Kenosha, WI- The taxpayers of the 22nd Senate District have spoken, and they are very clear when they say that political games will not be tolerated. Bob Wirch owes the taxpayers over $10,000 for his trip to Illinois that lasted nearly a month because he still accepted wages and benefits while vacationing. He also found a way to "fight for the working class" by raising nearly $130,000 for his recall election war chest.
"It seems like Bob Wirch is more interested in obeying his party and union overlords than serving the public," says Jonathan Steitz, state senate candidate for District 22.
"With our state in economic recovery the citizens of Wisconsin expect their legislators to be working on improving the climate for jobs, not having their Senators steal from them by not showing up for work. The taxpayers of the 22nd Senate District demand that Wirch return the money that is owed to them." says Steitz.
Of course, Wirch is a union lapdog.
Vote for Jonathan Steitz, for an economically healthy Wisconsin, for prosperity.
When Wisconsin's 14 Democrat senators fled the state earlier this year to avoid performing their duties as elected officials, they claimed they were paying for their expenses out of pocket.
[A]t a recent national gathering of liberal activists, one prominent national group bragged about raising $200,000 to help keep these Wisconsin Senators out of state.
After months of heated debate, ear-splitting protests and legal maneuvering, Gov. Scott Walker's divisive collective bargaining law is finally set to take effect.
Secretary of State Doug LaFollette published the law in the Wisconsin State Journal newspaper on Tuesday. The measure goes into effect Wednesday, capping an ugly four months in Madison that saw state senators flee the state and massive protests at the state Capitol.
The 14 Democrat senators who fled the state to avoid voting on the bill couldn't stop it.
With lawmakers poised to vote on the state budget this week, labor and community organizations said they will march at noon Monday from the Capitol Square to the headquarters of Wisconsin Manufacturers & Commerce, a few blocks east of the Capitol.
The group, Solidarity Roundtable, says it will hold the rally "to hold WMC accountable" for what it says is the business group's role in advancing Gov. Scott Walker's policies.
The protesters will leave from a tent city known as "Walkerville" at the corner of State and Mifflin streets.
When I got to the Capitol, shortly after 11:00 AM, I was surprised to see that "Walkerville," this tent city that has been receiving so much media attention, was so skimpy. It wasn't a "city." There are more tents pitched at Veterans Park on Milwaukee's lakefront for the July 3rd fireworks.
Inside the Captiol building, security was tighter. The Capitol police maintained a noticeable presence, in preparation for large crowds expected to descend once again as the budget is back on the front burner.
No protesters were around. It wasn't until noon that the "Solidarity Sing-along" began. A very small group of protesters gathered in the rotunda. They sang "We Shall Overcome" and pro-union songs, cheering briefly after completing each song.
I found it disruptive since it could be heard from behind closed doors as other business in the Capitol took place, but it was sort of amusing for its lameness.
Leaving the Capitol, I passed the offices of Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce. Although no protesters were there at the time, I saw the vandalism.
The statue in front was defaced with "union fists." It looked like it was done with a muddy-colored paint. Very disturbing.
I wasn't aware the property had been vandalized. I hadn't read anyone's spin. When I saw it, I found it troubling.
WMC's assertion that it was attacked by vandals was deemed "barely true."
"BARELY TRUE"?
I saw it!
Here's PolitiFact's spin:
Let’s start with some definitions of "vandalized":
"Deliberately destroy or damage (public or private property)." Dictionary.com
"Willful wanton and malicious destruction of the property of others." The Free Dictionary.com
"To deliberately destroy or damage (property)." Merrriam-Webster.
Similarly, the definitions of the word "attacked" all include an element of violence.
After looking into the incident, the Madison police concluded it was no big deal.
The message written on the walkways around the building were in chalk, and "mud stenciling" was used for the fists and Walker pictures.
"There’s no permanent damage," said department spokesman Howard Payne.
The officer who investigated noted that the chalk and stencil material "was flaking off when she touched it," Payne said.
If the stenciling had used spray paint or permanent markers, a report would have been filed with the city agency handling graffiti-removal. No report was filed.
We asked WMC about their claim.
"It’s vandalism," said Jim Pugh, the group’s public relations director. "You can’t come onto private property and paint the building."
Pugh, however, acknowledged there was no permanent damage and said a crew was out cleaning the messages off the building and sidewalk that very afternoon.
I didn't see the chalk markings on the sidewalk, but the graffiti on the statue looked like vandalism to me.
So now the standard of graffiti vandalism is if the markings are made with spray paint or permanent markers?
