Political Heat

Would Robin Vos afford a Muslim legislator the same courtesy? It's doubtful... State Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) is taking some heat for religious comments he made on a YouTube video. Specifically, Allen is getting criticism for using state resources to produce a video that encourages individuals to convert to Christianity . “For those who may watch this who are not Christians, I invite you to consider the hope offered by the Prince of Peace,” Allen said in the video , before going on to quote several biblical verses. Rep. Scott Allen (R-Waukesha) via YouTube Allen is free to promote his religious beliefs on his own time . But using state-funded resources -- amounting to using taxpayer dollars -- to proselytize his religion flies in the face of what the First Amendment is all about: that government “shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion” nor promote one belief over others. There certainly is gray area to consider when it comes to the separation bet...

Journal Sentinel editorial board isn't impressed with current gov's performance The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, which in 2010 had endorsed then-candidate for governor Scott Walker, isn’t impressed with his current spin -- especially when it comes to jobs. “Gov. Scott Walker can't avoid the latest bad news on jobs in Wisconsin,” the editorial board writes . “A new government report shows that our state ranked 32nd in private-sector job growth among the 50 states in the five-year period that ended in June. That's the entire recovery period since the last recession.” Although they don’t blame Walker entirely for the sluggish Wisconsin economy, they do take him to task for his failed campaign promise made more than five years ago . “Certainly, Walker should own his record -- he did make the brave claim in 2010 that the state would grow 250,000 jobs by the end of his first term.” Ranking 32nd since the recovery began is indeed bad news. But it’s even worse when you ...

A look at some of the headlines on this site over the past year This past year has been a pretty good one for Political Heat. Readership was up, and I wanted to take the time to thank you, the readers, for visiting my blog. This year also marked my tenth year of writing political opinion. You can read more about that here . For a year in review post, I thought I’d suggest twelve posts I’ve written in 2015 -- one from each month of the year -- that I felt highlight some of the topics I’ve discussed on the site. Once again, thank you for reading, and I wish for all my readers a prosperous new year. January: Former Mayor Dave suggests concealed carry didn’t make WI safer (he’s right, too) The average crime rate of the two years that Wisconsin has had concealed carry on the books saw a significantly higher rate of violent crime than the average seen during the ten years of the assault weapons ban. February: Why didn't Walker answer "Yes" when asked whether O...

GOP lawmaker suggests citizens should become vigilantes A conservative lawmaker in Wisconsin says that, since we don’t have the death penalty in the state, citizens should take it upon themselves to “help clean our society of [the] scumbags” that perpetrate crime. No, really . And Rep. Bob Gannon (R-Slinger) goes on to say that, since “criminals no longer have any fear of our courts or our prisons,” it’s “time that the citizens of this fine state stand up and fight back.” These remarks come in response to a shooting at East Towne Mall in Madison last week. Gannon, who supports concealed carry so fervently that he refuses “to spend my money at any business that believes my second amendment rights have to be left in my car,” penned a snarky and spiteful press release (PDF) simply titled, “Hole Shot into Gun Free Zone Theory.” “A gang banger in the mall with a gun is going to think twice if there could be a law abiding CCW holder standing behind them fully prepared to s...

"Unskilled workers" aren't a problem for the state -- this governor is Last week it was revealed that jobs in Wisconsin were growing slower than they were on average throughout the nation. The rate of job growth, in fact, is the worst in the Midwest since Gov. Scott Walker’s first budget passed in 2011, and the 37th worst in the nation overall since that time. The governor didn’t miss a beat. Walker took the opportunity, on the same day that those bad numbers came out, to tout his “Wisconsin Comeback” -- which, as it turns out, was completely overblown. Wisconsin isn’t on a comeback , and much of the state readily agrees that Walker is failing as a leader. In the face of these sad jobs numbers, Walker decided to shift the blame elsewhere, to unskilled workers in the state. Walker said that more companies would add jobs if more workers were job-ready. “Employers have increasingly told us, we’ve seen it even in some of the Chamber (of Commerce) surveys, that ...

