Walker’s
Crew Plays Fast & Loose with Milwaukee County’s Cash
The Underbelly of the
Milwaukee Parks Fiscal Deficit Story
by Robert Miranda
January 23, 2006
In a recent article published by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, reporter Dave Umhoefer, who covers Milwaukee County government for MJS, revealed last week that Milwaukee County's Parks Department is $2.3 million dollars in the hole.. ...“The combined parks-facilities-landscape division had a budget of
$74 million in 2005, supported by $33.5 million in property tax
levy,” Umhoefer wrote. “The projected deficit, while just 3% of
total expenditures, comes too late for county officials to do much
about…”
The story pointed the finger of blame for the deficit on the County
Board’s action to disaggregate County Executive Scott Walker’s
merger of the Milwaukee County Parks and Public Works departments....
Allowing Walker to deflect blame has become typical of how the Journal
Sentinel has treated his administration. ... Walker has run the county
free of scrutiny and criticism by GOP propagandists Charlie Sykes,
Mark Belling and the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.  CLICK
HERE
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We're
goin' bloggin' baby!
Lots of new content -- hard
hitting stories and the edgy commentary you have come to expect from
Watchdog Milwaukee is just one click away ! CLICK
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We're migrating our primary format to
the blogosphere. Our writers requested it and some readers
commented that they would like to comment on or add to some of the
columns. Most of the stories we have covered over the past month
are on our blog. We'll still provide feature stories but you'll
be amazed at some of the quick commentary and speedy updates you'll
receive with our new format. Give it a shot. We're sure
you'll enjoy our new format.
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gop
making strides with hispanics
Pro-Republican Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce - Wisconsin networking to build a GOP base
by Robert Miranda
September 21, 2005
This past week the United States Hispanic
Chamber of Commerce (USHCC) held its 26th Annual convention in
Milwaukee....key members of the HCCW have been positioning themselves
in various political positions aimed at increasing GOP political
prowess within the Latino community. Using HCCW networks, some members
have been able to establish organizations such as the Hispanic
Heritage Council (HHC) and Hispanic Professional of Greater Milwaukee
(HPGM). CLICK
HERE
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Police
brutality is real, help us stop the violence
All out for October 22
National Day of Action Against Police Brutality,
Milwaukee Stands United for Justice and Peace
by Marilyn Walczak of Justice 2000
September 20, 2005
Please Join the Milwaukee Police
Accountability Coalition for the National Day of Action Against Police
Brutality October 22, 10am. The North Side and the South side and
gather and come together led by families who have lost loved ones to
police brutality. CLICK
HERE
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THE
RIGHT'S SHAMEFUL SPIN ON CINDY SHEEHAN'S VIGIL
Local Anti-War Vigil quietly
draws 1000 as Republican Shills attack Mother of slain soldier
by Les Nakamoto
August 29, 2005
There was a candlelight vigil held,
north of the War Memorial in Milwaukee, on Lincoln Memorial Drive from
7:30 - 9:00 p.m. on Wednesday, August 17, 2005 in support of Cindy
Sheehan's vigil along the road to President Bush's ranch near
Crawford, Texas. An estimated 1,000 people attended, far more than the
few hundred that one television reporter who covered the event very
early in the evening.
One major difference between this vigil and others in the past year or
two was, that of all the drivers coming past the group, there were
only three that I saw during that entire time that were vocally in
support of Bush.
...more
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PABST
CITY: Big development dying for a closer at city hall
Mayor Barrett's confidence
that Aldermen would do the right thing was undeserved
by John-David Morgan
August 3, 2005
Forget
for a moment the “what” of PabstCity: a proposal to turn an
obsolete brewery into entertainment and upscale housing complex,
including a House of Blues music club and a cineplex. Forget the
“what” because if such projects were left up to the good wardens
of Milwaukee area development, ground would be broken in Brookfield,
New Berlin or Germantown.
The important question in the failure of PabstCity at the Milwaukee
Common Council’s final July meeting before the August recess is the
“how.” How did a project that aldermen had approved at every stage
until it was derailed off the fast track, so suddenly fall apart and
die in a 9-6 council vote? Where was Mayor Tom Barrett – whose
support for PabstCity urged it to the fast track in early July –
when it came time to close the deal?
