.  Not only was that a violation of Clarke's own departmental rules, but Holt points out that "wearing a uniform while participating in campaign events is a violation of the ethics code.  You can't use public resources for private gain".

Clearly Clarke doesn't see a problem with mixing alcohol and guns as he was fired from the Milwaukee Police Department for being intoxicated.  At the time, Milwaukee Police officers were required to carry a gun at all times.

Of all of the State Senators, Reynolds ranked the lowest with an incredible -1.75 total score.  My own Senator, Alberta Darling garnered an unimpressive 7.75 and Sheboygan's Senator Leibham who is up for re-election garnered just 43.25 points.

The top legislators according to the WPPA are Lassa (104.75), Olsen (104.74), Roessler (104.50), Hansen (102.75), Breske (100.75) and Jauch (100).

Jim Palmer, Director of Governmental Affairs for the WPPA, pointed out that this was the first legislative session that they implemented a report card.  "You need to have a mechanism by which to hold legislators accountable.  We get calls from our members each fall asking why we supported different legislators and we wanted a way to show them".

After getting kicked in the teeth by anti-cop legislation one too many times WPPA was looking for a way to quantify who did what to them.

But how does a legislator get points or lose points?  The WPPA lays it out on their website:

How Legislators Will Be Scored

	Points
Co-sponsoring legislation which we support	1
Co-sponsoring legislation which we oppose	-2
Committee votes for legislation which we support	1
Committee votes against legislation which we support	-1
Committee votes for legislation we oppose	-1
Floor votes for legislation which we support	2
Floor votes against legislation which we support	-2
Floor votes for legislation which we oppose	-2
Floor votes against legislation which we oppose	2
Procedural votes which bar floor consideration of legislation we support	-2
Procedural votes against barring floor consideration of legislation we support	2
Procedural votes which bar floor consideration of legislation we oppose	2
Procedural votes against barring floor consideration of legislation we oppose	-2
Offering amendments which we support	2
Offering amendments we oppose	-2
Leadership Criteria (for Majority party leaders and committee chairs)
Failure to schedule legislation which we support	-2
Failure to schedule legislation which we oppose	2

Clearly Reynolds holds an open hostility to issues of importance to the men and women who put their lives on the line to protect the likes of Reynolds.  So why does Tom Reynolds hate cops?  That's a question for voters to ask him if and when he ever goes out and knocks on a few doors in his re-election bid this fall. 

When asked what Palmer thought of Reynolds, he simply said, "Reynolds is just a different type of creature".

Here's what the Governor's office put out shortly after we broke the story: 

"… Pocan will fill the vacancy created by the retirement of Judge Michael P. Sullivan.  Pocan will begin serving July 17, 2006 for a term to end July 31, 2007.

"William Pocan has the intellect and temperament necessary for a judge," Governor Doyle said.  "His 22 years of varied trial and appellate practice make him an excellent candidate.  He is also highly regarded as a leading advocate in consumer protection law, which will add diversity to the Milwaukee bench."

"I would like to thank the Governor for giving me this opportunity to serve the people of Milwaukee County.  I am truly honored," said Pocan.  "I will be a hardworking, fair judge, treating everyone who comes before me with respect.  I will never forget what it is like to be a practicing attorney representing real people with real problems and concerns."

William Pocan is currently in private practice at Jastroch & LaBarge, S.C.  He has extensive trial and appellate experience in the area of consumer law, as well as in the areas of family and civil law.  Pocan served on the State Bar of Wisconsin's Consumer Information and Protection Committee and has been a member of the State Bar's Public Interest Section for many years.  He also serves on the Milwaukee County Bar Association's Bench/Bar Civil Committee. 

Pocan has been a frequent presenter/lecturer at Continuing Legal Education seminars for lawyers and at Marquette University and the University of Wisconsin law schools.  Pocan was a founding member of the East Side Condominium Owners Association and a founding board member of the Milwaukee LGBT Community Center Advocates.  He received his Bachelor of Science degree from UW-Parkside and his Juris Doctorate at UW-Madison.  Pocan resides in Milwaukee."

Recently, Republicans screamed that 4 Democratic activists who slashed the tires of GOP operatives should have the book thrown at them. Most of the dems got 5 or 6 months. If the dems, who in the heat of the moment, slashed the tires of GOP vans are getting 5 months, it would be insane if Jensen got less than 2 to 4 years. Jensen spent years misusing tax dollars to further his partisan goals — a scheme that stole tons of money from Wisconsinites.

The dem activists crime was essentially undone after the vans were quickly replaced within hours.

Jensen used his position to change the partisan makeup of the State Asssembly over a period of several legislative terms and at very least an entire decade since his work positioned him to control legislative redistricting.

Both crimes are inexcusable, but what is worse? A crime that adversely affected our democratic process for two hours or a crime that will likely adversely affect our democratic process for two decades?

