Free Republic

Who’s Afraid of Political Elites? by: Daniel Smith, September 02, 2008 Rush Limbaugh and Sean Hannity often scourge the “liberal elites.” Michael Savage joins them. However, as an independent, he also scourges the “country club” and “checkered pants” conservative elites. Given the popularity of their respective talk shows, it appears Americans share a disdain for political elitism. A democratic, populist, anti-aristocratic thinking pervades the general population. The foregoing reveals a great American irony, though. Simply stated, the Constitution created an elite form of government. Examine the following quotations from Federalist No. 10, written by James Madison: Hence, it clearly appears,...

Ten years ago today, U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania were bombed, causing a devastating loss of life and signaling that the United States faced new and more serious terrorist threats abroad and potentially at home. That potential became a reality on Sept. 11, 2001, when the World Trade Center and the Pentagon were attacked, causing an even more devastating loss of life and sending an even clearer signal regarding the necessity of a smart and focused response to a challenge that could no longer be ignored. Unfortunately, President Bush did not get the message. He and his neoconservative advisers...

“[T]he government of the United States is a definite government, confined to specified objects. It is not like the state governments, whose powers are more general. Charity is no part of the legislative duty of the government.” —James Madison

Can you be an obscure, self-indulged, theory-laden, post-modern scholar and manage to be an effective university president?  University of Wisconsin at Madison is hoping “yes.� It has picked Biddy Martin, Cornell provost and women’s studies professor, as its new chancellor. Her best-known work is a little something called Femininity Played Straight, which features chapters entitled “Sexualities without Gender and Other Queer Utopias� and “Teaching Feminism.� The one review that Amazon.com has picked up on the book is truncated to a single sentence, though it pretty much sums up the obtuseness of Ms Martin’s field: “Martin's eccentric use of the body...

MADISON, WI -- There was a time when residents in this liberal college city would greet homeless people by name. They'd stop to chat with Scanner Dan, the grizzled guy with a walkie-talkie buzzing at his hip as he asked for change. They'd offer odd jobs to a man known as Snowball, who was rumored to have been a smuggler for the Chicago mob during Prohibition. Then two violent slayings in less than three months shook residents in the state capital, which is also home to the main campus of the University of Wisconsin. Both victims were stabbed in their...

Protesters demonstrated Thursday against a coal-powered power plant proposed by Alliant Energy Corp. at Cassville, heartened by an environmental impact statement by state officials that said the proposed plant was "not the least cost option under any scenario." That statement, in a draft EIS by the Public Service Commission and the Department of Natural Resources, fueled protests by more than 70 environmentalists -- some on bicycles -- chanting "No more coal," prior to Alliant's annual shareholder meeting at the Alliant Energy Center. Protesters were joined by Thomas Sanzillo, a financial analyst who said that coal prices are likely to rise...

A former University of Wisconsin-Madison lecturer who taught that the U.S. government was behind the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks is running for Congress. Kevin Barrett says he will officially announce his challenge to Democratic U.S. Rep. Ron Kind on Monday. Barrett says he will make the announcement before a Kind town hall meeting and then ask the congressman "some pointed questions." Barrett says he is running as a Libertarian and will be calling for an investigation into the terrorist attacks. He calls the official version of what happened a "load of hooey."Barrett is also urging voters to throw all Democrats...

Hundreds of Americorps members will join forces with the Natural Resources Foundation and the state DNR to attack invasive plant species in Sauk County on Wednesday, May 14. "From what we can tell, this is going to be the largest single largest one-day volunteer event to combat invasive species in Wisconsin history," said Kelly Kearns, plant conservation manager for the Department of Natural Resources. "Invasive species don't just threaten the beauty of Wisconsin's lands and waters, they also cost us millions of dollars each year," she said. The invasive plants to be combated on May 14 include garlic mustard, buckthorn...

