Boots & Sabers

The blogging will continue until morale improves...

M
Category: Politics – Wisconsin

Evers Signs Brewers Bill

by | 0737, 6 Dec 23 | | 1 Comment

I wrote about this multiple times. This is a great package for the Brewers. It’s terrible for the taxpayers. One thing it confirmed for me was that there are no, or very few, small government Republicans left in Wisconsin. The fact that there was so little opposition to this spending package is ample evidence of that fact.

The package went through multiple revisions as lawmakers worked to find ways to reduce the public subsidy. The bill Evers finally signed calls for a state contribution of $365.8 million doled out in annual payments through 2050. The city of Milwaukee and Milwaukee County will contribute a combined $135 million.

 

The legislation also imposes surcharges on tickets to nonbaseball events at the stadium such as rock concerts or monster truck rallies. The surcharges are expected to generate $20.7 million.

 

The Brewers, for their part, will spend $110 million and extend their lease at the stadium through 2050, keeping Major League Baseball in its smallest market for another 27 years.

 

The bill easily passed the Legislature last month, with the Assembly approving it on a 72-26 vote and the Senate following suit 19-14. Attanasio said during the signing that the Brewers have received inquiries from other cities about relocating but moving was never an option. He said he understands how painful it was for the community when the Milwaukee Braves left for Atlanta in 1966. He did not name the cities inquiring about hosting the Brewers.

Unions sue to overturn Wisconsin’s 2011 Act 10

by | 0738, 5 Dec 23 | , | 0 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. I thought we were done debating Act 10, but here we are…

A group of unions have filed suit demanding that Wisconsin’s 2011 Act 10 be thrown out. They argue that the law is unconstitutional because it discriminates between public safety government employees and general government employees. Given that neither public safety government employees nor general government employees constitute a protected class in the state Constitution or in law, the case should be thrown out on its face, but it is probable that this is the beginning of the end of Act 10.

 

Since it has been well over a decade since Act 10 was passed, it is worth refreshing our collective memories about it. In 2010, Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle had declined to run for reelection after a series of scandals and gross mismanagement of the budget. The state was facing a massive $3.6 billion structural deficit. When Gov. Scott Walker and his fellow legislative Republicans were swept into office on a wave of discontent, they were immediately confronted with fixing the deficit. Act 10 began in a special session in early 2011 to fix the Democrats’ budget deficit. A structural budget deficit required a structural repair. At the time, roughly half of the $28.3 billion general fund budget (it was $44.4 billion in the most recent budget — up 57% — but that is for another column) was entitlements. Pension costs ate up 13%, shared revenue and K-12 spending was 15%, and all other state needs (universities, prisons, natural resources, etc.) were squeezed into the remaining 22%. Act 10 was designed to address the structural budget by restructuring the pension and local government parts of the state budget.

 

The problem was that government unions had a stranglehold on that spending. In the days before Act 10, the powerful government unions organized to elect local school board members and other local elected officials. When it came to bargain for government employees, everything was on the table and the union officials were usually negotiating with people they helped elect. The taxpayers were not represented.

 

[…]

 

It worked. The budget was repaired and the tremendous budgeting that Republicans did throughout the 2010s led to the $7 billion budget surplus that politicians are arguing about today. It all started with Act 10.

 

Act 10 has also led to incredible savings for Wisconsin’s taxpayers. According to the MacIver Institute, which has been tracking the impact of Act 10 since it was passed, the cumulative savings stemming from Act 10 for Wisconsin’s taxpayers as of March of this year is $16.8 billion. Put another way, Wisconsin’s high cost of government would have been $16.8 billion more taxing had Act 10 never been passed.

 

Furthermore, the government employees who most opposed Act 10 have been voting with their feet. According to the Wisconsin Policy Institute, of the 983 public-sector unions in Wisconsin at the time of Act 10’s passage, only 318 successfully recertified and were still bargaining for employees as of 2021. Teachers unions are still the most active with 56.2% of them still active. At the other end of the spectrum, only 3.4% of county employee unions are still active. Government employees have been clear. The vast majority of them reject unionization just as most other Wisconsin workers. According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, only 9.3% of Wisconsin’s workers — including government workers — were unionized in 2021.

 

That’s the rub.

 

Follow the money.

 

The unions suing over Act 10 have been decimated by the law because it allows workers to choose. The unions want to return to the bad old days when unions existed in perpetuity and government workers were forced to be members and pay dues. The unions were also able to shake down taxpayers for even more money like when the state teachers union founded a health insurance company and forced school districts to use it. All of that stopped with Act 10 and the river of taxpayer money that flowed into union coffers slowed to a babbling brook.

