The Real Have Whines About The Have Nots

Part of Charlie Sykes' almost daily repertoire is to attack union workers, especially if they are public employees. He does this because it is one of the normal Republican talking points as well as to bolster the already flagging popularity of Goobernatorial-elect Scott Walker.

But interestingly, I have recently received the latest issue of Milwaukee Magazine, in which they have a piece discussing various people's salaries. And yup, Ol' Chuckles is among the ones listed:

CHARLIE SYKES, Conservative Talk Radio Host, 620 WTMJ-AM: $170,000 plus bonus

(Salary estimated by WTMJ radio insiders; Sykes declined to confirm.)

This does not mention whatever he gets paid directly by the Bradley Foundation, or indirectly from the Bradley Foundation as editor of WPRI (Wankers Promoting Republican Ideals).

I guess the conservatives put high value on talented liars and blowhards.

Remember this when he is bitching up a storm about the county parks worker making $12 an hour. Now you know he isn't looking after Joe Taxpayer when he is attacking union workers. He's only promoting the talking points of the Greedy Old Perverts who are angry because they don't have all of our money yet.

George Mitchell Shorter

"Bruce Murphy and Milwaukee Magazine is full of crap because they use real numbers and facts and stuff instead of just relying on my opinion. How dare they!"

Will Fischer Make Milwaukee Magazine Again?

Greg Kowalski at one of his many sites, wrote about Kevin Fischer's usual boorish commentary:

Lazich (or her aide) soon found out that her constituents didn't appreciate hearing that coming from her office. After a comment drought on her blog, so far 6 comments have appeared on that posting, 4 of which were aimed negatively toward her stance of federal dollars being spent for something like cutting the grass.

I think it goes to show that both Lazich and at least one member of her staff are truly out of touch with at least the constituency in Franklin. Perhaps when the State Legislature looks at redistricting the boundaries after the 2010 Census, Franklin, Greendale, Hales Corners, and parts of Greenfield will be cut away from Lazich's hands. Personally, I've always remarked how the people of Franklin are a lot more open minded on issues and really don't tolerate much nonsense if they can do something to fix it.

This post caught the eye of Milwaukee Magaizine's Pressroom on Facebook, who took Kowalski's post and expanded on it:

He did do one piece of reporting, when he picked up the phone and actually asked School Board members tough questions about the budget. Oh, wait, no, those answers were made up. Presumably an attempt at irony.

Well, speaking of irony, Pressroom is capable of it as well. We note Fischer's
outrage at comprehensive sexuality education in schools -- which he blames for creating a "sexualized atmosphere."

This from the same person who gratuitously posted a well-endowed model's full-cleavage picture (an item about Internet anonymity).

If Fischer is trying to stir up the masses, we're not sure it's working. Comments seem rare to nonexistent in the blog entries we looked at.

One other item: Another correspondent observes Fischer isn't putting time stamps on his posts. Pressroom looked over the site and found they do, indeed, seem to have disappeared. The absence of time stamps reminded us of the controversy that we covered when Pressroom last wrote about Fischer, here.

I can't wait until I get next month's issue.

Even on historic day, business as usual

Bruce Murphy at Milwaukee Magazine notes that on Inauguration Day, while even conservatives gave the new President a one-day pass, the Journal Sentinel's Patrick McIlheran stood out like the proverbial sore thumb.

Says Murphy of Paddy Mac's performance:

But beyond the irony was something just a little ugly. While commentators of all ideologies were celebrating, for one day, a watershed moment in our nation’s history, McIlheran was above such generosity. He thought it more appropriate to condescend to the majority of Americans.

Anyone else surprised?

Suspicions confirmed

Everything you've always suspected about right wing talk radio, from the daily talking points and monitoring Rush to the way callers are screened, from someone who used to work at the biggest stick in the state. Milwaukee Magazine has it all.

It's what Chuckles would call a hot read.

Does Fischer Know Fair Use?

