June 21, 2018

"Silence white supremacy!"/"Get him out" — that was the chant at a meeting of the Madison school board ad hoc committee on police officers in schools.

Here's the video, with David Blaska attempting to speak and getting shouted down by the crowd:



Blaska — a local conservative politico — blogged about his experience here:
Room 103 of the Doyle administration bldg was packed with the usual suspects, a term I used in my remarks.... They sprayed the F-bomb liberally and insulted the committee members at will. They brandished the usual posters, including “Expel Cops, Not Kids.”...

Committee chairman Dean Loumos (whom I was seated behind) shouted into my ear (to be heard above the cacophony) if I would be willing to stop right there. Given the pandemonium, I did so. Still had 17 seconds left of the allotted three minutes, but Blaska is public spirited.

Then Dean Loumos did the unforgivable. He apologized to the disrupters! Dean Loumos said he did not know Blaska would use “coded language.”

What coded language? The protestors were black, white, hispanic, and east Asian. Very few are parents. All but a handful are very young, very loud, and very obnoxious....

What else is new? Madison school board leadership race-shamed Karen Vieth for complaining about the dysfunction in her school. So why shouldn’t school board member Loumos do the same when a citizen and parent speaks in favor of keeping the police?!...
There's a second Blaska post here, with the video that I've embedded.

Blaska maintains a calm demeanor throughout the disturbing intimidation, but you can see that his hands shake (something commented on by the videographer, DuersttheWuerst), and I can only imagine how scary it must be to publicly express opinions in a small room that is packed with people denouncing you. The committee members do nothing to push back the intimidation or to protect Blaska's right to speak to the group.

Blaska called attention to the Madison teacher, Karen Vieth, who quit because of the terrible situation at one middle school. Here's my post from last week where I linked to her detailed and disturbing blog post.

111 comments:

Matt Sablan said...

He should sue over the public accusation of using coded language, meaning he's a racist. There needs to be firm pushback. If the dean or whoever fears a riot, say that instead of pretending your guest was a secret racist.

Bill, Republic of Texas said...

Why not use the school police to remove disruptors from meetings.

Anne in Rockwall, TX said...

The left has learned that outrage works. sad

Eleanor said...

There's always a tipping point. I think we're getting close. I'm not sure the folks on the left know what that means.

Tank said...

Madison seems like a nice place with nice people discussing important issues in a nice way.

Shouting Thomas said...

The Dem/left alliance with black thugs and gangs laid bare.

You’re a racist if you notice.

The KKK isn’t needed. The Dems are allied with and finance black gangs to do the work of the Klan.

Where’s Eliot Ness and the Untouchables?

David Begley said...

If the cops are removed from the chaotic Madison schools, then what happens?

I imagine that the State and University employees who live in Madison send their kids to Madison public schools. Why do they tolerate this? Or is something else going on here? And, of course, a big portion of Althouse’s real estate taxes go to Madison schools.

One would think that parents would want their kids to learn in a safe environment and be well educated enough to do well in college or the trades or whatever. One’s own kids are too valuable to allow their education to get screwed up.

Thankfully Omaha has excellent Catholic schools.

Stephen Taylor said...

"...There's always a tipping point. I think we're getting close...."

I've been telling my wife the same thing now for about two years. Don't know where. Don't know how. Don't know who or when. But something is going to happen that ignites the conflagration. I suspect it's going to be a small thing, but it's going to mushroom very quickly.

Incidentally, I read a story this AM about a survey that estimates 400 million firearms of all sorts in the hands of civilians in the United States. Interesting.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Because radical leftists are so very tolerant.

Henry said...

Next time he should use morse code.

But it's not his bunker.

David Begley said...

When I was at Creighton Prep the de facto Prefect of Discipline was Brother Mike Wilmot. Brother was a short but powerful guy. He played football in HS and was the assistant football coach and head basketball coach at Prep. In basketball, he won state titles even though he never played HS basketball. He occasionally walked around campus with a baseball bat. One did not mouth off or misbehave in front of Brother.

