Saturday, June 21, 2025
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Saturday, June 21, 2025

Milwaukee Press Club 'Excellence in Wisconsin Journalism' 2020 & 2021 Award Winners

What UW-Madison’s Graduation Got Right & Wrong [Up Against the Wall]

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I have a love-hate relationship with the UW-Madison. On one hand, I love the university; it’s physically beautiful with its setting along Lake Mendota, with Bascom Hill, and with Bascom Hall looking straight down State Street to the state Capitol.

After being told by my counselor two weeks into my freshmen year that I’m “the type of student who will fail” and after being rejected by the dean of the business school the first five times out of six tries to enter the business school, (yes, me), I later graduated with B.S. in economics and an M.S. in real estate from the UW-Madison. I also taught courses there, including having created the first sustainable development course in the world; coming from a guy the dean thought as a loser. So yeah, sometimes I hate the university.

I do love going back to the UW, but I’m also frustrated at some of the behaviors of the UW leadership and decision-making when I’m there.

First, I attended the graduation ceremony this past weekend, and I have to give the UW credit for a job well done, yet call out the Chancellor as well. The ceremony itself was well planned and well-orchestrated. The pomp and circumstance was wonderful. My favorite part was the Madhatters singing Sweet Caroline. There were nearly 8,000 students present and probably around 50,000 spectators in Camp Randall. The whole thing went off without any real problems.

The ceremony itself went well, until a small group of pro-terrorist protestors pulled out a Palestinian flag and held it up and started a shouting match with other students. From our vantage point, it seemed the protestors were trying to shout down the chancellor while she was speaking. On one hand, I give Chancellor Mnookin credit for appearing to thread the needle in regards to the illegal protest camp and the protestors on the university mall.

After a couple weeks, she finally got them to de-camp and leave just hours before graduation ceremonies began. Who knows what she really promised them, but the word on the street is that she would have anyone who protests or disrupts the graduation ceremonies arrested. You know, like, really arrested, this time. Not like last time, (ahh, yea, sure) when the police forcibly removed the illegal camp out, took the disruptors to another location, supposedly wrote down their names, and then released them scot free – only to see some of them go right back and set up a new camp!

Gee, golly, “whad” you think was going to happen when the UW leadership makes it clear that there are never any consequences to law breaking? (Well, you know, unless you’re a conservative protesting the UW, in which case, you’ll probably be arrested and cancelled – at least if you decided to camp out.)

What really happened during those phony arrests was that the police took the disruptors away and released them; you know, the same ‘catch and release’ program Biden invented with the 15 million illegals he has let into this country. The arrests weren’t real arrests. Real arrests involve taking criminals to the Dane County jail, booking them in, with finger printing, a mug shot, DNA sample, probably a cavity search, and locking them up until they can get a hearing on Monday or later.

So that’s why there was a protest at the graduation ceremony in the stadium because the protestors knew there would be zero consequences to them; worse case, they get kicked out and miss out on a few speeches in the hot sun.

But what really bothered me is the swipe that the Chancellor took at “white men” when she commented that the first two graduating students at the UW dating back 175 years ago were “white men”; insert smirk, which she did. (I noticed she didn’t comment about the fact that 90% of the nursing graduates were women.)

And of course, one of her main speakers was the head of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion, i.e. the race police. (What does that person do anyway?) And the university is hiring new DEI positions (now renamed) and hundreds of other positions – all the while complaining endlessly to the Legislature that they don’t have enough money. There are professors getting paid well-into-the-six-figure-salaries who don’t even teach a course or don’t publish based upon legitimate research, but the university claims it is still broke. (By the way, did you see that new Bakke fitness facility; holy crap, it’s unbelievably nice. Taj Mahal would not be an exaggeration.)

But apparently we aren’t working hard enough to support all those professors at the UW – just like in the Hunger Games.

It’s fashionable to blast white men these days, especially at elite universities, but if you want white men to continue to donate to the UW, maybe, just maybe, you might want to keep your mouth shut. I mean, the last three chancellors have been women, so how bad is it really? So maybe tone it down.

Where the chancellor did well was highlighting the unusual achievements of many individual graduates on Saturday. That was interesting. Such creativity – from all kinds of different kinds of students. She should have just finished with that, rather than leaving a bitter taste in our mouths.

Like I said, I have a love hate relationship with my alma mater. I would love to like it more, but they just keep pushing alumni like me away because we don’t fit their idealistic view of the world.

Wisconsin Right Now is a news organization focused on covering the news from a conservative point of view, in particular on politics and policy issues through analysis and opinions, and is protected by the first amendment of the United States constitution. WRN and the columnist does not make endorsements of candidates or urge a vote for or against any candidate or issue. On October 18 and November 23, 2023 Donald Trump tweeted out on Trump’s Truth Social account T. Wall’s October 6th column on Trump’s property valuations. T. Wall holds a degree from the UW in economics and an M.S. in real estate analysis and valuation and is a real estate developer. Disclaimer: The opinions of the writer are not necessarily those of this publication or the left!

josh schoemann Washington County’s Early Vote

2026 GOP Candidate Josh Schoemann Challenges Evers’ Budget Approach

(The Center Square) – Josh Schoemann, the only Republican currently in the race for governor next year, is criticizing Gov. Tony Evers’ approach to the next state budget by comparing it to his plans in Washington County.

“In Washington County our budget cycle starts right now, and it’s not due until November. We will propose our budget goals to the County Board in the next couple of months. We will share ‘This is what we’re thinking.’ It gives them months of time to think those through, give us feedback, and [have] that kind of dialogue,” Schoemann explained in an interview on News Talk 1130 WISN.

