by capper
Over the last two days, I've written of the life and the way-too-early death of Alexander Orlowski, an inmate who died from an accidental drug overdose at the House of Correction.
So what happens now?
As I mentioned yesterday, the Alexander's parents, Gary and Patti Orlowski, have a claim against the county, as a precursor to a lawsuit for the County's negligence in ensuring his safety. County Board Supervisor Mark Borkowski, whose district includes the HOC, feels that the Orlowskis have a pretty good chance of winning any lawsuit.
The Orlowskis realize that a lawsuit won't bring their son back. But they also feel that those responsible should be held to some sort of accountability.
The inmate that "sold" the Methadone to Alexander, Samuel Fitzpatrick, is facing charges of reckless homicide, under the Len Bias Law.
Despite a continuous series of crises at the House of Correction, including massive overtime payments due to being excessively short staffed, Alexander's death, and a damning audit done by the feds, Superintendent Ron Malone was fully endorsed by County Executive Scott Walker for reappointment after the elections this spring. After a lot of argument and delay, and with a lot of lobbying by Walker and his Chief of Staff Tom Nardelli, the County Board finally affirmed the reappointment.
All of this, only to have Walker throw Malone under the bus in the 2009 budget proposal, in which the County has decided to take the House of Correction, the Community Correctional Center, and the work release program and put it under the auspices of the Sheriff's Office.
Supervisor Borkowski told me that he has problems with the way that Walker and Nardelli so strongly commended Malone for supposedly turning around the HOC after the audit, only to turn on him months later with the budget proposal. The cynical side of me believes that Walker was planning for a long time to dump Malone, and thought it better to just keep him for a few more months than to put someone else in his place until he could foist the whole mess onto Clarke. I also recall Supervisor John Weishan arguing against the transfer of the HOC, stating that it would only allow Walker to walk away from the mess he created, without holding him accountable.
Clarke wasted no time and went down there to check things out. It does not appear that Malone did a lot to fix things after all, if one can believe Clark that is. His reputation appears pretty questionable as of late. I do know from inside sources that Clarke has already kicked Malone out of his own office and took it as his own.
It is questionable on what kind of effect that this change will have on things. Vanessa Allen of the Public Policy Forum had written a post a while ago, raising some interesting questions on how this might effect sentences issued by judges and other issues.
Borkowski told me that while he has no confidence in the current administration, he is not so sure that Clarke will actually improve things. He described the switch as being a panacea to the HOC's woes, but thinks it could turn out to be more of a placebo.
Borkowski goes on to point out that there might be some strife at the HOC between the COs and the Sheriff. One must concur when they think of all the lawsuits that were filed by the deputies' union. Clarke lost almost every one of them to boot.
It is also important to remember that Clark, about three or four years ago, lost a major lawsuit alleging that the Sheriff's Office and the Milwaukee County Jail were infringing on people's rights due to filthy living conditions and extraordinarily long waits, just to get booked. Clarke's incompetence cost taxpayers millions of dollars on that one alone.
For what it's worth, I have mixed feelings about the change.
Part of me agrees that it is only logical that the Sheriff's Office and the HOC be combined, since their work is already fairly symbiotic. It should help things go smoother and eliminate a level of unnecessary bureaucracy.
I do have concerns with putting the Sheriff in charge of 48% of the tax levy. Given his propensity of getting sued and losing those lawsuits, is it really wise to give him a chance to pick up even more lawsuits and lose more of our tax money?
Overall, I do think that while it is unfortunate that Walker will again get off without being held responsible for the disaster he created at HOC, that the merger is a good thing. It just points out that we need to get Walker and Clarke out of office, and put in people with at least some rudimentary understanding of what's going on and how to do things the proper way. And the sooner we do that, the better we will all be for it.
Showing posts with label David Clarke. Show all posts
Showing posts with label David Clarke. Show all posts
Tuesday, November 25, 2008
Thursday, May 22, 2008
Who's Watching The Watchers
by capper
What's it going to take before people start worrying about the abused and neglected children in Milwaukee County?
I have pointed out before that the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare isn't doing their job in protecting these kids that have already been maltreated.
Now we see that the Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership Council, which was formed to oversee the BMCW, can't even oversee themselves.
I can't imagine why a County Board Supervisor, or a private citizen couldn't make any of the meetings, but even if they had a valid reason, then they should resign and let someone who gives a darn take their place. Without oversight, the BMCW will continue to try to get away with murder, sometimes literally.
And for the conservatives that might be worried that the gubmint is only trying to take away their God-given rights to abuse children, let me point out that this Council is part of an agreement to settle a huge class action suit, and failure to follow through could end up costing the taxpayers millions of dollars, like Sheriff Valvoline Clarke is costing us with his failure to live up to his end of the bargain, regarding the overcrowding at the Milwaukee County Jail.
But it should be enough just to want to keep kids from further abuses.
What's it going to take before people start worrying about the abused and neglected children in Milwaukee County?
I have pointed out before that the Bureau of Milwaukee Child Welfare isn't doing their job in protecting these kids that have already been maltreated.
Now we see that the Milwaukee Child Welfare Partnership Council, which was formed to oversee the BMCW, can't even oversee themselves.
I can't imagine why a County Board Supervisor, or a private citizen couldn't make any of the meetings, but even if they had a valid reason, then they should resign and let someone who gives a darn take their place. Without oversight, the BMCW will continue to try to get away with murder, sometimes literally.
And for the conservatives that might be worried that the gubmint is only trying to take away their God-given rights to abuse children, let me point out that this Council is part of an agreement to settle a huge class action suit, and failure to follow through could end up costing the taxpayers millions of dollars, like Sheriff Valvoline Clarke is costing us with his failure to live up to his end of the bargain, regarding the overcrowding at the Milwaukee County Jail.
But it should be enough just to want to keep kids from further abuses.
Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Your Tax(Freeze) Dollars At Work
by capper
In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , it is being reported that Milwaukee County could be on the hook for $80 million dollars. The reason for this is due to ongoing violations of a court order to clean up the county jail and to adhere to the state law regarding processing people that have been arrested and are to be booked.
In 2001, the courts found the jail to be in violating people's civil rights due to the deplorable condition and the long lengths of time before they are being processed at the booking part of the jail. In the course of the next five years, the Sheriff's Office has violated the stipulation they agreed to in regards to how the prisoners are being treated by some 16,000 times.
Sheriff Clarke, who is responsible for jail operations, bears the blunt of the blame for this problem. It is up to him to find a way to meet this stipulation. Perhaps he was too busy writing memos telling his staff not to leak those memos, which of course, ended up getting leaked any way. Or maybe he was just to busy preparing his defense for the numerous other lawsuits his department is facing--from its own staff.
To be fair to Clarke though, one must wonder how much of the blame goes to Scott Walker, who has repeatedly cut the Sheriff's Office's budget. It is hard to do a job when you don't have the proper equipment, training or resources needed to do it.
So now it appears for the price of a few dollars per year, the county might be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. The question must be asked: Does this fall under Safe, Affordable or Pride?
For a more in-depth (and better written) review of the matter, with links dating back a considerable amount of time, please visit Milwaukee Rising.
In today's Milwaukee Journal Sentinel , it is being reported that Milwaukee County could be on the hook for $80 million dollars. The reason for this is due to ongoing violations of a court order to clean up the county jail and to adhere to the state law regarding processing people that have been arrested and are to be booked.
In 2001, the courts found the jail to be in violating people's civil rights due to the deplorable condition and the long lengths of time before they are being processed at the booking part of the jail. In the course of the next five years, the Sheriff's Office has violated the stipulation they agreed to in regards to how the prisoners are being treated by some 16,000 times.