Walker spins facts to make himself loo good, but fails to lead our state towards progress Here’s some fast facts about Gov. Scott Walker: Walker’s administration knew about alleged abuses at the Lincoln Hills School for Boys , a juvenile prison in northern Wisconsin, for almost a year. Those abuses were physical and sexual in nature, and the turning point to do anything about it for Walker apparently came earlier this month when guards crushed a kid’s foot in a door, resulting in the youth requiring amputation of his toes.  Three DA’s in Wisconsin are planning to appeal the John Doe decision delivered by the state Supreme Court that said collusion between third party political interest groups and political candidates in state elections could conspire together to avoid laws regulating donation limits. That’s exactly what Walker did during his recall campaign, when he encouraged millionaire donors to give to third party groups like Wisconsin Club for Growth, which could receiv...

Governor had promised 250,000 jobs in four years -- it's been five and a half, and we're still not close It’s become routine to point this out, but it’s still important to shine light on the fact that jobs are slow-coming in Wisconsin , lest anyone who still “Stands with Scott Walker” think things are somehow working (they’re not). In the latest yearly survey released this week, Wisconsin grew just 30,759 private sector jobs from June 2014 to June 2015. That’s just shy of 1.3 percent growth for the year. Across the nation, we’re ranked 37th in the states and DC in terms of jobs during that time. Aside from Iowa, that makes us the worst state in the Midwest for that time period. When looking at jobs growth from the start of Scott Walker’s first budget in June 2011, however, there’s no mistaking it: we ARE dead last overall in the Midwest . Wisconsin ranks 37th in the nation in job growth from June 2011 to June 2015 . During that time, our growth rate was about 5....

Lifetime appointments prolong arguments from past generations that are no longer relevant The disastrous way Justice Antonin Scalia described how black students would benefit from attending “slower track” universities (PDF) shows us that racist beliefs are prevalent even within the institutions we normally assume are meant to protect everyone equally. His generalization of an entire race, of implying that black students who are the recipients of affirmative action did not otherwise earn their place at prestigious universities, is a disgusting mark on his record, and a disproven idea at that . Certainly, fifty years into the future, we will look back on Scalia’s tenure as one mired in many missteps, misstatements, and terrible jurisprudential positions; this latest comment from him will be among many others he has made that are an embarrassment to the position he currently holds. But we don’t live fifty years in the future, and alas must deal with his actions in the present....

Governor blames “typical” media response for pointing out the omission, doesn’t correct himself During an event in Milwaukee commemorating the start of Hanukkah, Gov. Scott Walker expressed his support for freedom of religious belief , listing off a number of faiths as examples of religious plurality celebrated in the United States. ...whether someone is Jewish, or Christian, or Hindu, or Buddhist, or whatever it might be, that particularly here in America, we recognize that [religious freedom is] one of the great tenets. Notably absent from the list of faiths Walker listed was Islam. When a reporter asked Walker about that, he got upset over the question, and blasted the media for asking what really is a simple request. “Pointing that out is typical of the media,” said Walker. “Somebody asked me the other day, what did I find out about the media? It's like, what did I leave out? I just rattled off a bunch [of faiths]. You could mention three or four other religions. I didn...

His willingness and eagerness to avoid providing open records demonstrates his cowardice and incompetence as a leader The lengths that Gov. Scott Walker’s administration, and Republicans in general, have gone to restrict access to open records is disgraceful, especially in a state like Wisconsin which has traditionally prided itself on being open to public scrutiny. Previously legislative Republicans had tried to obliterate open records laws that would have allowed lawmakers the ability to hide how bills were drafted. Walker and his administration initially denied being a part of the scheme to change the law, but it was quickly discovered that they had been a part of it after all. The plan would have “made it harder for the public to monitor how [state] government works.” It was removed from the proposed budget after tremendous outcry from the public. Walker’s office has also repeatedly denied open records requests for newspapers across the state, using tired excuses th...

