BY Jeff Simpson
1. We know that Scott Walker refuses to grand pardons, no matter how deserving. Which is very unfortunate for some people in WI.
Exhibit A: Jessica Cranfield:
Jessica Cranfield spoke with News 3 from her home in Chippewa County and admits she's made mistakes. At 17, she committed a number of crimes, including stealing a purse and clearing a bank account of $100 to buy drugs. For that offense, felony forgery, she went to prison for two years.
"When October of 2005 rolled around and I was a free woman I was 20 years old," Cranfield said. "At 20 years old you have a lot of life in front of you, so I made the conscious decision that I was never going to get in trouble again."
She is now married with children and in school working toward a bachelor's degree in education, but said she's unlikely to get her desired job as a teacher.
"It's very difficult to get a job if you have any type of criminal conviction," Cranfield said. "But a felony basically guarantees that you won't."
Exhibit B: Pam Stevens:
Pam Stevens is an outspoken supporter of Gov. Scott Walker and his reform efforts.
She says she won't be silenced just because she owes the state nearly $30,000 in unpaid taxes.
Stevens' personal financial issues became an issue in 2012 when she ran unsuccessfully against state Sen. Robert Wirch, a Pleasant Prairie Democrat.
"I was shocked to see her in the commercial with her record," Wirch said this week.
Records show that she still owes the state $28,875 in unpaid income taxes. It appears that she may have some unpaid tax warrants and judgments, too.
Exhibit C: Christopher Barber:
Emphasizing his role as a job creator, Gov. Scott Walker praised Christopher Barber's moxie during the governor's annual "state of the state" speech.
Barber, 32, left the ranks of the unemployed to land a seasonal job as welder at Ariens Co. in Brillion in late 2012, eventually turning that into a full-time post, according to a press release from Walker's office. Newspapers around the state ran a photo of Barber giving a big wave to the crowd as he exited the Assembly podium to a round of applause during Walker's televised address.
"These are the faces of an improving economy in our state," Walker said Wednesday of Barber and others. "Wisconsin is going back to work."
But there is a reason that Barber -- a resident of Two Rivers -- has had trouble finding steady work in the past.
Records show that he is a registered sex offender with two felonies and three drunken-driving offenses. Because of his checkered past, Barber has been in and out of jail and prison for much of the past decade, with his probation having been revoked at least twice.
Anyone care to guess what makes one stand out? What makes us hold up two people as "reformed" champions?
The answer is simple - It does not matter what you have done in your life, If Scott Walker thinks you can help further his career than he can use you, if Scott Walker does not see how helping you advances his career, then you are on your own!
Does anyone here really think that Scott Walker would not have unleashed violence during the peaceful protests at the Capitol if he felt it would have helped his cause?