He retired this Summer and moved to the Jesuit retirement community in Wisconsin. His last job was building homes for low income Blacks in North Omaha.

The wait to see him at his retirement party was hours long.

If Madison was serious about fixing its schools, they would hire Brother Wilmont as Prefect of Discpline at $300k per year. But that would never happen primarily because he’s an expert, well-loved, respected and Catholic.

rhhardin said...

Acting white is the key for blacks getting ahead. That's why it's not permitted by black leaders.

rhhardin said...

Morse code gets through where nothing else will, among human-read forms of communication.

Henry said...

One of the more interesting aspects to this is that as a public meeting it's recorded. The public meeting is the best venue for conservative.

Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, walked unharmed through the furnace. That was also recorded, in Aramaic.

David Begley said...

Forgot to add: Brother is white.

rhhardin said...

There's a slight social problem with morse, if you're a weak signal; it's more readable in the noise if you send more slowly, as Shannon predicts in general.

But the other guy might thing you're sending slowly because you think you're going too fast for him, which is a sort of insult; rather than it being giving fewer missing/unheard dots and dashes.

You fill in what you didn't hear, but there's less of it if you send slowly.

buwaya said...

This sort of thing is not new at all.

When I was a San Francisco Republican volunteer >20 years ago (yes, foreigners are allowed), we faced worse.
The Republican veteran volunteers all had war stories from 20+ years before that. A brave lot, SF Republicans.
And then there was, and is, the SF School Board.

The really significant differences are ubiquity and risk.

Back then you would expect this in San Francisco, now you could get this lot in, say, Antioch or Livermore or Palo Alto, if there is some controversial issue.

Risk is to ones employment and career. They will find you out, harass your employer or business relationships.

rehajm said...

Don’t count on that tipping point thing happening.

Rick said...

It's revealing the left considers functional schools to be "white supremacy".

Oso Negro said...

@rehajm - there’s alway a John Brown somewhere in the woodpile.

rehajm said...

Conservatives can’t muster enough tipping point to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.

Ann Althouse said...

Not only do we pay a lot of property tax that goes in large part to the schools — and we pay $17,000+ a year — but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great.

Bad Lieutenant said...


Oso Negro said...
@rehajm - there’s alway a John Brown somewhere in the woodpile.

6/21/18, 7:44 AM

And they stand alone, fall alone, their very names anathema, their words and thoughts most certainly unheard. The Left has excellent reason to think that we, the people, will indeed tolerate this sort of thing forever with no retaliation or comeuppance. Too bad Mr. Blaska didn't have just one little grenade.

rhhardin said...

The high taxes are to pay for monitoring the mandatory recycling program.

roesch/voltaire said...

Blaska should have stayed focused on the core issue: the increased violence in the schools is more than teachers and staff can handle in some cases and that is why police have been asked to help, now does the record support this continued presence? Some adult needed to speak up stating in an open meeting everybody has their time to speak.

rhhardin said...

When the soccer game is over, Japanese and Somalians stay late to clean up the trash. It's a cultural good citizenship thing.

rhhardin said...

Maybe Sengalese. Some African thing.

Ralph L said...

And zoning laws won't let you turn it into an apartment house, the usual outcome of nice, big houses in declining neighborhoods.

A little bit of bad drives out all of the good.

Henry said...

r/v -- did you read Blaska's blog? He spoke directly to the school board's proposal to remove police officers from the school. That's why he was there.

The school board is further troubled that lacking police officers in the school a teacher (or student) might call 911 in an emergency.

David Begley said...

Ann:

You and Meade need to cash out while you can, IMO.

Still wondering where University professors send their kids to school in Madison. I can't hardly believe they would put up with this nonsense.