This issue was emailed to me a while ago by a faithful reader, and I wasn't sure if I would use it or not. But given the previous post here, I feel that is would be relevant as well.

According to the Electronic Frontier Foundation, intellectual property in the Intertubes is still a vague area, with no set rules, but there are guidlines. According to their FAQ page, here is a rule of thumb for quoting people, posts or articles:

There are no hard and fast rules for fair use (and anyone who tells you that a set number of words or percentage of a work is "fair" is talking about guidelines, not the law). The Copyright Act sets out four factors for courts to look at (17 U.S.C. § 107):

• The purpose and character of the use. Transformative uses are favored over mere copying. Non-commercial uses are also more likely fair.
• The nature of the copyrighted work. Is the original factual in nature or fiction? Published or unpublished? Creative and unpublished works get more protection under copyright, while using factual material is more often fair use.
• The amount and substantiality of the portion used. Copying nearly all of a work, or copying its "heart" is less likely to be fair.
• The effect on the market or potential market. This factor is often held to be the most important in the analysis, and it applies even if the original is given away for free. If you use the copied work in a way that substitutes for the original in the market, it's unlikely to be a fair use; uses that serve a different audience or purpose are more likely fair. Linking to the original may also help to diminish the substitution effect. Note that criticism or parody that has the side effect of reducing a market may be fair because of its transformative character. In other words, if your criticism of a product is so powerful that people stop buying the product, that doesn't count as having an "effect on the market for the work" under copyright law.

Since I know that Fischer reads this blogsite, I would strongly advise him to take heed, especially when he puts up posts like the one previously discussed.

Also, in this light, I would like to offer an public apology to Milwaukee Magazine, Bruce Murphy and Erik Gunn, for my own transgressions.

Fischer's Next Job: Public Relations Specialist

The other day, Fischer puts up a post blasting away at anonymous commenters on the Internet. While the example he used does indeed show how mean people can be, one cannot help but wonder what his true intentions were when he wrote this.

In the comments thread of this post, we see a Mr. Zippy, who rightfully points out that some of the forefathers of this great country of ours wrote the Federalist Papers under the alias of Publius.

Fischer then does the only thing he apparently knows. He resorts to whining and name-calling. He bemoans how "mean" people have been to him. He seems to have forgotten that the reason he even came to our attention was because he was being a bully to a young blogger, and was doing this same sort of name-calling that he is complaining about, and then some. His attacks were of a personal nature. His misbehaviors are so egregious that he has even been called on it in Milwaukee Magazine, not just once, but twice.

Because of his boorish behaviors, he came under more and more scrutiny. Since then, we have found out that he is ethically-challenged and has bilked tax payers of their hard earned money.

But the real irony is in his complaints of people choosing to be anonymous, or using a pseudonym, like our founding fathers used the moniker of Publius. Many people have written about the right to remain anonymous and/or to use a pseudonym. Greater minds and writers, from the left's Jay Bullock to the right's Owen Robinson to a Great King have all written in support of this constitutional right. Needless to say, all of these people are better writers and deeper thinkers than Fischer could hope to be, which might explain his anger, his bitterness, and his petulance.

This is all just leading up to his hypocrisy on the issue, since his boss, state Senator Mary Lazich, has already told us that he does her writing for her blog. This means, dear reader, that he too writes under a pseudonym. Yet he complains about others who choose to do so.

But despite his misogynist tendencies, his ethical lapses, his megalomania, and his churlish and childish name-calling, Fischer does have one redeeming quality. He reads Whallah! You see, when he complains about having his writing skills unfavorably compared to those of a fetid mouse turd, it came from this here post.

Well Said, Ms. McBride

Jessica McBride may not be blogging as much, but she still does write for the Waukesha Freeman. In today's article, McBride, in all seriousness, does a splendid job giving credit to David Umhoefer at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel for his Pulitzer Prize.

