Free Republic

West Allis - As Brad Krause planted a tree in his yard last summer, a neighbor noticed that in addition to a shovel, Krause had a tool not usually required for yard work - a gun in a holster. Police arrived and gave Krause a ticket alleging disorderly conduct, launching a case that a national gun-rights group has been watching for months. On Tuesday, Krause won acquittal in what some advocates say is one of the first so-called open-carry gun cases heard in a Wisconsin court. Municipal Judge Paul Murphy said he had reviewed several state statutes and court cases...

PHOTO ID Double standard on proposed voter ID? Sen. Jeff Plale (D-South Milwaukee) co-introduced Senate Bill 473, which includes this text: "A dealer may purchase nonferrous scrap, a metal article or a proprietary article from any person over age 18 if the dealer does all of the following: 1) obtains photographic identification from the seller or deliverer . . . " This is the same Plale who voted not to allow the voter photo ID amendment to come to the Senate floor. Notice this measure requires a photo ID. I'd like to know why Plale believes people must show a...

About 650,000 armed men have been roaming around Wisconsin the last few days. Yet there are no reports of any of them killing each other intentionally and, as of Monday, only one had died in an accident. Yet, we are lectured over and over by the liberal apologentsia that the reason there’s so much violence in urban America is because of easy access to guns. Yeah, then how come the deer hunters aren’t killing each other? In fact, Wisconsin’s deer hunt is everything Milwaukee’s central city isn’t. Despite the often heavy drinking, inevitable tensions between close family members, squabbles over...

Ziegler wins court seat Expensive race ends with decisive victory Madison - Washington County Circuit Judge Annette Ziegler won a seat Tuesday on the state Supreme Court by a wide margin, besting Madison attorney Linda Clifford in the most expensive high-court race in state history. Election Day Washington County Circuit Judge Annette Ziegler raises her lucky handkerchief Tuesday after winning a seat on the state Supreme Court over Linda Clifford. Supreme Court candidate Linda Clifford gets a hug from her husband, Keith, after she conceded the race Tuesday in Madison. Clifford she was disappointed in the increasing cost of judicial...

MILWAUKEE -- A Janesville man who admitted breaking into a home is suing the homeowner who shot him. Kurt Prochaska, 39, was on probation last fall when he admitted he broke in to a home and was shot by the homeowner, but that's not stopping him from going after cash through the courts. Late last year, the Rainiero family awoke to find Prochaska in their home. Michael Rainiero, a doctor, ordered Prochaska to leave. He didn't and was shot in the back. Nearly a year later, Rainiero's attorney said it's far from over because Prochaska is suing him from beind...

Port Washington - One of the high school teachers involved in using the "Heterosexual Questionnaire" in classrooms has "mutually agreed" to go on administrative leave until a decision is made on possible disciplinary action, school principal Duane Woelfel said Wednesday. The social studies teacher, Sarah Olson, declined to comment. Woelfel said he and Olson agreed to Olson's going on paid leave Tuesday "for her well-being and the well-being of students in her class." Woelfel said Olson will remain on leave until Woelfel finishes an investigation into how the survey was distributed to several hundred students April 25. The principal said...

Port Washington - Parents are angry and school leaders are promising action in response to a "Heterosexual Questionnaire," approved by two teachers, that asked students questions such as: "If you have never slept with someone of your same gender, then how do you know you wouldn't prefer it?" Hundreds of Port Washington High School students were told to submit written answers and discuss the survey. The questionnaire was distributed by a student organization, which then led a full class-period discussion. Two teachers approved distribution of the survey. The principal did not. Parent Lisa Krier on Monday called for the two...

The last time an Osama bin Laden tape showed up for our viewing displeasure, the terrorist spoke of a "crusade against Islam." Unfortunately, U.S. polls are showing that Americans misunderstand Islam on such a scale that this bogus claim is allowed more fertile ground to sprout than should be available. Open House The Islamic Center open house will be from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. on Saturday. The center is at 4707 S. 13th St. in Milwaukee. The telephone number is (414) 282-1812. That's why Milwaukeeans should avail themselves of a special opportunity Saturday. They should visit the Islamic Center...