"I will not sacrifice my children on a Cross of Political Correctness," said Williams Jennings Bryant (D) of Lincoln, Nebraska.

Fernandinande said...

Silence white people!

A cougar silenced a racist sexist SJW-POC
I enjoyed the heartbreaking, no, heartwarming story about how each bike rider abandoned the other when trouble struck.
(Trigger warning: fake headline)

buwaya said...

This is not at all unusual on these sorts of matters.
Or for that matter, and worse, it has its effect even when there isn’t a rabid crowd.
There are no “adults”, they are all intimidated.

Not by the crowd, but by the implied threat of professional retaliation.
That is why the fellow apologized to the crowd; he perceived risk to himself even by permitting Blaska to speak.

wildswan said...

Who will restore the lost school years to these kids?

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Glenn Reynolds linked and says:

"Disgraceful. But hey, more votes for Scott Walker. And for Donald Trump! Because behavior like this is how you get more of both."

Tommy Duncan said...

Blogger Rick said...

It's revealing the left considers functional schools to be "white supremacy".

The mob is driven by a hatred born of envy. Acting white and doing well in school are synonymous.

SDaly said...

Diversity is Strength!

Curious George said...

Mary Burke is the Board President. Yes that Mary Burke.

Michael Fitzgerald said...

Progressive dirlewangers doing the democrat party dirty work.

mockturtle said...

Madison, Wisconsin, hotbed of racial tension.

Kevin said...

Not only do we pay a lot of property tax that goes in large part to the schools — and we pay $17,000+ a year — but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great.

Ann describes the fundamental conflict within the blue governing model.

buwaya said...

The crowd isn’t black, mostly.
They usually aren’t, a minority only are black.
And the ones to really worry about, that can do you harm, are very rarely black.

Above all these local conflicts are fronts in a general inter-white caste war.
There are active black participants, but this really isn’t being fought at their direction, nor really for their sake.
Black people are in the main merely symbolic, theoretical objects in the conflict.

And so also, mostly, are Hispanic immigrants.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Is you have a black female principal, you cannot say a drop of criticism - or that makes you a racist.

The left are truly disgraceful. The real racism is all on the left.

Otto said...

Typical blue city fare after adhering to almost a half century of liberal rule. "you reap what you sow". Nothing new but when it is in your backyard and you bubble is being threaten you actually sense fear. All that naval gazing, all those bucolic Sunday photos, all those trail walks becomes meaningless. Welcome to the world of the deplorables. That's why we have Trump!

Anonymous said...

AA: ...but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great.

Well, yeah, this PC, stick-it-to-the-badwhites ideology and policy is all good fun until it starts affecting the neighborhoods, schools, and property values of the goodwhites.

(Though more astute (cough, cough, cynical) goodwhites are pretty good at protecting their own stuff, as they continue to push policies that wreck other people's neighborhoods.)

buwaya said...

It is false to assume that there is a benefit in this, of helping elect Walkers and Trumps.
You will, sometimes, but the real importance, in the long term, in any society is control of institutions.
This sort of thing discourages allies and prevents expression of opposition in private as well as in public.
Minorities can suppress majorities for a very long time through such means, and the even longer term result is a low-trust conspiratorial society.

Ray - SoCal said...

What if...

Somebody set up a database where people doing this type of protesting are recorded with video...

Basically public shaming.

SDN said...

"Conservatives can’t muster enough tipping point to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.

6/21/18, 7:45 AM"

Speak for yourself, Moby.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

When race shaming turns into bullying.
Inept schools run by inept bureaucrats = more school shootings. More social dysfunction and children who end up on the losing end of the social spectrum-- on the streets, drugged out or in prison.

But God forbid you let the police help or criticize an inept black female principal.
You racist.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

Read all the links Ann provided. Learn to think for yourselves, progressives. You really have no idea how YOUR pathetic loser ideology is ruining everything.

Ray - SoCal said...

