McGEE SR. PICKS UP WHERE JR. LEFT OFF

I thought maybe there was going to be a turnaround. I hoped the community would finally see the McGee family for the negative force that it is in Milwaukee.

Michael McGee Jr. being out of the picture, at least temporarily, was a positive sign that the rule of law could take root in the 6th Aldermanic district.

Yesterday, the elder McGee dashed those hopes.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Mike McGee, father of the jailed alderman, called his son's incarceration unjust during a speech Monday morning, adding "we aren't going to take this."

The senior McGee, formerly an alderman, promised to run again if his son is removed from office. He also vowed that he and his followers would be "naughty" in response to his son's case, but didn't elaborate.

McGee made his first public statement on the case against his son in a late morning news conference in front of the federal courthouse, calling the charges against his son "gossip," and saying the alderman's due process rights were being violated. Milwaukee police and federal agents stood watching as Mike McGee spoke.

"I am telling you all, we aren't going to take this," the senior McGee said through a bullhorn to a crowd of about 50 people. "We are just going to act as naughty as (prosecutors) are."

The elder McGee is a nut.

He tells his followers that "we aren't going to take this."

TAKE WHAT?

I don't think "Gatekeeper" McGee should be shaking down his constituents.

The community shouldn't take that.

That is precisely why McGee is sitting in jail.

What does the elder McGee mean by threatening to be "naughty"?

What does he have in mind? Is the Juneteenth Day violence the sort of naughtiness that McGee is talking about?

Is that what his threat means? Is he promising a reign of terror in Milwaukee? Is he pro-victimization?

Ald. Michael McGee is charged in state court with making a threat, election violations and breaking a court secrecy order. In federal court, he is charged with extortion and bribery.

...Ald. McGee, who is being held by the U.S. Marshals Service, has been moved to the Dodge County Jail from Milwaukee.

Lenny Boyer, an official with the marshals, said McGee was moved for security reasons, but declined to elaborate.

The senior McGee blasted that move as unfair. He said the case shows that "white Milwaukee" continues to target black people, specifically any member of the McGee family. He said no other charged alderman has been imprisoned and brought into court in a jail jumpsuit.

The elder McGee is a shameless race-baiter.

To rally support, he's being racially divisive. He must know that sort of thing plays well among his base. Very sad.

McGee really needs to start paying attention. It's weird to hear him speak of "white Milwaukee." It continues to dwindle every day. He needs to look around. It's a majority "minority" city now.

More importantly than the specific demographics, African-Americans hold high positions in city and county government and law enforcement. This "white Milwaukee" that McGee babbles about is getting to be an antiquated term.

There's a reason that the McGee family is being targeted: Criminal behavior.

When they behave illegally, they make themselves targets. The same goes for any other city resident. That's as it should be in an ordered society.

Furthermore, McGee seems to have conveniently forgotten that no other charged alderman threatened to do physical harm to others. The elder McGee would have a case if other aldermen had threatened to kill someone and weren't made to don jailhouse orange attire.

Also Monday, Ald. McGee's defense attorney backed up a pending request to dismiss the state criminal charges for "selective, vindictive and retaliatory prosecution" by filing a brief to allege racially motivated prosecution against McGee.

If at first you don't succeed, try, try the race card again.

Hopefully, that advice won't pay off in this case. I want to give residents of the 6th District more credit than that.

Junior McGee damned himself. He's on tape, shaking down people of his district. He's an extortionist (allegedly).

Prosecuting such behavior is the duty of city officials. Ignoring it would actually be an offense to the community.

It's a very weak case to suggest that McGee's treatment is racially motivated. His lawyer looks desperate by making those accusations. Given the evidence against the younger McGee, he should be desperate.

The people of the 6th District can do so much better than what the McGee family has to offer.

If McGee the younger is convicted and he loses his seat and McGee the elder attempts to hold on to it, the people of that district would be failing themselves if they elected him.

They'd be failing the community.

Simple truth: There would be no McGee factor in Milwaukee if some citizens weren't willingly granting the McGee family political power.

Myra Sanchick's Interview with McGee

Milwaukee's FOX affiliate aired an EXCLUSIVE interview with Michael McGee, Sr. on May 4.

Reporter Myra Sanchick did the interview. When she introduced the segment, she said, "Some people might find this offensive."

MIGHT?

You can watch it here.

Any decent person should find McGee's words offensive.

McGee has no regrets regarding his disgusting comments about talk show host Charlie Sykes and the death of his mother, comments that have for the moment cost him his radio show on WNOV-AM.

In fact, rather than backing off, McGee continues the war of words.

Sitting on the porch of his home, McGee talked about his controversial remarks.

He said:

"I would do the same thing for the devil. If the devil's mama died, if Hitler's mama died, I would say the same thing."

"Get Mark Belling to help him, I'll whoop both of their ass. That's the way I feel about it. Like I have no love lost for them because of the way that they slandered my son over that affair that he had...."

"When they try to destroy my family, I'll try to destroy theirs. That's the way I feel about it."

Sanchick said, "He told me there's only one thing he was sorry about."

McGee declared:

"His stringy-haired ho son wasn't layin' there with her. (LAUGHING) Exactly."

"I have no love for Charlie Sykes. In fact, uh, you can tell him that if he don't like it I'll meet him anywhere and whoop his ass."

Because McGee is a public figure, a radio personality, a former Milwaukee alderman, and the father of a current alderman, I can understand why FOX 6 would go after the interview.

What I don't understand is how Sanchick could be so clueless about the content of her report.

After airing the EXCLUSIVE interview, Sanchick talked to anchor Brad Hicks.

HICKS: Myra, You know I’m speechless watching this. I mean this is just terrible things that he is saying. This is a human being who died a painful death in a fire and he seems to find some joy in that.

SANCHICK: Well, not necessarily joy. However, these are two long-time rivals. He took...

HICKS: I heard him laughing.

SANCHICK: Well he took things personally that Sykes...

HICKS: I heard him laughing in that interview.

SANCHICK: I don't recall that. But, um, yeah, I don't recall that. And I was there, but I didn't remember the laughing. However, he took things that Charlie Sykes said offensively and he retaliated.

McGee was clearly laughing.

I don't know how Sanchick missed it.

I also don't get why she went out of her way to make McGee seem reasonable.

I have never heard Sykes say anything remotely like the sort of trash spewed by McGee.

This "long-time rivals" stuff suggests that the two radio hosts conduct themselves in a similar manner. Nothing could be further from the truth.

The McGee interview speaks for itself; but Sanchick has to have some regrets of her own for how she presented it.
____________________________

McGee gave another interview to FOX 6. Justin Williams had the dubious honor of giving McGee more air time.



Watch it here.

McGee is loving this.

He takes great pleasure in harassing Sykes. I would say he finds JOY in it.

Excerpts:

"I could see if I had really went over the line would have been if I had gotten my Uzi and went to the funeral and shot up some people at the funeral, that might have been over the line. But using words against words wasn't over the line."