 

Despite the fact that Act 10 was litigated multiple times and ruled legal and constitutional every single time, the unions are suing again 12 years after Act 10 passed into law. Why? Because they and their Democrat vassals managed to elect a leftist activist majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court. The unions and the Democrats are looking to get a return on their investment and reinvigorate the government unions by turning the taxpayer spigot back on full.

Republicans pass massive tax and regulatory relief bill

by | 0706, 28 Nov 23 | | 0 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

Overall, the Republicans bill is a meaningful effort to reduce taxes for working Wisconsinites, make it easier for Wisconsinites to work, and target assistance for needed professions like nursing, child care, counseling, and commercial driving. It not only puts billions of dollars into the economy, it makes it easier to for more Wisconsinites to earn a living.

 

Unfortunately for Wisconsin, Gov. Tony Evers vetoed everything. Wisconsinites will not get tax relief. Professionals moving to Wisconsin will still have to go through a laborious, expensive, and unnecessary credentialing process. Wisconsinites will not get financial help for expensive child care expensive. None of this is happening because Evers is pouting about not getting his way.

 

In his veto message, he repeatedly whines about wanting more government spending to expand the bureaucracy. He also contradicts himself saying that Wisconsin cannot afford a tax cut while simultaneously bragging about the massive budget surplus. Governor Evers called this thoughtful, comprehensive, compassionate Republican bill “completely unserious.” Sadly, it is completely serious that Wisconsinites are not going to get the tax and regulatory relief that they need because Evers and the legislative Democrats will not let it happen.

 

Wisconsin’s state government is bigger, more expensive, and more intrusive than it has ever been and Governor Evers and state Democrats want is to be even bigger, even more expensive, and even more intrusive. No wonder the state’s population is shrinking.

Tony Evers Denies Lawful Open Records Disclosures with Secret Email

by | 0805, 27 Nov 23 | | 44 Comments

From Wisconsin Right Now

Tony Evers has a secret state email account appropriating the name of a dead baseball legend, but he doesn’t think the public has a right to know about it.

 

Gov. Tony Evers has been communicating with state workers about public business using a secret government email account in the name of a deceased Milwaukee Braves baseball legend, and over 17,000 emails sent to and from the account exist, Wisconsin Right Now has exclusively documented.

 

But the governor’s office thinks the public has no right to know the account’s name and won’t provide most of the emails. We verified Evers is using the account, first through a source who saw communications between Evers and a state worker, and then through the open records request. The response provided other details that verified it, even though the address was blacked out.

 

We can reveal: Gov. Evers writes various state workers and cabinet secretaries using the account “warren.spahn@wisconsin.gov,” a state email account in the name of the Braves’ legend.

 

The state Department of Administration explained it was blacking out the email account name, writing of the redactions, “The Governor’s non-public official direct email address. Making this email address available would significantly hinder the Governor’s ability to communicate and work efficiently. There is minimal harm to the public interest, given that there are numerous public means to communicate with the Office of the Governor.”

There are two transgressions here. First, the governor is using a secret email account to conduct public business. This practice intentionally makes it more difficult for people to find them when conducting open records requests. You can’t ask for something you don’t know about.

The greater transgression is that even after WRN discovered the email, the DOA is still refusing to disclose the emails in response to a lawful open records request. Wisconsin’s government is required by law to provide any information for the asking. It is a cornerstone of transparency that promotes good government. There are few – very few – reasons that the government is allowed to redact requested information. “Evers doesn’t want to because it might embarrass him” is not a lawful reason to deny an open records request.

Evers has a history of thwarting the public’s legal responsibility and right to see what his office is doing. What is he hiding?

Lowering Standards at Schools

by | 0808, 21 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

The Washington County Insider is also covering the DPI report cards today and reminds us that the DPI lowered the standards. They also point out the different spending in local districts and how spending seems to have nothing to do with performance.

November 21, 2023 – Washington Co., WI – The State Department of Public Instruction released results from the 2022-23 report card. Data from public schools across Washington County, WI, is below. Keep in mind, it was the 2020-21 report cards when Governor Evers “changed the metrics” and lowered the accountability scoring range.
Below is the Accountability Rating Category used by DPI prior to 2020. These resources are specific to the 2018-19 accountability report cards, which were released in the Fall of 2019.

Meeting expectations in Wisconsin’s schools

by | 0719, 21 Nov 23 | , | 3 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

The Wisconsin Department of Public Instruction has released the legally required district report cards for the 2022-2023 school year. If the results do not make you feel shame and anger, then you do not really care about education.