There is a law in Ca women can use if they feel stalked / harassed. Basically it allows the police to have a talk with a guy....

Can / will something like this be set up.

For harassment?

Issue of making people feel unsafe?

The protesting while eating?

The calling of employers?

Protesting at peoples houses?

mockturtle said...

Buwaya writes: It is false to assume that there is a benefit in this, of helping elect Walkers and Trumps.
You will, sometimes, but the real importance, in the long term, in any society is control of institutions.
This sort of thing discourages allies and prevents expression of opposition in private as well as in public.
Minorities can suppress majorities for a very long time through such means, and the even longer term result is a low-trust conspiratorial society.


Yes. The panic on the Left regarding the Trump presidency is largely due to the fact that Trump is not an insider, an anointed Deep-stater, and threatened to uncover the corruption and dysfunction of our institutions. And the more he carries out his agenda, the greater the panic. This may not end well.

Josh Scandlen said...


Blogger Ann Althouse said...
Not only do we pay a lot of property tax that goes in large part to the schools — and we pay $17,000+ a year — but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great...

--------------------------------------
man oh man that's spot on. I tell clients all the time who are thinking of moving to a "Great Schools" district, where they pay a premium, to watch themselves because if that "Great School" district doesn't maintain its high numbers you're never going to get that premium price back. Ever.

Curious George said...

Time to start thunkin some skulls.

Joe Biden, America's Putin said...

your property tax is breathtaking, Ann.

brylun said...

Here's the list of the best private schools in Dane County.

My guess is that most 2-parent families send their kids to one of these schools.

For poor 1-parent families, the public schools are the only choice. Poverty is directly related to 1-parent families. This, in the aggregate, is the major problem for the kids who attend these schools. Every other factor is dwarfed by the lack of an in-the-home father.



mtrobertslaw said...

Can you imagine what's in store for white people if this "white privilege" mob ever gets control of the levers of government?

mccullough said...

What a shit show. This school board is an object lesson for others in what not to do. Progressive ideology on that board for what, at least 30 years? And the whites and Asians still outscore the blacks and Mexicans by significant margins. Sane people would have made adjustments and managed expectations awhile ago. Instead of crying racism, be realistic.

pacwest said...

"and we pay $17,000+ a year"

17K property taxes? On your house alone, or are you holding several other properties? $1,400 a month is a mortgage payment on a nice size house in most places. Surely the 17K number is a typo.

" — but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house"

Sorry, but that number seems absurd. Either the mill rate is unbelievably high or your house is worth a couple of million. Your pictures of it makes me doubt that.



mockturtle said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
mccullough said...

Buwaya,

You make a good point but the purpose of Trump is to shred the last bit of trust people may have had in these institutions. The FBI, the DOJ, the Ivy League, Hollywood. All even worse than they appeared. Scales falling from the ryes

Michael K said...

Some adult needed to speak up stating in an open meeting everybody has their time to speak.

There are no adults on school boards anymore as the boards are elected by union teachers.

mockturtle said...

Time to start thunkin some skulls.

I remember well how much currency the photos and tapes from the Kent State incident had with the radical left [of which I was a part]. These protesters will just continue to push the envelope to provoke an incident, preferably a violent one. Zero press coverage might be the best solution.

Dude1394 said...

All public schools should be disbanded. Only by separating ourselves from the democrat media party will our children be safe.

Caligula said...

" the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great."

"The only factor that really matters is per-pupil spending" -- School Board

"We need more money!!" -- teachers union

You want some degree of order and security in the schools? Racist.

Bad schools in upscale neighborhoods will lead many parents to explore private schools, if/when these are available. Yet Liberal-left voters in these neighborhoods will still support both "more money" and policies that prevent establishing a reasonable degree of order and security in the public schools.

The (small) upside here is that more than a few minority parents are fed up with bad schools and thus far more willing than many Liberals to support politicians who are willing to break away fromthe teachers unions and educational establishment to restore public schools as places where student learning is prioritized.