It follows that it's no big deal to deface a structure as long as it's not difficult to remove.
Really?
Can I stencil stuff on private property, defacing buildings and sculptures, with impunity?
Really?
Would it be no big deal for me to stencil images of aborted fetuses on a Planned Parenthood building?
Would the liberal media consider that an "attack" and threatening? Would they call that vandalism?
I think so.
PolitiFact is a joke. _________________
The MacIver Institute has video of the protest that took place at the WMC building on Monday afternoon.
Although the Leftist, anti-Scott Walker protesters in Madison love to chant, "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME," it's clear that they are shameless.
These protesters thought it would be appropriate to target Governor Scott Walker as he gave a speech at a Special Olympics event at the Capitol in Madison.
Really? Disrupt a Special Olympics event to satisfy their own agenda?
Opponents of Gov. Scott Walker were backing away from a demonstration against him held Wednesday at a Special Olympics event, even as organizers of the ceremony said the protesters did not disrupt it.
Also Wednesday, state Capitol Police removed a dozen protesters dressed as zombies from the office of Rep. Robin Vos (R-Rochester) on Wednesday and arrested them.
Matt Guidry, a spokesman for the United Council of University of Wisconsin Students, which organized the Vos protest, said his group did not back the demonstration during the noon hour Special Olympics ceremony attended by Walker, though some of the same zombie demonstrators were involved.
"That was not associated with anything that United Council was doing," Guidry said. "That doesn't make us look that good."
...Rachel Grant, a spokeswoman for the Special Olympics, said officials were nervous when the zombie protesters first arrived but they turned out to be peaceful.
"We were all a little bit on edge, but it turned out for the best," Grant said. "Nothing was disruptive at all."
Kelly Kloepping, another Special Olympics official, said the protesters were respectful and did not diminish the excitement the Special Olympians felt about being in Madison to meet Walker and other leaders.
"We feel it's really about the athletes," Kloepping said. "We knew the protesters were there, but they were respectful of our athletes."
State Treasurer Kurt Schuller, a GOP official whose daughter was a Special Olympics competitor, denounced the demonstration in a statement.
"To be confronted by protesters, who will never understand the personal challenges that these Special Olympians face, who decided to politicize a nonpolitical event, shows a complete lack of civility when civility is something we should all be working toward," he said.
A few things--
---This story is national. Otherwise, I doubt protest organizers would distance themselves from this disgrace.
---It's amazing to me that the Journal Sentinel was able to dig up comments by Special Olympics officials practically praising the Zombies and other protesters.
"Nothing was disruptive at all."
"[T]hey were respectful of our athletes."
WHAT? They can't be serious!
That is very weird. Really bizarre.
How can standing between the Governor and the athletes be deemed respectful? How can that be deemed to be not "disruptive at all"?
I'd be very interested to know if the national office of Special Olympics has the same take as these "officials."
In the summer of 2005, Sheehan set up Camp Casey, in the name of her son killed in Iraq, to protest the war.
Sheehan's stunt lured protesters and the media to her Crawford, Texas tent city near President Bush's ranch. Naturally, the liberal media adored Sheehan and fed the spectacle.
With lawmakers gearing up for a vote on the state budget, a “Walkerville” camp similar to the one that sprang up during the protests at the state Capitol earlier this year may be returning this weekend — this time to the terraces of Mifflin and Carroll streets.
We Are Wisconsin, an alliance of community groups, labor unions and others, has asked the city for a permit to set up the camp across from the Capitol to provide information about Gov. Scott Walker’s budget proposals and efforts to recall Republican legislators who voted to eliminate bargaining rights for most public employees.
The city’s Street Use Staff Commission will have a special meeting Friday to consider the permit application for a state budget rally that would begin Saturday and continue through June 20.
David Boetcher, who is helping to organize the event, said an information station would be accompanied by overnight campers, who could number in the thousands on weekends.
The proposed camp area is North Carroll Street from State Street to West Washington Avenue, and West Mifflin Street from State Street to Wisconsin Avenue, including the “30 on the Square” cul-de-sac at 30 W. Mifflin St. and the Philosophers’ Stones area between the Wisconsin Historical Museum and Myles Teddywedgers Cornish, 101 State St.
Who could spend weeks camping outside the Capitol?
Of course, the union thugs will probably be bused in from the surrounding area. And then there will be the aging 1960s radical contingent and the young wannabes.
There will be drums.
Families planning a June summer vacation that includes a trip to the Capitol might want to reconsider.
