Chris Liebenthal: Suspended

Finally, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reporter, union member and "willing partner" Dan Bice has provided his readers with information on public employee Chris Liebenthal's abuses on the job.

Bice writes:

Lefty blogger Chris Liebenthal was suspended for 10 days without pay earlier this year for using his county computer for personal purposes, recently obtained records show.

"It is clear that Mr. Liebenthal blatantly violated the Use of Technology Policy over the course of a year on numerous occasions and was in violation of the above Civil Service rules," wrote Geri Lyday, interim director of the Department of Health and Human Services, earlier this year.

The suspension cost Liebenthal - a social worker and official with the county employees union - $2,051 in county pay, said Mark Stein, an interim department administrator.

Bice doesn't tell his readers that "Lefty blogger Chris Liebenthal" is more than just an anti-Scott Walker crusader.

Bice doesn't mention the fact that Chris "Capper" Liebenthal is the author of Whallah! It's a despicable blog, founded on cruelty and harassment.

Tax dollars at work!

Bice continues:

Liebenthal became the target of allies of then-County Executive Scott Walker, now the governor, after a Walker aide resigned in May 2010 for doing political activity during work hours.

Citizens for Responsible Government, a pro-Walker outfit, urged investigators to decide whether Liebenthal, a county worker, had been using his taxpayer-funded computer to post on any of his various blogs.

After seizing his work computer, prosecutors found last year he had engaged in political activity at work but decided not to file charges, saying it was more of a personnel issue.

Earlier this year, Lyday concluded that Liebenthal - who goes by the name Capper in his anti-Walker blogs - had broken two rules, one for wasting time at work and the other for doing personal activities during the workday. The original recommendation was for a 15-day suspension.

Lyday said she found no evidence that the blogger had used county equipment to post on his blogs.

"Mr. Liebenthal acknowledged that he did use his County computer for personal use but that all activity has ceased," Lyday wrote.

In March, Liebenthal agreed not to fight the matter and to affirm that "the charges are well founded" in exchange for the suspension being dropped to 10 days, according to records obtained by No Quarter.

Bice makes it sound like Liebenthal was a victim.

"Liebenthal became the target of allies of then-County Executive Scott Walker, now the governor, after a Walker aide resigned in May 2010 for doing political activity during work hours."

Poor "Capper" became a target.

Why doesn't Bice put the emphasis on the fact that taxpayer employee Liebenthal "blatantly violated the Use of Technology Policy over the course of a year on numerous occasions and was in violation of the above Civil Service rules," rather than paint him as the victim of a political witch hunt?

Also, why did it take so long for Bice to get around to sharing the story of Liebenthal's suspension with his readers? Why did he provide that cover for Liebenthal? The timing of the revelations is strange.

Moreover, Bice doesn't acknowledge that he targeted Darlene Wink, a Scott Walker staffer at the time. He doesn't highlight his personal role in outing Wink and his significant role in her eventual resignation. That's a major omission.

I think it's interesting that the investigation into Liebenthal's online political activity being funded by taxpayers only took into account what he did last year.

Are we to believe that Liebenthal hadn't been engaging in this inappropriate activity for significantly longer?

I suspect the taxpayers have been funding public employee, union member, Democrat Liebenthal's "wasting time at work" for years.

And Liebenthal is still on the job.

Blogger Down

What a pain!

Update (5/15 10:55PM PST): Blogger should be back to normal for the vast majority of people affected by this issue -- if posts are still missing, please check your drafts (you may need to republish). We are in the process of restoring comments made during the affected period from 7:37am PDT on 5/11 to 1:30pm PDT on 5/12. If you still have other issues, please contact us via the temporary form we’ve set up for this particular issue. Thanks again for bearing with us, we’re deeply sorry for the inconvenience we caused. We’ll share an incident report later this week.

Update (5/14 5:37 PM PST): We're making progress restoring comments, some blogs with a lot of content are taking a little more time. Thanks for bearing with us.

Update (5/13 7:46PM PST): Nearly all posts since Wednesday are restored, now bringing back comments from last couple days. We expect the comments to be back this weekend or sooner.

What a frustrating day. We’re very sorry that you’ve been unable to publish to Blogger for the past 20.5 hours. We’re nearly back to normal — you can publish again, and in the coming hours posts and comments that were temporarily removed should be restored. Thank you for your patience while we fix this situation. We use Blogger for our own blogs, so we’ve also felt your pain.

Here’s what happened: during scheduled maintenance work Wednesday night, we experienced some data corruption that impacted Blogger’s behavior. Since then, bloggers and readers may have experienced a variety of anomalies including intermittent outages, disappearing posts, and arriving at unintended blogs or error pages. A small subset of Blogger users (we estimate 0.16%) may have encountered additional problems specific to their accounts. Yesterday we returned Blogger to a pre-maintenance state and placed the service in read-only mode while we worked on restoring all content: that’s why you haven’t been able to publish. We rolled back to a version of Blogger as of Wednesday May 11th, so your posts since then were temporarily removed. Those are the posts that we’re in the progress of restoring.

Again, we are very sorry for the impact to our authors and readers. We try hard to ensure Blogger is always available for you to share your thoughts and opinions with the world, and we’ll do our best to prevent this from happening again.

Posted by Eddie Kessler, Tech Lead/Manager, Blogger

Terrific. My posts haven't been restored.

I hope they restore the sidebar stuff AND the posts.

After Wednesday, I moved bin Laden off the top of the page and made other changes as well.

I have all posts and code saved, but I'm not going to redo anything until Blogger gets its act together and I see what comes back.

Blogger is screwed up. Twitter is over capacity.

Oh, well.

It's been frustrating, but kind of nice in a way - life offline.

I think I'll write a book, after I paint my masterpiece.

Paul Ryan: Family Received Benefits After Father's Death

The Leftists have no shame.

Paul Ryan's father died young, and the family received survivor benefits for a while.

Liberals are using that to attack Ryan.

From Hans Bader, the Washington Examiner:

At the age of 16, Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wis., suffered the death of his 55-year-old father. Because of his father’s early death, the government made survivor payments for a few years to Paul Ryan’s family – including for Paul Ryan himself. Ryan collected benefits for two years, until he turned 18.

The net effect of the death of Paul Ryan’s father was likely to reduce taxpayer expenditures on Ryan’s family, since retirees typically collect at least a decade’s worth of benefits. (My own father died five years short of retirement. The result was that my mother, who could otherwise have collected spousal benefits when he retired, instead had to wait well over a decade for benefits, reducing her lifetime social security benefits. She was effectively punished for his death.)