Curious George said...

"mockturtle said...
Time to start thunkin some skulls.

I remember well how much currency the photos and tapes from the Kent State incident had with the radical left [of which I was a part]. These protesters will just continue to push the envelope to provoke an incident, preferably a violent one. Zero press coverage might be the best solution."

The left...and that includes the press...aren't looking for a solution.

Skipper said...

Just more votes for Walker and Trump.

buwaya said...

Trump is not going to change the institutions that really matter, those mills that process your children, and those factories that create the mill machinery. The DOJ, FBI, Hollywood and anything else you can think of are just downstream consequences. It’s the children that matter the most.

This spat is in a far more consequential institution than you think.

Not even private schools are a refuge, as their teachers are themselves products of the mills.

mockturtle said...

Using the Madison, WI, tax calculator I determined that Althouse's property must be assessed at about $800K. An equally valued house in Scottsdale, AZ, would be about $6500. In the Windermere [upscale residential] area of Seattle, $8500.

These data suggest [heh heh] that people in Madison, WI, are either not terribly smart* or are easily manipulated.

*lacking in common sense.

Murph said...

"but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house,"

That's an insane property tax payment. For a dwelling housing two people? Every year (and rising?) ...that's why older empty-nester folks downsize into smaller but equally comfortable and pleasing homes.

Oh, and on the topic of property tax assessment: your tax calculation is based on the prices that OTHER people have been paid (and implicitly, the gains THEY have obtained) when THEY sold. You are paying taxes based on value gains that you yourself may never realize. And, in fact, should you be so unfortunate as to eventually sell at a loss to the purchase price, you cannot deduct that loss on your income tax return.

But perhaps you don't have the same financial concerns that many (most?) of the rest of us to: to preserve principle and increase savings to cover the costs of your extended life span.

Murph said...

*do*

walter said...

buwaya said...This sort of thing is not new at all. When I was a San Francisco Republican volunteer >20 years ago (yes, foreigners are allowed), we faced worse.
--
San Francisco Republican reads like a typo.
In the 70's..when my father ran for school board in Berwyn, Il. His most controversial position was that the schools could be updated as opposed to torn down and replaced.
That..garnered..death threats on the house phone.
He also drove a cab at night for extra income and was called to testify that he transported a package from A to B in a mafia investigation..Berwyn being near Cicero. and all.During his day job, his car spontaneously caught fire in the parking lot.
A few years later we moved "Nort".

robother said...

Asian chicks seem to be the loudest and most angry of the SJWs. They gotta be first violin in everything. Wonder what Black SJWs think about this.

MountainMan said...

A lot of opportunity cost in that $17K tax bill. I own two really nice houses - one in TN, one in GA - and an interest in a condo in FL and my combined tax bill on all three properties is less than half what you are paying on your one property in WI. I agree with Dave Begley that you should cash out while you can and move somewhere more taxpayer friendly. You liked western NC when you went there several years ago. You could get a nice mountain home around Highlands or Cashiers, or even here in East TN near your nephew, and have enough left for a nice condo on the beach in Hilton Head or Tybee Island and have thousands left over every year after paying your property taxes (and no income tax in TN, too). And the antics you suffer through with your ridiculous local and state government and progressive communities would be non-existent. Here in TN, with any attempt to have a tax rate like that in Madison, we would have bloody revolt. In our recent city election in May, 2 of our 3 alderman up for re-elction lost due to their vote on a tax issue. Their sin? They voted to put an $8/month charge on the monthly water/sewer bills to cover garbage and trash pickup. Biggest controversy in city government in several years.

MadisonMan said...

@pacwest, that is no typo, sadly. (We're over $10K/year for a 1700 square foot house).

I am very happy my kids are out of school. I see some great things in Madison's schools, but if you look behind the curtain, there is reason for a lot worry.

