Free Republic

Wisconsin --(Ammoland.com)- This past spring, many of you may have heard of, or viewed news reports pertaining to Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke’s public service announcements that made national news. Sheriff Clarke has, in the past, gone to radio advertising to make public service announcements about drunk driving, distracted driving and other issues.With this most recent public service ad campaign the Sheriff took on the important topic of self-defense. You can hear his public service announcement that went “viral” here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-8TCx-sM1vw In what can only be taken as discrimination against the 2nd amendment and the right to self-defense, the Milwaukee County...

Should Gov. Scott Walker have pulled Portage native Scott Inglett's nomination as a student regent at the University of Wisconsin because Inglett signed a petition in 2011 to recall the Governor from office?

Barron County (Press Release) - On Saturday, June 15, 2013 at 4:33 a.m., the Barron County Sheriff's Department received a report of a semi vs. pedestrian accident on Highway 8 west of Cameron in the Town of Stanley. Upon arrival, it was discovered that a semi driven by Duane E. Nelson, 51, of Almena was traveling east on Highway 8 when he saw a male running east in the west bound lane of Highway 8. Nelson attempted to stop and move over but the running man turned towards the semi and into the path of it. The man, identified as...

Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker polls near the bottom of would-be presidential contenders. Unlike potential rivals, you won't find him on the cover of Time magazine or slow-jamming the news with comedian Jimmy Fallon. But he's a conservative Republican who won election in a blue state, survived a brutal recall campaign, and now posts approval ratings over 50 percent. A budget-slashing chief executive and son of a Baptist minister who straddles the fiscal and social conservative camps. A proven fundraiser who has put his thumb in the eye of President Obama and Big Labor.

If ever there was a region where incumbent Republican governors can experience the great GOP gubernatorial apocalypse, it is the upper Midwest. Three of the races involve Republican incumbents who rode the Republican wave of 2010 into office. They are Rick Snyder in Michigan, John Kasich in Ohio and Scott Walker in Wisconsin. That potential loss of three Governor’s offices may be mitigated by a Pat Quinn Democratic loss in Illinois. The problem is that Michigan, Ohio and Wisconsin are less red than Illinois is certainly blue.

MADISON – After two long years of legal limbo, the Wisconsin Supreme Court has agreed to take up the constitutionality of the state’s controversial Act 10, the law led by Gov. Scott Walker that gutted collective bargaining for most Badger State public employees. One constitutional expert who has urged the court to settle the confusion surrounding the case, said a definitive ruling would “put an end to our long nightmare.” The case of Madison Teachers Inc. v. Scott Walker is one of four high profile cases the high court has decided to review. In its certification to the Supreme Court,...

The research for today's catch-all column required a number of phone calls and emails. So I assume the National Security Agency already knows what the article will say. For the rest of you non-snoops, read on. Frog has legs: What's with Cedarburg and people's inability there to keep their hands off oversized mascots? First, the Famous Racing Italian Sausage was abducted and forced to go on a pub crawl. Now, we find out that someone swiped itsa frog (that is its apostrophe-challenged and lower-case name, itsa frog) from the bench in front of Partnership Bank. Before you send out an...

A group opposed to Gogebic Taconite's $1.5 billion open pit mine is planning an organized walk on Saturday into a heavily wooded area of Iron County that was the site of protests and vandalism earlier tis week linked to construction of the proposed mine. A 3-mile hike into hilly terrain is being touted by organizers as non-violent and an opportunity for the public to see how exploratory drilling "impacts a pristine landscape," according to statement issued by the Penokee Hills Education Project. But Gogebic's spokesman Bob Seitz said the company is worried that this week's vandalism could spark more trouble,...

The EAA AirVenture on Thursday completed a one-time agreement with the FAA over disputed charges for air traffic control services at the Oshkosh organization's large aviation convention that starts in July. Last month the Federal Aviation Administration told EAA AirVenture officials the cost for air traffic controllers to come to Oshkosh would be more than $400,000. AirVenture authorities were stunned because FAA air traffic controllers and supervisors have come to Wittman Regional Airport for decades to handle thousands of planes at no additional cost to AirVenture. Air traffic control operations are funded through aviation fuel taxes.