 

The annual report card measures school districts, and the schools that comprise them, on several factors including achievement on benchmarking exams, absenteeism, graduation rates, and relative improvement or regression from the prior year. Most of the score, however, is based on performance.

 

According to the report cards, the Milwaukee Public School District “meets expectations” with an overall score of 58. The West Bend School District also “meets expectations” with an overall score of 68.8. According to the results of the Wisconsin Forward Exam, 45.8% of students in West Bend and 15.8% of students in Milwaukee are proficient at English Language Arts. Similarly, only 55.1% of students in West Bend and 11.5% of students in Milwaukee are proficient in math.

 

Let us focus on the phrase “meets expectations.” Does the fact that less than half of the kids in West Bend can read or write meet their parents’ expectations? How about the fact that one in ten kids in Milwaukee can do math at their grade level? Does that meet their expectations? Do parents, teachers, and taxpayers in those districts look at these numbers, shrug their shoulders, and say, “meh, good enough”? Apparently, many of them do, but why does this kind of abysmal performance meet the state DPI’s expectations? And why do both districts meet the DPI’s expectations when Milwaukee’s scores are so much lower? Does the DPI’s lower expectations of Milwaukee reveal a soft bigotry?

 

The fact is that some of you have lowered your expectations so much that you are willing to accept sending ignorant, semi-literate kids into a world in which they are not equipped to be successful. The fact that that “meets expectations” is a stain on our society.

 

Furthermore, when one compares the spending per student to the report card scores, there is a slight correlation. That is, there is a slight negative correlation. The data shows that the more that a district spends per student, the more likely it is that the district’s overall score will decrease.

 

For example, the Slinger district spends about $13,730 per student and exceeds expectations. The Monroe District spends about $17,793 per student and just meets expectations. The districts are otherwise similar in terms of racial makeup, number of economically disadvantaged students, number of native English speakers, and other factors. Why is Monroe spending almost 30% more per student than Slinger to get worse results?

 

Money is not the answer to making education better in Wisconsin. In fact, the data shows that more money makes it worse. There is one thing, however, that has been providing a better education for tens of thousands of Wisconsin kids and the Democrats are trying to kill it.

 

School choice. For almost 35 years, some kids in Milwaukee have had the opportunity to escape their failed government schools where 11.5% of kids are proficient in math to go to a better school of their choice. That choice was expanded to Racine in 2011 and then statewide in 2013. These school choice programs have opened new, previously unavailable, doors to thousands of kids who are getting an education that meets their parents’ expectations – irrespective of whether or not the educrats in Madison think about their local government schools.

 

With the new leftist majority on the Wisconsin Supreme Court, a group of leftist Democrats have filed suit demanding that all three Wisconsin school choice programs be ended. The plaintiffs have asked for the Supreme Court to take up the case directly without letting the case work its way through lower courts. Despite the fact that school choice has been ruled legal and constitutional for over 30 years and in courts all over the nation, there is a very real chance that the leftist zealots on the Wisconsin Supreme Court may end school choice in Wisconsin by this time next year.

 

If the Wisconsin Supreme Court kills school choice, they will force tens of thousands of kids back into the government education gulags where ignorance and failure “meets expectations.” I am ashamed of our state’s poor government schools and angry that so many people find that they “meet expectations.” You should be too.

Evers Vetoes Middle Class Tax Cut

by | 1921, 20 Nov 23 | | 0 Comments

Realize that Evers really thinks that it’s his money to spend.

Gov. Tony Evers on Monday vetoed a $2 billion Republican tax cut bill, calling it “completely unserious.”

 

Evers’ veto was expected, as he opposed the GOP plan from the moment it was introduced as a substitute to the Democratic governor’s own workforce development package. Evers has previously vetoed a similar income tax cut passed by the Legislature.

 

[…]

 

Instead, the Legislature passed a measure that would have cut income taxes, created a child care tax credit, and increased income tax deductions for private school tuition. The vetoed bill also had provisions to recognize some out-of-state professional credentials in Wisconsin, and to prohibit state examining boards from requiring counselors, therapists and pharmacists to pass tests on state law and regulations.

 

Evers, in his veto message, said the Republican bill failed to “meaningfully and sensibly address the workforce challenges that have plagued Wisconsin for a decade.”