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

Regarding the Veith blog post, she should perhaps ask herself whether the so-called achievement gap never closes because it cannot close. At some point, the possibility has to at least be considered that some intractable factor is behind it. If you are 5'2", you cannot dunk a basketball in a regulation height hoop. You can only lower the hoop, or perhaps tear it down and set fire to the court so your inability to dunk is obviated. Way better to take up and excel at something where 5'2" is not a limiting factor. There is nobleness and meaning to be found in many pursuits.

HoodlumDoodlum said...

But those people shouting down a fellow citizen weren't "ugly," were they Professor? Good thing!

DanTheMan said...

Diversity = No other opinions allowed
Inclusion = Removal from campus

DanTheMan said...

>>But those people shouting down a fellow citizen weren't "ugly," were they Professor?

Can we please stop calling these people "protesters"? They aren't there to protest what's being discussed. They are there to stop the discussion entirely and intimidate others into silence.

Tom B said...

My wife and I moved to Madison from Salt Lake City in 2013 and purchased our current home in 2014. Despite the property taxes being about triple (maybe more) what they were on our similarly-valued home in SLC, we couldn't have been more pleased with both our new house and our new town. It is literally a dream-come-true type of living situation for us, and our neighbors have become dear friends-for-life. The city's political culture can be annoying but it hardly affects our day-to-day lives and the city itself is pleasant and livable in the the extreme.

We were blessed with a son in 2016 and now we are actively searching for homes in nearby communities, just far enough away to get outside the boundaries of the Madison school district. We cannot WAIT to move out of this home that we love because we can't afford private school tuition, and couldn't conscience sending a child into the Madison schools. Stories like the subject of this post simply reinforce my belief that we are making the right decision. There are manifest, undeniable problems in the schools here (some are worse than others of course), but the administrative leadership is obviously either unwilling or unable to face them squarely in order to fix them. If anything, the solutions they tend to propose and implement do nothing but exacerbate the problems, in my view.

Sorry for the wall-of-text, I tried to keep it brief!

rehajm said...

Dooes a yone know what cost per student is in Madison?

robother said...

"There is nobleness and meaning to be found in many pursuits."

Sadly, this is not true any more. The rise of the cognitive elite in the 20th Century was accompanied by a devaluation of blue collar work as an honorable (and ultimately economically viable) way of life. Apart from professional sports or acting (where only a infinitesimal number enjoy success) upward mobility in America is available only to those credentialed by the educational behemoth.

Charles Murray tried to point out the impossibility of closing the gap and its consequences for every part of the population below average IQ, and has finished his career as a social outcaste for his troubles.

alan markus said...

@ Tom B

Have you considered your options under Open Enrollment? In 2017 school year about 1314 Madison students open enrolled out to other districts (390 open enrolled in to Madison). There are no qualifications to participate - incoming school district has to have capacity to add students & families are responsible for transportation. The additional cost of transportation and before/after school care (assuming you both work) should be much more affordable than the private school option. Of course, you will still have to deal with the high taxes in City of Madison.

mockturtle said...

Robother, I would revise 'cognitive elite' to read 'credentialed elite' which is, in essence, what you were saying.

Tom B said...

@ alan markus

I very much appreciate the suggestion! My understanding of Open Enrollment is that if there are more applicants than seats in the district you're applying to, then seats are awarded by a lottery system. I have never had any sort of luck the few times I've gambled, so we need to pursue a strategy that will guarantee the placement we want. I gather Madison itself has some really neat 'magnet schools' but again, applicants are accepted pretty much by lot. Thanks again for the helpful info, however.

@ rehajm

Doing some crude calculations based on the MMSD 2017-17 budget it looks like the district spends about $19,500 per student per year.

alan markus said...

According to WI DPI, based on certified inputs for 2016 school year, the cost per student at Madison was $14,548. Statewide was $12,942.

68% of Madison revenue comes from local property tax; Statewide it is 46%

Ken B said...