Sheriff Clarke, who is responsible for jail operations, bears the blunt of the blame for this problem. It is up to him to find a way to meet this stipulation. Perhaps he was too busy writing memos telling his staff not to leak those memos, which of course, ended up getting leaked any way. Or maybe he was just to busy preparing his defense for the numerous other lawsuits his department is facing--from its own staff.
To be fair to Clarke though, one must wonder how much of the blame goes to Scott Walker, who has repeatedly cut the Sheriff's Office's budget. It is hard to do a job when you don't have the proper equipment, training or resources needed to do it.
So now it appears for the price of a few dollars per year, the county might be on the hook for tens of millions of dollars. The question must be asked: Does this fall under Safe, Affordable or Pride?
For a more in-depth (and better written) review of the matter, with links dating back a considerable amount of time, please visit Milwaukee Rising.
Friday, January 25, 2008
Will You Believe Me Now?
by capper
A MUCH OVERDUE UPDATE: Gretchen Schuldt has also posted her views on this matter. It is, as usual, much better written and more concise than my post. (Sorry for the delay, Gretchen.)
Sometimes, I get the feeling that outside of three or four people, as soon as they see my name at the top, they pass over what I write. Other times, not so much.
I know that I've been hitting Walker fast and often, especially in regards to the House of Correction and the myriad of problems that have been occurring there for the past year or so. Maybe I've been overdoing it, but I felt it was a strong concern for the county and the community, so I kept at it. And I am not the only one to have strong concerns about the correctional system in its current condition. Zachary has also been adding his valuable insight to the problems, having had the same work experience there as I did.
Even then, some curmudgeons, like Dad29, would dismiss us as a couple of whiny liberals.
Well, would you believe the feds? In this morning's MSJ, there is an article that outlines a federal report about the conditions of the House of Corrections and the Community Correctional Center. It is, in its entirety, a pretty damning report. Some of the highlights:
The report also throws a harsh light on Walker's ill-advised plan to close the CCC and put the inmates on a GPS monitoring system. The report says that there has been no planning at all for this. Sort of like Bush and his fiasco in Iraq, and we've all seen how well that has worked out for him.
Walker's response to this? He tells HOC Superintendent Ron Malone to fix everything in 90 days or be fired. What a guy. He creates a disaster of epic proportions and tells his underling to clean it up or be fired. That should be the textbook example of poor leadership.
The MSJ article goes on to say that the County Board is finally getting around to do what should have been done months ago, and what Walker still hasn't figured out, or is trying to cover up. They are calling for Malone and Sheriff David Clarke to submit reports with the facts on how all of these things keep happening, comparing our lock ups to those of other similar communities, and how to fix the problems we are having.
To his credit, Malone has expressed a ready willingness to cooperate. Clarke is still trying to figure out if his over-sized ego will let him take a realistic look at his office and its operations.
A MUCH OVERDUE UPDATE: Gretchen Schuldt has also posted her views on this matter. It is, as usual, much better written and more concise than my post. (Sorry for the delay, Gretchen.)
Sometimes, I get the feeling that outside of three or four people, as soon as they see my name at the top, they pass over what I write. Other times, not so much.
I know that I've been hitting Walker fast and often, especially in regards to the House of Correction and the myriad of problems that have been occurring there for the past year or so. Maybe I've been overdoing it, but I felt it was a strong concern for the county and the community, so I kept at it. And I am not the only one to have strong concerns about the correctional system in its current condition. Zachary has also been adding his valuable insight to the problems, having had the same work experience there as I did.
Even then, some curmudgeons, like Dad29, would dismiss us as a couple of whiny liberals.
Well, would you believe the feds? In this morning's MSJ, there is an article that outlines a federal report about the conditions of the House of Corrections and the Community Correctional Center. It is, in its entirety, a pretty damning report. Some of the highlights:
Among his key findings:
• Security at the House of Correction "is very bad. The problems are many and they are widespread and deep." However, administrators were oblivious to "glaring security weaknesses." The report excludes specifics to avoid contributing to security breaches at the House, but those details were issued in a confidential side letter to Malone.
• An Aug. 3 inmate escape through a supply closet window was blamed on "chronic failures" and the fault of supervisors rather than correctional officers. The escapee spent over three weeks working to break through a security screen on a window in the closet, creating noise that was ignored. Other inmates tried to warn staff of the impending escape effort, but those warnings were not acted on.
• "Exceptionally deficient" fire safety was listed as the worst problem, and that problem was more pronounced at the work-release center. The aging building at 1004 N. 10th St., with up to 400 inmates on five floors, could quickly go up in flames with stairwells likely engulfed in heat and smoke before upper-floor residents could evacuate. The alarm system there has been broken for years.
• The House lacks tactical capacity to deal with a hostage situation or other crisis.
• The armory at the House was "dirty and badly disorganized." Drawers contained parts as well as years-old unopened equipment still in boxes. The lack of "intermediate force" weapons, such as gas grenades and rubber bullets, leaves the institution without adequate means of dealing with a large inmate disturbance. It has since been cleaned.
The report also throws a harsh light on Walker's ill-advised plan to close the CCC and put the inmates on a GPS monitoring system. The report says that there has been no planning at all for this. Sort of like Bush and his fiasco in Iraq, and we've all seen how well that has worked out for him.
Walker's response to this? He tells HOC Superintendent Ron Malone to fix everything in 90 days or be fired. What a guy. He creates a disaster of epic proportions and tells his underling to clean it up or be fired. That should be the textbook example of poor leadership.
The MSJ article goes on to say that the County Board is finally getting around to do what should have been done months ago, and what Walker still hasn't figured out, or is trying to cover up. They are calling for Malone and Sheriff David Clarke to submit reports with the facts on how all of these things keep happening, comparing our lock ups to those of other similar communities, and how to fix the problems we are having.
To his credit, Malone has expressed a ready willingness to cooperate. Clarke is still trying to figure out if his over-sized ego will let him take a realistic look at his office and its operations.
Thursday, January 24, 2008
Walker's Catch And Release Program
by capper
Walker has been really pushing his plan for closing the Community Correctional Center and putting the inmates housed there on GPS monitors. In fact, the last time he pushed for something this much, it was the first time he tried to do the pension loan program, which turned out would have been a sweetheart deal for a financial and political backer, Nick Hurtgen, who worked for Bear Stearns and who has since been indicted in federal court for kickback schemes.
Anyway, Walker really, really wants this GPS thing to go through. However, it might not go as easy as he would hope. His first obstacle will be Sheriff David Clarke. In today's MSJ, there is an article in which Clarke expresses some of his concerns about the feasibility of this program:
These are all valid concerns and do need be addressed before the County bulls its way along with this program. It also echoes some of my earlier concerns.
I would also like to know how this lame-brain scheme falls into Walker's campaign theme of Safety, Affordability and Pride. His plan would cost more, make people in the community less safe, and doesn't really give us any bragging rights. (What? Is he thinking, "Come to Milwaukee and see our criminals up close and personal. But don't worry, they're wearing bracelets."?)
Meanwhile, County Board Chairman wants to have psychological evaluations for all the inmates before they are put on the GPS system. This is so unrealistic, due to time issues, manpower and costs that it is not even worth discussing.
It is rather scary to think that of all of the current County leaders, Clarke is currently making the most sense. That should make more people want to consider supporting Senator Lena Taylor, so that we can get out of this chaos.
Walker has been really pushing his plan for closing the Community Correctional Center and putting the inmates housed there on GPS monitors. In fact, the last time he pushed for something this much, it was the first time he tried to do the pension loan program, which turned out would have been a sweetheart deal for a financial and political backer, Nick Hurtgen, who worked for Bear Stearns and who has since been indicted in federal court for kickback schemes.