...more
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Making
a Stand
Local Activist wins
defamation lawsuit against WTMJ Talk Radio Show Host Charlie
Sykes for on-air lie
by Robert Miranda
August 2, 2005
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Publishers
Note: Over the past year it has become a tactic of GOP and
GOP shills to attack both Progressives and Centrists who are
unwilling to go along with their agenda. Such was the case
a few months ago when CRG
attempted to use the legal system to bully Watchdog Milwaukee
into removing a graphic
that exposed them as GOP shills. We salute columnist Robert
Miranda for having the courage to stand up to WTMJ radio and
their GOP mouthpiece Charlie
Sykes. |
A
law suit brought on by me against right-wing radio commentator,
Charlie Sykes, was settled this past week. The settlement calls
for Sykes' employer, Journal Communications, to pay $5,000 - the
maximum amount allowed in small-claims court - to South Division
High School for a scholarship to help a student, who wants to
study journalism, go on to college.
...
Standing
against the hypocritical mantra of rightist leaders is one way of
taking action. Challenging
the lies they publish is another.
Sykes
attempted to spin public debate away from his lazy and sloppy
journalistic work by raising the issue of my whereabouts at the time
of the rally. This action on his part was simplistic.
... Sykes was not interested in the truth; his interest centered more
on politics and ideological victory for his right-wing cause.
...more
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Sheriff
David Clarke: Douchebag
Milwaukee County
Sheriff David Clarke puts Deputy in harms way in zeal to quash
criticism and feed his own vindictiveness
by Citizen Watchdog
July 28, 2005 |
Publishers
Note: It is not common policy for Watchdog Milwaukee to
publish columns from citizens requesting to stay anonymous.
However, Sheriff David Clarke has shown an unquenchable
propensity for vindictiveness. It is our opinion that if
we published the name of this author, a Deputy Sheriff could
either lose his job or be put in harms way. We will protect
the names of our sources (as we do for this story) in
instances where they or those who they are close to would
otherwise be punished. |
For too long, Sheriff Clarke has been
the media's Golden Boy, all the while humiliating and discouraging
the members of the department he is paid to lead. This is not the
first time he has retaliated against a deputy who spoke out against
him, but the citizens and voters of this county never hear about his
behavior.
At a recent County meeting to discuss Clarke's temporary promotion
policy, which has given temporary sergeant assignments to people not
even eligible for the promotion based on department rules, one of
his temporary appointees spoke out against him. This deputy was
already high on the promotion list and by all rights should have
been permanently promoted to sergeant. After Clarke's representative
at the meeting praised the deputy for how well he did his job in the
temporary sergeant's role, the deputy declared publicly that the way
Clarke abuses the temporary promotion policy is demoralizing and
wrong and should stop.
...more To
comment on this story, visit our blog section. BLOG
NOW
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A
Watchdog Milwaukee SCOOP - The SEIU just left the AFL-CIO
posted
July 25th 1:06pm -- for
more info click
here
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“Yoo-hoo
… It’s Congresswoman Gwen Moore”
Wisconsin’s First Black
U.S. Rep. Knocks for Equality
by John-david Morgan
July 25, 2005
Gwen Moore
doesn’t need talking points. Not when the Wisconsin constitution
is threatened by an amendment that would deny all Wisconsin couples
the right form legal non-marriage partnerships in their romantic
relationships, and ban gay couples from any legal recognition
similar to marriage.
Moore simply
carries with her a pocket reader of the U.S. Constitution. She reads
from the civil rights sections of the Bill of Rights. She references
the section of the Declaration of Independence that outlines the
rights of “life liberty and the pursuit of happiness” that are
inalienable for all Americans.
...more
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TINA
CAMPBELL, 1977-2005
Mother, Leader, Courageous
Worker
by Dave Somerscales
July 22, 2005
The struggle to
change and grow as human beings is a commonly shared experience for
many people. Not all of us choose willingly to undertake this
journey. Sometimes we plod along the same path of habits, attitudes
and beliefs for our whole lives. Others make the conscious decision
to engage in the process of change. For some, change and growth is
thrust upon them, ready or not.
Tina Campbell was a young woman who found herself caught up in this
process as she took on a challenging struggle to improve her life.
Along the way, she grew as a young woman, a mother and, eventually,
as a leader. Sadly, this struggle cost Tina her life.
...more
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Harpoon
THE Whalen WHALE
Courthouse Annex Demolition
Long Overdue
by Jim McGuigan
July 15, 2005
Milwaukee County's
courthouse annex is home to several offices but it primarily serves
as a parking structure. Over the years, the county has plowed money
into asbestos remediation and repairs but the structure has long
outlived its usefulness. It's time for the county to take a serious
look at demolishing the annex.
