http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/blog_rss/michaelleon Michael Leon blogs at http://malcontends.blogspot.com, a site of breaking national and Wisconsin news, analysis, investigative reporting and commentary. MAL Contends has been chosen Best of Wisconsin Blogs by the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel; Blog of the Week by the Milwaukee Shepherd-Express. Leon's writing has appeared nationally in The Progressive, In These Times, and CounterPunch. The phantom southside Milwaukee candidate for state assembly, José Guzmán, is at last revealing himself contending with his recruitment by the political operative, Tom Reynolds, the notorious former state senator known for his anti-Catholic views and often bizarre political behavior . After weeks of silence, Guzmán is meeting criticism of his campaign by finally speaking to the press, and accusing one of his opponents, incumbent Democratic State Rep. Pedro Colón (Eighth Assembly District, Milwaukee), of being "anti-catholic" for his vote for the Compassionate Care for Rape Victims bill, signed into law by Gov. Doyle in March. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHBv http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHBv/commentary#comments Tue, 02 Sep 2008 10:48:18 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHBv User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHBv/ Update: Readers can contact the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel (MJS) on this matter at: Letters to the Editor http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=766191 Milwaukee, Wisconsin—Donna Ganong is a 70-year-old widow running a corner tavern on Milwaukee's near-south side. In early July, Mrs. Ganong tried to help a crying, hungry dog in an alley, and the Milwaukee police fined her $350 for her trouble. Located at the corner of 1400 West Orchard Street and South 14th Street, Ganong’s Corner, has seen its share of life, though the neighborhood bar is not much of a blip on the Milwaukee radar screen. Apparently the people don't matter all that much to the Milwaukee police either. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHGp http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHGp/commentary#comments Tue, 12 Aug 2008 10:19:17 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHGp User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHGp/ Update: "While the executive director of Esperanza Unida was traveling in Turkey, some 11 workers at the south side job training agency signed a petition saying they had not been paid in four weeks and that some checks had bounced. ( Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel , July 17 , 2008)" via Global Girl - Madison, Wisconsin - When I received a ring from a friend calling from the Government Accountability Board (GAB) informing me that the GAB had unanimously ruled against Laura Manriquez’ effort to knock both of her Democratic primary opponents, Jose Guzman and state Rep. Pedro Colón, off the ballot for a Milwaukee assembly seat, I felt true schadenfreude. Call me old-fashioned, but shouldn’t we let the voters decide at the ballot box, Laura, what Rove is your last name? http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHMt http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHMt/commentary#comments Wed, 16 Jul 2008 16:24:53 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHMt User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHMt/ Update: Daniel Bice has the audio of a Tom Reynolds phone call to state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee, 20), “a veteran Milwaukee Democrat, (who) has a direct and personal interest in what Reynolds was doing, so she signed up - using a fake name - with Clean Sweep Wisconsin.” This is the  link is to the audio of the Reynolds phone call , and the URL is: http://www.jsonline.com/story/index.aspx?id=770314 Transcription of the Reynolds call, in part, follows: “… In Milwaukee here, we are working on a full slate of 12 candidates; eight on the north side, and four on the south side. And we are at eight or nine candidates right now. ... We have a candidate against Sinicki and a candidate against Staskunas. And we're still working on Zepnick and Colón….” An anti-Catholic-Reynolds ally in Colón’s district? That likely will not play especially well there; though it’s a fair bet that Reynolds’ brand of politics and hate will not play well anywhere in the Milwaukee area. See the Milwaukee-area Democratic State Reps chart at the end of this post. *** What does a rightwing candidate recruited by a notorious anti-Catholic, Tom Reynolds, say if his/her name is on the ballot challenging Milwaukee-area Assembly Democrats in the September primary? As little as possible. And he/she hides from the public, staying in the shadows, an odd posture for candidates for public office, though consistent with the past odd behavior of former state senator Reynolds who reportedly had asked of prospective staff whether they were virgins. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj2/commentary#comments Wed, 09 Jul 2008 10:19:59 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj2 User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHj2/ The first candidates for Tom Reynolds' (R-Outer Reaches) Clean Sweep Wisconsin 's project to run some 12 candidates against Milwuakee-area Democratic incumbents in the Democratic primary are now public. The Reynolds' folks are: Phil Landowski (running against state Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee)) and Josh Hoisington (running against Tony Staskunas (D-West Allis), West Allis being Reynolds' home turf), reports Daniel Bice in yesterday's Journal-Sentinel . http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHjb http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHjb/commentary#comments Mon, 07 Jul 2008 13:24:37 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHjb User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHjb/ The