Is Brandi Grayson running against Ald. Carter?

Posted on December 3, 2020 by

Game on!

That’s the rumor: That BLM agitator Brandi Grayson is running against Madison Common Council president Sheri Carter. Brandi Grayson runs Urban Triage. She led the Derail the Jail demonstrations several years ago. Runs in the same circles as Freedom Inc. and Progressive Dane.

 

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Ald. Carter is a moderate, generally sympathetic to police. At odds with the Progressive Dane majority.

Other good news: Marsha Rummel and Mad Max Prestigiacomo are out. Both are Progressive Dane. Electing someone more moderate in their districts — Willy Street/Marquette Lapham neighborhood in the former, UW campus in the latter — will be difficult.

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Send the principal to detention hall! 

Posted on December 3, 2020 by

Inmates to run asylum!

When Jack Nicholson, in the movie As Good as it Gets, tells the nice neighbor lady to “Sell crazy someplace else,” she must have set up shop in Madison WI.

Madison is stocking up on crazy as if it were triple-ply toilet paper in a pandemic. Its public schools are hoarding in bulk. No wonder school board president Gloria Reyes is quitting. But then, so are more and more parents.

Freedom Inc. runs Madison’s public schools. They made that clear when their strike force of social justice warriors noisily F-bombed her residence one night this past June (2020).  (“They’re in front of my house!” Reyes alarmed.) Their harassment worked. Days later, the former police officer flipped; police would be expelled from the city’s four troubled public high schools.

Another victory for Defunders of the Police. The only thing missing was the surrender ceremony on the deck of the U.S.S. Missouri.

In front of the Madison school district administration building

Bonus points for kids wearing GPS ankle monitors

The cart being put before the horse (to stoop to another cliché) the school district is forced to devise a new school safety plan. Because it doesn’t have one now. (Maybe the only reason to thank Wuhan China for their gift.) Freedom Inc. (did you doubt it?) has a plan. It amounts to this: 

An oversight committee would oversee investigations of district staff — the putative adults in the room — should they discriminate when they discipline the kids or call in police to quell a disturbance. Who determines whether the action is discriminatory?

The oversight committee! Who constitutes the oversight committee? Six kids. But not just any six kids. “Six youth advocates who have been disenfranchised by discriminatory discipline practices in the past — led by a member of Freedom Inc.” (“Disenfranchised”?) In plain language:

The troublemakers would be in charge of disciplining teachers, principals, and aides!

Now THAT’s just crazy! The Werkes is indebted to the Wisconsin State Journal for the details.

The committee would have complete decision-making power over school safety and accountability policies within the district; oversee all district investigations of student, parent or family member complaints against school staff; and establish a process to protect students against retaliation after filing a complaint, among other measures.

Have your team talk to our team

A rival proposal developed by school social workers isn’t much better. “School-based teams would determine whether the school district has decision-making authority before calling on local law enforcement.”

If law enforcement is needed, the school-based team would contact the central office critical response team, which consists of the district’s director of operations, security director and other behavioral health experts.

Get it? Kids are brawling in the lunch room. Teams are convened. They talk. Discuss. Debate. Because nobody is in charge except the kids brawling in the lunch room. 

Blaska’s Bottom Line: Madison, you voted another $350 million on this hot mess in the November 3 referendum. You get what you pay for. Two seats of the seven seats are up in the April 6 election, including Reyes’.

Will it make any difference?

Posted in Cops in schools, Freedom Inc., identity politics, Madison schools, War on Police | Tagged , , | 9 Comments

No more Mr. Nice Guy, progressives vow

Posted on December 2, 2020 by

Could have fooled us!

We inquired of the editor and publisher of The Capital Times whether he personally knew any Republicans. Had ever conversed with a conservative? Hobnobbed with a Deplorable? Paul Fanlund has not responded. Do Not Disturb the man’s progressive Madison bubble.

Paul is up with a piece that quotes his one entré to the Dark Side, that being — tellingly — a University of Wisconsin-Madison professor. Political anthropologist Kathy Cramer strapped on her pith helmet and embedded herself somewhere north of Madison to study the natives, whereupon the tenured lady emerged from the regressive night to pronounce that Trump voters practiced “the politics of resentment.”

Not that the condescending Prof gave them anything more to resent, right? Fanlund unleashes his own resentments, as betrayed in his headline: “Hey Democrats, a decade of playing nice is enough!”

F-bomb S * * * up!

In my newspaper days, we called this “burying the lede.” Paul scored a big scoop! Who knew Democrats had been playing nice these past 10 years?!