Americans are ready for better gun laws Freedom from Fear Norman Rockwell, via Wikipedia In January of 1941, eleven months prior to the bombing on Pearl Harbor, President Franklin Roosevelt delivered his State of the Union speech, which later became known as the “Four Freedoms” speech . The importance of this speech cannot be underscored. It influenced the United Nations Universal Declaration of Human Rights , and continues to be a source of inspiration for those fighting oppression across the globe. These rights include: the freedom of worship; the freedom of speech; the freedom from want; and the freedom from fear. Each of these rights, Roosevelt declared, were to be recognized globally, and not just in the United States. The last freedom Roosevelt expressed -- the freedom from fear -- is especially important today, in light of the rise of mass shootings across the country in recent years. Roosevelt was referring to international fears when he made his speech in 1941...

Rebecca Bradley won't comment on misinformative contraceptive op-ed in lead-up to election campaign Women should not be denied the ability to purchase birth control on the basis of their pharmacist’s religious beliefs. Justice Bradley. Image via Wisconsin Court System It’s as simple as that. If your religious convictions prevent you from being able to carry out a medically prescribed drug, then you don’t belong in the pharmaceutical business . That’s not an infringement on anyone’s right to worship freely -- individuals can worship any way they like, but they shouldn’t be a pharmacist if they can’t perform the functions of the job. You shouldn’t be in control of making decisions for other people, especially important medical decisions that have been made by doctors. Current Wisconsin Supreme Court Justice Rebecca Bradley disagrees , or at least she did in 2006. At that point in time, Bradley stated her support for allowing pharmacists to refuse service to women based ...

Fifty-eight percent (PDF) of Americans support "more strict" gun laws, according to recent poll There’s no one answer for the rise in mass shootings in America. There’s no silver bullet, no singular solution that can prevent events like what we saw in San Bernardino , or Colorado Springs last week, or anywhere else in the past year, or anywhere else in the next year. AP-GfK poll, Oct. 28, 2015 ( Source ) Some, in recognizing that there isn’t one answer, relegate themselves to accepting this is the new normal . They decide to arm themselves, something that is their right to do, but that ignores the fundamental problem altogether. But that is the wrong approach to take. Just because there isn’t a solution that will end ALL gun violence doesn’t mean we shouldn’t do our best to prevent it. Vaccines aren’t 100 percent effective, and fires still break out across the country despite fire detectors being in most homes. But the prevalence of vaccines and fire detectors ha...

Whether you've just started reading my work, or have been reading for years...thank you! This month marked the tenth year that I seriously began the hobby of writing my opinion on current events. I had dabbled in writing previously, but in November of 2005 I began writing guest columns for the UWM Post , the student-run newspaper at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. I’ve written on countless topics since 2005. I’ve been on the right side of history on many of them, missed the mark on some, but am proud of the stances I took and the ways that I defended them over the years, primarily through citation and diligent research. I started this blog site about six months after graduating in 2008. And I’ve written elsewhere as well -- Dane101.com, Wisconsin Daily Independent, Elite Daily, AMERICA Blog, and the Cap Times have all been home to my published work. I’m grateful to each of those publications for disseminating my ideas to their audiences. Overall, I’d say I’ve writ...

Conservative organization describes girl in school district as having a "mental disorder" The Mt. Horeb School District’s Early Learning and Primary Center had planned to discuss an important topic with students in its care -- that is, before a conservative organization threatened them with legal action . One of the students, born as a boy but who identifies as a girl, entered the district this year. In order to produce a hospitable environment for that child and others to learn in, officials in the school district determined it was imperative to explain to the children what that meant exactly. But the district also understood that some parents would object to their children being exposed to the discussion. So they sent home a letter to parents alerting them that a conversation between teachers and students would happen regarding gender identification in general. In the letter, they assured parents that they “respect[ed] the beliefs and convictions of all famili...