Anyway, Walker really, really wants this GPS thing to go through. However, it might not go as easy as he would hope. His first obstacle will be Sheriff David Clarke. In today's MSJ, there is an article in which Clarke expresses some of his concerns about the feasibility of this program:
Clarke said in an interview that serious unanswered questions about the GPS system remain. To be done properly, inmates considered for GPS monitoring should be carefully pre-screened, he said. All violent and drug offenders should be excluded, Clarke said.
A successful monitoring program also should have frequent drug testing, he said. And the program needs extra law enforcement help to round up inmates who set off alarms for straying from approved travel routes to school or jobs.
All those things cost money that hasn't been found yet, Clarke said.
Many of the inmates now housed at the work-release center would likely not make good candidates for the GPS monitoring, he said. The county already has a policy of excluding inmates sentenced for drugs, assaults, burglary or illegal possession of a gun from a different type of electronic monitoring now in use.
Abruptly shutting down the work-release center could create crowding problems if many inmates were placed at the House of Correction, rather than released on GPS monitors. Clarke suggested adding beds at the House of Correction to accommodate them.
*************************
Clarke said even with around-the-clock electronic monitoring, the inmates still could be dealing drugs or involved in other illegal activity without setting off an alarm. That's partly why he hasn't used it for jail inmates awaiting trial, Clarke said.
These are all valid concerns and do need be addressed before the County bulls its way along with this program. It also echoes some of my earlier concerns.
I would also like to know how this lame-brain scheme falls into Walker's campaign theme of Safety, Affordability and Pride. His plan would cost more, make people in the community less safe, and doesn't really give us any bragging rights. (What? Is he thinking, "Come to Milwaukee and see our criminals up close and personal. But don't worry, they're wearing bracelets."?)
Meanwhile, County Board Chairman wants to have psychological evaluations for all the inmates before they are put on the GPS system. This is so unrealistic, due to time issues, manpower and costs that it is not even worth discussing.
It is rather scary to think that of all of the current County leaders, Clarke is currently making the most sense. That should make more people want to consider supporting Senator Lena Taylor, so that we can get out of this chaos.
Friday, January 04, 2008
Clarke And Walker Are On The Same Page
by capper
Sheriff David Clarke is making the news again. And once again, he is not doing it for anything constructive, by, oh, I don't know, doing his job and fighting crime.
No this time we have two stories. One story shows how the deputies union is seeking $50,000 from Milwaukee County for legal costs in getting a court ruling that Clarke cannot force his religious views on his deputies. Oh well, when one takes in all the other lawsuits, 50 grand is just a drop in the bucket for Clarke.
The other story is a follow up on an inmate that escaped from the county jail. The story was originally reported a few days ago. Clarke blamed the escape on the inmate changing his wristband with another inmate. He said that this is the oldest trick in the corrections system and called his staff "dumb" for falling for it and threatened their jobs.
Today, we see that there was an extra step in jail security that would have prevented this from happening. The inmate who is to be released first needs to have his identity confirmed by checking his fingerprints before his release. However, the fingerprint machine is broken. In fact, according to the union, it has been broken for about a year. Even Clarke's spokesperson confirms that it is broken.
In other words, Clarke willfully fails to give the deputies and the correction officers working at the jail the equipment they need to perform their jobs, and then blames them for not being able to do their jobs. He obviously took this page from Walker's playbook. Walker has already blamed several corrections officers and a corrections manager for not being able to do their jobs, even though he would not give them the necessary equipment or manpower to do so.
Do these guys really think it is cheaper to fight and lose all these lawsuits and hearings, rather than just do the right thing in the first place? The bad news is we can't do anything about Clarke, yet. The good news is that we can send him a message by getting rid of Walker. Please vote for Lena Taylor, so we can stop hearing these stories of incompetency from our county leaders.
Sheriff David Clarke is making the news again. And once again, he is not doing it for anything constructive, by, oh, I don't know, doing his job and fighting crime.
No this time we have two stories. One story shows how the deputies union is seeking $50,000 from Milwaukee County for legal costs in getting a court ruling that Clarke cannot force his religious views on his deputies. Oh well, when one takes in all the other lawsuits, 50 grand is just a drop in the bucket for Clarke.
The other story is a follow up on an inmate that escaped from the county jail. The story was originally reported a few days ago. Clarke blamed the escape on the inmate changing his wristband with another inmate. He said that this is the oldest trick in the corrections system and called his staff "dumb" for falling for it and threatened their jobs.
Today, we see that there was an extra step in jail security that would have prevented this from happening. The inmate who is to be released first needs to have his identity confirmed by checking his fingerprints before his release. However, the fingerprint machine is broken. In fact, according to the union, it has been broken for about a year. Even Clarke's spokesperson confirms that it is broken.
In other words, Clarke willfully fails to give the deputies and the correction officers working at the jail the equipment they need to perform their jobs, and then blames them for not being able to do their jobs. He obviously took this page from Walker's playbook. Walker has already blamed several corrections officers and a corrections manager for not being able to do their jobs, even though he would not give them the necessary equipment or manpower to do so.
Do these guys really think it is cheaper to fight and lose all these lawsuits and hearings, rather than just do the right thing in the first place? The bad news is we can't do anything about Clarke, yet. The good news is that we can send him a message by getting rid of Walker. Please vote for Lena Taylor, so we can stop hearing these stories of incompetency from our county leaders.
Thursday, December 20, 2007
Clarke Gets One Right
by capper
Sheriff David Clarke must read folkbum's, as he has realized that privatization isn't always the best way to go.
Just a few days ago, I posted about the folly of privatizing everything, and how it usually doesn't work out for anyone, but the private agencies and apparently the politicians that enact the privatization.
Now Sheriff Clarke is calling for an audit of the private agency that is contracted to provide security on the Milwaukee County Transit System:
Apparently, he is too busy preparing to schmooze with that so called social- and community-minded group, Americans For Prosperity. (And he complains of Lena Taylor getting help from special interests. Go figure.)
If you are as tired of this garbage as I am, you should know there is something you can do. There is an event going on for Lena Taylor tonight. The information is:
Taylor for County Executive Fundraiser with Governor Doyle
Thursday, December 20, 2007
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Roots: 1818 N. Hubbard St., Milwaukee
RSVP to Sonja at 414-344-4529 or sonja@lena2008.com
If you are unable to attend, you can still help in a number of ways. Just visit her website to find out how: http://www.lena2008.com/Welcome.html.
Sheriff David Clarke must read folkbum's, as he has realized that privatization isn't always the best way to go.
Just a few days ago, I posted about the folly of privatizing everything, and how it usually doesn't work out for anyone, but the private agencies and apparently the politicians that enact the privatization.
Now Sheriff Clarke is calling for an audit of the private agency that is contracted to provide security on the Milwaukee County Transit System:
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. has called for an audit of Wackenhut Corp., claiming the company is doing a poor job despite its nearly $1 million-a-year contract to provide security on county bus routes.One million dollars for not doing their jobs...sweet work if you can get it. And what is the position of Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker? After all, he is the one with the campaign slogan of "Safe. Affordable. Pride." (SAP for short).
In a letter to Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker and County Board Chairman Lee Holloway, Clarke asked for a "qualitative and quantitative audit" to be performed amid questions about Wackenhut's deployment levels.
"There has been little oversight of this program, and self-reporting has allowed Wackenhut to operate without accountability and in relative anonymity," Clarke wrote in his letter, dated Tuesday.
Walker could not be reached for comment Wednesday.
Apparently, he is too busy preparing to schmooze with that so called social- and community-minded group, Americans For Prosperity. (And he complains of Lena Taylor getting help from special interests. Go figure.)
If you are as tired of this garbage as I am, you should know there is something you can do. There is an event going on for Lena Taylor tonight. The information is:
Taylor for County Executive Fundraiser with Governor Doyle
Thursday, December 20, 2007
5:00 - 7:00 p.m.