  • Lurid tales of Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh in beer-soaked orgies? Print them now, investigate them later!
  • Prosecuting Trump aides like Carter Page with falsified FISA warrants. Entrapping Michael Flynn.
  • The entire Russian collusion hoax, the dirtiest political trick since Aaron Burr. Impeachment — over a phone call?
  • Chuck Schumer threatening the Supreme Court would “reap the whirlwind” if it didn’t decide a case his way.
  • Harassing administration officials as they dined. Not to mention shooting Republican congressmen while they played softball. (But we just did.) 

Here in Wisconsin, we recall Democrats absconding in 2011 to set up a government in exile in Rockford, Illinois. Tens of thousands of protestors besieging the state Capitol. A mob pursuing a Republican state senator through the grounds. Threatening to dress out Gov. Walker’s wife “like a deer.” Shutting down a bank. Disrupting a Special Olympics award ceremony. Recall elections hither and yon — in which Walker/Kleefish prevailed. That was really what democracy looked like!

Fanlund counsels:

Democrats should play hardball in language and in tactics.

Max Prestigiacomo is their man! The privileged young Progressive Dane member vows to reject “the niceties and political decorums” that maintain the status quo. “I fully intend to continue my work and the disruption politics.” This is the punk kid, you may recall, who urged Madison earlier this year (2020) to “F-bomb S * * * up” at a scheduled riot. Now THERE is Fanlund’s headline!.

Blaska’s Bottom Line: If Fanlund has his way, Joe Biden can pound sand unless he reneges on his promise to bring America together.

Posted in Donald Trump, Uncategorized | Tagged , | 50 Comments

Madison’s board of chaos convenes

Posted on December 1, 2020 by

The progressive board of police inquisition. 

We learn, from an incisive news story in today’s (12-01-20) Wisconsin State Journal, that the 13-member Police Civilian Oversight Board is one expensive clusterf*k. In three hours, 13 minutes of hair twisting, this gaggle of special interests could struggle through only four of 12 items on the agenda of its first meeting. (And one of those was a single citizen comment, a second was a welcome from the mayor, which never occurred. The third consisted of members introducing themselves.)

What did Madison expect? This is a governmental body chosen largely on the basis of identity politics. At least one member must be Black, another Asian, another Latinx, another LGBTQ, another Native American. And qualified by conduct: drug abuse, for one instance (whether former or current is not specified), homelessness, and mental illness. Another must have a criminal record. Membership is also determined by affinity groups — Freedom Inc. gets a seat; the Optimist Club does not. Nor, more tellingly, does a single neighborhood association. No Former Madison Police Need Apply! Or their families! By ordinance!

In no way does this flailing and failing Flub-a-Dub represent Madison.

Grant Foster

Corner of Cottage Grove and Stoughton Roads on Madison’s east side.

It is a government agency that has no power except that of harassment.  It cannot hire, fire, promote or demote a police officer. But it can put a cop on the dock at the insistence of any agitator — and the city will pay up to $15,000 for the complainant’s attorney! Because the police civilian oversight board has subpoena power! Or does it?

Blaska Policy Werkes doubts that any city can confer subpoena power. State statute simply does not confer that power. The Common Council itself lacks the ability to compel appearance or produce evidence. UPDATE: We are so wrong. State Statute allows:

885.01 Subpoenas, who may issue: (3) By the chairperson of any committee of any county board, town board, common council, or village board to investigate the affairs of the county, town, city, or village, or the official conduct or affairs of any officer thereof.

For good measure, the board (once appointed) is unaccountable to any elected official — not the mayor, not the alders meeting as the Madison Common Council.

A real confidence scam

The stated purpose of the cop criticism board, say the progressive alders who concocted this mad experiment, is to restore confidence in the police “in the community.” Who? What community? Let’s say it: Black people who don’t trust the police. Except that most Black people DO trust the police.

⇒ The police civilian oversight board does NOT, which is why it will gin up blue death by a thousand paper cuts.

And it don’t come cheap: the bill for this exercise in virtue-signaling amounts to $450,000 a year. That includes a $125,000 annual salary for the executive director, yet to be hired. (Compared to $50,000 aid to all those boarded-up downtown businesses.)

Contrast that with the pathetic importuning of two small business advocates on the State Journal’s editorial page. “Downtown Madison is on the ropes,” they declare. No kidding! Going on six months now, Downtown Madison is boarded up and (in many cases) closed down. (“Stop the destruction of Downtown Madison.”)  

If shoppers and diners do not feel safe, they will not come downtown. Now is the time for city leaders and the community to demand a stop to the needless violence and destruction … 

Driver of city’s fiscal mismanagement

Actually, it is long past time for city leaders to get their acts together. The progressive kristallnacht began six months ago (in June 2020). Caused, execs at Smart Growth Greater Madison contend, “by a small number of people who seem to be motivated … to break things, harm businesses, and cause disruption.” In other words, the very “community” that does not trust police — encouraged by agitators like M. Adams of Freedom Inc. (“Stop murdering Black people and your glass will be safe.”) 

