Free Republic

A federal judge on Wednesday ordered Wisconsin to cover the costs for gender reassignment surgeries for two transgender Medicaid recipients. Wisconsin residents Cody Flack and Sara Ann Makenzie filed a lawsuit in April over a state rule adopted in 1996 that denied coverage for undefined "transsexual" surgeries, according to The Associated Press. In the suit, Flack and Makenzie argued that the state rule denying them coverage for surgeries to treat their gender dysphoria is a violation of the Affordable Care Act and their rights to equal protection. They argued that the treatment they are seeking is medically necessary, according to...

Gov. Scott Walker (R-Wis.) is trailing Democratic challenger Tony Evers by 13 points in the upcoming Wisconsin gubernatorial race, according to a new poll released Thursday. Of the registered voters surveyed in the NBC News/Marist poll, 41 percent backed Walker in the race, compared to the 54 percent who supported Evers. When asked if Walker deserves to be reelected, 34 percent of the voters agreed with the statement. Sixty-one percent said a new person should be given a chance, and 5 percent were unsure.

Officers were looking for man near North 28th and West Wright streets who was wanted on gun and drug violations. When they approached the suspect at a residence, the suspect shot at the officers, Police Chief Alfonso Morales said. The fallen officer, a 17-year veteran of the force, was a member of the Special Investigations Division. Police said they have the suspect in custody, and the weapon was recovered. The suspect was not shot, police said. "Words cannot describe the sorrow and anger I feel at this moment," Milwaukee Mayor Tom Barrett said. Barrett said the officer has been on...

Sen. Ron Johnson (R-Wis.) tells @burgessev and me outside GOP lunch that $12 billion in trade assistance to farmers from Trump administration "this is becoming more and more like a Soviet-type of economy here" with "commissars" sprinkling around benefits.

When convicted bank robber Luis Marty Narvaez walked into the Far East Side Madison branch of Chase Bank on the morning of March 1, 24-year-old Charles Daehling was just weeks into his position as an armed, undercover security guard working without a state license and under contract to an unlicensed and now-defunct Nebraska security firm. Narvaez’s head and face were covered with a black cap and black mask as he briskly stepped to a window where a teller was already helping a customer, stuck a bag under the window and demanded money but never displayed a weapon, according to a...

The chair of the House Intelligence Committee accused the FBI and Department of Justice of stonewalling a sprawling investigation into claims the Trump campaign colluded with Russia with the hope of running out the clock until the November elections, when they anticipate Democrats will regain control of the House and dissolve an ongoing probe that has uncovered evidence U.S. officials sought to cripple Trump's campaign. Rep. Devin Nunes (R., Calif.), in a wide-ranging audio interview with his House colleague Rep. Sean Duffy (R., Wis.), accused top officials at the FBI and DOJ of "putting all their chips on the Republicans...

Republican lawmakers were left shaking their heads after President Trump’s Monday’s press conference with Russian president Vladimir Putin, in which Trump declined to endorse the American intelligence community’s assessment that Russia interfered in the 2016 presidential election. Senator John McCain (R., Ariz.) called it “one of the most disgraceful performances by an American president in memory” and a “tragic mistake” in a statement. “No prior president has ever abased himself more abjectly before a tyrant,” McCain said. “The damage inflicted by President Trump’s naiveté, egotism, false equivalence, and sympathy for autocrats is difficult to calculate.” House speaker Paul Ryan also...

My decision to be a Democrat was never a decision. It was just expected of me. It was understood. Born into a family of Democrats, my grandfather would often spend weekends talking to me about his respect for Franklin Roosevelt and his annoyance with President Reagan. I listened and absorbed, but was not yet ready to think critically about what I was told – or to decide for myself. [snip] My parents have since turned their back on me, my wife, their grandchildren, and their extended family. Adding to this, they decided to make the maximum contribution to my Democrat...

The GOP Speaker Paul Ryan attacked President Trump today after his meeting and press conference with Russian President Vladimir Putin. Ryan released the comments after the press conference this morning. Nancy Pelosi urged Paul Ryan to take a stronger stance against the Republican president.

Just last week, eight candidates for governor participated in the first broadcast Democratic primary debate, an event that showcased plenty of agreement, like on criticism of Gov. Scott Walker and the Foxconn deal and support for an early release program to reduce the state’s prison population. A forum held Sunday on Madison's east side featuring just four of the Democratic candidates covered more common ground on issues of school funding and the rights of undocumented immigrants. When asked to delve into the details of their ideas over the two hour event, the candidates attempted to differentiate their policies from the...

Compensation of most US public school teachers is rigid and determined solely on the basis of seniority. This paper examines the effects of a major change in laws regulating teacher salaries. In 2011, the State of Wisconsin’s Act 10 gave school districts full authority to design their own independent compensation schemes for teachers. Newly collected data on district-level policies show that roughly half of all districts retained seniority-based schedules, whereas the other half switched to flexible compensation and started paying high-quality teachers more. Teacher quality (measured using test scores) increased by 0.05 standard deviations in districts with flexible pay relative...