"I've said enough. As long as I got Charlie Sykes the way I got him then every time he thinks about his dead mother when he 50, my mind..., my name will come in his mind. And McGee ruined it."

I hope McGee sticks to his statement, "I've said enough."

All in the McGee Family Radio

I think it's pretty clear that Jerrel Jones has no intention of keeping Michael McGee, Sr. off his Milwaukee radio station WNOV-AM.

Although he says that McGee is off the air "indefinitely," he's indefinite about what he means by "indefinite."

Jones has announced McGee's replacement. It's none other than the junior version of McGee.

That's as close as he could get to giving the disgraceful Michael McGee his time slot back.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Radio station owner Jerrel Jones said Saturday that he's indefinitely suspending Mike McGee from his radio show on WNOV-AM (860) for remarks he made about the death of Katherine Sykes, the mother of radio talker Charlie Sykes.

Jones would not say how long "indefinitely" might be.

"Forever is a long time, and I don't want to say something that I may not be able to deal with," he said Saturday. "But I do want to make it clear that he won't be on anytime soon."

The show will stay in the family, with McGee's son, Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee, taking over as host of the "Word Warriors" program.

"He was the natural host for this show at least for now," said Jones.

The younger McGee has himself stirred controversy with various remarks he has made about gays and others.

"Controversy is not what I object to. I've had my own share of controversy," said Jones. "His son deserves a chance now to do his own thing."

He said the show with the younger McGee would feature less editorializing and more calls for action and advocacy in the black community.

"We will advocate and do things we should do, but in a manner that's more productive," Jones said.

This makes me sick. It really does.

Jones reveals what he's about.

"He was the natural host for this show at least for now."

If Alderman Michael McGee, Jr. was the natural choice, that tells me that Jones wasn't looking to change the tone of the show.

...After meeting with McGee on Saturday, Jones said: "He's not apologetic, but does realize his timing was not the best. It was a pleasant meeting. He understands what needs to happen."

For more than 12 years, the elder McGee has purchased his airtime on the radio station. Jones took McGee off the air for a short period in 2004 when he used an obscenity on the air.

Jones said Mike McGee has a contract for "Word Warriors" that runs until January and will continue the contract for the show.

"The compromise is that he will continue to pay for the show, but he won't be on it," said Jones.

I think it's disgusting that McGee wasn't apologetic, but it's not at all surprising.

You can count on Junior McGee to be just as unapologetic and just as controversial as his father.

[Michael McGee Jr.] helped lead protests on behalf of Frank Jude Jr., who was beaten by a group of off-duty Milwaukee police officers.

...[T]he Jude protests did not start immediately after the beating, but after a front-page story appeared in the Journal Sentinel months later. At one rally, he called then-Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann a "dumb ass" and used the word "faggot" to label the officers involved.

When that drew complaints from gay leaders, McGee was confronted at City Hall by state Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee), who demanded an apology.

McGee walked away, but later allegedly bragged to students on a bus trip to Washington, D.C.: "Man, I should have kicked his ass."

There have been plenty of other incidents, including one with police outside a Blockbuster video store in Wauwatosa. Later, McGee was arrested on suspicion of threatening a woman pregnant with his unborn child who had just received a restraining order against him. No charges were filed in that case.

Most recently, a restraining order was issued against McGee ordering him to stay away from Leon Todd, campaign manager for Jordan. In a radio appearance, McGee had said Todd should be "hung" for his "betrayal of the community."

He later gave out Todd's phone number over the air, which Todd said led to harassing phone calls.

Junior McGee threatened the mother of his child in court!

He allegedly said to her, "If you drive by my house, I'm going to kill your ass."

That is not good.

About ten days ago, Junior McGee was on WNOV and offering his plans to stop speeders.

I really want to organize some of these young guys in the community. When they see people speeding recklessly and swerving down the hood man, just start brickin’ em, for real… And start bricking these cars, man, gorilla style… And they are going to learn that you can’t drive down certain blocks and feel that they can be reckless.

Junior McGee did make a lame attempt to back off from those remarks; but it was way too little, way too late.

I expect the McGees to behave like the disgraces that they are.

What's troubling is that so many of Milwaukee's leaders, better people, don't condemn them.

I like this comment from Sheriff David Clarke: "The next intelligent thing that comes out of Alderman McGee's mouth will be the first."

Bye-Bye, Michael McGee

This doesn't surprise me at all.

Jerrel Jones, owner of WNOV-AM, announced that former Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee is off the radio station's lineup -- for now.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Jerrel Jones, the owner of radio station WNOV-AM (860) has barred talk show host Michael McGee from the air indefinitely because of the "disgusting" remarks McGee made Thursday morning about the death of Katherine Sykes.

Sykes, the mother of Charlie Sykes, the host of a conservative talk show on WTMJ-AM (620), died Tuesday in a fire in her Mequon home.

During his "Word Warriors" program Thursday, McGee said Katherine Sykes deserved her tragic fate and suggested that her son was responsible.

I don't know. Jones has barred McGee from his station "indefinitely."

"Indefinite" couldn't be more vague.

I think Jones is expecting the dust to settle after a while. I have no doubt that in due time Jones will welcome McGee back. He just won't predict when that will happen.

...More than 100 people called WNOV management on Friday to condemn the remarks and demand that McGee be barred permanently from the airwaves.

Jones pulled McGee from his usual morning slot on Friday but has not decided whether he will be banished permanently.

"I thought the statement was terrible," Jones said Friday afternoon. "It was ridiculous, and the timing was absolutely deplorable.

"The remark was disgusting."

Jones said he would meet with McGee this morning to discuss the former Milwaukee alderman's offensive comments and the prospects of his return to the air.

I really don't like how Jones is phrasing his comments.

"The remark was disgusting" sounds as if McGee uttered an offensive sentence or two. That's not the case at all. McGee made lots of disgusting REMARKS.

I don't see how Jones could ever allow McGee back on his radio station. There's no way that McGee will apologize. He won't do an "Imus on Al Sharpton's show" mea culpa. He won't meet with Charlie Sykes to beg forgiveness the way that Imus met with the Rutgers women's basketball team. McGee would never do the right thing.

Jones has to know that. I don't think it's enough for Jones to condemn McGee's REMARKS.

The fact that Jones hasn't already permanently banned McGee from the air tells me that he has no intention of doing so. I think that McGee's return to WNOV is a done deal.

McGee has bought his air time for a least a dozen years on the station that Jones has owned since 1972.

Jones took McGee's show off the air for a short period in 2004 after he used an obscenity during "Word Warriors."

Jones said he has not determined whether he will allow McGee back this time.

"I am going to make sure that never happens again," Jones said. "I will guarantee myself that.

"I don't know just what course of action that will have to take."

The only way that Jones can guarantee that McGee will never do something like this again is by never allowing him to come back.

McGee and Sykes have clashed on their respective programs, and the elder McGee has accused the WTMJ radio host of attacking his alderman son and the black community.

This really bugs me.

Why is The Journal Sentinel carrying water for McGee?