To allow Jensen to spend less time in prison than the activists who slashed the tires would be criminal but hopefully the Judge will not reward Jensen for what amounts to a politically heinous crime. One way or another, Jensen will get what he wanted — an Assembly with legislative districts he was able to help draw. Those lines will last for over a decade. A light sentence would be like allowing a thief to keep his loot after a burglery.
This is not to say that Jensen is a threat to society but hopefully the Judge will also consider adding onto his sentence a requirement that he not work legislatively or with legislators for a long time. If he does not, Jensen will be able to march into legislators offices and remind them that they owe their political success to him and they should support the causes his clients want them to support. To not include that proviso would send a message that a double standard is acceptable and that justice is not blind.

###

UPDATE: Jensen got 15 months.

Related Stories:

• Judge Brennan Sentencing of Tire Slashers Not Simple
• Jensen Conviction shows Balance in Courts

Former Acting Mayor Marvin Pratt, whose son was one of the four who copped a plea to the misdemeanor vandalism charges, said as much the day after the six month tire-slashing sentences were handed out by Judge Brennan. The judge had torn up the plea agreement under heavy pressure from Republicans to give stiff sentences to the four young Democratic Party activists who had agreed to the deal. The fifth defendent, who refused to plea bargain, was found not guilty.

“It isn’t funny — in the city of Milwaukee you can beat a man half to death and get exonerated, and here you’ve got four men who committed a property crime sentenced to jail,” Pratt said.

Joel McNally, in his column last week in the Shepherd Express, drew the same comparison, writing that: “Drunken white police officers who savagely beat and torture a black man may go free in Milwaukee, but young black men who commit acts of vandalism will go to jail.”

I’m not one to cry foul when the race is card is used, but I don’t think we’re doing the community any favors by mixing these two cases up. They are not the same case. They do not symbolize the same things about the city or about the criminal justice system. In fact, the tire-slashing case has very little to do with race — and everything to do with politics.

Is the political nature of the tire-slashing case & sentencing somehow unfair? No. Politics are at the core of the case, which involved Democratic Party activists — two of them the sons of two highly prominent African-American politicians, Pratt and Congresswoman Gwen Moore — poking holes in the tires of Republican Party vans. The plea was already in; all that was left was the sentencing, at the discretion of Brennan. Of course Republican talk radio screamed for blood. Brennan, a supporter of Republican candidates, gave them some. Six months is not a long time. Case closed.

The Frank Jude case, on the other hand, has serious implications for police community relations. I’m very surprised that black community leaders like Marvin Pratt and Tyrone Dumas, who works as a tech and trades school developer in MPS, are deflecting focus from the issue of police brutality by talking about a vandalism case.

This isn’t the first time black community leadership has done this in the Jude case. First, Ald. Michael McGee slurred gays in a Justice for Jude speech. A month later, the NAACP, in trying to bring attention to the slow Jude investigation, concluded that the justice system was racist because Mark Sostarich, Gary George‘s lawyer, got off with a lighter sentence in the OIC scandal. Sostarich, who is white, had cut a deal on his lesser charge to help convict George and Gee, who are black. It had nothing to do with race, however, and more to do with who did what crookery at OIC.

I know people want to holler about the Jude verdict. I know the criminal justice system has failed the black community, in this and other cases involving police wrongdoing, to say nothing of overall incarceration rates for young black males. Milwaukee has failed the black community.

But if we want to see some changes in police policy; if we really want to improve police-community relations in Milwaukeee; if we really want to get some citizen oversight of police wrongdoing; if we really want to see hiring and training reforms at MPD that could protect citizens from our protectors — we can’t holler in different directions. Black leadership has to help make sure we don’t lose sight of the Jude case, or of the problem of police brutality. The list of cases to talk about is a long, long list.

If community leaders — and media commentators like McNally– confuse the issue, we just give ammunition to those whites in Milwaukee who are all-too-ready to stick their heads in the sand when confronted by racism and justice.

I can also appreciate the argument that Shepherd-Express columnist Joel McNally makes when he asserts that the vandalized rented vans which were supposed to take voters to the polls may have been used for shuttling around GOP operatives more than any interest in doing what is right.

But McNally misses a key fact: whether these voters needed help getting to the polls because they were elderly, disabled or just didn’t have transportation they do deserve to vote. Laying doubt on what the vans were or were not used for does not provide any sort of justification for intentionally slashing the tires. The GOP didn’t need and shouldn’t have to provide justification for what their vans were for. The fact is that they were their vans. This was not like Hurricane Katrina victims stealing bottled water from the store so their families wouldn’t die of thirst — it is more like those busy stealing plasma TV’s because they decided their rights to a wide screen TV were greater than those who owned the stores. What’s wrong is wrong.

But the fact is that these activists let their zeal get ahead of them. In doing so, they provided another challenge for them — getting to the polls. Tire slashers forgot that this was not about just an us versus them football game or soccer match, it is about the core of our democracy.
Interference with a basic right for those least able to excercise that right is more than just partisan meddling — it is a denial of equality; it’s sending a message that we are not all equal. That’s not a path any American should find acceptable.

We should also be expressing outrage at the “stop snitching” shirts and slogans that are floating around out there. “Stop snitching” is just a civilian version of the “code of silence” so let’s just dispose of any one-sided indignation right now. Let’s not lose sight of the fact that violence in our society is something that all law enforcement deal with on a daily basis. Let’s not forget that our officers, whether they be in the Milwaukee Police Department, the Milwaukee County Sheriff’s Department or in surrounding communities, put their life on the line. Often, for the first 5 years they’re working they’re making a lousy wage and they have to see and hear of fellow officers who were attacked or killed.