After weeks of protests at the State Capitol over a budget repair bill that would strip most state workers of most collective bargaining rights, you'd think a gathering that's primary focus centers around a Wisconsin staple would be welcomed.
But nowadays, politics can hang a cloud over even one of Madison's most talked about events.
Residents were making choices, go to the World's Largest Brat Fest like you may have done for as long as you can remember, or go get your bratwurst somewhere else.
"We tried the one on the Capitol Square, but the lines were too long, so we came to this one," said Jim Hollar, who attended Wurst Times event. "I wanted to avoid the one at the Alliant Energy Center."
"I guess it's kind of protest against Scott Walker and this is a way to show it," said Roger Bass.
"It seems kind of silly in the sense that it is guilty by association, but we wanted to avoid (Brat Fest)," Hollar said.
Those at the People Brat Fest didn't see it as silly, but rather a chance to draw connections to Johnsonville, a main sponsor of Brat Fest, and a company linked politically to the governor.
"I definitely oppose Walker and this seemed like a better way to support Madison rather than a big corporation," said Tom Ver Hoeve.
The event on Martin Luther King Jr. Boulevard was billed as a Brat Fest alternative and those who were willing to wait for long lines were toting their opinions along with hunger.
Ver Hoeve said he preferred the downtown location because it felt more like a Madison event and he said it was nice knowing that proceeds would also benefit local charities.
...There is a fourth event will compete with Brat Fest on Sunday. Alt Bratfest will be held at Orton Park on Sunday from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. It's being held by the Weary Traveler Freehouse. Proceeds will also go to local charities.
Brat Fest organizers insist the alternative options have not had any impact.
"The turnout has been fantastic," Metcalfe said.
One thing we can say without debate is that each and every brat eaten this weekend will raise money for local charities and that generosity is what makes Madison such a great place to live.
It's great to hear that the politicized brat sideshows aren't impacting the main event.
As for the protest events, their organizers claim proceeds will go to local charities. So, that's good, too.
It's too bad that some people harbor so much hatred for Governor Walker that they refuse to support the annual event just because some of the INDIVIDUALS connected to Johnsonville made political contributions to Walker.
I knew Dane County Judge Maryann Sumi was going to strike down the budget repair law. It was inevitable.
I'm sure her husband, the very anti-Scott Walker, pro-union, Democrat Carl Sinderbrand, and her very anti-Scott Walker, pro-union, Democrat son, Jake Sinderbrand, are happy.
What really bugs me is that Sumi took weeks, MONTHS, to make her decision.
I suppose once it became clear that JoAnne "I'm Ecstatic" Kloppenburg couldn't find a way to disenfranchise thousands and thousands of Wisconsin voters and that bit of recount chaos was no longer sucking the air out of the room, Sumi saw no point in dragging her feet any longer, particularly with the June 6, State Supreme Court date looming.
Besides, the Leftists needed something to celebrate this Memorial Day weekend, however temporary.
A Dane County judge has struck down Gov. Scott Walker's legislation repealing most collective bargaining for public employees.
In a 33-page decision issued Thursday, Dane County Circuit Judge Maryann Sumi said she would freeze the legislation because GOP lawmakers on a committee broke the state's open meetings law in passing it March 9. The legislation limits collective bargaining to wages for all public employees in Wisconsin except for police and firefighters.
"It's what we were looking for," said Dane County District Attorney Ismael Ozanne, a Democrat.
"It's what we were looking for."
No kidding.
Was there really ever any doubt it was what the Democrats would get?
Of course not.
...Steve Means, the number three official at the state Department of Justice, said the agency and GOP Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen have been surprised at Sumi's handling of the case and asked whether she would recuse herself from it.
"Obviously we're disappointed in the ruling. We do think it reflects a number of legal errors, but it's for the appellate courts at this point," Means said.
Means said Sumi had made her decision without holding a trial or making clear beforehand that no trial would be held.
...Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald (R-Juneau) responded in a statement. "There's still a much larger separation-of-powers issue: whether one Madison judge can stand in the way of the other two democratically elected branches of government. The Supreme Court is going to have the ultimate ruling, and they're still scheduled to hear the issue on June 6. This overdue reform is still a critical part of balancing Wisconsin's budget."
Ozanne agreed that the court case is still far from settled.
"It's not over yet. I'm positive of that," Ozanne said. "The supremes are the supremes. They can do what they want."
GOP lawmakers like Fitzgerald also have said they would consider passing the law a second time as part of the 2011-'13 state budget if it was necessary to ensure that it takes effect.