MADISON — Secretary of State Doug La Follette wants his fellow Democrats to quit bashing the Wisconsin Economic Development Corp. It appears that La Follette’s plea went unheard, as three senate Democrats on Wednesday called for a criminal investigation into the state’s main business subsidy agency. “In some cases, the violations of state statute that took place appear to have risen to the level of criminal offenses,” Democrat state Sens. Bob Wirch of Somers, Dave Hansen of Green Bay and Jon Erpenbach of Middleton wrote in a letter to Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne. “We ask that you investigate...

While attempting to attack an amendment to the “Gang of Eight” immigration bill that would require a fence be built along Mexico’s border with the U.S. before legalization, Sen. Mary Landrieu (D-LA) made a significant geographical gaffe. Landrieu, who represents Louisiana in the U.S. Senate, was trying to undermine the amendment Sen. John Thune (R-SD) offered. In doing so, she tried to argue Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) was more qualified to talk about border issues than Thune because McCain represents Arizona. “A smart fence, which is what Senator McCain and I want to build--since he’s from Arizona, I think he...

Madison — In a raucous clash on the state Senate floor Wednesday that recalled the bitter divides of 2011, Republicans abruptly cut off debate and forced a vote mandating that women seeking abortions get ultrasounds. The morning's brief floor session included sharp exchanges and one senator claiming abortions "became the thing to do" in the 1960s. Democrats protested the bill's merits and the process by which it was passed, saying Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald of Juneau and his fellow Republicans were trampling on democracy by ending debate after about 20 minutes. "My first advice to the majority leader is...

Ingredients are coming together across parts of the Midwest and Ohio Valley that could potentially trigger a derecho on Wednesday into Wednesday night. While it isn't exactly a certainty whether or not a derecho will form, some of the cities and towns most at risk include Chicago, Ill.; Columbus, Ohio; Fort Wayne, Ind.; Aurora, Ill.; Dayton, Ohio and Davenport, Iowa, to name a few. Strictly speaking, a derecho is a widespread, long-lived wind storm that is associated with a band of rapidly moving showers or thunderstorms. These showers and thunderstorms produce wind damage over a large swath of land. While...

In hindsight, I think it’s safe to say the recall was what they call “overreach.� As Wisconsin Democrats gathered for their convention in one of the state’s lovely cities noted for its kind people, delicious dairy products, and unpronounceable name, they didn’t have any idea who will run against Gov. Scott Walker in 2014: OCONOMOWOC, WI (WRN) – Wisconsin Democrats repeatedly made the argument at their state convention over the weekend that Governor Scott Walker needs to be defeated in 2014. However, there continue to be few hints about exactly who will take on that challenge in the coming months.Speaking...

To paraphrase William Shakespeare, there’s something rotten in Washington, and the odor is emanating not just from the Internal Revenue Service and the Justice Department. It’s also coming from the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and other agencies accused of colluding with radical environmental groups to write regulations that are threatening the livelihoods of millions of Americans. A U.S. Chamber of Commerce study has found that the EPA has given green groups a seat at the table when drafting environmental regulations, but it has excluded the people and industries most likely to be affected. The Sierra Club has participated in “closed-door...

Woman had BAC of 0.27, police say. A Janesville school teacher was drunk while supervising students on a field trip Thursday, according to a report from the Janesville Police Department. The report states the teacher, Maria Caya, 50, was taken to Mercy Hospital by her husband after passing out on a field trip to a bowling alley. Caya is a fourth-grade teacher at Washington Elementary School. The police report states Caya had a blood-alcohol level of 0.27 at noon on Thursday. She admitted to hospital staff she was drinking at 6 a.m. before supervising on the field trip.

The Messmer High School teacher accused of sexually assaulting two male students is expected in court Monday afternoon for a preliminary hearing. Megan Garland, 28, is charged with two counts of second-degree sexual assault of a child. Prosecutors say Garland was arrested after she was caught performing oral sex on a 14-year-old male student May 23 in the parking lot of Destiny Church and School in Milwaukee. The second allegation involves a 15-year-old male Messmer student.

