I don’t trust Kim at all, but this is the most progress we’ve seen in many, many years…. like… ever.
North Korean leader Kim Jong-un has said he will suspend all missile tests and shut down a nuclear test site with immediate effect.
“From 21 April, North Korea will stop nuclear tests and launches of intercontinental ballistic missiles,” the Korean Central News Agency said.
The decision is aimed at pursuing economic growth and peace on the Korean peninsular, state media report.
Mr Kim is due to meet his South Korean counterpart Moon Jae-in next week.
He is also expected to hold an unprecedented summit with US President Donald Trump by June. If it takes place, it will be the first meeting between a sitting US president and a North Korean leader.
[…]
A spokesperson for the South Korean president called the North’s move “meaningful progress”.
In January, Mary Jo Walters, far-left activist and independent candidate for U.S. Senate (because ultra-liberal Sen. Tammy Baldwin, D-Madison, could use the competition), filed a discrimination complaint against the Rape Crisis Center in Madison.
Walters’ liberal resume includes Wisconsin Capitol “occupier” during the left’s 2011 protests over Gov. Scott Walker’s public sector collective-bargaining reforms, a Democrat candidate for Wisconsin lieutenant governor in 2014, a grassroots activist in the campaign to legalize cannabis, and a self-described advocate of social justice issues.
Her allegation: That a November #MeTooMadison fundraiser for the Crisis Center, in an attempt to make all event-goers feel welcome, established “Gender-Neutral” bathrooms, according to documents obtained by MacIver News Service.
The event, held at downtown Madison’s Majestic Theatre, featured the stories of sexual assault victims – in the spirit of the national #MeToo campaign to bring awareness and support to survivors of sexual violence.
Walter’s complaint was eventually dismissed for lack of probable cause.
To a certain extent, it is customary for the minority party to gain seats during off-year elections. The media in its frenzy to mock and ridicule the Republican Party has created the catch phrase, “Blue Wave,” which theoretically means they’re hoping Republicans are swept out of office in 2018.
Before everyone blindly starts jumping on this “Blue Wave” bandwagon, let’s all pause, take a deep breath and give this some careful thought. In Wisconsin, just exactly what would be the upside to removing Republicans and replacing them with Democrats? Only those with short memories have forgotten what it was like before 2010 under former Democrat Gov. Jim Doyle.
Here’s a brief refresher: Wisconsin had a $3.6 billion budget shortfall, a 9.3 percent unemployment rate, a hostile business environment, higher property taxes and double-digit tuition increases. Remember that? There’s no conceivable reason to revert back to these days by pushing a blue wave upon the state.
Since Gov. Scott Walker was sworn in back in 2011, and with the support of the Republican Legislature, the state of Wisconsin has been positively moving forward. Because there have been so many positive changes in Wisconsin, it may be very easy to become apathetic. Walker and the Republicans have systematically put Wisconsin back on the correct path with the conservative reforms that generated the strong state economy we now enjoy.
Wisconsin has a much more friendly business climate under Republican leadership. We have climbed from the bottom 10 for business to the top 10. Simultaneously, the unemployment rate has fallen from 9.3 percent to the current alltime low of 2.9 percent. Wage growth in Wisconsin is now ninth best in the country. Walker and the Republicans, along with President Donald Trump, brokered the landmark Foxconn Technology Group deal, surpassing 10 competing states.
Judging by the appalling lack of support for Foxconnfrom the Democrats, I can confidently say a
“Blue Wave” would result in the stagnation of this epic project. If you keep your old property tax bills, I would suggest comparing your 2010 property tax bill with your 2017 property tax bill. It is likely 15-20 percent lower now. That translates to more money in the hands of the people who earn it, year after year after year. In fact, the overall tax burden in Wisconsin will have been lowered by $8 billion by the end of 2018 thanks to Walker’s conservative reforms.
A blue wave is almost certain to increase fees and income taxes, and likely bump your property tax bill back up to those prior levels or higher. Tuition at UW schools has been frozen for six straight years now, making higher education more affordable for Wisconsin families. A “Blue Wave” will assuredly bring back the Doyle-era tuition increases.
As a veteran, I’ve seen Walker restore the GI Bill, expand employment opportunities for veterans and open a new veteran’s home in northwest Wisconsin. A “Blue Wave” will bring further disregard for military veterans from the likes of Tammy Baldwin and Madison-area leftists.
