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Tapping on his cellphone with a sense of purpose, Kevin Mathewson, a former wedding photographer and onetime city alderman in Kenosha, Wis., did not slow down to fix his typos as he dashed off an online appeal to his neighbors. It was time, he wrote on Facebook in late August, to “take up arms to defend out City tonight from the evil thugs.” One day earlier, hundreds of residents had poured onto the streets of Kenosha to protest the police shooting of 29-year-old Jacob Blake. Disturbed by the sight of buildings in flames when he drove downtown, Mr. Mathewson decided...

Man charged with firing handgun just before alleged Kyle Rittenhouse shootings A man has admitted being first to open fire at the Kenosha protests in the moments before accused teen gunman Kyle Rittenhouse allegedly shot and killed two people and seriously injured another, according to court documents. Joshua Ziminski, 35, and his wife “both admitted” to detectives that he “fired off a ‘warning shot’ into the air” during the Aug. 25 protests in Wisconsin, according to a criminal complaint obtained by The Post. Attorneys for Rittenhouse have called the gunshot a “pivotal moment” that left the 17-year-old alleged militia member...

Some very good news: In the heavily red "WOW" counties in Wisconsin, roughly 30% of the early voters are either "new" voters or "infrequent" voters, compared to roughly 25% of the voters in Dane County and Milwaukee. Significance? The WOW counties surround Milwaukee and fueled the surge of Scott Walker and the Wisconsin Republican machine for almost two decades. Trump lost ground in these suburban counties in 2016, but the early numbers appear to show strong Republican-leaning turnout. By contrast, Dane Co. is the home of the U. of Wisconsin (Madison), a huge, liberal school. Milwaukee obviously has Marquette U....

MADISON, WI — The bureaucrat in charge of Wisconsin’s response to COVID-19 was an art teacher before rising through the ranks of the state Department Health Services. Stephanie Smiley serves as director of DHS’ Bureau of Communicable Diseases and interim administrator of the Division of Public Health. Yet, Smiley does not have degrees in medicine or science, a point state Sen. Steve Nass says should not be lost in Gov. Tony Evers’ constant mantra of “following the science” and relying on the experts in battling the coronavirus. Smiley holds a Bachelor of Science in Art Teacher Education from the University...

Once solidly Democratic blue-collar communities in western Wisconsin that broke for Trump four years ago could hold the key to this crucial swing state. LA CROSSE, Wis. — La Crosse, a college town in western Wisconsin 365 miles down the Mississippi River, is surrounded. Once the capital of a rural, Democratic voting bloc that dominated the southwestern quarter of the state, the 2016 election left La Crosse County alone, hemmed in on every side by counties that flipped red for Donald Trump. The populist, working-class-focused remaking of the Republican Party Trump and his allies led that year saw a shift...

A Wisconsin judge on Wednesday temporarily blocked an order from Gov. Tony Evers’ administration limiting the number of people who can gather in bars, restaurants and other indoor places ... The Democrat governor's order, issued by the Evers-appointed state health secretary Andrea Palm last week, limited the number of customers in many indoor establishments to 25% of capacity. Gatherings in indoor spaces without an occupancy limit were limited to 10 people. The order does not apply to colleges, schools, churches, polling locations, political rallies and outdoor venues. The Tavern League of Wisconsin, the powerful lobbying group for the state’s 5,000...

The shot fired by Ziminski was a pivotal moment in the evening and may have played a key role in the violent events of that night. As noted by the New York Times, which exhaustively reviewed available footage of Rittenhouse from that evening, Rittenhouse appears to have been fleeing an increasingly agitated mob of protesters until he was cornered in the lot of a car dealership. Video taken of the shooting appears to show that right before Rittenhouse shot and killed Rosenbaum, there was a nearby muzzle flash and gunshot sound from the same direction that Rosenbaum was charging.

Lake County prosecutors said that the gun Kyle Rittenhouse used in the Kenosha shooting was bought, stored and used in Wisconsin. No charges will be filed against him in Lake County. Rittenhouse, 17, of Antioch, is facing charges in Wisconsin of first-degree intentional homicide, two counts of first-degree recklessly endangering safety, first-degree reckless homicide, attempted first-degree intentional homicide and possession of a dangerous weapon by a person under 18. The Lake County State’s Attorney’s Office announced Tuesday that an extensive investigation was conducted by the Antioch Police Department. The investigation revealed the gun used in the Kenosha shooting was purchased,...

Kyle Rittenhouse will not face gun charges in Lake County related to the AR-15-style weapon he is charged with using to kill two men and wound a third during violent protests in Kenosha in August, prosecutors announced Tuesday. An Antioch police investigation found that the Smith & Wesson .223 caliber rifle “was purchased, stored and used in Wisconsin” and turned up no evidence the 17-year-old “physically possessed” the weapon in Illinois, according to a news release from the office of Lake County State’s Attorney Mike Nerheim. The news release does not reveal who is believed to have bought or held...

ABC News referred to Kyle Rittenhouse as an “alleged white supremacist” in a report last week, despite the fact that the 17-year-old has no known ties to white supremacism. ABC justified the label by citing former Vice President Joe Biden, who has suggested Rittenhouse is a white supremacist in a campaign ad — and who faces a possible defamation lawsuit as a result. The Daily Wire flagged the ABC report, which said: Rittenhouse, an alleged white supremacist accused of killing two protesters in Kenosha, Wisconsin, in the wake of an officer-involved shooting, appeared via Zoom for an Illinois hearing where...

http://freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/3892701/posts This weekend I posted (see link above) impressive turnout numbers for Republicans in the "WOW" counties surrounding Milwaukee. With about 20% of their 2016 turnout already in, Republican and Republican-leaning voters are early voting in substantial numbers. A deeper dive into the numbers reveals a somewhat surprising statistic: Women comprise a disproportionate share of these "modeled" Republican voters in the WOW counties. Roughly 659K early votes have been cast in Wisconsin and, according to Democrat-firm TargetSmart, the female/male breakdown is 55% (f) vs. 41% (m), with 4% of unknown gender. In the WOW counties, we see the exact same...