But the Daily Kos blog is now using his father's early death against Ryan. A Daily Kos diary attacks Ryan in a post entitled, “Entitlement-hating Paul Ryan collected Social Security benefits until he was 18.” Never mind that Ryan’s recent budget proposal doesn’t in fact seek to abolish entitlements, much less get rid of Social Security. It merely seeks to cut the rate of growth of exploding Medicare costs by eventually giving its recipients vouchers they can use to shop around for medical care.

Not all Daily Kos diaries reflect the views of Daily Kos as a whole, but this one does, since it was briefly featured on the top of the front page of Daily Kos, and is still listed as a “recommended” blog post in the sidebar on the right side of Daily Kos's main page. More than 183 Daily Kos readers have commented in response to it – virtually all in agreement with its hateful sentiments.

Here's the post from the slimy Daily Kos: "Entitlement-hating Paul Ryan collected Social Security benefits until he was 18."

The post attacking Ryan ends with this:

What an evil hypocrite.

No, Paul Ryan is not evil, though Obama tried to paint him as evil.

No, Paul Ryan is not a hypocrite, as Bader explains.

It's sick that the Leftists would cite the death of Ryan's dad to attack him so unfairly.

The fact is the Daily Kos liberals are fringe nuts.

They are filled with hate. It blinds them from the truth, which is convenient. The truth is their enemy. Their extreme agenda doesn't fit with reality.

Paul Ryan is not evil and he's not a hypocrite.

When it comes to the Daily Kos minions, however, I think a case could be made that many of them are not good people.

Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Daily Kos, Forbes - Facts Wrong!

Leftists and the liberal media so often seem to disregard reality, preferring to create their own.

If the truth doesn't fit, make it up. Such is the case with Waukesha County and election results.

Clearly, they aren't happy that more Wisconsinites voted for Justice David Prosser than JoAnne "I'm ecstatic" Kloppenburg.

When it comes to Waukesha County's election history, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel and Daily Kos and Rick Ungar, contributor to Forbes, latched on to an unreal reality.

Media Trackers explains:

It’s the first rule of journalism: Check the facts and then check them again. So how did the national liberal blog Daily Kos and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel both get it so wrong? Both news outlets published stories that attempted to raise doubts about Waukesha County’s votes in the April 5 election based on past election results that are posted on the Waukesha County Clerk website. The results showed more votes than ballots cast in past races.

What the blog and newspaper failed to tell readers was that the reason for the gap was widely known at the time it occurred – and had nothing to do with failings by Kathy Nickolas or nefariousness that would call the races into question.

Indeed, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel itself explained the discrepancy back in 2006. The problem occurred because two Waukesha County communities used new voting machines that year that resulted in the two towns inability to report all votes electronically. Although there was frustration with slow returns as a result, the election results weren’t questioned, and did get completely reported to the state. The Daily Kos’ “big gap” is a complete non-story, and the Journal Sentinel, missed basic journalism 101 (looking up its own archives) by covering it as such.

Media Trackers goes on to detail the FACTS and concludes:

Despite all archived facts, the Daily Kos, one of the most biased and prominent liberal blogs in the country, still ran this story, even demanding that the Department of Justice investigate. The Journal Sentinel attacked Van Hollen, tying him to Gov. Scott Walker, and implying that the election might have been rigged in Van Hollen’s favor.

Wisconsin liberal blogs picked up the narrative, perpetuating the story, and for some reason the Journal Sentinel highlighted it all. For no reason and with complete disregard to the facts.

It's really disgusting that the Journal Sentinel would disregard its own past reporting.

It's embarrassing for the "professional" journalists of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel to be on the same page as the extremists of Daily Kos. Forbes should be embarrassed for allowing Ungar to regurgitate falsehoods this blatant and post them on its website without a disclaimer.

Hey, PolitiFact!

There are PANTS ON FIRE over here.

Report the FACTS.

Tagged

Kate tagged me after Maggie tagged her.

The Rules:

1. Write your own six word memoir.
2. Post it on your blog and include a visual illustration if you want.
3. Link to the person that tagged you in your post and to the original post, if possible, so we can track it as travels across the blogosphere.
4. Tag at least five more blogs with links.
5. Leave a comment on the tagged blogs with an invitation to play.

Since I think I'm one of the last people in the blogosphere to be tagged with this meme, I'm not going to tag anyone.

It is an interesting one. A memoir in six words is difficult. Actually, I think one word would be easier.

I'd like to know how Bill Clinton would respond. Could he trim his 1008-page memoir My Life to six words?

Anyway, here's my six word memoir:



I've seen, heard, and touched God.

Naked Woman in Cheney's Sunglasses

This story is hilarious.

Yes, I'm sure the White House would post a photo of the Vice President that revealed an image of a naked woman reflected in his sunglasses.



Where's the White House photo of the President guzzling from a bottle of Jack Daniel's? I can't find that one on the website.

There's an official White House photo of Laura Bush sucking on the toes of Nicolas Sarkozy, right?



Clearly, the image is not a naked woman. Not even close. I wonder who was the first to suggest that it was, because that individual certainly doesn't know what a naked woman looks like.

Reporting on CNN, Veronica De La Cruz suggested, "Maybe it's Lynne."

What a classy comment!

Blogged to Death

Unnamed Kitty

From the New York Times:

They work long hours, often to exhaustion. Many are paid by the piece — not garments, but blog posts. This is the digital-era sweatshop. You may know it by a different name: home.

A growing work force of home-office laborers and entrepreneurs, armed with computers and smartphones and wired to the hilt, are toiling under great physical and emotional stress created by the around-the-clock Internet economy that demands a constant stream of news and comment.

Of course, the bloggers can work elsewhere, and they profess a love of the nonstop action and perhaps the chance to create a global media outlet without a major up-front investment. At the same time, some are starting to wonder if something has gone very wrong. In the last few months, two among their ranks have died suddenly.

Two weeks ago in North Lauderdale, Fla., funeral services were held for Russell Shaw, a prolific blogger on technology subjects who died at 60 of a heart attack. In December, another tech blogger, Marc Orchant, died at 50 of a massive coronary. A third, Om Malik, 41, survived a heart attack in December.

Other bloggers complain of weight loss or gain, sleep disorders, exhaustion and other maladies born of the nonstop strain of producing for a news and information cycle that is as always-on as the Internet.

To be sure, there is no official diagnosis of death by blogging, and the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic. There is also no certainty that the stress of the work contributed to their deaths. But friends and family of the deceased, and fellow information workers, say those deaths have them thinking about the dangers of their work style.