In summary, Walker and the Republican Legislature have put forth a solid record of positive accomplishments for Wisconsin. This record is the envy of other states who are currently buried in debt and suffering economic malaise. If anyone is interested in a preview of what a blue wave will bring to Wisconsin, we need look no further than across the border in Illinois. The difference is clear. Wisconsin became a red state in the past decade because residents were fatigued with leftist policies.
Newly uncovered documents suggest Hans Asperger, the paediatrician whose name describes a form of autism, was actively involved in the Nazi regime’s euthanasia programme in Austria.
The evidence comes from previously unexamined Nazi-era documents and patient records.
They suggest Dr Asperger ingratiated himself by referring children to a notorious euthanasia clinic.
Prof Asperger claimed to have shielded his patients from the Nazi regime.
The patient records and documents show that Dr Asperger sent patients to the Am Spiegelgrund clinic in Vienna, where they were put to death.
(CNN)North Korea has dropped its long-held demand that the United States withdraw forces from South Korea in exchange for denuclearization, South Korean President Moon Jae-in said Thursday.
The United States has about 28,000 troops stationed in South Korea, a presence that has long irked North Korean leader Kim Jong Un.
However, in the burgeoning spirit of openness and diplomacy, Moon said Kim is willing to give up US troops’ removal as a precondition for discussions over denuclearizing the Korean Peninsula.
“North Korea has expressed willingness to give up its nuclear program without making (a) demand that the (US Forces Korea) forces withdraw from the Korean Peninsula,” Moon said in a meeting with the press, adding that any proposed troop withdrawal would be a “condition that the US cannot accept.”
MADISON – Liberal broadcaster Mike Crute announced a run for governor Tuesday, becoming the latest Democrat to join that crowded primary and seek to take on GOP Gov. Scott Walker.
Since 2012, Crute has been one half of the Devil’s Advocates radio show along with his friend Dominic Salvia, and in 2017 Crute purchased WRRD-AM (1510) in Waukesha and has been running it as a liberal talk radio station.
Crute said he is stepping into the race for governor after months of frustration watching other Democratic candidates.
A bid for governor could be a ratings boost for Crute’s radio business, but he said he believes his broadcast platform gives him at least a chance at beating the fragmented Democratic field.
Honestly, my first reaction to this story was, “huh… there’s liberal talk radio in Waukesha?” I suspect that was the hoped for reaction from Crute. This is great free advertising for his station.
And if he’s smart, his campaign slogan will be, “I am Crute.” I would love to see an entire interview where all he says is, “I am Crute.”
A couple of years ago I found myself in Oklahoma City on this date and spent a few hours at the memorial. Since it was an anniversary, the place was fairly busy. There were several families spending some time with each other remembering their loved one who died that day. At times, I felt like I was intruding on their grief. Even though it was over 20 years ago, the pain and hurt is still very, very real for a great many people. Please take a moment today to remember those who were killed for the simple act of going to work and living their lives.
I suspect that this is just the result of liberal journalists sitting around bemoaning the weak field of Democrats already running, but I would LOVE to see Barrett run again.
Mayor Tom Barrett weighs another bid for governor: Daniel Bice of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel writes: “He has more than $600,000 in his campaign account. The competition is weak and frayed. And the job is one he has long coveted. Yep, Mayor Tom Barrett is thinking about running for governor. For a fourth time. Sources confirmed this week that the fourth-term mayor has been sounding out his team of advisers about entering the Democratic primary for governor later this year.
If Barrett enters, he would likely become the immediate favorite in the Democratic field. It would be a bruising primary battle between the Mayors of Madison and Milwaukee with Tony Evers tag-teaming in for both sides.
I still give the prospect of a permanent agreement a probability of about 10% – mainly because Kim is crazy – but this is the most significant diplomatic engagement with North Korea since Clinton gave them nukes.
CIA director Mike Pompeo travelled to Pyongyang for a secret meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong-un, US President Donald Trump has confirmed.
A “good relationship” was formed at the meeting last week, Mr Trump tweeted on Wednesday.
News of the visit first emerged on Tuesday. US officials were quoted as saying the aim was to prepare a summit between Mr Trump and Mr Kim.
Mr Trump had earlier alluded to high-level direct talks with Pyongyang.
But the unexpected and clandestine meeting marks the highest level US contact with North Korea since 2000.