I've never heard Sykes make any sort of racially-motivated or baseless attacks on the black community or Junior McGee.

In fact, Sykes is a tireless advocate for School Choice, a program that offers educational opportunities that would otherwise be out of reach for some kids in Milwaukee's black community.

Any criticism that Sykes has directed at Michael McGee, Jr. has been entirely legitimate.

McGee, Sr. and Sykes are in totally different leagues.

The Journal Sentinel reports as if they should be considered on the same playing field. That's an insult to Sykes. That's typical of The Journal Sentinel.

...Jones referred to the long-time rivalry while discussing the situation Friday.

"I'm saying, if you keep punching a guy's kid, and you keep punching a guy's kid, when he gets a chance, he's going to throw a blow," Jones said. "He threw a low blow."

Jones said he believes McGee's remarks were meant to hurt Charlie Sykes and not meant to demean his mother.

Good grief.

The Journal Sentinel comes awfully close to blaming the victim here. Jones is rationalizing McGee's behavior. Naturally, he claims that McGee threw the low blow because Sykes had mercilessly beaten Junior McGee.

That's crap.

It's crap that Jones would say it, and it's crap that The Journal Sentinel would print it, failing to report the idiocy of Jones' explanation of McGee's ugliness.

Jones reliance on the rivalry to explain that McGee didn't really mean to disrespect Katherine Sykes is lame. It's a feeble excuse.

If his intent was to hurt Sykes, that doesn't make it OK, or any less offensive.

The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board weighed in on the matter.

That doesn't make up for virtually ignoring the story for a day.

If not for Drudge and Michelle Malkin exposing McGee and revealing him as a vile person to the entire country and beyond, I bet the paper would still be ignoring it.

The Board was shamed into commenting.

In its editorial, Outrageous speech," the board praises Jerrel Jones.

It was tough for Jones, "who had to balance McGee's right to free speech."

I'm sure it was also tough for the Editorial Board to defend Sykes; but the deplorable nature of McGee's comments was even too much for the Board to excuse.

For McGee to call Sykes names when he is grieving is offensive enough. But to say on the air that a woman who died tragically somehow deserved it for no other reason than being the mother of someone with whom you often have publicly sparred is something else. That goes beyond what most people, no matter who they are, consider acceptable behavior.

It's interesting that while the editorial condemns McGee and offers a few quotes, it fails to cite some of the most vile statements from McGee -- that Sykes "killed his mama," that "He got tried of waiting for that money."

McGee's most outrageous speech is left out.

In any case, it was the right thing for The Journal Sentinel Editorial Board to do, to swallow hard and actually side with Sykes.

The question: When will McGee be back on the air at WNOV?

It's hard to say, but he I think there's little doubt that he will be back.

McGee and Sykes: When Private Grief Becomes Very Public

Have you seen Drudge today?

Michael McGee's bilge has gone national, REALLY national.



At the top of the page is a link to ABC's Milwaukee affiliate WISN 12.

Michelle Malkin has the story, too.

McGee's latest hate-filled rant is no longer a Milwaukee matter.

That's a good thing in terms of exposing McGee and his enablers, including WNOV and the local media.

I think it's a good thing that the dysfunctional city of Milwaukee is getting national attention.

Anyone researching Michael McGee, Sr. is sure to come across the disgrace of Michael McGee, Jr.

The country can learn what a mess Mayor Tom Barrett's city is. It is such a mess.

Perhaps this negative publicity will be the push needed to get Milwaukee's complacent community leaders to act. Maybe something positive will come from this.

Maybe this humiliation will finally be the wake up call for the city's leaders and the community to condemn the sort of hate that the elder McGee, the younger McGee, and their followers promote.

That said, it's heart-breaking that something as tragic as the death of Charlie Sykes' mom has become a national matter, thanks to the ugliness of Michael McGee.

I know what it's like to lose a parent. I know the grief. Because I'm not a person in the public's eye, I had privacy and time to grieve.

As a public figure, Charlie Sykes' loss is playing out in an open forum. That has to be extremely difficult as the family mourns their loss. I don't think I could handle that.

Then again, when tragedy hits a known personality, the individual receives an out-pouring of prayers and support that unknowns don't get.

Look at Elizabeth Edwards. Because she's a public figure, thousands and thousands of people have reached out to her as she deals with her health challenges.

Others, all of us unknowns, don't get gestures of support on that kind of grand scale as we face our personal problems and pain. Some of us suffer alone.

But on the flip side, we aren't publicly scrutinized and criticized and taunted as we confront our challenges. We have our precious privacy intact, time to grieve and cope with whatever we're dealt.

I guess that's the tradeoff.

Still, I'm sorry that Michael McGee's repugnant words are fodder for a national audience because the sicko probably loves the attention he's getting. He's such a twisted, hateful person that I suppose he's thrilled.

Hopefully, McGee won't win this one. Hopefully, this will be the end of his reign of hate in Milwaukee. Hopefully, members of Milwaukee's African-American community will speak out AGAINST McGee and abandon him.

I'm so sorry that the Sykes family has to endure this additional pain.

I think it's appropriate to highlight the family's statement.

WTMJ's Charlie Sykes confirmed that his mother, Katherine B. Sykes, died in a fire at her home in Mequon this afternoon. She was 87 years old.

Kay Sykes was a warm, intelligent, and generous woman who took great pride in her son's work as a writer and broadcaster. She delighted in her three grandchildren and was very proud of their academic, athletic, and artistic achievements. She loved books, music, and nature. She lived a full life, and her family and friends will deeply miss her.

Charlie wishes to thank his listeners for their thoughts and prayers at this difficult time.

You can send your messages of support to Charlie and family at charlie@620wtmj.com.

Ugly, Ugly Michael McGee, Sr.

WNOV radio personality and former Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee, Sr.

(Photo/ WISN 12)

I am disgusted and angry beyond words.

When is the Milwaukee community going to say, "ENOUGH"?

WNOV (860 AM) should axe Michael McGee, Sr. NOW.

This man, a former Milwaukee alderman and father of current Milwaukee alderman Michael McGee Jr., has no sense of decency. He doesn't possess a shred of decency, no compassion whatsoever. He is utterly heartless. I think he's soulless.

This morning, "Commander" McGee made remarks about WTMJ (620 AM) talk show host Charlie Sykes and his mother's recent death.

Via Patrick at Badger Blogger, Real Debate Wisconsin has the audio of McGee's vicious attack on Charlie Sykes and his mother. McGee also blasts Mark Belling, his mother, and all of Milwaukee. I assume McGee means white Milwaukee.

It's really hard to transcribe the audio because McGee slurs and mumbles, but here are some quotes:

(Warning: Offensive, vulgar, racist language.)

"Mother Sykes... she dead. I mean, to me, it's the vengeance of God. I ain't got no tears."

"A woman that have a fool like that deserve whatever's coming to her, 'cause she raised a sure enough idiot. "

"And of course Mark Belling created in a lab out of spare parts."

"On the real side, whatever happen to those monsters, they deserve it."

"But really on the other side of it, just my, my, my instincts say Charlie Sykes killed his mama."