"Act 10 was passed and signed into law in accordance with the rules of the state Legislature," said Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald (R-Horicon), Scott Fitzgerald's brother. "I remain confident that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will rule accordingly and Act 10 will become law."
The judge who had been blocking implementation of Wisconsin’s public employee collective bargaining reforms has now struck down the law altogether, saying legislative Republicans failed to give proper notice before acting on the bill in committee.
Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi issued her ruling Thursday, writing that the law is voided because lawmakers failed to provide proper public notice of a Conference Committee meeting wherein the bill was amended.
“The court must consider the potential damage to public trust and confidence in government if the Legislature is not held to the same rules of transparency that it has created for other governmental bodies,” Sumi wrote.
Republicans argued that the Legislature, when in Special Session, is not bound by the law requiring a broad public notice.
“This was not the case in which proper notice was missed by a few minutes or an hour,” Sumi wrote.
However, GOP lawmakers asserted they did provide the minimum two hour notice justified by the the ‘good cause’ provision of the statutes, even though that was also unnecessary. Sumi disagreed.
“Act 10 was passed and signed into law in accordance with the rules of the state legislature,” said Assembly Speaker Jeff Fitzgerald. “I remain confident that the Wisconsin State Supreme Court will rule accordingly and Act 10 will become law.”
Republicans are expected to immediately appeal the decision. Since an appeal would likely take time to be heard, they may also move to pass identical provisions as a part of the biennial budget next month.
The unions continue to protest Governor Scott Walker via boycotts.
The AFL-CIO is cutting ties with people who do business with Governor Scott Walker. Just yesterday (Thursday), the union withdrew nearly $155,000 from M&I Bank. Union leaders are upset bank executives contributed to Walker's election campaign.
The Wisconsin Grocers Association has alerted members to an anti-Walker product sticker campaign planned for May 1.
Opponents of Gov. Scott Walker for months have been boycotting companies linked to donations to Walker's campaign. Now there is a national effort under way to go into stores and place stickers on products.
Among products targeted for stickers are Johnsonville brats, AngelSoft toilet paper, Sargento cheese and Coors beer.
The WGA has produced a sign that stores can post alerting people that placing stickers on products in stores is illegal.
With all due respect, these people are nuts.
Such loony behavior hurts the unions in their war against Walker. It doesn't help them at all.
I hope anyone caught breaking the law in this "anti-Walker stickering" campaign faces appropriate consequences. _________________
The Wauwatosa Common Council reversed itself late Tuesday and approved three public employee labor contracts aldermen had rejected a month before.
The decision came in the context of a supercharged political environment in the hometown of Gov. Scott Walker, with some of the dozens of speakers from the city urging officials to reject the contracts until Walker's budget-repair bill goes into effect, and others echoing union demonstrators' support of bargaining rights.
Aldermen were still speaking about the decision as of 11 p.m., but when the vote was taken at 11:10, the result was 8-7 in favor of the contracts.
Ald. Dennis McBride, one of five who sought the special meeting to discuss the contracts, referred to Wauwatosa as a "deeply divided city."
Ald. Cheryl Berdan, who works in Walker's Milwaukee office, urged that the contracts be rejected, pointing out that the city voted in favor of Justice David Prosser in the recent Supreme Court election - one that many viewed as a referendum on Walker's budget plans.
City Administrator James Archambo, responding to questions from aldermen, said the contracts constituted "a vastly subtler issue and a vastly closer call" than the partisan debates over it suggested.
Aldermen who favored the three contracts - which would cover city public works employees, clerical staff and dispatchers - argued they'd save the city money.
Their speeches came after spirited testimony from members of the public on both sides of the issue.
The parking lot was jammed and the crowd spilled out into the hallways at City Hall and a separate room with closed-circuit TVs.
And though people opposed to the contracts attended in force - some holding signs complaining about union "bullying" - so did supporters of the contracts wearing pink stickers proclaiming "I support fair contracts."
Both supporters and opponents lined up to speak at the special meeting held to reopen the discussion of the labor contracts.
The union supporters' celebration was short-lived.
Mayor Jill Didier has vetoed the ratification of three union contracts approved by a slim majority of the Wauwatosa Common Council last night.
She has put a stop to collective bargaining agreements with the public works, clerks and dispatchers unions, which represent about a quarter of the city's employees.
Didier has been vocal in explaining that it was a petition of five aldermen that forced the special meeting and a new vote on the issue. She reiterated that sentiment in a letter to the city clerk exercising her veto power as mayor.
"I believe it is wrong for council members to take this approach to policy-making," she said.