Fallout from the recent abduction of a racing sausage has landed right on the Locust Street Festival. Organizers of the party this Sunday have been told by Klement's that they won't be able to use the Famous Racing Sausages costumes as they have in past years. And they're not the only ones getting stiffed on the costumes. The pranksters who stole the bigger-than-life Italian sausage in February during a festival in Cedarburg have, as our mothers would say, ruined it for the rest of us. "Our policies at Klement's have indeed changed due to the theft of the Klement's Famous...

Madison — Democrats and Republicans in the Assembly are working together on a bill that would double the amount donors can give politicians and allow voters to register online. It's a surprise collaboration that emerged just days after Democrats reacted with outrage at a public hearing to an earlier version of the bill from Republicans. A new draft of the measure made public Friday night shows the GOP was willing to drop some elements that Democrats consider onerous to accomplish something both parties want — raising contribution limits. Meanwhile, a bill has been put on the fast track that would...

Federal investigators are looking into allegations that the former head of the Wisconsin Division of Criminal Investigation’s Superior field office has been selling guns without a federal license. DCI Administrator Dave Matthews told The Associated Press on Thursday that the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco and Firearms has been investigating Special Agent Jay Smith for several months. ATF spokesman Bob Schmidt confirmed the probe. Smith declined comment when reached on his cellphone Thursday.

<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- The Republican-controlled budget committee has approved a plan to cut income taxes about $650 million over the next two years.</p> <p>The Joint Finance Committee voted Wednesday on the tax cut, which is nearly double what Gov. Scott Walker proposed in February.</p>

<p>Madison (WQOW) - In a straight party line vote, state Republicans reject billions in funds to expand Medicaid. Tuesday afternoon, the state's budget committee rejected accepting federal funds to expand Medicaid for the next six years.</p> <p>"I cannot fathom why this decision was made in the way that it was," says Rep. Dana Wachs, (D-91st Assembly District).</p>

A liberal activist and her group are continuing their efforts to silence talk radio in Wisconsin. Upset that the state’s two largest AM stations, WTMJ and WISN in Milwaukee, have show hosts with right-of-center political leanings, the group Media Action Center filed complaints last year asking the Federal Communications Commission to investigate the stations and force them to give more air time to Democrats and liberals. If they didn’t, the group asked the Obama Administration’s FCC to deny at least one station – WTMJ – its license to broadcast. Last week, Sue Wilson, the head of MAC, used the anniversary...

Ellery, N.Y. — A truck driver from Wisconsin is in a western New York jail after state police say they found him carrying an illegal handgun and other weapons. Troopers conducting a commercial vehicle checkpoint Monday afternoon on Interstate 86 in the Chautauqua County town of Ellery say they were inspecting Michael Coulter's tractor-trailer when they found a Hi-Point model JCP .40-caliber pistol inside the truck.

INDIANAPOLIS – Common Core hasn’t been fully implemented yet, but it’s already making it easier for teachers to inject their political preferences into their lesson plans. That’s the case in Indianapolis’ Cathedral High School, where English teacher Melinda Bundy ... “I didn’t want to teach the Constitution, I didn’t want to teach the Declaration of Independence,” ... teachers who use their classrooms to promote (usually) left-wing political causes. But under Common Core, those activist teachers will be able to excuse their behavior by simply saying, “Common Core made me do it.” Indiana lawmakers have prudently hit the “pause” button on...

MADISON – The state Department of Justice wants dairy farmer and raw milk provider Vernon Hershberger behind bars.Now.Two weeks after a jury acquitted [1] Hershberger of three licensing violation charges, the state’s prosecuting attorney Eric Defort on Friday moved to [2] revoke [2] Hershberger’s bail for violating the court’s terms of release. The state had demanded the Loganville dairy farmer stop selling raw milk to members of his farm’s buyer’s club without licenses from the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection – precisely the charges he was cleared of.That hearing is scheduled for next Thursday at 1 p.m., the...