"He got tried of waiting for that money."

"Said, 'Mama gotta go.' "

"[If not for] Hitler's mama, wouldn't have been no Hilter. So the way I look at it, it's tied in."

"When you got evil like Charlie Sykes, I mean on any issue that fool is against the black community... it could be some young nigger spitting in the street..."

"All of them fools and Milwaukee as a whole -- They hate a nigger. And they hate, they hate, they hate."

McGee also rambles on about the "plantation" and the "master pissing" in the "nigger's face."

It's absolutely sickening.

Where's the local chapter of the NAACP on this one? I'd like to hear reaction from them. Do they only get bent out of shape about handcuffing violent MPS students?


McGee can be as vile as he wants to be. His right to free speech is protected under the Constitution. He can spew his hatred, but there are standards and regulations when it comes to airing his reprehensible slime on the radio.

I could not care less about Don Imus, but let's have at least a semblance of consistency here. McGee's comments are certainly as offensive as Imus' "nappy headed hos."

This man should be thrown off the air.

Who listens to this guy? Do they agree with him? Are they entertained by him?

It's frightening to think that such ugliness garners an audience.

Here are some contacts at WNOV:

CEO/President -- Jerrel Jones

General Manager -- Sandra Robinson

Program Director/Music Director -- Homer Blow -- homerblow@yahoo.com

Business phone number for the station: 414-449-9668

____________________________

Update: According to TMJ 4, McGee will NOT be on the air on Friday.

Michael McGee's "Psycho-Political Message"

Last week, Milwaukee alderman Michael McGee, Jr. said on local radio that people should throw bricks at speeding cars as a strategy to get the to slow down.

I really want to organize some of these young guys in the community. When they see people speeding recklessly and swerving down the hood man, just start brickin’ em, for real… And start bricking these cars, man, gorilla style… And they are going to learn that you can’t drive down certain blocks and feel that they can be reckless.

When the local media picked up on McGee's comments via Badger Blogger, he tried to weasel out of his proposed solution to the problem of speeders.

McGee issued a statement.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel provides the statement in full:

"Earlier this week on the "Word Warrior Report," a radio program on 860 WNOV-AM, comments I made were misconstrued and then posted on a misinformed, fledgling blog site. The site indicated that I was trying to incite violence.

"While on the radio, I spoke about a "Rock The Car Campaign" which would send a statement to speeders and reckless individuals that they would be held accountable for their negligent behavior. In light of the many hit-and-run homicides and accidents that have occurred in our city, I believe something drastic must happen. I don't truly believe that throwing rocks at speeding cars will solve the problem, but I wanted to send a pyscho-political message to the reckless individuals who violate the lives of innocent citizens.

"The Rapid Response Team and I will be enforcing the Street Code of Conduct, which advocates for healthy behavior in the community, and we will bring our message to neighborhoods such as 10th and Ring and 12th and Chambers beginning Saturday, May 5, 2007. It is our intention to bring together the leadership in each neighborhood, and to work to transform the nuisance behaviors that plague us daily. One way to accomplish this goal will be to provide summer job opportunities for youth and concerned residents to help clean our streets and alleys. We also will be performing street patrols in conjunction with law enforcement authorities, and more strategies will be released as we reach the summer months.

"Again my comments are to be taken to hold reckless individuals more accountable, and to create urgent dialogue in regard to the rising violence that's taking place in many of our neighborhoods."

Does Milwaukee really need a leader that wants to "send a psycho-political message" like throwin bricks at cars?

Of coure not.

Why can't McGee just apologize for his horribly irresponsible comments rather than playing the "psycho-political" card?

McGee says:

It is our intention to bring together the leadership in each neighborhood, and to work to transform the nuisance behaviors that plague us daily.

I don't think that suggesting people throw bricks at speeders is a sincere effort to work to transform the nuisance behaviors.

It IS a nuisance behavior.

Alderman Michael McGee's Brickin' Solution

"[J]ust start brickin’ em, for real"

I was disgusted when it happened on April 3, and I'm just as disgusted now.

When Michael McGee, Jr. won by a landslide in a recall election, it became clear to me just how shockingly dsyfunctional the city of Milwaukee's 6th District is.

The man routinely makes bigoted statements and encourages thuggish behavior, yet his supporters stand by him.

The latest disgrace:

On WNOV-AM, Michael McGee, Jr. discussed his solution to thwart speeders.

Are you thinking he suggested speed bumps? If you are, you don't know McGee. That solution would be rational and LEGAL.

No, no, no.

McGee has a better idea to slow down the dangerous drivers -- THROW BRICKS AT THE SPEEDING CARS!

Badger Blogger has the audio.

Patrick transcribes the crux of McGee's plan:

I really want to organize some of these young guys in the community. When they see people speeding recklessly and swerving down the hood man, just start brickin’ em, for real… And start bricking these cars, man, gorilla style… And they are going to learn that you can’t drive down certain blocks and feel that they can be reckless.

Good grief.

This lunatic survived a recall election!!!

Of course, speeding is a serious problem that can have deadly consequences. The tragic death of 12-year-old Melissa Bavier last week should make that painfully clear.

But an appropriate response to that is not to promise to organize a brick-throwing thug brigade.

Community leader McGee is inciting violence. The message he sends to his followers is to be thugs and be proud of it.

I wonder. Are McGee's statements shocking to people?

Have Milwaukee residents become so desensitized to McGee's antics that they don't care what he says anymore?

Forget about McGee's constituents, the ones responsible for keeping him in office.

What about other Milwaukee residents? They should be contacting their aldermen and demanding that McGee be censured. The decent aldermen need to formally condemn McGee and make it clear that Milwaukee's government doesn't condone the sort of behavior that McGee promotes.

Don't aldermen take some sort of oath to uphold the laws of the city when they assume office?

It's completely unacceptable for McGee, a MILWAUKEE ALDERMAN, to use the airwaves to tell people to brick speeders.

What's next?

Will he tell MPS students to start brickin' faculty and staff if they dare to get in their faces?

STOP SNITCHIN'

On 60 Minutes, Anderson Cooper did a segment on the Stop Snitchin' movement.

The message appears in hip-hop videos, on T-shirts, Web sites, album covers and street murals. Well-known rappers talk about it endlessly on DVDs. It is a simple message heard in African-American communities across the country: don't talk to the police.

"When I was growing up, kids used to talk about snitching…. It never extended as a cultural norm outside of the gangsters," says Geoffrey Canada, a nationally recognized educator and anti-violence advocate. "It was not for regular citizens. It is now a cultural norm that is being preached in poor communities."

Canada has been working with children in Harlem for more than 20 years. He grew up poor in a tough New York neighborhood, but says the message kids are getting today is very different and dangerous.

"People are walking around with shirts. People are going out making, making music. People are saying things that if you're a snitch it's like being an Uncle Tom was when I was growing up," Canada says. "It's like you can't be a black person if you have a set of values that say, 'I will not watch crime happen in my community without getting involved to stop it.'"

