As I tried to get Fred to make any sort of statement on whether he regarded Fischer's personal attacks on Greg Kowalski to be reprehensible or laudable (which he never did, which is a statement in itself), he challenged me to see why Fischer would be so vile towards Kowalski.
I looked back through both Fischer's blog and Kowalski's blogs for a two month period. I kept seeing references to a certain post or a comment on a post on Kowalki's site, that was what allegedly put Fischer over the edge. But as much as I perused, I could not find anything that would merit such vile and hateful attacks.
So, I emailed Mr. Kowalski, and asked him what the hubbub was all about. He sent me a copy of a comment that a commeter had left on his blog. The comment, in its entirety, spelling errors and all, reads:
TO : Kevin Fischer
In the wake of Oak Creek demanding, by referendum, that city clerks and treasures be elected - NOT appointed by the mayor, Franklin ’s mayor is trying to irradiate our Environmental Commission. It’s not good practice putting a Dracula in charge of the Blood Bank.
The Environmental Commission has brought money into Franklin through grants and donations and does not cost Franklin a penny for its expertise on preservation practices.
Doesn’t it seem strange that a NON-BUDGETED entity like the Environmental Commission would appear on a BUDGET proposal with a recommendation to be axed??? Is this the extent of slyness and subtlety the mayor can come up with to slip one by us? If he passes the budget…out goes the Environmental Commission. Good thinking, mayor!
Mr. Fischer, everyone knows that you and Olson are “two pigs in a poke” and that any politician [like yourself] would like to see EVERYONE off of their back so they can feed in peace on their illusions of sovereignty without interference from a group like the Environmental Commission. The EC just might point out how the City is violating standard practices of good land, air, and water stewardship. Surveys show that over 90% of citizens have great concerns about these vital elements, yet when demigods like Taylor get a notion…who cares about people…off with their heads and their Environmental Commission as well!
The Environmental Commission has brought money into Franklin through grants and donations and does not cost Franklin a penny for its expertise on preservation practices.
Doesn’t it seem strange that a NON-BUDGETED entity like the Environmental Commission would appear on a BUDGET proposal with a recommendation to be axed??? Is this the extent of slyness and subtlety the mayor can come up with to slip one by us? If he passes the budget…out goes the Environmental Commission. Good thinking, mayor!
Fischer, you said, “Also, I have a problem with un-elected individuals making important decisions for the city.” You got it wrong again. Environmental Commission members ADVISE, not decide…get your act together. Notwithstanding, what makes you think that because a person is “elected” automatically qualifies that person as someone who is omniscient on every issue in governmental functions? Maybe YOU are, but hey….!!
In my opinion, there are Environmental Commission members who know as much about environmental matters [if not more] than WDNR personnel who work in these areas for our illustrious state. I could go on at length about this but not now.
I also see a typical “politician tactic” revealed with your accusation that Greg was a cause for the proposed annihilation of the Environmental Commission. You viewed the proposal as the venue of a PUNISHMENT for Greg and for anyone else who stands in the way of the “Autonomous Taylor” in his quest for the “GOLDEN FLEECE” [a.k.a. Development at any cost to satisfy his grandiose Babylon philosophy.] If this is the kind of government that you applaud…shame on you! That is deplorable!!
I will call you a liar, Fischer, until we hear exactly what that individual from the Environmental Commission meant in his own words when he said, “they never do anything”. I would say he meant they never “do” anything [see fruition of their work] because the Development Gestapo feels it will hinder their arrangements with developers. This is a cheap political ploy of word wrangling and intentional misquoting. You might have used that before but it won’t float here, Mr. Svengali! Prove this false!
Now I will play the Swami and predict that once again you will show your stock-in-trade by not adhering to the topic of my text should you reply. It will be an inane slur of some sort that does nothing in an attempt to refute anything I have said. Go ahead…prove me wrong.
That's it. Fischer got all bent out of shape because an anonymous commenter called him a liar. Keep in mind that Fischer is a TV pundit, a guest host on WISN radio, and a legislative aide. This cannot be the first time someone called him a liar.
And talk about your over-reactions. Fischer went on to ban Kowalski, not the commenter, but the blogsite host, from his own blog, because of what a commenter said. If everyone did that, no one would have a comments section anymore. Besides, the "fair and balanced" right do that on a daily basis. They thrive off of this sort of thing. I guess they're just better at dishing it out, than taking it. This is typical for bullies.
To make matters more laughable, Fischer said that he was mad at Kowalski for not deleting the comment, even though Mark Maley advised Kowalski not to, since it held no vulgarities. (On a side note: It is the policy of the Journal Company and all of its subsidiaries not to edit comments. They either stand or are deleted as a whole. This is due to concerns of a lawsuit.)
So, in summary, Fischer got his undies in a bundle because an anonymous commenter called him a liar, on another person's blog. To retaliate, Fischer banned the blogger, not the commenter, and started a series of vile and personal insults against this blogger and anyone who tried to defend him. And our tax dollars support this guy, as does Senator Lazich, and MSJ.
And they call us the hateful ones.
I give the franklinnow blogs wide berth because they can be quite the cesspool of namecalling and pouting (and the right wing bloggers seems incapable of engaging an actual topic), but I was there for the "liar" incident.
ReplyDeleteFischer indeed attempted to make a straw man of the issue. However, as any sensible person realizes, "I will call you a liar" is carefully worded as OPINION and Fischer has no reason to be bent out of joint.
As I've said before, I want Mr. Fischer to blog to his heart's content. He reveals more and more of the dirty underside to his salary- and ego-based ideology with every post and comment. But I sure wish he could learn to be civil to the extent that he and I could actually greet one another cordially in public; after all, we both live in the same town (though I never see him anywhere).
Sad part is Kevin was just named "Master of Ceremonies" for a Franklin-based safety group, Citizens for a Safe Wisconsin.
ReplyDeleteWhy they would allow such a controversial man be Master of Ceremonies just blows my mind.
Read: http://fvkeller.squarespace.com/bullseye/2008/2/5/todays-number-is-414-630-8214.html
If Fischer is Master of Ceremonies at this event, it will be the first Franklin civic event or meeting that I've personally seen him deign to attend.
ReplyDeleteAlso, it will be another exercise in narcissism for a man who takes every possible opportunity to shortchange the Franklin School district - - with direct adverse effect on the community's children - - because he fears a teacher may be overpaid and his property tax could go up. Or an extra computer might be purchased and his property tax could go up. Or classes for children with disabilities could be allowed to continue at each school and his property tax could go up.
The same man who, because of his allegiance with developers who contribute his boss and his party (and invite him to cocktail parties), believes SIDEWALKS are an unnecessary luxury. So our community's children dodge traffic on the shoulder of overburdened roads. And not a word about how arbitrary developer-enriching subdivisions create a greater property tax burden than the schools ever could.
Local bloggers who choose not to publicize Mr. Fischer's star turn (because he has made it about him) will be accused of not caring about children. How do I know? Because I watched Mr. Fischer and his cohorts accuse Franklin blogger Greg Kowalski of not caring about kids because they felt he didn't blog sufficiently about the Steven R. Hanke sexual predator case. That's how ugly it gets.
A poor choice, unfortunately, for such a worthy cause.