To make matters worse for the building, it is adorned with the
kitschy Whalen Whale wall. If ever there was an artist who conjures
up images akin to poker playing dogs, unicorn paintings and cat
clocks, it is Whalen.
...more
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"WILL
YOU MARRY ME, ED HOWE?"
Burlington Memorial Nurses
Offer Hands in Marriage to Aurora Health Care CEO in Hopes of Better
Pensions
by John-David Morgan
July 12, 2005
 Burlington Memorial Hospital nurses
and other workers strode down the aisle to Aurora Health Care
headquarters on W. Montana Street June 23 -- in bridal gowns -- to
ask Aurora CEO Ed Howe, who is paid more than $3 million per year,
to marry them.
Why all the talk about marriage? Aurora is demanding that Burlington
healthcare workers take a cut in pension and healthcare benefits,
positions that the nurses union, the Burlington Memorial Federation
of Nurses and Health Professionals (FNHP) is fighting. During a
recent bargaining session, a top Aurora official told the union's
negotiators that there’s a better way than collective bargaining
to get a good pension.
"If you want better pensions, you should just marry well,"
said Gene Krauklis, vice president of human resources for the
southern region of Aurora Health Care. ...
...more
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CleanPower:
The Wal-Mart of the Cleaning Services Industry
SEIU Local 1 Janitors March
on Justice for Janitors Day to Demand Union Rights at CleanPower
by John-David Morgan
June 24, 2005
 As nearly 100 Service Employees
International Union (SEIU) janitors, organizers, and community and
labor allies marched to the Blatz Luxury Apartments in Milwaukee
June 15 to demand justice for CleanPower janitors, shouts of “Si
Se Puede” (“Yes We Can”) resounded throughout the city’s
downtown.
CleanPower Janitors in Madison have been fighting for nearly a year
to join SEIU Local 1 – in the face of CleanPower resistance and
worker intimidation. On national Justice for Janitors Day June 15,
organizers of the Madison CleanPower campaign and their supporters
in Milwaukee, including representatives from five other Milwaukee
unions, marched to the Blatz – a building complex cleaned by
CleanPower – to send the message that the fight to unionize
CleanPower has only just begun....
...more
| GET ACTIVE: To join the fight for union rights for CleanPower workers, stop by the new SEIU Local 1 office at 1421 S. Park Street in Madison, or contact Leone Jose Bicchieri at 608-257-0065. For CleanPower and its president, Jeffrey
Packee, a call in Madison, dial 608-242-1500. Ask Mr. Packee why he refuses to respect the union rights of his workers. |
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PAINTED
CANDLES: HONORING THE IRAQ WAR DEAD
A Port Washington Homeowners
Respectful Shrine Elicits Threats and Reactionary Disrespect from
“Patriotic” Conservatives, Offerings for Peace from Others
by Les Nakamoto
June 21, 2005
A friend of mine has erected a
small shrine in her front yard to honor the dead from the Iraq war.
She started about eight or nine months ago. She has a sign with the
number of the total dead from the war hanging from her front
balcony, and is constantly updating it. A long banner with candles,
each one representing a life snuffed out in the war is hung across
the front of the second floor of the house and a second banner
covers half of the first floor. She’s five months behind in
painting candles on the banners. ...
We held our May vigil on the second Sunday in June. As we bowed our
heads and took turns reading the names, the drivers of several cars
passing by honked their car horns. We’re not sure why, but it
didn’t appear to be in support of our vigil. We live in an area
that is predominantly Republican. Several individuals driving by, as
we were reading the names, shouted at us. One said, “I’m a
Republican!”, as if that gave him a right to be disrespectful and
announce that he couldn’t care less. Another yelled, “It’ll
soon be 1700!”
...more
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Walker
Appoints Bumbling Business Leader to Museum Oversight Committee
Republican Operative /
Midwest Airlines Exec Carol Skornicka appointed by County Exec to committee
that oversees Museum finances
by Jim McGuigan
June 16, 2005
In the stadium of
incompetence, County Exec Scott Walker has hit another home
run. Walker appointed partisan pal and GOP donor Carol
Skornicka to the committee which is supposed to help outline a path
out of financial ruin for the Milwaukee Public Museum. The
problem is that Skornicka has helped to oversee one of the worst
downfalls a quality airline that our country has ever seen.