"So this slogan, this 'stop snitchin'.' It now extends to rape, robbery, murder, really any crime?" Cooper asks.

"Any crime," Canada says. "It's like we're saying to the criminals, 'You can have our community. Just have our community. Do anything you want, and we will either deal with it ourselves, or we'll simply ignore it.'"

Canada could no longer ignore it on Feb. 5, 2006, when Israel Ramirez, a student he had mentored and loved like a son, was shot to death outside a soundstage in Brooklyn.

Ramirez was working as a bodyguard for the rap star Busta Rhymes, who was making a music video.

A person who was there told 60 Minutes Ramirez was shot in front of Busta Rhymes. He died at the scene two days before his 29th birthday, leaving a wife and three children behind.

Busta Rhymes, along with at least 25 people, refused to cooperate with police. Apparently, he believes that allowing a murderer to roam free is preferable to assisting police.

Geoffrey Canada believes it's because Busta Rhymes doesn’t want to jeopardize sales of his music and videos; Canada says being labeled a "snitch" might have damaged Rhymes' "street cred."

"One of the things that sells music is when the artist is looked at as someone who's come up from the streets. Not just any streets, but the toughest, meanest streets of the urban ghetto. And that's called 'street credibility,'" Canada says.

..."I think that's horrid," says Canada. "I ask you Busta, as a man, if that was your son and you watched someone kill your son, would you remain quiet or would you get justice for your son? This is murder. This is murder. This is watching someone getting murdered. How do we walk away from this?"

I think it's horrid, too.

Are we to believe that a sizable portion of the African-American community is conscienceless?

Cooper talked to rapper Cameron Giles, known as Cam'ron or "Killa Cam." A couple of years ago, Giles was shot in both arms.

There were witnesses to the shooting but they aren't cooperating with police.

Asked why, Cam'ron tells Cooper, "Because with the type of business I'm in, it would definitely hurt my business. And the way that I was raised, I just don't do that. I was raised differently, not to tell."

...Asked if he thinks there is any situation when it's okay to talk to the police, Cam'ron tells Cooper, "Yeah, definitely. Say 'Hello, how you feel, everything alright?' Period."

"That's it?" Cooper asks.

"There's nothing really to talk about with the police, I mean, for what?" Cam'ron says.

"If there's a serial killer living next door to you, though, and you know that person is, you know, killing people, would you be a snitch if you called police and told them?" Cooper asks Cam'ron.

"If I knew the serial killer was living next door to me?" Cam'ron asks. "No, I wouldn't call and tell anybody on him. But I'd probably move… But I'm not gonna call and be like, you know, 'The serial killer's in 4E.'"

That's sick -- sick like Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee, Jr.

McGee, the alderman who just won a recall election, a community leader, supports the Stop Snitchin' movement.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

"Ald. Michael McGee supports what he sees as a different interpretation of the "Stop Snitch'n" movement and included it among the tenets of his "Respect Kampaign" aimed at promoting positive behaviors among youth.

McGee said the movement is misunderstood. He said it's aimed at criminals cutting deals with prosecutors to lessen consequences for their own crimes.

"If you did the crime you've got to serve the time," McGee said. "If you're a criminal you shouldn't snitch on somebody until you snitch on yourself. It's a form of hatred."

Cooper should have interviewed McGee to clear up the confusion on the movement.

McGee tries to paint the movement positively, as really being about criminals trying to avoid being held responsible for their own crimes.

That's just an excuse to be against snitching, and a very poor one.

The fact is McGee promotes the practice of blocking police efforts to keep the community safe.

In the end, being anti-snitching is being anti-justice.

It's reprehensible.

That's what passes for leadership in the city of Milwaukee.

Sharpton's McCarthyism

Al Sharpton is on a crusade.

He has appointed himself judge and jury of threats to American society. Sharpton is the new arbiter, the ultimate authority.

Since he flexed his muscles and was victorious in getting MSNBC to axe Don Imus, he vows to determine what is suitable for public airing.

It seems that he plans an all-out purge.

From The Jawa Report:

"It is our feeling that this is only the beginning.... We must have a broad discussion on what is permitted and not permitted in terms of the airwaves."

Yesterday, referring to NBC and CBS, Sharpton said, "When you look at the symbols of both stations, tonight the peacock spread its wings correctly. I want to know what the eye in the middle of the CBS emblem is looking at."

This morning he said, "This must be a walk that CBS does now."

I wonder. Is everything cool at ABC? Sharpton isn't just talking about Imus anymore. The struggle is much broader than one offensive old man.

He's just getting started. So many bigots, so little time.

I have to contact Sharpton immediately. There's someone he needs to know about.

There's a racist, anti-Semitic, bilge-spilling, violence-inciting radio talk show host on the air in Milwaukee -- Michael McGee on WNOV-AM (860).

McGee is a former Milwaukee alderman, a community leader. Yes, the man was elected to serve in public office.

McGee's son is a chip off the old block. Michael McGee, Jr. is currently a Milwaukee alderman. In fact, last week McGee the younger won a recall election in a landslide.

Sharpton really needs to listen to McGee, Sr.'s program "Word Warriors."

I must send this Spivak and Bice column to Sharpton.

Less than 24 hours after his son, Ald. Mike McGee, was arrested in a courtroom, accused of threatening his former girlfriend, his father was on the air offering up a smorgasbord of anti-Semitism, threats of violence against the city of Milwaukee and rants about the difficulty of growing up McGee.

What can you say? Like son, like father.

First off, the elder McGee started with a little humor, if you can call it that.

"Look, I have a joke for you - well, not really a joke," said a female caller. "But what (does) July mean?"

"What do July mean?" replied the commander (McGee, Sr.). "The Jews lie."

Caller: "Uh-uh, and what do picnic mean?"

Commander: "Picnic mean, pick a (n-word)."

(This is a reference to a bogus Internet story about the origins of the word picnic.)

Caller: "There you go. Y'all have a good day."

And that was just the warm-up.

The next caller, as did many others, offered words of support to the McGee clan in the wake of the alderman's arrest.

The younger McGee left a Milwaukee County courtroom in handcuffs last week after he was accused of saying to his former girlfriend Kimley Rucker, "If you drive by my house, I'm going to kill your ass." McGee is accused of making the comment after the judge tossed McGee's restraining order against Rucker, who says she is pregnant with his child.

The caller told the elder McGee that she was praying for his family.

"It's not only at the police station," the woman said. "I work at the post office; it's just as bad with this racism. And we need to do something about it because it stinks. It's just like doo-doo - it stinks."

You may wonder how someone like this is able to stay on the air.

Why hasn't someone like Sharpton demanded that McGee be fired?

I don't know.

The remark launched McGee into a tirade reminiscent of his days on the Common Council, when nobody knew just what outrageous comment or threat might come out of his mouth. Remember how, back in 1990, McGee pledged to revive the Black Panther Militia in Milwaukee and threatened organized violence if conditions for blacks in the city did not improve?

On Thursday, he was voicing some more obscure but ominous threats of violence.