MADISON, Wis. — The slaying of a college student in a downtown neighborhood frequented by beggars has forced this liberal city to ask a difficult question: Has Madison been too nice to the homeless? A debate over the city's friendly treatment of its transient population had been under way for months, but last week's killing of University of Wisconsin student Brittany Zimmermann started something of a backlash against the homeless. Police have arrested dozens of transients on unrelated charges as part of the investigation, but none are considered suspects in the death. The city also announced plans Wednesday to confront...

JEFFERSON — A penniless transient who spent more than 10 years in an Illinois prison for sexual assault was charged today with killing a Cambridge real estate agent by beating her with a fireplace poker at least nine times and strangling her with her own scarf Tuesday evening.James A. Hole, 34, whose last address was an apartment he shared in Brookfield, Ill., was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, arson and burglary with intent to commit sexual assault in Jefferson County Circuit Court.

Losing Brett Favre is hard enough, but what if the Green Bay Packers lost their home field advantage? Global warming could remove those icy cold days and snowstorms that tend to benefit the Pack if they're playing against a team more accustomed to warm weather. An analysis by Environment America found that cold weather teams won more than 65 percent of their home games played from November through January against warm weather teams from 1998 through 2005. And though all cold weather stadiums saw average football season temperatures rise during the past seven years compared to the previous 30 years,...

As an education reformer, I read about education every day. I read about ways to hold institutions of higher learning accountable for their education curriculum, I read about how important it is to have highly qualified teachers, and I read how students not receiving an equitable education should be afforded the right to attend private schools or charter schools with the tax dollars set aside for public education. While all of these are noble ideas, none of them address the real problem with education. The real problem is that nowhere is it written in the Constitution or the Bill of...

I had a recent opportunity to have some holiday cheer and briefly talk politics with two longtime conservative associates; one a Mike Huckabee leaner and the other a Fred Thompson guy. The arguments (paraphrasing) went like this: Huckabee guy: Huck is the one who can truly re-energize the Christian Conservatives in the party, he has a good sense of humor, presents himself well and his personality surely will attract moderates, not scare them off. His recent ‘surge’ is evidence of a winning political ear, which we will need to beat Hillary. He also was a successful governor from a Southern...

According to "Devilstower", a blogger on the DailyKos website, human rights are more important than national security. She explains, “Even if it was sure to be lost in a terrorist attack today, my life is not worth the Constitution. The life of my child is not worth the Constitution.” This same blogger believes that presidents Bush, Roosevelt, and Lincoln set aside their duty to uphold the Constitution in exchange for the illusion of security. “Devilstower” seems to have missed the whole idea behind instituting a Constitution, which is that government is instituted to protect the peoples’ right to life, liberty...

Another battle over separation of church and state may be on the horizon with a proposal scheduled to go in front of an Assembly committee Wednesday. The issue? What to call the tree that sits in the State Capitol during the holiday season. Currently the tree is referred to as a "holiday tree," but the resolution that will be brought to the Committee on State Affairs would rename it as the Wisconsin State Christmas Tree. Michael Schoenfield, legislative aide to Rep. Marlin Schneider, D-Wisconsin Rapids, who is sponsoring the resolution, said the state should refer to the tree as a...

Thomas Jefferson and James Madison participated in a small "revolution" against British weather-monitoring practices In 1790, Thomas Jefferson began his tenure as America's first Secretary of State in the cabinet of George Washington. In this role, he would wrestle with a host of issues facing the struggling new republic, including such weighty matters as neutrality or engagement should England undertake a war of conquest with Spain for Louisiana. But politics and government represented only one side of the life of the man who would become known as one of America's most cerebral presidents. Among other pursuits, Jefferson had an abiding...