Remember that Rockwell painting of a man standing up to speak? It's called “Freedom Of Speech”.
https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_of_Speech_(painting)

The modern left can be summarized succinctly. They hate that painting and everything about it.

alan markus said...

@ Tom B - My understanding of Open Enrollment is that if there are more applicants than seats in the district you're applying to, then seats are awarded by a lottery system.

Not necessarily - we are adjacent to a district that is limited, and they go with more of "first-come, first-served" approach. And once a student is enrolled they usually are accommodated in future years, as well as siblings.

Sounds like you are a few years out on this kind of a move. I suggest you start investigating school districts that might be your choice (either by move or by open enrollment). Contact them and see how "customer service" orientated their approach is. Of course, watch their scores and other indicators.

Note that this is a very fluid dynamic - by the time your child is ready for school, some of the school's existing incoming open enrollments will have moved to higher grades or maybe moved out of the area.


Of course, at the local levels things can change too - administrators, school boards can impact future dynamics.


I suggest you poke around WI DPI site as much as possible. Here is a good place to start. Welcome to WISEdash — where you can compare and explore statistics about Wisconsin public schools

Original Mike said...

These are the people who want to have a conversation.

Matt Sablan said...

"These are the people who want to have a conversation."

-- Conversation, lecture. Y'know.

robother said...

Interesting point, Mockturtle, I think Murray started out describing them as a cognitive elite, because the selection was based pretty rigorously on IQ scores. But one of the ironic effects of creating that elite in the 50s and 60s is the way that elite has captured the credentialing institutions (e.g.,universities and Fortune 500 companies) and in turn diluted their standards for progeny (legacies) and social virtue signaling proposes.

Tom B said...

@ alan markus

Again, thanks very much for the helpful info (esp. the WISEdash link, which I'd not heard of). Trying to predict the districts' trajectories in the next couple years is definitely a moving target. In fact we'd initially held out hope about maybe getting involved in helping to push the MMSD schools in the right direction. It's become pretty clear to us, though, that by the time our little boy starts school, the school board at best might have begun to really acknowledge that their approach was failing. Let alone to have begun fixing the problems.

Even that seems to be more of a hope than a reasonable extrapolation of the trend though, and too little too late even in the best case, so for our family's purposes the Madison schools are pretty much a lost cause. I'll definitely peruse the site you linked though, if it saves us from having to move I'll buy you a beer or two or a hundred!

I don't want to threadjack so I will return to lurking now...

SomeoneHasToSayIt said...

robother said...
"There is nobleness and meaning to be found in many pursuits."

Sadly, this is not true any more


Oh, it's still true, it's just not acknowledged. It will come back if we help it. Mike Rowe is helping. We can all do our little part. Every blue collar worker you see, try to find a way to thank them for their service. I try to and sometimes the response you get is very rewarding as to helping restore your probably lessened faith in your fellow man.

They only win if we leave the playing field.

I Have Misplaced My Pants said...

Not only do we pay a lot of property tax that goes in large part to the schools — and we pay $17,000+ a year — but the high assessment that makes the tax so high is based on the market price of the house, which will not hold up if would-be buyers think the schools are not great...

In our city the tasteful, expensive neighborhood is on the old side of town, and like many places it shares catchment with neighboring not-so-tasteful neighborhoods. The neighborhood public schools are miserable, but within a several block radius there is an Episcopal school, a Catholic school, a classical Christian academy, and the district magnet school for the gifted that kids have to test into. No one who lives in the nice houses sends their kids to the local public schools.

Sebastian said...

Prog behavior showing that, contrary to another post, Fonda's mind is not "strangely disordered." Just a normal prog.

Jim at said...

Keep pushing it, leftists.
Keep it up.

Jim at said...

Conservatives can’t muster enough tipping point to cancel their Netflix subscriptions.

Since when do you speak for all conservatives?

Rick said...