The pressure even gets to those who work for themselves — and are being well-compensated for it.

Of course, it's not the act of blogging itself that's the problem.

It's leading an unhealthy lifestyle, stress, and possibly underlying health conditions that are the root causes of the deaths.

People dying prematurely isn't a new phenomenon. Some jobs are more stressful than others and pose higher risks for death.

Blogging doesn't rank as one of America's Most Dangerous Jobs."

So although toiling in the blogging virtual sweatshop could lead to an early death, that's far less likely than if you make your living in fishing and related activities, or as pilots and aircraft engineers.

"In Web World of 24/7 Stress, Writers Blog Till They Drop"-- That headline is an attention-getter, but it's misleading.

It suggests a trend rather than isolated cases. The article itself does note "the premature demise of two people obviously does not qualify as an epidemic."

No kidding.

Whatever your career, whatever you do, if you don't take care of yourself, there are consequences.

If you have a genetic predisposition to a health problem, that's a strike against you that you need to address.

It's common sense.

If one realizes that blogging is having ill effects on one's well-being, then it would be wise to make some changes.

It's worth noting that blogging has some health benefits as well.

Falling asleep at the computer is a good thing if you're an insomniac. At least it's sleep.

Scott Walker and Adolph Hitler

Lefty blogger Other Side has a picture of Adolph Hitler that he likes to post. (There are so many photos of Hitler available you'd think he would mix it up a bit and use some different poses.)

Anyway, you know Other Side is especially troubled and tormented when he drags out his favorite Hitler picture. It's his lifesaver. Hitler is like chicken soup for his soul.



Whether he's talking about God or bashing Christians or "complimenting" Scott Walker, Other Side just has to trot out his Hitler pic.

Then comes the twisted explanation, the dramatic point.

Other Side says:

Of course I was not really comparing the two. For as much as I dislike Scott Walker's politics, I suspect down deep he is a decent person, loves his family, etc. But the reaction was interesting. Nothing was said. I merely stated that both men were ambitious. What is not true about that statement?

Wow. What a fascinating social experiment! Other Side thinks that it's so fascinating that he keeps repeating it.

Hitler, shmitler.

Ambition.

Good grief.

Lena Taylor lost because Milwaukee County residents rejected her reliance on the liberals' panacea -- RAISING TAXES.

Two things in Liberaldom are certain: Comparisons to Hitler and Higher Taxes.

Bottom line: Walker won big. Taylor lost big. Liberal Endorser-in-Chief Jim Doyle lost big. Viva la Tax Revolución!

Deal with it, libs.

3rd Anniversary

February 23, 2005 - February 23, 2008

Celebrating three years of spending way too much time on the Internet!

Blogging is Not Easy

I write this post tonight with a very, very full heart.


It's not easy. It's not easy. And I couldn't do it if I just didn't passionately believe blogging was the right thing to do. I have so many opportunities from this blog. I just don't want to see it fall backwards. (Eyes well up.)

You know, this is very personal for me. (Sniff, sniff.) It's not just political. It's not just public. I see what's happening. I have to reverse it.

And some people think blogs are a game. They think it's like whose traffic is up or who's down. It's about our websites. It's about our blogs' futures. And it's really about all of us bloggers together.

Some of us put ourselves out there and do this against some pretty difficult odds. (Loses wireless signal again.) And we do it, each one of us, because we care about our blogs.

But some of us are right and some of us are wrong. Some of us are ready and some of us are not. Some of us know what we will write on day one, and some of us haven't really thought that through enough.

So as tired as I am and as difficult as it is to keep up with what I try to do online, and still occasionally exercise, trying to eat right—it's tough when the easiest thing is pizza. (Struggles for composure.)

I just believe… (Pauses, takes a deep breath) so strongly in who I am as a blogger. I'm going to do everything I can to make my case, and then the readers get to decide. (Bites lower lip.)

And I want especially to thank you. Over the last week, I listened to you and in the process, I found my own voice.

I felt like we all spoke from our hearts, and I am so gratified that you responded with comments.

Honest.

Prayers

From Real Debate Wisconsin:

The Cheddarsphere loses a friend.

His family and his friends are in my prayers.

Ahmadinejad's Blog and the Disjointed Bubble of Weirdness

This is no joke.

Check out Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's blog.

It's called "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Personal Memos."



He doesn't blog very regularly. He's only written 13 posts. The first is dated August 8, 2006. The most recent is from December 1, 2007. To say it's not a very active blog is an understatement.

Ahmadinejad addresses his commitment to his blog in this post, from November 18, 2007:

To read or to write, that is the question!‎ 2007/11/18
In the Name of Almighty God-the All-Knowing, the Most Lovingly ‎Compassionate

Since my last post on the blog, a few months have passed. But this doesn't ‎mean that I have not been keeping my promise of spending fifteen minutes per week ‎on it. As a matter of fact, I have spent more than the allocated time on the blog. The ‎magnitude of the reception and acclamation from the viewers was beyond ‎expectations. So I had to decide how to spend the limited time that I have allocated ‎for the blog; should I write new notes or respect those viewers who kindly and ‎generously have shared their thoughts and opinions with me and sent messages and read ‎their numerous received messages. ‎

‎***‎

As you know, the purpose of running this blog is to have a direct and mutual ‎contact and communication with the viewers and even though I have received many ‎messages from the viewers to update the blog and write new notes, I preferred to write ‎less and spend more time on reading the viewers' messages – and not let this ‎communication tool become just a one-way medium.‎

‎***‎

I personally have read those messages that are considered to be short. I even ‎have read those messages that have started with a sentence like "I know that the ‎president is not going to read this message, but…." ‎

Also some of my trusted students have shortened the long messages for me ‎and have prepared a statistical report regarding all of the messages which I have read ‎and studied those too. God willing, a portion of the overall analysis of the messages ‎and its interesting results will be posted on the blog in the future.‎

‎***‎

I am apologetic to those who have been waiting for my new posts, but ‎fortunately overall, the analysis of the messages has got to a point that I can start ‎writing here again. ‎

I would like to use this opportunity and ask those of you who intend to send ‎me messages through blog, to make it as brief as you can. Thank you.

Wow. That's so...right.

Ahmadinejad's blog inspired Red Eye host Greg Gutfeld to give his take on blogging.

He writes:

So Iranian President Ahmadinejad has a new blog and it works, in that "senile grandma in the attic" sort of way. But other than realizing how similar it sounds to Keith Olbermann, it dawned on me that when the elderly, squirrels and crazed dictators start having their own blogs, then blogging is dead.