Science Daily — In a molecular tour de force, researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison have provided an exquisitely detailed picture of natural selection as it occurs at the genetic level. Writing Oct. 11, 2007 in the journal Nature, Howard Hughes Medical Institute investigator Sean B. Carroll and former UW-Madison graduate student Chris Todd Hittinger document how, over many generations, a single yeast gene divides in two and parses its responsibilities to be a more efficient denizen of its environment. The work illustrates, at the most basic level, the driving force of evolution."This is how new capabilities arise and new...

The intersection of West Washington Avenue and South Park Street in front of University Audio was the noisiest corner on the isthmus Tuesday afternoon. Half of the cars that went through the intersection, it seemed, made the effort to honk at a small band of anti-war protesters holding signs urging them to do so. Fred Reames, 67, a retired UW-Madison professor of mechanical engineering, held two signs: "Support our troops!" and "Bring them home! Now!" "It's an immoral war which is accomplishing nothing," Reames said. "We are killing a lot of people we shouldn't be killing." The protest was one...

The owner of a Madison (WI) Mexican restaurant is suing two pro-immigrant groups that helped organize pickets outside his business to protest his employment practices. David Herrera, owner of La Hacienda Inc., on South Park Street, contends the demonstrations have interfered with his business and customers. He's asking a judge to make the protesters tone down their tactics. The suit filed this week names the Immigrant Workers Union, the Interfaith Coalition for Workers and two protest leaders. The groups are part of a coalition that advocates for immigrant workers. The groups have organized the pickets since last month at La...

Missing Woman Found Alive Authorities Make Announcement Wednesday Afternoon POSTED: 3:44 pm CDT July 25, 2007

Missing Person: Francine Tate (flyer and photo)

Offer me a helping of potatoes and sugar snaps from a local farmer or a plate full of war and carnage, and I'll take the vegetables, thanks. Invite me to sit on a cushion in a chair made locally from willow branches or let me settle softly into plush slave labor and environmental degradation, and I'll choose the rustic chair and cushion. None of my friends or family actively seeks to support war, impoverishment, or desecration of the earth. But what is indisputable is that most any product I purchase, unless I know its maker, has long supply chains in...

The tragedy of Washington's narrow "debate" about the Middle East is that few American political players are willing to comment in a serious manner about the fact that George Bush's mishandling of the Israeli/Palestinian conflict has done more than money or guns to advance the cause of the Islamic fundamentalists who now control the Gaza Strip. Disengaged when engagement was called for, meddling when a hands-off approach would have been wiser, and always staggeringly ignorant -- remember Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice's shock when Hamas won the Palestinian elections early in 2006? -- the Bush administration's approach has been so...

We live in a world that at times seems to be crumbling beneath us, slowly suffocating from the pollution, wars and grinding poverty that blanket much of the planet. The crisis in Darfur screams soundlessly into the abyss that is television news. Attempts to censor the Internet are blossoming everywhere, and a federal investigation recently found that six of eight reconstruction “successes” in Iraq are actually failures. Meanwhile, the world waves a languid hand at the problems and settles back to sleep. Then again, Paris Hilton just got sentenced to 45 days in jail, so maybe there is some justice...

In a case closely watched in higher education, the University of Wisconsin-Madison agreed Thursday to award more than $250,000 in student fees next year to a Catholic group to settle its religious discrimination lawsuit.Both the university and the UW Roman Catholic Foundation praised the agreement, which settles a federal lawsuit filed after the university refused to recognize the group despite a campus presence dating to the 1880s. The dispute has been watched closely because it could set clearer standards on whether student fees at a public university can go to religious groups -- and for what activities -- without violating...

A federal appeals court has upheld the tax evasion, embezzlement and money laundering convictions of former day care operator WillieAnn Madison, but sent her case back for possibly stiffer sentencing. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit in Cincinnati agreed with federal prosecutors that Madison's range of punishment should have been higher because she abused a position of trust. The court said her offense should be increased by two levels, which, under federal guidelines, means her sentencing range should be 51 to 63 months rather than 41 to 51 months. A stiffer sentence is not automatic, however, because...