Maybe we should have remained a colony. Americans Sicker Than Britons? Calvin Malone of Milwaukee says he runs four times per week to stay in shape. He was working out at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday. Throughout the facility are signs encouraging patrons to exercise and embrace a healthy lifestyle. A report released today says middle-aged Britons are much healthier than their American counterparts. Richard Nord, 71, from Shorewood, shown at the Downtown YMCA on Tuesday, says he has had a disciplined exercise routine since he was 40 years old. Despite paying more than twice as much for health care,...

Left-leaning new media has hit turbulence at the marketplace, newly released stats show. A book hyped by major media as documenting a progressive revolution of "blogs" and political power, DAILY KOS 'CRASHING THE GATE,' has sold only 3,630 copies since its release last month, according to NIELSEN's BOOKSCAN. [NIELSEN claims only 2,062 copies of DAILY KOS have been purchased at the retail level; the rest coming through 'discount' outlets.] Meanwhile, the just released radio Winter Book [Jan-Mar 2006] from ARBITRON shows AIR AMERICA in New York City losing more than a third of its audience -- in the past year!...

By PATRICK MARLEY pmarley@journalsentinel.com Posted: April 24, 2006 Madison - Department of Transportation managers performed in a Christian-themed video intended as a joke that they showed to hundreds of employees at a regional meeting - an action that earned two of them personal scoldings from Transportation Secretary Frank Busalacchi. In what was meant as a lighthearted video to boost employee morale, Southeast Regional Director Dewayne Johnson and other top managers donned choir robes and lip-synched Kirk Franklin's "Looking for You," a contemporary gospel song built around a chorus about Jesus Christ. The video was shown Feb. 22 at an annual...

Reduced air pollution and increased water evaporation appear to be adding to man-made global warming. Research presented at a major European science meeting adds to other evidence that cleaner air is letting more solar energy through to the Earth's surface. Other studies show that increased water vapour in the atmosphere is reinforcing the impact of man-made greenhouse gas emissions. Scientists suggest both trends may push temperatures higher than believed. But they say there is an urgent need for further research, particularly at sea. Dimming no more Between the 1950s and 1980s, the amount of solar energy penetrating through the atmosphere...

Stuck on a reef 07apr06 How many times must the experts be wrong about Barrier Reef devastation before we disbelieve their scares? HOW many times must the Great Barrier Reef "survive" before we figure it's not really dying? Actually, the real question is a bit ruder. As in: How many times can global-warming alarmists such as Prof Ove Hoegh-Guldberg be wrong about the reef's "devastation" before we learn to ignore their scares? The trouble is our reef is so well-loved that green militants, desperate that we back their theory of man-made global warming, consider it the perfect hostage. No month...

Like any other controversial subject, the Iraq war has produced its share of half-truths, deliberate or unintended distortions and inflated claims and counterclaims. It would be naive to expect the environment produced by this war to be completely free of political pollution. But it is not too much to expect our political leaders to avoid the worst forms of distortion and slander - the sort of thing President Bush descended to at his news conference on Tuesday. On March 13, Sen. Russ Feingold (D-Wis.) introduced a Senate resolution to censure Bush, arguing that the president authorized an illegal program to...

Inspired by fringe beliefs that invasive radio signals can probe a citizens' thoughts and that wearing foil on your head may fend them off, an experiment by four Ph.D candidates found that certain frequencies-owned by the Feds naturally-are actually enhanced by such "protection." Overall, the foil effectively weakend radio waves by up to 10 decibels over most of the frequency spectrum (there were no significant differences among helmet shapes). But at 1.2 and 2.6 GHz-which fall within the band reserved for government satellites, GPS systems and mobile-phone corporations-passage through the foil amplified these waves by 20-30 decibels.