The worst five words you can hear at a party is "have you read my blog?" Blogs, really, used be called diaries, hidden under the pillows by troubled twelve year old girls. They were usually covered with stickers of rainbows and unicorns (Oh I loved those unicorns). But now everyone has a diary, but they call them blogs and they're asking you to read them - it's disgusting. It's like pulling off a band-aid and saying - I made it myself!

I call it the Sylvia Plath Syndrome - the idea that every nuance of your life should endless fascinate everyone else. At least Plath at the decency to provide a killer ending.

Some think that if you don't blog, you don't have a life. But it's the opposite. You should be happy that you don't write for folks who prefer to live in a disjointed bubble of weirdness where their own self-serving cowardice is masked temporarily by online bravery. It's better to go outside and beat up somebody for real, than beat up someone on the web, while sitting in your feety pajamas, eating Cheetos and drinking Mr. Pibb. Six Cans!
If you'd like to hear more about this - go to my blog - dailygut.com.

I agree with Gutfeld's assessment that Ahmadinejad's blog works in that "'senile grandma in the attic' sort of way."

He says, "it dawned on me that when the elderly, squirrels and crazed dictators start having their own blogs, then blogging is dead."

Blogging isn't dead. Gutfeld's biting yet entertaining post proves that, although it's not really just a blog entry. His comments also served as Wednesday's Gregalogue on Red Eye. As usual, Gutfeld's posts tend to do double duty.

Along with the humor, Gutfeld sneaks in some worthwhile insight.

Some think that if you don't blog, you don't have a life. But it's the opposite. You should be happy that you don't write for folks who prefer to live in a disjointed bubble of weirdness where their own self-serving cowardice is masked temporarily by online bravery.

One need look no further than Ahmadinejad's blog to find that online "disjointed bubble of weirdness."

In any event, Gutfeld's blog is exponentially superior to Ahmadinejad's blog. Blogging isn't dead, though "Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's Personal Memos" is on life support.
__________________

Watch the Greg-alogue.

Matthew Murray's Warnings on the Web

Matthew Murray's Internet postings raise the question: When is a rant on the Web an expression of free speech and when does a rant become a legitimate threat?

KUSA -- 9Wants to Know has discovered more than a dozen writings posted by Matthew Murray where he warns of an impending rampage and copied the statements of one of the Columbine High School gunmen.

..."You Christians brought this on yourselves," Murray wrote on a Web site for people who have left Pentecostal and fundamentalist religious organizations.

It was the most recent posting of his on the site, dated Sunday, December 9 at 11:03 a.m.

...In the Web writings, which are now being investigated by Colorado Springs Police, Arvada Police and the FBI, Murray warned, "I'm coming for EVERYONE soon and I WILL be armed to the @#%$ teeth and I WILL shoot to kill. ...God, I can't wait till I can kill you people. Feel no remorse, no sense of shame, I don't care if I live or die in the shoot-out. All I want to do is kill and injure as many of you ... as I can especially Christians who are to blame for most of the problems in the world."

If the time on the posting is accurate, it was posted after the 12:30 a.m. shooting Sunday morning in Arvada and before the 1:10 p.m. Sunday afternoon shooting in Colorado Springs.

Murray's first posting on the day of the shootings is time stamped 10:50 a.m. It begins with a goodbye to those he has corresponded with for the past several months.

"You guys were awesome. It's time for me to head out and teach these (expletive) a lesson."

Murray continued, "Thanks for listening and all ... even though even many of you ex-Pentecostals don't understand ......(sic) See you all on the other side, we're leaving this nightmare behind to a better place."

Then Murray posted the 11:03 writing quoted above. That writing mirrors written statements by Columbine gunman Eric Harris.

After that final posting, one of the other Web site users realizes what's happened and wrote, "Oh no. I just saw this on the news."

Another wrote, "Yes, please don't do it. You'd only make them into martyrs and yourself into a fanatical, hateful zealot, in the public opinion."

The only other posting that referred to Murray was a user asking everyone to leave the Web site to chat about Murray elsewhere to avoid the media finding out.

9NEWS attempted to contact the webmaster without success. 9NEWS is not naming the Web site to protect the privacy of its users. Murray's writings were removed from the Web site on Monday night.

...Throughout his writings, which spanned several months, Murray's violence continued to accelerate.

Some of the users tried to counsel Murray and one psychologist even offered her services after reading his poem called "Crying all alone in pain in the nightmare of Christianity".

Murray rebuffed her offer.

"I've already been working with counselors. I have a point to make with all this talk about psychologists and counselors 'helping people with their pain,'" he wrote.

Should the administrator and users of the website have reported Murray's posts to authorities?

Did some of the users on the site consider Murray's rants to be typical, over the top Internet crap and brush them off?

Some tried to reach out to him, but no one apparently contacted authorities.

If they had, would Murray have been arrested? Would the four people he killed be alive today?

Bottom line: Threats posted on the Internet need to be taken seriously and investigated. Website administrators need to cooperate with law enforcement.

"Mischievous" James Buss

Now that Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens announced that he won't be charging James Buss for his anonymous posting at Boots and Sabers, the one that both West Bend teachers and police considered to be threatening, we're learning what Buss has to say about it.

Since the story first broke over the weekend, Buss hasn't responded to inquiries by the media. He still didn't return calls to his home made by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on Wednesday. Dennis Coffey, Buss' attorney also wasn't talking to the JS.

But Buss has broken his silence.

From the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

According to a West Bend police report, Buss told investigators that he was angered by comments on the Boots and Sabers Web site and on radio talk shows that opposed a recent West Bend school referendum plan.

The $119.3 million proposal, had it passed, would have been the largest in Wisconsin history. The measure was defeated nearly 2-1.

Buss told police he "just wanted to see if the hate towards teachers from other posters was so strong that other posters would endorse my facetious post," the report says.

In one post, Buss praised Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two high school seniors who killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado in April 1999 before taking their own lives.

"We've got to get in back of the kids who have had enough of lazy, no good teachers and are fighting back. Kids like Eric Harris and Dylen Klebold," said the "Observer," whose message contained several misspelled words, including Klebold's first name.

Buss, who in a statement described himself as politically "moderate," told police he misspelled words and used incorrect grammar and punctuation to enhance his characterization of "Observer" as "a right-wing zealot."

...Buss told police that he did not intend his post, which he called "mischievous," as a threat, but he understood how someone could perceive it as "advocating a Columbine-like attack on schools." Buss said he posted comments on the Web site under two other names, "Jeff" and "Ditto."