Nazis Not Welcome

by | 2115, 19 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

For weeks, Wisconsin’s Democrats have been mute as thousands of violent pro-Hamas Jew-haters protested, blocked roads, attacked people, damaged property, defaced our monuments, attacked the White House, disrupted government business, and called for violent resistance. But when twenty Nazis (who are most likely Feds) show up in Madison, Wisconsin’s Democratic establishment comes out of their chairs to speak out against antisemitism. Call me cynical, but I don’t believe them. 

Neo-Nazis marched in downtown Madison, Wisconsin, chanting “There will be blood,” CBS News reports.

 

Almost two dozen masked marchers walked along State Street toward the Wisconsin State Capital before ending up at James Madison Park.

 

The group, who had also chanted “Israel is not our friend,” gathered in front of a historic synagogue, per the Milwaukuee Sentinel Journal. It is not currently being used for religious services.

Antisemitism and racism are always abhorrent – even when your political allies do it. Right, Democrats? Right?

Wisconsin’s shrinking deer hunt

by | 0754, 17 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News earlier this week:

The fallen leaves, crisp air and smell of pumpkin spice can only mean one thing — the gun deer season is almost upon us. As legions of hunters head to the woods this Saturday, the future of the hunt is increasingly concerning.

 

The gun deer hunt is a keystone Wisconsin cultural event that binds generations together. It is also a practical and necessary function to keep Wisconsin’s deer population under control.

 

Absent most of their natural predators, controlling the deer population with hunting is important for the state. The largest reason is to protect Wisconsin’s large agricultural economy. Over the last 10 years, deer have destroyed an average of 108,158 bushels of corn per year. The deer are equally destructive to soybeans, alfalfa and other key cash crops.

 

The second most important reason why the deer herd must be controlled is to reduce vehicle collisions. Over the last 10 years, Wisconsin averaged almost 19,000 deer-vehicle collisions per year.

 

Thirdly, the deer herd must be managed to prevent them from outstripping the ability of the ecosystem to feed them, resulting in disease and suffering for the deer themselves.

 

Since the peak in 2000, there has been a steady decline in the number of deer hunters and the deer population has been rapidly expanding. The reasons are mainly demographic. Wisconsin’s population is shrinking slightly and aging rapidly. As hunters age, they eventually stop hunting for myriad reasons. Some stop because of health reasons. Some stop because their hunting groups dwindle and disband. Some stop because they change their lifestyle and hunting is no longer convenient. As older hunters increasingly hang up their blaze orange for good, there are too few younger hunters to replace them.

 

I am in the latter category. I absolutely loved the deer hunt for many years, but a change in lifestyle makes it no longer practicable for the time being. A successful hunt is one that is safe, fun and harvests some meat — in that order.

 

The statistics from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) bear out the troubling trends for the hunt. Wisconsin hunters peaked in 2000 by harvesting almost 403,000 deer. Last year, they harvested just 176,476 deer and have not harvested more than 200,000 deer since 2012.

 

Consequently, the statewide deer herd has been rapidly expanding. The DNR estimated that there were 987,300 deer in 2009. Last year after the deer hunting season, they estimated the deer herd at 1.67 million. That is a 69 percent increase in the deer population in just 13 years.

 

How big should Wisconsin’s deer herd be? That is a matter of opinion. It is a balance. It depends on what one considers to be acceptable levels of agricultural loss and vehicle collisions. At the same time, the state wants to keep the herd large enough to support Wisconsin’s hunting culture while maintaining a healthy ecosystem with deer in it. The “right” size of the herd is debatable, but as the primary herd control mechanism dwindles, the ability of the DNR to control the herd at all is slowly slipping away.

 

As the number of hunters decreases, the DNR is going to need to adjust the regulations to encourage a greater harvest per hunter in order to keep up with the growing herd. Simply, the DNR will need to make it easier and cheaper for each hunter to harvest more deer.

 

For example, the DNR may consider increasing tag requirements or waiving them completely. If the goal is to harvest deer, who does it and where they do it is less important than the total harvest. The DNR may also consider making the number and types of zones and make it easier for hunters to hunt multiple zones. Rules on baiting could also be relaxed. Finally, as a last resort, the DNR may need to consider significantly lengthening the gun deer season like many other states.

 

Those considerations, however, are looming in the future. For now, be safe out there, hunters!

Too Big to Fail

by | 1950, 16 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

Be skeptical when politicians tell you that we have to inject hundreds of millions of dollars into a private business because they are just. too. important. Important to whom? Follow the money.

Major league baseball and the Brewers are a significant and prestigious item on the State of Wisconsin and the City of Milwaukee’s resume.