"Well, you know, in terms of the McGee family, I'm really tired of them, you know, taking every opportunity they can to slander our family. But, in fact, I feel like sometime my Vietnam syndrome is gonna take over, and I'm gonna go down there and mess up a bunch of 'em. So they better watch out, that's for sure. And that ain't no threat. That's a promise."

Ooh. Scary.

McGee is very much like Al Sharpton, a pot calling the kettle black. Like Sharpton, McGee's methods are as ugly as the ugliness he claims to rail against.

We know that Sharpton isn't held accountable for his lies and slurs. How does McGee manage to get away with his offensive, anti-Semitic rants?

Simple. According to Jerrel Jones, WNOV CEO/president, people like him.

..."McGee's program - it keeps us in the game," Jones said of the small radio station that targets the black community. "As long as he stays legal, I don't really have a problem."

Jones said the ethnic slurs and threats uttered by McGee should not be voiced on air. "Absolutely not, absolutely not," he said.

..."My job is audience. He's got a lot of people who like him."

McGee may keep WNOV in the game, but don't standards of decency matter?

Is it always all about money?

I guess.

Anyway, if Sharpton is SINCERELY concerned about the level of discourse on the airwaves in this country, he must scrutinize McGee's radio show.

He won't.

We appear to be entering a new era, the era of Sharptonism.


Let the witch hunt begin.

Making Sense of McGee

The media and the public are trying to make sense of Michael McGee, Jr.'s stunning victory in Tuesday's recall election.

In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Editorial Board weighs in and so does columnist Eugene Kane.

The rather condescending editorial, "A time for leadership," challenges McGee to take advantage of the "second chance" he's received from 6th District voters. The Board explains that while it supported McGee's recall, there's potential for progress in the district even with McGee retaining his post as alderman.

Cynics will say the voters got what they deserve. That's not only a cheap shot but probably inaccurate. The majority of the people who voted for McGee probably did so because they honestly felt that, despite his many personal foibles and outrageous behavior, he was not only listening to them but had their interests at heart. Especially when they felt he was challenging the establishment.

As former Ald. Fred Gordon told the Journal Sentinel's Greg Borowski, rather than hurt McGee, the recall process elevated his status in the district, particularly, we'd guess, among those who feel the most disenfranchised.

Indeed, even the candidate who finished a distant second to McGee, Una Van Duvall, whom we recommended, believed McGee "has a passion for the people." We agree, and we concede he has addressed some problems in the district. But he needs to do more.

...His district has vast potential, too - from new housing in Brewers Hill to the renaissance on King Drive to the promising new Bronzeville entertainment district.

All it needs now is leadership.

In other words, McGee isn't such a bad guy. The people can't be wrong. Now it's up to McGee to not let his constituents down.

I hope McGee makes the most of his second chance, but I doubt that will involve any changes on his part.

Why would he change? He's what the people want. That was made very clear in Tuesday's election.

Is it right for the JS Editorial Board to look the other way and gloss over McGee's "personal foibles and outrageous behavior"?

Don't standards of decency and integrity matter?

Is it acceptable for a leader to call police officers "faggots"? Is it OK for him to call the former Milwaukee D.A. a "dumb ass"? Is calling for the lynching of community leader Leon Todd just business as usual?

Apparently, none of that matters because the people have spoken and the Board doesn't want to second guess the people.

The McGee victory is also the subject of Eugene Kane's column.

It should come as no surprise that Kane plays up the racial divide in Milwaukee. There's always a racial divide in Kane's world.

He writes:

If anyone needed proof there are two sides to the city of Milwaukee, look no further than Mike McGee's election night victory.

...In the spirit of the college hoops playoffs, what McGee achieved can officially be described as a blowout.

That's impressive considering all the condemnation of McGee from various sectors, including what seemed like the entire mainstream media - including this newspaper - and most major broadcast stations in town.

...For months, the often troubled tableau of McGee's personal life was detailed in the newspaper along with assorted skirmishes and court battles with opponents. Given the amount of negative publicity, it seemed unlikely McGee could survive the onslaught of a field of opponents who popped up almost immediately to challenge his incumbency.

But again, there were two sides to consider. One side of the city wasn't prepared to let the other dictate what kind of person should lead them. In my opinion, McGee didn't win as much as his opponents lost this one.

So, if you read the Journal Sentinel's editorials or listened to the screaming heads on WTMJ-AM radio or WISN-AM, you probably expected McGee to go down in flames. But if you listened to the black press and radio stations such as WNOV-AM or WMCS-AM, it's been clear for some time that many central city residents were dead set against McGee being recalled from office simply because the powers-that-be in town were fed up with his act.

Kane doesn't think much of the central city residents.

He's saying that they voted for McGee out of spite. They were automatically against the recall because the "powers-that-be" were sick of McGee. Is "powers-that-be" code for white people? Conservatives?

I'm not really sure, but I'm sure it doesn't refer to people with Kane's racially segregated mindset.

...The people scratching their heads over McGee's victory tended to underestimate his political skills, particularly in terms of galvanizing his base.... Although he's widely perceived as a loose cannon, many central city voters prefer having a hell-raiser in City Hall to the current crop of somnambulant incumbents who never seem to get all that ex[c]ited about anything.

Kane doesn't mention how he galvanizes his base.

McGee does so precisely by playing up the very divide that fuels so many of Kane's columns.

McGee has to be divisive to galvanize.

Kane's argument that a "hell-raiser" is the sort of leader that appeals to central city voters could be seen as a bit of an insult to them. A leader in the habit of using gay and racial slurs and threatening violence isn't a good sort of "hell-raiser."

Kane does go on to suggest that McGee often is a poor role model, sending his constituents the wrong message.

I'd give Kane points for that if he didn't say in his next paragraph that McGee's bad behavior is what gives him "credibility other politicians don't have."

Although Kane urges McGee to be more mature in the future, it's a very soft request.

Kane ends his column wishing that McGee could stay out of the spotlight for a while and quietly work to serve his constituents. However, he doubts that will happen.

I don't think that will happen either. And why should it?

McGee received a mandate to be the "hell-raiser" that his constituents admire, not to transform himself.

Why pretend that McGee's success in the recall may cause him to grow up a bit and act responsibly?

That's not what the people of his district want.

If they wanted those characteristics in their alderman, they would not have given McGee 64% of the vote.

Thug Alderman Michael McGee, Jr.

This is an absolute disgrace.

The people of Milwaukee's 6th Aldermanic District voted to keep Michael McGee, Jr. in office.

A recall effort to unseat the controversial McGee failed.

In a field of eight candidates, he won more than 50% of the vote, allowing him to avoid a runoff election.

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

Although Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee could not block the recall effort against him, he got a knockout win Tuesday where it matters most: at the ballot box.

The outspoken McGee, whose actions have infuriated critics and inspired supporters, got 64% of the votes in the eight-person race.

Because he received more than half of the votes cast, a runoff isn't needed.

McGee easily outdistanced the field. The two strongest opponents were former city development official Una Van Duvall (14%) and recall organizer ViAnna Jordan (13%).

