Earlier this week, as some of you may have noticed, McBride closed her blogs to the public. Yesterday, Xoff informed us that McBride self-reported that she closed the blogs due to "being too busy."
All of this has led to a small wildfire of speculation as to why McBride deprived us of her witticism and biting insight (well, something about her insight really bit).
There's been speculation that it may be due to pressure from her husband, Paul Bucher, the super trial lawyer, and a big case he is active in.
Likewise, there's been some that wonder if it deals with a lawsuit the Buchers have filed.
Some have proposed that UWM had finally put pressure on her to knock it off.
Then there is some thought that this could stem from a possible actionable offense done during the lead up to the Supreme Court elections.
Cindy Kilkenny offered us a plausible theory that Paul is again planning to run for an office again.
This theory appears to have been debunked by Owen Robinson and James Wigderson.
Another theory is that she was just sick and tired of being bombarded with criticism in her messages and emails. (But why would anyone question her? She's a UWM School of Journalism "faculty member", dang it!)
As for yours truly, I have no idea why she did what she did. Nor do I really care. While it is true that I, and the others here at Whallah!, have watched her like a hawk, and was always happy to point out flaws to her logic and arguments, I personally hold no animosity towards McBride or Bucher. Just to their wrong-headed, mean-spirited stances.
If something comes out of this, of course we will notify you,, the reader, about it. In the mean time, we will enjoy the silence, and pick up where we left off with Sykes, Belling and the rest.
I believe someone speculated that the McBuchers want to assume a low profile so that they are no longer considered public figures under the law. This will lower the standard for suing individuals that make demeaning comments or use the s word when referrring to them.
ReplyDeleteWhy don't Bucher and Pridemore like each other? Aren't they both pro life right wing wingnuts?
ReplyDeleteThe Buchers hiding and keeping their collective mouths shut. Imagine someone making that prdictions two years ago.
ReplyDeleteWhat is going on in Waukesha County
ReplyDeleteLast week journalism faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee and award winning blogger Jessica McBride in her weeky column asked Waukesha County District Attorney Brad Schimel, “What’s going on?”
Ms. McBride then went on to cite numerous examples of goings-on in Waukesha County that apparently motivated the topic selection for her January 19, 2008 column.
Venue for the new Scott Jensen trial, abandoning the district attorney office’s quest for prosecuting illegal immigrant criminals, not prosecuting “sneaky Jim Doyle campaign attorneys” and decriminalizing marijuana were the major points in her column.
Her column didn’t appear to attract attention from anyone other than a handful of other blog writers and their readers. Ms. McBride even offered District Attorney Schimel the opportunity to respond by asking him, “How many illegal immigrants are in the criminal justice system right now? If you can answer that question, call me. I’ll run the number next week.” Apparently, District Attorney Schimel did not call her because Ms. McBride did not post the number of illegal immigrants in the criminal justice system right now in her January 26, 2008 column.
As a life long Waukesha County resident, I think her question, what’s going on?, is a good one and deserves answers but didn’t go far enough. Her column therefore is the inspiration for this blog. District Attorney Schimel recently completed his first year in an office that was held by the same person for the previous 18 years.
Since District Attorney Schimel is up for election for a four-year term in the fall of this year, it would be a good time to evaluate his performance. Although historically the incumbent rarely faces a challenger in the general election, the issues raised by Ms. Mcbride in her column and others could make this year an exception.
Ms. McBride didn’t discuss the somewhat controversial issue involving the safety director of a large Waukesha County employer stomping on the foot of an employee that District Attorney Sdchimel decided not to prosecute.
Ms. McBride didn’t ask if he had reached a final decision in the incident in Oconomowoc where the Town Chairman allegedly used a letter accompanying tax bills to endorse candidates in an upcoming election. If the only consequence was a $368 reimbursement by the Town Chairman, an attorney, it would be a major departure from the punishment handed down in previous misconduct in office cases in Waukesha County.
This will suffice for now but the question, what is going on in Waukesha County should not be solely addressed to the District Attorney’s office. From reading news reports, blogs and other online stories, it seems there are other areas of Waukesha County government where the same question can be appropriately directed. So if you have comments or questions, feel free to post them here.
http://wcca.wicourts.gov/caseDetails.do;jsessionid=FF4B8CB830FF58E961BCD83E93E461F7.render2?caseNo=2007CF000764&countyNo=67&cacheId=D04DB0BDCB811B2AEB82CD2F83107B77&recordCount=15&offset=4&mode=details&submit=View+Case+Details
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