This guy is a real piece of work.

Buss was mad at Boots and Sabers commenters and talk radio. He didn't like that they were against the $119.3 million West Bend school referendum plan. It seems that he was hoping for revenge.

So, Oak Creek High School chemistry teacher and former president of the Oak Creek School District's teachers union decided that he wanted to test the online posters and possibly expose them as crazed Columbine shooting supporters. Sick.

Buss claims he conducted an experiment of sorts. He wanted to find out if other posters would "endorse" his comment that praised Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold as heroes. He wanted to learn if they would support his remark about taking out the overpaid teachers "one shot at a time."

He wasn't making an online threat, per se. He was being facetious to trip up those anti-tax increase conservatives by setting them up.

What a spinmeister!

He obviously has an extremely low opinion of people against $119.3 million tax referendums, believing that they are teacher-haters as well as poorly educated spellers.

The politically "moderate" Buss (Yeah, right!) intentionally used misspellings, bad grammar and punctuation to be convincing as a "right-wing zealot."

If poor spelling, grammar, and punctuation are indications of "right-wing zealots," then, in some cases, the public school system appears to be serving as a "right-wing zealot" factory, with its often high output of students with inadequate basic writing skills.

Buss' characterization of his post as "mischievous" is lame. West Bend teachers and police clearly didn't interpret it as "mischievous."

That poor mischievous imp Buss was so misunderstood.

The whole thing was all just a misunderstanding. That was the problem. The West Bend teachers didn't pick up on his clever ploy. Things snowballed when they failed to understand Buss' motivation behind his online techniques.

Buss admits to using other aliases besides "Observer."

I thought it was interesting that "Observer" Buss chose to spell his online nickname correctly even though spelling "teacher" proved to be more than "Observer" could handle.

I guess Buss can't get enough of Boots and Sabers. He apparently finds the discussion on the blog to be so irresistible that he has participated under three aliases. In addition to "Observer," Buss is also known as "Jeff" and "Ditto."

I guess he'll have to come up with some new ones.

Some more interesting details:

Buss was arrested Nov. 29 and was released from the Washington County Jail after posting $300 bail.

During a search of Buss' home, police seized two computers and two rifles.

West Bend police asked Martens to charge Buss with unlawful use of computerized communications systems and disorderly conduct, both misdemeanors.

Buss owns guns.

For someone making online postings praising the Columbine shooters, the presence of firearms in his home certainly had to be of concern to police and an reasonable observer.

Although police wanted Buss to be charged with unlawful use of computerized communications systems and disorderly conduct, DA Martens determined that Buss' speech was protected.

Will others consider the outcome of this case to be an invitation to be threateningly "facetious" online?

I doubt it. Only nutjobs would consider posting things as foul as Buss' comments.

It find it stunning that a teacher would behave so irresponsibly online. Teachers are entrusted with our children. Buss teaches students a lot more than just chemistry. His example, how he conducts himself, should serve to teach kids how to be responsible citizens. Buss dropped the ball on that one. He not only dropped it, he deflated it.

Now the matter is left to Sara Larsen, superintendent of the Oak Creek-Franklin School district.

What to do with Buss...

Larsen noted that Martens' failure to bring charges against Buss "doesn't really affect what we decide as a school."

"Larsen said she would review the police report with Buss before deciding what discipline to impose."

I predict Buss will be disciplined with a slap on the wrist.

No. I predict he'll receive a warning that he'll get a slap on the wrist if he decides to be "mischievous" online again.

NO CHARGES FOR BUSS

According to News/Talk 1130 WISN, James Buss will not be charged for his "anonymous" blog posting at Boots and Sabers.

The Washington County DA decided that Buss' Columbine-like, taking out teachers "one shot at a time" comments did not constitute a specific threat.

He's a free, but no longer anonymous, man.

More, from the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Washington County District Attorney Todd Martens has decided not to charge Oak Creek high school teacher James Buss for online comments he made on Nov. 16, facetiously saying the 1999 Columbine High School killers "knew how to deal with overpaid teacher union thugs" when they opend fire on students and staff.

"I find the content of th eblog offensive and disgusting," Martens wrote in a letter to West Bend School District Superintendent Patricia Herdrich, who filed a complaint against Buss.

"But to find the content illegal, it must have been directed to inciting imminent lawless action and have been likely to do so. I cannot so find," Martens wrote.

...Buss is past president of the Oak Creek School District's teachers union. He was suspended from his job as a teacher at Oak Creek High School.

Sara Larsen, superintendent of the Oak Creek-Franklin School District, said today she will review the police report with Buss and then decide on what discipline to apply.

Buss will be able to appeal her decision to the Oak Creek-Franklin School Board, she said.

Student Arrested for Columbine-Like Threats

Should this student have been arrested for leaving Columbine-like threats on a MySpace page, or was he merely exercising his free speech rights?

A 14-year-old student Sierra Vista High School student was arrested Thursday afternoon for making Columbine-like threats on another student's MySpace page.

First off, police say parents shouldn't be too concerned. It doesn't look like there was much to the threats, but they are something they take very seriously.

A parent noticed the threats on a MySpace page. She went to school police and in less than 24 hours the student was arrested.

"We applaud the individuals who stepped forward to give us this information and encourage anybody who's watching this to sit down with their parents, and talk to students about information on MySpace," Lieutenant Ken Young with CCSD Police said. "A text or passing conversation, give them strategies on what to do with that information. This is a great example of parents being in tune with their kids, having a relationship where they can pass it on."

After investigating, police determined that there didn't appear to be much to the threats.

Of course, that determination was made because the student was arrested and the matter was investigated.

Is this an instance of abuse by the free speech police?

Was this student harassed simply for posting some disturbing remarks online?

An Associated Press article on the James Buss case, the Oak Creek High School teacher arrested for a blog post praising Columbine shooters, offers some insight from a free speech advocate and a free speech "expert."

"If you look at all the factors in [the James Buss] case, it's pretty clear it would be a mistake to charge," said Larry Dupuis, legal director of The American Civil Liberties Union of Wisconsin. "At worst, it was somebody expressing admiration for somebody who did something reprehensible. But the more reasonable explanation is this is somebody who is trying to mock the conservative view of teacher salaries."

In other words, Buss' post was a joke. No big whoop.

Buss wrote: Columbine shooters "knew how to deal with the overpaid teacher union thugs. One shot at a time!"

Obviously, no reasonable person would consider that threatening. It's clearly meant to mock conservatives.

Right.