She also accurately points out that Mr. Umhoefer's glory would not have been possible if not for the ground work done several years ago by Bruce Murphy, who is now the editor at Milwaukee Magazine. Mr. Murphy was the person who broke the original pension scandal story that shook Milwaukee County.

Ms. McBride's column was so well done, that Whallah! is recommending it for reading, and is willing to overlook the couple of snarky comments she couldn't resist flinging at MJS

Bad Talk Radio Translates Into Worse Talk TV

Milwaukee Magazine, in their insiderpressroom section, did a wonderful expose on Kevin Fischer. But what was transcribed in that post was not the whole article. There is a second part that brings us some bad news and some good news:

Meanwhile, the man Fischer fills in for on occasion, Mark Belling, remains without a TV show of his own. Channel 58 dropped Belling's Sunday morning panel discussion last summer. The WISN talker tells Pressroom that people working on his behalf made overtures to try to get the show back on the air, without success.

Belling says he enjoyed the program, but professes not to miss it. Still, given the way it reinforced his presence, it's not surprising he's open to its return.

A pending ownership change at WITI-TV Fox 6 could create an opening. But Sunday morning political chats aren't big sellers. "The audiences are relatively small for all these programs," says Jeff Fleming, director of public relations for Howl Fire, a new ad agency.

Belling rival Charlie Sykes (on whose TV show Fleming is regular panelist) now has the Sunday morning field to himself locally--or did until WISN-TV Channedl 12 hired retired WTMJ-TV Channel 4 anchor Mike Gousha to do a Sunday morning interview show. But that wasn't about making money; it was about building the Channel 12 brand as Milwaukee's serious news station.

Former Belling panelist Mordecai Lee says the lack of local public affairs shows is "a sad commentary on the economics of American television, and of how weakly licensees feel the need to substantiate serving the public interest." But Lee has a personal reason to see Belling return. "I've got six months worth of opinions all stored up, and nowhere to go."

So, talk TV isn't that popular, but there is still a threat that Belling might pollute our screens again anyway. Unfortunately, for Mr. Lee, Whallah! has insider information that indicates that if Belling would get a show back, he would only have panelists that are less intelligent than him. So far the line up looks like a rusty shovel, a rock, a dead cockroach, and George Bush.

Andy Warhol Does Kevin Fischer

First it was the soup cans, now this from the Milwaukee Magazine article:

My favorite is the purple one. It reminds me of the Grape Ape.

Fischer Makes The Big Time, Again!

I received my copy of Milwaukee Magazine in the mail today. I opened it up, to see what they were talking about and say in their "Insiderpressroom" part, they're talking about our good bud, Kevin Fischer, for the second time.

Here is the part on Fischer, with my interjections (because I'm the King, and I can do that sort of stuff):

Multiplicity

Kevin Fischer is everywhere as a media pundit. He’s also apartisan
legislative aide, Can you say conflict?

by Erik Gunn

Kevin Fischer is a busy guy. He does a blog on FranlklinNOWcom. He’s a guest host on WISN-AM 1130, filling in for Mark Belling and Jay Weber. He’s one of the regular pundits for Milwaukee Public Television’s InterChange program.

And he’s a full-time Republican legislative aide.

I'd question that full-time business. You'll see what I mean later.

That latter gig has drawn scrutiny toFischer’s peripatetic media career. Our March Pressroom noted he was one of the bickering bloggers on Journal Communications’ MyCommunityNOW Websites. Since then, his critics have turned up the heat on his role as an aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin).

Brookfield blogger Cindy Kilkenny made an open-records request for Fischer’s time sheets from the state to see whether he was blogging or commenting while on the taxpayers’ clock. Kilkenny says that while Fischer’s blog entries appear to have been posted on his off hours, she believes he has gone back into some of his comments to other blogs and changed the times of entries.

Yeah, and who first broke that story of name-calling? Uh? Maybe moi?

It appears that Ms. Kilkenny is not done checking things out. She is now inquiring about exactly how much vacation time legislative aides get.