Yet, official Madison, starting with Mayor Satya Rhodes Conway, continues to zero in on the police. The irony is that Downtown Madison is boarded up because there were not enough police and/or were told to stand down.

Blaska’s Bottom Dollar Line: The city’s books are now showing a $12.5 million revenue shortfall from the 2121 budget enacted only a few weeks ago while expenses increase by another $3 million. And that is after the city’s mismanagers drained the rainy day fund and hiked property taxes. The Werkes predicts that deficit will only grow. You think all those downtown businesses — over 100 of them — are in a position to pay their property taxes? 

Blaska’s Bottom Policy Line: The police officer who responds to this outfit’s “subpoena” is a fool.

Blaska’s Bottom Political Line: Ald. Rebecca Kemble (Progressive Dane) sponsored this travesty. Is there no one in NE Madison to run against her?

What are YOU doing to elect better alders?                    

Posted in Madison aldermanic elections 2021, Madison city government, Progressives | Tagged , , , | 21 Comments

Alder Shiva Bidar calls it quits; so does Tierney

Posted on November 30, 2020 by

One of most progressive

Highly influential alder, more progressive than a Department of Sociology hunger strike, Ald. Shiva Bidar is calling it quits, won’t seek re-election. So, too, unfortunately, is Ald. Michael Tierney — one of the good guys.

Ald. Bidar sent this missive to her Regent Street-area constituents early this morning (11-30-2020):

I have decided not to run for re-election for the City of Madison Common Council District 5 seat. My term ends in April 2021 and I will continue to work hard and diligently until then.

It has been an honor and a privilege to serve our city as District 5 Alder since 2009, including serving as Council President twice. I have learned so much and have done my best to represent you and to advance racial equity and social justice. Much work still needs to be done and a steadfast commitment to racial equity must remain at the center of the work ahead.

— Shiva Bidar, District 5 Alder

Ald. Tierney represents the Elvehjem Park area on the city’s southeast side. He  wrote this on his city blog:

I want to take a moment to say thank you to residents of District 16, who have reached out to me over the last 2 ½ years and sought to actively engage in issues that are important to the City of Madison, our communities and specifically District 16.  I also want to say thank you to those of you, who have reached out to me in recent weeks and encouraged me to seek re-election this coming April.  However, after some reflection and long conversations with my family, I have decided not to seek re-election to the District 16 seat on the Madison Common Council.

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Madison alders still after police

Posted on November 29, 2020 by

Want to take away another tool.

Madison alders aren’t finished with handcuffing the police. Progressive Dane alders  propose ordinance #62413, which would ban facial recognition software, with some exceptions. Sponsors are Mad Max Prestigiacomo, Rebecca Kemble, Tag Evers (all PD),  plus Arvina Martin.

Tuesday’s (12-01-2020) Common Council meeting, to be held on-line via zoom, starts at 6:30  p.m. but the ban is way down the agenda as item #76. Bonnie Roe of thePublic Safety Action Network explains:

The Madison Police Department is opposed to the over-reaching nature of this ban because of the deterrent it would be in fighting crime. Currently it uses this cutting-edge technology to locate and rescue child victims of sex traffic, child pornography, and other internet crimes against children.

The proposed ban does exempt compliance with the National Child Search Assistance Act. Bonnie Roe continues:

There are many other important ways this technology could be used, such as identifying deceased persons when other means are lacking, identifying mentally disabled people who are unable to identify themselves, and in the case of serious, felony-level crimes for which there is an identified suspect. The photo/video imagery is then provided to a third-party facial recognition software company to perform an appropriate scan using specific algorithms and relevant databases.

[A ban] would tie the hands of MPD at tracking down our most vulnerable victims and lose the ability to generate tips on confirmed suspects.  For example, the case of Althea Bernstein, who had reported four white frat boys yelled a racial slur at her, poured lighter fluid on her and lit her face on fire. What if something had been captured on surveillance cameras at that intersection? It would be a hate crime. Would we not want to be able to add a facial recognition search to identify those suspects?

In the case of an active shooter, imminent threat, mass casualty event or other serious felonies, this technology could be vital.

Police Chief Victor Wahl and Sergeant Detective Julie Johnson discuss the facial recognition software here. It starts at 2:39:47 in the linked video.

Register in OPPOSITION to this proposal here.

E-mail alders and the Mayor’s Office in OPPOSITION.

UPDATE: Common Council 12-01-20 voted down an amendment sponsored by Ald. Zach Henak to add more exemptions to the facial recognition ban to find missing adults, identify dead people, and identify suspects in deadly felonies. That garnered only 5 votes: his and Alds. Carter, Harrington-McKinney, Skidmore, and Tierney. The ban then passed as originally proposed with only Skidmore and Henak opposed. Ald. Abbas was absent. 

 

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