Donald Downs, a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor and expert in free speech, said that "all sorts of unsavory, controversial speech" are protected by the First Amendment.

"It has to be intended to incite violence" to be illegal, Downs said. "If it's tongue-in-cheek, there's virtually no way they can claim that."

The reality is until Buss' alleged harmless, "tongue-in-cheek" postings are thoroughly investigated, there's no way one can just assume that his "one shot at a time" advocacy wasn't intended to incite violence.

There's no way to know if an anonymous posting is a real threat or just an "unsavory" remark unless it's reported and authorities follow up.

Ask parents of the slain Virginia Tech students if they think that police involvement in the Buss case is inappropriate.

Buss probably never thought that his actions would become part of a national debate.

Is this 46-year-old proud of himself? Is he proud that he's known for his "harmless, tongue-in-cheek" comment that Columbine shooters Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold are heroes?

When chemistry teacher Buss was supposedly posing online to mock conservatives, did he stop to think of these very real people and their loved ones?

Killed

Outside the Library:
Rachel Scott, 17 (b. August 5, 1981)
Daniel Rohrbough, 15 (b. March 2, 1984)
William David "Dave" Sanders, 47 [teacher]† (b. October 22, 1951)
†Dave Sanders was credited for having directed many students to safety and was posthumously awarded the Arthur Ashe Courage Award in 2000.

Inside the library:
Cassie Bernall, 17 (b. November 6, 1981)
Steven Curnow, 14 (b. August 28, 1984)
Corey DePooter, 17 (b. March 3, 1982)
Kelly Fleming, 16 (b. January 6, 1983)
Matthew Kechter, 16 (b. February 19, 1983)
Daniel Mauser, 15 (b. June 25, 1983)
Isaiah Shoels, 18 (b. August 4, 1980)
John Tomlin, 16 (b. September 1, 1982)
Lauren Townsend, 18 (b. January 17, 1981)
Kyle Velasquez, 16 (b. May 5, 1982)

All were gunned down at Columbine High School on April 20, 1999 by Harris and Klebold, Buss' alter ego's heroes.

TEACHER Buss is a funny guy, isn't he?

And he's a free speech hero.

I wonder what Buss would say to the family of fellow teacher Dave Sanders. We know what "Observer" Buss would say.

More details:

Injuries and deaths in initial incident
1. Rachel Scott, age 17, killed by shots to the head, torso, and leg on a grassy area next to the West Entrance of the school.
2. Richard Castaldo, age 17, shot in the arm, chest, back and abdomen on the same grassy area.
3. Daniel Rohrbough, age 15, killed by a shot to the chest on the West Staircase.
4. Sean Graves, age 15, shot in the back, foot and abdomen on the West Staircase.
5. Lance Kirklin, age 16, shot with wounds to the leg, neck and jaw on the West Staircase.
6. Michael Johnson, age 15, escaped from the grassy knoll with wounds to his face, arm and leg.
7. Mark Taylor, age 16, shot in the chest, arms and leg on the grassy knoll.
8. Anne-Marie Hochhalter, age 17, shot in the chest, arm, abdomen, back, and left leg near the cafeteria's entrance.
9. Brian Anderson, age 16, injured near the West Entrance by flying glass.
10. Patti Nielson, age 35, hit in the shoulder by shrapnel near the West Entrance.
11. Stephanie Munson, age 16, shot in the ankle inside the North Hallway.
12. Dave Sanders, age 47, died of blood loss after being shot in the neck and back inside the South Hallway.

Injuries and deaths in the library
13. Evan Todd, age 15, sustained minor injuries from the splintering of a desk he was hiding under.
14. Kyle Velasquez, age 16, killed by gunshot wounds to the head and back.
15. Patrick Ireland, age 17, shot in the arm, leg, head, and foot.
16. Daniel Steepletonage, 17, shot in the thigh.
17. Makai Hall, 18, shot in the knee.
18. Steven Curnow, age 14, killed by a shot to the neck.
19. Kacey Ruegsegger, age 17, shot in the hand, arm and shoulder.
20. Cassie Bernall, age 17, killed by a shot to the head.
21. Isaiah Shoels, age 18, killed by a shot to the chest.
22. Matthew Kechter, age 16, killed by a shot to the chest.
23. Lisa Kreutz, age 18, shot in the shoulder, hand and arms and thigh.
24. Valeen Schnurr, age 18, injured with wounds to the chest, arms and abdomen.
25. Mark Kintgen, age 17, shot in the head and shoulder.
26. Lauren Townsend, age 18, killed by multiple gunshot wounds to the head, chest and lower body.
27. Nicole Nowlen, age 16, shot in the abdomen.
28. John Tomlin, age 16, killed by multiple shots to the head and neck.
29. Kelly Fleming, age 16, killed by a shot to the back.
30. Jeanna Park, age 18, shot in the knee, shoulder and foot.
31. Daniel Mauser, age 15, killed by a shot to the face.
32. Jennifer Doyle, age 17, shot in the hand, leg and shoulder.
33. Austin Eubanks, age 17, shot in the head and knee.
34. Corey DePooter, age 17, killed by shots to the chest and neck.

Note: These specifics aren't tongue-in-cheek.

James Buss and American Anonymous Idiocy

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Mike Nichols weighs in on the James Buss bust.

Nichols writes:

West Bend police arrested James Buss the other day for being an anonymous idiot on the Internet.

I hope they have a big jail.

This is America.

Anonymous idiocy is our national pastime.

It's true that what police say Buss posted under the nom de loon "Observer" on a Web site discussing teacher salaries was of particular note - if for no other reason than how he was unveiled.

A teacher called the police after Mr. Observer praised the Columbine killers who "knew how to deal with the overpaid teacher union thugs. One shot at a time!"

It turned out, according to police, he is a teacher himself down in Oak Creek.

In addition, it seems, to being a poseur.

But, hey, is there anyone on the Internet who isn't?

In response to Nichols' question:

Yes, there are people on the Internet who aren't poseurs -- me.

It's not all "anonymous idiocy."

True, I don't plaster my full name on my blog. I intentionally don't put out identifying information about myself, not because I'm "hiding" but because it's the smart thing to do. Especially when voicing opinions about politics or controversial issues, it's not wise to put out the welcome mat for nutcases and stalkers.

That said, I stand behind everything I say. I'm willing to be held accountable.

Why? Because I'm not going to do something as stupid as James Buss did.

I'm not going to create a character and then say threatening things, however vague.

Nichols proceeds to run down some examples of offensive, nasty e-mails that he and his colleagues have received.