following text (in two e-mails) below was received from timkisting@aol.com , commenting on a brief analysis ( SC Decision Striking Down Gun Control Is Fine with This Progressive ) on the Supreme Court decision, District of Columbia v. Heller (07-290) , that was picked up in the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinel on Sunday. Well, let's hope this guy, timkisting@aol.com , doesn't own a gun. The ad hominem attempt (below among many) to insult by raising the possibility of my being a "fag" merits a reply: Being gay is okay. As is working for the people residing in "Milwaukee's ghetto population". http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj5 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj5/commentary#comments Mon, 30 Jun 2008 07:39:34 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/CHj5 User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/CHj5/ via mal contends - Bears repeating from headline: Tom Petri (R-Fond du Lac) is the lone Republican Wisconsin House member to vote for the new GI Bill . Good for Tom Petri; bad for the House Republicans. Republicans talk a good game about supporting our troops; they do not walk the walk. I mean is the thought that we honor troops who serve merely one or two tours of duty really that repulsive to Republicans? Final vote Voted for (256) Voted against (166) Did not vote (12) http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C24L http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C24L/commentary#comments Thu, 15 May 2008 18:01:37 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C24L User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C24L/ Update: Dane County Board spins wheels on Zimmermann 911 call controversy via MAL Contends Madison, WI - "The County Board's mood didn't mirror the public outrage," in questioning "embattled" 911 Center Director Joe Norwick yesterday, reads the Capital Times . That's likely because the public is of the mind that 911 operators reached ought to err on the side of credulity over disbelief, and callers tend to view defects of these best and needed 911 practices with derision. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2P9 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2P9/commentary#comments Fri, 09 May 2008 09:46:24 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2P9 User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2P9/ Contact Speaker Michael Huebsch and his co-hort Representative Stephen Nass , and let them know that you object to their destroying Wisconsin's world-class educational institution. Wisconsin used to take pride in its university system supported by a bipartisan consensus to create a world-class educational facility. Now, under the leadership of the GOP-led state Assembly, the University of Wisconsin-Madison and its sister campuses are under assault, deadly assault. From the blog Waxing America : http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C27s http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C27s/commentary#comments Tue, 15 Apr 2008 12:29:20 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C27s User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C27s/ You can tell a lot about a political candidate by the enemies he or she makes. In Pedro Colón's (D-Milwaukee) run for the Milwaukee City Attorney's race, Colón has gained the enmity of the usual suspects on rightwing radio. Both Charlie Sykes and Mark Belling ripped into Colón Monday though not offering any argument against his candidacy. Of course, Colón who lists among his supporters the Milwaukee DA, the City's legislative caucus, and US Rep. Gwen Moore, also gets an occasional hit from those upset by his successful advocacy of a sexual harassment victim. The nerve of that Colón! And Colón is campaigning for the City Attorney's office advocating that he would work with other officials to flush out the law protecting Milwaukee citizens so that citizens would be better served by the actions of their government and the police. What nerve this uppity Hispanic has! The naysayers are unpersuasive. Amen to Colón's efforts to make government serve the people it is supposed to serve. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2y2 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2y2/commentary#comments Mon, 31 Mar 2008 20:55:44 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2y2 User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 0 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2y2/ What can bring together the Milwaukee mayor, the DA, and virtually the entire City legislative caucus in a divisive election season? Pedro Colón running for City Attorney. Reads the Shepard-Express endorsement: (Mu)ltiple conversations with Colon, and really listening to his plans for the office, have won us over. We enthusiastically support state Rep. Pedro Colon for city attorney on April 1. We also understand why District Attorney John Chisholm strongly supports Colon. ... Colon’s ideas would take the city attorney’s office into the 21st century by working with other levels of government, especially on reducing crime and nuisance properties; training police officers to respect the rights of citizens while making arrests; fighting to fix the school choice funding flaw, which currently penalizes city taxpayers; finding fair solutions for residents who have had their driver’s licenses taken away; and personally advocating for the city when important lawsuits arise. Unity and action are playing well this election season, though a small number of naysayers still insist the key to better public policy resides in sitting on their duffs. http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2yb http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2yb/commentary#comments Fri, 28 Mar 2008 12:00:28 EDT http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/post/michaelleon/C2yb User from Madison, WI User from Madison, WI 5 http://www.onewisconsinnow.org/page/community/comment_rss/C2yb/