One Wisconsin Now

Monday marked the beginning of the federal trial against former Milwaukee Alderman Michael McGee Jr. Regardless of your opinion about McGee and the charges against him, several issues have come to light in recent weeks. One of the emerging questions centers around U.S. Attorney Steve Biskupic’s use of an Arabic speaking agent in the investigation of McGee. Was the threat so high in this case that it warranted the use of an Arabic-speaking FBI agent?

The Washington Post reported some five years after the September 11th attacks that the FBI still only had a pathetic 33 agents that had even “some proficiency” in Arabic. They identified “some” proficiency from speaking it fluently to only knowing a handful of Arabic words. The 33 agents determined to have some proficiency even included those that scored a zero on a standard proficiency test. Obviously that means that the number of FBI agents that were able to actually carry on a conversation in Arabic was likely much lower than 33 agents. This has been a troubling trend not only in the FBI but also in the CIA, the military and other important departments of our government.

Given the massive shortage of agents that speak Arabic in the FBI, was it really a wise use of that very rare resource to investigate an alderman? The charges against McGee are serious but do they really rise to such a level that warrant taking away from investigating possible terrorist threats? Based on what we know from recent reports, the return investment on tying up this very specialized agent was not much. It does not appear that the state will be using these recordings and likewise it doesn’t seem to be a major part of the U.S. Attorney’s case against McGee. So why did U.S. Attorney Biskupic request an Arabic speaking agent to get involved in this case when they are in dangerously short supply?

It was appalling to see Sen. John McCain in Louisiana to try and distance himself for the horrors of George W. Bush and the federal government’s response to Hurricane Katrina. Considering how McCain voted to shield Bush from accountability for this national disgrace, he might have thought twice. Consider McCain’s record protecting Bush and abandoning those in need when it comes to Katrina.

McCain Twice Voted Against a Commission to Examine Government Response to Katrina. In 2005 and 2006, McCain voted against creating a congressional commission to examine the federal, state and local response to Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf Region.  Both motions failed. [H.R. 2862, Vote #229, 9/14/2005; H.R. 4297, Vote #6, 2/2/2006] 

What follows in an op-ed submission following my continued disgust with the media’s reporting on conditions in Iraq.

A new poll from the Pew Research Center may spell more trouble for Republicans in this election year.  We have seen Republicans increase their scare tactics when approaching a tough election many times since September 11th.  Normally utilizing this sleazy strategy has given them enough of an edge to pull out close contests.  We have even seen Congressman Mark Green misstating facts last week in a rush to use the despicable strategy. 

The Wisconsin Radio Network reported Tuesday that Republican Candidate for the Third Congressional District, Paul R. Nelson, strongly believes in racial profiling. Nelson is running against Democratic incumbent Ron Kind.  The WRN report states that Nelson suggested that Muslim males be signaled out by airport security.  They quote Nelson as saying that "Racial profiling is one way that we can cut down on security risks"  When asked how to tell what a "Muslim male" looks like Nelson said, "well, you know, if he comes in wearing a turban and his name is Mohammed, that's a good start."