Actual title: Democratic Congressmen Accuse Paul Ryan Of Political Stunt For Calling For Vote On THEIR ‘Abolish ICE’ Bill — Say They’ll Vote No Three Democratic congressmen declared on Thursday that they will vote “no” on their own legislation if House Speaker Paul Ryan puts their bill on the floor. Reps. Mark Pocan of Wisconsin, Pramila Jayapal of Washington and Adriano Espaillat of New York introduced the Establishing a Humane Immigration Enforcement Act earlier Thursday, which would abolish ICE within one year of enactment, and also assemble a commission tasked with setting up a new immigration enforcement agency. .... The...

Chicago alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa penned an op-ed for NBC that encapsulates the reasons why Democrats will be unable to capitalize this November on the relative unpopularity of Republicans in the Midwest, given the Dems' turn to the hard left. Rosa is described as "Queer, Latinx and a democratic socialist" – whatever that means. In political terms, it means he would be a gone goose if he ran for Congress in the vast majority of districts anywhere in the Midwest. But Rosa doesn't see it that way. In fact, he believes that Midwesterners would embrace a socialist candidate and are "not...

(CBS Local)– Over 200 people have now been infected by an outbreak of parasites linked to recalled vegetable trays from Del Monte. According to the CDC, 212 cases of cyclosporiasis – an intestinal infection caused by the cyclospora parasite – were reported as of July 5. The condition has been linked to “6 oz., 12 oz., and 28 oz. vegetable trays containing fresh broccoli, cauliflower, celery sticks, carrots, and dill dip,” which were recalled by Del Monte Fresh Produce on June 15. More than 200 hit by parasite from Del Monte vegetables; symptoms can include 'explosive' bowel movements https://t.co/bs63NaRJbM pic.twitter.com/XiYnkpXzxP...

Milwaukee police are looking for a man involved in an attack at a Milwaukee restaurant. The man punched the manager in the face and went after a waitress until she pulled a gun on him. The incident was caught on surveillance video. Everything happened pretty fast at a George Webb restaurant. The manager at the grill that night said the customer was shouting at the waitress. She told him to get out, and surveillance video shows the man viciously punch her in the face. He then he goes after the waitress. The woman pulled out a handgun from her apron and only...

Political science professor John McAdams is going to be reinstated at Marquette University following a victory at the Wisconsin Supreme Court. He had been suspended by the school for writing a blog post critical of a graduate student. "The undisputed facts show that the University breached its contract with Dr. McAdams when it suspended him for engaging in activity protected by the contract's guarantee of academic freedom," said the opinion written by Justice Daniel Kelly. The state's high court ordered Marquette to "immediately reinstate Dr. McAdams with unimpaired rank, tenure, compensation, and benefits." ( Journal Sentinel ) The case...

The Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Friday that embattled Marquette University political science professor John McAdams was improperly suspended after he publicly criticized a graduate student by name on his politically conservative blog, leading to threats against her. The court ordered the Jesuit university to immediately reinstate the professor and sent the case back to a Milwaukee County Circuit Court judge to award damages, including back pay.

Prominent pollster and ex-Clinton aide Mark Penn said on Thursday that House Speaker Paul Ryan's (R-Wis.) refusal to retire from his post is negatively affecting congressional Republicans' approval ratings. "The Republicans in Congress also have a problem because they don't have a leader. They have a leader who quit. Whoever heard of going to an election with a leader who quit, but won't hold an election for a new leader?" Penn told Hill.TV's Krystal Ball and Buck Sexton on "Rising." "So I think the Republicans, at least in Congress, are hitting themselves...because they don't have a united message or group,"...

When Foxconn breaks ground on Thursday on a $10bn LCD manufacturing complex in Wisconsin, President Donald Trump will be there to claim credit for securing the Taiwanese group’s promise to deliver 13,000 jobs. But while Mr Trump helps Foxconn celebrate in Racine county, Wisconsin — a key swing district that helped him win the presidency in 2016 — just up the road at Harley-Davidson, executives will be figuring out who will lose their jobs, after the company said it must offshore production to battle retaliatory EU trade tariffs. That landed Harley in the presidential doghouse. In a series of early...

David Edwards had no beef with the guy who killed him. On March 1, 2017, Jordan Sharlow allegedly fired several bullets into the 31-year-old father of three at an east Madison gas station, reportedly confusing him with Riccardo Simms, the man he intended to kill. Simms was gunned down five months later. The murders of Edwards and Simms contributed to a grim milestone for Madison: 12 homicides in a single year, counting one in the town of Madison, a soon-to-be-annexed pocket on the city’s south side. That’s the most on record. Nine of those homicides were by gunfire, again a...