The process was "fully vetted" and normal procedures were followed when the council voted to deny the contracts March 15, she added.
"As the leader of this organization, I must strike the balance of well-being of our workers, our responsibilities and the expectations of the Wauwatosa community," she said.
Will some Wauwatosa Common Council members flee to Illinois?
I don't know why they would but that's been the reaction of elected officials when the unions don't get their way.
There's no question that some dedicated teachers have suffered as a result of the viciousness of the anti-Scott Walker budget protests and the union thuggery that has gripped the state since early February.
Some teachers have been unfairly criticized for being selfish and lazy and greedy.
The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel comes to the rescue!
It offers several sympathetic vignettes depicting teachers as heroes, suggesting they've been victimized by the budget battles and the fallout from the endless ugly protests.
They have been called lazy and greedy on blogs and website comment boards.
Their motives and commitment to their profession have been questioned.
They have been told they're paid too much money for their nine-month contracts, that their health insurance is too generous and that they need to pay more toward their retirement.
In recent months, Wisconsin's public school teachers have found themselves at the epicenter of a widespread fight over public-sector workers' earnings, their ability to bargain and the burden they pose to taxpayers and local governments.
And yet, they feel an expectation to shrug off the criticism and enthusiastically report for work every day, where they are entrusted to teach even their critics' children, and meet an ever-growing set of demands on their performance.
No wonder Morrow, a sixth-grade teacher at Prairie View Elementary School in North Prairie, characterized the mood among her colleagues as "pretty bleak."
"I'm not sure when I became Public Enemy No. 1," she said.
Obviously, this article is an exercise in cherry-picking.
Of course, there are terrific teachers who really care about helping children learn and achieve.
There are also teachers who aren't devoted to their profession as much as their salary and benefits.
We know that there are wonderful teachers. It's really not necessary for the Journal Sentinel to defend them, and it's certainly not right to cast supporters of Scott Walker as being anti-teacher.
Since the Journal Sentinel has been doing pieces on teachers as victims, I think there should be some articles telling the stories of teachers like Fred Levenhagen, and the liars willing to give their employers fraudulent medical excuses, and the ones who chose to protest rather than teach, keeping thousands and thousands of kids out of the classroom and forcing schools to close.
The Journal Sentinel should provide balanced coverage and tell the complete story.
The reality is some teachers have been victimizers.
The Milwaukee Journal has a short, inadequate report on the happenings in Madison at the Tax Day Rally.
It is cold and windy in Madison, but still mostly dry - making it easier for thousands of people to attend a tea party rally and a smaller counter demonstration outside of the state capitol.
The Wisconsin Capitol Police estimated that about 6,500 people were outside on the Capitol grounds and vicinity at 12:30 p.m. Saturday. There is no way to accurately determine how many people were attending any specific event, they said.
As of 12:30 p.m. there were no law enforcement incidents or arrests on the Capitol grounds and vicinity, police reported.
Darryl Krejci of Lake Mills, a former police union president, wore a green "Scott Walker my hero" T-shirt. He said he backs Walker for taking a tough stand with the state's fiscal problems.
"Something needed to be done," he said.
Cheryl MacMiller of Madison wore a sign saying "Union thug with lipstick." She said she supports public employees because "Gov. Walker is just trying to make a name for himself on the backs of workers."
The behavior of the Leftists at the counter rally was not fully reported.
Given the Journal Sentinel's Leftist agenda, I can understand why.
According to reports on Twitter, the counter protesters chanted and booed during the National Anthem.
Christian Schneider: Crowd chants SHAME and RECALL WALKER during the National Anthem.
Chelsea Gruenwald: Booing during the national anthem - wisc libs at their best
Video.
Showing such a lack of respect for the National Anthem is a disgrace. It certainly doesn't put the Leftists in a good light.
[L]abor supporters still smarting from the passage of Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker's polarizing bill eliminating most public employees' collective bargaining rights have been drowning out Palin's supporters, shouting, "Hey, hey, ho, ho, Scott Walker's got to go."
Some Wisconsinites refuse to put aside their political differences for charity and partake in Madison's Brat Fest.
What self-centered thugs!
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!
