We know of a few people who hope lawmakers are checked out for the year, and that they have short memories.
Welcome to today’s Key Reads.
Chancellors at UW-Madison and UW-Milwaukee both appeased their lawbreakers on campus, allowing the tent city tantrums to go on for well over a week. While Madison Chancellor Mnookin talked tough and then reversed course, her Milwaukee colleague, Mark Mone, never took a hardline with the pro-Hamas squatters.
In fact, when he resolved the trespassing, he bought into the language and perspective of the protestors. Which left us wondering:
Who empowered UWM Chancellor Mark Mone to issue public proclamation regarding foreign policy and side with pro-Hamas tent city trespassers? | Dairyland Sentinel
In a controversial move, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee leaders have aligned themselves with pro-Hamas activists who have occupied a section of the campus for several days. The activists, who renamed a state-owned building after an individual who praised the brutal terrorist attacks of October 7th, reached a settlement with the University. They will dismantle the tent city now that UWM is demanding a ceasefire in Gaza and is calling for Israel to release what they term as Palestinian “hostages.”
Who authorized the UWM Chancellor to make proclamations regarding Israel’s response to terrorist attacks is unclear.
The university’s stance implies that Israel must release its own “hostages.” The fact that UWM, a taxpayer funded university, released such an outrageous statement is bad enough. Worse, by doing so they spoke on behalf of not just the few dozen lawbreakers who illegally camped on state owned land, but all the students. And faculty . And staff. In fact, all the taxpayers who fund UW’s budget.
Chancellor Mark Mone may have thought a little press release was a small price to pay to buy peace and and end to the occupation at UWM, but he may be in for a rude awakening.
This action could very well put the UWM budget in the crosshairs of legislators who appropriate funds to the UW System.
Part of the agreement signed by UWM draws a troubling moral equivalence between the Jewish hostages abducted and held by Hamas and combatant prisoners detained by Israel since Oct. 7, referring to them all as “hostages.” It calls for the release of Israeli and international hostages held by Hamas, as well as Palestinian individuals detained in military facilities in Israel.
The ridiculous statement even fails to acknowledge that some of the hostages abducted and held (perhaps already killed) by Hamas are American citizens.
The legislative session in Madison is not over, after all.
Wisconsin Senate plans to vote on overriding Evers veto of PFAS funding, other bills | Associated Press
Republicans said Monday that the state Senate would vote to override up to 36 of the governor’s vetoes, including a bill to fight PFAS pollution — moves that Democrats derided as desperate election year stunts.
At the same time, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers countersued the Republican-controlled Legislature in a fight over the spending of $50 million on a new literacy program.
Both moves come six months before the election and are just the latest examples of political jousting between Evers and the Legislature…
Three dozen bills are scheduled for potential veto override attempts on Tuesday, but Republicans highlighted only five they definitely planned to take up. All are likely to fail. Any override would also need to be approved in the Assembly, but Republicans don’t have enough votes there to do it.
Tomorrow’s headlines, today: Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules Drop Boxes Legal. Everything between now and the day the ruling is issued is just for show.
Wisconsin Supreme Court’s liberal majority questions past ruling barring ballot drop boxes | Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
The new liberal majority of the Wisconsin Supreme Court on Monday questioned its conservative members’ past decision to bar Wisconsin clerks from using absentee ballot drop boxes in a case that could impact turnout in a key swing state this November.
The state’s highest court heard arguments Monday in a lawsuit backed by Democrats that seeks to overturn the court’s decision under its previous conservative majority that said state law does not allow drop boxes to be placed outside of an election clerk’s office and another ruling that prohibited clerks from filling in missing address information on absentee ballots.
“What if we just got it wrong?” said Justice Jill Karofsky, one of four members of the court’s liberal majority, referring to the court’s prior decision. “What if we made a mistake? Are we now supposed to just perpetuate that mistake into the future?”
Well, today is the day. The pre-2025 NFL Draft hype officially begins with a ceremony that pays homage to the Olympic torch relay and the traditional Packers’ bike rides to training camp practices.
What to expect at the NFL Draft handoff to Green Bay | WBAY
When the football from Detroit arrives in Milwaukee aboard the Lake Express Ferry from Muskegon, Mich., bicyclists will bring the football to its final destination at Lambeau Field. (Action 2 News This Morning anchor Emerson Lehmann, who covered Green Bay leaders in Detroit for the 2024 NFL Draft, will be live in Milwaukee to preview the handoff.)
The “Pedal to the Draft” includes members of the Packers, Travel Wisconsin, Wisconsin Bike Fed, and local bicycle enthusiasts.
The trip will make stops along the way to Green Bay, including Milwaukee, Manitowoc, and De Pere, to promote Wisconsin tourism, trails and outdoor recreation.
Fans can track the progress of the ride at packers.com and on social media with hashtag #PedalToTheDraft.
The Draft should be a great time and a tremendous boost to tourism in NE Wisconsin. But, to be honest, we just can’t wait for the 2024-25 NFL season to kickoff on Thursday, September 5, with the Packers/Eagles game in Brazil set for Friday the 6th.
We’ll have more on the NFL schedule later this week…