 

The prestige of being a Major League Baseball town is priceless. Employers big and small use Wisconsin’s resume of Great Lakes, woods and waters, arts and entertainment, successful education systems, and professional sports teams as ways to recruit the talent needed to fill our workforce and economic needs.

 

In short, the Brewers (and other major league attractions) are too important to lose.

I have worked in with businesses in Wisconsin for decades and have never – not once – seen an employer tout the Brewers to a job candidate as a reason to take the job.

This deal is terrible for taxpayers. It’s fantastic for the owners of the Brewers and politicians.

School Districts Look at Consolidation

by | 2038, 15 Nov 23 | , | 1 Comment

Here’s a story about how shrinking enrollments have some school districts looking at consolidating (yes, they should). This little missive caught my attention:

When it comes to funding, Rossmiller says the state legislature has imposed revenue limits on school districts for close to 30 years.

 

“[…] which limits the amount of money that they can receive through a combination of local property taxes and money from the state. Limiting their revenue, obviously, limits how much they can spend. And so school districts continually have to make choices,” said Rossmiller.

The actual data shows that school spending has continued to increase far in excess of inflation even while enrollments dropped. The “choices” that most districts made were to beef up administration and salaries. Heaven forbid that there are “limits on how much they can spend” like the taxpayers that pay for them.

Wisconsin’s shrinking deer hunt

by | 0712, 14 Nov 23 | , | 2 Comments

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

Since the peak in 2000, there has been a steady decline in the number of deer hunters and the deer population has been rapidly expanding. The reasons are mainly demographic. Wisconsin’s population is shrinking slightly and aging rapidly. As hunters age, they eventually stop hunting for myriad reasons. Some stop because of health reasons. Some stop because their hunting groups dwindle and disband. Some stop because they change their lifestyle and hunting is no longer convenient. As older hunters increasingly hang up their blaze orange for good, there are too few younger hunters to replace them.

 

I am in the latter category. I absolutely loved the deer hunt for many years, but a change in lifestyle makes it no longer practicable for the time being. A successful hunt is one that is safe, fun and harvests some meat — in that order.

 

The statistics from the Department of Natural Resources (DNR) bear out the troubling trends for the hunt. Wisconsin hunters peaked in 2000 by harvesting almost 403,000 deer. Last year, they harvested just 176,476 deer and have not harvested more than 200,000 deer since 2012.

 

Consequently, the statewide deer herd has been rapidly expanding. The DNR estimated that there were 987,300 deer in 2009. Last year after the deer hunting season, they estimated the deer herd at 1.67 million. That is a 69 percent increase in the deer population in just 13 years.

 

How big should Wisconsin’s deer herd be? That is a matter of opinion. It is a balance. It depends on what one considers to be acceptable levels of agricultural loss and vehicle collisions. At the same time, the state wants to keep the herd large enough to support Wisconsin’s hunting culture while maintaining a healthy ecosystem with deer in it. The “right” size of the herd is debatable, but as the primary herd control mechanism dwindles, the ability of the DNR to control the herd at all is slowly slipping away.

 

As the number of hunters decreases, the DNR is going to need to adjust the regulations to encourage a greater harvest per hunter in order to keep up with the growing herd. Simply, the DNR will need to make it easier and cheaper for each hunter to harvest more deer

Feds Investigate Milwaukee Government for Corruption

by | 0945, 13 Nov 23 | , | 1 Comment

Broken by Mark Belling:

An ongoing investigation, first reported by me on Friday November 10, is focused on a pair of Milwaukee aldermen. Sources familiar with the federal investigation say it is premised on whether the aldermen in question have been improperly rewarded for their positions on issues.

 

I am not naming the aldermen. They have not been charged. Federal investigations sometimes lead to charges and other times do not. They can be based on concrete allegations or be fishing expeditions.

[…]

I had earlier reported that the concert venue issue was an area of focus of the investigation. In addition, there has been intense discussion in city government circles about the issue. No one has publicly stated that anything inappropriate has happened but opponents of the project have bitterly complained about the approval of the facility. City approval does not mean the facility will be built and the developers still need to get financing which is currently difficult given the interest rate environment.

 

The Common Council approved the concert venue proposal despite adamant objections from operators of other local concert venues. The approval came after developers dropped a proposed 800-seat venue at the complex. The two aldermen in question had originally opposed the project but went on to support it.

 

Neither of the aldermen in question have commented to me about the investigation. Federal grand jury investigations are secret and it can be a crime to disclose them. However, when a probe begins and people are questioned, word of these investigations can get out.