We’re not scientists, but we’re fairly confident that the World’s Largest Brat Fest can be expressed by the following equation:
Brats + Music + Charity + Wisconsin = AWESOME! Brat Fest is 4 days filled with music, food and fun in the heart of downtown Madison, Wisconsin. If you need more convincing, we’ll break it down a little more precisely…
Come Memorial Day weekend in Madison, Wisconsin, things get a little fiery– on the grill, that is. The World’s Largest Brat Fest sizzles as we cele“brat”e the start of summer with juicy Johnsonville brats, Oscar Mayer Hotdogs and Veggie Brats smothered in Heinz ketchup, mustard and sweet relish, Frank’s Kraut and onions. Wash em’ down with an ice-cold Pepsi, Capital Island Wheat, Budlight or milk and finish it all off with a side of ice cream, funnel cakes and fun.
So what is Brat Fest all about? Obviously, Brat Fest is about eating brats, but, more importantly, it’s about giving back to the community. The World’s Largest Brat Fest is held every Memorial Day weekend – rain or shine – with proceeds benefitting the local charities that help to staff the event. Brat Fest is also about enjoying good food at great prices while celebrating Wisconsin’s heritage and the people who make Madison a great place to live.
That’s why we have a license to grill! Stop by and let us cook for you!
Volunteers and their supporting organizations are the most integral part of the World’s Largest Brat Fest! They grill… they cashier… they count attendees… they drive shuttles… they stock condiments… they make sure the event grounds are clean – you get it – they pretty much do it all!
Each year, Brat Fest depends on nearly 4,000 volunteers of all ages* with over 10,300 volunteer hours to play a special part in our continued success and our quest for the WORLD RECORD all in the spirit of community giving! Without them, Brat Fest would not be the same.
Here is the list of charities participating in the 2011 event:
Abundant Life Christian High School Badger Aquatics Badger Bots Baldwin Christian School Beta Zeta Bethel Horizons Boy Scout Troop 102 Boy Scout Troop 140 Boy Scout Troop 122 Boy Scout Troop 201 Boy Scout Troop 420 Boy Scout Troop 940 Boy Scout Troop/Pack 90 Boys & Girls Club of Dane County Bristol Blazer 4h Calvary Gospel Campus Calvary Gospel Church Capital City Lodge #7 Fraternal Order Cheer Wisconsin Chrysalis, Inc. Cornucopia, Inc. Cross Roads Church Dane County Parent Council Faith Lutheran Church – Youth Group Family Resource Network Family Support FLAME Friends of Kettle Ponds Give the Kids the World Hope World Wide Hospice Care, Inc. Immaculate Heart of Mary Information Technology Academy Lake Edge Lutheran Church League of Women Voters Luther Memorial Madison Area Retired Educators Association Madison Diocesan Choir Madison East Wrestling Madison Master’s Madison West HS Forensics Team Madison West Softball Booster Club Madison Youth Choir Memorial Baptist Church Middleton Gator Swim Nepali American Friendship Association North/Eastside Senior Coalition North/Eastside Sherman Basketball Occupaws Guide Dog Association Oregon Band Boosters Our Savior Death Lutheran Church Parkside Presbyterian Playtime Productions RSVP of Dane County Salem United Church of Christ Youth Group Scouts with Special Needs Sons of Norway South Madison Coalition of the Elderly Spina Bifida Family Network St. Mark’s Lutheran Church Team Survivor – Madison The Loyal Order of the Caribbean SOul Triangle Community Ministry, Inc. Verona Area High School Swim Virginia School of Dance Walbridge School Madison West HS Cross Country West Madison Senior Center West Madison Special Olympics West Madison Youth Special Olympics Wisconsin Children’s Choir Wisconsin Women’s Health Foundation Wisconsin Youth Symphony Orchestra Yahara River Chorus Yonim Israeli Dance Troupe
Autism Society of Greater Madison Boy Scout Troop 301 Capital City Sanctuary COGIC Capitol Lakes City Church Youth Ministry Crossroads UMC Dane County Humane Society Divine Savior Youth Group Gilda’s Club Good Life, Inc. Huntington Disease Society of America Knight of Columbus #1478 LIVESTRONG Madison Logan’s Heart & Smile Madison East High School Dance Team Madison West Lions Club Oregon High School Class of 2012 Oregon Youth Hockey Pancreatic Cancer Action Network – Team Grape Ape Recovery Foundation Wikoda Camp Zion City
Unfortunately, some people in Madison are so crazed and so selfish that they're disrupting this very successful annual event.
These people are willing to disrupt Brat Fest by politicizing it.
Rather than take part in the spirit of community giving, they're being angry and divisive and putting themselves and their political agenda ahead of the charities.
Organizers are aiming to create an alternative to Madison's longtime Brat Fest.
Organizers acknowledged that the Alternative Brat Fest comes at a politically heated time where many people are at odds with the sponsors of the World's Largest Brat Fest.