Roots: 1818 N. Hubbard St., Milwaukee
RSVP to Sonja at 414-344-4529 or sonja@lena2008.com
If you are unable to attend, you can still help in a number of ways. Just visit her website to find out how: http://www.lena2008.com/Welcome.html.
Wednesday, November 28, 2007
He Saw The Writing On The Wall
by capper
JSOnline is reporting that Sheriff David Clarke is not going to run against Mayor Tom Barrett. Their political blog has this quote from Clarke (emphasis mine):
It could also be that he is a pathetic flop as Sheriff. Clarke has managed to reinstate the park patrols after he eliminated them, misused public funds for grandstanding (GRIP), alienated the rank and file, and earned at least a half a dozen federal lawsuits filed against him. Not to mention that he is losing these lawsuits faster than the Miami Dolphins are losing football games.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ken Mobile has more on Clarke's less-than-stellar record. For those of you that have some extra time, Pundit Nation has enough material to write a book on Clarke's absenteeism, lack of leadership, and overall whininess.
But for all his faults, at least Clarke knew how to read the writing on the wall and realized he didn't stand a chance in a race against Barrett.
JSOnline is reporting that Sheriff David Clarke is not going to run against Mayor Tom Barrett. Their political blog has this quote from Clarke (emphasis mine):
I want to be smart about this and not make a decision based on emotion, but one based on reality. I weighed a number of things ... There's been no outcry from residents for change. It's hard to beat an incumbent unless there is a huge outcry for change. I was hoping some legitimate candidate would step up.Gee, could the reality be that he lost the only plank in his platform, being tough on crime, when Barrett got the Fire and Police Commission to hire Edward Flynn? After that, even his best mouth piece, Charlie Sykes stopped mentioning Clarke.
It could also be that he is a pathetic flop as Sheriff. Clarke has managed to reinstate the park patrols after he eliminated them, misused public funds for grandstanding (GRIP), alienated the rank and file, and earned at least a half a dozen federal lawsuits filed against him. Not to mention that he is losing these lawsuits faster than the Miami Dolphins are losing football games.
And that's just the tip of the iceberg. Ken Mobile has more on Clarke's less-than-stellar record. For those of you that have some extra time, Pundit Nation has enough material to write a book on Clarke's absenteeism, lack of leadership, and overall whininess.
But for all his faults, at least Clarke knew how to read the writing on the wall and realized he didn't stand a chance in a race against Barrett.
Thursday, November 22, 2007
What's The Story Of These Two Stories? Part I
by capper
In today's MSJ, there are two articles, both written by Steve Schultze, and both dealing with the Milwaukee County House of Correction (HOC) and the Community Correctional Center (CCC) where they house the work release inmates. Both are in the main news section. One article is titled " Lights out for inmates is 3:30". This one was located on the front page and continued on the inside, on page 18. The second article is also on page 18. This article is titled "Clarke rips release plan after arrest".
Both articles caught my eye, due to the fact that I used to work there. I have also been following the story of the four corrections officers who were targeted by Scott Walker for termination. As I read both articles, I found that there were two areas of interest. One was the implications of the story, which I will cover in my next post. The other area was some of the inconsistencies in the two stories.
The main story was about how inmates at HOC and CCC are allowed to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays, which apparently is unique to the state. All other correctional facilities have lights out at 10 p.m. The part I want to point out is when Mr. Schultze speaks to he superintendent of the HOC and CCC, Ron Malone:
While in the second article, which is about another escaped inmate from CCC, we see this:
Did he speak to Malone, or didn't he? Or did he speak to Malone on one occasion and tried to make contact again? If this is the case, why wasn't that point clarified?
Also in the body of the second article, we have another seeming contradiction. First, Mr. Schultze writes:
Note the verbs criticized and said. As Jay would teach us, those are action verbs, which would indicated that Clarke was present during these actions, or at least in direct contact with the reporter. But the last sentence of the same article reads:
Now, I realize Clarke probably did the original criticism through a press release. But I can't but think that it would make the article seem less self-contradictory if this was mentioned. But since it wasn't, and being right next to the first article, it would make it seem like sloppy journalism, or sloppy editing.
By no means should this critique be construed as maligning Mr. Schultze's personal or journalistic integrity, but I must point out that the inconsistencies between the two stories and in the same story, makes it more suspect to skepticism. I recognize that there may be some logical rationale on why these articles appear this way, but without knowing that rationale, one can only wonder, and be wary.
Another odd part to this whole thing is that when I went to write this post, I had to dig around in the archives to find the second story, even though it was just published today.
In today's MSJ, there are two articles, both written by Steve Schultze, and both dealing with the Milwaukee County House of Correction (HOC) and the Community Correctional Center (CCC) where they house the work release inmates. Both are in the main news section. One article is titled " Lights out for inmates is 3:30". This one was located on the front page and continued on the inside, on page 18. The second article is also on page 18. This article is titled "Clarke rips release plan after arrest".
Both articles caught my eye, due to the fact that I used to work there. I have also been following the story of the four corrections officers who were targeted by Scott Walker for termination. As I read both articles, I found that there were two areas of interest. One was the implications of the story, which I will cover in my next post. The other area was some of the inconsistencies in the two stories.
The main story was about how inmates at HOC and CCC are allowed to stay up until 3:30 a.m. on weekends and holidays, which apparently is unique to the state. All other correctional facilities have lights out at 10 p.m. The part I want to point out is when Mr. Schultze speaks to he superintendent of the HOC and CCC, Ron Malone:
Ron Malone, superintendent of the House of Correction and the work-release center at 1004 N. 10th St., declined to comment, saying he wasn't familiar with inmate hours.
While in the second article, which is about another escaped inmate from CCC, we see this:
Ron Malone, superintendent of the work-release center, couldn't be reached.
Did he speak to Malone, or didn't he? Or did he speak to Malone on one occasion and tried to make contact again? If this is the case, why wasn't that point clarified?
Also in the body of the second article, we have another seeming contradiction. First, Mr. Schultze writes:
Milwaukee County Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. criticized the county’s work-release program after deputies arrested a man Tuesday night who had left the downtown Community Correctional Center without authorization. Clarke said 41-year-old Kenneth D. Glenn should have been excluded from the work-release program based on his history of six felony convictions.
Note the verbs criticized and said. As Jay would teach us, those are action verbs, which would indicated that Clarke was present during these actions, or at least in direct contact with the reporter. But the last sentence of the same article reads:
Clarke was not available for comment Wednesday, said spokeswoman Kim Brooks.
Now, I realize Clarke probably did the original criticism through a press release. But I can't but think that it would make the article seem less self-contradictory if this was mentioned. But since it wasn't, and being right next to the first article, it would make it seem like sloppy journalism, or sloppy editing.
By no means should this critique be construed as maligning Mr. Schultze's personal or journalistic integrity, but I must point out that the inconsistencies between the two stories and in the same story, makes it more suspect to skepticism. I recognize that there may be some logical rationale on why these articles appear this way, but without knowing that rationale, one can only wonder, and be wary.
Another odd part to this whole thing is that when I went to write this post, I had to dig around in the archives to find the second story, even though it was just published today.
Tuesday, November 06, 2007
The Great Sheboygan Fascist Crackdown--It Already Happened Here (and the right Cheddarsphere stood by and watched)
by folkbum
I wrote yesterday about the Great Sheboygan Fascist Crackdown of 2007, something I probably would not have done until Wisconsin's right-o-sphere all but double-dog dared me to. I didn't have much to add until they went over the top and assumed my silence was not mere complicity but partisan endorsement, which is stupid, given their own silence on abuses of power worse than one Mayberry Machiavelli's clumsy (and illegal) attempt to silence a critic.