RIP to a truly classy wife, mother, and woman. She’s an example to us all. May her family rejoice in her well-lived life and the joys of her eternity.
(CNN)Barbara Bush, the matriarch of a Republican political dynasty and a first lady who elevated the cause of literacy, died Tuesday, according to a statement from her husband’s office. She was 92.
Only the second woman in American history to have had a husband and a son elected President (Abigail Adams was the first), Bush was seen as a plainspoken public figure who was instantly recognizable with her signature white hair and pearl necklaces and earrings. She became a major political figure as her husband, George H.W. Bush, rose to become vice president and president. After they left the White House, she was a potent spokeswoman for two of her sons — George W. and Jeb — as they campaigned for office.
The mother of six children — one of whom, a daughter, Robin, died as a child from leukemia — Barbara Bush raised her fast-growing family in the 1950s and ’60s amid the post-war boom of Texas and the whirl of politics that consumed her husband.
She was at his side during his nearly 30-year political career. He was a US representative for Texas, UN ambassador, Republican Party chairman, ambassador to China and CIA director. He then became Ronald Reagan’s vice president for two terms and won election to the White House in 1988. He left office in 1993 after losing a re-election bid to Bill Clinton.
Quick-witted with a sharp tongue, the feisty Barbara Bush was a fierce defender of her husband and an astute adviser.
April 17, 2018 – Milwaukee, WI – The Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty (WILL) released its second annual report comparing school academic performance across Wisconsin,Apples to Apples. In this new peer-reviewed study, control variables—such as student economic status and demographics—are included to level the playing field and make the clearest possible comparisons between schools for policymakers and parents.
Also included for the first time is WILL’s Performance Ranking, which ranks the performance of every K-12 school in the state from all sectors while controlling for socio-economic status. The searchable database is available here: http://www.will-law.org/school-search/.
Some of the findings include:
Private schools in the Milwaukee Parental Choice Program (MPCP) outperform Milwaukee Public Schools (MPS). Students in the MPCP were about 4 percentage points more likely to score proficient or above in mathematics and 5 percentage points more likely to score proficient or above in reading.
This performance advantage is driven by Catholic and Lutheran private schools.
Both independent and non-instrumentality charters have higher proficiency rates than MPS. Students in non-instrumentality charter schools were about 12 percentage points more likely to be proficient in reading and 15 percentage points more likely to be proficient in math than traditional public school students. Independent charter school students were about 5 percentage points more likely to be proficient in reading and 8 percentage points in math.
Statewide, schools in the state’s voucher programs outperform traditional public schools in reading. No differences were found in math. This is the first time a positive association has been found between choice programs overall in Wisconsin and academic outcomes.
Rural and small town schools perform worse than urban schools. Rural schools have significantly lower performance on the Forward Exam in both math and reading than urban schools.
Suburban schools outperform rural, small town, and urban schools
My column for the Washington County Daily News. It’s a look back at Paul Ryan’s career (so far) and his impact on Wisconsin and the nation. It gets lost in the heat of the current political season, but Ryan was the first Speaker from Wisconsin and is legitimately a historical figure. Here you go:
The news did not come as a surprise, but it was still a shock. Rep. Paul Ryan has decided against seeking re-election this year. It will be the first time in 20 years he will not be on the ballot. The reverberations of Ryan’s remarkable career will be felt in Wisconsin and the nation for generations. And at only 48 years old, he may not be done yet.
Ryan entered politics as soon as he graduated with a degree in economics from Miami University in Ohio as an aide to Sen. Robert Kasten in 1992. He served in various supportive roles for powerful Republicans, including as a speechwriter for Jack Kemp, who Ryan considered an influential mentor.
Ryan got his turn to run for office in 1998 when Rep. Mark Neumann decided to run for the U.S. Senate. Ryan won the 1st Congressional District by a convincing 14-point margin and had firmly held the seat since.
Ryan quickly established a reputation as a sincere, intelligent, articulate, consistent advocate for his core conservative beliefs. During his 20 years in Congress, whether in the minority or the majority, he was always pushing to reform the fundamental structures that continue to undermine our nation’s potential — rampant entitlement spending and a byzantine tax system.