EASTERN WISCONSIN — Rural Wisconsin is crossed with state highways, but you might not recognize them. Two-lane country roads dotted with red barns, granaries, and farmhouses, where passing is nearly always permitted if you feel the urge to tear around the loaded semis and tankers that rule these parts. Shiloh Dairy is nowhere near the freeway, but Route 10 will take you within a stone’s throw. Nestled into the rolling countryside of Wisconsin, 25 miles west of Lake Michigan and the same south of Green Bay, Gordon Speirs keeps more than 4,000 head of cattle here.

From a commentator (Boog) at The Hedgehog Report, a site that looks at polls: Take a look at this electoral map: Trump has a floor of 259 EVs. ... ... What the map shows is that Trump only needs one of WI, MN, PA or MI. He could even win by plucking VA (which is admittedly unlikely), or by taking some mix of NH, ME-2 and NV. On the other hand, Biden has to SWEEP almost all of the remaining states. ... Trump is a candidate who the pollsters are finding it increasingly difficult to poll, and that is why...

The Wisconsin "WOW" counties are Washington, Ozaukee, and Waukesha Counties, which surround Milwaukee. Trump's numbers in these "red" counties were softer in 2016 than Republican candidates typically get. Wisconsin voters do not "register" by party, but TargetSmart, a Democrat firm, "models" (see explanation below) each registered voter as a Democrat, Republican, or unknown. 2016 Trump/Clinton Numbers: Washington Co.: 77,000 votes cast, Trump 67%, Clinton 27%, and Johnson/Stein 6% Ozaukee Co.: 55,000 votes cast, Trump 56%, Clinton 37%, and Johnson/Stein 7% Waukesha Co: 237,000 votes cast, Trump 60%, Clinton 33%, Johnson/Stein 7% Early voting estimates: Washington Co: 12,000 early votes cast,...

A federal appeals court in Wisconsin overruled a lower court's decision to extend the deadline for counting absentee ballots by six days, doling out a win to the state's GOP-led Legislature, which fought hard against the rule change. Sparring over an extended deadline for counting mail-in ballots has been ongoing, with Democrats arguing that an additional week is essential to ensure all absentee ballots are counted in what will likely be a highly competitive presidential election. Without the extra time, which would allow ballots postmarked by Nov. 3 but that arrive as late as Nov. 9 to be counted, Democrats...

Welcome to this weekend unplugged I come to the table with a busy day ahead of me that will limit the posting with a large gap...... God has a "Top Ten" list and racism isn't on it but lust is and the pandemic of lust looms large although Dr. Fauci isn't dealing with this problem and that's not his area of endeavor. God Bless the memory of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. he had a batting average on racism but struck out every time when it came to his lust. I need to stop giving God the orders and start...

Affluent liberals deceive themselves that they will get a "pass" from violent radical revolutionaries if they sympathize enough with their causes. The latest group to begin to learn the hard way lives in swing state Wisconsin. The latest Black Lives Matter mostly peaceful™ protest is in Wauwatosa, Wisconsin, an affluent (average household income above $100,000) Milwaukee suburb that gave Hillary Clinton 62% more votes than Donald Trump in 2016. The casus belli is explained by the New York Times: The Milwaukee [County] district attorney said Wednesday that he would not prosecute a Wisconsin police officer who fatally shot an armed...

An Indiana woman who accused her colleague of sexual assault has agreed to dismiss her case while publicly apologizing and paying the man an undisclosed sum. The Courier & Press reported that Rebecca Blair left her job at Deaconess Hospital as a Certified Registered Nurse Anesthetist claiming she was sexually harassed by Dr. Nirmal Joshi. She filed a lawsuit against the doctor, an anesthesiologist also employed at two Deaconess hospitals, following her departure. In her public apology, Blair wrote that she apologizes to Joshi “and his family, and to all affected, for having made unfounded and false statements and allegations...

The mother and sisters of Alvin Cole were arrested Thursday night by Wauwatosa police, who were cracking down on protesters after curfew. Multiple people who witnessed the arrests said Tracy, Taleavia and Tristiana Cole were taken into custody just after 8:30 p.m. along with several others in the parking lot of St. Matthew Evangelical Lutheran Church at the intersection of Wauwatosa and Milwaukee avenues. Wauwatosa was under a 7 p.m. curfew Thursday, the second night of protests after Milwaukee County District Attorney John Chisholm decided not to charge Police Officer Joseph Mensah with the shooting death of Cole, 17, earlier...

Sixty to 70 Black Lives Matter activists 'targeted' the black officer, vandalized his girlfriend’s home, and fired a shotgun at his back door in August. Riots erupted this week when he was not charged. Black Lives Matter protesters took to the streets of Milwaukee and Wauwatosa Wednesday night, with some of the “peaceful” demonstrators smashing windows of homes and businesses and clashing with law enforcement and the National Guard.“What started as a protest has become a large disturbance of public order that has caused property damage and is threatening to cause injury to persons,” the Wauwatosa Police Department tweeted just...