There's no denying that they're ugly. There's also no denying that people take advantage of the supposed anonymity of the Internet to vent. Apparently, conscience often loses in the battle with the twisted pleasure of spewing vile stuff anonymously.

Nichols says:

Most anonymous blathering is harmless. I don't think Mr. "Observer" was advocating real violence. I'd be surprised if he's even charged. He was, it appears, just doing what everyone else does. Pretending. It's hard, most of the time, to even pretend to care.

I don't know why Nichols is being an apologist for Buss' boorish behavior.

When one comes across some disturbing comment on a forum or a creepy threat on YouTube, it's not prudent to assume the individual is harmless.

Nichols takes the stand that "this is America." Everybody acts like an idiot. So, what else is new?

I disagree.

Everyone doesn't pretend. I think the ones who do don't understand that they aren't as anonymous as they think.

If they knew that what they post on Internet forums and blogs leaves a traceable trail, perhaps the phenomenon of "pretending" wouldn't be as prevalent as it is. Debate wouldn't be as poisonous and it might actually be constructive.

Nichols concludes:

Entire debates take place on blogs and the radio without anyone ever knowing who is speaking or writing.

It's more than cowardice that prompts it. It's habit.

People, even smart people with valuable things to say, have abandoned the very thing that was once supposed to be their most treasured possession: their name.

NO.

In some cases, it is a matter of cowardice, but not in all. For me, it's a matter of taking proper precautions to safeguard myself and my family from dangerous people. And there are truly dangerous people trolling around the Internet.

My good name, my word, is a treasured possession. I wouldn't blacken it. I take full responsibility for what I write. I'm not ashamed of it.

I can guarantee that no one will ever accuse me of making a threatening remark over the Internet.

I will never find myself in Buss' position.

James Buss

UPDATE: The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel screws up AGAIN.

This time, the "editing error" is noted. An "editing error" put words in the mouths of the police -- right.

Correction: Because of an editing error, an article Saturday on a teacher's arrest in connection with a blog item that praised the Columbine High School killers incorrectly stated that police said he was “apparently posing as a teacher-hater.” That statement was not made by police.

_____________

When will people learn that posting anonymously on the Internet is not the same as being anonymous?

Cudahy man and Oak Creek High School teacher James Buss learned that the hard way.

West Bend -- As readers of a conservative blog debated the subject of teacher salaries, a writer using the pseudonym "Observer" weighed in.

The West Bend teachers' salaries made him sick, the person wrote, adding that the 1999 Columbine High School killers had the right idea.

"They knew how to deal with the overpaid teacher union thugs. One shot at a time! Too bad the liberls (sic) rip them; they were heros (sic) and should be remembered that way," the writer said.

But police say the writer was a teacher himself - and the past president of a teachers union - apparently posing as a teacher-hater.

James Buss was arrested Thursday by West Bend police, and the 46-year-old Cudahy man could face criminal charges. He has been suspended from his job as a teacher at Oak Creek High School.

Buss, a former president of the Oak Creek School District's teachers union, is on an indefinite leave of absence from the school pending further investigation, district Superintendent Sara Larsen said. He teaches chemistry and has been employed at the school since 1994.

...[Owen Robinson, a West Bend resident and administrator of bootsandsabers.com] criticized Buss' arrest as an overreaction.

"The comments were not a direct threat to teachers," he said. "This is free speech."

...One message Buss is accused of posting praises Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold. They were the high school seniors who killed 12 students and one teacher at Columbine High School in Colorado in April 1999 before taking their lives.

"We've got to get in back of the kids who have had enough of lazy, no good teachers and are fighting back. Kids like Eric Harris and Dylen Klebold," wrote the "Observer," whose message contained several misspelled words, including Klebold's first name.

A teacher employed by the West Bend School District read the message later that evening and immediately contacted School District administrators, West Bend police Capt. Toby Netko said.

Netko said Buss posted the message from his home computer. Netko released the text Friday.

Buss was arrested Thursday and released from the Washington County Jail after posting $300 bail.

"The teacher and district officials considered it a threat," Netko said, referring to the statement "One shot at a time" in the message.

"If you're a teacher, you would take this seriously," he said.

Maryjane Burdge, West Bend's assistant superintendent of curriculum and instruction, agreed that she and other officials did interpret the statement as a threat. For that reason, they notified police the same day of the posting.

Owen discusses the matter here and here and here.

I agree with his assessment of the situation, that it was a "gross overreaction for a comment left on a blog."

I also agree with Owen that Buss' arrest was unwarranted.

If every individual who left similar comments on blogs ended up under arrest, the jails would be bursting at the seams.

Yes, things changed after Columbine. The Virginia Tech shootings made officials even more jittery. Finnish teen Pekka Eric Auvinen posted his violent intentions on YouTube and carried them out, killing seven students, the principal, and himself.

Threats have to be taken seriously.

But-- Sound judgment needs to be applied to determine what constitutes a serious threat. Granted, that's easier said than done. A misjudgment can be deadly.

Buss is certainly paying the price for posting irresponsibly.

It appears that he may have posted while drunk or otherwise impaired. More likely, I think he utilized the technique of attempting to disguise himself with multiple misspellings and poor punctuation. (I'm assuming that Buss, the teacher, is more proficient at writing than his posts reveal.)

As Owen notes, the Internet provides a false sense of anonymity.

While blogs can provide forums for lively discussion, posters need to understand that they can be traced. They aren't free to say anything without being held accountable. They need to understand that they don't check their personal responsibility at the Internet's door.

The Internet is not a responsibility-free zone.

It's a creepy phenomenon. An otherwise responsible person will morph, jumping at the chance to let loose an alter ego when online. It can be remarkably reckless, as well as remarkably naive.

Will the real James Buss please stand up?

More Threats and Intimidation from Perez Camp

Texas Hold ‘Em Blogger, with a hat tip to Sheboygan Shenanigans, points out that the "Pereztistas are still going strong in Sheboygan."

From the Sheboygan Press:

A Sheboygan alderman said he was threatened and intimidated by an alderwoman and mayoral supporter who asked if he was drunk when he publicly criticized Mayor Juan Perez last week.

On Monday Ald. Bob Ryan said Ald. Vicky Meyer pulled him aside before a Friday night Common Council meeting and told him she and the mayor were "disappointed" in his comments in a story published in the Nov. 8 edition of The Sheboygan Press.