Around 25 students protesting funding for the war in Iraq spent an uncomfortable, cold and edgy night in the office of Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wis., Wednesday and were forced out by Madison police early Thursday morning. Only one lingering protester who refused to leave the office was arrested, charged with disorderly conduct and delivered a $424 fine, according to Madison Police Department Public Information Officer Mike Hansen. After the organizers broke up, several Campus Antiwar Network members followed the individual where they continued to display their message. “A group of us went down to the jail just to show support...

After rallying down State Street, University of Wisconsin students from the Campus Antiwar Network and members of the Madison community stormed the office of Sen. Herb Kohl, D-Wisconsin, and staged a “teach-in.” Several protesters expressed their displeasure with Kohl’s voting record regarding the Iraq war. “We’re here to tell Senator Kohl we’re not fooled by his little trick where he tells us he’s against the war but then authorizes paying for it,” said UW junior and CAN member Paul Pryse. Kate Losey, one of the CAN event organizers, estimated that more than 200 people attended the rally. However, group members...

Over the past week, events both inside and out of Iraq have unfolded in a manner largely undesirable for the small group of individuals who still cling to the notion that a slight change in U.S. policy could result in military victory for the U.S. and Iraqi forces. Perhaps the most notable incident was the gathering of a massive crowd, at the request of the “radical” cleric Moqtada al-Sadr. The demonstration, which numbered in the hundreds of thousands, protested the U.S. occupation and demanded an immediate withdrawal, all while chanting “Death to America.” Defense Secretary Gates announced the extension of...

In an aggressive move to counter President Bush’s war plans, the U.S. Senate signed off on a bill Thursday that provides $123 billion to pay for war costs in Iraq and Afghanistan. The bill, passed 51-47 in the newly Democrat-controlled Senate, orders Bush to begin withdrawing troops within 120 days of the bill being passed. Most Republicans rejected the bill, refusing to support a bill that imposes a forced troop withdrawal. Bush held a pep rally with members of the Republican Party to help raise support for his plans to continue the war shortly before the bill was passed. Bush...

On Monday, March 5, Tina Richards, the mother of an Iraq veteran suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder, entered the halls of Congress looking for answers. What she found was U.S. Rep. Dave Obey, D-Wis. According to a YouTube video, Ms. Richards, in a chance encounter with Mr. Obey, asked why the Democrats refuse to cut funding for the war. The problem, Mr. Obey explained, is not with Congress but with “idiot liberals.” For five minutes, Mr. Obey angrily berated the Marine mom on her lack of understanding of congressional procedure before storming off. Ms. Richardson, who sold her house to...

The story was tucked away on an inside page of the New York Times last week, but it's an important story that underscores the real reason so many Republicans want to require voters to produce IDs when they show up at the polling booth. According to the story, research on voting patterns in states that require voter identification cards shows that they reduced turnout at the polls in the 2004 presidential election by about 3 percent and by two to three times as much for minorities. The study was conducted for the federal Election Assistance Commission by scholars at Rutgers...

More than a dozen University of Wisconsin students gathered on Bascom Hill Wednesday to protest the CIA recruitment and education event being held at North Hall. UW senior Nick Limback said the protest, which was organized by students of the Campus Antiwar Network and the Student Labor Action Coalition, was meant to inform and educate students about the CIA’s role in government policy as well as the organization’s “wrongs.” “We wanted to raise awareness about the human rights abuses that the CIA has committed and is currently committing,” Limback said. Limback said the CIA has acted violently to protect business...

On March 17th, there is going to be a massive counterprotest in Washington DC. But, for those who can't make it out to DC (Distance, family obligations), there are regional antiwar/anti-America protests that must be countered. As of right now, this is the list of the regional/local blooddances: Los Angeles: Saturday, March 17th, 12 PM PST. Location- The Anti-American march starts at the corner of Hollywood & Argyle, LA. At Metro Red Line stop Hollywood & Vine. More details of the LA blooddance are at: http://www.answerla.org/ To those going to the rally, contact the local College Republican and YAF chapters,...