Several people involved in the ATF's flawed gun-buying storefront operation in Milwaukee face administrative punishment while others are under investigation by the agency's Internal Affairs Division and could face stiffer consequences, the Journal Sentinel has learned. The misconduct investigations are part of a wide-ranging series of steps taken by the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives after "Operation Fearless" in Milwaukee, where agents last year had their guns stolen, their storefront ripped off and made a host of other mistakes that were exposed by the Journal Sentinel. The ATF's personnel investigations were disclosed in a letter sent last...

Assembly Bill 203 and Senate Bill 196 prohibit state law enforcement from using a drone to gather evidence without a warrant except under carefully prescribed circumstances. No Wisconsin law enforcement agency may use a drone to gather evidence or other information in a criminal investigation without first obtaining a search warrant under s. 968.12. This subsection does not apply to the use of a drone to assist in an active search and rescue operation, to locate an escaped prisoner, or if a law enforcement officer has reasonable suspicion to believe that the use of a drone is necessary to prevent...

Last Friday’s cross-dressing day at a Milwaukee elementary school proved contentious. The school-sponsored event was one of the theme days during school spirit week at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities. While the themes for each of the other days were sufficiently milquetoast, Gender Bender Day — as it was originally named — raised a few parental eyebrows. Members of the school’s student council chose the transvestite theme, reports WITI-TV. The idea was straightforward: boys were encouraged to dress like girls and girls were encouraged to dress like boys. Deidri Hernandez, the mother a second-grader at Tippecanoe, found out...

When Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker visited Iowa recently to speak at a well-attended Republican dinner, only one national political reporter (NBC's Alex Moe) showed up. That just proves you don't need national press attention to make a strong start in the 2016 Republican presidential race. There's a Walker boom, or at least a boomlet, going on in the nation's first voting state. When you hear speculation about the '16 GOP field -- Marco Rubio, Rand Paul, Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal and others -- it's rare to hear Walker's name included in the group. But keep an eye on him; politically-savvy...

With this in mind, we agree as a group that we cannot both represent our constituents and our conservative principles by supporting the budget in its current form. We in good conscience cannot support this budget unless the following issues are substantially addressed: · Adoption of Rep. Dale Kooyenga’s tax reform package and serious reforms to the “Marriage Penalty” tax. · Complete and total removal of the “DNA Collection Upon Arrest” proposal. · An overall reduction of $500 million in bonding. · Appropriations and tax reform done in a deficit neutral manner. · Double dipping 2/3 FTE employee provision returns...

MADISON — If U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin can make it there … Well, first of all, what was he doing there? The Janesville Republican — he of the conservative budget hawk gang who has taken an apparent nose-to-the-grindstone approach to his House work after the Romney-Ryan ticket defeat — was hobnobbing with the Big Apple’s media elite Tuesday evening, says the New York Post. It all got the Post huffing, asking this question: “Is Congressman Paul Ryan’s first stop on the 2016 presidential campaign trail in Manhattan?” U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, then Mitt Romney’s presidential running mate, speaks...

<p>MADISON, Wis. (AP) -- A Wisconsin appeals court says a law requiring voters to show photo identification at the polls is constitutional.</p> <p>Republicans passed a law in 2011 requiring voters to show photo identification, saying the mandate would help fight election fraud. The League of Women Voters filed a lawsuit in Dane County Circuit Court in October 2011 challenging the law. Judge Richard Niess ruled the law was unconstitutional in March 2012, saying it would abridge the right to vote.</p>

Wisconsin improved 17 spots on the American Legislative Exchange Council's Rich States, Poor States Economic Outlook Ranking from 32nd to 15th, the greatest improvement of any state over last year. Rich States, Poor States has been published annually since 2008. Dr. Arthur B. Laffer, an award-winning economist who served on President Ronald Reagan's Economic Policy Advisory Board; Stephen Moore, an economist and writer for the Wall Street Journal and former Senior Economics Fellow at the Cato Institute; and Jonathan Williams, the Director of the Center for State Fiscal Reform at ALEC authored the report. The study looks at 15 equally-weighted...