The Madison Park Commission unanimously approved the Alternative Brat Fest during a Wednesday night meeting.
Orton Park on Madison's East Side could soon be the location of the Alternative Brat Fest.
...Joey Dunscombe, of Weary Traveler, and other local businesses are hoping to serve up the Alternative Brat Fest.
"We're shooting for the world's smallest brat fest," Dunscombe said. "It's just a showcase of local foods. Anything we bring in will be donated to charities."
The event would take place on May 29, the same weekend as the World's Largest Brat Fest, which is produced by Metcalfe's Market. The charity fundraiser is being criticized, even boycotted, due to sponsor Johnsonville Brats' campaign contributions to Republican Gov. Scott Walker.
JOHNSONVILLE DIDN'T MAKE ANY CONTRIBUTIONS TO GOVERNOR SCOTT WALKER.
ZERO. NOTHING. This article makes it sound as if the business made sizable donations.
PRIVATE citizens, employees of Johnsonville, made contributions - not JOHNSONVILLE.
..."We understand some people may have some concerns and we respect that," said Tim Metcalfe, of Metcalfe's grocery store, which sponsors Brat Fest. "We have an agreement with Johnsonville. They've been a great supporter of the event. They've donated 150,000 brats. We're hoping to again raise a lot of money for a lot of good people. I wish their event well."
With final approval still pending, organizers stress Alternative Brat Fest is not about politics.
"No, it's definitely not a protest," Dunscombe said. "There's not going to be chanting and signage and stuff like that. If people want to make it political, that's up to them. It's just about eating good food."
To identify Walker contributors, [Sam] Hokin's [Facebook] page links to a campaign finance database maintained by the Wisconsin Democracy Campaign. It also helps followers send letters of protest to companies, provides a place for updates and shares ideas for more activities — such as organized pickets outside companies associated with Walker and a planned boycott of this year's Brat Fest because it uses some Johnsonville products.
Not political?
That's absurd.
...Johnsonville Brats announced Wednesday evening that not only are they donating the 150,000 brats agreed upon for the event, the Sheboygan Falls company is donating all of the brats for Brat Fest. That's at least 200,000 brats.
Johnsonville Sausage LLC released a statement Wednesday night: "Johnsonville Sausage has had a positive and successful partnership with Brat Fest for several years. Each year, our focus is on benefitting the charitable organizations that this community event supports. We feel that donating all the brats for this year's festival is a meaningful way we can continue to partner with this great event and benefit deserving organizations in the Madison area."
I hope the alternative Brat Fest is small enough that it doesn't have a significant effect on attendance at the "World's Largest Brat Fest" and have a negative impact on the charities involved.
It's sad that the charities may suffer because of this idiotic boycott.
Give it a rest for Memorial Day weekend. If some people want to boycott, why not purchase soda or some other products available at the fest?
Just give it a rest and do the right thing for a few days.
Apparently, that's too much to ask. ___________________
A related matter--
TMJ4 covered this story on its Thursday 10:00 PM newscast.
Anchor Mike Jacobs made a correction from its 6:00 PM newscast. He said they had incorrectly reported that Johnsonville had made campaign contributions to Scott Walker. Jacobs said that Johnsonville employees made donations, but not the Johnsonville company.
I couldn't believe that after so many weeks of stories about union boycotts of M&I and Sendik's and other businesses, even though the businesses did NOT make contributions to Walker, that TMJ4 would make such a major mistake.
How could they be so stupid?
SHAME, SHAME, SHAME!
Jacobs said, "We regret that error."
I'm glad they were called on their terribly cheap shot and were forced to make the embarrassing correction.
It was the third of four hearings around the state held by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee on Walker's proposed budget. And like earlier hearings in Stevens Point and Superior, the turnout was in the hundreds, rather than the thousands that some expected.
Only hundreds, not thousands?
Is the movement losing steam?
In all, about 270 speakers signed up before registrations to speak were cut off about 12:30 p.m., according to Ted Blazel, Wisconsin Senate sergeant of arms.
Though committee co-chairs Rep. Robin Vos (R-Burlington) and Sen. Alberta Darling (R-River Hills) had said they planned to end the meeting by 6 p.m. - a plan that drew criticism from Democrats - testimony was allowed into the early evening, and everyone who signed up to speak had done so by 6:30.
A crowd of hundreds of people who had rallied outside the expo center came in late demanding to speak, but they had not registered by the noontime cutoff, and Vos adjourned the meeting after hearing from all of those who registered. As he and Republican legislators left the room, there were shouts of "let us speak" and "shame."