Evers hands out your candy

by | 0741, 11 Nov 23 | | 1 Comment

Here is my full column from the Washington County Daily News that ran earlier this week.

Gov. Tony Evers announced that he is providing over 36 million tax dollars to pay for five building projects. The announcement highlights just how broken our government has become.

 

Our government is intentionally built with divided powers and checks on those powers. The Legislature makes law. The executive executes that law. The judiciary judges the correct application of the law. The entire apparatus was built for the express purpose of avoiding the concentration of power that always precedes tyranny.

 

In this instance, last year the governor proposed a list of building projects to be funded by the taxpayers. The Legislature, which has the responsibility and power to allocate taxpayer money, passed a capital budget that agreed with the vast majority of the governor’s building proposals, but not all of them. Unlike the federal government, state governments cannot print money. The state Legislature must prioritize spending and balance the budget.

 

That is how the process works. The governor suggests how to allocate the budget. The Legislature writes the budget. The governor then checks the Legislature with his veto power. Everyone moves on. Not this time. Governor Evers announced that despite not being included in the capital budget, he is going to spend over 36 million tax dollars to pay for five projects. How? The answer illustrates our broken government. First, the money Evers is spending is slush fund money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. This was the $1.9 trillion waste passed by the federal government to “change the course of the pandemic and deliver immediate relief for American workers.” This gargantuan spending boondoggle fueled our current almost $34 trillion national debt and was a key contributor to the inflation and high interest rates that Americans are suffering with today. It is borrowed dollars that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be paying taxes to pay back. The American Rescue Plan Act was a generational theft.

 

Sold as a “rescue plan,” the spending also created gigantic slush funds for state governors to spend at their personal discretion. This is the money that Evers is using to pay for building projects. Our government’s structure is supposed to prevent the concentration of power and arbitrary government, but the slush fund allows Evers to allocate money — a power expressly granted to the Legislature — without any oversight. Such arbitrary exercises of power are the stuff of dictatorships.

 

Looking past how the money got there and how the governor had the unfettered power to spend it, let us look on what it is to be spent.

 

$15 million for the Janesville Sports and Convention Center

 

$9.3 million for the Milwaukee Iron District new soccer stadium $7 million for the Green Bay National Railroad Museum expansion

 

$5 million for the Bronzeville Center for the Arts

 

$330,000 for the Door County Peninsula Players Theatre upgrades.

 

No wonder the Legislature did not agree to spend millions of dollars on these projects. Is it really the role of state government to fleece the taxpayers out of their hard-earned wages to pay for a soccer stadium in Milwaukee? Is expanding the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay worth making a young family in La Crosse cut back on groceries to afford their rent? I am sure that the Door County Peninsula Players Theatre is delightful, but it is difficult for an elderly couple in Hudson to enjoy when the cost of gas is over $3.00 a gallon. Budgets are about priorities and there was a good reason why these projects did not make the list.

 

At the end of this money train are people who will be paid to do these projects and the very few people who will make money off of the facilities. Watch where that money goes and how it is spent. Then we will all know why Evers chose these projects.

 

We see how broken our government is. The federal government shakes down future generations by borrowing money to spend on the present generation. This triggers inflation, responded to by jacking up interest rates, thus lowering the spending power and quality of life of the current generation. The money is allocated into gigantic slush funds for governors to spend at their whims, thus bypassing small-“r” republican governments at the state level and creating arbitrary government. Then the money is spent on governors’ pet projects that have little to no value for the taxpayers paying the bills.

 

The scheme is not about a better Wisconsin or a better America. It is about fleecing the many for the benefit of a few.

Milwaukee City Attorney Allegedly Sexually Harassed Employee

by | 0739, 8 Nov 23 | , | 3 Comments

If the facts of the case are true, anyone in corporate America who takes annual sexual harassment training can tell you that it is sexual harassment. Nonconsensual touching combined with retaliation. Yup. Dead to rights. But look how long they are spinning out this process for a Democrat. Despite allegedly committing the transgression within months of taking office, he will be able to finish his four-year term before any action might – MIGHT – be taken. Democrats protect their own.

A state investigator has found “probable cause” to believe Milwaukee City Attorney Tearman Spencer violated state labor law by effectively forcing a female attorney out of his office after she reported that he had touched her inappropriately.

 

Former Assistant City Attorney Naomi Gehling filed a discrimination complaint last year with the state Department of Workforce Development’s Equal Rights Division. In it, she alleged she was “ostracized and mistreated” by Spencer after she informed a deputy city attorney and human resources staffer of the incident. She also accused him of creating a “toxic and uncomfortable” workplace for her.