Raw-milk proponents celebrated a Wisconsin farmer's acquittal on three of four counts related to selling unpasteurized milk and cheese, bolstering their hopes of legalizing the products in America's Dairyland. Jurors found Vernon Hershberger, a 41-year-old Loganville, Wis., farmer, innocent of producing milk without a license, selling milk and cheese products without a license, and operating a retail establishment without a license. He was found guilty of one count of breaking a holding order issued by the state in June 2010, which barred him from moving any of the food he produced without a license. The verdict means Mr. Hershberger can...

The School Board was open to some "outside the box" thinking, so Hibner and Peerenboom spent the following weeks evaluating what activities and duties could and couldn't be done from afar. They determined that with the help of videoconferencing and Skyping, the majority of Peerenboom's duties could be performed remotely. They presented a plan to the board that they say benefits the district as well as Peerenboom. The board unanimously approved a one-year change in Peerenboom's contract April 8.

A team of U.S. wreck hunters, backed by the governments of France and Michigan, has revealed plans to dive next month to a site on the bottom of Lake Michigan, where one of the most important ships in Canadian history — the 17th-century barque Griffon — is believed to be lying in a tomb of sand awaiting conclusive identification. The first sailing ship on the Great Lakes, the Griffon was built in 1679 near present-day Niagara Falls, Ont., by the famed French explorer Rene-Robert Cavelier, Sieur de La Salle, and symbolized the ambitions of New France to construct and control...

B. Todd Jones, the acting director of the U.S. Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives is scheduled to receive a confirmation hearing on June 4, an aide with the Senate Judiciary Committee said Friday. Jones' nomination has been stalled over a series of questions including about a bungled ATF sting in Milwaukee. The Milwaukee case, known as Operation Fearless, is expected to be one of the issues to come up at the hearing, according to the aide. The ATF has been without a permanent director since 2006 when then-Director Carl Truscott resigned after spending lavishly on a new headquarters....

<p>MILWAUKEE (WITI) — Students at Tippecanoe School have participated in several different theme days during School Spirit Week, but Friday, May 23rd’s theme of Gender Bender Day caused some controversy.</p> <p>Members of the Student Council decided on day’s theme. It called for boys to dress like girls and girls to dress like boys.</p>

We buried another veteran today. He went to his God, from us, he went away. This one was young, in the prime of his life. He left twin children and a very courageous wife. It wasn’t a bullet, a plane crash or a bomb. It was cancer, and he just finally, could not hold on. He fought “it” like a military campaign. But the time came to surrender, to end his earthly pain. He knew he would be fine in the presence of his Lord. But what about his twins, those children he adored? Will they grow strong and at...

MADISON – When the co-chair of the Legislature’s powerful Committee on Joint Finance says it might be best if you stepped down, you know you and your agency are in for a long, hard day. “I can’t believe Kevin Reilly is still there,” Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills said of the beleaguered president of the University of Wisconsin System, under the political microscope for building up hundreds of millions of dollars in reserves during difficult fiscal times. “In the best interest of the state, Kevin Reilly should not be in this position,” Darling said. The finance committee voted to slash...

MILWAUKEE – Deidri Hernandez’s seven-year-old son won’t be in school tomorrow, after officials at Tippecanoe School for the Arts and Humanities confirmed they’re still holding “Switch It Up Day” – a time for students to come dressed as members of the opposite sex. Hernandez tells EAGnews the day was originally billed as “Gender Bender Day,” but Tippecanoe officials made the name change after she called Principal Jeffrey Krupar to complain. The Milwaukee mother was not impressed. “I didn’t have a problem with the title. I had a problem with the activity taking place,” Hernandez says. She says it’s “ridiculous” and...

Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. said in a television interview Wednesday night that he agrees with the views of an anti-federal government group that recently gave him an award.During a interview on a range of topics with WISN-TV (Channel 12), Clarke was questioned about being named "sheriff of the year" by the Constitutional Sheriffs and Peace Officers Association and an image of Journal Sentinel columnist Daniel Bice's recent article about the award flashed in the background.Bice first reported that the association is the brainchild of Richard Mack, a former Arizona lawman who believes a sheriff's primary duty is...

After 2 months of snow delays I recently completed the vehicle combat training class I posted inquiries about last November.http://forum.opencarry.org/forums/sh...-fire-training The class was a solo student course lead by Firearms Iinstructor and assisted (ammo bitched) by an experienced IDPA\Highpower competitor. The course curriculum was very in depth and complete. Ranging from at your door assaults, engagement ranges and choices, vehicles as cover, vehicles as weapons, point shooting, moving targets, moving shooter, moving vehicles, window shooting, cross passenger compartment engagement, vehicle egress, vehicle hard points, glass deflection, under vehicle shooting, equipment tricks, and hand to hand with pistol attacks. We covered...

MADISON –Nearly three years after state Superintendent Tony Evers signed off on implementing the Common Core State Standards, the Assembly and Senate committees on education got around to holding a public hearing to get the facts on the changes in Wisconsin classrooms. The room was packed Wednesday, mostly made up of ‘stop Common Core’ advocates with signs and red T-shirts. There was no mixing up these Common Core opponents with the suit-wearing government bureaucrats and experts asked to testify. Some attendees were shipped down the hall to an overflow room to watch the hearing. The showing at the Capitol could...

The Wisconsin Democracy Campaign is emphatic that it doesn't play political favorites when monitoring election spending and political donations. On its website, the Democracy Campaign describes itself as "a nonprofit, nonpartisan political watchdog group dedicated to clean government."But at noon Saturday, the Vilas County Democratic Partyhosted a luncheon fundraiser at the Arbor Vitae Town Hall to raise cash for the nonpartisan political watchdog. The minimum donation was $12.Why jeopardize your credibility over pocket change?Mike McCabe, head of the Democracy Campaign, said he had no idea that the local Democrats were organizing and putting on the event. "It was done at...

MADISON – Call it a quiet controversy. But there are a lot of people who don’t much care for Common Core State Standards. Opposition to the K-12 academic benchmarks that some conservatives have described as Big Brother education has swept the nation, and there is a growing core of Common Core combatants in the Badger State. They just don’t seem to get a lot of attention. Several tea party groups, however, plan to be front and center at 10 a.m. Wednesday in room 411 of the Capitol for an informational hearing on Wisconsin’s implementation of the Common Core. The joint...

In Milwaukee, the homicide rate for black residents is 27.9 per 100,000 compared to 9.7 for Latinos and 1.7 per 100,000 white residents. Of known 2011 homicide suspects in Milwaukee, 93 percent are black, while 4 percent are white and Latino. The city itself is 40 percent black, 17 percent Latino, and 37 percent white, according to Census figures. {SNIP} Milwaukee is among the 20 most violent cities in America. The largest number of homicides in Milwaukee occurred in the 53206 Zip Code. {SNIP} In 2011, 17 of the 86 homicides in Milwaukee occurred in 53206. Between 2005-2009, there were...

MADISON — Federal health bureaucrats know applying for health insurance through the federal health care exchanges won’t be easy. If it were, there wouldn’t be the need for tens of thousands of taxpaye- backed “navigators,” new positions that soon will be created to help steer consumers through the rough waters of Obamacare. The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services will provide Wisconsin with $829,300 in navigator grant funds as part of the $54 million HHS set aside nationally for one year’s worth of navigators. There is $1.7 million more available for community health centers through HHS. Republicans on the...

EAU CLAIRE, Wis. (WEAU) -- It is a change that could affect all of us literally down to the core. This week the legislature will take up a plan by the governor that would require anyone arrested for a felony or convicted of a misdemeanor to give a DNA sample. "Present time anyone who is convicted of a felony is required to provide a DNA sample," said Harry Hertel. Hertel, an attorney with Hertel Law SC, sees a problem with the proposal. Mainly he says it requires good people who may have made a mistake to give up something very...