The remaining five candidates split 9% of the vote, with several registering only a few dozen votes.

While the recall focused on what the challengers said were McGee's flaws, including a host of problems that have generated headlines, Tuesday's results left him politically strengthened and well-positioned to win a second term next year.

McGee is politically strengthened?

That may be, but the community isn't strengthened by having someone like McGee in office.

No one is perfect. No candidate is without flaws. You have to weigh the good and the bad.

...In office, McGee has worked to find a place for cruisers, which many other aldermen consider a summertime plague. He helped lead protests on behalf of Frank Jude Jr., who was beaten by a group of off-duty Milwaukee police officers. And he launched a gun buy-back program, as well as a "Rapid Response Team" to address crime in the district.

But McGee has also been at the center of controversy.

For instance, the Jude protests did not start immediately after the beating, but after a front-page story appeared in the Journal Sentinel months later. At one rally, he called then-Milwaukee County District Attorney E. Michael McCann a "dumb ass" and used the word "faggot" to label the officers involved.

When that drew complaints from gay leaders, McGee was confronted at City Hall by state Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee), who demanded an apology.

McGee walked away, but later allegedly bragged to students on a bus trip to Washington, D.C.: "Man, I should have kicked his ass."

There have been plenty of other incidents, including one with police outside a Blockbuster video store in Wauwatosa. Later, McGee was arrested on suspicion of threatening a woman pregnant with his unborn child who had just received a restraining order against him. No charges were filed in that case.

Most recently, a restraining order was issued against McGee ordering him to stay away from Leon Todd, campaign manager for Jordan. In a radio appearance, McGee had said Todd should be "hung" for his "betrayal of the community."

He later gave out Todd's phone number over the air, which Todd said led to harassing phone calls.

Read more detailed accounts of McGee's adventures here and here and here and here.

As I said, no one is all bad, but McGee seems to carry around an excess of negatives.


Does McGee seem fit to serve in elected office?


Lying in court, having an affair, impregnating a woman other than his wife, threatening people with violence, using gay slurs and other offensive language doesn't exactly make him a good role model.

I can't believe that the people in his district would settle for a leader like McGee. On Tuesday, they validated McGee's behavior. They rewarded him.

After securing his position as alderman, McGee said in a television interview on Milwaukee's ABC affiliate, "Praise God. Power to the people."

McGee went on to say, "Black people have to stop killing each other."

True. I have no argument with that.

Still, those are interesting words coming from a man who threatened the mother of his child in court.

He allegedly said to her, "If you drive by my house, I'm going to kill your ass."

This from the man who crushed his opponents in a recall election.

The results reveal just how incredibly dysfunctional Milwaukee has become.

What passes for leadership in the community is frightening.

I'm sure Michael McGee, Sr. will be gloating today. Will he celebrate his son's victory by threatening violence and spewing racist and anti-Semitic remarks on the radio?

That would be fitting.

McGee, Jr.'s victory was a victory for thug politics, another nail in Milwaukee's coffin.

"Praise God."

Milwaukee's Thug Politics

Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee, Jr. is fighting for his political life.

I mean that literally. He and his army of thugs are responding to the recall election with threats of violence against what he calls "principalities of darkness."

McGee has put the message out -- His political enemies should fear for their physical well-being.

The paranoid McGee has fired up his supporters by claiming that he's the victim of a conspiracy.

While providing a laundry list of people and entities conspiring against him - including the local media - McGee alleged a "gay rights activist" was calling the shots for the election staff. He said Neil Albrecht, commission deputy director, was acting in retaliation.

McGee has long been at odds with the gay community, including a run-in with state Sen. Tim Carpenter (D-Milwaukee), who is gay.

That run-in occurred after McGee said at a rally that any police officer involved in the beating of Frank Jude Jr. was a "straight up sick faggot."

...Sue Edman, executive director of the Election Commission, issued a statement that said the "actions of the Election Commission staff, throughout this process, were executed without bias or prejudice, and were entirely compliant with election law."

McGee, in his first term, said he was being targeted by "a web of deceit."

McGee blames everyone but himself for the recall effort.

He doesn't address the charges made by his dissatisfied constituents.

It's a vast anti-McGee conspiracy.

When faced with a recall election, does a competent, decent, civil individual, a community leader, employ tactics to intimidate opponents with threats?

From The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel:

A former Milwaukee School Board member obtained a restraining order Tuesday against Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee, saying McGee has continued to harass him for backing the recall effort against him.

Leon Todd, who has been a frequent target of McGee's in radio broadcasts, was granted the restraining order on a temporary basis.

A hearing was set for March 13 on whether to make the order permanent.

In seeking the order, Todd cited a December statement by McGee - aired on the WNOV-AM (860) program hosted by McGee's father, Mike McGee - in which the alderman said Todd should be "hung" for his "betrayal of the community."

On Friday, according to Todd's attorney, Alan Eisenberg, McGee gave out Todd's phone number on the air, which resulted in a series of harassing telephone calls, including death threats.

Eisenberg said there were at least six threatening phone calls from McGee supporters.

"Now it is an issue of Mr. Todd's personal safety," Eisenberg said, adding that Todd has taken the matter to the police.

On the same program, McGee gave out the phone number of a producer at WISN-AM (1130), which had broadcast a parody song about McGee and the recall. According the radio station's Web site, that producer also received harassing telephone calls and has reported the matter to Greenfield police.

Listen to the PARODY song that enraged Michael McGee and Jr. McGee.

Listen to some of the threatening messages left on the producer's cell phone.

Question: Why is this insane behavior by Alderman McGee and his supporters not loudly and clearly denounced by Milwaukee leaders?

The implicit tolerance for these thug tactics is absolutely unacceptable.

The silence on the part of community leaders and Mayor Tom Barrett is deafening.

The McGee recall isn't just a goofy sideshow.

It's indicative of how incredibly dysfunctional the city of Milwaukee has become.

If McGee survives the recall, that will be the ultimate sign of hopelessness for a better Milwaukee.

McGee Recall

Eight hundred signatures supporting the recall of Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee Jackson Jr. have been tossed out, but challenger ViAnna Jordan still has more than enough at this point.

McGee is fighting it. It's possible that he'll manage to have more signatures ruled invalid, but Jordan isn't just going to go away quietly. That's certain.

She's a brave woman for taking on McGee. I really question his stability. Like father, like son.

It's mind boggling to me that the people of McGee's high crime district would be satisfied with an alderman that calls for community leader Leon Todd to be "hung straight up" just for supporting the recall.

Why do the residents of the 6th district settle for someone like McGee as their representative?

Isn't there someone with integrity and with at least a little more class than McGee to serve as alderman?

There is -- ViAnna Jordan.

Liberal Racists: Michael McGee Jr.

Here's another glaring example of liberal racism.

It's also an example of the Old Media's reluctance to cover a story that is clearly newsworthy.

Finally, The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel was shamed into covering Alderman Michael McGee's use of racially offensive imagery on WNOV 860 AM.