Vos said he had to end the meeting because he was scheduled to attend a Wisconsin Conservation Congress meeting in his district.
No hearing would have been long enough to satisfy the Democrats and their union allies.
It was guaranteed that they would complain about not being heard.
This "SHAME, SHAME, SHAME" chant is getting to be a joke.
Their rallying cry is akin to a tantrum that's lost its effectiveness, like when the parent simply ignores the screaming child and he finally quiets down.
Acting with some decorum would be a smarter move. Calm and controlled is better than crazed.
As Rep. Robin Vos said, "While many people wanted to speak, and we gave an opportunity to several hundred, many more are going to be able to testify through written communication or electronic."
He's absolutely right.
Time is finite. It's unreasonable to expect public forums to go on indefinitely. Everyone who wants to speak can't always be accommodated. That's not trampling on democracy. It's what we call the earthly limits of time.
Citizens do have other ways of communicating their concerns to elected officials.
Back when Russ Feingold held elected office, he didn't allow his listening sessions to go on forever. The former senator had a strict policy - "up to an hour." Read the rules here. Dems didn't complain then. The union thugs didn't erupt.
Of course, Democrats Chris Larson and Lena Taylor had their lines rehearsed. Whenever the hearing ended, they would object. The chants would begin. The fists would be raised.
Larson and Taylor would ratchet up the rhetoric once again.
This is how you pour gasoline on what is already expected to be an explosive hearing at State Fair Park on Monday over Gov. Scott Walker's proposed budget:
You do what state Rep. Tamara Grigsby did this weekend.
The Milwaukee Democrat accused the leaders of the Joint Finance Committee of taking steps, in advance, to shut down debate early on the budget bill - and then claimed they are doing this because they don't want to be near Milwaukee too late.
"They're scared to death of Milwaukee," Grigsby said. "They don't want to be here after dark."
Without naming names, she said some of her fellow lawmakers share a "real fear about being in Milwaukee." Asked if she felt the committee leaders were acting on racist concerns, she said, "If it looks like a duck."
Grigsby quickly added, "I didn't use those words," referring to the notions of race or racism.
Joint Finance co-chairman Robin Vos said he was stunned by her remarks, saying Grigsby was leveling a baseless accusation.
First, he noted that the budget hearing, which is scheduled to run from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., is in West Allis, not Milwaukee.
In addition, the Rochester Republican said he and his wife had spent Saturday night at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, enjoying a good time in the city after dark. "People can make up any lies they want," Vos said. "I just think it's stupid."
I have three words for Grigsby: SHAME, SHAME, SHAME.
Suggesting that the hearing is scheduled to allow fearful Republicans to be out of Milwaukee before dark is nuts.
Robin Vos appropriately condemns Grigsby's remarks.
Does Grigsby know that the hearing isn't in Milwaukee?
It's in West Allis.
Does Grigsby know when it gets dark?
On Monday, the sun will set at 7:30 PM.
If the time of the hearing really had something to do with leaders of the Joint Finance Committee "being scared to death" of the city after dark, as Grigsby claims, it wouldn't have to end at 6:00 PM.
EIGHT HOURS of testimony seems more than reasonable.
Grigsby's accusation that fellow legislators are racist, yet refusing to be specific and name names, is unforgivable. She's cruel and cowardly.
I think she's unwilling to be specific because she's lying. It's just more incendiary, over-the-top, crazy rhetoric from the Leftists.
Grigsby should retract her statement and apologize to her colleagues, or she should name the supposedly frightened Republicans.
It's funny that the Democrats are complaining about 10:00 - 6:00 being an inadequate time for the hearing. Just a few weeks ago, thousands of union members, teachers, walked off their jobs to protest in Madison. They didn't hesitate to shut down schools to attend and be heard.
Are we supposed to believe that 6:00 PM doesn't fit into their "schedules"? I don't think so.
...Several unions have events planned at State Fair all day, including a rally beginning at 4:30 p.m.
If union events at State Fair are being held ALL DAY, it certainly doesn't appear that the time of the hearing is a problem.
Bottom line: Spewing poisonous remarks is terribly irresponsible. I guess Lena Taylor and Tamara Grigsby can't help themselves. _________________
Details on the hearing:
What: The third of four budget hearings around the state conducted by the Legislature's Joint Finance Committee.
Where: Wisconsin State Fair Park, West Allis. Expo Center, Hall A. Parking, enter Gate 4.
When: Public comments will be taken starting at 10 a.m. and are expected to continue until 6 p.m.