Ray said...
What if...

Somebody set up a database where people doing this type of protesting are recorded with video...

Basically public shaming.


How could this be effective? You can't rely on their personal shame because they're proud of this behavior. You can't use public displeasure because they live and work in institutions (academia, government, NGOs) which value and support this behavior. In fact for many this activity is essentially a job interview. The most radical left wingers get the plum jobs.

Bill Ayers didn't get a job high in the Illinois education bureaucracy despite being a left wing terrorist, he got it because he is a left wing terrorist.

Gahrie said...

All public schools should be disbanded. Only by separating ourselves from the democrat media party will our children be safe.


I would never endorse this. I do however support parental choice, charter schools and vouchers. (for the record I am a public school teacher)

Gahrie said...

the increased violence in the schools is more than teachers and staff can handle in some cases and that is why police have been asked to help

At my high school (SoCal suburban, aprox 4,000 students, 90% Hispanic, 85% free meals) we have a half dozen unarmed Campus security officers on campus. The district has it's own police force (sworn officers with guns and tasers) and the local police are frequent visitors to campus.

cubanbob said...

@Murph, what you pointed out is the reason California when it still had some sanity passed Proposition 13. Florida also passed its version in 1992 ( thank God) which why I am able to afford living in my house. I closed on my house in December 2013 and if Zillow is any guide it is worth nearly two and half times more today than what I purchased it for. In Madison that would be double the amount in taxes. For an unrealized gain. In California and Florida the tax valuation is based on the purchase price under the premise is that the taxpayer could afford the tax based on the purchase price. In Florida that is the amount that is capped and the most it can be increased is 4% for inflation per year. Wisconsin needs a property tax cap. Perhaps Trump's new tax law will prompt a property tax revolt in Wisconsin and other similarly affected states.

bagoh20 said...

The Boomers started this train back in the sixties. The conservative adults at the time warned us of the dangers, but being an asshole was cool back then too. At first the counterculture had at least some reasonable goals and arguments, but progressivism is, at its core, destructive, violent, and insatiable. It aims to destroy what is and replace it with what is not with little more as a goal except the power it can garner. Yep, I said "garner".

Never trust anyone over 30, even if you are yourself.

Ralph L said...

As in business, the big guys got the government to regulate the small ones out of business, or never even started.

My brother and I went to (different) kindergartens run by old ladies in old houses.

Etienne said...

What a bunch of losers. Letting kids run wild in the room, like they let them run wild in the schools.

What they need is adult leadership.

AZ Bob said...

The video should be an embarrassment to those who are disrupting the speaker. This is double for the screaming young women appearing at the end. But it isn't. This approach to our civic institutions is an unfortunate trend. And it only seems to be getting worse. I suspect it was a product of university education.

Etienne said...

The video is proof that women tend to get hysterical.

Back in the early 1900's they could go to the Dr. who would massage them to an orgasm, and thus prevent hysterics.

I blame the 19th Amendment.

FullMoon said...
This comment has been removed by the author.
Ingachuck'stoothlessARM said...

silenced "White Supremacy" on display in Detroit

ceowens said...

It takes 15 seconds to find the assessment of the Althouse residence for 2018--- $816,700.

mockturtle said...

It takes 15 seconds to find the assessment of the Althouse residence for 2018--- $816,700.

See, I was close. Way, way too much tax compared to just about anywhere else. Is Madison really that special???

n.n said...

Jew... I mean, White privilege is a National Socialist inspiration and progression.

PresbyPoet said...

California has high taxes on everything but property, thanks to proposition 13 which limits the amount a place is taxed. Property is only reassessed when it is sold. The yearly increase is only 2% if it is not sold. This means that old folks don't need to sell their home when they retire. You can have a $2,000,000 house only paying $2,000 in property tax if someone bought it long enough ago. The evil party keeps trying to figure out how to change things, but it would require a vote of the people to change things.