In comments to that post, Michael J. Cheaney makes a reasonable point that the Great Sheboygan Fascist Crackdown of 2007 was worth outrage because it was in our own backyard, so to speak, and potentially then Something That Could Happen Here. (That is kind of what Wiggy's saying, too, I think.)
Indeed, such a thing Has Happened Here, as capper reminds us:
Unless of course those bloggers want to insist that their silence was not, indeed, complicity, partisanship, or endorsment of Reynolds's and Clarke's actions when It Did Happen Here.
I wrote yesterday about the Great Sheboygan Fascist Crackdown of 2007, something I probably would not have done until Wisconsin's right-o-sphere all but double-dog dared me to. I didn't have much to add until they went over the top and assumed my silence was not mere complicity but partisan endorsement, which is stupid, given their own silence on abuses of power worse than one Mayberry Machiavelli's clumsy (and illegal) attempt to silence a critic.
In comments to that post, Michael J. Cheaney makes a reasonable point that the Great Sheboygan Fascist Crackdown of 2007 was worth outrage because it was in our own backyard, so to speak, and potentially then Something That Could Happen Here. (That is kind of what Wiggy's saying, too, I think.)
Indeed, such a thing Has Happened Here, as capper reminds us:
Curiously, the right did not have the same outrage when former State Senator Tom Reynolds and friends tried to use strong arm tactics on lefty blogger Gretchen Schuldt of Milwaukee Rising, when she was being a citizen blogger and investigating possible campaign violations from Reynolds failed bid to be re-elected.Click through, because he's got the links to prove it. You can also amuse yourself site-searching Wigderson, Fred, Peter, Pete, Patrick, et al. just to verify that they never seemed to mind the threatened legal action against blogger Gretchen Schuldt for her use of public documents to challenge Tom Reynolds, or the not-so-threatened action against the deputy who dared defy Clarke in a union newsletter.
Nor do I remember the outrage at Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke when he abused his position and authority in trying to strong arm deputies who didn't agree with him, or actively opposed his actions, even though they did so on their own time.
In fact, instead of outrage, Clarke was praised as was Reynolds, who McBride actually called "untouchable".
The left might not have reached the fevered zeal of the right regarding the Sheboygan blogger, but at least they weren't as selective with their outrages.
Unless of course those bloggers want to insist that their silence was not, indeed, complicity, partisanship, or endorsment of Reynolds's and Clarke's actions when It Did Happen Here.
Friday, September 07, 2007
Will Someone Tell Them That Summer Is Over?
by capper
First, we have Walker again being against providing services to people with disabilities and mental health issues, after he was for it, after he was against it.
Then, we have Sheriff David "Barney Fife" Clarke, being for concealed carry after he was against it.
Add to this, Senator Larry Craig (R-Bathroom Stalls) deciding to resign, after he wasn't, after he was, after he wasn't going to resign.
It is going into the second week of September, school has started, and the air is starting to get cooler. Shouldn't someone tell these guys that summer is over, and that they should put away their flip-flops?
First, we have Walker again being against providing services to people with disabilities and mental health issues, after he was for it, after he was against it.
Then, we have Sheriff David "Barney Fife" Clarke, being for concealed carry after he was against it.
Add to this, Senator Larry Craig (R-Bathroom Stalls) deciding to resign, after he wasn't, after he was, after he wasn't going to resign.
It is going into the second week of September, school has started, and the air is starting to get cooler. Shouldn't someone tell these guys that summer is over, and that they should put away their flip-flops?
Monday, August 13, 2007
Playing the Blame Game: The Milwaukee County Edition
by capper
On August 4th, Michael Verville, an inmate at the Milwaukee County House of Correction, escaped. Fortunately, he was caught the next day. This wasn't a spur of the moment, opportunistic event. It was thought out and took weeks to implement. Now, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has presented a plan to curtail further escape attempts, including more razor wire, more cameras, more lighting and bricking up windows. But he does not address one of the major reasons that this escape was possible, burnt out staff members.
Having had worked at HOC for a number of years, I feel that I have some insight on what happened. Basically the House is understaffed, and the workers are burning out by having to do constant overtime. This was talked about in an article in MSJ back on June 30th.
Many of the officers at the HOC use the job as a stepping stone for a position with the Sheriff's Department (oops, Sheriff's Office now) or with a municipal police department. Many officers don't have what it takes to work there and leave on their own or are fired. This means a high rate of turnover already exists. Adding to the problems is Scott Walker's perennial budget cuts in the disguise of tax freezes, and this lowers the number or positions available, but not necessarily the number needed. Furthermore, in an effort to cut his budget, Sheriff David Clarke changed the staffing at the Milwaukee County Jail from deputies to correction officers, causing a small exodus of people from HOC to the jail.
So now you have officers that are working 12 to 16 hours a day, six to seven days a week, week in and week out. Officers are getting so burnt out that they are purposely disrespecting superior officers, or violating other policies, just so they can get suspended and have a day off. (This also adds to the shortage of officers, and causes even more forced overtime for the others.)
When you have people working these many hours, without a day off or even enough time to do more than catch five hours a sleep before going back to work on a daily basis, mistakes are going to happen. People aren't as alert or as careful as they should be, especially in a prison setting.
The chronic fatigue, the inability for officers to see their families, and the increasing risk of injury has caused an all time low in morale. This is exasperated when they have people threatening their job security with talk of privatization.
SIDE NOTE: HOC Superintendent Ronald Malone indicated that they are having a hard time recruiting people (a friend that still works there told me that the last training class had four people, as opposed to the usual 12 to 15). Does this surprise anyone? Who would want to work under these conditions?
To further add insult to injury, Walker is already preparing to point his finger at the dastardly, lazy, incompetent county workers, without acknowledging the simple fact that it was his policy that created the conditions to allow the escape to happen in the first place. He has already made a statement today showing that he plans to blame the officers involved, when he said, "Did those staffers follow the procedures put in place and for those who didn't and we're not pre-judging until the reports are done, but for those individuals the discipline will be swift and direct."
Not to be outdone, Sheriff Clarke wrote a letter to the county board criticizing HOC and its staff. The article reads:
On August 4th, Michael Verville, an inmate at the Milwaukee County House of Correction, escaped. Fortunately, he was caught the next day. This wasn't a spur of the moment, opportunistic event. It was thought out and took weeks to implement. Now, Milwaukee County Executive Scott Walker has presented a plan to curtail further escape attempts, including more razor wire, more cameras, more lighting and bricking up windows. But he does not address one of the major reasons that this escape was possible, burnt out staff members.
Having had worked at HOC for a number of years, I feel that I have some insight on what happened. Basically the House is understaffed, and the workers are burning out by having to do constant overtime. This was talked about in an article in MSJ back on June 30th.
Many of the officers at the HOC use the job as a stepping stone for a position with the Sheriff's Department (oops, Sheriff's Office now) or with a municipal police department. Many officers don't have what it takes to work there and leave on their own or are fired. This means a high rate of turnover already exists. Adding to the problems is Scott Walker's perennial budget cuts in the disguise of tax freezes, and this lowers the number or positions available, but not necessarily the number needed. Furthermore, in an effort to cut his budget, Sheriff David Clarke changed the staffing at the Milwaukee County Jail from deputies to correction officers, causing a small exodus of people from HOC to the jail.
So now you have officers that are working 12 to 16 hours a day, six to seven days a week, week in and week out. Officers are getting so burnt out that they are purposely disrespecting superior officers, or violating other policies, just so they can get suspended and have a day off. (This also adds to the shortage of officers, and causes even more forced overtime for the others.)
When you have people working these many hours, without a day off or even enough time to do more than catch five hours a sleep before going back to work on a daily basis, mistakes are going to happen. People aren't as alert or as careful as they should be, especially in a prison setting.