Fischer denies any wrongdoing.‘Whenever I blog, it’s on my own personal time - usually on nights and weekends,” he says. Mindful of the 2001 caucus scandal that rocked the Capitol over the use of legislative aides for political campaign work, he adds, “I am very meticulous about when I’m on state time and when I’m not.”

Fischer blames the “nonstory”on a small group of people who don’t like his politics. “They were trying to not only silence me but get me in trouble with my livelihood. And I don’t take too kindly to that.” But while he singles out “lefty bloggers,” Kilkenny calls herself a conservative, and says she was motivated by Fischer’s penchant for bombastic insult. “People like Kevin Fischer give Republicans a really bad name,” she says.

Um, Ms. Kilkenny is nothing if not conservative. (One of the good ones, too. When she's not supporting Scott Walker, that is.) But she is wrong here. He gives all bloggers a bad name.

Lefty bloggers? Kevin, the name is Whallah! Remember it.

Lazich insists she demands professionalism of her staff: “I don’t tolerate nastiness and name-calling.” But Fischer says he’s never been counseled about the content of his blog.

Oh? And why hasn't he been reprimanded yet for the nazi comment, eh?

Fischer also denies preparing for his media appearances on state time (though there’s no way to prove or disprove this by checking his time sheets). He notes that he discloses his job as a legislative aide on all his broadcast appearances, and - after some pushback from critics - FranklinNOW. com has begun identifying him as such in his accompanying biography.

Yet, by the very nature of his work as a political operative, anything he writes or says is arguably in the interest of his boss. That’s the assertion of Michael Mathias, among the liberal bloggers who have also raised questions about Fischer’s many roles. Fischer’s job working for Lazich includes communications - for instance, helping with Lazich’s, blog, which also runs on FranklinNOW.

For more of Mike's comprehensive labors, look here.

“Can you really separate his work on behalf of her office or Republicans in the state senate that cleanly?” Mathias asks.“His job is to make sure his boss gets lots of great publicity and that she is well-positioned to win re-election. To what extent is [the JS] participating in that? I think that’s really troubling.” Indeed, the same question could be asked ofMilwaukee Public Television and WISN.

Fischer really has no counterpart among Democrats - a government-paid insider who doubles as a news commentator. NOW's online editor, Mark Maley, says the Web site has an open-door policy: “Any Democrats/liberals who would like to present opposing views are welcome to start a NOWblog.” But would that solve the problem or compound it?

Sheesh, MM names Fischer, Mathias and Kilkenny. But no mention of ol' capper who started this whole ball a-rolling. I mean, where's the love here, guys? (Oh, I know that it probably has to do with my anonymity, but still...They could've at least mentioned Whallah!)

But it is good to see this guy get exposed to the light of day and shown for what he really is.

Remember--You Heard It Here First

About a month ago, I introduced the gentle reader to a fellow named Kevin Fischer. The story has grown, and more and more bloggers started to look into the stories behind the story.

Now it is even bigger. It is in the newest edition of Milwaukee Magazine. Their newest edition just came out in the mail, and it is not on their website yet, but when they do update it, it can be found here.

The article is in the "insiderpressroom" section of the magazine and is written by Erik Gunn. The article is titled "Hey Cheescake Breath!" and the teaser is:

Nasty, bickering blogs have lowered the quality of Journal Communications' suburban weeklies.

Mr. Gunn starts out with a brief history of how Journal Communications bought out the CNI papers and systematically perverted them into the current NOW templates. Then it gets good:

Perhaps no one exemplifies the sort of juvenile name calling that goes on better than Kevin Fischer, a longtime Republican operative who works as a legislative aide to state Sen. Mary Lazich (R-New Berlin). Fishcer is a Franklin Blogger who has accused the city's school board and administration of being "unethical" and has engaged in a running battle with blogger Greg Kowalski, a college student who is on the Franklin Environmental Commission. Fischer called Kowalski "cheesecake breath" in a comment on Kowalski's blog in January, and barred Kowalski from commenting on Fischer's
blog.