So let’s do away with this one sided blame game we’ve all been hearing about lately.

I can’t excuse what the officers did to Jude. It was wrong, heavy handed and gave all law enforcement a black eye. Whoever the officer or the officers who beat the hell out of him disgrace the uniform and should never be allowed to wear it again. What’s more, many people serving in law enforcement were shocked and appalled (rightly so) when the not-guilty verdict came down. But keep in mind though that many of those officers go out to investigate murder scenes only to hear that neighborhood residents have picked up the shell casings before police arrive to protect the criminal from prosecution. Those same officers who put their life on the line to protect the public are dealing with communities who care more about protecting a murderer than they do about protecting themselves.

Some of you might be reading this are asking yourself, isn’t this something you would normally see on a conservative blog? Here’s the problem with that; this isn’t now and shouldn’t be either a conservative or liberal issue. What this should be is an issue of common sense and common decency. Liberals who decry the police brutality in Milwaukee without also condemning the developing culture of “stop snitching” ought to have their good lefty cards revoked and exchanged for whiney anarchist cards.

Yes, the community should be enraged by the verdict in the Jude case. However, when t-shirts that sport “stop snitching” slogans and orange prison-style jumpsuits make it into the mainstream as an acceptable and even unembarrassing attire to be sold in stores and worn in public, it should have served as a wakeup call that “stop snitching” was about to work both ways.

She’s right. And, over the years, it’s been a problem too big for the criminal justice system in Milwaukee County. With a few notable exceptions, law enforcement and the judiciary have poo-poo’d every shred of evidence showing racial disparities in law enforcement throughout the county.

As a result, very little has changed while the streets of Milwaukee got meaner, jobs never materialized, and the learning gap between black and white children in the state grew to embarassing porportions atop the national test score registers. African-Americans who ventured to St. Francis and other areas in the south suburbs to canvas last fall during the presidential race were routinely stopped by police. Call it CWB – Canvassing While Black. Or Walking While Black.

The problem is much bigger than Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee, Jr., who last week had his own brush with DWB — in this case it might better be described as “Dating While Black” — and now faces resisting arrest and disorderly conduct tickets in Wauwatosa Municipal Court. He emerged this week from a meeting with ‘Tosa Mayor Estness with a promise to hold a task force on “race relations” that would start in ‘Tosa and could encompass all of southeastern Wisconsin.

Specifically on police practices and criminal justice, chief Judge Patrick Sheedy arranged a summit in 1997 after Wisconsin Correctional Services released a report on the stark racial disparities within the county criminal justice system. The results of that summit were, among other things, a marijuana ordinance for the city of Milwaukee and snazzy power-point demonstration by then-Deputy Police Chief Monica Ray, followed by drug offender and sentencing studies that showed alarming disparities in the county’s three drug courts.

Still, problems persist, suffering from a lack of political will to make changes and invest resources in various programs aimed at minimizing the harm of the war on drugs and crime in general. However, although the arrest statistics have revealed racial patterns, they’ve never stuck, mainly because, metro Milwaukee routinely turns a blind eye to police behavior — until someone like Frank Jude Jr. is savagely beaten by overtly racist cops or a mentally ill person like Thomas Jackson dies in police custody.

Suburban police forces routinely get a pass, a fact of life in metro Milwaukee.

Back to McGee: Will another summit or task force produce more positive results? Will the task force be up to the serious nature of its mission?

Not likely. Despite the fact that Ald. McGee has Mayor Estness agreeing that it’s “not about me” as he did in securing the promised task force, the very serious issue of DWB and race will get short shrift with McGee’s Blockbuster parking lot incident in the mix. In the public eye, the task force and the incident will be inexorably linked, and the work will bear the stain of McGee and Blockbuster and the ‘Tosa police.

McGee will have his day in court — although it doesn’t look as though it will be one of his better days, judging by the extensive police reports on the matter. (The cops apparently realized they were in for a public fight when they arrested McGee and have been meticulous in their reports). The incident is just not as incendiary as the alderman would have us believe. He doesn’t appear to have much of a case; his official statement issued the day after can be described as misleading.

In the end, the McGee Blockbuster yelling incident and rough arrest should be filed under “What not to do after hours when dropping off a lady friend who left her car parked in a Blockbuster parking lot.”

While our sympathies should go out to McGee for being bothered by police while minding his own business, it should also be noted that McGee’s lady friend — whose identification and vehicle description have been Sharpie’d out of the police reports posted by Journal Sentinel — appears to be more of a witness for the prosecution and not McGee, if she comes forward.

If metro Milwaukee is serious about a discussion of race relations, the police and the horde of socio-economic issues that accompany life in the rust belt, we should take our cue from how the mystery lady reacted when McGee began shouting at Blockbuster employees who had called the cops.

She got in her car and drove away from McGee, apparently fast enough to miss the ensuing traffic stop, “Smackdown” banter and arrest.