It is the nature of American politics that nobody completely gets what they want. Our system of competing interests and balanced power ensures that the only way to accomplish anything is through compromise. Some of Ryan’s detractors criticize that he was unable to fully accomplish his oft stated ideals of reforming and restraining the federal government, but it is precisely Ryan’s ability to compromise without capitulating that led to any accomplishments at all. There are plenty of bomb-throwing ideologues in Congress. We fellow ideologues love them, but they are rarely effective in moving policy. Ryan’s style actually moved the ball forward.
Ryan’s signature and crowning accomplishment came when he was serving in a role he never wanted and under an unlikely Republican President. Ryan never wanted to be Speaker Ryan because he is, at his heart, a policy wonk. The job of Speaker is to cajole the caucus to move legislation written by other people. Ryan wants to write the legislation. Ryan answered the call of the Republican caucus in their time of crisis because sometimes duty and loyalty trump personal ambitions.
The landmark 2017 Tax Reform Law marked a transformational shift in the tax code that will be felt for generations. It is a signature achievement that has Ryan’s years of effort baked into its very core. Americans will benefit from this achievement long after they have forgotten how it came to be. As Speaker, Ryan also wrestled passage of many reforms including the repeal of Obamacare and entitlement reform. Unfortunately, too many of those legislative efforts found their graves in the stodgy, dysfunctional Senate, but Ryan did his job and did it well.
Throughout his tenure as representative, committee chairman, vice presidential candidate and Speaker, Ryan also justifiably maintained a reputation as a genuinely nice guy. He had a style in which he was able to aggressively debate and advocate policies without the personal hatred and animosity that infects too many other politicians. In this respect, perhaps he is too much of a throwback to a different era of politics in which his mentors lived. The ability to disagree without being disagreeable is becoming a rare gift in the modern era.
As the first Wisconsinite to serve as the Speaker of the House, Ryan stands unique in Wisconsin’s pantheon of political giants. He has certainly earned the right to slip into obscurity and indulge in the enjoyments of private life. As for me, I know that there comes a time on the horizon when the people of Wisconsin will call again for his leadership, and I pray that he will answer the call.
Until then, thank you, Speaker Ryan, for serving the citizens of Wisconsin’s 1st Congressional District and our nation.
(Reuters) – The United States and Britain on Monday accused Russia of launching cyber attacks on computer routers, firewalls and other networking equipment used by government agencies, businesses and critical infrastructure operators around the globe.
Washington and London issued a joint alert saying the campaign by Russian government-backed hackers was intended to advance spying, intellectual property theft and other “malicious” activities and could be escalated to launch offensive attacks.
It followed a series of warnings by Western governments that Moscow is behind a string of cyber attacks. The United States, Britain and other nations in February accused Russia of releasing the “NotPetya” virus, which in 2017 crippled parts of Ukraine’s infrastructure and damaged computers across the globe, costing companies billions of dollars.
The Kremlin did not immediately respond to a request for comment. But Russia’s embassy in London issued a statement citing British accusations of cyber threats from Moscow as “striking examples of a reckless, provocative and unfounded policy against Russia.”
All I’m going to say is that if I were an Uber driver, I would not pick anyone up from a Taco Bell that serves booze. That has, “just burn the car and buy another one” written all over it.
Owners of a Taco Bell franchise on State Street are suing the city of Madison over denial of a liquor license.
Assistant City Attorney Jennifer Zilavy will lead the city’s defense. Zilavy said her next steps are to review and respond to the complaint.
In a complaint filed April 13 in Dane County Circuit Court, Bell Great Lakes, LLC alleges that the city’s denial was “unlawful and discriminatory” when considering the city’s prior restaurant liquor license approvals and current policy. The complaint highlights that the city approved a liquor license to Chen’s Dumpling House, located across the street from Taco Bell Cantina at 505 State Street, three weeks after the city denied a license for Taco Bell.
Good for him. He’ll be missed in the caucus, but I’m sure his kids will enjoy having their dad to themselves for a while.
Veteran lawmaker Joel Kleefisch said Monday he won’t seek an eighth term in the state Assembly.
Kleefisch, 46, is the latest of a string of Republican lawmakers who have opted not to seek re-election amid mounting enthusiasm among Democrats seeking to recover losses they have incurred in the Legislature over the last eight years.
But Kleefisch said he’s not stepping away from the Legislature — a seat he’s held for 14 years — because of any threat of losing his seat or a tough re-election bid.