The NewBerlinNOW.com site features a similar war pitting blogger and ex-school board member Linda Richter against blogger Matt Thomas, current vice president of the board and a leader of its conservative majority. Talk about getting personal: Richter publicized the bankruptcy records of Thomas on her blog to undermine his claim as a champion of fiscal sobriety.

Mark Maley, the CNI executive who oversees the NOWWeb sites, doesn't see a serious problem. "Even with the skirmishes, nobody's been sued," he says. "It's basically been a handful of people tossing mud. There's been some online behavior that I'm not thrilled about, but the vast, vast majority is pretty positive stuff." Even some of the people involved in the verbal duels have also engaged in enterprising work, like airing details of community development projects or conducting open-records requests for officials' e-mails.

Yet as a coherent source of information - or even reasoned analysis - the blogs largely fail. One anonymous commenter pronounced them "a trashy, useless, and inflammatory method of modern communication." A former vlogger who quing in disgust wrote, "We don't need a dogfight...we want debate." And New Berlin Mayor Jack Chiovatero says his administration has opted not to post press releases online because of the blogs. "They're negative and filled with wrong information," he says. "If we post our information on there, people won't know if it's true or not."

But bad journalism might be what the readers want. "I'm not crazy about it," Maley says. "But the FranklinNOW site has rapidly become our No. 2 Web site rather than 6 or 7."

Please note: All emphasis is from the article. Any misspellings are my own, and I apologize.

A tip of the hat to John Michlig for the heads up.

Why Are They Leaving Wisconsin?

A recurring theme for our favorite MSJ columnist/blogger/squawker is that there is a brain drain going on in Wisconsin. McIlheran keeps stating that this is because of the poor economic incentives, the high taxes, or some such nonsense.

Now, let's re-enter the world of reality. Bruce Murphy, of Milwaukee Magazine, has a column highlighting the homophobic tendencies of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel in the way they chose to cover the passing of Governor Lee Sherman Dreyfus. MSJ was the only paper in the entire state not to mention that Governor Dreyfus did a lot to promote gay rights.

This story is an interesting read in itself. However, in the comments thread, we see two people who respond to this story, and coincidently steal some of McIlheran's thunder:

>> posted by Jay on 1/15/2008 12:11:22 PM

Hmmm. A homophobic paper in a homophobic city in a homophobic state. Hard to imagine. WI and MKE used to be able to call themselves progressive. Now we're just another embarrassing hate-state opposed to personal freedom. Count me as one of the MANY young, educated people here who are looking to leave, and leave this place to all the biggots.

Good riddance Milwaukee.

>> posted by Jake on 1/15/2008 2:18:27 PM

Hate to echo the pessimism, but I agree with Jay. I grew up here and, needless to say, Milwaukee ain't what it used to be. I'm outta here, too.

On a sidenote, a third commenter, and a friend of Whallah!'s, adds something that calls for further investigation:

>> posted by Michael Horne on 1/15/2008 2:59:56 PM

I am the only person who wrote regularly for the Sentinel who was openly gay, and I never found another from the Journal or the merged papers. I've been gone from there over 15 years and have yet to see another gay writer on the paper. Also note that now that Dr. Terry Boughner is dead, the paper has no go-to source on gay issues. They'd call on him 100 per cent of the time. Two of the largest gay sporting events in the United States -- one bowling, the other softball -- have taken place in this city for decades without a mention in the paper.
Michael Horne
milwaukeeworld com
P.S. You're pointing your finger in the right direction.

Milwaukee Magazine

Milwaukee Magazine is celebrating its 25th anniversary. To commemorate the event, they have taken a look back over some of the most memoriable stories, quotes and people that they have covered in the last 25 years. Several of these stories and quotes are quite interesting. (In case the gentle reader was not aware, Charlie Sykes was the editor of the magazine during the eighties--Needless to say, they have improved a lot since then.)