Formerly Midwest Express, Midwest Airlines has seen their stock
value tank, their customer base tumble and laid off hundreds of
employees under Skornicka's watchful eye. When Midwest Airlines
was going through their worst times, Skornicka's first drop of the
axe was on the quality department. Now mind you, at the time
Midwest Express had earned their slogan "the best care in the
air" because of their quality and commitment to customer
service. Skornicka effectively eliminated the quality of the
airline. If Skornicka does for the Museum what she has done for
Midwest Airlines there is little hope that our communities prized
museum will continue to have the quality exhibits we have come to
treasure.
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PERCEPTION
VS. REALITY
The
Film “Crash” - Guns and the American Racial Schism
by David Somerscales
June 13, 2005
The recently released film "Crash," despite a dubiously "feel-good" ending and a couple of scenes with some plausibility problems, is a rare example of a Hollywood film doing a credible job of tackling the weighty issue of race relations in America. The characters in the film, black, white, Asian, Latino and Middle Eastern, are meant to portray diverse, yet typical Americans interacting with each other through a miasma of misunderstandings, miscommunications, racial attitudes and cultural baggage. ...
Things are not always what they appear to be. For example, the tattoos covering a young Latino character in the film are mistaken to represent that he is a violent man, when, in reality he is a peaceful, hard-working, family man. Two young black characters express their fear of walking in affluent white neighborhoods. A Middle Eastern store owner is not the victim of customer violence; instead he is the initiator of violence. It is easy to see how a seemingly small comment or action can be taken as offensive by another, or how one's preconceived notions of a "group" affect our interactions with individual members of that group.
...more
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Walker
must take responsibility
Under County Executive Scott
Walker's watchful eye, the Milwaukee Public Museum's finances
implode forcing layoffs and threatening the Milwaukee landmark
by Jim McGuigan
May 28, 2005
It’s time for County Exec Scott Walker to start taking responsibility. His inept financial handling of the County-owned Museum has led to the layoffs of over half of the staff and threatens the future of the institution generations of Milwaukeeans have grown to love.
Walker mouthpiece Steve Agostini said, “when people are lying to you, it’s a little hard to do proper due diligence.” Sound familiar? Just a few years ago, Walker, with the aid of Republican shills in talk radio, pointed his finger at then-County Executive Tom Ament, who was saying the same thing about the pension scandal. But that was when pointing the finger benefited Walker.
Walker wants to shirk blame and piously claims he's looking out for the public.
...more
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Our new content has migrated
to the blog section now. Blogging allows us to disseminate
information to you faster and continues to allow you to have the insight
you need.
 |
"Should
any political party attempt to abolish social security, unemployment
insurance, and eliminate labor laws and farm programs, you would not hear
of that party again in our political history. There is a tiny splinter
group, of course, that believes you can do these things. Among them are
[a] few...Texas oil millionaires, and an occasional politician or
business man from other areas. Their number is negligible
and they are stupid."
President
Dwight D. Eisenhower, Nov.
8, 1954
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Perhaps you've felt a burning need or an uncomfortable itch
that one of our stories has inspired in you and you feel a need to
respond. No problem. Log in to our blog section and we'll publish most
non-fictional, well written responses.
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| BUSTED!
Who's behind CRG? Click
here to see a
captured image from the web page of Milwaukee's self proclaimed
"citizen watchdog". |
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"I see in the near future a crisis approaching that unnerves me and causes me to tremble for the safety of my country. . . . corporations have been enthroned and an era of corruption in high places will follow, and the money power of the country will endeavor to prolong its reign by working upon the prejudices of the people until all wealth is aggregated in a few hands and the Republic is destroyed."
President Abraham Lincoln, Nov. 21, 1864
(letter to Col. William F. Elkins)
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"History will have to record that the greatest tragedy of this period of social transition was not the strident clamor of the bad people, but the appalling silence of the good people."
Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.
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"Standing
in the middle of the road is very dangerous; you get knocked down by the
traffic from both sides."
Margaret
Thatcher
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"If we lived in a country that allowed government to hold people in jail indefinitely only based on what they write or think, or based on mere suspicion that they were up to no good -- then, no doubt, no doubt, the government would discover and arrest more terrorists. But that probably would not be a country in which people would want to live. That would not be a country that we could, in good conscience, ask our young people to fight and die for. That country would not be
America."
"Originally, [racial profiling] was called driving while black, but then some Latino Americans said, "Hey, what about driving while
brown?' Then we found out it wasn't just about driving. What about walking around, or going through the airport?"
Russ Feingold
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