Schoemann said that is far better than the approach Evers is taking again this year.

“That’s not how government is supposed to work,” Schoemann said. “It’s not the vision of the governor. It’s not the vision of any one person.”

Evers and the Republican legislative leaders who will write the budget have been involved in on-again, off-again budget talks this month. On Thursday, the governor’s office said those talks were off once again because of gridlock in the Senate.

“Ultimately, the Senate needs to decide whether they were elected to govern and get things done or not,” Evers spokesperson Britt Cudaback said in a post on X.

Schoemann’s criticism of Evers is nothing new. He has long been a critic of the governor and has turned that criticism up since launching his campaign for governor.

But the recent criticism was also aimed at other Republicans who may jump into the 20206 governor’s race later this year.

“Nobody else in this race on the Republican side, being rumored to this point, has the executive leadership of skills and history to be able to show ‘This is how I’ve done it before, and here’s how we’ll do it Madison,’” Schoemann said. “The results in Washington County speak for themselves.”

Northwoods Congressman Tom Tiffany is also rumored to be looking to get into the Republican race. Before he went to Congress, Tiffany was a Republican lawmaker in Madison.

Businessman and veteran Bill Berrien is also on the short list of likely GOP candidates for 2026.

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Wisconsin Budget Negotiations Reach Impasse Between Evers, Legislature

(The Center Square) – Wisconsin budget negotiations have reached an impasse with both sides pointing fingers at the other in Wednesday afternoon statements.

Democratic Gov. Tony Evers said Republican Legislative leaders backed out of negotiations after he agreed to “an income tax cut targeting Wisconsin’s middle-class and working families and eliminating income taxes for certain retirees.” He said Republican leaders would not agree to “meaningful increased investments in child care, K-12 schools, and the University of Wisconsin System.”

Republican Assembly leaders said the two sides were "far apart. Senate leaders say Evers’ desires “extend beyond what taxpayers can afford.”

“The Joint Committee on Finance will continue using our long-established practices of crafting a state budget that contains meaningful tax relief and responsible spending levels with the goal of finishing on time,” said a statement from Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and Assembly Finance Co-Chairman Mark Born, R-Beaver Dam.

Evers said that there were meetings between the sides every day this week before the impasse.

“I told Republicans I’d support their half of the deal and their top tax priorities – even though they’re very similar to bills I previously vetoed – because I believe that’s how compromise is supposed to work, and I was ready to make that concession in order to get important things done for Wisconsin’s kids,” Evers said.

Senate Republican leadership said that good faith negotiations have occurred since April on a budget compromise.

“Both sides of these negotiations worked to find compromise and do what is best for the state of Wisconsin,” said a statement from Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, and Senate Joint Finance Co-Chairman Howard Marklein, R-Spring Green.

In early May, the Joint Committee on Finance took 612 items out of Gov. Tony Evers’ budget proposal, including Medicaid expansion in the state, department creations and tax exemptions.

Born previously estimated that Evers’ budget proposal would lead to $3 billion in tax increases over the two-year span.

Wisconsin Policy Forum estimated that the proposal would spend down more than $4 billion of the state’s expected $4.3 billion surplus if it is enacted.

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DOJ Begins California Title IX Investigation Over ‘Trans’ Boys Dominating Girls’ Sports

The U.S. Department of Justice’s Civil Rights Division announced it is investigating California for violating Title IX by allowing males to participate in female student sports.

“Title IX exists to protect women and girls in education,” said Harmeet K. Dhillon, assistant attorney general for Civil Rights. “It is perverse to allow males to compete against girls, invade their private spaces, and take their trophies.”

In February, President Donald Trump signed an executive order banning males from participating in female student sports, and he has threatened to block California's federal funding for continuing to defy his order. With California facing deficits in the tens of billions of dollars each year, it's unclear how the state would offset any losses or pauses in federal funding.

Notably, California Gov. Gavin Newsom hosted conservative pundit Charlie Kirk on his podcast and told Kirk that he thinks it’s “deeply unfair” that boys are participating in girls’ sports.

When asked later at a press conference what this means for state policy, Newsom demurred, painting the matter as a marginal, non-issue not worth his time.

“You're talking about a very small number of people, a very small number of athletes, and my responsibility is to address the pressing issues of our time,” said Newsom.

The California Interscholastic Federation, which governs student sports in California, has since responded to Trump’s threat by announcing a new pilot program to allow girls who otherwise would have qualified for sports finals had the finalist spots in girls’ sports not been taken by transgender-identifying boys to participate in said finals.

Title IX was signed into law by President Richard Nixon in 1972 to ensure that schools could not discriminate against female students. It requires they be provided with equal opportunities to engage in athletics, extracurriculars and education.

DOJ’s letter of interest says it is investigating whether California’s Assembly Bill 1266, which requires transgender-identifying students to be allowed to participate in sports consistent with their gender identities, violates Title IX.

“As a result of CIF’s policy, California’s top-ranked girls’ triple jumper, and second-ranked girls’ long-jumper, is a boy,” wrote the DOJ. “As recently as May 17, this male athlete was allowed to take winning titles that rightfully belong to female athletes in both events.”

“This male athlete will now be allowed to compete against those female athletes again for a state title in long, triple, and high jump,” continued the DOJ. “Other high school female athletes have alleged that they were likewise robbed of podium positions and spots on their teams after they were forced to compete against males.”

Should the DOJ find California is in violation of Title IX, it says it will “take appropriate action to eliminate that discrimination, including seeking injunctive relief.”

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