They have some takes of some of our local right wing squawk brigade. Here are some on Charlie:

Syked Out:“Away from his professional cronies … his books and his daily blows against the status quo, [WTMJ-AM radio host Charlie] Sykes is an isolated man.” (July 2000). “A man of immense talent and ambitions, yet unsure what to do next in life, a man who has gained the respect and fear of the power elite while failing to win the long-term loyalty of even a single friend.”

*******

"Racine will be turned into a parling lot, which is okay.
--Charlie Sykes, January 1986

*******

In 10 years Charlie [Sykes] will be more liberal than today.
--Public relations man Evan Zeppos, July 2000

Jessica McBride and the politics of shoddy journalism

What do you want to do if you're trying to turn a man with a dark past into a plaster saint?

If you're Jessica McBride, you denigrate his detractors!

And so it goes with McBride's article "Cloak and Dagger" in the November issue of Milwaukee Magazine. It tells the pathetic tale of a group of Hmong-Americans and expats who plot the overthrow of the government of Laos only to be nabbed by the Feds. How pathetic was this alleded coup? So pathetic an alleged ringleader turned to Gary George for advice!

In the article McBride comes thisclose to saying that the U.S. government should turn a blind eye to a terrorist plot being hatched on its shores because 30 years ago we supported Hmong guerrillas.

She also does her best to turn Gen. Vang Pao, who led a CIA-backed Hmong army, into a hero. This despite credible tales of his corruption and his involvement in a drug trade that pumped heroin into the arms of American GIs.

Not the easiest mission. To accomplish it, McBride does what comes natural: she attacks. In this case, the target is UW-Madison history professor Alfred McCoy, author of the 1972 book, "The Politics of Heroin in Southeast Asia."

From McBride's story:

For some, there was a dark side to the almost legendary tale of the
Hmong warriors. UW-Madison history professor Alfred McCoy published a
1972 book making the controversial claim that Pao was a warlord and a heroin
trafficker. McCoy says he interviewed French intelligence officials and traced
smuggling trails.

Other scholars - notably the author Jane Hamilton-Merritt
- dispute his findings. She says the Hmong used opium as a medicine, but
didn't have the technical knowledge to turn it into Heroin. Hamilton-Merritt
interviewed more than 1,000 people - Lao, Hmong, French, Americans - and says
"no one could provide any evidence to support McCoy."

Reading this, it's difficult to reach any other conclusion than that McBride did not read The Politics of Heroin.

First off, the Brawler's not aware of any serious dispute that Vang Pao was involved in the production and sale of opium -- opium that was "turn(ed) into heroin" by others. Moreover, McCoy didn't say that the Hmong had the technical knowledge to manufacture heroin. When he discusses the heroin lab Vang Pao allegedly opened in 1970 at Long Tieng, McCoy says it began when "a foreign Chinese master chemist arrived at Long Tieng to supervise production" (p. 281 of the Brawler's 1972 edition). Finally, McBride fails to mention at all the charges that the CIA was involved in this drug trade. Would Jack Bauer have done that?

But McBride's -- and Milwaukee Magazine's -- biggest malpractice is in describing McCoy's sourcing and footwork: "McCoy says he interviewed French intelligence officials and traced smuggling trails."

Given the obvious depth of McCoy's research to anyone who's read the book, it's difficult to see that description as anything other than a willful mischaracterization of McCoy's sourcing (indeed, by saying "says he interviewed" McBride is arguably insinuating McCoy did no such thing; Hamilton-Merritt's claims don't warrant that qualifier).


For instance, McCoy's claim of the Long Tieng drug lab is attributed to an "interview with Chinese merchants" (footnote 134, p. 428). And his claim that Vang Pao was buying opium that was being picked up by Air America UH-1H helicopters that were "probably destined for heroin laboratories in Long Tieng or Vientiane, and ultimately, for GI addicts in Vietnam" (p. 263) is attributed to interviews with "local officials, opium farmers, and soldiers who confirmed Air America's role in the local opium trade (footnote 71, p. 425)." Moreover, McCoy and his co-authors visited Long Pot district, an opium growing area, from August 18 to August 23, 1971.


