Off The Publisher’s Desk – 10-27-2021
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Are paying the price!
It takes a while, but the law will win. Remember last year when America was burning from riots and the main streets of our cities were on fire including Minneapolis, protesting George Floyd’s death at the hands of Minneapolis police.
But, here in Wisconsin, Kenosha and Madison, were also the scenes of unrest and arson. In Kenosha following a shooting by police, trouble broke out which ended with two shot and killed. I just recently learned that two people have been sentenced for attempting to set fire to two downtown Madison businesses.
Last week I learned that a 28-year-old Madison woman received five years in prison for attempted arson of a Madison business on August 25, 2020 and her codefendant also received a five-year sentence back in September.
Anessa Renee Fierro and Willie Johnson with help from other people broke out front windows and poured gasoline along the walls, with Johnson then lighting material that another person tossed into the gasoline, causing the vapors to ignite.
At a second business, Johnson and Fierro, along with several other people, broke out the retail store’s windows and Fierro poured gasoline along the front walls and the two attempted to ignite the gasoline with cigarette lighters, but they fled when officers from the Madison Police Department arrived.
The second building that they attempted to set on fire was a mixed-use rental property with apartments on the upper levels and retail spaces at the street level, with several apartments being occupied by sleeping residents at the time of the attempted arson.
It’s a good thing that I was not the judge in this case as I think only five years for attempted murder is way too light. Those two should be locked up for a much longer time than five years. A very long sentence might send a message to those who would damage, loot and burn down a city.
Surveillanc State
A column penned by Russ Feingold, appearing the St. Paul Pioneer Press one day last week, caught my attention, with the sub heading “On October 26, 2001, Congress passed the U. S. Patriot Act. As a member of the U. S. Senate at the time, I cast the lone vote against it.”
Feingold was a Senator from Wisconsin from 1995 to 2011 and there were not many times that I agreed with what he stood for, but this was one of those times. In his column he goes on to tell what the Patriot did about increasing government surveillance of its citizens.
“Twenty years of hindsight confirm that expanded government surveillance comes at a steep price for civil rights, our democratic legitimacy and marginalized population. Congress has a unique opportunity to begin the deconstruction of the surveillance state. It should seize it.
“The PATRIOT Act accelerated the nation’s move toward a surveillance state like adding fuel to fire. It was passed by Congress, within weeks of the 9/11 attacks without adequate time to fully comprehend its sweeping ramifications.
“The act authorized widespread wiretapping and expanded the scope of search warrants and subpoenas. Suddenly, the government had ample access to our private communications and information.”
If you think that the Feds have too much snooping power now, just wait until the Democrats get this new spending bill gets into law, where the Feds will hire an army of IRS agents to review all your banking transactions to see what you are up to and to invade your private information.
At present, if you win a large pile of money at a casino and it will be paid to you in cash and your take that cash to a financial institution, they are obligated to report that deposit to Uncle Sam. I have figured out why casino payout in cash, is because, if they give you a large check, you will deposit it in a bank. But, cash, you will take it back to the casino.
There are only three things that the federal government should so for us and that is, protect us, deliver our mail and keep their nose out of our business.
Thanks for reading! ~Carlton