The JS ignored what conservative bloggers and Milwaukee conservative talk radio hosts were talking about for days. They offered commentary and audio clips of Alderman Michael McGee making highly offensive, racist remarks. The Old Media pretended not to notice.

As far as I know the Old Media still haven't addressed McGee calling Barack Obama, presumptive President of the United States, a n***er. Given the fact that every move Obama makes is being chronicled, you'd think that such a disparaging reference made by a city of Milwaukee African-American elected official would be news.

McGee is facing a recall election, yet the Old Media give him a pass on such disgraceful behavior.

I'd say that's dropping the ball. I'd say that's putting it mildly.

The JS eventually did get around to noting that McGee was being criticized for comments he made on the radio. It was posted at 2:58 pm on Tuesday.

Greg J. Borowski writes:

Milwaukee Ald. Michael McGee faced strong criticism today from political opponent ViAnna Jordan over saying on the radio yesterday that a black leader should be "hung" for supporting Jordan's recall effort against McGee.

At issue is a statement made by McGee yesterday on WNOV-AM (860) radio in which McGee said Leon Todd, a former School Board member and mayoral candidate, has "got to be hung, you know, straight up, for his betrayal of the community."

It's embarrassing that The JS took SO long to get any mention of the controversy posted on its website.

NBC affiliate TMJ4 also finally found time to cover the story, reporting it on its television newscasts Tuesday evening.

Watch the TMJ4 report and listen to the audio of McGee's WNOV radio appearance here.

McGee said:

"It's really important that we identify from the Mayor's office to the Election Commission to Leon Todd, who we definitely going to get after him, he got to be, you know, hung straight up for his betrayal of the community."

Leon Todd, like McGee, is African-American.

The lynching imagery that McGee resorts to is certainly not befitting an elected official from an area where violent crime is rampant.

It would be shocking if anyone but McGee said it. For him, it's typical stuff; but that's still no excuse for the Old Media's hesitancy to make the story known.

In Wednesday's edition of The Journal Sentinel, there's more extensive coverage by Borowski.

He writes:

At issue Tuesday were comments McGee made Monday on WNOV-AM (860) radio in which McGee said Leon Todd, a former School Board member and mayoral candidate, has "got to be hung, you know, straight up, for his betrayal of the community."

McGee, who is also black, refused to answer questions from reporters Tuesday at a meeting of the Common Council.

After the meeting, the first-term alderman left the council chamber and, walking away from reporters, simply unrolled a poster of Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez. It is unclear what message McGee was trying to send, though in the past McGee has expressed solidarity with Chavez, a vocal critic of President Bush.

When told of McGee's comments by a reporter, [ViAnna] Jordan said: "That's the caliber of representation you receive. That's what our tax dollars are going for. . . . That is utterly ridiculous. I expect more from him than that."

She said McGee owes Todd an apology.

Todd said he was not surprised by the comment, or other statements made by McGee and supporters.

"He has gone right to why the recall is happening," said Todd. "This is totally irresponsible rhetoric for an elected official. He should apologize to the people of his district, forget about Leon Todd."

What was McGee doing with a poster of Hugo Chavez?

Did he just happen to be carrying that around with him?

Obviously, McGee came prepared with props. He knew that he'd be facing the media.

Rule #1: When reporters ask questions that you don't want to answer, unfurl a poster of a wackjob and remain silent.

How weird!

I suppose McGee thought that he was off the hook. So many hours had passed since he spouted his hate-filled comments; and he's never really been called on his offensive rhetoric, certainly not by his constituents.

That's changing.

The recall effort makes it difficult for the lib media to completely dismiss what Jordan has to say about McGee. They can't deny that it's news. They tried, but thanks to talk radio and the blogosphere, it became clear that there would be no avoiding it.

If the recall is doing anything, it's putting McGee in a position where he's coming under more scrutiny and being held accountable for his actions. Well, he's not really being held accountable, not by the lib media and not by his constituents -- not yet.

Thanks to the efforts of conservative bloggers and talk radio hosts, the Milwaukee press has been forced to take note. At least McGee is being questioned about his racism and asked to offer an explanation to the public.

McGee's non-response, showing off his nutcase Venezuelan leader poster collection, is fittingly bizarre.

I guess we shouldn't be surprised that McGee called Obama a n***er, nor should we be surprised that he thinks Leon Todd should be "hung straight up."

It's disturbing, but that's McGee and that's his supporters.

Is it any wonder the central city of Milwaukee is such a mess?

People like Jordan and all those speaking out against McGee are trying to be part of the solution, not add to the problem.

Has Mayor Tom Barrett commented on what this racist elected official has to say, or has Barrett gone back to hiding in his lair?

Barrett's silence is part of the problem.

Everyone should be troubled that the media tried to give McGee cover. They, too, are part of the problem.

Michael McGee, Jr.'s Idea of Justice

The apple doesn't fall far from the tree. Such is the case with Michael McGee, Jr.

Milwaukee's NBC affiliate TMJ4 reports:

Alderman Mike McGee, Jr. wants something done about all the African-Americans being killed in Milwaukee.

His idea is a controversial one: Stiffer sentences for murderers whose victims are African-American. "Black men are an endangered species," said McGee. "You have to protect endangered species. There is no other ethnic group or person in the world than the black man in America who is losing their life at the rate we're losing our lives."

...It would take an act by the state legislature to change the penalty for murder. McGee wants Milwaukee's Common Council to formally ask state lawmakers to do that.

Commenting on McGee's proposal, Jeff Wagner writes:

Michael McGee Jr. is seriously suggesting that the Wisconsin Legislature require the court to add 10 years to the sentence of anyone convicted of murdering a Black person. Murder a Latino, murder an Asian, murder a Caucasian - you get one penalty. Murder an African-American, you get a harsher penalty.

...If something like this were ever to become law (no chance) and pass Constitutional muster (even less than no chance), the fallout a couple of years down the line would be interesting. Keep in mind, the vast majority of homicides against Blacks in the City of Milwaukee are committed by other Blacks. Therefore the effect of McGee's proposal would be that murderers who happen to be Black would in many cases be required by law to receive greater sentences than murderers who happen to be White or Latino or anything else - simply because of the race of their victim. Wow! Where's Jesse Jackson when you need him?

What is Ald. McGee's idea to address the problem of high murder rates for African Americans?

He suggests that they be given special status, like an endangered species.

Great idea! Yes, that will solve the problem. Add African American males to the endangered species list, along with the blue whale. Slap on an extra ten years to the sentence if the victim is black. Sure, that will do it.

What a constructive, sensible suggestion!

This is so stupid.

I hope that the national media pick up on McGee's racist proposal. I hope they highlight the sort of leadership McGee is offering Milwaukee's African American community.

I haven't heard Mayor Tom Barrett weigh in on McGee's plan. Is Barrett on Spring Break?

So much talk in recent days has been about the enforcement of immigration laws being racist and divisive. What could be more racist and divisive than McGee's brainstorm?

He's a disgrace, plain and simple. He's an embarrassment.