Our friends at the MacIver Institute recently investigated prominent union leaders in Wisconsin and found that most made over six figures in salary alone.  Read details of how these “men of the people” are living large by clicking here.

620 WTMJ host Charlie Sykes discusses a recent Media Trackers press release on the partisan hypocrisy of Wisconsin Supreme Court candidate Marla Stephens.

Check it out!

Media Trackers on The Charlie Sykes Show-2/8/11

Marla Stephens, the only candidate for State Supreme Court, who refused public funding for her campaign, has raised less than half the amount of money that Justice David Prosser, JoAnne Kloppenburg and Joel Winnig have compiled.

Stephens opted out of public financing because she didn’t believe that the $100,000 primary candidates received and the $300,000 the two candidates in the general election would have would be enough to win the race.  So far Stephens has amassed only $38,000.

All of the candidates except for Stephens are running TV ads before the Feb. 15 primary.  Stephens will not.  No doubt her lack of finances played into that decision.

Wisconsin’s two-year budget deficit has now risen to $3.6 Billion according to Governor Walker’s Budget Director.   For the current fiscal year, which ends June 30, 2011, Wisconsin faces a $137 Million shortfall.  Earlier in the year, the two-year budget deficit was estimated to be closer to $3 Billion.  These numbers mean that Governor Walker’s upcoming budget will likely have to include even more spending cuts in order to address the budget shortfall.

In his first month in office, Governor Scott Walker has moved fast and furiously to fulfill his campaign promise of bringing jobs to Wisconsin.  Progressive organizations have lambasted the governor because he believes job creation comes from the private sector, not the government.  For weeks now One Wisconsin Now has said that Gov. Walker’s plans increase state spending.  The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel’s PolitiFact recently looked into this claim and found it unequivocally false.  To read more about their investigation, click here.

Media Trackers is a strong supporter of stronger voter ID requirements in Wisconsin.  Our friends at the Wisconsin Patriot Coalition believe in the same protection of voter rights and lay out strong arguements in this document that counter critics of Voter ID, like One Wisconsin Now and certain Democratic representatives.

http://www.thewheelerreport.com/releases/February11/0201/0201wispatriotcoal.pdf

 

 

The Wisconsin statute regarding eligibility to vote in Wisconsin is very simple. One must be

1.) a United States citizen

2.) at least 18-years-old

3.) a resident of Wisconsin for 10 days or more

4.) not currently serving a sentence, including probation or parole, for a felony conviction¹

 

Seems straightforward. But it’s not. In Wisconsin, and Milwaukee County in particular, ineligible felons have voted for years.

  Continue Reading »

 

January 28, 2010, Milwaukee, WI– As the Voter ID bill inches close to a vote, Media Trackers would like to take the time to remind Wisconsinites that despite assertions by the Left that voter fraud is a “problem that does not exist,” felony charges and convictions of voter fraud keep occurring in Wisconsin.

 

Kevin L. Clancy: GUILTY

 

Kevin L. Clancy plead guilty and was sentenced on November 18, 2010 to one count of falsely procuring voter registration as a party to a crime during the 2008 Presidential Election. Clancy, employed by the Association of Community Organizations for Reform Now (ACORN), was paid to canvass specific areas of Milwaukee to register voters.

 

According to Milwaukee County Circuit Court documents, Clancy served as a Special Registration Deputy, a voluntary position with the city of Milwaukee Election Commission.¹ SRD’s are trained and deputized to register voters prior to an election. Clancy, along with other ACORN staff, were tasked with meeting a daily registration quota in order to receive payment. This number ranged from five to 20 people with a requirement of 40 on Juneteenth Day.

  Continue Reading »

 

January 27, 2010, Milwaukee, WI– As the Voter ID bill inches closer to a vote, Media Trackers would like to take time to remind Wisconsinites that despite assertions by the Left that voter fraud is a “problem that does not exist,” felony charges and convictions of voter fraud keep occurring in Wisconsin.

 

Frank Edmund Walton: GUILTY

 

Frank Edmund Walton was convicted and sentenced on December 6, 2010 of one count of falsely procuring voter registration during the 2008 Presidential Election. Walton was employed and paid by the Community Voter’s Project, a group organized by the Fund for the Public Interest, to canvass specific areas of Milwaukee in order to register voters.

 

According to Milwaukee County Circuit Court documents, Walton served as a Special Registration Deputy (SRD), a voluntary position with the city of Milwaukee Election Commission. SRD’s are trained and deputized to register citizens to vote prior to an election. Walton’s term with the Community Voter’s Project and as a Milwaukee SRD lasted just 13 days after it was discovered that Walton “had registered a person was was deceased.”¹

  Continue Reading »

  

January 25, 2011, Milwaukee, WI– As the recently passed tort reform bill makes its way to Governor Scott Walker’s desk next week, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reported today that personal injury attorneys are racing to file suits before the measure takes effect ten days after Walker signs.¹ One of the key provisions of the new law is a limitation on non-economic damages for medical malpractice in nursing homes to $750,000 and a limit on punitive damages to $200,000 or twice the amount of compensatory damages, whichever is greater.

For weeks, president of the Wisconsin Association of Justice (WAJ) (formerly the Wisconsin Association of Trial Lawyers) J. Michael End has led the charge against the tort reform bill in the name of “civil justice” and “accountability” to counter what he has termed a “corporate bailout plan that puts corporate profits and interests over people’s safety.”²

But i recent years, personal injury attorneys have profited to the tune of millions due to Wisconsin’s weak tort laws. According to its website, the prominent law firm Habush Habush & Rottier claims $477,899,650 in verdicts and settlements in recent years.³ According to the website of End’s very own firm End, Heirseman & Crain, verdicts and settlements have secured a modest $28,252,000 for clients.⁴

Assuming the standard 40% fee, Habush Habush and Rottier have earned $191,159,650 in recent years while End’s firm earned just $11,800,300 in verdicts and settlements.

The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel even reports the End intends to file a suit on behalf of a client before the end of the week.

WAJs hypocrisy on the issue of tort reform needs to be brought to light. Their lip service to justice is tainted by their pursuit of profit. Actions really do speak louder than words as evidenced by the scramble of personal injury attorney’s to file their cases before the loophole to excessive tort profit is closed.