Law "would actually endanger women's health" according to court ruling The 7th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled on Monday that Wisconsin’s law requiring abortion clinics to have “admitting privileges” to area hospitals is unconstitutional . The law, which was signed by Gov. Scott Walker in 2013 , would have greatly limited the number of abortion providers in the state, including one in Milwaukee (PDF) that would had to have closed were it not for the 7th Circuit Court decision this week. Admitting privileges, which ( according to USLegal.com ) is “the right of a doctor, by virtue of membership as a hospital's medical staff, to admit patients to a particular hospital or medical center,” is the latest way for many conservative lawmakers to limit abortion services to women without outright banning the practice. Texas also sought to institute such a law, only to have federal courts strike it down as well. But before the courts could intervene, the state la...

Problems with racism exist nationally, but hit home hard in Wisconsin as well Frequently when Black Lives Matter protesters make their presence heard at any given event, it’s almost a guarantee that those who oppose them and their efforts will counter with the shrill line of “All Lives Matter.” They must feel clever in making that assertion. After all, all lives DO matter -- to say otherwise suggests that there is preference for one group over another. Therefore, in the minds of the All Lives Matter camp, they hold the erroneous opinion that the BLM movement is promoting itself over all other lives. But this misses the point entirely: it’s not that BLM supporters are saying only black lives matter, but rather that it’s time that black lives start to matter as equally as white lives. All lives ARE supposed to matter -- but it seems that in reality, black lives matter less than white lives do, and tragic events over the past few years seem to demonstrate such. In short, th...

GOP presidential contender produces imagery reminiscent of Nazi Germany It’s a cardinal rule in politics that, if you want an opinion to be respected, it better not involve a Nazi or Hitler analogy. But there’s really no other analogy that comes close to what Donald Trump has said about Muslims in America this week. Trump suggested that it might be necessary to create a national database on all known American Muslims in the country. He wouldn’t rule out the need to give out special IDs to Muslims either, saying that, “certain things will be done that we never thought would happen in this country” once he becomes president. Yikes. That to me conjures up images of Star of David emblems on the lapels of Jews in Germany. Only in Trump’s America, it might be a crescent moon on Muslims. Trump also suggested that we may have to close down mosques across the country. He’s not alone in that thinking – 27 percent of Republicans support shutting down ALL mosques in the U.S. Among Trum...

Sheriff suggests that events should be used strategically by GOP to win elections next fall The acts of terror that swept Paris are nothing less than shocking, despicable, cruel, and heartbreaking. This violence has resulted in more than a hundred deaths, countless injuries, and a nation in shock. The world stands behind France, and those held responsible will face justice by authorities. National leaders were quick to show their support for the people of France. Several prominent landmarks around the globe also displayed their heartfelt sorrow and sympathies for those affected by the attacks: Sympathies and feelings of unity weren't the only feelings being shared, however. Others were more quick to place blame on others -- some, on liberal policies. Shocking and unbelievable tweets were collected by Mother Jones, which compiled the worst reactions on social media following the attacks. Among them was a tweet from Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke, a pro-gun (an...

On several measures, the current governor fares much worse than his Democratic predecessor In 2010 while campaigning for governor, Scott Walker claimed that he could do a much better job than what the current officeholder, former Gov. Jim Doyle, was doing. In no way was Doyle a perfect governor. He had his own set of challenges, and on many issues I disagree with how he handled things. But if we’re looking strictly at how Walker’s time in office compares to Doyle’s, it’s clear that the better of the two was the Democrat. Walker ran on being able to create more than 250,000 jobs in his first term in office, a promise he has failed to deliver more than three-quarters into his second term. But Walker has failed in other arenas as well, and in several ways he’s worse than his predecessor. Reducing Unemployment On unemployment, Walker talks a huge game on how Wisconsin is now seeing significantly lower numbers. But it’s mostly talk, and doesn’t take into consideration th...