The chronic fatigue, the inability for officers to see their families, and the increasing risk of injury has caused an all time low in morale. This is exasperated when they have people threatening their job security with talk of privatization.
SIDE NOTE: HOC Superintendent Ronald Malone indicated that they are having a hard time recruiting people (a friend that still works there told me that the last training class had four people, as opposed to the usual 12 to 15). Does this surprise anyone? Who would want to work under these conditions?
To further add insult to injury, Walker is already preparing to point his finger at the dastardly, lazy, incompetent county workers, without acknowledging the simple fact that it was his policy that created the conditions to allow the escape to happen in the first place. He has already made a statement today showing that he plans to blame the officers involved, when he said, "Did those staffers follow the procedures put in place and for those who didn't and we're not pre-judging until the reports are done, but for those individuals the discipline will be swift and direct."
Not to be outdone, Sheriff Clarke wrote a letter to the county board criticizing HOC and its staff. The article reads:
Milwaukee Sheriff David Clarke is criticizing the House of Correction. In a letter to the County Board President, he blames complacency and negligence of the workers. He also criticizes managers who set the tone.
In the same letter, Clarke talks about touring the H.O.C. just two days after the escape. "People will usually recommit and rededicate themselves after an incident like Saturday's escape; one can usually fell the sense of urgency in the air. Unfortunately, I did not experience any sense of urgency in the atmosphere at the H.O.C." he wrote.
In the same letter, Clarke talks about touring the H.O.C. just two days after the escape. "People will usually recommit and rededicate themselves after an incident like Saturday's escape; one can usually fell the sense of urgency in the air. Unfortunately, I did not experience any sense of urgency in the atmosphere at the H.O.C." he wrote.
The funny thing about Clarke's criticism, is that, as Ken Mobile at Mobile's Take points out, he is actually blaming himself.
On the bright side, at least one county supervisor, Mark Borkowski, gets it. He has repeatedly stepped up and pointed out the overtime crisis at HOC and that unless something is done to get officers some relief, it will probably only get worse.
Sunday, July 29, 2007
Pension Scandal Redux
by capper
UPDATE: Walker speaks! Also there is talk of examining all buybacks, but everyone is still too busy with CYA to get anything done yet.
In this morning's MSJ, there was a report about the latest scandal to hit Milwaukee County. The basics of the story is that, since 1990, the pension board has been letting county workers buy back time from previous stints with the county. This practice has let hundreds of workers gain potentially substantial gains in their pension benefits, including the addition of the pension enhancer that rocked the county's budgets in 2004, and led to the recall of former County Executive Tom Ament and seven county board supervisors.
Even though it means at most, about $65 million out of a pension fund worth more than $1.6 billion, this has caused an uprising of outrage and understandably so. So far there is only a contingent of right wing bloggers that have posted on this, including Patrick at Badger Blogger, Reaganite at The Croc, and Steveegg at No Runny Eggs and others. I believe that this is only the beginning of the outrage, and that for the next several weeks and months this will be fodder for many bloggers as well as talk radio.
But there are some things that I question about this scandal. The article reports that this has the potential to cost the county millions, but this is based on speculation, including how long people who have gained by the buy backs will be collecting pensions, as well as how many will be able to keep these gains, as that there is a move to disallow some of the buy backs. The number of those disallowed could be ten. Ten out of hundreds. Why aren't the rest at least being examined?
Also, there is a reciprocal relationship between different counties and different levels of government regarding seniority and pensions. This could have some major impacts on a lot of the elected and appointed officials. Walker was elected to the state legislature in 1992. This would make him eligible for the life time free health insurance, which is by reports, as good, if not better, than the one he might be eligible for from the state. Sheriff Clarke was a cop with the city of Milwaukee since 1978, per his bio. This would put him in line for not only the health insurance, but the increased pension enhancement and backdrop. Walker's recent appointee, Tom Nardelli, could be in for the same benefits. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Another thing that I noticed is that Scott Walker wasn't mentioned in the article. The problems were noted 12 years ago to the county, well before Walker's time, but nothing was done. It was noticed again two years ago, during Walker's time, when the board took some action by putting an end to the buy backs general guidelines. The article also states that the Journal has been investigating this for the past six months. I cannot believe that Walker did not know about the Journal's investigation, or that he was unaware of the problem that the board took action on two years ago. Given Walker's past behaviors and comments about the pension scandal of 2001, I thought he would have something to say, but there was not one quote from him, yet.
Then it hit me. Walker is facing increasing resistance from the county board and from the public in general, after year after year of budget cuts and service cuts that have affected almost every county resident in some fashion. Now the county board has proposed a referendum to increase the sales tax by a penny, and even some people on the right are in favor of letting people have a chance to speak on this issue. To make it a trifecta, Walker will be running for re-election in the spring (even though he promised he wouldn't), and some of the names of potential opponents could give him some stiff competition. The buy back scandal could give him the same grass roots uprising that he had when he successfully won after Ament's pension scandal.
Walker, like many professional politicians, knows the value of timing. Walker skills at this was demonstrated in the last election, when he knew about, but withheld the information about the huge deficit the parks had that year. It only came to light after he was re-elected, and then he scapegoated Sue Baldwin who had reported the deficit to him months earlier. This leads to the question, "When did Walker find out about this, and why didn't he act on it sooner?"
UPDATE: Walker speaks! Also there is talk of examining all buybacks, but everyone is still too busy with CYA to get anything done yet.
In this morning's MSJ, there was a report about the latest scandal to hit Milwaukee County. The basics of the story is that, since 1990, the pension board has been letting county workers buy back time from previous stints with the county. This practice has let hundreds of workers gain potentially substantial gains in their pension benefits, including the addition of the pension enhancer that rocked the county's budgets in 2004, and led to the recall of former County Executive Tom Ament and seven county board supervisors.
Even though it means at most, about $65 million out of a pension fund worth more than $1.6 billion, this has caused an uprising of outrage and understandably so. So far there is only a contingent of right wing bloggers that have posted on this, including Patrick at Badger Blogger, Reaganite at The Croc, and Steveegg at No Runny Eggs and others. I believe that this is only the beginning of the outrage, and that for the next several weeks and months this will be fodder for many bloggers as well as talk radio.
But there are some things that I question about this scandal. The article reports that this has the potential to cost the county millions, but this is based on speculation, including how long people who have gained by the buy backs will be collecting pensions, as well as how many will be able to keep these gains, as that there is a move to disallow some of the buy backs. The number of those disallowed could be ten. Ten out of hundreds. Why aren't the rest at least being examined?
Also, there is a reciprocal relationship between different counties and different levels of government regarding seniority and pensions. This could have some major impacts on a lot of the elected and appointed officials. Walker was elected to the state legislature in 1992. This would make him eligible for the life time free health insurance, which is by reports, as good, if not better, than the one he might be eligible for from the state. Sheriff Clarke was a cop with the city of Milwaukee since 1978, per his bio. This would put him in line for not only the health insurance, but the increased pension enhancement and backdrop. Walker's recent appointee, Tom Nardelli, could be in for the same benefits. This is just the tip of the iceberg.
Another thing that I noticed is that Scott Walker wasn't mentioned in the article. The problems were noted 12 years ago to the county, well before Walker's time, but nothing was done. It was noticed again two years ago, during Walker's time, when the board took some action by putting an end to the buy backs general guidelines. The article also states that the Journal has been investigating this for the past six months. I cannot believe that Walker did not know about the Journal's investigation, or that he was unaware of the problem that the board took action on two years ago. Given Walker's past behaviors and comments about the pension scandal of 2001, I thought he would have something to say, but there was not one quote from him, yet.