 

Gehling previously disclosed that she had accused Spencer of placing his hand on her knee during a meeting on July 23, 2020, just months after he took office. Spencer has denied any wrongdoing.

 

In her preliminary finding, Leticia Daley, a state equal rights officer, said Gehling’s resignation in April 2021 appears to be a “constructive discharge,” meaning Gehling felt she had no option but to resign because of her “sex and her report of unlawful discrimination.”

 

[…]

 

If Gehling and the city don’t settle, her complaint is scheduled to go before a state administrative law judge on April 23 and 24 — three weeks after Milwaukee voters are to decide whether to re-elect Spencer.

[…]

Spencer, who is in his first term, has not said if he is running for re-election on April 2. Already in the race is state Rep. Evan Goyke (D-Milwaukee).

Evers hands out your candy

by | 0648, 7 Nov 23 | | 1 Comment

My column for the Washington County Daily News is online and in print. Here’s a part:

Gov. Tony Evers announced that he is providing over 36 million tax dollars to pay for five building projects. The announcement highlights just how broken our government has become.

 

[…]

 

In this instance, last year the governor proposed a list of building projects to be funded by the taxpayers. The Legislature, which has the responsibility and power to allocate taxpayer money, passed a capital budget that agreed with the vast majority of the governor’s building proposals, but not all of them. Unlike the federal government, state governments cannot print money. The state Legislature must prioritize spending and balance the budget.

 

That is how the process works. The governor suggests how to allocate the budget. The Legislature writes the budget. The governor then checks the Legislature with his veto power. Everyone moves on. Not this time. Governor Evers announced that despite not being included in the capital budget, he is going to spend over 36 million tax dollars to pay for five projects. How? The answer illustrates our broken government. First, the money Evers is spending is slush fund money from the 2021 American Rescue Plan Act. This was the $1.9 trillion waste passed by the federal government to “change the course of the pandemic and deliver immediate relief for American workers.” This gargantuan spending boondoggle fueled our current almost $34 trillion national debt and was a key contributor to the inflation and high interest rates that Americans are suffering with today. It is borrowed dollars that our grandchildren’s grandchildren will be paying taxes to pay back. The American Rescue Plan Act was a generational theft.

 

[…]

 

No wonder the Legislature did not agree to spend millions of dollars on these projects. Is it really the role of state government to fleece the taxpayers out of their hard-earned wages to pay for a soccer stadium in Milwaukee? Is expanding the National Railroad Museum in Green Bay worth making a young family in La Crosse cut back on groceries to afford their rent? I am sure that the Door County Peninsula Players Theatre is delightful, but it is difficult for an elderly couple in Hudson to enjoy when the cost of gas is over $3.00 a gallon. Budgets are about priorities and there was a good reason why these projects did not make the list.

 

At the end of this money train are people who will be paid to do these projects and the very few people who will make money off of the facilities. Watch where that money goes and how it is spent. Then we will all know why Evers chose these projects.

 

We see how broken our government is. The federal government shakes down future generations by borrowing money to spend on the present generation. This triggers inflation, responded to by jacking up interest rates, thus lowering the spending power and quality of life of the current generation. The money is allocated into gigantic slush funds for governors to spend at their whims, thus bypassing small-“r” republican governments at the state level and creating arbitrary government. Then the money is spent on governors’ pet projects that have little to no value for the taxpayers paying the bills.

 

The scheme is not about a better Wisconsin or a better America. It is about fleecing the many for the benefit of a few.

Republicans amend their way to secure elections

by | 0900, 5 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

Here is my full column that ran in the Washington County Daily News last week:

Wisconsin’s reputation for clean elections has suffered mortal blows in recent years thanks to the aggressive assault by leftists to undermine our election laws and procedures. Their efforts have been so successful that they are redoubling their efforts to bludgeon our electoral system into an instrument to extend leftist ideology.

 

Defending against the leftist onslaught, Republicans in the Legislature have been working to codify some key electoral protections into the state Constitution. Even constitutional protections are not safe from the activist leftist Wisconsin Supreme Court, but constitutional ramparts are stronger than statutory ones. The process to amend the state Constitution is long, but simple. Both houses of the state Legislature must pass the same constitutional amendment in two successive legislatures, then the amendment is submitted to the voters of the state. If the voters pass it, then the Constitution is amended. The process intentional excludes the executive and judicial branches, relegating the text of the Constitution the sole domain of the elected Legislature and the state’s electors. The Republicans currently have three amendments concerning election integrity working their way to the voters. The first proposed amendment would prohibit governments from accepting private money to manage elections and prohibit anyone except election officials from administering anything to do with running an election.