...Ryan said Meyer warned him — in comments he immediately wrote down — that he better "be careful with what you say because there are all kinds of rumors out there about you." According to Ryan, Meyer then detailed several such rumors, including that Ryan drinks excessively; spent a week in a local hotel at the request of his wife; and ran for alderman against the wishes of his family, some of whom were concerned about whether he would have time for the family business if he were elected to the council.

Ryan said the conversation lasted two to three minutes and took place in the third-floor hallway at City Hall.

Meyer, chairwoman of the council's Committee of the Whole, said she did not speak on behalf of or at the prodding of Perez.

I believe Ryan's account.

Why would he make up remarks about "rumors" about him?

Why would he open up that can of worms if Meyer hadn't dangled it in front of his face?

..."There's no threats, there's nothing been implied," Meyer said Monday. "I don't know why he's running around telling people about it. … I was questioning some things that he said, and I felt the things he is saying he shouldn't be saying seeing that there are rumors going around about him also."

But Ryan said there was more to it.

"It was definitely threatening, to say the least," he said. "I believe that's an attempt at intimidation is what that is. It's an attempt to have me toe their line, which I've never done and I don't intend to just because someone says my private life might not be perfect."

Ryan said he decided to talk publicly about Meyer's comments to put to rest the rumors she mentioned.

"My private life should be my private business, however, if I have people out there spreading rumors about me, I'd like to address those rumors," Ryan said.

Ryan said he has "overindulged" in the past, but does not drink regularly now, and was not drunk when he made the comments about Perez and the cease-and-desist letter. Ryan said he did spend a week at a hotel a few years ago after a disagreement with his wife — an acknowledgement made now with his wife's support. Ryan said some members of his family did initially disagree with his decision to seek public office.

Ryan said he believes the main reason Meyer confronted him was because of "their fear that I may run against the mayor in 2009." Ryan said he did not get into city politics with the goal of running for mayor, but is considering doing so in light of recent events.

Meyer laughed loudly when told of Ryan's belief that the confrontation was related to a possible mayoral run.

"That's hilarious," she said. "Out of our five-minute conversation he has dreamed up all kinds of things. Well, I'll tell you, all that stuff is in his little head.

"Can we say conspiracy theory here? No, I'll tell you, the man apparently has some mental issues if this is where he is going with this little conversation we had."

Meyer certainly seems defensive when addressing the allegations of her intimidation of Ryan.

She's condescending. She belittles Ryan, talking about "stuff is in his little head."

This practice of threatening critics of Perez is pervasive. It's extremely troubling that elected officials and others in positions of authority resort to such tactics.

Bottom line: Sheboygan residents should note that their city government is not running effectively under Mayor Juan Perez.

Sheboygan Mayor Perez Wants to Move On

In today's Sheboygan Press, there's a weird letter from Mayor Juan Perez.

It's not really an apology letter for his role in harassing a private citizen and political opponent. It doesn't really clarify much, other than the fact that he wants to put the controversy behind him.

He writes:

I recently asked City Attorney Steve McLean if a person that was linking to the Sheboygan Police Department Web site needed permission from the city. Subsequently, a determination was made to ask the owner of the Web site to remove the link.

I should not have taken that action. I have already apologized to Ms. Jeni Reisinger.

I take my responsibilities as mayor of the City of Sheboygan very seriously.

I value the good, respectful and professional image that we maintain in our community.

Along with the Common Council and employees to the city, I have been working tirelessly to hold the line on taxes, to keep our city safe and clean, to grow our city's businesses and to continue to provide high levels of services to our citizens who are paying the bill.

The Sheboygan Press recently suggested that I get a thicker skin. I believe that is good advice and I will try to follow it.

I will continue to be a strong advocate for all that is good in Sheboygan, all that brings people together instead of dividing them, all that brings out the best in us as caring and concerned citizens of this wonderful city.

I truly appreciate the support that I receive every day, on the phone, in e-mails and in conversations on the street with my fellow citizens. You renew my energy and enthusiasm for making Sheboygan the best place anywhere.


JUAN PEREZ

Mayor of Sheboygan

The first paragraph of his letter is so lame. Perez wants to neatly sum up the link story in two quick sentences. It's an INadequate summary of why officials were involved in demanding that Jeni Reisinger remove a link from her site. He completely bypasses acknowledgment that there was absolutely no legal basis for that "determination" to be made.

Perez goes on to say that he shouldn't have taken that action. His letter would have been better if he had said that and nothing more.

"I should not have taken that action."

Everybody knows Perez should never have taken that action. It's black and white.

I'm guessing that Perez has apologized to Jeni because her attorney demanded that she receive a formal apology from him, not because he is truly sorry for the pain he caused her. That's just a guess.

Then he goes on to give a stump speech and thank his supporters.

It's a self-serving letter more than an apology for abusing his power and position, and a confession of wrongdoing.

Another letter in today's Sheboygan Press comes from Police Chief David Kirk. He supposedly clarifies the police department's role in the link case.

He writes:

I would like to clarify several points regarding the Sheboygan Police Department's involvement in the situation involving the Internet link on a Web site maintained by Jeni Reisinger.

On Oct. 16, I was initially asked if I gave "authorization" in this matter. I stated "no" and recommended that Mayor Juan Perez should confer with the city attorney.

I later received a memo from the mayor and questions arose as to the possible involvement of one of my officers and whether he gave "authorization" in this matter. As police chief, I asked a supervisor, as I often do, to begin an inquiry into what are the facts in this incident, is "authorization" needed, and what part, if any, my officer had in this matter.

Questions then seemed to surface as to the focus of this effort. It was a fact-finding effort and was never the intention of the Sheboygan Police Department through this effort to investigate a citizen or her Web site.

We never investigated Jeni Reisinger, nor have we ever intended to investigate her, nor were we ever asked by anyone — be it the mayor, the city attorney, or anyone else — to investigate her or her Web site.

Our inquiry into this matter is finished and the status is that the officer is exonerated — that means that the acts attributed to the officer did occur, but were lawful and proper.


DAVID KIRK

Sheboygan Police Chief

What's clarified here?

It's clear that Kirk is saying the matter is finished, over, done, complete.

He says, as he has said in recent interviews, that the SPD never intended to investigate a private citizen or her website. The call to Jeni was a fact-finding mission.

I think that point could and should have been made much clearer when Jeni was contacted by the police. She should have been told that she was NOT the subject of a police investigation.

In sum, there's a lot of CYA going on here in these letters, and there's a good deal of deflection and deception.

What isn't addressed is the incompetence and arrogance of Perez, City Attorney Steve McLean, and others.

The "determination" that the government had the authority to demand that a private citizen remove a link from her website reeks of abuse.