A yearbook photo of Walker as a high school senior in Delavan, Wisconsin, bears the caption, “Scott K. Walker – the Desperado.” >>more
Author: Bill
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The Amazing Scott Walker
I let Scott Walker get away with it. Not just this one time but as a rule. He is a master of obfuscation and I, as a member of the press, was unwilling to be too impolite. >>more
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Supremes: Destroy records of John Doe probe
Last week’s Supreme Court ruling to end the John Doe saga took the audacious step of ordering the destruction of prosecution files. >>more
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Shut up! Just shut up!
A few years back, I dropped in to see a lecture on “taboo speech” by Harvard law professor Alan Dershowitz. At one point, Dershowitz asked his class if the First Amendment guarantees freedom of speech, then lit into a hapless student who answered in the affirmative. >>More
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For the love of a pen
Arrayed on the desk are eight fountain pens and one dip pen. Brad Bodart looks at his customer, then at the pens, and makes an offer: “We’re looking at $1,000.” >>More -
Open government fight not over
When I heard the news, I was in a car heading to Milwaukee for a family event. Fortunately, I was not driving.
It was July 2, late afternoon, on the cusp of a holiday weekend. The reporter who called began reading changes to the state’s open records law included in an omnibus motion just unveiled by the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee.
I almost couldn’t believe it. >>more
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Fight lawmakers’ shocking attack on open government
On July 2, the Legislature’s Joint Finance Committee unleashed a shocking assault on the state’s long and proud tradition of open government. It happened at night, on the eve of a holiday weekend, just a few hours after the proposal was first unveiled. No one has taken credit for it. Committee co-chair Sen. Alberta Darling, R-River Hills, literally walked away from a reporter asking whose idea it was. >>more
This is an emergency “Your Right to Know” column sent out from the Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council for July after the initial July column had already been sent out. -
“Surprised but not shocked”
Doug Moe, longtime columnist for the Wisconsin State Journal . Last week, the Wisconsin State Journal trimmed its editorial staff by laying off veteran journalists. The cuts are part of a national trend that spell more bad news for journalism. >>More
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Big, Bold and Bad: The New Wisconsin Way
Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker says that, to win the Presidency, Republicans need to embrace “big, bold ideas” of the sort for which he has become known. Beyond appealing to his party’s base, this message seems to be inspiring his state’s GOP-controlled legislature. >> More
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Scott Walker and ‘The L Word’
Panelists at a June 1 Society of Professional Journalists event discussed the challenges of covering Scott Walker. >>More
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Enough Already!
Members of a faith-based group that advocates for prison reform are upset by the Wisconsin Legislature’s approval of additional funding to accommodate an increase in the state’s prison population. >>More
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WisFOIC Alert
Action Alert on Changing Disclosure Rules for UW System Job Finalists:
The Wisconsin Freedom of Information Council is deeply opposed to a change to Wisconsin’s open records law that was inserted into the budget late last week by the Joint Finance Committee. It passed on a party-line vote of 12-4, with Republicans in the majority. More>>