 

This amendment is in response to the “Zuckerbucks” that polluted our 2020 presidential election. Billionaire Mark Zuckerberg spearheaded an effort to pour millions of dollars and dozens of people into Democratic cities to “help” administer elections. This amendment would prohibit such activities and keep administering our elections the exclusive responsibility and authority of elected and appointed government officials. This amendment is up for its second vote this year could be on the ballot as soon as April for the voters’ consideration.

 

The second proposed amendment would change the state Constitution to ensure that only United States citizens can vote in Wisconsin’s elections. It is already the law in Wisconsin that only U.S. citizens can vote, but the Constitution actually states that, “Every United States citizen age 18 or older who is a resident of an election district in this state is a qualified elector of that district.” “Every” is the key word because it does not exclude non-citizens from voting. It simply says that every U.S. citizen can vote. It does not say that non-citizens cannot vote. Wisconsin state and local laws prohibit non-citizens from voting, but the Constitution does not.

 

Part of the leftist agenda is to get the millions of illegal aliens that the Biden administration has been helping flood into America to vote. They believe that the leftist agenda of opening the borders and providing welfare to millions of impoverished foreigners will be appreciated and reciprocated with their votes. Leftists throughout the country are pushing to allow non-citizens — illegal and otherwise — to legally vote in local elections to start. They have long winked and turned a blind eye to non-citizens voting illegally.

 

The amendment to ensure that citizenship means something and that only citizens can legally vote should be on the ballot for consideration by the voters in 2024.

 

The third proposed constitutional amendment is only on its first reading, so it will not be submitted to the voters until at least 2025. Several years ago, the Legislature and Governor Scott Walker enacted voter ID with wide public support. Protecting our elections by ensuring that people prove their identity and eligibility to vote by showing a qualified picture ID is a simple, common-sense, measure that remains very popular.

 

Like so many common-sense laws, Wisconsin’s leftists have been undermining the law and are counting on the newly minted leftist Supreme Court to throw out the law on some hogwash pretense. The leftists seem to want non-citizens and other ineligible persons to vote and voter ID puts a crimp in their agenda.

 

To try to protect voter ID, the third proposed constitutional amendment would enshrine it into the Constitution. Normally this is something that would be more appropriate for the statutes instead of the Constitution, but extraordinary times call for extraordinary measures. Hopefully the voters will have their say (again) on this issue in 2025.

 

All three proposed constitutional amendments are policies that enjoy wide public support, but nothing is ever certain in Wisconsin’s elections. Get out and vote.

Evers Uses Covid Slush Fund to Build Projects Rejected by Legislature

by | 1044, 2 Nov 23 | | 0 Comments

He really, really does not like working within a democratic system, does he?

MADISON — Gov. Tony Evers today announced he’s investing $36.6 million into building projects across the state in Janesville, Milwaukee, Green Bay, and Door County that were previously rejected by members of the Wisconsin State Legislature in the 2023-25 Capital Budget process.

These projects were considered, and rejected, by the legislature. Evers is doing it anyway using the leftover Covid slush fund money. Remember that money? It was supposed to help Americans who were negatively impacted by the pandemic? Now the money is being used by politicians to fund pet projects.

Should Kids Participate in the Naked Bike Ride?

by | 1924, 1 Nov 23 | , | 0 Comments

One thing I’ll point out about the mom who wants her prepubescent daughter to participate in the Naked Bike Ride…. no dad in sight.

The mother of the 10-year-old girl did not attend the hearing, but one of the bike ride’s organizers read a statement she wrote about the incident.

 

“As a parent, it is my responsibility to raise my daughter to be a thoughtful adult who is engaged with her community. The World Naked Bike Ride is a place of empowerment for my daughter and I. We have participated several times, because it is a rare situation where we can exercise freedom over our own bodies and be naked of liability for the behavior of others towards our bodies. I would like to believe that our community values freedom of speech, self-expression, and the right to protest. Those bills would do harm to those freedoms, and as a parent, I must try to preserve those freedoms so my daughter may continue to enjoy them,” according to the mother.

 

Opponents of the bills not only argued on behalf of their freedom of speech. They also claimed the bills would impose dress standards akin to Iran’s decency laws that require full hijabs for women. They said that lawmakers should leave the issue up to local control. They even claimed that the girl participating in the bike ride was up to her parents, and that Republicans should support parents’ right to raise their children how they see fit.

Login | Register

Archives

Categories

Pin It on Pinterest