Conservative writer Dinesh D'Souza, who has drawn outrage for his new book that blames "the cultural left" for 9/11, spent half of his talk at the University of Wisconsin Tuesday night defending the war in Iraq. Iraq has become, perhaps unwittingly, the centerpiece for the war on terror, D'Souza told a group of about 800 in the Union Theater who had come to hear the speaker as part of the Distinguished Lecture Series. Recently, while visiting a different college campus, D'Souza said he was asked if, in retrospect, invading Iraq was a mistake. In retrospect, it would have been better...

Free tuition for vow to stay? Panel's idea: After college, you work in state for 10 years By SCOTT WILLIAMS swilliams@journalsentinel.com Posted: Dec. 10, 2006 Would you agree to live and work in Wisconsin for 10 years after college if the state offered to pay your tuition costs for all four years? That is the question being contemplated by a state commission that was assigned to upgrade Wisconsin's two-year college campuses - but has hatched an idea to overhaul the entire University of Wisconsin System. The commission is considering recommending free tuition for all students who agree to remain in...

Did any of you see this Special that Brit Hume did today? It was an excellent look at Religion in America, the Constitution, the Bill of Rights and where the idea of a wall between Church and State originated. Great look into the HISTORY of the founding of the United States of America. Also a look at the current movers and shakers and the Supreme Court. Watch it when it airs again. (I'm sure it will.)

Statement: The change in formats on WXXM 92.1FM to FOX SPORTS RADIO 92.1: "Our programming decisions are based entirely on audience research and our knowledge of the communities we serve. We have built and established a strong brand for broadcast sports. We are the market?s source for everything professional sports including the Packers, Brewers, Bucks and their league?s playoffs and championships. We are the local flagship for the Wisconsin Badgers offering our listeners football, men?s and women?s basketball and hockey. We provide coverage of NASCAR and High School sports including the WIAA State Championships in football, boys and girl?s basketball...

AP) MADISON Voting at a Madison school was halted briefly Tuesday due to a bomb threat. < snip > Voting stopped at the school about 11:40 a.m., when police did their initial search, Elections Board executive director Kevin Kennedy said. After about 20 minutes, city elections officials asked for and received permission to continue voting outside, at a safe distance from the building, he said. "People are marking their ballots, they are being put in a secured ballot box, so when they get back in, and there's electricity, they can put ballots in the tabulator," Kennedy reported early Tuesday afternoon.

KAREN RIVEDAL and RON SEELY October 28, 2006 It almost couldn't have gone any better. Except for two brief disturbances - in which small crowds of hostile attendees briefly chanted and taunted police - Saturday's Halloween celebration, known this year as "Freakfest on State Street," was overwhelmingly tame. Click on small arrow above to play video By 2:05 a.m. post-daylight saving time on Sunday, State Street was clear of Halloween revelers, and police didn't need to use riot gear or pepper spray to do it. Soon after the staged event was over, and again when the bars closed an hour...

Plain talk: Limbaugh should be ashamed, but isn't By Dave Zweifel October 27, 2006 Rush Limbaugh may not be this country's most disgusting human being, but he surely ranks among the top 10. You're undoubtedly familiar with his latest outrageousness - claiming that Michael J. Fox was really faking those Parkinson's disease palsied shakes when he cut campaign ads for candidates who, like Wisconsin's Jim Doyle, favor embryonic stem cell research. Fox, who came down with Parkinson's about 15 years ago and was forced to essentially retire from his acting career, thus became the latest victim of the well-honed Republican...