McBride could challenge the veracity of McCoy's claims head on. Instead she tries to undermine them by mischaracterizing their underlying support -- even blaming it on the French! This is a flagrantly unethical act - one that would, at a minimum, result in a stern talking-to by an editor at any credible newspaper.


That said, it's possible that this characterization is an editor's fault.


Either way, the Brawler suspects that Milwaukee Magazine owes McCoy an apology.

(Capper offeres his thoughts on the article here.)

UPDATE! The story is now online here.

Time (And Money And Publicity) Heals All Wounds

It was just three short months ago that McBride took umbrage with a piece that was in Milwaukee Magazine. She was upset because they gave one of her arch-rivals, Eugene Kane, a chance to get a shot in at her, without offering her a chance to rebut Kane's remarks. (Gee, that sounds a lot like the Fairness Doctrine, and we know that can't be good. Wink, wink.)

She was irked enough to even write a letter to the magazine to express her displeasure.

Now, in the November issue of Milwaukee Magazine, there is a feature story about Lo Cha Thao. (The magazine is available at a store near you, or you can go here, to see if they've put up the new edition yet, which they hadn't done at the time of this writing.)

If you haven't already guessed, the piece is called Cloak & Dagger, and was written by our own McBride. I guess they have made up and there are no more hurt feelings.

I am not going to go into a full critique of the article, especially regarding how accurate it may or may not be. If the gentle reader wishes, they may read it and research it for themselves. I would imagine that it is fairly accurate as far as the facts go.

However, there are three specific items I would like to point out. One is where she she has the following paragraph:

It was a "shocking" story, some news accounts suggested. There is talk of getting Clint Eastwood interested in a movie. And some are now calling Thao the "Hmong Jack Bauer," alluding to the heroic counterterrorism operative in the TV series "24."

Given McBride's acclamation of Jack Bauer, it would be interesting to know who the "some" are that refer to Thao thusly. (And not everyone finds Bauer "heroic", but that's besides the point.)

The second point is when she describes State Senator Dave Zien as "madcap". (I had thought of making a quip about taking offense at the phrase madcap [get it, mad cap-capper], but will pass on it given recent events). In the technical definition of the word, madcap might be appropriate. But others might feel the term to be a bit light-hearted for the reality.

The third, which I doubt McBride is personally responsible for, is the biographical blurb of McBride that they have in the front of the magazine, in which they have listed among her accomplishments of being "an award-winning Web commentator." The only Web award that McBride had listed on her site would be the one from Blognet (which had been #1, then #11, and now has been removed from her site).

As I said, I doubt this was McBride's doing, but the work of a lazy intern. But I would also like to point out that Whallah! is a Pulitzer Prize Nominee. So there.

Respect My Authoritah!

On July 13th, McBride went on a tirade about being disrespected by her archenemy, Eugene Kane, in an article in the August 2007 edition of Milwaukee Magazine. Now, we find McBride is channelling her inner Cartman with a letter to the Magazine, which reads:

I was surprised Milwaukee Magazine did not call me for comment after quoting Milwaukee Journal Sentinel columnist Eugene Kane calling me a "female robot" under the intellectual control of a more powerful man [The Mil, August]. I am a faculty member at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee with a master's degree, 11 years of journalism experience, and numerous state and national journalism awards. I think for myself.

I never joked about a drive-by shooting on my radio show, as the item falsely stated. I poked fun at Mr. Kane for refusing to come on my show to debate. The audio clearly reveals I consider the drive-by shooting to mean the city is in a crisis state and was questioning why Mr. Kane downplayed the crisis. I had previously done a radio segment and blog commentary expressing outrage over the death of Jasmine Owens, which the media has not reported.

Whallah does believe McBride when she claims that she thinks for herself, as it is hard to imagine anyone else wanting to take credit for some of the things she says and writes.