Then it hit me. Walker is facing increasing resistance from the county board and from the public in general, after year after year of budget cuts and service cuts that have affected almost every county resident in some fashion. Now the county board has proposed a referendum to increase the sales tax by a penny, and even some people on the right are in favor of letting people have a chance to speak on this issue. To make it a trifecta, Walker will be running for re-election in the spring (even though he promised he wouldn't), and some of the names of potential opponents could give him some stiff competition. The buy back scandal could give him the same grass roots uprising that he had when he successfully won after Ament's pension scandal.
Walker, like many professional politicians, knows the value of timing. Walker skills at this was demonstrated in the last election, when he knew about, but withheld the information about the huge deficit the parks had that year. It only came to light after he was re-elected, and then he scapegoated Sue Baldwin who had reported the deficit to him months earlier. This leads to the question, "When did Walker find out about this, and why didn't he act on it sooner?"
Friday, May 18, 2007
McBride and Clarke: People who need to apologize
by folkbum
UPDATED BELOW! TWICE!!
A couple of stories that I haven't been following as closely as I should (I was in Madison much of the day yesterday):
One: It's bad enough that the recent foiled Ft. Dix attack plot has brought out Jessica McBride's inner dictator (which puts her in good company, as her new-found Milosevic-love is just like the Pinochet-love we saw when he died). Now, as Jim Rowen notes, McBride apparently thinks that the drive-by shooting of a four-year-old innocent is cause for laughter:
And someone at WTMJ also seems to think it crosses the line, since, as I noted in the text I quoted from Jim Rowen, the audio that was available of this hard-to-believe moment is now gone--it's been disappeared from the site. I was mocked last week when I suggested that we liberals start collecting our own tape of these events if we want to mount successful campaigns againts these hateful hosts. Now you know why I said it: You can't trust these people to make the audio of their own career-threatening gaffes available.
The fine folks at the McBride-themed Whallah! blog are demanding an apology, and I think that's a good start. McBride's and TMJ's contact information can be found there.
Two: Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is kind of a local example of what some of my liberal blogging colleagues call the "codpiece effect," after George W. Bush's mis-wearing of a flight suit that created said effect--and the conservatives went all gooey for that, and Bush's tough talk. (You see the current round of GOP candidates trying for the same effect.) Clarke is like that: All talk, all bluster, but man do the conservatives just melt inside when they listen to his militant rhetoric!
Clarke was on talk radio the other day doing what he does best, trying to sound tough. Problem is, he often doesn't know what he's talking about. A case in point would be some of what he said about the Milwaukee Public Schools. Ken Mobile caught this first:
I work at an MPS high school, one with some truancy problems. I know the people who process the "DA letters," as we call them, on the truant students. I know the people who gather the data, the people who make phone calls and home visits to try to track these students down, and, yes, the people who send the names off to the DA's office for action. For Clarke to sit there and say that zero parents get referred for truancy is not just a lie, it's an insult to the people who do the difficult work at my school, and other schools around the district, of identifying and trying to track down truants.
Ken further points out that Clarke has cut youth services at the Sheriff's department, so he has no authority to speak from on how to help Milwaukee's children and schools. So Clarke also should be making apologies. Maybe he should go on McBride's show and they could apologize together.
UPDATED BELOW! TWICE!!
A couple of stories that I haven't been following as closely as I should (I was in Madison much of the day yesterday):
One: It's bad enough that the recent foiled Ft. Dix attack plot has brought out Jessica McBride's inner dictator (which puts her in good company, as her new-found Milosevic-love is just like the Pinochet-love we saw when he died). Now, as Jim Rowen notes, McBride apparently thinks that the drive-by shooting of a four-year-old innocent is cause for laughter:
WTMJ-AM 620 rightwing talker and blogger Jessica McBride stages a fake interview with one of her frequent targets--Milwaukee Journal Sentinel local columnist Eugene Kane--and supplies chicken squawking sound effects as Kane's answers, since he didn't accept the interview invitation.Wow. Just, wow. I mean, I guess McBride is responsible for where she draws her own lines about what is and what is not appropriate. But in the hours after that murder, to use it as a cheap jab against a political opponent--with chicken-clucking sound effects--seems like it crosses almost any reasonable line.
No surprise there, as McBride says the idea behind the kind of interview she wanted to do with Kane is to hammer a liberal on the air, so what, from the 'guest's' point of view, would be the point?
Here's her posting site [NOTE: link not included because the audio has been removed from the TMJ website], with the audio McBride supplies--and it seems as if you going to hear another juvenile but relatively harmless political radio rip...except that McBride uses those comedic sound effects for 'Kane's' answer to a question about the recent, horrific Jasmine Owens murder.
Jasmine is the little girl killed by a bullet to the head in a Milwaukee drive-by shooting.
And someone at WTMJ also seems to think it crosses the line, since, as I noted in the text I quoted from Jim Rowen, the audio that was available of this hard-to-believe moment is now gone--it's been disappeared from the site. I was mocked last week when I suggested that we liberals start collecting our own tape of these events if we want to mount successful campaigns againts these hateful hosts. Now you know why I said it: You can't trust these people to make the audio of their own career-threatening gaffes available.
The fine folks at the McBride-themed Whallah! blog are demanding an apology, and I think that's a good start. McBride's and TMJ's contact information can be found there.
UPDATE: Whallah has a lot more.
UPDATE II: Tim Cuprisin is also tracking blog comment. In response to a question about why he doesn't do more on McBride, Cuprisin says,
Her audience isn't very large and she generally doesn't say anything that you haven't heard on at least three other Milwaukee talk shows and dozens of national radio programs.Best comment on McBride I've heard all day.
Two: Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is kind of a local example of what some of my liberal blogging colleagues call the "codpiece effect," after George W. Bush's mis-wearing of a flight suit that created said effect--and the conservatives went all gooey for that, and Bush's tough talk. (You see the current round of GOP candidates trying for the same effect.) Clarke is like that: All talk, all bluster, but man do the conservatives just melt inside when they listen to his militant rhetoric!
Clarke was on talk radio the other day doing what he does best, trying to sound tough. Problem is, he often doesn't know what he's talking about. A case in point would be some of what he said about the Milwaukee Public Schools. Ken Mobile caught this first:
Sheriff Clark criticizes MPS for not making any referrals to the District Attorneys of Parents of truant students. “Parents are not being held accountable.” Clarke says, Clarke continues “look at how many referrals by MPS of parents being referred to the DA’s office for truant students, the answer is 0.”Patrick at Badger Blogger has the audio, and this statement comes a little after the seven minute mark. And, as Ken points out, he's absolutely wrong--a Journal Sentinel article Ken found marked the start of a program to refer truants' parents to the DA back in 2004.
I work at an MPS high school, one with some truancy problems. I know the people who process the "DA letters," as we call them, on the truant students. I know the people who gather the data, the people who make phone calls and home visits to try to track these students down, and, yes, the people who send the names off to the DA's office for action. For Clarke to sit there and say that zero parents get referred for truancy is not just a lie, it's an insult to the people who do the difficult work at my school, and other schools around the district, of identifying and trying to track down truants.
Ken further points out that Clarke has cut youth services at the Sheriff's department, so he has no authority to speak from on how to help Milwaukee's children and schools. So Clarke also should be making apologies. Maybe he should go on McBride's show and they could apologize together.
Sunday, November 05, 2006
Milwaukee County Sheriff, the folkbum endorsement: Don Holt
I had an opportunity to meet and talk with Don Holt at, believe it or not, a Drinking Liberally a few weeks ago. He is everything current Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke is not.- David Clarke is a Republican but won't admit to it. Don Holt is proud of his party affiliation.
- David Clarke has a checkered career (to put it mildly) in law enforcement. Don Holt has a stellar record.