In the wake of school shootings in Wisconsin, Colorado and Pennsylvania during the last two weeks, a Wisconsin state legislator said he plans to introduce legislation that would allow teachers, principals, administrators and other school personnel to carry concealed weapons. Rep. Frank Lasee, R-Bellevue, said Wednesday that, while his idea may not be politically correct, it has worked effectively in other countries. "To make our schools safe for our students to learn, all options should be on the table," he said. "Israel and Thailand have well-trained teachers carrying weapons and keeping their children safe from harm. It can work in...

Now that three Wisconsin high school students have been charged with planning to bomb the school and shoot their classmates at Green Bay East High School, it's time someone asked the question: How much longer are white people going to fail to take responsibility for the violence and total disregard for human life in the white community? From Columbine to Green Bay, we are raising a generation of young, white predators who are totally devoid of conscience. Where is the outrage of white politicians against white-on-white crime?

BREAKING NEWS: School Shooting West of Madison Newsradio 620 WTMJ has learned that the principal of a high school in Cazenovia, WI has been shot at the school. The Weston Schools in Cazenovia are on lockdown right now. Stay with Newsradio 620 WTMJ for the latest.

To regulate Commerce with foreign Nations, and among the several States, and with the Indian Tribes. The federal government for years has claimed expansive powers under the authority to regulate commerce – so much that the most innocent private activity can now come under federal control simply because it might have an influence on “interstate commerce.” But did the States really empower Congress through the US Constitution with such an expansive, seemingly unlimited power under the Commerce Clause? There are two fundamental principles to understand when considering Congress’ power under the Commerce Clause. The first consideration is the fact...

MADISON, Wis. The faculty adviser to the Knights of Columbus is demanding U-W Madison retract a statement which claims the school agreed to recognize the group as a student organization. Adviser Mark Etzel says the university's statement is false. The university announced late yesterday that it had reached an agreement to recognize an affiliate of the Catholic service organization. The university earlier refused to recognize the group because its membership was limited to Catholic men. Etzel denies a deal has been reached. He says the group hasn't filed the paperwork necessary to be registered.

MADISON - A top University of Wisconsin-Madison official apologized Thursday for erroneously announcing the school had reached an agreement to recognize a Knights of Columbus affiliate as a student group. The university announced late Wednesday that it had an agreement to recognize a branch of the Catholic service organization that would be open to all students. The university had earlier refused to approve the group because its membership was limited to Catholic men, violating a state anti-discrimination law. But the group's faculty adviser, Mark Etzel, said no agreement had been reached because the Knights had not agreed to changes the...

James Madison Jr., House of Representatives, February 1792: I, sir, have always conceived--I believe those who proposed the Constitution conceived, and it is still more fully known, and more material to observe that those who ratified the Constitution conceived--that this is not an indefinite Government, deriving its power from the general terms prefixed to the specified powers, but a limited Government tied down to the specified powers which explain and define the general terms. The gentlemen who contend for a contrary doctrine are surely not aware of the consequences which flow from it, and which they must either admit or...

New thin-film semiconductor techniques invented by University of Wisconsin-Madison engineers promise to add sensing, computing and imaging capability to an amazing array of materials. Historically, the semiconductor industry has relied on flat, two-dimensional chips upon which to grow and etch the thin films of material that become electronic circuits for computers and other electronic devices. But as thin as those chips might seem, they are quite beefy in comparison to the result of a new UW-Madison semiconductor fabrication process detailed in the current issue of the Journal of Applied Physics. A team led by electrical and computer engineer Zhenqiang (Jack)...

July 19, 2006 Man Who Kept Mom in Freezer Avoids Prison ASSOCIATED PRESS MADISON, Wis. (AP) - A man convicted of keeping his dead mother in a freezer for years so he could keep collecting her Social Security checks avoided federal prison during his sentencing Wednesday. A judge ordered Philip Schuth, 53, to serve four months simultaneously with the state prison sentence he is already serving and to repay about $35,000 he stole from the federal government. Schuth pleaded guilty in April to a federal count of misusing a Social Security number. He is serving a seven-year sentence as the...