“My children have never known a parent outside of elected office,” Kleefisch, R-Concord, told reporters. “It’s time that they get at least one parent without a target on their back.”
Kleefisch, who is married to Lt. Gov. Rebecca Kleefisch, said he probably won’t seek another elected office and is looking forward to working in the private sector and spending time with his daughters who are 15 and 12.
“My first priority is to give my children a father outside of elected office,” he said. “As far as my future career, I see myself working in the industries that make Wisconsin great.”
Former first lady Barbara Bush is seriously ill and no longer wants to seek medical treatment.
The 92-year-old wife of President George H. W. Bush is being cared for at her home in Houston, Texas after deciding she does not want to remain in hospital.
Bush has been in and out of hospital recently and is now in ‘failing health’, according to a family spokesman.
‘Following a recent series of hospitalizations, and after consulting her family and doctors, Mrs Bush, now age 92, has decided not to seek additional medical treatment and will instead focus on comfort care,’ the statement said.
We spent some time in the Bush Presidential Library last year and had a chance to remember how truly remarkable, and remarkable decent, President and Mrs. Bush are. God bless Mrs. Bush and the Bush family.
According to Greg Johnson of NCAA.com, the NCAA Playing Rules Oversight Panel approved a new rule for kickoffs, with fair catches anywhere inside the 25-yard line resulting in touchbacks and the football being placed at the 25-yard line.
Previously, touchbacks only occurred when the kickoff was fielded in the end zone.
The new rule could help prevent teams from trying to pin opponents deep in their own territory by skying the kickoff and not giving them much of a chance at a return. In the past, any fair catch in the field of play resulted in the ball being placed at the spot where it was fielded.
All things considered, I’m okay with this change. It will take some of the excitement out of the game as teams settle for the 25 and kick returns become routine. But there will still be times when teams seek to change the tempo of the game by trying their hand at a return.
The US, UK and France attacked three government sites, targeting what they said were chemical weapons facilities.
More than 100 missiles struck in response to a suspected deadly chemical attack on the town of Douma last week.
[…]
At a Pentagon briefing on Saturday, Lt Gen Kenneth McKenzie listed the three targets that had been struck in a “precise, overwhelming and effective” manner:
The Barzah chemical weapons research and development centre near Damascus was hit by 76 missiles, 57 of them Tomahawk cruise missiles, and “destroyed”
The Him Shinshar chemical weapons storage facility near Homs was hit by 22 “weapons” – US, UK and French
The Him Shinshar chemical weapons bunker facility near Homs was targeted with seven Scout missiles and was “successfully hit”
Gen McKenzie said the “initial indications are that we accomplished the military objectives without interference from Syria”.
The Syrian civil war is highly complex and there are no good options. The world has also returned to a state of Big Power geopolitics and Russia has clearly planted its flag in Syria. The struggle for America is that we have no real national interest in Syria other than to protect our allies in the neighborhood should the war spill over. We do, however, have a moral interest in protecting innocents and a strategic interest in keeping the conflict from spreading.
So what were the options?
Do nothing
Launch a ground invasion
Covert action aimed at regime change
A measured, surgical, retaliatory strike
There is no appetite in America to get into another war in the Middle East. Plus, launching an invasion in Syria risks escalating into a full scale with Russia. Option 2 is off the table.
Option 3 is interesting, but then what? There are no good sides left in Syria and removing Assad just leaves a vacuum for some other tyrant to fill.
Option 1 is one that I would have been satisfied with. It is difficult for me to justify expending more American treasure and possible lives in the morass of Syria. The downside is that both Obama and Trump promised the world that we would react if Assad used chemical weapons again. To not follow through on a threat would be to weaken America’s stature and ability to influence future events – especially in the face of a tyrant like Putin.
So we are left with option 4. The Trump Administration gathered our allies in France and Britain and stuck at specific targets related to Assad’s ability to conduct chemical warfare. They made it clear that this is not the start of a larger conflict and it is not designed to change the regime. It was just a hard spank from the Western Powers to make it clear that using weapons of mass destruction to kill innocent people is not acceptable. This approach also has the added advantage of dispelling the myth of Russia’s impenetrable air defenses. Perhaps Assad will be having a chat with Putin about this technological failure.
Again, there are not any good options left in Syria for America. Any good options evaporated within the first year of the conflict. Now it is just a matter of trying to prevent it from spilling out into the larger world any more than it already has.