- David Clarke sees the office of Sheriff as some kind of stepping stone to bigger and better things. Don Holt is coming out of retirement because he sees what a mess Clarke and his ambition have made.
- David Clarke has mismanaged everything from booking at the county jail to patrols on county roads and highways. Don Holt earned repeated praise for his management of the Highway Patrol District 2.
- David Clarke talks tough but hasn't delivered a safer Milwaukee County. Don Holt walks quietly but has a record of accomplishment.
- David Clarke irritates other law enforcement agencies in the county. Don Holt has a long record of cooperation and accord with other agencies.
- David Clarke serves beer in uniform and uses County resources as he campaigns (and even the Republicans among us know that's wrong. Don Holt got into the race partly because those abuses appall him.
- David Clarke was cited for contempt of court for over 16,000 violations. Don Holt wasn't.
It's that David Clarke, and his legions of supporters in this race, online and on the radio, are exactly what's wrong with the Republican Party. Clarke talks a big game, struts around in his uniform and poses for the cameras, and gets that steely look of resolve in his eye. That just melts the hearts of many people on the right, including most especially Charlie Sykes. It's the same thing that Bush does that makes the right act like the front row of a New Kids on the Block concert. But when it comes to follow through, we find that Clarke's words have been hollow, as have Bush's. Clark has had five years of swaggering and no years of results.
This blind fanboyishness (fangirlishness, even) of the right led them to do things like make up stuff about Clarke's primary opponent Vince Bobot, saying Bobot was a wuss or soft on crime. That was a convenient re-writing of history, given Bobot's long history as a decorated veteran officer, tough-on-crime judge, and city attorney. But, remember, we're in the midst of an election season that requires some on the right to just make stuff up in order to shield themselves from reality--in this case, the reality that the booted swaggering man they love is just an empty uniform.
It's time to repudiate them, and time to return results to the office of Milwaukee County Sheriff. Please remember that, and vote for Don Holt on November 7.
(And thus concludes this installment of the occasional series known as my endorsements. This series will return in time for the school board elections in the spring.)
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
Don Holt Writes a Letter
October 7, 2006
Sheriff David A. Clarke
Re: Debate Challenge
Dear Sheriff Clarke:
Because the sheriff’s election is very important, the citizens of Milwaukee County deserve the courtesy of hearing, first hand, the fundamental differences and values that separate us. Don’t you agree? For this reason I challenge you to debate the issues.
The public has the right to know the status of some very serious issues.
The facts are:AND perhaps the greatest difference between us is ethical.
- You do not believe strongly in traffic enforcement, but rather voluntary compliance and have cut the patrol strength during the largest highway reconstruction project in Wisconsin’s history. Also, the freeway revenue is down.
- Your booking process has required that detainees often spend over 30 hours waiting to be processed.
- You discontinued park patrols and, without respect for input from the Milwaukee and suburban chiefs of police, you TOLD them they “will patrol the parks”.
- Although you are a member of Milwaukee County Law Enforcement Executives Association (MCLEEA) you have not met with them in nearly over a year. The exchange of information by this group of professionals is key to county-wide law enforcement planning.
- You proclaim to be “hard on crime” yet cannot site any example were you have made improvements in the last 4 years. In fact during the 4th Street Forum on 10-05-06 you admitted that we are worse off now than 4 years ago – “backsliding” – your own word!
- You have cut DARE and TABS. During a debate moderated by Eric Von on WMCS you justified pulling out of the TABS program by citing some obscure study out of Washington D.C saying the TABS program was ineffective. It seems it was not the program that was ineffective but rather the management of the program as Racine’s TABS program reduced the truancy rate in their schools from 21.7% down to 9%
- Many of your disciplinary actions and promotional practices have been challenged and overturned. You have retaliated against your employees for exercising their right to free speech. This has markedly affected morale.
- You have touted the fact that you have had budget surpluses over the past several years. It appears that you are inflating your budget in order to show a return at the end of the year for political purposes. It is also noted that from 2004 to the current proposed 2007 budget there is a loss of total revenues of over FIVE MILLION DOLLARS. The citizens of Milwaukee County need to know why.
- You have pretended to be tough on crime while pulling your personnel out of all interagency drug and crime fighting initiatives.
I challenge you, David Clarke, to a live debate on radio and on T.V. The media times and dates are to be mutually agreed to.
- You have illegally used department funds to put your name on billboards during your last campaign.
- You are illegally using your county owned vehicle, purchased with asset forfeiture funds, for personal and political purposes. (A complaint is pending before the Milwaukee County Ethics Board on this issue).
- You have a double standard. You violate your own policies by wearing your uniform and firearm while serving alcoholic beverages.
- You wore your weapon into an area of the jail where this is prohibited. You recently escorted a dangerous prisoner into the jail wearing your sidearm. This transgression was especially serious due to the past history of the prisoner – truly a foolish action.
Respectfully,
Don Holt
holt-dr@sbcglobal.net
cc: Milwaukee Media
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Wha?
Let me get this straight: The paper is calling the man who has been in charge for five years a "change agent"?
David Clarke is dangerous, vindictive, and a liar. Under his watch, the Sheriff's department has stopped patrolling parks and freeways, and the county jail is a mess. Yeah, I suppose that's technically "change," but not very good.
Vote Bobot. Please.
David Clarke is dangerous, vindictive, and a liar. Under his watch, the Sheriff's department has stopped patrolling parks and freeways, and the county jail is a mess. Yeah, I suppose that's technically "change," but not very good.
Vote Bobot. Please.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
When the audit makes you look bad, blame the audit
So sayeth Milwaukee County Sheriff David Clarke:
There are so many reasons not to vote for Clarke when he's up again in November. Vince Bobot (no website yet that I can find) is a decent, law-and-order kind of guy. I wasn't so hot on Bobot for mayor, but he would have to do a better job as sheriff than Clarke.
Freeway accidents and wait times for help from Milwaukee County sheriff's deputies have risen significantly in recent years, while tickets for speeding and other violations are way down, a new county audit shows. [. . .]If you were focused on writing tickets, sir, why was your ticket production down, hm? And if you were re-assigning deputies to jail duty, why was the county found in contempt of court for 16,662 violations of all sorts of things at the jail, most of which were on your watch? Shouldn't someone over there have taken care of that? If, as you say elsewhere in the article, "It's kind of a no-win situation for me, but I had to get this budget under control," why is your own expense account so out of control, with all of your personal bodyguards and more?
Response times to all types of calls for service on the freeway went up less than a half-minute, from 10.5 minutes to 10.9 minutes. But wait times for injury-accident calls rose from 5 minutes to 7 minutes, or 40%, and almost doubled for property-damage calls, from 7 minutes to 13 minutes, auditors found.
Deputies in 2004 wrote about half the number of speeding tickets issued in 2001, a drop of more than 13,000 citations. [. . .]
The audit cited a variety of factors for the trends, including a 29% increase in calls for service; a 5% increase in freeway traffic; and a shift in priorities under Sheriff David A. Clarke Jr. Clarke reassigned 11% of the department's freeway-patrol deputies to jail duty in 2002. He also has asked deputies on the patrol to handle other duties, such as making warrant arrests and conveying prisoners. [. . .]
Clarke criticized the audit methodology as "not first-rate" and said it was overly focused on statistical outcomes.
He initially disputed the uptick in accidents, which auditors based on state Department of Transportation figures. He later said if the trend was reported correctly, the increase was because the department had been too focused on speeding tickets as its primary safety tool.
There are so many reasons not to vote for Clarke when he's up again in November. Vince Bobot (no website yet that I can find) is a decent, law-and-order kind of guy. I wasn't so hot on Bobot for mayor, but he would have to do a better job as sheriff than Clarke.
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