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Is there more to Gilkes's resignation? Maybe, but maybe not, too

September 30, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Keith Gilkes is leaving his post as the governor's chief of staff to return to his own political consulting business.

Is there more to it, like preparing for a John Doe investigation instead of a recall?  Maybe. Some of my friends certainly think so.  And they may be right.  A lot of Walker staffers are already knee-deep in it.

But I did the same thing as Gilkes, returning to my own consulting business after a two-year break as chief of staff to Mayor John Norquist.  "I don't do government, I do politics," I used to say, usually being careful to attribute the line to the late, legendary Dem consultant Paul Tully.

Gilkes' Facebook page offers a clue as to why he might be leaving, under employment:

Quote, unquote

September 30, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

"If I had a nickel for every person that said to me, you know, Mark, we told you to run for Senate before, glad you’re running for Senate now, or we like both you and Scott, we’re glad you’re running because we wanted to vote for both of you, I wouldn’t have to go out and fundraise for my campaign."- Mark Neumann.

Let's do the math. Ron Johnson spent $10 million last year on his Senate race. So Neumann, at a nickel apiece, must have talked to 200 million people who want him to run. If that's the case, he definitely should.

If someone 'breaks into' your driveway, can you legally kill them?

September 30, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Hard to believe, but it looks like an Assembly committee has made the Castle Doctrine/Shoot Firstbill even worse.  Now you could shoot to kill someone who breaks into your driveway.

It's unclear how this would work, and the legal language isn't available online yet, but the report from WisPolitics.com is that:

All I know is what I read in the papers

September 29, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

Domestic violence homicides got some media attention Wednesday with the release of a reportthat said three of every 10 homicides in the state is linked to domestic violence. The report by the Wisconsin Coalition Against Domestic Violence said 58 people were killed in domestic violence incidents during 2010.

Here's what you didn't read in the newspaper account, although it is part of the news release:

David Clarke to Chris Abele: 'No one is the boss of me'

September 29, 2011 by Uppity Wisconsin

The proposed budget that Milwaukee County Exec Chris Abele released this morning would seriously cut funding for the sheriff's department, one unit of county government that has been spared in previous budgets and now accounts for one-third of the tax levy.

Abele even proposed cutting the money Clarke uses to rent a horse to ride in parades.

You didn't need to be the oracle of Delphi to predict that there would be an eruption from Sheriff David Clarke, who has run the department with an arrogance seldom seen in officials who have to rely on the voters for their job.

Clarke has a theory that because he is a constitutional officer, no one can tell him what to do or how to spend money.

Let there be any doubt about that, he's how he respondedto Abele today.

From anyone else, this response would be incredible. From a petulant David Clarke, it's predictable. We'll skip the personal attacks and just deal with the meat of it: