The Paradox of Media Trackers

By Jeff Simpson

The lead story on Mediatrackkkers website when I looked was this one. 

Wisconsin Police Chief Harasses Tea Party Activist

A Wisconsin police chief used his official and personal computers to harass a Tea Party activist who is suing him in federal court. Confronted by law enforcement investigators about the harassment, the chief initially denied having any knowledge of it. Told of the evidence against him, he admitted he had spent time harassing a private citizen out of spite.

Tim Kelemen is the police chief in the town of Campbell, Wisconsin. He has a personal vendetta against local activist Greg Luce.

 The horror of it all!  This piece of "reporting" by Brian Sikkkma(who has his own questions to answer) is obviously meant to show how the right wing in Wisconsin is always the victim.   It is a card they play often and they play it well!   

 However, all irony aside, the very next story on their website is this(seriously you can not make this stuff up):

 

“Segway Boy” Makes Wis. Ballot, But DA Starts Probe

 

But even though Ryan is going to make it on the ballot, his troubles aren’t over yet. It is unclear if the GAB will look into the method he used to gather the signatures in a separate investigation unrelated to his approval to get on the ballot.

What is clear is that Racine County District Attorney Rich Chiapete is investigating Ryan. According to an e-mail seen by Media Trackers, Chiapete reviewed a complaint filed with the GAB and assigned a detective to open an investigation into Jeremy Ryan to see if he did indeed break state election law.

 Seriously how do these guys sleep at night?   

 

 

 PS:  Another fun side note on the challenge to Jeremy Ryan's signatures:

 E-mails reviewed by Media Trackers show the GAB was initially reluctant to consider a complaint about Ryan filed by Tamra Varebrook last Thursday. Varebrook’s complaint detailed numerous social media postings – including photographs – and other evidence of Ryan advertising his petition as something besides a ballot access petition.

 The hard core republican activist who ran in the Democratic Primary of the recall election as a Democrat, filed a complaint against Jeremy Ryan, based on a facebook post she trolled, for possibly misleading the people.    

 I wonder if when getting people to sign, she pointed out that she was actually a republican and she was just running in the primary so the taxpayers in her district could needlessly pay a few hundred thousand dollars on an unnecessary primary?

Are there any adults left in the republican party? 

 

 

Compare/Contrast - Wisconsin State Journal

The Wisconsin State Journal continues its effort to run itself and our Constitutionally limited democratic republic into the ground!  

Compare when an insignificant figure like Jeremy Ryan pulled yet another stupid stunt - it made local headlines! 

The local right wing bloggers then salivated over such an important story, Waukesha Wonker Wiggy is disappointed that Ryan is not dead yet.

Contrast that to yesterday's news:

Wisconsin's own insignificant Senator Ron Johnson pulled yet another stupid stunt - it made no headlines as he voted against relief for Hurricane Sandy Victims! 

The Wisconsin Press Should Be Ashamed

It turns out that the Wisconsin Press, taking advantage of Chief Erwin's crackdown on free speech, has had one of the full time protestors charged with harassment.

A Capitol police incident report indicates that the criminal charge against Jeremy Ryan, 23, stems from events in early July.

Gwyn Guenther, president of the Wisconsin Capitol Correspondents Association, told Capitol police that Ryan was repeatedly outside the Capitol press room, yelling and disrupting employees, according to the police report.

Guenther also told Capitol police that, at one point, Ryan sang a song mocking her late father, longtime political journalist Dick Wheeler, according to the report.

"I support everyone's First Amendment rights to do freedom of speech, but we have to look at some of the things that are happening here and how people are presenting this First Amendment," said Capitol Police Chief David Erwin.

WISC-TV contacted Guenther for comment but she declined

So Chief Erwin has decided that the first amendment only applies when it is convenient and Gwyn Guenther has decided as a reporter that she has nothing to say about a very important news story.  

Shameful and disgraceful. 

It is no wonder that the state of Wisconsin and politics is the mess it is when our media has so blatantly neglect their responsibilities!

A quick refresher course:

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

 Before the righties get their panties in a bunch, this is not an endorsement of Jeremy Ryan.  Its ridiculous to sing a song about someones recently dead father, whoever it is.  However, there is no law on the books that says being a douchebag is illegal.   If there were, Robin Vos and paul ryan would be roommies in Gitmo.   There is also nothing that resembles a journalist in someone who gets a person arrested for what they have to say.  

Chief Erwin has proven himself to be head of the palace guard and disgraces the uniform he wears.  Gwyn Guenther has also proven that she is just there to take dictation and disgraces the profession of journalism.   236 years of people who have been actual independent journalists that have come before her are truning over in their graves at the way the press acts these days!